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tuesday, february 8, 2022, , follow us:, , Delhi, City Edition, , 14 pages O ₹10.00, , thehindu.com, facebook.com/thehindu, twitter.com/the_hindu, instagram.com/the_hindu, , Kerala CM scores as, Lok Ayukta Ordinance, gets Governor’s assent, , Benefits of COVID19, vaccines far outweigh, risks, say experts, , Macron meets Putin,, urges deescalation, of Ukraine tensions, , Mane helps Senegal win, maiden Africa Cup of, Nations title, , page 5, , page 10, , page 11, , page 14, , P r i n t e d at . Ch e n n a i . Co i m b ato r e . Be n g a lu ru . Hy d e r a b a d . M a d u r a i . No i da . V i s a k h a pat n a m . Th i ru va n a n t h a p u r a m . Ko c h i . V i j ayawa da . M a n g a lu ru . Ti ru c h i r a pa l l i . Ko l k ata . Hu b b a l l i . M o h a l i . M a l a p p u r a m . M u m b a i . Ti ru pat i . lu c k n ow . c u t tac k . pat n a, , IN BRIEF, , Congress party is pitting States SC raps Tripura police over, against the Centre, says Modi action on social media posts, , Santishree Pandit is first, woman VC of JNU, , It is promoting division in the country and politicising the pandemic, says PM, , NEW DELHI, , Sandeep Phukan, , Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, a, political science professor at, Savitribai Phule Pune Univer, sity, has been appointed as, the first woman VC of JNU., NEWS A PAGE 8, DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD, , ‘Will make Uttarakhand, spiritual capital of Hindus’, NEW DELHI, , Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on, Monday said AAP would make, Uttarakhand “the international, spiritual capital of Hindus” if it, won the Assembly election., STATES, , A PAGE 5, , DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD, , New Delhi, , Extensively quoting India’s, first Prime Minister Pandit, Jawaharlal Nehru to counter, former Congress chief Rahul, Gandhi, Prime Minister Na, rendra Modi on Monday ac, cused the principal Opposi, tion party of promoting, divisions in the country by, pitting States against the, Centre and referred to it as, the leader of ‘tukde tukde, [breakup]’ gang., In his nearly 100 minute, long reply to the debate on, the Motion of Thanks for the, President’s Address in the, Lok Sabha, the Prime Minis, ter charged the Congress, with following ‘divide and, rule’ policy and accused the, party of committing a paap, [sin] and ‘crossing all limits’, , Counterpoint: Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking in the, Lok Sabha on Monday. PTI, *, , by politicising the COVID19, pandemic., Mr. Modi accused the Op, positionruled States of Mah, arashtra and Delhi of creat, ing a sense of panic by asking, ‘migrant workers’ from Uttar, Pradesh (U.P.) and Bihar to, travel during the lockdown, of the first COVID19 wave, and said that resulted in a, , spike in cases in U.P, Uttarak, hand, and Punjab, all inci, dentally States where As, sembly, elections, are, scheduled between Febru, ary 10 and March 7., Tearing into the Congress,, Mr. Modi pointed out that, States like Nagaland, Tripu, ra, Tamil Nadu, U.P., Guja, rat, Bihar, West Bengal and, , CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, , The Beautiful Game, , Odisha have not allowed the, Opposition party to win an, election for over three de, cades or more., The Congress seems to, have ‘made up its mind’ not, to come to power for the, next 100 years, he quipped, and added that despite a, string of defeats, the leader, ship has neither shunned its, “arrogance” nor does it like, a “mirror being shown to, them”., Accusing the Opposition, party of being unable to get, over its 2014 Lok Sabha de, bacle, Mr. Modi said “criti, cism in a vibrant democracy, is like an ornament but blind, Opposition is disrespecting, the democratic mandate”., CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8, , OPPOSITION REACTION A PAGE 8, , Defying order,, police continue, to issue notices, Legal Correspondent, New Delhi, , The Supreme Court on Mon, day orally accused the Trip, ura police of harassing peo, ple who take to social media, on the communal violence, that occurred in the State., A Bench of Justices D.Y., Chandrachud and Surya, Kant made it clear to the, State that the court, if the, “harassment” continued,, would not hesitate to call for, the presence of its Home Se, cretary in the hearing., The Bench noted that the, police, through a Superin, tendent of Police, have con, tinued to issue notices to pe, ople for their social media, posts despite a protective or, der from the court on Janu, ary 10., , The court order was, passed in the case of some, lawyers and journalists who, were booked under the UA, PA (Unlawful Activities (Pre, vention) Act) for their social, media posts., “Once we have passed an, order covering an issue, al, beit in one case, you must, show the responsibility,, some deference to the court., Otherwise, we will call the, Superintendent of Police to, us if he is trying to evade, complying with the order by, issuing all these kinds of not, , China defends choice of PLA, Galwan soldier as torchbearer, India had announced a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics, Ananth Krishnan, Hong Kong, , Green pitch: A bird’seye view of a football tournament under way on a ground that was till recently a lushgreen paddy field at, Kizhuparamba near Areekode in Malappuram district of Kerala on Monday. SAKEER HUSSAIN, *, , CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, , China on Monday defended, choosing a People’s Libera, tion Army (PLA) regiment, commander who fought in, the Galwan clash as an, Olympics torchbearer, a, move that led India to carry, out a diplomatic boycott of, the games in Beijing., Qi Fabao, who was regi, ment commander and later, received military honours af, ter sustaining a head injury, in the June 15, 2020 clash,, was among the 1,200 torch, bearers who took part in last, week’s relay, two days be, fore the opening of the Win, , Qi Fabao, , ter Olympic Games on Fe, bruary 4., His participation was, widely publicised by the me, dia in China. India termed, the move “regrettable” and, on February 3 said its top of, ficial in Beijing would not at, , tend the opening and clos, ing ceremonies of the, games., Chinese Foreign Ministry, on Monday defended the, move, and instead put the, onus on India “to view this, in a rational and objective, light”. “I want to stress that, the torchbearers of the Win, ter Olympic Games are, broadly representative, and, they meet relevant stan, dards. We hope that the rele, vant sides can view this in a, rational and objective light, and do not read too much in, to it from a political perspec, tive,” spokesperson Zhao Li, jian told reporters., , ices to others. We will ask all, to remain present, including, the State Home Secretary., There is no other way,” Jus, tice Chandrachud addressed, the State counsel., “What else is this if not, harassment?” Justice Kant, asked., The court was hearing an, application by activist Sami, ullah Shabir Khan against a, notice issued by the police, for his appearance., The court ordered the Ja, nuary 10 order to be served, on the SP concerned., , Shah urges, Owaisi to take, security cover, Special Correspondent, New Delhi, , Union Home Minister Amit, Shah on Monday “ap, pealed” to Lok Sabha, member and AIMIM presi, dent Asaduddin Owaisi to, accept the security cover, provided by the Centre af, ter he was attacked on his, way back to Delhi from Ut, tar Pradesh last week., Making a statement in, the Rajya Sabha on the Fe, bruary 3 incident, Mr. Shah, said that after a review of, threat perception, the go, vernment had decided to, provide him ‘Z’ category, security, with a bulletproof, car in Delhi., CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8, , For Chinese fans, Lata India’s support gave ties new energy, says Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, was a window to India, Suhasini Haidar, NEW DELHI, , She became a cultural bridge for many, Ananth Krishnan, Hong Kong, , Listening to a song of Lata, Mangeshkar on Beijing ra, dio in 1958 may have, changed the course of Pan, Woliu’s life., Fourteen years old at the, time and a budding musi, cian, Mr. Pan (78) isn’t en, tirely sure what the song, was. But he does remember, the melody was unlike, anything he had heard. It, convinced him that his fu, ture was in music., Fast forward 15 years, by, when Mr. Pan had just start, ed his first job in music after, graduating from the elite, Central Conservatory of, Music— he had to spend an, extra seven years in school, because he could not find, work, as Mao’s Cultural Re, volution (196676) banned all, classical music performanc, es — and India still remained, on his mind. The young boy, from Guangxi, who was born, in 1944 in a cave in Guilin, town at the time of Japanese, occupation, had joined the, Oriental Song and Dance En, semble, a famous musical, group specialising in Asian, music, patronised by former, Premier Zhou Enlai., His second moment with, “Lataji” followed when the, film Noorie starring Farooq, Shaikh and Poonam Dhillon, became a massive hit in Chi, na in 1981. If Raj Kapoor was, the face of Indian cinema for, Chinese of his generation —, also the face of optimism,, hope, colour and love, a, world away from the Com, CM, YK, , India’s support has made a, “world of difference” to Sri, Lanka’s economic situation,, said Sri Lankan Foreign Minis, ter G.L. Peiris, on his first visit, , to India, making it clear that, the flurry of agreements an, nounced in recent weeks have, allowed the neighbours to, move on from the problems, of the “immediate past”., In an interview to The Hin-, , du, he cautioned, that the un, resolved conflict over fishing, rights is a “constant irritant”, in bilateral relations, and the, recent clashes between In, dian and Sri Lankan fisher, men that led to the death of, , two Sri Lankans, was a “flash, point” in ties that he hopes to, resolve through talks., “There’s no doubt what, soever that Indian support at, this critical juncture has, made a world of difference., , It has helped us to tide over, the immediate difficulties, which were obviously acute,”, Mr. Peiris said., He was referring to a se, ries of announcements, in, cluding one billion dollars in, , various lines of credit, a cur, rency swap arrangement of, $400 million and a debt de, ferral of $515 million for two, months from India., CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8, , Lata Mangeshkar, , munist propaganda of the, Cultural Revolution — the, voice of “Lataji” became, another cultural bridge., Instant connect, “Aaja Re was unlike anyth, ing I heard,” he said. “It, touched my heart, the melo, dy, the way she sang.”, Mr. Pan packed his bags, and headed to New Delhi in, 1982, where he spent a year, at the Shriram Bhartiya Kala, Kendra on Copernicus Marg, learning everything he could, about playing the tabla., On returning to China, Mr., Pan became an ambassador, for Indian music. He would, send his students to spend, time in India. Some of them, came back and became, teachers at the conservatory., He An, who hosts occa, sional “salons” for lovers of, Indian culture in Beijing,, said Lata Mangeshkar’s mus, ic appealed to many., For him, it all started with, Zeehale Muskin from the, film Ghulami, a song he first, heard when in New Delhi., “Many people got to know, and love her work,” he said,, “and we are all saddened to, hear of her passing.”, A ND-NDE
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EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , 2 CITY, , DELHI, , THE HINDU, , TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022, , EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , Undeterred, students return to, school after yet another closure, Sisodia takes stock of COVID protocols at schools; junior classes to open next week, , Reopen DU colleges,, demand students, They stage protest outside VC office, , NEW DELHI, , Stepping out in the winter, chill and leaving the comfort, of their homes did not deter, the spirit of children heading, back to school on Monday af, ter yet another COVIDen, forced closure., As physical classes res, umed for Classes IXXII, stu, dents were excited to return, to school with most of them, having got the consent of, their parents to attend class, es., Vaccination dose, Vivek De, a student of Class, IX of a private school, was, happy that he was finally, heading back to school after, taking his first dose of the, COVID19 vaccine., “All my classmates have, been vaccinated and we, , Deputy CM Manish Sisodia interacts with students at a, government school in Delhi on Monday. V.V. KRISHNAN, *, , were waiting for classes to, resume so that we could all, meet in school. We have got, used to attending online, classes but it is not the same, as actually going to school,”, said Vivek., Another student, Gita, Bam, said the news of, schools reopening was like, , music to her ears as she con, stantly faced Internet issues, over the past two years., Deputy Chief Minister, Manish Sisodia on Monday, visited schools to take stock, of preparations and interact, ed with the students and pa, rents. He said that many ac, tivities have been planned in, , Education hampered, “Children’s education has, been hampered due to the, COVIDinduced school clo, sure. We are concerned, about the health of our chil, dren as well as their educa, tion. If schools don’t open, now, a whole generation will, move forward with a know, ledge gap,” Mr. Sisodia said., He said that almost all go, vernment teachers are alrea, dy vaccinated and more than, 95% of the children in the, age group of 15 to 18 years, have also been vaccinated., From February 14, schools, will also reopen for students, of nursery to Class VIII., , ‘Multiple options will help girl students’, Jaideep Deo Bhanj, , Special Correspondent, NEW DELHI, , government schools so that, students are able to move, from online to offline mode, of learning without any pro, blems., , Special Correspondent, , NEP a policy for women, empowerment: DU V-C, , Delhi University students, boycotted online classes and, held a protest outside the, ViceChancellor’s office on, Monday, demanding reo, pening of the university., After failing to get a posi, tive response from universi, ty authorities, students said, that they have decided to, start an indefinite sitin out, side the VC office. “The sit, in will go on till the VC pro, vides a written assurance to, reopen DU without any, further delay,” the Students’, Federation of India said., ‘None detained’, DCP (North) Sagal Singh Kal, si said that on the request of, DU authorities, a few SFI /AI, SA protesters were removed, from the spot and were im, mediately released when the, premises was later found, , vacated., “The university adminis, tration had asked for police, assistance in getting the pre, mises vacated of the protes, ters,” he said. The police in, sisted that no person was, detained in the incident., The Akhil Bharatiya Vi, dyarthi Parishad submitted, a memorandum to 55 col, lege principals for reopening, of Delhi University with im, mediate effect., JNU protest, Meanwhile, Jawaharlal Neh, ru University students prot, ested outside the Office of, the Dean of Students and, said that despite the admi, nistration saying that the, campus had reopened, they, continued to suffer as class, es were still being conduct, ed online. They said that the, library continues to remain, closed.., , New Delhi, , Describing the National, Educational Policy (NEP) as, a step towards ‘women em, powerment’, Delhi Universi, ty ViceChancellor Yogesh, Singh on Monday said it will, “help in making every wo, man financially indepen, dent”., Mr. Singh added that if, the NEP is implemented in, the right spirit, “we will, need more teachers in the, coming years”. He urged, “all university stakehol, ders” to be positive about, the policy and to ensure the, smooth implementation of, the NEP., Delivering a speech at the, 99th College Day celebra, tions at Indraprastha Col, lege for Women, Mr. Singh, said the multiple entry and, exit option of the new un, dergraduate framework un, der the NEP would benefit, , New T1 arrival section ready: DIAL, , HC dismisses plea on illegal police booths, , ‘Renovated complex will serve 100 million passengers per year’, , Staff Reporter, New Delhi, , Special Correspondent, New Delhi, , Delhi airport operator, Delhi, International Airport Limit, ed (DIAL), on Monday said, that it has completed the ex, pansion work at the arrival, section of Terminal 1 (T1)., , CM, YK, , The expansion work on, the terminal once complet, ed will increase the total ca, pacity of the airport to 100, million passengers per year, from the current capacity of, 60 million passengers per, year, a statement released, , by DIAL said. The statement, added that before COVID19,, the actual passenger traffic, at the airport had already, reached 67 million passen, gers per year. The new arriv, al terminal is spread over, 8,000 square metre., , The Delhi High Court on, Monday declined a plea, seeking to remove and de, molish all police booths, which have been allegedly, constructed unlawfully on, footpaths and roads here., Jan Seva Welfare Society,, , in its plea, alleged that the, Delhi police have illegally, constructed booths in the, absence of requisite sanction, from the local authorities., After a Bench of Chief Jus, tice D.N. Patel and Justice, Jyoti Singh said it was “dis, missing this with costs”, the, counsel for the society un, , conditionally withdrew the, petition., The, petition, stated,, “There are hardly 10%20%, police booths having lawful, electric and water connec, tions. However, in practice,, it has been noticed that most, of the police booths have all, amenities like water connec, , tions, electric connections,, even ACs and display, boards, etc. It manifestly, suggests wrong practices on, the part of Delhi Police”., The plea sought for fixing, the liability on erring go, vernment officials who did, not take action under the, law on the issue., , girl students as statistics, show that the maximum, number of girls were unable, to complete their education, for various reasons., “The new framework will, allow them [girl students], the flexibility to exit and, then rejoin their education, at their convenience. Earlier, what would happen was, that if a student left her un, dergraduate admission mid, way, she would only have a, 12th standard degree to, show.” With the NEP in, place, he added, girl stu, dents will have some form, of degree to show even if, they do not complete it as it, will give them an opportun, ity to find jobs., The ViceChancellor said, the new features like having, an academic bank of credit, and skill development in the, NEP will help in making ev, ery woman financially inde, pendent., , DDA extends, housing plan, deadline, Staff Reporter, New Delhi, , The last date to apply for, the Delhi Development, Authority’s (DDA) special, housing scheme has been, extended to March 10 from, its previous deadline of Fe, bruary 7, a senior official, said on Monday., Under the scheme, the, agency has put 18,335 flats, up for sale., The official added that, close to 17,000 applica, tions were received till, Monday. Asked about the, low applicant turnout, the, official said the third CO, VID19 wave was “the, prime reason”. Previously,, a senior official had con, firmed that all flats under, the latest scheme were, those returned by previous, allottees, with most of, them located in Narela., , A ND-NDE
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EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , 4 STATES, , DELHI, , THE HINDU, , TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022, , EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , Timings, DELHI, TUESDAY, FEB. 08, , RISE, , 07:05, , SET 18:06, , RISE, , 11:29, , SET 00:12, , WEDNESDAY, FEB. 09, , RISE, , 07:05, , SET 18:07, , RISE, , 12:03, , SET 01:08, , Rajasthan govt. cancels REET II, Teachers’ recruitment test will be held afresh, posts increased: Gehlot, Mohammed Iqbal, JAIPUR, , THURSDAY, FEB. 10, , RISE, , 07:04, , SET 18:08, , RISE, , 12:41, , SET 02:03, , The Congress government in, Rajasthan on Monday can, celled the State’s biggest ex, amination for recruitment of, teachers to schools following, a controversy over the leak, of its question paper. The ex, am will be held afresh with, an increase in the number of, posts, while the police inves, tigation into the scam is un, der way., The Special Operations, Group (SOG) of Rajasthan, Police has confirmed in its, investigation that the ques, tion paper was leaked from, the Education Department's, building, Shiksha Sankul, in, Jaipur two days before it was, to be held in September, 2021. The Opposition BJP has, been demanding a CBI probe, into the matter., Chief Minister Ashok Geh, lot said at a press conference, here that the Rajasthan Eligi, , Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot with State PCC chief, Govind Singh Dotasra in Jaipur on Monday. PTI, *, , bility, Examination, for, Teachers (REET) level II, would stand cancelled, as no, question paper was leaked, in the level I exam. “The le, vel II examination will be, held afresh on the Central, Government’s pattern com, prising an eligibility test and, a final test,” he said., Mr. Gehlot announced the, creation of 30,000 more, posts of teachers in the go, vernment schools, taking, the combined number of, posts under REET levels I, , and II to 62,000. Fresh rules, for the new examination sys, tem will be formulated based, on the recommendations of, the Justice Vijay Kumar Vyas, Committee, appointed for, suggesting measures to pre, vent irregularities in the re, cruitment exams., ‘Misleading candidates’, Mr. Gehlot, accompanied by, Pradesh Congress Commit, tee president Govind Singh, Dotasra, accused the BJP, leaders of misleading the, , candidates and risking their, future by their “irresponsi, ble and unwarranted” state, ments targeting the State go, vernment., He said while the question, paper leaks were a nation, wide phenomenon, the Con, gress government had taken, prompt action and given a, free hand to the SOG to, probe the matter., The SOG has so far arrest, ed 38 people, including 14, candidates, and recovered, ₹1.16 crore paid for gaining, access to the question paper., Besides, the State Board, of Secondary Education’s, Chairman D.P. Jaroli has, been sacked and 42 govern, ment officials, including the, Board’s Secretary, have been, placed under suspension., State president Satish, Poonia said the exam’s can, cellation was a “failed at, tempt” to save big people in, volved in the paper leak., , HC grants Centre two weeks, to decide on marital rape, ‘Holistic view has to be taken as it involves sensitive issue’, Staff Reporter, New Delhi, , The Delhi High Court on, Monday asked the Centre to, clarify in two weeks its, stand on the issue of crimi, nalising, rape, within, marriage., A Bench of Justice Rajiv, Shakdher and Justice C. Ha, ri Shankar gave this direc, tion after Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta sought time, for the Centre to undertake, a consultative process to, come to a decision., Mr. Mehta clarified that, the Centre’s stand on the is, sue was reflected in its last, affidavit where it said that, “absence of any such con, sultative process by the ex, ecutive/legislature may re, sult in some injustice to one, section or the other”., Mr. Mehta said a “holistic, , view” has to be taken on, the issue as it involved sen, sitive sociolegal issue., The Bench, which is, hearing a batch of petitions, challenging the provision in, law that makes an excep, tion for marital rape, said,, “We don’t claim to be a re, pository of all wisdom but it, is our job as a constitutional, court to decide a lis, which, comes before us...”, Hearing on Feb. 21, The Bench posted the case, for further hearing on Fe, bruary 21., In India, marital rape is, not defined in any statute, or law. Several NGOs, in, cluding RIT Foundation, All, India Democratic Women’s, Association, a man and a, woman have sought strik, ing down of the exception, , granted to husbands under, Indian rape law. The excep, tion says sexual intercourse, by a man with his wife aged, 15 years or above is not rape, even if it is without her con, sent. In October 2017, the, Supreme Court increased, the age of consent to 18, years., The Centre had earlier, in, an affidavit filed in 2017,, said that criminalising mar, ital rape “may destabilise, the institution of marriage”, and would become an easy, tool for harassing hus, bands. However, in an addi, tional affidavit filed last, week, the Centre had said it, could assist the HC “only af, ter a consultative process is, undertaken by the Central, government with all stake, holders including the State, governments”., , Demand for Lata memorial at Shivaji Park, , SC to hear plea on OBC reservation soon, , BJP leader writes, to Maharashtra, Chief Minister, , Maharashtra govt. receives interim report from Backward Classes panel, , Staff Reporter, Mumbai, , A day after the cremation of, veteran singer Lata Man, geshkar at Shivaji Park in, central Mumbai, the Bhara, tiya Janata Party on Monday, demanded a memorial for, her at the ground., “I have written a letter to, Chief Minister Uddhav, Thackeray expressing the, emotions of millions of fans, that the place where last, rites of Lata Didi were per, formed should be converted, into her memorial,” said BJP, spokesperson and MLA, Ram Kadam., The Congress too did not, , Armed forces personnel paying last respects to Lata, Mangeshkar in Shivaji Park on Sunday. EMMANUAL YOGINI, oppose the demand saying a unit Congress president Na, memorial at par with the na Patole., stature of legendary late sin, Shivaji Park in the heart, ger should be constructed at of Dadar in central Mumbai, Shivaji Park., is one of the historical, “The party believes that a grounds in the city., memorial which will keep, It has been the venue of, the memories of Lata Didi the annual Dussehra rally of, alive should be constructed Shiv Sena for decades now., at Shivaji Park,” said State After the death of Shiv Sena, *, , founder Bal Thackeray, the, then chief minister Prithvi, raj Chavan allowed the con, duct of his last rites at the, ground due to his close as, sociation with the place., A small memorial of Bala, saheb Thackeray was con, structed at a place where, the cremation took place,, where every year on the, death anniversary of the Se, na founder, his family and, followers pay tributes., Meanwhile, Maharashtra, Congress leadership, which, had come under criticism, for not sending senior Mi, nisters for the last rites of, the singer as representa, tives, on Tuesday said three, of its senior Ministers are, down with COVID19 and, Mr. Patole lost a relative and, had to be with his family., , Special Correspondent, Mumbai, , The Supreme Court will, soon decide the fate of the, Other Backward Classes, (OBC) in Maharashtra for the, upcoming local body polls., The State government on, Monday received the interim, report submitted by the, Maharashtra State Commis, sion for Backward Classes, (MSCBC) on the data regard, ing the OBCs., Interim report, On January 19, the SC had di, rected the Maha Vikas Agha, di government to share its, data collected by the State, and the Central agencies on, the OBCs with the Commis, sion and had directed the, , Commission to submit an in, terim report back to the, State within two weeks., The matter is expected to, be heard by a Bench led by, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar., A 35page report was sub, mitted by the Commission, back to the State on Monday., The chairman of the MSCBC,, Retired Justice Anand Nir, gude, told The Hindu, “We, had received independent, data from the government, which we have critically exa, mined and have come up, with an objective report., This report was shared with, the State and will now be, submitted to the SC. Now it, is for them to decide, they, may consider it or reject it.”, The interim report has, , scrutinised and analysed the, data submitted by the State., Requesting anonymity, a se, nior advocate appearing for, the Maharashtra govern, ment before the apex court, said, “The report mentions, that 27% reservation can be, given to the OBCs.”, The Maharashtra govern, ment had filed a plea seeking, to recall an order passed by, the apex court on December, 15 of notifying 27% of OBC, seats to general category in, the local body elections. The, application mentioned, “Out, of 37, 34 zilla parishads; out, of 351, 313 panchayat samiti, and 9,000 village pan, chayats will go for election in, March this year.”, On December 6, the SC, , EDUCATIONAL, , SITUATION VACANT, , had stayed the OBC seats for, local, body, polls, in, Maharashtra., This was done as the MVA, government was found to, breach the 50% ceiling laid, out by the SC., Court findings, In 1992, SC in one of its land, mark judgments — Indra, Sawhney vs Union of India —, had ruled that 50% ceiling, will not be breached for re, servation in any State., In 2010 it had laid down, the ‘triple test’ stating guide, lines where an independent, commission will be formed,, empirical data will be col, lected and the number of, seats for reservation will not, cross 50%., , Actor held under SCs/STs, Act, released on bail, She was booked for casteist slur in 2021, , GENERAL, , Special Correspondent, GURUGRAM, , Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah, Chashmah actor Munmun, Dutta aka “Babijta ji” was ar, rested by the Haryana Police, on Monday in a case per, taining to alleged offensive, remarks against Scheduled, Caste on a social media plat, form., SP (Hansi) Nitika Gahlaut, said the actor joined the in, vestigation during the day, and was later released on, bail as per the Punjab and, Haryana High Court order., , Ms. Dutta reached the of, fice of Deputy Superinten, dent of Police Vinod Shan, kar with her lawyer and two, security guards as per the, court orders, and bouncers., She was arrested and let off, on interim bail after a four, hour interrogation. The, Punjab and Haryana HC had, on February 4 directed the, actor to join the probe. The, court had also ordered the, IO to release her on interim, bail after questioning., The FIR was registered on, May 13, 2021., , 0, DISCLAIMER: Readers are requested to verify and make appropriate enquiries to satisfy themselves about the veracity of an advertisement before responding to any published in this newspaper. THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD., the Publisher & Owner of this, newspaper, does not vouch for the authenticity of any advertisement or advertiser or, for any of the advertiser’s products and/or services. In no event can the Owner, Publisher, Printer, Editor, Director/s, Employees of this newspaper/company be held responsible/liable in any manner whatsoever for any claims and/or damages for advertisements in this newspaper., , OBITUARY &, REMEMBRANCE, , DEATH, , DEATH ANNIVERSARIES, , Published by N. Ravi at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD., Chennai-600002. Editor: Suresh Nambath (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act)., Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 RNI No. UPENG/2012/49940 ISSN 0971 - 751X Vol. 12 No. 32, ●, , CM, YK, , ●, , ●, , ●, , A ND-NDE
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EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , THE HINDU, , STATES 5, , DELHI, , TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022, , EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , IN BRIEF, , Unnikrishnan Nair is, new director of VSSC, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, , Unnikrishnan Nair S. is the, new director of the Vikram, Sarabhai Space Centre, (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram., He succeeds S. Somanath, who took over as Chairman,, Indian Space Research, Organisation (ISRO), in, January. Mr. Nair is heading, the Human Space Flight, Centre established by the, ISRO in Bengaluru for the, Gaganyaan programme. He, will continue to hold the post, until further orders., , KTR urges Centre to stop, coal blocks’ auction, HYDERABAD, , Continuing the tempo of its, unrelenting attack on the, Centre in the matter of, State’s interests, Telangana, Minister for IT and Industries, K.T. Rama Rao has written to, Union Coal Minister Pralhad, Joshi alleging that the Centre, is conspiring to privatise, Singareni Collieries Company, Ltd and auction of four, Singareni coal blocks is part, of that. Suggesting the Coal, Ministry to stop its plans to, auction Singareni coal blocks,, he said they be removed from, the auction list as was done in, the case of some States, including Gujarat., , Woman stripped,, assaulted by neighbour, BENGALURU, , A 46-year-old woman was, allegedly stripped and, assaulted by her neighbour, over a trivial row in, Karnataka’s Bellandur on, Friday. The victim also alleged, that the police refused to file, a complaint and assaulted her, son who was trying to record, their inaction on his mobile, phone. The victim had gone, to visit her ailing mother and, started cleaning the house, from outside. This irked the, neighbour, Ramu, Munivenkatappa. Without any, provocation, he attacked her., , Kerala Governor gives assent, to Lok Ayukta Ordinance, Pinarayi achieves, a political win in, some measure, Special Correspondent, Thiruvananthapuram, , Kerala Chief Minister Pina, rayi Vijayan appeared to, have achieved a political win, in some measure by convinc, ing Governor Arif Moham, mad Khan to sign an Ordi, nance seeking to amend the, Kerala Lok Ayukta Act, 1999., The Congress and the BJP, had vehemently opposed the, Ordinance on the premise, that it sought to undermine, the Ombudsman's powers to, investigate charges of cor, ruption, maladministration, and nepotism against those, holding public office., The Opposition parties, had alleged that the CPI(M)’s, political decision to shield, Mr. Vijayan from possible, prosecution in a slew of cor, , THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, , In what could arguably be a, first in Malayalam cinema, sets, a production company, has constituted an internal, complaints committee to, address complaints of sex, ual harassment at work, place, if any. The producers, of Senna Hegde’s upcoming, film ‘1744 White Alto’, formed a four member com, mittee ahead of its shooting,, which has begun now in, Kanhangad in Kasaragod, district., The initiative comes at a, time when the Women in Ci, nema Collective (WCC) has, been pressing for the consti, tution of internal com, plaints committee as per the, Sexual Harassment of Wo, men at the Workplace (Pre, vention, Prohibition and Re, dressal) Act (POSH Act) 2013, in film production sets. The, code of conduct, issued by, Kabini films, the producers, of the film, to the cast and, crew lists out acts which, , ruption charges pending, against him before the Lok, Ayukta had prompted the, “impetuous, hasty and ill, conceived” executive order., Mr. Khan assented to the, Ordinance early on Monday., The executive order made it, nonbinding on the “compe, tent authority” to mandato, rily eject, sans appeal, any, public official found guilty by, the Ombudsman., , gives the State government, the authority to appoint any, retired judge as the Ombud, sman., The Lok Ayukta would, serve for a fiveyear term or, till the age of 70, whichever, comes first., The signing of the conten, tious, amendment, also, opened the door for the Ca, binet to draw up the timeta, ble for the muchawaited, Budget session of the As, sembly. Raj Bhavan's per, ceived “delay” in permitting, the Ordinance had arguably, unnerved the government., Moreover, the CPI had re, portedly griped that the CPI, (M) had kept LDF allies in the, dark about the executive, order., The party had also openly, expressed its scepticism, about the necessity to, amend the 22yearold law, passed by the E. K. Nayanar, government., , HC grants anticipatory bail to Dileep, ‘Prima facie no material to suggest that accused have committed conspiracy’, Special Correspondent, Kochi, , Prima facie finding that the, offences alleged “are not at, tracted”, the Kerala High, Court on Monday granted, anticipatory bail to actor Di, leep and four other accused, in the case registered against, them for allegedly hatching a, conspiracy to murder the in, vestigation officers in the ac, tor sexual assault case., Justice Gopinath P., while, allowing the anticipatory, bail petitions of Dileep and, others, observed: “I am of, the opinion, prima facie,, that at present there is no, material to suggest that the, accused had committed the, offence of criminal conspira, , Malayalam film sets up, sexual harassment panel, S.R. Praveen, , Arif Mohammad Khan, , The Lok Ayukta Act speci, fies the Governor as the, “competent authority” if the, Chief Minister is the public, official at fault. In the case of, a Minister, the Chief Minister, is the competent authority., The Act applies at various, tiers of the administration,, from the Cabinet level and, downward., The amended Act makes it, obligatory for the competent, authority to review the “de, claration of guilt” by the Lok, Ayukta under Section 14 of, the Act before acting against, the culpable official. Within, three months, the compe, tent authority could accept, or reject the ombudsman’s, finding., The Ordinance also re, pealed the regulation that, only retired Supreme Court, justices or former Chief Jus, tices of High Courts could as, sume the office of Lok Ayuk, ta. Instead, the amendment, , could be considered as sex, ual harassment., According to Sreejith, Nair, one of the producers, of the film, it is a continua, tion of the best practices, that the producers who, have been part of the IT in, dustry have noticed over the, years. “Such internal me, chanisms to address sexual, harassment complaints has, been a part of all these, workplaces we have been, part of. Our executive pro, ducer Ambili, one of the, members of the committee,, spent some time with each, cast member to explain the, purpose of the committee, and how they can make use, of it,” he says., The WCC had in 2018 pe, titioned the Kerala High, Court against the lack of re, dressal mechanisms. Re, cently, the Kerala Women’s, Commission also impleaded, in the case stating an inter, nal complaints committee is, set up by the AMMA in all, film sets., , cy”. As for the criminal inti, midation charges against the, accused under Section 506, of the Indian Penal Code, (IPC), the court observed, that there was no case for, the prosecution that any of, the officers had been directly, threatened or intimidated by, the accused in this case., The incident in which Di, leep had spoken to Deputy, Superintendent of Police, Baiju Poulose on January 31,, 2018 at the Sessions Court,, Ernakulam, had to be dis, counted for two reasons., Firstly, on the date, the case, was pending at the commit, tal stage before the Judicial, First Class Magistrate Court,, Angamaly. Secondly, the, , Dileep, , statement by itself or words, allegedly spoken by Dileep, could not be termed ‘threat, or intimidation’ for the pur, poses of Section 506 of the, IPC., The court added that, , there was nothing to suggest, at present that the accused, had done something in res, pect of which an offence of, abetment could be alleged., Dismissing the plea of the, prosecution for custodial in, terrogation of the petition, ers, the court observed that, the ‘investigation can be pro, perly conducted without the, custody of the accused’., Even while on anticipatory, bail “the ‘deemed custody’, or ‘limited custody’ will be, with the prosecution for the, purposes of any recovery,, etc.”, The conditions for bail in, clude execution of a bond, for ₹1 lakh each with two su, reties to the like sum., , Will make Uttarakhand, international spiritual, capital of Hindus: AAP, , 17 women, rescued from, retreat were in, a trance: police, , Special Correspondent, , Special Correspondent, , NEW DELHI, , Visakhapatnam, , Aam Aadmi Party national, convener and Delhi Chief, Minister Arvind Kejriwal on, Monday said his party, would make Uttarakhand, “the international spiritual, capital of Hindus” if it won, the February 14 Assembly, elections., Addressing a press confe, rence in Uttarakhand to an, nounce the party’s agenda,, Mr. Kejriwal said the AAP, would implement the pil, grimage scheme it had, rolled out in Delhi, where, “40,000 people had been, sent for religious pilgrimag, es”. He said the AAP govern, ment would send people to, Ayodhya, Ajmer and Kartar, pur Sahib., “We will make Uttarak, hand the international spiri, tual capital of Hindus,” he, said, adding that tourism, and jobs would get a boost, from this., Mr. Kejriwal said the Bha, ratiya Janata Party and the, , Seventeen women rescued, from a ‘spiritual retreat’, near Payakaraopeta in, Andhra Pradesh are in a, state of trance, police offi, cials said, adding that the, women might have been, heavily brainwashed by A., Anil Kumar — the pastor, who is now behind bars ov, er allegations of sexual, exploitation., Anil Kumar, 42, alias, Prem Das was arrested on, Sunday for allegedly sex, ually exploiting 17 women, on the pretext of offering, them ‘spiritual guidance’, after confining them at his, trust called Prema Swaroo, pi Ministries in Srirampu, ram village, Payakaraopeta, mandal, in Visakhapatnam, district. The alleged wrong, doings at the retreat sur, faced after a woman in, mate escaped and lodged a, police complaint., The police are also look, ing into the possibility of, the women being drugged, by the accused., Police officers who visit, ed the trust being run by, Anil Kumar found that the, women were in a state of, complete trance., “The ambience inside, the trust was similar to cult, worship. The victims, who, hail from A.P. and Telanga, na, were made to believe, by the pastor that they, were born for God, and, that he was God’s messen, ger who would uplift them, from all the vagaries of, life,” a police officer said., Sources said that though, in the complaint the wo, man did not make allega, tions of sexual exploita, tion, the pastor himself, had confessed during the, investigation that he had, sexually exploited some of, the inmates., , Arvind Kejriwal in Haridwar, on Monday. PTI, *, , Congress had been in power, for the 21 years of Uttarak, hand’s existence and the pe, ople “had not seen anything, but corruption in 21 years”., He said the Delhi govern, ment had worked for seven, years to improve electricity, supply, education and, health facilities, which, would be implemented in, Uttarakhand too., Mr. Kejriwal said the AAP, government would give, ₹5,000 as unemployment, benefit to youth and ₹1,000, a month to all adult women., He promised government, jobs for all retired defence, personnel., , Schoolteacher objects to, student wearing hijab, Rights organisations petition govt., Special Correspondent, PUDUCHERRY, , Several human rights and, student organisations on, Monday petitioned the Edu, cation Department, seeking, action against the authori, ties of the Government High, School in Ariankuppam for, objecting to a Muslim girl, wearing a hijab in the, classroom., The issue came to light, last week, when the girl’s, parents approached the, leaders of rights organisa, tions in their locality over, the incident, according to, , CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, , Rush hour, , Swaminathan, one of the, petitioners., The girl was asked by a, teacher to come to school in, regular uniform. But after, the intervention of higher, authorities, she was allowed, to attend class, he said., Director of School Educa, tion P.T. Rudra Goud said, “I, have asked the school head, to submit a report on the in, cident.” He also said the de, partment had sought a re, port from a government, school in Thirukkanoor for, allowing a rightwing organ, isation to conduct a ‘drill’., , Row over hijab escalates, throughout Karnataka, Students resort to vociferous protests, Special Correspondent, Bengaluru, , Trusting in God: Hundreds of devotees pulling the chariot of Sri Venkataramana as part of the Kodiyal Theru, an annual car, festival, ignoring COVID-19 physical distancing norms, in Mangaluru on Monday. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT, *, , CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, , The row over students, sporting hijabs and saffron, shawls in violation of un, iform dress code in a few, colleges in coastal region es, calated on Monday, result, ing in unrest on campuses, of various PU colleges in, other parts of Karnataka., While Muslim girls sported, hijabs, students backed by, rightwing, organisations, came to colleges with saf, fron shawls to protest the, wearing of hijabs., It may be noted that the, State government had on Sa, turday made uniform dress, code mandatory for PU col, leges. This followed a de, mand by rightwing organi, sations and students backed, by them who started com, ing to colleges wearing saf, fron shawls to protest, against wearing of hijabs by, Muslim girls in a few colleg, es in the coastal region., , Such a rule regarding un, iform dress code had been, brought in to prevent stu, dents from wearing both hi, jabs and saffron shawls. But, instead of ending the row,, the uniform dress code, further escalated the con, troversy with more number, of students started wearing, hijabs as well as saffron, shawls., The college faculty too, were a bewildered lot as stu, dents resorted to vociferous, protests through slogan, shouting. While some col, leges suspended the classes, to prevent any untoward in, cidents, some others turned, away the students who did, not adhere to uniform dress, code., In a college in Chikkama, galuru, the row got thicker, with a section of students, sporting blue shawls and, chanting Jai Bhim. They, supported the tradition of, wearing hijabs., , BJP flays body shaming comments against PM Rooster blow kills punter near Chittoor, Party to take up legal action against ‘intemperate remarks’ made by TRS leaders, Special Correspondent, HYDERABAD, , Telangana Bharatiya Janata, Party legal cell has decided, to take up “legal action”, against the ‘intemperate re, marks’ made by the Telanga, na Rastra Samiti (TRS) lead, ers on Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, Finance Mi, nister Nirmala Sitharaman,, Union Minister for Tourism, & Culture G. Kishan Reddy, and others on Monday., “The TRS leaders from, Chief Minister K. Chandra, sekhar Rao onwards made, uncalled for personal com, ments on our leaders includ, ing body shaming against the, PM. This is unacceptable as, they have been filing police, cases against those making, similar comments here., Their criticism should have, CM, YK, , Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar holding a meeting, with party members and legal experts. NAGARA GOPAL, *, , been confined to the Budget, and government policies,”, said former MLC N. Ram, chander Rao at a press, conference., Mr. Ramchander Rao said, the BJP wanted to ‘review’, the functioning of the Indian, Constitution when it had ap, , pointed the Justice M. Ven, katchalaiah Committee dur, ing, Prime, Minister, Vajpayee’s reign following, “due procedures and de, bate”. “It was certainly not, for ‘rewriting’ the Constitu, tion which KCR is advocating, and this a “seditious” de, , mand and “antinational” in, nature. The Supreme Court, had clearly said the Constitu, tion cannot be changed,” he, said., “Change the CM not the, Constitution” protests would, be held outside all the courts, once the physical hearing of, the cases start across Telan, gana, he said. Legal cell of, fice bearers — Ravinder Vish, wanath, G. Rama Rao,, Suhasini, Antony Reddy, J., Venugopal Reddy, Srujan Ku, mar Reddy and others parti, cipated in the meeting., Meanwhile, party chief, and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar, said, “KCR should say where, he finds the Constitution, problematic. He has no right, to sit in Chief Minister’s chair, if he has no confidence in, the Constitution of India.”, , He was injured by the blade tied to the leg of a bird that strayed into crowd, Staff Reporter, CHITTOOR, , In a freak incident, a 40, yearold man died of blood, loss after receiving a blade, injury when a rooster en, gaged in a fight suddenly, strayed into a group of pun, ters near Kalicharla village of, Peddamandyam mandal, 125, km from Andhra Pradesh’s, Chittoor district, on Sunday, evening. The incident came, to light on Monday., According to information,, around 40 persons, mostly, villagers from Peddaman, dyam and Tamballapalle, mandals, gathered in a jack, fruit orchard on Sunday, morning to place bets on, rooster fights. The frenzy, continued till the dusk., During the fight, a rooster, with blades tied to its legs, , The punters arrested by police at Peddamandyam in Chittoor, district on Monday., , suddenly flung into the air, and landed on a group of, punters. One among them,, identified as Gangulaiah of, Peddamandyam, received a, twoinch deep cut below the, knee, resulting in heavy, bleeding that didn’t stop des, pite efforts., , Before the villagers could, make any effort to shift Gan, gulaiah to a hospital, he fell, unconscious, and, then, breathed his last in minutes., Some punters in an in, ebriated condition fled the, spot. The organisers also re, portedly served liquor to the, , roosters to boost their fight, ing vigour., When the information, reached the police at Pedda, mandyam, a special team, rushed to the spot and took, 12 people into custody, be, sides some roosters, includ, ing the one responsible for, the blade attack. The body, was handed over to the fami, ly members after postmor, tem on Monday., Deputy SP (Madanapalle), A. Ravi Manohar Achari told, The Hindu that despite the, special teams in the rural, areas to prevent rooster, fights, some groups could, manage to organise it in for, est areas and isolated fields., “We have arrested 12 per, sons who participated in the, rooster fights. The case is un, der investigation,” he said., A ND-NDE
Page 6 : EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , 6 EDITORIAL, , DELHI, , THE HINDU, , TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022, , EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , A dose of science in the vaccination strategy, Vaccination and booster dose plans must have context in the backdrop and be informed by epidemiological evidence, , Bold gamble, , I, , f the elevation of Charanjit Singh Channi as Chief Mi, nister in September 2021 was an accidental outcome, of internal rivalries in the Congress, the party’s an, nouncement that he would continue in the post if it, wins the Assembly election is a bold gamble. The Con, gress has been reticent in projecting a singular leader in, any State, and has often taken the plea that it believed, in collective leadership. The announcement of a CM, candidate, though not unprecedented, is rare for the, Congress, and in this instance necessitated by the un, iquely volatile social dynamic in Punjab at the moment., Entrenched social alignments in the State appear to be, unravelling, and the Congress is trying to knit together, a viable electoral majority, with a Dalit face as its axis., Punjab has close to 32% population of the Scheduled, Caste community, while the Jat Sikh population is over, 20%. But since 1977, the State has never seen a nonJat, Sikh Chief Minister — be it of the Congress party or the, Shiromani Akali Dal, indicating the political dominance, of the Jat Sikh community. Giani Zail Singh was the last, nonJat Sikh Chief Minister of Punjab between 197277., The Congress has usually shied away from pro, nounced social justice politics, and in that sense, this is, an audacious move which will have ripple effects in its, strategy elsewhere too. Party leader Rahul Gandhi is, driving a more accommodative caste politics, but the, approach is evidently facing resistance from within the, party and outside. Dalits in Punjab are not a homogene, ous category. They are divided into 39 castes, clustered, under different religions and sects locally called ‘De, ras’. Mr. Channi belongs to the Ravidasia community of, Dalits, which is a minuscule population of the total Da, lits. Whether he can galvanise a larger politics of aspira, tion shared among all communities overlooked in the, traditional power sharing models of the State remains, an open question, but Mr. Channi does deserve the sup, port he has found from the party. He has not been long, enough in power to be judged for his track record as, CM, but Mr. Channi is a good story teller and has a good, story — which are essential ingredients for any success, ful politics. His prominence will in all likelihood set off, reactions from Jat Sikhs and upper caste Hindus, con, siderable segments of whom have been with the Con, gress. Opponents of the Congress — the Shiromani Akali, DalBSP alliance, the BJPled alliance, and the Aam Aad, mi Party — will all try to inflame the resentment among, these communities to corner the Congress. The Con, gress is accused of playing caste politics by promoting a, Dalit, and it is notable the rotation of power among the, dominant Jat Sikhs for decades rarely caused such con, cerns. Perhaps that itself is proof that Mr. Channi de, served this chance., , When the music stops, , Chandrakant Lahariya, , S, , ix weeks after the Indian go, vernment announced ‘pre, caution shots’ or the ‘third, dose’ of COVID19 vaccines for se, lect populations, there have been, four relevant developments. First,, two COVID19 vaccines have re, ceived ‘conditional market author, ization’. Second, phase three clini, cal trials which include the, booster dose of a nasal COVID19, candidate vaccine have been ap, proved. Third, the Omicron wave, has largely swept through the, country. Fourth, ₹5,000 crore has, been allocated for COVID19 vac, cines in the Union Budget 202223., What do these new develop, ments mean for the COVID19 vac, cination and booster dose strategy, in India? Do healthy adults need a, booster and when? Is the budge, tary allocation for COVID19 vac, cines enough? Let us discuss, these., Market authorisation, The news of market authorisation, of Covishield and Covaxin has gen, erated a lot of interest. Many have, thought that from now on, anyone, who wishes to, can buy a COVID19, vaccine and have it administered, at their will or on a doctor’s pre, scription. That is what ‘market, authorisation’ usually means for, most medical products. However,, these two COVID19 vaccines have, received not the full but a ‘condi, tional’ market authorisation. The, refore, for the general public,, nothing has changed. The Govern, ment will continue to regulate vac, cine administration as earlier. The, already eligible target groups (as, per national guidelines), would, continue to receive vaccines, through authorised COVID19 vac, cination centres. The only effec, tive change is for the vaccine ma, nufacturers., From submitting safety and effi, cacy data to the national drug reg, ulator every fortnight, they can, , I, , CM, YK, , ₹1,500 crore in advance. There, fore, the advance payment would, be enough for 10 crore doses. The, budgetary allocation for the next, financial year could be sufficient to, procure 20 crore to 33 crore dos, es, depending on the share of dif, ferent COVID19 vaccines ordered., In addition, there is likely to be a, balance of stocks of COVID19 vac, cines already purchased in the, current financial year. These doses, are likely to be sufficient to vacci, nate the remaining eligible popu, lation and administer boosters to, (currently and in future) eligible, population subgroups., Use the time at hand, In a pandemic response, efforts, are made to reduce and halt any, transmission. However, a fresh, wave has a silver lining as well., Any natural infection results in the, development of immunity. There, fore, the ongoing third wave gives, India some time to decide about, rolling out boosters for additional, population subgroups. This time, at hand should be used for some, reflection and actions. First, in the, pandemic, epidemics, outbreaks, and in epidemiology, context or, the local situation matters a lot., The context of India is very diffe, rent from that in other countries, because of the relatively low me, dian population age, the use of dif, ferent COVID19 vaccines, and the, vaccination of the majority of the, population after natural infection, in the second wave, to list a few., Therefore, the data used by the, other countries in deciding on vac, cine effectiveness and boosters, cannot, and should not, be used, for India. Such decisions need to, be based on the local data and evi, dence. For example, Denmark, af, ter analysing local evidence, de, cided not to administer COVID19, vaccines to children in the 5, years12 years age group. A few, vaccines administered to children, in India, i.e., BCG against tubercu, losis or Japanese encephalitis ( JE), vaccines are not part of immunisa, tion programmes of many coun, tries. These are some of the exam, ples of the context and use of local, data., Second, the success of any vac, cination programme is dependent, , on citizen participation. It is time, science determines the COVID19, vaccination strategy. Let us, as citi, zens, not demand a booster for, any adult age group. Let us not, rush into the vaccination of chil, dren younger than 15 years of age., Let us not link vaccination to, school attendance. Children need, not to be vaccinated to attend, school. The unscientific and misin, formed public discourse has been, an ongoing challenge in India’s CO, VID19 pandemic response. There, fore, governments at all levels, need to step up transparent and, timely science communication, around vaccines and through, trustworthy sources., Third, there is a need to identify, vaccine and vaccinationspecific, policy questions. Thereafter, ana, lyse the COVID19 disease and vac, cine data and link them with clini, cal outcomes to assess the, effectiveness against SARSCoV2, variants and answer as many poli, cy questions as possible. This, needs to be supplemented by con, ducting primary research, both, clinical and epidemiological, for, the policy questions that have not, been answered by the available, data., India’s COVID19 vaccination, drive has matured with commen, dable coverage: approximately, 95% of eligible adults with one, shot and 75% of eligible adults with, both shots. However, the task is, still unfinished. The sufficient CO, VID19 vaccine supply or high vac, cine coverage in adults is not rea, son enough to open booster doses, for additional age groups. The CO, VID19 vaccination and booster, doses strategy should be deter, mined by keeping context in the, backdrop and being solely in, formed by emerging scientific and, epidemiological evidence. Along, side, rather than being solely fo, cused on COVID19 vaccines and, boosters — in the weeks and, months — we, as a society, need to, come to a consensus and prepare, a road map to ‘live with, SARSCoV2’., Dr. Chandrakant Lahariya, a, physicianepidemiologist, is affiliated with, the Foundation for Peoplecentric Health, Systems, based in New Delhi, , Notes for India as the digital trade juggernaut rolls on, Sitting out trade negotiations could result in the country losing out on opportunities to shape the rules, , Despite the U.K.’s success in vaccination,, Boris Johnson’s leadership is under scrutiny, n the wake of the intensifying ‘Partygate’ scandal in, the U.K., five close aides of Prime Minister Boris, Johnson have resigned, putting the Conservative, Party and its leadership in a tight spot over their han, dling of the COVID19 pandemic and their adherence to, the associated restrictions on public gatherings. The, five senior members of Mr. Johnson’s office, including, Chief of Staff Dan Rosenfield quit last week, following, an incriminating enquiry into multiple social gather, ings that took place at No.10 Downing Street during the, early days of the pandemic when tight lockdown regu, lations had been imposed across the U.K. limiting all, such parties. The scandal gained momentum after U.K., media published reports, including photographs, of se, nior members of Mr. Johnson’s team attending several, parties held around June 2020, a time when gatherings, of more than two people indoors were banned. Follow, ing the expected outrage in Parliament and the initia, tion of a police investigation, last week a report by Sue, Gray, Second Permanent Secretary, was published. Her, report found that 16 events took place between May, 2020 and April 2021 including a drinks event in the, Downing Street garden attended by Mr. Johnson on May, 20, 2020, and a birthday celebration for Mr. Johnson in, the Cabinet Room on June 19, 2020., The scandal has rocked the confidence of Conserva, tive MPs in their Prime Minister’s capacity to lead. Even, though Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries insisted that a, “vast majority” of them still support Mr. Johnson,, some, such as Stephen Hammond, have said that they, are “considering very carefully” whether he still has, confidence in the PM, especially because “telling the, truth matters, and nowhere more so than in the House, of Commons”. Mr. Johnson has written to all Conserva, tive MPs committing to improving “the way 10 Downing, Street works”. But it appears that MPs are far from con, vinced that there was sufficient justification to hold, these drinking parties at No.10 when the nation was fac, ing lockdowns. Specifically, these events endangered, public health, damaged public perception of the go, vernment and its commitment to pandemic regula, tions, and demonstrated failure to explore alternative,, pandemiccompliant means to transact business. The, most ominous sign of Mr. Johnson’s deteriorating pros, pects of continuing as PM are the MPs who have report, edly submitted a letter of no confidence to Sir Graham, Brady, Chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs., If 54 MPs submit such letters to Sir Graham, it will trig, ger a vote on Mr. Johnson’s leadership of the party. Gi, ven the progress made by his government in terms of, vaccine administration, putting the U.K. at the top of, the global vaccination league tables, it would be ironic, if Mr. Johnson’s time in No.10 was remembered more, for drinking parties and lockdown violations., , reason for any urgency to adminis, ter COVID19 booster doses to, healthy adults in the age group 18, years60 years. Similarly, children, being at low risk of severe disease, and having developed infections,, and with further exposure of chil, dren in the ongoing Omicron, surge, the vaccination of children, younger than 15 years is also not, an urgency, either., This does not mean that no, population subgroup in the 1859, years band would ever need CO, VID19 vaccine boosters. One, im, munity, and thus protection, against respiratory viruses (i.e.,, SARSCoV2), whether after vacci, nation or natural infection, de, clines over a period of time. Two,, mutations are common in SARS, CoV2 and the emergence of newer, variants of concern with an ability, to bypass immunity (provided by, natural infection or vaccination), continues to remain a possibility., Therefore, it is likely that a larger, proportion of the adult population, might need a booster, though at a, relatively longer interval. Further, more, once there is evidence, about the effectiveness of addi, tional doses of COVID19 vaccines, (being used in India) in immuno, compromised individuals, the, third dose should be recommend, ed for such adults, of any age, group., Funding of COVID19 vaccines is, a key operational issue. Soon after, the Union Budget 202223, there, were concerns that the allocation, of ₹5,000 crore for COVID19 vac, cines could be insufficient. Howev, er, an objective assessment sug, gests that it could be enough. The, Indian government, last year, had, reportedly made an advance mar, ket commitment (AMC) with the, manufacturers of Corbevax (Bio, logical E Ltd.) for 30 crore shots, and had made partpayment of, , mented global trading landscape, and the rising importance of the, global digital economy, can India, tailor its engagement with the, WTO to better accommodate its, economic, and, geopolitical, interests?, , Arindrajit Basu, , D, , espite the cancellation of, the Twelfth Ministerial, Conference (MC12) of the, World Trade Organization (WTO), late last year (scheduled date, No, vember 30, 2021December 3,, 2021) due to COVID19, digital, trade negotiations continue their, ambitious march forward. On De, cember 14, Australia, Japan, and, Singapore, coconvenors of the, plurilateral Joint Statement Initia, tive ( JSI) on ecommerce, wel, comed the ‘substantial progress’, made at the talks over the past, three years and stated that they ex, pected a convergence on more is, sues by the end of 2022., , Holding out, But therein lies the rub: even, though JSI members account for, over 90% of global trade, and the, initiative welcomes newer en, trants, over half of WTO members, (largely from the developing, world) continue to opt out of these, negotiations. They fear being arm, twisted into accepting global rules, that could etiolate domestic poli, cymaking and economic growth., India and South Africa have led, the resistance and been the JSI’s, most vocal critics. India has thus, far resisted pressures from the de, veloped world to jump onto the JSI, bandwagon, largely through cohe, rent legal argumentation against, the JSI and a longterm develop, mental vision., Yet, given the increasingly frag, , Global rules on digital trade, The WTO emerged in a largely, analogue world in 1994. It was on, ly at the Second Ministerial Confe, rence (1998) that members agreed, on core rules for ecommerce reg, ulation. A temporary moratorium, was imposed on customs duties, relating to the electronic transmis, sion of goods and services. This, moratorium has been renewed, continuously, to consistent oppo, sition from India and South Africa., They argue that the moratorium, imposes significant costs on deve, loping countries as they are un, able to benefit from the revenue, customs duties would bring., The members also agreed to set, up a work programme on ecom, merce across four issue areas at, the General Council: goods, servic, es, intellectual property, and de, velopment. Frustrated by a lack of, progress in the two decades that, followed, 70 members brokered, the JSI in December 2017 to initiate, exploratory work on the tradere, lated aspects of ecommerce. Sev, eral countries, including develop, ing countries, signed up in 2019, despite holding contrary views to, most JSI members on key issues., Surprise entrants, China and Indo, nesia, argued that they sought to, shape the rules from within the in, itiative rather than sitting on the, sidelines., India and South Africa have, rightly pointed out that the JSI, contravenes the WTO’s consensus, , LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, Hijab and rights, The issue around hijab, wearing has to be distanced, from religion and looked at, from the point of view of, women’s rights. It cannot, be denied that women’s, expression and their, communicative skills with, other people will be only, visible without the hijab. Its, continuance leads to a loss, , GETTY IMAGES, , The projection of Channi as CM candidate was, forced on Congress, but is the right decision, , The nasal vaccine, Even though in the clinical trial, stage, and none been authorised, yet, nasal COVID19 vaccines have, always garnered a lot of interest, for a variety of reasons. One, the, ease of administration without a, needle and syringe (and thus less, biomedical waste). Two, given that, COVID19 vaccines currently in use, in India have limited evidence, about their role in reducing trans, mission, nasal vaccines, through, mucosal antibodies, are likely to, perform better in reducing trans, mission. Three, nasal vaccines, might be useful for children, in, whom the primary objective of, COVID19 vaccination is in reduc, ing transmission rather than the, individual benefit. Four, the world, needs more vaccines to ensure, wider availability and address vac, cine inequity. Five, combination, use of injectable and nasal vac, cines might provide blended pro, tection from severe disease and re, duce the transmission. Such an, approach could be useful in miti, gating the impact of the ongoing, COVID19 pandemic as well as in, the control of outbreaks in the, postpandemic period. However, a, flip side of nasal vaccines and mu, cosal immunity is that protection, is usually short lasting., Epidemiological data and mo, delling estimates suggest that by, the time the Omicron wave ends in, any setting, 50% to 70% of the, population could have been ex, posed. A study from South Africa, found that the Omicron exposure, in an individual with past infection, or vaccination results in a 14fold, increase in antibodies, which off, ers protection from future Delta, variant infection. The role of hy, brid immunity acquired after nat, ural infection in combination with, two shots of COVID19 vaccines, provides better protection than, vaccines alone. As an Omicron, wave is sweeping through India,, the country is at a stage which can, be termed ‘sandwich immunity’ —, hybrid immunity supplemented, by another layer of natural, infection., In this backdrop, there is no, , GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO, , now submit this data every six, months., , based framework, where every, member has a voice and vote re, gardless of economic standing., Unlike the General Council Work, Programme, which India and, South Africa have attempted to, revitalise in the past year, the JSI, does not include all WTO mem, bers. For the process to be legally, valid, the initiative must either, build consensus or negotiate a plu, rilateral agreement outside the ae, gis of the WTO., India and South Africa’s posi, tioning strikes a chord at the heart, of the global trading regime: how, to balance the sovereign right of, states to shape domestic policy, with international obligations that, would enable them to reap the be, nefits of a global trading system., A contested regime, There are several issues upon, which the developed and develop, ing worlds disagree. One such is, sue concerns international rules, relating to the free flow of data, across borders. Several countries,, both within and outside the JSI,, have imposed data localisation, mandates that compel corpora, tions to store and process data, within territorial borders. This is a, key policy priority for India. Sever, al payment card companies, in, cluding Mastercard and American, Express, were prohibited from is, suing new cards for failure to, , comply with a 2018 financial data, localisation directive from the Re, serve Bank of India. The Joint Par, liamentary Committee ( JPC) on, data protection has recommended, stringent localisation measures for, sensitive personal data and critical, personal data in India’s data pro, tection legislation. However, for, nations and industries in the deve, loped world looking to access new, digital markets, these restrictions, impose unnecessary compliance, costs, thus arguably hampering in, novation and supposedly amount, ing to unfair protectionism., There is a similar disagreement, regarding domestic laws that man, date the disclosure of source, codes. Developed countries be, lieve that this hampers innovation,, whereas developing countries be, lieve it is essential for algorithmic, transparency and fairness — which, was another key recommendation, of the JPC report in December, 2021., India’s choices, India’s global position is rein, forced through narrative building, by political and industrial leaders, alike. Data sovereignty is cham, pioned as a means of resisting ‘da, ta colonialism’, the exploitative, economic practices and intensive, lobbying of Silicon Valley compa, nies. Policymaking for India’s digi, tal economy is at a critical junc, ture., Surveillance, reform,, personal data protection, algorith, mic governance, and nonperso, nal data regulation must be gal, vanised, through, evidenced, insights, and work for individuals,, communities, and aspiring local, businesses — not just established, larger players., Hastily signing trading obliga, , tions could reduce the space avail, able to frame appropriate policy., But sitting out trade negotiations, will mean that the digital trade jug, gernaut will continue unchecked,, through megaregional trading, agreements such as the Regional, Comprehensive Economic Part, nership (RCEP) and the Compre, hensive and Progressive Agree, ment for TransPacific Partnership, (CPTPP). India could risk becom, ing an unwitting standardtaker in, an already fragmented trading re, gime and lose out on opportuni, ties to shape these rules instead., Alternatives exist; negotiations, need not mean compromise. For, example, exceptions to digital, trade rules, such as ‘legitimate pu, blic policy objective’ or ‘essential, security interests’, could be nego, tiated to preserve policymaking, where needed while still acquiesc, ing to the larger agreement. Furth, er, any outcome need not be an all, ornothing arrangement. Taking a, cue from the Digital Economy, Partnership Agreement (DEPA), between Singapore, Chile, and, New Zealand, India can push for a, framework where countries can, pick and choose modules with, which they wish to comply. These, combinations can be amassed in, crementally as emerging econo, mies such as India work through, domestic regulations., Despite its failings, the WTO, plays a critical role in global gover, nance and is vital to India’s strateg, ic interests. Negotiating without, surrendering domestic policy, making holds the key to India’s, digital future., Arindrajit Basu is Research Lead at the, Centre for Internet and Society, India., The views expressed are personal, , Letters emailed to
[email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials., , of precious women’s rights., The French government, opposed the display of, religious symbols as it was, detrimental to peoples’, integration in society., Women wearing hijabs and, covering their face cannot, be compared to a Sikh, wearing a turban or, carrying a kirpan, for the, reasons are different. Being, , compelled to wear a hijab, denies women of their, bodily autonomy., The possibilities of the, Bharatiya Janata Party, capitalising on the issue, should not deter the, possibilities of banning the, hijab. ‘More’ is lost on, account of religion but, ‘most’ is lost on account of, the hijab which is symbolic, , of women’s subjugation., N.G.R. Prasad,, Chennai, , Lata Mangeshkar, The passing of Lata, Mangeshkar is a reminder, of days past when films and, the music of that era had a, classic halo around them, and were insightful. One, wishes that these pristine, , recollections of an age gone, by remain in today’s world, where vulgarity in the, name of modernism has, seeped into almost, everything., Gaurav Nohwar,, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, , I have been an ardent, listener of Lataji’s songs. I, had the fortune of being the, ■, , To read more letters, online, scan the QR code, , neighbour of a former Army, man who used to play, Lataji’s Hindi songs as 78, rpm records (available at that, time) on his HMV, gramophone. He later gifted, all the old records to me,, which I still play to this day., P.M. Gopalan,, Kochi, , A ND-NDE
Page 7 : EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , THE HINDU, , OPED 7, , DELHI, , TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022, , EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , Majoritarianism is wearing the veil of debate A selfreliant pharma industry, Rightwing groups are holding hostage the rights of Muslim women to education and dignity, , The productionlinked incentive scheme needs to be, modified in order to attract the industry, , in the name of their right to adminis, ter a school or college., , Kavita Krishnan, , Along coastal Karnataka, many col, leges have caved in to the demand by, rightwing groups, including the Ak, hil, Bharatiya, Vidyarthi, Par, ishad (ABVP), the student wing of the, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), that, Muslim women cannot be allowed to, enter college wearing hijabs even if, the headscarves match the colour of, the college uniform. Instigated by the, ABVP, Hindu students declared that, they would wear saffron stoles if, Muslim women wore hijabs. In res, ponse, the BJP government of Karna, taka banned in campuses “clothes, which disturb equality, integrity and, public law and order”. This decision, draws its legitimacy from the Su, preme Court’s interpretation of Arti, cle 25(1) (all persons are equally entit, led to freedom of conscience and the, right freely to profess, practise and, propagate religion) to the effect that, “essential practices” of religions are, protected from restrictions imposed, by the state except to uphold “public, order, morality and health”., The Kerala High Court had held in, Amnah Bint Basheer v. CBSE (2015), that the CBSE could not prevent a, Muslim girl from writing her exams, while wearing a hijab, on the, grounds that the hijab is an “essential, practice” in Islam and thus deserving, of protection under Article 25 (1). On, the other hand, the Kerala High, Court, in Fathima Tasneem v. State, of Kerala (2018), held that the court, could not tell schools to allow Mus, lim girls to wear hijabs. It conceded, that girls do have a fundamental, right to wear a hijab, but concluded, that their rights serve mere “indivi, dual interest”, and must thus give, way to the fundamental right of the, educational institution’s manage, ment to administer an institution as, it wishes, since such a right serves, “public interest”., The elephant in the room, These interpretations of “public in, terest” and “public order” and “es, sential practices” may not offer the, best guidance at this current junc, , A faculty member talks to students after the school authorities denied them, entry for wearing hijab, in Kundapura of Udupi district, Karnataka. PTI, *, , ture, since they seem to be shutting, their eyes to the elephant in the, room: majoritarian Hindu suprema, cist intimidation which is holding, hostage the fundamental rights of, Muslim women to education and dig, nity. Hindu supremacists are achiev, ing their demand that Muslim wo, men can only study with their peers, from other religions if they erase any, appearance of ‘Muslimness’. If Mus, lim women want to wear hijabs, says, the BJP regime and its student storm, troopers, they can study in Muslim, run colleges. How can such an out, come be in public interest? Such an, outcome will enable the agenda of, segregation and isolation of Muslims, and radicalisation of Hindus, which, Hindu supremacist groups in coastal, Karnataka have pursued for over a, decade by violently coming down on, interactions between Hindu and, Muslim classmates, friends and lov, ers. Public interest is served here on, ly by nurturing diversity in educa, tional institutions: by allowing, Hindu, Muslim, Christian students to, learn to look beyond their superficial, differences and form lasting, friendships., Majoritarian coercion and state, approved violence is wearing the veil, of a “debate” over the “patriarchal”, hijab. How hypocritical is it to point, an accusing finger at the hijab as an, offensive symbol of patriarchy when, India’s only woman Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi as well as the coun, try’s only woman President Pratibha, Patil both covered their heads in pu, blic – presumably in deference to the, patriarchal expectations from wo, men in public life in India? Can In, , Keeping the flock together, Infighting in the smaller parties of the LDF has, dented the image of the Pinarayiled government, Last year, 11 political parties, led by, the CPI(M), came together in Kerala, to fight the election as the Left Demo, cratic Front (LDF). This strategy, helped the Left coalition shatter the, State’s 40year record of voting out, incumbents. However, since the time, of Cabinet formation, the LDF has, been facing problems, as its minor, constituents are plagued by infight, ing. Internal strife in the Loktantrik, Janata Dal (LJD), the Nationalist Con, gress Party (NCP), the Indian Nation, al League (INL) and the Kerala Con, gress(B) now appears, to have robbed the Pin, arayi Cabinet 2.0 of its, sheen., In December 2021,, LJD rebels led by State, general secretary Sheikh P., Harris and State secretaries An, gathil Ajaykumar and V. Rajesh, Prem quit the party and are now, waiting in the wings to join the CPI, (M). Before they quit, they were re, moved from their posts after they, sought the sacking of party State pre, sident M.V. Shreyams Kumar for fail, ing to take responsibility for the poor, performance of the party in the As, sembly elections., The NCP has been in turmoil since, former Congress leader P.C. Chacko, joined the party before the Assembly, polls and was later elevated to the, post of State president. The division, of electoral spoils, particularly the re, cent nomination of a member to the, Kerala Public Service Commission,, has exposed the rift in the party bet, ween Mr. Chacko and Minister A.K., Saseendran. The differences have, forced CPI(M) State secretary Kodiye, ri Balakrishnan and LDF convener A., Vijayaraghavan to step in and ask the, leaders to resolve their differences, and party national president Sharad, Pawar to summon them to Mumbai., In the INL, the factions led by State, president A.P. Abdul Wahab and gen, eral secretary Kassim Irikkur are at, loggerheads over sharing of State, boards and corporations. In July, sup, porters of these warring factions, came to blows at a leadership meet, ing in Kochi and the lone party legis, CM, YK, , Kavita Krishnan is Secretary, All India, Progressive Women's Association, and, Politburo member of CPI (ML) Liberation, , Reji Joseph & Ramaa Arun Kuma, , The pharmaceuticals industry is a key sector, for the Atmanirbhar Bharat programme. The, objective of the PhaseI ProductionLinked, Incentive (PLI) scheme in this sector was to, reduce import dependence on active phar, maceutical ingredients (APIs), drug interme, diates (DIs) and key starting materials, (KSMs). This scheme was expected to attract, a lot of interest as countries had begun to, adopt measures to reduce their dependence, on China for APIs. However, the response to, this scheme did not meet expectations., A total of 239 applications were received, in two rounds from an industry of over, 3,000 firms. Of these, 61 were selected. As 11, beneficiaries withdrew from the scheme, the, number reduced to 50 as on December 9,, 2021, against the maximum number of 136, beneficiaries as mentioned in the guidelines., No beneficiary was identified in five of the 41, products notified for the scheme., Creating confidence among investors, A recent study conducted by us on this, scheme, published as a working paper of the, Institute for Studies in Industrial Develop, ment (ISID), shows that India needs a strate, gy, not just a scheme, to realise the objective, of reducing import dependence. There are, three areas where this PLI scheme requires, modifications. Other complementary mea, sures also need to be put in place for India to, become selfreliant in APIs, DIs and KSMs., Firms will invest in production in India if, they see a prospect of producing at prices, cheaper than the cost of imports. As cheaper, imports from China are critical for maintain, ing their global competence in the export of, formulations, investors will face an invest, ment uncertainty if the proposed measures, do not ensure the price competitiveness of, domestic production. More than half the tur, nover of this industry is from exports. Im, ports from China are reported to be cheaper, by 35–40% compared to indigenously pro, duced products. So, any strategy aimed at, achieving selfreliance should focus on, achieving price competency in production., Technology plays a very crucial role in re, ducing import dependence as Indian pro, ducers have constraints in overcoming some, of the advantages of Chinese producers such, as scale of operations. Without appropriate, technology, APIs/DIs/KSMs manufacturers, , CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, , STATE OF PLAY, , Biju Govind, , dia’s imagination then not accommo, date a hijabwearing Muslim woman, as the country’s Prime Minister or, President? Can we not then unequi, vocally defend the right of Muslim, women to attend college without, having to be coercively stripped of, the hijab?, Whether the hijab is “essential” to, Islam or not need not concern us; the, fact is that hijabs are widely worn by, Muslim girls and women in India and, should not be stigmatised or banned., The false equivalence between the, ABVP’s saffron stoles and the Muslim, women’s hijabs is dangerous. Muslim, women are not wearing hijabs to dis, rupt colleges or force any other, group of students to adopt or give up, any dress or practice. They are wear, ing hijabs with uniforms the same, way Sikh men wear turbans, or Hin, dus wear bindis/tilak/vibhuti with, uniforms. The ABVP has never worn, saffron turbans to protest against, Sikh turbans. They are singling out, the Muslim hijab, and their saffron, stoles — a political, not religious, garb, worn by BJP and RSS followers all ov, er India — are clearly motivated by, Islamophobia., The constitutional freedom to, practise religion should mean pro, tection for a woman’s freedom to in, terpret and practise her own religion, in keeping with her own conscience., Religious institutions cannot be al, lowed to violate the constitutional, rights and liberties of individual citi, zens in the name of their “freedom to, practise religion” (see Sabarimala, and instant triple talaq judgments);, educational institutions cannot vio, late the rights of individual students, , Pressure of patriarchy, Every day, girls and women across, communities accommodate their fa, mily’s patriarchal concerns to go to, school or college. “Wear a hijab” is, no different from “don’t mix with, boys, don’t fall in love outside the, caste or community, dress modestly”, – injunctions a young woman will, hear from her parents no matter, which community she is from. Keep, ing women wearing hijabs from ac, cessing education does not “empow, er” them, it only places added, hurdles on this already thorny path., All women feel the pressure of pa, triarchy on their choice of clothing,, no matter if it’s a hijab or high heels;, burqa or spaghettistrap tops. Sup, porting the struggle of women in hi, jabs in Karnataka does not amount to, endorsing the patriarchal notion that, deems the pallu or hijab to be mod, est and other clothes to be “immod, est”. The point is that no institution, should be allowed to shame us or dis, criminate against us for what we, wear. Support women’s struggles, against the Taliban’s imposition of, the burqa and ban on “western, clothes” in Afghanistan; support wo, men’s struggles against Hindumajor, itarian bans on the hijab or ban on, “western clothes” in India., It is worth recalling here the, ABVP’s long track record of imposing, dress codes on women, forbidding, jeans for women and violently ha, rassing couples on Valentine’s Day., Its Hindu supremacist fellow travell, ers attacked women in 2009 for visit, ing a pub and dancing in “western”, clothes. In the past year, they have, held online auctions of Muslim wo, men and made speeches at “Hindu, nation conventions” calling for mass, sexual enslavement and rape of Mus, lim women. It is a travesty for consti, tutional arguments of “public order”, and “public interest” to be invoked, to allow thugs to tell women what to, wear. Today they have achieved a, ban on the hijab. Tomorrow the go, vernment can falsely equate saffron, stole protests and women dancing at, pubs or wearing skirts and “ban, both” to keep public order., , lator, Ahammad Devarkovil, who se, cured a Cabinet berth for his party, for the first time, had to be escorted, out of the hotel amid the melee., The party’s national president Mo, hammad Suleman expressed anguish, about the future of the party in Kera, la and has asked the State leadership, to summon the party working com, mittee. Previously these factions had, decided to bury the hatchet following, talks of rapprochement initiated by, Sunni leader Kanthapuram A.P., Aboobacker Musliyar and the inter, vention of CPI(M) leaders., In the Kerala Congress(B), a group, of rebels protested against the par, ty’s only MLA, K.B. Ganesh Kumar,, and elected his sister Usha Mohandas, as the new chairperson over a month, ago. Subsequently, Mr. Ganesh Ku, mar said that he was still the official, chairman of the party formed by, his father, the late R. Balakrish, na Pillai., With no electoral fears, until the next Lok Sabha, polls in 2024, the Left go, vernment is firmly in the, saddle. Unlike the United, Democratic Front, whose, smaller constituents con, trol the Congress, the CPI, (M) apparently gives zero, voice to its allies on issues., However, the unending bickering in, the minor constituents has dented, the image of the State government., Now CPI (M) leaders are pushing, for the merger of the Janata Dal (Sec, ular) and the LJD and the amalgama, tion of the Kerala Congress(B), the, Democratic Kerala Congress and Ker, ala Congress (Skaria Thomas). Know, ing fully well that various interest, groups have evolved over the years in, tune with Kerala’s political diversity,, the CPI(M) had decided that four par, ties would share a maximum of two, Cabinet berths between themselves,, with each getting a twoandahalf, year term., Its State leadership feels that it has, to strike a balance even though mi, nor parties are slowly fading into, irrelevance., ,
[email protected], , in India will not be in a position to beat their, Chinese counterparts in pricing. This PLI, scheme doesn't have a technology, component., Two, this scheme also insists on new ma, nufacturing facilities, which doesn’t make, business sense for firms which have idle ca, pacities. Many firms used to produce these, products and have wound up production as, cheaper imports began to flow from China., Permission to utilise existing but inopera, tional or underutilised facilities for produc, tion would have elicited a better response., Three, the history of development of the, indigenous pharmaceutical industry in India, shows the significance of an industrial policy, that is in tandem with trade and science and, technology policies. This PLI scheme re, mains a standalone measure; it is not con, nected to other relevant policy measures., Nearly threefourth of the production of, pharmaceuticals in India is by MSMEs. His, torically, large private sector firms have been, interested in formulations, not APIs. As APIs, are sold with their chemical names and with, out branding, large firms have no interest in, their production. The production of APIs by, large firms, if at all, is largely for captive con, sumption. The focus of the PLI PhaseI, scheme, however, is on large firms. The data, we obtained for 13 of the beneficiary firms, shows that all of them are large firms, if the, definition of MSMEs that existed at the time, of announcement of the scheme is used. If, the new definition is used, all except one are, large firms. It seems like policymakers are in, terested in taking advantage of efficiencies, associated with the scale of operations by en, couraging large firms. But it is equally impor, tant to include smaller firms which are into, the KSMs/DIs/APIs business in a major way., Involving public sector enterprises, In spite of the two rounds of applications, no, beneficiary was identified (or no application, was received) in five products, which are all, antibiotics. It appears from our interactions, with the industry that four of the five pro, ducts — Neomycin, Gentamicin, Tetracycline, and Clindamycin base are APIs that are not, used much by the industry. This may be one, of the reasons for the lack of enthusiasm by, the industry. However, we should note that, such APIs may be of great significance for pu, blic health. In such cases, public sector en, terprises (PSEs) should be tasked with the, production of APIs and their KSMs and DIs., The lead role that PSEs had played in the de, velopment of an indigenous pharmaceutical, industry in India can never be forgotten., Reji Joseph and Ramaa Arun Kuma are faculty, members at ISID, New Delhi. Views are personal, , CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, , DATA POINT, , FROM THE ARCHIVES, FIFTY YEARS AGO FEBRUARY 8, 1972, , ‘NonBengalis are safe in Bangla Desh’, Calcutta, Feb. 7: Sheikh Mujibur Rehman de, clared here today that the life and property, of nonBengalis in Bangla Desh were safe., The Bangla Desh Prime Minister, who was, replying to a civic reception by the Corpora, tion of Calcutta at Raj Bhavan, asserted that, neither he nor his followers believed in reta, liation. He said the Mukti Bahini and the In, dian forces who jointly fought against the Pa, kistani armed forces, did not harm a single, nonBengali. Sheikh Mujib said the life and, property of nonBengalis were safe during, the freedom struggle and safer now. He, would expect nonBengalis to regard them, selves as citizens of Bangla Desh. The Bangla, leader said some “friends” seemed to be, more worried about the fate of nonBengalis, in Bangla Desh. He would only advise “these, friends to mind their own business” instead, of reminding him of his duty towards non, Bengalis., , A HUNDRED YEARS AGO FEBRUARY 8, 1922, , Traffic in girls, The business before the Legislative Assemb, ly today was short, there being a resolution, by the Home Member on White Slave Traffic, and a nonofficial Bill for the amendment of, the Civil Procedure Code. The attendance, was also small, the number not exceeding, forty in all. Sir William Vincent presented, the Select Committee’s Report on the limita, tion Bill., The Home Member next moved the reso, lution on the suppression of traffic in wo, men as adopted in the Council of State but, with a small amendment. The amended re, solution read as follows: This Assembly re, commends to the GovernorGeneral in, Council that India do sign the International, Convention for the suppression of the traffic, in women and children accepted by the As, sembly of the League of Nations at its second, session subject to the reservation that, in ap, plying Article V of the Convention, India, may at its discretion substitute 16 completed, years of age for 21 completed years of age., In moving the resolution on the White, Slave Traffic the Home Member explained, the history of the convention and referring, to the age limit he informed that both Japan, and Siam had supported the reservation, which he moved namely that it might be 16, instead of 21., A ND-NDE
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EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , 8 NEWS, , DELHI, , THE HINDU, , TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022, , EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , FROM PAGE ONE, , Cong. is pitting States, against Centre: Modi, Without naming Mr. Gand, hi, the Prime Minister fo, cussed on the Congress, leader’s speech in which he, had accused the Centre of, trying to rule the States with, a stick and by ‘suppressing, their languages, cultures, and histories”., “The Britishers have gone, but Congress has made di, vide and rule policy its cha, racter. That is why the Con, gress has become the leader, of the tukde-tukde gang,”, said Mr. Modi. He said that, Congress has lost the desire, to come to power but seems, to be working on a strategy, that “when one is not get, ting anything then at least, spoil something”., “They are sowing seeds, that will strengthen the, roots of separatism,” Mr., Modi said., The Prime Minister took, potshots at Mr. Gandhi for, being absent from the, House during the reply to, the Motion of Thanks de, bate, even though he was, not present in the House, when Mr. Gandhi spoke last, Wednesday (February 2). In, a clear reference to Mr., Gandhi’s speech, the Prime, Minister said statements, were made in Parliament, with the intention to incite, people and asserted that a, , “divisive mindset” has got, into the DNA of the Con, gress party., Hailing the people of Ta, mil Nadu who had come out, of their homes to pay tribute, to India’s first Chief Of De, fence Staff Bipin Rawat, when his body was being, carried away after the fatal, helicopter crash, the Prime, Minister accused the Con, gress of hurting Tamil, sentiments., He quoted a verse of Ta, mil poet and social reformer, Subramania Bharati to, counter Mr. Gandhi’s accu, sation that the Centre was, trying to suppress the States, and noted that people may, come and go but the coun, try will always be “immor, tal, united and great”., “The question is not, about elections, it is about, intentions. Despite being in, power for 50 years, why are, the people of the country re, peatedly rejecting them?, Wherever people have ta, ken the right path, they did, not allow you [Congress] to, enter again,” he said., Mr. Modi said the way In, dia handled pandemic is an, example for the world and, said that Azadi Ka Amrit, Mahotsav is the perfect time, to aim for a leadership posi, tion on the global stage., , Shah urges Owaisi to, take security cover, The Home Minister said Mr., Owaisi had refused to ac, cept the security and urged, him to accept the same to, address “our worries”., Firing on convoy, Mr. Shah said Mr. Owaisi, was returning to Delhi after, a public meeting at Kithor,, Meerut when two persons, fired upon his convoy at, 5.20 p.m. at the Chhijarasi, toll plaza in Hapur district., The AIMIM chief escaped, unhurt, however three bul, let marks were visible on the, lower part of his car. The in, cident was seen by three, witnesses., The, police, lodged an FIR and arrested, two persons. Two pistols, and one car were recovered, from the two, the Minister, said. The two accused were, , being interrogated by the, Uttar Pradesh police., “Mr. Owaisi did not have, any prescheduled pro, gramme in Hapur district,, and neither did the District, Control Room have any, prior information about his, movement,” Mr. Shah said., He said the Union Home, Ministry had got a report, from the State government, immediately. Mr. Shah said, the Centre had ordered se, curity cover for Mr. Owaisi, based on threat assessments, on several occasions in the, past. “However, repeated, endeavours of the Delhi pol, ice and the Telangana police, to provide security cover to, Mr. Owaisi did not succeed, on account of his unwilling, ness to take the same,” Mr., Shah said., , India’s support helped, Sri Lanka, says Minister, In addition, India and Sri, Lanka concluded a long, pending agreement to joint, ly develop oil tank facilities, in Trincomalee, and have, planned a number of infras, tructure projects involving, the private sector, which, will be further discussed, when Finance Minister Basil, Rajapaksa visits New Delhi, in the next few weeks. Sri, Lanka has also invited, Prime Minister Narendra, Modi to attend the BIMSTEC, summit in Colombo on, March 30, and hold “sub, stantive” bilateral talks., “All of this has engen, dered a degree of confi, dence which we didn’t see, in the immediate past. And, it has brought into being ve, ry special relation… there is, a feeling that India has al, ways stepped in when Sri, Lanka needed it,” he added., Ties between India and, Sri Lanka plummeted in Fe, bruary 2021 over the Raja, paksa government’s deci, sion to cancel an MoU with, India and Japan for Colom, bo’s East Coast Terminal, project, which it later, cleared for a Chinese com, pany. Several other projects, involving India had also, been delayed for what Mr., Peiris called “logistical is, sues and bureaucratic rea, sons”. Subsequently, Sri, Lanka awarded the West, Coast Terminal project to, the Adani group, and after a, number of rounds of talks,, including calls between PM, and President Gotabaya, as, well as three meetings bet, ween the Foreign Ministers, CM, YK, , on the sidelines of events in, New York, Dhaka and Abu, Dhabi, relations have seen a, “new enthusiasm and a, fresh energy”, he said., Mr. Peiris met with Exter, nal Affairs Minister S. Jaish, ankar and Foreign Secretary, Harsh Shringla on Monday,, as a part of his threeday vi, sit. In a tweet, Mr. Jaishan, kar said they held “produc, tive talks,” which included, discussions on economic, cooperation, energy securi, ty, pending deals on infras, tructural projects, and, agreed to schedule bilateral, mechanism talks on the fish, ing rights issue at an “early”, date., Mr. Peiris said in the in, terview that he also hoped, to consult India and other, BIMSTEC members about, the best way to tackle the, “problem” of whether to in, vite Myanmar to the sum, mit, or to follow the ASEAN, grouping decision to ex, clude the military regime, that took power in a coup, last year., Mr. Peiris also said appre, hensions in India over Sri, Lanka’s close ties with Chi, na were not “logical”, and, the relationship with China, was not at the “expense of, India”., “We are part of the Belt, and Road Initiative. China, has played a significant role, with regard to the develop, ment of our ports and har, bours and infrastructure of, which we are appreciative,”, he said., (Full interview at https://, bit.ly/peirisinterview), , PM ignored joblessness, Chinese, intrusion, inflation, says Cong., Delhi CM Kejriwal rebuts Modi’s allegation on forced exodus of migrant labour, vind Kejriwal too countered, the Prime Minister over the, allegation that nonBJPruled, States such as Delhi were, among those that forced mi, grant workers to travel dur, ing the first lockdown., , Special Correspondent, New Delhi, , Hitting out at Prime Minister, Narendra Modi over his, speech in the Lok Sabha on, Monday, the Congress said, Mr. Modi did not speak, about unemployment, the, farmers who died protesting, against the farm laws, the al, leged Chinese intrusion in, Ladakh, high inflation or the, COVID19 deaths., “But their arrogance is, waiting to be punctured by, losing the elections,” the, Congress’s chief spokesper, son Randeep Surjewala said,, adding that the Modi govern, ment was now a “slave to a, handful of crony capitalists”., , On February 2, former, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, had spoken in Parliament, about two Indias, one rich, and the other poor, and the, emergence of a double var, iant of capitalists., In his speech, Mr. Modi, said, “Some in the Congress, , call some entrepreneurs co, rona variants. They call it AA, variant. During the govern, ments of [ Jawaharlal] Nehru, ji and Indira Gandhiji, peo, ple used to say TataBirla ki, Sarkar. You are now talking, their language.”, Delhi Chief Minister Ar, , False statement, “This statement by the, Prime Minister is completely, false. The country hopes, that the Prime Minister will, be sensitive to those who, have suffered pain during, the Corona period, especial, ly those who lost their loved, ones. It does not suit the, Prime Minister to do politics, on the sufferings of the peo, ple,” Mr. Kejriwal tweeted., , Parliament pays tribute to Lata Mangeshkar, Special Correspondent, New Delhi, , The Parliament on Monday, paid tributes to Lata Man, geshkar, who passed away in, Mumbai on Sunday., Making an obituary refe, rence to the former member, of the House, Rajya Sabha, Chairman M. Venkaiah Nai, du said: “Fondly known as, , the ‘Nightingale’ and the, ‘Melody Queen”, Lataji re, corded over 25,000 songs in, her career. spanning more, than seven decades. Her, singing prowess has been as, diverse as our country with, her recording songs in over, 36 Indian languages and a, few foreign languages too..., Lataji knitted our nation by, , representing us collectively, and each one of us in our sin, gularity.”, Lok Sabha Speaker Om, Birla said the legendary sin, ger, as a philanthropist,, founded the Lata Mangesh, kar Medical Foundation,, through which free medical, facilities were provided to, the needy. In memory of her, , father, she also set up Master, Deenanath, Mangeshkar, Smruti Pratishthan for ex, tending help to students and, senior citizens. Members of, both the Houses observed, one minute silence as a mark, of respect to the departed,, after which the proceedings, were adjourned for an hour, in her memory., , Don’t draw lines in minds, of young people: Sharma, ‘President’s speech just a laundry list’, Special Correspondent, New Delhi, , Congress leader Anand, Sharma on Monday said the, “country belongs to all”,, while pleading against draw, ing lines in the minds of, young people as it will dam, age the country’s soul., Mr. Sharma, participating, in the discussion on the Mo, tion of Thanks to the Presi, dent’s address in the Rajya, Sabha, wanted more time to, speak. On being repeatedly, disturbed by members on, the Treasury Bench, Mr., Sharma said: “I request you, with folded hands to let me, speak as this could be my, last speech. Now you can in, terpret it the way you, want”. His sixyear term in, the Upper House ends in, April., Mr. Sharma raised the, merger of the Amar Jawan, Jyoti, the eternal flame at In, dia Gate, with the one at Na, tional War Memorial. “Amar, Jawan Jyoti was dedicated to, soldiers killed during the, Bangladesh war, but it was, merged. I am a practising, Hindu, I know a flame can, not be merged.. It was said, that India Gate is a colonial, legacy. Those killed were, not mercenaries.”, He said the President’s, speech was just a laundry, , Congress member Anand, Sharma speaking in the, Rajya Sabha on Monday., , *, , PTI, , list of achievements by the, Government. “I was think, ing, who wrote the Presi, dent’s speech? Whoever, wrote it should be answera, ble. They did not do justice, to the President, it belies the, present circumstances. A, rosy picture is being shown., Everyone wants the country, to progress, a line is being, drawn that Opposition does, not want it to.”, He said that there was no, mention of national security, in the President’s address., “Over one lakh force is de, ployed at China border., Newspapers know, foreign, departments, know,, shouldn’t this be discussed, in Parliament? In 1962, Neh, ru discussed the situation in, the middle of a war. We, were told that incamera, briefing will be done for par, liamentarians (on China),, but nothing was done,” he, said., , Universalise maternity benefit scheme, say activists, Govt. has said PMMVY will cover, second child only when it is a girl, Jagriti Chandra, New Delhi, , The government’s recent an, nouncement that the mater, nity benefit programme, which provides ₹5,000 for, first child will be extended to, cover the second child only if, it is a girl has met with sharp, criticism from activists who, have demanded that it be un, iversalised., The Pradhan Mantri Ma, tru, Vandana, Yojana, (PMMVY), launched in 2017,, provides ₹5,000 for the birth, of the first child to partially, compensate a woman for, loss of wages. It also aims to, improve the nutritional well, being of the mother and the, child. The amount is given in, , SC reschedules, Haryana plea, on job quota, , three instalments upon, meeting certain conditions., It is combined with another, scheme, Janani Suraksha Yo, jana, under which nearly, ₹1,000 is given for an institu, tional birth, so that a woman, gets a total of ₹6,000., “Under the revamped, PMMVY under Mission Shak, ti, the maternity benefit, amounting to ₹6000 is also, to be provided for the se, cond child, but only if the se, cond is a girl child, to dis, courage, prebirth, sex, selection and promote the, girl child,” Minister for Wo, men and Child Development, Smriti Irani told the Lok Sab, ha last week., “Firstly, to provide mater, , A woman cradles her baby at her worksite in Vijayawada., , nity benefit only to the moth, er of the firstborn is illegal as, the National Food Security, Act, 2013 lays down that ev, ery pregnant woman and, lactating mother are entitled, to it. Then to couch it to say, that it is to promote the birth, of a girl child is nothing but, posturing” says Jashodhara, , Santishree Pandit is first woman VC of JNU, structing Indocentric narra, tives,” she added., , Priscilla Jebaraj, New Delhi, , New Delhi, , Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit,, a political science professor, at Savitribai Phule Pune Un, iversity, has been appointed, as the first woman Vice, Chancellor of Jawaharlal, Nehru University ( JNU)., In her first statement after, the appointment, she listed, the construction of Indo, centric narratives, interdisci, plinary studies and student, friendly environment as, among her priorities., She was appointed by Pre, sident Ram Nath Kovind,, who is the University’s Visi, tor. She will hold the job for, the next five years. She suc, ceeds M. Jagadesh Kumar,, who was appointed Chair, person of the University, Grants Commission last, week, after a stormy tenure., “The immediate focus of, , Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, , this administration would be, to provide clean administra, tion, studentfriendly and, gender sensitive environ, ment for academic excel, lences,” she said., “We would strive to im, plement [National Educa, tion Policy] 2020 the vision, of our Hon’ble Prime Minis, ter especially in interdisci, plinary and multidisciplin, ary areas of studies, JNU, rising to greater heights of, academics and research., The focus would [be] in con, , Alumna of JNU, Dr. Pandit is herself an alum, na of JNU, having completed, her M.Phil. and Ph.D there at, the School of International, Relations, writing her docto, ral thesis on “Parliament, and Foreign Policy in India —, The Nehru Years”. She start, ed her teaching career as a, lecturer at Goa University, before moving to the Univer, sity of Pune in 1992, where, she focussed on teaching, and research on internation, al politics and economics,, global governance, security, and human rights, peace, and conflict studies and In, dia’s foreign policy., Dr. Pandit has previously, been a member of the Indian, Council of Social Science Re, search, the UGC Committee, , on Higher Education and In, dicators and a number of, think tanks, according to her, profile on the university, website. She is currently pre, sident of the Indian Political, Science Association and has, been a resource person for, the Academic Staff Colleges, and the Military Intelligence, Training School in Pune,, providing insight into the, Asia Pacific region and In, dia’s security perceptions., Multilingual expert, Born in the erstwhile USSR,, where her mother taught Ta, mil and Telugu at the Lenin, grad Oriental Faculty De, partment, Dr. Pandit hails, from Chennai and is a gold, medallist graduate of the Un, iversity of Madras. She is, multilingual, speaking Telu, gu, Tamil, Marathi, Hindi,, Sanskrit and English., , Webinar on cybersecurity today Govt. issues new media, It will touch upon importance of online safety of children, , accreditation guidelines, Special Correspondent, , S. Poorvaja, CHENNAI, , Fortinet & The Hindu are or, ganising a webinar for Safer, Internet Day on ‘Why Cyber, security is Important for, you’ on February 8 at 4 p.m., The webinar will touch, upon how important it is to, educate employees, family, and friends on cybersecuri, ty, how to establish clear In, ternet rules, how be cau, tious of scams and malicious, websites, and the impor, tance of strong passwords. It, , pregnancy and the second, instalment of ₹2,000 is given, after an antenatal check af, ter six months of pregnancy, and the final instalment of, ₹2,000 is given after the re, gistration of the child birth, and vaccinations for the, newborn. Though the Minis, ter shared the information, days after the Union Budget,, the allocation for the scheme, has not shown a notable in, crease. The scheme is, clubbed with several other, programmes under the Sa, marthya scheme. The alloca, tion of ₹2,522 crore for the, umbrella scheme last fiscal, was almost the same as the, allocation of ₹2,500 crore for, the PMMVY alone the year, before. For financial year, 20222023, the umbrella, scheme has seen a total in, crease of ₹100 crore., , IN BRIEF, , ‘Will focus on constructing Indocentric narratives, studentfriendly environment’, , Legal Correspondent, , The Supreme Court on, Monday rescheduled the, hearing of an appeal filed, by the Haryana govern, ment against the Punjab, and Haryana High Court’s, stay of a law that provides, 75% reservation in private, sector jobs for candidates, domiciled in the State., A Bench adjourned the, case to Friday. The Bench, could not reach the case,, which was listed as item, number 45 in the list. The, case had been mentioned, last week before Chief Jus, tice of India N.V. Ramana, by the State government,, represented by Solicitor, General Tushar Mehta. The, law officer had then sought, an urgent listing of the ap, peal in the top court., , Dasgupta, coconvener, Fe, minist Policy Collective., She says that adding more, conditions to the scheme will, prove to be a bureaucratic, nightmare, which can be, overcome if the scheme is, universalised., “During COVID19 in the, past two years, ASHA [accre, , dited social health activist, ] workers have not been giv, ing, out, contraceptive, supplies. When the State has, failed to provide contracep, tive services, why is it pena, lising women for having ba, bies,” asserts Ms. Dasgupta., “The new announcement, implies that women will be, able to access the scheme, only after the delivery, which, will not have any impact on, their nutritional uptake dur, ing the course of their preg, nancy,” says Raghwesh Ran, jan, Director, Social and, Economic Empowerment,, IPE Global., One of the objectives of, the scheme is to also im, prove health seeking beha, viour of women and, there, fore, the first instalment of, ₹1,000 is given after ascer, taining early registration of, , will also discuss how impor, tant it is for children to re, main safe online as well as, for parents to be aware of, what they are doing online., , Rajesh Maurya, VP India &, SAARC, Fortinet, and Sa, meer Ratolikar, CISO, HDFC, Bank, will speak as part of, the webinar. It will be mod, erated by Suresh Vijayaragh, avan, Chief Technology Of, ficer, The Hindu., To register for the webi, nar, please, visit:, https://, bit.ly/CYBETH, or, scan the QR, Code given., , New Delhi, , The Union government on, Monday released the Cen, tral Media Accreditation, Guidelines2022,, under, which the accreditation will, be withdrawn or suspended, if a journalist acts in a man, ner prejudicial to the coun, try’s security, sovereignty, and integrity, friendly rela, tions with foreign States, pu, blic order or is charged with, a, serious, cognisable, offence., Among the other circum, , stances under which the ac, creditation can be with, drawn/suspended, are, actions prejudicial to decen, cy, or morality, or in rela, tion to contempt of court,, defamation or incitement to, an offence., Accredited media per, sons have been prohibited, from using the words “Ac, credited to the government, of India” on public/social, media profile, visiting cards,, letter heads or on any other, form or any published, work., , Ram Rahim released, on 21-day furlough, GURUGRAM, , Dera Sacha Sauda chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, was on Monday released, from jail on furlough for 21, days to meet family members, in Gurugram. Convicted in, rape and murder cases, he, has been lodged in Sunaria, jail since 2017., , CBI gets nod to prosecute, former envoy to Sudan, NEW DELHI, , The CBI has received sanction, from the government to, proceed with the prosecution, of former Ambassador to, Sudan Deepak Vohra and, Under Secretary Ajoy Ganguly, in a case of alleged financial, bungling in diplomatic missions there, officials said. PTI, , TRF militant shot dead, in Pulwama, say police, SRINAGAR, , A militant was killed in an, encounter in Pulwama of, south Kashmir on Monday., The slain militant was, identified as Irfan Ahamd, Sheikh from Karemabad in, Pulwama. He was linked with, the Lashkar-e-Taiba’s The, Resistance Front, the police, said., , Bid to disempower, majority community:PDP, SRINAGAR, , Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) president Mehbooba, Mufti on Monday described, the draft report of the Jammu, and Kashmir delimitation, commission as an “attempt to, disempower the majority, community here”., A ND-NDE
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2022, , SP, BSP and, , UTTAR PRADESH | PUNJAB | GOA | UTTARAKHAND | MANIPUR, , ASSEMBLY POLLS, DELHI, , THE HINDU | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022, , The sun is, , <, > Congress have, , <, > shining in, , always spread, hatred among, Hindus & Muslims, , Bijnor but the, weather is bad for, the BJP!, , Rajnath Singh, , Jayant singh, , Defence Minister, , RLD chief, , P9, , EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , UTTAR PRADESH, , POLLPOURRI, , In Hardoi, Kurmis split on ration versus quota, , Mamata has a message for Cong., , In 2017, they strongly backed BJP against SP; now many among them feel Adityanath govt. is standing in their way of jobs, Omar Rashid, HARDOI, , Nitin and Prakhar Patel, both, 27, educated and unem, ployed, are enraged at the, way the Yogi Adityanathled, BJP regime in Uttar Pradesh, has handled recruitment for, various government jobs., “At least during the time of, [Samajwadi Party chief ] Ak, hilesh [Yadav], posts were, filled. Under this govern, ment, every bharti [recruit, ment] is either halted by, court or the exam paper gets, leaked,” said Mr. Nitin., Mr. Patel, whose recruit, ment as a daroga (inspector), is still pending since 2016 due, to legal obstacles, shares his, frustration. “We don’t want, ration and ₹2,000 [income, instalment provided to farm, ers under the PMKISAN, scheme since 2018]. We want, jobs. These people are get, ting ruined in the whirl of, ₹2,000,” said Mr. Patel, point, ing to a group of elder men, who were vouching for the, BJP government’s free ration, scheme., “Just wait, after March, [election result], you will, stop getting this free ration!”, The two young men from, the Kurmi caste (OBC) live in, Purwawan, a large village in, the BilgramMallawan consti, tuency in Hardoi, located in, central Uttar Pradesh, where, the BJP made its biggest gains, in 2017., Purwawan is also dominat, ed by the Kurmis, one of the, largest nonYadav OBC castes, , in the State, roughly around, 8% of the OBC population., While in 2017, the Kurmi, community strongly backed, the BJP against the incum, bent SP, which was under fire, for perceivably favouring Ya, davs, this time, though the, BJP still has plenty of takers, a, feeling of disenchantment is, perceptible,, especially, among the youth., Wary of SP, In Purwawan, the opinion, was split. Some residents, praise the BJP government, for the cash doles, free ration, during the COVID19 second, wave and its handling of law, and order. They are still sus, picious of the SP, which has, projected itself as the main, contender, and say that ‘gundai, lafangai and danga fasad’ [goondaism, hooligan, ism and riots] are more, common in its rule., Almost all farmers are un, animous in expressing that, stray cattle are damaging, crops, but only some blame, the BJP for it. For many Kur, mis here, there is something, bigger under threat under, the BJP government: arakshan (reservation)., In 2017, Om Prakash, who, owns three bighas of land,, had voted for the BJP hoping, it would usher in new deve, lopment after a sanyas of 14, years. But he is now embit, tered. “They are eating up, our reservation. Our youth, are wandering about hope, lessly, while the bulls and, , CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, , Going live, , Caste matters: A group of Kurmi men at a village in, BilgramMallawan constituency in Hardoi. The SP, BSP and the, BJP have fielded Kurmi candidates from this seat. OMAR RASHID, *, , cows are eating up our wheat, crops,” he said. Mr. Prakash, alleges that the BJP govern, ment is giving seats meant for, the OBCs to candidates from, the “upper castes”., The three main parties, have all fielded Kurmi candi, dates in BilgramMallawa., While the sitting BJP MLA, Ashish Kumar Singh Ashu, and the SP’s nominee Brijesh, Kumar, alias Tillu Bhaiya, are, strong contenders, for many,, the BSP’s candidate Satish, Verma, a twotime former, MLA, could prove to be a, dark horse owing to his per, sonal record and Mayawati’s, loyal Dalit vote., In the Balamau reserved, too, the Kurmis are split on si, milar issues. Kuldeep Singh,, who grows wheat, mustard, and potato in Hasnapur, says, stray cattle issue is not a deal, breaker for him. Under the, BJP, roads were built, his vil, , lage gets “24 hours power, supply,” and the “best of all,”, he says, “Terrorism is now, eliminated.” He rejects Mr., Akhilesh Yadav outright. “He, works as per jativad (cas, teism). It is not so under the, BJP. Even Kurmis get samman and suraksha,” said Mr., Kuldeep Singh, stressing that, despite an unpopular sitting, MLA, he would still vote for, Mr. Adityanath, whose Tha, kur background does not, really bother him., Ramesh Chandra, who, owns two bighas, says if the, SP wins, corruption and, goondaism will increase., “Will mehengai (inflation) go, down if Akhilesh sarkar, comes? Fuel comes from, abroad. He can’t change the, value. It depends on the in, ternational bazaar,” he said., But the dissenters also, speak in equal volume. Like, in BilgramMallawan, their, , grouse is that the BJP has, shortchanged the backward, classes. “Backward ka haq, kha liya,” says Ashok Kumar,, who voted for the BJP last, time. He refers to the backlog, in BTC (Basic Training Certifi, cate) and other recruitment, drives., Another talking point is, the recent decision of the Al, lahabad High Court to stay, the Yogi government’s last, gasp decision to appoint, 6,800 additional candidates, as primary teachers, after, some reserved candidates, contended that in the recruit, ment for 69,000 posts, they, be considered for general ca, tegory, since they had se, cured more marks than the, cutoff., This discrepancy was one, of the reasons senior OBC, leader Swami Prasad Maurya, had cited recently while quit, ting the Yogi Cabinet and, joining the SP. Many Kurmis, here believe the 69,000 issue, was deep “scam,” which hap, pened to come to the surface., In Hasnapur, some farm, ers are beating the chill by, roasting potatoes in fire., “This is what I managed to, save from the cows and, bulls,” jokes one of them. Vi, vek Kumar, part of the group,, criticises the BJP for inflation,, price of diesel and stray cat, tle. “I am unable to grow corn, due to the Nilgai. The BJP, takes votes through Hindu, Muslim. But the financial cost, is too much to bear,” says Mr., Kumar, who feels Mr. Akhi, , lesh Yadav is a better choice, to run the State., Formidable coalition, While in eastern U.P., Mr. Ya, dav has strung up a formida, ble caste coalition of back, ward caste parties, including, the Apna Dal(Kameravadi),, which enjoys support among, the Kurmis, in central U.P.,, much depends on his own, appeal as well as the popular, ity of his candidates., If the SP is to oust the BJP, in the overall game, it will, have to retake districts such, as Hardoi, where the BJP’s, nonYadav OBC and nonJatav, Dalit matrix appears daunt, ing in the absence of a local, ally. In 2017, the BJP won se, ven out of eight seats here., The only SP winner Nitin, Agarwal, too, later defected, to the BJP. In 2012, when the, SP had won a majority, it won, six seats while the BSP won, the other two in Hardoi., In another part of Malla, wan, a group of men is play, ing cards outside a roadside, kiosk. Among them is Raghu, bir Singh, unemployed since, 2020 after his contractual job, in the homoeopathy depart, ment was not renewed. He is, in a mood to punish the BJP., The alternative? “It could be, anyone. All three parties have, fielded Kurmi candidates,”, Mr. Singh says, providing us a, glimpse of the complicated, casteeconomic calculations, that go in behind the election, in the country’s politically, most significant State., , Kolkata, , West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, arrived in Uttar Pradesh on Monday to campaign, for the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the election., Before leaving for the pollbound State, the, Trinamool Congress chairperson said she wanted, SP leader Akhilesh Yadav to win and the BJP to, lose. In a message to the Congress, she said the, party should have supported the SP, instead of, making the election a multicornered contest., , BJP leader’s wife to take on Yogi, LUCKNOW, , The Samajwadi Party (SP) has fielded Shubhavati, Shukla — wife of late BJP leader Upendra Nath, Shukla — against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath., By declaring Ms. Shukla as its nominee, the SP, has played the Brahmin card against Mr., Adityanath, who was born into a Kshatriya, background. In 2018, Upendra Nath Shukla, unsuccessfully contested as a BJP candidate in the, Gorakhpur byelection. The seat was vacated by Mr., Adityanath when he was nominated Chief Minister., Upendra Nath Shukla died in 2020., , Lost in translation, Panaji, , Senior Congressman P. Chidambaram was in a, schoolmaster mode while filling in for the party’s, general secretary Priyanka Vadra, who was late, for a public meeting in Nuvem in South Goa on, Monday. The Harvardeducated Rajya Sabha MP,, in his speech, lambasted the ‘freebies’ and, schemes being promised by the Aam Aadmi Party, and the Trinamool Congress with a healthy dose, of economic common sense. He then asked State, Congress chief Girish Chodankar to translate his, address into Konkani. Mr. Chodankar, who, reluctantly took the mike eschewed the economic, portions, focusing instead on what still haunts, Congressmen in Goa – the spectre of defections., , Channi for CM doesn’t sway voters, Dalit consolidation unlikely as people in Malwa pin hopes on AAP’s ‘Delhi model’, Sobhana K. Nair, Sangrur, , The Congress party’s final, flourish in announcing Cha, ranjit Singh Channi as its, chief ministerial face, settling, its inner feud and hoping for, a Dalit consolidation in fa, vour of Mr. Channi, a Ramda, sia Sikh, has not led to a, change of heart in the Malwa, region, where the party is, desperate to hold on to its, 2017 tally., An overwhelming majority, of the voters that The Hindu, spoke to in two reserved con, stituencies of Shutrana and, Dirbha in the Malwa region, asserted that they want a navi, sarkar, a new government., The voter is angry and dis, illusioned, with a strong nar, rative against the two tradi, tional parties in Punjab —the, Congress and Akali Dal — for, failing to keep their promises., , Direct to home: Independent candidate Sham Lal posing for, photos as he leaves for campaigning with a replica of his, symbol, television set, in Amritsar on Monday PTI, *, , CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, , Same state, Laddi Singh, a Mazhabi Sikh, from Shutrana village, is livid., He along with his two broth, ers, their wives, and children, , Tough battle: Congress workers feel the announcement of, Charanjit Singh Channi as CM candidate came in too late., , *, , — a total of 12 persons — live in, a tworoom hutment. “Sannu, kakh nahi ditta (We didn’t get, anything!)”, he says talking, about the Congress and Akali, regimes. His economic condi, tion and living situation has, largely remained the same in, all these years, he rues. For, Mr. Singh and his family, Mr., Channi’s Dalit status makes, little difference., The AAP’s slogan “Ek Mauka Kejriwal Nu” (One chance, for Kejriwal) finds resonance, , PTI, , here as voters are eager to try, a third option., Mr. Channi belongs to the, Ramdasia community and, the community is sympathet, ic towards him. However, this, sympathy is not translating, into support. “He got very lit, tle time, but during this time,, he did well. But it is time for a, change,” said Gurjan Singh, a, Ramdasia Sikh, from Dirbha., Reducing the electricity bill, and waiving off the pending, water bill are often quoted as, , the achievements of his, shortlived government., Congress workers also, agree that the announcement, came in too late. “The ticket, announcement, happened, late and Channi ji’s announ, cement happened only yes, terday; we have very little, time left to cover the lost, ground,” Randheer Singh,, who was campaigning for the, Shutrana candidate Darbara, Singh, said., Importantly, the AAP sup, porters here are loud and, well prepared to counter all, questions raised by the Con, gress and other parties on the, party or the chief ministerial, face Bhagwant Mann. The, AAP primarily offers them, hope of replicating the Delhi, model, especially the educa, tion and healthcare facilities, that the Delhi CM Arvind Kej, riwal boasts about., “Sardar Bhagwant Mann is, a honest person. And this is, an election between the cor, rupt and the honest,” Boria, Ram, 70yearold cobbler,, said., , Kejriwal hardly takes PM’s name anymore in tweets or poll campaign, After criticising PM in harsh terms in the past,, the AAP chief has suddenly stopped attacking him, Nikhil M. Babu, New Delhi, , Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief, Arvind Kejriwal, whose party, is fighting Assembly elec, tions in four States, has not, used the word “Modi” in all, 38 speeches he has made in, different States since the poll, dates were announced on Ja, nuary 8, except for two press, conferences, an analysis by, The Hindu has revealed., Even in these press confe, rences, in one Mr. Kejriwal, was replying to a question by, a reporter on “Chhota Modi”, and he did not say anything, about Mr. Modi. In the se, cond, it was a remark from, the past and not an allout at, tack on Mr. Modi. This is in, stark contrast to Mr. Kejriwal, of earlier days who had, called Mr. Modi a “shameless, dictator”, “coward”, “psy, chopath”, and “hazardous to, CM, YK, , Delhi”, and hardly missed a, chance to go after him. Mr., Kejriwal not using “Modi” is, not limited to this election, campaign. For the past 32, months, the AAP supremo, has hardly used the name —, not even when he went, against the BJP or the deci, sions taken by the Central, Government., For instance, the AAP, chief did not use “Modi” or, “Prime Minister” in three, speeches he made — in Jantar, Mantar, Delhi Assembly, and, Singhu border — against farm, laws, in 2020 and 2021. The, farm laws were opposed, both inside and outside Par, liament by his party. In, March 2021, the Central go, vernment introduced a Bill, in the Lok Sabha, which gave, more powers to Central Go, vernmentappointed Lt. Go, vernor in Delhi. On March 17,, , 2021, at the only protest or, ganised by the party on the, issue, Mr. Kejriwal did not, use “Modi” or “Prime Minis, ter”. The AAP supremo also, did not use these words in, five speeches he delivered, between April 18 and April, 26, 2021, when Delhi was fac, ing an acute oxygen shortage, during the second wave of, COVID19. The State had, blamed the Central govern, ment for not allocating, enough oxygen to Delhi. The, Hindu analysed a total of 45, speeches made by the AAP, supremo in 2020, 2021, and, 2022., Mr. Kejriwal’s tweets also, follow this pattern. There is, no mention of “Modi” in his, tweets so far in 2022. The on, ly mention in 2021 is when, the AAP chief wished Mr. Mo, di on his birthday. “Birthday, greetings to Hon’ble PM Shri, , @narendramodi ji. I pray for, your long and healthy life,”, reads the AAP leader’s tweet, from September 17, 2021,, which is also his last tweet, mentioning “Modi”. Even, more interestingly, the AAP, leader’s Twitter account re, veals when he almost, stopped using the name: May, 23, 2019, the day when the, results of the general elec, , tion were announced and, the BJPled NDA came back, to power again., Old Kejriwal, In the runup to the election,, Mr. Kejriwal was constantly, attacking Mr. Modi. For in, stance, in 2019 Mr. Kejriwal, used the name 27 times in his, tweet. But 26 of them were, before May 23, and one was, , on May 23 congratulating Mr., Modi. Post May 23, there is, no mention of “Modi” in his, tweets. In 2020, he used Mo, di only once and he didn’t, use the name in 2021 and is, yet to do so in 2022. (see, graphic) Similarly, the top, AAP leader mentioned Modi, in Hindi in his tweets 53, times in 2019 — all before, May 23, 2019. He used it once, in 2020, not even once in, 2021. He used it once in 2022,, but he was attacking Punjab, Chief Minister Charanjit, Singh Channi and not Mr., Modi., Asked about the findings,, political analyst Neerja, Chowdhury said, “I think it is, a smart move by Kejriwal,, though some people may, differ. He realised that attack, ing Modi may be counter, productive and Modi is still, popular among the people., People may be unhappy with, the BJP, but they still feel Mo, di is doing his best”. She said, he was not attacking Mr. Mo, , di directly to avoid runins, with the Central govern, ment, which could tie his, hands in running the govern, ment in Delhi. Delhi being a, cityState, the Central go, vernment has a larger role in, governance compared to, other States, and the Delhi, Police and transfer and post, ing of bureaucrats are under, the Centre’s ambit., What is he saying then?, In the ongoing campaign,, from his first statement after, the dates were announced,, the AAP chief ’s speeches, have been a careful mix: par, ty’s promises for the State, with a dash of attacks on the, Opposition. Mr. Kejriwal has, been hardselling promises, and dreams of a “new State”, under the AAP. His attacks, are mostly against Congress,, BJP, and ‘Badal family” and, less on individual leaders., In Punjab, personal at, tacks have been mostly limit, ed to Mr. Channi, whom Mr., , Kejriwal has accused multi, ple times of corruption., Twice or thrice he has at, tacked Sukhbir Badal and, Goa Chief Minister Pramod, Sawant, but they were never, the main focus of his speech, es. Sometimes, the AAP chief, doesn’t even take the name, of parties or leaders. “A, handful of leaders have occu, pied the whole of politics., For them it is “paise se satta,, satta se paise“. We have to, change this,” Mr. Kejriwal, said on January 19 at a press, conference in Goa., On January 9, in an ad, dress to party workers, he, said, “Back then, we fought, against the British, today, we, are against a corrupt system, and big political parties that, have a lot of money”. Mr. Kej, riwal has replaced “Modi go, vernment” with “Central go, vernment” in his speeches, and tweets, and many times, he avoids mentioning “Mo, di” and instead says “they”,, “these people” or “them”., A ND-NDE
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EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , 10 NEWS, , DELHI, , THE HINDU, , TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022, , EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , CBSE results, still being, ‘processed’, Special Correspondent, , India records 65,513, new cases, 1,169 deaths, , NEW DELHI, , Aadhaar not, mandatory on, CoWIN: govt., Krishnadas Rajagopal, NEW DELHI, , The first term board exam, ination results for Classes, 10 and 12 are still being pro, cessed, said Central Board, of Secondary Education, Controller of Examinations, Sanyam Bhardwaj., He said that the board, was taking time to ensure, that the large volume of da, ta from the answer sheets, were correct. The exam, process was split into two, this academic year to miti, gate the effect of COVIDre, lated shutdowns which has, disrupted exam schedules, for the last two years. The, first term exams covering, half of the reduced syllabus, were held between Novem, ber 17 December 30. Given, that these exams were en, tirely in objective format,, with answer sheets in opti, cal mark recognition for, mat, results were expected, by midJanuary., “We are working on it,, soon we will communicate, the results,” he said., , Most cases from Kerala; test positivity rate stands at 5.6%, The Hindu Data Team, Chennai, , India recorded 65,513 new, COVID19 cases on Monday., The total number of infec, tions reached 4.22 crore,, and the active cases crossed, the 11.1lakh mark., The figures are based on, the State bulletins released, until 10 p.m. on Monday. La, dakh, Tripura, Jharkhand,, Arunachal Pradesh and, Lakshadweep were yet to re, lease data for the day. Kerala, , Constant monitoring: Nasal swabs being collected for testing, in New Delhi on Monday. SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA, , recorded 22,524 infections, on Monday, followed by, Maharashtra (6,436) and, Karnataka (6,151)., On Monday, 1,169 deaths, were recorded in the coun, try, considerably higher, than the average levels re, corded in the past week. The, total number of recorded fa, , talities stood at 5,02,900., Kerala reported 860 fatal, ities (733 were from a back, log), followed by Karnataka, (49) and West Bengal record, ed 29 deaths., On Sunday, 11.5 lakh tests, were conducted (the results, for which were made availa, ble on Monday). The test, positivity rate (the number, of cases detected per 100, tests) stood at 5.6%., , *, , Home Ministry seeks more, time to frame CAA rules, Consultation process is on, it tells parliamentary committee, Vijaita Singh, New Delhi, , The Union Home Ministry, has asked the parliamentary, committee for more time to, frame the rules of the Citi, zenship (Amendment) Act,, 2019 (CAA), on the grounds, that the consultation pro, cess is on., The Hindu reported ear, lier that the Ministry had, sought another extension on, January 9 from the parlia, mentary committees on sub, ordinate legislation in the, Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, to frame the rules of the, CAA. Besides the consulta, tion process, the Ministry, said that the construction of, the rules had been delayed, , Two Tripura, MLAs quit BJP,, may join Cong., , The construction of rules, had also been delayed due to, the COVID19 pandemic., , due to the pandemic. With, out the rules being framed,, the, Act, cannot, be, implemented., A senior government offi, cial said the Ministry stated, two grounds for seeking a, , threemonth extension to, notify the rules — consulta, tion process and COVID19., A Ministry spokesperson did, not respond on the delay in, framing the rules., The BJPled government, in Assam had in 2020 re, quested the Ministry to im, pose a threemonth time li, mit to apply under the CAA,, beyond which no one could, benefit under the Act, and, not keep it “open ended”., The Act has the provision, to grant citizenship to mem, bers of six nonMuslim un, documented minority com, munities from Pakistan,, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who entered India before, December 31, 2014., , As of Monday, 93.5% of, the eligible population has, been vaccinated with at least, one dose, while 72.1% has re, ceived both doses. In the 15, 17 age cohort, 77.6% of the, population has received the, first, dose., Altogether,, 95,24,26,613 first doses,, 73,45,46,273 second doses,, and 1,45,73,954 booster dos, es have been administered, across India., , Aadhaar is not mandatory, for registration on the Co, WIN portal for COVID19, vaccination, the govern, ment confirmed in the Su, preme Court on Monday., A Bench led by Justice, D.Y. Chandrachud was in, formed by the Ministry of, Health and Family Welfare, that one of the nine identi, ty documents, including, passport, driving licence,, PAN card, voter ID card, ra, tion card, can be produced, for vaccination., The court took note of, the submission and dis, posed of a plea filed by, Siddharthshankar Sharma,, who claimed that the Aad, haar card was a mandatory, requirement for access to, the vaccine., The court recorded that, pursuant to it taking cogni, sance of Mr. Sharma’s case, in October, the Health Mi, nistry has filed an affidavit, affirming that Aadhaar was, not mandatory., , Benefits of COVID vaccine, outweigh risks, say experts, 70,102 adverse reactions, 1,013 deaths reported so far: Centre, Special Correspondent, NEW DELHI, , The benefits of COVID19, vaccine outweigh its known, adverse reactions, and the, recent reports on Adverse, Events Following Immunisa, tion (AEFI) should not dis, courage anyone from taking, the shots, doctors said., The suggestion comes af, ter the Union Health Minis, try in its response in the Lok, Sabha recently said that as of, January 30, 2022, a total of, 70,102 cases (Covishield , 63,315 , Covaxin 6,757 and, Sputnik 30) of AEFI and, 1,013 cases of death (Covish, ield 921, Covaxin 92, and, Sputnik ‘Nil’) were reported., Vaccination is the safest, way to prevent severe CO, VID19 infection, said Dr., Chandrasekhar Singha, Pae, diatric Critical Care. He ad, ded that adverse events fol, lowing vaccination could be, a mild reaction like mild fev, er, body ache, headache. Re, , Adverse events are, monitored through a robust, surveillance system., , ports of adverse events fol, lowing, vaccination,, including deaths, do not ne, cessarily mean that a vac, cine caused a health pro, blem. “Vaccinated patients, may die because of associat, ed health related problems, (associated lung problem,, heart problem which was, undiagnosed),” he added., Responding to a question, on AEFI, Minister of State for, Health and Family Welfare, Bharati Pawar said the, , ISCE, ISC, exam results, announced, , Operation to curb trafficking launched, , Press Trust of India, , S. Vijay Kumar, , New Delhi, , CHENNAI, , The Council for the Indian, School Certificate Exami, nations (CISCE) on Febru, ary 7 announced the first, term board examination, results for classes 10 and, 12., While the ICSE exams, were held between Novem, ber 29 and December 16, last year, the ISC exams, were conducted between, November 22 and Decem, ber 20., “The results can be ac, cessed by logging into the, CAREERS portal of the, council, on the website of, the council, as well as, through SMS,” CISCE chief, executive Gerry Arathoon, said. The exams were con, ducted in offline mode., , The Railway Protection, Force has launched a nation, wide operation to curb hu, man trafficking. As part of, “Operation AAHT”, special, teams will be deployed on all, longdistance trains/routes, with focus on rescuing vic, tims, particularly women, and children, from the, clutches of traffickers., The Railways, which oper, ate about 21,000 trains, across the country daily, is, the most reliable mode of, transportation for the traf, fickers who often move their, victims on longdistance, trains., Thousands of Indians and, persons from neighbouring, countries were trafficked ev, ery day to some destinations, , Railway Protection Force to deploy special teams on all longdistance routes, , On alert: The Railway Protection Force launches ‘Operation, AAHT’ to intensify crackdown on human trafficking., , where they were forced to, live like slaves., “They are also being traf, ficked for illegal adoptions,, organ transplants, working, in circus, begging and enter, tainment industry…” Sanjay, Chander, DirectorGeneral, of RPF, said in a note to all, , Chief Security Commission, ers of Zonal Railways., As part of “Operation, AAHT”, the infrastructure, and intelligence network of, the force could be utilised to, collect, collate and analyse, clues on victims, source,, route, destination, popular, , Onethird of ₹10,990 cr. in PM CARES fund spent: audit, ₹100 crore promised for vaccine development not allotted; it had unspent balance of ₹7,044 crore as on March 31, 2021, , A Correspondent, , Priscilla Jebaraj, , Agartala, , NEW DELHI, , Ending months of specula, tion, dissident BJP MLAs, Sudip Roy Barman and As, ish Kumar Saha on Monday, resigned from the party., They also submitted their, resignation to the Tripura, Assembly Speaker., They are rumoured to, have taken a decision to re, turn to the Congress. After, submitting their resigna, tion, they left for Delhi and, are likely to meet the Con, gress top brass., , The PM CARES Fund collect, ed ₹10,990 crore since its in, ception in March 2020 until, March 2021. It spent ₹3,976, crore during the 202021 fi, nancial year, according to, the audited financial state, ment posted on its website., As on March 31, 2021, the, Fund had an unspent ba, lance of ₹7,044 crore., The Fund was set up to, deal with “any kind of emer, gency or distress situation,, like posed by the COVID19, , pandemic, and to provide re, lief to the affected.” During, the year, funds were dis, bursed for COVID vaccine, purchase and testing, venti, lators, hospitals, testing labs,, oxygen generation plants, and migrant welfare. Despite, an earlier announcement, that ₹100 crore would be, spent on supporting vaccine, development, no such dis, bursal seems to have been, done., The Fund was established, on March 27, 2020 and col, lected ₹3,076 crore — includ, , Centre was providing opera, tional guidelines for CO, VID19 vaccination, gui, dance on classification,, prevention, reporting and, management aspect of AEFI., She added that frequent, communication to the States, and the Union Territories in, the form of letters, adviso, ries have been issued to im, prove reporting of minor,, severe and serious AEFI., There is no recommenda, tion to make reporting of, AEFIs mandatory for health, care service providers, the, Centre told Parliament., The Minister added that, cases of AEFI were moni, tored through a wellstruc, tured and robust surveil, lance system in India., Dr. H.K Mahajan, HOD, Anaesthesia, Indian Spinal, Injuries Centre, said this was, a very generic data issued by, the Health Ministry and, there was nothing to be wor, ried about., , The fund was set up to deal, with any kind of emergency, or distress situation., , ing an initial corpus, foreign, and domestic contributions,, and interest — within the first, five days of its existence, be, , fore the end of the 201920 fi, nancial year. In the financial, year 202021, it received vo, luntary contributions from, domestic donors to the tune, of ₹7,184 crore and foreign, contributions amounting to, ₹494 crore. Along with inter, est, and a ₹25 lakh refund of, unspent balance from the, National Disaster Manage, ment Authority, the Fund’s, total receipts for the year, amounted to ₹7,193 crore., On the expenditure side,, the largest disbursal of, ₹1,393 crore went to pur, , chase 6.6 crore doses of CO, VID19 vaccines. Another, ₹1,311 crore was used to buy, 50,000 Made in India venti, lators for use in Central and, State government hospitals., As The Hindu has previously, reported, doctors and hospi, tals in several States have, raised concerns about the, quality of some of these ven, tilators, with others lying idle, due to technical issues., Other measures to im, prove infrastructure includ, ed ₹201 crore spent on in, stalling162 Pressure Swing, , Adsorption medical oxygen, generation plants inside pu, blic health facilities, and ₹50, crore to establish two ma, keshift COVID hospitals in, Muzaffarnagar and Patna, with 500 beds each, and to, set up 16 RTPCR testing labs, in nine States/UTs., Over ₹20 crore was used, to upgrade two autonomous, institute laboratories under, the Department of Biotech, nology as Central Drug Labo, ratories to test and release, batches of the COVID, vaccine., , trains used by suspects,, identity of carriers/agents,, kingpins etc and shared with, other, lawenforcing, agencies., The RPF could act as a, bridge cutting across States, to assist the local police in, the mission to curb the, menace., Explaining the need to, strengthen the intelligence, machinery and the action, plan to identify, investigate,, rescue and rehabilitate vic, tims of the offence, Mr., Chander said cyber cells, would start patrolling the, web/social media to look for, digital footprints of human, trafficking and added that, the focus should be more on, trains originating from dis, tricts bordering Nepal, Ban, gladesh and Myanmar., , 7 Army men, missing after, avalanche, Special Correspondent, NEW DELHI, , Seven Army personnel are, missing after a patrol team, was hit by an avalanche in, Kameng sector of Aruna, chal Pradesh on Sunday., Rescue operations conti, nued all day on Monday till, last reports came in., The area has been wit, nessing inclement weather, with heavy snowfall for the, last few days. The sparsely, populated, forested Ka, meng sector is located at, heights of over 14,000 feet., , DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD, DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD, , (set by Lightning), , + 13474, , Wordplay is a FUNdamental right., Exercise it on our interactive site:, @ https://qrgo.page.link/jjpTn, , SCAN TO PLAY, , SUDOKU, , FAITH, , Caution needed on friends, , 16 They pick apart councillor with appeal on one case regularly (7), 19 Outstanding boxer dispatched outside (7), 21 Step outside a large magnificent residence (6), 23 By mistake, I am angry with institute — it’s not real (9), 25 Extent of farmhouses — unlimited (5), 26 Sailor ordered to go is not paying attention (6), 27 Drop small frozen item inside in return — it could be firm (8), 28 One that could see and allow small hole (6), 29 Get trays organised by plan (8), , ■ ACROSS, 1 Sample of spice arranged by force (8), 5 Anxiety of saint — it could come down (6), 9 Quickly go deep, exit another way (8), 10 Shape of German mark (6), 12 Approximately two thirds of round shape joined with area (5), 13 Attack without power can be done in quick bursts (54), 14 Move up or down to view list of names (6), , CM, YK, , ■ DOWN, 1 Drawing of small boat (6), 2 Based on observation of kings? (9), 3 Batting to get back help for our country (5), 4 Segment of seventh rally to hold one’s attention (7), 6 Large machine to walk on top of (9), 7 Any lapse is business is primarily an excuse (5), 8 Foolishness of working backwards with National Stock Exchange, twice (8), 11 Extended play one caught is classic (4), 15 Willingness to follow order to pass Northern church (9), 17 Fashionable coin I have as bait (9), 18 Reckon I’m entering large property (8), 20 Lure tenor with form of popular music (4), 21 Strike protects country missing second sum that is owed (7), 22 Setter’s inwardly embarrassed by unknown solution (6), 24 Man perhaps going past a passage (5), 25 Dish for starters, raw and imperfect, tastes amazing (5), , Solution to puzzle 13473, , Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku, , While we must be polite and kind to everyone, we must not, allow everyone to get so close to us that they can influence, our thinking. Before we make friends with someone, we, must know something about the person’s background and, temperament too. Otherwise, we could be misled by them., In the Vedas, Itihasas and Puranas, the introduction of a per, son is by first mentioning his father’s name, said Navalpak, kam Vasudevachariar in a discourse., Thus Vyasa is spoken of as the son of sage Parasara. In the, case of Manthara, Kaikeyi’s maid, nothing is known of her, background. Where was she from? What made her Kaikeyi’s, trusted maid? None of this is known. And yet, Manthara, wields enormous influence with Kaikeyi. Kaikeyi should not, have allowed Manthara to be so familiar with her. Had Kai, keyi been careful, a lot of sorrow could have been avoided., When Manthara comes to know of Rama’s coronation, she is, filled with anger., It is Manthara’s nature to resent other people’s happi, ness, and she cannot bear to see people of Ayodhya jubilant., She rushes to meet Kaikeyi. She addresses Kaikeyi as “fool.”, Kaikeyi is Dasaratha’s queen, and how can a mere servant be, so disrespectful towards a queen? Had Kaikeyi not allowed, Manthara to be close to her, Manthara would not have dared, to take such a tone with the queen. So Kaikeyi is to blame for, Manthara’s plotting and scheming. If Manthara had not, been sure that her words would sound convincing to Kai, keyi, she would not have bothered to try. But she knows the, hold she has over Kaikeyi, and therefore of the success of, her plans. The whole KaikeyiManthara episode shows that, if we get close to undesirable people, they slowly begin to, control us, and we act like puppets in their hands., A ND-NDE
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EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , THE HINDU, , WORLD 11, , DELHI, , TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022, , EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , Macron meets Putin over Ukraine row, French President hopeful of a ‘start towards deescalation’, to meet Ukranian counterpart later in Kiev, Agence France-Presse, Moscow, , French President Emmanuel, Macron said on Monday he, hoped to make a start to, wards a deescalation of ten, sions over Ukraine, as he be, gan talks with Russian, President Vladimir Putin in, Moscow., Mr. Macron flew into Mos, cow at the start of a week of, intense Western diplomacy, aimed at easing fears of a, Russian invasion of its pro, Western neighbour., Sitting across a long table, from Mr. Putin at the Krem, lin, Mr. Macron said he was, in Moscow to address the, “critical, situation”, in, Europe., “This discussion can, make a start in the direction, in which we need to go,, which is towards a deescala, tion,” Mr. Macron said, call, ing for “an answer that is, useful for both Russia and, for all the rest of Europe”., , Pacification bid: Vladimir Putin, left, listening to Emmanuel, Macron at their meeting in the Kremlin on Monday. AP, *, , Welcoming Mr. Macron as, “dear Emmanuel”, Mr. Putin, said Russia and France have, “shared concerns regarding, security in Europe” and, hailed “how much effort the, current French leadership is, making” to resolve these, concerns., With tens of thousands of, Russian troops camped near, the Ukrainian border, Mr., , Iran nuclear deal talks, to resume in Vienna: EU, Significant progress made, says Tehran, Agence France-Presse, Vienna, , Iran nuclear deal talks will, resume in Vienna on Tues, day, diplomats said on Mon, day, after negotiators in re, cent weeks have cited, progress in seeking to revive, the 2015 landmark accord., Parties to the deal have, been negotiating in Vienna, since last year with indirect, U.S. participation. Talks, were most recently halted at, the end of last month, and, the negotiators returned to, their, capitals, for, consultations., “The 8th round of the, Vienna Talks... attended by, China, France, Germany,, Russia, United Kingdom,, Iran and the United States, resume tomorrow in Vien, na,” tweeted Alain Matton,, spokesman of the EU, which, chairs the discussions., German Chancellor Olaf, , Tourists can, enter Australia, from Feb. 21, , Scholz told the Washington, Post in an interview pu, blished online on Monday, that a successful conclusion, of the talks “depends on, Iran”., “We gave them a clear, message that now this is the, time for decisions and for, progress, and not for pro, longing the process,” he was, quoted as saying., Iranian Foreign Ministry, spokesman Saeed Khatibza, deh said the answers “the, United States brings tomor, row to Vienna will deter, mine when we can reach an, agreement”., “We have made signifi, cant progress in various, areas of the Vienna negotia, tions” including on guaran, tees that Iran seeks that a, new U.S. administration, would not breach the deal, once again, Mr. Khatibzadeh, told reporters., , Macron was the first top, Western leader to meet Mr., Putin since the crisis began., German Chancellor Olaf, Scholz was due to meet on, Monday with U.S. President, Joe Biden in Washington, as, Western leaders look to, maintain a united front in, their biggest showdown with, Russia since the end of the, Cold War., , Mr. Macron, who will go, on to Kiev on Tuesday for, talks with Ukrainian Presi, dent Volodymyr Zelensky,, told reporters on his plane, from Paris that he was “rea, sonably” optimistic going in, to the talks., He did not expect a solu, tion to the crisis in the “short, term”, he said, but he was, ready to take Russia’s securi, ty concerns seriously., Kremlin spokesman Dmi, try Peskov said Monday’s, talks between Mr. Macron, and Mr. Putin were “very im, portant” but suggested no, one should expect a major, step forward., “The situation is too com, plex to expect decisive, breakthroughs in one meet, ing,” Mr. Peskov told, reporters., Ukrainian Foreign Minis, ter Dmytro Kuleba told re, porters that Kiev would not, budge on its “red lines” in, the conflict by giving up any, , territory or agreeing to di, rect, talks, with, the, separatists., Mr. Biden has reacted to, the Russian troop buildup, by offering 3,000 American, forces to bolster NATO’s east, ern flank, with a batch of the, troops arriving in Poland on, Sunday., Troop deployment, Britain said on Monday that, 350 more British troops, would be sent to the Polish, border and Germany an, nounced that another 350 of, its soldiers would go to, Lithuania., While Scholz is in Wash, ington, his Foreign Minister,, Annalena Baerbock, was in, Kiev along with her Czech,, Slovak and Austrian counter, parts for a twoday visit., Mr. Kuleba told a joint, press conference with Ms., Baerbock that Ukraine and, its Western allies would nev, er be divided., , Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, repeats sexual assault denial, She calls the whole episode a ‘huge misunderstanding’, Agence France-Presse, Beijing, , Chinese tennis star Peng, Shuai said she never accused, anyone of sexual assault, in, an interview published on, Monday, again walking back, an allegation that sparked, what she described as a, “huge misunderstanding”., The former doubles, world number one alleged in, a social media post in No, vember that former Chinese, vicepremier Zhang Gaoli, forced her into sex during a, yearslong relationship., The post was swiftly delet, ed and Peng was not heard, from for nearly three weeks,, prompting concern around, the world about her safety., She has since appeared at, some public events, and de, nied ever making the, accusation., , Peng Shuai, , “I never said anyone had, sexually assaulted me in any, way,” Peng told the French, sports daily L’Equipe on Sun, day. Peng said she was the, one who deleted her allega, tion from Weibo, China’s, Twitterlike platform., It was widely suspected, that China’s strict Internet, censors had removed it., When L’Equipe asked why, she deleted it, Peng said:, , “Because I wanted to.”, “There was a huge misun, derstanding in the outside, world following this post,”, she said during the inter, view in the Beijing Winter, Olympics bubble., Peng also told L’Equipe, that she was retiring from, professional tennis, citing a, major injury and disruptions, to travel and treatment dur, ing the pandemic., When asked about the, worries, her, absence, sparked, Peng said she had, “never disappeared”. “It’s, just that many people, like, my friends or people from, the IOC messaged me, and it, was simply impossible to, answer.”, Peng was accompanied, by Chinese Olympic Com, mittee chief of staff Wang, Kan during the interview., , Sri Lankan lawyer detained, for nearly two years gets bail, Activists call for repeal of country’s ‘draconian’ terrorism law, Meera Srinivasan, Colombo, , Sri Lanka’s Appeal Court on, Monday granted bail to pro, minent Muslim lawyer He, jaaz Hizbullah, detained for, nearly two years following, his arrest under the much, dreaded Prevention of Ter, rorism Act (PTA) in April, 2020., Named a ‘prisoner of con, science’ by rights watchdog, Amnesty International, Mr., Hizbullah’s arrest and pro, longed detention without, charges drew wide local and, international, condemna, tion, while turning the spot, light on the country’s terro, rism law that rights activists, have repeatedly termed, “draconian”, calling for its, repeal., The development comes, two months after young, Muslim poet Ahnaf Jazeem —, also arrested under the PTA, in May 2020 — was granted, bail. Law enforcement auth, orities pitched both their ar, rests as part of their ongoing, investigation of the Easter, terror bombings of April, 2019, providing no evidence, of their alleged connection, to the incident. They were, detained without charges or, lawyer access for several, months., ‘PTA, a weapon’, Following news of Mr. Hiz, bullah’s bail, Leader of Op, position Sajith Premadasa, said in a tweet: “Hejaaz’s re, lease today after 20 months, of detainment based on, baseless charges, is proof, that #PTA is not a tool but a, weapon.”, While welcoming the bail,, Amnesty International not, ed in a statement that “hun, dreds of others” remain in, detention for charges relat, ed to ‘terrorism’, repeatedly, used to target minority, groups and state critics., “The Sri Lankan authori, ties must ensure that all, those still detained under, the PTA have access to fair, bail hearings and release, those who have not been, , Authorities arrested Hejaaz, Hizbullah as part of probe, into 2019 Easter bombings., , charged with recognizable, crimes under international, law. They must also repeal, the PTA and issue an imme, diate moratorium on its use,, as repeated attempts to, amend the law have proved, futile,” it said., Sri Lanka enacted the, PTA in 1979 under President, J.R. Jayawardene, mainly to, stifle the emerging armed, struggle of Tamil youth op, posing the state’s discrimi, natory policies. The PTA,, which was modelled on, South Africa’s apartheidera, legislation and laws used by, the British to crush Irish mil, itancy, became a permanent, law in 1982 and has re, mained in force for over four, decades, despite campaigns, for its reform or repeal., Over time it has been, used against dissidents, among the Sinhalamajority,, and more recently, Sri Lan, ka’s Muslim community that, has been subjected to target, ed attacks and discriminato, ry policy. In the past three, years alone, authorities have, arrested over 600 people, under the PTA., Proposal for amendment, Amid growing calls from the, UN, international partners,, and civil society groups, the, government on January 27,, 2002 gazetted a Bill to, amend the PTA., Acknowledging the need, for reforming “draconian, elements” of the PTA, the, February 7 bail order of the, Court of Appeal, the second, , highest court in Sri Lanka af, ter the Supreme Court, not, ed: “Ultimately, it is up to, the Legislature to ensure, that the draconian elements, of the law combating terro, rism are dispensed with per, modern day contexts. Until, such time, it is the judi, ciary’s duty to employ exist, ing legal provisions and con, stitutional, powers, to, interpret the same elements, in the interests of justice.”, ‘Minimal reforms’, However, the government’s, proposed amendments have, inspired little hope. “Very, regrettably, it appears on a, preliminary reading, that, the minimal reforms pro, posed fail to address the, most significant problems, identified with the PTA,” At, torneyatlaw Ermiza Tegal, wrote in a recent commen, tary., Highlighting the limita, tions of the proposed, amendments, Human Rights, Watch noted that they would, not help prevent abuses, such as those Mr. Jazeem,, the poet, was subjected to,, after being accused of “pro, moting religious extremism”, through his verses that, in, fact criticised, extremist, views. Interrogators had, threatened “to hang him, from the roof and beat him”,, he had earlier testified. Fol, lowing his bail, Mr. Jazeem, also told journalists that the, police denied him proper, food and access to a toilet,, kept him in handcuffs, and, refused him legal counsel, initially., Mr. Hizbullah’s bail comes, ahead of the UN Human, Rights Council session in Ge, neva in March 2022, where, Sri Lanka’s progress on com, mitments on human rights,, accountability and reconci, liation will be reviewed. It al, so comes amid growing, pressure on the EU Commis, sion to consider a temporary, withdrawal of the GSP+ sta, tus given to Sri Lanka, citing, failure to fulfil commitments, on the rights front., , ‘Police used Pegasus to spy on, former Israeli PM’s son, others’, , Agence France-Presse, , Report cites public figures as victims, Bennett vows action, , Sydney, , Australia will reopen its, borders to tourists from Fe, bruary 21, Prime Minister, Scott Morrison announced, on Monday, ending some, of the world’s strictest and, longestrunning pandemic, travel restrictions., “It’s almost two years, since we took the decision, to close the borders to Aus, tralia,” Mr. Morrison said,, announcing borders will, reopen to all visa holders, “on the 21st of February of, this year”., “If you’re double vacci, nated, we look forward to, welcoming you back to, Australia,” he said., Every month of “For, tress Australia” policies, has cost businesses an esti, mated $2.6 billion, accord, ing to the Australian Cham, ber of Commerce and, Industry., In recent months, rules, have been gradually re, laxed for Australians, long, term, residents, and, students., The latest decision will, see almost all remaining, caps lifted., , Agence France-Presse, Jerusalem, , Israel’s domestic spying, scandal widened on Monday, with Prime Minister Naftali, Bennett vowing government, action following new reports, that police illegally used the, Pegasus malware to hack, phones of dozens of promi, nent figures., The latest bombshell from, business daily Calcalist al, leged that Pegasus was used, against a son of former pre, mier Benjamin Netanyahu, and his advisors, as well as, activists, senior government, officials, businessmen and, others., Calcalist had previously, reported that the controver, sial malware, which can turn, a phone into a pocket spying, device, was used by police, against leaders of an antiNe, tanyahu protest movement., Hours after Monday’s re, port emerged, Mr. Bennett, vowed that his government, “won’t leave this without a, response”., “The reports apparently, describe a very grave situa, , tion that is unacceptable in a, democracy,” Mr. Bennett, said., As Mr. Bennett pledged, action, Minister for Public, Security Omer Barlev, who, oversees the police, said he, would seek authorisation for, a government commission, of inquiry., Mr. Barlev said that, if ap, proved, the probe would be, led by a retired judge who, would question anyone ne, cessary in the political, legal, and security system to un, cover “violations of civil, rights and privacy”., ‘Institutions’ credibility’, Pegasus is a malware pro, duct made by the Israeli firm, NSO at the centre of a, monthslong international, scandal following revela, tions that it was used by go, vernments worldwide to spy, on activists, politicians, jour, nalists and even heads of, state., President Isaac Herzog, suggested the credibility of, key Israeli institutions was at, stake., , “We must not lose our de, mocracy. We must not lose, our police. And we must cer, tainly not lose public trust in, them. This requires an in, depth investigation,” Mr., Herzog said., Calcalist said dozens of, people were targeted who, were not suspected of crimi, nal conduct, and without, police receiving the neces, sary court approval., They include senior lead, ers of the finance, justice, and communication minis, tries, supermarket magnate, Rami Levy, mayors, Ethio, pianIsraelis who led prot, ests against alleged police, misconduct and former Ne, tanyahu advisors., Avner Netanyahu, one of, the premier’s sons, was also, on the list. “I truly am, shocked,” he wrote on, Facebook., In another revelation set, to rock Mr. Netanyahu’s on, going corruption trial, Calcalist reported that key wit, ness Ilan Yeshua, former, chief executive of the Walla, news site, was a target., , Bus crash in Indonesia kills 13 persons, Agence France-Presse, Solo, , At least 13 persons were, killed and dozens more in, jured after a tour bus carry, ing factory workers to a, beach holiday crashed on In, donesia’s Java island, accord, ing to police., The bus and its 47 passen, gers were headed from Suko, harjo in Central Java to a fa, mily, gathering, in, neighbouring, Yogyakarta, province when the driver, CM, YK, , lost control going downhill,, officers said on late Sunday., “Witnesses we questioned, said they saw the driver pan, icking as he tried to manage, the gear stick, so there’s an, indication the brake was not, functioning or faulty,” Bantul, district police chief Ihsan,, who like many Indonesians, uses only one name, told a, media briefing., Deadly traffic accidents, are common in the archipe, lago nation of 270 million,, , where vehicles are often old, and poorly maintained and, road rules are ignored., “Thirteen persons died., Some died on the scene and, others died while being treat, ed, while 34 others were in, jured,” Mr. Ihsan said, adding, the injured had been taken to, three nearby hospitals., Multiple passengers sus, tained head injuries and, three toddlers were also, hurt, according to the police, chief., A ND-NDE
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EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , 12 BUSINESS, , DELHI, , THE HINDU, , TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022, , EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , market watch, 07-02-2022, , % CHANGE, , Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddd 57,621 ddddddddddddd -1.75, Gold ddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 47,997 ddddddddddddddd0.16, Brent oil ddddddddddddddddddddd 93.15 ddddddddddddddddddddd —, , NIFTY 50, , ‘January retail auto sales fall 11% Stocks slide on fears of oil, on chip shortage, rural distress’ led inflation, RBI stance shift, , PRICE CHANGE, , Adani Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 715.15. . . . . . -11.80, Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3174.70. . . . . . -61.95, Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 789.60. . . . . . . . -8.95, Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3476.00. . . . . . -89.35, Bajaj Finserv. . . . . . . . . . .. 15711.35. . . -494.40, Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 6930.60. . . -227.80, Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 706.50. . . . . . -13.70, BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 372.45. . . . . . . . -3.20, Britannia Ind . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3448.60. . . -113.40, Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 933.30. . . . . . -12.80, Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 160.95. . . . . . . . . 0.55, Divis Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 4201.50. . . -103.00, Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . .. . . . 4309.20. . . . . . -42.75, Eicher Motors. . . . . . . . .. . . . 2601.35. . . . . . -30.05, Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1712.35. . . . . . -22.95, HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1157.35. . . . . . . . -6.45, HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2428.15. . . . . . -75.10, HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1468.15. . . . . . -55.85, HDFC Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 603.25. . . . . . -21.10, Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 2648.05. . . . . . -73.70, Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 522.60. . . . . . . . -2.55, Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2257.60. . . . . . -49.00, ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 786.40. . . . . . -18.65, IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 933.05. . . . . . -23.00, Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1715.00. . . . . . -26.10, Indian OilCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 122.90. . . . . . . . -1.25, ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 230.20. . . . . . . . -4.10, JSW Steel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 651.15. . . . . . . . -6.20, Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1828.45. . . . . . -55.75, L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1884.50. . . . . . -63.45, M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 829.50. . . . . . -12.20, Maruti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 8511.65. . . . . . -38.90, Nestle India Ltd. . . . .. 18072.75. . . -258.90, NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 135.15. . . . . . . . . 0.95, ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 172.10. . . . . . . . . 2.50, PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 213.65. . . . . . . . . 3.95, Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2317.10. . . . . . -14.20, SBI Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1144.00. . . . . . -28.10, State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 533.25. . . . . . . . . 2.95, Shree Cement . . . . . . . .. 24865.55. . . . . 141.50, Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 887.05. . . . . . . . -6.90, Tata, Consumer, Products Ltd. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 704.80. . . . . . -29.00, Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 494.60. . . . . . . . -6.00, Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1183.00. . . . . . . . . 6.70, TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3779.00. . . . . . -35.90, Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . 1444.30. . . . . . . . -3.90, Titan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2409.20. . . . . . -61.95, UltraTech Cement . .. . . . 7469.35. . . . . . . 29.70, UPL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 756.60. . . . . . -10.60, Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 557.00. . . . . . -14.75, , IN BRIEF, , Indian Bank Q3 net profit, climbs 34% to ₹690 cr., CHENNAI, , Indian Bank on Monday, reported a 34% rise in, standalone net profit for the, quarter ended December to, ₹690 crore on higher income, and cash recovery., Noninterest income rose, 36% to ₹1,556 crore., Net interest income grew 2%, to ₹4,395 crore, while net, interest margin (domestic), dipped to 3.03% from 3.13%., , Increase in prices, Omicron wave hit twowheelers, says FADA president Gulati, , Special Correspondent, Special Correspondent, NEW DELHI, , Automobile retail sales fell, almost 11% last month, large, ly due to contraction in the, passenger vehicle and two, wheeler segments, on the, back of the semiconductor, shortage and rural distress, along with increase in pric, es, according to the Federa, tion of Automobile Dealers, Associations (FADA)., Sales across categories de, clined 10.7% from a year ear, lier to 14,39,747 units last, month, FADA data showed., Passenger vehicle (PV) sales, fell 10.1% to 2,58,329 units,, while twowheeler sales, shrank 13.4% to 10,17,785 un, , Rural rebound: The Centre’s plan for direct MSP payments to, farmers may help lift tractor and entrylevel PV sales. GIRI KVS, *, , its. Tractor sales too slid, 9.86% to 55,421 units., “In spite of good demand,, PVs continue to face the, brunt of semiconductor, shortage,” said FADA presi, , dent Vinkesh Gulati. “In the, twowheeler category, the, rural distress coupled with, price rise and Omicron wave, played a villain’s role.”, Commercial vehicle sales,, , Public borrowing won’t crowd, out private investment: FM, Opportune time for investments by companies, she asserts, NEW DELHI, , lopment in the past had led, to flawed outcomes., , Finance Minister Nirmala, Sitharaman urged industry, to step up investments and, expand capacities, asserting, that worries about high pu, blic capital spending and, borrowings crowding out, private investments were, misplaced., “The emphasis on infra, and public investments is, done after a lot of stakehol, der consultations… we have, our own analysis that this is, going to lead to crowding in, of private investment,” she, said, adding this was an op, portune time for greenfield, and brownfield projects, , ‘Flawed infra plans’, “Infrastructure [has been], built in this country since, 1947. But... we fell short be, cause they were standing on, their own, and after deve, lopment, it was realised, there is no connection with, the raw material or links to, ports so logistics and raw, material costs became too, much,” the Minister said at a, postBudget interaction with, the PHD Chamber of Com, merce and Industry., Such anomalies, she said,, wouldn’t exist under the PM, Gati Shakti approach., , Special Correspondent, , Nirmala Sitharaman, , from corporates. Emphasis, ing that the Budget envi, sioned a twotrack path of, building optimal infrastruc, ture and encouraging sun, rise sectors for India’s, growth in the Amrit Kaal,, she said infrastructure deve, , TVS Motor standalone, net rises 9% to ₹288 cr., , Dynabook inks pact with, Ingram for distribution, , Company names Speth as chairman, , NEW DELHI, , Special Correspondent, , Lalatendu Mishra, , Tube Investments Q3 net, rises 12% to ₹120 crore, CHENNAI, , Tube Investments of India, Ltd. (TII) standalone net, profit for the third quarter, ended December rose 12% to, ₹120 crore on improved, sales. During the quarter, under review, revenue from, operations increased by 30%, to ₹1,701 crore from ₹1,309, crore, the company said in a, regulatory filing. The board, declared an interim dividend, of ₹2 per share., , Mumbai, , CHENNAI, , TVS Motor Company Ltd. on, Monday reported third, quarter standalone net pro, fit rose 9% to ₹288 crore., The two and three, wheeler manufacturer post, ed its highest operating re, venue of ₹5,706 crore in the, three months ended Decem, ber, against ₹5,391 crore a, year earlier. Profit before, tax rose to a record ₹391, crore (₹362 crore), it said in, an investor presentation., The company said it had, made several investments in, its subsidiaries last quarter:, ₹50 crore in the equity of, TVS Motor Services Ltd.,, ₹115 crore in TVS Motor (Sin, gapore) Pte. Ltd., and ₹75, crore in compulsorily con, vertible preference shares, of Ultraviolette Automotive, Pvt. Ltd., Separately, TVS Motor, said it had appointed Ralf, Dieter Speth as chairman, with effect from April 1,, , however, grew 20.5% to, 67,763 units., “As India gets back on its, feet post the third wave of, COVID, we expect that auto, retail will slowly turn posi, tive. Semiconductor shor, tage is also showing some, signs of easing as many PV, OEMs are [assuring] of better, dispatch,” Mr. Gulati added., The federation added that, rural India had been a key, driver for twowheeler and, entrylevel PV segments and, “the government’s plan for, ₹2.3 lakh crore direct pay, ment as MSP to farmers may, work as a booster for two, wheeler, tractor and entry, level PV sales.”, , Govt. cancels, February 11, bond auctions, Reuters, , Mumbai, , The benchmark S&P BSE, Sensex tumbled 1,023.63, points, or 1.75%, to 57,621.19, on Monday as rising global, crude oil prices fuelled fears, of faster inflation and con, cerns mounted that the Re, serve Bank of India may use, its monetary policy meeting, this week to signal a shift in, policy stance and possibly, even move to tighten, liquidity., Private sector lenders led, the losses with HDFC Bank, declining 3.65%, Bajaj Fi, nance falling 3.15% and Ko, tak Bank losing 2.92%., “Global headwinds have, again started impacting sen, , timent,” said Ajit Mishra, VP, Research, Religare Broking., “And, this fall ahead of the, MPC (monetary policy com, mittee) meet indicates that, markets are factoring in the, change in stance by the com, mittee and possibly a hint to, wards the beginning of li, quidity tightening as well,”, , Oil declines on positive, signs from U.S.Iran talks, U.S. sanctions on Iran oil sales may go, , Mr. Mishra added., The NSE Nifty50 index, too slid 302.70 points, or, 1.73%, to 17,213.60., “Markets are volatile, ahead of the State elections,, witnessing a steep fall led by, FII selling,” said Vinod Nair,, Head of Research at Geojit, Financial Services., “Strong U.S. jobs data, gave rise to fears of sharper, than expected Fed rate, hikes, resulting in a spike in, the bond yields. The volatili, ty in the market is likely to, continue due to high chanc, es of interest rate liftoff by, the RBI given domestic infla, tion and policy tightening by, global central banks,” Mr., Nair added., , Sundaram, Finance Q3, net falls 16.5%, Special Correspondent, , New Delhi, , Reuters, , CHENNAI, , India cancelled auctions of, government securities to, be held on February 11, a, government statement said, on Monday, following a, sharp rise in bond yields af, ter the announcement of, the record borrowing plan, of ₹14.95 trillion for FY23., The Centre had planned, to auction ₹220 billion, worth of bonds on the day., “On review of the Go, vernment of India’s cash, position, it has been decid, ed to cancel auction of all, the securities scheduled to, be held on February 11,, 2022,” the Centre said in a, statement. The market was, expecting a ₹1213 trillion, programme for FY23., , LONDON, , Nonbanking, financial, company Sundaram Fi, nance Ltd. on Monday re, ported a 16.5% dip in stan, dalone net profit for the, third quarter ended De, cember to ₹202 crore., Total revenue from op, erations slid 8% to ₹958, crore. The firm declared an, interim dividend of ₹10 per, share, it said in a state, ment. “Overall economic, activity improved in Q3;, demand remained robust, across segments,” said Har, sha Viji, executive vice, chairman. However, sup, plyside issues, including, the chip shortage, affected, industry volumes across, multiple asset classes., , Oil prices fell on Monday as, concerns over tight supply, were offset by signs of pro, gress in nuclear talks bet, ween the United States and, Iran, which could lead to, the removal of U.S. sanc, tions on Iranian oil sales., Brent crude was down 61, cents, or 0.7%, at $92.66 by, 1445 GMT, having earlier, touched its highest since Oc, tober 2014 at $94., U.S. President Joe Biden’s, administration on Friday, restored sanctions waivers, to Iran to allow internation, al nuclear cooperation pro, jects as talks on the 2015 in, ternational nuclear deal, enter the final stretch., , Although the sanctions, relief will have limited im, pact on Iran’s struggling, economy, the move was per, ceived by markets as a signal, that both sides are deter, mined to reach a deal. Iran, could quickly export mil, lions of barrels of crude and, help drive down oil prices if, U.S. sanctions are lifted., , Promoters take over operations at KOEL after toplevel exits, Atul Kirloskar, named executive, chairman, , Dynabook, formerly Toshiba, PC company, on Monday, announced the signing of an, agreement with Ingram, Micro India for distribution of, a range of B2B laptops and, accessories. “Dynabook, together with Ingram Micro, India are committed to, ensure seamless delivery of, the products and solutions, we offer to the Indian, market,” said Ikuaki, Takayama, MD, Dynabook, Singapore Pte., , Sensex slumps 1,024 points, dragged by private lenders, IT, , The promoters of Kirloskar, Oil Engine Ltd. (KOEL) have, taken over the daytoday, management of the compa, ny following the exit of multi, ple top executives., The company’s managing, , director Sanjeev Nimkar re, signed and exited last, month, prompting the pro, moters to take over the run, ning the company. The other, highprofile exits include Jay, Ganjal, head, water manage, ment solutions and Abhay, Naik, customer care and ser, vices head., In a letter to staff, interim, directorincharge Gauri Kir, loskar said, “In the board, meeting that was convened, , post Sanjeev’s resignation,, Atul Kirloskar was reappoint, ed as executive chairman..., and I was asked to supervise, the daytoday operations in, the interim.” Mr. Kirloskar’s, reappointment is till March, 31, 2023. His daughter Ms., Gauri, who is a nonindepen, dent, nonexecutive director,, has been entrusted with the, task of supervising opera, tions for six months or till, the appointment of the new, , MD. Company officials said, she was new to the executive, role. Industry watchers said, her appointment by the, board was questionable., “This goes against the bas, ic definition and role of non, executive directors pro, nounced under the law,” said, Stakeholders Empowerment, Services MD J.N. Gupta., “A nonexecutive director, cannot have daytoday res, ponsibility.” He added, “It is, , an executive position dis, guised as a nonexecutive, position.” KOEL reported a, loss at its electric pumps seg, ment in the last quarter., People close to the deve, lopment said the losses at, the pump business in which, the company had invested, more than ₹250 crore, had, triggered the exits. An email, seeking comment from the, firm remained unanswered, till the time of going to press., , Ralf Dieter Speth, , 2022, while Venu Sriniva, san, would continue to be, the MD designated as chair, man emeritus. Mr. Speth, was earlier the CEO of Tata, Motors’ JLR luxury car unit., Consolidated profit, ho, wever, declined 18.3% to, ₹236.56 crore on account of, lower twowheeler sales., Total twowheeler sales, for the December quarter, was 8.35 lakh units as com, pared with 9.52 lakh units in, the yearearlier period., Twowheeler, exports, grew 12%, TVS Motor added., , Accelerated momentum seen, at transportation clients: LTTS, EV players seeking highend engineering services: Chadha, Mini Tejaswi, Bengaluru, , The transportation vertical, is seeing accelerated mo, mentum amid strong de, mand for engineering servic, es by global electricvehicle, (EV), autonomous and new, age emobility players, said, Amit Chadha, MD and CEO,, L&T Technology Services, (LTTS)., “EV players are at the fo, refront of leveraging the in, novationled capabilities of, engineering, and, R&D, (ER&D) services to usher in, muchrequired transforma, tion in the green mobility, ecosystem,” he said., “This trend indicates a, surge in demand for high, end engineering services, CM, YK, , Amit Chadha, , from futurefacing emobili, ty companies,” Mr. Chadha, added. Electric vehicle ma, nufacturers were looking for, ER&D services for product, development, with exper, tise ranging from buildto, specificationdefinition to, vehiclelevel integration, he, , said. “We are focussed on, the ER&D segment, which, offers tremendous growth, potential of the kind the IT, sector saw in its heyday,” Mr., Chadha pointed out., “This pureplay position, in ER&D makes us stand out, from the crowd. We are also, strengthening our focus on, Electric, Autonomous &, Connected Vehicle areas,”, he added., “Our winning a $45mil, lion deal in Q3 from a U.S, based tier 1 automotive, client was reflective of this,”, he said. According to indus, try association Nasscom’s es, timates, engineering and, R&D services would be a, $100billion opportunity for, India by 202526., A ND-NDE
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EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , THE HINDU, , SPORT 13, , DELHI, , TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022, , EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , Spin artist Chahal is back in business, , CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, , Getting into the groove, , Proves once again he is India’s premier tweaker in the shorter version, three ODIs in South Africa,, Chahal would surely have, been feeling the heat. But as, he revealed after the match,, the big difference between, Chahal in South Africa and, on Sunday turned out to be, the use of the wrong ’un., “You told me before the, match that it’s important to, use the googly, especially, against bighitters, someth, ing that I hardly did in South, Africa, so I just thought, about it and backed myself to, execute it,” Chahal told cap, tain Rohit Sharma in a video, posted on bcci.tv., , WINDIES IN INDIA, Amol Karhadkar, AHMEDABAD, , While the nation mourned, the passing of Bharat Ratna, Lata Mangeshkar on Sunday,, the BCCI put off the celebra, tions it had planned to mark, India’s landmark 1000th, ODI., Adopting the motto of the, entertainment business —, the show must go on — the, Indian cricketers provided, the soothing balm the griev, ing nation needed with a, clinical performance. A per, formance that would have, certainly brought a smile to, the face of ‘The Nightingale, of India’ had she been watch, ing it., The star, The star of India’s win versus, the West Indies was legspin, ner Yuzvendra Chahal, who, added a personal landmark, to the team’s by picking up, his 100th ODI wicket as well, as the PlayeroftheMatch, award., No doubt the West Indies, batting is far from an effec, , Told you! Chahal is delighted at sending Pollard back off the first ball., , tive unit in conditions where, the pitch assists spinners, from the start, but Kieron, Pollard’s boys also hardly, had time to prepare for the, series because of the incon, venient itinerary forced by, time lost to the pandemic., Even so, no one can take, credit away from Chahal. He, bamboozled the Windies big, hitters with his wristy artis, try., , He had a point to prove,, indirectly having been asked, to cement his place in the, team all over again., Despite being India’s pre, mier limitedovers spinner, since 2017, Chahal was omit, ted from India’s T20 World, Cup squad., Once India’s campaign, ended in disaster, the selec, tors and the rejigged team, management turned to Cha, , *, , PTI, , hal yet again. But Chahal, couldn’t really repeat his ex, ploits in the latter half of the, Indian Premier League on, his return to the Indian, team., While he got just one, game in the T20I series ver, sus New Zealand, he strug, gled to get his act together in, the ODIs in South Africa., Having picked up just two, wickets at 73.50 apiece in the, , Fit-again Washington returns in style, , Mojo back, It was evident that the man, ner in which he bamboozled, Pollard, whose frailty against, the googly has often been ex, posed in the IPL, with a, googly off the first ball un, derlined that Chahal had got, his mojo back., India will be hoping that, Chahal will continue to sizzle, not just in the series against, the West Indies but also for, the next 18 months with the, T20 and ODI World Cups ap, proaching., , Honing their skills: Rahul, Saini and Mayank, who were back at the nets on Monday after, completing their quarantine, would have been pleasantly surprised to see Dravid, rolling his arm over with the white ball. TWITTER/BCCI, *, , CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, , CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, , Allconquering outfit, , Worked on selfimprovement during forced break, says offspinner, , Three Indians, await results, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, , “There’ll always be chal, lenges, that’s something I, have realised, especially in, the last couple of years. But, what matters is how I push, myself, keep getting better at, what I want to, and keep im, proving myself. I’ve tried to, focus on it.”, , Amol Karhadkar, AHMEDABAD, , The last time Washington, Sundar wore India colours in, a match was 11 months ago,, at the same venue. Since, then, having suffered a fin, ger injury, he could not be, considered for the T20, World Cup., As if that wasn’t a bitter, pill to swallow, his interna, tional comeback was de, layed further last month, when he was diagnosed with, COVID19 days before his de, parture for South Africa., , Well done! Skipper Rohit shows his appreciation for, Washington’s efforts. AFP, , Challenges, No wonder then that the all, rounder was “happy to get, off ” on his comeback, set, ting up India’s win in the first, ODI along with senior spin, , ner Yuzvendra Chahal. The, lanky offie got a touch philo, sophical when asked about, the challenges over the last, year., “There were a lot of chal, , IN BRIEF, , *, , Ireen Wust became the most, successful Olympic speed, skater in history with six gold, medals on Monday after, sweeping round the Beijing, oval to retain her 1500m title., Victory put the Netherlands’, most decorated Olympian, ahead of Germany’s Claudia, Pechstein, who has won five, skating golds. REUTERS, , Hooda powers Panthers, past Giants, BENGALURU, , Deepak Hooda scored a Super, 10 (11 points) for Jaipur Pink, Panthers as it beat Gujarat, Giants 3631 in the 100th, match of the ProKabaddi, League’s eighth season here, on Monday. Bengal Warriors, tied with Telugu Titans 3232, in the second match. PTI, , Surmount Heroes’ challenge, , CSK, Gokulam Kerala and Mumbai City FC in shortlist, , K, , olkata, Thunderbolts, scored a thrilling 1513,, 1215, 1510, 1215, 1513 win, over Calicut Heroes in the, Rupay Prime Volleyball, League championship at, GMC Balayogi Stadium (Ga, chibowli), Hyderabad on, Monday., It was a contest which saw, the Kolkata outfit come up, with a poor display in serv, ing and owed its win to the, spiking prowess of ‘player, ofthematch’ and captain, Ashwal Rai., For Calicut, which was, without the services of, Olympian David Lee, it was, an outstanding display by, the brilliant spiker C. Ajith, Lal, who repeatedly split the, rival defence with stunning, smashes. Getting solid sup, port from Jerome Vinith,, , M.V. Sujan Lal, M.C. Mujeeb,, K. Rahul at the net, Ajith was, exceptional., With the scores reading, twosets all, the final set saw, the lead change sides fre, quently and Calicut even led, 118 at one stage only to frit, ter away the advantage as, Ashwal rose to the occasion., Once he jumped up only to, fake a spike with roll of the, wrists to stun the rival, defence., It was an anticlimax for, Calicut after the scores were, tied at 13all. Ajith, who leapt, in the air only to see his spike, go out to the delight of the, Kolkata side which eventual, ly wrapped up the match, with Ashwal giving the fin, ishing touch., The result: Kolkata Thunder, bolts bt Calicut Heroes 1513,, 1215, 1510, 1215, 1513., Tuesday’s match: Bengaluru, Torpedoes vs Kochi Blue Spik, ers, 7 p.m., , *, , Gokulam Kerala., , Mumbai City FC., , New boys fire the team to victory, , Hernandez pries open the Kolkata side’s defence to find the gameclinching goal, , Milan, , *, , Up for it: Skipper Ashwal is all set to unleash a thunderbolt, past Heroes. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT, , hennai Super Kings:, After failing to make the, playoffs for the first time in, its history in 2020, CSK, pulled off an incredible co, meback to lift its fourth title., In 2021: Regained the IPL, crown by defeating Kolkata, Knight Riders in the final., Gokulam Kerala FC: GKFC, lifted its maiden ILeague tit, le in 2021 — an addition to a, remarkable run for the club, across men's and women's, football., In 2021: Clinched the I, , Chennai Super Kings., , Odisha beats SC EB, regains winning form, , Agence France-Presse, , What a start! Vlahovic and Zakaria made a memorable debut, for Juventus, scoring a goal each. REUTERS, , C, , League title with a 41 victory, over TRAU in a mustwin last, encounter., Mumbai City FC: Mumbai, City was at its dominant best, as it finished the 2021 season, with an impressive domestic, double — winning its maiden, ISL title a fortnight after, clinching the League Win, ners’ Shield., The, Sportstar, Aces, awards are presented by Byju's Classes with IDFC First, Bank as the associate partner. Odisha is the Sports Destination Partner and Union, Bank of India the banking, partner. ONGC is the associate partner. Nippon Paint, is the Colour Partner and, Life, Insurance Corporation of India, the, Insurance, Partner., To vote, visit aces.sport, star.thehindu.com., , Juve in top gear, EURO LEAGUES, , CM, YK, , *, , CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, , Aces’ Club of the Year nominees, , Sports Bureau, , BEIJING, , Magnificent campaign: The Yash Dhullled India squad, which clinched the Under19 World, Cup with an allwin record, in North Sound (Antigua) on Saturday. This was India’s fifth title —, the most by a country — in 14 editions of the tournament. TWITTER@YASHDHULL_22, , Thunderbolts win an exciting contest, PVL, , Wust skates her way, into the record books, , lenges but I just wanted to do, what I could to improve my, self as a cricketer. That’s all, that’s in my control and I, was only focusing on that,”, Washington said., , Disappointment, “It was very, very disap, pointing to have lost out on, the chance to play the World, Cup., “But, there are two World, Cups in the next 1516, months, so that should be, my focus,” he said., Being in the present, per, forming better and enjoying, the game is what he loves to, do. Opportunities will fol, low, he said., , AHMEDABAD, , Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj, Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer, are waiting for their second, negative test result ahead, of Wednesday’s second, ODI between India and the, West Indies. While Dha, wan’s status is unclear,, Shreyas and Ruturaj are, understood to have tested, negative on Monday., If their tests return nega, tive on Tuesday, the duo, will be able to resume, training on Wednesday., With no training under, their belt, they will not be, available for the second, ODI., K.L. Rahul, Mayank, Agarwal and Navdeep Saini, trained on Monday after, serving quarantine., , Dusan Vlahovic and Denis, Zakaria enjoyed dream Ju, ventus debuts on Sunday, with a goal each in a 20 win, over Verona which put their, new team in Serie A’s Cham, pions League places, while, Napoli was hot on leader In, ter Milan’s heels after seeing, off Venezia., The duo made sure that, Juve took advantage of Ata, lanta falling to a shock 21, home defeat to lowly Cagliari, by beating a spirited Verona, in Turin to take its place in, the top four. Serbia forward, Vlahovic took just 12 minutes, , at a foggy Allianz Stadium to, show why Juve shelled out, an initial €70 million to, snatch him from Fiorentina,, racing onto Paulo Dybala’s, chipped through ball before, sending a delicate lofted fin, ish over Verona goalkeeper, Lorenzo Montipo., In LaLiga, Real Madrid, edged past Granada 10 to ex, tend its lead at the top of the, LaLiga table to six points., The results:, LaLiga: Real Madrid 1 (Asensio, 74) bt Granada 0., Serie A: Atalanta 1 (Palomino, 64) lost to Cagliari 2 (Pereiro, 50, 68); Juventus 2 (Vlahovic, 13, Zakaria 61) bt Verona 0; Ve, nezia 0 lost to Napoli 2 (Osim, hen 59, Petagna 90+10., , Breakthrough: Hernandez’s strike proved decisive for, Odisha FC. FOCUS SPORTS/ISL, , centreback Franjo Prce, made a nice interception of, an Odisha move to assist his, compatriot Antonio Pero, sevic with a long floater. The, latter broke free of his mark, ers as he received the pass, and finished it with a nicely, timed leftfooter., Odisha FC regained the, lead in the 75th minute, when Hernandez pried, open the East Bengal de, fence once more to find the, back of the East Bengal net., , Bengal box and moved up to, set up a backcentre that was, sent home by striker Jonath, as. The change of ends al, tered the situation as East, Bengal coach Mario Rivera, , The result: East Bengal 1 (Anto, nio Perosevic 64) lost to Odisha, FC 2 (Jonathas 23, Javi Hernan, dez 75)., Tuesday’s match: Hyderabad, FC vs ATK Mohun Bagan, 7.30, p.m., , ISL 2021-22, Sports Bureau, , O, , disha FC returned to, winning ways by down, ing SC East Bengal 21 in an, ISL8 fixture at the Tilak Mai, dan Stadium on Monday., After making a sedate, start, Odisha, which had re, mained winless in the pre, vious three matches, con, verted, its, territorial, advantage into a lead mid, way in the first half., , Successful tackle, The goal resulted from a fine, effort from the Spanish mid, fielder Javi Hernandez, who, won a tackle near the East, , *, , brought in a few reinforce, ments to bolster the attack., East Bengal found the, equaliser in the 64th minute, off a nice counterattack, through the centre. Croatian, , A ND-NDE
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EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , 14 SPORT, , DELHI, , THE HINDU, , TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022, , EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , TV PICKS, PVL: Sony Ten 1 & 2 (SD &, HD), 7 p.m., , ISL: Star Sports 3, 7.30 p.m., PKL: Star Sports 2 (SD & HD),, 7.30 p.m. onwards, , FIH Pro League: France vs, India, SS Select 2 (SD & HD),, 9.30 p.m., Premier League: SS Select 1, (SD & HD), 1.15 a.m., (Wednesday), , IN BRIEF, , Collingwood is interim, England head coach, LONDON, , Former England allrounder, Paul Collingwood was named, the team’s interim head, coach on Monday for the, threematch Test tour of the, West Indies next month., Assistant coach Collingwood, takes over from Chris, Silverwood. Collingwood is, currently on a break in, Barbados but will join the, team when it arrives in, Antigua on February 25. AP, , Jokic tripledouble leads, Denver over Nets, LOS ANGELES, , Reigning NBA Most Valuable, Player Nikola Jokic delivered, his seasonbest 14th, tripledouble with 27 points,, 12 rebounds and 10 assists on, Sunday to lead Denver, Nuggets over Brooklyn Nets, 124104., The results: Bulls 108 lost to, 76ers 119; Nuggets 124 bt, Nets 104; Timberwolves 118, bt Pistons 105; Cavaliers 98, bt Pacers 85; Mavericks 103, bt Hawks 94; Magic 83 lost to, Celtics 116; Rockets 17 lost to, Pelican 120; Clippers 113 lot, to Bucks 137. AFP, , Natl. varsities women’s, athletics from Feb. 21, KOCHI, , The National interuniversity, women’s athletics, championship, which was, scheduled to be held at the, Kalinga Institute of Industrial, Technology in Bhubaneswar, in January and postponed, owing to rising COVID, numbers, will now be held at, the same venue from, February 21 to 24., , Bublik stuns Zverev to, capture maiden ATP title, , Senegal finally wins Cup of Nations, Mane scores winning penalty; Salah left on verge of tears as Egypt misses its eighth trophy, , VOLLEYBALL, , Agence France-Presse, Yaounde, , Sadio Mane made up for, missing from the spot in, normal time to score the de, cisive penalty as Senegal, overcame Mohamed Salah’s, Egypt 42 in a shootout to, win its first Africa Cup of Na, tions title after Sunday’s fi, nal finished goalless at the, end of extra time., Mane had seen Mohamed, Abou Gabal save his se, venthminute penalty at the, Olembe Stadium in Yaounde, but Egypt could not capital, ise as it went all the way to, extra time for the fourth, consecutive game at this, Cup of Nations., Salah was due to step up, to take Egypt’s fifth penalty, but with Mohamed Abdel, monem hitting the post and, Mohanad Lasheen having, his kick saved by Edouard, Mendy, the Liverpool star, did not get his chance and, was already on the verge of, tears as his club teammate, Mane prepared to strike the, decisive blow., , Sports Bureau, Bhubaneswar, , Services men defeated last, year’s runnerup Assam 31, while defending champion, Kerala women brushed, aside Delhi 30 in the 70th, National senior volleyball, championships, which be, gan here on Monday., In other league matches,, Railways men defeated Kar, nataka 30 while Tamil Na, du women prevailed over, Uttar Pradesh 31., Veenil Krishna, Secre, tary, Department of Sports, and Youth Services, Odisha,, inaugurated the event., The results (league): Men:, , Long wait ends: Senegal players erupt in joy as they lift the trophy., , Hoge holds off Spieth, for first PGA title, SAN FRANCISCO, , Tom Hoge outduelled former, World No. 1 Jordan Spieth to, win the Pebble Beach ProAm, golf championships on, Sunday, his first USPGA Tour, title. Hoge closed with a, 19under 268, two strokes, ahead of Spieth. American, Beau Hossler was alone in, third after a 71 for 271. “Feels, pretty good,” Hoge said of, the victory in his 203rd career, start. AFP, , *, , been a first for Salah., Senegal’s celebrations fol, lowed a disappointing final,, the fifth in the last 11 editions, of the tournament to be de, cided in a shootout after a, goalless draw., , Indeed Egypt had already, twice won finals that had, been settled on penalties af, ter finishing 00, and it had, already won in the same, manner twice in the last, fortnight, against the Ivory, , Coast in the last 16 and the, host in the semifinals., This time its luck ran., The result: Senegal 0 drew, with Egypt 0 (denotes after ex, tra time) (Senegal won 42 on, penalties)., , Khade makes it to main draw;, Sasikumar falls in last qualifiying, , China, Japan, Korea and Thailand have been off the tennis map for two years, sier for travelling. It’s quick, er to come back if you are, out early and you have a bit, more time to train.”, , N. Sudarshan, BENGALURU, , ATP CHALLENGER, N. Sudarshan, BENGALURU, , India’s Saketh Myneni was, sent packing 61, 61 by Ita, ly’s Gian Marco Moroni in, the opening round of the, Bengaluru Open ATP Chal, lenger tournament on Mon, day., The 34yearold, who, was a finalist in 2018 and, was handed a wildcard for, the ongoing edition, was, never in the match, losing, in just 58 minutes., Also on the day, India’s, Arjun Kadhe made it, through the singles qualify, ing to secure a spot in the, main draw., The 28yearold, who is, , ranked 778 in the world, de, feated Alexander Erler of, Austria 63, 64 in the final, round., Elsewhere, Sasikumar, Mukund fell at the last qual, ifying stage, losing to Croa, tia’s Borna Gojo 36, 26., The results (Indians unless, specified, first round): Gian, Marco Moroni (Ita) bt Saketh, Myneni 61, 61; Aleksandar, Vukic (Aus) bt Jason Kubler, (Aus) 75, 64; Hugo Grenier, (Fra) bt Vit Kopriva (Cze) 61,, 26, 64; Chunhsin Tseng, (Tpe) bt Jay Clarke (GBR) 63,, 61; Kimmer Coppejans (Bel) bt, Marc Polmans (Aus) 16, 62,, 64., Qualifying (final round): Borna, Gojo (Cro) bt Mukund Sasiku, mar 63, 62; Arjun Kadhe bt, Alexander Erler (Aut) 63, 64., , The East Asian ATP Challen, ger circuit has been a happy, hunting ground for Indians., Yuki Bhambri and Prajnesh, Gunneswaran have won a, combined seven ATP Chal, lenger titles and all have, come in India and East Asia., However, the complete, washout of tournaments in, China, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand for two full, years because of the CO, VID19 pandemic has dealt a, body blow. The period has, coincided with India having, no player in the singles, top150., Against a yearly average of, 22 Challengers in the region, from 2017 to 2019, only two, were held in 2020. Though, the total number of Challen, , On the look out: The Indian tennis players have had to rejig, their schedules in the wake of COVID19. K. MURALI KUMAR, *, , gers around the world in, 2021 (147) was on par with, prepandemic levels (aver, age of 157 from 2017 to 2019), after a lowly 57 in 2020,, there were zero Challengers, in East Asia. Not a single, event figures in the calendar, , released until April 2022 too., Quite tricky, “It has been quite tricky and, a bit of struggle,” said Praj, nesh, who played 10 events, in East Asia in 2019. “Being, closer to home makes it ea, , Zeel Desai looks to have a good run, , In doubles top100 after Tata Open win with Bopanna, , Chance for Indian players to log up points in ITF women’s tournament, , Press Trust of India, , Special Correspondent, , New Delhi, , JHAJJAR, , India's Ramkumar Rama, nathan on Monday broke in, to the doubles top100 for, the first time in his career, af, ter winning the Tata Open, Maharashtra along with, compatriot Rohan Bopanna,, who also jumped eight plac, es to 35 in the ATP list., Ramkumar, who zoomed, to a careerbest 94, and Bo, panna won their second title, together on Sunday after, beating the Australian team, of Luke Saville and JohnPa, trick Smith., The 250 points earned, helped Ramkumar jump 14, places, while, Bopanna, gained eight places for the, performance., Bopanna, 41, and the 27, yearold Ramkumar are the, , It will be a bright chance for, Indian players, headed by, National champion Zeel De, sai, to gather useful points, when the $15,000 ITF wo, men’s tennis tournament be, gins at the Joygaon Academy, here on Tuesday., The fourweek series will, move from the clay courts of, Jhajjar, to the hard courts in, Gurugram, Ahmedabad and, Nagpur., Top seed Zeel conceded, that she was playing on clay, after a long time, but was, looking forward to “compete, at home”., “The preparation has, been good. I am looking for, ward to doing well over the, next four weeks,” said Zeel,, who will open against quali, , Formidable duo: The Tata Open triumph has enabled, BopannaRamkumar firm up their partnership. GETTY IMAGES, *, , only players from India, ranked inside top100. Divij, Sharan is ranked 134, having, moved up by one slot., Ramkumar is also the, highest ranked Indian in the, singles chart. He is placed, 185 after losing three places, and is followed by outofac, , tion Sumit Nagal (217,+5),, Prajnesh Gunneswaran (235,, 7) and Mukund Sasikumar, (334)., Yuki Bhambri jumped 193, places to 670. He began the, season outside the 1,000, having missed three years, due to a knee injury., , Zeel Desai., *, , FILE PHOTO: KAMESH SRINIVASAN, , fier Anjali Rathi., Anna Ureke of Russia and, Punnin Kovapitukted of, Thailand, the second and, third seeds, apart from Elena, Jamshidi of Denmark, will, try to assert their game over, the flock of Indians., In the qualifying event, In, , We tend to play our best when in pressure situations, says Reid, , Vidit Gujrathi scored a, muchneeded victory over, Russian talent Daniil Dubov, in the third round of the, FIDE Grand Prix chess tour, nament in Berlin on Sunday., Vidit, who lost his open, ing round to fall back in the, fourman Group C, is now in, the second spot at 1.5 points, — one behind leader Levon, Aronian., In a dominant show, Vidit, trapped his rival’s rook and, traded it for a knight. Later,, he queened a central pawn, for which Dubov had to give, up his bishop. As a result,, Vidit had an extra rook, which proved decisive in 43, moves., In Group D, P. Harikrish, na also reached 1.5 points, CM, YK, , Surface trouble, The fact that almost 90% of, the tournaments in East Asia, are on synthetic surfaces has, had an impact. Indians pref, er hard courts but now have, to play a lot more on clay as, the, tournaments, have, moved to Europe and the, Americas., “It is what you are comfor, table with and if that is taken, away, it makes the job diffi, cult,” said Yuki. “Indians,, growing up, have generally, played on hard courts. It is, already tough to break into, the top100 and [this] has af, fected a lot of Asians, not just, Indians., , “Four massive countries, in the Asian region are shut. I, don’t think sport is a prefe, rence there. It is more [of ], how to save lives. Everybody, has had a different approach, and for Asia that is the ap, proach,” Yuki added., That Europe is the global, hotbed of tennis doesn’t, help. When tournaments, plummet to the levels seen in, 2020 (57), the competition is, fierce., “When they have less, events, the draw is deeper, and it gets a little bit harder, to make results,” said Praj, nesh., “Hopefully, this is the last, wave and we can go back to, normalcy. But we have ac, cepted things as of now, and, play wherever events are, and make the most of them.”, , A new high for Ramkumar, , Harikrishna draws again, , NEW DELHI, , The National junior and, youth table tennis cham, pionships, scheduled to be, held at Alappuzha from Fe, bruary 22, have been post, , poned. “The new dates are, not confirmed yet but we, are trying to host the cham, pionships by the end of, March,” said Michael Math, ai, the secretary of the Table, Tennis Association of Kera, la, on Monday., , With East Asian doors shut, Indians fan out wide, , India to take on France and then South Africa, , Sports Bureau, , KOCHI, , Myneni sent packing, , First win for Vidit, FIDE GRAND PRIX, , Railways bt Karnataka 2515,, 2517, 2521., Services bt Assam 2325,, 2513, 2514, 2517; Odisha bt, Bihar 2515, 2522, 2515; Te, langana bt West Bengal 2927,, 2516, 2522., Delhi bt Ladakh 255, 255,, 256; Uttarakhand bt Chattis, garh 2521, 2516, 2523; Pu, ducherry bt Himachal Pradesh, 2515, 2521, 2515; MP bt J&K, 2522, 2624, 2325, 2125,15, 13., Women: Kerala bt Delhi 259,, 2512, 2518; Tamil Nadu bt Ut, tar Pradesh 1825, 2510, 25, 19, 2515; Karnataka bt West, Bengal 2517, 2518, 2520;, Andhra Pradesh bt Chhattis, garh 2521, 2521, 2520; Od, isha bt Puducherry 2511, 258,, 256; Haryana bt Uttaranchal, 2513, 254, 258., , Natl. junior, youth TT put off, , REUTERS, , Special Correspondent, , After two previous final, defeats, Senegal is Cup of, Nations winner at last., Egypt, meanwhile, mis, sed out on a recordextend, ing, eighth, continental, crown that would also have, , PARIS, , Alexander Bublik stunned top, seed and Olympic champion, Alexander Zverev to win his, maiden ATP title in, Montpellier on Sunday. The, 24yearold Russiaborn, Kazakh triumphed over the, German 64, 63. AFP, , Services men, Kerala, women start with wins, , following a third successive, draw. The experienced In, dian faced USA’s Leinier Do, minguez Perez for 33 moves, when a threefold repetition, of moves ended the game., Harikrishna is tied for the, second spot in the group., Thirdround results:, Group A: Alexander Grischuk, (Rus, 1.5) drew with Hikaru Na, kamura (USA, 2); Andrey Esi, penko (Rus, 1.5) bt Etienne Ba, crot (Fra, 1)., Group B: Grigoriy Oparin (Rus,, 1) drew with Richard Rapport, (Hun, 1.5); Vladimir Fedoseev, (Rus, 1.5) drew with Radoslaw, Wojtaszek (Pol, 2)., Group C: Vidit Gujrathi (1.5) bt, Daniil Dubov (Rus, 1); Levon, Aronian (USA, 2.5) bt Vincent, Keymer (Ger, 1)., Group D: Leinier Dominguez, Perez (USA, 2) drew with P., Harikrishna (1.5); Wesley So, (USA, 2) bt Alexei Shirov (Esp,, 0.5)., , high level of competition, so, we view this as a great, opportunity.”, , FIH PRO LEAGUE, Press Trust of India, Potchefstroom, , Carrying the mantle of Olym, pic bronze medallists has ad, ded some pressure” as India, begin its campaign in the, 202122 FIH Pro League, Hockey with a match against, France here on Tuesday., The tournament will be, the Indian team’s first com, petitive assignment of the, year. After France, the Man, preet Singhled side will face, host South Africa on, Wednesday., Speaking about whether, the Olympic medallist tag, adds any pressure on his, wards, chief coach Graham, Reid said, “Realistically, yes,, it does add some pressure,, but I don’t think it is more, than the pressure we put on, ourselves to perform well., , Focused duo: India captain Manpreet and coach Reid sounded, confident ahead of the tournament. FILE PHOTO, *, , “Whenever a team does, well at a big event like the, Olympics, I think other, teams take note of that and, there is a target on you. It, does add extra pressure, but, I think the good part about, that is that we tend to play, our best when we are in such, situations.”, World No. 3 India will fan, , cy its chances against both, opponents. India hasn’t, played World No. 13 France, since winning the world, league 2015 semifinals., Asked how the team has, settled ahead of the upcom, ing matches, Reid said, “It’s, great to be in South Africa., We haven’t often had the, chance to play here at such a, , Exciting atmosphere, Captain Manpreet echoed, the coach’s sentiments, ahead of the game and said, that the atmosphere in the, team's dressing room is one, of excitement., “The players are excited, to get back on the field since, the Asian Champions Tro, phy towards the end of last, year. We want to play well, and settle into a good, rhythm in the beginning of, this year, because 2022 is a, big year with the Common, wealth Games and the Asian, Games lined up.”, India will again play, France on Feb. 12 before con, cluding the tour with the se, cond match against South, Africa on Feb. 13., , dians grabbed all the six, slots, ahead of players from, Australia and the USA, with, Sandeepti Singh Rao stand, ing out with her perfor, mance. Ishwari Matere and, Anjali Rathi won the super, tiebreak in the third and fi, nal round to make the cut., With conditions getting, warmer, there should be, bright tennis this week on, clay, a surface that will put, the players’ technique under, scrutiny., The results:, Qualifying singles (third and fi, nal round): Ishwari Matere bt, Prathiba Narayan 62, 26,, [102]; Sandeepti Singh Rao bt, Niditra Rajmohan 76(4), 60;, Smriti Bhasin bt Jane Haeusler, (Aus) 63, 63., Avishka Gupta bt Sonashe, Bhatnagar 64, 63; Yubarani, , Banerjee bt Sudipta Kumar 64,, 63; Anjali Rathi bt Vanshika, Chaudhary 16, 63, [103]., Second round: Prathiba bt, Sienna Jensen (Aus) 76(1), 61;, Ishwari bt Shanu Agarwal 61,, 63; Niditra bt Renee Singh 64,, 75; Sandeepti bt Riya Uboveja, 46, 60, [102]; Smriti bt Ritu, Ohlyan 64, 75., Jane bt Dakshata Patel 64,, 64; Sonashe bt Shefali Arora, 63, 63; Avishka bt Sanya Ya, dav 61, 62; Yubarani bt Sachi, Sharma 62, 61; Sudipta bt Ka, vya Khirwar 46, 76(3), [108];, Vanshika bt Kashish Bhatia 67, (5), 75, [106]; Anjali bt Sa, meeksha Shroff 61, 63., The seedings: 1. Zeel Desai, 2., Anna Ureke (Rus), 3. Punnin Ko, vapitukted (Tha), 4. Vaidehi, Chaudhari., 5. Sathwika Sama, 6. Mihika, Yadav, 7. Humera Baharmus, 8., Farhat Aleen Qamar., , CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, , \ DELHI ROUND-UP \, , Allround show, by Kartikey as, SBYC posts win, Manofthematch Kartikey, Rana topscored with 77, and claimed four wickets as, Sadar Bazar Youth Cricket, Club (SBYC) beat Uday, Gupte Cricket Academy, (UGCA) by 80 runs in a, league match of the, Kragbuzz under19, tournament., The scores:, SBYC 270/8 in 40 overs, (Kartikey Rana 77, Mayank, Choudhary 63, Bhavyadeep, Singh 3/53) bt UGCA 190 in, 31.3 overs (Gaurav Sabharwal, 41, Aryan 38, Kartikey Rana, 4/38)., , Prateek, Rishabh put, M10 Academy in final, Prateek Bhardwaj’s 79 and a, fourwicket haul by Rishabh, Charak helped M10 Cricket, Academy defeat Kanchan, Cricket Academy (KCA) by, five wickets in the, , semifinals of the first D.R., Sharma memorial, tournament., The scores:, KCA 182 in 38.3 overs (Aryan, Dalal 91, Parth Kumar 51,, Rishabh Charak 4/44) lost to, M10 Academy 186/5 in 31.5, overs (Prateek Bhardwaj 79)., , Ronak, Krish shine for, Sangwan CC, Ronak Waghela took four, wickets and Krish Chahar, topscored with an, unbeaten 62 as Sangwan, Cricket Club (SSC) downed, Vijay Yadav Cricket, Academy (VYCA) by six, wickets in a league match of, the Academy Cricket, League., The scores:, VYCA 196/9 in 40 overs, (Rajveer Singh 66, Ronak, Waghela 4/28) lost to SCC, 199/4 in 35.4 overs (Krish, Chahar 62 n.o., Lakshaya, Sangwan 50)., A ND-NDE
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022, , follow us:, , thehindu.com, facebook.com/thehindu, twitter.com/the_hindu, instagram.com/the_hindu, , Housing assistance, , Domestic coal demand, , Coast under pressure, , Passenger vehicle sales, , Vaccine donation, , The amount in ₹, crore disbursed, as interest, subsidy to 17.68, lakh, beneficiaries so far under the Pradhan, Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). The, PMAYU launched in June 2015 aims at, giving central assistance to States, UTs, and Central Nodal Agencies (CNAs) for, providing houses to all eligible families, and beneficiaries in urban areas within, the scheme period up to March 31,, 2022. Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep, Singh Puri said a subsidy of ₹5,320, crore has been disbursed so far. PTI, , In million tonnes, is the, requirement of domestic, coal for coalbased, power generation for, 202223 according to a, reply in Rajya Sabha. Coal Minister, Pralhad Joshi said that the country’s, dependence on imports for meeting, thermal coal demand had sharply, reduced. He said that in the next, financial year, the demand would be, met from from Coal India, Singareni, Collieries Company Ltd and captive, mines. The minister added that there, was no shortage of coal in the thermal, power plants of the country. PTI, , The percent of coastal areas, around the world that remain, intact due to pressures caused, by human activity, according, to a study led by researchers, at the University of Queensland (UQ),, Australia. Coastal regions containing, seagrasses, savannah, and coral reefs, had the highest levels of human, pressure compared to other coastal, ecosystems. The team found that, Canada was responsible for the largest, expanse of coastal region that stood, intact. Other large expanses were, located in Russia, Greenland, Chile,, Australia, and the United States. PTI, , The percentage by which retail, sales of passenger vehicles, declined yearonyear in, January 2022, as companies, continue to suffer production, loss amid semiconductor shortage,, according to the Federation of, Automobile Dealers Associations, (FADA). Twowheeler sales last month, declined by 13.44% to 10,17,785 units,, compared to 11,75,832 units in January, 2021. Commercial vehicle sales,, however, witnessed a growth of, 20.52% last month at 67,763 units, as, against 56,227 units this time a year, ago. PTI, , In million, the number of doses, received by Nigeria of the, Johnson & Johnson COVID19, vaccine from Finland, Greece and, Slovenia. The delivery is part of a, donation pledge by the EU to African, countries via the COVAX initiative, launched by the World Health, Organization in 2020 to distribute, vaccines to some of the world’s, poorest people. The vaxine expires in, August 2023, the longest shelf life that, Nigeria has received. The Government, in December said it would have to, destroy about 1 million donated doses, after they had expired. REUTERS, , 41,415, , 727, , 15, , 10, , 2, , COMPILED BY THE HINDU DATA TEAM, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , EXPLAINER, , RBI’s digital currency plans, Why is the Government introducing CBDCs? What will be the risks in the transition to a new monetary system?, , THE GIST, In the 202223 Budget,, Finance Minister Nirmala, Sitharaman had announced, the introduction of India’s, Central Bank Digital, Currency (CBDC). A CBDC is, no different from physical, cash, except that it would, exist in a digital form. The, CBDC will be held in a, digital wallet that is, supervised by the RBI., , B, , Central banks claim that, there is an increasing, demand for digital, currencies as is evident from, the rise of private digital, currencies such as bitcoin, and the increasing use of, digital payments. Central, banks also believe that the, cost of issuing digital, currencies is far lower than, the cost of printing and, distributing physical cash., The RBI can create and, distribute the digital rupee, at virtually zero cost., , B, , Many fear that people, may begin withdrawing, money from their bank, accounts as digital, currencies issued by Central, banks become more, popular. The withdrawal of, bank deposits can also, affect the amount of loans, created by the banks., , B, , Prashanth Perumal, , The story so far: In the Budget presented, for 202223, Finance Minister Nirmala, Sitharaman had announced the introduction, of India’s Central Bank Digital Currency, (CBDC) and that the digital rupee would give, a ‘big boost’ to digital economy. She had, indicated that technologies such as, blockchain would be used by the Reserve, Bank of India to issue the currency, starting, 202223. The Reserve Bank had, in July 2021,, indicated that it would soon begin work on, the ‘phased implementation’ of the CBDC., What is a Central Bank Digital, Currency?, A CBDC is no different from the cash that we, hold in our wallets, except that it exists in a, digital form. The CBDC will be held in a, digital wallet that is supervised by the, Central bank. In India, it will be the RBI that, supervises the digital rupee although it may, delegate some power to banks. However, it, does seem probable that the RBI will take, steps to encourage the use of its digital, currency over physical cash. It should be, noted that the RBI’s digital rupee will not, directly replace demand deposits held in, banks. Physical cash will continue to be used, by banks, and people who wish to withdraw, cash from banks can still do so. But they can, also opt to convert their bank deposits into, the new digital rupee., Why are central banks issuing digital, currencies?, Central banks claim that there is an, increasing demand for digital currencies,, which they wish to satisfy. They point to the, rise of private digital currencies such as, bitcoin and also to the increasing use of, digital payments as examples of this secular, trend. Central bank digital currencies are, promised as reliable, sovereignbacked, alternatives to private currencies which are, volatile and unregulated. Critics, however,, note that the demand for private currencies, comes primarily from people who have lost, faith in fiat currencies issued by Central, banks. They argue that governments across, the world have been debasing their, respective currencies by printing them in, excessive amounts, thus forcing many to, switch to private currencies whose supply is, , limited by design. So the mere digital version, of a national currency like the rupee or the, U.S. dollar is unlikely to affect the demand, for private currencies, they believe., Central banks also believe that the cost of, issuing digital currencies is far lower than, the cost of printing and distributing physical, cash. The RBI can create and distribute the, digital rupee at virtually zero cost since the, creation and the distribution of the digital, rupee will happen electronically. Another, likely reason for the introduction of digital, cash may be to bring down the use of, physical cash. Unlike physical cash, which is, hard to trace, a digital currency that is, monitored by the RBI can be more easily, tracked and controlled by the Central bank., This feature of digital currencies, however,, has raised various concerns regarding their, privacy and could slow down their adoption., In fact, it is worth noting that the need for, privacy has been one of the primary reasons, behind the switch to private digital, currencies., Is CBDC becoming common across the, world?, It is worth noting that several countries,, including the United States, those in the, European Union and China, have been, working seriously towards issuing their own, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in, recent years. In October 2020, the Bahamas, launched the world’s first CBDC. However, a, few countries, including Finland and, Denmark —have taken a step back and have, said they had cancelled efforts to introduce a, digital currency, according to, CBDCTracker.org., In a 2017 note, Denmark’s central bank, indicated that it was “unclear what central, bank digital currency would be able to, contribute that is not already covered by the, current payment solutions.”, It added that the potential benefits of, introducing CBDC in Denmark were not, “assessed to match the considerable, challenges that this introduction would, present.", What are the risks in adopting digital, currencies issued by Central banks?, Many, including various central bankers,, fear that people may begin withdrawing, money from their bank accounts as digital, , currencies issued by Central banks become, more popular. This concern was flagged by, the RBI Deputy Governor as well. Remember, that many people currently use bank, accounts to safely store their cash. When the, digital wallet offered by the RBI can serve, the same purpose, people could very well, begin converting their bank deposits into, digital cash., One thing that could prevent any large, flight of capital from bank accounts to digital, currencies is the fact that bank accounts,, unlike digital currencies, offer interest on, deposits. But in developed economies,, where interest rates are near zero or even, negative, the risk of people rushing their, money out of bank accounts and into digital, currencies is real. This may not be an, immediate concern for banks in India which, still offer returns that are positive, at least in, nominal terms, to their depositors., The withdrawal of bank deposits can also, affect the amount of loans created by banks., However, this could happen not simply, because banks will have fewer cash deposits, to lend to borrowers. Contrary to popular, belief, banks do not loan out actual cash, deposits. Instead, they use cash deposits as a, base on which they create a pyramid of, electronic loans far in excess of the cash, deposits. So banks hold lower amounts of, cash in their vaults than what their, depositors and borrowers could demand, from them anyway. The real reason banks, will be able to create fewer loans is that, when customers convert their bank money, into CBDCs, banks will be forced to, surrender at least some cash and will thus, possess an even smaller base on which to, create loans. Also, when bank customers, convert their deposits into digital rupee, the, RBI will have to take these liabilities from the, books of banks and onto its own balance, sheet., What lies ahead?, There is speculation already that Central, banks will cap the amount of money that an, individual can hold in the form of CBDCs., This is to prevent the mass withdrawal of, deposits from banks. Some even believe that, some Central banks, such as the European, Central Bank, may impose a negative penalty, on their digital currencies. This could be, done to force people to spend their digital, , currencies and to discourage the withdrawal, of deposits from banks that impose negative, interest rates., Central banks may also have to inject, fresh money into banks to ensure that the, ability of banks to create loans is not affected, by depositors’ rush to digital currencies., (With inputs from K. Bharat Kumar), , EXPLAINER, , The BrahMos deal and India’s defence exports, Has the domestic defence manufacturing industry grown? How is the Government making military export sales easier?, Dinakar Peri, , The story so far: On January 28,, Philippines signed a $374.96 million deal, with BrahMos Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. for the, supply of shore based antiship variant of, the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile., This is the first export order for the, missile which is a joint product between, India and Russia and also the biggest, defence export contract of the country., This adds impetus to the efforts to boost, defence exports and meet the ambitious, target set by the Government to achieve a, manufacturing turnover of $25 billion or, ₹1,75,000 crore including exports of, ₹35,000 crore in aerospace and defence, goods and services by 2025., What is the BrahMos missile system?, The Philippines contract includes, delivery of three BrahMos missile, batteries, training for operators and, maintainers as well as the necessary, Integrated Logistics Support (ILS), package. The coastal defence regiment of, the Philippine Marines, which is under, the Navy, will be the primary employer of, the missile system., BrahMos is a joint venture between, India’s Defence Research and, Development Organisation (DRDO) and, Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya. The, missile derives its name from the, Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers., CM, YK, , interest from Philippines Coast Guard for, procurement of seven Dhruv Advanced, Light Helicopters and eight Dornier, Do228 aircraft under the $100mn Line of, Credit (LoC) extended by India. Progress, on this has been delayed due to the, pandemic situation, officials said., Kanpur based company MKU has, supplied Bullet Proof Jackets (BPJ) to, Philippines in the past and is now in the, race for bigger contracts for BPJs and, helmets. In addition, maritime domain, and ship building is another potential, area for Indian companies in the, Philippines., , Beginning with an antiship missile,, several variants have since been, developed and it is now capable of being, launched from land, sea, subsea and air, against surface and seabased targets and, has constantly been improved and, upgraded. The missile has been long, inducted by the Indian armed forces and, the Army recently deployed BrahMos, along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in, Arunachal Pradesh., The range of the BrahMos was, originally limited to 290 kms as per, obligations of the Missile Technology, Control Regime (MTCR) of which Russia, was a signatory. Following India’s entry, into the club in June 2016, plans were, announced to extend the range initially to, 450 kms and subsequently to 600 kms., BrahMos with extended range upto 450, kms has been tested several times since., , The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with, increased indigenous content testfired, from the Integrated Test Range, Odisha. PTI, , Which other countries are in, discussion for the BrahMos missiles?, In addition to the deal signed last week, by Philippines, there is another long, pending deal under discussion for, BrahMos missiles for the Philippines, Army which could see progress in the, near future, officials said. The, procurement for Philippines Army (PA) is, included in the Horizon 3 Modernisation, programme of Philippines (Year, 20232027), diplomatic sources had, stated., , While the first export order for, BrahMos took a long time, the next order, is likely to be concluded soon with, negotiations with Indonesia and Thailand, in advanced stages. There is reportedly, interest for BrahMos from countries in, West Asia as well., Philippines is also looking at several, other military procurements from India, and South East Asia as the region has, emerged as a major focus area for India’s, defence exports. For instance, Hindustan, Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has received, , *, , What is the status of defence, exports?, From 201617 to 201819, the country’s, defence exports have increased from, ₹1,521 crore to ₹10,745 crore, a staggering, 700% growth. The value of exports of, defence items including major items in, Financial Year 201415 and 202021 was, ₹1,940.64 crore and ₹8,434.84 crore, respectively. As per data given by the, Government, defence exports for 202021, stood at ₹8434.84 crore and the export, target for financial year 202122 was, ₹10,000 crore., There have been a series of measures, announced to incentivise and promote, domestic defence manufacturing as well, as efforts to boost exports which include, simplified defence industrial licensing,, , relaxation of export controls and grant of, No Objection Certificates (NOC),, extending Line of Credit (LoC) to foreign, countries to import defence products and, empowering Defence Attaches in Indian, missions abroad to promote defence, exports. The draft ‘Defence Production &, Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP) 2020’, is expected to be finalised soon., In December 2020, the Cabinet, Committee on Security (CCS) approved, the export of indigenous Akash Surface to, Air (SAM) missile systems which several, countries in South East Asia and West, Asia have expressed interest in., To provide faster approvals for export, of major defence platforms, a committee, comprising of the Defence Minister,, External Affairs Minister and National, Security Advisor was set up. The Defence, Ministry had said in December 2020, that, “This Committee would authorise, subsequent exports of major indigenous, platforms to various countries. The, Committee would also explore various, available options including the, GovernmenttoGovernment route.”, In the last few years, India has put out, a range of military hardware on sale, which includes various missile systems,, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), helicopters,, warship and patrol vessels, artillery guns,, tanks, radars, military vehicles,, electronic warfare systems in addition to, other weapons systems., , THE GIST, B, , On January 28, Philippines, signed a $374.96 million, deal with BrahMos, Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. for the, supply of shore based, antiship variant of the, BrahMos supersonic cruise, missile. This is the biggest, defence export contract of, the country., , B, , BrahMos is a joint venture, between India’s DRDO and, Russia's NPO, Mashinostroyeniya., Beginning with an antiship, missile, several variants, have since been developed, and it can now be launched, from land, sea, subsea, and air against surface and, seabased targets., , B, , From 201617 to 201819,, the country’s defence, exports have registered a, staggering 700% growth., There have been a series of, measures announced to, promote domestic defence, manufacturing as well as, efforts to boost exports., S ND-NDE
Page 16 : tuesday, february 8, 2022, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , | II, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , Wiping out: President Joe Biden speaks about a counterterrorism raid carried out by U.S. special forces that killed Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim alHashimi alQurayshi., , *, , AP, , FROM THE ARCHIVES, , The theory of the Islamic State, The IS will be defeated only when its ideology is overcome in a region free of interventions —, a tall ask for the moment, , THE GIST, B The IS is fundamentally, different from earlier, terrorist groups like, alQaeda. It took insurgency, a step further. It started, holding on to territories it, captured, established a, protostate in those, territories and called it the, Islamic State. It declared a, Caliphate, trying to revive, an Islamic institution that, ceased to exist following, the disintegration of the, Ottoman Empire at the end, of the First World War. This, type of violent jihadism, comes from the puritanical, interpretation of Islam, which has echoes from, Salafi Islam. Yet, there are, Salafi organisations whose, members dedicate, themselves to a “pure”, Islamic way of life and have, nothing to do with violence., , B The IS has stood opposed, to everything modern, liberalism offers — individual, freedom, equality and, liberty. The IS also denies, critical thinking, demanding, only loyalty to its cause. At, the same time, the IS has, been able to exploit the, contradictions within, modern societies. The, identity crisis of Muslims in, liberal societies, is what the, IS tapped into using modern, communication, technologies. It offered a, violent, alternative,, vengeful vision to trap, these people, while in, Muslimmajority societies,, western aggression was, used as the propaganda for, recruitment., , B Even though the leader is, dead, the objective, conditions that led to the, rise of the IS remain intact, in West Asia. The IS will be, defeated only when its, ideology is defeated., , Stanly Johny, , On February 3, 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden, announced that the leader of the Islamic State, (IS/ISIS), Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi,, died in a U.S. counterterrorism operation in the, Idlib province, in northwestern Syria. In this, article published on November 8, 2019, in the, context of the assassination of the former IS, leader Baghdadi, Stanly Johny explains how a, complete defeat of the Islamic State is possible, only by tackling its idealogical and organisational, apparatus., Abu Bakr alBaghdadi is dead. But the Islamic, State (IS) is not. The death of its “Caliph” is, certainly a blow to the terrorist group. But the IS, is ideologically stronger to survive the fall of its, leader, and the geopolitical conditions that led to, the rise of the group remain more or less intact., Much has been discussed about these conditions., Geopolitical tensions, civil conflicts and foreign, interventions have been a source of power for, jihadist groups such as the alQaeda and the IS., Remember, Osama bin Laden was a nobody, before the Americans and their allies started, bankrolling and training the Afghan mujahideen, against the Soviet Red Army. The Taliban, which, rose to power from the civil warstricken, Afghanistan was hosting the alQaeda when it, carried out the September 11, 2001 terrorist, attacks in New York and Virginia. The alQaeda in, Iraq (AQI) rose from the ruins of the Iraq that was, destroyed by the American invasion. And the AQI, morphed into today’s IS, exploiting the chaos, Syria fell into in the wake of the civil war. While, these are the objective conditions behind the rise, of terroristjihadism , what is its subjectivity? Do, these groups have an agency?, Brothers with arms, Though the alQaeda and the IS are cut from the, same cloth, there are tactical and strategic, differences in their operations. The alQaeda was, basically a hitandrun organisation until the IS, changed the landscape of terrorism. The group, would carry out attacks and then retreat to the, deserts, caves or mountains where it was hiding., It did not expose itself to the conventional, military might of its enemies. Barring certain, pockets that alQaedaaffiliated groups now, control, such as Syria’s Idlib, the group largely, remains a hitandrun organisation. The IS,, however, took insurgency a step further. It started, holding on to territories it captured, established a, protostate in those territories and called it the, Islamic State. While the alQaeda also wants to, create a global emirate, the IS took steps to, implement its worldview. It declared a Caliphate,, trying to revive an Islamic institution that ceased, to exist following the disintegration of the, , Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World, War. And by doing so, Baghdadi tried to place, himself in the long list of Islamic Caliphs, the, rightful leaders of the ummah (the global Muslim, community)., Violent jihadism is inherently antimodern and, very unpopular among Muslims across the world ., It is because of their unpopularity that these, groups are involved in extreme violence. With, their asymmetrical barbarity, jihadist groups have, sought to overcome not just the shortcomings in, their military capabilities but also the lack of their, political capital. For Baghdadi’s group, violence, was both a means and an end in itself. The, puritanical interpretation of Islam by the IS has, echoes from Salafi Islam. The Salafis follow the, “pious forefathers” of Islam. For them, man, cannot interpret the holy book or the Hadith. But, Salafism itself is not a monolith. It can be a, spiritual way of life. There are Salafi organisations, whose members dedicate themselves to a “pure”, Islamic way of life and have nothing to do with, violence. But for groups such as the alQaeda and, the IS, Salafism is a political ideology to attain, power. And since they cannot attain power, through mass movements, popular elections or, revolutions, they turn to violent jihadism as a, vehicle to reach that goal, which makes them, SalafiJihadists., ‘Pure’ Islamic State, Unlike the alQaeda, the IS’s operations were not, confined to carrying out suicide attacks in the, West or Westbacked countries. It wanted to, create a “pure” Islamic State where the “true”, believers can come and live. These “true, believers”, for the IS, were Sunni Muslims alone, and who followed the IS’s diktats. The Shias are in, this worldview, considered “rafidha”, (rejectionists, who “reject” the first three Caliphs, of the Sunni Islam), and therefore merit second, class status. In areas under their control, the, minority communities had to pay minority tax to, the state for protection. They could not publicly, practise their religion. In the IS worldview,, homosexuals were to be thrown off highrises, the, fingers of smokers had to be chopped off, slavery, permitted and music and films forbidden. The, concept of “nationstates” is also alien to the IS, worldview, for whom the world is the Caliphate, and where the ummah should be living under the, leadership of their rightful Calliph., In effect, the IS has stood opposed to, everything modern liberalism offers — individual, freedom, equality, liberty are all completely, denied by the group. The IS also frowns upon and, denies critical thinking, demanding only loyalty to, its cause. At the same time, where the IS, succeeded is in exploiting the contradictions, within modern societies — the contradictions that, , were swept under the carpet by the roadroller of, nationalism. The identity crisis of Muslims,, especially young Muslims, in liberal societies, is, what the IS tapped into using modern, communication technologies. It offered a violent,, alternative, vengeful vision to trap these people,, while in Muslimmajority societies, western, aggression was used as propaganda for, recruitment. The IS managed to do this while, holding on to territories that it captured within, Iraq and Syria. It was for the first time in decades, that a group claimed to have established a, caliphate by erasing the borders of modern states, (Iraq and Syria in this case) and by calling upon, followers to migrate. The IS succeeded in, attracting tens of thousands of people to its, “Caliphate”— from Tunisia to India and the U.S. It, was also opposed to the diversity of Islam terming, Shias, Ismailis, Ahmedias and Alawites as, nonMuslims. Syncretic traditions of Islam such as, Sufism were branded antiIslam by the IS. Even if, Sunni Muslims did not buy into the IS version of, Islam, they could be excommunicated (takfir) and, killed according to its worldview. It is no surprise, that most of the IS’s victims in the Arab world, were Muslims., Problems in the antiIS fight, The IS’ Caliphate has now been destroyed and its, leader gone. But there are two problems in the, fight against the IS. One, the objective conditions, that led to the rise of the IS remain intact in West, Asia and the larger Arab world. The group still has, affiliates and arms in several parts of the world, such as Afghanistan, Egypt and Nigeria. The, recent Turkish incursion into northeastern Syria, is threatening even the limited advances made in, the fight against the IS. The ShiaSunni, sectarianism that the IS tried to exploit is still, burning across West Asia., Two, the IS will be defeated only when its, ideology will be defeated, which is a tall ask. The, IS is not an organisation that was created by, “western imperialism”, but an organisation that, used the chaos created by “imperialism”., It will continue to do so even after all these, setbacks — this includes even the rump of the IS., The group does not need a standing army of, thousands of soldiers to attack civilians through, suicide blasts. For them, violence is linked to their, survival. If the IS goes silent, it becomes irrelevant, in the global jihadist landscape and all its talk of, the expansionary Caliphate will come to an end. It, is like Macbeth. The group will retain its need to, kill in order to survive., To stop the group, its organisational and, ideological apparatus has to be taken down in a, region that is free of foreign interventions and, repressions. For now, this looks a distant, possibility., , CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, , THE DAILY QUIZ, , February 7 was Charles Dicken’s birth anniversary. How well do you know the literary celebrity?, , 1, , This place was given a fictional name, in Dickens’ last novel, which, remained unfinished. This place was, also used as a setting for parts of The, Pickwick Papers and Great Expectations., Which place are we talking about?, , 2, , When Dickens was 12 years old, he, was sent to a factory. It was, because of his experience there that he, focused on child labour in many of his, works. What factory was this?, , 3, 4, , What was Dickens’ pen name for his, early pieces?, , A great writer who went for a, reading by Dickens left feeling, most unimpressed. In his report about, the event, he criticised Dickens’, narration, voice and pronunciation. He, wrote: “Every passage Mr D. read, with, the exception of those I have noted,, was rendered with a degree of ability, Compiled by: Radhika Santhanam, , CM, YK, , far below what his reading reputation, led us to expect.” Who was this writer?, , 5, , “It is a far, far better thing that I do,, than I have ever done; it is a far, far, better rest that I go to than I have ever, known.” In which famous film by, Christopher Nolan were these lines, from A Tale of Two Cities used? The film, was also inspired by the book., , 6, , A Tale of Two Cities, set against the, backdrop of the French Revolution,, was one of the two works of historical, fiction by Dickens. What was the other,, set against the backdrop of the Gordon, Riots?, , 7, 8, , What is Dickens’ connection with, Kolkata?, , Which one of his works was, Dickens’ favourite?, , F Which film is this still from?, Please send in your answers to the,
[email protected], Answers to the previous day’s daily quiz: 1., Mangeshi, in North Goa district. The surname,, in fact, was adopted from the village’s name, by her father Deenanath, 2. Ghulam Haider, 3., Khemchand Prakash. The song is from the, 1949 film Mahal, 4. Pradeep. It was composed, by C. Ramchandra. The song was homage to, the Indian soldiers who fought against China in, the 1962 war, 5. Three. K.S. Chithra has won, six, more than any other female singer, 6., They were both recipients of the Bharat Ratna,, India’s highest civilian honour —Subbulakshmi, in 1998 and Lata in 2001., Early Birds: Arundhati Ratnaparkhi| Keerthi, Purushottaman| Kanika Barman| Mayuri, Udupa| Amrutha, , FROM THE ARCHIVES, , Know your, English, “Good morning, sir.”, “Goodmorning, when did you return from, Guntar?, “Yesterday, sir. The conference was very, good. I don’t know how can I describe it.”, “ Was it so good? I am glad you liked the, conference. By the way, you don’t say ‘I don’t, know how can I describe it’. It should be ‘I, dont know how I can describe it’. Other ex, amples: I dont know how you are able (not, ‘how are you able’) to do so many things., I am not sure why he is learning (not ‘why, is he learning’)., He did not tell me where he was going (not, ‘where was he going’)., I asked him when he would return from, Madras (not ‘when would he return from Madras’)., She told me how the journey was (not how, was the journey).”, “Sir, we do say, “Where are you going?”, “Yes, we do. That’s a direct question., When it is reported, we change the structure., Example:, She said to me “Where are you going? She, asked me where I was going., In indirect speech you don’t retain the ori, ginal structure” Is this clear?, “Yes, sir. The trouble with me is I hardly, have time to read some good book.”, “You must find time to read good books., By the way, you say I hardly have time to read, any good book. Any is used with the negative, generally., I don’t have any money., She does not have any sense., There is hardly any milk in the jug., He does not have any friends., “Some’ is used in affirmative sentences., Please get me some bread., He is not totally bald: he has some hair on, his head., You must have some consideration for me., There must be some mistake., She bought some oranges., He asked for some money: I gave him, some. He had asked a number of people earlier. They did not give him any., I hope you understand the difference now., “Yes sir. Sir, what is the difference between, ‘economical’ and ‘economic’?, “Economical’ implies careful and frugal, management of expenditure. ‘Economic’, means ‘pertaining to the science of econo, mies’. ‘Economical’ is related to economy or, thrift and ‘economic’ to ‘economics’., The two words are indiscriminately used, by bad writers and speakers. You can talk, about economic policies of the government., India would be thoroughly misunderstood if, a government representative said that we are, offering economical assistance to some, country!”, “That would be awful. I must go now, sir., My friend will be awaiting for me. We want to, see a movie.”, "Have a nice time. By the way, your friend, will be waiting for you and not awaiting for, you. ‘Await’ is never followed by for. Exam, ples:, I await his arrival., I await his decison., Iam waiting for his decison., I am waiting for his reply., I am waiting for his transfer., I am awaiting his transfer., Well, your friend must be waiting for you., You may go now., “Thank you sir. Goodbye.”, “Goodbye.”, , For feedback and suggestions for, Text & Context, please write to,
[email protected] with the, subject ‘Text & Context’, , S ND-NDE
