· 5 hours ago · basant soren, younger son of party supremo shibu soren, has been nominated as...

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In her dying declaration the19-year-old victim of the

Hathras sexual assault said shewas gangraped by four men,but the Uttar Pradesh Police onThursday claimed that theforensic report has revealedthat the woman was not raped.The administration has alsocome under a cloud for alleged-ly threatening the family mem-bers of the victim.

Facing charges of cover-upand denying the victim the dig-nity of traditional cremation,the police cited a forensic sci-ence laboratory (FSL) report tosay that the cause of her deathis an injury on the neck andtrauma resulting due to it.

“The FSL report has clear-ly said that no sperm or ovawere found in the samples col-lected from the vaginal swab,said ADG (Law and Order)Prashant Kumar.

He said that along with theFSL report, the postmortemreport has suggested that thecause of death was trauma fol-lowing injury in the neck.

“Even the woman in herstatement to police did notmention about rape but talkedabout ‘marpeet’ (beating) only,”he said. The police officeroverlooked the fact that theamended definition of rapedid not necessary involved sex-ual act but a wide range of ges-ture, verbal comments andphysical contact.

The CM has alreadyordered strict exemplary actionagainst the guilty, the policeofficer pointed out.

“For disturbing social har-mony and create caste violence,some persons wrongly pre-sented facts,” the UP police offi-cer said.

“Police took immediateaction in the case and now wewill identify those who tried todisturb social harmony andcreate caste violence,” the ADGadded, stressing that people“distorted facts” in the media.

However, so far the policehave not revealed what thearrested accused have toldthem about the crime. The vic-tims family have repeatedlytold the media that the girl wasgangraped and the victim her-self said the same in her dying

declaration.Meanwhile, the family of

the deceased woman hasalleged “threats and pressure”from Hathras DistrictMagistrate (DM). A video ofthe DM threatening the fami-ly members has gone viral.

“These media people...some left today and tomorrowmore will leave. Only we will behere with you. Ok? It is up toyou whether you want tochange your statement or not.We can also change,” DistrictMagistrate Praveen KumarLaxkar is heard saying in thevideo filmed on mobile phone.

In another video, the vic-tim’s sister-in-law is seen cry-ing and saying, “They areputting pressure on us. Theyare saying that if our daughterhad died of coronavirus thenshe would have received com-pensation. They are saying thecase will be rafaa-dafaa (dis-posed of). We are getting warn-ings. Our father is gettingwarnings.”

“They are threatening uswith videos of (the victim’s)mother. At that time she wasspeaking whatever came toher mind... They will not let us

live here. The DM is very cun-ning, he is trying to trick us.They are pressurising us. Theyare forcing us and saying ourstatements are not reliable, wekeep changing our statements

and we have no credibility.”The Special Investigation

Team (SIT) set up to probe theHathras Dalit girl’s rape andmurder case recorded the state-ments of the victim’s family

members on Thursday. Thestatements of policemen con-cerned, including suspendedSHO of Chandpa police stationand SP Vikrant Veer Singhwere also recorded.

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Shunning the image ofTwitter warriors, former

Congress president RahulGandhi and his sister PriyankaVadra on Thursday led fromthe front while heading forHathras to meet the familymembers of the Dalit girl whosuccumbed to gangrape andbrutality two days ago.

Hundreds of policemenstopped them, pushed andshoved Rahul, detained both ofthem, and lathi-chargedCongress workers on theYamuna expressway.

Rahul and Priyanka werenot allowed to move furtherand were sent back to Delhi.

Later the Uttar Pradeshpolice filed an FIR againstRahul and Priyanka for dis-

turbing peace. Rahul, along with

Priyanka, Randeep SinghSurjewala, Rajiv Shukla andseveral other top party leaderswere walking towards Hathrasto meet the family of the vic-tims a day after the last rites ofthe rape victim were allegedlyperformed by the police duringthe night in the absence of herfamily members.

After being stopped fromgoing ahead, Priyanka hasdecided to sit on a dharna.

Rahul and others left thenational Capital on Thursdaymorning and began marchingtowards Hathras after theirvehicle was stopped near theYamuna Expressway. Thepolice told Rahul that the dis-trict administration of Hathrashad issued an order to ban theentry of outsiders for law andorder considerations.

Later Rahul told the media,“The police pushed me, lathi-charged me and threw me tothe ground. I want to ask, canonly (Narendra) Modiji walk inthis country? Can’t a normalperson walk? Our vehicle wasstopped, so we started walking.”

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Amid nationwide outrageover the fatal Hathras gan-

grape, a series of sexual attackson the women were reportedfrom Balrampur, Bhadohi,Gorakhpur, Baghpat,Bulundshahr, Azamgarh, RaeBareli and Auraiya in the State.

At least three women werekilled after rape.

Two persons waylaid andraped a 22-year-old Dalit girland subjected her to suchatrocity on her that she suc-cumbed to her injuries inBalrampur. In a repeat of theHathras episode, her bodywas also cremated in the night

itself, but with the consent ofher family members.

“Some media channels arereporting that her back, handsand legs were broken. This hasnot been ascertained in thepost-mortem,” said BalrampurSP Dev Ranjan Verma.However, a probe into thematter was on, he added.

In Bhadohi district, the

body of a 14-year-old Dalit girl was found onThursday. Her head wascrushed with stone and herface was disfigured.

According to reports, thegirl is a resident ofChakrajaram Tiwaripur villageof Gopiganj police station area.She was attacked by somepersons when she went tofield to attend to nature’s call.Family members apprehend itwas a case of sexual assault andmurder.

In Bulandshahr, a womanconstable alleged thatInspector Sachin Malik ofGulaoti police station torturedher physically and mentalllywhile she was posted ofBulandshahr from July 2017 to

July 2020. The woman copalleged Malik molested her inpublic during her posting.

In an application to SSP,Bulandshahr, the woman copcharged that Malik touchedher inappropriately and onresistance, handed her deaththreats.

The SSP initiated a depart-mental enquiry against Malikand a woman officer wouldprobe the incident and reportto the top cop in a week.

In Gorakhpur, the body ofan unidentified woman wasfound stuffed in a box lying inManiram area on Thursday.The victim in her early 30s wassporting a red dress and hadvermilion and bindi on herforehead.

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Chief Minister Hemant Soren hasordered an inquiry from the Anti-

Corruption Bureau against ex CMRaghubar Das and others in the matterrelated to appointment of MeinhardtConsultant to prepare a DPR for con-struction of sewerage-drainage inRanchi city, a communique from thegovernment stated. The probe will beconducted under the relevant sectionsof the law for alleged irregularities, cor-ruption and conspiracy by the thenUrban Development Minister RaghubarDas and others In the matter on the let-ter of Saryu Roy, Chairman, GeneralPurpose Committee of the JharkhandAssembly and the order of theJharkhand High Court.

Meanwhile, a delegation of RanchiDistrict Durga Puja Committee andRanchi Mahanagar Durga PujaCommittee jointly met Soren here onThursday. The delegation requestedthe CM to soon issue guidelines relat-ed to Durga Puja. Chairman ofMahanagar Durga Puja Committee,Ramdhan Varman said before the CMthat in the wake of Corona infection, any

guidelines related to Durga Puja by thestate government will be followed in let-ter and spirit. According to the releaseof the guidelines, preparations will bemade for worship and idol immersionaccordingly. The delegation included Dr.Ajit Sahai, Munchun Rai, RamdhanVarman, Ashok Purohit, AshokChaudhary, Ravindra Verma, RakeshGupta, Pradeep Rai and others.

Also, a delegation from NMOPS,Jharkhand met the CM at JharkhandMinistry on Thursday. The delegationalso handed over a memorandum to theCM to restore old pension in place ofNPS for government employees. Thedelegation requested the CM to restorethe old pension for about 1.25 lakh gov-ernment employees of the state. The del-egation included NMOPS, Jharkhand'sProvincial President Vikrant KumarSingh, Provincial Treasurer Nitin Kumarand State Deputy General SecretariesAnand Kishore Sahu and LokeshKushwaha along with Surendra Kumar,Vice President of Jharkhand SecretariatAssociation, Narendra Kumar, Presidentof Police Men's Association ShivanandKashi, Sunil Kumar Kashyap and MoKayamuddin were present.

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Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)today announced its candidate for

Dumka bye-election. Basant Soren,younger son of party supremo ShibuSoren, has been nominated as theparty candidate from the seat.

Addressing a press meet at the partyheadquarter on Thursday JMM GeneralSecretary cum Spokesperson SupriyoBhattacharya announced it formally thatthe junior Soren will be the party can-didate from Dumka State Assemblyconstituency. On October 12, BasantSoren will fill his nomination papers, headded.

It may be noted here that, CMHemant Soren won the election fromtwo seats-Dumka and Barhet in theAssembly elections held in 2019. Afterwinning both the seats, he left theDumka seat and retained Barhet. Sincethen it has been speculated that hisbrother Basant Soren will contest thisseat. Basant has been continuouslyactive in the field with JMM activists.Basant is Jharkhand Yuva Morcha(JMM), Chief.

It is noteworthy that bye-elections

are to be held forDumka and BermoAssembly seats inJharkhand. WhileJMM is in the frayfrom Dumka, theother partner in thec o a l i t i o nG o v e r n m e n t ,Congress will con-test from Bermoseat.

The bypollnecessitated forBermo seat due toveteran Congressleader and six timeMLA, RajendraSingh’s death. Singh

won the election from the BermoAssembly seat.

Voting on both seats will be held onNovember 3. While the election resultswill be announced on 10 November.The result of the election of BiharLegislative Assembly will also come onthis day.

Bhattacharya said that on thedemand of the people of Dumka andthe JMM workers, Basant Soren hasbeen made the party's candidate for thebye-election. JMM chief Shibu Sorenand CM Hemant Soren have con-firmed Basant's candidature.

Bhattacharya has expressed thehope that Congress will soon announcethe candidate's name for the bye-elec-tion for the Bermo Assembly seat. Afterthis, the entire Grand Alliance will fightthis bye-election and will also win bothseats. He said that the grand allianceof JMM-Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal(RJD) will make this by-election his-toric.

Bhattacharya said that all the cen-tral leaders of the party and the lead-ers of the parties involved in the grandalliance will go to Dumka and Bermoand conduct intensive campaigning.

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The Covid-19 tally inJharkhand drew close to

85,000 on Thursday after asmany as 1013 people werefound infected in a span of 24hours, figures released by thehealth department stated.

The number of active casesin the state, however, droppedto 11,482 as Covid recoveriesoutnumbered the fresh casesfor the third consecutive day.As per a bulletin released by theNational Health Mission(NHM), as many as 1119Covid-19 patients recoveredfrom the infection on the day.

Ranchi topped in thenumber of fresh cases of infec-tion as well as the number ofCovid recoveries on Thursday.As many as 448 Covid-19patients recovered from theinfection on the day against 266cases of infection surfacingduring the same period.

The number of active cases,however, increased in EastSinghbhum after 165 fresh

cases surfaced in the districtagainst only 40 Covid recover-ies. As per government data,there were 2323 active cases ofinfection in East Singhbhumand 3336 active cases of infec-tion in Ranchi on Thursdaynight.

The Covid toll inJharkhand also jumped to 721on Thursday after ninepatients, including three fromRanchi, died during treatment.As per government data, EastSinghbhum, Hazaribag,Dhanbad, Deoghar and Bokaroreported one Covid death each.East Singhbhum has reported301 Covid deaths so far, whileRanchi has reported 119 Covidcasualties, the NHM stated inits bulletin on Thursday.

Jharkhand’s Covid recov-ery rate further improved andreached 85.58 per cent onThursday against the nationalaverage of 83.50 per cent. Outof the 84,664 Covid patientsfound in the state so far, at least72,461 have recovered, high-

lights government data.Despite reporting over 700

Covid casualties, Jharkhand’sCovid mortality rate was 0.85per cent against the nationalaverage of 1.60 per cent. As perdata compiled by the NHM, atleast 538 of the 721 Covid vic-tims in Jharkhand were olderthan 50 years. At least 143 vic-tims were in the age bracket of31 to 50 years, while 31deceased were below the age of30 years.

The government inJharkhand has so far collectedswab samples of 22.95 lakhpeople and tested 22.86 lakh ofthem. On Thursday, healthworkers collected swab samplesof 25,537 people and tested24,758 of them. The doublingrate of Covid infection inJharkhand was 45.21 daysagainst the national average of49.99 days. The growth rate ofthe virus in Jharkhand in thepast one week was 1.49 per centagainst the national average of1.36 per cent.

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Jamshedpur: For the first timein its 100 years of history,Gujarati Sanatan Samaj, a par-ent body of Gujaratis in the cityhas decided not to organiseNavratri utsav at its premises inBistupur. The decision has beentaken in view of the spread ofcoronavirus.

“Though the final guide-lines from the State Governmentare awaited we have decided notto organise the annual NavratriUstav this year, which is sched-uled from October 17 to 25. Wewill have simple rituals with lim-ited gathering only,” said an offi-cial of Gujarati Sanatan Samaj.

He said that like every year

this year too there would be rit-uals to worship Goddess Durgain traditional manner but wewill not have ras garba, dandiyaand fancy dress competition thatis organised every year. The safe-ty of the members is a majorconcern for them. Entry of themembers will be restricted.

“Members of our commu-nity look forward every year tothis utsav. Dressed in their tra-ditional attires, people wouldperform ras garba on the tunesof Gujarati folk songs. But thistime we will just organise sim-ple rituals with limited gather-ing. The premises will be sani-tized and the members will be

asked to maintain social dis-tancing,” said an official.

Officials of Gujarati SanatanSamaj said that die-hardNavratri revellers would takepart in various competitions thatare slated during the festival.These range from best male andfemale dancers, best costumes,best steps, etc for which prizesare given.

“Such is the rage of the fes-tival that many even travel toGujarat weeks before the festi-val to buy the costumes and jew-ellery worth for the season butwe have asked the members tokeep the festival simple,” said asenior functionary. PNS

Ranchi: Scripting a new high Coal India Limited (CIL) record-ed the highest ever growth in production and off-take, for anymonth of September so far, by clocking 31.6 per cent and 31.7per cent respectively. For the first time in the current fiscal growthwas in double digits in both the facets with all CIL’s subsidiariesturning out growth. Supplies to power and non-power sector con-sumers and rake loading also registered high level growth.

Coal production at 40.51 MTs in September’20, surged aheadby a robust 9.73 MTs increase in absolute terms, compared to30.78 MTs in September’19, the growth being 31.6per cent.Among CIL’s subsidiaries the top three leading the growth trendwere Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) with 68.5 per cent fol-lowed by Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) 47.4per cent andWestern Coalfields Limited (WCL) 43.7per cent.

“Now that we broke the growth jinx in output and off-take,which were weighed down by the pandemic induced slowdown,we expect to better our performance in the ensuing months. Weaim to reclaim as much of the lost ground as possible during therest of the fiscal” said a senior official of the company, adding,“generally the H2 performance is higher in terms of productionand supplies”.

CIL’s coal off-take saw a sizeable jump of 11.2 MTs duringthe referred month. CIL supplied 46.46 MTs in September’20against 35.28 MTs same month last year logging a growth of 31.7per cent. MCL again registered the highest growth among thesubsidiaries with 63 per cent followed by WCL 60.2per cent andCCL 31.5 per cent.

Supplies to non-power sector logged a growth of 65 per centin September’20 at 10.04 MTs compared to 6.08 MTs inSeptember’ 19. Coal despatch of 36.42 MTs to Power Sector dur-ing the month witnessed a growth of 24.7per cent compared to29.20 MTs as of September’19, the increase in absolute terms being7.2 MTs.

CIL on an average loaded a total of 241.2 rakes per day inSeptember’20 against 162.2 rakes same month last year record-ing an increase of 79rakes per day with a growth of around 49percent. Loading to non-power sector doubled to 31.2 rakes per dayduring the month compared to 15.4 rakes of last year’sSeptember. Loading to Power sector bagged a growth of nearly43per cent at 210 rakes per day against 147 rakes for the com-parable period.

“Despite Covid related challenges and inclement monsoonour production increased by 11 MTs and off-take by 12 MTs dur-ing the second quarter of the present fiscal” said the stated offi-cial. CIL produced 115 MTs of coal for the July-September’20period against 104 MTs same quarter last year logging a growthof 10.6per cent. CIL supplied 134.4 MTs of coal during currentyear’s Q2 compared to 122.4 MTs same quarter last year regis-tering a growth close to 10per cent.

Supplies to coal fired power utilities during current year’s Q2at 103.2 MTs also logged a growth of around 3per cent. CIL sup-plied 100.29 MTs during same quarter last fiscal. PNS

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The thoughts of MahatmaGandhi, the Father of the

Nation, are proving their met-tle all over the world today. Thepeople of the world are open-ing the knots of their problemsin the sea of his thoughts. Thetrust of the world that is gettingentangled in the arms race isnow becoming deep rooted inGandhism. People are nowforced to understand that warsare not the solution to anyproblem. Violent revolutionsaround the world have not ledanywhere. Time has revealedthat Satyagraha and non-vio-lence are the best path to take.Be it people, institutions orcountries, it is now believedthat there is a better, alternativeand a human way to expressdissent and to register protest.

The relevance of Gandhiji'sideas is increasing with time.The issue of environmentalprotection in the world is fastbecoming the priority of soci-ety these days.

Intellectuals and environ-mental activists have taken tothe streets in many parts of theworld due to the worseningenvironmental situation. TheFather of the Nation, MahatmaGandhi, has also made a dis-course on environment.Although the term environ-ment was not in vogue duringBapu's lifetime, the vision ofGandhi ji was so far-sightedthat he began to worry andponder over the future muchahead of his time and the sit-uation that we face today.

Gandhiji believed that“there is enough on earth foreverybody’s need but notenough for everybody’s greed”.In his article ‘Swasthya ki Kunji’,he has expressed his views onclean air. In this, he has saidthat three types of naturalingredients are needed - air,water and food, but clean air isthe most important.

Gandhiji inspired theIndians to spin yarn withcharkha and wear hand wovenclothes. The objective behindthis was not only to arouse theSwadeshi, but also to reducegeneral waste and waste com-ing out of textile mills.

Gandhiji was a great advo-cate of rural development.Advocating the upliftment ofthe villages, Gandhiji wrote inHarijanSevak in 1946, "Thereshould be development of suchart and workmanship in thecountryside, that their productsare valued outside of villagestoo."

On one hand, Gandhijiwas fighting for non-violentstruggle for freedom, on the

other hand he was trying tosave the fragmented fabric ofIndian society through his cre-ative programs.

Gandhiji considered edu-cation to be the major con-tributor for building a bettersociety. He established the firstbasic school at BarharwaraLakhansen during theChamparan Satyagraha in1917. In the context of theimportance of education, on 8May 1937, he writes in Harijanthat Man is neither entirelyintellect, nor a gross body, nei-ther only a heart or a soul.

A proper and consistentcombination of all these isneeded to create a completehuman being. This is the truepurpose of education. Onlythrough Swadeshi will Indiabecome a self-sufficient andstrong country. Today, there isan increasing move towardsSwadeshi in India. This gives anopportunity for small indus-tries to flourish. Rural peoplefrom far fling areas get a chanceto become financially self-reliant through this.

Gandhiji wanted the coun-try to become self-sufficientthrough Swadeshi. We havemoved in that direction after along time. This has startedyielding positive results. Todaythere is an awakening amongthe people for Swadeshi, it is aheartening trend.

The villages should behealthy and clean. The gov-ernment has started a massmovement to carry out thistask. Villages and cities are get-ting transformed with pro-grams like cleanliness. Gandhisays that if cleanliness does notfigure in village reforms, thenour villages will remain likegarbage. The subject of villagecleanliness is an inseparablepart of the life of the people.

This is necessary but diffi-cult to achieve. We need hardwork and courage to get overthe lifelong habit of lack ofcleanliness. Gandhiji wasequally concerned about thedirt in the cities. In this contexthe said that one thing we canlearn from the West and wemust learn is the sacrednessattached to cleanliness in cities. We are yet to imbibe thisthought of Gandhiji.

Gandhiji's thoughts areeternal. The biggest reason forthis is that he tested his ideaspractically on the ground. Hisrelevance remains across thespan of time. Today, the worldsees Gandhi's path as the bestand most enduring.

(The author is UnionMinister of State for Cultureand Tourism, Government ofIndia )

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Reacting sharply on alleged misbehaviour ofUttar Pradesh Police with All India Congress

Committee (AICC) former National president,Rahul Gandhi, Jharkhand Pradesh CongressCommittee (JPCC) on Thursday held a candlemarch at Albert Ekka Chowk in the State Capitaland burnt effigy of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister,Yogi Adityanath.

The march was led by JPCC ChiefRameshwar Oraon and addressing the gather-ing on the occasion he said that it is a black dayin the history of the Country. "The incidents likerapes will regularly take place with Dalit womenin this Country and the criminals will contin-ue to roam freely without any fear. The victim'sfamily will be intimidated and threatened.Congress leaders cannot tolerate this, even if theYogi Government resorts to sticks or bullets.Congress has a history that we and our ances-tors have been fighting continuously againstexploitation and will continue to fight in futurealso," he added.

Oraon demanded that whoever is guilty inthe incident the Government should takeaction as soon as possible, as well as actionshould be taken against the police and admin-istrative officials who were involved in the mis-behaviour done with Rahul Gandhi.

Congress Legislature Party Leader, AlamgirAlam said that the attack and arrest of the

Country's popular leaders Rahul Gandhi andPriyanka Gandhi is an attack on democracy, theCountry and Congress workers will never tol-erate it. Alam said one daughter of a Dalit wasabused, cremated at two o'clock in the night, adisgusting act of erasing facts and evidence, aliving example of female atrocity has been tak-ing place continuously in Uttar Pradesh.

JPCC Spokesmen Alok Kumar Dubey, LalKishorenath Shahdeo and Rajesh Guptademanded immediate action against the culpritsand said that it is shameful to misbehave withsenior party leaders Rahul Gandhi and PriyankaGandhi, who are going to meet Hathras in UttarPradesh and the victim's family.

JPPC Chief Aditya Vikram Jaisawal was alsopresent on the occasion.

Ranchi: Love affairs and illicitrelationships led to more mur-ders in Jharkhand than LeftWing Extremism (LWE) in year2019, the latest National CrimeRecords Bureau (NCRB) figuresreveals.

As per crime figures com-piled by the National agency,love affairs led to as many as 52murders, while illicit relation-

ships triggered 23 murders in thestate last year. Left WingExtremism (LWE), on the otherhand, was the motive behindonly 12 murders in Jharkhand in2019.

Despite the presence ofinsurgents in 19 of 24 districts,the number of murders trig-gered by love affairs and illicitrelationships was six-times theones perpetrated by insurgents.The figures indicated that inci-dents of love affairs turning bit-

ter and couples cheating ontheir partners were leading tothese murders, either triggeredby the urge to level scores oravenge betrayal, say police.

Jharkhand is among theworst-affected states in India interms of LWE menace. As perfigures with the Ministry ofHome Affairs (MHA), at least 19of the 24 districts in the statewere LWE-affected. Besides theCPI (Maoist), at least 17 splin-ter outfits were active in various

districts of Jharkhand in 2019,highlights data with the statepolice.

Besides, as many as 35women were murdered inJharkhand for not obliging thedowry demands of their in-lawsin 2019, the NCRB data furtherreveals. The motive behind 81murders in the state was notknown, while at least six mur-ders were perpetrated due topolitical reasons in Jharkhand.

Superstition also led to more

murders in the state than LWEinsurgency. As per the NCRBdata, as many as 15 women werekilled in Jharkhand on chargesof practicing witchcraft in year2019. Jharkhand had topped inwitch-hunting cases for fiveconsecutive years from 2011 to2016. However, as per the latestNCRB data, Chhattisgarhreported the highest number ofmurders with the motive ofwitchcraft in 2019. While 22women were killed in

Chhattisgarh on charges ofwitchcraft, 16 such murderswere perpetrated in MadhyaPradesh and 15 in Bihar. Odishareported 13 such murders in theyear.

No murders were perpe-trated in Jharkhand overcasteism, gang rivalry, class con-flict and honor killing in 2019,states the NCRB data. One per-son was murdered in road rage,while two people were killed bypsychopaths in the state. PNS

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Former Chief Minister andnewly appointed BJP nation-

al vice president, Raghubar Dason Thursday dragged theHemant Soren government inthe line of fire for withdrawingwelfare schemes initiated by hisgovernment and deterioratinglaw and order situation in theState.

Das, who has been induct-ed in BJP national presidentJagat Prakash Nadda's team wasgiven a rousing welcome on hisarrival to party office. Das, whoreached Ranchi fromJamshedpur via road, was greet-ed on route by BJP cadres andsenior leaders. From SadabaharChowk, BJP cadres took out amotorcycle rally welcoming theformer chief minister.

At the party office, BJPstate president Deepak Prakash,two general secretaries, PradeepVerma and Aditya Sahu wel-comed Das.

Das, launching a scathingattack on the Hemant Sorengovernment, said that the peo-

ple of the state have become fedup with the Soren governmentin just nine months. He said thatthe Soren government has failedin all aspects, incidents of rape,murder, dowry deaths, criminalactivities and other incidentshave gone up. "The people of thestate are feeling cheated as theSoren government has not onlycarried out any developmentalworks but rather stopping wel-fare schemes initiated by BJPgovernment," said Das.

He claimed that in the pre-sent regime bureaucracy hasbecome powerful and transferposting has become a business.

The former chief minister alsospoke on farm bills introducedby the Narendra Modi govern-ment and Congress and otherparties opposing it.

He said, "Gandhiji’s visionwas to strengthen village indus-tries and in this direction PrimeMinister Narendra Modi gov-ernment is working. With thenew farm bills, farmers willbecome powerful as there will beno restriction to sell their agri-cultural produce. The Congressis opposing the farm billsbecause the grand old party iswith middlemen and brokers."

Das also appreciated theModi government's steps inincreasing the MSP of majorRabi and Kharif crops.

Das said the party willlaunch a drive at village levelexposing the double standardsof Congress party for opposingfarm bills. He said that theparty will organise village chau-pal and Khatia meet at village.The party will also take the helpof intellectuals in exposing thedouble standards of theCongress party.

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With the objective ofimproving the commu-

nication system network ofthe armed forces and boostingtheir fighting capabilities in thebackdrop of the volatile situa-tion at the Line of ActualControl (LAC) in Ladakh andthe Line of Control (LOC), theGovernment on Thursdayinked two deals worth over�8,000 crore. They includeestablishment of the ArmyStatic SwitchedCommunication Network(ASCON) Phase IV Networkworth �7,796.39 crore and pro-curement of one lakh grenadesfrom an Indian private sectorfirm at cost of �409 crores.

Giving details of thesecrucial deals, officials saidhere on Thursday that theCabinet Committee onSecurity (CCS) has approvedthe communication project.

It will be built by the ITI,a Public Sector Undertaking,at an estimated cost of�7,796.39 crore with an imple-mentation schedule of 36months from the date of sign-ing of the contract. The con-tract was inked on Thursday.

The project is a strategicand theatre area communica-tion network which willupgrade the existingAsynchronous Transfer ModeTechnology to InternetProtocol (IP) / Multi ProtocolLabel Switching (MPLS)Technology. Optical FibreCable (OFC), MicrowaveRadio and Satellite will beused as communicationmedia.

The project will providebetter survivability, respon-siveness and high bandwidthin any operational scenarioand enhance the communica-tion coverage of network clos-er to the international border,LAC and the Line of Control(LoC). The project will aug-ment the communication net-work of Indian Army in thesensitive forward operationalareas keeping in view the cur-rent operational situation atLAC.

At the same time, in aneffort to provide modernammunition mainly toinfantry soldiers guarding thenow sensitive LAC and theLOC, the government inked adeal with Nagpur basedEconomic Explosive Ltd (SolarGroup) for the hand grenades.

This comes days after theDefence AcquisitionCouncil(DAC)headed byDefence Minister RajnathSingh gave the nod for pro-curement of 72,400 Sig Sauerassault rifles from the US onfast track basis for the front-line soldiers. The contract isworth over �780 crores. TheIndian army had bought thefirst batch of 72,4000 riflessome months back.

As regards the handgrenade deal, officials saidhere it will also boost the‘Make in India’ initiative in thedefence sector. The privatecompany will supply 10,00,000Multi Mode Hand Grenades tothe Indian Army. Thesegrenades will be replacing thehand grenade design of WorldWar-II vintage, in use with theIndian Army.

The Multi-Mode HandGrenade has been designed bythe Defence Research andD e v e l o p m e n tOrganisation(DRDO) andTerminal Ballistic ResearchLaboratories (TBRL). Thegrenades have a distinctivedesign, in that, they can beused in both offensive anddefensive modes. This is a flag-ship project showcasing pub-lic-private partnershipenabling “AtmaNirbharta” in

cutting edge ammunitiontechnologies and accomplish-es 100% indigenous content,officials added.

This deal comes after theDAC on Monday approvedproposals for capital acquisi-tions worth approximately�2,290 crore including 72,400SIG-716 assault rifles for theArmy and Smart Anti AirfieldWeapon (SAAW) for the Navyand Air Force.

The procurement of Static

High Frequency (HF) Tans-receiver sets and Smart AntiAirfield Weapon (SAAW) willcommence for the IAF andArmy. The HF radio sets willenable seamless communica-tion for the field units ofArmy and Air Force and arebeing procured at an approx.cost of �540 crore, theMinistry said in a statement.The SAAW are being pro-cured at an approximate costof �970 crore.

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India on Thursday outright-ly rejected the propaganda

by Pakistan about alleged ill-treatment of Sikh soldiers inthe Indian Army and said it isproud of its secular credentials.

In a tough statement, theIndian army termed such acampaign as malicious sincePakistan had also claimed thatthe Sikh soldiers were discon-tented.

The official note cameafter some social media sites inPakistan claimed that theIndian Sikh soldiers were dis-criminated against and espe-cially targeted Lt GeneralTaranjit Singh. He is at presentposted in the newly createdDepartment of MilitaryAffairs(DMA)after the settingup of the Chief of DefenceStaff(CDS)institution early thisyear.

“Over the past few days, astate sponsored malicioussocial media disinformationcampaign has been run byPakistan against the IndianArmy and in particular againstLt General Taranjit Singh, asenior officer posted in theDepartment of Military Affairs(DMA). Having failed consis-tently to incite religion-baseddisaffection within the coun-try, Pakistan, in a desperate

attempt, is now trying to cre-ate a divide within the IndianArmy,” the statement said.

The Indian Army cate-gorically rejects such mali-cious attempts to defame theinstitution.

The Indian Army is a sec-ular organisation and all offi-cers and soldiers serve thenation with pride irrespectiveof their religion, caste, creed orgender, it added.

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New Delhi: The SupremeCourt Thursday directedrefund of air tickets, domesticand international, for travelduring the COVID-19 lock-down period from March 25 toMay 24 within three weeksfrom the date of the cancella-tion of flights.

Accepting the Centre’s pro-posal, the top court directedthat if the tickets have beenbooked through an agent fortravel within the lockdownperiod, in all such cases fullrefund shall be given by the air-lines immediately and theamount shall be passed onimmediately by the agent to thepassengers.

It said: “If on account offinancial distress, any air-line/airlines are not able torefund then they shall providecredit shell, equal to theamount of fare collected, in thename of passenger when thebooking is done either direct-ly by the passenger or throughtravel agent so as to consumethe same on or before March31, 2021”.

It is open to passengerseither to utilise such credit shellup to March 31, 2021 on anyroute of choice or transfer thecredit shell to any personincluding the travel agent con-cerned, and the airlines shallhonour such a transfer, the topcourt said.

A bench of Justices AshokBhushan, R Subhash Reddyand M R Shah said the sug-gestions and formulationsarrived at the meeting held bythe Ministry of Civil Aviation(MCA), Director General ofCivil Aviation (DGCA), whichare acceptable to the majorityof stakeholders have to be

implemented in letter andspirit.

The top court’s verdictcame on a batch of petitions,including by NGOs and pas-sengers associations, seekingcomplete refund of ticket farefor the flights cancelled.

It said that the court can-not lose sight of the present sit-uation prevailing in the coun-try and across the globe withregard to the effect of theCOVID-19 pandemic and anystrict enforcement action ofCivil Aviation Requirement(CAR) (aviation norms)against the airlines would fur-ther restrict their operations.

It said that the passengerswho booked tickets at anyperiod of time but for travelafter May 24, then the refundof fares to the passengers cov-ered under this category shallbe governed by the provisionsof CAR.

“Even for internationaltravel, when the tickets havebeen booked on an Indian car-rier and the booking is ex-India (flights originating fromIndia), if the tickets have beenbooked during the lockdownperiod for travel within thelockdown period, immediaterefund shall be made,” thebench said in its order.

If the tickets are bookedfor international travel on aforeign carrier and the book-ing is ex-India during thelockdown period for travelwithin the lockdown period,full refund shall be given bythe airlines and said amountshall be passed on immediatelyby the agent to the passengers,wherever such tickets arebooked through agents, itadded. PTI

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New Delhi: The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has filed pros-ecution complaint (charge-sheet in police parlance) againstHafiz Mohammad Sayeed(founder of terror groupLashkar-e-Tayyaba, Jamaat-Ud-Dawa and Falah-e-InsaniatFoundation, Pakistan) and oth-ers in a terror funding case.

Sayeed’s Deputy ShahidMehmood, MohammadKamran, a Dubai-basedPakistani, Mohammad Salimalias Mama, a Delhi-basedhawala operator and oneMohammad Salman have alsobeen charged under Preventionof Money Laundering Act(PMLA) in the ongoing inves-tigations in a terror financingcase.

The ED began probe underPMLA based on a chargesheetfiled by the NationalInvestigation Agency (NIA)against these accused personsunder various sections of theIPC and Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act. The AccusedMohammad Salman has beenfound to be involved in receiv-ing funds, from FIF operatorsand his associates, throughillegally operated hawala chan-nels.

Probe under PMLArevealed that funds were re-routed from Pakistan to Dubaiand further to India throughhawala channels. Salman wasthe recipient of funds sent byMohammad Kamran and hisassociates Abdul Aziz Behlimand Arif GulambashirDharampuria, in Dubai.Documents seized from thehouse of Mohammad Salman,Mohammad Salim andMohammad Arif GulambashirDharampuria during thesearches held by NIA and emailcorrespondence reflect thesehawala transactions by Mohd.Uzair to Kamran. PNS

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Over the last three years,between 2016-17 and

2018-19, there has been a grad-ual increase in the number ofstudents from the ScheduledTribe (ST) category joininguniversities abroad availing theNational Overseas ScholarshipScheme (NOSS) run by theUnion Tribal Affairs Ministry.Still, the minuscule slot of 20seats under the Scheme didn’tget filled up. In the last threeyears, only 2, 12 and 16 stu-dents respectively could availthe benefit of the NOSS.

Taking exception to thepoor performance of thescheme, a ParliamentaryStanding Committee on SocialWelfare in its report tabled inParliament recently has askedthe Ministry to spread aware-ness about the scheme thataims to provide financial assis-tance to students selected forpursuing higher studies abroad

for Post Graduate, Ph.D. andPost-Doctoral ResearchProgramme.

Under the scheme 17awards are sanctioned to STstudents and 3 to ParticularlyVulnerable Tribal Groups(PVTGs) students per year.Total 20 students are benefittedthrough this scheme.

“Lack of awareness amongthe ST students could also beone of the reasons for weakperformance of the scheme,”said the panel, headed by LokSabha member Rama Devi.

It gave specific instance ofAssam. “For instance, the TribalDepartment website of AssamGovernment gives a one-lineinformation on the scholarshipscheme and the window forapplication just shows that itwill be notified shortly. TheCommittee is appalled at suchapathy of a few StateGovernments towards the wel-fare of STs and feel that theMinistry should have been

alert to such lapses,” said thepanel.

It has now asked theMinistry to carry out an inspec-tion of all State Governmentwebsites to ensure maximumpublicity of all ST welfareschemes including the schol-arship scheme.

The panel also expressed itsdispleasure at the Ministry’sreply that said, “The observa-tion/recommendation of thecommittee has been noted forcompliance” without mention-ing any steps taken by themactually in this regard.

“The Committee feels thatavailability of latest informationpertaining to all the Schemesincluding Scholarship schemeson the State Government’swebsites is a very importantstep for awareness generationamong the tribal students of theState,” the panel said whileasking the Ministry to submita report in this direction at theearliest.

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The BJP on Friday hit out atthe Congress and its former

chief Rahul Gandhi allegingthat they were looking for‘photo-op’ and resorting to‘theatrics’ around the unfortu-nate death of the Hathras vic-tim in Uttar Pradesh to ‘revive’their political careers.

Rahul, her sister andGeneral Secretary in-chargeof UP Priyanka Vadra andCongress workers were stoppedby UP police on Friday on theexpressway when they wereattempting to march to Hathrasto meet the family of the bru-talised rape victim who passedaway here and later cremated inthe wee hours by the policeallegedly ‘illegally’ without the

consent and in absence of herfamily members.

With Congress seeking theresignation of UP ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath forthe deteriorating law and orderin the State, the BJP retortedsaying a dying Congress isusing drama to prop up its dip-ping graph.

“Congress and RahulGandhi have reduced theunfortunate death of a youngwoman into theatrics, an occa-sion to resurrect their politicalcareers”, said BJP leader andhead of party’s IT cell AmitMalviya.

“The insincerity is gut-wrenching. Crime againstwomen and Dalits, in particu-lar, is rampant in Rajasthan butpolitics takes them to UP,”

Malviya said in a tweet.The BJP leader criticised

the Congress for offering ‘sym-pathy’ on the basis of ‘socialand religious identity of theviolator or the State’.

“When your sympathy forthe victim depends on thesocial and religious identity ofthe violator or the state inwhich the crime happens, thenyou are part of the problem.Those obsessing about theidentity of the accused inHathras are silent onBalrampur and Bulandshahr,”Malviya said.

BJP leader and UPMinister Siddhartha NathSingh claimed that Congressleaders were looking for the‘photo-op’ rather than havingreal sympathy for the victim.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi will inaugurate the

world’s longest highway tunnel,named Atal Tunnel, onSaturday. The 9.02km tunnelconnects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley.

With this tunnel, now thetwo sides will remain con-nected throughout the yearunlike earlier when the valleywas cut off for about 6 monthsowing to heavy snowfall. TheTunnel is built with ultra-mod-ern specifications in the PirPanjal range of Himalayas at analtitude of 3000 Mtrs (10,000Feet) from the Mean Sea Level(MSL).

The tunnel reduces theroad distance by 46 Kmbetween Manali and Leh andthe time by about 4 to 5hours and reduces reduce theroad distance by 46 Kmsbetween Manali and Leh andthe time by about 4 to 5hours. Prime Minister will

reach Rohtang at 10 am toinaugurate the tunnel namedafter former Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee.

The decision to constructa strategic tunnel below theRohtang Pass was taken onJune 03, 2000 by Vajpayee andthe foundation stone for the

Access Road to the SouthPortal of the tunnel was laidon May 26, 2002. Afterattending the inaugurationfunction of the Atal Tunnel atSouth Portal, Manali, Modishall be participating in pub-lic functions at Sissu in LahaulSpiti and at Solang Valley.

The tunnel has beendesigned for traffic density of3000 cars and 1,500 trucks perday and has telecommunica-tion facilities at every 150Mtrs for emergency commu-nication. Maximum speedallowed is 80km/hour andcameras are installed at every

60 meters.The Border Roads

Organisation (BRO) workedrelentlessly to overcomemajor geological, terrain andweather chal lenges thatincluded the most difficultstretch of the 587-metre SeriNalah Fault Zone. The break-through from both ends wasachieved on October 15, 2017,said PMO in a statement.

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If you believe in Gandhianphilosophy, you have the

opportunity to pay tributes tothe Father of the Nation on hisbirth anniversary in a uniqueway by spinning the wheel orCharkha that the great freedomfighter used to make homespuncotton.

The Archeological Surveyof India (ASI) on the occasionof the Gandhi Jayanti has putup 15 Charkhas at historicmonument Jantar Mantar inthe national Capital, offeringvisitors a chance to spin cot-ton by hand on the spinningwheel.

“This is the perfect way topay tribute to the great leader.The charkha, or spinningwheel, is the physical embod-iment and symbol of Gandhi’sconstructive program. The

Charkhas have been providedby Gandhi Smriti and DarshanSamiti. On the occasionSwacchata programmme hasalso been organised,” said anofficial from the ASI.

In fact, a string of eventsare being held across the coun-try to disseminate MahatmaGandhi’s message of non-vio-lence to mark the GandhiJayanthi. The Ayush Ministry,for instance, will kick-off a 48-

day longseries ofwebinarsf r o mOctober 2to rekin-dle theGandhi’sthoughtson healtha n dnutrition.

T h eNational Institute ofNaturopathy (NIN) in Pune inassociation with the RegionalOutreach Bureau Maharashtraand Goa of the Informationand Broadcasting Ministrywill organize these webinarsthemed “Mahatma Gandhi-The Healer” that will concludeon Naturopathy Day, onNovember 18, said an officialfrom the Ministry.

Likewise, a district

branch (301) of Inner WheelClub, an internationalwomen’s organisation workingin various countries, isorgnaising a virtual event,‘Charkha’, as a tribute to theBapu showcasing ramp walkson Khadi, documentary onweavers and restoration andrevival of heritage heirlooms,shared Club’s DistrictSecretary (301) Mala Rishi.

The Noida Authority toowill launch ‘Trash to Treasure’and ‘Bin to Beauty’ initiativesto mark the Gandhi Jayanti.Stakeholders like residents,social groups and others willmake and install artworks outof all kinds of waste, includ-ing plastic, at city parks, greenbelts and other recreationalareas, inforned RituMaheshwari, Chief ExecutiveOff icer of the NoidaAuthority.

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As a solution to the problemof stubble burning that

leaves Delhi and the neigh-bouring States of Haryana,Punjab, UP and Rajasthangasping for breath due tosevere pollution in winters, theCentre has suggested the adop-tion of a new technology devel-oped by the Pusa Agriculture

Institute to decompose straw inthe fields. It would be tested ona trial basis to begin with.

“Though stubble burninghas reduced in the last threeyears, more needs to be doneto tackle the issue. The centralgovernment has givenmachines to destroy cropresidue. Indian Council ofAgricultural Research (ICAR)and Pusa’s decomposer tech-

nology will be tried in statesthis year on a trial basis,”Union Environment MinisterPrakash Javadekar said onThursday.

The Government is alsoplanning to spread awarenessabout the threat due to thestubble burnings and pollutionto the threat particularly dur-ing the Covid-19 days. Wherethere is more stubble burning,

like Punjab, awareness amongfarmers is being spread,” hesaid.

The Minister was address-ing the media after holding avirtual meeting with environ-ment ministers of Delhi and thefour neighbouring States tocheck their preparedness andtake preventive measures ahead of the crop residue burn-ing.

The IARI has developedPUSA Decomposer, which is aset of four tablets made byextracting fungi strains thathelp the paddy straw to decom-pose at a much faster rate thanusual, giving farmers the optionto shred the straw, spray a solu-tion containing the fungalstrains, and mix it with the soilfor decomposition.

The meeting was also

attended by the CentralPollution Control Board(CPCB), state pollution controlboards, DDA and NDM.Javadekar said that all the fivestates gave details of theiraction plans and Delhi hasbeen asked to focus on its 13pollution hotspots and anyincomplete road work must becompleted to avoid dust.

He said there are several

factors other than stubble burn-ing which cause pollution inthe national capital, includinggarbage burning, dust andunpaved roads.

“We are also encouragingthe use of Bio CNG and bio-power. BS-VI compliant vehi-cles have been introduced.Measures have been taken butmore needs to be done,” hesaid.

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Jaipur: Rajasthan ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot onThursday condemned the UttarPradesh police and termed thedetention of Congress leaderRahul Gandhi and his sisterPriyanka Gandhi Vadra as “ille-gal”.

Taking to Twitter, Gehlotsaid, “I strongly condemn theway UP police has detainedCongress leader Rahul Gandhiji & Priyanka Gandhi ji illegally.They misbehaved with Rahul ji.This is undemocratic & brutaluse of force. UP BJP govt'sattempt to harass Oppositionleaders like this is reprehensi-ble.”

“UP BJP Govt's actions

smacks of political vendetta.They are acting in a dictatori-al manner,” he said.

Rahul and Priyanka weredetained near YamunaExpressway when the duo, afterbeing stopped on the highway,decided to march to Hathras tomeet the family of the UP Dalitwoman who was gang rapedand died in a Delhi hospitalearlier this week.

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The Lucknow Special CBICourt acquitting all the 32

accused in the 1992 Babri Masjiddemolition case has shattered theconfidence and trust the citizenhas over the judiciary, accordingto Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamaatleader B Abdul Rehman.

He was addressing thousandsof activists of the ThowheedJamaat who had assembled inChennai city to express theirresentment and protest overWednesday’s Court verdict that setfree top BJP leaders including L KAdvani, Murali Manohar Joshi,Uma Bharti.

“The Babri Masjid demolitioncase was not judged by law. Thecourt acquitted all the accused andsaid that the culprits did not planor conspire before the demolitionof the Babri Masjid. This is thebiggest blow to democratic systemof India. This has shattered con-fidence in the courts,” he said.

Rehman said that the wholeworld is watching how Indiancourts were acting against minori-ties in India. “The Babri Masjiddemolition case and the owner-ship case verdicts are examples ofunjust verdict of the Indian judi-ciary,” he said. Thousands tookpart in the rally raising slogansagainst the court verdict. TheThowheed Jamaat has organiseda State-wide protest on Fridayagainst the court order whichwould of much bigger magnitude,said Rehman.

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The complaint that has beenlodged on the Chief Minister’s

Portal and the Women's Commissionregarding the rape of a 7-year-old girlis not from the Jawan area but fromthe Maheshpur village of Kwarsi.

Secondly, in the police investi-gation, a dispute has come out dueto the quarrel of the children. Policeinvestigation revealed that the chil-dren of two brothers were playing onthe roof of the house, in the mean-time, after a dispute in the game, thetwo brothers got engaged in a fight.

A 60-year-old elderly man pre-sent on the spot sent the childrenhome but later there was a fightbetween both brother’s family.Investigation revealed that in the pastalso, these families have beenengaged many times in the fighting.According to Inspector Kwarsi,Chhote Lal, a written agreement, inthis case, has been received from thegirl's mother and the report in thisregard has been sent to the higherauthorities.

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Jawa police of Aligarh district intercepted andarrested two members of the inter-State

cannabis smugglers with cannabis worth �45lakh. During routine vehicle checking, policecaught a cargo of container en route toBulandshahar in which cannabis was hidden. SSPhas announced a cash reward to the police team.

In a press conference at the police head-quarter, SP Crime Dr. Arvind said that SO AbhayKumar of Jawa with his team was checking vehi-cles at the CDF check post when a truck con-tainer approached but seeing the police, the truckdriver turned back and started driving towardsMaheshpur gate.

Following this, the vehicle was stopped.Truck driver Rishi Kumar, son of RaghunathSingh and Jeetendra alias Jeetu Kashyap, son ofSitaram residents of Ramnagar were arrestedfrom the spot and 346.980 kg of cannabis recov-ered from a secret cabin in the closed body ofthe truck worth around Rs 45 lakh.

Interrogation revealed that the containerhave been brought from Odisha and was goingto Anupshahar of Bulandshahar. SI Rohit Rathiand Aditya Shankar Tiwari etc. were in this team.Both criminals were sent to jail. Earlier also fourcriminals, with 11 quintals of cannabis of thesame gang, were caught by the Kwarsi Police soonafter unlock.

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The Kerala Government onThursday suffered a setback as the

Kerala high Court asked it to coop-erate with the CBI probe into the LIFEMission project, the flagship pro-gramme of the Pinarayi Vijayan-ledCPI(M) Government.

Justice V G Arun refused to staythe CBI probe as sought by theKerala Government. He asked theKerala Government to cooperatewith the CBI and said he would con-sider the plea next Thursday.

The LIFE Mission envisagedbuilding houses for all those in theState without roofs over their heads.The project was being implemented

with the financial help offered by RedCrescent, a UAE based NGO.

The project ran into rough weath-er when the Centre announced thatthe Kerala Government has notsought the permission of the formeras mandated by the Foreign CurrencyRegulation Act.

Things turned for the worsewhen the NIA probing theThiruvananthapuram Airport GoldSmuggling scam took into custodySwapna Suresh, one of the kingpinsand seized crores of rupees from herbank locker. The woman told theagency that the money was to be dis-bursed among political bigwigs in theState as commission of the LIFEMission programme.

A Congress legislator Anil Akkarawrote to the CBI highlighting theirregularities in the mission andsought a thorough probe. Days beforethe CBI launched the investigation,Kerala Government ordered aVigilance probe into the LIFE Missionscam.

The day the CBI began its probe,the Vigilance Department sleuthstook away all the files from the LIFEMission office in the capital city.Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the CPI(M)state secretary alleged that the CBIprobe was politically motivated andwas against the concept of Federalism.He accused that the Centre was try-ing to subvert the functioning of theCPI(M) led Kerala Government.

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In the case of a teenager’s gang-rape in the lodha area, 3

accused have not been still arrest-ed and they are threatening thevictim.

The victim's family has com-plained to the SSP office onWednesday. The victim’s mothertold that on August 8, the 16-year-old daughter was going to takegrass, when 4 people raped herdaughter in the field and afterthat, they started threatening tokill the girl.

It was reported in police sta-tion Lodha. The victim’s state-ment already recorded under164 in the court in which she hasgiven the names of 4 accused butthe police have arrested only oneaccused Umesh while other 3 areabsconded who are threateningher and the family continuously.The woman also demanded pro-tection.

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In the Bannadevi area, a rape case hasbeen reported of Ghaziabad based

woman by feeding a narcotic drug. Thewoman was lured from Ghaziabad toAligarh. The woman is admitted to a med-ical college and the police is investigatingthe case.

Ghaziabad based woman used towork as laborers. She was having a disputewith her husband these days. During thistime, she met a person of Suraksha Viharof Banana Devi area, a resident ofRatangarh Hall village of Hathras and thatperson brought the woman to SurakshaVihar. It is alleged that here he fed thewoman Golgappa, which made herunconscious, then the person took her toa room and raped her. The woman thenwent to the district hospital on Wednesdaymorning but It is alleged that she was nottested by his doctor then she called 112number on which PRV reached and gotthe woman tested. After that, the womanwas sent to JN Medical College due tounconsciousness.

According to Bannadevi InspectorDhirendra Mohan, medical examinationhas been done in this case, further actionwill be taken based on the investigation.

CHENNAI: M K Stalin, pres-ident, DMK, has launched the2021 Assembly election cam-paign from the farms. TheLeader of Opposition com-menced his campaign by call-ing on the agricultural farms inKancheepuram early this weekand interacted with farmers,especially women folks, whowere working in the paddyfields.

Stalin did not make anyspeeches but focussed more onpersonal discussions with thefarmers. He asked them aboutthe returns which they getfrom farms and the financialassistance offered by the Stateand Centre. “The farmers arestruggling to survive as theNarendra Modi Government atthe Centre and the EdappadiPalaniswami Government inTamil Nadu have made life dif-ficult for them. They do not getsubsidised seeds or fertilizers.The Banks refuse to py them

loans and this make them turnto private lenders who chargeunbelievable rates as interest,”said Stalin.

Many women were seenweeping in front of the DMKchief while they recounted thebitter experiences they hadfrom PalaniswamiGovernment. Stalin blamedthe AIADMK Government forsupporting the bills onAgriculture Reforms whichwere passed by both the Housesof Parliament.

“This is yet another mis-sion by the Modi governmentto liquidate the farming com-munity in the country. Once wecome top power here in TamilNadu, we will safeguard theinterests of the farmers.” SaidStalin.

DMK leaders said the partychief would tour the entire Stateand interact with the farmers inthe first round of the campaign.“He wants to reassure the farm-

ers in the State that DMKwould stand by them andwould offer all kinds of help toprotect their interest,” said asource in DMK headquarters.

The Namakku Naame (ByUs, For Us) roadshow by theDMK chief had helped theparty to recover most of the lostground in Tamil Nadu politicsin 2016. Though Stalin hadclaimed of a change of gov-ernment would happen in2016, the DMK lost the electionby a whisker and since then theparty has been in a missionmode. The DMK swept the2019 Lok Sabha election andwrested 13 out of the 21 assem-bly constituencies held by theAIADMK where byelectionswere held along with the LokSabha polls.

Early this week, the inter-nal war in the ruling AIADMKcame out in the open and thistoo has made things easy forthe DMK. PNS

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Giving impetus to the ongoinganti corruption campaign in

Jammu & Kashmir, the AntiCorruption Bureau on Thursdayregistered an FIR against formerJammu and Kashmir BankChairman, Parvaiz Ahmad andseveral others for violating normswhile allotting a housekeepingcontract to the tune of over 6crores to a Mumbai based com-pany.

According to a statementissued by the Anti CorruptionBureau, “in the year 2015 J&KBank with headquarters at Srinagarcame out with a Pan India tenderfor housekeeping services. Later,the tender for housekeeping of off-

site ATMs, was allotted to aMumbai based Company i.e, M/SSILA Solutions Pvt. Ltd, by not fol-lowing proper tendering norms”.

“On verification by the ACB itwas revealed that J&K Bank offi-cials in contravention of tenderconditions negotiated the rateswith M/S SILA Solutions Pvt Ltd.The tender was awarded to M/SSILA Solutions Pvt Ltd in grossviolation of General FinancialRules (GFR)” the ACB statementadded.

The statement further stated“a FIR has been registered againstaccused Surjeet Singh Seghal, thethen Executive President J&KBank (now retired), ParvaizAhmad, the then Chairman ofJ&K Bank (now retired), Feroz

Ahmad, the then Assistant VicePresident; and Sahil Vora andRishabh Vora, Directors, M/sSILA Solutions Pvt. Ltd. alongwith the residents of 508 OlympusApartments 5C, Altamont RoadMumbai-400026 on the allegationthat the officers/officials of J&KBank Ltd. awarded tenders ofhousekeeping to a Mumbai basedCompany M/s SILA SolutionsPvt. Ltd by not following theproper tendering norms and thathas led to the losses to the bank ofthe tune of Rs. 6,29,56,575/- fromthe date of award of contract”.

As per the contract of M/SSILA Solutions Pvt Ltd amongstother conditions included ATMcleaning and deployment of jani-tors.

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Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjeeon Thursday flayed the BJP for perpe-

trating torture on the Dalits in UttarPradesh where it was in power but dine attheir shanties to catch vote before elections.

Stopping short of naming then BJPpresident Amit Shah who had dined at aDalit rickshaw-puller’s house in NorthBengal, the Bengal Chief Minister Banerjeesaid, “they eat pre-cooked food broughtfrom outside at Dalit people’s housesbefore the elections but as a general rulethey perpetrate torture on them as it hap-pened in Uttar Pradesh.”

Condemning the Hathras rape andmurder case Banerjee said how “womenare raped and murdered in UP .” The Dalitpeople were “suffering and being torturedbut those in power look the other way …whereas during the elections they (read BJPleaders) consume prepared food broughtfrom outside at Dalits’ houses and thenpublicise this around saying that their lead-ers are dining with poor and Dalit… it isshameful to see how the minorities, adi-vasis and dalits are not safe in the BJP-ruledstates.”

The BJP only deliver promises without

converting them to actual performance, shesaid while announcing a host of projectsincluding construction of 12,000 km ofroads in Bengal. Banerjee was addressingan audience at Jalpaiguri in North Bengal.

Earlier condemning the alleged forcedcremation of the victim Banerjee said“Have no words to condemn the barbar-ic & shameful incident at Hathras involv-ing a young Dalit girl. My deepest condo-lences to the family. More shameful is theforceful cremation without the family'spresence or consent, exposing those whouse slogans & lofty promises for votes.”

The BJP promptly hit back saying“people living in glass houses shoulddesist from throwing stones at others,” evenas State leader Raju Banerjee remindedhow the Bengal Police had forcibly cre-mated a rape and murder victim fromNorth 24 Parganas a few years ago.

He also said how in 2018 Bengal sawthe most number of acid attacks onwomen with the UP coming second. Healso said how Bengal saw most number ofpolitical killings and how 2018 againranked Bengal as the third-most unsafestate for women after UP and MadhyaPradesh.

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In an apparent bid to douse the flames early theBengal BJP has embarked on organising state-wide

rallies in support of the newly brought farm laws withsenior leaders and MPs like Locket Chatterjee lead-ing long marches in interior regions to count theprospective effects of the new bill that is being con-demned by the Opposition as a law that would in thefinal run ruin the farmers.

The BJP took out “Krishak Suraksha Yatra” (farm-ers’ security rallies) throughout West Midnapore,Purulia, Bankura and Ashok Nagar in North 24Parganas claiming the new farm bill would in the finalrun liberate the farmers from the hands of the mid-dlemen and enrich them as they would be free to selltheir produce to the corporate who would pay themhigher prices.

“The TMC and the Left are telling the people thatthe farm bill will ruin the farmers but it is simply theopposite because this will liberate them from the

hands of the middlemen,” Chatterjee said adding “theresult of this new law would be seen in a couple ofyears time.” The TMC on the other hand took outlong processions in Hooghly and other areas con-demning the farm bill.

Meanwhile, the State BJP leadership on Thursdaysaid that top saffron leaders like Amit Shah and JPNadda would visit Bengal ahead of the Durga Pujas.This was decided in a meeting of Bengal BJP lead-ers with the national leadership, State party presidentDilip Ghosh said. “Perhaps Amit Shah ji would comebefore the Pujas and Nadda ji would come after,”Ghosh said adding the coming of the national lead-ers would pep up the party rank and file.

The BJP which is aiming to capture power in thenext year’s Assembly elections hopes Shah to fix a tar-get of seats when he comes to Bengal.

Ahead of 2019 parliamentary elections Shah hadsaid that the BJP would 22 out of 42 seats and theparty actually got 19. This time round the BJP expectsto get more than 200 seats in a 294-member House.

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Lucknow: A special court here has saidthe CBI did not probe on an “impor-tant” secret information that peoplefrom Pakistan intelligence agency mayhave also entered and damaged the dis-puted Ram Janmabhoomi-BabriMasjid in Ayodhya to foment com-munal disturbances in the country.

Special Judge SK Yadav referred toinconsistencies in testimonies of sev-eral prosecution witnesses while hold-ing that the charge of criminal con-spiracy to demolish the structure andother charges were not proved against32 high-profile accused in the case.

In the 2,300 page-long verdict writ-ten in Hindi, the judge said the Central

Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) casebecame weaker or “forceless” in viewof the fact that it did not probe andruled out the Pakistan angle to thedemolition to make the criminal con-spiracy charge stand the judicial scruti-ny.

The special CBI judge observedthis on Wednesday in the judgementwhile acquitting the accused, includ-ing veteran BJP leaders L K Advani andM M Joshi, of conspiring to raze thestructure among other charges.

The court said the CBI's allegationsagainst the accused persons “becomeforceless also because it did not inves-tigate a report sent by Local Intelligence

Unit (LIU) on December 5, 1992, thaton December 6, 1992, some personsfrom Pakistani intelligence agenciesmay cause damage to the disputedstructure after merging with the localcrowd”.

Babri demolition meticulouslyplanned, some of the 32 categoricallytook responsibility: Justice Liberhan

It noted that there were localintelligence reports that on December2, 1992, itself some 'majaar' (shrine)were broken and set on fire by personsfrom the Muslim community with anaim to vitiate the communal atmos-phere so that 'kar seva' (voluntary ser-vice) may be interrupted. Agencies

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Upping the ante over the gangrape of a 19-year-old Dalit girl

at Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, theruling Congress and NCP casti-gated the UP police for preventingRahul Gandhi and PriyankaGandhi from going to Hathraswhich they described as “an act ofoppression”, even as Maharashtrachief minister Uddhav Thackeraysaid that the Hathras-like incidentwould not be tolerated in thestate.

On a day when the Congressleaders and workers staged astaged a dharna in Mumbai andother places in the state against“jungle raj” in Uttar Pradesh, thesenior State Congress leadersdemanded the resignation of UPchief minister Yogi Adityanath,while NCP chief Sharad Pawarcondemned the “reckless behav-iour” of the UP police towardsRahul Gandhi.

“Reckless behaviour of UPPolice towards @INCIndia leaderShri @RahulGandhi is extremelycondemnable. It is reprehensiblefor those who are supposed touphold the law to trample upon thedemocratic values in such a man-ner,” Pawar tweeted.

Congress leaders and partyworkers, led by MaharashtraPradesh Congress Committeepresident and Revenue MinisterBalasaheb Thorat, staged dharnanear the Mahatma Gandhi statuenear Mantralaya (State secretariat)in south Mumbai against theoppression by the UP police and

UP government.Speaking on the occasion,

Thorat said: “What happened withRahul and Priyanka Gandhi todayin UP it has been proved onceagain there is utter lawlessness inUttar Pradesh. It is not a state thatruns by the book of law and it isin a state of 'Jungle Raaj' In UttarPradesh, women and young girlsare not safe and the cases of crimeagainst women are now the rise,with a new heinous and shamefulincident being reported every day”.

“By not allowing RahulGandhi and Priyanka Gandhi tomeet the parents of the victim, itis very clear that the Uttar Pradeshgovernment is trying to back theaccused of this inhumane case,”Throat said.Meanwhile, con-demning the Hathras gang-rapeincident, chief minister UddhavThackeray said: “Let alone we willnot tolerate such Hathras-likeincidents, but we will not toleratemen casting evil eye at women”..

Demanding the sacking ofUP chief minister Yogi Adityanath,former chief miniser and seniorCongress leader Prithviraj Chavansaid: “State sponsored violence inUP is at its peak. Why wereCongress leaders Rahul andPriyanka Gandhi prevented fromgoing to #Hathras to condole thefamily? Why were they detained?I condemn the manhandling ofCongress leaders. What is CMAdityanath afraid of? He must besacked”.

Another former chief minister

and current senior Congress min-ister in the MVA governmentAshok Chavan said: “The mannerin which the UP police tried toprevent Rahul Gandhi andPriyanka Gandhi goes to provethat Uttar Padesh is a not a stateruled by law but it has become aJungle Raj. UP chief ministershould accept moral responsibili-ty for the incident and resignfrom his post”.

Condemning the manner inwhich Rahul Gandhi was “pre-vented” from going to Hathras,NCP MP Supriya Sule said: “I pub-licly deplore such instances whenthe police grab the collar of a per-son who is going to seek justicefrom the UP Police for the vic-tim…Whichever state it may, sucha shameful crime must be treatedin a fast track manner, that is mydemand to CM Adityanath”.

Apart from Throat, prominentamong those present at the dhar-na staged near the state secretari-at were former chiefministerPrithviraj Chavan,Medical Education Minister AmitDeshmukh, Textiles MinisterAslam Shaikh, former MinisterNaseem

Meanwhile, similar protestswere staged by the Congress insome parts of the state. At Sangliin western Maharashtra, the YouthCongress workers staged a “rastarook” by setting tyres on fire. Theprotesters raised vociferous slogansagainst Yogi Adityanath.Following the protests, the localpolice took into custody tenCongress workers.

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The J&K police in central Kashmir'sGanderbal have apprehended a youth who

was misled into joining terrorist ranks and theyouth was then counselled and handed over tohis parents, police said on Thursday.

Police said based on credible input from var-ious security agencies Ganderbal Police appre-hended a youth identified as Umar Nazir, a res-ident of Ganderbal.

“Preliminary investigation reveals that thesubject was in constant touch over social mediawith some suspects in Bandipora and Pulwamaand had developed tendency to join terror ranks,”police said.

Police said the arrested youth was properlycounselled by Ganderbal Police in presence ofhis parents and later handed over to his parents.

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India enters the implementa-tion phase of its new NationalEducation Policy — NEP2020 — that envisions “aneducation system rooted in

Indian ethos that could transformIndia, that is Bharat, into an equi-table, sustainable and vibrantknowledge society, by providinghigh-quality education to all andthereby making India a globalsuperpower.” It is, indeed, a tallorder but a critical necessity to letthe benefits of education reach the“last man in the line,” waiting forgenerations to get the basic humanamenities, human dignity andopportunity to make his contribu-tion to the process of nationalgrowth and development.

Finalised after over four yearsand an extensive and intensivenation-wide consultation process,the policy expects the curricula andpedagogy to be radically trans-formed to instill a “deep sense ofrespect towards the fundamentalduties and constitutional values,bonding with one’s country andconscious awareness of one’s rolesand responsibilities in a changingworld”. The bonding with thecountry and an inherent sense ofpride in its people is doubly empha-sised, not limiting it to only inthought, but extending it to “spir-it, intellect and deeds, as well as todevelop knowledge, skills, values,and dispositions that supportresponsible commitment to humanrights, sustainable developmentand living, and global well-being,thereby reflecting a truly global cit-izen”.

Revert to what Mahatma Gandhiwrote in the Harijan of May 8, 1937:“Man is neither mere intellect, northe gross animal body, nor the heartor soul alone. A proper and harmo-nious combination of all the threeis required for the whole man andconstitutes the true economics ofeducation”. Essentially, the empha-sis from Buniyadi Talim to NEP 2020 remains on transform-ing the learner into a personality,a person of strong character. Inother words it must be “man-making education”. Gandhi put itlike this: “By education I mean anall-round drawing out of the bestin child and man — body, mindand spirit”.

Based upon his experiences andexperiments in education, Gandhifinally proposed the idea ofBuniyadi Talim, basic education, atthe Wardha Conference in the

year 1937. Even earlier, he devot-ed time and energy to envisionthe shape of education in thepost-independence period inIndia. He wanted art, craft,health and education to be inte-grated into the process of teach-ing and learning. Nai Talim, tohim, was a beautiful blend of allthe four. He found it consistentwith the environment in India,which is predominantly madeup of villages. Further, he wrote,“it believes in establishing equi-librium between the body, themind and the spirit of whichman is made. It is unlike theWestern type which is predom-inantly militarist, in which themind and the body are the pri-mary care of education to thesubordination of the spirit. Thisis best done when education isgiven through handicraft.” Hecould propose this because of hisdeep understanding of Indianmind, needs and aspirations onthe one hand, and experiencesgained through his personalexperiments in education at hisashrams.

Gandhi’s historic speech madeat the Royal Institute ofInternational affairs at ChathamHouse, London, on October20, 1931, articulates the declineof Indian education after thearrival of the British: “ I say with-out fear of my figures being chal-lenged successfully that todayIndia is more illiterate than it wasfifty or a hundred years ago, andso is Burma, because the Britishadministrators, when they came

to India, instead of taking holdof things as they were, began toroot them out. They scratchedthe soil and began to look at theroot, and left the root like that,and the beautiful tree perished.”

Sir Philip Hartog challengedGandhi, who remained steadfastin his conviction. Subsequently,eminent thinker and researcherDharampal established thatGandhi was correct based onfactual documentary evidenceextracted from the records cre-ated by the British officers. Themost important strategic inter-vention in sustaining the Britishhold over India was througheducation: destroy the age-oldedifice of knowledge creation,transfer the new model to thegeneration ahead and ensure itsapplication in the welfare notonly of the individual but of thepeople. In the process, the impe-rialists succeeded in “delinkingIndians from their history, cul-ture and heritage.” They attackedthe roots of that beautiful tree,and it dried up. The policy suc-ceeded beyond expectations forthe alien rulers, as Indiansgrabbed the bait of Westernknowledge, culture, languageand its “superiority.” It has notyet been erased.

The NEP 2020 must be inci-sively scrutinised for how far itwould link Indians to India andto what extent it would giveyoung Indians not only degreesand certificates but also theknowledge, skills and a person-ality to move ahead in life with

self-assurance, dignity and spir-it of adventure. Let the imple-menters remember the defectsGandhi had identified in a longarticle in the Young India ofAugust 1, 1921, just hundredyears ago. Declaring the thensystem as defective, apart fromits association with an utterlyunjust Government, he pointsout three of them: “First, it isbased on foreign culture to thealmost entire exclusion ofindigenous culture. Second, itignores the culture of the heartand the hand, and confinesitself simply to the head. Third,real education is impossiblethrough a foreign medium.”

The earlier national policieson education of 1968, 1986 and1992 made sincere attempts tobring in reforms in curricula,pedagogy and the system ofassessment and examinationbut the craze for more marksand English medium schoolsshrugged off all such efforts.

Gandhi’s understanding ofIndia and the mind of its peo-ple was unparalleled. He knewthe necessity of acquiring skills,working with hands, health,nutrition and acquisition ofcharacter coupled with the inter-nalisation of moral, ethical,humanistic and constitutionalvalues.

And this would be achievedonly when the goal of educationis man-making, character devel-opment and ensuring a full-blos-somed personality. This is theeternal challenge before educa-

tion and the NEP 2020 acceptsit. The implementers of theNEP 2020 must seriously exam-ine the continuity of the episte-mological basis and practicalrealities, right from BuniyadiTalim to the challenges beforethem. They have before them apolicy that is “rooted to cultureand committed to progress.” It iseasy to locate elements in thispolicy that could lead to theSarvodaya that Gandhi hadlearnt while in South Africa afterreading John Ruskin’s book UntoThis Last: “First, the good of theindividual is contained in thegood of all.

Second, a lawyer’s work hasthe same value as the barber’s, inas much as all have the sameright of earning their livelihoodfrom their work. Third, the lifeof a labour, that is, the tiller of thesoil and the handicraftsman, isthe life worth living”. The NEP2020 prominently highlightsequity, equality, working withhand and value nurturance, rightfrom the beginning in schooling.

Once the curriculum design-ers, textbook writers and textu-al material developers are well-versed in the philosophy behindthe formulation of the BuniyadiTalim and its relevance to Indiaand its people, they would real-ly be able to create a generationproud of its history, culture andheritage. All of it appears veryprominently in the policy that“envisions an education systemrooted to Indian ethos that con-tributes directly to transformingIndia.”

Universal education was con-sidered a ray of hope for one andall. The NEP 2020 endorses it asthe “basic right of every child.”It must be correctly interpretedas the right of the child to getsupport in drawing out the bestout of body, mind and spirit. Itis his right to make choices oflearning areas according to hislikings and interests. It would beinterference in his personal ter-ritory if subjected to a regimenthat impedes his “power of ideasand imagination.” This is whatthe present examination systemhas exactly been reduced to; thepolicy envisages drastic transfor-mation in this crucial area. Therecommendations on holisticand multi-disciplinary educationwould permit free flow of freshair in schools and higher educa-tion institutions. It could lead toa surge of curiosity and creativ-ity amongst young minds. Thatis the need of the current timeand of the future. Now onwards,in knowledge societies, progresswould depend on the quality ofmanpower, the measure ofentrepreneurial skills and thelevel of innovative contribu-tions.

(The writer works in educationand social cohesion)

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�� Sir — The Union Ministry ofHome Affairs recently came outwith its latest set of relaxations tothe Coronavirus lockdownguidelines. The most significantone is the opening of multiplex-es and cinemas halls fromOctober 15 onwards. However,they can only operate with 50 percent seating capacity. Also, thestandard operating procedures(SOPs) are yet to be issued by theInformation and BroadcastingMinistry. It will be interesting tosee how many States approve ofthis step, given the number ofCOVID cases in India has passedthe 6.3 million mark and onlycontinues to rise. With no vac-cine in sight, the opening of cin-ema halls does not seem like awell thought out step. Also, withproducers having adapted to thecurrent situation and releasingfilms on OTT platforms, it isunlikely that theatre releases willstart any time soon. And even ifthey do, not many will be will-ing to spend three hours coopedup in a hall wearing facemasksand gloves when they can watchthe same in the comfort and safe-ty of their homes.

Anushka RawalUjjain

�� Sir — The KarnatakaGovernment has increased thepenalty for not wearing a face-mask in public places to �1,000for urban areas and �500 forrural areas. As per KarnatakaMedical Education Minister, KSudhakar, this decision was takenbecause people were “showingnegligence by not wearing

masks.” With Coronavirus casesrising steadily and no bend inIndia’s new infections curve, it isa matter of grave concern that theGovernment is now forced toimpose hefty fines for those notfollowing COVID protocols.People need to understand thegravity of the situation and helpthe Government fight the virus.

Amit Singh KushwahaSatna

�� Sir — The death of the 19-year-old victim of a brutal gangrapehas shaken up the nation.However, the Uttar PradeshPolice’s step to cremate her bodyin the dead of night without thefamily’s presence or consent hasfurther raised numerous ques-tions. Defending its act of cre-mating the body at 2.45 am, the

UP Police said that they had thefamily’s consent. A special inves-tigation team (SIT) has beenformed to probe the case. Itseems that the police is in a hurryto close the case and shield theperpetrators of the crime. As thecountry woke up to visuals of herlast rites, all sections of societyhave made the call for justice.Time and again, India findsitself in this scenario. The lasttime the nation came togetherwas in 2012, demanding justicein the Nirbhaya rape case. Bothpolice and judiciary seem to havefailed the women of this coun-try. There is also no sign that anyGovernment, be it the Central orthe State, is serious about tack-ling gender and caste violence.The long process, endless loop-holes and unwanted politicalinterference help the accusedescape the clutches of the law. Allcrimes against women should bemade a non-bailable offence.Fast-track courts set up to speedup the disposal of cases havefailed. Six months should bemade the maximum time limitfor a rape case trial.

B Ahsanullah Delhi

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As management consultant Peter Drucker oncesaid, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t man-age it.” So organisations have to measure the

performance of employees to effectively managethem and continuously improve productivity.Output appraisal and feedback provide the foun-dation for any organisation to focus on furtherimprovements. Although highly important, it is con-sidered the “Achilles Heel” of managers involved insupervising human capital. Approximately one-thirdof the workforce does not give credit to the firmsfor improving their performance and ranks theprocess of performance management lowest inemployee satisfaction surveys.

However, the current challenging times haveput the spotlight on performance management sys-tems of institutions and how to improve employ-ee motivation and therefore, output. Performancemanagement is an integrated process that is com-prehensive and encompasses all organisational poli-cies, practices and design features and their inter-play to generate employee output. It is importantto note that it is a part of strategic human resourcesmanagement, which is an integration of a numberof HR practices, rather than separate activities.Although improved output is the eventual aim, itis achieved in a staggered manner, by developingmotivation and commitment in the first stage, fol-lowed by improved performance management.

According to Gallup Consulting, institutions aremade up of three kinds of employees: Engagedworkers, who are organisation builders and contin-uously aim to achieve excellence, employees whoare not engaged and are mostly task-oriented anddo not align organisational goals with the work theydo, and actively disengaged employees, who are themost dangerous for the company as they demoti-vate the performers in addition to their own poorperformance. Quite understandably, staff engage-ment has emerged as one of the most importantways of augmenting the performance managementprocess, fostering of which can lead to higher out-put levels and lead to the success of a firm. It is theopposite of burnout and involves high energy lev-els of employees, their expression of preferred selvesalong with identification with one’s work (self-in-role) and working to fulfil role requisites, as theyare focussed, engaged, alert and assimilated in theirroles. Therefore, employee engagement has becomeall the more important in the current dynamic andvolatile business environment, where organisationsface many challenges.

Several studies have shown a positive relation-ship between employee engagement and task per-formance, productivity, retention, financial perfor-mance, shareholder return, organisational citizen-ship behaviour, productivity, commitment levelsof staff, psychological well-being of workers andimproved customer service. According to an arti-cle in Quantum Workplace, although employeeengagement is critical in nature, there is nearly aseven per cent decline in it after the first year at afirm. From 82 per cent to 75 per cent and it fur-ther goes down to 74 per cent in years three to five.So, these disengaged employees are less productivethan their engaged peers and this phenomenonknown as engagement gap or disengagement costsUS organisations $450-500 billion each year.

But what factors determine the engagementlevel of an employee in an company? One of the fac-tors is a supportive work environment with inter-personal harmony, where workers are appreciated,given feedback for their work with opportunitiesfor career enhancement. A supportive work envi-ronment also allows the staff to experiment with-out the fear of failure, leading to an innovative cul-

ture in a company. An apt leader, anoth-er important driver of employee engage-ment, makes all the difference in anorganisation by inspiring employees whoare not doing well to perform and inspir-ing staff who are faring well to do evenbetter. Employee engagement occursnaturally and effortlessly if the leaders areinspiring and have the ability to commu-nicate to the staff their value and impor-tance to the firm. This in turn leads totheir increased interest and motivation intheir work.

Teamwork is at the heart of any greatachievement and is also very importantin keeping an employee engaged. Aworker with a good team, inter-person-al harmony and a great co-worker rela-tionship provides high engagement atwork. Training is another importantdeterminant of employee engagement asit builds self-confidence and improvesmotivational levels. Career developmentis an equally important dimension as anopportunity to grow is considered equiv-alent to reward and recognition by thestaff. Therefore, timely growth prospectsthrough training and development willinstinctively raise the level of engagement.

Employee compensation, includingboth financial and non-financial rewards,of course, is a very crucial aspect of staffengagement since it helps them satisfytheir personal goals and in turn improvestheir focus on organisational goals. It isa well-researched fact that when employ-ees receive rewards and recognition fromtheir organisation, they feel obliged torespond with higher levels of engagement.A staff-friendly organisational structurewith its policies and procedures, like flexi-working hours, equal employment andpromotion opportunities and policies tobalance work-life, lead to enhancedengagement and subsequent accomplish-ment of organisational goals, as such poli-cies lead to workplace well-being of thestaff.

Considering its importance and the

financial implications of disengagedemployees, companies can consider fol-lowing some sequential steps to promoteperformance management throughenhanced staff engagement, like outputconcurrence, performance supervision,appraisal and feedback, leading toimproved work.

Performance concurrence: This is aprocess that sets the tone of the expecta-tions from the employees, their associat-ed goals and output indicators. Goal set-ting is an important step in initiating theemployee engagement process becausetargets stimulate energy, focus and inten-sity or the feeling of engagement. It shouldalso be noted that for any worker to beengaged, there should be an alignment ofpersonal goals with individual goals. Soorganisations have to adhere to the fol-lowing steps to ensure proper goal set-tings: Encourage staff to discuss openlyabout their values, expectations andgoals. Create a mutual agreement assur-ing employees means to fulfil their goals.And finally supervise and monitor thegoals and alter or amend them and themeans to fulfil the targets. In this way, byfocussing on personal goals as a functionof organisational ones, as opposed to onlycompany targets, firms can ensure animproved employee engagement andoverall organisational effectiveness. Staffdisengagement is a result of disappoint-ment of employees with organisations andtheir failure to align individual goals withorganisational targets.

Performance supervision: This is aprocess of providing the resourcesrequired by employees to perform effec-tively and monitor their progress. Themain activities at this stage involve jobdesign, coaching, social support, leader-ship and training. Job design is a crucialpart of employee engagement as it inte-grates responsibilities, assignments andfunctions that a worker undertakes tocomplete a job effectively, dependably andcost-effectively. This also ensures a good

fit between employee skills, needs and val-ues. Continuous coaching of employeesand helping them schedule and plan theirwork, emphasising potential problems,providing solutions and giving guidanceand emotional comfort help in promot-ing staff engagement. It is an importantprocess to inculcate confidence or self-reliance among workers.

As mentioned earlier, leadership is animportant driver of employee engage-ment, as leaders have an impact, eithergood or bad, on the staff due to theirworking styles, which can affect individ-ual engagement. They should have theability to identify the reasons for bothemployee engagement and disengage-ment. A strong and articulate leader canhelp boost staff engagement through opencommunication, clear goals and explicitexpectations. Training and developmentare extremely important in improvingemployee engagement as they feel valuedand respected if organisations focus ontheir career enhancement.

Performance appraisal: In the formof feedback, it is the final and vital foun-dation of employee engagement. Researchshows that almost all workers prefer toreceive management feedback on a con-sistent basis. Receiving as well as provid-ing feedback make them feel cherished,respected, less stressed out and confident.

Employee engagement has severalbenefits. Organisations with engagedemployees show high productivity,increased customer satisfaction,improved operational efficiency andprofitability, low absenteeism and reducedturnover.

In these difficult times, it is essentialfor firms to keep employees motivatedand engaged, to help both organisationsand workers tide over this period of tur-moil. When people are financially invest-ed, they need a return, and when peopleare emotionally invested, they contribute.

(The writer is Associate Professor,Amity University, Noida)

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If you are living in a metropolitancity like Delhi, the first few monthsof this year, despite or due to the

pandemic, would have made youlook up to stare at the clear blue sky.Let’s pause here and think why thisphenomenon of a visibly pollution-free sky over a megapolis like Delhisounds so out of place. Now, let’sswitch back to September end, whenNASA satellites show red spots ofstubble burning fires over Punjab, fol-lowed by severe Air Quality Index(AQI) predictions. The residents ofNCR are certain to choke on the dead-ly suspended particles in the air in the

next few weeks, if they don’t succumbto the raging pandemic first. The solu-tion to the pandemic and healthier liv-ing lies in understanding the benefitsof “flattening the curve” of biodiver-sity’s decline.

The United Nation’s (UN’s) GlobalBiodiversity Outlook 5, released inSeptember, shines the light on whatneeds to be done for humans to sur-vive as a race for another 30 years. Thereport’s one line summary is, “It can’tbe business as usual.”

The question is, how has this tech-nologically advanced race fared eversince it became a signatory to a cer-tain agreement at the Rio De Janeiro,Earth Summit in 1992 and mostimportantly undertook certain goalsand targets of achieving balanced co-habitation with nature by 2020?

The results, as seen from the UN’sreport, are pretty disappointing. Outof the 20 Aichi Biodiversity targets, 15remain unachieved, despite an agree-ment reached between nations adecade back in 2010. These includesimple tasks of making citizens in their

respective nations aware of the valueof biodiversity and the steps they cantake to conserve and use it sustainably.Plus setting goals like integratingbiodiversity values into national andlocal development, poverty reductionand policy-making by governments,businesses and stakeholders at all lev-els. Nations can achieve or showimplementation plans for sustain-able production and consumption andkeep the impacts of use of naturalresources well within safe ecologicallimits. Only two goals meant for thisyear have been partially achieved.

At this point, it is important toponder why biodiversity has animpact on our survival? The COVID-19 pandemic has given us evidence toshow the delicate linkages between adegrading coral reef in one part of theworld and fires in some of the mostrich eco-sensitive hotspots, to azoonotic disease bringing the globaleconomy to a standstill.

Some experts quote an interestingevidence, of the need for another plan-et about one-and-a-half times the size

of our home Earth, equally abundantin natural resources and a hospitableclimate, to maintain the going rate ofhuman entrepreneurial activity. Theanswers may very well lie in wakingup now and following the local cul-ture and knowledge systems toenhance efforts towards preservingand restoring biodiversity. An exam-ple of this could be restoration ofclean, pollution-free inland waterbodies, including underground waterreservoirs.

The second crucial target could beto keep global climate change in the1.5 °C range, above pre-industrial lev-els and developing nature-friendlysolutions to prevent catastrophes likeflash floods and rising sea levels thatare threatening to gulp major cities on the coasts and doomsday forestfires.

Just a degree’s decrease in your airconditioner temperature settingsreduces the need for more power torun the device, leading to lesser fos-sil fuel requirements, thus saving thepristine ice-capped lands so vital for

polar bears to survive on planetEarth. All these lifestyle changes mayseem like a sand particle in a desertbut one must bear in mind that thesesand particles together make a storm.

The implementation strategy forconserving power in households justrequires some attention towards sus-tainable, environment-friendly and,therefore, healthier dwellings whichtap into abundantly available naturalsolutions. We must include sustain-able, environment-friendly, locallyintelligent processes for manufactur-ing goods and providing services. Abig chunk of this can constitute revis-iting traditional and organic agricul-tural practices. The need is to relookat solutions for sustainable farmingwhich preserves the biodiversity whilenot seeking more land for quelling theworld’s hunger pangs.

This also means changing themenu of your breakfast and dinner tomore eco-friendly healthier diets andmost importantly preventing anyform of food waste. If one looks at allof the above suggested solutions by a

global group of experts, one finds theyare fairly achievable and almost with-in one’s immediate reach.

That leads us back to the questionof a sea of dark pollution clouds overDelhi in the coming weeks due to con-sistent crop burning. No solution hasbeen found to this malaise despite theSupreme Court’s interventions andone wonders if the end is near. It maynot be so if global policymakers andstakeholders (which includes thecommon man as well) get together toformulate an integrated approachwhich looks at simultaneous solutionsto immediately address the preserva-tion of the Earth’s rich genetic diver-sity, species and ecosystems. If togeth-er they find technology-enabled sus-tainable solutions, we could enhancethe capacity of nature to deliver itswonders of health and prosperity tohumans. If we preserve what the UNreport highlights as the less-tangiblebut highly-valued connections withnature, we can define our identities,cultures and beliefs.

(The writer is policy analyst)

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President Donald Trump hassigned a bill to fund the

Government through Dec. 11,averting the possibility of a gov-ernment shutdown when thenew fiscal year starts Thursday.

Trump signed the bill, whichwas approved by sweeping bipar-tisan agreement Wednesday, intolaw early Thursday morningshortly after returning fromcampaigning in Minnesota.

The temporary extensionwill set the stage for a lame-ducksession of Congress later this

year, where the agenda will belargely determined by the out-come of the presidential election.

The measure would keepthe government runningthrough Dec. 11 and passed bya 84-10 vote. The House passedthe bill last week.

The stopgap spending bill isrequired because the GOP-con-trolled Senate has not acted onany of the 12 annual spendingbills that fund the 30% of thegovernment’s budget that ispassed by Congress each year. IfDemocratic nominee Joe Bidenwins the White House in

November, it’s likely that anoth-er stopgap measure would fundthe government into next yearand that the next administrationand Congress would deal withthe leftover business.

The measure is the bareminimum accomplishment forCapitol Hill’s powerfulAppropriations committees,who pride themselves on theirdeal-making abilities despitegridlock in other corners ofCongress.

The legislation — called acontinuing resolution, or CR,in Washington-speak — would

keep every federal agency run-ning at current funding levelsthrough December 11, whichwill keep the Governmentafloat past an election thatcould reshuffle Washington’sbalance of power.

The measure also extendsmany programs whose fundingor authorisations lapse onSeptember 30, including thefederal flood insurance pro-gramme, highway and transitprogrammes, and a long set ofextensions of various healthprograms, such as a provisionto prevent Medicaid cuts to

hospitals that serve many poorpeople.

It also finances the possi-ble transition to a new admin-istration if Biden wins theWhite House and would staveoff an unwelcome Covid-caused increase in MedicarePart B premiums for outpatientdoctor visits.

Farm interests won lan-guage that would permitTrump’s farm bailout to con-tinue without fear of interrup-tion. In exchange, HouseDemocrats won $8 billion infood aid for the poor.

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US President Donald Trumphas claimed victory over

his Democratic challenger JoeBiden in their first presidentialdebate, saying he exposed “thevery dangerous agenda” of theformer Vice-President and heldhim accountable for the “47years of his lies” in public life.

During the first of the threepresidential debates inCleveland, Ohio, on Tuesdaynight which was marked byangry interruptions and bitteraccusations, the two candidatesfiercely clashed over a numberof issues, including racism,economy, climate, health careand the coronavirus.

Both the camps havedeclared victory in the debate.“Last night I did what the cor-rupt media has refused to do,I held Joe Biden accountable forhis 47 years of lies, 47 years ofbetrayal and 47 years of failure.I held Joe accountable for ship-ping your jobs and dreamsabroad and for bowing to theviolent mob at home,”

Trump told his supporters,addressing an election rally in

Duluth, Minnesota. Biden, 77,is “too weak” to lead this coun-try, he said, claiming that hisDemocratic rival badly lost thedebate. “You know Biden lostbadly when his supporters aresaying he should cancel the restof the debates. Now I under-stand he’s cancelling the debates.Let’s see what happens. I thinkthat’s not gonna be a goodmove for him,” Trump said.

After the chaotic firstdebate, the Commission onPresidential Debates said thatit’s adding new “tools to main-tain order” to the upcomingdebates.

London: The European Union(EU) on Thursday began legalproceedings against the UKover concerns that parts of alegislation tabled in the Houseof Commons breaches theBrexit divorce agreement.

An EU deadline for theBoris Johnson government toremove sections of the InternalMarket Bill expired onWednesday, resulting in a “let-ter of formal notice” beingissued, which could lead to acourt case against Britain at theEuropean Court of Justice, theEU’s supreme court.

European CommissionPresident Ursula von der Leyensaid the UK would have untilthe end of November torespond to the EU’s concernsover the draft legislation.

PTI

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AUS Congressional reporthas sought decisive action

against China, accusing Beijingof increasing military buildup,violating other nations’ sover-eignty and engaging in fatalskirmishes to conduct a land-grab on the Indian border.

In its report unveiled onWednesday, the China TaskForce of the House Republicansalso supported the proposal ofBritish Prime Minister BorisJohnson for the creation of anew D-10 group of leadingdemocracies, including India,for addressing both 5G mobilecommunications and vulnera-ble supply chains.

In just the past year alone,the China Communist Party(CCP) has violated an inter-national treaty and dismantledHong Kong’s civil liberties;continued its oppression ofethnic minorities, includingUyghurs and Tibetans;increased its military buildup,conducted increasingly bel-ligerent provocations, and vio-lated other nations’ sovereign-ty at sea; engaged in fatal skir-mishes to conduct a land-grabon the Indian border; andasserted new territorial claimsover Bhutan, the report said.

India and China are lockedin a nearly five-month-longborder standoff in easternLadakh. China unsuccessfullyattempted to occupy Indian ter-ritory in the southern bank of

Pangong lake in the last weekof August.

China has been fastexpanding military and eco-nomic influence in the Indo-Pacific region, triggering con-cern in various countries of theregion and beyond.

China is also engaged inhotly contested territorial dis-putes in both the South ChinaSea and the East China Sea.Beijing has built up and mili-tarised many of the islands andreefs it controls in the resource-rich region.

China claims almost all ofthe South China Sea. Vietnam,the Philippines, Malaysia,Brunei and Taiwan havecounter claims over the area.

Praising the StateDepartment’s July 2020 state-ment which said that China’sterritorial aggression in theSouth China Sea is illegal, thereport said that the adminis-tration could take similar actionregarding the CCP’s illegal con-duct in other areas, includingaround the Senkaku Islandsand along India’s border.

The US, it said, shouldimprove predictability of armssales with allies and partners,and expand military trainingwith allied and partner nations.Doing so will improve inter-operability with the US, sup-port and protect Americanvalues, advance US nationalsecurity and foreign policyinterests, and promote the USas the partner of choice, it said.

Moscow: A Russian scientisthas been detained in Siberia forallegedly passing technology toChina, Russian media report-ed on Thursday. AlexanderLukanin, a 64-year-old scientistfrom the Siberian city ofTomsk, was detained onTuesday after returning fromChina were he had been work-ing at a local university, accord-ing to MBKh Media, a newsoutlet founded by Kremlincritic Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Lukanin’s apartment wasalso raided by the FSB securi-ty service, MBKh Mediareported, citing one of the sci-entist’s friends. A message sentby Reuters on Thursday toLukanin’s email address wentunanswered. There was noimmediate comment from theRussian or Chinese authorities.

Under Russian law, illegal-ly transferring technology to aforeign country can lead to upto three years in prison.Interfax news agency quoted asource as saying Lukanin hadbeen detained for allegedly

passing technology to Chinabut that he was not beingaccused of passing state secrets,something that could carry aheavier prison term.

A number of Russian sci-entists have been arrested andcharged with crimes such astreason in recent years forallegedly handing sensitivematerial to foreigners, includingChinese nationals. Kremlin crit-ics say the arrests often stemfrom unfounded paranoia.

In February, Valery Mitko,a scientist heading the ArcticAcademy of Sciences in St.Petersburg, was charged withtreason after he was accused ofpassing state secrets to China.

Like Lukanin, Mitko hadtravelled to China to work at auniversity. Despite the mis-givings of some nationalistpoliticians, Russia has increas-ingly prioritised closer tieswith China, especially since itsrelations with the West col-lapsed because of its annexa-tion of Crimea from Ukraine in2014. Agencies �"�� /��

US President Donald Trumphas begun planting seeds of

doubt in the legitimacy of theNovember 3 elections as he isaware of his defeat, Democraticpresidential nominee Joe Bidenhas said, a day after the chaot-ic presidential debate. “In termsof election legitimacy, he madeit clear that he didn’t think thiswas going to be — if he lost, itwouldn’t be a legitimate elec-tion. Already began to plantseeds of doubt in the legitima-

cy of this election. I don’t knowany president that’s ever donethat before,” Biden toldreporters in Ohio.

During the first of thethree presidential debates inCleveland, Ohio, on Tuesdaynight moderated by Fox Newsanchor Chris Wallace, 74-year-old Trump and his 77-year-oldrival Biden traded barbs abouteach other’s families, making itone of the most chaotic WhiteHouse debates in years.

Biden slammed Trump fornot condemning the white

supremacist. “His dog whistlesto white supremacy, whenasked whether would he con-demn white supremacy, hesaid — he didn’t say a word.And then when I said, well,how about the Proud Boys,which is a white supremacistgroup? He said, well, I just toldthem to stand down and standready. Stand down and standready, based on the outcome ofthe election?” Biden said.

He said the Tuesday nightdebate was a wake-up call forall the Americans.

Washington: President DonaldTrump says he “enjoyed” debat-ing former Vice President JoeBiden, but he is falsely claimingthat Biden is trying to get of thenext two debates. Trump spokeat a campaign rally in Duluth,Minnesota on Wednesday. Hegloated about the televisionratings the debate generatedand ignored how contentiousand unruly the debate quicklybecame, in large part thanks tohis refusal to adhere to themoderator’s requests and thedebate’s rules. AP

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New Delhi: Markets regulatorSebi on Thursday came outwith a framework to monitorforeign holding in depositoryreceipts (DRs).

The broad operationalguidelines have been put inplace based on discussions withmarket participants, theSecurities and Exchange Boardof India (Sebi) said in a circular.

It further said Indiandepositories, in consultationwith each other and marketparticipants, may prescribe theformats and other details, asmay be necessary to opera-tionalise the guidelines.

Under the framework, alisted company will appoint oneof the Indian depositories as thedesignated depository for thepurpose of monitoring of limitsin respect of depository receipts.

The designated depositoryin co-ordination with domes-tic custodian, other deposito-ries and foreign depository (ifrequired) will compute,

monitor and disseminatethe DRs' information as pre-scribed in the framework.

Further, the informationwill be disseminated on thewebsites of both the Indiandepositories. PTI

New Delhi: State-owned ITI onThursday said it has signed a Rs7,796 crore deal with the defenceministry for deployment of astrategic and secured commu-nication network for the Armyacross the country.

The telecom and defenceequipment manufacturer wasdeclared the lowest bidder for theArmy Static SwitchedCommunication Network(ASCON) Phase IV tender in2017. “To strengthen the com-munication network for IndianArmy, ITI Limited.Today signed�7,796 crore Phase IV Project ofASCON”, said ITI Ltd. PTI

New Delhi: The insolvencylaw has led to a significantbehavioural shift among bor-rowers as non-repayment ofloan is no more an option andownership of a firm is no morea divine right, Comptroller &Auditor General of India G CMurmu said on Thursday.

According to him, thisbehavioural shift has resulted insubstantial recoveries for cred-itors outside the Insolvency andBankruptcy Code (IBC) andimproved the performance offirms. Delivering 'IBC:Adaptability is the key toSustaining Reforms in theTimes of a Pandemic' lectureon the occasion of the fourthannual day of the Insolvency &Bankruptcy Board of India(IBBI), Murmu said one of themost remarkable achievements

of the Code was that it has ledto a significant behaviouralchange among the debtors andcreditors alike.

"It is further motivatingthem to make the best efforts toavoid default. Further, it encour-ages the debtor to settle defaultwith the creditors at the earliest,preferably outside the Code.With the Code in place, non-repayment of loan is no more anoption and ownership of thefirm is no more a divine rightand equity is no more the onlyroute to own a firm," he said.

Further, he noted that theCode has had an impact on thecredit market as the provisionof resolution and liquidationreduces incidence of defaultand enables the creditors torecover their dues throughrevival of the firm or by sale of

liquidated assets.It incentivises both

secured and unsecured credi-tors, bank and non-bank,financial and operational,financial and domestic toextend credit at lower cost ofprojects and thus enhancesavailability of credit, he added.

"The Code is also helpingin resolving the NPA (Non-Performing Assets) problemof the banking system," Murmusaid.

The Code has also createda cohesive and comprehensiveecosystem. This has createdmarkets for services of insol-vency professionals, insolven-cy professional agencies, regis-tered valuers, registered valuersorganisations, insolvency pro-fessional entities and informa-tion utilities, he added. PTI

New Delhi: Abu Dhabi-basedsovereign wealth fund MubadalaInvestment Co will invest Rs6,247.5 crore to buy a 1.4 percent stake in Reliance IndustriesLtd's retail arm -- the billionaireMukesh Ambani-led firm's thirdsuch deal in less than two days.

Mubadala will be thefourth investor in RelianceRetail Ventures Ltd (RRVL).

Mubadala's Rs 6,247.5 croreinvestment "values RelianceRetail at a pre-money equityvalue of Rs 4.285 lakh crore," theIndian firm said in a statement. PTI

Mumbai: The Sensex vaulted629 points while the Niftyrecaptured the 11,400-mark onThursday as positive macro-economic data and and renewedhopes of US stimulus tur-bocharged investor sentiment.

A sharp jump in the rupee-- which soared 63 paise againstthe US dollar -- and the gov-ernment's Unlock 5 guidelinesadded to the bullish mood,traders said. The 30-share BSESensex soared 629.12 points or1.65 per cent to close at38,697.05, led by banking andfinance stocks.

The broader NSE Niftyadvanced 169.40 points or 1.51per cent to finish at 11,416.95.

IndusInd Bank was the topgainer in the Sensex pack,zooming 12.41 per cent, fol-lowed by Bajaj Finance, Axis

Bank, ICICI Bank, TechMahindra, Bajaj Auto, BajajFinserv and Kotak Bank.

Only five index con-stituents closed in the red --ITC, NTPC, RelianceIndustries, Titan and ONGC,shedding up to 0.52 per cent.

Global equities rallied onexpectations of the US announc-ing another massive stimulus inthe next few days to shore up thecoronavirus-hit economy.

On the macroeconomicfront, GST collections reached Rs95,480 crore in September, thehighest level so far this fiscal,indicating revival of economicactivities. Besides, India's man-ufacturing sector activityimproved for the second straightmonth in September andtouched an over eight-and-a-half-year high. PTI

Chennai: Suspense continuesover the next course of action atthe Kerala-based Dhanlaxmibank, a day after the sharehold-ers voted out Managing Director(MD) and CEO SunilGurbaxani at the annual gener-al meeting (AGM) onSeptember 30, said industryofficials.

"The bank has communi-cated the matter to the ReserveBank of India (RBI) about theshareholders' decision at theAGM to vote out Gurbaxani.The bank Board has sent to RBI

its decision to form a Committeeof Directors (CoD) to managethe day-to-day affairs of the banktill a new Managing Directorand CEO is appointed," a sourcetold IANS preferring anonymi-ty.

The bank Board has rec-ommended a three-memberCoD comprising G. SubramoniaIyer (Chairman), G. Rajagopalanand P. K. Vijayakumar.

On the other handGurbaxani has not put in hispapers after the shareholdersvoted him out. IANS

New Delhi: GST collectionsrose to Rs 95,480 crore inSeptember - the highest levelsince the lockdown - in signs ofa revival of economic activityand demand returning fromthe lifting of restrictions.

The Goods and ServicesTax (GST) collections werealmost 4 per cent more than theSeptember 2019 collection ofRs 91,916 crore and nearlytriple of April 2020 mop-up.Also, it is 10 per cent higherover August 2020 collection.

The Finance Ministry in astatement said the gross GSTrevenue collected in September2020 is Rs 95,480 crore, out ofwhich Central GST is Rs 17,741

crore, State GST is Rs 23,131crore, Integrated GST is Rs47,484 crore (including Rs22,442 crore collected onimport of goods) and cess is Rs7,124 crore (including Rs 788crore collected on import ofgoods).

In September 2020, thetax collections from import ofgoods and domestic transac-tion were 102 per cent and 105per cent, respectively, of therevenues from these sourcesduring the same month lastyear.

The GST revenue in Aprilwas Rs 32,172 crore, May (Rs62,151 crore), June (Rs 90,917crore), July (Rs 87,422 crore),August (Rs 86,449 crore). PTI

New Delhi: The Governmentwill soon announce the much-awaited new National TextilePolicy entailing a "futuristic"strategy and action plan forIndia to unleash its full poten-tial and become globally com-petitive in the sector, a top offi-cial has said.

Addressing the annual gen-eral meeting of theConfederation of Indian TextileIndustry (CITI), TextilesSecretary Ravi Capoor said,"Hopefully, in the next monthor so, we should be able toannounce the new textiles pol-icy. It is a futuristic looking pol-icy."

The secretary said the gov-ernment is in the "last stages offinalising the textile policy",

which got delayed due to thecoronavirus pandemic. It willbe unveiled after the finalround of consultation betweenthe textiles ministry and theindustry players, he added.

At the AGM that took placevirtually earlier this week,Capoor also said the govern-ment is also working on a FocusProduct Scheme, wherein it hasanalysed the export data of top-40 manmade fibre (MMF) prod-ucts and found that India has aminiscule share of just 0.7 percent in the total global market ofUSD 150 billion.

Similarly, in the top-10technical textile lines, India justhas a share of 0.6 per cent outof the total global market sizeof USD 100 billion. PTI

New Delhi: The newly-appointed Chairman of TRAI,PD Vaghela on Thursday tookcharge at the helm of the tele-com and broadcasting regu-latory body.

Vaghela has been appoint-ed as the Telecom RegulatoryAuthority of India (TRAI)chief for three years or till heattains the age of 65.

He takes over the batonfrom R S Sharma, who com-pleted his tenure onWednesday.

A 1986-batch IAS officerof Gujarat cadre, Vaghela wasearlier Secretary, Departmentof Pharmaceuticals.

Cellular Operators'Association of India (COAI)Director General SP Kochhar,in a statement earlier this week,had said, "We heartily welcomeDr P D Vaghela as the newTRAI Chairman. PTI

New Delhi: Jet fuel (ATF) pricewas hiked by almost 2 per centon Thursday, while rate ofkerosene sold through PDS wascut by �2.19 per litre as oil firmssynced rates in line with cost.

The price of aviation tur-bine fuel (ATF) was raised byRs 719.25 per kilolitre (kl), or1.82 per cent, to Rs 40,211.78per kl in the national capital,according to a price notifica-tion of state-owned fuel retail-ers. PTI

Prakash Javadekar, Minister,Environment, Forest &

Climate Change, Information &Broadcasting and HeavyIndustries & Public Enterprisesreleased SCOPE’s compendium‘Building Self Reliant, Resurgent,Resilient India - PSEsContribution Amidst COVID-19.’ The Compendium is a trib-ute to the tireless efforts of PSEsin combating the pandemic andensuring economic needs.Compendium shall be a goodreference book and offer valuableinsights into the relentless effortsof PSEs.

Chittaranjan: CLW produced40 locomotives in Sept 2020and completed 135th electriclocomotives on 30.09.20.

The 135th loco no 32963was despatched from the CLWsiding. Despite of completeLockdown in April - May &Un-Lockdown in June-July-Aug and Covid-19 relatedinstructions later-on, the pro-duction of electric locomo-tives gained momentum withproduction of First 100 loco-motives in 102 working days inthe current FY 2020-21 onSept 8th this year.

New Delhi: India has seen anastounding decrease of 22.3%in the incidence of high totalcholesterol in people during theCovid-19 lockdown, accordingto India’s largest at-home healthtest service providerHealthians.

The findings are based ondata collected from more than50,000 samples during the lastquarter of 2019 in comparisonto the 3rd quarter of 2020, justafter the unlock process started. Samples were splitequally between males andfemales to make accurateanalysis.

Power Grid Corporation ofIndia Ltd. (POWERGRID)

has signed Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) withMinistry of Power, Govt. ofIndia on September 29, 2020.The MoU has been signed bySanjiv Nandan Sahai, Secretary(Power), Government of Indiaand K Sreekant, Chairman &Managing Director, POWER-GRID in the presence of seniorofficials from MOP and POW-ERGRID.

The MoU includes targetsrelated to various parameterssuch as Financial, Physical,Project execution, etc.

The internal security war-riors of CRPF are diligently

serving the nation with utmostcourage and dedication. Physicalfitness and wellbeing of its per-sonnel is of paramount signifi-cance for the force which isindispensable for its operationalefficiency.

It is in this spirit that CRPFparticipated fervently in the FitIndia and Khelo IndiaMovements to the extent that theForce surpassed its target of run-ning 1 crore kilometers by clock-ing a whopping 1 crore 50 lakhkilometers between 15th Augustand 2nd October 2020.

The meeting of the Board ofDirectors of Delhi Co-oper-

ative Housing FinanceCorporation Ltd. (DCHFC)was held on 30.09.2020 underthe Chairmanship of Shri RajeshGoyal, Chairman, DCHFC. TheBoard welcomed ShriD.N.Singh, 1AS new ManagingDirector and Sh.C.Arvind, newGeneral Manager.

For the financial year 2019-20, the turnover of DCHFCwas Rs.105.82 crores and netprofit was Rs.45.25 crores. TheBoard appreciated the efforts ofthe Management and staff ofDCHFC.

New Delh: Power FinanceCorporation Ltd (PFC) hassigned a performance-based'Memorandum ofUnderstanding' (MoU) withMinistry of Power, Govt. ofIndia detailing various targets tobe achieved by PFC during FY2020-21.

The MoU has been signedby Sanjiv Nandan Sahai,Secretary (Power), Govt. of Indiaand RS Dhillon, CMD, PFC inpresence of senior officials ofMOP and PFC. Govt of Indiahas set an ambitious revenue tar-get of �36,000 Crs.

New Delhi: German luxurycarmaker BMW on Thursdaysaid it will increase prices of itsmodel range in India by up to3 per cent from next month.

The company will increaseprices across the BMW andMINI product portfolio witheffect from November 1, BMWGroup India said in a statement.

"BMW Group India is con-stantly engaged in offeringaspirational products andhighest levels of customer ser-vice to its exclusive clientele. PTI

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The Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies(CIABC) has written to Union Commerce and Industry Minister

Piyush Goyal asking him not to go ahead with the proposal to reduceBasic Customs Duty (BCD) on alcoholic beverages on productsimported from the United Kingdom. “The Government of Indiais considering reduction in Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on alcoholicbeverages as part of its negotiation with the Government of UK.Any reduction in BCD must be gradual in a controlled manner”,CIABC has said in its letter to the Minister.

Mumbai: The rupee strength-ened by 63 paise to close at 73.13against the US dollar onThursday amid positive macro-economic data and a weakgreenback overseas. At the inter-bank forex market, the domes-tic unit opened at 73.60 againstthe US dollar and touched anintra-day high of 73.07 and a lowof 73.60. It finally settled at73.13, registering a rise of 63paise -- its biggest single-dayjump in a month. PTI

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This whirlwind year has beenstrange, unprecedented, isolatingand depressing at times, and at the

same time, galvanising and inspiring. It’sclear that 2020 will help define genera-tions to come as a global pandemic hasupended lives and a movement for racialjustice has brought about a profound andoverdue reckoning. It’s impossible to sayexactly how this year’s events will shapeour future, however, these months haveclarified, and, in some ways, acceleratedcultural trends that millennials havebeen shaping for years. Music app Spotifyhas been following the trends closely. Itshares its second annual Culture Nextreport.

Through global reporting, it metentrepreneurs, activists, artists and more,and discovered inspiring and surprisingrevelations from a generation ready torebuild society from the ground. Thereport’s highlights from India include:

Indian Gen Zs are reimagining theirrole in society

The Indian Gen Zs are rewriting theplaybook and ready to take action onsome of the most pressing issues andopportunities we face. Many Zs in Indiaare eager to start their own thing.Approximately 67 per cent of them saidthat they plan to be, or already are, theirown boss (nearly 20 per cent higher thanthe global average). About 61 per cent ofIndian Gen Zs considered an educationplan other than a degree immediately fol-lowing higher secondary school.

A force for community-building anduniting globally

While 76 per cent of Indian Gen Zsand millennials, compared to 68 per centglobally, said that they use audio to copewith stress and anxiety, 83 per cent ofthem said that it’s easier to feel connect-ed to a community today, all thanks todigital platforms. When asked about theelements that fuel their self-discovery, 65per cent cited music and 60 per cent citedpodcasts. Audio was consistently identi-fied as a powerful force for community-building — 84 per cent said that musicstreaming services offer a gateway toother cultures.

While social gatherings, celebra-tions and events, and in-person meetingsceased this year as the pandemic tookhold, music emerged as an online activ-ity capable of meaningfully uniting glob-ally scattered groups. From Travis Scott’sFortnite concert (attended by 12.3 milliongamers), to India’s classical HCL Concerts

series (Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, ShubhaMudgal, Shujaat Khan) and TheLockdown Gig, featuring singer-songwrit-ers like Nikhil D’Souza and HanitaBhambri, communal livestreams dimin-ished the sense of hierarchy between theartist and the fan, leading to interactionsthat turned out to be much more social.A zoom-powered festival also raisedfunds for the immigrants in need.

Making kids “light years” aheadAs per Dimitri Christakis, director at

the Seattle Children’s Research Institute,the interactive nature of the new technol-ogy is helping children "understand howthe world works." While watching TV,"you play no role in the content, but inter-acting with touch screens and for thatmatter interacting with voice-activatedtechnologies allows that to happen inspades. And with the arrival of COVID-19, at-home learning became essentialand audio’s role became apparent.

Approximately 87 per cent of parentssaid that technology has fuelled their fam-ily’s discovery “exponentially,” and 86 percent said that today’s kids, as a result, are“light years” ahead of where they were attheir age. Notably, 86 per cent of parentswho listen to podcasts said that the medi-um has become a very helpful education-al tool (and this was pre-pandemic). Forthem, storytime podcasts had become anew household favourite, especially dur-ing the lockdown and it’s not just aboutlistening in. The quarantine-inspiredpodcast, The Kids Are All... Home, com-bined practical learning and creativethinking their own mini-podcasts.

About 84 per cent of parents saidbeing connected is fundamental to thriv-ing today. Almost 75 per cent of parentsin the US said that they own a smartspeaker, 30 per cent higher than the glob-

al average, as it "helps connect the fam-ily together." Malcolm from Brooklynsaid, "Having the speakers on is a way forus to connect." About 92 per cent areopen to buying one within the next year,compared to the global average of 80 percent.

Around 78 per cent of young Indianssaid that listening to their parents’ choiceof music gives them a better sense of whotheir parents are, and 87 per cent of par-

ents said music is a way they bond withtheir kids. Globally, these averages werelower — at 64 per cent and 78 per cent,respectively.

Well, audio isn’t just useful at home— it’s a multi-generational touchpoint,and these days, that means a lot. Whenasked the Gen Zs and millennials whatcentral theme says the most about theirlife right now, the most answered thingwas “family”.

Millennials see brands with a purposeand value for society

Almost 93 per cent millennialsbelieve that brands need to bring valueto our society and not just sell products.When they were asked about what theywant to see out of brands, 97 per centchose “purpose” over “politics”. Youngpeople are proud of their unique, multi-dimensional identities and want brandsto be a part of that. Approximately 77 percent of Gen Z said that brands have thepower to create communities based oncommon interests and passions. About 93per cent said that they love understand-ing how ideas are born and that doing somakes them feel a part of the creativeprocess — brands can resonate with theaudience by supporting and speaking tothis creator mindset.

Brands can shape their voice throughmusic

Approximately 74 per cent saidmusic is at the forefront of humanisingtechnology. About 78 per cent of millen-nials said voice technology makes usmore sentimental toward our devices.About 74 per cent of them said that theylike to choose the gender, accent or styleof voice used by their devices.

In a year of drastic shifts and a con-stant uncertainty, the report shows wherethe Indian millennial culture is headed.The respondents (mostly millennials) arefull of inspiration, passion and innova-tion, and they’re pushing to make soci-ety more inclusive and fair. About 78 percent of those surveyed in July shared thatthey remain hopeful that this difficulttime will bring change for the better. Asthese young people rewrite the socialnorms, they’re also dreaming up newways to create, to engage with technolo-gy and to connect with their families.

Actor Bhumi Pednekar, an environ-mentally conscious citizen, has

taken up climate conservation as a causeto raise awareness among fellow Indians.She has launched a lauded online andoffline initiative called Climate Warriorthrough which she is mobilising citizensof India to contribute towards protect-ing the environment. This initiativeturns a year old and it’s making all theright noise towards climate protection.

The actor reveals that she wasenvironmentally conscious since herchildhood. “I had this fear and it start-ed from my childhood, ‘oh what wouldhappen to this world! What would hap-pen to this world when the water driesup?’ That was my first question in myhead. So I started researching andreading up on climate change. I havealways been conscious, tried to have asustainable style of living, especiallysince I became an adult. But then Irealised I wasn’t really doing enough andthat’s when I started Climate Warrior,”she says.

She wants to use her stardom toeducate people about climate change. “Ihave become an actor. I have the powerto reach out to so many people and Ihave always tried doing that through mycinema. I was like I have to use my voice,my social media platforms to make apositive change in the world and edu-cate people about climate change,” sheshares.

Bhumi feels that every individualmust participate in raising communityawareness towards environment protec-tion. She says, “When we speak about

love for our family, when we speakabout our love for our nation, do weactually mean all this because weshould be doing more to protect ourfamilies and our nation and our futuregenerations. These were all thelooming questions in myhead and you know that’swhen I realised that Ishould start ClimateWarrior. It is a plat-form where Ipropagate advo-cacy and I amtrying tocreate ass u c haw are -ness asp o s s i -b l e .P e o p l eneed toknow thatc l i m a t echange is real.The idea is tobring about achange at an indi-vidual level. We needeveryone to join handsto ensure that we leavebehind barrels of hope andprosperity for the currentgenerations and genera-tions to come. Education isthe significant channel toachieve this goal. Let usjoin hands and make adifference.”

Actor Ishaan Khatter has leftno stone unturned to

achieve a certain body type inhis forthcoming project, KhaaliPeeli. A while back, he took tosocial media to share that hegained six kilograms of ‘cleanbulk’ in two months. The actorhad been training hard at thegym to look like a bulkier ver-sion of himself in the film.Talking about his regime, hetells us, “We would train 12 to14 hours a day for six days aweek and sometimes all seven.I even tried barre work, yoga,gymnastics and rope mal-lakhamb. I took it very serious-ly. I definitely was 10 times fit-ter by the end of that. I went allout in terms of my diet.”

Ishaan shares that hewould go to the AntigravityClub in Bandra to train withtrainer duo Yudi and KaranJaising and Siddhant Sidhwani.“It was the first time I incorpo-rated weights as a regular andcentral part of my routine,” hesays. He, however, adds, “It allstarts and ends with the mind.”

The actor has seen creatingmagic with his moves in thefoot-tapping Tehas Nehas andthe song Duniya Sharma Jayegi.A passionate dancer whotrained himself under choreo-grapher Shiamak Davar’s pro-gramme, Ishaan says that herehearsed very hard to lookeffortless on the screen. “Itried different styles of dancing.I started the day with basic bal-let. Dancing is pure joy. It’salways going to be the easiestway to burn calories. But it’s so

much more than fitness for me.Fitness is co-related but is, ina way, a separate passion ofmine,” says he.

Ishaan reveals that he hasalways been a fitness enthusi-ast. “Early on, I rememberbeing outdoors a lot and play-

ing games in the society withother kids. Then at some pointI got more into sports.Dancing was always secondnature and eventually turnedinto a major passion by thetime I was a teenager,” he saysas he signs off.

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Pep Guardiola admitted itwas vital to keep a clean-

sheet as League Cup holdersManchester City got back ontrack with a 3-0 win againstBurnley, while ManchesterUnited joined their rivals in thequarter-finals after beatingBrighton 3-0 on Wednesday.

Guardiola's side sufferedtheir heaviest home PremierLeague loss under the Spaniardon Sunday when Leicesterhanded them a humiliating 5-2 defeat.

A brace from RaheemSterling at Turf Moor ensuredthey washed away some ofthat bitter taste from that defeatand Spanish forward FerranTorres, a close-season signingfrom Valencia, added City'sthird goal with his first for theclub.

"It was important we did-n't concede and the team wasgood in general," Guardiolasaid.

"When you lose a game themost important thing is thenext one. Firstly, because if youlose in this competition, you'reout.

"We are still far away fromour best because we're nottraining much. We have a lot ofplayers out, six because ofCovid-19 and four injuries.

"But step by step when wehave all the squad we will getbetter. We are in the quarter-finals of this competition againso it's good."

City have won the LeagueCup four times in the last fiveseasons and they remain oncourse to retain the trophy.

Guardiola's men wouldhave won by an even biggerscoreline but for a fine displayfrom Burnley keeper BaileyPeacock-Farrell.

Sterling and Kevin DeBruyne both started in a strongCity side that also includedRiyad Mahrez and a debut for18-year-old midfielder ColePalmer.

Sterling made the break-through 10 minutes before theinterval with a powerful strikefrom Benjamin Mendy's cross.

The City forward doubledhis tally on 49 minutes, finish-ing off a good move involvingDe Bruyne and Torres.

City put the result beyonddoubt in the 65th minute whenSterling failed to control aMahrez pass and the ball ranthrough for the 20-year-old

Torres to slam past Peacock-Farrell.

'Never surprised'At the Amex Stadium,

Manchester United inflictedmore misery on Brighton fourdays after beating them 3-2 ina dramatic Premier Leaguegame.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's sideneeded a 100th minute BrunoFernandes penalty to see offAlbion on that occasion andconceding an equalisermoments early.

There was less drama thistime as United made 10changes and Brighton nine,with Solskjaer's stand-ins prov-ing far superior.

United, who last won theLeague Cup in 2017, took thelead in the 44th minute whenScott McTominay headedhome from Juan Mata's free-kick.

United doubled theiradvantage in the 73rd minute,with Donny Van De Beek find-ing Spanish midfielder Mata,who showed slotted home his50th goal for the club.

Paul Pogba came off thebench to score seven minuteslater when his free-kick curledin via a deflection off Brighton'sJoel Veltman.

"A great performance byJuan Mata. He was the one whogot on the ball and calmed usdown. He was composed. Hemore or less creates the firstgoal himself. I am never sur-prised when he plays like this,"Solskjaer said.

"We needed the first 20-25minutes to get our confidenceand get on the ball. We haveworked on set pieces. You keepa clean sheet and this is impor-tant for a back four."

Dominic Calvert-Lewin hita hat-trick as Everton thrashedWest Ham 4-1, but the win wasovershadowed by injuries to theToffees' Brazilian starsRicharlison and Allan.

Calvert-Lewin put Evertonahead with his sixth goal of theseason after 11 minutes afterGoodison Park.

Carlo Ancelotti's side, whohave won six consecutivematches in all competitions thisseason, were pegged back byRobert Snodgrass's 46th-minute equaliser.

Richarlison restoredEverton's lead 10 minutes laterbefore Calvert-Lewin baggedhis second treble already thisseason with goals in the 78thand 84th minute.

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Ambati Rayudu’s much-await-ed comeback will be a shot in

the arm for an under-pressureChennai Super Kings when theytake on Sunrisers Hyderabad,who have shown resilience afterearly setbacks on Friday.

Rayudu, hero of CSK’s open-ing victory againstMumbai Indians,missed out due to mildhamstring injury andBravo has been alsocarrying a niggle ofsimilar nature since theCaribbean Premier League wherehe didn’t bowl in the last twogames.

“Both Rayudu and Bravo areavailable for selection,” CSK CEOKS Viswanathan told PTI onThursday.

CSK and SunrisersHyderabad (since inception)have traditionally been twoof the most balanced sidesin most IPL editions butboth have ensured scratchystarts this year, losing two oftheir first three games, pri-marily due to lack of bal-ance in the middle-order.

Rayudu’s pres-ence could well meanthat he will replace anout-of-form MuraliVijay at the top along-side Shane Watson.

However, samecannot be said about DJBravo as it will thenforce Dhoni to tinkerwith the whole line-up. But Kedar Jadhav’spoor form will cer-

tainly be a worry for Dhoni asthere aren’t any ready replacementfor the Maharashtra man, whohasn’t played any notable inningsin near or distant past.

Bravo’s replacement SamCurran has been one of CSK’s bet-ter performers in the first threegames with good change-ups inpace and handy hitting.

In order to accom-modate Bravo, Dhoniwill either have to doaway with openerWatson or seamer JoshHazlewood, both ofwhich looks non-nego-

tiable on the Dubai track.For Hyderabad, the presence

of Kane Williamson made a frag-ile middle-order, full of Indianrookies, look more solid. BothJonny Bairstow and David Warneralso got their share of runs.

For SRH to succeed, theyneed to find that one depend-

able Indian big-hitter in themiddle order in case their topthree — Bairstow, Warnerand Williamson fail in uni-son.

The bowling line-up ispretty even for both teams.

While DeepakChahar, Hazlewood,

Curran, RavindraJadeja and Piyush

Chawla can bemore than ahandful onslow a Dubai

track, SRH havefound their death oversspecialist in TNatarajan, who can bean ideal foil to world’sNo1 T20 bowlerRashid Khan.

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Elegance mingled with bel-ligerence as Rohit Sharmaand his two big-hitting lieu-

tenants powered Mumbai Indiansto 191 for four in their IndianPremier League match againstKings XI Punjab here onThursday.

After the skipper was dis-missed for a 45-ball 70, the duo ofKieron Pollard and Hardik Pandyasmashed fours and sixes at will,scoring 67 runs in mere 25 balls.

MI got 25 runs in the finalover with Pollard sendingKrishnappa Gotham's last threeballs into the stands of the SheikhZayed Stadium.

They scored 19 off the penul-timate over and 18 off the 18thover.

MI were 87 for three at theend of the 14th over but upped theante with Pollard and Rohit hittinga six each off leg-spinner RaviBishnoi to collect 15 runs from the15th over.

Rohit scored 22 runs off the16th over bowled by JamesNeesham.

It was then left to the pair ofPollard and Hardik to provide thefinal flourish.

The start was inauspicious forthe defending champions asSheldon Cottrell castled Quintonde Kock with late swing after fourdot balls in the first over.

Smashed for five sixes in anover in his previous outing, it wasa new day, new game for Cottrell,as he started with a wicket maid-en.

Rohit reached 5000 IPL runs

with a glorious cover drive off hisfirst ball of the innings, joiningVirat Kohli and Suresh Raina.

Three balls later, Rohitpunched one along the ground

through the cover-point region foranother boundary.

Mohammed Shami cameback to hit the pads and forced theumpire to raise his finger with avociferous appeal. However, thedecision was turned down after areview as the ball seemed to begoing down the leg-stump.

Taking a leaf out of his cap-tain's book, Suryakumar Yadav gotinto the act straightaway, playingtwo back-to-back pleasing drivesthrough the off-side.

Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi wasintroduced into the attack in thefourth over and while Shamicould not strike with the ball firstup, the India pacer ran outSuryakumar with a direct hitfrom short fine leg to leave MI at21 for two in the fourth over.

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Top England cricketersincluding Sophie Ecclestone

and Danni Wyatt are expectedto feature in the much-awaitedWomen’s Challenger series inthe UAE after the ECBexpressed its willingness to issueNo Objection Certificates(NOC), provided it is satisfiedwith the Covid-19 protocols.

According to a report inESPNCricinfo, England andWales Cricket Board (ECB) has

no problems in allowing itswomen players to participate inthe women’s “mini-IPL”, set to beheld from November 4 to 9.

World No 1 T20 bowlerEcclestone and dashingbatswoman Danni Wyatt, bothof whom played in the 2019 edi-tion, are expected to be topdraws, while others like FranWilson, Lauren Winfield-Hill,Sophia Dunkley, AnyaShrubsole and Kate Cross couldalso find spots in the ChallengerSeries.