Upload File

d`_zr cryf] scvr\ ztv hzey 8 #$ ]vruvcd ?=bq =4f34;78

  • Home
  • Documents
  • D`_ZR CRYf] ScVR\ ZTV hZeY 8 #$ ]VRUVcd ?=BQ =4F34;78
12
A day after a formal meeting of a section of senior party leaders led by the G-23 faction, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is learned to have spoken to dis- sident leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. This was the first dia- logue between the so-called dissidents and the party lead- ership. Sources said that Azad and Sonia are trying to establish a channel of communication between the high command and the disgruntled lot. Another round of meeting of dissidents took place at Azad’s residence on Thursday. On the other hand, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi met Bhupinder Singh Hooda, one of the participants of Wednesday’s dinner meet at Azad’s residence. They are learned to have discussed the concerns and feelings of the party leaders and the need to revamp the party and the way forward following its loss in five Assembly elections. After the meeting, Hooda visited Ghulam Nabi Azad res- idence to brief him about the meeting. The second meeting in the last 24 hours is said to be a feedback session after Hooda met Rahul. Sources said in the two-hour-long meeting Hooda, Azad, Kapil Sibal, and Anand Sharma are said to have discussed concrete proposals, the details of which were not known yet. The separate meetings between Sonia and Azad, and Rahul and Hooda are being seen as attempts by the Gandhi family to reach out to the dis- senters who have shown signs of increasing aggression on the leadership issue after Congress’s dismal performance in the recently-concluded Assembly elections in five States. G-23 is a group of rebel Congress leaders formed in August 2020. The G-23 leaders have been demanding organi- sational overhaul ever after successive electoral setbacks starting with the Congress rout in the Lok Sabha poll. Sources said a meeting between Sonia and some of the G-23 leaders, including Azad was on the cards. The G-23 leaders in a meeting on Wednesday evening stated the “only way forward” for the party was to adopt a model of “collective and inclusive lead- ership and decision-making at all levels.” While the party leader- ship is said to be upset with senior leader Kapil Sibal for suggesting that the Gandhis should step aside, Sonia’s out- reach to Azad is seen as an attempt to break the ice and see whether the ballooning is internal crisis can be resolved. There were three new entrants — veteran leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, Lok Sabha member and former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh’s wife Preneet Kaur, and Gujarat leader Shankarsinh Vaghela, who quit the Congress in 2017 to join the NCP in 2019 and then quit it. He is expected to return to the Congress. After the Wednesday meet- ing, the leaders issued a state- ment. It was signed by 18 lead- ers: Azad, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Prithviraj Chavan, Manish Tewari, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, Raj Babbar, Vaghela, Aiyar, Shashi Tharoor, PJ Kurien, MA Khan, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Sandeep Dikshit, Kuldeep Sharma, Vivek Tankha and Preneet Kaur. Meanwhile, Congress gen- eral secretary Priyanka Gandhi continued to hold discussions with party leaders from Uttar Pradesh to ascertain the rea- sons for the party’s dismal show in the Assembly elections. The AICC general secre- tary, who spearheaded a spir- ited campaign focussed on women’s issues in UP, sepa- rately met State leaders Pramod Tiwari, Acharya Pramod Krishan, Satish Ajmani, Ajay Rai, Ajay Kumar Lallu, and Virender Chaudhary and dis- cussed party’s strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. T he World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday flagged concern about the resurgence in Covid- 19 cases, which it said, were “the tip of the iceberg,” and asked the countries to remain vigilant against the virus. After more than a month of decline, Covid cases started to increase around the world last week, the WHO said, with China’s Jilin province battling to contain the outbreak. Just a few days ago, the WHO had noted that the countries were reporting a reduced and incor- rect way of testing. The surge is caused by a combination of factors, includ- ing the highly transmissible Omicron variant and its BA.2 sublineage, and the lifting of public health and social mea- sures. The WHO said new infections jumped by 8 per cent globally compared to the pre- vious week, with 11 million new cases and just over 43,000 new deaths reported from March 7-13. It is the first rise since the end of January. The biggest jump includes South Korea and China, where cases rose by 25 per cent and deaths by 27 per cent. “These increases are occur- ring despite reductions in test- ing in some countries, which means the cases we’re seeing are just the tip of the iceberg,” WHO’s head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. The WHO chief also said the problem of low vaccination rate and “huge amount of mis- information”, also explained the rise. Africa also saw a 12 per cent rise in new cases and a 14 per cent rise in deaths, and Europe a 2 per cent rise in cases but no jump in deaths. Other regions reported declining cases, including the eastern Mediterranean region, although this area saw a 38 per cent rise in deaths linked to a previous spike in infections. Experts have raised con- cerns that Europe might face another coronavirus wave as Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the UK might see a rise in the cases. WHO’s Maria Van Kerkhove said at the briefing that BA.2 appears to be the most transmissible variant. However, there are no signs that it causes more severe disease and no evidence that any other new variants are dri- ving the rise in cases. Further, experts have also warned that the US could soon see a simi- lar wave like Europe, driven by BA.2. T hough the ways of cele- brating Holi have changed in recent years, the celebration of Holi in Kumaon continues to reflect the vibrant and rich local culture of Uttarakhand. Apart from the colours, it is the folk songs — many based on clas- sical ragas — folk dances and customs which lend a special touch to this celebration of Holi. Kumaoni Holi has its ori- gin in the Kumaon division, but it is celebrated in different parts of the country by the natives of the Kumaon region who have kept their Holi tra- ditions alive. A 74-year-old senior citi- zen of Almora, Paan Singh Joshi informed The Pioneer that the celebrations of Kumaoni Holi do not just depict the victory of good over evil but more importantly, it marks the end of the winter and the beginning of the sow- ing season which has always been an important period for farmers. The Holi in Kumaoni tradition is celebrated in two prominent variations — Baithaki Holi and Khadi Holi. He said, “Baithaki Holi begins from Vasant Panchmi and ends on Dashmi of Phalgun month, while Khadi Holi commences from Ekadashi of Phalgun month and ends on Poornima. The day after Poornima is cel- ebrated as the last day of Holi which is called Charradi. The men generally wear white kurta, pajama and topi and the women wear sarees during the celebrations.” Joshi added, “Baithaki Holi, as the name suggests, is cele- brated in a seated position by Holyars (people celebrating Holi) singing folk songs recounting the tales of Lord Krishna and how he celebrat- ed Holi at Mathura with Radha and his friends and family. The subjects of the songs based on gods and goddesses like Shiva-Parvati, Ram-Sita and Hanuman are also sung by Holyars. Dhol, Huruk and Damau which are an indis- pensable part of the celebration are also played by them.” In Khadi Holi, Holyars tra- ditionally gather in a circle in a courtyard or an open area and sing folk songs and play tradi- tional musical instruments like Dhol, Huruk and Damau and move together in sync dancing to the song, added Joshi. However, there is also a fixed pattern of singing these folk songs which adds to the charms of the celebration, said a Pithoragarh resident Richa Bisht. She said, “During Holi cel- ebration, there is a chief holyar who sets the tone of the song by singing the intro and main verse while the rest of the Holyars sing the song in cho- rus.” Nainital resident Namita Suyal said Baithaki and Khadi Holi are being celebrated at least for over a century while Mahila Holi, which has now become an important part of the Kumaoni Holi and cele- brated only by women, became popular only in the past two decades. She said that in the modern world where people are in a constant race to do well at any cost professionally and personally, Kumaoni Holi cel- ebrates the joy of togetherness and gives the people a sense of oneness. “It is not easy to keep the tradition alive when the younger generation tends to stay away from old culture and traditions but I am glad, many young people have been attending and learning about Kumaoni Holi and celebrating it wherever they go in their life,” said Suyal. T he Modi Government has come out with a draft — Uniform Code for Medical Device Marketing Practices — to check the bribing of doctors by the pharma and medical devices companies. According to the docu- ment, “No gifts, pecuniary advantages or benefits in kind shall be supplied, offered or promised to persons qualified to use, prescribe or supply medical devices, by a medical device company or any of its agents.” The code also bars gifting for the personal benefit of doc- tors and their family members (both immediate and extend- ed) perks such as tickets to entertainment events. The Department of Pharmaceuticals — under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers — has released the draft and sought feedback from the industry representatives by April 15. “This is a voluntary code for the present and its imple- mentation will be reviewed after a period of six months from the date of its issue. If it is found that it has not been implemented effectively by the Pharma Associations /Companies, the Government may consider making it a statu- tory code,” the 16-page draft document said. “Companies or their asso- ciations/representatives or any person acting on their behalf shall not extend any travel facility inside the country or outside, including rail, air, ship, cruise tickets, paid vaca- tions, to healthcare profes- sionals and their family mem- bers for vacation or for attend- ing the conference, seminars, workshops, CME programme as a delegate. T he Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has made a record by building a multi-storey facility at Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) in Bengaluru in 45 days. The facility houses flight control system for fighter aircraft and Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) project. The foundation stone for the project was laid on November 22, 2021, and actu- al construction began on February 1. The building was constructed using composite construction technology. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the complex on Thursday. Congratulating those involved in the project, he said it is no less than a miracle. The seven-storey building, with a plinth area of 1.3 lakh square feet, will house research and development facilities for the development of a fifth-gen- eration medium-weight deep penetration fighter jet. The DRDO completed the construction of the infrastruc- ture for flight control system at ADE Bengaluru with hybrid technology consisting of con- ventional, pre-engineered and precast methodology in record 45 days, officials said here. The complex will have facilities for developing avion- ics for fighter aircraft and flight control systems (FCS) for the AMCA project. India has been working on the ambi- tious AMCA project to devel- op a fifth-generation medium fighter jet with advanced stealth features to significant- ly bolster its air power capa- bility. The initial development cost of the project, being undertaken by the ADE, has been estimated at around 15,000 crore. I ndia will see some high-pro- file visits and virtual inter- actions in the next few days starting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida fol- lowed by British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also hold virtual talks with his Australian Scott Morrison. Japanese Prime Minister Kishida will pay a two-day visit beginning Saturday to hold the 14th India-Japan sum- mit with his Indian counterpart Prime Minister Modi. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said here on Thursday that the summit will be held on Saturday. He said the summit will provide an opportunity for the both sides to review and further strengthen bilateral ties. The two leaders will explore further avenues in commerce and trade. Japan is part of Quad com- bine along with India, Australia and the US, and both the lead- ers are likely to review the sit- uation in the Indo-Pacific. China is flexing its muscle there and has criticised the Quad claiming it will lead to militarisation of the region. Interestingly, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is likely to come here on March 24 or 25 to hold talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar. Bagchi said Modi and Morrison will take part in the second India-Australia vir- tual summit on March 22. He added that this virtual sum- mit follows the “historic first virtual summit which was held on June 4, 2020 when our bilateral relationship was elevated to a compre- hensive strategic partner- ship”. The leaders will take a stock of progress made on various initiatives under the comprehensive strategic partnership. In June 2020, India and Australia elevated their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and signed a landmark deal for rec- iprocal access to military bases for logistics support. S oon after taking over, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann launched a crusade against corruption announcing the launch of an anti-corruption helpline num- ber on March 23 that will allow people to upload videos of corrupt officials asking for a bribe or indulging in other malpractices. He said it is his ‘’personal WhatsApp number’’ and asserted that he will ensure a corruption-free Government in the State. “With this, corruption ended completely in Delhi,’’ he claimed. ‘’In the coming days, we will launch a helpline number that will be my personal WhatsApp num- ber. If anyone demands a bribe from you, do not refuse it. Record a video or audio of it and send it to this number. I guarantee you, our office will examine it and no cor- rupt person will be spared and strict action will be taken,” he said.

Upload: khangminh22

Post on 25-Feb-2023

0 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

Report

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: D`_ZR CRYf] ScVR\ ZTV hZeY 8 #$ ]VRUVcd ?=BQ =4F34;78

����� ��������

Aday after a formal meetingof a section of senior party

leaders led by the G-23 faction,Congress chief Sonia Gandhi islearned to have spoken to dis-sident leader Ghulam NabiAzad. This was the first dia-logue between the so-calleddissidents and the party lead-ership.

Sources said that Azad andSonia are trying to establish achannel of communicationbetween the high commandand the disgruntled lot.

Another round of meetingof dissidents took place atAzad’s residence on Thursday.

On the other hand, formerCongress president RahulGandhi met Bhupinder SinghHooda, one of the participantsof Wednesday’s dinner meet atAzad’s residence. They arelearned to have discussed theconcerns and feelings of theparty leaders and the need torevamp the party and the wayforward following its loss in fiveAssembly elections.

After the meeting, Hoodavisited Ghulam Nabi Azad res-idence to brief him about themeeting.

The second meeting in thelast 24 hours is said to be afeedback session after Hooda

met Rahul. Sources said in thetwo-hour-long meetingHooda, Azad, Kapil Sibal, andAnand Sharma are said to havediscussed concrete proposals,the details of which were notknown yet.

The separate meetingsbetween Sonia and Azad, andRahul and Hooda are beingseen as attempts by the Gandhifamily to reach out to the dis-senters who have shown signsof increasing aggression onthe leadership issue afterCongress’s dismal performancein the recently-concludedAssembly elections in fiveStates.

G-23 is a group of rebelCongress leaders formed inAugust 2020. The G-23 leadershave been demanding organi-sational overhaul ever aftersuccessive electoral setbacks

starting with the Congress routin the Lok Sabha poll.

Sources said a meetingbetween Sonia and some of theG-23 leaders, including Azadwas on the cards. The G-23leaders in a meeting onWednesday evening stated the“only way forward” for theparty was to adopt a model of“collective and inclusive lead-ership and decision-making atall levels.”

While the party leader-ship is said to be upset withsenior leader Kapil Sibal forsuggesting that the Gandhisshould step aside, Sonia’s out-reach to Azad is seen as anattempt to break the ice and seewhether the ballooning isinternal crisis can be resolved.

There were three newentrants — veteran leader ManiShankar Aiyar, Lok Sabha

member and former PunjabCM Amarinder Singh’s wifePreneet Kaur, and Gujaratleader Shankarsinh Vaghela,who quit the Congress in 2017to join the NCP in 2019 andthen quit it. He is expected toreturn to the Congress.

After the Wednesday meet-ing, the leaders issued a state-ment. It was signed by 18 lead-ers: Azad, Anand Sharma,Kapil Sibal, Prithviraj Chavan,Manish Tewari, BhupinderSingh Hooda, Akhilesh PrasadSingh, Raj Babbar, Vaghela,Aiyar, Shashi Tharoor, PJKurien, MA Khan, RajinderKaur Bhattal, Sandeep Dikshit,Kuldeep Sharma, Vivek Tankhaand Preneet Kaur.

Meanwhile, Congress gen-eral secretary Priyanka Gandhicontinued to hold discussionswith party leaders from UttarPradesh to ascertain the rea-sons for the party’s dismalshow in the Assembly elections.

The AICC general secre-tary, who spearheaded a spir-ited campaign focussed onwomen’s issues in UP, sepa-rately met State leaders PramodTiwari, Acharya PramodKrishan, Satish Ajmani, AjayRai, Ajay Kumar Lallu, andVirender Chaudhary and dis-cussed party’s strategy for the2024 Lok Sabha elections.

����������� �������������������������

����� ��������

The World HealthOrganization (WHO) on

Thursday flagged concernabout the resurgence in Covid-19 cases, which it said, were“the tip of the iceberg,” andasked the countries to remainvigilant against the virus.

After more than a monthof decline, Covid cases startedto increase around the worldlast week, the WHO said, withChina’s Jilin province battlingto contain the outbreak. Just afew days ago, the WHO hadnoted that the countries werereporting a reduced and incor-rect way of testing.

The surge is caused by acombination of factors, includ-ing the highly transmissibleOmicron variant and its BA.2sublineage, and the lifting ofpublic health and social mea-sures. The WHO said newinfections jumped by 8 per centglobally compared to the pre-vious week, with 11 millionnew cases and just over 43,000new deaths reported fromMarch 7-13. It is the first risesince the end of January. Thebiggest jump includes SouthKorea and China, where casesrose by 25 per cent and deathsby 27 per cent.

“These increases are occur-ring despite reductions in test-ing in some countries, which

means the cases we’re seeing arejust the tip of the iceberg,”WHO’s head Tedros AdhanomGhebreyesus said.

The WHO chief also saidthe problem of low vaccinationrate and “huge amount of mis-information”, also explainedthe rise.

Africa also saw a 12 percent rise in new cases and a 14per cent rise in deaths, andEurope a 2 per cent rise in casesbut no jump in deaths. Otherregions reported decliningcases, including the easternMediterranean region,although this area saw a 38 percent rise in deaths linked to aprevious spike in infections.

Experts have raised con-cerns that Europe might faceanother coronavirus wave asAustria, Germany,Switzerland, the Netherlands,and the UK might see a rise inthe cases.

WHO’s Maria VanKerkhove said at the briefingthat BA.2 appears to be themost transmissible variant.

However, there are nosigns that it causes more severedisease and no evidence thatany other new variants are dri-ving the rise in cases. Further,experts have also warned thatthe US could soon see a simi-lar wave like Europe, driven byBA.2.

���������� ��������� ������ �������

������ ������� ��������������������������� ��� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����!���" #���#����������������������������$����"�����������%�!���� ������������$�������������&�����"�����#����""�������������������!��������� �����'��(�#���������������������������������������������" #���������!����)*������+

��������������������� ������� !����"#��"�$%, ���� -����%�!���� �������������-�����#��������������������!������ ������.+/�"�������$������.+*�"��������������$��� ����������!�������������0�����"����'������!������������1���������-����"�����2"�����!��+� �!&

�'������������� �������������() !��"#��"�$%, ������������������#��������� �����������������%�!���� ����������2��!����"����!�������������������������'��������������34+/�������������!�+

�������

��������*������ ���5�6�

Though the ways of cele-brating Holi have changed

in recent years, the celebrationof Holi in Kumaon continues toreflect the vibrant and rich localculture of Uttarakhand. Apartfrom the colours, it is the folksongs — many based on clas-sical ragas — folk dances andcustoms which lend a specialtouch to this celebration ofHoli.

Kumaoni Holi has its ori-gin in the Kumaon division, butit is celebrated in differentparts of the country by thenatives of the Kumaon regionwho have kept their Holi tra-ditions alive.

A 74-year-old senior citi-zen of Almora, Paan SinghJoshi informed The Pioneerthat the celebrations ofKumaoni Holi do not justdepict the victory of good overevil but more importantly, itmarks the end of the winterand the beginning of the sow-ing season which has alwaysbeen an important period for

farmers. The Holi in Kumaonitradition is celebrated in twoprominent variations —Baithaki Holi and Khadi Holi.He said, “Baithaki Holi beginsfrom Vasant Panchmi and endson Dashmi of Phalgun month,while Khadi Holi commencesfrom Ekadashi of Phalgunmonth and ends on Poornima.The day after Poornima is cel-ebrated as the last day of Holiwhich is called Charradi. Themen generally wear whitekurta, pajama and topi and thewomen wear sarees during thecelebrations.”

Joshi added, “Baithaki Holi,as the name suggests, is cele-brated in a seated position byHolyars (people celebratingHoli) singing folk songsrecounting the tales of LordKrishna and how he celebrat-ed Holi at Mathura with Radhaand his friends and family.The subjects of the songs basedon gods and goddesses likeShiva-Parvati, Ram-Sita andHanuman are also sung byHolyars. Dhol, Huruk andDamau which are an indis-

pensable part of the celebrationare also played by them.”

In Khadi Holi, Holyars tra-ditionally gather in a circle ina courtyard or an open area andsing folk songs and play tradi-tional musical instruments likeDhol, Huruk and Damau andmove together in sync dancingto the song, added Joshi.However, there is also a fixedpattern of singing these folksongs which adds to the charmsof the celebration, said aPithoragarh resident RichaBisht.

She said, “During Holi cel-ebration, there is a chief holyarwho sets the tone of the songby singing the intro and mainverse while the rest of theHolyars sing the song in cho-rus.”

Nainital resident NamitaSuyal said Baithaki and KhadiHoli are being celebrated atleast for over a century whileMahila Holi, which has nowbecome an important part ofthe Kumaoni Holi and cele-brated only by women, becamepopular only in the past two

decades. She said that in themodern world where peopleare in a constant race to do wellat any cost professionally andpersonally, Kumaoni Holi cel-ebrates the joy of togetherness

and gives the people a sense ofoneness.

“It is not easy to keep thetradition alive when theyounger generation tends tostay away from old culture

and traditions but I am glad,many young people have beenattending and learning aboutKumaoni Holi and celebratingit wherever they go in their life,”said Suyal.

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

��� � ��������

The Modi Government hascome out with a draft —

Uniform Code for MedicalDevice Marketing Practices —to check the bribing of doctorsby the pharma and medicaldevices companies.

According to the docu-ment, “No gifts, pecuniaryadvantages or benefits in kindshall be supplied, offered orpromised to persons qualifiedto use, prescribe or supplymedical devices, by a medicaldevice company or any of itsagents.”

The code also bars giftingfor the personal benefit of doc-tors and their family members(both immediate and extend-ed) perks such as tickets toentertainment events.

The Department ofPharmaceuticals — under theMinistry of Chemicals andFertilizers — has released the

draft and sought feedback fromthe industry representatives byApril 15.

“This is a voluntary codefor the present and its imple-mentation will be reviewedafter a period of six monthsfrom the date of its issue. If itis found that it has not beenimplemented effectively by thePharma Associations/Companies, the Governmentmay consider making it a statu-tory code,” the 16-page draftdocument said.

“Companies or their asso-ciations/representatives or anyperson acting on their behalfshall not extend any travelfacility inside the country oroutside, including rail, air,ship, cruise tickets, paid vaca-tions, to healthcare profes-sionals and their family mem-bers for vacation or for attend-ing the conference, seminars,workshops, CME programmeas a delegate.

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

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

��� � ��������

The Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation

(DRDO) has made a record bybuilding a multi-storey facilityat Aeronautical DevelopmentEstablishment (ADE) inBengaluru in 45 days. Thefacility houses flight controlsystem for fighter aircraft andAdvanced Medium CombatAircraft (AMCA) project.

The foundation stone forthe project was laid onNovember 22, 2021, and actu-al construction began onFebruary 1. The building wasconstructed using compositeconstruction technology.

Defence Minister RajnathSingh inaugurated the complexon Thursday. Congratulatingthose involved in the project, hesaid it is no less than a miracle.

The seven-storey building,with a plinth area of 1.3 lakhsquare feet, will house research

and development facilities forthe development of a fifth-gen-eration medium-weight deeppenetration fighter jet.

The DRDO completed theconstruction of the infrastruc-ture for flight control system atADE Bengaluru with hybridtechnology consisting of con-ventional, pre-engineered andprecast methodology in record45 days, officials said here.

The complex will havefacilities for developing avion-ics for fighter aircraft andflight control systems (FCS)for the AMCA project. Indiahas been working on the ambi-tious AMCA project to devel-op a fifth-generation mediumfighter jet with advancedstealth features to significant-ly bolster its air power capa-bility. The initial developmentcost of the project, beingundertaken by the ADE, hasbeen estimated at around�15,000 crore.

��������������

India will see some high-pro-file visits and virtual inter-

actions in the next few daysstarting with Japanese PrimeMinister Fumio Kishida fol-lowed by British ForeignSecretary Liz Truss. PrimeMinister Narendra Modi willalso hold virtual talks with hisAustralian Scott Morrison.

Japanese Prime MinisterKishida will pay a two-dayvisit beginning Saturday tohold the 14th India-Japan sum-mit with his Indian counterpartPrime Minister Modi.

External Affairs MinistrySpokesperson Arindam Bagchisaid here on Thursday that thesummit will be held onSaturday. He said the summitwill provide an opportunity forthe both sides to review andfurther strengthen bilateralties. The two leaders willexplore further avenues incommerce and trade.

Japan is part of Quad com-bine along with India, Australiaand the US, and both the lead-ers are likely to review the sit-

uation in the Indo-Pacific.China is flexing its musclethere and has criticised theQuad claiming it will lead tomilitarisation of the region.

Interestingly, ChineseForeign Minister Wang Yi islikely to come here on March24 or 25 to hold talks with hisIndian counterpart SJaishankar. Bagchi said Modiand Morrison will take part inthe second India-Australia vir-tual summit on March 22. Headded that this virtual sum-mit follows the “historic firstvirtual summit which washeld on June 4, 2020 whenour bilateral relationshipwas elevated to a compre-hensive strategic partner-ship”.

The leaders will take astock of progress made onvarious initiatives under thecomprehensive strategicpartnership. In June 2020,India and Australia elevatedtheir ties to a comprehensivestrategic partnership andsigned a landmark deal for rec-iprocal access to military basesfor logistics support.

���������������������������������� � ����15�

Soon after taking over,Punjab Chief Minister

Bhagwant Mann launched acrusade against corruptionannouncing the launch of ananti-corruption helpline num-ber on March 23 that willallow people to upload videosof corrupt officials asking for abribe or indulging in othermalpractices.

He said it is his ‘’personalWhatsApp number’’ andasserted that he will ensure acorruption-free Governmentin the State.

“With this, corruptionended completely in Delhi,’’ heclaimed. ‘’In the comingdays , we wi l l launch ahelpline number that will bemy personal WhatsApp num-ber. If anyone demands abribe from you, do not refuseit. Record a video or audio ofit and send it to this number.I guarantee you, our officewill examine it and no cor-rupt person will be sparedand strict action will betaken,” he said.

������������� !����"�#"$��������%&�����

������������� �����'��"�����!���������� �������"��������������(��������)�������������*�+������������!������*"!������ *�

��������� #���������������������� � ��������������������%�� �������#��������������������������/7$�/.�������2����!��#�����""�������������)/

8%������ ������ ����'��(+���9���� "������������������ ���������+���9���� "������9

�������� +�� !� �,,-" :*;���&!���������2�������""����'��

!'�������<������������6�=�>� ��> �����6���&�5

5����5 65 ����15�����5�6� �?��5���@A?��

,��.�%,$"/�!0)1������������� ����������������������������� �����

������2��������������!02��&��3������!���(

�!"#$�%�5=�%&� >&%�1�&��%���>���%6�

��&!'(�)

������5��&� 6%����5��5���B=5��������5�&� >%6&-�5��5=&

!*+"+!"�,6 $�6 $�����?<>5��%?�%�

������������� ���

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

Page 2: D`_ZR CRYf] ScVR\ ZTV hZeY 8 #$ ]VRUVcd ?=BQ =4F34;78

��������������� ������������� �� ���� ��!

�������

��� ��� ������� � ���� ��������� ��Bhubaneswar: Noted engi-neer Ashok Kumar Basa hasbeen elected as ExecutiveVice-President of the WorldFederation of EngineeringOrganisations (WFEO). Heis the first Odia and secondin the country to hold the prestigious position for the engi-neering profession. He bagged the highest vote in a triangu-lar contest. He was felicitated at a programme at the Institu-tion of Engineers in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. Foundedin 1968 under the auspices of UNESCO, the WFEO bringstogether national engineering institutions from some 100nations and represents over 30 million engineers.

��� ���� ���� ����� ��� �������� �������Bhubaneswar: The IndianChamber of Commerce(ICC) Odisha State Coun-cil in its annual generalmeeting held here on Tues-day elected Javastra Tech-nology director JB Pany as its new chairman and GuptaPower Infrastructure MD MK Gupta as co-chair for the year2022-23. The new office-bearers vowed to work closely withthe Government of Odisha to make the State a preferreddestination for investors.

�� ������� ��������Bhubaneswar: Satyabhama Nayak,mother of Prof Manojranjan Nayak,founder-president of Siksha 'O'Anusandhan (SOA) University,passed away here on Thursday. Shewas 82 and is survived by six sons andthree daughters. Her last rites wereperformed at Swargadwar at Puri.

�� ���� ������ ����� ��� �� ��������Brahmapur: Students and staffs of theDe Paul School here mourned the deathof one of their beloved teachers, SaritaKumari Das, on Thursday. Das was runover by a speeding truck near first gatein early morning while on her way tothe school with her daughter Prajaktastudying in Standard-VIII in the sameschool. She was rushed to the MKCGMedical College Hospital, where doctorsdeclared her brought dead. After completion of graduation,she had joined the school as an Odia teacher. She is survivedby husband Girija Prasad Das and only child Prajakta.

������ ������ ��� ����� �� ����������Kendrapada: The District Sessions Judge Court here onWednesday sentenced accused Rangadhar Biswal to life rig-orous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 for his involve-ment in killing a fellow villager in 2014. The case recordrevealed that after attempting to outrage the modesty of thedeceased's wife on February 28, 2014 at Mirzapur villageunder the Nikirai police station, Biswal had attacked 40-year-old Srikant Swain with sharp weapon and killed him.Swain's wife Mita lodged an FIR against Biswal. Police ar-rested and charge-sheeted Biswal. Notably, Biswal had at-tempted to flee the Kendrapada jail in March by jumpingoff the boundary wall.

��� �� ��� ������ ��������� ��

�������� ���Bhubaneswar: South EasternRailway and East Coast Rail-way General ManagerArchana Joshi on Wednesdayconducted the annual inspec-tion between Titlagarh toSambalpur section under theSambalpur Division. The inspection was carried out at vari-ous stations including colonies, bridges, level crossings gates,running room, ART, SPARME, railway hospital and ongo-ing developmental works sites.

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

������������� ��� ���������������� �

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

!����� ������ ������ "�"���� ��#����$� �����

�� ���� �!"��� ���� �!"��� ���� �!"��� ���� �!"��� ���� �!"�

%������&���������$����'�����(���)

!�$(���&�� �� ���$����� � � ����&�

��������� ����� ����������� ���������

�������

��

� ����� � ��*+��*�,-

The Government ofOdisha has signed two MoUswith the Ministry of Railwaysto provide land free of cost fortwo ongoing railway lineprojects, Union Railways Min-ister Ashwini Vaishnaw told

Lok Sabha on Wednesday.In a written reply to a ques-

tion of BJP MP BasantaPanda, the Minister said theState Government has signedthe MoUs to provide land forthe Khurda Road-Bolangir(289 km) and Jeypore-Nabarangpur (38 km) lineprojects.

About the Khurda Road-Bolangir project, Vaishnaw saidits anticipated cost is Rs 3,792crore. The State Government

has to provide land free ofcost and share 50% cost ofthe project from km 112 tokm 289 from Khurda Road.

An expenditure of Rs 1,497crore has been incurred onthe project up to March 2021and an outlay of Rs 1,000.50crore has been provided inthe financial year 2021-22.

So far, 92 km lengthKhurda Road to Mahipur (77km) and Bolangir toBichupalli (15 km) of the

project have been commis-sioned. Work has been takenup in Mahipur-Nuagaon-Buguda (45 km),P u r u n a k a t a k - B o u d h -Sonepur (65 km) andS o n e p u r - J a h r t a r b h a -Bichupalli (37 km).

The one of the biggest rail-way projects in Odisha in-volves acquisition of 6,162acre of land and diversion of1,844 acre of forestland, outof which 5,333 acre land has

been acquired and diversionof 170 acre forestland hasbeen completed.

Further, the State Govern-ment has to acquire 829 acreland and diversion of 1.674acre forestland.

About the Jeypore-Nabarangpur project, he saidthe project was included inBudget 2016-17 and it wassanctioned on cost-sharingbasis with the State Govern-ment. The State Government

has to provide land free of costand share 50% constructioncost.

The latest cost of the projectis Rs 748 crore. An outlay ofRs 15.70 crore has been pro-vided in the Budget 2021-22.

The project involves acqui-sition of 772.19 acre of pri-vate land, 87.77-acre Gov-ernment land and 9.70-acreforestland diversion. Land ac-quisition work has beentaken up, Vaishnaw added.

� �� ����������������!���"��� ����� �����#���

��

��

� ����� � � �,.�/�*!+/�

The Odisha model of JointForest Management (JFM)through decentralisation, con-vergence and community par-ticipation has proved success-ful in growth of the forest.This was known from discus-sions on the outcomes of anindependent third party assess-ment study of JFM in the State.

The results of the empiricalstudy were placed in the one-day colloquium held here on

Wednesday for expert viewand further improvement.

Inaugurating the collo-quium, Chief Secretary SureshMahapatra directed the de-partment to make new strate-gies of forest managementmore transformative keepingpeople and their livelihood atthe center. He said, "Let thepeople feel that forest is re-served and protected for themnot for Government or any-body else."

Further, Mahapatra directedthe field level forest officers tohave regular meetings with theJFM and village committeesand assess their basic commonrequirements through directdiscussions.

Mahapatra added those ba-sic requirements could be metthrough convergence with dif-ferent departments; and suchan approach would win moreconfidence of the people.

Additional Chief SecretaryForest, Environment and Cli-mate Change Dr Mona Sharmasaid, "With encouraging learn-ing from JFM, the State is nowon its path towards a moretransformative model whichshe termed as "JFM++".

Dr Sharma said, " Focus willbe on sustainable forest man-agement through empower-ment of the community, andcollaborative efforts with dif-ferent departments for en-hancement of livelihood op-

portunities for the community.Presenting outcomes of the

Independent Third Party As-sessment Study, Principal ChiefConservator of the Forests andHead of Forest Force SishirKumar Ratho said, "As of now14,222 Vana SanrakshyanaSamities (VSS) and Environ-ment Development Commit-tees ( EDCs) have beenformed in 30 districts cover-ing an area of 12,192 sq kmof forest area. Their partici-pation in forest developmentactivities led to 70% reduc-tion in pressure on forests.The hazards like forest fire,use of poles and timbers, andgrazing etc have been re-duced to the tune of 50%."

����

��

� ����� � ���/,0/%.�

A meeting of the GajapatiSeva and Sanskrutika Samitiwas held in the premises of SriRaghunath Matha here onMonday to observe“Bhagabata Tungire Kaibalya”.Bhagabat devotee NilambaraSahu coordinated the event.

A large number of dignitar-ies, intellectuals and spiritualleaders joined the spiritual dis-course. Prominent amongthose were Gurushree DrDebiprasad Sahu, Ch SantoshKumar Subudhi, advocate

Sisira Padhi, Kasi BiswanathChoudhury and T Nirupama.

Several persons took oath toplay the role of “BhagabatSarathi” to ensure that themost sacred religious textBhagabata reaches everyhouse.

The speakers urged the au-dience to practise reading

Bhagabata at home every dayand dedicate themselves to thecause of humanity to achieveMukti (nirvana) from corrup-tion, polluted society, anger,ego and, above all, from vio-lence.

�#�� !$%%&�#�� !$%%&�#�� !$%%&�#�� !$%%&�#�� !$%%&

��%��&������$� 1�- ���� �� ��

#�'(�)# !�$*#+( �$,#�'(�)# !�$*#+( �$,#�'(�)# !�$*#+( �$,#�'(�)# !�$*#+( �$,#�'(�)# !�$*#+( �$,

%&�����/�������� ����$����,2

��&3�����$� �����*��!$���2�����

��� �$�%������ ������&� ����������

����� � � !.��/��/�,

MALAY RAYA teacher of Sundargarh dis-trict has landed in jail alleg-edly for eloping with a minorgirl student with a plan tomarry her secretly.

The accused teacher wasnabbed from Bihar and wasarrested and forwarded tocourt by Kutra police onWednesday on rape chargessince the girl student is minor.

The Kutra Police with thehelp of Bihar police also res-cued the minor girl from a

rented house in Bihar wherethe teacher had kept her. Shewas handed over to her par-ents later.

The accused Yogesh Sharma(33), a resident ofGopinathpalli of Rajgangpur,works as a teacher in St JohnMarry Vianney English Me-dium School under Kutra po-lice station. When the girl wasstudying in Class-V, Yogeshwas taking tuition of the girlat her home. He allegedly hadtried to trap the minor girl inlove relationship at that timeand suspecting the activitiesof the teacher, her parents haddisengaged Yogesh from giv-ing tuition to their daughter.

The minor girl is now study-ing in Class VIII.

The girl went missing fromher home on March 5evening. Her father lodged anFIR accusing Yogesh to bebehind the act. Police couldcome to know that Yogeshwas available at Siwan inBihar and a police teamheaded by IIC Kutra Policestation S Parida with the helpof Bihar police nabbed himfrom a rented house and alsorescued the minor girl.

"We arrested the accusedand forwarded him to courton Wedensday. His bail pleawas rejected and he was putbehind bar," said Parida.

����

��

� ����� � � �,.�/�*!+/�

Odisha's Rourkela isamong the 11 winners of theEatSmart Cities Challengeconducted by the Union Min-istry of Housing and UrbanAffairs (MoHUA).

The steel city bagged theaward as it is establishing aneconomic approach to foodsystem transformation. Thecity is supporting solar-pow-ered cold storage and womenentrepreneurship to reducewaste. The aim is to empowersmall farmers and street ven-dors.

Other winners areChandigarh, Indore, Jammu,Jabalpur, Panaji, Rajkot, Sagar,Surat, Tumakuru and Ujjain.The 11 cities will now enterthe deep engagement stage ofthe challenge wherein projectsundertaken in pilot stage will

be scaled up in a sustainablemanner.

The challenge was launchedby the MoHUA in collabora-tion with the Food Safety andStandards Authority of India(FSSAI) on April 15, 2021 toscale up the Eat Right Indiaapproach to city level.

The EatSmart Cities Chal-

lenge has the objective of mo-tivating Smart Cities to de-velop a plan that supports ahealthy, safe and sustainablefood environment supportedby institutional, physical, so-cial and economic infrastruc-ture along with application of'smart' solutions to combatfood-related issues.

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

��

��

� ����� � �%.�-

The Bar Association of Puriwould move the Orissa HighCourt against the ongoingworks for the Heritage Corri-dor project surrounding the

Jagannath Temple in Puri.The lawyers body unani-mously passed a resolution inthis regard on Tuesday in itsgeneral body meeting to ap-

proach the HC challengingworks within a prohibited zoneearmarked by the ASI forsafety of the shrine.

The decision to challengethe works came after failure oftalks of lawyers with the dis-trict Collectors. "We must fileboth criminal and civil casesagainst the district administra-tion for illegally digging thegrounds within the restrictedzone with help of drilling ma-chines and

erecting thick concretestructures in endangering the

temple," said former generalsecretary of Bar AssociationBibhuti Tripathy. Tripathy saidthat their protest against theillegal construction did nothave any impact on the ad-ministration. In the mean-time, works by Tata Companyare underway on a war-footingnear the west and south sidesof the Jagannath Temple. Simi-larly, development works wouldresume near north and eastgates also. Before the Car festi-val next year, the project isscheduled to be completed.

����

��

� ����� � ���/,0/%.�

The nominees of the threemajor political parties are go-ing to face tough contest in theupcoming BeMC elections insome wards since the BharatiyaBikash Parishad (BBP) has de-cided to extend its full supportto some of the most prospec-tive candidates and social work-

ers contesting independently,said BBP State presidentSurendra Panigrahi.

The basic objective of theBBP's support to selected Inde-pendent candidates is to ensureto form a more transparent andaccountable to people and cor-ruption-free BeMC Council, hesaid. The Independent candi-dates contesting for the post of

Corporator to whom the BBPhas declared its support includeTrinath Mohapatra, SudarsanPanigrahi, Chittaranjan Panda,advocates Sirin Tammanna andGopal Kumar Choudhury, SaratChandra Panda and BirenPattnaik. The majority of thesecandidates are advocates andsocial workers having appre-ciable image in public life.

��-� �����

����� � �*���/%/�/

The villagers of seasidecoastal Rajnagar block havestarted a five-day-long Yajnaat the sea beach to propitiatesea god "Baruna" to protect thesea side villages from sea ero-sion.

The sea has been crawlingmenacingly towards thecoastal villages every passingyear, posing a threat to the lifeand property of the local resi-dents.

The Yajna will continue tillMarch 16. Over last 73 years,it has become an annual prac-tice at Pentha sea beach toorganise AkhandaBrahmadhwani Mahayajnahere. Brahma AbadhutaBaman Chandra Baba hadstarted the Yajna in 1949. Andfrom that year onwards, theYajna is organised, statedAkhanda BrahmadhwaniMahayangya Committee sec-retary Khirod Rout.

According to RabindraKumar Padhiary, a local, thesea was about four to five kmaway from the human habita-

tion of Kanpur. But the vil-lage took watery grave due tothe crawling of sea. The tur-bulent sea has devoured mostof the houses of Satabhaya. Inpast two decades or so, the seahas come closer to Pentha vil-lage. Earlier, the sea was nearly1.5 to 2 km from the village,but now it is at a stone's throwdistance.

Notably, a geo-synthetictube sea wall has been erectedwith technical support fromthe IIT Chennai, with fund-ing of World Bank under theIntegrated Coastal Zone Man-agement Programme

(ICZMP). A sum of Rs 32.95crore was also spent for theconstruction of the sea wall,which is the maiden project setup in the State to protect thelife and property of 41,222persons of 56 villages underRajnagar block.

But the locals opined thatthe geo synthetic sea wallwould not be able to protectthe sea side villages in the com-ing years as its durability isnow questioned. It is for thisreason that in most of theplaces, the Yajna is organisedfor safety, peace and harmonyin the area.

����

��

� ����� � � 4*�%5�*

The SPIC MACAY (Soci-ety for Promotion of IndianClassical Music and Cultureamongst Youth) South Odishachapter hosted an event ofSambalpuri Dance by theSambalpur Kala Parishad at

different schools of Koraputdistrict.

The Sambalpur KalaParishad team led by SuryaPrakash Guru performedSambalpuri Dance and ex-plained the children about thedance and its reach cultureand importance. The troupealso demonstrated before thestudents the rythm ofSambalpuri Music.

The programme wasorganised to promoteSambalpuri Dance amongschool and college studentsin the rural areas.

A total of 24 programmeswere organised in schools ofB a n d h u g a o n ,Narayanpatna and Potaingi

blocks where hundreds ofstudents were present andlearned Sambalpuri Dance.Kaveri Turuk of Class-IXsaid she had seen SambalpuriDance before but neverknown the real history be-hind the dance. Anita Takriof Class-VIII fromNarayanpatna said she hadnever witnessed such aprogramme before.

���������� ����������������������������������������������������� ��������������� ������������������������������������������ ��������������� ����������������� ����� ��������������������������������������� ����������� ���� �� ���������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ����� ��������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������� �!����������������"���������� ���������������������������� �������������������� ���� ��������������������������������� �����������������������������#��������������������������� ���� ����$����%����&�������������������������� ��������������� �����������������������'����������������������������������� ���������������"��������������������(�����������������������������

����������� ������ �������������������� ��������������������������� ������������������������ !"�#�����$�%�����#��������������#���#����&' "!!'�(���!)* " !!* ��&���+������������,-����������������.#/01��21/��3%�/��(/40��.(��(1�����0�� "*� ""��������%����#��#����&' "!!'�5������26�����7�2�����+07��3������#�������2�����+�������������#0/#�-��58�209:*!!':**) !�#291�0��#0&;"*:*!!'��/#�3#�8�#92��#��;�!!2��+�������%�� ���<��0����+���=���+��� �>����� ������+%�-����>�������������+��$�����1����4�����+0��?�%�����9�� %�<��%�������@����-�0�<1����&;;!!!*������+!;;&"!;;!"AA�������������4�����+B& ;�������?�04/1��9���%���0-�&*!; !;�3��������+!;*!&"'C))!!�������<4�����+"��B���������������-�������B�D �#���������<**?!;?�(���������+!A**&* "?"" �* "?"""�* "?""A�

Page 3: D`_ZR CRYf] ScVR\ ZTV hZeY 8 #$ ]VRUVcd ?=BQ =4F34;78

RANCHI | FRIDAY | MARCH 18, 2022

PNS � Ranchi

Chief Minister HemantSoren has greeted peo-

ple on the occasion ofHoli. Greeting people onthe occasion of Holi and'Baha Porab', Chief Minis-ter Hemant Soren urgedthe people of the State towork for a better futureand live in harmony.The festival of colourspreads a message ofbrotherhood and so peopleshould inculcate love andharmony among them-selves, he tweeted. 'BahaPorab' or 'Baa Parab' is afestival of Ho, Santhal,Munda and other tribes.The Chief Minister alongwith ruling and oppositionMLAs celebrated Holi inthe State Legislative As-sembly on Tuesday. “AllMLAs are celebrating Holiin the Jharkhand Legisla-tive Assembly. All of usare very excited and happy

to celebrate this festival. Iwish a safe and prosperousHoli to each and everyonein the State,” Soren added.Leaders of all parties andopposition, includingChief Minister HemantSoren, were seen singingand dancing to the Bho-jpuri Fagua song, the samelanguage for which agita-tions and demonstrationsare taking place in Jhark-hand. While the tribals and

Kurmi MLAs have op-posed inclusion of Bho-jpuri, Maithali and Magahiin state language list instate government recruit-ment list.Later, in the day the JMMorganized Holi Milan cel-ebration at State Educa-tion Minister JagarnathMahto’s residence inwhich leaders from bothruling party as well as op-position attended the func-

tion. All political parties haveplanned a Holi Milanfunction. Ranchi MP San-jay Seth, organised HoliMilan at his residence onThursday in which seniorBJP leaders and leadersfrom ruling parties at-tended the function. UnionMinister Arjun Munda willorganize Holi Milan at hisRanchi residence on Fri-day.

The BJP lawmakers cele-brated Holi on March 10itself at Vidhan Sabhawhen the results of assem-bly election in five stateswere announced. The BJPclinched the assemblyelection by 4:1 with BJPwinning Uttar Pradesh,Uttrakhand, Manipur andGoa. The other state Pun-jab was won by AAP.As Congress has faced de-bacle in all five states

there was no such enthusi-asm from Congress leader-ship in celebrating Holi.Sources said that seniorleaders have decided tokeep a distance from cele-brating Holi in a big way.However, on TuesdayCongress MLAs includingJamtara MLA IrfanAnsari, Khijri MLA Ra-jesh Kachhap and otherswere seen celebrating theHoli.

CM extends Holi greetings to people of StateUnion MinisterArjun Mundacelebrates at MPSanjay Seth’sresidence

Chief Minister Hemant Soren alongwith legislators during Holicelebrations in State Assembly on March 15. PNS

Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda, Ranchi MP Sanjay Sethalongwith party workers during ‘Namo Holi Milan’ samaroh, in Ranchion Thursday. Pix by Vinay Murmu

PNS � Ranchi

In an attempt to strengthen theparty’s base in the State, Fi-

nance Minister and formerChief, Jharkhand Pradesh Con-gress Committee (JPCC), DrRameshwar Oraon took part inthe membership drive beingrun in his assembly con-

stituency, Lohardaga and madepeople members of the party infront of him.Oraon visited Kudu, Kairo,Bhandra, Khaijula, Chetar,Chandlaso, Prawn and Akashivillages of Lohardaga State as-sembly and various villages inSadar block and made peoplemembers of the party. On this

occasion, Dr Oraon also wishedthe villagers a happy Holi.There was a lot of enthusiasmamong the people about themembership drive and therewas a lot of happiness amongthe people about becoming amember of the Congress party.The Finance Minister said onthe occasion that the traditionof making members in the 140-year-old Congress party is veryold. He said that the member-ship campaign is being run allover the Country which willcontinue till March 31follow-ing the instruction of the partyhigh command. The party hastargeted 15 lakh members inthe State and it is sure that thetarget will be met, he added.Oraon further said that by run-ning a membership drive, peo-ple from all sections of thesociety are connected to the or-ganization and membershipfees are charged from them.Meanwhile, Oraon has greetedthe people of the State on Holi.The Finance and Food Sup-

plies Minister said that the fes-tival of Holi is a symbol of mu-tual harmony and brotherhood,there is a need to maintain theage-old tradition. He said thatthe danger of Corona infectionhas not been completelyaverted, so everyone shouldcelebrate Holi by taking pre-cautions.Senior State Congress leaders,Alok Kumar, Lal KishorenathShahdeo and Rajesh GuptaChhotu have also greeted thepeople of the State on Holi.The party leaders said that thisfestival is a festival to forget allthe differences and celebratethe festival together.The Congress Leaders said thattwo years are being made afterthe Corona epidemic, there is aneed to maintain mutual loveand brotherhood in the festival.“It is a wonderful coincidencethat both Holi and Shabe Baratare being celebrated simultane-ously, Jharkhand has alwaysbeen a symbol of Ganga Jamniculture,” they added.

Dr Rameshwar Oraon launches membership drive

Finance Minister Dr Rameshwar Oraon in Lohardaga duringa membership drive of Congress party on Thursday. PNS

Holi Spl train between Shalimarand Varanasi

Many Holi special trains are being operated for theconvenience of the passengers on the occasion ofHoli. In this episode, train number 08003/08004 Shal-imar-Varanasi-Shalimar Holi special train will be oper-ated between Shalimar and Varanasi. Train No. 08003Shalimar - Varanasi Holi Special will leave Shalimar at17.10 hrs on 17.03.2022 and will reach Varanasi at08.30 hrs, the next day. In return, Train No. 08004Varanasi – Shalimar Holi Special will leave Varanasi at19.45 hrs on 18.03.2022 and arrive at Shalimar at11.30 hrs, the next day. This Holi Special train will stopat Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Jn, Sasaram, Dehri onSone, Gaya, Koderma, Netaji Subhash Chandra BoseGomoh, Bokaro Steel City, Purulia, Tatanagar, Kharag-pur, Santragachi stations in Up and Down direction

Cleanliness fortnight begins in BSL

March 16-31 is beingcelebrated as ‘SwachhtaPakhwada’ in all theunits of SAIL includingBSL. It was started onMarch 16 by Director-in-Charge BSL AmarenduPrakash by administer-ing the cleanliness oathto the BSL personnel. Executive Director (MM, P&A)VK Pandey, Acting ED (Works) Sanjay Kumar, CGMInc (Finance and Accounts) Suresh Rangani and othersenior officers and personnel attended the program or-ganized at Ispat Bhawan Complex. During the Swach-hta Pakhwada, BSL will run a special campaign forcleanliness and housekeeping in various departments,offices, etc. of the plant, apart from the township. TheDIC BSL, while administering the cleanliness oath tothe present group, called for ensuring everyone's par-ticipation in it during the fortnight.

Holi Milan Ceremony at Chanakya IAS

Holi Milan ceremony wasorganized at Chanakya IASAcademy for their students.In the Ceremony, VinayMishra, Vice President ofthe Institute, ReemaMishra, General Managerof the Institute, attendedthe Holi Milan Ceremonyand mentioned the importance of Holi and wished allthe students a bright future. Vinay Mishra, Vice Presi-dent of the institute said that Holi promotes not onlyhappiness but also mutual brotherhood and unity. Onthe other hand, the general manager of the institute,Reema Mishra, said that in this festival of happiness,it is necessary that we become a part of the happinessof the society. She also said that the meaning of hap-piness can be made meaningful by spreading smileson the faces of the marginalized people of the society.Therefore, in this festival, whoever is seen around thepoor or helpless, takes a pledge to help them finan-cially.

Worker succumbs to injuries atDalmia plant

A contractual labourer, Nagendra Yadav succumbed tohis injuries at the workers camp of Dalmia CementBokaro plant on March 16. Dalmia Cement Spokesper-son said that Yadav was rushed to the BGH Hospitalas soon as the mishap was reported, but he suc-cumbed to his injuries. The matter was immediatelybrought to notice of local police authorities, whichstarted their investigation. He said that the firm is fullyco-operating with the investing and law enforcementagencies and express condolence to the family of thedeceased and will work with the contractor Durga En-terprises to extend all due support to the bereavedfamily.

Guv to attend 1st Convocation ofAISECT varsity

The first convocation cere-mony of AISECT Universitywill be organized on April 1at the main campus of AI-SECT University, Haz-aribag at Tarwa-Kharwa, inwhich Governor, RameshBais has agreed to attendthe ceremony. On Tuesday,Vice Chancellor of AISECT University Dr. PK Nayak,Registrar Dr. Munish Govind, Madhavi Mehta and Pro-fessor SNK Upadhyay reached Raj Bhavan and invitedGovernor Ramesh Bais to attend the first convocationceremony, after which the Governor gave his consent.

Colours of happiness with specialchildren

As the city is geared up foryet another day of fun-filledexcitement on Holi, MadhuriDixit fan Pappu Sardarspread the message to playsafe. After a gap of two yearsdue to the spread of Covid-19, he celebrated Holi withspecial children of Cheshire Home in Sundernagar. Hedanced to the tunes of Holi songs. On the occasion,Sister Philomena of Cheshire Home, while congratu-lating people on Holi, said that two years after the co-rona epidemic subsided, Holi of colours is beingcelebrated. May the colors of Holi be scattered a lot,but with brotherhood, do not forcefully apply colors toanyone. Physician Mithali Das also congratulated andtalked about celebrating Holi with enthusiasm. PappuSardar while wishing Holi said that Covid is almostover. There is neither night curfew nor any restriction,but masks and sanitizers are still necessary.

PNS � Ranchi

The Jharkhand PublicService Commission

(JPSC) has released theresults of two competitiveexaminations. The StateForensic Science Labora-tory, run by the Home De-partment of the StateGovernment, has received38 Assistant Directors/Se-nior Scientific Officersafter years based on inter-views carried out byJPSC.The commission has re-leased the result of the in-terview conducted for theappointment on theseposts. A total of 38 candi-dates have been declaredsuccessful in various de-partments. At the sametime, 11 posts are left va-cant. Majority of theseposts are from reservedcategory.The departments in whichcandidates have been se-

lected for appointment tothe post of Assistant Di-rector/Senior ScientificOfficer are two in Physics,three in Ballistics, one inNarcotics, five in Explo-sives, two in GeneralChemistry, eight in Toxi-cology, five in DNA, fivein Organisms. There arefive candidates in science,three in serology, one inforensic engineering, onein cyber forensics and cy-bercrime, one in lie detec-tion and one indocumentation. A total of49 posts were to be filledthrough a competitive ex-amination, for which theinterview was conductedon March 14 by JPSC. Forthe first time after the for-mation of the state, scien-tists are being appointedin the State Forensic Sci-ence Laboratory. Accord-ing to the commission, theresult of the interview willbe affected by the orderpassed in the petitionWP(S) 9/2022, pending inthe Jharkhand High Court.In criminal investigation,a forensic scientist is re-sponsible for performing

investigative tasks. He orshe makes assessments byresponding to crimeschemes. A forensic scien-tist analyses the samplesfound in crime locationssuch as hair, body fluids,paint, glass, and drugs inthe laboratory. A forensicscientist provides scien-tific evidence for use incourts of law to supportthe prosecution or defencein criminal and civil inves-tigations.Apart from this, the com-mission also released theresult of the interviewconducted for the appoint-ment of assistant profes-sors in three departmentsof BIT Sindri. A total of 27candidates have been se-lected for the appointmentof assistant professors inthese three departments.These include nine se-lected for Mechanical En-gineering Department, 12for Electrical Engineeringand six for Telecom Engi-neering. Department wiseinterview is being organ-ized by JPSC for the ap-pointment of AssistantProfessor in BIT Sindri.

Forensic Science Labs get scientists after two decades ‘State Govt waived 3.74 Lakh farmers’ loans’JPSC carries outinterview for assistantdirectors/seniorscientific officers

PNS � Ranchi

Coal India Ltd. organiseda workshop on “Tech-

nology Roadmap” under theaegis of the Ministry ofCoal, Govt. of India at itsHeadquarters in Kolkata.Pramod Agrawal, Chairman,CIL; SN Tiwary, Director-Marketing, CIL; B VeeraReddy, Director-Technical,CIL; SK Sadangi, CVO,CIL; Sanjiv Soni, SeniorAdvisor (Finance), CIL andAnandji Prasad, Advisor(Projects), MoC were pres-ent at the workshop.Addressing the gathering atthe workshop, Chairman,CIL said resilience, imple-mentation of new technolo-gies and digitization canhelp any organization togrow to new heights. Heurged the stakeholders to usenew technologies and pro-mote innovations in opera-tions in the coal miningsector.While setting the agenda forthe workshop, B. VeeraReddy, Director-Technical,CIL, emphasized that newtechnological interventions

can make an impressive dif-ference in the excavation ofcoal in view of CIL’s 1 bil-lion tonnes coal productionplans by FY 24-25. He reit-erated the need for new tech-nologies especially forunderground mining, whichhas the potential to take cen-trestage in the years tocome.Anandji Prasad, Advisor(Projects), MoC spoke about

the role of improved au-tomation and technology in-tegration to make the nationAatmanirbhar in coal pro-duction.Over 150 delegates fromCIL & its subsidiaries andthe Ministry of Coal alongwith coal and allied sectorsfrom across the globe, at-tended the workshop whichwas held via physical andvirtual modes.

CIL organises workshop on ‘Technology Roadmap’

PNS � Ranchi

Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), aJharkhand-based subsidiary of Coal

India Ltd (CIL) surpassed the previous fiscalcoal production of 62.59 Million Tonnes(MT) on March 16, 2022 and produced62.90 MT of raw coal. The company at-tained this feat with 15 days remaining in thecurrent fiscal 2021-22. Under the leadership of Union Coal MinisterPralhad Joshi and guidance of Chairman,CIL Pramod Agarwal, CCL’s production isin upward trend. The company is also get-ting full support from Jharkhand Govern-ment as well as stakeholders for meeting

energy requirement of the Nation.CMD CCL PM Prasad expressedhis delight on the performance ofthe company. He further statedthat CCL is committed to ensurethat there is no dearth of coal sup-ply in the power plants, spreadout in different parts of the coun-try.The CMD CCL and directors arevisiting areas to motivate theworkforce. They are also presid-ing meeting with Area GMs invirtual mode to extend all neces-sary support to them.Spread across eight districts ofJharkhand CCL is one of thelargest contributors to the stateexchequer of Jharkhand. Thecompany is also implementing

various CSR initiatives for the welfare ofthe stakeholders.CCL has 42 operational mines spread overeight districts in Jharkhand. Some of themajor mines are Amrapali, Ashok, Magadh,Karo and North Urimari mines.CCL is concentrating on several initiativesto preserve the environment and ensure in-clusive development of project affectedareas as well as its stakeholders. The com-pany is coming up with “CCL Covid CrisisScholarship Scheme” for students who losttheir either of patents or primary earningmembership of a family due to Covid-19pandemic and residing in command areas ofthe company.

CCL surpasses previous year's production figures

PNS � Ranchi

Despite all the adverse cir-cumstances during the Co-

rona period the Government ofJharkhand waived Rs 1496crore agricultural loans of 3.74lakh farmers of the State, statedDirector, Agriculture Depart-ment Nesha Oraon in a press communique onThursday.Oraon said that the loan waiver in the State isbased on an e-governance model, it is com-pletely paperless and no documents are de-manded from the beneficiary. She told that thescheme started on February 1, 2021 and atpresent it has been one year and one monthon March 1, 2022, during which Rs 1496crore has been spent that is out of the alloca-tion of Rs 2000 crore, 75 per cent amount hasbeen spent in One year One month.“Although there was a COVID -19 lockdownin the months of April and May of the year2021, apart from this work was stopped dueto technical error for almost 2 months. In thisway, for 4 months almost the work wasstopped completely, despite that the target of75 per cent was achieved, if the work couldhave been done continuously, then today atleast more than 90 per cent of the amountwould have been spent,” said Oraon.The Director, Agriculture said that the loanwaiver of 8 to 10 thousand farmers had faileddue to uploading of wrong details by thebank, it is being resolved by the bank, as soonas all the details are uploaded correctly, loansto the farmers will be given. She said thatbank details are uploaded on the loan waiverportal, till now the details of 6 lakh farmers

have been uploaded on the por-tal, Aadhaar and ration cardnumber is necessary for thisdetail. Aadhaar card identifiesthe correct beneficiary andonly one member of a family isto be given the benefit of thescheme, for this the ration cardnumber is required. She also

said that e-KYC is an important process bywhich farmers at Pragya Kendra verify theirKCC loan account details with their thumbimpression in the e-KYC machine.In the e-governance model, the whole processstarts with e-KYC and Portz software islinked to other government websites and au-tomatically matched with Aadhaar card andration card. Loan waiver scheme is going onin other states also in the Country, thus the pa-perless and contactless process has been im-plemented only in Jharkhand. Due to this thebeneficiaries do not face any inconvenienceand at the same time the implementation istransparent. E-KYC initiates the loan waiverprocess, after which the District AgricultureOfficer and District Deputy Commissioner ofthe district verify the details with their respec-tive digital signatures and send the details tothe Directorate level.A committee has been constituted in everydistrict under the chairmanship of the DeputyCommissioner. In case of any mismatch, thesame details are re-checked. All the details arereconciled in the Directorate for re-doublingor any other error, after which the amount isreleased to the bank for loan waiver throughPFMS through digital signature itself. ThePFMS model verifies the Aadhaar numberand bank account.

Women perform rituals during ‘Holika Dahan’ on the eveof Holi festival in Ranchi on Thursday. Pix by Vinay Murmu

Police personnel take out a flag marchahead of Holi festival in Ranchi onThursday. Pix by Vinay Murmu

Page 4: D`_ZR CRYf] ScVR\ ZTV hZeY 8 #$ ]VRUVcd ?=BQ =4F34;78

���� ��"#��������������� ������������� ��

������������������� ��������

In the backdrop of continuingtension at the Line of Actual

Control(LAC) in Ladakh andthe threat of a two-front warsimultaneously with China andPakistan, the capital outlay forthe next fiscal is not adequate,the Parliamentary StandingCommittee on Defence hassaid flagging its concern in itsreport tabled in the Parliament.

As against the projecteddemand of Rs 2,15,995 crore ,the final allocation was�1,52,369.61 crore. TheStanding Committee, whichtabled its report on Wednesday,said adequate budgetary allo-cations must be made in viewof the present scenario ofheightened tensions with cer-tain neighbouring countries.Referring to the gap between

the demand of the threedefence services for capitaloutlay and the budgetary allo-cation, the panel recommend-ed that the defence ministryshould not make any reductionin the outlay in the comingyears.

The report said such cur-tailment of funds could end upcompromising the operationalpreparedness of the defenceservices. "The committee fur-ther note that at BE (budgetestimate) stage in 2022-23, thegap between the projected andallocated budget for Army,Navy and Air Force is Rs14,729.11 crore, Rs 20,031.97crore and Rs 28,471.05 crorerespectively, which are remark-ably high," it said. The panel, inits previous reports, had rec-ommended making the capitalbudget "non-lapsable" and"roll-on" in nature. The com-

mittee said it was apprisedthat a draft cabinet note for thenon-lapsable defence mod-ernisation fund is under con-sideration. The committee alsosaid out of the total budgetaryallocation of Rs 3,43,822.00 in2020-21, only Rs 2,33,176.70was utilised by the ministry upto December 2020.

The panel asked thedefence ministry to expeditethe constitution of the "non-lapsable defence modernisationfund - defence renewal fund"that could be used exclusivelyfor the procurement of criticaldefence assets at critical times.

On the IAF preparedness,the report said the force shouldhave "two front deterrencecapabilities", which is of utmostpriority as the "threat on bothsides of Indian neighbourhoodis a reality which cannot beignored".

���� ��������

Urging Government offi-cials "to take Reform,

Perform, Transform to the nextlevel", Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Thursdayasked them not to lose sight ofthe goal of the 21st century -'Aatmanirbhar Bharat andModern India'. Addressing theValedictory Function of the96th Common FoundationCourse at Lal Bahadur ShastriNational Academy ofAdministration (LBSNAA) viavideo conferencing, the Prime

Minister underlined the emerg-ing new world order in thepost-pandemic world.

He said the world is look-ing towards India at this junc-ture of 21st century. “In thisnew world order, India has toincrease its role and developitself at a fast pace”, he said. Heasked the officers to keep inmind the importance of thisperiod with special focus on the‘biggest goal of the 21st centu-ry’ i.e. the goal of AatmanirbharBharat and Modern India. “Wecan’t afford to lose this oppor-tunity,” he said. He also inau-gurated the new sports com-plex and dedicated revampedHappy Valley Complex to thenation. Modi greeted the offi-cers on completing their courseand conveyed his wishes on thejoyous occasion of Holi. Henoted the uniqueness of theoutgoing batch as this batch isentering the active service in

the year of 'Azadi Ka AmritMahotsav'. “Your batch willplay a key role in the nation’sdevelopment in the Amrit Kaalof the next 25 year,” he added.

Referring to the views ofSardar Patel on civil services,the Prime Minister said thatsense of service and duty hasbeen the integral part of thetraining. “In all your years ofservice, these factors of serviceand duty should be the mea-sure of your personal and pro-fessional success”, he added.

He said work is never aburden when done with a senseof duty and purpose. He toldthe officers that they havecome to the service with a senseof purpose and to be a part ofa positive change in the contextof the society and the country.

The PM emphasised theneed to embrace the experiencefrom the field as real feel of theissues of the file come from the

field. Significantly, he said thatfiles do not contain just thenumbers and statistics but theycontain life and aspirations ofthe people. “You do not have towork for numbers but for thelives of the people”, he said.

He said that in this peri-od of 'Amrit Kaal', we have totake Reform, Perform,Transform to the next level.That is why today’s India ismoving ahead with the spirit of‘Sabka Prayas’.

He also recalled MahatmaGandhi’s mantra that everydecision should be evaluatedon the touchstone of the wel-fare of the last person in the lastline. The Prime Minister gavethe officers task of identifying5-6 challenges of their dis-tricts at local level and work forthose issues. He said identifi-cation of the challenges is thefirst step in the rectification ofthe challenges.

�����-�������������� ��������./��0���� ���1����� �*���

���� ��������

CRPF chief Kuldiep Singhon Thursday said he will

hold himself responsible fordelays in air-evacuation ofinjured personnel but pointedout that sometimes "practical

difficulties" crop up in execut-ing such operations in a time-ly manner in the Naxal theatre.Talking about a recent incidentin which an injured AssistantCommandant Bibhor KumarSingh had to undergo ampu-tation of both his legs post a

blast in an anti-Naxal operationin Gaya due to delayed evacu-ation for over seven hours,Singh said "why the helicoptercould not evacuate the officeror during other operations is abig technical issue".

"If you ask who is respon-sible for this, I would holdmyself responsible, it is myresponsibility to ensure heli-copters are provided to troopsbecause it is me who directsand motivates troops to go outfor operations.

If anyone is to be blamed,it is me. I cannot blame anyoneelse," Singh told a press con-ference ahead of the Force’s83rd raising day on Saturday.

"But I can tell you thatpilots and agencies operatingsorties in these (Left-WingExtremism) areas are profes-sionals. There are practical dif-ficulties in conducting these airevacuation operations," he said.

The force regularly takesup issues related to concernsover delay in evacuation by airwith the top brass of the IndianAir Force (IAF) and the BorderSecurity Force (BSF), which

operate helicopters for aidingground troops fightingNaxalism, he further said.Earlier, the parade was gener-ally held in the national capi-tal and on a few occasions itwas organised at Neemuch inMadhya Pradesh where theForce was originally head-quartered after its creation bythe British Government in1939 as Crown RepresentativePolice.

Talking about the Biharincident, the DG said AssistantCommandant Bibhor KumarSingh could not be evacuatedfor better treatment as pilotsdid not fly at night from Gayato Ranchi but the next day theysent an air ambulance to airlifthim to Delhi for admission toAIIMS.

"We also feel sad, the fam-ilies of the injured or slaintroops are anguished but I cantell you it is not exactly some-one's fault, '' the DG said.Hesaid that logistical, mainte-nance and other issues came inthe way of having a "dedicated"air wing exclusively withinCRPF.

���� ��������

Prime Minister NarendraModi spoke with South

Korean President-elect YoonSuk-yeol on Thursday with twoleaders agreeing to furtherbroaden and deepen India-Korea special strategic partner-ship, especially in present glob-al context. Prime Minister Modicongratulated Yoon on his vic-tory in recent presidential elec-tions of South Korea, the PrimeMinister's Office said in a state-ment. The leaders agreed onimportance of further broaden-ing and deepening India-KoreaSpecial Strategic Partnership,especially in present global con-text, it said. Modi and Yoon dis-cussed various sectors that offerpotential for accelerated bilateralcooperation, and agreed to worktogether to this end. The lead-ers also emphasised their desireto jointly celebrate 50th anniver-sary of establishment of diplo-matic relations between Indiaand South Korea next year, thestatement said.

���� ��������

India on Thursday came outstrongly against the

Organisation of IslamicCooperation (OIC) for invitingthe chairman of the All PartiesHurriyat Conference to attendits foreign ministerial meetingin Islamabad next week.

External Affairs Ministryspokesperson Arindam Bagchisaid New Delhi does not expectthe OIC to encourage actorsand organisations engaged interrorism and anti-India activ-ities. Bagchi was replying to aquestion on reports about theOIC inviting the chairman ofthe All Parties HurriyatConference to attend the meet-ing of the grouping's Council of

Foreign Ministers on March22-23 in Islamabad. At theMEA media briefing, he saidIndia takes very serious view ofsuch actions which are aimedat subverting the country'sunity and violating its sover-eignty and territorial integrity.

It is highly unfortunatethat the OIC continues to beguided by a single member'spolitical agenda rather thanfocusing on important devel-opment activities, Bagchi saidin an indirect reference toPakistan.

"We have repeatedly calledupon the OIC to refrain fromallowing vested interests toexploit the platform for com-ments on India's internalaffairs," he said.

*���������������2������*��3������4���������5�����������������

������������������ ���������

In his first visit to the UAE,Chief Justice of India NV

Ramana on Thursday sug-gested the organizations ofthe Indian diaspora in theGulf nation to think aboutcreating a legal assistance cen-ter to help those in need ofsuch assistance in India.

“As the Chief Justice ofIndia, I cannot make anypromise to you but I can sug-gest to organizations, such asthe India Social and CulturalCentre, to think about creat-ing a legal assistance center tohelp those in need of legalassistance in India,” JusticeRamana said. The CJI said thenational and state legal ser-vices authorities in India,

which takes care of the legalservice needs of 70 per centneedy population totally freeof cost, would extend all pos-sible help in dealing with thelegal problems of the needypersons in India.

He was speaking at a felic-itation function organised bythe Indian community in UAEat the India Social andCultural Centre, Abu Dhabi.

India's Embassy in AbuDhabi tweeted that JusticeRamana held a meeting withAbdullah bin Sultan bin AwadAl Nuaimi, the UAE's Ministerof Justice, and MohammadHamad Al Badi, President ofthe UAE's Federal SupremeCourt. India's Ambassador tothe UAE Sunjay Sudhir waspresent during the meeting.This is the first-ever visit by

the CJI to the UAE in officialcapacity. Justice Ramana saidthe growing strong relation-ship between the two countrieswill only grow in the times tocome and the strong bonds offriendship are bound to flour-ish and achieve new heights.

He said one of the majorreasons for the strong tiesbetween the two nations is thatIndians constitute one of thelargest ethnic groups in theUAE and they have signifi-cantly contributed to thedevelopment of the UAE overthe years.

Justice Ramanna, the48th Chief Justice of India, isscheduled to address thefourth edition of an interna-tional conference - Arbitrationin the Era of Globalization inDubai on Saturday.

,���!���������� ����!#"����-.,������/�0�1��"���

New Delhi: CRPF DirectorGeneral Kuldiep Singh onThursday said the force willdiscuss if the Kashmir Filesmovie could be inspirational orwill have motivational effectson the rank and file andaccordingly decide to makearrangements to screen themovie for the 3.25 lakh strongforce. Incidentally, the 83RDCRPF Day on Saturday is being

held in Jammu. However, hesaid no decision has been takenso far regarding the screeningof Kashmir Files for CRPFpersonnel. “But it is certain thatif a film or drama is inspira-tional or motivates people, itmust be seen,” he said.According to CRPF data, a totalof 175 terrorists have beenkilled by it in the past year inJammu and Kashmir, 183 havebeen apprehended and twohave surrendered. Three CRPFpersonnel were killed while 61injured between March 2021and March 16 this year. Of thekilled terrorists, 40 per centwere foreign terrorists. PNS

.&�����������2��0������������������0���5�����������0�

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

$%��&��� ����'�����(�������� ���%�����(�)��* �

�������������� ���������

Taking the Governmentformation process in

Uttar Pradesh forward, BJPpresident JP Nadda onThursday met the party'sallies in Uttar Pradesh —Anupriya Patel of the ApnaDal(S) and Sanjay Nishad ofthe Nishad party at his resi-dence here to finalise thenames and numbers to beincluded in the Council ofMinisters from the key allies.

The Apna Dal contested17 seats and won 12 of themwhile the Nishad partyfought on 16 seats and wonsix seats in the just conclud-ed Uttar Pradesh polls.

Patel made her debut inthe 2012 Assembly electionswhen her party contested twoseats and won both. In the2014 Lok Sabha elections, theparty contested two seats inalliance with the BJP andwon both. Patel went on tobecome a Minister of State atthe Centre.

In the 2017 Assemblyelections, the Apna Dal con-tested 11 seats in alliancewith the BJP and won nine.

Nadda met Patel andNishad separately along withBJP's Uttar Pradesh poll-in-charge Dharmendra Pradhanand state unit chief SwatantraDev Singh, and is understoodto have discussed govern-ment formation in the state.

While Yogi Adityanath isto occupy the Chief Minister’spost for the second time – arecord after 37 years-the BJPis yet to be done with thequest ion of having twoDeputy Chief ministers aswas the case in the first termof the Yogi govenrment.

The loss of assemblyelections by ex-deputy ChiefMinister Keshav PrasadMaurya from his traditionalSirathu seat has further com-plicated the issue. FormerGovernor of Uttarakhand andMLA-elect from Agra ruralBaby Rani Maurya is seen asthe probable candidate as aminister or a Deputy ChiefMinister, sources said.

A number of new facesare certain to gain space inYogi 2.0 cabinet, sources said.State party presidentSwatantra Dev Singh is alsolikely to be inducted in thecabinet.

A day before, Adityanathhad held deliberations withNadda and Union homeMinister Amit shah tofinalise the list of 50 proba-ble ministers in the state. TheUP CM had earlier in theweek also had a long meet-ing with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and consult-ed Union Minister RajnathSingh too.The swearing-inceremony at Lucknow may beheld on March 21.

������������������ ��������

Cyclone Asani, the firstcyclone of 2022, is expect-

ed to hit Andaman andNicobar Islands on March 21and it will move towardsBangladesh and Myanmar afterhitting Andaman. The cyclonehas been named Asani as sug-gested by Sri Lanka. TheMinistry of Home Affairs(MHA) has also reviewed thepreparedness of central min-

istries or agencies and admin-istration of Andaman andNicobar in the view of impend-ing cyclone in Bay of Bengal.The ministry also said thatteams of National DisasterResponse Force, Indian Army,Navy and Air Force have beenasked to be on alert for anyuntoward situation.

Union Home SecretaryAjay Bhalla on Thursdayreviewed the preparedness ofcentral ministries and agenciesand administration of

Andaman & Nicobar in view ofimpending cyclone in Bay ofBengal and Army, Navy, AirForce and Coast Guard havebeen put on alert.

Sources said the UnionHome Secretary has directed allagencies to keep regular watchand be in touch with Andaman& Nicobar Administration.Fishing, tourism and shippingactivities have been stoppedafter the IMD’s alert.

Fishermen advised toreturn from sea. Indian Army,Navy, Air Force and IndianCoast Guard have been askedto be on high alert. The con-cerned ministries have alsobeen advised to be ready withassistance if required,” officialssaid.

The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) hasexplained that a low-pressurearea in the Southeast region ofthe Bay of Bengal is likely tointensify into a cyclonic stormby March 21. The low pressurearea over central parts of the

south Bay of Bengal movedeast--northeast and lay centredat 8.30 am on Thursday, March17, over the southeast Bay ofBengal and the adjoining eastequatorial Indian Ocean.

It is likely to continue mov-ing east-northeast, become awell-marked low-pressure areaand lie over the southeast Bayof Bengal and the adjoiningsouth Andaman Sea bySaturday morning, March 19.

Thereafter, it is likely tomove nearly northwards alongand off the Andaman andNicobar Islands, intensify intoa depression by the morning ofMarch 20 and evolve into acyclonic storm on March 21.

On the other hand, mostparts of the north, west andcentral India witnessed heatwave to severe heat wave con-ditions. Many parts of Rajastha,Madhya Pradesh and Punjaband Haryana and West UttarPradesh are witnessing gradualrise in maximum tempera-tures for the past few days.

������������������ ��������

If you are planning to enjoythe festival of colours, then

it is very important to knowwhat type of colours youshould use or steps you shouldtake to prevent any respirato-ry, skin or eye related prob-lems, caution the doctors.

“Proper eye care is a mustas use of synthetic colours andignorance regarding safetymeasures can lead to seriousconsequences. People enjoythrowing colors on each otherwhile celebrating the festivalof colors, but we need to becautious, especially when itcomes to eye care, as it is oneof the most vital organs in thehuman body,” said Dr TusharGrover, Medical Director,Vision Eye Centre.

“Synthetic colours thatare used in Holi may containheavy metals which may causecorneal abrasions, infectionsand also severe chemicalburns in the eye. It is best toavoid such colors. Eyes needextra care during Holi, soalways try to protect your

eyes by wearing eyeglasses orprotective eye wear. Anotherimportant thing I wouldadvise is to try not to wearcontact lenses as color may gettrapped on the surface of thelens, which may lead to chem-ical injuries and increase therisk of infection,” said DrGrover.

Dr Vikas Mittal, seniorpulmonologist, Max Hospital,Shalimar Bagh, Delhi saidthat as Holi comes at a timewhen there is a changing sea-son, pollen grains are in theair and Asthma exacerbationscan happen around this time.One must continue taking allprescribed medications andconsult a doctor prior to Holi.”

Doctors also advise avoid-ing water balloons as they putan individual at a high risk ofsevere sight-threatening eyeinjuries such as corneal tears,traumatic cataract and glau-coma, as well as the risk ofretinal detachment. Dr. PartapChauhan, Director, JivaAyurveda, shared herbal tipsto ensure that Holi colours donot become a bane for theplayer. “A day before Holi,

apply mustard oil all overyour body. Apply generouslyover the face, hands and legsas these are exposed areaswhere colour will be thrown.This will keep your skin pro-tected and also allow you toremove the colours with ease,”he said. To prevent coloursfrom penetrating deep into

the hair roots, one shouldapply plenty of coconut oilwhile alternatively one canalso use a lotion, he said.

Also, in case a personobserves rashes on the skindue to Holi colors, it is best touse face wash instead of soapto remove it , said DrChauhan.

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

*��-�6��������������� �(�������

�������"�����������!���������"���������������"�������(��������������������"����*"!������ ���2�����+��3������

"��������������7*���5�����0�������������-8��������

���������'��������4�5�����������"�������(����������"�����*"!������ �67�67�����3*(,���7,,�

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

Page 5: D`_ZR CRYf] ScVR\ ZTV hZeY 8 #$ ]VRUVcd ?=BQ =4F34;78

��������������� ������������� �� ���� ��"+

����� !��!"#"$"%"&"'"#

Aday after West BengalChief Minister Mamata

Banerjee revealed that the con-troversial Pegasus spyware wasoffered to her Government, sheprovided on Thursday moredetails, stating the State policewas approached at least four tofive years back with an offer tosell the controversial Israelispyware for just Rs 25 crore.The chief minister said she hadturned it down when she cameto know of it.

Banerjee also alleged thatinstead of using the spyware forthe security of the country, itwas used by the central gov-ernment which she claimedpurchased it, for "political" rea-sons against judges and offi-cials.

However, the TeluguDesam party denied assertionsmade by her on Wednesdaythat the then chief minister of

Andhra Pradesh, ChandrababuNaidu, had purchased the spy-ware during his tenure.

"They (NSO, the compa-ny which developed Pegasus)had approached everybody tosell their ware. They hadapproached our police too,four-five years ago and offeredto sell it for Rs 25 crore. I hadthe information, but I saidthat we did not require it,"Banerjee said at the state sec-retariat."If it was used for thebenefit of the country or forsecurity reasons then it was adifferent matter altogether, butit has been used for politicalpurposes, against judges, offi-cers which is not at all wel-comed," she alleged. TheBengal chief minister had onWednesday disclosed in theAssembly that her governmentwas offered Pegasus spywarewhich she had declined as ithad the potential to encroachupon people's privacy.

During her disclosure inthe Assembly, the fiery leaderhad also claimed that theAndhra government "had itduring Chandrababu (Naidu)'stime". However, the TeleguDesam party denied the claimand said the ChandrababuNaidu government had madeno such purchase.

"We have never purchasedany spyware. We neverindulged in any illegal phonetapping," Telugu Desam Partygeneral secretary Nara Lokeshsaid here on Thursday.

Reacting to Banerjee'sclaim that the previousChandrababu Naidu govern-ment purchased the PegasusSpyware, Lokesh who was thethen Minister for InformationTechnology in his fatherChandrababu's Cabinet, said "Idon't know whether she hasindeed said this, and where andin which context. If she did saythis, she is certainly misin-

formed." However, he saidthe software was offered to theState Government.

"Yes, Pegasus offered tosell its spyware to the AP gov-ernment as well but we reject-ed it," Lokesh said.

Had the government pur-chased the spyware, therewould be a record of it, hepointed out. An internationalmedia consortium had report-ed last year that over 300 ver-ified Indian mobile phonenumbers were on the list ofpotential targets for surveil-lance using Pegasus spyware.

A New York Times reportearlier this year claiming Indiabought Pegasus spyware aspart of a USD 2 billion defencedeal with Israel in 2017 hadtriggered a major controversywith the Opposition allegingthat the government hadindulged in illegal snoopingthat amounted to "treason".

����� "("&#"�"

Governor Satyadeo N Aryaon Thursday expressed

satisfaction over the prevailinglaw and order situation inTripura even as the OppositionCPI(M) MLAs boycotted hisspeech and staged a walkout onthe first day of the Budget ses-sion after having failed to drawhis attention to the purportedlaw and order deterioration.

The Governor in hisspeech highlighted a significantimprovement in law and orderunder the BJP-led state gov-ernment citing a reduction inthe percentage of grave crimes,and violence against womenbesides an increase in the con-viction rate.

“The law and order situa-tion of the state has improvednotably and is well under con-trol which is evident from thefact that the percentage of

grave crimes has reduced by 26per cent as compared to 2019,"he said.

Crime against women hasreduced by 19.60 per cent in2020 as compared to 2019, thegovernor pointed out.

“The conviction rate is 52per cent in 2020 as comparedto 36.30 percent in 2019 undernon-IPC and 32.40 per cent in2020 as compared to 23.10per cent in 2019 under IPC," hesaid.

The Governor also laudedthe achievements of the BiplabKumar Deb government in theareas of infrastructure, health-care, and farmers' welfare.

Earlier, when the Governorbegan to deliver his customaryspeech, Opposition leader andformer chief minister ManikSarkar tried to draw his atten-tion regarding the deterioratinglaw and order situation in thestate.

However, he could notmake any point since hismicrophone was switched off.

As Sarkar failed to draw theGovernor's attention, CPI(M)legislators led by the oppositionleader walked out of the House.

“We have a long traditionof listening to the Governor'sspeech. But this time Left Frontlegislators were forced to stayaway," Sarkar said later.

The CPI(M) leader alleged,“A jungle raj is installed inTripura where opposition par-ties are not allowed to carry outtheir programmes. People arescared. As head of the state, theGovernor could summon thechief secretary and the DGP toadvise them for improving lawand order.”

The former chief ministerclaimed that whenever some-one tries to contact theGovernor, it is reported that heis sick.

����� ��������

Eight lawmakers, including AK Antony and Asaduddin

Owaisi, have been awarded bythe Lokmat Group for theircontributions in Parliament. AIMIM president Owaisi andTrinamool's Derek O'Brienwere selected as best parlia-mentarian for the LokmatParliamentary Awards for 2022by a jury of prominent leaderschaired by NCP supremoSharad Pawar.

Antony, the veteranCongress leader, andBhartruhari Mahtab have beenselected for the lifetimeachievement award.

BJP Lok Sabha memberLocket Chatterjee and NCPRajya Sabha member VandanaChavan have been selected inthe Best Women

Parliamentarian category.BJP Lok Sabha member

Tejasvi Surya and Rajya Sabhamember from RJD ManojKumar Jha have been selectedin the best debutant parliamentarian cat-egory.

The awards are given tooutstanding parliamentarians— four from Lok Sabha andfour from Rajya Sabha — everyyear. This is the fourth editionof the awards.

The board of jury com-prising senior leaders such asGhulam Nabi Azad, SureshPrabhu, N K Premachandranand former Rajya SabhaSecretary General YogendraNarain, studied the parlia-mentary contribution for theyear 2020 and 2021 of allMembers of Parliament toselect the winners.

����� %)% "

Mumbai Police has regis-tered an FIR against an

unidentified person whoallegedly demanded Rs 3 crorefrom the son of Maharashtraminister Nawab Malik to getthe latter out on bail, an officialsaid on Thursday.

NCP leader Malik wasarrested by the EnforcementDirectorate (ED) last month ina money laundering case.Following a complaint filed bythe minister's son Amir Malik,the V B Nagar police registeredthe FIR late Wednesday night,he said.

According to the com-plainant, he received an emailin which the sender, who iden-tified himself as Imtiyaaz,allegedly said he will try to getNCP leader Nawab Malik outon bail and demanded Rs 3crore in Bitcoins.

"I have lodged the FIR, butcan't share more about it as it

is a confidential matter,” AmirMalik told PTI.

A senior police officialsaid, “We have registered theFIR under various Indian PenalCode sections, including 419(punishment for cheating bypersonation), 420 (cheating),and provisions of the IT Act.Further investigation is under-way."

Nawab Malik was arrestedby the ED on February 23 thisyear under the Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act(PMLA) over a property dealallegedly linked to the aides offugitive gangster DawoodIbrahim.

He is currently in judicialcustody and lodged at theArthur Road jail in Mumbai.

��������������� !��!"#"

The Trinamool Congress onThursday launched a

scathing attack on the Centrefor using the agencies like theEnforcement Directorate toharass the Opposition politi-cians like Abhishek Banerjee —a nephew of Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee —hours after the TMC MP andhis wife Rujira Narula Banerjeewere issued summons by thecentral investigation agency incoal smuggling case.

Abhishek Banerjee thenational general secretary ofthe TMC has been issued sum-mons to appear before the EDin a money laundering caserelated to coal smuggling.

“Abhishek Banerjee hasbeen summoned by the ED tomalign Mamata Banerjee …this is a part of the BJP’svendetta politics … the BJP willhave to repent for this,” BengalMinister Bratya Basu said onThursday.

Another senior leader andminister Partha Chatterjee saidthat such “there were hints ofsuch political victimizations” inthe speech of Prime Minister

Narendra Modi soon after therecently concluded elections infive States.

“The BJP Government isacting to a plan … as the 2024elections will approach fre-quency of such summons willincrease …opposition leaderswill be called and threatened …this is a part of the BJP’s arm-twisting politics,” the seniorminister said.

The ED earlier summonedjunior Banerjee and his wife ina money laundering case linkedto the accused in a coal smug-gling case. They have beenasked to appear in the Agency’sDelhi office next week. Thesummons was issued in the

wake of the Delhi High Courtrefusing to grant any relief tothem in this case.

The couple had earlierbeen grilled by ED and CBIrespectively. According tosources, the TMC leader didnot cooperate with the EDduring his earlier interrogationfor about 8 hours in September201. Banerjee was reportedlyasked specifically about theunaccounted money which wasreceived by two firms associ-ated with his family. Two of hisvery close relatives are directorsin these two firms that hadalleged links with the coalmoney.

Meanwhile, on an unrelat-

ed issue the Bengal ChiefMinister on Thursday attackedthe Election Commission ofIndia for acting according tothe instructions of the centralGovernment. Banerjee’sremarks came after herGovernment’s request toreschedule the April 12 by-elec-tions in view of the pre-sched-uled Class XII (higherSecondary) board exams.

Wondering whether theby-polls could be held duringthe just concluded elections to5 State assemblies, Banerjeesaid “what was the problem ofholding by-elections along withthe polls in five states … truthto be told the ElectionCommission do not give muchimportance to the stray localpolls,” as it worked according tothe directions of the centralgovernment.

Banerjee on Thursdayannounced the new dates forClass XII exams. As per thenew schedule the higher sec-ondary exams would run fromApril 2 to April 26. Therewould be no test from 7th to15th April as the by electionswould take place on 12th ofthat month.

9�������0 �:�9���������9��������#(���00����/ ����������

��� ����������� "�("&�

The hijab controversy in thecity's Shri Varshney College

did not cool down yet, the dis-pute reached ITI College inAligarh. When the former stu-dent came in the burqa, somestudents objected and startedprotesting by wearing saffronclothes. The students startedshouting religious slogans withthe people coming from out-side. Hours later, the matter wasbarely settled after the inter-vention of the principal.

According to the develop-ments, some students weredoing practicals on themachines related to the course.They had put a saffron-coloured cloth around his neck.The teacher asked them totake off the cloth, the studentsrefused. The students said thatwhen girls can come to the col-lege wearing burqa and hijab,

then why can't they come wear-ing this cloth (Gamcha) . Theteachers argued that wearing agamchha and working on themachine could lead to an acci-dent. When other teachers alsoasked the students to take offthe cloth, the student startedcreating ruckus. They said thata girl student has come to thecollege wearing a burqa, againstwhich they have worn this saf-fron. When the pressure of thecollege administrationincreased on the students, theycalled outside students to thecampus. After which peoplefrom outside started raisingreligious slogans in the campus.

The students agreed uponintervention and persuasionby the principal of the college,Nawab Singh. Simultaneously,the students who came fromoutside returned back.

The principal told that hekeeps coming to the office foradministrative work like char-acter certificate, certificate andsecurity fee. Today the formerstudent also came to ITICollege regarding any certifi-cate. Seeing this, the studentsworking on the machine gotfurious. At the same time,putting on saffron clothes start-ed creating ruckus. There is acomplete dress code in

Government ITI College. Allthe students come to the cam-pus in uniform. The collegemanagement has issued anotice to all the students andinstructed them to follow thedress code. Nawab Singh,Principal, Government ITICollege said that the formerstudent had come to the collegefor certificate related work,seeing that some students start-ed creating ruckus by puttingon saffron clothes. Some out-siders were also involved inthis. The matter has been paci-fied after explaining everyone.Also, a notice has been issuedto come in dress.

��� ����������� "�("&�

In UP, the festival of Holi iscelebrated with such pomp

that people not only from allover the country but also fromabroad come here for the fes-tival of colors. Meanwhile,efforts are being made to pro-tect the mosque located atAbdul Karim crossroads ofAligarh from the colors ofHoli. For this the districtadministration has put themosque under the cover.

It is being told that AbdulKarim Chauraha is a very sen-sitive area. Holi of the mainmarket of the city takes placehere. In the past years, there hasbeen a lot of ruckus due to thecolor falling on the mosque onthe day of Holi. Therefore,now the district administration

gets the mosque covered withtarpaulin to maintain peaceand order by the regionalMuslim society and themosque committee. This actionwas done early in the morning.

Actually, there is an oldmosque in Aligarh at AbdulKarim crossroads. This inter-section is the most crowdedmain market of the city andcomes in the very sensitive cat-egory. In such a situation, thedistrict administration hasalways kept the police sta-tioned here.

On every festival, be itHoli or Diwali, a large numberof forces are deployed herealong with the general public.At this crossroads, the peopleof the market celebrate the Holiof the market by keeping bigdrums. To maintain peace and

order, this time also the districtadministration has completelyput this old mosque built at thecrossroads under the cover, sothat no color or gulal is splat-tered on the mosque and theatmosphere cannot be spoiled.

It is being told that earlierthere have been some clashesbetween the two communitieson the festival of Holi. Thespark rising here takes thewhole city in its lap, due towhich the Aligarh administra-tion has completely covered themosque.

Muslim community havewelcomed this initiative of theadministration. They said thatthis step has been taken underYogi's 'Sabka sath, sabka vikas,sabka vishwas' slogan. Also forthis step, government andadministration both are wellappreciated.

������������������ !���

By Thursday eveningChanganassery in Kerala’s

Kottayam district wore thelook of a ghost city as morethan 500 persons includingwomen with tiny tots werebrutally assaulted by armedcops in front of live TV cam-eras.

Infants, who were shockedto see blood stained faces oftheir mothers were sobbingincessantly even as the police-men continued threateningthem. The women who hadassembled to stage demon-stration against the revenueofficials who landed inChanganassery to lay the sur-vey stones as part of the landacquisition for the controver-sial Semi High Speed SilverLine Rail connectingThiruvananthapuram andKasaragod were physically

assaulted and dragged alongthe roads to be dumped intopolice vehicles. Though manyof them sustained injuries, theywere in high spirits.

“We do not have anywhereto go. Once they take over thisland for the rail project we willbe thrown out in the streets,”said Annie, a homemaker whohad come to stage the protestmarch. All the women who hadassembled at the site had comewith kerosene bottles andthreatened to self-immolate ifthe officials continued withthe land acquisition works.

The Kerala Governmenthad suffered a set back onWednesday as Union RailwayMinister Ashwini Vaishnawinformed the Lok Sabha thatthe Centre has not given anypermission for land survey oracquisition for the Rs 64000crore project.

This is the first time inKerala’s history women in largenumbers are coming out withwarning of mass immolationagainst land acquisition by theState Government. ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan haddeclared in the LegislativeAssembly early this week thathis Government would not

remain a silent spectator to anykind of agitation or protestagainst the 529. 45 km longproject.

What has upset the ownersof land which would be takenover for the rail project is thefact that they would not getalternate land anywhere neartheir original place of dwelling.“There are no reference to anyresettlement or rehabilitationfor those who stand to losetheir land. The Detailed ProjectReport (DPR) is silent aboutthese two factors withoutwhich one cannot go forward,”said Mary Kuriakose, one of theagitators.

C R Neelakantan, engi-neer-turned-environmentalisttold The Pioneer that the unionminister declared onWednesday that no permissionhas been given for land acqui-sition.

“Let the State Governmentconduct the techno-ecologi-cal-environemntal viability ofthe project. Though the chiefminister had said that thosewho lose the land would besuitably compensated, whatthey are asking is for fair com-pensation,” he said.

Neelakantan, who had

been in the forefront of agita-tions against nuclear powerplants in Kerala further point-ed out that it was illegal to laysurvey stones without holdingsociological impact analysis.Though the revenue officialslaid the survey stones after thewomen were driven away, thenewly laid stones would beremoved late evening, said thewomen.

People elsewhere in theState are following this patterns;officials install the stones aftergetting the protestors removedfrom the site and the protestorsreturn with full force and throwaway the stones.

E Sreedharan, former chiefof Delhi Metro, said that theGovernment may have to buildeight ft tall walls on both sidesof the semi speed rail tracksand this would divide the Stateinto two. “Waterways would getdestroyed and this is certain tocause floods and landslides infuture,” he said.

Neelakantan said what theState was witnessing is blatantviolation of human rights. The2013 Land Acquisition Lawsare being breached to stoke theego of some persons and this isnot advisable,” he said.

���� ��������

Flexibility to move from onedisciplinary area to another

within course duration andmultiple entry-exit options withcertificate, diploma or degreedepending on number of cred-its secured are among the fea-tures of the Four-YearUndergraduate Programme,according to draft guidelinesprepared by University GrantsCommission. The draft, titled"Curricular Framework andCredit System for Four-yearUndergraduate Programme",proposes common introducto-ry courses in natural sciences,humanities and social sciencesfor the first three semesters,regardless of what the studentschoose to specialise in. It alsoincludes common courses onregional languages, English,Yoga, Artificial Intelligence and

data analytics, among others.According to the draft, a

transferable credit-based sys-tem has been proposed for theFYUP with 160 credits; withone credit for 15 hours ofclassroom teaching. In thethird year, students will have tochoose a subject they want tostudy in-depth. Students canchoose from a wide range ofsubjects ranging from politicalscience to astronomy.

In the last two semesters,the student enrolled in FYUPwill also undertake researchbased on their major subject."Flexibility to move from onedisciplinary area of study toanother within the duration ofstudy by securing requiredcredits, opportunity for learn-ers to choose the subject ofinterest, facilitating multipleentry and exit options with cer-tificate, diploma or degree

depending upon the number ofcredits secured, flexibility forlearners to move from oneinstitution to another to enablethem to have a multi or inter-disciplinary learning.”

"...Facilitating switching toalternative modes of learning(face-to-face, ODL and Onlinelearning, and hybrid modes oflearning) will be among the fea-tures of the credit system.Regulations for Academic Bankof Credit (ABC) and multipleentry and exit are already in placeto facilitate implementation ofthe credit system. The focus ofthe credit system will be on intro-ducing flexibility in choosingcourses and programmes ofstudy," the guidelines stated.

The UGC has recom-mended that a semester con-sists of 90 working days and anacademic year is divided intotwo semesters. “Global

Citizenship Education andeducation for sustainable devel-opment to form an integral partof the curriculum to empowerlearners to become aware ofand understand global andsustainable development issuesand to become active promot-ers of more peaceful, tolerant,inclusive, secure, and sustain-able societies," it said.

"Preparing professionals incutting-edge areas that are fastgaining prominence, such asArtificial Intelligence (AI), 3-Dmachining, big data analysis,and machine learning, in addi-tion to genomic studies,biotechnology, nanotechnolo-gy, neuroscience, with impor-tant applications to health,environment, and sustainableliving that will be woven intoundergraduate education forenhancing the employability ofthe youth," it said.

6��#��"���+����������+��8!����+�������������9�+����'����+��

����������� �� ������ ������� ���� !"�#$�%���#� �# &'�� �#(��'$�!( %��$�!""�

4��#���'������������#��!�������:&���%$&������#�/��+���

����� !" ����������������# ��� ���� �� � " ����$��� �%����

%% )�* *��� �!�+��� �, ���%��! ����"���

1�����#���������#������+���������+�����#��;������+��������7�'� ��������������������"����������

���������������"� ������& ������������� �� �����'� ������������� ��

����� ������������������

Kerala on Thursday record-ed 922 new COVID-19

infections which raised thetotal caseload to 65,25,032.

The southern state alsoreported 130 deaths whichraised the toll to 67,138,according to a governmentrelease. Of the deaths, 7 werethose which occurred in thelast few days but were notrecorded due to late receipt ofdocuments and 123 were des-ignated as COVID-19 deathsafter receiving appeals based onthe new guidelines of theCentre and the directions of theSupreme Court, the releasesaid.No deaths were reported inthe last 24 hours, it added. With1,329 more people recoveringfrom the virus sinceWednesday, the total recover-ies reached 64,50,028.

!�����������*++�,������� �������-./������

#����� �� ������������������ � ����(�����$���) ����*�� � 0//�� ����� ��1�2��1 ���� ������1��3�����������������

Page 6: D`_ZR CRYf] ScVR\ ZTV hZeY 8 #$ ]VRUVcd ?=BQ =4F34;78

and every influenced TVanchor are guilty of mislead-ing the Congress party. In itscurrent form, the Congressmay be finished by the nextelection because it fails tounderstand UP beyond itsown ideology.

They have failed to attractthe young and disregardedthe traditional status quo.They have also neglected thecaste balance and failed toempower new leaders fromthe State. While the BJPextensively depends on UP’sThakurs, Congress appears tobe disgusted with them. Thesad induction of former UPpresident Sanjay Sinh into theBJP was a political statement.But with Capt Amarinderand Scindia out, and Pilot‘disciplined’, the Congresshouse-cleaning seems to becomplete. Sidhu and Channi’sego wars are also over withthe Punjab loss. Only onegroup within the Congressremains to be dealt with.Once that is done, one feelsthat the Congress leadershipwill be more centralised andeffective. Don’t be fooled bythe resignation rumours. TheGandhi triumvirate may onlybe testing the faithful onceagain. The Congress fief-doms are being broken into

by the Gandhis tacitly.The Congress is using the

BJP to clean its own house. Iknow that it is a bold state-ment but the Congress coreteam won’t be appalled oncethey read this. Political wheel-er-dealers often use theiropponents to consolidate theirown political positions.

Getting back to UP, sowhy did Priyanka embarkon such a dreamy interviewcampaign, perhaps knowingfully well she will destroy her-self? My mind can think ofonly one answer: Priyankamay have been looking forwestern allies and liberal-minded donors. But thisadventure cost the Congressits dignity and strengthenedthe BJP. Congress also workedagainst any mega-coalitionagainst the BJP.

The RLD did benefit andgained seven additional seats,whereas the SP gained 111, aportentous number for sure.But Akhilesh could have donemuch better. His Jinnah pro-clivities and bad politicaladvisors have landed him inthe Opposition once again. Asa result, key members of hisadvisory group like AbhishekMishra were rejected by theelectorate. No matter what theSP spokespersons say, it is

perceived as a “Muslim-Yadav” raj combine andthreaten other communitiesdirectly. The SP’s late involve-ment in the farmers’ revolu-tion and laidback politicalcampaign are all to blame forBJP’s victory. Maybe like theCongress, Akhilesh needshouse cleaning too. He needsto use his own gut feel aboutthings and people, and notrely on staid advice.

It’s not that the BJP didn’tmake mistakes, but these werecalculated ones. One expect-ed loss was, of course, inAmethi. Incumbent MLAGarima Singh was not given aticket and instead Sanjay Sinhfought on the BJP ticket. Helost, ending his own politicalcareer and also weakeningSmriti Irani’s position in 2024.

The Opposition in UPneeds to seriously rethinkand rejuvenate itself, for oth-erwise the door to the polit-ical seat in Delhi will be for-ever closed to them. It is timeto get off the libtard bandwag-on and get one with real pol-itics once again.

(The author writes onagriculture and environment,and is a former Director —Policy & Outreach, NationalSeed Association of India. Theviews expressed are personal.)

����������� ����� ���Sir — The Congress, under the leader-ship of the Gandhi family, is goingthrough a political crisis with defeats inthe recently concluded Assembly elec-tions in five States and revolt by G-23leaders for a change in the party’s lead-ership and revamping of the entireparty. The fact is that the defeat of theCongress is due to false propaganda onsocial media and the G-23 rebellion toweaken the party. Those under theimpression that the ‘grand old party’ willvanish soon, are living in a fool’s paradise.The party, which has seen lots of ups anddown in its history, has always bouncedback and won many elections.

People still have faith and trust in itas it works on the principles of truth,progress, secularism and developmentand does not misguide people with falsepromises. It is high time the high com-mand acted tough with the G-23 lead-ers and disciplined them. If they are nothappy, they must leave the Congress for-ever rather than weakening it for theirselfish and personal gains. It is certainthat the Congress will come back strongin the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to stuneverybody in the country. It can’t beunderestimated or written off.

Bhagwan Thadani | Mumbai

���������������������������Sir — Russia stands upon highly hypo-critical ground; its only mission is to con-quer Ukraine. We heard that Russiadesires to lend support to the people ofDonbas, eastern Ukraine, where Russian-speakers are being “systematically tor-tured” by the State force. But is there anysuch proof? Even if the Russian allega-tions are assumed true, it should havelimited its ‘special operation’ to thatregion only. But why use such large-scalebombardment and missiles, therebycausing unfathomable misery to inno-cent civilians? Its actual goal is to extendthe frontiers of Russia; so another nar-rative is formed that “Ukraine was orig-inally a part of the Russian empire”.

Yet another ‘logic’ is offered on thepretext of Nato casting “evil eyes” upon

Russia. So why must Ukraine be taken totask? Putin’s action has simply no placein this world if it claims to be civilised. Noless atrocious are the unsolicited adviceand comments by the ‘liberals’. Ukraine,being a sovereign country, holds everylegitimate right to determine whether itwould or not join Nato. Also, advisingUkraine to “negotiate” with Russia impartsthe message that both the nations are onequally wrong footing. However, thetruth is that it’s not even a “war”, it’s sim-ply an invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Kajal Chatterjee | Kolkata

�������������������������Sir — The Karnataka High Court’s deci-sion to back the State’s imposed restric-tion on hijab in school and college class-rooms must be welcomed by all and therival groups of students to settle theimpasse. The verdict is bordering onbiases against Muslim students but it wasbased on the norms of the StateGovernment which has also banned saf-fron shawls for Hindu students. The hue

and cry made by students on dress code,particularly the hijab, was a ridiculousincident to turn educational institutionsinto a battlefield. It’s a blot on both thestudents and the educational institutions;besides, it leaves a deep scar on oursocial fabric.

It has also brought the StateGovernment under an unnecessary scan-ner. The ruling dispensation and its lead-ers in Karnataka must refrain fromusing students as a puppet for their vest-ed or political interests. Their actions havealready done enough damage and ham-pered students’ studies and eclipsedtheir career under the influence of sec-tarian politics. It is really a matter ofshame that the Karnataka High Court’sverdict is being unnecessarily challengedby some of the five petitioners instead ofputting the matter to rest for the benefitof students and educational institutions.

Janga Bahadur Sunuwar | Jalpaiguri

* / * # � & + : 6 � * / � � + ! "

���-(!���%��#���-��",��3��45��2$�� ��� �����6 7#��� ��8 �����6 �������25��2$�� ��� ���$

��������������� ������������� ��

",

��������!������� �������/���������������� !"#��$%�"�

�� �����)�����8�������%�2��������� �������������2����3����21 �����������9 ��� ����������������9 ���������� �4��������

#��� :8�"��&"'"��"&����#

#��� ((�:#��:�&:5�8):���

���8�&��#��#���" ;::�:

8&;"�!"<:�%"(�":������":�#���)8����(&�::5

:#"#�����(&�::8&�:���#�"=";�"��)��'�����:#

�:�����#��5�#�����;�#��

:�"#:��#���8"&#;<:�"%8"(��%"����

�":�>"���

��$$�-� $��$$����. $�-

��.�� �/�0/�� � /0�

#����1�,�����,������������������ ����������� �����,�""8�������3����2���:������������ 3�5���� � ����� �������

3�� 2���� ��� ��� ���� � ?� %���� ��� (����2��� ���� )� ��� (����2��58��@�3<�������1��������������A� ��,����1 �������1��2� ������ ������"4�� ���������������5�:����������� �������������""8���������2�����,����������������4��1� ����� ��� ��������� �� ��� � ���4�����2 ���,��2�������� ��3��� �<������������ ����� ��5�#�� �� ���������,���� ������3�1���������8��������<�5�����,����,����

:����� ��� �� ��1���� ��� ����� ����� ���3���������� ,����1 ��� ��������� ����� ������� 3��� ���������� ��������2 � ������ ���,��������� ������ � ���������5

#��""8������������ ����8��@�3�1 ���������� ���������1������������� �2���3��� �� ����� ��� ����� ,�3 �� ��� �����1� ������ ����������������������5�#�2 ���� , ���� ��� �� � ���� ������ ��4 �������� ��1 �������������,�� ���3�1����3�����������������""8<���������������� ��5�#����������������������������� �� �@��� �� ���� �� 1�������� 1 ��� ��3�������������������� ��2�4���1���������������� 1 ������ ������� ���� ��1� ����������������3���������5�#��""8��������������1���������,�,�3 ��3��� ����������������1���������1 ���������4� ������1��5�#��,����,��������� �������2� ��������� �� �� 2���������������� ��������������������A��������1��5

�����&#�| ���������

������������ �!"# �

+# �� �� " ��������� � ��

Congratulations Yogi ji, it’sa double term for you.Your tactics areunorthodox and no one

can steal the credit for your vic-tory, except the miscalculations ofthe Opposition. So let’s get to it.

Losers first: The AAP mayhave won Punjab, but failedagain to impress the UttarPradesh electorate. But we haveto give them leeway, for theyweren’t serious contenders any-way. But what happened to the‘elephant’, the BSP? Mayawati’sparty once again failed to capturethe Dalit and non-Dalit votes. Itgot only 12.7 per cent of the voteand elected one member to theUP State legislature. Keep inmind that the BSP had about 19legislators in the last Assembly.And as the trudging elephantwalks towards an ebony grave,the fiery Chandra ShekharRavan, a budding Dalit leader,spread himself too thin hoping tonot be trampled under its weight.He too failed to capitalise on Dalitvotes; perhaps even weakenedDalit unity. Unlike Mayawati, heat least managed to gain somepopularity through social mediaand making new associations andexpanding cadre across UP. It isnow clear that Ravan is planningfor the long haul and positioninghimself to catch the mature Dalitand OBC vote in the future.Maybe this was the reasonAkhilesh Yadav dumped him inthe very beginning.

Overall, the Dalit vote grav-itated towards BJP in this roundagain. But the BSP or Ravanaren’t the biggest losers. Pusheddeeper into the abyss is Priyanka’simage as well as the UP Congress.State Congress president AjayLallu even lost his election. Withonly two seats, the Congresscampaign machine has failed.Their “liberal and Left” inclinedpoll strategy has destroyed anyrespect the party had. With prac-tically no cadre, Priyanka ‘Ladkihu lad sakti hu’ has fallen flat onher face. She has shown thenation that she can fight only tolose. If I were Priyanka, I wouldcull my coterie — especially theflattering Lefty types. They havedestroyed Indira’s granddaughtereven before she broke into herpolitical shoes. The liberal media

������� ���������������������������)������������������������������������������������������������ �����������(�����������������*���������� ���+,����������$����������� �����(

����������������� ������������������������������������� ������������������-������������������������������ ��������� ������ ��././����������� ���������������������������� ����������������� ������������#� ���������������������������(

���� ������������������������� ����������� ������� ������� ������ ��������� ���� ����������� ��� ������������������������������������������������������(���������� �������� �� �� �� �� �������������������������������������� �0������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������(�������������������������&����,����1����&��������������������������������������������������������������������������(����������������

�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������(�������������������2����������������������������������������$�����������������3*4,������� ����� ���� ��������������������������������������54����6��4!���6��� �+#��������2$�,����������!����������������������������������������������7������ ����������������������������������������������������������������������������(���������������������� �������������������������������������� �8��#(�������������� ,������������������������������������ �����7�&������������������������� ������9����������������������������� ������������������������������������������ �������� ����������$����������"�������������������������:��&������������������������ ��������������&������������������������������&���������������������������������������������;���������������<� ���������������������������������������,��� ,���5

7��������������������������������������������-����������9������=�///��������������������� �#������������������������-��>�?������������������������������������)����������>.������(

�����������#��� ������������������������������#������ ��������������������<��������������������������������������������������������<����.@�A�� ������������������ � 7�)-B7�(>C�����D7����������������������������������������� �6���������������������������������������������������#���������������0,-���������0����� ����)-B7�(>C��������������������������������������������������9����� �-��>>����������������������������������������������������������������E=�///������#��������������#����(��������������������8�����#������������(���������-�������������(����������� ��������������������#������������������������*�������������+��������������������������������������������$)!������������(�������������������������6������������������ �������(�������������

�������������������-�������7� ���������������������������������8�����#�0,-�� ���������� ������� -��������������������������������(�����������������(����������������������������������������������������(���������������������������

7��������������������������������������6��������������������)�����,���F���� �G��������6����F����#����������������������� ���������������(���������������������7�����-���������������������������������������������������6�������������(

������������������������ ������7���������9�����������������(�������6��������������������������������(�������� ���-��������� ������������������������������������� �����1������������������������������������� ���������7����������������������������������D���������������������"�����������������������������������D����������������������������������������������������������������! ������������� �����������������������������#���������������������7�����-������������������������������������������������������7������������������(�����������������������������7��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������D0������������������������(������������� �� ����������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������

:��������������;

6��������%���� ��� �� ����������������������

������ ������������ ��,-����� �� ��.

� ����0

��!���������� �����<4������������=�����"���������(��������!��"��� �� *�

'��� ������!/��� ����"����������������� ��0�" �������"����1

��%��8��,���!�8�������"�2 � ���������,���4����1��3 ���2�����������(��,���� B

��'����9 "�� ���!@� 1��

�� ��<������&�������������������������3����� �������� 2�������5

�#����(�"#�#!��9 &��,�&���� �4

SOUNDBITE

��1����������� �������������������2�4� ����� �������C���)4�� �D5

���%���#�&��)��#��9 "������ � �4�

",���-*EF�����1�����������,��2����� ������������3�������������� ��1������5

���"����������9 ��������%��

�������������������������,�� ����5��<��������� 3�����1��<�����,����1�� ������5

�%���9 ;�2 �(����2�����

Page 7: D`_ZR CRYf] ScVR\ ZTV hZeY 8 #$ ]VRUVcd ?=BQ =4F34;78

Chile must have got in the protec-tion of public health due to this.Today, when we are in the processof deciding in our country, thathow consumers should be educat-ed in the selection of healthyfoods, instead of warning the con-sumers about the harmful food, itwouldn’t be proper to legitimizethe unhealthy food by giving starrating to them.

In this regard a meeting ofstakeholders was organized byFSSAI on 15th February 2022, inwhich amongst participants, therewere 17 members from foodindustry and their organizations,1 from World Health Organization(WHO), two members were fromIndian Institute of Ahmedabad(IIM) Ahmedabad, three memberswere from consumer organiza-tions, one member was fromCentre for Science andEnvironment (CSE), a premierinstitution; nine FSSAI officials;and 10 belonged to the experts’ cat-egory. Instead of discussing inter-national experiences, the meetingreferred to a study conducted byIIM, Ahmedabad and DexterConsultancy Pvt Ltd and pointedout that participants in this studyhave given the opinion that the sys-tem of health star rating (HSR) onfood packets should be adopted.Significantly, two representatives ofconsumer organizations and arepresentative of Center forScience and Environment votedagainst this decision. But ignoringtheir opinion, it was said that theopinion coming from the survey

of 20 thousand people is moreimportant, so the stakeholderswill have to give their suggestionson the health star rating only.

Even according to the surveyby IIM Ahmedabad, the warningoption was rated better in terms ofreducing the intention to purchaseharmful food, due to presence ofexcess of unwanted nutrients. Butdespite this, the report recom-mending HSR as the preferredoption, which does not even givethe consumer an understanding ofthe health risks, is raising doubtsabout the impartiality of theauthors of the report.

Not only this, that there waspresence of large number of rep-resentatives of companies andtheir organisations, in the meetingof stakeholders, in which the deci-sion regarding health store ratingwas taken; even among experts,there were many people who areassociated with the companies.

It is worth noting thatAustralia is the only country in theworld where there is a system ofHealth Star Rating (whereas inmost other countries the system ofFOPL exists), and there is a pro-vision of warning rather thanHealth Star rating.

A logarithm or formula isused to determine the star ratingof any food item. The funny thingis that the person who created thisformula named Greg Gambrillwas also a part of the food indus-try. Hence it is a clear case of con-flict of interest. There is also con-cern among Australian food scien-

tists that the health star rating sys-tem, adopted under the pressurefrom companies is putting thehealth of consumers at risk.

According to this formula, ifany nutrient such as fruit juice, isadded to any harmful food prod-uct, then its star rating can reacheven up to five stars. For example,if orange juice is added to a bev-erage with high sugar, it will get farmore stars, and the consumer willinadvertently be consuming harm-ful foods, because they will nothave the opportunity to knowthat it is a harmful food. But ifinstead, warnings about excesssugar, excess salt and excessive sat-urated fats are marked, then theconsumer will be facilitated tomake an informed choice and hishealth will also be better.

Today, when the country’sfood regulatory body is taking adecision in this regard, the healthof the people of the country shouldbe the first priority and not theprofit of the companies. The pres-ence of such a large number offood companies in this decision-making process and their long-standing partnership with FSSAI,puts a question mark on the objec-tivity of FSSAI’s decision. It is theresponsibility of the Ministry ofHealth that, keeping a close watchon these subjects, instead of adopt-ing the Health Star Rating, harm-ful to the health of the people ofthe country, it should make a pro-vision to give a clear warningregarding the food items, whichare injurious to health.

������� ������������� �� �������

*������������+���,�� �-��� ��.����*���� ������������������$��*�+�-������������������������-��$/-�������������+�*�����������

������������.��������������$�������������������� �����-���� ������������������������$

/ -���������,�������������������

���� ��������0���������� � � ��2������3 ��� ��� ���� ���������������� ��� ������������� ������ ���������� ����� ��������� �������������

����!����������������2����������������������������������;;���������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������

�������H������������������&������������������������7��������������������2����6������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������ ������������������������������2����6����������������������������������� ��(����������(��������������� �7���������������������������!������������������������������������$����������6����)�������%���� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������=IJ�����K=I���������������26�#����������������������������(

����%�������������������K������������ ������������(����(���� ������������������9�������������� ����26�������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������9�����$<�K����F������������������,�����������������������������������;������������������2F�����26�������� �����������������2F26����������� �������"�������������������������������������������������������������������������)������������� ���(��������������������������������)����������������!�������������������*���������������������� ���������������������+����������������� ���������������������������� ���"������ �������������������!��������������������#�������������������������������L)�������!�����M������ �������������������������������������������;��������������!�������������� �������&�����������������������<�� ��!�����������������������������(�����(�����������������������������6����2�����,������������(��������������������!���������������������������������������7�����������������������!�����������������������������!�����&�������)�����2�8�<��� ����#��� ��������6 ������8�������7�������)���������������������������������� ���������������������������������������6���!���������������������� ���������������������������������������������� 7�����7���������������������26������(�������� �������9��6��������������� �����)��������(�������������������������������!���������������������(���������������2������#�26����� ����������)���������������������� ���������������������

7�������������������������������������26(������(�� ������� �� �������� ������� ��� ���������� �� � ���� ���0�������������� ��������������#�26������ �����7����������� ��������������������������� ��8������������7������ �������� �������!���������������������������������26�����������7����&��������� ��!��������)�������������������������������������������7�������������(�������������������7����������� ������)����������� ����(��������� ��� ������� �����!�����(��������������������������7������������������������������������������������������� �������� �� ��� ��������� ������� "������ ������������,��������������������� �������������������������������������� �������

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

��������������� ������������� ��

"1���-(!���%��#���-��" ,��3��45��2$�� ��� �����6 7#��� ��8 �����6 �������25��2$�� ��� ���$

FIRSTCOLUMN/�967"�+"�:6#��'!1/'�!(#

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

��/1��� 2���*�/

7�������������������������������������� ������

#�����"�#���>#����"#��G:

8��8���:��)�� ��#���>&:#8&�&#;�"��

��#�#���8&�>#��>�#��

��%8"��:5�#��8&�:������>�"�"&(���)% �&

�>�>�����%8"��:��#������:���

%"!�(8&���::�"��#��&����(�

:#"���(8"&#��&:�8�#��>::"�

8)#:�"H)�:#���%"&!

���#��� =��#'#;��>�>::"G:���:��

(The writer is aProfessor at PGDAVCollege, University of

Delhi. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

Are we done with Covid-19? This is a questionthat seems to be on

everyone’s mind. While thepandemic is not over, perhapswhat we need is to answer thesub-text to the question - “Canwe get on with a normal life,while keeping risks of severesickness or death within the atthe minimum”. The shortanswer is - yes we can, throughvaccines.

The severity of an infectionis best seen through the lens ofhost immunity and its interac-tion with the invadingpathogen. Chickenpox andmeasles, which strike no fear inour hearts today, decimatedthe native American populationduring the European coloniza-tion. It was the lack of previousexposure and immunity thatmade the infections much more

severe in natives compared totheir European counterparts.When Covid-19 started, wehad little immunity to a rapid-ly transmitting novel respirato-ry virus, SARS-CoV-2. Eventhen, only in a few cases theinfection led to severe diseaseand death. The deep psycholog-ical impact of Covid-19 camenot only from repeated waves ofinfections, where many peoplefell severely ill but also theinformation/mis-informationtsunamis that have followedthe global community, especial-ly in the domain of socialmedia. This sequence of eventsis what the public has in mindwhen they apprehensively ask,“is Covid-19 over?”.

The severity and fatality rateof any infection falls once thepopulation becomes progres-sively immune. Vaccination is

the preferred mechanism ofacquiring immunity, whencompared to infection, sinceinfection carries the risks likeprogression to disease and evendeath. To argue otherwise, basedon adverse events after vaccina-tion, betrays a lack of quantita-tive understanding of immedi-ate and long-term risks. We arecontinuing to discover long-term health problems afterinfection, but so far there havenot been any such problems forvaccination despite billions ofdoses administered worldwide.

Last, but not least, unlike vac-cination, infection transmits,putting others at risk.

All available vaccines pro-vide a level of protection againstinfections by new variants thatare sufficiently similar to the‘ancestral’ strain. The same istrue for infections. Nevertheless,people with prior immuneresponse are at much lower riskof severe disease during infec-tions, even with newer variants.Recovery is also faster andmore complete in previouslyvaccinated people. However,severe disease and deaths weremostly in vulnerable peoplewho were neither vaccinated,nor previously infected.

Today, things are very dif-ferent. The level of Immunitytowards SARS-CoV-2 virus inthe community is much high-er, largely due to the one of the

largest mass-vaccination pro-grams the world has ever seen.Health-care capacity has alsobeen substantially upgraded.While Omicron was a less vir-ulent variant than Delta, it wasquite capable of causing severedisease and death in vulnerablepeople, as seen clearly inAmerica, Hong Kong, and else-where. The much milder thirdsurge in India compared tosuch places is thus a good signfor the future.

The main difference isimmunity, and vaccines haveplayed a critical role towardshigher population immunityand minimizing the number ofvulnerable people. The nextwave is again likely to be drivenby a highly transmissible andimmune evasive variant.Whether it will be less or morevirulent, is a matter of chance.

Betting entirely on progressivedecline of virulence is unscien-tific and equivalent to playingRussian roulette. Relying onstronger immunity to reducedisease severity, independent ofvariants, is a much secure bet.We are currently at a pointwhere future outbreaks areexpected to be manageableunless the virus characterchanges drastically. The bestway of minimizing the risk ofmajor changes to the virus is bydenying it opportunities toreplicate, spread and evolve.

How will we get there? Weneed a more diverse immuneresponse targeting many muta-ble regions and/or a strongimmune response targetingselected immutable regions ofthe virus. While, such vaccines,covering both current andfuture variants, are under devel-

opment, given the huge strideswe are making in vaccinologyduring the Covid-19 pandem-ic, the day is not far away whenwe speak of respiratory vaccinesdirected against a multitude ofviruses, rather than just onevirus.

To conclude, vaccines haveplayed an important role in lim-iting the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and are our bestway forward. Relying on natur-al immunity alone to stop pan-demics is analogous to takingcomfort in an old surgical adage- all bleeding stops.

On the national vaccineday, we must reflect on how vac-cines saved lives in the recentpast and imagine how innova-tions in vaccine-science canmake our lives even safer in theimmediate and far-reachingfuture as well.

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

(The writer is Director,Institute of Genomics and

Integrative Biology. The views expressed

are personal.)

��2��3 �0-�3��

02*��.��� 4�/�-*�� Recently the Food and SafetyStandards Authority of India(FSSAI) has initiated the modelof Front of Packing Label (FOPL)

of food items. With this a debate has start-ed on whether food packages should havea Health Star Rating (HAR) about thequality of the food or a warning regard-ing harmful food. In this regard, FSSAI,under pressure from the ultra-processedfood industry, has decided that each foodshould be rated from one to five stars.From the minutes of the meeting, it is evi-dent that while taking this decision, FSSAIhas chose to ignore consumer interest andhas given undue importance to the opin-ion of large food processing industries.

Why is a warning label better thanhealth star rating?

Our country has a tradition of mak-ing and eating healthy and nutritiousfood. Proteins, vitamins, carbohydratesand other nutrients are found in a verybalanced form in our food plate, so ourdiet has always been very balanced. Butin the recent past, the trend of processedfoods has increased and especially mar-kets are flooded with ultra-processedfoods. Scientists believe that these ultra-processed foods are causing many non-communicable diseases (NCDs) includ-ing cancer. Not only this, companies useexcessive amounts of sugar, salt (sodium)and saturated fats to entice customers andmake children get used to, or get addict-edto, their products. In our country, dia-betes, blood pressure, kidney and liver dis-eases are becoming common due toexcess of sugar, sodium and saturated fatsin the food. In our country due to lack ofawareness among the people about nutri-tion and in this case due to absence ofwarning on food packets, people areunknowingly consuming these harmfulfood items, due to which these diseasesare on rise, sometimes called lifestyle diseases.

If a warning is posted on such harm-ful foods stating that it contains sugar, saltor saturated fats beyond a threshold limit,consumers will be able to learn moreabout their side effects and makeinformed decisions about their foodpurchases. It is true that companiesmanufacturing these food items may facea decline in sales of these harmful foods.However, this will improve the health ofthe common man, there is no doubt aboutit. This is not only a theoretical conclu-sion, but it has also been experienced indifferent countries. Realizing the impor-tance of this issue, many countries includ-ing Chile, Brazil, Israel decided to putsuch warnings on food packets. Chile hasmade a law after fixing the threshold lim-its of this harmful food and also made alaw mandating printing of warning aboutthe same.

After Chile’s decision to put suchwarnings by law, there was a huge reduc-tion in the sale of such harmful food there.We can understand how much benefit

Page 8: D`_ZR CRYf] ScVR\ ZTV hZeY 8 #$ ]VRUVcd ?=BQ =4F34;78

��������������� ������������� �� 5 ��(�"6

���� !;'

Russian forces destroyed atheater in Mariupol where

hundreds of people were shel-tering Wednesday and rainedfire on other cities, Ukrainianauthorities said, even as the twosides projected optimism overefforts to negotiate an end tothe fighting.

The airstrike ripped apartthe center of the once-elegantbuilding, where hundreds ofcivilians had been living sincetheir homes had beendestroyed in the fighting,Ukraine's foreign ministry saidin a statement.

Many people were buriedin the rubble, the statementsaid, though there was noimmediate word on how manyhad been killed or injured.

Satellite imagery fromMonday showed the word"CHILDREN" written inRussian in large, white capitalletters on the pavement infront of and behind the build-ing, the Maxar space technol-

ogy company said."My heart breaks from

what Russia is doing to ourpeople," Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy said inhis nightly address, calling formore sanctions on Russia afterthe bombing.

The Russian defense min-istry denied bombing the the-ater or anywhere else inMariupol on Wednesday.

In Kyiv, residents huddledin homes and shelters during acitywide curfew that was set torun until Thursday morning, asRussian troops shelled areas inand around the city, includinga residential neighborhood 2.5kilometers (1.5 miles) fromthe presidential palace. A 12-story apartment building incentral Kyiv erupted in flamesafter being hit by shrapnel.

And 10 people were killedwhile standing in line for breadin the northern city ofChernihiv, the UkrainianGeneral Prosecutor's Officesaid.

Earlier Wednesday,

Zelenskyy went before the U.S.Congress via video and, invok-ing Pearl Harbor and 9/11,pleaded with America for moreweapons and tougher sanc-tions against Russia, saying: "We need you right now."

U.S. President Joe Bidenannounced that the U.S. issending an additional $800million in military aid toUkraine, including more anti-aircraft and anti-tank weaponsand drones. He also calledVladimir Putin a "war criminal"in his sharpest condemnationof the Russian leader since theinvasion began.

International pressureagainst the Kremlin mountedand its isolation deepened asthe International Court ofJustice, also known as theWorld Court, ordered Russia tostop attacking Ukraine, thoughthere was little hope it wouldcomply. Also, the 47-nationCouncil of Europe, the conti-nent's foremost human rightsbody, expelled Russia.

While Moscow's ground

advance on the Ukrainian cap-ital appeared largely stalled,Putin said during a speechWednesday that the operationwas unfolding "successfully, instrict accordance with pre-approved plans." He alsodecried Western sanctions,accusing the West of trying to"squeeze us, to put pressure onus, to turn us into a weak,dependent country."

And he accused Russianswho are sympathetic to theWest or have adopted Westernlifestyles of being a "so-calledfifth column" and "nationaltraitors."

The anti-Western speechcame as Russian law enforce-ment announced the firstknown criminal cases under anew that allows for prisonterms of up to 15 years for post-ing what the Kremlin deems isfalse information about thewar. Among those charged wasVeronika Belotserkovskaya, aRussian-language cookbookauthor and popular blogger liv-ing abroad.

�����8����������������������0�������0��0��5��������

���� �":��(#��

US President Joe Biden andUkraine's Volodymyr

Zelenskyy are men of differentgenerations, countries andstyles — and with very differ-ent missions.

Zelenskyy is fighting tosave his nation. Biden to restorea shattered world order - with-out igniting a world war.

The contrasts were on vividdisplay Wednesday. First theUkrainian leader delivered animpassioned plea to Congressfor additional military assis-tance to fight off Russia's three-week old invasion. Then cameBiden, with a more techno-cratic address promising morearms and humanitarian assis-tance but making clear thelimits of what the U.S. Is will-ing to do.

Zelenskyy, 44, was vigorousthough unshaven and fatigued.In military green, he appealedfor lethal aid via video linkfrom a nondescript bunker.Biden, nearly 80, was staid ashe spoke of sanctions andcoalition building from themade-for-television set builtnext to the White House.

"I'm almost 45 years old;today my age stopped when thehearts of more than 100 chil-

dren stopped beating,"Zelenskyy told U.S.Lawmakers.

"I see no sense in life if itcannot stop the deaths."

Speaking for 15 minutes,he invoked uniquely Americanmoments of strife and signifi-cance: the bombing of PearlHarbor, the Sept. 11 attacks, thequest led by Martin LutherKing Jr. For civil rights.

He called on Biden to be"the leader of peace". It marked the latest stop onZelenskyy's livestreamed glob-al tour, as he seeks to portrayUkraine as defending morethan just its own land and triesto elicit even tougher militaryand other action against Russia.

"We are fighting for the val-

ues of Europe and the world,"he told lawmakers.

Zelenskyy begged the U.S.To engage more directly to helphis people - including for theU.S. To help Ukraine get Soviet-built aircraft to use againstRussia and for an enforced no-fly zone over Ukraine,

even if he acknowledged itwas unlikely.

Biden has warned that ful-filling such requests could pushRussia and the U.S. - twonuclear-armed nations - intodirect conflict.

It's a chance he's not will-ing to take.

Biden watched Zelenskyy'sspeech from the White Houseresidence and called it "pow-erful".

4���#�+�� �(�# ����(�,,���#� ������ "�����#�

����� ������

Russian forces have mademinimal progress on land,

sea or air in recent days andthey continue to suffer heavylosses, the UK's Ministry ofDefence (MoD) said onThursday.

In its latest DefenceIntelligence Update posted onsocial media, the MoD saidwhile the Russian invasion hadlargely stalled, the Ukrainianresistance remained well-coor-dinated. "The Russian invasionof Ukraine has largely stalledon all fronts," the MoD intelli-gence update reads.

"Russian forces have mademinimal progress on land, seaor air in recent days and theycontinue to suffer heavy loss-es. Ukrainian resistanceremains staunch and well-coordinated. The vast majori-ty of Ukrainian territory,including all major cities,remains in Ukrainian hands,"it adds.

It comes a day after an

"extraordinary meeting" ofDefence Ministers was called inBrussels by the North AtlanticTreaty Organisation (NATO)Secretary General JensStoltenberg in response to theRussia-Ukraine conflict.Defence ministers from acrossthe military alliance said theyaddressed both the immediatecrisis in Europe and the longer-term adaptation of NATO'sdefence activities.

"The UK and our Alliescontinue to support Ukraineagainst Russia's invasion," saidUK Defence Secretary BenWallace. While in Brussels, theMoD said Wallace also heldbilateral and small-group meet-ings with the US, France,Germany, Italy, Turkey,Canada, Slovakia, Sweden andthe Czech Republic.

Meanwhile, British PrimeMinister Boris Johnson is in theMiddle East for talks with theleaders of Saudi Arabia and theUnited Arab Emirates (UAE) inan effort to move away fromthe West's reliance on Russian

oil and gas exports for its ener-gy needs.

"The Prime Minister andCrown Prince [of Saudi ArabiaMohammed Bin Salman]agreed to collaborate to main-tain stability in the energymarket and continue the tran-sition to renewable and cleantechnology," Downing Streetsaid in a readout of the meet-ing in Riyadh on Wednesday.

Johnson is in the region ona declared mission to build aglobal coalition against RussianPresident Vladimir Putin andRussian oil exports that bringhim a large majority of inter-national funds.

"The Prime Minister[Boris Johnson] would wantevery country to move awayfrom using Russian oil and gas.It is the funding that the Putinregime receives largely throughoil and gas that directly goestowards funding the Russianwar machine. Everyone needsto be conscious of that," said theUK PM's spokesperson.

"We understand the posi-tion for individual countries isdifferent, each country is in adifferent position and werespect that. But certainly, thePrime Minister wants to broad-en the coalition of countrieseven further, so that everyoneis united not just in condem-nation but in action [againstPutin]," the spokespersonnoted, with reference to India'sstance on Russian exports.

����*� )���� ���� ������+�� ���� ������� ������ ���������

�������":��(#��$%�:���

US President Joe Biden hascalled his Russian coun-

terpart Vladimir Putin a "warcriminal", prompting an angryresponse from the Kremlinwhich denounced it as "unfor-givable rhetoric" from a headof state.

Biden's off-the-cuffremarks on Wednesday wasthe harshest condemnation ofPutin's actions from any USofficial since Russia launcheda 'special military operation' inUkraine three weeks ago.

Previously, President Bidenhad stopped short of labellingatrocities being documentedon the ground in Ukraine as"war crimes," citing ongoinginternational and US investi-gations.

White House PressSecretary Jen Psaki laterdefended Biden and said thepresident had been speakingfrom his heart after seeing

"barbaric" images of the vio-lence in Ukraine.

"I think the President'sremarks speak for themselves.He was speaking from hisheart and speaking from whatwe've seen on television, whichare barbaric actions by a bru-tal dictator through his inva-sion of a foreign country," shesaid.

She also noted that therewas a separate legal process,run by the State Department,to determine war crimes - andthat was ongoing separately.

In Moscow, Kremlindescribed Biden's "war crimi-nal" remarks as "unforgiveablerhetoric".

"We consider such rhetoricfrom a head of the state, whosebombs killed hundreds ofthousands of people aroundthe world, to be unacceptableand unforgivable," Kremlinspokesman Dmitry Peskov wasquoted as saying by Russianstate news agency TASS.

���3������8�� ����1���� 2 ���I�!�2� ����� �):�8�� ���G���2��4��

���� ����,��0�������1

Twenty-one people havebeen killed by Russian

artillery that destroyed a schooland a community center inMerefa, near the northeast cityof Kharkiv, officials said.

Merefa Mayor VeniaminSitov said the attack occurredjust before dawn on Thursday.

The Kharkiv region hasseen heavy bombardment asstalled Russian forces try toadvance in the area.

In the city of Chernihiv,northeast of Kyiv, Ukraine'semergency service says a hos-tel was shelled, killing a moth-er, father and three of their chil-dren, including 3-year-oldtwins.

Meanwhile, UkrainianPresident VolodymyrZelenskyy's speech to membersof Israeli's parliament will beshown on national televisionand aired live in downtown TelAviv.

The address is part of hisdrive to rally popular and offi-cial support for Ukraine againstRussia's three-week invasion.

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldaitweeted that he offered to linkthe speech to Habima Square inthe heart of Tel Aviv “so that theentire public can listen to thepresident's words live.”

Israel's ties with bothRussia and Ukraine run deep.Israeli Prime Minister NaftaliBennett has managed to lever-age Israel's good relations withboth countries and his personal

rapport with their leaders toturn himself into an unex-pected mediator, one of the fewworld leaders to speak regularlyto both sides.

And Zelenskyy, who isJewish and has tailored hisspeeches to various audiences,appears to have an affinity forIsrael. Both countries havelarge Jewish communities.

More than 1 million Jewsfrom the region have moved toIsrael since the collapse of theSoviet Union three decadesago. The Israeli and Russianmilitaries have maintained

close communications in recentyears to prevent clashes in thesky over Syria.

In London, a group ofUkrainian lawmakers saysBritain should press alliesincluding France and Germanyto do more to help Ukrainedefeat Russian invasion.

Four female Ukrainianparliament members, who aremeeting Prime Minister BorisJohnson in London onThursday, urged the UK to stepup military support to Ukraineand increase economic pressureon Russia.

“We wish that you couldalso pressure France andGermany to do more,” saidAlona Shkrum of theBatkivshchyna Party.

Shkrum, who spent twoand a half days traveling fromKyiv to the UK, including a 12-hour journey by back roads towestern Ukraine, also called formore public pressure on com-panies still operating in Russiato leave. “Every dollar, everyruble they make right nowgoes just to the army and to theRussian soldiers killingUkrainian kids,” she said.

�<�����������������������������������������

�������"8��#���

Russia's nuclear blackmail isprompted by a flawed

treaty and ambivalence bynuclear weapon states towardsnuclear disarmament.

The invasion of Ukrainesaw Russia's nuclear forces puton high alert by PresidentVladimir Putin on the fourthday of fighting.

Telling the world thatRussia is "today one of the mostpowerful nuclear states", therhetoric and activity goesagainst the spirit of the Treatyon the Non Proliferation ofNuclear Weapons (NPT),

the document that formsthe foundation of internation-al nuclear governance.

Using nuclear weapons todeter or compel action is effec-tively holding humanity at ran-som - blackmail of the nuclearkind.

Nuclear armed states likeRussia have the power to dothis partly because of weak-nesses embedded in the NPTand how nuclear weapon stateshave chosen to interpret itover the past 50 years.

Of particular relevance tothe current crisis are nuclearsharing arrangements.

These see nuclear weaponstates stationing their arms onthe territory of their non-nuclear allies. As long as theyretain custodianship and con-trol over the weapons, this isseen as legal under one inter-pretation of the NPT.

The most recent referen-dum in Belarus voted to lift the

country's non-nuclear statusand allow Russia to stationweapons on its soil.

This decision comes in thecontext of unresolved problemswith nuclear sharing arrange-ments: NATO stations nuclearweapons in Turkey, Germany,Italy, Belgium and theNetherlands, despite criticismfrom non-nuclear weaponstates and Russia since 2015.

Putin is not the first leaderto bring nuclear weapons intoa conflict: the US and SovietUnion did so on several occa-sions during the Cold War.

US President George Bushdid not raise the nuclear alertlevels during the US-led inva-sion of Iraq in 2003, butimplied that the US could usenuclear arms if Iraqi forcesused chemical or biologicalweapons.

The NPT, inked in 1968,was premised on a proposalthat disarmament negotiationswould be better served ifnuclear weapons were con-tained to as few states as pos-sible. It's one of the mostascribed to treaties in historywith only five non-memberstates (Israel, India, Pakistan,North Korea and South Sudan).

The treaty has three pillars:non-proliferation, nuclear dis-armament and peaceful use.

Non-proliferation preventsthe spread of nuclear weapons bydistinguishing the countries thattested nuclear arms by 1967 - theUS, the Soviet Union (nowRussia), China, the UK andFrance - and the non-nuclearweapons states who had not.

�#�,,����5� ���!�����%�( �����!6� �'����!� ���!�!�� ���� �":��(#��

President Joe Biden set out tofinally complete the "pivot

to Asia," a long sought adjust-ment of US foreign policy tobetter reflect the rise ofAmerica's most significant mil-itary and economic competitor:China.

But Russia's brutal invasionof Ukraine has made that vex-ing move even more compli-cated. China's government hasvacillated between full embraceand more measured responsesas Russian President VladimirPutin prosecutes his war, mak-ing the decisions for Biden farmore layered.

"It's difficult. It's expensive,"Kurt Campbell, the coordina-tor for Indo-Pacific Affairs onthe White House NationalSecurity Council, said during arecent forum of maintaining ahigh-level U.S. Focus in tworegions. "But it's also essential,and I believe we're entering aperiod where that's what will berequired of the United Statesand of this generation ofAmericans."

That leaves the Bidenadministration needing tofocus East and West at the sametime, balancing not simplyeconomic imperatives but mil-itary ones as well.

The president has beendeeply invested in rallyingNATO and Western allies torespond to Russia with crip-pling sanctions, supplying anovermatched Ukraine militarywith $2 billion in militaryassistance - including $800million in new aid announcedWednesday - and addressing a

growing humanitarian crisis. Eastern flank NATO allies,

including Estonia, Latvia,Lithuania, Poland andRomania, have made clear tothe Biden administration thatthey want the U.S. To increaseits military presence in theregion and do more to addressthe worst humanitarian crisis inEurope since World War II.More than 3 million Ukrainianrefugees have fled their coun-try in recent weeks.

Though the war in Ukrainehas dominated Biden's focus oflate, White House officialsinsist they haven't lost sight ofChina - and are watchingintently to see how Xi Jinpingdecides to play his hand.

In recent months, Bidenhas announced the sale ofnuclear submarines to Australiaand raised the profile of the Indo-Pacific security dialogue knownas the Quad (Australia, India,Japan and the United States).He's also called out China formilitary provocations againstTaiwan, human rights abusesagainst ethnic minorities andefforts to squelch pro-democra-cy advocates in Hong Kong.

4�(��7���%����8��� �7� ��������(����-����7�5�������&�����

Page 9: D`_ZR CRYf] ScVR\ ZTV hZeY 8 #$ ]VRUVcd ?=BQ =4F34;78

��������������� ������������� �� 5 ��(�"9

���� �=�(

Washington has expelledanother state-owned

Chinese phone carrier from theUS market over national secu-rity concerns amid rising ten-sion with Beijing.

The FederalCommunications Commissionrevoked authorization forPacific Networks Corp. To pro-vide domestic and interna-tional service under an orderissued Wednesday.

The U.S. Government isreducing Chinese access toAmerican markets and invest-ment over possible spying andBeijing's military development.

The FCC cited "significantnational security and lawenforcement risks" that PacificNetworks could monitor ordisrupt U.S. Communications.

It said there were no stepsthat could eliminate those riskswhile the company operated inthe United States.

President Joe Biden hasextended efforts begun underhis predecessor, DonaldTrump, to limit access to U.S.Technology, investment andmarkets for Chinese companiesdue to concern they are secu-rity risks or helping militarydevelopment.

In October, a unit of ChinaTelecom Ltd., one of China'sthree main state-owned carri-ers, was expelled by the FCCfrom the U.S. Market on sim-ilar grounds.

The FCC said in 2019 itplanned to revoke licensesgranted two decades earlier toChina Telecom and anotherstate-owned carrier, ChinaUnicom Ltd. It rejected a

license application by the thirdcarrier, China Mobile Ltd.

The FCC also citedunspecified "conduct and rep-resentations" by PacificNetworks to regulators andCongress that "demonstrate alack of trustworthiness andreliability."

A Chinese foreign ministryspokesman accused Americanregulators of improperly invok-ing national security to hurtChinese companies withoutproviding evidence they brokeany law.

Regulators are "abusingnational power" to hurtChinese companies and"severely destroying interna-tional economic rules andharming the legitimate rights ofconsumers including Americanconsumers," said thespokesman, Zhao Lijian.

7���=�����������9����������������������������-�������� ���� #�!;�

Residents in Fukushima andMiyagi were cleaning their

homes after a sleepless nightfollowing a powerful 7.4-mag-nitude earthquake that struckoff the northern Japanesecoasts, smashing furniture,knocking out power and killingfour people.

The region is part of anarea devastated by a deadly 9.0quake and tsunami 11 yearsago that caused nuclear reactormeltdowns, spewing massiveradiation that still makes someparts uninhabitable.

Chief Cabinet SecretaryHirokazu Matsuno toldreporters Thursday morningthat four people died duringthe quake and the cause of theirdeaths are being investigated,while 107 others were injured.A man in his 60s in Soma citydied after falling from the sec-ond floor of his house whiletrying to evacuate, and a manin his 70s panicked and suf-fered a heart attack, KyodoNews reported earlier.

The Japan MeteorologicalAgency early Thursday lifted itslow-risk advisory for a tsuna-mi along the coasts ofFukushima and Miyagi prefec-tures. Tsunami waves as high as30 centimeters (11 inches)reached shore in Ishinomaki,about 390 kilometers (240miles) northeast of Tokyo.

The agency upgraded themagnitude of the quake to 7.4from the initial 7.3, and thedepth from 60 kilometers (37miles) below the sea to 56 kilo-meters (35 miles).

Residents in hard-hit areasfound new damages in daylightThursday, cleaning theirhomes, putting fallen furnitureand appliances back into placeand scooping up broken dish-

es and windows.At a hotel in Yabuki town

in the Fukushima prefecture,where its wall was broken,front door thrown out of place,and dishes were broken,employees were starting toclean up. “I don't even knowwhere to start,” hotel presidentMineyuki Otake told NHK.

NHK footage showed bro-ken walls of a department storebuilding that fell to the groundand shards of windows scat-tered on the street near themain train station in the inlandprefectural capital ofFukushima city. Roads werecracked and water poured outfrom pipes underground.

On Thursday, Self-DefenseForces delivered fresh water toresidents in Soma, Iitate andseveral other coastal towns inFukushima where water sys-tems were damaged.

Footage also showed fur-niture and appliances smashedto the floor at apartments inFukushima. Cosmetics andother merchandise at conve-nience stores fell from shelvesand scattered on the floor. InYokohama, near Tokyo, anelectric pole nearly fell.

The Tokyo Electric PowerCompany Holdings, whichoperates the FukushimaDaiichi nuclear plant where thecooling systems failed after

the 2011 disaster, said Thursdaythat workers at the site —which is being decommis-sioned — found some tanksholding treated radioactivewater were out of alignmentdue to the rattling, and whatcould be a steel beam fell froma roof of the No. 4 reactorbuilding, which has no fuelinside.

Japan's Nuclear RegulationAuthority said a fire alarmwent off at the turbine buildingof No. 5 reactors at theFukushima Daiichi but therewas no actual fire. Waterpumps for the spent fuel cool-ing pool at two of the four reac-tors at Fukushima Daini briefly

stopped, but later resumedoperation. Fukushima Daini,which survived the 2011 tsuna-mi, is also set for decommis-sioning.

More than 2.2 millionhomes were temporarily with-out electricity in 14 prefectures,including the Tokyo region, butpower was restored at mostplaces by the morning, exceptfor about 37,000 homes in thehardest hit Fukushima andMiyagi prefectures, accordingto the Tohoku Electric PowerCo., which services the region.

The quake shook largeparts of eastern Japan, includ-ing Tokyo, where buildingsswayed violently.

��� ��������� ����4,56� ���� ��������- � � �������5

���� �����#�&&��

Apolice officer and a gun-man died following a

shootout early Thursday at amotel in eastern Missouri thatleft another officer wounded,authorities said.

The Bonne Terre officerswere dispatched to a distur-bance at a Motel 6 about 12:30a.M., Missouri State HighwayPatrol spokesperson DallasThompson told the Park HillsDaily Journal. As theyapproached the room wherethe disturbance was reported,a man came out and fired at theofficers with a handgun, thenewspaper reported, and bothofficers were shot.

����� �"��&�

An anti-terrorism court inPakistan on Thursday sep-

arated the trial of nine juvenilesuspects allegedly involved in thelynching of a Sri Lankan nation-al in Punjab province over blas-phemy allegations in Decemberlast year. Last week, the ATCLahore indicted 89 suspects fortheir alleged role in the ghastlyincident that sparked country-wide outrage.

A mob, including support-ers of a hardline Islamist party -Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan(TLP) - attacked a garment fac-tory and lynched its generalmanager Priyantha Kumara, 47,

and burned his body over alle-gations of blasphemy onDecember 3, 2021, in Sialkot dis-trict, some 100-km from Lahore.

The incident sparked out-rage across Pakistan with all sec-tions of society condemning itand calling for the culprits to begiven exemplary punishment.

"The ATC has directed theprosecution to file a separatechallan of nine juvenile suspects.Their trial will be held separate-ly," a court official told PTI onThursday. He said the prosecu-tion had sought death penalty forremaining 80 suspects. "So farover 30 suspects have recordedtheir statements before the ATCsince the trial began this week,"he said.

������":��(#��

As the war in Ukraine rageson, diplomats trying to sal-

vage the languishing 2015 Irannuclear deal have been forgingahead with negotiations despitedistractions caused by the con-flict. They now appear to benear the cusp of a deal thatwould bring the US back intothe accord and bring Iran backinto compliance with limits onits nuclear programme. After11 months of on-and-off talksin Vienna, US officials and oth-ers say only a very small num-ber of issues remain to beresolved. Meanwhile, Russiaappears to have backed down ona threat to crater an agreementover Ukraine-related sanctionsthat had dampened prospectsfor a quick deal.

That leaves an agreement —or at least an agreement in prin-ciple — up to political leaders inWashington and Tehran. But, ashas been frequently the case,both Iran and the U.S. Saythose decisions must be madeby the other side, leaving a res-olution in limbo even as allinvolved say the matter is urgentand must be resolved as soon aspossible.

“We are close to a possibledeal, but we're not there yet,"State Department spokesmanNed Price said Wednesday. “Weare going to find out in the nearterm whether we're able to getthere.”

Also Wednesday in Berlin,German Foreign Ministryspokesman Christofer Burgersaid work “on drafting a finaltext has been completed” and”the necessary political decisionsnow need to be taken in capi-tals.”

“We hope that these nego-tiations can now be swiftlycompleted,” he said.

Reentering the 2015 dealknown as the JointComprehensive Plan of Action,or JCPOA, has been a priorityfor the Biden administrationsince it took office.

Once a signature foreignpolicy achievement of theObama administration inwhich now-President JoeBiden served as vice president,the accord was abandoned in2018 by then-PresidentDonald Trump, who called itthe worst deal ever negotiatedand set about restoring andexpanding on U.S. Sanctionsthat had been lifted.

The Biden administrationargues that any threat current-ly posed by Iran would be infi-nitely more dangerous should itobtain a nuclear weapon.

Deal opponents, mostly butnot entirely Republicans, say theoriginal deal gave Iran a path todeveloping a nuclear bomb byremoving various constraintsunder so-called “sunset" claus-es. Those clauses meant that cer-tain restrictions were to begradually lifted.

������ ���� ��� ������ � ��������

*����������������0�������������������������%�>�5������������������-�����

8�� �J�% ����� 2������������������,, ������2������

���� #"�;

Italian scientists are racingagainst time to study, scan

and sample Europe's south-ernmost glacier before it meltsand disappears as a result of ris-ing global temperatures.

Researchers conducted apreliminary radar survey of theCalderone glacier in Italy'scentral Apennine Mountainson March 13 and plan to returnnext month to drill into it andtake samples.

The aim is to extractchunks of the glacier and storethem in Antarctica for futurestudy."This glacier can tell usthe Mediterranean's climateand environmental history,"said researcher Jacopo Gabrieli,of the Institute of Polar Sciencesat the Italian National Councilof Research.

The Associated Pressaccompanied Gabrieli and theteam to the snow-covered glac-ier for the radar survey, arriv-ing at the peak by helicopter

and traipsing up and down themountainside of the GranSasso massif. Researchers insnow shoes probed the groundwith electromagnetic equip-ment to determine how theglacier is stratified.

The survey will allowexperts to "record the depthand morphology between snowand ice, and between ice androck. In this way we can mea-sure the thicknesses and recon-struct the glacier bottom mor-phology,"

said Stefano Urbini,researcher at the NationalInstitute of Geophysics andVolcanology, who also tookpart in the survey.

The tiny Italian glacier,which already split into two asa result of global warming, is acrucial thermometer of cli-mate change and a treasuretrove of atmospheric informa-tion. Glaciologists are expect-ing to find a 25-meter (80-foot)thick layer of ice under thesnow and debris that covers the

glacier. The samples from the

Calderone will be held in the"Ice Memory" world archive inAntarctica, a natural freezerthat allows storage at -50Celsius and is being built at theFrench-Italian Concordia sta-tion.

According to the Italianresearch council, glaciers locat-ed at an altitude of under 3,600meters (11,800 feet) will dis-appear by 2100 if temperaturescontinue rising at the current

pace. The Calderone glacier,which is located at an altitudeof 2,700 meters, could meltmuch earlier, by 2050 if dras-tic measures aren't taken,experts say.

"Through these glaciers,through the interest that we allhave for these fantastic envi-ronments, we can explain howthe climate is changing, why itis changing, how man isimpacting and what we can doto reduce our impact on ourplanet," said Gabrieli.

������4��������������2��������G����������2�������� �

Page 10: D`_ZR CRYf] ScVR\ ZTV hZeY 8 #$ ]VRUVcd ?=BQ =4F34;78

��������������� ������������� �� ��������:"

����� %)% "�

Notwithstanding the geopoliticalcrisis created by the ongoing

Russia-Ukraine conflict, India ismaking steady progress as it recov-ers from the third wave of pandemicthough downside risks remain, theReserve Bank said in an article onThursday.

Observing that India’s macro-economic fundamentals remainstrong, the article in the RBIBulletin on ‘State of the Economy’said, “unfolding global develop-ments nevertheless pose downsiderisks in terms of spillovers.”

It further said that the ongoinggeopolitical crisis has heightenedthe uncertainty clouding the glob-al macroeconomic and financiallandscape even as the world econ-

omy struggles to recover from thepandemic.

Spiralling oil and gas prices andunsettled financial market condi-tions pose fresh headwinds to thestill incomplete global recovery, itsaid, adding “amidst these testingtimes, India is making steadyprogress on the domestic front as itrecovers from the third wave.”

The Reserve Bank said theviews expressed in the article arethose of the authors and do not nec-essarily represent the views of theCentral Bank.

The article authored by RBIofficials noted that the global econ-omy is facing formidable headwindsfrom the conflict in Ukraine. Oilprices had touched multi-yearhighs, financial markets are onedge, driven by mass buying into

safe-haven assets, particularly gold.“Amidst such turbulence, the

global growth outlook is worseningwith intensified inflation and finan-cial instability risks,” it said.

“In the absence of an early solu-tion to the ongoing conflict, the cri-sis can have adverse implications forthe global recovery, necessitatingdownward revisions of globalgrowth for 2022 and beyond,” thearticle said.

Inflation continued to riseacross economies, with cost-pushpressures intensifying in the back-drop of clogged supply chains,high energy, food and commodityprices and seeping wage pressures,it said. On the domestic front, thearticle noted that services sectoroutlets such as restaurants and cin-ema halls are gradually resuming

normal operations, and mobilityindicators show significantimprovement in March 2022, com-pared to a year ago.

“With the improvement inmobility and opening up of servicessector outlets, electricity generationpicked up in March, exceeding thelevels of the preceding month andalso pre-pandemic levels,” it said.

Also, the generation of E-waybills remained above pre-pandem-ic levels. Toll collections also rosein February 2022, despite the wan-ing of base effect.

The article further said theresumption in mobility spurreddiesel and petrol consumption inFebruary 2022, although a dip inAviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) damp-ened total petroleum consump-tion.

Retail sales of automobiles con-tinued to stagnate, with high deliv-ery times impeding registrations.

It also pointed out that the grossfiscal deficit plummeted to an all-time low of 58.9 per cent of RevisedEstimate (RE) in the Budget duringApril-January 2021-22.

Further, as on March 08, 2022,the overall procurement of riceduring the ongoing kharif market-ing season 2021-22 touched 489.2lakh tonnes cumulatively, as against451.9 lakh tonnes a year ago.

The target for rice procurementin this complete season is 528.3 lakhtonnes.

February’s merchandise exportssurpassed the USD 30-billion markfor the 12th consecutive month andthe target of USD 400 billion appearswithin striking distance, it said.

.+�����0�����������-�������������� ��������������������������

����� %)% "�

The BSE Sensex vaultedover 1,000 points for the

second straight session onThursday, tracking an overallbullish trend in global equitiesdespite the US FederalReserve hiking rates and sig-nalling further policy tight-ening to tame inflation.

A reversal in selling byforeign portfolio investors andsustained recovery in therupee further boosted domes-tic equities, traders said.

The 30-share BSE bench-mark rallied 1,047.28 points or1.84 per cent to finish at57,863.93. Likewise, thebroader NSE Nifty surged311.70 points or 1.84 per centto 17,287.05.

HDFC was the top gainerin the Sensex pack, spurting5.50 per cent, followed byTitan, Kotak Bank, RelianceIndustries, Asian Paints, TataSteel and Maruti.

Only Infosys and HCLTech closed lower, skidding upto 1.81 per cent.

“Global markets wel-comed the Fed decision tohike rates by 25 bps as it wason expected lines. However,the Fed’s projection of anoth-er six hikes during the year ishawkish.

“FIIs turning net buyersafter a long wait was also arelief for the domestic market.With crude prices receding,war tensions calming downand foreign investors back tobuying, we can expect the rallyin the domestic market tocontinue,” said Vinod Nair,Head of Research at GeojitFinancial Services. Markets

will remain closed on Fridayon account of Holi. Duringthe holiday-shortened week,the Sensex climbed 2,313.63points or 4.16 per cent, whilethe Nifty advanced 656.60points or 3.95 per cent.

“The markets have beendominated by risk off senti-ment in last few weeks due toconcerns on high commodityprices owing to Russia-Ukraine crisis and monetarytightening by Federal Reserve.Fed undertook 25 bps hike --first since COVID crisis -- andhas guided the markets for sixmore hikes buoyed by theresilience of the economy andstrong labour market,” saidHemant Kanawala, Head -Equity, Kotak Mahindra LifeInsurance, said.

On the other hand, initi-ation of peace talks betweenRussia and Ukraine, and con-tinued buying of Russian oilby India and China have pro-vided some relief to com-modity prices, though the sit-uation continues to evolveand a resolution is still away,he noted.

Except IT and teck, allBSE sectoral indices finishedwith gains in Friday’s ses-sion, led by realty, consumer

durables, energy and finance,spurting up to 3.14 per cent.

The BSE midcap andsmallcap gauges jumped asmuch as 1.18 per cent.

The US Federal Reserveon Wednesday approved a0.25 percentage point increasein interest rates, marking thefirst hike since 2018.

It also indicated that morehikes would be needed tofight multi-decade high infla-tion.

Elsewhere in Asia, bours-es in Tokyo, Seoul, HongKong and Shanghai endedwith significant gains.

Stock exchanges in Europewere trading on a mixed notein mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, internationaloil benchmark Brent cruderose 3.97 per cent to USD101.91 per barrel.

The rupee spurted by 41paise to close at 75.80 (provi-sional) against the US dollaron Thursday, supported bypositive domestic equities andbroad dollar weakness.

Foreign institutionalinvestors turned net buyersafter their recent selling spree,picking up shares worth Rs311.99 crore on Wednesday, asper exchange data.

1+��������

������������������0��������0�0����0� �������,�(�#���'�2�

�����%)% "�

The rupee spurted by 37 paiseto close at 75.84 against the

US dollar on Thursday, sup-ported by positive domesticequities and broad dollar weak-ness after the US Federal Reservehiked rates.

At the interbank forex mar-ket, the local unit opened at75.96 against the greenback andwitnessed an intra-day high of75.77 and a low of 75.97.

It finally settled at 75.84, reg-istering a rise of 37 paise over itsprevious close of 76.21.

Meanwhile, the dollar index,which measures the greenback’sstrength against a basket of sixcurrencies, slipped 0.39 per centto 98.23. On a weekly basis, the

rupee appreciated 63 paiseagainst the American currency.Markets will be closed on Fridayon account of Holi.

The rupee registered thebest weekly gain after December24 amid weakness in the dollarindex, rebound in risk senti-ments, stable crude oil price andinflows from foreign funds, saidDilip Parmar, Research Analyst,HDFC Securities.

The dollar index retreatedafter the Federal Open MarketCommittee (FOMC) delivered a25 bps hike on Wednesday andsignalled six more rate hikes thisyear.

“It has effectively matchedthe hawkish expectations of themarket this year and exceededthem for 2023. The near-term

focus will remain on geopoliti-cal news and movement of riskassets which will give directionto the local unit.

“Spot USD/INR could fur-ther fall towards 75.60 while76.10 becomes the resistance,”Parmar added.

Brent crude futures, theglobal oil benchmark, advanced5.02 per cent to USD 102.94 perbarrel.

On the domestic equitymarket front, the BSE Sensex

ended 1,047.28 points or 1.84per cent higher at 57,863.93,while the broader NSE Niftysurged 311.70 points or 1.84 percent to 17,287.05.

Foreign institutionalinvestors emerged as net buyersin the capital market onWednesday as they purchasedshares worth Rs 311.99 crore, asper stock exchange data.

“The Indian rupee haslogged strong gains as the USFed has hiked interest rates byone-quarter of a percentagepoint largely on expected lines,which boosted risk sentimentsin the markets,” said SugandhaSachdeva, Vice President -Commodity and CurrencyResearch, Religare Broking Ltd.

Besides, there has been a

slide in the greenback even asinvestors continue to digest theUS Fed’s hawkish outlook tostamp out inflation running ata 40-year high in the US.

“Splendid gains in equitiesamid hopes of a peace agree-ment between Russia andUkraine are further aiding thelocal currency. As of now, theIndian rupee has been wellcushioned by the 77 mark andas long as that is not taken out,sentiments are favouring furtherappreciation in the near-term,”Sachdeva added.

According to AnindyaBanerjee, VP, CurrencyDerivatives & Interest RateDerivatives at Kotak Securities,the US Fed was hawkish but inline with market expectations.

����� ���������

India’s collection from tax onpersonal and corporate

income jumped over 48 percent in the current fiscal aftera 41 per cent surge in advancetax payments, mirroring sus-tained economic recovery in ayear that witnessed two wavesof coronavirus infections.

Net collections of directtaxes until March 16, 2022 in thefiscal year that started on April1, 2021 stood at �13.63 lakhcrore, compared to �9.18 lakhcrore in the same period a yearback, an official statement said.

The net collections in directtaxes, which is made up ofincome tax on individualincome, corporation tax on prof-its of companies, property tax,inheritance tax and gift tax, in thecurrent fiscal is 35 per centhigher than collection of � 9.56lakh crore in pre-pandemic year.

"��������������� ����@�2�E-KI����� �������2�����������ELK

����� ���������

Moody’s on Thursdayslashed India’s growth

estimate for the current yearto 9.1 per cent, from 9.5 percent earlier, saying high fueland fertilizer import bill couldlimit the Government’s capi-tal expenditure.

In its ‘Global MacroOutlook 2022-23 (March 2022Update): Economic Growthwill suffer as fallout fromRussia’s invasion of Ukrainebuilds’ report, the ratingagency said Russia’s invasionof Ukraine has significantlyaltered the global economicbackdrop through three mainchannels — spike in com-modities prices, risks to glob-al economy from financialand business disruption anddent in sentiment due toheightened geopolitical risks.

It said Russia is the onlyG-20 economy that will con-tract this year and forecastthat its economy will shrink 7per cent in 2022, and 3 percent in 2023, down from pro-jected growth of 2 per centand 1.5 per cent respectively,before the invasion ofUkraine. With regard to India,it said the country is particu-larly vulnerable to high oilprices, given that it is a large

importer of crude oil. Because India is a surplus

producer of grain, agricultur-al exports will benefit in theshort-term from high pre-vailing prices. “High fuel andpotentially fertilizer costswould weigh on governmentfinances down the road,potentially limiting plannedcapital spending. “For all ofthese reasons, we have low-ered our 2022 growth fore-casts for India by 0.4 per-centage point. We now expectthe economy to grow by 9.1 pcthis year,” Moody’s InvestorsService said. It forecast growthfor 2023 at 5.4 per cent.

The year-end inflation forIndia has been projected at 6.6per cent in 2022.

The Indian economy grew8.2 per cent in the 2021 cal-endar year, after a 6.7 per centcontraction in 2020 -- the yearof COVID outbreak.

With regard to the globaleconomy, Moody’s said thepotential for new COVIDwaves, monetary policy mis-steps, and social risks associ-ated with high inflation coulddampen the growth outlook.

Moody’s projected China’seconomy to grow 5.2 per centin 2022 and 5.1 per cent in 2023.

%����<���������+/++��� �����1���� 2������*5-K������1������ ����� ���������

Retail inflation for farm work-ers and rural labourers rose

to 5.59 per cent and 5.94 per centrespectively in February, main-ly due to higher prices of certainfood items, official data showedon Thursday. Point to point rateof inflation based on the CPI-AL(consumer price index for agri-cultural labourers) and CPI-RL(consumer price index for rurallabourers) stood at 5.49 per centand 5.74 per cent in January 2022and 2.67 per cent and 2.76 percent in February 2021, a LabourMinistry statement said.

����� ���������

India’s gold mine productionstood at a mere 1.6 tonnes in

2020 but could rise to 20 tonnesper year in the long-term,World Gold Council said onThursday.

The World Gold Council(WGC) launched a report titled‘Gold Mining in India’, as partof a series of in-depth analysison the Indian gold market.

The report has highlightedthat India has a rich heritage ofgold mining, but industry’sgrowth has been hampered bylegacy processes and under-investments, WGC said in astatement.

“Despite India being one ofthe world’s largest consumers ofgold, the mining market oper-ates on a small scale and is notan easy one to enter. In 2020gold mine production was just1.6 tonnes.

“India’s current resources,when compared to productionand resource levels in othercountries, could reasonably beexpected to support annualoutput of approximately 20tonnes per year in the longer-term,” the council said.

The report has listed regu-latory challenges, taxation poli-cies and infrastructure as major

problem areas.Somasundaram PR,

Regional CEO, India, WorldGold Council, said: “Given thatIndia is one of the world’slargest gold consuming coun-tries, it makes sense for it todevelop mining capacity. Butchange is needed for this tohappen, legacy hurdles must bereduced considerably, andinvestments encouraged.”

He noted that there havebeen promising signs in recentyears with changes in theMines and Minerals(Development and Regulation)Act and introduction of theNational Mineral Policy andNational Minerals ExplorationPolicy.

“If this trend continues,India’s mine production isexpected to increase in thecoming years. That said, we see

this materialising only over thelonger-term as potentialinvestors will, for the foresee-able future, wait to see how suc-cessfully the new policies will beimplemented and how effectivethey will be,” Somasundaramsaid.

He mentioned that goldmining has the potential to pro-vide significant sustainablesocio-economic developmentfor India, not just throughinvestment in exploration andmining for gold, but alsothrough the legacy of traininga skilled workforce.

“Furthermore, mininghelps to bring infrastructureinvestment to a region, initiat-ing and supporting associatedservice industries, many ofwhich often persist long beyondthe working life of the mine.

“It is only when investors

can see real evidence of Indiamanaging its gold mining assetsmore efficiently that we canexpect inward investment toemerge. And at that point, thecountry’s gold mining sectorwill enjoy a much brighterfuture,” Somasundaram said.

On the three problem areas,the WGC report said that theprocess of securing approval fora mining licence is usuallylengthy, involving multipleagencies and requires 10-15approvals for a single licence.

“Applications are often sub-ject to substantial delays, lead-ing to a lengthy and costly hold-ups in project development. Allof this dissuades investment,particularly from multi-nation-al companies who can investtheir resources into countrieswith similar geological per-spectivity but with less legacyburden,” the statement said.

Import tax on miningequipment and other directand indirect taxes remain highcompared to other countries.

“In the absence of domes-tically produced alternatives,project developers have littleoption other than to importspecialist mining equipment,much of which comes from asmall number of manufactur-ers.

���� ����������������7,8�����9:9:;� �������9:���<�� �=>%�

Retail inflation for farm,rural workers rises to5.59%, 5.94% in Feb

����� ���������

Easing algorithm tradingnorms for commodity deriv-

atives segment, capital marketsregulator Sebi on Thursdayraised the limit for placing thenumber of orders per second toup to 120 by a user from theexisting limit of 100.

The new limit will be effec-tive from April 1, the Securitiesand Exchange Board of India(Sebi) said in a circular.

The decision was taken afterreceiving representations fromexchanges along with the viewsof Sebi’s sub-committee —Commodity DerivativesAdvisory Committee.

“It has been decided to per-mit stock exchanges to furtherrelax the...Limit up to 120 OPS(order per second) as against thepresent 100,” Sebi said.

Prior to that, the limit on thenumber of OPS from a partic-ular user-ID was 20 orders persecond. Now, the exchange canplace a limit on the number of

orders per second from a par-ticular user-ID not exceeding120 orders per second.

For the number of ordersexceeding the limit set by a stockexchange, Sebi said that thebourse needs to prescribe eco-nomic disincentives and informthe same to the regulator.

Further, the exchange willhave to ensure that the limitsprovided are subject to its abil-ity to handle the load.

“The limit on OPS may befurther relaxed by the stockexchanges based on theincreased peak order load

observed and correspondingupgrade of infrastructure capac-ity to ensure that the capacity ofthe trading system of the stockexchange remains at least fourtimes the peak order load. Therelaxation in limit shall be sub-ject to the approval of Sebi,” itsaid.

Algorithmic trading or‘Algo’ in market parlance refersto orders generated at a super-fast speed by use of advancedmathematical models thatinvolve automated execution ofthe trade, and it is mostly usedby large institutional investors.

�����%)% "�

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) remained a net seller

of the US currency in January2022, selling USD 771 million inthe spot market.

In the reporting month, thecentral bank bought USD 6.548billion and sold USD 7.319 bil-lion in the spot market, theReserve Bank of India (RBI)Bulletin for March 2022 releasedon Thursday showed.

In December 2021, RBI hadnet sold USD 2.917 billion in thespot market.

In January 2021, RBI hadnet purchased USD 2.854 billionfrom the spot market — buyingUSD 18.225 billion and sellingUSD 15.371 billion.

During FY 2020-21, RBIhad net purchased USD 68.315billion from the spot market. Ithad bought USD 162.479 billionand sold USD 94.164 billionduring the fiscal, the datashowed.

& ��2� �����������,�):�������� ��=��������):��FF-�2�

�!����2!+���;>����������>&?@%��#���������������

�� ����������#��������#��!���������++��������������������#+���

�������������

The very first tribute to lateLata Mangeshkar,

#Metatribute went live onMarch 11. XR Central hostedthe experience on its powerfulmetaverse creating platform,MetaQube. The experienceallowed people to have aunique audio-visual engage-ment with over 80 years ofLata’s music, while being ableto interact with friends andfamily in a radically differentsetting, said Anshul Agarwal,co-founder, XR Central.

#� 3������������������%�����4��

Page 11: D`_ZR CRYf] ScVR\ ZTV hZeY 8 #$ ]VRUVcd ?=BQ =4F34;78

�� ����::��������������� ������������� ��

���� ������

Liverpool moved within onepoint of Premier League

leaders Manchester City asDiogo Jota and RobertoFirmino inspired a crucial 2-0win against Arsenal onWednesday.

Jurgen Klopp's side tookadvantage of City's goallessdraw against Crystal Palaceon Monday thanks to theirsmash and grab raid at theEmirates Stadium.

Arsenal enjoyed a sus-tained period of pressure thatcould easily have yielded theopening goal, but AlissonBecker made a superb save todeny Martin Odegaard andLiverpool capitalised to stealthe points.

Liverpool, chasing anunprecedented quadruple, havewon nine successive leaguegames, scoring 23 goals andonly conceding twice.

Having trailed City by 14points on January 15, Liverpoolhave hunted down the cham-pions impressively, putting therace in their own hands as theyeye a second title in three sea-sons. A victory against Watfordin their next league game onApril 2 would set the stage fora seismic showdown with PepGuardiola's team at the EtihadStadium on April 10.

Finding a way to subdue anin-form Arsenal side who hadwon their previous five leaguegames to climb to fourth placemade the victory in rain-soaked north London evenmore impressive.

No wonder Klopp and hisplayers celebrated so jubilant-ly at the final whistle.

Klopp threw down thegauntlet to City this week whenhe admitted he wants Liverpoolto be as "annoying as possible"in the title race.

There is no doubtLiverpool are proving extreme-ly irritating, especially sincethey beat the Gunners withMohamed Salah starting on thebench after suffering a footinjury in Saturday's win atBrighton.

Liverpool had knockedArsenal out of the League Cupsemi-finals in January.

History for KaneHarry Kane created

Premier League history withhis goal in Tottenham's 2-0 winat Brighton.

After Cristian Romerodeflected Dejan Kulusevski'seffort into the net in the 37thminute, Kane entered therecord books just before thehour.

His blistering finish fromRodrigo Bentancur's pass madeit 95 away goals in the PremierLeague for Kane, more thanany other player.

The England striker alsomoved above Frank Lampardin the list of Premier League all-time scorers, going into fifthwith 178 goals.

Antonio Conte's seventh-placed side remain in the racefor a top four finish, sittingthree points behind Arsenal,who have a game in hand.

���� #)&�

Villarreal reached thequarter-finals of theChampions League on

Wednesday after inflicting ahumiliating 3-0 defeat onJuventus in Turin to go through4-1 on aggregate.

Penalties from GerardMoreno and Arnaut Danjumaand Pau Torres's tap-in in thefinal quarter of an hour wereenough for Unai Emery's well-organised side to see off theItalians at the Allianz Stadiumand make Friday's last-eightdraw.

Villarreal stunned Juve withthree sucker punches after

spending most of the match onthe back foot, content to holdoff the hosts' attacks which gotless potent as the match woreon.

An embarrassing loss wasjust Juve's second since theend of November and punc-tures a dogged run of formwhich has put them back intothe league title race at home.

Massimiliano Allegri's sidewere loudly booed off by thehome crowd who watched theirteam shrink from a promisingstart and bounce off a yellowwall before being bundled outof the competition.

Italy are now without a sin-gle representative in this sea-

son's Champions League as itmoves into its latter stages, as acynical, clinical Villarreal beata Serie A team at their owngame.

Juve fired the first salvo inthe 11th minute of a breathlessfirst half when Alvaro Moratahad his powerful header wellsaved by Geronimo Rulli.

Two minutes later Moratawas involved again when he andJuan Cuadrado, who had sup-plied the cross for the Spaniard'sheader moments before,stepped on each other's toeswith and allowed a huge chanceto shoot go begging.

Then Vlahovic had a long-range drive pushed aside before

he was denied by the crossbar,his first-time strike from MattiaDe Sciglio's cross beating Rullibut thwacking out off thewoodwork in the 21st minute.

Juve were almost punishedfor their inability to put awaytheir chances seconds laterwhen Giovani Lo Celso chargedforward with teammatesswarming into the home team'sbox and with options to eitherside curled a shot just wide.

Villarreal clearly decided toshut up shop in the early min-utes of the second half in thehope of stemming the flow ofJuve chances and the gameslowed down to almost a crawluntil Adrien Rabiot thumped a

distance effort at Rulli andCuadrado fired wide on thehour.

The away side easily heldJuve at bay for the rest of the

match and when FrancisCoquelin was clumsily broughtdown by Daniele Rugani, recentsubstitute Moreno was freshenough send his spot-kick past

Wojciech Szczesny with 12minutes remaining.

Moreno's goal, which cameafter referee SzymonMarciniak's pitchside video

check, deflated the crowd andwhen Torres pushed home thesecond from Serge Aurier'scross in the 85th minute thegame was well and truly up.

���� ����

Chelsea put their off-field troubles toone side to seal a place in the

Champions League quarter-finals onWednesday as a Cesar Azpilicueta goalclinched a 2-1 win at Lille in the secondleg of their last-16 tie, and a 4-1 aggre-gate victory.

Reeling from the impact of UK gov-ernment sanctions imposed on theirRussian billionaire owner RomanAbramovich, the London club appearedrattled as they fell behind in northernFrance to a first-half Burak Yilmazpenalty.

Lille had given themselves a chanceof salvaging the tie following their 2-0defeat in the first leg at Stamford Bridgelast month, but Christian Pulisicequalised on the night in first-half stop-page time and captain Azpilicueta got thewinner in the 71st minute.

The reigning Ligue 1 champions goout, and following Paris Saint-Germain'sstunning exit last week it means there willbe no French club in Friday's draw forthe Champions League quarter-finals.

In contrast, defending Europeanchampions Chelsea make it three PremierLeague clubs in the hat as they joinLiverpool and Manchester City in the lasteight.

"It has not been a normal last fewweeks but we have to do what is in ourhands, which is train the best we can.Tonight it was a difficult game and ofcourse we are happy to go through,"Azpilicueta told British broadcaster BTSport.

"This group fights against everything,we know we have to do the best we canon the pitch, we stick together and hope-fully end up having a very good season."

On the pitch Lille looked determined

to add to Chelsea's woes as they startedat an excellent tempo and Yilmaz twicecame close in the early stages.

The visitors lost Danish defenderAndreas Christensen to injury just afterthe half-hour mark, and his replacement,Trevoh Chalobah, was booked for pullingdown Jonathan David within seconds ofcoming on.

Lille then won a penalty in the 38thminute when Italian referee DavideMassa was alerted by the VAR to a hand-ball in the box by Jorginho.

He pointed to the spot after review-ing the images, and veteran Turkishstriker Yilmaz made no mistake.

Yet the home side, crucially, couldnot hold their lead until the break.

In the third added minute Jorginhoslid a terrific pass into the path of Pulisicin the box, and the United States inter-

national found the far corner.That took the sting out of the game

and Lille's remaining hopes of a come-back were ended when they lost two oftheir defenders, Zeki Celik and SvenBotman, to injury just before the hourmark.

Xeka rattled the post with a headerfrom a Yilmaz cross in the 63rd minutebut just like their only previous last-16appearance -- a defeat againstManchester United in 2007 -- Lillefound English opposition to be toostrong.

Chelsea sealed the win on the nightwhen substitute Mason Mount's crossfrom the left was turned in by the kneeof Azpilicueta at the back post, and theskipper ran across to celebrate with thetravelling support high in the far cornerof the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

���� ��"������:

Rafael Nadal battled past big-hittingAmerican Reilly Opelka 7-6 (7/3), 7-

6 (7/5) on Wednesday to push his 2022record to 18-0 and reach the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells WTA and ATPMasters.

The 35-year-old Spaniard, who wona record-setting 21st Grand Slam title atthe Australian Open in January and lift-ed the trophy in Acapulco last month,stayed on track for a fourth title in theCalifornia desert.

But he had all he could handle fromthe 2.11m tall American, including a raftof serves that topped the 140 mph markand had Nadal's back against the wall -- literally.

Nadal became just the second play-er to start a season 18-0 since the ATPTour launched in 1990. Novak Djokovichas done it twice, starting 41-0 in 2011

and 26-0 in 2020. In other matches,Serbia's 61st-ranked Miomir Kecmanovicshocked sixth-ranked Matteo Berrettini

6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 to book a quarter-finalclash with American Taylor Fritz.

The 22-year-old Kecmanovic

equalled the biggest win of his career ashe reached the last eight of a Masters levelevent for the second time.

Berrettini, runner-up at Wimbledonin 2021, is at a career-high sixth in theworld after reaching the AustralianOpen semi-finals in January.

But he couldn't find the answeragainst an aggressive Kecmanovic, whopressured Berrettini's serve throughout.

Unable to convert two break pointsin the eighth game of the final set,Kecmanovic broke Berrettini to love inthe final game, letting out a shout of tri-umph as the Italian sent a forehand wideon match point.

Kecmanovic will now be hoping togo further than his quarter-final run inthe California desert in 2019.

Standing in his way will be 20th-seeded American Fritz, who shook off aslow start to beat Australian Alex deMinaur 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5).

���� :"!�&

Four-time Formula Oneworld champion Sebastian

Vettel has tested positive forCovid-19 and will be replacedby Nico Huelkenberg for theseason-opening Bahrain GrandPrix, the Aston Martin teamsaid on Thursday.

German veteran Vettel, 34,is the second driver after DanielRicciardo to test positive forcoronavirus since pre-seasontesting began but the McLarendriver will be fit to race.

A statement from AstonMartin read: "Sebastian Vettelhas tested positive for Covid-19 and will not therefore betaking part in the 2022 BahrainGrand Prix. "Replacing him inthe AMR22 will be AstonMartin Aramco CognizantFormula One Team reservedriver Nico Huelkenberg, whowill be in the car from FP1onwards."

���� ��&#%)��

Axel Witsel fired in a late win-ner Wednesday as Borussia

Dortmund ground out a 1-0 vic-tory at Mainz to trim BayernMunich's lead at the top of theBundesliga to four points.

The Belgium midfielderside-footed a Giovanni Reynafree-kick past Mainz goalkeep-er Robin Zentner with threeminutes left to claim his firstBundesliga goal for two years.

"It was a hard game,sometimes you can't playbeautiful football and have towin like this," Witsel told

broadcaster DAZN."This was about body lan-

guage and fighting spirit - for thesecond straight game we didn'tconcede a goal," he added, refer-ring to Saturday's 1-0 home winagainst Arminia Bielefeld.

"I am not a goalscorer, butI was very happy to get this one."

The result saw second-placed Dortmund furtherreduce Bayern's lead - which was10 points on Saturday night -with the Bundesliga's top twoteams still to meet on April 23.

The original fixture waspostponed 10 days ago due toan outbreak of Covid in the

Mainz squad.Dortmund struggled to

break down the home defencebefore Witsel struck.

Zentner had repeatedlydenied Dortmund's attack,including star striker ErlingHaaland, who came on for thelast half-hour.

After Witsel finally brokethe deadlock, Dortmund twicecame within a whisker of dou-bling their lead in stoppagetime.

Julian Brandt fired just widewith the goal at his mercy beforeReyna forced Zentner into a div-ing save from his free-kick.

����� ��������

Mid-fielder Salima Tete was on Thursdaynamed captain of the 20-member Indian

team for the FIH Women's Junior World Cup,starting in Potchefstroom, South Africa onApril 1.

Defender Ishika Chadhary will serve asTete's deputy for the tournament which waspostponed from December last year to 2022due to the omicron-threat in South Africa.

Mid-fielders Sharmila Devi, Lalremsiami,who were part of the Indian women's team thatfinished fourth in the Tokyo Olympics, are alsoin the squad.

The Indian team has been grouped in poolD along with Germany, Malaysia and Wales.

They will kick-start their campaign onApril 2 with their first match against Wales fol-lowed by their game against Germany a daylater on April 3 with their last group-stagematch is scheduled for April 5 against Malaysia.

The quarterfinals will be held on April 8whereas the semifinals are scheduled forApril 10. The final will be played on April 12.

The squad consists of goalkeepers BichuDevi Kharibam, who recently made her seniorIndia debut at the FIH Hockey Pro Leaguematches against Germany, and Khushboo.

The defenders include MarinaLalramnghaki, Preeti, Priyanka, Chaudharyand Akshata Abaso Dekhale, who also madeher Senior India debut against Germany at therecently held Pro League matches inBhubaneswar.

Reet, Ajmina Kujur, Baljeet Kaur andVaishnavi Vitthal Phalke will form the Indianmidfield along with Tete, Sharmila andLalremsiami.

The forwardline will feature Lalrindiki,Jiwan Kishori Toppo, Mumtaz Khan, BeautyDungdung, Deepika and Sangita Kumari,who also made her senior debut recently.

����� ��������

Olympic Silver-medallist weightlifterMirabai Chanu is set to begin her preparationsfor this year's Commonwealth Gamesand the Asiad with a month-longtraining stint in the USA, starting thisweek. The 27-year-old and Indiaweightlifting head coach VijaySharma will fly to St. Louis, USAon Thursday night for at least amonth-long stay.

"We have planned for a 4-5 weekstay as of now but we can increase it also,"Sharma said. "We will see how it's goingthere. The plan right now is to be there tillthe last week of April but we will assess theprogress after a month and then decidewhether we extend our stay or not,"Sharma added. Chanu, who struggles inthe snatch section due to an imbalance that

affects her right shoulder and back, had ben-efitted immensely by consulting Dr. AaronHorschig, a former weightlifter-turned-physical therapist and strength and condi-tioning coach in the US ahead of the TokyoOlympics.

In an interview to PTI last month, thediminutive Manipuri had expressed her

keenness to work with Dr Horschigonce again for rehabilitation andendurance training.

"We are in talks to go in March,which is our off season. I go there keep-ing in mind the rehab and technique.We have two big tournaments CWGand Asian Games this year," she hadsaid. "Yes, we will be working with DrHorschig again. We will go to himthree days a week and then when heis needed we will call him for train-ing," Sharma said.

����� 8�)!�#

Asecond string Indian teamhas assured six medals,

primarily in the compoundcategory at the ongoing AsiaCup Archery Championshipon Thursday.

However India's malerecurve archers were onceagain a big letdown with not asingle one of them able toreach the individual medalround. The Indians howevermade amends in the teamevents advancing into the finalin both the men's and women'ssections.

The high point of the daycame in the compound sectionwhere India remained in linefor a clean sweep.

India have sent their fringearchers for the tournamentwhich already has lost somesheen after pull-out from SouthKorea, China, Japan andChinese Taipei.

-+/?!+'!@�$ :��� ����9����������������'����

$����������������� ���������������������#������$� ����� ����A �����

$���-���� ���/;

.���"�#( ��� !���#6� ��!( �� & %��#��

'����������3�����4�3��,��� ���� ��(8

( ��� '������� ����� ��@��>����B�-�����>�

Asia Cup: India assuredof six medals, recurvearchers disappoint again

*��!�!� �� ��$�# )13 7���!( %��%� �# 2� ���� ���+

� � �����������7CD:"���"��

Page 12: D`_ZR CRYf] ScVR\ ZTV hZeY 8 #$ ]VRUVcd ?=BQ =4F34;78

�� ����:!��������������� ������������� ��

����� ��������

Former captains DianaEdulji and ShanthaRangaswamy feel theIndian women's cricket

team can't afford to "blow hot andcold" in a big event like the ongo-ing World Cup and called for con-sistency in the batting department.

India have two wins and asmany losses to their name in theWorld Cup and after the defeatagainst England, they face themighty Australians on Saturday.

Edulji feels too many changesare being made in the battingorder. Deepti Sharma batted atthree in the first two games beforeskipper Mithali Raj replaced her inthat position against West Indiesand England.

Mithali, who has been theteam's most consistent batter overthe last 12 months, is yet to fire inthe tournament whileHarmanpreet has roared back toform after a prolonged lean patchthat saw her getting dropped fromthe bilateral series against NewZealand before the World Cup.

Edulji, who had called forHarmanpreet's exclusion from theplaying eleven last month, is happythat she was proved wrong by thesenior batter who has hit a hun-dred and 50 batting at four in theICC event so far.

Edulji wants Harmanpreet,

who has been batting at five, andopener Smriti Mandhana to getmaximum time in the middle.

"When they (Harman andSmriti) are in form and have con-fidence between themselves, letthem play as many overs as theycan. They complement each otherand they run well between thewickets. Opening pair (Smriti andYastika) is fine as Shafali doesn'tseem to be in form.

"Harmanpreet can bat at threeif you want left-hand right-handcombination, followed by Deepti,and Mithali can control theinnings at five if there is a top-order collapse.

"Too many changes are beingmade at the moment. Let theplayers know they are going to batat this number, tell them they aresafe at that number. Harman hasto bat higher now that she is inform.

"You can always be flexible inthe last 20 overs with the likes ofRicha and Pooja being promotedbut your top four needs to be sta-ble," Edulji told PTI.

England, who had lost allthree games prior to Wednesday,bundled out India for 134 afterscoring 317 against the WestIndies.

"You can't blow hot and coldlike that," Edulji added.

Rangaswamy too called forconsistency from the batters but

doesn't want to change the orderfor the game against Australia. Lastyear, India had ended Australia's26-match winning streak thoughthey lost the closely contestedaway series 1-2.

"Both Mithali and Deepti wereamong runs earlier but they havenot clicked in the tournament sofar. Hopefully, these two, especial-ly Mithali fires against Australia asshe is the fulcrum of India's batting.

"With Smriti at the top andHarman returning to form, it is agood sign for India. Our bowlershave done well throughout theWorld Cup. They will overcome amajor psychological barrier if theycan beat Australia," saidRangaswamy.

"I don't see any changes in thebatting order. Mithali has batted atthree for the major part of her longcareer. I am confident that she willbe back among the runs. Harman,at number five, is ideal, the teamshould not not risk her against themoving ball.

"When she gets going, she isunstoppable. Really happy to seeher back among the runs. She wasdropped from one of the games andthat fired her up. Everyone needsa jolt at some point in their career."

Rangaswamy added that leg-spinner Poonam Yadav can betried against South Africa andBangladesh but not Australia asthey have "found her out".

����� ��������

Virat Kohli nowadays looks"stress free" without the

burden of captaincy weighinghim down, a dangerous sign forthe opposition teams in theupcoming IPL, feels RoyalChallengers Bangalore team-mate Glenn Maxwell.

Kohli, who relinquishedRCB captaincy after last year'sIPL, has also resigned from T20and Test captaincy while beingremoved from ODI leadershiprole. Maxwell feels that Kohlinow is no longer the "in-yourface" aggressive cricketer that heused to be and that has beenpleasantly surprising.

"He knows he's handingthe captaincy over, which Ithink is potentially a big burdenfor him. It might have beensomething that's been weighinghim down for a while and now

that he's been able to release it,it might be dangerous news foropposition teams," Maxwell toldRCB Podcast. The flamboyantAustralian is happy that Kohli is

in that phase when he wouldactually be enjoying being outthere in thick of things.

"It is amazing for him to berelaxed a bit and actually enjoy

the next few years of his careerwithout any of that sort of exter-nal pressure. I think playingagainst him in earlier days, hewas a fiery competitor, getting inyour face. He's always trying toimpose himself on the game.Impose himself on the opposi-tion." The Australian all-rounderis loving the cricketing conver-sations he is having with Kohliand is himself surprised that theformer India skipper hasbecome a close friend.

"Something I've noticedmore from him this year is he'sbeen really measured with hisemotions. He's actually beenreally measured with his deci-sion-making. He's certainly real-ly surprised me and probablyhow close we've both gotten toeach other as well this year.Being able to talk about thegame in a calm manner,"Maxwell said.

����� ")�!�"��

The shock 2017 World Cupsemi-final loss to India

might have "reshaped" their"values" but the Australianwomen's team haven't reallydiscussed about that match inrecent times, all-rounder TahliaMcGrath said ahead of herteam's league match against the'Women In Blue' on Saturday.

Six-time championsAustralia, whose World Cupcampaign five years back, endedafter losing to India by 36 runsin the semifinals, are currentlyplaced on top of the table withfour wins in as many matches.

"That was a long time ago,that (2017 semi-final) game,one that probably was spokenabout more immediately afterthat. It was something that wesort of really looked (at) andreshaped our values and how weapproached… sort of how weplay our brand of cricket," she

was quoted as saying byESPNcricinfo.

"But over recent times, it'ssort of not been somethingwe've spoken about too much.So we're just pretty simple withour approach. Take every gameas it comes and play the type ofcricket that we want to play. Sowe're really happy with thebrand we're playing at momentand hopefully more to come."

McGrath was the Player ofthe series when Australia haddefeated India 2-1 in the ODIseries and 2-0 in the three-matchT20 series at home last year.

"We had a fair bit of successagainst them in the recent Indiaseries. But, it's a new location, anew tournament, so anythingcan happen and they'e a world-class side," she said.

"We will do our homeworkon them, do big training tomor-row and give ourselves everychance to beat them onSaturday."

����� �"%�#��

South Africa edged out hosts NewZealand by two wickets in a thrilling

league stage match to continue theirunbeaten run in the ICC Women's WorldCup here on Thursday.

Seamers Ayabonga Khaka (3/31),Shabnim Ismail (3/27) and MarizanneKapp (2/44) led the way with the ball asthe Proteas bowled out New Zealand for228 despite skipper Sophie Devine's 93 atSeddon Park.

Laura Wolvaardt (67) and skipperSune Luus (51) then hit timely half cen-turies before Kapp (34 not out) ensuredSouth Africa crossed the line for theirfourth win of the tournament.

South Africa thus consolidated theirsecond spot on the points table while NewZealand, who have just two wins from fiveoutings, continued to remain fourth andwill need to win their remaining two fix-tures to stay in the mix for a semifinal spot.

Chasing 229, openers Lizelle Lee (17)and Wolvaardt started positively for SouthAfrica. But a bit of hesitation in runningbetween the wickets cost the former herwicket.

Wolvaardt, however, remained unper-

turbed and kept finding the boundaries.She was lucky on a couple of occasionswith a dropped catch and almost draggingon to her own stumps but along with Luus,kept the chase on track.

Amelia Kerr (3/50) trapped Wolvaardtleg before to put an end to the 88-run part-nership between the opener and Luus inthe 36th over before dismissing Mignondu Preez (1) in her next over.

����� %)% "

South African pace legendDale Steyn on Thursday

arrived in India to kickstart hisnew journey as the bowlingcoach of Sunrisers Hyderabadin the Indian Premier Leaguebeginning here on March 26.

The 38-year-old, who hunghis bowling shoes last August,will join the SRH coaching staffthat comprises head coachTom Moody, batting coachBrian Lara, and spin bowlingcoach Muttiah Muralitharan.

"Yeah, very happy to beback. I've been in India forquite some time so I'm quiteexcited to be back. Just drivingfrom the airport brought backso many memories," Steyn,

who has taken 97 wickets in 95matches for SunrisersHyderabad, said in a videoposted by the franchise onTwitter.

����� %)% "

Delhi Capitals' batter Rovman Powellis keen to "learn a thing or two"

about every aspect of the game from headcoach Ricky Ponting when he works withthe former Australian skipper during theupcoming season of the IPL.

The IPL 2022 will begin on March 26and matches will be played in Mumbaiand Pune. Delhi Capitals will take onMumbai Indians in their first match ofthe season on March 27.

"As a child I watched Ricky Pontingbat a lot. We know the type of leader hewas when he captained the Australianteam and I think he is the same type ofleader as a coach as well," the 28-year-oldPowell, who also plays for the WestIndies, was quoted as saying in a releaseissued by the franchise.

"He is really good and hopefully I canlearn a thing or two from him," he added.

Powell and wicketkeeper-batter KSBharat attended their first practice ses-sion with the Delhi franchise here onWednesday.

"It's been very good to be in the DelhiCapitals camp. I have heard a lot of goodthings about this franchise. The playershave welcomed me with open arms.

"I had a chat with Rishabh during theT20 series in Kolkata as well. He told methat he is excited to have me in the DelhiCapitals team," said Powell, who hasplayed 39 T20s.

Bharat said he is looking to keepingthings simple this season.

"It's amazing to be back in the Delhicamp. I am looking forward to a fantas-tic season as a unit. It's been good tointeract with some of the players duringour first training session as well.

"I am looking to keep things simpleand follow my process this season," saidBharat.

����� %)% "

Rajasthan Royals director ofcricket and head coach

Kumar Sangakkara believes theyhave a "very competent" squadat their disposal to script a turn-around after three dismal IPLseasons.

Rajasthan finished 7th, 8thand 7th in the last three seasons.The IPL's upcoming editionbegins on March 26.

"We know we had quite a bitof work to do in the off-seasonwith regards to our team. I thinkwe managed to identify thekey areas which needed ourattention and having had aproper process when it comes toselecting players at the auction,we managed to kind of hit themarkers that we set for our-selves," said the Sri Lankan leg-end in a team statement.

"I think the franchise has

done an amazing job to put thisexciting and strong squadtogether," he added.

Commenting on the make-up of his squad, Sangakkara saidthe presence of YuzvendraChahal and R Ashwin will makea huge difference.

"We've got the two bestspinners in the IPL in terms ofoff-spin and leg-spin in Chahaland Ashwin. We have Boult,Prasidh, Saini, Coulter-Nile,McCoy, which makes up for avery exciting pace unit support-ed by of course the retentions ofYashasvi, Samson and Buttler.

"We have secured depth inevery department, withNeesham, Mitchell and van derDussen being exciting crick-eters. We've got some reallyexciting and young cricketersfrom India as well. The mainthing is that we have a verycompetent side.

����� &%�(�"%

World Championshipsbronze medallist Lakshya

Sen stunned world No. 3 AndersAntonsen of Denmark instraight games to progress to themen's singles quarterfinals of theAll England Championshipshere on Thursday.

The 20-year-old fromAlmora, who had claimed hismaiden Super 500 title at IndiaOpen in January and thenreached the finals of GermanOpen last week, notched up anupset 21-16, 21-18 win overthird seed Antonsen, a two-timemedallist at WorldChampionships in 2019 Baseland 2021 Huelva respectively.

It was their first meeting atthe international stage.

Sen will face either HongKong's eighth seed Ng Ka LongAngus or China's Lu Guang Zuin the quarter-final.

Earlier, India ace SainaNehwal produced a gallant fightbefore going down to secondseed Japanese Akane Yamaguchiin a thrilling three-game matchin the second round.

Former world No 1 Saina,the London Olympics Bronzemedallist, lost 14-21, 21-17 17-21 world No 2 Yamaguchi in a50-minute women's singlesclash.

It was a much improvedperformance from the Indian,who had lost in straight gamesto Thailand's RatchanokInthanon at German Open lastweek.

Sen gave amply display ofhis tactical acumen as he dishedout a defensive game and keptAntonsen away from the net tolead 11-9 at the first break. Hekept things in his grip after theinterval to move to a 13-9advantage and maintained thelead to pocket the openinggame.

Sen kept his clears close tothe baseline and tried to use hissmashes judiciously to jump toa 9-5 lead early on before grab-bing a four-point advantage atthe breather.

Antonsen fought his wayback to 14-14, riding on sixpoints on the trot. The duomoved 14-14 to 16-16 beforeSen managed to eke out a two-

point lead at 18-16.He kept his nerves and

unleased a cross court smash tograb three match points.

����� %)% "

The vibrant city of Mumbaiand its five-time champi-

ons IPL outfit MumbaiIndians have splashed in a hueof colours covering the city, inwelcoming the fellow ninefranchises.

'The 'WelcomeDilKholKe'billboards, customised to eachof the visiting teams, havebeen set up across key loca-tions in the city," the franchisestated in a media release.

A dash of yellow to'Welcome Chennai SuperKings - Whistle Podu DilKhol Ke,' while KolkataKnight Riders are welcomedwith their iconic 'KorboLorbo Jeetbo Dil Khol Ke slogan'.

#���>��������6��0����� ����������

.0������������������:AB>���"������!�����!��/�*�"���

:" ���� �����3�������� ����2�<���� (���������*������������ ���������"�������������� � ��A 0"���

&&������1��3����� ����� ��8�������2������A���J�:����44���

� 5����&����� ��������� ��� ����' :������� ��� ���� ������������1����������:&��3�1� ��������

������!���'�����7��;�6���������������6���,�#�����83�%�M1���2���2<�� ���8��,����� ��


6z + 7 = 0 BQ¯ @PõkPÒ Cøn¯õÚøÁ GÚ {ÖÄP. 2x - IndCareer

Ácidos biliares, síntesis y efectos BQ

CRYf] VjVd d`feY gZR HRjR_RU - Daily Pioneer

RaR_ e` Z_gVde C$ #= Tc e` S``de eZVd hZeY - Daily Pioneer

chi tieu nQi bQ va phan ph6i thu nhap do ti~t - Sở Tư Pháp

BQ 163.pdf - Repositorio Universidad Técnica de Ambato

BQ PENAWARAN DUA CAHAYA NEW

CRYf] cVWfdVd e` SfUXV `_ ViZe - Daily Pioneer

T`ccZU`c :_UZR fcXVd CfddZR F\cRZ_V ?=BQ =4F34;78

CRYf] cVXcVed ^Zdbf`eZ_X D4 - Daily Pioneer

decV_XeY hZeY AR\ YR]gVU ,QGLD &KLQD WR SXOO EDFN

* Y`_`fcVU hZeY DYRfcjR 4YR\cR - Daily Pioneer

Form CPF M 101 BQ: STATEMENT OF ORGANIZATION TaX E

Hd xu ly va bq tom su nlieu h ng duy bao

R^ReR ^VVed A>, TYRZ aV TYRcTYR hZeY D`_ZR e`URj

5YR_\Rc V]VTeVU GA hZeY hY`aaZ_X $ %eY g`eVd

BQ in the House: The Nature of Sovereigntist Representation in the Canadian Parliament

ANALISA HARGA SATUAN SNI BQ RAB REKAP

Yrjrf BQ xAY DVNG

Soliton-like structures and the connection between the Bq and KP equations

CRYf] e` aZT\ hZ__Vcd `W 4> cRTV - Daily Pioneer

BQ 64.pdf - Repositorio Universidad Técnica de Ambato

4 CRYf]¶d 65 XcZ]]Z_X e` T`_eZ_fV e`URj - Daily Pioneer

2^ZU f_TVceRZ_eZVd D`cV_ V_[`jd aZT_ZT hZeY >=2d

KETERANGAN : -BILL OF QUANTITY ( BQ ) BERSIFAT TIDAK MENGIKAT YANG MENGIKAT ADALAH GAMBAR KERJA -PENYEDIA JASA / KONTRAKTOR PELAKSANA WAJIB MENGHITUNG ULANG

BQ 315.pdf - Repositorio UTA

Structure of Personality Pathology in Normal and Clinical Samples: Spanish Validation of the DAPP-BQ