RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

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BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN VIJAYAWADA

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ANALYSIS 7YOUNGSTERS MUST GETREADY FOR CAREER, LIFE

MONEY 8HOPEFUL FOR CONCLUSION OF INDIA-UK

FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BY DIWALI: GOYAL

SPORTS 12MUMBAI VS MP IN RANJI FINAL

HYDERABAD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2022; PAGES 12 `3

ELON MUSK'S $44 BILLION TWITTERDEAL GETS BOARD ENDORSEMENT

RUCHIRA KAMBOJ TO BE INDIA'SPERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO UN

Senior diplomat Ruchira Kamboj was on Tuesday appointed India'sPermanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.Kamboj, a 1987-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, is presently

serving as India's envoy to Bhutan. She will succeed T S Tirumurti as theIndian ambassador to the UN. Kamboj is expected to take up theassignment shortly, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a briefstatement. Kamboj was the all India women's topper of the 1987 CivilServices batch and the topper of the foreign service batch of that year. Shebegan her diplomatic journey in Paris, France where she was posted as theThird Secretary in the Indian Embassy to France from 1989-1991.

RAILWAYS LIMPS BACK TO NORMALCY,FEWER THAN 300 TRAINS CANCELLED

The railway operations seemed to be limping back tonormalcy after at least five days of violent protestsagainst the recently announced Agnipath military

recruitment scheme, with less than 300 trains cancelled onTuesday. Since the protests broke out over the scheme,around 400 trains have been cancelled on an average perday as agitators torched coaches and damaged railwayproperty. On Tuesday, the national transporter cancelled270 trains which included 103 mail/express trains and 167passenger trains.

CHILDREN OF RAJASTHAN POLICEPERSONNEL TO GET QUOTA IN EDN

Children of Rajasthan Police personnel will be given reservationin admissions to private colleges and universities of the state,a release said here on Tuesday.They will be given reservation

from the category under which three per cent of the seats incolleges and universities are kept for the children of defencepersonnel and ex-servicemen. DGP M L Lather said in the releasethat in the new admission policy issued on Tuesday by theDirectorate of College Education, a provision has been made forreserving seats for the children, wives of present and formerpersonnel of the Rajasthan Police.

RAASHII KHANNATALKS ABOUT HER

BOLLYWOOD DEBUT

Twitter's board has recommended unanimously that shareholdersapprove the proposed 44 billion sale of the company to billionaire andTesla CEO Elon Musk, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday. Musk

reiterated his desire to move forward with the acquisition last week during avirtual meeting with Twitter employees, though shares of Twitter remain farbelow his offering price, signalling considerable doubt that it will happen.Shares rose about 3% to 38.98 before the opening bell Tuesday, far short ofthe 54.20 per-share that Musk has offered for each share. The company'sstock last reached that level on April 5 when it offered Musk a seat on theboard before he had offered to buy all of Twitter.

ALMANAC

Updated: JUNE 21, 2022 5:00 PM

Forecast: Mostly cloudy

Temp: 29oc

Humidity: 81%

Sunrise: 5:43 AM

Sunset: 6:53 PM

Month & Paksham:

Tithi: Navami: Jun 21 08:31 PMto Jun 22 08:45 PM

Dashami: Jun 22 08:45 PMto Jun 23 09:41 PM

Nakshatram: Revati: Jun 22 05:03 AM

to Jun 23 06:14 AM

Rahukalam: 12:18 PM to 1:55 PM

Yamagandam: 7:24 AM to 9:02 AM

Varjyam: 05:39 PM to 07:19 PM

TTOODDAAYY

HYDERABAD WEATHER

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana Government’sdepartments and other agenciesowe Rs 1,267 crore to theHMWSSB.

The Mission BageerathaCorporation itselfowes Rs 601 crorefollowed by thePanchayati RajDepartment whichowes Rs 594 crore.

The Forum forGood Governancesaid that the ChiefGeneral Manager(Revenue) of theWater Board said thatRs 1,519 crore is duefrom various stateand Centraldepartments and agencies.

Of the Rs 1,519 crore due fromgovernment departments, Rs1,267 crore is due from stategovernment departments and theremaining Rs 252 crore is fromCentral governmentdepartments. He said that he is

pursuing the matter by writingletters to the concerneddepartments, but there is noresponse from them.

The Forum for GoodGovernance requested the ChiefSecretary to issue orders to all

HoDs and others toclear pending waterbills so that the WaterBoard can improve itsservices.

P a d m a n a b h aReddy, the Secretaryof FGG said, “Themain source ofrevenue of the WaterBoard is watercharges. The public isregularly paying theirwater bills. Theproblem is only with

government institutions. Due tothe financial crunch, the WaterBoard is unable to replace rustingsupply lines and the public isgetting contaminated water andbecoming sick.

KTR blasts Centre over Agnipath, Jan Dhan

PNS n NEW DELHI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wasquestioned by theE n f o r c e m e n tDirectorate forabout nine hourson Tuesday on thefifth day of his dep-osition in the

National Herald money launderingcase. Gandhi, 52, left the ED head-quarters on APJ Abdul Kalam Roadin central Delhi just before 8 pm alongwith his security escort. Sources saidhis questioning will resume after ashort break.

He reached the federal agency'soffice around 11:15 am and did nottake any break post noon as he haddone in his previous appearances.

Operation Aakarsh Vs Vikarsh in TS

PNS nHYDERABAD

The BJP has finalised the venue ofPrime Minister Narendra Modi’s July3 public meeting in Hyderabad. BJPleaders visited Parade Grounds onTuesday and checked out the ground.

Later, Telangana BJP PresidentBandi Sanjay Kumar announced onhis Twitter account, “As part of theNational Executive CommitteeMeeting a public meeting will be heldat Parade Grounds on July 3. Iinspected the venue along with DKAruna, Shivprakash, Arvind Menonand other Telangana leaders.”

The leaders finalised the venue forthe public meeting for which the BJPwants to mobilise 10 lakh people. BJPsources said that it will send 50 lakhinvitations from June 25 onwards.

BJP leaders Bandi Sanjay Kumar,

Huzurabad MLA Eatala Rajender,BJP Vice-President DK Aruna, andsenior leaders N. Indrasena Reddy,Garikapati Rammohan, G. Vivek, D.Pradeep Kumar, Narahari VenugopalReddy, NVSS Prabhakar, BJP JointGeneral Secretary (Organisation)Shivprakash and BJP SecretaryArvind Menon visited ParadeGrounds on Tuesday.

The BJP leaders had mixed views

on Parade Grounds. Some said thatparking problems will arise if the PM’spublic meeting is held on ParadeGrounds. There is also a possibilitythat the police would stop peoplecoming from across the State on thecity’s outskirts itself citing parkingproblems. Some other leaders saidthat the State government will nothave a chance to create trouble by giv-ing permission if the public meetingis held at Parade Grounds as theground belongs to the Army. Someothers said that conducting a publicmeeting on Parade Grounds with 10lakh people would bring the city toa halt for the entire day and so it isbetter to hold the meeting in theOuter Ring Road (ORR) area.

However, the BJP took the decisionto conduct the PM's public meetingat the Parade Grounds.

‘Maha' crisis in ruling alliance

PNS n MUMBAI/SURAT

Maharashtra Cabinet Minister and ShivSena strongman Eknath Shinde plungedthe ruling alliance in the state into a polit-ical crisis on Tuesday as he rebelled againsthis party and landed in a Surat hotel alongwith some Sena MLAs, putting a hugequestion mark on the stability of the two-and-a-half-years old MVA dispensa-tion. The dramatic turn of events camehours after results of polls to the stateLegislative Council on Monday night,which saw the Shiv Sena-led Maha VikasAghadi losing one of the 6 seats it con-tested, to the opposition BJP which gotall its five nominees elected to the UpperHouse, possibly on the back of cross-vot-ing in its favour from the ruling blocbesides support from Independents andMLAs from smaller parties.

n Political battle between TRS and BJP getting interesting day by day

PNS n LONDON

Breathing in polluted air could lead totoxic particles being transported fromlungs to brain, potentially contributingto brain disorders and neurologicaldamage, according to a study.

An international team of scientistsfrom the University of Birmingham,UK, and institutions in China founda possible direct pathway used by var-ious inhaled fine particles throughblood circulation with indicationsthat, once there, the particles stay longerin the brain than in other main meta-bolic organs.

The study, published in the journalPNAS on Monday, found various fineparticles in human cerebrospinal flu-ids taken from patients who hadexperienced brain disorders -- uncov-ering a process which may result intoxic particulate substances ending up

in the brain."There are gaps in our knowledge

around the harmful effects of airbornefine particles on the central nervous sys-tem," said study co-author IseultLynch, a professor at the University ofBirmingham.

The finding sheds new light on thelink between inhaling particles andhow they subsequently move aroundthe body. "The data suggests that up toeight times the number of fine parti-cles may reach the brain by travelling,via the bloodstream, from the lungsthan pass directly via the nose -- addingnew evidence on the relationshipbetween air pollution and detrimen-tal effects of such particles on the brain,Lynch said. The researchers noted thatair pollution is a cocktail of many toxiccomponents, but particulate matter,especially ambient fine particles suchas PM2.5, are the most concerning interms of causing detrimental healtheffects.

Ultrafine particles, in particular,are able to escape the body's protectivesystems, including sentinel immunecells and biological barriers, they said.

Recent evidence has revealed a

strong link between high levels of airpollution and marked neuroinflamma-tion, Alzheimer's-like changes andcognitive problems in older people andeven in children, according to theresearchers. The researchers found thatinhaled particles can enter the blood-stream after crossing the air-blood bar-rier -- eventually reaching the brain,and leading to damage of the brain-blood barrier and surrounding tissuesas they do so.

Once in the brain, the particles werehard to clear and were retained forlonger than in other organs, they said.

The study offers new evidence inproving the risks from particulatepollution to the central nervous system.

However, the researchers recom-mend that more investigation isneeded into the mechanics of howinhaled ambient fine particles reachthe brain.

Breathing in polluted air may affect brain

Govt agencies not paying waterbills, dues touch Rs 1,519 cr

Of the Rs 1,519 crore due fromgovernment departments,

Rs 1,267 crore is due fromstate govt departments andthe remaining Rs 252 crore is

from Central governmentdepartments

PNS n HYDERABAD

Industries Minister KT Rama Rao hitout at the Centre on various issues likeAgnipath, IDPL lands, Jan Dhanpromises and the step-motherly treat-ment towards Hyderabad.

Speaking after the inauguration ofthe Kaithlapur Flyover on Tuesday,KTR said that Prime Minister Modiwho promised Ram Rajya has endedup offering Ravana Rajya. On AgnipathKTR said, “A Union Cabinet Minister(Kishan Reddy) is saying that Agniveerscan become security guards, drivers,carpenters, and electricians later. Is thiswhy youths join the military? The

youths are worried about theirfuture and are protesting onthe roads. This is the assur-ance that BJP leaders aregiving them. The youths arebeing blamed that theyhave not understood whatthe PM said.”

“Without any consultation,the BJP government has taken a uni-lateral decision on Agnipath. Farmerswere not consulted before introduc-ing farm laws, traders were not con-sulted before bringing GST, citizenswere ignored during demonetisa-tion, and minorities were ignoredwhen the CAA (Citizenship

Amendment Act) was pro-posed,” KTR said. KTR dared

Union Minister KishanReddy to file cases againsthim instead of troublinggovernment employees onthe IDPL issue.

Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao gave per-

mission for laying a road through theIndian Drugs and PharmaceuticalsLimited (IDPL) to help people livingin surrounding areas. He had criticiseda Union Minister for ordering thepolice to register cases against the engi-neers and workers who were engagedin constructing roads, KTR said.

KTR also asked if anyone in theaudience got the promised Rs 15 lakhdeposited in their bank accounts?

Speaking about the BJP government’sstep-motherly treatment of Telangana,the MA&UD Minister said the Modigovernment which helped Gujaratwith Rs 1,000 crore did not extend anyhelp when Hyderabad was hit byheavy rains. Regarding the BJP’sNational Executive Committee meet-ing on July 3, KTR asked, “Why are BJPleaders coming here? Next week someof the biggest leaders in the countryincluding Prime Minister Modi arecoming. Many of the words you haveuttered so far are mere jumlas.”

ED grills Rahul for9 hours on day 5

KTR opensflyover

connectingKukatpally and

HI-TEC City

P3

BJP finalises Parade Grounds for PM’s meeting

All set for Presidential pollPNS n HYDERABAD

The BJP parliamentary board onTuesday named Draupadi Murmu,a tribal leader of the party fromOdisha, as the ruling NDA's can-didate for the presidential election.

BJP president J P Naddaannounced her name at a press con-ference following a meeting of theparty top brass.

Murmu (64), a former Jharkhandgovernor, will be the first tribalwoman to occupy the top constitu-tional post if she is elected, astrong possibility as numbers arestacked in the favour of the BJP-ledNDA. Opposition had earlierannounced Yashwant Sinha as itsjoint candidate for the post. Thepoll is slated for July 18. Meanwhile,Former Union minister YashwantSinha will be the consensus presi-dential candidate of several oppo-sition parties, including theCongress, the TMC and theSamajwadi Party, the parties said ina joint statement on Tuesday.

Opposition leaders, who gathered

at the Parliament annexe for the meet-ing convened by NCP chief SharadPawar to decide on a consensus can-didate for the presidential election,unanimously agreed on Sinha's name.

"We are happy to announce thatwe have unanimously chosenYashwant Sinha as the commoncandidate of the opposition partiesfor the presidential election, whichwill take place on July 18, 2022,"Congress leader Jairam Ramesh saidwhile reading out a joint statementafter the meeting. "In his long and

distinguished career in public life,Shri Yashwant Sinha has served thenation in various capacities - as anable administrator, accomplishedparliamentarian and acclaimedUnion Minister of Finance andExternal Affairs. He is eminentlyqualified to uphold secular anddemocratic character of the IndianRepublic and its Constitutional val-ues," the statement also said.

Ramesh said the opposition partieshave appealed to all parties to supportYashwant Sinha as president so the

country could have a worthy 'rashtra-pati' elected unopposed.

"We regret Modi governmentmade no serious effort to haveconsensus on a presidential candi-date," said Ramesh. Reading out thejoint statement, he added that theunity of opposition parties forged forpresidential poll will be furtherconsolidated in the months ahead.Sinha's name came up after Pawar,Gopalkrishna Gandhi and FarooqAbdullah opted out of the race. Theparties that attended the meetingincluded the Congress, NCP, TMC,CPI, CPI-M, Samajwadi Party, NationalConference, AIMIM, RJD and AIUDF.

Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge andJairam Ramesh, TMC's AbhishekBanerjee, DMK's Tiruchi Siva, CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury and CPI's DRaja were among those who partic-ipated in the meeting.

Five regional parties considered nonaligned - TRS, BJD. AAP, SAD andYSRCP -- stayed away. These partieshad also stayed away from the June 15meeting convened by West BengalChief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

BJP eexploring ppossibility oofgovernment fformationPNS n MUMBAI

A senior BJP leader from Maharashtraon Tuesday evening said his party wasexploring the possibility ofgovernment formation in the state,amid a crisis in the ruling Maha VikasAghadi due to the rebellion of ShivSena leader Eknath Shinde while partyleaders held a series of meetings tofirm up a strategy. Speaking to PTI onthe condition of anonymity, the leader,who had served as a minister in theerstwhile Devendra Fadnavisgovernment, added that "our priorityis for the smooth transition of power".

m Sena leader Shinde rebels, lands in hotel with MLAs

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana Government hasreleased a health advisory asCovid-19 cases are increasing inthe state.

The advisory released onTuesday lists precautions thathave to be strictly followed.

The Director of Public Health,Dr G. Srinivasa Rao said, “TheTelangana government is pre-pared to tackle any eventuality.It is important to complete vac-cination by taking both dosesand it is equally important tostick to precautions like wearinga mask and maintaining a phys-ical distance.” The advisoryurged children younger than 10and elders above 60 to avoidgoing outdoors.

There is a higher incidence ofCovid-19 in people aged 20 to50. So people must exercisecaution while going to work andother essentia l things.Everybody should wear a maskwhen they go out.

Mask is a must,Govt releasesadvisory

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana government allo-cates the lion's share of its budgetfor public welfare. It is no exagger-ation to say that the welfareschemes of Telangana have becomethe benchmark for the country cre-

ating a golden age in welfare.With this, the Telangana govern-

ment has allotted Rs 5,697 crore forthe welfare of Backward Classes andspecial funds are released if necessary,an official release said on Tuesday.

TS sanctions Rs 5,697 cr for BC welfare

SNCN ACHARYULUn HYDERABAD

Now, it is ‘Operation Aakarsh’ Vs‘Operation Vikarsh’ in Telangana.With the BJP National ExecutiveCommittee meeting in Hyderabadnearing the political battlebetween the BJP and the TRS isgenerating interest. While the BJPis trying to attract TRS leadersthrough its ‘Operation Aakarsh,’the TRS is trying to keep its lead-ers happy through its “OperationVikarsh”. Meanwhile, the Congress

is also planning to shock both theBJP and the TRS.

The BJP which hopes to cometo power in Telangana after thenext Assembly elections is nowconcentrating on Telangana.

The BJP leadership decided tohold the party’s National ExecutiveCommittee meeting in Hyderabadon July 2 and 3 to give a boost themorale of its cadres and to give animpression to the people that theBJP is coming to power in TS.

During these meetings, the BJPis trying to shock the TRS by

attracting some prominent TRSleaders. According to crediblesources, two former ministersand two former MPs and someothers have decided to join the BJPduring the National Executivemeetings.

The leaders have already heldtalks with the BJP brass regardingthis. Sensing this, the TRS lead-ership is trying to appease suchleaders and is trying to preventthem from going to the BJP.

nNDA picks Draupadi Murmu nOpposition fields Yashwant Sinha

3 service chiefsbrief PM onAgnipathPNS n NEW DELHI

The three service chiefs separate-ly met Prime Minister NarendraModi on Tuesday and briefed himabout their plan to implement theAgnipath scheme and relatedissues against the backdrop of theongoing protests against the newpolicy for military recruitment.

The scheme announced onJune 14 seeks to recruit youngstersin the age bracket of 17-and-a-halfto 21 years for a four-year period,with a provision to retain 25 percent of them for 15 more years.

2

2

2 2

Minister for MunicipalAdministration K TRama Rao inaugura-ting a flyover atKukatpally on Tuesday

22

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hyderabad 02HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 22, 2022

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(IN VIJAYAWADA)

It appears that the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP), with aview to achieving a

hat-trick at the Centre inthe 2024 GeneralElection, is keen on gar-nering support fromother political partiesirrespective of its differ-ences with them.

The party is making all-outefforts to register its victory inthe youngest state of India onthe strength of its ideologicalbase in the Telangana regionof the combined state ofAndhra Pradesh. It is strug-gling to project itself as analternative in Telangana State.Hindutva has remained at thecore of its ideology since itsinception. Even during thedays of its ideological precur-sor, Bharatiya Jana Sangh(BJS), the party registered itspresence in the AndhraPradesh LegislativeAssembly(APLA) half a cen-tury ago. It had its 'rebirth' as

Bharatiya Janata Partyon 6 April, 1980,

following the collapseof the 'Janata experi-ment' at the Centre.

It may be mentionedhere that severalopposition parties

at the national level hadcome forward for merger on

the advice of legendary leaderLoknayak JayprakashNarayan, popularly known as'JP', and coalesced into JanataParty with the noble cause ofdefeating the Congress partypost Emergency. After thefailure of the Janata experi-ment, then BJS leadersrestored their political organ-isation with the name ofBharatiya Janata Party underthe stewardship of Atal BihariVajpayee.

BJP benefited out of itsalliances in combined AP. Inthe 1984 Lok Sabha elections,the BJP registered a stunningvictory by defeating Congress'

stalwart PV Narasimha Rao inthe Hanamakonda constituen-cy. This was possible for BJPfollowing its alliance withTDP. But PV emerged victo-rious in another seat, Ram Tekof Maharashtra, in the sameelections with a thumpingmajority and continued inRajiv's cabinet after the elec-tions. BJP won only two seats,including Hanamakonda,across the country in thoseelections. In the 1999 elec-tions, again thanks to its

alliance with TDP, it bagged 12Assembly and 7 Lok Sabhaseats.

Ideologically TDP is oppo-nent of BJP. But political com-pulsions saw them go togeth-er occasionally. BJP hadfought against TDP in theFebruary 1998 mid-term pollsfor the Lok Sabha. TDP supre-mo N. Chandrababu Naiduhad then made scathing attackon BJP in electioneering, call-ing it "a party that demolish-es mosques".

Whenever BJP fought elec-tions without having analliance, it performed badly-itwon only one LS seat in 1991and 4 seats in 1998.Subsequently, the BJP's stateunit headed by Ch. VidyasagarRao adopted a resolution ask-ing the high command topermit it to go alone in thenext elections of 1999. But

then prime minister Vajpayeehimself talked to Vidyasagarand turned down this propos-al.

At present, BJP is on aggres-sive mode in Telangana State.The Telangana Rastra Samiti(TRS) is fuming at BJP with aneye on the anti-BJP vote bank,particularly religious minori-ties. TRS supremo and ChiefMinister K. ChandrasekharRao has indicated his missionto launch a new national party.He has projected himself as anational leader by issuinghighly expensive advertise-ments in news dailies acrossthe country and has chosen tomeet leaders of political par-ties in several states. Unlikeother leaders from south, KCRis well acquainted withEnglish, Hindi and Urdu lan-guages that would help himbetter connect with people.

As things stand, foes maybecome friends in the post-poll scenario, going by the

'1998' example. In the 2009elections, TRS was part of theGrand Alliance headed byTDP in combined AP. Butimmediately after the polls,KCR attended a meeting ofNDA constituents held inHaryana. This was consideredby alliance partners as cross-ing the line of commitment,but he did swerve a bit!

So, though KCR is present-ly aggressive towards BJP, theeventual post-poll scenariomay drive him into its arms.During his first stint as ChiefMinister of TS, KCR appearedto have tilted towards BJPbelievably to make his daugh-ter as a member in UnionCouncil of Ministers headedby Narendra Modi.

As for the upcomingPresidential polls, KCR's strat-egy continues to be unclear.He seems to be not preparingto go against the eventualNDA candidate. The leaderwho is aspiring to become

'Desh ki neta' is presentlystruggling to spell out hisstance on Prez polls.

The situation of TRS maycome in handy for BJP to meetits immediate needs i. e.Presidential polls. Once a dealis struck between the twoparties, it may continue toinfluence further develop-ments.

The ruling parties in Telugustates appear set to bat for theBJP in the Presidential polls bykeeping distance from partiesthat are jointly trying to fieldan Opposition candidate.

According to the presentsituation, the BJP may not bein a position to get to thehalfway mark (272 seats) inthe Lok Sabha. In such a sit-uation, it will be in dire needof the support of other parties.In these circumstances, it maytreasure the ruling parties ofthe Telugu states as long asthey keep distance from theopponents of BJP.

M D RATNA KUMAR

Senior Journalist

The BJP registered a stunning victory bydefeating Congress' stalwart PV Narasimha Raoin the Hanamakonda constituency. This waspossible for BJP following its alliance with TDP.But PV emerged victorious in another seat, RamTek of Maharashtra, in the same elections witha thumping majority and continued in Rajiv'scabinet after the elections. BJP won only twoseats, including Hanamakonda, across thecountry in those elections. In the 1999elections, again thanks to its alliance with TDP,it bagged 12 Assembly and 7 Lok Sabha seats

PIN

POINT

BJP needs wide support, will treasure ruling parties in Telugu states

K VENKATESHWARLU

n HYDERABAD

The BJP is planning to give ashocker to the other politicalparties of Telangana.

Sources said that some veryimportant (bigwigs) leadersfrom other parties are going tojoin the BJP in the presence ofPrime Minister NarendraModi, Union Home MinisterAmit Shah and BJP PresidentJP Nadda at the meetingplanned on July 3.

The BJP wants to make thePrime Minister’s public meet-ing a memorable one for theparty by making importantleaders of other political par-ties join the BJP in the pres-ence of the Prime Minister, theUnion Home Minister and theBJP President.

Some former MLAs andMPs are going to join the BJPduring the party’s NEC meet-ing in Hyderabad, it's learnt.Nadda would offer shawls toall the leaders joining theparty.

Telangana BJP PresidentBandi Sanjay Kumar had saida few days ago that the PM’smeeting on July 3 will enterthe annals of history as theparty has decided to hold apublic meeting attended by 10lakh people.

The BJP has planned toorganise the joining of impor-tant leaders from other polit-ical parties in a big way.

The BJP had already com-pleted discussions with theleaders planning to join theBJP. These leaders includingboth current and former

MLAs, MPs, and others whoare quite influential in theirpresent parties would join theBJP. This may lead to someheartache in their old politicalparties.

It may be recalled that BJPleaders have been saying thatmany important leaders fromother political parties wouldjoin the BJP at an appropriatetime.

There were indications thatthe leaders would join the BJPat the meeting planned onMay 14 in which Amit Shahparticipated. However, it didnot happen then.

The BJP doesn’t want topostpone these entries any-more. One of the leaders saidthat postponement wouldsend wrong signals to partycadres.

Those leaders ready to joinare also not interested in wait-ing further. It is also learnt thatthe BJP will be inducting onlya few important leaders in thepresence of the PrimeMinister, the Union HomeMinister and party PresidentJP Nadda.

It is also learnt that theMLAs of the Congress and theTRS are still in a dilemma onwhether to join the BJP nowor to wait till the next elec-tions.

It is learnt that the MLAswould take a final decisionbefore the BJP’s NationalExecutive Committee meetingstarting on July 2. Many for-mer MLAs and MPs are goingto join the BJP during theNEC meetings in Hyderabad,it is learnt.

Many VIPs from otherparties likely to join BJP

Govt plans Digital AgricultureWing to modernise farmingPNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana government issetting up a Digital AgricultureWing (DAW) to ensure focused,dedicated, and continuousintroduction of new-age tech-nology in agriculture.

The DAW is a dedicatedwing being set up in theAgriculture Department as afirst-of-its-kind initiative in thecountry. The wing is being setup to ensure focused, dedicat-ed and continuous introductionof new technology in agricul-ture. The wing will institution-alise the AgriTech initiatives ofthe state and will focus onadditional activities to ensure aholistic approach. The DigitalAgriculture Wing’s objective is“to transform agriculture bydeploying technologies in ascalable, inclusive, and sustain-able way.”

The DAW aims at leveraging

technologies to enhance pro-duction, productivity and prof-itability, promote environmen-tally sustainable practices inagriculture, improve efficienciesin governance using technolo-gy, promote scaled adoption ofproven AgriTech solutions, andenable AgriTech collaborationand partnerships. The DigitalAgriculture Wing will under-take projects in AgriTech adop-tion, digital governance, syner-gy and partnerships and capac-ity building and awareness.

The Director has to activelycoordinate with the DigitalAgriculture Division of the

Union MoA&FW and will beresponsible for increasingAgriTech investments in thestate. The AgricultureDepartment plans to hire aDirector (Head) for the DigitalAgriculture Wing to steer dig-ital efforts in agriculture.

The Director will be respon-sible for overall leadershipincluding team management,strategy, execution, budgeting,and all operations of the wing.

The Director will be paidbetween Rs 30 lakh and Rs 50lakh per annum with a five percent increment every year basedon performance.

Continued from Page 1

For 2022, the upper-agelimit has been extended to23 years.

It is learnt that Army chiefGeneral Manoj Pande, AirChief Marshal VRChaudhari and Navy chiefAdmiral R Hari Kumarapprised Modi of the over-all induction process and thesteps being taken by themfor a successful rollout of thescheme.

There was no officialcomment on the meetings.

The Centre has beenstrongly defending thescheme, saying the "transfor-mative reform" measure forrecruitment in the armedforces will provide an oppor-

tunity to youngsters to servethe country. The meetingsbetween the prime ministerand the service chiefs tookplace hours after the threeservices said the Agnipathscheme will not entail anychange in the existing sys-tem of recruitment for sol-diers and that it will not atall impact their operationalreadiness.

"There will be no changein the recruitment process.What happened five yearsago, what happened earlier,the same will continue," saidLieutenant General AnilPur i , the Addit ionalSecretary in the defenceministry's Department ofMilitary Affairs.

He said the recruits under

the scheme will be eligiblefor gallantry awards andthat it is being rolled out sothat the armed forces drawthe best talent.

At the briefing, top offi-cials of the three servicesannounced a detailed sched-ule of the recruitmentprocess, asserting that there

will be no compromise onthe quality of the training tobe impar ted to the"Agniveers", though theduration of their trainingper iod would be com-pressed.

"The combat capabilitiesand readiness of the IndianAir Force are non-nego-

tiable. The Indian Air Forceand the government will doeverything that is requiredto keep us combat-worthyand combat-ready," AirOf f icer- in-Charge ofPersonnel, Air Marshal S KJha, said.

Lt Gen. Puri said theAgnipath scheme would addstrength to the armed forces.Air Marshal Jha said there is"absolutely no change" in theIAF's process of induction,entry-level qualification,examination syllabus andmedical standards for therecruits under the Agnipathscheme.

"All the enrolments in theIndian Air Force will takeplace only through AgniveerVayu," he added.

3 service chiefs brief PM on Agnipath

All set for Presidential poll

TS sanctions

Rs 5,697 cr forBC welfareContinued from Page 1

There are around 100BC groups in Telanganaand they comprise half thepopulation at around abouttwo crores. Governmentofficials said in a pressrelease that the govern-ment is providing 29 percent reservation in gov-ernment jobs for BCs.Apart from that Rs 1,000crore is spent every year forthe welfare of the MostBackward Classes.

Yadavs depend on sheepbreeding in the state. Thegovernment has launched alarge-scale sheep distribu-tion scheme for them. Theprogramme aims to dis-tribute 7.3 lakh sheep. Inthis budget, the govern-ment allocated Rs 1,000crore for the distribution ofsheep.

GGOOVVTT AAGGEENNCCIIEESS NNOOTT......Continued from Page 1

When it comes to government agencies large amounts aredue for years together pushing the Water Board into losses. Bynot paying water charges the government is setting a wrongexample.” Section 199 of the GHMC Act says that property taxincludes water tax, drainage tax, lighting tax, conservancy taxetc. When a citizen pays property tax to the GHMC it impliesthat he is also paying water and drainage tax.

The Water Board also collects water and drainage tax. Thisamounts to double payment for water supply. Nevertheless, thepeople of Hyderabad are paying water charges without com-plaining.

Billionaires, ministers line up for yoga sessionsPNS n NEW DELHI

Billionaire Gautam Adani onTuesday did an hour-long ses-sion of yoga exercises in theopen air as he led corporateIndia to join the InternationalDay of Yoga celebrations.

Several public and privatesector companies held yogasessions at their offices to pro-mote the adoption of exercisein daily routines to stay fit and

healthy.Adani, chairman of logistics-

to-energy conglomerate AdaniGroup, and his wife Priti, whoheads the Adani Foundation,“participated with more than1,000 members of the AdaniParivaar team to celebratehealth, mindfulness and med-itation,” the group said in a state-ment.

The session was held at afootball ground at Adani

Shantigram in Ahmedabad.Several other business leaderstweeted pictures of their yogasessions.

“Yoga & meditation musicare a part of my daily routine.They help me remain centered& ensure both physical andmental well-being. We haveorganized a yoga session for ouremployees on this#InternationalYogaDay,” tweet-ed Madhav Sheth, VP at mobile

phone maker realme.State-owned firms held yoga

sessions at different locationsthroughout the country. WhileIndian Oil Corporation (IOC)held such sessions at its refiner-ies and marketing locations,NTPC celebrated the day at itspower stations and offices.

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman joined a session atthe iconic Jantar Mantar in thenational capital. "Thanking

young enthusiastic instructorsand practitioners from theMorarji Desai National Instituteof Yoga in #NewDelhi for thesmooth conduct of the#InternationalYogaDay2022 atthe #iconic #JantarMantar," shetweeted. Road Transport andHighways Minister NitinGadkari said: "Yoga is a price-less gift from our ancient Indiantraditions which symbolises theunity of mind and body.

‘Maha' crisis in ruling allianceContinued from Page 1

Sena MP Sanjay Raut said14 to 15 party MLAs are withShinde in Surat in BJP-ruledGujarat.

He also alleged that two ofthem, including NitinDeshmukh, have been beatenup and he has suffered a heartattack. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party swiftly moved againstShinde (58), an MLA fromThane district, and removedhim as the party's group leaderin the Maharashtra LegislativeAssembly. Shinde, who holdsurban development and PWDportfolios, has been removed asthe Shiv Sena group leader inthe Assembly and replaced withAjay Choudhury, Raut toldreporters. Justifying the decisionagainst his party colleague, Rautsaid a disciplinary action wasnecessary.

With no sign of any let-up inthe crisis, Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray, NCP chiefSharad Pawar and Congressleader Balasaheb Thorat areexpected to meet on Tuesdaynight to find a solution.

Getting into action mode, theMVA lead constituent deputedits members Milind Narvekarand Ravindra Phatak to holdtalks with rebel leader Shinde inSurat, around 280km fromMumbai, and try to mollify him.

As Shinde is yet to spell outhis stand, Maharashtra BJPchief Chandrakant Patil ruledout any link of his party to the

ongoing political turmoil, butadded the opposition outfitwould "definitely consider" aproposal if it comes from therebel leader to form an alterna-tive government.

Without naming UddhavThackeray, who heads the ShivSena, Shinde took to Twitter, hisonly comment so far since thecrisis broke on Tuesday morn-ing, and said he will never"cheat for power" and abandonthe teachings of party founderlate Bal Thackeray.

BJP exploring possibilityof government formation

Several BJP leaders, includingLeader of Opposition DevendraFadnavis, held marathonmeetings during the day todiscuss Constitutionalprovisions, the arithmeticrequired to stake a claim toform a government as well aspossible legal objections tosuch a kind of power transition,BJP sources said.Asked about the possibility ofShinde and his loyalist MLAsgetting disqualified if he failedto muster enough numbers tocircumvent the anti-defectionlaw and the prospects of mid-term polls, the BJP leader saidhis party was not in favour ofearly elections at the moment,as it is a costly affair and mayeven backfire in some pockets(Assembly seats).

Continued from Page 1

Sinha's name came up afterPawar, Gopalkrishna Gandhiand Farooq Abdullah optedout of the race. The parties thatattended the meeting includedthe Congress, NCP, TMC, CPI,CPI-M, Samajwadi Party,National Conference, AIMIM,RJD and AIUDF. Congress'Mallikarjun Kharge and JairamRamesh, TMC's Abhishek

Banerjee, DMK's Tiruchi Siva,CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury andCPI's D Raja were among thosewho participated in the meeting.

Five regional parties consid-ered non aligned - TRS, BJD.AAP, SAD and YSRCP -- stayedaway. These parties had alsostayed away from the June 15meeting convened by WestBengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee.

Operation...Continued from Page 1

Poll strategist PrashantKishor said in his report tothe TRS leadership thataround 40 TRS MLAs havea negative image in theirconstituencies.

Kishor suggested to theTRS leadership to changesuch MLAs and to givetickets to new faces in thenext elections. The BJPleadership is busy identify-ing TRS MLAs who maynot get party tickets in thenext Assembly elections.

After identifying suchMLAs the BJP leadershipwill try to attract themusing Operation Aakarsh.The BJP's strategy is to givea shock to the TRS leader-ship by admitting suchleaders.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The three military services onTuesday said the Agnipath schemewill not entail any change in theexisting system of recruitment ofsoldiers and will not at all impacttheir combat capabilities andoperational readiness. At a mediabriefing, additional secretary inthe defence ministry's depart-ment of military affairs Lt GenAnil Puri addressed various issues

raised about the new scheme,asserting it has not been broughtto "right-size" the armed forces butto lower their age-profile andenhance their overall capability.Several parts of the country wit-nessed violent protests after theannouncement of the new modelthat seeks to recruit youthsbetween the age bracket of 17-and-half years to 21 for only fouryears with a provision to retain 25per cent of them for 15 more years.

No change in existing recruitment process,Agnipath will draw best talent: Military

On May 8th,The Pioneer

carried areportpredictingthat the NDAmay fieldDraupadiMurmu asitsPresidentialcandidate

hyderabad 03HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 22, 2022

PNS n HYDERABAD

With the IT/ITeS sectorremaining one of the mostbuoyant businesses during thepandemic, the availability ofGrade A office space is low inthe city.

The latest Anarock studyindicates that the IT hubs ofPune, Bengaluru, Chennai andHyderabad have lesser avail-ability of Grade A office spaces.

Hyderabad currently hasGrade A office space of approx-imately 80 mn sq. ft., withvacancy at around 15 per cent.Like Bengaluru, the city hasaround 40 mn sq.ft. of newGrade A office stock eitherplanned or under construction.

But cities like NCR, MMR

and Kolkata with significantdemand for office spaces fromnon-IT businesses like BFSIand manufacturing/industri-al, recorded higher office spacevacancies.

Office vacancies in NCR arethe highest among the topseven cities at 28.5 per cent, fol-lowed by Kolkata with 23.5 percent and MMR with 16 percent.

On correlating currentvacancy data with upcomingplanned or under-construc-tion office space supply acrossthe top seven cities, it is clearthat the three non-IT/ITeS dri-ven cities are now restrictingtheir new office space stock.

Many large and mid-sizeoccupiers continued or

renewed their leases during thepandemic as their businesseseither saw no major impact oreven grew during the Covid-19pandemic. The cost of re-

establishing or taking up newoffice space is costlier thanholding on to existing leasedspaces. Real estate costs are fac-tored in IT/ITeS companies'

billing rates. So letting go ofoffice spaces can lead to a sig-nificant change in top-line pro-jections.Anuj Puri, theChairman of Anarock Group,

says, “The cities with loweroffice space vacancy currentlyhave 108 mn sq. ft. of cumula-tive planned/under construc-tion Grade A office space stock.Of this, Hyderabad andBengaluru have approximate-ly 40 mn sq. ft. either plannedor under construction.Chennai has 15 mn sq. ft. in thepipeline, and Pune has 13 mnsq. ft.”Although most compa-

nies opted for WFH, manylarge and mid-sized firmsdecided to retain their offices

“At Rs 58 to Rs 78 per sq. ft.per month, the average month-ly office rental costs in all thefour IT/ITeS driven cities arecomparatively lower than inNCR and MMR where theyhover between Rs 80 and Rs126 per sq. ft./month,” headded.

WFH has no impact, office space availability is low in Hyd

PNS n RANGAREDDY

International Yoga Day wascelebrated at various places inRangareddy District onTuesday.

A Yoga day has been organ-ised at Divya SaketamAshram on the occasion ofInternational Yoga Day.Chinna Jear Swamy and thestudents of Vedic school,Ophthalmology, and JimsMedical College participatedin the event.

In Shadnagar, Yoga day wascelebrated at Patanjali YogaCentre under the auspices ofYoga teacher PanugantiShashidhar. Vishwa HinduParishad State general secre-tary Bandaru Ramesh, BJPleaders Srivardan Reddy, AndeBabaiah, VishnuvardhanReddy, Municipal Chairman

Narender participated in theevent.

In Ibrahimpatnam, Yogaday was celebrated at theGurunanak education institu-tions. Gurunanak education

institution. Dr K Venkatrao,Managing Director S H SainiEngineering Department headHarish Kundra, Yoga teacherVamsi Krishna and the stu-dents participated.

International Yoga Day celebrated in RR disrict

Spiritual leader Chinna Jear Swamy participating in International Yoga Day inRangareddy on Tuesday

PNS n HYDERABAD

The four lane KaithalapurFlyover, constructed by theGreater Hyderabad MunicipalCorporation under theStrategic Road DevelopmentProject is now in theHyderabad IT corridor.

Telangana MunicipalAdministration and UrbanDevelopment, IT andIndustries Minister KTR inau-gurated the Road Over Bridgebuilt at a cost of Rs 84 crore onTuesday.

Those coming from SanathNagar, Balanagar andSecunderabad must take adiversion at Moosapet and

reach Madhapur Main Roadvia Kaithalapur. This will cutthe distance to 3.5 km and alsothe hourly travel time.

The project serves as a par-allel road to the road from Hi-Tech City to New BombayHighway (NH9) and reduces

traffic jams and traffic conges-tion at the JNTU junction,Malaysian Town Ship junction,Hi-tech city flyover and CyberTower junction.

Speaking on the occasion,Minister KTR said that to pro-vide better transport facilities,

underpasses, ROBs and fly-overs from LB Nagar toKukatpally to Uppal toSerilingampally have beenundertaken by the SRDP at acost of Rs 8,052 crore in thefirst phase and 30 works havebeen completed so far.

“We are carrying out worksworth Rs 1,000 crore throughSNDP without any problemsdue to floods. We will alsoundertake the second phase ofwork and find a permanentsolution for flood prevention,"KTR said.

However, Minister KTR alsosaid that full support will begiven to the poor who builthouses on the canals and they

will be allotted double-bed-room houses, for which thepeople were asked to cooper-ate for the completion of thecanals.

However, Labour andEmployment MinisterMallareddy, Mayor GadwalVijayalakshmi, MLAMadhavaram Krishna Rao,Legislative Council membersSurabhi Vani Devi,Shambhipur Raju, Naveen Rao,Deputy Mayor Mote SrilathaShobhan Reddy,Commissioner DS LokeshKumar and CorporationChairman were present on theoccasion. Sai Chand, Jaganand others participated.

KTR opens flyover connectingKukatpally and HI-TEC City

Minister for Municipal Administration K T Rama Rao inaugurating a flyover at Kukatpally on Tuesday. Labour Minister Mallareddy, Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi, MLA Madhavaram Krishna Rao were also present

The project serves as a parallel road to

the road from Hi-Tech City to New Bombay

Highway (NH9) and reduces traffic jams

and traffic congestion at the JNTU

junction, Malaysian Town Ship junction, Hi-

tech city flyover and Cyber Tower

junction.

GMR group offers jobs toAgniveers after retirement

Bus carrying marriage partystranded in flood watersPNS n RANGAREDDY

A bus carrying a marriageparty was stranded in floodwater under under Mominpetrailway overbridge atMominpet on Monday night.Being trapped in the floodwaters was the worst nightmarethe passengers in the bus expe-rienced. According to police,the bus got stranded in theflood waters. As the floodwaters rose, it was feared thatthe bus may be swept off the theroad. The police with the helpof local people managed toevacuate the passengers fromthe bus which was caught in theflood waters. The construction of the under-ground bridge has led to fre-quent flooding the road,according to local people. Bus carrying marriage party caught in flood water at Mominpet on Monday

PNS n HYDERABAD

In a joint operation conduct-ed by South Zone DCP team,Civil Supply officials andBhavani Nagar police onTuesday, three persons werearrested at Nasheman Nagar,Talabkatta, in Bhavani Nagarfor illegally stored rice meantfor Public DistributionSystem. The police seized 10tonnes of PDS rice and twocars from their possession.

The accused were identi-fied as Shaik Ayaz (22), MohdSaif (30) and Shaik Irfan(22). The 4th accused Salmanis absconding, the police said.

According to the police,Shaik Ayaz hired Mohd Saifand Shaik Irfan to collect PDSrice from the local people andthe same was dumped atBhavani Nagar.

PDS riceracket busted,three arrested

PNS n HYDERABAD

The 8th International Day ofYoga was celebrated on Tuesdayat the Indoor Volleyball Stadiumof 1 EME Centre inSecunderabad.

The programme commencedwith a live broadcast of thePrime Minister’s address onthe occasion of the InternationalDay of Yoga from the heritagecity of Mysore in Karnataka.

This was followed by a yoga

session conducted by yogainstructor Sub/ATPC AshokKundaragi.The session includ-ed warming up, standing andsitting Yoga Asanas, kriyasincluding Pranayama andbreathing techniques. It wasfollowed by meditation basedon common yoga protocolsreleased by the Union Ministryof AYUSH.A total of 26 officers,52 Junior CommissionedOfficers (JCOs) and 180 ORsparticipated in the event.

EME Centre celebratesInternational Yoga Day

PNS n HYDERABAD

GMR Infrastructure Limited,a listed entity of the GMRgroup, on Tuesday announcedthat it would give jobs to'Agniveers' in its subsidiaryRAXA Security SolutionsLimited. It is a premier secu-rity company of the GMRgroup and provides manguarding services, technosecurity solutions, fire ser-vices and cyber security ser-vices.Ashwani Lohani, CEO ofGMR Services Business said,'it would offer a vast horizonto these Agniveers after theyretire from active duty ofarmed forces. There are vari-ous fulfilling job opportunitiesthat a security company like

RAXA has and we believe thatwith their discipline, team-work and training skills,Agniveers shall be a greatasset for RAXA.' The Centralgovernment introduced theAgnipath scheme for youthwilling to join the armedforces and serve the nation.The scheme would producetrained soldiers, many ofwhom would be available forjobs beyond the defense ser-vices after the completion ofthe four-year period. Inspiredby the scheme, GMRInfrastructure Limited hasdecided to give high priority toAgniveers who are willing topursue a new career in the pri-vate security domain and offerthem employment.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Minister KChandrashekar Rao hasdirected the officials of theEducational Department toconstitute a board for theappointment of professorsand Vice-Chancellors inRajiv Gandhi University ofKnowledge andTechnologies (RGUKT)-Basar.The Chief Minister took thedecision after Minister forEducation Sabita IndraReddy met KCR and submit-ted to him the details of thediscussion she held with thestudents in Basara onMonday. The students ofRGUKT agreed to call offagitation after the Ministerheld talks with them.

Board to be constitutedfor appointments in RGKUT

‘6 in 1 vaccine’ a boonfor parents, childrenPNS n HYDERABAD

Children are exposed toinnumerable germs some ofwhich can cause serious dis-eases. A child’s immune sys-tem is a developing one andcannot fight deadly diseases.

The World HealthOrganisation (WHO) saysthat immunisation is one ofthe most successful publichealth interventions to pre-vent deaths from infections.Doctors say that combinationvaccines like the 6 in 1 are aboon for parents, their chil-dren, as well as doctors andthey have made lives easier.

India has intensified itsefforts to increase immu-nization coverage, which hasresulted in signif icantimprovement as indicatedby the National FamilyHealth Survey (NFHS) 5.

The percentage of chil-dren aged 12 to 23 monthswho are fully vaccinated hasincreased from 62 per cent to76.4 per cent in India andfrom 67.5 per cent to 79.1 percent in Telangana.

A recent study alsodemonstrated that there is amarked improvement inimmunization coverage inrural areas but only limitedimprovement in urban areas.

Speaking about this, DrAnand S. Wani said, “Byreducing the number ofinjections as well as clinic vis-its, combination vaccinationsare a feasible option for both

parents and doctors.Sometimes parents miss vac-cinations either due to lack oftime or because they areworried about the pain theirchild will have to endure.Combination vaccinationsare a suitable option for theseparents, to ensure that theirchild receives all the vaccina-tions that are included in theroutine immunization sched-ule. Paediatricians mustguide parents on vaccinationoptions to help them makean informed choice abouttheir child’s health.

”The 6 in 1 combinationvaccine protects childrenfrom the six serious illness-es of Diphtheria, Pertussis,Tetanus, HaemophilusInfluenza Type B, Hepatitis Band Poliomyelitis.

More needs to be done tomake parents aware of thebenefits of immunisation andthe availability of vaccines toincrease full immunization

coverage to 90 per cent andabove.With combination vac-cinations, children receivefewer shots but get the samelevel of protection as theywould have from separatelyadministered vaccines.

The percentage

of children aged

12 to 23 months

who are fully

vaccinated has

increased from

62 per cent to

76.4 per cent in

India and from

67.5 per cent to

79.1 per cent in

Telangana.

L&TMRHL celebrates World Music DayPNS n HYDERABAD

On the World Music Day, theL&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad)Limited (L&TMRHL) in col-laboration with Goethe-Zentrum Hyderabad andUtkarsh Small Finance Bankhas launched first of its kindmusical event of Buskingunder the aegis of 'MetroMedley'.

The music festival atHyderabad Metro Rail is beingconducted in the format ofbusking, which is an act ofsinging and/or playing aninstrument in public places.

Passengers can enjoy listen-ing to busking, which hasunfolded at the concourselevels of 5 metro stations -Ameerpet, JBS ParadeGround, MGBS, Raidurg, andMiyapur, daily from June 21 o25 between 5 pm to 7pm. Theweek-long music festival willconclude on June 26 with an

all-evening razzmatazz at theHyderabad Next Premia Mall,Irrum Manzil between 4 pmand 9 pm.Being organised byGoethe-Zentrum Hyderabad,over 100 musicians will bebusking at the metro stationsduring the week.

The music will range from

Indian classical to pop music,from music that will sootheone's senses to music thatwill elevate one's spirits.

Jayesh Ranjan, PrincipalSecretary InformationTechnology (IT) department,launched 'Metro Medley'along with the week-long

Music Fest, in presence ofKVB Reddy, MD & CEO,L&TMRHL, Amita Desai,Director, Goethe-ZentrumHyderabad and officials fromGoethe-Zentrum Hyderabad,Utkarsh Small Finance Bankand HMR at Ameerpet MetroStation.

Principal Secretary of the Industries and Commerce and Information Technology Jayesh Ranjan launching 'Metro Medley' inHyderabad on Tuesday

Hyderabad currently has Grade A officespace of approximately 80 mn sq. ft., withvacancy at around 15 per cent. LikeBengaluru, the city has around 40 mnsq.ft. of new Grade A office stock eitherplanned or under construction.

PNS n HYDERABAD

A local court sentenced aman to 20 years of rigorousimprisonment for sexuallyassaulting a minor girl. Hehappened to be the stepfatherof the child. His brother toofaced the same charge and hewas convicted and sentencedto three years rigorousimprisonment. The minorgirl, aged 13 years when theoffence took place in 2017,was raped by her stepfather.Her mother married himafter her first husband died.

The stepfather sexuallyassaulted the child when hermother was away.

Man sentenced to20 years’ RI forraping minor

04HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 22, 2022

Provide relief, rehabilitation package to oustees

PNS n HYDERABAD

The TRS and the Congressmust not poison the minds ofyouth about Agnipath, seniorBJP leader Gudur NarayanaReddy said on Tuesday.

In a media statement, he saidthat the TRS and the Congresshave unleashed a vicious cam-paign of lies against theAgnipath scheme aimed atstrengthening the Indianarmed forces and trainingyouth in nation-building.

“The Congress and the TRSare losing ground in Telanganaand they picked Agnipath toattack the popularity of the BJPand Prime Minister Modi. Buttheir evil designs will not work,”said Gudur Narayana Reddysaid.

He said that Agnipath isaimed at not only strengthen-ing the armed forces but also inpreparing youth for nation-building. He said that the men

trained under Agnipath wouldeventually become buildingblocks of the nation.

He said that the age of 16 to20 is critical in the life of anyperson and there is a danger ofyouths of that age strayinginto anti-social activities ascan be seen in Telangana.There is an urgent need to putthe young on the right path andAgnipath would helpimmensely help in this, Guduradded.

He said that in the ruralareas of Telangana lakhs ofyouths who failed Class 10and Intermediate are gettingaddicted to ganja and somehave become ganja smugglers.He said that going by his per-sonal experience nearly 90 percent of the villages are facingthis problem.He said that on anaverage around 100 kg ganja isbeing seized in the state everyday. Other narcotic drugs likecocaine are also being seized

from peddlers.

He said that the Congress,the TRS and some other par-ties have been criticising theAgnipath programme. Hemade it clear that the BJP isready for a debate on the pro-gramme.

He said that Agnipath was aprogramme designed to pro-

vide employment to the youngso that teens would not becomea burden on their parents andto prevent them from going inthe wrong direction. But theCongress and the TRS havebeen trying to divert the atten-tion of youth in the state,Gudur said.

He said that Prime MinisterModi who hails from a humble

family knows the problems ofyouth. “Modi once sold tea tosurvive and he knows very wellabout the poor,” Gudur added.

Even though the PrimeMinister has been leading thenation in the right direction,the Congress and the TRS aretalking ill about him everyday, the BJP leader said. Hepointed out that the PrimeMinister has recentlyannounced that 10 lakh vacantposts in Central service will befilled soon.

He said that the TRS and theCongress are conspiring todamage the Prime Minister’simage 10 days before the BJP’sNational Executive meeting inHyderabad.

Gudur said that the PrimeMinister’s image is strengthen-ing in the state and the TRS andthe Congress were unable todigest it.He also said that theCongress and the TRS wereshaken by the immense popu-

larity of Prime Minister Modiand the padayatra of state BJPPresident Bandi Sanjay Kumar.

He said that after theannouncement of the PrimeMinister about filling up 10lakh vacancies, the Congressand the TRS are feeling thatthey are losing ground inTelangana. He said that insteadof viewing a good programmelike Agnipath from a positiveangle these parties are criticis-ing it.He said that the Congressand the TRS have no ideas todevelop the nation. He advisedthem to follow the right direc-tion being provided by theNDA government.

He said that ex-servicemenare respected a lot in societyand would be provided withopportunities. After complet-ing Agnipath, the youth ofTelangana will emerge asrespected members of societyand would also earn money.

However, due to the viciouscampaign of opposition polit-ical parties and some fringe ele-ments, the youth are being mis-led. They torched trains asthey were misguided by somepoliticians, he said.

Gudur said that the lawwould deal strictly with suchpersons and they will be givenlife sentences. He said thatpeople like Avula Subba Raohad poisoned the minds ofthose who attacked theSecunderabad Railway Station.

He said that in the last fewyears there were no incidentslike the burning of trains andbuses and the Secunderabadincident was a result of thevicious campaign of liesunleashed by the TRS and theCongress.

He pointed out that thenumber of youths joining themilitary was less in Telanganacompared to Uttar Pradesh,Punjab and Bihar.

Do not poison the minds of youth about Agnipath: Gudur‘The Congress and the

TRS are losing ground

in Telangana and they

picked Agnipath to

attack the popularity

of the BJP and Prime

Minister Modi. But

their evil designs will

not work,’ said Gudur

Narayana Reddy said.

Harish ridicules ‘double engine’mantra chanted by BJPPNS n PEDDAPALLI

Minister for Finance andHealth T Harish Rao onTuesday ridiculed the 'doubleengine' manta being chanted bythe BJP leaders. Hauling theBJP State unit leader over thecoal, he asked them to explainhow the BJP-ruled States arelagging far behind TelanganaState in terms of per capitaincome.

Speaking at the TRS districtunit workers' meeting, the percapita income in TelanganaState has grown to Rs 2.78 lakhnow from Rs 1.24 lakh whenthe separate State was formed.He specifically pointed outtaht the per capita income inUttar Pradesh, which is a BJP-ruled state, is just 70,000. Notonly Uttar Pradesh, but alsoseveral BJP-ruled states cannotcompete with Telangana Statein terms of per capital income,he asserted.

'Innovative measures imple-mented by Chief Minister KChandrashekar have propelledthe State to top position,' hesaid. The new State has maderapid strides towards growthand it is still making rapidstrides towards growth, he

said. Harish Rao paid homage to

Telangana ideologue Prof KJayashanakar and said he hadplayed a crucial role in achiev-ing separate statehood forTelangana. The TRS govern-ment had fulfilled the aspira-tions of Prof Jayashankar.

Aspirations of Jayashankarhave been fulfilled after the for-mation of the separate state.Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao hadtaken all steps to take forwardthe ideology of ProfJayashnakar. He recalled thatProf Jayashankar in hisbook,'Nillu, Nidulu and

Niyamakalu,' explained howthe State would benefit if a sep-arate State was formed. AfterTelangana attained statehood,irrigation projects likeKaleshwaram and others cameup, he said. The governmenthas created 2.50 lakh jobs sincethe formation of the State.Before separate States wereformed, not less than 40 percent of vacancies in govern-ment departments were filledby people who hailed from theSeema Andhra region. Nowwith the zonal system cominginto being, not less than 95 percent of jobs would go to localpeople only, he said.

Minister for Finance T Harish inaugurating Mother Child hospital at Manthani inJayashanakar Bhupapally district on Tuesday

Minister calls for adopting yoga as lifestylePNS n SIDDIPET

'Let us adopt as part of ourlifestyle for physical and men-tal well-being,' said Ministerfor Finance and Health THarish Rao here on Tuesday.

The Minister was partici-pating in international yogaday celebrations held at

Konda Bhudevi gardens here.He also did yoga.

Speaking on the occasion,Harish Rao said regular yogapractice can improve thequality of health. It wouldhelp increase lifespan too.Diseases are caused by junkfood being taken on a regu-lar basis. One can overcome

diseases and stay healthy byyoga, he said. Yoga has nobarrier of age, he pointedout. Yoga, walking and suryanamaskar or sun salutationwould help rejuvenate thebody and mind, he said.Effective yoga poses duringpregnancy is helpful in nor-mal delivery, he said.

Minster for Health T Harish Rao meditating yoga as part of International Yoga Day celebrations in Siddipet on Tuesday

PNS n JAYASHANKARBHUPALA PALLY

Former Minister and ManthaniMLA D Sridhar Babu onTuesday represented toMinister for Finance T HarishRao that relief and rehabilita-tion package has so far notbeen provided to the 283 ous-tees of Ladnapur underRamagiri mandal. They are alleligible for the package, he toldthe Minister.

Sridhar Babu, along with thedisplaced persons, submitted amemorandum to Harish Rao,saying that the governmenthad failed to grant relief andrehabilitation package thoughall of those whose land wasacquired for projects were eli-gible for receiving benefits.He urged the Minister toensure that the Revenue andthe Singareni CollieriesCompany authorities pay thecompensation without anydelay. Sridhar Babu also

brought the poor condition ofthe government hospital build-ing to the notice of theMinister. The toilets and thedrainage system of the hospi-tal were in total disarray, he

explained. He appealed toHarish Rao to sanction fundsfor construction of a newbuilding for the hospital. Hebrought to the notice of theMinister that the patients were

forced to go to far-off placeslike Karimnagar andGodavarikhani. He wanted theMinister to ensure that a dial-ysis centre is established in thegovernment hospital.

Displaced persons representing to Minister for Finance T Harish Rao over the government not announcing relief and rehabilitationpackage, in Peddapalli on Tuesday

PNS n MAHABUBNAGAR

Excise Minister V SrinivasGoud has underlined the needfor everyone practicing yoga tolead the life of a completelyhealthy person.

He was participating as thechief guest to deliver his mes-sage to people in connectionwith World Yoga Day here onTuesday celebrations, held atRoyal Function Hall here.

Yoga helps people get peaceof mind and makes themhealthy. Practising yoga cureslong-term diseases like BPand Sugar. That is why every-one should practice yoga daily.

He called for measures toimpart yoga among studentsin all schools in the district. InMahabubnagar, all wards haveparks and there are 10 shedsprovided in parks to practiceyoga. In the island being builtas part of Tank BundDevelopment project, a yogashed would be set up.Similarly, a yoga shed wouldbe set up in the stadium to bebuilt in MVS college. He said

that the city is developingrapidly and home to thebiggest ever eco-park in thecountry - KCR Urban Eco-Park - and 20 other parks inthe city. Ayush medical offi-cer Dr Sujata, NYKCoordinator Kota Naik,District sports developmentofficer Srinivas, MUDA pres-ident Venkanna, Yoga GuruVenkat Ramulu, people's rep-resentatives and others werepresent on the occasion.

‘Yoga for healthy life’

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana Government hasallowed the registration of fivejoint venture projects ofUniversal Realtors from July2022. The decision is a big relieffor over 300 families staying atThe Botanika who have beenwaiting for registering theirproperties. This is also goodnews for the owners of retailspaces in commercial projectslike Platina, Radisson and the LeMeridian Hotel.

With GO No: 1061 issued inMay 2016 coming into forcewith the letter Lr. No:106/Ambience/AE/PC/20005issued on May 7, 2022, to URPLand other developers of HousingBoard lands, the registrationswill commence from July 2022for all existing and prospectiveresidential and commercialproperty owners of the projects

including buyers of Botanika,Platina, Radisson Hotel,Manjeera Trinity and severalothers.Universal Realtors hadbeen supporting its customersand has tried to ensure the res-olution of the property registra-tion issue, said MP Agrawall, theDirector of Universal Realtors.

Agrawall said that as dis-cussed with the Vice-Chairmanand the Housing Commissionerof the Telangana Housing Boardall matters pertaining to com-mercial and technical issueshave been resolved between theJV partners including UniversalRealtors and Telangana HousingBoard.Customers of all theseprojects can now start register-ing their properties from July2022 onwards subject to fulfill-ing the terms and conditions ofthe settlement.

The upcoming projects ofUniversal Realtors in the same

area in Gachibowli likeAmbience ParkView and a com-mercial project have also beencleared as they are also part ofthe settlement with UniversalRealtors. All the projects arebeing executed.

Sandip Patnaik, the ManagingDirector of JLL said, “It’s a wel-come move by the governmentand the Housing Board. Onceregistration of the affected prop-erties of Housing Board com-mences, there will be substantialappreciation in the value of theproperties benefitting a largenumber of property owners asall these properties are underval-ued.”

With the resolution of theproblems facing the projects, thereal estate group now forecastssustained appreciation in thevalue of their projects in the nexttwo years at a faster pace thanpredicted earlier.

Govt okays registration ofUniversal Relators’ 5 JV projects

PNS n NARSAPUR

International yoga trainerM S Arpita Rao has calledupon students to practiceyoga daily to boost theirmemory.

Speaking at a programmeheld in connection withWorld Yoga Day at BVRITCollege here on Tuesday,she asked the students topractice yoga daily to bustthe stress and to get goodhealth besides boosting thememory. Moreover, yogaincreases energy levels ofpeople. Ambular CEOManisha quoted the exampleof how yoga boosts confi-dence levels of people. Shesaid that Arpita Rao, wholost her extremities in a roadaccident in 2006, did not givein to depression, but prac-ticed yoga and leading herlife successfully facing thechallenges confidently.BVRIT Societ SecretaryAditya, BVRIT institutions'vice-chairman RavichandranRajagopal, principal DrLakshmi Prasad, NSS coor-dinator Dasaradharamaiah,manager Bapiraju, profes-sors, staff, students and oth-ers took part in the event.

Students advisedto practise yogato boost memory

Collector wants people tomake yoga part of their life

PNS n NALGONDA

A 28-year-old woman andher two children, below 8years of age, were run over bytrain while they crossing therailway track near Nadikudirailway station in Gunturdistrict. However, police areyet to figure out whether it isa case of suicide or death dueto accident. The deceasedwere identified as Ramyaand her son Rishik Reddy, 8,and Hansika, 6. He belongedto Chaitanyapuri colony ofthe town. The trio was runover by Falaknuma Expresswhile cross the railway track.

Bodies were sent toGovernment Hospital atSattenapalli for preservingin the hospital mortuary.

The Nadikudi police con-veyed the news to her hus-band and other family mem-bers.

Woman, two childrenrun over byFalaknuma Express

PNS n NIRMAL

Students of Rajiv GandhiUniversity of Knowledge andTechnologies (RGUKT)-Basar, called off their week-long protest following thetalks held by Minister forEducation Sabitha IndraReddy on the campus till theearly hours of Tuesday.

The students attended class-es on Tuesday.

The Minister told the stu-dents that she held the talkswith them on behalf of ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao. The students expressedhappiness over the ChiefMinister deputing theMinister for Education toaddress the problems beingfaced by them.

Sabitha Indra Reddy,Secretary of Higher EducationVakati Karun and in-chargeRGUKT Vice-ChancellorRahul Bojja also participated

in the talks. Sabitha IndraReddy entered the campuscarrying an umbrella as itwas raining. She was accom-panied by local MLA G VitalReddy and District CollectorMusharraf Ali Faruqui.

After marathon talks withthe Minister, the studentsannounced their decision tocall off the agitation. TheMinister promised to ensurethat all their problems would

be resolved in a time-boundmanner. The students quotedthe Minister as promising totake steps to release a grantamounting to Rs 5.6 croreimmediately to improve theinfrastructure of the universi-ty.

Earlier, the students refusedto call off agitation thoughMinister for Endowments AIndrakaran Reddy held dis-cussions with the students.

Several political leaders triedto meet the agitating studentsand address them. But thepolice did not allow the polit-ical leaders to enter the cam-pus. The students insistedthat the Chief Minister visitthe campus and address theproblems being faced by them.After holding talks with theMinister for Education, thestudents relented and calledoff the agitation.

RGUKT-Basar students calloff agitation, attend classesAgitating students relented after holding marathon discussions with Minister for

Education Sabitha Indra Reddy that continued till the early hours of Tuesday

Minister for Education Sabitha Indra Reddy with RGUKT-Basar students in Basara on Tuesday

Minister for Excise V Srinivas Goud practisingyoga in Mahabubnagar on Tuesday

PNS n NIZAMABAD

District Collector C NarayanaReddy has called upon one andall to practise yoga and makeit a part of their daily routineto safeguard their physical andmental health.

A yoga session was conduct-ed at Baswa Gardens here onTuesday in connection withWorld Yoga Day, in associationwith NYK, Arogya Raksha,NCC, NSS, Ayush Dept, Art ofLiving, District Youth andSports department and InnerWheel Club. He attracted theattention of all with his ease inperforming yoga postures oneafter the other. Yoga gurusRamchander and Siddiramuluexplained the participants thebenefits of yoga to people.

Women, especially students,stole the show with their skillperforming the yoga asanas.District Collector has a word ofspecial appreciation for them.

Since his days of civil ser-vices training, he said, he madeit his daily routine to practiceyoga. He felt that he is motivat-ed to continue the yoga prac-tice regularly overcoming thebreak in the routine.

Yoga is the part of our cul-ture since long. The yoga edu-cation not only safeguardsone's health but also explainworld at large Indian traditions.

Due to rapid increase offoreign culture, many peopleare ignoring yoga, he said.

Everyone should practice itgoing by multiple benefits itbrings to the practitioner.Practising yoga has nothing todo with age, he said.

He said, "There is no guar-antee that the food we take, thewater we drink and the air thatwe inhale are not pure."

PNS n HANAMKONDA

Minister for Panchayat RajErrabelli Dayakar Rao andseveral other people's repre-sentatives on Tuesday paidrich tributes to ProfKothapally Jayashankar onhis death anniversary onTuesday. Dayakar Rao paidfloral tributes to statue ofJayashankar at Ekashila Parkat Balasamudram here andpaid glowingtributes.Speaking on theoccasion, the Minister saidthat Jayashankar was instru-mental in the formation ofTelangana. He recalled hisservices to the Telanganamovement as the ideologue ofthe separate State. He left anindelible mark on theTelangana movement, hesaid.

Minister paystributes toJayashankar

Nizamabad District Collector C Narayana Reddy participating in InternationalYoga Day celebrations in Nizamabad on Tuesday

nation 05HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 22, 2022

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R Illegal telephone exchange used for spying busted in K'taka

An illegal telephone exchange that allegedly converted foreign calls into local ones to aidspying activities in the country has been busted by the military intelligence and BengaluruPolice, officials said on Tuesday. A 41-year-old man hailing from Kerala's Wayanad district,

identified as Sharafudeen, has been detained during the joint operation by the two agencies.The man is alleged to have placed several mobile SIM cards into electronic devices at four loca-tions in Bagalgunte main road area in theKarnataka capital. Officials said, the illegalactivity "defrauded" the telecom departmentand posed a threat to the security of the coun-try. The agencies got a whiff after they foundthat some Pakistan-based operatives wereusing the exchange to source informationfrom some Indian defence installations."Preliminary investigations have revealed thatthe man, who has been detained, used 58electronic devices to install 2,144 SIM cards atlocations in Bhuvaneswari Nagar,Chikkasandra and Siddheshwar layout."

Odisha CM pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi in Rome

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday paid floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhiat the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Statue at the Piazza Gandhi, a statement issued bythe state government said. After offering his tribute, Patnaik said he was inspired by

the ideals and principles of Mahatma Gandhi. Patnaik is known for spreading the mes-sages of the Mahatma in the state and the country. During the first meeting of theNational Committee for the commem-oration of the 150th birth anniversaryof Mahatma Gandhi in 2018, he hadproposed that the greatest tribute Indiacould pay Gandhiji was to include theuniquely Indian ideal of Ahimsa , ornon-violence, in the Preamble of theIndian Constitution. Quoting MahatmaGandhi, Patnaik had said that there canbe no progress without peace. In2019, Patnaik unveiled the GandhijiTalisman at Lok Seva Bhawan inBhubaneswar.

Mob temporarily disrupts yoga dayevent in Maldives; 6 arrested

Amob on Tuesday stormed and temporarily disrupted an event related to theInternational Day of Yoga at the national football stadium here in the Maldiviancapital which was attended by ambassadors, diplomats and members of the gen-

eral public, attacking some of them and destroying property. In a statement, police saidthat they were treating the incident asa serious issue, and it was underinvestigation by the Serious andOrganised Crime Department. So far,six persons have been taken into cus-tody. Maldives Police Service haslaunched a high priority investigationinto the violent disruption of the eventheld at the National Stadium."Perpetrators had sought to incite fearby forcefully entering, destroyingproperty and attempting to assaultparticipants of the event," said thestatement..

PNS n SINGAPORE

The coronavirus pandemicprovided an opportunity totake yoga online which helpedpeople to address their physi-cal and mental health to copeup with the crisis, yoga instruc-tors and enthusiasts here saidduring the 8th InternationalYoga Day celebrations held bythe High Commission of Indiain Singapore on Tuesday.

Deputy High Commissionerof India Siddhartha Nath,joined by Singapore's SeniorParliamentary Secretary EricChua, led the main yoga cele-bration on the Green Roof ofMarina Barrage with the back-drop of the skyline of the cen-tral business district.

Sixty-eight sessions are beingheld across Singapore cele-brating the Yoga Day weekfrom June 19 to 25, the HighCommission said.

The pandemic gave us anopportunity to connect withmany people in Singapore and

across the world online, saidLatha Kannan, who wasamong the main yoga leadinstructors at the event attend-ed by over 150 yoga enthusiastsin-person and many moreonline from yoga clubs, centresand schools.

I think it (the Covid pan-demic) was a very uniqueopportunity that we could takeyoga to the online platform.People also realise that theyhave to make a big mental shiftfrom working from home togoing back to the workingworld. They need that mentalrelaxation...they need yoga,she underlined.

Kannan, from Vyasa Yoga &Ayurveda Singapore, alsocalled it rain and sunshineyoga as heavy downpour overthe CBD swept over the yogasession attended by over 200enthusiasts at the start thismorning. But the sky was sooncleared and sunshine broughtsmiles on the face of everyoneat the one-hour session.

Northern Army Commander leads1.75L troops, families to perform yoga

‘Yoga helped people to fight stressduring coronavirus pandemic’

PNS n JAMMU

Northern Army Commander LtGeneral Upendra Dwivedi onTuesday led over 1.75 lakhtroops and 75,000 families of theNorthern Command to per-form yoga and complimentedthe soldiers for incorporatingyoga asanas into their dailyroutine in extreme high altitudeareas.

The Army commander per-formed various yoga asanas atthe forward areas of easternLadakh at a height beyond15,000 feet on the InternationalDay of Yoga, a defencespokesman said.

Lt General Dwivedi is on afour-day visit to Ladakh.

A large number of soldiers

under the operational control ofnorthern command and theirfamilies performed yoga withgreat enthusiasm throughoutthe command areas in theUnion territories of Jammu andKashmir and Ladakh, officialssaid.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative,

the campaign on yoga wasspread over last 60 daysthroughout the NorthernCommand from 'Indus toGanges', they said.

"Over 1,75,000 soldiers and75,000 families participated inthe yoga classes with greatenthusiasm throughout the

northern command," thedefence spokesman said.

He said yoga is promoted asa way of life in the Army, espe-cially for the troops deployed inmountainous and high altitudeareas of Northern Command.

"All ranks have imbibed it asa regime to boost their mentaland physical health," he said.

The spokesman said aunique feat has been achievedby the units and formations ofNorthern Command byorganising yoga at iconicplaces like Siachen BaseCamp, Pangong Tso Lake,Peer Ki Gali (Kashmir), NathuAuditorium (Poonch), ItranaPalace (Rajasthan),Gangaghat (Prayagraj) andRezang La.

PM leads Yoga Day, saysyoga brings health, peacePNS n MYSURU

Prime Minister NarendraModi performed Yoga alongwith thousands of participantsat a mass demonstration in thebackdrop of the iconic MysuruPalace here on Tuesday andsaid the physical fitness regimewas forming a basis for coop-eration among countries, andthat it can become a problem-solver.

Leading the main event ofthe International Day of Yoga(IDY) here, Modi said Yogabrings peace to our universeand gave the hope of a healthylife to humanity.

"Yoga brings peace for us,the peace from Yoga is not onlyfor individuals, Yoga bringspeace to our society, nation, theworld and the universe," Modisaid, quoting rishis, maharshisand acharyas.

Speaking after inauguratingthe grand event at 'Amba VilasPalace' here, he said, "thismight feel like an extremethought to someone, but oursages have answered this in a

simple mantra- that this wholeuniverse starts from our ownbody and soul. The universestarts from us and Yoga makesus conscious of everythingwithin us and builds a sense ofawareness."

Averring that things startwith self-awareness and pro-ceed to awareness of the world,he said, "when we becomeaware of ourselves and our

world, we begin to spot thethings that need to be changedboth in ourselves and in theworld. They may be individualproblems or global problemslike climate change and inter-national conflicts."

Observing that spiritual cen-tres like Mysuru have nurturedthe energy of Yoga for cen-turies, calling it the land of"spirituality and Yoga", Modi

said today that energy was giv-ing direction for world health.

Yoga today is not just a partof life, but is becoming the wayof life, and it should not be lim-ited to any particular time orplace, Modi stated.

Pointing out that pictures ofYoga until a few years ago werelimited to houses and spiritu-al centres, the PM said, todaythey were coming from everycorner of the world, and at atime when the world faced thepandemic over the last twoyears, thus depicting the excite-ment towards Yoga Day, leav-ing behind the barriers ofcountry, subcontinent and con-tinent. This proves our vitali-ty.

"Yoga has today become aninternational festival. Yoga isnot limited to any individual,but it is for the whole ofhumanity. So this year'sInternational Yoga Day's themeis Yoga for Humanity," he saidand thanked the UnitedNations and all the countriesfor taking the message of Yogato the entire humanity.

Pact for deployment of retirednavy personnel on merchant shipsPNS n NEW DELHI

To benefit personnel retiringfrom the Indian Navy and pro-vide them opportunity to workon merchant ships, a memoran-dum of understanding has beensigned between the DirectorateGeneral of Shipping and IndianNavy, according to an officialstatement.

The statement further saidthat the Directorate General ofShipping under the Ministry ofPorts Shipping and Waterwayshas issued an order detailing 16transition schemes for IndianNavy personnel to MerchantNavy.

These transition schemeshave been drawn after a detaileddiscussion with Indian Navy, itadded.

The announcement comesamid widespread protestsagainst the recently unveiled'Agnipath' scheme for recruit-ment of soldiers in the armedforces on a short-term contrac-tual basis. The soldiers recruit-ed under this scheme will becalled 'Agniveers'. "Theseschemes enable smooth transi-tion of the retiring Indian Navypersonnel into Merchant Navyby acquiring necessary certifi-cation to work on merchant

ships in accordance with theStandards of TrainingCertification and WatchkeepingConvention of InternationalMaritime Organisation," thestatement added.

According to the statement,the transition schemes caterfor transition of personnelinvolved in engine room workon naval ships that is from rat-ing to artificers to engineers andalso provides options for thoseworking on electrical duties as

well as mechanical engineduties. The statement said thescheme also provides variousoptions to Indian Navy person-nel from NCV Ship to ForeignGoing Ships certification.

The scheme envisages accep-tance of training given by theIndian Navy to its officers andratings and the sea serviceexperience on Indian naval orcargo ships on the basis of a cer-tificate issued by the IndianNavy, it added.

Delhi govt tobegin yogaclasses for kidsPNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi government willsoon roll out yoga classes inits schools so that childrencan learn and practice it froman early age, Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal said onTuesday.

He also said that his gov-ernment will continue toteach yoga to people for freeand that it was on a missionto increase the number ofbeneficiaries manifold.

On the occasion of theInternational Yoga Day, thechief minister performedyoga asanas with hundreds ofpeople at the ThyagrajStadium here. He was joinedby Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia, who alsoholds the education portfolio,and members of 'Dilli KiYogshala', the initiative underwhich the city governmentteaches yoga to citizens forfree.

“Everyone in Delhi shouldbe in good health. Our goalis that everyone in everyhome should perform yogafirst thing in the morning.The most important point isthat yoga should be taught tochildren from an early age.”

PNS n CHANDIGARH

The Haryana government will provide"guaranteed" employment to 'Agniveers'after their four-year stint in the armedforces, Chief Minister Manohar LalKhattar announced on Tuesday.

His statement comes even as the state,like several other parts of the country, haswitnessed massive protests in the last fewdays over the Centre's Agnipath schemeto recruit soldiers into the army, navy andthe air force followed by compulsoryretirement for most without gratuity andpension benefits.

However, the opposition Congressquestioned Khattar how his governmentwill "create another category" beyond the50 per cent reservation to accommodatethe ex-servicemen.

"I announce that anyone (theAgniveers) who wants to join Haryanagovernment services will be given a guar-anteed job. No one will go without a job.We take guarantee for this," Khattar saidat a state-level International Yoga Dayfunction in Bhiwani.

The chief minister said Haryana is thefirst state in the country to ensure jobsfor the Agniveers and that they will beabsorbed in the state's Group C services,which are non-gazetted posts such asclerks, teachers and office assistants,and in the police force.

Khattar also tweeted about theannouncement and said, "I announce that

under the 'Agnipath' scheme, Agniveerswho come back after serving the coun-try for four years will be given jobs inHaryana government with a guarantee."

The chief minister said Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has brought radicalreforms in various spheres and Agnipathwas one such initiative.

His announcement drew criticismfrom the Congress, with senior leaderRandeep Singh Surjewala telling thechief minister not to lure the youths with"lollipops".

"How will you create another catego-ry beyond 50 per cent reservation?

"Then anyone will challenge this addi-tional category created under#AgnipathScheme in court and youth will

again have nowhere to go."Tell the PM to absorb everyone (all

Agniveers) in the army after four years.Don't mislead the youth," Surjewala saidin a tweet in Hindi.

Haryana Bhartiya Kisan Union(Chaduni) chief Gurnam Singh Chaduniin a tweet asked the chief minister torecruit those ex-servicemen who havealready completed their tenure in thearmed forces but are now unemployed.

"Manohar Lal Khattar Ji, have someshame. Why are you fooling the countryby giving false assurance to the youth ofthe country and the soldiers? 55,000 sol-diers in the country retire every year andonly five per cent of them get jobs. Firstgive them jobs," he said.

The Centre had last Tuesday unveiledthe Agnipath scheme under which youthsbetween 17-and-a-half and 21 years willbe inducted in the three services for afour-year tenure.

Twenty-five per cent of the recruits willbe retained for regular service.

He called upon the youth to take apledge on Yoga Day that they will stayaway from drugs and also contributetowards a greener planet.

Khattar said a postgraduate yoga,naturopathy and research institute isbeing established in Jhajjar's Devarkhanavillage. An All India Institute of MedicalSciences specialised in Ayush medicineis also being built in Panchkula and it willbe ready soon, he added.

Assam flood situationcritical, NDRF rushedto Barak ValleyPNS n GUWAHATI

NDRF was rushed to Cacharin Barak Valley of Assam forrescue operations as the floodsituation in Assam remainedcritical on Tuesday withBrahmaputra and Barak riversalong with its tributaries inspate and affecting nearly 48lakh people, officials said.

The devastating flood,trigerred by incessant rainssince last week, has inundat-ed 32 out of 36 districts of thestate in its second spell and 11persons were reported missingduring the last 24 hours, theofficials said.

A total 44 people have lost

their lives so far in floods andlanslides in the state sinceJune 14.

Chief Minister HimantaBiswa Sarma said that fourunits of the National DisasterResponse Force were rushedfrom Bhubaneswar to Silcharto carry out rescue operationsas the flood situation inKarimganj and Cachar dis-tricts worsened due to the ris-ing waters of Barak andKushiyara rivers followingheavy rains. ''Four units ofNDRF from Bhubaneswarwith total 105 personnel havebeen sent to Silchar to carryout rescue operations in BarakValley'', he said.

CJI allays apprehensionon increasing interferenceof domestic courts

Will guarantee jobs to ‘Agniveers' from Haryana post 4-year stint: Khattar

ARBITRATION PROCESS

PNS n NEW DELHI

Chief Justice N V RamanaTuesday allayed apprehensionabout the increasing interfer-ence of domestic courts in thearbitration process and saidthe Indian judiciary treats allparties including foreign enti-ties equally and equi-tably.

In recent years,there has beensome apprehen-sion in the mindsof parties aboutincreasing inter-ference of domesticcourts in the arbitra-tion process. Let meassure you, Indian Courtsare known for their pro-arbi-tration stance. Courts in Indiaassist and support arbitrationand leave the substantive partof adjudication to the ArbitralTribunal itself.

The Indian judiciary isrecognised for giving para-mount importance to the ruleof law. The Indian judiciaryeternally guards the constitu-

tional rights in the world'slargest democracy. You cantrust the Indian judiciary forits absolute independence andits inherent constitutionalstrength to treat all partiesequally and equitably, JusticeRamana said.

The CJI was speaking at theannual meet of Indo

German Chamberof Commerce onthe themeArbitration in aG l o b a l i s e dWorld - TheI n d i a n

Experience atDortmund in

Germany.He said the

Constitutional Courts of India- the High Courts and theSupreme Court - have thepower to judicially reviewevery act of the Government.

They can strike down anylaw that is not in tune with theConstitutional principles.They can also set aside thearbitrary measures of the exec-utive, he said.

The crises in Sri Lanka don’t seem to be getting over anytime soon. Since theisland nation started grappling with its worst economic crisis after running outof foreign exchange and hit severely by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been

unable to find its feet. The situation has become so alarming that even the most essen-tial imports, including food, fuel and medicines, are in limbo. Hundreds of thousandsof motorists keep waiting in miles-long queues for petrol and diesel despite the EnergyMinistry having announced that fresh stocks would not arrive anytime soon. Sri Lankais facing record-high inflation and lengthy power blackouts that have contributed tomonths of protests, calling on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down, who theyaccuse of corruption and mismanagement. The citizens feel that the time for Gotabayato bow down with dignity is long gone and now the best course is to “chase him

out”. In a brazen act, which has anyway become amatter of routine on the streets of the ‘emerald island’,the youth blocked Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry sec-retary from attending a key meeting with officials fromthe International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Things have since come to such a pass that thecountry of 22 million has closed schools and halt-ed non-essential Government services, starting a two-week shutdown to conserve fast-depleting fuelreserves. However, any financial rescue plan with theIMF is not expected until Colombo agrees with itscreditors on restructuring its $51 billion foreign debt,a process that could take months. The country first

defaulted on its debt in April and went cap-in-hand to the IMF, which asked Colomboto raise taxes and restructure loss-making state enterprises, but it made the citizensangrier. To soothe the seething population, Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved an amend-ment to the Constitution that could curtail presidential powers. On the political front,Sri Lanka’s Parliament sessions will be restricted to two days this week instead offour days amid the current fuel supply crisis. The main Opposition Samagi JanaBalawegaya party and the Marxist National People’s Power party have bluntly saidtheir boycott of the sessions was to protest the Government’s inaction in tackling theeconomic crisis. Meanwhile, Indian politicians still have time to learn from the free-bie culture that was widely prevalent in Sri Lanka not too long ago!

Vedanta’s decision to sell its Tuticorin-based Sterlite copper plant is a blow tonot only industrial development in Tamil Nadu but also to the Narendra ModiGovernment’s Make in India programme. And, of course, to the 30,000 peo-

ple who got employment depended on the factory — 5,000 people directly and 25,000indirectly — it’s almost a knockout punch, though not a sucker punch, as we shallsee. It is also a setback to the Central Government’s goal for Aatmanirbhar Bharat,as the plant accounted for two-fifths copper output in the country. The fate of thefactory was hanging in balance for the last four years, after it was shut down bythe State Government in May 2018. This was the aftermath of the police firing on

green activists who were demanding its shutdown.The violence left 13 people dead. According to arecent news report, fisherwomen from coastal ham-lets in the region have submitted a petition to DistrictCollector K Senthil Raj, seeking the reopening ofthe plant. Many other interest groups, including theThoothukudi Contractors’ Association, also wantrevival of the factory. Countering them are the envi-ronment activists who are opposed to any reopen-ing. Meanwhile, Vedanta has decided to exit. Itsrecent official statement said, “The Tuticorin plantis a national... In the best interest of country andthe people of Tamil Nadu, we are exploring options

to make sure that the plant and the assets are best utilised to meet growing cop-per demand of the nation.”

In a written answer in the Lok Sabha, Minister of Mines, Coal and ParliamentaryAffairs Pralhad Joshi had said that the closure of the Sterlite Copper plant at Tuticorinaffected the domestic production of refined copper. The production declined to 410,000tonnes in 2019-20 from 830,000 tonnes in 2017-18, he said. In other words, at thehighest levels there is realisation of the damage the closure of the plant has caused.This realisation, however, has not helped the Sterlite plant. All this underlines, for thenth time, the collective failure of our governance system. It seems to be afflicted witha kind of entropy: everyone knows how important it is to adopt a certain course ofaction, and yet no one is able to do that. The Central Government wants to promoteindustrial development and self-reliance; Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin is report-edly under a great deal of pressure to reopen the Sterlite factory; the local peoplewant it; the employees wait eagerly for the plant to reopen. And yet, it doesn’t hap-pen. It seems that the entire political class is so busy in politicking that it has for-gotten its basic duty and ultimate goal: governance. Political activities are the means,power is the end. When in power, you govern. The meretricious charms of politick-ing seem to be too bewitching for our leaders. Even bad news like de-industrialisa-tion doesn’t free them from their bewitchment.

Exit Vedanta

TAKE CARE OF EMPLOYMENTSir — Alarming unemployment crisis inIndia for the last eight years forced theCentre to announce the Agnipath schemefor short-term recruitment in the armedforces. Thousands of angry unemployedyouth came out on the streets and wenton a rampage, setting trains on fire, torch-ing vehicles, damaging both private andpublic properties and even attackinghouses of leaders of the ruling party. Theprotests spread to various States within ashort span, and continue to spread. Thereality is that it is a general outburst of mil-lions of unemployed youth against theCentre.

The new India under the incumbentGovernment, ironically has the worst levelof unemployment since Independence.The Centre failed to do enough on theunemployment front despite getting aninsider’s view of the growing crisis.Unemployment rose to 6.1 per cent by thebeginning of 2018, according to theNSSO data, which was the highest in 45years. The immediate reasons for thesharp increase in unemployment wasdemonetisation in November 2016, whichled millions of enterprises to shut downand countless others to drastically scaledown their production. The Governmentmust come out with a comprehensiveemployment policy.

Bhagwan Thadani | Mumbai

THE YOUTH ARE CONCERNEDSir — The ongoing agitations by the youthacross the country against the newAgnipath scheme of recruitment in thedefence forces have again exposed the factthat the Government had not learnt anylessons. The intensity of the protest ismore in those States from where the Armyrecruits the most soldiers. Last two yearswere wasted with no appointments madedue to Corona. The recruitment processthat had started after that was abruptlycancelled, as the recruitments of the threeservices will now be done in a fresh startprocess under the Agnipath scheme.

Evidently, behind the anger of theyouth is the worry about the future. Asper the recent data of the Centre forMonitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) datafor April 2022, the unemployment levelamong men in the age group of 15 to 19years was 50 per cent. The pivot of theseprotests is Bihar, where the unemploy-ment rate was found to be 76 for this agegroup. Recruitment in the Army has beenconsidered a surefire career guarantee forthese youth. This is why lakhs of youthof these States spend many years prepar-ing for it.

Amrapali Roy | Tatanagar

YOGA IS A PROCESS, NOT A POSESir — Tuesday was the National Yoga Dayand every year it is celebrated with atheme. The theme for National Yoga Day2022 is “Yoga for humanity”. This year'stheme aims to focus discussions on theimportance of yoga in serving better men-tal health practices in our lives. But what

is yoga? Is it defined as a forenoon exer-cise which you can proudly boast abouton social media or just a tool to lookyoung and beautiful? No, beauty doesnot come from outside adornment.Instead, it should be that of your innerself, the unfading beauty of calm andquiet spirit.

Yoga helps people to feel the best theyhave felt all day. It also helps to reduceheart disease risk, stress and anxiety. Anumber of studies show that people aresuffering more from stress nowadays.Concerns about money , work and econ-omy top the list of most frequently citedsources of stress but amazingly it makessense that the second most cited reasonpeople selected as to why they do yoga wasto relieve stress. So let’s hope that thisNational Yoga Day made us unite our-selves with body, mind and soul.

Ishika Asodiya | Ujjain

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

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HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 22, 2022

06

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Frying pan to fireSri Lanka continues to lurch from one crisis to another with no light in sight

PICTALK

Commuters wade through a flooded road after incessant rains, in Silchar PTI

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

The decision to sell off the Sterlite plant meansthat politicking has again trumped governance

Widespread protests by the Congresscadres, including senior MPs and for-mer Ministers, over Rahul Gandhi’s sum-

moning and questioning by the ED create animpression that the party stands for only theGandhi family. It must be understood that theGandhis are accused of grabbing substantial

assets of the National Herald Trust through thebackdoor without paying anything from theirown pocket. They are alleged to have arrangedto pay a small amount from illicit sources. Thefact that the Congress is not involved in the casenotwithstanding, protests are staged against theED questioning Rahul Gandhi.

It conveys the message that the party sup-porters have no other option but to lend theirsupport to the Gandhis. The Congress is treat-ed as an inheritance of the Gandhi family. Sothe Gandhi family is the be-all and end-all of theparty. In spite of the debacle in the recentAssembly elections, in spite of voices of dis-sent, the self-given supremacy of the Gandhifamily continues in the party. One wonders whysimilar protests were not staged when promi-nent leaders like P Chidambaram were jailed.The party must instead shift focus on the prob-lems faced by the common man.

Venu GS | Kollam

Congress protests are a farce

SOUNDBITETheir (SP andBSP) whole politics revolvedaround family andselfish ends.

UP Chief Minister—Yogi Adityanath

The good newsfrom FATF willrestore confi-dence inPakistan’s econo-my.

Pakistan Foreign Minister—Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari

Commitment to

cleanliness is an

article of faith for

the Prime

Minister.

BJP spokesperson

—Amit Malviya

I feel very good.Technically, itwas very good.The goal isalways to be ontop.

Jamaican sprinter—Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

We have a bit of a

different spin this

year, separating

season four into

two volumes.

Actor

—Gaten Matarazzo

and one pistol. Coincidingwith these incidents, PunjabPolice arrested two personsand recovered anotherImprovised Explosive Deviceequipped with RDX from avillage in Tarn Taran district.

The timely action by thepolice in both the Stateshelped prevent the imminentattacks and the police claimedto have busted a Pakistan-based terror module run byHarvinder Simgh alias Rinda.The investigation revealedthat explosives were suppliedthrough drones from acrossthe border, from Pakistan.Punjab has become a breedingground of criminals and anti-social elements as 70 gangswith over 500 members arereported to be active in theState, with 300 of them lodgedin various jails from wherethey are actively leading theirgangs due to the laxity of theprison authorities. In view ofthe rampant use of socialmedia by these criminals whoglorify gun culture to lurerecruits, the law-enforcementagencies face an uphill task ofapprehending them before it’stoo late. The gangs are organ-ised and networked overseaswith terrorist intentions tothreaten and exhort moneyfrom businessmen based inPunjab.

Some experts feel thatbarring a handful of inci-dents, once in a while, there isno ‘Khalistani movement’ inIndia and abroad the way itexisted in the 1980s. But thepertinent question is: Who isresponsible for these recentattacks? Organisations like theBabbar Khalsa and Sikhs ForJustice have often owned upthe responsibility for theseattacks. Punjab had witnesseda serious phase of militancybetween the mid-1980s toearly 1990s and the demandfor Khalistan remained at theforefront. Undoubtedly, themovement has lost popularsupport but the recent spo-radic incidents should betaken seriously as an apparentattempt to revive the move-ment by the use of fringe ele-ments and vested interests.The chain of events indicatesthat ‘sleeper elements’ havealways been active. It wouldnot be correct to believe thatthe Khalistan movement isdead. There are people with-in the country and abroad whohave vested interests in fuellingthe fire of Khalistan and theyrarely miss any opportunity tofoment trouble in the borderState. With the swearing-in ofthe Bhagwant Mann-led newAam Aadmi PartyGovernment in Punjab, which

is not exposed to handling thiskind of situation, the onus lieson the Central Government toprovide all possible help, sup-port and guidance to the Stateto deal with the unravellingsituation.

In the given situation, it isimperative to build consensuson ensuring peace and stabil-ity in Punjab by rising abovepolitics and party lines andmaking a combined effort tofight the decisive forces benton creating trouble and unrestin the sensitive border State ofPunjab in particular and otheradjoining States of Haryana,Jammu & Kashmir andHimachal Pradesh in general.All these States should form aSpecial Task Force to deal withthe situation and the policeforces of all the four Statesshould work in close coordi-nation to tackle the sensitivesituation. The CentralGovernment, which is also amajor stakeholder in thecountry’s internal security,should provide these Stateplayers all possible help toensure that the “blood -soakedera” of terrorism should not berepeated in Punjab.

(The writer is a seniorjournalist and Chairman,Panwar Group of Institutions,Solan, Himachal Pradesh. Theviews expressed are personal.)

In the face of rising incidents of terror and other illegal activities meantto revive the dormant Khalistan movement, the Govts must act together

PUNJAB HASBECOME A BREEDING

GROUND OFCRIMINALS AS 70

GANGS WITH OVER500 MEMBERS ARE

REPORTED TO BEACTIVE IN THE

STATE, WITH 300 OFTHEM LODGED IN

VARIOUS JAILSFROM WHERE THEY

ACTIVELY LEADTHEIR GANGS

BRIJENDER SINGHPANWAR

Facing menace ofterrorism together

Even as experts dismissthe revival of the‘Khalistan movement’ inthe absence of popular

public support, the recent spateof incidents of attacks and mur-ders by the hardcore criminalsand pro-militant elements spreadacross the northwestern States ofPunjab, Jammu & Kashmir,Haryana and Himachal Pradeshhas clearly indicated the presenceof ‘sleeper cells’ and the activerole of pro-Khalistani elements,obviously, with the support fromvested interests within the coun-try and those based overseas.

On April 29, a clash brokeout between different groups ofpeople in Patiala amid a con-frontation surrounding the hold-ing of a march against the back-drop of the announcement bybanned outfit, Sikhs For Justice(SFJ), to mark the foundationday of ‘Khalistan’. SFJ is a pro-scribed outfit which with itsstrong virtual influence, isknown for radicalising people,raking up bygone sentiments andreviving the movement forKhalistan. On May 8, a few‘Khalistan’ flags were foundhanging on the main gate andboundary walls of the HimachalPradesh Legislative Assemblypremises in Dharamsala. The fol-lowing day, the Babbar KhalsaInternational (BKI), a terrororganisation striving for a sep-arate Sikh state, took responsibil-ity for the act and warned theHimachal Pradesh Governmentto be ready for such incidents infuture as well.

On May 9, the headquartersof the Punjab Police Intelligencewing headquarters in Mohaliwitnessed a rocket-propelledgrenade (RPG) attack. A secu-rity alarm was sure to go off inthe wake of these events, andmore that followed. There is nodenying the fact that the nexusof gangsters, anti-social ele-ments, members of the BabbarKhalsa International andPakistan’s Inter-ServicesIntelligence is behind all theseattacks. On May 6, based on theinputs from Punjab Police,Haryana Police arrested fourpersons from Karnal and recov-ered from them three impro-vised explosive devices (IEDs)

everything. You can always try tolead them to your area of interest.

Keep a cool head. Be observantso that you don’t miss any impor-tant aspect of the question youhave been asked.

Your biodata submitted to therecruiters will be the basis of yourinterview, so be very careful whilefilling up you’re the informationabout you. Know fully well aboutyour home town, district, andstate, and also about the places youstayed for long, your hobbies,your favourite sport and author,the last book you read, and so on.

There are some additional softskills and traits you need to devel-op. Always treat others with thesame respect as you expect fromothers.

There are many who havebeen very successful and have allthe money, education, and luxuriesof life. But there are still many oth-ers who may not be so privilegedor successful; that, however, does-n’t mean that they need to be treat-ed differently.

Respect the rich and the poor,the educated and the uneducated.In fact, help all those who are notso lucky and successful; you maybe the trigger to be successful.

Be humble as you climb theladder of success and do not for-get those who in one way or theother helped you in your journeyupward because you will meetthem on your way down.

Learn to coexist: as you movealong in life, you will get variousopportunities to work with differ-ent people; never hesitate to part-ner with the underprivileged; be ateam player; take everyone withyou. As the legendary businesstycoon Rattan Tata said, if youwant to walk fast, walk alone, butif you want to walk far, walktogether.

Hard work: it is the essence oflife to survive and succeed in thecorporate world or anywhere else.You must be a willing worker andalways ready to take on addition-al work; only then can you provethat you are better than others.

This will always help you dur-ing your annual appraisal as wellas prepare you for the next high-er post. Further, you must bethorough in your work, no onelikes mistakes repeatedly; it doesnot matter how small these mis-takes are or how apologetic you arefor making them. Zero errorshould be the goal.

Humility will always pay yourich dividends, so be humble.Never try to boast that you are bet-ter than others, let your bossdecide that. Always maintain goodinterpersonal relations and beamicable. No one can take awayyour strong points and it will addvalue if you remain humble andamicable.

Always extend a helping handto your peers if they are in a dif-

ficult situation. Don’t expectrewards every time you have donesome good; rewards will find a wayto come to you when due.

Time management is anotherimportant skill you need to devel-op. Try to manage your time well;always plan your work and pro-ceed accordingly. There should besome time for unplanned workalso, because your boss may askyou for something to be donewhich you haven’t planned.

There are only 24 hours in aday and it’s the same time availablefor everyone; it depends how youplan your day and that decideshow effective you are.

Emotional stability andresilience should be your traits. Inlife, there are good days and baddays. Good days everyone likes; it’sthe bad days, and how you dealwith them, that will decide whatkind of stuff you are made of. Youhave to face such times upfront.Don’t sweep the problems underthe carpet, for the dirt will comeout, and then it will be too late toget rid of. Such times are part ofthe learning curve; they will sure-ly add to your experience.

Moreover, this experience willmake you more adaptable in thechanged environments.

Finally, remember what youwant to be and then behave likethat always, irrespective of whereyou are and what you are. Thinklike that and act like that.

Youngsters must getready for career, life

WHERE HAS THE OPPOSITION GONE

ASTRAY? WHAT DOES THE OPPOSITION

WANT AFTER ALL?

—BJP SPOKESPERSON

SAMBIT PATRA

IN A DEMOCRATIC WAY AND BY

WALKING THE PATH OF TRUTH, BRING

DOWN THIS GOVERNMENT.

—CONGRESS LEADER

PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA

Damage to the fragile Himalayas is said to be the reason for mostnatural calamities and severe heating up of the Indian subconti-nent, and even the economic woes. An Indo-US Monsoon study

linked the Himalayas to the formation of cyclones up to South Africa.About 10,000 Himalayan glaciers are receding at a rate of 30 to 60 metresper decade; temperatures are rising with road and dam constructions.Around 10.76 million trees were felled between 2015 and 2018 for devel-opment, as per a Rajya Sabha answer. Thankfully, the Supreme Courthas stayed the chopping of 11,000 trees in Dehradun.

The nation has learnt little from the June 2013 Kedarnath tragedythat wiped out a large chunk of the Himalayas. The cost of damages isdifficult to assess but one can get some idea from the fact Uttarakhandallocates one-third of its annual budget to disaster relief.

Aruanachal’s largest Dibang dam will result in felling 2.7 lakh moretrees. Uttarakhand is often discussed but the North-East is suffering alot. It lost about 1.45 million hectares (Mha) of tree cover between 2001and 2020, amounting to roughly 76 per cent of the country’s total treecover loss, according to a global study by the University of Maryland'sGlobal Land Analysis & Discovery (GLAD) laboratory, released by GlobalForest Watch (GFW).

It says India as a whole lost 1.93 Mha of tree cover in 2001-20,including Uttarakhand’s 50,000 hectares.

Assam has the highest share of the national tree cover loss—14per cent. From 2001 to 2020, the state lost 269 kilo hectare (kha) oftree cover—9.8 per cent decrease. Among other North-Eastern states,Mizoram lost 247 kha, Nagaland 225 kha, Arunachal Pradesh 222 kha,Manipur 196kha, Meghalaya 195 kha and Tripura lost 102 kha tree coverin 20 years, the report said.

Arunachal, with proposed 169 hydropower projects, is in the throesof protests against construction of mega dams over Brahmaputra andits tributaries. The All Assam Students Union, which once pleaded fora dam on Subansiri in 1985, now opposes it.

The no-more-dam movement is popular in Arunachal but not effec-tive as far as resisting the projects is concerned. So now comes theworld’s largest concrete gravity Dibang dam with 2,880 MW capacityin a fragile region. It would lead to clearing 1,165 hectares of rare, tra-ditionally protected biodiversity forest and home to the Idu Mishmi tribe.Hundreds of families in 39 villages of Dibang Valley will be displaced.Sudden meltdown of glaciers is also probable at the dam site.

The pattern is almost a repeat of Kedarnath. DP Dobhal, a seniorglaciologist of the National Institute of Mountaineering, says that expertsuggestions were ignored in the new construction.

Floods, landslides, and forest fires are becoming frequent in theHimalayas as reckless road, rail, and dam constructions, tree felling, blast-ing and tunneling in the fragile hills cause continuous landslides. A WadiaInstitute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) study has found that the land-slide-proneness of 51 per cent of Uttarakhand is ‘high’ and ‘very high.’Local aspirations and big money often lead to undesirable ends.

The recent spate of activities on the higher Himalayas for railwaysto Karnaprayag and comfort zones for tourism is adding to the prob-lems. Today, most dams have only one-third capacity of power gener-ation.

Another side effect of the projects is hundreds of kilometers ofembankment constructions after the Tehri Dam. If the cost of these isadded to that of the Tehri Dam, it would be stupendous.

(The writer is a senior journalist. The views expressed are personal.)

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 22, 2022

07

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FIRSTCOLUMN

RUSH TO BUILD ROADS,DAMS RUINS HIMALAYAS

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

RAVI CHANDERKOCHHAR

The nation has learnt little from the June 2013 Kedarnath tragedy

YOU MUST BEABLE TO

PRESENTYOURSELF AT

ALL TIMES,YOU CAN’T SAY

THAT ONLYWHEN I GO

FOR ANINTERVIEW

THAT I WILLSHAVE, WEAR

A TIE ORDRESS UPSMARTLY

(The author is RearAdmiral (Retd), AVSM,NM, VSM, and GroupPro-Vice-Chancellor,

Amity University,Uttar Pradesh.)

Presidential elections arethe buzz of the season asIndia is poised to get its

new President next month fol-lowing the end of the incum-bent Ram Nath Kovind’s term.Since Independence, these pollshave witnessed close contests,surprises, and upsets.Generally, the ruling party getsits candidate elected, and thecontests are a mere formality.The Opposition, too, puts up acandidate as a symbolic gesture.

This time, the rulingNational Democratic Allianceand the Opposition are lookingfor a suitable candidate. Theelectoral college—consistingof 776 members of Parliament(543 from the Lok Sabha, 233from the Rajya Sabha) plus4,809 members of state legisla-tive assemblies—will elect thenext President on July 18. The

Modi government is comfort-able even as it is short of therequired majority mark (lessthan 20,000 votes). To fill thisgap, the BJP might rope in neu-tral parties like the BJD, YSRCP,and the AIADMK

In the past 75 years ofIndia's Independence, fromfirst president Rajendra Prasadto Ram Nath Kovind, NeelamSanjiva Reddy (sixth presi-dent) was the only unopposedindependent who won thepresidential race in 1977. Theelection authorities had reject-ed 36 other nominations.

Ironically, a decade earlier,in one of the most nail-bitingpresidential polls, the sameCongress Party's official candi-date, Sanjiva Reddy, had lost toindependent V.V. Giri, sup-ported by Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi. Before and after

that, the official candidatescarried the day. The Congressparty split took place afterthat.

Everyone looks to theRashtrapati Bhavan after everygeneral election if no party getsa majority, as the Presidentinvites the majority party leaderto form the government. Someof them faced tricky issuesand handled them in differentways.

Presidents like R.Venkataraman, Shankar DayalSharma, and K.R. Narayanantook sensitive and controversialdecisions during their terms.Sharma gave the BJP leaderAtal Bihari Vajpayee, the leaderof the single largest party, achance to form the 13-daygovernment in 1996. However,the government fell because itcould not mobilize support

for a majority.When Indira Gandhi was

assassinated in 1984, PresidentZail Singh installed her sonRajiv Gandhi in strange andtragic circumstances.

It would have been idealhad the relationship betweenprime ministers and presidentsbeen smooth. RajendraPrasad's letters speak of the dif-ferences between him andNehru on the Hindu CodeBills. Sanjiva Reddy and IndiraGandhi were not on the samepage. Giani Zail Singh andRajiv Gandhi did not hit it off.PV Narasimha Rao andSharma were also not on thebest of terms.

Presidential polls have wit-nessed some surprising candi-dates. In 2002, Vajpayee sprunga surprise and chose the'Missile man' APJ Abdul Kalam

as the presidential candidate.For the first time, Congress andthe BJP supported his candida-ture. In 2007, the Congressdecided to support PratibhaPatil against the NDA's BhaironSingh Shekhawat. It was a closefight, resulting in the victory ofPatil, who became the firstwoman president.

In 2012, Congress leaderPranab Mukherjee got the sup-port of the Left and otherOpposition parties to win thepolls.

Kovind was a completesurprise, and he is finishing histerm without any controversy.Prime Minister Modi mightspring another surprise thistime.

What kind of President dowe need? Most occupants ofRashtrapati Bhavan had beenmen of stature, some of whom

won the highest civilian titleBharat Ratna—SRadhakrishnan (1954), Prasad(1962), Zakir Hussain (1963),VV Girit (1975), and AbdulKalam (1997).

Secondly, most communi-ties and professions had achance to see one of their ownoccupied Rashtrapati Bhavan.Narayanan was the first Dalitpresident (1997), Abdul Kalamthe first scientist (2002), andPatil the first woman (2007).

Three Muslims—ZahkirHussian, Fakruddin AliAhmed, Abdul Kalam—andone Sikh, Zail Singh, have beenpresidents. The only twoprominent groups not repre-sented since Independencehave been OBCs and tribals. So,the ruling dispensation mightfield a candidate from eithercommunity.

Thirdly, the person shouldnot be a rubber stamp, asFakruddin Ali Ahmed wasperceived to be. Presidents likeNarayanan, Pranab Mukherjee,and Venkataraman had beenrule-book presidents andassertive.

In the next few days, we willknow the names of the candi-dates. As of now, Prime MinisterModi keeps his cards close to hischest. The Opposition is yet toarrive at a consensus candidate.

Modi is reaching out to theOpposition as he should. Itwould be ideal to have a con-sensus President. In thesepolarised times, a widely-respected person and a consen-sus candidate would be perfect.After all, as the country's high-est constitutional functionary,the President is also theguardian of the Constitution.

While Prime Minister Modi keeps his cards close to his chest, the Opposition is yet to arrive at a consensus candidate

Prez poll: Ideal to have a consensus candidate

(The writer is a senior journalist. The views

expressed are personal.)

KALYANI SHANKAR

SHIVAJI SARKAR

At this time of the year, studentshaving completed their gradua-tion and post-graduation aregetting ready for joining the cor-

porate world or getting any other job oftheir choice in accordance with their qual-ifications.

The academic part of their competen-cy is tested through examinations as partof their selection process. Those havingcrossed the laid-down threshold would begetting ready for the next stage of theselection process—group discussions,interviews, etc.—for placements to grabwhat best is available. There is still a dearthof jobs in India.

This makes proper self-groomingvery important, for youngsters have to facethe world. Life is not always a bed of roses;there are ups and downs, but once you areready to face challenges, you will do farbetter than others.

After your academic excellence, softskills are the next most important require-ment. You must be able to present your-self at all times, you can’t say that onlywhen I go for an interview that I willshave, wear a tie, or dress up smartly.

You have to remember that each day,every moment you are being observed. Itis not that you must have expensive clothesbut one must be meticulously dressed up.

Communication skills are the nexthighest priority; it is the way you commu-nicate with others. One doesn’t necessari-ly have to have very high-flown English butone must be grammatically correct. Easy-to-pronounce words will do the trick. Forthis, one has to practice and practice; ifneeded, stand in front of the mirror andspeak to yourself; you will see a markedchange in the way you communicate.

One must do a lot of reading, be itnewspapers, books or even fiction. It’s thesure way to improve communicationskills. Also try to talk to your friends anddiscuss the current national and interna-tional issues, so as to be more comfort-able when interacting with others.

Before you go for the most importantevent called an interview, you must fullyprepare yourself to face it. Sometimesthere’s only one person who interviewsyou, or two persons. There can also be aboard to consider your candidature. Youmust do adequate research and readeverything about the prospective employ-er, company or organisation, and also, ifpossible, about those likely to be there forinterviewing you. These days everythingis available on Google and you must useit to your advantage.

It goes without saying that you mustreach the interview destination well intime so that you can familiarise yourselfwith the surroundings. Ensure that thereare no delays due to a traffic jam.

During the interview, never lie or offeranswers you are not sure about. If youdon’t know something say so; you are notGoogle that you ought to know each and

After your academic excellence, soft skills are the next most importantrequirement since each day, every moment you are being observed

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 22, 2022 Money 08

MO

NE

Y M

AT

TE

RS

IKEA, a leading Swedish home furnishings retailer, on Tuesday said it will open thedoors to its largest store in India so far, at Nagasandra in Bengaluru, here on June22.With a planned investment of Rs 3,000 crore in Karnataka, IKEA is expecting to

attract close to 5 million visitors this year in Bengaluru, the company said.The Nagasandra Store is IKEA's fourth store in India, it said in a release, adding that thestore will be an iconic landmark in the city,providing home furnishing solutions cateringto the diverse needs of the family.The store will also house one of the largestchildren's play areas, Smaland', along with a1,000-seater restaurant and a bistro serving amix of Swedish and Indian delicacies withmany vegetarian and vegan food options tochoose from, it added."We have a long-termcommitment to Karnataka to create a positiveimpact on the local economy through ourbusiness. With our growing retail presence,IKEA India will be a strong contributor toincrease the overall home furnishing market.

New equated monthly instalment scheme introduced by power ministry can helpelectricity distribution companies (discoms) save a quarter of their additionalpayouts and clear around Rs 20,000 crore payments to generation firms (gencos)

this fiscal, according to Crisil Ratings."Electricity distribution companies (discoms) couldpotentially save a quarter of their additional payouts, and effectively pay Rs 20,000 croreto generation companies (gencos) this fiscal in addition to their annual cost of powerpurchase if they subscribe to theministry of power's new scheme,"Crisil said in a statement.Under thisscheme, overdues, including pastLate Payment Surcharge (LPS) ason the cut-off date of June 3, 2022,will be converted into EquatedMonthly Instalments (EMIs) thatdiscoms have to pay over 12 to 48months, based on different slabs.Ifdiscoms clear the fresh dues andEMIs on time, going forward, theywon't be billed for LPS by gencos, itstated.

CK Birla Group firm, Hindustan Motors Ltd on Tuesday said it has agreed to sell its'Contessa' brand to SG Corporate Mobility Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed sum.Thecompany has executed a brand transfer agreement with SG Corporate Mobility Pvt

Ltd on June 16, 2022 for the transfer of the Contessa brand, including the trademarkshaving application number and certain related rights of the brand, Hindustan Motors saidin a regulatory filing.The transfer of thebrand shall be effective upon fulfilment ofthe terms and conditions as prescribed inthe agreement, it added.Contessa was apremium sedan sold in India by HindustanMotors during the 1980s to early 2000s. Itwas positioned above the company's thenpopular model Ambassador.While itsucceeded in creating a mark for itself inthe market, the entry of players like MarutiSuzuki, Hyundai, Ford and others in theIndian market posed a stiff challenge tothe brand, which it could not withstandand led to its phasing out.

Hindustan Motors to sell ‘Contessa'brand to SG Corporate Mobility

Monthly instalment scheme can help discomssave one-fourth of additional payout to gencos

IKEA to open its largest store in Indiaso far in Bengaluru

PNS n NEW DELHI

Union minister Piyush Goyalhas expressed hope that thefree trade agreement betweenIndia and the United Kingdomwill be concluded by Diwali.

The minister for commerceand industry and textiles saidthat the government is movingahead on free trade pacts withCanada, European Union andthe UK.

Moreover, Goyal informedthat Australia, Israel and theGulf Cooperation Countrieshave expressed interest to forgeFree Trade Agreements (FTAs)with India, along with Eurasiaand Brazil.

The Gulf CooperationCouncil (GCC) is a politicaland economic union of Arabstates bordering the Gulf. It wasestablished in 1981 and its sixmembers include the United

Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia,Qatar, Oman, Kuwait andBahrain.

Diwali in October was set asa timeline for a draft FTA afterBritish Prime Minister BorisJohnson's talks with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi dur-

ing the former's visit to thecountry last month.

"All countries are eager tomake friendship with India, aswe offer huge opportunity andpromise. We are moving aheadon FTA with Canada, EU, UK.Australia, Even GCC and Israel

along with Eurasia and Brazilhave shown their interest toforge FTA with India. I amhopeful that by Diwali, India-UK FTA will be concluded,"Goyal said.

He was addressing at theinauguration of the 67th IndiaInternational Garment Fair atGreater Noida on Monday.

He observed that apparel,fashion jewellery and MICE(Meetings, Incentives,Conferences and Exhibitions)are three industries whereIndia has to grow.

Total trade between Indiaand the UK stood at USD 16billion in FY22 (Apr-Feb). TheUK was India's 17th largesttrading partner during theperiod.A free trade agreementis a trade pact according tointernational law to form a freetrade area between the coop-erating states.

Hopeful for conclusion of India-UKfree trade agreement by Diwali: Goyal PNS n MUMBAI,

GMR Infrastructure Limitedon Tuesday said it will givepriority in jobs to Agniveersin its subsidiary firm RAXASecurity Solutions Ltd.

RAXA Security Solutionsprovides man-guarding ser-vices, techno security solu-tions, fire and cyber securi-ty services.

The central governmenthas recently launched theAgnipath scheme for youthwilling to join the ArmedForces and serve the coun-try.Inspired by the scheme,GMR Infrastructure hasdecided to give high prior-ity to Agniveers who arewilling to pursue a newcareer in the private securi-ty domain and offer thememployment in its securityf irm RAXA SecuritySolutions for a variety ofassignments, the companysaid in a statement.

GMR Infra to give priorityin jobs to Agniveers in itssecurity solutions arm

PNS n DOHA

it is not easy for an airline tooperate in India and if the TataGroup cannot make Air Indiawork, no one else in the coun-try will be able to do so,Emirates President Tim Clarkhas said.Air India should be as big asUnited Airlines. It should be asbig because of its domesticmarket as well as the non-res-ident Indians (NRIs) abroadand the amount of economicactivity that goes in and out ofIndia. It is a goldmine, Clarksaid on Monday.While Air India currently hasapproximately 128 planes in itsfleet, Chicago-based UnitedAirlines has 860-odd aircraft.You (India) have got a billionpopulation with an NRI dias-pora which is so big and grow-ing all the time that for thenotion that Air India would notbe one of the largest interna-tional carriers in the worlddefies all sense, Clark said hereon the sidelines of the 78thannual general meeting ofInternational Air TransportAssociation (IATA).The Tata Group took control ofloss-making and debt-ridden

Air India on January 27 aftersuccessfully winning the bid forthe airline on October 8 lastyear.Clark stated, I think the bestthing that could have hap-pened to Air India was for Tatasto take it over. I am probablythe only one in this room whoflew on Air India when it wasrun and owned by Air India.And it was a great airline. Oneof the first airlines to buyBoeing 707 aircraft in 1959 or1960, whenever it was.He said that for decades, AirIndia has continued to be asmall player on the internation-

al scene.India's international passen-ger market is dominated byinternational airlines likeEmirates, one of two flag car-riers of the United ArabEmirates.Emirates -- which operates 170flights connecting Dubai withMumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru,Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi,Kolkata, Ahmedabad andThiruvananthapuram -- carriesa significant number of Indianpassengers from India toEurope and US with one stopin Dubai.While Air India remained a

small player on the internation-al passenger market fordecades, there have been mul-tiple casualties in the Indianaviation market like Kingfisher,Clark noted.Many of the privatecarriers in India have done theirlevel best under extraordinar-ily difficult conditions, not theleast of which is that the fuelprices in India are extremelyhigh because the governmentputs a lot of tax on them, hestated. So, it is not easy to oper-ate in the Indian market eventhough the population is pret-ty upwardly mobile and gettingmore mobile over time.

‘If Tatas can't make Air India work, no one else can in India’

PNS n MUMBAI

The rupee declined 12 paiseto close at 78.10 (provision-al) against the US dollar onTuesday, as persistent foreignfund outflows and a jump incrude oil prices weighed oninvestor sentiment.At the interbank foreignexchange market, the localcurrency opened at 78.00and finally ended at 78.10,down 12 paise over its previ-ous close.On Monday, therupee had appreciated 7 paiseto settle at 77.98."This wasanother quiet day for therupee even after strong inter-market cues. Global equitiesare up while the dollar isdown against major tradingcurrencies," said DilipParmar, Research Analyst,HDFC Securities.Parmar further said highercrude oil prices and yieldsrestricted gains in the rupee."The USD-INR has been inthe range of 77.95 to 78.10after touching an all-timehigh of 78.28 on June 13.

Rupee drops 12paise to 78.10against US dollar

PNS n NEW DELHI

The 5G subscriptions in Indiawill touch 500 million by 2027-end, accounting for 39 per centof mobile subscribers, accord-ing to a report by Swedish tele-com gear maker Ericsson.

The commercial launches of5G networks are planned forthe second half of 2022 inIndia, with enhanced mobilebroadband expected to be theinitial main use case, theEricsson Mobility Report said.

5G will represent around 39per cent of mobile subscrip-tions in the region at the endof 2027, with about 500 millionsubscriptions, it predicted.

"Total mobile data traffic inthe India region is estimated togrow by a factor of fourbetween 2021 and 2027. Thisis driven by high growth in thenumber of smartphone usersand an increase in average

usage per smartphone," ThiawSeng Ng, Head of NetworkEvolution, SEA, Oceania andIndia at Ericsson said.

The average data traffic persmartphone in the India regionis the second highest globally.

Further, it is projected to risefrom 20 GB per month in 2021to around 50 GB per month in2027, growing at 16 per centCAGR.In India, where 5Gdeployments have yet to begin,

5G is expected to account fornearly 40 percent of all sub-scriptions by 2027. In globalterms, 5G is forecast to accountfor almost half of all subscrip-tions by 2027, topping 4.4 bil-lion subscriptions.NorthAmerica is expected to lead theworld in 5G subscription pen-etration in the next five yearswith nine-of-every-ten sub-scriptions in the region expect-ed to be 5G, by 2027.

5G subscriptions in India could be500 million by 2027-end: Report

Investors richer by over Rs 5.77 lakh cr as markets rallyPNS n NEW DELHI

Equity investors became rich-er by over Rs 5.77 lakh crore onTuesday, helped by a rally in thebroader market where the BSEbenchmark jumped nearly 2 percent.

The BSE Sensex zoomed934.23 points or 1.81 per cent tosettle at 52,532.07.

Driven by the rally in equities,the market capitalisation ofBSE-listed firms jumped by Rs

5,77,006.83 crore to stand at Rs2,40,63,930.50 crore.

"Absence of fresh selling trig-gers in the domestic and glob-al economy along with fallingcommodity prices relieved theheavily discounted equity mar-ket to showcase recovery. Therecovery indicates that the cur-rent uncertainties of inflationand monetary policy tighteninghave been factored in," saidVinod Nair, Head of Researchat Geojit Financial Services.

PNS n NEW DELHI

State-owned Oil and NaturalGas Corporation (ONGC) isseeking a minimum USD 17price for the gas it plans to pro-duce from coal seams in itsBokaro CBM block inJharkhand.

ONGC invited bids for thesale of 0.20 million standardcubic metres per day of gas itplans to produce from theBokaro CBM block by theyear-end, according to a tenderdocument.

It sought bids on a formulaindexed to the prevailing Brentcrude oil price.

The reserve or floor price ofgas will be 14 per cent of the

Dated Brent crude oil Priceplus USD 1 per million Britishthermal unit, ONGC said inthe tender.

Bidders will have to quote apremium they are willing tooffer over this reserve price.

The floor price will be thegovernment-mandated pricefor domestic natural gas plus aUSD 1 per mmBtu mark-up.

The "Contract Gas priceshall be the higher of the 14 percent of Dated Brent Price plusUSD 1 per mmBtu plus 'P' (thebiddable parameter); or thefloor price," it said.

At the current Brent crudeoil price of USD 115 per bar-rel, the reserve gas price comesto USD 17 per mmBtu.

The government-mandatedprice of domestic gas is cur-rently USD 6.1 per mmBtu.

The price sought by ONGCis in line with recent industrytrends.

In March, RelianceIndustries Ltd sold coal-bedmethane (CBM) gas from a

Madhya Pradesh block for overUSD 23 per mmBtu to firms,including GAIL, GSPC andShell.

ONGC said the gas will beavailable for sale fromDecember 15. "The gas will beoffered for a fixed term of 1year."

ONGC holds an 80 per centstake in the Bokaro coal-bedmethane (CBM) block whilethe remaining 20 per cent iswith Indian Oil Corporation(IOC).

State gas utility GAIL (India)Ltd will provide pipeline con-nectivity for the gas to betransported to users.

E-auction will be held onJuly 20.

ONGC seeks minimum $17 price for Bokaro coal gas

India ranks 4th in global gold recycling;recycled 75 tonnes in 2021: WGCPNS n MUMBAI,

India has emerged as thefourth largest recycler in theworld and the country hasrecycled 75 tonnes in 2021,according to a World GoldCouncil (WGC) report.

According to the WGCreport titled 'Gold refiningand recycling', China toppedthe global gold recycling chartas it recycled 168 tonnes of theyellow metal, followed by Italyin the second position with 80tonnes and the US at thethird rank with 78 tonnes in2021.

India was ranked fourth inthe list as the country recycled75 tonnes in 2021.

According to the WGCreport titled 'Gold refiningand recycling' from 300tonnes in 2013, India's goldrefining capacity increasedby 1,500 tonnes (500 per cent)in 2021.The report furthernoted that the gold refininglandscape in the country haschanged over the last decade,with the number of formaloperations increasing fromless than five in 2013 to 33 in

2021.While the informal sec-tor accounts for as much as anadditional 300-500 tonnes, itis worth noting that the scaleof unorganised refining hasfallen, largely due to the gov-ernment's tightening of pollu-tion regulations.

On the other hand, taxadvantages have underpinnedthe growth of India's goldrefining industry like theimport duty differential ondore over refined bullion hasspurred the growth of organ-ised refining in India.

Britannia to strengthen cake portfolio, work on regional flavours PNS n NEW DELHI

Bakery food companyBritannia Industries will seekto tap opportunities in thecake category through thelaunch of innovative productsat different price points andexpansion in rural markets,according to the company's lat-est annual report.

Britannia's strategy is tostrengthen the cake portfolioby launching new products,premiumising and growingthe base cake portfolio and cre-

ating new-to-market formats ataffordable price points.

"This category offers variousopportunities for launch ofinnovative products at differ-ent price points and expansionin rural markets," it said.

However, the category alsofaces a primary threat frominflation in commodity pricesand the emergence of disrup-tive formats at entry-level pricepoints, said Britannia.

Moreover, overall the indus-try growth in the cake segmenthas been affected due to school

closures on account of thepandemic, decline in out-of-home consumption and slug-gish economic conditions, itadded.

For its flagship biscuit busi-ness, Britannia is working ondiverse regional preferencesand will continue to build onlocalised strategies to win in'many Indias'.

It has introduced Milk BikisAtta in the Hindi-speakingstates, Britannia 50-50 Golmaalfor eastern markets and recent-ly Marie Gold Jeera, which hasbeen developed in partnershipwith selected homemakers inTamil Nadu by curating localflavours from their kitchen, tocater the taste buds of the state.

The report further noted that the goldrefining landscape in the country haschanged over the last decade, withthe number of formal operationsincreasing from less than five in 2013to 33 in 2021.

Tlevision'sfavouritecouple Rohit Reddy and

Anita Hassanandani havealways set the right exampleby being equal parents to theirson Aarav. The couple sup-porting the Pampers #ItTakes2campaign took to social mediaand spoke about the need forboth mother and father to beequally involved in raising achild and spoke candidlyabout sharing childcareresponsibilities.

A survey done by an inde-pendent body reveals that‘92% dads regret spending lesstime with their baby’.

The diaper brand came witha film to raise awareness aboutthe imbalance in parentalduties that exists. Even today,caring for a baby is primarilyseen as the responsibility ofthe mother. She is the leadcaregiver of the child from thetime the baby is born. But dueto this generation old condi-

tioningfathers oftenmiss out onthe impor-tant mile-stones of

their child only to regret itlater in life.

The film demystifies the tra-ditional belief that caring for ababy is only the responsibilityof a mother and urges fathersto take charge and leave noroom for regret when it comesto bringing up their children.

Agreeing with the campaignand speaking about parentingnorms, Rohit Reddy said,“Fathers often feel thatParental duties like changing ababy's diaper, feeding them, orputting them to sleep don’tcome easy to them but womenare naturals at it. This is nottrue- the women are learningtoo (especially first-timemoms) but they have no inhi-bitions about it unlike men.But because I was determined

to fullyenjoy and partic-

ipate in being anequal parent with

Anita, I learnt with her as Idid not want to miss any ofAarav’s precious growing upmoments. The childhood ofyour baby is precious. Equalparenting not only strengthensthe bond of the child withboth mother and father, but italso helps the mother to relaxand rest, which is vital afterchildbirth. I urge all dads outthere to get involved andequally parent their child,trust me it’s a gift and thebond that you form with yourchild and your partner ispriceless.”

Anita Hassanandani added,“Rohit has been an equal par-ent from Day 1 (in fact if I’mbeing honest, he’s been ahands-on dad from the day

thestrip

turnedpink) and it's

because ofhim, I could

manage mywork com-mitments

so quicklyafter Aarav’s

birth. I was a nervous wreckwhile he was calm and com-posed when Aarav came toour world. As a couple, wetook a conscious decision toshare the responsibilities thatcome with being parents.Pampers #BaapBannaPadtaHaihas put the spotlight on allnew age dads to not rest theentire load of child rearing onthe mother. Before we becomemothers or fathers, we becomeparents and that is by choice.So, nothing should stop menfrom being a totally involvedand invested parent to theirchild.”

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

WednesdayJune 22, 2022

The world is celebrating pridemonth, and Hyderabad is no less.On Saturday, Hyderabad witnessed

its first ever Drag king show at PaarmaRaama café, jubilee hills Hyderabad.

For the first time in the city, TheFirefly community, in association withDragvanti, started a Drag king show withlimited to no representation of main-stream queer and AFAB women in queerculture to make Hyderabad a happy andsafe space to explore drag by queerwomen.

Hence, they wanted to celebrate 'Ourvery own drag kings of Hyderabad.'Rowdy LP, The Godfather, Kiran Raj andAkki were the 4 Drag kings that per-formed in the show. The show startedwith a dance by Kiran raj, a transgender

male and treasurer of STAR organisation(Society for transmen action and rightsgroup). The second performance wasThe Godfather, singing and dancing withthe audience. It continued with RowdyLP's interactive stand-up.

The show ended with Akki enactingas Pushpa and dancing to desi boys,fishing her performance with apoem 'What women want ?'.The event was filled withdance, music, skits, mimic-ry, stand-up, colours andpeople cheering andencouraging the dragkings performing.

Kiran Raj, a dragking, said, “I wasborn a woman,

but I iden-tify as aman now,and itwas achalleng-ing jour-ney. I waslike anyIndiangirl, withrestrictionsand all thevalues taught toa girl in an Indianhousehold. However,the masculine part inme was evident and some-thing I could not deny. I knewI wanted to change, and I havestruggled to be where I am. In2017, we started the STAR in APand Telangana but registered as aCBO in 2019. My main purpose inparticipating today is to give othertransmen the confidence andmotivation to showcase their tal-ent.”

Akki, a 29-year-old Drag king,said, “This is my first perfor-mance. I was very excited and, atthe same time, equally nervous. Itis a different experience, perform-ing in front of an audience for acause. I hope everybody liked andenjoyed my performance today.We will be more prepared to domore events. Drag is an art formwhere people can be themselvesand artistically express themselves.I have massive respect for Drage,

and I thank everyone for coming.”Apoorva, a.k.a Rowdy LP, said,

“This was my second drag show,and the response was so warm. It isamazing to see queer folks andAllies in one room. When I seedrag, it is not a drag queen or kingperforming, but a person using dragto mess with gender and identity.Drag is freedom of expressionbecause gender is fluid and it is nottrapped in the binaries. Drag kings areimportant to create space for Afab,queer women, and transmen toexpress and experience this.”

The Godfather, another dragking, said, “I am a gendernon-conforming person. Iwas having a tough timewith my identity, identi-fying myself or givingmyself a lable andthat is when Ilearned aboutdrag. I thinkit is a plat-formwhere

youcan

expressyourselffreely withno barriers, andthat is how I start-ed performing drag.The crowd here is fantas-tic, and the event was terrif-ic. I can feel such pure andvibrant energy here, such a pureexperience and soulful perfor-mances. This is my first drag as a per-former, but I have organised many dragqueen shows before. This is a spacewhere one can show their colours, andrather than judging you, people appreci-ate you. Moreover, that is what drives meto be myself.”

Swag wala drag show

TEJALSINHA

Karan V.Grover,is a suc-

cessful name in thetelevision industry,

and one of the mostloved actors of all time.

With his charm and acting,he has gained an immense fan

following over the past severalyears.He is best known for his portray-

als of Arjun in Saarrthi, Karan Prasadin Yahan main Ghar Ghar Kheli,

Shantanu Kant in Bahu Hajari Rajnikant,Dr. Rohit Sippy in Kahaan Hum KahaanTum and Angad Maan in Udaariyaan,among the rest.

At present, he is all set for his upcomingshow Bohot Pyaar Karte hai, which will beaired on the first week of July on StarBharat.

The plot of the show revolves arounda heartbroken Indu (played by Sayali

Salunkhe), who felt that life wasunfair to her until she crossed

paths with Zoon (played byKiara Sadh), a new-born

orphaned baby, anddecides to nurture her.

Zoon is one of thosefew who loves

and cares forIndu

uncondi-tion-

ally,but also

feels an absence ofa father figure in her life. Ritesh (played by Karan V

Grover), a famous Bollywood actor,has everything a man desires but a con-

nection in which he can pour his heart out.He is guilt-driven from an incident in thepast with a wound so deep, but somehowmanages to carry a smile that is sold in thename of stardom. Due to a twist of fate,Ritesh misunderstands Indu as a motherfigure to Zoon and unknowingly creates ahuge ruckus in her life, leading to a custodybattle between Indu and Zoon’s biologicalparents. Indu confronts him and he realiseshis mistake and decides to marry Indu tosave Zoon, whom he has started to lovedearly and has formed a connection with.Both Indu and Ritesh love Zoon but hateeach other.

Further, in the show, we get to see answers toquestions like "Will this marriage survive?" WillZoon bridge the gap between Indu and Ritesh?Will her dream of a "perfect" family be fulfilled?

Explaining more about his character, heinforms us, “I am playing the role of a guynamed Ritesh Malhotra who is a film star.He is basically a new-age actor. You’ll seeeverything that you see in a new aged actorthese days; how their life is public, howthey show different aspects of their life,how they battle out differentthings; their relationship,their work, money. This issomething I have neverdone before. Playing anactor is not as easy aseveryone thinks because

I’m an actor and every-one would think it

would be easy.”We haveseen

Karanplay

different characters,but this time he

shares that play-ing the charac-

ter of an actoris not as easyas it maylook. Headds, say-ing, “I’veneverplayed thecharacterof a moviestar or anactor.

When yousay ‘differ-

ent,’ thepremise

changes, theinteraction with

people changes, theposition that he is in

changes, and the way hewould interact with normal people

changes.”Since he has also played the roles of a

doctor in Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum, and a

scientist, in Bahu Hamari Rajnikant, hecompares how these characters were differ-ent from the ones he will be playing in thenew show. He says, “How a doctor interactswith normal people is different. It’s his jobto interact with normal people (he laughs).A scientist never interacts with normalpeople. It’s very different how differentpeople interact with differentpeople.”

He further reveals to usthat Sayali Salunkhe, whoplays the female lead,Indu Malhotra a trafficcop. He talks about hisexperience workingwith her, saying, “As faras I know, Sayali playsa traffic cop. She workswith the RTO depart-ment. Our meet-ings are veryfunny anddifferent. Ofcourse,she’s asweet

and wonderful professional actor. We’vehardly worked for around one day together.We haven’t worked much together. Shecomes across as very sweet and very help-ful. I genuinely look forward to makingsome amazing scenes with her."

The Udaariyan star is someone whowould love to work with his friends if givenan opportunity. He further adds, "I’malways excited to start something new. If Iget an opportunity to work with my friendsand people I’m fond of, so why not? Firstly,I’m very thankful and always fond ofSandeep Sikcand. He gives me some won-derful roles and characters to play.Secondly, Fazila Allana and KamnaMenezes are the producers, and I thinkthey are one of the best productions in thecountry to work with. The biggest of themall, is Star Network, I have been associatedwith and part of the family for years nowand I’m very lucky that Star Bharat is atotally new venture which is now makingsome adorable stories and is making me apart of their storytelling as well. All threecombinations are very exciting, not onlyfor me, but I'm sure for the audience aswell, who get to see something good andnew.” He also states that Zoon, the little

girl, is going to be one loving characterand people would enjoy and love her in theshow.

Having worked in several films likeWedding Pulav and in web series likeSpotlight 2, he shares that television hasalways been a battle against time.

“In television, we have a lot more todeliver in a much shorter time. A film or a

web show has fewer things to show in alot of time like you have a limited

amount of content. You either have toextend episodes or make a two-hourfilm in 3-4 months or 6 months.Sometimes, if it’s a very big film, ittakes a year, but in TV, in threemonths you have to make like 80-90episodes. It’s the battle of time. Thatis where the pace of television and

the madness of television that peopletalk about come in. Wherein we

believe great content is I believeand try to deliver it in the

limited amount of timewe get,” he tells us.

When asked whatkind of content he'dlike to work on, hesays he'd like to seea lot more fun andinteresting sci-ence and mys-tery-based shows.“I would love tosee somethinglike StrangerThings based onour own mythol-ogy. I want to seesomething likeBig Bang Theory,wherein we seescience and a

show based onfunny scien-tists, and I'dlove to seesuperheroshows, andlately, I’velovedwatchingthe trailer ofBrahmastra.I hope suchcontent ismade moreinmotion,”hesays.

KaranV Grover is

coming up with hisnew show Bohot

Pyaar Karte hai, andThe Pioneer spoke

with the actor tolearn more about

it.

‘Playing an actor is not aseasy as everyone thinks’

“ROHIT HAS BEEN AN EQUAL PARENT

FROM DAY1 WITHOUT BEING TOLD”

10

Hyderabad Wednesday June 22, 2022 what’s brewing?

AWARD CEREMONY

Perfect 360, conducted an awardceremony to encourage the newtalents in various segments like

start-up’s,Restaurants, IT, Tech, andeducation. Various people who haveachieved significant success in manydomains were felicitated. The event washeld at Radisson Hotel, Gachibowli.Ramesh Yadav, Member of LegislativeCouncil graced the event.

FASHION EXPO

Actress Kamakshi Bhaskarla andShravanthi Chokarapu, amongother fashion enthusiasts, graced

the launch of the monsoon specialSutraa lifestyle exhibition. Theexhibition will last till June 23 at HotelTaj Krishna, Banjara Hills.

PAR

TY

Ph

oto

s b

y S

V C

ha

ry

TALENT EVENT

Dr. Vakulabharanam KrishnaMohana Rao, Chairman,Telangana BC Commission,

launched the posters of severalcompetitions including MBCSeason 4 (Fashion DesignerShows), SBMS Season 4 (Bridal Makeup Competition) ,FDFC Season 1(Nation WideFashion Designer Competition),and SIMA Season 1( NationwideBeauty Expo) at The Park hotel,Somajiguda. The event had alsowitnessed the presence ofTollywood actress, Nazia Khan,and model artist, Sandhya Rani,to name a few.

l Vakulabharanam

FUN

ARCHIE

GARFIELDREALITY CHECK CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SPEED BUMP

SUDOKU

Rulesl Each row and column can

contain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

l Raghavi Reddy

l Farzana Khan

l Krishna and Yasmeen Fatima l Prathima Raj

l Dr.Geetanjali

l Ananya

l Madhuri

l Kusuma

l Umeshl Kamakshi Bhaskarla

l Aparna

l Ananya and Ritika

RRR fameRamCharan,

who is currentlyworking for

his next withdirector

Shankar

Shanmugham, is likely togive a special number in

Salman Khan’s upcomingmovie Kabhi Eid Kabhi

Diwali.Reportedly, theSouth star will

make a cameoappearancewith Salman inthe film. The

idea of hav-ing Ram

on board for a specialcameo in the song camefrom the team.

Ram Charan, apparentlyagreed to be a part of thesong right away. It is sup-posed to be a thrillingnumber that is displayed ona big scale.

The song’s main attrac-tion will be Ram andSalman’s chemistry andtheir signature moves.

Salman Khan is currentlyshooting in Hyderabadalongside Pooja Hedge andVenkatesh for the filmKabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali.

In addition to them,Jassie Gill, Shehnaaz Gill,Palak Tiwari, Raghav Juyal,and Siddharth Nigam playimportant roles in the film.The Farhad Samji directori-al is getting bigger and bet-ter with each passing day.

Ram Charan to make special appearance

in Salman’s Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali

uling theindustryand theaudience’shearts from

the past eight years,Raashii Khanna gaveher fans a surprise bycoming live on herInstagram account tocelebrate the big day.

The actress had afun session with herInstagram fam andanswered all the ques-tions related to herupcoming projectsand plans.

Raashii Khannawho is a sensation inthe South Industry isset to make her B-Town debut withDharma Production’s

action thriller Yodhaalongside SiddharthMalhotra.

When asked aboutthe film by a fan,Raashii Khannarevealed that she is yetto shoot for the songsof the film. The actresssaid, “We almost com-pleted the talky partsand the songs are left.I think songs are areally important partof the film and I amreally looking forwardto shoot for them withSid.”

Well, clearly withthis, the fans nowknow that the film isgearing pace for therelease with majorpart of the film being

shot. Talking more

about the project,Raashii said, “It’sone film that onewill really enjoywatchingonscreen””

Well, clearlyalong with theexcitement ofYodha being herBollywood debut,Raashii’s elabora-tion of the projectmakes it moreexciting to witness iton screen.

With her Bollywooddebut release comingcloser, another big cel-ebration is in line afterthe one of eight yearsin the industry!

11

Hyderabad | Wednesday June 22, 2022 tollywood

r

Kollywood actorSivakarthikeyan, who made

his debut inTollywood in 2019, isknown for the filmsincluding VarunDoctor and Don. Hisproject Prince withAnudeep KV of JathiRathnalu fame isattracting all theattention.

According to thelatest updates, themakers announcedthe film's release date.The film will bereleased duringDiwali. The film iscurrently in the finalleg of shooting. Thefilm stars Ukrainebeauty MariaRyaboshapka as thefemale lead. Themakers on Tuesdayhad also released afunny video about therelease date.

In the video,Sivakarthikeyan andAnudeep blame

Sathyaraj for thedelay, but theybecome silent afterSathyaraj enters theroom. Finally, Mariaarrives and joins theconversation. Thediscussion happens inTelugu, Tamil andEnglish languages.Finally, theyannounce the specialoccasion of Diwali forthe movie release.

Music for the filmis scored by Thaman.while ManojParamahamsa is thecinematographer.Praveen KL is theeditor. SunielNarang, along with D.Suresh Babu andPuskur Ram MohanRao are producingthe movie under thebanners of SreeVenkateswaraCinemas LLP, SureshProductions andShanthi Talkies.Sonali Narang is pre-senting the movie.

Prince set to release this Diwali

Speculationsaround theMaestro actor

Nithin is doingrounds,whether he isteaming withPawanKalyan's direc-tor. It is knownthat Sagar KChandra direct-ed Pawan Kalyanand Rana inBheemla Nayak, theremake of Malayalamfilm AyyappanumKoshiyum.

Though the film didwell, Sagar K Chandra didnot get due credit as thestory and screenplay wereprovided by wizard ofwords Trivikram Srinivas.According to the latestreport, Sagar K Chandranarrated a story to Nithinand he loved it. Sourceshad further revealed that

Sagar K Chandra almostreadied the script and pre-production is in full swing.The project may go to setseither in August or

September. Nithin is cur-rently busy with MacherlaNiyojaka Vargam. The filmdirected by MS.RajasekharReddy is

racing for a grand releaseon August 12. The filmstars Kriti Shetty andCatherine Tresa as thefemale leads.

Nithin to team up with

Sagar Chandra?

Prabhas is all busy

Samantha RuthPrabhu is to appearon Karan Johar's

celebrity talk show KoffeeWith Karan. Samantha'sdisclosure on the showabout the reasons for herdivorce from ex-husbandNaga Chaitanya hassparked conjecture.

Samantha has nowspoken up on the showfor the first time abouther divorce from YeMaya Chesave star Naga

Chaitanya, according tosocial media rumours.

Samantha, who wasobligated to respond toone of the questions onKoffee With Karan, did soin the most humblemanner, according tosources. It's unclearwhether or not this partwill make it into the finalcut.

This topic has grabbedeveryone's interest forthe time being. Koffee

with Karan will pre-miere on Disney+Hotstar in July.Though the 'Oh Baby'actress revealed howshe felt when sherealised she had todivorce Naga Chaitanya,she has kept the reasonfor the divorce a secretsince then. The cause oftheir split has remaineda mystery to theiradmirers, with neitherparty saying anything.

Raashii Khannatalks about herBollywood debut

YoungRebel Star

Prabhas ispacked upwith mul-tiple pro-jects likeAadiPurush,Salaar,Project K,Spirit andRajaDeluxe. Heis also onthe vergeof liningup a fewmore pro-jects.Meanwhile, it is com-ing outthatPrabhas isspeedingup his pro-jects.Accordingto someinsideupdates,Prabhas issimultane-ouslyshootingfor multi-ple pro-jects.

Prabhasis current-ly busyshootingfor SalaarandProject K.He is keen

to wrapthese pro-jects assoon aspossibleand con-centrateon hisupcomingprojects.Salaar is ahigh-octaneactionentertainerstarringShrutiHaasan asthe femalelead underthe direc-tion ofPrashantNeel. Thefilm alsostarsJagapathiBabu andPrithvirajSukumaran inimportantroles.

ProjectK is a sci-fi thrillerdirectedby NagAshwinand starsDeepikaPadukone,AmitabhBachchan,and DishaPatani inimportantroles.

Samanthaopens up on

her divorce fromNaga Chaitanya

on Koffee With Karan

sports 12HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 22, 2022

PTI n BENGALURU

Senior off-spinnerRavichandran Ashwin

has not travelled to theUnited Kingdom along withhis India team-mates for theone-off 'fifth Test' after test-ing positive for COVID-19,a BCCI source said.

Ashwin is currently inquarantine and will onlyjoin the squad after meetingall protocols requirements.

The Indian team had leftfor UK on June 16.

"Ashwin hasn't travelledwith the squad to UK as hehas tested positive forCOVID-19 before depar-ture. But we are hopefulthat he will recover well in time before the Test match starts onJuly 1," the BCCI source said.

"However, he might miss the practice game againstLeicestershire," the source added.

After the IPL, Ashwin had played a Tamil Nadu CricketAssociation (TNCA) League red-ball match where he had bowled20 overs to get some long form game time.

On Tuesday in a later update via IANS, it is reported thatAshwin will reach England in the next couple of days. He isexpected to join the squad in Leicester before the four-day warm-up game against the county which begins on June 24.

It has been learnt that new travel arrangements are beingmade for the veteran cricketer and he should be with the rest ofhis teammates soon, a Cricbuzz report said.

Jayant Yadav was kept as a standby should Ashwin fail torecover in time. The Haryana spinner was called to the NCA inBangalore. However, that option has been ruled out as Ashwinhas recovered fully and is expected to fly out in the next 24 hours,most probably on Wednesday.

PTI n BENGALURU

There's a common adage in sport."You never win a silver. Youalways lose a gold."

Mumbai cricket has followed thisold concrete jungle saying to the 'T' asits team now chases an unprecedented42nd Ranji Trophy title. It now finds abunch of bravehearts from MadhyaPradesh standing in its way with tricksof trade learnt from a Mumbaikar.

MP head coach Chandrakant Panditwon't let his team settle for anything lessthan a championship but AmolMuzumdar's men have dominated theproceedings since the start of the busi-ness end of the season.

On paper, the Mumbai team is over-whelming favourite in the final matchstarting on Wednesday with the bestGen-Next talent in its repertoire.

Sarfaraz Khan, after a few indiffer-ent seasons, has raised his game to analtogether different level with 800-plusruns in just five games.

Yashasvi Jaiswal is one youngsterwho is as passionate about his red ballperformance as he is about donning thegarish pink jersey of Rajasthan Royals.Three hundreds in four innings ofquarterfinal and semi-final showed hisvoracious appetite for runs.

Prithvi Shaw isn't the typicalMumbai khadoos (stubborn) batter butmore of Virender Sehwag mould withpenchant for butchering any attack.

Arman Jaffer is a chip of old blockand it will be good for him if he couldachieve even 50 per cent of what hisillustrious uncle Wasim did.

Add to it the likes of Suved Parkaror Hardik Tamore, who knew theopportunity of wearing the Lion's crest

on the white flannels come at a premi-um.

Mumbai have always had formida-ble batting line-ups that can scare theopposition team but this time the twounder-rated performers have been left-arm spinner Shams Mulani (37 wicketsand 292 runs) and off-spinner TanushKotian (18 wickets and 236 runs).Mulani or Kotian are by farthest stretchof imagination not India prospects oreven India 'A' contenders but they area rare breed of domestic performers whoknow how to win crunch games as theydid against Goa in a do-or-die situation.

However, MP is one of the mostimproved teams in recent times andunder Pandit inculcated the disciplinethat's needed to reach the summit clashin a tournament like Ranji Trophy.

Missing Venkatesh Iyer in battingand pace spearhead Avesh Khan in

bowling didn't do them any good butunheralded Kumar Kartikeya, with hisstamina to bowl for hours, has done thejob for his team.

The Himanshu Mantris and AkshatRaghuvanshis have all executed theirassigned roles to perfection.

In this team, there is only one play-er who is true blue talent and that's RajatPatidar.

For Mumbai, it will be imperative toensure that Patidar doesn't walk awaywith the game in one session with hiswide array of strokes.

MP, with its two spinners inKartikeya and Saransh Jain, will like toplay the waiting game, something thatPandit as a coach has injected in hiswards across the states.

It would be a game of chess playedon 22 yards but enticing enough for allthose who get to watch it.

PTI n BENGALURU

Only three half-centuries in five RanjiTrophy games doesn't match the lofty stan-

dards that he has set for himself but a pragmat-ic Mumbai captain Prithvi Shaw also knowsthat cricket is mirror image of life where thechange in graph is the only constant thing.

Leading domestic powerhouse Mumbai inthe Ranji Trophy final against a gutsy MadhyaPradesh team is Shaw's current assignment andhe doesn't want his tunnel vision to waverthinking about not being in England or noteven finding his name inthe Ireland-bound T20Iteam.

"I have scored a couple(three) of fifties but that'snot enough for me for sureand no one even congrat-ulated me after scoring afifty and you feel bad aswell (jokingly)," theMumbai skipper said onthe eve of the big final.

"It happens sometimesbut I am glad that my teamis doing well. As a captain,I have to think of all 21players I have got here andnot just about me," headded.

And then the flam-boyant stroke-makerturned a tad philosophical.

"In cricket and in life,the graph always goes upand down and it's nevergoing to always go up. Soit's a just a matter of timethat I middle those ballsand get those big runsagain. But right now, Iwant to ensure that myteam is doing fine and isenjoying its game," theskipper said.

So doesn't nationalcomeback bother him atall?

"It's nowhere near mymind you know — come-back to the Indian team.Getting the Cup is mymain motive and not

thinking anything other than winning this one,"the skipper made his priorities clear.

"The preparation what we have done forthe Ranji Trophy and not focusing on what'shappening on the outside. It's about winningthe Ranji Trophy and getting those happymoments back."

AWESOME TRIO FROM SAME SCHOOLShaw and the two pillars of this Mumbai

team, Arman Jaffer and this season's top-scor-er Sarfaraz Khan have one thing in common— they have all been students of the same

school Rizvi Springfields,known for its formidablecricket team that domi-nates Harris and GilesShield (iconic Mumbaischool tournaments)events.

"Myself, Sarfaraz andArman went to the sameschool (Rizvi Springfield)at the age of 9-10. Wecame up together and allthree of us are doing pret-ty good so far for Mumbaicricket," one could sensehis pride.

While it is Prithvi'ssecond Ranji Trophy final(he played one in 2017 vsGujarat), Arman andSarfaraz will be playingtheir first summit clash.

"It's about how welook at this game and it'sgoing to be a differentpressure for a lot of peo-ple," he said.

"And we have got ayoung side and not manyof them have played thesekind of finals and are notexperienced that much.

"But they are readyfor it and what they aredoing since the leaguegames is what I am watch-ing. We have got a skillful,talented side and whatthey have achieved tillnow, they just have tocarry on for one moregame."

AP n LONDON

England captain Ben Stokesmissed training after feel-

ing unwell on Tuesday as hisside started their prepara-tions for the Headingley Test.

Stokes was absent whilethe rest of the squad trainedahead of Thursday's first dayof the final Test in the three-match series.

An England and WalesCricket Board spokesperson

indicated that Stokes had test-ed negative for Covid-19 onTuesday morning.

Stokes is being kept awayfrom the group as a precau-tionary measure.

The 31-year-old, in hisfirst Test series as skipper, willbe assessed again ahead ofWednesday's net session.

Stokes hit 75 from 70 ballsin the second innings ofEngland's second Test victoryover New Zealand at TrentBridge.

That was England's sec-ond successive win against theTest world champions, clinch-ing their first Test series tri-umph since January 2021.

New Zealand have hadseveral positive Covid cases intheir squad over the last cou-ple of weeks.

Black Caps skipper KaneWilliamson was forced to missthe second Test after testingpositive on the eve of thematch in Nottingham.

As well as Williamson,the tourists have seen HenryNicholls, Devon Conway,Michael Bracewell and twomembers of their backroomteam return positive resultssince arriving in England.

All four players are fitand available to play in Leedsthis week.

PTI n BENGALURU

India's T20 specialist Deepak Chahar willtake four to five more weeks to complete-

ly recover from the hamstring injury, whichhad kept him out of Indian Premier League(IPL).

Pacer Chahar and another centrally-contracted cricketer Washington Sundar,recovering from a hand injury, are current-ly doing their rehabilitation at NCA alongwith the likes of T Natarajan.

In another significant development, spinall-rounder Washington is set to fly toEngland to play for leading county sideLancashire.

"Washington is nearing full fitness andhe needs a lot of game time, which he willget only in red ball cricket. He is going to

play for Lancashire and this exposure willdo him a world of good," a BCCI source said.

WI TOUR OR ASIA CUP COULD BECHAHAR'S COMEBACK VEHICLE

Chahar, who sustained injury duringhome series against West Indies in Kolkata,looked in good shape during his morningsession at the NCA.

"I am bowling four to five overs at onego as per my rehab programme right now.My recovery is going pretty well and I thinkit will take another four to five weeks for meto get match fit," Chahar told PTI after hisrehab session.

The Rajasthan seamer admitted that itwill not be possible for him to get fit by the

time India play T20 series against Englandin the second week of July.

"It's a step by step process as far as recov-ery is concerned. I don't think I will be fitfor England T20s. Once I am match fit, I willneed to play some club level games to checkmy fitness," Chahar said

He looked very comfortable when hebatted for a considerable amount of time.

So, can one expect that he will be fit fortour of West Indies?

"I can't say that but I will definitely tryand get fit by then. Let's see," the swingbowler said.

India are scheduled to play three ODIsand five T20Is between July 22 and August7 in West Indies.

LONDON: India head coach RahulDravid on Tuesday joined India's Testteam in Leicestershire ahead of themuch-anticipated rescheduled 5th Testagainst England, scheduled to be heldin Birmingham from July 1 to 5.

In the pictures, shared by BCCI'sofficial Twitter handle, the head coachcan be seen interacting with the play-ers, who had their training session inLeicestershire County Ground.

IANS

IANS n NEW DELHI

The Indian women's hockeyteam will participate in

next month's FIH Women'sWorld Cup 2022 without talis-manic striker Rani Rampal asthe former skipper is stillundergoing rehabilitation for ahamstring injury.

There were reports recent-ly that Rani has recoveredfrom her injury and had trav-elled with the squad toRotterdam for the last round ofFIH Pro League matches.However, on Tuesday chiefcoach Janneke Schopman saidshe is still undergoing rehabil-itation for the injury.

In her absence, goalkeeperSavita will continue to lead the18-member squad with defend-er Deep Grace Ekka as herdeputy. Savita led the Indianteam in the FIH Pro Leaguematches this year and the teamhad done well, presently in thethird position in the event.

Hockey India on Tuesdaynamed the 18-member Indianwomen's hockey team for the

FIH Women's Hockey WorldCup to be held in Netherlandsand Spain from July 1-17,retaining the majority of play-ers that had figured in lastyear's Tokyo Olympic Games inwhich the Indian team narrow-ly missed a Bronze medal.

India placed in Pool Balong with England, NewZealand and China will begintheir campaign on July 3against old nemesis England, towhom they lost the bronzemedal match in Tokyo.

The 20-member squad,including two replacementplayers as per Covid protocols,also includes defenders GurjitKaur, Nikki Pradhan, Uditaand midfielders Nisha, SushilaChanu, Monika, Neha, NavjotKaur, who all were part of theOlympics squad.

The forward line featuresthe very experienced VandanaKatariya, Lalremsiami, NavneetKaur, and Sharmila Devi. Theselectors have picked talentedyoung stars Akshata Dhekaleand Sangita Kumari as replace-ment players.

In the previous edition ofthe prestigious quadrennialevent held in London, theIndian team reached the quar-terfinals but lost to Ireland ina shootout after a 0-0 stalematein regulation time.

Speaking about the team

selection, chief coach JannekeSchopman said, "We have cho-sen the best squad for theWorld Cup. It is a mix of expe-rience and young talent whohave shown great promisewhen they were given a chanceagainst top teams in the FIH

Pro League.""Except Rani, who is still

not fully recovered from injuryrehabilitation, the team has allthe players who were part of theOlympic campaign with inclu-sions like Jyoti and Sonikawho have done well in theirroles when given a chance. Wewill also have Sangita andAkshata who will travel withthe team as replacement play-ers," Jenneke was quoted as say-ing in a release by HockeyIndia.

"The team is absolutelyexcited and eager to begin itsWorld Cup campaign and wewill utilize the next ten days tofinetune our game basis analy-sis from Pro League perform-ances," she added.

The Indian team will playits group-stage matches inAmstelveen, Netherlands and ifthey top the group, they willplay the quarter-final too inAmstelveen. The semifinalsand final will be played inTerrassa, Spain. The crossovermatches for pool B will beplayed in Spain.

PTI n DUBAI

Star opener Smriti Mandhanaheld on to her eighth position

but veteran pacer JhulanGoswami slipped a spot in thebowler's list in the latest ICCWomen's ODI rankings issuedhere on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old Mandhana,who has scored 411 runs inODIs this year from nine match-es, including a century againstthe West Indies at the WorldCup earlier this year, is the loneIndian in the top 10 of the bat-ting chart which is headed byAlyssa Hailey followed byEngland's Natalie Sciver.

Goswami, on the otherhand, slipped one spot to num-ber six in the bowler's rankings.The 39-year-old has played nineODI games this year and hasscalped 12 wickets so far.

Goswami lost her positionto Proteas pacer AyabongaKhaka after her brilliant per-formance in South Africa's ODIseries sweep against Ireland.

AP n COLOMBO

Charith Asalanka crackedhis maiden ODI hundred

as Sri Lanka finished with acompetitive score of 258 againstAustralia in the fourth ODI inColombo. Dhananjaya de Silvagave the middle order battervaluable support and ended upwith 60.

The hosts, who wereinserted into bat, found them-selves in early trouble asNiroshan Dickwella, KusalMendis and Pathum Nissankawere dismissed within the first10 overs. With Sri Lanka in aprecarious position, Dhan-anjaya and Asalanka joined

forces to prop up the inningswith a stand of 101.

Despite losing his battingpartner, Asalanka continued toplay with a calm head on hisshoulders and found an ableally in Dunith Wellalage.Matthew Kuhnemann brokethe promising stand by removing Wellalage and fol-lowed it up by sendingChamika Karunaratne back to the hut. At that stage,Wanindu Hasaranga collecteda couple of boundaries offKuhnemann in the 45th over tokeep the scorecard moving. Inthe same over, Aslanka com-pleted his first ODI centurywith a single.

MUMBAI vs MPIN RANJI FINAL

In cricket & life, graph alwaysmoves up & down, says Shaw

Stokes misses trainingahead of third Test

Smriti static at8th in women'sODI rankings

Ashwin missed Englandflight after testing Covid +veChahar will take another 5 weeks to get fit

Asalanka takes SL to 258Savita to lead India at FIH Women's Hockey WC

Head coach Dravid joins India's Test team