2 days ago · Gandhi Ji's reference to ‘su-raj’ also essentially meant good governance. Guided by such wisdom, we have been able to ensure the smooth functioning of …

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The Union Health Ministryon Thursday allayed fears

that new strain of the coron-avirus has entered India andsaid that to be sure of its pres-ence, it is necessary to establisha genome sequencing, whichcould be done only throughdesignated labs identified bythe Government.

“There is no proof that thenew variant has entered India,and it is too early to jump toany conclusions,” said a state-ment here by the Ministryeven as new Covid positivecases of the UK flyers contin-ue to be reported from variousairports in the country.

The Ministry also said thatthe genome sequencing of pas-sengers from the UK has notbeen completed yet.

“Genome sequencing hasnot so far been done in respectof the 15 passengers of the 590who landed in Mumbai fromthe UK on December 22.Therefore, it’s incorrect to saythat the new strain of the coro-navirus has entered India untilit is established by a designat-ed laboratory, “ it said.

Notably, as many as 22 pas-sengers flying from the UnitedKingdom to different cities inIndia over the past few dayshave tested positive for coron-avirus. As per experts, nearly 50per cent of these UK travellerscould be potential carriers ofthe new more infectious Covid-19 strain.

Meanwhile, the HealthMinistry has reviewed the sta-tus of passengers coming fromthe UK to India and directedStates and Union Territories tosend samples of those foundcoronavirus positive to six lab-oratories identified for genomesequencing.

“The respective States andUnion Territories have beenadvised to access the details ofthe passengers from the UK toIndia from the online portalAIR-SUVIDHA and Bureau ofImmigration,” said the state-ment.

The laboratories that havebeen identified forgenome sequenc-ing are, the CSIR-Institute ofGenomics andIntegrative Biologyin New Delhi, theCSIR-Centre forCellular andMolecular Biologyin Hyderabad, theDBT-Institute ofLife Sciences inB h u b a n e s w a r ,D B T - I n S t e m -NCBS inBengaluru, theD B T- N a t i o n a lInstitute ofB i o m e d i c a lGenomics in WestBengal and theICMR-Nat ionalInstitute ofVirology in Pune.

This week,NITI Aayog mem-ber (health) Dr V K

Paul also said that there was no need to panic over the mutat-

ed variant of SARS-CoV-2.Paul said the mutated straindetected in the UK will have noimpact on the potential ofemerging vaccines.

�� New Delhi: The Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, which isdeveloping the country’sindigenous coronavirus vaccinein collaboration with the IndianCouncil of Medical Research(ICMR), has again applied tothe Drug Controller General ofIndia (DCGI) for the emer-gency use authorisation.

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Despite the Union Ministryof Health and Family

Welfare issuing detailed stan-dard operating procedures(SOPs) with regard to travellersfrom the United Kingdom,two passengers who testedpositive on arrival fromLondon at the IGI Airport inDelhi went missing from iso-lation centres and reachedtheir hometowns in Andhra

Pradesh and Punjab.According to reports, five

passengers went missing afterlanding from the UK, butthree of them were traced byTuesday night and admitted toLok Nayak Hospital in thenational Capital.

According to officials, a46-year-old woman, teacher byprofession, arrived on Mondayand tested positive for Covid ina Rapid Antigen Test at theDelhi airport. Her 22-year-

old son tested negative. Shewas handed over to theSafdarjung Hospital. However,she fled from the hospital andreached Rajahmundry via theAP Special Express in the weehours on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the process tobring back the passenger hasstarted. Railway police andhealth officials took her straightfrom the railway station to thehospital.

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Aday before PrimeMinister Narendra

Modi is set to addressfarmers across the coun-try, the BJP on Thursdayclaimed that “nine crorefarmers” will listen tothe Prime Minister andasserted that “barring asmall section” most ofthe farming communityis standing with Modi onthe agricultural reforms.

As the stand-off

between the agitatingfarmers and theGovernment runs intothird-week and the con-

frontation seem tobe intensifying,Union Ministersand BJP leadershave accused theCongress and otherOpposition partiesof “misleading” thefarmers and“speaking with a forked tongue”on the f a r m i n greforms.

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Congress and Left Front on Thursday finally stitchedan alliance for the upcoming Assembly elections in

West Bengal next year. “Today the Congress high com-mand has formally approved the electoral alliance with theLeft parties in the impending election of West Bengal,” WestBengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury took toTwitter to announcethe major politicaldevelopment in theState where the BJPhas started a highpitched poll battle.In 2016 BengalAssembly polls, theLeft Front and theCongress togetherhad won 76 out of294 seats in WestBengal after garner-ing about 38 percent vote share. TheLeft Front received26 per cent of thevotes, while theCongress got only12 per cent.

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The global recognition of‘good governance’ as a con-

cept emerged from the 1990s.However, this concept hasnever been new to India. Ourcentury-old scriptures andgreat visionaries of the pasthave always envisioned Bharatas an epitome of good gover-

nance. Bhagavad Gita con-tains a lot of references togood governance, leader-ship, dutifulness and self-realization which have alsobeen re-interpreted in thecontext of modern India.Kautaliya, in his ancientIndian political treatise -Arthashastra, highlightedthat the welfare of his peo-ple was the paramount dutyof a King. Even MahatmaGandhi Ji's reference to ‘su-

raj’ also essentially meant goodgovernance. Guided by suchwisdom, we have been able toensure the smooth functioningof our democratic institutionsand a vibrant economy.

The modern notion of‘good governance’ in India hasbeen augmented by the vision-ary leader, our former PrimeMinister Atal Bihari Vajpayee,

who dedicated his life to thegreater good of the people. “Satya Ka Sangarsh Satta Sey -Nyaya Lartha Nirankushta Sey(Truth struggles against thepower whereas justice fightswith the autocracy) has beenthe motto of the outstandingdemocrat throughout his life-time. He had demonstrated tothe world the significance ofgood governance —which pre-vails on the fundamentals oftruth, power and courage tofight against all odds for thewelfare of the people. Vajpayeeji firmly believed that in orderto empower the nation, it isessential to empower its citi-zens first and, in this regard, hechannelized his efforts to devel-op the education landscape inIndia.

It was his solemn resolve toreform the education sector

that Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan(SSA) was launched inNovember 2000 to supportand develop upon primary andelementary education projects.It aimed at ensuring five yearsof primary education for all thechildren in the age-group of 6-14 years by 2007 and eightyears of schooling by the year2010. The approach of the SSAfocussed on community own-ership and the village educationplans, as proposed in consul-tation with the Panchayati RajInstitutions (PRIs), formed thebasis of district elementaryeducation plans. A special focuswas laid on the inclusivity of allout-of-school children in thefield of Education. An addi-tional focus has been on ame-liorating the infrastructure ofregular schools and strategizingto mainstream children who

have been left out of the schoolsdue to a multitude of reasons.Since its implementation, SSAhad been a spectacular success.As a result of its implementa-tions, the number of out-of-school children declined from320 lakhs in 2001 to mere 95lakhs in 2005. During 2005-06,SSA also recorded significantprogress in terms of improvedinfrastructure of schools, theaddition of new schools &classrooms and the addition ofteachers.

Vajpayee Ji’s efforts havebeen earmarked as the mostessential and successful steptowards Universal SecondaryEducation in the history ofIndian Education System. SSAachievement has called for anadvance stage of planning anda paradigm shift in theapproach to the development of

school education from input-based to outcome-based centralsector interventions as recom-mended by NITI AYOG in thereport India: Three-Year ActionAgenda, 2017/18 to 2019/20.Thereby, under the esteemedleadership of Modi Ji, anIntegrated Scheme on SchoolEducation, Sarva ShikshaAbhiyan was formalized whichpresents the ‘school’ as a con-tinuous process from pre-school, primary, upper prima-ry, secondary to SeniorSecondary levels; incorporatingthe three former schemes ofSarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA),Rashtriya Madhyamik ShikshaAbhiyan (RMSA) and TeacherEducation (TE). SamagraShiksha Abhiyan envisions onprovision of quality, accessibleyet affordable education to ‘All’.Multiple efforts have been

undertaken to strengtheningthe ECCE, in-service trainingof teachers and principals,improvement of learning out-comes, the conduct of achieve-ment, development of con-ducive learning environment,grants for the library, sportsand physical activities, supportfor Rashtriya AvishkarAbhiyan, ICT and digital ini-tiatives, School Leadershipdevelopment programme,remedial teaching, support forPadhe Bharat Badhe Bharat,etc.

It is a noteworthy fact thatwhen good governance is guar-anteed to the citizens, they canpursue their endeavours withenhanced expectations andcontribute to the process ofnation-building in greaterpotential. The reforms in theeducation sector have been

the backbone of good gover-nance in India. It is through thepower of Education that the cit-izens of India can becomeempowered. Vajpayee Ji’s lega-cy is surely going to inspire thefuture generations of our lead-ers, and I strongly believe thatunder the astute leadership ofour Honourable PrimeMinister Narendra Modi ji,the new National EducationPolicy, will take his legacy toeven greater heights. “Citizen-First” has been my guidingprinciple, and I will alwaysstrive to bring the governmentcloser to our citizens so thatthey become active partici-pants in the governanceprocess.”

(The writer is UnionEducation Minister,Government of India)

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In view of approaching NewYear and Christmas cele-

brations, the Dehradun DMAshish Kumar Srivastava hasinstructed police departmentand district officials like SDMsand city magistrate to estab-lish coordination for the prop-er implementation of theorders of National GreenTribunal (NGT). Under thisorder, Srivastava informed

that only green crackers canbe used from 11:55 PM to12:30 AM on Christmas dayand New Year in Dehradun,Haridwar, Rishikesh,Kashipur, Haldwani andRudrapur and the sale of non-green crackers is also prohib-ited too. The green crackerscan be used only at the placeswhere the air quality is mod-erate or below as per NationalAir Quality Index, as per theDM's order.

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The State’s first attempt totranslocate tigers moved a

step ahead when a tigress cap-tured from Corbett tiger reservewas transported to the Rajajitiger reserve on Thursday. Afterbeing brought to the Motichurrange of Rajaji, the big cat has

been kept in an enclosure.According to the departmentofficials, the tigress is agedabout four years and is fullyhealthy. A team of veterinariansalong with department per-sonnel is monitoring the big cat.After observing the behaviourof the tigress is the enclosure fora few days, she will be let out in

the jungle. A radio collar hasalready been fitted on the tigressso that her movements can betraced. It is pertinent to men-tion here that a total of fivetigers are to be translocated tothe western part of Rajaji fromCorbett.The translocation planwas approved in 2016 and isfinally being executed now.

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Taking cognisance of acomplaint letter of a

mother stating that her dif-ferently abled minor daughterwas kidnapped and raped buttwo of the three culprits arestill at large and threateningthe victim's family, SCPCRhas directed Dehradun SSP totake action in this matter.Usha Negi, the chairperson ofthe State Commission forProtection of Child Rights(SCPCR) informed that thecomplainant stated that herdaughter was kidnapped andallegedly raped last monthbut the head of their village inSahaspur threatened her and

said not to complain aboutthis issue to police. The com-plainant still went to policebut she was also harassedthere by police personnel,said Negi. After the com-plainant approached theSenior Superintendent ofPolice (SSP), the police filed acase against the culprits butonly one out of three culpritswere arrested while the othertwo continue to threaten thevictim's family, informedNegi. Stating it as a heinouscrime against the disabled 13years old girl, Negi directedSSP to investigate the matterand provide the progressreport to the commissionwithin 15 days.

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Students aspiring to becomecivil servant will now have

interactions with serving offi-cers as the Delhi Governmenthas started an initiative whereyoung officers will share theirexperiences, strategies andinsights about UPSC exampreparation which will helpstudents in developing betterunderstanding of the exam.

In the first instalment, 60students from Classes 9-12attended the interaction withDirector Education UditPrakash at VSSKV, Kalkaji.The session was streamed liveon YouTube where more than

5,000 students watched it live.Prakash (IAS, 2007 batch)

shared his experiences duringthe UPSC exam preparationand gave useful tips to the stu-dents. He said that he haddecided to become an IASofficer right after his 10th class.

He completed his elec-tronics engineering degreefrom BITS, Pilani and thencleared the UPSC exam.

Interacting with students,he said,”People think thatIAS/IPS officers are from dif-ferent planets as they havecleared a very difficult exam.But, it’s not like that. I was anormal student like everyoneelse.” Rai shared that studentsin Delhi government schoolsare very hardworking and havethe potential to excel in civilservices exam. The programhas been started to developstudents’ understanding aboutthe exam.

Director Education UditRai said that marks don’t mat-ter in the civil services exam.This is a standalone exam andstudents graduating in anysubject can appear for the

exam. He mentioned that it’s

important to have a deeperunderstanding about the exam.He said that students shouldchoose the subjects in UPSCexam based on their interestand knowledge. This exam is atest of an individual’s person-ality and character.

Towards the end of theinteraction session, DeputyChief Minister Manish Sisodiasaid that all the young UPSCaspirants should also dreamabout what they will do oncethey become an IAS/IPS officer.

“They should set a dreamto serve a larger purpose,whether it’s about developing

rural India or eradicatecorruption or removehatred and violence inthe society,” addedSisodia, “ if studentsare clear about thelarger purpose theywant to serve, they caneasily overcome thehurdles and they won’tbe tired or scared inthe pursuit of their

dreams. “Education minister Sisodia

advised the UPSC aspirantsthat they should develop astudy plan right from Class 9and 10.

He said that Delhi govern-ment is committed to helpstudents prepare better forUPSC exam. Deputy CM saidthat young IAS and IPS officersshould interact freely with thestudents and share strategiesabout developing the mindsetfor the exam preparation. Theyshould talk to students aboutwhat kind of personality isrequired of an IAS/IPS officerso that students can graduallyprepare themselves to achievetheir dreams.

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The farmers, sitting acrossthe border for the last 29

days, continued their protestagainst the Centre’s new farmlaws. The farmers on Thursdayorganised a webinar and invit-ed everyone to join and askabout issues in these laws.

Security remained tight atthe Delhi borders with hun-dreds of personnel deployed atSinghu, Ghazipur and Tikriborders. Due to farmers' protestthere is traffic congestion in thecity, forcing police to divertvehicular movement.

The Delhi Traffic Police onThursday morning alertedcommuters about the routesthat remained closed owing tofarmers' agitation and suggest-ed them to take alternative

roads.Meanwhile, traffic move-

ment from Noida to Delhi wasaffected on Thursday after-noon as hundreds of farmers,who support the Centre's newagriculture laws, assemblednear the Mahamaya Flyover inNoida and demonstrated.

“These farmers, belongingto various districts of westernUttar Pradesh, have come forthe demonstration on the callof farmers' union Kisan Senaand want to go to Delhi to meetUnion Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar,” saidThakur Gauri Shankar Singh.

In a series of tweet DelhiTraffic Police tweeted that theChilla, Ghazipur borders areclosed for traffic coming fromNoida & Ghaziabad to Delhibecause of farmer protests.

People are advised to takealternate route for coming toDelhi via Anand Vihar, DND,Apsara,bhopra& Loni borders.

In another tweet, policesaid Singhu, Auchandi, PiauManiyari, Saboli and Mangeshborders are closed.

“Pl take alternate routes viaLampur, Safiabad, Palla &Singhu school toll tax borders.Traffic has been diverted fromMukarba & GTK road. Pl avoidOuter Ring Rd, GTK road &NH 44,” traffic police tweetedOn Wednesday, the protestingfarmers hardened their positionand asked the government notto repeat the proposal of "mean-ingless" amendments that theyhave already rejected but comeup with a "concrete" offer inwriting for the resumption oftalks.

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A40-year-old property dealeridentified as Ravinder

Kumar was shot dead in his carby unidentified assailants onWednesday night near Gadolivillage in Gurugram.

At the time of the incident,the victim was returning homefrom his office located in theKherki Daula area. Accordingto the police, an unidentifiedaccused waylaid Kumar nearGadoli village and fired a sin-gle into his neck, leaving thevictim dead on the spot. Thepolice got to know about theincident on Thursday morningat around 8.00 am when some

passersby spotted the body ofthe victim in the car.

Following a complaint filedby the deceased kin, the policehave registered a murder caseagainst an unidentified person atthe Sector-10A police station andstarted probe. The deceasedRavinder Kumar was a native ofManesar village in Gurugramand was a property dealer.

However, during the pre-liminary probe police suspectthat an old rivalry could be a rea-son behind the killing.

Meanwhile, two teams of thecrime branch units along withthe Sector-10A police stationteam are probing the matterfrom all different angles.

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The winter session ofUttarakhand assembly was

adjourned sine die by thespeaker Premchand Agarwalon Thursday afternoon. Thehouse passed the supplemen-tary budget and seven bills dur-ing the session. In the pro-ceedings of the day theCongress members emphati-cally raised the issue of heinousrape and murder of a nine yearold girl in Haridwar. TheCongress sought work adjourn-ment motion under rule 310 onthe issue but it was taken underrule 58 by the speaker. Raisingthe issue the leader of opposi-tion Indira Hridayesh said thatdue to the gross negligence oneof the culprits of the crime hasgone missing. She said that the

law and order condition in thestate has worsened and the girlsare not safe. The Congressmembers said that the culpritis said to be an influentialproperty dealer and has polit-ical patronage. The parlia-mentary affairs ministerMadan Kaushik said that theculprits would not be sparedand informed that a specialteam headed by DeputyInspector General (DIG)Garhwal has been constitutedto arrest the absconding culprit.The team would also monitorthe prosecution process in thecase. He assured that the cul-prit would soon get arrestedand that the case would betaken up in the fast track courtso that the culprits would getharshest punishment. Kaushikalso declared that the bountyon the arrest of the culprit hasbeen increased from Rs 20000to Rs 1 lakh.

In another discussionunder rule 58, the ChakrataMLA and PCC presidentPritam Singh said that on onehand the tourism minister isinviting people to visit thestate on Christmas and onother the state government hasimposed a ban on New Yearcelebrations. He said that thetourism industry which wasrecovering from the

Coronavirus pandemic hasbeen hit hard by this decision.In his reply Madan Kaushiksaid that the tourism activitywill continue as usual but thebar would not be allowed to beopen on Christmas and NewYear eve.

The house also discussedthe issue of the compassionateappointments in the sugar millsand price rise. Earlier in the

day the Congress membersmarched to the assembly car-rying gas cylinders in anattempt to highlight theincreasing prices of cooking gasand other items. The PradeshCongress Committee (PCC)president Pritam Singh saidthat the general public is reel-ing under the price rise but thegovernment is paying no atten-tion to the plight of the public.

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The death toll from the novelCoronavirus (Covid-19) in

Uttarakhand mounted to 1458in Uttarakhand on Thursdaywith the state health depart-ment registering the death of 11patients. The department alsoreported 436 fresh cases of thepandemic on the day whichincreased the tally of the dis-ease to 88376. The authoritiesdischarged 579 patients fromdifferent hospitals on Thursdayafter their recovery. A total80467 patients have recoveredfrom the disease so far and therecovery percentage nowstands at 91.05.

Four patients of Covid-19were reported dead by thehealth department in SushilaTiwari government hospitalHaldwani on Thursday. Twopatients of the disease suc-cumbed to death at DistrictHospital Pithoragarh on theday. One patient each wasreported dead at All IndiaInstitute of Medical Sciences

(AIIMS) Rishikesh, Kailashhospital Dehradun, MedicityRudrapur, Synergy hospitalDehradun and Prayas hospitalKhatima, Udham Singh Nagaron Thursday.

The authorities reported143 fresh cases of Covid-19from Dehradun, 103 fromNainital, 61 from Haridwar, 38from Almora, 31 fromPithoragarh, 17 from Pauri, 12from each from Champawatand Udham Singh Nagar each,eight from Uttarkashi, sevenfrom Tehri and two each fromChamoli and Rudraprayag onThursday.

Uttarakhand now has 5331active cases of the disease.Dehradun is continuing toremain at top of the table ofactive cases with 1565 caseswhile with 1030 active casesNainital is at secondspot.Haridwar is at third spotwith 434 active cases.Pithoragarh has 353, Almora317, Tehri 278, Uttarkashi 272,Chamoli 229, Pauri 209,Champawat 190, Udham SinghNagar 186 and Bageshwar 151active cases of the disease.With 115 active cases of Covid-19, Rudraprayag is now at thebottom of the table of activecases of Covid-19.

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The Uttarakhand Congress has said that thecourt order for DNA test of BJP MLA Mahesh

Negi is a victory of justice. The All India Congress Committee (AICC) member andCongress spokesperson Garima Dasauni said thatthe BJP MLA should have himself come forward-for the DNA test but instead of this he tried to sti-fle the voice of the victim by registering a FIRagainst her. She said that the DNA test of the MLA would clear the air on the issue.

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There have been reportsabout individuals/small

businesses falling prey to grow-ing number of unauthoriseddigital lendingplatforms/mobile apps onpromises of getting loans inquick and hassle-free manner.These reports also refer toexcessive rates of interest andadditional hidden chargesbeing demanded from bor-rowers; adoption of unaccept-able and high-handed recoverymethods; and misuse of agree-ments to access data on themobile phones of the borrow-ers.

Legitimate public lendingactivities can be undertaken byBanks, Non-Banking FinancialCompanies (NBFCs) registeredwith RBI and other entitieswho are regulated by the StateGovernments under statutoryprovisions, such as the moneylending acts of the concernedstates.

The Reserve Bank of India,chief general manager YogeshDayal informed that members

of the public are hereby cau-tioned not to fall prey to suchunscrupulous activities andverify the antecedents of thecompany/ firm offering loansonline or through mobile apps.Moreover, consumers shouldnever share copies of KYCdocuments with unidentifiedpersons, unverified/unautho-rised Apps and should reportsuch Apps/Bank Accountinformation associated withthe apps to concerned lawenforcement agencies or useSachet portal(https://sachet.rbi.org.in) to filean on-line complaint.

Reserve Bank has alsomandated that digital lendingplatforms which are used onbehalf of banks and NBFCsshould disclose name of thebank(s) or NBFC(s) upfront tothe customers.

The names and addressesof the NBFCs registered withthe Reserve Bank can beaccessed here and the portal forfiling complaints against theentities regulated by the RBIcan be accessed throughhttps://cms.rbi.org.in.

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Terming the winter sessionof Uttarakhand assembly as

highly successful in terms ofbusiness conducted, theSpeaker Premchand Agarwalsaid that the house functionedfor 19 hours ten minutes infour days. He said that theleader of the house and chiefminister Trivendra SinghRawat attended the sessionvirtually even as he was inhome isolation due to Covid-

19 infection and it shows hiscommitment to parliamentarydemocracy.

Agarwal informed that atotal of 485 questions werereceived by the assembly sec-retariat. Out of 120 starredquestions, 21 were answeredand 18 petitions were accept-ed in the session. He added that54 out of 71 notices under rule300 were sent to the govern-ment for necessary action.Agarwal said that all 15 noticesunder rule 58 were accepted.

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The Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD)has sent a recommendation to the Uttarakhand

Government to reinstate the ban on single-use plas-tic to restrict the increasing usage of plastic in thecity.

The usage of plastic has increased manifold sinceMarch after the Government lifted the ban to facil-itate essential services during Covid-19 pandemic.The Dehradun municipal commissioner VinayShankar Pandey informed that the corporation hassent the recommendation to the state government toreinstate the plastic ban and once the governmentreinstates it, the MCD will commence with its aware-ness campaign against plastic usage.

The roadside garbage dumps have increased inthe last few months in the city in which the plasticwaste is dumped the most and hence, it was decid-ed in the last board meeting that the corporation willapproach the state government to restore plastic banin the city. As informed by the commissioner earli-er, the MCD will give some time to the commercialestablishments and vendors to restrict the use of plas-tic on their own and after that, regular inspection willbe conducted besides imposing penalties in the city.

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The state transport department has announcedthe fare of electric buses of the Dehradun dis-

trict which ranges from minimum of Rs 10 to max-imum of Rs 200.

Sanat Kumar Singh, secretary of STA, said thesmart electric buses will run on various routesincluding ISBT to Clock Tower, Sahastradhara,Rajpur and Mohkampur and airport.

He said that the charging points of the electricbuses will be installed in ISBT, which will be its ori-gin point for all the routes.

For the first four kilometres of a route, the min-imum fare is Rs 10 and then Rs five is added sub-sequently for every three, four and five kilometresof the route. However, the department is yet todecide the timings of buses in all the planned routesof the district, said Singh.

Meanwhile, he also informed that the depart-ment will also send a proposal to the HimachalPradesh administration for the permission tooperate on such routes a part of which lie in theirstate like Dehradun-Paonta Sahib by private operators.

It’s noteworthy that the state government is pro-moting electric vehicles in a big way as it these areno pollution vehicles and introduction of electricbuses in an effort in the same direction.

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Hitting out at Centre over itshandling of the farmers’

protest, former Congress pres-ident Rahul Gandhi onThursday demanded immedi-ate Parliament session to repealthe controversial farm Bills .

Rahul said there is nodemocracy in India after hemet President Ram NathKovind as part of Congress del-egation with two crore signa-tures against the farm laws.Rahul Gandhi, senior partyleaders Ghulam Nabi Azadand Adhir Chowdhury wereallowed to visit the RashtrapatiBhawan while all others,including Priyanka Gandhi,were detained.

After meeting with thePresident, Rahul Gandhi said,“I want to tell PM Modi thatfarmers will not go back homeif there’s no repeal of the farmlaws. The Centre should call ajoint session of Parliament andrepeal the laws. All oppositionparties are with the farmers.”

Rahul Gandhi told thePresident the laws were “anti-farmer” and would make farm-

ers suffer huge losses. He saidthe Opposition stood with thefarmers who have been camp-ing at Delhi’s borders for overa month now demanding therepeal of the legislations.

“We took crores of signa-tures… the voices of farmers.The PM will have to listen tothem. The entire country iswatching. It is cold, and thefarmers are suffering, dying. Iam warning you. Nobody canstand against the farmers,” theGandhi scion said.

Rahul Gandhi alleged thatonly three-four people arerunning the system and saidthe Congress is fighting this.

“It is an assault on the ideaof India. The government isstopping our MPs from mov-ing out of our office...There isno democracy in India, it isonly in imagination, not inreality,” said Rahul Gandhi,after coming out of the meet-

ing.Expressing solidarity, the

Congress leaders said theOpposition stands with farm-ers. “The protesting farmerswill not stop the protest till thelaws are repealed. There is nodemocracy in India,” he saidflanked by party leaders.

As the march was stopped,Priyanka Gandhi said, “Anydissent against this govern-ment is classified as havingelements of terror. We areundertaking this march tovoice our support for the farm-ers.”

Priyanka Gandhi also said,“We’re living in a democracyand they are elected MPs.They have the right to meet thePresident and they should beallowed. What is the problemwith that? Government is notready to listen to voices oflakhs of farmers camping atborders.”

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The Hyderabad-based BharatBiotech, which is developing

the country’s indigenous coro-navirus vaccine in collaborationwith the Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR), hasagain applied to the DrugController General of India(DCGI)for the emergency-useauthorisation.

E m e r g e n c y - U s eAuthorisation is a mechanism tofacilitate the availability anduse of medical countermea-sures, including vaccines, dur-ing public health emergencies.

Bharat Biotech had firstapplied for the emergency useauthorisation of its vaccine on7 December and presented itsproposal, along with the inter-im safety and immunogenicitydata of Phase 1 and 2 clinical tri-als.

The Central DrugsStandard Control Organisation’s(CDSCO) expert panel had,however, recommended thatthe firm should present the safe-ty and efficacy data from theongoing Phase 3 clinical trial inthe country for further consid-eration, said the sources in theUnion Health Ministry.

Bharat Biotech’s COVAXIN,an inactivated vaccine candi-date, is currently undergoingPhase 3 human clinical trials on

26,000 volunteers over 25 cen-tres across India, after havingundergone Phase 1 and 2 trialsinvolving 1,000 volunteers.

Meanwhile, the SerumInstitute of India (SII) has alsosubmitted the additional dataasked by the DCGI determin-ing safety and immunogenicityof its COVID-19 vaccine can-didate, Covishield.

America’s Pfizer was thefirst to apply on 4 December,followed by Pune-based SII andBharat Biotech who applied on6 and 7 December, respective-ly. Pfizer had, however, request-ed more time to make a pre-sentation before the committee.

India is likely to have aCovid-19 vaccine approved foremergency use beforeDecember end as CDSCO’sexpert panel is set to review theapplication of SII, BharatBiotech and Pfizer for emer-gency use authorisation.

Meanwhile, AurobindoPharma Limited and Covaxx, aUS-based company, haveentered into an exclusive licenseagreement to develop, com-mercialize and manufactureUB-612, the first MultitopePeptide-based vaccine to fightCovid-19, for India and the UNChildren’s Fund (Unicef )agency. COVAXX is currentlyconducting a Phase 1 clinicaltrial for the vaccine candidate.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has pro-

visionally attached fixeddeposits along with the cashrecovered from the bank lock-ers totalling to �1.85 crore inKerala Gold Smuggling Case.Among the attached assets,properties worth �1 crorebelongs to IAS officer and for-mer Principal Secretary toChief Minister of Kerala, MSivasankar.

The ED had initiatedinvestigation under Preventionof Money Laundering Act(PMLA) on the basis of NIA’sFIR filed before the SpecialCourt for NIA cases in Kochiagainst Sarith P S, SwapnaPrabha Suresh, Faisal Fareed

and Sandeep Nair under vari-ous sections of the UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Act(UAPA).

The CustomsCommissionerate (Preventive),Cochin had seized 30 kg goldworth �14.82 crore atTrivandrum InternationalAirport on July 5, 2020.

The seized gold was cam-ouflaged as diplomatic baggageto UAE Consulate, which hasimmunity from checking atairport as per Vienna conven-tion.

The consignment was tobe received by the accusedSarith P.S, who worked in UAEConsulate earlier as PublicRelations Officer in complici-ty with Swapna Prabha Suresh,Sandeep Nair and others.

“During the course ofinvestigation under PMLA, itwas revealed that the accusedpersons namely Sarith P S,Swapna Prabha Suresh, FaisalFareed and Sandeep Nairindulged in illegal smugglingof gold to India and hugeamount of Proceeds of Crime(POC) were generated,” the EDsaid in a statement.

Identified POC totalling to�1.85 belonging to the accusedpersons have been provision-ally attached under PMLA, itfurther said.

Accused Sivasankar wasarrested by the ED on October28 and is presently undergoingjudicial custody. Earlier a pros-ecution complaint(chargesheet) was filed in thecase.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has pro-

visionally attached assets worth�4,109 crore under Preventionof Money laundering Act(PMLA) in Agri Gold Ponzifraud Case involving fraud of�6,380 crore.

The attached assets include2,809 landed properties,Haailand Amusement Park ofArka Leisure andEntertainments Private Limitedin Andhra Pradesh spread over48 acres, shares of variouscompanies, plants and machin-ery.

These attached propertiesare located in Andhra Pradesh’sAnantpur, Kurnool, Krishna,Chitoor, Guntur, Kadapa,Vizianagaram, East and WestGodavari, Visakhapatnam,Nellore, Prakasam, Srikakulamand Kadapa districts.

The properties attached inKarnataka are located inBengaluru, Kolar, Yadgir andMandya.

In Odisha, it is in Khurdadistrict. Krishnagiri District ofTamil Nadu.

In Telangana, propertieswere attached in MahaboobNagar, Narayanpet,Khammam, Mahboob Nagar,Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy,Vikarabad , Medchal,Malkajgiri, Nalgonda andMahabubnagar districts

The ED had initiated inves-tigation under PMLA based onmultiple FIRs lodged in the

States of AP, Telangana andKarnataka.

“The scam was perpetrat-ed by accused Avva VenkataRama Rao through Agri GoldGroup of Companies. AvvaVenkata Rama Rao hatched awell planned conspiracy andalong with his seven brothersand other associates settingup more than 150 companiesand started collecting depositsfrom general public with apromise of providing devel-oped plots/farm lands or with-drawal at a high rate of returnon maturity/pre-term,” the EDsaid in a statement.

Thousands of commissionagents were engaged to lurepeople with various schemesfor hefty commission and man-aged to collect �6,380 crorefrom 32,02,628 investoraccounts, it said.

In the end, the gullibleinvestors neither got plots norcould recover their deposits.Investigation under PMLA fur-ther revealed that Agri GoldGroup companies used to lurethe gullible public to join asdepositors in their schemeseither directly or through theiragents under the pretext of realestate deal.

The ED probe furtherrevealed that Avva VenkataRama Rao and his family wenton a siphoning spree and ille-gally diverted the publicdeposits and invested in myr-iad verticals and in privatecompanies which were direct-ly owned by their family.

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Air India pilots have refusedto accept the paltry 5 per

cent rollback in “illegal pay cut”and asked Air India CMD todonate it towards funds forbuilding of the new Parliamentbuilding or PM CAREs fund.

In a letter to Rajiv Bansal,Air India Chairman andManaging Director, the twopilot associations — IndianPilots` Guild and IndianCommercial Pilots`Association – said, “We do notaccept this paltry 5 per cent rollback in illegal pay cut and youmay advise the concerned todonate this 5 per cent towardsfunds for building theParliament or PM CARES”.

The pilots said that theywould be forced to resort to‘industrial action’.

They said they have giventhe management every benefitof doubt as well as ample time

to redress the issue of dispro-portionate pay cut for Air Indiapilots and its subsidiaries. “If wedo not see a timely substantialreduction in this dispropor-tionate pay cut, we will beforced to seek justice throughharsher means including‘Industrial Action’,” they added.

The letter stated that par-liamentarians also have onlytaken 30 per cent cut on grossemoluments and vehementlyrefused to take a higher cut.“While the parliamentariansthemselves have taken a cut ofonly 30 per cent on grossemoluments and vehemently

refused to take a higher cut, wethink it is completely egregiousfor us pilots to continue tol-erating this arbitrary massivepay cut of 55 per cent on ourgross emoluments,” stated theletter.

“This pittance in the formof a 5 per cent decrease in thecurrent wage cut is an outrightinsult, its sting magnified inlight of our unwavering sup-port and trust in this compa-ny. This ‘generosity’ amountsto a reduction of approxi-mately 3 per cent in the cur-rent gross pay cut for pilots,”they said.

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To make the Government’sDigital India initiative safer

and robust in rural India, theCommon Service Centre (CSC),an SPV under the Ministry ofElectronics and IT, has launcheda cyber security course in col-laboration with French institute-- Ecole Superieure Robert deSorbon.

“Both the courses will runthrough our education andvocational training arm – CSCAcademy – and these courseswill be specially be available toour rural youths across India.Our partnership with EcoleSuperieure Robert de Sorbon, anot-for-profit, prestigious insti-tution of higher education fromFrance, will add more value toour courses which have beendesigned keeping mind theimprove chances of employ-ment and to promote entrepre-neurship among our youths inrural areas,” said CSC ManagingDirector Dr Dinesh Tyagi.

The French Institute willsupport CSC to enable CyberSecurity Course at CSCAcademies across India. TheCSC has also started CAD and3D Printing courses in collabo-ration with the French compa-ny to enhance skills and improveemployability of rural youths.

The CSC Academy, an armof CSC, is a not-for-profit soci-ety which is committed to teach-ing, delivering of specializedcourses/ training programmes,leadership, communication skillsand promotion of entrepre-neurship among the rural mass-es in India.

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Union Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar on

Thursday lashed out atCongress leader Rahul Gandhi,alleging that his claim that thememorandum he submittedto the President was signed bymore than 2 crore farmers hadno signatures in it from thecommunity,.

He also asserted that noone from the Congress partyhad even met kisan leaders forthat. Tomar said that severalfarmers have denied signingany document sent by theCongress party.

“Whatever Rahul Gandhisays, even Congress doesn’ttake it seriously. Today when hewent to register his protestwith the President with signa-tures, these farmers told methat no one from Congresscame to them to get their sig-

nature. Farmers from Baghpathave given me a letter in sup-port of Centre’s Farm Laws.They have told me that theGovernment shouldn’t buckleunder any pressure to makeamendments to farm bills,”Tomar said after meetingRashtriya Kisan MazdoorSangh members from Baghpat.

A delegation of 60 farmersbelonging to Kisaan MajdoorSangh, Baghpat met Tomar atKrishi Bhawan and gave a let-ter in support of centre’s farmlaws. Besides, a delegation ofthe Kisan Sena also met Tomarand discussed the farm laws.

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As India prepares for mas-sive roll out of coronavirus

vaccine across the country, theAssociation of Private Detectiveand Investigators (APDI) haswritten to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi offering help indealing with the problem ofcounterfeit and fake items.

“During the Corona pan-demic we saw the marketflooding with fake sanitizers,medicines, health supplementsand other critical items. Weactively worked with variousstate governments and helpedin seizure of such fake items.Now we have offered our helpto government and variousagencies who will be in-chargeof distribution and adminis-tration of vaccine to checkcounterfeiting and supply offake vaccines which is a highpossibility in a big country likeIndia,” said APDI Chairman

Kunwar Vikram Singh at theInternational CorporateInvestigators Summit.

“The Union Governmenthad written to state govern-ments about this crucial issueand later our investigatorsworked with various statepolice and local administra-tions in dealing with the situ-ation. Our direct interven-tion had laid to seizure of fakeitems in big quantity,” headded.

Singh also said theInternational CorporateInvestigators Summit was firstof its kind in the world whereleaders from corporate worldfrom India and abroad gath-ered to discuss the issues andchallenges that the corporateworld in facing in varioussectors. Challenges and prob-lems of sectors like pharma,healthcare, hospitality, tourand travel, services and ITwere thoroughly discussed inthe Summit.

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The Kerala Government hasmoved the Supreme Court

challenging the State HighCourt’s verdict which haddirected it to increase the num-ber of pilgrims to the historicSabarimala temple to 5,000per day, saying it will put a“great strain” on police per-sonnel and health officials inview of the Covid-19 pandem-ic.

The state government, inits petition filed in the apexcourt against the December 18judgement of the Kerala HighCourt, has said the state hadconstituted a high-level com-mittee headed by the chiefsecretary which had set thenumber of pilgrims per day to2,000 on weekdays and 3,000on weekends respectively.

It said that to control theCOVID-19 pandemic duringthe Sabarimala temple festivalseason between December 20and January 14 next year, the

state had constituted the high-level committee to consider allaspects and to fix the numberof pilgrims who can be per-mitted per day to visit theshrine.

It said the committee, in ameeting convened onDecember 14, considered thereport submitted by revisedhealth advisory of the Healthand Family WelfareDepartment and enhanced thenumber of pilgrims per day to2,000 on weekdays and 3,000on weekends.

“The high court disposedof the writ petitions filed bysome of the respondents here-in, with a direction to thegovernment to increase thenumber of pilgrims per day to5,000. The enhancement ofpilgrims was done by the highcourt without considering anyproper report or other docu-ments. The number of policeofficials, health officials andpilgrims affected by COVID-19 in the Sabarimala temple sofar is on the higher side,” the

State Government said in itspetition, filed through advo-cate G Prakash.

It said that entry to thetemple is controlled by a vir-tual queue managed by policeand pilgrims are tested forCOVID-19 before allowingthem to enter the temple.

“Increase in the number ofpilgrims will put police per-sonnel and officials of thehealth department in greatstrain and difficulty in con-trolling the pilgrims of thismagnitude,” it said.

“It is also reported on themedia that a new COVID-19virus was detected in Englandand considering the spread ofnew virus, Government ofIndia cancelled all flights toand fro from England. Thisbeing the situation theGovernment of Kerala, seeksurgent interference of thiscourt with the impugned judg-ment to control the spread ofCOVID-19 during theSabarimala festival season,” itsaid.

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Aplea was filed Thursday inthe Supreme Court seeking

direction to the Centre to declarethe Law Commission as a “statu-tory body” and appoint thechairperson and members to thepanel within a month.

The PIL has been filed byBJP leader and lawyer AshwiniUpadhyay and made the min-istries of Home Affairs and Lawand Justice as well as the LawCommission of India as parties.

The plea said the cause ofaction arose on August 31, 2018and is still continuing when thetenure of the 21st LawCommission ended but theCentre has neither extendedthe tenure of its Chairperson andMembers nor notified the 22ndLaw Commission.

Although, on February 19,2020, Centre approved consti-tution of Twenty-second LawCommission but it has notappointed the Chairperson andMembers till date.

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Bharatiya Kisan Union (LokShakti) has moved the

Supreme Court challengingthe three new farm laws,against which various farmerunions are staging protest atseveral border points of Delhi,and sought impleadment inthe matter pending in theapex court.

In an application seekingimpleadment in the pendingpetition, Bharatiya KisanUnion (Lok Shakti) hasclaimed that the new farmlaws “promote corporateinterest” and are not con-cerned with the “interest offarmers”.

The plea, filed throughadvocate A P Singh, allegedthat these acts are “unconsti-tutional” and anti-farmer as itwould “dismantle the

Agriculture ProduceMarket Committee (APMC)system intended to ensurefair prices for farm products”.

“The implementation ofthe acts in its current form willspell disaster for the farmingcommunity by opening a par-allel market which is unregu-lated and gives enough placefor exploitation of the Indianfarmers,” the application said.

It claimed that farmers are“very much scared that theseacts also lead to corporatisa-tion of the entire agriculturemarket and the prices can bedriven up or down by the cor-porates”.

While hearing the matterrelated to farmers protest, abench headed by Chief JusticeS A Bobde had on December17 said that farmers' agitationshould be allowed to contin-ue “without impediment” andthe apex court will not inter-fere with it as the right toprotest is a fundamental right.

Several farmer unions,including the BKU, have beenimpleaded as respondents inthe matter pending in the topcourt.

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Democracy depends uponobjective interactions,respectful dialogues andmutual trust. People may

differ in their viewpoints but theyneed not resist combined efforts tofind solutions and settle differences,no matter how serious these maybe. The year 2020 shall be remem-bered for the Shaheen Bagh dhar-na and Kisan Satyagrah. Normally,the word “Satyagrah” reminds oneof Gandhiji who had modified theoriginal term “Sadagrah” to“Satyagrah”. Democracy allowsprotests; Gandhiji gave the weaponof Satyagrah not only to India butto the entire world, and its poten-tial was never in doubt. It tookroots not only in India but was alsoused by luminaries like MartinLuther King Jr and NelsonMandela. As the inheritors ofGandhian legacy, India and Indianshave a special responsibility toensure that it is not converted into‘Asatyagrah’. In umpteen agitationsorganised within India, Satyagrahgets reduced to a mockery.

No one cares for the truth, non-violence invariably becomes a casu-alty and human lives are wastedwithout any hesitation or a sense ofshame. These days, the “leaders” goon hunger strike — Upvaas — forjust a few hours! The literal mean-ing of Upvaas is “being near the soul”but most demonstrations andprotests are hijacked by politicians.India seriously needs its intellectu-als to play their role: Get out of theslumber of callousness and take astrictly objective view of nationalaspirations, expectations of theyoung as well as to ensure that theprinciple of trusteeship is strictlyupheld in thought and deeds ofthose who have the reins of author-ity. It is their obligation to name andshame all those who have forgottenabout human values, social obliga-tions, the responsibility to give dig-nity to every human being, to be spe-cially concerned and supportive ofchildren, women and those stand-ing last in the line. While the devel-oped and modern countries may beoverwhelmed in their materialisticpursuits, India just cannot abandonits eternal responsibility to moveahead in spiritual quest, and there-by place the right path in front ofhumanity. Indians are inheritors ofa civilisation which respects the crit-icality of the sensitive man-naturerelationship and believes in meetinghuman survival needs from nature;and despises its wanton destructionto meet his greed. India alone couldget the humanity out of concerns likeenvironmental destruction, climatechanges, water scarcity, air pollution,

soil degradation, melting of glac-iers, vanishing of species, flora andfauna, and much more. The ide-ology of progress has to be rede-fined in national context, keepingin view the global considerationsand treating the world as one fam-ily. India must rise and presentbefore the world a working modelof “science with humanity” and“knowledge with character”. It istime that the contours of civilisa-tion are incisively delineated andthe march towards a world ofpeace is guided by humanism,welfare of all and a practising civilsociety that cares for everyone. Itwould require a long-term strat-egy and it shall have to be imple-mented through education. Thereis no other way out.

What is civilisation? Thisquery was once posed by SwamiVivekananda, and his own answerwas: “It is the feeling of thedivine within.” And how does onediscover that divinity? Througheducation that is both secular andspiritual. He gave us that illustri-ous eternal statement: “Educationis the manifestation of perfectionalready in man.” He was con-vinced that what India needsmost is “education, educationand more education”! The firstduty of the nation is to educatepeople, extricate them out of igno-rance and self-negation: “Educatepeople and they would be able tosolve their own problems.” Tohim, education was of no use ifit didn’t prepare the masses for thestruggles of life. More important-ly, it was to bring out the strengthof character, spirit of philan-thropy and the courage of a lion.India has suffered enough in theway of negative education.Delinking of Indians from Indiawas a deliberate strategy imposed

by the alien rulers and, unfortu-nately, the model was perpetuat-ed by those who inherited powerand authority at the time ofIndependence. Over the decades,people have realised the gravity ofthe folly and there are enoughindications in the NationalEducation Policy (NEP), 2020,that things shall change. The pol-icy formulates: “A holistic andmulti-disciplinary educationwould aim at developing allcapacities of human beings —intellectual, aesthetic, social, phys-ical, emotional and moral, in anintegrated manner.” The formu-lation is further augmented by theemphasis on value-based educa-tion “which will include thedevelopment of humanistic, eth-ical, constitutional and universalhuman values of truth (satya),righteous conduct (dharma),peace (shanti), love (prem), non-violence (ahimsa) and others”.One fervently expects all this toequip every learner to discover thetreasure within him. This is thepath to a truly civilised world.

There, however, are seriousimpediments to traverse thenewly chalked out pathway.Prime Minister Narendra Modi,in the virtual mode, unveiled thestatue of Swami Vivekananda onthe campus of the JawaharlalNehru University (JNU). Therewas sustained opposition to thevery installation of the statue, andit was not a rare occurrence. Inthis university, the activities, agi-tations and full-throated supportof certain ideologically con-strained groups of students andteachers to even the groups andindividuals who do not believe inIndia’s unity and integrity as anation often baffle those whothink independently, have the

national welfare uppermost intheir mind and retain objectivi-ty even in provocative situa-tions. JNU is a great institutionthat should be the melting pot forvaried thought, ideas and imag-ination. In a world torn by con-flicts, violence, wars and weapon-isation, universities have a greatrole to play in augmenting socialcohesion and religious amity.They have to work for the cultureof acceptance, far ahead of toler-ance. This is the Indian traditionwhich has to be strengthened.

Universities, including JNU,just cannot afford to ignore thestirring words of JawaharlalNehru who considered these asthe pace setters of peace andprogress at the national level, andfrom there it must extend to theglobal scenario: “A universitystands for humanism, for toler-ance, for reason, for the adven-ture of ideas and for the searchof truth. It stands for the onwardmarch of the human racetowards higher objectives. If theuniversities discharge adequate-ly, all is well with the people andthe nation.” Great universitieswould never relish the tag ofbeing politically or ideological-ly oriented. The people and thenation expect JNU to become acentre of nourishing civilisa-tion. It could really work serious-ly on comprehending the cultureof acceptance of diversity.

In his 1932 book, Remakersof Mankind, Carl Washburnewrites that when asked “What isyour goal in education whenIndia obtains self-rule”, Gandhijireplied: “Character building. Iwould strive to develop courage,strength, virtue, the ability to for-get oneself in working towardsgreat aims. This is more impor-

tant than literacy; academiclearning is only a means to thisgreat end.” Character formationwas the strength of the tradition-al Indian system of knowledgequest that included creation,generation, utilisation and trans-fer of knowledge to the futuregenerations. With all the expe-riences gained globally in vary-ing contexts and approaches, itis now accepted globally thateducation in every country mustbe rooted in culture and com-mitted to progress. Characterbuilding just cannot be envi-sioned in isolation to culture. Noculture would flourish in isola-tion and there can be no barri-ers erected in the way of childrenbeing made aware and conver-sant with their own culturebefore being introduced to theothers. India painfully sufferedas the transplanted system thatdeliberately kept young educat-ed Indians debarred from get-ting familiar with the nuances oftheir own culture; they were sys-tematically indoctrinated in the“superiority of the western cul-ture”. This was very comprehen-sively articulated by Gandhiji inthe Young India of September 1,1921: “It is my firm opinion thatno culture has treasures so richas ours. We have not known it;we have even been made todepreciate its value. We havealmost ceased to live it.”

Let us hope that the pro-posed educational reformswould prepare the young withcredentials and they wouldlook after the masses.Education must lead to humandignity for one and all.

(The author works in educa-tion and social cohesion. Theviews expressed are personal.))��*#�+,-.�(

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�� Sir — By no stretch of imagina-tion can the results of the DistrictDevelopment Council (DDC)elections in Jammu and Kashmir(J&K) be seen as an endorsementof the Centre’s abrogation ofArticle 370. On the contrary, ifanything, it was an unequivocalverdict against the move. Theclaim of victory by the BJP isbelied by actual results. However,it is gratifying to see some sem-blance of democracy broughtabout by the DDC polls.

Overall, the constituent par-ties of the Gupkar Alliance thatare opposed to the abrogation ofArticle 370 and insistent on theirdemand for regaining what theybelieve is rightfully theirs, haveemerged the clear winner andgained legitimacy as the people’svoice. They still occupy much ofthe political space in the State andremain vibrantly relevant there.

The argument that theGovernment can unilaterally dowhatever it wants on the strengthof its parliamentary majority isof dubious legitimacy. The peo-ple of any region cannot bemainstreamed or integrated bydisempowering them.

G David MiltonMaruthancode, Tamil Nadu

�� Sir — After being a caged parrotof the powers that be, the inabil-ity of the Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) to take probesand prosecution in sensationalcases to their logical conclusionis dismaying. That the courts areincreasingly questioning theCBI’s integrity is a shocking

indictment of the latter.In this context, a recent ver-

dict of the Madras High Courtquestioning the competency,expertise and integrity of CBIofficers should come as anotherwake-up call. The CBI “lost” inits custody 103 kg of the 400 kggold it had seized from a corpo-rate giant in 2012 and which waskept in its vaults. In the absence

of any plausible explanation fromthe CBI, the High Court told theState CB-CID to probe the mat-ter, a move fiercely opposed bythe CBI but to no avail.

Generally, the CBI isentrusted a case after a State’sprobe agencies fail but, in thiscase, the reverse happened.

Ganapathi BhatAkola

�� Sir — With time, the Indiandemocracy has become suffi-ciently mature to enable us tothink about evolving politicalsystems that suit the needs, sizeand population of our nation.Reforming the polling system isone of them.

In this particular sphere, wehave been able to develop anelection machinery by way ofthe Election Commissionwhose robust and efficient sys-tem has become an envy of notonly the smaller countries butalso of the developed ones.

But we must end the situ-ation wherein the nation iscontinually in election mode,thereby creating an atmos-phere of political upheaval.We must also eliminate polit-ical corruption in the form ofmidterm defections and AayaRams and Gaya Rams. Also, itwill help if the problems of aparticular State get sufficientattention in its Assembly elec-tions and not get overshad-owed by national issues.

BP SrivastavaNoida

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It was late at night when Seema Kumari, anaccredited social health activist working inBihar’s Sitamarhi district, heard the news. The

16-year-old daughter-in-law of her neighbour hadgiven birth at home earlier than expected.Despite the late hour, she rushed to their houseto see if she could be of any help. Unfortunately,the infant, weak and born prematurely, did notsurvive. In Sitamarhi, 106 newborn babies die forevery 1,000 live births according to theGovernment’s statistics. Early marriage furtherexacerbates the vulnerability of adolescents.According to the fourth National Family HealthSurvey (NFHS-4), in Sitamarhi, 50.5 per cent ofthe women aged between 20-24 years had beenmarried off before the age of 18 and 11.7 per centof girls/women aged 15-19 years were alreadymothers or pregnant at the time of the survey in2015-16.

Although she was deeply saddened by theirloss, Kumari took the opportunity to convincethe mother-in-law that she would not insist onanother grandchild until her teenaged daughter-in-law had recovered physically and mentally. Infact, Kumari extracted a promise that they wouldwait for at least three years before trying foranother baby. By this time not only would Pinkyturn 19 and be better prepared for motherhood,it would also reduce the risk of infant mortali-ty. Over the next three years, Kumari kept an eyeon the family. It meant daily visits, talking to themother-in-law and constantly reminding her ofthe promise. She also provided reproductive andsexual health information and aids to Pinky sothat she could plan her family and delay moth-erhood till she was ready for it. In January thisyear, Kumari’s hard work bore fruit when Pinkygave birth to a healthy girl at the local primaryhealth centre.

Women like Kumari are among the manyfrontline health workers who are making a dif-ference between life and death for mothers andbabies. Pinky was fortunate that Kumari was ableto persuade her conservative marital family thatthere was a need to wait before the next pregnan-cy. The likelihood of girls aged between 10-14dying during pregnancy and childbirth is fivetimes higher than for women aged between 20-24. An estimated 6,000 adolescent mothers dieevery year in India. The underlying reasons areearly marriage coupled with a lack of sexual andreproductive health information. It was to dis-rupt the vicious circle of having too many chil-dren, too quickly and provide adolescents withappropriate information on reproductive and sex-ual health that the Rashtriya Kishor SwasthyaKaryakram (RKSK) was launched by theGovernment in 2014.

Although the RKSK prioritised sexual andreproductive health as one of its six strategic areasof adolescent well-being, talking about thissensitive issue remains a taboo. In Bihar,entrenched patriarchy has made RKSK even morecritical as adolescents, especially girls, are forcedto remain invisible and refrain from being seenor heard. It becomes difficult for them to con-fide in their parents. Hence, they desperately needsomeone they can turn to for advice. But thereis a shortage of trained, skilled human resourcewho can be their friend and guide.

Many girls on the brink of puberty know lit-tle about menstruation as no one prepares themfor it when they reach puberty. In fact, menstru-ation comes as a shock for many and affects theirmental health as they are unable to grapple with

this major change in their bodies.There is also an acute shortage of

medical counsellors as well as womendoctors. Though the biology textbookhas a chapter on reproductive health,most teachers in rural areas skip it. Thistrend was more prevalent in co-educa-tional schools where the teacher was tooembarrassed to teach this importantchapter to a class full of boys and girls.

Eighteen-year-old Fatima, whotravels 20 kilometres daily to a collegefrom Sherghati block of Gaya District,admitted that she wanted to know moreabout sexual and reproductive health.Fatima said the only information shehad gleaned on this subject was fromtelevision programmes but that was notenough. Neither was it comprehensive.Under the RKSK, peer educators andAdolescent Friendly Health Clinics(AFHCs) are supposed to bridge thisinformation gap. For a population of1,000 people, there are supposed to befour peer educators, two boys and twogirls. The Accredited Social HealthActivists (ASHAs), panchayats andlocal Non-Government Organisationsare part of the group to select and trainthe peer educators or “Sathiyas” as theyare called. It is their responsibility toremove all doubts and fears of the ado-lescents by bringing them to theAFHCs.

Unfortunately, in many villages ofrural Bihar, such clinics remain onpaper. During a social audit conduct-ed to assess the ground realities, it wasfound that even where they did exist,the absence of qualified serviceproviders including counsellors man-dated under the RKSK, made these clin-ics mostly non-functional.

One such AFHC is at the BelsandPrimary Health Centre in Sitamarhi.The signage on the board outside

mentions the services the clinic offers.The dilapidated board and the fadedwriting is the first sign of the clinic’s pre-sent state of health. The clinic doublesup as an Outpatient Department sincethere is no other room. Adolescentsprefer not to come to this clinic primar-ily because there is an acute shortageof staff and privacy. Apart from a lackof a counsellor dedicated solely for ado-lescents, the Auxilliary Nurse Midwife(ANM) was on contract from the sub-centre!

The clinic was supposed to haveseven doctors but it had only two. Thelack of a woman doctor meant that fewabortions were conducted there.According to ANM Rakhee Kumar, thelack of a woman doctor was the reasonwhy very few came to seek abortion ser-vices at the clinic. The fact that parentsand girls preferred to visit quacks forabortions underlines just how vitalfunctioning AFHCs are for adolescentsto access sexual and reproductive infor-mation and safe abortion services.Sadly, girls visit trained healthcareworkers only when abortions arebotched up by the quacks. And some-times it is too late to help them.

When mothers are well-informedthere are better chances that adoles-cents, both girls and boys, will betterunderstand the changes their bodies areundergoing. In turn, well-informedteenagers are able to help their friendscope with their problems.

The three daughters of AnganwadiWorker (AWW) Anita Devi are differ-ent from their friends. They understandthe importance of education and thepitfalls of early marriage. They haveaccurate information on puberty and itsrelated changes. They have taken on theresponsibility of sharing this knowledgewith their friends.

Adolescents between 10-19 yearscomprise 22 per cent of Bihar’s popu-lation. The RKSK strategy was to pro-vide a continuum of care for the healthand development of adolescents. Also,envisioned was a convergence model ofservice delivery by involving ANMs,ASHAs, AWWs and volunteers of theNehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan.

Several Union Ministries were toprovide various components for ado-lescent development through specialprogrammes like the Integrated ChildDevelopment Services. Adolescenthealth programme managers at theState and district level were to overseethe initiative based on project imple-mentation plans.

Further, at the community level theintervention was to be through peereducators, holding quarterly AdolescentHealth Day meetings, providing week-ly iron and folic acid supplements andthrough a Menstrual HygieneManagement scheme. The facility-based intervention was through settingup and strengthening of AFHCs.

Despite such good intentions, theGovernment has failed in implemen-tation due to the lack of convergenceamong the various departments andlack of trained service providers andsupplies. There is an urgent need toempower frontline health workers likeASHAs, ANMs and AWWs in under-standing the voices, aspirations andpotential of adolescents and providingaccurate information. Adolescents arethirsting for information about them-selves and the changes that pubertybrings to their bodies and way of think-ing. It is time to pay greater attentionto their voices and give them thepower of information.

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

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Financial ratio analysis is usedto convey the fiscal health andperformance of an organisa-

tion to various stakeholders such asowners, customers, managers, sup-pliers, vendors, lenders, regulatorsand competitors. This is done byanalysing information available in afirm’s financial statements.

This system originally started inbanks in the US in the 19th Centuryto gauge the loan repaying capaci-ty of organisations. It was laterextended to investors’ decision-making for business purposes usingfinancial ratios. Later, with corpo-

rate organisations emerging, the rel-evance of ratio analysis was under-stood even more. After the secondWorld War, with the advent of sci-ence and technology and increasedmarket competitiveness, new toolsand techniques were added to finan-cial ratio analysis. The series of addi-tions and improvements continuedin the 1960s well into the ‘90s tocome to the existing analysis meth-ods.

Over the years, researchers havecontinually established the utility offinancial ratios in investigating var-ious aspects of business like prof-itability, solvency and efficiency. Itprovides trends within organisationsby analysing fiscal statements overa large number of financial years(FYs). This is extremely useful tounderstand the direction of growthof an organisation and identify anytrends that affect performance. Thistype of trend analysis is not possi-ble with the data of a single finan-cial year. Ratio analysis is also cru-cial to benchmark one’s perfor-

mance in comparison to industrycompetitors, identify gaps, assesscompetitive advantages, strengths,weaknesses, opportunities andthreats. This information can beused by decision-makers to improvethe organisation’s position in theindustry. Ratio analysis is also a toolto discern how efficiently an organ-isation is using its assets and liabil-ities and whether the financialresources are over or underutilised.To help managers in their decision-making process, several categoriesof ratios are used. First, the liquid-ity quotients like current ratio,quick ratio and cash ratio, measurethe ability of an organisation to meetits current liabilities with the use ofcurrent assets.

In case an organisation is fac-ing financial trouble in repaying itsdebt, it is captured in these ratios.Such quotients are used primarily bylenders, bankers and creditors toascertain an organisation’s capacityto honour its financial commit-ments. Second, solvency ratios mea-

sure the firm’s ability to meet anylong-term fiscal commitment andthe fact that in the long-term, itowns more than it owes. The solven-cy of firms is measured by the debt-to-equity and debt-to-assets ratios.Profitability ratios are the thirdcategory used to measure the capa-bility of an organisation to earn prof-its when compared to the costs asso-ciated with the business.

A higher profitability ratio,compared to itself in the previousyear or its competitor, shows animprovement in fiscal strength.Some important profitability ratiosthat are used in financial analysis aregross profit margin, net profit mar-gin, return on equity, return onassets and return on capitalemployed.

Fourth, efficiency quotients likethe asset turnover ratio, inventoryratio, fixed assets turnover ratio,working capital turnover ratio,payables turnover ratio and receiv-ables turnover ratio measure howeffectively an organisation uses its

assets and liabilities to earn revenuesand profits. A higher efficiencyquotient generally means that thebusiness is more efficient.

Coverage ratios, too, measure anorganisation’s ability to cover its debtobligations. A higher coverage quo-tient shows the ease with which itcan service borrowings. Some of thefrequently used coverage ratios aredebt coverage ratio, interest cover-age ratio, fixed charge coverageratio and EBITDA (earnings beforeinterest, taxes, depreciation andamortisation) coverage ratio. Andlast but not the least, market ratioshelp investors to analyse their invest-ments in the organisation and helpthem predict future stock prices andreturns due to dividends. Price-to-earnings, earnings per share, divi-dend yield and dividend payoutratio are some examples of marketratios.

How is financial ratio analysischanging in the present worldorder? The trend in today’s times ismore predictive in nature and the

importance of historical numbers isdecreasing by the day. Predictiveforecasting models which help incapital budgeting decisions andchoices regarding sources of fundsand operations have gained moreprevalence. The existing businessenvironment is uncertain andvolatile with increased focus on peo-ple, the planet and sustainability.This is particularly true since theoutbreak of the Coronavirus. So,non-pecuniary information that isnot reflected in the financial state-ments is also gaining importancenow, which is not replicated in thecurrent ratios used in financialanalysis. Globalisation has alsoincreased cross-border transactions,mergers and acquisitions, move-ment of people and technologytransfer, making pecuniary state-ments more complex than ever.Although financial ratio analysis isimportant for making decisions, itis not without its limitations. Thistechnique may not give the actualpicture when window dressing of

statements occurs against financialand business ethics. Ratio analysistechniques may also not give prop-er results for comparison whendifferent companies use differentvaluation techniques for inventoryand depreciation. Another aspectwhich goes against ratio analysis isthat it just gives the results in num-bers and does not reflect the causa-tion factors, which can make thesenumbers meaningless. Furtherresearch should be done to capturethe new-age trends in financialratio analysis to make them evenmore relevant.

Financial ratio analysis can bea very important analytical tool forbusiness decision-making if it isused in conjunction with a properknowledge of factors affecting abusiness and not just used mechan-ically. If the limitations are consid-ered, they can be very useful to asavvy business manager.

(The writer is Associate Professor,Amity University, Noida. The viewsexpressed are personal)

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Nairobi: Another new variantof the coronavirus appears tohave emerged in Nigeria,Africa’s top public health offi-cial said Thursday, but headded that further investigationwas needed.

The discovery could add tonew alarm in the pandemicafter similar variants wereannounced in Britain andSouth Africa, leading to theswift return of internationaltravel restrictions and othermeasures just as the worldenters a major holiday season.

“Its a separate lineage fromthe UK and South Africa,” thehead of the Africa Centers forDisease Control andPrevention, John Nkengasong,told reporters. He said theNigeria CDC and the AfricanCenter of Excellence forGenomics of InfectiousDiseases in that country —Africas most populous — will

be analyzing more samples. “Give us some time ... Its

still very early,” he said.The alert about the appar-

ent new variant was based ontwo or three geneticsequences, he said, but thatand South Africa’s alert latelast week were enough toprompt an emergency meet-ing of the Africa CDC thisweek.

The variant was found intwo patient samples collectedon Aug. 3 and on Oct. 9 inNigeria’s Osun state, accordingto a working research paperseen by The Associated Press.

Unlike the variant seen inthe UK, “we haven’t observedsuch rapid rise of the lineage inNigeria and do not have evi-dence to indicate that theP681H variant is contributingto increased transmission of thevirus in Nigeria. However, therelative difference in scale of

genomic surveillance in Nigeriavs the UK May imply a reducedpower to detect such changes,”the paper says.

The news comes as infec-tions surge again in parts of theAfrican continent.

The new variant in SouthAfrica is now the predominantone there, Nkengasong said, asconfirmed infections in thecountry approach 1 million.While the variant transmitsquickly and viral loads arehigher, it is not yet clearwhether it leads to a moresevere disease, he said.

“We believe this mutationwill not have an effect” on thedeployment of Covid-19 vac-cines to the continent, he saidof the South Africa variant.

South Africa’s health min-ister late Wednesdayannounced an “alarming rate ofspread” in that country, withmore than 14,000 new cases

confirmed in the past day,including more than 400deaths. It was the largest single-day increase in cases.

The country has more than950,000 infections and Covid-19is “unrelenting,” Health MinisterZwelini Mkhize said. AP

Niamey (Niger): Niger could seeits first democratic transition ofpower since independence in theelections being held on Sundayamid a growing threat fromjihadists in the region.

President MahamadouIssoufou, who has served twoterms, is stepping down, pavingthe way for the first peacefultransfer of power between twoelected presidents since inde-pendence from France in 1960.Niger has seen four coups.

The transfer would be sig-

nificant not only in Niger butalso in West Africa, where lead-ers recently have held on for dis-puted third terms in Guinea andIvory Coast.

More than 7.4 millionNigeriens are registered to vote,and 30 candidates are runningfor president while 171 seats arebeing contested in the nationalassembly.

The next president will haveto deal with major problemsincluding extremism, poverty,displacement and corruption.

Attacks by extremists affectedlocal elections two weeks ago asNigeria-based Boko Haramfighters killed more than 28 peo-ple in Toumour in the Diffaregion the day before the vote.

Niger also faces increasingattacks from fighters linked tothe Islamic State group and al-Qaida. Thousands of peoplehave been killed and hundredsof thousands have been dis-placed despite the presence ofthousands of regional and inter-national troops. AP

Kathmandu: Chinese ambas-sador Hou Yanqi on Thursdaymet Nepal Communist Party’sexecutive chairman PushpaKamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, whoclaims control over the rulingparty after removing PrimeMinister K P Sharma Oli fromthe posts of the party’s parlia-mentary leader and chair.

The meeting at Prachanda’sresidence in Khumaltar - whichlasted for about 30 minutes -dwelt on the contemporarypolitical situation after the NCPsplit. “They discussed the issuesof bilateral concern,” accordingto sources close to Prachanda.

Bishnu Rijal, a leader closeto the Prachanda-faction,tweeted that “Ambassador ofthe People’s Republic of ChinaHou Yanqi met Chairman ofthe Nepal Communist PartyPushpa Kamal Dahal‘Prachanda’ this morning. Theydiscussed the issues of bilater-al concerns.”

Hou’s meeting withPrachanda comes two daysafter she called on President

Bidya Devi Bhandari onTuesday at the latter’s office inSheetal Niwas.

Hou is said to have dis-cussed the latest political devel-opment following the presi-dent’s move to dissolve theHouse of Representatives andannounce mid-term elections,My Republica reported.

This is not the first timethat the Chinese ambassadorhas intervened in Nepal’s inter-nal affairs at a time of crisis.

In May, Hou held separatemeetings with PresidentBhandari, the prime ministerand other senior NCP leaders,including Prachanda, when Oliwas facing mounting pressureto step down.

In July, she again met anumber of top leaders, includ-ing the president, prime min-ister, Prachanda, MadhavKumar Nepal and Jhala NathKhanal and Bamdev Gautam tosave Oli, who is known for hispro-Beijing leanings.

A number of political partyleaders had termed the Chinese

envoy’s series of meetings withthe ruling party leaders asinterference in Nepal’s internalpolitical affairs.

Dozens of student activistscarrying placards with anti-China slogans had staged ademonstration in front of theChinese Embassy here toprotest against Hou’s interfer-ence in Nepal’s internal affairs.

China’s political profile inNepal has been on the rise inthe recent years with billions ofdollars of investments underBeijing’s multi-billion-dollarBelt and Road Initiative (BRI),including the building of theTrans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional ConnectivityNetwork.

Besides the investments,China’s ambassador to NepalHou has made open efforts togarner support for Oli.

Meanwhile, the Prachanda-led faction has decided to stagenationwide protests nextTuesday to oppose the dissolu-tion of Parliament.

It was also decided to

organise a rally with the par-ticipation of the party’s CentralCommittee members andmembers of the dissolvedHouse of Representatives fromKathmandu’s MaitigharMandala to the ElectionCommission office to claimthe official party recognition.

Around 315 CentralCommittee members and near-ly 100 members of the Houseare expected to join the rally.

In a separate meeting of theCentral Committee membersclose to him, Prime MinisterOli announced the removal ofPrachanda from the post of theparty’s Executive Chairman.

The decision comes a dayafter the Prachanda-led factionof the ruling party electedhim as the new parliamentaryleader, replacing PrimeMinister Oli.

Oli was earlier removedfrom the post of party’s chair-man on Tuesday by a centralcommittee meeting of thePrachanda-led faction, whichalso decided to take disciplinary

action against him for dissolv-ing the House ofRepresentatives “unconstitu-tionally”.

The main OppositionNepali Congress (NC) has alsoannounced to hold a nation-wide protest against dissolutionof Parliament in all 77 districtsincluding Kathmandu onMonday.

Nepal on Sunday plungedinto a political crisis afterPresident Bidya Devi Bhandaridissolved the House ofRepresentatives and announceddates for mid-term elections atthe recommendation of PrimeMinister Oli, sparking protestsfrom a section of the rulingparty and various oppositionparties, including NepaliCongress.

The move came after theintra-party feud reached a cli-max in the ruling party whichhas been witnessing months-long power tussle between twofactions, one led by 68-year-oliOli and another led by 66-year-old Prachanda. PTI

Karachi: In a surprise move, aPakistani court on Thursdayordered the release of British-born al-Qaeda leader AhmedOmar Saeed Sheikh and histhree aides, who were convict-ed and sentenced in the abduc-tion and murder case of USjournalist Daniel Pearl.

A two-judge bench of theSindh High Court, presidedover by Justice KK Agha,directed security agencies notto keep Sheikh and otheraccused under “any sort ofdetention” and declared allnotifications of the Sindh gov-ernment related to their deten-tion “null and void”.

The court observed thatthe four men’s detention was“illegal”.

In April, a two-judge SindhHigh Court bench commutedthe death sentence of 46-year-old Sheikh to seven yearsimprisonment. The court alsoacquitted his three aides whowere serving life terms in thecase – almost two decadesafter they were found guiltyand jailed.

However, the Sindh gov-ernment refused to releasethem and kept them in deten-tion under the Maintenance ofPublic Order.

Their continuous detentionwas challenged in the SindhHigh Court, which orderedtheir release. However, it askedto place their names on the no-fly list so that they could not

leave the country. It also direct-ed them to appear before thecourt whenever summoned.

Pearl, the 38-year-oldSouth Asia bureau chief for TheWall Street Journal, wasabducted and beheaded whilehe was in Pakistan investigat-ing a story in 2002 on the linksbetween the country’s power-ful spy agency ISI and al-Qaeda.

A three-judge apex courtbench headed by JusticeMushir Alam is hearing theappeal by the Sindh govern-ment and the family of the slainjournalist against the acquittalof Sheikh.

The US has been mountingpressure on Pakistan, demand-ing justice for Pearl.

Pearl’s murder took placethree years after Sheikh, alongwith Jaish-e-Mohammad chiefMasood Azhar and MushtaqAhmed Zargar, was released byIndia in 1999 and given safepassage to Afghanistan inexchange for the nearly 150passengers of hijacked IndianAirlines Flight 814. PTI

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London: The deal is done,Downing Street in Londonand European Union (EU)officials in Brussels confirmedon Thursday as both sidesmanaged to thrash out a post-Brexit free trade agreement(FTA) just days before theDecember 31 deadline.

Thousands of pages of legaltext accompanies the deal, withdetails of the agreement set toemerge in the course of thenext few days, including thefinal ratification of the FTA byParliaments on both sides.

“We have got Brexit doneand we can now take fulladvantage of the fantasticopportunities available to us asan independent trading nation,striking trade deals with otherpartners around the world,”Downing Street said in a state-ment.

“We have signed the firstfree trade agreement based onzero tariffs and zero quotas thathas ever been achieved with theEU. The deal is the biggestbilateral trade deal signed by

either side, covering tradeworth GBP 668 billion in 2019,”it said, adding that the UK hastaken back control of its“money, borders, laws, tradeand our fishing waters”.

“The deal also guaranteesthat we are no longer in thelunar pull of the EU, we are notbound by EU rules, there is norole for the European Court of

Justice and all of our key redlines about returning sover-eignty have been achieved. Itmeans that we will have fullpolitical and economic inde-pendence on 1st January 2021,”Downing Street declared.

On the other side, the EUsaid it has a good deal to showfor the “long and windingroad”. PTI

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Nairobi: South Africa’s HealthMinister says the country hasseen more than 14,000 con-firmed new coronavirus casesin the past day, with a posi-tivity rate of 26 per cent, asoverall cases edge toward 1million.

Heath Minister ZweliniMkhize says the “alarmingrate of spread” of infections ismuch faster than during thefirst wave in midyear. Hisdaily report doesnt say howmany of the new infections areattributed to the new variant

of the virus in South Africa.The country has more

than 950,000 confirmed cases,including more than 25,000deaths. More than 400 peoplehave died in the past day.

Mkhize says Covid-19 is“unrelenting” and urges SouthAfricans to not be complacentas they enter the holiday sea-son, and he warns that thegovernment will have toreview restrictions meant tolimit the spread of the virusand “consider further mea-sures.” AP

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Yerevan: Police in theArmenian capital detaineddozens of people on Thursdayduring protests against thecountry’s Prime Minister, whois being pressured to resignover his handling of theNagorno-Karabakh conflictwith Azerbaijan.

Opposition politicians andtheir supporters have beendemanding for weeks thatNikol Pashinyan step downover the Nov. 10 peace dealthat saw Azerbaijan reclaimcontrol over large parts ofNagorno-Karabakh and sur-rounding areas. The Russia-brokered agreement ended 44days of fierce fighting in whichthe Azerbaijani army routedArmenian forces.

Police detained 77 peoplefollowing clashes when thou-sands of protesters convergedon center of the capital Yerevanand surrounded the heavilyguarded government build-ing. Pashinyan and other cab-inet members were able to getinto the building despite theunrest.

“Now our goal is that theydon’t get out until NikolPashinyan resigns,” IshkhanSaghatelyan, a leading memberof the oppositionDashnaktsutyun party, wasquoted as saying by theRussian state Tass news agency.

Nagorno-Karabakh lieswithin Azerbaijan but wasunder the control of ethnicArmenian forces backed byArmenia since a separatist warthere ended in 1994. AP

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Kabul: An Afghan women’srights activist was shot andkilled by unknown gunmen innorthern Kapisa provinceThursday, an Interior Ministryofficial said.

Tariq Arian, a spokesmanfor the Interior Ministry, saidFreshta Kohistani was assassi-nated by unknown gunmen inthe Kohistan district of Kapisa.Kohistani’s brother was wound-ed in the attack, he said.

Kohistani, a former provin-cial council member, organizedprotests and raised awarenesson social media about violenceagainst women in Afghanistan.

The attack was the latestamid relentless violence inAfghanistan even as Talibanand Afghan government nego-tiators hold talks in Qatar, try-ing to hammer out a peace dealthat could put an end todecades of war. No one imme-

diately claimed responsibilityfor Thursday’s attack, but theIslamic State group has claimedresponsibility for multipleattacks in Kabul in recentmonths, including on educa-tional institutions that killed 50people, most of them students.

Violence in Afghanistanhas spiked even during Talibanand Afghan government peacenegotiations, which began inSeptember. The talks, aftersome recent proceduralprogress, have been suspendeduntil early January and there isspeculation the resumptioncould be further delayed. At thesame time, Taliban militantshave waged bitter battles againstIS fighters, particularly in east-ern Afghanistan, while contin-uing their insurgency againstGovernment forces and keep-ing their promise not to attackUS And NATO troops. AP

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Kinshasa (Congo): More than30 people have died in anovernight capsizing on LakeAlbert while trying to return toCongo from Uganda, accord-ing to a civil society group.

Most of the victims weretrying to return illegally toCongo to avoid coronavirusrestrictions, said VitalAdubanga, president of theWangongo chiefdom in eastern

Congo’s Ituri province. Trafficbetween the countries is offi-cially at a standstill as part ofthe fight against Covid-19.

The dugout canoe cap-sized near the town ofKolokoto, he said.

“A strong wind blew andcaused this incident,” he said.“We have so far recorded a bal-ance sheet provisionally of 33dead people and seven sur-

vivors.” He said owners mustrespect regulations that pro-hibit night boats.

“More Congolese tradershave been forced to be con-fined in Uganda following theCovid-19 pandemic,” he said.“They wanted to return totheir country ... We deplorethis behaviour which oftenleads to deaths. Night boats areto be discouraged.” AP

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FASTags will be mandatoryfor vehicles from January 1,

2021, Union minister NitinGakdari said on Thursday.

FASTags, which facilitateelectronic payment of fee at tollplazas, was introduced in 2016.Making the tags compulsorywould also help in ensuringthat vehicles pass seamlesslythrough the toll plazas as feepayment would be done elec-tronically.

Union Minister for RoadTransport, Highways andMSMEs Nitin Gadkari hasannounced that FASTag isbeing made mandatory for allvehicles in the country fromthe new year, the Ministry ofRoad Transport and Highways

said in a statement.Addressing a virtual func-

tion on Thursday, he also saidthat FASTag will be useful forcommuters as they will nothave to stop at toll plazas forcash payments. Besides, it willalso help save time and fuel, headded.

FASTag was launched in2016 and four banks togetherissued nearly a lakh of them. By2017, their numbers went up toseven lakh and more than 34lakh FASTags were issued in2018.

In November this year, theministry issued a notificationalso making FASTag mandato-ry from January 1, 2021 for oldvehicles or that were sold beforeDecember 1, 2017.

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Uttar Pradesh, being themost populous state in

the country, should register thehighest collection of Goods andServices Tax (GST), ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath saidon Thursday and directed offi-cials to make efforts to raiserevenue receipts.

He said at a review meet-ing that strict action should be

taken against those involved inrevenue theft.

"UP is the most populousstate in the country and hasmaximum consumers.Therefore, the GST collec-tion should also be the high-est here," the chief ministersaid.

He said accountability ofofficials concerned should befixed at all levels keeping in viesrevenue receipts.

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The forging industry onThursday urged the gov-

ernment to ban steel and ironore exports, as domestic steelprices shot up 25-30% in thelast three months due toincreased exports and squeezedsupply in the localmarket.Forging steel manufac-turers have hiked prices by 10

per cent over the last sixmonths and now looking for afurther 15% increase.The ini-tial increase was impossible tosustain, and the further hike inprices will prove to be disas-trous, Association of IndianForging Industry said in arelease.As much as 80% of the�34,000 crore domestic forgingindustry comes from the auto-mobile industry.

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Equity indices marched high-er for the third session on

the trot on Thursday, pro-pelled by Reliance Industriesand financial stocks, amid apositive trend in global marketson prospects of a Brexit tradedeal.

A sharp jump in the rupeeand persistent foreign fundinflows added to the momen-tum here, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensexsurged 529.36 points or 1.14per cent to close at 46,973.54.The broader NSE Niftyzoomed 148.15 points or 1.09per cent to 13,749.25.

Axis Bank topped theSensex gainers’ chart, spurting3.04 per cent, followed by SunPharma, ONGC, Reliance

Industries (RIL), HDFC, ICICIBank, Bharti Airtel, BajajFinance and Kotak Bank.

Index heavyweights RIL,HDFC and HDFC Bankaccounted for over half of theSensex’s gains. On the otherhand, Infosys, Nestle India,IndusInd Bank, Dr Reddy’s,HCL Tech and Bajaj Finservwere among the main lag-gards, dropping up to 1.32 percent. During the holiday-truncated week, Sensex inchedup 12.85 points or 0.02 percent, while Nifty slipped 11.30points or 0.08 per cent. Marketswill be closed on Friday onaccount of Christmas. Globalequities extended gains asBritain and European Unionneared a Brexit deal ahead ofthe Christmas weekend, cheer-ing participants.

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The economy is coming outof the Covid-19 pandemic’s

deep abyss faster than most ofthe predictions, and the growthwill enter positive zone in thethird quarter of the currentfinancial year, said an article onthe ‘state of economy’ in theRBI Bulletin.

"...More evidence has beenturned in to show that theIndian economy is pulling outof COVID-19’s deep abyss andis breaking out amidst winter’slengthening shadows towards aplace in the sunlight...It isreflating at a pace that beatsmost prediction," said the arti-cle written by the officials of theReserve Bank of India (RBI).

Impacted by the coron-avirus pandemic, the Indianeconomy dipped by a historic

23.9 per cent in the first quar-ter of the current financialyear. The contraction narroweddown to 7.5 per cent in the sec-ond quarter. Quoting reports,the article said, "Real GDPgrowth is expected to break outinto positive territory in Q3 -albeit, to a slender 0.1 percent." Two important forces areconspiring to bless this turningof the page on the virus, thearticle said.

"First, India is bending theCOVID infection curve: sincemid-September, barringlocalised surges, infections areslanting fashion to supportinvestment and consumptiondemand," it said,

"The fiscal measures havebeen sequenced in a designedshift in focus from consump-tion expenditure in PradhanMantri Garib Kalyan Package(PMGKP) to investmentexpenditure in Aatma Nirbhar2.0 and 3.0," the article added.

Abstracting from theinherent flux in high frequen-

cy indicators, the underlyingtrend would reveal that thepick-up in momentum of eco-nomic activity that commencedwith the onset of the secondhalf of 2020-21 is sustained, itnoted. "The absence of thedreaded ‘second wave’ of pan-demic in India so far hasimparted elevation to thismomentum in an environmentof supportive macroeconomicpolicies, spurring a fasterunlock and normalisation ofthe economy," it added.

RBI said the viewsexpressed in this article arethose of the authors and do notnecessarily represent the viewsof the central bank. Authors ofthe article further said thatcontractions forecast by vari-ous agencies for the year as awhole are already beingtrimmed, and if the currentmomentum is maintained, thebounce back expected in thelast quarter of the year may bestronger than postulated underbaseline assumptions.

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India’s networking marketwhich includes ethernet

switch, routers, and WLAN(wireless local area network)segments witnessed a 16.4 percent year-over-year (YoY)decline in the third quarter ofthis year due to the negativeimpact of Covid-19, industrytracker International DataCorporation (IDC) said onThursday.

The decline during theJuly-September period wasmajorly characterised by thedecline in router revenues.

The routing business inIndia declined by 40.2 per centYoY in Q3, IDC said, addingthat Cisco leads the routermarket with a 64.4 per centshare followed by Juniper andNokia.

The WLAN market inIndia grew marginally by 3.1per cent YoY.

The market for Wi-Fi 6also witnessed significant trac-tion in the Indian market.

While the revenue contributionof Wi-Fi 6 differed by vendors,there was a significant jump inthe sales of Wi-Fi 6 accesspoints across all the majorvendors in the segment.

With a market share of 29.8per cent, TP-Link was the mar-ket leader in the WLAN seg-ment during Q3, followed byD-Link due to the rapidincrease in demand for con-sumer gateway routers.

The enterprise classWLAN segment was led byCisco followed by HewlettPackard Enterprise (HPE).

"Covid-19 has acceleratedthe enterprise movementtowards cloud which hasbecome the origin of transfor-mation in the networkingecosystem," SudharsanRaghunathan, Senior MarketAnalyst, EnterpriseNetworking, IDC India, said ina statement.

"Many of the networkinginvestments have been aroundtechnologies that enable seam-less working from anywhere,

enhancing the security frame-work, extending the corporatenetwork efficiently, easier man-ageability and troubleshoot-ing, and bringing back employ-ees into the office premisessafely."

Switching had a YoYdecline of 8.8 per cent in Q3,IDC said, adding that muchlike the routing segment, thedecline in the ethernet switchsegment was attributed to thedecline in investments fromservice providers.

Cisco continued to domi-nate the ethernet switch mar-ket with a 59.8 per cent shareduring Q3, followed by Huaweiand Hewlett PackardEnterprise (HPE), IDC said.

However, according to anIDC India forecast, increasedadoption of emerging tech-nologies such as cloud, Internetof Things (IoT), mobility, etc.would drive incremental rev-enues in the coming years.IDC also expects large invest-ments for 5G rollouts in thenext couple of years.

New Delhi:Petrol and dieselprices remained unchanged onThursday as oil marketingcompanies continued to main-tain a wait and watch stanceamid a stable global oil market.

Accordingly, the pumpprice of petrol remained at Rs83.71 a litre and diesel Rs73.87 a litre in Delhi onThursday.

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With mobile networkboosters becoming a

major reason for poor servicequality, the Department ofTelecom has asked online sell-ers to pull down listings of suchequipment, an official state-ment said on Thursday.

The DoT has also carriedout raids across multiple loca-tions in South Mumbai overthe last two days which led tothe removal of 68 illegal boost-ers (or repeaters), it added.

The action comes amidfrequent complaints of poornetwork quality in variousparts of the country.

"Online platforms havealso been issued notices to

remove listing of illegalrepeaters from their websiteand such companies haveresponded positively," AmitGautam, who is part of DoT’sWireless MonitoringOrganisation, was quoted assaying in the statement.

"We started bringing downthe illegal repeaters inNovember. Raids were con-ducted on December 22 and 23as well.

Total 68 illegal mobile sig-nal boosters were broughtdown. We could see they wereall China made devices with nosafety standard mark...,"Gautam said.

He added the departmentwill file FIR against vendorsselling these network repeaters.

�.�� 9091

The Reserve Bank onThursday said it will con-

duct simultaneous purchaseand sale of government secu-rities under open market oper-ations (OMOs) for an aggregateamount of Rs 10,000 croreeach next week.

The decision was takenafter a review of the current liq-uidity and financial condi-tions, RBI said in a statement.

Simultaneous purchase andsale of government securitiesunder OMOs, popularlyknown as Operation Twist,involves purchasing G-Sec(government securities) oflonger maturities and sellingequal amount of G-Sec ofshorter maturities.

�.�� 9091

The RBI on Thursday said ithas cancelled the licence of

Subhadra Local Area Bank,Kolhapur, as its affairs wereconducted in a "manner detri-mental" to the interests of itspresent and future depositors.

The bank had breachedthe minimum net worthrequirement for two quartersin the financial year 2019-20,the RBI said in a statement.However, Subhadra Local AreaBank has enough liquidity topay all its depositors, it added.

"Public interest would beadversely affected if it isallowed to continue to do thebusiness in the manner inwhich it is functioning", theRBI said, adding that the gen-eral character of the manage-ment is considered prejudicialto the interest of the presentand future depositors.

The licence issued toSubhadra Local Area Bankstands cancelled to carry outbanking business from theclose of business on December24, 2020.

Consequent to the cancel-lation of the licence, the bankis prohibited from conductingthe business of banking or anyadditional business envisagedunder the Banking RegulationAct, 1949 with immediateeffect.

New Delhi:State-ownedCentral Bank of India will exithousing finance joint ventureby selling its entire stake of over64% to Centrum HousingFinance for �160 crore."This isto inform that the bank hasentered into a binding agree-ment to divest its entire equi-ty stake of 64.40% i.E.1,61,00,000 shares of face value

of �10 each in Cent BankHome Finance Ltd (CBHFL),to Centrum Housing Finance,subject to approvals from reg-ulatory authorities," CentralBank of India said in a BSE fil-ing. According to a separate fil-ing by Centrum Capital, theparent of Centrum Housing,the cost of acquisition is about�160 crore on cash basis.

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Climbing for the secondstraight session, the rupee

darted up 21 paise to end at73.55 against the US dollar onThursday amid sustained for-eign fund inflows and posi-tive domestic equities.

A weak greenback over-seas and expectations of theUK and EU reaching a Brexitdeal very soon also enthusedparticipants, traders said.

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(�.��)��"�� Hidesign’s diary: Hidesign’s in-houseillustrator Shreya Swamy presents quirkysketches and humorous one liners in abeautiful, handcrafted soft-suede leatherbound 2021 diary, which is sure a joyfulway to pen down your thoughts. Pricedat �3,395.

� Diesel: Experiment with these big andbold watches which are the latest addi-tion to your wardrobe. Priced at �13,495.

� Six-part shaving system kit: BombayShaving Company has curated a six-partshaving system kit, designed for a com-fortable, close and joyous shave. The packincludes a precision safety razor with mildand aggressive clamp, feather blades, preshave scrub, shaving cream, imitation hairbadger brush, post shave balm, razorsheath and shave dab. Priced at �3,675.

� Portronics: A prominent leader in theinnovative and portable digital productmarket launches Harmonics 300 — thenewest addition to their existing line ofpremium wireless headsets in two differ-ent colours — Blue and Black. Priced at�2,999.

� MyRun: Even the smallest space canbecome a never-ending road withMyRun; an infinity run, with no noise todistract you from your goals. Synchroniseit with your tablet to make the most ofyour purchase. All thanks to personalisedtraining programmes, unique workoutexperiences and feedback on your run-ning in real time.

� Christmas capsule collection fromNumero Uno: Numero Uno launched anew capsule collection for Christmaswhich features sweaters and sweatshirtsin colours of green, white and reds. TheChristmas themed red and white stripepullover is made of 100 per cent knitted

cotton and can be paired with denims foran elegant look. Priced starts at �1,599.

� Prada sunglass: The glasses hit the cat-walk at the Fall/Winter 2020 PradaMen’s fashion show. The frame’s rigorousdesign is revisited with larger volumesand soft lines. The style stays true to thefine combinations of acetate layers thathighlight the lens profiles, creating a dis-tinctive three-dimensional effect.Available in versions of Black, Matte Blackwith Pink, Crystal Amber with White andCrystal Grey with White.

� Haircare range by Bare Anatomy:With high quality ingredients ethicallysourced from all over the world, BareAnatomy’s complete range is sure toimpart instant shine and nourishment totangled and lifeless locks during winters.Priced at �1,800 (for a kit of mask, sham-poo and conditioner).

� Bombay Baking Company: The exquis-ite and much sought-after patisserie-deliat the JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu cele-

brates the joy of gifting by offeringpatrons customisable Christmas ham-pers. Enhance your Christmas cheer asyou treat your taste buds to the signa-ture flavour of the festive spirit with theassortment of signature Christmas cakes,desserts and savory goodies handcraft-ed by our master chefs. The hampers canbe customised and guests can select fromdecadent delicacies such as Christmasplum cake, chocolate walnut fudge,dundee cake, Christmas pudding, choco-late santa, handcrafted bonbons,Christmas cookies, chocolate Yule log,gingerbread house and more. Priced at�4,000 plus taxes.

� Alexa: You can now listen to podcastsavailable through Spotify and ApplePodcasts on their Echo devices.Customers can enable the podcastproviders by linking their accounts in theAlexa app. Once enabled, they can startlistening on their device.

� Time to wine down: The hamperoffers an exciting combination of thebest paired cheeses and wine to addmore delight to every occasion. It isloaded with a fine selection of HappyMilk organic cheeses such as mozzarel-la, chilli, garlic, cheddar and pepper, andbest paired with a bottle of ChiantiClassico. Priced at �6199.

� Glenfiddich limited edition pack2020: Glenfiddich introduces the limit-ed-edition gift pack for 2020 with theiriconic 12-year-old expression.Embracing change since 1887 is the gen-esis of the pack design. The ideaemanates from the realisation of change,which is imperative to welcoming theunknown, risk taking and addressing theconstant need to forge ahead, an idealgifting option for Christmas and NewYear. Price at �6,700 (Mumbai) and�3,860 (Delhi).

(�.��)��;)"�� Kiko Milano holiday gems diamonddust lipstick: Treat yourself to a look guar-anteed to make you feel holiday ready orpick from a range of gifts your friends willbe delighted to unwrap and treasure, allpackaged in rich emerald green and goldpackaging inspired by decorations andornaments. Price range starts at �2,990.

� Spread the love by The Body Shop:Meet this year’s line-up of special editionfestive fragrances: New Winter Jasmine,Festive Berry and Warm Vanilla. Pricedstarts from �725.

� Athleisure by ASICS: With a nip in theair, it’s important to keep the love for run-ning alive while bearing the cold. And,ASICS has exactly what you need to keepyour running shoes on with their newwinter apparel.

� Ultra facial cream by Kiehl’s: Celebratethis holiday season with Kiehl’s best-sell-ing face cream. With its unique light-weight texture, it provides lasting 24-hourhydration for softer, smoother and visi-bly healthier-looking skin.

� Sparkling edition by Taj Palace, NewDelhi: Sparkling edition hamper includesChristmas special traditional dundeecake, traditional plum cake, artisanalhomemade cashew and raisin chocolates,assorted french macaroons, freshly bakedcookies, Christmas candles, luxury acces-sories and collectibles. All this is elegant-ly packed in a handcrafted basket. Guestscan choose from this exquisite assortmentto make their very own customise festivecomposition. Priced at �25,000 plustaxes.

� Christmas trees and plants by Ferns NPetals: The feeling of festivity is incom-plete without the well-decoratedChristmas trees that symbolise eternal life

and growth. Gift DIY kit and gemstonewishing trees along with a range of tra-ditional real plants such as red and whitepoinsettia, Christmas tree, araucaria,cyprus etc. Price ranges from �449 till�2,299.

� Elan by Daniel Wellington: The collec-tion was initially inspired by DanielWellington’s most popular accessories, theclassic bracelet and classic ring. Aftersome tweaks and modifications, theselection includes earrings, bracelets,rings and necklaces, available in rose goldor silver. This introduces completelynew characteristics to the realm of DanielWellington and is a visual embodimentof energy, style and enthusiasm. Price:�4,999 onwards.

� Starbucks tumbler: #CarryTheMerryfrom the comfort of your homes with anarray of festive cups, mugs, tumblers andbottles, inspired by the themes ofChristmas. The cosy and festive holidaybeverages can be enjoyed with the vibrantholiday merchandise collection.

� The Rug Republic cushions: Give atouch of colour and charm to your liv-ing space while providing great function-ality with our versatile ‘Tigris’ cushion.Hand woven in cotton then screen print-ed. Price: �1,500 to �2,500.

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This year has upended ourlives in unexpected ways.

Bumble’s most recent data revealsthat over 40 per cent of daters inIndia share they are no longerconfident that they know how todate successfully. And 70 percent of singles say that they arenot comfortable navigating dat-ing in 2020, while one in twoclaim they are ready to go on adate in-person. Throughout thisturbulent year, meaningfulonline connections reignedsupreme globally, albeit in newand different ways. In 2020,we’ve seen an increased need forsocial connections since Marchwhen the lockdown and socialdistancing restrictions began inthe country, evidenced by thefact that over 540 million mes-sages have been sent on the dat-ing app.

TRENDING TOPICThe most popular topic of

conversation in 2020 was ‘work-ing from home’ as 57 per cent ofdaters discussed this as their newnormal.

MAKING THE FIRST MOVEPeople are diving right in to

make the first move with their pro-file prompts. The most popularprompt used in India this year was:Beach or mountains... Other toppopular prompts were: Nightclub

or Netflix... After work you can findme... Favourite quality in a person...

EMOJIS OF CHOICEAn emoji says a thousand

words. The heart wants what itwants! The most used emoji onprofiles was the classic red heart.This goes to show that even dur-ing a pandemic, single peoplelooked to find meaningful connec-tions.

WHEN THE STARS ALIGNZodiac signs continue to be

a hot topic among the users ofthe dating app. So which of thesigns were most likely to findlove this year? It was Leo. Theyhad the most matches of any starsign, followed by Scorpio andLibra.

PHOTO MUST HAVESThe more photos you have,

the more chances you’ll match.Two in three (63 per cent) of theusers uploaded photos of themin their everyday lives on theirprofiles, while selfies (62 percent) took the second spot.

THE ERA OF SLOW DATINGMore than ever, people are

feeling a strong desire to buildtrust online before taking therelationship offline, leading tomore virtual communication.More than 40 per cent of theusers are slowing down the ‘get

to know you phase.’ Women arenow more likely to focus on thequalities in a partner, ultimate-ly putting less pressure on them-selves in dating.

People are having morequality conversations online,known as “pre-dates”, averagingroughly 20 minutes.

THE RISE OF NEW DAWNDATERS

One in two, over 46 per centof people are likely to be the“new dawn daters.” The biggestdriver of breakups was the inabil-ity to see a partner (46.45 percent). One in three people (29per cent) also said that the pan-demic has precipitated existingissues.

THE COVID CONVERSA-TION

The pandemic and ourhealth and safety concerns havebeen a trending topic of conver-

sation for single people every-where. In this new landscape,people are learning to navigatethe new rules of dating and aretrying new ways to meet othersvirtually.

As we look ahead to 2021,there’s no doubt the dating land-scape will continue to evolve.Here are a few predictions:

�Dating in-person is definitelynot off the table with one in twopeople claiming that they areready to date in-person.

�People are increasingly open tovirtual dating as well with onein five up for using video chats.

�Dating will ramp up in early2021 as 69 per cent of the userssay that they are planning to usedating apps just as much asthey do now, if not more throughValentine’s Day 2021.

Actor R Madhavan says that the2009 blockbuster 3 Idiots is

and will always be the most impor-tant film of his life and career forits relatability and impact on theviewers, especially students.

The actor turned nostalgic asthe film will complete 11 years ofrelease date on Christmas Day, andshared how much he is respectedeven today for being a part of thecast.

“3 Idiots will always be themost important film of my careerand my life because of the impactit has with the youth world over.The film for me is the visiting cardto any industry I go to, they all lookat me with reverence and respectbecause of that one film all over theworld, irrespective of whetherthey understand Hindi or not. Idon’t think any other film hastouched that level of importance in

my life,” he said.In the film, Madhavan’s char-

acter aspires to be a wildlife pho-tographer but studies engineeringowing to his father’s insistence.

Recalling his character in thefilm, the actor shared, “The role ofFarhan Qureshi and the conversa-tion which he had with his fatheris the kind of conversation everyyoungster has had with their par-ents one time or the other. The

character has become completelysynonymous with the struggle ofthe younger generation to provetheir individuality and because ofthat i’ll always be known as Farhanfrom 3 Idiots!”

Directed by Rajkumar Hirani,the film stars Aamir Khan,Sharman Joshi, Boman Irani,Kareena Kapoor Khan, OmiVaidya and Mona Singh in keyroles, along with Madhavan.

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The celebration of Christmas and theGregorian New Year is a more recentphenomenon in India and are a

British legacy. Obviously, the more recentglobalisation of our world, the mass mediaand a much more interconnected world havealso played a major role in promoting thesetwo events.

In most Western Christian cultures, theChristmas meal consists of two meals — thedinner of the December 24 evening and thelunch of December 25. Both these meals aretraditionally enjoyed in the intimacy of pri-vate homes and great care and attention isgiven to their preparation which can, insome cases, take several days. This includesthe selection of the menu, purchasing of theingredients, the actual cooking, setting a fes-tive table and serving the food.

On Christmas Eve, the meal is followedby attendance at the midnight mass and chil-dren cannot wait to go to bed in order toallow time for Santa Claus to bring the pre-sents…

As to the type of food served duringChristmas, it is always associated with tra-ditions. Since you come together in family,naturally you look for the tastes andflavours of your childhood, a time when themagic and mysteries of the gifts appearingunder the Christmas tree still marvelled you.In most cases there is little appetite forchange and innovation. On the contrary, onelooks for “old” grandmother recipes hiddenin some notebook in the attic or carefullykept in the memory box or the library.

In the Northern Hemisphere, Christmasfalls in the wintertime and understandablythe weather dictates to a large extent the typeof foods which are served during the cele-brations. It is not uncommon that theChristmas menus are copious, not highlyrecommended for calory-conscious individ-uals or alternatively calling for seriousworkout and restraint after the celebrations.

In more recent times, with greater pro-fessional mobility and the reduction of thesize of families it has become more difficultfor the extended families to come togetherfor the celebrations and there is an increas-ing trend to celebrate the two Christmasmeals outside one’s home in restaurantswhere you meet with friends. Though stilllargely a “traditional” meal, neverthelessmore innovations are happening in these“out of home” settings.

In European countries, a large varietyof meals are served for Christmas. Often,they express not only food but also containa symbolism. For instance, in Bulgaria, theChristmas meal may consist of seven, nineor 12 courses which represent the seven daysof the week, nine months of pregnancy orthe 12 months of the year. In South ofFrance, 13 desserts are served which repre-sent the 12 apostles and the Christ. InHungary, it is not only the food which is fes-tive but also the tablecloth which is of greatsignificance.

In several countries, there are productsspecially made for the Christmas and NewYear celebrations. In Germany and Austriahot wine is an integral part of the Christmaslandscape. In Italy, the delicious Panettoneand Pandoro announce the arrival of the fes-tive season. In France, the Bûches (YuleLogs) and the incomparable Galette des Roisare deeply associated with the celebrations.And obviously, Christmas Pudding, PlumCake and the Christmas Biscuits are verypopular in English speaking countries.

In my home country France too, thereare varieties in terms of Christmas foods,depending on the region where you come

from. In some regions fish is the centrepieceof the menu whereas in others meat is whatwe call the “plat de resistance” or the maindish. There are though, some elementswhich are common to all regions such asseafood, particularly oysters and foie graswhich belong on the table of all those whocan afford it. And naturally, one of the all-time favourites all over is the roastedturkey with the secrets of the stuffing whichare transmitted from generation to gener-ation.

With changing eating habits, some fun-damentally revolutionary such as veganism,many of the traditional Christmas foods areput in question — even though for a smallbut growing minority — though new lastingcreations have yet to emerge.

In India, we observe a microcosmwhere the different Christmas traditions andfoods, mainly originating from Europe findtheir expression. The increasing commercial-isation of the festivities is reinforcing andaccelerating this process. Households withaffinity to one or the other European coun-try find inspiration in their Christmas foodmenus as do restaurants which are specialisedin serving European or American foods.

Like all other aspects of life, Christmas2020 and New Year 2021 have been and willbe affected by the COVID crisis. This year,the size of family gatherings will be drasti-cally reduced, restaurants will see the num-ber of dine-ins restrained, home delivery ofChristmas meals will play a significant roleand we will all have more time to revisit thatrecipe book handed over from our grand-mother and try our hands on one of itsChristmas secrets.

(The writer Kazem Samandari isExecutive Chairman, L’Opéra.)

As contactless food became thenorm in the pandemic-hit year,

online delivery platform Swiggy onTuesday said that some form ofbiryani was ordered more thanonce every second while homecooked food was one of the mostferried items in 2020.

The chicken biryani reaffirmed

its place as India’s favourite dish. Forevery veg biryani, there were sixchicken biryani orders. Over threelakh new users made their Swiggydebut by ordering in a chickenbiryani, according to the data fromfifth edition of Swingy’s annual‘StatEATstics’ analysis.

“While we delivered five times

as many orders to ‘Home’ addresses com-pared to ‘Work’ addresses between Januaryand March, that number rose to nine timesas many home orders versus work orders inApril and May,” the report mentioned.

Missing office cappuccinos and masalachais while working from home, lakhs ofhardworking Swiggy users ordered varietiesof tea and coffee. Swiggy also delivered overtwo lakh pani puri orders post lockdown.

The company launched ‘SwiggyHealthHub’ in August, a curation of healthyfood items. While users in the NationalCapital Region (NCR) ordered the health-iest meals, Bangaloreans showed a highresolve to get healthy. At 130 per cent, thecity saw the highest increase in healthy food

orders on Swiggy HealthHub.People ate an average of 342 calories for

dinner. Lunches ranged at under 350 calo-ries, while breakfast, the day’s most impor-tant meal, saw people consume an averageof 427 calories.

Swiggy Instamart, its instant groceryand essentials delivery service, delivered over75,000 kgs of onion. “Our shortest deliveryrequest came in from someone in Bengaluruand spanned a 600 metres to collect anempty water can from their home andexchange it for a full one at the store.Meanwhile, our longest delivery spanned 39kms in Kolkata and involved the delivery ofa SIM card,” Swiggy informed.

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The BCCI’s governing bodyon Thursday ratified the

entry of two new franchises inthe IPL to make it a 10-teamaffair from 2022 and alsodecided to back the ICC’s pushfor cricket’s inclusion in the2028 Olympics, during itsAnnual General Meeting(AGM) here.

“Two new teams will beintroduced in the 2022 IPL,” aBoard source said.

It is learnt that time at handis too short for even a nine-team IPL next year as an elab-orate tender-floating process,increase of matches and ensur-ing that all foreign player’international calenders are

adjusted, would be prove to bea herculean task.

In another major develop-ment, the Board, in principle,decided to back the ICC’s bidfor inclusion of cricket, in theT20 format, in the 2028 LosAngeles Olympics “after gettingsome clarifications from theInternational OlympicCommittee”.

Also, it was decided that allfirst-class players, both menand women, will be suitablycompensated for the curtaileddomestic season due to theCovid-19 pandemic.

The BCCI plans to get thedomestic season underway,after several months’ delay, inJanuary with the Syed MushtaqAli T20 championship.

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Australia chief coach JustinLanger can empathise with

the Indian team after the 36-runshocker it endured in Adelaidebut he is also “glad” that the vis-itors are “stressed” during theChristmas weekend ahead of thesecond Test on December 26.

Having won the first Testwithin two and half days by dis-missing India for their lowestTest score of 36, Langer said histeam would look to drive homethe advantage in the absence ofVirat Kohli by putting relentlesspressure on new skipper AjinkyaRahane.

What would he have donehad he been in India coach RaviShastri’s shoes?

“None of my business. Ihave had enough with stresses....I empathise with the opposi-tion and I know what it feels like.If India are feeling any stress, Iam glad they are and not us overthe Christmas weekend,” Langersaid during a virtual mediaconference.

He did admit that theabsence of Kohli (paternityleave) and Mohammed Shami(wrist fracture) would be anadvantage for his team but thefocus firmly remains on its ownplanning.

“Of course, whatever sportyou play, if you take out two ofyour stars, Virat Kohli is an all-time great player I think andShami is a real glue for the teambecause he is so miserly and skil-ful. It surely gives us someadvantage,” he said.

“We need to start stronglyon the first day and build pres-sure on Rahane as he is the newcaptain of India for this series.So the processes don’t change.Whenever you take out bestplayers of any cricket team, itweakens them and that’s thereality,” he said.

While David Warner is outof the second Test, Langer could-n’t say with finality whether thedashing opener will be availablefor the third Test in Sydney.

“I am very hopeful. ....As Isaid for the last three weeks orso, he will be doing everythingpossible to get back out onto theground, so fingers crossed,” hesaid.

But he does have troublerunning?

“He is starting (to get) a bitof trouble running at full speed,when he gets that back and feelsconfident with it, of course hewill come back into our team, sowe will just monitor him regu-larly and fingers crossed that hewill be back,” Langer said.

Tim Paine’s batting has beena topic of discussion as theAustralians judge every keeper-

batsman through the AdamGilchrist prism but the coach hasenormous faith in his skipper’sabilities and the leadership qual-ities he has shown in the pasttwo years.

“You think about AdamGilchrist, I guess, who trans-formed the game in a sense, andthat is why Adam Gilchrist is anall-time great player because hetransformed the game. I have gotenormous faith in Tim Paine,”

Langer said.“...Whether it’s his wicket-

keeping, his captaincy, his bat-ting, I have said publicly and pri-vately for almost the last year, heis our most important player,because he is a lead wicket-keep-er, his leadership on and off thefield is incredible,” he said.

“....We saw he can play,how well he batted in firstinnings under pressure inAdelaide, probably changedthe game actually with the run-out of Virat Kohli, so he is agreat player, great leader and Iliterally love having him in ourteam,” he said.

Kohli, Shami absence advantage for Oz: Langer

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Cricket Australia onThursday said Melbourne

has been placed on standby tohost the third Test betweenIndia and Australia if Sydney’sCovid-19 situation renders it“untenable” despite efforts beingmade to continue with the orig-inal schedule.

The fate of the third Test hasbeen shrouded in uncertainty

since earlier this month after afresh Covid-19 outbreak in thenorthern beaches in Sydney,which is scheduled to host thethird Test from January 7.

“CA has reaffirmed its com-mitment to giving it the bestchance to play the thirdVodafone Test at the SydneyCricket Ground and the fourthVodafone Test at the Gabba asper the original schedule,” CAsaid in a statement.

“Should the public healthsituation in NSW render play-ing in Sydney untenable, CA’spreferred contingency plan is towork with the VictorianGovernment to play the thirdVodafone Test at the MelbourneCricket Ground followed by thefourth Vodafone Test at theGabba,” it added.

A final decision on thethird Test venue would be madeduring the Boxing Day Test.

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Australia chief coach JustinLanger on Thursday said

the home team will beunchanged for the second Testagainst India beginning onSaturday unless there is anyunexpected event in the nexttwo days.

Langer said he’d have to be“pretty courageous” to make anychanges to a side that dished outsuch a dominating perfor-mance.

“I’d be a pretty courageousman to change the XI for thisTest match after the last one,”Langer said during a virtualmedia conference.

“At this stage, unless some-thing happens over the next fewdays — and things can happenin the world we live in — we’llgo in with the same XI, I’d say.”

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India’s batting mainstay AjinkyaRahane’s calm and composed

demeanour shouldn’t be mistaken forhim being weak and he will be asaggressive as Virat Kohli, now onpaternity leave, as the Mumbai batsmansteps in as a stand-in captain in theremainder of the ongoing four-Testseries against Australia, says SachinTendulkar.

Rahane has captained India twicein Tests and has a 100 per cent winrecord, with one of those wins comingagainst Australia in 2017.

“Ajinkya has led India earlier also,and his calmness doesn’t mean he is notaggressive. Each person has his way ofshowing aggression. Someone whodoesn’t show aggression doesn’t meanhe’s not aggressive. (Cheteshwar) Pujara,for example, is very calm and com-posed; his body language is into thegame, focussed. But that doesn’t meanthat Pujara is trying any less than any-one else,” Tendulkar said.

Tendulkar pointed out that Rahane’sstrategy as captain may be differentfrom Kohli’s but he and his teamwould have a common goal, i.e. to winmatches.

“Each person has his own way ofreacting and responding to situations,but I can assure you everyone’s destina-tion is one; they’ve different routes toget there — and that is how they can

make India win. So, Ajinkya’s would bea different style, different strategies. Thatis up to the team management — howthey plan, how the pitch plays, and whatour batting and bowling line-ups wouldbe,” he said.

“All those things come into play.They will do everything to try and win.Absence of seniors does affect the bal-ance of a team, but that gives opportu-nities to someone else. Overall, it isabout Team India and not about indi-viduals. Individuals can get injured andbe ruled out of the series, but TeamIndia will always be there,” addedTendulkar.

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Former India pacer ChetanSharma was on Thursday

appointed chairman of thesenior national selection panelby the BCCI’s CricketAdvisory Committee (CAC),which also picked AbbeyKuruvilla and DebashisMohanty in the five-memberteam.

The new panel wasformed on the sidelines of theBCCI’s 89th Annual General

Meeting (AGM).The selection panel also

has former India players SunilJoshi and Harvinder Singh.

Sharma is a former play-er who represented India in 23Tests and 65 ODIs during an11-year-old internationalcareer, the highlight of whichwas his hat-trick in the 1987World Cup.

As per the BCCI constitu-tion, the candidate with themost Test caps becomes thechief selector.

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