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12
T he month-long crisis in Rajasthan Congress ended on Monday after rebel leader Sachin Pilot opted for an “unconditional” truce and his MLAs left for Jaipur from Maneshar in Haryana. The breakthrough was worked out by Congress gen- eral secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who met Pilot two weeks ago. The process of reconciliation was set in motion in that meet- ing. Pilot completed the for- mality of his “home coming” by calling on Rahul Gandhi and later announcing his commit- ment to work for strengthening the Congress. For a “face saver” Pilot was offered a three-member committee that would look into the issues flagged by him regarding the functioning of the Rajasthan Government and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s style of governance. KC Venugopal, Ahmed Patel and Priyanka Gandhi are part of the committee set up by Sonia Gandhi to address griev- ances of Sachin Pilot and his supporters. Late at night, Pilot and his supporting MLAs, who were camping in a hotel in Maneshar, arrived at Rahul Gandhi’s residence where Priyanka, Congress organisa- tional general secretary KC Venugopal and Ahmad Patel were present. The MLAs are believed to have conveyed their grievance to the Gandhis, who promised to look into them. Talking to the reporters — his first media interaction after he rebelled against Gehlot — Pilot said, “Sonia Gandhiji heard all our concerns and the governance issues that we raised. Formation of the three- member committee by the Congress president is a wel- come step. I think all the issues will be resolved.” Pilot kept repeating that he was only trying to raise issues about governance and func- tioning of the Government and there was nothing person- al in his action against anyone. Throughout his press interaction, he never named Gehlot but expressed dismay on name calling and invectives hurled on him. KC Venugopal said Sachin Pilot expressed his grievances in detail. “They have had a frank, open and conclusive discussion. Sachin Pilot has committed to working in the interest of the Congress party and the Congress Government in Rajasthan,” he said. With at least 5-6 of the 18 MLAs supporting him not ready to risk expulsion and the BJP not in a position to help him achieve his objective to topple the Gehlot Government because of lukewarm response from former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Pilot has few options but to return “home” unconditionally. Sources said his meeting with Rahul was arranged by Priyanka at Rahul’s residence, where both the Gandhi had “meaningful” discussion with Pilot. Sources said after Pilot left Rahul and Priyanka, met Sonia to discuss the latest develop- ments following which Sonia called on Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot over phone. Gehlot reportedly assured Sonia Gandhi that he will not defy the party irrespective of the decision it takes on Pilot. He left the matter to Sonia and Rahul to resolve. F ormer President of India Pranab Mukherjee has test- ed positive for Covid-19 and admitted to the Army’s Research and Referral (R&R) Hospital here. “On a visit to the hospital for a separate procedure, I have tested positive for Covid- 19 today,” 84-year-old Mukherjee tweeted. “I request the people who came in contact with me in the last week, to please self-isolate and get tested for Covid-19,” the Congress leader, who was the President from 2012-17, said. Mukherjee on Monday underwent a brain surgery at the Army’s Research and Referral hospital for removal of a clot, sources said. Several leaders wished a speedy recovery to Mukherjee. “We wish former President Pranab Mukherjee a speedy recovery from Covid,” the Congress said on its official Twitter handle. Abhijeet Mukherjee, the son of the former President, also tweeted, “I wish my father a speedy recovery! I appeal to all my countrymen to pray for his speedy recovery & good health.” Several leaders from across the political spectrum also wished him a speedy recovery. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted, “I have come to know former President of India Pranab Mukherjee has tested positive for Covid- 19...concerned about his health. Wish him a speedy recovery.” “Wishing Pranab Mukherjee a speedy recovery. I am sure he will be out of this sooner than later,” said Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge. Union Minister Piyush Goyal also wished good health for Mukherjee, and said he is confident that the former President will quickly recover from the virus. Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said, “Astonishing and matter of concern that former President Pranab Mukherjee tested positive for Covid per press reports. Very active, reg- ular walker, wish him quick recovery and restful convales- cence. A bout 15 per cent students enrolled in Delhi Government schools are not “traceable” since the lockdown was announced and have not been attending the alternative classes conducted online or through phones, said Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. Sisodia, who is also the Education Minister, said efforts are being made to locate these students either physically or telephonically to get them into the system. “We are conducting full fledged teaching learning either online or through phones and teachers have been instructed to ensure personal involve- ment with each student. So far, there are maximum 15 per cent students who are not traceable and are not in contact with their schools and hence not attending the classes,” Sisodia told PTI. “I have been reviewing this personally and we have been able to trace few students, for others either they are not stay- ing at the same addresses or their phone numbers men- tioned in our records are not traceable. I have asked that School Management Committees should be roped in to track these students. There are cer- tain students who have gone to places like Uttarakhand and Bihar but are still connected with us and are attending the classes and doing assignments,” he added. There are around 15 lakh students enrolled in over 1100 Delhi Government schools. “We started conducting online classes for class 12 stu- dents from April 6 and sending e-learning material or activities to those enrolled in classes nursery to eighth over WhatsApp or SMS. The Government has also provided a subsidy of Rs 200 for internet packages to all its class 12 stu- dents who had registered for the online classes,” a senior Directorate of Education (DoE) official said. T he Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday questioned actress Rhea Chakraborty, her broth- er Showik, their father Indrajit for the second time in a money laundering probe relating to the allegations of abetment of sui- cide of film star Sushant Singh Rajput. The trio appeared at the ED’s Mumbai office at 11 am as per the second summons issued by the agency against them, officials said, adding that their questioning contin- ued till late in the evening. Later, Shruti Modi, busi- ness manager of Rhea and Rajput, also joined the probe. All the four accused were also questioned by the ED on Friday. In the second half, Rajput’s friend and roommate Siddharth Pithani also arrived at the ED office for recording his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Pithani’s statement was ear- lier recorded by the Mumbai Police as part of their acciden- tal death case probe under CrPC in the alleged suicide case. The ED confronted the accused with one another as also with discrepancies in their statements relating to Rhea’s income and investments along with their banking transac- tions and IT returns. F ormer IAS officer Shah Faesal, who had launched Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Movement (JKPM) in March 2019, stepped down from the post of the party president on Monday claiming he was not in a position to “continue with political activities”. Shah Faesal was detained in the second week of August 2019 at the IGI Airport in Delhi and was later sent back to the Valley. Thereafter, he was detained under the Public Safety Act, which was revoked in the first week of June 2020. Since then he has remained confined to his home amid specu- lation that he may resume his bureaucratic career soon as his resignation has not been accepted so far. Faesal had resigned in January 2019 to protest unabat- ed killings in Kashmir and marginalisation of Indian Muslims. The official website of the Jammu & Kashmir General Administration Department says, “The officer has submit- ted his resignation which has been for- warded to the DOPT, GOI for acceptance”. There is no mention whether his resigna- tion has been accept- ed or not. According to the state- ment issued by the JKPM, “The State Executive Committee of J&K Peoples Movement (JKPM) in an online meeting today discussed the ongoing political develop- ments in the State. In the said meeting, the request of Dr Shah Faesal to spare him from the organisa- tional responsibilities was dis- cussed.” A two-member National Investigation Agency (NIA) team has gone to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to probe the Kerala Gold Smuggling case. The NIA team reached Dubai on Sunday night to investigate the sensational gold smuggling case and is expect- ing the UAE authorities to share more evidence on the involvement of Kerala officials in the scam, many of whom are suspected to have visited that country. The collection of evidence from that country will further help in unravelling the larger racket involving Kerala offi- cials. “The NIA will interrogate one of the key accused in the case — Fazil Fareed — and a couple of more accused who have been taken into custody by the UAE authorities,” agency officials said here. The NIA took over probe into the case on July 10 in which the accused have been booked under stringent provi- sions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and other offences under the IPC. The key accused in the case include Sarith PS, Swapna Prabha Suresh, Fazil Fareed and Sandeep Nair and others in connection with the seizure of 30 kg of 24 carat gold worth Rs 14.82 crore at Trivandrum International Airport on July 5 by the Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Cochin. The said consignment was found camouflaged in diplo- matic baggage from UAE that is exempted from inspection as per the Vienna Convention. The consignment was to be received by accused Sarith PS who had worked in the UAE Consulate earlier as Public Relations Officer. Initial investigation by Customs Department has revealed that Sarith PS had received multiple such con- signments earlier as well. As the case pertains to smuggling of large quantities of gold into India from offshore locations threatening the eco- nomic stability and national security of the country, it amounts to a terrorist act as stated in section 15 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Initial enquiries revealed that the proceeds of smuggled gold could be used for financ- ing of terrorism in India. T he first five Rafale jets, which came to India last month, have started practice sorties to familiarise them- selves with conditions in Himachal Pradesh, which shares the Line of Actual con- trol (LAC) with China. After a few weeks, these jets are likely to fly in Ladakh where the standoff is on for the last three months between the Armies of India and China. Based at the Ambala air- base after arriving from France on July 29, the five Rafales are going through their paces with intense flying day and night. T hree staffers of the famous Lord Venkateswara tem- ple in Tirumala, governed by the Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), have died of Covid-19 and at least 743 others have tested coronavirus positive since the temple re-opened on June 11 for the public after being close for two and a half months owing to the coron- avirus-induced lockdown. Of the 743 infected, three employees succumbed to the dreaded contagion and about 402 personnel have recovered so far from infection while 338 people were undergoing treat- ment at different Covid care facilities in Tirupati, TTD Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal told reporters. Singhal denied reports in sections of the media and on social media that TTD had reopened the hill shrine after the coronavirus lockdown for the public with an intention to fill its coffers. He said the ancient temple was reopened on requests from devotees and entry was allowed by following strict Covid-19 measures. About 22,000 people, including regular and out- sourced workers, are employed with the board. Tests have been conducted on 9,102 of these employees till now. Meanwhile, 2.38 lakh devotees from across the coun- try visited the Tirumala temple in July alone. No devotee, who visited the temple ever since it reopened for ‘darshan’, has test- ed positive for the positive, according to media reports. The TTD board has arranged screening facility for visitors at the foot of the hill and at other points. The board for the richest temple in the country received about 16.69 crore in Hundi collection and about 3.97 crore through e-Hundi. New Delhi: Delhi University’s online open book examina- tions for final-year under- graduate courses began on Monday with many students complaining about receiving two question papers and difficulty in uploading answer sheets. The exams began at 7.30 am and are being held in three shifts. Zubair Khan, a student of School of Open Learning, said, “I had my Hindi exam today according to the date- sheet. When I opened the por- tal for downloading my ques- tion paper, I found that two question papers were uploaded — one of Hindi and another of the paper sched- uled for August 13.” A ctress Rhea Chakraborty on Monday told the Supreme Court the Sushant Singh Rajput death case has been blown out of proportion as elections are due in Bihar and claimed she was being subjected to media trial due to “constant sensationalisation” causing her “extreme trauma”. Chakraborty, 28, also sub- mitted in an additional affidavit filed in the SC she should not be made “scapegoat of political agendas” in the case, and alleged that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is “reported” to be responsible for registration of the FIR in Patna against her. There was no immediate reaction from the Bihar Government. She said the “constant sen- sationalisation” was causing extreme trauma and infringe- ment of privacy of her rights came a day ahead of the next hearing of her plea for transfer of the Bihar police FIR against her from Patna to Mumbai.

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Page 1: 5 010516 75˛$2 5˛) ˘ - ’˝˘ . 3234 83578*& *38&2?2?C &2 ...€¦ · them, officials said, adding that their questioning contin-ued till late in the evening. Later, Shruti Modi,

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The month-long crisis inRajasthan Congress ended

on Monday after rebel leaderSachin Pilot opted for an“unconditional” truce and hisMLAs left for Jaipur fromManeshar in Haryana.

The breakthrough wasworked out by Congress gen-eral secretary Priyanka Gandhi,who met Pilot two weeks ago.The process of reconciliationwas set in motion in that meet-ing. Pilot completed the for-mality of his “home coming” bycalling on Rahul Gandhi andlater announcing his commit-ment to work for strengtheningthe Congress.

For a “face saver” Pilotwas offered a three-membercommittee that would lookinto the issues flagged by himregarding the functioning ofthe Rajasthan Government andChief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s

style of governance.KC Venugopal, Ahmed

Patel and Priyanka Gandhi arepart of the committee set up bySonia Gandhi to address griev-ances of Sachin Pilot and hissupporters.

Late at night, Pilot and hissupporting MLAs, who werecamping in a hotel inManeshar, arrived at Rahul

Gandhi’s residence wherePriyanka, Congress organisa-tional general secretary KCVenugopal and Ahmad Patelwere present. The MLAs arebelieved to have conveyed theirgrievance to the Gandhis, whopromised to look into them.

Talking to the reporters —his first media interaction afterhe rebelled against Gehlot —

Pilot said, “Sonia Gandhijiheard all our concerns and thegovernance issues that weraised. Formation of the three-member committee by theCongress president is a wel-come step. I think all the issueswill be resolved.”

Pilot kept repeating that hewas only trying to raise issuesabout governance and func-tioning of the Governmentand there was nothing person-al in his action against anyone.

Throughout his pressinteraction, he never namedGehlot but expressed dismayon name calling and invectiveshurled on him.

KC Venugopal said SachinPilot expressed his grievancesin detail. “They have had afrank, open and conclusivediscussion. Sachin Pilot hascommitted to working in theinterest of the Congress partyand the Congress Governmentin Rajasthan,” he said.

With at least 5-6 of the 18

MLAs supporting him notready to risk expulsion and theBJP not in a position to helphim achieve his objective totopple the Gehlot Governmentbecause of lukewarm responsefrom former Chief MinisterVasundhara Raje, Pilot has fewoptions but to return “home”unconditionally.

Sources said his meetingwith Rahul was arranged byPriyanka at Rahul’s residence,where both the Gandhi had“meaningful” discussion withPilot.

Sources said after Pilot leftRahul and Priyanka, met Soniato discuss the latest develop-ments following which Soniacalled on Rajasthan ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot overphone.

Gehlot reportedly assuredSonia Gandhi that he will notdefy the party irrespective ofthe decision it takes on Pilot.He left the matter to Sonia andRahul to resolve.

���� 234��3*,5

Former President of IndiaPranab Mukherjee has test-

ed positive for Covid-19 andadmitted to the Army’sResearch and Referral (R&R)Hospital here.

“On a visit to the hospitalfor a separate procedure, Ihave tested positive for Covid-19 today,” 84-year-oldMukherjee tweeted.

“I request the people whocame in contact with me in thelast week, to please self-isolateand get tested for Covid-19,”the Congress leader, who wasthe President from 2012-17,said.

Mukherjee on Mondayunderwent a brain surgery atthe Army’s Research andReferral hospital for removal ofa clot, sources said.

Several leaders wished aspeedy recovery to Mukherjee.“We wish former PresidentPranab Mukherjee a speedyrecovery from Covid,” the

Congress said on its officialTwitter handle.

Abhijeet Mukherjee, theson of the former President,also tweeted, “I wish my fathera speedy recovery! I appeal toall my countrymen to pray forhis speedy recovery & goodhealth.” Several leaders fromacross the political spectrumalso wished him a speedyrecovery.

Rajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot tweeted, “I havecome to know former Presidentof India Pranab Mukherjeehas tested positive for Covid-19...concerned about his health.Wish him a speedy recovery.”

“Wishing PranabMukherjee a speedy recovery.I am sure he will be out of thissooner than later,” saidCongress leader MallikarjunKharge. Union Minister PiyushGoyal also wished good healthfor Mukherjee, and said he isconfident that the formerPresident will quickly recoverfrom the virus.

Congress leader AbhishekSinghvi said, “Astonishing andmatter of concern that formerPresident Pranab Mukherjeetested positive for Covid perpress reports. Very active, reg-ular walker, wish him quickrecovery and restful convales-cence.

������������'�� ��234��3*,5

About 15 per cent studentsenrolled in Delhi

Government schools are not“traceable” since the lockdownwas announced and have notbeen attending the alternativeclasses conducted online orthrough phones, said DeputyChief Minister Manish Sisodia.

Sisodia, who is also theEducation Minister, said effortsare being made to locate thesestudents either physically ortelephonically to get them intothe system.

“We are conducting fullfledged teaching learning eitheronline or through phones andteachers have been instructedto ensure personal involve-ment with each student. So far,there are maximum 15 per centstudents who are not traceableand are not in contact withtheir schools and hence notattending the classes,” Sisodiatold PTI.

“I have been reviewing thispersonally and we have beenable to trace few students, for

others either they are not stay-ing at the same addresses ortheir phone numbers men-tioned in our records are nottraceable.

I have asked that SchoolManagement Committeesshould be roped in to trackthese students. There are cer-tain students who have gone toplaces like Uttarakhand andBihar but are still connectedwith us and are attending theclasses and doing assignments,”he added.

There are around 15 lakh

students enrolled in over 1100Delhi Government schools.

“We started conductingonline classes for class 12 stu-dents from April 6 and sendinge-learning material or activitiesto those enrolled in classesnursery to eighth overWhatsApp or SMS. TheGovernment has also provideda subsidy of Rs 200 for internetpackages to all its class 12 stu-dents who had registered forthe online classes,” a seniorDirectorate of Education (DoE)official said.

���� 234��3*,5

The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on

Monday questioned actressRhea Chakraborty, her broth-er Showik, their father Indrajitfor the second time in a moneylaundering probe relating to theallegations of abetment of sui-cide of film star Sushant SinghRajput.

The trio appeared at theED’s Mumbai office at 11 am asper the second summonsissued by the agency againstthem, officials said, addingthat their questioning contin-ued till late in the evening.

Later, Shruti Modi, busi-ness manager of Rhea andRajput, also joined the probe.All the four accused were alsoquestioned by the ED onFriday.

In the second half, Rajput’sfriend and roommateSiddharth Pithani also arrivedat the ED office for recordinghis statement under thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act.

Pithani’s statement was ear-lier recorded by the MumbaiPolice as part of their acciden-tal death case probe underCrPC in the alleged suicidecase.

The ED confronted theaccused with one another asalso with discrepancies in theirstatements relating to Rhea’sincome and investments alongwith their banking transac-tions and IT returns.

��� �������� �� +&���

Former IAS officer ShahFaesal, who had launched

Jammu & Kashmir PeoplesMovement (JKPM) in March2019, stepped down from thepost of the party president onMonday claiming he was not ina position to “continue withpolitical activities”.

Shah Faesal was detainedin the second week of August2019 at the IGI Airport in Delhiand was later sent back to the

Valley. Thereafter, hewas detained under thePublic Safety Act,which was revoked inthe first week of June2020. Since then he hasremained confined tohis home amid specu-lation that he may resume hisbureaucratic career soon ashis resignation has not beenaccepted so far.

Faesal had resigned inJanuary 2019 to protest unabat-ed killings in Kashmir andmarginalisation of IndianMuslims.

The official website of theJammu & Kashmir GeneralAdministration Departmentsays, “The officer has submit-

ted his resignationwhich has been for-warded to the DOPT,GOI for acceptance”.There is no mentionwhether his resigna-tion has been accept-ed or not.

According to the state-ment issued by the JKPM,“The State ExecutiveCommittee of J&K PeoplesMovement (JKPM) in anonline meeting today discussedthe ongoing political develop-ments in the State.

In the said meeting, therequest of Dr Shah Faesal tospare him from the organisa-tional responsibilities was dis-cussed.”

���� 234��3*,5

Atwo-member NationalInvestigation Agency

(NIA) team has gone to theUnited Arab Emirates (UAE) toprobe the Kerala GoldSmuggling case.

The NIA team reachedDubai on Sunday night toinvestigate the sensational goldsmuggling case and is expect-ing the UAE authorities toshare more evidence on theinvolvement of Kerala officialsin the scam, many of whom aresuspected to have visited thatcountry.

The collection of evidence

from that country will furtherhelp in unravelling the largerracket involving Kerala offi-cials.

“The NIA will interrogateone of the key accused in thecase — Fazil Fareed — and acouple of more accused whohave been taken into custodyby the UAE authorities,” agencyofficials said here.

The NIA took over probeinto the case on July 10 inwhich the accused have beenbooked under stringent provi-sions of the Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act, 1967 andother offences under the IPC.

The key accused in the case

include Sarith PS, SwapnaPrabha Suresh, Fazil Fareedand Sandeep Nair and others inconnection with the seizure of30 kg of 24 carat gold worth Rs14.82 crore at TrivandrumInternational Airport on July 5by the Customs (Preventive)Commissionerate, Cochin.

The said consignment wasfound camouflaged in diplo-matic baggage from UAE thatis exempted from inspection asper the Vienna Convention.The consignment was to bereceived by accused Sarith PSwho had worked in the UAEConsulate earlier as PublicRelations Officer.

Initial investigation byCustoms Department hasrevealed that Sarith PS hadreceived multiple such con-signments earlier as well.

As the case pertains tosmuggling of large quantities ofgold into India from offshorelocations threatening the eco-nomic stability and nationalsecurity of the country, itamounts to a terrorist act asstated in section 15 of theUnlawful Activities(Prevention) Act, 1967.

Initial enquiries revealedthat the proceeds of smuggledgold could be used for financ-ing of terrorism in India.

���� 234��3*,5

The first five Rafale jets,which came to India last

month, have started practicesorties to familiarise them-selves with conditions inHimachal Pradesh, whichshares the Line of Actual con-trol (LAC) with China. Aftera few weeks, these jets arelikely to fly in Ladakh wherethe standoff is on for the lastthree months between theArmies of India and China.

Based at the Ambala air-base after arriving fromFrance on July 29, the fiveRafales are going throughtheir paces with intense flyingday and night.

���������� ���������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������ ��

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Three staffers of the famousLord Venkateswara tem-

ple in Tirumala, governed bythe Tirupati Devasthanams(TTD), have died of Covid-19and at least 743 others havetested coronavirus positivesince the temple re-opened onJune 11 for the public afterbeing close for two and a halfmonths owing to the coron-avirus-induced lockdown.

Of the 743 infected, threeemployees succumbed to thedreaded contagion and about402 personnel have recoveredso far from infection while 338people were undergoing treat-ment at different Covid carefacilities in Tirupati, TTDExecutive Officer Anil KumarSinghal told reporters.

Singhal denied reports insections of the media and onsocial media that TTD hadreopened the hill shrine afterthe coronavirus lockdown forthe public with an intention tofill its coffers.

He said the ancient templewas reopened on requests from

devotees and entry was allowedby following strict Covid-19measures.

About 22,000 people,including regular and out-sourced workers, are employedwith the board. Tests havebeen conducted on 9,102 ofthese employees till now.

Meanwhile, 2.38 lakhdevotees from across the coun-try visited the Tirumala templein July alone. No devotee, whovisited the temple ever since itreopened for ‘darshan’, has test-ed positive for the positive,

according to media reports. The TTD board has

arranged screening facility forvisitors at the foot of the hilland at other points. The boardfor the richest temple in thecountry received about �16.69crore in Hundi collection andabout �3.97 crore through e-Hundi.

New Delhi: Delhi University’sonline open book examina-tions for final-year under-graduate courses began onMonday with many studentscomplaining about receivingtwo question papers and difficulty in uploading answer sheets.

The exams began at 7.30am and are being held in three

shifts. Zubair Khan, a studentof School of Open Learning,said, “I had my Hindi examtoday according to the date-sheet. When I opened the por-tal for downloading my ques-tion paper, I found that twoquestion papers wereuploaded — one of Hindi andanother of the paper sched-uled for August 13.”

�� �� 234��3*,56���8&5

Actress Rhea Chakrabortyon Monday told the

Supreme Court the SushantSingh Rajput death case hasbeen blown out of proportionas elections are due in Biharand claimed she was beingsubjected to media trial due to“constant sensationalisation”causing her “extreme trauma”.

Chakraborty, 28, also sub-mitted in an additional affidavitfiled in the SC she should notbe made “scapegoat of political

agendas” in the case, andalleged that Bihar ChiefMinister Nitish Kumar is“reported” to be responsible forregistration of the FIR in Patnaagainst her. There was noimmediate reaction from theBihar Government.

She said the “constant sen-sationalisation” was causingextreme trauma and infringe-ment of privacy of her rightscame a day ahead of the nexthearing of her plea for transferof the Bihar police FIR againsther from Patna to Mumbai.

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Rejecting outright thecharges of vindictiveness in

the withdrawal of Pratap SinghBajwa’s security by the PunjabGovernment, Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh onMonday said that it was a rou-tine exercise based on a peri-odic review of his threatassessment, as provided in theState Security Policy of 2013after he was provided Z-cate-gory security by the Centre inMarch this year.

“While the StateGovernment would never denysecurity to any person gen-uinely in need, it could not

afford to spare police person-nel unnecessarily, particularlywhen the force is under severeconstraints and stress amidthe COVID pandemic,” saidthe Chief Minister.

Pointing out that theGovernment was providingsecurity to the Badals in viewof specific threat inputs indi-cating a threat to their securi-ty, as per the threat assessmentcarried out by Central andState governments, CaptAmarinder said that Bajwa’scomplaint on this account was“petty” and “frivolous”, andnot based on facts.

The Chief Minister saidthat the high threat percep-

tion for the Badals had neces-sitated a complement ofPunjab Police security, inaddition to their Z-plus secu-rity provided by the UnionMinistry of Home Affairs(MHA).

“There is no comparisonbetween their case and that ofBajwa, who is not a catego-rized protectee of the PunjabGovernment in the absence ofany specific inputs indicatingany threat to him from anyterrorist or militant outfitoperating in the country,” hesaid.

With Punjab Police intelshowing that he was not facingany specific terrorist or militant

threat, Bajwa was only entitledto the positional security coverof an MP, as provided in theState Security Policy approved

by the Cabinet in 2013, headded.

“Nevertheless, theCongress MP continued tohave a security detail of 14 per-sons, with one escort Gypsywith driver, as on March 23,2020, when some of the per-sonnel were withdrawn forCOVID duty.

Post March 23, 2020, Bajwacontinued to have six securitypersons and one gypsy escortwith driver.

However, on March 19,2020, MHA decided to provideBajwa with Z-category securi-ty with CISF cover. Initially,only a small component wasdeployed by CISF due to

COVID, but this week, theytook over his security in fullstrength, including PSOs,House Protection guard andEscort component.

In all, the CISF has present-ly deployed total of 25 personsplus two escort drivers andScorpio vehicle as escort forBajwa, as per laid down normsfor Z category protectees.

“The full deployment ofCISF security has necessitat-ed a fresh review of the pre-sent situation by the Policeand the subsequent with-drawal of the state-level secu-rity for the MP, especially inview of the fact that there areno specific threat inputs indi-

cating any threat to him fromany terrorist or militant orga-nizations active within India,on the record of the StateGovernment,” he said.

He termed as inexplicableBajwa’s attempt to link thisreview with his confrontationwith the State Government,which, in fact, he had himselfchosen to trigger, without anybasis.

Capt Amarinder made itclear that the Governmentcould not afford to obligeBajwa in this matter, giventhat the Punjab Police wascurrently neck deep in hand-ing different kinds of securi-ty and other challenges as a

border state, includingCOVID, cross-border terror-ism, dropping of weapons anddrugs across the Punjab bor-der and the liquor mafia,especially when nearly 1000cops in the state had beenaffected by the Coronavirus.

“All protectees and VIPs inthe state, including myself,have to lose some of theirsecurity component as 6,500police personnel have to bewithdrawn for district andCOVID duty.

Their security has actual-ly been reduced, unlike Bajwawho, in fact, now has a biggersecurity team than he had ear-lier,” he added.

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Vigorous checking byPunjab Taxation

Department’s EnforcementWing led to imposition ofpenalty worth �4.12 crore on310 defaulter vehicles out oftotal 348 during the month ofJuly 2020 especially amid try-ing circumstances of COVID-19.

Notably, the Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh hasalready given stern instruc-tions to the TaxationDepartment not to be compla-cent on the part of tax evasion.

Reviewing the perfor-m an c e of Ta x at i onDepartment, the TaxationCommissioner Nilkanth SAv h a d appre c i ate d t heefforts of the EnforcementWing in detecting the GSTevasions thus preventing theloss to the State exchequer.

He categorically asked theofficers not to compromise ontax collection at any cost andshould take on the tax evadersto mop up state's revenue.

Spokesperson said that thepenalty of �1.76 crore on vehi-cles carrying iron scrap, �1.12crore on vehicles carrying ironand steel finished goods, �65lakh on vehicles carrying (par-choon) or mixed items, �15.5lakh on vehicles carrying alu-minium scrap or copperscrap,�7.5 lakh on vehicles car-rying cigarette or tobaccoproducts, and �34.81 lakh onvehicles carrying miscellaneousitems, has been imposed dur-ing July 2020.

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Amid the surge in COVID-19 positive cases, the

Chandigarh Administrationremains in a fix on how to pro-ceed on celebration ofIndependence Day this year.

A day after, five positivecases including JMBalamurugan, PrincipalSecretary to Punjab Governorand UT Administrator werereported in Punjab RajBhawan, concerns were raisedon Monday to limit the num-ber of attendees at the upcom-ing function.

While the war room meet-ing scheduled to be presidedover by UT Administrator VPSingh Badnore was cancelled,his Advisor Manoj Parida onMonday held a meeting withUT top officers to reviewCOVID-19 situation andupcoming Independence daycelebration.The Administrationhad earlier decided thatCOVID warriors like doctors,health workers, sanitationworkers would be honoured bythe UT Administrator Badnorefor their noble service in fightagainst COVID-19 pandemicduring the function.

Sources said in view ofrapid increase in cases, theAdministration is now consid-ering following the protocol ofunfurling of National Flag andpresentation of Guard ofHonour only. The COVIDwarriors will be given com-mendation certification whilethey might not be allowed toattend the ceremony physical-ly to limit the number of atten-dees at the venue, sources said.

The final decision in thisregard will be taken by the UTAdministrator on Tuesday.

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Page 3: 5 010516 75˛$2 5˛) ˘ - ’˝˘ . 3234 83578*& *38&2?2?C &2 ...€¦ · them, officials said, adding that their questioning contin-ued till late in the evening. Later, Shruti Modi,

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Haryana Government will soon launcha sero survey in the state to gauge the

penetration of Covid-19 in the populationand monitor its transmission trend, stateHealth Minister Anil Vij said on Monday.

The Indian Council of MedicalResearch , the apex health research bodyin the country, had advised states in Juneto conduct the survey to assess the pro-portion of the population, includingasymptomatic individuals, exposed to thecoronavirus infection.

“A blueprint is ready for conductingthe survey,” said Vij, adding it will be con-ducted in the entire state in collaborationwith PGIMER, Chandigarh.

A serosurvey involves testing theblood serum of a group of individuals forthe presence of antibodies against theinfection to know who has been infectedin the past and has now recovered.

Additional Chief Secretary (Health)Rajeev Arora said the findings of the studywill be useful in designing and imple-menting appropriate containment mea-sures in Haryana.

“A serosurvey involves testing a groupof individuals to monitor the trend ofCOVID-19 prevalence and it helps inunderstanding the number of peopleaffected by the disease. The study will helpus to determine the burden of COVID-19at the community level in the state and

monitor the transmission trend of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection,” he added.

As per the blueprint, the sample sizehas been estimated at district-level. Thus,from each district 850 participants will becovered. Giving further details, Arora said,“A stratified multistage random samplingwill be done.

The sample size of 850 will be divid-ed into two parts – rural and urban.”

A total of 88 samples from rural clus-ters and 44 samples from each urban clus-ter will be taken, he said in an official state-ment.

Divulging further details, the HealthMinister said while the survey will soonbe launched across the state, it has alreadystarted in Panchkula and Ambala in asso-ciation with the Department ofCommunity Medicine and School of

Public Health, Post Graduate Institute ofMedical Education and Research(PGIMER), Chandigarh and the StateHealth Department. “We aim to completethe survey by August-end,” Vij said.

The Health Minister said a nodal offi-cer has been designated in every districtto monitor and supervise the serosurveyactivity. The Health Department will beable to gauge the number of people affect-ed by COVID-19 through this survey, headded.

Appreciating the Health Department’sefforts, Vij said, “They have been on theirtoes for the last four to five months. Thework of the Health Department at stateheadquarters and district levels to draw theblueprint for conducting the serosurvey insuch a short period is indeed commend-able.”

The team conducting the survey willconsist of three members, one medical offi-cer (MO), one auxiliary nurse midwife(ANM), and one laboratory technician.

Notably, as of Monday, Haryana hasreported over 42,000 coronavirus cases andclose to 500 fatalities.

The state has a healthy recovery rateat over 83 percent currently but it has alsobeen reporting a spike of over 700 casesfor the past several days. Majority of thecases and fatalities are from some of thedistricts including Faridabad andGurugram, which fall in the NationalCapital Region.

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Inching closer to the 25,000-mark, Punjab on Monday

registered a record 988 freshcases of COVID-19 while 20people lost their lives, owing tothe deadly contagion, with thestate’s COVID-19 death tollsurpassing 600 figure.

With this, the state’sCOVID-19 tally has reached24,889 while the casualty counthas mounted to 604.

The deadly virus claimedseven lives in Patiala district,followed by six in Ludhiana,three in Jalandhar, two inFerozepur and one life each inMoga and SAS Nagar (Mohali)in the past 24 hours.

August is turning out to bethe cruelest month of all withalmost one person succumbingto the novel coronavirus everyhour.

In a span of just 10 days,the State is reporting, on anaverage, 877 fresh cases and 22deaths every day in Augustwith total 8770 fresh cases(accounting for 35 percent ofthe total positive cases) and 218deaths (accounting for 36 per-cent of total deaths).

The figure is much higherthan recorded in July, themonth which has reported the

highest number of cases so far.In July, the state, on an average,reported 340 cases and eightdeaths every day. As many10,551 fresh cases — account-ing for 66 percent of the totalcases, and 242 deaths —accounting for 63 percent of thetotal deaths, were recorded inJuly alone.

Ludhiana once againreported highest 246 freshinfections, followed by 198 inPatiala, 156 in Jalandhar, 60 inSangrur, 59 in SAS Nagar(Mohali), 37 in Gurdaspur, 32in Amritsar, 28 in Hoshiarpur,25 in Faridkot, 24 in Bathinda,23 in Barnala, 15 in FatehgarhSahib, 14 in Fazilka and SBSNagar (Nawanshahr), 13 inTarn Taran, 11 in Mansa, sixeach in Kapurthala, Moga,and Ferozepur, and five inRopar.

As many as 11 prisoners

— 10 from Tarn Taran and onefrom Sangrur, and nine jailinmates from Bathinda havebeen tested positive onMonday, besides one frontlineworker from Tarn Taran, twohealthcare workers fromBathinda and Fatehgarh Sahib,one Auxiliary NursingMidwife (ANM) from Fazilka,and one staff nurse fromMuktsar.

Four police personnel —one each from Fatehgarh Sahib,Nawanshahr, Muktsar, andBarnala—were also among thefresh cases reported in the past24 hours, which also included15 cases with travel history toother states or countries.Asmany 416 more patients —including 216 from Patiala, 38from Amritsar, 28 each fromPathankot and Bathinda, 24each from Gurdaspur andFerozepur, 25 from Moga, 22from Hoshiarpur , five eachfrom Barnala and Mansa, andone from Muktsar — have dis-charged after recovering fromthe deadly virus.

With this, the total numberof patients discharged till datehas reached 15,735, leaving8550 active cases of which 129patients are on oxygen support,and 22 are critical and on ven-tilator support.

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Moderate to heavy rainfalllashed various parts of

Punjab and Haryana onMonday.

Chandigarh, the joint cap-ital of the two states alsoreceived moderate rainfall tillthe evening. Karnal received 13mm rainfall, Ludhiana record-ed 13 mm, Amritsar recorded3 mm, according to theChandigarh MeteorologicalDepartment.

The MeteorologicalDepartment has forecast heavyrainfall in parts of Punjab andHaryana on August 11 and 12.A Met official said thunder-storms accompanied with light-ning is likely at isolated placeson August 11 and 12 in bothstates.

Heavy to very heavy rain-fall is expected in the region, headded.

During the monsoon sea-son, Haryana has received 263mm rainfall against the normalof 235.5 mm recording minus10 deficit while Punjab hasrecorded 293 mm rainfallagainst 258.7 mm recordingminus 12 deficit till August 10.

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Haryana government willstart the process of e-

appointments for registrationof agricultural land in ruralareas of the state from Tuesdayas the module for e-registrationof deeds of agricultural land inrural areas has been preparedby the state revenue depart-ment.

"Testing of the same hasbeen completed and it willstart from August 11, enablingthe people of the state to takee-appointments," a govern-ment spokesperson said.

A decision in this regardwas taken at a meeting heldhere on Monday under thechairmanship of Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar to reviewthe linkages of various depart-ments with e-registration sys-tem of the revenue department.However, the registration ofagricultural land deeds willstart from August 17.

“Likewise, the process oftaking e-appointments for theregistration of land deeds inurban areas will also beginfrom August 17, while datesregarding the re-starting ofregistration of deeds will beshared soon,” the statementsaid. The state had last monthtemporarily stopped the regis-tration of land transfer deeds toweed out various malpractices

in the government''s key rev-enue generation process.

The state government hasgiven serious consideration tothe complaints of malpracticesthat exist in the current mech-anism for registration of deedsfor the transfer of land.Therefore, it has been decidedto temporarily halt the regis-tration of transfer deeds earlier.

Meanwhile, during the

meeting, the chief ministerwas apprised by officials that asper his directions to keep acheck on the irregularities inthe registration of deeds underthe Haryana Development andRegulation of Urban AreasAct, 1975, the period of stop-ping of registrations is beingutilised to build technology-based checks. Khattar was alsoinformed that these technolo-

gy-based checks will help pre-vent irregularities in such reg-istrations.

There are 32 lakh proper-ties in urban areas across thestate, out of which, 18 lakhproperties are integrated withthe department portal. Rest ofthe properties will also bebrought on a single digital plat-form by October 31, 2020.During the meeting, it wasinformed that there are around3.48 lakh properties of theHaryana State Industrial andInfrastructure DevelopmentCorporation (HSIIDC) andsince 2009, the data of all theseproperties had been digitised.Out of the 58,000 acquiredlands, the data of around 26,000lands is uploaded on the portal.

Deputy Chief MinisterDushyant Chautala, ChiefSecretary Keshni Anand Arora,Principal Secretary to ChiefMinister, Rajesh Khullar wereamong others present in themeeting.

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In yet another spike inCOVID-19 positive cases,

the union territory ofChandigarh on Mondayreported 80 fresh cases. Thetotal tally of cases was 1595 inthe city till the evening. Arecord 100 recoveries were alsoreported on Monday taking thetotal number to 1004.

Among the total positivecases, there were 565 activecases in Chandigarh.

Only a day before, thecity had witnessed the high-est single-day spike with 89fresh COVID-19 cases. Injust ten days in August,Chandigarh, which is a jointcapita l of Punjab andHaryana has recorded 544positive cases.

“The fresh cases onMonday were reported fromSectors 5, 15, 20, 32, 35, 40, 41,44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 52, 63Manimajra, Raipur Khurd,PGIMER, Khuda Lahora,Burail , Dadumajra andDhanas. While 56 fresh infec-tions were detected throughRT-PCR testing, 24 werereported through rapid anti-gen testing in Chandigarh,”stated Chandigarh HealthDepartment’s evening bul-letin.

The healthcare workerstested positive for COVID-19included a 26 years old femaleresident of Raipur Khurd,working in PGIMER, a 32years old male resident ofSector 15 working in PGIMER,a 31 years old female residentof Khuda Lahora working in

PGIMER and a 27 years oldmale working in GMCH-32,the bulletin stated.

According to the bulletin,with record 100 fresh recov-eries, the number of peoplerecovered from COVID-19have reached 1004 in thecity. The recovery rate ofCOVID positive cases wasrecorded as 62 percent whilethe fatality rate was 1.56 per-cent.

Meanwhile. PunitaBashamboo, judicial magis-trate (first class), Chandigarhhas been tested positive forCOVID-19 on Monday andhas been directed not to attendofficial duties via separateorder, stated an order issued byDistrict & Sessions Judge,Chandigarh.

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The contagion of the Covid-19 in Haryana is continu-

ing to surge with a worryingmomentum. Six more COVID-19 deaths were reported inHaryana on Monday, takingthe toll to 489 as 794 fresh casesof the infection pushed the totalin the state to 42,429. The num-ber of active cases stands at6448, while 35,492 patientshave been discharged afterrecovery.Of the total number ofcases, 10,283 were reported inFaridabad, making it the worst-hit district in the State. On theday, 711 patients of the diseasewere discharged from differenthospitals of the State. A total of35, 492 patients have so farrecovered from the disease andthe recovery percent stood at83.65 on the day.

According to the Health

department's daily bulletin,three fatalities were fromRewari, two from Panipat andone death each took place inFaridabad. With this, COVID-19 deaths in Haryana haverisen to 489.

Faridabad is the hardest-hitamong the 22 districts in thestate and has reported not onlythe highest number of cases,but also the most number offatalities at 142. Gurgaon hasreported 9785 cases and 125deaths. The districts whichreported fresh cases includeFaridabad (154), Karnal (32),Gurugram (57), Panipat (72),Sonipat (31). Sirsa (22),Yamunanagar (44), Rewari (71)and Panchkula (59), as per thebulletin. Even as efforts are onto bring down the death rate,the doubling rate of the infec-tion in Haryana on Mondayimproved to 29 days.

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Continuing its spree againstthe illegal liquor in the

State, the joint teams of PunjabExcise and Police Departmenton Monday destroyed a majorhaul of 1.33 lakh litres of lahanin the districts of Tarn Taran,Ferozepur, and Fazilka.

“The joint teams of Policeand Excise Departmentsdestroyed 1,33,500 litres oflahan in a major operationinvolving the three districts,”said a spokesperson of theExcise Department.

Approximately 1.25 lakhlitres of lahan was recoveredand destroyed in Ferozepur andTarn Taran districts. Around6,500 litres lahan was recoveredin Mahalam village inJalalabaad of Fazilka districtand 2,000 litres lahan in

Ferozepur district.Spokesperson said that a

joint raid was conducted in theenclaves of confluence of riversSutlej and Beas at Harike by ateam of Excise and Policedepartment of Ferozepur andTarn Taran. During the raid,around 1.25 lakh litres of lahanwas recovered along with 26plastic Tarpaulins and 10 irondrums, which was destroyedand an FIR was registered atHarike Police Station.

Similarly, an Excise teamalong with the Police also con-ducted raids at Mahalam village(Jalalabad) and recovered 70bottles of illicit liquor alongwith 6500 litres of lahan.Immediately swinging intoaction, the team destroyed thelahan in a village field.

Spokesperson said that ajoint operation was also held bythe Excise and PoliceDepartments at Ferozepur. Theteam conducted raid at DhaniDariya Wali village and recov-ered 2,000 litres of lahan fromthe village. Subsequently, theteam destroyed the lahan in thefields and started process ofregistering the case.

“Action against illegalliquor will continue in thecoming days till the State is notmade free from this scourge,”added the spokesperson.

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Central Government hasgiven in-principle approval

for setting up a NationalInstitute of Virology Centre forthe north zone in Punjab.

At present, the NationalInstitute of Virology (NIV) inPune is the only institution inthe country capable of provid-ing a well-coordinated medicaland public health response tosuch an emergency.

The Chief Minister, whohad proposed the Centre someweeks back in the light ofCOVID-19 pandemic, wel-comed the approval, saying thatthe Centre would prove to be amilestone to boost research inthe field of virology, make Indiafuture ready to predict anddetect viruses at the earliest sothat necessary preventive stepscan be taken.

Capt Amarinder said that

this Centre would also go a longway in addressing the require-ments of the northern regionincluding the states of Haryana,Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan,Uttar Pradesh and UTs ofChandigarh and Jammu andKashmir.

Spokesperson said that theCentre’s letter of in-principleapproval had been received byState Chief Secretary from theSecretary to Government ofIndia, Department of HealthResearch of Ministry of India-cum-Director General, IndianCouncil of Medical Research(ICMR) Prof (Dr) BalramBhargava.He has requested theState Government to identifyabout 25 acres of land on longlease so as to enable ICMR to setup this prestigious centre at theearliest.

Notably, CaptainAmarinder had written to thePrime Minister Narendra Modi

on April 10 requesting him todirect the Union Ministry ofHealth and Family Welfare to setup the proposed Centre, whichwould focus on addressingregional, national and globalneeds in virology, diagnostic,research and therapeutic evalu-ations to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Chief Minister had pro-posed a specialized Centre inMedicity, New Chandigarh,which would be well placed toserve the interests of the North-Western region givenChandigarh’s international airconnectivity. He also pointedout that the Centre could easi-ly be incubated in PGIMER,which is located only seven toeight kilometers from the pro-posed Medicity.

An approximate amount ofRs 400 crore would be requiredfor the Centre with BSL-3 facil-ity and an additional Rs 150

crore would be needed for theBSL-4 facility excluding theland, which would be providedby Punjab Government.

Pointing to the unprece-dented crisis faced by the coun-try amid Covid-19, the ChiefMinister hoped that this Centrewould be instrumental in pro-viding diagnostic support,

undertake research in basicvirology, build capacity in thefield of virology to promote uni-versal health coverage, developrapid and affordable qualitydiagnostic assays for viral dis-eases, besides introduction ofteaching courses for the MScMedical Virology and DM,Virology.

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Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD) on Monday took out a protest marchhere over the recent spurious liquor tragedythat claimed 121 lives in the state.Led bySAD legislative wing leader SharanjitSingh Dhillon, the protesters sought imme-diate dismissal of the Capt AmarinderSingh government in the state. The police stopped the protesters goingtowards the Raj Bhawan and they brieflydetained them.Monday's protest march was the fourth aspart of the Akali Dal''s agitation programmeagainst the Congress-led government inPunjab. Talking to reporters, Dhillondemanded that the Congress governmentshould be dismissed immediately as thechief minister had "refused" to act againstCongressmen who were accused of beinginvolved in the supply of spurious liquor.He demanded a CBI probe into the mat-ter to bring out the truth behind the hoochtragedy. PNS

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Punjab Government willlaunch the scheme for dis-

tribution of smartphones to theyouth on August 12 — theInternational YouthDay.Announcing, the ChiefMinister Capt AmarinderSingh said that the StateGovernment had fulfilled itspromise to the people, and theyouth in particular, by provid-ing state-of-the-art smart-phones.

“In the difficult times ofCOVID-19, some of the youthare facing pressing problems inaccessing online educationcontent. These phones will beextremely helpful to the youthin accessing a host of informa-tion available on the web as wellas other learning material post-ed by the Department ofSchool Education,” he said.

Pointing out further, CaptAmarinder Singh said that theGovernment has chosen theauspicious occasion ofJanmashtami to launch thescheme. Coincidentally, August12 is also the InternationalYouth Day, he said.

To avoid large gatheringsthe launch will be organized in26 different locations inChandigarh and the state ofPunjab. All the district head-quarters and some major prin-cipal towns will be covered onthis day. Not more than 15 stu-

dents studying in that town ordistrict will be invited at eachlocation and handed over thesmartphones.

It may be recalled that theState Government had alreadyreceived the first consignmentof 50,000 smartphones and theremaining were in the pipeline.The Council of Ministers hadrecently decided, that in thefirst phase, these would begiven to all boys and girlsstudying in Class XII inGovernment Schools acrossthe State. This would amountto about 1.75 lakh phones beengiven out in this phase.

The Chief Minister reiter-ated his resolve to work for thebetterment of the youth. Justlike Ghar Ghar Rozgar teKarobaar, this scheme wouldalso prove to be a game chang-er for the youth,added CaptAmarinder.

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Union Food Processing Industries Ministerand SAD’s Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur

Badal on Monday urged the Union RailwaysMinister Piyush Goyal to start a dedicatedKisan rail with refrigerated bogies fromAbohar to Bangalore and Abohar to Kolkatarespectively during the Kinnow harvest seasonbetween the months of December and Marchto benefit kinnow farmers of Punjab, Rajasthanand Haryana.

Harsimrat, who wrote a letter in this con-nection to the Railways Minister congratulat-ing him for launching the Kisan rail initiative,said that the cluster of Kinnow cultivation,which included adjoining areas from thestates of Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, wasspread over one lakh hectares.

“The town of Abohar in Punjab functionedas the focal market for aggregation of kinnowsand handled 25 lakh metric tonnes of produceevery year,” she said.

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With no let-up in the covid-19 cases which crossed

the 22-lakh mark on Monday,health officials are now keep-ing their fingers crossed in viewof the upcoming string of fes-tivals like Janmashtami, GaneshChaturthi, Navratras,Dussehra, Diwali and Chatth inthe coming months.

The officials fear a furtherspike in cases during the peo-ple’s participation in these fes-tivals.

For the last five days, in fact

after Raksha Bandhan, a Hindufestival, which was on August3, India has been reportingmore novel Coronavirus infec-tions than any other country inthe world. On Saturday, India’sover 64,000 new infectionscomprised more than 22 percent of all the cases detectedglobally, said an official fromthe Union Health Ministry.

He pointed out that whilethe United States and Brazilwhich have greater number ofpeople infected by the virus tillnow, have been finding fewernumber of new cases every day

during this period, while India’scase numbers have beenincreasing steadily, with morethan 60,000 new cases for thelast three days.

Many Northern States likethe Uttar Pradesh had allowedopening of sweet shops andthose selling rakhis on Sundayin view of the Raksha Bandhanfestival on Monday. Soon after,various parts of the UttarPradesh like Lucknow report-ed huge surge in the Covid-19infection cases.

Now, with a series of festi-vals coming up in the next few

months, which are celebratedacross the country, we fear morecases on anvil, said the official.

“Though StateGovernments have been urgingpeople to not to congregate atpublic places, but being majorfestivals many times citizensfail to adhere the norms ofsocial distancing and visit themarkets to purchase sweets andother items for prayers.

“We have also observedthat people tend to visit their rel-atives during festival times as aritual and do not follow maskwearing norms, thus leaving

themselves vulnerable to the dis-ease,” said the official.

For instance, if GaneshChaturthi is major festival inMaharasthra, Chatth Puja iscelebrated with great fervour inBihar. Similarly, Navratras isimportant fest in Gujarat. Hence,

increase in cases in these Statesafter these festivals cannot beruled out, said the official.

Maharasthra, Tamil Nadu,Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi,Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal,Telangana, Karnataka and Biharare the ten worst-affected states

accounted for about 82 percent of all the cases in thecountry, both in terms of totalcaseload, as well as new cases sofar.

The number in Indiareached 22 lakh on Monday,and at this rate, India is poised

to overtake Brazil within amonth’s time. In the last threedays, Brazil has been addingmore than 50,000 new casesdaily, but in India, everydayaround 60,000 cases are beingadded up to the total tally,pointed out the official.

��������������������&�(������;����������(������������ 234��3*,5

As the total coronaviruspatients across the country

crossed the 22-lakh mark,India's fatality rate dropped toits lowest two per cent in thelast 24 hours whereas therecoveries reached a new peakof over 15 lakh so far.

The latest data shared bythe Union Health shows thatthe current Case Fatality Rate(CFR) is two per cent and issteadily declining even as thecountry tested a record over1,000 deaths in a single day,

pushing the death toll so far to44,386.

The Ministry said thefatality rate is at its lowest andIndia is among the countrieswith lowest fatalities.

“Early identification ofcases has also led to steep fallin percentage of active cases,”it said.

Early identification helpsto ensure timely and promptisolation of mild and moder-ate cases and hospitalisation ofsevere and critical cases, there-by leading to effective man-agement of cases, the Ministry

said.The Ministry data further

mentions that India’s COVID-19 recoveries have crossed thehistoric peak of 15 lakh onMonday, more than twice theactive cases while recovery of15,35,743 patients, it said, hasbeen made possible because ofthe policy of aggressive testing,comprehensive tracking andefficient treatment.

Better ambulance services,focus on standard of care anduse of non-invasive oxygenhad given the desired results,it said.

With the highest-ever sin-gle-day recoveries of 54,859patients in the last 24 hours,the recovery rate had scaledanother high of almost 70 percent.

The record recoveriesensured that the actual case-load of the country, namely theactive cases, has reduced andcurrently comprises only 28.66per cent of the total positivecases.

India has posted morethan 9 lakh recoveries com-pared with active cases(6,34,945).

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday urged the

flood affected States for exten-sive use of innovative technolo-gies and local investments for thedevelopment of forecast andearly warning systems. PM wasreviewing the flood situation insix States with Chief Ministers ofAssam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,Maharashtra, Karnataka andKerala. The States compliment-ed central agencies includingNDRF for prompt co-ordinationand timely deployment of rescueoperations.

Chief Ministers SarbanadaSonowal, Nitish Kumar, YogiAdityanath, Uddhav Thackerayand Pinarayi Vijayan appraisedthe flood situation in theirStates. Karnataka was repre-sented by Home MinisterBasavaraj Bommai. DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh, HealthMinister Harsh Vardhan andMinisters of State Home AffairsG Kishan Reddy and NityanandRai also participated in thereview meet.

Modi emphasised on bettercoordination between all centraland state agencies to have a per-manent system for forecasting offloods and extensive use ofinnovative technologies forimproving forecast and warningsystem. Prime Minister saidthat over the past few years, ourforecasting agencies like IndiaMeteorological Department andCentral Water Commission havebeen making concerted effortsto make better and more usableflood forecasts. They are tryingto provide not only rainfall andriver level forecast but also loca-tion specific forecast of inunda-tion. There are pilot effortsunderway to also use innovativetechnologies such as artificial

intelligence to improve locationsspecific forecast, for which Statesshould provide necessary infor-mation to these agencies andtimely disseminate the warningsto local communities,” said PMOin a statement.

Prime Minister mentionedthat investment should beincreased in localised earlywarning system so that peoplein a particular area can be pro-vided with timely warning incase of any threatening situationsuch as breach of river embank-ment, inundation level, lightning

etc. “Prime Minister alsoemphasised that in view ofCOVID situation, while under-taking rescue efforts, States mustensure that people follow allhealth precautions such as wear-ing of face mask, hand sanitisa-tion and maintain adequatephysical distance and reliefmaterials must include provisionfor hand washing/ sanitizing andface masks for the affected peo-ple. In this regard, special pro-visions should be made forelderly people, pregnant womenand people with co-morbidity.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday dedicat-

ed to the nation, 2,300 km sub-marine optical cable connect-ing Andaman and NicobarIslands to Chennai, which is setto be a big a leap in the com-munication technology. Modicongratulated the engineer-ing team which finished thisprestigious project in 18months. The foundation stonefor this project was laid by thePM on December 30, 2018 atPort Blair.

Addressing the functionthru video conferring, PrimeMinister said this great leap incommunication technologywill boost the development ofthe Andaman and NicobarIslands. Modi admired thelaying of cables for about 2,300kilometers under the sea assurveying in the deep sea,maintaining the quality of thecable and laying of the cablewith specialised vessels is not

an easy task. The project also had to

overcome challenges such ashigh waves, storms and mon-soons and the tough timesowing to Corona Pandemic.Telecom Minister RaviShankar Prasad also attendedfunction and praised the engi-neering team in executing thisproject in speedy manner.

Modi said providing betterand cheap connectivity to thepeople of Andaman & NicobarIslands is the responsibility ofthe country.

PM said the SubmarineCable is one such effort toprove that A & N Islands arenot far away from Delhi andfrom the Hearts of theMainland. “Submarine Cablewill help A&N in gettingcheaper & better connectivityand all the benefits of DigitalIndia, especially in improvingonline education, tele-medi-cine, banking system, onlinetrading and in boostingtourism,” said Prime Minister.

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Union EnvironmentMinister Prakash

Javedekar on Monday termed‘immature’ the criticism ofthe Environmental ImpactAssessment (EIA), 2020 fromgreen activists and politicalparties including theCongress, and said that allsuggestions will be consideredbefore the draft is finalised.

“The criticism of the EIA,2020, was “premature”, as thedocument is merely a draft atthis stage. As per rules, only60 days notice is to be given,but owing to Covid-19, weextended it up to 150 days,”Javadekar said on the sidelinesof the ministr y’s WorldElephant Day celebrations.

“Thousands have senttheir views, but some areovereager and hence they areprotesting. People jumping atthe draft [EIA] is not a fairpractice. It is just a draft rightnow, we will take a call onthese views and then it will befinalised.”

The Minister also

slammed the Congress, alleg-ing that its erstwhile govern-ment did not consult peopleon such decisions.

“The erstwhile UnitedProgressive Alliance-led gov-ernment did not consult thepeople on key environmentaldecisions. I have mentionedthis in my letter and reply to[Congress leader] JairamRamesh,” he said. “This is allunnecessary and premature.”

Javadekar also objectedto Congress leader RahulGandhi’s comments earlier inthe day. Gandhi called thedraft a “disaster” and urgedpeople to protest against it.“Those who want to nowprotest, during their regimetook many of the big decisionswithout consultations,”Javadekar said.

On Sunday, Rahul Gandhihad said the draft (EIA) noti-fication, 2020, is “not only dis-graceful, but it is also dan-gerous”.

“Not only does it have thepotential to reverse many ofthe hard-fought gains thathave been won over the yearsin the battle to protect ourenvironment, but it could alsopotentially unleash wide-spread environmentaldestruction and mayhemacross India,” Gandhi wrote ina post on a social media plat-form calling youth to protestagainst it.

The new updates to the

draft 2020 EIA notificationprescribe the procedure forindustries to assess the eco-logical and environmentalimpact of their proposedactivity and the mechanism,whereby these would beassessed by expert committeesappointed by the environ-ment ministry.

Several environmentalistsand organisations have allegedthat the draft notificationdoes away with the require-ment for public consultationfor a number of projects thatcould create an adverse eco-logical impact.

Ramesh had said lastmonth the draft notificationreduces public participation inall steps of the environmentalclearance process by “lessen-ing the notice period for pub-lic hearings and doing awaywith them for a large catego-ry of projects”.

On August 5, theKarnataka High Court direct-ed the Ministr y ofEnvironment to not publishthe final draft notificationuntil September 7 as it notedthat it was published onMarch 23, two days before theimposition of the nationwidelockdown to control the coro-navirus, people had not beenable to file objections to thedocument. It also criticisedthe publication of the docu-ment only in Hindi andEnglish.

���� 234��3*,5

Every-year, at least 500 peo-ple are killed by jumbos and

100 elephants lose their lives asthey come into conflict withhumans in search of food andmigration from one habitat toanother in the country.

This is a matter of concern,said Union EnvironmentMinister Prakash Javadekar atan event here after release of adocument on best practices ofconflict management andlaunch of the national portal ofproject elephant which willhave all the data and details ofelephant

“We do not kill animals.Animals are revered in India.We have to devise good conflictmanagement practices. Wehave also started a fodder andwater augmentation pro-gramme in elephants’ habitatand corridor,” Javadekar said onWorld Elephant Day onMonday. As per the last censusconducted in 2017, India ishome to 30,000 elephants whileover 2,700 are in the captivity.

Addressing the event,Javadekar said elephant con-servation is vital as it balancesthe ecosystem. Elephants haveto be kept in forests for whichfodder and water augmentationprogramme has been initiated,the minister said, adding thatby next year results will startshowing.

“The Government hastaken initiative of fodder andwater augmentation in forestareas so that animals will getfood and water in forest areaand will not come outside,” hesaid adding that LiDAR tech-nology is being used for it.

Union Minister of State forEnvironment Babul Supriyosaid, it is a moment of pridethat India is having 60 percentof Global population of AsianElephants.

Giving out the figures ofdeaths due to human-elephantconflict, Additional DirectorGeneral of Forests (Wildlife)Soumitra Dasgupta said hun-

dreds of elephants migrate andcome in contact with humanbeings.

“More than 500 humanand 100 elephant deaths takeplace each year due to theconflict. In last five years, theministry has unleashed a seriesof activities for the conserva-tion of elephants. More ele-phant corridors have beenidentified, budget has beenincreased by 30 per cent andseveral committees have alsobeen formed,” said Dasgupta.

“New elephant reserveshave been declared and ele-phant corridors have also beenidentified in the past five yearsto address the problem.Elephants have also beenincluded in appendix 1 of theConvention on theConservation of MigratorySpecies of Wild Animals toensure better conservation.”

Sanjay Kumar, director-general of forests, said thepopulation and distribution ofelephants in the country havebeen on the rise. They havebeen migrating fromJharkhand to Chhattisgarh toMadhya Pradesh andMaharashtra.

“New interactions are lead-ing to more conflict. They aremigrating to newer areas. Weare trying to identify researchmethodologies to understandhow the population can remainstable in new areas,” he said.

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The Supreme Court onMonday said further hear-

ing was required in the 2009criminal contempt case againstactivist-lawyer

Prashant Bhushan andjournalist Tarun Tejpal toexamine whether comments oncorruption against judges per seamounted to contempt or not.

A bench headed by JusticeArun Mishra and comprising

justices B R Gavai and KrishnaMurari posted the matter forhearing on August 17.

The top court had inNovember 2009 issued con-tempt notice to Bhushan andTejpal.

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The Centre Monday toldthe Supreme Court that

work for installation of smogtower at Anand Vihar in eastDelhi has started and soilsamples have been taken forexamining the structural sta-bility.

Smog tower is a structuredesigned as large-scale airpurifier to reduce air pollu-tion.

Solicitor General TusharMehta told a bench headed byJustice Arun Mishra that anmemorandum of under-standing (MoU) has beensigned for the project ofinstallation of smog towerand IIT Bombay and TataProjects Limited are in touchwith University of Minnesotafor transfer of technology.

The bench, also compris-ing Justices B R Gavai andKrishna Murari, wasinformed by Mehta that as onAugust 8, site survey has beendone and soil samples havebeen taken and are beingexamined.

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Abdul Hamid Najar, theBharatiya Janta Party

leader who was criticallyinjured after being shot at byunidentified terrorists onSunday in Ompora area ofcentral Kashmir's Budgam dis-trict, succumbed to his injuriesearly Monday morning.

Najar had received at leastfour bullet injuries. Accordingto official sources, “his liver waspunctured”. He was operatedupon by the doctors but hecould not survive and breathedhis last early Monday morning.

The 38-year-old was beingtreated at the SMHS hospital inSrinagar.

Najar was the district pres-ident of Budgam BJP OtherBackward Class (OBC)Morcha.

He was targeted by theunidentified terrorists whenhe was out on a morning walkin the area.

His last rites were per-formed by the family membersin the afternoon. Around onedozen BJP workers acrossKashmir valley have so fartendered their resignationsfearing for their lives.

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Foreign Tablighi Jamaatiscaught in several districts of

UP and Delhi have beenreleased after fines and shortpunishments.

However, the allegation ofviolation of visa rules hasbecome an impediment in thebail of two Sri Lankan Jamaatiscaught in Aligarh.

Therefore, their release wasnot possible and their bail gotdismissed from the sessionscourt today. After this, effortshave started in the High Courtfor their bail and for this, theSri Lankan Embassy hasappointed a lawyer.

During the early period ofthe coronavirus infection peri-od, people of Jamaat were

quarantined all over the coun-try amidst the noise of spread-ing infection from the Jamatisinvolved in the Tabligi Jamat ofDelhi.

Action was also takenagainst them in the LockdownViolation, Pandemic Act.During this action, twoJamaatians of Sri Lankan ori-gin caught in the city are badlytrapped.

They are accused for vio-lation of Indian visa rules. Dueto this, the issue of their returnto their country is stuck.

According to the govern-ment data and Aligarh policerecords, there were 72 Jamatiscame in the district at that time.In the Dharpakad campaign, 13in Rangrejan, 12 in Atiyaan, 10in Govind Nagar, 102 in

Kasimpur, 9 in Junglegarhi,16 in Pilauna and the restJamati in Faiz Mosque areawere caught.

Out of these, 13 peoplestayed in the RangrejanMosque area. Among themwere two Sri Lankans namedM o h a m m a dMurshidurrahman and MJHippalur Rahman. Their inves-tigation and passport verifica-tion revealed that both of themvisited India for 90 days inFebruary on a tourist visa.According to the rules, duringthis time they should not haveparticipated in any religiousprocession here.

Therefore,they wereaccused of lockdown viola-tion, epidemic act, disaster act,visa rule violation. Their pass-

ports were confiscated andthey were sent to jail.

According to AdvocateAale Navi, who is representingthem in Aligarh, their bailapplication was granted in theSessions Court. But otherwise,the plea was rejected in visaviolation rule.

Now the senior advocateof the High Court will advocatethe matter as the Sri LankanEmbassy has taken the processforward by taking interest inthe matter. The Embassy hasappointed advocates. This isimportant to mention that for-eign Jamatis who were caughtin Delhi, Saharanpur, Baghpatetc. in the country, were allreleased. Jamati of other statesof the country were alsoreleased.

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As the number of Covid-19patients showing no pos-

sibility of coming down, Keralahas sought the assistance of theState’s Police force to combatthe pandemic fighting mecha-nism, according to ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Addressing the media inhis daily press briefing, Vijayansaid he has appointed HarshitaAttaluri, inspector general ofpolice as the nodal officer incharge of Thiruvananthapuramrural district and S Sreejith, IG,as the officer in charge ofcoastal region.

The decision is in the back-ground of 1,184 new personstesting positive for Covid-19 inthe last 24 hours endingMonday evening 6 pm. “Sevenpersons succumbed to Covid-19 during the last 24 hours.What is concern is the numberof persons getting infectedthrough social transmission.On Monday, 956 persons out of

the 1,184 tested positive con-tracted the pandemic throughsocial transmission. 114 per-sons could not explain how andwhere they contracted the pan-demic. We diagnosed 106 expa-triates and 73 persons fromother parts of the country onMonday with the pandemic,”said Vijayan. Hew also said that41 health workers too testedpositive for the pandemic.

“The task of controlling thespread of the pandemic hasbeen handed over toNeighbourhood Watch Systemand the Janamythri Police. Weare afraid that the local com-munity clusters are almost sureto become Large CommunityClusters,” said Vijayan.

The testing of samples inthe State continued to hover in

the 20,000 to 21,000 range.“During the last 24 hours wetested 20,583 samples.Regarding the district-wisetesting, Malappuram toppedthe table on Monday with 255positive cases while number ofcases in Thiruvananthapuramcame down slightly to 200,”said Vijayan. He said the down-pour has come down in theState and the next few dayswould see rain coming downfurther , according to theIndian MeteorologicalDepartment.

The sum total of Monday'smedia briefing by Vijayan isthat Kerala continues to be ina fragile state with Covid-19pandemic continuing unabat-ed. The roping in of police offi-cers to strengthen the preven-tive mechanism to fight Covid-19 is being seen as a signal inthis direction. Vijayan refusedto drawn into any controversyregarding his staying offMunnar where 48 persons werekilled in Friday's landslide.

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The death toll in Friday morning’s devas-tating landslide at Rajamala near Munnar

in Kerala reached 49 by Monday evening assearch and rescue team of the NDRF retrievedsix more bodies from the debris in the region.The fate of 22 more persons who went miss-ing remains unresolved even as rescue work-ers were going ahead with their mission asthis report is filed.

Frequent downpour and mist have maderescue operation difficult but efforts were onto locate the missing persons, all workers intea plantation owned by the Kannan DevanCompany of the Tatas.

A new controversy has erupted over thediscrimination shown by the KeralaGovernment towards the deceased in thelandslide. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayanannounced a solatium of �2 lakh to the fam-ilies of each of those who lost their lives.Vijayan had announced cash relief f �10 lakhto the families of each of those who died inFriday’s Air India air crash at KozhikodeAirport. Those injured were give �2 lakh andthose who suffered minor injuries were

allocated �50,000.“This is not fair and the Kerala

Government should accord the victims ofRajamala landslide the same importance andrecognition they gave to those who died andinjured in the air crash. The Chief Ministershould understand that human lives are thesame whether they die in air crash or land-slide,” said V Muraleedharan, Minister of statefor external affairs who visited the landslidespot.

Things took an ugly turn when volunteersof Seva Bharati were refused entry toRajamala for retrieving the dead bodies andhelp the relations of the victims in perform-ing the last rites. The LDF Convenor AVijayaraghavan alleged that the Seva Bharatiworkers have come to propagate Hinduismand not for helping the people in distress.

Local residents said the Sb activists werethe first to reach Rajamala with provisionsand life saving materials like blankets andmedicine for those who survived the nature’sfury.

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The NIA Court in Kochi onMonday rejected the bail appli-

cation moved by Swapna Suresh,the kingpin in the Gold SmugglingScam busted by the Customs.

Judge Krishnakumar alsoupheld the decision of the NIA toslap Unlawful Activities PreventionAct (UAPA) against Swapna whichwould make it difficult for her tocome out on bail in the near future.

The Judge said there were suf-ficient grounds that prima facieprove that the gold smugglingoperation undertaken by Swapnawas linked to terrorism. “It is basedon the case diary as well as otherdocumentary evidences submittedby the NIA that the bail applicationis being rejected,” said the verdict.

Swapna Suresh and her part-ner-in-crime Sarith were arrested bythe sleuths of NIA from Bangalorewhere they have gone in hiding afterthe Customs officials of the inter-

national airport inThiruvananthapuram busted thegold smuggling which was hap-pening through diplomatic channel.

The probe by the Customsand NIA took the investigation toM Sivsankar, the then principal sec-retary of Kerala Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan and minister forhigher education K T Jaleel, formerSIMI leader.

Sivsankar was questioned bythe NIA and the Customs offcialsfor almost 24 hours in connectionwith the case while there are strongreports that Jaleel may be grilled bythe agencies for his associatio0nwith the UAE Consul General andattaché based at the capital city. Thecustoms and NIA have arrested tenpersons in connection with the goldsmuggling.

The NIA believes that themoney generated through thesmuggling is being diverted tofund terrorist activities and anti-India programmes.

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114 deaths and 5, 914 newCovid-19 patients by

Monday evening. This is theinformation furnished by theGovernment of Tamil Nadu onMonday about the situation inthe State on account of coron-avirus.

As on Monday evening,there were 53,099 active Covid-19 cases in the State, lesser thanthe 53, 336 persons with thepandemic as on Sundayevening. Though the numberswere outwardly smaller com-pared to Sunday, the groundreality is that Tamil Naduremains critical with the pan-demic refusing to show anysign of subsiding.

Chennai had 976 Covid-19patients on Monday. ButChengalpet diagnosed 483 newpersons while Kancheepuram( 310) and Thiruvallur (399)continued with unabated pan-demic.

There were 15 districtsother than Chennai,VChengalpet, Kancheepuramand Thiruvallur with highnumber of Covid patients whileothers showed less than 100cases.

An important informationthat came out of Tamil NaduSecretariat is that 28 legislatorshave contracted Covid-19which means that 10 per centof the elected representativeshave been affected with thepandemic.

Doctors in Chennai’sGovernment Hospitals refusedto acknowledge the fat that thepandemic has come down inthe Metropolis over the lastfortnight. “I am not boldenough to say so. There weremany instances where thosetested negative getting con-tracted with the pandemic. Itsonly after three or four teststhat we can boldly say the per-son is out of danger of gettingafflicted with the pandemic,” hesaid.

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Days after alleging that theState Government was

withholding information fromhim on vital issues BengalGovernor Jagdeep Dhankhar onMonday shot off a letter to ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjeerequesting her to allow theState farmers to avail of the ben-efit of pro-farmer PrimeMinister Kisan Samman Nidhischeme which was beingblocked by her Government.

Urging the Chief Ministerto undo the injustice beingmeted out to the tillers he wrotethat he was distressed at the howthe 70 lakh odd farmers of theState were being deprived of thecentral scheme.

Claiming that the farmersof Bengal has already lost thetotal benefit amounting to about�8,400 crore “which was theirdue and right,” Dhankhar wrote“it is distressing to note that 70lakh farmers continue to bedenied the benefits of PM-

Kisan Samman Nidhi,” adding“while each farmer all over thecountry has so far received �12,00 our farmers have beendenied of this legitimate right onaccount of insensitivity andconfrontational stance of theState Government.

He said that the farmers ofother States had received�92,000 crores thanks to the PMKisan scheme whereas “noamount has come to our State.”This, he said required some“soul-searching and immediateamends,” he said.

Dhankhar further wrotethat the Central Govt schemehas been running from 2018with 100% funding from Govtof India adding “The amount isdirectly transferred to the bankaccounts of the beneficiaries.”

As there was no middle-men or commission, theamount directly went into thefarmers’ accounts he said, won-dering “why this is not beendone by the State Govt. Thisunfortunate lapse, is painfully

harmful to the interests of thefarmers. This 'cruel joke' andhistoric injustice on the farm-ers should make me realise thatgovernance has to be for thebenefit of the people at large,”and urging the Chief Ministerto “take steps to undo thisinjustice to our fanners.”

The Governor who has nolove lost with the TrinamoolCongress Government, had lastweek alleged that the StateGovernment departments werenot only not sharing informa-tion with him but also notresponding to the queries videsRight to Information.

Responding to theGovernor’s remarks and theletter senior TMC leader andLegislator Tapas Roy said that“he is the only Governor inIndia who pinpricks his owngovernment through twitter…Itseems that being a senior advo-cate he is holding the BJP’s briefand acting accordingly inBengal,” ever since he came inthis State last year.

Kolkata: People had a narrowescape when fire broke out ata commercial high-rise in busyPollock Street area of northcentral Kolkata.

The fire broke out in abuilding that houses severalcorporate offices and banks latein the afternoon however wasarrested with the help of 10 fireengines and a hydraulic ladderwhich was further used to res-cue people trapped on the firstfloor, State Minister FirhadHakimsaid.

The immediate reason ofthe fire was not known he saidadding investigations wouldbe carried out after the flameswere completely doused. PNS

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Assam's Director Generalof Police Bhaskar Jyoti

Mahanta tested positive forCovid-19 on Monday and hasgone in for home isolation, offi-cials said.

According to a seniorAssam Police official, healthworkers have begun tracing thepeople who have come in con-tact with Mahanta. Despitemany attempts, Mahanta him-self was not reachable.

“Since March, around 30people directly and indirectlyassociated with the AssamPolice Headquarters have test-ed positive. The infectedinclude senior officials like theInspector General of Police,Law and Order, and the DeputyInspector General,Administration,” said the offi-cial, who did not want to benamed.

A total of 2,259 AssamPolice personnel have testedpositive for the Covid-19, but1,734 have already recovered.However, six personnel suc-cumbed to the disease.

Assam, till Monday after-noon, reported a total of 58,837coronavirus cases, with 16,364active cases. According toHealth Minister HimantaBiswa Sarma, 145 people havedied due to Covid-19 in thestate so far.

Bareilly: As many as 56 inmatesof two prisons in Bareilly districtof Uttar Pradesh have tested pos-itive for coronavirus, officialssaid on Monday.

District Surveillance OfficerAshok Kumar said 51 inmates ofthe central jail and five inmatesof the district jail tested positivefor Covid-19. The jail inmateswere tested after an inmate of thecentral jail died due to Covid-19,Kumar added.

The district has so farreported 3,773 coronavirus caseswith 98 deaths. Meanwhile,according to a report fromBanda, a journalist died due toCovid-19 on Sunday.

Anjani Nigam ,52, wasadmitted to the Banda MedicalCollege and later referred to theSanjay Gandhi Post GraduateInstitute of Medical Sciences inLucknow on Saturday when hiscondition deteriorated. IANS

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Police have detained threeaccused for the abduction

and gang rape of a 17-year-oldspecially-abled girl in Dausadistrict of Rajasthan.

She was kidnapped on herway to a store near her homeand then assaulted.

The accused had forceful-

ly taken her inside a vehiclewhere they took turns to rapeher, said the police, adding thatthe incident took place in theLalsot police station area onAugust 5 and there wereallegedly five attackersinvolved. According to JaipurIG S. Sengathir, who reachedDausa to take stock of the sit-uation,

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Mystery behind disappear-ance of three labourers

hailing from Rajouri onMonday deepened further aftersocial media reports claimedthe three “suspected terrorists“ killed in Amshipora Shopian'encounter' on 18 July 2020,have been reportedly identifiedas the missing labourers ofRajouri on basis of pho-tographs shared by the families.

As the news spread likewildfire on various other socialmedia platforms, disgruntledpoliticians in Kashmir valleyissued lengthy statementsdemanding a probe into dis-appearance of three labourersfrom Rajouri in south Kashmirdistrict of Shopian.

Reacting to these socialmedia posts, Srinagar basedDefence Spokesman, ColRajesh Kalia issued a statementwhich read, “we have notedsocial media inputs linked tothe operation at Shopian onJuly 18, 2020. The three ter-rorists killed during the oper-ation have not been identifiedand the bodies were buriedbased on established proto-cols.Army is investigating thematter”.

It is leart the family mem-bers of three labourers fromRajouri have registered a miss-

ing report in police stationRajouri.

Before going off the radar,the three labourers had report-edly informed their familymembers on July 17 that theyhad reached Shopian and hadtaken a room on rent. Sincethen the family members havenot heard anything from them.

Iltija Mufti, daughter ofPDP Chief and former ChiefMinister Mehnbooba Mufti,currently operating the Twitteraccount of her mother posteda tweet which read “ Shockedto hear about reports of 3missing labourers reportedlykilled in a staged encounter atShopian. Armed forces have afree hand to operate withimpunity. Explains why bodiesare allowed to decompose atunknown locations. Probesinto recent encounters must beordered”.

Jammu & Kashmir ApniParty (JKAP) president SyedMohammad Altaf Bukhari onMonday sought an impartialand time bound probe tounearth the mystery behind thedisappearance of three poorlabourers of Rajouri district.

The CPI(M) in a statementsaid the incident of threelabourers from Rajouri goingmissing from Shopian districtfrom July 17 is a serious issueand needs a time-bound judi-cial probe.

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In a marked drop in the num-ber of Covid-19 infections

and fatalities, Maharashtra onMonday witnessed 293 deathstaking the total pandemic tollin the State to 18,050, while arelatively low 9,181 people test-ed positive for Coronavirus.

After the disturbing week-end that saw the pandemicclaim 665 lives (275 onSaturday and 390 on Sunday)and leave an alarming 24,070others (12,822 on Saturdayand 12,248 on Sunday) infect-ed, Coronavirus appeared tohave become less ferocious onthe first day of the week, goingby the death and infection tal-lies.

Of the 290 total deathsreported on Monday, Mumbaiaccounted for accounted for 46deaths, while there were 43deaths in Pune and 42 inThane.

As the fatality figuredropped below 50 mark for thesecond consecutive day, thetotal Covid-19 toll Mumbai --with 46 fresh deaths --rosefrom 6,799 to 6,845, while theinfected cases increased by 925to touch a total of 1,24,307.

Apart from 46, 43 and 42deaths reported from Mumbai,Pune and Thane respectively,there were 22 deaths in Raigad,21 in Nagpur, 16 in Sangli, 12in Kolhapur, 9 in Jalna, 8 inRatnagiri, 7 each in

Ahmednagar, Solapur,Aurangabad and Nanded, 6each in Palghar and Latur, 5each in Jalgaon and Beed, 4each in Nashik, Satara andAmravati, 3 each in Nandurbarand Osmanabad and one eachin Dhule, Hingoli, Akola,Yavatmal, Buldhana andChandrapur.

In a related development,as many as 6711 patients weredischarged from hospitals inthe state after full recovery, tak-ing the total number ofpatients discharged from var-ious hospitals after full recov-ery since the second week ofMarch this year to 3,58,421.The recovery rate went up to68.33 per cent. The mortalityrate in the state is 3.44 per cent.The state health authoritiespegged the number of “activecases” in the state at 1,47,735.

Pune, which has emergedas the second worst-affecteddistrict in terms of spread of thepandemic, has recorded1,14,703 infections and 2771deaths till now.

With 105904 infected casesand 3008 deaths, Thane con-tinued to be the third-worst hitdistrict in Maharashtra.

Out of 27,83,520 samplessent to laboratories, 5,24,513have tested positive (18.91 percent) for COVID-19 untilMonday. Currently, 10,01,268people are in home quarantinewhile 35,521 people are ininstitutional quarantine.

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Hapur (UP): A six-year-oldgirl, who was kidnapped andbrutally raped in Hapur districton Thursday, remains in a crit-ical condition even as the policecontinue to hunt for theaccused.

The police have releasedthree sketches of the accusedon the basis of the statementsof the girl's parents and neigh-bours.

The girl was kidnappedfrom outside her home in theGarh Mukhteshwar area,reportedly by a man on amotorcycle.

The police launched a huntfor the girl after her parentslodged a missing complaint.

She was found the nextmorning, unconscious andsoaked in blood, behind bush-es not far from her village. Thegirl was rushed to a specialisedhospital in Meerut where themedical examination con-firmed rape.

She has already undergoneone surgery and doctors say sheis stable but not yet out of dan-ger. The doctors said that thegirl was brutalised in a mannerthat is shockingly similar to theNirbhaya gang rape case of2012.

Dr S.K. Garg, the principalof the Meerut Medical Collegewhere the girl is admitted, saidthat she will need treatment fora long duration and more surg-eries. IANS

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In perhaps the biggest narcotichauls in recent years, Mumbai

Customs and Department ofRevenue Intelligence (DRI)have seized 191 kilograms ofheroin worth �1,000 crore froma cargo container at NhavaSheva Port Trust (JNPT) inNavi Mumbai and arrested twocustoms clearing agents in con-nection with the seizure.

Acting on a tip-off, theCustoms and DRI officialsbrought about the seizure in ajoint operation carried out atthe JNPT.

Each kilogram of seizeddrug is worth more than �5crore in the market.

Said to be of prime quali-ty, heroin had been concealedin plastic pipes painted in bam-

boo colour. When apprehend-ed, the smugglers had sought topass it off as a traditional, theAyurvedic medicine’.

Immediately after the drugseizure, the Customs and DRIofficials arrested two customsclearing agents who attemptedto have the goods clearedthrough the Customs.Informed official sources saidthat the narcotic consignmenthad been clandestinely fromAfghanistan.

The two arrested customsclearing agents were producedbefore a city court whichremanded them in police cus-tody for 14 days.

The two agencies are inves-tigating the origin of the seizedheroin, the modus operandiand whether similar smugglinghad been done in the past.

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Page 6: 5 010516 75˛$2 5˛) ˘ - ’˝˘ . 3234 83578*& *38&2?2?C &2 ...€¦ · them, officials said, adding that their questioning contin-ued till late in the evening. Later, Shruti Modi,

Recently, the PrimeMinister inauguratedthe country’s largestphotovoltaic (PV) cell-based solar energy

plant at Rewa in Madhya Pradesh.While inaugurating this 750megawatt (MW) plant, he stressedupon the need for atmanirbharta(self-reliance). Considering thatabout 80 per cent of our solarpower generation equipment is ofChinese origin, the inaugurationof the solar plant was timely. ThePrime Minister used the occasionto emphasise this aspect. Said he,“India won’t be able to fully use itssolar power potential if the coun-try doesn’t develop better solarpanels, batteries and storage man-ufacturing capacity.” India import-ed $2.16 billion worth of solarphotovoltaic cells, panels andmodules in 2018-19.

India is lucky that sunlight isavailable in abundance here butthe challenge lies in the procure-ment of the PV cells. This hasbeen one of the major constrain-ing factors in our efforts to realisethe full potential of solar energy.According to a report submittedby the parliamentary StandingCommittee, in order to achievethe target of 100 GW of solar elec-tricity capacity by 2022, Indiashould have had an installedcapacity of 32,000 MW by 2017-18. But as of January 31, 2018, thecountry only had a capacity of18,455 MW. As per the standingcommittee, the Ministry of Newand Renewable Energy has toinstall the remaining 81,545 MWin just four years — this is over20,000 MW a year and appearsdifficult to achieve.

However, despite the con-straints, the price of solar energyhas come down to �2-2.50 perunit from �7-8 per unit in 2014.A serious lacuna in this entireexercise of achieving the solarpower target continues to be ourpoor record of indigenous man-ufacturing of solar panels and ournear-complete dependency onChinese imports.

Today, China is the onlycountry that caters to most of theglobal PV cell demands. It pro-duces the cheapest solar panels. Itis difficult for any country tomatch such low prices. This hasled to a situation where China hasa virtual monopoly and this maynot be desirable in the long run.Our own imports, mostly fromChina, accounted for 90 per cent

of 2017 sales, up from 86 percent in 2014. Thus, it is para-doxical that both our sources ofenergy, oil as well as solar, arecurrently heavily dependenton imports.

The Chinese advantage isbased on low cost of manufac-turing despite the process beinghighly power consumptive andpolluting. In the present sce-nario, particularly in the wakeof the Galwan incident, importsof solar technology from Chinahave been banned as it wouldnot have been logical on ourpart to continue to nourishtheir economy.

In the absence of cheapimports, the current situationmay, perhaps, appear to be dis-appointing but there are alter-natives which must be fullyexploited. First, the solar ther-mal route for harnessing solarenergy has found limited appli-cation so far. As of now, thereare only six functional solarthermal plants, which amountto just a fraction of our totalrequirement.

Understandably, this tech-nology has its own advantagesbut is somewhat more expen-sive than the PV cell route. Thisis why it has not gatheredmuch acceptance. Moreresearch in this area can ensurethat costs are further cut downleading to profitability.

An alternative to silicon-

based PV cells, which is thespeciality of China, has sincebeen found in the form ofPerovskite solar cells. This isalso a tried and tested method.According to the work done atthe National Institute ofAdvanced Studies, Bengaluru,the efficiency of the Perovskitecells, which was about three percent in 2006, showed a markedimprovement. It has now beendetermined to be at about 22per cent, which makes it quiteviable.

Perovskite is a crystallineform of the chemical called cal-cium titanate. It may sound for-midable but fortunately, all theraw materials used to manufac-ture it are indigenously avail-able. The process, too, is muchsimpler, less polluting and con-sumes less power than theproduction of silicon chips.

Perovskite is the product oflimestone, which is abundant-ly available in the country, andtitanium oxide, which isobtained from sands contain-ing ilmenite, an ore of titanium.Ilmenite, too, is available inabundance as we have reservesof several million tonnes of thisore in the sands along theshores of Andhra Pradesh,Odisha, Tamil Nadu andKerala.

The present usage of tita-nium oxide is confined to thepaints and pigment industry as

well as in the manufacture ofcosmetics and sunscreens as itoffers good protection againstUV rays.

The absence of Chineseproducts from now onwardsneeds to be considered as anopportunity for acceleratedresearch so as to put this tech-nology to commercial use atthe earliest. Perovskite-basedsolar cells have performedexceedingly well in controlledconditions but the problem ofdegradation due to weatherconditions needs to beaddressed. The silicon-basedPV cells are almost weatherproof, so the durability ofPerovskite has to be brought upto that level.

Perovskite technology hasthe potential of being a game -changer in our quest for har-nessing solar energy with lesspolluting and low cost solu-tions. The renewable energyfirm, ReNew Power Pvt Ltd,has already announced that itis in discussion with variousStates to set up a �1,500-2,000crore facility to make solarcells and modules. The need isfor close monitoring and allo-cation of sufficient funds forresearch. India can’t afford tolose the new solar race.

(The writer is a formerGovernor and senior advisor atthe Pranab MukherjeeFoundation)

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Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Tragedy in Kozhikode”(August 10). Credit must begiven to the local residents,who rushed to the aid of thoseon-board the ill-fated flight.However, many people forgot tofollow COVID-19 protocols,the downpour and even the pos-sible danger of a fire. It must benoted that the airport area hasbeen listed as a pandemic con-tainment zone. Their help inspotting passengers and laterdisseminating informationusing social media were out-standing gestures. There werelarge queues of blood donors athospitals even at midnight,proving that humanity, humane-ness and hope are still alive.

M PradyuKannur

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Sir — This refers to the edito-rial, “Tragedy in Kozhikode”(August 10). The Kozhikodeplane crash incident is areminder that the findings ofthe safety audits were not taken

seriously. In a similar incidentin 2010, a Boeing 737 aircrafthad overshot the tabletop run-way at the Mangalore airport,

killing 158 passengers and crew.Experts had warned of a repeatbut all in vain. The presentcrash has proved no lessons

were learnt by the authorities.Why was such a big aircraft

allowed to operate from a table-top? Why did the operators

allow water to collect on therunway? Given that the pilot hadalready aborted an attempt toland sensing the condition, whywasn’t the aircraft diverted to anearby airport? Although afew recommendations of theaviation safety report submittedto the Ministry of Civil Aviationin 2011 were implemented, laps-es remain. Instead of jumping toconclusions, we must wait forreports to emerge. Hereon, sug-gestions of the audit reportmust be implemented withoutany delay.

V Nagendra KumarHyderabad

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Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Tragedy in Kozhikode”(August 10). The Karipur airportis in a hilly area and has a table-top runway. This has been a mat-ter of concern since long as fourmajor incidents have taken placein the past. Authorities need tofocus on improving safety levels.

AditiVia email

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Following marathon deliberations of theMonetary Policy Committee (MPC) overthree days, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s)

Governor, Shaktikanta Das, made four importantannouncements under the central bank’s bi-monthly monetary policy review on August 6.

First, Das warned that India’s real GrossDomestic Product (GDP) growth is set to contractin 2020-21 but did not give a specific forecast. Healso cautioned that “while an early containmentof the COVID-19 pandemic may impart an upsideto the outlook, a more protracted spread of thepandemic, deviations from the forecast of a nor-mal monsoon and global financial market volatil-ity are key downside risks.” Furthermore, the MPCsees “upside risks to food prices and elevated head-line inflation during the second quarter of the cur-rent financial year (July-September), which wouldease in the second half.”

Second, “in respect of MSME (micro, smalland medium enterprise) borrowers facing stresson account of the economic fallout of the pandem-ic, lending institutions may restructure the debtunder the existing framework, provided the bor-rower’s account was classified as standard with thelender as on March 1, 2020; this restructuring willhave to be implemented by March 31, 2021.” Thebanks will have to make an additional provisionof five per cent on restructured loans.

Third, large companies will also be eligible forone-time restructuring without declaring it as anon-performing asset (NPA) or requiring achange in the promoter/s. The borrower accounthas to be standard as on March 1. The decisionon the restructuring scheme has to be taken byDecember 31 and restructuring must be imple-mented within six months. An additional provi-sion of 10 per cent on the restructured loans shouldbe made. An expert committee under KV Kamathwill recommend to the RBI the required financialparameters, along with the sector-specific bench-marks for this special window.

Fourth, the policy repo rate — the interest ratecharged by the RBI on loans it gives to banks —remains unchanged at four per cent. The reverserepo rate or the interest rate the banks get on theirsurplus funds parked with the RBI also remainsunchanged at 3.35 per cent. Further, the RBI willcontinue with the “accommodative” stance of themonetary policy as long as necessary to revivegrowth and mitigate the impact of COVID-19,while ensuring that inflation remains within thetarget.

The first announcement is on expected lineseven as intermittent lockdowns by States and asso-ciated disruptions in both supply and demand havedashed all hopes of a V-shaped recovery in eco-nomic growth (as alluded to by the ChiefEconomic Advisor, KV Subramanian during theinitial stages of the pandemic). Several agencies,including the World Bank and the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF), have projected a signifi-cant deceleration in growth.

As regards the second, this is an extension ofthe existing scheme of one-time restructuringintroduced last year. That was applicable torestructuring plans implemented by March 31,(over 5,00,000 MSMEs had benefitted from it).Following a commitment given by the FinanceMinister, Nirmala Sitharaman, in the Budget for2020-21, the scheme was extended to December31 this year. For a borrower to be eligible, his/heraggregate exposure, including non fund-based

facilities, of banks and NBFCs (non-banking financial companies) should notbe beyond �25 crore as on January 1.Further, the borrower’s account was indefault but was a “standard asset” as onJanuary 1 and continues to be classifiedas a “standard asset” till the date of imple-mentation of the restructuring (accord-ing to an RBI notification in February).In addition, the borrowing entity is GST(Goods and Services Tax) — registeredon the date of implementation of the planexcept those that are exempt from GST-registration. The RBI has now furtherextended this to restructuring plansimplemented till March 31, 2021 withsome relaxation in the conditions.

The exposure limit, including nonfund-based facilities of banks and NBFCsto the borrower, should not exceed �25crore as on March 1. Further, theaccount should be standard as on March1 (against January 1 earlier).

Via the third announcement, theRBI has extended huge relief to large cor-porates, too. Unlike the existing arrange-ment under the Insolvency andBankruptcy Code (IBC), wherein theloan account gets a NPA tag and the pro-moter stands no chance of retaining thefirm, the proposed one-time restructur-ing treats the account as standard andthere is no change in the promoter/s.This special dispensation is meant onlyfor “COVID-19 related stress” and theKamath committee will have to ensurethat the facility is not misused. In otherwords, all stressed accounts prior toMarch 1, as well as those which wereunaffected during the pandemic, mustbe excluded.

With the introduction of the aboveone-time restructuring for MSMEs andcorporates, the need for extending themoratorium on servicing of loans (thiswas initially allowed by the RBI for threemonths from March 1-May 31 and fora further three months ending August31) automatically becomes redundant.While the latter was merely a deferment

of the payment liability, the former offersconcrete relief by extending the periodof repayment, relief in interest and so on.

The Governor sees the scheme as awin-win for both, the lenders and bor-rowers. According to him, while this willenable the latter to sail through the cri-sis period without getting permanentlyimpaired, the former’s balance sheet willlook healthier (as this will put a lid onthe NPAs) and they will be able toexpand credit for supporting revival ofgrowth. Hopefully, things pan out as perhis wish. If not, the banks could be in forbigger trouble even as borrowers comeup with more demand for restructuring.

Coming to the fourth announce-ment, Das has done the right thing byapplying the pause button on the reporate. Ever since he took charge(December 2018), the RBI has handedout a cumulative reduction in repo rateof 2.5 per cent, of which a 1.35 per centcut was prior to the outbreak of COVID-19. Despite this, during 2019-20, growthin the GDP hit a low of 4.2 per cent.

This was because other factors suchas compression in demand (due tomassive loss of jobs and decline inincomes) and increasing risk-aversion ofbanks to lending (during 2019-20, bankcredit grew by 6.1 per cent, down fromthe 13.4 per cent growth during 2018-19) were at work.

Apart from these factors coming inthe way of spurring growth, even the cutin the repo rate was not fully transmit-ted (according to Das, reduction in lend-ing rate was just about 0.6 per cent),thanks to the high cost of the banks’funds (an overwhelming share of thesecomes from public deposits of varyingmaturity) on the one hand and highNPAs on the other.

Both these factors make the lend-ing rate downward inflexible. After theCOVID-19 crisis, the RBI has reducedthe rate by 1.15 per cent (0.75 per centon March 27 and 0.4 per cent on May22) thereby bringing the rate down to a

record low of four per cent. And this hascome at a time when the intermittentlockdowns are simply not allowing eco-nomic activities to get into full swing.When the wheels of the economy onground zero are stuck and there is littledemand for credit, how will lowering ofits cost (interest rate) help?

At this juncture, therefore, it makesno sense to keep lowering the policy rate.It sounds like the driver is merely press-ing the accelerator while the car is in theneutral gear. He will only end up burn-ing fuel without any outcome. Far fromany help in giving a boost to growth (asthe real bottlenecks lie elsewhere), thiswill do collateral damage. For instance,each time the RBI cuts the policy rate,it expects banks to follow suit. This willpropel the latter to pay less to depositorson fresh deposits or when the old onescome up for renewal.

The RBI may have paused now butby maintaining an accommodative pol-icy stance, it has kept the door open fora rate cut in the future. This should beavoided. Instead, it needs to work onother fronts such as credible measuresto reduce NPAs, goading banks to beproactive in looking for viable projectsfor funding (money is not a constraintas the measures announced by the RBIon March 27/April 17 have made avail-able plenty of liquidity to the tune of�5,00,000 crore), step up investment bythe Government, especially in infrastruc-ture and so on.

By propelling demand — bothinvestment and consumption — andhelping businesses run, this will also helpreduce the cost of “one-time” restructur-ing and bring about a real improvementin the banks’ balance sheet in the nearterm. Meanwhile, all-out efforts shouldbe made for early resumption of eco-nomic activity even while strictly com-plying with Coronavirus-related proto-cols and guidelines.

(The writer is a New Delhi-based pol-icy analyst)

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A�����������������������������������������(�������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������#����������������� ���������� ������������������������������������ �����������������������������������������������(����(���������������� ��� �����������������������(�������������������� ����,��������������������(���������������������������������������)��������������������������������������������������(������������������������������������������������������������ ���������������� ������������������������

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Tell me and I forget. Teach me andI remember. Involve me and Ilearn.” This quote by one of

America’s founding fathers, BenjaminFranklin, encapsulates the challengesand possible solutions to the new-ageeducation in India and across the globein today’s pandemic-afflicted world.With millions of students crossing thevirtual threshold and Work FromHome becoming the new normal,everyone is trying to decode employ-ability skills, performance metrics ineducational institutions and work-places. Amid the uneasy and unpre-dictable change, one thing is certain:The human spirit won’t change —andthat’s our biggest solution.

Now let’s step into a more famil-

iar past of conventional classrooms.Here, body language, facial expres-sions, physical projects and practicalexperiments were integral to learning,besides theory and concepts. Learningoutcomes took into account personal-ity traits, cognitive skills, life skills, crit-ical thinking and more, for creative andconventional courses. But the digitalworld has turned these features intochallenges. Or, not.

For instance, for fashion designstudies, real-world scenarios andindustry-live projects that hingedmainly on sensory and cognitive skills,put a big question mark on virtualteaching of concepts and practicaltraining. The challenge was how tokeep students engaged and achieve thedesired outcomes? Teaching frombooks was fine but what about prac-tical learning? The answer to this was,by understanding the process back-wards. For example, constructionstream students were asked to takeapart a stitched garment at home andunderstand the process, in reverse.They were asked to raise open-endedand close-ended questions and priori-tise them. For styling, students used

their mobile phones and narrated sto-ries with the limited resources avail-able while they were at home. In thetextile stream, students developedinteresting and innovative prints usingnatural dyes.

Similarly, the University ofPetroleum and Energy Studies,Dehradun, decided to take theCoronavirus challenge head-on bydeveloping AeroOpt, an airport man-agement tool to improve efficiency atcounters, staff requirements for board-ing gates and immigration securitywith social distancing norms. Boththese instances highlight how critical-thinking, innovation, creativity andadaptability were channeled as every-one struggled with the restrictionsimposed by the COVID-19 pandem-ic. And this is exactly what is needednow: A design-thinking approach,with problem-solving skills, criticalthinking, risk-management and mostimportantly adaptability.

With these developments, oneaspect is clear: To shape and mentorthis kind of an approach, boxedmethodologies cannot be a point of ref-erence. Instead, we need to look at

alternative approaches to teaching,experimentation with availableresources, providing critical feedbackand delivering learning assessmentoutcomes. This means re-structuringpedagogies and adapting courses to theonline mode with necessary tweaksand improvisations. Learning assess-ment is a fundamental feedback mech-anism in education, allowing all stake-holders of the learning process tounderstand what is being learned andwhere learning resources need to befocussed. The wheels are movingnow. But is India prepared to handlethese on a larger scale for the nextphase? Yes, because we have tremen-dous technology expertise and polit-ical will to tide through. Besides theDigital India initiative, strong indica-tors come from the recent move by ourGovernment to encourage moreForeign Direct Investment in educa-tion, provide �3,000 crore for skilldevelopment and recognise foreignonline degrees for Indian students. Atpresent, the Centre and States are col-laborating with broadcasting servicesto deliver education through televisionand radio. But for these media to suc-

ceed, it is important to operationalisetalent and skills. These can be done viaprojects, classroom discussions,encouraging feedback and curiosity. Inmy estimation, these key metrics willdefine the future:

Critical thinking: This is a keyskill that equally defines both educa-tional and professional spheres. Withthe pandemic-induced restrictions,how do teachers enhance criticalthinking? The answer is, by asking forreal-time projects drawn from the stu-dents’ immediate environment andasking for solutions from different per-spectives. How can things be made bet-ter? Is there a new way of looking at asituation? How will more people ben-efit from a solution? Is this safe and hasevery loophole been plugged? Theseare some indicators for enhancing crit-ical thinking.

Adaptability and innovation: Ina 2018 Barclays Life Skills Report in theUK, 60 per cent of the employers haveclearly stated that adaptability hasbecome more important now thanduring the previous decade. Therefore,how do you respond to a situation andhow quickly do you adapt to change?

Are you able to control your thoughts,emotions and behaviour under pres-sure or in certain situations? Adaptivestudents are certain to be a profession-al success, wherever they go. Some ofthe world’s best innovations havedebuted in the worst situations. Areyou willing to experiment, take risksand create something new? An inno-vator will always be valued in every sit-uation.

Empathy and collaboration: Howdo you respond to your peers? Are yousupportive, understanding and displaycompassion? Are you a team playerand do you believe in taking individ-ual credit? Do you believe in “We” over“I”? These values are critical to thefuture. The pandemic has erodedeverything that we took for granted inworkplaces, businesses, economiesand even our education systems. Thissudden pause from the physical worldis significant to herald change. Andremember, as Greek philosopherSocrates said, “The secret of change isto focus all of your energy, not on fight-ing the old, but on building the new.”

(The writer is CEO Asia PacificRegion, Global University Systems)

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&����������;��������������>� ��/���4�1�%Washington: ChineseGovernment-linked hackershave been targeting US electioninfrastructure ahead of the2020 presidential election,White House National SecurityAdviser Robert O’Brien said onSunday, indicating a moreactive level of alleged Chineseinterference.

O’Brien’s commentsappeared to go beyond a state-ment released on Friday by theOffice of the Director ofNational Intelligence which

said China “has been expand-ing its influence efforts,” andthat Russia was already tryingto undercut Democratic can-didate Joe Biden. But did notspecifically accuse Beijing ofhacking attempts against U.S.election-related systems.

“They’d like to see thePresident lose,” O’Brien said onCBS’ “Face the Nation.” “China— like Russia, like Iran —they’ve engaged in cyberat-tacks and phishing and thatsort of thing with respect to our

election infrastructure, withrespect to websites and that sortof thing.”

China has consistentlydenied U.S. government claimsthat it hacks U.S. companies,politicians or governmentagencies. “The U.S. presidentialelection is an internal affair, wehave no interest in interferingin it,” Chinese foreign ministryspokesman Geng Shuang saidin April.

O’Brien said the UnitedStates had seen hackers try to

infiltrate websites belongingto Secretary of State officesaround the country, which areresponsible for administeringelections at the local level, andcollecting data on Americans.

“It is a real concern and it’snot just Russia,” he said. “Therewill be severe consequences forany country that attempts tointerfere in our free and fairelections.” The NationalSecurity Council did notimmediately respond to arequest for comment. TheODNI declined to comment orclarify whether O’Brien’s com-

ments contradicted their own.The ODNI previously said

that “adversaries” seek to com-promise the private communi-cations of American politicalcandidates and penetrate U.S.election systems ahead ofNovember’s election. And thatChina would prefer PresidentDonald Trump does not winreelection. Multiple reviews byUS intelligence agencies haveconcluded that Russia acted toboost Trump’s 2016 campaignand undercut his rival HillaryClinton’s chances in that election.

Agencies

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China on Monday sanc-tioned 11 Americans,

including senators MarcoRubio and Ted Cruz, in retali-ation for similar US movesprompted by Beijing’s crack-down in Hong Kong.

Washington last weekaccused 11 officials of sup-pressing “freedom and demo-cratic processes” in Hong Kong,including city leader CarrieLam, and announced plans tofreeze their US assets.

It was the toughest USaction yet in response toBeijing’s introduction of asweeping and controversialnew national security law forthe territory.

Beijing said the measurewas a violation of internation-al law and “grossly interferes inChina’s internal affairs”.

“China has decided toimpose sanctions on some peo-ple that behaved badly onHong Kong-related issues,” for-eign ministry spokesman ZhaoLijian said Monday, with

Human Rights Watch directorKenneth Roth and NationalEndowment for Democracypresident Carl Gershman alsoon the list.

Zhao did not give details ofwhat the sanctions wouldentail.

Republican senators Rubioand Cruz established them-selves as two of the most vocalsupporters of Hong Kong’sdemocracy movement last year,when the city was convulsed byhuge and sometimes violentprotests.

Beijing has accused “exter-nal forces” of fomenting unrestand responded to the unrest byimposing the security law inlate June, sending a politicalchill through the semi-autonomous finance hub.

Since then, the city’s lead-ers have postponed local elec-tions, citing the coronaviruspandemic.

Authorities have alsoissued arrest warrants for sixexiled pro-democracy activistsand launched a crackdown onother activists.

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Face masks became compul-sory in tourist hotspots in

Paris on Monday amid warningsof a resurgence of coronaviruscases, as infections in the world’sworst-hit country the UnitedStates topped five million.

The requirement came asFrance along with much ofWestern Europe sweltered in aheatwave, with temperaturessoaring above 35 degreesCelsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit).

The blistering heat sentcrowds flocking to beaches atthe weekend despite healthwarnings about the risk ofinfection.

In Berlin, thousands ofchildren returned to schoolon Monday after the summerbreak, sporting masks whichare compulsory in commonareas like school courtyards.Schools in some other Germanregions also reopened, thoughwith differing rules on masks.

“No child forgot theirmasks this morning, so we seeeverything is back to normal,”said Domenica Acri, head-mistress of the Carl Orff pri-mary school in Berlin.

In Pakistan, all restaurantsand parks were allowed toreopen Monday, as well the-atres, cinemas and public trans-port, after the country saw adrop in new cases for severalweeks.

“Anything but second lock-down.” People in Paris aged 11and over are now required towear the masks in crowdedareas and tourists hotspots.

These include the banks ofthe Seine River and more than

a 100 streets in the French cap-ital, including tourist destina-tions like Montmartre, where theSacre Coeur basilica is located.

Several French towns andcities have already introducedsimilar measures, as well as partsof Belgium, the Netherlands,Romania and Spain. “All theindicators show that since mid-July the virus is again circulat-ing more actively in the (Paris)region,” said a police statementat the weekend.

Paris residents interviewedby AFP generally supported thedecision on masks.

“I think it’s a very goodidea, we should maybe havedone it sooner,” Bertrand, 28,said in the popular Rue desMartyrs in central Paris.

“Since we don’t understandenough about this illness, thebest thing is that we protectourselves.”

The masks are “restrictive”but necessary “if we want toavoid a second wave in Paris,”said Marion, 24, wearing abright green mask. “Anything

except a second lockdown.”Globally, nearly 20 million

cases have been officially reg-istered. The death count is atleast 7,31,500 worldwide.

The United States is by farthe worst-hit country withnearly 1,63,000 deaths. OnSunday, it reached the extraor-dinary milestone of five millioncoronavirus cases, according toaccording to John HopkinsUniversity.

President Donald Trump’sDemocratic opponent in thepresidential election, Joe Biden,tweeted that five million coro-navirus cases was “a numberthat boggles the mind andbreaks the heart.”

“Unworkable, weak” relief

The figures came as Trumpwas accused of flouting theconstitution by unilaterallyextending a virus relief pack-age. The package — announcedby Trump on Saturday aftertalks between Republican andDemocrat lawmakers hit a wall

— was “absurdly unconstitu-tional,” senior Democrat NancyPelosi told CNN.

Fellow Democrat andSenate minority leader ChuckSchumer, appearing on ABC,dismissed Trump’s unilateralmeasures as “unworkable, weakand far too narrow.”

Grim milestone for Brazil

After the US, Brazil has themost cases, and on Saturday itbecame the second country topass 1,00,000 fatalities.President Jair Bolsonaro hasplayed down the coronavirusfrom the beginning, dismissingit as a “little flu,” questioningthe lockdowns ordered by somestate governors and sayingtheir economic impact could be“more deadly than the virus.”

Following the news of thelatest milestone, Brazil’s mostwidely viewed TV networkGlobo criticised Bolsonaro’shandling of the crisis, asking“Has the president of therepublic done his duty?”

Washington: Democratic pres-idential nominee Joe Biden isleading President DonaldTrump by as much as six per-centage points in Wisconsinand Pennsylvania, two battle-ground states the Republicanleader had won in the lastelection, according to a newopinion poll on Monday. Votersin these two states think the USis doing poorly and that Bidenwould do a better job thanTrump in handling the coron-avirus outbreak, the CBS Newsreported citing the findings ofits poll tracker. PTI

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President Donald Trump’snew executive orders to

help Americans strugglingunder the economic recessionare far less sweeping than anypandemic relief bill Congresswould pass.

Trump acted Saturday afternegotiations for a second pandemic relief bill reached an impasse.

Democrats initially soughta USD 3.4 trillion package, butsaid they lowered their demand to USD 2 trillion.Republicans had proposed aUSD 1 trillion plan.

The are questions abouthow effective Trump’s measureswill be.

An order for supplementalunemployment insurance pay-ments relies on state contribu-tions that may not materialise.

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Lebanon’s Governmentresigned on Monday amid

widespread public fury at thecountry’s ruling elite over lastweek’s devastating explosion inBeirut. The move risks openingthe way to dragged-out nego-tiations over a new Cabinetamid urgent calls for reform.

Prime Minster HassanDiab headed to the presidentialpalace to submit the Cabinet’sgroup resignation, said HealthMinister Hamad Hassan. Itfollows a weekend of anti-gov-ernment protests in the wake ofthe Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut’s port that causedwidestpread destruction, killedat least 160 people and injuredabout 6,000 others.

The moment typifiedLebanon’s political dilemma.Since October, there have beenmass demonstrations demand-ing the departure of the entiresectarian-based leadership overentrenched corruption, incom-petence and mismanagement.

But the ruling oligarchy hasheld onto power for so long —since the end of the civil war in1990 — that it is difficult to finda credible political figure nottainted by connections to them.

Although Diab’s resigna-tion had appeared inevitableafter the catastrophe, heseemed unwilling to leave andonly two days ago made a tele-vised speech in which he

offered to stay on for twomonths to allow for various fac-tions to agree on a roadmap forreforms. But the pressure fromwithin his own Cabinet provedto be too much.

Diab’s government wasformed after his predecessor,Saad Hariri, stepped down inOctober in response to thedemonstrations. It took monthsof bickering among the lead-ership factions before they set-tled on Diab.

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Hong Kong authoritiesbroadened their enforce-

ment of a new national securi-ty law on Monday, arrestingmedia tycoon Jimmy Lai,searching the headquarters ofhis Next Digital group and cart-ing away boxes of what theysaid was evidence.

In the evening, police alsoarrested prominent pro-democracy activist AgnesChow Ting at her home,according to a tweet by fellowactivist Nathan Law, who is

currently in Britain. A post onChow’s official Facebook pagesaid police had arrived at herhome and that her lawyerswere rushing to the scene.

Two days after Chineseand Hong Kong officialsshrugged off sanctionsimposed on them by the U.S.,the moves showed China’sdetermination to enforce thenew law and curb dissent in thesemi-autonomous city aftermonths of massive pro-democ-racy demonstrations last year.

Lai’s arrest and the searchof his Next Digital group

marked the first time the lawwas used against news media,stoking fears that authoritiesare suppressing press freedom.Next Digital operates AppleDaily, a feisty pro-democracytabloid that often condemnsChina’s Communist Party-ledgovernment.

Apple Daily’s popularitystems from its celebrity newsand flamboyant stories, but itis also known for investigativereporting and breaking newscoverage. It has frequentlyurged readers to take part inpro-democracy protests,

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The emergencies chief for theWorld Health Organization

(WHO) said Covid-19 doesn’tseem to follow the seasonal pat-terns that some viruses exhib-it, making it harder to control.

Unlike other respiratoryviruses like influenza thatspread mainly in the winter, thecoronavirus pandemic is accel-erating in the summer. That’s

despite earlier predictions fromsome scientists and politiciansit would fade in the heat.

“This virus has demon-strated no seasonal pattern assuch,” said Dr Michael Ryan ata press briefing on Monday.“What it has clearly demon-strated is that if you take thepressure off the virus, the virusbounces back,” he said.

Ryan said the UN Healthagency continues to advise

countries even where Covid-19appears to be under control,such as those in Europe, tomaintain measures to slow virusspread. He called for countrieswhere transmission remainsintense, such as Brazil, to adoptmeasures so that communitieshave the necessary support theyneed to implement strategies likesocial distancing, wearingmasks, and self-isolating if theyhave symptoms.

Cairo: Egypt’s Civil AviationMinistry said after Lebanon’smassive explosion last week itwas moving “dangerous mate-rials” held at airports nation-wide to more secure locations.The ministry is “taking pre-cautionary measures withregards to dangerous materials,either immediately releasingthem or transferring them tosafe storage spaces well outsidethe range of airports and resi-dential areas,” it said in a state-ment Sunday. The statementreferred to materials held in“cargo bays and storage ware-houses in Cairo’s airport and allairports nationwide”, withoutspecifying which kind of mate-rials would be moved. AFP

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Markets regulator Sebi hasmade changes pertain-

ing to the proportion of exec-utive director posts to be filledup through different modesand composition of selectioncommittee.

Besides, Sebi said anemployee, who has put in atleast seven years as junioraccounts assistant and juniorengineer and have requisitequalifications, can be consid-ered for the post of ‘Grade A’officer at the regulator.

With regard to the posi-tion of executive director (otherthan law), Sebi said two-thirdsof the total posts will be filledup from internal candidatesand the remaining one-third tobe filled up by deputation orcontract basis.

In case of non-avail-ability in any category - inter-nal and deputation or contract- the post may be filled from

other categories, the regulatorsaid in a notification datedAugust 5.

Earlier, 50 per cent ofthe total post of executivedirectors were required to befilled in from internal candi-dates and the remaining 50 percent were to be recruited bydeputation/ contract and/ordirect recruitment.

Besides, the regulatorsaid chairman, two other mem-bers of the board and twoexternal experts, to be nomi-nated by the chairman, willconstitute the selection com-mittee for executive directorposition.

In June, the Securitiesand Exchange Board of India(Sebi) had invited applicationsto recruit two executive direc-tors. Currently, Sebi has eightexecutive directors.

Further, Sebi said, “Anemployee working as juniorsecretarial assistant, junioraccounts assistant, junior

library assistant or junior engi-neer, who has completed min-imum seven years of serviceand possesses the requisitequalifications for officer GradeA..., may be considered forswitch over to Grade A in theofficer cadre against the vacan-cies”.

This will be within theoverall 10 per cent vacanciesarising in a calendar year or asnotified by CompetentAuthority.

The switch over to gradeA officer is subject to suchemployees qualifying in thedepartmental test and inter-views conducted by the com-petent authority or by an out-side agency engaged by Sebi.

To give effect to these,Sebi has amended employeesservice regulations. The regu-lator is in the process of hiring147 officers in Grade A -- gen-eral, legal, information tech-nology, engineering, researchand official language streams

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State-owned Bank of Barodaon Monday reported a

standalone net loss of �864crore during the quarter endedJune of the current fiscal year,due to higher provisions andcontingencies.

The bank had posted a netprofit of �710 crore in thesame quarter a year ago.”Onaccount of provisioning onstandard accounts of �1,811crore, bank reported a (stand-alone) net loss of �864 crore inQ1 FY21 and consolidated netloss stood at �679 crore,” Bankof Baroda said in a regulatoryfiling.Interest income of thelender during the April-Junequarter of 2020-21 was downby 2.38 per cent to �18,494crore as against �18,944 crorein the year-ago quarter.

Mumbai:The rupee rose by 3paise to settle at 74.90 againstUS dollar on Monday trackingpositive domestic equities.

The rupee traded in anarrow range as positivedomestic equities and foreignfund inflows supported therupee while strong US dollarand rise in crude oil pricesweighed on the local unit,forex traders said. At the inter-bank forex market, the rupeeopened weak at 74.96. It movedto a day’s low of 74.96 beforesettling at 74.90 against thegreenback, showing a gain of 3paise over the previous close.The rupee had settled at 74.93against US dollar on Friday.

The dollar index, which

gauges the greenback’s strengthagainst a basket of six curren-cies, rose 0.17 per cent to93.59.

On the domestic equitymarket front, the 30-share BSEbenchmark Sensex pared somegains to end 141.51 points or0.37 per cent higher at38,182.08.The NSE Niftyclimbed 56.10 points or 0.50per cent to close at 11,270.15.

Foreign institutionalinvestors were net buyers in thecapital market as they pur-chased shares worth �397.32crore on Friday, according toprovisional exchange data.Brent crude futures, the glob-al oil benchmark, rose 1.10 percent to USD 44.89 per barrel.

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Asurvey has said that theCovid-19 pandemic is like-

ly to alter the consumer behav-iour permanently and causelasting structural changes to theconsumer goods and retailindustries.

The demand for localgoods and brands is growing asconsumers are hesitant to stepout of their safety zones toresume previous consumptionpatterns, according toAccenture COVID-19Consumer Pulse Researchreport.

The survey polled 2,500

consumers in India among45,000 respondents globally,between March and June, itsaid.

“The India leg of the sur-vey found that 90 per cent ofconsumers are making lastingchanges to how they live, workand shop, and there is no goingback to the pre-pandemicworld for consumer brands,”the report said.

The survey found that thepandemic is causing more peo-ple to shop for groceries online.

The demand for localproducts, digital commerceand omnichannel servicessuch a home delivery, chat fea-

tures and virtual consulta-tions is surging, and is likely toendure beyond this crisis, itsaid.

Consumers are nowfocused on their most basicneeds while cutting back onnonessentials, the report said.

“They are more mindful ofwhat they are buying, strivingto limit food waste, shoppingmore cost consciously and aremaking healthier and envi-ronmentally sustainable choic-es,” it said.

As many as 85 per cent ofthe consumers in India saidthat they are shopping morehealth-consciously and are

focusing more on limiting foodwaste. While, 75 per cent ofconsumers said they are beingore cost-conscious when shop-ping for products and 71 percent feel that quality, safety andtrust are the most consideredbrand attributes in purchasedecisions.

A majority of respondentsare now focusing on their per-sonal health, it said.

“Staying-at-home andworking from home arebecoming the norm. The waysin which people spend theirleisure time are changingbecause of the outbreak andrelated social distancing mea-

sures, and again, these habitsare likely to continue,” it said.

Entertainment, learningand DIY (do it yourself) havealso seen a rise -- this trend isreflected in the types of appsthat consumers are down-loading and the devices theyare purchasing, related toentertainment, news, health-care and education, the surveysaid.

Anurag Gupta, ManagingDirector and Lead - Strategy &Consulting, Accenture in India,said: “The pandemic has takena toll on brand loyalty and asconsumers make more social-ly and environmentally sus-

tainable and healthy choices,consumer goods companiesmust tailor their offeringsaccordingly and refresh theirbrand promise to meet thesenew requirements.”

Brands will alsoneed to explore ways to rebuildconsumer confidence frayed bythe pandemic -- proof of goodhygiene and safety is becominga key part of brands ‘ability toretain shoppers’ trust.

“Brands also need to lookat ways to tap into the oppor-tunities resulting from thedemand for local and the emer-gence of the home as the newhub,” he said.

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Sadan Councilor RajendraTyagi, leader of the BJP in

Ghaziabad MunicipalCorporation, has exposed ascam related to a companywith evidence in a press con-ference held here on Monday.

Councilor Tyagi said thatthe Municipal Corporationhad an agreement on January7, 2016 with M / s WhitePlacard Technologies PrivateLimited. Under this contract,the company had to replace theold street lights in all the fivezonal areas of the corporationand replace them with fiftythousand 214 new LED lights.

Due to non-compliance ofthe terms of the contract, themunicipal administration, cor-poration executive and corpo-ration board not only black-listed White PlacardTechnologies Private Limited,long ago, but a report wasfiled against it at Sihani Gatepolice station.

Despite this, the officers ofUttar Pradesh Governmentpaid Rs 8,97,13,602 from theaccount of the MunicipalCorporation. The interestingthing is that GhaziabadMunicipal Corporation haspaid to this firm from thefunds received from UttarPradesh Government.

Kolkata: Manoj Joshi, GeneralManager, Metro Railway onMonday reviewed the progressof works of different on-goingMetro projects in the city withthe senior officials of MetroRailway and Rail Vikash NigamLimited (RVNL).

During this meeting, heinstructed all to maintain socialdistancing norms and otherprotocols at worksites during

this lockdown. Shri Joshiemphasized on timely comple-tion of different projects.

Shri Joshi was also apprisedof the treatment facilities beingprovided to the COVIDpatients at Tapan SinhaMemorial Hospital. Heexpressed his satisfaction aboutthe facilities provided.

Raipur : On the occasion ofInternational Day of World’sIndigenous People, ChiefMinister Bhupesh Baghel todayinteracted with the public rep-resentatives and beneficiaries ofGaurela-Pendra-Marwahi dis-trict via video conferencing ina programme organised at hisresidence office and took infor-mation about the demandsand grievances of the area.Baghel also immediately sanc-tioned various developmentworks on the occasion. Baghelsaid that we had announcedformation of Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi on August 15, 2019and on February 10, 2020, thenew district was constituted.

With the formation of the dis-trict, the government has beenconsistently making efforts toensure all-round developmentof the district, ensuring avail-ability of basic facilities, andsoon all the administrative ser-vices will begin in the district.On the occasion, public repre-sentatives of the districtthanked the Chief Ministerfor formation of the new dis-trict and for inauguration ofSDM office in Marwahi.

On public representative’srequests, Chief Minister Mr.Bhupesh Baghel announcedthat Marwahi Gram Panchayatwill be upgraded as NagarPanchayat.

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The BSE Sensex notched upgains for the third straight

session on Monday, bouyed byengineering, finance and phar-ma stocks amid positive cuesfrom global markets.

After rallying 390.12points during the day, the 30-share BSE benchmark paredsome gains to end 141.51points or 0.37 per cent higherat 38,182.08. Similarly, theNSE Nifty climbed 56.10 pointsor 0.50 per cent to close at11,270.15.L&T was the topgainer in the Sensex pack, ral-lying 4.81 per cent, followed byM&M, Sun Pharma, TechMahindra, NTPC, SBI, ICICIBank and Titan.

On the other hand,Reliance Industries, AsianPaints, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv,UltraTech Cement and BajajFinance were among the lag-gards, shedding up to 1.26 per

cent.According to traders, mar-ket sentiment was positiveamid firm cues from globalindices and consistent foreignfund inflows.

Global markets rose fol-lowing positive factory outputdata from China, though esca-lating US-China tensionscapped the gains. Bourses inShanghai and Seoul ended ona positive note, while HongKong settled in the red.Markets in Tokyo were closedfor a holiday.Stock exchanges inEurope were also trading withgains in early deals. “Today’strade was characterised byheightened activity in defenceand pharmaceutical stocks, theformer due to the proposedchanges being implementedfavoring domestic producersand the latter due to earnings...

“On the broader markettoo, we witnessed investorinterest across stocks in thesugar sector as large integrat-ed sugar complexes havedemonstrated success in theirdistillery operations,” said SRanganathan, Head ofResearch at LKP Securities.

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Defence stocks on Mondayjumped up to 9 per cent

after the announcement thatIndia will stop the import of101 weapons and militaryplatforms like transport air-craft, light combat helicoptersunder a staggered timeline till2024, in a mega push to boostdomestic production.

Shares of BharatElectronics Limited zoomed9.17 per cent, HindustanAeronautics Ltd 8.

74 per cent, AstraMicrowave Products 5.48 percent, Bharat Dynamics 4.16per cent, BEML jumped 3.95per cent and Apollo MicroSystems 3.63 per cent on theBSE.

“Government’s action toboost domestic defence pro-ductions helped gains in

defence stocks,” said VinodNair, Head of Research atGeojit Financial Services. In amega push to boost domesticdefence production, DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh onSunday announced that Indiawill stop the import of 101weapons and military plat-forms like transport aircraft,light combat helicopters, con-ventional submarines, cruisemissiles and sonar systemsunder a staggered timeline till2024

Making the announce-ment on Twitter, the defenceminister estimated that thedomestic defence industrywould receive contracts worthalmost �4 lakh crore withinthe next five to seven years asa result of the decision toprune the import list ofdefence platforms and equip-ment.

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Actor Bhumi Pednekar is an environ-mentally conscious citizen who has

taken up climate conservation as acause to raise awareness among fellowIndians. Bhumi has launched an initia-tive called Climate Warrior throughwhich she is mobilising people to con-tribute towards the environment. Theactor is batting for sustainability and saysit’s vital for climate protection.

“I believe in repeating clothes. I don’tthink that people might see me wearingthe same clothes because as an actor you

are told to always wear different and newoutfits but, honestly, I don’t care. Thereare so many business which I have comeacross where people are renting clothes.I love the idea, says Bhumi.

She adds, “Even personally, betweenme and my sister, our wardrobe is pret-ty much one. We share clothes. We keeprepeating clothes and we have no prob-lem with that. In the last two years, I haveconsciously started seeing how climateconscious the brand is before I wearthem. Today, we have enough options of

such brands.”Bhumi feels the whole world is shift-

ing towards sustainability in a big way.She says, “And, rightly so. If you havenoticed, there is large shift in the waybrands are now dealing with sustainabil-ity. Most of the high fashion, luxurybrands are slowly and steady turningtowards sustainability. I really hopethat the process happens a lot faster.Unfortunately, with recycled and up-cycled fashion, the price difference is alot and it’s not affordable to everybody.”

Trends in higher education have fora long time pointed towards a greaterinternationalisation of student enroll-

ments, teaching staff, extra-curricularcontent and research networks. It acceler-ates the advancement of scholarship inevery field and discipline, leading most sur-veys of higher education to rely on somemeasure of “globalisation” in determiningtheir rankings.

Today, however, the future of interna-tional higher education seems quite bleak.By forcing a halt to nearly all internation-al travel, the pandemic has interrupted thenormal movement of people within andbetween the world’s universities, isolatingus from one another in unprecedentedways. Even before the emergence of thenovel Coronavirus, resurgent nationalismand xenophobia around the world werealready leading some to question thevalue of a globalised system of higher edu-cation. Now, the question is — what doesthe future of internationalisation in high-er education look like after the global pan-demic? The Association of IndianUniversities recently collaborated withthe US Embassy in New Delhi to seek theanswers through a special lecture seriestitled — The Future of Higher Education.

The main speaker of the webinar, DrMark C Elliott, Vice Provost forInternational Affairs, Harvard University,said that the American diplomacy andIndian higher education, both remainequally committed to the values of spread-ing knowledge about educational oppor-tunities in the US and in India. And thisseries is a wonderful evidence of that. “Thepromulgation of the new NationalEducation Policy 2020 (NEP) promises anew beginning in education at all levels inthe country and lay the foundation for abrighter future for all citizens regardless ofbirth, religion or socio-economic situations.In the higher education sector, the NEP alsopoints to a future in which Indian highereducation is more agile and firmly balancedwith that of the rest of the world. It’s a goodthing and comes at a very great time,” saidhe.

Given the present moment, it is appro-

priate to consider this question — whatdoes COVID-19 change? According to DrElliott, the answer to this is either the pan-demic changes everything or it changesnothing. He said, “In the short-term, it isclear that the pandemic has indeed broughtmassive changes in the patterns of inter-national higher education. In the long-term, those patterns will be permanentlychanged, too. But that’s not our answer.What I have learnt is that change typical-ly happens more slowly than we think.”

The changes that he has seen atHarvard in the last 20 years or so, more orless during his time at the University, sug-gest a profound transformation in how theyrecruit students, faculty, scholars and theresearch pattern. This transformation is

broadly applicable to all American researchuniversities. It is reasonable to expect thatthese transformations will soon be com-ing to India.

“The enormous experiment in onlineeducation will leave us all permanentlychanged. We would be far more willing toparticipate in long-distance educationalventures. The work we have been doing inthis area for the last few years would be seenas preparatory to a more widespread turnto online teaching, education and knowl-edge transfer. Universities will becomemore involved in this domain than before,”he added.

Excerpts of a conversation between DrPankaj Mittal, Secretary General at TheAssociation of Indian Universities, and DrElliott:

�Dr Mittal: As the new NationalEducation Policy 2020 allows the top 100foreign universities to set up campusesin India, does Harvard has any plan ofestablishing itself here?

Dr Elliott: We have no plans to estab-

lish a campus anywhere in the world. It’sa question that many institutions have beenasking. We have thought about it and theanswer so far is that we don’t think thiswould work as the experiences cannot bereplicated. For now, the prevailing opinionis that the students want to come to ourinstitution to study. We believe in beingglobal and local at the same time. We arepretty happy with our connections. But Ihave no doubt that among the 100 insti-tutions, there will be growing opportuni-ties.

�Dr Mittal: What can be the strategy forIndia to attract international students?

Dr Elliott: This is one of the greatestchallenges. Indian students are among themost talented in the world and Harvardand other American universities would bemuch stronger with the addition of reallytalented, creative and hardworking schol-ars and scientists from India. I know frommy visits to many campuses that effortshave been underway in some universities.I hope that the NEP will provide more

room for these universities to grow and tohave the kind of autonomy and indepen-dence that is vital for success for all insti-tutions of higher education. There is a bigmarket for education in India. Hence, for-eign universities are setting up campusesin the country and joint programmes withIndian institutions are on the cards.

�Dr Mittal: Is there any scope of onlineeducation for Indian students?

Dr Elliott: Here, I can offer a positiveresponse. It’s already in place. The institu-tion has thousands of courses online, thattoo totally free. There are different ways inwhich it has been structured. We will beredoubling our efforts in the digital learn-ing space soon.

�Dr Mittal: But the online courses don’tprovide degrees...

Dr Elliott: Harvard is not a typicalAmerican school. We are a pretty conser-vative institution. We are hesitant foronline degrees yet.

Next time when you roll downthe car windows for some

fresh air, think again. Accordingto researchers, including one ofIndian-origin, car users from theworld’s least affluent cities areexposed to at least 80 per centmore in-car air pollution becausethey rely heavily on opening theirwindows for ventilation.

For the study, published in thejournal Science of the TotalEnvironment, the research teaminvestigated air pollution exposurelevels for commuters in 10 differ-ent global cities across the world,including Chennai.

“To be blunt, we need asmany cars as possible off the road,or more green vehicles to reduceair pollution exposure,” said studyresearcher Prashant Kumar fromthe University of Surrey in the UK.

“Air-conditioned cars areunattainable for many poor andvulnerable commuters across theworld, but our data is clear andcoherent for all 10 participatingcities,” Kumar added.

According to the World

Health Organisation (WHO), airpollution kills an estimated sevenmillion people worldwide everyyear and nine out of 10 peoplebreathe air with high levels of pol-lutants.

The research team investigat-ed PM2.5 and PM10 exposurelevels inside vehicles during peakhours in the morning andevening, as well as off-peak hoursin the middle of the day.

The scientists measured howexposure levels changed when dri-vers used recirculation systems,fans and simply opened the win-dows.

The study discovered that

drivers in some of the world’spoorest cities experienced higherlevels of in-car pollution.

Irrespective of the city and carmodel used, a windows-open set-ting showed the highest exposure,

followed by fan-on and recircula-tion.

Pollution exposure for win-dows-open during off-peak hourswas 91 per cent and 40 per centless than morning and eveningpeak hours, respectively.

The study also found that thewindows-open setting exposedcar passengers to hotspots of airpollution for up to a third of thetotal travel length.

The findings also showedthat commuters who turn on therecirculation are exposed toaround 80 per cent less harmfulparticles than those who opentheir car windows.

Car cabin filters were moreeffective in removing pollutionthan fine particles, suggestingthat if new cars had more efficientfilters, it could reduce the overallexposure of car commuters.

“The study has drawn impor-tant conclusions that can helpcommuters make decisions intheir day-to-day lives to protecttheir health,” said study researcherAbdus Salam from the Universityof Dhaka in Bangladesh.

“Simple choices, like travellingduring off-peak hours, can go along way in reducing their expo-sure to air pollution,” Salam said.

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Page 11: 5 010516 75˛$2 5˛) ˘ - ’˝˘ . 3234 83578*& *38&2?2?C &2 ...€¦ · them, officials said, adding that their questioning contin-ued till late in the evening. Later, Shruti Modi,

Our lower back (Lumbar spine)consists of five big bones akavertebrae in the lower part of

the spine between the ribs and thepelvis with intervening soft cushionlike pads referred to as discs. Each ofthe bones have a hole in them andthese holes align to form a pipe forpassage of spinal nerves. Narrowingof this passage is referred to asLumbar Canal Stenosis (LCS). Thisstenosis results in compression of thenerves traveling through the lowerback into the legs.

While it may affect youngerpopulation due to developmental(birth related) causes, it is moreoften a degenerative (wear and tear)condition that affects people age 50and older. The discs may become lessspongy as you age, resulting inreduced disc height and bulging of thehardened disc into the spinal canal.Currently, it is estimated that overfour lakh Indians above the age of 60years are suffering from its symptomsand over 12-15 lakh across age brack-ets having some sort of spinal steno-sis.

Depending on the severity of thecondition, Lumbar spinal stenosismay or may not produce symptoms.While the narrowing of the spinalcanal itself does not produces thesymptoms but due to the inflamma-tion of the nerves caused by theincreased pressure attributes to thecause. Varying from person to personthe various symptoms include:�Pain, weakness, or numbness in thelegs, calves, or buttocks�Pain may radiate to one or both thelegs (resembling a painful conditionreferred to as Sciatica)� In rare cases, there is loss of motorfunctioning in the legs, and loss ofbowel control.� Excruciating pain while walkingthat may subside while bending for-

ward, sitting or lying down.Degenerative spondylolisthesis

and degenerative scoliosis (curvatureof the spine) are two conditionsassociated with lumbar spinal steno-sis. Degenerative spondylolisthesis(slippage of one vertebra over anoth-er) is caused by arthritis of the facetjoints. Most commonly, it involves theL4 slipping over the L5 vertebra. Itusually is treated with the same con-servative or surgical methods aslumbar spinal stenosis.

Degenerative scoliosis occursmost frequently in the lower back andmore commonly affects people age 65and older. Back pain associated withdegenerative scoliosis usually beginsgradually and is linked with activity.The curvature of the spine in thisform of scoliosis often is relativelyminor, so surgery is required whenconservative methods fail to alleviatepain associated with the condition.

DiagnosisBased on the medical history,

symptoms, hereditary risk factors,physical examination and diagnostictests are required to confirm the con-dition. Radiology tests including X-rays, CT Scan and MRI are helpful inidentifying the structure of the ver-tebrae and outline of the joints.These imaging techniques help thesurgeons a detailed view of the spinalcanal, its content and the structuresaround it. 3 D imaging producedthrough MRI are also helpful inanalysing the nerve roots, adjacentareas, any enlargements, degenerationor tumors.

In specific cases a myelogrammay be required, which is a special X-ray of the spinal cord that is takenafter injecting a contrast material inthe surrounding cerebrospinal fluids(CSF). This is helpful in monitoringthe pressure on the spinal cord or onthe related nerves due to the compres-

sion, herniated disc, bone spurs ortumors.

While medication and physicaltherapy remain the first line of treat-ment module, surgical interventionis only preferred when these fails toprovide relief.

Medications & injections: Antiinflammatory medications and anal-gesics may be helpful in the initialstages to subside pain. But in case isthe pain is persistent of worsens withtime, the doctor may prescribe othermedications or injections. Epiduralinjections also help in reducing painand swelling, but is only a temporaryrelief method followed.

Physical therapy: this along withprescribed exercises may help stabiliseyour spine, build your endurance andincrease your flexibility. Therapymay help you resume your normal

lifestyle and activities.In those cases where these con-

servative options fail, surgery may bethe only resort. Depending upon age,overall health, associated co-morbidi-ties and pre-existing conditions doc-tors may consider the type of surgery.

Surgical treatmentThere are several different surgi-

cal procedures that can be utilized, thechoice of which is influenced by theseverity of your case. In a small per-centage of patients, spinal instabilitymay require that spinal fusion be per-formed — this decision generally isdetermined prior to surgery. Spinalfusion is an operation that creates asolid union between two or more ver-tebrae. This procedure may assist instrengthening and stabilising thespine, and may thereby help to alle-viate severe and chronic back pain.

Decompressive laminectomy:The most common surgery in thelumbar spine is called decompressivelaminectomy, in which the laminae(roof) of the vertebrae are removedto create more space for the nerves.A neurosurgeon may perform alaminectomy with or without fusingvertebrae or removing part of a disc.A spinal fusion with or withoutspinal instrumentation may be rec-ommended when spondylolisthesisor scoliosis occurs with spinal steno-sis. Various devices (such as screwsor rods) may be used to enhancefusion and support unstable areas ofthe spine.

The benefits of surgery shouldalways be weighed carefully againstits risks. Although a large percentageof lumbar spinal stenosis patientsreport significant pain relief aftersurgery, there is no guarantee thatsurgery will help every individual.

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4�5�!�!��������!�9�����Hepatitis is today’s one of the major health concern.

According to a study around 290 million people across the worldare living with viral Hepatitis unaware. In some cases of Hepatitissymptoms don’t occur even for years and in some cases it caneven cause liver failure. Liver’s proper functioning is necessaryfor the better health of even other organs in the body.

Hepatitis B is a type of liver infection. If a person is exposedin adulthood, most are able to clear the virus from their bod-ies without treatment. For other people, acute hepatitis B leadsto life-long infection known as chronic hepatitis B which canresult into liver failure, liver cancer if not treated on time.Basically, this infection spread from infected blood, unsafe sex-ual practices and from infected mother to child. Prevention isthe key and early treatment is the best way to prevent its com-plications. Never ignore symptoms like:

�Fever�Repeated episodes of vomiting�Fatigue�Loss of appetite and Jaundice Hepatitis can be asymptomatic even for decades and can

convert into chronic liver failure. Hepatitis B and C: Both Hepatitis B and C are caused

majorly by blood contact. In Hepatitis B around 90 per centcases come out normal while 10 per cent may go on to devel-op chronic infection. In some of these patients virus remainsactive causing progressive liver damage and finally resulting inliver cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer. While early detec-tion is the key, one major trait of Hepatitis C is that it doesn’t

show any symptoms even fordecades, and when the symp-toms appear the liver is alreadydamaged to a great extent.Around 80 per cent cases ofHepatitis C convert intochronic liver disease.

Hepatitis A and E: UnlikeHepatitis B and C these arecaused by consumption ofinfected water or food. Theinfected person developssymptoms like fever, loss ofappetite and vomiting followedby jaundice. In majority of peo-ple complete recovery wouldoccur without any permanentdamage to liver. Treatment ismainly symptomatic.

Prevention: Followingsteps would help in preventingHepatitis B & C :� Safe blood transfusion.

Blood should be tested to rule out hepatitis B&C before trans-fusion. � Apart from other life threatening infections intravenous drugabusers are at a very high risk of hepatitis virus infections. Avoidsuch practices. � Tattoo lovers should be aware that reuse of same needle usedon other persons can bring the infection. Ask for fresh needles. � People taking salon services like manicure, pedicure, shav-ing etc should be aware that contamination by blood of theseinstruments carries the risk of hepatitis infection. Blades, nailcutters etc may accidentally cut the skin get soiled with blood.It is not wise to use same tools on other people� Avoid unsafe sexual practices. � Do not use reusable syringes or needles. Always insist on dis-posable syringes and needles. � Pregnant mothers with hepatitis B infection should seek prop-er medical advice to prevent transmission of infection to thenewborn infant. � Get yourself vaccinated against hepatitis B

While Hepatitis A and E can be prevented by:-� Maintaining basic hygiene � Consumption of properly cooked food, and clean filtered water.

Hepatitis B and C are now very much treatable. Early diag-nosis and treatment can save the liver and prevent developmentof liver failure and liver cancer.

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��� ��� ��� Radichhio, alsoknown as red cabbage, is one ofthe excellent sources ofVitamin K that strengthens thebone and is good for thetreatment of Alzheimer’s.

The vegetable promotesweight loss due to high fibrecontent. It makes one feel fulland keeps one satiated forlonger. Radicchio is also high inantioxidants that boost overallhealth, wellness and ener-gy. It promotes bileproduction whichimproves digestionand reduces choles-terol.

Radicchio con-tains inulin that nat-urally helps to regulateblood sugar levels andreduces the risk of strokesand other heart diseases.

As the vegggie has high fibrecontent, it helps in colon cleans-ing. Also radicchio has beenused to fight intestinal wormsand parasites to great effect.Polyphenols found in radicchiohelp neutralise free radicals andgive a mental sharpness, keeneyesight and lower incidence ofs tomachflu.

Rain brings its share ofwoes. More so whenit comes to hair care

—be it be dry and frizzy oroily and sticky. One of thebest remedies to takecare of frizz is tomake a pasteby soakingfenugreeks e e d sovernightin water,add twor i p ebananasand oneegg whiteapply it to the

hair and keepit for an hour.

Wash using a mild sham-poo.

Mix yoghurt with ateaspoon of honey. Apply itto the scalp and hair once aweek as it takes care of

dullness. One can soakalmond paste to be mixedwith banana will take care ofdryness.

Applying coconut oil15 minutes before you

shampoo helps in pre-conditioning the

hair. It makeshair less greasy.

This is theseason foramla. Applyamla pulpmixed withlemon juice.

Massage this inthe hair and

leave it overnight.Wash off with sham-

poo in the morning.Soak methi seeds in

water overnight. Strain thewater the next day and usethis water to wash yourhair. This will take care ofthe dandruff and dryness.

Our hair becomes dull andlifeless during monsoon. But

there are many ingredients inour kitchen that can help

restore the shine and give thebounce. ROSHANI DEVI

shares tips that can help

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There’s a reason why Vitamin C serumsbecame so popular. It has an incredi-

ble benefits for skin health because ofpotent antioxidants. It can help you inbrightening your skin, healing surfacedamage, boosting circulation, stimulatingcollagen production, and even search freeradicals to stop the onset of fine lines andwrinkles. The best news is that a lot of der-matologists recommend Vitamin C serumfor all skin types.

Our skin’s natural regeneration processgets aided by Vitamin C, which helps ourbody to heal damaged skin cells. It is tout-ed as one of the best anti-aging ingredientson the market. As consuming antioxidant-rich foods aids your body in fighting offfree radicals, topical antioxidants do anequivalent for your skin by helping to off-set daily aggressors like UV damage andexposure to air pollution. Even if you’reprobably getting Vitamin C in your diet,there’s no guarantee that it’s going straightto your skin. Using serums and other top-ical products is the most direct to gainthese benefits.

Vitamin C’s skin-saving benefits aren’trestricted to its antioxidant status. It hasmany other skin-healing assets that makeit praiseworthy. For one, because it’s high-ly acidic, when Vitamin C is used topical-ly our skin starts to heal itself by acceler-ating the assembly of collagen and elastin.Remember: Collagen and elastin are bothpresent protein fibers that help keep skinplump and firm. So, in helping to marketcollagen production, topical vitamin C canhelp prevent premature aging of the skin.

Another cool thing about the ingredi-ent is that it contains a property thatinhibits your skin’s melanin production,which is what causes skin discoloration likedark spots and hyperpigmentation. Withcontinued topical use, Vitamin C can helpprevent dark spots from forming within thefirst place. It’s a greater brightening agentthat works to fade brown spots withoutchanging normal skin pigmentation.

A serum is that the preferred sort ofVitamin C. They generally comprise a per-fect delivery system and are considered tobe used before moisturiser. While VitaminC used in the morning or evening, mostpeople prefer to apply it during the day asits antioxidant assets act as a guard tobounce pollution and other environmen-tal attackers. In terms of when you shoulduse it in your routine, a three-step systemof cleansing, treating, and moisturising.That second step would be Vitamin Capplication, followed by moisturiser unlessyou’ve got oilier skin and like to use aserum on its own.

If you’re new to using the ingredienton your skin, start slowly. It’s potent stuff,so you only need a few drops for eachapplication. It’s best to start out with a lowconcentration and work your way up asyour skin grows more accustomed to theingredient.

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The times of the Covid pandemic provedthe importance of yoga to bring positiv-ity, health and mindfulness to everyday

life. Yoga became a friend to the world to helppeople heal themselves from trauma, anxiety,stress and even improve upon their immunity.

In a bid to provide a healthy life to his fol-lowers, Grand Master Akshar expanded his dig-ital presence during the lockdown phase. HisFacebook Page became the go-to guide toembrace a healthy lifestyle for more than 20 mil-lion online users. Many people across the worldleveraged the quarantine phase to adopt healthyhabits and fitness routine. In this regard, TheAkshar Yoga Facebook page came to the rescueof many by providing the right guidance.

Akshar Yoga Ashram also organised manylive sessions to address queries of yoga practi-tioners, Spiritual seekers and Yoga enthusiasts.The sessions were vibrant and full of valuableknowledge. Thousands of people attendedthese live programs to have their queriesanswered about various issues such as health,wellness, stress, anxiety, Diabetes, blood pres-sure and so much more.

The courses that were conducted includedweight loss exercises, yoga for beginners, yogafor therapy, daily yoga classes for overall fitness,stress relief, mental balance and more.

Special Himalayan meditation techniqueswere revealed by Grand Master Akshar, such asSiddho Hum Dhyan, Aarambh Dhyan, ChandraGrahan Meditation and Surya GrahanMeditation. He is dedicated towards the welfareof people and is actively involved in spreadingawareness on yoga. He has also launchedmany books of yoga and its benefits across thelevels — beginners, advanced, professional.

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.���� National Faecal Sludge & Septage

Management (NFSSM) Alliancebrought together country's leading poli-cy makers and city leaders to deliberate onOpportunities for Co-Treatment ofSeptage at Sewage Treatment Plants(STPs), through a webinar on July 30,2020. The discussions focused on recog-nising the potential for cities and townsto convert existing underutilised sewagetreatment plants (STPs) to co-treatmentfacilities to bring down the contaminationof water bodies across the country.

The keynote speaker Rajiv RanjanMishra, Director General of NationalMission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) said:“Fast but unorganised urbanization hasput a load on natural resources. The sys-tem has not been able to give as much pri-ority to wastewater management, or anyother waste disposal, as compared to ser-vices such as provision of drinking waterand other infrastructure needs.”

Speaking about his experience inKanpur while working for the CleanGanga Mission, he highlighted the hugecapacity utilisation gap that was observedin the STPs, along with inadequate pres-ence of a sewage network across the city.He further emphasised on the need for co-treatment especially in river cities inorder to curb the dumping of septage intoriver bodies. “There is an essential needto focus on the interests of river cities bymerging urban planning with river man-agement,” he said.

The NFSSM Alliance, which worksclosely with Ministry of Housing andUrban Affairs, comprises of numerousnational and international organisationsthat are actively working for implemen-tation of sustainable sanitation solutionsin the country. The Alliance has beeninstrumental in the passage of India’s firstNational Policy on FSM in 2017 which cas-caded to 19+ states in India.

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win in the first Test againstPakistan completed on Saturdayinevitably led to speculationabout his future.

By his own admission,Anderson, England’s all-timeleading wicket-taker, “did notbowl very well” at his OldTrafford home ground, whereone of the ends is named afterhim, as England went 1-0 up ina three-match series.

But the swing specialist,whose 590 wickets are the mosttaken by any paceman in Testhistory, said he should not bewritten off after one poor game.

“I want to play as long as Ipossibly can,” Anderson toldreporters during a conferencecall on Monday.

“If I keep bowling the wayI did this week, the opportuni-ty to retire will be taken out ofmy hands. It will be a selectionissue,” he added ahead ofThursday’s second Test atSouthampton.

“I’m still hungry to play thegame. I think the frustration forme this week was that, after onebad game….the sort of whispers(about retirement) that goaround, I don’t think that’s real-ly fair.”

‘EMOTIONAL’Reflecting on his own per-

formance in the first Test,Anderson said: “It’s one of thosethings, everyone has a badgame, every now and then.

“I’ve not bowled very welland felt out of rhythm. For thefirst time in probably 10 yearsI got a little bit emotional on thefield, got a bit frustrated, let itget to me a little bit.

“It reminded me of when Ifirst started playing, when youget frustrated and a little bitangry you try to bowl quickerand quicker and it doesn’t help.Hopefully, I can show peopleI’ve still got what it takes to playTest cricket.”

Anderson, a veteran of 154Tests, added: “I don’t think it’sthe toughest period of mycareer. I’m sure I’ll have anoth-er bad game in my career. I justdon’t want every time I have abad game for there to be whis-pers going round that I’m goingto pack in.”

Anderson is now in sight ofbecoming the first pace bowlerto take 600 Test wickets andoverhauling the England Testappearance record of 161 heldby retired former captainAlastair Cook, one of his bestfriends in cricket.

“I want to be bowling welland contributing to Englandwinning games of cricket,” saidAnderson. “That’s been my

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James Anderson insisted onMonday he is still “hungry” to

play Test cricket after specula-tion the England great was con-sidering retirement.

Anderson recently turned38, an age where many previouspace bowlers would have longsince retired.

Given his age, Anderson’smeagre match haul of 1/97during England’s three-wicket

focus throughout my careerand will continue to be myfocus. If I get 600 wickets thengreat; if I don’t, then I’m happywith what I’ve got.”

As for surpassing openingbatsman Cook’s cap record,which would be a remarkableachievement for a pace bowler,Anderson said: “154 does soundlike quite a lot of games. But Ifeel like I’ve still got quite a fewmore left in me. If I can go pastCooky it will probably be theone thing I’ve got up on him.”

‘WHOLE PACKAGE’Jos Buttler is the “whole

package” and that is why thewicketkeeper-batsman shouldbe a regular in England’s Testside, feels Australian spin greatShane Warne.

Buttler was under immensescrutiny due to lapses behindthe stumps during the first Testagainst Pakistan last week. Hemissed two chances againstopener Shan Masood on 45,who went on to score 156,helping Pakistan put up 326 onthe board in their first innings.

However, the 29 year-old,who had also been strugglingwith the bat for some time,played a crucial 75-run knockin the second innings andshared a century stand withChris Woakes to help Englandwin the first Test by three wick-ets.

“He should always be in theside. Jos is a very good and reli-able keeper but, occasionally,you’re going to have a few baddays — it wasn’t easy out there,either,” Warne told Sky Sports.

“But Jos should always be inyour side because of what he’scapable of, with the bat especial-ly. And then his keeping, he’s agood leader among the team aswell — there’s a calmness about

him — he’s the whole package.“He’s always one of the first

pencilled in for me,” Warneadded.

Buttler changed the com-plexion of the game with hisaggressive batting. He struckseven boundaries and a six in

his 101 ball-75, helping England,who were reeling at 117 for five,chase down the 277 run target.

“What really impressed mewith Buttler was the way hewent about it, he trusted him-self, said ‘I’m the man, I’mgoing to get this done’.”

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England winger JadonSancho will stay with

Borussia Dortmund for theupcoming season amid report-ed interest from ManchesterUnited, club sporting directorMichael Zorc said on Monday.

Dortmund “plan on havingJadon Sancho in our team thisseason, the decision is final. Ithink that answers all our ques-tions,” Zorc said at a trainingsession.

The 20-year-old Englandinternational, who has a con-tract with the German clubuntil 2022, had a stellar seasonwith the Bundesliga runners-up and has been reportedly tar-geted by several top clubs,including Manchester Unitedafter the club qualified for nextseason’s Champions League.

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