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12
A fter the Centre’s refusal to field a detailed affidavit in the Pegasus snooping scandal, the Supreme Court on Monday said it will pass an interim order in the matter soon. Chief Justice NV Ramana told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the interim order will come in two-three days and the Centre can re-think on filing a detailed affidavit before that time. “We are reserving order. We will pass some interim order. It will take two-three days. If you have some re- thinking on this, you can men- tion the matter before us,” the bench, also comprising justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, told Mehta. “You (Solicitor General) have repeatedly been saying that the Government does not want to file an affidavit. We also do not want any security issues to be put before us. You say that a committee will be formed and the report will be submitted... We have to look into the whole issue and pass an interim order,” the bench said, adding, “Mr Mehta, you have been beating around the bush and that is not the question here”. The petitions before the courts are related to reports of an alleged snooping by the Government agencies on emi- nent citizens, politicians and journalists by using Israeli firm NSO’s spyware Pegasus. On the last date of hearing, the SC sug- gested that the Government might consider filing an affi- davit on the limited question if the phones of such persons were “tapped.” During the hearing, Mehta told the bench that the Government has “nothing to hide” and that is why the Centre has on its own said that it will constitute a committee of domain experts who will look into these allegations. Mehta told the bench that report of the committee of domain experts will be made available to the apex court. The Solicitor General said the issue whether a particular software is used or not by the Government cannot be a sub- ject matter of public discourse as it has its “own pitfalls” and it would be better if the target groups, like terror outfits, does not know what is being used to combat their activities. “The insistence that it must come in public domain, please appreciate the harm it may cause. Suppose, I say this par- ticular software I am not using, it would alert all potential tar- gets. It can be terror groups, it can be any other groups. If I say yes, I am using it, there would be different consequences,” he said. “Your lordships are aware that every technology has its own counter technology to protect the system from being examined by the security agen- cies. Therefore, the only dis- tinction is instead of the peti- tioners insisting that everything must come in public domain by way of an affidavit, I am saying let the experts go into it and place it before your lordships,” Mehta told the bench. T he Taliban co-founder and now Deputy Prime Minister of Afghanistan released an audio statement Monday saying he was alive and well after news of his sup- posed demise went viral on social media. Abdul Ghani Baradar, who was last week named as a num- ber two to Mullah Mohammed Hassan Akhund, blamed “fake propaganda” for the death rumours in an audio message posted by the Taliban. Taliban spokesperson from Qatar office Suhail Shaheen tweeted: “Mullah Bradar Akhund, Deputy PM, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in a voice message rejected all those claims that he was injured or killed in a clash. He said it is lies and totally baseless.” Social media has been in a frenzy over the speculation — particularly in India, where rumours swirled that he had been mortally wounded in a shootout between rival Taliban factions at the presidential palace. “There had been news in the media about my death,” Baradar said in the clip. “Over the past few nights I have been away on trips. Wherever I am at the moment, we are all fine, all my brothers and friends. “Media always publish fake propaganda. Therefore, reject bravely all those lies, and I 100 percent confirm to you there is no issue and we have no prob- lem.” It was not possible to authenticate the message, but it was posted on official Taliban sites — including that of the spokesman of the political office of the new Government. The Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, was also rumoured to have died for several years before the group’s spokesman said he was “pre- sent in Kandahar” two weeks after they took power. Chatter in Pakistan and Afghanistan had suggested he had contracted Covid or been killed in a bombing. Afghanistan news outlets such as TOLO News also tweet- ed about the audio clip, saying: “Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, deputy prime minister of the Taliban govt, in an audio mes- sage confirmed he was alive and said he was not injured. The message, tweeted by Taliban spox Mohammad Naeem, fol- lows reports that Baradar was injured or killed in clashes among the Taliban.” A fter five years of split in 2017, Chacha Shivpal Yadav and Bhatija Akhilesh Yadav are expected to bury the hatchet and join hands to take on the BJP in 2022 UP Assembly polls. The patch up is likely to be announced on the birthday of Samajwadi Party (SP) patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav in November. After sev- eral failed attempts, Mulayam has brokered the deal and like- ly to succeed. Political observers have been batting for this alliance if the mighty BJP were to be given any competition in the upcoming polls. On January 15, 2017, then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh wrest- ed control of the SP from his father Mulayam and uncle Shivpal, putting an end to a four-month family feud which came to the fore in October 2016. This happened day after Mulayam was forced to revoke Akhilesh’s expulsion, along with that of Akhilesh support- er Ram Gopal Yadav. SP mem- bers gathered in thousands in Lucknow’s Janeshwar Mishra Park for an emergency nation- al executive meeting. Ram Gopal had called the meeting to counter what he called unprecedented, uncon- stitutional actions by Mulayam where Akhilesh was expelled from the party. I n what could be the good news for those who have taken Covaxin shot, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is likely to give nod to India- made Covid-19 vaccine in this week, according to sources. In yet another good news, cumu- lative jabs administered in the country crossed 74 crore on Sunday. The Union Health Ministry said all adult people in Sikkim, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Ladakh and Lakshadweep have received at least one dose of Covid vaccine. Over 52 lakh vaccine doses were administered on Sunday, according to data from the CoWIN portal. “Congratulations to these States and Union Territories for administering the first Covid- 19 vaccine dose to 100 per cent of the adult population. Special appreciation for the health workers in these regions for their diligence and commit- ment, the office of Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted. Along with the tweet, the office of the Union Health Minister also put up a chart which stated that Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (6.26 lakh doses), Goa (11.83 lakh doses), Himachal Pradesh (55.74 lakh doses), Ladakh (1.97 lakh doses), Lakshadweep (53,499 doses), and Sikkim (5.10 lakh doses) are the States and UTs with 100 per cent eligible population vaccinated with the first dose of the vaccine. Regarding the proposed approval to the indigenous vaccine Covaxin which is man- ufactured by Hyderabad-based manufacturer Bharat Biotech, sources said that an emer- gency approval from the WHO will allow Bharat Biotech to export Covaxin and also ease international travel of people who have received this vaccine. V eteran Congress leader Oscar Fernandes (80), a former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha member, died at a private hospital in Mangaluru in Karnataka on Monday. Fernandes was hospitalised in July after he suffered a head injury due to a fall while prac- tising yoga at his home. He had also undergone a surgery to remove a clot in his brain. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the death of Fernandes. “Saddened by the demise of Rajya Sabha MP Oscar Fernandes JI. In this sad hour, my thoughts and prayers are with his family and well-wishers. May his soul rest in peace.” Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, senior party leaders too condoled the demise of Fernandes and all remembered him as a guide and mentor. Rahul and Priyanka described Fernandes’ death as a “personal loss”. T he Centre’s WAPCOS reported that 90 per cent of farmers stated that stubble decomposes in 15-20 days after spraying of bio-decomposer, claimed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday and urged the Central Government to ask neigh- bouring States to distribute it for free among farmers. He added that the agency found the Pusa bio-decomposer, a microbial solution for stubble management, highly effective. Kejriwal will soon meet Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav and will urge him to ask the States to stop stubble burning using bio- decomposers. While stubble burning in Delhi’s neighbouring States in October is a major factor behind high level of air pollu- tion according to SAFAR and other agencies, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government approached the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana. Kejriwal said there is no point blaming and penalizing farmers when the State Governments have done noth- ing to curb the stubble burning. Citing Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAP- COS’) report, Kejriwal said 90 per cent farmers say stubble decomposes in 15 -20 days after spraying of bio-decomposer. “Fields are now ploughed once or twice instead of 6-7 times, the amount of organic carbon increased by 42 per cent, nitrogen in the soil increased by 24 per cent, bac- teria content 7 times, the sprouting of wheat increased by 17-20 per cent and the yields increased by 8 per cent,” he said while briefing the media online. T he Centre on Monday cited diplomatic relations and “trans-border” implications for the continuation of restric- tions at Nizamuddin Markaz. A ban on public entry was imposed in the adjoining masque following uproar over gathering of Tablighi Jamaat members at the Markaz and a huge number of them testing positive for Covid-19 more than a year ago. “Since about 1,300 for- eigners were found to be resid- ing on the said premises and cases against them have cross- borders implications and involves nation’s diplomatic relationship with other coun- tries, it is necessary and incum- bent on the part of the respon- dent to preserve the said premises for the purpose of Section 310 of CrPC,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said. The MoH was responding to a petition filed by Delhi Waqf Board for easing of restrictions at the Markaz. T he Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday adopted a Bill to dispense with the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) and provide for admis- sion to medical courses based on Class XII marks to ensure social justice. The Bills adopted in 2017 for the same purpose during the AIADMK regime did not get the President’s assent. The Bill’s passage comes against the backdrop of the sui- cide of a medical aspirant fear- ing outcome of the national test he was to take and the incident echoed in the House, with the main Ipposition AIADMK targeting the Government. Chief Minister MK Stalin introduced the Bill and all par- ties, including the main oppo- sition AIADMK and its ally PMK, besides others like Congress, supported it and it was passed by a voice vote. It seeks to provide for admission to UG courses in medicine, dentistry, Indian medicine and homeopathy on the basis of marks obtained in the qualifying examination, (Class XII). The Opposition BJP staged a walkout, protesting against the Government move.

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Page 1: ˇ ˘ *&+’, -ˆ @ 86%˜˝ˇ((/˝˜%& 6ˇ˜(:(/(!8;˝9& 4;,;6%:9

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After the Centre’s refusal tofield a detailed affidavit in

the Pegasus snooping scandal,the Supreme Court on Mondaysaid it will pass an interimorder in the matter soon.

Chief Justice NV Ramanatold Solicitor General TusharMehta that the interim orderwill come in two-three daysand the Centre can re-think onfiling a detailed affidavit beforethat time.

“We are reserving order.We will pass some interimorder. It will take two-threedays. If you have some re-thinking on this, you can men-tion the matter before us,” thebench, also comprising justicesSurya Kant and Hima Kohli,told Mehta.

“You (Solicitor General)have repeatedly been sayingthat the Government does notwant to file an affidavit. We alsodo not want any security issues

to be put before us. You say thata committee will be formed andthe report will be submitted...We have to look into the wholeissue and pass an interimorder,” the bench said, adding,“Mr Mehta, you have beenbeating around the bush andthat is not the question here”.

The petitions before thecourts are related to reports ofan alleged snooping by theGovernment agencies on emi-nent citizens, politicians andjournalists by using Israeli firmNSO’s spyware Pegasus. On thelast date of hearing, the SC sug-gested that the Governmentmight consider filing an affi-davit on the limited question ifthe phones of such personswere “tapped.”

During the hearing, Mehtatold the bench that theGovernment has “nothing tohide” and that is why theCentre has on its own said that

it will constitute a committee ofdomain experts who will lookinto these allegations. Mehtatold the bench that report of thecommittee of domain expertswill be made available to theapex court.

The Solicitor General saidthe issue whether a particularsoftware is used or not by theGovernment cannot be a sub-ject matter of public discourseas it has its “own pitfalls” andit would be better if the targetgroups, like terror outfits, does

not know what is being used tocombat their activities.

“The insistence that it mustcome in public domain, pleaseappreciate the harm it maycause. Suppose, I say this par-ticular software I am not using,it would alert all potential tar-gets. It can be terror groups, itcan be any other groups. If I sayyes, I am using it, there wouldbe different consequences,” hesaid.

“Your lordships are awarethat every technology has itsown counter technology toprotect the system from beingexamined by the security agen-cies. Therefore, the only dis-tinction is instead of the peti-tioners insisting that everythingmust come in public domain byway of an affidavit, I am saying let the experts gointo it and place it before yourlordships,” Mehta told thebench.

���� :7/9

The Taliban co-founder andnow Deputy Prime

Minister of Afghanistanreleased an audio statementMonday saying he was aliveand well after news of his sup-posed demise went viral onsocial media.

Abdul Ghani Baradar, whowas last week named as a num-ber two to Mullah MohammedHassan Akhund, blamed “fakepropaganda” for the deathrumours in an audio messageposted by the Taliban.

Taliban spokesperson fromQatar office Suhail Shaheentweeted: “Mullah BradarAkhund, Deputy PM, IslamicEmirate of Afghanistan in avoice message rejected all thoseclaims that he was injured orkilled in a clash. He said it is liesand totally baseless.”

Social media has been in afrenzy over the speculation —particularly in India, whererumours swirled that he hadbeen mortally wounded in ashootout between rival Talibanfactions at the presidentialpalace.

“There had been news in

the media about my death,”Baradar said in the clip.

“Over the past few nightsI have been away on trips.Wherever I am at the moment,we are all fine, all my brothersand friends.

“Media always publish fakepropaganda. Therefore, rejectbravely all those lies, and I 100percent confirm to you there isno issue and we have no prob-lem.”

It was not possible toauthenticate the message, but itwas posted on official Talibansites — including that of thespokesman of the politicaloffice of the new Government.

The Taliban’s supremeleader, HibatullahAkhundzada, was also

rumoured to have died forseveral years before the group’sspokesman said he was “pre-sent in Kandahar” two weeksafter they took power.

Chatter in Pakistan andAfghanistan had suggested hehad contracted Covid or beenkilled in a bombing.

Afghanistan news outletssuch as TOLO News also tweet-ed about the audio clip, saying:“Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar,deputy prime minister of theTaliban govt, in an audio mes-sage confirmed he was alive andsaid he was not injured. Themessage, tweeted by Talibanspox Mohammad Naeem, fol-lows reports that Baradar wasinjured or killed in clashesamong the Taliban.”

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After five years of split in2017, Chacha Shivpal

Yadav and Bhatija AkhileshYadav are expected to bury thehatchet and join hands to takeon the BJP in 2022 UPAssembly polls. The patch upis likely to be announced on thebirthday of Samajwadi Party(SP) patriarch Mulayam SinghYadav in November. After sev-eral failed attempts, Mulayamhas brokered the deal and like-ly to succeed.

Political observers havebeen batting for this alliance ifthe mighty BJP were to begiven any competition in theupcoming polls. On January15, 2017, then Uttar PradeshChief Minister Akhilesh wrest-ed control of the SP from hisfather Mulayam and uncleShivpal, putting an end to afour-month family feud which

came to the fore in October 2016.

This happened day afterMulayam was forced to revokeAkhilesh’s expulsion, alongwith that of Akhilesh support-er Ram Gopal Yadav. SP mem-bers gathered in thousands inLucknow’s Janeshwar MishraPark for an emergency nation-al executive meeting.

Ram Gopal had called themeeting to counter what hecalled unprecedented, uncon-stitutional actions by Mulayamwhere Akhilesh was expelledfrom the party.

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In what could be the goodnews for those who have

taken Covaxin shot, the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO) islikely to give nod to India-made Covid-19 vaccine in thisweek, according to sources. Inyet another good news, cumu-lative jabs administered in thecountry crossed 74 crore onSunday.

The Union HealthMinistry said all adult peoplein Sikkim, Dadra and NagarHaveli, Himachal Pradesh,Goa, Ladakh and Lakshadweephave received at least one doseof Covid vaccine.

Over 52 lakh vaccine doseswere administered on Sunday,according to data from theCoWIN portal.

“Congratulations to theseStates and Union Territories for

administering the first Covid-19 vaccine dose to 100 per centof the adult population. Specialappreciation for the healthworkers in these regions fortheir diligence and commit-ment, the office of UnionHealth Minister MansukhMandaviya tweeted.

Along with the tweet, the

office of the Union HealthMinister also put up a chartwhich stated that Dadra andNagar Haveli and Daman andDiu (6.26 lakh doses), Goa(11.83 lakh doses), HimachalPradesh (55.74 lakh doses),Ladakh (1.97 lakh doses),Lakshadweep (53,499 doses),and Sikkim (5.10 lakh doses)are the States and UTs with 100per cent eligible populationvaccinated with the first doseof the vaccine.

Regarding the proposedapproval to the indigenousvaccine Covaxin which is man-ufactured by Hyderabad-basedmanufacturer Bharat Biotech,sources said that an emer-gency approval from the WHOwill allow Bharat Biotech toexport Covaxin and also ease international travel ofpeople who have received thisvaccine.

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Veteran Congress leaderOscar Fernandes (80), a

former Union Minister andRajya Sabha member, died at aprivate hospital in Mangaluruin Karnataka on Monday.Fernandes was hospitalised inJuly after he suffered a headinjury due to a fall while prac-tising yoga at his home. He hadalso undergone a surgery toremove a clot in his brain.

Prime Minister NarendraModi expressed anguish at thedeath of Fernandes. “Saddenedby the demise of Rajya SabhaMP Oscar Fernandes JI. In thissad hour, my thoughts andprayers are with his familyand well-wishers. May his soulrest in peace.”

Congress president SoniaGandhi, former party chiefRahul Gandhi, senior partyleaders too condoled thedemise of Fernandes and allremembered him as a guideand mentor. Rahul andPriyanka described Fernandes’death as a “personal loss”.

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The Centre’s WAPCOSreported that 90 per cent of

farmers stated that stubbledecomposes in 15-20 days afterspraying of bio-decomposer,claimed Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal said onMonday and urged the CentralGovernment to ask neigh-bouring States to distribute itfor free among farmers. Headded that the agency foundthe Pusa bio-decomposer, amicrobial solution for stubblemanagement, highly effective.

Kejriwal will soon meetUnion Environment MinisterBhupendra Yadav and will urgehim to ask the States to stopstubble burning using bio-decomposers.

While stubble burning inDelhi’s neighbouring States inOctober is a major factorbehind high level of air pollu-tion according to SAFAR andother agencies, the Aam AadmiParty (AAP) Governmentapproached the Chief Ministersof Punjab and Haryana.

Kejriwal said there is nopoint blaming and penalizingfarmers when the State

Governments have done noth-ing to curb the stubble burning.

Citing Water and PowerConsultancy Services (WAP-COS’) report, Kejriwal said 90per cent farmers say stubbledecomposes in 15 -20 days afterspraying of bio-decomposer.

“Fields are now ploughedonce or twice instead of 6-7times, the amount of organiccarbon increased by 42 percent, nitrogen in the soilincreased by 24 per cent, bac-teria content 7 times, thesprouting of wheat increased by17-20 per cent and the yieldsincreased by 8 per cent,” he saidwhile briefing the mediaonline.

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The Centre on Monday citeddiplomatic relations and

“trans-border” implications forthe continuation of restric-tions at Nizamuddin Markaz.

A ban on public entry wasimposed in the adjoiningmasque following uproar overgathering of Tablighi Jamaatmembers at the Markaz and ahuge number of them testingpositive for Covid-19 morethan a year ago.

“Since about 1,300 for-eigners were found to be resid-ing on the said premises andcases against them have cross-borders implications andinvolves nation’s diplomaticrelationship with other coun-tries, it is necessary and incum-bent on the part of the respon-dent to preserve the saidpremises for the purpose ofSection 310 of CrPC,” theMinistry of Home Affairs said.

The MoH was respondingto a petition filed by DelhiWaqf Board for easing ofrestrictions at the Markaz.

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The Tamil Nadu Assemblyon Monday adopted a Bill

to dispense with the NationalEntrance-cum-Eligibility Test(NEET) and provide for admis-sion to medical courses basedon Class XII marks to ensuresocial justice.

The Bills adopted in 2017for the same purpose duringthe AIADMK regime did notget the President’s assent.

The Bill’s passage comesagainst the backdrop of the sui-cide of a medical aspirant fear-ing outcome of the national test

he was to take and the incidentechoed in the House, with the main Ipposition AIADMK targeting theGovernment.

Chief Minister MK Stalinintroduced the Bill and all par-ties, including the main oppo-sition AIADMK and its allyPMK, besides others likeCongress, supported it and it

was passed by a voice vote.It seeks to provide for

admission to UG courses inmedicine, dentistry, Indianmedicine and homeopathy onthe basis of marks obtained inthe qualifying examination,(Class XII).

The Opposition BJP stageda walkout, protesting againstthe Government move.

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Himachal Chief Minister JaiRam Thakur on Monday

said that the hill state becamethe first in the country toadminister the first dose of theCovid-19 vaccine to 100 percentof its adult population but thetask was not easy.

“Over 74 lakh doses havebeen administered to the peopleincluding the first and seconddose so far. The task of achiev-ing cent percent vaccinationwas not easy keeping in view thetopography of the state. Lahauland Spiti was the first district inthe State achieving 100 percentfirst dose at vaccination followedby Kinnaur,” the Chief Ministersaid while addressing a videoconference organized here atCivil Hospital, Palampur.

He said that the StateGovernment made specialarrangements for vaccination atBara Bhangal by sending chop-per. Malana is another difficultterrain, where special arrange-

ments were made. He thankedthe Corona warriors for ren-dering yeoman services duringthis critical period.

The Chief Minister alsothanked Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and the UnionGovernment for extending allpossible help to the state in thefight against Corona.

Thakur said that today,there are only 1,500 active casesin Himachal as the StateGovernment has been working24X7 to overcome the threat ofCorona.

Earlier, the state had only 11dedicated Corona health centreswith 440 beds and 32 ICU facil-ities. Today, the State has 80 suchcentres with 8,765 beds having880 ICU beds, which can beenhanced up to 11,000 ifrequired, he said.

The Chief Minister onMonday dedicated the newlyinstalled PSA oxygen plant atCivil Hospital, Palampur underPM Care Fund which wouldsupport 100 beds. This plant has

been built at a cost of Rs 2 crore.He also dedicated the aug-mented PSA Oxygen plant atZonal Hospital, Dharamshala,built at a cost of Rs. 1.5 crorethrough video conference. Thisoxygen plant already function-ing at Zonal Hospital,Dharamshala since March thisyear with a capacity of 300LPM has been upgraded to 800LPM recently under CSR. Itwould support the 175 oxygensupported indoor block of theZonal Hospital.

Taking a dig at the opposi-tion, Thakur said that it believedin criticism only as it had beenforgetting the state of the healthsector during its various regimesextending over 50 years. Therewere only two oxygen plants inthe state at IGMC, Shimla andRajendra Prasad MedicalCollege, Tanda. But, todayHimachal has raised its guardagainst this deadly virus and hasover 2,200 oxygen concentratorsat various health institutions inthe state, he added.

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Haryana Government hasdecided that the online

transfer policy will now beapplicable to the contractualemployees also working underoutsourcing policy part-II in aDepartment, Board orCorporation where the cadrestrength of a post on whichthey are working is 80 or more.

An official spokespersonsaid that it has been observedthat thousands of employeesare working in certain cadres inmany Departments, Boards orCorporations of HaryanaGovernment under outsourc-ing policy part-ll. Therefore, thedecision has been taken toinclude the contractualemployees working under out-sourcing policy part-II in theonline transfer policy, he said.

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Chandigarh: National-levelshooter Namanveer Singh Brarwas found dead in his home inMohali on Monday, with thepolice not ruling out suicide.

The 28-year-old trap shoot-er had a bullet wound, DeputySuperintendent of Police,Mohali, Gursher Singh Sandhusaid over the phone.

According to the DSP, itcould not be conclusively saidwhether he died of suicide ordue to accidental fire.

"We cannot conclusively sayat this stage whether it is suicideor if it was accidental fire. Thebody has been sent for post-mortem examination and thereport is awaited. Once the report

comes, it will help us arrive atsome conclusion," Sandhu said.The police were informed aboutthe incident by the family of theshooter. Brar was found dead inhis Sector 71 home in Mohali.

He had bagged a bronzemedal in double-trap shootingevent in the world universitygames in South Korea. PNS

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Maintaining that the ongo-ing protests at 113 loca-

tions in Punjab was adverselyaffecting the state’s financialhealth, Punjab Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh onMonday asked the protestingfarmers to take their fightagainst the Centre’s farm lawsto New Delhi while keepingPunjab out of it.

Capt Amarinder appealedto the representatives of variousfarmers’ unions not to holdprotests across the State againstthe farm laws passed by theCentre as the StateGovernment and its peoplehave already expressed soli-darity with them on this issue.

Mincing no words, theChief Minister categoricallysaid that the State, where itsentire people stood like a rock

with them in favour of theirlegitimate issues, should desistfrom holding protests acrossthe State against these blackfarm laws passed by the BJP-ledCentral Government andthrusted upon them unilater-ally even without taking intotheir confidence. “These ongo-ing protests at 113 places inPunjab by the farmers are notat all in the interests of the State,which has considerably impact-ed its economic development,”he said, hoping that his requestwould be acceded to by thefarmers on agitation.

He, however, said that sincethese laws have already beenrejected in the State Assemblyand replaced by the StateGovernment's farm laws whichwere sent to the Governor forhis accent, but to our dismay,these have not yet been for-warded to the President ofIndia.

“Anything within thepurview of his Governmentwas done by us promptly,” saidCapt Amarinder adding that adelegation of various leadersfrom these farmers unions methim recently at Chandigarh toget the price of sugarcane hikedfrom Rs 325 to Rs 360 perquintal and the same wasaccepted by me at once.

Expressing concern over

the inordinate delay in metingout farmers’ justified demandsdue to Centre’s apathy, theChief Minister further saidthat instead of holding protestsin the State, they should mountpressure on UnionGovernment to get these antifarmer laws repealed.

CAPT FLAYS BADALSFOR PLAYING DOUBLEGAME ON FARM LAWS

Launching an attack onthe Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)for double crossing the farm-ers over the issue of blackfarm laws, Capt Amarindersaid that the farm laws weredrafted with the consent ofSAD with Harsimrat KaurBadal as the Union Minister;and even the former ChiefMinister Parkash Singh Badalarguing in favour of these lawsbut changing their tune com-pletely when their move back-fired.

Calling Congress as theonly party who protestedagainst these black laws fromthe very first day, the ChiefMinister said that hisGovernment called an all partymeeting and then held consul-tations with the farm unions.Afterwards, the PunjabGovernment convened a spe-cial session of the Punjab

Vidhan Sabha and passed Billsaimed at countering these farmlaws.

Taking on the UnionGovernment, the ChiefMinister said that theConstitution has been amend-ed 127 times since 1950. “Sowhy not one more time torepeal the farm laws for pro-viding succour to the farmerswho have been sitting at Singhuand Tikri borders,” asked CaptAmarinder adding that thePunjab Government has pro-vided Rs five lakh to everyfarmer from the State whodied during the agitationagainst farm laws besides a jobto the kin of the deceasedfarmers.

Capt Amarinder, address-ing a gathering on the occasionof laying the foundation stoneof PAU - College of Agricultureat Ballowal Saunkhri in SBSNagar district, also kickstartedthe academic session withadmissions already made to 60seats and classes set to beginfrom October 1, 2021. Pointingout further, the Chief Ministersaid that it would be the firsttime that a College ofAgriculture, outside the PunjabAgricultural University,Ludhiana, would come up withthe BSc (Agriculture) course.

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Taking a significant leap for-ward towards providing

best and affordable healthcareservices, Punjab Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh onMonday virtually dedicated Rs125 crore projects including thestate-wide Radio Diagnosticand Laboratory Services andthe revamped 108 AmbulanceEmergency Response System tothe people of Punjab.

Launching the ambitiousprojects from Batala andMohali on the auspicious occa-sion of the 534th marriageanniversary (Vyaah Purb) of SriGuru Nanak Dev Ji, ChiefMinister also dedicated thefirst-of-its-kind ‘CM e-Clinicfacility’ pilot at Batala to effec-tively address shortage of spe-cialist medical counselling andtreatment in rural areas.

“There can be no betterday than the Babe-Da-Vyah

Utsav, which is being celebrat-ed today, for the launch of thesefacilities, Capt Amarinder said,extending his greetings to thepeople of Punjab on the piousoccasion.

“The highly-specialisedmedical services to be rolledout across the State by endNovember will prove to be aboon for people, especially thepoor sections for whom expertprivate sector medical care isout of their reach,” said CaptAmarinder.

For this project, Punjab hasbeen divided into six parts inwhich one MRI each and 25CT Scan facilities for one eachfor every district hospital at acost of Rs 80 crore besides oneReference Lab, 30 DistrictLaboratories and 95 collectioncentres would be covering 23state districts at a cost of Rs 25crore to ensure round the clockmedical services to our people,the Chief Minister disclosedadding that five percent oftotal cases will be provided freediagnostic facilities to providehelp to needy and poor.

The projects entail anemployment generation poten-tial for 750 people who wouldbe trained as technicians.

The innovative e-Clinicfacility, set up at Batala wouldgreatly leverage the concept oftele-consultation with medicalspecialists of patients in ruralareas, the Chief Minister said,adding that the success of thispilot project would be repli-cated across the state in nearfuture. The projects would belaunched by the StateGovernment on a PublicPrivate Partnership (PPP)mode in collaboration withKrsnaa Diagnostics Limited.

Under the revamped ‘Dial108’ Ambulance EmergencyResponse System Service, inno-vations in InformationTechnology have been co-optedinto the existing 104 and 112medical helplines furtherstreamlining the SOS servicedelivery mechanism. Relativesof patients can track the move-ment of ambulances online forquick and timely delivery ofemergency service.

Number of ambulances hasbeen already increased to 325to be further enhanced to 400in the coming days. 23Advanced Life SupportAmbulances have been addedto the existing fleet too, theChief Minister added.

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Haryana Home MinisterAnil Vij on Monday

slammed Punjab ChiefMinister Captain AmarinderSingh over his statementregarding farmers inHoshiarpur and said that itclearly proves that the farmersare instigated by Punjab CM.

Vij tweeted, “Punjab ChiefMinister Amarinder Singh jitelling farmers to do whateverthey want in Haryana or Delhiand don't do it in Punjab is avery irresponsible statement.This proves that AmarinderSingh has done the work ofinstigating the farmers (sic).”

Notably, Capt Amarinderduring a function inHoshiarpur on Monday saidthat farmers should not agitatein Punjab. They can do what-ever they want by going toHaryana and Delhi, but do notspoil the atmosphere of Punjab.He had also said that farmersare sitting on dharna at 113places in Punjab, which iscausing financial loss to Punjab.

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The government job aspi-rants in Haryana without

Parivar Pehchan number orAadhaar number will have topay a double amount for com-mon eligibility test (CET) pro-cessing fee as compared tothose having either of the twodocuments.

As per the new rules noti-fied by Haryana Governmentfor common eligibility test forrecruitment to group C and Dposts, the male residents (gen-eral category, children of ex-servicemen) of Haryana whoprovide Parivar Pehchan num-ber (PP number) or Aadhaarnumber during registrationwill have to pay the processingfee of Rs 500 while those with-out any of the two documentswill have to shell out Rs 1000.

The applicants includingfemales, ex-servicemen, dis-abled persons and those

belonging to scheduled caste,backward class, economicallyweaker sections, who providePP number or Aadhaar num-ber will have to pay the fee ofRs 250 while those who do notprovide PP number orAadhaar will have to pay Rs500.

Similarly for non-residentsof Haryana, those who provideAadhaar number will be pay-ing Rs 500 exam fee whilethose who fail to furnish thedetails of Aadhaar will have topay Rs 1000.

The State Government hasrecently notified The HaryanaParivar Pehchan Act 2021aimed at creating a uniqueidentification number for eachfamily in Haryana, and prepar-ing a database enabling thefamilies to access various gov-ernment services and schemesin the state. Around 64 lakhfamilies have already com-pleted their registration underPPP.

According to the rules forCET, the applicants who haveneither Parivar Pehchan num-ber nor Aadhaar number shallbe eligible for the registrationbut will have to pay more forexam fee. The registration forCET is currently ongoing onHaryana’s one-time registra-tion portal.

The test shall be conduct-ed once every year by theHaryana Staff SelectionCommission,

The written examinationcomponent of the CET score ofan applicant shall be valid fora period of three years from thedate of declaration, by notifi-cation, of the result of the test.Also, there shall be no restric-tion on the number of attemptsto appear in the written exam-ination component of the CET.If an applicant who has alreadyqualified the CET for group Cand/or D post will have theoption to appear again in CETto improve his score in the next

or any subsequent occasion,the rules stated.

The State Government hadearlier this year announced tointroduce the common eligi-bility test for all group C andD posts doing away with theinterview system in the recruit-ment.

The rules notified by theState Government further said,“For group C posts, the essen-tial minimum qualificationshall be l0+2 or as per provi-sion in service rules and forgroup D posts, the same shallbe matric or as per provisionin group D Act.”

“For selection against anunreserved post, a candidatehas to secure at least 50 percentmarks in the written exami-nation, to be considered forselection or recruitment. Incase of selection or recruitmentagainst reserved category post,(whether vertical or horizon-tal) candidate has to secure atleast 40 percent marks in the

written examination. CETscore includes the maximum 5percent marks of experienceand socio-economic criteria,obtained if any,” the rules said.

“The record of CET shallbe preserved for one year fromthe date of declaration of resultin hard copy. Digital copy ofrecords shall be retained forfive years. All legal disputeswith regard to the CET shall besubject to the jurisdiction ofCourts at Panchkula (Haryana)only,” it added.

Notably, the Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar had lastmonth informed the HaryanaVidhan Sabha that this testshall be either computer basedtest or Optical Mark Reading(OMR) based test and it shallbe bilingual i.e. both in Hindiand English. The CET shall beconducted by NTA (NationalTesting Agency) establishedby the Union Ministry ofEducation.

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Three leaders who were asso-ciated with BJP and INLD

in Haryana joined theCongress on Monday in thepresence of state party chiefKumari Selja and state partyaffairs in-charge Vivek Bansalin New Delhi.

Those who joined theCongress included Haryana-based industrialist Ashok GoelMangaliwala, former BJPleader Pawan Beniwal and for-mer INLD leader KanwaljitSingh.

Ashok Goel had soughtBJP’s ticket from Hisar LokSabha in the last elections butcould not get it while PawanBeniwal had contested onEllenabad assembly seat on aBJP’s ticket in 2014 and 2019and had lost both times.

Beniwal is likely to be

Congress’ candidate fromEllenabad assembly seat, wherebyelection is due to be held.Ahead of the 2014 assemblypolls, Beniwal had quit INLDand joined BJP.

However, Beniwal also quitBJP in April this year as a markof solidarity towards the farm-ers’ protest.

INLD’s Abhay Chautalahad also resigned from theEllenabad assembly seat insupport of the ongoing farmers’agitation.

Kanwaljit Singh is the sonof former Member ofParliament Tara Singh, whowas elected to 10th Lok Sabhafrom Kurukshetra. Kanwaljit,too, had been associated withINLD for long before quittingthe party.

After welcoming the threeleaders into partyfold, VivekBansal claimed that the winds

are blowing in favour of theCongress and against the BJPin Haryana.

Kumari Selja said theseleaders have quit the saffronparty and come into theCongress fold due to the BJP's"anti-people policies".

"There are leaders whounderstand that the Congressis the only viable option to theBJP which has proved to be afailure in all spheres of gover-nance in Haryana," she said.

She alleged that the BJP hasbecome a paper leak govern-ment as many examinationpapers were leaked in the state.

Welcoming Goel, Beniwaland Singh in the Congress,Selja further said the BJP, bothat the Centre and Haryana, is"anti-farmer and anti-labourer",and the Congress will workunitedly to oust this regime.

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Haryana BJP chief OPDhankar on Monday

alleged that the ongoing farm-ers’ agitation against three cen-tral farm laws has become“totally political” and has left itsoriginal agenda behind.

“Be it the statements ofRajewal ji or Ugrahan (farmersleaders). It is evident now thatthe farmers had started with aspecific agenda which theyhave left behind now. Theyhave political ambitions andwant to contest elections,”Dhankar said while talking tothe mediapersons here.

“The government has keptits doors open for farmerseven today for talks,” he added

Dhankar said that the BJPgovernment in Haryana is

working for the welfare andupliftment of farmers. If they(protesting farmers' unions)want to do welfare of farmers,they should ensure it in neigh-boring Punjab and Rajasthanalso. We are giving maximumcompensation to farmers, theyshould get the same in Punjabtoo.

They should ensure Bajra isprocured at the same rate inRajasthan as done in Haryana,”he added. Commenting onlathicharge on farmers inKarnal last month, the BJPstate chief said that the StateGovernment is functioningwith patience and it is our pri-ority that no incident of con-frontation takes place. Eventhose who are protesting shouldstay within their limits, he said.

20 lakh letters of appreci-ation to be sent to PM Modi

Dhankar while givingdetails of programmes to beorganised by the party’s stateunit coinciding with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’sbirthday celebrations said that20 lakh letters written by ben-eficiaries of various centralschemes expressing their grat-itude will be sent to the PM.

He said that at least 100such letters of gratitude will becollected from 20000 boothseach as part of the “Thank youcampaign” for the PrimeMinister.

Apart from this, the partystate unit will plant 71,000saplings in the state on theoccasion of 71st birthday of PMModi on September 17, hesaid.

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Himachal Pradesh ChiefMinister Jai Ram Thakur

and all others who are likely tocome in contact with PresidentRam Nath Kovind during hisplanned visit to Shimla willhave to undergo an RTPCR testfor COVID-19, an official saidon Monday.

As per schedule, thePresident will be in Shimlafrom September 16 to 20.

The chief minister and allthose who are likely to come inclose contact with the Presidentwill have to carry a negativeRTPCR as per the Covid pro-tocol, he added.

The people who are likelyto come in contact withPresident Kovind and who willbe tested for COVID-19include the police personnel,airport officials, assemblymembers and officials and thestaff of “The Retreat” – the

President’s residence atChharabra on the outskirts ofShimla.

Only those people will beallowed to come in contactwith President who carry thenegative RTPCR report withthem as per the guidelines, headded.

During the ongoing testsfor the infection, four staffersof “The Retreat” were testedpositive for COVID-19, theofficial said.

Starting Monday, theHimachal Health Departmenthas begun conducting theRTPCR test of all such persons,including those of the TourismDepartment and assemblyemployees, the official said,adding the tests will be con-ducted till September 15.

The test reports will beavailable within 24 hours andwill be valid for the next 72hours, he added.

The four employees of the

President’s residence “TheRetreat” and some others whowere in contact with themhave been quarantined at aCovid centre at Craignano inMashobra.

There are about 56 staffersand three temporary employ-ees at The Retreat, while somestaffers of the President havealso arrived there ahead of hisvisit.

As per the scheduled pro-gramme, President Kovind willreach Shimla on September 16and will leave for Delhi onSeptember 20.

President will address aspecial session of the stateassembly on September 17 tomark the golden jubilee ofHimachal''s statehood.

President Kovind is alsoscheduled to visit the IndianAudit and Accounts Academy,Yarrows, and is also likely tohost “At Home” on September19.

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The Haryana governmenton Monday relaxed the

mandatory 84-day gap requiredbetween first and second dosesof Covishield vaccine for cer-tain categories of people whohave to travel abroad on urgentbasis, including for availingtreatment for any health prob-lem. This relaxation for theadministration of the seconddose has also been extended toforeign nationals needing toreturn to their countries, offi-cials said.

The Mission Director(National Health Mission),Haryana, in a letter to all civilsurgeons in the state, said therelaxation in the Covishieldvaccination norms was earliergiven to the people who had totravel abroad for education,employment or official purpose

and participation in TokyoOlympics.

The letter said, in additionto these categories, the relax-ation is also extended to certainother categories who have totravel abroad for urgent reasonslike, “availing treatment forany health problem, foreignnationals who have to return totheir country, in any circum-stances in which foreign trav-el may be unavoidable and,mandatory 84 days period afterfirst dose of vaccination forCovishield has not elapsed”.

For availing this relaxationin inoculation, the peopleneeding to travel abroad forunavoidable reasons may beasked to produce a copy of trav-el documents such as visa,confirmed ticket and otherdocuments justifying theurgency for undertaking thetravel, said the letter.

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Slow and steady wins the raceis a maxim that does not

work well in politics forShiromani Akali Dal (SAD)president Sukhbir Singh Badal.After the initial setback ofbeing ally to a party that script-ed controversial farm laws —the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)— besides still being under thescanner for sacrilege incidents,Sukhbir has virtually beingplaying “fastest finger first” tofinalise the candidates for 2022state assembly polls in Punjab.

At the time when the state’sall other major political partiesare struggling to keep theirhouse in order, the Akali Dalhas already announced morethan half of its candidates forthe ensuing polls, scheduled tobe held early next year.

On Monday, the party hasreleased its first list of candidateswith 64 names, of which 22 werealready announced by Sukhbirduring a series of rallies andpublic meetings he addressed

before Punjab’s farmers’ outfitsimposed a virtual ban on hold-ing huge political gatherings inthe state before the polls wereofficially announced.

SAD is contesting 97 of the117 assembly seats in alliancewith the Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP), which has alsoannounced its candidates onthree seats, out of 20 in itsshare. SAD snapped itsdecades-old ties with the oldally BJP over the contentiousfarm laws, and announced itsalliance with BSP in June.

SAD and BSP had earliercontested the 1996 Lok Sabhaelections in alliance in Punjab.

Akali Dal, which is notconsidered to be on a politicallystrong footing taking intoaccount their alliance with theBJP when the controversialfarm laws were passed coupledwith the shadow of sacrilegestill eclipsing their chances,has finally devised a strategy toannounce its candidates before-hand for the elections whichare still four months away.

As per general practice, thepolitical parties declare theircandidates after the poll panelofficially announce the polldates. In fact, Sukhbir Badalstarted announcing the candi-dates at a much earlier stage,when elections were about 10months away. He announcedthe first lot of eight candidatesin April.

Sukhbir’s decision to relyon the policy of ‘earlyannouncement gets the seat’comes at a time when the rivalforces are either indulging ininfighting or are yet to make uptheir mind. Notably, the rulingCongress facing intense powerstruggle with the party divid-ed between two power centres— each headed by the ChiefMinister Capt AmarinderSingh and the state party pres-ident Navjot Singh Sidhu. Theinfighting has intensified tosuch an extent that Sidhu camphas sought Capt Amarinder’souster with many declaringnot to contest 2022 polls underhis leadership.

At the same time, the prin-cipal opposition Aam AadmiParty (AAP) is also strugglingto find a face to lead party dur-ing the elections. It is believedthat absence of the ChiefMinisterial face cost the partyin 2017 polls, when it was con-fident to even form the gov-ernment. Besides, the splintergroups, including ShiromaniAkali Dal (Samyukt) of Akaliveterans — Sukhdev SinghDhindsa and his sonParminder Singh Dhindsa,Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, RatanSingh Ajnala, among others —are also yet to make any head-way. Being under the scanneron sacrilege (beadbi), AkaliDal was disintegrating brick bybrick with taksali (traditional)Akalis revolting against theparty, while questioningSukhbir’s leadership. In 2017,the party that ruled for adecade finished at distant third.

Undeterred, Sukhbir onceagain put his managerial skillsat work, and devised a poll strat-egy to announce the candidates

early, poaching rebels and dis-gruntled leaders of other parties,and forging a new alliance, byswitching into a poll mode.Akali Dal, realising that winningthe people’s trust would not bean easy task, believed that itwould be a best move to fightthe forthcoming assembly pollsby announcing the candidatesmuch in advance.

“SAD put its entire politicalmachinery at work. The partycadre, including the youth andstudents’ wings, besides others,were galvanised. Besides, theticket aspirants were given thetargets to organise well-attend-ed rallies, and when someonemeets the target, Sukhbirannounces his name as theparty candidate right there,”sources told The Pioneer.

It has been learnt thatwhen one of the ticket aspirant,SGPC president Bibi JagirKaur’s son-in-law, YuvrajBhupinder Singh, failed to putup an impressive show, Badaldid not announce his candida-ture. Yuvraj had unsuccessful-

ly contest 2017 polls fromBholath and lost to SukhpalSingh Khaira.

The political pundits

believed that SAD is fieldingthe candidates who can steerthe party to victory, instead ofthe other way around.

Moreover, the Congress’infighting and AAP’s misman-agement is also working inAkali Dal’s favour.

+,)��&&��&����������������-.���&�������������&"���,�������� ����SAD on Monday released

the first list of candidate for2022 polls with 64 names, ofwhich 22 were alreadyannounced by the party chief.While the former ChiefMinister Parkash Singh Badalis not included from the list,SAD president and FerozepurMP Sukhbir Singh Badal willcontest from Jalalabad.

As senior Badal’s namewas not in the list, the party hasnot announced any candidatefrom the Lambi assembly con-stituency from where he is asitting MLA.

With this, the party is leftwith finalising just 33 candi-dates. Retaining most of the hisprevious candidates, SADannounced the name ofJathedar Tota Singh fromDharmkot; Janmeja Singh

Sekhon from Zira; Daljit SinghCheema from Ropar;Maheshinder Singh Grewalfrom Ludhiana West; SikanderSingh Maluka from RampuraPhul; Jagmeet Singh Brar fromMaur; Sharanjit Singh Dhillonfrom Sahnewal; and GulzarSingh Ranike from Attari (SC)constituencies. Malkit Singhwill contest from Jandialaassembly segment, Anil Joshi(Amritsar North), Dalbir SinghVerka (Amritsar West), TalbirSingh Gill (Amritsar South),Gulzar Singh Ranike (AttariSC), Harmeet Singh Sandhu(Tarn Taran), Virsa SinghValtoha (Khem Karan).

Similarly, former MinisterAdaish Partap Singh Kaironwill contest from Patti, BaldevSingh Khaira (Phillaur),Gurpartap Singh Wadala

(Nakodar), Chandan Grewal(Jalandhar Central), Jagbir SinghBrar (Jalandhar Cantt), PawanKumar Tinu (Adampur (SC)),Sarabjeet Singh Saabi(Mukerian), Sohan SinghThandal (Chabbewal (SC)),Surinder Singh Bhulewal Rathan(Garhshankar), SukhwinderSingh Sukhi (Banga (SC)), RanjitSingh Gill (Kharar), JagdeepSingh Cheema (FatehgarhSahib), Gurpreet Singh Raju(Amloh), Paramjeet SinghDhillon (Samrala), Ranjit SinghGill (Ludhiana East), HarishRai Danda (Atam Nagar), PritpalSingh Pali (Ludhiana Central),Darshan Singh Shivalik (Gill),Manpreet Singh Ayali (Dakha),SR Kaler (Jagraon), TeerathSingh Mahla (Bagha Purana)and Makhan Barjinder Singh(Moga).

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Haryana-based industrialistAshok Goel Mangaliwala, BJP

leader Pawan Beniwal and INLDleader Kanwarjit Singh on Mondayjoined the Congress in the presenceof AICC State in-charge VivekBansal and PCC chief KumariSelja.Bansal claimed that the windsare blowing in favour of theCongress and against the BJP inHaryana and hoped those who havejoined will contribute in strength-ening the party further. Selja saidthese leaders have quit the saffronparty and come into the Congressfold due to the BJP's "anti-peoplepolicies".

"There are leaders who under-stand that the Congress is the only

viable option to the BJP which hasproved to be a failure in all spheresof governance in Haryana," she said.She alleged that the BJP has becomea "paper leak government" as manyexamination papers were leaked inthe state.Welcoming Goel, Beniwaland Singh in the Congress, Seljasaid the BJP, both at the Centre andHaryana, is "anti-farmer and anti-labourer", and the Congress willwork unitedly to oust this regime.She also hoped the joinees will workeffectively with Congress workersto strengthen the party.

The joining of these leaders isalso a clear reflection of which waythe wind is blowing -- in favour ofthe Congress.Goel said he wasattracted by the policies of theCongress for upliftment of common

people. He said it was like a home-coming for him as his grandfather,Jugal Kishore Goyal, was the firstRajya Sabha member fromHaryana, and had worked closelywith Jawaharlal Nehru.Vivek Bansalsaid due to heavy rains in Haryana,several crops have suffered damage,and demanded adequate compen-sation for the farmers.

He also deplored the languageused by the Karnal SDM whileordering the lathi-charge on farm-ers protesting the three agri laws.Beniwal was BJP's candidate fomEllanabad constituency in the lastassembly polls after he contestedunsuccessfully against INLD'sAbhay Chautala. Kanwarjit Singh isthe son of former Congress MPTara Singh.

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With the objective of furtherstrengthening defence and

strategic ties, Defence MinisterRajnath Singh will host his coun-terparts from African nations in thenext India– Africa Defence Dialogueon the sidelines of the DefExpo tobe held at Gandhinagar, Gujarat inMarch next year.

The broad theme of this IndiaAfrica Defence Dialogue will be‘India – Africa: Adopting Strategy forSynergizing and StrengtheningDefence and Security Cooperation,’ defence ministry officials said hereon Monday.

India and Africa share a closeand historical relationship. Thefoundation of India–Africa defencerelations are based on the two guid-ing principles namely ‘SAGAR’,Security and Growth for All in the

Region’ and ‘VasudhaivaKutumbakam’, The World is OneFamily.

The first-ever India AfricaDefence Ministers Conclave(IADMC) was held in Lucknow,Uttar Pradesh in conjunction withDefExpo in February last year co-organised by the Ministry of Defenceand Ministry of External Affairs.

This was the first in the series ofPan Africa events at the Ministeriallevel in the run-up to India AfricaForum Summit IV. A JointDeclaration, ‘Lucknow Declaration’was adopted after conclusion ofIADMC 2020 as an outcome docu-ment of the Conclave.

In furtherance of the declarationand in consultation with stakehold-ers, India proposes to institutionalisethe India Africa Defence Dialogueduring successive DefExpos to beheld once every two years.

Institutionalisation of the IndiaAfrica Defence Dialogue will helpbuilding on the existing partnershipsbetween African countries and Indiaand to explore new areas of conver-gence for mutual engagementsincluding areas like capacity build-ing, training, cyber security, mar-itime security and counter terrorism.

It was also decided thatManohar Parrikar Institute forDefence Studies andAnalyses(IDSA) shall be the knowl-edge partner of India Africa DefenceDialogue and will assist in provid-ing necessary support for enhanceddefence cooperation between Indiaand Africa.

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India's foodgrain productionis likely to touch a new

record of over 150 milliontonnes in the Kharif season ofthe 2021-22 crop year (July-June) due to good rains.

The Agriculture Ministry isexpecting foodgrain produc-tion to be more than 150 mil-lion tonnes in the Kharif sea-

son this year, higher than149.56 million tonnes achievedin the same season of the 2020-21 crop year. "We have receivedgood rains so far this year. TotalKharif foodgrain productionwas 149.56 million tonnes lastyear as per the fourth estimate.As there is likely to be anincrease in area under pulsesand paddy, foodgrain produc-tion will definitely be muchhigher than last year's Kharifseason," Agriculture SecretarySanjay Agarwal said onMonday.

Sowing of Kharif (sum-mer) crops like paddy, whichbegins with the onset of theSouthwest monsoon from June,will get over by the end of thismonth. Harvesting in most ofthe parts will commence fromOctober.

The first estimate of thecountry's overall foodgrainproduction for this Kharif sea-son will be released aroundSeptember 15, he said.Agarwal said Kharif foodgrainproduction has been peggedhigher despite area sown tosummer crops so far remaininglower by 10 lakh hectares com-pared to the year-ago period, asthe ministry is expecting thegap in the coverage to getreduced by the end ofSeptember.

Total area sown to Kharifcrops reached 1,096.70 lakhhectares till September 10 thisyear as against 1,106.57 lakhhectares in the year-ago peri-od, he said. The secretary saidthere has been a slight increasein the coverage of paddy andpulses, while a major drop inarea under crops such as coarsecereals, cotton and groundnut."However, the gap in coverageis getting reduced as sowing insome parts will get over by the

end of this month. Looking atthe current situation, we aredefinitely expecting better pro-duction this time," he asserted.

Agarwal also said that thestates have been asked to takenecessary steps for procure-ment of Kharif crops as in somestates the arrival of crops hasbegun. For instance inKarnataka, arrival of pulsescrop has begun and permissionto the state government hasbeen given for procurement ofabout 40,000 tonne, he said.

The Secretary also men-tioned that he will hold a meet-ing with Punjab and Haryanain preparation for addressingthe stubble burning issue.“Funds of around Rs 491 crorehave been released to threestates of Punjab Haryana andUttar Pradesh ahead of har-vesting of Kharif crops fortackling the stubble burningissue,” he said.

The stubble burning innorthern India has long beena major cause of air pollutioneven as the central governmenthas spent Rs 2,245.17 crore toaddress this issue in the lastfour years. Agarwal said thestates have also been asked toallow gram sabhas to opencustom hiring centres so thatsmall farmers can have accessto machines and equipmentused in the management ofcrop residue.

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Grounded for over twoyears, Jet Airways is

expected to resume domesticoperations in the first quarterof 2022.

The airline plans to restartoperations with a flight fromNew Delhi to Mumbai. The air-line also would now be head-quartered in Delhi instead ofMumbai.

After the NationalCompany Law Tribunal(NCLT) cleared Jalan Kalrockconsortium's plan to revive JetAirways, the airline is workingclosely with authorities and air-port coordinators to finalise

slot allocations among otherthings.

Jet Airways had ceasedoperations in April 2019 andhas become the first Indian car-rier to be revived under thebankruptcy laws. In its newavatar, Jet will be based in DelhiNCR and not Mumbai like JetAirways 1.0.

In a statement, Murari LalJalan, Lead Member of theJalan Kalrock Consortium andthe proposed non-executivechairman of the airline, said,"Jet Airways 2.0 aims at restart-ing domestic operations byQ1-2022, and short haul inter-national operations by Q3/Q42022."

"Our plan is to have 50-plus aircraft in three years and100 plus planes in five years,which also fits perfectly wellwith the short-term and long-term business plan of theConsortium," he noted.

"The aircraft are beingselected based on competitivelong term leasing solutions. Itis the first time in the historyof aviation that an airlinegrounded for more than twoyears is being revived and weare looking forward to being apart of this historic journey,"Jalan said.

The Consortium's state-ment read that the revival planfor Jet Airways is being imple-

mented as approved by NCLTand all the creditors will be set-tled according to the plan in thecoming months.

The process of revivingthe grounded carrier is ontrack with the existing AirOperator Certificate (AOC)already under process for reval-idation, it mentioned.

“It is the first time in thehistory of aviation that an air-line grounded for more than 2years is being revived and weare looking forward to being apart of this historic journey.The brand Jet Airways has ahuge loyalty-base and we areconfident that with industrystalwarts like Capt Gaur, wewill be able to capitalize andcreate new benchmarks,” hesaid.

The revival plan for JetAirways is being implementedas approved by NCLT and allthe creditors will be settled asper the plan in the comingmonths, the consortium said ina statement.

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The Congress on Mondayraised objections over the

proposed disinvestment in theContainer Corporation of IndiaLtd (CONCOR), a railway PSUand Navratna company.

Congress spokespersonProf Gaurav Vallabh alleged ascam and questioned the dis-investment in a zero-debt, prof-it-making PSU after the Centregave its nod to sell 30.8 percentout of its 54.8 per cent holdingin CONCOR and managementcontrol to strategic buyers.

The Congress also ques-tioned how the governmentcan hand over railway landacquired from farmers of ourcountry at a concessional rateor free of cost to a private partyfor commercial use in a “back-door arrangement”. Vallabh

emphasised that the landshould be returned to the farm-ers if the Railways have no usefor it.

“It is of more significancewhen Adani Ports and SpecialEconomic Zone Ltd (APSEZ),says ‘Acquiring CONCOR willbe a breeze’ and ‘It can easilyacquire strategic target CON-COR.’ The same group alreadyhas ports and airports; ifCONCOR and its dry portsalso go to them, they will havea monopoly over the export-import of the entire country.What ensures us to believe thatthey will not exploit thismonopoly for commercialgains?” Prof Gaurav Vallabhsaid while addressing AICCPress conference.

Vallabh said that from itshumble beginnings, CONCORis now an undisputed market

leader having the largest net-work of 60 Inland ContainerDepots (ICD), of which 24 aresituated on the railway land.Railway Board policy datedMarch 19, 2020, notified aLand Licensing Fees (LLF)regime for industrial use of itsland and extended the same toCONCOR. The LLF beingcharged by the transporternow is six per cent of land valuein the first year of license; therate will increase at a rate ofseven per cent annually to fac-tor in inflation.

“Modi government is con-sidering a change in the leaserate to two per cent-three percent from the current level ofsix per cent. This policy mayextend the land lease periodfrom 5 years to 35 years ormore. In other words, the gov-ernment is considering the

proposal to lease Railway landfor 35 years by receiving anupfront 99 per cent of leaserentals,” he alleged.

For this, CONCOR willrequire about Rs 3,500 croredebts after utilizing Rs 2,500crore of cash reserves, theCongress leader added.Following the long-term lease,CONCOR will not be payingany land licensing fees (LLF) tothe Railways.

"Is the proposal to reduce

LLF an indirect way to handover developed governmentland to private parties for thelong term," Prof Vallabhdemanded from the Centre.

He further pointed outthat to pay 99 per cent upfrontlease, CONCOR has to raisedebts of Rs 3500 crore andthese debts will directly hurtthe valuation. “Is the entiretransaction is planned toreduce the valuation of CON-COR?” he questioned.

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The Ministry of CivilAviation on Monday

granted conditional exemp-tion of usage of drones fromthe existing rules for ICMR toallow it to experiment deliveryof Covid-19 vaccines in inac-cessible and rough terrains ofregions of Andaman andNicobar, Mizoram andNagaland. The system isalready in use in Telangana ona trial basis in areas that areinaccessible.

Similarly, the IndianInstitute of Technology, Bombay(IIT-B) has received drone usepermission for research, devel-opment and testing of drones inits own premises.

According to a statementfrom the Ministry of CivilAviation (MoCA) andDirectorate General of CivilAviation (DGCA), allowedconditional exemption fromDrone Rules, 2021 granting thetwo premier institutes in thecountry to use the ultramanned vehicles .

“The permission has been

granted to ICMR for conduct-ing experimental BeyondVisual Line of Sight (BVLOS)vaccine delivery in Andamanand Nicobar Islands, Manipur,and Nagaland upto a height of3000 meters using drones.

“This exemption shall besubject to the terms and con-ditions of the said airspaceclearance and shall be valid fora period of one year from thedate of approval of the said air-space clearance or until furtherorders, whichever is earlier,”said the statement.

On September 11, UnionMinister for Civil AviationJyotiraditya Scindia had

launched the 'Medicines fromthe Sky' project in Telangana'sVikrabad, under which vac-cines and other essential prod-ucts will be transported toremote areas using drones.

During the trial flight, vac-cines were delivered in 9 min-utes, Balfour Manuel, the man-aging director of Bluedart, hadsaid.

The project, which seeks todeliver medicines, vaccination,and units of blood to remote,rural areas by means of drones,is a collaboration of theTelangana government, WorldEconomic Forum, HealthNetGlobal and NITI Aayog.

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Convalescent plasma doesnot reduce the risk of intu-

bation or death in Covid-19patients, according to a studywhich found that people receiv-ing the therapy experiencedmore serious adverse eventsthan those getting standardcare.

Intubation is a procedurewhere a tube is inserted into thewindpipe to make it easier tobreathe.

The research, published inthe journal Nature Medicine,also found that the antibodyprofile in the blood of peoplewho have had the virus isextremely variable and thismay modify the response to thetreatment. Convalescent plas-ma therapy uses blood frompeople who have recoveredfrom an illness to help othersrecover.

India had dropped conva-lescent plasma therapy (CPT)from its national clinical man-agement protocol for Covid-19in May itself.

The Canadian researchersalso found that patients receiv-ing convalescent plasma expe-rienced significantly more seri-ous adverse events than thosereceiving standard care.

The majority of thoseevents were an increased needfor oxygen and worsening res-piratory failure, they said.However, the rate of fatal inci-dents was not significantly dif-ferent from the control groupof patients who did not receivethe blood.

The clinical trial, calledCONCOR-1, included 940patients at 72 hospitals in

Canada, the US, and Brazil.The trial found that con-

valescent plasma had highlyvariable donor antibody con-tent due to the highly variableimmune response to the virus.

Different antibody profilesin the convalescent plasmawere observed to significantlyimpact whether or not patientsexperienced intubation ordeath.

Unfavourable antibodyprofiles, meaning low anti-body titres, non-functionalantibodies or both, were asso-ciated with a higher risk ofintubation or death.

“These findings mayexplain the apparent conflict-ing results between randomisedtrials showing no benefit, andobservational studies showingbetter outcomes with highertitre products relative to lowtitre products," said study co-principal investigator JeannieCallum, an associate scientist atthe Sunnybrook ResearchInstitute in Canada.

"It appears that it may notbe that high-titre convalescentplasma is helpful, but ratherthat low-titre convalescent plas-ma is harmful," Callum said.

The researchers noted thatthe harm may come from thetransfusion of convalescentplasma containing poorly func-tioning antibodies.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has arrest-

ed Rajiv Saxena in a money-laundering case linked to analleged bank fraud. Saxena isalso an accused in the Rs3,600-crore VVIP choppersdeal case.

The agency will producehim before a competent courtto seek his custody, officialssaid. Saxena, an alleged mid-dleman in the AgustaWestlandVVIP choppers deals case, wasbased in Dubai and wasdeported to India from theUAE on January 31, 2019.Following his deportation, theagency arrested him in a chop-per deal case.

The helicopter deal wassubsequently scrapped by theCentre in 2014 after allegationsof payment of kickbacks sur-faced.

"Saxena is a hawala opera-tor who runs accommodationentry business in Dubai

through numerous companies,known as Matrix group com-panies, and has laundered pro-ceeds of crime in the cases ofAgustaWestland chopper scam(linked to purchase of VVIPchoppers by India) and MoserBaer bank fraud case," the EDhad earlier said.

“Saxena created structuresfor laundering proceeds ofcrime generated by accused ofboth cases either for the kick-backs in AgustaWestland caseor defrauding banks by mis-utilising the loans given toMoser Baer India Ltd and itssubsidiaries,” the ED hadalleged, adding his role wasunder investigation in a num-ber of other cases.

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In a first, the Centre hasdecided to cross check land

records before the procure-ment of paddy from nextmonth in a bid to ensure theMSP reaches farmers and nottraders. Most procuring states,barring Assam andUttarakhand as well as Jammuand Kashmir, are ready andhave also integrated digitalland records with the Centre'snodal procurement agencyFood Corporation of India(FCI) for this purpose.

Asserting that this newmechanism is in the interest offarmers, Food SecretarySudhanshu Pandey said thecrop cultivated by farmerswhether in their own land or inrented land will be procured bythe government. "It is not nec-essary for farmers to own theland or not. If farmers have cul-tivated any land, that will beprocured," he said.

The whole idea is to crosscheck how much crop hasbeen cultivated in what area

and accordingly procure it, hesaid, adding this is where dig-ital land records integratedcentrally with FCI will helpduring the procurementprocess. The main objectivebehind this mechanism is thatthe government procures thecrop from genuine farmersand not from traders.

According to the Secretary,"Most states including Punjab arein complete readiness." Manystates like Uttar Pradesh andOdisha had already integratedtheir land records, while somestates had not done and they aredoing this year, he added.

The Centre procured 3,449lakh tonne of paddy at a MSPvalue of Rs 6,02,156 crorebetween 2016-17 and 2020-21,while 1,627 lakh tonne of wheatat MSP value of Rs 2,85,071crore in the same period. Thisis much higher than 2,495 lakhtonne of paddy at a MSP valueof Rs 2,88,871 crore between2009-10 and 2013-14, while1,395 lakh tonne of wheat atMSP value of Rs 1,68,223 crorein the same period.

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Resentment is brewing upamong thousands of organ-

ic and natural farmers spreadacross the districts ofCoimbatore, the Nilgiris,Tirupur, Erode and Dindigulfollowing the announcementby the DMK Government thatthe headquarters of TamilNadu Organic CertificationDepartment at Coimbatorewould soon be shifted toChennai.

The TNOCD was launchedwith the objective of ensuringsustainable productivity with-out the use of artificial externalinputs such as agro chemicals,fertilizers and pesticides, said GK Nagaraj, president of theAgricultural Wing of TamilNadu BJP, who is a lead farmerin the region. He said the deci-sion to shift the head quarterscomes at a time when theentire Kongu region consistingof the seven districts were onthe verge of switching over toorganic and natural farming.

“The farming communityin this region would be put todifficulties once the State

administration shifts theTNOCD to Chennai wherethere is no kind of naturalfarming. All of us may have tocommute to Chennai to meetour needs for natural farmingat this critical juncture,” saidNagaraj who along with hun-dreds of farmers handed overa representation to the DistrictCollector pleading with thegovernment not to go aheadwith the shifting.

“This is yet another proofof the indifference of the TamilNadu Government towards theproblems faced by people in thewestern region. More than 30per cent of the tax revenue ofTamil Nadu is generated fromthis region and we need a fairdeal from the Government inChennai,” Vanathi Srinivasan,who represents CoimbatoreSouth in Tamil Nadu LegislativeAssembly. Srinivasan who isalso the national president ofthe BJP’s women’s wing said thatinstead of shifting the TNOCDfrom Coimbatore, theGovernment should have mod-ernised the centre by incorpo-rating the new technologiesthat would benefit natural andorganic farming.

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Before the arrival of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi

in Aligarh today, a ruckus hasbeen created in the name ofJinnah's portrait in AligarhMuslim University. ABharatiya Janata Party work-er put the picture of thefounder of Pakistan,Mohammad Ali Jinnah in apublic toilet. However, it wasremoved after being informed.BJP said action will be takenagainst the miscreants.

On Monday, in a viralvideo, a BJP worker, identifiedas Shivang Tiwari, is seenputting Jinnah's poster in thetoilet and trampling it with hisfeet. Tiwari is the media in-charge of BJP Vishnupurimandal. Shivang Tiwari hasdemanded that the picture ofJinnah in the union hall ofAMU should be removed. Afew days before this, he alongwith his colleagues had alsosent a letter written in bloodto PM Modi demanding theremoval of Jinnah's portraitfrom the Union Hall of AMU.

Tiwari put many postersof Jinnah in the toilet of

Gandhi Park Bus Stand andmade photos and videos viralon the internet media. Shivangsays that this is the place forthe poster of the person whobroke the country. We willcontinue protesting till thepicture is removed.

BJYM District PresidentMukesh Lodhi said that BJP isa disciplined party, there aremany ways to protest, itshould not have been donelike this. BJP MetropolitanPresident Dr. Vivek Saraswatsaid that he does not knowShivang Tiwari. The executivecommittee of the Mandal isbig, so such a name has neversurfaced. In the past, the mat-ter has also heated up severaltimes regarding Jinnah's pic-ture in the Union Hall ofAMU. BJP MP Satish Gautamhad written a letter to themanagement to remove thepicture from the hall, whichwas opposed by the students.Even after this many timesBJP workers have raised thematter to remove the picture.But the picture is still in theunion hall. Under the pressureof the students, the manage-ment could not removeit.

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The BJP and the CPI(M) onMonday fielded Priyanka

Tibrewal and Srijib Das respec-tively from the high-profileBhawanipore Assembly con-stituency against Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee. While theChief Minister is a qualifiedlawyer the two contestants field-ed by the BJP and the Left arelegal practioners too making theBhawanipore by-elections anall-advocates affair so to say.

While Das is a completegreen-horn in terms of con-testing elections, Tibrewal avocal BJP leader and a CalcuttaHigh Court lawyer unsuccess-fully fought the April-MayAssembly polls losing to TMCleader and minister Javed Khanfrom the Entally constituencyin central Kolkata.

When reminded of thetowering personality she iscontesting against Tibrewalsaid “there is nothing called asuperstar in the field of elec-tions because the voters of ademocratically conscious con-stituency like Bhawaniporealways weigh up the issuesmore than anything else.”

The BJP candidate whowas earlier referred to as a“Bacchha” (a kid) by Banerjee’selection-manager FirhadHakim also said that “some

people look like Bacchha buthave explosive qualities … letthe time come and the MrHakim will understandwhether I am a bacchha or aveteran.”

The BJP would give theChief Minister a taste ofNandigram --- where Banerjeewas defeated by her onetimeprotégé-turned-BJP leaderSuvendu Adhikari by 1,900votes --- Tibrewal said. “Herethe people of Bhawanipore hasgot a chance to give the ChiefMinister a taste of Nandigram… I think they will not miss outon that opportunity.”

State BJP president DilipGhosh on the other hand saidthat “the BJP has come to fightthe elections with high spirits aswe are the principal oppositionparty in Bengal … we will go allout to win the elections aboutwhich we are pretty confident…the TMC should rememberthat no one becomes a starovernight … even MamataBanerjee was a newcomer whenshe created history by defeatingin her first election a politicalheavy-weight like SomnathChatterjee in 1984.”

Apparently the BJP’s con-fidence stems from the sizeablepopulation of non-Bengali peo-ple residing in the area.Bhawanipore has a whopping42 percent population of

Hindi-speaking voters includ-ing Gujaratis, Marwaris,Punjabis and those from Biharand UP.

“If the Left manages toretain its own support base ofabout 15-20 percent then theBJP has a fairly good chance,”said a State party leader.

The Left Front candidatewho has been working silent-ly --- away from political lime-light --- said that “the mainissue in Bengal is inflation, ris-ing price of oil, gas and lack ofjobs for which the people haveto go to outside states … theyhave seen the 10-year rule ofMamata Banerjee and 7-yearrule of Modi in the Centre …now they may start think dif-ferently … we are taking ourplans and programmes withoutmuch political fanfare to themand they are quietly listening tous … we are expecting to putup a good show.”

The Congress which waslikely to contest the electionswith the backing of the Lefthowever chose to withdrawfollowing a decision taken by itsnational leadership. Onwhether the Congress “betray-al” would hurt its alliance withthe Left CPI(M) Rajya Sabhamember Bikash Bhattacharyasaid “such small deviationshere and there do not affectbroader alliances.”

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On the first death anniver-sary of Lok Janshakti Party

(LJP) founder and formerUnion Minister Ram VilasPaswan, his son and LJP chiefChirag Paswan tried to iron outdifferences by inviting leadersfrom all parties in Patna exceptChief Minister Nitish Kumarwho skipped the programme.

Leaders from various par-ties gathered on this occasionexcept Nitish Kumar or any topJanata Dal (United) leader whochose to skip this event. Thishas fuelled speculation aboutthe JD(U) leaders maintaininga distance from Chirag Paswan.

It is speculated that NitishKumar wants to maintain a dis-tance from LJP's ChiragPaswan under any circum-stances. The big question iswhether relations can turn sosour in the course of politicalenmity that old relations aresidelined.

Chirag's uncle and UnionMinister Pashupati Paras of LJP(Paras) faction attended thisprogramme and paid tributesto his brother Ram VilasPaswan. He said that even if hehad not been invited, he wouldstill have come.

Though Nitish Kumar paidtributes to Ram Vilas Paswan,he did not attend the eventhosted by Chirag Paswan.

Political experts are view-

ing this feud from differentviewpoints. Political critic AjayKumar says, "Even if NitishKumar had attended this pro-gramme, he would not havesuffered any political loss butinstead he would have benefit-ed. This is the beginning of awrong tradition in politics."

Manoj Chaurasia, whoknows the politics of Biharfrom close quarters, says,"Nitish Kumar's absence fromthis event gives a clear indica-tion that he is not interested inmending ties between theJD(U) and the LJP but wants tofurther maintain a distancefrom LJP."

He said the JD(U) becamethe third largest party in the2020 Bihar Assembly elections.JD(U) leaders hold the LJPresponsible for their party'spoor performance so NitishKumar does not seem to be inany mood to forgive LJP leaderChirag Paswan.

"JD(U) believes thatChirag's strategy and politicsare responsible for reducing theparty's position in Bihar," saysManoj Chaurasia.

On the other hand, byattending this event, BJP lead-ers have expressed that eventhough LJP (Paras) ChiefPashupati Kumar Paras hasbeen made a Union minister,the saffron party will continueto support Chirag Paswan aswell.

Chirag has been continu-ously targeting Chief MinisterNitish Kumar and even allegedthat the JD(U) was involved inbreaking the LJP into two fac-tions. Political experts consid-er this gesture as a revenge bythe LJP.

The LJP has split into twofactions, one led by ChiragPaswan and the other byPashupati Paras. Both the fac-tions claim to represent the realLJP.

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Minister of Railways,Ashwini Vaishnaw, on

Monday visited SMVD Katraand laid the foundation stonefor enhanced infrastructureand passenger amenities at theSri Mata Vaishno Devi Katrastation. He reviewed the ongo-ing work on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla-Rail-LinkProject (USBRL).

Vaishnaw boarded theVande Bharat Express train fromSMVD Katra for Jammu. Heinteracted with the passengerswhile on the train. Sh. AshutoshGangal, General ManagerNorthern Railway, ChiefAdministrative Officer, USBRLProject, Sh. S.K. Jha, DivisionalRailway Manager, Firozpur, Dr.Seema Sharma and other officialsof Northern Railway and USBRLwere present on the occasion.

The Minister was briefedabout the progress of work ofthe USBRL project which is tolink Jammu to Srinagar by theUSBRL Engineers. The projectwhich is to Link Jammu toSrinagar Valley through an all-weather rail line is being builtat a cost of � 27,949 crore.

Shivamogga (Karnataka): TheKarnataka police have arrested12 persons, including a grampanchayat secretary, in con-nection with the burying of 150stray dogs alive at a village ofShivamogga district, sourcessaid on Monday.

The horrifying incidentcame to light on September 7.

The police arrested personswho allegedly injected poisoninto the stray dogs, two mem-bers of gram panchayat, a JCBoperator, and secretary andbill collector of the Kambadalu-Hosur gram panchayat.

The gram panchayat gavethe task of catching and sterilis-ing stray dogs within panchay-at limits to private contractors. Itwas proposed in the meeting andthe emolument rate was fixed forthe exercise. The contractor wassupposed to catch stray dogs andrelease them after the neuteringexercise.

The members of panchay-at, including the secretary andothers conspired, planned andexecuted the plan of injectingthe dogs allegedly with poisonand burying them alive, policesaid.

The villagers and animalactivists lodged a complaint.The police have got the post-mortem conducted on 60 dogs. IANS

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Leaving Deputy ChiefMinister Nitin Patel 'unhap-

py'', first-time MLA BhupendraPatel was on Monday sworn-inas the 17th Chief Minister ofGujarat by Governor AcharyaDevvrat in place of VijayRupani, who resigned a yearahead of next Assembly elec-tions in the State.

The 59-year-oldBhupendra Rajnikant Patel,the first Ahmedabadi ChiefMinister of Gujarat, is also afirst-time MLA, first-timeMinister and first 'Kadva Patel'to take the CM's chair seat.

He will announce hisCabinet after two-day, sourcessaid.

This is the fourth change ofChief Minister in the BJP-ruled States after shifting of BS Yediyurappa (Karnataka) and-Tirath Singh Rawat- andTrivendra Singh Rawat(Uttarakhand).

The hand-picking byPrime Minister Narendra Modiof a lightweight 'Patidar' for thetop post has made Deputy-Chief Minister Nitin Patel, amany-time hot contender forthe top post "unhappy'' anddisgruntled.

The new Chief Ministermet Nitin Patel, also a 'patidar'leader, to soothe his ruffledfeathers.

Patel was sworn-in in thepresence of union Home

Minister Amit Shah.Modi congratulated Patel

saying, "I have known him foryears and have seen his exem-plary work, be it in the BJPOrganisation or in civicadministration and commu-nity service. He will certainlyenrich Gujarat's growth tra-jectory.".

Madhya Pradesh and GoaChief Ministers Shivraj SinghChouhan and Pramod Sawantwere on stage for the oath-tak-ing ceremony of Patel.

Nitin Patel did not try tohide his hurt feelings forbeing sidelined as a CM can-didate and said whileaddressing a gathering in hishome turf Mehsana onSunday, that he had seenmany ups and downs, andasserted that nobody can"throw him out" as he lives inpeople's heart.

The outgoing CM Rupani,however, kept his own counseland dismissed opposition barb

on the Modi-government forremoving him.

"I do not care what theopposition has to say....thissort of a smooth transition ofpower is possible only withinthe BJP....I will continue towork for the party," saidFormer Gujarat CM.

On his part Modi said thatformer Rupani worked tire-lessly for all sections of the soci-ety.

"During his five years asCM, Vijay Rupani Ji has under-taken many people-friendlymeasures. He worked tireless-ly for all sections of society. Iam certain he will continue tocontribute to public service inthe times to come," said PrimeMinister.

Rupani who comes from anumerically smaller commu-nity of Jains, was said to havebeen found short of expecta-tions while handling theCovid19 pandemic in the state.

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An eight-year-old girl wasraped in Basti district while

in Etawah two sisters returningfrom a Mahila police stationwere abducted by three menand gang-raped during the last24 hours.

In Basti, a 16-year-old boyand also a distant relativeforced himself on the minorgirl while her family memberswere not at home in a village inDhubulia police station area onSunday evening.

When the family membersreturned home shortly after, thevictim narrated her ordeal afterwhich her father called up thelocal police station. A policeteam immediately rushed to thelocation and admitted the girl toa clinic for treatment where her condition was stated to be sta-ble.

A case was registeredunder Section 376 of IPC andprovisions of POCSO Act anda hunt was underway for thejuvenile accused.

In Etawah, a young womanaccompanied by her sister visit-ed the Mahila police station tolodge a complaint against her hus-band on Sunday evening. Whilethey were returning to theirnative village at Saifai, a stranger

offered them lift. On the way hestopped at a hotel and called oneof his aides. Later one of themforced the sisters to drink alcoholand later took the intoxicated sis-ters to a shop and gang-rapedthem after downing the shutters.The sisters were also brutally beat-en up by the accused so that theydid not complain about the crimeto the police.

The accused abandonedthe sisters in the shop and weretrying to flee when a policepatrol asked them to stop. Asthey started fleeing, the policeteam chased and nabbed them.

The police said that whilethe arrests were made, theyheard wails from a nearby shopthat was half-closed. The policeteam entered the shop only tofind the injured and scantily cladvictims weeping. On learningabout their ordeal, the victimswere rushed to Etawah districthospital for medical examina-tion. The victims later lodged anFIR in this connection at Saifaipolice station.

����� 9/�:�;8

Congress general secretary PriyankaGandhi Vadra, on Monday, took

on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party,saying that only time would tell whichparty --Congress or BJP-- had lost exis-tence in the country's politically mostcrucial State- Uttar Pradesh.

Priyanka Vadra, who is touring hermother Sonia Gandhi's Prliamentaryconstituency Rae Bareli and the lostbastion of Amethi, was responding toUP Deputy Chief Minister KeshavPrasad Maurya's claim that the Statehad got rid of Congress.

A day earlier, on Sunday, she hadtaken a jibe at a Government adver-tisement claiming that fake develop-ment had been highlighted by the BJPin the name of ‘Transforming UP’.

“We fulfilled what we promised tothe public,” Priyanka Vadra assertedwhile saying that the people wouldreply to the BJP for cheating them withfalse promises of ‘achhey din’ and foreven depriving the public of two mealsby snatching their jobs or throughunemployment besides a steep hike inprices of all essential commodities,including petroleum products, edibleoils and other edible items.

Meanwhile, Congress PradeshElection Committee (PEC) chairman

Salman Khurshid reiterated a well-known fact that Congress would con-test the 2022 UP polls under the lead-ership of Priyanka Vadra.

Making it clear that Congress wouldnot stitch an alliance with any party andwould go it alone in the UP polls,Khurshid said that his party had not yetdecided on its chief ministerial candi-date but it would field candidates on all403 assembly constituencies in UP.

Khurshid, who was in Agra to takepeople's feedback for the party manifesto,stressed that the manifesto would includevoices of the common people by visitingassembly constituencies to get a sense ofthe problems being faced by the locals.

"This will make people happy andthey can say that this manifesto is theirown," the Congress leader said.

"We have visited other districtssuch as Ayodhya, Jhansi, Gorakhpur,and others and on Sunday in Agra, weinteracted with the natives of Tora vil-lage. People complained about sever-al issues such as pension for widowsand old people," Khurshid said.

Meanwhile, Priyanka Vadra onMonday, left for Delhi after wrappingup her five-day tour of the state dur-ing which she exhorted party workersto work round-the-clock for the 2022UP assembly polls.

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Veteran Congress leader OscarFernandes, who passed away on

Monday, was one of those personalitieswho had virtually no enemy in the cut-throat world of politics both within andoutside the Congress.

He was hospitalised a couple ofmonths ago after suffering a fall at hishouse while doing his regular exerciseand had to be operated upon.

Prime Minister Narendra Modiexpressed anguish over the death of theveteran Congress leader saying:"Saddened by the death of Rajya SabhaMP Shri Oscar Fernandes ji. In this sadhour, my thoughts and prayers are withhis family and well wishers. May his soulrest in peace."

Former Prime Minister ManmohanSingh too condoled the death of his for-mer cabinet colleague and rememberedhim as a pleasant personality and peo-ple's man and one of the tallest leadersof the Congress.

Describing him as 'Ajaathashatru' (aperson who has no enemy), formerPrime Minister H D Deve Gowda said,"Let almighty bestow peace on his soul."

While Karnataka Chief MinisterBasavaraj Bommai hailed the service ofOscar Fernandes to the state and nation,former CM H D Kumaraswamy saidOscar Fernandes looked up to theCongress as a mother figure and lovedall.

"It is a personal loss for me. He wasa guide and mentor to many of us in theCongress party. He will be missed andfondly remembered for his contribu-tions," Congress leader Rahul Gandhisaid in a tweet.

The Chief Ministers of Congressruled States as well CMs of other partiesalso condoled the death of Congressleader.

Fernandes was a sitting member ofthe Rajya Sabha from Karnataka. He hadbeen a five-time Lok Sabha MP and afour-time Rajya Sabha member. He hadentered politics as a member of theUdupi Municipal Council and was elect-ed to Lok Sabha for the first time in 1980.

Fernandes became the parliamentarysecretary to the prime minister RajivGandhi in December 1984 and then theAICC general secretary in 1985.Thereafter, he went on to assume sever-al key positions in the party andGovernment.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi will lay the founda-

tion stone of Raja MahendraPratap Singh State Universityand also inspect exhibitionmodels of Uttar PradeshDefence Industrial Corridorand Raja Mahendra PratapSingh State University inAligarh on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister’s visit isbeing viewed as yet anothermove by the Bharatiya JanataParty to placate the Jat commu-nity of western UP which hasbeen seething over the three newfarm laws, no hike in cane priceand high input costs of farming.

The ruling party is lookingto send a message to the Jatsthat none of the previousregimes bestowed any honouron the ‘most powerful Jat kingin the way he deserved.

While campaigning for by-elections for assembly seatsTundla in Firozabad and Iglas inneighbouring Hathras in 2019,Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathhad announced the setting up ofa State university after RajaMahendra Pratap, who oncedonated land to Aligarh MuslimUniversity (AMU). The ChiefMinister had then said thateven though the Jat king donat-ed land for the AMU, his name

was never engraved on its wallsand hence, the BJP Governmentwould set up a university tohonour the Raja, who was agreat freedom fighter, educa-tionist and social reformer. Theuniversity will be set up in anarea of over 92 acres in Lodhavillage and Musepur KareemJarouli village of Aligarh's Koltehsil and once operational, itwill provide affiliation to 395colleges of Aligarh division.

Raja Mahendra PratapSingh’s great grandson CharatPratap Singh, who had earliersent a legal notice to the AMUover lease expiration of the landdonated by the Hathras royal,expressed satisfaction at themove.

“We are happy with thegovernment decision. I wouldsay ‘der aaye durust aaye’ bet-ter late than never). The fam-ily is very happy and we wel-come the decision. This is a his-torical step. Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath has played animportant role in setting up thisnew university. I personallycongratulated him after thisdecision. He recognised thecontribution of Raja MahendraPratap in the field of education.Some people are relating thisdecision with politics but weare not relating it with Jat pol-itics,” he said.

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However, why the reality ofCommunist USSR did not gnawon the conscience of artists/writ-ers is a matter of speculation. Itwas the fear psychosis at thespread of Communism thatfuelled the rise of Fascism andNazism in western Europe. TheUSSR had nationalised privateproperty and collectivised agri-cultural land. Fascists and Nazispromised to defend privateproperty, though their ownparty rule was a laterally invert-ed mirror image of theBolshevik party.

Maxim Gorky, the iconicRussian author and member ofCommunist Party himself,wrote an unflattering descrip-tion of the Bolshevik horrors.Gorky, “conscience of theRevolution”, became an incon-venient person, and sent toGermany, by the Russian lead-ership. Yet, he could not stir upthe conscience of Europe onBolshevism as he had aboutCzarist repressions once.Brecht’s poem Grabinschriftfür Gorki (Epitaph for Gorky)is so weak in comparison to hisanti-Fascist poems that it wasbetter that he never wrote it.

Anti-Fascism provided thetrigger for “organising”Progressive Literature andCulture in India in the 1930s.The Communists merely fittedinto that “Big Tent”. Paucity of

historical material, especiallyfor the period 1939-1941,makes understanding of liter-ary currents difficult.

This columnist had todepend upon the memoirs ofexact contemporaries author-filmmaker Khwaja AhmadAbbas (1914-87) andCommunist researcherChinmohan Sehnabis (1913-1987) to understand thegrowth of progressive litera-ture and theatre in Bombayand Calcutta. Abbas, one ofthe founding members of theBombay branch ofProgressive WritersAssociation (PWA) in 1942,dismisses the myth that PWAwas a front organisation of theCommunist Party of India.He informs that less thanhalf of the PWA memberswere Communists. However,“there was such energy inthem, and their writings, suchmesmeric dynamism in theircharacter and personality,such evangelical fervour inthe talk” that the legend arosethat PWA was a Communist“front” organisation (KAA, Iam not an Island, P.227).

Similarly, IPTA was an “oddspectrum of deepest Red anddeepest Blue”, which broughtrich socialites, socialists andthousands of mill workerstogether. “They were united by

their desire to revitalise Indiantheatre and to use it as a medi-um of progressive thought”(KAA, I write as I feel, P.30).

Sehnabis provides a similarpicture in his Bengali collectivewritings — “46: Ekti SanskriticAndolon Prasange” (46: Abouta Cultural Movement). Here, thenumerical stands for the address46, Dharmatala Street, Kolkata,from where the Youth CulturalInstitute functioned since 1941.The YCI was actuated by anti-Fascist outlook but its guestspeakers were not confined tobelievers in Communism. TheYCI literary gatherings, whichinclude music and films, wereequally popular with a wide sec-tion of people. Sehnabis empha-sises that in those days, no dog-matism of ideology prevailed.

This was how the Leftentered the world of art andculture in alliance with others,but later gave a particular ori-entation to it. While one couldcriticise their dominance in thefield of academia, media, his-toriography, literature and the-atre, the criticism alone cannotprovide an alternative. Left’sinfluence is on the wane, butthey worked methodically toachieve what they achieved.

(The writer is an authorand independent researcherbased in New Delhi. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

��������������� �������Sir — There is heartening news for peo-ple who have lower antibody levels; theydon’t need to worry as the Governmentis mulling to administer a booster orthird dose. This decision is crucial as over20 per cent of the inoculated populationhas failed to develop antibodies againstCOVID-19. As per the Institute of LifeScience (ILS), the efficacy of Covishieldand Covaxin are in the vicinity of 70 percent and 80 per cent respectively, leav-ing 20 to 30 per cent of the populationvulnerable. It is hard to imagine the sit-uation of the poor and underdevelopednations as they are not able to procureeven the first dose, let alone the boost-er shot.

India, as a growing and developingcountry, should take the initiative andmake vaccines available to people of allages in all needy countries. This is notpossible without the help of developedcountries like the US, Japan, the UK etc.It’s time to show the world that Indiabelieves in what it says and prove“Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” true to theworld. However, this should be done afterensuring that India has enough jabs forits own citizens.

Manisha Panwar | Ujjain

���������������������Sir — Novak Djokovic’s quest for arecord 21st major title came to an endat the final hurdle with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4loss to Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in theUS Open final at the Flushing Meadows.Daniil Medvedev, playing in his thirdGrand Slam final, hoisted the trophy ashe avenged the straight sets defeat byDjokovic earlier this year in theAustralian Open final. In his victoryspeech, Medvedev admitted that NovakDjokovic is the greatest tennis player intennis history. Winning the US Openfinal and that, too, against a tough oppo-nent like Djokovic is a dream-come-truewin.

Medvedev, serving throughout thefinal, was outstanding but when it real-ly mattered and on the verge of winning

a Grand Slam title, he committed sillyerrors and committed double faults in acrucial juncture of the game. Serving at5-2, Medvedev double faulted on matchpoint, allowing Djokovic to secure hisbreak. After the top seed held serve totrim the deficit to 5-4, Medvedev dou-ble-faulted again. But the 25-year-old didnot squander another chance, gatheringhimself to clinch the title on his thirdattempt. In the end, it was the US OpenChampionship for Medvedev.

CK Subramaniam | Mumbai

����������������������Sir — Our criminal justice system andthe laws are accused-friendly. Theyneed to be made victim-friendly. Ourcriminal justice system is cumbersomeand lengthy. It takes years to conclude arape case. Many cases which date backto years ago are still pending disposal inour courts. The accused finds manyloopholes in our laws and comes out eas-

ily from the clutches of the law. A nurseby the name of Aruna Shanbaug was sex-ually assaulted in 1973 by a ward boy. Sheremained in a vegetative state in the hos-pital for over 37 years.

The suffering of a rape victim can-not be described simply in words.Neither the law nor the police have beenable to stop the occurrence of such inci-dents. Our criminal justice should alsorender instant justice to the victims. Earlyjustice and stringent punishment to theperpetrators of rape cases is the need ofthe hour. Also, the prosecution rate is notcommensurate to the number of crimesthat take place against women, a signif-icant percentage of which is not evenreported. This requires a change. Onlythen the crime-against-women graphwill head towards south.

Sravana Ramachandran | Chennai

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Internationally renownedGreek composer MikisTheodorakis (1925-2021)recently passed away in

Athens at an advanced age of 96.Globally, he would be best remem-bered for his music in films like‘Zorba the Greek’, ‘Z’ and ‘Serpico’.However, in his death, he was alsorecalled for something more. It washis strong commitment to Marxistideology, for which he had sufferedprivation, incarceration, tortureand exile in different phases of life.An immensely gifted Theodorakiscould become an opulent virtuosoby monetising his talent. He didnot disavow Communism, thoughhe transcended it. Entire Greecemourned Theodorakis in hisdeath, as they had celebrated thecomposer in his lifetime.

This brings us to the broaderquestion why a number of leadingartists, writers and creative person-alities in the 20th century gravitat-ed towards the Communist ideol-ogy. Communism never projecteditself as ‘artistic’ as candidly as itclaimed itself to be ‘scientific’. Thesimplest answer would be thatmany artists/writers felt inspired bythe vision of an egalitarian society,oppression-free world and warlessinternational order thatCommunism promised. A morecomplex psychological explanationwould be that artists/writers —who moved in the subtle world ofideas, colours, rhyme and melody— saw in Communism an oppor-tunity to change the world. Beingthe “unacknowledged legislators ofthe world”, as Percy Bysshe Shelleysaid of the poets, was a noble temp-tation. The opening line of a Hindisong by lyricist Shailendra wouldsum it up: “Tu zinda hai to, zinda-gi ki jeet mein yakin kar/Agarkahin hai swarg to utaar laa zameenpar (If you are alive, believe in thetriumph of life/If there is a heavensomewhere, bring it down uponearth). Shailendra himself was aCommunist, and his song becamean anthem in Indian People’sTheatre Association (IPTA).

The devastation caused by theFirst World War, followed by riseof ultranationalist ideologies likethe Fascists and Nazis, was a trig-ger for emergence of progressive lit-erature/art not only in Europe butfar-off India. It was difficult to thinkof Berthold Brecht without thebackground of Inter-War period.

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Telecom operators includingAirtel,Vodafone Idea or Vi and RelianceJio have submitted a charter ofdemands to the Centre.

They primarily relate to licence fees:reducing the license fee from three percent of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) toone per cent, USOF (Universal ServiceObligation Fund) contribution from fiveper cent of AGRto one per cent, spectrumusage charge (SUC) from 3-6 per cent(depending on when the operatoracquired spectrum in respective bands) toa uniform three per cent for all operators,

A demand is also to extend the tenureof leased spectrum to operators from 20years to 40 years. They want a7-10-yearmoratorium on payments (in additiontotwo years already given). They demandreducing interest rate on all outstandingdeferred payment liabilities (for acquiringspectrum) and outstanding AGR duesfrom 9-10 per centto four per cent or less,only telecom revenue be considered forlevying license fee and SUC, early com-pletion of the TRAI (Telecom RegulatoryAuthority of India) consultation paper on'floor price for tariffs and waiver offinancial and performance bank guaran-tees (BGs).

Reportedly, the Government hasagreed to reduceSUC by per cent 'prospec-tively', allowadditional moratorium of twoyears for payments, consider telecom rev-enue only for AGR calculation 'prospec-tively' and reducing BG on AGR dues anddeferred spectrum payments (DSP).Additionally, it has kept an option openfor "converting a portion of Vi dues toequity after four years".

The above relaxations will ease cashflow of the operators,though there is scopeas well as strong justification for doingmore particularly with regard to levies.Under the current environment wherein,the operators are buying spectrum -unlike in the past when it came bundledwith the license - there is no logic in col-lecting license fee and SUC also. There isalso no valid casefor continuing withUSOFlevy (meant to fund building ruralinfrastructure) all the more when there isun-used money in the Fund.

Even so, a drastic reduction in thelevies will not help in extricating a majoroperator from the financial disaster it iscurrently facing. The real culprits are thepolicies and regulatory environment thathave favored one player even while target-ing others.

On the policy front, even as otheroperators paid gargantuan sums forobtaining license and spectrum, RJio gotthese at a throwaway price.It acquired aninternet service provider (ISP) licensefrom an unknown entity, InfotelBroadband Services Pvt Ltd (IBSPL) in2010, and got with it pan-India broadbandwireless spectrum (BWA) by paying�12,837 crore. In 2013, this was convert-ed into a unified license (UL) to providevoice services also by paying an addition-

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To develop connectivityand boost commerciala c t iv i t y, I T I - DK D -

Y(Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad-D e l h i - Ko l k at a - D h a k a -Yangon) route has been longproposed as the major railfreight transport corridor. Ithas great potential and canhave a positive impact on theeconomy of the sub-regionand of the countries involved.

The proposed ITI-DKD-Y corridor will be part of theSouthern Corridor of theTrans Asia route (TAR),which is the least integrated,but crosses the most popu-loussub-regions in the worldwith a maximum potential ofconsolidating Asia's industri-al activity.

The new corridor couldprovide transport connec-tions to ensure the accessibil-

ity and development of land-locked countries such asAfghanistan, Bhutan andNepalbecoming an artery forintra-regional trade.

Currently, the Turkey-Iranpart of the corridor is opera-tional. For the ITI train to geton tracks, the weaker part ofthe equation -Pakistan -- hasto upgrade its infrastructure inBaluchistan province. Herelies a catch as it is linked to theBelt Road initiative (BRI) ofChina which is trying to set upaccess to Gwadar port throughPakistan railways. Opening ofthe ITI route depends oninternal dynamics and rela-tions between Baluchisand thePakistan Government.Withthe US exit from Afganistan,the scenario is further changedin the region.

Indian Railways has pri-

oritised the railway corridorthat connects Istanbul toDhaka (Bangladesh) throughDelhi and Kolkata.

India's emphasis is onregional connectivity projectswith Nepal-Bangladesh-Bhutan. Connectivity withNepal will be boosted with thecompletion of Jogbani(IR)-Biratnagar(Nepal) line ofwhich 5.4km is in India and13.3 Km is Nepal andJaynagar(IR)-Bijalpura(Nepal)

of which around 3 km is inIndia and around 17 km inNepal besides theRaxual-Birganj link. These networkswill boost trade withinSAARC countries and will becost effective. These will alsobe subroutes to TAR.

India has also an ambi-tious project to connect allstate capitals of eastern stateswith the IR network. Suchlinks are expected to be com-pleted in another year or two.One of these -- Imphal inManipur -- is on the TAR.

The India- Mayanmar railconnectivity is plannedthrough Jiribam-Imphal inManipur. The missing linkbetween the two countries isthe Jiribam-Moreh (India)-Tamu-Kaley (Kalemyo-Myanmar) section, and thisalignment is part of the south-

ern corridor of the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) net-work. The link betweenJiribam and Imphal (110 km)is under construction byIndian Railways over inhos-pitable terrain.There is nosanction plan for constructionof a rail link to Moreh fromImphal and is not likely tohappen in the near future.

The other route toMayanmar is throughBangladesh Railway network.C h i t t a g o n g - D o h a z a r i -Gundum(Cox bazaar route)and further on to Maynmar.This needs Chittagong-CoxBazar rail network to be com-pleted and correspondinglink to Yangon on Myanmarside also implemented. Thegaps in both sides are too longto be bridged soon.

Bangladesh Railways has

several projects to improve railconnectivity internally whichwill in the long run be part ofTAR. The rail-cum-roadbridge over the Padma river-being built at Mawa-Bhangawill be part of the rail routebetween Dhaka-Jessore andthrough Jessore toKolkata.This link has thepotential to cut down actualrunning timeby two hoursbetween Kolkata and Dhaka.If customs and immigrationtime is fine-tuned, one canreach Dhaka in 7-8 hours andAgartala in 12hours or sofrom Kolkata. Presently thesejourneys take 12 hrs and 40-oddhours,respectively fromKolkata. This route is expect-ed to be completed in 2024.

The Dhaka-Comilla chordrail route planned by BR willprovide an even shortened

route between Bangladeshand Tripura, MizoramandManipur. The port townsof Chittagong, Magla andPayara in Bangladesh and theIndia-Nepal-Bhutan corridorwill be easily linked, boostingtrade in land-locked countriesof SAARC.

For the ambitious ITI-DKD-Y route to be fully oper-ational, infrastructural inputsin Pakistan, India,Bangladeshand Myanmarare very impor-tant. This will be achieved withgood relationships betweenneighbouring countries. Muchwill depend on the securityscenario and socio-politicalsituation of the countriesinvolved.Political stability inthe countries of the region andgovernment patronage to railprojects are important for suchroutes to be fully operational.

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al fee of a mere �1,658 crore - aprice that telcos paid in 2001.

On the regulatory front too,TRAI went out of its way to favorRJio. In September 2016, in abizarre move rarely seen before,RJio entered the market with 'free'and 'unlimited' voice calls andlow-cost data-a case of 'predatory'pricing.The incumbent operatorswere forced to reduce tariff dras-tically to match RJio.Post-revi-sion, the tariff in India at less than$ 1 per GB was a fraction of whatcustomers in other countries pay($30 in Japan, $18 Korea, $15 theUK and 10 in USA).

In February 2018, TRAIamended the Telecom Tariff Order(TTO) to define a firm to bepredator, if in a relevant market(circle) it offers services at less thanits average variable cost (AVC) andcontrols 30 per cent market shareor above. During 2017-18, even asall firms were selling below AVC,incumbent operators had a marketshare above 30 pre cent whereas,RJio had a share of under30 percent. In the eyes of the regulator,the former were predators even asthe latter was not.

The amended order being 'one-sided' and 'discriminatory', was setaside by the Telecom DisputesSettlement Appellate Tribunal(TDSAT). But, by the time TDSATgave its verdict (December 13,2018), the damage was alreadydone.

As a result, incumbent opera-tors, who were making profitsprior to RJio's entry, started incur-

ring losses. Several operatorsdowned shutters while others werebought over. Today, there are onlythree private operators — Vi, Airtelbesides RJio — down from over adozen prior to 2016.The hike intariff - by all three operators inDecember 2019 - by up to 50 percent may have given some breath-ing space but, at under $2 per GB,the rate continues to be woefullylow.

The other major factor thatpushed Vi to the brink (besidesAirtel) was the October 2019 orderof the Supreme Court requiringthem to pay "unpaid" dues towardslicence fee and SUC. The "unpaid"dues resulted from a stance takenby DoT (upheld by the SC) that fordetermining these levies, apartfrom telecom services revenue,AGR should also include revenuefrom non-telecom services viz.rent, profit on sale of fixed assets,dividend, interest etc.

The demand pertained to aperiod of over a decade being the'differencebetween the leviesamountcalculated by usingbothtelecom and non-telecom revenueand actual paymentsmade by oper-ators (based on telecom revenueonly)'. Together with interest ondifferential amount, plus penaltyand interest on penalty, this worksout to �58,000 crore for Vi (�36,000crore for Airtel).

This has seriously underminedthe finances of Vi and Airtel evenas the impacton RJio was negligi-ble at �13 crore. While, Airtel hassomehow managed to come out of

the morass (helped to some extentby December 2019 tariff hike), Vicontinues to be in doldrums due tothe sheer magnitude of AGR andDSP liabilities totaling �160,000crore.The concessions granted bythe Government do little to addressthe huge handicap faced by Vi.

Left to fend for itself, the com-pany will go into liquidation leav-ing only two operators which doesnot augur well for a population of1.35 billion. The global experienceshows that in markets with feweroperators, tariffs tend to be high.Under a duopoly, the risk of a steepincrease will remain. The wayforward is to give a special pack-age to Vi say by converting a por-tion of its dues into equity but thisshould be done 'now' instead ofwaiting for four years (as proposedby DoT).

Given its huge customer baseof around 255 million, massivenetwork and quality of assets,potential for growth in telecomservices, the Union Governmentshould go for majority ownershipand control over Vi in lieu of itsdues from the latter. However, thisshould be treated as one-off event;for efficient and profitable run-ning, the firm must be ring-fencedfrom the bureaucracy.

Meanwhile, the Governmentshould nudge TRAI to finalize itsrecommendations on 'floor price'for tariffs promptly and take stepsto strictly enforce it. It should makesure that in the name of fosteringcompetition, there is no repeat ofblood bath.

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China on Monday asked theUS and the international

community to take “activeactions” to help ease the eco-nomic crisis in Afghanistan byproviding aid to the war-torncountry even as it called on theTaliban to stay true to its com-mitment not to allow terroristgroups to operate from theAfghan soil.

“The Afghan Talibanshould stay true to its com-mitment and earnestly make aclean break with all terroristforces and take effective mea-sures to crack down on them toavoid the spillover effects,”Chinese Foreign Ministryspokesman Zhao Lijian told amedia briefing on Monday.

“Terrorism remains acommon threat for the inter-national community. Chinastands ready to work withother countries to deepencounter-terrorism cooperationto prevent Afghanistan frombecoming a hotbed and safehaven for terrorism and joint-ly safeguard the regional peaceand stability,” he said.

Asked for his reaction tothe UN Secretary GeneralAntonio Guterres appeal for aidto Afghanistan to prevent eco-nomic meltdown of the coun-try, which would be a “gift forterrorists,” Zhao said China hascommitted to provide 200 mil-lion Yuan (about $31 million)aid comprising food, winterclothing and medicines to thewar-torn country.

He said the internationalcommunity should providehumanitarian assistance toAfghanistan. On September 8,Chinese Foreign MinisterWang Yi had announced at aconference on Afghanistan’sneighbours organised byPakistan that China wouldprovide $31 million aid to thewar-ravaged country.

“When security conditionsare ripe China will helpAfghanistan to build projectsand support the country’speace, reconstruction anddevelopment to the best of itsability,” Zhao said.

“This shows China’s friend-ly policy towards Afghanistanis for the entire Afghan people.It also embodies the Chinese

culture of mutual assistanceespecially in trying moments,”he said.

“Currently, Afghanistanfaces grave humanitarian liveli-

hood and pandemic challenges.The international communityshould offer economic, liveli-hood and humanitarian assis-tance to help the people to tide

over difficult times,” he said.Blaming the US for the

current crisis in Afghanistan,Zhao said Washington shouldprovide humanitarian aid to

Afghanistan. “I want to stressthat as the culprit of the Afghanissue the US must earnestly ful-fil its commitments to thecountry and assume dueresponsibility and obligation onthe basis of respecting thecountry’s sovereignty and inde-pendence,” he said.

“The US should take activeactions to help it to ease eco-nomic difficulties instead ofshifting the blame and shirkingits responsibility,” he said.

Asked for his reaction toTaliban’s decision to cancel theinauguration of its interim gov-ernment and Russia’s decisionnot to attend it, he said “whetherthe Afghan side is going to holdthe inauguration ceremony forthe interim Government in itsinternal affair and whetherother countries plan to attendthe ceremony is up to their inde-pendent decision. Chinarespects both”.

Reports from Kabul saidlast week the Taliban has invit-ed China, Pakistan, Russia,Turkey, Iran and Qatar toattend the new Governmentformation ceremony inAfghanistan.

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Geneva: The United Nations ishosting a high-level donorsconference on Monday todrum up emergency funds forAfghanistan after last month’sTaliban takeover of the coun-try that stunned the world.

UN Secretary-GeneralAntonio Guterres was leadingthe world body’s call for morethan $600 million for the restof this year in a “flash appeal”for Afghans after their coun-try’s government was toppledby the Taliban and US andNATO forces exited the 20-yearwar in a chaotic departure.

There are concerns thatinstability and upendedhumanitarian efforts, com-pounded by an ongoingdrought, could further endan-ger lives and plunge

Afghanistan toward famine.The conference will put to

the test some Western govern-ments and other big tradition-al UN donors who want to helpeveryday Afghans withouthanding a public relations vic-tory or cash to the Taliban, whoousted the internationallybacked government in a light-ning sweep.

The UN says “recent devel-opments” have increased thevulnerability of Afghans whohave already been facingdecades of deprivation and vio-lence. A severe drought is jeop-ardizing the upcoming harvest,and hunger has been rising. TheUN’s World Food Program is tobe a major beneficiary of anyfunds collected duringMonday’s conference. AP

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An international commercialf light left Kabul on

Monday, the first since theTaliban retook power lastmonth, offering some hope toAfghans still desperate to leavethe country.

The Afghan capital’s air-port was left trashed after US-led forces finished a chaoticevacuation of more than1,20,000 people, and theTaliban have since scrambled toget it operational with techni-cal assistance from Qatar andother nations.

On Monday morning, aPakistan International Airlinesjet touched down in Kabul,before making a return flight toIslamabad. Around 70 peoplewere on the flight to the Pakistanicapital, mostly Afghans whowere relatives of staffers withinternational organisations suchas the World Bank, according toairport ground staff.

“I am being evacuated. Myfinal destination is Tajikistan,”said a 35-year-old World Bankevacuee, who did not want togive her name.

“I will come back hereonly if the situation allowswomen to work and movefreely.”

A 22-year-old universitystudent said he was taking aone-month trip to Pakistan.

“It’s like a vacation. I amsad and happy. Sad about thecountry, but happy to leave forsome time,” he said.

The resumption of com-mercial flights will be a key test

for the hardline Islamist group,who have repeatedly promisedto allow Afghans with the rightdocuments to leave the coun-try freely.

As passengers prepared toboard, airport staff went abouttheir duties, although workingunder the new regime ismarred by fear and confusionfor women.

“I don’t know if we will bekilled or not for working here,”one of two women handlingthe security scanning machinetold AFP.

‘Great moment’Many NATO nations

admitted that they had run outof time to evacuate thousandsof at-risk Afghans before thewithdrawal deadline — agreedbetween the United States andthe Taliban.

A PIA spokesman said atthe weekend that the airlinewas keen to resume regularcommercial services, but it wastoo soon to say how frequent-ly flights between the two cap-

itals would operate.Jawad Zafar, the head of

operations at PIA, told AFP onMonday, “This is a greatmoment for me after a longtime since the change of the establishment inKabul.”

AFP staff observed only ahandful of people on the flightfrom Islamabad to Kabul.

Qatar Airways operatedseveral charter flights out ofKabul last week, carrying most-ly foreigners and Afghans whomissed out on the evacuation.

An Afghan airline resumeddomestic services onSeptember 3.

“This is a big moment. Weare very excited,” said one air-port employee.

“It’s a hopeful day. Maybeother airlines will see this anddecide to come back.”

Passenger halls, air bridgesand technical infrastructurewere badly damaged in the daysafter the Taliban rolled intoKabul on August 15.

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The UN human rights chiefsays her office has received

credible allegations of reprisalkillings by the Taliban of for-mer Afghan security forces, aswell as instances in which offi-cials in the previousGovernment and their relativeswere arbitrarily detained andlater turned up dead.

Michelle Bachelet, speak-ing on Monday to the HumanRights Council, warned of a“new and perilous phase” forAfghanistan as she criticised

the Taliban for a disconnectbetween their words andactions.

She cited “multiple” alle-gations of Taliban house-to-house searches looking forofficials from the previous gov-ernment and “people whocooperated with US security forces and compa-nies”.

Such searches took place inat least a half-dozen cities,Bachelet said. UN staffers havealso reported increasing attacksand threats, she added, withoutproviding specifics.

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Secretary of State AntonyBlinken is preparing to face

tough congressional question-ing this week over the Bidenadministration’s handling ofthe military withdrawal fromAfghanistan.

In separate House and Senatehearings, lawmakers are expect-ed to grill Blinken on the Bidenadministration’s response to therapid collapse of the Afghan gov-ernment and more specifically onthe State Department’s response

to what many claim was a pre-dictable result in the final days ofthe American military presencethere.

Blinken, who had publiclypredicted in June that a completeTaliban takeover would not hap-pen “from a Friday to a Monday,”will appear before the HouseForeign Affairs Committee onMonday and the Senate ForeignRelations Committee onTuesday. He’s likely to get assailedfor that prediction, which turnedout to have been wrong.

The State Department has

come under heavy criticismfrom both Republicans andDemocrats for not doingenough and not acting quick-ly enough to get American cit-izens, legal residents and at-riskAfghans out of the countryafter the Taliban took controlof Kabul on Aug. 15.

Republicans, in particular,have been demanding answersas to why American citizenswere left behind in the chaot-ic days and weeks before themilitary completed its with-drawal on Aug. 30.

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Israeli aircraft struck a seriesof targets in the Gaza Strip

early Monday while Palestinianmilitants launched rockets intoIsrael in the third consecutivenight of fighting between thesides.

The violence took placeshortly before Israel’s primeminister, Naftali Bennett, washeading to Egypt for a visitexpected to focus on Egyptianefforts to broker a long-termtruce between Israel and Gaza’sHamas rulers in the wake of an11-day war last May.

Those efforts appear tohave come to a standstill inrecent weeks. Tensions havefurther risen after last week’sescape from an Israeli prison bysix Palestinian inmates.

The Israeli military report-ed three separate rocketlaunches late Sunday and earlyMonday, saying at least two ofthem were intercepted by itsrocket defenses. It said itattacked a number of Hamastargets in retaliation. Therewere no reports of casualties oneither side.

In other violence, theIsraeli army said an assailantattempted to stab a soldier at abusy intersection in the occu-pied West Bank. It said that sol-diers shot the attacker, who wastaken to a hospital. No furtherdetails were immediately avail-able.

In downtown Jerusalem,meanwhile, police said a 17-year-old Palestinian boystabbed and wounded two peo-ple near the city’s central bus

station. Jerusalem police chief

Doron Turjeman said theassailant was shot by an officer.The boy suffered a seriousgunshot wound to the chest.

Last week’s prison breakappears to have heightenedtensions across the region, withPalestinians staging a numberof protests in solidarity with themen. In Palestinian society,nearly every family has seen amember imprisoned by Israel,and the thousands of prisonersheld by Israel are widely seenas heroes paying a price for thenational cause.

Over the weekend, Israelcaught four of the sixPalestinian inmates, who tun-neled out of a maximum secu-rity prison on Sept. 6.Palestinian militants reacted to

the arrests with rocket fire.Israel’s search for the last twoprisoners is continuing.

The Egyptian-mediatedefforts to deliver a long-termtruce have struggled with thesides unable to agree on a sys-tem to renew Qatari paymentsto needy Gaza families. Israelhas demanded guarantees thatHamas does not divert themoney for military use.

Gaza is an impoverishedterritory whose population isoverwhelmingly comprised offamilies who fled or wereforced from properties in whatis now Israel during the warsurrounding Israel’s establish-ment in 1948.

Hamas is pushing for Israelto end a crippling blockade thathas devastated Gaza’s economy,while Israel is demanding that

Hamas free two captive Israelicivilians and return the remainsof two dead Israeli soldiers.

Hamas has controlled Gazasince ousting the forces of theinternationally recognizedPalestinian Authority in 2007,a year after the Islamic militantgroup won Palestinian parlia-mentary elections.

Since then, Israel andHamas have fought four warsand numerous smaller roundsof fighting.

On Sunday, Israeli ForeignMinister Yair Lapid on Sundaycalled for a new approach toend the cycle of fighting withHamas, describing a plan ofinternational investment inGaza’s infrastructure inexchange for pressure onHamas to halt its militarybuildup and preserve calm.

Kathmandu: Nepal Government on Mondaysounded an alert against the possible spread ofNipah virus, found in neighbouring India.

Early this month, a 12-year-old boy in Keralasuccumbed to the infection, the first such inci-dent three years after it wreaked havoc in partsof Kozhikode and Malappuram districts of thestate.

Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Populationhas urged the general public to remain alert tothe possible risk of Nipah Virus (NIV) infectionafter its outbreak was reported in India.

Health Ministry spokesperson Dr KrishnaPrasad Poudel said in a press statement onMonday that the risk of the virus outbreak andspread in Nepal could not be ruled out as Nepaland India share open borders.

“The infection of the deadly NIV, which istransmitted to humans from animals and thenhuman- to human, causing a serious illness, hasnow been detected in the Kerala State of India.”

Though the virus has so far been not detect-ed in the country, the risk remains large, point-ed out Poudel adding the fruit bat is the natur-al host of the virus and it is transmitted to pigs,cattle and then to humans. PTI

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Millions of people stuck foryears in the employment-

based Green Card backlog inthe US, including a sizablenumber of Indians, can hopefor a lawful permanent resi-dency in America by paying asupplemental fee if a newHouse Bill is passed into law.

The move, if included inthe reconciliation package andpassed into law, is expected tohelp thousands of Indian ITprofessionals who are current-ly stuck in an agonising GreenCard backlog.

A Green Card, known offi-cially as a Permanent ResidentCard, is a document issued toimmigrants as evidence that thebearer has been granted theprivilege of residing perma-nently in the US.

According to the commit-tee print released by the USHouse of RepresentativesJudiciary Committee, whichhas jurisdiction over immigra-tion, an employment-basedimmigrant applicant with a“priority date that is more than2 years before” can adjust topermanent residence withoutnumerical limits by paying a“supplemental fee of $5,000.”

The fee is $50,000 for theEB-5 category (immigrantinvestors). The provisionsexpire in 2031, the Forbes

magazine reported.For a family-based immi-

grant who is sponsored by a UScitizen and with a “priority datethat is more than 2 yearsbefore”, the fee for getting aGreen Card would be $2,500.

The supplement fee wouldbe $1,500 if an applicant’s pri-ority date is not within twoyears but they are required tobe present in the country,according to the committeeprint. This fee would be inaddition to any administrativeprocessing fee paid by theapplicant.

However, the bill does notcontain permanent structuralchanges to the legal immigra-tion system, including elimi-nating country caps for greencards or increasing the annualquotas of H-1B visas.

Before becoming law, theprovisions would have to passthe Judiciary Committee, theHouse of Representatives andthe Senate and be signed by thepresident, the report said.

According to a report inCBSNews, if successful, thelegalisation plan would allowundocumented immigrantswho came to the US as chil-dren, Temporary ProtectedStatus (TPS) beneficiaries,farmworkers and other pan-demic-era essential workers toapply for permanent US resi-dency, or green cards.

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Chinese President Xi Jinpinghas praised a border-guard

battalion in Tibet, which sharesboundary with the Indian stateof Arunachal Pradesh, sayingits troops have done a “greatjob” in the past five years, offi-cial media here reported.

Xi visited Nyingchi, theTibetan border town close toArunachal Pradesh in July,becoming the first ChinesePresident to visit the remoteborder areas in Tibet.

“President Xi writes backto a plateau-stationed border-guard model battalion, sayingthey have done a great job inthe past five years and encour-aging them to make new con-tributions to the Party and thepeople,” the state-run GlobalTimes reported on Monday.

The model battalion isunder the Xizang (Chinesename for Tibet) MilitaryCommand of the People’sLiberation Army (PLA), it said.

Xi commended the battal-ion members for their remark-able efforts in guarding China’sborder region, noting that theyhave dedicated their youth tosecuring the country’s territo-rial integrity and have accom-plished their missions well,state-run Xinhua news agencyreported. Border troops are onthe frontline of strengtheningChina’s national defence andshoulder massive responsibil-ities, said Xi in the letter.

He called on them to con-tinue to strengthen their senseof responsibility, carry forwardfine traditions, and enhancetheir combat readiness in orderto perform their duties well.

The battalion is stationedin a region with an average alti-tude of over 4,800 meters. Thelowest temperature in theregion reaches minus 40degrees Celsius, and strongwind blows for over 200 daysa year, the Xinhua report said.

In 2016, Xi bestowed spe-cial honours on a PLA militarybattalion posted in Tibet for its“outstanding performance insafeguarding borders”.

Xi, who heads the CentralMilitary Commission (CMC) -- the overall command author-ity of the PLA, signed orders togive honorary titles for the bat-talion in 2016.

“Troop 77656 is now titledas a ‘model plateau battalion’for its outstanding performancein safeguarding borders, ensur-ing stability and helping disas-ter relief,” the state-run Xinhuanews agency had said in areport in August 2016.

The model plateau battal-ion is reportedly one of the sixbattalions functioning underthe Tibet Military AreaCommand.

China claims ArunachalPradesh as part of South Tibet,which is firmly rejected byIndia. The India-China borderdispute covers the 3,488-kmLine of Actual Control (LAC).

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In a first, the Centre hasdecided to cross check land

records before the procure-ment of paddy from nextmonth in a bid to ensure theMSP reaches farmers and nottraders, Food SecretarySudhanshu Pandey said onMonday.

Most procuring States,barring Assam andUttarakhand as well as Jammuand Kashmir, are ready andhave also integrated digitalland records with the Centre’snodal procurement agencyFood Corporation of India(FCI) for this purpose, he toldreporters.

Asserting that this newmechanism is in the interest offarmers, Pandey said the crop

cultivated by farmers whetherin their own land or in rentedland will be procured by theGovernment.

“It is not necessary forfarmers to own the land or not.

If farmers have cultivatedany land, that will be pro-cured,” he said.

The whole idea is to crosscheck how much crop hasbeen cultivated in what areaand accordingly procure it, hesaid, adding this is where dig-ital land records integratedcentrally with FCI will helpduring the procurementprocess.

The main objectivebehind this mechanism is thatthe government procures thecrop from genuine farmersand not from traders.

According to the Secretary,

“most states including Punjabare in complete readiness.”

Every state wants farmersto benefit from the procure-ment process and not thetraders. This mechanism willensure the minimum supportprice (MSP) reaches farmersand not traders, he said.

Many states like UttarPradesh and Odisha hadalready integrated their landrecords, while some states hadnot done and they are doingthis year, he added.

Agriculture SecretarySanjay Agarwal, who was alsopresent in the media briefing,said the Government’s inten-tion is to ensure actual farmersget the benefit of MSP pro-curement, which the govern-ment has increased substan-tially in the last five years.

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Subdued prices of food itemslike vegetables pulled down

retail inflation for the thirdmonth in a row to 5.3 per centin August, within the RBI’scomfort zone.

While the Consumer PriceIndex (CPI)-based retail infla-tion declined to 5.3 per cent inAugust from 6.69 per cent inthe same month a year ago,food inflation dipped at a muchfaster pace to 3.11 per centfrom 9.05 per cent in August2020.

The food inflation was alsolower than 3.96 per cent in pre-ceding month of July.

Retail inflation, whichrose sharply to 6.3 per cent inMay from 4.23 per cent inApril, has been on a downwardtrajectory since then.

It was 6.26 per cent in Juneand 5.59 per cent in July thisyear.

The Reserve Bank, whichmainly takes into account retail

inflation to decide the mone-tary policy every two months,has been tasked by the gov-ernment to keep it at 4 per cent,with a tolerance band of 2 percent on either side.

As per the data released bythe National Statistical Office(NSO) on Monday, inflation in‘vegetables’ and ‘cereals andproducts’ contracted by 11.68per cent and 1.42 per cent,respectively.

However, the rate of pricerise was 33 per cent in the ‘oilsand fats’ segment in August2021 over the year-ago month.

In order to control risingedible oil prices during the fes-tival season, the governmentrecently slashed the base cus-tom duties on palm, soyabeanand sunflower oils. The move,industry said, could bringdown retail prices by � 4-5 perlitre.

‘Fuel and light’ continuedto be pocket heavy for con-sumers with an inflation printof 12.95 per cent last month.

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Deal activity witnessed ahandsome growth in

August at USD 8.4 billion, onthe back of a healthy jump bothin volumes and sizes, a reportsaid on Monday.

There were 219 deals dur-ing the month, which was thehighest since 2005, and doublethat of the year-ago August2020 period when the countrywas coming out of a nationallockdown, consultancy firmGrant Thornton Bharat said.

However, when comparedwith the preceding month ofJuly, the transaction activityshows mixed results.

Deals were up 21 per centby volume, but lower by 36 percent in values on the back of asix-times drop in merger and

acquisition (M&A) activity, thereport said.

A bulk of the deals inAugust came from private equi-ty and venture capital funds,who invested USD 7.6 billionacross 182 deals driven main-ly by high value investments inIndian companies and uni-corns, supported by confidencein recovery, lucrative opportu-nities in the start-up spaceand promising entrepreneurialtalent, it said.

“As improvement in indus-trial indicators and externaldemand unfold, we hope eco-nomic activities would nor-malise in the coming monthsdriven by pent-up demand,ongoing vaccination drive, sup-port from policy mix and aresurgence in global growth,” itspartner Shanthi Vijetha said.

August saw total M&Atransaction value at USD 867million across 37 deals, asopposed to August 2020 thatwitnessed 30 transactionswith values aggregating toUSD 908 million, it said,pointing that unicorns such asByju’s , Unacademy andDream Sports sealed some ofthem.

The star sector of themonth continued to be tech,followed by education, phar-maceutical and energy sectors.The bulk of the deals were inIT solutions, data analytics,cleantech, pharmaceuticals, e-commerce, consumer retail,digital healthcare, fin-tech anded-tech companies, whoseproducts and services haveseen strong demand during thepandemic, it said.

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The Reserve Bank onMonday cautioned people

against frauds in the name ofKYC updation and advisedthem not to share key infor-mation like account details orpasswords with unidentifiedpersons or agencies.

In a release, the RBI saidit has been receiving com-plaints/reports about customersfalling prey to frauds beingperpetrated in the name ofKYC updation.

“The usual modus operan-di in such cases include receiptof unsolicited communication,such as, calls, SMSs, emails, etc.,by customer urging him/her toshare certain personal details,account / login details/ cardinformation, PIN, OTP, etc. Orinstall some unauthorised/unverified application for KYCupdation using a link provid-ed in the communication,” itsaid.

Such communications are

also reported to carry threats ofaccount freeze, block or clo-sure.

Once the customer sharesinformation over call/mes-sage/unauthorised application,fraudsters get access to his/heraccount, the central banknoted.

“Members of public arehereby cautioned not to shareaccount login details, person-al information, copies of KYCdocuments, card information,PIN, password, OTP, etc. Withunidentified persons or agen-cies,” RBI said.

Also, such details shouldnot be shared through unver-ified or unauthorised websitesor applications. In case theyreceive any such requests, cus-tomers should get in touch withtheir bank.

The RBI further said thatwhile the Regulated Entities(REs) are required to undertakeperiodic updation of KYC, thisprocess has been simplified toa large extent.

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After witnessing an uptick inQ3 FY2021 and Q4

FY2021, disbursements fornon-banks declined again inQ1 FY2022, as expected, andwas down by about 55% on asequential Q-o-Q basis.

According to analysis byICRA while disbursementsrevived quite sharply in July2021 on the back of the pent-up demand, sustainability ofthe same would depend on thebroader macro-economic indi-cators.

Given this subdued dis-bursements and portfolio run-down in the absence of anymoratorium like in Q1FY2021.

The asset under manage-ment (AUM) for NBFC-seg-ment shrunk in Q1 FY2022,while the HFC AUM remainedflat.

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Jet Airways is all set to resumedomestic operations from

Q1 of 2022, said Jalan KalrockConsortium, the successful res-olution applicant of the airline.

Accordingly, the existingAir Operator Certificate (AOC)is under process for revalida-tion. In a statement, the con-sortium on Monday said it isworking with relevant author-ities and airport coordinatorson slot allocation, requiredairport infrastructure, andnight parking.”Jet Airways 2.0aims at restarting domesticoperations by Q1-2022, andshort haul international oper-ations by Q3 or Q4 2022,” saidMurari Lal Jalan, Lead Memberof the Jalan KalrockConsortium and the proposedNon-Executive Chairman of JetAirways.”Our plan is to have 50plus aircraft in 3 years and 100plus in 5 years which also fitsperfectly well with the short-term and long-term businessplan of the consortium. Theaircraft are being selected basedon competitive long term leas-ing solutions.”

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Taking lessons from theongoing pandemic and

emphasising a once-in-a-centu-ry opportunity, countries ofWHO South-East Asia Regionadopted a MinisterialDeclaration resolving tostrengthen health systemresilience to ensure health secu-rity, and achieve universalhealth coverage and SustainableDevelopment Goals for health.

“Strong health systems thatare primary health care-orient-ed, and which leave no onebehind, create populations thatare healthier, more productiveand financially secure. Resilienthealth systems are the bedrockof emergency preparedness andresponse, and ensure that whenacute events occur, essentialhealth services can be main-tained,” Dr Poonam KhetrapalSingh, Regional Director,WHO South-East Asia, at aministerial round table duringthe ongoing Seventy-FourthRegional Committee meeting,said.

Through the Declarationadopted at the ministerialround table, Member countriescommitted to provide politicalleadership and accountability to

advance health security andprogress towards universalhealth coverage and the health-related SDGs.

The Member countriesresolved to reorient health sys-tems towards comprehensiveprimary health care throughincreased public investments, asthe foundation for strengthen-ing both public health emer-gency capabilities and achieve-ment of universal health cover-age.

“The pandemic has high-lighted the urgency and impor-tance of investment in humanresource for health, especially atthe primary health care level,and the need for adequate sup-ply of affordable, effective, qual-ity and safe medical products toensure an effective response topublic health emergencies andto build resilient health sys-tems,” the Regional Directorsaid.

The Declaration also com-mits to closer engagementwith and the empowerment ofcommunities to maintain thedelivery of essential healthservices and public healthprogrammes during and afterthe pandemic.

To roll-out effectiveresponse for at-risk and affect-ed communities, Membercountries agreed to ensure inte-gration of public health emer-gencies and disaster risk man-agement strategies, as well asstrengthening surveillance andpreparedness capacity at theprimary health care level.

Member countries addi-tionally resolved to accelerateintegration of noncommunica-ble diseases including mentalhealth, and other programmes,at the primary health care level,as well as establishing nationalquality standards for primaryhealth care services and ensur-ing access to quality health ser-vices during the pandemic andrecovery phase.

The Member countries fur-ther agreed to appropriatelyleverage the potential of tradi-tional systems of medicine,while optimising innovations indigital health technologies.

“Together we are stronger.Together we can build back bet-ter essential health services, fora fairer, healthier and morehealth-secure future for all,leaving no one behind,”Khetrapal said.

���2����� ������� Weusually throw away seedsencased in fruits. A lot offruits’ seeds can be consumedin different ways in our foodand one such fruit with seedsthat has countless healthbenefits is melon. It is a great hydrator for yourbody and skin and keeps theheat at bay. Carrying a goodamount of fibres, it is also richin magnesium, vitamin Aand phosphorus thathelps fastening theprocess of losingweight. Maintaininggood gut health isequally importantand these seeds helpclean your gut and alsoact like a dewormer. Screen fatigue during thesetrying times can be of great

concern and we all shouldtake proper care of our eyes.Lutein and zeaxanthin aretwo carotenoids present inseeds, which works wondersfor your eyesight. Melon seeds after being takenout from the fruit and driedin sunshine for a few days canbe eaten as snack or used as agarnishing element in sweet

dishes.

Nipah virus (NiV) was firstrecognised in 1999 duringan outbreak among pig

farmers in Malaysia. In India, itsfirst outbreak was reported inKozhikode, a district of Kerala,which has spread via Bangladesh.While the first case of NiV wasreported three years back, recentnews is suggestive of its third out-break since then.

NiV infection is a zoonotic ill-ness that is transmitted to peoplefrom animals and the primarysource of the NiV are bats. It canalso be transmitted to humanseither through contaminated foodor can be directly contagious.“While it was also noted that thevirus had a tendency to severelyaffect pigs, consumption of virusinfected pork is another attributablefactor,” Dr Ashutosh Shukla, SeniorDirector - Internal Medicine &Medical Advisor says.

Even though it is a known dis-ease, the reappearance of the virusis a matter of concern and thus allpossible preventive measures needto be taken before it engulfs theplanet just like the COVID pan-demic. “In severe infections, a per-son may die on the spot, but othersymptoms may include acute respi-ratory illness, vomiting, headacheand neck stiffness, and the compli-cations increase when the virusstarts affecting the brain and thenervous system, leading to swellingin the brain and eventually death,”says Shukla.

According to the World Health

Organisation (WHO), Nipah virusinfection in humans causes a rangeof clinical presentations, fromasymptomatic infection (subclini-cal) to acute respiratory infectionand fatal encephalitis.

NiV is primarily diagnosedthrough Polymeric Chain reaction(PCR) as done in cases of dengueor other viral ailments. Early detec-tion and monitoring is the key toprevent complications. Currently,there are no licensed treatmentsavailable for NiV infection and it islimited to supportive care, includ-ing rest, hydration, and treatmentof symptoms as they occur.

WHO reported that initial signsand symptoms of Nipah virus infec-tion are nonspecific, and the diag-nosis is often not suspected at thetime of presentation. This can hin-der accurate diagnosis and createschallenges in outbreak detection,effective and timely infection con-trol measures, and outbreakresponse activities. In addition, thequality, quantity, type, timing ofclinical sample collection and thetime needed to transfer samples tothe laboratory can affect the accu-racy of laboratory results.

The case fatality rate is estimat-ed at 40% to 75%. This rate can varyby outbreak depending on localcapabilities for epidemiological sur-veillance and clinical management.“Usually the infection of Nipahvirus occurs through the contami-nated bodily fluids. In that case, theinfectivity rate is not very high butif it is not maintained in the local

spread, it might be of great concern,”says Dr Ankita Baidhya, Consultant,Infectious Diseases.

The symptoms include highfever, vomiting, headache and neckstiffness and the complicationsincrease when the virus startsaffecting the brain and the nervoussystem. Infection can cause mild tosevere disease including swelling ofthe brain leading to death.Symptoms typically appear in 4-14days following exposure to thevirus. “The illness initially presentsas 3-14 days of fever and headache,and often includes signs of respira-tory illness, such as cough, sorethroat, and difficulty in breathing.A phase of brain swelling may fol-low, where symptoms can includedrowsiness, disorientation, andmental confusion, which can rapid-ly progress to coma within 24-48hours,” Shukla tells you.

Like in any other disease, earlydetection and monitoring is a must.And even though communicationof the virus through humans is lesscommon, it is more important tofollow precautionary steps to pre-vent it from spreading. If you are liv-ing somewhere a lot of bats arefound, you should be extra careful.In Kerala, where a lot of bad pop-ulation is there, people should becareful if any bat in the vicinity isfound dead. “If people are report-ing fever and headache and somesort of brain infection symptomslike forgetfulness, immediate test-ing should be done,” Baidhya says.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)defines endemic as the constant presence and/or usual

prevalence of a disease or infectious agent in a population with-in a geographic area. This observed baseline or the endemiclevel of the disease is not necessarily the desired level, whichmay in fact be zero. The disease may continue to occur at thislevel indefinitely, in case of lack of any intervention and assum-ing that the disease level is not high enough to exhaust the entirepool of susceptible persons. Therefore, this baseline level is oftenregarded as the expected level of the disease in the population.

Because of the difference in timing of achieving herd immu-nity in various populations and nations and the uncertainty induration of protection from COVID-19 vaccines, it is likely thatsome measures such as booster vaccines might be requiredindefinitely. SARS-CoV-2 will continue to exist. Even when acountry reaches herd immunity, ongoing surveillance, boost-er vaccines, and potentially other measures may be required.As of now, Delta variant has effectively shifted the overall herdimmunity out of reach in most countries at least in the short

term.So far, India has not been

able to achieve herd immuni-ty and a more realistic epi-demiological endpoint appearsto be when COVID-19 can bemanaged as an endemic dis-ease. However, the biggestoverall challenge is the emer-gence of a significant newvariant that is more transmis-sible, more likely to cause hos-pitalisations and deaths, and ormore capable of infecting vac-cinated people. The existingvaccines have not been able toprevent infection from theDelta variant. Also, serialblood tests suggest that immu-nity may wane relatively fast.

This has prompted some developed countries to start offeringbooster doses to high-risk populations or planning for their roll-out.

Therefore, many countries including India would like toreach a stage of endemic COVID-19. But India remains as anat risk country for significant waves of the disease. The over-all immunity is low, owing to the fact that large part of the Indianpopulation is not yet fully vaccinated. The possible time framefor India to manage COVID-19 as an endemic disease is alsoless clear. There has to be a shift in focus of public-health effortsfrom managing COVID-19 case counts to managing severe dis-eases and deaths when the Delta driven wave of cases decline.

The challenges in reaching endemicity as the endpoint con-tinue to be the emergence of new variants that evade vaccine-mediated immunity. They frequently cause severe disease in thevaccinated persons and are highly transmissible, waning of nat-ural and vaccine-mediated immunity over time, rolling out vac-cine booster doses quickly enough to maintain immunity anddefining an acceptable burden of disease (for example, settingdifferent targets for disease burden in vaccinated and unvac-cinated populations). The biggest task will be determining whatburden of disease is low enough to warrant lifting of public-health restrictions.

However, with time, against all odds, we will be better pro-tected against hospitalisation and mortality due to COVID-19owing to more vaccination coverage, natural immunity fromprior infection, booster doses, full approval of vaccines in Indiaand authorisation of vaccines for children.

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Here is your solutionto falling hair.Licorice is a herb

that not only prevents yourhair from damaging butalso helps reduce hair loss.It can be used in a form ofmoisturiser by applying onthe scalp to sootheand get rid of dryflakes. Naturallicorice can bemixed withhenna, whichwould helpyou get a silkytexture afterrinsing. Withthis, it will mois-turise your hair justas it strengthens andrepairs. Licorice with essen-tial oils and hair clay alsomakes for some great masksfor hair.

Ground some licoriceroot with a quarter tea-

spoon saffron to one cupmilk to make a fine paste.Applying the paste twice aweek and leaving itovernight on your scalp andhair length can help reducehair fall.

Licorice root worksto lessen a dry,

scabbed oritchy scalp.

But mosti m p o r -t a n t l y ,l i c o r i c eroot givesway for

your scalpto breathe

and make yourweak hair follicles

strong, which is mostlythe cause of hair loss in thefirst place. For enjoyinginstant results, applyingweekly or consuming oral-ly in the form of would tea.

There are a lot of reasonswhy people lose their hair, it

could be hormonal or itcould be due to illness.

ROSHANI DEVI shareshome remedies that can help

prevent the hairloss

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That first-aid kit lying in your bathroomvanity, how often is it being usedbeyond the thermometer, antiseptic

liquid/creams, OTC medicines and bandaids? For a majority of households and evenworkplaces, first-aid kits comprise these fewthings with the sole purpose of using themto treat injuries and ailments and reducetheir severity and chances of infection.However, to be precise, first aid is basical-ly the immediate care given to a sick orinjured person while waiting for medicalcare. So, why no immediate action is beingtaken for life-threatening emergencies thatare accompanied by low tissue oxygen?

The most significant aspect of a first aidpractice is ‘Preservation of life’, which is pos-sible if there is a consistent circulation of airin the body, without any blocked airways.Blocked airways can lead to brain damageoccurring in a matter of just a few minutes.Dangerous isn’t it? Of late, India has beenin the news for its severely polluted cities.In fact, as per the ‘World Air Quality Report,2020’ prepared by Swiss organisation, IQAir,22 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities arein India, with Delhi being ranked as the mostpolluted capital city globally, While numer-ous policies and alternate ways of transportand living are being introduced to curb pol-lution. But there’s still an urgent need forpeople to take serious precautions on ahousehold level.

A polluted environment is a red flag forany city as it can impact its weather. It clear-ly indicates that the oxygen in that air is notfit for breathing and can substantially dis-turb your well-being. Simply recall the hor-rors of waking up to a thick layer of smogcovering the sky, travelling in the sameatmosphere for work or running errands andeven letting the children and the elderly cit-izens breathe that air. No sooner, breath-ing issues are bound to attack almost everymember of a family. In such scenarios, a firstaid kit equipped with portable bottled oxy-gen can be a saviour for every household.During an emergency, while waiting formedical assistance, a puff from the portablebottled oxygen can help in maintaining theoxygen outputs to the body and organs.Considering the absence of pure oxygen isbecoming a new normal in our daily lives,the old adage of “Prevention is better thancure” makes complete sense. Thus, keepinga portable bottled Oxygen at home can alsobe very helpful in our day-to-day life situ-ations like shortness of breath, post-sicknessrecovery, recovery after any physicallyexhaustive activity like gymming, runningetc. Not just that, portable bottled oxygenis also a very commonly used performanceenhancer that professional athletes useduring games. The World HealthOrganization (WHO) has already recom-mended oxygen therapy for adults with com-promised breathing. The recommendationhas acquired greater significance amid thepandemic with the COVID 19 virus caus-ing life-threatening breathlessness in somecases due to depleting levels of oxygen in theblood flow.

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Psymate has been conceptualizedwith the idea of offering evidence-

based Psychiatry and Psychology ser-vices for mental health disorders witha personalised and integrative treat-ment approach. With the fundamen-tal vision of offering patient centredcomprehensive mental health carethrough state-of-the-art treatment pro-tocols backed up by latest research andknowledge, the first Psymate Clinic wasstarted at Noida.

In explaining this further Dr.Samant Darshi said, “It has alwaystroubled me that individuals experi-encing mental health concerns do nothave a place that is essentially a onestop solution. This issue is furtherheightened by paucity of adequatelytrained mental health professionalsand a lack of integrative approach tomental health care. Dearth of centersthat provide holistic care makes it dif-ficult for the patients to access all theservices under the same roof. Someplaces limit themselves and provideonly psychopharmacological treat-ments, some restrict their treatmentpurview to neuromodulation and theothers only provide psychologicalinterventions often overlookingimportant biological contributors.”

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India captain Virat Kohli said it isunfortunate to "end up here early"

for the IPL after a COVID-19 out-break led to the cancellation of thefifth Test against England andhoped for a "secure" bio-bubble inthe league to tackle the "uncertain"times.

Kohli, who will again lead RoyalChallengers Bangalore in the tour-nament, along with other Indianplayers refused to take the field inthe fifth Test against Englandat Old Trafford, after juniorphysio Yogesh Parmarbecame the fourth close-contact support staff totest positive for COVID-19.

"Unfortunate that wehad to end up hereearly, but withCOVID in place,things are ver yuncertain," Kohlitold the RCB's dig-ital media plat-forms.

" A n y t h i n gcan happen atany t ime.Hopefully, we'reable to maintaina good, strong,and secure envi-ronment, and have aquality IPL.

"It's going to be anexciting phase and a

very important one for us at RCBand then for the Indian team at theT20 World Cup," the Indian captainsaid.

The IPL begins on Sunday andRCB will play their first match onMonday.

The RCB will have some excit-ing new additions to their squadincluding leg-spinner WaninduHasaranga and Singapore batterTim David. The skipper is lookingforward to meet the new recruits.

"I've been in touch with every-one. We've had discussions over thelast month or so, a little longer thanthat with the replacements, who'scoming and who's not. Eventually,we ended up replacing our key

players with some top-qualitycricketers," the RCB skipper

said. He believes thatreplacement players willfit into the system per-fectly. "Our key playerswill be missed, andthey are a part of thefamily, but the peoplecoming in as wellhave great skill sets,especially for theseconditions. "So, I'mvery excited to seethem, with the wholegroup at practiceand certainly veryexcited to resume avery good seasonthat started last time

around," he said.

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The proposed “standalone”Test between India andEngland should be treated as

the series-deciding fifth matchthat was cancelled last week owingto a COVID-19 outbreak in theIndian camp, BCCI PresidentSourav Ganguly told PTI onMonday and ruled out the possi-bility of it being treated as a one-off game.

The England and WalesCricket Board (ECB) has written tothe ICC seeking a DisputeResolution Committee (DRC) ver-dict on the fate of the cancelledmatch that was to be played at OldTrafford, Manchester. The ICC isyet to comment on the matter.

"We want the series to becompleted as this will be our firstseries win (in England) since2007," Ganguly told PTI in anexclusive interview.

"The BCCI maintains that Testcricket is the ultimate format andwe won't compromise it for any-thing," he made it clear.

India were leading 2-1 whenthe match was called off last weekafter the visiting players refused tostep on to the field following pos-itive COVID-19 cases among itssupport staff, including head coachRavi Shastri.

A forfeiture will allow the ECBto get insurance reimbursement of40 million pounds that, it claims,would help offset its losses becauseof the cancellation.

Asked if BCCI has offered toplay two extra T20 Internationalswhen the team tours in July next

year for a white-ball series in lieuof the Test, Ganguly said: "We areready to play extra ODI and T20Isand that's not an issue.

“Just that the Test match thatwill be played later will be the fifthmatch of the series.”

If the ICC deems that thematch was abandoned due toCOVID-19, then India will official-ly win the series 2-1 as such a can-

cellation is considered an "accept-able non-compliance" under theWorld Test Championship rules.

"There is precedence of seriesbeing cancelled because ofCOVID-19 in the past 18 months.The BCCI cancelled its homeseries against South Africa last yearwhich cost us around 40 to 50 mil-lion pounds," the former captainsaid.

He also hoped that in nearfuture there will be concrete "med-ical advice" on offer that will allowseries to go on even with COVIDcases within the team.

"Because we understand howdetrimental it is to the game interms of spectators and viewers'interest (TV and OTT) especiallywhen the series has been of suchhigh quality. Test cricket is BCCI's

foremost priority," he stated.Ganguly said that the BCCI is

"disappointed" that the match wascalled off but it could not havepushed the worried players beyonda point.

"We are extremely disappoint-ed that this series had to be calledoff. The only reason is COVID-19outbreak and players' safety. Wecould only push them to a point.

"But the pandemic is so severethat one can only go that much dis-tance," he explained.

Asked if the option of fieldinga fresh team by resting some of thesenior players, who were not com-fortable, was considered, Gangulyanswered in the negative.

"No that wasn't an option. Ifyou see the Yogesh Parmar (thejunior physio who tested positivejust before the match) was a closecontact of every player," Gangulysaid.

"So obviously that was a causeof worry. It was something nobodyhad any control on and they (theplayers) had families travellingwith them," he added, justifying theanxiety in the camp.

ECB CEO Tom Harrison hadalso said that every effort was madeto comfort the travelling playersbut the "perception of what mighthappen" made them fearful ofplaying.

Asked if he would try and sortit "amicably" with Harrison andECB head Ian Whatmore duringhis personal visit to London onSeptember 23, Ganguly said: "Eventhe Test match was called off ami-cably. I am going there and let's see,we will figure out something.

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Agame from the end of his bid for whatwould have been the first calendar-year

Grand Slam in men's tennis since 1969,Novak Djokovic covered his face with atowel, hiding his tears during a changeover.

For 27 Grand Slam matches in 2021, onhard courts, clay courts and grass, Djokoviccould not be deterred, could not be beaten.Needing one more victory, in the US Openfinal on Sunday against Daniil Medvedev, tocomplete a season sweep of major titles andto claim the record 21st of his career,Djokovic could not come through.

Outplayed by someone using a similarstyle to his own, Djokovic came up just shortof those two historic milestones, losing 6-46-4 6-4 to first-time major champion

Medvedev at Arthur Ashe Stadium.What was in Djokovic's thoughts as he

sat there on the sideline, knowing full wellthat his quest was moments from its conclu-sion?

"Relief. I was glad it was over, because thebuildup for this tournament, and everythingthat mentally, emotionally, I had to deal withthroughout the tournament in the last cou-ple of weeks, was just a lot. It was a lot to han-dle," Djokovic said at his news conference.

"I was just glad that, finally, the run isover. At the same time, I felt sadness, disap-pointment - and also gratitude for thecrowd and for that special moment thatthey've created for me on the court."

Until Sunday, the No 1-ranked Djokovichad been sublime at the sport's four mostimportant tournaments, enduring the bur-dens of expectations and pressure over thepast seven months and, in New York, the pastfortnight.

He won the Australian Open in February,beating Medvedev in the final in straight sets,the French Open in June and Wimbledon inJuly, pulling even with Rafael Nadal andRoger Federer at 20 Grand Slam titles, themost for a man in the history of a sport thatdates to the 1800s.

The last man to complete a true GrandSlam by going 4 for 4 at the majors in a sin-gle season remains Rod Laver, who did ittwice - in 1962 and 1969 - and was in thestands Sunday. The last woman to accomplishthe feat was Steffi Graf in 1988.

Instead, Djokovic joins Jack Crawford in1933 and Lew Hoad in 1956 as men who wona year's first trio of Grand Slam tournamentsand made it all the way to the US Open final

Want rescheduled Test to be fifth of series: Ganguly ����������������$�4�� � ?�8����

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Former India opener GautamGambhir expects K L Rahul

to have a stupendous IPL cam-paign when the league resumeslater this week as he believes thatthe big-hitter's best has not yetbeen seen despite an average ofover 50 in the last three seasons.

Punjab Kings captain Rahulis averaging 66 after sevenmatches this year with a strikerate of 136. The IPL was sus-pended in May due to COVID-19 cases in its bubble and willresume on Sunday in the UAE."We haven't seen the best of KLRahul. Yes, he has got runs, butwe still haven't seen, what he canachieve in his batting," Gambhirtold Star Sports show GamePlan. "You could have a seasonlike Virat Kohli had once. He'sthat kind of a player in white-ball cricket, where he can get 2-3 hundreds in a season and at

a very good strike rate as well,"he said.

The 29-year-old Rahul hasalready amassed 331 runs fromseven games this year, includingfour half centuries. He is secondon the list of 2021 IPL's top-scorers. Speaking of otherteams, Gambhir said the condi-tions in the UAE will favourdefending champions MumbaiIndians. Mumbai and ChennaiSuper Kings will clash in the firstmatch of the resumed season onSunday.

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The Delhi High Courtwas informed on

Monday that the pro-ceedings of upcomingAGM of Delhi andDistrict CricketAssociation (DDCA) onSeptember 15 will bevideographed and therecording will be givento the ombudsman toavoid any grievances.

The submission wasmade by DDCA’s coun-sel before Justice RekhaPalli who was hearing apetition by a member ofthe association that anobserver be appointedfor the Annual GeneralMeeting (AGM) ofDDCA since there wasutter chaos, mayhemand disturbance createdby elements within theassociation in the AGMon December 29, 2019.

The petition wasfiled by Sunil K Goelseeking direction toappoint a retired judgeof the high court as anobserver to oversee theproceedings for theAGM of DD CA atFeroz Shah Kot laGrounds here whichshall be videographedand also to act as anobserver in the ensuingelections of the associ-ation scheduled fromOctober 25 to 17.

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before losing."I do feel sorry for Novak,

because I cannot imagine what hefeels," said Medvedev, a 25-year-oldfrom Russia who had been 0-2 inmajor finals.

"Knowing that I managed to

stop him, it definitely makes itsweeter, and brings me confidencefor what is to come." Djokovic, a34-year-old from Serbia, simplywas far from his best on this par-ticular day.

"Just energy-wise, I felt slow,"

said Djokovic, who could not create the kindof comeback he had in each of his previous fourmatches - and six others in Grand Slam action

this year - when he dropped the opening set. "I know I could have, and should have, done

better," he said.

���� ��2� � �� The Australia-China combination of SamStosur and Zhang Shuai wontheir second Grand Slamwomen's doubles title together inNew York. The veteran pair, aged37 and 32 respectively, denied

home favourites Coco Gauffand Caty McNally their first witha 6-3 3-6 6-3 victory after a two-hour tussle at Arthur AsheArena on Sunday. The No14seeds added the US Open title tothe Australian Open crown theywon in 2019. Gauff and McNally,seeded 11th, were hoping to join18 year-old singles championEmma Raducanu as teenagewinners at the US Open afterwinning the girl's title just threeyears ago. AP

,������������(� ��������S����*���8 ���B��& � �������


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