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After successfully conduct-ing the coronavirus vacci-

nation dry run in four States,a similar mega-drill will bekicked off across the countryon January 2.

This is aimed at preparingthe entire administration andmanagement of vaccine supply,storage, and logistics, includingcold chain management, asCovid-19 vaccines are likely toget approval any time soon.

The dry run will be con-ducted by all the States andUTs in their respective Capitalsin at least three-session sites.Some States will also includedistricts that are situated in dif-ficult terrain/have poor logis-tical support and Maharashtraand Kerala are likely to sched-ule the dry run in major citiesother than their Capital, asenior official from the UnionHealth Ministry said.

Union Health SecretaryRajesh Bhushan chaired a high-level meeting to review the pre-paredness at session sites forCovid-19 vaccination withrespective Secretaries (Health),NHM MDs and other healthadministrators of all States/UTsthrough video conference.

The planning for the vac-cine introduction will be as perthe operational guidelinesissued by the Ministry onDecember 20. For each of thethree session sites, the medicalofficer in-charge will identify25 test beneficiaries (healthcareworkers).

The States/UTs have beenasked to ensure that the data ofthese beneficiaries is uploaded

in CoWIN. These beneficiarieswill also be available at the ses-sion site for the dry run. TheStates and UTs shall prepare thefacilities and users to be creat-ed on CoWIN applicationincluding uploading the data ofhealthcare worker beneficiaries.

The States/UTs also beenasked to ensure physical veri-fication of all proposed sites forthe adequacy of space, logisti-cal arrangements, internet con-nectivity, electricity, safety, etc.

As the vaccine adminis-trators will play an importantrole in the vaccination process,training of trainers and thosewho shall administer the vac-cine has been taken up acrossvarious States. Around 96,000vaccinators have been trainedfor this purpose.

The official said an impor-tant focus of the dry run will beon management of any possi-ble adverse events followingimmunisation, besides adher-ence and management of infec-tion control practices at the ses-sion site to prevent diseasetransmission.

He said, “The mock drillwill include concurrent moni-toring and review at block anddistrict levels, and preparationof feedback. The State TaskForce shall review the feedbackand share with the Ministry.”

The first round of the dryrun was conducted in AndhraPradesh, Assam, Gujarat,Punjab on December 28-29 intwo districts each where five-session sites with 25 beneficia-ries each were identified. Nomajor issues were observed inthe operational aspects of thedry run.

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The Centre on Thursdayannounced the dates for

CBSE Class X and Class XIIboard examinations, which willbe held in May-June 2021against the normal schedule forMarch every year.

Union Education MinisterRamesh Pokhriyal “Nishank”said the CBSE board exams forClass X and Class XII will beheld between May 4 and June10, and the results will beannounced around July 15.

“CBSE will conduct ClassesX, XII board exams from May4 to June 10. The Board willannounce the results of ClassesX, XII board exams by July 15,’’Pokhriyal said during hisscheduled live session with thestudents.

The Minister said that theCBSE Board will release thedate sheets online at the board’sofficial website soon.

“Students should alsocheck the official CBSE websitecbse.nic.in for final 2021datesheets for both theoreticaland practical board examina-tions,” he said.

With the CBSE boardexams announcement, otherboards like States and ICSE willnow also schedule their exam-inations accordingly to put inline the next admission process.Sources in ICSE said that it will

also announce the schedule ofClass XII and X examinationsnext week for greater conve-nience of students and otherstakeholders to plan the sessionand the offline mode of exam-inations accordingly.

The Minister told the stu-dents that the Board hasreduced the curriculum forClass X and XII by 30 per cent.He also wished the studentsgood luck for the upcomingexams as he concluded thelive session.

The announcement ofdates by the Union EducationMinister was streamed live onhis official Twitter handle andFacebook page.

The CBSE 2021 boardexam date sheets will be avail-able for Class X and Class XIIexams separately, containingdate and time of examinationalong with other importantinstructions at the official web-site of CBSE.

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Results from the primaryanalysis of the ongoing

phase 3 clinical trial of the USbiotechnology companyModerna’s Covid-19 vaccinehave shown 94.1 per cent effi-cacy in preventing sympto-matic infections, according toa peer-reviewed study pub-lished in The New EnglandJournal of Medicine.

Researchers said while theresults were encouraging, they

were limited by the short dura-tion of follow-up so far.

The study found thatamong over 30,000 partici-pants randomised to receive thevaccine or a placebo, 11 in thevaccine group developed symp-tomatic Covid-19 comparedto 185 participants whoreceived the placebo.

The researchers said thisdemonstrates 94.1 per centefficacy in preventing sympto-matic Covid-19, adding thatcases of the severe disease

occurred only in participantswho received the placebo.

“Our work continues. Overthe next months, we’ll haveincreasing amounts of data tobetter define how this vaccineworks, but the results so farshow a 94.1 percent efficacy.These numbers are com-pelling,” said Lindsey Baden, aninfectious diseases specialistat the Brigham and Women’sHospital in the US where thetrial took place.

“And, importantly, the

data suggest protection fromsevere illness, indicating thatthe vaccine could have animpact on preventing hospi-talisations and deaths, at leastin the first several monthspost-vaccination,” said Baden,co-principal investigator forthe study, and lead author ofthe paper.

The study enrolled 30,420participants at 99 sites in theUS, including over 600 participants enrolled at theBrigham.

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Following the Covid-19 andits highly transmissible

United Kingdom (UK) strain,the Delhi Government hasimposed night curfew from 11pm on December 31 to 6 am onJanuary 1, and again from 11pm on January 1 to 6 am onJanuary 2 to prevent large gath-erings during New Year cele-brations.

According to an orderissued by Delhi Chief SecretaryVijay Dev, the night curfew willalso be imposed from 11 pm onJanuary 1 to 6 am on January 2.

No gatherings will beallowed in open public placeslike Connaught Place and IndiaGate during the night curfew.

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New Jersey : China hasdeployed a fleet of underwaterdrones called Sea Wing (Haiyi)glider in the Indian Ocean,which can operate for monthsand make observations fornaval intelligence purposes,according to defence analyst HISutton.

Writing for the Forbesmagazine, HI Sutton said thatthese sea gliders, which theChinese are deploying “enmasse”, are a type of UncrewedUnderwater Vehicle (UUV)which were launched in mid-December 2019 and recoveredin February after making over3,400 observations.

Citing the governmentsources, HI Sutton in his reportsaid that these gliders are sim-ilar to those deployed by the USNavy, one of which was seizedby Beijing in 2016 to ensure“safe navigation of passingships.”

ANI

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To avoid inconvenience tohighway commuters on

account of the mandatory roll-out of FASTag from Friday,hybrid lanes at toll plazas onNational Highways will remainoperational till February 15, theMinistry of Road Transportand Highways said in a state-ment on Thursday.

Payments can be madethrough FASTag as well ascash at the hybrid lanes, theMoRTH said, in apparent bidto ensure there was no panic-like situation from Friday.

“Ministry of RoadTransport & Highways hasmandated fitment of FASTagwith effect from January 1 in Mand N categories of motor vehicles sold before December1, 2017,” the Ministry said in a statement.

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The Kerala LegislativeAssembly on Thursday saw

the ruling LDF and theOpposition UDF unanimous-ly adopting a resolution con-demning the Centre for thethreee farm laws enacted byParliament and expressing sol-idarity with the farmers agi-tating against the legislation.

Moving the resolution,Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayanalleged, “The three contentiousagri laws were passed evenwithout sending them to thestanding committee ofParliament. If this agitationcontinues, it will severely affectKerala, which is a consumerstate,” he said.

Stating that the reforms inthe field of agriculture shouldbe implemented as carefullyenvisioned, he said with theimplementation of the laws, thebargaining power of farmerswould be weakened, giving anadvantage to the corporate.

Detailed report on P5

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As a child who grew up inthe 1990s, like so many

Indians we saw hope in ourcountry after the economy wasopened up. Things have notquite panned out according toplan over the past threedecades, but it would be falla-cious to argue that India hasnot progressed.

We had hoped that by2020, India would be standingtall among other nations onearth, yet the natural fault linesof caste, religion, creed and sexstill divide us. It is no pointblaming one side over anoth-er, as every side is responsible.We are told that India is ayoung country and that youthbrings us hope, but after a bru-tal year in which millions havelost their income and educationhas come to a standstill, Indiafaces a challenge like no othernation on earth. It is a challengethat each and every one of usmust stand up to and do our

part and, in this regard, we cantake some inspiration fromIndia’s premier sports team, themen’s Test cricket team which,after being pummeled to theground in Adelaide, saw eachand every team member on thefield and off the field stand upand do his part in achieving avictory a few days ago that noone — not one commentator orone fan — saw coming. It wasa comprehensive victory, andwhen we are told that sports isbut an imitation of life, this Testvictory which might not eclipsethe dramatic win at EdenGardens of 2001, is one thatshould teach all of us the powerof resilience and that together,we can overcome even thetoughest situations.

But while many of us willwant to write off 2020 as a lostcause, we should not do that.Yes, many of us lost loved onesduring the year, many millionshave died due to the accursedpandemic, and others lost jobsand opportunities. But new

life has also come into theworld, there were childrenborn in trains taking migrantsback home; it has also been ablessing that the pestilencethat has overtaken our lives has by and large spared youngones.

Most of us were very care-ful in the early days of the lock-down in the months of March,April and May, deserted streetsin major cities made themlook like ghost towns as if anapocalypse has wiped outhumanity, well, thankfully ithad not. Of course, there hasalso been the indiscretion andstupidity of youth on display oflate, crowding bars, beachesand, in Goa right now, thedance floor. Yet, most ofhumanity has stepped up to theplate, microbiologists and vac-cine scientists have workedaround the clock for the pastnine months to ensure that asafe and successful vaccine canbe developed. Others such asfrontline medical staff, emer-

gency workers, police and evenmunicipal staff have put theirown lives at risk to ensure thatthings do not collapse. Overhere, one must thank thecountless number of deliverymen and women who ensuredthat the wheels of commercestayed on and did not fall offaltogether.

It is dismaying to many ofus to see people gathering withlittle or no worry at large gath-erings where social distancingnorms go for a toss and maskcompliance is non-existent.The development of vaccines isnot the same as deploymentand the eventual deployment ofa vaccine in a country of 1.3 bil-lion will be a logistical andadministrative challenge like noother.

It is also true that Central,State and municipal govern-ments have made mistakes,several of them in fact, indeedearly celebrations of “manage-ment” in some areas and Stateswere premature.

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Himachal Chief Minister JaiRam Thakur on Thursday

directed Public WorksDepartment to complete allformalities for early construc-tion of State guest house atDwarka in New Delhi,

Presiding over a meetingregarding construction of theguest house, which would beconstructed in a built area of1135 square meters and have 74suites, four VIP suites and onedormitory, the Chief Ministerdirected the Public WorksDepartment to immediatelytake up construction of thisproject so that it could becompleted within a stipulatedperiod. He said architectureof the building should be afusion of modern and tradi-tional Himachali architecture."This guest house would go along way in facilitating theHimachali people in providingbetter boarding and lodgingfacilities visiting Delhi fromtime to time, he said.

Thakur said the specialthrust should be laid on airyand sunlight rooms to saveenergy. He also directed thatquality must be ensured andkept abreast with the latesttechnology during the con-struction of this ambitiousproject. He said that adequatearrangements must be madefor parking of vehicles besideskeeping sufficient green areato maintain aesthetic beauty ofthe complex to facilitate thevisitors. Principal Secretary,PWD J.C. Sharma, SecretaryGAD Devesh Kumar,

Engineer-in-Chief PWDBhawan Sharma and othersenior officers were also presenton the occasion.

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With the distribution of44,015 smart phones

marking the culmination of thefirst phase of the ‘Punjab SmartConnect Scheme’, the ChiefMinister Capt AmarinderSingh on Thursday fulfilled hisGovernment’s promise to give1,74,015 smart phones to allClass XII students of the state’sGovernment Schools by theend of the year.

Capt Amarinder, at a vir-tual event to mark the occasion,said that the StateGovernment’s unique initia-tive would be instrumental infacilitating seamless e-learningin government schools, espe-cially amid the COVID-19pandemic. Earlier, 1.30 lakhsmart phones had been given

to students of Class XII.The Chief Minister also

promised to give 1428 smartphones soon to Class XII stu-dents who had taken admissionafter the announcement of thescheme, thus taking the totalnumber to 1,75,443 — includ-ing 88,059 boys and 87,284 girls— of 1,946 senior secondaryschools, at a cost of Rs 87.84crore.

The event witnessed simul-taneous distribution of phones

at 1101 schools on Thursday byvarious Ministers, MLAs, andother dignitaries across thestate.

Describing the year 2020 asan unprecedented and difficultyear for humanity, the ChiefMinister said that he was surePunjab and Punjabis would tri-umph. He exhorted teachersand students to work hardwith utmost dedication toensure the best results in theBoard exams in the country.

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Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar on

Thursday inaugurated the ‘MPMobile Office’ of Member ofParliament (MP), Sanjay Bhatiasaying such an office is a goodand unique experiment whichwill be used for public welfare.

Speaking on the occasion,the chief minister said that thepeople of Karnal Lok Sabha

constituency will be benefitedthrough the facilities availablein the mobile office. He saidthat the Atal Seva Kendra isalso a part of this mobile officewhich has been set up in aTempo Traveller. The Atal SevaKendra in this mobile officewill be beneficial and will ren-der on the spot facilities to thepeople of the area.

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Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP)newly-appointed co-in-

charge for Punjab unit RaghavChadha will be on a two-daystate tour from January 1.

“On January 1, AAPPunjab co-in-charge RaghavChadha, after reaching ‘Guru kiNagri’ Amritsar, will pay obei-sance at Sri Harmandir Sahiband Sri Durgiana Temple andpray for the prosperity ofPunjab,” said party's state gen-eral secretary Harchand SinghBarsat, state secretary

Gagandeep Singh Chadha andMajha joint secretaries AshokTalwar and Baljit Khaira, in ajoint statement.

The leaders said that dur-ing the first day visit, Chadhawill hold a meeting with partyleaders, state leaders and MLAsfrom Majha region and dis-

cussions would be held tostrengthen the party.They saidthat a strategy would bechalked out to target the pre-sent “anti-Punjab” CongressGovernment on the issue of notfulfilling the electoral promis-es made with the people andabout the municipal elections

to be held in February.AAP leaders said that at

present, the people of Punjabwere delighted to work withAAP for Punjab’s prosperity.“By appointing a young andeducated leader like RaghavChadha as Punjab's co-in-charge, all classes includingyouth of the state will join theparty,” they added.

After deliberating on theanti-people decisions beingtaken by the current Congressgovernment, the next strategywould be formulated, theyadded.

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Punjab Congress presidentSunil Jakhar on Thursday

accused the BJP of conspiringto instigate a confrontationbetween peacefully protestingfarmers and local authorities inPunjab as part of a larger gameplan to divert attention fromthe core issues.

“The damage to mobiletransmission towers in Punjabpossibly could be a well cali-brated mischief act by certainanti-social elements at thebehest of their political masterswith an aim to defame farmers

and instigate a confrontation,”said Jakhar.

Lamenting the “ill-advised”decision of the Punjab GovernorVP Singh Badnore to summonPunjab Chief Secretary and theDGP, based on “skewed” inputsprovided by BJP leaders, Jakharwarned against attempts beingorchestrated to futilely meddlein state’s affairs maintainingthat it was pre-conceived assaulton the federal structure of thenation.

“The Congress has alwaysstood for autonomy of consti-tutional posts. But the activismbeing manifested by the

Governor tantamount to base-lessly trespassing state’sdomain,” Jakhar said, addingthat it should be clear thatPunjab is neither West Bengalnor Puducherry where incum-bent Governors have chosenthe path of unconstructivepolitical activism. Such erosionof constitutional propriety willbe resisted in Punjab, he said.

Rubbishing BJP’s attemptsto project Punjab as a state withwaning law and order, Jakharsaid that the state, under theable leadership of chief minis-ter Capt Amarinder Singh, hasremained peaceful sans any

untoward incident, unlike inneighbouring Haryana, evenduring the last several monthsof farmer agitation over thethree black farms laws pro-mulgated by the Centre.

“Where were BJP leaderswhen farmers were helplesslysquatting on railway tracksand braving the bone-chillingwinter out on the roads. Theirloyalty towards the corporatesstands exposed,” he said, whileadding that BJP leaders havebeen more bothered about cor-porates and towers than thefarmers struggling to makeends meet.

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Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar on

Thursday announced that fromMarch 31, next year, a specialcampaign will be launched toprovide skill training, employ-ment and financial assistance touplift the economic status ofaround one lakh families hav-ing least or no income source.

"The objective of this spe-cial campaign is to strengthenthe economic status of suchfamilies," Khattar said, address-ing a Press Conference on thelast day of the year. On thisoccasion, the Chief Ministeralso released the calendar ofHaryana Government for theyear 2021.

The Chief Minister saidthat from March 31, as many asone lakh families will be iden-tified through Parivar PehchanPatra portal and after theiridentification, efforts will bemade to increase the income ofthose who are having least orno income source. “For this,the State Government willemphasize on the skill devel-opment of members of suchfamilies, providing employ-ment opportunities to theunemployed members and alsoproviding financial assistance.Besides this, employmentavenues will also be explored to

generate employment. If anyfamily needs help to promotetheir ancestral business, thenefforts will be made in thatdirection as well,” he asserted.

Extending greetings on theeve of New Year, Khattar saidthat like previous year, during2021 as well, the StateGovernment would strive towork harder for further all-round development andprogress of the state and itspeople. He said that newschemes and programmes forwelfare of people belonging toall sections of the society wouldbe launched.

The Chief Minister alsoannounced that while consid-ering recommendations of thecommittee headed by JusticeDaya Chaudhary, the StateGovernment has decided toextend the special parole peri-od of 2471 prisoners tillFebruary 15, 2021, and specialparole of as many as 2117 tillMarch 31, 2021. He said thatparole will be extended forthose who have been sen-tenced for seven years orundertrials who are accused ofoffences punishable upto sevenyears.

Highlighting key schemesand projects being launched bythe State Government in 2020,the Chief Minister said that in

a bid to ensure delivery of pub-lic welfare schemes being runby Government at thedoorstep of the people, asmany as 30 portals and vari-ous digital programmes havebeen started. People are takingadvantage of all the public wel-fare schemes through Atal

Seva Kendras, Antyodaya SaralKendras and e-Disha Kendras.

Khattar said that takingthe lead in the country in ren-dering efficient public servicedelivery for all Government toCitizen (G2C) services andschemes, on December 30,

2020, President Ram NathKovind had conferredPlatinum Award under thecategory ‘Excellence in DigitalGovernance - State/UT’,Digital India Awards 2020,for Antyodaya Saral Portal tothe State Government.

He said that in this year,

various e-Governance initia-tives have been taken for mak-ing delivery of citizen-centricservices to the people in atime-bound and hassle-freemanner for ensuring no delaysin the work and fixing account-ability. Furthermore, even dur-ing the tough times of ongoing

COVID-19 Pandemic, almostevery department meticulous-ly incorporated InformationTechnology in their day to dayfunctioning so as to ensuredelivery of health, food, edu-cation, financial assistance tillthe grass root level, Khattarsaid.

Lauding the efforts of var-ious departments for takinginnovative steps during thisPandemic, the Chief Ministersaid that 'e-Sanjeevani', onlinemedical services and coun-selling services were launchedby the State Government.Besides this, the Chief Ministeralso announced that facility forregistration of property docu-ments in any tehsil within thedistrict will commence fromApril 1, 2021. With this facili-ty, any owner would be able toget an option to get their prop-erties registered in any othertehsil located within the district.

He said, “In order to curbdiscrepancies in the registry ofthe land, e-registration portalhas been launched.Furthermore, through theIntegrated Haryana LandRecords Information System(WEB HALRIS), land recordsare being completely digitalizedand this system has alreadybeen implemented in alltehsils.”

Sharing HaryanaGovernment’s plans forincreasing the farmers’ income,the Chief Minister said that theKisan Kalyan Pradhikaran hasbeen directed to advise thefarmers to use specific agri-culture techniques which areeconomically viable for them.He said that recently theHorticulture Department hasbeen directed to explore thepossibilities for cultivation ofFig in the State.

The Chief Minister saidthat under the ‘PragatishilKisan Samman Yojana’, theState Government has decidedto register such progressivefarmers who will motivate atleast 10 farmers to adopt theirbest agricultural practices. Heshared that Pashu Dhan CreditCard Yojana has been launchedunder which till now 1.07 lakhcards have been approved byvarious banks and as many as21,000 cards have been dis-tributed, and the rest will soonbe distributed.

Chief Principal Secretaryto Chief Minister, D. S. Dhesi,Deputy Principal Secretaries toChief Minister, Amit KumarAgrawal and Ashima Brar andDirector General, Information,Public Relations andLanguages Department, P.CMeena were also present onthis occasion.

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Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on

Thursday dedicated theChandigarh-Kharar elevatedcorridor to the citizens as aNew Year gift, paving the wayfor further economic develop-ment of the region while eas-ing the perpetual traffic con-gestion along the route.

The Chief Minister termedthe corridor project — fromSector-39 roundabout(CH.0+000), Chandigarh toKhanpur (CH.10+185) — asthe fulfillment of a long-pend-ing need of the people of theregion.

With the opening of thethird phase of the corridor onDecember 28, the project is now96 percent complete, with theremaining (one side of the roadat Khanpur) expected to becompleted by mid January 2021.

On the occasion, CaptAmarinder congratulated thecivil administration for ensur-ing peaceful acquisition of landand resettlement of land own-ers, and also appreciated theNational Highways Authorityof India (NHAI) for the expe-ditious completion of the pro-ject, which had been extreme-ly delayed due to the bottle-necks created as a result of theprevious Akali-BJP govern-ment in the State.

“When our Governmenttook over, it inherited themessy legacy of the erstwhile

regime, in terms of failure todivert the traffic, non-shiftingof high tension wires by theElectricity Board and non-vacation of acquired structuresby land owners due to non-payment of land compensationamount, along with multiplecourt cases and stay orders,”said the Chief Minister.

Capt Amarinder said thatthe Congress Governmentstarted addressing variousproblems, including gettingElectricity Board to shift thehigh tension lines, ensuringpayment of 99 percent com-pensation for acquired land, aswell as vacation and razing ofall 50 acquired structures.

“Efficient legal teamremoved the legal hurdles andgot the stay orders vacated,while deployment of specialpolice teams under eightMarshalls was also ensured fortraffic diversion,” he added.

To enable the work to con-tinue during the COVID lock-down, special arrangementswere made for labourers at the

site, said the Chief Minister.Notably, the project was

started on June 9, 2016, and thefirst phase from Sector-39roundabout-Verka Chowk toBalongi Underpass was openedto the public on September 25,2020; the second phase ofFlyover (Desu Majra toKhanpur) towards Ludhiana onDecember 12, 2020, followedby the third phase from Daunto Desumajra on December 28,2020.

The Chief Minister, in aninformal interaction with themedia later, thanked the UnionMinister Nitin Gadkari forundertaking this national high-way project in Punjab.

To a question about othersuch national highway pro-jects, Capt Amarinder saidthat Katra-Delhi 16-laneexpressway and other projectswere in the pipeline with landacquisition process underway.He also said that Rs 27 crorehad been sanctioned for thestate highway project atLandran.

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Haryana Chief Minister,Manohar Lal Khattar said

that he is hopeful that the nextmeeting scheduled for January4 between the protesting farm-ers and Central Governmentwill certainly yield positiveresults.

Talking to reporters here,Khattar said, “I am happy thatthe recently held meetingseemed to be productive and Iam hopeful that soon a positivesolution will come out on thisissue.” He also urged the agi-tating farmers who are protest-ing in this severe cold to returnto their homes as the issue ofFarm Laws is expected to beconcluded on a positive note.

“We consider farmers asour own and have always beensympathetic towards theirinterests. A lot of effort isbeing made towards resolvingthe issue through mutual dia-logue,” said the Chief Minister.

Taking a jibe at Congressand other leaders who havebeen "misleading" famers overthe newly introduced FarmLaws, Khattar said that thoughmany have tried their best tomislead the innocent farmersbut soon these leaders willalso get a befitting reply likethey have got in the results ofMunicipal Corporation,Council and Committees elec-tions.

He said that in the last sixyears the kind of positive workand the number of farmers’welfare schemes launched by

Haryana have not beenlaunched by any other state. Beit procurement of Millet, Maize,Groundnut, Moong at MSP orimplementation of BhavantarBharpai Yojana to ensure thatfarmers get fair prices for theirproduce, several steps havebeen taken by the StateGovernment to ensure farm-ers' welfare.

The Chief Minister saidthat in Haryana procurementof Millet is done at Rs. 2150 perquintal, whereas the RajasthanGovernment had procured thesame at Rs. 1200 and Rs. 1300per quintal. While stronglydefending the New Farm Laws,the Chief Minister said that ifsomeone tries to do away withMinimum Support Price(MSP) in Haryana then hewill quit politics.

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Lashing out at the State BJPpresident for spreading

“false” propaganda to furtherhis party’s political agenda,Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on Thursdaysaid that Ashwani Sharma’sdesperate attempts to falselyproject a law and order prob-lem in Punjab reflected theparty’s fear of complete anni-hilation in the upcoming civicpolls.

“The State BJP’s request tothe Governor for postpone-ment of the civic polls on thebaseless grounds of law andorder situation collapse showsthat the party leadership is incomplete panic at the prospectof facing the elections at a timewhen the people are angry atthem over the black FarmLaws,” said the Chief Ministerwhile interacting informallywith mediapersons after dedi-cating the Chandigarh-Khararelevated corridor to citizens.

Faced with the people’swrath, Ashwani Sharma andhis party colleagues were nowresorting to desperate measuresto wriggle out of the polls, hesaid.

Pointing out that Punjabhad been voted as Number #1state in India on the law andorder front in the ‘States ofState’ annual survey conduct-ed by India Today, the ChiefMinister said that the bogey oflaw and order problems inPunjab was being created byBJP only to save itself from theanger of the farmers. Theirfrustration was evident fromtheir bid to pass off pictures of

his old meetings with somecorporate leaders as a collusionagainst the farmers, he added.

Dismissing as “atrocious”BJP state leadership’s chargesthat the Congress was respon-sible for the damage to mobiletowers, and the resultant loss ofstudies to the students, theChief Minister asked, “Are weresponsible for the farmers’angst against the BJP?”

“We were not the oneswho enacted the Farm Laws, itwas the BJP-led CentralGovernment. We, in fact,negated them by passing theamendment Bills in theAssembly,” he added.

Noting that following hisappeals and the strict warningto those damaging property,the number of such incidentshad come down drastically,Capt Amarinder said that thisclearly exposed the lies beingshamelessly mouthed bySharma.

Only a couple of incidentsof minor damage were report-ed today, he said, adding thatthe State Government wouldensure that not a single case of

damage takes place in the com-ing days. The situation was nowunder control, with most of thedamaged towers alreadyrepaired, he added.

“While these incidents areunfortunate, the fact is thatthese are happening as a resultof the spontaneous outburst offarmers as their genuinedemands have not been con-ceded so far,” said the ChiefMinister, trashing Punjab BJPleaders’ claims that theGovernment of India had beenaccepted the demands of thefarmers from the outset.

Had their demands beenconceded, the farmers wouldnot have been sitting out in thewinter chill at Delhi’s borders,he said, adding that the power-hungry BJP leaders hadremained untouched even bythe fact that some 50 protest-ing farmers had died, includingsome by suicide.

Asked to comment on theacceptance of two of the keydemands of the agitating farm-ers by the Centre at their lastround of meeting, CaptAmarinder Singh said that theissue was now between thefarmers and the Governmentof India. He hoped the Centrewould soon accede the remain-ing demands of the farmerstoo.

Replying to a questionregarding Local Bodies elec-tions in the state, the ChiefMinister said that the processis already under way and thedates would be finalized andannounced soon, as constitu-tionally, the Government wasbound to hold these electionsbefore February 15, 2021.

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The ongoing cold wave con-ditions in Haryana and

Punjab intensified at manyplaces on Thursday, with Hisarreeling at minus 1.2 degreesCelsius. A thick blanket of fogagain enveloped most places inthe two states early in the morning, reducing visibil-ity levels, MeteorologicalDepartment officials here said.

The minimum tempera-tures hovered well below nor-mal limits as a few places expe-rienced the season's coldestnight so far. Hisar in Haryanarecorded the season''s coldestnight so far and the mercurydropped eight notches below

the normal.Among other places in the

state, severe chill grippedNarnaul, which also recordedthe season's coldest night so farat minus 0.5 degree Celsius,down six notches against nor-mal limits. Sirsa, Ambala,Karnal, Rohtak and Bhiwani,too, experienced a cold nightrecording respective minimumsof 1.5, 3.6, 4.1, 4.2 and 4.1degrees Celsius, respectively.

Chandigarh, the commoncapital of the two states, alsorecorded the season's coldestnight so far at 2.7 degreesCelsius, three notches belowthe normal limits.Cold waveconditions also persisted inmany places in Punjab.

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To further improve the irri-gation system and clean

power generation in the State,Punjab Water ResourcesDepartment has completed 60percent work of ShahpurkandiMain Dam despite the COVIDsituation during 2020.

“The Department resumedthe construction work, whichwas halted due to unprece-dented nationwide lockdownimposed to contain the spreadof the pandemic, on theShahpurkandi Dam on April29, 2020, after some relax-ations were given in the lock-down. Now, the work of theproject is going on in fullswing and almost 60 percentwork of the Main Dam hasbeen executed,” said the stateWater Resources MinisterSukhbinder Singh Sarkaria onThursday.

Expressing hope to startthe filling of the reservoir ofShahpurkandi Dam Project byNovember 2022, he said thatthe project will hopefully startgenerating power in 2023.

“On completion, this pro-ject would generate 208 MWpower besides letting RanjitSagar Dam to run as a peakingstation. While creating tourismpotential and improving the

socio-economic conditions ofthe people in this border area,it would also provide intensiveirrigation facilities in 37,000hectares in Punjab and Jammuand Kashmir,” he added.

Shahpurkandi Dam projectChief Engineer SK Saluja saidthat an amount of Rs 170 crorehas been spent during the cur-rent financial year up toDecember 31, 2020, and expen-diture of Rs 1,233 crore hasbeen spent on the projectagainst approved project cost ofRs 2,715 crore.

“The work of power housewill be started in January 2021and the work on Jammu andKashmir side would also betaken up in January next yearafter the land acquisitionprocess is completed by J&KGovernment. This year, theForest clearance for areasfalling in Punjab and J&K hasbeen obtained from UnionMinistry of Environment andForest,” he added.

Notably, the ShahpurkandiDam Project is being con-structed on river Ravi 11 kmdownstream of Ranjit SagarDam and eight kms upstreamof Madhopur Headworks inPathankot district. It willreduce the outflow of the riverwater to Pakistan.

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New Year’s revelries willremain muted by coron-

avirus strain this year. Wherecan one take part in public cel-ebrations as the clock strikes12 to usher in a New Year?That was the question doingrounds on Thursday with theannouncement of a night cur-few and imposition of section144 in several states and unionterritories, throwing plansinto disarray for those plan-ning to celebrate outside theirhomes.

Amid the scare of the newcoronavirus strain,Maharashtra, Delhi, Kerala,Punjab, Odisha, Rajasthan,Uttarakhand, Gujarat, TamilNadu and Karnataka haveimposed renewed restrictionsahead of the New Year cele-brations to help prevent thespread of coronavirus. Hotels,restaurants, pubs, public placesand beaches were closed to thepublic for late-night celebra-tions on Thursday. Even thefireworks display was notallowed.

As many as 25 passengersall of whom recently returnedwere found to be infectedwith the new United Kingdomvariant genome of SARS-CoV-2 so far.

According to hotel indus-try sources, hotels, restaurantsand pubs, big and small, saidthey received many calls can-celling their pre-bookings even

though there was really noneed to. The Hilton GardenInn, Saket, for instance, whichwas offering a stay for two,along with a full-fledged fes-tive treat, at a discounted priceof Rs 12,500 said many non-resident’ guests had cancelled.The ITC, Maurya, New Delhi,was giving an array of offersfor the festive meal, includinga special ‘midnight buffet’from 12.30 am to 3 am.

But that probably standscancelled and senior stafferssaid they are still discussingthe order with concernedauthorities and would abide byall guidelines imposed by thegovernment. According toPublic App, one of India’slargest location-based socialnetwork, “78.82 per cent” —out of over one lakh Delhi res-idents surveyed — said theywould prefer celebrating NewYear at home over any hotel orrestaurant.

In Maharashtra, a night

curfew in all the municipalareas was imposed from 11 pmto 6 am and will remain inforce till 5 January. Gatheringsin restaurants, bars and pubshas not been allowed post-11pm, Loudspeaker/DJ musicbeyond permissible decibellimit and fireworks are alsoprohibited. The StateGovernment has also imposedrestrictions on parties inrestaurants, pubs, bars, beach-es, rooftops, and boats.

In Delhi, the governmenthas been imposed night cur-few beginning 11 pm onDecember 31 to 6 am onJanuary 1. For January 2, thenight curfew will begin at 11pm on January 1 and contin-ue till 6 am on January 2. Anorder issued by DDMA statedthat not more than five peoplewill be allowed to assemble atpublic places in Delhi duringnight curfew to avoid largegatherings.

The Karnataka

Government, through guide-lines and orders, has also pro-hibited parties, and specialevents at clubs, pubs, restau-rants, and other places thatattract people in large num-bers without social distancing.

The Kerala Governmenthad set a 10 pm deadline forNew Year’s Eve celebrations inthe state in view of the coro-navirus pandemic situation.No public gatherings wasallowed.

The Odisha Governmentalso closed all shops, com-mercial establishments, offices,institutions and movement oftill 5 am on Saturday.

The Punjab Governmenthas imposed night curfew tillJanuary 1, 2021 so that revel-ers could not be celebrated.

In Tamil Nadu, theauthorities have barred largegatherings beaches and roadsand banned midnight partiesin restaurants, hotels, clubs,

resorts and similar places.Amid concerns over the

new, more infectious coron-avirus strain, the Centre onWednesday issued an adviso-ry to all states and UnionTerritories to keep strict vigilon New Year celebrations thatcould be potential “super-spreader” events. A total of 25people in the country havetested positive for the newUnited Kingdom variantgenome of SARS-CoV-2 so far.

In West Bengal, theKolkata Police have takenmeasures to ensure that allCOVID-19 safety protocolsare maintained and there is nolarge gathering for celebratingthe New Year eve, as orderedby the Calcutta High Court tocheck a spike in infections.

Uttarakhand’s CapitalDehradun has banned publiccelebrations like parties athotels, bars and restaurants onNew Year’s Eve and New Year.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday said

that preparation for a coron-avirus vaccine was in the laststages and that people willsoon get vaccines manufac-tured in India even as he cau-tioned against rumours aboutcoronavirus vaccination.

“In 2020, there was a ques-tion mark from all sides due toCovid-19 pandemic. But 2021is coming with the hope of atreatment for Covid-19,” saidModi after laying the founda-tion stone of a new All IndiaInstitute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS) in Gujarat’s Rajkot viavideoconference.

He said that while he washopeful that the way in whichIndia fought unitedly againstthe infection, it would similar-ly work hard to make the vac-cination programme successful.

“The country is preparingto undertake the world’slargest vaccination driveagainst the infection,” he saidwhile cautioning people to notget carried away by rumoursagainst vaccine.

Modi said: “In our coun-try, rumours spread quickly.Different people, for theirpersonal gains or due to irre-sponsible behaviour, spreadvarious rumours.

“Maybe, the rumours willbe spread when the vaccina-

tion drive begins; some havealready begun,” the PrimeMinister said.

He appealed to the peopleto refrain as responsible citi-zens from forwarding mes-sages on the social mediawithout checking.

The Prime Minister saidthat when India faced anyproblem, the entire nationunited to help each other.“The way in which peopletook proper steps is the reasonwhy we are in good a situationeven amid the pandemic,despite a 1.3-billion popula-tion. More than one crorepeople have fought the pan-demic and won.

“India’s record is muchbetter than other countries inthe fight against Covid-19.”

He said that the numbersof infections in India weregoing down. “India hasemerged as the nerve centre ofglobal health. In 2021, wehave to strengthen India’s rolein healthcare,” he said.

Modi said that ‘dawai bhiaur kadaai bhi’ should be ourmantra for 2021. “Earlier, Isaid ‘dawai nahi toh dhilainahi’ (no relaxation till nomedicine). Now, I am saying‘dawai bhi aur kadaai bhi’(strictness even with medi-cine). Our mantra for 2021 is‘dawai bhi aur kadaai bhi’.”

Pointing out that ‘health iswealth’, Modi said: “this year

taught us this maxim. Whenthere is any attack on health,it affects the family and theentire society comes in itsgrip.” The Prime Minister alsosaid that it was time toremember on the last day ofthe outgoing year the frontlinewarriors who safeguardedpeople while risking theirlives.

“I pay my humble tributesto all frontline warriors wholost their lives in the line ofduty,” Modi said, adding thatthe country also paid tributesto scientists, workers, doctorsinvolved in the fight againstCovid-19 and those workingtirelessly for developing a vac-cine for coronavirus.

Later at a webinar, Dr VGSomani, Drug ControllerGeneral of India, hinted thatapproval for coronavirus vac-cine in the country couldcome soon.

“Probably we will have ahappy new year, with some-thing in hand,” he said

Somani also said that theapproval process for the vac-cines was expedited by pro-cessing the applications quick-ly and allowing phase 1 and 2trials simultaneously, withoutwaiting for the complete data.“There has been no compro-mise on the safety of efficacyof the data,” he clarified. “Theonly thing is that the regula-tor has accepted partial data.”

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Ahead of rolling of the UnionBudget, the ruling BJP has sug-

gested tax relief to the middle-classby increasing standard deductionsand providing benefits to small andmedium businesses by loweringraw material cost.

BJP specialist in economicaffairs and National SpokesmanGopal Krishna Agarwal said theparty has given proposal duringmeeting with the Finance Minister

Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday. Talking to The Pioneer,

Aggarwal said the Union Budgetwill be presented on February firstand hoped the suggestions onreducing income tax and raw mate-rial prices would provide relief tothe middle class and small businessrespectively. He pointed to the risein commodity prices.

The middle-class would bene-fit if the standard deductions arebroad-based.

As unprecedented Coronavirus

pandemic did not allow the wintersession of the Parliament, the gov-ernment hopes that the budgetsession in January would make upfor the winter session.

In the background of econom-ic squeeze caused by the pandem-ic, the budget 2021-22 may involvespecial economic announcementsfor the segments particularlyimpacted by an year-long lock-down.

As the Modi-Government hadearlier announced some succour topoor in terms of free ration andloan relief to businessmen, theBJP has proposed that some taxrelief to middle-class too wouldmake a happy economic proposi-tion.

“The middle-income group isfeeling a lot of pinch, and they needsome support” said Agarwal.

“Incentivising consumption bythem would also help the indus-try,”I can say the Budget will takecare of the middle class.”

Last time, the Budget hadmaintained the status quo withoutmaking any major change thatwould have effectively benefited thetax-paying middle-class.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi will lay the founda-

tion stone of Light HouseProjects (LHPs) under GlobalHousing TechnologyChallenge-India (GHTC-India) at six sites across sixStates on January 1, via videoconferencing. PM Modi willalso announce winners underAffordable SustainableHousing Accelerators - India(ASHA-India) and give outannual awards for excellence inimplementation of PradhanMantri Awas Yojana - Urban(PMAY-U) Mission.

During the event, thePrime Minister will also releasea certificate course on innov-ative construction technologiesnamed NAVARITIH (New,Affordable, Validated, ResearchInnovation Technologies forIndian Housing) and a com-pendium of 54 innovativehousing construction tech-nologies identified throughGHTC-India. Besides thehousing and urban affairs min-ister, chief ministers of Tripura,Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh,Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat,Tamil Nadu and AndhraPradesh will be present on theoccasion.

The Light House Projects(LHPs) showcase the best ofnew-age alternative globaltechnologies, materials andprocesses in the constructionsector for the first time in thecountry at such a large scale.

“They are being con-structed under GHTC-Indiawhich envisages to provide anecosystem for adoption ofinnovative technologies in thehousing construction sector in

a holistic manner. The LHPsare being constructed at Indore(Madhya Pradesh), Rajkot(Gujarat), Chennai (TamilNadu), Ranchi (Jharkhand),Agartala (Tripura) andLucknow (Uttar Pradesh).They comprise about 1000houses at each location alongwith allied infrastructure facil-ities.

These projects will demon-strate and deliver ready to livehouses at an expedited pacewithin twelve months, as com-pared to conventional brickand mortar construction, andwill be more economical, sus-tainable, of high quality anddurability,” the PrimeMinister’’s Office said.

These LHPs demonstrate avariety of technologies, includ-ing Prefabricated SandwichPanel System in LHP at Indore,Monolithic ConcreteConstruction using TunnelFormwork in LHP at Rajkot,Precast Concrete ConstructionSystem in LHP at Chennai, 3DVolumetric Precast ConcreteConstruction System in LHP atRanchi, Structural Steel Framewith Light Gauge Steel InfillPanels in LHP at Agartala andPVC Stay In Place FormworkSystem in LHP at Lucknow.The LHPs will serve as live lab-oratories for facilitating trans-fer of technology to the fieldand its further replication.This includes planning, design,production of components,construction practices and test-ing for both faculty and stu-dents of IITs, NITs, otherEngineering colleges, Planningand Architecture colleges,builders, professionals of pri-vate and public sectors andother stakeholders.

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BJP president J P Nadda onThursday gave new respon-

sibilities to RSS leaders in theBJP.

V Satish, joint general sec-retary, is to look afterParliamentary office, ST mor-cha and ‘vishesh sampark”.

Suadan Singh, vice-presi-

dent, to be stationed atChandigarh, to overseeHaryana, Punjab, HimachalPradesh and Chandigarh.

Shiv Prakash, Joint-General Secretary, is to lookafter Madhya Pradesh,Chattisgarh, Maharashtra,Andhra Pradesh, Telanganaand west Bengal. He Will be atBhopal.

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The cold wave in North India willcontinue till January 2 and it will

get intense from the next week.Parts of northwest and central Indiaappear set to begin the New Year ona wet note, as isolated rains and thun-derstorms have been forecast acrossthe region starting Friday, January 1.

The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) has issued a yel-low watch over Punjab, Haryana,Chandigarh, Delhi, and UttarPradesh, thereby urging residents to‘be aware’ of their local weather sit-uation and remain wary of the light-ning and thunderstorms.

The IMD also predicted light rainin eastern Rajasthan, Delhi, westernUttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryanabetween January 2 and January 6.Immediately after this rain spell, afresh western disturbance—a stormthat originates as low-pressure sys-tems over the Mediterranean Sea andpushes moist, high-altitude westerlywinds towards India—is likely toaffect the north Indian weather fromJanuary 3 onwards.

The system is expected to bringlight/moderate scattered to fairlywidespread rainfall/snowfall overthe Western Himalayan region fromJanuary 3-5.

“Cold Day to Severe Cold Dayconditions in isolated to some pock-ets very likely over Punjab, Haryana,Chandigarh & Delhi, Uttar Pradeshand West Madhya Pradesh duringnext two days and over HimachalPradesh during next 24 hours,” theIMD said.

According to Kuldeep Srivastava,the head of the IMD’s regional fore-

casting centre, clear skies over Delhi-NCR, multiple western disturbancesaffecting the Himalayan region andthe global impact of La Nina were themajor reasons behind such low min-imum temperatures. “After December12, western disturbances mostlyaffected the western Himalayanregion, leading to significant snow-fall and rain over Jammu andKashmir and Himachal Pradesh,”Srivastava said.

After the wind system with-draws, cold north-westerly windsblow from Jammu and Kashmir andHimachal Pradesh to Delhi-NCR,bringing the minimum temperaturedown, he said.

“Uplifted fog” over Punjab andHaryana made the winds even cold-er, he added. “ The global factor ofLa Nina further contributed to the fallin temperatures,” Srivastava said.

“Dense/very dense fog in somepockets over Punjab, Haryana,Chandigarh & Delhi and UttarPradesh and dense fog in isolatedpockets over Bihar, Assam &Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur,Mizoram & Tripura during next 2days and over Uttarakhand, WestMadhya Pradesh during next 24hours,” the IMD said.

The IMD said a trough in lowerlevel easterlies is expected to bringisolated rain and thundershowersover the plains of northwest India andadjoining West Madhya Pradesh onFriday and Saturday, January 1-2.

According to the IMD, groundfrost conditions in isolated pocketsvery likely over Punjab, Haryana,Chandigarh & Delhi and northRajasthan during next 24 hours.

The cold wave sweeping Kashmir

intensified as the mercury fell sever-al notches to settle well below thefreezing point across thevalley,Srinagar city -- the summercapital of Jammu and Kashmir --recorded a low of minus 5.9 degreesCelsius, which was over three degreesbelow the previous night’s minus 2.2degrees Celsius.

Gulmarg tourist destination innorth Kashmir recorded 10.4degrees Celsius as against the pre-vious night’s low of minus 11 degreesCelsius.

The ongoing cold wave condi-tions in Haryana and Punjab inten-sified at many places, with Hisar reel-ing at minus 1.2 degrees Celsius. Athick blanket of fog again envelopedmost places in the two States early inthe morning, reducing visibility lev-els. The minimum temperatureshovered well below normal limits asa few places experienced the season’scoldest night so far. Hisar in Haryanarecorded the season’s coldest night sofar and the mercury dropped eightnotches below the normal.

Cold wave conditions also per-sisted in many places inPunjab.Bathinda reeled under severechill recording a minimum temper-ature of 0 degree Celsius, the season’slowest so far, while Amritsar andFaridkot, too, braved the chill at 1.6degrees Celsius and 1.2 degreesCelsius, respectively.Pathankot,Halwara, Adampur, Ludhiana andPatiala also recorded below normalminimums at 2.2, 3.1, 4.8, 4.1 and 4.8degrees Celsius, respectively. Intensecold conditions prevailed inRajasthan where over a dozen dis-tricts recorded night temperaturesbelow 5 degrees Celsius.

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The EnforcementDirectorate has seized gold

and diamond jewellery worthover �4 crore after it raidedpromoters of a Tamil Nadu-based company in a moneylaundering probe linked to analleged bank loan fraud. Thesearches were conducted underprovisions of the Prevention of

Money Laundering Act(PMLA) and the residentialpremises of K Subbaraj, chair-man of Tiruchirappalli-basedCethar Ltd, its managing direc-tor K Pothiraj and director ofNSK Builders Pvt Ltd N S KKalairaja were covered, it said.

Gold and diamond jew-ellery worth � 1.77 crore alongwith several property docu-ments were seized in raid.

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Amid reports of Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy

as the country gears up forvaccination drive, theUnion Health Ministryhas prepared a three-pronged strategy to alle-viate apprehensions aboutthe vaccine, ensure itsacceptance and encourageuptake.

Vaccine hesitancyrefers to delay in accep-tance or refusal of vaccinesdespite availability of vac-cine services and variousstudies have shown that itcould be a challengingissue for the governmentto address forthwith.

In its 88-page docu-ment released onThursday, the UnionHealth Ministry haschalked out detailed com-munication strategy tosupport the vaccine rolloutin India that seeks to dis-seminate accurate andtransparent informationby alleviating apprehen-sions and ensuring itsacceptance.

The Health Ministryintends to achieve chal-lenges of vaccine hesitan-cy in three ways. Firstly,using the social influenceor endorsements fromexperts and official voicesto spell out the process ofimmunisation (where,how, who, when – dateand time); emphasise onthe safety and efficacy ofvaccines and explain thedecision to conduct thedrive in a phased manner.

Secondly, the ministry

intends to establish aNational Media RapidResponse Cell (NMRRC)under its ambit to ensurepreparedness throughmedia monitoring andsocial listening to respondin real time. It will alsounfold media and publicdiscourse through exten-sive monitoring of print,electronic and digitalmedia.

Thirdly, this will beachieved by involvingcommunity mobilisersand frontline workers toengage with the commu-nity at various levelsthrough community con-sultations, faith leadersand religious meetings,engaging youth, civil-soci-ety organisations, self-helpgroups, panchayats andother community-basedplatforms.

“The communicationstrategy that supports theCovid-19 vaccines rolloutin India seeks to dissemi-nate timely, accurate andtransparent informationabout the vaccine(s) toalleviate apprehensionsabout the vaccine, ensureits acceptance and encour-age uptake,” it said.

According to the doc-ument, the strategy aimsat managing and miti-gating any potential dis-appointment expressedby unmet demand for thevaccine or ‘eagerness’amongst people andaddressing vaccine ‘hesi-tancy’ that could arisebecause of apprehensionsaround vaccine safety,efficacy apart from any

other myths and miscon-ceptions.

It also aims to provideinformation on potentialrisks and mitigate unin-tended crisis during theintroduction and rollout.

“The strategy alsoseeks to build trust andenable greater confidencein the COVID-19 vaccineamongst all people byemploying transparencyin communication, whilealso managing anymis/disinformation andrumours around it,” itsaid.

In case of any adverseeffects following immu-nisation (AEFI), the strat-egy emphasises on sup-porting the mobilisersand health workforce inmanaging crisis situationsby appealing to the com-munity to stay calm whilewaiting for a proper diag-nosis and prevent aggres-sive behaviour againsthealth workers.

In an online studyconducted by AbdulGhafur, Coordinator ofthe Chennai Declaration,and infectious diseasesconsultant at ApolloHospital, Chennai,among 1424 health pro-fessionals, only 45 percent said they will takethe COVID vaccine assoon as it becomes avail-able. “Fifty-five per centwill either defer the vac-cination or are yet todecide what to do. Aboutone-tenth of the respon-dents said they will nevertake the vaccine,” Ghafursaid, as per a report.

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The Government onThursday said that in

less than ten monthsIndia has become self-dependent in the ventila-tors manufacturing sectorwith at least 36,433 cost-affordable ‘Make in India’ventilators supplied to allthe public health facilitiesin the country. The UnionHealth Ministry said thatall public health facilitiesin the country had onlyaround 16,000 ventilatorsfrom the Independencetill pre-Covid times.

The average cost ofventilators now rangesbetween Rs 2-10 lakh asthe domestic industrytook up manufacturingof the equipment.

All export restrictionson ventilators have nowbeen removed and ‘Makein India’ ventilators arebeing exported.

The year witnessedtremendous achievements

in the medical suppliessector in the country, theMinistry said pointingout that at the beginningof the pandemic, Indiawas almost totally depen-dent on imported venti-lators, PPE kits and N-95masks. “There were, infact, no standard specifi-cations for these productswhich are essential in thefight against the pan-demic.”

However, now morethan adequate availabili-ty and supplies of essen-tial medical items acrossthe country has beenensured, according to theMinistry.

In the case of person-al protective equipment(PPE), India has nowbecome the world’s sec-ond-largest manufacturerfrom a miniscule domes-tic production capacityin March. There is a pro-duction capacity of morethan 10 lakh PPE cover-alls per day and it is also

exported to several coun-tries, it said.

There are alreadynearly 1,700 indigenousmanufacturers and sup-pliers registered on thegovernment e-market-place, with dozens alreadycertified by the Bureau ofIndian Standards.

Nearly 1.7 crore lakhPPE kits have been dis-tributed free of cost to thestates, Union territoriesand central institutions.

“The buffer stock ofPPE kits available with thecentral and state govern-ments has grown fromabout 2 lakh in March tomore than 89 lakh at pre-sent. The average pricehas come down substan-tially from nearly �600 toabout �200 per kit in 9months,” the Ministrysaid.

There were only threesuppliers of N-95 maskswith a production capac-ity of less than 1 lakhmasks per day.

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As we see off a rather tur-bulent and difficult year,it would be worthwhileto review how well the

military faced up to the nation’ssecurity challenges and, moreimportantly, where it goes fromhere. As has been the case withthe vast majority of peoples andcountries around the world, theCOVID-19 impact has been quitedisruptive and debilitating for ourmilitary as well. A situation nodoubt further compounded by theunprovoked aggression by theChinese People’s Liberation Army(PLA) in Eastern Ladakh alongthe Line of Actual Control (LAC),which undoubtedly caught themilitary by surprise.

The year had started on anexcellent note with theGovernment finally biting thebullet and announcing theappointment of General BipinRawat as the first Chief of DefenceStaff, two decades after it was firstofficially mooted following theKargil conflict. It went a step fur-ther by carving out a Departmentof Military Affairs, to be headedby the CDS as its ex officio sec-retary, to deal with issues pertain-ing exclusively to military matters.While a year is insufficient tocomment on the efficacy of thesechanges, suffice it to say thatGeneral Rawat has not distin-guished himself in his new role.

However, the unilateral andpartially successful attempt byChina to alter the status quoalong the LAC thrust a whollyunprepared military into the deepend, pushing all other concernsout of the window. Till the com-mencement of this imbroglio, thesubstantial tract of disputed ter-ritory that we claim was regular-ly patrolled by our security forcesas per the mutually accepted pro-tocols that have been in place forover two decades. Also, make nomistake, despite all the talk ofmutual withdrawal and easing oftensions, there is little doubt thatthe Chinese have no intention ofwithdrawing from the occupiedareas, especially in the Depsangand Galwan sub-sectors, withoutmaking us pay a heavy price.

The PLA now poses a clearand present danger to our posi-tions at Daulat Beg Oldi. Its lossin any future conflict wouldadversely impact our ability tocontinue holding on to the SaltoroRidge, west of the Siachen Glacier.That would be a serious strategicsetback as currently our occupa-tion of the Saltoro Ridge allows usto dominate the entire region up

to the Karakoram Pass, includ-ing the Shaksgam Valley thathas been illegally ceded toChina by Pakistan. Our exist-ing posture threatens the secu-rity of the China-PakistanEconomic Corridor (CPEC)passing through this region asit is vulnerable to interdiction.Its importance to both Chinaand Pakistan cannot be overes-timated given the massiveinvestments made, which couldbe motivation enough for col-lusive or collaborative action bythe two neighbours.

Despite the Army havingbeen caught napping in the ini-tial stages, its speedy and robustresponse — especially after thehorrendous loss of lives atGalwan — was commendable.Subsequently, under the ambitof “Operation Snow Leopard”, itraised the stakes considerably byoccupying dominating heightsalong the Kailash Range in theChushul and Pangong Tso sub-sectors which has negated someof the PLA’s earlier advantages.While these heights are well indepth within our territory andhave never been claimed by theChinese, they do dominate bothbanks of the Pangong Tso aswell as the important Chineseadministrative base at Moldo.Most importantly, it allows us tochoke off the Spanggur Gap, thearea through which the PLA’smechanised elements could oth-erwise have advanced towardsour positions at Chushul, there-by opening up an approach toLeh. However, the shoe is now

on the other foot, as it providesus a suitable launch pad for ariposte towards Moldo and theChinese depth areas, if the sit-uation so warrants.

However, we should not bemisled by the selective rhetoricwhich suggests that the Chineseare on the back foot, the PLAis demoraled and their leader-ship floundering for a way outof the impasse without loss offace. While our action does giveus a tactical advantage and hasstabilised the situation, it has byno means robbed the PLA ofthe inherent advantages itenjoys, given the superior eco-nomic strength and its militarysize. However, they may be infor an unpleasant surprise,given the extended lines ofcommunication and difficultiesof combat at such high alti-tudes, apart, of course, from thefact that they face an extreme-ly tough and battle-hardenedopposition with ample experi-ence in mountain warfare.

On our part, we have toaccept that our Governmenthas always had a very defensivemindset when it comes toChina. In fact, the ModiGovernment has shown exces-sive restraint at the present time,not only refusing to name Chinabut going so far as to try anddelink the Depsang intrusionfrom the transgressions else-where in an attempt to justify theongoing negotiations, whichappear to be restricted to troopwithdrawals from the Chushul-Pangong Tso sub-sector. Even

our occupation of the KailashRange was only in response tothe PLA’s transgressions in thevain hope that it would deterfurther attempts at ingress orescalation. On that occasion, thePLA probably miscalculated ourwillingness to stand up to theirprovocative behaviour and wasthus caught off guard by ourrobust response. At that time,they just did not have the req-uisite force levels in place to reactbefore the onset of winter.

In similar circumstances, amore determined Governmentwould probably have respond-ed to such aggression by mirror-ing the Chinese and resorted to“salami slicing” actions along theLAC by occupying disputedareas along our claim line wherethe PLA has no permanentpresence. This could have thenbeen used as a bargaining chipduring negotiations to ensure anequitable delineation of the LACwhich, in time, would haveallowed the Prime Minister tonegotiate and resolve the borderissue to our advantage.

The Government’s unwill-ingness to take the initiative ispartly explained by its fear ofChinese reaction as well as dri-ven by the fact that it has no illu-sion as to the poor state our mil-itary is in; something that can-not be rectified in short order byloosening the purse strings.Unfortunately, misperceptions,lack of clarity and sheer disinter-est in strategic affairs have beenthe hallmark of our political lead-ership, which finds little time for

anything other than domesticpolitics. This has resulted in asuperficial understanding of thegeopolitical complexities sur-rounding the issue of nationalsecurity at the institutional level.

The Armed Forces haveborne the brunt of this igno-rance, being subjected to neglectby successive Governments overthe years. In all likelihood, it hasbeen premised on the belief,however misconceived, that apowerful military poses an exis-tential threat to the politicaldispensation in power. It must,therefore, be kept in check andout of decision making.However, far more damaging hasbeen the political leadership’sbelief that the military’s utility hasbeen severely constrained, if notrendered irrelevant, as chances ofa conventional conflict havegreatly diminished with theadvent of nuclear weapons in theregion. A belief which has beengiven considerable boost by theArmy leadership’s almost single-minded focus on counter-insur-gency operations; even to theextent of accepting a gradualdegradation of our convention-al capabilities without protest.

As to the future, there is lit-tle scope for optimism as a fewmonths from now will herald thestart of a new campaigning sea-son along the LAC as the snowmelts. Given our defensive mind-set, our choices will be whollylimited to dancing to the PLA’stune. Their options are many;they could, for example, play awaiting game and do nothing atall for now, having already forcedus to concede territory. On theother hand, they could exertpressure elsewhere along theLAC to ensure that we respondin much the same manner wedid this year. In fact, their biggesterror would be to escalate the sit-uation to teach us a lesson asthen Modi would be forced torespond in kind, to avoid his rep-utation being tarnished.

However, if PresidentJinping does not cross thatRubicon, the Modi Governmentwill continue to do what it doesbest, focus on increasing itsfootprint by winning the forth-coming Bengal elections.Undoubtedly, it will resort to dis-simulation regarding the LACsituation, using every means atits disposal to push the narrativethat our borders are quiet, safeand inviolate. It will then be backto business as usual and the CDScould then return to the oner-ous task of simplifying militaryuniforms and badges of rank.

(The writer is a military vet-eran, who is a consultant with theObserver Research Foundationand Senior Visiting Fellow withThe Peninsula Foundation,Chennai. The views expressed arepersonal.)

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�� Sir — The talks between theCentre and farmers’ unionshave borne some fruitfulresults with the UnionGovernment accepting twoof the demands. The agree-ments reached are on decrim-inalising stubble burning andensuring that the subsidies forelectricity remain.

The farmers in Punjab andHaryana had been complainingof being unfairly targeted overstubble burning, for whichthere are few alternatives. The Electricity (Amendment)Bill that the Centre has in theworks is another bone of contention and the Centreaims to move the subsidyoffered by the States to farm-ers into the Direct BenefitTransfer (DBT) mode.

However, the key issue ofminimum support price andguaranteed procurement ofagricultural produce remains.Though the farmers have con-firmed that the agitation willcontinue, the agreementsmark some forward motion intalks that have remaineddeadlocked for weeks.

CK SubramaniamMumbai

�� Sir — After the House ofCommons overwhelminglyendorsed the 1,200-page agree-ment, the House of Lords has alsovoted in favour of the British rat-ification. The approval of a tradedeal between the UnitedKingdom and the EuropeanUnion was hurried through theBritish Parliament in just a day on

Wednesday, a decisive but rushedconclusion to a long Brexit storythat has divided Britons andconvulsed their politics for morethan four years now.

Despite the lack of time forscrutiny, the ease with which thepact sailed through the House ofCommons was in stark contrastto many knife-edge votes heldbefore last year’s general elections

when Parliament was gridlockedover Brexit.

British Prime Minister BorisJohnson will now surely enjoy hisIndia visit as the deal will lead torearrangement of the UK’s for-eign economic policy and inter-national relations, which offers ahappy opportunity to India too.

Yash Pal RalhanJalandhar

�� Sir — The Union Government’stwo-day dry run for the Covid-19 inoculation drive was aimedat end-to-end testing of the vac-cination process and includedplanning and preparations as perthe operational guidelines. Itinvolved the creation of facilitiesand users, session site creationand mapping of sites, healthcareworkers’ data upload, receipt ofvaccines and vaccine allocation,session planning, deployment ofvaccination teams and logisticsmobilisation at the session sites.

The objective of the dry runis also to undertake and confirmfield implementation and guidethe way forward prior to theactual implementation. Theexercise was expected to provideinsights on any gaps or bottle-necks during the actual conductof vaccination.

Now, the Government needsto prioritise its vaccination planaccording to select populationgroups such as healthcare work-ers, frontline workers and seniorcitizens.

Bhagwan ThadaniMumbai

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Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and lock-down in India, the month of June broughta rude shock for the country when

Chinese and Indian soldiers confronted eachother in the disputed area on the Galwan rivervalley. There were casualties on both sides anda violation of decades of mutual faith and under-standing between the countries on the use offirearms.

The Indian perspective: New Delhi main-tains that the territorial dispute has been elevat-ed by China by claiming that it was related tothe latter’s sovereignty. Further, Beijing’s nega-tive comments on the abrogation of Article 370of the Indian Constitution and terming of thecreation of Ladakh as a Union Territory as “ille-gal” have not gone down well with New Delhi.For India, these are all internal issues. It calls forfairness in understanding of the situation as Indiadid not react when China reorganised theTibetan provinces in 1965. India is also con-cerned about the repeated mention of ArunachalPradesh as southern Tibet since 2005.

China has also expressed its criticism overIndia building a feeder line from Daulat Beg Oldito Darbuk-Shyok in 2019. On the other hand,China has continued to build such feeder linesfor the last 20 years. Hence, New Delhi does notunderstand the logic behind Chinese objectionsto India’s construction activities. It realises thatChina would not want the Indian ArmedForces to reach the Line of Actual Control (LAC)swiftly.

However, Beijing wants smooth movementof Chinese patrol personnel belonging to thePeople’s Liberation Army. If China continueswith such a stance, India believes that the bor-der negotiations would not be very fruitful.

Another area of contention is Chineseinvestment in the China-Pakistan EconomicCorridor (CPEC) in the Gilgit-Baltistan areawhich is a sovereign territory of India and thesubject of a long-running conflict betweenPakistan and India. Beijing has retorted thatthese are commercial investments but India isnot convinced because China has deployed over36,000 security personnel in this area.

There is a feeling in New Delhi that Chinawants to teach a lesson to India because it hasdecided against joining the Belt and RoadInitiative (BRI) and instead focussed on improv-ing US-India ties, especially amid the 2+2 dia-logue process, foundational defence agree-ments, Quadrilateral Security Dialogue orQUAD and other such arrangements. Also,because of the asymmetry in power relations,China is showing its military might to India.

The Chinese perspective: While the Juneevent was acknowledged as being unfortunate,the official position of the Chinese leadershipwas that the Indian side triggered the confronta-tion, which raised tensions. Unlike New Delhi,Beijing did not announce the casualties on itsside in the Galwan clash because of the under-standing that the situation would be blown outof proportion through the media.

The fundamental reason that the border con-tinues to be a disputed matter between India andChina is the asymmetry in the thinking that pre-vails on both sides. While India seeks to verifythe LAC first and then engage in discussing ver-itable solutions, China’s thinking is top-down.

It wishes to arrive at a mutual under-standing first and then build a mutu-al political consensus to demarcate theLAC. Beijing fears that if it agrees tothe Indian line of thinking, then Chinawould lose a large part of the territo-ry.

In China’s strategic calculations,India’s position is that of a rising powerguided by its increasing national mil-itary strength. Despite this, for Beijing,India is not a competitor, especiallyafter the US has become a strategicchallenger for China. Further, its aimsto maintain peaceful ties with NewDelhi because its BRI network has topass through India on land and in theIndian Ocean.

In fact, during a webinar conduct-ed by the RAND Centre for Asia PacificPolicy, it was clear that the Chinesehave refuted the prevailing narrative inthe international western media thatChina was making use of the pandem-ic to become more assertive andaggressive.

A renewed vigour in the QUADties arising out of concerns of aggres-sion by China has also been dismissedby Beijing, as each of the four countries,India, Australia, Japan and the USwould not compromise their bilateralrelations with it.

The warmth in Indo-US ties hasalso been downplayed by China as“superficial.” According to Chineseanalysts, China does not want USinvolvement in the dispute.

While there is no need for Chinato make use of its military strength toprevail over India at any time throughborder skirmishes, yet with all clarityit subscribes to the notion that the sizeof the territory is immaterial but whatholds immense value in its strategic cal-culations is honour, interest and fear.

The way forward: According tothe Indian perspective, it is importantto respect the previous agreements of1993, 1996, 2005 and 2013 and toensure disengagement and tranquilli-ty along the border by ensuring theretreat of 60,000 troops in violation ofthe previous agreements.

There is a need to define and clar-ify the LAC to avoid such incidentsagain. It is necessary to have newConfidence Building Measures as wasdecided in the Xiamen BRICS meetingof 2017.

However, the Chinese think thatunder no circumstances should eitherside fire in the sky or at each other.They must reduce frontline deploy-ment of troops unlike the current sit-uation. There has to be an increasedcoordination of the soldiers at the fron-tier to avoid confrontation by givingthem authority to resolve tensions. Andfinally, setting up a hotline between thetwo countries is pertinent as China hassuch a communication channel withthe US, Russia and other countries.

Conclusion: India and China musttake a step forward and shed theirnationalistic stand; else the border dis-pute would remain unresolved. A lotof confusion was caused by politicsafter the Galwan incident. Therefore,it is important to understand the sit-uation with a bipartisan view. Perhaps,they can take lessons from their ownrecent history, wherein they haddemonstrated their maturity to resolveborder disputes in exchange of peaceand tranquility.

For instance, India peacefullyresolved its border disputes withBangladesh. China settled border dis-putes peacefully with Russia andTajikistan, among other countries.While both India and China recognise

the clarification of the LAC as a cru-cial step in dispute resolution, yet, since2002, China has been unwilling to con-tinue with exchange of maps withIndia. New Delhi says that this has beendeliberately discontinued by China tooccupy more land under the garb ofambiguity.

A major concern in India is tryingto understand why China has been sostrident in occupying disputed territo-ry. India’s position that the Galwanincident was a premeditated action bythe Chinese troops is the reasonbehind the comprehensive economicconsequences on bilateral relations, forexample, ban on some mobile applica-tions, restrictions on infrastructureinvestments and so on.

This demonstrates an opposingofficial position and this has been at thecore of non-resolution of disputes. Asa reaction, India has increased its mil-itary capabilities to thwart Chineseincursions into its territory and mustcontinue with its preparedness, espe-cially with the change in guard of theWestern Theatre Command (WTC)and appointment of General ZhangXudong.

For India, it is important that theleadership does not give in to the pres-sures of vertical or horizontal escala-tion and continues with negotiationsat the highest level. It must institution-alise the conflict resolution mechanismin order to settle the dispute once andfor all, so that Galwan-like incidents donot recur. If China continues with itsexpansionist autocratic tendencies vis-à-vis India, New Delhi must go to theInternational Court of Justice for arbi-tration of land under dispute.

(The writer is CEO and EditorialDirector, IMPRI. The views expressed arepersonal.)

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The deadlock between theprotesting farmers and theGovernment shows no sign of

ending even after six rounds of delib-erations and concerted efforts to reachan amicable solution. Consequently,the protracted protest against thefarm laws will drag on. The sit-in ofgrowers from Punjab and Haryana atthe Singhu Border was not by choicesince they were stopped from enter-ing Delhi. But it would not be accu-rate to call it a sit-in dharna anymore.It is more of a live-in one. The tractortrolleys the farmers came in havebecome their home, with canopies ofpolythene sheets and blankets protect-

ing them from the biting cold. FromSinghu Border to Panipat, NationalHighway NH44 wears the look of amakeshift township. Communitykitchens are busy dishing out food andbeverages while medical camps are dis-tributing medicines and giving first-aid. And yes, pizza distribution is goingon at Singhu Border, much to theamusement of the social and nation-al media. Milling about in the largelyrural crowd of growers and Nihangsare people in western outfits as sup-port pours in from people who do nothave any connection with agriculture.A group of young girls from Ludhianais lending support by performing“sewa.”

The sit-in so far is peaceful eventhough more than 30 of them are saidto have died during the protest so far.The farmers want nothing less than therepeal of the three farm laws and legalstatus for the Minimum Support Price(MSP). The Government insists thatit has no intention of withdrawingMSP and the new laws would helpachieve the target of doubling theincome of farmers by 2022, the target

set by the Prime Minister.The “godi media” is abuzz with

stories that the people protesting at theSinghu Border are anything but farm-ers. They maintain that the growers ofthe country are happy with theGovernment. How else would youexplain the recent victories of the BJPin Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh andGoa? Meanwhile, the two sides seemto be digging in their heels. The farm-ers are in for a long haul as theGovernment wants this agitation to fiz-zle out like others before it. To be hon-est, both sides are not helping theircause. The farmers asking for totalrepeal and not negotiating would notget what they want. The Governmentsays the three laws will end the free runof middlemen and give growers thechoice to sell their produce anywhere.In this situation, the Government musttake the initiative to ease the situation,as discrediting the protesters doesn’thelp in mitigating it.

One thing is for sure, all is not wellwith Indian agriculture. It provides alivelihood to 70 per cent of the coun-try’s 1.3 billion people, with 82 per cent

of farmers being small and marginal.Most farmers in such a scenario are asgood as meagre wage earners. Partiesmay be winning elections but it doesnot mean that farmers are happy. Atleast 10,281 people involved in thefarm sector ended their lives in 2019,accounting for 7.4 per cent of the totalnumber of suicides in India, says theNational Crime Records Bureau’sAccidental Deaths and Suicides inIndia report for 2019. People commitsuicide out of utter helplessness anddespair looms large over Indian agri-culture, big time.

If one looks at the price structure,it becomes very clear where the prob-lem lies. Everything which comes fromthe farm sells at a good price to the endconsumer. But the farmer gets just 10to 40 per cent of the price that the con-sumer pays. The reason being thatfarm produce changes hands four tofive times before it is purchased by theend consumer for use.

“It is pathetic that the producergets a pittance while the middlemenmake money,” says Sahajdeep Singh,a young farmer from Rajasthan.

“Things might not work out for thefarmer even if middlemen are elimi-nated. It would then be monopolisedby corporates. The farmer wouldhave no negotiating status vis-à-vis thecorporates,” he adds.

He fears that corporates mightmonopolise the distribution chainand reap more profits than all the mid-dlemen put together as they wouldhave better resources to hold andrelease the stock when the price suitsthem. Prices for farmers are almost sta-tic but inflation is rising and so is thecost of agriculture inputs. The marginsare thin and if you are a small or mar-ginal farmer you don’t have a choicebut to take a loan. According to theNational Bank of Agriculture andRural Development data, about 52 percent of the agricultural households inthe country were estimated to beindebted. At the all-India level, about60 per cent of the outstanding loanswere taken from institutional sourceswhich included Government (2.1 percent), co-operative society (14.8 percent) and banks (42.9 per cent).

True, the MSP may not be a

panacea but it certainly helps themnegotiate a better price. Punjab farm-ers can afford smartphones as theirlandholding size is more and yield peracre is above average.

According to an estimate, theaverage Indian agricultural householdincome is �77,124 in a year. Punjabfarmers earn �2,16,708 per annum andthat of Bihar �42,684 or roughly�3,500 per month. So forget doubling,even quadrupling their income wouldnot be enough. The farmers would stillbe dangling below the poverty line.

Indian agriculture sector needsfunds. It needs investments in coldstorage, an efficient transportation sys-tem, irrigation facilities, research andfacilities for scientific practices. Despitebig talk about the farmers’ income, theactual investment in the sector is goingdown. So the powers that be provideshort-term succour that people canremember when they go to vote. TheUPA did it and the NDA is doing itnow.

The biggest problem with Indianagriculture is that by the time it is har-vest season, farmers are neck-deep in

debt as they take loans from banks ora local moneylenders-cum-middle-men to purchase, seeds, fertilisers, pes-ticides and diesel. So when the harvestcomes, they have no option but to sellthe whole crop immediately. They can-not wait for prices to swing in theirfavour.

Sadly, real issues are swept underthe carpet and farmers become a pawnin the games political parties play. Sofar the protest is free from any politi-cal influence, consciously or otherwise.It is also non-violent even thoughfarmers are dying of cold. In a protestof this size, things could changeinstantly. It would, therefore, be ineveryone’s interest to resolve theimpasse soon. Both must talk with anopen mind, keeping the arrogance ofpower aside. History tells us thatfarmers’ protests have always beenturning points in a nation’s life. Thisisn’t the first protest and it won’t be thelast either. But this would define theway farmers resolve their issues.

(The writer is a columnist and doc-umentary film-maker. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

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Peshawar: Pakistani policehave arrested over 30 people,most of them belonging to aradical Islamist party, after aHindu temple was vandalisedand set on fire by a mobprotesting its renovation innorthwest Pakistan.

A central leader of radicalJamiat Ulema-e-Islam party,Rehmat Salam Khattak, isamong those arrested in policeraids following the attack onTerri temple and Samadhi ofShri Paramhans Ji Maharaj inKarak area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) onWednesday, police said.

The mob, led by somelocal clerics and the supportersof Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party(Fazal ur Rehman group),protesting the expansion workof the shrine, demolished thenewly constructed work along-side the old structure.

Over 350 people have beennamed in the FIR, ProvincialPolice Chief KPK Sanaullah

Abbasi has said.The Samadhi of Shri

Paramhans Ji Maharaj is con-sidered very sacred by theminority Hindu communityin Pakistan. It is dedicated toShri Paramhans Ji Maharajand was built where he died in1919 in Teri village of Karak.

The controversy over theSamadhi of Shri Paramhans JiMaharaj erupted many decadesago. According to the detailssubmitted to the SupremeCourt in 2014 in a case aboutit, the Hindus had been visit-ing the shrine till 1997 when itwas dismantled by the locals.

The Supreme Court in2014 ordered the KhyberPakhtunkhwa government torestore and reconstruct theHindu shrine.

The order was issued overa petition of a Hindu lawmak-er who had claimed that theshrine had been occupied by aninfluential cleric of the area.

According to police offi-cials, a meeting of clerics washeld at Shanki Adda in Teri,Karak before the attack.

The enraged people wereraising slogans, vowing theywould not permit any con-struction work at the shrine.

The protesters were peace-ful in the initial stage but on theprovocation of some clerics,they turned violent andattacked the shrine, police said.

Meanwhile, the country’sSupreme Court on Thursdaytook notice of the attack on thetemple and ordered the localauthorities to appear before thecourt on January 5. PTI

Hong Kong: Hong Kongmedia tycoon Jimmy Lai hashad his bail revoked after pros-ecutors succeeded in asking thecitys highest court to send himback to detention.

Lai had been granted bailon Dec 23 after three weeks incustody on charges of fraudand endangering national secu-rity. His appeal hearing is slat-ed for Feb 1.

The court said onThursday that it was “reason-ably arguable” that the previousjudge’s decision was erroneousand that the order of grantingbail was invalid.

Lai was charged with fraudon Dec 3 for allegedly violatingthe lease terms for office spacefor the Next Digital, the mediacompany he founded. He waslater charged again on Dec. 12under the sweeping nationalsecurity law imposed by Beijingon suspicion of colluding withforeign forces and endangeringnational security. AP

Minneapolis: Police inMinneapolis shot and killed aman during a traffic stop on thecity’s south side on Wednesdaynight, stirring anxiety aboutrenewed protests following thefirst police-involved death inthe city since George Floyd’sdeath while being arrested inMay.

Police said the man died inan exchange of gunfire, andChief Medaria Arradondo saidwitnesses said the man firedfirst. He said the officers’ bodycameras were turned on andpromised to release the videoon Thursday.

“I want our communitiesto see that so they can see forthemselves,” he said. Until then,Arradondo said, “Please allowme, the (state) investigators,allow us the time, let us get theevidence, get the facts, so wecan process this.”

Police spokesman JohnElder said the incident hap-pened about 6:15 pm. AP

Kabul: More than 3,00,000children in war-ravagedAfghanistan face freezing win-ter conditions that can lead toillness and death without prop-er winter clothing and heating,a humanitarian organisationsaid on Thursday.

The ongoing military con-flict in Afghanistan hasdestroyed many homes andforced thousands of children toshelter in camps for the home-less. There they are at risk ofnot only hunger and disease,including COVID-19, but alsodeath from freezing tempera-tures.

Chris Nyamandi,Afghanistan country directorfor Save the Children, said ina statement Thursday that earlysnow in northern Afghanistanhas impacted children partic-ularly badly.

“The most vulnerable chil-dren are those whose schoolshave shut because of the wors-ening winter conditions,” he

said. “Their families dont have

the money to buy winter cloth-ing. Instead children are forcedto huddle at home to escape thebitter cold.”

Schools are closed untilMarch in the coldest parts ofAfghanistan, where the tem-perature can plummet to as lowas minus 27 degrees Celsius(minus 16 degrees Fahrenheit).

Save the Children has pro-vided winter kits to more than100,000 families in 12 ofAfghanistans 34 provinces. Thekits include fuel and a heater,blankets and winter clothesfor children including coats,socks, shoes, hats.

“The situation is bleak forchildren forced to live in campsin places like Balkh province.It is already very cold in thisnorthern province withovernight temperatures as lowas minus ten. But it will getmuch colder before March,”Nyamandi said. AP

Washington: US PresidentDonald Trump has indefinite-ly extended the visa sanctionson countries refusing to repa-triate their citizens who vio-lated laws in the United States.

The visa sanctions on suchcountries were set to expire onDecember 31.

Trump issued a memo-randum on April 10 whichempowered the Secretary ofState and the homeland secu-rity secretary to deny visas tocountries refusing to accept

their citizens who violatedAmerican laws.

“In light of the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic and thecontinuing public health risk itposes to Americans,” Trumpsaid in a memorandum issuedon Wednesday that his April 10“memorandum shall continuein force until terminated by thepresident”.

According to the April 10memorandum, the secretary ofstate is authorised to “initiate aplan to impose the visa sanc-

tions” if the Homeland SecurityDepartment determines acountry not acceptingreturnees is delaying or imped-ing operations “necessary torespond to the ongoing pan-demic”.

The April 10 memoran-dum noted that countries“denying or unreasonablydelaying” the repatriation oftheir citizens would be deemedto be causing “unacceptablepublic health risks forAmericans”. PTI

Beijing: China accused the USof staging a show of force bysailing two Navy warshipsthrough the Taiwan Strait onThursday morning.

The Navy said the ArleighBurke-class guided missiledestroyers USS John S. McCainand USS Curtis Wilbur “con-ducted a routine Taiwan Straittransit” in accordance withinternational law.

Their movement “demon-strates the US commitment toa free and open Indo-Pacific,”the Navy said in a statement onits website.

China’s Defence Ministrycalled the move a “show offorce” and a provocation that“sent the wrong signal to theTaiwan independence forcesand seriously endangered peaceand stability in the TaiwanStrait area.”

“We firmly oppose this,” theministry said in a statement on

its official microblog, addingthat it monitored the ships’passage from the air and sea.

“The Chinese People’sLiberation Army at all timesmaintains a high level of alertand can respond at any time toany threat or provocation andresolutely defend national sov-ereignty and territorial integri-ty.” While China claims Taiwanas its own territory, the busyTaiwan Strait is generally con-sidered an international water-way.

China fiercely opposes anysignal of US military support forTaiwan, a self-governing repub-lic that relies on Washington fordefensive weapons and politicalbacking in the face of Chinesethreats to annex the island byforce. Taiwan’s Defence Ministryissued a statement saying it hadobserved the passage of theships passage and that “the sit-uation is normal.” AP

Washington: Sixty-one percent of the new White Houseappointees are women and 54per cent are people of colour,President-elect Joe Biden’s tran-sition team has said, assertingthat the Biden-Harris admin-istration will prioritise diversi-ty of ideology and background,and foster talent to address thecountry’s most complex chal-lenges.

On Wednesday, President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris surpassedtheir goal of naming 100 mem-bers of their incoming admin-istration.

These accomplished indi-viduals join a historic and bar-rier-breaking administration

that looks like America, and is ready to deliver results for working families on dayone, Biden’s transition teamsaid.

The Biden-Harris admin-istration will prioritise diversi-ty of ideology and background,and foster talent to address thenation’s most complex chal-lenges, it said.

The White House staff rep-resents a small percentage ofthe total number of Biden-Harris appointees that willserve across the federal gov-ernment, said the transitionteam.

“The first 100+ WhiteHouse appointees, includingthose announced today, repre-sent America in the followingways: 61 per cent are women,54 per cent are people of colour,AAPI appointees representmore than twice their share ofthe national population,

LGBTQ+ appointees accountfor 11 per cent of all WhiteHouse staff,” it said.

According to the statisticsreleased by the Biden transi-tion, almost 20 per cent ofappointees are first-genera-tion Americans and about 40per cent of White Housesenior staff have children athome.

“From the beginning, VicePresident-elect Harris and Ihave sought to build an admin-istration that looks likeAmerica. Building a diverseteam will lead to better out-comes and more effective solu-tions to address the urgentcrises facing our nation.

The appointees namedtoday will draw from theirexpertise and life experiences tohelp us build the country backbetter. Moving forward togeth-er, there’s nothing we can’taccomplish,” Biden said. PTI

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Beijing: A Uighur Muslimdoctor has been jailed on ter-rorism charges, Beijing con-firmed on Thursday, a dayafter her family told US politi-cians she had been sentencedto 20 years.

Gulshan Abbas vanishedinto detention two years ago,but her relatives told a US con-gressional committeeWednesday that the 58-year-old had been sentenced to 20years in prison because ofactivism on behalf of Uighurs.

Rights groups say an esti-mated one million Uighursand other Turkic minoritieslanguish in detention camps inChina’s northwestern Xinjiangregion in prison-like condi-tions. China insists they are“vocational training centres”,but activists say inmates facetorture and forced labour.

“Gulshan Abbas has beensentenced according to the lawby Chinese judicial organs fortaking part in organised ter-rorism, aiding terrorist activi-ties and seriously disruptingsocial order,” foreign ministryspokesman Wang Wenbin toldreporters.

He did not give furtherdetails of her alleged crimes.

“We urge US politicians torespect facts, stop fabricatinglies to smear China, and stopusing the Xinjiang issue tointerfere in China’s domesticaffairs,” he added.

Various Western countriesand organisations includingthe US, EU and UN have crit-icised China’s policies inXinjiang, most recently high-lighting alleged forced labourpractices involving UighurMuslims. AFP

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Lahore: Pakistan’s former for-eign minister and oppositionPakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PM-N) stalwartKhawaja Muhammad Asif wason Thursday remanded in thecustody of the anti-graft bodyfor 14 days in the assets beyondmeans case.

Asif, 71, was arrested by theNational Accountability Bureau(NAB) on Tuesday in Islamabadin connection with the chargesof possessing assets beyond hisknown sources of income.

The Accountability CourtLahore on Thursday acceptedthe plea of NAB and granted it

14-day remand of Asif, the closeaide of deposed prime ministerNawaz Sharif who condemnedthe arrest. “The arrest ofKhawaja Asif is a result of thenexus between the selectors(army and ISI chiefs Gen QamarJaved Bajwa and Gen FaizHameed) and the selected(Imran Khan). Such belittle actsreflect the Government’s state ofpanic, but it is moving even clos-er to its end through suchactions,” Nawaz said in a tweetfrom London where he hasbeen living in self-exile after theKhan Govt declared himabsconder. PTI

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Sanaa (Yemen): Yemen’s primeminister renewed accusations onThursday that the country’sShiite rebels and Iran wereresponsible for the deadly explo-sion at the airport in the south-ern Yemeni city of Aden the pre-vious day that killed at least 25people and wounded 110.

The explosion took place asCabinet members were disem-barking from a plane that hadlanded in Aden just minutes ear-lier on Wednesday. AP footagefrom the scene showed manyministers rushing back insidethe plane or running down thestairs, seeking shelter. None ofthe Cabinet members were hurt.

Hours after the blast, thecountry’s internationally recog-nised government said the Iran-backed Houthi rebels had firedfour ballistic missiles at the air-port. Rebel officials have so farnot responded to requests fromcomment and there has been noclaim of responsibility for an air-port attack. AP

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Jaipur:The State Governmenthas created 603 new posts inclerical grade II recruitmentgiving gifts to the unemployedin the new year. The result hasalso been released today by theRajasthan Staff Selection Boardafter selecting these candi-dates. These include 345 postsof general category, 223 ofother backward classes and 35posts of scheduled tribes. Nowincluding these posts, for therecruitment of clerical grade II,12 thousand 601 candidateshave been sent by the StaffSelection Board for the recruit-ment of 12 thousand 601 can-didates and 726 candidates forthe total 13 thousand 327 postsin the scheduled area.

It is worth mentioning thatafter the administrative reformsdepartment sent the meaningfor recruitment to the posts ofclerical grade II, the RajasthanStaff Selection Board had senta recommendation for 10 thou-sand 763 posts in non-sched-uled areas and 1278 posts inscheduled areas in February2020.

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The RBI on Thursdayannounced it will conduct

simultaneous purchase andsale of government securitiesunder Open MarketOperations (OMO) for Rs10,000 crore each on January 7,2021

The decision was takenafter a review of current liq-uidity and financial condi-tions, the Reserve Bank said ina statement.

Simultaneous purchase andsale of G-sec under OMOs,

popularly known as OperationTwist, involves purchasing thesecurities of longer maturitiesand selling an equal value ofsecurities of shorter maturities.

On January 7, the RBI willpurchase three governmentsecurities (G-Sec) of differentmaturity dates aggregating toRs 10,000 crore and sell twosecurities aggregating to thesame amount using the multi-ple price auction method.

The RBI further said itreserves the right to decide onthe quantum of purchase/saleof the securities.

New Delhi:GST investigation officers have arrest-ed three persons for fraudulently claiming Rs12.90 crore input tax credit by issuing fake invoic-es, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday. “TheDirectorate General of GST Intelligence,Gurugram has arrested three persons -- AlokBhargava and his sons Akul and Atin Bhargava,owners of M/s Delhi Foils, M/s Abinox Industriesand M/s Matalax Industries, Wazirpur, NewDelhi,” it said in a statement. These firms hadcumulatively taken input tax credit of Rs 12.90crore fraudulently, involving invoice value approx-imating �72 cr on the strength of invoices issuedby non-existent firms without the actual receiptof material with an ulterior motive to defraud thegovernment exchequer, the ministry said. PTI

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Equity benchmarks Sensexand Nifty closed almost

flat on the last trading day of2020 on Thursday, capping offa tumultuous year with hand-some gains of around 15 percent.

In choppy trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex inched up by5.11 points 0.01 per cent to itsnew closing record of47,751.33.

After opening on a firmfooting, the index hit its all-time high of 47,896.97 duringthe day.

The broader NSE Niftycrossed the 14,000 level for the

first time, touching a recordintra-day peak of 14,024.85.The 50-issue index pared gainsto close at 13,981.75, down byjust 0.20 points.

The indices, however, fin-ished the year 2020 with over-all gains of around 15 per cent.The Sensex gained 15.7 percent while the Nifty jumped14.9 per cent in the year.

HDFC was the leadinggainer among Sensex stocks onThursday, rising by 1.65 percent, followed by Sun Pharma,ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, Titanand Infosys.

TCS was the biggest loser,shedding 1.33 per cent.Ultratech Cement, BhartiAirtel, Kotak Bank and TechMahindra were among theother major laggards.

“Markets reached an all-time high on the final day of a

tumultuous 2020 which wasfilled with deep market cor-rections and unexpectedrebounds. However, theEuropean markets lost steamon the final trading day owingto the pandemic and reportsregarding an increased tariff onEU products by the UnitedStates.

“Despite the havoc creat-ed by the COVID-19 pandem-ic, the economy is expected torecover in 2021 giving a boostto the equity markets in addi-tion to upgrades in corporateearnings,” said Vinod Nair,Head of Research at GeojitFinancial Services.

Sector-wise, BSE realty,consumer durables, metal andhealthcare gained up to 1.18per cent, while telecom, FMCGand energy closed in the red.

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The Union Government’sfiscal deficit soared to �

10.75 lakh crore, or 135.1 percent of the 2020-21 BudgetEstimates (BE), at the end ofNovember 2020, mainly onaccount of low realisation ofrevenue due to disruption inbusiness activities amid thecoronavirus pandemic.

The fiscal deficit at theend of November 2019 hadstood at 114.8 per cent of2019-20 BE.

In absolute terms, the fis-cal deficit stood at �10,75,507crore at the end of November2020, according to the latestdata released by the ControllerGeneral of Accounts (CGA).

The lockdown imposed to

curb the spread of coronavirushad significantly impactedbusiness activities and, in turn,contributed to sluggish revenuerealisation.

The fiscal defict, or gapbetween the expenditure andrevenue, had breached theannual target in July this year.

The government’s totalreceipts stood at �8,30,851crore (37 per cent of BE 2020-21) till the end of November2020. This included �6,88,430crore tax revenue (net to cen-tre), �1,24,280 crore of non-taxrevenue and �18,141 crore ofnon-debt capital receipts. Non-debt capital receipts consist ofrecovery of loans and disin-vestment proceeds.

The tax revenue collectionwas 42.1 per cent of BE of

2020-21, compared with 45.5per cent of BE (2019-20) dur-ing the corresponding period ayear ago.

Non-tax revenue was 32.3per cent of BE. During the cor-responding period of the lastfiscal, it was 74.3 per cent of BE2019-20.

During the correspondingperiod last fiscal, the totalreceipts were 48.6 per cent of2019-20 BE.According to thedata, over Rs 3.34 lakh crorewere transferred to state gov-ernments as devolution ofshare of taxes by theGovernment of India up toNovember 2020. The CGAdata said the total expenditureincurred by the governmentstood at �19,06,358 crore or 63per cent of BE.

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Foreign direct investment(FDI) equity inflows into

India grew 21 per cent to USD35.33 billion during April-October period of the currentfinancial year, according to anofficial data. In the year-agoperiod, FDI equity inflowsstood at USD 29.31 billion, asper the data of the Departmentfor Promotion of Industry andInternal Trade (DPIIT).

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Bank credit grew 6.05 percent to �105.49 lakh crore,

while deposits rose 11.33 percent to �144.82 lakh crore dur-ing December 5-18, RBI datashowed.

In the fortnight endedDecember 20, 2019, bank cred-it stood at �99.47 lakh croreand deposits at �130.09 lakhcrore.

In the fortnight endedDecember 4 this year, bankcredit grew 5.73 per cent to �105.04 lakh crore and depositsby 11.34 per cent to �145.92lakh crore. In October, non-

food credit grew 5.6 per centcompared to a growth of 8.3per cent in the same month ofthe previous year.Growth inloans to agriculture and alliedactivities accelerated to 7.4 percent in the month from 7.1 percent last year.

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In a significant development related to warbetween e-commerce giants and traders of

India, the Union Government has directed theEnforcement Directorate and Reserve Bank ofIndia to take necessary action against Amazonand Walmart-owned-Flipkart.

The Centre has taken strong cognizance ofvarious complaints made by the Confederationof All India Traders (CAIT) for blatant violationof FDI Policy and Foreign Exchange ManagementAct, 1999 (FEMA) by these companies.

CAIT National President B.C. Bhartia andSecretary General Praveen Khandelwal informedthat on several complaints made by the CAIT toUnion Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in therecent past against Amazon & Walmart-owned-Flipkart, the Department of Promotion ofIndustries and Internal Trade (DPIIT) of theMinistry of Commerce in its letter issued onDecember has asked both EnforcementDirectorate and Reserve Bank of India to takenecessary action against Amazon and Flipkart.

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Retirement fund body EPFOhas retained 8.5 per cent

interest rate on employees’provident fund (EPF) for 2019-20 for its over six crore mem-bers as decided earlier, and alsobegan crediting the same intotheir accounts on Thursday.

A large number of themembers of the Employees’Provident Fund Organisation(EPFO) would be able to seetheir updated EPF accountswith credit of 8.5 per centinterest for 2019-20, fromFriday, a senior official toldPTI.

The official further saidthe labour ministry has alreadysent the direction to credit the8.5 per cent interest on EPF for2019-20 to the EPFO, and thebody has already started cred-

iting interest into the members’account for the last financialyear.

Labour Minister SantoshGangwar said, “We had saidthat it would be our endeavourto provide 8.5 per cent interestrate on EPF for 2019-20. Wehave issued a notification toprovide 8.5 per cent rate ofinterest on EPF for 2019-20.We have also began the processto credit the said rate of inter-est into subscribers’ account.”

The minister added that hehas asked to ensure that allthose members who are retir-ing on December 31 also get8.5 per cent rate of interest for2019-20. The process for cap-ital gains for a payment of 0.35per cent interest for 2019-20has also been completed, headded.The EPFO in September2020 decided to retain 8.5 per

cent interest rate. But, it hadspilt the rate of return into twocomponents of 8.15 per cent(from debt income) and 0.35per cent (from capital gains)from the sale of ETFs(exchange-traded funds), sub-ject to their redemption byDecember 31, 2020.

The EPFO had earlierplanned to liquidate some of itsinvestment in ETFs to provide8.5 per cent interest for the lastfinancial year. However, itcould not do so because of thechoppy market conditionsamid the lockdown, induced bythe COVID-19 pandemic. Theofficial said the market condi-tions are more than favourablethese days. Earlier in the day,Gangwar approved the 8.5 percent interest rate for last finan-cial year after receiving thefinance ministry’s concurrence.

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The Government onThursday kept the interest

rates on small savings schemes,including PPF and NSC,unchanged for the January-March quarter amid moderat-ing bank deposit rates.

Public Provident Fund(PPF) and National SavingsCertificate (NSC) will contin-ue to carry an annual interestrate of 7.1 per cent and 6.8 percent, respectively. Interest ratesfor small savings schemes arenotified by the finance ministryon a quarterly basis. “The ratesof interest on various small sav-ings schemes for the fourthquarter of 2020-21 ending onMarch 31 shall remainunchanged from those notifiedfor the third quarter (October

1-December 31, 2020),” theministry said in a notification.

Accordingly, the interestrate for the five-year SeniorCitizens Savings Scheme hasbeen retained at 7.4 per cent.The interest on the senior cit-izens’ scheme is paid quarter-ly. Interest rate on savingsdeposits has been retained at 4per cent annually. The girlchild savings scheme SukanyaSamriddhi Yojana will offer 7.6per cent rate during the fourthquarter of the current fiscal.The annual interest rate onKisan Vikas Patra (KVP) hasbeen retained at 6.9 per cent.Term deposits of one-five yearswill fetch interest rate in therange of 5.5-6.7 per cent, to bepaid quarterly, while the inter-est rate on five-year recurringdeposit is pegged at 5.8%.

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Contracting for the ninthconsecutive month, the

output of eight core infra-structure sectors dropped by2.6 per cent in November,mainly due to decline in pro-duction of natural gas, refineryproducts, steel and cement.

The production of eightcore sectors had recorded agrowth of 0.7 per cent inNovember 2019, data releasedby the commerce and industryministry showed on Thursday.

Barring coal, fertiliser andelectricity, all sectors -- crudeoil, natural gas, refinery prod-ucts, steel and cement --recorded negative growth inNovember 2020.

During April-November,

the sectors’ output dropped by11.4 per cent as compared to agrowth of 0.3 per cent in thesame period of the previousyear.

The output of crude oil,natural gas, refinery products,steel and cement declined by (-)4.9 per cent, (-)9.3 per cent, (-)4.8 per cent, (-)4.4 per cent,and (-)7.1 per cent, respectively,in November this year.

On the other hand, coaland electricity sector outputgrew by 2.9 per cent and 2.2 percent during the month underreview. Fertiliser sector growthstood at 1.6 per cent as against13.6 per cent in the samemonth last year.

The eight core industriesaccount for 40.27 per cent ofthe IIP.

In October, the output ofthese eight key sectors had con-tracted by 0.9 per cent, whilethere was a 0.1 per cent dip inSeptember this year.

Aditi Nayar, PrincipalEconomist, ICRA, said that inline with the core sector per-formance, the pace of growthof many other indicatorsslipped in November, reflectinga combination of the baseeffect, fewer working days onaccount of a shift in the festivecalendar, and a potential step-down in production followingthe satiation of pent-updemand. “Based on the avail-able information, we expect theIIP to revert to a temporary butunpalatable 2-5 per cent con-traction in November 2020,”she said.

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New Delhi:Markets regulatorSebi on Thursday extendedtimelines for compliance withcertain regulatory requirementsby trading members and clear-ing members in view of theprevailing situation due to thecoronavirus pandemic. Thedeadline for maintaining callrecordings of orders or instruc-tions received from clients hasnow been extended tillFebruary 28, 2021.As per thenorms, KYC (Know YourCustomer) application formand supporting documents ofclients need to be uploaded ona system of KRA (KYCRegistration Agency) within 10days. In this regard, Sebi saidthe period of exclusion will be

from January 1, 2021 toFebruary 28, 2021. A 15-dayperiod after February 28 will begiven to clear the backlog.

Stock exchanges and clear-ing corporation have beenasked to direct their membersto clear the backlog, if any, byJanuary 31, 2021, with regardto KYC application form andsupporting documents of theclients to be uploaded on sys-tem of KRA by the members.The decision to extend time-lines for compliance with reg-ulatory requirements has beentaken in view of the prevailingsituation due to the COVID-19pandemic and representationreceived from stock exchanges,Sebi said in a circular. PTI

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ed 24 paise to end at a near-ly four-month high of 73.07against the US dollar on thelast day of the year onThursday, supported by aweak American currency andrise in risk appetite.Traderssaid market sentimentsimproved on hopes of globaleconomic recovery followingthe rollout of COVID-19 vac-cines and extraordinary fiscaland monetary stimulus.

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Never before in the recenthistory of mankind wasthe advent of a new yearas anticipated and wel-

come as 2021. The faith-laden yearwill, no doubt, continue to influenceall aspects of our lives for manyyears to come, and the food seg-ment is no exception to this. Rightfrom unique experiential dining athome to mindful and healthy eat-ing to sustainable cooking andreduced human interaction, foodtrends of 2021 will take a leap aheadof what 2020 has shown us. Here’sa list:

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Year 2021 is all prepped up towitness the new food trends. SaysAvantika Sinha Bahl, owner atKampai, “If the lockdown hastaught people anything, it’s thevalue of spending time at home withloved ones. While people wereforced to be at home, a lot of themtook to the kitchen and used thetime to sharpen their cooking skills.Restaurants, hotels and cloudkitchens were forced to re-strategiseand come up with unique and cre-ative ways of providing experientialdining at home for people who werefinding it hard to step out.Customers now appreciate interest-ing experiences at home. Brandswill need to continue innovating inthis area.”

Sagar Bajaj, Culinary head,First Fiddle Restaurants andfounder, Salsa Kitchen says, “Ourfocus will return on comfort andsimplicity — home style cookingthat reflects a heritage experiencewill give us a sense of normalcy,which we all had been looking for-ward too.”

;��;��%�This year will focus on fresh,

clean lean dishes. Farm to table con-cepts and locally procured ingredi-ents are going to be the trend.Zorawar Kalra, founder and direc-tor, Massive Restaurants says,“Glocal (globally local) is the newwave. The times to come will wit-ness use of many internationalingredients in Indian dishes andmany Indian spices/ingredients ininternational favourites, not justwithin the culinary boundary ofIndia, but overseas as well. Thistrend is a result of diners becomingmore adventurous; while there is asegment that still prefers the tradi-tional cuisine, the newer generationis ready to experiment in order tofind newer and finer flavours.Regional good will yet again reignsupreme.”

Sagar says, “The use of local andseasonal will be predominant thisseason. One can expect lot of fusionfoods from across countries with ablend of local ingredients and taste.Local produce is far healthier,cheaper and safer considering thecurrent times.”

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As people around the world aregetting more conscious of their dietand health, this trend will contin-ue to grow in 2021. Avantika says,“Cleaner and immunity boostingingredients will play an importantrole. Mindful eating will beembraced. The another trends ofsustainable cooking is here to stay— waist free cooking, sustainableuse of ingredients, proper dispos-als and so on will continue to growin importance. There is a growth inplant based foods and veganism aswell.” Adding to it, Chef AnasQureshi, Head chef, Molecule says,

“More proactive approach to nour-ishing mind and soul will be the rul-ing trend. The desire to influencehealth and wellness through foodsand beverages is creating newopportunities for nutrient-denseproducts with functional healthbenefits aimed at supportingimmune systems, enhancing moodand sustaining energy.”

COVID has affected our per-ceptions of health. Hence, Sagarbelieves that immunity boostingrecipes enriched with super foodsand nutritionally dense productsand ingredients will be a rage.

Chef Harangad Singh, founder,Parat, Cloud Kitchen says, “‘Hemp’will create a mark in global culinarymarkets as plant based alternatives.Gourmet will be re-discovered forhome dinings. Blast chillers will bein trend, more than ever. People willbe more nutrition conscious. Veganfood will see a different boom, asmore people are moving towardshealthy eating. Chefs will be verycreative with additions of vegandishes in the menu.”

Nisha Agarwal, Co-founder,Oishii Wok says that even beforeCOVID-19, customers were show-ing interest in innovative, healthycuisine. “Last year, menu trendsembraced plant-based dishes, bioac-tive ingredients like mushrooms,and probiotic rich fermented foods.With the pandemic still present inour communities, we can expect tosee a rise in menus that focus on“food as wellness,” adds she.

One can not forget the newnorm of reduced human interactionwhich will be the continued trendof 2021. “There will be lesser humaninteraction due to safety. Buffets,sharing platters, etc may take a backseat. Pouring your own wine, serv-ing your own food, maintaining dis-tance between tables and so on maycontinue,” adds Avantika.

People are eating healthier forthat matter even the choice of bev-erage is shifting towards the health-ier choices. Says Zorawar,“Immunity boosting ingredientslike turmeric are the go to ingredi-ent this year and kitchens and barsare making some very innovativedishes with the same.”

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Restaurant industry has under-gone a lot of changes and transfor-mations in the last few months andone such major change is the way welook at delivery of food. ChefHarangad says, “In 2021, food deliv-ery services will be in demand. Bothfresh and frozen will be relished athome.”

Amit Bagga, Co-founder andCEO of Daryaganj Restaurant says,“Breaking the monotony of usualpackaging, the unique packagingtrends will emerge as the pivotalplayers in 2021.”

<��<��;��An integral part of every culture,

diversity & region, food has its ownunique language. Deeply rooted inthe traditions, lifestyles, religions,climates and agricultural condi-

tions of a place, they tend to evolveand shift a few inches with everygeneration. Vikrant Batra, Owner,Cafe Delhi Heights says, “We are acountry of strong regional prefer-ences, despite a widening palatewhen it comes to food. Indians havehistorically valued pure, freshlycooked and homemade meals, thusborrowing the eating out trendsfrom the west. Therefore, dishes thatare cooked from scratch with an ori-gin of its own is trending today. Backto basics Indian Food will be the keytrend.”

Classic and original recipesfrom the past are likely to bring backnostalgia. Our generation hasunique fondness for original secretrecipes, which take them back intime and make them experience thetaste of another era. Hence, Amitsays that this will be a major trend.“We at Daryaganj have done thesame by recreating the secret orig-inal recipes of 1947 of late KundanLal Jaggi, the inventor of Butterchicken and Dal Makhani,” adds he.

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Nisha says, “It’s going to be intrend because it’s a wholesomemeal, easy to cook and provides allnutritional values. Immune boost-ing ingredients high in Vitamin C,E, and Zinc etc must be included inyour diet.”

<��This year will be an opportuni-

ty to implement and complete whatwas missed during 2020. Chef AmitKumar, L’opera says, “Thus, thenew year will see the continuationof trends observed over the lastdecade which are shaping our eat-ing habits, namely search for qual-ity and healthy products combinedwith a continuing globalisation ofeating habits. This trend will meanmore natural and less sweet prod-ucts, a return to more traditionalrecipes which by definition used lessprocessed ingredients, more aesthet-ics and a newcomer, home baking.Consumers will continue to becomemore health conscious and look formore natural products containingless refined sugar and more ofproducts such as honey, fruit sirups,etc.

As for breads, the healthieralternatives containing cereals andwhole wheat will continue theirascent. Consumers will look formore traditional recipes such as thelemon tart, Paris-Brest, Mille Feuille,Chocolate and Coffee Éclair. Theseproducts may possibly becomelighter whilst maintain their taste.Aesthetics will continue to be ofmajor importance with new geomet-ric and simple forms experimented,keeping in mind that the productsare only one click away from theInstagram pages of the patrons. Andobviously, customers who spentmonths in some form of confine-ment at home and discovered homebaking will continue to pursue theirnewly discovered passion for bak-ing and will perfect their new skillsin 2021.”

Vikrant adds that as people arebecoming more conscious, healthybakes will be the most preferredchoice of 2021.

��0��Chef Amit Singh, Ophelia, says,

“To meet consumer demand, it willbe more important than ever forbrands to up their transparencyfrom clean label ingredient to eth-ical and responsible ingredientsourcing.”

Hence, the year will turn out ablend of need and taste both.

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New Year’s Eve hasalways been thebiggest party of the

season as everyone getstogether to bid farewell to ayear gone by and prepares tobring in a new year. In2020, this holds truer more

than ever. While your cele-bration may look and feelslightly different from thetraditional parties we havebeen used to, the eveningcontinues to be a momen-tous occasion and shoulddefinitely be a memorable

one.This t ime around,

explore something new bytrying your hand at curatinga DIY cocktail.

Leave it to the pros toguide you, if you’ve nevertried making one yourself

before. Ajay Nayyar, BrandAmbassador at DiageoIndia, curates eight cele-bratory drinks for you toring in the new year with.Whether you’re planning tolive it up through a virtualget-together or you’re taking

it easy on the couch watch-ing holiday classics, thesecocktails made with seem-ingly simple ingredientsfrom your kitchen, can turninto some brilliant combina-tions when coupled withthe right spirit.

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Fast bowler Neil Wagnerplayed almost all of

New Zealand’s first crick-et test against Pakistanwith two broken toes butwill not play the secondtest and is facing a six-week recovery.

Wagner was struck byPakistan paceman ShaheenAfridi while batting onthe second day of the firsttest at Bay Oval in MountMaunganui, sustaining twofractures to toes on hisright foot.

In spite of the injury,Wagner bowled 21 overs inPakistan's first innings and28 in the second, leavingthe field for painkillinginjections before returningto bowl again.

In the second inningshe bowled a marathonspell of 11 overs, securingtwo vital wickets as NewZealand completed a winby 101 runs on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Wagnerwas ruled out of the sec-ond test at Christchurchbeginning Sunday andlikely will have to rest forsix week before is injury isfull mended. Pakistan cap-tain Mohammad Rizwanwas full of admiration forWagner's effort of contin-uing to bowl in the firsttest despite his injury.

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Astruggling Australia areprepared to risk playingseasoned opener David

Warner in the third Test againstIndia even if he is not 100% fit,assistant coach AndrewMcDonald said on Thursday.

In the absence of Warner,who was recovering from a groinmuscle tear, Australia’s battingfailed miserably in the first twomatches.

“That’s a real, clear option.He may not be 100 per cent fit —who is coming off an injury? Younever know until you get outthere,” McDonald said.

“Look, if he’s 90-95% fit andthe conversation is that he's fitenough to be able to go out thereand perform his duties for theteam, then I’m sure that’ll be aconversation the coach has withthe player.

“Most times Justin (Langer)is pretty open with the players interms of giving them accountabil-ity around that.”

Warner has been named inthe squad along with Victorianyoung gun Will Pucovski for thethird Test as Australia look tobounce back from the eight-wicket loss in the Boxing DayTest here.

McDonald said Warner isoptimistic about making a come-back in Sydney.

“He’s (Warner) very opti-mistic that he should be ready togo, which is a great news for us.We are really excited to have him

back.“I’m sure that he’s excited to

come back into the group as well.There’s nothing worse than beinginjured when you are at the topof your game as David has beenover a period of time.”

Pucovski, too, is set for apotential debut after the young-ster suffered a concussion in thefirst warm-up match against theIndians earlier this month.

“He will be put throughtests whatever it needs to be putthrough to make himself avail-able for selection to potentiallyopen the batting. So it’s good to

have a little bit of depth out there.”One of the biggest setbacks

for the Aussies so far has been arare slump in form for battingmainstay Steve Smith, who has sofar scored only 10 runs in fourinnings in the series.

“I wouldn’t be too quick tobe judging Steve Smith not look-ing good in the middle. Helooks pretty solid and hitting theball well at the nets,” McDonaldsaid.

Asked if life in a bio-bubblewas affecting Smith, he said: “No,none whatsoever. Obviously weworked closely at UAE with the

Rajasthan Royals and there'snothing to suggest that there’s alink there.

“I’m sure ideally you wouldprefer to be with your familyaround Christmas time andJustin addressed that. Some play-ers and staff members unfortu-nately are going to be disconnect-ed from family during Christmastime, less than ideal there’s nodoubt.

“Yeah, it’s a challenge torebound. The world’s best play-ers usually rebound. He’s (Smith)in a really good space to be hon-est, come Sydney Test.”

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Pacer Umesh Yadav was onThursday ruled out of the

remainder of the series againstAustralia due to the calf injuryhe sustained during theMelbourne match and theIndian team management islikely to prefer Shardul Thakurover left-arm pace sensation TNatarajan for the third Test.

According to sources,senior pacer Yadav, who missedthe third Test due to a calfmuscle tear, is heading homefor rehabilitation.

The third Test begins inSydney from January 7.

“Umesh will have to go foran extensive rehab. He has leftfor India,” a BCCIsource privy todevelopmentsin Australiatold PTI onThursday.

“While peo-ple are excitedabout theb r i l l i a n tp r o g r e s sshown by TNat araj an ,we mustn'tforget he has playedonly one first classmatch for TamilNadu. And Shardulhas been a sea-soned domestic redball pacer forMumbai,” the sourceadded.

“Shardul was real-ly unfortunate that

his Test debut against WestIndies ended abruptly due toinjury even before he couldbowl an over. He has beenshaping up well and mightreplace Umesh in the playingXI.”

The final call will be takenby the head coach Ravi Shastri,stand-in skipper AjinkyaRahane and bowling coachBharath Arun after reachingSydney.

Shardul has so far played62 first class games and has 206wickets to show for his efforts.

Another aspect that Indiawould like to address ahead ofthe Third Test is a long tail thathas affected the team.

Shardul has six first classhalf centuries and during hisstint with the national team inwhite ball games, he has provedto be a decent batsman.

“Obviously the nextfew training sessionswill be important

and that’s why thefinal call is likelyto be taken inSydney,” the

source said. As far as Yadavis concerned, he is expectedto head off to NationalCricket Academy inBengaluru for extensive

rehab programme. The 33-year-oldhad hobbled off

the field aftersuffering theinjury duringthe third dayof the BoxingDay Test.

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India captain Virat Kohli held onto his second position while

stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahanebroke into the top 10 after gainingfive places in the latest ICC men'sTest batting ranking released onThursday.

Rahane climbed to the sixthspot after scoring 112 and 27 not outto inspire India's eight-wicket series-levelling win in the second Testagainst Australia in Melbourne. It isjust one below his career-best rank-ing of fifth attained in October lastyear.

Off-spinner RavichandranAshwin, too, was rewarded for hisfive-wicket haul at the MCG as hegained two places to the seventhspot, while pacer Jasprit Bumrahrose to the ninth position.

Ravindra Jadeja, who scored acrucial 57 and captured three wick-ets in the second Test, remained atnumber three but reduced the gapwith Jason Holder to seven pointsin the allrounder's ranking.

He, however, gained 11 and fourpositions to reach a career best-equalling 36th and 14th positions inbatting and bowling respectively.

MCG debutants Shubman Gilland Mohammad Siraj made notableentries in 76th and 77th positionsin the list for batsmen and bowlers,respectively.

Gill scored 45 and 35 not outopening the innings, while Siraj fin-ished with five wickets in the match.

India's batting mainstayCheteshwar Pujara's lack of formsaw him lose two spots to slip to the10th place.

Australia left-arm fast bowlerMitchell Starc's four wickets in thematch helped him reach a careerbest-equalling fifth position.

Matthew Wade's scores of 30and 40 as opener helped him reach50th among batsmen from 55th,while Cameron Green gained 36

slots to reach 115th position.New Zealand captain Kane

Williamson, meanwhile, ended theyear at the top position after hedethroned Australia's Steve Smith,who slipped to the third spot aftermanaging scores of 0 and 8 in thetwo innings at MCG.

Williamson, who had brieflyoccupied the top spot towards theend of 2015, was rewarded for hisplayer of the match effort in the first

Test against Pakistan in Tauranga,which New Zealand won by 101runs.

Williamson gained 13 ratingpoints for his effort of 129 and 21to go 11 points clear of Kohli, whois on paternity leave, and 13 aheadof Smith.

Ross Taylor (up three places to14th) is another New Zealand bats-man to move up, while 26-year-oldfast bowler Kyle Jamieson reachedthe top 30 after just five Tests, fol-lowing his hauls of three for 35 andtwo for 35 in Tauranga.

For Pakistan, Fawad Alam'svaliant second-innings century haslifted him 80 places to 102nd posi-tion while wicketkeeperMohammad Rizwan's scores of 71and 60 have helped him advance 27places to a career-best 47th position.

Left-arm fast bowler ShaheenAfridi has moved from 35th to 33rdafter grabbing four wickets in thefirst innings.

In Centurion, a knock of 199 byFaf du Plessis saw him not only winthe player of the match award butalso gain 14 places to reach 21stposition, one behind team-mateDean Elgar, who too gained fourspots after a knock of 95.

For Sri Lanka, DineshChandimal's knocks of 85 and 25have lifted him three places to 38thwhile Dhananjaya de Silva (upnine places to 34th) and KusalPerera (up four places to 60th) havealso made notable gains amongbatsmen.

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The Indian women’s team’s wait to resumeinternational cricket since the coronavirus-

induced break continued with its scheduledtour of Australia getting postponed to next sea-son, Cricket Australia said on Thursday.

The Indian team, which last played the T20World Cup final in March, was scheduled toplay three ODIs on January 22 in Canberra,January 25 in Melbourne and January 28 inHobart.

However, the governing body added thetour will now be a part of the build-up to the2022 World Cup, which has been pushed toMarch-April due to the pandemic, and willinclude three T20Is.

“We are very hopeful of delivering anexpanded schedule between the Australian andIndian women’s teams for next season, whichwould be an outstanding result for fans in bothcountries,” CA interim chief executive officerNick Hockley said in a statement.

“We had initially hoped to play India thissummer, however the impact of the global pan-demic made it necessary to postpone until nextseason.”

India had lost to Australia by 85 runs intheir last international outing at the MelbourneCricket Ground.

“It will be wonderful to once again host theIndian women's team, who were centre stagefor that unforgettable ICC T20 World Cup finalat the MCG in March, and to do so with anexpanded schedule from what was originallyplanned,” Hockley said.

Dates and venues of the postponed tour willbe confirmed in due course, CA said.

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Will Puckovski’s history ofbouncing back strongly

from concussion-inducedbreaks gives Australia assistantcoach Andrew McDonaldconfidence that the youngopener will not have trouble inscoring runs if drafted intoplaying XI.

Pucovski, who wasprimed to make debut inAdelaide, was ruled out of thefirst two Tests after being hiton the head in the first warm-up game. That was the 22-

year-old's ninth concussion,not all from cricket. He hasnow been included in thesquad for the remainder of theseries.

“We do know with thehistory that Will has had, andwith my time with him atVictoria. He had a pretty goodtrack record of performingwhen he has returned,”McDonald was quoted as say-ing by Australian AssociatedPress (AAP).

“I think the selectors willput a bit of trust put into theplayer around whether he’smentally ready. And clearly itwill be up to the coach oncehe lays eyes on him to seewhere he’s at in terms of beingskill ready.

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“I can’t explain NeilWagner,” Rizwan said.

"Eleven overs in a rowon an injured toe, he’s a dif-

'�8��$��*��/�� ferent guy. His aggressionswere beautiful. He’s a bigbowler.” New Zealand cap-tain Kane Williamson, whowas man of the match in thefirst test, praised Wagner’scourage and dedication.

“People talk about thesize of his heart but to have

a couple of broken toes … hewas in a lot of pain,”Williamson said.

“We were trying to usehim when the injection wastaking effect. It was kind ofunique for all of us, but inparticular Neil.”

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