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JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2020, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `6.00 (`8 PATNA & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMJOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

SEVENWORST-HITSTATES

MOHAMEDTHAVERMUMBAI, SEPTEMBER23

ASPARTof itsinvestigationsintoRhea Chakraborty's purportedWhatsApp chats andanalleged"drug citadel in Mumbai", theNarcotics Control Bureau (NCB)has summoned actors DeepikaPadukone, Sara Ali Khan,Shraddha Kapoor and RakulPreetSingh forquestioning.While Padukone and Singh

have been summoned in con-nectionwith theFIR filedbytheNCB based on Chakraborty'spurported chats, Khan andKapoorhavebeensummonedinconnection with the case inwhichtheNCBtolda localcourtit wanted to “uproot the drugcitadel in Bollywood”.While 19persons have been arrested inthe second case, includingChakraborty and her brotherShowik, no arrests have beenmade in the first caseasyet.NCB Deputy Director K P S

Malhotra said, “Singh has beensummoned on September 24,PadukoneonSeptember25.Therest have been called for ques-tioningaday later.”OnTuesday,NCBofficialshad

said theywould first record thestatement of Padukone's man-ager and Kwan talentmanage-ment company employeeKarishma Prakash, followingwhich a decision to summonPadukonewillbetaken. Prakashdid not appear before the NCB,seeking exemption tillSeptember25ongroundsof ill-health, while Kwan CEODhruvChitgopekarwasquestionedfor

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MoS RailwaysSuresh Angadidies of Covid

AngadiwasadmittedtoAIIMSonSeptember11

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER23

MINISTEROFState for RailwaysSuresh Chanabasappa Angadibecamethe firstUnionministerto succumb to the coronavirusonWednesday.Angadi,65,passedawayless

thantwoweeksafterhewasad-mitted to the All India Instituteof Medical Sciences (AIIMS) onSeptember11withsymptomsofCovid-19.Prime Minister Narendra

Modi led his colleagues in thegovernment and party in offer-ing condolences. “Shri SureshAngadi was an exceptionalkaryakarta,whoworkedhardtomake the party strong inKarnataka. Hewas a dedicatedMP and effective minister, ad-mired across the spectrum. Hisdemise is saddening. Mythoughtsarewithhisfamilyandfriends in this sad hour. OmShanti,” the PM tweetedWednesdaynight.Angadi, a four-timeMPfrom

BelagaviinKarnatakaandafirst-timeUnionminister,wasconsid-ered a party heavyweight, withhisinfluencecuttingacrossNorthKarnataka. Angadi became anMP from Belagavi (Belgaum)constituency for the first time in2004, afterwhichhewoneverysuccessive Lok Sabha election.

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KRISHNKAUSHIKNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER23

COMINGDOWNheavily on thegovernment'soffsetpolicyforde-fenceprocurement,thenationalauditor cited theexampleof the36RafalefighterjetsboughtfromDassault Aviation and said thattheFrenchmanufacturerhasnotdeliveredonitspromisesregard-ingtransferof technology.In a statement issued

Wednesday, after its latest re-portsweretabledinParliament,the Comptroller and AuditorGeneral (CAG) said: “...it wasfound that the foreign vendors

made various offset commit-ments to qualify for the mainsupply contract but later, werenotearnestaboutfulfillingthesecommitments.”ReferringtotheRafaledealin

this context, the CAG said: “Forinstance, in the offset contractrelating to 36 Medium MultiRoleCombatAircraft (MMRCA),the vendors M/s DassaultAviationandM/sMBDAinitiallyproposed (September 2015) todischarge30percentoftheiroff-set obligation by offering hightechnology to DRDO” (DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation).

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MONSOON SESSION ENDS UNDER A CLOUDLeaderofOpposition inRajyaSabhaGhulamNabiAzadwithotherOppositionMPsaftermeetingPresidentRamNathKovindonthefarmBills, inNewDelhionWednesday.Anil Sharma REPORT,PAGE5

WORLD

BELARUSPRESIDENTTAKESOATH INSECRETCEREMONYFACEBOOK: FAKEPAGES FROMCHINATRIED TODISRUPTU.S. POLITICSPAGE11

Tells chiefministers tosetasideanhourdaily forblock-levelofficials

Rethink shortlockdowns,tracing is key:PM to states

KAUNAINSHERIFFMNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER23

PRIME MINISTER NarendraModi onWednesday asked theChief Ministers of seven statesworst hit by the Covid-19 crisistomakea critical assessment ofthe1-2-daylockdownsthatsev-eral states have been imposing,and the adverse impact thesehaveoneconomicactivity.The PrimeMinister stressed

on the need for states tostrengthen their tracing-tracking strategy to contain thespread of the novel coronavirusinfection.“Thelockdownbroughtben-

efits.Globallytoo,ithasbeenap-preciated. However, now wehave to focus onmicro contain-ment zones, whichwill ensurethat the spread is contained...States have tomake an assess-ment on how effective are thelockdowns that are being im-posed for 1-2 days. Because ofthis, economic activity shouldnot face problems. My sugges-tiontothestatesistotakeupthisissue very seriously.Wehave toincrease our focus on effectivetesting,treatingandsurveillance,andclearmessaging,”thePrimeMinister said.

The PrimeMinister’s videoconferencewasattendedbytheChiefMinisters ofMaharashtra,Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,UttarPradesh,TamilNadu,Delhi,and Punjab. More than 63 percent of the country’s activeCovid-19 cases are in thesestates, which also account for65.5% of the total confirmedcases, and77%of deaths.Modi also took upwith the

states the problems seen in thesupply of oxygen to patients inrecentweeks.“…Another thing that has

emergedisthattheinterruptioninthemovementofservicesandgoods fromonestate toanothercausesunnecessaryproblemstoordinarycitizens;italsoimpactslives and livelihoods. Of late,manystateshavehadproblems

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HAMZAKHANJAIPUR,SEPTEMBER23

EARLIERTHISmonth, sitting onacotinMailsitownofPakistan’sPunjab province, 86-year-oldDaphia Bai alias Aisha pluggedin earphones, with some help,and focused on the mobilescreen,hereyesalreadymoistinanticipation.When she finallysawhernephewsandgrandsonson the video call, she couldn’tstop kissing the screen or holdback her tears: it was the firsttimesincePartitionthatshehadlaid eyes on a member of herlong-lost family.

Ontheotherside,inBikaner'sMorkhana town, 266 km away,wereKhojuRamandKaluRam,grandsonsof Daphia's brothers,among others.More tearswereexchangedthanwordsasDaphiaspokeinSaraikiandtheBikanerfamily inMarwari, as a persontried to translate. “I spentallmylifecrying,Iofferedmoney,gheetopeopletohelplocatemyfam-ily,” shesaid, sobbing.In the seven decades apart,

therewere somewordsDaphiahad held close to her heart: thenamesofhersiblings,andaplacewith a lot of "mor (peacocks)",where her family had land. Itwerethesethatfinallyendedthe

search that beganmore than ayear ago, in August 2019, whenPakistaniYouTuberMuhammadAlamgir shared a video ofDaphia, asking if anyone knewaboutthefamilyofa13-year-oldwho had got left behindwhentheymovedto India in1947.Before Partition, the family

belongingtotheMeghwalcasteused to freely move betweenBikaner and the part of PunjabnowinPakistan.When thebor-dercameup,theychoseBikaner,rightnext tothe line. Inthecon-fusionofmoving,Daphiawasal-legedly kidnapped, and subse-quently converted to Islam,marriedandboresevenchildren.

However,shekeptsearching,fortheotherpartof her family.Speakingonthephonefrom

Pakistan, Daphia's grandsonNaseer Khan, 40, says, “Shewould remember her siblingsAlsu,ChothuandMira;howAlsuhad an injury in one eye andcouldn’t see fromit. Sheused totell us about a place in Indiawhichhadalotofpeacocks...Sheusedtotalkaboutattendinghermamu’s (uncle’s) wedding inthat town."Alamgir heard about her

through friendMunawwar AliShaikh,whoknewNaseer.ItwasZaidMuhammadKhan,

34, based inDelhi,who first no-

ticed the video Alamgir put up.Interested inPartitionstories,hedecidedtolookforDaphia'sfam-ily, based on the things she hadtalkedabout intheclip.Khanwent on Facebook and

sharedDaphia'sstory withsomepeople in Bikaner, especiallyMorkhana (heguessed thatwastheplaceshewastalkingabout).Khanalsoscouredpubliclyavail-ablerevenuerecords for thesib-lings Daphiamentioned—AlsuRam, Chothu Ram,Mesa Ram,Budla Ram, Gangu Ram, MotiRam, and sister Mira Bai. Thenames,however,were toocom-mon for him to make muchheadway.

Oneof thepeopleKhancon-tactedwasBharatSingh,20,whorunsa shop inMorkhana. SinghbeganlookingforMeghwalfam-ilies whose family membersmay have been lost duringPartition. In the secondweekofSeptember, he came across afamily inMorkhanawhose eld-ersusedtotalkaboutasisterthathad got left behind. They hadlooked forher foryears.On September 13, days after

Singh had knocked on theirdoors, the call came fromPakistan. Twenty familymem-berscrowdedaroundthephoneofKhojuRam,30, a farmer, and

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PAGE1ANCHOR

DaphiaBai’s73-yearsearchforher family in IndiaendedonSeptember13withavideocall. Express

‘I spent my life crying’: Lost in Partition, found over WhatsApp call

ARANYASHANKAR&ANANDMOHANJNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER23

CONGRESS LEADER SalmanKhurshid, CPI-ML Politburomember Kavita Krishnan, stu-dentactivistKawalpreetKaur,sci-entistGauharRazaandadvocate

PrashantBhushanfindamentionin disclosure statements of ac-cused persons in a chargesheetfiledbytheDelhiPolicelastweekalleging a conspiracy in theNortheastDelhiriots.Khurshid’s name figures in

thedisclosurestatementsof ac-cusedKhalidSaifi aswell as for-mer Congress councillor Ishrat

Jahan. Saifi’s disclosure state-ment fromMarch 30mentionsthat to “keep the protest going

and sustaining it for long”, heand Jahancalledmanypeople,

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Khurshid,Bhushan,KavitaKrishnan,KawalpreetKaur

Called inconnectionwithFIRonRheaChakraborty'spurportedchats

HARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER23

REJECTINGDEMANDSforthein-clusion of Minimum SupportPrice as amandatory provisioninthecontentiousFarmBillsthatwerepassedinParliamentamidprotests, UnionMinister ofAgriculture andFarmers’WelfareNarendra SinghTomar Wednes-day said thatwhilethegovern-mentwas committed toMSP, itwas “not a part of the law” ear-lier and“isnot” today.Tomar also hit out at

Oppositionpartiesandaskedwhy

they did not in-cludeMSPaspartof lawwhen theywereinpower“formanyyears”.

Responding to a questionduring an online Idea Exchangeevent of The Indian Express, hesaid:“Throughyou,Iwanttotell

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SANTOSHSINGHPATNA,SEPTEMBER23

WITH POLLS looming in Bihar,the JD(U) appears to have takenacalibratedapproachtothecon-tentiousfarmBills.TheBJP'ssen-ior NDA ally in the stateWednesdaywelcomed passageoftheBillsinParliamentbutsaidthat it supports the demand ofvariousfarmers'organisationsforalawthatmakespaymentbelowtheMSPapunishableoffence.Speaking to The Indian

Express, former Rajya SabhaMPand JD(U)principalgeneral sec-retary K C Tyagi said: “Wewel-come the passage of both theBills in Parliament. Our party

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Back farmers’ demandto legalise MSP as floorprice, says ally JD(U)

PMhasassuredMSPwill stay:KCTyagi

NarendraSinghTomaratthe IdeaExchange

Committed to MSPbut it was never partof law: Agri Minister

THEEDITORIAL PAGE

BILLSOFINGRATITUDEBYSUKHBIRSINGHBADALPAGE8

SESSION ENDS, FIGHTOVER FARMBILLSTOCONTINUEINPARLIAMENT,PAGE5

PMNarendraModiat thevideoconferencewithCMsonWednesday.PTI

NCB summonsDeepika, SaraAli, ShraddhaKapoor

SANDEEPSINGHNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER23

ATLEAST44Indianbankshavebeen flagged in connectionwithtransactionsbyIndianen-titiesand individuals inasetofSuspicious Activity Reportsfiled by US banks with thewatchdogagency,theFinancialCrimes Enforcement Network(FinCEN), an investigation byThe IndianExpress shows.As per one set of records

where addresses linked to par-tiesareinIndia,Indianbanksfig-ureinSARslinkedtoover2,000transactions valued at over$1billion between 2011 and2017. Significantly, there arethousandsoftransactionslinkedto Indianentitiesandbusiness-menwhere the Indian sendersor beneficiaries have addressesinforeignjurisdictions.Records investigated show

thatIndianbanksmentionedinthe SARs include: state-owned

PunjabNationalBank(290 transactions);State Bank of India(102);BankofBaroda(93); Union Bank ofIndia(99)andCanaraBank (190), amongothers.Among private

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BANKOFNEWYORKMELLON

KHUSHBOONARAYANMUMBAI, SEPTEMBER23

MULTIPLE TRANSFERS from abankinLatviaandtwoelectron-ics firmsintheUAEandaseriesof circular transactionswith aDubai company are among thefinancial transactions linked toBhushan Steel Ltd red-flaggedby foreign banks to the USFinancial Crimes EnforcementNetwork(FinCEN),accordingtorecords investigated by TheIndianExpress.These transactions, totalling

$4.39million, figure in severalSuspicious Activity Reports(SARs) sent between 2012 and2015totheUSregulatoryagency

thatenforcesmoneylaunderinglaws,therecordsshow.In 2017, two

years after the lastof these SARsweresent to FinCEN, theRBI initiated bank-ruptcyproceedingsagainst BhushanSteel for allegedloandefaultsworth

Rs 56,000 crore, triggeringprobes by the Serious FraudInvestigation Office (SFIO) andEnforcementDirectorate (ED).A year later, the company,

which was once India’s thirdlargest secondary steel pro-ducer and flagship of BhushanGroup promoted by NeerajSingal and his father BrijBhushan Singal, was acquiredbyTataSteelforRs35,232crorethroughtheinsolvencyprocess.Someof theSARs related to

Bhushan Steel focus on nestedmoney transfers involvingMeridian Trade Bank, in Latvia

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BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

44 Indian banks,transactions of$1 billion, flaggedto US regulator

ANEXPRESSINVESTIGATIONPARTFOUR

WANTEDATHOME,MUMBAI LUXURYCARKING FLAGGEDTOU.S.WATCHDOGTOO PAGE 13

CORRESPONDENTBANK

Before bankruptcy andprobe, Bhushan Steelhit US radar for flowsfrom Latvia, Dubai

THEFINDINGSof theComptrollerandAuditorGeneral (CAG)putaquestionmarkonthegovernment's assuranceontechnology transfer intheRafale fighter jetdeal.Moreso,whentheprovi-sion foroffsets indefenceprocurementdealswereseenasanengine to re-viveeconomicgrowth.

FindingsraisequestionsE●EX

PLAINED

No tech transfer yet, Rafale makersdidn’t deliver on offsets, says CAG

Lawyersof accusedsaystatementsunderduress, inadmissible in law

Delhi riots chargesheet: Khurshid, Kavita Krishnannamed by accused for ‘provocative speeches’

New Delhi

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,SEPTEMBER24,2020

44 Indian banksbankswhofigure in theSARsareHDFCBank (253 transactions);ICICI Bank (57);KotakMahindraBank (268); Axis Bank (41) andIndusIndBank (117) amongoth-ers.The foreign banks that have

filedtheseSARsincludeDeutscheBank Trust CompanyAmericas(DBTCA), BNYMellon, Citibank,Standard Chartered and JPMorganChaseamongothers.IndianbanksfigureintheSARs

primarilybecausetheyare“corre-spondent banks” to the foreignbankswhichhavefiledtheseSARsandfigureinthenetworkthroughwhich these transactions havebeeneffected.Therearecases,recordsshow,

where “suspicious transactions”havebeencarriedoutthroughtheinternationalpaymentgatewayofforeignbanks. In others, foreignbranchesofIndianbankssuchasaState Bank of India account inCanadaandanaccountofUnionBank of India in UK have beenused by clients for carrying outpart of the transactions inques-tion.Key to this is the correspon-

dent banking relationship -- anarrangement overwhich therehasbeengrowingconcernasreg-ulators crackdownonsecrecyofoffshoretransactions.Under this, onebank (corre-

spondent)holdsdepositsownedbyotherbanks(respondents)andprovidespaymentandotherserv-ices to those respondent banks.Throughcorrespondentbankingrelationships,bankscanaccessfi-nancialservicesindifferentjuris-dictionsandprovidecross-borderpayment services to their cus-tomers.In these SARs, the foreign

bankshavecitedaslewofreasonsto red-flag these transactions:“high-risk jurisdictionformoneylaundering or other financialcrimes,”adversemedia/publicin-formationontheclient,“uniden-tified” parties, and the fact that“sourceof funds andpurposeoftransaction could not be ascer-tained.”Meanwhile, there has been

growing concern amongbanksover the idea of correspondentbanking.AccordingtoareportbyCommittee on Payments andMarket Infrastructures (CPMI)ofthe Bank for InternationalSettlements, on correspondentBanking,preparedin2016,banksproviding these services are re-ducingtheirrelationships.The report states that rising

costsanduncertaintyabouthowfarcustomerduediligenceshouldbedoneinordertoensureregula-torycompliancehavebeensomeofthekeyreasonsforbankstocutbacktheircorrespondentrelation-ships.The reportmadeseveral rec-

ommendations including stan-dardisationofKYCnormsandus-ing legal entity identifiers incorrespondentbanking,Italsorec-ommended that globalwatch-dogs like Financial Action task

ForceandAntiMoneylaunderingtaskforceshouldexplorewaystotackle obstacles to information-sharing,withtheaimof identify-ingpotentialbestpractices.Whilemails sent to10banks

for their comments on theSARsdidnotelicitanyresponse,anSBIspokesperson in his response,said: “The information soughtherewithisnotavailablewiththeBankduetotheSARconfidential-ityregulations.The Financial Crimes

EnforcementNetwork (FinCEN)has issued an advisory that anyunauthorizeddisclosureofaSARis a violation of US federallaw…Both civil and criminalpenaltiesmaybeimposedforSARdisclosureviolations.“This obligation applies not

onlytotheSARitself,butalsotoin-formation thatwould reveal theexistence(ornon-existence)oftheSAR. All the foreign branches ofStateBankof India followall theprocessaspertheapplicablelocalregulationstoflaganysuspicioustransaction.SBIhasbeenworkingwith thehighest level of compli-ance to legal and regulatory re-quirementsnotonly in the Indiabut also overseas. Bank at thesametimefollowsazerotolerancepolicy towards any violation ofcompliance.”

Bhushan Steelonbehalf of a London-baseden-tity. Nesting is a route taken tomaskthemoneytrail andoccurswhenaforeignbankusesthecor-respondentUSaccountofanotherbankforitscustomers.ForFinCen,nesting is of particular concernwhenbanksconducttransfersonbehalf of suspectedshellcompa-nies.Records show that Bank of

NewYorkMellon(BNYM)flaggedat least threenestedtransactionsworth $454,822 fromMeridianTradeBankonbehalf of London-based Randview LLP between2014and2015.Thesewiretrans-ferswerereceivedintheaccountsof BhushanSteel atCanaraBankandICICIBank,andpartof126al-legedsuspicioustransactionsper-taining toMeridian TradeBankthatwere reportedbyBNYM in2015.“Thewires,allflowingthrough

non-BNYMcustomerMeridianTradeBank, areprimarily suspi-ciousbecausemanyoftheentitiesbanking with SMP Bank (nowMeridianTradeBank) appear tobeshell-likeentitiesbankinginthehigh-riskjurisdictionofLatviabutpurportedlylocatedinotherjuris-dictions,”saidoneoftheSARs.RandviewLLP,accordingtoUK

CompaniesHouse,was setup inLondonin2011bytwoMauritius-based intermediary firms --NewcombeLimitedandGlaisdaleLimited. Incidentally, companiesinGambialinkedtothetwointer-mediaries figured in thePanamaPapers, an ICIJ investigativeproj-ect in 2018 with The IndianExpress.“BNYMellon takes its role in

protecting the integrity of theglobal financial systemseriously,

includingfilingSuspiciousActivityReports(SARs).Asatrustedmem-berof the international bankingcommunity,wefullycomplywithallapplicablelawsandregulations,andassistauthoritiesintheimpor-tantworktheydo.Bylaw,wecan-notcommentonanyallegedSARwemay have filed or thatmayhavebeen illegally disclosedbythirdpartiestothemedia,"saidaBNYMspokesperson.Another SAR fromStandard

CharteredBankNewYorkflaggedalleged suspicious transactionsworth$2,761,523betweenUAE-basedelectronicsfirm,GreatWayGeneralTradingFZE,andBhushanSteelbetweenJulyandNovember2013.Thebankidentified234trans-

actionsworthabout$1.15billionpertaining toGreatWayGeneralTrading.Ittermedthetransactionssuspiciousbecause the firmwasinvolved in third-party remit-tances, where funds are trans-ferredwithinstructionsthattheybemovedfurthertoathirdentity,typically an unknownultimatebeneficiary.StandardCharteredNewYork

also flaggeda$386,600 transac-tionfrom2012betweenBhushanSteelandUltraGraceLtd,anotherDubai–based electronic sparepartsdealer.ThebankfoundUltraGrace’stransactions“inconsistentandunusual”with itsmainbusi-ness. The companywas alsonotcontactable,saidtheSAR.The New York branch also

flaggedalleged circular transac-tions from 2012 worth about$797,033.55 betweenBhushanSteel andDubai-basedGoldenCenturyLimited,acosmeticsandconstructiongoodsmanufacturer.Thebank identified208 transac-tionsworth$1.29billionreceivedandremittedbyGoldenCenturyglobally between May andDecember2013.According to the bank, the

value exceeded the anticipatedlevelofactivitythatwasdisclosedwhenitsDubaibranchestablisheda relationship with GoldenCentury. Someof these transac-tionswerecircular, in rounddol-laramounts,withunidentifieden-titiesandinhigh-riskjurisdictions,recordsshow.The SAR also identified 12

transactionsofBhushanSteelwithGolden Century done throughCanara Bank in India. GoldenCenturywas struckoff fromtheUAE company registry inDecember2018.“In2019,wemonitoredmore

than1.2billiontransactionsforpo-tential suspicious activity andscreenedmore than157milliontransactionsforcompliancewith

applicable sanctions require-ments.Therealityoftheglobalfi-nancialsystemisthattherewillal-ways be attempts to laundermoneyandevadesanctions; theresponsibilityofbanks is tobuildeffective screeningandmonitor-ingsystemsandweworkcloselywith regulatorsand lawenforce-menttobringperpetratorstojus-tice,” a StandardCharteredBankspokespersonsaid.Neeraj Singal andhis lawyer

Ranjana RoyGawai did not re-spond toemails, phonecalls andtextmessages fromThe IndianExpressseekingcomment.CanaraBank, ICICI BankandGreatWayGeneral Tradingdidnot respondto queries from The IndianExpress.UltraGraceLtdcouldnotbetracedforcomment.In2018,NeerajSingalwasar-

restedbytheSFIOforallegedlysi-phoning funds from BhushanSteel. The SFIOhas alleged thatSingal andhis fatherused illegalmeans to receive bank loansworthRs45,800 crorebetween2013and2017.According to the SFIO, funds

wereallegedlysiphonedthroughawebof157companiesofwhichatleast62weredirectlycontrolledby theSingals, 85wereoperatedthrough employees of BhushanGroupand the rest runbyentryoperators.Currently,NeerajSingalisoutonbail.

NCB summonsthe second day in a row onWednesday.AnotherdirectoratKwan,film

producerMadhuMantena, tooappeared before the NCB onWednesday, as did Kwan em-ployee Jaya Saha,whohadbeenthe talentmanager of late actorSushantSinghRajput.Aseniorofficialsaid,“Wehave

called theactors basedon state-mentsof someof those called infor questioning, along withWhatsAppchatswehave found.Wewill be questioning them inlight of some of the chats andstatementsmadeuptilnow.Saha'stestimonyhasbeenvitalinwiden-ingthescopeoftheinvestigation.”Sources saidwhilePadukone

andPrakashwerecalledontheba-sisofsomeWhatsAppchatsfoundon Saha's phone, Khan, Singh,KapoorandMantenaweresum-monedonthebasisofstatementsby Chakraborty and Saha.Chakraborty’s lawyer SatishManeshinde told themedia thatshehadnotnamedanyonedur-ingherquestioning.Theofficialsaidthatunderthe

NDPSAct,theyhavesixmonthstofileachargesheetandtheywillde-cidebythenwhomtocharge,and

whomtomakeawitness.

Lost in Partitionthe grandson of Chothu aliasSheelaRam.“Firsttheycalled,andthen Imade aWhatsApp videocall to them,” says Khoju Ram.Kalu Ram, 23, the grandson ofAlsu,says,“Itwassogoodtofinallyseeher."The familiesexchangedphotos.The familyofMiraBai could-

n'tbepartofthephonecall,asshelivesabout50kmaway.Itwerethedeathsofherchil-

dren (only twoof herdaughtersremain) and her own passingyearsthatmadehersearchmoredesperate, Naseersays."Shekeptrepeating 'Morkhana', shedidn'tknowaboutBikaner.About15-20yearsago,wetookhertoYazmanTehsil inBahawalpurdistrict (inPakistan),which still has someMeghwal families. Someelders,movedbyher search,would tellher they are her brothers. Theywould also visit us in Mailsi,"Naseersays.Around the same time the

YouTube video came out, onPakistan's Independence Day,Daphiaputoutanadvertisementin localUrdunewspapers, alongwithherphoto,saying,“IbelongedtoaHindufamily.Attheageof13,duringPakistan’sindependence,Iwas separated frommy family...(and then) Bakshinda Khan kehathhe chadh gayi, jisne ek bayllekarmujhe Ahmad BakshwaldGhulamRasoolkofarokhtkardiya(Iwas condemned toBakshindaKhan,whosoldmeoff toAhmadBaksh, sonofGhulamRasool, foranox).”Bakshandsheeventuallymarried.NowDaphiahasjustonemorewish, ashaveboth sidesofherfamily:avisa,soshecantraveltoIndia.

Rafale makersTheCAGsaid:“DRDOwanted

toobtainTechnicalAssistanceforthe indigenousdevelopment ofengine (Kaveri) for the LightCombat Aircraft. Till date, theVendor has not confirmed thetransferofthistechnology.”TheCAGstatementdoesnot

mentionanyevaluationofthe50per centoffset clause thatwasatthecentreof apolitical firestormbeforethe2019generalelectionsduetotheinvolvementofanAnilAmbani-ledReliance firmontheIndianside.OnAugust 22, basedona re-

portthattheCAGhaddroppedtheaudit of the Rafale offset deal,CongressleaderRahulGandhihadtweeted:“MoneywasstolenfromtheIndianexchequerinRafale.”WhencontactedbyTheIndian

Express,anIndiarepresentativeof

Dassault Aviation did not com-menton theCAG's statement. Inits statement, theCAG said thatfrom2005tillMarch2018,46off-setcontractsweresignedwithfor-eignvendors totallingRs66,427crore. “Under these contracts, byDecember2018, Rs19,223croreworthofoffsetsshouldhavebeendischarged by the vendors.However, the offsets claimed tohave been discharged by themwasonlyRs 11,396 crore,whichwasonly59percentof thecom-mitment.Further,only48percent(Rs 5,457 crore) of these offsetclaimssubmittedbythevendorswere acceptedby theMinistry,”theCAGnoted.Theoffsetpolicywasadopted

byIndiain2005forallcapitalde-fence purchases above Rs 300croremadethroughimports.Theforeign vendor, or OriginalEquipmentManufacturer(OEM),was required to investat least30per cent of the valueof thepur-chase in India's defenceor aero-spacesectors.There are several ways for

OEMstomeettheiroffsetobliga-tions, including ForeignDirectInvestment (FDI), offering freetransfer of technology to Indianfirms, and purchase of eligibleproductsmanufacturedbyIndianfirms. Todischarge theseobliga-tions,OEMsneedtoselectIndianorganisationsaspartners.However, theCAGnoted that

obtainingtechnologytransferhasbeenaparticularfailure.Itsaidthat“90percentoftheinvestmentbythevendorswasintheformofdi-rectpurchaseof goodsandserv-ices from the Indian industry”.Besides,itsaid,“ofthetotalvalueofoffsetsonly3.5percentwascon-tracted tobedischarged throughFDI”.Theaudit,CAGsaid,“didnotfinda single casewhere the for-eignvendorhadtransferredhightechnologytotheIndianindustry”.It said that “thedefence sector isranked62ndoutofthe63sectorsinIndiaintermsofFD”andtherewas“hardlyanyequipmentsup-plied‘inkind’totheIndianindus-trybytheforeignvendor”.“Thus,theobjectivesoftheoff-

set policy remain largely un-achieved, evenaftermore thanadecade of its adoption,” CAGstated,addingthat“the(Defence)Ministryneedstoreviewthepol-icyanditsimplementation”.

Agri Ministerthepeopleof theOppositionthatall of you have been in govern-ment formany years, if the lawwasnecessary for theMSP, thenwhydidyounotmake it?...MSPkanoonkaangpehle bhi nahin thiaur MSP kanoon ka ang aaj bhi

nahinhai (MSPwasnot apart ofthelawevenearlierandMSPisnotpartofthelaweventoday).”Suggesting that the govern-

ment will not concede toOppositiondemandsonMSP,hesaid:“MSPisanadministrativede-cisionoftheGovernmentofIndiaandprocurementhasbeentakingplaceasaresultofMSP.TheModigovernmenthadstarteddeclaringMSPbyadding50percentprofittothecost.”Despiteprotestsfromfarmers in Punjab andHaryana,the government passed threeFarmBills during theMonsoonSession: The Farmers ProduceTradeandCommerce(Promotionand Facilitation) Bill, 2020; TheFarmers (Empowerment andProtection)Agreement onPriceAssuranceandFarmServicesBill,2020; and, The EssentialCommodities (Amendment)Bill,2020.Thekeyobjectionraisedbyprotestingfarmersisagainstapro-vision in the firstBill,whichpro-vides for the creationof a “tradearea”outsideAPMCmandis. Thefarmershaveexpressedfearsthatif themandi systemcomes toanend, theMSPmechanismwouldbescrapped,too.However, with the govern-

mentraisingtheMSPforsixRabicrops, includingwheat, after thepassageof theBills,Tomarreiter-ated thatMSP-based procure-mentwillcontinue.DefendingtheBills,Tomarsaid

theNDAgovernmenthas takenthedecision in the interestof thecountry. “If anydecision is to betakenintheinterestofthecountry,then the Modi government iscommitted to take thatdecisionregardlessofvotes.Suchdecisionshavebeen takenearlier also andwillcontinuetohappeninthefu-ture.IamsurethatagricultureandfarmerswillgetahugeamountofbenefitfromtheseBills,”hesaid.Later, speaking separately to

The IndianExpress, a topgovern-mentofficialechoedtheMinister'sviews.“Youcannotfixthepriceofa commoditywith a law.Whatwillhappenifthereisasuddenin-crease or decrease in theprice?Will you change the law eachtime?”theofficialasked.Moreover,expertssaid,setting

MSPasafloorpricelegallywillef-fectively derail the market forotherplayers.

Ally JD(U)supportedtheseBills.Butwealsosupport thedemandby farmers'organisations tomakea lawthatsaysnoonecanbuyfromfarmersatrateslessthantheMSP.Anyvi-olationshouldbemadeapunish-ableoffence.”AskediftheJD(U),underChief

MinisterNitishKumar,hasmadethisdemandformally,Tyagisaid:"ThePMhasassuredthattheMSPwouldcontinue.”OnwhythereisnomentionofMSPinthenewlaw,Tyagi said: "ThePMhasassuredthisinParliament.Itsviolationcanamounttocontempt.”Tyagi,whois also the party's nationalspokesperson, said the PMhadmadeclear thatpurchaseunderPDSwouldcontinueasusual.

Delhi riotsincluding Khurshid, to deliver“provocative speech”. “Those sit-tingondharnausedtokeepsittingfor these provocative speeches(bhadkaubhashan)andtheyusedtogetthezealtocampaignagainstthe government for the sake oftheirreligion,”hisdisclosurestate-ment reads. The statement of aprotectedwitness,madeunderSection 164 CrPC, also namesKhurshid as having made aprovocativespeech.Khurshid told The Indian

Express, "If you pick up all thegarbage there is, youwill endupwith over 17,000 sheets of achargesheet.Achargesheetissup-posedtobedistilled,authentic,ef-fective anduseful evidence of acognizable offence. If someonesays that 12 people came andmade provocative speeches, itcan'tbe that12peoplemadethesamekindof provocative speechandeachonehad thesame level

of provocation. Provocation andmobilisation isnot a criminal of-fenceinthiscountry."Scientist Raza's namecomes

up for allegedly "instigatingMuslims" throughhis speechatKhureji.AstatementofaprotectedwitnesssaysRaza,alongwithoth-ers,"spokewrongandobjection-ablethingsagainstCAA,NRCandthecurrent government, and in-stigatedMuslims".Whencontacted,Razasaid,"I

standbymystatementandangeragainstCAA.Eventoday,Iopposeit and I'll keeponopposing it be-cause I consider it tobeanattackontheConstitutionofIndia...Ihavealwaysbeenagainstanykindofvi-olence anywhere. So there is noquestionof instigating anybodyagainstanyoneelse."Bhushan’snamecomesupin

thestatementsof Saifi and IshratJahanashavinggivenaspeechatKhureji.Whencontacted,hesaid,"ThisisapartofDelhiPolice'sstrat-egy to gradually implicate anyprominent person who wasspeakinginsupportoftheprotestagainstCAA.Ididgotoafewplacesand speakquite strongly againstthe CAA and in support of theprotest. I nevermakeanyspeechwhichisprovocative inthesensethat it provokes violence. I didspeakstronglyagainstthegovern-ment and if they get provoked,thenIcan'treallyhelpit."Kaur'sname findsamention

in the original disclosure state-ment of Saifi datedMay 25, inwhich he says hewas in touchwithher, amongothers, to “planwiththem”andgetthemtosend“provocativemessages/tweets”sothatthe“Muslimcommunityfeelsangeredtowardsthegovernmentanditspoliciesduetoreligiousrea-sons”.Thedisclosurestatementofone of the 15 accused, ShadabAhmed,datedMay27,mentionsthenamesof 38persons, includ-ing Krishnan, Kaur and UmarKhalid’s fatherSQRIlyas,ashav-ingmade“provocativespeeches”attheChandBaghprotestsite.Saifi's lawyerHarshBorasaid,

“Disclosure statementsare inad-missibleinlawbecausepoliceusecoerciontoobtainsignaturesofanaccusedinitscustodyonfakedis-closures thatpolicehavewrittenon their own. That iswhat hashappened inKhalid’s (Saifi) case.Weinformedthecourtattheear-liest instance inMarchandAprilthat he had been forced to signfalsestatementsandblankpagesincustody.Theyarefalseandhavenolegalvalue."Ishrat'slawyerPradeepTeotia

said, "This disclosure statementwasnotwrittenbyIshrat.Shehasnotdisclosedanything. Thiswaswritten by police. A disclosurestatement is inadmissibleunderSection25oftheIndianEvidenceAct."Krishnansaid:“Thespeecheswemade, themeetingswe at-tended, our participation in theequal citizenshipmovement is amatterofpublicrecordandproudrecord.TheDelhiPoliceistryingtoclaimthatthisspeechmakingandmeetingsbetweenactivists,whichisroutineinDelhi,issomeconspir-acy." Kaur said the allegationsagainst her were "absurd andfalse". "Noneof this is true.Noneofmyspeechestalkedaboutvio-lence.With regard to Saifi, Iwasnot in touch with him onWhatsApp or other platforms.Thisispartofthelargerwitchhuntof activistsdissentingagainst thegovernment,"shesaid.Asreportedearlier,thenames

ofCPMgeneralsecretarySitaramYechury, Swaraj India leaderYogendraYadav,economistJayatiGhosh, DU professorApoorvanand and filmmakerRahulRoyhadalsofeaturedinthepolice chargesheetbasedondis-closure statements.Delhi PolicespokespersonAnilMittalhadsaid,“...Apersonisnotarraignedasanaccusedonly on thebasis of thedisclosurestatement.However,itis only on the existenceof suffi-cientcorroborativeevidencethatfurtherlegalactionistaken.”

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Delhi riotschargesheet,UmarKhalid’s journey,OppnboycottsParlNEWEPISODEEVERYDAY

In today’sepisode,aDelhiPolicechargesheet intheDelhi riots, aprofileofex-JNUstudentUmarKhalid,andwhathappenedwhenOppnboycottedRS

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EXP E S EDU TIONR S CA

Rethink short lockdowns, tracing is key: PM

Railways MoS Suresh Angadi dies of Covid

regardingthesupplyofoxygen.Everynecessary stephas tobetakentoensurethatthereisun-interruptedsupplyoflife-savingoxygen,”hesaid.ThePrimeMinisteraskedthe

ChiefMinisterstoholddailyvir-tualmeetingswithofficialsatthelevels of districts andblocks sothataclearmessageoncontain-mentpercolates to thegroundlevel.“Wehavemorethan700dis-

tricts,”hesaid.“Butthestatisticsthat areworryingare fromjust60 districts and confined tosevenstates...TheCMscanmakea7-dayprogramme;andevery

dayforonehour,youshouldvir-tually question one block ortehsil in thedistrict,whichwillensure that themessage goesdown to the ground level, andbrings seriousness and sincer-ity.”Thegovernment,Modisaid,

haddecidedtoenhancetheutil-isation of the State DisasterResponseFund(SDRF)to50percentforimprovingCovid-19in-frastructure.“We need to continue

strengtheninginfrastructure;wealsohavetostrengthentrainingontrackingandtracing.Today,tostrengthen theCovid-19 infra-

structure,animportantdecisionhasbeentakenonStateDisasterResponse Funds. Following re-quests frommany states, wehaveincreasedtheutilisationofSDRFfrom35percentto50percent. Thisdecisionwill result inmorefundsbecomingavailableforthestate,”hesaid.ThePrimeMinisteraskedthe

seven CMs to adopt the bestpracticesfromotherstates.“Thecountry nowhas the highesttesting and recoveries.Manystateshaveexhibitedseveralbestpractices.Wehavelearnedmorefromthesepractices, and takenadvantageofthem. Theprogress

made in clinicalmanagementoverthelastfewmonthsishelp-ingus a lot in fighting thepan-demic,”hesaid.Atthebeginningofthemeet-

ing,Modiexpressedhisappreci-ation for thedoctorswhohavebeentreatingpatientsundertheflagship Ayushman Bharatscheme,whichcompleted twoyearsonWednesday.“Injusttwoyears,morethan1.25crorepoorpatientshavereceivedfreetreat-mentunderthisscheme.Today,throughthisvideoconference, Iexpressmyspecialappreciationto all the doctors andmedicalstaffservingthepoor,”hesaid.

“Iamshockedandsaddenedby the demise of… SureshAngadi. Hewas like a youngerbrothertome. I feel terrible los-inghim. This is anunbearableloss to ournation,” former PMandJD(S)leaderHDDevegowdatweeted. OnSeptember11, thedayhewasadmitted toAIIMS,Angadi tweeted: “I have tested#Covid19positive today. I am

doing fine. Taking theadviseofdoctors. Requesting all thosewhohavecomeinclosecontactwithme in the last fewdays tomonitor their health and gettestedincaseofanysymptoms.”As railwayminister, Angadi

wascharacterisedbyhiskeenin-terestintrackingbig-ticketproj-ects.During the lockdownandeven after, he, along with

RailwayMinisterPiyushGoyal,chairedregularreviewmeetingsthroughvideoconferencing.“Deeplyanguishedattheun-

fortunate demise of SureshAngadiji.Hewaslikemybrother.Words fall short todescribehiscommitment&dedication to-wards thepeople.Mythoughtsandprayers arewithhis familyandfriendsinthishourofneed.

OmShanti,”Goyaltweeted.Angadi’s death follows that

of BJP’s newly elected RajyaSabhamemberAshokGasti,55,whodiedof Covid lastweek inBengaluru. Earlier, YSRCP'sTirupatiMPBalliDurgaPrasadRao, 64, died in Chennai andCongressMPfromKanyakumariHVasanthakumar, 70, died ofCovidinAugust.

New Delhi

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER23

DELHI HEALTH MinisterSatyendar JainWednesday saidthat cases in Delhi have seem-inglyhitaplateauandthatinthenext one-twoweeks, a down-ward trendwill be seen “defi-nitely”. “The positivity rate hascome down to 7% over the pastweek, ascomparedto8.5%to9%earlier. Overall, since the begin-ningofthepandemic,ithascomedownto9%fromtheearlier12%,”Jainsaid.OnWednesday, 3,714 new

cases were seen in Delhi and59,580peoplewere tested. Totalcases noware over 2.5 lakh and5,087peoplehavediedsofar.Thecity’scompoundeddailygrowthrate over seven days stands at1.57%. This was 0.81% amonth

ago.Over thepast 15days,Delhihasseenanaverageof3,715casesperday.Towards the end of July and

early August, new cases haddipped significantly and re-mained under 1,000 for severaldays.Thepreviouspeakwasseen

inmid-June.However, as cases started to

riseagaininSeptember,theDelhigovernmentorderedthattestingbe increasedmanifold, and thenumberofpeopletestedperdaywent fromanaverageof around17,000perdaytoover60,000per

dayinrecentdays.Mostoftheincreaseintesting

inthecityhasbeenfuelledbytheRapidAntigen Test kits but aftertheHighCourtaskedittoalsopayspecial attention to themoreac-curate RT-PCR tests, the Delhigovernmentandprivatelabshave

been analysing close to 10,000samplesaday. Increasedtesting,Jainsaid,wasthemainreasonbe-hindtheriseincasesandwillalsobethecauseofthedipthathesaidwouldfollow.“Thetrendhasstabilisednow.

Earlieryousawasuddenincreasein cases as the number of testsconductedwentup.Wearenowdoing around 60,000 tests perday.Wefoundthecasesand iso-lated themat homeor in hospi-tals. You will definitely see adownwardtrendinthenexttwoweeks,”hesaid.At present, there are 15,804

Covid hospital beds in Delhi, ofwhich7,051or45%areoccupied.Jain said that there was a

shortage of ICU beds in somewell-known private hospitalssincepeoplecomingfromoutsideDelhiaregoingtothesehospitalsastheyhaveheardaboutthem.

3,715AVGDAILYCASESOVERLAST15DAYS


SCIENTISTSATIndianAgricultureResearch Institute (IARI) havecomeupwithawaytotacklecropresidueburningbyfarmers.PUSADecomposerisasetoffourtabletsmadebyextracting fungi strainsthathelp thepaddy straw tode-compose at amuch faster ratethanusual,givingfarmerstheop-tiontoshredthestraw,sprayaso-lution containing the fungalstrains,andmixitwiththesoilfordecomposition.Under usual circumstances,

shredded,wateredpaddy straw,whichismixedwithsoil,takesatleast 45 days to decompose, notgivingenoughtimetofarmerstopreparefieldsforthewheatcropon time. But the PUSADecomposerwilldecomposeitin25 days, according toAK Singh,Director, IARI.“Crop stubble is a major

source of winter pollution inDelhi. I congratulate IARI scien-

tistsfordevelopingalow-cost,ef-fective technology to dealwithcropstubbleburning...,”saidChiefMinisterArvindKejriwal.Singh said that themethod

will be cheap and also result inbetter soil quality. “Basedonourexperiments,thecostofemploy-ing this method will come toabout Rs 300per acre, includingthecostoflabour…Thatisnottheonly benefit though.When or-ganic matter decomposes insand, it improves the quality of

soilinawaythatinorganicfertilis-ers can't… Since the fungi onlyimpact dead straw, the wheatcropisnot indanger,”hesaid.ADelhi government team is

expected to visit IARI, Pusa, onThursdayforademonstration.


THEDELHI UniversityWednesdayinformed theDelhiHighCourt thatitwill not bepossible todeclare theresults of undergraduate studentsbeforeOctoberendasitisshortofre-sourcesaswellasmanpower.Whileadjourningthematter,the

courtaskedDUtoapprise itonnextdateofhearingaboutthepercentageof answer sheets evaluated and thestatus of integration of the answersheets,whichweresentbystudentsboth via email and theOpen BookExamportal.Thevarsity ischeckingtheemail forduplicatesubmissionsofanswersheetsbythestudents.The universityWednesday also

informedthecourtthat17postgrad-uatestudents,whohavetogoabroadfor further studies, have applied fortheconfidentialresultsandthesameshallbesenttotheforeignuniversi-tiesonorbeforeSeptember29.Regarding the undergraduate

studentswhohave to leave for for-eign universities, the courtwas in-formed that 342 have applied forprovisional results and the samehavebeendeliveredin157cases.Asmany as 147 students have sent in-completeinformationandtheywerebeing contacted in this regard, saidthe university, adding that the pro-visionalresultsof43studentswillbesent to the foreign universities byThursday.Thecourtwasalsoinformedthat

72%of answer sheets sent toexam-inersfromtheOBEportalhavebeenevaluated.Meanwhile, theUGC in-formed the court that the studentsseekingadmissionsinIndianuniver-sitiescanbeprovidedprovisionalad-missiontillDecember30.


THEDELHIHighCourt has directedDelhi government’s Forest depart-ment to setupa telephonehelplineand create a link on itswebsite forregistrationofcomplaintsbycitizenswithregard toanyconcretisationofthegroundaroundtrees.Thepubliccanalsocomplainincasetheynoticeotherformsofdamagetotrees.JusticeNajmiWaziri, inanorder,

said, “TheTreeOfficerandthe land-owningagenciesshallensurethatallconcretearoundtreesare removed,asperthedirectionsof theNGT,andthat a damaged tree is restored togoodhealth.”The orderwas passed after the

court,hearingacaseabout thecon-ditionof trees in thecapital,was in-formedthatseveraltreesinOldDelhihavebeen“chokedwithconcrete”.Italsocalledforputtinginplacea

systemtoaddresstheissue.“Thesys-temshall be put in place before thenextdateanditshallbedulynotifiedtothegeneralpublic...,”thecourthassaid in the order, while listing thecaseforhearingonOctober7.Meanwhile, the court has also

toldtheNorthMCDthatde-concreti-sationoftheareaaroundthetreesinUrduBazarshouldbecommensuratewiththegirthof thetreetofacilitatewaterpercolationandabsorptionofnitrogenandotherminerals.

THECITY3 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,SEPTEMBER24,2020

Thepositivity ratehascomedownto7%over thepastweek, said Jain

Can’t declareUG resultsbefore end ofOct: DU to HC

Cropstubbleburning isabigsourceofpollution inwinter

‘Set up helplineto reportconcretisationaround trees’

NewDelhi:Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia (48), whotestedpositiveforCovid-19onSeptember14,washospitalisedafter he complained of a dip in oxygen saturation levels andpersistent fever, officials said. He is admitted in the ICUand isunder observation. Sources said he is not on oxygen support.HewastakentoLokNayakHospital,Delhigovernment’sbiggestdedicated Covid facility with 2,000 beds, in the evening.Previously,healthministerSatyendarJainhadcontractedCovid.Hewas first admitted inDelhi government runRGSSHospitalbutwas later shifted toMaxHospitalwhere hewas adminis-teredplasmatherapyand later recovered.ENS

Sisodia in ICU after oxygen dip

Covid cases havehit a plateau,willsee downward trend in2weeks: Jain

PADDY STRAW is not fedto cattle because of itshigh silica content. It isharvestedusingcombineharvesters, which leavebehindtallstalks.Farmersfinditfutiletotaketheef-fort to shred andmix itwithsoilasittakeslongtodecompose. Scientistshave been working onmethods to reduce thedecomposition time,whichalsoimprovessoil’snutritivevalue.

Cuttingdowntime

Fungi tablets to tackle cropstubble burning by farmers

New Delhi

4THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,SEPTEMBER24,2020

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

FALSENARRATIVES,GHOST INFORMERS,SAYSLAWYEROFACCUSED


THE SUPREME CourtWednesday issued notice on aplea by Facebook India Vice-President AjitMohan challeng-ing summons issued to him bytheDelhi Assembly Panel seek-ing his presence to answercharges in connectionwith theNortheastDelhi riots.A bench of Justices S K Kaul,

Aniruddha Bose and KrishnaMurari,which issuedthenotice,askedtherespondents,includingDelhi Assembly represented byitssecretary,andtheCentretofiletheir reply inaweek’s time.Senior advocate Abhishek

ManuSinghvi,appearingforthePeaceandHarmonyCommitteeof the Delhi Assembly, whichhadaskedMohantobepresentWednesday, said “themeetingscheduled for today alreadystands deferred and no furthermeeting will be fixed qua thepetitioners till thenext date”.Senior Advocate Harish

Salve,appearingforMohan,saidtheCommitteecannotforcehimto appear. “If I don’t appear, Ican’tbecompelledtofacepenal-itiesforthat,”hesaid,addingthatthe “right to free speech underArticle19(1)(a)includestherightnot to speak”. Salve said forcingMohan to appear before theHouse panel with a threat ofpenalty is a violation of his fun-damental right to freespeech.The summons issued by the

panelhadsaidthat“non-compli-ance…will be treatedasbreachofprivilegeoftheCommitteeandnecessary action, as deemed fit,shallbetaken”.Salve contended that the

Committee did not have the ju-risdiction to deal with issuessuch as police and public order,which fall in the exclusivepurviewof theCentre.Senior advocate Mukul

Rohatgi,appearingforFacebook,saidMohanisbeingsummonedto answer charges against hisclient, but the Assembly doesnot have the power or jurisdic-tion to do so. The legislature isnot a court of law and has nopowerof adjudication,hesaid.Rohatgi pointedout that the

ChairmanoftheCommitteeheldapressconferenceonAugust31and said that Facebookhad col-ludedwith theDelhi riots.“Who are they to say that?”

askedRohatgi.He added that Facebook is

answerable only under theInformationTechnologyActandthat there are many petitionsfiledintheDelhiHighCourtask-ing it to take down some or theothermaterial.Singhvi said he had instruc-

tions from the panel chairman,andaddedthatMohanhasbeensummonedonlyasawitnessandtherewillnotbeanycoerciveac-tion. He said Facebook is notsummonedasanaccusedbuttofindoutwhetheritwasmisused.Justice Kaul, however,

pointed out that the notice hada different tenor than whatSinghviwassubmitting.Singhvisaidthedefectsinthenoticewillbe rectified.He insisted that theCommittee has the power toconductanenquiry.The courtwill hear themat-

ternextonOctober15.

Delhi assemblypanel’s summonsto Facebook: SCissues notice

SUKRITABARUAHNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER23

THE DELHI government’s deci-sion to not pay CBSE exam feesfor class X and XII students thisyear citing a financial crunch isbeing met with opposition —with online appeals, studentssendingpostcardsandapetitionin theHighCourt.The Delhi government had

announced last year that itwould cover the complete ex-amination fee for all students

taking Board exams in itsschools, and had paid fees foraround 3.14 lakh students fol-lowing a Cabinetmeeting deci-sion. Last week, the Delhi gov-ernmentsaidfeeswillhavetobecollectedfromstudentsthisyear.ApetitionfiledbyNGOSocial

JuristintheDelhiHighCourtask-ingthattheCBSEwaiveitsexam-inationfeesthisyearisalsoseek-ingthatthecourtdirecttheUnionandDelhigovernmentstopaythefeeincaseCBSEisunabletodoso.The petition states, “The re-

spondent GNCTD has paid the

entire CBSE Examination fee ofthe students studying in classesX/ XII to CBSE for the academicyear2019-20whenthesituationwas normal but has declined topaywhen the situation has be-comeworse.”Lastyear,CBSEhadincreased

its examination fees, making itRs 1,200 for SC/ST students andRs 1,500 for the rest of the stu-dentsstudyinginbothgradesinDelhigovernmentschools.Withadditionalamountsforeachsub-ject’spracticalandadditionaloroptional subject, the fee comes

to around Rs 2,500 for manyclassXII students.The petition also refers to a

September 7 order by theDelhieducation department that di-rects heads of all governmentschools to stop collecting Rs 20permonthfromseniorstudentsforthePupilWelfareFund.Ithadsaid that “students and parentsofDelhigovernmentschoolsarefacing severe financial hardshipwhich is impacting the educa-tion of students adversely”. Thepetition referred to thisorder tostatethattheDelhigovernment

“isconsciousof thefactthatstu-dents and parents of Delhi gov-ernment schools are facing se-vere financialhardship”.While the petition will be

heardonSeptember25, severalstudents of Delhi governmentschoolshavebeenwritingpost-cards to the Chief Minister andmakingonlineappealsthattheirexamfeebecoveredbythegov-ernment.“My father is a labourer. He

had not been gettingwork be-cause of the lockdown. Becauseof this, hewill not be able topay

myCBSEfees,andIamappealingto theDelhi government to givemerelieffromthefee,”saidKajal,aclassXstudentofagovernmentschool, inavideoappeal.“Iambeingaskedtopayato-

tal fee of Rs 2,900 bymy school,but there is no one inmy familywho earns like that. I am com-pletely unable to pay this fee. IhavedreamstobecomesomeonewhenIgrowupbutifI’mnotableto paymy fees, I won’t even beable to takemyclassXII exams,”saidJagjitSingh,studentofagov-ernmentschoolinKeshavpuram.

Several studentsofDelhigovernmentschoolshavewrittenpostcards totheCMandmadeonlineappeals.Archive

FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS PROMPTED MOVE

Unable to pay Board fee, Delhi govt faces pressure in HC, from students

HERO AT WORKFumigationdrivetocontroldenguebeingundertakenatLaxmiNagarmarket inEastDelhionWednesday. PraveenKhanna

SAKSHIDAYALGURGAON,SEPTEMBER23

FOUR DAYS after the Haryanagovernmentissuedanotificationdirecting those wanting to getthemselves tested for Covid for“non-medical reasons” to pay acertain predetermined rate forthe test, the Gurgaon districthealthdepartment is looking to“encourage” them to approachprivate facilities, which chargethe same amount. Officials saidthemove is aimed at allowinggovernmentfacilitiestofocusonpeopleatgreaterriskofcontract-ing the infection and treatingthemontime.According to officials, there

hasbeenanincreaseinthenum-berofpeoplegettingthemselvestested at government facilitiesfornon-medicalreasons,suchas

interstateorinternationaltravel,requirementforemployment,oradmissionsineducational insti-tutions, over thepast fewdays.The state government has

fixed the rate for testingpersonsunderthesecategoriesatRs1,600for RT-PCR, Rs 650 for RapidAntigen Testing, and Rs 250 forIgG-basedELISATesting.Theratesarethesameatprivatefacilities.“Testing people is not an is-

sue but our goal is to focus onthosewhohaveahigherchanceof being infected so thatwecantreat themontime.Byconduct-ingtestsforeverypersonwhoiscoming,includingfornon-med-icalreasons,wehavebeenstrug-gling todoevenantigen tests oftheothersbecausetheresourcesstart falling short. This is creat-ing a bit of a problem becausethetimeandresourcesarebeingspent, and those who actually

needattentionareoftengettingleft out,” said Civil Surgeon DrVirenderYadav.“Ourmainfocushastobeon

testingthosewhoarecontactsofCovid patients or have symp-tomsofcoronavirus.This iswhywe are appealing to others, in-cluding travellers, to ideally getthemselves tested through pri-vate entities, which have thesame rates as the governmentones,”hesaid.Following directions of the

Haryana government to desig-natea“separateplace/centre/areafortestingofsuchpersons,tode-crease the risk of spread of suchinfections to such individuals”,the district health departmenthas set up a facility in Sector 10,which began operations onMonday. Officials said “around25”peoplehavevisitedthefacil-ityonadailybasissofar.

DDA’s publicconsultationfor MasterPlan 2041

ANANDMOHANJNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER23

THEDELHI Police chargesheetfiled at Karkardooma court lastweekmakes amention of two“secretmeetings”whereintheal-leged conspiracy behind theNortheastDelhiriotswashatched.As per the chargesheet, to

back its claim that thesemeet-ings took place, police have af-fixed two pictures of the firstmeetingthattheyretrievedfromtheFacebookaccountofapartic-ipant,whilethesecondwascor-roboratedby“reversemapping”documents related to themur-der of head constable Ratan Laland Intelligence Bureau stafferAnkit Sharma. The chargesheetstates that during the secondmeeting,20peopleallegedlysatin a huddle at the Chand Baghprotest site for a “brainstormingsession”whichlater“becamethegenesis of several heinous andbrutalmurders”.As per the chargesheet, the

first secret meeting allegedlytookplaceonthenightofJanuary23-24 at New Seelampur andwasattendedbyformerJNUstu-dent Umar Khalid, Pinjra Todmembers Natasha Narwal andDevanganaKalita,Jamiastudent

Gulfishaandothers.The chargesheet claims

Khaliddirected that the “protestshould ultimately escalate to ri-otsandshouldresultinspillingofbloodsofpolicemenandothers”as this was “the only possiblemeans”toforcethe“Governmentto withdraw CAA/NRC”. ThechargesheetclaimsthatKhaliddi-rectedparticipantsto“inducelo-calwomenofSeelampurtostartstockpiling knives, acids... to beusedinrioting”.Police have attached two

photographs retrieved fromFacebook featuring Khalid,Gulfisha and some others.Narwal or Kalita do not featureinthesephotographs.Policealsoclaimtohavereliedonthestate-mentsofsixprotectedwitnessesand themobilephonedetails oftheaccusedpersons.As per the chargesheet, the

secondsecretmeetingallegedlytook place on the night ofFebruary 16-17 at Chand Bagh,where“PinjraTodhadassumeddirect responsibility in the exe-cution of carnage”. Police havemade these claims on the basisof section 164 CrPC statementsof protectedwitnesses.The chargesheet states that

documents pertaining to thedeaths of Lal, Rahul Solanki and

others were “reversemapped”withtechnicalandoralevidenceonrecordtoascertainthattheal-leged conspirators attended a“secretmeeting at Chand Baghprotest site… to escalate con-frontationandviolenceoncethefirstsparkswillbeignitedbythemasterminds”.“In the dead of the night at

about2amofFebruary17,about20 persons sat in a huddle at

Chand Bagh protest site to planfuturecourseofaction…labeledasa‘BrainstormingSession’onaWhatsAppgroupbyAthar afterone of the attendees of thismeetingrevoltedagainstthein-sistence that violencewill haveto be done, this meetingnonetheless,crystallizedtheac-tionswhichlaterplayedout,”thechargesheetalleges.Policestatedthat“keychar-

acters”whoparticipated inthismeeting came to a “clear andcogent understanding” thatprotest sites in Muslim domi-natedareaswillhavetobecon-verted intochakka jamsto“en-gineer riots”.Police have named Mohd

Ayub, Shadab Ahmad, MohdSaleemKhan and Ibrahim,whowere arrested for themurder ofhead constable Lal, as partici-pants in this meeting. Ahmad,police claimed, was in regulartouchwith Kalita. Gulfisha hasalsobeennamedasaparticipant.Mohd Mustaqueem, ar-

rested for the murder ofSolanki, is alleged tobe inclosecontact with one participant,Rashid,whotaskedhim“tokilla non-Muslim”, thechargesheet states.Police also claim the

weapons used to kill Solanki

were provided by Tahir, whilethecartridgeswereprovidedbySuleman Siddique, one of theparticipantsof thismeeting.Police claim that Athar, the

keyconvenorofthismeeting,re-ceived a call from filmmakerRahulRoyonFebruary23,whentherewasamovementof “300-odd female protesters fromJahangirpuri whowere to laterprecipitateviolenceatJafrabad”.“The contours of premedi-

tatedactioncannotbediscernedwithanygreaterclaritythanthis,conspiracy always has beenshrouded in the greyhallowsofmystery,”thechargesheetstates.When contacted, Tahir’s

lawyer Rizwan said, “In the IBstaffermurdercasechargesheet,a Shaheen Bagh meeting wasmentioned,whichdidnotmatchwithwith timeline. To cover uptheir lacunae, they have nowbrought a Chand Baghmeetingin this chargesheet.”Gulfisha’s lawyerMehmood

Pracha said, “Police have got noevidence so they filed a lengthychargesheetby concoctingfalsenarratives with protectedwit-nessesandghost informers.”Royaswell as the lawyersof

Khalid, Kalita and Narwal re-fusedtocommentontheallega-tions.

Thefirst secretmeetingwasallegedlyattendedby(clockwise fromtopright)UmarKhalid,PinjraTodmembersNatashaNarwal,DevanganaKalitaandJamiastudentGulfisha

AjitMohan,FacebookIndiaVice-President

Riot chargesheet cites 2 ‘secretmeetings’ to plan ‘conspiracy’


THE COVID-19 lockdown hadswept clean Delhi’s air, signifi-cantly loweringthelevelsofpol-lutants temporarily, before“steadily rising back” with theopening up of businesses andtransportation,ananalysisbytheCentral Pollution Control Board(CPCB)shows.The CPCB report,whichwas

releasedWednesday,statesthatin terms of particulate matterlevels, PM2.5 had reduced by24% during the pre-lockdownphaseascomparedto2019,andnearly 50% during the first twophases of the lockdown. PM10andNO2 showed a bigger dropof 60% and 64% respectively inthe second phase of lockdown,also seen against similar periodin2019.Whencomparedagainstpre-

lockdownlevels,38%and33%re-ductioninPM2.5and37%and30%reductioninPM10wasobservedduringthelockdownphase-Iandphase-II inDelhi,thereportadds.

The report, ‘Impact ofLockdown on Ambient AirQuality’, looksatairqualitydatainthreephases:March1-March21,March 25-April 19 and April20-May3,andcarriesacompar-ativestudyoftheseperiodswiththe corresponding time phasesin2019.“The study revealed that

sourcesassociatedwithvehicularemissions, domestic/local coalcombustion,waste incinerationand urban organic aerosols re-ducedsharplyfromthepre-lock-down phase into lockdownphase-Iandwerefoundtosteadilyrise backwith increasing relax-ations in the lockdown," the re-port states, quoting a study con-ductedbyIITDelhiandIITKanpur.Overall, betweenMarch25-

May3, thenumberofdayswith'Good’, ‘Satisfactory’ and‘Moderate’ air quality index(AQI), as recordedby theCPCB,increased to 40 in 2020 asagainst 17 in 2019. There werenodayswith 'Poor', 'Very Poor'and 'Severe'AQIduring thispe-riod in 2020 as against 23 in2019.

ABHINAVRAJPUTNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER23

THE DELHI DevelopmentAuthority (DDA) Wednesdayorganisedapublicconsultationwith residents and RWAs ofGroup Housing Colonies inDelhi, duringwhich thepartic-ipants suggested that theagency look into issues of ac-cess,maintenanceandsecurityof shared and common spacesin thenextMaster Plan.At present, theDDA ishold-

ing discussions with differentstakeholdersof thecity to formMasterPlan2041asthepresentmaster plan will expire nextyear. A senior DDA official saidthat issues related to terraces,parks, common toilets and se-curity facilities were also dis-cussed and residents said thefocus should be on ensuringmore green cover.Residents also pointed out

thatsomecolonieshadadoptedgood practices for solid wastemanagement while otherswere still struggling withcollection and segregation ofwaste.“They also called for pro-

motingsolarpanel installations,underground cabling of elec-tricity and OFC infrastructure,which may be included in fu-ture plans,” the official said.Ensuringfiresafetyandpro-

vision of lifts were other con-cernsrelatedtoredevelopmentandupgradation,hesaid.Someparticipantsalsosuggestedcre-ating specific redevelopmentpolicy for group housingcolonies with planned densifi-cationandupgradationof infra-structure, he said.TheDDAwill alsoaccept in-

puts through its public portal.

Significant reductionin pollutants duringlockdown: Data

In Noida,hospitals seeCovid ICUsrunning full

AMILBHATNAGARNOIDA,SEPTEMBER23

AS ICU beds for Covid patientsin private hospitals inNoida fillup fast, the Gautam BuddhNagar CMOsaid that one of thereasonsforthesuddenincreasecould bepeople delaying treat-ment.“The possible reason for es-

calation in ICUadmission isde-lay in treatment. Every patientmust remember that the firstthree days of symptoms ap-pearing is very crucial. A lot oftimes people wait for testingand further treatment. By thetime the situation is under-stood, theymight require oxy-gensupplyoradmission in ICU.Wehaven’tyet receivedanyre-port of a patient in home isola-tion being directly admitted toICU since we track themclosely,” said Dr Deepak Ohri,CMOGautamBuddhNagar.According to officials, be-

tween45%-50%patientswhoaretestedpositiveeverydayremaininhome isolation.At theGovernment Institute

of Medical Sciences (GIMS), all25ICUbedsareoccupied.Thein-stitutenowplanstoincreasethetotal ICU beds to 80. At ShardaHospital,half of the60 ICUbedsare occupied at present. Thesewill be increased to140.Besides Sharda and GIMS,

four other hospitals offer ICUservices for Covid patients. InFortis Hospital Sector 62, all 8ICU beds are occupied,while atKailash Hospital, 27 out of 57beds are occupied. A dedicatedCovid facility, YatharthHospitalin Noida Extension, has 90 pa-tientsacross100 ICU beds. AtJaypeeHospital,40outof50ICUbedsareoccupied.

Total VacantHOSPITAL BEDS 15,794 8,802VENTILATORS 1,310 495

Dailycases Recoveries Deaths TestsSep22 3,816 3,097 37 59,013Sep23 3,714 4,465 36 59,580Total 30,836* 2,20,866 5,087 26,97,333

CORONAVIRUSIN THECAPITAL *T

otalactivecases

TOTAL CASES

2,56,789

Tenderissuedtobuild30mohallaclinicsNewDelhi:TheDelhigov-ernmenthasissuedaten-derforconstructionof30mohalla clinics inWestDelhi localities such asUttamNagar, Janakpuri,Vikaspuri,RajouriGardenand Tilak Nagar, amongothers. There are around480suchclinicsinthecityat themoment.

‘Trucklooters’arrestedinPalwalNewDelhi:Threemenal-legedly involved in loot-ing trucks loaded withitems ranging from tealeavestoaluminumwerearrestedbyPalwalpolicewhileallegedlytravellingina lootedvehicle.Policehave identified themenas Palwal residentsRahish,RijjualiasRizwan,and Rashid, who havebeeninvolvedinsixcasesof loot on the NationalHighway sinceDecember. “The accusedwere arrested with alooted truck fromwhichseven coils of aluminumwere seized. Includingthe truck, the total priceof the items seized isaround Rs 60 lakh,” saidDeepak Gahlawat,SuperintendentofPolice.

Familytakenhostage,robbedinGhaziabadGhaziabad: A house inGhaziabadwasrobbedonTuesdaynightafteratleast4persons took the familymembers hostage.Accordingtopolice,thein-cidentoccurredinBBlockofAvantikaColonyinKaviNagar. The house be-longedtoalocalbusiness-man,whowaspresent inthe housewith hiswifeand daughterwhen theaccused entered thehouseafter11.30pm.Theaccused allegedly stolecashand jewelleryworthRs7-8lakh.

SecurityguardkilledinGreaterNoidafactoryNoida: A security guardwas allegedlymurderedbyanother guardpostedin the same factory inGreater Noida Tuesdaynight. According to po-lice,Sonu,thevictim,hadan altercation with theaccused,Ankit,regardingchange of duty shifts."Initiallytheinformationwas given that the secu-rity guard has been shotwhile tryingto foila rob-bery attempt. But whenwequestionedAnkit ag-gressively, it appearedthatAnkitandSonuhadafight. Basedonprima fa-cie information, Ankithas been arrested.Further enquiry is pend-ing," said Rajesh KumarSingh, DCP GreaterNoida. ENS

BRIEFLY

Opt for pvt labs to get tested fornon-medical purposes: Gurgaon

New Delhi


INPARLIAMENTMonsoonSession


■Makingthevaledictoryremarksattheendof the252ndsessionofRajyaSabha,Vice-PresidentandHouseChairmanMVenkaiahNaiducountedthatmembershadtosit insixdifferent locations—chambersandgalleriesof boththeHouses.Ashementionedtheseveralotheradjustmentsdone for themembers,he told them,“Whenyougetbacktoyourrespectivestatesandconstituencies,youwillbeavailableforconsultationandguidancethat isrequiredbythepeople tocontainthespreadof thecoronavirusandcopewiththesocio-economicconsequences.”

■MakinghisappearanceintheLokSabhaforthefirst timeintheMonsoonSession,PMNarendraModicausedabuzz, includingonsocialmedia, thathemayspeakonissuesthepandemicsince itsshadowloomedoverthe10-dayParliamentsession.However,hedidnotspeakandsomeMPspointedoutthat itwascustomaryforthePrimeMinister tobepresent intheHousewhentheSessionconcludes.

THEPANDEMICEFFECT

NOQUESTIONHOUR:MYQUESTIONS

■ What emphasis hasbeen given to fisheriessector reeling under theCovid impact?LAVUKRISHNADEVARAYALU,YSRCONGRESSPARTY

House Diaries

KRISHNKAUSHIKNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER23

WITH THEOpposition boycotting the pro-ceedings to protest against suspension ofeightMPs, the Rajya Sabha onWednesdaysaw eight Bills passedwithin three-and-a-half hours,beforetheHousewasadjournedsinedie.Three Bills about the new labour codes

were passed even though Leader ofOpposition GhulamNabi Azad, alongwithleadersofnineotherparties,askedChairmanMVenkaiahNaiduthatthelegislationshouldnot be taken up in their absence. But theHousewentaheadwith them.NaidulatersaidheallowedtheBillssince

therewas no “assurance” fromOpposition

leaders that theywould bepresent. He alsosaid that under Article 122 of Constitution,“validity of any proceedings of Parliamentcannotbequestioned”.OnTuesday,againamidOppositionboy-

cott, Rajya Sabha had passed seven Bills,drawing criticism from leaders of someop-positionparties.The Bills passed on Wednesday, are

nearly one-third of 25 bills passed by RajyaSabha in its252ndsession in10days.The eight Bills passed include Foreign

Contribution(Regulation)AmendmentBill;Bilateral Netting of Qualified FinancialContractsBill;andJ&KOfficialLanguagesBill.Appropriation Bill No. 3 for financial year2016-17andAppropriationBillNo.4forthecurrent financial year, for additional funds,passedbyLokSabhaearlier,were sent back

totheLowerHousewithoutanydiscussion.The three Bills to replace 25 laws with

three labour codes—Occupational Safety,Health And Working Conditions Code,Industrial Relations Code, and Code onSocial Security — were passed, even asAzad and nine other Opposition leaderswrote to Naidu, stating that “we urge younot tohave the following threeBillspassedtoday in theabsenceof Oppositionpartiesin theHouse”, as they “affect livelihood ofcrores of workers”.Besides Azad, the letter was signed by

O’Brien(TMC),RamGopalYadav(SP),TiruchiSiva (DMK), Elamaram Kareem (CPI-M),Binoy Viswam (CPI), Manoj Jha (RJD), KKeshav Rao (TRS), Sanjay Singh (AAP), andJose KMani of KC-M. O’Brien and Kareemwere suspended for the rest of the session

onMonday.Naidu later told the House that he re-

ceived Azad’s letter around 12.20 pm. TheBills were passed soon after 1 pm. “I dis-cusseditwiththe(RS)secretariatandIhavegonethroughpreviousprecedents,"hesaid.Defendingthenewcodes,MoS(Indepen-

dentCharge)forLabourandEmploymentSa-ntoshKumarGangwarsaidtheaimof“labourreform” is toprovidea“transparentsystem”for thechangedbusinessatmosphere.He said the lawwouldensure that all 50

croreworkersoforganisedandunorganisedsectorsgetminimumwage,arepaidontime,andhave the legal right tohaveanappoint-ment letter.Thenewcodeswillmakeiteas-ier for employers to hire and fire workers,andindustrialworkerswillhavetogivea60-daynotice togoonastrike.

‘FCRA Bill not against NGOs’ReplyingtoadebateontheFCRAamendmentBill,MoS(Home)NityanandRaisaid,“This iscertainlyaBill tobringtransparency. It isnotagainst NGOs (per se); onlyNGOswhich donotadheretotransparencymayfeelbad.ThisBill is in the interest of NGOs and trans-parency.”HesaidtheBillwasnecessaryinthecontext of internal security, as there havebeen instances in the pastwhereNGOs didnotdisclosetheirforeignfundinganddidnotfurnishproperauditof theirexpenditure.Ontheprovisiontomakeitmandatoryfor

NGOmembers to furnish Aadhaar, Rai toldtheHousethataspertheSupremeCourt'sor-der, the government can bring a law to useAadhaartoidentifycertaincategoriesofpeo-ple. He said someNGOs had earlierwantedtoconceal the identityof theirmembers.

ChairmanNaidutakesup labourcode legislationdespite letter from10oppnparty leadersurginghimnot to inOppn’sabsence

Oppn boycott on, RS passes 8 Bills in less than 4 hours

MANOJCGNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER23

THEMONSOONsessionofParliament,oneofthemost rancorous and fractious in recentmemory, came to a premature end onWednesday. But thebattle between thegov-ernment and theunitedOppositionover thetwofarmBillsthatwerepassedamidmassiveprotestsisonlyexpectedtointensify,andmovetothecourtsandthestreets.The session, held in the shadow of the

Covid-19pandemicwithextraordinarymeas-urestominimisethespreadofthenovelcoro-navirus,endedaweekaheadof itsscheduledOctober1closingafteralargenumberofMPstestedpositive. Therewas intensebitternessanddiscordduringthelastfourdays,witheightOppositionMPssuspendedfromRajyaSabhaand theOpposition staying away frombothHousesonthelastday.Most Opposition parties have extended

theirsupporttoaBharatbandhcalledbyfarm-ers’groupsprotestingthetwobillsonFriday.TheCongresshasannouncedanationwide

agitation,andseveralotherOppositionpartiesplantoholdstreetprotests.TheCPM-ledLeftgovernment inKerala and theCongress gov-ernment inPunjabareplanning tomove theSupremeCourtagainstthefarmBills.TheTrinamool Congress, oneof themost

vocalopponentsof thesebills,planstoshow-case it asyet another instanceof theBJPgov-ernment’s“assault”ontherightsofstates.WestBengalwill haveAssembly elections inMaynext year, alongwithKerala. TheBihar elec-tionsaredue inOctober-November thisyear,andtheBills,andthewayinwhichtheywererammedthroughinRajyaSabha,seemtohaveunitedtheOpposition.PartiesliketheSPandAAP,whichhadbeen

maintaininganarms’lengthdistancefromtheOppositiongrouping,haverejoinedthem.TheTelanganaRashtra Samithi has joinedhandswiththeOppositionforthefirsttimeinthere-centpast.TheNDAsufferedasetbackwiththeShiromani Akali Dal pulling out itsMinisterandjoiningtheantifarmBillsprotests.TheMonsoon sessionwas productive in

termsofpassageofbills,butwasextraordinaryinmanyways.ThepassageofthefarmBillsinthedinwithoutavoteonSundayledtofierceprotests by Oppositionmembers, and themovingof anunprecedentedvoteofno-con-fidenceagainstDeputyChairmanHarivansh.Theeight suspendedMPs sat onaday-nightdharnaonthepremisesofParliament.With theOppositionboycotting thepro-

ceedings, Rajya Sabhapassed15Bills in twodays, including thecontroversial labour codeBillsonWednesday. “Duringthe10sittings,atotal of 25Bills have beenpassed and6Billshavebeenintroduced.TheproductivityoftheHouseduringthisSessionhasbeen100.47percent. As against the scheduledavailable timeof 38hours and30minutes, the actual func-tionaltimeoftheHousehasbeen38hoursand41minutes,”ChairmanMVenkaiahNaidusaidinhis valedictory address. The LokSabha toopassed25Bills,andSpeakerOmBirlasaidtheproductivityof theHousewas167percent.


THECONGRESSboycotted the lastdayof LokSabha’struncatedMonsoonsessiontoprotestthe suspensionof OppositionMPs includingthreeofitsowninRajyaSabha,butdifferencesemergedwithin theparty’s leadership in theLowerHouseonwhethertostayawayduringthe Speaker’s valedictory address onWednesday.Thelackofcoordinationbetweenthelead-

ershipof theCongress inthetwoHousestoo,was in evidenceduring theday. Sources saidthe Lok Sabha leadership of the partywas“completely unaware” of a protest that theRajyaSabhaOppositionheldonthepremisesofParliamentHouseinthemorning.Asimilarprotestwas organised by the Congress andotherOppositionparties in the evening, butmanyOppositionMPsweremissing.Atameetingof CongressMPs, theparty’s

leaderinLokSabhaAdhirRanjanChowdhuryargued that they shouldnot stay away fromthevalediction. As is customary, the Speakerdelivers his valedictory address at the endofthe session, afterwhich thenational song isplayedbeforetheHouseisadjournedsinedie.Chowdhury is learnt to have been sup-

portedbyChiefWhipKodikunnilSuresh,butdeputyleaderintheHouseGauravGogoiandsomeMPssuchasShashiTharoorarguedthattheir boycott of Parliament should be com-plete.MostMPsfromKeralaarguedinfavourofatotalboycott,sourcessaid.The sources said thatChowdhuryargued

that the Congress’s oppositionwas not toParliamentasaninstitution.HesaidthatpartyMPs should be present during the nationalsongsothatawrongmessageisnotconveyed.HetoldMPsthatthevaledictionwasnotgov-ernmentbusiness— itwaspartof the “tradi-tion,customsandpractice”ofParliament.Those opposed toChowdhury, however,

argued that participating in the valedictionwouldamount to takingpart in theproceed-ings.PrimeMinisterNarendraModiwaspres-entinLokSabhaduringthevalediction.HealsoattendedthevaledictioninRajyaSabhaearlierintheday.Congress president Sonia Gandhi last

monthsetupagroupeachforLokSabhaandRajyaSabhatofacilitateandensuretheeffec-tivefunctioningofthepartyinthetwoHouses.Soniahadsaidthatjointmeetingsofthegroupswouldbeconvened“asandwhenneeded”.Sourcessaidnocoordinationbetweenthe

LokSabhaandRajyaSabhaleadershipsof theCongresswasvisibleduringtheMonsoonses-sion. No jointmeetings of the groupswereheld,andonthelastday,CongressMPsof thetwoHousesprotested separately against thegovernment.

Congress a housedivided, MPs splitover attendingSpeaker’s address

OppositionMPsprotestagainst thefarmBills, atParliamentonWednesday.PTI

Monsoon Session inNumbersWith Lok Sabha andRajya Sabha adjourned sine die, eight days ahead of schedule, a look at how they fared

RAJYASABHA10SITTINGS

3.25HOURSLOST EXTRATIME:3HOURS,26MINUTES

25Billspassed

6Bills

introduced

100.47%House

Productivity

57%timeusedforlegislativebusiness

198MembersspokeonBills

92ZeroHourmentions

66Specialmentions

Though thissessionhasbeen

satisfying in termsofproductivity, there havebeen someareas ofconcern aswell.”MVENKAIAHNAIDUCHAIRMAN, RAJYASABHA

Despite the threatof theCovid-19

pandemic, youprioritisedyour constitutionalresponsibility... Icongratulate you.”—OMBIRLASPEAKER, LOKSABHA

LOKSABHA10SITTINGS

*HOUSERAN23HOURSMORETHANALLOTTEDTIME

25Billspassed

16Bills

introduced

167%House

Productivity*

68%timeusedfor legislativebusiness

32%timeusedfornon-legislative

business

43%timeusedfornon-legislative

business

2,300questions’ repliestabled inHouse

370public interestmattersraised

855papers tabledbyministers

Session of rancour ends prematurely,battle over farmBills set to continue

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

Naidu points to ruckus, Birla congratulates MPs

DIPANKARGHOSENEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER23

THERE WERE echoes of the upcomingAssembly elections inBihar in Lok SabhaonWednesday,withmembersfromthestaterais-inglocalissuesasmattersofurgentpublicim-portance.WhileformerUnionministerRajivPratap

Rudy (BJP) took the time to praise PrimeMinisterNarendraModi andChiefMinisterNitish Kumar, someMPs fromNDA alliespressed for theneed formore developmentwork,especiallyspecificroads.Rudyexpressedconfidencethattheruling

alliancewouldbevictoriousintheBiharelec-tionsandsaid this isdue to theworkofModiandNitish.Overthelastfewyears,hesaid,thenumberofbridgesover theGangahavegoneup, and ametro railway system for Patna isnowintheworks.SushilKumarSingh,BJP

MP from Aurangabad inthe state, demanded four-laning of NationalHighway-139.He said thehighway,which connectsBihar to Jharkhand andChhattisgarh, takes heavytraffic andheavyvehicles,andisindesperateneedofanupgrade.“Ihavebeenraisingthis

many times but the stategovernment says theyde-cideitbasedonasurveyofvehicular traffic. But thatsurvey is of 2011,when thetwo-laneroadwasn’tbuilt,and therefore the trafficvolumewaslower,”hesaid.Veena Devi, LJP MP

fromVaishali,raisedtheis-sue of flood in Bihar, andher district in particular.Shesaidthefloodleftpeo-ple indistress,andamajor-ity of roads inher areabro-ken. “The state government is doingwhat itcan, but this situation needs help from theCentre,”shesaid.RamKripalYadav,BJPMPfromPatliputra,

saidthatdespiterepeatedrequests,“fourtofive”approachroadshavebeenshutoffbyDanapurCantonment. “This is affecting thousandsofpeopleandcausingimmensetrouble,”hesaid.Yadavsaidithadbeenagreedthattheseroadswill be opened, but their continued closuremeantthatpeopleofhisconstituencyhavetotravelanextra10kmeveryday.

In poll run-up,echoes of Biharin Lok Sabha

LS passes Bill tomanage, operateports better


WITHMOST opposition parties continuingtheir boycott of proceedings in solidaritywith the suspendedRajya Sabhamembers,the Lok Sabha onWednesday passed theMajorPortAuthorityBill.The Bill wasmoved byMinister of State

forShippingMansukhMandaviya,whosaidit is important formanagement of ports tochangeover time.Mandaviyasaid theBill aimsto“provide

forregulation,operationandplanningofma-jorports inIndiaandtovesttheadministra-tion,controlandmanagementof suchportsupon theBoards ofMajor PortAuthorities.”Hesaid,“Ourmaritimehistoryisveryoldandone of theworld's oldest example is Lothalin Gujarat. A 5,000-year-old dock has beenfound.Howorganisedthedockwasandthesystems is testament toourhistory.”Mandaviyasaidthat thereare204ports,

12majorports, aswell asminorandprivateports, in thecountry, andtheBill aims to in-crease competition between ports in Indiaand those across the world, as well as in-crease competition between private andpublicports.BJPmembers such as Bhartiben Shiyal

andGopalShettybackedtheBill,whichalsogotsupportfromtheBJD,JD(U),AIADMKandYSRCongress.


INHISvaledictory remarks toend the252ndsession of Rajya Sabha, Chairman andVice-PresidentMVenkaiahNaiduexpressedhisdis-pleasureattheeventsof thisweek.“Thoughthissessionhasbeensatisfyingin

termsof productivity, therehavebeen someareas of concern aswell.Weneed to collec-tively ponder over these issues formaking adifferenceinfuture,”hesaid.Naidumentionedthatforthe“firsttimein

this history” of Rajya Sabha, amotion for re-movalofDeputyChairmanwasgiven,whichherejectedonthegroundsthatitshouldhavebeenaresolutionandneededa14-daynotice.“ThedevelopmentsintheHousesurround-

ing this unprecedented move have beendeeply painful for all those who hold the

stature and thedignity of this augustHousedeartotheirhearts,”hesaid.On Sunday, theUpperHousewitnessed

ruckus as twoBills related to the agriculturesectorwerepassedbyavoicevoteevenastheOppositiondemandedadivisionvote.Thenextday, the government brought in amotion tosuspendeightOppositionleadersandthattoowaspassedbyavoicevote.Naidu,without going into the details of

“thoseunpleasantturnofevents”appealedtothemembers“tokindlyensurethatsuchun-seemlybehaviourisnotrepeated”.Naidusaid“ithurtsmethemostwhenthe

Chairisrenderedhelplessbytheturnofeventsand has to perforce take action against themembersaspertherules”.But, he said, itwasnot the “first time that

somemembers are suspended andBills arepassedwhensomesectionsoftheHouseboy-cotttheproceedings”.

TheHouse rules provide for suspendingmembers“whenitbecomesinevitable”andif“legislativeworkisnottakenupduringtheboy-cottbysomesectionsoftheHouse,itmaylegit-imise suchboycott asaneffective instrumentofblockinglegislation”,theChairmansaid.ItistheOpposition’s“right”toprotest,“but

thequestionishowshoulditbedone”,hesaid.“Thefloorof thisaugustHouseisthemostef-fectiveplatformforcontestationof ideas.”RespondingtoremarksmadebyLeaderof

OppositionGhulamNabiAzadonMondaythatthestatureoftheLeaderofOppositionhasdi-minishedovertheyears,NaidusaidthatAzad“didnotspecifytheperiodduringwhenithashappened”butaddedthat“it isanimportantobservationthatshouldnotbeoverlooked”.“LeaderoftheOppositionisverycentralto

orderly functioningof theHouseand it ismyfirmconvictionthatdilutinghisroleisunthink-able,”Naiduasserted.

In Lok Sabha, SpeakerOmBirla said thissession was "historic" in many ways, andthankedlegislatorsfor“stayinglatetowork”despitethethreatofCovid.Onthelastdayofthesession,evenastherewasnoOppositionas they boycotted proceedings, there wasmuchmutualadmirationonshow,withMPspraisingBirla’s roleasSpeaker.Inhisspeechjustbeforeannouncingthat

Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die, BirlathankedMPs for adhering to all protocols.HesaidMPshadbeenpresentonweekendsaswell,andthankedRajyaSabhaChairmanand Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu forhis support.Earlier,MinisterforParliamentaryAffairs

PrahladJoshisaidBirlaneededtobethankedfor taking special attention to detail in thissessionamidCovid.Hesaidthat inasessionthat has been politically tense, Birla hadtakeneveryonealong.

Rudy

VeenaDevi

RamKripal

New Delhi

GOVT&POLITICS6 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,SEPTEMBER24,2020

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THE BJP’SWest Bengal unit hasaskedthenationalleadershipforsixUnionMinisterstolaunchitscampaign in the state ahead ofthe Assembly polls due nextyear.At ameetingofWest Bengal

BJP’s core committee onWednesday, state leaders, in-cluding the party’s general sec-retary Kailash Vijayvargiya,askedthenational leadershiptosend Union Ministers SmritiIrani,PiyushGoyal,PrahladPatel,Narendra Singh Tomar,DharmendraPradhanandKirenRijijju to the state for a partycampaign.Partysourcessaidtheminis-

ters will campaign for aboutone-and-a-half months andthenthepartywillholdameet-ing to decide the next course ofaction.While Irani is fluent in

Bangla,Pradhanislikelytofocuson areas closer to Odisha; Rijijuwill campaign in the areas nearnortheasternstatesandTomarisexpected to counter theOpposition’s campaign againstthe farmbills.“Since West Bengal has a

widenetworkofrailways,Goyalcan be influential too and Patelwould fit in our election narra-tive focused on culture andyouth,” saidasource.Party leaders who attended

themeeting said the BJPwouldsoonembarkonamassivecam-paign in thestate thatwill focuson the “political killing,murderof democracy and the lawless-

ness in thestate”.Theparty’snarrative,sources

said, would be that theTrinamool Congress is trying tochange the cultural and socialcharacter of West Bengal. TheBJP has also been accusing theTrinamool of indulging in ap-peasement politics to woo theMuslim support base, whichthey say includes illegal immi-grants fromBangladesh.Theparty has sought the in-

tervention of Home MinisterAmitShahagainst the “radicali-sation”of theyouth in thestate,saying that the state's rulingparty is trying to turn the stateinto a “breeding ground for ter-rorism”.On October 8, BJP’s Yuva

Morcha will hold a rally inKolkata against the MamataBanerjee government, partysources said. FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

SHAJUPHILIPTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,SEPTEMBER23

PEPSICOHASdecidedtocloseitsproduction unit in Kerala due toallegedlabourunrest.Thiscomes15yearsafterCoca

Cola, another soft drinkmajor,wound up its plant in the stateamidprotestsovergroundwaterexploitationandpollution.ThePepsiCounit inPalakkad,

operated by franchisee VarunBeverages Ltd, served amanda-tory closure notice to the statelabour department on Tuesdayafter being in lockout sinceMarch. The employees at theunit—affiliatedtoCITU(ofCPI-M),INTUC(ofCongress)andBMS(ofRSS)—havebeenprotestingsinceDecember,demandingwagehikeandbetter serviceconditions forcontractlabourers,demandsthatwerependingforayearthen.As the protest by 280-odd

contractworkerswas joined by110 regular employees, produc-tion at the unit was affected.Subsequently,themanagementdeclared a lockdown fromMarch22.Theunit,establishedin2001

at industrial belt Kanjikode, has

been engaged in packageddrinkingwater and soft drinksunder thePepsibrand.InMarch 2019, PepsiCo had

handedover theplant to its bot-tling partner Varun Beveragesdue to labour strike demandingbenefitsandhikeinwagesofcon-tract labourers. Before being as-signedtothefranchise, theplantwasclosedforawhile.Productionresumedafteranagreementwasstruckwithworkers.Sources in themanagement

saidtheyhadtogoforlockdownbecauseofthelosscausedbythestrikeinFebruarythisyear.Eventhough police protection wasprovided, employees on dutywereassaulted, theysaid.CITU leader and Joint Trade

UnionActionCommitteegeneralsecretary SRamesh said the clo-surewouldimpact500-oddem-ployeeswhoaredirectlyor indi-rectly associatedwith the firm.“Several rounds of talks havebeenconvenedinrecentmonths,butthemanagementstickstoitsstand.Wehavebeendemandingbetterwages, ESI and bonus forcontract labourers,”hesaid.“...There may be another

roundoftalksasafinalattempt...A positive result is unlikely,” asourcesaid.

MADHYA PRADESH ChiefMinister SHIVRAJ SINGHCHOUHAN speaks to IRAMSIDDIQUE about his govern-ment’s aims and achievements,andhow it ismanaging thepan-demic and related challenges.Excerpts:

HowistheChouhangovernmentof2020differentfromthoseof2003,2008and2013,whenyouhadafullmandate?Doyoufinditdifficulttomaterialiseyourideasforthestate?Thereisnodifference.Thereis

only one aim—prosperity ofMadhyaPradeshandprogressofitspeople. It isthesamethenandnow,butthereisadifferenceinsit-uations andproblems. Todaywehave a pandemic at hand,withwhich there are economicprob-lemsnot just inMadhyaPradeshbut also in other states and theCentre.Thecommitmentsarethesame,buttheproblemsarediffer-ent. Then, as CM, Iworkedwithmyteamanddidn’tfaceanydiffi-culties, even today I am sur-roundedbythesameteam.

YouhaverolledoutbenefitsworthRs60,000croreundervariousschemes.Howareyoumanagingitinthiseconomiccrisis?Itistruethatweareinaneco-

nomiccrisis—ourrevenuecollec-tionwas down 24 per cent lastmonth.We received someGSTcompensation, but theCentre isalsofacingproblems.Butwiththepandemic, people need thesebenefitsmorethanever...Moneyleftwith different departmentsunder schemes thatwasnot be-ingutilisedwastakenup.Wetried

tomakebetteruseofourrevenue.Thenweborrowedmoneyup to3.5per cent of theGDP.WegaveRs 25,000 crore to farmers forwheat procurement. This gave alittlepushtotheeconomy.Wedis-tributedmoney to the poor andrestartedSambalYojana, 27 lakhwere included in PDS, scholar-ships and pensions wererestarted,wegavecropinsurance.

DoyoufeeltheCentreshouldspendmore?Weneedtoberealistic.Where

willtheCentregetthemoney?It,too, has its priorities. Todaypro-tectionofbordersisabigpriority...They have their ownproblems,andweneedtounderstandthemandworktogetherwitharealisticapproach.

ThefarmBillsarebeing

opposedbymanystates.Yourcommentontheissue?People are spreadingmyths.

Whyshouldwe force the farmerto sell his produce only in themandi?Madhya Pradeshmadethese changes before theCentredid.We are not shutting downmandisthroughthisBill.Theywillfunction and trade will go onthroughthem.Butweareprovid-ing options apart frommandi...Mandisneedtomakethemselvesattractive so that farmers them-selves decide to sell producethere... Today it is easier to do e-trading.Theamendmentisinthecommercialinterestofthefarmer.Itwill encouragecompetition, soweshouldgiveitachance.

YourecentlyannouncedlocaljobswillonlybeforchildrenofMadhyaPradesh.Don’tyoufeelthiswillgoagainstthefederalstructureofthecountry?Weneedtosafeguardthefed-

eral structureof the country andtakingthisintodueconsideration,we are working out a way inwhichitcanbedoneandtheunityof thecountryisnotaffected.Weare all children ofMother India.But if a factory is comingup, thelocal people feel their land hasbeen taken over, this feelingshouldbetakenintoaccount.

Asubstantialnumberofministersinyourcabinetabout14—arethosewhocamefromtheJyotiradityaScindiacamp.Doesthisnotgiverisetorivalry?Thereisnoquestionof rivalry

orrift in theranks. I interactwithScindiaandthePradeshAdyaksh(of theBJP,VDSharma)onareg-

ular basis over thephone.Whenthishappened (22MLAsswitch-ing over from Congress to joinBJP), thosewhowereministerswere switchingover to theBJP, itwasdecidedthattheyneedtobemadeministersotherwiseitcouldhavebeen injustice to them.Onehastobepractical,otherwiseyouwouldn’thaveagovernment.

Whyistherereluctancetoincludeeggsasamodeofnutritionforchildreninanganwadisdespitetheproposalbeingreiterated?MadhyaPradeshhasamind-

setthatonthebanksofNarmadatherearesadhu-santsandgener-ally non-vegetarian food is notconsideredwell.Anganwadisarefrequentedbythosewhoeatveg-etarian and non-vegetarian... Ifpeoplewanttoeateggs,theycanhaveitathome,itistheirchoice.Ibelievemilk and eggs are equalwhenitcomestonutritionalcon-tent.Butmakingitaboneofcon-tentionthatnomatterwhathap-penseggswillbegivenisnotright.

Thereareover1lakhCovid-19casesinMP,whichisheadedforbypolls,andthestateisfacingshortageofoxygen.Howareyouhandlingthesituation?Thereareabout21,000active

cases, but numbers are growingafter unlocking. But lockdowncannotcontinue.Weareincreas-ingICUbeds,hospitalsandgivingimportancetohomeisolation.Foroxygenshortage,wehavespokento theCentrewhich ismaking itavailable.We are also getting itfromBhilaisteelplant.

FULLINTERVIEWONwww.indianexpress.com

THE EXPRESS

INTERVIEWWITH

SHIVRAJ SINGHCHOUHANCHIEFMINISTER,MADHYAPRADESH

‘Why shouldwe force thefarmer to sell only inmandi?’DELHICONFIDENTIAL

HERO OF ZERO HOURMINISTEROF Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi took sometime to praise Lok Sabha Speaker OmBirla onWednesday.WhiletherewaspraiseforhishandlingofCovid,Joshialsoap-preciatedBirlagivingnewMPsachancetospeakinParliament.“YouhavebecometheheroofZeroHour,” Joshisaid.

IN PROTESTTHE CONGRESS-LEDOpposition held an impressive protestagainstthefarmBills,butitseemsbettercoordinationwouldhavegotmoreMPstojointhem.First,someCongressleadersstood in frontof theGandhi statuebefore theLokSabhawastomeet at 6pm, but noone seemed toknowwhowoulddowhat. First Gaurav Gogoi raised slogans, thenManickamTagore askedHibi Eden to lead the slogan-shouting. Slowly,MPsfromtheDMK,NCPandLeftjoined,butotherOppositionpartiesweremissing, apparently because theywere not in-formed. As the leadersmarched from the Gandhi statue toAmbedkarstatue,KeralaMPsshoutedslogans inMalayalamand then Tamilians did so in their language. Later, CongressMPfromPunjabRavneetSinghBittubroughtsomehaystacks,withwhichMPsprotested in frontof theGandhi statue.

ISRAEL CALLINGAMID THE pandemic, Israel’s ambassador RonMalka hasstarteddomestic diplomatic travel. InGujarat, hemetAdanigroup chairman Gautam Adani and thanked him for the“warmhospitality&insightfulconversation”.MalkasaidtheAdanigrouphas thequalitiesneeded for successfulpartner-ship.Adani called Israel “an inspiringnation”, and said therewassomuchtolearnfrom“technology,agriculture,defence,energy,water”.

SHOW OF SUPPORTSEVERALFARMERSfromdistrictssurroundingDelhireachedtheofficial residenceofAgricultureMinisterNarendraSinghTomar and congratulated him on the passage of farm Bills.They included senior citizens, sportingmasks and turbans.Theyheldplacards that read: ‘Farmershavegot full freedomafter70years’.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICESURAT,SEPTEMBER23

BENGALURU-BASED journalistand former AmnestyInternational India head AakarPatel recorded his statementwith the Surat CrimeBranchonMonday after getting anticipa-tory bail in a defamation com-plaint filed against him over atweet on the Ghanchi commu-nity.The complaint was filed by

PurneshModi, who representsSurat City (West) in GujaratAssembly, in July this year.Purnesh is also president of theSamast Gujarati ModhvanikSamaj.Assistant Commissioner of

Police(SuratCityCrimeBranch)R R Sarvaiya said, “Aakar Patelcamewith anticipatory bail onMonday.Werecordedhis state-ments and later allowed him togo.We also told him to remainpresent at the Crime Branchwhenever required."Patel, who could not be

reached for a comment, hastweeted that he had also been

asked to hand over his devicesfor "examination by the FSL(Forensic Science laboratory)”nextweek.Patel had got anticipatory

bail from the Surat Sessionscourt onMonday afternoon inthe case registeredby the SuratCrime Branch under IPCSections153(A)(promotingen-mitybetweendifferentgroups),295 (A) (intent to insult a classof people), 505(1), (b), (c) (pub-licstatementintenttocausefearamongpublic)and499and500(defamation) following a com-plaint filed by Purnesh Modi

againsthis tweets.According to details men-

tioned in the police complaint,PurneshstatedthatPatel,whoisoriginallyfrom SuratandisnowbasedinBengaluru,hadonJune24 and June 27 tweeted on theGhanchi community, to whichPurnesh belongs, purportedlyconnecting it to the Sabarmatitrain carnage in Godhra onFebruary27,2002.Purneshalsomentionedthat,

people with Modi (HinduGhanchi) surname come fromModhvanik Samaj and arepresentlybasedinGujarat. “TheGhanchiMuslimsof Godhra in-volved in the attack onSabarmatiExpresshavenocon-nection or relationwith us. Theaccused had defamed the pres-ent PrimeMinister of India andformerPrimeMinisters. Theac-cusedAakarPatelhaddone thisintentionally, targeting PrimeMinisterNarendraModianden-tire Modi Ghanchi samaj forsomeunknowngain.”TheFIR stated, “Theaccused

wanted to damage prevailingpeace andharmony in the soci-etybysuch tweets.”

Bengal BJP seeks6 Union Ministersfor 2021 campaign

AakarPatelhadtweteedontheGhanchicommunityonJune24and27. Twitter

FIR against ex-head of AmnestyIndia for tweet on community


IT ISN'T just India inLadakhthatChinaisprovoking—andthena-ture of its provocation isn't justmilitary.FromIndia’sneighbourhood

tothecapitalsaroundtheworld—fromAustraliaandJapantotheUS and the EU— the aggressiveexpansionismoftheauthoritar-ian regime in Beijing is seen topose an unprecedented chal-lenge.InSouthAsia,IndiaandChina

arecompetinglikeneverbefore,and the faultlines are sharpen-ing in theneighbourhood.To talk on the theme ‘China

andaNewAgeofGlobalConflict’at the latest session of ExpressExplained.Live, The IndianExpress has invited formerForeign Secretary ShyamSaran,anexpertonstrategicaffairsandIndiandiplomacy.Whatarethenatureandcon-

toursof themilitary, technolog-

ical, ideological, and economicchallenges emanating fromChina,which threaten,most di-rectly, democracieswith liberalconstitutions, and smaller, rela-tivelyweak countrieswith vul-nerableeconomies?HowshouldIndiaaddressthemulti-prongedaggressionfromitseconomicallypowerfulandtechnologicallyad-vanced neighbour? These aresome of the questions that will

bediscussedduringtheconver-sation.Saran, who has also been

Chairman of the NationalSecurity Advisory Board, andIndia's Special Envoy for India-US civil nuclear issues andClimate Change, is one of thecountry’s foremost strategicthinkers.Astheauthorofamag-isterial history of Indian diplo-macy:HowIndiaSeestheWorld–Kautilyatothe21stCentury,heis uniquely placed to discussthese issues.Explained.Liveisauniquese-

ries of explanatory conversa-tions that The Indian Expresshosts fromtimeto time.Expert Guests at

Explained.Livesessionssincethelockdown began have includedIIT-DelhiDirectorRamgopalRao,Kerala’s Health Minister K KShailaja, Public HealthFoundationof IndiapresidentDrKSrinathReddy, industrialistDrNaushadForbes,capitalmarketsexpertNileshShah,medicalsci-entist Dr Gagandeep Kang, andMahesh Vyas, MD and CEO oftheCentreforMonitoringIndianEconomy.

DATE:25September2020

TIME:7pm

TOREGISTER:SMS-IEXP<space>“IE”<space>“Yournameand

email ID”to56161.ConfirmationSMSwillbe

yourregistration.

Former Foreign Secy Shyam Saranis Expert at Explained tomorrow

After labour strikeand lockout, PepsiCoto close unit in Kerala

DEEPMUKHERJEEJAIPUR,SEPTEMBER23

THE RAJASTHAN High CourtWednesdaygrantedinterimrelieffromarresttoformerUnionmin-isterArunShourieinthecaseper-taining to the sale of LaxmiVilasPalaceHotel inUdaipurin2002.Inaninterimorderpassedon

Wednesday, the court of JusticeDineshMehta said Shourie shallnot be arrested in pursuance ofthearrestwarrantissuedbyaspe-cial CBI court in Jodhpur onSeptember15.ThecourtalsosaidtheCBIhad

“practicallyconceded”thattheor-der of theCBI court judge is “notinconformitywiththelaw”.In a separate order, the court

grantedinterimrelief fromarresttoKantilal Vikamsey, proprietorofKantiKaramseyandCo.,theval-uerof thedisinvestedhotel.On Tuesday, theHigh Court

granted interim relief to retiredIAS officer Pradip Baijal, BharatHotelsManagingDirectorJyotsnaSuri,andAshishGuhaoffinancialadvisoryformLzardIndiaLtdoverarrestwarrantsissuedbythespe-cialCBIcourt.Shourie, who was

DisinvestmentMinisterintheAtalBihariVajpayee-ledNDAgovern-

mentatthetimeofthesaleofthehotel,wasrepresentedintheHighCourtonWednesdaybyPrashantBhushanandPradeepShah.Shourie’scounselarguedthat

the trial court haderred inhold-ingthattheprosecutionsanctionunderSection19ofthePreventionofCorruptionActisnotrequired.“Section197oftheCrPCman-

datespriorsanctionbeforeprose-cution of any person ‘who is orwas’ a public servant and 'is ac-cused of any offence alleged tohave been committed by himwhile actingorpurporting to actin the discharge of his officialduty’,Shouriehadsaidinhispeti-tion.Seekingexemptionfromap-pearance before the trial court,Shourie’slawyerscitedhishealthandage(79).The court, however, didn't

grant Shourie complete exemp-tion and saidhe coulddo so anytimebyOctober15andfurnishapersonal bond of Rs 2 lakh andtwosuretiesofRs1lakheach.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

ArunShourie

INTHE faction-riddenBengalunitof theBJP, theparty leadershipwill belooking to launchanag-gressivecampaign toputupaunited faceaheadoftheelection.WithBJPleadersadmitting thathostility fromthestategovernmentandtherul-ingpartyhasaffected thecadreadversely, gettingontoa full-timecam-paignmode is important.

PuttingupaunitedfaceE●EX

PLAINED


TWODAYS after 18 oppositionparties urged President RamNathKovindtonottogivehisas-sent to the two contentiousfarm-related Bills, passed byRajya Sabha without a vote,Leader of Opposition in theUpperHouseGhulamNabiAzadmet the President onWednesday and reiterated theplea.AzadaskedthePresidenttoreturn the Bills to Rajya Sabha.After the meeting, he saidKovind assured him that hewould look into the issue.Leadersofseveralopposition

parties went to RashtrapatiBhavan.ThePresident,however,did notmeet the entire delega-tion inviewof Covid-19 restric-tions, andmetonlyAzad.

Ludhiana: Thirty-one farmbodies inPunjabWednesdayannounced an indefinite railrokofromOctober1.Theywillalso go aheadwith rail rokofromSeptember 24-26 evenasNorthernRailwaycanceled,delayedanddivertedtrainsonthosethreedays. ENS

PUNJABFARMERS:RAIL ROKOFROMOCT 1

Azad meets Kovind, urgeshim not to sign farm Bills

Laxmi Vilas hotel case:Rajasthan HC stays arrestwarrant against Shourie

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK 7WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,SEPTEMBER24,2020

GOVERNMENT OF RAJASTHANADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS &COORDINARION DEPARTMENT

No. F. 6(2) AR/RTI/2015/Pt. Jaipur, dated 23-09-2020Subject:- Appointment of State Chief Information Commissionerand Information Commissioners in State Information Commission.1. The Government of Rajasthan under powers conferred by the Right

to Information Act, 2005 (to be referred hereinafter as the Act) hasconstituted the Rajasthan State Information Commission to exercisesuch powers and to perform such functions as conferred/assignedto it under the Act (chapter V of the Act. It is located in Jaipur.

2. It is proposed to appoint a State Chief Information Commissionerand Two Information Commissioners in the Rajasthan InformationCommission in view of the vacancy due to super annuation of itsprevious incumbent/to be arisen on super annuation of one of theInformation Commissioner. The Act provides that the StateInformation Commissioner shall be person of eminence in public lifewith wide Knowledge and experience in Law, science andtechnology, social service, management, journalism, mass media oradministration and governance.

3. The State Chief Information Commissioner and InformationCommissioners shall not be a Member of Parliament or Member ofany State Legislature or Union Territory as the case may be or holdany other office of profit or connected with any political party orcarrying on any business or pursuing any profession.

4. The State Chief Information Commissioner and InformationCommissioners shall hold office for a term of three years, from thedate on which he enters upon his office or till he attains the age of65 years, whichever is earlier. The salary and allowances payable toState Chief information Commissioner and InformationCommissioners and other terms and conditions shall be inaccordance with the rules notified by the Ministry of Personnel,Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Personnel & Training,Government of India dated 24.10.2019.

5. The conditions of appointment provided in the Act of 2005 shall befinal.

6. Fresh Applications are being invited for filling up the post of State ChiefInformation Commissioner and two post of Information Commissionersin reference to the earlier Advertisement no F6(1)AR/RTI/2015 dated21.01.2019, 05.07.2019 and no F6(2)AR/RTI/2015 dated 14.02.2019,05.07.2019 and Corrigendum dated 28-01-2020 respectively.Applicants who had applied in response to the previousadvertisements are not required to apply afresh for consideration oftheir candidature, their applications shall remain valid.

7. Persons fulfilling the criteria for appointment as State ChiefInformation Commissioner and Information Commissioners &interested for appointment to the post may send their particulars bypost or by hand to the Principal Secretary, AdministrativeReforms & Coordination Department, Government ofRajasthan, Room No 2007, Main Building, GovernmentSecretariat, Jaipur (Rajasthan) Pin Code 302005 on or before7th October, 2020 by 6.00 P.M. Persons who are serving under theState/Central Government or any other Organisation, may send theirparticulars through proper channel. This advertisement and thePerforma for sending the particulars is available on department web-site www.ard.rajasthan.gov.in

Sd/-(Ashwin Bhagat)

Principal Secretary

TABASSUMBARNAGARWALAOSMANABAD,SEPTEMBER23

CHEST PHYSICIAN Dr PravinDumnehasjustdonehisroundsof the ICU at Osmanabad CivilHospital and is now fieldingqueries from anxious relatives.Two hours into the PPE, he isdrenched in sweat, with 22hoursmore togo inhis shift.Dumnehas150Covid-19pa-

tients under him. SinceMay, hehasn’tbeenabletotakeanybreakexceptfor12dayswhenhehim-self contracted the virus. Normsmandate one doctor per 10 ICUpatients,Dumne ishandling fivetimesthat.“TherearetimeswhenmultiplepatientsarecriticalandIcan’tbeeverywhere.Ifeelhelp-less.Wearelosinglives,”headds.As another relative com-

plains about the lack of cleanli-ness in a ward, Dumne says, “Imay quit government serviceonce thepandemic isover.”Dumneisn’ttheonlyonefeel-

ing the unequal load as coron-aviruscasessurgeinMaharashtra,particularly its rural areas. Thestate estimates it needs 19,752doctors,nursesandparamedicstofight Covid-19. As onSeptember15, 12,574 of the postswere va-cant. Of the 1,700 Class I doctorposts (including specialists) thePublicHealthDepartmentneedsto fill, likeDumne's, only538arefilled. InMay,MaharashtrawasforcedtoaskKeralaforhelp.Fortyspecialist doctors came toMumbaionabus,tohandlecriti-calpatientloaduntil July.Theshortageisevenmorein-

tenseinruralareas,whereurgentadvertisements by the govern-mentforspecialistshaveyieldedlittleresponse.InruralNagpur,asmany as 93.6% posts are vacant,followedbyThaneat79%.The last permanent posting

in Osmanabad, an aspirational

district under NITI Aayog, wasthree years ago. It needs 150nursesand40doctors.Thestategovernment has been deputingAyush doctors to civil hospitals.“Notallof themcanhandleseri-ouspatients,”Dumnepointsout.HeandDrTanajiLakalarethe

only two specialist doctors forCovidpatientsatOsmanabadCivilHospital.DumnewasmovedherefromthePHCatSamudrawanivil-lage, following the pandemic.DumneandLakalalternatework-ingfor24hourscontinuouslyfol-lowedbyonedayoff.InJuly,whenDumne got the coronavirus, hehadtojoinbackwithin12days,in-steadof theminimum14.

In Raigad, 400 km away, DrRajeshSalagarehasbeentheonlydoctor handling the entire ruralhospital sinceMarch. The threeother doctor posts at the hospi-tal havebeenvacant since2018.Thepreviousnighthewascalledforadeliveryat2am;thismorn-ing, hewasbackonOPDdutyat9. “I am just an Ayush doctor. Ifsomethinggoeswrong, Iwill beheldresponsible,”heworries.It’s not just the long hours

that deter doctors from ruralduty. A governmentMBBS doc-torinruralareasispaidRs60,000permonthandisexpectedtobeon call 24 hours, their counter-partsinNaviMumbaigetRs1.25

lakh,andinMumbaiandThane,Rs 80,000 per month. NaviMumbai, Thane and Mumbaimandate eight hours on Coviddutyatatime,apartfromprovid-inghotelaccommodation.Asachestphysician,Dumne

couldearnup toRs2 lakh inur-ban areas, instead of the Rs60,000 he gets now. His Augustsalarycameonlyafewdaysago.The100-bedCovidfacility in

Ratnagiri depends on Ayushdoctors fromnearby PHCs. Onesuch doctor, who requestedanonymity, says he sees overhundred suspected cases a day.He got his pending salary of Rs40,000 for fourmonths, till July,only a few days ago. “Everyonecallsuscoronawarriors,butlookathowweare treated.”An administrative officer at

Ratnagiri Civil hospital, who iswaiting for his pay since July,showstextmessagesexchangedwithseniors. “If thegovernmentdoesn’trespectus,whywilladoc-torwanttoworkhere?"hesays.Ratnagiri Civil Surgeon Dr

Ashok Bolde says the delay insalaries is on the part of theNational HealthMission’s stateoffice. Dr Sadhana Tayade,Director of the Directorate ofHealth Services, however, says,“Salariesarepaidontimetodoc-tors.”Onwhythepoorresponseto advertisements, she says it isbecause “doctors are scared towork inCovidwards”.The government has begun

tele-ICUservicestoplugthegapofspecialistsinruralhospitalsofBhiwandi,Aurangabad,JalnaandSolapur. Physicians in anothercitymonitor ICUreadingsofpa-tients in rural hospitals and callup on-duty doctors to directtreatmentprotocol.But tele-ICUhasnotreached

every rural hospital, nor can ithelpeveryone.

NEXT:Social stigmaadeterrent inCovid testing

ABHISHEKSAHAGUWAHATI, SEPTEMBER23

LESSONSON Jawaharlal Nehru,theMandalCommission report,the2002Gujarat riots andwrit-ingsoncasteandmarginalisationhave been dropped from theClass 12 state board syllabus inAssamaspart of the30% reduc-tion inviewof thepandemic.A list of the sections of the

syllabus which were droppedwas uploaded on the AssamHigher Secondary EducationCouncil (AHSEC) website re-cently.Officialssaidthesectionswere chosen after consultationwith teachers and subject ex-pertsacross thestate.In Political Science, theomit-

tedsectionsunderthetitle'Politicsin India since Independence' in-clude: 'First three general elec-tions;Nehru’sapproachtonation-building;Famineandsuspensionoffiveyearplans;Nehru’sforeignpolicy; Political succession afterNehru; Politics of Garibi Hatao;

NavnirmanmovementinGujarat;Punjabcrisisandtheanti-Sikhri-ots of 1984; Implementation ofMandal Commission report; UFandNDAgovernments;Elections2004 and UPA government;Ayodhya dispute; and Gujaratriots'.Topics related to the

Congress party and its history;issues of Kashmir; wars withChinaandPakistanin1962,1965and 1971; the Emergency; andtheriseof theJanataDalandBJPremain, amongother topics.Thehistory syllabus for Class

12 nowno longer includes the'Kinship,CasteandClass'section.In English, a chapter titled'MemoriesofChildhood'hasbeenleft out. In that, students studiedpartsofautobiographicalwritingsof twowomenwriters--Zitkala-sa,agreatNativeAmericanwriterand reformer, andBama, a TamilDalitwriterandteacher.“It is well known to all that

due to Pandemic Novel CoronaVirus(COVID-19)studentsofourstate (have) already lost valued

academic time. After the CBSEdecidedtoreducethevolumeofthe course for class XI &XII, theAHSECwas seriously deliberat-ing upon the issue,” wroteManoranjanKakati,SecretaryoftheAHSEC,intheofficialnoteat-tached to the reduced syllabus.“Themainobjective is toreducethe exam stress of the studentsof the session 2020-21, due tothis pandemic situation and toprevent learninggaps."In July, the Council had

sought the views of education-istsandteachers.“Basedontheirfeedback and valued sugges-tions, theAcademicCommitteeof AHSEC in itsmeetingheldon19/08/2020 had decided to re-duce 30% volume of the coursecontents,”Kakatiwrote.KakatitoldTheIndianExpress,

“Thedecisionsweretakenbyex-perts and teachers. Andnotoneexpertoroneteacher,butawiderange, from institutions acrossthestate. If complaintscomeup,wewillholdmeetingsagainanddecide further.”


THECENTREonWednesdaytoldtheSupremeCourtthatithadis-suedanoticetoSudarshanTVun-der the Cable TelevisionNetworks(Regulation)Act,1995,askingthechanneltoshowcausewhy action should not be takenagainst it for allegedviolationofthe Programme Code in thebroadcastof itsshowUPSCJihad.Solicitor General Tushar

Mehta told a bench headed byJusticeDYChandrachudthatthenoticeissuedonWednesdayhasasked the channel to tender itsexplanationby5pmSeptember28, failingwhich ex parte deci-sionwill be taken.Mehtaurgedthecourttoad-

journthehearinguntilafterthatso as to enable the governmentto takeaconsideredview.Agreeing, the bench, also

comprising Justices InduMalhotra and KM Joseph, di-rected that the notice “shall bedealt with in accordance withlaw,andthecentralgovernmentshallsubmitareporttothecourtindicating the outcome of thenotice”.Justice Chandrachud orally

told the S-G, “You apprise us ofthedecision.Andwetakeit thatyouwilltakeareasoneddecisiononthe issue.”Thebenchalso said that fur-

ther steps in pursuance of thedecisionwillbesubjecttoordersof thecourt.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

205DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

KEYSTATESTOWATCH■Maharashtra■Andhra■TamilNadu■UttarPradesh■Delhi

7 DAYS EARLIER:

1.63NOW:

1.59

7 DAYS EARLIER:

8.45NOW:

8.52

DETECTED TODAY

83,347RECOVERED TODAY:

89,746

TOTALCASES

12,42,7706,39,3025,52,6743,64,5432,53,075

DOUBLINGTIME**40.2955.2769.5042.4343.83

SURGEIN24HOURS18,3907,5535,3375,6503,816

7-DAYAVGGROWTH*1.79%1.30%1.04%1.70%1.64%

TRACKING INDIA’SCOVIDCURVE

CASES:56,46,010TESTS: 6,62,79,462 | DOUBLING RATE: 42.55**

RECOVERED:45,87,613DEATHS:90,020

*CompoundedDailyGrowthRateover last7days **Calculatedover7-daygrowth

DataasonSeptember22, releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealth, ICMRandstates.Oftendailynumbersincludedatafrompreviousdays.Assuch, trendsbasedondailynumbersare indicative,notdefinitive

CASE FATALITY RATIO

Deaths as a ratio ofpositive cases (in %);indicator of progressin averting deaths

Positives againstnumber tested

(in %); indicator ofthe spread of disease

Becoming sick vsrecovering; more

recoveries for 14 daysmay signal the peak

POSITIVITY RATE DAILY IN, DAILYOUT

MAULSHREESETHLUCKNOW,SEPTEMBER23

VETERAN VIROLOGIST Dr T NDhole died of Covid-19 inLucknowonWednesday.Hewas67. Dhole, who is creditedwithestablishing an independentMicrobiology Department atUttar Pradesh’s premier SanjayGandhi Post Graduate InstituteofMedical Sciences inLucknowin 1988, played amajor role inthestate’s fightagainstpolio forover15yearsandalsointacklingencephalitis, dengue andchikungunya.A former head of the

Microbiology Department atSGPGI,DholediedonWednesdayat SGPGI’s Covidhospital. Dholehad retired last year butwas stillactive and had joined a privatehospital in Lucknow. From1988till lastyear,Dhole focusedonvi-rology research and contributedto surveillance and testing tech-niquesfordifferentvirusesthathitthe state aswell as adjoining re-gionsofnorthIndia.

“It is amajor loss.Hewas ac-tive even just a fewdays beforehisdeath.Hewasadmittedinthefirstweekof September.Hewasthe first facultymember of theMicrobiologyDepartment hereandmadeagreatcontributiontopolioeradicationandsurveillancefor over 15 years,” saidDrUjjalaGhoshal, head of the SGPGI’sMicrobiologyDepartment.BeforeanNIVfieldlaboratory

was established in Gorakhpur,SGPGI labwas the only testinglab in the region.He was admitted at the

SGPGIMS Covid hospital onSeptember4afterhavingtestedpositive and complaining ofbreathlessness and fever.Because of co-morbidity, hecouldnotrecoverfrominfectioninhislungsandothercomplica-tions,hospital sources said.

SHAJUPHILIPTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,SEPTEMBER23

THE KERALA government onWednesdaydecidedtoapproachthe Press Council of India (PCI)againstmediaorganisationsovertheir alleged “defamatory re-ports” pertaining to a fire at thestate secretariatonAugust25.ThestateCabinethasalsode-

cided to seek legal advice fromtheadvocate-generalaboutreg-istering a case under CrPCSection 199 (2) against certainnewspapers which published“deliberatereportstocausemis-understanding”,accordingtoanofficial communication.Justifying the decision, Chief

MinisterPinarayiVijayansaidtheAugust 25 firewas distorted bycertain sections of themedia.“[Theywere]sayingthattheChiefMinister and theChief Secretarywerebehindsettingtheofficeonfire... This is defaming theentireadministrativesystem...Thecab-inetwanted tobring the issue tothenoticeofpersonsinresponsi-blepositions,”Pinarayisaid.Thefireinquestionbrokeout

in the General AdministrationDepartment (Political), wherethe state protocol office func-tions.Thefirewasreportedadayafter the state protocol officersubmittedhis statement beforethe NIA, which is probing thecase involving the smuggling ofgoldthroughdiplomaticcargototheUAEConsulate.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA,SEPTEMBER23

THECBIhasbookedaBSFofficerand three others in connectionwithcattlesmugglingacrosstheBangladeshborderevenasithasraided15 locationsacross India.The raids have been con-

ducted in Delhi;West Bengal'sKolkata, Siliguri andMurshidabad; Uttar Pradesh'sGhaziabad; Punjab's AmritsarandChhattisgarh’sRaipur.The Anti-corruption Bureau

of the CBI onMonday bookedBSF officer Satish Kumar, whowastheformerCommandantofthe36BSFBattalion, “primeac-cused” Mohammed EnamulHaque, Anarul Sheikh,Mohammed Gulam Mustafa,unidentified officials of theCustomsDepartmentandotherunidentifiedofficials.It isallegedthatKumar’sson

Bhuvan Bhaskarwas employedwith Haque Industries PrivateLimited, a company promotedbyHaque. It is alleged that dur-ing Kumar’s tenure, more than20,000 heads of cattle wereseized by the BSF before beingsmuggled into the Bangladeshborder but no vehicle or personinvolved in the illegal tradewasseizedorarrested.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICESRINAGAR,SEPTEMBER23

THE BLOCK DevelopmentCouncil(BDC)chairmanofKhagblockinBudgamdistrictwasfa-tally shot near his residence bysuspected militants onWednesdayevening,policesaid.BhupinderSingh,aresidentof

DalwachKhag,“wasevacuatedtonearby hospital for treatmentwhere hewas declared broughtdead”, the police said. They saidSingh left for his villagewithouthisPSOsand“withoutanyinfor-mation to thepolice”. J&KPolicestatedthataround8pm,“terror-ists had fired upon a BDC chair-maninDalwachareaofKhag”.Lt Gov Manoj Sinha con-

demned the killing, saying “theheinous act is an attempt tospreadfearandvitiatetheatmos-phereofpeaceandprogress”.Leadersofmainstreampolit-

icalpartiesalsocondemnedthekilling. “The BJP strongly con-demnssuchbarbarismandcow-ardly act,” BJP spokespersonAltaf Thakur said.NCvice-presi-dent Omar Abdullah tweeted,“Very sorry tohear about the as-sassination of BDC councillorBhupinder Singh.Mainstreamgrassroot political workers areeasytargetsformilitants…”Wednesday’s incident is the

third fatal shootingof asarpanchin Kashmir this year. SarpanchAjay Pandita, affiliated withCongress,wasshotinAnantnaginJune,while in August, sarpanchSajadAhmadKhanday,associatedwithBJP,waskilledinQazigund.In July,113electedrepresen-

tativesofurbanlocalbodiesandpanchayatiraj institutionsintheValleywereprovidedsecuritybythe J&Kadministration.

Out of AssamClass 12syllabus: 1984, 2002riots; Ayodhya,Mandal

DrRajeshSalagare is theonlydoctoratRaigadruralhospitalsinceMarch. TabassumBarnagarwala

HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS (DOCTORS, NURSES,PARAMEDICS) NEEDED FORCOVID-19 ANDVACANCIESCircle Totalposts Filled Vacancy(%)Pune 2,479 911 63.2%Kolhapur 1,793 870 51.4%Akola 2,293 1,089 52.5%Nagpur 5,080 321 93.6%Nashik 2,320 1,155 50.2%Aurangabad 2,436 975 59.9%Latur 1,462 1,462 0%Thane 1,889 395 79%

SEEKSCASEAGAINSTSOMENEWSPAPERS

Kerala to approach PCIover ‘defamatory reports’

Sudarshan TVshowcause overprogrammecode ‘violation’:Centre to SC

Trans-bordercattle smugglingracket: CBIbooks BSF officerand three others

BDC chairshot deadin Budgam

MOHAMEDTHAVERMUMBAI, SEPTEMBER23

THENARCOTICSControlBureau(NCB)has so far notmade a single arrest inthe FIR that had been registeredagainst six persons, including RheaChakraborty,herbrotherShowikandfour others, primarily based onChakraborty'sWhatsApp chats pur-portedlydiscussingdrugs.Chakraborty,Showikand17others

(three of themout on bail) are underarrestbasedonasecondFIR,No.16/20,registered by theNCB suomotu twodays after the initial FIR (No. 15/20).Theagencyhad tolda local court thatthe second FIRmeant to "uproot thedrug citadel in Mumbai, especiallyBollywood”, and claimed seizures ofcommercialquantitiesofnarcotics,in-cludingLSD, fromoneof thearrestedaccused. Incidentally, when it firstbroughtupthissecondFIRincourt,theNCBhadmadenomentionofSushantSinghRajput,adding it later.OnWednesday, the NCB issued

summonstoactorsDeepikaPadukoneand Rakul Preet Singh in connectionwiththeWhatsAppchatscase(15/20)against Chakraborty. The chats hadbeen provided to the NCB by theEnforcement Directorate, and the

agencyhassofarnotmadeanyseizuresthatcouldbecollaborativeevidence.Soon after theNCBhad registered

that FIR, on August 26, a team hadlandedfromDelhiinMumbaitoinves-tigate thematter. By August 28, theagencyhadarrestedtwopersons,AbbasLakhani andKarnArora. Itwaswhentheywereproducedbeforethecourtforremand that the NCB said they hadbeenarrestedunderanewFIR,withoutmentioningtheRajputcaseatall.Then,onSeptember3, theNCBar-

restedoneZaidVilatraundertheFIRNo.16/20and said that itwas “investigat-ing theSushantSinghRajput caseandtherefore(policecustody)ishighlysub-stantive andneeds to be investigatedthoroughlysoastouprootdrugcitadelinMumbaiespeciallyinBollywood.”Sincethen,theNCBhasarrested16

more in the second FIR, includingChakraborty andher brother Showik,and has keptmentioning the Rajputcase.Asked why no arrests had been

made in theWhatsApp case, an offi-cialsaid,“Rheaturnedouttobethefi-nal link in the FIR directed atBollywood drug use, while in the15/20FIR, shewas the first accused.”Askedaboutthestatusoftheinitial

FIR, an NCB official justified, “We arenotsurewecanchargeRheaintheini-

tial FIR as it could amount to doublejeopardysincewewillbechargingherin the second FIR aswell. Sowewilltake legalopinionon it.”AnotherseniorNCBofficialsaid,“In

the initialFIR,wedonothaveseizure,sowemaymostly charge her in thesecondFIRwhere there is a seizureofcommercialquantityaswell.”The seizure in the second case is

590 gm of hashish, 0.64 gm of LSDsheets, 304 gmofmarijuana, includ-ing imported marijuana joints andcapsules, Rs 1,85,200 in cash and5,000 Indonesian Rupiah reportedlyseized fromoneof the19arrested.At the same time, theNCB has all

along maintained that seizure ofdrugs is not necessary to prove achargeofconspiracyrelatedtosupplyofnarcotics,underwhichChakrabortyhasbeencharged.Oneof thegroundson which Chakraborty and Showikhave sought bail is that the NCB hasnot shown any seizure or possessionofdrugsfromthemormentionedthetypeorquantity.Padukone and Rakul Preet Singh

have been summoned by the NCBbased on chats reportedly found onSaha'sphone.ActorsSaraAliKhanandShraddhaKapoorhavebeencalled inforquestioninginconnectionwiththesecondFIR.

No arrests, seizures in case inwhich Deepika summoned

Playedamajorrole inUP’s fightagainstpolio

UP’s veteran virologistT N Dhole dies of Covid

Low pay and long hrs, doctorsbattle more than just corona

MORETHANHALFTHEPOSTSVACANT INRURALMAHARASHTRA

New Delhi

8WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THE G IN NGONewFCRABill framesstatesuspicion, shrinksspace forNGOs,undercuts their role indeepeninggrass-rootsdemocracy

THEFOREIGNCONTRIBUTION (Regulation)Bill (FCRA)2020, passedby theRajyaSabhaonWednesdayandtheLokSabhaadayearlier,putsmanyquesti-onmarksontheviabilityofNGOsatatimewhenthecountryespeciallyrequi-res robust civil society organisations andnetworks todealwith a rangeofchallengesincludingtheravagesoftheCOVID-19pandemic.Thegovernment

claims that its aim is tobringabout transparency in theworkingof non-profits. That is anunexceptionablegoal,andquestionsrelatingtofinancialproprietyhave,indeed,beenaskedofsomeNGOs.However,someoftheprovisionsoftheBillthatnowawaitsthePresident’sapp-roval—cappingtheadministrativeexpensesofnon-profitsat20percentoftheirforeigndo-nations, requiringthemtohaveaStateBankof IndiaaccountataDelhiBranch,prohibitingthetransferofgrantsreceivedunderFCRAtoanyotheroutfitandsweepingpowerstotheMin-istryofHomeAffairstocanceltheFCRAcertificateofanNGO—speakoftheCentre’smistrustoftheentirecivilsocietysector.Theseclausescouldmakealmostanynon-profitvulnerabletoharassmentandshrinkthealreadyembattledspaceforcivilsocietyactivityinthecountry.Accordingtothegovernment’sFCRAdashboard,therearemorethan20,000non-prof-

itsregisteredundertheFCRAact.Theyareengagedindiverseactivities,relatingtohumanand labour rights, gender issues, healthcare, environment, education, legal aid, even re-search.Theyendeavourtopluggapsinthegovernment’sprogrammesandreachouttosec-tionsofpeopleoftenleftuntouchedbystateprojects.Duringthepandemic,manysuchor-ganisationshave tried tobridge thegapbetweenstateagenciesandthemostvulnerablesectionsofthepopulation,migrantworkersforexample,bygeneratingawarenessandfa-cilitating the transfer of government aid. In fact, PrimeMinister NarendraModi has re-peatedlysaid that the fightagainst thecoronavirus “isacombinationof theeffortsof thegovernmentandthecivilsociety”.Community-leveloutfitsandself-helpgroupshaveledfromthefrontinthebattleagainstthevirusinseveralstates, includingKerala,OdishaandRajasthan.Inthepast,suchgrassrootsorganisationshavebeenenabledbycollaborationswithbiggerNGOsandresearchagenciesthathaveaccesstoforeignfunding.ThenewFCRAprovisions—especially theone that constrainsNGOs fromsub-granting—threaten thisspiritof collaboration inthecountry’sdevelopmentsector.NGOactivityisnotjustaboutphilanthropy.Theirengagementwithpeopleatthegrass

rootslevelacquaintscivilsocietyworkerswiththedeficienciesofgovernmentprogrammes,andoftenmakesthemaskdifficultquestions—aboutdiscrimination,marginalisation,vi-olationofconstitutionalrights,humandignity.Suchinterventionsandcriticismsarecru-cial to ahumane society. In fact, civil society initiativeshave informed someof thepath-breakinglawsinthecountry,includingtheEnvironmentalProtectionAct,RighttoEducationAct, ForestsRightsActandRight to InformationAct. Tohobble suchactivism,byburden-ing itwithdistrustandsuspicion,doesadisservicetodemocracy.

FRIENDS & NEIGHBOURSRampedupengagementwithMaldives,US-Maldivesdefencepact,point toaresetof equations.Delhineeds tobuildon it

THESIGNINGOFadefenceagreementbetween theMaldivesand theUnitedStatesearlier thismonthshowedhowgeopolitical tensionsaremanifestingthemselves inseveral strategic spaces, andhowDelhi'sownresponseshavechanged in the newenvironment. The “Framework forU.S. Department ofDefence-MaldivesMinistryofDefenceandSecurityRelationship”agreement

isemblematic.In2013,ayearafterMaldivianDemocraticPartyleaderMohammedNasheedhadbeenousted, aUSproposal for a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)with the IndianOceannationmetwithstiffoppositioninDelhi.Theplanwasshelved,butDelhi,despitetheheightenedawarenessofChina'sgrowinginfluenceinitsneighbourhood,wasnotenthusedbytheObama“pivottoAsia”.Notanymore.Delhihasmadeitclearthatthebroadframeworkagreement,whichincludesasecurity

dialogueand“setsforthbothcountries'intenttodeepenengagementandco-operationinsup-portofmaintainingpeaceandsecurity inthe IndianOcean”, is “in line”with India'soverallinterests and regional stability. AfterwatchingMale in a tight embracewithBeijingunderthe2014-18AbdullaYameengovernment,Delhi’s response isoneofquiet relief. Ithasalsorampedupitsbilateralengagement.Lastmonth, India committed to providing $250million in budgetary support to the

Maldivestohelpittideoverthepandemic-inducedeconomiccrisisthathascrippledtourism.Delhiisalsoprovidinga$400mlineofcreditfortheconstructionofwhatisbilledasthesin-gle-argest infrastructure project in theMaldives, theGreaterMale Connectivity project,which aims to provide streamlined connectivity betweenMale and three other islands.MaldivesisalsotheonlyneighbouringcountrywithwhomIndiahasatravelbubble.Mostsignificant is the cargo ferry service between the two countries inaugurated earlier thisweek.Threeyearsago,theMaldivesgovernmenthadenteredintoaFreeTradeAgreementwithChinainresponsetoEuropeantradesanctionsagainsttheauthoritarianYameengov-ernment.ButthesuccessorgovernmentofPresidentIbrahimSolihdecidednottobringintheenablinglegislationbecauseitwasheavilyloadedagainsttheimportdependentecon-omy.ThereisalessoninthisforDelhi:Forthecargoservicetobeusefultobothsides, Indiamusttakecaretoensurethatitisnotperceivedtobedumpinggoodsonthatcountry.Thereisboundtobeasymmetry,butif thatiswhatmakingfriendsofneighboursentails,sobeit.

HEART OF HOPEAfricancountrieshavechosencooperationasastrategytodeal

withpandemic.Restof theworldshould takenote

INTHEEARLYdaysofthepandemic,untilaboutthreemonthsago,themodellingpre-dictingthevolumeanddeathrateinAfricawasalmostcasuallycatastrophic.Theseearlymodelshavebeenprovenwrong,andthecontinent,hometoover1.5billionpeople,hasseen34,000confirmeddeathsandjustoveramillioncases.Accordingto JohnNkengasong,directorof theAfricaCentres forDiseaseControl (ACDC), it is

throughpan-African solidarity, timely lockdowns, avoiding panic and strategically usingresourcesthatAfricaasacontinentappearstobefaringbetterthanmanyotherregions.Thereisasub-genreofsciencefictionthathasalmostbeenforgottennow,asdystopian

futurefantasies—symbolicoftheanxietiesarounddemocraticpolitics,thepandemic,andAI—havebecomethenorm.The ideawas that facedwithanexistential crisis—climatechange,diseaseorevenanalienattack—humanitywouldbandtogether. Inmuchof theworld,thathasnotbeenthecase.TheUSismorepolarisedthanever,Europeisstillstrug-gling throughBrexit and inSouthAsia, thecleavages seemtohavedeepened.ThecountriesinAfrica,though,presentamorehopefulpicture.Theregionwasravaged

bycolonialism,civilwarsandethnicviolencetoanunmatcheddegree. It continues tobeatheatreforthegeo-economicmanoeuvringsofexternalpowers.Anditisstillhauntedbytheover12milliondeaths fromHIV in the time it took toget treatmentmedicines therecheaply. Solidarity and strategy in dealingwith the pandemic have proven effective inAfrica,andtheACDChas,injustthreeyearssinceitsformation,liveduptoitsmandate.Now,asthecompetitionamongcountriesoveravaccineandtheinfrastructurefor itsdistribu-tion intensifies, therestof theworldcoulddowell to followAfrica'sexample.

Sukhbir Singh Badal

Whymypartywithdrewitsminister fromtheNDAgovernmentonthe farmers’ issue

THE COUNTRY IS going through an ex-tremely sensitive and troubled periodwith70percentof itspopulation,thefarmers,outon thestreets, agitatingagainst theCentre’sdecision to amend the lawswith regard tothemarketing of farmproduce. On the faceof it, the issue relates to the continuance oftheMinimum Support Price (MSP) regimeforcertaincrops.But,infact,theimplicationsof the Centre’s new legislation go muchdeeper andwider. At stake is theentire sys-tem of “Assured Procurement” by govern-ment of India agencies such as the FoodCorporationof India.On its part, the government has sought

to address apprehensions of the farmers bydeclaring that it has no intentionof discon-tinuingordilutingeither thepracticeof theMSPorof theassuredprocurementof farm-ers’ key crops by government agencies. Sowhat then sets the government and thefarmersonacollisioncourse?What,afterall,is so critically important because of whichoneof the longest-standing allies of theBJPandakey foundingmemberof theNDAhasfirsthadtopleadwiththegovernmenttolis-ten to the farmers and later to quit the gov-ernment through the resignation of its solerepresentative in the Union Cabinet,HarsimratKaurBadal?Allalong,theSADtriedall itcouldasare-

sponsible constituent of the NDA and as arepresentative predominantly of the farm-ers toact as abridgebetween the two. Ihadalongexchangeofviewswithorganisationsof the farmers in Punjab and offered to ac-company them anywhere theywantedmetogotoarguetheircause. Ipleadedwiththegovernmenttoinsertconstitutionalandleg-islative guarantees in the bills as commit-ment to the farmers about the continuanceof officialprocurementat theMSP.Thegovernment,firstverballyandlaterin

writing, gaveassurances to thiseffect.But itrefusedtoincorporatetheseguaranteesintotheActs.Thefarmerswerenotwillingtobuyany assurances of the government short oflegislativeclauses.Asapartypredominantlyof farmers, theSADresistedthetemptationof playing to thegalleryandworkedquietlytowardsasolutionacceptable tobothsides.

Butfinally,findingthattherewasnosym-patheticear inthegovernmenteither tothemillionsof toiling farmersor toearnest andpassionatepleasof oneof itsownkeyallies,the SAD, to save the farmers, our party de-cidedtopulloutof thegovernment.TheSADcouldnotbeaparty toanythingwhich in itsviewhad thepotential of destroying the al-readybeleagueredpeasantryinthecountry,especially inPunjab.Punjab forms close to 2 per cent of the

areaandpopulationof thecountry.Andyetitsfarmershavealwayscontributedthebulkof foodgrain, oftenexceeding50per cent ofthenationalgranary.Therewasatimewhenthe country faced not just famines but alsointernational ignominyasourprimeminis-tershadtogoaroundtheworldcapitalswithabeggingbowlinhand.LatePM,LalBahadurShastri ji then gave a clarion call to Punjabfarmers to come to the rescue of the coun-try:JaiJawan,JaiKisan.ThefarmersofPunjabrespondedwiththeGreenRevolutionwhichtransformed India from a nation of foodshortagestoafoodsurplusandfoodexport-ing country — all in a matter of just six tosevenyears.The farmers, especially from Punjab,

came to the rescue of the nationwhen thenation’s survival was in danger. Now, thefarmer’s ownexistence is in danger.Now, itis the nation’s turn to come to his rescue.Farmers’ incomeshaveshrunkdramaticallyeven as there has been an exponential in-crease in the price of farm inputs and nocomparable rise in the price of produce. Allthishas led to theshockingspectreof farm-ers’ suicides across thecountry. This shouldstir theconscienceof thenation.But the threebills reveal an inexplicable

insensitivity and ingratitude towards thefarmers.This legislation throws themarket for

farmers’cropsopentotheprivatesectorandthe big corporate sharks are eyeing withgreedthefruitof farmers’sweatandtoil.Thebills create two sets of laws — one for thestateprocurementagencieswheretaxesliketheRuralDevelopmentFund,marketfeesetccut into the actual price which the farmergets.Buttherewardforthatisthatthefarmer

doesnothave toworryabout the saleof hiscropsattheMinimumSupportPrice.Punjabhascreatedoneof thebestnetworksofagri-cultural marketing infrastructure in theworld.Thisensuresthatthefarmerdoesnothavetogofar tosellhiscrop,protectinghimagainst uncertainties of themarket aswellas reducinghisexpenses.But under the present laws, the private

buyerwill not have to pay any taxes to thegovernment.Consequently,hecanaffordtolure the farmerwith offers of a higher perquintal price. And as a part of theirmarket-ingstrategy,bigcorporatesharkswillinitiallyofferpricesconsiderablyhigherthantheof-ficialMSP.Thesimpleheartedfarmerwillfallfor thebaitandthiswould lookgoodfor thefirst few years. But the net result would bethat thiswoulddecimate theexisting mar-keting regime and the farmerwould be fi-nallythrownentirelyatthemercyofthepri-vatesharks.Therewillbenoonethentosavethe farmers fromthesesharks.WesawthisstrategyemployedbyJiomo-

bilephones. Itwasvirtually freeat the start.Butoncecorporateskillcompetitionandmo-nopolisethemarket,thentheyhavethecon-sumer eating out of their hand. Then, theprices are hiked at corporates’ own sweetwill.Thisiscalledthetyrannyofprivatemo-nopoly.Thisiswhatthefarmer,especiallyinPunjab, is up against. But hewon’t be alonein this fight.TheSADhasahistoryofmakingsacrifices

in defence of the toiling and beleagueredfarmers. Ithasa legacy to liveupto.We have approached the honourable

President of India, requestinghim to returnthesebillstoParliamentforreconsideration.We still hope that the governmentwill notstandonprestigeandwill refer thebills toaSelectCommitteewhichwouldthentakethestakeholders—the farmers—onboard.If that doesn’t happen, the SADwill up-

holditslegacyofstandingshouldertoshoul-derwith farmers. But in the interest of ourcountry, we still hope that the governmentwouldagreetowithdrawthesebillsandrein-troduce theminamended form.

Thewriter isPresident, ShiromaniAkaliDal

All along, the SAD tried all itcould as a responsibleconstituent of the NDA andas a representativepredominantly of thefarmers to act as a bridgebetween the two. I had a longexchange of views withorganisations of the farmersin Punjab and offered toaccompany them anywherethey wanted me to go toargue their cause. I pleadedwith the government toinsert constitutional andlegislative guarantees in thebills as commitment to thefarmers about thecontinuance of officialprocurement at the MSP.The government, firstverbally and later in writing,gave assurances to this effect.But it refused to incorporatethese guarantees into theActs. The farmers were notwilling to buy anyassurances of thegovernment short oflegislative clauses.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

B E C A U S E T H E T R U T H I N V O L V E S U S A L L

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,SEPTEMBER24,2020WORDLYWISE

An individualmust endeavourtoassumetheuniversalism inherent in thehumancondition.— FRANTZ FANONTHEEDITORIALPAGE

IRAN-IRAQ BOMBINGSIRAQIFORCES INVADEDIranat fourpoints,captured a major border town and laidsiegetothestrategic refinerycityofAbadanastheconflictbetweenthetwoneighboursexploded into an all-outwar, according toreports frombothsidesof theborder. Fireswere reported raging out of control at thegiantAbadan refinery complex, oneof theworld’s largestandheartof Iran’soil indus-try. Waves of Iranian warplanes bombedBaghdad and other Iraqi cities, reportedlykillingdozensofpeople. Iraqclaimedmorethan two dozen Iranian aircraft had beenshot down. A second air attack was re-ported in Baghdad at nightfall

CRPC AMENDEDAN ORDINANCE, THE second in two days,was promulgated vesting more powerswith theexecutive. Theordinanceamendsthe Criminal Procedure Code with a viewto effectively deal with habitual criminalsandthosecreatingenmitybetweendiffer-entgroupsandcommunities.Certainpow-ersunder theCRPChithertoenjoyedbytheCentreandstategovernmentswillnowbeexercised by the districtmagistrates.

PRESS ATTACKEDTHE PRESSWAS held to ransom by YouthCongress (I) workerswho laid siege to theoffices of four leading newspapers of

Bangalore. Readers of four newspapers –Indian Express, Deccan Herald, KannadaPrabhaandPrajavani—wentwithout theircopies. More than 200 employees werelocked in and held hostage by slogan-shouting activists who demanded “fairtreatment” for chiefminister GunduRao.

UP FLOODED AGAINFLOOD-AFFECTED AZAMGARH ANDJaunpur towns of Uttar Pradesh are onceagain under threat without the Tons andthe Gomti crossing the danger mark intheseareas.Reports fromHamirpur,Unnaoand Kanpur also talk of heavy destructiondue to rains.

SEPTEMBER 24, 1980, FORTYYEARSAGO

Amitabh Behar

IMPORTING A FAILED EXPERIMENTSocial StockExchange isyet to takeoff inanycountry

THESECURITIESANDExchangeBoard’s(SEBI)workinggrouphassubmitteditsreportwithrecommendations regarding the structure,mechanisms, and regulatory framework fortheproposedSocialStockExchange(SSE).Theresponse to the report has beenmuted andsceptical from civil society,which is reelingunderadeep fundingcrisisdue toCOVID-19with projections of it gettingworse in thecomingyears.Thescepticismstemsfromacomprehen-

sivereadingoftheintentandactionsofthefi-nanceministry. The 2020-21Union Budgetsaysthatnot-for-profitorganisationswillneedtoapplyeveryfiveyearsforincometaxregis-trationtoascertaintheircharitablestatusandwillalsoneedtorenewtheir80(G)certificatethatprovidestaxrelief totheirdonors.Theserequirementswillcreatehavocinthenot-for-profitsectorastheywouldnotbeabletosur-vivewithout the tax-exempt charitable sta-tus,nottomentionopeningthefloodgatestocorruption andbullying by the tax and gov-ernmentbureaucracy.Theproposal forSSEsurprisedmany.SSE

existsinoneformoranotherinUK,Singapore,SouthAfrica,CanadaandBrazil,butitisyettotakeoff inanycountry. Ithasbeenan instru-ment focussed on social enterprises withrather poor results. Theproposed SSE in ourcountrycouldhavebeenaninterestinginno-vation if itwasa first. But to replicatea failedexperiment fromelsewhere inanextremelycomplex environment of endemic poverty,high inequality and regional variation does

not seema reasoneddecision. It is thereforeimportanttoanalysewhyithasbeenpushedas a keypolicy,what it seeks to achieve, andits implications for civil society and ourdemocracy.The SEBIworking groupwas constituted

ofbusinessleaders,governmentandSEBIof-ficialswith a token representative fromcivilsociety. The lop-sided composition of thecommittee reflects the real intentof theSSE,which is to create instruments formarket toenter thesocial sector.Atpreliminaryglanceeven this could be a laudable objective andsurelymanywell-intentionedbackersof thisideaareworkingwiththisnarrativeof“bring-ing capital markets for the social sector”.However,thewaytheexchangeisenvisionedmakesitclearthattheinterestsof theprivatesectorareguidingtheideaofSSEandnotthesystemic developmental challenges of thecountry.In the lastdecade, foraysof privateactors

including large consulting firms into the so-cial sector as profitable enterprises haveopenedupnewarenasforprofit-making.TheSSEwill createapathwayfor theprivatesec-tortoenterthesocialsectorfromthecomfortsofDalalStreetwithoutenduringtheheatanddust of India’s developmental challenges,whichareembeddedincomplexterrains in-cluding politics, caste, patriarchy, feudalismandcorruption.The proponents of the SSE argue that it

wouldhelpsetstandardsandaperformancematrix for the social sector, do bench-mark-

ingofsectoractors(credibilitychecks),organ-ise information anddata, help in impact as-sessments, and do capacity building for thesector.Thisapproachis flawed.The assumption that extremely complex

problemshave blueprints of success is erro-neous.Povertyorinjusticeareessentiallysys-temicandpoliticalquestionsthatneedmulti-pronged dynamic engagement. Developingsetstandardsof impactassessmentandper-formancematrix has the risk of privilegingonlyoneapproachtothedevelopmentalchal-lengesathand,orevenworse,steeringthedis-courseontothesolvablepartsofthelargersys-temic questions — at best addressing thesymptomandnottherootcause.Apartfromthesedeeperquestions,oper-

ationallyalso, theSSEwouldcreatemore in-termediariesandbenefitlargerorganisationswith English-speaking professionals skilledin the language of markets at the cost ofsmaller grass roots groups,who are the realfrontline actors in addressing the challengeswe face as a society and country.More than99per cent of the threemillionNGOs in thecountryare in thesmall categoryandwillbeuntouchedbytheSSE.Finally,theideaofsettinguptheSSEwithin

therubricofSEBIagainreflectstheconfusion.If thecorebusinessoftheSSEistostrengthenthe social sector andbringnew resources toit,thenSEBIforsureitselfwouldadmitthatitisnottheappropriateanchor.

Thewriter isCEO,OxfamIndia

The SSE would create moreintermediaries and benefitlarger organisations withEnglish-speakingprofessionals skilled in thelanguage of markets at thecost of smaller grass rootsgroups, who are the realfrontline actors inaddressing the challenges weface as a society and country.

Bills of ingratitude

New Delhi

9THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,SEPTEMBER24,2020 WHATTHEOTHERSSAY

“In August last year, the BJP government of Prime Minister Narendra Modiannexed... Kashmir by revoking its special status. There is concern that byintegrating GB (Gilgit-Balistan) as a province, Pakistan may weaken its casein the way that India has.” — DAWNTHE IDEASPAGE


The joint press release of the6th round of seniorcommanders meeting isencouraging, since it speaksof strengtheningcommunication, avoidingmisunderstandings andrefraining from any furtheraction, including build-up oftroops and unilateralattempts to alter the groundsituation. In his statement atthe 75th Session of theUNGA on September 22,President Xi Jinping madetwo key points — that Chinahas no intention to fight aCold War or ‘hot war’ withany country, and that Chinawill continue to narrowdifferences with othersthrough dialogue andnegotiations.

An opening in the impasse The opaquenation

WHILETRANSPARENCY is a cornerstoneofdemocracy, today’s India is cultivating se-crecy.Paradoxically,thiscultureofsecrecyissometimes justified in the nameof trans-parency.Electoralbondsareacase inpoint. They

were introduced in February 2017 by theCentre in thenameof transparency—theyallowedanonymousdonations topoliticalpartiesand,therefore,protectedtheprivacyof thedonors! TheElectionCommissionofIndia(ECI)criticisedtheopacityofthisfinan-cialmechanismanddescribeditas“aretro-gradestep”.TheECItoldthegovernmentthatthis arrangementwould prevent the statefromascertainingwhethera“politicalpartyhastakenanydonationinviolationofprovi-sions under Section 29B of theRepresentationofthePeopleAct,whichpro-hibitsthepoliticalpartiesfromtakingdona-tionsfromgovernmentcompaniesandfor-eign sources”. Electoral bonds alsomade itimpossibletocheckwhetheracompanywasgiving to parties more than what theCompaniesAct (2013)permitted, that is7.5percentofthenetaverageprofitofthethreepreceding financial years. Thegovernmenthas not been deterred by these legal con-cerns, presumably because the benefits itcouldderivefrombehind-the-curtainsbar-gainswith the corporate sector aremuchmoreattractivethantheopprobriumresult-ingfromtheECI’sreprimands.Similarly,sealedenvelopehasbecomea

modus operandi in several Indian institu-tions, including the SupremeCourt (SC). Inthe case of political funding (by electoralbonds or otherwise), a three-judge benchheaded by the then Chief Justice RanjanGogoi in 2019 directed political parties tosubmit thedetails of donations received totheECI insealedcoverbyMay30, that isaf-ter theelections. Thematter stoppedthere.TheAssamadministrationhadtoshowtheprogress itwasmakinginthe implementa-tion of theNational Register of Citizens bysubmittingreportsinsealedcoverstoJusticeGogoi.When JusticeGogoiwas accusedofsexualharassment,thepanelformedbytheSC found “no substance in the allegations”on thebasis of a report it had received in asealedcover thatwasnotdisclosedeven tothecomplainant.Commentingonthesede-velopments,JusticeMadanLokurwrotethat“secrecyisthenameofthegame”.This craze for secrecy has affected the

RighttoInformationAct,theUPA-legislatedlaw that hadmade India progressmorequicklythanmostdemocraciesontheroadto transparency. First, the government didnot appoint a Chief InformationCommissionerforayearaftertheincumbentretiredinAugust2014,anddidnotfillvacantinformation commissioner posts in theCentral InformationCommission (CIC) be-tween2016and2018, a yearwhen, conse-quently,onlysevencommissionersoutofthesanctionedstrengthof11wereinplace.AftertheSCintervened,someappointmentsweremade in January 2019, but four posts re-mainedvacant,aclearindicationofthegov-

ernment’s lackof interest in theCIC and/oritsattempttoweakenit.Thebacklogofpend-ingappealshadreached30,000casesinlate2019astheCIChasbecomearatherdysfunc-tionalbody.Second, thegovernment refused todis-

close informationwhichwas previouslyavailable under theRTI Act. Queries aboutphone tapping are not responded to any-more.In2016-17,thehomeandfinancemin-istriesrejectedcloseto15percentoftheap-plications they receivedwhile theRBI andpublicsectorbanksrejected33percent.TheRBI, for instance, refused to give any infor-mationabout thedecision-makingprocessthatledtodemonetisation.Third,duringthe2019MonsoonSession

of Parliament, justafter theLokSabhaelec-tion,theModigovernmentamendedtheRTIAct to limit the power of the CIC. The five-year fixed tenure for theChief InformationCommissioner and information commis-sionerswas abolished. Their salarieswerenot fixed any more — as with ElectionCommissioners—butnotifiedseparatelybythegovernment.The government also diluted the

Whistleblower’s Protection Act.Whistleblowerscannowbeprosecuted forpossessing the documents onwhich thecomplainthasbeenmade.Issuesflaggedbythemhave to be in “public interest” andshouldnotbe“affectingthesovereigntyandintegrity of India”, related to “commercialconfidence”or“informationreceivedincon-fidencefromaforeigngovernment”.In the same vein, data phobia has re-

sultedinthenon-publicationoralterationofsomestatisticalinformationbygovernmentorganisations. The National StatisticalCommission and the Chief Statistician ofIndia facedacredibilitycrisisduringModi’sfirsttermwhenthenewGDPserieswasre-leased. Subsequently, growth rate figureswerechangedsooftenthat108socialscien-tistswroteanopenletterin2019invitingthegovernmentto“reestablishinstitutional in-dependence and integrity to the statisticalorganisations”.Similarly,theNationalCrimeRecordsBureauhasbeenaffectedbydelays(its 2017 report was released in October2019)anddeletions.Forinstance, lynchingsand “religious killings” are no longer enu-meratedandthenumberofmembersofre-ligiouscommunitiesinthepoliceforces(in-formation thathadbeen introducedby theVajpayee government) is not listed. TheNational Sample SurveyOfficehas alsonotbeen spared. In 2019, nearly 200 scholarswrotetothegovernmenttoreleasethe75thround surveyof consumer expenditures—whichhadfoundthatthepercentageofcit-izens living below thepoverty linehad in-creasedbetween2011-12and2017-18.Thisyear,giventhenegativegrowththat

India is bound to register, badnewsof thatkind are likely tomultiply. To conceal thetruthwouldmakethingsworsebecausetheactorsintheeconomywouldnotbeinapo-sition to adjust to the real situation.Transparencyisnotonlynecessaryformain-taining ademocratic polity, it is alsoneces-saryformakingtheeconomywork.Factsaresometimesunpleasant,butthenationneedstoknow—andmaybewantstoknow,evenifnobodyisaskinganymore.

Thewriter is senior research fellowatCERI-SciencesPo/CNRS,Paris, professorof Indian

PoliticsandSociologyatKing’s IndiaInstitute, London,andnon-resident scholar

at theCarnegieEndowment forInternationalPeace

Five-pointconsensusreachedbyIndiaandChinarecognisesimportanceofdialogueanddisengagement.Now,focusshouldshifttomaintenanceofstatusquoalongeachother’sperceptionofLAC

INDIA’S DEFENCEMINISTER Rajnath SinghmadefirmandthoughtfulstatementsinthetwoHousesof ParliamentonSeptember15and 17 concerning the situation in Ladakh.Apartfromlaudingtheindomitablecourageandreadinessof India’sarmedforcestodealwithanyeventualitytoprotectthecountry'sterritorialintegrity,hegaveabroadoverviewof the boundary question and the Line ofActualControl (LAC).Oneofhiskeypointswasthatthereisno

commonlydelineatedLAC in theborder ar-easandthatafter2003,theLACclarificationexercise ground to a halt due to China’s in-transigence. China had agreed in the 1993“Agreement on theMaintenance of Peaceand Tranquillity along the Line of ActualControlintheIndia-ChinaBorderAreas”that,pendinganultimateresolutionofthebound-ary question, the two sides shall strictly re-spectandobservetheLAC.Further,therewasagreement that, when necessary, the twosides shall jointly check and determine thesegmentsof theLACwheretheyhavediffer-ent views regarding its alignment. Article Xof the 1996 “Agreement on ConfidenceBuildingMeasuresintheMilitaryFieldalongtheLineofActualControl intheIndia-ChinaBorderAreas”alsocommitsthetwosidestospeeduptheprocessofclarificationandcon-firmation of the LAC in order to arrive at acommonunderstanding.It is clear thatwithoutexchangingmaps

depicting each other’s LAC, a common un-derstandingwill remain elusive. Even afterreaching that goal, therewould remain thechallengeofensuringthatbothsidesrefrainfromactivities inandalong theoverlappingareas that threaten peace and tranquillity.Confirmationof theLACpresupposesitsde-lineation on amap and, thereafter, demar-cation on the ground, of a single, mutuallyacceptedline.Thisisanaltogethermoredif-ficult task since itmay entail territorial ad-justments. So far, the first step of clarifyingeach other’s perception of the LAC has onlybeencarriedout in themiddle sector.WhyhasChinadeclined to continue the

LACclarificationexercise?Inthewesternsec-tor, China’s so-called LAC of November 7,1959, is essentially coterminous with itsboundary claim line, except in Demchokwhereitfallsshort. Insomeplaces,thepost-1962variantof itsLACwentbeyondthelinethat China had claimed before the conflict.When India-China border talks recom-mencedinDecember1981,theChinesesidehadessentially reiteratedthe“packagepro-posal” first conveyed by Deng Xiaoping tothenForeignMinisterAtalBihariVajpayeein1979,andsubsequentlyairedthroughIndianjournalists,suggestingasettlementbasedonthede facto LAC in the eastern andwesternsectors.However,at thecrucialSixthRoundin 1985, the Chinese did a volte-face. Theyclaimed that the largest dispute lay in theeastern sector and that Indiawouldhave tomake substantial concessions, to whichChinawouldreciprocatewithcorrespondingadjustments in the western sector. Chinasubsequentlyneverclarified thedetails.China’s reluctance to clarify the LAC to-

day stems from its specious position that

India’sLACclaimsareexaggeratedconcern-ing its actual control and effective jurisdic-tion. Little does this argument take into ac-count the fact that China itself had neverphysically controlled anypart of Aksai Chinuntil the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)rolled into Xinjiang and Tibet in 1949 and1950,respectively.Thereafter,thestoryoftheChinese LAC is one of the nebulous claimsfollowed by an incremental acquisition ofterritory.TherecentmeetingsinMoscowbetween

thedefenceministersandforeignministersof IndiaandChina, inquicksuccession,haveprovided an opportunemoment for bothsidestoreducetensions.Thefive-pointcon-sensus reached by the foreign ministersrecognised the importanceof dialogue,dis-engagementandbilateralconfidence-build-ingmeasures. The joint press release of the6throundofseniorcommandersmeetingisencouraging, since it speaks of strengthen-ing communication, avoiding misunder-standingsandrefrainingfromanyfurtherac-tion, including build-up of troops andunilateral attempts toalter thegroundsitu-ation. Inhisstatementatthe75thSessionofthe UNGA on September 22, President XiJinpingmade two key points — that Chinahas no intention to fight a ColdWar or “hotwar”with any country, and that Chinawillcontinue to narrowdifferenceswith othersthroughdialogueandnegotiations.Thebilateral consensus and subsequent

pronouncements offer India and China anopportunity tobreak the impasse. The con-sensus reached so far can be further but-tressedbybothsidesreiteratingattheirnextmeeting a key formulation contained inArticle 1 of the 1993 agreement, that “nei-ther side shall use or threaten to use forceagainst the other by anymeans”. This, ofcourse, requiresChina to sincerelywalk thetalkbyrefraining fromunilateralactionandmilitary means to address differences. ItwouldalsorequireChinatostopinsistingonaunilateral interpretationof the LACand todisengagemeaningfully its unilateralmili-tarydeployments that triggered theescala-tion in the firstplace.Henceforth, the focus should shift to the

maintenance of the status quo along eachother’sperceptionof theLACandwithintheoverlapping areas in many of which bothsideshavepatrolled in thepast. It is here, as

Indiahasmadeclear toChina,boththroughdiplomatic andmilitary channels, that anyunilateralattempttochangethesituation isunacceptable.Despite the unrealistic claimsmade by

the Chinesemouthpiece Global Times, themilitarybalance in theborderareas ineast-ernLadakhis, infact, fairlysymmetrical. It isatributetoIndia’sarmedforcesthatneitherthe difficult terrain nor inclementweatherhas prevented them from responding ro-bustly to the Chinese build-up in Ladakh,leaving Beijing in no doubt that any adven-turismwouldprovecostly.Byadopting thepathof peacefulnegoti-

ationsthatPresidentXimentionedinhisUNaddress, China stands to benefit from amuch-needed imagemakeover at a timewhen it faceswide-spread opprobrium foritsunilateralism,aggressionand“wolfwar-riordiplomacy”.The last fundamental jolt to bilateral re-

lations was inMay 1998, when China hadabruptlycancelledallengagementsintheaf-termath of India’s nuclear tests. The excep-tion thenwas a pre-scheduledmeeting ofthe Experts Groupof Diplomatic &MilitaryOfficials(EG), ledbythiswriterontheIndianside,whichwasusedtograduallyrestarttheprocess of engagement, leading to the visitof External AffairsMinister Jaswant Singh ayear later and culminating in President K RNarayanan’s statevisit inMay2000.What is encouraging about the situa-

tion today, as compared to May 1998, isthatdialoguehasremained intactatall lev-els. It is noteworthy thatwhile expressingIndia’s firm resolve to defend its territory,the defence minister also alluded in hisspeeches inParliament to thedesire toad-dress the current situation through dia-logue. Taken together, these recent devel-opments provide an opening to China tograsp the nettle, and to recognise its owninterest in building enduring ties with alarge and populous neighbour like India,whose friendship and goodwill will con-tinue toplayacrucial role inendorsing the“peaceful rise of China”.

Thewriter, a formerAmbassadorof IndiaandChinaspecialist, is currently thedirector

generalof theManoharParrikar Institute forDefenceStudiesandAnalyses.

Viewsarepersonal

SujanRChinoy

ORWELLIAN BILLS

THISREFERSTOthearticle, ‘Billsagainstfarmers’(IE,September23).Theagricul-ture bills passed by Parliament enablebig businesses and traders to stockpilecrops, eroding farmers' bargainingpower.Theyinstitutionalisetheexploita-tionof farmers incountlessotherways.Thefreemarketsystem,presumedtobefruitful, will leave farmers vulnerable.Thewaythesebillsarebeingpresentedby the government is highlyOrwelliansincetheirsuggestedpurposeisindirectcontradictionwith the realities of theagrariansector.

Saundarya Jain,via email

BE PREPAREDTHISREFERSTOthereport, ‘Panic,over-use:Centrepinpointsoxygenissues’(IE,September23).Indisastermanagement,onehastoanticipate theproblems.TheCentreadmittedthat therehasbeenanincrease in oxygen demand.Consequentially, there will be an in-creaseinthenumberofoxygen-depend-ent patients,whowould require venti-latory support and ICU care. Thismandates a level of logistics related tothe availability of ventilators, ICUbedsetc. In addition, the healthcare systemwouldneedcritical careambulances totransportpatientsfromperipheralhos-

pitals. These measures should be instandbymode rather than being dis-cussedwhentheproblemisatyourdoor.

LRMurmu,Delhi

INSINCERE CENTRETHIS REFERS TO the article, ‘Puttingfarmers first’, (IE, September 23). Foreverybillthatthegovernmentpasses,itsays:“Oppositionisspreadingmisinfor-mation”and“itisalandmarkbill". If thefarmsectorwasapriority,whywasital-located only 5 per cent of the AtmaNirbharBharatPackage?

AamilLodhi,Gandhinagar

LETTER TO THEEDITOR

IN1979,Afghanistanbecameatheatreof theColdWar. In later years, the landused for “ji-had”against“godless”SovietsbytheUS-Saudi-Pakistan axiswas converted into ahub for alQaeda’s terrornetwork.ThealQaedatrainedfuture jihadis of Afghanistan-Pakistan andthousands of foreign fighters. Following the9/11attacks,theUStargetedtheTaliban,whichreceded into sanctuaries inPakistan.Despiteeffortsby the international andAfghancom-munities,AfghanistancontinuestobleedfromattacksbytheTaliban-alQaedanetwork.TheIntra-Afghan talks began on September 12.ManybelievethattheUSwill“exit”thistime.However,closerscrutinysuggeststhatanexitisunlikely,irrespectiveoftheresultsoftheUSpresidential elections. Thenetworkwill con-tinue to pose serious threats to Indian andglobalsecurity.Likemuchof theworld, India toodidnot

recognise the Taliban government (1996-2001).InDecember1999,fivePakistanisfromJeM (Jaish eMohammad) hijacked IndianAirlines passenger flight IC 814, on route toDelhi from Kathmandu, and landed inKandahar. Passengerswere “swapped” forprisonersinIndianjails.ThehijackingshowedhowPakistanwasusingAfghanistantoperpe-trateinternationalterrorism.In August 1998, al Qaeda’s operatives

bombedUSembassiesinKenyaandTanzania.TheUSmounted strikes against al Qaeda’s

training camps in the Haqqani area inAfghanistan. In 2000, al Qaeda’s suicidebombers hit theUSSCole in Yemen. 9/11gottheUS togoafter thenetwork. Fromthe safehavens of Pakistan, Taliban supremoMullahOmarrefusedtohandoverOsamaBinLaden,whowaskilledinaMay2011raidbyUSSEALsin his home — a few kilometres from thePakistanMilitaryAcademy.Due to theWest’s pre-occupationwith

“otherwars”, by 2008, the network had re-gained control over large swathes of ruralAfghanistan andwas repeatedly targetingprovincialcapitals.InDecember2009,BarackObamaannounceda“troopssurgeandwith-drawal” to turn the tide. The surge to over1,40,000troops(includingallies)helpedbuildAfghanforcesagainstthenetwork.Attheendofitsterm,thetroopslevelwasdownto8,600plus the counter-terrorism component. ByNovember 2017, under President DonaldTrump,UStroopsroseto14,000,nowdownto8,600plusthecounter-terrorismcomponent.TheAfghanpeaceprocesshingesontheUS

securing its counter-terrorism interests andthe Taliban and the government charting aroadmaptopeace.TheUS-Talibanagreementstipulates an exit beforeMay2021, if condi-tionsaremet.The“surgeandwithdrawal”hasevolvedas

afavouredUSstrategyinAfghanistan,IraqandSyria.Thestrategyentailsidentifyingandem-

powering a local ally against common ene-mies.Itleadstoadjustingthe“USforcepostur-ing”toensurethatthelocalallyisnotdefeated.Thecoreinterestsareguardedwhilereducingcasualties of their own troops. Different USpresidentshavecouchedthestrategyindiffer-ent political terms. This is unlikely to changepost-elections.UnlikeinIraqandSyria,theUShasnobases

inCentralAsiaorSouthAsia. Thepresence inAfghanistan, critical for counterterrorism, isalsocrucial forgeopolitical imperatives.WithChina inGwadarandahostile Iran,acrediblepresenceisneededtosecuremuchmorethanthesafetyof theEmbassy.The US has identified and invested in

Afghanforcesasalocalally.Thetangibledivi-dendsarevisibleinoversight(SIGAR)reports.TheUSDefence report, July 2020, reiteratesthatthevitalnationalinterestis“toensurethat(Afghanistan) is never again used as a safehavenfromwhichterroristscanattacktheUSorouralliesorinterestsabroad”.TheFebruary29US-Afghan joint declarationhas commit-ted to “joint assessment anddetermination”asthebasisforanexit.Withoutaceasefire,deepmistrustwould

affecttheIntra-Afghantalks.Withincentives,apartoftheTalibanmaycompromise.Inreal-ity, Intra-Afghan talks are a “mediation” be-tween the Afghan government and thePakistanArmy.

TheUSstrategyhasensured that thenet-workhas not overrungovernments. Severalcounter-terrorism targets in Afghanistan-PakistanhavebeentakenoutincludingtopalQaeda leaders and scores of foreign fighters.TheUS-Afghan partnership has deterred a“genuine”IS(IslamicState)fromtakingrootsinAfghanistan.Thethreatsfromthenetworkremain.AUN

ReportinJulystressesthatalQaedaiscovertlyactive in12provinces and thealQaedachief,Aymanal-Zawahiri, is inAfghanistan. It esti-matesalQaedacadrestobebetween400and600 andhaving top-level contactswith theHaqqani network. The reportmentions thatforeign fighters from Pakistan, India,BangladeshandMyanmararepresentwithinAQIS(alQaedainIndianSubcontinent).Pakistanisbackingthenetworkforitsown

interest. Thenetworkhas long taken controlofISKP(ISinKhurasanProvince).TheshadowboxingoftheTalibanwithISKPprojectsitasakey“allyagainstIS”.SeveralarrestsinIndiaandAfghanistanshowhowAQISand ISKPare re-cruitingonlineand inciting lonewolf attacksacross SouthAsia. TheAfghanistan-Pakistanbasednetworkwillcontinuetoimpactthese-curityof IndiaandtheWestinSouthAsiaandbeyond.

Thewriter isan IPSofficer.Viewsarepersonal

GeopoliticalimperativesmakeitdifficultforUStowithdrawforces

Staying on in AfghanistanAnjuGupta IDEAS

ONLINEONLY IN THE EXPRESS

●●MEDICINESATACLICK:KAZIMRIZVI

●●SELF-RELIANCEANDTHEPATIENT:GAJENDRASINGH

www.indianexpress.com

Christophe Jaffrelot

CR Sasikumar

Governmentispromotingacultureofsecrecy,undermininglegislationsuchasRTI

New Delhi

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

INDIAACTIVECASES 968,377

WORLDTOTALCASES31,713,913

Source:JohnsHopkinsUniversity,updatedat11pmonSept23

INDIATOTALCASES5,646,010

Source:MinistryofHealth&FamilyWelfare,updatedat11pmonSept23

Note: TheSept21 figure in this graph isbasedon thegovernmentupdateof Sept22

Sept13 Sept22LAST 10 DAYS

986,598

11,00,000

10,00,000

900,000

968,377

THEEFFECTof tempera-tureandhumidityonthenovel coronavirus hasbeen studied a numberof times since the pan-demictookhold.Sohavethe fluid dynamics andheat transfer aspects ofthe evaporation ofdroplets. A new studyhasnowlookedatevap-oration of respiratorydroplets — specificallythose that containvirus.Conducted by University of Nicosiaresearchers,thepaperispublishedintheAmericanInstituteofPhysicsjour-nalPhysics of Fluids.Whentemperatureishighandrel-

ativehumidityislowsimultaneously,the study found a significant reduc-tion in virus viability. On the otherhand,whenRH is high, then the dis-tance travelled by the droplet cloud,and the virus concentration remainsignificant—atanytemperature.This,the study notes, is in contradictionwithwhatwaspreviouslybelievedby

manyepidemiologists.The study cites the

exampleof Delhi in July,when temperature andRHwere both high, yetcases saw a surge. Thenumberofcasesgrewbymore than half from87,000attheendof Juneto1.35 lakhat theendofJuly,accordingtogovern-ment records.The research took

into account humidity,temperature, and wind speed. Theresearchersdevelopednewtheoret-ical correlations for the unsteadyevaporationof coronavirus-contam-inated saliva droplets. It introducedthe thermodynamic properties ofvirions (the complete virus) as a liq-uid. The key finding is that evapora-tion is a critical factor for the trans-mission of the infectious particlesimmersed in respiratory clouds ofsaliva droplets.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE

PAPERCLIP

NEWRESEARCH

HARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER23

ONTUESDAY,RajyaSabhapassedtheEssentialCommodities(Amendment)Bill,2020whichisaimedatderegulatingcommoditiessuchascereals,pulses,oilseeds,edibleoils,onionandpotatoes. The Bill had been introduced andpassed inLokSabha lastweek. It replaces anordinancethatthegovernmenthadpromul-gated on June 5, alongwith two other ordi-nances on the farm sector. Aswith the twoother ordinances (also passed as Bills) thathaveseenprotestsfromfarmersinPunjabandHaryana,therehavebeenconcernsabouttheprovisionsof thisBill, too.

What is theBillabout?It is a four-page Bill that amends the

Essential Commodities Act, 1955, by intro-ducinganewSubsection (1A) inSection3.After theamendment, thesupplyof cer-

tain foodstuffs — including cereals, pulses,oilseeds, edible oils, potato — can be regu-lated only under extraordinary circum-stances, which include an extraordinarypricerise,war, famine,andnaturalcalamityofaseverenature. Ineffect, theamendmenttakes these items out from the purview ofSection 3(1), which gives powers to centralgovernment to "controlproduction, supply,distribution, etc, of essential commodities”.Earlier, these commodities were not

mentioned under Section 3(1) and reasonsfor invoking the sectionwere not specified.Theamendmentsstatesthat“suchorderforregulating stock limit shall not apply to aprocessor or value chain participant of anyagriculturalproduce,if thestocklimitofsuchpersondoesnotexceedtheoverallceilingofinstalled capacity of processing, or the de-mand forexport incaseof anexporter…”

Howisan ‘essentialcommodity’defined?Thereisnospecificdefinitionofessential

commodities in the Essential CommoditiesAct,1955.Section2(A)statesthatan“essen-tial commodity”meansacommodity spec-ified in theScheduleof theAct.TheAct gives powers to the central gov-

ernment to add or remove a commodity intheSchedule.TheCentre, if it issatisfiedthatit isnecessarytodosoinpublic interest, cannotify an item as essential, in consultationwithstategovernments.

According to theMinistry of ConsumerAffairs, Food andPublicDistribution,whichimplements theAct, theScheduleatpresentcontainssevencommodities—drugs;fertilis-ers,whetherinorganic,organicormixed;food-stuffs including edible oils; hank yarnmadewhollyfromcotton;petroleumandpetroleumproducts; raw jute and jute textiles; seedsoffood-cropsandseedsof fruitsandvegetables,seedsofcattlefodder, juteseed,cottonseed.By declaring a commodity as essential,

thegovernmentcancontroltheproduction,supply, anddistributionof thatcommodity,and imposeastock limit.

Underwhatcircumstancescanthegovernment imposestocklimits?Whilethe1955Actdidnotprovideaclear

framework to impose stock limits, theamended Act provides for a price trigger. Itsays that agricultural foodstuffs canonlyberegulated under extraordinary circum-stances such aswar, famine, extraordinaryprice rise, andnatural calamity.However, any action on imposing stock

limitswill bebasedontheprice trigger.Thus, in case of horticultural produce, a

100% increase in the retail price of a com-modity over the immediately preceding 12

monthsorovertheaverageretailpriceofthelastfiveyears,whicheverislower,willbethetrigger for invoking thestock limit.For non-perishable agricultural food-

stuffs,thepricetriggerwillbea50%increaseintheretailpriceof thecommodityovertheimmediately preceding 12months or overtheaverage retail priceof the last fiveyears,whichever is lower.However, exemptions from stock-hold-

inglimitswillbeprovidedtoprocessorsandvalue chain participants of any agriculturalproduce, and orders relating to the PublicDistributionSystem.“Pricetriggerswillalsominimisetheear-

lieruncertaintiesassociatedwiththeimpo-sition of orders under stock limits. Thiswillnowbemoretransparentandhelp inbettergovernance,” saidasourceat theConsumerAffairsMinistry.“Thelast10yearshaveseenperiodsofpro-

longed application of the EC Act. Once im-posed, theywere for long periods—pulsesfrom2006to2017,ricefrom2008to2014,ed-ibleoilseedsfrom2008to2018.AmendmentstotheECActseektoremovethisuncertaintybydefiningcriteria for theprocessof impos-ingstocklimitsandmakingitmoretranspar-entandaccountable,” thesourcesaid.

Whywastheneedforthis felt?The 1955 Act was legislated at a time

when the country was facing a scarcity offoodstuffs due to persistent low levels offoodgrainsproduction.Thecountrywasde-pendenton importsandassistance (suchaswheat import formtheUSunderPL-480)tofeedthepopulation.Topreventhoardingandblackmarketing of foodstuffs, the EssentialCommoditiesActwasenacted in1955.Butnowthesituationhaschanged.Anote

prepared by the Ministry of ConsumerAffairs, Food and Public Distribution showsthat production of wheat has increased 10times (from less than 10million tonnes in1955-56tomorethan100milliontonnes in2018-19),whiletheproductionofricehasin-creasedmore than four times (fromaround25milliontonnesto110milliontonnesdur-ing the same period). The production ofpulseshas increased2.5 times, from10mil-lion tonnes to25million tonnes.Infact,Indiahasnowbecomeanexporter

of several agriculturalproducts.

Whatwillbethe impactof theamendments?Thekeychangesseektofreeagricultural

markets from the limitations imposed bypermitsandmandis thatwereoriginallyde-signed foraneraof scarcity.Themove isex-pected to attract private investment in thevalue chain of commodities removed fromthe list of essentials, such as cereals, pulses,oilseeds, edibleoils, onionsandpotatoes.While the purpose of the Actwas origi-

nallytoprotecttheinterestsofconsumersbycheckingillegaltradepracticessuchashoard-ing, it has nowbecome a hurdle for invest-mentintheagriculturesectoringeneral,andinpost-harvestingactivitiesinparticular.Theprivate sector had so far hesitated about in-vestingincoldchainsandstoragefacilitiesforperishableitemsasmostof thesecommodi-tieswereunder theambitof theECAct, andcouldattractsuddenstocklimits.Theamend-mentseekstoaddresssuchconcerns.

Whyis itbeingopposed?Thiswasoneofthethreeordinances/Bills

thathaveseenprotestsfromfarmersinpartsof the country. The Opposition says theamendment will hurt farmers and con-sumers,andwillonlybenefithoarders.Theysay the price triggers envisioned in the Billareunrealistic—sohighthattheywillhardlyeverbe invoked.

10WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

GEORGEMATHEW&SANDEEPSINGHMUMBAI,NEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER23

AFTERANassociationofcloseto84years,theShapoorjiPallonjiMistry (SP)Grouphasof-feredtoexitfromTataSonsasprotractedlit-igationwiththeTatashasaffectedthebusi-nessexpansionplansoftheSPGroup,whichhasadebtburdenofoverRs30,000crore.Themarket value of SPGroup’s stake in

thelistedentitiesofTataGroupisestimatedtobeoverRs148,000crore,goingbythemar-ketcapitalisationof all listed groupfirms. Itremains to be seenhowtheTataswill raisethecashtoacquireSPGroup’sstake.

What is the latestcaseallabout?Earlierthismonth,TataSonsmovedthe

SupremeCourtseekingtorestrainSPGroupfirms from raising capital against securityof theirshareholdinginTataSons.TheTatasarguedthatthearticlesofassociation(AoA)

stipulate thatsharescannotchangehands,including to lenders or other parties, andtherightof firstrefusalrestswithTataSons.The SP Groupwas planning to raise fundsfor real estate expansion by pledging TataSons shares. The Tatas and the SP Grouphavebeenfightingvariouslegalbattleseversince Cyrus Mistry was removed asChairmanof TataSons fouryearsago.In the Supreme Court on Tuesday, the

SP Group said “a separation from the TataGroupisnecessaryduetothepotential im-pact this continuing litigation could haveon livelihoodsand theeconomy”. TheTataGroup is open to buying the shares in TataSonsheldbytheSPGrouptoaidthelatter’sfundraisingefforts. TheSupremeCourt re-strained theSPGroup fromtransferringorpledgingTataSonsshares.

WhendidtheSPGroupacquireastakeinTataSons?ShapoorjiPallonjiMistry,Cyrus’sgrand-

father, boughta12.5%stake inTataSons in

1936 fromtheheirsof FEDinshaw,a closefriend and associate of the Tatas. After therights issue in 1996, the stakewent up to18.5%. The Tata andMistry families havemaintained cordial relations that have ex-tendedtomaritaltiesovertheyears:Ratan

Tata's half-brother Noel Tata ismarried toCyrus’s sisterAloo.

HowmuchdoesSPGroupowninTataSons?Itownsan18.37%stakeinTataSons,the

holding companyof TataGroup,while themajority 66% is controlled by Tata TrustsheadedbyRatanTata.Whilethetotalmar-ketcapitalisationof17listedentitiesofTataGroup amounts to Rs 12.96 lakh crore, thevaluation of SP Group’s holdings in listedentities of Tata groupcompanies comes toaround Rs 1.48 lakh crore. Since Tata Sonsisalsotheholdingcompanyofunlisteden-titiesofTataGroup,theSPGroupwouldalsohavestakeinthevaluationofthese;thiswillhave tobeworkedout separately.

WhocanbuySPGroup’sstake?While theSPGrouphas said its separa-

tion from the Tata Group is necessary, thelatter has said it is willing to buy the for-mer’sstake. It isreliablylearntthattheTata

SonsArticlesofAssociationstatesthatifanyshareholder of Tata Sons wants to sellhis/hershares, thenhehastofirstoffer ittoTata Sons. Tata Sonswill then decide a fairmarketvalueandoffer it.

Howeasywill itbeforTataGrouptobuythisstake?Investmentbankersandfinanceexperts

say Tata Group’s offer to buy back SPGroup’s shares involves various layers ofcomplications.Thefirst issuethatwillcropupwill be the valuation that both partieswillagreeon.Anotherissueisthatoverthenext onemonth, Tata Groupwill have towork out a financing plan to show how itwill fund that acquisition andwhatwill itputas lien for thatborrowing.“Except for TCS, notmany Tata Group

companies are in great shape—especiallytheir steel and auto and power businesshaving huge debt,” said an investmentbankerwhodidnotwish tobenamed.On the other hand, if Tata Group plans

to bring in some global investors to buythese shares,market participants say suchinvestors would want to know how TataSonswouldprovidethemanexit7-10yearslaterasTataSons isanunlistedentity.

WhenwasCyrusMistryremovedasTataSonsChairman?OnOctober 24, 2016, the board of Tata

SonsremovedCyrusMistryasitsChairman,nearly four years after he had taken over.Mistry, whowas a director on the board,had been appointed Deputy Chairman ofthegroupin2011andthenbeenpromotedto Chairman in 2012.Mistry effected sev-eral changes in business practices, due towhichcapitalexpenditureincreasedbutre-turns to shareholders decreased. His pro-posed sale of Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plantintheUKwasseenasharmingthegoodwillearnedbytheTatasabroad.AdisputewithDocomo Group of Japan, problems in AirAsiaandTataMotors,andsomeacquisitionsreportedlyupsetRatanTata .

Redefining essential itemsSIMPLYPUTQUESTION&ANSWER

AnamendmenttoEssentialCommoditiesAct,1955deregulateskeyfoodstuffsexceptunderextraordinarycircumstances.Whywastheneedfelt,andwhyhavefarmersandtheOppositionraisedconcernsoverit?

PRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER23

BHARATBIOTECHannouncedonWednesdayitwouldbemanufacturinguptoabilliondosesof a single-dose intranasal vaccine. It is a keystep towards the countrygetting its first vac-cineadministeredthroughthisroute.

Whatisanintranasalvaccine?Vaccinesaredeliveredthroughdifferent

routes, with the most common being in-jectableshotsdeliveredintothemuscles(in-tramuscular) or the tissue just between theskinandthemuscles(subcutaneous).Otherroutes of delivery, especially in some vac-cines for infants, include administering theliquid solutionorally insteadof injecting. Inthe intranasal route, the vaccine is sprayedinto thenostrils and inhaled.

WhatistheimportanceofsuchavaccineforCovid-19?The single-shot intranasal Covid-19 vac-

cinedevelopedbytheWashingtonUniversitySchoolofMedicineinStLouisandlicensedto

BharatBiotechaimstoovercomepotentialdif-ficultieswithmassvaccinationandreducethecostbydoingawaywiththeneedforneedlesandsyringes.Intranasalvaccinesarealsoexpectedtocut

downon thedependenceonvarious trainedpersonnel to administer thevaccine, accord-ingtoexperts.“Let'snotforgetthat,withthescaleof the

pandemic, just the logistics of actually ship-pingavaccine,havingitavailableandthenhav-ingpeople trained to give an injection in thearmisnotsoeasy.So,oneattractionwiththeintranasalvaccineisthatit'sverysimpletouse—you just squirt it into your nose—and it'ssomething that can be self-administered inpandemicsandoutbreaks,” saidDrDavinderGill, formerCEOofHillemanLaboratories.“It'saneasy-to-delivervaccine,” saidvac-

cine scientistDrGagandeepKang. “It’s goinginto amucosal surface, likely tobe restricted(and there is a) likelihood of lower safetyevents.Itcanbedeliveredincombinationwithinfluenzavaccines,”shesaid.Virologist andWellcomeTrustDBT India

AllianceCEODrShahid Jameel said anan in-tranasal vaccine could alsohelp inbuildinga

differentkindof immuneresponse.“Both intranasal and intramuscular vac-

cinesproducearesponseintheblood…But,vaccines administered through the nose ormouthwouldalsotapintoanothersetof im-mune cells found inmucosal tissues. The Bcellsthatresideherecanmakeanothertypeof antibody, called IgA, that is very effectivein destroying gut and airway pathogens. Tcells in this tissue can create amemoryandpatrol the places they first encountered thepathogens,”headded.

Aretherepotentialissueswithavaccinesuchasthis?Notmanyareconsidering the intranasal

route for administering their Covid-19 vac-cine.Outof the187Covid-19vaccinecandi-dates listed by the World HealthOrganization (WHO) as being under devel-opment,onlyfivearespecificallylistedasex-ploring the intranasal routeof delivery.Thisisbecausethereisverylittleevidence

tobacktheeffectivenessofthisrouteofdeliv-ery so far and, save for some flu vaccines, at-temptstodelivervaccineshavenotbeensuc-cessful,accordingtoexperts.

“Despite the theoretical advantages, theintranasal approach for vaccination is largelyunproven.Whilethisconcepthasbeentestedquite extensively in animals, whether thisholds true inhumans is still largelyuntestedandsotheclinicaltrialsherewilldefinitelyhavetobewatched closely,” saidDrGill. “Save forthe flu vaccine, there really isn’tmuch of aprecedentforusingsuchavaccine.”“Therewasatrialof ameasles fluvaccine

whichdidnotmeet thenon-inferiority crite-ria,”saidDrKang.“Thenasalfluvaccineswhichare live-attenuated vaccines have not donehugelywell.Wedon't know if it's a problemwith the fact that they are flu vaccines, orwhetheritisanissuewithitbeinganasalvac-cine.”Shesaidthereisalsouncertaintyrelatedtowhatdosage yougivewith a spray versusaninjection.Only very small volumes — typically

around0.1ml—canbeadministered ineachnostrilthroughtheintranasalroute,DrJameelsaid.“Thevaccineantigensshouldbeproducedinhighconcentration.Properdeliveryvehiclesforeithersingleormultipleusehavetobede-velopedandthesepresentthemostsignificantchallenge,”hesaid.

How nasal vaccines work: utility, concerns

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to [email protected] EXPLAINED

THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,SEPTEMBER24,2020

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Crerals,pulses, edibleoils,potato,onionareamongthe itemsderegulatedexceptunderextraordinarycircumstances. ExpressArchive

SPGroup’s exit fromTata Group:who can buy its stake, and how

CyrusMistry,RatanTata. ExpressArchive

Effectof relativehumidityoncoronavirusrespiratorydropletcloudatsametemperatureandwindspeed,anddifferenthumidity.TalibDbouk&DimitrisDrikakis/Physicsof Fluids

How droplet evaporationaffects coronavirus spread

New Delhi


THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

FRANCE

EiffelTowerevacuatedoverbombthreatPARISPOLICEbrieflyevac-uatedtheEiffelTowerandblockaded the surround-ingareaWednesdayaftera phone-in bomb threat.Alltouristsinsidethemon-umentwereevacuatedaf-ter an anonymous callerphonedpoliceWednesdaymorningandsaidabombhadbeenplacedinsidethetower, according to anof-ficial with the tower’smanagement company.The official was not au-thorized to be publiclynamed. Policeblockedoffthe streets below thetower and the bridgestretchingacrosstheSeineRiver to Trocadero Plaza,butstarted liftingthebar-ricades about two hourslater.Anofficeratthescenesaidpolice foundnosignsofabomb.AP

Policeclosedaccess tothe landmark.Reuters

TOPOFTHEWORLD

AFGHANISTAN

Talibanattackcheckpoints,kill28policeTHETALIBAN launched awave of attacks on secu-ritycheckpointsinsouth-ern Afghanistanovernight,killingatotalof28Afghanpolicemen,of-ficialssaidonWednesday.The violence comes evenas Taliban leaders andAfghan government-ap-pointed negotiators areholding historic peacetalksinQatar.Thenegoti-ations aremeant to endthefightingandestablisharoadmapforapost-warsociety. According to theprovincial governor’sspokesmanZelgayEbadi,the attacks started lateTuesday in southernUruzganprovince.

THAILAND

RoyalistsmarchagainstcallsforreformHUNDREDSOFThairoyal-istsmarchedtoparliamentonWednesday toopposecalls from anti-govern-ment protesters forchangestotheconstitutionas the assembly met toconsider amending it.Protesters seek to changeaconstitutiontheysaywasengineered to ensure for-mer junta leader PrayuthChan-ocha stayed on asprimeminister after lastyear’selection.Theywanthis departure and someprotestersalsosaythecon-stitution gives toomuchpower to King MahaVajiralongkorn.REUTERS

OROOJHAKIMI&STORAYKARIMIHERAT,KABUL,SEPTEMBER23

AFGHAN WOMAN LalehOsmanyhasbeencampaigningforyearsforachangetotheage-oldcustomofofficially identify-ingpeoplebythenamesof theirfathers, calling for mothers’names to be included on iden-tity cards.But her “Where Is My

Name?” campaign, which fi-nally brought a change in thelawlastweek,hasstirredheateddebate in the conservativeMuslim country where forsome, speaking a woman’s

name inpublic is taboo.The Taliban, who have just

begunpower-sharingtalkswiththe Afghan government thatcouldseethemreturntorule insome capacity, have con-demned the reform in one ofthe first concrete stances theyhave revealed on women’srights as they engage in thepeaceprocess.“From the beginning of this

campaign until now, we’ve en-countered insults, humiliation,threats,”saidOsmany,a28-yearold religious studiesgraduate.ForOsmanyandmanyother

Afghan women, a mother’sname beside the father’s onidentity cards represents the

rightful recognition of womenin society.“This righthasbeengivento

us by Islam ... we want to takebackour rights.”Osmany’s campaign, which

shelaunchedonsocialmedia in2017, paid off last week whenPresident Ashraf Ghani signedan amendment that wouldrecognisemothersequallywithfatherson identificationcards.But alongwith the recogni-

tion fromthepresident and thesupportofmanywoman,there-formhasprovokedanger.“The inclusion of the

mother’snameonelectronicIDswould be a disgrace and a dis-honourforAfghans,”SaidAkbar

Agha, who served as an officialduringTaliban rule, toldagath-eringtodiscussreconciliationinthe cityofHerat lastweek.Women’s rights have im-

proved significantly since thehardline Taliban were forcedfrompower in2001.But concern is growing

abouttheprospects forsustain-ing that progress with the pos-sibilityofareturnof theIslamistgroup toa role ingovernment.The Taliban say they have

changed andwould allow edu-cation for girls and women toworkoutsidethehome,insomecircumstances.Butwhenpushedfordetails

such as on whether women

wouldberequiredtowearafacecovering orwork in jobs along-sidemen, they say the rights ofwomen would be decided ac-cordingtoIslamicsharia,thoughwithout specifyinghow.Manywomenharbourdeep

mistrust and doubt the sincer-ity of reassuring Taliban com-ments.Taliban spokesman

ZabihullahMujahid confirmedthat thegroupopposedputtingthe names of mothers on iden-tify cards.“From a religious point of

view, the names of women areamong the prohibitions thatcannot be mentioned any-where,”Mujahid toldReuters.

“Mentioning the names ofmothers, wives, sisters anddaughtersisnotculturallytoler-able inour society,” he said.Osmany said shewas disap-

pointed by the Taliban positionbutwould not stop fighting forthe recognition ofwomen eventhough shewasworried abouther safety and that of her col-leagues.“We’re not doing anything

wrong, so we’ll continue thisstruggle so that we can revivetheidentityofwomen,”shesaid.“Weknowchangeisdifficult,

it’sdifficulttochangesocietybutwhenwestartworking,wemustnotbeafraidofobstaclesandweshouldnevergiveup.”REUTERS

‘WHERE IS MY NAME?’ CAMPAIGN

In the mother’s name: Afghan woman wins recognition, draws Taliban ire

IVANNECHEPURENKOMOSCOW,SEPTEMBER23

ALEXANDERLUKASHENKOwassworninforasixthtermaspres-identof Belarus inasecret cere-monyWednesday — and usedthe occasion to declare victoryover protesterswho have gath-ered in large numbers formorethanamonthtocontestareelec-tion that theycall fraudulent.The inauguration, which

wouldtypicallybeannouncedinadvance as amajor state occa-sion andby lawmust be broad-cast live on television,was con-ducted under wraps at theIndependence Palace,Lukashenko’sgrandresidenceintheBelarusiancapital,Minsk.“This is the day of our vic-

tory, a convincing and fatefulone,” Lukashenko told about700 guests invited to his inau-guration, according to a tran-script published on the presi-dentialwebsite. “Wedidn’t justelect the country’s president.We defended our values, ourpeaceful life, our sovereigntyand independence.”An opposition leader, Pavel

Latushko,denounced thepresi-dent’s move and called on the

public “to immediately start acivildisobediencecampaign.”Thedecisiontokeepthecer-

emony out of public viewwasclearlymadetoavoidsettingoffmassdemonstrationsof thesortthat have drawn tens of thou-sands of people to the streets ofMinsk for seven Sundays in arowsince theelectionAug.9.Footage of the ceremony,

later published online, showedLukashenko’smotorcadedrivingthroughthecity,whichhadbeen

clearedof pedestriansandcars.Despite the inauguration,

Lukashenko, who has been inpower since 1994, still faces thedeepest crisis of his political ca-reer.WithLukashenkono longerrecognizedasa legitimate leaderofBelarusbyWesternnationsandmanyBelarusians,hisfateisnowlargely in thehandsof PresidentVladimir Putin of Russia. ThatcountryandChinaweretheonlymajor powers to recognise theAugustelection.NYT

ASSOCIATEDPRESSWASHINGTON,SEPTEMBER23

FACEBOOK SAID it removed anetwork of fake accounts andpages that originated in Chinaandfocusedondisruptingpolit-icalactivityintheUSandseveralothercountries.TheUS-focused activitywas

just a “sliver” of the accounts’overall activity and gained littlefollowing, Facebook said. Theirprimary focus was SoutheastAsia, including thePhilippines.In the US, the accounts

postedmaterialboth insupportof and against presidential can-didatesPeteButtigieg, JoeBidenandPresidentDonaldTrump.Facebooksaidthepeoplebe-

hind the network tried to con-ceal their identity and locationviavirtualprivatenetworksandothermethods.Concernsaboutforeignefforts

to interfere in the electionwereunderscoredbywarningfromtheFBIandDepartmentofHomelandSecurity’s cybersecurity agencythatforeignactorsandcybercrim-inalswere likely to try to spreaddisinformation regarding the re-sultsof theelection, includingbycreating fakewebsites aimed atdiscreditingtheprocess.

REUTERSSEPTEMBER23

CINDYMCCAIN, the widow ofSenator John McCain, onTuesday became the latestprominent Republican voice toback Democratic presidentialnominee Joe Biden in his bid towrest the White House fromPresident Donald Trump inNovember’s election.“Myhusband John livedby a

code:countryfirst,”McCainwroteonTwitter. “WeareRepublicans,yes, but Americans foremost.There’sonlyonecandidateinthisracewhostandsupforourvaluesasanation,andthatisJoeBiden.”Biden, who forged a long

friendshipwith JohnMcCainde-spitetheirideologicaldifferences,hadbrokenthenewsearlierdur-ingavirtualfundraiser,tellingsup-

portersthatCindyMcCaindecidedtoendorsehimafterTheAtlanticmagazine reported that TrumphadcalledUSsoldierswhodiedincombat“losers”and“suckers.”Trumphelda rally in thebat-

tlegroundstateofPennsylvaniaonTuesday, as the death of liberalSupremeCourtJusticeRuthBaderGinsburgcontinuedtoreshapethepresidential contest. TrumpsaidearlieronTuesdayhewouldrevealhispickonSaturdayinthehopesofschedulingaSenateconfirmationvoteaheadof theNov3election,despite fierce criticism fromDemocrats. ReplacingGinsburgwouldcementa6-3conservativemajorityonthehighcourt.

JOSEPHSIPALANKUALALUMPUR,SEPT23

MALAYSIA’SOPPOSITIONleaderAnwar Ibrahim said onWednesdayhehassecureda‘for-midable’majorityfromlawmak-ers to oust Prime MinisterMuhyiddin Yassin and form anew government, heralding afresh bout of political drama intheSoutheastAsiancountry.Thepowerstrugglecomesat

adifficulttimeforthemulti-eth-nic nation, as its export driveneconomy has been badly hit bythe coronavirus pandemic. TheMalaysianringgitandstocksfellafterAnwar’s comments.Anwar nowhas to convince

Malaysia’s king, SultanAbdullah,thathehasthenumberstoformagovernment, but asyetnomajorpoliticalpartyhascomeoutinhissupport. The king could insteadchoose to call for elections onMuhyiddin’s advice to endmonthsof political volatility.Muhyiddin, whose seven-

month-oldcoalitionhassurvivedonarazor-thinmajority,dismissedAnwar’sclaimsasa“mereallega-tion”,tellinghimtoprovehisma-jority through a constitutionalprocess. “Untilprovenotherwise,the PerikatanNasional govern-ment remains steadfast and I amthe rightful prime minister,”Muhyiddinsaidinastatementre-ferringtohisrulingcoalition.Thesixmajorpoliticalparties

supportingMuhyiddindismissedAnwar’sclaimas“cheappublicity”

andsaid ina joint statement thatthey were firmly behindMuhyiddin, who emerged asleaderaftertheresignationof thepreviousprimeminister,MahathirMohamad,inFebruary.REUTERS

Embattled Presidentof Belarus secretlysworn in for new termDeclaresvictoryoverprotests;Oppcallsforcivildisobedience

BelarusianPresidentAlexanderLukashenkotakesoathofofficeduringhis inaugurationceremonyinMinsk,Belarus,onWednesday.Theceremonywasnotannouncedinadvance,anddespitea legal requirementtotelecast live, theeventwasconductedawayfrompublicview.AP

RACE FORTHEWHITE

HOUSE

FB: Fake pages from China tried todisrupt politics in US, other countries

U.S.MOURNSGINSBURG:BillandHillaryClintonpayrespectsas JusticeRuthBaderGinsburglies inreposeatthetopof thefrontstepsof theUSSupremeCourtonWednesday.AP

Biden gets Cindy McCainendorsement as Trumpholds rally in Pittsburgh

JoeBiden

House Democratspropose sweepinglegislation to curbpresidential abuses

Ricin suspect hadknife and loadedgun when arrestedACANADIANwomanwhowasar-restedonsuspicionofmailingthelethalsubstancericintotheWhiteHousewantedPresidentTrumptodropout of thepresidential raceandpledgedtofindotherwaystoassassinatehim if her poisoningplotfailed,accordingtocourtdoc-umentsunsealedonTuesday.Thewoman,PascaleCecileVeroniqueFerrier, has been chargedby theJusticeDepartmentwith threat-eningtokill thepresident.Ferrierwroteinathreateningandscorn-ful letter sentwith the ricin thatshebelievedTrumpwasadictatorwhowashurtingtheUS.NYT

HOUSEDEMOCRATSproposedasweepingBilltocurbpresidentialabuses, a pitch to votersweeksaheadastheytrytodefeatTrump,capture the Senate fromRepublicans and keep theirHousemajority. The legislationwould, among othermeasures,limit the president’s pardonpower, strengthen laws to banpresidentsfromreceivinggiftsorpayments from foreign govern-ments, better protect independ-ent agency watchdogs andwhistleblowersfromfiringorret-ribution and require better re-porting by campaigns of foreignelectioninterference.AP

PAKISTAN REOPENS SCHOOLSStudentswearmasksandmaintainsafedistancebeforeenteringclassataschool inPeshawarafter thePakistanigovernmentallowedthereopeningof schools forgradessix toeight.Educational institutionshaveremainedshut inthecountry fornearlysixmonthsduetotheCovid-19pandemic.Reuters

Navalny leaves hospital after 32 days

DAVIDRISING&DARIALITVINOVABERLIN,SEPTEMBER23

RUSSIAN OPPOSITION leaderAlexeiNavalnyhasbeenreleasedfromaBerlinhospitalaftermorethan a month’s treatment forpoisoning,withdoctorsnowbe-lievingthatit’spossiblehecouldsee a “complete recovery” fromthe Soviet-era nerve agent, the

hospital saidWednesday.Navalny spent 32 days at

Berlin’s Charite hospital, 24 oftheminintensivecare,beforedoc-tors deemedhis “condition hadimproved sufficiently for him tobe discharged fromacute inpa-tient care”. In an Instagrampost,he took swipe atVladimir Putin,scoffingatreportedcommentsbytheRussianPresidentsuggestingthatNavalnymight have inten-tionallypoisonedhimself.AP

Kremlincriticexpectedtomakefull recoveryafterpoisoning

AlexeiNavalnypostedthisphotoafterbeingdischargedfromhospitalinBerlin.AP

Pak-Americanheld for illegalexport of techequipment toPak atomic body

LALITKJHAWASHINGTON,SEPTEMBER23

A 65-YEAR-OLD Pakistani-Americanhasbeenarrestedforal-legedlyexportinghigh-perform-ance computer equipment andsoftware application solutionsfrom theUS to PakistanAtomicEnergyCommissionwithoutnec-essarygovernment approval, ac-cordingtofederalprosecutors.ObaidullahSyed,whoowned

Pakistan-basedBusiness SystemInternational(BSI)PrivateLimitedandChicago-basedBSIUSA,wasarrested on September 16 andfacesamaximumsentenceof20yearsifconvicted.Hecurrentlyre-mainsinfederalcustody.Prosecutorssaidthetwocom-

panies ownedbySyedprovidedcomputingplatforms,servers,andsoftwareapplicationsolutions.From2006 to2015, Syedand

BSIconspiredwithcompanyem-ployees inPakistan toviolate theInternational EmergencyEconomicPowersActbyexport-ing computer equipment fromthe US to the Pakistan AtomicEnergyCommission(PAEC)with-outobtainingtherequiredautho-risationfromtheUSDepartmentofCommerce,accordingtoanin-dictment returned in theDistrictCourt inChicago. ThePAEC is re-sponsible for thedesign, fabrica-tion,andtestingofhighexplosivesandnuclearweaponsparts.PTI

LalehOsmanysays that formanyAfghanwomen,amother’snamebesidethefather’son identitycardsrepresents therightful recognitionofwomeninsociety.Reuters

VETERANPOLITICIANMahathirMohamadjoinedforceswithperennialrivalAnwarIbrahimin2018tode-featthepowerfulUMNOpartyandbecomePM.MahathirhadpromisedtohandoverpowertoAnwaraf-tercompletinghalfhisterm.However,asthattimeap-proached,apowerstruggleintherulingcoalitionsawMahathirresigninginFeb,butcontinuingasinterimPM.Duringtheresultantpoliticalcrisis,MuhyiddinYassinbe-camePMwiththebackingofUMNO.Monthslater,Anwarsayshehasanewcoalitionthathasmajority,plungingthecountryintopoliticalcri-sisagain.IfAnwarissuccess-ful,thiswouldbethesecondchangeinPMandrulingcoalitionwithoutanelection.

Newpoliticalcrisis,7monthsafter lastone

Malaysia’s Anwarsays he has majorityto form new govtPMMuhyiddindismissesclaim

ASSOCIATEDPRESSLOUISVILLE,SEPTEMBER23

A KENTUCKY grand jury onWednesdayindictedasinglefor-merpoliceofficerforshootingintoneighbouringapartmentsbutdidnotmove forwardwith chargesagainst anyofficers for their roleinBreonnaTaylor’sdeath.Thejuryannouncedthatfired

Officer Brett Hankison waschargedwiththreecountsofwan-tonendangermentinconnectiontothepoliceraidofTaylor’shomeonthenightofMarch13.Neither the grand jury nor

the presiding judge elaboratedonthecharges.Immediately after the an-

nouncement, people were ex-pressing frustration that thegrand jurydidnotdomore.“Justice has NOT been

served,” tweeted Linda Sarsourof Until Freedom, a group thathas pushed for charges in thecase. “Rise UP. All across thiscountry.Everywhere.Riseupfor#BreonnaTaylor.”Taylor,anemergencymedical

worker,was shotmultiple timesbyofficerswhoenteredherhomeusingano-knockwarrantduringanarcoticsinvestigation.Thewar-rantusedtosearchherhomewasconnected to a suspectwhodidnot live there,andnodrugswerefoundinside.Theuseofno-knockwarrants has sincebeenbannedbyLouisville’sMetroCouncil.Hankisonwasfiredfromthe

city’spolicedepartmentonJune23.Histerminationlettersaidheviolatedproceduresbyshowing“extreme indifference to thevalueof human life”.

1 officer indictedin BreonnaTaylor case, butnot for her death

AUSTRALIA

500WHALESSTRANDED, 380ALREADYDEADMore pilot whales were found stranded in Australia on Wednesday, raising the estimatedtotal to nearly 500, including 380 that have died. Authorities had already been working torescue survivors among an estimated 270 whales found Monday on a beach and two sandbars when another 200 stranded whales were spotted from a helicopter on Wednesday.

New Delhi

No:JTFRP/PMU/Consultancy/9370Date: 22-09-2020

Director P&C, PMU JTFRP invites Expression of Interest(EOI) for Consultancy Services detailed below in the tablethrough www.jktenders.gov.in. Interested consulting firms mayobtain further information and download the REOI fromwww.jktenders.gov.in

The REOI documents can be downloaded from www.jkten-ders.gov.in from 22-09-2020 to 26-10-2020. The last date forsubmission of EOI is 26-10-2020, 1400 hours.

Sd/- (Iftikhar A. Hakim)Director (P&C)

JTFRP

Government of Jammu and Kashmir

J&K Economic Reconstruction Agency, (ERA)

Project Management Unit

Jhelum & Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP)

S. NO. Name of Work Tender No.

1 2020_jtfrp_105079_1Consultancy services forSupervision Consultants for VariousDrainage, Road and Bridge Sub-Projects.

DIPK-NB-2529

TENDER NOTIFICATION (Only in E-Procurement) (TWO COVER SYSTEM)

“GSTshall bepaid to theTenderedAmount separately”.Name of Work: Procurement, fabrication, erection, construction, testingand commissioning of Fire fighting Equipments on line with OISD 156requirements/PESO standards for handling class B petroleum products atKarwar Port for the vessels of 50,000 DWT and above. (KPWD/2020-21/PM/WORK_INDENT124008). Amount put to tender: 1619.93Lakhs. Last date for receipt of quarries: 23.10.2020 at 16.00 hours.Last date for submissionof Tender: 27.10.2020 at 16.00hours.

Tender is invited in e-Procurement to execute below mentioned work. Toparticipate in e-Procurement, and for more information may be obtained inwww.eproc.karnataka.gov.in website. For further Extension refer abovementioned website. No separate paper notification will be issued.

Government of Karnataka

Port Office, Karwar-581301 (U.K.)

No. PAS/CR-129/2017-18 Date: 21.09.2020Ph: 08382-221342 Fax: 08382-221528 Email:[email protected]

Sd/- Port Officer, Port Office, KarwarDIPR/ADK/MCA/353/20-21 Dt. 22.9.20

(Department of Ports & Inland Water Transport)

EXTENSION NOTICE-I

In view of the requests from the prospective Bidders and to ensure fairparticipation, extension in critical dates is given to e- NIT NO:SE/EPL/e-NIT-07 of 2020-21 dated 26.08.2020,“PURCHASE OF33KV OUTDOOR VACUUM CIRCUIT BREAKERS FOR USE AT33/11KV SUBSTATIONS” detailed as under.

All other terms and conditions as stipulated in the original NIT shallremain same.

Sd/-Superintending Engineer

Planning (KPDCL)

KASHMIR POWER DISTRIBUTION CORPORATION LIMITED(KPDCL)

(Fully Owned Government of J&K Undertaking)OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER (Planning)

PLANNING & PROCUREMENT WING, KASHMIRE-mail: [email protected]

1. Submission of e-Bid (end) 01.10.2020 15:00 HrsDate and Time

2. Submission of Hard Copy 03.10.2020 16:00 Hrs in the office of(end) Date and Time the Chief Engineer P&P wing, PDD

Complex, Bemina, Srinagar.

3. Commercial/Technical Bid 05.10.2020 at 14:00 HrsOpening Date and Time

DIPK-NB-2541

Administration of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, U.T.Directorate of Medical & Health Services

No. DMHS/EST/Med.edu/staff/2018/606/176 Silvassa, Date: 22/09/2020

ADVERTISEMENTDirectorate of Medical & Health Services, Dadra and Nagar Haveli is conductingwalk-in-interview on 26/09/2020 at 10.30 am for various posts to be filled on shortterm contract basis under NAMO Medical Education & Research Institute, Silvassa.Details regarding the posts are available on the official website: www.dnh.nic.in orwww.vbch.dnh.nic.in.

Sd/-No. IP/DNH/ADVT/2020/277 (Dr. V. K. Das), Director, (M&HS)Silvassa, Date: 22/9/2020 0260-2642940

OFFICE OF THE PRINCIPALGOVERNMENT MEDICAL COLLEGE, ANANTNAG, J&K

(Camp Office: MMAB District Hospital, Anantnag)Phone No. 01932-227624, e-mail [email protected]

NIT NO:- 11 of 2020Dated 23.09.2020

Principal Govt Medical College, Anantnag invites Sealedtenders from the authorized dealers/manufactures/authorized suppliers for " Refilling of Medical GasCylinders" of Associated Hospitals Govt. MedicalCollege, Anantnag. The detailed terms and conditionsand specifications of the items are available on the officialwebsite of Govt. Medical college, Anantnag(www.gmcanantnag.net)' lnterested parties may submitthe Same superscribing " Tender for' Refilling of MedicalGas cylinder " to the undersigned through speed post/Registered post/Courier which should reach the office onor before 4:00 PM of 05.10.20 positively and the sameshall be opened at 10.10.20 before the committee andthe participants. The undersigned reserves the right toreject any or all the tenders without assigning any reasonthereof.

Sd/-(Prof. Shaukat Jeelani)

Principal/DeanGovernment Medical College,

Anantnag

Date of publication of document 22.09.20

Closing of bid submission 05.10.20

Opening of technical bid 10.10.20

NO:- GMCA/Plg/142/2020-21/2541-45Dated: 23.09.2020DIPK-NB-2529

APPLICATIONS INVITED FOR CELEBRATION OFMAHARISHI VALMIKI JAYANTI

Government of NCT of Delhi is inviting applications for celebration of MaharishiValmiki Jayanti On 31.10.2020 under “Scheme for Celebration of Birth/DeathAnniversary of Eminent personalities”

Government of NCT of Delhi will provide assistance through empanelled agencies tothe desirous Organizations in the form of arrangement for tentage, sound system,lighting, banners etc

Eligibility:-

The following are eligible to apply for assistance under the scheme:-

i.) NGOs, registered under Societies Registration Act.

ii.)Only those NGOs which are registered under Society Registration Act and havingaudited accounts are eligible

List of the items for providing assistance to the desirous NGOs are as follows:-

a.Tentage

b.Chairs

c. Sofa.

d.Tables

e.Curtains, Mat etc.

f. Sound System

g.Light System.

h.Generator.

i. Banners/Hoardings.

Procedure for applying:

The Organizations interested to apply may submit a detailed proposal, containing

i.) Details of such celebrations / activities organized by them in the past.

ii.)The duly filed in applications & recommended by area MLA along with copies ofRegistration Certificate and audited accounts should be submitted by theregistered NGOs/Organization to the Department for the welfare of SC/ST/OBC,GNCT of Delhi, B Block, 2nd floor, Vikas Bhawan, I.P.Estate, New Delhi-02 , by15.10.2020 positively. Applications received thereafter will not be considered.

Selected NGOs have to provide photographs of the event organized by them andabide by stipulations of the department for proper organization of the event.Organizers will also be required to submit a declaration to the effect that Govt.guidelines/SOP applicable for organizing religious/cultural functions will be followedscrupulously to prevent spread of Covid-.19.

For full details, please visit Department websIte: scstwelfare.delhigovt.nic.in

DEPARTMENT FOR THE WELFARE OF SC/ST/OBCGOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI

B-BLOCK VIKAS BHAWAN, I.P. ESTATE, NEW DELHI-02DIP/Shabdarth/0321/2021

TAMIL NADU TRANSMISSION CORPORATION LTD.

TAMIL NADU GENERATION AND DISTRIBUTION CORPORATION LTD.

Sl. No Tender Inviting Authority Specification No. Total1 SE/P&A/TTPS 3471-M 1

2 SE/Transmission-IV T-2168 13 SE/Transmission-II T-2166, T-2169 24 CE/Transmission T-35 1

For details of works/Procurement/Due date of submission/opening, viewingand downloading of e-tenders, please visit websites: www.tangedco.gov.in,www.tantransco.gov.in , www.tenders.tn.gov.in , https://tntenders.gov.in/nicgep/app

NOTICE INVITING TENDERS (E-TENDERING PROCESS)

DIPR/3558/Tender/2020

Save Energy for theBenefit of Self and Nation

(ER. SANJEEV MARIA)Chief Engineer (OP) South,HPSEB Ltd.,Shimla-4.

The on line tender invited vide this office No. CEO/M&C/Tender/No.07/S-Stn/Chail/2020-21-9558-68 Dated: 17.09.2020 for construction of, ‘’Survey,Design, Erection, Testing & commissioning including Supply of Material forConstruction of 33/11KV 1x6.3 MVA New (Un-manned) Sub-Station at CHAIL ofDistt Solan including civil works, complete in all respect on partial turnkey basis inED, HPSEBL, Solan under OP. Circle Solan’’ to be opened on 14.10.2020 arehereby cancelled due to technical reasons.

HIMACHAL PRADESH STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD LIMITED(“A State Govt. Undertaking”) Corrigendum

Online Tender Notice No. 15 of 2020-21Sports Authority of Gujarat

Block No. 14/3rd Floor, Dr. Jivraj Mehta Bhavan,Gandhinagar

Secretary, Sports Authority of Gujarat, Gandhinagar,Block No. 14, 3rd Floor, Dr. Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Sector-10, Gandhinagar invites online tender for request forproposal for Selection of Design of Technical Agency (DTA)for preparation of detailed Design, Technical inputs &Construction supervision of the work for proposed work ofJamnagar Sports Museum at Jamnagar, Gujarat.The tender may be download on the websitewww.nprocure.com upto Dt. 23/09/2020; 18.00 hrs.The last date of download of tender Dt. 07/10/2020,18.00 hrs.The more detail will be available during office hours in theoffice of Secretary, Sports Authority of Gujarat, Block No.14, 3rd Floor, Dr. Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Gandhinagar andfurther amendment will be seen online.

INF/937/20-21

12 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,SEPTEMBER24,2020

New Delhi

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ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

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Note:Gold,silverratesatDelhispotmarket;goldper10g,silverper1kg;Brentcrudeasof2100IST

Internationalmarketdatatill1900IST

PRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER23

INAdevelopment thatmay seeIndia get aCovid-19vaccine thatcanbebreathedin,BharatBiotechsaidWednesdayitwouldbeman-ufacturinguptoabilliondosesofasingle-doseintranasalvaccine.DevelopedbytheWashington

University School ofMedicine inSt Louis and licenced to theHyderabad-headquartered firm,the vaccine is expected to helpovercome potential difficultieswithmassof vaccination. BharatBiotech,viaitsagreementwiththeAmerican academic institution,owns the rights todistribute thenovel chimp-adenovirus candi-date“inallmarkets”,exceptfortheUS,JapanandEurope.Whilethephase1humantri-

alswill take place in Saint LouisUniversity’sVaccine&TreatmentEvaluationUnit, Bharat Biotechplans topursue further stages ofclinical trials in India “uponob-taining the required regulatoryapproval”, the firm said in a re-lease. Itwill alsoundertake largescalemanufacturing of the vac-cine at its facility located inGenomeValley,Hyderabad.Otheradenovirusvaccinecan-

didates being tested in India in-clude Covishield, developed bytheUniversityofOxfordincollab-orationwith AstraZeneca, andSputnikV, developedbyRussia’sGamaleyaResearchInstitute.Bothcandidatesareinjectablevaccines.“We envision that we will

scale this vaccine to one billiondoses,translatingtoonebillionin-dividuals vaccinated receiving asingle-dose regimen,” said DrKrishnaElla, chairmanandman-agingdirector,BharatBiotech.“Anintranasalvaccinewillnotonlybesimple to administer but reducetheuseofmedical consumablessuchasneedles,syringes,etc.,sig-nificantly impacting the overallcostofavaccinationdrive.”Easing theprocess of vaccine

delivery is “key” to “conquer”Covid-19, according to Sai DPrasad, president—QualityOperations,BharatBiotech.The concept that “all” Indian

vaccinefirmshavebeenworkingon so far havebeen intramuscu-lar or intradermal injections—vaccinesthatneedsyringes,nee-dles, alcohol swabs, trainednurses,doctorsorpersonnelatthecommunitylevelwhocanadmin-istertheshotstocitizens.“Becauseof all these issues, if we have tovaccinate our country,weneedaboutabillionunitsortwobillion

unitsofsyringes,needles,person-nel,everythingtodothosevacci-nations,”saidPrasadduringases-sion at the Virtual Expo onPharma,Healthcare,DiagnosticsandHygieneonWednesday.“Idon’tthinkthatwecancon-

querthisdiseasebyinjectingpeo-plewithourvaccines.Weneedtothink about intranasal deliverysystems, andwe’reworking onthatalready,”hesaid,addingthatthecompanyis“intheprocessofnowscaling it up and starting toapplyforourclinicalpermissionsforthatcandidate”.“Theability toaccomplishef-

fective immunisationwitha sin-gle nasal dose is amajor advan-tage, offering broader reach andeasier administration,” said DrDavidTCuriel,directorofBiologicTherapeuticsCenterandProfessorof Radiation Oncology atWashingtonUniversitySchoolofMedicineinStLouis.

Uday Kotak gets1-year extensionon IL&FS board

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,SEPTEMBER23

THEGOVERNMENThasallowedUdayKotak,MDandCEOofKotakMahindra Bank, to continue ontheboardoftroubledinfralenderIL&FS for one more year tillOctober 2, 2021. This is the sec-ond extension for Kotak to con-tinueontheIL&FSboard.Kotak, the non-executive

chairman of IL&FS, was given ago-ahead for threemonths ini-tially, which was followed upwith a nine-month relaxationthat ended onOctober 2019. Hewasthengivenaone-yearexten-siontillOctober2020.AccordingtoaGazettenotifi-

cation, the provisions of theBanking RegulationActwill notapplytoKotakMahindraBankinso far as it relates to itsMD andCEO Uday Kotak being on theboard of Infrastructure Leasingand Financial Services Ltd as itsNon-executiveDirector for ape-rioduptoOctober2,2021.UndertheBankingRegulation

Act, a bank cannot bemanagedbyanypersonwhoisadirectorofany other company. He/she canbe given a temporary exceptionforthreemonthsorninemonthswiththeconcurrenceoftheRese-rveBankof India(RBI).Thelatestextensioniswiththeconcurrenceof the RBI. Kotakwas appointedby the Centre as the head of theIL&FS boardwhichwill help itcomeout of difficulties after theCentresupersededtheoldboard.TheKotak-ledboarddiscove-

red therewas a complexwebofover250companieswhichwerepart of the overall IL&FS group,whichhasanoutstandingofoverRs 94,000 crore to lenders. Over90per cent of the flagship com-pany’sassetsareclassifiedasdud.A spokesperson for IL&FS

Group said, “This extension is astep towards fulfilling theNational and Public duty, en-trusted on thenew IL&FSBoard,toresolveoneofIndia’slargestfi-nancial sector challenges - com-prisingofover300companiesintheGroup.”

BRIEFLY60%fallinFDIequityinflowsNewDelhi:Foreigndirectin-vestment (FDI) equity in-flows into India contractedby60per cent to $6.56bil-lion(Rs49,820crore)duringApril-June2020, accordingto data by theDepartmentfor Promotion of Industryand Internal Trade (DPIIT).TheoverseasinflowsduringApril-June 2019 stood at$16.33 billion. Total FDI in-flows,which include re-in-vested earnings, stood at$11.51billionduringthefirstquarterof thisfiscal.

India,MauritiusfinalisingFTANewDelhi:Indiaisfinalisingtheproposedfreetradeagr-eement (FTA)withMaurit-ius,CommerceandIndustryMinister PiyushGoyal saidonWednesday.

SebireliefforrightsissuesNewDelhi: Tomake fund-raisingeasier,fasterandcosteffective, Sebi onWednes-dayrationalisedtheeligibil-itycriteriaanddisclosurere-quirementsforrightsissue.

Airtelbuys10%inWaybeoNewDelhi:BhartiAirtelsaidWednesdayithasbought10percentstakeintechstartupWaybeo TechnologySolutions,whichfocussesondeepAI analytics for cloudtelephony. PTI

Growth likely to contract by5.9% in 2020: UNCTADYOSHITASINGHUNITEDNATIONS,SEPT23

IMPACTEDBYdisruptionscausedbytheCovid-19pandemic,India’seconomyisforecasttocontractby5.9 per cent in 2020, theUnitedNationshassaidinareport,warn-ing that while growth will re-boundnextyear,thecontractionislikely to translate into a perma-nentincomeloss.The Trade andDevelopment

Report2020byUNConferenceonTrade andDevelopment (UNC-TAD)saidthattheworldeconomy

is experiencing adeep recessionamidastill-uncheckedpandemic.Itsaidtheglobaleconomywill

contract by anestimated4.3percent thisyear, leavingglobalout-put byyear’s endover $6 trillionshort (in current US dollars) ofwhateconomistshadexpecteditto bebefore the coronavirus be-gantospread.UNCTADexpectsSouthAsiato

contract4.8percent in2020andrecover to 3.9 per cent in 2021.India’sGDPisforecasttocontract5.9 per cent in2020and recoverto 3.9 per cent next year, the re-portsaid. PTI

‘PE inflow in real estate falls85% in Jan-Aug to $866mn’

COVID-19 IMPACT

Share of total PE inflowsreceived by varioussegments this year tillAugust:46%:Data centres24%:Office12%: Industrial andwarehousing9%:Hospitality8%:Housing1%:Co-living

$5,795million:Privateequity (PE) inflow incorresponding period ofprevious year

Whythis is important:The

report, titled‘Future India:CaptivatingStrategicandPrivateEquity Investments’,advisedin-vestorstofocuscertainprofitablesegments, includingdatacen-tres,office,hospitalityandretailrealestate,whichofferattractivevaluationsSource: Colliers International& Ficci/PTI

With investors remaining cautious due to the pandemic,PE investment in Indian real estate plunged 85 per centduring January-August this year to $866million (aroundRs 6,500 crore), a Colliers International and FICCI report

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI, SEPTEMBER23

GLOBALINVESTMENTfirmKKRhasproposed to investRs5,550croreinRelianceRetailVenturesLtd (RRVL), a subsidiary ofReliance Industries, valuingReliance Retail at a pre-moneyequity value of Rs 4.21 lakhcrore. KKR’s investment willtranslateintoa1.28percenteq-uity stake in RRVL on a fully di-lutedbasis.The deal marks the second

investment by KKR in a sub-sidiary of Reliance Industries,following a Rs 11,367 crore in-vestment in Jio Platforms an-nouncedearlier this year.Technologyinvestmentfirm

Silver Lake recently decided toinvestRs7,500crore($1billion)inRelianceRetail, valuingRRVLat a pre-money equity value ofRs 4.21 lakh crore. Silver Lake’sinvestmentwill translate into a

1.75 per cent equity stake inRRVL on a fully diluted basis.This is the second billion dollarinvestment by Silver Lake in aReliance Industries subsidiary

after the $1.35 billion invest-ment in Jio Platforms an-nouncedearlier this year.Reliance Retail operates

India’slargestretailbusinessserv-ing close to 640million footfallsacross its 12,000 stores nation-wide.“Welookforwardtowork-ingwith KKR’s global platform,industry knowledge and opera-tionalexpertiseacrossourdigitalservices and retail businesses,”saidRILchairman&managingdi-rectorMukeshAmbani.“RelianceRetail’s vision is to

galvanize the Indian retail sec-torthroughaninclusivestrategyservingmillionsofcustomersbyempoweringmillions of farm-ers and micro, small andmedium enterprises (MSMEs)andworkingcloselywithglobaland domestic companies as apreferredpartner, todeliver im-mense benefits to Indian soci-ety,whileprotectingandgener-ating employment formillionsof Indians,” RIL said. KKR has

$222 billion in assets undermanagementasof June30,2020and a long history of buildingleading global enterprises, in-cludingmanycompaniesat theforefrontof technologyanddig-ital transformation including inareas of consumer retail andeCommerce, such as invest-ments in Epic Games,OutSystems, Internet Brands,Go-jekandVoyagerInnovations.Henry Kravis, co-founder

and co-CEO of KKR, said,“Reliance Retail’s new com-merce platform is filling an im-portant need for both con-sumersandsmallbusinessesasmoreIndianconsumersmovetoshopping online and the com-pany offers tools for Kiranas tobe a critical part of the valuechain.”RRVL reported a consoli-

dated turnover of Rs 1,62,936croreandanetprofitofRs5,448crore for the year endedMarch31, 2020.

EQUITYSTAKEOF1.28%

REUTERSPARIS,SEPTEMBER23

GLOBALAIRLINEShavecalledonTuesday for airport Covid-19tests for all departing interna-tional passengers to replace thequarantinestheyblameforexac-erbating the travel slump.Rapidandaffordableantigenteststhatcan be administered by non-medicalstaffareexpectedtobe-come available in “comingweeks”andshouldberolledoutundergloballyagreedstandards,theheadof the InternationalAirTransportAssociation(IATA)saidduringanonlinemediabriefing.

“Wedon’tseeanyalternativesolutionthatwouldbelesschal-lengingormore effective,” IATADirector General Alexandre deJuniac said. Airlines hammered

by the pandemic are pressinggovernments to embrace alter-natives toblanket travel restric-tions that are still hampering atrafficrecovery—andnowtight-

ening again in Europe amidresurgentcasenumbers.With rapid antigen tests be-

comingavailableforaslittleas$7each,De Juniacsaid,airlineswillpushfortheirusetobeendorsedby International Civil AviationOrganisation (ICAO), the UNagencythatoverseesglobalavia-tion rules.IATAbelieves produc-tion could be quickly increasedtomillionsperdayand the testsphased inbetween lateOctoberandtheendof theyear, “helpingto save a part of thewinter sea-son”,De Juniacsaid.A global agreement is

neededtoensurepre-departuretest results are uniformly ac-

ceptedbythedestinationcoun-try,hesaid.Europeanairlinesarepinning

hopes on pre-flight Covid-19teststhatdeliverresultsasfastaspregnancy tests to help restorepassengers’confidenceintakingto the skies in confined spaceswithsharedair.Germany’s Lufthansa, at the

mercy of government bailoutsforsurvival, isintalkswithSwissdrugmaker Roche over deploy-ing so-called antigen tests, ac-cording to two people familiarwith thediscussions.Thetestsareadministeredby

healthauthoritiesattheairportsand included in ticketprices.

JAYMAZOOMDAARNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER23

MOSTOFhiscompaniesintheluxurybrandmarket are de-funct; in 2014, twobanks inIndiapublisheddefaultnoticesagainstAshishChordiaandhismother forRs48.40crore;hefacedseveralchargesofcheat-ingandfraudandwasarrestedinDelhi in 2013 in one suchcasebeforehegotbail only tohaveanon-bailablearrestwar-rant issued fromtheBombayHighCourtin2016.Ataroundthesametimeas

Chordia, chairman of theMumbai-based ShreyansGroup,wasunderthescannerfor bank default by SBI andIDBI, two branches of UK’sBarclays Bank PLC, one inLondonandtheother inNewYork, flagged to their respec-tiveregulatorsseventransfersamounting to $1.34millionandinvolvingthreecompanieshe owned, records investi-gated by The Indian Expressshow.In2015,BarclaysNewYork

filed a Suspicious ActivityReport(SAR)withtheUSreg-ulator Financial CrimesEnforcement Network(FinCEN), records show, onaset of 2014 transactions be-tweenVertu Investment Ltd(UK)andShreyansLifestylePvtLtd (India),Uber LLC (USA)—no relationship with UberTechnologies — andStreamlineGlobal HoldingsLimited(HongKong).OwnedbyChordia, Vertu

Investments Ltd (UK)was acustomer of BarclaysKnightsbridge, London, forwhichBarclaysNYmaintainedaUSDaccount. Due to “con-cerns of the heightenedmoney laundering risk”asso-ciatedwithVertu’swireactiv-ities, BarclaysKnightsbridgealso filed itsownSARwith itslocalregulator.TheseSARscitedChordia’s

alleged failure toprovideanydocumentation for thesetransactionswhichhad“noap-parenteconomic,business,orlawfulpurpose.”AskedifandwhenBarclays

Knightsbridge-Londontermi-nated its relationship withVertu (UK), a Barclaysspokespersonsaid:“UScrimi-nallawprohibitsunauthoriseddisclosureofSARsorinforma-tionaboutSARs.Wearethere-fore not permitted to com-ment…evenwhen theSARsin questionmay have beenpubliclydisclosed.Wearealsonotpermittedtocommentonindividuals or businesses, in-cluding to confirmwhethertheyareorhavebeenaclient.”Chordiadidnotrespondto

multipleemails.Chordia has a chequered

record.Heclaimedhehades-tablished “India’s first luxuryretail brand” that famouslybroughtahostof high-profileautomobile brands such asPorsche,Audi,Ducati,Maseratiand Ferrari to India between2004and2011.By2014,how-ever, hewas no longer theirdealerandfacedseveralcasesofallegedfraud.BetweenMayandAugust

2014, records show,Uber LLC(USA) andStreamline (HongKong)sentatotalof$6.85lakhtoVertu (UK) in four transac-tions.Duringthesameperiod,Vertu (UK) sent $6.54 lakh to

Shreyans Lifestyle (India) inthreetransactions.Vertu’sremainingwireac-

tivity, records show, includedtransactionswith a gold ex-porter,a lawfirm,andafund-ingcompanythatappeared“tobe genuine businesses pos-sessingwidespreadpublicpro-files” andwere “not deemedsuspects”bytheSAR.Barclays Knightsbridge,

claimed the SAR, contactedChordiamultiple times tode-terminetheeconomicpurposeforVertu’swire activities andto obtain documentary evi-dence for the transactions. Inresponse, BarclaysKnightsbridgenoted,Chordiaprovideddocumentationthatwas “inadequate and todate,nodocumentaryevidencehasbeenprovided.”VertuInvestments,records

show, remained dormantsince incorporation inMay2013witharegisteredaddressin London. It is owned byShreyansLifestyle,whichis,inturn,90.57%ownedbyChordia(the restbelongs tohis familymembers).ThecompanywasstruckofftheUKregisterforin-activity in 2017and restoredsubsequentlyin2018.ShreyansLifestyleispartof

Chordia’s Shreyans Group,whichwasinvolvedinthelux-urybrandmarket in India, in-cluding the import of luxuryvehiclesbyShreyansMotors.According to theRegistrar ofCompanies records, BarclaysBankMumbai granted a se-curedloanofRs14.25croretoShreyans Lifestyle inOctober2008andenhanced the facil-itytoRs37.67croreinOctober2009. As per BarclaysKnightsbridge, Chordiawasalso the owner of Uber LLCwhichsharedChordia’sUSad-dress on Santa MonicaBoulevard, California.StreamlineGlobal HoldingsLtd,notedtheSAR,wasacus-tomer of HSBC (HongKong)and appeared “to be a shellcompany which sent largerounddollarwire transfers ina very short time span toVertu.”MostofChordia’scom-panieshavebecomeeitherde-funct (FioranoMotors), beenstruckoff (PrecisionCars), orgone under liquidation(ShreyansMotors). The lastbalancesheetfiledbyShreyanslifestylePrivateLimitedwasfor2009-2010.In October 2017, the

BombayHighCourtsaidthatanon-bailablewarrantdirectedto be issued against AshishChordiainAugust2016wasyettobeexecutedbecausehewasabsconding.InMarch2019,theBombayHighCourtnotedthatChordia’sadvocatedidnotre-ceive any “instructions sincemorethantwoyears”andthattherewas a look-out noticeagainstChordia.

ANEXPRESSINVESTIGATIONPARTFOUR

Wanted at home,Mumbai luxury carking flagged to US

watchdog too

THEDEALmarks thesec-ond investmentbyKKRinasubsidiaryofReliance Industries, fol-lowingaRs11,367croreinvestment in JioPlatformsannouncedearlier thisyear. SilverLakerecentlydecided toinvestRs7,500crore($1billion) inRelianceRetail, valuingRRVLatapre-moneyequityvalueof Rs4.21 lakhcrore.

KKR’s2ndinvestmentinanRILarmE●EX

PLAINED

KKRtoinvest`5,550cr inRelianceRetailatpre-moneyequityvaluationof`4.21Lcr

BARCLAYSBANKPLC

‘Global labour income falls 10.7% in 2020 sofar, lower-middle income nations hit hardest’

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER23

GLOBAL LABOUR income, in-cludingwagesforemployeesandpart of income for the self-em-ployed, is estimated to have de-clinedby10.7percentor$3.5tril-lionduringthefirstninemonthsof 2020. This is equivalent to5.5percentofglobalGDPforthefirstnine months of 2019, theInternational LabourOrganization (ILO) said onWednesday.This estimated lossof labour

incomeexcludesincomesupportprovided through governmentmeasures.Thedrop ishigher forlower-middleincomecountries,withthelabourincomelosseses-timated to be 15.1 per cent, fol-lowedby11.4per cent inupper-middle-income countries and10.1 per cent in low-incomecountries.Workers in high-in-comecountriesareestimatedtohavelostlabourincomeof9.0percent.“In total, the global loss in

labour income during the firstthreequarters of 2020amountsto US $3.5 trillion (using 2019marketexchangerates),whichis

equivalent to 5.5 per cent ofglobal GDP for the first threequartersof2019.Whenthosesig-nificant losses arenotmitigatedbyothersourcesof income,suchas social protection transfers,they can push households intopovertywhile reducing aggre-gatedemand,” the ILOsaid.Global working-hour losses

are nowprojected to be 8.6 percent in the October-Decemberquarter, which corresponds to245million full-timeequivalentjobs. This is 75 per cent higherthantheILO’spreviousestimate

of4.9percentor140millionfull-timeequivalent jobs.Oneof thereasonsforthees-

timated increases in working-hourlossesisthatworkersinde-veloping and emergingeconomies,especiallythoseinin-formal employment, have beenmuchmoreaffectedthanbypastcrises, it said.The ILO said that among

countrieswith sufficient data, aclearcorrelationcanbeseen:thelarger the fiscal stimulus (as apercentage of GDP), the lowertheworking-hour losses in theApril-Junequarterof2020.So,onaverage,anincrease in

fiscal stimulus by 1 per cent ofannualGDPwouldhavereducedworking-hour losses by0.8per-centage points in April-June. Toput this intoperspective, thees-timated working-hour losseswould, onaverage,havebeenashigh as 28 per cent if no fiscalstimulushadbeenimplemented,the ILOsaid.“This also suggests that the

comparatively smaller stimulusprogrammesinlow-andmiddle-income countries may accountforatleastpartofthelargework-ing-hour losses estimated forthosecountries,” it said.

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIANEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER23

SAUDIARABIAhasbannedflightsto and from India fromTuesdayamidasurgeincoronaviruscases,accordingtoanofficialdocument.InacircularissuedonTuesday,

SaudiArabia’sGeneralAuthorityofCivilAviation(GACA)saiditwas“suspendingtraveltoandfromthefollowingcountries: (India,BrazilandArgentina)includinganyper-sonwhohas been in any of thementionedcountriesaboveinthelast14dayspriortotheirarrivaltotheKingdom”.However,itexcluded“passen-

gerswhohaveofficialgovernmentinvitations.The GACA circular— titled:

‘Suspensionof travel tocountrieswheretheCOVID-19virushasout-break’—wasmarkedtoalltheair-linesandcharteredflightcompa-niesoperatingattheSaudiArabia’s

airports.SaudiArabiaandtheUAEhost a significant Indianmigrantpopulation.Five days back, Air India

Express had said theDubai CivilAviationAuthority (DCAA) sus-pendedits flights for24hours forbringing two passengers withCOVID-positive certificates onAugust28andSeptember4.Dubai is themost populous

city of theUnitedArabEmirates(UAE). Scheduled internationalpassenger flightshavebeen sus-pended in India sinceMarch23duetotheoutbreak.However,spe-cialinternationalflightshavebeenoperating between India andSaudi Arabia sinceMay6undertheVandeBharatmission.India’sCOVID-19caseloadhas

reached56,46,010,andthedeathtoll has climbed to 90,020with1,085people succumbing to thedisease in thepast 24hours, theHealthMinistry’sdataupdatedat8amWednesdayshowed.

Saudi Arabia bans flightsto and from India, 2 othernations due to Covid cases

Peopleata testingsiteat theFiumicinoAirport,Rome.Reuters

Global airlines call for airport Covid tests before international flights

■ The InternationalLabourOrganizationsaid among countrieswith sufficient data, aclear correlation canbe seen: The larger thefiscal stimulus (as apercentageof GDP),the lower theworking-hour lossesin theApril-Junequarter of 2020.

ILO DRAWSUPCORRELATION

Bharat Biotech toproduce up to one billiondoses of intranasal vaccine

NewDelhi: Bharat Biotechhas been exploring the po-tentialoftyingupwithinter-nationalpartnerstoscaleupproductionofanotherCovid-19 vaccine candidate,‘Covaxin’, toaroundabilliondoses a year. The firm, cur-rently conducting phase 2human trials, also plans tomovetolate-stagetestingforthis candidate nextmonth,saidaseniorexecutive.“InthemonthofOctober,

weplan to startourphase3clinical trials,” said Sai DPrasad, president—QualityOperations, Bharat Biotech,during theVirtual Expo onPharma, Healthcare,DiagnosticsandHygieneonWednesday.Whilethesamplesizees-

timates and the countrieswherethetrialwilloccurarestill under discussion, thefirm is targeting “about25,000-30,000” subjects inthe upcoming phase. “Weareactively trying tomanu-facture asmuch aswe canrightnow,becausewehavethenecessary permissions.Andwe’realsoexploringstr-ategiestoexpandthemanu-facturing footprint, not justinHyderabad, but in othercities of India and also inotherpartsoftheworld,”saidPrasad.PRABHARAGHAVAN

Exploring globaltie-ups for Covaxinmanufacturing

New Delhi

''IMPORTANT''Whilst care is taken prior toacceptance of advertisingcopy, it isnotpossible toverifyits contents. The IndianExpress (P) Limited cannot beheld responsible for suchcontents, nor for any loss ordamage incurredasaresultoftransactions with companies,associations or individualsadvertising in its newspapersor Publications. We thereforerecommend that readersmake necessary inquiriesbefore sending any monies orentering into any agreementswith advertisers or otherwiseacting on an advertisement inany manner whatsoever.

I, PremNath, S/oShri.RambaliPanday,R/o-P-17, Sector-4, DIZ-Area, Gole-Market, New-Delhi-110001,have changedmyname,fromPREMNATH toPREMNATHPANDEY, for all futurepurposes.

0040549386-4

IItt is for general information thatI,Uzma ,W/oSh.IsrarAhmadKhan ,R/o 1/148, GaliNo.2,ChauhanBanger, NearKalyanCinema,Delhi-53Declare That nameofmine hasbeenwronglywrittenasUzmaKhanam inSec.SchoolExamination 2019of CentralBoardof Sec. Education inRespect ofmyDaughterNamelyMehwishbearingRegistrationNo.D19/60275/0347. Theactualnameofmine isUzmawhichmaybeamendedaccordingly.

0040549447-2

I , JagdishChander Sukhija,S/oLateBhagwanDass SukhijaR/o-D-3/49,S.F Sector-16,RohiniDelhi-110089,changedmyminor son’s nameBhavyaSukhija toBhavySukhija.

0040549442-7

II,,SShhiivv Shankar S/OS.NarayanR/O-H.No.249 Shiva-KhandVishwakarma-NagarDelhi-110095,have changedmyminorson’s name,fromS. Rohit toRohit Shetty,for all futurepurposes. 0040549442-8

II,,RRAAJJIINNDDEERRSINGH, R/O-68,SANT-NAGAR,GROUND-FLOOR,EAST-OF-KAILASH,NEWDELHI-110065,HAVECHANGEDTHENAMEOFMYMINORDAUGHTER,FROMJASMINETOJASMINESEEHRA,FORALLFUTUREPURPOSES.

0040549451-3

II,,PPaarrvviinnddeerr SinghS/oSwaranSinghDhanjal R/o-N-66, N-Block, VishnuGarden,NewDelhi-110018 changedmyname toParvinder SinghDhanjal. 0040549442-6

II,,NNoo..1144667722668899KK((NNKK)),,SSAANNGGAANNAAGGOOUUDDAABIRADAR,unit-7017-EME-BN,resident of,Village-Shirakanahalli,P.O.-Shirakanahalli,Tehsil-Indi,Distt.-Vijayapura,Karnataka-586112,havechanged thenameofmyminorson from,VIJUGOUDAto,VIJUGOUDABIRADAR,vide-affidavit,dated-23/09/2020,beforeNotaryAdvocate,RamKishoreSingh,RegistrationNo.-2448,NewDelhi.

0040549460-4

II,,NNoo..1144667722668899KK((NNKK)),,SSAANNGGAANNAAGGOOUUDDAABIRADAR,unit-7017-EME-BN,resident of,Village-Shirakanahalli,P.O.-Shirakanahalli,Tehsil-Indi,Distt.-Vijayapura,Karnataka-586112,havechanged thenameofmyminorson from,GURUGOUDAto,GURUGOUDABIRADAR,vide-affidavit,dated-23/09/2020,beforeNotaryAdvocate,RamKishoreSingh,RegistrationNo.-2448,NewDelhi.

0040549460-3

II,,NNIIRRMMAALLAA,,SSppoouusseeof,SANGANAGOUDABIRADAR,resident of,Village-Shirakanahalli,P.O.-Shirakanahalli, Tehsil-Indi,Distt.-Vijayapura,Karnataka-586112,havechangedmynamefrom,NIRMALA to,NIRMALABIRADAR,vide-affidavit, dated-23/09/2020,beforeNotaryAdvocate,RamKishoreSingh,RegistrationNo.-2448,NewDelhi. 0040549460-2

II,,KKuumm.. Komal Kumari SharmaW/oBhupendraPancholi,R/o.G-245, Sector-Gamma-2,RampurJagir,GreaterNoida,U.P.,havechangedmyname toKomalPancholi for all futurepurposes. 0040549460-5

II,,AAjjaayyKumar S/oRamAvtarAggarwal,R/o.105,AnandNagar,Inderlok, Delhi-110035,have changedmynametoAjayKumarAggarwal,for allfuturepurposes.

0040549460-1

II,,AASSHHEEEESSHHKUMARSHRIVASTVA,S/OASHOKKUMARSHRIVASTAVA, R/o-D-1802, CLOUD-9 TOWER,RISHABHPARADISE,AHINSAKHAND-2,INDIRAPURAM,GHAZIABAD,U-P-201014,changedmyname toASHEESHKUMARSHRIVASTAVA.

0040549448-1

II,, Luv s/oManoj KumarGahlautr/o-1524 Sector-15, Sonipathave changedmyname to LuvGahlaut for all purposes.

0040549448-4

II,, ZAKIA ILYASW/OMOHAMMADILYASR/O1111/1, GALI BERIWALI, PUNJABI PHATAK,HAVELIHISSAMUDDINHAIDER(H.H.HAIDER), BALLIMARAN,DELHI 110006has changedmyname toZAKIYA ILYAS for allfuturepurposes.

0040549434-2

II,, Sunil S/o-KrishanChander,R/o.PlotNo.53-A,54-A,KHNo.16/2, ShyamVihar,Old-Khaira-Road,Najafgarh,SouthWestDelhi-110043,havechangedmyname toSunilKumar. 0040549448-2

II,, ShailendraKumar Sinandi S/oLate Sh. KayaSinghR/oH.No.8938/1, 2nd Floor,MultaniDhanda, PaharGanj, NewDelhi-55 have changednameofmyminor daughter JOYNASINANDI to JOYNASINGH for allfuturepurposes.

0040549461-1

II,, Satpal SinghW/oSh. shreeSardul SinghBhalla R/oC-302,M2K, VictoriaGarden, Azadpur,NorthWest, Delhi-33, havechangedmyname toSatpalSinghBhalla for all futurepurposes. 0040549471-1

II,, S Kumar S/oDevendraThakurR/oGH-6, Flat No-152, PrachinApartment, PaschimVihar,Delhi-110087, have changedmyname toShatrughanKumar

0070715046-1

II,, RekhaMishraD/oUmeshKumarMishraR/oT-22, BaljeetNagar, N.Delhi-110008,havechangedmyname toKajalMishrapermanently.

0040549442-3

II,, Punit VermaS/o LateVijayKumarVermaR/o F-3/350,SangamVihar, NewDelhi110062 is hereby solemnlydeclare thatmyDOB is24/8/1998 andmynickname isKaranVerma. SoPunit VermaandKaranVerma is sameandoneperson 0040549459-1

II,, NilamKaurW/O, ChandKiranR/oC-139 street no 12matawali gali johripurGokalpuriDelhi-110094have changedmyname to IlamKaur for allpurposes. 0040549469-1

II,,MunibKumarGupta,S/oMainagerGuptaR/o.Flat.No.302, BalajiApartment, Near-MetroStation,SultanPur, Delhi-110030,have changedmynameto MunibGupta.

0040549451-5

II,,Manpreet kaurW/oSh. SatpalSinghbhalla R/oC-302,M2K,VictoriaGarden, Azadpur,NorthWest, Delhi-33, havechangedmyname toManpreetKaurBhalla for all futurepurposes. 0040549472-1

II,,MOHDMOMINS/OMOHAMMAD ZUBAIR R/O I-33,MASJIDKHALILULLAH,BATLAHOUSE, JAMIANAGAR,OKHLA,NEWDELHI-110025haschangedmyname toMOHAMMADMOMIN for allfuturepurposes.

0040549434-3

II,,MOHAMMEDZUBAIRS/OMOHAMMAD ILYASR/O1111/1,GALI BERIWALI, PUNJABIPHATAK,HAVELIHISSAMUDDINHAIDER (H.H.HAIDER),BALLIMARAN,DELHI 110006haschangedmyname toMOHAMMADZUBAIR for allfuturepurposes.

0040549434-1

II,, HeenaKhanW/oSandeepKumarR/oVP-69-BPitampuraDelhi-110034,changedmyname toKrishnaYadav for allpurposes. 0040549442-4

II,, GAURI SHRIVASTVA,W/OASHEESHKUMARSHRIVASTAVA,R/o-D-1802,CLOUD-9 TOWER,RISHABHPARADISE,AHINSAKHAND-2,INDIRAPURAM,GHAZIABAD,U-P-201014,changedmyname toGAURI SHRIVASTAVA.

0040549442-1

II,, ChandaW/oLate.VijayKumarR/o-R-1252,Mangolpuri,N.Delhi-110083have changedmyminor son’s nameTinku toSumit. D.O.B-17/05/2005.

0040549442-2

II,, BhanuD/oSh. DineshChaurasiaR/o-C-303/A, 2ndFloor,NewAshokNagar,Vasundhara Enclave,EastDelhi, Delhi-110096, informthat BhanuandKhushbuKumari bothnameareof sameperson. 0040549456-1

II,, Kush s/oManoj KumarGahlaut r/o-1524 Sector-15,Sonipat have changedmy toKushGahlaut for all purposes.

0040549448-3

II,, Arjun SinghManral@ArjunSingh, S/o Sh. SurendraSinghManral, R/o 19/B, Rajpur Khurd,BhoopSinghEnclave, NewDelhi—110068have changedmyname toArjunSingh for allfuturepurposes.

0040549399-1

II,, Aneet SinghR/o J-25 B JaitpurExt Part 1ArpanViharBadarpur SouthDelhi-110044have changedmynameToAneet SinghChauhanForAllPurposes 0070715042-1

II,, Ajay SinghS/oMast RamBhandari R/o 47C, BlockD4,Sec-82 LIG, Noidadeclare thatmyname iswronglywritten indocuments ofmysonNamannBhandari.Myactual name isAjaySingh insteadofAjaysinghBhandari. 0040549464-1

II hitherto knownasRishi PravinGadpayleDaughter of PravinParmeshwarGadpayleEmployedasStudent residingat 17/5, 1st floor, OldRajendraNagar, NewDelhi, India-110060have changedmynameandshall hereafter be knownasWamikaSarkar. It is certifiedthat I have compliedwith otherlegal requirements in thisconnection. 0040549467-1

IIWakil S/o Sh. Shakeel AhmadR/o 3332, Baghichi Acche Ji,IsmailMarg, BaraHinduRao,Delhi GPO,Delhi-110006havechangedmyname toSheikhMohd.Wakeel for all purposes.

0040549414-5

II SiddarthAroraS/OManojArora,R/O10/178,GeetaColonyDelhi-110031,have changedmyname toSiddharthArora.

0040549442-11

II , VikasKumar S/O, RamPhalKhatri R/o 666, Janta FlatsGtbEnclaveDelhi have changedmyname toVikasKhatri for allpurposes. 0040549448-7

II ShahinZubairi Alias ShahinSiddiqui Alias Ishrat FatimaSiddiqui D/oShaukatullahKhanZubairi andW/oAnwarUlHaqSiddiqui R/o 4/315, HathiDooba,M-4GirlsHostel, AmirNishan, Koil, Aligarh, UP-202001, have changedmynameto Ishrat FatimaSiddiqui

0070715047-1

II RattuRani D/o LateBhagatRamW/oSh. TarsemRattuR/oD-407-408, Sector-1, Rohini,Delhi-110085havechangedmyname toRani Rattu for allpurposes. 0040549414-2

IIMukul Kumar S/oSh. JaganNathR/o 8311/4,MultaniDhanda, PaharGanj, NewDelhi-110055havechangedmyname toMukul Kohli for allpurposes. 0040549414-3

II Hari KishanS/o Late Shri TejRamSharmaR/oD132, StreetNo. 68, UttamNagar, NewDelhi-110059AffirmThatMyName IsWronglyMentionedAsHKSharma InMyDaughter’sSchool DocumentButMyCorrectAndActualName IsHari Kishan ForAll Purposes.Hari KishanAndHKSharmaBothAre SamePersonAndMyNameBeConsideredAsHariKishan In Future ForAllPurposes. 0040549458-2

II DwarkaPrasadR/o L-154, BlockL, NearNagMandir, ShashtriNagar, P.OAshokVihar, Delhihave changedmyminor son’sname fromArpit toArpitPrasad 0040549465-1

II AnoopKumarMahajanS/oSh.SatpalMahajanR/o 2467/192,GaneshPura, Tri Nagar,WestDelhi, Delhi-110035havechangedmyname toAnoopMahajan for all purposes.

0040549414-4

II AnitaKumariW/O,AmitRampal R/oC19DAvantikaEnclave Rohini have changedmyname toAnita for allpurposes. 0040549466-1

II Akhil KumarR/OCB-18NarainaNewDelhi-110028. Havechangedmyminor son’s namefromAYAANSH toAYAANSHNIRWAN for all purposes.

0040549419-2

II Akhil KumarR/OCB-18NarainaNewDelhi-110028. Havechangedmyminor daughter’sname fromESHIKA to ESHIKANIRWAN for all purposes.

0040549419-1

IIMili SharmaW/oRajnishKumarR/o F 33, VikasPuri ,NewDelhi - 110018, Havechangedmyname toMiliSaxena 0040549458-1

II Akhil KumarNirwanS/OSh.SureshKumarR/OCB-18NarainaNewDelhi-110028.Have changedmyname toAKHILKUMAR for all purposes.

0040549419-3

II Ajay SharmaS/oSh. KaranSinghSharmaR/oR-72,ModelTown-3, Delhi-110009 havechanged thenameofmyminorson fromPranshualiasPranshuSharma toPraanshuSharma for all purposes.

0040549414-1

II ,NavinKumar Sharma,S/oMamraj Sharma R/o-A-543,Gokalpuri, Delhi-110094,havechanged thenameofmyminorson fromVishal toBhuvikSharmaagedabout-14years,for all futurepurposes.

0040549451-6

II , RAJENDERSINGHTEWATIA,S/oBALESINGHTEWATIA, ADDRESS-M-110,LADO-SARAI,NEWDELHI-110030, changedmyName toRAJENDRASINGHTEWATIA.

0040549451-2

II ,Manoj s/oMohinder SinghGahlaut r/o-1524 Sector-15,Sonipat have changedmyname toManoj KumarGahlautfor all purposes. 0040549448-6

II , Beenaw/oManoj KumarGahlaut r/o-1524 sector-15,Sonipat have changedmyname toBeenaGahlaut for allpurposes. 0040549448-5

II , Babita,D/oGiriraj SinghR/o-250,RadhaKunj,NandgramGhaziabad-201003,havechangedmyname toBabitaDevi,FatherName-GirirajSingh,DOB-01-07-1974.

0040549451-1

II , ArunKumar Sharma,s/oRamPrakashSharmaR/o-93/E,Pocket-1,MayurVihar Phase-1,Delhi-110091,have changedmyname toArunSharma,permanently. 0040549451-4

I, JitendraSinghS/o-Anar SinghR/o-A-32Plot.No.47,SaiApartment Sector-13RohiniDelhi-110085,changedmyname to Jitender Singh.

0040549442-5

IItt is for general information thatI,IsrarAhmadKhan,S/oSh.AbrarAhmadKhan ,R/o 1/148,Gali No.2,ChauhanBanger,NearKalyanCinema, Delhi-53Declare That nameofmine hasbeenwronglywrittenas IsrarAhmedKhan in Sec.SchoolExamination 2019of CentralBoardof Sec. Education inRespect ofmyDaughterNamelyMehwishbearingRegistrationNo.D19/60275/0347. Theactualnameofmine is IsrarAhmadKhanwhichmaybeamendedaccordingly. 0040549447-1

PPEERRSSOONNAALL

LLOOSSTT&&FFOOUUNNDDClassifieds

PUBLIC NOTICENotice is issued to the General Public atlarge that our client Mr. Jagdish Pandit S/oSh. Ram Charitra Pandit R/o G-95, NihalVihar, Nangloi, Delhi-110041 has disownedand debarred his Son namely LokranjanKumar (having Aadhar No. 757270895654)from his property bearing No. G-95, NihalVihar, Nangloi, Delhi-110041 as well asother movable and immovable propertyincluding but not limited to all ancestralproperty throughout India and severed allhis ties from him because of his acts andconduct which are not acceptable to ourclients. Our client has no control over Mr.Lokranjan Kumar and henceforth has norelationship/ concern whatsoever from him.By this notice our client caution generalpublic at large that any person dealing withMr. Lokranjan Kumar in any mannerwhatsoever shall be so at their own risk andcost and our client shall not be liable andresponsible for any acts, commission andomission of Lokranjan Kumar in anymanner whatsoever.

Sd/- Raj Kumar, AdvocateOff: Chamber No. 228, Western Wing,TIS HAZARI COURTS, DELHI-110054

Mob: 8860749303

PUBLIC NOTICEMy Clients Ramesh KumarSharma S/o Late ShriRaghunath Sharma R/o D-97,MCD Colony, Azadpur Delhi -110033 hereby severed allRelations & Disowned theirSon Aashutosh Age Aprox 35years and his wife RakhiSharma Age 28 Years from alltheir moveable and immovableproperties due to his hostilebehaviour if anybody dealingwith him my client will not beResponsible.

Rajesh Aggarwal Advocate

PUBLIC NOTICEIT IS BROUGHT TO THENOTICE/ATTENTION OFGENERAL PUBLIC/PATRONS/DONORS OF SRI VEDANTADESIKA MANIPADUKAINDRAPRASTHA TRUST THAT ITSREGISTERED OFFICE HAS BEENSHIFTED FROM 8A/94, THIRDFLOOR, WEA KAROL BAGH, NEWDELHI-110 005 TO FLAT NO.1003,10TH FLOOR, D-BLOCK, WINTERHILLS, DWARKA MORH, DWARKAMORH METRO STATION, NEWDELHI-110 059.GENERAL PUBLIC / PATRONS /DONORS ARE REQUESTED TOTAKE NOTE OF THE CHANGE OFADDRESS FOR FUTURECORRESPONDENCE/ RECORD.

(R. SRIRAMAN)TRUSTEE 9818093567

PUBLIC NOTICEThis is for information of general public thatmy client Sh.Parmod Kumar Bedi S/oSh.Joginder Singh Bedi, who is theabsolute owner in possession of theproperty being Freehold DDA Flat No.200,Third Floor, CAT-SFSII, Pocket B & C,Sector-A, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070,had misplaced & lost the Originals ofAllotment letter, 5TH & Final DemandInstallment Letter, Possession letter, NOCfor electricity and water, Possession Slip allissued by DDA in his favour. Thatcomplaint/DDR had been lodged at PoliceStation, Pocket-6, Panchkula on24.01.2015 by my client Sh. Parmod KumarBedi S/o Sh.Joginder Singh Bedi. If anyperson/s finds the abovestated documents,it is requested to handover the same to theundersigned. And if any person/s has anyclaim whatsoever with respect to theabovestated property, he/she is required togive notice of the same to the undersignedwithin 15 days from the date of publicationhereof, together with copies of documentsforming basis of such claim, failing which itshall be concluded that there is no claimwhatsoever against the abovesaid propertyand my clients can proceed with hisintended object pertaining to theabovestated property.

Sd/-Namrata Ranga

AdvocateENRL NO. D/2817/2015

C-117B, Rama Park, Uttam NagarNew Delhi-110059 (M) 09818947341

PUBLIC NOTICE

"Be it known to all that myclient Mr. Ankur Minocha,Advocate, Slo Late ShriSatya Pal Minocha R/o F-14/20, Model Town-II,Delhi-110009 had agreedto purchase the propertyl e . F i r s t F l o o r a n donwards upto last floors(except ground floor shoparea 8x 10 feet) i.e. firstfloor area measuring 9'2"X 11' feet under thepor t ion of proper tybearing No. 12, situated,reside at main frontportion in the area ofVillage Malikpur, Delhi-110009 with built-uphouse and other structureand all the fittings andfixtures upto last floorsfrom its current ownernamely Mr. Raghbir Rai @Raghubir Rai S/o ShriBalram Rai. It has beenrepresented by the ownerthat the original G.P.A.,A g r e e m e n t t o S e l lAffidavit, Indemnity Bond,Will and payment receiptsof dated 15/03/2002 dulyregistered No.402, BookNo.IV, volume No.728, onpages 147 to 148 beforet h e O f f i c e o f S u b -Registrar-l, North Delhiand the previous originalchain of the said propertyi.e. G.P.A., Agreement toSell and Purchase ofdated 22/01/2002 dulyregistered No. 1241, BookNo. IV. Volume No.691 onpages 53 to 54 before theSub-Registrar-l, NorthDelhi in favour of theabovesaid current ownerin respect of the saidproperty are misplaced/lost and are not traceableat the moment. Thatowner has also lodged thenecessary informationwith the Crime Branch,Delhi bearing LR No.5 7 7 4 0 3 / 2 0 2 0 d a t e d16/09/2020 Any otherperson(s)/institution(sy/Government Authoritieshaving any sort of right,claim, title or interest ofany kind whatsoever inrespect of the saidproperty or any partthereof under and virtueof any deeds / documentsor otherwise is / arerequired to put forth his /her/ its/ their claim inw r i t i n g w i t h t h eu n d e r s i g n e d w i t hdocumentary proof within14 days of publication ofthis notice, failing which itshall be presumed thatthe said property is freefrom all the sorts ofencumbrances, charges,lien etc. and my clientshall proceed to completethe transaction, free fromall encumbrances asbonafide purchaser andfurther any such claimraised thereafter shall notbe binding upon my clientwhatsoever"

Gaurav Mahajan AdvocateChamber : No 86, Civil Wing

Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi-110054

PUBLIC NOTICEIt is to inform the public at large that myclients Sh. Pawan Kumar Aggarwal S/oSh. Rukam Kumar Aggarwal and his wifeSmt. Rama Aggarwal both R/o of C-12/179, Yamuna Vihar, Delhi- 110053,have severed their all relations with theirdaughter namely Seema Gupta W/o Sh.Deepak Gupta and her husband Sh.Deepak Gupta and their children i.e.daughter Akansha Gupta and son HarshitGupta and debarred them from theirmovable and immovable properties/assets. My clients shall not be liable fortheir any act or deeds in any mannerwhatsoever. Anybody dealing with themwill be at his own cost and risk.

Sd/- RANJAN DOSHI (ADVOCATE)CH. NO. 223, WESTERN WING,

TIS HAZARI COURTS, DELHI-54

PUBLIC NOTICEMy client Shri Gulshan Batra S/oLate Shri Surender Batra andMrs. Kiran Batra W/o Mr. GulshanBatra R/o B-461, Second Floor,Sudershan Park, West, Delhi-110015 have served all theirrelations with their son namelySaurav Batra, his wife Mrs.Tharushi Danushika SuranjiWijegunawardana Batra anddebarred, disowned them from alltheir movable and immovableproperties. My client shall notresponsible for their acts.

MAHIPAL SINGH (Advocate)Ch. No. X-48, Civil Wing,

Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi-54

PUBLIC NOTICEBe it known to all concerned that myclient Sh. Ravinder Kumar Bahri s/oSh. Late Yashpal bahri r/o F-12Jagatpuri, 1st Floor, Delhi-110051,disowned his son Shubham bahrifrom his all moveable and immovableproperties located at anywhere andalso severed all relations with them.Any person/s dealing with them, shallbe at his/her own risk/cost at any timein future.

Sd/-Lakshay Joshi

AdvocateD/4135/18, 28 DDA FLATS,

CHITRA VIHAR DELHI-110092,Mob. 9999852428

My Client Smt. Shanu W/o LateShri Radhey Shyam, R/o HouseNo.D-38-B, Old Slum Quarter,Paschim Puri, Punjabi Bagh, Delhi,has severed/terminated all herrelations from her Elder Son Sunnyand his wife Smt. Priya, along withtheir future children and hasdisinherited and disowned them allfrom her all movable and immovableproperties due to their misbehavior,cruelty and non-compliance. Infuture, if any person dealing withabove said debarred persons, shallbe at his/her own risks and costsand my client shall not beresponsible for the same in anymanner.

PRAKHAR SHARMA (Advocate)Off.:-C-9/14, 1st Floor, Sec-7, Rohini,

(Metro Pillar No.399),Delhi-110085

PUBLIC NOTICE

LLoossttmyoriginal Qualifying-certificate ofmain-seniorsecondary,examinationofyear-2008, Roll.No.5702900,fromCBSE.Finder pls contact-Deepti YadavR/o-834/2,AcharyaPuri,SeetlaMataRoad,Near-MamtaHospital,Gurugram,Haryana-122001.Mob.8368111890.

0040549451-10

II,,KKeettkkii AttriW/oNarendraTehriya, R/o.159,A/3,SinghaChowk,Sector-6,Gurgaon,Haryana,have lostmyOriginal,Lease-Deedof,Villa-No. E-160,ParamountGolfForeste,Plot No.BGH-A inUPSIDC,Site-C, Surajpur,GautamBudhNagar,U.P.

0040549460-6

II KavitaW/oGiriraj SinghR/oH-65, 3rd Floor, Gali No.-5,Shakarpur, Delhi-92 has lostOriginal PowerofAttorneyandother propertydocuments.Findermaycontact.

0040549416-1

II,,Manoj Kumar SInghS/ORamPal Singh, have lostmyOriginalOil TankerDCE (Adv) videno.DCN02MUM19006588 issuedfromMMDMumbai. If foundplease contact:7009426615.

0050169555-1

II,, NishaSharmaD/o BhuduttSharmaR/o.H.no-850Rajnagar,sector-23 k-BlockhouseGhaziabad,have lostmyoriginal-certificateClass-10thYear-2019 Rollno-5384857CBSE-Dehradun

0040549451-9

Himachal PradeshJal Shakti Vibhag e-tendering

The Executive Engineer Jal Shakti Vibhag Division Nalagarh invites online tenders on behalf of Governor of Himachal Pradeshfrom approved eligible contractors for the following work (s) through e-tendering process:-

1 Last date of filing / uploading the tender through e-tendering: - 05-10-2020 upto 11:00 AM the website www.hpiph.org.

Executive Engineer,JSVDivn.Nalagarh,

3231/HP HIM SUCHNA AVAM JAN SAMPARK Distt.Solan (HP)

S/ Description of work Estimated Earnest Cost of StipulatedNo cost Money tender Time

forms period

1. 2571251/- 46300/- 400/- Six Month

2. 1353959/- 27100/- 400/- Six Month

3. 7193950/- 104500/- 800/- Six Month

Construction of LWSS to village Kanganwal and Dhang UpparliinTehsil Nalagarh District Solan (HP) (Sub Head:- construction ofpump house cum attendant quarter, laying jointing testing andcommissioning of GMS pipe in Rising main, laying jointing testingof GMS pipe in Distribution system, construction of Elevated mainstorage tank 15 mtr. Staging height at Node No. 2 of 71.7 KLcapacity, and supply and erection of submersible pumping machin-ery) Under JJM.

Retrofitting and Improvement of LWSS KulhariPadyanain TehsilNalagarh District Solan (HP) (Sub Head:- construction of pumphouse cum attendant quarter, laying jointing testing and commis-sioning of GMS pipe in Rising main, laying jointing testing of GMSpipe in Distribution system, construction of Elevated main storagetank 15 mtr. Staging height at Node No. 13 of 51 KL capacity, andsupply and erection of submersible pumping machinery) Under JJM.

Retrofitting and Improvement of LWSS Rajpurain Tehsil NalagarhDistrict Solan (HP) (Sub Head:- construction of pump house cumattendant quarter, laying jointing testing and commissioning ofGMS pipe in Rising main, laying jointing testing of GMS pipe inDistribution system, construction of Elevated main storage tank 20mtr. Staging height at Node No. 14 206KL capacity, construction ofElevated sector storage tank 20 mtr. Staging height at Node No. 38of 63 KL capacity, construction of Elevated sector storage tank 15mtr. Staging height at Node No. 6 of 12 KL capacity, and supply anderection of submersible pumping machinery) Under JJM.

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14 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,SEPTEMBER24,2020CLASSIFIEDS&TENDERS

New Delhi

SHASHANKNAIRNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER23

THE ENGLISH Football League— compris-ing the Championship, League One andLeagueTwoclubs—hadbeenwaryof kick-startingtheseasonwithoutfansbecausethelackof gatemoneywouldhurt thebottom-line.However,therisingnumberofCovid-19cases in the United Kingdommeans theirworstnightmare is about to come true.

WhyareEFL clubs in abind followingtheUK tightening restrictions?English Football League (EFL) clubs

hopedthat fanswouldbeallowed intosta-diums fromOctober 1.But theplanned returnof spectators to

sports venues in England is likely to be onhold for up to sixmonths because of fearsof a second wave of Covid-19 infections.Boris Johnson, the prime minister, an-nouncedrestrictions including largegath-eringsatsportingeventsonTuesday,whichmeans awinterwithout fans.Despite rival leagues like the Dutch

Eredivisie allowing fans to enter stadiums,theofficialsfromtheDepartmentforCulture,Media and Sport (DCMS)made it clear thatthesituationintheUKlookedbleakwhenitcametoallowing fansback intostadiums.

Whyhave the restrictionsbeenbrought back in theUK?On Tuesday, Prime Minister Johnson

said that England had reached a ‘perilousturning point’ in the fight against Covid. Itwas estimatedbyEngland's ChiefMedicalOfficer, Professor Chris Whitty, and ChiefScientific Adviser, Sir PatrickVallance thatthecountrywouldsee50,000 freshcasesaday by next month, which could lead to200-plusdeathsaday, accordingtoaTelegraphreport.Whittyalsoadded that with winter aroundthe corner, the cold weatherwould benefit respiratoryviruses. The UK has also uppedits alert level to ‘4’,whichmeansthat transmissions are ‘high orrising exponentially’.

WhatwereEFL clubs looking todobefore this freshwaveof restrictionswere introduced?Seven clubs were looking to bring in

1,000 supporters to matches across the(EFL) this week as a pilot project. Beforethis, 2,500 fans were allowed inside theAmexStadium to viewa friendly betweenBrighton andHoveAlbion andChelsea.These pilot projects would be followed

by the ramping up of fans at stadiums de-pendinguponhowthe rateof transmissionfor cases was. But with pubs and bars inBritainopenforbusiness,thePremierLeague

in a statement said that fanswouldbe saferinstadiumswatchinggamesthananyotherpublic activitiesbeingcurrentlyallowed."Fans instadiumswillbeassafeoreven

safer than at any other public activity cur-rentlypermitted,” thePremierLeague,con-sistingof the top-tier clubs, said in a state-

ment. “This is already evident inother European leagues. We areconfident that Premier Leagueclubs, using innovative ways toget supporters safely back intogrounds, will enable revenues toreturn toall levelsof thegame,aswell as maintain solidarity

arrangements, current tax contributionsandfinancial support for localandnationaleconomies.”

Howmuchmoneydoclubs standto loseif fansaren’t allowed insidestadiums?Last season, the EFL lost £50m in gate

receiptsaccording toPremierLeaguechiefexecutive Richard Masters, as told to BBCSportonSeptember9.Masters in thesamereportalsosaidthat if clubsdon’tbring fansback to thestadiums, theEFL in itsentiretywill lose £700m during the 2020-21 sea-son. This comes after the Premier Leaguerevenue was already down £700m in thefinal quarter of last season.

"It's not just the loss of matchday rev-enue,"Masters said toBBC. "EveryPremierLeaguematch on average generates about£20m for the economy both local and na-tional sowewant to play our part in help-ing the economy to recover aswell.”

Nowthat fansarenotgoing tobeallowed,whatdoes thismeanforclubs?While amajority of EPL clubs will sur-

vive this period, despite the heavy losses,the truecostof fansnotbeingallowed intostadiums will be faced by lower leagueclubs.RecentlyWestHamUnitedco-ownerDavidSullivanaccusedlowerdivisionclubsof not testing players for financial reasonsand potentially exposing Premier Leagueteamswhentheymeet in theCarabaoCup.While Premier League clubs havemanda-tory Covid testing, EFL clubs do not. A re-port in theGuardian indicates that thecostof oneroundof testing is£5000andthat isforcing many lower league clubs to avoidtesting, especially at a time whenmatch-day revenues are not coming in.TheBritishgovernmenthadprovideda

grant of £1.57bn to the arts sector in July.But a bailout packagemay bemore in linewith the £16m provided to the RugbyLeague over the summer, according to an-other report in theGuardian.

Summer of discontentSPORT15 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM


E●EXPLAINED

Lastmonth,2,500fanswereallowedinsidetheAmexStadiumtoviewapre-seasonfriendlybetweenBrightonandHoveAlbionandChelsea.Reuters

Amidst risingCovid-19cases in theUK, football clubsbrace for theworst

Prajneshcrashesout insecondroundofFrenchOpenqualifiersIndia'sPrajneshGunneswarancrashedoutinthe second roundof themen's singles quali-fiersoftheFrenchOpenafterlosinginstraightsets toAleksandarVukic of Australia hereonWednesday.Prajnesh, India'ssecond-highestranked singles playerwho got the better ofTurkey'sCemIlkelintheopeninground,lost4-66-7(4)againstVukictobowoutoftheevent.TheothertwoIndians inthefray-- thecoun-try's top singles player Sumit Nagal andRamkumarRamanathan--bowedout inthefirst roundof thequalifyingevent.While the16thseedNagal,whobecamethefirst IndianinsevenyearstowinasinglesmatchataGrandSlamwithhisopeningroundvictoryattheUSOpen, lost6-7(4)5-7toGermany'sseasonedplayerDustinBrown,RamanathanwasshownthedoorbylocalwildcardTristanLamasine5-72-6.AnkitaRainawilltakeonJapan'sKurumiNara, seeded22nd. Ankita has not gonebe-yondthesecondroundattheGrandSlamqual-ifiersandneeds towin twomorematches tomakeittothemaindraw. PTI

FrenchmanBenoitPairesaidonWednesdaythathewasallowedtoplay intheHamburgOpendespite testingpositive forCOVID-19because the "rules are different" inGermany. Paire,who causeda stormat theU.S. Open last month when he was forcedto pull out of the Grand Slam after testingpositive for COVID-19, said he returned apositivetestagainonhisarrival inGermanybut was told hewas no longer contagious.PaireplayedNorwegianCasperRuudinhisfirst roundmatchbut retired in the secondsetwhenhewasdown6-42-0. "WhenIar-rived, the test came back positive again,"Paire,whoalsoplayedintheRomeMasterslastweek, toldreporters. "Ican't takeitany-

more, I'm breaking. And then I'm told, inGermany, if you are positive and have al-ready completed the quarantine (period),theynolongertesttheplayersbecauseevenif youcatch it again, youareno longer con-tagious. I said 'thankyou' to thedoctor andthe tournament (organisers) for allowingmetoplay... InParis, somearenegativebutsincethecoachtestedpositive, theycannotplay.Here, inGermany,youtestpositiveandyoucanstill play." Sixplayers in theFrenchOpenmen's andwomen's qualifying drawwerewithdrawnthisweekaftereithertest-ing positive for COVID-19 or after comingin close contact with a coach who testedpositive. REUTERS

Paireallowed toplay inHamburgdespite testingpositive forCovid

U-17Women’sWorld Cup inIndia set to be postponed againThe women's FIFA Under-17World Cup,which has been rescheduled to February-March, is likely tobepostponedyetagain inviewof the COVID-19pandemic. Originallyscheduled to beheld in five venues of IndiafromNovember 2 to 21, the women's agegroup showpiecewas pushed to February17-March7next year due to the pandemic,which has played havocwith sporting cal-endarsworldwide.Withthehealthcrisisstillshowing no signs of abating andwith thequalifying tournaments yet to be held inAfrica,NorthandCentralAmericaandSouthAmerica, there is a high possibility of thetournament getting postponed yet again."Thereisahighpossibilitythatthewomen'sFIFA U-17World Cup will be postponedagain. The new time framewhen the tour-nament will be held is yet not known," asource said. All India Football Federation(AIFF) general secretary Kushal Das, how-ever, saidthere is"noofficialupdate"onthematteryet. PTI

BenoitPaire,whowasforcedtopulloutof theUSOpen, saidhewastold ‘rulesaredifferent’ inGermany,wherehe iscompeting intheHamburgOpen.AP

West Ham playdespite viruscases, Spursgame called offASSOCIATEDPRESSLONDON,SEPTEMBER23

THE CORONAVIRUS dominated the EnglishLeague Cup schedule asWest Ham playeddespite its coach and two players havingtestedpositive,whileTottenham'sgamewascalled off. West Ham saidmanager DavidMoyesandplayersIssaDiopandJoshCullenonly found out their test results after theyhad arrived at the London Stadium to playagainst Hull. Diop and Cullen had beennamed in thestarting lineup."Themanagerandbothplayersimmedi-

ately left the stadium and have returnedhome,"West Ham said. "All three, who areasymptomatic,willnowfollowPublicHealthEnglandandPremierLeagueguidelinesandprotocols."Assistant coach Alan Irvine took charge

ofWestHaminMoyes' absence.WestHamwon the game 5-1 as Robert Snodgrassscored the opening goal before SebastienHaller and Andriy Yarmolenko scored twoeach.West Hamdid not saywhen its play-ers and coaches gave their samples to betestedorhowmuchcontactMoyes and thetwo players hadwith the rest of the teamsince then.WestHam's last gamewasa2-1loss toArsenalonSaturday.The Premier League coronavirus proto-

colsstateMoyes,DiopandCullenwillhavetoisolate for 10 days. That wouldmean theymiss the Premier League game againstWolverhamptononSunday.Earlier,thematchbetweenTottenhamand

LeytonOrientwascalledofftwohoursbeforekickoffbecauseOrientplayerscontractedthecoronavirus. "Discussions are ongoing be-tweentherelevantstakeholdersinregardstothe implications of the fixture not takingplace,"theEnglishFootballLeague,whichor-ganizesthecompetition,saidinastatement.Orient, a London-based team in the

fourthdivision,mayhavetoforfeitthegameif theclubisdeemedtobeunabletofulfilthefixture. Manchester United got its first winof the season by beating second-divisionLuton 2-0, but it was a far from dominantshowingafter losing3-1 toCrystalPalace inthe leagueonSaturday.JuanMatagaveUnitedthe lead fromthe

penalty spot after BrandonWilliams wastrippedinthe44thminute.However,Unitedstruggled to break down Luton's otherwisedisciplined defense and only a good savefromgoalkeeperDeanHendersoninhisfirstcompetitivegameforUnitedstoppedLutonleveling thescorewithaheader in the81st.Marcus Rashfordmade sure of thewin

withagoalonthecounterattacksevenmin-uteslaterandMasonGreenwoodscoredan-other inaddedtime.

CROSSWORD4232

ACROSS1 Revealing formofentertainment (10)

8 Hidesone’s relativesonboard(5)

9 It’suselessshieldingabadcrook(7)

10 Manonthemake(7)

11 Gotus todisplayzest(5)

12 Itmeansone’s refusing incodeperhaps (2,4)

14 Hemight feign ignoranceofPostOffice’s total (6)

17 Agoodcase forarise(5)

19 Instructionto themechanicmightbeabore (3,4)

21 IdealisticupperclassheadScot(7)

22 Agreenandmountainouspartof France (5)

23 Alady inretirementmayhavesuchahabit (10)

DOWN2 The last sectiontohaveacomplaint inmind(4,3)

3 Ithasasmallpart inabigpicture (5)

4 Anumber tucked intoabird inthe inn(6)

5 Fast scoringrate (7)6 Hackcomesupwithmanuscript for thepapers(5)

7 Tell a friendoff therecord(10)8 Ordersuggestingringsidehelpersarepoor timekeepers(7,3)

13 Dogfishprovidessport inScotland(7)

15 Recordholders (7)16 Lines fromachild rising ten(6)18 Abarerectedonquarterdeck(5)

20 He’snobetteroff forchangingroles (5)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)Today’sbasicpatternpicksoutallwhoaremakingshort journeys,

attending interviews, takingdecisionsandseekingoutinformation. Inotherwords,the focus isoncommunicationinall its forms.Youmayalsodowell to letotherpeople inonasecret—butchoose therightmoment.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)Thekeyquestionnowis theextent towhichyouhaveallowedyourself to

betakenforgrantedandwalkedallover likesomesortof cosmicdoormat.Watchoutfordictatorialpeopleandtakeevasiveaction. If youcanstayoutof theirway, thenyouwillendthedaymuchhappier.

GEMINI (May22- June21)TheMoonshouldgiveyoua feelingofconfidence,althoughtherewill

bea fewmoodswingsandthese in turnwillbringoccasional self-doubt.However, in the finalanalysisyoushould feelhopefulaboutthe future.Optimismbreedssuccess—andattractspotentialemployers.

CANCER(June22- July23)Youstill seemtobedoingextremelywell inmanyrespects, andthe

bestapproach isonewhichhighlightsyourcreativegifts.Youmust realise that there isnoareaof your life free fromyour intenseemotions. If youacknowledgethat, thenyou’llbeable tokeepthemincheck.

LEO(July24-Aug23)Supportiveplanetsare helpingyoukeepyour feetontheground,which is

justaswellata timesuchasthis.You’reenteringanewemotional cycle,one inwhichthere’llbe little timeforromanceorsentimentality.Instead, lookatdown-to-earthissues, suchashowmuchyoucanactuallyafford.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sep23)Youhaveareputation forbeingclear-headedandreasonable,yet too

manypeoplearecompletelyfailing tosee justhowfaryourideasaredrivenbyan intenseand idealisticdesire tosee theworldput torights. If only theywould leaveyoutogetonatyourownpace.

LIBRA(Sep24-Oct23)You should keep aneye on the financialsituation andrealise thatwhat

other peoplemistake forstrength could actually be asign ofweakness. Itwouldtherefore be folly to shapeyour actions to partners’expectations. Perhaps theyshoulddowhat youwantthis time.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov23)Your indecisivestreak iscomingout.Notbefore time,some peoplewould

say.Your first instinctwhenfacedwithadilemmamaybetoreturnto thesafetyofformerconditions.That’s finein theshort term,butyoucan’tputoff the inevitable forever.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)Youremotionalloyaltiesmaynowbebased inthepresent rather than

inthepast.Yet for somereasonyouwill find it increasinglyimportant toback-track,andworkout justexactlywhatdidhappen,andwhyarelationshipcametoanend.Youmightalsobetemptedtotakeadviceyou’dnormally ignore.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)You canbe easy tostereotype. Toomanypeopleunderestimate

your versatility, especially atwork. If partners andcolleagueswould only sitdownand listen to your ideasfor sharing responsibilitiesmore equitably in the future,they’d learn a lot.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)There ismuchtobesaid for tacklingsocial issueshead-on,butmainly if

money is involved.Theonethingyoumustbesureof atthemoment is thatpartnersandfriendswillbechangingtheiropinionsmoreoftenthantheir socks!Not that it’s abadthing,of course.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)Youmaydevotewhatever time isnecessary tosorting out

fundamental questions,especially concerning yourfamily relationships anddomestic conditions. Youshould try to rememberwhatwas agreed in thepast aswell, and respect familymembers’ feelings.

SUDOKU4241

DifficultyLevel2sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4240

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.Rememberyouarejustan___ineveryoneelse’s__.-FranklinD.Roosevelt(5,..,4)

SOLUTION:AMAZE,TURBO,DIMPLY,COWPOXAnswer:Rememberyouarejustanextraineveryoneelse’splay.-FranklinD.Roosevelt

MZAAE PMYYIDL

BOURT COOWPX

SolutionsCrossword4231:Across: 1Infest,4Hooker,9Chinese,10Datum,11Egypt,12Earshot,13Goodcompany,18Keepfit,20Actor,22White,23Ontario,24Dakota,25Better.Down:1Itches,2Fairy,3Sweated,5Order,6Kitchen,7Remote,8HelenofTroy,14Obelisk,15Piastre,16Skewed,17Armour,19Fleet,21Tarot.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

Lastseason,theEFLlost£50mingatereceiptsaccordingtoPremierLeaguechiefexecutiveRichardMasters,astoldtoBBCSportonSeptember9.Mastersinthesamereportalsosaidthatifclubsdon’tbringfansbacktothestadiums,theEFLinitsentiretywilllose£700mduringthe2020-21season.ThiscomesafterthePremierLeaguerevenuewasalreadydown£700minthefinalquarterof lastseason

New Delhi


SPORTWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

16The usual suspects

Rohit,Bumrahturnuptheheat inAbuDhabiasMumbai IndiansdefeatKolkataKnightRidersby49runs

VolLXXXVIIINo.273Regd.No.DL-21046/03-05R.N.I.No.506/57. PrintedandPublishedbyR.C.MalhotraonbehalfofTheIndianExpress(P)LimitedandPrintedatTheIndianExpress(P)LimitedPress,A-8,Sector-7,Noida-201301andPublishedatTheIndianExpress(P)Limited,MezzanineFloor,ExpressBuilding,9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg, NewDelhi-110002.Editorialoffice: TheIndianExpress(P)Limited,MezzanineFloor,ExpressBuilding,9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg, NewDelhi-110002.Phone:0120-6651500.Advertisingoffice: TheIndianExpress(P)Limited,B1/B,Sector-10,Noida-201301.Phone:0120-6651291.ChairmanoftheBoard:ViveckGoenka,ChiefEditor:RajKamalJha,Editor:

UnniRajenShanker,Editor(Delhi):RakeshSinha** **ResponsibleforselectionofNewsunderthePRBAct.Copyright: TheIndianExpress(P)Limited.Allrightsreserved.Reproductioninanymanner,electronicorotherwise,inwholeorinpart,withoutpriorwrittenpermissionisprohibited.TheIndianExpress®

OONN TTHHEE TTUUBBEE

INDIANPREMIERLEAGUEKings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers Bangalore,7.30pm, Star Sports Network

VISHALMENONNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER23

AFTERAlacklustrestarttotheseasonagainstChennai Super Kings, Mumbai IndiansroaredbackinstyletothumpKolkataKnightRiders by 49 runs. In doing so, they endedtheir UAE jinx, winning their firstmatch inthis country insevenattempts.Itwasamatchinwhichthestarsaligned

for thedefending champions,who reducedthematch to a one-sided contestmuch be-foretheend.Putintobat, theircaptainRohitSharma laid the foundation, nearly battingthrough the innings to score a 54-ball 80.Useful contributions fromthe topandmid-dle order propelled them to a score of 195thatprovedanuphill task forKKRwithcap-tainDineshKarthik,EoinMorganandAndreRussell comingacropper.In the final analysis, the difference be-

tweenthetwoteamswasintheirrespectivepaceattacks.WhileKKR’sfastbowlerserredin line and length and looked fairly lacklus-tre, their MI counterparts, led by JaspritBumrah,weremorehostile,purposefulandenergetic.

Rohit pulls KKR pacers apartRohitcanpulloff thepullshoteveninhis

sleep, or so it seems. The secret is his abilityto pick the length of the delivery early. Hedoes not have an exaggerated foot move-mentbutpreferstostaystillatthecrease,re-lyingonhisexcellenthand-eyecoordination.This is precisely why it’s suicidal for fastbowlers tobowlshort toRohit.So, isheabatsmanwithoutanyapparent

weaknesses?Notquite.The33-year-oldisathismostvulnerableatthestartofhisinnings.If pacers can bowl tight lines and pitch it atadfulleroutsidetheoff-stumpwithahintofout-swing,Rohit canbenippedearly.

Thismayseemlikeasimple,straightfor-wardplan,butKKRpacersstruggledtoexe-cute it in their IPLseason-opener.Theycon-tinually kept digging it short to the MIcaptain.Onaneasy-pacedAbuDhabi track,Rohitwashappytooblige.HewelcomedPatCummins to the attack by depositing himtwiceintothegrassbanks.Rohitdidn'tspareRusselleither,pullinghimwithdisdainforasixover themid-wicket fence. Thepull shotmayhavebeenRohit'smostproductiveshotonthenight,buthealsounfurledhissquare-cuts todevastatingeffect, especially againstthe inexperiencedSandeepWarrier.Frustratingly,KKR'sbowlersdidn'tseem

to learn fromtheirmistakes.All thisbreath-taking six-hitting meant that as many asthree balls were lost in the stands. Overall,Rohit enjoyed a strike-rate of over 250

againstthepacers,withsixsixespunctuatinghisknock.IfRohitoperatedfromastillbaseagainst

pacers,hedisplayednimblefootworkagainstthe spinners, especially against KuldeepYadav. A sublime lofted shot over long-onagainstthechinamanbowlerbroughtuphis200thsixintheIPL. ItwasnotasifRohitwasdoingallthescoringforMumbai.HewasablysupportedbySuryakumarYadav'sefferves-cence. Despite a streaky start, theMI No.3,whowalkedinaftertheearlyexitofQuintondeKock,broughtoodlesof flair.Apartfromadreamysquare-driveagainst

Warrier,Yadavscoredthebulkofhisrunsontheleg-sidebecauseofhispropensitytokeepshuffling across the stumps. The duocounter-attackedwitha90-runpartnershipthatgaveMIthedesiredimpetus.Yadavwas

unlucky tobe runout for 47, but his captaincontinued thegoodwork, beforehe ranoutof gas and spooned a ShivamMavi full tossto Cummins. Rohit’s dismissal in the 18thovermeantthatMumbaicouldn’tbreachthe200-runmarkdespite thebevyof explosivestroke-players that followed.

Bumrahswings itMumbai’swayTwo supreme pieces of deception — a

fast, searing yorker and a vicious off-cutter—bowled inthe16thoverofKKR’schasebyJasprit Bumrah effectively snuffed out theirchancesonWednesdayevening.Theformer,bowledtoRussell, dislodgedthe leg-stump.Onewouldhaveexpectedanoverwhelmingsurge of emotion fromBumrah. Instead, heremainedremarkablystoic.Threedeliverieslater, he offered a slower ball at 108kmphthat dipped and took the outside edge ofMorgan’s bat. Thepacer finally gesticulatedand for a fleetingmoment, showed a bit ofemotion. Given the circumstances of thematchandthebatsmentowhomitwasde-livered,itprovedtobeabrilliantmatch-alter-ingact.Bumrahsurprisinglylookedoff-colourin

MI’s season-opener against Chennai SuperKings. But hemore thanmade up for thatwith this splendid performance tonight tofinishwith figures of 2/32 from four overs.Bumrah hit the deck hard and extractedsharpmovementandsteepbouncefromtheplacidAbuDhabi track.Hewasnot theonlyMIpacerwho impressed.Overseas pros Trent Boult and James

Pattinson, who opened the attack, lookedequally potent andaggressive.MI are at themost irresistiblewhentheir fastbowlershitthestrapsandbowlwell intandem.Onahotand humid evening, their three-prongedpaceattackputonabowlingmasterclass tokick-start their campaign on an emphaticnote.

BRIEF SCORES:Mumbai Indians 195/5(Rohit Sharma 80, Surya Kumar Yadav 47;ShivamMavi2/32)btKolkataKnightRiders146/9 (PatCummins33,DineshKarthik30;TrentBoult2/30, JaspritBumrah2/32)by49runs.

SYNOPSISBumrah swings itMI’swayonanightRohit pulls KKRpacers apart

RohitSharmalaidthefoundationforMumbai Indians,nearlybattingthroughtheinnings toscorea54-ball80.BCCI/IPL

EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTERHot heads, calmminds and everything in between at the game.

KarthikgoesthroughthewringerKolkataKnightRidersskipperDineshKarthikhad to contendwith his bowlers having arough time in the Sharjah heat againstMumbai’sonslaught.Frominitiallyprovidingtheoddclapand

ashoutofencouragementtohisbowlers,es-peciallySandeepWarrier,whogotwallopedfor four fours in his second over, hemovedtodejectedly lookingat thegroundtoswal-lowhimupafterRohit Sharmastoodup foryet another short ball to be dispatched outof thepark.Karthik went through his five stages of

denial. Occasionally the stumpmicwouldpick his voice shouting an unconvinced‘beautiful’ athisbowler.But what wasmeant to be encourage-

ment wasmostly desperate hope that theonslaughtwould end or some divine inter-ventionwouldmercifully take place. Nada.MumbaiplasteredKKRfor195.

SHASHANKNAIR

Funny sideup forPandyaItwasaconferenceofseriousmenonthepitch.UntilHardikPandyastrodein,wearingarogu-ishsmileandacheerfulstrut.Variousshadesoflaughter ensued. Chucklewith captainRohitSharma. Gigglewith Andre Russell. Grin atDineshKarthik.Andthenaguffawwhenhegothimselfhit-wicketintheweirdestof fashions,in the process tweaking the very usage of“choppingontothestumps.”It’susedtodenotebatsmendragging theball onto the stumps.HerePandyamissedtheballaltogether,buthechoppedhisownbatontothestumps,likethewoodcutter's first feeble swishof the axe tocheck the strengthof thewood.He stood sodeepatthecreaseonmiddleandoff,thatitwasinevitablethatanystrokeontheoff-sideriskedhittingthestumps.Hewasincontrolofhisfeet,butnotthebat.Hewasshapingupfortheramp,moved further off andacross— toobackandmuchacross—thenrealisedthat theballwaspitchedoutsidetheoff-stumpandtriedtowaftit.Butthedown-swingofthebatdisarrayedthestumps.Pandya,though,wasinamoodtofind

humourineverything,eveninhisownfoibles.Even theKolkatabowlerswereamused. Yougethitwicket,butnotoftendoyouchopthebatontothestumps.Andsomuchcomicreliefonacageynight. SANDIPG

MaviwideagapeShivamMavi'sexperimentalslowerballwhilereturningforhissecondspellinthe18thoverforKKRleftSRavi,India'sbestumpirecur-rently,inonerightquandary.Itlandedoutsidethecutstrip,farawayfromtheexhaustedSharma.Butwasitfarandofficiallywide?Fieldumpiresneededtoparley,becauseany-thingbeyondthestripisactuallyano-ball.Ravifinallysignalledwithbothoutstretchedarms.Anotherwidefulltossfollowedandbythefourthdelivery,Sharmahadhadenoughandshuffledwide,butMavihadgoneevenmorebaggyinhisbowling.Mavi'sfacewouldreflecttheball—hismouthagapeforalongmomentatthetemerityofhiswideballbeinggivenawide,despiteRohitgoingswattingaf-terit.Theeludingtrapworkedintheend,asRohitfinallycouldn'tbutcheraneasylowfulltoss-perhapssurprisedthattheballhadn'tgonewanderingagain.AwidegrinfromMavi,havingsnaredRohit,completedthewidespread. SHIVANINAIK

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