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The Government has noimmediate evacuation

plans for Indian students inUkraine and no special flighthas been arranged for this pur-pose. At the same time, theMinistry of Civil Aviation(MoCA) has removed thecurbs on the number of flightsto/from Ukraine under thebilateral air bubble arrange-ment, including chartered

flights to facilitate the travel ofstudents and professionalsstranded in crisis in the easternEuropean nation.

On a question on howIndia sees the current devel-opment in Ukraine at a mediabriefing, Ministry of ExternalAffairs (MEA) spokespersonArindam Bagchi said that Indiahas no immediate evacuationplans and there are no specialflights.

Bagchi said that India hasbeen supportive of an imme-diate de-escalation of tensionsand resolution of the Ukrainecrisis through sustained diplo-matic dialogue. He said theIndian embassy in Kyiv hasbeen in touch with the Indianstudents in Ukraine and that itcontinued to monitor the situ-ation on the ground.

In a statement, the CivilAviation Ministry said that ithas removed the restriction onthe number of flights and seatsbetween India and Ukraineunder the bilateral air bubblearrangement. “Any number offlights as well as Charter flightscan operate.

Continued on Page 2

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India has taken strong excep-tion to Singapore Prime

Minister’s remarks aboutalleged criminal records ofMPs and his comment onNehru’s India. Singapore envoywas summoned here onThursday to register India’sprotest.

Slamming Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong for hisremarks on the Lok Sabha, offi-cial said, ‘’The remarks by thePrime Minister of Singaporewere uncalled for. We are tak-ing up the matter with theSingaporean side.”

This reaction came after adebate in the Singapore par-liament on Wednesday onhow democracy should func-tion. Loong is reported tohave said, “Nehru’s India hasbecome one where, accordingto media reports, almost halfthe MPs in the Lok Sabha havecriminal charges pendingagainst them, includingcharges of rape and murder.Though it is also said thatmany of these allegations arepolitically motivated.”

Lee was trying to make hispoint that most countries werefounded and started off on thebasis of high ideals and noblevalues, but gradually, the tex-ture of politics changed andrespect for politicians declined.

Referring to various worldleaders including India’s firstPrime Minister JawaharlalNehru, Loong had said ...

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New Delhi: Former PrimeMinister Manmohan Singhtore into the NDAGovernment’s foreign policy onThursday and said the BJPhad been in power for morethan seven years and was stillblaming first Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru for the prob-lems of the people.

His comments invited astrong rebuttal from theExternal Affairs Ministry(MEA), which dismissed themas a “political message.” FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanalso hit back Singh andreminded him that inflationwas at an all-time peak duringhis regime.

In a video message deliv-ered in Punjabi ahead of thePunjab Assembly polls, Singhsaid the Centre has proved tobe a “complete failure” on theforeign policy front andrecalled how under his tenureprestige of India and Indianswas enhanced at internationallevel. Singh said, “Old friendsare constantly alienating us,while our relations with neigh-bouring countries are also dete-riorating”.

Singh alleged the Chinesesoldiers have been occupying“our pious land for the last oneyear but effort is being made tosuppress this issue”.

Continued on Page 2

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Igniting a storm of contro-versy over his casual

“bhaiyas” remarks, PunjabChief Minister Charanjit SinghChanni was in the line of fire ofthe Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)stalwarts — Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh, amongothers — campaigning in theState on Thursday.

With elections just threedays away, the saffron partywent all out against theCongress party accusing it ofallegedly playing divisive pol-itics in the poll-bound State.The top leaders, at their sepa-rate election rallies in Punjab,slammed the Congress party,especially Priyanka GandhiVadra for openly supportingChanni’s remarks by laugh-ing, clapping, and noddingduring a roadshow. Notably,Channi, on Tuesday, had stat-ed, “Don’t let UP, Bihar, Delhike bhaiyas enter Punjab.”

Addressing an electionrally at Fazilka, Prime MinisterModi slammed Channi for hisremarks on “bhaiya from UttarPradesh and Bihar”, saying thatGuru Gobind Singh and GuruRavidas too were born outsidePunjab.

“It was not only an insult topeople of Uttar Pradesh andBihar but to Guru Ravi Das andGuru Gobind Singh also. Guru

Ravi Das, whose birth anniver-sary was yesterday and who hasmillions of followers in Punjab,was born in Kashi in UttarPradesh...Is it not an insult toGuru Ravi Das also as he wasfrom Uttar Pradesh?” he asked,adding, “Will you throw outSant Ravi Das also?”

Even the Sikhs’ tenth mas-ter, Guru Gobind Singh wasborn in Patna Sahib, he under-lined, asking, “Has he not dis-respected Guru Gobind Singhalso?...Will you remove GuruGobind Singh from Punjab?People of such a divisive men-tality should not be allowed torule Punjab even for onemoment.”

Modi said that the rela-tionship of Punjab andPunjabis with Uttar Pradeshand Bihar is deep and sacred,and Channi had insulted thebond.

Alleging that the Congressparty always pitted people ofone region against another,Modi said: “Congress ChiefMinister gave a statement yes-terday, and the Delhi family,maalik, who was standingbeside him, was clapping.

Continued on Page 2

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New Delhi: The Income TaxDepartment on Thursdaysearched the premises of for-mer MD and CEO of NationalStock Exchange (NSE) ChitraRamkrishna and group oper-ating officer AnandSubramanian in Mumbai aspart of a tax evasion investiga-tion against them.

Continued on Page 2

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“Things start off with passion-ate intensity. The leaders, whofought for and wonIndependence, are often excep-tional individuals of greatcourage, immense culture, andoutstanding ability. They camethrough the crucible of fire andemerged as leaders of menand nations. They are theDavid Ben-Gurions, theJawaharlal Nehrus, and wehave our own too.”

Loong also said the peopleof Singapore can trust theirleaders, systems and institu-

tions if those in Governmentuphold integrity, and enforcethe same rules and standardsequally to everyone.

“Our democracy canmature, deepen and grow moreresilient, as both the governedand the governing embraceand express the right normsand values. Singapore can con-tinue to flourish. But if weallow ourselves to slacken —loosen standards here, just a bit;overlook a lie there, just thistime — the virtuous cycle willstutter and start to fail,” he said.

New Delhi: An ImprovisedExplosive Device (IED) in asuspicious bag was found at ahouse in old Seemapuri innortheastern part of Delhi.

The NSG has confirmedthe item in the bag to be IED.

A call about a suspiciousitem detected in a building inSeemapuri was received aroundand special cell teams wererushed to the spot.

Continued on Page 2

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Bengaluru: Congress legislators willspend the night inside KarnatakaLegislative Assembly and Council onThursday, demanding the sacking ofRural Development and Panchayat RajMinister K S Eshwarappa and also thathe be booked for sedition regarding hisstatement about the national flag.

This came even as protests by theparty legislators rocked the proceedingsin both houses for the second consec-utive day. Congress members stayedback in the assembly, even after it wasadjourned for the day. SpeakerVishweshwar Hegde Kageri, and for-mer chief minister B S Yediyurappalater met Leader of Opposition andCongress Legislature Party leader

Siddaramaiah in the assembly premis-es and held talks.

Earlier, addressing reporters out-side the assembly, Siddaramaiah, accus-ing BJP and Sangh Parivar of disre-specting the national flag, said theCongress has decided to stage 'day-and-night' protests, to take the issue toa "logical end".

Noting that the Governor, whois the constitutional head, should haveintervened and given instructions forEshwarappa's dismissal, as his com-ments amount to treason, he said: "TheChief Minister is also not takingaction against Eshwarappa, the RSS isimplementing its hidden agendathrough Eshwarappa."

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The All India Council for TechnicalEducation (AICTE) has decided

that that no partial approval of tech-nical courses will be given to uni-versities in order to avoid confusionamong stakeholders, according toofficials. "All affiliated institutionsrunning technical education pro-grammes require prior approval ofAICTE. However, it has beenobserved that some of the central,state and private universities aretaking partial approval of AICTE forsome selected courses and pro-grammes and is creating confusionamong the stakeholders," said AICTEMember Secretary Rajive Kumar.

"Therefore, AICTE has decidedthat no partial approval technicalcourses will be given to universitiesin order to avoid confusion amongstakeholders. Accordingly, all uni-versities have been informed that

either they take full approval of alltechnical courses or they can con-tinue without approval of AICTE," headded.

Kumar explained that theSupreme Court has held that uni-versities do not require prior approvalto commence new department orcourse and programmes in technicaleducation. "However, universitieshave obligation or duty to confirm tothe standards and norms laid downby AICTE.

For the purpose of ensuringcoordinated and integrated develop-ment of technical education andmaintenance of standards, AICTEmay cause an inspection of the uni-versity, which has to be as per the pro-visions under relevant rules and reg-ulations of the AICTE.

"Further, all affiliated institu-tions running technical educationprogrammes requires prior approvalof AICTE," he said.

New Delhi: The Supreme Courton Thursday held a full court ref-erence to pay homage to formerUnion Law Minister HansrajBhardwaj, ex-Bar Council ofIndia chairman Suraj NarainPrasad Sinha, and senior lawyerand former vice-chairman ofthe Law Commission N MGhatate. ChiefJustice of India (CJI) N VRamana, other apex court judges,and Attorney General K KVenugopal were among thosewho paid tribute to the depart-ed souls at the reference held inthe auditorium of the new apexcourt premises. A full courtreference is held for departedjudges of the apex court andsenior advocates as a mark of

respect and remembrance fortheir service to the court and thelegal profession. " M yBrother and Sister Judges join mein conveying our heartfelt con-dolences to the bereaved familiesof Dr Hansraj Bharadwaj, ShriSuraj Narayan Prasad Sinha, andDr N M Ghatate. We pray to theAlmighty to give them strengthto bear this irreparable loss.," CJIRamana said in the full court ref-erence. Attorney General K KVenugopal and Supreme Court

Bar Association president andsenior advocate Vikas Singh alsopaid homage to the formerjudges. Dr Bhardwaj was born onMay 17, 1937 and his journey inthe legal profession began in theyear 1960 when he completed hisLL.B. And enrolled with the BarCouncil of Delhi as an advocate.

"With time, DrBhardwaj's inclination to politicsled him to become a legal advi-sor to the late Smt. IndiraGandhi. By 1971, his steady suc-cess in the profession was noticedand he was appointed asAdditional Public Prosecutor inDelhi. He was engaged to defendseveral high-profile figures,including prominent politicalleaders.

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The daily Covid-19 infections in Maharashtrarose marginally from 2,748 on Wednesday

to 2,797, while the daily cases went up mar-ginally in Mumbai from 255 to 259. With 2,797fresh infections, the total number of Covid-19cases in the state rose from 78,50,494 to78,53,291.

With 40 fresh deaths, the total number ofdeaths registered in the state since the outbreakof Covid-19 in the state in March 2020 wentup from 1,43,492 to 1,43,532.

With the fresh 259 cases, the total num-ber of cases in Mumbai mounted from10,54,732 to 10,54, 991. While the recovery ratestood static at 98 per cent, the overall growthrate of Copvid-19 cases in the metropolis fora period from February 9 and 16 dropped to0.03 per cent. As 6,283 Covid-19 patients weredischarged from the hospitals across the stateafter full recovery, the total number of peopledischarged from the hospitals since the secondweek of March 2020 increased from 76,75,578to 76,81,961. The recovery rate in the state rosefrom 97.77 per cent to 97.82 per cent.

The number of “active cases” in the state

dropped from 27,445 to 23,816. The fatality ratein the state stood static at 1.82 per cent.Theactive cases in Pune dropped to 6722. Theactive cases in Mumbai dropped to 2113 onWednesday to 1945 on Thursday, while thenumber of active cases in the neighbouringThane dropped from 1513 on Wednesday to1423 onThursday. Nagpur accounted for 2103active cases, followed by Ahmednagar (2140),Nashik (1167) and and Aurangabad (1126).

Of the 7,68,76,774 samples sent to vari-ous laboratories across the state so far, 78,53,291have tested positive (10.22 per cent) forCOVID-19 until Thursday.

Currently, 2,51,023 people are in homequarantine while 1,146 people are in institu-tional quarantine. Meanwhile, no freshOmicron case was recorded in Maharashtra onThursday, resulting in the total number of thenew Covid-19 variant cases remaining static at4,456. Of these cases, 3,455 patients have beendischarged after they tested negative in the RT-PCR tests. Till Thursday evening, 8904 sam-ples had been sent for genome sequencing, outof which, results of 7,991 patients have beenreceived, while the results of 913 samples areawaited.

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Kushinagar (UP): Loud cries echoed in non-descript Nebua Naurangia village ofKushinagar district on Thursday after 13women and children, all girls, fell into a wellduring a marriage ritual and died.

The incident, in which at least 10 peo-ple were also injured, happened onWednesday night when an iron grille theywere sitting on broke, officials and familymembers said. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and Uttar Chief Minister YogiAdityanath have expressed grief over the inci-dent.

Parmeshwar Kushwaha, father of thegroom, said the pre-wedding ritual of"Matkorba" on the occasion of "Haldi" wasin progress near an old and dilapidated wellin the village, about 10 kilometres from theKushinagar district headquarters, whentragedy struck.

Some women and children were sittingon the iron grille and it suddenly broke andthey fell into the well, District Magistrate(DM) S Rajalingam said.

Narrating the incident, Kushwahasaid, "Actually the well is old and it was cov-ered with a slab. During the ritual, girls werestanding on the slab when it broke and theyall fell inside the well."

"It is heartbreaking, and I have decidedthat no procession will go with my son AmitKushwaha for the wedding. Only the groomwill go and get married in a very simple man-ner as we are not in the state to celebrate,"he added. The bodies were cremated in thevillage on Thursday. On gettinginformation about the tragic incident,Inspector Girjesh Upadhaya reached the spot.Police personnel and villagers pulled out all23 people who had fallen into the well andrushed them to a hospital. Thirteen of themwere declared dead by doctors, the officialssaid.

Senior administrative and police officialsalso reached the spot. No one fromParmeshwar Kushwaha's family died in theincident. His granddaughter Payal fell intothe well but was rescued.

"We were singing and dancing and sud-denly the slab broke and within seconds we

all fell in the well. I was drowning in the wellbut somehow I was rescued," a woman of thevillage said.

Ramesh Chaurasia lost his wife MamtaDevi. His brother's wife Shakuntala Devi andtwo-year-old daughter Pari Chaurasia areamong the dead. "I don't know what to doand say as I lost three family members. Mywife died and I don't know how I'm going tosurvive. I was not with them as the pro-gramme was meant for women. We all triedto save them and many of the women andgirls were rescued by the villagers but theambulance was very late," he said. Aposse of police personnel were seen guard-ing the well where the tragedy stuck.

The old well is almost 100 metres awayfrom Parmeshwar Kushwaha's home.According to the villagers, the well is morethan 70 years old. Local people often performrituals near the well, especially during wed-dings.

"Earlier the well was in use but for thelast many years it is not. Ten years ago, thewell was covered with a slab. The accidenttook many lives and we can never forget it,"Gyan Chaurasia, a resident of the village, said.

"The village was adopted by the MP ofthe area, Vijay Dubey, but no one cared toprovide safety measures for the well," healleged. Villagers claimed that the ambu-lances reached the spot over an hour late evenafter several calls. Furious over the entireepisode, many people blocked the 28 BNational Highway. The roadblock was laterlifted. "The ambulances came very late,and I think more people could have beensaved had the ambulances arrived earlier. Itwas dark in the night but the police came intime and they helped in rescuing people,"Pappu Kushwaha, a resident of the village,said.

On the delay by the ambulances, DMRajalingam said, "The villagers claimed thatambulances were late. Call logs will bechecked and whosoever is found guilty willface strict action." An assistance of Rs 4lakh will be given to the family of each of thedeceased, he said. PTI

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From Page 1Official sources said the searches are aimed to check and gath-

er evidence on the charges of alleged financial irregularities andtax evasion against the duo.

The Mumbai investigation wing of the Income TaxDepartment searched the premises of Ramkrishna andSubramanian.

Earlier, Ramkrishna hit the headlines after a recent Securitiesand Exchange Board of India SEBI order said she was steeredby a yogi, dwelling in the Himalayan ranges, in the appointmentof Anand Subramanian as the exchange’s group operating offi-cer and adviser to the managing director (MD).

The SEBI charged Ramkrishna and others for alleged laps-es in the appointment of Subramanian as the chief strategic advis-er and his subsequent re-designation as group operating officerand adviser to the MD.

The SEBI slapped a fine of Rs 3 crore on Ramkrishna, Rs 2crore each on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Subramanian,former NSE MD and CEO Ravi Narain, and Rs 6 lakh on V RNarasimhan, who was the chief regulatory officer and compli-ance officer.

Ramkrishna shared certain internal confidential information,including financial and business plans of NSE, dividend scenario,and financial results, with the “yogi” and even consulted him overthe performance appraisals of the exchange’s employees, accord-ing to the SEBI order.

Ramkrishna was the MD and CEO of NSE from April 2013to December 2016.

She refused to reveal the identity of the unknown person andsought to claim that the unknown person is a spiritual force, theSEBI noted. PNS

From Page 1Indian airlines have been

informed to mount the flightsdue to increase in demand,” saidthe Ministry adding it is alsocoordinating with the MEAregarding the flight services.

The Indian embassy in Kyivsaid more flights are beingplanned in the near future tomeet the additional demand.Currently, India has air bubblearrangements with 35 countries.

“We’ve set up controlrooms. We also have a 24/7helpline. I don’t think any deci-sion on evacuation has beentaken, our embassy continues tofunction normally and provideservices to Indian nationals inUkraine,” Bagchi said. On theseriousness of the ongoingdevelopments, the spokespersonsaid, “We take on board devel-opments that are happening aswell as our assessment of howwe can assist our citizens there.Our focus is and remains onIndian citizens, Indian students,Indian nationals rather thananything larger than that.”

“However, there were a lim-ited number of flights under airbubble arrangements, restric-tions on the number of flights

and passengers removed. Indiancarriers being encouraged tooperate Chartered flightsbetween India-Ukraine,” he said.“In a sense, we have been sup-portive of an immediate de-escalation of tensions and a res-olution of issues through sus-tained diplomatic dialogue.Welcome efforts being under-taken under Normandy Formatfor implementation of Minskagreements,” he added.

Amid the prevailing situa-tion in Ukraine due to the ris-ing tensions with Russia anduncertainties of the current sit-uation, India on Tuesdayadvised its citizens to tem-porarily leave Ukraine.Meanwhile, several studentswho are stranded in Ukrain,have complained that airfaresbetween Ukraine and Indiahave almost doubled and aticket of Rs 30,000 is now beingcharged at Rs 60,000, whichmany students can’t afford.”TheEmbassy of India has beenreceiving several appeals aboutthe non-availability of flightsfrom Ukraine to India. In thisregard, students are advisednot to resort to panic, but bookthe earliest available and con-venient flights to travel to India,”the embassy in Kyiv had said ina statement.

From Page 1The bag containing IED was picked up by the

NSG bomb disposal squad from the second floorof the building. It will be defused at a safe location,official sources said. The area has beencordoned off and senior police officials havereached the spot.

A local said, “Those living in the area where theexplosive has been found have been vacated. Policetold us that they have come to know about tenantsliving in that house who are now absconding.”In January, an IED stuffed with RDX and ammo-nium nitrate was found inside an unattended bagat the Ghazipur flower market here but it was laterdefused. The incident had happened ahead ofRepublic Day celebrations on January 26 for whichthe security apparatus in the National Capital wasalready on high alert. A fire tender, NSG officialsand the Forensic Science Laboratory team alsoreached the spot.

From Page 1“I hope that by now the rul-

ing dispensation would haverealised that relations betweencountries do not improve byforcefully embracing leaders,playing on a swing with themor going uninvited to havebiryani,” Singh stated in anobvious reference to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi shar-ing a traditional swing withChinese president Xi Jinpingduring the latter’s 2014 Indiavisit and his sudden Lahore visitto meet then Pakistani PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif in 2015.

In his scathing attackagainst the Modi-ledGovernment, Singh said theBJP had been in power for morethan seven years and was stillblaming first Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru for the prob-lems of the people.

Targeting the CentralGovernment on a host of issues,including the farmers’ agitation,foreign policy, price rise andunemployment, Singh said theBJP’s nationalism was “fake”and was based on the Britishpolicy of “divide and rule”.

MEA spokespersonArindam Bagchi said, “Frommy perspective, this is purely orclearly a political message, nota policy one. So I think from my

position here I would not liketo get into that. As regardsChina, the facts of the matterare clear, I don’t need to reiter-ate them. We have been dis-cussing the processes of theconversation with China andhow the situation has arisen...Ithink repeatedly we have saidthat. On the other issues, as Isaid, a political message clear-ly not a policy one, so I don’tthink I should dwell more intothat.”

With the Congress target-ing the Centre saying its gov-ernance was visible only inadvertisements, Singh said,“The truth somehow alwayscomes to the fore. It is very easyto talk big things but it is verydifficult to put those things intoaction.” He said theGovernment does not havetrust in the country’s constitu-tion and “institutions are con-tinuously being weakened”.

“Today the situation is veryworrisome. In the midst of thecoronavirus pandemic, theshort-sighted policies of theCentral Government, on theone hand, have caused peopleto suffer from a falling econo-my, rising inflation, and unem-ployment,” he said.

Singh, who is a noted econ-omist, said they have no under-standing of the economy, whichwas not in a healthy shape.

“Unemployment hasreached its peak in the wholecountry today. Farmers, busi-nessmen, students, women areall unhappy,” he said.

Hitting back at Singh for hiscriticism of the ModiGovernment’s handling of theeconomy, Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman said he ismore remembered for havingbrought India to “fragile five”and rampant inflation duringhis term.

“I have great regards foryou (Singh). I did not expectthis from you,” Sitharamansaid, wondering if he is sud-denly speaking about the econ-omy because of the “electoralconsideration” of the PunjabAssembly polls.

She also referred to recentrevelations about former NSEchief Chitra Ramkrishna hav-ing taken guidance of a‘Himalayan Yogi’ in running thecountry’s biggest stockexchange and said Singh wasnot even aware how the boursewas being run for so long whenhe was in power.

She compared data onexport, FDI, and inflation dur-ing the Modi Government withSingh’s dispensation to claimthat economic indicators aremuch better now.

“Social inequality isincreasing in the country, the

debt on the people is constant-ly increasing, while the earningsare decreasing,” he said. He saidthe rich are becoming richerwhile the poor are becomingpoorer. “But this Governmentis portraying that everything isfine by manipulating figures,”Singh said further.

“In every policy, there isselfishness, while in intent thereis hatred and division. Peopleare being divided in the nameof caste and region for their self-ish interests...,” he said. The for-mer Prime Minister alsoreferred to the security lapse ofModi’s convoy being stuck ona flyover in Ferozepur lastmonth.

“A few days ago, in thename of the Prime Minister’ssecurity, an attempt was madeto defame Chief MinisterCharanjit Singh Channi and thepeople of the State...,” he said.“During the farmers’ agitationtoo, an attempt was made todefame Punjab and Punjabiyat,”he said. The Congress leadersaid he had worked as PrimeMinister for 10 years and hadalways preferred that his workshould speak for itself.

“We never divided thecountry for political gains. Wenever tried to put curtains onthe truth. Never let the coun-try’s prestige or that of the postbe lowered,” he said.

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Days after the partial col-lapse of a building in

Gurugram’s Chintels Paradisowhich left two persons dead,the District Town and CountryPlanning’s (DTCP) team led by,RS Bhath visited Brisk Lumbinisociety in sector 109 andinspected the construction andstructural safety on Thursday,after receiving several com-plaints. Residents have alreadybeen demanding a structuralaudit of the building. Residentshad also filed a complaintagainst the developer.

An official said that a team

of DTCP led by Bhath visitedthe society’s basement, flat andother areas on Thursday andsaw issues raised by the resi-dents.

“During the inspection,the team noticed that basementseepage, few cracks emerge inpillars and balconies plasterswere also fallen. Around 30 res-idents were present at the site,”said the official.

“The residents requested toget structural audit soon andalso ask the builder to dorepairs of short time. We willask the developer to get a fewthings to repair immediately ofurgent nature under the super-vision of qualified engineers

and also assured residents thatwe will take up the matter onpriority,” Bhath said.

Recently, another housingsociety — NBCC Green ViewSociety located in Sector 37-D— has been declared unsafe forthe residents.

According to the adminis-tration officials, the IIT Delhiteam had conducted a studyand recommended testing ofthe Green View Society inwhich it was found that thesociety’s buildings are unsafe,and they should be vacatedwithin two months.

The builder was not avail-able for comments despiterepeated attempts.

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The Crime Branch of DelhiPolice has arrested two

men for allegedly shooting at ajunior resident doctor of Delhi’sRao Tula Ram Memorial(RTRM) hospital recently.

The accused have beenidentified as Dinesh (21) andNikhil (22), both residents ofJhajjar district in Haryana.Earlier, on February 7, uniden-tified assailants shot at 26-year-old Hemant near the hospitalaround 8 PM.

The assailants who hadalready gained entry into thevictim’s car, threatened thedoctor with a pistol after he

entered the vehicle. Hemantwas then pushed out of his carand the accused shot at him.One of the bullets hit Hemanton his face, the police said.

The police had earlier saidwhile fleeing with the vehicle,the accused had rammed thecar into the hospital gates thathad punctured the tyres. Thevehicle had then crashed out-side the facility. The accused,however, had managed to flee.

According to MonikaBhardwaj, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), Crime Branch, onWednesday, after receivingspecific inputs, a police teamapprehended both the

accused.“Dinesh told the police

that that he was a 35 per centshareholder of a wine shopback in his village along witha person named Lalit and hadsuffered losses. He thenbought a car and started sup-plying illicit liquor in Delhiand NCR,” said the DCP.

“In September, he wasnabbed by the police herewhile supplying liquor in hiscar which was also seized.Dinesh along with Nikhil thenhatched a plan to rob a car sothat they can place a fakenumber plate and supplyillicit liquor in it,” said theDCP.

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Delhi Police has arrestedtwo men for allegedly

killing a fellow ragpicker aftera quarrel broke out betweenthem over a petty issue in inKarol Bagh area. Police said ittook them nearly a month toestablish the identity ofdeceased, as body was found incompletely decomposed stateand accused persons destroyedall the evidence and fled toBihar.

The accused have beenidentified as Chhote Jamadar(32) and Kamlesh Ram (36)and the duo worked as ragpickers in Karol Bagh area.Police said that they knew thevictim -- Bipin Bindh (32), whohailed from their native placein Bihar’s Nalanda.

According to police, thevictim was distantly related toone of the accused and he usedto often address the accused as“Tu mera Sala hai”, this oftenannoyed the accused and on

the day of incident as well, thevictim under the influence ofalcohol fought with the accusedperson and to take revenge,they killed him, police said.

According to UshaRangnani, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), Northwest district, thematter came to light on January16 when an unidentified bodyin a decomposed state wasfound lying in the DSIDC,Lawrence Road in the area ofKeshav Puram police station.

“The body was taken outfrom the drain and it wascompletely in decomposedstate and no identity could beestablished except scar marksand a tattoo on hand. The iden-tity of the man was estab-lished by his family through an‘’om’ tattoo mark on his hand,”said the DCP.

“On preliminary inspec-tion, the hands of the bodywere found tied with a scarfand the other part of the scarfwas also found wrapped

around its neck. Prima facie,the age was presumed to be of35 years and during medicalexamination, doctor opinedtime of death to be of three-four days ago,” said the DCP.

“From the circumstances, itwas observed that someunknown person(s) have killedhim and to destroy evidences,they dumped his body in thedrain. Police enquiry revealedthat the deceased had a quar-rel with two other rag pickersin Karol Bagh area and afterkilling him, they went to theirnative place in Bihar,” said theDCP.

“A team was also sent toNalanda, Bihar but after somedays, based on the inputs andtechnical surveillance, it wasfound that two persons whohad a quarrel with thedeceased, have came to Jhuggisin Transport Nagar, PunjabiBagh. Accordingly, raid wasconducted and they werenabbed from their hideouts,”said the DCP.

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A23-year-old Indian Armypersonnel hanged himself

to death inside a guesthouse incentral Delhi’s Paharganj area.

The deceased identified asMurari was in the BiharRegiment and he had checkedinto a guesthouse in Paharganjon Tuesday.

The jawan, hailing fromJhunjhunu in Rajasthan, wasscheduled to check out of theguesthouse in the evening, butwhen he did not open the door,the manager informed thepolice, said the official.

According to ShwetaChauhan, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), Central district, afterreceiving information, thepolice reached the guesthousewhere the man was foundhanging from the ceiling fan.

“A suicide note was alsorecovered from the roomwhich stated that he was feel-ing very guilty as he had hurtthe feeling of a girl as well ashis family members by nottelling them the truth,” said theDCP.

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The North Delhi MunicipalCorporation (NMC) has

extended the last date for thefirst phase of the AmnestyScheme from 15 February to 28February 2022.

Standing CommitteeChairman in NMC Jogi RamJain said that in the first phaseof the amnesty scheme, 100percent waiver of interest andpenalty and 15 percent rebateon principal amount is beinggiven to property tax payers onlump sum payment of out-standing property tax up to

March 31. The decision toextend the date is taken con-sidering the Covid restrictions.“The citizens were not able totake advantage of the first phaseof the amnesty scheme,” he said.

Jain informed that thenorth Corporation had starteda three-phase amnesty schemefor the citizens. He said that ifa citizen is not able to deposithis outstanding property tax inthe first phase due to any rea-son, then he / she will have achance to deposit the out-standing property tax in thesecond and similarly in thethird phase.

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The South Delhi MunicipalCorporation (SDMC) has

prepared a ‘Standard OperatingProcedure’ (SOP) to ensureproper disposal of sludge gen-erated from septic tanks fromhouseholds of unauthorizedcolonies, a senior civic body offi-cial said. The move is taken toavoid dumping sludge into

drains. “We will transport it tothe nearest ‘Sewage TreatmentPlant’ of the Delhi Jal Board forproper disposal. Residents ofsuch areas may contact 206 reg-istered ‘desludging’ operators,the list of which is available onSDMC’s website,” he added.

As per the action plan, noseptic tank cleaning should becarried out without informingSDMC.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) on Thursday accused

the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ofcreating a “rift” between theHindus and Sikhs in Punjab tocapture power in the State.

Addressing the media, BJPleader Manjinder Singh Sirsaand Delhi BJP president AdeshGupta accused Delhi ChiefMinister Kejriwal and otherAAP leaders of making falseclaims in their campaign for thePunjab Assembly polls andsaid the “Delhi model” high-lighted by the regional party isa sham.

The Delhi BJP presidentsaid the Kejriwal governmentwhich completed two years ofits third term could spend only21 per cent of the state’s com-plete budget. They also allegedthat the AAPs agenda is to“loot” Punjab and likened it tothe East India Company whichwants to grab power in the stateby making all sorts of promis-es.

Sirsa said that Kejriwalpromised to make Punjab freefrom drugs on the other hand;he opened 850 liquor shops inDelhi to ensure everyone getsliquor.

The BJP leader alsoslammed the Congress over itsPunjab Chief MinisterCharanjit Singh Channi’sderogatory reference to peopleof Bihar and Uttar Pradesh as“bhaiyya” who, he had said,should be kept out of the state.Channi was apparently refer-

ring to AAP leaders.Sirsa wondered what will

happen if other states startmaking similar remarks againstSikhs who, he noted, live acrossthe country.

While Kejriwal claims thathis government has givenemployment to over 10 lakhpeople, only 3246 persons havebeen given jobs, he said, claim-ing that he will leave politics ifthe Delhi CM can providedetails of even 5,000 personsgiven jobs.

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After almost two years, thestudents of Delhi

University (DU) came to col-lege and attended classes onThursday. The varsity was shutin March 2020 owing to thebreakout of the Covid pan-demic.

Since morning onThursday, the VishwavidyalayaMetro Station, the nearest such,swarmed with students as theyheaded to their colleges locat-ed in the North Campus, wherethey were greeted by guardsbearing thermal scanners intheir hands. The students werealso seen showering flowers atthe entrance gate.

While there was a goodturnout of students from thenational Capital, attendancefrom other States was low,with their numbers onlyexpected to pick up from nextweek.

Principals, however, saidthe turnout was better thantheir expectations. Accordingto teachers, attendance washigher among second year stu-

dents than the first year stu-dents.

“I was excited to go back tothe campus. The universitywas shut for around two yearsand the online mode of studywas not efficient enough tosubstitute the offline mode ofeducation. It is a time toreclaim our lost years,” saidNirbhay (21), a law student.

The first year students wereseen filled with joy and excite-ment as the campus opened.“The reopening of campusbrought her life back on track.We are super excited to joinoffline classes as it provides awhole new bunch of opportu-nities and exposure to shapeour future,” said MonikaTiwari, a first year student.

Earlier this month, sever-al student bodies had heldprotests demanding thereopening of the campus. Theauthorities decided to resumethe classes after a decline innumber of Coronavirus casesin the national Capital.

However, not everyone washappy with the resumption ofoffline classes as outstation

students complained of a spikein rent at paying guest accom-modations.

“The PG owners in thearea are now taking advantageof the situation and askingstudents triple the amount ofactual rent. They are asking forRs 16,000 for a triple-bed room.This is too much,” said Amrita,a third year B.A student fromRajasthan.Another student, 18-years-old Mamatha Rose fromKerala, who looked visiblytired after standing in a longqueue at the VishwavidyalayaMetro station, too shared hergrouse.

“They earlier informed usyou have to come to Delhi. Buttwo days back they told us youcan take online classes. I mean,there is so much mismanage-ment. We had already bookedthe tickets and my friend andher father helped us book a PG.

“They did not give usenough time to shift. Today, Iam unable to take online class-es because I need to shift.They should have provided uswith accommodation facili-ties,” Rose said.

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To make the DelhiUniversity campus safer,

especially for women, thepolice plans to undertake a hostof initiatives that would includeseeking ideas from studentsabout better policing and cre-ating awareness about cybercrimes, officials said onThursday.

To build a better rapport,the Delhi Police also plans tohold discussions on studentpolitics in the campus to helpavoid untoward incidents, theysaid.

A senior officer said theywant to give out a message thatthe police and students willwork together for a safer andmore promising university-campus.

As the DU reopenedafter a long Covid-inducedhiatus, the north district of theforce, under its UniversityIntervention Programme“ADVIK”, organised a pinkcycle rally comprising 50 par-ticipants, including women

officers along with female stu-dents.

The Maurice Nagar policestation under which the NorthCampus falls, will be better sen-sitised about women safety.Since the university hasreopened after the third wave,the police will also be focusingon Covid-appropriate behav-iour, besides prevention ofcrime, officials said.

In the coming days, thepolice along with universityofficials and student bodies,will be organizing rural sportsgames.

“We want to give them(students) a correct perspective,a good role model of whatpolicing and citizens are allabout..,” officials said.

The games would includetug of war, arm wresting andvolleyball where the studentswill compete with Delhi Policeteams and this will help builda better student-police rela-tionship, officials said, addingthey would also try to addother sports like weightliftingsoon.

Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (North) Sagar SinghKalsi said the aim is to connectwith the students for betterpolice-students camaraderie-and also seeking ideas fromthem for better policing so asto have a more peaceful andfriendly neighbourhood.

“This is part of the newcommunity and preventivepolicing technique,”he said.

As a step towards police-students camaraderie, thepolice will also organise careercounselling sessions to help andguide students in making bet-ter choices along with otherextra-curricular activities,thesenior official said.

“As the Delhi Universityhas reopened, the north districthas started “Advik”, a universi-ty intervention programmewhere the police will pro-actively engage with the varsi-ty at various levels by organis-ing awareness programmesfocusing on women safety,anti-ragging, street crimes,cyber crimes and general civildiscipline,” he said.

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New Delhi: Two men werearrested from Jharkhand forallegedly cheating several peo-ple on the pretext of givingthem services through cus-tomer care support, police saidon Thursday. Abhishek Kumar(22) and his accomplice RajuAnsari (22) were arrested fromDumka in Jharkhand, theysaid.

Kumar who is the master-mind behind the crime used toupload his contact number oninternet in the name of variouscustomer care sites. He hasbeen running his gang frompast six months and his accom-plice Ansari arranged the bankaccounts from his native villageof Asansol, West Bangal, policesaid. Eight bank accounts hav-ing Rs 82 lakhs cheated frommultiple victims has been beenfreezed, they said.

The matter came to lightafter one of the victim who wasduped of Rs 4.78 lakhs by theaccused approached the police.According to the police, thevictim filed a complaint alleg-ing that on January 7, he got theaccused’s number while search-ing for customer care numberof makemytrip.Com for gettingthe refund amount from the

site.He conveyed his griev-

ances to the caller who imper-sonated himself as an employ-ee of ‘make my trip’ depart-ment, police said. As directedby the fraudster, the victimfilled up a form which was sentby him on his phone. Then healso installed the Anydesk Appand SMS forwarded App in hisphone on the accused’s instruc-tions. After that an amount Rs.4,78,278 was deducted from hisHDFC bank account, policesaid.

Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (Shahdara) RSathiyasundram said themobile phone of the accusedwas found switched off. Afteranalysing the accused’s bankdetails, it came to know that theaccused withdrew cash fromdifferent vendors. Cyber Teamanalysed the transaction detailsof victim’s account and foundthat cheated amount has beenrouted at different platform.

“On investigation, itrevealed that shopping wasdone from Bigbazar,Bhagalpur, Bihar, make mytrip travel vouchers and I-phone 12 and 3 gold bar wasdelivered at Dumka,

Jharkhand. After, conductingtechnical investigation, it wasfound that the cheater’s net-work is based at Dumka,Jharkhand. Then raid wasconducted at Dumka and thetwo accused were nabbed,” hesaid.

During the course of inter-rogation, accused Abhishekdisclosed that he uploads hismobile number on Google Adsfor customer support care offilpkart, make my trip, airlines.On receiving call from victim,he directs the victim to fill theform and instruct him to install“Any Desk App”. After installingthe App, he can monitor andcontrol the screen of victimthrough Any Desk App andupload SMS forwarder App inthe complainant mobile toroute the bank SMS, the officersaid. “After collecting the vic-tim’s card details, he sends themoney at different online plat-form i.E., Flipkart, Payu, Makemy Trip and online bankaccounts. I-phone 12 wasrecovered from him which waspurchased by the cheatedamount. The fake account wereopened thoughonline on thebasis of Aadhaar and Pan carddetails,” the DCP said.

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The Delhi Police onThursday said that there

have been no changes made toits insignia and strict legal actionwould be taken against thosespreading false narratives.

In a tweet in Hindi, theDelhi Police said that nochanges have been made to itsinsignia. “Some social mediausers with ulterior motives aretrying to discredit Delhi Police,incite people by spreading falsenarrative about the new DelhiPolice “colours.” We condemnthe false allegations and assurestrict legal action against suchsocial media accounts,” DelhiPolice tweeted.

However, a senior officialsaid police personnel are wear-ing a commemorative badge ontheir uniform, atop their name

plates, to mark the prestigiousaward of colours to the force bythe President in 1954.

They will wear this badgealso to commemorate the plat-inum anniversary celebrationsof the Delhi Police, the officialsaid. According to an officialorder, in 1954, the President hadhonoured the Delhi Police byawarding it with ‘colours’.

“It is essential that weremember this singular honourto our organisation, lest the‘Colours’ remain confined torooms and quarter guards,”stated the order. “As such, tocommemorate the platinumanniversary celebrations of theDelhi Police, it is desirable thatall ranks of Delhi Police wearthe ‘Insignia’ culled from the‘Colours’, on their uniformsfrom February 16 as a mark ofrespect to the ‘Colours’.

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The Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) will build schools,

hospitals and provide freeelectricity in Punjab afterforming the government inthe state, party NationalConvenor Arvind Kejriwalsaid while addressing NukkadSabhas throughout Punjaband appealed people to votefor the party candidates.

Amid the roaring chants‘Ek Mauka Kejriwal Nu’ and‘Aam Aadmi Party Zindabad’,AAP National Convenor andDelhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal addressed a series ofenthusiastic Nukkad Sabhas inseven different areas of Punjabon Thursday.

Kejriwal asked people tocome together and vote for theparty candidates to form a sta-ble government in Punjab.

He also paid homage toGuru Nanak Dev at the road-show in Dera Baba Nanak.

He appealed to the publicto vote in large numbers andlead the AAP to victory.

While addressing the gath-ering, Kejriwal said “The elec-tions begin on the 20th –everyone must be ready to casttheir vote for the AAP. Thistime we have to come togeth-er and save Punjab from thesecorrupt governments.Everyone will together pushthe button with AAP’s electionsymbol, and not even mistak-enly vote for any other party.All these parties have collec-tively robbed Punjab – BJP,Congress, Akali Dal – they allgot together in order to plun-der the state.

“We will provide anallowance of Rs 1000 to everywoman in Punjab. The AAPwill work in the interests ofeach and every community –be it Hindu, Muslim,Christian, Sikh, or from anycaste or creed.”

“The AAP will buildschools where children fromall backgrounds will studytogether. We will also regu-larise contractual workers, andsolve all grievances shared bythe people of Punjab,” headded.

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The Delhi Government’s run‘Schools of Specialised

Excellence (SoSEs)’ havereceived more than 7,500 appli-cations within a few days ofopening of the registrationprocess. The SoSEs that startedlast year with an aim to provideworld-class education to childrenfrom all sections of society, areequipped with world-class infra-structure and facilities suited totransact new-age curriculumand assessment in specialiseddomains, the students of theseschools will have the opportunityfor experiential learning throughprojects, field visits and intern-ships in their areas of interest.

Following the successful firstyear, 11 new SoSEs have beenadded to the list and now theirnumbers have increased to 31.

These schools provide spe-cialized education in five areaswhich include Science,Technology, Engineering andMathematics (STEM),Humanities, Performing andVisual Arts, High-end 21st cen-tury skills and Armed ForcesPreparatory School.

“The process of admissionfor the new session has startedin these schools now. Studentscan apply for admission in class9th in their preferred domain tillFebruary 28. Along with this,admissions will also be taken inclass 11th in STEM and ArmedForces Preparatory School thisyear. Students willing to takeadmissions can reach out to theadmission help desk set up attheir nearest SoSE,” the office ofthe Deputy Chief Minister saidin a statement.

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) hasprovisionally attached immovable and

movable assets having book value of Rs136.48 crore and present estimated marketvalue Rs 200 crore of EMTA Coal Ltd, andits promoters Ujjal Kumar Upadhaya,Sangeeta Upadhaya, Sujit Kumar Upadhayaand their family members under thePrevention of Money Laundering Act(PMLA) in a coal block case.

The attached assets are in the form ofbank accountbalances, fixeddeposits (FDs),share andmutual fundholdings, officeand residentialproperties belonging to the accused firmand its promoters, the ED said in a state-ment.

The ED initiated a money launderinginvestigation on the basis of an FIR regis-tered by CBI, Economic Offences unit, Delhiagainst the company and other accused.

During investigation, it was revealedthat the accused firms and others have con-ducted mining in six coal blocks allocatedin West Bengal. The Supreme Court hadon August 25, 2014 in response to a writpetition 120 of 2012 in connection withallotment of coal blocks passed an order andheld allocation of certain coal blocks as ille-gal, which included the six coal blocks allo-cated to the West Bengal Government PSUs.

“There are allegations of illegal forma-tion of Joint Venture companies, and mak-ing huge illegal profit by mining of coal inthe six coal blocks by EMTA Coal Ltd, andothers,” it said.

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There’s good news for the ani-mation film lovers. Korean

Cultural Centre India is organis-ing a week-long first season ofShort Animation Festivals fromFriday, offering seven interna-tionally acclaimed animated shortsthat one can enjoy from the com-fort of their screen.

“Through this festival, wehope to attract the attention of thefilm buffs to the animation cultureof Korea. For this purpose, wehave curated a festival featuringworks ranging from traditionaldrawings to 3D computer, withinteresting storylines.

“The films will be screenedfrom 18th February at 6 pmonwards, till 25th February, on ourFilm Screening Website(https://www.kccifilm.in/). It willfeature seven of the latest workssubmitted in 2021 at the “Indie-AniFest”, hosted by KoreaIndependent AnimationAssociation (KIAFA),” Hwang Il-

yong, the director of the KoreanCultural Centre, said in a state-ment here.

Writer Kim Kang-min’s“Kkum” (Dream), “Who BringsChocolate Jam?” by Jang Na-hee,“Incomplete Woman” by Heo Soo-young, “Seoulsori” (Sound ofSeoul) by Kim Kyoungbae, “TheMasterpiece” from Kim Si-on,Lee Eun-jin, and Lee Ji-young,“First Time” by Lee Gyu-ri,” and“Dogether” are part of the line-upof animation short films to bescreened at the festival.

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Even in people not needinghospitalisation while infect-

ed with Covid-19, serioushealth issues related to mentalhealth could persist, or pop up,in the weeks and months fol-lowing the acute stage, accord-ing to a study published in theBritish Medical Journal (BMJ).

The researchers said thereasons for the increased men-tal health risks after COVIDare not completely clear.Biologic changes may occur inthe body that affect the brain,and nonbiologic changes suchas social isolation and traumamay also be at play.

Researchers with the VA St.Louis Health Care Systemfound this as they focused onmental health disorders fol-lowing COVID-19 infection.They said that the reasons forthe increased mental health

risks after COVID are notcompletely clear. Biologicchanges may occur in the bodythat affect the brain, and non-biologic changes such as socialisolation and trauma may alsobe at play.

Led by principal investiga-tor Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, whoheads up both the ClinicalEpidemiology Center and theResearch and DevelopmentService at the VA St. LouisHealth Care System, the

researchers found increasedrisks of conditions such asdepression, anxiety, sleep dis-orders, and substance use dis-orders.

For many people, Covid-19 infection comes with onlymild or moderate symptoms,such as an irksome coughand shortness of breath thatlast for a few days. But this firstphase can be the “tip of theiceberg,” according to Al-Aly.“Those who go on to experi-ence serious chronic conse-quences—effects that com-monly last a lifetime—are theones who will bear the scars ofthis pandemic,” he said.

Studies by Al-Aly and oth-ers have shown that long Covidcan affect nearly every organsystem. “People return to theirdoctor with fatigue, brain fog,amnesia, strokes, new-onsetdiabetes, kidney disease, heartdisease, and more,” the physi-

cian-researcher says.“We’ve all suffered some

sort of distress from this pan-demic—maybe a measure ofanxiety or difficulty sleep-ing,” said lead investigatorAl-Aly. “But these challengesare magnified, especially inthose who were admitted tothe hospital during the acutepart of their Covid-19 battlebut also in many who experi-enced only mild or moderatesymptoms.”

Compared to those whodid not have Covid-19, those inthe Covid-19 group had a 60percent higher risk of havingany mental health disorder ormental health-related pre-scriptions.

Given the large number ofpeople with COVID-19, thesefindings could translate into ahuge impact in the UnitedStates and around the world,the authors pointed out.

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The Supreme Court on Thursday advised theHigh Courts not to make general observations

that are not warranted in the case.A bench of Justices M R Shah and B V

Nagarathna said the High Courts shall refrain frommaking sweeping observations that are beyondthecontours of the controversy involved.

"We advise the High Courts not to make gen-eral observations which are not warranted in thecase. The High Courts shall refrain from makingsweeping observations which are beyond the con-tours of the controversy and/or issues before them,"the bench said.

The top court was hearing an appeal filed bythe Centre against a Delhi high court order.

Bharat Fritz Werner Limited had assailedbefore the high court, the Letter of Acceptanceissued by the Union of India in its favour in respectof the award of the tender.

The high court had declined to interfere in theproceedings and disposed of the writ petitionreserving liberty in favour of the original writ peti-tioner to raise all its pleas and claim the relief-savailable to him at this stage in an appropriatecivil proceeding. It, however, had made certainobservations against which the Centre moved thetop court for expunging those remarks.

The apex court said that the observationsmade by the High Court were absolutely unwar-ranted.

"The High Court was not deciding a PublicInterest Litigation. The High Court did not evendecide the writ petition on merits. On the contrary,in the earlier paragraph, it was observed that it hadnot gone into the merits of the writ petitioner'sclaim or the respondent's defence," the bench said.

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The Supreme Court on Thursdayadvised patience to litigants

seeking urgent listing of pleas per-taining to filling up of vacancies invarious tribunals across the coun-try.

A bench comprising ChiefJustice N V Ramana and Justices A

S Bopanna and Hima Kohli saidthat it would take up the pleas onthe issue on February 23 and hasalready asked Attorney General KK Venugopal to be ready to assist it.

"In PIL matters also, you createa great fuss. Can we call theGovernment today and send him tojail. Please have some patience, weare taking up the matter," said the

Chief Justice of India (CJI) when alawyer insisted for grant of earlyhearing of his plea.

"We are taking up the matter.Yesterday, we had called the attor-ney general and we would be tak-ing it up on February 23," the benchsaid.Few pleas pertaining to thevacancies and members of theIncome Tax Appellate Tribunal

(ITAT) were mentioned onThursday for urgent hearing.

The top court, while hearinganother case on Wednesday, ruedthe "knee jerk" actions in filling upvacant posts in tribunals, saying thebureaucracy has been taking up theissue "lightly".

The bench headed by the CJI,which has been proactively dealing

with the issue of huge vacancies invarious tribunals across the

country, had said that after afew appointments made initially,nothing substantial happened.

"We are getting (pleas for)extension of time for the membersof the NCLT (National CompanyLaw Tribunal) ...Some knee-jerkappointments took place and noth-

ing happened after that. We do notknow the fate of members and manyare retiring. Bureaucracy is taking it(the issue) lightly," the CJI observed.

Venugopal, who has beenassisting the bench in dealing withthe vacancies related matters,attempted to show the list ofvacancies and the steps taken to fillthem up.

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After registering an increase in Omicron-dri-ven coronavirus cases in the last few weeks,

India is now reporting a decline in daily infectionswith 30,757 fresh cases in the last 24 hours.However, five States Kerala (12,223), Maharashtra(2,748), Karnataka (1,894), Rajasthan (1,702) andMadhya Pradesh (1,388) are reporting dailyspikes, highest in the last 24 hours.

In terms of seven-day average spike too, Keralahas seen the highest surge followed byMaharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, MadhyaPradesh and Rajasthan. India’s Active Caseloadis presently at 3,32,918. Active cases constitute0.78% of the country's total Positive Cases whilethe weekly positive rate stands at 3.04 per cent.

Last month, several states had brought freshcurbs to check the spread of the highly infectiousOmicron variant.

However, indicating that the situation is nowmuch more relaxed in view of a decline in thecases, the central Government on Wednesday toldthe States to review the Covid-19 induced restric-tions.

“Presently, as the case trajectory across thenation is showing a sustained downward trend,it will be useful if states/UTs review and amend/doaway with the additional restrictions so imposedafter considering the trend of new cases, activecases and positivity within the state and UT,”Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan told statesand union territories in a letter.

With the administration of more than 34.75lakh Doses (34,75,951) vaccine doses in the last24 hours, India’s COVID-19 vaccination cover-age has exceeded 174.24 Cr (1,74,24,36,288) as perprovisional reports till 7 am on Thursday.

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Andaman and NicobarCommand (ANC)

conducted a joint securi-ty exercise at Port Blairairfield to test the pre-paredness of all securityagencies during variouscontingencies like terror-ist attack, hostage crisisand hijack situation at

the airfield or elsewhere.Giving details of the

drill conducted onWednesday, officials saidhere on Thursday dayand night drills were conducted at INS Utkrosh and VeerSavarkar InternationalAirport.

Quick ReactionTeams (QRTs) from the

Army, Navy and CISFwere deployed to counterportrayed terrorist threatsat various places insidethe airfield.

S i m u l t a n e o u s l y,Special Forces elementsfrom the NationalSecurity Guard(NSG),Ghatak platoons of thearmy and MarineCommandos (MARCOS)

were also mobilised forsynchronised operationalong with the QuickReaction Teams.

The Andaman andNicobar Command hasrecently promulgated aJoint Standard OperatingProcedures(SOP) forsecurity at Port BlairAirfield.

These drills were

designed to test, validateand fine tune the SOPs aswell as improve coordi-nation between all mili-tary and security agenciesat Port Blair.

The SOPs have beendeveloped to effectivelycounter any threat on thiscritical airfield were alsore-validated during thejoint exercise.

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After Singapore's Prime Minister LeeHsien Loong invoked Jawaharlal Nehru

during a speech on democracy, theCongress on Thursday said while thecountry's first premier continues to inspireworld leaders even today, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi denigrates him inside andoutside of Parliament.

"Pandit Nehru's magnanimity contin-ues to inspire world leaders even today. Pitythe ones here at home who fail to have thevision to understand the exceptional leaderhe was," the Congress said on its Twitterhandle.

Senior party leader and former Unionminister Jairam Ramesh shared a video clipof Lee Hsien Loong's speech and said,"Singapore PM invokes Nehru to argue howdemocracy should work during a parlia-mentary debate whereas our PM denigratesNehru all the time inside and outsideParliament."

Former prime minister ManmohanSingh said the BJP, despite being in powerfor more than seven years, continued toblame Nehru for the problems of the peo-ple.

The Indian Overseas Congress also saidon Twitter, "Nehru stands tall as an epito-me of democracy! Listen to PM of

Singapore who refers to Nehru when hespeaks about building a democratic soci-ety. Hope our PM listens to it." The AllIndia Mahila Congress also shared an iden-tical tweet.

Senior Congress leader and former chiefminister of Madhya Pradesh DigvijayaSingh tweeted, "This is the differencebetween Lee Hsien Loong and NarendraModi. Lee is leading Singapore to newheights of development and Modi is takingour country for a ride on false promises. Nomatter how hard Modi tries, Pt Nehru shallremain immortal, builder of Modern India."

Lee invoked Nehru while arguing howdemocracy should work in the city-stateduring a passionate debate in Parliament."Most countries are founded and start offon the basis of high ideals and noble val-ues. But more often than not, beyond thefounding leaders and the pioneer genera-tion, over decades and generations, grad-ually things change," he said on Tuesday.

"Things start off with passionate inten-sity. The leaders, who fought for and wonindependence, are often exceptional indi-viduals of great courage, immense culture,and outstanding ability. They came throughthe crucible of fire and emerged as leadersof men and nations. They are the DavidBen-Gurions, the Jawaharlal Nehrus, andwe have our own too," he said.

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Almost four months afterthe ban on the use of diesel

generator sets in the nationalCapital and surrounding areas,a sub-committee of the Centre’sair quality panel on Thursdaylifted the prohibition withimmediate effect, observingthat air quality has improved inthe last few days and is expect-ed to get better in the comingdays.

The ban on the use of dieselgenerator sets was enforced in

October last year, along withother measures to curb air pol-lution.

According to an orderissued, the sub-committee onGraded Response Action Plan(GRAP) of the Commissionfor Air Quality Management(CAQM) met on Wednesdayand reviewed the status of airquality, after which it wasdecided that the measuresunder ‘very poor’ category ofGRAP, including the ban on useof diesel generator sets inDelhi-NCR, be lifted with

immediate effect.“It was observed that the

AQI in the last 4 to 5 days hasbeen between moderate’ andpoor’ category and a meetingwas convened to review the sta-tus on February 16. As per theinputs received from the rep-resentative from IMD duringthe meeting, the air quality inDelhi is not likely to reach thevery poor category and isexpected to get better in thecoming days due to improvedmeteorological conditionsfavouring dispersion of pollu-

tants.Based on this forecast and

prediction, the sub-committeeon GRAP has decided that themeasures under the ' Very Poor’category of GRAP including theban on use of diesel generatorsets in Delhi-NCR be liftedwith immediate effect, the ordersaid. The ban on the use ofdiesel generator sets wasenforced in October 2021,along with other measures tocheck air pollution in thenational capital and surround-ing areas.

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The CBI has questioned the for-mer Chairman and ManagingDirector (CMD) of ABG

Shipyard Ltd. Rishi Agarwal in con-nection with its probe into the Rs22,848 crore alleged banking fraud, thebiggest scam ever.

Agarwal was examined recentlybut officials did not reveal the detailsof the exact date of his examination.

The CBI move comes after it reg-istered the FIR on February 7 on acomplaint filed by SBI on August 25,2020.

The CBI has issued look out cir-culars against the accused persons inthe case to prevent them from leavingthe country.

The agency has also named thethen executive director SanthanamMuthaswamy, directors AshwiniKumar, Sushil Kumar Agarwal andRavi Vimal Nevetia and another com-pany ABG International Pvt Ltd foralleged offences of criminal conspir-acy, cheating, criminal breach of trust

and abuse of official position under theIndian Penal Code (IPC) and thePrevention of Corruption Act.

After registering the FIR, theagency had conducted searches at 13locations on February 12 in which sev-eral incriminating documents includ-ing books of accounts of the accusedborrower company. The recovereddocuments are being scrutinized bythe agency.

The SBI had first filed a complainton November 8, 2019 on which theCBI had sought some clarifications onMarch 12, 2020.

The bank filed a fresh complaint

in August that year. After over one-and-a-half-years, the CBI acted on thecomplaint and filed the FIR onFebruary 7.

The case entailed scrutiny of volu-minous data and records as 28 bankswere involved and needed verificationas the company had allegedly divert-ed funds to a lot of companies whichalso required examination, officialsclaimed.

The company was sanctionedcredit facilities from 28 banks andfinancial institutions led by ICICIBank, with the SBI, having exposureof Rs 2,468.51 crore, they said.

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Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar will pay asix-day visit to Germany and France, starting

Friday.Making an announcement on the two-nation visit, the

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday thatJaishankar will participate in the Munich SecurityConference in Germany besides other engagements.

From Germany, Jashankar will travel to Francewhere he will hold bilateral talks with his French coun-terpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, MEA spokesperson ArindamBagchi said at a media briefing.

He will also attend an EU ministerial meeting on theIndo-Pacific.

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An Amritsar-bound Vistara flighthad to make a precautionary

landing at Indira GandhiInternational Airport on Thursdaymorning after it developed a techni-cal snag. There were 146 passengerson the flight when it took off fromthe Indira Gandhi InternationalAirport for Amritsar. Another air-craft was arranged to fly the passen-gers to Amritsar that took off at 1330 hours, post a technical inspec-tion.

According to Delhi police, theyreceived a call regarding the emer-gency landing at 10:15 am onThursday. The emergency wassounded at runway number 28 of ter-minal number 2. Soon after it tookoff, the pilot detected the snag andcontacted the Airport authorities.Teams of police and fire brigade offi-cials were also pressed into service.Officials of the fire department saidsix fire engines were rushed to theIGI airport after receiving the infor-mation regarding the emergencylanding.

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New Delhi: A plea has been filed in theSupreme Court seeking cancellation of bail ofaccused Ashish Mishra, the son of UnionMinister Ajay Mishra, who was arrested in con-nection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence thatkilled eight people including four farmers.

An application has been filed by advocatesShiv Kumar Tripathi and CS Panda in the suomotu case registered on a letter petition soughtsetting aside of the order dated February 10 ofthe Lucknow bench of the Allahabad HighCourt.

They also sought direction to the SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT) headed by Justice (retd)Rakesh Jain and the prosecution and UttarPradesh police as to why things are being delayedand to furnish a copy of the report comprising

the charge sheet. The plea said that bailorder has "manifest error" as the High Court hasrest its reasoning on “presumption and guess-work” using the word “might” to arrive at a con-clusion that the said crime culminated in a pos-sibility of the driver trying to speed up the vehi-cle to save himself.

“The said conclusion by the High Court jus-tice is unsustainable in law”, it said, adding thatthe reasoning of the High Court judge suffersfrom the vices of non-application of judicialmind taking recourse to assumptions withoutthe support of direct evidence. O nFebruary 10, the Lucknow bench of theAllahabad High Court had granted bail toAshish Mishra, who had been in custody for thepast four months.

Nagaon/Rangia (Assam): Two Assam BJPMLAs have filed police complaints againstTelangana Chief Minister, K ChandrasekharRao for his alleged "anti-national" remarksseeking proof of India's surgical strikeagainst militants in Pakistan, police officialssaid on Thursday.

BJP's Kamalpur MLA Diganta Kalitaand Barhampur MLA Jitu Goswami lodgedtwo identical complaints at Kamalpur andNagaon police stations on Wednesday, butno case has been registered as of now."We have received the complaint. No FIR hasbeen registered as of now," Nagaon addi-tional superintendent of police DhrubaBora told PTI. A senior officer atKamalpur police station said the police isprobing the matter and no FIR has been reg-istered yet. The two identical complaintsby the ruling party legislators in Assam saidthat the Army is a national entity withoutany political colour or allegiance to any polit-ical party. "... But the Hon'ble ChiefMinister of Telangana, Sri Rao had attackedthe sanctity of the Indian Army by addingpolitical colour to it for the purpose of hispolitical rivalry and campaign against theparty in power at Centre. "This actis purely offensive, anti-national and againstthe interest of the Nation and certainly notexpected from a person holding a very highConstitutional post," they said. Thecomplaints were referring to Rao making astatement on January 12 at Raigiri inTelangana and at a press meet on January 13questioning the surgical strike by Indian AirForce. Lending support to Congressleader Rahul Gandhi, who had demandedproof of the surgical strike, Rao said half ofthe country, including himself want toknow the "truth behind the targeted strike".

The Assam MLAs in their complaintssaid "He (Rao) through his statement passedcomments not only against the IndianArmy but also against the Government ofIndia in a very derogatory and demeaningmanner and such an act on his part is noth-ing but an act against the Government ofIndia as well as the Indian Army.

"His comment against the Indian Armyand Government of India shows disrespectagainst the sovereign institution of our coun-try and while doing so he had tacitly sup-ported the campaign and propaganda ofPakistan showing our country in a very poortaste," the complaints said.

Kalita and Goswami also alleged thatRao's comments put the Army in a "verypoor light" before not only the citizens ofIndia but also in the eyes of the world. "Hisact in questioning the action of the IndianArmy against an enemy nation is clearly prej-udicial to national integration and againstthe sovereignty of our country... Therefore,you are requested to initiate an investigationand punish the culprit as per law," they said.

PTI

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45 MBBS students of the district are stuck inUkraine. The families of the students met the

DM and the commissioner and demanded tobring back the children trapped in Ukraine.These students are studying MBBS in Ukraine.The relatives have demanded the governmentto airlift the trapped students.

Kajal Dheeraj, mother of Falguni Dheeraj(who is trapped in Ukraine) , said that three daysago, the order to leave Ukraine was given, butthe Indian Embassy did not take the situationseriously. The Indian Embassy in Ukraine didnot inform the Government of India about thisappalling situation at the right time. Due to thestudents being trapped in Ukraine, their fami-lies in Aligarh are very worried.

Falguni dheeraj told her father that we areall fine here, dont worry and just keep praying,these days shall pass soon. She further told thatseeing the situation the college administrationhas started online classes instead of offline

Shaikh Rashid, father of the student NiyamRashid, told that the air service coming fromUkraine to India is cancelled. Where it used to

cost 22 thousand rupees for air travel, now 1.5lakh to two lakh rupees are being taken. Indianstudents are upset and are tweeting and send-ing mails to the Prime Minister and theExternal Affairs Minister as well as the embassy.

He told that he has given a report addressedto the Prime Minister of the country to AligarhDistrict Magistrate Selva Kumari regarding theeducation of the students studying and especiallytheir safety. The PM has been mailed for a safeexit from Ukraine. Families living in Aligarh arein touch with their children pursuing medicaleducation in Ukraine, but may break up in theevent of a war.

Due to covid 19, there has been a greatimpact on the education of the students. At thesame time, the family is deeply pained by theIndian Embassy suddenly issuing an advisoryto Indian students to leave Ukraine on 15February on the situation of war in Ukraine. Dueto the war crisis in Ukraine, the fare for thereturn flight to Delhi/India from there is alsobeing charged from 1.5 lakh to two lakh rupeesper passenger, whereas in normal times this fareis 22-23 thousand rupees only.

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Afive-hour long political crisis inKerala, which literally held the

CPI(M) on tenterhooks, following therefusal of Governor Arif MohammedKhan to approve the policy statementof the Kerala Government for 2022-2023 subsided by late evening onThursday.

The State saw a crisis brewing up bynoon when Governor Khan refused tosign the policy declaration statementwhich he was expected to read out inthe Legislative Assembly on Fridaymorning.

Though Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan rushed to the Raj Bhavan onThursday afternoon to persuade theGovernor to sign on the dotted line, theformer’s efforts did not bear fruit. Atense looking Vijayan returned to hisoffice after an hour-long meeting withthe Governor. This was followed by VP Joy, chief secretary, calling on theGovernor and even this failed to con-vince the Governor. Sources in RajBhavan had confided to The Pioneerthat chances of the Governor signing

the statement looked bleak. It is reli-ably learnt that the Governor has toldthe Chief Minister that the practice ofproviding pension and perks to the per-sonal staff of Kerala ministers should bediscontinued at the earliest.

What upset the Governor was theannouncement by the chief ministerthat the appointment of veteran scribeHari Kartha as the former’s additionalprivate secretary was a political move.By 6.30 pm, the Kerala Governmentannounced the transfer of Jyothilal, sec-retary to the general administrationdepartment and this was followed by theGovernor signing on the policy state-ment.

The news that the Governor refusedto sign the policy statement was fol-lowed by the pro-Government mediafielding a battery of lawyers whodescribed the move by Khan as athreat to the Constitution. ButSubramanian Swamy, Rajya Sabhamember, told The Pioneer that theGovernor’s responsibility was towardsthe Constitution and not to theGovernment of Kerala. “This is aConstitutional crisis and the Union

Government has a right to declarePresident’s Rule in the State at least tem-porarily,” said Swamy.

Dr Sonia K Das, constitutionalexpert and head of the department ofConstitutional Studies, GovernmentLaw College, Thrissur, described thesituation as rare and the first of its kindin the history of the State.

The fourth session of the 15thKerala Legislative Assembly will com-mence on Friday with the customaryaddress of the Governor. The mainagenda of the session that concludes onMarch 23 would be the presentation ofthe 2022-23 Budget by finance minis-ter K N Balagopalan.

The 30-days long meeting is certainto generate fireworks and tense situa-tions between the ruling LDF and theOpposition UDF as there are no dearthof controversies haunting the StateGovernment. Even as this report isbeing filed a scam has broken out inKerala State Electricity Board with BAshok, the chairman of the boardhimself coming out in the open alleg-ing irregularities worth crores of rupees.

A five acre plot of prime property

owned by the Board has been handedover to a CPI(M) owned private bankon a platter following the interventionof trade union leaders owing alle-giance to the ruling party, said a socialmedia post by Ashok, an IAS officer,who is being kicked around like a foot-ball from one post to another at theinstance of party bosses.

The face off-between Governorand Chief Minister has reached alarm-ing heights. “The Governor’s reluctanceto sign on the dotted line in the ordi-nance that literally crippled the powersof the Lok Ayukta and his charge thatthere has been an erosion in standardof the State’s institutes of higher learn-ing due to political intervention areissues which would rob most of the timein this session,” a senior Congressleader told The Pioneer.

He said the agitation against theSilver Line, the semi high speed railtrack between Kasaragod andThiruvananthapuram, is getting loud-er and louder as those who face dis-placement from their houses havejoined hands with the environmental-ists and ecologists in opposing the same.

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Amid growing differencesbetween Nabanna (State

secretariat) and Raj Bhavan,Bengal Governor JagdeepDhankhar has asked ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee tomeet him at the Governor'sHouse and share informationwith him on a number ofissues to avoid constitutionalcrisis.

The Governor in hisFebruary 15 letter written tothe Chief Minister refered tohis earlier queries on a numberof issues that had not beenreplied.

"Hon'ble CM MamataBanerjee has been urged tomake it convenient for aninteraction at Raj Bhavan any-time during the week ahead aslack of response to issuesflagged has potential to lead toconstitutional stalemate whichwe both are ordained by ouroath to avert," the Governorwrote in a twitter.

With Raj Bhavan andNabanna at loggerheads eversince the Governor joinedoffice in 2019 the two leadershave fought several letter warsand often attacked each otherin public.

So much so that the ChiefMinister recently comparedher to a horse and even blockedhim on the Twitter.

"Impressed upon Hon'bleCM Mamata Banerjee that'Dialogue, discussion and delib-eration, particularly amongstconstitutional functionaries,

like the Chief Minister and theGovernor, are quintessentialto democracy and inseparablepart of constitutional gover-nance'," he said in a series oftweets on Thursday even as hereminded him of his constitu-tional duties according toArticle 167. Alleging that theChief Minister had been ignor-ing his letters, the Governorwrote, "here has been noresponse, now for long, toissues legitimately flagged."

The Trinamool Congressimmediately responded won-

dering whether the Governorwas a zamindar.

"Is he a zamindar that hewill every now and then sendsentries or messengers... Andeven if he writes letters now letthe Chief Minister respond ...Why would he tweet officialthings," sais TrinamoolCongress spokesperson KunalGhosh.

The Governor had on sev-eral occasions summoned topbureaucrats but .uch to theanger of him the officers oftenrefused to respond.

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The fourth session of the 15th KeralaLegislative Assembly will commence on

Friday with the customary address ofGovernor Arif Mohammed Khan. Themain agenda of the session that concludeson March 23 would be the presentation ofthe 2022-23 Budget by Finance Minister KN Balagopalan.

The 30-days long meeting is certain togenerate fireworks and tense situationsbetween the ruling Left Democratic Frontand the Opposition United DemocraticFront as there are no dearth of controver-sies haunting the State Government.

Even as this report is being filed a scamhas broken out in Kerala State ElectricityBoard with B Ashok, the chairman of theboard himself coming out in the open alleg-ing irregularities worth crores of rupees.

A five acre plot of prime propertyowned by the Board has been handed overto a CPI(M) owned private bank on a plat-ter following the intervention of trade unionleaders owing allegiance to the rulingparty, said a social media post by Ashok, anIAS officer, who is being kicked around likea football from one post to another at the

instance of party bosses.The face off-between Governor Arif

Mohammed Khan and Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan has reached alarmingheights.

“The Governor’s reluctance to sign onthe dotted line in the ordinance that liter-ally crippled the powers of the Lok Ayuktaand the degradation of the State’s institutesof higher learning due to political inter-vention are issues which would rob mostof the time in this session,” a seniorCongress leader told The Pioneer.

He said the agitation against the SilverLine, the semi high speed rail track betweenKasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram, isgetting louder and louder as those who facedisplacement from their houses have joinedhands with the environmentalists andecologists in opposing the same.

The scam over the appointment ofwives, sisters and in-laws of MLAs, MPSand party’s top leaders is another issuewhich is likely to put the administration indilemma. “These are just tips of the icebergs. We will come to the House with morestartling disclosures once the session com-mences,” V D Satheeshan, leader of theopposition told the media on Thursday.

The Governor’s speech, which is pre-pared by the Chief Minister’s Office wouldbe full of anti-Centre rhetoric, said aCPI(M) leaders. “Communalism practicedby the BJP and Narendra Modi are dan-gerous to the country and we will play amajor role in getting rid of the BJPGovernment in the 2024 Lok Sabha elec-tion,” party’s senior leader S R Pillai saidwhile addressing a public meeting atAlappuzha.

The law and order situation in the Statehas jolted the population. On Sunday, thehouse of a bridegroom in Kannur districtsaw one of the guests meeting with grue-some death in a bomb blast.

Though three persons have been arrest-ed in connection with the incident, peopleare yet to get over the shock.

The death of two young models inKochi and the arrest of drug traffickers ona daily basis indicate the failure of the polic-ing system in Kerala. “I know that manyundesirable elements have infiltrated intothe police force. We will get them weededout at the eartliest,” said Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan while addressing theCPI(M) meeting at Alappuzha onWednesday.

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Bollywood personalities, his fans andwell-wishers turned out in large

numbers to bid an emotional adieu to‘Disco King’ and “Chalte Chalte, MereYe Geet Yaad Rakhna Kabhi Alvida NaKahna” fame Bappi Lahiri on Thursday,as his musician-son Bappa performedhis last rites at the Pawan Hans crema-torium at Vile Parle in north-westMumbai.

Bappa, who returned to Mumbaialong with his wife from Los Angelesin the early hours of Thursday to bewith his family in their hour of grief, litthe funeral pyre. Bappa broke down ashe performed the last rites of his fatherin the presence of his other family mem-bers. The priests consoled the weepingBappa.

Earlier, the mortal remains of Bappiwere taken in a procession from hisJuhu bungalow in a flower-bedeckedopen truck with a huge hoarding of hisphotograph showing him sporting thetrademark gold chains and jewellery, tothe nearby Pawan Hans crematorium.

Bappi’s son Bappa and daughterRema and other family members wereseen weeping inconsolably, as the bodyof the iconic music composer andsinger was placed on the open truck,which made its way slowly from Juhuto the crematorium at Vile Parle.

Several Bollywood personalities,including Alka Yagnik, Shaan, VidyaBalan, Ila Arun, Bhushan Kumar, MikaSingh, Shaan, Kumar Sanu, Shakti

Kapoor and Rupa Ganguly attended thefuneral.

Many other Bollywood personali-ties, Amitabh Bachchan, Asha Bhosale,Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, AamirKhan, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar,Kajol, Rani Mukherjee, Shabana Azmi,Rakesh Roshan, Boney Kapoor, AnilKapoor, Nusshratt Bharucha, AnupamKher, Riteish Deshmukh, Dharmendra,Sunny Deol, Ashoke Pandit, HansalMehta, Poonam Dhillon and JacquelineFernandez either visited Bappi’s bun-galow or attended the funeral to paytheir respects to renowned music com-poser and singer.

A maternal uncle of late legendarysinger Kishore Kumar, Bappi Lahiriruled the hearts of filmgoers in the sev-enties, eighties and early ninetiesthrough his compositions from filmslike Disco Dancer, Naya Kadam,Aangan Ki Kali Hathkadi, NamakHalaal, Masterji, Dance Dance,Himmatwala, Justice Chaudhury, Tohfa,Maqsad, Commando, Naukar Biwi Ka,Adhikar and Sharaabi,

“I Am A Disco Dancer,” “JimmyJimmy Jimmy Aaja”, “Auva Auva KoiYahan Nache,” “Ramba Ho” “Yaar BinaChain Kahaan Re” , “Raat Baki”, BambaiSe Aaya Mera Dost, Naino Main Sapna,TaakiTaaki, “Chalte Chalte, Mere YeGeet Yaad Rakhna Kabhi Alvida NaKahna Kabhi Alvida Na Kahna”, “IntehaHo Gayee”, “Pag Ghungroo Bandh” and“Thodi Si Jo Pee Li” are still fondlyremembered by the film buffs across thecountry.

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The country’s first of its kind full-fledgedwater transportation system became a

reality on Thursday, as Union Ports,Shipping and Waterways and AYUSHMinister Sarbananda Sonowal andMaharashtra chief minister UddhavThackeray jointly inaugurated the much-awaited “water taxi” service linkingMumbai coast with mainland at NaviMumbai and other locations.

For the first time, the water taxi con-nects the twin cities of Mumbai and NaviMumbai by way of fast and reliable com-muting service. It connects south Mumbaiwith the nearby locations like Nerul,Belapur, Elephanta Island and JawaharlalNehru Port.

Apart from providing an alternativemode of transportation for Mumbaikars andthose living in the satellite towns of themetropolis, the water taxi service gives thecomfort and pleasure of water journey forthe users. The commuters will save on timeand stress caused by road congestion. Thewater-taxi also promotes eco-friendly trans-port.

While Sonowal participated in thewater-taxi inaugural function throughvideo-conferencing, the chief ministerinaugurated the Belapur Jetty at the samefunction. The Belapur Jetty has been devel-oped under the Sagarmala Programme ata project cost of Rs 8.37 crore with equalfunding by the Government of India andthe Maharashtra state government.

Expressing gratitude to the Centre forprioritising the country’s first Water Taxihere, Uddhav said that the new servicewould will go a long way in improving con-

nectivity with Mumbai along with the net-work of roads, flyovers, subways, theupcoming Mumbai Trans Harbour Linkand other mega-infrastructureprojects.

“The country’s first railway was start-ed by the British between Mumbai-Thaneand quickly spread all over India… The cityalways sets a trend that is emulated by therest of the country, after Chhatrapati ShivajiMaharaj ruled over the seas,” saidThackeray.

The new Water Taxi will not only ben-efit the people travel quickly – from the pre-sent 90-100 minutes by road to barely 40-45 minutes by the sea – but also give a fil-lip to tourist places like Elephanta Island,Kanhoji Angre Isle and other places on themainland in the Konkan besides spurringthe local economy as more routes will beadded in the near future.

Speaking on the occasion, Sonowal said:"Today is an important day for all of us, par-ticularly for the state of Maharashtra. Withthe support of the people of Maharashtra,we could complete the construction ofBelapur Jetty. For this, I express my deepregards to the people and Government ofMaharashtra".

"Through Sagarmala, Navi Mumbai isgetting a state-of-the-art jetty at Belapur,”the minister said. This project implement-ed by the Maharashtra Maritime Board hasbeen completed timely despite constraintsof COVID-19.

Sonowal said that the water taxi servicesbetween Belapur Jetty and domestic CruiseTerminal at Mumbai Port would reducetravel time between Navi Mumbai andSouth Mumbai from around 1.5 hours toless than 30 minutes.

“This service will ease road traffic con-gestion and also encourage use of MumbaiHarbour for transportation. Additionaljetties for water taxi and Ro-Pax ferries willbe started depending on response to watertaxi service,” the minister said.

The minister said that many more jet-ties are being planned along MumbaiHarbour for both catamaran and Ro-Paxservices.

"The existing Ro-Pax service fromMumbai to Alibag is already providing ahuge respite for travellers". ROPAX move-ment between Mumbai Ferry Wharf andMandwa has resulted in a positive impactwith a reduction in travel time for passen-gers, quick and agile loading and unload-ing process of vehicles,” he said.

Sonowal said that many projects underthe Sagarmala Project, including passengerjetties, coastal infrastructure development,skill development, Ro-Ro service etc. werebeing implemented in Maharashtra. " Asmany as 131 projects worth Rs 1.05 lakhcrores have been identified for implemen-tation in Maharashtra, by central & stateagencies,” he stated.

Out of these 131 projects, 46 projectsworth Rs. 2,078 crores are financially sup-ported under the Sagarmala programme ofthe Government of India, the ministeradded.

Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister AjitPawar, Urban Development MinisterEknath Shinde, Ports Minister AslamShaikh, MoS Ports Abdul Sattar, MumbaiPort Trust Chairman Rajiv Jalota,Maharashtra Maritime Board CEO AmitSaini and Thane Collector Rajesh Narvekarwere among those present at the water Taxi-Belapiur Jetty inaugural function.

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Within days after its workers tookout a morcha to the official res-

idence of the house of leader of theOpposition Devendra Fadnavis of theBJP at Malabar Hill in south Mumbai,the Maharashtra Congress said onThursday that its workers would writethousands of letters to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to demand the latter’sapology for accusing the people ofCovid-19 in northern parts of the coun-try.

The State Congress, which has beenprotesting ever since Modi had-- in hisspeech made in Lok Sabha on February7 – charged that the Maharashtra gov-ernment had contributed to the spreadof Covid-19 infection during wave peri-od –reiterated that the Prime ministerhad “insulted” the people ofMaharashtra by calling them the“spreaders” of the Covid-19 in north-ern states of the country.

Talking to media persons at theGandhi Bhavan, Maharashtra CongressPresident Nana Patole said that his partywould launch the next phase of its agi-tation to demand the Prime Ministerfor "insulting" people of the statethrough "false" accusations made in LokSabha. “As part of that agitation, ourparty workers will send thousands ofletters to Modi through Leader of theOpposition in the state DevendraFadnavis, asking him to apologise toMaharashtra on Shiv Jayanti Day,”Patole said.

Patole said that the BJP governmentat the Centre had imposed a suddenlockdown during the Covid pandem-ic. “The central government did nothelp the people in this difficult time butthe Congress party and theMaharashtra government helped mil-lions of people who were stranded dueto the sudden shutdown in the coun-try. The Congress has always been at theforefront to help people in distress. The

Prime Minister has insultedMaharashtra by accusing the state ofspreading Covid19 while we werehelping lakhs of people as part of oursocial commitment,” he said.

Patole said that the MaharashtraCongress has been holding agitationsin front of the houses of BJP UnionMinisters and MPs in the state, todemand the Prime Minister's apologyfor “insulting” the people ofMaharashtra. “In the second phase ofthis agitation, letters will be sent ask-ing the Prime Minister to apologize tothe people of this state on the auspiciousoccasion of Shiv Jayanti,” he said. It maybe recalled that heavy traffic congestionwas witnessed in south Mumbai onFebruary 14, as the Congress took outa morcha to the official residence of thehouse of leader of the OppositionDevendra Fadnavis of the BJP atMalabar Hill. Thousands of Congressworkers had turned out for the morchafrom different parts of

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by the high church of realpoli-tik ie, China, and an amoral-ly flexible Russia? There is afterall a significant backlog of dis-trust besetting the two author-itarian States, even if routine-ly played down, such as China’sexpansionist ‘nine-dash-line’formula does encroach Russia’sclaim in the ExclusiveEconomic Zone (EEZ) in theArctic, it subsumes Russianconglomerate Rosneft’s posi-tion in Vietnam.

The global chessboard ofgeopolitics is not a perfectlyaligned circuit of sovereignwirings that disallows any‘short-circuiting’ — on thecontrary, it is rife with contra-dictions, issue-based cross-purposes and theatre-specificagendas that often generateasymmetric perceptions, ifdeciphered literally. Turkey asa member of Nato with a USnuclear base on its soil, hasdefiantly purchased Russian S-400 missile systems (as hasIndia) — this is not to suggestthe implosion of Nato or thatTurkey joins the Russian blocin entirety, but a manipulativebargain that is driven by itsinternal politics and unre-solved bilateral/regional/reli-gious issues.

The Sanskrit treatise onstatecraft, Arthashastra, posit-ing, ‘The enemy of my enemy

is a friend’, is more likely thannot the dynamic at play toexplain the Russian-Chinesebonhomie. This timeless wis-dom platformed the uneasyand unnatural alliance of thewestern powers and Stalin’sUSSR against Nazi Germanyin WW2. Post the war, theUSSR and China aided NorthKorea during the Korean War,similarly the Soviet support toa staunchly anti-CommunistGamal Abdul Naseer regime inEgypt to tactically diminish therole of US was symptomatic ofthis counter-intuitive phenom-enon. Even CommunistChina’s ‘all-weather friend-ship’ with the Islamic Republicof Pakistan may be founda-tionally flawed but is situation-ally tenable in terms ofrealpolitik pay-off.

The Indian concern needsto be viewed from that lens.For the Chinese, the Ukraineexercise could well be the dryrun to test its own futurehand in Taiwan to determinethe extent of any fallout.Conversely, the Ukrainiandrama (following the UShumiliation in Afghanistanand the status quo in theMiddle Eastern swathes) is alsoreflective of the demise ofclassical hegemony, bipolarismor even tripolarism — thegeopolitics will move towards

‘circumstantial polarity’ thatwill be dynamic, situationaland forever agitated.

For its part, with historical-ly privileged Indo-Russian rela-tions, Delhi did wise to spoutplatitudinous neutrality. Thecalibrated balance sought in itsstatement that the ‘issue canonly be resolved through diplo-matic dialogue’, allowed Delhito offend none. However, the‘Free World’ should rethinkand introspect its own futureresponses to crises like Ukraineor Taiwan (even the ensuingtension on LAC), given the dis-united, dilly-dallying andunimpactful responses of the‘Free World’ initiatives. ForDelhi specifically, times aheadwill necessitate fleet-footeddiplomacy, pragmatism andprofessionalism in diplomacythat does rely on personalisedequations, preferences or evennegative perceptions borne ofIndia’s ‘internal politics’ thatinvariably alienates as opposedto wins over its neighbour-hood. Ukraine has been a trialballoon for geopolitics, andDelhi needs to make copiousnotes and derive its ownlessons.

(The writer, a military vet-eran, is a former Lt Governorof Andaman & Nicobar Islandsand Puducherry. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

�� Sir — When we open newspapers, we findpages filled with notices of auction ofproperties of borrowers who have failedto settle their outstanding loan. Most ofsuch notices relate to housing loansavailed by salaried class / middle incomeborrowers most of whom have lost theirjobs due to the pandemic or the econom-ic havoc created by the wrong policies ofthe ruling dispensation. We generally findthe outstanding dues to be in few lakhsof rupees. In this background, one real-ly wonders why this type of practice hasnot been done in the case of big borrow-ers with thousands of crores of rupees out-standing who have cheated banks and fledthe country?

Have we ever seen any such noticeagainst Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi or AnilChokshi? Why they were not put to shameby the same banks that are now publish-ing the names of the small borrowers andhumiliating them? The latest scam to sur-face is the �22,842 crore fraud by theGujarat based ABG Shipyard Limited andtheir associate companies. Such a hugescam would have never happened with-out the tacit support the firm would havereceived from the powers that be. Is it acoincidence that this fraudulent scamsteris also from Gujarat, like most other NPAaccount holders in various banks?

Tharcius S Fernando | Chennai

�� Sir — In reality, the Congress is the BJP’sB team with Rahul Gandhi playing tablato Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s musicmost of the time. There have been a hugenumber of issues since 2014 when Modicame to power for the Congress andOpposition parties to take advantage ofand nucleate populist movements tobring down the BJP Government. But theCongress party, then led by Rahul Gandhi,has failed to capitalise on these opportu-nities. There seems to be a certainamount of diffidence in any action initi-ated by the Gandhi family.

Due to this, the Congress missed thechances to bring down the BJPGovernment led by Modi due to demon-

etisation, the CAA issue, GST, the farm-ers’ agitation, the pandemic managementetc. These issues had caused untold mis-ery to the people and resulted in loss oflives. Those that remain with the partynow are either lightweights on the polit-ical scene or those that feel that they haveprotection from Modi’s enforcementagencies if they are associated with theCongress party. Why continue the pain?Might as well wind down.

Nitesh Mandwariya | Neemuch

��Sir — It has been reported that Belgiumhas introduced a four-day work weekand the Government has allowed theemployees to choose if they want it.Employers are empowered to reject therequest for the four-day week but theywill be required to justify their reason-ing in writing. The employees are sup-posed to work 38 hours in the fourworking days. It means the workinghours of an employee are 9.5 hours per

day. This law will apply to all theemployers with more than 20 staffmembers. The employees have beengiven the liberty of ignoring the work-related messages from bosses afterworking hours.

Workers will also be able to requestvariable work schedules. According toBelgian Labour Minister Pierre-YvesDermagne, the four-day working weekhas been introduced to enable peoplewho wish to spend more time with theirchildren. He is of the view that this sys-tem is helpful to divorced or separatedparents who share custody of theirchildren. Employees would be able to askfor a four-day workweek for a period ofsix months. After that, the employees goback to the system of five-day week. TheIndian Government also needs to con-sider this point.

KV Seetharamaiah | Bengaluru

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February 16 was the much-bandied date of Russianinvasion into Ukraine,and as the hair-triggering

day passed without an attack bythe estimated 1,30,000 Russiantroops and weaponry amassed onthe border, the world heaved acollective sigh of relief.Temporarily at least, optics of de-escalation, pullback and freneticengagement ensued — irrespec-tive of the future, Round-1 wentto Russia, which achieved itsimmediate tactical goal withoutfiring a single shot. The sure andbloody price of ever attemptingto assert its popular will by theUkrainians was conveyed in nouncertain terms by VladimirPutin. This dangerous (thoughcalculated) gambit by Putin hadone significant accomplice on hisside ie, co-authoritarian China.Both these Cold War warriorsshare a common threat of encir-clement by the US-led ‘FreeWorld’, as indeed perceived effortsto undermine sovereign capabil-ity, trade, technology, and possi-ble regime change by colour rev-olutions. The precursor to thepressure on Ukraine was thejoint statement by Vladimir Putinand Xi Jinping who defined theirmutual relations as “superior topolitical and military alliances ofthe Cold War era” and had telling-ly noted that there were “no lim-its, there are no forbidden areasof cooperation” between the two.

A few weeks earlier, thisRussian-Chinese jointsmanshipwas clearly visible in the brutalmuzzling of dissent inKazakhstan. Amidst this back-drop, pertinent concerns aboutthe nature and resilience ofRussian-Chinese relationship,and its augury for India, persist.With violently wounded Indo-Sino Line of Actual Control andcontinuing tensions — what doesit imply for the Russian positionon the Indo-Sino freeze and apossible flare-up? Does Putin takehis war on the US to the Indiandimension (Delhi is a strategically and ‘pivot’ for the US in theregion)? After all, the RussianForeign Minister on a visit toDelhi had called the QUAD(Quadrilateral agreementbetween US, Japan, Australiaand India), the Asian Nato! Or isit just the circumstantial dalliance

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The Union Budget 2022 has amplyindicated that for convertingIndia into a knowledge societysome drastic changes and steps

are required earnestly so that the mandateof National Education Policy - 2022 canbe achieved in its word and spirit. Sincethe NEP which is a very ambitious poli-cy is likely to be initiated from 2022-23session therefore, all higher educationinstitutions are gearing up for this throughvarious steps. The initiatives highlightedin the union budget 2022 are aimed basi-cally to bridge the existing gaps betweenthe rural and urban sector's educationalsystems as well as to promote inclusiveuniversalization of education across allsegments of society so that the goal ofaccess and equity of NEP could be accom-plished.

It is well known that the education sec-tor bore a very big and adverse burnt ofCovid-19 pandemic from primary tohigher educational levels due to the clo-sure of schools and institutions of high-er learning and teaching from March 2020to till present depending on the ferocityof the waves of pandemic. However,despite the severity of the pandemic thechildren especially in the urban areascould make up for some of the education-al loss through their access and relative-ly good connectivity to digital technolo-gy. But the children of rural areas prin-cipally, belonging to scheduled castes,scheduled tribes, and other weaker sec-tions of societies suffered most due to theloss of two precious years of their school-ing and opportunities of socialization onaccount of their poor access to digital tech-nology or smart phones and poor inter-net connectivity. Therefore, some stepshave been announced in the union bud-get 2022 to bring such left out studentsinto the mainstream of education. Theproposed enhancement of educative TVchannels from 12 to 200 covering allIndian languages through One Class OneTV channel programme of PM E Vidyascheme in the union budget 2022 is aimedto fill up this gap between teaching andlearning created by Covid-19 pandemic.This is also aimed to build up a resilientand easily approachable mechanism forimparting education to all from class 1 to12 through their mother tongue or theirown language and achieve the objectiveof belongingness through teaching andlearning in mother tongue.

To fulfil the goal of promoting criti-cal thinking skills, productivity, creativi-ty and digital footsteps in education, theprovision of 750 virtual labs for sciencesubjects and mathematics and 75 skill labsis also an appreciable step. This is quiteimportant in an era of pandemic where-in we have many examples of such math-ematical modelling which helped theadministrators and policy makers or vac-cinators to assess the onset, spread andpeak of the variants of corona virus andget prepared for such eventuality. This can

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be easily justified as a large num-ber of vaccinated populations inIndia helped not only to limit theeffect of the third wave of the pan-demic by reducing the number ofhospitalization or very serious ail-ments but also to enhance the vac-cine coverage and preparedness ina fast speed as per the findings ofthe mathematical models.Although it is true that the virtu-al labs will not compensate theexperience of working in actual orphysical laboratories and experi-menting with real laboratory equip-ment but at least it will provide amuch-needed exposure to themtowards the nature, space, equip-ment and their use in the labora-tory through digital teachers andthus help the students to not to loseinterest in the science subjects. Thedigital teacher's role is likely tobecome very important and willincrease tremendously in this sys-tem as the e content which will bedeveloped in all languages will bedelivered through all digital modesand means by such teachers.

The initiation of digital univer-sity will further increase the reachand access of the students towardsthe world class e contents with aclick of mouse. The heightened useof digital system and technology forskill enhancement as well as forlivelihood generation is aimed forempowering the citizens by mak-ing them economically indepen-dent. These schemes also indicateambitions of the governmenttowards building empowered citi-

zens and students through impart-ing various skills, reskilling oftheir acquired skills or upskillingas per their orientation and apti-tude through digital modes andmethods. Since education is alwaysconsidered an agent of transforma-tion and emancipation of the soci-eties and its inhabitants, therefore,such interventions are desirable ina knowledge society which is pro-gressing to become highly global ina fast paced socio-political, cultur-al, educational and economicmilieu.

The initiation of courses in cer-tain science subjects and openingof their campuses by foreign uni-versities is also targeted towards thegoal of making global citizens in acompetitive education system.Promotion of startups for develop-ing Drone Shakti in select IITs isalso very ambitious as drones arebeing seen as a best tool and tech-nique to save money, improvesafety, and enhance the efficiencyof various operations. The use ofDrones has now become verycommon in sectors like agriculture,farming, land scape planning,topography, photography, manu-facturing, ariel surveillance, natur-al disasters, emergency responseand rescue, shipping and delivery,weather forecast, wildlife monitor-ing, remote sensing, exploring sitesor under water for energy possibil-ities, defence sector or bordermanagement etc. Such start-upswith so many possibilities forfuture with skilled human power

will bring changes in the workingand mind set of all stakeholdersand lead towards a new Indiaarmed with knowledge, requiredskills, technological know-howand forward-looking approach.The stress on opening more agri-culture universities, upgrading thepresent universities and educa-tion according to the changingcharacter of agriculture, promotingorganic farming are also some ofthe initiatives indicated in thebudget which are directly related toemployment and livelihood gener-ation for modern India through itsown strengths.

It also indicates that to make anew India effort in all directionsparticularly education is requiredto generate a pool of peopleequipped with appropriate skills totread in a challenging world, butthe success of these efforts willdepend in its effective implemen-tation. The goals of going digital arenovel but much will depend on thequality and speed of internet con-nectivity, excellence of trainers,their skills, mindset and will powerto take the challenge of making anew India with grit and courage.The digital platform is ideal for apandemic situation to make up forloss in education and therefore, itshould be fully strengthened butkept in standby mode so that in anysituation the education can beswitched over from in-person todigital mode. This is important toretain the natural connect betweenthe student and teacher.

(The writer is Vice-Chancellor, HNB Garhwal

University, Srinagar,Garhwal, Uttarakhand.The views expressed are

personal.)

Two years into the pan-demic, nations acrossthe globe are still strug-

gling to cope with the profoundchallenges that coronavirusposes. Israel is proud to be oneof the countries on the frontlines of responding to thisunprecedented public healthcrisis.

Israel's unique ability todeal with emergency situa-tions, improvise, and respondquicklyand flexibly have allfactored into its success incoping with the pandemic.With its rapid vaccine rolloutlast year - Israel was widelypraised fordelivering theworld's fastestvaccination cam-paign in the first half of 2021- and as the first country to givea booster shot to the generalpublic, Israel has importantlessons to share. It makes sense,

therefore, that the world looksto Israel as a go-to expert onhow to manage the pandemic.Moreover, there is a core Jewishvalue that teaches us that wemust help the needy during dif-ficult times, as well as those inneed of medical care.

Israel has been heavilyinvolved on the internationalcoronavirus diplomacy scene,collaborating and exchanginginformation with countriesaround the world. The Ministryof Foreign Affairs has been atthe forefront of this effort,leading the push to donatemasks, respirators, and otheressential medical equipment tocountless countries. WhenIndia was being ravaged by asevere wave of coronavirus inApril of last year, Israel sentplaneloadsof respirators andmedical aid. To Romania we

sent a team of five of our topmedical experts to share Israel'sexperienceincoping with sim-ilar such crises it had experi-enced in its hospitals. In Ghana,the Israeli embassy mobilizedto produce and distributemasks.At the initiative ofForeign Minister Yair Lapid,Israel has also committedtodonate over a million vaccinedoses to African nations.

Mashav - the IsraeliForeign Ministry'sagencyforinternational cooperation -

also has several aid and coop-eration campaigns currentlyactivearound the world. It iscurrently in the midst of its"Better Together" initiative,which has seen assistance pack-agescontaininghundreds ofkilos worth of PPE gear,syringes, medications, andmore sent to medical staff in 52countries across the globe.Mashav has also brought med-ical staffand administratorsfrom Tanzania, Rwanda,Guatemala, andmany othersto Israel for world-class semi-nars and lectures.Israel's not-for-profit sector hassimilarlymobilized to assist the interna-tional community. IsraAID,one of Israel's leading NGOs,just finished a six-month pro-ject in Eswatini, where anIsraeli team set up and man-aged an operations centre for

distributing vaccines, trainingmedical staff, and more.

Exchanging information isalsokey to managing the pan-demic, and the informationthat Israel has shared on its vac-cine campaign and boostershots has undoubtedly savedlives. Dr. Anthony Fauci, chiefmedical adviser to the US gov-ernment, praised Israel's vac-cine rollout and named Israelas the leading example of"whereyou should want to be"on coronavirus vaccines, andoften "refers people to how suc-cessful the Israelis have been ingetting virtually every agegroup boostered". Senior IsraeliHealth Ministry officials haveplayed a key role in the effortto exchange information, andto this end, the Ministries ofHealth and Foreign Affairshave held joint discussions

with Germany, South Korea,and the United onIsrael'sinsights and best practises onthe latest outbreak, including itsexperience with administer-ing the vaccine boosters.

Israel's innovative digitalhealthcareand telehealth sys-temshave alsoserved as anexample for others to lookto.Israel has been widely cred-ited with revolutionising theway the world thinks abouthealth, and has positioned itselfat the forefront of the effort tocreate a data-centric system ofmedicine. In fact, the Israelinational healthcare system'sal-ready-sophisticated level ofdigitizationwas one aspect thathelped makethe country'sambitious vaccination drive sosuccessful.Moreover, the adventof Covid-19 brought the topicof telemedicine to the fore of

the global tech discourse, andIsrael made it a priority to bea leader in this field. HealthIL- a joint venture of the IsraeliMinistry of Economy, DigitalIsrael Bureau, and the IsraelInnovation Institute - seeks toimprove healthcare by sup-porting innovation in the field,bridging the gap between thetech community and the pub-lic health sector.

Israel is eager to join handswith the international commu-nity in order to effectivelyaddress this current globalchallenge, as well as the ones tocome. It is Israel's hope thatOmicron will be the last of thepandemic, and weare lookingforward to continuing to shareour insights and experienceswith the world in all spheres ofcrisis management and publichealth.

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(Ambassador Daniel Meron isCovid-19 Project Manager,Ministry of Foreign Affairs,Israel. The views expressed

are personal.)

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ARussian invasion of Ukraine can hap-pen anytime now, the White House

said Wednesday as President Joe Bidenannounced plans to dispatch VicePresident Kamala Harris and Secretary ofState Tony Blinken to attend the Munichconference to meet world leaders and unitethem against Moscow.

White House Press Secretary JenPsaki anticipated that an attack could takeplace at any time.

"We are in the window where webelieve an attack could come at any time,and that would be preceded by a fabricat-ed pretext that the Russians use as anexcuse to launch an invasion," Psaki toldreporters at her daily news conference.

"We have talked about this a bit here,we've seen these tactics used in the past.Those could include but not be limited tothe report you just referenced, claims ofprovocation in Donbass, false state mediareports, which I think you should all,everybody should keep their eyes open andbe aware of potentially fake videos andaccusations about chemical weapons oraccounts of attacks on Russian soldiers thathave not actually occurred," she said.

In response to a question, Psaki toldthe reporters that there could be a rangeof false flags and pretexts that would pro-ceed to an invasion. "And again, weremain in that window."

Both Harris and Blinken are now fly-ing to Germany to attend the Munich secu-rity conference from February 18 to 20.

"She will build on the President's andthe national security team's intensiveengagement with European allies andpartners and continue to emphasize withour partners our ironclad commitment toour NATO allies, underscore our com-mitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and ter-ritorial integrity, and reaffirm our sharedinterest in upholding the principles thathave underpinned European peace andsecurity," Psaki said.

"She'll be participating in the formalprogramme of the conference as well asengaging with allies and partners andmeeting with leaders on the margins," thepress secretary said.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied ithas plans to attack Ukraine but demand-ed that NATO never admit Ukraine and

other ex-Soviet nations as members andthe military alliance roll back troopdeployments in former Soviet bloc nations.

"What the President expects, heexpects and knows, given she is the firstin the room and the last in the room, thatshe will continue to convey to the rest ofthe world, again, our ironclad commitmentto our NATO allies, our commitment todefending the territorial integrity and sov-ereignty of Ukraine, and our commitmentto putting in place severe economic con-sequences should Russia invade," shesaid.

Earlier in the day, Secretary of StateBlinken said the Russian troops remainmassed in a very threatening way at theborder. Of course, the door continues tobe open to diplomacy, Psaki said.

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Ukrainians defied pressurefrom Moscow with a

national show of flag-wavingunity Wednesday, while the USwarned that Russia had addedas many as 7,000 troops nearUkraine's borders despiteKremlin declarations thatforces were being pulled backfrom the region.

While a feared Russianinvasion of Ukraine did notmaterialize as feared, theUnited States and its alliesmaintained that the threat isstill strong, with Europe's secu-rity and economic stability inthe balance.

Russia has massed morethan 150,000 troops east, northand south of Ukraine, accord-ing to Western estimates.Russian President VladimirPutin has signaled that hewants a peaceful path out of thecrisis, and US President JoeBiden promised that the USwould continue to give diplo-macy "every chance," but hestruck a sceptical tone aboutMoscow's intentions.

Biden also insisted thatWashington and its allies wouldnot "sacrifice basic principles"respecting Ukraine sovereign-ty.

Russian Defence Ministryvideo showed a trainload ofarmoured vehicles movingacross a bridge away fromCrimea, the Black Sea penin-sula that Russia annexed fromUkraine in 2014. It alsoannounced that more tankunits were being loaded ontrains to move back to theirpermanent bases after trainingexercises.

But at the same time,Russia continued war gamesnear Ukraine's borders andacross its vast territory.

A senior US administra-tion official said the Westdetected that Russia hadincreased its force nearUkraine by 7,000 troops, withsome arriving as recently asWednesday, and that therehad been a marked increase infalse claims by Russians thatthe Kremlin might use aspretext for an invasion.

The official said thoseclaims included reports ofunmarked graves of civiliansallegedly killed by Ukrainianforces, statements that the USand Ukraine are developingbiological or chemicalweapons, and claims that theWest is funnelling in guerrillasto kill Ukrainians.

Kyiv: NATO allies accusedRussia of misleading the worldby saying it was returningsome troops to bases, reportingthat Moscow has instead addedas many as 7,000 more forcesnear its tense border withUkraine.

The alliance warnedThursday that the buildup hasonly strengthened its resolve.

After a handful of positivesignals from Russia that easedtensions earlier in the week, thependulm appeared to be swing-ing in the opposite directionagain.

The NATO chief welcomedKremlin offers to keep pursu-ing diplomatic solutions, but heand others warned that the US-led alliance has still seen nosign of the military withdraw-al that Moscow announced.

"We have seen the oppositeof some of the statements. Wehave seen an increase of troopsover the last 48 hours, up to7,000," said British DefenseSecretary Ben Wallace ahead ofa meeting of the westernalliance in Brussels.

"We are deadly serious," headded, "and we're going toface the threat that is current-ly being posed." That squaredwith what a US administrationofficial said Wednesday.

Russia has massed an esti-mated 150,000-plus troops nearit ex-Soviet neighbor, sparkingconcerns that an attack isimminent. None materializedWednesday, as feared, andUkrainians spent the day defi-antly celebrating their unityand resolve to face down anyRussian threat.

Moscow said several timesthis week that some forces arepulling back to their bases, butit gave virtually no details thatwould allow an independentassessment and Western lead-ers quickly cast doubt on thosestatements. On Thursday,NATO allies knocked down theRussian assertions again - andwarned that they are ready tocounter any aggression.

"The consequences of thismass buildup - nearly 60% ofRussia's land combat forces onthe border of a sovereign nation- will get you the opposite

effect," Wallace said. Russia denies it is plotting

an invasion but says it must beallowed to protect it securityinterests. It wants the West tokeep Ukraine and other formerSoviet nations out of NATO,halt weapons deployments nearRussian borders and roll backforces from Eastern Europe.The U.S. And its allies haveroundly rejected thosedemands, but they offered toengage in talks with Russia onways to bolster security inEurope.

Even as Russia seemed totry to lower the temperaturethis week, the Western alliesmaintained that the threat of anattack remained high.

Maxar Technologies, acommercial satellite imagerycompany that has been moni-toring the Russian buildup,reported continued heightenedmilitary activity near Ukraine,including a new pontoonbridge and a new field hospi-tal in Belarus. It also said thatsome forces had left an airfieldin country, a Russian ally, butit was unclear where they went.

A senior U.S.Administration official saidsome forces arrived onlyrecently and that there hadbeen a marked increase infalse claims by Russians that theKremlin might use as pretextfor an invasion.

The official said thoseclaims included reports ofunmarked graves of civiliansallegedly killed by Ukrainianforces, assertions that the U.S.And Ukraine are developingbiological or chemicalweapons, and claims that theWest is funneling in guerrillasto kill Ukrainians.

The official was not autho-rized to speak publicly aboutsensitive operations and spoketo The Associated Press oncondition of anonymity. AP

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Venezuelan PresidentNicolas Maduro pledged a

"powerful military coopera-tion" with Russia followinghigh-level discussions betweenofficials Wednesday, a day afterdiplomats from the US and sev-eral other nations gathered todiscuss steps toward a negoti-ated solution to the SouthAmerican country's protractedcrisis.

"We have reviewed thepowerful military cooperation,and we have ratified the path ofa powerful military coopera-tion between Russia and

Venezuela for the defense ofpeace, of sovereignty, thedefense of territorial integrity,"Maduro said during a newsconference.

"We are going to increaseall the preparation, training and

cooperation plans with a mil-itary power in the world suchas Russia."

The remarks came about amonth after Maduro andRussian President VladimirPutin spoke by phone aboutcooperation between theircountries amid talk of possibleRussian troop deployment toVenezuela.

Flanked by Russian DeputyPrime Minister Yuri Borisovand Venezuelan PetroleumMinister Tareck El Aissami,Maduro said economic, com-mercial and tourism matterswere also discussedWednesday.

Moscow:Ivan Malyuta, a resi-dent of Donetsk, a city in east-ern Ukraine controlled byMoscow-backed separatists,applied for Russian citizen-ship this month and said he, hiswife and three children willsoon be getting Russian pass-ports.

"I want to be a citizen of theRussian Federation. We aremoving towards this, aren'twe?" he said at a Donetskmigration service office.

Malyuta and his familywill join more than 720,000 res-idents of rebel-held areas ineastern Ukraine who havereceived Russian citizenship

and passports in a fast-trackprocedure widely seen as anattempt to underscore Russia'sinfluence in the region.

Russia threw its weightbehind a separatist insurgencyin eastern Ukraine in 2014,shortly after annexing Crimeain response to a popular upris-ing in Kyiv ousting a Kremlin-friendly president.

Moscow has denieddeploying troops or weapons tothe rebel-held areas, with gov-ernment officials repeatedlystressing that Russia is not aparty to the conflict, which haskilled over 14,000 people.

Besides the quick path to

citizenship, Russia has offeredresidents of the self-proclaimedDonetsk and Luhansk republicsmembership in the Kremlin'sruling party and other perks,such as its COVID-19 vaccinesor trade preferences for localmanufacturers.

Ukraine has been appalledby the efforts amid rising ten-sions and fears of a new inva-sion. Foreign Minister DmytroKuleba urged the EuropeanUnion last week to imposesanctions on Russia for "its ille-gal mass issuing of Russianpassports to Ukrainian citi-zens."

AP

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Iran's supreme leader vowedon Thursday that his coun-

try would ramp up develop-ment of its civilian nuclearprogram, as major world pow-ers continued delicate talks inVienna to revive Tehran's land-mark nuclear deal.

In a televised speech,Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urgedthe importance of nuclear ener-gy for Iran, while again assert-ing that it had no interest innuclear weapons.

Khamenei's remarksseemed clearly aimed at thecountries involved in theVienna talks.

"Enemies are making cruelmoves against our nuclearenergy issue, (putting) sanc-tions on nuclear energy thatthey know is peaceful," he said."They do not want Iran to

achieve this great and signifi-cant progress."

The accord, which formerPresident Donald Trump aban-doned nearly four years ago,granted Iran sanctions relief inexchange for curbs on its atom-ic program. Iran's chief nuclearnegotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani,tweeted late Wednesday thatthe parties were "closer thanever" to an agreement.

But talks have repeatedlystalled in recent months asIranian negotiators press hard-line demands, exasperatingWestern diplomats.

Khamenei, who so far has

largely stayed silent on theongoing negotiations, calledclaims that Iran was pursuinga bomb "nonsense," saying theywere meant to deprive Iran ofits legitimate right to nuclearpower.

"If we do not pursue(peaceful nuclear energy)today, tomorrow will be late,"he said.

Iran long has insisted itsnuclear program is peaceful.But the country's steps awayfrom its obligations under the2015 accord have alarmed itsarchenemy Israel and worldpowers.

Tehran has since startedenriching uranium up to 60%purity - a short technical stepfrom the 90% needed to makean atomic bomb, and spinningfar more advanced centrifugesthan those permitted under thedeal.

Hong Kong:Hong Kong's hos-pitals reached 90% capacityon Thursday and quarantinefacilities were at their limit,authorities said, as the citystruggles to snuff out a recordnumber of new cases by adher-ing to China's "zero tolerance"strategy.

To ease the strain on thecity's healthcare system, offi-cials said they would take a dif-ferent approach to hospitaliza-tion and isolation policies andallow some patients to be dis-charged sooner. The movecomes amid reports of patientsbeing treated on beds outsidea hospital in the city's working-class neighbourhood of ShamShui Po.

Hong Kong reported 6,116new coronavirus infections onThursday. Any person in thecity who is infected withCOVID-19 must be admittedto a hospital or community iso-lation facility.

Under the new approach,people who are infected withCovid-19 but present mildsymptoms in hospitals andgovernment-run isolation facil-ities will be allowed to leaveafter just seven days if they testnegative on the seventh dayand do not live with anyone ina high-risk group, such assenior citizens, pregnantwomen or immunosuppressedpeople.

Those who do not meetthese criteria must completethe full 14-day isolation peri-od or wait until they test neg-ative, according to health offi-cials. AP

Hong Kong: Facing an out-break of Covid-19 among pris-oners, Hong Kong is movinginfected inmates to an isolationfacility as the city struggles tosnuff out a record number ofcases by implementing China's"zero tolerance" strategy.

The Correctional ServicesDepartment said Thursday thatthe Sha Tsui facility on LantauIsland was designated for quar-antining infected prisoners,whose numbers are expected togrow. Seven prisoners had test-ed positive for COVID-19, whilethe number of confirmed casesin the southern Chinese financialhub of about 7.5 million peoplehit 4,285, double the daily aver-age reported earlier in the week.

Health care facilities inHong Kong are beginning tooverflow, and the city's CaritasMedical Center was forced totreat patients in beds outsidethe hospital.

AP

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The rupee on Thursdayslipped to 75.11 against

the US currency on Thursdaydue to forex outflows and lin-gering geopolitical tensionspushing investors towards safe-haven assets.

Forex traders said elevatedcrude oil prices and expecta-tions of aggressive rate hikes bythe US Fed weighed on the localunit. At the interbank foreignexchange, the rupee opened at74.94 against the Americandollar but later dropped to a lowof 75.18 against the greenback.The local unit was quoted at75.11 at close, down by 2 paisefrom the previous close of 75.09.

Meanwhile, the dollarindex, which gauges the green-back's strength against a basketof six currencies, was trading0.15 per cent higher at 95.84."The local unit is struggling nearthe psychological level of 75 assafe haven dollar remained indemand amid ongoing specu-lation of Fed tightening inMarch meetings along withgeopolitical worries," DilipParmar, Research Analyst,HDFC Securities.

Spot USDINR expected tofind support in the range of74.90 to 75, while 75.70 remainsthe biggest hurdle, Parmar

added. The White House onWednesday said that a Russianinvasion of Ukraine can happenanytime now, as President JoeBiden announced plans to dis-patch Vice President KamalaHarris and Secretary of StateTony Blinken to attend theMunich conference to meetworld leaders and unite themagainst Moscow. White HousePress Secretary Jen Psaki antic-ipated that an attack could takeplace at any time.

"The rupee ended flat tomarginally weak in a choppytrading session on Thursday.Initially the rupee startedstronger tracking the weaknessof the dollar which remainedunder pressure after investorsdeemed the Fed minutes asdovish," said Sriram Iyer, SeniorResearch Analyst at RelianceSecurities.

However, after a briefappreciation the rupee gave upall its gains and ended loweramid weak risk appetite owingto renewed geopolitical con-cerns between Ukraine andRussia. Additionally, Asian cur-rencies were mostly weakeragainst the dollar on Thursdayand weighed on sentiments.

Investors will continue toremain nervous till the tensionscompletely cool-off in EasternEurope.

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Key benchmark indicesSensex and Nifty closed

lower for a second day onThursday in a volatile sessionafter a selloff in banking and ITstocks amid lingering geopolit-ical worries.

After oscillating over 700points between gains and loss-es during the day, the 30-shareBSE Sensex finally ended 104.67points or 0.18 per cent lower at57,892 points. As many as 19constituents declined while 11advanced.

The broader NSE Niftydropped 17.60 points or 0.10 percent to settle the day at 17,304.60- marking its second straight ses-sion of loss. Among Sensexstocks, ICICI Bank fell the mostby 2 per cent, followed byUltratechCement (1.9 per cent)and Axis Bank (1.79 per cent).IndusInd Bank declined by 1.27per cent, Nestle by 0.85 per centand TCS by 0.76 per cent.Infosys, HDFC Bank, SBI, KotakBank, and Bharti Airtel alsodeclined. However, gains inHDFC and Reliance Industriesrestricted the losses in theSensex.HDFC rose the most by1.71 per cent while RelianceIndustries advanced by 1.35 percent.

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The mobile user count inIndia fell by 1.28 crore in

December 2021 compared tothe previous month, withReliance Jio and VodafoneIdea suffering subscriber loss-es, even as Bharti Airtel addedcustomers, Trai data showedon Thursday.

Reliance Jio lost about1.29 crore wireless sub-scribers, and that pulled down

its mobile subscriber tally to41.57 crore in December2021.

Vodafone Idea lost 16.14lakh mobile subscribers, andits base stood at 26.55 crore inDecember 2021.

In contrast, Airtel gained4.75 lakh customers, rampingup its wireless user base to35.57 crore, as per monthlysubscriber data released byTelecom Regulator yAuthority of India (TRAI).

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Indian Oil Corporation(IOC), the nation's largest oil

firm, on Thursday raised Rs1,500 crore debt through abonds issue at a coupon ratelower than government bonds,a senior company official said.

IOC priced its five-yearrupee bonds at a coupon rateof 6.14 per cent tighter than asimilar maturing governmentbond that is trading at anannualised yield of 6.29 per

cent. "The issue saw strongdemand from investors and wewere able to get a very attrac-tive deal," IOC Director(Finance) Sandeep Gupta said.

IOC got bid worth Rs5,403 crore in the range of 5 percent to 6.7 per cent for itsissuance. Gupta said the moneyraised is for general corporatepurposes.

The issue marks return ofthe company to the onshorebond market after a gap ofmore than a year.

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India's sugar productionincreased by 6 per cent

between October 1 andFebruary 15 period of the 2021-22 marketing year at 220.91 lakhtonnes on higher sugarcaneproduction while exportsjumped over three-fold tillJanuary at 31.5 lakh tonnes,according to industry bodyISMA.

Sugar marketing year runsfrom October to September.The production stood at 209.11lakh tonnes in the year-agoperiod, Indian Sugar MillsAssociation (ISMA) said in astatement on Thursday. InMaharashtra, sugar productionrose to 86.15 lakh tonnes from75.46 lakh tonnes. The output inUttar Pradesh declined to 59.32lakh tonnes from 65.13 lakhtonnes. In Karnataka, produc-tion increased to 44.85 lakhtonnes from 39.07 lakh tonnes.

"As per reports from thetrade, around 50 lakh tonnes ofsugar export have been con-tracted for so far. Out of which,about 31.50 lakh tonnes of sugarhave been physically exportedfrom India up to January 31,2022 in the current sugar year.”

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The government's ambitiousproduction-linked incen-

tive (PLI) scheme will look tounlock manufacturing capaci-ty as well as support in attract-ing about Rs 4 lakh crore ofcapital expenditure over thenext five years, rating agencyIcra said on Thursday.

With an aim to boostmanufacturing, employmentgeneration, import reductionand exports growth, the PLIscheme covers strategically sig-nificant sectors that have seen

surging demand (solar, semi-conductors/electronics, auto-mobiles etc), and are critical todeveloping manufacturingcapabilities (semiconductors,telecom gears, medicaldevices). Rohit Ahuja, Head ofResearch and Outreach, Icra,said, "Manufacturing formsaround 20-25 per cent of thetotal capex in India currently.

The PLI scheme, launchedwith the aim of incentivisingmanufacturing, is estimated toattract a capex of approxi-mately Rs 4 lakh crore over thenext five years."

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Ace investor RakeshJhunjunwala on Thursday

said real estate developers areafflicted with very low return oncapital as compared to bluechipstocks.

Jhunjunwala, who runsRARE Enterprises and is set tobe a major shareholder in anupcoming airliner, said only theaffordable housing developerscan look at listing because of thevolumes which they can deliv-er. It can be noted that very fewdevelopers like MacrotechDevelopers formerly Lodha,and DLF are listed on the bours-

es. Jhunjunwala cited the case ofDLF, saying the stock priceplummeted to Rs 80 from Rs1,300 per piece to illustrate therisks associated.

"If I were a developer, Iwon't list because it is not a busi-ness which is susceptible to list,"he said, speaking at an event onreal estate organized by lobbygrouping CII. He also ques-tioned the rationale for listing,wondering if it is done to raisecapital or from a successionplanning perspective. Bluechipstocks give a 18-25 per centreturn on capital as against the6-7 per cent observed in thereal estate segment, he said.

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Edtech firm Byju's onThursday said it will invest

USD 200 million (about Rs1,500 crore) to set up 500 tuitioncentres across 200 cities in thecountry. The company haslaunched 80 centres earlierunder a pilot project where itoffers both offline and online

classes to students of class 4 toclass 10. "The launch of 'Byju'sTuition Centre' is a landmarkmoment for Byju's. Over thenext 12-18 months, we will beinvesting USD 200 million toopen these sites across India. Weare also looking at strengthen-ing our team," BYJU'S ChiefOperating Officer Mrinal Mohitsaid in a statement.

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There is a 30 per cent spikein the intent to hire fresh-

ers in the January-June peri-od of this year, as comparedto the previous half year,indicating a significant recov-ery in economic activity, areport said on Thursday.

According to TeamLeaseEdTech's flagship 'CareerOutlook Report', more than47 per cent of companieshave expressed their intent tohire freshers in the in the cur-rent half year (January-June2022), while only 17 per centcompanies were keen toincrease their fresher pool inthe corresponding period lastyear.

"It is heart-warming tosee that despite the continuedchallenges of the pandemic,the inclination of companiesto hire freshers continues tobe on an upward trajectory.

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There is a common misconcep-tion around dahi and yoghurt

being the same, with the only dif-ference being of an Indian andWestern term. Not surprisingly,the lack of awareness around thedifference between the two has leftthe consumers confused. Dahiand yogurt are two different typesof dairy products.

Dahi is a dairy productobtained by curdling of milk andfermentation. Curdling of milkinvolves adding an acidic agent.For instance, an edible acidicsubstance can be lemon juice orvinegar. After draining off the liq-uid portion from the milk, you getthe dahi. The other method ofpreparing dahi is by bacterialfermentation of milk. In thisprocess, lactose in milk is convert-ed into lactic acid by severalmicroorganisms. Dahi fermenta-tion takes place using a mixed setof bacterial cultures, whichimpacts the end texture andflavour, making it slightly acidic.In India, dahi is considered ahealthy ingredient as it helps withdigesting and provides relief fromspicy foods.

On the other hand, yoghurtis a dairy product that is createdby fermenting milk using a spe-cific set of bacterial cultures. Thebacteria used to ferment milk areknown as yoghurt cultures.Yoghurt is prepared with a stan-dardised set of cultures thatensure even texture and taste thatis mild and pleasant. The fermen-tation of the milk happens byadding two specific strains of bac-teria called Lactobacillus del-brueckii spp.bulgaricusandStreptococcus thermophilus. Thisensures both quality and the cor-rect quantity of bacteria in theyoghurt. Also, this ensures thatmore of the good bacteria reachthe intestines and provide healthbenefits.

Probiotic yoghurt is also oneof the most widely used probiot-ic food. As per Food andAgriculture Organisation (FAO),probiotics is defined as livemicroorganisms which, adminis-tered in an adequate amount, willensure various health benefits likeimproving digestion, strength-ening immunity and more. Theaddition of probiotics in yoghurtalong with the nutrients alreadypresent provide a good balance ofprotein, carbohydrates, vitamins,fats and minerals which are verygood for health. There are differ-ent types of yoghurt, like Greekyoghurt, low-fat yoghurt, drink-ing yoghurt, sheep milk yoghurtand more.

HEALTH BENEFITSYoghurt and dahi are both

dairy products that help to stayfull for longer and are suitable forlactose-intolerant people to digest.They are good sources of calcium,phosphorus, riboflavin-vitaminB2, iodine, vitamin B12, pan-tothenic acid-vitamin B5, zinc,and potassium. The bacteria pre-sent in yoghurt help boost theimmune system.

Both are rich in vitamins andminerals that are vital for thebody. These substances aid in theprevention of diseases like arthri-tis and osteoporosis in older peo-ple. Dairy products help tremen-dously in achieving our dailyprotein requirements. All dairyproducts are suitable for health,and both dahi and yoghurt are noexceptions on that list. However,understanding the differencebetween both will help createawareness and better choices byconsumers.

WHAT TO CHOOSE WHEN:Yoghurt couples as a breakfast

or a snack option, but it is also apopular dessert. We can pair

yoghurt with various food itemslike oats, nuts, fruits, and cereals— just like dahi. In India, wealso use dahi as a critical ingre-dient for dishes like dahi rice,kadhi pakoda, dahi chaat and aside dish like raita with spicyfood items.

Over the past few years, peo-ple have started experimentingwith foods and yoghurt usage hasevolved. Most Indians perceiveyoghurt as a sweet addition tofruits or as part of a cereal bowl.People generally prefer yoghurtas their first meal of the morn-ing to keep it light yet healthy. Butwith the changing trends, it canbe consumed as a snack optionby adding fruit toppings or ingre-dients of your choice. With itsslightly creamy texture, it is alsoa good option as a replacementfor heavy cream in many recipes.Both dahi and yoghurt are excel-lent choices to make lassi, chaas,or to accompany biryani andother food items.

(The author is the CEO,Heritage Novandie Foods Pvt

Ltd.)

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India is rich in diversity of spiceswhich are mentioned in theancient books of Ayurveda

because of their medicinal properties.Apart from enhancing the flavours,they also enhance the nutrient con-tent. While spices are commonly usedin our cuisine, we are unaware oftheir medicinal properties. Apartfrom enhancing the taste, spices canup our health as well.

TURMERICA very common spice used in

every household in India, turmerichas curcumin which has anti-inflam-matory properties and powerfulantioxidants. Not just this, it alsohelps in improving brain functions.So next time, do not hesitate beforeputting some extra turmeric in yourcurries.

DHANIA OR CORIANDERCoriander powder provides a

smoky flavour and is added to manyIndian dishes. According toAyurveda, powdered coriander helpsin digestion, diabetes, different skinand health problems.

KALI MIRCH OR BLACK PEPPERThis spice is found not just in

India but all around the world.People usually refrain from using this

spice in food as it provides a sharpspicy flavour, which enhances thetaste of many dishes. Ayurvedic sci-ence identifies this spice as an essen-tial item as it has a high concentra-tion of beneficial plant compounds.

The piperine present in black pepperhas antioxidant properties, which areefficient in preventing and control-ling the damages caused by free rad-icals. It also has anti-microbial poten-tial and gastro-protective modules.

PEPPERMINTPeppermint has a history of being

used in aromatherapy and folk med-icine. Peppermint oil helps in painmanagement and irritable bowel syn-drome. It relaxes the smooth musclesin the colon and releases the pain expe-rienced during bowel movements. Italso helps in fighting nausea. However,people who have gastrointestinal prob-lems should not consume it.

CINNAMONCinnamon significantly helps in

lowering blood sugar levels and hasanti-diabetic properties. It has a com-pound called cinnamaldehyde, whichis responsible for its medicinal prop-erties. Cinnamon also has an antiox-idant property helping fight inflamma-tion and lowers down cholesterol lev-els. The best part is that you can addthis spice to almost everything — fromsavoury to sweet — without hesitation.Also, you can use it as a mouth fresh-ener and chew it after you eat yourfood.

According to Ayurveda, everyspice available in the kitchen has a roleto play. Make sure you use these spicesregularly to keep yourself and yourfamily fit and healthy.

—(The author is the MD,Pansari Group)

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Liverpool put one foot inthe Champions Leaguequarter-f inals on

Wednesday with a 2-0 win atInter Milan which came aftera hard-fought encounter at abubbling San Siro.

Goals from RobertoFirmino and Mohamed Salahin the last quarter of an hourgave Liverpool a commandinglead ahead of the last-16 sec-ond leg at Anfield in threeweeks' time.

The result was harsh onItalian champions Inter, whodominated the contest in frontof a passionate home crowdfor long periods after thebreak and struck the wood-work through HakanCalhanoglu in the 16thminute.

However they could notfind their way past a Liverpoolbackline impeccably mar-shalled by Virgil van Dijk andwere punished late on by aReds team who have now wontheir last seven matches in allcompetitions.

The last eight now looks astep too far for Inter aftermaking the last 16 of theChampions League for thefirst time in a decade.

Simone Inzaghi's sidestarted with all the enthusiasmexpected of a team back in theknockouts after such a longtime away and LautaroMartinez got the crowd ontheir feet in the fifth minutewith a long range effort whichflew just wide.

Calhanoglu had the bestchance of the half after beingfed by the rampaging IvanPerisic to let off a shot froma tight angle which beatAlisson but smashed out offthe crossbar.

They were unlucky again10 minutes later when, afterbeing sent charging down theright flank, Denzel Dumfriesflashed over a low cross whichwas cut out just as it lookeddestined to find the feet of anunmarked Edin Dzeko.

Inter came out with the bit

between their teeth after theinterval and swarmed over aclearly flustered Liverpool butagain could not get past VanDijk and company, who keptgetting a foot or head in justas danger seemed imminent.

The away side punishedthem with their first proper

chance of the second half,Firmino beating AlessandroBastoni to Andy Robertson's75th-minute corner and guid-ing his header past SamirHandanovic.

Salah gave Liverpool ahuge advantage eight minuteslater with a fortunate strikewhich squirmed home andgave the Egyptian an incredi-ble eighth goal in sevenChampions League games thisseason.

With the San Siro atmos-phere thoroughly deflated,Liverpool then calmly saw outthe remainder of the match toalmost guarantee themselves aplace in next month's draw forthe last eight.

2 - Mohamed Salah is onlythe second player to scoreagainst both AC Milan andInter Milan in the sameChampions League season,after Peter Crouch forTottenham in 2010-11.

63% - Mohamed Salah(33), Sadio Mané (21) andRoberto Firmino (18) havescored 63% of Liverpool's 114Champions League goalsunder Jürgen Klopp.

800 - JamesMilner onWednesday made the 800thappearance of his senior clubcareer (275 Liverpool, 203Manchester City, 136Newcastle United, 126 AstonVilla, 54 Leeds United, 6Swindon Town). Milner hasaveraged 40 games per seasonacross his 20-season profes-sional career.

18 - Aged 18 years and 318days, Harvey Elliott becamethe youngest player ever tostart a EuropeanCup/Champions League matchfor Liverpool (excl. qualifiers),overtaking teammate TrentAlexander-Arnold (18y 354d vSpartak Moscow in 2017)

�� 4(+(�+�+>�E>+�+94)+F

The Indian men's team, ledby world championship

bronze medallist Lakshya Sen,secured a 3-2 win over HongKong in group A to keep itsslim hopes alive of making theknockout stage at theBadminton Asia TeamChampionships here onThursday.

The crushing 0-5 defeatagainst Korea in their openingmatch has made life difficultfor India as they are currentlyat the third spot in group A,just above Hong Kong, withone win and one loss.

Three-time defendingchampions Indonesia andKorea are currently ahead inthe race to qualify from groupA.

India Open winnerLakshya Sen, MithunManjunath and doubles pair-ing of Hariharan Amsakarunanand Ruban RethinasabapathiKumar gave a good account ofthemselves during the five-match rubber.

World no 13 Lakshya start-ed the proceedings, thrashingworld no 17 Lee Cheuk Yiu, asilver medallist at 2013 AsianYouth Games, 21-19 21-10 in35 minutes to give India a goodstart.

Hong Kong took control ofthe match with Law CheukHim and Lee Chun HeiReginald notching up athrilling 20-22 21-15 21-18win over Manjit SinghKhwairakpam and DingkuSingh Konthoujam.

Kiran George, who won hismaiden Super 100 event atOdisha, put up a spirited showbefore losing 13-21 21-17 9-21to Chan Yin Chak as HongKong led 2-0 after three match-es.

�� /7�&

Serum Institute of India CEO AdarPoonawalla on Thursday urged Serbian ten-

nis superstar Novak Djokovic to get vaccinat-ed against COVID-19.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner hasremained unvaccinated against coronavirusand has maintained that he is willing to missout on future tennis trophies than be forcedto take the jab.

Posting a video of himself playing tennis,Poonawalla, whose Pune-based firm manufac-tures anti-COVID-19 vaccine Covishield,tweeted, "I respect your personal views on notgetting vaccinated @DjokerNole and lovewatching you play, but I hope you change yourmind. In the meantime, the rest of us nowmight stand a chance at a Grand Slam."

Last month, Djokovic was prevented fromparticipating in the Australian Open tourna-ment due to his unvaccinated status. The 34-year-old tennis superstar was detained andeventually deported from Australia for failingto meet that country's strict vaccinationrequirements.

A few days ago, Djokovic was quoted assaying that he is still not vaccinated and pre-pared to sacrifice titles to stay that way.However, the No 1-ranked tennis player hasmaintained he is not opposed to vaccinations.

�� 4+�K87-,

Kingsley Coman scored late to salvage a 1-1 draw for Bayern Munich at Salzburg in

the first leg of their Champions League roundof 16 meeting.

Coman, who scored Bayern's winner in the2020 final, equalized in the last minute to pre-vent the Bavarian powerhouse from slumpingto its second consecutive defeat after its 4-2 lossto promoted Bochum in the Bundesliga onSaturday.

Bayern, which had come from behind towin 6-2 on its previous trip to Salzburg in thegroup stage last season, was forced to do it againafter Junior Chukwubuike Adamu's 21st-minute opener for the Austrian champions.

"It wasn't enough in the first half. Salzburgcame up with dangerous counterattacks. Wecontrolled it better in the second half," saidBayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich.

"The team realized we wanted to win thegame. That we can is not in question. We haveto bring that on the field in every game. We'renot in a flow where everything just happens."

In the night's other game, Liverpool beatInter Milan 2-0 in Italy to take a comfortablelead back to Anfield for the second leg.

Salzburg was playing in the ChampionsLeague knockout phase for the first time, andthe home team showed no sign of fear againstthe six-time European champion.

Adamu was only playing due to an injuryto Noah Okafor, who went off in the 12th. The20-year-old Adamu eluded Niklas Süle andcurled his shot inside the right post after a longball from Mohamed Camara found KarimAdeyemi on the right wing.

Adeyemi, reportedly a transfer target forBayern's Bundesliga rival Borussia Dortmund,surged past Lucas Hernández before Americanmidfielder Brenden Aaronson helped the ballonto Adamu, who swept it in.

Sven Ulreich, in Bayern's goal for theinjured Manuel Neuer, did well to save an effortfrom Brenden Aaronson minutes later.

The home side had a penalty appealbefore the break, after Benjamin Pavard'sattempted clearance caught Adeyemi, too. AVAR check decided in favor of the Bayerndefender.

Bayern pushed hard after the interval, peg-ging the home players back and restricting theircounterattacking opportunities.

Coman drew a good save from PhilippKöhn in the 73rd, and the Salzburg keeper did

even better to deny Leroy Sané and gather therebound ahead of the Bayern forward minuteslater.

Pavard produced a vital block to denyAdamu a second goal in the 81st, and the homefans were to rue to the miss when Coman beatKöhn at the near post to fire in the equalizerfrom Pavard's hopeful cross after ThomasMüller helped it on.

"In the end it feels like a defeat. But 1-1 issomething to be proud of," Adeyemi said."We're ready for the next game."

Bayern hosts Salzburg for the second legon March 8.

�� &"�'&�()

The Asian FootballConfederation (AFC) has

accepted the Indian body's bid tohost the third round of the 2023Asian Cup qualifiers, which arescheduled to be held from June 8this year.

The third round qualifierswill be held at the Salt LakeStadium in Kolkata across threematch days on June 8, 11 and 14this year. China will host themain tournament in 2023.

"We had bid to host the thirdround qualifiers of the AFC AsianCup, and are grateful to the AsianFootball Confederation for accept-ing our bid," All India FootballFederation (AIFF) general secre-tary Kushal Das said.

"We understand that playing athome, and that too in Kolkata willbe an added advantage to the BlueTigers in our quest to qualify forthe Asian Cup."

India has qualified for theAsian Cup four times earlier --1964, 1984, 2011 and 2019. Theteam had finished runners-up in1964 which has been the best per-formance so far. It had failed to getpast the group stage in the otherthree editions it had taken part.

In the last edition, the Indianteam secured a fine victory overThailand but had failed to make itto the knock-outs narrowly.

"We had bid with Kolkata asthe venue for the qualifiers. Theinfrastructure in Kolkata is excep-tionally suited to host the qualifierswith the stadium, the practicevenues and official accommoda-tion all very closely located," Dassaid.

"The support from the host

association, and the state govern-ment has also always been exem-plary. "We hope that the healthparameters in June will allow fansto witness live action in the stadi-um." The group winners and thefive best second-placed teams willearn tickets to the tournamentproper, which is slated to kick offon June 16, 2023.

The draw for the final leg ofthe qualifiers is scheduled forFebruary 24 in Kuala Lumpur.

"While 13 teams, includinghost China PR, have already qual-ified by virtue of their earlier per-formances in the second round ofthe AFC Asian Qualifiers, thefinal 11 places remain up forgrabs for 24 teams in the decisivegroup stage to be held in Juneacross all five AFC zones in sixhost nations -- India, Kuwait,Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia,Mongolia and Uzbekistan," theAFC said in a statement.

�� 8(78+�&4"+-

The Indian team has beengrouped along with England,

New Zealand and China in poolB in the upcoming FIH Women'sHockey World Cup, the country'sgoverning body for the sport saidon Thursday.

The tournament will be heldin Spain and Netherlands fromJuly 1.

The Indian team recentlysecured its qualification for theWorld Cup after finishing third inthe Asia Cup in Muscat.

Speaking about competitionin their pool, India goalkeeperSavita said, "It is a tough pool withEngland (world No.3) and NewZealand (world No.8) who areranked above us and China canalways spring a surprise.

"As a team, we have alwaysbelieved we need to focus on our-selves and not what the opponentcan do. But now that we knowwho we play in the pool stage, wecan plan our preparations accord-ingly and we look forward to thechallenge."

The Indian women's teamachieved a best-ever fourth placefinish at the Tokyo Olympics lastyear.

The team also made it to thetop eight for the first time in theprevious edition of the WorldCup when they drew 1-1 with

England, lost 0-1 to Ireland, whowent on to play the final againstworld champions Netherlands,and drew 1-1 against USA in thegroup stage.

"It was a very good tourna-ment for us and it inculcated agreat sense of self-belief. Drawagainst England in their homeground was quite significant for usin 2018 and we came very close tobeating Ireland in the quarterfinalbut ended up losing in theshootout after a 0-0 draw," Savitarecalled.

The senior player said theteam is better prepared this time.

"With the experience we havehad over the past three-four years,particularly in big events like theOlympic Games in Tokyo, I feel weare better prepared mentally to dowell this time at the World Cup,"

she added.Savita further emphasised that

the upcoming FIH Hockey ProLeague matches will help themprepare well in the lead-up to theprestigious quadrennial event.

"We will play England at homein the Pro League matches in Apriland we have already played China.I believe playing other top teamsof the world like Belgium,Argentina etc will definitely ben-efit us in our preparations for theWorld Cup," she said.

Netherlands are grouped inpool A with Germany, Irelandand Chile.

In pool C, hosts Spain willface off against Argentina, Koreaand Canada and in pool D,Australia, Belgium, Japan andSouth Africa will take on eachother. PTI AH AH

�� !��+�+

Former India midfielder and East Bengal leg-end Surajit Sengupta, who mesmerized

Kolkata Maidan with his dribbling skills in the1970s, died at a city hospital on Thursday fol-lowing his prolonged battle with COVID-19.

He was 71. After being tested positive forCOVID-19, Sengupta was admitted to the hos-pital on January 23 and was put on ventilatorsince Monday. He breathed his last in the after-noon.

"Lost veteran star footballer Surajit Senguptatoday. Heart throb of football fans and an out-standing national sportsman as well as a per-fect gentleman, he will ever be in our hearts.Deepest condolences," West Bengal chief min-ister Mamata Banerjee said in a tweet.

"His condition was stable but since Fridayhe started developing breathing complicationsand his oxygen level started dropping. He wasput on life support since Monday," said hospi-tal sources. The artistic right winger made hisInternational debut on July 24, 1974 againstThailand in the Merdeka Cup in Kuala Lumpurand went on to represent India in 14 matches.

He represented India in the Asian Gamesin 1974 and 1978, the Merdeka Cup in 1974, thePresident's Cup in 1977 and in internationalfriendlies against UAE and Bahrain (1979).

He scored his lone international goalagainst Kuwait in the 1978 Asian Games.

"It's sad to hear that Surajit-da, one of themost skilful wingers in the history of Indianfootball is no more. His invaluable contributionto Indian football will always remain with us,and never be forgotten.

�� >+-,+!

Bengaluru FC will be desper-ate to get back to winning

ways and more importantly stayclose to the top-four pack whenthey take on rock-bottomNorthEast United FC in theIndian Super League here onFriday.

The Blues saw their three-game winning run come to anend against league leadersHyderabad FC the other night.But head coach Marco Pezzaouliwould like to believe the resultwas just a bad day in the officefor his charges who have been ingood form otherwise.

Against a strugglingNorthEast United, it will be agolden opportunity forBengaluru to get back in the mix.

With four matches remain-ing, Bengaluru need to win alltheir remaining games if they areto have any chance of progress-ing to the semi-finals.

Bengaluru are in sixth spotwith 23 points from 16 outings,six adrift of Hyderabad FC andsecond-placed ATK MohunBagan. The former championshave a few key players missing forthe game on Friday.

"Ashique and Roshan arenot available, Rohit and Jayesh aswell who are injured. In terms oflong-term injuries, King, Amay,Harmanpreet are still missing.We have some players who arestill suffering after the COVID

situation," said Pezzaiuoli aheadof the game.

The Blues added defenderYaya Banana to their squad in theJanuary transfer window andPezzaiuoli said they need to takea careful approach with theCameroonian defender as hehad an 11-day quarantine peri-od. "Yaya has trained for a weekwith us, we have to be carefulabout him because he had an 11day quarantine period. We needto prepare him for the nextsteps. He can create an overloadin midfield and is very gooddefensively."

On NorthEast United, whohave endured a 10-game winlessrun, the BFC coach said: "I thinkthey are a good, offensive teamwith good players who are indi-vidually skilled. They have somenew faces as well, and we'vewatched their most recent games.

"We know how we played inthe first game against them,

obviously they are not the sameteam. They created chances inthat game and that's somethingwe want to avoid."

Bengaluru will miss RoshanSingh a lot as he has been a keyplayer for them this season, hav-ing six assists to his name, thejoint second highest after AhmedJahouh (7).

No Indian player has moreassists this season than Roshan.Four of Roshan's assists havecome from corner kicks. He isone of the main reasons why BFC(8) have scored more goals fromcorners than any other side.

On the other hand,NorthEast United's season is allbut over and the Highlandershave only pride to play for. Withjust 10 points in their kitty from17 matches, Khalid Jamil's sidehave managed just two wins sofar having thrown away as manyas 16 points from winning posi-tions.

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Staring at another seriesdefeat, a struggling India

will welcome the return of staropener Smriti Mandhana forthe third women's ODI againstNew Zealand here on Friday.

Mandhana, the ICCWomen's Cricketer of the Year,had exited mandatory quaran-tine in Christchurch to join thesquad ahead of second ODIbut needed a few days to getmatch ready.

Pacers Renuka Singh andMeghna Singh are also avail-able for selection after com-pleting their quarantine. Leadpacer Jhulan Goswami, whohad to miss the second gamedue to a neck spasm, is alsoexpected to play on Friday.

Though Mandhana'sreturn will be very much wel-comed, India did not lose theprevious game due to theirbatting. The bowlers let theteam down as they wereunable to defend a competitive271-run target.

Goswami's absence wasalso felt as only 10 overs ofpace was used with PoojaVastrakar bowling seven oversand debutant Simran Bahadurthree. The spinners did notleak a lot of runs but wereunable to get the break-throughs. The team also needsto improve its fielding goinginto the must-win game.

T20 skipper HarmanpreetKaur, who has scored only two50 plus scores in ODIs sincethe 2017 World Cup, badlyneeds a big score. Yet to firewith the bat in the series, the32-year-old has been playinga bigger role with the ball.

She bowled nine overs ofoff spin in the second ODI andwas the most expensivebowler.

With a spin bowling all-rounder like Sneh Rana warm-ing the bench, Harmanpreetneeds to deliver to keep herplace in the eleven.

Opener Shafali Verma isalso under pressure, havingaveraged a modest 25 in theeight games that she hasplayed so far since making her

debut last year. It will be atough call for skipper MithaliRaj to pick the opener along-side Mandhana with SMeghana also grabbing heropportunity in the southpaw'sabsence.

India's last series win cameback in 2019-20 in the WestIndies and they badly needsome momentum going intothe World Cup.

The visitors will have topiece together a near perfectgame to beat New Zealand, ateam which seems to be get-ting better with every game.Their top-order is in top formwith Suzie Bates and AmeliaKerr starring with hundreds inthe first and second gamerespectively.

Regular skipper SophieDevine, who passed on theleadership responsibility toAmy Satterthwaite in the sec-ond ODI as part of the team's"contingency" plans, has donewell with the ball but needs todo more as a batter.

New Zealand pacer Lea

Tahuhu said her team is aim-ing to seal the series on Friday.

"We are in a position toput a series away which wehave not been in for a longtime. We are looking to go outthere and nail our skills tomor-row and hopefully be 3-0 up,"she told NZC.

Squads:India: Sabbhineni

Meghana, Shafali Verma,Yastika Bhatia, Mithali Raj(captain), Harmanpreet Kaur,Richa Ghosh (wk), DeeptiSharma, Pooja Vastrakar,Simran Bahadur, PoonamYadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad,Sneh Rana, Meghna Singh,Taniya Bhatia, Renuka Singh,Smriti Mandhana, JhulanGoswami.

New Zealand: SophieDevine, Suzie Bates, AmeliaKerr, Amy Satterthwaite (c),Maddy Green, Katey Martin(wk), Brooke Halliday, HayleyJensen, Jess Kerr, RosemaryMair, Fran Jonas, Lea Tahuhu,Lauren Down, FrancesMackay, Hannah Rowe.

�� !��+�+

Clinical in most aspects of the gameso far, India will now hope that starbatter Virat Kohli also regains his

form when they take on a struggling WestIndies in the potentially series-deciding sec-ond T20 International here on Friday.

The touring West Indies side has beenfar from being at its best and has failed totrouble the hosts in any of the matches sofar.

After being outclassed 0-3 in the ODIleg in Ahmedabad, the Kieron Pollard-ledteam was expected to give India some chal-lenge in its favourite T20 format, especial-ly after a 3-2 win over England in its lastseries at home.

But they hardly managed to trouble thehosts in the first T20I here on Wednesday,going down by six wickets.

Another win and it will be a third suc-cessive series win for Rohit Sharma afterbeing appointed the full time captain forTeam India.

The only concern for India has beenKohli's form and he would definitely wanta bigger knock than the scores of 8, 18, 0,and 17 so far in the assignment.

Rohit is confident that he would comegood and has asked both critics andmedia to spare him the constant scrutiny.

On his part, Rohit knows the impor-tance of going hard in the powerplay, some-thing that was in full display in his 19-ball

40 when he took Odean Smith to the clean-ers in an over that conceded 22 runs.

With Ishan Kishan looking ordinaryand struggling to get going at the other end,Rohit made the bulk of the 58 runs thatIndia scored in the powerplay, somethingthat meant they never fell behind the 158-run chase despite losing three quick wick-ets in the middle.

After Rohit got out in the eighth over,Kohli had the perfect opportunity toreturn among runs and seal the chase. Butthat was not the case even though Kohlilooked fluent in his short stay of 13-ball 17.

On any other day his inside-out shot

would have been a clear boundary but thistime he hit straight to the fielder.

As for Ishan, the most expensive (Rs15.25 crore) buy in the IPL 2022 auction,he was not able to score freely and failedto rotate strike when Rohit looked in sub-lime touch.

But thanks to Rohit's innings at thetop, things did not go much out of India'sreach as Suryakumar Yadav and VenkateshIyer applied themselves beautifully to sealthe chase.

With India opting for a six-bowlercombination featuring pace bowling all-rounder Venkatesh, in-form batter ShreyasIyer had to sit out of the opening game.

It remains to be seen what will beRohit's ploy in the second T20I which canseal the fate of the series for India.

"We were very clear with Shreyas, wetold him the team wants that option (ofan all-rounder) going into the World Cup.We need that option in the middle,someone who can bowl," Rohit said afterthe match.

"A lot of things go into deciding theplaying XI, the opposition, the conditions,the dimensions of the ground. Yes, some-times it can be tough for the guys missingout but we are making sure we are givingout a very clear message. Unfortunately, wewant to put the team first."

India will also be fretting over injuryto pacer Deepak Chahar who sustained ablow to his right hand while fielding and

could not complete his quota.Looking for their first win of the tour,

it would be a make or break match for theWindies.

They would look forward to the returnof their pace bowling all-rounder JasonHolder who had to sit out of the first T20Ifollowing a niggle.

"He was hit on his chest during train-ing and was not ready for the first game andwas out as a precautionary measure. We arehoping he will be back for the next game,"said a team official.

For them, the lone bright spot onWednesday was their vice captain NicholasPooran's return to form with the bat.

Fresh from his Rs 10.75 crore deal withSunrisers Hyderabad, the left-handed wick-etkeeper batter revived the Windies inningswith a 38-ball fifty, that came after openerKyle Mayers failed to convert his start.

Pooran and a fit-again skipper KieronPollard stepped up the accelerator in thelast five overs scoring 61 runs to lift theirtotal to 157/7.

But in the end it proved to be 15-20runs less, bringing the focus back on theirmiddle over struggles where debutantIndian leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi made itdifficult for the visitors.

With Holder back in business andPooran and Pollard beginning to look attheir ominous best, the West Indieswould fancy their chances to keep theseries alive.

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When Matt Henry woke up in hisChristchurch hotel room Thursday it

was to a day of warm promise. He was aboutto play his 15th test match for New Zealandin a stop-start career of seven years and to doit in his hometown in front of friends and fam-ily. He looked forward as a new-ball bowlerto the chance of bowling first on a green seam-ing pitch at Hagley Oval. All he needed wasfor his captain Tom Latham to win the toss.

Latham did - for the first time in a half-dozen matches as New Zealand captain. A lit-tle more than four hours later Henry had takencareer-best figures of 7-23 and South Africahad been bowled out for 95, its lowest scoreagainst New Zealand.

The high promise of the morning hadbeen thoroughly fulfilled.

Henry had raced through the SouthAfrica order, taking three wickets before lunchto leave the Proteas 44-4, then four moreincluding two with consecutive deliveries inthe second session before the innings endedin the 50th over, well before tea.

By stumps on the first day of the first test,New Zealand was 116-3, leading by 21.Henry Nicholls was 37 not out, the highestscore of a first day on which 13 wickets fell,and South Africa-born Neil Wagner, the night-watchman, was 2.

Nicholls shared a vital 75-run partnershipwith Devon Conway for the second wicketwhich steered New Zealand into the lead.Conway, also South Africa-born and playingagainst his countrymen for the first time, wasout for 36 just before stumps.

New Zealand went into the match with apatchwork batting lineup in the absence ofcaptain Kane Williamson who is still laid lowby an elbow injury and Ross Taylor, whoretired last month from test matches.

Williamson and Taylor jointly representalmost 15,000 runs, 198 tests and 43 centuries.

�� !��+�+

Enjoying a brilliant run of form, Indiabatter Suryakumar Yadav says he is rel-

ishing the role of a finisher whose unbeat-en knocks can steer the team home consis-tently.

In the opening T20 against the WestIndies here on Wednesday, India suffereda few hiccups after a flying start given byskipper Rohit Sharma (40) but Yadavrevived their 158-run chase with an unbeat-en 18-ball 34. The side eventually won com-fortably by six wickets.

"I think it was very important for meto stay till the end and win the game for myside," Yadav said in the post-match mediainteraction.

Returning to the ODI fold in the thirdmatch against South Africa in Cape Townlast month, Yadav looked in fabuloustouch with a 32-ball 39 but failed to finishtheir 288-run chase as India suffered a 0-3 series defeat.

"I have been in these situations manytimes, and whenever I have got out leaving20-25 runs behind, I have felt bad aftergoing back to the hotel. The situation was

perfect tonight," the 31-year-old added.Yadav got good support from

Venkatesh Iyer at the other end with theKolkata Knight Riders pace bowling all-rounder taking initial charge in his 13-ball24 not out.

Yadav lauded Iyer's aggressive stroke-play. The duo put together a match-winning48 runs stand from 26 balls.

"...The way he came to bat, his positiv-ity was completely different, that passedonto me. He started his innings with aboundary, I felt it was the perfect platformfor both of us to finish the game," he said.

�� !��+�+

Young India leg-spinner RaviBishnoi says he just focussed on

bowling stump to stump and not giveany room to the West Indies power-hitters to free their arms during hisdream debut in the opening T20Ihere.

Bishnoi snapped up two wicketsfor 17 runs in his quota of four oversin his maiden international match onWednesday as India registered a six-wicket win over West Indies to takea 1-0 lead in the series.

"The planning was to bowl onright line and length, the plan wasnot to give the batters much roombecause if they are able to free theirarms then they can hit hard," Bishnoitold fellow leg-spinner YuzvendraChahal in a video posted by BCCI.

"They are one of the best T20sides, so I just tried to bowl stumpto stumps and not give room and inthe process I ended up bowling 5-6wides as well." Handed the India capby Chahal, the 21-year-old dis-

missed Roston Chase and RovmanPowell in one over to derail the WestIndies in the middle overs.

"Everyone has a dream of play-ing for India. I was excited and ner-vous when I came to the practice asthere are so many seniors but I feltreally good when Rahul (Dravid) sir

welcomed me," said Bishnoi."I enjoyed myself with my

seniors during the practice sessions.I have to learn a lot and I will striveto do my best for the team."

His exploits also earned him thePlayer of the Match Award onWednesday.

�� &"�'&�()

Sir, only if I work hard will Iplay elite cricket," said Yash

Dhull while describing how lifechanges after an U-19 WorldCup win, with a heady cocktailof fame, adulation, money andhanger-ons capable of sendinga young mind into a tailspin.

But on Thursday, at theBarsapara Stadium inGuwahati, Dhull started hisjourney from being among theboys with a muscular hundred-- 113 off 150 balls -- against agood Tamil Nadu side on theopening day of the RanjiTrophy.

Dhull doesn't have theswagger that West Delhi's steely18-year-old Virat Kohli hadduring those early conversa-tions nor the spunk whichmade St Stephen's and ModernSchool (Barakhamba) alumnusUnmukt Chand the toast of thenation back in 2012.

With his golden ear studs,

Manjot Kalra had a rock-starappearance but one look atDhull and he would seem likea person happy to disappear ina crowd and then suddenlycome out owning the stage, likeit has always belonged to him.

Rahane hits century onreturn to Ranji, keeps himselfin India contention

His Test career at stake,beleaguered India batterAjinkya Rahane compiled amuch-needed century to keephimself in India reckoningwhile guiding Mumbai to 263for three against Saurashtra intheir Ranji Trophy opener hereon Thursday.

Choosing to bat after win-ning the toss, Mumbai werealso boosted by Sarfaraz Khan'sunbeaten 121 off 219 balls onthe first day of their elite groupD match. The focus was, how-ever, firmly on Rahane whoended the day at an unbeaten108 from 250 deliveries.

The 33-year-old Rahane,

who had a mediocre Test seriesagainst South Africa in therecently concluded tour of theRainbow Nation, got to his tonin 212 balls, hitting 14 fours

and 2 sixes along the way.Porel grabs for-four as

Bengal pacers rattle BarodaIshan Porel was the wreck-

er-in-chief grabbing 4/40 as

Bengal pacers shared bulk ofspoils to bundle out Baroda fora paltry 181 on day one of theirelite Group B Ranji Trophy fix-ture at the Barabati Stadiumhere on Thursday.

In reply, Bengal were 24/1at stumps on day one with thetwo Sudips -- opener Gharami(11 batting) and one dropChaterjee (nine batting) at thecrease after skipper AbhimanyuEaswaran (4) got out cheaply inthe fifth over.

Put into bat, Baroda got offto a steady start with skipperKedar Devdhar (31) survivingearly on after being dismissedoff an Akash Deep no-ball.

But the lanky Porel trig-gered the collapse in the 15thover, with his twin blows ofDevdhar (23) and PratyushKumar (0) in the space ofthree balls.

On a roll, Porel picked histhird in the form of ShivalikSharma (4) in his next over toreduce Baroda to 47/3.

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Shreyas Iyer might havebeen the third biggest buy

at the IPL auction but to fitinto India's T20 combination,he would need to showcaseall-round skills as that's whatthe team is looking for in themiddle-order slot, skipperRohit Sharma has said.

Wednesday was a mixedbag for Shreyas.

Around evening, KolkataKnight Riders unveiled theworst kept secret in the IPLuniverse by announcing theirRs 12.25 crore recruit asfranchise captain for 2022.

By 6:30 pm, however, itwas clear that the formerDelhi Capitals and new KKRcaptain isn't fitting into thespecialist batter category inTeam India for the T20 gameagainst West Indies."Someone like Shreyas Iyer issitting out, very hard on himto be out and not making itto the XI, but it's what the

team requires. We need thatoption in the middle, some-one who can bowl," Rohitsaid, after India's easy six-wicket win in the first T20International on Wednesday."It's always nice when youhave those kind of competi-tions going on," he added.Skipper Rohit gave a glimpseof what kind of team combi-nation he is looking at in theshortest format and he madethe hard but prudent call inpicking a '360 degree' playerlike Suryakumar Yadav alongwith the less fancied Iyer --

Venkatesh, who brings inall-round skills to the table."We were very clear withShreyas, we told him theteam wants that option (of anall-rounder) going into theWorld Cup. They are allsmart guys, professionals andthey understand the teamcomes first," the Indian cap-tain said. "A lot of things gointo deciding the playing XI,the opposition, the condi-tions, the dimensions of theground. Yes, sometimes itcan be tough for the guysmissing out but we are mak-

ing sure we are giving out avery clear message.Unfortunate but we want toput the team first," the skip-per displayed no ambiguityin his statements.

It is also understood thatShreyas' technique againstthe short ball has been a bitsusceptible and a lot of workis going into making himcorrect his body position todeal with express quicks infuture. All those who wit-nessed a couple of days'training at Eden Gardenssaw how Rohit, himself a fineexponent of pull-shot, wasseen explaining to Shreyas athing or two about balance.

On the eve of the matchafter regular nets session,Shreyas wore the helmet anddidn't have his pads on butteam's throwdown specialistRaghavendra was seen stand-ing at 10 yards and feedinghim with fast but loopy balls,aimed at his helmet visor ashe continuously played.

INDIA AIM TO SEAL SERIES AGAINST WEST INDIES

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