ˇ ˘! ˘ ˇ # · 2021. 3. 3. · defeated BJP candidate Rakesh Goyal by 2,985 votes in Rohini C...

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H yderabad-based Bharat Biotech on Wednesday said its Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin has demonstrated an interim vaccine efficacy of 81 per cent in phase 3 clinical tri- als. “Analysis from the National Institute of Virology also indi- cates that vaccine-induced anti- bodies can neutralise the UK variant strains and other het- erologous strains,” Bharat Biotech said in a statement. The trial process involved 25,800 subjects, the largest ever conducted in India, in part- nership with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the pharma firm said adding that the phase 3 study enrolled participants between 18-98 years of age, including 2,433 over the age of 60 and 4,500 with comorbidities. The first interim analysis is based on 43 cases, of which 36 cases of Covid-19 were observed in the placebo group versus 7 cases observed in the Covaxin group, resulting in a point estimate of vaccine effi- cacy of 80.6 per cent, Bharat Biotech explained. “Today is an important milestone in vaccine discovery, for science and our fight against coronavirus. With today’s results from our Phase 3 clin- ical trials, we have now report- ed data on our Covid-19 vac- cine from Phase 1, 2, and 3 tri- als involving around 27,000 participants,” Bharat Biotech Chairman and Managing Director Krishna Ella said. Covaxin demonstrates a high clinical efficacy trend against Covid-19 but also sig- nificant immunogenicity against the rapidly emerging variants, he added. In January, drug regulator DCGI had approved Oxford Covid-19 vaccine Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute, and indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech for restricted emer- gency use in the country, paving the way for a massive inoculation drive. Covishield had shown an efficacy rate of 70 per cent after two full doses. However, one of the regimen with a half dose and a full dose showed 90 per cent efficacy against the virus. Bharat Biotech said the interim analysis of its vaccine included a preliminary review of the safety database, which showed that severe, serious, and medically attended adverse events occurred at low levels and were balanced between vaccine and placebo groups, the company said. The trial’s conduct and monitoring are as per good clinical practice guidelines and have been outsourced to IQVIA, it added. The company expects to share further details of the trial results as additional data becomes available, it noted. Additional interim analysis is planned for 87 cases, and the final analysis is planned for 130 cases, the company said. Continued on Page 2 T he Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday won four of the five municipal wards in Delhi in the bypolls. The Congress managed to win one seat by defeating the AAP candidate from the minority- dominated Chauhan Bangar ward. The AAP retained three wards — Rohini-C, Trilokpuri and Kalyanpuri — and also snatched the Shalimar Bagh ward from the BJP which failed to open its account. AAP’s Dhirender Kumar won the Kalyanpuri ward by 7,043 votes, Vijay Kumar from Trilokpuri by defeating the BJP’s Om Prakash by a margin of 4,986 votes, Sunita Mishra defeated Surbhi Jaju of the BJP in Shalimar Bagh ward by 2,705 votes, Ram Chander defeated BJP candidate Rakesh Goyal by 2,985 votes in Rohini C ward. However, the AAP suffered a defeat in Chauhan Bangar ward, where Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad of the Congress defeat- ed the party’s candidate Mohammad Ishraq Khan by a whopping margin of 10,642 votes. “The people of Delhi have once again voted in the name of work. Congratulations to all. The people are fed up with mis- rule of the BJP at MCD for 15 years. People are desperate to bring the AAP to rule the MCD,” Kejriwal tweeted after the party’s victory. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, “Today’s result shows that the people of Delhi have immense faith in party and the Government led by Arvind Kejriwal. The BJP had termed these by-elections as ‘semi-finals’ to the 2022 MCD elections, the people have shown that the result of the 2022 elections will be a unanimous verdict in favour of the AAP.” However, Delhi BJP gen- eral secretary Harsh Malhotra said, “No doubt that the results of municipal by-elections are not up to our expectations but we respect the verdict of the people. We will deeply study the election results, identify the reasons for defeat and will surely win the 2022 municipal elections of Delhi.” “We honour the mandate given by people. Losing Shalimar Bagh North is a mat- ter of introspection. The short- comings will be removed and I am sure the BJP will win the 2022 elections for three munic- ipal corporations,” said Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta. AAP national spokesper- son and MLA Raghav Chadha said, “The AAP wins semi-final decisively with roughly one year to go for MCD finals in 2022.” Continued on Page 2 T he Centre has sanctioned raising of a dozen new bat- talions (about 13,000 person- nel) for the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) over the next four years. The SSB guards the frontiers along Nepal and Bhutan. The new battalions will mostly be deployed to fortify the defences at the tri-junction area in Sikkim that adjoins Bhutan and Tibet and other such vulnerable posts along the two open borders. The SSB with a present strength of about 90,000 per- sonnel is the lead intelligence agency along 1,751 km open border with Nepal and 699 km boundary with Bhutan. The 12 new battalions will be raised in phases. Three bat- talions each will be raised over the next four years. “The Government has sanctioned to raise new battal- ions and related establishments for the SSB. The additional manpower will boost border security,” a senior Union Home Ministry official said. The Centre has also sanc- tioned 548 posts to the force for deployment at four ICPs (inte- grated check posts) along the Nepal frontier out of which two are already operational at Jogbani and Raxaul (in Bihar). The new battalions will be used to reduce inter-border outpost distance, strengthen trade and transit routes along Nepal and Bhutan and fortify the paramilitary’s deployments at the tri-junction area in Sikkim. The tri-junction area is the plateau between India, Bhutan and Tibet and the SSB is deployed just below it on the southern side, being the desig- nated border force for Bhutan frontier. In 2017, the Armies of India and China had engaged in an over 70-day standoff in Doklam at this tri-junction. The additional manpower will also be deployed for upgrading the existing border posts at strategically important locations along the two fron- tiers besides bolstering the security at the eight ICPSs. The sanction of new bat- talions and establishments was granted as a follow up to Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewing the operations of the SSB in October, 2019 and subsequent directions to the paramilitary to conduct a “vul- nerability assessment and gap analysis” of the two borders, officials said. Continued on Page 2 T he Income Tax (IT) depart- ment officials on Wednesday carried out search- es at 30-odd properties and locations linked to Anurag Kashyap and Taapsee Pannu in Mumbai and Pune for alleged tax evasion, while the film- maker and actress were ques- tioned by the IT officials in Pune. In a development that is being seen an act of vendetta against Khashyap and Taapsee who have been vociferous crit- ics of the Narendra Modi Government, the IT officials simultaneously zeroed in on several premises in Mumbai and Pune which are linked to erstwhile Phantom Films that was co-promoted by Anurag Kashyap, producers Vikas Bahl and Madhu Mantena, an event management company and a talent management company. Kashyap and Taapsee were questioned by the IT depart- ment officials in Pune in con- nection with the searches con- ducted at various places. Official sources attributed searches to the available infor- mation that the IT depart- ment had received that the movies made by the produc- tions were showing dispropor- tionately low income, in spite of the fact that their films were hits at the box-office. The premises of Exceed Entertainment, which is being managed by actor Saif Ali Khan, were searched, while some executives of Kwan Talent Management that manages actor Deepika Padukone and other actors were questioned. When asked about the IT raids conducted on premises linked to Kashyap and Taapsee, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said at a news briefing in New Delhi: “The Income Tax department probes someone based on whatever information they get. The issue goes to court later”. On allegations that the searches on premises belonging to Kashyap and Taapsee were an off-shoot of criticism of the Government, Javadekar said: “This is too much.” Known for his anti-estab- lishment views, Kashyap has long been a critic of the Narendra Modi Government, while Taapsee has minced no words when it came to the crit- icism of the Centre on social media platforms. Both of them have supported the formers’ agitation which has been going on the outskirts of the nation- al Capital since November 26. Continued on Page 2 O bserving that expression of a view which is dissent from a decision taken by the Central Government itself can- not be said to be seditious, the Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a PIL seeking action against National Conference president Farooq Abdullah over his comments on abroga- tion of Article 370 of the Constitution. A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hemant Gupta rejected the plea and also imposed a fine of 50,000 on the petitioners for making such claims and directed them to deposit the amount with the Supreme Court Advocates Welfare Fund within four weeks. “The expression of a view which is dissent from a decision taken by the Central Government itself cannot be said to be seditious. There is nothing in the statement which we find so offensive as to give a cause of action for a ccourt to initiate proceedings. “Not only that, the peti- tioners have nothing to do with the subject matter and this is clearly a case of publicity interest litigation for the peti- tioners only to get their names in press. We must discourage such endeavours,” the bench said. The top court was hearing a plea which referred to his statement on restoring Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu & Kashmir, and contended it clearly amounts to a seditious act and therefore he is liable to be punished under section 124-A of the IPC. The petition filed by Rajat Sharma and Dr Neh Srivastava, both belonging to an organi- sation Vishwa Guru India Vision of Sardar Patel, alleged that the former Chief Minister is trying to “hand over” Kashmir to China and thus, he should be prosecuted for sedi- tion. “Mr Farooq Abdullah has committed an offence punish- able under section 124-A of Indian Penal Code. As he has made the live statement that for restoring Article 370 he would take help of China which clear- ly amount to seditious act and therefore he is liable to be punished under section 124-A of the IPC,” the plea said. The petitioners also referred to a statement made by BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra to claim that Abdullah is misleading the people of Jammu & Kashmir to join China for the restoration of Article 370. K arnataka Water Resources Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi on Wednesday resigned from the State Cabinet, following allegations of sexual harass- ment against him. His resignation came after protests and criticism by Opposition parties and sever- al sections of society, causing a huge embarrassment to the Government and the ruling BJP. In his resignation letter to Chief Minister BS Yediyurappajust ahead of the cabinet meeting this afternoon, Jarkiholi claimed he was inno- cent. “The allegations against me are far from the truth. It has to be investigated at the earliest. Continued on Page 2 W eeks ahead of Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections, VK Sasikala, expelled AIADMK leader and close aide of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, on Wednesday announced she “will stay away from politics,” but would pray for the “golden rule” of the late party supremo. In an announcement that came as a bolt out of the blue, she urged “true supporters of Amma” to work like siblings and ensure Jayalalithaa’s “gold- en rule continues.” “I will stay away from pol- itics and keep praying my sis- ter Puratchi Thalaivi (Jayalalithaa), whom I consid- er as God, and the Lord Almighty for the establish- ment of the golden rule of Amma,” she said in a statement. She appealed to Jayalalithaa’s “true supporters” to work unitedly in the April 6 elections and prevent “common enemy”, DMK, identified as “evil force” by the late CM, from coming to power. After being released from a Bengaluru prison following completion of a four-year term in an assets case, Sasikala had last month announced her intention to engage in active politics. Her subsequent political moves, including the stand of the AMMK floated by her nephew TTV Dhinakaran, in the polls was keenly awaited by observers and political parties alike in the State in the context of the crucial elections. E ligible citizens can take Covid-19 vaccine round the clock as per their conve- nience, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday. The Ministry also permitted all private hospitals to give Covid vaccine if they adhere to the laid down norms. “The Government has ended the time constraint to increase the speed of vaccina- tion. Citizens of the country can now get vaccinated 24x7 at their convenience,” Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said on twitter. A senior official from the Union Health Ministry in a meeting chaired by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and other officials said it was decided that “all Government health facilities, including all private hospitals empanelled under Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PM JAY) and sim- ilar State Health Insurance Schemes can function as Covid Vaccination Centres (CVCs), subject to them mandatorily adhering to some specific norms.”

Transcript of ˇ ˘! ˘ ˇ # · 2021. 3. 3. · defeated BJP candidate Rakesh Goyal by 2,985 votes in Rohini C...

Page 1: ˇ ˘! ˘ ˇ # · 2021. 3. 3. · defeated BJP candidate Rakesh Goyal by 2,985 votes in Rohini C ward. However, the AAP suffered a defeat in Chauhan Bangar ward, where Chaudhary Zubair

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Hyderabad-based BharatBiotech on Wednesday

said its Covid-19 vaccineCovaxin has demonstrated aninterim vaccine efficacy of 81per cent in phase 3 clinical tri-als. “Analysis from the NationalInstitute of Virology also indi-cates that vaccine-induced anti-bodies can neutralise the UKvariant strains and other het-erologous strains,” BharatBiotech said in a statement.

The trial process involved25,800 subjects, the largest everconducted in India, in part-nership with the IndianCouncil of Medical Research(ICMR), the pharma firm saidadding that the phase 3 studyenrolled participants between18-98 years of age, including2,433 over the age of 60 and4,500 with comorbidities.

The first interim analysis isbased on 43 cases, of which 36cases of Covid-19 wereobserved in the placebo groupversus 7 cases observed in theCovaxin group, resulting in apoint estimate of vaccine effi-cacy of 80.6 per cent, BharatBiotech explained.

“Today is an importantmilestone in vaccine discovery,for science and our fight againstcoronavirus. With today’sresults from our Phase 3 clin-ical trials, we have now report-ed data on our Covid-19 vac-cine from Phase 1, 2, and 3 tri-als involving around 27,000participants,” Bharat Biotech

Chairman and ManagingDirector Krishna Ella said.

Covaxin demonstrates ahigh clinical efficacy trendagainst Covid-19 but also sig-nificant immunogenicityagainst the rapidly emergingvariants, he added.

In January, drug regulatorDCGI had approved OxfordCovid-19 vaccine Covishield,manufactured by the SerumInstitute, and indigenouslydeveloped Covaxin of BharatBiotech for restricted emer-gency use in the country,

paving the way for a massiveinoculation drive.

Covishield had shown anefficacy rate of 70 per cent aftertwo full doses. However, one ofthe regimen with a half doseand a full dose showed 90 percent efficacy against the virus.

Bharat Biotech said theinterim analysis of its vaccineincluded a preliminary reviewof the safety database, whichshowed that severe, serious,and medically attended adverseevents occurred at low levelsand were balanced between

vaccine and placebo groups, thecompany said.

The trial’s conduct andmonitoring are as per goodclinical practice guidelines andhave been outsourced toIQVIA, it added.

The company expects toshare further details of thetrial results as additional databecomes available, it noted.

Additional interim analysisis planned for 87 cases, and thefinal analysis is planned for 130cases, the company said.

Continued on Page 2

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The Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) on Wednesday won

four of the five municipalwards in Delhi in the bypolls.The Congress managed to winone seat by defeating the AAPcandidate from the minority-dominated Chauhan Bangarward.

The AAP retained threewards — Rohini-C, Trilokpuriand Kalyanpuri — and alsosnatched the Shalimar Baghward from the BJP which failedto open its account.

AAP’s Dhirender Kumarwon the Kalyanpuri ward by7,043 votes, Vijay Kumar fromTrilokpuri by defeating theBJP’s Om Prakash by a marginof 4,986 votes, Sunita Mishradefeated Surbhi Jaju of the BJPin Shalimar Bagh ward by2,705 votes, Ram Chanderdefeated BJP candidate RakeshGoyal by 2,985 votes in RohiniC ward.

However, the AAP suffereda defeat in Chauhan Bangarward, where Chaudhary ZubairAhmad of the Congress defeat-ed the party’s candidateMohammad Ishraq Khan by awhopping margin of 10,642votes.

“The people of Delhi haveonce again voted in the nameof work. Congratulations to all.

The people are fed up with mis-rule of the BJP at MCD for 15years. People are desperate tobring the AAP to rule theMCD,” Kejriwal tweeted afterthe party’s victory.

Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia said, “Today’sresult shows that the people ofDelhi have immense faith inparty and the Government ledby Arvind Kejriwal. The BJPhad termed these by-electionsas ‘semi-finals’ to the 2022MCD elections, the peoplehave shown that the result ofthe 2022 elections will be aunanimous verdict in favour ofthe AAP.”

However, Delhi BJP gen-eral secretary Harsh Malhotrasaid, “No doubt that the resultsof municipal by-elections are

not up to our expectations butwe respect the verdict of thepeople. We will deeply studythe election results, identify thereasons for defeat and willsurely win the 2022 municipalelections of Delhi.”

“We honour the mandategiven by people. LosingShalimar Bagh North is a mat-ter of introspection. The short-comings will be removed andI am sure the BJP will win the2022 elections for three munic-ipal corporations,” said DelhiBJP president Adesh Gupta.

AAP national spokesper-son and MLA Raghav Chadhasaid, “The AAP wins semi-finaldecisively with roughly oneyear to go for MCD finals in2022.”

Continued on Page 2

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The Centre has sanctionedraising of a dozen new bat-

talions (about 13,000 person-nel) for the Sashastra Seema Bal(SSB) over the next four years.The SSB guards the frontiersalong Nepal and Bhutan.

The new battalions willmostly be deployed to fortifythe defences at the tri-junctionarea in Sikkim that adjoinsBhutan and Tibet and othersuch vulnerable posts along thetwo open borders.

The SSB with a presentstrength of about 90,000 per-sonnel is the lead intelligenceagency along 1,751 km openborder with Nepal and 699 kmboundary with Bhutan.

The 12 new battalions willbe raised in phases. Three bat-talions each will be raised overthe next four years.

“The Government hassanctioned to raise new battal-ions and related establishmentsfor the SSB. The additionalmanpower will boost bordersecurity,” a senior Union HomeMinistry official said.

The Centre has also sanc-tioned 548 posts to the force fordeployment at four ICPs (inte-

grated check posts) along theNepal frontier out of which twoare already operational atJogbani and Raxaul (in Bihar).

The new battalions will beused to reduce inter-borderoutpost distance, strengthentrade and transit routes alongNepal and Bhutan and fortifythe paramilitary’s deploymentsat the tri-junction area inSikkim.

The tri-junction area isthe plateau between India,

Bhutan and Tibet and the SSBis deployed just below it on thesouthern side, being the desig-nated border force for Bhutanfrontier.

In 2017, the Armies ofIndia and China had engagedin an over 70-day standoff inDoklam at this tri-junction.

The additional manpowerwill also be deployed forupgrading the existing borderposts at strategically importantlocations along the two fron-

tiers besides bolstering thesecurity at the eight ICPSs.

The sanction of new bat-talions and establishments wasgranted as a follow up to UnionHome Minister Amit Shahreviewing the operations ofthe SSB in October, 2019 andsubsequent directions to theparamilitary to conduct a “vul-nerability assessment and gapanalysis” of the two borders,officials said.

Continued on Page 2

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The Income Tax (IT) depart-ment officials on

Wednesday carried out search-es at 30-odd properties andlocations linked to AnuragKashyap and Taapsee Pannu inMumbai and Pune for allegedtax evasion, while the film-maker and actress were ques-tioned by the IT officials inPune.

In a development that isbeing seen an act of vendettaagainst Khashyap and Taapseewho have been vociferous crit-ics of the Narendra ModiGovernment, the IT officialssimultaneously zeroed in onseveral premises in Mumbaiand Pune which are linked toerstwhile Phantom Films thatwas co-promoted by AnuragKashyap, producers Vikas Bahland Madhu Mantena, an eventmanagement company and atalent management company.

Kashyap and Taapsee werequestioned by the IT depart-ment officials in Pune in con-nection with the searches con-ducted at various places.

Official sources attributedsearches to the available infor-mation that the IT depart-

ment had received that themovies made by the produc-tions were showing dispropor-tionately low income, in spiteof the fact that their films werehits at the box-office.

The premises of ExceedEntertainment, which is beingmanaged by actor Saif AliKhan, were searched, whilesome executives of Kwan TalentManagement that managesactor Deepika Padukone andother actors were questioned.

When asked about the ITraids conducted on premiseslinked to Kashyap and Taapsee,Information and BroadcastingMinister Prakash Javadekarsaid at a news briefing in NewDelhi: “The Income Taxdepartment probes someone

based on whatever informationthey get. The issue goes to courtlater”.

On allegations that thesearches on premises belongingto Kashyap and Taapsee werean off-shoot of criticism of theGovernment, Javadekar said:“This is too much.”

Known for his anti-estab-lishment views, Kashyap haslong been a critic of theNarendra Modi Government,while Taapsee has minced nowords when it came to the crit-icism of the Centre on socialmedia platforms. Both of themhave supported the formers’agitation which has been goingon the outskirts of the nation-al Capital since November 26.

Continued on Page 2

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Observing that expression ofa view which is dissent

from a decision taken by theCentral Government itself can-not be said to be seditious, theSupreme Court on Wednesdaydismissed a PIL seeking actionagainst National Conferencepresident Farooq Abdullahover his comments on abroga-tion of Article 370 of theConstitution.

A Bench of Justices SanjayKishan Kaul and HemantGupta rejected the plea andalso imposed a fine of �50,000on the petitioners for makingsuch claims and directed themto deposit the amount with theSupreme Court AdvocatesWelfare Fund within fourweeks.

“The expression of a viewwhich is dissent from a decisiontaken by the Central

Government itself cannot besaid to be seditious. There isnothing in the statement whichwe find so offensive as to givea cause of action for a ccourt toinitiate proceedings.

“Not only that, the peti-tioners have nothing to dowith the subject matter and thisis clearly a case of publicityinterest litigation for the peti-tioners only to get their namesin press. We must discourage

such endeavours,” the benchsaid.

The top court was hearinga plea which referred to hisstatement on restoring Article370, which gave special statusto Jammu & Kashmir, andcontended it clearly amounts toa seditious act and therefore heis liable to be punished undersection 124-A of the IPC.

The petition filed by RajatSharma and Dr Neh Srivastava,

both belonging to an organi-sation Vishwa Guru IndiaVision of Sardar Patel, allegedthat the former Chief Ministeris trying to “hand over”Kashmir to China and thus, heshould be prosecuted for sedi-tion.

“Mr Farooq Abdullah hascommitted an offence punish-able under section 124-A ofIndian Penal Code. As he hasmade the live statement that forrestoring Article 370 he wouldtake help of China which clear-ly amount to seditious act andtherefore he is liable to bepunished under section 124-Aof the IPC,” the plea said.

The petitioners alsoreferred to a statement made byBJP spokesperson

Sambit Patra to claim thatAbdullah is misleading thepeople of Jammu & Kashmir tojoin China for the restorationof Article 370.

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Karnataka Water ResourcesMinister Ramesh Jarkiholi

on Wednesday resigned fromthe State Cabinet, followingallegations of sexual harass-ment against him.

His resignation came afterprotests and criticism byOpposition parties and sever-al sections of society, causing ahuge embarrassment to theGovernment and the ruling BJP.

In his resignation letter toChief Minister BSYediyurappajust ahead of thecabinet meeting this afternoon,Jarkiholi claimed he was inno-cent. “The allegations againstme are far from the truth. It hasto be investigated at the earliest.

Continued on Page 2

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Weeks ahead of TamilNadu Assembly

Elections, VK Sasikala, expelledAIADMK leader and close aideof late Chief Minister JJayalalithaa, on Wednesdayannounced she “will stay awayfrom politics,” but would prayfor the “golden rule” of the lateparty supremo.

In an announcement thatcame as a bolt out of the blue,she urged “true supporters ofAmma” to work like siblingsand ensure Jayalalithaa’s “gold-en rule continues.”

“I will stay away from pol-itics and keep praying my sis-ter Puratchi Thalaivi(Jayalalithaa), whom I consid-er as God, and the LordAlmighty for the establish-ment of the golden rule ofAmma,” she said in a statement.

She appealed toJayalalithaa’s “true supporters”to work unitedly in the April 6elections and prevent “commonenemy”, DMK, identified as“evil force” by the late CM,from coming to power.

After being released froma Bengaluru prison followingcompletion of a four-year termin an assets case, Sasikala had

last month announced herintention to engage in activepolitics.

Her subsequent politicalmoves, including the stand ofthe AMMK floated by hernephew TTV Dhinakaran, inthe polls was keenly awaited byobservers and political partiesalike in the State in the contextof the crucial elections.

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Eligible citizens can takeCovid-19 vaccine round

the clock as per their conve-nience, the Union HealthMinistry said on Tuesday. TheMinistry also permitted allprivate hospitals to give Covidvaccine if they adhere to thelaid down norms.

“The Government hasended the time constraint toincrease the speed of vaccina-tion. Citizens of the countrycan now get vaccinated 24x7 attheir convenience,” UnionHealth Minister Dr HarshVardhan said on twitter.

A senior official from theUnion Health Ministry in ameeting chaired by UnionHealth Secretary RajeshBhushan and other officialssaid it was decided that “allGovernment health facilities,including all private hospitalsempanelled under CentralGovernment Health Scheme(CGHS), Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan AarogyaYojana (AB-PM JAY) and sim-ilar State Health InsuranceSchemes can function as CovidVaccination Centres (CVCs),subject to them mandatorilyadhering to some specificnorms.”

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Page 2: ˇ ˘! ˘ ˇ # · 2021. 3. 3. · defeated BJP candidate Rakesh Goyal by 2,985 votes in Rohini C ward. However, the AAP suffered a defeat in Chauhan Bangar ward, where Chaudhary Zubair

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Chatra: The police on Tuesdayarrested five Naxalites of twooutfits from Chatra district ofJharkhand and seized armsand ammunition from them,an officer said.

They used to extort con-tractors and businessmen, Sub-Divisional Police Officer ofChatra Avinash Kumar said.

Of the arrested five, threeare members of the TritiyaSammelan Prastuti Committee

(TSPC) while the two othersbelong to the People'sLiberation Front of India(PLFI).

Two American made pis-tols, a .303 rifle looted from thepolice, three other pistols and32 cartridges were seized fromtheir possession, Kumar said.

The police also confiscat-ed six mobile phones, 16 SIMcards, three motorbikes andother articles from them. PTI

Washington: The currentstrong ties between India andthe United States is the great-est testament to the legacy ofMahatma Gandhi and MartinLuther King Jr, Consul General

of India in Chicago AmitKumar has said.

Kumar said this at the firstGandhi King LegacyRoundtable Summit organizedby the US Congressional Multi

Advisory Task Force ofCongressman Danny K Davisin cooperation withMetropolitan Asian FamilyServices on February 26.

"The greatest testament to

the Gandhi-King legacy is thecurrent ties between India, theworld's largest democracy andthe US, the oldest democracy,"Kumar said, addressing thesummit in Chicago last week,

according to a media releaseissued on Tuesday.

He said the supply ofIndian-made coronavirus vac-cines to several countriesrecently is "another glowing

example of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's global leadership".

"Martin Luther King Jr.Was a disciple of Gandhi. A lotof Gandhi's teachings was put

into practice by Martin Lutherking Jr. So it is important thatour elected leaders and com-munity leaders adapt andenrich the same partnership between African

and Indian communities inChicago and beyond," saidCongressman Danny K Davis in his presidentialaddress.

PTI

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Astepfather, reportedly fac-ing severe financial prob-

lems and a domestic dispute,threw his children and wife intoa canal in Uttar Pradesh (UP)on February 27 resulting in thedeaths of two children while hiswife was saved by passersby, thepolice said on Wednesday.

According to the police, the

bodies of two children, 6-year-old Tohida Khatoon and 1-year-old Ankur were recoveredfrom a Merut Canal in UP aftertwo days search operation onWednesday.

The woman Saira aliasRajni stated in her police com-plaint that she had marriedSonu, who is a resident ofBhangrola village in Gurugramafter a death of her first hus-band. She had two childrenfrom her first marriage.

The woman alleged in her

complaint that her husbandSonu, his brother Pradeep,Sachin and mother-in-lawRavita used to beat and taunther due to her children.

"Late night of February 27her husband and family mem-bers had trashed the womanand held hostage in a car andtravel towards UP via Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expresswayand somewhere in UP theythew her along with her chil-dren into a canal and fled. Butshe was saved by a passerby

after her screaming while herchildren drown into the canal,"the woman told the police.

Thereafter, somehow thewoman managed to reach inGurugram on Tuesday andreported the matter to thepolice.

The man sed to work as adelivery boy and was also fac-ing some financial problems.The accused and his family dis-like her kids, the woman toldthe police said.

"Following a woman's

complaint we had registered acase of kidnapping but later apolice team reached in UttarPradesh and after two dayssearch we managed to recoverthe children body into canaland we added the section ofmuder in the FIR. We havearrested all the culprits they willbe produced before a localcourt on Thursday," KrishanKant, station house officer(SHO) of Kheri Daula policestation in Gurugram told ThePioneer.

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Indore: A Madhya Pradeshlawyer is in jail for the last threeweeks after he was arrested bythe police in Ratlam district forallegedly sending an "inde-cent" message to a womanjudge on her birthday, officialssaid on Tuesday.

After failing to get bailfrom a lower court, the advo-cate has filed an applicationbefore the Madhya PradeshHigh Courts Indore benchseeking relief, they said.

He was booked under IPCsections 420 (cheating), 467(forging documents) and oth-ers besides relevant sections ofthe I-T Act on a complaintlodged by a district court offi-cial at the Station Road policestation in Ratlam city, the offi-cials said.

It was alleged in the com-plaint that the lawyer had sentan indecent birthday wish tothe woman judge on January 28on her official email address.

The lawyer allegedly down-loaded the display picture ofthe judge from her Facebookaccount and used it for fraud-ulently" making a greetingcard, the officials said, citingthe complaint.

He was arrested onFebruary 9 and an additionalsessions judge rejected his bailplea on February 13, they said.

The prosecution hadstrongly objected to the lawyersbail plea in the sessions court,arguing that his alleged actionsamounted to sexual harass-ment and "outraging the mod-esty" of a woman. PTI

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Panaji: Goa's only major port,the Mormugao Port Trust,operated by the Centre is plan-ning to develop a ferry circuitto cater to the internationalcruise ship tourists visiting thestate.

Speaking virtually at theMaritime India Summit 2021,Chairman of the Trust E.Ramesh Kumar said that theferry service would connectseveral beach destinations inthe coastal states, both in NorthGoa and South Goa districts.

"The ferry service that weare planning is designated to beon three or four identifiedroutes whether from South ofGoa to Dona Paula andonwards, South of Goa toCaptain of Ports jetty at Panajiand onwards to Old Goa orfrom South of Goa to any of thebeach destinations likeCandolim, Calangute, Bagaand so on," Kumar said.

"With a dedicated colour-coded ferry service, we are also

contemplating to receive pas-sengers on the other side withhop-on-hop-off buses, withthe same colour codes withrefreshments served en route,multilingual audio commen-tary," he also said.

The top official also saidthat the Port Trust was also inthe process of setting a com-mercial hub spread over 4,000sq mt area near the port ter-minal itself for visiting cruise-ship holidayers.

"There is a unique featureof this commercial hub whichis going to be primarilydesigned to depict the oldGoan culture imbued withmodern facilities. It alsoembodies in it the rich cultureof various states and exhibitingthree essential ingredientswhether it is handicraft, hand-loom or the cuisine of variousstates or the cultural formsincluding music and dance,"Kumar said.

IANS

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath willinaugurate a 'jaggery festival' inLucknow on March 6, to beprganised by the AYUSHdepartment to discuss theprospects of its co-products.

Jaggery finds a special placein the kitchens of every fami-ly, especially in north India,because of its medicinal values.Made of sugarcane juice, itgradually shifted from the ruralhouseholds to the daily use ofhealth-conscious families inthe cities.

According to the govern-ment spokesman, experts willhold discussions on packaging,marketing, e-marketing andexport potential of jaggery andwill also share their experienceof making fine quality jaggeryproducts.

Experts from the sugarcanedepartment will be discussingco-harvest farming, improvedspecies and making sugarcanefarming more beneficial.

Besides this, entrepreneursassociated with the productionand trade of jaggery will alsohave opportunities to knowabout various aspects related tonew technologies, product vari-ety, storage, marketing andexport avenues.

Apart from entrepreneurs,consumers and farmers asso-ciated with the jaggery indus-try will find informative data inthe festival, which will also bebeneficial for the jaggery man-ufacturing industry.

Consumers will also get achance to see various qualityproducts of jaggery that areoften not available in the mar-ket.

The event will furtherboost the ODOP (one district,one product) scheme of ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath.Jaggery, popularly known as'gur', is the ODOP product ofMuzaffarnagar and Ayodhyadistricts.

IANS

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Banda: An elderly man hasbeen arrested for allegedly rap-ing an eight-year-old Dalit girlin a village here, police said onWednesday.

The incident took place inthe Baberu area in Banda dis-trict in Uttar Pradesh around 6pm on Tuesday when the girlwas playing near her house.

The accused, identified asJagdish Pal, 70, was arrestedlater, Circle Officer Siyaramsaid, adding the girl has beensent for medical examination.

According to the police,the girl has a vision problemand cannot see clearly. In a sep-arate incident in the Bisandaarea in the district, a 14-year-old boy was sodomised by ateenager on Tuesday. Theaccused boy has been held. PTI

,/��/���>�����������#��� �������������7���������New Delhi: The Delhi

Government has decided tobring the College of Art ofDelhi University underAmbedkar University. TheDelhi Government's cabinethas approved the merger. Butthe Delhi University teachersare strongly objecting to theDelhi Government's move.

The Delhi UniversityTeachers ' Association (DUTA)has condemned the decisionwhile cautioning the govern-ment.

"This is another example ofthe Delhi government's viola-tion of statutory provisions ofthe University of Delhi," DUTApresident Rajab Ray said. "Itreveals the attitude of the Delhigovernment in tackling gover-nance issues in funded collegesunder the University of Delhi,"he added.

According to Duta, teach-ers, staff and students of 12 col-leges of Delhi University, fully

funded by the Delhi govern-ment, are already suffering a lotdue to the delay of grant by theDelhi government, which isaffecting their financial, edu-cational and administrativefunctioning. The employees ofthese colleges have not beenpaid salaries and pensions forseveral months.

Ray further said thatDUTA strongly condemns theDelhi government's stand andwarns against harassment ofthese institutions and employ-ees.

It may be recalled that thisis not the first time that aninstitute of Delhi University hasbeen linked with any other uni-versity other than DU.

In the year 2009, the DelhiCollege of Engineering wassimilarly shifted from DU toanother university. It is calledthe Delhi TechnologicalUniversity.

IANS

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From Page 1All data from the second

interim and final analyses willbe shared via pre-publicationservers as well as submitted toa peer-reviewed journal forpublication, it added.

Bharat Biotech said morethan 40 countries globally haveexpressed their interest inCovaxin. Covaxin andCovishield, both vaccines werecleared by the DCGI in earlyJanuary, at a time when late-stage trial data for Covaxin was

not available; it was cleared onthe basis of Phase 1 and 2 datathat confirmed its “safety andimmunogenicity”.

Covaxin was given“restricted use in emergencysituation in public interest”,meaning all those who wereadministered the drug as partof the vaccination drive wereenrolled as part of the study.

Covaxin has been devel-oped in collaboration with theICMR on the WHO prequali-fied vero cell platform which isglobally recognised with a well-established track record of safe-

ty. “The development anddeployment of Covaxin ensuresthat India has a powerfulweapon in its arsenal in a con-tinually evolving pandemic sit-uation and will go a long wayin helping us win the waragainst Covid-19.

“The need of the hour is toensure that people in India con-tinue to receive the vaccine andbreak the chain of virus trans-mission,” said Dr SamiranPanda, Head, Epidemiologyand Communicable Disease,ICMR and Director, NationalAIDS Research Institute.

From Page 1“It is time for Delhiites to

put an end to the 15-year cor-ruption-plagued rule of theBJP. Rajya mein bhi Kejriwal,MCD mein bhi Kejriwal, Phirchalegi double engine kiKejriwal sarkar” he said.

“The four party council-lors who won the electionstoday will work towards mak-ing their respective wards as‘Model Wards’. The work ofKejriwal such as zero-water bill,zero-electricity bill and freetravel for women on the busamong other things are highlyappreciated. The dream ofmaking Delhi a world-classcity is now the dream of thepeople and the people willvote unanimously for the AAPand bring the KejriwalGovernment to all threemunicipal bodies,” said AAP

MLA from Kalkaji Atishi.Delhi Congress president

Anil Kumar said the Congressput up an impressive show inthe by-elections. “The partycandidate Zubair Ahamad wonfrom the Chauhan Bangerward in Seelampur and theparty’s overall vote share rosefrom six per cent in the lastAssembly elections to 22 percent now. While the BJP suf-fered a 10 per cent reduction inits vote percentage while theAAP’s votes share reduced by5.50 per cent,” he said.

“We have the trust of thepeople and confidence and theresults show that the Congresswill win the MCD elections duenext year in 2022,” he added.

The AAP polled the high-est 46.10 per cent votes in thebypolls, followed by 27.29 percent by the BJP and 21.84 percent by the Congress, accord-ing to the State ElectionCommission.

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Following this, the SSBcame up with a proposal sug-gesting requirement of 12 newbattalions, a frontier head-quarter and at least 3 sectorheadquarters that would beused to enhance logistical andadministrative support to itsborder units as also for deploy-ments for internal securityroles in the hinterland.

The Ministry, however,approved creation of only one

sector headquarters and 12battalions in phases, they said,adding the new sector forma-tion will be created in theNational Capital Region(NCR). A battalion comprisesover 1,000 personnel.

A sector formation of aparamilitary is responsible forthe operation of about 5-6 bat-talions and is headed by adeputy inspector general (DIG)rank officer. A frontier on theother hand comprises abouttwo to four sectors and isheaded by an InspectorGeneral rank officer.

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The ElectionCommission(EC) on

Wednesday organised a briefingmeeting for Observers whowould be deployed for theupcoming assembly polls in fiveStates—West Bengal, Kerala,Assam, Tamil Nadu andPuducherry.

The meeting was a virtualcum physical gathering whichsaw the participation of morethan 1650 General, Police andExpenditure Observers joining

virtually from 120 locationsacross the country. Officers fromIAS, IPS, IRS and other CentralServices have been included tobe deployed as General, Policeand Expenditure Observers.

Addressing the Observers,Chief Election CommissionerSunil Arora said observers willhave additional role in random-ization of forces and its deploy-ment. Arora asked the observersto visit the Polling Booths tocheck due facilitation to seniorcitizens, Persons with Disabilitiesand women voters to ensure the

Commission’s commitment tothe principle of inclusive elec-tions.

Taking note of the exem-plary work accomplished by theChief Electoral Officers andDeputy Electoral Officers ofBihar despite widespread Covidconcerns, Arora said BiharAssembly elections have literal-ly become a turning point in thehistory of Indian elections. Eventhe participation of voters wasbetter than the previousAssembly and Parliamentaryelections in Bihar.

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From Page 1Kashyap had also raised his

voice against the CitizenshipAct. Last year, Kashyap extend-ed his support to actress RheaChakraborty in the SushantSingh Rajput suicide case.

So much so that Taapseehad hit out at the Governmentfor the manner in which it wasrunning down internationalpop star Rihanna’s tweet draw-ing attention to the farmers’agitation. Taking to twitter,the actress had said: “If onetweet rattles your unity, onejoke rattles your faith or one

show rattles your religiousbelief then it’s you who has towork on strengthening yourvalue system not become ‘pro-paganda teacher’ for others”.

The IT raids on the premis-es of Kashyap and Tapseeevoked instant protests acrossthe country. Condemning theraids, RJD leader TejashwiYadav tweeted: “They ( theModi Government) firstemployed IT, CBI, ED to con-duct raids on vocal and uprightpolitical rivals for their char-acter assassination. Now NaziGovt is chasing social activists,

journalists & artists to threat-en them against calling spadea spade”.

Nationalist Congress Party(NCP) Minister Nawab Malikslammed the ModiGovernment saying the way inwhich raids were conducted inthe homes and offices ofAnurag Kashyap and TaapseePannu was definitely misuse ofits agencies against those whotake a stand against theGovernment or its policies.“Anurag Kashyap and TaapseePannu have raised their voiceagainst the Modi Government’s

policies. This action is anattempt to suppress their voic-es,” Malik said.

Senior Congress leader andCabinet Minister AshokChavan dubbed the income taxraids against Anurag Kashyapand Taapsee Pannu as an act ofretaliation against the critics ofthe Modi Government.

Maharashtra CabinetMinister YashomatiChandrakant Thakur saidthose who speak in their (theGovernment’s) favour were“good” and the ones who spokeagainst were “traitors”.

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Samajwadi Party members, onWednesday, walked out of the

Uttar Pradesh Assembly duringthe Question Hour over theissue of cane price, accusing thegovernment of being anti-farmer.

The opposition party wasnot satisfied with the reply by thegovernment. During theQuestion Hour, SP memberNarendra Verma wanted toknow from the governmentwhether the cane productioncost had increased due to rise inprices of diesel, fertiliser, pesti-cides and agricultural equip-ment, and if the government wasconsidering an increase in caneprice. In his reply, SugarcaneMinister Suresh Kumar Ranasaid the state advisory price(SAP) of cane was declared aftertaking into note cane productionand sugar production cost andother factors, and the state hadalready done so for 2020-2021.He said while the price for earlyvariety was fixed at Rs 325 perquintal, for unapproved varietiesit was Rs 310 per quintal and forcommon variety the price was Rs315 per quintal. On increasingthe SAP, the minister said, the"question does not arise" as for2021 it had been already fixed.

The minister also cited dataof payments made to cane farm-ers by the previous SamajwadiParty regime and said the presentgovernment was committed tothe welfare of farmers.

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Ending weeks of specula-tions, the ruling AIADMK

on Wednesday ruled out anypossibility of the return of VKSasikala and her nephew TTVDhinakaran into the party.

Fisheries Minister DJayakumar, who is seen as thespokesman of the StateGovernment, told reporters atthe AIADMK headquartersthat the party has "rejected"from certain quarters for thereinduction of Sasikala andDhinakaran into the AIADMKor be taken into the alliance.

"Chief Minister (EdappadiK Palaniswami) has made itclear that there is no chance ofSasikala and Dhinakaran join-ing AIADMK. 100 per centthere is no chance and this isthe stand of the party,"Jayakumar said. Amid reportsthat the BJP wanted theAIDMK to accommodateSasikala and Dhinakaran,Jayakumar said alliance andideology of the party are twodifferent things. "The BJP is ouralliance partner. They do notinterfere in our internal mat-ters. They never do it and wedecide for our party," he said.

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Page 3: ˇ ˘! ˘ ˇ # · 2021. 3. 3. · defeated BJP candidate Rakesh Goyal by 2,985 votes in Rohini C ward. However, the AAP suffered a defeat in Chauhan Bangar ward, where Chaudhary Zubair

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The Delhi Government joined theAtmanirbhar Bharat (self reliant

India) bandwagon ordering 45,000Khadi face masks to Khadi andVillage Industries Commission(KVIC) for its transport depart-ment. While the first consignment of30,000 masks has been delivered andremaining 15,000 masks will be sup-plied within a week, Delhi govern-ment will become second state inIndia after Arunachal Pradesh pro-moting Make in India.

The masks have been purchasedfor the staff of Delhi TransportCorporation (DTC) of DelhiGovernment. These face masks havebeen made using a combination ofblue colored fabric with DTC logoplaced on the masks.

KVIC Chairman Vinai KumarSaxena said the bulk purchase ofKhadi face masks by DelhiGovernment manifests Khadi’s grow-ing popularity and also the accep-tance of Khadi in various governmentdepartments. “Such big orders createadditional job for Khadi artisanswhich has helped them overcomefinancial distress during the Covid-19 pandemic. We will be supplyingthe masks at the earliest,” Saxena said.

It is worth mentioning that KVIChas sold more than 25 lakh facemasks in just over 8 months since itslaunch in April last year. Owing to thecomfort and high quality of these facemasks, KVIC has received several

bulk orders including 12.30 lakhmasks from the Indian Red CrossSociety.

KVIC received the purchaseorder for 45,000 Khadi face masksfrom the Transport Department ofDelhi Government out of which thefirst consignemnt of 30,000 maskshas been delivered and remianing15,000 masks will be supplied with-in this week. The masks have beenpurchased for the staff of DelhiTransport Corporation (DTC) ofDelhi Government.

KVIC has supplied double-lay-ered Cotton face masks that arebreathable, skin-friendly and suitablefor long-duration use. KVIC hasspecifically used Double TwistedKhadi fabric for manufacturing ofthese masks as it helps retain 70 per-cent of the moisture content inside,while providing an easy passage forthe air to pass through. These masksare washable and reusable.

Recently, the Government ofArunachal Pradesh had purchased1.60 lakh Khadi cotton face masks forits students, becoming the first NorthEastern state to go for the bulk pur-chase of Khadi masks.

During the Covid-19 lockdown,the Government of Jammu andKashmir had purchased 7.50 lakhKhadi face masks.

KVIC has also received repeatorders from Rashtrapati Bhavan,Prime Minister’s Office and variousCentral government ministries andPSUs apart from the general public.

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The Delhi Police has arrested two bur-glars, who had escaped after alleged-

ly committing a burglary in south Delhi.Alert police personnel nabbed the duoafter they stopped to attend the nature’scall. The incident took place earlyTuesday morning.

The accused have been identified asDeepak and Ravikant, who have multi-ple involvements in the cases of theft andburglary registered in the NationalCapital. Police said that Deepak has beenfound involved in 10 cases of theft whileRavikant has four previous involve-ments of theft.

According to Atul Kumar Thakur, theDeputy Commissioner of Police (DCP),South district, after committing a bur-glary in Karawal Nagar, Deepak andRavikant were returning to their hideoutwith gold and silver jewellery.

“The two men stopped for urinatingat the BRT road where they were caughtby the police team. Recently, a police teamwas formed and deployed at the BRTroad to curb incidents of crime in thearea, especially in the morning hours,”said the DCP.

“The accused, who were in aHyundai Santro, were spotted by the pick-et staff when they were urinating in pub-lic. Police have also recovered two coun-try-made pistols, laptops, LCD televisionand some gold and silver ornaments wererecovered from their possession duringchecking,” said the DCP.

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Addressing party workers atAAP headquarters on

Wednesday after his party wonfour of the five civic wards inFebruary 28 municipal bypolls,Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal congratulated the AAPvolunteers and the newly-elect-ed councillors.

"The people of Delhi onceagain voted in the name ofwork. Congratulations to all. Thepublic has been perturbed by the15-year BJP's misrule in theMCD. People are now desperateto form the Aam Aadmi Party

Government in the MCD aswell," he tweeted.

Kejriwal said the people ofDelhi have rejected and defeat-ed the BJP due to its incompe-tence in the corporations in the

last 15 years. “The people ofDelhi are very happy with thework done by AAP in the last sixyears, that is AAP managed towin four seats. The AAPGovernment has improvedschools, hospitals, electricity,water, and roads," he added.

“The people of Delhi wantto change the functioning of themunicipal corporations. In the2015 elections, we got 67 out of70 seats and 62 out of 70 seatsin 2020. After six years, the peo-ple of Delhi have again showntheir faith in us and given theirapproval of the good work doneby us. This shows that the peo-ple of Delhi are very happy with

the work done by AAP," headded.

On the other hand, peopleare extremely disappointed withthe ruling BJP in corporations,the Chief Minister said, addingthat the people want the MCDto function as effectively as theDelhi Government.

"If someone asks the peopleof the country about the achieve-ments of AAP, people fromStates such as Punjab, Goa,Delhi, UP, and many otherStates will tell you aboutimprovements in education,health, power, water and infra-structure sector,” he said. But ifyou will ask anyone about what

the BJP has done in the MCD inthe last 15 years, they cannotcount even a single task fulfilled,”he added.

"The results are an indica-tion of what kind of outcome isexpected next year in the civicbody polls. We are waiting for itand will make the city neat andclean," Kejriwal said.

The AAP convener alsotook a dig at the BJP for failingto secure any seat in the bypolls."The zero obtained by the BJPshowed people rejected corrup-tion and theft at the MCDs ruledby it and the politics of violencethey practised by vandalism atDeputy Chief Minister Manish

Sisodia's residence and the DelhiJal Board office," he said.

Of the five civic wardswhere bypolls were held onFebruary 28, the party wonfour and the Congress one. The

AAP polled the highest 46.10per cent votes in the bypolls, fol-lowed by 27.29 per cent by theBJP and 21.84 per cent by theCongress, according to the StateElection Commission.

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Those who have recoveredfrom Covid-19 respond

faster to the Covishield vaccineand reach high antibody levels,says a study, leading to hopesthat they may not need a sec-ond dose and therefore helpwiden India's corona immuni-sation cover.

The study on the immuneresponse to Covishield wascarried out by researchers fromNew Delhi's CSIR-Institute ofGenomics and IntegrativeBiology (IGIB), Max SuperSpeciality Hospital and Instituteof Endocrinology,

Diabetes and Metabolismas well as the Academy ofScientific and InnovativeResearch (AcSIR) inGhaziabad.

“Covishield is inducing arobust immune response.Those who are seropositive atbaseline respond faster andreach higher antibody lev-els…,” CSIR-IGIB DirectorAnurag Agrawal, one of theauthors of the study, told PTI.

Seropositivity is an indica-tor of the presence of the virusin the serum, or evidence ofprevious exposure to it. TheOxford-AstraZeneca's COVID19 vaccine, or ChAdOx, is an

important part of the globalvaccine roll-out. Covishield, alocally manufactured versionby Pune's Serum Institute ofIndia, is one of the two vaccinesalong with the indigenousCovaxin, from the Hyderabad-based company Bharat Biotech,approved for use in the coun-try.

The study, covering 135healthcare workers, wasCovishield specific. In the vac-cine, scientists have engineereda version of adenoviruses thatinfect chimpanzees to carry thegene responsible for the spikeprotein of the novel coron-avirus, which it uses to enterthe human cells. The aden-oviruses are common virusesthat cause a wide range of ill-nesses and symptoms such ascolds, sore throat, bronchitis,pneumonia, diarrhoea.

Using two doses ofChAdOx, administered fourweeks apart, human cells trainthe immune system to recog-nise and retain memory of thevirus spike protein to neu-tralise it and prevent infectionwhen the actual coronavirusinfects people.

The new study, postedonline on preprint repositorymedRxiv and not peer-reviewed, estimated the effec-

tiveness of the first dose ofCovishield in generating anti-body response.

Researchers measured anti-bodies to SARS-CoV-2 direct-ed against the spike protein inthe 135 healthcare workersadministered Covishield.

“Antibody levels werequantitatively measured at 0, 7,14, 28 days after the first doseof the vaccine,” said Agrawal.The team found differences inthe levels of antibodies amongimmunised individuals whowere already seropositive, com-pared to those who were not.

In 44 people who hadalready developed antibodies toSARS-CoV-2 at day 0 (beforeimmunization), the antibodyresponse was significantly

higher, with the maximumincrease seen between days 0and 7, the researchers said.

In contrast, the seronega-tive group of 91 people starteddeveloping antibody responseonly after 14 days or later.Three seronegative individualsdid not develop any antibodyresponse even on day 28 of vac-cination, the researchers said.The average antibody responseat 28 days in seronegative sub-jects was similar to that ofseropositive subjects at baseline(day 0), and was on a rising tra-jectory, they said.

“Our data suggest thatChAdOx1 is highly immuno-genic, particularly so whereprevious SARS CoV2 anti-body-response is established,”

the authors of the study noted. “Given the high back-

ground seropositivity in India,this may be useful in deter-mining the optimal timing ofthe second dose during massimmunization within the con-straints of vaccine supply andadministration,” they said.

Reacting to the findings,immunologist Vineeta Bal, whowas not involved in theresearch, said the study samplesize is small. Though a singledose of Covishield is notenough to trigger adequateimmune response in every-one, making a booster dosenecessary, it is enough in indi-viduals already exposed toSARS-CoV2, she noted.

“They may not need thesecond dose and hence thosedoses can be spared to increasecoverage,” explained the scien-tist from Pune's Indian Instituteof Science Education andResearch.

This number, the immu-nologist said, could be as highas 30 per cent of all the popu-lation based on the results ofsporadic serosurveys availablein the public domain fromIndia.

“Thus there is some logicin doing spot-check for pre-existing antibody before vacci-

nation,” she added.Agrawal said the study

supports the effectiveness ofIndia's vaccination programmeand helps in determining thetiming of the second dose. “By28 days, there was a goodimmune response in almost allof our participants. This needsto be confirmed further andmay lengthen our window forthe second dose, especially incommunities with highseropositivity rates,” heexplained.

A caveat in the data, Balnoted, is that whether pre-immune individuals wereasymptomatic RT-PCR posi-tives, or suffered from the dis-ease, is not mentioned. “A widerange of antibody titres is seenand making some correlationbetween the severity of diseaseand immune response wouldhave been nice, even if it wasonly a weak association becauseof limited numbers,” she added.The antibody titer is a test thatdetects the presence as well asquantitatively measures theantibodies within a person'sblood.

On Monday, India openedup its vaccination programmeto all those above 60 and peo-ple from 45-59 who sufferfrom specified co-morbidities.

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The department of town andcountry planning (DTCP)

has begun massive drive againstthe commercial establishmentsthat were operating in the res-idential buildings illegally inGurugram.

On Tuesday, the DTCPhas sealed over 150 commercialestablishments and demolishtwo illegal under-constructionbuilding at U1 lane in DLFPhase-3 in Gurugram.

People were runningsaloons, property dealer shops,restaurants, medical shops andgrocery shops in the area.

The massive sealing anddemolition drive was resistedby locals approximately 500persons were gathered on thespot. District Town Planner(DTP) RS Batth led the drive ,Assistant Town Planner (ATP)Ashish Sharma and JEs alongwith 100 police personnel werepresent in the drive.

Batth said that under TheHaryana Development andRegulation of Urban Areas

Act, 1975 notices had beenserved to the owners of theseunits but there was no actiontaken by the owners.

"We have already servedwarnings that in the comingdays there will be more sealingcampaign will take place. Asper the rules, commercial activ-ities are not allowed in resi-dential areas, be it licensedcolonies that come underDTCP or plots in sectors fallingunder Haryana Shahari VikasPradhikaran (HSVP)," Batthsaid.

The DTCP had receivedcomplaint that there are over150 houses that are allowingcommercial activities to takeplace in their premises.

According to officials DLFPhase-3 which has a largenumber of PG houses andguesthouses owing to its prox-imity to various commercialareas like Cyber City and GolfCourse road. Most of thesePG's are not licensed.

Most of the PG's in an areaof 150 to 200 square yards builtfloors that are more than fivestoreys.

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The number of days withsevere and very poor levels

of PM 2.5 concentration havebeen comparatively lower thiswinter but the number of dayswith concentration level in thepoor category have registeredan increase.

According to the latestCenter for Science andEnvironment (CSE) report onDelhi- NCR winter pollution,the overall city-wide average forthe season has been compara-tively higher this year. However,citywide average pollution forthe winters was seven percenthigher than the seasonal aver-age of 2019-20 winters. ExceptWazirpur and Sahibabad, allthe locations on Delhi-NCRpollution hotspots list saw aspike in the seasonal PM2.5level compared to last winter.

Jahangirpuri with a seasonalaverage of 256 μg/m3 was thedirtiest among the recognizedhotspots. Bahadurgarh thatrecorded almost 50 per centjump in PM2.5 level was clean-er than other hotspots.

As per the report, exceptWazirpur and Sahibabad, allthe locations on Delhi-NCRpollution hotspot list saw spikein the seasonal PM2.5 levelcompared to last winter.

Jahangirpuri with a sea-sonal average of 256 μg/m3 wasthe dirtiest among the recog-nized hotspots. Bahadurgarhthat recorded almost 50 percent jump in PM2.5 level wascleaner than other hotspots.

“There is always a specialinterest in understanding win-ter pollution trends -- given theextraordinary situation due tothe pandemic this year, as wellas the fact that winter remains

the most difficult season in thisregion due to atmospheric con-ditions of inversion, calm wind,and cold weather,” saysAnumita Roychowdhury, exec-utive director-research andadvocacy, CSE, and the head ofits sustainable urbanisation,air pollution and mobility programmes.

“The trapped winter airtraps local and regional pollu-tion in turn, and gives rise tothe deadly winter smog that we,the residents of Delhi-NCR, areso familiar with,” she added.

CSE in its report, furthersaid number of days withsevere concentration of PM2.5declined and smog episodeswere of shorter duration. “Thiswinter 23 days had citywideaverage of PM2.5 concentrationin “severe’ or worse AQI cate-gory, this is down from 25 suchdays in pervious winter and 33

days in 2018-19 winters,” thereport said.

Illustrating the pollutionpatterns, the CSE report high-

lighted that there was a declinein number of severe and worseair days. “Technically, a smogepisode is defined for the pur-

pose of implementing emer-gency action under the GradedResponse Action Plan when thelevels of PM2.5 remain in

“severe” category for three con-secutive days. From this per-spective, this winter there weretwo continuous smog episodes.The first episode was of longerduration as it started on 3rdNov and lasted 7 days. The sec-ond started on 22nd Decemberand lasted for 3 days Thus thecontinuous smog episodes arefewer and shorter compared toprevious winters. 2019-20 win-ter had three smog episodes of8 days, 6 days and 5 daysdurations. 2018-19 winter hadfour smog episodes of 10 days,couple of 6 days and a 3 daysdurations.”

However, during the win-ter months, at least 14 morelocations registered higherseasonal average than themean of recognized hotspots,i.e. 197 μg/m3 These wereAlipur, DTU, ITO, NehruNagar, Patparganj, Sonia Vihar

and Vivek Vihar in Delhi,Sector 1 and 116 inNoida,Loni, Sanjay Vihar andIndirapuram in Ghaziabad,Knowledge Park V in GreaterNoida and Bulandshahr. Thisagain points towards impact oflocal pollution.

Eight towns show improve-ment in seasonal average fromlast year with Bhiwani andPalwal in Haryana showingthe most improvement(exceeding 60 per cent). ButSonipat (69 per cent) andBahadurgarh (49 per cent) leadthe pack of towns with maxi-mum detoriation in seasonalaverage. It is noteworthy thatHapur and Bulandshahr areneighbours but Hapur saw 24per cent improvement whileBulandshahr deteriorated by 32per cent. In fact, the seasonalaverage of Bulandshahr is threetimes that of Hapur.

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Senior Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) leader and MCD in-

charge Durgesh Pathak onWednesday said the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) shouldresign from MunicipalCorporations on the basis ofits miserable defeat in the by-election.

"Today, the AAP has gota stunning victory in theDelhi MCD by-election whilethe BJP could not even win asingle seat. The citizens ofDelhi do not trust the BJP anymore, they want AAP in theMCD too," he said.

"I would like to firstextend my gratitude to everyAAP worker who worked dayand night by visiting door todoor for campaigning for theparty. I want to thank andcongratulate all organizationmembers, district heads, LokSabha in-charge and frontalworkers of the party for thissplendid victory," he added.

Pathak further added,“The people of Delhi hadgiven the BJP massive supportfor the last 15 years. In these15 years however, the BJP hasdestroyed Delhi and theMunicipal Corporation. Evenas the funds of theCorporation deteriorated, theincome of BJP councillorsand the party increased."

"For the last nine months,MCD employees have beenprotesting. The Delhi Policeunder BJP has lathi-chargedthem. Whenever we havequestioned the BJP ruledMCD over non-payment ofsalaries they say that they donot have money. Yet, theyhave the money to put uphoardings all over the Delhi,"he said.

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ANidhi Smarpan Samman Samaroh onWednesday organised at the office of

Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) Memberof Parliament (MP) Meenakshi Lekhi’slocated at 14, Mahadev Road, New Delhi

Today a total of Rs1 crore has beencontributed to facilitate the constructionof Shri Ram Temple, she said. The col-lection details with its respective receiptsor coupon numbers are also being alsoupdated in a mobile application especiallydesigned for the purpose.

Lekhi said Bhagwan Shri Ram iswithin all of us. It is an emotionalmoment for me and construction ofgrand Temple of Lord Ram has illumi-nated everyone’s heart in the entirecountry. Shri Ram’s temple will becomethe modern symbol of our culture, eter-nal faith and national spirit.

She added there is no aspect of lifewhere our Lord Ram does not inspire us.There is no such feeling of India in whichLord Ram is not seen. Ram is in the faithof India; Ram is in the ideals of India. Ramis in the divinity and philosophy of India.

LLekhi also said Shri Ram MandirNidhi Samarpan Abhiyan began onJanuary 15 on the pious day of MakarSamkranti. Many of BJP workers areworking round the clock all over thecountry to collect voluntary contributionwhich is being deposited in the accountsof Shri Ram Janambhhomi TeerthKshetra Trust , which is facilitating theconstruction of Shree Ram Temple.

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Delhi Congress presidentAnil Kumar said the party

has shown an impressive per-formance by winning ChauhanBanger ward in Seelampur andregaining its vote share.

Asserting that the people ofDelhi want to see the Congressin MCDs, he said that theoverall vote share of the partyalso increased from 6 per centin the last Assembly electionsto 22 per cent now.

While the BJP suffered a 10per cent reduction in its votepercentage while AAP’s votesshare reduced by 5.50 per cent

Kumar said that Delhiiteswere now looking towards theCongress to give the knockoutpunch in the MCD generalelections in 2022.

“Delhiites not only wantCongress back in power but

also want to teach the BJP a les-son for their 15 years misrule.The Congress workers suc-cessfully exposed issues likecleanliness, price raise, includ-ing oil price hike, corruption,ration, pension, unemploy-ment, dirty drinking water etcduring the campaigning,” hesaid.

The Congress presidentfurther said that despite theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)misused official machineryand money power, Congressworkers spared no effort tomake personal contact with thepeople and expose the BJPand AAP.

He said the real battle willbe fought in the MCD generalelections next year when theBJP will be wiped out from theCorporations for its corruptionand non-performance.

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The Delhi Police has regis-tered a case of molestation

against Rubin D’Cruz, editor ofthe National Book Trust, aftera woman lodged a complaintagainst him.

The woman, in herFacebook post written inMalayalam wrote, "This inci-dent showed the real sexualpredatory nature of peoplewho asked to go for the com-promise and not to file a caseagainst him".

According to a seniorpolice official, police hadreceived the complaint in thematter and registered a case at

Vasant Kunj (North) policestation on February 2.

“The incident took place inOctober last year. The victimwas looking for an accommo-dation in the city. D’Cruz and thevictim were acquaintance andthe accused had invited her at hisoffice in Vasant Kunj area inorder to help her while she waslooking for a rented accommo-dation in the national capital,”said the senior police official.

“D’Cruz allegedly sexuallyharassed her in the office.Police has registered a caseunder section 354 of the IndianPenal Code (IPC) and furtherinvestigation is going on,” headded.

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Page 4: ˇ ˘! ˘ ˇ # · 2021. 3. 3. · defeated BJP candidate Rakesh Goyal by 2,985 votes in Rohini C ward. However, the AAP suffered a defeat in Chauhan Bangar ward, where Chaudhary Zubair

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In a major step to involvejawans in military matters

including operational doctrine,some of them, for the first timeever, will share their viewswith Prime Minister NarendraModi during the forthcomingCombined Commanders’ con-ference.

The top level meeting heldannually will take place inKevadia in Gujarat later thisweek where Chief of DefenceStaff(CDS)and three Serviceschiefs besides other senior offi-cers will discuss the entire gamutof issues pertaining to defenceforces. They will stay in tents forthe two-day meet to be held nearSardar Vallabhai Patel’s statue.

Incidentally, this move toinvolve jawans in the conclavecomes in the backdrop of Modiholding such high-profilemeets outside the national cap-ital since he assumed charge in2014. One such conference washeld some years back in the air-craft carrier INS Vikramaditya.Another combined comman-ders’ conference was held at theIndian Military

Academy(IMA), Dehradun.As regards the first ever

participation of the commonsoldiers, sources said here onWednesday the idea came fromthe Prime Minister’sOffice(PMO).

They said a group of JuniorCommissioned Officers(JCO)and non-commissioned offi-cers(NCO) from the IAF, Armyand Navy will give their sug-gestions on topics includingoperations and functioning ofthe forces.

This is the first time per-sonnel below officerrank(PBOR) will take part insuch a top level brainstormingsession, they said. Moreover,bureaucrats heading severaldepartments in the sensitivedefence ministry are also like-ly to update the Prime Ministerabout issues relating to theirwings, sources said.

The conference will seebriefings by top officials on theongoing projects of theirrespective departments alongwith future projects they wouldbe undertaking.

Chief of DefenceStaff(CDS)General BipinRawat, who also holds the postof Secretary, Department ofMilitary Affairs, will give a pre-sentation about status of vari-ous reforms initiated to achievesynergy amongst the threeServices. He will also updatethe top-echelon regarding for-mation of new tri-servicescommands and the progressmade in the existing structures.

Focusing on creation oftheatre commands to fightmodern day warfare, seniorofficers are likely to brief thecommanders and the PrimeMinister about the ongoingprocess, sources said.

The CombinedCommanders’ Conference willbe attended by the comman-der-in-chief rank officers of thethree services. This includes 20officers from different com-mands and formations fromacross the country.

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Asserting that the newNational Education Policy

(NEP) encourages the use oflocal languages, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Wednesdaystressed the need for working inthis regard on a mission modeto overcome linguistic barriersin the education system so thatthe talent of those from ruralareas and the poor is allowed toflourish.

Addressing a webinar on theeffective implementation of theprovisions in the Union Budgetfor the education sector, Modisaid it is the responsibility of theacademics and experts of everylanguage to make available thebest content in the country andthe world in Indian languages.

“Limiting knowledge andresearch is a big injustice to thecountry’s potential. With thisthinking, the doors of severalsectors such as space, atomicenergy, DRDO, agriculture, arebeing opened for our talentedyoungsters,” the prime ministersaid.

Modi said education, skill,research and innovation werethe second biggest focus of thebudget after health. “The Union

Budget has broadened ourefforts to link education withemployability and entrepre-neurial capability,” he said. As aresult of these efforts, he said,India is now among the topthree countries in the world interms of scientific publications,the number of PhD scholars andthe start-up ecosystem.

Modi said India has joinedthe top 50 countries in theGlobal Innovation Index and iscontinuously improving. Tobuild a self-reliant India, it isimportant that youngsters haveconfidence in themselves, hesaid, asserting that it comesonly when they have completefaith in their education andknowledge.

Stressing the importance oflocal languages in the educationsystem, Modi said experts knowthat language plays an importantrole in understanding a subject.

“From primary to highereducation, we have to ensurethat the best content is availableto the youngsters of the countryin Indian languages,” Modi said.It is necessary to produce con-tent in Indian languages? forevery area of expertise, be itmedical, engineering, technolo-gy or management, he added.

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In a bid to speed up the paceof the coronavirus vaccina-

tion drive as well as ensure thatvaccines are not left unutilized,the Union Health Ministryon Tuesday permitted all pri-vate hospitals to give Covidvaccine if they adhere to thelaid down norms while allow-ing citizens to take vaccineround the clock as per theirconvenience.

Union Health Minister DrHarsh Vardhan shared thisinformation on twitter, statingthat : “The government hasended the time constraint toincrease the speed of vaccina-tion. Citizens of the countrycan now get vaccinated 24x7 attheir convenience.”

The move aims to ensurethe maximum number of peo-ple who are eligible under thesecond phase of the vaccina-

tion drive are vaccinated.Those above 60 years andabove 45 years having co-morbidities are being inocu-lated under the second phaseof the vaccination which waskicked off from March 1.

The Ministry has alsogiven permission to privatehospitals to administer theCovid-19 vaccine to thosewho are eligible.

A senior official from theUnion Health Ministry that ina meeting chaired by UnionHealth Secretary RajeshBhushan and other officials, itwas decided that “all govern-ment health facilities, includ-ing all private hospitals empan-elled under CentralGovernment Health Scheme(CGHS), Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan AarogyaYojana (AB-PM JAY) and sim-ilar State Health InsuranceSchemes can function as Covid

Vaccination Centers (CVCs),subject to them mandatorilyadhering to some specificnorms.”

The Ministry urged thestates and Union territories(UTs) to utilise 100 per centcapacities of all private hospi-tals under the said category toenable them to effectivelyfunction as vaccination cen-tres. They were also asked thestates to regularly collaboratewith the private hospitals toensure that their optimumcapacities for vaccination arefully utilised.

The Ministry also allowedprivate hospitals not empan-elled with the Government tooperate as CVCs “if they haveadequate number of vaccina-tors, adequate space for obser-vation of the vaccinated, ade-quate cold chain arrangementand adequate arrangement formanagement of AEFI.”

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Union Minister Prakash Javadekaron Wednesday described the

sweeping BJP victory in Gujarat localpolls as peoples’ vote of confidence inPrime Minister Narendra Modi’s devel-opment and reform policies includingthe new farm laws.

“If we convert massive victoryinto 182 Vidhan Sabha segments inGujarat it comes to 155 assemblyseats” said the senior BJP leader adding“confidence of voters” is rising eachyear even after BJP’s “uninterrupted 38years rule” in the State.

Addressing a press conferencehere after the win in local polls,Javadekar said rural farmers havevoted for “Modi’s Vikas mode, his lead-ership and reforms including in thefarm sector..this is the message..,” hesaid.

The Minister said Congress hadmade farmers and governance an issueas their main poll planks and “evenspoke from LPG shaped platforms andstages”.

The BJP won all 31 Zila Parishadsand Congress drew a zero.

“Out of the 879 seats, the BJPwhich had last time won 368 has nowwon 800 seats,” said Javadekar point-ing to massive surge in numbers.

He said th Congress defeat is starkas even their MLAs and their sons andrelatives standing for municipal elec-tions bit dust and lost polls. He citedthe example of MLA Niranjal Patel con-testing from two seats and losing bothof them.

Javadekar said at Taluka level, theBJP won 196 seats out of 231 seats whilethe Congress won only 18 seats.

In the municipalities, the BJP won

72 out of the 81 seats with Congresswinning only one.

“Congress drew zero seats in 18municipalities and even CongressMLA lost poll”, said BJP leader

He said BJP’s sweep in tribal areaswas also quite marked. He pointed outthat the son of Bhartiya Tribal Partyalso lost his seat.

Asked about Congress leader RahulGandhi’s comment that the BJP wasattacking institutions which Congressdid not fill even in Emergency, BJPleader said it was laughable as theCongress had hit all institutionsincluding the media.

On Rahul comparing RSS withmadrasas, Javadekar said, “ Rahul willtake time to understand RSS. RSS is thebiggest school of patriotism andinspiring nationalism is it’s task.”

On the question of Income Taxdepartment raiding film stars ‘notcosying up’ to the BJP, the Minister said“ investigating agencies take up caseson merit and investigate”.

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The Central Election Committee (CEC) of theBJP will meet on Thursday to finalise its first

list of candidates for the upcoming five assem-bly polls.

The party is likely to clear its candidates forthe first phase of the polls, scheduled for March27, in Assam and WestBengal.

The PartyPresident headed meetis also expected to beattended by PrimeMinister NarendraModi who is to beginhis poll campaign, postthe announcement of election dates, fromKolkata’s Parade ground on March seven.

The BJP core groups of West Bengal andAssam will deliberate with the central leadership,including party president JP Nadda, to whet thelist of probable candidates. Assam Chief MinisterSarbananda Sonowal, minister Himanta BiswaSarma and state party chief Ranjeet Kumar Dasswill be part of deliberations for their state, whilekey organisational leaders from West Bengal,including state party chief Dilip Ghosh, willattend the meeting to discuss the names of can-didates for their state.

Elections in Assam will be conducted in threephases on March 27, April 1 and April 6, whilepolling in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherrywill take place in a single phase on April 6.

Elections for the West Bengal assembly willbe held in eight phases, up from seven last time,beginning with polling for 30 seats on March 27.

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Congress leaders RahulGandhi and Priyanka

Gandhi Vadra hit out at theYogi Adityanath-led UttarPradesh Government onWednesday over the law andorder situation in the State.“Under the BJP rule, UttarPradesh is becoming worseday by day. Such disorder inlaw and order spares none —it is a curse for every com-munity,” Rahaul Gandhi saidin a tweet in Hindi with thehashtags #Hathras#Bulandshahr.

He also tagged a photo ofthe funeral procession of a 50-

year-old man who was alleged-ly shot dead in Hathras districtby a person out on bail in acase of molesting the victim’sdaughter. Priyanka Gandhialleged one family or the othercan be heard “screaming forjustice” every day in UttarPradesh, contrary to YogiAdityanath government’s “pro-paganda”.

Their attacks on the BJPdispensation came in the back-drop of the Hathras shootingas well as an incident inBulandshahr where the body ofa 12-year-old girl was exhumedfrom a pit days after she wentmissing. “The father of a girlwho did not take back a case

of molestation was murderedin Hathras. The body of a girl,who had been missing for sev-eral days in Bulandshahr, wasfound buried in a house,”Priyanka said in a tweet inHindi.

“Contrary to the UP gov-ernment’s false propaganda oncrime, every day one family orthe other is screaming for jus-tice,” she said. Rahul Gandhi,Priyanka Gandhi and otherCongress leaders have beenattacking the Adityanath gov-ernment over law and ordersituation in the state, allegingthat criminal activities were onthe rise, a claim denied by thestate government.

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IAF chief RKS Bhadauriaarrived in Colombo on

Wednesday on an invitationfrom Sri Lanka Air Force chiefSudarshana Pathirana. TheLankan air force is celebratingits 70th anniversary on March2 and presentation of thePresident’s colours to two of itsUnits on March 5.

Giving details ofBhadauria’s schedule, officialssaid here on Wednesday heattended the inaugural cere-mony on Wednesday duringwhich a Flypast and AerobaticDisplay wasscheduled.

The air show at Galle FaceColombo saw the participationof an IAF contingent compris-ing Suryakiran and SarangAerobatic Display Teams andTejas Light CombatAircraft(LCA). The IAF con-tingent arrived in Colombo onFebruary 27. The flypast wassignificant and reminiscent ofthe IAF’s Suryakiran DisplayTeam performance at theGolden Jubilee celebrations ofSLAF, two decades ago.

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The Enforcement Directorate(ED), Patna, took posses-

sion of immovable propertyworth �1.45 crore, situated atNew Delhi, in connection witha money laundering case relat-ing to NGO Sewa SankalpEwam Vikas Samiti and its sis-ter NGOs, embroiled in thephysical and sexual abuse ofwomen inmates. .

The ED had initiatedinvestigation on the basis oftwo FIRs registered by MahilaPolice Station, Muzaffarpur,and one FIR lodged by CBI,SCB, Patna against BrajeshThakur and others for misap-propriating the funds/ grant-in-aid received fromGovernment and other agen-cies in the name of NGOSewa Sankalp Ewam VikasSamiti and its sister NGOs.

Thakur was the de factoowner and he in connivancewith others misappropriatedthe fund/ grant-in-aid to thetune of �7.57 crore and invest-ed the same in his own nameas well as in the name of hisfamily membersincluding.Kumari Asha, Rahul

Anand, Manorama Devi andothers for acquiring huge mov-able and immovable propertiesincluding payment of fees forhis younger son MehulAnand’s medical education.

“During money launder-ing investigation, it wasrevealed that the girls’ shelterhome in Muzaffarpur run byNGO Sewa Sankalp EwamVikas Samiti was found to berunning in a highly question-able manner and several girlsreported about violence andbeing abused sexually. Thakurand others diverted/siphonedoff the funds/grants-in-aidreceived for the welfare of girlchildren and others and usedthe funds for his personal gainby acquiring huge movableand immovable properties inhis name and in the name ofhis family members,” the EDsaid in a statement.

Earlier, two provisionalattachment orders were issuedon March 13, 2019 and August7, 2020 whereby propertiesworth �7.3 crore and �1.47crore respectively were provi-sionally attached and the samewere confirmed by the PMLAAdjudicating Authority.

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The Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) has arrested a Patwari, Bemina,

Budgam (J&K), for accepting a bribe of�13,000 from the complainant.

A case was registered against thePatwari Mohammad Afzal on the alle-gations of demanding a bribe of �35,000from the complainant for mutation ofthe land. It was further alleged that thebribe was negotiated to �23,000 out of

which an amount of �10,000 wasalready paid.

The CBI laid a trap and caught thePatwari red handed while demandingand accepting the remaining bribeamount of �13,000.

Searches were conducted at the res-idence of the accused which led to recov-ery of incriminating documents.

The arrested accused was producedbefore the Competent Court andremanded to three days police custody.

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The Supreme Court would hear onThursday the plea of Amazon

Prime Video’s India head AparnaPurohit challenging the AllahabadHigh Court order rejecting her antici-patory bail in connection with the FIRslodged against her over web series‘Tandav’.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushanand R Subhash Reddy, which was to hear Purohit’s plea on Wednesday,listed it for consideration on Thursday as the bench was siting till 1

PM only. She has been accused of

inappropriate depiction of UttarPradesh police personnel, Hindu deitiesand an adverse portrayal of a charac-ter playing the prime minister in theweb series.

Earlier, the apex court, on January27, had declined to grant interim protection from any coercive action toAli Abbas Zafar, Director of the webseries, Purohit, producer HimanshuMehra, the show’s writer GauravSolanki and actor Mohammed ZeeshanAyyub.

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The Supreme Court onWednesday sought a

response from the NationalInvestigation Agency on thebail plea of activist GautamNavlakha in the alleged ElgarParishad-Maoist links case.

A bench comprisingJustices UU Lalit and KMJoseph issued notice to theprobe agency on the plea ofthe activist against the BombayHigh Court order of February8 dismissing his bail plea.

Initially, the bench, whichwas hearing some other mat-ter even after 4.30 pm, was ofthe view that the hearing onNavlakha’s plea be fixed forconsideration on Thursday.

However, senior advocateKapil Sibal, appearing for theactivist, said that he has beenwaiting for the case for fewhours.

In the brief hearing con-ducted through video confer-encing, the bench issuednotice to NIA and sought itsresponse by March 15.

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Page 5: ˇ ˘! ˘ ˇ # · 2021. 3. 3. · defeated BJP candidate Rakesh Goyal by 2,985 votes in Rohini C ward. However, the AAP suffered a defeat in Chauhan Bangar ward, where Chaudhary Zubair

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The IAS Officers’Association, Bihar Branch

on Wednesday condoled thedemise of former Bihar ChiefSecretary KAH Subramaniam.The 1968 batch IAS of Biharcadre breathed his last at hishome town Madurai followingwhich the Bihar IAS associationplaced on record its deepappreciation of the servicesrendered by Subramaniam.

Among numerous impor-tant assignments, whichSubramaniam held during hislong career, were serving asDistrict Magistrate of Patnaand Gaya; Commissioner andSecretary, Urban development;Commissioner and secretary,Rural Development;Agriculture Production

Commissioner; Chairman,Bihar State Electricity Board.

“His colleagues shall alwaysremember him not only for hisadministrative acumen, clearthinking and quick decisionmaking ability but also for hishumane side. Colleaguesremember how he used toshare humorous anecdotes andused to keep the atmospherecordial even during tense situ-ations. A stadium in Gaya isnamed after him. One of hisunique habits, always remem-bered by his colleagues, was useof purple ink,” said the condo-lence message released onbehalf of the association byDipak Kumar Singh, Secretary,IAS Officers’ Association, BiharBranch. A copy of the condo-lence message has been sent tothe family of Subramaniam.

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The once hotbed bed ofMamata Banerjee’s land

movement that helped heroverthrow the world’s longestsurviving democratically elect-ed Marxist Government in2011 Nandigram is once againready to hog the national lime-light with two of State’s tallestleaders preparing to face eachother in the coming Assemblyelections.

Come March 11, theBengal Chief Minister is likelyto return to file her nominationfrom the Nandigram Assemblyseat. And according to insidereports she will face none otherthan her once blue-eyed boyand former Bengal MinisterSuvendu Adhikari who left theTMC last November to join theBJP.

The TMC sources said theChief Minister would file her

nomination for the Nandigramseat either at Haldia or Tamluk.Nandigram in East Midnaporewill go to polls in the secondphase.

Banerjee is currently anMLA from BhawaniporeAssembly seat in South Kolkatafrom where her party trailed bya few thousand votes in the2019 parliamentary elections.

The Chief Minister hadduring a mass rally atNandigram offered to contestfrom the seat saying“Nandigram has always beenlucky for me … it gave meoverwhelming support in myland movement … and so I willlike to contest this time fromthis seat. For me Nandigramand Bhawanipore are like twosisters.”

Apart from being a son ofa former Union Minister andTMC MP Sisir Adhikari,Suvendu is the elder brother

Dibyendu Adhikari also anMP.Suvendu Adhikari hadopenly dared Banerjee to con-test from the seat and facedefeat. “I challenge Didi tofight from Nandigram … Ofmy party gives me a ticketfrom this seat I will take her on… even if someone else contestsfrom here I vouch for thatpossible BJP candidate that if Icannot defeat the ChiefMinister by at least half-a-lakhvotes then I will leave politics,”Adhikari said.

Nandigram has a healthyshare of minority votes peggedat about 23.5 percent. Thoughthe TMC is confident of pollingthe entire minority vote fromthis area, local sources say theIndian Secular Front --- found-ed by Muslim cleric AbbasSiddiqui --- which has tied upwith the Left Front and theCongress may queer the pitchfor her.

On the other hand theAdhikari whose family has along political history from thearea looks more com fortable inthe current polarized atmos-phere in Bengal politics.

Sources in the BJP saidAdhikari’s name had been final-ized for Nandigram seat addingother TMC leaders who hadquit that party join the saffronoutfit would also be given tick-ets.

Accordingly formerMinister Rajib Banerjee will befielded from Domjur inHowrah district whereasChandramani Shukla the fatherof slain BJP leaderChandramani Shukla will befielded from Bhatpara orNaihati, sources said.

Former TMC MLA, andAsansol Mayor Jitendra Tiwariwho on Tuesday joined the BJPwill also be fielded from his oldconstituency Pandaveshwar,

sources said . The central elec-tion committee of BJP is likelyto finalise its candidate list forthe first phase on March 5,

sources said adding each dis-trict committee has been askedto send 4-5 probable names forthe purpose.

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Kolkata: The ruling TrinamoolCongress has raised objectionsto Prime Minister NarendraModi’s pictures being used foradvertisements of variousCentral schemes.

A delegation of TMC lead-ers on Wednesday met ElectionCommission officials andalleged that the use of the PrimeMinister’s pictures on adver-tisements of central schemesincluding the vaccination cer-tificates --- distributed by theUnion Health Ministry --- wentagainst the model code of con-duct.

Seeking the intervention ofthe ECI so that the posters and

hoardings carrying the PrimeMinister’s photograph could beremoved Bengal minister FirhadHakim on Wednesday said“Prime Minister Narendra Modihappens to be the main cam-paigner of the BJP in thisAssembly elections. Apart frombeing the Prime Minister he isalso a politician who is seekingsupport for his party during ral-lies. In this situation, using hisphoto in vaccination certifi-cates is akin to influencing vot-ers and violates the model codeof conduct … we have request-ed the EC to remove his photoin hoardings promoting centralschemes at petrol pumps.”

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Aligarh: The police have almostcome close to the revelation inthe murder case of a 14-year-oldScheduled Caste girl fromAkrabad area during theattempted rape. By the third day,till Tuesday late night, everythingwas clear to the police.

Earlier, the SSP reached thevillage and worked for hours tofind clues with the entire teamat the scene and the surround-ing fields. As per the informa-tion received till late night, thepolice has given confession inthe statements and some evi-dence has also been recovered.The police is working on link-ing these evidence. At the sametime, evidence from theaccused has also been sent forforensic matching.

SSP Muniraj ji reached thespot and all the five teams

involved in the investigationwere also present there. Duringthis time, the police, consider-ing the site as the center,searched every single piece of thefield in its 500 meter radius andworked on the evidence there.During this time, what thepolice got and what they did notget, the police will tell at the timeof the revelation. But it is so surethat the police team kept search-ing till late night under the lead-ership of SSP.

SSP Muniraj Ji said, “It istrue we have been under suspi-cion in probe that has beengoing on for three consecutivedays, due to which the interro-gation was going on till late inthe night. The work of match-ing some facts remains. As soonas something is clear, only thensomething can be told. PNS

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Police has announced areward of Rs 1 lakh on

accused Gaurav Songra, whoshot and killed a farmer inbroad daylight in villageNaujalpur of Sasni area ofHathras district. The police hasalso announced a reward of Rs25 thousand each on the othertwo accused. One accused hasbeen arrested in the case so far.

It may be recalled that onMonday, a farmer who was dig-ging potatoes in the field wasshot dead in broad daylight.About two and a half years ago,the farmer filed a lawsuit thatGaurav entered his house andmolested his daughter. NowGaurav was pressing to with-draw the suit and marry hisyounger daughter. The

deceased's daughter lodged apolice complaint against sixpeople, including four nominees,on the basis of which a case wasregistered and the police arrest-ed one of the accused. Theremaining accused are beingsearched.

The dead body was handedover to the family members afterimmediate postmortem by thepolice administration. OnTuesday, the nephew offered fireto the body. The atmosphere ofthe village and family is incon-solable. On the other hand, thepolice has arrested one of theaccused.

On receiving information,the elder brother of the deceasedalso came to the village. He livesin Mumbai. He and other rela-tives got angry after seeing thedead body. He refused to cre-

mate the body until the arrest ofthe accused. After much per-suasion, he prepared for the lastrites. The younger daughter wascrying bitterly, demanding anencounter of the accused.

Gaurav wanted to marryyounger daughter forcibly.

The wife of the deceasedwept, saying that Gaurav, alongwith his companions, killed herhusband. Gaurav was adamantabout forcibly marrying heryounger daughter. ThoughGaurav is already married. Hehad threatened her husbandthat if he did not marry thedaughter, he would kill him.

The molestation case wasrefused to be withdrawn.Thefarmer had filed a report againstaccused Gaurav on 16 July 2018,accusing him of sneaking intothe house.

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The time-tested ties between theDMK and the Congress is on the

verge of collapse and there arestrong indications from the GrandOld Party of dumping the Dravidianmajor and launching a Third Front.“The Congress High Command isthoroughly unhappy with the intran-sigent attitude of the DMK. It has sofar offered as 20 seats while we havesought at least 25 seats,” a seniorCongress leader told The Pioneer.

The leader said on condition ofanonymity that one cannot rule outthe possibilities of the Congressparting ways with the DMK. “For usself-respect is important than a fewseats. We know well that the DMKis out to throttle us,” said the leader.He disclosed that Rahul Gandhi MP,who campaigned in southern TamilNadu for the last three-days returnedto Delhi disappointed with theapproach of the DMK.

Meanwhile sources close to chiefminister Edappadi Palaniswamy told

The Pioneer that there was nochance of V K Sasikala, TTVDhinakaran and the AMMK gettingaccommodated in the AIADMKfront. “Our alliance partners are theBJP, the PMK, the Tamil MaanilaCongress and Puthiya Tamilakaam.We have kept the doors opened forVijayakanth too,” said the source.

Rahul Gandhi drew unprece-dented crowd during his three-dayvisit to southern Tamil Nadu whichconcluded late Monday evening atKanyakumari. Thousands partici-pated in all the public meetings headdressed in these districts. “Whatstood out this time was his minglingwith the common man and thisprompted more and more people togather in all the venues,” said a secu-rity professional who had accompa-nied the leader in his campaign trip.

“We did not organise any crowdfor Rahul Gandhi. The crowd turnout in all these places were sponta-neous. It was a morale booster to theCongress cadre in the State. We our-selves were surprised with the ease

with which he communicated andexchanged ideas with grassroot levelworkers and cadre. If the partycould sustain this tempo, I am surewe will register impressive wins,” saidC D Meyyapan, AICC secretarywho accompanied Rahul Gandhi inhis tour.

There is general agreement thatthe crowd turn-out for his meetingshas surprised even the DMK lead-ership. But the DMK-Congress seatsharing talks remained inconclusiveas the Dravidian major was not will-ing to make any compromise thanwhat it had offered to the Grand OldParty, 21 seats. That all is not wellwithin the two alliance partnerswas known for some time.

As the time for filing the nom-ination is drawing closer, there aretalks of a Third Front featuring actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan,AISMK of another actor R SarathKumar and the Indian NationalCongress. Sarath Kumar and his wifeRadhika called on Kamal Haasanand expressed their solidarity with

the latter who has declared himselfas the future chief minister of theState.

Wednesday saw V Ponraj, for-mer technical assistant to latePresident A P J Abdul Kalam join-ing Haasan’s MNM. Ponraj, a formerscientific officer at one of the DRDOlaboratories was the technical assis-tant to the former president, hedescribes himself as scientific advi-sor to the President.

There were reports that anoth-er film actor -turned-politicianVijayakanth is likely to join either theDMK-led front or Haassan’s MNM.“The AIADMK has not respondedto Vijayakanth’s demand for moreseats. Chief Minister Palaniswamyand his deputy Panneerselvam wereupset over the parallel discussionsbeing held between Vijayakanth’sDMDK and the DMK, Vijayakanthis known for his simultaneous secretparleys with political rivals even ashe holds seat sharing discussionswith others,” said a senior AIADMKleader.

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In a shocker, girls in a Jalgaon hos-tel were allegedly forced to strip

naked and dance before somepolice personnel, the Maharashtralegislature was informed here onWednesday.

Taking cognizance of the issueraised by the Opposition BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP), the Maha VikasAghadi government announced atime-bound probe into the incident.

BJP legislator from ChikhliShweta Mahale who raised thematter, said the women inmateswho did not cooperate with thepolice were told to remove theirclothes and dance naked.

“The women in the hostel nowlive in sheer fear. They must bemade to feel secure. The incidentis a blot on the face of the state. Thepolice who are supposed to protecthave become aggressors,” Mahalesaid.

“This is a shameful incident. Avideo clip shows police making thegirls nude. This must be thoroughlyinvestigated. We must deal with thismatter sensitively,” said Leader ofOpposition Devendra Fadnavis, assome members demanded sackingof the MVA government and oth-ers shouted 'shame, shame' in theHouse.

They urged Home MinisterAnil Deshmukh to order an inquiryand immediately suspend the policeofficials involved in the incident.

“This is a very unfortunate inci-dent. We have appointed a four-member committee to probe theincident and submit its reportwithin 48 hours. Necessary actionwill be taken as per the rules afterthe probe report is received,”Deshmukh informed the House.

Minister for Women & ChildDevelopment (Mrs) YashomatiThakur said that all the evidencewould be collected and probed and

those found guilty would not bespared.

The incident allegedly tookplace on March 1 at the govern-ment-run Ashadeep Women'sHostel in Ganeshnagar area ofJalgaon and a video of the danceparty went viral.

A local NGO, JananayakFoundation, complained toCollector Abhijit Raut anddemanded a probe into the matter,as the hostel falls under the Women& Child Welfare Department.

According to the complaint,some local police personnel andothers reportedly entered the hos-tel premises to 'investigate' certainthings and coerced the womeninmates to undress and dancebefore them.

When the girls refused to do so,they were threatened with direconsequences like murder. Theinmates later narrated their plightfrom the hostel windows.

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Patna: A final year student of Nalanda Medical College andHospital (NMCH) in Patna died due to Covid 19, an official said.

Subhendu Shekher,23, as a native of Dahia village in Begusaraidistrict and was pursuing MBBS course from NMCH.

He had complained of cough and cold on February 24 andunderwent a RTPCR test on the same day and was found Coronapositive. The next day, he went to his native village in Begusaraiand underwent home isolation before dying on March 1.

Shockingly, the deceased had taken the first jab of vaccina-tion in the first week of February.

Dr Heera Lal Mahto, the principal of NMCH confirmed theincident. “We have directed other doctors to undergo home iso-lation. All doctors who are in contact with Subhendu, underwentCovid 19 test and 9 of them are tested Corona positive.”

“We have initiated sanitisation in old and new hospitals inNMCH. At present, examination is underway in the college. Wehave allowed doctors if they want to leave the examination,” Mahtosaid.

“The death of a doctor is saddening. Some more doctors havetested positive after his death but the government is making allefforts to ensure their safety,” said Mangal Pandey, health min-ister of Bihar. IANS

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Jammu: J&K on Wednesdayreported 104 new Covid-19cases, even as 49 were dis-charged after recovery, healthofficials said.

The Union Territory hasrecorded zero death in the last24 hours.

An official bulletin said 104tested positive on Wednesday, 17 from Jammudivision and 87 from Kashmirdivision while 49 patients weredischarged from hospitals afterrecovery.

So far, 126,693 people havebeen infected with coronavirusin J&K out of which 123,860have recovered and 1,958patients have succumbed to thedreaded virus. IANS

Lucknow: The Yogi AdityanathGovernment will celebrateInternational Women's Daywith a special focus on womenfarmers.

The department of agri-culture will be organising about250 seminars with a specialfocus on women farmers andgroups and more than 30,000women farmers and entrepre-neurs will be imparted training.

For promoting womenfarmers, the department ofagriculture will also be holdinginteractive sessions with sci-entists and officers who will besharing new techniques of pro-gressive farming.

To be conducted virtually,the programme will be held onMarch 8 for three .

For imparting technicalknowledge and solution to theagricultural problems, specialinteractive programmes willbe held with women scientistsand experts of universities andKrishi Vigyan Kendra,Lucknow.Under the first mod-ule of Rabi Session 2020-21, athree-day Kisan Pathshala witha total of 5 lakh participantswill be organised in 8000 grampanchayats.

In addition, five tehsildarswill be awarded by the revenuedepartment on March 8 for the

disposal of grievances ofwomen.

Along with this, tehsildarsand revenue inspectors whohave made maximum registriesof women account holdersunder the Varaasat campaignwill also be awarded.

The chief minister, mean-while, has directed all govern-ment departments to organizeprogrammes related to womenempowerment on the occasionof international women's dayon March 8.

These programmes will beheld under the ongoingMission Shakti and will con-tinue till April. IANS

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Usually one is invited for thebirthday party of a child or

an adult, but in a unique casea man from Bihar's Saharsa dis-trict celebrated his horse'sbirthday by throwing a lavishparty. He also cut a 50-poundcake and invited a large num-ber of people for a deliciousmeal.

Rajneesh Kumar alias GoluYadav, a resident of PanchwatiChowk in Saharsa district, cel-ebrated his horse Chetak's sec-ond birthday on Mondayevening.

Golu loves Chetak like hisown child. On Monday morn-ing, Chetak was given a bathand was decked up for hisbirthday celebration in theevening.

Golu Yadav said Chetak islike a member of his family andrefused to call him an animal.He said that Chetak's firstbirthday was also celebrated ina similar fashion.

The cake was placed infront of Chetak. There was alsoa picture of him on the cake aswell as his name. Afterwards,the cake was cut by Golu andfirecrackers were burst. A largenumber of people living nearGolu's house attended the cel-ebration.

Golu says that he has notcelebrated his own birthday tilldate but celebrates Chetak'sbirthday every year. He said hehad brought Chetak to hishome at the tender age of sixmonths and initially rearedhim on milk.

Golu confessed, “I havebrought up Chetak like my ownchild. I have given him morelove than my own children. “

Golu says that both vege-tarian and non-vegetarian dish-es were served at this party.Expressing unhappiness overviolence against animals, Golusays that today the animals aremore loyal than human beings.

Golu Yadav appealed to thepeople that they should neverconsider an animal as only ananimal but should treat it as amember of their family. Hegave a message to the people tolove animals.

Golu's love for his horsehas been the talk of the town.People say that Golu is a rolemodel not only for Saharsa butfor the whole of Bihar.

Golu Yadav celebratesbirthday of his horse Chetak,cut cake, the party.Golu Yadavcelebrates birthday of his horseChetak, cut cake, theparty.Golu Yadav celebratesbirthday of his horse Chetak,cut cake, the party.

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Page 6: ˇ ˘! ˘ ˇ # · 2021. 3. 3. · defeated BJP candidate Rakesh Goyal by 2,985 votes in Rohini C ward. However, the AAP suffered a defeat in Chauhan Bangar ward, where Chaudhary Zubair

cate strategic outcomesbeyond petty partisan come-uppance. The recent Indo-Sino dissonances on the Lineof Actual Control have yetagain exposed the “reactive”nature of Indian governanceand politics, irrespective of thedispensation in power. Roteinsistence of Chinese “deceit”,while true, should not havebeen unexpected. Gettingtripped by the Chinese is aninadvertent admission of theabsence of strategic foresightthat cannot be contextualisedto the past only. An unbudget-ed �20,775 crore was spent tobuy emergency hardware inthe recent standoff!

Strategic thinking necessi-tates lateral thinking and spe-cialist angularities but therecent events suggest the clearunder-appreciation of thesecurity sensitivities. Unlikeother participative democra-cies like the US, the UK and soon, the direct “voice” of Indiansecurity must navigate throughthe labyrinth of filters, priori-ties and disinterested politico-bureaucrats. Though coun-tries like Pakistan, where themilitary is considered a “Statewithin a State”, are reflective ofthe other side of extremity,which has even more debilitat-ing consequences. Simplisticarguments of the “guns over

butter” nature have led to themisplaced notion that socio-economic progress, nationaldevelopment and stability canbe managed only at the cost ofoptimum investments in secu-rity. Not so, because all nation-al considerations should gotogether in an “and” approach,and not as a facile “either-or”choice. With China breathingdown its neck and Pakistanpersisting with the “bleed witha thousand cuts” thinking —protecting territorial integritywith a budget allocation of 1.63per cent of the GDP is reflec-tive of the failures to put thedangers to security in overar-ching context.

Recent pooh-poohing ofindependent opinions that callthe bluff of the powers-that-bedoes not help build a cultureof intellectual deliberations.This tendency is particularlysevere on divergent opinionson the matters of security.However, the media circusfollowing the recent inductionof five Rafale fighters typifiesthe poor alternative to themore serious task of strategicdiscussions. India has an exec-utive agency in the NationalSecurity Council (NSC) tooversee the political, econom-ical, energy and security issuesbut its contribution towardsthe sensitive decision-making

process remains unknown.There is no direct participationof the Armed Forces in itsdecision-making process.Routine media reporting of the“hand” of the National SecurityAdvisor in resolving securitysituations notwithstanding, itbelies the moot question as towhy such a situation evolvedin the first place?

The national “shaper” ofstrategic thinking is usuallythe political leadership of theday — today, the assertive andchallenging voices within theruling party, like a Jaswant,Shourie or Yashwant (whowere given a free rein in theearlier NDA Governments),are clearly missing. Theimpact of domestic politics issupreme even in our interna-tional relations: Trump-back-ing, for example, exposed thepredominance of partisan-ship. Institutions need to bestrengthened, not diluted;specialists need to be empow-ered and not controlled, andonly then will the latentpotential of India truly fruc-tify. The know-all attitudedoes incalculable harm to theculture of strategic thinking.

(The writer, a military vet-eran, is a former Lt Governor ofAndaman & Nicobar Islandsand Puducherry. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

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In the early 1990s, Americanthinker George Tanham hadset the cat among the pigeonsby mentioning “India’s rela-

tive lack of strategic thinking”. Hisobservations suggested minimalpreparedness in terms of an“active” vision or pre-emptivedoctrines, as opposed to an inher-ently “reactive” instinct, that rat-tled Indian apologists who point-ed to the civilisational literatureon statecraft, strategy and philos-ophy of governance.

However, “nonalignment”(not “neutrality”, as commonlymisinterpreted) was a definitiveand unique aspect of IndependentIndia’s foreign, commercial andmilitary thinking. The admixtureof “morality” into its strategicdecision-making process differ-entiated India from the co-timedtrajectory and outcomes of China,which also played a similar gameof balance of power, albeit withhard-nosed realpolitik. The meta-morphoses of a bipolar world toa polycentric order furtherblurred India’s strategic choices,as it continued sounding preachy,platitudinous and verbose. On theother hand, the conjoined natureof the “military-industrial” estab-lishment under a single-party rulein China afforded it to chisel aseamless national vision and anuninterrupted strategic process tofructify the same.

Further, India’s obsessive pas-sion for electoral politics, com-bined with structural silos ofbureaucracy, diplomacy and themilitary ensured a sub-optimaland fractured approach towardspossible self-realisation. Ironically,India’s restless democracy, region-al parties with narrow agendasand increasingly disinterestedpoliticians who mistook “India’sarrival on the world stage” toequal strategic thinking, contin-ued to let it down. Even now,political brouhaha and grand-standing aside, India’s restiverelationships in the neighbour-hood and its own internal gover-nance parameters remain worry-ingly underleveraged, incoherentand skittish.

The Indian system has failedto allow nonpartisan and “heed-ed-to” platforms of specialistswho could formulate and advo-

SOUNDBITE���������������� ��������Sir — This refers to the editorial ‘Scorcherahead!’ (March 3). Going by the IndiaMeteorological Department’s (IMD) forecast,we have to brace for temperatures severalnotches higher than usual this summer. It isreally disheartening as many people, includ-ing the homeless, don’t have the resources tobeat the heat. Gadgets like electric fans, cool-ers, fridges, air-conditioners (ACs) andwater coolers, besides power generators orinverters are not available to the poor.

Further, power cuts will add to the woesof the common man. We have not been ableto generate electricity from solar and windpower for large-scale public distribution.Ironically, climate change and atmospher-ic imbalance have caused natural calamitieslike drought, floods, storms and inclementweather causing huge loss to flora, fauna andhuman lives. It is incumbent upon us to fightclimate change so that we may have a green-er and cleaner planet for future generations.

However, the Government must takeadequate measures to provide relief to thehomeless in the summer. Shelter homesshould be provided with water coolers, if notACs, and fridge for cold drinking water. Itis also the responsibility of all of us to makearrangements for drinking water for birdsand stray animals. An earthen pot or uten-sil full of water outside the door or windowwill help the avian and animal species inquenching their thirst. We must also not for-get to water the plants regularly.

Azhar A Khan | Rampur

���������������������� ������ �Sir — We should be really thankful to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi for taking the jabas it will inspire millions of others to getthemselves inoculated. It is important thatmore private hospitals and even small pri-vate dispensaries be allowed to vaccinate, asthese will be closer to homes and allow theelders to get vaccinated without the trou-ble of covering long distances.

In the next phase, vaccination shouldbe carried out in remote villages and trib-al areas inside forests. Further, it has cometo light that the provisional certificates

issued to the people who got vaccinatedcarry the PM’s image and that, too, with-out a mask, which is unethical. If at all anyimage is necessary, it should be that ofCorona warriors or of the scientific com-munity who the PM has been appreciating.India’s vaccination programme has broughtlaurels to itself. We have supplied indige-nously-developed vaccines to the worldwhen other countries needed it the most.India’s reputation has increased manifold.We cannot afford to lose this battle at thisjuncture and we all must wear masks andsanitise our hands regularly.

N Nagarajan | Secunderabad

�������������������������Sir — A parent has complained that herchild’s teacher does not pronounce the child’sname correctly. The teacher shortened thename as the full name was apparently dif-ficult to say. I have myself faced this prob-lem a number of times over my 35 years ofteaching. Some names, when pronounced

correctly, sounded the same as English swearwords, so roll call could be challenging.Some were just too long or contained toomany consonants for me to pronounce eas-ily and I always prefaced any roll call withthe statement that I would do my best.

I know that a mispronounced name canbe annoying although not offensive if theytry to do their best, but many students found‘Fitzgerald’ difficult to pronounce.Apparently the “tz” sound is difficult in manylanguages. Some of the mispronunciationswere actually funny but I tried not to laughat my own name. The main considerationis that people should do their best and thatwe should be willing to accept these efforts.Teachers already find the job challenging andmost find that the parent feedback/complaintsonly add to the stress. The world as a wholeneeds to relax in these times of difficulty.

Dennis Fitzgerald | Melbourne

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Page 7: ˇ ˘! ˘ ˇ # · 2021. 3. 3. · defeated BJP candidate Rakesh Goyal by 2,985 votes in Rohini C ward. However, the AAP suffered a defeat in Chauhan Bangar ward, where Chaudhary Zubair

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Disha Ravi, an Indian youth climate changeactivist, was granted bail recently by aDelhi court in connection with a case

where it was alleged that she was involved in themaking of an online toolkit related to the ongo-ing farmers’ protest last month. AdditionalSessions Judge Dharmendra Rana granted herbail, holding that “citizens are conscience keep-ers of a Government in any democratic nationand they cannot be put behind bars simplybecause they chose to disagree with the State’spolicies.” In a landmark order on bail, Judge Ranawent on to state that “the offence of sedition can-not be invoked to minister to the wounded van-ity of the Government” and that “difference ofopinion, disagreement, divergence and dissentare signs of a healthy democracy.” He added, “Anaware and assertive citizenry, in contradistinc-tion to an indifferent or docile citizenry, is indis-putably a sign of a healthy and vibrant democ-racy.”

This is, without doubt, a brave verdict. Littledid anyone expect that a judge from the lowerjudiciary in Delhi would red flag the police andstand up to the State, thereby upholding basicconstitutional values of liberty and freedom.

But, here’s the catch! Not everyone in thejudiciary is Judge Rana and neither is everyoneas lucky as Disha. Munawar Faruqui, a stand-up comedian, was arrested on January 1 this yearin a case where he was alleged to have insultedand outraged the religious feelings of a partic-ular community. The Supreme Court grantedhim bail after more than five weeks of impris-onment noting that the evidence against him was“vague.” The court also said that none of the pro-cedural requirements of arrest, as laid down bythe Supreme Court in the 2014 landmark judg-ment of Arnesh Kumar vs the State of Bihar case,was followed by the police.

These are, however, only a few examples. Thelikes of Safoora Zargar, Siddique Kappan,Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, GautamNavlakha, Stan Swamy, Akhil Gogoi and manyother common citizens have suffered the uncer-tainties that involve bail petitions. They wereeither denied bail for months (in some casesyears) or were not granted one at all. This is abig problem! If citizens in this country can beeasily put behind bars without a trial, only to bereleased months later with the help of a delayedintervention by the courts, then constitutionalprinciples will easily turn to dust. Such a situa-tion is even more dangerous when the courtshave, in a majority of these cases, eventually ruledthat the arrests were either illegal, unwarrantedor not necessary. It is, therefore, significant forus to understand that the law on bail in India ishighly oppressive. In fact, so much so that it man-ifests itself in the form of three-tier layeredoppression.

Advocate Abhinav Sekhri who happened toargue Disha’s bail plea states that the age-old say-ing “Bail, not Jail” is in fact a myth. Let us seehow. At the bottom of this layer is the State orthe executive that has the power to categorise andclassify crimes as bailable and non-bailable. So,if tomorrow the State decides that begging is anon-bailable offence — resultantly, all beggarson the streets will be immediately arrested with-

out a warrant and put behind bars.The trial will go on at its own paceand the accused will spend yearsin prison without being provenguilty. It isn’t shocking, therefore,that India is the only countrywhere 70 per cent of prisoners areundertrials, most of whom arepoor and are languishing in jailsfor years.

In the middle of this layer isthe police that has the power toinvoke a non-bailable offenceagainst an accused. Even thoughthe law grants certain proceduralsafeguards, the police has to workat the whims and fancies of itspolitical masters.

Lastly, at the top of the layer isthe judiciary, which, in bail peti-tions, is completely guided by theconscience of the respective judges.There are no statutory objectivecriteria and individual judges arerequired to judge each case on itsown merits. Such a situation posesitself as an irony as well as a set ofcontradictions. On the one handwhere the Constitution grantsessential rights such as “equalitybefore the law” and “equal protec-tion of the law”, procedural dueprocess and substantive dueprocess, liberty and right to life toevery citizen of this country, bailpetitions, on the other hand, areheard with no objectivity or set cri-teria. Cases of identical nature aredealt with differently by differentcourts and different judges.

Therefore, a solution lies in

getting to the root of the problem.If we have to reduce the arbitrarypower of the State, we need toreview our antiquated laws onarrest and custody that were enact-ed by an oppressive British regimeto control Indians and curb dissentduring the freedom movement. An1861 Criminal Procedure Code(CrPC) cannot continue to decidethe fate of millions of Indians inIndependent India. Laws of sedi-tion that give unbridled rights tothe executive to act arbitrarilyneed to be done away with. At hissedition trial, even MahatmaGandhi had unequivocally point-ed out that Section 124-A was a“prince among the political sec-tions of the Indian Penal Codedesigned to suppress the liberty ofthe citizen.” Countries like NewZealand, the UK and Australiahave already gotten rid of theirsedition laws and it is time Indiafollows suit.

At the second level, we need tofix individual responsibility ofpolice officers who, under theCrPC have been given the powersof arrest and detention. An anal-ogy can be drawn withInternational Humanitarian Law.During the war crimes trials thattook place after World War-II,many defendants invoked superi-or orders as a defence, claimingthat they could not be heldaccountable for the crimes com-mitted because they were only fol-lowing the orders of their superi-

ors. The case law of these trialseventually resulted in the develop-ment of a customary rule applic-able in all armed conflicts, where-by obeying a superior order doesnot relieve a subordinate of crim-inal responsibility, if the subordi-nate knew that the act ordered wasunlawful, or if he should haveknown so because of its manifest-ly unlawful nature. Where anorder is manifestly unlawful, allcombatants have a customary dutyto disobey. Similarly, in domesticlaws, the police officer carrying outan illegal arrest without followingdue process of law needs to be heldaccountable even if he was follow-ing the orders.

Once we have reviewed andreclassified our laws into bailableand non-bailable offences, fixedthe accountability of individualpolice officers, let the courts beguided by objective statutory cri-teria and not by their subjectiveconscience. The reason why wehave to thank the conscience ofjudges like Rana is because of thesubjectivity that pervades our baillaws.

The optimism that our judicia-ry has and will continue to have thelikes of Judge Rana is a hope andhope alone cannot be our saviourin times of extreme distress. Wehave to act. As Benjamin Franklinrightly said, “Justice will not beserved until those who are unaf-fected are as outraged as those whoare.”

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Globally, the post-mod-ernisation phase hasbeen marked by a peri-

od of substantial change in thecontents and nature of educa-tion and examination process-es. Therefore, it is requiredthat the focus should be ondemonstrating how new mod-els of reform and education canbe used in real life experi-ments with democracy, theenvironment, globalisation andgovernance. There’s a need toshow how new ways of highereducation will drive changeand instill confidence amongthe masses and explain how lat-est research and happenings inthe field of education across theglobe can be disseminated so asto upgrade research and teach-ing accordingly.

Plus, we have to find waysto do away with manipulationand nepotism; ensure policybrings good change and frameways to reform the examination

system to ensure that only tal-ent gets selected.

The higher education sys-tem’s recent attempt to ensurea high level of partnershipamong institutions throughequity and access to all, showsthe level of insight in empow-ering and motivating studentsand faculty members across theboard. Besides, the pursuit ofthe National Education Policy(NEP) to cover school, adult,higher education and effortstowards promotion of Indianlanguages and online educationexhibit tremendous efforttowards enhancement of theoverall educational scenario.The sum and substance of theargument is to ensure that thenew educational changes havebrought in clean governanceand accountability in educationthrough a fresh perspectiveand a framework for keydemands of higher education,while maintaining a synergy

among various stakeholders,particularly the youth. Theprovision to lay norms fordesigning new required struc-tures is to ensure affordabilityto social justice. It goes withoutsaying that many positivechanges have been ensuredthrough positive perspectives.

Another welcome regula-tion is to monitor institutesmainly on the basis of research,academic excellence, its linkagesand employability. Thereappears to be a clear frameworkof defining how the process ofsegregation of monitoring andfinancial powers in opening andshutting down of an institutewould ensure transparency inthe decision-making process.There have been lots of argu-ments among academiciansabout selection in higher edu-cation; and in this regard per-haps the main challenge is thepattern of selection in the con-temporary context of increasing

international, inter-dependenceand global change.

Recent developments haveestablished a new basis forunderstanding the changingnature of polity and communi-ty. Perhaps there may be somemodification in the examina-tion system without which theprocess of reform may onlyremain a chimera. We ought tobring in changes to test thepotential of students by testingthe ability not only on academ-ic excellence but also by judg-ing their ability and knowledgeabout new information and

comprehending their level ofsocial responsibility. Thestrength of the higher educationsystem lies in creating its inter-nal dynamism by ensuringinclusive growth. Even an excel-lent system is influenced by thepeople who make a difference.Human and financial relationsand dealings are not as simpleas they appear to be and requireconstant monitoring by compe-tent authorities.

The provisions ofMultidisciplinary Educationand Research Universities(MERUs) on par with the IITs,IIMs, the National ResearchFoundation, the NationalEducational Technology Forumand Indian Institutes ofTranslation and Interpretationwould create an environmentfor students to reach theirpotential by encouraging acad-emic excellence of a globallevel, embracing new informa-tion on the one hand and

opening new areas of job-ori-ented courses on the other.

Besides, it would help inunderstanding social responsi-bility. In addition to this, a newapproach can also provide aclear way forward for studentsin multidisciplinary studies.Tremendous efforts have beenmade for making the entireapparatus of higher educationfoolproof, yet there are alwaysa few takeaways to new vistasof aggrandisement and makingthe entire process low cost andmore people-intensive.

There is always scope toimprove course contentsthrough academic discourseby bringing about changesthrough cognitive discourse,plus seeking multiple optionsand viewpoints in order tohelp in forming an integratedteam consisting of only merito-rious members for holisticdevelopment of social sciences.

Plus, there is a need for

introducing new innovativemechanisms in social sciencesdesigned to help students iden-tify career goals available in thefield of social sciences.

More integrated academicprogrammes and services areneeded that provide supple-mental support to both teach-ing and learning in numerousand diverse disciplines makingit more relevant in the currentcircumstances.

Growth and enrichmentof students and the communi-ty, both inside and outside ofthe classroom through commu-nity development exercise;more research centres to ensureacademic excellence in manydisciplines; exclusive intellectu-al skills designed to prepare stu-dents to engage in nuances ofsocio-economic and politicalissues related to the globalorder are the way forward tohelp our students carve out aniche for themselves.

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Tiwary and Singh are fromthe National Law

University,Visakhapatnam.

The views expressed are personal.

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Secretary of State AntonyBlinken in his first major

foreign policy speech onWednesday would describethe US' relationship withChina as the "biggest geopo-litical test" of the 21st centu-ry and say that Washingtonwill engage Beijing from aposition of strength.

In his speech, Blinkenwould spell out eight aspectsof how American diplomacywill carry out the strategy ofPresident Joe Biden, includingplans to restore America'sglobal leadership.

"We will manage thebiggest geopolitical test ofthe 21st century: our rela-tionship with China," Blinkenwill say, according to theexcerpts of his speech releasedby the State Department."China is the only country

with the economic, diplo-matic, military, and techno-logical power to seriouslychallenge the stable and openinternational system – all therules, values, and relation-ships that make the worldwork the way we want it to,"Blinken wil l say.

Asserting that the US rela-tionship with China will becompetitive when it shouldbe, collaborative when it can beand adversarial when it mustbe, the top diplomat will saythat the US will engage Chinafrom a position of strength.

"That requires working withallies and partners, not deni-grating them. It requires engag-ing in diplomacy and in inter-national organizations, becausewhere we have pulled back,China has filled in," he will say.

3����������The AmbedkarInternational Center (AIC), aUS-based organization fight-ing against caste discrimina-tion on Tuesday approachedthe California SupremeCourt to be admitted as anamicus curiae in a case thatinvolves caste discriminationin the workplace.

Amicus curiae, literallymeaning "friend of the court",is a person or organization whois not party to the litigation athand, but is allowed to advisethe court on a point of law orfact directly concerning thelawsuit.

The California Departmentof Fair Employment andHousing (DFEH) vs CiscoSystems Inc, Sundar Iyer andRamana Kompella case of castediscrimination in the work-place is scheduled for hearingon March 9.

California regulators lastyear sued Cisco Systems, say-ing an engineer faced discrim-ination at the company's SiliconValley headquarters becausehe is a Dalit Indian.

The State of Californiaalleges that a major tech-indus-try employer violated civilrights laws by discriminatingagainst a worker of Indian-ori-gin because he was born into alower caste. PTI

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Yemen's Iran-backed rebelson Wednesday warned that

the U.S. Sanctions imposedthe previous day on two of theirmilitary leaders would onlyprolong the conflict in theimprovised Arab country.

President Joe Biden'sadministration slapped sanc-tions on Tuesday on twoHouthi leaders, citing theiralleged roles in cross-borderattacks on Saudi Arabia andshipping vessels in the Red Sea.

Rebel leaders Monsour al-Saadi and Ahmed al-Hamziwere responsible for attacks“impacting Yemeni civilians,bordering nations, and com-mercial vessels in internation-al waters,” the departments ofState and Treasury said.

They said the Houthis play“a significant role in the conflictin Yemen and exacerbate thedire humanitarian plight ofthe Yemeni people.”

Mohammed Abdul-Salam,a spokesman for the Houthis,said the sanctions have shownthe U.S. “does not attempt tostop the aggression and lift thesiege on Yemen.”

The sanctions have alsoshown that the U.S. “is respon-sible for prolonging the warand worsening the humanitar-ian crisis,” according to al-Saadi.

Al-Saadi heads theHouthis' naval forces and mas-terminded attacks on ships inthe Red Sea, while al-Hamzisupervised missile and explo-sive-laden drone attacks inYemen and on Saudi Arabia,the Treasury Departmentalleged.

The sanctions came camejust weeks after the Bidenadministration removed theHouthis from a broader ter-rorism blacklist in a bid to easecivilian suffering in the coun-try.

However, since the rever-sal of that designation, whichwas made in the waning daysof former President DonaldTrump's administration, theHouthis have stepped upattacks in Yemen and on SaudiArabia, mainly with ballisticmissiles and explosive-ladeddrones. Yemen's war started in2014 when the Houthis seizedthe capital, Sanaa, and much ofthe country's north.

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Japanese Prime MinisterYoshihide Suga said

Wednesday he is consideringextending a coronavirus state ofemergency in the Tokyo regionfor about two weeks because of

concerns that infections havenot slowed enough and arecontinuing to strain medicalsystems in the region.

Suga declared a month-long state of emergency onJanuary 7 for Tokyo, Kanagawa,Saitama and Chiba, and thenextended it through March 7.

An emergency issued forup to 10 other urban prefec-tures later in January was lift-ed last week, underscoring thegovernment's eagerness toallow businesses to return tonormal as soon as possible.

“Our anti-infection mea-sures are in a very importantphase,” Suga told reportersWednesday.

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Trump needs you,” onefundraising email

implored.“President Trump's Legacy

is in your hands," anotherpleaded.

Others advertised “MissMe Yet?” T-shirts featuringDonald Trump's smiling face.

While some Republicansgrapple with how fiercely toembrace the former President,the organisations charged withraising money for the party aregoing all in.

The Republican NationalCommittee and the party'scongressional campaign armsare eager to cash in on Trump'slure with small donors ahead ofnext year's midterm elections,when the GOP hopes to regaincontrol of at least one chamberof Congress.

But there's a problem:Trump himself. In his firstspeech since leaving office, theformer president encouraged

loyalists to give directly tohim, essentially bypassing thetraditional groups that raisemoney for GOP candidates.

“There's only one way tocontribute to our efforts to electAmerica First' Republican con-servatives and, in turn, to makeAmerica great again," Trumpsaid Sunday at the annualConservative Political ActionConference in Orlando,Florida. “And that's throughSave America PAC and don-aldjtrump.Com.” The commentwas particularly notablebecause Trump is generallyloath to ask for money in per-son.

It amounts to the latestsalvo in the battle to shape thefuture of the GOP, with Trumpmaking clear that he holds noallegiance to the party's tradi-tional fundraising operationas he tries to consolidate power.

That could help him add toan already commanding warchest, aiding his effort to influ-ence the party. Save America

has more than USD 80 millioncash on hand, including USD3 million raised after the CPACspeech, according to a personfamiliar with the total.

Some of that money couldhelp Trump settle scores withincumbent members ofCongress who have crossedhim.

In his Sunday speech,Trump read aloud the names ofevery Republican who votedagainst him and called forthem to be defeated. He'salready endorsed a Republicanchallenger to GOP Rep.Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio,who voted to impeach himover the U.S. Capitol riot.

“Trump's call to givedirectly to him shows that thenormal organs of the party ...Are going to have to fight forrelevance in the 2022 cycle,”said Dan Eberhart, a longtimeRepublican donor who hasgiven large sums to all three aswell as to Trump's campaign.

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Kuwaiti's new Cabinet wassworn in Wednesday, state-

run media reported, weeksafter the government quit amida deepening deadlock withparliament that has blockedbadly needed reforms in thetiny oil-rich Gulf Arab state.

Prime Minister SheikhSabah Al-Khaled Al Hamad AlSabah swapped out four min-isters whose selections hadangered various lawmakers forless contentious, veteran politi-cians, an apparent gesture toappease parliament.

The worsening rift betweenKuwait's emir-appointed gov-ernment and elected parlia-ment presents the first signifi-cant challenge to Sheikh NawafAl Ahmad Al Sabah, whoascended the throne last fall. The infighting has diminishedpublic confidence, causedinstability and hastened thecountry's worst debt crisis sincethe 1990 Iraqi invasion. AsKuwait's general reserve fundruns out of cash, lawmakersskeptical of deep-rooted cor-ruption have prevented thegovernment from borrowing asother Gulf states have done inresponse to the coronaviruspandemic and low crudeprices.

Kuwait stands out amongthe hereditary sheikhdoms ofthe Persian Gulf for its ram-bunctious parliament androbust political debate.

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Myanmar security forcesshot and killed at least six

people on Wednesday, accord-ing to accounts on social mediaand local news reports, asauthorities extend their lethalcrackdown on protests againstlast month's coup.

Multiple reports from sev-eral cities and towns, difficultto independently confirm, saidpolice used live ammunition aswell as tear gas and rubber bul-lets to violently disperse pro-testers.

In Myingyan in centralMyanmar, multiple socialmedia posts reported theshooting death of a 14-year-oldboy. A second death wasreported later.

At least four other deathswere reported elsewhere.

Demonstrators have regu-

larly flooded the streets of citiesacross the country since the mil-itary seized power on Feb. 1 andousted the elected governmentof leader Aung San Suu Kyi.Their numbers have remainedhigh even as security forces haverepeatedly fired tear gas, rubberbullets and live rounds to dis-perse the crowds, and arrestedprotesters en masse.

On Sunday, the U.N.Human Rights Office said itbelieved at least 18 peoplewere killed that day.

The escalation of violencehas led to increased diplomat-ic efforts to resolve Myanmar'spolitical crisis.

The U.N. Security Councilis expected to hold a closedmeeting on the situation onFriday, council diplomats said,speaking on condition ofanonymity ahead of an officialannouncement.

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President Joe Biden's pick forHealth Secretary is taking

heat from Republicans for hisactions in support of abortionrights. They want to define him— and the new administration— as out of the mainstream.

The nomination of XavierBecerra faces a key voteWednesday in the SenateFinance committee. It's a test,too, for national groupsopposed to abortion, trying todeny a president who favorsabortion rights his choice torun the Department of Healthand Human Services.Becerra is paying a price fordefending, as California attor-ney general, some of thenation's most liberal laws andpolicies on abortion rights.

“It goes to show thatCalifornia abortion policiesare progressive enough that

being associated with them issomething that anti-abortionlawmakers want to make dis-qualifying for a Cabinet posi-tion,” said Mary Ziegler, a lawprofessor at Florida StateUniversity, who specializes inthe legal history of reproduc-tion.

Nationally, the abortionissue appears in f lux.Lawmakers in 19 state legisla-tures have introduced almost50 bills this year to ban most orall abortions, according to thenonpartisan GuttmacherInstitute. In South Carolina,Republican Gov. HenryMcMaster signed a measurebanning most abortions,though it was almost immedi-ately suspended by a federaljudge.

Abortion opponents arehoping that litigation over astate law will reach the SupremeCourt, now clearly leaning tothe right.

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At least 10 rockets targeted amilitary base in western

Iraq that hosts US-led coalitiontroops on Wednesday, the coali-tion and the Iraqi military said.It was not immediately knownif there were any casualties.

The rockets struck Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar provinceat 7:20 am, spokesman Col.Wayne Marotto said.

Later, the Iraqi militaryreleased a statement saying theattack did not cause significantlosses and that security forceshad found the launch pad usedfor the missiles. An Iraqi mili-tary official said they had beenfound in the al-Baghdadi area ofAnbar, speaking on condition ofanonymity because they werenot permitted to brief media.

It was the first attack sincethe U.S. Struck Iran-alignedmilitia targets along the Iraq-Syria border last week thatkilled one militiaman.

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Authorities in Myanmarhave charged Associated

Press journalist Thein Zawand five other members of themedia with violating a publicorder law that could see themimprisoned for up to threeyears, a lawyer said Tuesday.

The six were arrestedwhile covering protests againstthe February 1 military coup inMyanmar that ousted the elect-ed government of Aung SanSuu Kyi. The group includesjournalists for Myanmar Now,Myanmar Photo Agency, 7DayNews, Zee Kwet online newsand a freelancer.

Lawyer Tin Zar Oo, whorepresents Thein Zaw, said thesix have been charged under alaw that punishes anyone whocauses fear among the public,knowingly spreads false news,or agitates directly or indirect-ly for a criminal offense againsta government employee.

The law was amended bythe junta last month to broad-en its scope and increase themaximum prison term from twoyears. AP's Thein Zaw, 32, wastaken into custody on Saturdaymorning in Yangon, the coun-try's largest city. He is reportedto be held in Insein Prison innorthern Yangon, notorious forhousing political prisonersunder previous military regimes.

According to the lawyer,Thein Zaw was remanded into

custody by a court and can beheld until March 12 withoutanother hearing or furtheraction.The AP has called for hisimmediate release.

“Independent journalistsmust be allowed to freely andsafely report the news withoutfear of retribution," Ian Phillips,AP vice president for interna-tional news, said after thearrest. "AP decries in thestrongest terms the arbitrarydetention of Thein Zaw.”

The Committee to ProtectJournalists joined that call.

“Myanmar authorities mustrelease all journalists being heldbehind bars and stop threaten-ing and harassing reporters formerely doing their jobs of cov-ering anti-coup street protests,”said Shawn Crispin, CPJ's seniorSoutheast Asia representative.“Myanmar must not return tothe past dark ages where militaryrulers jailed journalists to stifleand censor news reporting.”

Thein Zaw was arrested aspolice charged toward protest-ers gathered at an intersection inYangon that has become a meet-ing point for demonstrators.

Authorities escalated theircrackdown on the protestersthis past weekend, carryingout mass arrests and usinglethal force. The UN HumanRights offices said it believes atleast 18 people were shot deadSunday in several cities whensecurity forces opened fire ondemonstrating crowds.

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The Islamic State group hasclaimed responsibility for

the killing of three womenworking for a local radio andTV station in easternAfghanistan, the latest in aspike in targeted killings acrossthe war-tor country.

Dozens of people gatheredWednesday for the funerals ofthe three media workers.

The women were gunneddown on Tuesday in separateattacks, according to the newseditor of the privately ownedstation and officials inNangarhar province.

Afghan officials said policearrested the alleged killer of the

three, identifying him as QariBaser and insisting he was aTaliban — a claim promptlydenied by Taliban spokesmanZabihullah Mujahid.Nangarharpolice chief, Gen. Juma GulHemat, said Baser had used a pis-tol with a silencer in the attacks.

He was arrested shortlyafter the attacks by police inJalalabad, the provincial capi-tal. The IS claim, posted lateTuesday, contradicted theAfghan government's accusa-tions against the Taliban.

The militants said the threefemale journalists were target-ed becausethey worked for oneof the “media stations loyal tothe apostate Afghan govern-ment” in Jalalabad.

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Kenya has received just over 1 million dosesof a Covid-19 vaccine in the first batch from

the global COVAX initiative that was created toensure that low- and middle-income countrieshave fair access to vaccines.

Some 1.02 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, manufactured by the SerumInstitute of India, arrived in Nairobi earlyWednesday, according to a joint statementfrom UNICEF, the World Health Organization,international vaccine alliance GAVI and theCoalition for Epidemic PreparednessInnovations.

Kenyan Health Minister Mutahi Kagweexpressed excitement and optimism that the vac-cines would help stop the spread of the coron-avirus that has forced the East African countryto partially lock down its economy with devas-tating consequences for many citizens.

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India’s services activityexpanded at the fastest rate in

a year during February, whileemployment fell further andcompanies noted the sharpestrise in overall expenses, amonthly survey said onWednesday.

The seasonally adjustedIndia Services Business ActivityIndex rose from 52.8 in Januaryto 55.3 in February, pointing tothe sharpest rate of expansionin output in a year amidimproved demand and morefavourable market conditions.

The index was above thecritical 50 mark that separatesgrowth from contraction forthe fifth month in a row dur-ing February as the roll-out ofCOVID-19 vaccines led to animprovement in business con-fidence towards growthprospects.

While, new work intakesexpanded for the fifth straightmonth, panellists continued toindicate that the COVID-19pandemic and travel restric-

tions curbed internationaldemand for their services.

“New export ordersdeclined for the twelfth monthrunning, albeit at the weakestrate since last March,” the sur-vey noted.

Meanwhile, Indian private

sector output rose at the quick-est pace in four months duringFebruary. The Composite PMIOutput Index, which measurescombined services and manu-facturing output, increasedfrom 55.8 in January to 57.3 inFebruary.

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Union Minister PiyushGoyal on Wednesday

stressed on improving Indianquality standards to ensurethat India is recognised as aquality-conscious country withwhich people can do business

with confidence.“We must work towards

ensuring India’s recognition atthe global stage as a qualityconscious country, as a coun-try with which people can dobusiness with the confidencethat they will get what we say,they will receive what theyrequire. And they can beassured that an Indian productis a high quality product,” theFood and Consumer AffairsMinister said.

Speaking at a virtualWorkshop on EasingCompliance of BISCertifications, Goyal said thatquality is profit, and it preparesbusinesses for greater profitsand quality speaks for itself,and is not expensive.

“It adds to the productivity,helps businesses to get biggermarkets so that they can geteconomies of scale and helps toeliminate wastage,” he pointed out.

“I think now with the onsetof an Indian standard onenational standard representingquality, productivity, affordabil-ity, accessibility, which shouldtruly make the Indian standarda world-wide accepted stan-dard. And when we go any-where in the world, a standardthat we make in India should berespected, recognised, appreci-ated and be the gold standard ofquality,” he said.

Goyal called for more andmore use of artificial intelligence,big data and other technology-related solutions to help resolvestandardisation issues facingindustry and other entrepreneurs.

“I do believe that this is adawn of a new era of an‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, wheredigitalisation and efficiencyare going to determine India’ssuccess in the future... Moreand more use of artificial intel-ligence, big data. All of thesetechnology driven solutionswill help our industry in a bigway,” he added.

The certification processwill be simplified, stating thatBIS should ensure the cost oftesting never becomes a detri-ment to conforming to quali-ty and getting certification,the minister said, adding thatthere will be reduction of fee forthe certification for MSMEs.

Goyal also suggested thatthe Bureau of Indian Standards(BIS) should operate on the‘QUICK’ Model - Quality,Uniformity through OneNation One Standard,International Mindset,Conformity Assessment andKnowledge Sharing.

“Our mantra for the dayshould be Quick Action, QuickResponse, Quick Absorption ofbest practices and QuickerWays of Working,” he added.

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New Delhi: Commerce andIndustry Minister Piyush Goyalon Wednesday said the need ofthe hour is to reduce logisticscost in the country as Indiacannot be competitive if thiscost remains high.

He also said the invest-ments in the Sagarmala projectwill boost the country’s maritimeinfrastructure, expand freightcorridors, make freight morecost-effective and bring downthe current logistics cost, whichis estimated to be about 13-14per cent. The investments wouldhelp in reducing this cost to amore acceptable benchmark of8 per cent, and that is “the needof the hour today and India can-not be competitive as long as ourlogistics cost remain so high”, hesaid at the Maritime IndiaSummit. PTI

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The Government has roomto cut excise duty on petrol

and diesel by up to �8.5 per litrewithout impacting its target forrevenue from the tax on thetwo fuels, analysts said.

Petrol and diesel prices hoverat a historic high following arelentless increase in rates overthe past nine months. There havebeen calls by opposition partiesas well as sections of society to thegovernment to reduce exciseduty to ease consumer pain.

“We estimate excise dutyon auto fuels in FY22 (April2021 to March 2022), if it is notcut, at �4.35 lakh crore versusbudget estimate of �3.2 lakhcrore.

“Thus, even if excise dutyis cut by �8.5 per litre on orbefore April 1, 2021, FY22E

budget estimate can be met,”ICICI Securities said in a note.

It expressed optimism foran excise duty cut givendemand recovery, impendingprivatisation and inflation con-cerns but expected it to bemore modest than �8.5 a litre.

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Continuing their winningrun for the third session in

a row, the BSE Sensex surgednearly 1,148 points to breachthe 51,000-level and the NSE

Nifty recaptured the 15,200-mark on Wednesday, proppedup by intense buying in finan-cial and energy stocks.

At the closing bell, the 30-share Sensex was up 1,147.76points or 2.28 per cent at51,444.65 — the biggest single-day rise since February 2. Intra-day, the index swung 1,243points. Likewise, the NSE Niftyclimbed 326.50 points or 2.19per cent to end at 15,245.60with 43 of its constituents clos-ing in the green. Over the last

three sessions, the Sensex hasrisen by 2,344.66 points or4.77 per cent while the Niftyhas added 716.45 points or 4.93per cent.

The Sensex rally was dri-ven by Bajaj FinServ, RelianceIndustries, Bajaj Finance, ICICIBank, HDFC and Axis Bank.Of the 30 Sensex constituents,27 closed in the green.

Bajaj Finserv rose the mostby 5.15 per cent. RelianceIndustries rose by 4.52 percent a day after its telecom arm

emerged as lead buyer in spec-trum auctions. Reliance Jiopicked up 488.35 MHz of spec-trum in bands such as 800MHz, 1800 MHz and 2300MHz for �57,122.65 crore.

Analysts said strengtheningof spectrum footprints byBharti Airtel and Reliance Jioin the auctions is expected toyield market share gains for thetwo telcos. Bharti Airtel, whichbid about �18,699 crore topick up 355.45 Megahertz, roseby 0.92 per cent.

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Lending his weight to India’sstand on coal as an energy

source, International EnergyAgency (IEA) chief Fatih Birolon Wednesday said it won’t befair to ask developing nations tostop using coal without givinginternational financial assistanceto make up for the economicchallenge from such a move.

Developing nations likeIndia depend on coal for 60 percent of their energy, and coaland associated sectors aremajor employment generators,he said at the Energy HorizonsLeadership Dialogue organ-ised by Council on Energy,Environment and Water(CEEW).

Endorsing the Indian standof it not being responsible forglobal pollution, Birol said,“climate change issue we havetoday, (that is) concentration ofcarbon in the atmosphere is notan issue of today. It is an issueof almost last 100 years.”

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New Delhi: Crude oil futureson Wednesday fell 1.81 per centto �4,387 per barrel as partic-ipants reduced their positionson low demand. On the MultiCommodity Exchange, crudeoil for March delivery eased by�81, or 1.81 per cent, to �4,387per barrel with a business vol-ume of 5,366 lots. PTI

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The rupee on Wednesdaysurged by 65 paise — its

biggest single day spike sinceSeptember 2020 — to end at72.72 against the US dollar onthe back of weakness in theAmerican dollar and rise in riskappetite in the global markets.

A rally in domestic equi-ties, foreign fund inflows andpositive macro data also boost-ed the rupee sentiment.

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The hospitality business is one of thethriving businesses in India. Despiteexperiencing a sluggish period with

the occurrence of the pandemic, theindustry is focusing on revival now. Theyare coming with state-of-the-art solutionsto boost their business and increase thefootfall.

In an attempt to adopt innovative wayouts, they increasingly focus on hotel artand decor. The industry and decor havean inseparable connection. Hotels acrosscategories are recognised for their ambi-ence and decor. They are preferred for theirvisually appealing interiors. Catering to thechanging consumer psyche who nowprefer spending their finances over expe-riences; hotels now focus on enhancing theaesthetics of their property and opt fortheme-based decor.

They not only enhance the beauty ofthe rooms but also adorn the walls, thepublic spaces, in-house eateries, and otherguest visiting zones with traditional inte-riors, modern decor and artsy master-pieces.

Here are10 hotel decor themes to lookforward to this year.

VOCAL FOR LOCALThe vocal for local strategy has been

adopted in the hotel business as well. Therehas been a shift from modern art decora-tion to local artistic designs. The proper-ties will now stress on highlighting thelocal art and architecture and will exhib-it the same in their interiors.

This will not only enhance the brandimage but hotels will also be able to adorntheir interiors with the expertise of thelocal artisans. From the customer’s per-spective, they will be in for a treat as forthem stay in such hotels will be value formoney. Additionally, the local flavor in thehotel’s interiors will also boost the indus-tries of the region.

GLAMPINGIt is a refined term for glamorous

camping. This refers to the plush tent oryurt stays that offer high-end furnishing,

superior restroom facilities and plush inte-riors. The hotels will be focusing to offerglamping experiences to their guests asthese will offer stylish decor at its prime.

SIMPLICITY IS THE KEYGone are the days when hotels used

to stress on eye-popping and attention-seeking interiors. The hoteliers now focuson adorning their property with simplis-tic designs. Minimalism is the new fad.Hence, they prefer less patterned designsand vibrant colours and opt for soft huesand pastel shades along with textures.

They have realised that creating a cosyenvironment with minimal designs radi-ate elegance and hence the customers areable to gather a memorable experience.

THE HOMEY TOUCHWith the work from home and work-

cation trends picking up pace, the hotelsare focussing on creating a homey envi-ronment, especially in their rooms. Guestsprefer staying for long and have to workduring their stay. Having a homey envi-ronment is their criteria while they bookany property.

Hence, the hotels are extending a plushyet home away from experience. Woodfurnishing, carpets, curtains, fireplace, TVunit set up, music playing technology areimbibed to ensure that the customers get

a homely environment.

GO GREEN AND NATURALIn order to support the go green ini-

tiatives, hotels are now giving a naturallook and feel to their interiors withnature-themed decor. Opting for greenwalls and roofs along with the planting ofgreen grass, stone-based decorations,indoor waterfalls, and wood-themeddecor is something that they are inclinedtowards now.

SUSTAINABLE ART AND INTERIORSSustainability is a prime area for

hotels and they wish to minimise theirshort-term expenditure. There is indeeda cut throat competition and hence theyaim to have unique interiors that willdemarcate them from the other compet-itive properties.

Over-sized windows to allow natur-al light and sun rays to enter, constructionwith natural building materials, setting uprecycling processes of the natural resourcesfor guests, coming with smart and tech-savvy electronic faucets, providing organ-ic locally grown food are a few of the tac-tics that they are adopting.

PERSONALISED SPACES Customers have been long awaiting

their stay in the hotels. Now with unlock-

ing and working with the new normal,they are opting to stay for a long stretchat the hotel properties. Hence, hoteliers arenow leaning towards personalising thespaces as per the guests’ requirements.

They are coming up with strategieslike theme-based guestrooms, customisa-tion and personalisation features with thehelp of the relevant decor.

TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN DECORBeing technologically advanced is

the need of the hour in the present mod-ern times. There are certain categories ofguests that desire to be connected withtechnology despite being on a vacation.They desire to have tech-savvy rooms andhence the hotels also design and decoratecertain rooms the techie way.

Adjustable lighting, air conditioning,window blinds, electronic door lock andkey system, smartphone or tablet-drivenfeatures in the rooms along with tabletcheck-in and check-out processes extendthe requisite tech experience.

RECYCLING ARTKeeping into consideration to mini-

malise the wastage of natural resources, thehotels are now focusing on inculcation ofrecyclable art in their decor. This trend hasrecently picked up and will continue togrow in the coming months.

Reusing and recycling the materialsand transforming them into decor isindeed unique. Glass bottles used for light-ing, vintage windows, and doors used asdecor, transforming paper tubes intotables, chairs, wall decorations, mosaicmarble art, are some of the ways howhotels are reusing and recycling materials.

STORY-BASED THEMESHoteliers have incorporated the sto-

rytelling format in the art and decor oftheir properties as well. Understanding thatstories attract customers and also touchtheir emotional and sensitive side, theylean towards incorporating story theme-based decor. Not only does it exhibit theircreativity and innovation but also providesthe guests a vibrant and intriguing envi-ronment.

Realising the value of hospitality art,the hoteliers are collaborating with muse-ums, boutique art firms, designers, andpainters, and are also roping in art anddecor experts to extend a luxurious staywith grand interiors and aesthetic decor.While there are various themes in 2021,it is anticipated that local art, tech-baseddecor and minimalism will rule. Thismakes the future of hospitality art anddecor promising.

(The writer is founder and director,Karabi Art Community.)

Well-timed in the middle ofthe spring season, Cool

Lip Music in association withWhite Billionaire X BeyondMusic brings the remake of EkLadki Bheegi Bhaagi Si. Theoriginal song that was helmedby legends Kishore Kumar andMadhubala has a special placein our hearts. Celebrating boththe evergreen artists, producersViral Motani, Pakkhi Hegdeand Manoj Lakhiani present areimagined version of the song.

Written and directed byVarun Prabhudayal Gupta andwith music by Vicky-Hardik, thenewly released song has beensung by renowned singer, AjayKeswani and it features himalong with actress, UrvashiRautela. The remake has been

shot in the scenic Al QudraDesert. The music video cap-tures sunlit sand dunes, avibrant festival party, a bathtubin the desert, and an underwa-ter sequence.

Singer, actor and multi-instrumentalist, Ajay Keswanisays, “This song is iconic andhas withstood the test of time.It feels fresh every time I hearit. I’m paying my respect to mymost favourite Kishore Dathrough this recreation. I thinkthe efforts that the entire teamhas pooled to give a memorabletribute is evident in its musicand video.”

Urvashi says, “The chanceto be Madhubala ji for a song isa dream come true. I’m excitedthat the song is out now and I

can’t wait to know the responseto it. I thank producers ViralMotani, Pakkhi Hegde andManoj Lakhiani for having meon board this extremely specialsong.”

Viral Motani, Producer,Beyond Music says, “We offerthe remake of the song to view-ers and listeners and now itbelongs to them. It has been anabsolute pleasure recreating thesong with Ajay, Vicky-Hardikand Urvashi. As a trio, PakkhiHegde, Manoj Lakhiani and Ihave been fortunate to witnessthe love of the music buffs withour earlier remakes. We hopethe streak continues with therelease of our new song.” Thesong is available on the YouTubechannel of Saregama.

Ronit shot to fame with his portrayal as the suaveRishabh Bajaj in the show Kasautii Zindagi Kay.

He was later seen in shows such as Kyunki SaasBhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Bandini and Adaalat amongmany others. Over the years, he has also made hisspace in Bollywood with roles in films such asUdaan, Boss, Sarkaar 3, Kaabil, 2 States, StudentOf The Year, and Shootout At Wadala, among oth-ers.

Ronit, however, says he never left television.“I never left television and this is not a full lengthrole, I am a host. I always love to work on televi-sion and the way people react to it. I owe my careerto television,” he said.

The actor is currently busy with his forthcom-ing crime show Jurm Aur Jazbaat for ShemarooTV. “I am shooting for Jurm Aur Jazbaat and a pro-ject called Candy, and there are quite a few pro-jects in the pipeline,” he said.

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Amix of styles and textures, here area few end tables launched by Ashley

Furniture Home Store that might cre-ate a visual interest in any interior set-up. Brought to India by Dash Square,these vintage-inspired pieces never goout of trend. With their weathered, rus-tic look, the new accent tables, made ofwood, allow you to add that much-needed extra chicness and warmth to

your contemporary space.

(������� ��The Luvoni round coffee table set

ups your style game. Faux Carrara mar-ble tabletops bring an upscale look tothe scene. Finished in a sleek matteblack, the sculptural bases with cantedlegs are cool from every angle. This setincludes one coffee table and two

accent tables. The tables’ base is madeof veneers, wood and engineered woodand the tabletops’ are made of fauxCarrara marble.

�� ���������� ��Round up country chic style for

your living room repertoire with theBolanbrook occasional table set. Itsround coffee table and two round endtables are in a popular two-tone finishthat works great with the set’s casualfarmhouse design. Antique white bathesthe lower shelves and turned legs,while a weathered oak colour covers thetop with planked look. The lowershelves can be used for displayingaccents or open storage. The tables aremade of white oak veneers, wood and

engineered wood.

��� ����� ��With a two-toned approach to

style that’s both earthy and elegant, theFerlin coffee table set rounds out yourliving space. Rich and rustic wood-colour tops with grooved accents are alovely complement to the metal fram-ing with crossbar design. The FerlinTable set instantly enhances the interi-or decor of any space. The set includesone coffee table and two end tables.These accent tables are made of veneers,engineered wood and metal.

��'������ �Similar to mixed media art, the

Roybeck accent table set combines themodern appeal of metal with the rus-tic qualities of wood for a striking meldof earthy elements. Beautiful butterfly-patterned veneer transforms the every-day in an extraordinary way. TheRoybeck Table set includes one coffeetable and two end tables. The tables aremade of veneers, wood and engineeredwood and have a dark bronze-tonemetal frame and a natural acacia finish.

�� �������� �Tin is in. Bring it home in a farm-

house fresh way with the Bellenteen cof-fee table set. This trio pairs a classic tres-tle design with a mottled faux tin top fora striking contrast. The BellenteenTable set includes one coffee table andtwo end tables. These exquisite tables aremade of veneers, wood and engineeredwood and feature a faux metal top. Eachtable in this set includes an undermountshelf with plank styling.

��������� ��The Airdan coffee table set goes off

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Matam Venkata Rao has takenover the charge as Managing

Director and CEO of Central Bankof India with effect from March 1,2021. Prior to joining the currentassignment, Rao was the ExecutiveDirector of Canara Bank for morethan three years, where he playeda pivotal role in the bank’s progress.He is a Post Graduate inAgriculture from SriVenkateshwara AgricultureCollege, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.He is a certified Associate ofIndian Institute of Bankers.

He joined Allahabad Bank asAgricultural Field Officer in 1988and worked in various capacitiesin different geographical areas ofthe country. As General Managerof Allahabad Bank, he headedbank’s important verticals like

Wholesale and Retail Banking.He was also instrumental inlaunching a transformative projectto bring focus on asset-centricbanking.

Durga Shanker Mishra,Secretary, Ministry of

Housing and Urban Affairs,inaugurated a week-long in-service training programme-Financing Urban Infrastructureand Services in India for AllIndia Service Officers. TheDepartment of Personnel &Training, Government ofIndia, sponsored the pro-gramme, which is organisedby HUDCO’s Research &Training Institute (HSMI).The training is designed toaddress key issues in financingurban infrastructure andimpart necessary skills forsuccessful execution of suchprojects.

Speaking at the inauguralfunction, he outlined the con-tours of urban infrastructurefinancing and explained how

the Government of India isleveraging its resources togenerate more funds fromother sources, including pri-vate investment in projects.Addressing the participants,

Kamran Rizvi, AdditionalSecretary, MoHUA & CMD,HUDCO, highlighted theGovernment of India initia-tives to tackle challenges inurban infrastructure financing.

The Governor of Maharashtra, BhagatSingh Koshyari, felicitated LIC of

India at Raj Bhavan for the commend-able work done during the pandemic.Vipin Anand, Managing Director, LIC,received the honour.

During the pandemic, LIC renderedexceptional services to its policyhold-ers and the society as a whole. Deathclaims arising due to COVID-19 weretreated at par with other causes of deathand settled on priority. The insurancecompany has also ensured that otherpolicy payments like Survival Benefit,Policy Maturity, Annuities and Loanswere made to policyholders promptlyby crediting the amount into the bank

account registered with LIC.For collection of premium, alldigital channels were available24x7 during the lockdownperiod to ensure that thepolicies do not lapse.

For combating the pan-demic, the insurance compa-ny contributed to the PMCares Fund and CM ReliefFund in different states. Theorganisation also contributedto the Tata Memorial Hospitaland funded the purchase ofambulance with life savingequipment like ventilator,multi channel patient moni-

toring system and more.The employees and

agents of LIC also rose to theoccasion and stepped in tocombat the challenges posedby the pandemic. To encour-age continuation of RiskCover in the current circum-stances of high risk, the com-pany has provided anotheropportunity to policy holdersto revive their lapsed policiesby launching Special RevivalCampaign. Till date morethan 20 lakhs policies havebeen revived under this cam-paign.

The total revenue (GST+VAT) col-lected by Delhi Government for

the month of February 2021 is �1,982crore. Out of which SGST is �892.48crore, IGST settlement is �606.23 croreand DVAT is �483.29 crore. In the pre-vious month i.e. January 2021, SGSTcollection was �922.18 crore, IGST set-tlement was �562.67 crore and DVATcollection was �529.72 crore.

The total tax (GST+VAT) revenueof February is the second highest forthe FY 2020-21. The combinedmonthly revenue has been around�2,000 crore consecutively for twomonths. This is approximately 30 percent increase over the average month-ly tax collection including last month(January). Further quarter wise, aver-age monthly tax collection has shownincrease and is around �2,000 crore in4th quarter till now. This is about 12.6per cent higher than the 3rd quarter(Oct-Dec 2020). This is excluding thecompensation amount.

The department has taken variousinitiatives of sending alert SMS to theregistered taxpayers for filing timelyreturns, issuing GSTR-3A notices toreturn defaulters by 25th of everymonth. With these initiatives, there isan improvement in the filing ofreturns over past five months andDelhi SGST revenues has been above�800 crore.

Under the village connect initiative of TRIFED,the officials have been visiting villages with

a significant tribal population across the country.Being present on ground level has made TRIFED’sofficials aware of some remarkable success stories.

The programmes and initiatives have beenimplemented by TRIFED for making India self-reliant under the Atmanirbhar Abhiyan, with themotto Go Vocal for Local Go Tribal — Mera VanMera Dhan Mera Udyam.

One such success story that has come to thefore is in Jawadhu Hills, Tiruvannamalai district,Tamil Nadu. The Van Dhan tribal start-ups pro-gramme, a component of the The ‘Mechanism forMarketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP)through Minimum Support Price (MSP) &Development of Value Chain for MFP’ Scheme,has emerged as a major source of employment forthe local tribals.

The Malayali tribal people constitute 92.60 percent of the total population in this block and theirmainstay is through the non-timber forest pro-duce and a variety of trees grown on this patta landsuch as tamarind, jackfruit, coconut, lemon andplantain and gooseberry.

To help these tribals empower themselves andgain better opportunities, the Jawadhu HillsTribal Farmer Producer Company was formed in2020. It falls under the State Balanced GrowthFund for value addition of non-timber forest prod-uct and agricultural products. The Company hasbeen formed under the Companies Act 2013 (18of 2013) and is limited by shares. It consists ofmembers of farmers interest groups, producergroups and self-help groups that have beenformed at community level.

In less than an year, four manufacturing unitshave already been set up for the processing andpackaging of tamarind, minor millet, and honeyand pepper. The units, which are being run by thetribals, have started the production in November2020. The daily production capacity is one tonne.Up until now, in less than four months, the pro-ducer company has sold processed products upto �12 lakh. The FPO has already been registeredas a seller in the Tribes India marketplace and hasbeen selling nine of its processed produce throughthe platform, thus, gaining a wider market for itsgoods.

The Jawathu Hills producer company has beenformed with an aim improve the quality life of trib-als. This is an example of how the Van Dhan trib-al start-up has been successful in improving thelivelihoods of the tribals.

Power Finance CorporationLtd (PFC) has extended its

financial support for the con-struction of two-storied SchoolBuilding at Dr KB HegdewarSchool premises in Bambolim,Goa, as part of its CSR activi-ties. The organisation has pro-vided CSR fund of �3 crores forthe construction of school,which was inaugurated by DrPramod Sawant, Chief Ministerof Goa along with RavinderSingh Dhillon, CMD, PFC.

The building block com-

prises of classrooms, laborato-ries, a multi-purpose hall, fac-ulty rooms and washrooms.PFC hopes that this schoolbuilding will encourage moreparents from marginal sec-tions of the local community tocome forward and enroll theirchildren into schools. Duringthe last six years, as part of itsCSR responsibility, PFC hasalso supported many unem-ployed youth of Goa by train-ing them and helping themgain employment.

The signing ceremony of theMemorandum of

Understanding (MoU) betweenthe VIT-AP School of Business(VSB), VIT-AP University,Alphabeta Inc and TopxightResearch Labs was held at VIT-APUniversity on March 3.

Dr SV Kota Reddy, Vice-chan-cellor of VIT-AP University saidthat Alphabeta Inc is a US-basedcompany offering products and ser-vices to banks and financial servicesorganisations. He told that FinTechis changing the business models andfinancial models in a never-seen-before avatar.

“There is a huge demand forqualified FinTech professionalsacross the globe. Our universityaddresses this demand throughBBA programme with specialisationin FinTech. Our focus is on combin-ing academic rigour with hands-ontraining. The students will work onreal-life projects with latest tech-nologies using the Alphabeta plat-form. They will get certification aftercompleting the two courses ‘FinTechPractice 1 & 2’. By the end of the pro-gramme, students will also be ableto research on contemporary issues,develop new business/finance mod-els and create patents,” he said.

“Students completing BBAFintech can get into banks andfinancial services such as Blockchain

Expert, Blockchain App Developer,Financial Analyst, Data Scientist -Finance, Business Analyst, ProcessAnalyst, Compliance Manager,Product Manager and BusinessDevelopment Manager. The areaswhere FinTech qualification is in

demand are — Personal Finance,Insurance, Wealth Management,Capital Markets, Lending,Billing/Payments, RegTech,Blockchain/Ledger andCryptography,” added he.

Dr S Jeyavelu, Dean, VIT-AP

School of Business shared the busi-ness school is offering BBA withspecialisations in BusinessAnalytics, Digital Marketing andFinTech. “Each specialisation has apartner who will provide real lifepractice and industry approvedcertification. These certificationswill enhance the job opportuni-ties of our students. We alsohave tie-ups with University ofMichigan, Dearborn and ArizonaState University, where studentscan study for two years in Indiaand two years in the USA, and geta degree from our partner univer-sities in the USA,” he said.

Siva Visveswaran, Co-founder & CTO, Alphabeta Inc,stated that the growth in theFinTech sector will be primarilydriven, not by cost or labour arbi-tration, but by innovation usingnew technologies such as AI,Blockchain, 5G and Big DataAnalytics.

“It will require an under-standing of the financial ecosys-tem, analytic and quantitativeprogramming skills, and the abil-ity to solve problems using adesign thinking approach,” said he.

At the second edition ofEnchanting Ladakh, theannual art and craft fair

organised by the Union territo-ry’s Department of Industriesand Commerce, saw severalpeople from the Dard Aryantribe of Ladakh. There werestalls displaying Rajasthani chu-ran, Madhubani paintings andLucknowi chikan kurtas.

The event was inauguratedby Ladakh L-G Radha KrishnaMathur in the presence of MPJamyang Tsering Namgyal,Feroz Ahmed Khan of LadakhAutonomous Hill DevelopmentCouncil (LAHDC), Kargil, TashiGyalson of LAHDC, Leh, andsenior officials from the UnionMinistry of Textiles.

Visitors were offered achance to dress up in the colour-ful costumes of the Dard Aryansfor �50 or get pictured withthem. Around 76 artisans withtheir karigars from the UT willstay put in Delhi over the nexttwo weeks selling their unique-ly crafted handloom and hand-icraft products such as pashmi-

na shawls (called Lena), claymodels, dry fruits, hand-knitted items andseabuckthorn products.

The deputy secretary ofLadakh’s Department of Culture,

Tsewang Paljor, who is a part ofthe organising committee, said,“We have got artisans from allcorners of Leh and Kargil, mak-ing sure no unique product orart form is left behind.”

He shared that the prefer-ence was given to rural artisansand craftsmen. All the pro-ceeds will go directly to the arti-sans. At the inaugural event,Gyalson said that this is the sec-

ond edition. “We didn’t recordgood sales in the first edition ofthe festival. We wanted to makesure that the artisans fromLadakh gets sufficient expo-sure on a national level,” said he.

Tata Power Delhi DistributionLimited (Tata Power-DDL) in

collaboration with Delhi StateLegal Services Authority (DLSA)organised an interactive aware-ness session on the consequencesof electricity theft and its Penalimpact for the consumers.

More than 100 Tata Power-DDL consumers participated inthe awareness programme. A

number of topics such as powertheft scenarios like tapping theelectricity network, cable, servicewires; tampering with the meterto abstract energy; damaging ordestroying electricity meter; usingtampered meter, and using elec-tricity for unsanctioned purposewere discussed at length.

The consumers who attend-ed the session were also informed

that electricity theft is a cogniz-able and non-bailable offensewith serious consequences (underthe Section 135 of the ElectricityAct, 2003). The convict shall beliable to pay theft/penalty billtwice the applicable tariff for aperiod of 12 months precedingthe date of detection of offenseand could also face imprisonmentfor up to three years.

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Aruthless India will not taketheir foot off the pedal whiletaking England for another

“spin ride” in the high-stakes Testseries finale starting Thursday, aim-ing to not just complete anotherdominant home performance butalso realise their World TestChampionship dreams.

Virat Kohli’s men need at least adraw to maintain the current 2-1scoreline to qualify for the Lord’s finalagainst New Zealand while Englandat best can heal Tim Paine’s Januaryscars by letting Australia a lucky pas-sage to the summit clash with a win.

While a draw always seems a safeoption in a game like this but Kohliand coach Ravi Shastri, with theirattacking instincts, wouldn’t like toplay a defensive game which attimes can be counter-productive.

India laid a venomous trap onthe refurbished Motera and with thepink ball, demolished England insidetwo days, messing more with theirminds than getting any tangiblehelp from the track.

Axar Patel bowled ramrodstraight and England had their heads“spinning” from the start. The ployhas worked well for the hosts sincethe second Test in Chennai.

Both Ajinkya Rahane and ZakCrawley felt that the track for thefourth Test looks “similar” to whatthey got in the previous two match-es but the red ball which skids lessoff the surface compared to the pinkone promises to make it a better con-test between the two teams.

This is a Test match whereEngland have little to gain save sal-vaging a bit of pride in a drawn serieswhile India have everything to lose.

Despite being India’s most pro-lific Test captain in terms of numbers,Kohli would be the first one to admitthat he hasn’t had the kind of successhis illustrious predecessor MahendraSingh Dhoni had with regards theICC events.

While this is an ICC event of adifferent kind, no one more thanKohli would be itching for a coursecorrection and build his own lastinglegacy as a captain.

For that, he wouldn’t pull backpunches. And on another track thathelps his ‘snipers’ Axar Patel andRavichandran Ashwin, Kohli wouldlove to see an ‘inflation’ in their cur-rent cumulative tally of 42 wickets forthe series.

With Indian spinners accountingfor 49 of the 60 English wickets in thefirst three Tests, it was anybody’sguess as how things will pan out inthe final Test at the Narendra ModiStadium.

Kohli wouldn’t have any com-plaints with his spinners, who havedelivered what was expected ofthem, but the batting has left a lot tobe desired in the entire series. It’s justthat England have been worse in theirlast four innings.

But that is no sound explanationfor Indian batsmen’s failure to dom-inate the proceedings in their ownbackyard.

Rohit Sharma’s 296 runs in threegames is 120 runs more than secondbest Ashwin (176 runs), who got ahundred on a difficult Chepauktrack.

Save Rohit, none of the Indianbatsmen have felt too comfortable tillnow on the turners on offer.

Kohli, despite two fifties, hasn’t

had the best of times while AjnkyaRahane, Cheteshwar Pujara andShubman Gill have all had only oneinnings of note over three Testmatches.

All Kohli would want is a steady,if not exceptional performance, in

games such as these where a failurecan leave ‘many a slip between thecup and lip’.

While there won’t be any JaspritBumrah for the final Test, one of thefinest exponents of bowling on sub-continental tracks, Umesh Yadav, is

expected to be back in action.It remains to be seen whether

Ishant Sharma or Mohammed Sirajpartner him.

For England, poor team selectionhas also contributed to their shoddybatting where Joe Root (333 runs),with his first Test double hundred,managed to maintain a fair gap (187runs) between him and the secondhighest scorer Ben Stokes (146).

Not having a second specialistspinner in Motera, didn’t exactlymake the team management look toosmart, especially after Joe Rootscalped a career-best 5 for 8.

Jack Leach (16 wickets) hasdone his bit but he does have his ownset of limitations and with his pace,which is on an average 10km lessthan Patel, he is unlikely to alwaystrouble the batsman.

But he would again play a signif-icant role on a similar sort of trackand may expect Dom Bess for com-pany. Bess was impressive in theopening Test in Chennai but sincethen, has cooled his heels.

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England skipper Joe Root onWednesday said the pitch for

the fourth Test looks very sim-ilar to the one on which his teamwas decimated in the thirdgame but the visitors have learnttheir lessons to be ready for thechallenge starting Thursday.

“It’s (the pitch) looking verysimilar...I think the most impor-tant thing is that we learn all thelessons from the last two Testmatches and make sure we’reback for it," Root said whenasked about the raging debateover the pitch in the last Test andhow this one was looking.

“It’s important that if we getourselves in a similar position inthe first innings, we really makethat count. And try and get somescoreboard pressure in the game,you know, early on,” he said onthe eve of the game.

Root said the English bats-men will look to build partner-ships.

“I think that as batters if youdon’t score runs, you will alwayslook at yourselves, you’ll alwaystry and find ways to improveand we’ve certainly done that.

“We’ve looked at a couple ofdismissals and how we’re goingto find ways of building big part-nerships and getting some sig-nificant scores on it if it is a sim-ilar surface this time around,” headded.

‘EVERYONE TRAINED’England skipper Joe Root

also revealed that an illness hitthe touring party earlier thisweek but all members of thesquad trained ahead of thefourth Test and are available forselection. The English captain

did not specify the nature of theillness but said he has a fullsquad to choose from.

He also informed that theteam has not finalised its 11 or12 at this stage but made it clearthat off-spinner Dom Bess wasup for selection.

“...The guys are fit and avail-able for the game tomorrow.That gives us a little more timeto name the squad,” Root said.

“So, everyone in that way isas prepared how they wouldhave liked it for the Test match,”he added.

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Spinner Ashton Agar pro-duced the best bowling per-

formance in Australia’s T20Ihistory in a 64-run win overNew Zealand in Wellington onWednesday.

Agar’s match-turning sixfor 30, including three in oneover, derailed a New Zealandfightback as Australia avoideda series loss in the third match.

Under-fire skipper AaronFinch hit 69, his best T20I scorefor more than two years, andGlenn Maxwell smashed 70from 31 balls.

The result leaves the five-match series at 2-1 in NewZealand’s favour with twogames to go.

Australia finished their 20overs at 208/4 after losing thetoss and being asked to bat. Inreply, New Zealand were bun-dled out for 144 in 17.1 oversthanks to Agar’s heroics.

“Once I started to have thecourage to toss the ball up a lit-tle bit I got something out of it,”he said. “That was a good les-son I can take out of todaymoving forward.”

Only four players havetaken six wickets in a men’sT20I before, none of themfrom Australia.

“It was an all-round perfor-mance from them that was out-standing and it’s important forus that we move on quickly,”New Zealand captain KaneWilliamson said.

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Manchester City equalledtheir club record of 28

games unbeaten on Tuesday,hammering Wolverhampton4-1 to open up a gaping 15-point lead at the top ofthe Premier League.

Pep Guardiolashuffled his pack atthe Etihad againstthe team who didthe league doubleagainst them lastseason as he main-tained his club’sassault on anu n p r e c e d e n t e dquadruple.

The champions-elect were made tosweat after ConorCoady cancelled outan early own goal

from Leander Dendoncker buttwo late goals from GabrielJesus and a Riyad Mahrez strikesealed the three points.

City’s 28-match unbeatenrun in all competitions equalstheir run from April toDecember 2017 and they are

red-hot favourites to wrap upa third Premier League title

in four years.The victory was their

21st in a row and their15th straight PremierLeague win.

City have nottrailed for a singleminute in any of their

past 19 Premier Leaguegames — equalling

Arsenal’s record set in1998/99. Guardiola hailed

his “fantastic team” but saidhis only focus is on the nextgame, against cross-town

rivals Manchester United, whoare City’s nearest challengers.

“After 1-1 we suffered butwe created lots of chances in theend,” he told BT Sport.

“Manchester United. That’sall we care (about now),” headded. “The champions isLiverpool, the crown belongs to

them. We are in the best posi-tion right now to take them outand we are going to try but theyare the champions.

“There is 33 points to playfor. Tomorrow our opponentswill play, we have one or twodays off and prepare forManchester United at home.”

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Juventus gave their hopes of a10th straight Serie A title a

timely boost as they beat strug-gling Spezia 3-0 on Tuesday tomove within seven points ofleague leaders Inter Milan.

Andrea Pirlo’s side werefrustrated for long periods, butsecond-half goals from AlvaroMorata, Federico Chiesa andCristiano Ronaldo clinched animportant win.

Juve sit three points behindsecond-placed AC Milan, who

host Udinese on Wednesday,with Inter Milan four points fur-ther clear ahead of their matchat Parma on Thursday.

The Turin giants have wonthe last nine Italian league titles,but have it all to do to deny eitherof the two Milan clubs from end-ing that remarkable run.

“We are working to win, ifwe don’t win this season, thenwe’ll congratulate the champi-ons, but as long as there’s amathematical chance, we’llgive our all on the pitch,”Morata said.

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Top Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanthstaved off a spirited challenge from com-

patriot Sameer Verma to make a winning startto his campaign at the Swiss Open Super 300tournament here on Wednesday.

The fourth seeded Indian, who hadclaimed the title in 2015, took little over anhour to see off 2018 winner Sameer 18-21, 21-18, 21-11 in a hard-fought men’s singles open-ing round match.

Sourabh Verma also won his first roundmatch against Switzerland’s ChristianKirchmayr 21-19, 21-18. He faces eight seedKunlavut Vitidsarn next.

However, H S Prannoy made an early exitafter losing to France’s Mark Calijouw 19-21,21-9, 17-21 in first round.

On Tuesday night, Indian mixed doublespair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and AshwiniPonnappa notched up an upset 21-18, 21-10win over the world No 8 and second-seededIndonesian pair of Hafiz Faizal and GloriaEmanuelle Widjaja in the opening round.

The second seeded Indian pair ofSatwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shettyalso won their first round men’s doublesmatch against Christopher Grimley andMatthew Grimley of Scotland 21-18, 19-21,21-16.

Another Indian shuttler, Pranaav JerryChopra, who was returning to action after aCovid-19 pandemic break, didn’t have a goodouting as he along with his mixed doublespartner N Sikki Reddy lost 18-21, 15-21 to thethird-seeded English pair of Marcus Ellis andLauren Smith in 39 minutes.

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Acentury from skipper Sean Williams cou-pled with destructive pace bowling from

Blessing Muzarabani and Victor Nyauchi ledZimbabwe to a rapid 10-wicket win overAfghanistan in the first Test in Abu Dhabi onWednesday.

Williams hit 105 to guide Zimbabwe to 250all out before Afghanistan — trailing by 119 —were bowled out for 135 in their second innings.

That left Zimbabwe to score 17 runs whichthey got without any loss to end the matchinside two days.

Afghanistan were bowled out for 131 intheir first innings.

Lanky pacer Muzarabani finished with 2-14 — six wickets in the match — while his newball partner Nyauchi took 3-30, also getting sixin the match.

This becomes Afghanistan’s third defeat infive Tests since gaining status to play the five-day format in 2017.

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Ahmedabad: Stop the noise, tight-en up that defence and get on withthe game — a combative Indianskipper Virat Kohli said onWednesday ahead of the fourth Testas he navigated persistent queries onthe spin-friendly tracks in thecountry.

“There is always too muchnoise and too much conversationabout spin tacks,”Kohli said at thepre-match press conference.

“I am sure if our media is in aspace to contradict those views orpresent views which say that it isunfair to criticise only spin tracks,then it will be a balanced conver-sation.”

Kohli, at the end of the thirdTest, had blamed the batsmen’s tech-nique for their failure on the Moteratrack. “But the unfortunate bit iseveryone plays along with thatnarrative (spinning tracks) andkeeps making it news till the timeit is relevant. And then a Test matchhappens, if you win on Day 4 or 5,no one says anything but if it fin-ishes in two days, everyone pounceson the same issue,” he said.

Kohli cited one of India’s loss-es in New Zealand when the teamstruggled on a seaming pitch. Herecalled how it was the batsmen’stechnique, and not the track, thatcame in for scrutiny.

“We lost inNew Zealandon day threein 36 overs. Iam sure noneof our peoplewrote aboutthe pitch. Itwas how Indiaplayed badly inN e w

zealand.“None of the pitches were crit-

icised, no one came and saw howthe pitch was doing, how much theball was moving and how muchgrass was there on the pitch,” hesaid. Kohli said his team has beensuccessful over a period of time foradapting to conditions instead ofcomplaining about them.

“The reason for our success isthat we have not cribbed about anypitch we have played on and we willcontinue to play like that.

“We all need to be honest withourselves what is the idea behindcontinuing this narrative and whatpurpose it serves people who keepcontinuing the conversation whichis one-sided,” he said.

Now that the contest will beplayed with the red ball, he wasasked if the pink ball made ittough for the batsmen, Kohli retort-ed with a firm no.

“I don’t understand why a ballor a pitch, all these things arebrought into focus why don’t wefocus on the fact that batsmen werenot skilled enough to play on thatpitch properly. It was bizarre displayof batting by both the teams.

“...It’s not (because) of changein ball-colour. If you make just a ballor a pitch helping the bowler, thefocus, then you are not really read-ing the game properly in my opin-ion. I don’t think the red ball isgoing to change that whatsoever.”

Kohli was also asked if it is goodfor the game, from a global fans’perspective, to take undueadvantage of home conditions.

“I would love if you ask thisquestion to England, New Zealandand Australia. This question is

irrelevant to me at this pointof time.”

Another questionthrown at him waswhat he thought of aTest match finishinginside two days.

“We play towin. Peopleshould cherishIndia’s win. Not

every Test isfinishing intwo days. Ifteam is play-

ing bad onlythen it happens,

we need to look at thingsobjectively.” PTI

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India skipper Virat Kohli feelsrotation policy is the way forward

in the age of bio-bubbles as men-tal fatigue caused by restrictivequarantines will make it extreme-ly difficult for players to stay hun-gry.

England have been following arotation policy in their ongoingtour of India, something that hasdrawn criticism from legends suchas Kevin Pietersen.

Kohli, though, is convincedthat as long as players are stayingin bio-secure environments, takingintermittent breaks is not a badidea.

“The kind of systems you have

to follow in the bubble, it can getvery monotonous and it is very dif-ficult to keep yourself excitedabout small things,” Kohli said.

“I feel any format of the gameis right place for rotation. Nohuman being can possibly go on forthat many number of gamesthroughout of the year. Everyoneneeds to find windows of havingsome time off.

“These are the things that needto be considered for as long as youplay in the bubble, outside of thatit depends on where you stand phys-ically more than mentally. But tillthe bubble exists, we need to keepthe mental factor in the picture aswell, because mental fatigue wouldbe a huge, huge factor,” he said.

Kohli said for such a policy tosucceed, a solid bench strength isparamount. He was pleased thatIndia do not lack in that aspect.

“Our bench strength becomesway more important because if youhave guys hungry, ready, whounderstand where the game isheading and are brave enough totake on opportunities then you canrotate very easily.

“There are eleven more guyswho are ready to win a Test matchfor India, or One-day or T20 andthat is exactly what we are strivingtowards, we have a clear road-mapas to where we need to go in thenext four-five years, so that ourtransition is not difficult at all,” hesaid.

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