INCREASE INWORST-HIT STATESSTATE DEATHTOLLASON %INCREASE

Apr1 Jun12Maharashtra 56,262 1,11,309 97.84%Karnataka 12,604 32,788 160.14%TamilNadu 12,738 29,280 129.86%Delhi 11,036 24,800 124.72%UttarPradesh 8,820 21,735 146.43%

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

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

MONDAY, JUNE 14, 2021, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES `6.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMJOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

COVID-19NUMBERS

2.1 lakhdeathssinceApr1,morethanhalf in5stateswithhighestoverall toll

AMITABHSINHAPUNE, JUNE13

THECOVID-19deathtollineverystate barring four has at leastdoubled in the last sixweeks. Ina few states, the toll has in-creasedbyclose to four times.The only states that have

bucked this trend are WestBengal,Odisha,AndhraPradesh,and Tripura, and the UnionTerritoryof Ladakh.Nearly 2.1 lakh Covid-19

deathshavebeenrecordedinthecountrysinceApril1,morethan55percent—over1.18lakh—ofwhichhavebeenreportedbythefive states of Maharashtra,Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi,and Uttar Pradesh. This is notsurprisingconsideringthesearealso the stateswith the highestdeathcounts.In each of these five states,

close to 60 per cent of the totaltollwasrecordedintheselastsixweeks. In other words, theirdeath toll increased by 2 to 2.5timesduring thisperiod.

This has been true formostother states as well. In somestates,almost80percentoftheirdeath toll till now has been re-portedafterApril 1.Thisnumberisthehighestin

Bihar, where 83 per cent of thestate’s death toll has been re-ported after April 1. But this is

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CBSE Class 12:Students maybe marked onpre-Boards, Class11 and 10 results

RITIKACHOPRANEWDELHI, JUNE13

THE CENTRAL Board ofSecondary Education (CBSE) isactively considering a proposaltoassessClass12studentsbasedontheirperformanceintheClass10 Board examination, Class 11finalexamination,andtheClass12pre-boardexamination.According to sources in the

Education Ministry, the 12-member expert committee setup by the CBSE discussed thisoption at a meeting held onSaturday."Thebroadconsensuswasto

factor in marks scored in theClass10Boards,Class11(annual)exam, and Class 12 pre-Boards.Thereweredifferencesabouttheexact weightage to be given toeachcomponent.Thatfinaldeci-sionwill be takenbyCBSE," saidaMinistryofficialwhospokeonconditionof anonymity.

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Jharkhand door-to-doorsurvey: Apr-May deathsup 43% from 2 years agoABHISHEKANGADRANCHI, JUNE13

AN INTENSIVE Public HealthSurvey (IPHS) survey inJharkhand—thefirstsuchdoor-to-door counting of deaths byany state during the secondwaveof thepandemic—has re-vealed that 25,490 people diedin the state during April-May2021. This is 43 per cent higherthan17,819totaldeathsofficially

registered across all 24 districtsin April-May 2019 as per theDirectorate of Economics andStatistics in the state’s PlanningDepartment.The PlanningDepartment is

yettoreceiveupdateddataonreg-istered deaths fromdistricts forcalendaryear2020and2021,andhence comparisonswith corre-spondingperiod in thepreviousyearorwithsequentialmonthsinthecurrentyeararenotpossible.

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AAP, SP allege scam inAyodhya land deal; Ramtemple Trust deniesAVANEESHMISHRA&ASADREHMANLUCKNOW,JUNE13

ON SUNDAY when NripendraMisra, former PrincipalSecretarytothePrimeMinister,and now head of the RamJanmabhoomi Tirth KshetraTrust’s Temple ConstructionCommittee, met the trusteesand experts in Ayodhya to takestock of temple works, theSamajwadi Party and the AamAadmi Party alleged fraud andcorruptionoverthepurchaseofa piece of land by the Trust onMarch18 this year.

In a press conference inLucknow,SanjaySingh,AAP’sin-charge for Uttar Pradesh, and aMemberofParliament,said“Thepiece of land in Ayodhya is reg-istered with number 243, 244and246.ItsvalueisRs5.80crore.It was purchased from KusumPathak and Harish Pathak bySultan Ansari and Ravi MohanTiwari for Rs 2 crore. The pur-chase had twowitnesses – AnilMishra, a member of the RamJanmabhoomi Trust, andRishikeshUpadhyay,who is theMayor of Ayodhya. It was pur-chasedat7.10pm.Inthenextfiveminutes, the same land was

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INDIA’SDEATHtollhasincreasedbyabout2.2times in the last sixweeks. Inpercentageterms,notmuchhaschanged in thecontribu-tionsof states to thena-tional toll in thisperiodandearlier.

Consistentpattern instates

Cases sliding,restaurants inDelhi to reopen;all shops inmarkets, malls

India signs joint statement at G-7 for freedom ofexpression: ‘Internet curbs threat to democracy’SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, JUNE13

INDIA SUNDAY signed off on ajointstatementbyG-7andguestcountries on “open societies”thatreaffirmandencouragethevalues of “freedom of expres-

sion, both online and offline, asa freedom that safeguardsdemocracyandhelpspeoplelivefree fromfearandoppression”.The statement also refers to

“politically motivated internetshutdowns”asoneofthethreatsto freedomanddemocracy.The ‘Open Societies

Statement’ was adopted at theendofanoutreachsessiontitled‘Building Back Together—OpenSocietiesandEconomies’,wherePrimeMinister NarendraModiwas invitedasa leadspeaker.Participatingthroughvideo-

conference, Modi said that“democracy and freedomwere

a part of India’s civilisationalethos”.However,he“sharedtheconcern” expressed by severalleaders that “open societies areparticularlyvulnerable todisin-formationandcyber-attacks”.According to the Prime

Minister's Office (PMO), ModiCONTINUEDONPAGE2

SOURAVROYBARMANNEWDELHI, JUNE13

WITH THE number of activeCovid-19casesfallingto3,466onSunday from5,208 aweek ago,the Delhi government has an-nounced a further reopening ofthecity, allowingeatingoutandliftingmorerestrictionsonshops.FromMonday, restaurants

can offer limited dine-in serv-ices, barber shops can reopen,andmarketsandshoppingmallscanoperatenormally.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind

Kejriwal said during an onlinebriefing on Sunday that it wasimperative to revive the econ-omy as many people werestruggling to make endsmeet.But this has to be done whilekeeping an eye on thepossibil-ity of a newwave of infections,and beefing up medical infra-structure, the Chief Ministersaid.Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay

DevissuedanorderonbehalfoftheDelhiDisasterManagementAuthority (DDMA) saying thatcasenumbersand the testposi-tivityrateshavedeclinedconsid-erably and the overall situationhas improved — “but due cau-tion and care has to be

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Toll thesecondwavetook: Inall but fourstates,deathsdoubled in lastsixweeks

AtKhanMarket inNewDelhionSunday.MarketswillbeallowedtofullyopenstartingMonday.RahulSabharwal

‘Joining a party notlike joining a bank…

I have farmorerespect for someonein BJP for 40 years,thanCongmanwho

joins BJP’JAIRAMRAMESH

CONGRESSRAJYASABHAMP&FORMERUNIONMINISTER

PAGE10

RS4,000-CR INVESTMENTBYGROUPLEDBYUSPEGIANT

Conflict of interest: PNB Housingboard that cleared majority stakefor Carlyle has links with CarlyleBesides twoCarlylenominees, fiveof 10directorshavehaddealingswithUSprivateequitygiant

SANDEEPSINGHNEWDELHI, JUNE13

RAISINGQUESTIONS of corpo-rate governance and conflict ofinterest, amajority of the boardmembers of PNB HousingFinance Limited thatdecided toissue shares worth Rs 4,000crore to investors led byUS pri-vate equity giant The CarlyleGroup,have links toCarlyle.Former HDFC Bank MD

Aditya Puri, who has joinedCarlyleassenioradvisor,willalso

be issuedshares.The board’s move to issue

shares,asreportedbyTheIndianExpress, could reduce the stake-holding of Punjab andNationalBank in itshousing financesub-sidiary tobelow26per cent—areversal of its ownstatedpubliccommitment.Of the 12members, two are

Carlyleemployeesandarenom-ineedirectorsbyvirtueofthefirmhavinga32per cent stake in thecompany—SunilKaul andKapilModi. After the share allotment,thiswillgouptoover50percent.

FiveothersontheboardhaveaCarlyle link.Consider:

■ Hardayal Prasad, MD&CEO of PNBHF since August2020: In July 2020, Prasad tookvoluntaryretirementasMDandCEO of SBI Cards and within amonthjoinedPNBHousingasitsMD & CEO. In March 2020,Prasad was behind SBI Cards’sRs 9,500-crore public issue inwhich Carlyle offered 9.3 croreshares(outof24.24croresharesit held) raising over Rs 7,000crore through its offer.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

EXPRESSNETWORK

UTTARAKHANDCONGLEADERINDIRAHRIDAYESHDIESAT80PAGE5

New Delhi

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY, JUNE14,2021

CCHHAANNGGEEOOFFNNAAMMEE

II,, Sahil S/OShri RameshKumar,R/OD-14/57, Sector-3,Rohini,Delhi-110085, havechangedmyname toSahilSodhi for all purposes.

0040573064-1

II,, P S SangwanR/oRZ35, 36/B,VijayPark, Najafgarh, SouthWest, Delhi-110043havechangedmyminor daughter’sname fromPragya toPragyaSangwan for all purposes.

0040573023-1

II,,AAmmaarrjjyyoott Singh,S/OShriHarpreet SinghR/OC-131,Second Floor,Gali no-4,MahendruEnclave,AzadPur,Delhi-110033,havechangedmyname toAmarjyotSinghSachdeva.

0040573064-2

II,, Harjeet SinghSaini S/o JagpalSinghR/o 2, PlotNo. 69-70, GaliNo. 8,WestGuruAngadNagar,NirmanVihar, Delhi-110092,have changedmyname toHARJEETSINGH for allpurposes

0040573041-1

II,, AMANMALHOTRA, S/OSH.VINODKUMARMALHOTRA,R/O.A-166, FIRST-FLOOR,SECTOR-41,NOIDA,G.B.NAGAR,U.P.HAVECHANGEDMYSon’sNAME,FROMARYAMANMALHOTRATOAARYAMANMALHOTRA,FORALL,FUTUREPURPOSES.

0040573064-3

II,, Asha Lata spouseof Late ShriLajpat Rai resident of ShopNo.17, OldMarket, NearCorporationBank, TilakNagar,NewDelhi-110018havechangedmyname fromAshaLata to LeelaWanti videAffidavit dated 15-April-2021beforePublicNotary, DistrictCenter Janakpuri, Delhi-110058.

0070743097-1

PUBLIC NOTICENotice is hereby given to the publicthat the Entire 1st floor, G - 66, BlockG, Masjid Moth, New Delhi- 110048is intended to be transferred andsold by Divya Surana in the name ofAshutosh Sharma and SunitaSharma. *ALL PERSONS* havingany claim in respect of sale, lien orotherwise howsoever are requestedto contact undersigned within 14days hereof failing which the claim(s)if any, of such persons(s) will beconsidered to have been waivedand/or abandoned and the saidprocess shall be completed.

Krishna Kr Sharma (Advocate)Kriss Juris & Co.

E-mail:- krishna@krissjurisnco.com,Mob:- +91-9958891040

C-84-A, LGF, Lajpat Nagar-1,Delhi-110024

obituary

''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.

FROMPAGEONE2nd wave tollmainly because of the nearly4,000deaths addedby the stategovernment two days ago in adatacleaningexercise.Theperiodinwhichthesepre-

viously uncounted deaths hap-penedisnotclear,andit ispossi-ble that at least some of themcouldbeevenfromlastyear.The country’s death toll also

increasedbymorethantwotimesduring this period— fromabout1.64 lakh tomore than3.73 lakhnow.Data show there has beenlittle change in theproportionofdeaths indifferent states duringthe last sixweeks, and in thepe-riodbeforethat.In states like Uttarakhand,

Assam,Goa,andJharkhand,morethan 70per cent of total deathshave happened in the last sixweeks.Thismeansthatthedeathtoll in these states more thantripledduringthistime.MeghalayaandNagalandalso

fallinthiscategory,thoughthetollinthesestatesisrelativelysmall.

Set to reopenmaintainedforconsolidatingthewholeprocessof Covid-19man-agement”.Thecurrent‘odd-even’restric-

tion on shops in markets andmalls —meaning only half theshops canbeopenonanyday—

hasnowbeenremoved.Allshopscanopen, thoughonly between10amand8pm. FromMonday,oneweeklymarket will be al-lowedineachmunicipalzone.Standaloneshopsandcolony

shops selling essentials such asgroceries, andmilk booths canstayopenbeyond8pm.Therewillbe no specific restrictions onshopssellingnon-essentialgoodsandservices,suchasliquorvends.The DelhiMetro and buses

willoperateat50percentseatingcapacity.Standingcommutesarestillnotallowed.Cabs,auto-rick-shaws,ande-rickshawscanferryuptotwopassengersatatime.Therewill beno curbs on in-

ter-statemovementofpeopleandgoods.ThismeansonecanmovefreelybetweenDelhi andNoida,Gurgaon,GhaziabadorFaridabad.Restaurantscanfunctionat50

percentcapacity.AllCovid-19ap-propriate normswill have to befollowed.Liquorcannotbeservedatrestaurants,andbarsandpubswillremainclosed.Therelaxationshavebeenal-

lowedonatrialbasisuntilJune20.If norms are flouted, causing aspikeincases,markets,mallsandrestaurants“shallbeclosedforth-with”,theDDMAorderstates.Barbershops and salons too,

can reopen fromMonday.How-ever, spas, gyms, andyoga insti-tuteswillremainclosed.Cinemas

andmultiplexeswillremainshut.Parks and gardenswill stay

closed, the order says.However,RWAsacrossthecityhaveopenedmanyparksforresidents.Swimmingpools and sports

complexes also cannot reopenyet.Visitorsanddevoteesarenotallowedatplacesofworship.Forprivateoffices,theexisting

arrangement of 9 am to 5 pmdailyoperationswith50percentstaff shallcontinue.The order specifically states

that no permission is requiredfromany authority for activitiesthatarebeingpermitted.On Sunday, Delhi registered

255 new caseswith a 0.35 percentpositivityrateand23deaths.BetweenJune7—whenmarkets,malls, and theMetrowere re-openedwith restrictions—andJune13, the city registered1,895casesand232deaths.“The coronavirus situation is

coming under control in Delhi.The cases have reduced signifi-cantlyandrightnowtheonlycon-cernistobringbacktheeconomyontrackwhilemakingallarrange-ments to tackle a possible thirdwave,”Kejriwalsaid.As the secondwavebattered

Delhi inApril andMay, the gov-ernmentannouncedalockdownonApril 19, the day the capitalregistered23,686 cases. Restric-tionswere tightenedonMay10,

andMetroserviceswerestopped.

JharkhandThedoor-to-door IPHS,origi-

nallyplanned tocover theentire3.5 crorepopulationof the state,was restricted to the rural areas,andeventuallycovered2.56crorepeopleoralmostthree-fourthsofthepopulation.ItwasconductedbetweenMay25andJune5withthehelpofover80,000sahiyasorAccreditedSocialHealthActivists(ASHAs),ANMs(AuxiliaryNurseMidwives) and CommunityHealthOfficers(CHOs).Thetwoprimaryobjectivesof

the survey were: i) to spreadawareness,testforCovid-19,pro-vide advice onmedication, andprevent the spread of the pan-demic,andii)tocountthedeathsin rural areaswithconcerns thatdeathswerenotbeingrecorded.Whenaskedabout thesharp

riseinthenumberofdeathsasin-dicatedinthesurvey,ArunSingh,AdditionalChiefSecretary(Heal-th), Jharkhand told The IndianExpress, “More than25,000dea-thswererecordedduringthesur-vey.We,however,stilldonotkn-owwhatcausedthesedeaths.Wehavenowinitiatedanotherexer-cise to ascertain the causeof thedeathsrecordedinthesurvey.”Officially, the state has said

therewere 3,864 deaths due toCovid-19 duringApril-May this

year.OfficialsinthestatePlanningDepartment warned againstmaking a simplistic comparisonof thiswiththesurveyfindings.“Therearetwopointstonote:

i)Inanormalyear2019,thenum-berofdeathsofficiallyregisteredwere ashigh as17,819. Youhavetounderstandthatadoor-to-doorsurveywillalwaysallowforverygood capture of death data. ii)Unlike inurbanareas,deathsarenotnecessarilyregisteredinruralareas,”saidanofficial.

CarlyleCarlylehadacquireda26percentstakeinSBICardfromGECapitalinDecember2017 for aroundRs2,000 crore and made a hugeprofit inlessthanthreeyears.Prasad was appointed MD

andCEOofSBICardsinFebruary2018. Just fourmonths after theIPO, he tookVRS, quit SBI Cardsand joinedPNBHF.Whilehis re-muneration in SBI CardswasRs66lakhfor2018-19,PNBHousinghiredhimat a fixed salary of Rs1.91 crore and a performancelinkedvariablepayofRs1.4crore.Theboarddecidedtopayamini-mumof Rs1.12 crore of variablepay for the first year. Prasadwasalsogranted5.5 lakhESOPat thethenmarketprice.

■ NeerajMadanVyas,non-independent director sinceSeptember1,2020:Vyaswasanindependent director on theBoard of PNBHF fromApril 19,2019toApril27,2020--andMD&CEOof PNBHousing FinanceLimited fromApril 28, 2020 toAugust10,2020.Vyas superannuated as

Deputy MD and COO of SBI inJune2018.Negotiations forGE’sstake sale in SBI Cardswent onwhenhehadoverallcontrolofSBICards. Andwhen Carlyle com-pleted GE’s stake purchase inDecember2017,VyaswasDeputyMD, SBI Corp. CentralMumbai,andwasontheboardofSBICards.

■ ChandrasekaranRamakrishan,independentdi-rector since2015:He retired asexecutive vice chairman ofCognizant India inMarch 2019.HefirstjoinedtheboardofPNBHFinOctober 2015 andwas reap-pointedinOctober2020.In2016-17,whenCarlylebidforGE’sstakein SBI Cards, Cognizantwas thetechnicalpartnerofCarlyleinthebidandChandrasekaranwasvicechairmanofCognizant.

■ NileshSVikamsey, inde-pendent director since April2016:ACAbyprofessionandpastpresident of ICAI, he is a seniorpartner inKhimji Kunverji &Co.He joined the PNBHF board inApril 2016andwas reappointedinApril2021.RoC records showVikamsey

wasalsoadirectorinSBICardsbe-tweenAugust2019andNovem-ber 2020. Of the 10 companieswhere he has been a director,thereareatleastsixwhereCarlylehas been an investor includingPNBHousing, SBI Cards and SBILife.Vikamseyisontheboardsofthree IIFL Group companieswhereCarlylewasaninvestor.

■ TMBhasin, independentdirector sinceApril 2020:He’salso an independent director ontheboardofSBICardsandSBILifewhereCarlyleisaninvestor.Heisex-CMDofIndianOverseasBankandex-VigilanceCommissioner.Detailed questions sent to

NeerajMohanVyas, R Chandra-sekaran, Nilesh Vikamsey, TMBhasin, Carlyle and PNBdid notelicitanyresponse.Respondingtoquestionsmail-

ed to Prasad, a PNBHF spokes-person told The Indian Express:“The Company followed dueprocessforthehiringoftheMD&CEO.TheCompanyhiredareputedconsultant for searchof suitablecandidateandthefinalcandidatewasapprovedbytheBoard.”Askedabouttheconflictofin-

terest in several directorshavinglinkageswithCarlyleandSBI,thecompanysaid,“Alldirectorsofthecompanyareobliged toperiodi-callydisclosealltheirongoingen-gagementswithin the company

as strictlymandatedagainst laidoutcompliancenormsunderthelaw. The Company received allnecessary general disclosuresfromitsdirectors,includinginde-pendentdirectorsanddonotseeanyconflict.”Thepresenceof boardmem-

bers in companieswith a com-mon investor puts a questionmarkontheirindependenceand,therefore, raises issuesof corpo-rategovernance,acorporategov-ernanceexpertsaid.Incidentally, Vyas’s link to

CarlylewasflaggedatthePNBHFboardmeetingonAugust6,2020calledtodiscusshisappointment.Fellow director Gourav

Vallabhcalledita“perceivedcon-flictofinterest”thatwent“againstthefoundationsofcorporategov-ernance”.ButhisobjectionswereignoredandVyaswasappointed.Vallabhalsoraisedsimilarobjec-tions toPrasad'sappointmentasMDand CEO.When contacted,Vallabhdeclinedtocomment.

G-7also stressed on theneed to en-surethat“cyberspaceremainsanavenueforadvancingdemocraticvaluesandnotofsubvertingit”.The joint statement was

signedby theG-7countries, andIndia, SouthKorea,Australia andSouth Africa, with host BritishPrimeMinisterBorisJohnsoncall-ingthem“Democracies11”.While the statement is di-

rectedatChinaandRussia, Indiahas been under scrutiny overInternet curbs in Jammu andKashmirevenastheGovernmentislockedinaface-offoveritsnewIT ruleswith tech giants such asTwitter,whichdescribedapolicesearch at its offices in India lastmonth as a “potential threat tofreedomofexpression”.The joint statement at G-7

said:“Weareatacriticaljuncture,facing threats to freedom anddemocracy from rising authori-tarianism, electoral interference,corruption, economic coercion,manipulationof information, in-cluding disinformation, onlineharms and cyber attacks, politi-callymotivated internet shut-downs, human rights violationsandabuses,terrorismandviolentextremism.”It is learnt that New Delhi

signedoffonthestatementaftermakingitsreservationsknowntothe negotiators fromG-7 coun-tries. External AffairsMinister SJaishankar,whohadparticipatedin the G-7 Foreign Ministersmeeting inMay, had said that“opensocietiesandpersonalfree-doms require careful nurturing.Must be on guard against fakenewsanddigitalmanipulation.”The “open societies” state-

mentalsoaffirmed“humanrightsfor all, bothonlineandoffline, asset out in the Universal Decla-rationofHumanRightsandotherhuman rights instruments, andoppositiontoanyformofdiscrim-ination,sothateveryonecanpar-ticipatefully,equallyinsociety”.

Class 12Thethreecomponentswillbe

countedtowards70marksmeantfortheory,theofficeradded.OnJune1,CBSEscrappedthe

Class 12Board examinationduetothesecondwaveof theCovid-19 pandemic. The decisionwasannounced after a meetingchairedby thePrimeMinister. Itwas justifiedon the ground that"studentsshouldnotbeforcedtoappearforexamsinsuchastress-fulsituation".ThedecisiontoscraptheCBSE

Boardexaminationwastakende-spite32statesandUnionTerrito-riessupportingtheconductoftheClass 12Board examination thisyear. Of these, 29 states andUTseithersupportedthecurtailedfor-mat or agreed to support theCentre’sdecision.Onlyfourstates—Delhi,Maharashtra, Goa, andAndaman&Nicobar—categori-callyopposedpen-and-paperex-aminations.FollowingCBSE'san-nouncement, most states toocancelledtheirBoardexams.

Subsequently, CBSE wastaskedby SupremeCourt to de-vise an alternative assessmentscheme in twoweeks. The 12-memberpanelhadits lastmeet-ingonSaturday,andCBSEwill, inall likelihood, submit its plan totheSupremeCourtonMonday.

Ayodhyabought by Ram JanmabhoomiTrust and Champat Rai for Rs18.5 crore from Ansari andTiwari. Rs 17 crore was trans-ferred through RTGS.”In a statement issued late

night, the Trust said the currentsellershadaregisteredagreementyearsagoataprice,andafter thebainama(saledeed)onMarch18,theysoldittotheTrust.“AftertheSupremeCourtorder,alotofpeo-plestartedcomingtoAyodhyatopurchaseland,andastheUPgov-ernment is alsopurchasing a lotof land for developmentworks,thelandpriceincreasedsuddenly.Thelandonwhichdiscussionhasstartedisveryclosetotherailwaystationandtherefore, is ataveryimportant location. All the landspurchasedby the Trust are pur-chasedatapricemuchlowerthanmarketprice,”thestatementsaid.AAP’s Sanjay Singh claimed

the stamp papers for the firstpurchase were bought at 5.11pm, and for the second at 5.22pm.Hedemandedthisbeprob-edbytheCBIorEDasitconcernsreligiousbeliefsof crores.At anotherpress conference

in Ayodhya, Samajwadi Partyleader and formerMLA, PawanPandey,alsoraisedsimilarques-tions, “A piece of land wasbought for Rs 2 crore in whichtrusteeswerewitnesses.Didtheland start givingout gold that itwas bought for Rs 18.5 crore afewminuteslater…TheTrusteeisthewitnessalongwithMayorRishikesh Upadhyay. I have thedocumentaryproof.”The Trust, however, said the

propaganda by political peopleon the issue was misleading.“The concernedperson is polit-ical and thematter is politicallymotivated,” it said.The statement, signed by

ChampatRai,alsoclaimedthatallthe sale andpurchase isdonebyproper communication andagreement, and signatures aretakenonagreementpapers. “Allthe court fees and stamppaperpurchase is doneonline and theamount is transferred into thebankaccountofthesellerthroughonlinetransaction,” itsaid.While Ansari — one of the

two property dealerswho soldthe piece of land to the Trust—did not respond to calls, Tiwarisaid the agreement for the saidlandwasmadewiththePathaksseveral years ago for Rs 2 crore,but its value increased signifi-cantly after the Supreme Courtdecision. “While I purchased itfor Rs 2 crore as permy agree-ment, the actual pricemust bemorethanRs20crorenow.ButIsold it for just Rs 18.5 crore be-causeitisforaprojectconcernedwithour faith,” saidTiwari.Respondingtotheallegation,

Champat Rai, Secretary, RamJanmabhoomiTrust,said,“Iwillstudythematter. Iwillnotcom-ment at this point. Allegationsnever worry me.” AyodhyaMayorRishikeshUpadhyaysaidhewouldnot like tocomment.Accordingtothedocuments

providedbyAAPandSPleaders,the landoverwhich theallegedfraudulent deal happened is aresidentialplotof 12,080sqm.Elaboratingonthemeetingof

theTrustonSunday,Raisaid,“TillMarch31,wehavedepositedoverRs3,200crore inthebanks.Over4crorepeople contributedRs10each,andalittle lessthan4crorepeople contributedRs100each.Others contributed Rs 1,000 ormore. Rs 80 crorewas collectedbydirect bank transfer. AnotherRs60lakhwascollectedbythosecoming to Ram Janambhoomiwhentherewasnolockdown.”

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E-Auction Sale Notice for Sale of Movable/Immovable Assets under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement ofsecurity InterestAct, 2002 read with proviso to Rule 8 (6) of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002.Notice is hereby given to the public in general and in particular to the Borrower(s)/Guarantor(s)/Mortgager(s) that the below described immovableproperty mortgaged/charged to the Secured Creditor, the Symbolic possession of which has been taken by the Authorised Officer of Punjab NationalBank, Secured Creditor, will be sold on "As is where is" , "As is what is" and "Whatever there is" on the date as mentioned in the table herein below, forrecovery of its dues due to the Punjab National Bank, Secured Creditor from the respective Borrower(s)/Guarantor(s)/Mortgager(s). The ReservePrice and the Earnest Money Deposit will be as mentioned in the table below against the respective properties.

SCHEDULE OF THE SECURED ASSETS

CIRCLE SASTRA, PATNA NORTH: R-Block, 2nd Floor, Chanakya Place, Patna-800001

Ph.: 0612-2506743, Fax: 2506585, Email: cs8297@pnb.co.in

+---Hkjksls dk Árhd ! ...the name you can BANK upon !

(A Govt. of India Undertaking)

SALE NOTICE FOR SALE OF MOVABLE/IMMOVABLE PROPERTIES

Description of the Immovable Properties

Mortgaged/Owner's Name

(Mortgagers of Property(ies))Name & addresses

of the Borrower/Guarantors Account

Lot.No.

Name of theBranch

Name of theAccount

Date/Time of

E-Auction

Detailsof the

encum-brancesknownto the

securedcreditors

A) ReservePrice (Rs.in Lacs)

B) EMD(Last date of

submitting KYCfor depositing

EMD)

C) Bid IncreaseAmount

Dt. of DemandNotice u/s 13(2) ofSARFESI ACT 2002

Outstanding Amount

Possession Date u/s13(4) of SARFESIACT 2002

Nature of PossessionSymbolic/Physical/Constructive

A)

B)

C)

D)

5. Branch: Barh

Smt. Vibha Devi,W/o Sri RakeshKumar Raushan

A/C No.

056900NC20062603

Branch:Bakhtiyarpur

Sri Sanjit Kumar,S/o Late Umesh Ray

A/C No.

758600NC00000012

15.07.202103.00 PM

to04.00 PMC) ` 10,000/-

N/AA) ` 28.00 Lakh

B) ` 2.80 Lakh(12.07.2021)

Description of Immovable Property:- EM of Land andBuilding situated at Mouza- Sadikpur Nawadah, Pragana-Gyaspur, Thana & Sub Division & Sub Registry Office-Barh, Sadar Registry & Distt.- Patna, Tauzi No. 8435,Khata No. 501, Khesra No. 1253, Thana No. 53, Area: 3Decimal (Half part of Khata No. 1253 Area- 6 Decimal)vide Sale Deed No. 4739 dated 28.07.2008 pertaining toSmt. Vibha Devi W/o Sri Rakesh Kumar Raushan,Bounded as:- North: Gali, South: Mo Kuso Devi W/o LateMunnilal Pandit, East: No Haza Ramchandra Mahto BhaiManmokir, West: Kameshwar Tanti and others.

C) 06.02.2021

D) Symbolic

A) 16.12.2019

B) ` 26,81,906.00plus upto date interest

and other charges.

4.15.07.202101.00 PM

to02.00 PMC) ` 10,000/-

N/AA) ` 10.00 Lakh

B) ` 1.00 Lakh(12.07.2021)

Description of Immovable Property:- EM of Land andBuilding situated at Mouza- Alipur Budhura, Thana: Barh,Anchal &Thana:Athmalgola, Sub Division & Sub Registry-Barh, Sadar Registry Office & Distt.- Patna, Tauzi No.8538, Thana No. 129, Khata No. 25, Khesra No. 104,Area:4.6875 Decimal, covered by Sale Deed No. 4005 dated19.06.2014 pertaining to Sri Sanjit Kumar S/o Late UmeshRay, Bounded as:- North: Devnandan Ray, South:Anil Ray& others, East: Moti Ray, West:Anil Ray & others.

C) 15.01.2021

D) Symbolic

A) 22.10.2020

B) ` 11,19,384.60plus upto date interest

and other charges.

1.

2.

Branch: Fatuha

M/s Aradhana RiceMill, Prop. Sri

Bobby Kant KumarS/o Sri Surendra

Kumar Akela

Guarantor: SriSurendra Kumar

Akela S/o LateVidya Sagar Singh

A/C No.7178008700001036

&717800SK00000083

Branch: Fatuha

M/s Chand Bricks,Prop. Md. Maqbool

Ahmed, S/o LateWaizul Haque

A/C No.7178008700000196

15.07.202110.00 AM

to11.00 AM

15.07.202111.00 AM

to12.00 AM

C) ` 10,000/-

C) ` 10,000/-

N/A

N/A

A) ` 15.00 Lakh

A) ` 28.00 Lakh

B) ` 1.50 Lakh(12.07.2021)

B) ` 2.80 Lakh(12.07.2021)

Description of Immovable Property: EM of Land andBuilding situated at Mouza: Mosimpur Kurtha, Thana-Fatuha, Sub Registry: Patnacity, Sadar Registry:Bankipur, Patna, Distt.: Patna, Tauzi: Bihar Sarkar, ThanaNo. 17, Khata No. 39, Part Khesra No. 238(P), Ward No.23, Circle Office: Fatuha, Area: 8 Dhur(1.25 Decimal)covered by sale deed no.- 3657 dated 13.05.2015 in thename of Sri Surendra Kumar Akela S/o Late Vidya SagarSingh, Boundary:- North: Smt. Veena Devi, South: Smt.Poonam Devi W/o Sri Dilip Singh, East: Public Road,West: Sri Ramesh Singh.

Description of Immovable Property: EM of Land andBuilding situated at Mouza: Khirodharpur, P.S. - Fatuha,Anchal- Fatuha, Sub Registry: Patna city, Sadar Registryoffice & Distt.: Patna, Thana No. 122, Survey Plot No. 184,Khata No. 175, Tauzi: 2208, Jamabandi No. : 777, Area: 6Decimal. Registered Sale Deed No.- 1988 dated12.05.1984 pertaining to Md. Maqbool Ahmed, S/o LateWaizul Haque, Boundary:- North: Purchaser Niz, South:Gali, East: Sri Ram Ishwar Singh & Ramswarath Singh,West: Gali.

C) 05.12.2020

C) 12.03.2021

D) Symbolic

D) Symbolic

A) 24.12.2019

A) 17.12.2020

B) ` 18,96,793.22plus upto date interest

and other charges.

B) ` 38,68,396.01plus upto date interest

and other charges.

3. Branch: Fatuha

M/s Jai Maa TaraEnterprises, Prop.

Smt. KaushalyaDevi W/o.

Dharamvir Prasad

Guarantor: Sri RamNarain Singh S/o.Late Siv Nandan

Singh and SriDharamvir Prasad

S/o Sri Ram NarainSingh

A/C No.7178008700000293

15.07.202112.00 AM

to01.00 PMC) ` 10,000/-

N/AA) ` 34.00 Lakh

B) ` 3.40 Lakh(12.07.2021)

C) 12.03.2021

D) Symbolic

A) 20.11.2019

B) ` 29,75,875.40plus upto date interest

and other charges.

Description of Immovable Property: EM of Land andBuilding situated at Mouza: Govindpur Kurtha, Thana -Fatuha, Sub Registry: Patna city, Sadar RegistryBankipur, Patna Distt.- Patna, Tauzi - Bihar Sarkar, ThanaNo. 16, Khata No. 125, Part Khesra No. 213 (P), 1. Area:13 Dhur covered by sale deed No. 229 dated 04.02.2006in the name of Sri Ram Narain SinghS/o. Late Siv NandanSingh, Boundary:- North: Rasta, South: Part of Niz whichis Purchased by Dharamvir Prasad, East: Part Plot of SitaDevi, West: Bangali Gope & Others.2. Area: 13 Dhur covered by sale deed No. 230 dated04.02.2006 in the name of Sri Dharamvir Prasad S/o SriRam Narain Singh, Boundary:- North: Niz plot (p) which isPurchased by Sri Ram Narain Singh, South: Road Niz RajKishor Mahto, East: Part Plot of Sita Devi, West: BangaliGope & Others.

6.15.07.202104.00 PM

to05.00 PMC) ` 50,000/-

N/AA) ` 107.00 Lakh

B) ` 10.07 Lakh(12.07.2021)

C) 12.03.2021

D) Symbolic

A) 15.12.2020

B) ` 38,82,979.07plus upto date interest

and other charges.

Branch: Barh

Sri Sunil KumarSaw S/o. Late Sheo

Balak Sao, Smt.Anita Devi W/o. SriSunil Kumar Saw

and Sri Nandu SaoS/o. Kishun Sao

A/C No.056900NC20062366

Description of Immovable Property:1. EM of Land and Building situated at Mouza: SalempurKasbe Barh, Pragana - Gyaspur, Thana - Anchal, SubDivision & Sub Registry Office- Barh, Sadar Registry andDistt.- Patna, Thana No. 56,Thana Code - 022, Zone - 2,Ward No. 12, Holding No. 249/238 (Old) and 249/240(New), Area: 5 Dhur (0.78125 Decimal) Vide Sale DeedNo. 17124 dated 04.06.2012 pertaining to Sri Sunil KumarSaw S/o. Late Shiv Balak Sao, Boundary:- North: ShivPrasad Sao and Gauri Shankar Sao Hissedar, South:AnjuKumari, East: Sarak, West: Dr. Sudhin Kumar Sinha.

2. EM of Land and Building situated at Mouza: Salempur, Thana - Anchal, Sub Division & Sub RegistryOffice- Barh, Sadar Registry and Distt.- Patna, Thana No. 56, Jamindari Bihar Sarkar, Anchal Adhikari -Barh, Ward No. 12, Holding No. 0127/249,Area: 1.171875 Decimal (7 Dhur 10 Durkil) Vide Sale Deed No.2118 dated 31.03.2013 pertaining to Smt. Anita Devi W/o. Sri Sunil Kumar Sao, Boundary:- North: Dr.Sudhin Kumar Sinha, South: Sahayak Sarak, East: Sunil Kumar Sao, West: Parvati Devi.3. EM of Land and Building situated at Mouza: Salempur Kasbe Barh, Thana - Sub Division & SubRegistry Office- Barh, Sadar Registry and Distt.- Patna, Thana No. 56, Jamindari Bihar Sarkar, AnchalAdhikari - Barh, Ward No. 3 (Old / 11 (New), Holding No. 249/238 (Parti Jamin)/ Holding No.(Purana/Naya) 249/240,, Area: 1.171875 Decimal (7 Dhur 10 Dhuki) Vide Sale Deed No. 1049 dated25.02.2006 pertaining to Smt. Anita Devi W/o. Sri Sunil Kumar Sao, Boundary:- North: Hal KharidarParwati Devi Mo No HazaAaj Tarikh imroza, South: Gali, East: Sarak, West: Dr. Sudhin Kumar Sinha.4. EM of Land and Building situated at Mouza: Salempur Kasbe Barh, Thana, Sub Division & SubRegistry Office- Barh, Sadar Registry and Distt.- Patna, Thana No. 56, Jamindari Bihar Sarkar, AnchalAdhikari - Barh, Ward No. 3 (Old / 11 (New), Holding No. 249/238 (Parti Jamin)/ Holding No.(Purana/Naya) 249/240, Area: 2.34375 Decimal (15 Dhur) Vide Sale Deed No. 1051 dated 25.02.2006pertaining to Smt. Parvati Devi W/o. Sri Nandu Sao, Boundary:- North: Hal Kharidar Anju Kumari Mo NoHazaAaj Tarikh imroza, South: Hal KharidarAnita Devi Mo No HazaAaj Tarikh imroza, East: Sarak, West:Dr. Sudhin Kumar Sinha.

1. The sale shall be subject to the Terms & Conditions prescribed in the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules 2002 and to the following furtherconditions:

2. The properties are being sold on ''AS IS WHERE IS BASIS'' and "AS IS WHAT IS BASIS" and "WHATEVER THERE IS BASIS."3. The particulars of Secured Assets specified in the Schedule hereinabove have been stated to the best of the information of the Authorised Officer,

but theAuthorised Officer shall not be answerable for any error, misstatement or omission in this proclamation.4. The Sale will be done by the undersigned through e-auction platform provided at the Website https://www.mstcecommerce.com on on the date as

mention in the table here in above.5. For detailed term and conditions of the sale, please refer www.ibapi.in, www.tenders.gov.in, www.mstcecommerce.com,

https://eprocure.gov.in/epublish/appSTATUTORY 15/30 DAYS NOTICE UNDER THE SARFAESI ACT, 2002

Date : 14.06.2021Place : Patna

(Authorised Officer)

Punjab National Bank

PUBLIC NOTICE FOR AUCTION OF GOLD ORNAMENTS

Head Office: The Fairway, Ground & First Floor, Survey No- 10/1,11/2 & 12/2B, Off Domlur, Koramangla Inner Ring Road,

Next to EGL Business Park, Challaghatta, Bangalore-560071.

1 32638730004235 Farjana Sitara / Sabir 16.34

2 32638730004337 Reshma Devi / Kawar Singh 55.97

3 32638730004745 Farjana / Sabir 22.4

Jana Small Finance Bank Ltd., 1st Floor, A-7-8/88, Ramgarh, Jahangirpuri,Karnal Road, Corporation Bank Building, Delhi-110009, India.

4 45128730000040 Rajender Kumar / Rajpal 14.44

Jana Small Finance Bank Ltd., 1st Floor, Building No.16/12, WEA Arya, NagarSamaj Road, Karol Bagh, Delhi-110005, India.

5 34428730000245 Anita Babbar / Ghasi Ram 9.2

Jana Small Finance Bank Ltd., 1st Floor, Khasra No. 52, No. 46-A,Masoodabad, Near Chara Mandi, Najafgarh, New Delhi-110043, India.

6 47938730002900 Raj Kumar / Hari Prasad 38

7 47938730003649 Jamil Khan / Yameen 21.15

8 47938730003790 Poonam / Rajaram 4.68

9 47938730003814 Sunita / Babu Lal 29.63

10 47938730003879 Riyazuddin / Fakhruddin 18.42

11 47938730003892 Manoj Kumar / Ganga Ram 12.77

12 47938730003942 Santosh / TEJ RAM 57.07

13 47938730004027 Asha Devi / 53.96

14 47938730004030 Asha Devi / 8.82

Jana Small Finance Bank Ltd., 1st Floor, Property No. C-3, Hastsal Village,Milap Nagar Colony, New Delhi-110059, India.

15 32818730002932 Sunita Devi / Sohan Lal 4.53

16 32818730003004 Kuldeep Singh / Hari Singh 11.75

17 32818730003020 Mohammed Shahnawaz Ansari / Bundu Ansari 13.37

Jana Small Finance Bank Ltd., 1st Floor, U-182/A, Upadhyay Block, NearLakshmi Nagar Metro Station, Laxmi Nagar, Shakarpur, East Delhi-110092, India.

18 45158730000106 Sunita Singh / Lakhan Singh 75.75

Jana Small Finance Bank Ltd., Ground Floor, No.12 Block-N,South Extensions Part-I, New Delhi-110049, India.

19 30808730007928 Manoj Kumar / Ram Phool 12.058

20 30808730008000 Neeru Amit Kumar / Suresh Chandra 4.111

21 30808730008115 Priti Raghav / Harish Raghav 17.33

22 30808730010208 Shahrukh S / Mohd Kayyum 8.88

23 30808730010694 Santosh Devi / Balveer Singh 12.525

Jana Small Finance Bank Ltd., 1st Floor, Property No. B-109, Jyoti Colony,Near Durgapuri Chowk, Shahdara, Delhi-110032, India.

24 45138730000141 Yogesh Nagia / Kanwal Nangia 30

25 45138730000154 Yogesh Nangia / Kanwal Nangia 36.05

26 45138730000167 Yogesh Nangia / Kanwal Nangia 49.8

Jana Small Finance Bank Ltd., Ground Floor, No. 333, Block-A, Janta Co-OperativeHouse Building Society, Meera Bagh, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi-110087, India.

27 30908730002586 Sumit Kumar / Satish Kumar 12.596

28 30908730002738 Firoza Begam / Liyakat Ali 4.85

29 30908730003218 Shekhar / Govind Raj 50.116

Jana Small Finance Bank Ltd., Ground Floor, Plot No.74,Block No. D (D-74), Malviya Nagar, New Delhi-110017, India.

30 31248730005265 Lakshmi Devi / Bhup Singh 12.65

31 31248730006203 Rohit Paswan / Ram Bilas Paswan 15.08

32 31248730006305 Pankaj Sharma / Siya Ram Sharma 6.341

33 31248730006410 Rashmi T / Rajender Kumar 7.448

Jana Small Finance Bank Ltd., Ground Floor, Property Bearing No. 2152,Bawana Road, Narela Madi, Delhi-110040, India.

34 47538730002328 Pooja P / Omi 5.068

Jana Small Finance Bank Ltd., No. A-61, Situated at Rajouri Garden,New Delhi-110027, India.

35 30218730003709 Ram Prasad / Bansi Ram Nisad 5.9

36 30218730004662 Babli Babli / Virender 3.85

37 30218730005359 Nar Singh Pal / Jitendra Babu Pal 14.2

38 30218730005435 Raj Rani / 5.4

Jana Small Finannce Bank Ltd., No.8, Paschim Enclave, Rohtak Road, Near PeeraGahri Chowk, Opp. Maruthi Show Room, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi-110087, India.

The below mentioned borrowers have failed to repay the loan and redeem the goldornaments within the stipulated time in spite of several reminders. The GoldJewellery/ornaments pledged under the said loan accounts by the below listedborrowers will be sold in public/ Online/ private auction at our Branch premises on24-06-2021 at 10.30 AM. Those willing to participate are requested to contact thebranch. The Bank reserves the right to accept or reject any bid without assigning anyreason whatsoever. Please note if the auction does not get completed on the sameday, the same will follow the subsequent days on the same terms and conditions. Ifthe customer is deceased all the conditions pertaining to auction will be applicableto nominee/legal heir. The Borrower are hereby notified to pay the upto date interestand ancillary expenses before the date of auction, failing which the pledged goldornaments will be sold and balance dues if any will be recovered with interest andcost. For any queries and terms and conditions contact branch. For details of branchaddress visit www.janabank.com.

Place: Delhi Sd/- Authorised Officer

Date: 14.06.2021 Jana Small Finance Bank Limited

Sr.No.

Loan AccountNo.

Name of Borrower/Co-BorrowerGross Weight

of Pledged GoldOrnaments

56SHANTIESGUTTED INLATENIGHTBLAZE

JIGNASASINHANEWDELHI, JUNE13

AMASSIVE fire broke out at aRohingya refugee camp inSoutheast Delhi’s Kalindi KunjonSaturdaynight,destroying56shantiesand leavingmore than300 people homeless. The firebroke out at 11.55 pm inside ahousebeforeitengulfedtheen-tire camp.AtulGarg,DelhiFireServices

Chief, said, “We received a callaround11.55pmabouttheblazeandrushedwithfivefiretenders.Residents were immediatelyevacuatedandfirefightingoper-ationswereinitiated.Therewere

nocasualtiesbut the fire spreadtoalltheshanties.Itwasbroughtundercontrolby3am.”ADFSofficial said “prima fa-

cie, thefirestartedfromahouseduetoashortcircuitorsparkingin themainwire”.OnSundaymorning,women

and children sat under a smalltent by the roadside andwaitedfor volunteers togive themslip-pers,soaps,sanitarynapkins,andother essential items. Themen,meanwhile, lined up near theKalindiKunjMetrostationtocol-lectdryration, food,andclothes.This is not the first time that

therefugeeshavebeenleftonthestreets.In2018,manyofthemlosttheir homes in a fire at a nearby

camp inMadanpur Khadar. Thefamilies thenmoved to the newcamp in the same area, whichwasdestroyedonSaturday.Several residents searched

throughthe rubble to see if anyof their belongings could besalvaged.Sajda Begam, a resident,

said, “We camehere (Delhi) forabetter life but it hasbeenverydifficult. We were all sleepingwhenthe firebrokeout. I didn’thave time topackanythingandrushed outside with my chil-dren. We had some cash anddocuments inthehouse... it’sallgone now. What will we do?”She liveswithher twochildrenaged 10 and 8. Her husband

diedyearsagoandsheworksasa labourer.SittingnearSajda,herneigh-

bour Sufiya cried after her hus-band told her that he couldn’tfind her sewing machine, hisshoesandtheirchildren’sbooks.Some residents alleged that

a group of men had threatenedto burn the place if they don’tleave.DelhiPolicesaidtheyhavereceived complaints and willlook into theallegations.DCP (Southeast) R PMeena

said, “We helped fire staff anddisastermanagementteamwiththe rescue operation. The causeof the fire is not known yet andappropriatelegalactionisbeingtakenregarding thesame.”

Chandni Chowkto DND-Ashram:Deadlines for keyprojects revisedASHNABUTANINEWDELHI, JUNE13

THEDEADLINES of most ongo-inginfrastructureprojectsacrossDelhihavebeenrevisedbyovertwomonthsowingtotheCovid-induced lockdownthat forcedapause inwork as labourers be-ganleavingfortheirhometowns.Althoughworkhasresumed,

thepace remains sluggish.AnofficialofthePublicWorks

Department (PWD)saidaround50%oflabourershavecomebackandworkwill start in full swingbyearly July. “Thedeadlineswillbe revised on a case-to-case ba-sis,” theofficial said.For instance, the inaugura-

tionof theredevelopedChandniChowkwas scheduled for April17butwas cancelleddue to theCovid situation. The Centralverge is complete, with only afewstreetlightsandCCTVstobesetup.Meanwhile, one side of the

scramblecrossinginfrontofRedFort has been completed andwork on the other side hasstarted recently. The scramblecrossingwill allow pedestrianstocrossinalldirections,andalsoensurethatthethemeoftheareais in tunewith the redevelopedChandni Chowk. Officials saidworkwillbewrappedupbythefirstor secondweekof July.At the DND-Ashram exten-

sionsite,pilingworkandwiden-ingof theroadisinprogressandofficialsareawaitingapprovaltotransplant trees and shift utili-ties. The progress sheet of theproject read: “Overall progressoftheworkhasbeenbadlyham-pered due to suddenmigrationof labourfromthesiteduetothe

secondwaveof Covid.”Despite this, officials aim to

complete it by its original dead-line of December 2021. The six-laneflyoverwillconnectDNDtotheexistingAshramflyoverandserve as an important link be-tweenWest, South, East Delhi,andNoida.On the other hand, the June

deadline for theAshramunder-pass has now been shifted toAugust 31. A fresh deadline forBarapullah Phase III will beannounced after a land issue isresolved.A senior official of the PWD

said a fresh date has not beenannounced for the beautifica-tion of seven road stretchesspanning over 35 km: “It wassupposed to be completed byOctoberbut itmightbedelayedby1.5monthsor so.”Insomeprojects,shortageof

labour is not the only issue. Atthe site of the Pragati MaidanIntegrated Transit Corridor,labourersstayedbackasaccom-modationhadbeenprovidedbythecontractcompany.However,an official said, “Some 5-6 siteengineershadfallenillandworkhad slowed downwhen Covidcaseshit apeak.”The project, scheduled for

completionbyMay-end,willbecompleted in the comingmonth,officialsadded.Theproj-ect comprises a 1.2-km-longtunnel and six underpasses atkey junctions in thearea.

Woman foundwith throat slitat Burari homeRohingya campdestroyed in fire, over 300homeless

AttherefugeecampinKalindiKunj, Sunday.AbhinavSaha

New Delhi: A 65-year-oldwomanwas killed by unidenti-fiedpersons insideherhouse inNorthDelhi’sBurarionSaturdaynight. Police said thewoman’sthroatwasslitandshehadburninjuriesonher left leg.The victim, Rajwari Singh,

livedwith her son Pramod andhis wife. On Saturday, the cou-ple went to Khajuri for somework, leavingthewomanalone.When they returned at 10 pm,they found Rajwari lying deadon theground.AntoAlphonse,DCP(North),

said, “We have come to knowthat the accused had a ‘friendlyentry’ into the house. Amurdercasehasbeenregisteredagainstunknownpersons.”ENS

50%of labourershavereturnedandworkwillstart infull swingbyearly July:PWDofficial

Total VacantHOSPITAL BEDS 27,666 25,553ICU BEDS 6,684 5,607

Dailycases Recoveries Deaths TestsJune12 213 497 28 71,513June13 255 376 23 72,751Total 3,466* 14,02,850 24,823 2,02,63,554

CORONAVIRUSIN THECAPITAL *T

otalactivecases

TOTAL CASES

14,31,139VACCINATIONSIN LAST24HOURS

83,286

New Delhi

THECITY4 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY, JUNE14,2021

WESTERN RAILWAY-AHMEDABAD DIVISIONInvItIng E-tEndEr notIcE for LEasIng out of sLr spacEs

tender no: drM/comml/13/2020-21 date 09.06.2021; tender notice no: c78/1/117/tender/sLr/01/2021-22; TheDivisional Railway Manager (Commercial), Western Railway, Ahmedabad invites E-Tenders for the contract of leasingout 4/3.9 tonne SLR spaces for a period of 5 (Five) Years in following Trains from Registered Leaseholders (in category‘A’ or ‘B’) over Ahmedabad Division of Western Railway detailed below “separately for compartment-wise & train-wise”.

sr.no.

trainno.

station days of serviceor days of space

available

space available (In tonne) reserve priceper trip per 04 /3.9 tonne (in `)from to fsLr

IstfsLrIInd

rsLrIst

01. 02973 Gandhidham Puri Wednesday - - 04 16,308/-02. 02934 Ahmedabad Mumbai Central Daily 3.9 - 3.9 4,536/-03. 09116 Bhuj Dadar Daily 04 - 04 5,924/-04. 02932 Ahmedabad Mumbai Central Monday to Saturday 3.9 - 3.9 3,780/-

05. 09004 Bhuj Bandra Terminus Monday, Thursday &Saturday 3.9 - 3.9 14,216/-

06. 02010 Ahmedabad Mumbai Central Monday to Saturday - - 3.9 3,780/-

07. 02248 Ahmedabad Gwalior Tuesday, Friday &Saturday 3.9 - 3.9 16,829/-

08. 02548 Ahmedabad Agra Cantt Monday, Wednesday,Thursday & Sunday 3.9 - 3.9 14,568/-

09. 02917 Ahmedabad Hazrat Nizamuddin Monday 3.9 - 3.9 13,307/-10. 08406 Ahmedabad Puri Friday 3.9 - - 21,174/-11. 09202 Ahmedabad Dadar Daily - - 3.9 9,071/-12. 04675 Gandhidham Katra Saturday 3.9 - 3.9 28,735/-

total 09 0 11 ---note:- (a) To obtain information regarding Terms & Conditions of Tender, contact may please be made at the officeof Divisional Railway Manager (Commercial) - Ahmedabad during all working days between 10:30 hrs to 17:30 hrs.(b) This is an Electronic Tender (E-Tender) and bids / offers shall be submitted online on IREPS Portal. Requiredinformation and documents are available on IREPS Portal (i.e. www.ireps.gov.in). Submission of manual bids / offersagainst E-Tender is not allowed, and any manual bids / offers received shall be summarily rejected. (c) cost of tenderform fee ` 1,000/- per sLr compartment should be paid online on through IREPS Portal and acknowledgementslip of payment must be attached with the offer / bid. (d) EMd ` 1,00,000/- per sLr compartment should be paidonline on through IREPS Portal and acknowledgement slip of payment must be attached with the offer / bid. (e) date& time of closing & opening of tender - 08.07.2021 (thursday) at 15:00 Hrs & 08.07.2021 (thursday) at 15:30Hrs, repectively.

36file no. Wr-adI0coMM(9cot)/1/2021-o/o acM/cHg/adI/Wr

ASHNABUTANINEWDELHI, JUNE13

SHUT FOR close to twomonths,restaurants acrossDelhi preparetoreopenfromMonday—albeitwithanumberof curbs inplace.While they look forward to re-sumingservices,theyarealsoap-prehensiveofhownoliquor,stag-gered timings, andopeningonatrialbasiswill impactfootfall.According to guidelines is-

sued by the Delhi DisasterManagement Authority, restau-rantswillbeallowedtofunctionat50%capacity. Theorder statesthat this will be done on a trialbasisandthatif thereisaspikeincases,restaurantsaswellasmar-ketsandmallswillbeshutsoon.Restaurants will be opera-

tional from 10 am to 8 pm, andalcoholconsumptionisnotper-mittedunder theorder.Anurag Katriar, president of

NationalRestaurantsAssociationof India, said, “With time, wehavelearntthatopeningwithre-stricted capacity means nomoney... but it is theonlywayofkick-startingthebusiness.”However, on the fact that

restaurantsmight shut again ifcases rise, he said, "There are alotofcostsinvolvedinrestartingbusiness.Itisnotfairtosingleoutanentireindustry. If aparticularrestaurant is flouting norms,then the government can pe-nalisethem.Andthisannounce-ment is also a deterrent in themindsof thepeople."Regarding salaries of em-

ployees,hesaidmostrestaurantshad paid salaries, with somecuts.Safetywillbeofparamountconcern andmany restaurantshavegottentheiremployeesvac-cinated.Nitin Kapoor, generalman-

ager of Pebble Street in NewFriendsColony,saidtheadminis-trationisyettotakeacallonwhentherestro-barwillstartfunction-ing.He said, "Itwill be slow, likelastyear. If thingsarealrightandtheCovidsituationimproves,weexpecttorecoverfromlossesinayear or two." Theyweremaking

only 5-10%of the usual revenuethroughdelivery.Since many restro-bars de-

pend heavily on liquor sales,they are contemplating theopeningdates.Ngawang,man-

ager of Depot 48 in GreaterKailash, saidtheymightreopenin a week: “Wewill take sometime to prepare before we re-open.We are yet to have a dis-cussion regarding this.”

Meanwhile, fine-diningrestaurants had another con-cern: Most of their customersstep out only for dinner duringthe summers. Ashok Thakur,manager of Zen Restaurant inConnaught Place, said, “Peoplebarely come out for lunch dur-ing summers. And most havedinner after 8 pm. If we have toshutat8pm, therestaurantwill

only be open till 7 pm.” He saidit has been difficult to sustainsolely on delivery as CP is not aresidential area.Surender Sharma,manager

of Relax Restaurant in LajpatNagar, said most of their staffwent home during the lock-downandtheycalledthemoncethenewguidelineswereissued.Theyhope toopenbyMonday.Most restaurants, however,

said theywere not tooworriedabout staff shortageas theywillbe functioning at 50% capacityand, hence,won’t need all theiremployees.Zorawar Kalra, founder of

Massive Restaurants, which in-cludesbrandslikeFarziCafeandPa Pa Ya, said, “Over theweek-end in Gurgaon, the responsehas been way better than ex-pected.We expect a similar re-sponseinDelhi.Thereisalsogo-ing to be an element of revengeconsumption. People are raringto go out after the eight-weeklockdown.”Hewashopefulthatthetim-

ings would eventually be ex-tendedsincedinner time iscru-cial for the industry: “This willhelpall stakeholders—patrons,employees, restaurants and thegovernment. Longer operatinghoursmeansreservationscanbespread out over a longer time,thereby,making social distanc-ingeveneasier.”

Aworkersanitisesarestaurantaheadof itsreopening,Sunday.(left)AtSarojiniNagar.allshops inmarketshavebeenallowedtoopenfromMonday.AmitMehra

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JUNE13

THERUSSIANCovid-19vaccine,SputnikV,islikelytobeavailableto the general public from June20 at Indraprastha ApolloHospital, while Dr Reddy'sLaboratories began administer-ingittoitsemployeesinDelhionSunday, according to a hospitalrepresentative.Hyderabad-basedDrReddy's

Laboratories launched theSputnik V vaccine in India. Thefirstphaseof a limitedpilotvac-cination programme by ApolloHospitals and Dr Reddy'sLaboratorieshadstartedonMay17 inHyderabadandonMay18inVishakhapatnam.The first consignment of

dosesof thevaccinehas arrivedat Delhi and is being adminis-teredtoDrReddy'semployeesinthecity. “Thenext consignmentis expected before June 20, and

theplan is tobeginoffering it tothe public starting from thatdate.Peoplewillbeabletobooka vaccination slot on Cowin inthe sameway they aremakingbookings now,” said an ApolloHospital representative.According to the pricing

schedule issued by the centralgovernment, the price per doseof SputnikVatprivatehospitalshas been capped at Rs 1,145,whichislessthanthemaximumprice for Bharat Biotech'sCovaxinatRs1,410.

255 new cases, 23deaths on SundayIn the past 24 hours, Delhi

recorded 255 new Covid casesandapositivityrateof0.35%from72,751tests.Asperthehealthbul-letin, 23 deathswere recordedwhile376peoplerecoveredfromthe virus. Over the pastmonth,the situation in the city has im-proved, largely because of a 6-weeklonglockdown.

STARTINGTODAY

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JUNE 13

ADEDICATEDvaccinefacilityforadministering the second doseof the Covishield vaccine tothosewhoneedtotravelabroadfor studies, work, and sportevents will be functional fromMonday.The centre — set up at

NavyugSchool,MandirMarg—hasbeenorganisedbytheDelhigovernmentforthosewhoneedto travel internationally beforeAugust31.According to directives re-

leased by the government, thecentre is available for studentswho need to travel abroad fortheireducation,thosewhoneedto ‘takeup jobs in foreigncoun-tries’, and athletes and accom-panying staff of the Indian con-tingent to theTokyoOlympics.Vaccines at this centre will

also be available to those whohave completed 28 days aftertheir first Covishield dose.Currently, the vaccine is beingadministered at an interval of12-16weeks.Those eligible will have to

use their passport as an IDdoc-ument and carry documents toprovetheirforeigntravelreason.

Meanwhile, presenting thevaccine bulletin on Sunday,AAPMLAAtishi stated that thegovernment nowhas less thantwodays' stock of Covaxin andless thanonedayof Covishieldstock for those in the 18-44group — meaning that theDelhigovernment isonceagainreaching theendof its stock forthis bracket.“In Delhi, 30% of the total

population above the age of 18years have been given the firstdose of the vaccine. So far,

46,33,650 people have beengiven the first dose of the vac-cine, which is 30% of Delhi’spopulation above 18 years ofage. Apart from this, 14.40 lakhpeoplehavereceivedbothdosesof the vaccine... Wewould liketo appeal to the central govern-menttomaintainaregularsup-ply of vaccines for the youth of18to44years.Becausethemorevaccines wemake available tothe youth, themore hesitationabout the vaccine will be re-moved,” saidAtishi.

Special vaccinationcamp for those goingabroad towork, study

Thevaccine facilityatNavyugSchool,MandirMarg,willadminister theseconddoseof theCovishield.AmitMehra

Atavaccinationcentre inNewDelhi.AmitMehra

Pvt hospital in cityto offer Sputnik Vstarting June 20

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,JUNE13

STREETPLAYSon thebenefits ofCovid-19 vaccination are beingheld at construction sites of theDelhi Metro Rail Corporation(DMRC)toencourageover3,000workerstogetthejab.As part of aweek-long cam-

paign, a series of nukkadnataks(street plays) have been heldsince lastWednesday at DMRCconstructionsitesintheNationalCapital Region (NCR) targetingsmall groups of workerswhileensuringCovidsafetyprotocols.A DMRC spokesperson said,

"Professionalartistswhoworkincommercialmovies, TV showsandweb series havebeen ropedin to perform nukkad nataks.Sincemost of theworkers comefrom states like Uttar Pradesh,Bihar, Madhya Pradesh andJharkhand, the shows are de-signedandwrittenindifferentdi-alects spoken in rural parts ofthese states, so that theworkersunderstanditbetter.""Popular folk songs from

these regions are being used inthese showswhere the actorsalso interactwith theworkers.Informative leaflets about vacci-nationbenefitsarealsobeingdis-

tributed among theworkers. Allrelevant information about thebenefits of vaccinationhas beencompiled inavery lucidmannerin Hindi," the spokespersonadded.Ashortfilmwillalsobemade

as part of the campaign andshared onDMRC's socialmediahandles and amongworkers ontheirmobile phones to reach alarger audience. The spokesper-son said approximately 3,200workersarecurrentlyworkingattheir construction sites acrossDelhi-NCR."Thenumber is gradually in-

creasingaslockdownrestrictions

are lifted. DMRC contractors arein touchwithworkers to createthenecessaryconfidenceinthemfor their return towork in safeworkingconditions.Thosework-erswho stayed back during thelockdownwereprovidedwithac-commodation,foodandmedicalsuppliesasperrequirement."Vaccination drives have al-

readybeenconductedatsomeofDMRC'sconstructionsites.DMRCauthorities are in touchwith thelocaladministrationsandprivatehealthcareproviders toorganisemore vaccination drives at con-struction sites," said the DMRCspokesperson.

At Delhi Metro constructionsites, street plays on vaccines

StreetplayataDMRCconstructionsite

AIIMS nurses write to CM,seek early vaccination of kin

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEGHAZIABAD,JUNE13

DENIEDAshareinancestralprop-erty,amanallegedlystrangledhiselderly parents to death at theirhome in Ghaziabad’s BalramNagar on Friday. Police have ar-rested the accused, Ravi Dhaka,whoisinhisearly40s.“Wereceived informationon

Friday that a couple had beenfounddeadattheirLoniresidence.Whenwe reached the spot, wefound the house ransacked andthetwobodiesondifferentfloors.On questioning the son in greatdetail,we found that itwasnotarobbery and he had carried outthemurderforfinancialgains.Theaccusedadmittedtothecrimeaswell,” said Iraj Raja, SP Rural,Ghaziabad.Accordingtopolice,Ravicame

toknowthathisparents,SurendraDhaka (70) and Santosh (63),wouldbealoneonFridayastheirdaughter-in-lawhadgonehome.The couple hadbeen staying

with their elder sonGaurav andhisfamilyforthepasttwodecadesbeforehepassedawaytwoyearsago. Ravi had tensionswith hisparents,followingwhichtheyde-cided to exclude him from anyshareintheinheritance.

Ravihadallegedlybeenplan-ningtocarryout themurders forquitesometimesincehisparentshaddecidedtobequeaththefam-ily’swealth tohis brother’swife,policesaid.Ataround9amonFriday, the

accusedstrangledhisfatherwithawireon theground floorof theirresidence.He thenwentupstairsandchokedhismother todeathwithacloth,officials said.Theac-cusedthenransackedthehousetomake it look like a robberygonewrong,saidpolice.After carrying out themur-

ders, hewent to play cardswithhisfriends. Intheevening,hevis-itedhisparentsandpretendedtobe shocked by the incident andcalledthepolice.PolicesaidtheysuspectedRavi

as his version of events did notmatchhisalibi.

DELHI UNLOCK

■Markets■Mallsat fullcapacity(10amto8pm)

■Restaurantswith50%seating(liquorcannotbeserved)

■Autos, cabsande-rickshaws(tworiders ineachvehicle)

■Barbershops

■Oneweeklymarketpermunicipalzone

■Metroandbuseswith50%seating

■ Interstateandintrastatemovementofpeopleandgoods

Cinemas Bars&Pubs

PROHIBITED

ALLOWED

■Swimmingpools■Parksandgardens■Social/political/ religious/culturalgatherings■Auditoriums■Entertainmentparks■Schools, colleges, coachingcentres

Restaurantscanstayopenonlybetween10amand8pm.AmitMehra

Womanheldfor ‘sexuallyabusing’minorgirlNewDelhi:A42-year-oldwomanwasarrestedonFridayforallegedlysexu-ally assaulting andthreateningaminorgirl,police said. An FIR hasbeen registered in thecase and the accusedwas produced before aDelhi court, which senther to 14 days judicialcustody. In her state-ment, the complainantsaid the accused, whoruns an NGO, was hermother’s friend. Thegirlwassenttotheaccused’shouse to learn a coursesixmonthsago.

ThreemenassaultedinJahangirpuriNewDelhi:Agroupof lo-cals allegedly assaultedthree men who al-legedly came to extortmoneyfromavegetablevendor in NorthwestDelhi’s JahangirpuriSaturday. Thethreemencame to the area andbroke into the vendor’shouse. After some time,the victim’s neighboursand others surroundedthe men and startedbeating themup. Policehave arrested the threemen.Noactionhasbeentaken against the localsso far.ENS

BRIEFLY

Restaurants to reopen today but owners saycurbs on liquor, timings may impact footfall

New Delhi: The AIIMS NursesUnion has written to ChiefMinisterArvindKejriwal,urginghim to take immediate steps toget familymembers of health-careworkersvaccinated.Noting thatmost healthcare

workers (HCWs) at AIIMS havealready receivedboth shots, theunionwrote, “The familymem-bers of HCWs in the 18-45 agegrouparehavinggreatdifficultyin scheduling their vaccination.This isamatterof greatconcernasalmostallhealthcareworkersstay with their families. Manyfrontline workers have ex-pressedtheirconcernsaboutde-layinvaccinatingtheirkinwhich

may end up in exacerbation ofinfection as the threat of thethirdwave looms large.”They, thus, urged the chief

minister to provide vaccines forfamilymembers of healthcareworkersinthe18-44agebracket“at theearliestonahighprioritybasis”.Last week, the AIIMS

Administrative Association hadwrittentothedirectoroftheinsti-tuteaskingforavaccinationfacil-ityforAIIMSEmploymentHealthScheme beneficiaries and theirdependents at thehospital itself.Therearenovaccinationsites forpeoplebelongingtothe18-44agegroupattheinstitute.ENS

Denied share inancestral property,man ‘kills’ parents inGhaziabad, arrested

Ravihadallegedlybeenplanningtocarryoutthemurders forsometimesincehisparentshaddecidedtobequeaththefamily’swealthtohisbrother’swife,policesaid

New Delhi

5THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY, JUNE14,2021

EXPRESSNETWORKWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

IN TANDEMONFRIDAY,whenPrimeMinisterNarendraModitookameet-ing inwhichHomeMinister Amit Shah andBJP president J PNaddawerepresent, it intensified speculationabout a cabinetreshuffle.However,partysourcessaidthemeetingwaspartoftheongoing reviewexercise by thePM. ThepoliticalmessagewasunderlinedbythefactthatModihadNaddapresentinthemeeting.OnFriday,Shahwasoneoffiveministerscalledfordis-cussionson the recordof their respectiveministries. After theBihar election,Modi hadmade it clear that the governmentwouldalwayswork intandemwiththeparty—at thestagetocelebratetheBJP’svictoryinBihar,Modihadpromptedleadersandworkers toapplaudNaddaandencouragedthemtoshout“Nadda Ji Aage Badho, HumTumhare SaathHain (Youmarchahead,wearewithyou).”ThePMisexpectedtoholdtheassess-mentmeetingswithotherseniorministersthisweekandNaddaislikelytobepresentinallsuchmeetings,sourcessaid.

ACTION TIMEWITH THE three-member panel headed by MallikarjunKharge having submitted its report on the problems in thePunjabunit of Congress, indicationsare thatpartypresidentSoniaGandhiwill takedecisions toput thehouse inorder inthe state thisweek itself. Kharge is likely tomeetGandhi onMondaytodeliberateonthenextsteps.Kharge,whohadre-turned to Karnataka after submitting the report, was calledbacktoDelhionSaturday.HewastomeetGandhionSundaybut themeetingcouldnot takeplace.

TOP ASSIGNMENTINDIAN FOREIGN Service officer K Nagaraj Naidu has beennamed chef de cabinet by the recently elected UNGeneralAssembly president, Maldives Foreign Minister AbdullaShahid, forthedurationofhisone-yearterm.AnIFSofficerofthe 1998 batch, Naidu is a fluent Chinese speaker and hasserved inChina in four separate stints.

ARUNJANARDHANANCHENNAI,JUNE13

WOMEN TRAINED in ‘AgamaSastra’ – themanual forworshipandritualsattemples–canbeap-pointed as temple priests, TamilNaduministerinchargeofHindutemples’ administration SekarBabu said onSunday, a day afterhis remarks on opening templedoorstowomenprieststriggereddebatesinthestate.The Hindu Religious and

CharitableEndowmentsMinistertoldThe IndianExpress that therewasnopriordiscussionsonthisatthe government level but theywould consider it andmake allarrangements if women trainedinAgamaSastrawant to takeup

theroleof templepriests.“Whenmediapersons asked

me [on Saturday] whetherwomenwillbeallowedtotakeupthe role of temple priests, I saidthosewhoare trained inAgamaSastrawillbeallowed.Iftherearerequests or grievances fromwomenwhowould love to takeup the role of templepriests,wewilldefinitelyconsiderthem.Thecriteriawouldbe their expertisein Agama tradition. If there aresuchrequests, theymaybegiven

necessary training and inter-viewedbeforeweabsorb them,”BabutoldTheIndianExpress.While neighbouring Kerala

toowasnot known for any suchformalgovernmentmovetoallowwomenpriests forgenderequal-ity, both Tamil Nadu andKeralahavemany temples—especiallysubculturaldeities—withwomenpriests.Whenaskedabout social ac-

ceptance to such an idea, Babusaidtheywouldbeconsideringallthoseaspectsandother issuesaswell,including“five-dayleaveforwomen”tostayawayfromritualsduringmenstruation.In 2008, the Madras High

Court had in an order allowed awomenpriesttoconductpujasinatempleafterher father,apriest,

died.Theorder,laudedbymany,in-

cludingthethenchiefministerMKarunanidhi inhis speech in theAssembly,wasbasedonapetitionfiled by Pinniyakkal, a womanpriest, following thedeathof herfather.Althoughherfatherdiedin2006, Pinniyakkal hadbeenper-forming pujas and other ritualsfrom2004ashewassick.Afterhisdeath,shewasstoppedfromfunc-tioning as the priest by the vil-lagersfollowinganobjectionfroman individual who staked hisclaimtobethehereditarypriest.JusticeChandru,whopassed

theorderandisnowretired,saidallowingwomenpriests inTamilNaduwouldnot be a tough taskas there is no ban forwomen innon-Agamatemples.

ABHISHEKSAHAGUWAHATI,JUNE13

ASSAMCHIEFMinisterHimantaBiswaSarmahasorderedstatepo-licetoconductan“expeditiousin-vestigation”aftertwogirlsfromajoint family belonging to aneth-niccommunitywerefounddeadFridayinKokrajhardistrict.The family of the girls, who

were aged 14 and 16 and foundhanging froma tree, has allegedthat theyweremurdered. Policeare“primafacie”probingacaseofsuicidebuthavedetainedfiveper-sonsforquestioning.Police said thegirls belonged

totheRabhacommunity.The14-year-oldwastheyoungersisterofthe16-year-old'sfather,theysaid.Sarma,who visited the girls'

family Sunday, posted onTwitter: “To reassure familyof 2minor girls, whose bodieswerefound hanging from a tree inmysteriousconditiononFriday,Imet them today to console &share their pain. Assam Govtstands firmlybythem.”He also wrote: “I have in-

structed@assampolice to do anexpeditious investigation to un-earth the cause of death. TheGovernmentwill take stringentaction, if there is any foul play. Ifthevictimswereforcedtodoselfharm,Policeshallfindthereasonsforthesame.”According to local residents,

the family is engaged in agricul-

ture and financially weak. Thefamily has told police that therewasnoimmediatereasonknownfor the twoyoungwomen todiebysuicide.Kokrajhar district falls in the

BodolandTerritorialRegion(BTR).Sarma was accompanied byBodolandTerritorialCouncilChiefPramodBoroandKokrajhar EastMLALawrenceIslary.SpeakingtoTheIndianExpress,

Islarysaid:“Thefamilyhasraisedvarious questions about thedeaths--likewhywouldtheduodie by suicidewhen there is noknown problem in the family.Therearesuspicionswhichneedtobe investigated and thepoliceisdoingthat.”ThubePrateekVijayKumar,SP

of Kokrajhar, told The IndianExpress:“Primafacieitappearstobeacaseofsuicide,butwearein-vestigating all aspects. If itwas asuicide,wewill findthecauseforthe sameand if itwas amurder,we will nab the perpetratorssoon.”Thepost-mortemhasbeencompleted and the result isawaited,hesaid.

RALPHALEXARAKALBENGALURU,JUNE13

AMENTALLY unstable man inKarnataka's Kodagudistrictwasallegedly beaten todeathbypo-licemenafterviolatinglockdownnorms,followingwhicheightper-sonnelwere suspendedSunday,aseniorpoliceofficialsaid.IGP Karnataka Southern

RangePraveenMadhukarPawarsaid the incident involving RoyD'Souza (50) took place on June9 near Virajpet Town PoliceStation.Accordingtoacomplaintfiled by the deceased’s brother,D’Souzawas taken to the policestationafterhewasfoundviolat-ing lockdownnorms,where hewas roughed up. “After the as-sault...D'Souzahadcollapsed...hismotherwascalledandinformedto takeher sonaway. The familythendecidedtoadmitD'Souzato

a nearby private hospital fortreatment, where he breathedhis last on June 12,” the com-plaintsaid.Areportagainstthepoliceof-

ficersinvolvedintheincidentwassubmittedbytheVirajpetDeputySP. IGPPawar said, “Thedecisionto suspendeight policemenwastakenbasedonapreliminary re-port,inabidtoensurefairandim-partial investigation.”Thepolice identified the sus-

pendedofficersasHeadConstableMUSunilandPoliceConstablesNS Lokesh, H J Tanukumar, N HSatish, SunilML, RameshA, KGNehru,andBTPradeep,allpostedinVirajpet.Meanwhile, the police have

claimed that D’Souza wasroughedupafterhethreateneditspersonnel.Thecasehasbeentransferred

to the state Crime InvestigationDepartment(CID).

SHAJUPHILIPTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,JUNE13

THEFELLINGofaround1,800pro-tected trees on revenue landacross five districts of Kerala issnowballing into an embarrass-mentfortheLDFgovernment.The trees,mostly rosewood

and teak trees,were on govern-ment revenue land assigned tofarmersandtribals.Thetreeswerefelled during the fag end of theprevious LDF regime, but the is-suereturnedtohauntthePinarayiVijayangovernment, onemonthinto its second term,when theCongress-ledOpposition raisedtheissueinthestateAssemblylastweek.Withtheextentofdamagestill

beingestimated,thegovernmentonSaturdayconstitutedaSpecialInvestigation Team, comprisingsenior officials of thepolice, rev-enue and forest departments, toprobetheallegedscam.According to the Kerala

GovernmentLandAssignedRules,1964, the revenue landassignedtoprivatepartiesisonlymeantforcultivation,with the farmer for-biddenfromcuttingorsellingpro-

tected trees suchas teak, sandal-wood and rosewood. However,farmers have been demandingthat they be allowed to cut thetreessincetheywereovergrown.Giving into their demand, in

October last year, the RevenueDepartment issued anorder, al-lowing fellingof protected trees,exceptsandalwood.Theorder,is-suedwithoutamendingtherele-vant rules, led to timber dealersfellingprotectedtreesacrosssev-eraldistricts.As environmental activists

red-flagged the controversial or-der,inFebruary,thepreviousLDFgovernmentwithdrewtheorder.Butbythen,severaltreeshadbeenfelledontheassignedland.OnSunday,RevenueMinister

KRajansaid,"Theorderissuedbythe Revenue Department [onfelling the trees] was miscon-strued. The government has or-deredacomprehensiveprobe.Theprobewillunearththemagnitudeoftheplunderofforestwealthandexposethosewhofacilitatedit.Thegovernment will consider thefarmers'demandforfellingoftreesongovernment landassigned tothem,afterpluggingtheloopholesintherules,’’hesaid.

Mukul’s aide quitsBJP, another says‘not getting respect’EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA, JUNE13

TWODAYSafterMukulRoyquitthe BJP and returned toTrinamool Congress, one of hisclose associates on Sunday leftthe saffron partywhile anothersaidhewasnotreceivingrespectin theoppositionparty.North 24 Parganas Zilla

ParishadmemberRatanGhosh,whoisknowntobeacloseasso-ciate of Roy, on Sunday told re-porters, “I have left the party.BJP's ideology andway of func-tioningaredifferent. I couldnotremainthere. Ihaveappealedtothe TMC leadership to takemeback.”Former TrinamoolMLA and

state BJP’s SCMorcha presidentDulalBar,whoisalsoconsideredclosetoRoy,said,“He[Roy]tookthe right decision. He could notremain in the BJP as hewas notrespected. Ifhecannotworkinaparty, then he has the right toquit. I had come to the BJPwithhishelp. Iamalsonotgettingre-spect here. I will decidemy fu-ture in thedays tocome.”

State BJP president DilipGhosh said thepartywouldnotkeep those whowant to leave.“Thosewhowant to leavemaydoso.Wedon’twant such lead-ers inourparty,”hesaid.Meanwhile, BJP MLA and

Leader of Opposition SuvenduAdhikarihassaidhewouldpushforananti-defectionlawinWestBengalandtheBJPwouldtryandget it implemented in the nexttwo or three months. “TheTrinamoolCongresshas leaderswho continue to be post-hold-ersinotherparties.Astronganti-defectionlawneedstobeimple-mentedasthosewillingtodefecttoanyotherpartymustabidebythe law. Theymust resign fromallpostsbeforejoininganyotherparty,”Adhikari told reporters.Countering him, Trinamool

spokesperson and state generalsecretary Kunal Ghosh said theLeader of Opposition “shouldfirstteachtheanti-defectionlawtohis father”SisirAdhikari,whodespitejoiningtheBJP,hasnotre-signedasTrinamoolMP.“Despiteholding several importantpostsin the Trinamool, Suvendu’s fa-therdefectedtotheBJP.”

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEPUNE,JUNE13

CONTINUING ITS rapidprogresssince its onset on June 3, theSouthwestmonsoon advancedfurther on Sunday andhas nowcoverednearly80percentof thecountry in 10 days. The IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD) onSunday afternoon saidthemonsoonhad reachedDelhi,whereitwasmostlikelytoarriveinthenexttwotothreedays.Thenormaldate for theonset

ofmonsoonoverChandigarhandDelhiare June26and June27, re-spectively. OnSunday, however,themonsoonhadcoveredOdisha,West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar,Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh,Gilgit-BaltistanandMuzaffarabad,

and some parts of Haryana,ChandigarhandnorthernPunjabcoveringnearly80percentof thecountry'sgeographicalarea.Bythemiddleoftheweek,the

monsoon is expected to covereastern Uttar Pradesh, Delhi,Haryana and remainingparts of

MadhyaPradeshandPunjab."Conditionsarefavourablefor

further advancement to remain-ing parts of the country, exceptRajasthan, during the next 48hours," IMDofficialssaid.Thelowpressuresystem,pre-

vailing overNorthOdisha-WestBengal, is set to intensifywithinthenexttwotothreedaysandwillhelpthemonsoonprogress.Thereis a trough running betweenSouthPunjab till Northwest BayofBengal,withtheeasternendly-ingclosetothe lowpressuresys-tem. These two systems alongwithstrongwesterlywindscom-inginfromArabianSeawillbringheavy to very heavy spells overOdisha, Chhattisgarh, MadhyaPradesh, Jharkhand, TelanganaandVidarbha inMaharashtra tillJune17.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEJAMMU,JUNE13

INAboost toreligious tourisminJammuandKashmir, theBhoomiPujanceremonyfortheconstruc-tionoftheSriVenkateswaraSwamyTemple by Tirumala TirupatiDevasthanams(TTD)washeldatMajeenherewithadherencetoallCovidprotocolsonSunday.Lieutenant GovernorManoj

Sinha took part in the BhoomiPujanandunveiledtheplaquetomark the laying of foundationstone in the presence of UnionMoS (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh,Union MoS (Home) G KishanReddy, ChairmanTTDboardYVSubbaReddy,andRSSnationalex-ecutivemember RamMadhav,amongothers.The Lt Governor said the

“magnificentdivinetemple,when

completed,willbeacentreoffaithaswellasdestinationofspiritual-ity”.Termingtheoccasiona“his-toric andproudday for J&K”, hesaidtheTTDBoardwillestablishagurukul topromoteSanskrit andVedicteachingsandlearning.

Spreadover62acresoflandatvillageMajeeninJammu,thetem-pleisexpectedtobecompletedin18monthsintwophases,atacostofRs33.22crore.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

Mumbai: Dismissing theoriesabout sharing theMaharashtrachief minister's post with allyNCP, Shiv Sena leader andMPSanjay Raut on Sunday said theSenawill have the chief minis-ter’spostforfiveyearsandthereisnotruthinspeculationthattheNCPmay stake a claim for theCM post after the Maha VikasAghadi government completestwo-and-a-half years inpower.In his weekly column

‘Rokhthok’inSaamana,Rautdis-missed the speculation afterChief Minister UddhavThackeray’smeetingwithPrimeMinister Narendra Modi onTuesday. “One of the specula-tionsisthattheNCPmaystakeaclaimfortheCM'spostaftertwo-and-a-halfyears,whichwillcre-atediscordamongthealliesthatwillspeedupthepoliticaldevel-opmentsinthestate.Thereisnotruthinthis.ApromisehasbeengiventoShivSenaabouttheCMpost for fiveyears,”wroteRaut.Speakingtomediapersonsin

Nashik,Rautsaidthatacommit-ment has been given to ShivSenathattheCMpostwillnotbeshared,unlikewhatwasdecidedwithitsformerallyBJP.NCPchiefSharad Pawar had alsomade asimilar statement recently at aparty function,headded. ENS

Jammu: Union MoS (Home) GKishanReddysaid theprocessofdevelopment in Jammu andKashmir has beenhit due to thepandemic.Healsosaidinfiltrationalongtheborderhasbeencurbedandmilitancybrought undercon-trolinJ&Koverthelasttwoyears.“Overallsecuritysituationin

the country has also improvedin the last two years,” themin-ister told reporters after theBhoomiPujanceremonyfortheSri Venkateswara SwamyTemple temple at Majeen.“Thirty-sixUnionministershadvisited J&K on the directions ofthePM,butCovidplayedspoil-sport. Developmental projectsgot a hit due to the pandemicbut once the pandemic ends,we will take J&K UT to newheights...” ENS

Mentally unstable man‘beaten to death’ by copsin Karnataka, 8 suspended

Afarmerploughsafieldbeforeplantingofpaddy,nearPatiala.HarmeetSodhi

2girls founddead in Assam,CMsteps in toorder probe

Kerala govt red-faced astree felling on revenueland snowballs into row

‘Proud day for J&K’: L-G at BhoomiPujan for Venkateswara temple

UnionministersGKishanReddy, JitendraSinghwithL-GManojSinhaat theBhoomiPujan in Jammu.

Developmentprojects hit dueto pandemic:Reddy in Jammu

LALMANIVARMADEHRADUN,JUNE13

INDIRA HRIDAYESH, a veteranCongress leader and Leader ofOpposition in the UttarakhandAssembly, died in Delhi onSundaymorning. Shesufferedaheart attack at theUttarakhandSadan, hours after she partici-patedinorganisationalmeetingsthere in view of the 2022Assembly polls, according toparty leadersandher staff.The 80-year-old MLA from

HaldwaniinNainitaldistricthadgonetoDelhionSaturdaytotakepart in organisationalmeetingsandhadalsodirectedher confi-dantsinUttarakhandtopreparefor a parivartan rath yatra. Shewas a prominent face of theparty intheKumaonregionandacontendertobetheparty’sCMcandidateinthestate.OnFriday,she took part in a party protestagainst rising fuel prices inHaldwani.In January this year, when

formerCMandAICCgeneralsec-retary Harish Rawat had de-manded the party to declare itsCM candidate for the 2022Assembly polls, Hridayesh hadadvocatedfor“collectiveleader-ship” and had approached theparty’scentralleadershipagainst

Rawat.Her last rites will be per-

formed at her home inHaldwani. She is survived bythreesons.Congress president Sonia

Gandhi said Hridayesh servedthe Congress till her last breathand leaves behind a legacy ofpublic service as anMLA,MLC,minister, Leader of Opposition,andaboveallasadedicatedlife-long Congressperson. “Shewasparticularly popular amongsther colleagues for her knowl-edgeof legislativeprocessesandprocedure as also her perform-ance as an able administrator.HercontributiontotheCongresspartywillbetreasuredandcher-ishedbyall.”Former Congress president

RahulGandhi tweeted, “Her so-cial and political contributionsare inspiring.”

Prime Minister NarendraModi tweeted, “Dr IndiraHridayeshJiwasattheforefrontofseveralcommunityserviceef-forts. Shemadeamarkas anef-fective legislator and also hadrich administrative experience.Saddened by her demise.Condolences to her family andsupporters.”Uttarakhand Chief Minister

TirathSinghRawatandUPcoun-terpartYogiAdityanathalso ex-pressedcondolences.BSPpresi-dentMayawati said Hridayeshplayedanactiveandasignificantrole in the politics of UP andUttarakhand.Hridayeshwas amember of

the legislative council in undi-vided Uttar Pradesh for fourtimes from 1974 to 2002. ShewaselectedMLAinUttarakhandin 2002, 2012, and 2017, andserved as aminister in the gov-ernments of N D Tiwari, VijayBahuguna, and Harish Rawat.“Shewasseniormostamongthecabinetministers and a guidingforce for Congressmen. In theNDTiwarigovernment,Hridayeshwas called thede-factoCM. Shehadgreatorganisationalandad-ministrative capability. She hadlegislative experience of 50years,” said UttarakhandCongress vice-presidentSuryakantDhasmana.

Uttarakhand LoP, Cong’sKumaon face dies at 80

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, JUNE13

AVIDEOof aHyundaiVenuecarsinkingintoacaved-inportionofaparking lot on thepremises of aGhatkoparresidentialsocietywentviralonsocialmediaonSunday.Kiran Doshi, a 67-year-old

doctor, also the car’s owner, shotthe incident that lasted for lessthan a minute. Police said theparkingareawasconstructedoveranoldwell inRamnivasbuilding.By evening, the authorities

started the process of pumpingwater out of the collapsed por-tion of the parking space to lo-catethecar.Thetrafficpoliceau-thorities, with the help of theBMC officials, managed to re-move the car from the well

around9pm.Anofficer said, “Weremoved

the water from the well usingpumps andafterwe spotted thevehicle,we lifted itwith thehelp

ofacrane."The BMC said the incident

has nothing to dowith the civicbodyasithappenedonaprivatehousingsociety’spremises.

Monsoon covers 80% of Indiain 10 days, onset in Delhi soon

IndiraHridayesh

SekarBabu

Women trained in Agama Sastra tobe allowed as priests: TN minister

Mumbai: Car sinks into wellas parking lot portion caves in

TheHyundaiVenuewaspulledout intheevening. Express

HimantaBiswaSarma

Sena dismissesspeculation aboutsharing CMpost with NCP

New Delhi

Subject: All Risk comprehensive package Mega Risk InsurancePolicy including terrorism and Third party Liability Policy for 900

MW Baglihar HEP Stage - I and IICORRIGENDUM - III to the E-NIT No. JKSPDC/Fin/BI-16/2021-22/02 of2021 dated 22.05.2021 Tender reference no:- 2021_SPDC_124989_1

No.: JKSPDCL/FIN/BI-16/2021-22/1152-58 Dated: 11.06.2021With reference to the E-Notice inviting tender (E-NIT) no. JKSPDC/FIN/BI-16/2021-22/02 of 2021Dated 22.05.2021 regarding “All Risk comprehensive package Mega Risk Insurance Policyincluding terrorism and Third party Liability Policy for 900 MW Baglihar HEP Stage-I andII” and uploaded on the JKtenders website vide reference no. 2021_SPDC_124989_1, it is forinformation of all prospective bidders that in view of the request of the bidders, the last date ofsubmission of tender has been extended from 12.06.2021 to 19.06.2021 up to 12.00 PM.The copy of this corrigendum is also available on official website of JK Tenderswww.jktenders.gov.in. and JKSPDCL web site www.jkspdc.nic.in. All other terms andconditions of the e-NIT shall remain unchanged.

Sd/- (Bunty Bhola)Deputy General Manager (Finance), Corporate Office, JKSPDC

Kolkata:CPI(ML)RedStarleaderSharmistha Choudhury, aprominent face of the Bhangarland agitation inWest Bengal'sSouth 24 Parganas district, diedon Sunday due to post-Covidcomplications.Shewas47andissurvived by her husband Alik.Choudhurywas a journalist forseveral years before getting in-volved inactivism. PTI

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY, JUNE14,2021

THESECONDSURGEWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

6

ERurgesBengaltoallowsuburbantrainstoresumeKolkata:TheEasternRailwayau-thority haswritten to theWestBengal government to allow re-sumptionof services with theusualnumberof suburbantrainsin viewof an increase in passen-ger load, an official said here onSunday.Thestaffspecialtrainsbe-ing run at present aregettingcrowded as essential serviceproviders in varioussectors, in-cludinghealthcare,police,postof-fices,insurance,banksandcourts,areavailingthesetoreachtheird-estination, he said. Owing to theincrease inpassenger load, it isd-ifficulttomaintainCovidprotocolincompartments,hesaid. PTI

MaharashtradoctorassaultedoverCoviddeathLatur:Adoctorwas allegedly at-tackedbyfourpeopleafterthefa-theroftheirfrienddiedwhileun-dergoing treatment forCovid-19atagovernmenthospital inLaturcityofMaharashtra,policesaidonSunday. The incidentoccurredatVilasraoDeshmukhGovernmentMedicalSciencesInstituteduringtheinterveningnightof SaturdayandSunday,theysaid.Thefourac-cused,identifiedasShubhamDilipNakade , Shriniwas GovindraoDhobe, Akash Pramod Shete,NamdevHanumantShinde,havebeenarrested,sub-inspectorKiranPathare said. “TheaccusedusedabusivelanguageagainstDrAmitVarmaandthrashedhimallegingthathedidn’ttreattheirfriend’sfa-therproperly,”hesaid. PTI

MP:5,000PakrefugeestogetvaccinejabsIndore: About 5,000 PakistanirefugeesfromtheSindhicommu-nity living in Indorewill be ad-ministeredCovid-19vaccines,anofficial said on Sunday. The rep-resentativesoftheserefugeeshadrecently requested the adminis-tration for inoculation, DistrictImmunizationOfficerDrPraveenJadia told PTI. "This demandhasbeenacceptedfollowingthestategovernment's approval. ThesePakistani refugeeswill now beable to receive anti-coronavirusjabsatthecity'svaccinationcen-tresbyshowingtheirpassportastheidentitycard,"hesaid. PTI

NoCoviddeathinJharkhandonSunday:statedataRanchi: JharkhandonSundaydidnot report any fresh Covid-19deathforthefirsttimeduringtheongoingsecondwaveofthepan-demic,but239newcasespushedthe state's tally to 3,43,304, ahealth bulletin said. EastSinghbhumdistrictregisteredthehighest number of newcases at51, followedby27 inRanchi and23 inHazaribag, it said. The statenowhas3,966activecases,whilethe death toll remained un-changed at 5,082. A total of3,34,256people have recoveredfromthedisease,including493inthelast24hours, itsaid. PTI

VaccinatedAssamgovtstafftoworkfromofficeGuwahati:TheAssamgov-ernmentonSundayaskedall its employees whohavereceivedtwodosesofthe Covid-19 vaccine tojoin offices fromMondayevenasapartiallockdownacross the statewill be inforce.Generaladministra-tiondepartmentcommis-sioner and secretary,MSManivannan,issuedanor-der and said the decisionhasbeentakenforsmoothfunctioningofthegovern-ment. The order furthersaid eligible employeesshouldfollowallCovid-re-lated protocols issued bythe government atwork.OnJune4,theAssamgov-ernment had extendedthe partial lockdown im-poseddue to the surge ofCovid-19till June15. PTI

SHORTSTORIES

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICERAJKOT, JUNE13

THE KUTCH district panchayathealthdepartment onSaturdayissued a show-cause notice to afemale health supervisor (FHS)forallegedindiscipline,hoursaf-ter folk singer Geeta Rabariposted a photo on socialmediaof the supervisor purportedlyadministering a dose of Covidvaccine toher insideahouse.Officialssaiddisciplinaryac-

tionwouldbe takenagainst theFHS if she is “provenguilty”.Rabari posted a photo on

Twitter of her receiving a jab ofthevaccineathomeonSaturdayandpeople started alleging spe-cial treatmenttothecelebrity.“Rabarihadbookedaslotfor

vaccination on Saturday. Butprima facie, she was given thevaccine at place other than thevaccination centre. Therefore,weissuedashow-casenoticetothe FHS... we have given her 24hours to respond,” BhavyaVerma,districtdevelopmentof-ficer (DDO) of Kutch told TheIndianExpress.The DDO said the FHS is at-

tached to the Primary Health

Centre(PHC)inMadhaparvillageontheoutskirtsofBhuj town.After the photo triggered a

controversy, Rabari deleted hertweet.“Weareconductinganin-quiry based onmedia reportsstating that the FHS has givenvaccination at doorstep toGeetaben Rabari...,” Dr JanakMadhak,chiefdistricthealthof-ficer (CDHO)ofKutch, said.Rabari is a popular Gujarati

folksingerwhohasalsofeaturedin promotional videos ofTourismCorporation of GujaratLimited (TCGL). Phone calls andtext messages by The IndianExpress to Rabari’s husbandPruthviRabariseekinghercom-mentdidnotyieldanyresponse.

FolksingerGeetaRabarihadpostedaphotoofhergettingthe jabbutdeleted it later.

Notice to Gujarat healthworker after folk singergets vaccine ‘at home’

Bhangar agitationleader dies of postCovid complications

ENS&PTICHANDIGARH,CHENNAI,NEWDELHI, JUNE13

HARYANA AND TAMIL NadugovernmentsonSundaydecidedto partially relax some of thecurbs imposed because of theCovid-19pandemicevenastheyextended other restrictions byanotherweek.FromMonday, all shops in

Haryanawill be allowed to re-main open from 9 am to 8 pm,insteadof thecurrentodd-evensystembeing followedthere.Haryana State Disaster

ManagementAuthorityinanor-derSundayeveningsaidpreven-tiveandprecautionarymeasuresto contain the pandemic willcontinuedespiteadeclineintheCovidpositivityrate.“Allcolleges,coaching institutions, ITIs, li-braries, training institutionswhether government or privateshallremainclosedtillfurtheror-ders inthestate,” theordersaid.Shopping malls will be al-

lowedtoremainopenfrom10amto 8 pm,while restaurants andbarswillallowedfrom10amto10pmwith50percentcapacityandwith Covid precautions. “Homedelivery fromhotels, restaurantsand fast food joints is permittedupto10pm,”theordersaid.According to the order, reli-

gious placeswill be allowed toopenwith21peopleatatimeontheconditionthattheyfollowso-cial distancing and other Covidappropriatebehaviour.Corporateofficeswillbepermittedtoopenwith50percentattendance.Gathering inweddings will

alsobeallowedforupto21peo-ple but nowedding processionwill beallowed.InChennai,TamilNaduChief

MinisterMK Stalin announcedmore relaxations in 27 districtsof the state, including permis-sionforteashopstoreopenfromMonday.However, therewillbenoeasingof curbs in11districts– seven in western and four inCauvery delta regions.Restaurants and bakeries havealready been allowed to func-tion.Salons,parksandstate-runliquor outlets in 27 districts inthe state would also reopen.Placesofworshipandtourist lo-cationswill continue to remainclosed and there would be nopublicorprivatebusservices.Karnatakawillalsobeginthe

unlockprocess,barringin11dis-tricts, fromMonday, with theopening of parks and industrialunitswith riders.TheJammuandKashmirad-

ministration also announcedfurther easing of restrictions ineightdistrictswhichshowedsig-nificant improvement in theCovid-19situation.Thedecisionto grant relaxations in Shopian,Kulgam, Ganderbal andBandipora in Kashmir divisionandPoonch,Reasi, Rambanand

Doda in Jammu division wastaken at a meeting which dis-cussed the total weekly newcases (permillion) and positiv-ity rate among other issues, anofficial order said.In Madhya Pradesh, Chief

MinisterShivraj SinghChouhansaid adecisionon further relax-ations, including reopening ofgymnasiums, will bemade onthe basis of suggestions beforeJune 15, as he announced thatnow40peoplecanparticipateinawedding insteadof theearlier20.While Bihar lifted its lock-

down on June 9with some re-strictions likenightcurfewcon-tinuing, Uttar Pradesh had lastTuesdayextendedrelaxationsincurbs to all 75 districts of thestatefollowingadipinthenum-berof activecases.ThePunjabgovernmentgave

relaxations, including allowingshops to open till 6 pm, whileadopting a graded approach toreopening. Telangana andJharkhandhaveextendedCovid-related restrictions with somerelaxations.

Preparationsunderwaytoreopenamall inPune.PavanKhengre

Haryana, TN ease curbsas ‘unlock’ continues NITINSHARMA

CHANDIGARH, JUNE13

“NIMMI IS a devoted wife andmother. I am still amazed byhowefficientlyshemanagesherpersonal and professional lifewithout letting either of themsuffer,” writes Milkha Singhabout his wife Nirmal MilkhaSingh in his autobiography TheRace of My Life. Nirmal, formerIndian volleyball captain, diedon Sunday after battlingCovid-19 for more than 19 days at aMohali hospital.Nirmal,whomarriedMilkha

on May 5, 1963, was on HighFlowNasalCannula (HFNC)andNon Invasive Ventilation (NIV)support since June4.The 85-year-old is survived

by her husbandMilkha Singh,daughters Dr Mona Singh,Aleeza Grover, Sonia Sanwalka,andson JeevMilkhaSingh.She was cremated in the

eveningasperastatementfromthe family.MilkhaSingh,who isstill in the ICUof PGIMER, couldnotattend thecremation.Nirmal was the Punjab vol-

leyballcaptainbeforebecomingthe Indian women’s volleyballcaptain. She firstmetMilkha inSri Lanka in1959,wherehehadgone to compete in an athleticscompetition and Nirmal was

captaining the Indianwomen’svolleyball team.In 1960, Nirmal joined as

Deputy Physical EducationInstructoratLadyIrwinCollege,Delhi, when Milkha met heragain. At that time, a Delhi-basedfamilywantedtogettheirdaughtermarried toMilkhabe-fore the then Punjab CMPartapSingh Kairon intervened andaskedMilkha tomarry Nirmal.With Nirmal’s father MeharChandSaini opposing the inter-caste marriage, Kairon con-vincedhimtoagree.Nirmalworkedasdirectorof

sports forwomen in thePunjabsportsdepartmentwhileMilkhabecame the director of sportsandeducation. Shealsoworkedas joint director sports,Chandigarh,anddirectorsports,Chandigarh. Shewas also asso-ciatedwith the activities of theMilkha Singh Charitable Trustandwould help needy playersandchildren.

“Since the daywe gotmar-ried,Sardar-jihasalwaysopenedthe door of the car for me andthis has remained the sameeverydayof ourmarried life... Ifwe talk of the biggest gift givenby him tome, it is the lines hewrote in his autobiography: 'Ihave many trophies but thebiggest trophy forme has beenmywifeNirmalMilkha Singh’,"Nirmal had told The IndianExpress in2019.PunjabCMAmarinderSingh

and state SportsMinister RanaGurmit Singh Sodhi condoledher demise. “I am saddened tolearn about the death of one oftheiconicvolleyballplayerswhobrought several laurels for thecountry, thus making everyPunjabi proud. The remarkableservices rendered by NirmalMilkha Singh as director ofsports for women, Punjab, forpromotion of sports would beever remembered by one andall,” saidastatementby theCM.

NirmalandMilkhaSingh

Former Indian volleyball captain NirmalMilkha Singh dies after battling Covid

Head of ‘world’s largest family’ diesEXPRESSNEWSSERVICEGUWAHATI, JUNE13

ZION-A CHANA, known as thepatriarchof the “world’s largestfamily”, died in Aizawl onSunday.Hewas76.Chana, who held the record

forhaving38wives,89childrenand 36 grandchildren, had dia-betesandhypertension.Hewasshifted from his residence inBaktawngTlangnuamvillage toAizawl, 60 kmaway, on June 11.Hediedataprivatehospital.CM Zoramthanga tweeted,

“With heavy heart, #Mizorambid farewell toMr. Zion-a (76),believed to head the world'slargestfamily,with38wivesand89children.Mizoramandhisvil-lageatBaktawngTlangnuamhasbecome amajor tourist attrac-tion in the state because of thefamily.Rest inPeaceSir!”

Chanaandhisfamilylivedina four-storied house called'Chhuan Thar Run' or NewGeneration Home. Over theyears, it became a touristhotspot, and his storywas cov-eredby internationalmedia.In 1942, Chana’s grandfather

Khuangtuaha foundedapolyga-mous cult Chana Pawl or

Chhuanthar.Chanacarriedit for-wardanditnowhasabout2,000followers, all of whom live andwork in a self-sustained unitaroundthehouse.About400fam-iliesarepartof thecult.Only the ground floor of

ChhuanTharRun isopentovis-itors.Chana,wholivedonthetopfloor,didnotmeetanyone.

Zion-aChanahad38wives,89childrenand36grandkids

MP forest officials open fire duringanti-sand mining ops, one killedEXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBHOPAL, JUNE13

A45-YEAR-OLDmaninMadhyaPradesh’sMorenadistrictwasal-legedly shot deadonSundaybya Forest Department teamdur-ing an operation against illegalsandmining.Forestofficials said the team

waschasingatractorwithillegalsandminersatAmolPuravillagewhen local residents tried tosnatch their guns. During themelee, Mahavir Singh, the de-ceased,wasaccidentally shot.However, Singh’s family has

claimed thathewas shotby theforestteamafterhetoldtheoffi-

cials to not fire their guns in thevillage. “My father stopped theofficialswarningthemtonotfirearound the village as it mighthurt someone after whichPramod Singh Tomar abusedand then shotmy father it wasfollowedbyRaghuvendraSingh

Chouhanwhoalso firedonhimalongwith five others,” Singh’ssonRahul said inhis complaint.Theincidenttriggeredalaw-

and-order situation in AmolPura,withvillagersblockingthenational highway for close tothreehours anddemandingac-tionagainst the forest team.Based onRahul’s complaint,

an FIR was registered at theNagrapolicestationagainstnineforestofficials.Morena SP Lalit Shakyawar

told The Indian Express, “Wecontrolled the situation and anFIR has been registered basedon the complaint against nineforestofficials.Thematter isbe-ing investigated.”

Forestofficialssaidthemanwasaccidentallykilledwhenvillagerstriedtosnatchtheirguns,but thedeceased’skinsaidtheteamfiredathim

469DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

TRACKING THE SECOND SURGE

NEWCASES: 64,161ACTIVE CASES:9,72,879VACCINATIONS:25,31,95,048

DAILY DEATHS3,936

TOTALDEATHS3,74,320

WEEKLY CFR1.94%

OVERALL CFR1.33%

TESTS TODAY: 18,79,268 | TOTAL TESTS: 37,99,90,698

WEEKLY POSITIVITY: 4.35% | OVERALL POSITIVITY: 7.76%

STATESREPORTINGMOSTCASES

STATE NEW ACTIVE WEEKLY TOTALCASES CASES POSITIVITY VACCINATION

■TamilNadu 14,016 1,49,927 9.35% 1,06,29,239

■Kerala 11,585 1,23,385 13.34% 1,11,64,895

■Maharashtra 10,442 1,55,588 5.02% 2,58,17,728

■Karnataka 7,810 1,80,856 6.69% 1,68,52,198

■Andhra 6,770 85,637 7.81% 1,18,50,826

STATESREPORTINGMOSTDEATHS

STATE TODAY’S TOTAL WEEKLY OVERALLDEATHS DEATHS CFR CFR

■Maharashtra 2,824 1,14,133 7.34% 1.99%

■TamilNadu 267 29,547 1.12% 1.43%

■Kerala 206 11,230 0.74% 0.45%

■Karnataka 125 32,913 0.82% 1.27%

■WestBengal 84 16,896 0.64% 1.24%

Note:DataasonJune13;vaccinationnumbersasofJune12.Deaths includethosefrompreviousdays.

New Delhi

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

TOTALVACCINATED IN INDIA (at least one dose)

20,48,93,461

DOSESONJUNE12 35,94,744JUNE11:35,14,655 (31,78,575 1st doses; 3,36,0802nd)

June03 June12

■Firstdose ■Seconddose

35,00,000

17,50,000

0

COVISHIELD88%

COVAXIN12%

TOTALDOSES25,31,95,048(Sputnik V's 24,767 dosesnot represented in pie)

INDIAACTIVECASES 10,26,159

June03 June12LAST 10 DAYS

INDIATOTALCASES 2,94,39,989Source:Ministry of Health& FamilyWelfare, updated at 11 pmon June 13

20,00,000

10,00,000

9,00,000

Note: The June12 figures in thesegraphsarebasedon thegovernmentupdateson June13

32,03,312

LAST 10 DAYS (daily)

3,91,432

28,20,937

2,44,818

16,35,993

10,26,159

HARISHDAMODARANNEWDELHI,JUNE13

RECORD OFFTAKE, record procurement,recordstocksingovernmentwarehousesandrecordexports.Thishasbeenthestoryof fourrecords in the last one year andmore of theCovid-19 pandemic, when “food” –morespecifically,riceandwheatchannelledthroughthepublicdistributionsystem(PDS)–hasbe-cometheNDAgovernment’spreeminentso-cialsafetynetprogramme.

OfftakeUntil 2019-20, offtake of grain from the

FoodCorporationofIndia’s(FCI)godownsav-eragedhardly62milliontonnes(mt)peryear,while even falling fromalmost 66mt to justover 60mt between 2012-13 and 2017-18.Muchof it comprisedPDS rationsunder theNationalFoodSecurityAct(NFSA)of2013.Thislaw, passedduring thepreviousUPA regime,entitles81.35croreIndianstoreceiveatleast5kgofwheatorricepermonthatRs2andRs3perkg,respectively.Theannualfoodgrainallo-cationunderNFSA–which includesahigher35-kgmonthly ration for 2.37 crore “poorestofthepoor”householdsundertheAntyodayaAnnaYojana–worksouttonearly55mt.Lastyear,duringthenationwidelockdown,

theNDAgovernmentlaunchedanewPradhanMantriGaribKalyanAnnaYojana(PMGKAY).Underit,NFSAbeneficiarieswereprovidedanextra 5 kg grain permonth free for April-November2020,translatingintoanadditionalallocationofover32mt.TheresultscanbeseeninChart1.Offtakeof riceandwheat fromthecentralpoolcrossedanall-time-highof93mtin2020-21,roughly50%higherthaninthepre-vious year. Much of this was courtesy ofPMGKAY,which,alongwiththeAtmanirbharBharatPackage(forreturningmigrantlabour-ers)andotherlockdown-relatedschemes,sawatotal liftingofabout31.5mt.PMGKAYhasbeen re-launched this year,

too, in thewake of the pandemic’s secondwave. Initially, the government allocated the5-kgextra freegrainpermonthtoNFSAben-eficiaries only forMayand June2021. But onJune 7, PrimeMinister NarendraModi an-nounced its extension up to Diwali, i.e.November.That,again,islikelytoboostofftakeby28mtormorein2021-22.

ProcurementButitisn’tPDSgrainofftakealonethathas

hit an all-time-high. Government agencieshave,asonJune11,procured42.3mtofwheatand55.4mt of rice from the2020-21 crops.Thishasbrokeneventherecord39mtand51.8mt that got procured in the previous year(Chart2).Thegovernmenthas,inthepost-pan-demicperiod,bothdistributedaswellaspro-curedmoregrainsthaneverbefore.Whilethespikeinofftakeisanoutcomeof

thepandemic— free foodhas arguablybeenthe single biggest relief measure for thoseworstaffectedbytheeconomicdisruptionsaf-terMarch2020,aheadofevenMGNREGA(an-otherUPA legacy programme)— increasedprocurementisprobablyafalloutofthemove-ment against theCentre’s farmreform laws.Theminimumsupport price (MSP) value ofthepaddyandwheatboughtbygovernmentagenciessinceOctober2020–thethreefarmlawsgotpassedthepreviousmonth–comestoapproximatelyRs238,250crore.Some38.5%of that amount has gone to Punjab andHaryana,whosefarmershavebeenatthefore-frontof theprotests.Thegovernment’sgoingallouttoconvincefarmersthatitsreformlawsaren’t aimed at ending theMSP-based pro-curement regime, canbe seen in paddy andwheat purchases fromPunjab scaling newhighs in the 2020-21 crop year. Record pro-curement has been its strongest defenceagainstallegationsofbeinganti-farmer.

Foodgrain stocksThislinksupwithathirdrecord.Evenafter

theunprecedented93mt-plusofftake,thanksto PMGKAY, stocks of rice andwheat in theCentralpoolwereatanall-time-highof109.44mt as on June 1, surpassing even last year’s

97.27mtat this point. Stock levels havebeenrisingsince2017,reversingthedecliningtrendof theprecedingfouryears(Chart3).Ifstockaccumulationhaslargelytodowith

thepolitical economycompulsions ofMSP-basedprocurement, Covid-timedistresshasprovidedanopportunity forwhittlingdownFCI’sgrainmountain. FCI’s “economiccost”ofprocuring,handling,transporting,storinganddistributinggrainswasestimatedatRs39.99per kg for rice andRs 27.40/kg forwheat in2020-21.Thesubsidyon the31.5mtof grains(20.8mtriceand0.7mtwheat)distributedfreeunderPMGKAYandother special relief pro-grammeswouldhave,then,totalledaroundRs112,500crore. Theactual cost, though,wouldhavebeenlower,becauseFCIalsoincursinter-est and storage expenses in holding excessstocks in its godowns. This “carrying cost ofbuffer”, pegged at Rs 5.40/kg in 2020-21, issavedevenwhengrain is givenout free. Thecorrespondingannualsavingson31.5mtwouldhavebeeninexcessofRs17,000crore.Similarsavingswill accrue on the 28mt additionalgrainallocationsunderPMGKAYfor2021-22.

ExportsNowisthefinalrecord:2020-21alsosawa

record19.8mtofriceandwheatbeingexported

fromIndia (Chart4).Onpaper,practically thisentirequantityshippedoutwasgrainprocuredfrom the open market. According to theDepartmentofFoodandPublicDistribution,amere75,000 tonneswheatand4,000 tonnesricegotexportedfromthecentralpoolin2020-21.Thiswaswhollyon“humanitariangrounds”throughtheMinistryofExternalAffairs.Thesurgeinexportshasbeensignificantly

aidedbythehardeningofinternationalprices.TheUNFoodandAgricultureOrganization’sCerealPriceIndexhita95-month-highinMay.Butglobalpricesapart,thecompetitivenessofIndianriceandwheatmayhavebeenalsoen-abledbyrecycled/ leakedgrainfromthePDS.Giventhemassivequantitiesofferedfree/near-free under PMGKAY/NFSA, it shouldn’t sur-prise if someof this grainhas got diverted totheopenmarketorevenforexports.However, at the end of the day, it is the

abundantcropproducedby farmers thathasmadeall four records–PDSofftake,procure-ment, stocks and exports – possible evenamidsttheworstpandemicinoveracentury.

(Thewriter isNationalRuralAffairs&AgricultureEditorofTheIndianExpressandonsabbaticalasSeniorFellowwiththe

CentreforPolicyResearch)

In pandemic, 4 food recordsSIMPLYPUT

PDSofftake,procurement,warehousestocks,andfoodgrainexportshithighs inthelastoneyear.Abundant farmproduceandgovernment initiativesenabledtheseevenamidtheCovid-19pandemic.

NEHABANKAKOLKATA,JUNE13

THECONFLICTthatbeganbetweenEthiopia’sfederalgovernmentandtherulingpartyintheTigray region in the country’s north lastSeptemberhassinceblownupintoafullscalecrisis in theHornof Africa.Now,hundredsofthousandsinTigrayarefacingfamine,andmil-lionsmoreareatrisk,UNagencieshavesaid.

Crisis inTigrayInNovember, localgovernmentofficials in

TigrayhadtoldReuters that some2.2millionpeoplehadbeendisplacedbythefightingandmanyforcedtofleetoneighbouringcountries.AlthoughEthiopia’sfederalNationalDisasterRiskManagementCommissiondisputedthenum-berofdisplacedpeople,independentobservershadagreedthatitwasexceptionallyhigh.Reports have emergedof sexual violence

againstgirlsandwomenintheregion.InApril,theUNsaid investigationsbynewsorganisa-

tionsandindependentobservershadrevealedthat sexual violence was being used as a“weaponofwar”.Thisweek,UNemergencyreliefcoordina-

torMark Lowcock said Tigraywasnowalsowitnessingwidespread famine. The term‘famine’wasusedafterthereleaseonThursdayof an Integrated Food Security PhaseClassification(IPC)analysisupdate,whichusesa standardised scale originally developedbytheUN, integrating “food security, nutrition,and livelihood information into a statementaboutthenatureandseverityofacrisis”.

FamineconditionsAccordingtotheIPCanalysis, faminecon-

ditionsinTigrayareinphase5,which,accord-ingtoaReutersreport,“startswithacatastro-phe warning and rises to a declaration offamineinaregion”.AccordingtotheIPCanaly-sis, approximately 350,000 people out ofTigray’s6millionpopulationareexperiencingfamine. Thiswas the result of several factorsrootedintheongoingmilitaryconflict.Eritreanforceswho joined the conflict in support ofEthiopia’sPMAbiyAhmed,havebeenaccusedofdestroyingpropertyandburningcrops.In an interview toReuters, Lowcock said

Eritrean forceswere “trying todealwith theTigrayanpopulationbystarvingthem”,block-ingsupplies tooveramillionpeople. “Food isdefinitelybeingusedasaweaponofwar.”TheEthiopiangovernmenthasrejectedthe

accusations,andclaimedthatthefoodshort-ageswerenot severe. Reuters quoted a gov-ernmentspokespersonassayingthecompar-isonswith the terrible Ethiopian famines of1984and1985wereincorrect,and“that(are-

peat) isnotgoingtohappen”.The governmenthas insisted that food is

being supplied to Tigray; aBBC report, how-ever, said that evenwhere rationshavebeenprovided,thequantitiesareinsufficient.Therehavebeenreportsof foodaidbeingstolenbysoldiers, includingEritreantroops.

BeyondTigrayAlexdeWaaloftheFletcherSchoolofLaw

andDiplomacywrote in a BBC analysis that“Foodsecurityisfastdeterioratingintheneigh-bouringregionsofAmharaandAfar,astherip-ples of thewar andadeepeningnationwidemacro-economic crisis are disrupting liveli-hoodsanddeepeningpoverty. TherearealsowarningsofescalatingfoodneedsinSudan”.DeWaalpointedoutthatUNSCResolution

2417onarmedconflictandhungerwaspassedthreeyearsagototacklecrisesliketheonesbe-ingwitnessedintheHornofAfrica.However,theUNSCisyettoholdapublicsessionontheongoingcrisis,deWaalwrote.

Longerversion:www.indianexpress.com

7WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to explained@indianexpress.comE EXPLAINED

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JUNE14,2021

KANCHANVASDEVCHANDIGARH,JUNE13

DESPITE A brute majority in the PunjabAssemblywith80 seats out of 117, the stateCongresshasbeen struggling against rebel-lionlately.ThecrisiscomesaheadofAssemblyelectionsdueinearly2022.

Whatisthecrisisabout?Acoupleofpartymembershaverebelled

againstChiefMinisterAmarinderSinghoveraseriesof issues.Thishasmountedafterthegovernment lost the sensitiveBehbalKalanandKotKapurafiringcaseintheHighCourt,which quashed its Special InvestigationTeam’s report andasked thegovernment toconstituteanotherSIT.Thecaseinvolvespo-licefiringonprotestersfollowingincidentsof

desecration of theGuruGranth Sahib; twoprotesterswere killed in Behbal Kalan andseveral injuredinKotKapura.Followingthejudgment,manyCongress

leaders criticised thegovernment,withPCCpresident Sunil Jakhar and ministerSukhjinderRandhawahandingtheirresigna-tions to the CM in a Cabinet meeting.RandhawahadpatchedupwithpartyleaderNavjot SinghSidhuand indicated theymayget togetheragainst theCM.Sidhuhasbeenaccusing theCMof a quid pro quowith theAkaliDal,whosegovernmentwasinpowerin2015.Withtherebellionincludingafewotherleaders,AICCpresidentSoniaGandhihassetupacommitteeledbyMallikarjunKharge.

Whathasthecommitteedone?Afterhearingoutabout150leaders,ithas

submittedareporttotheAICCchief.Ithasrec-

ommendedthatSidhubegivenaroleandtheparty structure should be reorganised. TheAICCisyettostartanyactiononthereport.

WastheHCverdicttheonlyissue?No.Resentmenthasbeenbrewinginthe

Congressoveranumberofissues,including:AfterthegovernmenthandedoutRs5,000

croreasfarmloanwaiver,partyleadersgrum-bled that thiswas transferreddirectlywith-out lettingpolitical leaders takecredit,whilebureaucratsdecidedthebeneficiariesTherehasbeenresentmentabouttheCM

fornot taking actionagainst the then rulingBadalfamilyinthepolicefiring.A report ondrugswas submitted to the

High Court by the Special Task Force chiefthreeyearsago,buttheenvelopehasnotbeenopened yet. Leaders hold the LegalDepartmentresponsiblefornotpursuingthe

case properly as the government allegedlywantedtoprotectSADleadersnamed.Therehavebeen reports, deniedby the

CM,suggestingthathetookdossiersonovertwo dozen MLAs to the committee, al-legedlydetailing their involvement in sev-eral cases.

Whathappensnow?TheChiefMinister’scamphaswonbacka

numberofleaders.TheCM,whohasbeenac-cusedofbeinginaccessible,hasstartedmeet-ing party leaders at his official residence.Sidhu, who had attacked the CM on hisTwitter,hasbeenquietlately.Buthisaide,for-merhockeyinternationalPargatSingh,hitoutat theCMtwodaysagodaringhimtomakethedossierspublic.Therebelshavebeensay-ing they arewaiting for SoniaGandhi to actbeforetheytakefurtheraction.

RESEARCHERSHAVEstudiedhumankid-neycellsinthelabtoexaminetheeffectsofCovid-19onkidneyhealth.Thefindingsap-pear in the Journal of the American SocietyofNephrology(JASN).Many individualswho

developCovid-19alsoexpe-rience kidneydamage, butit has been so far unclear ifthis isadirectresultof viralinfectionor a consequenceof another conditionor thebody’sresponsetotheinfec-tion. To investigate, a teamled by Benjamin Dekel(Sheba Medical Center,Israel) cultivated humankidney cells in lab dishesand infected them withSARS-CoV-2.Theyfoundthat

■TheSARS-CoV-2coronaviruscanin-fectandreplicateinhumankidneycells,butthisdoesnottypicallyleadtocelldeath.

■Kidneycellsthatalreadyhavefeaturesof injurymaybemoreeasily infectedanddevelopadditionalinjury.Prior to infection, the cells contained

high levels of interferon signallingmole-cules, and the infection stimulated an in-

flammatoryresponsethatincreasedthesemolecules. In contrast, infectionof kidneycellsdeficientinsuchmoleculesresultedincell death, suggesting a protective effect.The cells in these experiments were

grown as a three-dimen-sionalspheroidthatimitatesthe healthy kidney or as atwo-dimensional layer thatmimics the cells of anacutelyinjuredkidney.Cellsthatmimickedanacutelyin-jured kidney were morepronetoinfectionandaddi-tional injury but not celldeath.“Thedataindicatethatit

isunlikelythat thevirus isaprimarycauseof acutekid-

neyinjuryseeninCOVID-19patients.Itim-plies that if such injury takes place in thekidneybyanycause,thevirusmightjumpon thewagon to intensify it. Therefore, ifwe’reabletolimitthecommonscenarioofacutekidney injury in the first place, thentheremightbethepossibilitytominimizepotentialdamagecausedbythevirus,”theASNquotedDrDekelassaying.

Source:AmericanSocietyofNephrology

PAPERCLIP

NEWRESEARCH

Study examines how Covidaffects human kidney cells

ETHIOPIA

ERITREA

Tigray Gulf of Aden

1000

800

600

400

200

0

1000

800

600

400

200

02012-2013

2013-2014

2014-2015

2015-2016

2016-2017

2017-2018

2018-2019

2019-2020

2020-2021

2012-2013

2013-2014

2014-2015

2015-2016

2016-2017

2017-2018

2018-2019

2019-2020

2020-2021

658.46

598.68

571.79 689.3

739.79

785.31

908.18

977.19

601.28

591.36

598.33

559.27

631.98

617.78

603.73

659.06

621.89

930.91

OFFTAKE FROMCENTRAL POOL (LAKHTONNES) PROCUREMENT FORCENTRAL POOL (LAKHTONNES)

■Rice ■Wheat ■Total■Rice ■Wheat ■Total

Offtake is for fiscal year (Apr-Mar)and inclusiveof liftingunderotherwelfare schemesandopenmarket sales.Source:Departmentof FoodandPublicDistribution

Stocks include rice equivalentofun-milledpaddy.Source:Departmentof FoodandPublicDistribution Source:DepartmentofCommerce

Procurement is for cropyear (Jul-Jun)and figures for2020-21areason June11.Source:Departmentof FoodandPublicDistribution

STOCKS IN CENTRAL POOL ASON JUNE 1 (LAKHTONNES)■Rice ■Wheat ■Total

EXPORTOF RICE ANDWHEAT (LAKHTONNES)■Rice ■Wheat ■Total

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0

200

150

100

50

0

823

.17

776.95

698.43

630.21

598.55

622.83 733.01

821.86

972.69

166.62

164.75

148.43

110.33

110.76

129.15

121.32

97.08

198.06

1094

.41

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2012-2013

2013-2014

2014-2015

2015-2016

2016-2017

2017-2018

2018-2019

2019-2020

2020-2021

CHART 1 CHART2

CHART3 CHART4

AFTERBEINGrelegatedto15seats inthe117-memberPunjabAssembly in2017, theShiromaniAkaliDal (SAD)hasalliedwiththeBSPfor the2022polls, giving it20seats.Whatarethecalculationsbehindthis?

BSPINPUNJAB: In2017, theBSPcontested111seats,anditscandidateslosttheirdeposits inallbutoneofthem.It finishedwithavoteshareof1.59%intheseats itcontested.Thiswasworsethanitsperformances in1997(13.28%,1seat);2002(6.61%);2007(4.17%);and2012(4.30%).

WHYALLY:AftersnappingtieswiththeBJP, theSADrequiredanewally.There isalsoaprecedent: In the1996LokSabhapolls, analliancehadbrought11seats toSAD(8)andBSP(3).AnSADleadersaid:“Inat least20seats in2017,SADcandidates lostbyless than1,000votes.Andinthoseconstituencies, thereareBSPsupportersnumberingbetween2,500to10,000.”

NAVJEEVANGOPAL

DETAILEDEXPLAINER:WWWWWW..IINNDDIIAANNEEXXPPRREESSSS..CCOOMM

THE ARITHMETIC BEHINDAKALIS’ ALLIANCEWITHBSP

Crisis in PunjabCongress: how rebellion brewed,what’s being done

Tigray crisis: A new ‘famine’ in Ethiopia

New Delhi

8WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

TWEAKING THE TAXGSTCouncildoeswelltocutratesofCovidessentials. Issuesofcompensation,rationalisingof rates,alsoneedtobeexamined

IN ITSMEETING on Saturday, the GST Council cut tax rates for key Covid-relatedmedicines and equipment in line with the recommendations of the Group ofMinisters (GoM) formed togo into the issue.While frequent changes in tax ratescreateuncertainty forbusinessesandhouseholds,doingsonowin themidstof a

pandemic, for a limited timeperiod, toprovide relief to financially stressedhouseholdsstrugglingtomeettheirhealthexpenses, isa judiciousmove.Whilesomehadarguedinfavour of zero rating of these items,which is done for exports, doing sowould have re-quiredanamendmenttotheGSTAct.Ontheotherhand,exemptingtheseproductsfromGSTwould have placedmanufacturers at a disadvantage as theywould not have beenable toclaiminput taxcredit.Beyondtheissuesrelatingtotheadjustmentoftaxrates,somestatesarealsoreported

tohaveraisedthequestionof theGSTcompensationperiod.Aseparatemeetinghasbeencalledtoexaminethismatter indetail. The five-yearGSTcompensationperiodthatwasoriginally agreed upon as part of the grand bargain between the Centre and the stateswillendin June2022.Consideringthat revenuefromGSThas fallenwell shortof expec-tations — the 15th Finance Commission had estimated that while indirect taxes sub-sumedunderGSTamounted to6.3per centof GDP in2016-17,GSTcollections (exclud-ing the compensation cess) were only 5.1 per cent of GDP in 2019-20— states, unsureabout their revenues post June 2022, are likely to ratchet up the pressure to extend thecompensationperiod.WhiletheCentreisyettoclearlyspelloutitsviews,howthisissueisnavigatedislikelytohavefar-reachingimplicationsforthealreadyfraughtCentre-staterelations.Equallypressing is for theGSTCouncil to address theproblems that addcomplexity

toandcontinuetoplaguetheindirecttaxframework.Forone,thematterof theinvertedduty structureneeds tobeaddressed. Perhapsaproduct-wiseexaminationneeds tobeconsidered.Andwhilethismaynotbeanappropriatetime,theGSTCouncilmustalsoex-aminetheissueof rationalisingthetaxrates.AccordingtoanRBIstudy,theweightedav-erageGSTratehaddeclined from14.4per cent inMay2017 to11.6per cent in2019, im-plyingthatthecurrentGSTregimeisnotrevenueneutral.Thisimpactstaxcollections,andcreatesfiscalpressuresforbothcentralandstategovernments.Suchpressuresareexac-erbatedduringeconomicdownturnswhentherearegreaterdemandsongovernmentstoproviderelief totheeconomy.TheGSTCouncilmust,therefore,movequicklytoaddressthe lingeringstructural issues in theGSTarchitecture.

AN EQUAL CLASSROOMClosinggendergap inundergraduateeducation isheartening.Covidmustnotbeallowedtoeatawayat thesegains

W HENITCOMEStogenderequality, therearemiles togoinnumerousaspectsof Indiansocial life.Butthegapisclosing intheundergradu-ateclassroom.TheAll-IndiaSurveyonHigherEducation(AISHE)re-ports that the number of women andmen enrolled in Bachelor of

Commerce (BCom)programmesacross the country isnowequal—a reversal fromthestateofaffairsevenfiveyearsago.Thisfollowssignificantstridesinotherundergraduateprogrammes.Notonlydidwomencatchupwithmen inBScandMBBSprogrammes in2017-18,theyhavegoneontooutpacethemin2019-20.Thedisparityremainsworryinginengineeringand law.Nevertheless, it is safe to say that the rise ingrossenrolment ra-tio in higher education (from 24.5 per cent in 2015-16 to 27 per cent in 2020), whichmeasurestheproportionof studentswhotransitionfromsecondaryeducation, isbeingdrivenbyasharperrelativeriseinGERforwomen.This isgoodnews,evenif thesenum-bersneed tobeparsed fordisparitiesof casteandclass.The cloud attached to this silver lining is the pandemic. The economic shock of the

first wave of Covid-19 and a harsh lockdown has beenworsened by the secondwave.Thedisruptiveshifttoanonlinemodeofeducationhasdisproportionatelyleftoutweakersectionsof students.Womenarelikelytobearthebruntof thisexclusion,undoingtheseprecious gains. Governments at central and state levelsmust devise a response to thischallenge, fromconsideringmonetarysupporttogirlstudentstopushinghighereduca-tional institutions tohand-hold themthroughadifficult time.Collegesanduniversitiesmust also keep the gender composition of their classroom inmind as they embark ontheadmissionprocess.The influx of women into higher education is awelcome shift. But, formany years

now,ithasaddeduptoaparadox—theappallinglabourforceparticipationrateof Indianwomen. That isnotonly a functionof lackof opportunity andeducation, but alsoof thecultural values that seewomen’swork asprimarily circumscribed tohome. TheCovid-19pandemichasdeepenedtheseinequalities.CMIEdatashowsthatfemalelabourforceparticipationfellalarminglyinurbanareas,wheremoreeducatedwomenarelikelytobefound, in early 2020— as employment shrank and domesticwork increased. A criticalmassofeducated,employablewomenisanassetforanyeconomyandsociety;thesearegains that thestatecan ill afford tosquander.

Coomi Kapoor

ViewsonCentralVistaprojectarepolarisedonpoliticallines.Governmentopacityaddstotheshadow-boxing

THERE ISAclearpolarisationon the issueofrevampingtheCentralVista.Youaredubbedpro-Modioranti-Modidependingonwhichside you stand on the project. Objectivity isusually coloured by one’s political predilec-tions. Those opposed to the primeministersee red at the thought of desecrating the fa-mousheritageprecinctwhichdefinesDelhi.They view it as the PM’s ego trip to put hisstamp on Lutyens’ Delhi. Internationally-renownedartistAnishKapoorrecentlywrotea scathingarticle, terming thePMthearchi-tect of a “Hindu Taliban”, inspired by a van-ity-fuelled campaign to de-Islamify India.Most architects, however, do not view theLutyens’neo-classicalbuildings, incorporat-ingMuslim, Hindu and Buddhist elements,as particularly Islamic. Besides, none of theLutyens-eraheritagebuildingsare, infact, tobe demolished. Self-glorification chargesshould also be viewed in perspective. AllDelhi’smajor rulers, whether the Lodhis ortheMughals, lefttheirmarkonthecity.EventheGandhisensuredthatadisproportionatenumberoftheCapital’spremierinstitutions,including auniversity, amuseum, a culturalcentre, an airport, a stadium, a park, werenamedafter them.The suggestion for a new Parliament

Housewas firstmooted in 2012 during theCongress regime by the then Lok SpeakerMeiraKumar.Asaparliamentaryreporteroflong standing, I can vouch for the decay,damp,chippingceilingandovercrowdingofabuilding thatwasdeclaredahazardby thefire department some two decades back.Politicalpartiesfoughtfrequentlyoverspaceforparliamentaryoffices,sometimescomingto blows. The counter argument is that ifEuropeandemocracies and theUScould re-tain their old structures,why couldn’t Indiasimply renovate thebuilding.Butonehas toweigh the costs. For example, Great Britaindecided in 2016 to renovateWestminsterPalace from2022onwards. Thebudget esti-mate,rangingfromfourtosixbillionpoundssterling, far exceeds the cost of constructinganewparliament.If the Parliament House designed by

Edwin Lutyens completed in 1927 is in ashabby state, then the oncemajestic North

BlockandSouthBlockdesignedbySirHerbertBaker in the 1910s are in evenpoorer condi-tion.Many years back, Anand Sharma, thenMoSforExternalAffairs, tookmeonatourofthe slummyback side of South Block. Loosewireshanging, tinycubbyholes for thecleri-calstaffallcrampedtogether,steelcupboardsclogging the corridors, illegal extensions oncoveredbalconies,andleakingwatercoolersblocking light. Itwas a very different picturefrom themajesticmain staircase and highceilinged spacious offices of senior bureau-crats. I felt theconceptof converting the twoBlockswiththeirimpressivefaçadeintoana-tionalmuseumwasastrokeofgenius.Ourex-istingmuseum is so small it does not show-caseevenone-tenthof itscollection.Scaryscenarioshavebeenpaintedabout

theCentralVistaProject. Iconicbuildingsareto be torn down, trees felled, green lawnscementedoverandtherewillbeovercrowd-ingof thispopularpublicspace.Thefaultforthis misinformation lies largely with thegovernment, which failed to keep the pub-lic in the loop and at times contradicted it-selfwhileprovidinginformation.Publiccon-sultation, if any,wasminimal.Criticschargethat the relevant clearances were not ob-tained from the concerned regulators. Thetender process lacked transparency sincetherewas no exhibition of the award-win-ning design. (It was only later that all thedrawings of the six competing firmswereput up on YouTube.) Unsurprisingly, BimalPatel, the PrimeMinister’s favourite archi-tect,wonthecontract.OfthehugeRs20,000crorebudgetspread

over several years, only two contracts havebeenawardedsofar–fortheconstructionofthenewParliamentHouseand thegreeningofthe1.8kilometrestretchofRajpath.Havingvisitedthelattersite,thegreeningprojectde-servesathumbsup.Pathwaysforwalking,thestraggly lawntobereplacedbyafullcoverofgrass,parkingspaces,underpassesanddrainwaterchannels.Unobtrusivemanholesstoretheservice infrastructureofpipesandcablessothatonecandispensewiththeannual rit-ualof diggingworkatRajpath,whichbeginsover amonth before RepublicDay and endsanothermonthlaterafterdismantling.

What can, however, be questioned is theextravagance of tearing down innumerablepost-Independencebuildingstomakewayfora series of seven-foot-high, donut-shapedstructuresabuttingbothsidesoftheIndiaGatelawns,whicharetohousesome50ministries.Thearchitectureofthe1950sgovernmentof-ficebhawans isuninspiringandstrictlyutili-tarian and the buildings are in any case ap-proachingtheirexpirydate.Morecontentiousis the decision to bulldoze the NationalMuseum, the IndiraGandhiNational CentreforthePerformingArts,theJawaharlalNehruBhawan, constructed less than adecade agoata costof Rs220crore, andVigyanBhawanwhich has been renovated several times atconsiderable expense. All of thesewill comedowntomakewayforthenewsecretariats.ThePM’sdesireforarevampoftheCentral

Vistawassothatkeygovernmentofficescouldbenexttoeachotherforsynergy,easeofinter-action and access to the latest infrastructureintheinternetage.Modiwantedareplicationof the way it is done in Gandhinagar. Butdoubts persist as towhether thenewbuild-ingswillharmonisewithLutyens’ structuresintermsofaestheticsensibilities.Forinstance,the stark lines of the triangularmodel of thenewparliament building contrastswith thegracious old circular columned ParliamentHouse, which will be directly behind it.(Interestingly,Bakerwantedatriangularstruc-ture, but was overruled by Lutyens. TheCouncil House, as it was knownwhen firstconstructed,wascomparedtoa“bull-ring”or“dreary-go-round”byitscritics.)Architect Patel has assured that his new

structureswillnotdivertattentionfromtheexisting spectacle of Raisina Hill. TheywillflanktheLutyens’landscapenotdrawingtoomuchnoticetothemselves.Actually,thenewsecretariats will be hidden largely by thetrees.Still,onedoeswonder: It tookLutyenstwodecadestoplanandexecutethebuildingof the Central Vista in the last century, sowhy rush into a revampproject of such far-reaching importance in such haste duringapandemic?

Thewriter isconsultingeditor,TheIndianExpress

Scary scenarios have beenpainted about the CentralVista Project. Iconic buildingsare to be torn down, treesfelled, green lawns cementedover and there will beovercrowding of this popularpublic space. The fault forthis misinformation lieslargely with the government,which failed to keep thepublic in the loop and attimes contradicted itselfwhile providing information.Public consultation, if any,was minimal. Critics chargethat the relevant clearanceswere not obtained from theconcerned regulators. Thetender process lackedtransparency since there wasno exhibition of the award-winning design. (It was onlylater that all the drawings ofthe six competing firms wereput up on YouTube.)Unsurprisingly, Bimal Patel,the Prime Minister’s favouritearchitect, won the contract.

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,MONDAY, JUNE14,2021

WORDLYWISETo educate girls is to reduce poverty.

— Kofi AnnanTHEEDITORIALPAGE

F-16S FOR PAKTHEREAGANADMINISTRATIONhasdecidedto offer 15 and possibly more F-16s toPakistanaspartofafive-year$2.5billionmil-itaryandeconomicsustenancepackage.Theaircraft can also double as fighter bombers.The F-16 is amongst themostmodern air-craft in the US armoury and was used byIsraeltodevastatingeffecttodestroytheIraqinuclearreactornearBaghdad.Somereportssay that theywere refueled in Saudi ArabiabutIsraelsaysthattheyneedednorefueling.The offer to Pakistan wasmade by the USUnderSecretaryofStateJamesLBuckley.Thedecision was approved by the NationalSecurityCouncil.

SEVEN MILLION VOTEANELECTORATEOFnearlysevenmillionwillvoteon June14 for selecting their represen-tatives for six Lok Sabha and 23 assemblyseats in the firstmajor trial of strength be-tween theCongress (I) andOppositionpar-ties after the Lok Sabha elections. A total of62candidatesareinthefrayforthebye-elec-tion for theLokSabhaand210aspirants arein the race for stateassemblies.

HEALTH EDUCATIONTHEDRAFTNATIONALmedical andhealtheducation policy has proposed the estab-lishmentof ahealtheducationcommission

tobringaboutradicalchanges inhealthed-ucation. The agency will have the neces-sary authority, financial resources, flexi-bility and social awareness required forlarge-scale reforms.

MAN FIRES AT QUEENAMAN FIRED “several blanks” at QueenElizabeth II as she rodeonhorsebackbeforethousands of spectators in a colourful cere-mony in London. Police said that theywereinterrogating theman but he had not giventhemany clues. Scotland Yard said themanfiredfroma“goodreplicahandgun,”arealis-ticcopyofapistolthatcanbeadaptedtofire.

JUNE 14, 1981, FORTYYEARSAGO

Vista, in perspective

Manmohan Bahadur

SUN TZU AND KAUTILYA‘Indigenising’militarydoctrinemustnotmeansacrificingteachingsofoneforother

“ROMMEL,YOUMAGNIFICENTb*****d,Ireadyourbook,”exclaimedGeorgePattononsee-ingGerman tanks retreating inNorthAfricain 1943. This depiction in the block-bustermovie Patton points to the fact that it is theknowledge that is important, not its source.Successful leaders are not shy of imbibing itfromanywhere,evenanadversary.The Indian armed forces have evolved

fromtheBritishmilitaryandcertain legaciesandtraditionsemanatefromthere.Warfight-ingdoctrinesandstrategieshavedrawnheav-ilyfromthecolonialerabut,astechnologyhasadvanced,theIndianmilitaryhasimbibedex-pertisefromtheforcesofothercountrieswithwhom they have regularly interacted. Ourtrainingacademies,too,havereformed,withprofessionalmilitaryeducation(PME)gettinga look-overevery fewyears. Thismaynotbehappening, though,with the regularity andrigournecessaryvis-à-vistherapidadvancesin technology, especially those related to cy-berspace.The bedrock of PME ismilitary doctrine.

Insimplewords,adoctrineisthebestwayofdoing a task. It is the source fromwhich ob-jectives,strategy,trainingandtacticsflow;theresultsarefedbackasinputsforittobemod-ifiedifrequired.Doctrinewillossify,withun-favourableresultsonthebattlefield,ifnotputthroughareviewprocess.Inlightofthis,PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s address at theCommanders’ Conference onMarch 6 gainssignificance. ThePM, asper theofficial pressrelease, “stressedthe importanceof enhanc-

ingindigenisationinthenationalsecuritysys-tem, not just in sourcing equipment andweaponsbutalsointhedoctrines,proceduresand customspractised in the armed forces.”This, quite rightly, would have triggered aspate of activities in diverse areas, includinginPME.Thedangeristhatwhileencouragingindigenousstrategicthought,inputsfrom“for-eign”writings could get short shrift due the“more-loyal-than-the-king” syndrome. Thisisaslipperypath.Knowledge is not the preserve of a per-

son, a group, or anation. It is alsonotboundby a period, a civilisational expanse, or reli-giousorsocialideology.If theChinesestrate-gist Sun Tzu or the German thinkerClausewitz said something timeless, then itneeds to be imbibed as much as whatKautilya wrote in the Arthshastra andThiruvalluvar in his Kurals. It is true that in-digenousteachingshavenotgot theirdue intheIndianmilitarythought.Butitwouldbeil-logicalifdoctrinesarere-written,totheexclu-sionoflearningsfromforeignstrategists.OneissurethatwasnotwhatthePMmeantwhenhereferredtoindigenisation.Thereneedstobeaconsciousefforttoensurethatthefunda-mentalthoughtprocessisnotaffectedbytri-umphalismwithregardtohistory.Thecautionisallthemorenecessarysince

thehigherdefenceorganisationisinastateofchurn with the creation of the newDepartment of Military Affairs, the post ofCDS, and forthcomingupheavals in the fun-damentalsofhowIndiawouldbefightingits

wars—thecreationof theatre commands. Ifdoctrinesgetwrittenconcurrently,premisedprimarilyon“indigenous”thought,thenwiththis cocktail of all-around changeswe couldbesailingintochoppywaters.The 2014 UK Joint Doctrine 0-01 starts

with a SunTzuquote: “Thus it is that inwarthevictoriousstrategistonlyseeksbattleaf-terthevictoryiswon,whereashewhoisdes-tined todefeat first fights and then looks forvictory”.Thisistimelessandnotcountry-spe-cific. Similarly, the US Army ADP1-01DoctrinePrimercommenceswithaquoteofJFCFuller, theBritishmilitaryhistorian.Redflagsmust goup if a “feeling” starts swirlingthat Indian strategic thought, born out of acenturies-old civilisation, is superior to theteachingsofotherwisemen.Let’slearnfromthe Chinesewho have assimilated the bestpracticesfromothercountriesinallfields,in-cluding in the realm ofmilitary strategy, toreach the developmental stage they are in.Let’scontinuetolearnfromAmerican,UKandother war colleges where the works ofClausewitz,SunTzuandothersarediscussed,debated and assimilated in their doctrinalthought. For sure,Kautilyaetalmustalsobebrought into themainstream. However, letus not forget that of the fourwarswe havefoughtsinceIndependence,wewerevictori-ousinthree–surely,therearesomegoodfun-damentals on which Indian military andstrategic thoughthaveevolved.

Thewriter isaretiredAirViceMarshal

It is true that indigenousteachings have not got theirdue in the Indian militarythought. But it would beillogical if doctrines are re-written, to the exclusion oflearnings from foreignstrategists, just because thePM said they should be‘indigenised’. One is surethat by ‘indigenising’doctrines, that was not whathe meant. There needs to bea conscious effort to ensurethat the fundamentalthought process is notaffected by triumphalismwith regard to history.

Freeze Frame E P Unny

New Delhi

9THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY, JUNE14,2021 WHATTHEOTHERSSAY

“"Sports should be kept away from politics even if India is following such anunwise policy. The government [of Pakistan], unfortunately, is trying to flex itsnationalistic muscles at the expense of its own citizens’ rights.”

—DAWNTHE IDEASPAGEWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Local languages and dialectsshould be used to engagepeople via local radio,television channels andregional newspapers. Artistscan be encouraged to ideateand innovate through music,murals, graffiti, dance anddrama. A wonderfulexample from the tribaldistricts of Chhattisgarh hasemerged wherein popularfolk songs are being used tohighlight the benefits ofvaccination.

SOONAFTERWINNING theassembly elec-tions,DMKchiefMKStalinwrotetohispartycadresthatthisvictoryhasgivenhimacrownwiththorns.Thepandemicandtheunprece-dented fiscal burdenmust behismost im-mediateconcerns.Thereare,however,otherlonger-termchallenges, someofwhich areinternaltothestateandanoutcomeofitsrel-ativelyinclusivedevelopmenttrajectory.ThegrowingconcentrationofpowerintheUniongovernmentandtheerosionofpolicyauton-omyaggravatethischallenge.TamilNadu’sabilitytocombinecompar-

atively high levels of humandevelopmentwitheconomicdynamismcanbeattributedto thedistinct politicalmobilisationagainstcaste-based inequalities in the state. In ourrecentbook,TheDravidianModel:InterpretingthePolitical Economyof TamilNadu,we sug-gestthatapartfromtheextentoflowercastemobilisation, it is thenatureofmobilisationthatmakesadifference.Itsoughtandensuredopportunity-equalising policies in the ex-pandingmodernsectorsthroughaffirmativeactionpoliciesandinvestmentsineducationandhealth.Italsosucceededinbuildingablocof lower caste groups under a Dravidian-Tamil identitythatsubsumedandsoughttotranscend individual caste identities.Mobilisationbuilt an ethos that questionedtheprivilegesofcasteelitesandthenatural-nessofmerit incastesociety.Whentheblocgainedpoliticalpower,itensuredarelativelyinclusivedevelopmentpathwaythroughsev-eralpolicyinterventions.TamilNaduhasbeenapioneerinbroad-

basing entry into school education throughaslewof incentives, thenoonmeal schemebeingthemostwell-known.Overtime,mo-bilisationandpolicyresponsefedintothecre-ation of school and college infrastructure,apartfromexpandingthehorizonofaspira-tionsamonglowercastehouseholds,anden-abledoneof thehighestenrolmentratesforwomenandlowercastegroups.Amongotherfactors,loweringthecostofeducationplayedakeyrole.AspertheNationalSampleSurvey(NSS)71stround(2014), theaverageexpen-ditureofahighersecondarystudentinagov-ernmentschoolinTamilNaduwasRs2,862,which is less thanhalf the all-India averageofRs6,916.ThecorrespondingexpenditureinMaharashtra andGujaratwas ashigh asRs8,788 andRs 9,179 respectively. Over time,thissupporthasexpandedtothedomainoftertiaryeducationaswell.AspertheAll-IndiaSurvey on Higher Education (AISHE)2017–18,thegrossenrolmentratio(GER)forTamilNadu is thehighest among themajorstates. Nearly 50 per cent of the youth be-tween18–23yearsareinsomeformofhighereducationcomparedtotheall-Indiaaverageof26percent. Importantly, it ismoreevenlydistributed across gender, caste, class andspace. The enrolment ratios forwomenare

48per cent inTamilNaduas against 25percentattheall-Indialevel.Thoughlowerthanthatoftheoverallpopulation,theGERisalsorelativelyhigher forSCyouth.Toadd, aspertheNational Sample SurveyOffice (NSSO2014–15),32percentgraduateswhoareen-rolledinhighereducationareintechnicalorprofessionalcoursesinTamilNaducomparedto15percentattheall-Indialevel,21percentfor comparable states likeMaharashtra and20per cent forGujarat. Theaverage expen-ditureincurredbyastudentpursuingatech-nical or professional course in governmentinstitutions inTamilNaduwasRs35,084asagainstRs46,316 inGujarat, andwasa littleoverhalfthatinMaharashtra(Rs60,047).Theall-IndiaaveragewasRs42,069.Attainmentsineducationgeneratedpos-

itive linkageswiththeproductiveeconomy.Ifwecomparethelevelsandextentofeduca-tion among itsworkforce, TamilNadudoesbetterthanmoststates.Thisalsofeedsintoaprocessof“democratisation”ofcapitalinthelowerrungs,withnewentrantsfromamongthebackward castes anda sectionof Dalits,especiallythroughaccesstoprofessionaled-ucation.Thoughlargerenterprisescontinuetobepredominantlyunderthecontrolofup-per castes, the ownership of small andmediumenterprisesthatthestateisknownforhasbeenopentolowercastes.ThoughtheshareofDalitsamongentrepreneurscontin-ues to be low, theDalit Indian Chamber ofCommerce and Industry records that thestate is home tooneof thehighest concen-trations of Dalit enterprises in India. As perthe Economic Census 2013–14, one out ofevery fourDalit enterprises in the “20–99workers”categoryislocatedinTamilNadu.Nevertheless,thisbroad-basingofaccess

hasledtonewchallengesbywayofinequitiesinquality,accessandeconomicgainsacrosscasteandspaceinhighereducation.Thedis-parities lead to labourmarket inequitiesacrosscasteandclass lines,whichis feedinginto assertions of caste pride among somesections of lower castes, particularly visiblein the resentment among sections of back-wardcastesagainst themobilityamongtheDalits. SuchassertionsopenuppossibilitiesofaSanskritisedmobilisationoflowercastesthattheHinduright-winghasbeeninvolvedin. TheBJPwas able topartially exploit thissentimentandwonfourseatsinthiselection.Theotherchallengeisexternal.TheNew

EducationPolicy, for example, seeks tocen-tralise policies pertaining to education, re-stricting the role of state governments.Affirmative action in employment has al-readybecomelesseffectiveduetothereduc-tioninthepublicsectorandhasbeenfurthererodednow.Apartfrominsertingaquotaforeconomicallyweaker sections fromtheup-percastes,theSupremeCourtrecentlyruledagainstthepossibilityof increasingthetotalreservationofseatstomorethan50percent.Importantly, ithassuggestedthatstategov-ernments canno longer retain the right toframetheirownreservationpolicies,suchasdecidingonthebackwardnessofcastes.Asapioneerindemandinggreaterautonomyforstates,theonusisontheDMKtomobilisepar-tiesacrossthecountrytoresistthisonslaughtonfederalismandsocial justice.

ThewritersarewiththeMadrasInstituteofDevelopmentStudies

DOESTHECORONAVIRUS,SARS-CoV-2,haveanything to teach us about globalisation? Itishardtoignoretheratherobviousdisregardanyvirus,especiallythisone,hasforbordersof countriesandcontinents.Yet, decadesaf-ter waves of globalisation buoyed manycountries economically and other respects,wearewitnessinganelementofprotection-ismbynationswhenitcomestovaccinesandvaccinepolicies—allthisinthefaceofsome-thingthataffectsnotjustonecountrybuttheworld at large. The Covid-19 vaccine narra-tive,however, seemstohavetakenahealth-ierturnaftertheUSagreedtowaiveintellec-tualpropertyrights(IPR)onvaccineformulae.AndonJune1, theBRICScountries—includ-ingChinaandRussia—endorsedaproposalhelmedby India-SouthAfricaat theWTOtowaivecertainprovisionsoftheTradeRelatedAspectsofIntellectualPropertyRights(TRIPS)agreement that relates topatentwaivers forCovid-19vaccines.In this backdrop, it is important to con-

textualise the arguments aboutwhat reallymatters in a global push to ensure vaccinesfor all and themany other complexities ofvaccine-making. It might help to take amacro view beforemoving on to themicroone. Regarding the US decision to waivepatents for Covid-19 vaccines,wemust un-derstandtheimplicationsof suchadecisionforvaccinemanufacturersacross countries.The waiver could be crucial for countrieswhere efforts are on to develop anmRNA-based vaccine that is not dependent on thetechnologiesofPfizer,Modernaoranyothercompany.Manufacturers in thesecountriescanworkon indigenous technologieswith-out the fear of any legal retribution. For ex-ample, there have been reports about suchan initiative by the Pune-based GennovaBiopharmaceuticals,whichreceivedregula-tory approval for clinical trials of its indige-nousmRNAvaccine, andwas slated to starthumantrials inApril. InMay, therewerere-ports that vaccine developers in Thailandwereonthevergeof launchinghumantrialsofanmRNACovid-19vaccine.SimilareffortstodevelopmRNA-basedvaccinesareunder-way inRussiaandChina.TheUSsupportingthe IPRwaiver is certainly a welcome andpositive step.Movingontothemicroperspectiveonthe

issue of patentwaivers to ease huge gaps invaccineaccess,particularlyinpoorcountries,theremaystillbehurdles.Thesehurdleswillseemevenmorepronouncedif theideais torampupvaccineproductiondomesticallyonan immediate basis. Developing andmanu-facturingCovid-19vaccinesentailspecialisedproduction capacity, several dozens of spe-cial ingredients, adjuvants and small equip-ment produced largely by the US and EU-based companies. Export restriction on anyof the vaccine rawmaterialswould hold upthemanufacturing/production process, im-pactingtheoveralloutputofthevaccinesup-plychain.Unfortunately,theUS,onFebruary5, invokedtheDefenceProductionAct tore-strict exports of rawmaterials—perhaps tosafeguard and boost domestic vaccine pro-

duction. Even though commitments havebeenmadebytheUSadministrationtoeasecurbsonrawmaterials,weareyettoseethemcomeintoeffect.To address the current huge supply and

demand gapworldwide, the vaccines thathave already been approved for humanuseneed tobeproduced inmany locations. Themost appropriate course of actionwill bethrough suitable andmutually-agreed con-tractsbetweenthecompanies thathavede-veloped the vaccines and the ones thatwillproducethem.Inthiscontext,completetech-nology transfer comes into the picture.Vaccinesarenotgenericsthatcanbereverse-engineeredquicklyandscaledupbydomes-tic companies.Continuoushand-holdingbythemanufacturer would be central to theeventualsuccessofhigh-qualityvaccinepro-duction inmultiple locations.Theseconcernsrelatedtomicro-levelob-

stacles have perhaps informed India andSouth Africa’s revised text proposal at theWTO.Togetherwithabout62WTOmembercountries, they pushed a revised draft deci-sion text inMay. The revised text focuseson“healthproductsandtechnologiesasthepre-vention,treatmentorcontainmentofCovid-19involvesarangeofproductsandtechnolo-gies. Intellectual property issuesmay arisewith respect to the products and technolo-gies, theirmaterials or components, aswellastheirmethodsandmeansofmanufacture”.Also, the revised proposal limits thewaiver

period to threeyears,withaprovision to re-view the duration, thus trying tomake it afeasibleoptionformanufacturers.Onehopes that the revisedproposal can

buildonthepositiveswithregards totheUSwaiverofpatents,andthatthereisaconsen-susamongallWTOstatesonvaccineequity.An editorial in the journal, Nature, recentlystatedthataccordingtothepharmaindustrydata,approximately10billionvaccinedosesare tobemadebytheendof2021.However,the editorial also cites research by theInternationalMonetaryFund,whichsaysthattheindustryisprobablygoingtoenduppro-ducingonlyaboutsixbilliondosesbytheendof2021.Thisshortfall“increasestheriskthatpeopleinlow-incomecountrieswillneedtowaiteven longer for their firstdoses”. Thatalot of high-income countries have accumu-latedmuchmore thanwhat they require tovaccinate their entire population hasn’thelped thecauseeither. Theglobal commu-nityneeds tounderstand that in an interde-pendentworldorder,theactionsofonecoun-try can create a ripple effect, negative orpositive, onothers. Theviruswill eventuallybedefeatedbutdonecollectively,thevictorycan come about faster, be long-lasting andhelpsavemillionsof lives.

ThewriterisformerchairmanUGCandformerdirectoroftheInternationalCentreforGeneticEngineeringandBiotechnology,wherehecurrentlyholdstheArturoFalaschiChair

INDIA’S PROJECT TIGER is a success by anymeasure.Our51tigerreservesnowboastofatleast3,000tigers.MoreandmoreIndiansflockto safari parks tomarvel at them and otherspectacularwildlife. Nature lovers are impa-tienttoreturntotheforestsafterthelockdown.On June 7, however, the National Tiger

ConservationAuthority(NTCA)sentoutacir-cular to the chief wildlifewardens of all thetigerrangestates.ReferringtothelionessattheChennaiZoo,

suspectedtohavediedofaCovid-19infection,it warned of the high likelihood of diseasetransmission fromaffected humanbeings tocaptivewild animals. It fears that a similartransmissionmayalsohappenintigerreserves,andthattheyneedtobeclosedfortourismac-tivitiesuntil furtherorders.The intent of the NTCA to protect our

wildlife is to be respected. However, thisparticular directivedeserves awiderpublicdiscussion.Forestsandwildlifereservesfallunderthe

concurrentlist.Onmostissuesconcerningstateforests,itisthestatechiefwildlifewardensthataretheultimatedecidingauthority.Thisallowsdecentralised,contextual,andtimelydecisionmakinginourverydiverseecospheres.Tomandatetheclosureofallstatereserves

withastrokeofthepenisvexatious. IthasbeenquicklychallengedinMadhyaPradesh,withitspopular and lucrative safari parks. The timingof thisdecision, at a timewhen the country isplanningtoopenupcarefully, isalsopuzzling.

Tigerreserves inKarnataka,which,unlikethose in central India, normally remain openthroughouttheyear,wererightfullyclosedforalmosttwomonthsinthisbrutalsecondwave.They are gearing up to reopen. Governmentand civil society organisations have used thelockdown time to educate, test, treat and,wherepossible,vaccinatecommunitieslivingaroundtheparks–betheyforeststaff,tourismstaffortribalcommunities.As for tourists, the sad truth is that safari

holidays are affordablemainly for the urbanelite,anditislikelythattheyarealreadyvacci-nated, further reducing the risk towildlife.Some reserves, therefore,may be even saferfromhuman threat to the animals and viceversa thanwhen they were opened somemonthsago.There have been documented cases of

SARS-CoV-2 anthroponosis fromhumans tozooanimalsanddomesticpets,thoughfatalityhasbeenrare.Thecrossoverhascomemainlyfromdirect contactwith infectedhumans,betheyzookeepersorpetowners. Thereappeartobenocases anywhere in theworldof free-roaming wildlife infected with Covid-19throughhumans.In any case, entry is strictly controlled in

India’s tiger reserves. Jeepsandpeoplearere-quiredtokeepadistancefromparkanimals.Itis a safe gap even fromaffectedhumans, andthat,too,inwideopenspaces.Withmostpeo-plewearingmasks,whichshouldcertainlybemandatory, there isampleadditionalprecau-

tion. Surely, local forest officials could them-selvesdecidewhethersafarisaresafeforpeo-pleandwildlife?Lakhsoflivelihoodsaroundthesereserves

havehunginprecariousbalancesincethepan-demicstarted.Theimpactofaprolongedshut-downneedsacost-benefitanalysis,forthepeo-plewho live there, but also for the impact onthewildlife thatwe aim topreserve. There isdocumented evidence from last year’s shut-downthatmorespeciesofwildlifewerebeingkilledforsubsistence.Thewildlife tourism economy brings in

substantial revenue to state coffers. It alsobringsmanycaringeyesintotheforests,whichhelpsprotectthemfromuncontrolledfiresandpoaching and,more importantly, creates in-centivesforconservation.Evenwithouttourists, forestofficialsand

staff dogo into tiger reserves todo their rou-tine jobs. Lakhs of tribal people live close toorinsidetheseparksandhavetherighttocol-lectminor forest produce. It is not desirableor possible to exclude them from the foreststheyhelppreserve.Thereisamplewildlifeoutsidethetigerre-

serves, too, including big cats that stray out.This is an indicator of success for flagshipspecies conservation, and it is impossible tocontrol.Istherethenanyrealriskmitigationinshuttingdownjustthesafariparks?Forest departments, instead, could seize

this opportunity to prepare for futurewavesandpandemics.Nooneknowswhenthepan-

demicwill fully subside. The lesson fromthispandemicisthathumanswillhavetoinnovateto livewith and reduce the risk from the in-evitablefuturecontagion.There aremany opportunities to do so in

tiger reserves, now,with a receding secondwave. Non-invasive, bio-safe protocols couldbe set up quickly for speciesmonitoring andwildlife surveillance. The threat of zoonosesfrom stray cattle and feral dogs near the re-servesisalreadyreal.Spilloverdynamicscouldbe better understood andwidely communi-cated. Early warning systems could be de-signedforrapidactiontopreventspreadifanywild animal died from Covid-19. India hasmanycompetentenvironmental researchor-ganisationsthat,givenhalfachance,woulden-thusiasticallyassist inall theseendeavours.Statescouldquickly launchsuchscientific

researchandpreventionmeasuresanddecidewhether their parks are safe to open.Sometimes, a blanket ban doesmore harmthangood,aspeoplegloballyhaverealiseddur-ingthispandemic.Decentralised, science-based decision-

making could flip the narrative from fear tohope, fromthe illusionof control to thepos-sibilityofresilience.It isalsoacreativeoppor-tunitytoinvitecitizensbackintoourreservesnot justas tourists, butas trusteesof our richbiodiversity.

Thewriter ischairperson,Arghyam,afoundationworkingonsustainablewater

Patentwaiver isnotonly issue ineasinggaps invaccineaccess.Manufacturers inThirdWorldwouldrequirehandholdingontechnology-relatedmatters toensurequality

Share, collaborate, inoculate Centre and theDravidian state

Rohini Nilekani

Don’t let Covid eclipse the tigerBlanketbanonhumanentryinreservesendangerswildlifeandlivelihoods

CR Sasikumar

NECESSARY CUTTHIS REFERS TO report, ‘GST broughtdownon14COVIDreliefgoods’(IE, June13. The government of the day is nostrangerintakingarbitrarydecisionsandstifling the voice of thosewhodissent,eveninitsmeetings.Decisionsthatoughttohaverequiredtheunanimityofallthestakeholderswere taken by theUniongovernmentunilaterally.However,slash-ingtheGSTon14Covidreliefgoodswastheneedof thehour.

AanyaSinghal,Noida

POLITICAL VISTATHISREFERSTO the article, ‘Historians’fear’(IE, June12).Thepowersthatbeareindeedriskingthedestructionoftheoldrecordsofpoliticalandsocialhappeningsin India by breaking the annexe of theNational Archives inNewDelhi. This isnothing but hubris: The ruling regimeclearywanttoput itsownstamponthecountry,hencetheCentralvistabeingputup, citing environmental and logisticalreasons.Ourrulers’self-servingjustifica-tionforthewantondestructionoftheoldstructuresmadeafterIndependenceonlyshowstheirlackofhighermorality.

TarsemSingh,Mahilpur

AGENDA FOR G-7THISREFERSTOthearticle,‘TheCornwallconsensus’(IE,June12).ThecooperationbetweenG-7countries and invitees likeIndia,Australia,SouthKorea,etc,onissues

like global vaccination, climate change,minimumcorporatetax,taxheavensandmultilateralism, are undoubtedly re-quired todaymore than ever. But thegroupingofwealthydemocracies in theformofG-7mustreiteratetheirsupporttodemocracy,whichisbeingdiminishedinvarious nations. America’s racism,France’sIslamophobia,India’sHindutavaideology, attacksonMuslims inCanada,etc,areasevereblowtodemocraticpoli-ties,whichneedtoreimaginethemselveswithmorehumanityandadrivetowardsgreaterequality.TheCornwallconsensusmustincludecampaignslike“DemocracyisBack”. Thiswill be thegreatest contri-butionoftheG-7.

RahulYadav,Saharanpur

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TamilNadudevelopmentmodel isunderthreatfromincreasingcentralisationofpowersinUniongovernment,erosionofpolicyautonomy

Virander S Chauhan

KalaiyarasanA andMVijayabaskar

New Delhi

MANOJCG:Howdidyouchoosethesubjectofyournewbook?TheLightofAsia,whichcameoutin1879,

isabookthatIreadwhenIwasinmyteensanditstuckwithme.Overtheyears, Ikeptre-reading it and then I discoveredhow itinfluencedawholegenerationofIndians—Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore,MahatmaGandhi, Ambedkar. It has beentranslatedintoatleast12Indianlanguages.It had a profound influence on social re-formers, particularly in Kerala and TamilNadu... Itwasnotanacademicbook,itwasan epic poem, andmuchmore than anyscholarlywork, itreallymadeBuddhapopinpopular consciousness. Inmyview, thepoembecamesoinfluentialbecauseitdidnot focus on thedivinity of Buddha, it fo-cusedonthehumanityofBuddha.Incidentally, the author of the poem,

Edwin Arnold, was one of the greatIndologistsofthelate19thcentury.HewasanunabashedVictorianimperialist,buthetranslated the Gita Govinda, theMahabharata.Mostimportantly,histrans-lationoftheBhagavadGita,publishedasTheSongCelestial,whichcameoutin1885,wasthe book that first introducedMahatmaGandhi to the Bhagavad Gita. Thiswas abook that Gandhi kept by his side till hisdeath in 1948. Itwas a book thatGandhiwould recommend to his family andfriends. Edwin Arnoldwas a fascinatingcharacter inhisownright.Mybookisabi-ographyofapoemaswellasabiographyofanearlyorientalist.

MANOJCG:IsBuddharelevanttoIndianpoliticsnow?Intheearlypartofthe20thCentury,the

personwhoreallyinfluencedsocialreform-ers on breaking down caste barrierswasBuddha. The Light of Asiawas one of themost popularworks then…Thepoem isaboutPrinceSiddhartha,whobecametheBuddha.IhavementionedinthebookthattheBuddhabecametheBuddhabynotfol-lowingaBuddha,andthat is thegreatnessofBuddha...Buddhasaidthatthesearchforthelightiswithinyou—don’tbeabhakt,ablind follower, but discover the truth foryourself.ThatisBuddha’seternalrelevance.There isapoliticalmessageof casteequal-ityinhislifeanditisthereinthepoemtoo.

SHINYVARGHESE:Whataresomeofthenewthingsthatyoulearntwhileresearchingthebook?Weall know about the Ayodhya dis-

pute... BodhGaya toowas the centre of ahugedisputebetween1886and1953,be-tween theHindus and Buddhists. ItwasEdwinArnoldwhotriggeredoffthisdisputewithhis visit toBodhGaya in1886,whenhewrote abouthowhe saw theMecca ofBuddhism,theJerusalemofBuddhism,be-ingdenigratedanddesecratedby thema-hant—theShaivitepriestwhohadcontrolovertheMahabodhitemple.Thatstartedawholeprocessofagitation,inwhichtheSriLankan monk Anagarika Dharmapalaplayedastellarrole.Thedisputefinallygotresolvedin1953.Buteventoday, therearemany Buddhist organisations, theAmbedkarite-Buddhists for instance,whowanttotalcontrolovertheMahabodhitem-ple.The1953compromisesolutionworkedout byRajendra Prasad, JawaharlalNehruandShriKrishnaSinha(thenBiharCM)wasfor50%controlbyHindusand50%controlby Buddhists.Manypeople havewrittenabout theBodhGaya issue, but theyhavenottracedtheoriginof theBodhGayaagi-tationtoArnold’svisit in1886.

NIRUPAMASUBRAMANIAN:AnagarikaDharmapala’spropagationofBuddhismalsoledtothefirstBuddhist-MuslimriotsinSriLanka.Sointhatsense,itdoesn’tseemverydifferentfromHindutva.Wouldyouagree?I agree entirely

with you. BuddhisminSriLanka,Myanmar,Thailand,Cambodiaisassociatedwith vio-lence. So yes, Buddhahas beenhijacked bypoliticalleadersforex-tremely divisive andviolent nationalisticmovements… The political use ofBuddhismisnodifferentfromthepoliticaluseof IslamorHinduismorChristianity. ItisaparadoxthatpeoplecontinuetothinkofBuddhism in the context of compassion,loveandtolerance.Alargepartofit,Iwouldassume, isassociatedwiththeDalaiLama.If you look at the track record of politicalparties inMyanmar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia,Thailand, Japan, it’snotnecessarilyassoci-ated with compassion and tolerance.Dharmapala himself was a controversialfigure.His finalwordswere, ‘Iwish formyrebirth, I am born as a Brahmin inAllahabad’.Sohewasalsocasteist...InIndia,Gandhi,NehruandTagorewere

drawn toBuddha as a cultural figure, as afigureof IndiancivilizationandIndiancul-ture. Ambedkarwas theonly Indian tobe

drawntoBuddhaforhispoliticalmessage…whichwasofbreakingtheBrahminortho-doxyandbringingaboutcasteequality.

ALAKASAHANI:IncontemporaryIndia,isthereadearthofpoliticianswhoarethinkers,philosophers,andengagewithliteraturethewayChurchill,GandhiandNehrudid?Howhasitaffectedthepoliticsoftoday?Well, I certainlywishmore political

leaderswrite.It’snotasifpeopleinpoliticsarenotauthors. Somepolitical leaders arepoets, somepolitical leaderswritenovels,somepolitical readerswrite biographies.ButpoliticsinIndiahasbecomea24/7pro-fession.IntheBritishpoliticaltradition,youwill findmanypolitical leaderswhohavealso becomevery notedbiographers andwritersofbothfictionandnon-fiction.But,youknow,politicsinIndiaisverytimecon-suming.Itissopeople-intensivethatIsup-poseonlywhenyouareoutof power, you

end up having thetimetowrite books.

DIVYAA:DidyoudrawanycomparisonsbetweentheBuddhistandtheAyodhyatemplemovements?So,thereisasmall

groupofBuddhistor-ganisations whichwould like to have

completecontrolovertheMahabodhitem-ple. But as I have argued inmybook, theMahabodhi temple has been sacred notonly to Buddhists but also to theHindus.This is the characteristic of most sacredplacesinIndia…Butwehavethisbinaryinourminds...TheIndiccivilizationhasbeencharacterisedbymultiplestrandsofsacred-ness, and BodhGayawas one of them…ThisnotionthataplaceissacredonlytoonefaithisapeculiarlyWesternideawhichhasbeen implanted in the Indian conscious-ness… Gandhi, Rajendra Prasad, ShriKrishna Sinha, Nehru, all four of themplayed a very important role in bringingabout the compromise solution (at BodhGaya). So, inmanyways, this is a parallel(withAyodhya).

HARISHDAMODARAN:Butwhatabout

AmbedkariteBuddhism,whichreallyrevivedBuddhisminIndia,wherewouldyouplacethat?Wehavebeentaughtthetraditionalfour

sightsoftheBuddhafromchildhood,anditis there in Arnold’s poem too. ButDharmanandKosambiwasthefirsttopointoutthattherewasapoliticalbattlebetweentwo clanswhich completely anguishedPrince Siddhartha, and itwas thatwhichdrovehimtogothroughthepathofenlight-enmentand,incidentally,thisisalsothethe-sis of Ambedkar. Ambedkar’s last book,whichwaspublishedafewmonthsafterhepassedaway,TheBuddhaandHisDhamma,rejectsthisviewofBuddhism.HeembracestheKosambi view, the political view… Itwas(Ambedkar’s)conversionin1956thatreallyshookupIndiansociety…Butforhimitwas a profoundly political act. He sawBuddhathroughapoliticallens.So,aslongasAmbedkar’smessageofbreakingdowncastebarriersremainscentraltoIndianpo-liticalthinking,Buddhawillcontinuetoberelevant.

TANUSHREEGHOSH:CanyouelaborateontheparadoxofBuddhismseeninmanySoutheastAsiancountries?About20yearsago,Iwroteanarticleon

the paradox of Sri Lanka.We associateBuddhawithcompassion,tolerance,peaceandunderstanding, but Sri Lanka is averyviolent society. There is evidence to showthat thepersonwhoassassinated (formerSriLankanPM)SolomonBandaranaikewasamonk.So,yes,theseareparadoxes…Japanprides itself on its Buddhist heritage, butlook at the Japanese record in the1920s. Icall it the political perversion of Buddha.These societieswhich proclaimed alle-giancetotheBuddhaineverywayarealsosocietieswherethere isendemicsocialvi-olenceandethnicconflict.

MANOJCG:Recently,JitinPrasadalefttheCongresstojointheBJP.WhyareleadersdesertingtheCongressparty?Manyyearsago, anAmerican friendof

mine said tome, Jairam, you Indians areverystrangepeople.Whenwe(Americans)join a political party,we stay loyal to thatpoliticalparty.Butwhenwemarry,divorceisneverruledout.InIndia,whenyoumarry,divorceisruledout,butwhenyoujoinapo-liticalparty,youcanalwaysthinkofjoiningotherpoliticalparties...What can I say?Of

course, I’mdeeply saddened. I have seenhim growup… It’s unfortunate. But forevery Jitin Prasada, (Jyotiraditya) Scindiawho leave, there are hundreds andhun-dredsof youngsters in theCongresspartywhodonot have the advantage of birth,whohavenothadthingsgiventothemonaplatter,whoareworkingday in anddayouttostrengthentheCongress.Incidentally,to both Scindia and Jintin Prasada, theCongress party gave everything at a veryyoungage, but they seemtohave felt thatthepasturesaregreenerontheotherside.

MANOJCJ:ButareJitinPrasadaandScindiajustsymptoms?IstheresomethingfundamentallywrongwiththewaytheCongressisoperatingnow?Ifyouareinpoliticsonlytobepartofthe

rulingestablishment,thenI’mafraidthere’snoplaceforyouintheCongressparty.Thereare a large number of people in the Jitin-Scindiaagegroupwhodonothavethead-vantage of degree orpedigree, but theycontinue to be in theCongress party… I’mnot saying there arenoproblems.Thefactthat we lost in 2014and 2019 prettybadly...We knowwehave problems. Ofcourse,wehavetosetour ownhouse inor-der.Ofcoursewehaveto give people agreatersenseofconfidenceinwhatwearedoing.Andnotonlygiveourselvesbutalsogive to thepublic a greater senseof cohe-sionandclarity onwhatwe stand for. Butwhat I amobjecting to is the tendency towritetheepitaphoftheCongressparty,justbecauseaScindiaoraJitinPrasadaleaves.

SHUBHAJITROY:YouhavespokenabouttoleranceinBuddhism.Isitavirtuethatyourparty’sleadershiphas?Manyleaderswhohavespokenoutinthepasthavebeensidelined.Icantellyouwiththegreatestof confi-

dence that Ihavealwaysspokenmymindatparty forumswhere the leadershiphasbeenpresent.Ihavetakenpositionswhichare different and I have been tolerated, Ihave been accepted. It is themanner inwhichyouexpressyourself.Ifeverybodyis

speaking publicly and airing differencespublicly, itdoesn’t remainapoliticalparty,itbecomesanNGO,a free forall.There isacomplete lack of party discipline then. Iwouldbeveryworried ifwithinparty fo-rumsyoudonot have the freedomto ex-pressadifferentpointofview.ButIcantellyouconfidentlythatoverthepast20yearsI havedifferedwith the leadership, I haveexpressedthesedifferencesinwritingandorallywiththeleadership,butitiswithinaparty forum inacertain manner.That’showpoliti-calparties shouldfunction, like theJapanesemodelofmanagement—be-fore a decision istaken, theremust beintense discussion,but once adecision istaken,youabidebyit.That’s beenmyexpe-rience… Is there aneed formoreparty forums?Yes, andnotjustatthecentral levelbutalsoatthestateanddistrict levels.I would certainly be happier with a

fasterpaceoforganisational reform. If youare askingmewhetherwe have alwaysbeen responsive to the changing require-ments of our constituency,whichmeanstheyoungergenerationandmiddleclass, Iwillsayyes.TheCongressisagiantelephant.

It is sure-footed. It ismassive. It movesslowly.Butonceitmoves,itmovesfirmly….(But) It’s not enough to be an elephant.Sometimeswehavetohavetheagilityofafoxaswell…Indiahaschanged.Aspirationshavechanged.Expectationshavechanged.ThereisgrowinggoodwillfortheCongressparty. Are we tapping this goodwillenough?No. Shouldwe be tapping thisgoodwill,fasterandmoreaggressively?Yes.

KRISHNKAUSHIK:Isitwrongforapoliticiantodesertapartywhichlackspoliticalforceinmostpartsofthecountryrightnow? Whydidyoujointhepartyinthefirstplace?Idon’tlookuponthisasjoiningICICIorHDFCbank.Youjoinapoliticalpartybecauseoftheparty’sideologyandprogramme…Forme,apoliticalpartyisnotlikeajoboremployment…(Youare)doingitoutofasenseofcommitmentandallegiancetocertainvalues.Andsuddenlyyoudiscover

thatyoudon’thavesympathywiththosevaluesanymore.Ifailtounderstandwhypeoplechangepoliticalparties…IhavefarmorerespectforaguywhohasbeenintheBJPfor40years,thanforaCongressmanwhogoesandjoinstheBJP.

KRISHNKAUSHIK:WhyhastheCongressfailedtoconveyitsmessagestothecountrysince2014?Thatiswheretheorganisationisimpor-

tant.Wehavetalkedaboutthis—theneedfororganisationalchangesandreforms,giv-ingpeopleagreatersenseofparticipationintheprocess.ThatiscertainlypartoftheroleoftheOppositionthatI’mtalkingabout.Butletusalsofaceit…wearefacingaveryhos-tilepolitical environment,where it is verydifficultfortheOppositionpartytoprojectits point of view, whether it’s on theelec-tronicmedia, printmediaor socialmedia.I’mnotholding themedia responsible forthis,butthisisareality.Wearefacedwithajuggernautof amachineon theother sidewhichensuresthatwhateverwesayeithergetsdrownedoutorisbrandedasanti-na-

tional.All thequestions thatweasked lastyear,onCovidforexample,arelegitimate…We will continue to do so. But we arebrandedasvaccinehesitatorsandanti-na-tionals.Thisiswhatgetstractionintheme-dia.We are facing a very unevenplayingfield here. I’mnot blaming anybody.Wehave to factor this in.Wehave to be thatmuchmoreaggressiveandconsciousofor-ganisational changeand reform. It’s goingtobeanuphillbattle.

MANOJCG:Inthefuture,willtheCongressbeagreeabletovacatingtheleadershiproleoftheUPAtoaregionalpartyintheinterestoflargerOppositionunity?The UPA was a

post-pollalliance.TheUnited Front of 1996was a post-poll al-liance. But today,weare inneedof a pre-poll alliance. That iswhy there are effortsfromtime-to-timetogetlike-mindedpar-tiestogether.…DidtheBJPfightAssamwithaface?WilltheBJPfightUttarPradeshwitha face? ‘Face’ is a convenient argument togive. I think it'smore important to have abasethanaface.

RAJKAMALJHA:Whatdoyoumeanwhenyousay ‘hostile’politicalenviornment?Neversincethe2014defeathaveweheardorseenanymajorchurnordebate insidetheCongressparty.Mao (Zedong) said, ‘(Political) power

growsout of the barrel of a gun.’ In India,powergrowsoutof thebarrelof thePrimeMinister’sOffice.Thislevelofcentralisationhasneverbeenseenbefore.Thislevelofuseof institutions like theCBI,ED, IncomeTaxdepartmentandotheragenciestosettlepo-liticalscores,eitherbeforeelectionsordur-ing the elections, hasneverbeen seenbe-fore.Also,therulingpartymustcriticisetheOpposition, but this is denigration…Therules aremade by those in power to suitthosewho are in power…. This is a newphenomenon for the Congress party.Mr(AtalBihari)Vajpayeewasavegetarianop-ponent in comparison towhatwe havefacedinthelastcoupleofyears.As far as debates are concerned,we

have had internal debates, introspectioncampsandmanysuchactivities…Butsince2014,wehaveperhapsnothad (that kindof)ideologicalquestioningofourselves.The2014resultwasacompleteshockand2019wassuddenlyatrauma.Thescaleofdefeatwas simplyunexpected. Individually, youwill findCongressmen speakingupon is-suesofeconomy,Covid,politics,bothatthestate aswell as national level… I for onewouldcertainlyagreewiththepointofviewthatthisindividualarticulationisonethingbuttohaveacollectiveeffort is somethingelse.There isavery finedividing linehere.Wecan’tdomanyofthesedebatesinpub-lic.Wehave tohave itwithinourparty fo-rums. Soa lot of things thathappen inter-nally don’t get projected externally. Forexample,whenyouseeparliamentaryde-bates, youget oneview.Butwhenyouat-tend the standing committeediscussions,yougetacompletelydifferentview.This isbecausepeoplespeakfreelyastheyarenotboundbywhipsorwhatthepartyviewis.

VANDITAMISHRA:WehearseniorCongressleadersspeakabouttheBJPmachine,theunevenplayingfieldandhowinstitutionsandthemediaareunfavourabletotheCongressnow.WhydoweneverhearabouttheCongress’slargerideasforthecountryanditspeople?The Congress has been speaking for

years. The Congress has definedwhat itstandsfor,foryears.Ofcourse,asnewchal-lenges arise,wehave to keep refining, re-definingandreinforcingthatmessage.ButletmealsosaythatcriticismoftheCongresscomesverynaturally to everybody in thiscountry.Wearehelduptoadifferent levelof expectation,maybebecauseof ourhis-toryandlegacy.Andthefactofthematteristhat theyare amachine—amachine thatprojects itsmessage very effectively. It’s avery simplemessage: ‘If you arenotwithus, youare against us.’ TheCongressmes-sageisanuancedmessage.It’smuchmoredifficulttooccupythecentrespacewhenitcomestoeconomicpolicy,socialpolicy,cul-turalpolicyandpoliticalpolicy.Wearefight-ingforthecentrespace.It’sveryeasytotakeextremepositions like the BJP has taken,andthentrytomovetowardsthecentre…DumpingontheCongresshasbecomeana-tionalpastime.AndifImaysayso,ithasbe-comeanationalpastimeamongst liberals.It’s increasingly becoming a pastimeamongstallpeoplewhoarefedupwiththegovernment. People keep sayingwhat iswrongwith the Congress, but there aremanythingsrightwiththeCongress,whichnobodytalksabout,unfortunately.

‘

Joining a party isn’t like joining a bank…Havemore respectfor guy in BJP for 40 yrs, than a Congressmanwho joins BJP

JAIRAMRAMESH,CONGRESSRAJYASABHAMP&FORMERUNIONMINISTER

‘

‘

‘The UPA was a post-pollalliance, so was UF. Now we

need a pre-poll alliance...‘Face’ is a convenient

argument. What’s moreimportant is to have a base

10THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY, JUNE14,2021

IDEAEXCHANGE Newsmakers in theNewsroom

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

‘

‘An American friend toldme, when we join a party,

we stay loyal. But when wemarry, divorce isn’t ruled

out. In India, divorce ruledout, but you switch parties ‘

‘Cong is a giant elephant...(But) Sometimes we needthe agility of a fox… India

has changed. There isgrowing goodwill for Cong.

Are we tapping it? No

WHYJAIRAMRAMESH

As a permanent inviteeto the CWC and theparty’s chief whip in

the Rajya Sabha, Ramesh is atthe centre of the Congress’sstrategy decisions as it emergesfrom a series of losses in statepolls. His new book, The Lightof Asia: The Poem that DefinedThe Buddha, is the biography ofan epic 1879 poem that he says“deeply moved” leaders in Indiaand abroad

Illustration: SuvajitDey

RameshtalksabouttherelevanceofBuddha,saysaScindiaorPrasadaleavingdoesn’tmeanendofCongandthepartycontinuestohaveaplace,insistsdifferencesmustbestagedatpartyforumsor‘itwillbecomeanNGO’,andadmitstheneedforchanges.ThesessionwasmoderatedbyDeputyAssociateEditorManojCG

New Delhi

JILLLAWLESS,SYLVIAHUI,DANICAKIRKA&JONATHANLEMIRECARBISBAY, JUNE13

LEADERSOFtheGroupofSevenwealthy nations staked theirclaim Sunday to leading theworld out of the coronaviruspandemic and crisis, pledgingmore than1billion coronavirusvaccinedosestopoorernations,vowingtohelpdevelopingcoun-triesgrowwhilefightingclimatechangeandbackingaminimumtaxonmultinational firms.Atthegroup’sfirstface-to-face

meetingintwoyears,theleadersdangledpromises of support forglobalhealth,greenenergy,infra-structure and education—all todemonstrate that internationalcooperation is back after theup-heavals causedby thepandemicandtheunpredictabilityofformerUSPresidentDonaldTrump.During their three-day sum-

mitinsouthwestEngland,theG-7leaderswantedtoconveythattheclub of wealthy democracies—Canada, France, Germany, Italy,Japan,theUKandtheUS—isabet-ter friend topoorernations thanauthoritarianrivalssuchasChina.“Thisisn’taboutimposingour

values on the rest of theworld,”British Prime Minister BorisJohnsontoldreportersattheendof the seaside summit on theruggedCornwallcoast.“Whatweas theG-7need todo is demon-strate thebenefits of democracyandfreedomandhumanrightstotherestof theworld.”USPresident Joe Biden,who

wasmakinghis first foreign tripasleader,saiditwasan“extraor-dinary, collaborative and pro-ductivemeeting” that showed“America’s back in the businessof leading theworld alongsidenations who share our mostdeeplyheldvalues.”Buthealthandenvironmen-

tal campaignerswere distinctly

unimpressed by the details inthe leaders’ final communique.“ThisG-7 summitwill liveon

in infamy,” saidMaxLawson, theheadofinequalitypolicyatthein-ternational aid group Oxfam.“Facedwith the biggest healthemergencyinacenturyandacli-matecatastrophethat isdestroy-ing our planet, they have com-pletely failed to meet thechallengesofourtimes.”

DespiteJohnson’scall to“vac-cinate theworld” by the end of2022, the promise of 1 billiondoses for vaccine-hungry coun-tries—comingbothdirectly andthroughdonationstotheinterna-tionalCOVAXprogramme—fallsfarshortofthe11billiondosestheWorldHealthOrganisationsaidisneededtovaccinateatleast70%oftheworld’s populationand trulyendthepandemic. AP

11THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY, JUNE14,2021

THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

MEANWHILE

INDONESIA’SVACCINEBUSESAnIndonesiancityisbringingCovid-19vaccinestoitspeoplewithagrowingfleetofinocula-tionbuses,asthecountryfacesaspikeininfectionsafteramajorreligiousfestival.AuthoritiesinPekanbaruontheislandofSumatrahavedoubledto10thenumberofbusesinitsvaccina-tionprogramme,sincelaunchingitonJune1,followingafavourableresponsefromthepublic.

RUSSIA

Putin:WillacceptconditionalhandoverofcybercriminalstoUSPRESIDENT VLADIMIRPutinhassaidRussiawouldbereadytohandovercybercriminals to the US ifWashingtondid the sameforMoscow and the twopowers reachedanagree-ment to that effect. Putinmade thecomments inaninterviewairedinexcerptson state television onSundayaheadof a June16summitwithUSPresidentJoe Biden inGeneva. Tiesbetween the powers arebadlystrainedoveranarrayofissues.TheRussianleadersaid he expected theGenevameetingtohelpes-tablishdialogueandrevivecontacts, adding that im-portant issues for the twomenincludedstrategicsta-bility, Libya andSyria, andtheenvironment.REUTERS

Putin isset tomeetBidenlater thisweek

TOPOFTHEWORLD

SYRIA

Hospitalhit inartilleryattacks,at least13killedAT LEAST13peoplewerekilled and severalwoundedintwoseparateartillery attacks on thenorthern Syrian town ofAfrin on Saturday, localmedical sources andTurkey'sgovernmentsaid.The first attack struck aresidentialarea,whilethesecond hit a hospitalshortly afterwards, civildefence sources said.Video footage on socialmedia showed casualtiesamid the ruins of the AlShifahospital.Ankaracon-demnedthemissileattackit said was launched bythe Syrian Kurdish YPGmilitia. REUTERS

SWITZERLAND

SwissrejecttaxhiketofightclimatechangeEXITPOLLSonSundayin-dicated that Swiss votersappear to have narrowlyrejected aproposed “car-bon dioxide law” thatwouldhavehikedfeesandtaxesonfuelsthatproducegreenhouse gases. TheAlpine country has beenexperiencing an big im-pact fromclimatechange.Switzerland has faced ariseintemperaturesthatistwice as fast as the globalaverage.Greenhousegasesare seen as the primaryculprit. The proposalwouldhave enactednewtaxes onCO2-generatingfuelandnaturalgas,aswellasonairlinetickets. AP

SONALGUPTANEWDELHI, JUNE13

WHEN SHE was picked as theyoungest recipient of theQueen’sBirthdayHonours thisyear for pushing the UK gov-ernment toprovide freeperiodproducts in schools and col-leges,AmikaGeorge foundher-self in a spot.“Itwasn’taneasyoneforme

withtheHonourssystem’sasso-ciation to the (British) Empireand our colonial past,” says the21-year-old History student atUniversity of Cambridgewhoseparentshail fromKerala.But then, she decided “it's

really important formetoshowthat young people have powerin our voices, muchmore thanwe realise”.“We have often been over-

looked in political spaces, andthe MBE shows that we areslowly being recognised as realchangemakers who can influ-encegovernment,” shesays.“That change doesn't have

to be done from within thewalls of Westminster, or theWhite House, or the IndianParliament.Anyonecanorches-tratechange. Iwould likeyoungpeople of colour to see thatwearebeingrecognised,andthat ifwe are willing to jump from aplace of safety and rise up, we

can create something better,”she says.George was picked for an

MBE (Member of the Order ofthe British Empire) in educa-tion for her campaign against

period poverty, #FreePeriods,which she started at the age of17. She says it made her angrythat “thereweregirls in theUKwhoweremissingschooleverymonth because they were toopoor toaffordperiodproducts”.Following her efforts, which

included starting a petition andmeetingwithministers, theUKgovernment in2020fundeded-ucational institutes to providefreeperiodproducts.FreePeriodsisnowanot-for-profitorganisa-tion, which continues to fight“against the taboo and shamesurroundingmenstruation”.Georgesaysshe isaccepting

the award “on behalf of myfamily and community who

have silently had to tolerateracism over decades, who feltlike they never fitted in, whonever felt British enough, whonever felt seen”.While George and her

brotherwere born and broughtupintheUK,theirfatherKishorehails from Pathanamthitta andmother Nisha fromKozhencherry.“We’re really pleased,” says

Nisha. “We have seen Amikaworkhard,jugglingbetweenac-ademicsandhercampaignoverthe last four years. Shewas sin-gle-minded about achieving agoal, andwe’re happy that shehasbeenrecognised thisway.”Asparents,Nisha says, they

felt protective of Amika “be-cause she just put herself outthere, talkingabout somethingthat most people feel uncom-fortablewith”.AnMBE is the third highest

ranking Order of the BritishEmpire award. This year, 1,129people have beennamed for anOrder of the British Empireaward, of which 50per cent arewomen, and 15 per cent of anethnicminority.“The Birthday Honours List

2021 is themost ethnically di-verselisttodate,”apressreleaseby theUKgovernmentstates.Says George: “I couldn’t be

prouder today to be a youngBritish Indian.”

YOUNGEST RECIPIENT OF THE QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY HONOURS

21-yr-old with Kerala roots on MBE list for ‘period poverty’ activism

AmikaGeorgesays itwasn’teasy forher toaccept thehonourdueto itsassociationwiththeBritishEmpireanditscolonialpast. Twitter/@AmikaGeorge

THENEWYORKTIMESJUNE13

THE LONG and divisive reign ofBenjaminNetanyahu, thedom-inantIsraelipoliticianofthepastgeneration, officially ended onSunday, at least for the timebe-ing, as the country’s Parliamentgave its vote of confidence to aprecariouscoalitiongovernmentstitched togetherbywidelydis-parateanti-Netanyahu forces.Israel’s Parliament, the

Knesset,votedbyjustasinglevote—60to59,withoneabstention—toinstallthenewgovernment.NaftaliBennett,a formeraide

to Netanyahu who opposes aPalestinianstateandisconsideredtotherightofhis formerally, for-mallyreplaceshimasprimemin-ister. Yair Lapid, a centrist leader,issettotakeBennett’splaceaftertwoyears,iftheirgovernmentcanholdtogetherthatlong.They lead an eight-party al-

liance ranging fromleft to right,from secular to religious, thatagrees on little but a desire tooust Netanyahu, the longest-serving leader in the country’shistory, and to end Israel’slengthypolitical gridlock.In a speechmade before the

confidence vote, Bennett hailedhisunlikelycoalitionasanessen-tial antidote to an intractablestalemate.“Westoppedthetrainbefore the abyss,” Bennett said.“Thetimehascomefordifferentleaders,fromallpartsofthepeo-ple,tostop,tostopthismadness.”Before and after the fragile

new government was an-nounced on June 2, Netanyahuandhisright-wingallieslabouredhard to break it before it couldtake office. They applied intensepressure on right-wing opposi-tion lawmakers, urging them topeelawayfromtheirleadersandrefusetosupportacoalitionthatincludes centrists, leftists andevenasmallArabIslamistparty.Itwas awatershedmoment

for politics in Israel, whereNetanyahu, 71, had served asprimeminister for a total of 15

years, includingthelast12yearsuninterrupted. But givenNetanyahu’s recordasa shrewdpoliticaloperatorwhohasdefiedmanypreviouspredictionsofhispoliticaldemise, fewIsraelisarewritingoff his career.At theparliamentarydebate

ahead of the vote to approveBennett’s government,Netanyahu gavewhat felt like avaledictory speech, listingwhathe perceived to be his accom-plishments inoffice.“Our successes turned Israel

from a fringe state to a leadingpower,”Netanyahusaid.Thenhewarnedof the harm that he be-lievesaBennett-ledgovernmentposes to Israel.He then addressed his sup-

porters.“I say today: Do not let your

spirits fall,” Netanyahu said. “Iwill lead you in a daily battleagainst this bad and dangerousleft-winggovernment,andbringit down. And with the help ofGod.thiswillhappenfasterthanyouthink.” NYT

Israel’s Parliament approvesnewgovt, ousting Netanyahu

ISABELKERSHNERJUNE13

NAFTALI BENNETT, Israel’s newprimeminister, isa formerhigh-techentrepreneurbestknownforinsistingthattheremustneverbea full-fledged Palestinian stateand that Israel should annexmuchoftheoccupiedWestBank.The independentlywealthy

son of immigrants from theUS,Bennett, 49, entered the IsraeliParliamenteightyearsagoandisrelativelyunknownandinexperi-encedonthe international stage.

Thathasleftmuchoftheworld—andmany Israelis—wonderingwhatkindof leaderhemightbe.A former chief of staff to

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’slongest-serving primeminister,

Bennett is often described asmore right-wing than his oldboss. Shifting between seem-ingly contradictory alliances,Bennett has been called an ex-tremistandanopportunist.Alliessayheismerelyapragmatist,lessideological thanheappears,andlackingNetanyahu’spenchantfordemonisingopponents.Inameasureof Bennett’s tal-

ents,hehasnowpulledoff a featthat is extraordinaryevenby theperplexing standards of Israelipolitics:Hehasmaneuveredhim-selfintothetopofficeeventhoughhisparty,Yamina,wonjustseven

ofthe120seatsintheParliament.Bennett has long champi-

oned West Bank settlers andonce led the council represent-ing them, although he is not asettler. He is religiously obser-vant — he would be the firstprimeminister towearakipa—but he will head a governingcoalition that is largely secular.He leads a precarious coali-

tion that spans Israel’s fractiouspolitical spectrum from left toright and includes a small Arabparty—muchofwhichopposeshis ideas on settlement and an-nexation. NYT

G-7 leaders agree on vaccines,China and taxing corporations

MARCSANTORAJUNE13

INWAYS both spoken and un-spoken, one nation not presentatthemeetingof industrialpow-ers has loomed larger than anyother:China.And China, through its em-

bassyinLondon,offeredawarn-ing to theGroupof 7.“The dayswhen global deci-

sions were dictated by a smallgroup of countries are longgone,” a spokesman for theChineseEmbassyinLondonsaid.

President Biden has madechallenging China the center-pieceofaforeignpolicydesignedtobuildupdemocraciesaroundtheworld as a bulwark againstcreepingauthoritarianism.Secretary of State Antony J.

Blinken, who is traveling herewithBiden,toldhisChinesecoun-terpart in a phone call that theUnited Stateswould actively op-pose“ongoinggenocideandeth-niccleansing”againstMuslimsinXinjiang, in China’s farwesternterritory,and“thedeteriorationofdemocraticnorms”inHongKong.European leaders have largely

avoidedthatterminology.ThroughouttheG-7meeting,

howtocounterChina’sgrowingeconomicandsecurityinfluencehasbeenacentral theme.The embassy spokesman

condemned “pseudo-multilat-eralismservingtheinterestsofasmall cliqueorpoliticalbloc.”After the G-7 leaders out-

lined plans to offer developingnations hundreds of billions ofdollars in financing as an alter-nativetorelyingonBeijing’sBeltand Road Initiative, thespokesman condemned “thosefanningconfrontation”. NYT

REUTERSJUNE13

PERUVIAN RIGHT-WING presi-dentialcandidateKeikoFujimori,whoislikelytolosearunoffelec-tionagainsthersocialistrival,onSaturday led a protest in Lima ,calling again for the annulmentof votes thatdidnot favorher.“Ifthe(electoral)juryanalyses

this, the electionwill be flipped,dearfriends,”Fujimoritoldthou-sands of supporters,manywav-ingPeru’sred-and-whiteflag.Front-runnerPedroCastillo, a

memberoftheleft-wingFreePeruparty, isclosetobeingnamedtheAndeancountry’snextpresident,despiteFujimori’sunsubstantiatedclaimsof fraud,asthecountfromthesecondroundofvotingearlierthismonthnearsanend.Castillo,anelementaryschool

teacher,wasleadingthecountby50,000votesonSaturdayevening,withonlyaround16,000votesre-mainingtobecounted.

MARKSHERMANWASHINGTON, JUNE13

WITHABORTION and guns al-readyontheagenda, theconser-vative-dominatedSupremeCourtis consideringaddinganother is-sue—whethertobanconsidera-tionofraceincollegeadmissions.Thejusticescouldsayassoon

asMondaywhethertheywillhearan appeal claiming thatHarvarddiscriminates against AsianAmericanapplicants,inacasethat

couldhavenationwiderepercus-sions. The casewouldnot be ar-gueduntil thefallorwinter.“Itwouldbeabigdealbecause

ofthenatureofcollegeadmissionsacrossthecountryandbecauseofthestakesofhavingthis issuebe-fore the Supreme Court,” saidGregoryGarre,whodefendedtheUniversity of Texas’ admissionsprogrammebeforethejustices.It’s onlybeen five years since

the court’s last decision in a caseaboutaffirmativeactioninhighereducation. AP

‘Iwill leadyouinadailybattle,’hetellssupporters;NaftaliBennettnewPM

NaftaliBennett

USPresident JoeBidenandhisFrenchcounterpartEmmanuelMacronattendaplenarysessionduringtheG-7summit inCarbisBay,Cornwall,onSunday.Reuters

‘Small’ bloc of nations does notdictate global policy, says China

Ifwehave tobe inopposition,wewill dothis standing tall—untilwebringdown thisdangerousgovernment.”

—BENJAMINNETANYAHU

Supportersof right-wingleaderFujimorioutsidetheSupremeCourt.Reuters

Peru’s Fujimorileads protest toannul votes asCastillo nears win

US SC considers Harvardcase on race in admissions

Gas explosion incentral Chinakills at least 12Beijing:At least 12 peoplewerekilled and 39 seriously injuredSundayafteragaslineexplosiontorethrougharesidentialneigh-borhood incentralChina.Responders to the early

morning blast in the city ofShiyan in Hubei province sentmorethan150peopletothehos-pital, according to officialsquotedbystatemedia.Thecauseoftheexplosionre-

mainsunder investigation.Stall keepers and customers

buyingbreakfastandfreshvegeta-blesatafoodmarketwerethema-jorityof victimswhen theexplo-sion hit shortly after 6 am,accordingtothereports.Theblaststruckatwo-storybuildingbuiltinthe early 1990s,which includespharmacies,restaurantsandotherbusinesses.Morethan900peoplewereevacuatedfromthearea.AP

Leadersof thenewcoalitiongovernment, includingMansourAbbas,MeravMichaeli,BennyGantz,YairLapid,NaftaliBennett,GideonSaar,AvigdorLiebermanandNitzanHorowitzat theKnessetonSunday.Reuters

NETANYAHU’SPOLITICALpo-liticalfuturehasbeenthrownintouncertaintywiththeswearinginofanewgovern-ment.WhilehepromisedtocontinueinpoliticsasOppositionleader,reportssug-gestthatseveralfiguresinhisLikudpartyblamehimforhisfailuretoputtogetheracoali-tiongovernment,andintendtochallengehispartyleadership.Netanyahualsofacesacorrup-tiontrial,whichcastsanothershadowoverhisfutureplans.Ifthebroadcoalitionofdiversegroupsbreaksquickly,beforeachallengetohispartyleader-shipcanmaterialise,that,ex-pertssay,wouldbethemostlikelyscenarioinwhichNetanyahureturnstopower.

What’snextforNetanyahu?E●EX

PLAINED

KEY ISSUESTHEG-7 AGREEDON

COVIDVACCINESLeadersagreedtodonate1billionCovid-19vaccinedosesoverthenextyeartopoorercountries.ButtheUNsaidmorewasneededandcampaignerssaidthepledgeshowedtheG-7wasnotyetontopoftacklingthecrisis.

CLIMATECHANGETheG-7saiditwouldmeetafundingpledgeof$100billionayearbyrichcountriestohelppooreronescutemissionsandcopewithglobalwarming.Aidcampaignerssaidthepromisesremainedvague.

CHINATheG-7singledoutChina intheircommuniqueforhumanrights inXinjiang,demandedfreedomsandahighdegreeof autonomyforHongKong,andsaidafullinvestigationwasneededintotheoriginsofCovid-19.

CORPORATETAXTheG-7backedaminimumtaxofatleast15%onlargemultinationalcompaniestostopcorporationsfromusingtaxhavenstoavoidtaxes,amovechampionedbytheUnitedStates.

HARRIS MARCHES IN PRIDE EVENTUSVicePresidentKamalaHarrisandherhusbandDougEmhoffattendanLGBTQ+PrideeventinWashingtononSaturday.Shewalkedforablockchanting“happypride”andwavingtothecrowd.SheisreportedlythefirstsittingUSVicePresidentevertomarchinaPrideevent.Reuters

Bennett maybe more of a pragmatist than an ideologue

New Delhi

12THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY, JUNE14,2021

ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Market Watch5COSADDOVER `1 LAKHCR INM-CAPNew Delhi: Five of the 10 most valued companies together addedRs 1,01,389.44 crore in market valuation last week, with major ITcompanies including Tata Consultancy Services and Infosysgrabbing the limelight. PTI

PFIZERJABSWILLFALLSHORT,GOVTHOPESTOUSE INDIGENOUSCAPACITY

PRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI, JUNE13

THEGOVERNMENT’Sstrategytoopen up Covid-19 vaccinationsto children sets out a target toprogressively cover 80 per centof the130millionpeople fallingin the12-18year agegroup,TheIndianExpresshas learnt.This would translate to the

government needing to secureat least 210 million doses of atwodosevaccine.Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine has

beentestedandapprovedintheEuropeanUnion for use in ado-lescents aged 12-15. However,theexpectationistomakeuseofIndia’s indigenous capacity tomakeCovaxin,which is still be-ingtestedinchildren,accordingtoaseniorgovernmentofficial.This isbecause theexpected

supply of the Pfizer-BioNTechvaccine,evenifusedcompletelyfor children,will fall far short oftherequirement,theofficialsaid.Thereisalsouncertaintyover

how soon Pfizer’s vaccinesmayactually come to India, said theofficial,whohasbeencloselyin-

volved in thecountry’s vaccina-tionefforts.Comparedwith this, Bharat

Biotech isexpectedtobeable tocater to largerorders, accordingto the official. The Hyderabad-headquartered vaccinemakerhas received permission to testitsvaccine,Covaxin, inthosebe-tweentheagesof2and18.If thetests are successful, this wouldallow the vaccine to cover amuchwiderpopulation.Goingbythe80percentcov-

erage strategy, the government

would have to plan for enoughvaccines to cover 104 millionchildren to effectively protectthis cohort. The exercisewould,therefore, require at least 208milliondosesofatwo-dosevac-cine. In the case of a three-dosevaccine,therequirementforvac-cineswouldbemuchhigher.“Right nowwe’re still nego-

tiating (with Pfizer). There isnothing that’s certain at thispoint ... Italsodependsonwhenthevaccinearrivesandwhatourimperativesareatthattime,”the

officialtoldTheIndianExpressonconditionof anonymity.“What we are getting from

them (Pfizer) is five crore (50million)doses,” said theofficial,adding that thenumber of chil-dreninthe12-18yearagegroupare estimated to be “muchmore” innumber.“If we have to vaccinate

(those between) 12-18 years ...wemust have a strategy for atleast80percentof them.So,this(quantitybyPfizer)willnot suf-fice,” theofficial said.“... By that time, if we have

ourownCovaxinqualifying (foruse in children), then it ismuchbetter, because we have theavailability,” thepersonadded.During amedia briefing by

the HealthMinistry on June 4,NITIAayogMember—HealthDrVinod K Paul had said India hasaround 130million children inthis age group. Vaccines likeZydus Cadila’s ZyCov-D couldalsosupplyaportionof thevac-cines required for immunisingchildren,accordingtoPaul,whoalso chairs the National ExpertGroup on Vaccine Administr-ation forCovid-19 (NEGVAC).

The Centre expects to have“enough data” on whetherZyCov-Dcanbegiventochildrenwhen the Ahmedabad-basedcompany seeks licensure for it,hehadsaidatthebriefing.Goingby the timeline he has given,Zydusmayapproach the Indianregulator with its application“hopefully”bynextweek.TheCentre is expectingsup-

ply of Covaxin to increase to 75milliondosespermonthbyJuly,asperits internalestimates.Theavailability of this vaccine is ex-pectedtoincreasefurtherto122million doses by October andthen to 155 million doses byDecember. The expected avail-abilityofZyCov-Dismuchlowerat 10 million doses a monthstartingSeptemberandthesup-ply is expected to increase to13million doses a month byNovember,accordingtothegov-ernment’s estimates.Based on this information,

theCentre isexpectingasupplyof 626million doses of CovaxinbetweenJulyandDecemberandanadditional47milliondosesofZyCov-D between SeptemberandDecember thisyear.

BRIEFLYRuchiSoyaFPONewDelhi:Ruchi Soya hasfileddraft paperswith Sebifor a follow-onpublic offer(FPO)toraiseRs4,300crore.

DHFLsharesNewDelhi:BSEandNSEwillsuspendtradinginsharesofDewan Housing FinanceCorporation(DHFL)startingfromMonday.PTI

KARUNJITSINGHNEWDELHI,JUNE13

LOWRECOVERY of oil and gasfromdomesticfieldsandgrowingsentimentagainstfossilfuelshaveledtothegovernmentdecidingtomoveaheadtomonetiseundevel-opedfieldsandmaturefieldswithfalling output, according to gov-ernmentofficials.Last Thursday, Petroleum

Minister Dharmendra Pradhansaidthatgovernmentcompaniescannot hold on to undevelopedresources indefinitely and sug-gested that these companiesshould seek to find technologypartners or investors who canbring the expertise tomonetisesuch fieldsquickly. India importsmorethan85percentofitscrudeoilrequirements.“Thereisasentimentdevelop-

ingagainstfossilfuelsifyoulookatthe latest report by the IEA(International Energy Agency)and the judgment against Shell.Sopeoplewill be reluctant to in-vest in oil andgas (in the future)andwhatmayhappenisthattheresource in thegroundmight re-mainthereunlesswemonetiseit

quickly,” said a government offi-cialwhowishtobeanonymous.The IEAhad lastmonthpub-

lisheda report recommending ahaltonallnewoilandgasinvest-ments toreachagoalof net-zerocarbonemissionsby2050.Separately, a Netherlands

court has ruled that oil and gasmajor Shellmust cut its carbondioxide emissionby45per centby2030relativeto2019levels.“Whateverresourceweiden-

tify underground, hardly 30-40percentarerecoverable(bystate-ownedcompanies),whynot50-60percent?”saidtheofficial,not-ing that the Centre wanted toexpandoil andgasdevelopmentactivity in the country andbringinmoreplayerssothatnewtech-nologyisbroughtintothedomes-tic hydrocarbonproduction sec-tortoincreasetherecoveryfactorof fields.“Ifthereisgoodmanagement

andexecution,therecoveriescanbeincreased,”hesaid,addingthatevenrelativelynewfieldssuchasONGC’sKG-DWN-98/2fieldcouldbenefitfromexpertiseoflargepri-vateplayersinrecoveringreservesinultradeepwaterfields.Crudeoil productionbyboth

state-owned upstreamplayersONGCandOilIndiahasfallenoverthe past five years,with naturalgas production remaining stag-nantdespiteboth companies re-porting net additions to theircrudeoilandnaturalgasreservesthroughnewdiscoveriesandac-quisitions.India’s crude oil production

hasfallenfromapeakof38.1mil-lionmetrictonnesinFY15to30.5millionmetrictonnesin2020-21.

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JUNE13

OVERSEASINVESTORSpouredinanetRs13,424croresofarinJuneas risk-on sentiment improvedamidadeclineCovid-19casesandexpectations of early opening oftheeconomy.Asperdepositoriesdata, foreign portfolio investors(FPIs) investedRs15,520crore inequitiesbetweenJune1and11.Simultaneously, FPIs with-

drewRs2,096crorefromthedebtsegmentduringtheperiodunderreview.ThetotalnetinflowstoodatRs13,424crore.Thiscomesfol-lowing a net withdrawal of Rs2,666 crore inMayandRs9,435croreinApril.“The robust net inflows over

thelasttwoweekscouldbeattrib-uted to the improvement in in-vestor sentimentson thebackofconsistently falling coronavirus

casesinthecountryandhopesofanearlyopeningoftheeconomy,”saidHimanshuSrivastava,associ-ate director—manager research,MorningstarIndia.For the inflows in June, VK

Vijayakumar, chief investmentstrategist at Geojit FinancialServices, added that it appearsfromfourthquartercorporatefig-ures that a cyclical recovery inIndianeconomyisimminentposttheprogressiveunlockthatishap-peningnow.

NewDelhi:RegulatorIrdaiislook-ing for an agency tomanage itsmulti-media grievance redressalcentre with a view to addresscomplaints of insured publicagainstinsurancecompanies.TheInsuranceRegulatoryand

DevelopmentAuthority of India(Irdai) had setupaconsumeraf-fairsdepartmenttooverseecom-plianceof insurers and interme-diarieswithrespecttoProtectionofPolicyholders’InterestsRegula-tions.Toprovidealternativechan-nelstoreceivecomplaintsagainstinsurers, it has set up the IrdaiGrievanceCallCentre(IGCC)thatreceivescomplaintsviaatoll-freetelephonenumberandbye-mail.Theagencywillberequiredto

manageitsIGCCbyprovidingthecall centre solution based on IPMultimediaplatformforseamlesshandlingofchannelswithunifiedadministration and reporting aswellashavingtheintegratedcom-ponentsinasingleplatform,saidIrdai’srequestforproposal. ENS

Irdai seeksmanagers forgrievancecall centre

PRADHANHADSAIDGOVTCOSCAN’THOLDONTOFIELDSINDEFINITELY

NewDelhi:TheInternationalMonetary Fund on Sundaywelcomed theG7’s supportfor expanding the globallender’semergencyreservesby $650 billion and said itwouldworkwithmembersonwaystoprovide$100bil-liontothepoorestcountries.IMFMDKristalinaGeor-

gievasaidthe$650billional-locationof SpecialDrawingRights (SDRs), the largestever,wouldhelpboostglobalreservesandallowcountriesto fundneeded fiscalmeas-urestoexitthepandemic.Shesaidshewouldwork

with IMFmembers in thecomingmonthsonhowtheycould re-allocate some oftheir SDRs or use budgetloanstoreachtheaimofrais-ing$100billion. REUTERS

$100-bn for poornations: IMF toexplore options

FPIs invest `13,424 crin June so far amideasing virus caseload

THEOUTPUTof twoofthecountry’smajorupstreamplayers,ONGCandOilIndia,havefallenovertheyears,evenasIndiaaimstoloweritsdependenceonimports.Toensuretheirresourcesareutilisedmore,theCentrehaspro-posedfindingtechnologypartnersorinvestorswhocanbringtheexpertisetomonetisesuchfields.

PlantoropeinpartnersE●EX

PLAINED

MAKIKOYAMAZAKITOKYO,JUNE13

TOSHIBACORP’S second-biggestshareholder on Sunday de-mandedtheboardchairmanandthreeotherdirectorsimmediatelyresignafteraninvestigationfoundthe companyhad colludedwiththeJapanesegovernmenttopres-sureforeigninvestors.The letter, seen byReuters, is

from 3D Investment Partners,

whichownsa7.2percentstakeinToshiba.ItwassenttothefouronSunday,accordingtopeoplewithdirectknowledgeof theprocess.Itislikelytoheightenscrutiny

into governance at Toshiba, arenownedindustrialconglomer-ateincrisissparkedbyThursday’sreport.Theshareholder-commis-sioned reportmarked an explo-siveturninalongbattlebetweentheJapanesecompany’smanage-mentandforeignshareholders.Inadditionto3D,theshareho-

ldersincludeactivistinvestorsandHarvardUniversity’sendowmentfund.Therevelationsinthereport“aredeeply troubling and repre-sent one of themost prominentand shocking corporate govern-ance failures among largepubliccompaniesanywhereintheworldinthelastdecade,”thelettersaid.Theletter,addressedtoboard

chairOsamuNagayamaandthreecurrent audit committeemem-bers,describesNagayamaas“ul-timatelyresponsibleforToshiba’s

recent governance failures, in-cludingtheflawedinternalinves-tigationandtheboard’sdetermi-nation to oppose an outside,independentinvestigation.”“It is also troubling that you

havebeensilentabouttheinves-tigative report andhave failed toacceptresponsibility for themis-conductthatoccurredunderyouroversight as chair of the board,”thelettersays.Toshibadeclinedtocomment on the letter, tellingReuters itwas “carefully review-

ing the content of the investiga-tionreportandplanstoannounceitscommentstowardsthisinves-tigationresultafterthereview.”Thecompanywasholdingan

emergencymeetingonSundaytodiscussreassigningthecandidatesfor three key board committeesahead of a June 25 shareholdermeeting. Major shareholderadvisory firms recommendedagainstsomeofthecandidates,in-cludingthefouraddressedinthe3Dletter. REUTERS

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI, JUNE13

THERE HAS been no cyberbreach into the email systemofthegovernment,maintainedbytheNational Informatics Centre(NIC), an official release said onSunday.The email system is “totally

safeandsecure”, theMinistryofElectronicsandITsaidwhiledis-missing a report claiming thatdata breaches in organisationssuchasAir India,BigBasketandDomino’shadexposedemailac-counts and passwords of NICemails tohackers.“In view of this, it is impor-

tant to clarify that...there hasbeen no cyber breach into theemailsystemoftheGovernmentof Indiamaintained by the NIC.The email system is totally safeandsecure,” the releasesaid.Itfurthernotedthatcyberse-

curitybreachonexternalportalsmay not impact the users ofGovernment email service, un-less theGovernmentusershave

registeredontheseportalsusingtheir official email address andused the same password as theoneused in thatemail account.“NICEmailsystemhasputin

place several securitymeasuressuch as two-factor authentica-tion and change of password in90 days. Further, any change ofpassword inNIC Email requiresmobile OTP and if the mobileOTP is incorrect then change ofpasswordwill not be possible,”it said, adding that any attemptofphishingusingthatparticularemail canbemitigatedbyNIC.

No breach into NICemail system: IT Min

ASSOCIATEDPRESSFALMOUTH,JUNE13

THEINTERNATIONALMonetaryFundManaging Director saysthere’samoralimperativefortheworld’srichestcountriestobackprogrammestoendtheCovid-19pandemicbutthedonationofex-cessvaccinesisonlythefirststep.Kristalina Georgieva’s com-

ments in a virtual press confer-enceattheGroupofSevensum-mitSundaycameafterUKPrimeMinister Boris Johnson said hehopedG-7 leaderswould agreeto provide at least 1 billion vac-cinedoses forpoorercountries.Humanitarian groups have

welcomedthedonations,butarecallingformoney,increasedpro-ductionandlogisticalsupporttohelpdevelopingcountrieswherethevirus isstill raging.Georgievasaidthedonations

are a good step butmore needstobedonetoovercomethehur-dlesneededtodelivershots intoarms.“This is amoral imperative,

but it is a necessity for the eco-nomicrecoverytostick,becausewecan’thavetheworldsplitintotwotrackswithoutnegativecon-sequences,’’Georgievasaid.Whilealmosthalfofthecom-

binedpopulation of theG-7na-tions has received at least onedose of vaccine, theworldwidefigure is less than13per cent. InAfrica, it’s just2.2percent.“Thewarisnotyetwon,’’ she

furthersaid.

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,JUNE13

INDIA’SGENERAL insurancesector — which grossedaroundRs2lakhcroreoftotalpremium—mighthavefacedtheCovid-19disruptions in apositivemanner, but ratingagencieshavegiventheindus-trythumbsdown.International rating

agency AM Best has main-taineditsnegativemarketseg-mentoutlookon India’snon-life insurance industry as theongoingpandemic is likely toexacerbate pressure onnon-lifeinsurers’underwritingandinvestment performance.Factors supportingAMBest’snegativeoutlookon thenon-life insurancemarket includecompetitivemarket condi-tions,persistentlypoorpricingdiscipline and relianceon in-vestment activities for profi-tability,whichhavebeenprev-alentforanumberofyears.Initsreporton‘IndiaNon-

LifeInsurance’,AMBeststatedthat historically, India’s eco-nomic growth fundamentalshave spurred non-life insur-ance market expansion.However, in fiscal 2021, de-spite India’sGDPcontractingbynearly8percent, thenon-lifeinsurancemarketachieveda positive, albeit muted,growthrateofover5percent.Prospectively,AMBestex-

pectsthetrajectoryofnon-lifeinsurancepremiums to con-tinuetobeoneofgrowthoverthelong-term,withrisingcon-sumer awareness andacces-sibilityof insuranceproducts.More-recentmarket dy-

namics also include height-ened economic uncertaintyand Covid-19 implications,which are expected toweighfurther on non-life insurers.

Although the segment con-sists of a diverse range of in-surance companies, the gen-eraloperatingenvironmentinIndiaovertheshort-termwillpresent clear challenges fornon-lifeinsurers’earningsandcapitalpositions, itsaid.Additionally, AMBest ex-

pects regulatory andmarketadvancements tocontinue todriveinvestmentindigitalin-frastructure,whichwill likelysupport India non-life insur-ers’ online sales, operationsandriskmanagement.Itsaidthenon-lifemarket

is likely to face several head-windsoverthemedium-term.Factors that could lead AMBesttoreviseitssegmentout-looktostablefromnegativein-cludeevidenceof sustainableimprovementinunderwritingperformance, supported bybetter pricing discipline, aswell as an improvedbalanceof overall earnings and sta-bilisedeconomicindicators.India sawtheonsetof the

Covid-19pandemic,whichledtoanationwidelockdownfor2months,andadditionallocallockdowns thereafter, Icrasaid.Thisledtoaslowdowningrowthto4percent,atRs1.85lakh crore (excludingpremi-umsmobilisedbyspecialisedgeneral insurers)inFY21.

SECTORWATCHGENERAL INSURANCE

NEARLY104MILLIONCHILDRENTOBE INCLUDED

■Goingbythe80percentcoveragestrategy,thegovernmentwouldhavetoplanforenoughvaccinestocover104millionchildren

■Theexercisewouldrequireatleast208milliondosesofatwo-dosevaccine.Inthecaseofathree-dosevaccine,itwouldbemuchhigher

Vaccinesforchildren:Plantocover80%over 12;Covaxinpeggedto leadsupply

Undeveloped oil fields: Govtplans monetisation amid lowrecovery, shift to renewables

‘Discoms’ outstanding duesto gencos fall 11.2% in April’Total outstanding dues owed by electricity distributionutilities, or discoms, to power producers fell 11.2 per centto `81,628 crore in April 2021 from a year ago

`76,117crore:TOTALOVERDUEAMOUNTASOFAPRILLASTYEAR

`67,656crore:TOTALOVERDUEAMOUNTONDISCOMSINMARCH

Why is it important: Outstanding dues of discoms to electricityproducers have been rising year-on-year as well asmonth-on-month for years, showing perennial stress in the power sectortill February. It has started tapering off fromMarch 2021

PRAAPTI: The Payment Ratification AndAnalysis in Power procurement for bringingTransparency in Invoicing of generators — orPRAAPTI — portal was launched in May 2018

Source:PRAAPTI/PTI

`91,915crore:Amountowedbydiscomstogencos(powergenerationcompanies) inAprillastyear

`78,841crore:TotaloutstandingduesondiscomsthisMarch, falling3.4%fromRs81,687crore in theyear-agomonth

`68,732crore:TotaloverdueamountnotclearedbydiscomsthisApril, evenafter45-daygraceperiodofferedbygencos

Additional liquidityfordiscoms: InMay2020,tohelpgencos remainafloat, thegovernmentannouncedRs90,000crore liquidity infusionfordiscomsunderwhichthese

utilitieswouldget loansateconomical rates fromPFCandRECLtd.Later, the liquidityinfusionpackagewas increasedtoRs1.35 lakhcrore

`80,000crore:AmountdisbursedbyCentreunder theliquiditypackagesofar

OVERDUESOFPRIVATEGENCOSONDISCOMS:

■ AdaniPower:`18,608.11 crore

■ LalitpurPowerGenerationCompanyLtd:`4,817.12 crore

■ SEMB(Sembcorp):`2,364.56crore

Overdues of centralpublic sector gencosondiscoms:

NTPC: `5,167.11 cr

DamodarValleyCorporation: `5,156.34cr

NLC India: `3,416.18 cr

NHPC: `2,261.05cr

THDC India: ` 1,134.17 cr

IMF chief: 1 bn vaccine dosesonly a start, war is not yet won

InternationalMonetaryFundManagingDirectorKristalinaGeorgieva Reutersfile

DepositoriesdatashowedthatFPIsinvested`15,520croreinequitiesduringJune1-11.Atthesametime,theywithdrew`2,096crorefromdebtsegment

TheministrydismissedareportclaimingthatdatabreachesinorganisationssuchasAir India,BigBasketandDomino’shadexposedemailaccountsandpasswordsofNICemailstohackers

■AMBesthaskeptitsnegativemarketsegmentoutlookonIndia’snon-lifeinsurance industryasCovid is likelytoexacerbatepressureontheinsurers’underwritingandinvestmentperformance

‘NEGATIVEOUTLOOK’

‘Covid, economicuncertainty toweigh on earningsof non-life insurers’

Toshiba’s second largest shareholder seeks ouster of board chair, 3 directors

ArecentinvestigationfoundthatToshibahadcolludedwiththeJapangovernmenttopressureforeigninvestors. Reutersfile

New Delhi

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

CROSSWORD4455

ACROSS1 Ahugedevelopment inacity(5)

8 Thesailor’s fearsaredisguised(8)

9 Bookedwithprejudice (5)10 Sailors in thedrink(8)11 Liveswronglyproducingsocialproblems(5)

12Adancestepthat reflectsvitality (3)

16Newarrivalsat thedockswehear (6)

17Headwear forheadof thecity(6)

18Frigidacceptanceofexplanationbythesoundof it(3)

23 Shadowcastout inBurma(5)24 Threateningtoreadjustmyration(8)

25 Sprinkle the lastof thepepperin thehash(5)

26 Eatswhenthesuncomesout(8)

27 Nerve-butnotof steel (5)

DOWN2 So long inFrance(2,6)

3 Riseandfallof oneof theFrenchrecentlydeceased(8)

4 Rabiesbreaksout in thecountry (6)

5 Putona fortissimonumber(5)

6 Jar - inwhichtoputcoal(5)

7 Distressandgravityremarkablyrife (5)

12 Somekeepsignatures fromaGreek letter (3)

13 Where the farmerwill go tosow?(3)

14 Onewhourgesonplayers fromthewings (8)

15 Thebeautyof justice (8)19 Stays inconfinement (6)20 Boatstrike? (5)21 SillyAnniegetsconfused(5)22Darkdrinkwithplentyofbody?(5)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)Youhavebeenthroughagreatdeal,butyoustill can't tellwhereyou’re really

heading.Giveyourself anotherweekorso if youwishtowaituntil lifehascalmeddown.Expectmajorchangesatworkverysoon,perhapsbecausepeoplearoundyouarecomingandgoingwithoutwarning.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)Rememberall thosetimeswhenyouhave longedto treatyourself, buthave

beenunable to foronereasonoranother.Yourstarsareonceagainperfectlyplaced,andoverthenext forty-eighthoursyoumayindulgeyoureverywhim,responsibilitiespermitting.

GEMINI (May22- June21)Otherpeoplearemakingdemandswhichyoumayfeelunwillingorunable

to fulfil.Youmight imaginethatyouhavebeenswampedbytheneedforurgentdecisions.Overthenext fewdaysyoumayrealise that spendingorinvestmentplansshouldbecompletelyrevisedandrevalued.

CANCER(June22- July23)Aremarkablechangewillbegin totakeplaceover thenext fewdays.Close

partnershipsareboundtobethevital factor,but the focusmaybeeitheratwork,athomeoreven inaffairsof theheart.You’llbereassessingyourclosest relationships, lookinganewatwhatyoureallywantfromotherpeople.

LEO(July24-Aug23)AnapproachingmetaphoricalcollisionbetweentheSunandthe

Moonmayleaveyoufeelingconsiderably theworse forwear.Youmay, if youwish,burnthecandleatbothendsandpushyourself to the limit,butyoumustaccept theconsequences.Myadvicewouldbeto takewhateverrestandrelaxationyourequire.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sep23)Thecomingdayswillbequiteimportant inanumberof respects.

Remembereverything Ihavesaidover thepastweeksandmonthsabout theneedtobemorespontaneous, creativeandpassionate. It is timetostandupforyourself andstopotherpeopleputtingyoudown.

LIBRA(Sep24-Oct23)The stars are in achallengingbutfriendlymood, andyoumay start the

day in an impetuous frameofmind, determined to dowhatsuits youwhether others likeit or not. Itmaybe four or fivedays—or longer—beforeyour clarity of visionis restored.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov23)Othersmaybecomplaining aboutthe state of theirfortunes and the

general conditionof theworld. However, I don’t thinkyouhave any time toindulge in that favouritecomplaint, grumbling.You’re the personwho canpoint out to other people justhowpositive the timesreally are.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)This isunlikely tobeaneasy time,butyoumaystillhave iteasier thanmost.

Youmaynotbesurprisedtohear that themainareaofdanger is financialbut, if youmovecautiously,greatprofit istobehad. It’s all amatterofcareful timing.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)Amischievousplanetaryalignmentmaythrowyou

completely off course.However, even if youdo suffera setback, once youpickyourself up youwill realisethat youhave gained a greatdeal in termsofmaturity andexperience. Even a failurewilltell youwhere your limits lie.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)Youare in thehappypositionof beingsubject toonlyslightproblemsata time

whensomepeoplearebeingcompletelyhammered.Youmayhaveoneor twovaguesuspicions,but there’snothingtoworryabout.However, if youdoneedreassurance, thenbesure toask for it.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)Time is amostpreciouscommodity. It’s notthat youhave too

muchof it, or too little, butthat youhave to decidehow touse itwisely. Don’t beconcernedbywhat otherpeople are doing, but set yourown schedule. Everyminuteand every hour is there foryour benefit.

SUDOKU4502

DifficultyLevel4sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4501

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.Everytimewesay,"_______!"inanyform,somethinghappens.-StellaTerrillMann (3,5,2)

SOLUTION:LEVEE,TEARY,TRIBAL,BUSHELAnswer:Everytimewesay,‘Lettherebe!’inanyform,somethinghappens.-StellaTerrillMann

LVEEE ABIRLT

AYERT ELSUBH

SolutionsCrossword4454:Across: 1Anticipate,6Mini,10Shark,11Ringabell,12Keystone,13Adele,15Earldom,17Trivial,19Eyelets,21Glisten,22Noted,24Teenager,27Nocturnal,28Sheet,29Wits,30Scentspray.Down:1Apse,2Toadegree,3Cakes,4Perform,5Tangent,7Irene,8Ill-feeling,9Hara-kiri,14Hereandnow,16Dreadful,18Intherear,20Satanic,21Gremlin,23Tacit,25Asses,26Stay.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

SPORT/CALENDAR 13WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY, JUNE14,2021

SANDIPGJUNE13

RAHEEM STERLING’S goal was all aboutKalvinPhillips’spaceandvision.Hegallopedthroughtheinside-rightchannel, foxedtwoCroatianmarkerswith his blistering speedanddrilledaperfectthrough-passtoSterling,whose first-time shotwaswoefully placedbut powerful enough to burst through thecustodian. It was not a pass meant forSterling. Itmight have been for Harry Kanewho hulks the central territory, or it couldhavebeen for Phil Foden slicing in from therightwing.But itwasSterlingwhopouncedin, fromapparentnothingness.Itwasthatmoment—andnotthatgoal—

thatdescribedSterlingandhisgifts.His faculty to visualisemultiplemoves

aheadofhimlikeachessplayer, thebound-less energy and purpose, his speed ofthought and cleverness of movement, hisabilitytoshakeoffmarkerswithquickturns.There were quicker forwards around him,like Foden, amorenatural striker - inKane.But no one sawwhat Sterling saw, and heset off like a blur in his signature uprightthrust. He’s not the quickest, but hemightwell be themost explosive one. He sparesno time to accelerate, as if he rips off in thefourth gear at all times. And at the heart ofthe goalwas the tenacity to keepbouncingback fromspells of indifferent formand in-cessant criticism.

Tough seasonTheManchesterCityplayerhadendured

an indifferent seasonwith his club, coppedscorn from fans and pundits, been raciallyabusedonlineafterdefeatintheChampionsLeague final to Chelsea; he’s not the quick-est or the most technically adept Englishplayer, hismovements are not a spectacle,butmanagerskeeptrustinghimthroughhisroughdays.Sometimes, he could be a bit scattered,

allovertheplace.Hemovessomucharoundthe pitch that his club manager PepGuardiola once drew a chalk spot on thetraining pitch and instructed him to standthere during periods out of possession. For,heinstinctivelyusedtocutinsidetheboxandjointhecrowd,thuscompressingspaceanddestroying the finely-chiselledstructure.Against Croatia’s backline, not themost

mobilegroup, therandomnessofhismove-mentswasablessing.Theycouldnotpredictwhichwayhewouldturnorinwhichdirec-

tion hewould twist, or evenwhich foot hewould shootwith. The build-up to Foden’salmost-a-goal-moment,whenhestruckthefarpost,wasaclassicexample.WhenSterling

tookoff,mostofCroatia’splayersweredrift-ing wide, anticipating that he would driftawayandsnakeinside.Hetooktheoppositeroute,heslitheredtowardshisright, leavingacoupleofshadow-chasersinthewakeanddarted in like an arrow before slipping in aneat pass to Foden. He, thus, is amaster ofdisguise.Usually forwards give ahint, like adropof theshoulderorahalf-gaze fromthecornerof theeyetowardsthedirectiontheyintendtotravel.ButSterlingtelegraphsnoth-ing,justashehidesnoneofhisemotions,butasenseof imminentdoom.Croatia’s left-back Šime Vrsaljkowould

testify.Sterlingdrewhimintoachallengejustoutside the box, beat himwith a cute feintbefore dinking a pass toMasonMount. Theinstanthereleasedtheball,heswivelledandburst intooneof his supersonic sprints intothe space left behind by Vrsaljko.What hedidwithouttheballwasevenmoredeliciousthanwhathedidwith it.Hismovements are not unorthodox but

unusual.Likehishalf-turn,whereinhestopsmidway through a turn and breaks awayfrom his shirt-chaser. Hewiggles throughcramped spaces and gets behind defences.Somesayhedeliberately feigns rustiness tocreatea false senseof safety, beforeexplod-ing.Numerousweretheinstanceshegotbe-hindtheCroatiandefenceandflippedcrossesto the farpost.EnglandcoachGarethSouthgate toode-

serves credit for Sterling’s reversal of form.Forhehasfurnishedhimtheallowancetobewhat he is, not imprisoned in a structuralcage.AndSterlingdelivered.Hewasnot thebest player on the pitch. It was Phillips, butSterlingmade themost telling touch.

SATURDAY'SGAMELUKAKUSCORESBRACEINBELGIUM’S3-0WINOVERRUSSIABelgium’sstrikerRomeluLukakucarriedonhisclubandbeltedtwoof thethreegoals thatresulted inacomprehensivevictoryoveranervyRussia.Belgiumwerebereftof their twomostcreativehands,KevindeBruyneandEdenHazard,but itbarelymatteredas theystrungtogethersoassertiveaperformancethat theyshouldqualifyasagenuinecontendertowinthechampionship.BelgiumliterallybossedoverRussia,andbetterefficiency infrontof goalwouldhaveresulted inamoredevastatingresult forRussia.Defensive linchpin JanVertonghensoundedoutawarningtofellowcompetitors“Weareverydifficulttoplayagainst.That’s themeritofourtactics:our flexibility.”

PLAYINGTONIGHT

■ScotlandvsCzechRep,6.30pm

■PolandvsSlovakia,9.30pm

■SpainvsSweden,12.30am(Tue)LiveonSonySportsNetwork

RaheemSterlingcelebratesafterscoringagoalagainstCroatiaonSunday.AP

ENGLAND1 CROATIA0Sterling57’

Sterling show: England strikershows his value, qualities

SHAMIKCHAKRABARTYJUNE13

THE DANISH Football Association has in-formedthatChristianEriksen,whocollapsedshortly before half-timeduring theGroupBEuros fixture against FinlandonSaturday, isstableandtalking.TheDanishFA,DBU,putoutastatement

on Sundaymorning that Eriksen is still inhospitalundergoingtests.However,doctorshaven’tyetrevealedexactlywhathappenedto the 29-year-old Inter Milanmidfielder.“Thismorningwehave spoken to ChristianEriksen, who has sent his greetings to histeammates. His condition is stable, and hecontinues to be hospitalised for further ex-amination,” said thestatement.Following the incident, thematchwas

suspended.Whenitresumedafternearlyanhour and 47minutes of stoppage, Finlandbeat Denmark by a solitary goal. By then,though,thegameanditsresultbecameinci-dental.AsDanishtabloidEkstraBladetwrote:“Denmark lost, lifewon.”

The big distressWithaboutfourminutesandaddedtime

tobeplayedinthefirsthalf,Eriksencollapsedonthepitchashewenttocontrolathrow-in.DenmarkcaptainSimonKjaerandhisteam-mates were first on the scene before themedics took over. Players from both teamslooked to be in visible distress. Denmarkhead coach Kasper Hjulmand was seenkneeling downand offering a prayer. In thestands, teary-eyed fansstoodperplexed.

Taylor swiftEnglishrefereeAnthonyTaylor’sprompt-

nesswas hailed. As Eriksen fell to the floor,Taylor immediately stopped play and sig-nalled themedics to rush in. “The thing thatsavedhislifewasveryurgentandrapidmed-ical attention,” sports cardiologist ProfessorSanjaySharma,chairmanoftheexpertcardi-ology consensus panel for the FootballAssociation, toldtheBBC.

CaptainmarvelKjaerwasoneof thefirstplayerstoattend

Eriksen, apparently trying to clear his team-mate’s airways. Then, theDenmark captain,alongwithgoalkeeperKasperSchmeichel,wasseen comforting Eriksen’s partner, SabrinaKvist,whowasreducedtotearsnearthetouch-line.Aftertheplayerwastakentohospital,fansserenadedthestadiumwith‘ChristianEriksen’chants. The Finns shouted, ‘Christian’. TheDanesrespondedwith‘Eriksen’.

The treatmentOn the pitch, with the Denmark foot-

ballers forming a protective shield aroundEriksen,theplayerwasgivenCPR(cardiopul-

monary resuscitation) and electric currentshocks(defibrillation)asperaSkySports re-port.Defibrillationisusedtotreatlife-threat-ening conditions that affect the rhythm oftheheart. The process involves the deliveryof anelectriccurrentshocktotheheart thatcausesdepolarisationof theheartmuscles.

Doctor’s accountDenmark team doctor Martin Boesen

spokeatthepost-matchpressconferenceandgave the lowdownon how things unfoldedonthepitch.“Itwasclearhewasunconscious.WhenIgottohimhewasonhisside,hewasbreathing, I could feel a pulse, but suddenlythatchangedandwestartedtogivehimCPR,”Boesensaid,asquotedbytheBBC.“Thehelpcamereallyfastfromthemed-

ical teamand the rest of the staff with theirco-operation,andwedidwhatwehadtodoandmanagedtogetChristianback.Hespoketome before hewas taken to hospital,” thedoctoradded.

Questionable resumptionThegoverningbodyofEuropeanfootball

and the Euros organiser, Uefa, decided tocomplete theDenmark-Finlandgame.Hjulmandwas asked about that at the

post-match presser. “The players couldn’timaginenotbeingabletosleeptonightandtohavetogoonabustomorrowandplayagain.Itwaseasiertogooutanditwasbest toget itoverwith,” said theDenmarkcoach, adding:“Youcan’tplayagamewithsuchfeelings.Wetriedtowin.Itwasincredibletheymanagedtogooutandtrytoplaythesecondhalf.”Dr Nisreen Alwan, Associate Professor,

public health and epidemiology, at theUniversity of Southampton, however, toreintoUefa’sdecisiontoresumethematchonSaturdaynight.“#UEFAI’mreallyastonishedat thedecision to resumeDenmark-Finland(with flag emojis) game tonight. How onearthwereplayersexpectedtoperformwellafter that traumatic experience watchingtheir mate between life & death? Caringaboutmentalhealthshouldn’tbeslogans, itshouldbeaction,” she tweeted.

TheMuamba throwbackThe incident offered a throwback to for-

mer BoltonWanderersmidfielder FabriceMuamba‘s on-pitch collapse atWhite HartLane during an FA Cup fixture againstTottenhamHotspurinMarch2012.

After an evening ofanguish, some relief

Theplayers couldn’t imaginenotbeing able to sleep tonight and tohave togoonabus tomorrowandplay again. Itwas easier to gooutand itwasbest to get it overwith.”

KASPERHJULMANDDENMARKCOACH

REUTERSBIRMINGHAM,JUNE13

NEWZEALAND crushed hosts England byeightwickets in thesecondandfinal testonSundaytoseala1-0serieswinafterchasingdownatargetof38runsonthefourthdayatEdgbaston.The result meant New Zealand, who

thoroughly outplayed the hosts in thematch, secured a first test series win inEngland since 1999 and only their thirdoverall in the country.England had been reduced to 122-9 at

stumps on day threewith a slender lead of37runsandOllyStonewascaughtbehindoffTrent Boult on the first ball of the day onSunday, leavingthevisitorsonthevergeofafamousvictory.New Zealand lost Devon Conway for

threeafter theopeningbatsmanfishedataStuart Broad delivery only to edge it toJamesBracey beforeWill Young (8) playedaballontohisstumpsoff Stoneto leavethevisitors at 33-2.Butstand-inskipperTomLatham(23not

out),whowentpast4,000runsintestcricketduringhisknock,andRossTaylor(0notout)guided themto41-2 in10.5overs.Lathampraised the squad's depth after

theycame into thecontesthavingmadesixchanges from the drawn first test at Lord's."It's great to have that performance underthebelt.Wewereoutstandingover the fourdays,everyonewhocameindidtheirroles,"Latham said. "It's fantastic for the depth ofNewZealandcricket."NewZealandwillenjoyanextraday'srest

before they take on India in the ICCWorldTest Championship Final starting inSouthamptononFriday.BRIEF SCORES: England 303 and 122

(Wood29;Wagner3/18,Henry3/36) lost toNewZealand388and41/2 (Latham23*)byeightwickets

New Zealandthump Englandby 8 wkts, clinchTest series 1-0

NewZealand’sTomLathamwiththetrophyonSunday.Reuters

New Delhi

VolLXXXIXNo.184Regd.No.DL-21046/03-05R.N.I.No.506/57. PrintedandPublishedbyR.C.Malhotraonbehalf of The IndianExpress (P) LimitedandPrintedatThe IndianExpress (P) LimitedPress,A-8, Sector-7,Noida -201301andDBCorpLtd,DainikBhaskarVillageUnanTola,NearDanapurCantt, ShivylyaRoad,Post

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Serbianprovesheisanall-courtgreatwith19thmajortitle tobecomethefirstmanintheOpeneratowinall fourGrandSlamstwice

ASSOCIATEDPRESSPARIS, JUNE 13

TALENTED AND tenacious as they come,Novak Djokovicwas not about to concedea thing after dropping the first two sets ofthe FrenchOpen final against his younger,fresher foe, Stefanos Tsitsipas. Djokoviclookeddiminishedanddepletedat theout-setSunday.By theend,hewasathis impe-rious best.The top-seeded Djokovic came all the

wayback tobeat the fifth-seededTsitsipas6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 for his secondchampionship at Roland Garros and 19thGrand Slam title overall.Djokovic is now just onemajor trophy

away from tying the men's record of 20shared byRafael Nadal andRoger Federer.And reigning Australian Open championDjokovic now stands halfway to a calen-dar-year Grand Slam, something no manhasaccomplishedsinceRodLaver in1969.The 34-year-old Djokovic eliminated

13-time French Open champion Nadal - achallenge the Serb likened to scaling Mt.Everest - in a semifinal that lasted morethanfourhoursFridaynight.ThatwasonlyNadal's third career loss in 108matches atthe clay-courtmajor tournament.DjokovicalsodefeatedNadal inParis in

2015 before losing that year's final, and itappeared as if the same fate was waitingSunday.Djokovic lookeddrainedearly, andthe 22-year-old Tsitsipas had the upperhand for two sets.Eventually, though, Djokovic started

makingfewermistakes,gothisbest-in-the-gamereturningontrackandservedsoflaw-lesslydownthestretch thathedidnot faceasinglebreakpointover the last threesets.

Six career comebackThat enabledhimtocompletehis sixth

careercomeback fromtwosetsdown-andsecond of the pastweek.Indeed, the International Tennis

Federation said Djokovic - who trailed 19-year-old LorenzoMusetti two sets to nonein the fourth round - is the firstman in theprofessionaleratowinaGrandSlamtourna-ment after twice facinga2-0deficit in sets.Experiencecouldhavebeenafactor, too.This was the first major final for

Tsitsipas and 29th for Djokovic, who alsowon the French Open in 2016, along withnine titles at the Australian Open, five atWimbledon and three at theU.S. Open.Of justasmuch, if notmore, significance

to theultimateoutcomeSunday:Djokovicenteredthedaywitha34-10record in five-setters - including amen's-record31winsin Grand Slam matches of that length _while Tsitsipas was 5-4. On a sunny andbreezy afternoon, with the temperatureapproaching 80 degrees Fahrenheit (over25 degrees Celsius), Tsitsipas needed justover100minutes togrababig leadSunday.A supreme returner and imposer of his

will,Djokovicgrabbedearlybreaksof serve

in each of the third, fourth and fifth sets.Shadows were spreading across the

court as the sun descended in the earlyeveningand, thoughDjokoviccomplainedthat the artificial lightswere switched on,he shinedwhen itmattered themost.This was another match that lasted

morethanfourhours, andDjokovicwasupto the task again."It was again an electric atmosphere.

Ninehoursof tennis in less than48hours,"Djokovic saidoncourt."It'snoteasy;phys-ically andmentally it was very, very diffi-cult for me, these three days. I believed inmycapacitiesand inmygame. It's adreamcome true."

SPORT14 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY, JUNE14,2021

Djokovic, Federer, Nadal

Master of all: Why Novakleads the G.O.A.T. raceGAURAVBHATTJUNE13

NOVAKDJOKOVIC erased a two-set deficitagainst Stefanos Tsitsipas towin the FrenchOpen6-7(6),2-6,6-3,6-2,6-4onSunday.TheSerbisnowtheonlymaleplayertohavewoneach of the fourGrand Slams at least twice.The question then arises, is Djokovic theGreatest of All Time? Yes, and he has beenfor sometime, according to thenumbers.Djokovic leads both Roger Federer (27-

23) andRafaelNadal (30-28 after the semi-finalwinonFriday)inhead-to-headrecords.He is the only player to have wins overFederer and Nadal at all four Grand Slams.He’s also theonlyone tobeatboth inmulti-ple Grand Slam finals, multipleMasters fi-nals and in the final of the season-endingChampionship.The three heavyweights have decidedly

favourite kingdoms,withDjokovic holdingthe record ofmost AustralianOpenwins (9)andmosthardcourtMajorsandMasterstitlesoverall. But success against his closest rivalsontheirpreferredsurfacessetsDjokovicapart.On clay, 13-time FrenchOpen champion

Nadalexpectedlypullsahead19-8.But thoseeightwins byDjokovic are themost by anyplayer overNadal on the surface.Djokovic istheonlyplayer tohavebeatenNadal twiceatRolandGarros,andtohavebeatentheSpaniardinallthreeclay-courtMasters1000events.Including the French Open win on

Sunday,17ofDjokovic’s84titleshavecomeonclay.Heisnow10thonthelistof all-timeclay-court title tallies, ahead of clay-courtthoroughbreds like Carlos Moya, AndresGomez andGustavoKuerten.His tally of 10Masters titles on clay is second only toNadal’s recordof 26.

Supremacy on grassFromneverplayingongrassgrowingup—

“Tobehonest,at first Ididstrugglea littlebitonthegrasstoreallyunderstandhowIneedtomoveonthecourt,”hetoldESPNin2019—

DjokovichaswonfiveWimbledontitles.Equally impressive is his record against

eight-timeWimbledon champion Federer,whohasthebestwinpercentageongrassinthe Open Era (87). Djokovic is 3-1 againstFedererongrass,allthreewinscominginthefinalsofWimbledon.On hardcourts, he is 20-18 against

Federerand20-7againstNadal.

Outlasting, beating the eliteNobody grinds five-setters out better

thanDjokovic. Inmatchesthatwentthedis-tance, Djokovic has a record of 35wins and10 losses; a win rate of 77. Nadal is 22-12(63%)andFederer32-23 (58%).Djokovic also reigns supremewhen it

comes to matches against top-ten oppo-nents.Hiswin/lossrecordis222-100;asuc-cess rate of 69. Both Federer (223-123) andNadal (178-99) are at 64. The race ismuchtighteragainst thetop-five,butDjokovicre-mainsaheadwithawinrateof60toNadal’s59andFederer’s58percent.Djokovic is the benchmark of success in

theMasters 1000 tournaments— themostprestigious series of events inmen’s tennisafter the fourGrandSlams.In 2018, he became the only singles

player to complete the Career GoldenMasters — completing the set of all nineMasters singles titles. In 2020, he claimedanother set of nine to extendhis record.Hehas the joint-most singles titles (36, tiedwithNadal)andholdstherecordofmostti-tles inone season (six in2015).

Ranking,moneyDjokovic also trumps all competitionon

two importantparametersof success:worldranking andprizemoney. The34-year-old’soverallprizemoneyacrosssinglesanddoublesentering the FrenchOpenwas $148million,aheadofFederer($130million)andNadal($124million).InAprilthisyear,healsosettherecordfor most weeks as world No. 1 in the ATPRankings.HeovertookFederer’smarkof 310weeksandisstillgoingstrongat326weeks.

8Venezuelan,3BolivianplayersinfectedwithCovidSao Paulo: Copa America has yet tokickoffbut11playershavetestedpos-itive for COVID-19 upon arriving inBrazil. Eight are Venezuelans andthree Bolivians, soccer bodies of thetwo countries said on Saturday.Venezuela summoned 15 newplay-ersforitssquad.Threemembersof itscoaching staff were also infected.Thoseinfectedwerenotnamed.Laterthe Bolivian Football Federation saidthree players and onemember of itscoachingstaff testedpositive.

AustralianswimmersetsworldrecordAdelaide: SwimmerKayleeMcKeownsaysthedeathofher father10monthsago inspiredher tobreak the100-me-terbackstrokeworldrecordonSundayattheAustralianOlympictrials.The19-year-oldMcKeownhadatimeof57.45secondsattheSouthAustralianAquaticCentretoimproveonthepreviousmarkof57.57setbyAmericanReganSmithin2019.McKeown'sfatherSholtodiedlastAugustfrombraincancer.McKeownlastmonthsetathen-CommonwealthandAustralianrecordof57.63.

SonpenaltyhelpsSouthKoreaadvanceSeoul:SonHeung-minsentamessageof support to former TottenhamHotspur teammate Christian Eriksenon Sunday after his second-halfpenalty gave South Korea a 2-1winover Lebanon in Asia's second roundofWorld Cup qualifying. Sonny Saadgave Lebanon a surprise lead inGoyangafterjust12minutesbutitwaserased early in the second half by aSongMin-kyuheader. Sonconvertedapenalty in the 66thminute and ap-pearedtosay"Chris,staystrong,Iloveyou," to television cameras in ames-sageof support forEriksen.Son'sgoalmeans that SouthKorea is one of theeightgroupwinnerswhowillprogressautomatically tothethirdround.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

BRIEFLY

DJOKESLAM

52 Djokovicbecamethefirstmanin52years towinall fourGrandSlam

titles twice.Onlytwoothermenhaveachievedthefeat:RoyEmersonandRodLaver,whowasthe lastplayer todothis in1969.

NovakDjokovicwiththetrophyafterwinningtheFrenchOpenonSunday.Reuters

STEFANOSTSITSIPAS

New Delhi