VIJAYAWADA, THURSDAY MARCH 25, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

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MONEY 8HICCUPS DUE TO COVID REMAIN FOR DOMESTIC AVIATION SECTOR

ANALYSIS 7A STRONG AUDIT COMMITTEE

VITAL FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE

SPORTS 11KNOW HOW TO HANDLE PRES-

SURE OF INT’L CRICKET: DHAWAN

}KRITI WORKINGON HER TELUGUFOR ADIPURUSH

Page 12{

2

PM lauds BJPcandidate who

works as house help

5

Petrol price cut by 18paise, diesel by 17

paise

8SC refuses nod to

NBCC plan for JaypeeInfratech

2

Everyone loves sta-tus quo, but no one

cares to take upreforms

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PNS n NEW DELHI

India Justice SA Bobde has recom-mended senior-most SupremeCourt judge, Justice NV Ramana ashis successor, in keeping with con-vention and norms of seniority,according to sources onWednesday.

The CJI's recommendation tothe Union Government also cameon the day when the SupremeCourt made public its decision todismiss a complaint of AndhraPradesh Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy against JusticeRamana after giving the matter"due consideration".

Justice Bobde, who is due toretire on April 23, has sent the rec-ommendation to the Law andJustice Ministry, and handed overa copy to Justice Ramana, thesources said.

As per norms, a written commu-nication from the incumbent ChiefJustice is sent a month before hisretirement.

If the recommendation isapproved by the UnionGovernment, Justice Ramana will

take charge as the 48th ChiefJustice of India on April 24. JusticeRamana is due to retire on August26, 2022.

Justice Bobde's recommendationmarks the start of the process forappointment of the next CJI by thePresident.

SNV SUDHIRn VIJAYAWADA

In what is seen as a setback to ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan, theSupreme Court on Wednesdaysaid it has dismissed the complaintby him against a senior judge,Justice NV Ramana “after giving itdue consideration”.

On October 6 last year, Jagan hadwritten to Chief Justice of India SABobde, alleging that seniorSupreme Court judge Justice NVRamana has been influencing thesittings of AP High Court and act-ing in the interests of oppositionTDP.

The Supreme Court in a state-ment on Wednesday said that allthe matters dealt with under the in-house procedure being strictlyconfidential in nature, are notliable to be made public.

Jagan's letter to the CJI had sentripples across the country both inlegal and political circles. It latercame to light that the CJI consti-tuted an internal committee to lookinto Jagan's complaint. And it wasunderstood that the transfer of thethen Chief Justice of AP HighCourt, Justice AK Maheshwari,while a bench of the SC in a par-allel action staying the gag order ofthe AP High Court on the mediafrom reporting details of the inves-tigation by the ACB into Amaravatiland scam, were the result ofJagan's complaint.

It would be keenly watchedwhat would happen to a case filed

by Andhra Pradesh ACB in thealleged Amaravati land scam inwhich daughters of Justice Ramana

were also named.PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh Governmenthas decided to speed up the Covid-19 vaccination drive and aims toinoculate at least one crore peoplein the next 4 to 5 weeks.

Chairing a review meetingon Covid-19 VaccinationPlan at his camp officehere on Wednesday,Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddydirected officials tostart the vaccinationprocess in urban areasfrom March 29 as civicpolls have been completed."Similarly, take up vaccinationas a pilot project in rural areas lim-iting to two villages in each man-dal per day by working four daysa week," Jagan said.

Interacting with the officials, theChief Minister said that there areonly six days left in the electionprocess of MPTC and ZPTC polls

and if the elections wind up, focuscan be fully shifted on vaccination.

He said it was quite uncertainwhen the poll process would endand this was leaving the workforcein a state of uncertainty. "It's caus-

ing a lot of anguish. Expeditethe vaccination process

and take it up like ayagna with the aim ofsaving people's lives,"the Chief Ministersaid.

He instructedofficials to carry the

vaccination drive inthe villages as a full-

fledged activity involv-ing village and ward secre-

tariat volunteers, Asha and healthworkers.

Jagan suggested to the officialsto take up awareness campaignsensuring that all the people are get-ting vaccinated without any fear.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

State Election CommissionerNimmagadda Ramesh Kumar onWednesday left the responsibili-ty of conducting the MPTC andZPTC elections to his successor.

In office proceedings, RameshKumar said that most of thevaluable time of the SEC was lostin the legal challenges and he wasleft with just a few days on hand.

The SEC ruled out the possibil-ity of holding the elections andsaid that the process wouldrequire a four-week period toimpose the model code of con-duct and he had no time since hewas scheduled to retire on March31, 2021. He left the responsibil-ity of holding the MPTC andZPTC elections to his successor.

Ramesh Kumar also remindedthat the election staff wouldrequire Covid vaccination as perthe guidelines of the ElectionCommission of India, whichwould take some more time.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

With its focus sharply on improv-ing its coffers, Andhra Pradesh hasstepped up efforts to take up min-ing of coking coal from the blockallotted by Centre in Jharkhand inan open auction.

The Andhra Pradesh MineralDevelopment Corporation(APMDC) which had recently for-ayed into commercial mining, hasoffered a whopping 41.75 percentof the production revenue withJharkhand to bag the BrahmadihaCoal Block in Jharkhand inNovember last year. Now, APMDChas decided to call tenders to picka mining operator to launch coalmining. The tender documentsare now being evaluated by a judi-cial commission.

APMDC proposed to developthe mine by a reputed companywith prior experience in miningwho will be appointed as the Mine

Operator. The Mine Operator willplan, design, engineer, finance,construct, develop and operateand maintain the coal mine.

APMDC has submitted the ten-der document for selection of aMine Developer and Operator

(MDO) for the Brahmadiha coalBlock in Giridih District,Jharkhand to the AP JudicialPreview Commission.

It is pertinent to note thatAPMDC won the BrahmadihaCoal Block in the first ever com-

mercial coal block auctions held bythe Ministry of Coal last year.APMDC was the only Public SectorUndertaking (PSU) to win a coalblock in the auction process.

The coking coal reserves of theblock, which are suitable for steelplants, are estimated to be valuedat Rs 1,709 crore.

"As per the orders issued by thestate government, any project ofvalue Rs 100 crore and above shallbe sent to the AP Judicial PreviewCommission. Accordingly the ten-der document for the Brahmadihacoal Block was sent to AP JudicialPreview Commission," said anAPMDC official.

This is the first time that coalassets are being auctioned off by theCentre through the new market-determined revenue share model,replacing the fixed fee/tonne modelwhich was in existence in the past.

H Born on August 27, 1957 in Ponnavaram village of Andhra Pradesh'sKrishna district, Justice Ramana was enrolled as an advocate on February 10,1983.H He was appointed as a permanent Judge of the Andhra Pradesh HighCourt on June 27, 2000 and functioned as acting Chief Justice of the AndhraPradesh High Court from March 10, 2013 to May 20, 2013.H Justice Ramana was elevated as the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court onSeptember 2, 2013 and later as a Judge of the Supreme Court on February 17,2014.

BOBDE RECOMMENDSRAMANA AS NEXT CJI

AP aims to vaccinate 1 crpeople in next 5 weeks

PAGE 2: AP reports 585 new cases

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy will inaugurate KurnoolAirport at Orvakal on Thursday.The Chief Minister will unfurl theNational Flag, unveil a statue offormer chief minister YS Rajash-ekar Reddy and attend the inau-guration of the Kurnool airport.

The Centre in January hasissued all the approvals, includingthe aerodrome licence, to Orvakalairport in Kurnool district.

Low-cost carrier Indigo hasalso opened flight bookingsbetween Bengaluru, Visakhapat-nam and Chennai and Orvakalfrom February 15.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Bank of Baroda, Union Bank ofIndia and Indian Bank have comeforward to extend up to Rs 3,000crore as loan to Amaravati Metro-politan Region Development Aut-hority to develop trunk and LPSinfrastructure in Amaravati region.

The Government on Wednesdayissued orders standing guarantee tothe loan sanctioned by the banks.

Trunk infrastructure works suchas roads, storm water, water sup-ply and sewerage, will be taken upunder the phase one for Rs1,206.39 crore to ensure the region-al connectivity with the existinginstitutions, LPS, various landallocations for sites such as

Pedallandarki Illu, etc.Along with the prioritised works

and National Highway-16 bypassthe city area will get connectivityto every corner.

Power will be provided byAPSPDCL based on the develop-ment.

Besides, LPS infrastructureworks such as roads, storm water,water supply and sewerage to thereturnable plots in 6 LPS zones outof 13 zones of which the workswere initiated and were in advancestage will be taken up at a cost ofRs 1,879 crore to ensure the con-nectivity and achieve the appreci-ation for monetizable plots.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The CBI on Wednesday uneartheda scam linked to the PradhanMantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) andregistered a case against Kapil andDheeraj Wadhawan, brothers whoare promoters of crisis-hit DewanHousing Finance Limited (DHFL)and are in jail over fraud andmoney-laundering charges.

According to the CBI, Kapil andDheeraj Wadhawan created "fakeand fictitious" home loan accountsamounting to over Rs 14,000 croreand availed Rs 1,880 crore in inte-rest subsidy from the Governmentof India.

The PMAY was announced inOctober 2015. Under the schemehousing loans granted to peoplefrom Economically Weaker

Sections and those from Low andMiddle Income Groups are eligiblefor credit-linked interest subsidy.

The subsidy is to be claimed byfinancing institutions - like DHFL- that have granted these loans.According to the CBI, inDecember 2018 DHFL toldinvestors it had processed 88,651loans under PMAY and receivedRs 539.4 crore in subsidies, with afurther Rs 1,347.8 crore due.

However, forensic auditsrevealed that Kapil and DheerajWadhawan had opened 2.6 lakhfake housing loan accounts - sev-eral of which were under thePMAY scheme and claimed inter-est subsidies as per its rules - in afictitious Bandra branch of theorganisation.

After ‘due consideration’, SC junksJagan's complaint against Ramanan CM had complained of discrimination against his Govt

All eyes on SC’s April 7 hearing PNS n VIJAYAWADA

It would be safe to say that theApril 7 hearing by a SupremeCourt bench into the appeal bythe State Government to vacatethe stay by AP High Court intothe investigation launched bySIT into the alleged Amaravatiland scam will be very keenlywatched.

The case is related to an FIRregistered by the state ACBagainst former advocate-gener-al Dammalapati Srinivas alongwith daughters of Justice NVRamana, who has been recom-

mended by CJI SA Bobde as hissuccessor.

When the apex court lastheard the matter, the APGovernment said it agreed withthe prayers of D Srinivas that nocoercive action will be initiatedand a court monitored probe.

Daughters of Justice NVRamana have been accused ofcriminally conspiring with DSrinivas to illegally purchasepremium land in Amaravati,which until recently was tobecome India's first Greenfieldcapital city.

Banks sanction Rs 3K-crfor Amaravati infra works

CM to inaugurateKurnool airportat Orvakal today

APMDC to mine profits from Brahmadiha DHFL directors linkedto scam in PMAY: CBI

New SEC to takeup ZPTC, MPTCelections:Ramesh Kumar

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HUGE CARGO SHIP TURNS SIDEWAYS,BLOCKS EGYPT'S SUEZ CANAL

Acargo container ship that's among thelargest in the world has turned sidewaysand blocked all traffic in Egypt's Suez

Canal, officials said Wednesday,threatening to disrupt a global shippingsystem already strained by the coronaviruspandemic. The MV Ever Given, a Panama-flagged container ship that carries tradebetween Asia and Europe, became groundedTuesday in the narrow, man-made waterwaydividing continental Africa from the SinaiPeninsula.The Ever Given's bow was touching the canal's easternwall, while its stern looked lodged against its western wall,according to satellite data from MarineTraffic.com.

NOT POSSIBLE TO BRING FUEL IN GSTREGIME IN 8-10 YRS: SUSHIL MODI

Bringing petrol and diesel under the GSTregime is not possible for the next 8-10 years as no state is ready to face

the annual revenue loss of over Rs 2 lakhcrore on this account, BJP memberSushil Kumar Modi said in Rajya Sabhaon Wednesday. Speaking in support ofthe Finance Bill, the former financeminister of Bihar dared the opposition toraise the matter in the GST Council, sayingno Chief Minister or Finance Minister from non-NDA ruled states has opposed any decision of the GSTCouncil. The Centre and states collectively collect over Rs 5lakh-crore tax on petroleum products, Modi said.

GIVE PRIOR NOTICE OF 3 DAYS BEFOREARRESTING ARNAB: HC ORDERS COPS

The Bombay High Court on Wednesdaydirected the Mumbai Police to give theadvance notice of three days to

Republic TV's editor-in-chief ArnabGoswami if it wanted to arrest him in theTelevision Rating Point (TRP) scam case.A bench of Justices SS Shinde and ManishPitale also accepted the statement made bythe Maharashtra government that the probeagainst Republic TV, other employees of ARGOutlier Media which runs all Republic TV channels,and other television channels, will be completed within 12 weeks.The court was hearing a bunch of pleas filed by Goswami andARG media seeking several reliefs in the case.

COURT SUMMONS CHIDAMBARAM,SON KARTI IN INX MEDIA CASE

ADelhi court Wednesday issuedsummons to former Unionminister P Chidambaram and his

son Karti in the INX Media money-laundering case on takingcognisance of the charge sheet filedby the Enforcement Directorate (ED)against them. Special Judge M KNagpal issued summons against thesenior Congress leader, his son andothers directing them to appear before courton April 7. Besides the Chidambarams, the charge sheetnames Karti's chartered accountant S S Bhaskararamanamong others.

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Reforms are meant tochange a system tomake it better.

Most of the energy of anygoverning apparatus is dis-sipated in planning and ush-ering in so-called, big tick-et reforms of little or no usedirectly to the commonman.

On the contrary severalsmall steps can make thereal difference; and add upto ‘ease of living’ of fellowcitizens. Every walk of lifeoffers such opportunities toincrementally improve thesystem. Some such practicalexamples are only indicativein nature, discussed in thisarticle.

In our day-to-day life,one has to always possessand be ever ready to display

cer tain documents ondemand by various author-ities.The cops standing bythe roadside may demand tosee the identity card, drivinglicence, vehicle registrationcertificate and insurancepapers etc. Similarly, when-ever one enters any office forseeking any service, one’sidentity, address, incomeand several other relevantproofs are demanded.

In some places, originalshave to be produced, whileother places duly attested(by an authority or self )documents are required.

In a few places, mere pho-tocopies will make do. Is ittoo much asking to acceptdocuments of citizens indigita l form uniformlyacross the board?

By simply accepting pro-duction and transfer of doc-uments in digital form on amobile device can reduce abig hassle to citizens in thecountry.

Second categor y ofreforms could be broadlycategorised as ‘’simplifica-tion of processes’. It meansfocus on content rather thanon form.

As a case in point, let usexamine the practise of fil-ing affidavits in the courts.An affidavit is a writtenstatement made under oathor affirmation before anotary or other empoweredperson to be used as a sub-stitute for oral testimony.Affidavits are used exten-sively for presenting evi-dence and other information

during civil and criminalproceedings in the IndianCourts. As one of the stillprevalent legacies of theBritish empire, the courts

rely on the facts only ifthese are either stated as theoral evidence on oath, or bythe written submissions sup-ported as an affidavit.

An oath is a promise tospeak the truth. Can any-body vouch whether a writ-ten statement on oath oraffirmation, is in any waymore effective /qualitative-ly better than an ordinarysigned non notarised state-ment in discovering thetruth, which is the ultimateaim of the court?

Alternatively, can oneargue whether everythingmentioned in an affidavit isthe gospel truth? Of course,perjury laws can still bemade applicable in case offurnishing false informa-tion even for such non-

notarised written state-ments. Notarisation in fact,does not result in any valueaddition of the content inthe document. What pre-vents us in replacing affi-davits by simply calling it‘the written statement oftruth’?

This one single decisioncan simplify the lives ofmany people except publicnotaries. Legal fraternity,like many other professions,can explore a number ofways to simplify the lives ofpeople with similar inter-ventions.

Even governments couldbenefit by taking some sim-ple steps.

In a case where the indus-try department is supposedto give monetary incentive

to an industry which inturn is liable to pay tax tothe Government. By evolv-ing a process of transactions,accounts of both depart-ments with the industrycould be partially or fullysettled.

Another aspect is optingfor the cost-effective anddurable solutions in allwalks of life. This will beapplicable to most of theengineering departments.

It is high time that variousprofessionals should lookinto the practises followedby them and take correctiveactions to either simplify orremove unnecessar yprocesses. Let us not onlyprofess but also dare to takepeople centric reforms at alllevels.

DR SHAILENDRA JOSHI, Advisor to Telangana govt and former

Chief Secretary of Telangana

In our day-to-day life, one has to alwayspossess and be ever ready to displaycertain documents on demand byvarious authorities. The cops standingby the roadside may demand to see theidentity card, driving licence, vehicleregistration certificate and insurancepapers etc.

Everyone loves status quo, but no one cares to take up reforms

AP reports 585 new cases;sharpest increase in 2021PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Andhra Pradesh recorded thehighest daily spike in Covid-19 cases so far this year, withthe addition of 585 new infec-tions in the last 24 hours end-ing at 9 am on Wednesday.

The spike of 585 new casestook the cumulative caseloadto 8,95,121. This is the high-est single-day case total sincethe beginning of this year,with the State recording 534cases on December 17, 2020.

The death toll too increasedto 7,197 as four more patients,one each in Chittoor, Guntur,Kurnool and Visakhapatnamdistricts, succumbed to thepandemic.

As many as 251 patientswere discharged from varioushospitals across the state.There are currently 2,946active cases with 8,84,978cumulative recoveries and7,197 fatalities.

The state tested 35,066 sam-ples to detect the 585 positivecases in the past 24 hours,

translating to a case positivi-ty rate of 1.66 percent.

Chittoor reported 128 newinfections, the highest in thestate on Wednesday followedby Guntur (99),Visakhapatnam (81), Krishna(63), East Godavari (42),Anantapur (36), Kurnool (35),Nellore (23), Srikakulam (22),West Godavari (20), Prakasam(16), Vizianagaram (12) andYSR Kadapa (8).

Chittoor alone has 544active cases, followed by EastGodavari (490), Krishna(360), Visakhapatnam (293),Guntur (275) and Kurnool(252).

Andhra Pradesh so far con-ducted 1,48,40,401 sampleswith 2,77,910 tests per millionand the overall positivity rateof 6.03 per cent.

The spike in Covid casesand the rise in temperaturewith the advent of summerhad earlier prompted theSchool Education Departmentto run schools for half-dayfrom April 1.

AP aims to vaccinate 1 cr people...Continued from Page 1

The Chief Minister alsoemphasised on the 'villagedoctor concept' and directedthe authorities to implementit at the earliest possible. Healso directed the authoritiesto make sure there is noshortage of doctors in PHCs,where each mandal shouldhave two PHCs, each PHCshould have two physicians.

"Similarly, each mandalshould have two 104 vehicleswith one doctor in eachvehicle," he said, adding thatthere should be six doctors inevery mandal visiting everyvillage thrice every month.

He said to hire the doctorsas per the requirement anddirected the financial depart-ment officials not to be neg-ligent in disbursing therequired funds. The officials

said 3.97 lakh health andfrontline workers, 59.08 lakhpeople who are either overthe age of 60 or above 45with comorbidities were yetto be vaccinated. They saidthe Central government hasdecided to provide the vac-cine to all those over the ageof 45 from April 1.

The Chief Minister direct-ed the officials to make allnecessary arrangements toexpedite the process andcomplete vaccination for onecrore population.

With regard to this, he toldthe officials to carry out vac-cinations by selecting twovillages each day and cover-ing eight villages per weekacross the State.

He also said to keep theshortcomings in view andeffectively conduct the vac-cination drive.

After ‘due consideration’, SCjunks Jagan's complaint ...Continued from Page 1

The statement posted on apexcourt website said: "A com-plaint dated October 6, 2020sent by the Chief Minister ofAndhra Pradesh to theSupreme Court was dealt withunder the In House Procedureand the same, on due consid-eration, stands dismissed. It benoted that all the matters dealtwith under the In-HouseProcedure being strictly con-fidential in nature, are notliable to be made public".

It is learnt that the CJI askedJagan to send his complaint inthe form of an affidavit givenunder oath. After which Jaganhad sent the same letter as asigned affidavit to the CJI.

It was also understood thatCJI sought responses fromboth Justices Ramana andMaheshwari to the allegationsmade by Jagan. The letteraccused the Chief JusticeMaheshwari of staying almostevery decision taken by the

state government under influ-ence from Justice Ramana.

Before acting on Jagan's let-ter, CJI Bobde is learnt tohave discussed the matter witha few of his colleagues in theSupreme Court.

In his letter, Jagan allegedthat the AP High Court wasbeing used to 'destabilise andtopple his democratically elect-ed government'.

Jagan had requested the CJIto look into the matter andconsider initiating steps "asmay be considered fit andproper to ensure that the statejudiciary's neutrality is main-tained". He alleged that the

senior apex court judge hadproximity to ChandrababuNaidu and that a "former judgeof the honourable SupremeCourt placed this fact onrecord".

After his government initi-ated an inquiry into the actionsof Naidu regime between2014-19, Jagan had said, "it isnow clear that the judge start-ed influencing the course ofadministration of justice in thestate..." Naming some HighCourt judges, Jagan hadalleged they had a "nexus withthe Supreme Court judge andthe Telugu Desam Party anddisplayed animosity towardsmy government and me".

The apex court judge's influ-ence was in the areas of "ros-ter for sitting of the hon-ourable Judges, wherebyimportant matters of policyand protection for Naidu'sinterests were posted before afew honourable judges", healleged and referred to someorders to buttress his claims.

All eyes on SC’s April 7 hearing Continued from Page 1

In an FIR registered at theoffice of the Director-Generalof the ACB in Guntur onSeptember 15, an advocate,Komatla Srinivasa SwamyReddy, has alleged that DSrinivas, who served as the A-G during the ChandrababuNaidu regime, had used hisinfluence to first gather infor-mation about the capital'splan, and then purchase vasttracts of land accordingly inthe premium core capitalregion.

The complainant allegedthat D Srinivas purchasedland through multiplebenamis and relatives beforeDecember 2014, when thecapital's plan was first madepublic through the Capital

Plan Authority Bill, 2014.The complainant claimed

that the land value in the vil-lages, which were included inthe capital's plan, shot upexponentially once the infor-mation was made public.

The same FIR alleged thatSrinivas "entered into crimi-nal conspiracy" with variouspurchasers, including JusticeRamana's two daughtersNuthalapati Sritanuja andNuthalapati Sribhuvana. BothSritanuja and Sribhuvana havebeen named as 10th and 11thaccused in the FIR, alongwith many of D Srinivas'sfamily members and allegedassociates.

It has been alleged thatbetween August 13, 2014 andDecember 9, 2014, D Srinivasand his associates purchased

land in different mandals ofVijayawada and Guntur with"clear (prior) knowledge thatthose lands would fall eitherwithin the Core CapitalRegion or within the CapitalRegion DevelopmentAuthority limits"

Immediately after the reg-istration of the FIR, upon thepetition by D Srinivas, theHigh Court stayed furtherinvestigation into it and alsoissued gag order to the mediarefraining from reporting theFIR.

Subsequently after theAndhra Pradesh governmentapproached Supreme Courtwhich had lifted the gag orderand continued hearing theplea to vacate the stay oninvestigation into Amaravatiland scam.

APMDC to mine profitsfrom BrahmadihaContinued from Page 1

More importantly, the mineAPMDC bagged was the mostsought after as many othercompanies were in fray due tothe presence of coking coalreserves it holds.

Coking coal has the high-est demand and gets a premi-um price in the open marketin India due to its highercalorific value and utility inthe steel and metal industry.

APMDC outbid ShriJaibaba, EverdeliverLogistics, GangaramchakMining, Bhupati Mining, andAlankar Tradelinks, to bagthis block in Jharkhandwhich is the smallest mine onoffer with 5 million tonnes ofreserves.

Interestingly BrahmadihaCoal Block was the only cok-ing coal mine among theauctioned blocks. Under the

commercial coal mining bidrounds, companies competeon the share of revenue theywould part with for the stategovernment, to bag a coalmine. There is no end-userestriction on the coal that isexcavated from these mines.

APMDC had a few yearsago forayed into commercialcoal mining to improve itsrevenues and applied forallocation of mines in coal-bearing states. MadanpurSouth Coal Mine inChhattisgarh and SuliyariCoal Mine in MadhyaPradesh were already allottedto APMDC by the Centre inthe past under the allotmentof Coal Mines of StateGovernment Companies ofStates other than Coal bear-ing host states for the sale ofCoal under the provisions ofthe Coal Mines (SpecialProvisions) Act 2015.

Banks sanction Rs 3K-crfor Amaravati infra...Continued from Page 1

During a review meetingchaired by Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy onDecember 17, 2021, it wasappraised that the Trunk andLPS Infrastructure estimationwas prioritised from Rs29,281.98 core to Rs 11,092.88crore and that the consortiumof banks came forward forlending loan of Rs 10,000crore in three instalments – Rs3,000 crore + Rs 3,000 crore +Rs 4,000 crore.

Subsequently AMRDArequested the FinanceDepartment to provide gov-ernment guarantee for initialloan of Rs 3,000 crore to start

with prioritised LPS andTrunk Infrastructure works.

After due discussion, theChief Minister instructed theFinance Department to extendgovernment guarantee for Rs3,000 crore to raise infra-structure finance from consor-tium of banks by AMRDA.

Accordingly, AMRDAconducted a series of meet-ings with the consortium ofbanks – Bank of Baroda,Union Bank and IndianBank.

On Januar y 12, thebankers expressed in princi-ple approval to sanction Rs1,000 crore each, totalling Rs3,000 crores against StateGovernment’s guarantee.

DHFL directors...Continued from Page 1

Between 2007 and 2019'loans' amounting to Rs14,046 crore were sanctionedto these accounts, the CBI hasalleged, of which Rs 11,755.79were routed to other fictitiousfirms.

In June last year the CBIfiled a chargesheet against theWadhawan brothers and YesBank founder Rana Kapoor,after it was alleged thatKapoor's family receivedkickbacks for investing inDHFL.

That scam took placebetween April and June in2018 when Yes Bank invest-ed Rs 3,700 crore of publicmoney in short-term deben-tures of DHFL. In return, theWadhawans allegedly paidkickback of Rs 600 crore toMr Kapoor in the form ofloans to a firm controlled byhis wife and daughters.

The Wadhawan brotherswere arrested in April lastyear. Rana Kapoor was arrest-ed in March.

CM to inaugurateKurnool...Continued from Page 1

The services would be oper-ated by Indigo under India’sregional connectivity schemeUDAN.

The YSRC governmenthad spent Rs 150 crore for theairport project in the last oneyear. The new airport isexpected to reduce the trav-el time to Vizag and othermajor cities in the state.

AP Airports DevelopmentCorporation Limited had alsohinted that the government ismaking efforts to providenight landing facility and setup a pilot training centre atOrvakal.

Continued from Page 1

Ramesh Kumar said that hewas able to conduct the grampanchayat and urban localbody elections during histenure. The SEC appreciatedthe government staff and thepolice for their sense of ded-ication and response beyondthe call of duty in holdingincident-free elections.

He said he faced severallegal challenges during thecourse of his period. Since theHigh Court endorsed theunanimous election of sever-al MPTCs and ZPTCs, hesaid the SEC would follow thesame and all inquiries wouldbe terminated forthwith.

Till Tuesday, the SEC hadbeen under pressure from thestate government to conductelections to the mandalparishad and zilla parishadsbefore the end of his term.However, the AP High Courtdeclared that it was the pre-rogative of the SEC to decideon the poll schedule.

New SEC totake up ZPTC,MPTC ...

SC refuses nod to NBCCplan for Jaypee InfratechPNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme CourtWednesday refused to approvethe resolution plan of state-owned NBCC for the debt-rid-den Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL)for its shortcoming in fulfillingthe parameters of IBC andremitted it back to theCommittee of Creditors (CoC)for its nod.

The top court directed thatthe resolution shall be com-pleted within a period of 45days from the date of this judg-ment.

A bench of Justices A MKhanwilkar, DineshMaheshwari and SanjivKhanna used the top court'splenary powers under Article142 of the Constitution to dosubstantial and complete justiceto the parties and in the inter-est of stakeholders of JIL .

The net result of the discus-sion and findings hitherto isthat some of the terms andstipulations of the resolutionplan of NBCC, which wasvoted for approval by 97.36 percent of the voting share of theCommittee of Creditors, donot meet with approval, itsaid.

The bench said the terms

and stipulations of the resolu-tion plan which do not meetapproval are concerning -- theland providing agency, thedissenting financial creditorand the undischarged securi-ty interest of the lender of JAL.

It said that except for theseterms and stipulations in theresolution plan, all others standapproved.

The bench said that no newexpression of interest will beentertained for taking overthe firm and only state-ownedNBCC and Suraksha Realtymay file revised proposals.

Taking all the facts and cir-cumstances into account andin keeping with the spirit andpurport of the orders passed inthe past, we are inclined toagain exercise the powersunder Article 142 of theConstitution of India and toenlarge the time for comple-tion of CIRP concerning JILwhile extending opportunity tothe said resolution applicantsSuraksha Realty and NBCC tosubmit modified/fresh resolu-tion plans, which are compli-ant with the requirements ofthe Code and the CIRPRegulations and are in accordwith the observations andfindings in this judgment, it

said.The bench further added

that it will be open to theInterim ResolutionProfessional (IRP) to invitemodified/fresh resolutionplans only from SurakshaRealty and NBCC respective-ly, giving them time to submitthe same within 2 weeks fromthe date of this judgment.

The top court, which passedits verdict on a batch of appealsagainst the NCLAT's last yearorder and fresh petitions, said:It is made clear that the IRPshall not entertain any expres-sion of interest by any otherperson nor shall be required toissue any new informationmemorandum .

The bench directed the IRPto complete the CorporateInsolvency Resolution Process(CIRP) within the extendedtime of 45 days fromWednesday.

The matter regardingapproval of the resolution planstands remitted to theCommittee of Creditors of JILand the time for completion ofthe process relating to CIRP ofJIL is extended by anotherperiod of 45 days from the dateof this judgment, the benchsaid in its 375-page verdict.

24 kg gold seizednear Hyd, 3 arrestedPNS n HYDERABAD

Smuggled foreign-markedgold, weighing 25 kg andworth Rs 11.63 crore beingtransported from Guwahatito Hyderabad, has beenseized near here.

The SUV carrying the yel-low metal was also seized andthree people in the vehiclewere arrested, said theDirectorate of RevenueIntell igence (DRI) onWednesday.

The trio was remanded injudicial custody, the DRIsaid.

Based on intelligence, theofficers of DRI, Hyderabad,

mounted surveillance on theVijayawada- HyderabadHighway and intercepted theSUV on Tuesday at PanthangiToll Plaza.

The gold bars were hiddenin the dashboard of the SUVafter removing the air-bag,theDRIsaid in a press release.

The vehicle, bearing Assamregistration, had covered over2,500 km from Guwahatitowards Hyderabad crossingthe poll-bound states ofAssam and West Bengal, theDRI said.

Preliminary investigationrevealed that the gold washanded over in Guwahati fordelivery in Hyderabad.

NV Ramana:Telugu pride It is indeed a matter of

great pride that Telugubidda Justice NV Ramana ispoised to become the 48thChief Justice of India. This isa supreme achievement forJustice Ramana, who hasweathered many ups anddowns, including the chal-lenges posed when he wasappointed as a judge of theSupreme Court and morerecently when AP ChiefMinister Jaganmohan Reddycomplained to CJI SA Bobdeagainst his alleged attempts toinfluence the state HC onmatters connected with theAmaravati land scam. JusticeRamana stood up to the chal-lenges and allegations with histerse statement: "It is animportant quality for a judgeto withstand all pressuresand odds and to stand upbravely against all obstacles."

Justice Ramana is knownfor being a part of severallandmark judgements,including the ones thatexpounded on the value of awoman's work at home andthe one that brought theoffice of CJI under the ambitof RTI. He was also on theBench that formed a panel toexamine the demand for 4 Ginternet in J&K.

vijayawada 03VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 25, 2021

SHORT TAKES

SUMIT ONKA n VISAKHAPATNAM

Taking a cue from her coun-terpart, Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister Jaganmohan Reddy,West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee is alsopromising home delivery ofthe government rations to thebeneficiaries if she is votedback to power.

On Wednesday, in herspeeches in election rallies,WB Chief Minister reiteratedthe welfare schemes launchedby her government and thepromised new ones, includingthe door delivery of rations.

Minimum income guaran-tee for all families in WestBengal, hike in financial assis-tance for farmers, free doordelivery of ration and inclu-sion of more communities inthe other backward classes

(OBC) list were the high-lights of the TrinamoolCongress (TMC) assemblyelection manifesto releasedby Chief Minister Mamata

Banerjee.The incumbent Chief

Minister is harping on the wel-fare schemes in much similarfashion to the campaign of

Jaganmohan Reddy before the2019 elections.

And, the commonality isthe enigmatic poll strategistPrashant Kishor of IPAC,which was the political consul-tancy for YSRCP and is nowsteering the campaign forMamata Banerjee's TMC.

Political activists are of theview that the poll strategistPrashant Kishor may be play-ing the same strategy of AP inWest Bengal, batting big onthe welfare schemes.

Kishor has thrown an openthe challenge that he wouldstop working as politicalstrategist for any politicalparty if TMC lost the electionsin 2021.

Welfare schemes are reapingthe fruits for the YSRCP andthe thumping victories in therecently held elections are justindication of it.

Mamata takes cue from Jagan,promises door delivery of ration PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The Human Rights Forum(HRF) opposed the decision ofthe Andhra Pradesh govern-ment to include 13 Non-Agency Mandals underVisakhapatnam MetropolitanDevelopment Authority(VMRDA).

The Forum claimed thatsome of the villages in the said13 mandals fall in Agencyarea and cannot be consideredunder Non-Agency.

HRF AP State general secre-tary K Sudha and HRF AP&TSCoordination Committeemember VS Krishna opinedthat GO 20 issued on March 23by the MunicipalAdministration and UrbanDevelopment Departmentneeds to be reviewed.

"How can the governmentinclude of six villages inNathavaram mandal in thelist of the 13 mandals stated tobe non-Agency. These six vil-lages - DharmavaramAgraharam, Chammachinta,Sarugudu, Kuruvada,Kalavavoddhu Sarabhavaramand Pottinagannadora Palemare clearly mentioned asScheduled villages," reasonedSudha.

The government, she added,ought to remember that theFifth Schedule area is of aunique and exceptional natureand is endowed with explicitConstitutional recognition.

Including these villages wouldmean that they are deprived ofrights and authorities bestowedupon them by theConstitution.

In other words, merger ofthese villages in the VMRDAdirectly infringes upon thePanchayat (Extension to theScheduled Areas) Act, 1996(PESA) as well as TheScheduled Tribes and OtherTraditional Forest Dwellers(Recognition of Forest Rights)Act, (FRA of 2006) that grantspecial and exclusive powers toAdivasi gram sabhas. GO. 20 isplainly in violation of theseseminal statutes. HRF is alsoconcerned that several villagesthat are predominantly adivasiand are justifiably seekinginclusion in the Fifth Schedulesince many decades have alsobeen included in the list ofmandals to be merged in the

VMRDA.It may be recalled that there

are a total of 553 such Adivasivillages in AP that ought tohave been included manydecades ago in the FifthSchedule but were kept out dueto political indifference andbureaucratic recklessness.

"Consequently, these vil-lages have been rendered 'Non-Scheduled' and adivasis resid-ing in them have beendeprived of Constitutional pro-tections meant for tribals allthese years. This is historicinjustice. Adivasis of these vil-lages have been seeking inclu-sion in the Fifth Schedule andthe relevant files are underconsideration of the govern-ment. Including about 90 suchvillages in the VMRDA com-pounds the injustice thatshould have been remediedmany years ago," she said.

HRF opposes inclusion of 19Non-Agency mandals in VMRDA

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Vice-Admiral Ajendra BahadurSingh, Flag OfficerCommanding-in-Chief, EasternNaval Command (ENC) calledon Governor Biswa BhusanHarichandan at Raj Bhavanand Chief Minster JaganmohanReddy at CM Camp Office atVijayawada on March 24.

Vice-Admiral AB Singh wason a maiden visit to Vijayawadaafter taking over as the FOC-in-C on March 1.

He briefed the Governorand the CM on the various ini-tiatives taken by the IndianNavy to overcome emergingchallenges of maritime securi-ty on the Eastern Seaboard.

He also highlighted activitiesbeing conducted and plannedby the Indian Navy forSwarnim Vijay Varsh beingcelebrated by Indian Armedforces to commemorate thevictory of 1971 War which led

to the liberation of Bangladeshand Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsavto commemorate the 75thanniversary of India’sIndependence.

The upcoming multination-al MILAN exercise andPresidential Fleet Review,scheduled in early 2022 werealso discussed. AB Singh also

highlighted the forthcomingkey projects and infrastructurebeing planned by the Navy inAndhra Pradesh.

Later, he interacted with the

Chief Secretary AdityanathDas and discussed importantissues of common interest tothe Indian Navy and the Stateof Andhra Pradesh.

ENC chief AB Singh calls on AP Guv, CM

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

AP High Court retired judgeJustice Mandhata SeetharamaMurti assumed charge as theChairperson of the AndhraPradesh State Human RightsCommission on Wednesday.

The state government hasissued GO No 32 on March21 appointing JusticeSeetharama Murti as thechairperson of the HumanRights Commission.

To this effect, JusticeSitarama Murthy took chargeas the Chairperson of theState Human RightsCommission in Hyderabad.

Similarly, retired Districtand Sessions Judge JusticeDande Subramaniam tookcharge as a judicial memberof the Andhra Pradesh StateHuman Rights Commissionin Hyderabad. G SrinivasaRao took charge as a non-judicial member of AndhraPradesh State Human RightsCommission in the first blockof Amravati Secretariat onWednesday.

Seetharama Murtitakes charge asAPSHRC Chairman

DSNLU students shine atMoot Court Competitions

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The practical examinationsfor science students of inter-mediate second year will beconducted from March 31 toApril 24 in accordance withCovid guidelines. In all 47,315students will be appearing forthe practical exams. For thefirst year intermediate stu-dents, the theory examinationwill commence from May 5and for the second year stu-dents, theory exams will con-ducted from May 6 from 9am to 12 noon.

Addressing a meeting heldhere on Wednesday on con-ducting the intermediateexaminations, Krishna dis-trict collector A MD Imtiazsaid that 47,315 students willbe appearing for the exami-nations at 47 exam centres inurban and 45 exam centres inrural areas. The practicalexams will be conducted intwo sessions for botany, zool-ogy, physics, chemistry stu-dents from 9 am to 12 noonand 2 pm to 5 pm underCCTV surveillance.

Sr interpracticalexams fromMar 31

TDP asks Guv not to appoint Samuel as SECPNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP politburo memberVar l a R am ai a h onWednesday strongly object-ed to Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy tryingto get his co-accused andre t i re d IAS of f i c e r MSamuel appointed as then e x t St ate E l e c t i onCommissioner of AndhraPradesh.

R am ai a h u rge d t heGovernor Biswa BhushanHarichandan to reject thecandidature of Samuel for ahigh post such as the headof a constitutional institu-tion like the SEC consider-ing his dubious background.

Samuel might have servedas a civil servant but he was

attending court and facingtrial as a co-accused in twoof the 11 CBI cases thatwe re f i l e d a g a i ns t C MJag an m ohan R e d dy, h ealleged.

Addressing a press con-ference here, the TDP leaderasked why the Jagan regimeset aside the candidature ofa Dalit and retired JudgeJustice Kanagaraj for theSEC post as he had alreadyser ved in that capacityunder the YSRCP rule itself.

He reca l led that thatJagan rule itself appointedJustice Kanagaraj as the SECby unconstitutionally andi l l e g a l ly re m ov i ngNi m m a g a d d a R am e s hKumar as the SEC severalmonths ago.

Nobody could deny thefact that Justice Kanagarajwould have the moral rightto succeed Ramesh Kumaras the next State ElectionCommissioner, he added.

Ramaiah demanded anexplanation from the rulingYSRCP leaders as to whythey were giving all indica-tions that Samuel would bethe next SEC.

"Samuel was an accusednumber 8 in the notoriousVANPIC case in which CMJaganmohan Reddy wasaccused number 1 and MPVijayasai Reddy accusednumber 2. Also, Samuel wasan accused number 10 inthe Indu Tech case. Theretired IAS of f icer wasnamed as an accused in the

CBI chargesheets in thesetwo cases," he alleged.

The TDP leader said thatalong with Samuel's name,the Jagan regime sent thenames of Nilam Sawhneyand Premchandra Reddy tothe Governor for consider-ing them for the SEC post.

However, the ruling partyleaders including VijayasaiReddy gave indications thatSamuel would be the nextSE C e ve n b e fore t heGovernor's decision wasformally announced.

" O bv i ou s ly, Ni l amSawhney and PremchandraReddy would have been dis-qualified as they are not co-accused in the JaganmohanReddy's illegal assets cases,"he derided.

VIJAYAWADA: A ganja addict was beaten to death in Kankipadutown in Krishna district late on Tuesday. The deceased was identi-fied as Bhargav. The incident took place when Bhargav attacked hismother under the influence of ganja. On noticing Bhargav attackinghis mother, his maternal relatives attacked and beat him to death.According to sources, the deceased was addicted to drugs andganja for quite some time. Bhargav under the influence of ganjastarted harassing his mother for money on Tuesday evening.When she refused to give him money, he tried to attack her. Toescape the attack, she called her siblings for protection. On noticing Bhargav attacking his mother, her siblings thrashedBhargav. He died as he was severely wounded in the brawl.The police registered a suspicious death and took up investigation.They are waiting for the post-mortem report and based on thereport they would proceed further.

VISAKHAPATNAM: Damodaram Sanjivayya National LawUniversity moot team comprising of Bhavyasree Pasupuleti,Simran Gahunia and Krishna Vamsi of Semester VIII won the BestMemorial Title with a reward of Rs10,000 cash prize for their par-ticipation in the 5th Anand Swaroop Gupta International MemorialMoot Court Competition 2021. The university team reached semifinals in this famous International Moot Court that was held fromMarch 18 to 21. Similarly, another moot team from theDamodaram Sanjivayya National Law University comprising ofShreya Nair, Swetalana Rout, Priyanka Chemudupati, ManishaArora received Mention for the Fali Nariman Award forMemorandum of Respondent at the 18th Willem C. Vis (East)International Commercial Arbitration Moot, Hong Kong GlobalRounds held from March 19 to 22. Vice Chancellor Prof S SuryaPrakash and Registrar Prof K Madhusudhana Rao congratulatedboth the teams.

Webinar on NEP-2020concludes at AU VISAKHAPATNAM: The two-day national webinar on “NationalEducation Policy 2020: Equity and Inclusion of Vulnerable Groupsin Higher Education in India” organised by the Centre for Study ofSocial Exclusion and Inclusive Policy (CSSEIP), Andhra Universityconcluded on Wednesday. CSSEIP Director Dr P Subba Rao wel-comed the resource persons and participants. In his address, DrRao explained the genesis of the National Education Policy, 2020and noted that it replaces the National Policy on Education-1986.He stated that NEP-2020 is an inclusive framework focusing on theelementary level of education to higher education in the country. He further stated that the NEP is an attempt to address theeducational needs of the country and it has taken intoconsideration the socio-cultural, geographical identities and theinterests of disabled and other socially and economicallydisadvantaged groups.

Ganja addict attacks mother,relatives beat him to death

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Former MLA and YSRCPleader Jyesta Ramesh Babuperformed special prayers andpresented chadar in the ShahBukhari Baba Dargah atKondapalli on Wednesdayseeking peace and prosperityfor AP state and blessings forChief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy.

Sufi mentor Altaf Ali RazaBaba welcomed Ramesh Babuand conducted special prayersfor the well-being of peopleand state.

Ramesh Babu said that CMJagan was arduously workingfor the welfare of people andthe development of the Statebut several hurdles were beingcreated for the government.

He said that he came toDargah to pray for the wellbe-ing of the State, people and

YSRCP government andsought blessings of BukhariBaba. He recalled that he wasan ardent devotee of ShahBukhari Baba and that he usedto visit Dargah frequently.

Ramesh Babu said that reli-gions never teach enmity andhatred. Only some politicalparties and leaders spread

hatred in the name of religionfor political mileage, he added.

He praised the Annadanam(food distribution) programmebeing organised in the Langarof Dargah.

Sufi mentor Altaf Ali RazaBaba felicitated Ramesh Babuas per Islamic tradition.

YSRCP leader offers prayersat Kondapalli dargah

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Kanaka Durga templetrust board committeeapproved the budget of Rs 178crore for the year 2021-22 anddecided to construct arches inthe main centre of the city. Themeeting of the Durga templetrust board committee washeld at Vijayawada onWednesday.

The trust board passed aresolution with a demand toname a train passing throughVijayawada railway station asKanaka Durga Express.

The temple trust boardcommittee chairman PylaSomi Naidu said that a deci-sion was taken to conduct themeeting of the committeeevery month in the third weekto discuss and resolve issues of

the temple. He stated that the total esti-

mated expenditure forAnnadanam is Rs 14.93 croreand that the Annadanam wouldbe conducted for only 5,000devotees per day due to Covid.The chairman said that themeeting decided to developfacilities to devotees on the hill-top for the hassle-free darshan.

He stated that the commit-tee decided to construct Durgaarches in various places in thecity.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP official spokespersonPilli Manikya Rao onWednesday asserted thatChief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy and hisparty leaders had no right toask for votes in by-election toTirupati Lok Sabha seat sincethey had totally betrayedAndhra Pradesh on thepromise of Special CategoryStatus. Manikya Rao saidthat AP voters gave 22 MPseats to YSRCP in theGeneral Elections-2019 onlyafter Jaganmohan Reddypromised bringing SpecialCategory Status to the statefrom the Centre

After assuming power, hesimply forgot about hispromise and betrayed thepeople altogether.

In a statement here, theTDP leader asked how YSRCPleaders can seek votes frompeople of Tirupati. "Thoughthe Central Government wasrepeatedly rejecting thedemand for Special Status, theChief Minister was maintain-ing stoic silence.

The TDP leader demand-ed an explanation from theYSRCP leaders as to whytheir MPs failed to bring jus-tice to the State by puttingpressure on the Centre.

Jaganmohan Reddy wouldoften talk about his strong-fighting nature for the sake ofthe people but he was not dis-playing this non-compro-mising attitude in Delhi.Now, the CM should tell thepeople what he would achievefrom the CentralGovernment if his partywould win Tirupati by-poll,he ridiculed.

Manikya Rao deplored thatafter coming to power bymaking several promises, CMJagan has pushed the Stateinto debts and losses even ascommon public were unableto bear the increasing bur-dens on account of pricerise.

‘YSRCP has noright to seekvotes in Tirupati’

Board proposes naminga train passing throughVijayawada railwaystation as Kanaka DurgaExpress.

Durga temple boardokays `178cr budget

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Dr E Sivanagireddy,Archaeologist, Sthapati andCEO, Cultural Centre ofVijayawada and Amaravati(CCVA) discovered ancientquarry sites at the famousShaivite Temple town, Srisailam,in Kurnool district on Tuesday.

During extensive surveyconducted in and aroundSrisailam as part ofthe'Preserve Heritage forPosterity' programme beingorganised by CCVA,Sivanagireddy has noticed the

quarries lying on the left sidealong the road opposite toAlluri Sitaramaraju Choultry,where from the stone wasextracted to build the main,subsidiary temples and thehuge compound wall of the SriBhramarambasametha SriMallikajuna Swamy templecomplex between the 12th and16th century AD.

Dr Reddy said that the cutmarks used to insert the ironwedges to split the stone blocksmeasure 3x1x1 inches areclearly visible at five spotsalong the road.

He added that he hasnoticed Kannada inscriptionsdatable to the 16th century andbrought it to the notice of DrK Muniratnam Reddy,Director, Epigraphy,Archaeological Survey ofIndia, Mysuru, for decipheringthe historical contents.

Basing on the historical signif-icance of the finds, Dr SivanagiReddy appealed to the authori-ties of the Srisailam temple andArchaeology and MuseumsDepartment to protect and pre-serve the ancient quarries andinscriptions for posterity.

16th century quarries found

vijayawada 04VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 25, 2021

SHORT TAKES

PNS n TIRUMALA

With total adherence toCovid guidelines, the Srivariannual Teppotsavam (floatfestival) got underway atSwami Pushkarini onWednesday evening.

The colourfully decoratedfloat with flowers and shin-ing electrical illuminationthrilled devotees on thebanks of Swami Pushkarinias a procession of utsavaidols of Sri Sita Lakshmanasameta RamachandraMurthy graced and blessedthe devotees.

Earlier the procession ofUtsava idols began on Madastreets and reached theSwami Pushkarini wherethey boarded the spectacu-lar float and went for threerounds amidst Veda, Ganamand devotional music.

Tirumala pontiff Sri Sri SriPedda Jeeyarswamy,Additional EO Sri AVDharma Reddy, TTD boardmember Sri DP Ananta, CESri Ramesh Reddy, Srivaritemple DyEO SriHarindranath were present.

Float festival begins at Tirumala

PNS n TIRUPATI

The Joint Executive Officer (JEO) ofTirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD)Sada Bhargavi on Wednesday inspect-ed the development works of SriPadmavati temple, Tiruchanoor andmade valuable suggestions.

Inspecting the development works at

Tiruchanoor on Wednesday, the JEOinstructed the officials to completeroad widening and parking works atTiruchanoor on fast track for the ben-efit of devotees visiting Goddess SriPadmavati temple .

She also enquired about hurdles inroad widening work at Ghantasala cir-cle and parking facility near the pan-

chayat office. She suggested officials toclub Pudi Road-Tollu Garden- nation-al highway in the road widening pro-gram and also to examine widening ofthe area on the exit route of SriPadmavati temple. CE Sri RameshReddy, SE Sri Satyanarayana EE SriNarasimha Murthy and others accom-panied her.

TTD JEO inspects Tiruchanoor works

PNS n TIRUPATI

The ruling YSRCP was try-ing to win the Tirupati LokSabha by-poll with fake voterIdentity cards, BharatiyaJanata Party NationalSecretary Y Satyakumar hasalleged.

Addressing the media per-sons in Tirupati onWednesday, he said the rul-ing party won a maximum oflocal body seats by using fakevoter IDs and misused thevillage volunteer system forthe party's victory. "TheYSRCP has been preparing 2lakhs fake IDs to win theTirupati Lok Sabha seat andwe have proof to that effect,"Satya said.

The BJP national leadersaid the party would lodge acomplaint to the ElectionCommission of India andalso to the Union HomeMinistry asking them to takestern action against the cul-prits and seeking measuresfor holding Tirupati by-pollfairly and peacefully.

Satya lashed out at Telugu

Desam Party chief NChandrababu Naidu fordemanding special categorystatus for the State after

accepting a special packagefrom the Centre. The Modigovernment has earmarkedRs 27,000 crores to the APstate in the 2021-2022 bud-get apart from Rs 2.36 lakhcrores sanctioned throughthe 15th finance commission.The BJP-led government atthe Centre had allocated 21lakh houses to the state, headded.

The Centre had allocatedRs 9,000 crore after the out-burst of the corona to devel-op health infrastructure inthe state. The YCP govern-ment in the state was utiliz-ing all central funds andmaking allegations against it,he charged.

PNS n ONGOLE

The Ongole town would bedeveloped in all spheres withthe support from MinisterBalineni Srinivasa Reddy,newly elected Mayor ofOngole MunicipalCorporation Gangada Sujathahas said.

Gangada Sujatha took oathas Mayor at the corporationoffice on Wednesday in thepresence of Minister BalineniSrinivasa Reddy's wifeBalineni Sachidevi andSanthanutalapadu MLASudhakar Babu. Sujatha per-formed special pooja rituals onthe occasion and Vedic pun-

dits chanted hymns blessingher.

Speaking on the occasion,she said that she would visitall the divisions in Ongoleand strive to resolve themajor issues haunting thecity. With support from cor-porators, she would try herlevel best for converting thecity into a beautiful city bygiving equal importance toall divisions.

Ongole City CorporationDeputy Mayor VemuruSuryanarayana, CorporationCommissioner Bhagyalakshmi, Corporators, YSRCPleaders and officials werepresent.

Gangada Sujatha takes oathas Mayor of Ongole city

PNS n GUNTUR

Guntur Assembly constituency TDP presi-dent and former MLA from Tadikonda con-stituency Tenali Shravan Kumar, has lashedout at AP Assembly Deputy Speaker KonaRaghupathi over shifting of Acharya NGRanga Agricultural University from Lam vil-lage and set up in Bapatla.

He told reporters at the TDP office in

Guntur on Wednesday that shifting of thevarsity from Lam was not advisable asannounced by the Deputy Speaker as a foun-dation stone was laid by a Union Ministerand a Chief Minister for it.

The TDP leader alleged that Raghupathiwas trying to create suspicions and mythsamong the people over the varsity. It was notright for a leader who was holding the postof Deputy Speaker.

It may be recalled that the AgriculturalUniversity was established in Lam village ofTadikonda mandal and its operations werecontinuing for the past five years. What isnecessary to change it? he asked. He furtheralleged that the YSRCP leaders were lootingthe state by exploiting sand mining. Thestate government has joined hands with theCentre in privatizing the Visakha Steelplant, he remarked.

Shifting of agri varsity from Lam opposed

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The MBA students shouldunderstand the requirementsof the Industry while aspir-ing for higher job opportu-nities, Dr A V Ratna Prasad,principal of VelagapudiRamakrishna SiddharthaEngineering College, Kanuruhas said.

He was speaking at aworkshop on motivation andpersonality development isorganized for MBA and engi-neering students at the col-

lege on Wednesday.Chiranjeevi, a resource per-son and the founder of MedaInstitute of English andPersonality developmentconducted the workshop. Heexplained the practical issuesin communication andbehaviour while representingthe roles in the corporateworld in higher positions. Heunderscored the need to putefforts towards the develop-ment of inter-personal skillsfor MBA graduates.

N Venkateswarlu, presi-

dent of the SiddharthaAcademy asked students tospend maximum time inthe library and acquireknowledge of the latest tech-nologies. Murali Krishna,president, Maitri SevaSamithi, highlighted theneed for setting higher goalsand maintaining motiva-tional levels at an early stagein student life. Dr KNarendra NSS Programmeofficer and K. Madhavi assis-tant professor coordinatedthe workshop.

Study industry needs, MBA students told

PNS n GUNTUR

The frontline warriors ofCovid who had been deput-ed as contract workers duringthe corona pandemic andlater their services have beenterminated as per the agree-ment, concluded their 5-dayrelay hunger strike onWednesday as the policeremoved their camp on thesecond day.

They alleged that they hadserved the corona patients inisolation wards keeping theirlives under threat. Now, theofficials have terminated theirservices after the normalcywas stored.

They had launchedprotests in front of theGuntur GGH demandingsecurity for their jobs. Theyalleged that they lost theirlivelihood and their familieswere thrown on to the streets.

Covid frontlinewarriors endhunger strike

PNS n NEW DELHI

The coronavirus pandemicintroduced many more vari-ables into an incrediblydynamic and complex glob-al situation and even broughtout in the open the behaviourof states at times of stress,External Affairs Minister SJaishankar said onWednesday.

Without specifically men-tioning any country or inci-dents, the external affairsminister also said that powerplays will continue on achanged playing field, notingthat concerns will reflect"recent experiences" andresulting anxieties and sowill solutions.

Jaishankar was speaking atthe WION global summit on'Power Play in a PostPandemic World'.

"Now, into an incrediblydynamic and complex glob-al situation, the COVID pan-demic has actually intro-duced many more variables.Not just that, some of theseactually came as a shock tothe entire global system,"Jaishankar told the gatheringat the global summit onPower Play.

EAM: Covidintroducedmanyvariables

PNS n RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM

About 41 new corona positivecases were reported inKakinada, Mummadivaram,and Ramachandrapuram man-dals in East Godavari districtapart from 163 students inTirumala junior college atRajamahendravaram and stepswere taken to monitor thepatients round the clock, StateHealth Minister and DeputyChief Minister A Kali KrishnaSrinivas has informed on

Wednesday.He said about 35 contain-

ment zones have been set up inEast Godavari district and themedical and health depart-ment was taking all measuresto hold corona tests for 400 stu-dents in Tirumala JuniorCollege where many cases ofcorona positive were reported.Steps were being taken to pre-vent the spread of corona acrossthe district and tests would beconducted in all educationalinstitutions on a priority basis

across the district, the ministersaid.

He appealed to the people tocome forward voluntarily to getcorona vaccination as the pan-demic was still prevalent in theregion.

Reviewing the health situa-tion in the district in the pre-text of the prevalence of coro-na cases in East Godavari dis-trict, Health Minister KrishnaSrinivas said about 163 studentsof Tirumala Junior Collegewho were infected with coro-

na were isolated in specialrooms and given treatment. Hecalled East Godavari DistrictCollector Muralidhar Reddyand DM&HO Dr GowriswaraRao and enquired about thesteps taken to prevent thespreading of the pandemicover the phone. He asked thehealth officials to shift the stu-dents of intermediate to isolat-ed hostel rooms and providebetter medical assistance. Healso advised them to conductRTPCR tests on the students.

35 Covid containment zones set up in EG

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Centre has told the DelhiHigh Court that reports sub-mitted by the Maharashtragovernment on its probe intothe 2006 Mumbai train blastswere secret documents andcannot be provided to theman who has been sentencedto death in the case.

The submission has beenmade by the Ministry ofHome Affairs in its affidavitfiled in response to the pleaby the convict -- EhteshamQutubuddin Siddique -- whohas claimed that he wasfalsely implicated in theblasts case and it amountedto violation of his humanrights. Justice Prathiba MSingh, before whom the mat-ter was listed on Wednesday,adjourned it to July 22.

On July 11, 2006, sevenRDX explosions r ipped

through as many Westernline local trains in Mumbai,leading to the death of 189people and injuring 829.

Siddique, represented byadvocate Arpit Bhargava, hasalso sought the AndhraPradesh government ' sdossier on the probe into thealleged involvement of theIndian Mujahideen (IM)group in the blasts. He has

sought these reports to sup-port his claim of innocence.

The MHA has declined toprovide the Maharashtragovernment reports on theground that those are classi-fied and with regard to theAndhra Pradesh govern-ment's dossiers, the min-istry has said in its affidavitthat it does not have thesame.

Mumbai blast report can't begiven to convict, Centre tells HC

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Wednesdaycalled upon the people of

Assam to beware of theCongress-AIUDF 'Mahajoth'(grand alliance) as it is a'Mahajhoot' (grand lie).Slamming the Congress,Modi, while addressing anelection rally here, said thegrand old party does not haveideals or able leaders. "Congress ke paas na neta hai na niti, sirfMahajhoot hai (Congress doesn't have either a leader or ideals, itonly has a grand lie)," he said. "I have come to awaken you to thefact that Congress's hand is with those forces that are a danger tothe state's identity and culture," Modi said. Attacking the oppositionalliance, he said that Congress can go to any extent to win elections.

BEWARE OF CONG, AIUDF’ MAHAJOTH'AS IT'S ‘MAHAJHOOT': MODI

The government is workingto provide optical fibreconnection to 6.5 lakh

villages, Minister ofCommunications and IT RaviShankar Prasad said onWednesday adding that thecountry was kept going by theInformation Technology mobileinfrastructure during thelockdown. During the QuestionHour in the Lok Sabha, Prasad said it is the commitment of theprime minister that communication infrastructure of the countrymust improve. "This is the communication strategy of the Modigovernment to provide optical fibre connection to 6.5 lakhvillages...The country was kept going by the InformationTechnology mobile infrastructure during COVID-19 lockdownperiod," he said.

OPTICAL FIBRE CONNECTIONTO 6.5 L VILLAGES : PRASAD

Actor Samir Soni willcome out with his debutbook later this year in

which he will document inprose and poetry some of his"darkest, most intense andintrospective thoughts" onanxiety and self-discovery."My Experiments withSilence" is slated to bepublished by OM BooksInternational.The publishers said this will be a "deeply personalaccount of Samir Soni's dialogues with himself during his growingup years in Delhi, his stint at Wall Street and his time in Bollywood"."For the longest time, a notebook and a pen have been my closestcompanions. Every thought or emotion that I couldn't share, wentinto my diary. Writing has been a catharsis of sorts," Soni said in astatement.

SAMIR SONI TO PEN BOOK ONANXIETY, SELF-DISCOVERY

AAP MLA Somnath Bharti Wednesday approached the DelhiHigh Court challenging his conviction and two-year sentencefor assaulting AIIMS security staff. Bharti was taken into

custody and sent to prison on Tuesday after the pronouncement ofthe verdict by a trial court here. In his plea before the high court, hehas sought that the trial court's verdict be set aside, acquitting himof all charges. According to the prosecution, on September 9, 2016,Bharti, along with nearly 300 others, brought down the fence of aboundary wall at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)here with a JCB operator. A magistrate had in January sentencedhim to two years in prison.

SOMNATH BHARTI MOVESHC CHALLENGING 2-YR JAIL

PNS n TIRUPATI

"Let's go to every door inTirupati LS constituency andexplain our developmentworks and welfare schemes tothe people," TTD chairmanYV Subba Reddy, who was theYSRCP Tirupati Parliamentaryby-election in-charge, has said.

Participating in the intro-ductory program of TirupatiMP Candidate DrGurumurthy here onWednesday, Subba Reddyasked the party leaders to gonook and corner of the seg-ment for victory in the by-elections in Tirupati to getYSRCP candidate DrGurumurthy get elected withan overwhelming majority.He introduced party candidateDr Gurumurthy to party lead-ers and activists and gavedirections to the cadre.

Chief Minister YS JaganMohan Reddy has suggestedthat the progress made duringthe 21-month rule of the YCP

government and welfareschemes initiated should bewidely taken to the people, hesaid and explained that it wasnecessary for people to knowthe fact that the schemes wereimplemented irrespective ofcaste, religion, politics, corrup-tion and bias. The governmenthas implemented all theschemes only on a merit basisin a transparent manner.

He said the party cadre hasto fight unitedly for the victo-ry in Tirupati obeying thedirectives of Chief Minister YSJagan Mohan Reddy. By elect-ing Dr Gurumurthy with anunprecedented majority, theparty leaders should give as agift to the Chief Minister, headded.

Ministers Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, Narayanaswamy,MLAs Kakani GovardhanReddy, Bumana KarunakarReddy, Chevireddy Bhaskarreddy, Varaprasad, KilivetiSanjeevaiah and others partic-ipated in the program.

Strive for thumpingmajority, YSRCP men told

TTD Board chairman YV Subba Reddy and Minister Peddireddy RamachandraReddy introduce Tirupati LS candidate Dr Gurumurthy in Tirupati on Wednesday.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Maharashtra, Punjab,Karnataka, Chhattisgarh andGujarat are reporting a surgein daily COVID-19 cases andthe five states together accountfor 77.44 per cent of the newinfections, the Union HealthMinistry said on Wednesday.

A total 47,262 new caseswere registered in a span of 24hours.

Six states cumulativelyaccount for 81.65 per cent ofthe new cases. Maharashtrahas reported the highest dailynew cases at 28,699. It is fol-lowed by Punjab with 2,254and Karnataka with 2,010cases.

"Eight states have reporteda higher weekly positivity ratethan the national average (4.11per cent). Maharashtra leadswith a weekly positivity rate of20.53 per cent," the ministrysaid. India's total active case-load has reached 3,68,457 onWednesday, accounting for

3.14 per cent of the total infec-tions. A net rise of 23,080 inactive cases was recorded in aspan of 24 hours.

The ministry said India hascrossed a significant mile-stone in the fight against theglobal pandemic with thecumulative number ofCOVID-19 vaccine dosesadministered in the countryhaving crossed five crore.

The ministry said5,08,41,286 vaccine doses havebeen administered through8,23,046 sessions, according toa provisional report tillWednesday 7 am.

These include 79,17,521healthcare workers (first dose),50,20,695 healthcare workers(second dose), 83,62,065frontline workers (first dose)and 30,88,639 frontline work-ers (second Dose), 47,01,894beneficiaries aged more than45 years with specific co-mor-bidities (first dose), and2,17,50,472 beneficiaries agedmore than 60 years.

Maha, 4 states seesurge of Covid cases

The BJP national leader said the partywould lodge a complaint to the ElectionCommission of India and also to theUnion Home Ministry asking them to takestern action against the culprits andseeking measures for holding Tirupati by-poll fairly and peacefully.

YSRCP trying to win by-pollwith fake voter cards: BJP

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 25, 2021 nation 05

ACongress MLA on Wednesdaydemanded that Goa be recognised as aUnion Territory once again as its

independent statehood has become a"negative point" as far as the generation ofrevenue is concerned. Speaking in theLegislative Assembly, MLA Ravi Naik, aformer chief minister, said this demand washis personalopinion. "We were getting all financial benefits from theCentre when we were a Union Territory. Independent statehoodhas become a negative point for Goa. We don't get revenue.Goa's financial status is bad," the Ponda MLA said.Goa was part of the Union Territory of Daman, Diu andGoa, all former Portuguese colonies, before becoming afull-fledged state in May, 1987.

Abill to set up a Commission forregulating and prescribinguniform education standards

for allied and healthcareprofessionals was approved byParliament with the Lok Sabhagiving nod to the legislation by avoice vote on Wednesday. TheNational Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill,2021, seeks to provide for regulation and maintenance of standardsof education and services by allied and healthcare professionals.Replying to a debate on the Bill, Union Health Minister HarshVardhan said that the legislation is aimed at fulfilling long-pendingdemands of the sector, and enhance employment opportunities forprofessionals. "The paramedics and allied healthcare workers arecritical part of the medical profession and their contribution issimilar to doctors, if not more.

INDIA CORNER

National Commission forAllied Bill clears LS hurdle

Asserting that rural masses orthe people most vulnerable tocorrupt practices are the ones

who know the least about theirrights under the RTI Act, aparliamentary committee has askedthe transparency watchdog CIC tospread awareness about the law inrural areas. The panel expressedconcern over a large number of vacancies in the posts ofInformation Commissioners in state Information Commissions andasked the Central Information Commission (CIC) to furnish a statusnote in three months. “Transparency is the corner stone of goodgovernance. Right to Information Act (RTI) has played aninstrumental role in bringing about transparency,” the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, PublicGrievances, Law and Justice said in its 106th report on Demandsfor Grants (2021-22) of the Ministry of Personnel, PublicGrievances and Pensions.

Spread awareness about RTIAct in rural areas: Parl panel

The number of recruitment ofIndian Police Service officershas been increased from 150 to

200 from civil services exam (CSE)2020, Lok Sabha was informed onWednesday. "For IAS, as per therecommendations of the BaswanCommittee and with the approval ofthe competent authority, 180 IASofficers are recruited through CSE each year since CSE-2012,"Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a writtenreply. For IPS, 150 officers have been recruited through CSE eachyear since CSE-2009, which has been further increased to 200since CSE-2020, he said. There was a vacancy of 1,510 IndianAdministrative Service (IAS) officers in the country against theirauthorised strength of 6,715, as on January 1, 2020. There were908 vacancies of IPS officer against their authorised strength of4,982, according to the minister's reply. "Filling up of the vacanciesis a continuous process. It is the endeavour of the centralgovernment to fill up vacant posts expeditiously," Singh said. TheUnion Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts civil servicesexamination (CSE) for filling up of vacancies on direct recruitmentbasis in IAS, IPS and other allied services every year, he said.

Govt increase recrutiment ofIPS officers from 150 to 200

PNS n NEW DELHI

Opposition parties in RajyaSabha on Wednesday urged theGovernment not to go aheadwith its ambitious disinvest-ment plan, saying it would notyield the desired results due tothe coronavirus pandemic.

Participating in a discussionon the Finance Bill 2021, NCPleader Praful Patel said thatwhile disinvestment is a coretheme of this Budget, the gov-ernment should proceed cau-tiously on it, given the back-drop of the pandemic.

The government on Mondaybudgeted Rs 1.75 lakh-crorefrom stake sale in public sec-tor companies and financialinstitutions, including two PSUbanks and one insurance com-pany, in 2021-22.

For 2020-21, the govern-ment had set a target of raisingRs 2.1 lakh-crore from privati-

sation and sale of minoritystakes in state-owned compa-nies. This includes Rs 1.20lakh-crore from selling stake inCPSEs and Rs 90,000 crorefrom stake sale in financialinvestment. So far this fiscal,the government has garneredaround Rs 31,000 crore throughdivestment in PSUs, accordingto the latest update on the por-tal of the Department ofInvestment and Public AssetManagement (DIPAM).

Manoj Kumar Jha (RJD) saidthat while the need to raise rev-

enue is understandable, must itbe done "by entering into thebrazen sale of public assets."

"Every third day I get repre-sentation from Vizag Steelplant...there is representationby bank employees... Whenyou take decisions, it impactsthe relations and identity of theemployees of those organisa-tions. Why not have a dialoguewith them," Jha said.

"The government is doingdisinvestment of capital assets.It is not selling the country butmaking efforts to develop the

nation," he said, alleging thatthe opposition is doing politicseven at the time of such a cri-sis, while the government isstriving for the country's devel-opment.

V. Vijayasai Reddy (YSRCP)was not in favour of disinvest-ment plans particularly forVizag steel plant and alsodemanded special status forAndhra Pradesh.

Emphasising that he is notagainst divestment, Patel, how-ever, questioned the "timing"and said the exercise may notyield the best possible resultsthat the government is hopingfor.

"I worry because of theCovid situation, you may notbe able to realise the full value,so you should go cautiouslyinto it," he said. Patel claimedthat the disinvestment processhad "not been resounding suc-cess so far".

Disinvestment amid Covidnot advisable: Opposition PNS n NEW DELHI

Beating Covid fears, theElection Commission heldassembly polls in Bihar, one ofIndia's most populous states,late last year and is now gear-ing up for a massive electoralexercise in four states and aunion territory.

The nationwide lockdownthat began on March 25 lastyear brought life to a suddenhalt. With the infection contin-uing its spread even after it waslifted, there were apprehen-sions that holding electionswould be fraught with risk.

However, the elections inBihar were conducted safelyover multiple phases inOctober and November lastyear with the poll panel puttingstrict Covid protocols in place.Armed with gloves, masks,face shields and sanitiser for all,the keenly watched Bihar elec-tion was the first full-fledgedpoll to be held in the pandem-ic with four crore of the morethan seven crore voters exer-cising their franchise.

"We were able to conduct aCOVID-safe election with avoter turnout of 57.34 percent, which was higher thanthe 56.8 per cent turnoutrecorded during the previouselection in 2015," ChiefElection Commissioner SunilArora said recently.

To ensure distancing norms,the Election Commissionrestricted the number of vot-ers per polling station to 1,000from 1,500. This led to anincrease in the number ofpolling stations.

Other than Bihar, the ECalso conducted elections acrossseveral states for Rajya Sabhaseats, and by-elections fornearly 60 legislative assemblyconstituencies.

Now, campaigning is under-way for assembly polls in WestBengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu,Karala and Puducherry. Theprocess begins later thismonth. An estimated 18.68crore voters will be eligible tocast their votes at 2.7 lakhpolling stations for 824 assem-bly seats across the four statesand one union territory.

Once again, to ensure safe-ty of voters, polling staff and

security personnel, theElection Commission has pro-cured lakhs of face shields, facemasks, single use rubber glovesfor polling and security per-sonnel and 'one hand' singleuse polythene gloves for votersto press the EVM button andsign the register at the pollingstations.

While Tamil Nadu, Keralaand Puducherry will go forpolls in a single phase, Assamwill conduct elections in threephases and West Bengal ineight.

In the 2016 polls, there were77,000 polling stations in WestBengal, and 11,000 pollingstations went to poll per phase.

Due to distancing norms,the number of polling stationshave gone up to 1.1 lakh. Onan average, over 12,000 polingstations would go for polls ineach of the eight phases.

After Bihar, EC set for pollsin four states, one UT

PNS n NEW DELHI

One year ago, Indians lockeddown in their homes asCOVID-19 tightened its gripover the country. When theyemerged months later, tentativeand timorous, the world manyknew had changed, perhapsforever, leaving them grap-pling with a spectrum of men-tal health issues ranging fromdepression to paranoia.

For millions of Indians --students and their teachers,workers and high-end corpo-rates, the young and the elder-ly -- the process of adjustmenthasn't been easy. Coping withloneliness, anxiety and joblosses, many have overcomethe inherent bias towardsacknowledging that they mayhave a mental health problemand have reached out for help.

The infection graph rose, felland now that it is rising again,

the panic has increased insteadof receding, said a youngwoman in Ghaziabad whorecalls the year since March 25,2020 when the nationwidelockdown was imposed forcinga sudden isolation on peopleand a dramatic change in life asthey had always lived it.

“I still don't feel good when-

ever I go out. My sleep patternis still very disturbed. It hasbeen so long but my body isstill coming to terms with stay-ing indoors and I am not com-fortable stepping out. My men-strual cycle is disturbed. Thisis impacting my overall men-tal peace,” she told PTI on thecondition of anonymity.

Kundan Sahi, an IT profes-sional in Kolkata, reports sim-ilar problems.

“I don't know how long thiswill continue. There is alwaysthe fear of losing the job.Insecurity has taken away mysleep. I can't sleep, I can't eat.I have been taking help from apsychologist to come out ofthis,” he said.

It is an epidemic of sorts andthe two young professionals areonly the tip of the proverbialiceberg, said mental healthspecialists across the country,viewing with alarm the over-whelming dimensions of a cri-sis that is still unfolding.

Cut off from friends, extend-ed family and colleagues as thepandemic raged outside, manypeople came out into a changedworld order with trepidation,they said. If some retreated intoa shell, there were those whoinflicted injuries on them-

selves, fought suicidal feelingsand also those who endedtheir lives.

“Mental health cases havegone up since the lockdownbegan and the effect the pan-demic is having on the mentalhealth of the population atlarge is concerning to say theleast,” said Vikram Thaploo,CEO of Apollo TeleHealth inHyderabad.

The fear of catching an infec-tion, social isolation and theloss of loved ones is oftenexacerbated by the distresscaused due to unemploymentand loss of income, he added,fearing the problem could esca-late when “bottled up cases”come forward.

“Unless mental health istreated as a core element in ourresponse to the pandemic, thelong term social and econom-ic costs will be severe,” henoted.

A year on, mental health crisis still unfolding

PNS n WASHINGTON

An Indian national has beensentenced by a US court inCalifornia to two years inprison, who after being firedby his company accessed itsserver and deleted over 1,200Microsoft user accounts,according to a statement.

Deepanshu Kher was arrest-ed when he flew from India tothe United States on January11, 2021, unaware of the out-standing warrant for his arrest.

"This act of sabotage wasdestructive for this company,"said Acting US AttorneyRandy Grossman on Tuesday.

In pronouncing the sen-tence, US District Court JudgeMarilyn Huff noted thatDeepanshu Kher perpetrated

a significant and sophisticat-ed attack on the company, anattack which was planned andclearly intended as revenge.

In addition to the two yearsin custody, Judge Huff sen-tenced Deepanshu Kher tothree years'' supervised releaseand restitution to theCompany of USD 567,084, theamount that the Companypaid to fix the problems whichDeepanshu Kher caused.

According to court docu-ments, Deepanshu Kher wasemployed by an informationtechnology consulting firmfrom 2017 through May 2018.In 2017, the consulting firmwas hired by the CarlsbadCompany to assist with itsmigration to a Microsoft Office365 (MS O365) environment.

Delhi man jailed fordeleting Microsoftuser accounts

PNS n NEW DELHI

India desires cordial rela-tions with Pakistan but an

atmosphere of trust, devoidof terror and hostility, is"imperative" for it, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi saidin a letter to his Pakistanicounterpart Imran Khan.

Modi wrote the letter toKhan to extend greetings tothe people of that country onthe occasion of Pakistan Day.

"As a neighbouring coun-try, India desires cordial rela-tions with the people ofPakistan. For this, an envi-ronment of trust, devoid ofterror and hostility, is imper-ative," he said.

Government sources said itis a routine letter sent everyyear. Modi also conveyed hisbest wishes to Khan and thepeople of Pakistan in dealingwith the challenges of thecoronavirus pandemic. Therehave been indications of pos-itive movement in tiesbetween India and Pakistan.

Modi greetspeople of Pakon Pakistan Day

PNS n KOLKATA

The BJP on Tuesday broughtback former chief economicadvisor to the governmentAshok Lahiri back in the pollfray by fielding him from theBalurghat seat, even as itannounced a list of 13 candi-dates, including a formersenior army officer, for thefinal four phases of WestBengal assembly polls.

Lahiri was earlier pulledout of the Alipurduar seat innorth Bengal after local partyworkers held protests againsthis candidature. The BJP

replaced him with SumanKanjilal, general secretary of itsAlipurduar district committee.

Many in the BJP see Lahirias a potential finance ministerof the state if the party rides topower, while others speculatethat his Bengal stint is a pre-cursor to higher positions atthe Centre.

The party continued with itsstrategy of fielding personali-ties from different walks of lifeas it nominated former DeputyChief of Army Staff Lt Gen(retd) Subrata Saha from theRashbehari seat in SouthKolkata.

The saffron party also field-ed new candidates fromChowranghee and Kashipur-Belgachia seats, after its earli-er nominees had refused tocontest.

Nominations were earliergiven to Sikha Mitra, wife offormer state Congress presi-dent the late Somen Mitra,from Chowranghee, and TarunSaha, husband of TMC MLAMala Saha, from Kashipur-Belgachia. In an embarrass-ment for the BJP, both SikhaMitra and Tarun Saha refusedtheir tickets and said they didnot join the saffron party.

BJP announces candidates for 13seats, brings back Ashok Lahiri

PNS n KANTHI (WB)

Bengal has brought togetherthe nation through 'VandeMataram', and on this land,CM Mamata Banerjee wasterming people "bohiragoto"(outsider), Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said onWednesday, announcing thatif voted to power, a son of thesoil will be made the BJPchief minister of the state.

Addressing an election rallyin Kanthi in the PurbaMedinipur district, Modi saidthat Bengal was the land oficons like Bankim Chandra

Chattopadhyay, RabindranathTagore and Subhas ChandraBose and on this land, noIndian was an outsider.

"Bengal brought togetherthe people of India throughVande Mataram, and on thatland, Mamata-didi is talkingabout 'bohiragoto'. No Indianis an outsider here, they are thechildren of Bharat Mata," hesaid.

"We are being called'tourists', fun is being made of

us, we are being insulted.Didi, people of Rabindranath's

Bengal don't consider any-body outsider," Modi added.

No Indian is outsiderin Bengal, says Modi

PNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Wednesday hailedBJP candidate from WestBengal's Ausgram seat KalitaMajhi, who reportedly worksas a house help, and said sheis an example in politics.Taking to Twitter, Modi alsotagged a media report onMajhi, which states that sheis the wife of a plumber andworks as a house maid earn-ing a modest income.

Majhi, the BJP candidatefrom the Ausgram assemblyseat in West Bengal, is anexample in politics, Modisaid in a tweet in Hindi.

"Kalita ji, who earns alivelihood in a self-respectingmanner, has emerged as anew hope for the societythrough her dedication toserve," he said.

PM lauds BJPcandidate who works as house help

PNS n NEW DELHI

The RJD on Wednesdaywalked out from the RajyaSabha after its members werenot allowed to raise the issue ofalleged roughing up of oppo-sition legislators, includingsome women MLAs, inside theBihar Assembly.

RJD member Manoj KumarJha sought to raise the issue ofthe ruckus in the BiharAssembly but was not allowedto do so by the Chair.

Leader of Opposition andCongress member MallikarjunKharge supported Jha, but

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidudid not permit them to raisethe issue, saying matters ofstates are not allowed to beraised in the upper house.

Naidu said he had disal-

lowed some members fromraising the issues concerningMaharashtra also. Jha and someother members of the RJDthen staged a walkout inprotest. Jha stood up to raise the

issue soon after scheduledpapers were laid on the table ofthe House, and said a "heinouscrime" has taken place and evenwomen MLAs were not spared.

"I have gone through your(Jha) notice. It is a matterconcerning the state so I can-not take it up...You can take upthe issue in the State itself,"Naidu said.

As Jha insisted on raising theissue, Kharge said the RajyaSabha Chairman has the dis-cretion to allow a discussion onan issue related to "injustice" ina state, and urged Naidu to letJha speak.

RJD walks out from Rajya Sabha

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Centre on Wednesday toldthe Delhi High Court that 50people chosen by the Waqfboard can be allowed to offerprayers at the mosque in theNizamuddin Markaz duringthe coming festival season oncethe names of those individualsare provided to the SHO of thearea.

The submission was madebefore Justice Mukta Gupta bythe central government duringthe hearing of a plea seekingopening of the Nizamuddin

Markaz where the TablighiJamaat congregation was heldamid the COVID-19 pandem-ic and has been locked sinceMarch 31 last year.

Advocate Rajat Nair, appear-ing for the Centre, told the courtthat the Delhi Waqf Board hasto forward an application con-taining the 50 names to theStation House Officer (SHO) ofthe area and thereafter, thosepersons alone would be allowedto enter the mosque to offerprayers.

The submission on behalf ofthe Centre was made after the

Board, represented by senioradvocate Ramesh Gupta andadvocate Wajeeh Shafiq, urgedthe court to permit some indi-viduals to pray at the mosqueduring the coming 'shab-e-barat' holiday at the end of theweek. They said only themosque would be used and notthe madrasa located there.

Gupta also urged the court todecide the matter before theholy month of Ramzan com-mences from April 13 as morepeople would want to offerprayers at the mosque duringthat time.

Only 50 people can pray atNizamuddin: Centre to HC

NEW DELHI

The Army on Tuesday said ithas concluded a contract forprocurement of 17.27 lakhservice medals of 17 differenttypes. For nearly 10 years, theArmy was reeling under ashortage of medals. "IntegratedHeadquarters of MoD hasconcluded a contract for pro-curement of a total of 17.27lakh Service Medals of 17 dif-ferent types," the Army said ina tweet. "The procurement hasenabled Indian Army to meetall outstanding demands ofservice medals in respect ofsoldiers who have served andare serving in the IndianArmy," it added.

Army concludescontract forprocurement of service medals

Restore old Union Territory statusof Goa: Congress MLA

true, Indian democracy willsee its abyss. Imagine if onecommittee could be subvertedin this manner, what about therest of them? There will be acrisis of faith in theGovernment or perhaps thebeginning of a oligarchicalmafia State. But if it was actu-ally passed with consensus,India’s farmers and democra-cy will have to be ready for anew challenge — a corporatehydra controlling the IndianGovernment.

As for the politicians,birds of a feather flock togeth-er. Politicians and partiesstrive for their own interestand that of their donors, notof the farmers. And in therealpolitik, post-Kissingerworld, there are only a hand-ful who harbour good inten-tions for farmers, the rest —whether in the US or Brazil— serve corporate interests.

The Indian farmers alsoneed introspection. Why inover 70 years ofIndependence, with over 70per cent population engagedin agriculture, are there almostno national farmer leaders orany party started and run bygrowers? At best, the farmershave had temporal coalitionson issues, which retreat to thefields once the crisis is over. Asa result, national and region-

al parties do only lip service toagriculture and growers, andthe farmers have little choicebut to vote for them. Most vot-ers, urban or rural, are alluredby caste, emotions and hatebut fail to be stirred by hungeror economic prosperity.

The Modi Government,along with the corporatemedia, has done its bit to dis-suade the farmers from creat-ing a political front. RakeshTikait, along with other farmerleaders, has been extra cau-tious in distancing the move-ment from any political party.But how long can it remainapolitical? After all, man bynature is a political animal, asAristotle rightly observed.

In my recent travels cov-ering farmer rallies, a youthin Haryana’s Chautala villageasked Rakesh Tikait: “Wheredo we go from here? Why don’twe create a new political front?Without farmers in Parliament,how will we get farmer-friend-ly policies?” Tikait deflectedthe question, stressing on theapolitical nature of the move-ment. But it was an importantquestion. Why can’t the farm-ers organise?

The US corporations seizedcontrol of rural Americabecause the farmers failed tostand united and to pressure theelected representatives. Only a

handful of them got to enter theSenate or the Congress. Sincethe early history of the US,power brokers have dividedfarmers by class and race. Byseeding hate and racial tensions,the US farmers were polarised.The result was devastation notjust for the victims of the vio-lence, but the bankruptcy of thesurvivors, too.

Plato in the Republicwarned us that any revolutionwithout a better alternativequickly descends into greaterchaos. The Arab Spring ofEgypt serves as a recent exam-ple. So wisdom demands thatthe Indian farmers’ revolutiondoes also present a new formof green politics. The farmershave already laid the founda-tion for this paradigm shift.Their movement is attractinga new wave of Governmentworkers who are directlyaffected by the privatisation,besides climate activists likeDisha Ravi and GretaThunberg. Now we need themovement to seed a newgreen political revolution byembracing politics for therights of land, water and earthand not shying away from it.

(The author writes on agriculture and environment,and is the Director — GreenIndia. The views expressed arepersonal.)

Fifteenth-century revolutionary poet-saint Kabir’s immortal lines “Kankar pathar jodike, masjid laye banay; Taa chadi mullah baang de, ka behra hua khudaey? (A mosqueis made by cementing pebbles and stones; from its top the cleric calls out like a

rooster, is the Almighty deaf?)” are more relevant today as the pitch of the “call” hasbeen amplified to irritatingly high decibels by the loudspeakers installed atop the places

of worship. Far from being mellifluous, it adds to noisepollution. However, people avoid raising this issue astalking about anything related to religion is consid-ered blasphemous these days, thanks to religious big-ots. Speaking out against any religious practice is asurefire recipe to fan unrest and may lead to com-munal violence. However, some politicians keepbroaching the subject for the sake of popularity orpolitical currency, though they are not at all concernedwith noise pollution and its ill-effects on public health.Inspired perhaps by similar motives, a Minister in UttarPradesh has written to the Ballia District Magistrateagainst the “problems” he faces in doing yoga, med-itation, worship and discharging his official duties due

to the sounds emanating from the loudspeakers at a local mosque.Recently, the Allahabad University Vice-Chancellor also sought a ban on offering prayers

via loudspeakers from a mosque, saying it disturbs her morning sleep. The Minister saidthe volume should be fixed as per the Allahabad High Court’s order. Last year, the courthad ruled that the ‘azaan’ (prayer call) could be recited by a muezzin (Muslim crier) frommosque minarets but without using loudspeakers. Though our Constitution guaranteesthe Right to Freedom of Religion, it doesn’t mean that we can do anything in the name ofreligion with impunity. Not only ‘azaan’ through blaring loudspeakers, even ‘bhakti sangeet’(devotional music) played on high volume hurts the auditory sense. Extreme noise pol-lution seriously affects children, patients and the elderly, in particular. The loud music accom-panying religious processions is no less disturbing. The religious leaders and devoteesmust understand that noise and religion are not synonymous. It’s debatable whether theprayers aired through loudspeakers stand a better chance of catching God’s ears but thesecertainly hurt the human ears and can cause temporary or, given to regular and frequentexposure, permanent damage. We certainly shouldn’t turn a deaf ear to this problem.

The gigantic but inert Congress has now been called out for its ineptness by NationalConference (NC) leader Farooq Abdullah. The 83-year-old former ally of the partysounded it out on its sagging fortunes without mincing words when he advised

the national party’s leadership to wake up, focus on issues pertaining to the mass-es and galvanise into action rather than “staying at their homes”. This veiled dig wasostensibly aimed at Wayanad MP and Congress scion Rahul Gandhi. Farooq’s “hon-est” wake-up call to the Congress is nothing short of a scathing indictment of thegoings-on in the party for long, which have resulted in it facing electoral losses inState after State and being reduced to only an also-ran in successive elections. The

Congress, which has ruled the nation at the Centreand in States across its length and breadth for mostof the last 70 years and has earned the monikerof the ‘Grand Old Party’, today resembles a tiredand uninspired entity. It hits the headlines mostlyfor the wrong reasons, be it losses at the hustingsor defections by senior leaders or, worse, com-plaints by its own senior leaders against democ-racy within the party being throttled owing to theautocratic hold of a particular family’s memberson its functioning. Farooq’s remarks assume espe-cial significance since the NC leader has been along-time ally of the Congress, even serving as a

Union Minister in the Congress-led UPA Government from 2009 to 2014. His rele-vance in the political sphere may also be gauged by the fact that the NC has beenin power in Jammu and Kashmir since 1947 in one form or the other till 2002, andagain between 2009 and 2015.

In a letter addressed to Sonia Gandhi in August last year, 23 senior party lead-ers (who came to be known as G23) had complained about the absence of democ-racy within the party and stressed the need to hold free and impartial elections tochoose the party president. They claimed that the uncertainty over the leadershipand the rift in the Congress had weakened the party and left the workers demor-alised. But now that even former allies like the NC are openly talking about and admit-ting to the “weakness” of the Congress, it just goes to show the bad times the ‘GrandOld Party’ of yore has fallen on. It is pertinent to mention that the Congress has con-tinuously been ceding political space since 2014 to other national parties and evensatraps. It would only benefit the Congress to heed Farooq’s remarks as these comeat a time when the party is gearing up for the crucial Assembly elections beginninglater this month in West Bengal, Assam, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Whileit may be too early to call these election results, it’s a safe guess that the Congressmay not be counted upon to perform dazzlingly in these States, especially after itannounced its decision to ally with the Furufura Sharif cleric Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui-led Indian Secular Front in West Bengal.

Wake-up call

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

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VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 25, 2021

06

DeafeningThe practice of using loudspeakers for religious

purposes is a social menace and must be discontinued

Until the farmers’ movement succeeds in making their voice heard

in Parliament, the political parties will keep manipulating them

PICTALK

Gardeners check flowers a day before the opening of the Tulip garden, in Srinagar PTI

THE BJP HASEXPOSED

THROUGH THEMONTHS THAT THE

CONGRESS ANDOTHER PARTIES,INCLUDING THE

NCP, HAVE ALSORECOMMENDED

CORPORATISATIONONE WAY OR

ANOTHER IN THEPAST. IT SEEMS THECORPORATISATION

OF AGRARIANSECTOR HAS BEEN

THE AIM OF ALLTHE GOVERNMENTS

INDRA SHEKHAR SINGH

Listening to former ally Farooq Abdullah’s ‘honest’ advice will serve the Congress well

India needs a newpolitical class: Farmers

While the farmer lead-ers are busy cam-paigning against thethree farm laws,

building a pan-India farmers’movement, something in Delhihas changed. The Oppositionparties like the Trinamool, theCongress, the AAP and othershave been vehemently opposingthe laws; nevertheless, theParliamentary StandingCommittee on Food, chaired byTMC leader SudipBandyopadhyay with membersfrom other political parties, hasrecommended the implementa-tion of “the Essential Commodities(Amendment) Act, 2020, in letterand spirit, and without let or hin-drances so that the farmers andother stakeholders of the farmingsector in this country receive thebenefits intended under the saidAct”. This news comes as a shock-er as the TMC and the BJP arelocked in a battle for Bengal, yetthe TMC-led committee echoesPrime Minister Narendra Modi’scorporatisation agenda.

The BJP has also exposedthrough the months that theCongress and other parties,including the NCP, have also rec-ommended corporatisation oneway or another in the past. Thecorporatisation of the agrariansector has been the aim, it seems,of all the Governments. TheModi Government has just expe-dited it due to its large numbersin Parliament. The EssentialCommodities (Amendment) Actis the most dangerous step forrural India, without which Big Agfirms such as Cargill, Walmartand Bayer can never take controlof India’s food system. Hence, theModi Government didn’t want tomake any amendments to itduring the 11 rounds of talkswith the farmer leaders.

Now, the Congress and theTMC have both tried to distancethemselves from the report andhave called it a “disinformationcampaign”, blaming the bureau-cracy of the “department”.Further, different members havestated that they weren’t present inthe meeting. Derek O’Brien evenalleged that the chairman was notpresent when the report waspassed. If these allegations are

SOUNDBITEVACCINATE THE ENTIRE POPULATION Sir —The Government’s decision to allowall people above 45 years of age to take theCOVID-19 vaccine from April 1 is a majorstep towards accelerating the pace of inoc-ulation. When the country is staring at apossible second COVID-19 wave, the movewill mitigate the possibility. It is commend-able that the task force is taking the rightdecisions without procrastination.

Now, anyone who was born beforeJanuary 1, 1977, becomes eligible to get vac-cinated. It does not matter whether they havecomorbidities or not. Those who fall in the45-59 age group form a considerable num-ber and it is of paramount importance thatthey overcome vaccine hesitancy and takethe jab for their protection and for prevent-ing the transmission of the infection.Vaccinating any adult who wishes to beinoculated is far better than wasting the vac-cines. The Government’s move to ease theage limit for Coronavirus vaccination isexpected to provide a big boost to the inoc-ulation programme in the country amid arecent spurt in daily COVID-19 cases insome States.

Producing more vaccines shots and vac-cinating more people are imperative if weare to win the battle against the deadly virus.Even as the inoculation programme isunderway, “testing, tracking and treating”should simultaneously continue. Care mustbe taken to ensure that election-related gath-erings in the poll-bound States and religiousevents, especially the Kumbh Mela thatattracts millions, do not result in a surge incases. The importance of wearing mask andmaintaining physical distance as life-savingmeasures cannot be over-emphasised.

G David Milton | Tamil Nadu

PUNISH THE CULPRITS AT THE EARLIEST Sir — It’s shocking to learn that twoCatholic nuns belonging to the Kerala-basedSacred Heart congregation and their twopostulants were heckled, manhandled andforced to get off a train in Uttar Pradesh’sJhansi by members of the Akhil BharatiyaVidyarthi Parishad, who suspected them of

conducting religious conversion. The fourwomen were detained by the RailwayPolice in Jhansi for questioning. This is notthe first time that such attacks have beenmade on Christian missionaries.

We see such incidents happening almostevery other day in one State or the other. Thehooligans and anti-social elements engagein such atrocities without any fear of beingreprimanded for their criminal acts.However, Union Home Minister AmitShah has assured strong action against thosewho allegedly harassed the nuns during theirtrain journey. There should be more polic-ing on trains and the number of police per-sonnel must be increased.

Tharcius S Fernando | Chennai

UDDHAV THACKERAY’S DILEMMA Sir — This refers to the editorial ‘Nix cor-ruption’ (March 24). The silence of

Maharashtra Chief Minister UddhavThackeray over the ongoing corruption rowspeaks volume about what is wrong withthe State’s governance. It shows that the realpower lies with Sharad Pawar and the NCPwhile the Shiv Sena and Thackeray are rel-egated to being just an ally with no signif-icant say in the matters.

I concur with the editorial view thatThackeray is caught in a “Catch-22” situa-tion where he cannot take action against theHome Minister, going against the will of theNCP chief, nor can he give a clean chit toAnil Deshmukh as it will be counterpro-ductive to his own image and that of hisparty. The nexus of politicians, criminalsand police officials is hurting the State ofMaharashtra.

Sravana Ramachandran | Chennai

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

It is a welcome move that US President Joe Biden

has called for a ban on assault weapons and

tighter rules around background checks for gun

purchases after 10 people were shot and killed at

a supermarket in Colorado. The mass shooting

came a few days after a man shot dead eight peo-

ple in Atlanta. The number of mass shootings in

the US dipped sharply last year as the Coronavirus

pandemic raged but gun sales soared in the wake

of protests over the killing of George Floyd and

in the run-up to November's presidential election.

The gun culture is a curse for the US and a

blot on its democracy. Thousands of lives have

been lost but no concrete steps have been taken

to deal with the menace. Among the Atlanta vic-

tims, six were Asian-Americans and it shows that

hate crimes against particular communities are not

going to end anytime soon. This isn't the first time

that shootings have grabbed the nation's atten-

tion and focused the attention on gun laws. But

it's the first time in more than 10 years that

Democrats have controlled both chambers of the

Congress and the White House.

Not to mention that a strong lobby exists in

US that promotes gun culture and does whatev-

er it can to prevent the Government from tight-

ening restrictions on the sale and purchase of guns.

Politicians, bureaucrats and arms manufacturers

are hand-in-glove in this lobby. While in India, a

person cannot purchase a gun or possess a firearm

unless s/he has an arms licence given by the

authorities after thorough investigation and

detailed paperwork.

P Senthil | Mumbai

End the gun culture in the US Our Government isalways concernedabout minoritycommunities and Iassure you that therewill be strict actionagainst those who harassed thenuns in UP.

Union Home Minister— Amit Shah

According to the DefenceDepartment,North Korea'slaunch of short-range missiles is

business as usual. There's no newwrinkle in what they did.

US President — Joe Biden

Respect what you eat,and the farmers whogrow it. If you ever tillthe earth yourself,you'll know how muchwork it is, and howmuch love and patience it takes.

Music composer — Vishal Dadlani

Don't be misled and deceived by the smooth talk ofVijayan. Kerala will befinished if he gets asecond term.

Congress leader

— AK Antony

Prithvi Shaw will haveto wait for his chanceto get back into theIndian ODI squad,considering the kindof competition that isthere for the opening

batsmen's slot in the Indian team.

Former cricketer — VVS Laxman

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

A strong audit committeevital for good governance

THE AAP GOVERNMENT IS THE FIRST IN THE COUNTRY

WHICH IS PUSHING YOUTH TOWARDS ALCOHOLISM

TO INCREASE ITS REVENUE.

—DELHI BJP PRESIDENT

ADESH GUPTA

I AM SURPRISED TO SEE THE HYPOCRISY OF THE BJP.

WITHIN THE BJP-RULED STATES, THE LEGAL AGE OF

LIQUOR CONSUMPTION IS 21 YEARS.

—AAP CHIEF SPOKESPERSON

SAURABH BHARADWAJ

The world over, a number of frauds in busi-ness have forced regulators to tighten cor-porate governance mechanisms to avoid

any loopholes. India, too, has had its share of cor-porate frauds. Since the liberalisation of the econ-omy, India has focused on developing its finan-cial markets and improving the governance ofcompanies. This is one of the ways of protect-ing shareholders and overseas investors, whichin turn will boost foreign investments, leadingto the deepening of financial markets. Fairlyunknown till the 1990s, Indian lawmakers madegreat efforts to bring corporate governance reg-ulations to the current level through various insti-tutions like the CII, Department of CorporateAffairs, and committees like Naresh Chandra, NRNarayan Murthy, Kumar Mangalam Birla and soon. The latest enactment of the Companies Act,2013, is a major milestone in the corporate gov-ernance scenario in India and aims to better thestandards of corporate governance, simplify reg-ulations and strengthen the benefits of minori-ty shareholders. One of the important panels ofcorporate Boards is the audit committee that isresponsible for the oversight of financial man-agement of the company and monitoringbad/fraudulent accounting. That is the reasonwhy this committee receives attention from theinvestors and regulators alike. The members ofaudit committees have to be alert to any windowdressing in accounting and, if need be, theyshould side with the auditors against the direc-tors of the firm to protect the interests of theshareholders.

So, who is an ideal candidate for this com-mittee? To be effective, members should havewide experience to comprehend multifacetedaspects of the business and regulatory guidelines.The member should have the ability to exerciseindependent judgement, which comes from thefact that neither s/he nor any of the family mem-bers have an existing or previous “material” rela-tionship with the firm other than the audit com-mittee membership. Material relations includeboth direct and indirect ties. Direct relationsincludes employees, officers in the executive role,auditing companies, advisors, mentors or con-sultants, whereas indirect ties are in the form ofassociates, shareholders, officers of the firm thathave any relations with the company and so on.

The independence of audit committee mem-bers is of utmost importance and to protect it,the regulations of the Companies Act, 2013, man-date that the panel should have at least threemembers, with the majority being independentin their role. The Board of directors mustunderstand the rules laid down for protecting theautonomy of the audit committee and resolve anyconflicts that could compromise it.

In addition, the majority of audit committeemembers, including the chair, should be finan-cially literate. The President’s Advisory Councilon Financial Literacy (PACFL, 2008) defines itas the ability to use knowledge and skills to man-age economic resources effectively for a lifetimeof pecuniary well-being. Section 134(3) alsorequires the Board of directors to declare anyomission to the recommendations of the auditcommittee in their corporate governance report.Although financially literate members are an asset

to the committee because of theirexpertise, they should avoid gettinginto technical details of the day-to-day running of a firm and have anumbrella approach.

The effective functioning of theaudit committee is directly depen-dent on the chair of the panel. Thisposition should be held by a per-son who is acquainted with theduties of the committee and ishighly proficient and adept at con-ducting and presiding over meet-ings. The chair should have thecapability to take people across theboard together and the determina-tion to handle and resolve complexbusiness matters. Over the years,the role of audit committees hasexpanded to include review ofquarterly financial statements,Management’s Discussion andAnalysis, and earnings manage-ment. The panels are also respon-sible for developing comprehensivepolicies and procedures to recordinformation and protect employeesby promoting anonymity, confi-dentiality and job protection.

Having such all-inclusive poli-cies can help encourage “whistle-blowing” by staff which in turn canserve the purpose of forewarningabout fraudulent activities. Thecommittee can also be involved inother monitoring activities likecompliance with regulations andthe required code of ethics,appointment of CFOs and othermain finance executives, review ofthe expenses of the CEO and

other executives, and so on. To help the committees to

operate effectively, a written char-ter elucidating their responsibilitiesshould be established. They are notresponsible for approving thingsbut have a monitoring role to per-form and are involved in thereview of various reports generat-ed by the management, and exter-nal as well as internal auditors. Suchreviews should provide assuranceto the shareholders that the man-agement and auditors are workingin their interests; and regulatorycompliances are being adhered to.Since financial statements are usedby retail as well as institutionalinvestors and analysts, the auditcommittee is responsible for closemonitoring of the financial state-ments and notes, to providedependable and consistent descrip-tion of the firm’s financial situationand quality of earnings.

The information from theseobservations of the financial state-ments is presented to all stakehold-ers. As we are aware, accountingmethods, like valuation of assetsand liabilities, the method of rev-enue recognition and the use of off-balance sheet transactions, affectthe earnings and valuation of afirm. Therefore, an audit commit-tee should be able to monitor thesystem of providing the requirednumbers to the finance team toavoid any errors, omissions andfraud; and also be aware of theaccounting principles and whether

they are being applied to the finan-cial statements. The Board ofdirectors should understand thecharter of responsibilities of theaudit committee before approvingit, and determine a thoroughprocess of nominating members toform the panel. The Board shouldset aside time to discuss and reviewthe reports and recommendationsof the audit committee. It must par-ticipate in discussions regarding thesame by posing pertinent queriesto the management, auditors andadvisors.

The importance of corporategovernance is growing by the daydue to a litany of financial crisesworldwide, making strong corpo-rate governance a basic require-ment by regulators and investors,in markets everywhere. The auditcommittee plays a major role bycontributing to the strategy anddirection of a firm and its overallcontrol and accountability. In per-forming its role, the audit commit-tee is responsible for the quarter-ly and annual audit of the financialstatements, compliances of regula-tory authorities and ethics require-ments, and largely the risk manage-ment of the company. To create atransparent and accountable organ-isation, the Board of directorsshould support an independentand strong audit committee eventhough its recommendations maybe bitter sometimes. After all, thetruth is sometimes a hard pill toswallow.

The members have to be alert to any window dressing in accounting and, if need be, theyshould side with the auditors against the directors of the firm to protect the shareholders

MV PADMA SRIVASTAVA

OVER THE YEARS, THE ROLE

OF AUDITCOMMITTEES

HAS EXPANDED TO INCLUDEREVIEW OF

QUARTERLYFINANCIAL

STATEMENTS,MANAGEMENT’S

DISCUSSION ANDANALYSIS, AND

EARNINGSMANAGEMENT.

THE PANELS ARE ALSO

RESPONSIBLE FOR DEVELOPINGCOMPREHENSIVE

POLICIES ANDPROCEDURES

TO RECORDINFORMATION AND PROTECT

EMPLOYEES BYPROMOTINGANONYMITY,

CONFIDENTIALITYAND JOB

PROTECTION

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in India and the sixth majorcause of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). The incidencesof stroke have doubled in the past five decades and roughly 87

per cent of these are ischemic strokes — where a clot disrupts bloodsupply to a part of the brain — while 13 per cent are haemorrhagicstrokes when an artery ruptures to cause a bleed in the brain. With around17 lakh new stroke cases occurring in India annually, the projected eco-nomic loss attributable to it is estimated to be `2.34 lakh crore. That’sover three times the total allocation for the healthcare sector for the FinancialYear 2020-21! Yet, the problem is not drawing the attention it needs fromthe Government even as its prevalence has increased by over 50 percent from 1990-2019 in India, according to the Global Burden of DiseasesStudy, 2019.

The number of cases has been on the rise not just in India but acrossthe globe, especially in the developing countries. It is the second lead-ing cause of death and fourth leading cause of disability worldwide, caus-ing functional impairments, with 20 per cent of survivors requiring insti-tutional care even after three months and 15-30 per cent being perma-nently disabled. Other than the economic loss and disabilities, the highincidence and prevalence of stroke has a massive impact on societalwell-being as well. According to conventional treatment protocols, patientsneed to be treated within a little over four hours from the time of onset.A delay in seeking the right treatment can lead to lifelong disability andmay even be fatal in some cases. One of the bigger challenges that existin our country is accessibility, affordability and availability of the opti-mal, timely care needed to patients who suffer stroke. These constraintsare due to the enormous geographic, economic and social challengesacross the length and breadth of the Indian subcontinent. A prompt affir-mative action from policymakers is imperative for ensuring correctivemeasures to overcome these hurdles. Given the resource constraintsin terms of infrastructure, transport, awareness besides other limita-tions, the chances of getting a stroke affected patient to a certified facil-ity in time is difficult. In fact, studies estimate that the average time takenby a patient to reach a hospital is above seven hours in urban areaswhile in rural areas it is 34 hours. The delay in treatment increases thechances of permanent disability or even the death of a patient. Advancedtherapies such as mechanical thrombectomy can play a crucial role insuch cases because it has been shown to be effective in some patientupto 24 hours post symptom onset. However, the question remains,when will the Government take cognisance of the available technologyand extend support to make it accessible and affordable for all? Currently,the most frequently used treatment available is Intravenous TissuePlasminogen Activator (IV-tPA) injection which may be helpful if the patientis able to get to the nearest hospital within a little over four hours.Mechanical thrombectomy, on the other hand, can be effective upto 24hours after symptom onset and in combination with IV-tPA has shownto be upto 60 per cent effective in the long-term.

Paucity of trained healthcare professionals and the lack of aware-ness is one of the major reasons for mechanical thrombectomy not find-ing its due place. The Government-aided policies and programmes, includ-ing public-private partnerships, may be needed to effectively managestroke, rehabilitate patients and alleviate the concerns of the patientsand their caregivers. Undoubtedly, there is a need to have a compre-hensive integrated approach to address this public health crisis.

(The writer is Head, Department of Neurology, AIIMS. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

India’s roads are dangerousand account for about fivelakh accidents annually, one

of the highest in the world, inwhich about 1.5 lakh people die.Last year the TomTom TrafficIndex, which is a survey of over400 global cities, pointed outthat Indian cities are among themost congested in the world.The economic and environ-mental cost of this is undoubt-edly colossal. Violation of traf-fic rules is rampant and most ofthe accidents on our roads canbe attributed to this. In mofussiltowns, these rules are hardlyheeded and in the big cities,observance is mixed.

Is it possible to enhancecompliance to make our roadssafer? Are the authorities —road engineers, city planners,traffic police and others — upto the task? Is the increasedpenalty on traffic rule violationsthe only way out of the situa-tion?

Increased compliance withtraffic rules needs a behaviour-al change in India. Behaviouralchange, however, is not bestachieved through the proverbialstick; it needs to be combinedwith a system of rewards. Theincrease in penalty for trafficviolations, announced two yearsago, seems to have had a mar-ginal impact.

While the Traffic Police arethe mainstay of the traffic man-agement effort, the prioritiesseem to be confused in the waytraffic policemen want the rulesto be followed. Traffic laws aremade to achieve order and pre-vent chaos and to keepunscrupulous elements frommisusing the system. Similarly,the traffic policeman’s job is toprevent violations and not col-lect money for the exchequer.Why should a traffic cop hidein the bushes with a speed gunor not be available in direct lineof sight at traffic signals? The

Traffic Police and its instru-ments of monitoring should bevisible and that genuinely helpsin prevention of violations.

While driving aroundDelhi-NCR, once can witnessmany examples of lane viola-tions, driving on the wrong side,vehicles parked on the roadthereby reducing it to a singlelane and so on. Our speedbreakers are usually unscientif-ic and randomly constructed.Our roads need to have betterturns, median cuts and well-planned U-turns.

All such issues and manymore can be solved by betterdesigning of roads. This will notonly address much of the rea-sons for traffic violations, it willalso prevent congestion, wastageof fuel and extra emissionswhich occur due to frequentstop-and-go cycles.

Just as the prominent pres-ence of traffic policemen isgoing to prevent violation of

rules, a notable presence ofroad signs would alert motoristsand pedestrians about the turns,speed limits, crossings and soon, which will ensure properdriving and road usage.Technology can be used to cus-tomise road signs, depending onthe day and hour. For instance,the use of dynamic electronicdisplay will not escape the eyeof motorists.

It is said that experience is

the best teacher and this appliesto our behaviour on the road,too. A cyclist doesn’t realise thedanger he is putting himself inwhen riding in the first lane orsimply running across the roadas he pushes the cycle along. Forthe cyclist to appreciate therisk he is taking, he will proba-bly need to experience drivingon the roads with anothercyclist doing the same exactthing. There is undoubtedly aneed to educate our people,right from those pushing a cartto those driving fancy cars,about the risks they face or thedanger they pose to others.They need to be taught aboutparallel parking and a U-turn.They need to be taught aboutthe benefits of lane driving.

The Government and theTraffic Police should organisefrequent public awareness pro-grammes to educate societyabout the importance of follow-ing traffic rules to achieve road

safety. Strict scrutiny should beundertaken before issuing dri-ving licences to new drivers. Atough driving exam and writtentest should be used to filter outinefficient drivers. Doctorsmaking a determination ofepilepsy, reduced mental capac-ity and heart diseases should beduty-bound to inform author-ities if a case to suspend the dri-ving licence is made.

Only certified bodiesshould be allowed to impart dri-ving skills. Regular monitoringand audit of these drivingschools will ensure acceptableminimum standards. To scaleup the facilities, theGovernment should invite auto-mobile companies to set upmore driving schools.

There is a need to betterequip traffic policemen andimproved training and reason-able working hours will greatlyenhance their effectiveness onthe road. Use of more technol-

ogy-based solutions will help,too. Another important ele-ment is the need to eliminateobsolete rules such as the speedlimit of 50 kmph on city roadsand 80 kmph on highways.The current speed limits shouldbe raised or maybe allowed tobe higher in select lanes in orderto give lane driving a boost.Electronic boards can changethe speed limit at different daysand hours of the week.

If a centralised authoritycan make a vehicle’s trafficinfractions available, motorinsurance companies can incor-porate this data into their riskunderwriting process. Theinsurance company can modi-fy the renewal premium on thebasis of this input. This will alsoensure more compliance withtraffic laws. Plus, general insur-ance firms can pay a fee to theState for access to this data. Itwill be a win-win situation forall.

There is undoubtedly a need to educate our people, right from those pushing a cart to those driving fancy cars, about the risks they face or the danger they pose to others

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 25, 2021

07

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FIRSTCOLUMN

STROKE: A MAJORHEALTH CHALLENGE

Govt-aided policies and programmes, including PPP,are needed to effectively manage stroke

HIMA BINDU KOTA

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

The writer is AssociateProfessor, Amity

University, Noida. The views expressed

are personal.

Imperative to show the stop sign to traffic violations

MANAVENDRA PRASAD

The writer is a public policy consultant.

The views expressed are personal.

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 25, 2021 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

In the first reduction in ratesin over a year, petrol price on

Wednesday was cut by 18paise per litre and diesel by 17paise a litre as international oilprices tumbled to the lowestsince early February. Petrolprice was cut to Rs 90.99 alitre in Delhi from Rs 91.17per litre, according to a price

notification of state-owned fuel retailers. Diesel now comes for Rs81.30 a litre in the national capital, down from Rs 81.47 previously.Rates have been reduced across the country and vary from state tostate depending on the local incidence of taxation (VAT). This is thefirst reduction in fuel prices in over a year. Prices were last reducedon March 16, 2020.Despite bouts of rate freeze, prices had gone upby a record Rs 21.58 per litre on petrol in the last one year. On dieselprices had increased by Rs 19.18 a litre.

Petrol price cut by 18 paise,diesel by 17 paise

The rupeeweakened by

another 12 paise toclose at 72.55(provisional) againstthe US dollar onWednesday,weighed down by amassive selloff indomestic equitiesand spike in globalcrude oilprices.Besides,

strengthening American currency in the overseas market amidforeign fund outflows also impacted the domestic unit, forexdealers said. At the interbank forex market, the domestic unitopened weak at 72.51 against the US dollar. During thesession, it swung between a high of 72.51 and a low of 72.69.

Rupee slips 12 paise to closeat 72.55 against US dollar

Gold dipped by Rs149 to Rs 44,350

per 10 gram in thenational capital onWednesday, reflect-ing overnight fall inglobal precious metalprices, according toHDFC Securities. Inthe previous trade, ithad closed at Rs44,499 per 10 gram.Silver also declined

Rs 866 to Rs 64,607 per kg, from Rs 65,473 per kg in the previoustrade. In the international market, gold was trading marginally higherat USD 1,729 per ounce and silver was flat at USD 25.12 per ounce."Gold prices has kept downside limited on pandemic worries despiteof dollar rally," said HDFC Securities Senior Analyst (Commodities)Tapan Patel.

Gold declines Rs 149; silveralso tanks Rs 866

Ayear after the pandemic induced lock-down was imposed across India, indus-

tries are still struggling to cope with itsadverse effects. Acknowledging the chal-lenges being faced by industries to servicetheir loans, a One Time Restructuring wasannounced by the Reserve Bank of India asper recommendations by the V.K Kamath

Committee. The VK Kamath Committee identified ‘Gems &Jewellery'as a sector affected by Covid-19 and made blanket recommendationsfor restructuring of loans under this category. However, two parame-ters along which the lenders have been advised to track the Gemsand Jewellery Loans are proving counter productive for borrowers ofGold (Metal) Loans (GML), which is a unique financial product usedfor inventory financing. It is observed that Covid OTR has failed toaddress its nuances and in effect has increased the hardships forsuch borrowers, contrary to the intended objective.

Bullion, Jewellers Associatonsuggests ratio adjustments

PNS n NEW DELHI

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Tuesday saidthe development financeinstitution (DFI) being set upto fund the infrastructuresector will remain outsidethe purview of the CAG,CVC and CBI, a move aimedat enabling faster decision-making.

The DFI, called theNational Bank for FinancingInfrastructure andDevelopment (NaBFID),however is going to beanswerable to Parliament.

The Lok Sabha later passedthe National Bank forFinancing Infrastructure andDevelopment (NaBFID) Bill2021 with voice vote.

Replying to the debate onthe Bill, the finance minister

said, "It will be absolutelyanswerable to the Parliament.So we are not going to oneextreme... where there is nooversight at all, but that heavyfear of taking decisions as aresult of overlapping oversightis now being given spacewherein legitimate commer-cial decisions can be takenprofessionally."

Market watchers say gen-uine bonafide decisions inthe banking sector are beingimpacted because of the worryof undue harassment by the'3Cs -- Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI), CentralVigilance Commission (CVC)and Comptroller and AuditGeneral (CAG).

Sitharaman also clarifiedthat the government will beable to give sovereign guaran-tee even if its stake reduces to26 per cent because it is not

linked to stake but to the leg-islation.

The government intends tobring down its stake inNaBFID from 100 per cent to26 per cent once the institu-tion stabilises.

She also said the govern-ment will provide Rs 5,000crore as grant and Rs 20,000crore equity capital.

This government-owneddevelopment finance institu-tion will help fund about7,000 infra projects underthe National InfrastructurePipeline (NIP).

The legislation will giveeffect to the Budgetannouncement made by thefinance minister on February1. The government has pro-posed Rs 20,000 crore to cap-italise the institution.

The Union Cabinet had lastweek approved the Budget

proposal of setting up theDFI, which will have tax ben-efits to enable fund raisingfrom investors.The govern-ment expects the DFI toleverage this fund to raise upto Rs 3 lakh crore in the nextfew years.

The Bill seeks to establishthe NaBFID to support thedevelopment of long termnon-recourse infrastructurefinancing in India, includingdevelopment of the bondsand derivatives markets nec-essary for infrastructurefinancing. As per the state-ment of objects and reasonsof the Bill, it seeks to enablethe central government, mul-tilateral institutions, sovereignwealth funds, and such otherinstitutions to hold equity inthe NaBFID. It proposes toenable the institution to pro-vide financial assistance to

infrastructure projects locat-ed in India or partly in thecountry and to enable thecompany to borrow or raisemoney by way of loans bothin rupees and foreign curren-cies. It also provide adequatesafeguards for decision mak-ing to address risk aversionand proposes establishment ofother development financialinstitutions, in addition to theNaBFID established underthe proposed legislation.

"The Institution shall haveboth developmental andfinancial objectives. Amongother things, this wouldinclude developing a deepand liquid bond market ofinternational standards forlong-term infrastructurefinancing in India includingthrough widening of theissuer and investor base," itsaid.

Lok Sabha passes NaBFID BillCommercial decision-making kept out of CVC, CBI, CAG purview

PNS n NEW DELHI

The domestic aviation sector inIndia has recovered signifi-cantly in the last one year sincethe lockdown was firstannounced, even as theCOVID-19 pandemic contin-ues to create speed breakerssuch as the recent decisions bymany states to reintroducestringent testing and quaran-tine requirements for air trav-ellers to curb the new wave ofthe virus.

However, unlike domesticmarket, international air trav-el from India is far from recov-ery as only special flights arepermitted currently from Indiaunder air bubble arrangementsformed with approximately 27countries.

International passenger traf-fic in India fell by 90.56 percent to 18.55 lakh in March-December period of 2020.

On March 22 last year, theNarendra Modi governmentobserved a 'Janta curfew' tocurb the spread of the coron-avirus. India suspended sched-uled international flights fromthe next day. Two days afterthat, the country went into acomplete lockdown, suspend-

ing even the scheduled domes-tic flights.

The lockdown and pan-demic-related travel restric-tions badly hit the Indian air-lines. Revenues of majorIndian scheduled carriers fellfrom Rs 46,711 crore duringApril-September 2019 to aboutRs 11,810 crore during thesame period in 2020, CivilAviation Minister HardeepSingh Puri said. Desperate tosurvive, all major airlines inIndia have taken drastic mea-sures in the last one year suchas firing workers, cuttingsalaries and sending employ-ees on leave without pay. Themajor Indian carriers' full timeand contractual employment

was 74,887 as on March 31 lastyear, which fell to 67,906 bySeptember 30, Puri said in theRajya Sabha.

Indian airlines are current-ly operating around 70-75 percent of their pre-COVIDdomestic flights. India allowsdomestic carriers to operatemaximum 80 per cent of theirpre-COVID domestic flightscurrently. This cap is unlikelyto go soon as a new wave of thevirus is spreading in certainstates.

"Last few days have seen adecline in the number of airpassengers largely due torestrictions & imposition ofcompulsory RT-PCR test byvarious states.”

Hiccups due to Covid remain for domestic aviation sector

PNS n MUMBAI

Glenmark Pharma ceu-ticals Limited(Glenmark) has receivedfinal approval by theUnited States Food &Drug Administration(U.S. FDA) for Chlorpr o m a z i n eHydrochloride TabletsUSP, 10 mg, 25 mg, 50mg, 100 mg, and 200mg, the generic versionof Thorazine®1 Tablets,10 mg, 25 mg, 50 mg,100 mg, and 200 mg, ofGlaxoSmithKline.

Glenmark has beengranted a competitivegeneric therapy (CGT)designation forC h l o r p r o m a z i n eHydrochloride TabletsUSP, 10 mg, 25 mg, 50mg, 100 mg, and 200mg, therefore, with thisapproval, Glenmark isthe first approved appli-cant for such competi-tive generic therapy andis eligible for 180 days ofCGT exclusivity uponcommercial marketing.

PNS n NEW DELHI

IPM India Wholesale TradingPrivate Limited (IPM India),country affiliate of PhilipMorris International, Inc.,announced that it has success-fully obtained the TopEmployer 2021 Certificationfrom Top Employers Institute.

Winning organisations arethe ones implementing a pro-gressive 'people-first' strategy,to enrich the working environ-ment of their employees.Commenting on the certifica-tion , Chief Executive OfficerDavid Plink of Top Employers

Institute said in a statement,"Despite the challenging yearwe have experienced (whichhas certainly made an impacton organisations around theglobe), IPM India has contin-ued to demonstrate the powerof putting their people first inthe workplace. We are proudto share this year's announce-ment and congratulate IPMIndia to be certified throughthe Top Employers Instituteprogramme." AlexanderReisch, MD, IPM India said,"It is truly a proud moment forus to be recognised as a TopEmployer in 2021.”

PNS n NEW DELHI

The pandemic-induced lock-down and movement curbsmarked an inflection point fore-commerce in India, pushingdemand to record highs, nudg-ing new buyers as well as sell-ers onto digital platforms, andholding out the promise of last-ing growth for players.

The Indian e-commercemarket has been one of thebiggest beneficiaries of thepandemic, as containmentmeasures introduced millionsto the convenience of onlineshopping, and prompted sea-soned online shoppers to buymore.

Social distancing compul-sions through the year, massivesmartphone base and reliablebroadband galvanised e-com-

merce uptake beyond metros,deep into smaller cities andtowns, bringing an element of‘trust in online commerce.

The outbreak necessitatedthe use of new technologytools and non-contact formatsto cater to unprecedenteddemand. Analysts said theseshifts in consumer shoppingtraits are here to stay, post-pan-demic.

The pandemic broughtabout a "structural shift" inshopping behaviour with moreand more customers and busi-nesses relying on e-commerce.Players like Amazon andFlipkart as well as industrywatchers noted that the needfor social distancing and priori-tising safety during the pan-demic led to millions of peo-ple turning to e-commerce

platforms this past year, notonly in metros but also in tierIII regions and beyond.

From changes in categorypreferences to the emergenceof “new essentials”, and fromthe adoption of native lan-guages to a surge in new-ageforms of payments -- the pastyear bore witness to an array ofunique consumer trends.

Amazon also saw similartrends as thousands of neigh-bourhood Kirana stores andoffline retailers also cameonboard to leverage digitaltechnology to reach customers'doorstep. A Grofers spokesper-son said that amongst all newusers on its platform in the lastone year, 64 per cent were first-time online grocery shoppers,while 20 per cent were totallynew to e-commerce.

Lockdown proved inflection point for e-commerce in India

PNS n MUMBAI

Equity benchmark Sensexplunged 871 points onWednesday due to across-the-board selling amid a negativetrend in global markets.

The 30-share BSE indexended 871.13 points or 1.74per cent lower at 49,180.31. While the broader NSE Niftydeclined 265.35 points or 1.79per cent to 14,549.40.

M&M was the top loser inthe Sensex pack, sheddingaround 4 per cent, followed bySBI, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank,IndusInd Bank, ITC andNTPC.

Bucking the overall trend,Asian Paints and PowerGridclosed with gains.

"Domestic equities fellsharply on weak global cuesand continued apprehensionsamong investors from surge in

coronavirus cases in the coun-try,” said Binod Modi, HeadStrategy at Reliance Securities.

Further, a sharp rebound indollar index aggravated con-cerns despite dip in US bondyields and crude prices, headded.

Elsewhere in Asia, boursesin Shanghai, Hong Kong,Tokyo and Seoul plunged up to2 per cent.

Stock exchanges in Europewere also trading on a negativenote in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, the global oilbenchmark Brent crude wastrading 2.78 per cent higher atUSD 62.48 per barrel.

PNS n SINGAPORE

Blue Planet EnvironmentalSolutions Pte. Ltd. (“BluePlanet”) announced today thatit has acquired one ofSingapore's leading waste man-agement companies, Wah &Hua Pte. Ltd (“Wah & Hua”).

This is Blue Planet's firstoperational investment inSingapore and marks the com-pany's strategic entry into thecity-state's growing sustain-able waste management mar-ket. Madhujeet Chimni,Founder and Chairman, BluePlanet, said, “In line with ourvision to build a sustainable

platform in waste manage-ment, we are delighted to haveWah & Hua join the BluePlanet team. The companyhas an outstanding track-record of waste-related servicesin Singapore and Wah & Huais our flagship investment inthe region.”

Established in 2017 andheadquartered in Singapore,Blue Planet is one of the lead-ing regional waste manage-

ment players in Asia withtechnologies spanning theentire waste management valuechain.

“In collaboration with theexperienced managementteam of Wah & Hua, we hopeto create synergies and bringinnovative solutions fromacross Blue Planet group com-panies to Singapore to demon-strate the benefits of a circulareconomy,” added Chimni.

PNS n BANGALORE

Gaurav Mathur and SivaKumar Tangudu have beenonboarded by WhiteHat Jr toestablish uninterruptedgrowth in the EdTech space.

With the requirement ofonline classes throughout thepandemic, the EdTech ecosys-tem has shot up to be thehottest sector.

The EdTech startup,WhiteHat Jr., which wasacquired by industry leaderByju's in a $300 million deallast year, plans to introducemultiple new avenues of

growth through technologyover the next few months.

To accommodate the aug-menting tech requirements,the search for exceptional techtalent has also significantlyescalated. The Bengaluru-based tech-head search firm,Purple Quarter has assistedWhiteHat Jr close multipleleadership positions recently.

An IIT Bombay graduate,Siva Kumar Tangudu, whopreviously worked at Myntra,HackerRank, and also co-founded Kawanan Labs will bejoining as one of the VP ofEngineering.

Sensex tanks 871 points;Nifty below 14,550

IPM India obtains topemployer certification

WhiteHat Jr.'s search for TechLeaders steered by Purple Qtr

PNS n PANAJI

Honourable Chief Minister ofGoa, Shri Dr Pramod Sawant,flagged off the 'Make in India'Electric buses on Tuesday. Ina first-of-its-kind move, Goanswill be now able to travel inZero Emission and noiselessElectric Buses deployed byElectra Greentech Limited, aleading player in Electric busManufacturer in India.

Olectra is India's firstElectric Bus manufacturer foroperating and deploying elec-tric buses for public transportin the country. Olectra standsas India's leading electric busmanufacturer with the highestmarket share in this segment.Olectra has already deployed320 + Electric buses in variousSTUs in India. Further, Olectrahas orders for the deploymentof 1,225 Electric Buses in India.

Olectra Electric Buses have

covered more than 4 CrKilometers on Indian roadsand have reduced CO2 emis-sions of around 37,000 tonnesand saved burning of 13.5 mil-lion litres of diesel as of now. Itis important to acknowledgethe efforts of Kadamba to bringthese world-class Electric Busesfor Goan Citizens and Touristsof Goa. These buses are ofMonocoque chassis and have aseating capacity of 48+Driverwith electronically controlledair suspension at front andrear, Disc Brakes with ABS atthe front and back to ensure acomfortable & safety ride forthe passengers.

Goa introduces Olectraelectric buses in its fleet

PNS n NASHIK

Ampersand Group'sintervention in theAnganwadis in Nashikwas brought to a success-ful conclusion after theyinitiated the pilot projectin 2018 with the Ministryof Women & ChildDevelopment (MWCD)under the public-privatepartnership (PPP) modelto operate and manage25 Anganwadis.

Ampersand Groupconcludes digitalintervention

Glenmark receivesANDA approval forChlorpromazineHydrochloride tab

Blue Planet announces it acquired Wah & Hua

9

Vijayawada Thursday March 25 2021what’s brewing?

ctor Aamir Khanis the latest celebto test positive forthe coronavirus.The actor is cur-rently working on

his film Laal SinghChaddha, an official remakeof Tom Hanks-starrerForrest Gump.

Spokesperson of AamirKhan confirmed, “Mr Aamir Khan has tested posi-tive for Covid. He is athome in self-quarantine, fol-lowing all the protocols andhe's doing fine. All thosewho came in contact withhim in the recent pastshould get themselves tested as a precautionarymeasure. Thank you for all your wishes and con-cern.”

Actor Ranbir Kapoor andKartik Aaryan and directorSanjay Leela Bhansali hadalso tested positive earlierthis month.

The news comes as thenumber of coronavirus cases are on the rise in

India, with Maharashtraleading the tally. The stategovernment has also put a

ban on Holi revelry, with theBMC banning all private(inside housing societies)

and public Holi celebrationson Holika Dahan and RangPanchami.

AAMIR KHAN TESTS POSITIVE

FOR COVID, IN SELF-QUARANTINE

ndian-CanadiancomedianLilly Singhhas openedup about fac-

ing criticism and hercreative ingenuity. Shesays she knows that she

is a minority on screenand that she does knowshe has a very specificpoint of view, voice andthat she wants to makesure it comes through.

Singh revealed hermind on The DrewBarrymore Show.

During the conversa-tion on the talk show,host Barrymore notedthe comedian creates atone, does the writingand the producing andalso has a part in thedirecting.

“You play all these

different characters.You really are in chargeof your own destiny.How do you collabo-rate with other peoplewhen you’re gettingnotes and critiques andfiguring out what’sworking and what’snot? What’s yourprocess, because I’m inthe same boat?” Barrymoreasked.

The comedianreplied, “It’s importantfor me to take the reinsof my creativitybecause I do know thatI’m a minority onscreen and I do knowthat I have a very spe-

cific point of view anda specific voice and Iwant to make sure thatit comes through.”

Singh, who is also alate-night show host,added that she has tobalance her job profilewith being open tofeedback and criticism.

“I talk too fast, so ifNBC comes to me andsays to slow down a lit-tle bit, I shouldn’t be asensitive artist and sayno. It's about findingthe balance betweenvoice and being opento collaboration,” thecomedian said on theshow that airs in Indiaon Zee Cafe.

I do know thatI'm a minority

on screen, saysLilly Singh

a

i

eorge Segal, theOscar-nominatedactor whosparred withRichard Burtonin Who’s Afraid

of Virginia Woolf, romancedGlenda Jackson in A Touchof Class and won laughs inthe TV sitcom TheGoldbergs, has died at theage of 87, his wife Soniasaid.

“The family is devastatedto announce that this morn-ing George Segal passedaway due to complicationsfrom bypass surgery,” Sonia

Segal said in a statement toentertainment outletsVariety and DeadlineHollywood.

Charming and witty, Segalexcelled in dramatic andcomedic roles and had alife-long passion for thebanjo. He performed at NewYork’s Carnegie Hall in 1981with his group, the BeverlyHills Unlisted Jazz Band.

Segal’s acting careerbegan on the New Yorkstage and television in theearly 1960s. He quicklymoved into films, playingan artist in the star-studded

ensemble drama Ship ofFools and a scheming, wilyAmerican corporal in aWorld War Two prisoner-of-war camp in King Rat in1965.

Two years later he earned

an Academy Award nomination as best support-ing actor in the harrowing,marital drama Who’s Afraidof Virginia Woolf? withBurton and ElizabethTaylor.

Hollywood actorGeorge Segal dies atage 87, says his wife

r. Mehmet Oz’stwo week stintguest hostingJeopardy! got offto a rocky startbefore it even

began on March 22. A groupof former contestants wrotean open letter to the show’sExecutive Producer MikeRichards, declaring, “Dr. Ozstands in opposition toeverything that Jeopardy!stands for. Jeopardy! is ashow that values facts andknowledge,” and that“Throughout his nearly twodecades on television he hasused his authority as a doc-tor to push harmful ideasonto the American public, instark contrast with his oathto first do no harm.”

The letter was signed by593 past Jeopardy! contes-tants. It cited Dr. Oz mostrecently supporting “the useof hydroxychloroquine as atreatment for COVID-19,” inMarch 2020, thought it wasnot “backed by any scientificfact.” The letter — whichfirst appeared onMedium.com on Feb. 24,went on to add, “Dr. Oz rep-resents what has become adubious trend in America:the elevation of the creden-tialed talking head at theexpense of academic rigorand consensus.”

Nearly 600 former

Jeopardy! contestants havecome out against Dr. Ozguest hosting the triviashow.

“Jeopardy! is known forbeing incredibly rigorous; awell-deserved reputation. Ascontestants, we’ve all seenwhat happens behind thescenes if there’s any doubtabout a question. We’ve seenwriters and judges franticallycross-reference answers inreal time to make sure thatthe facts are accurate. Tothen invite Dr Oz toguest-host is a slap inthe face to allinvolved,” the letterconcluded.

Fans as well asfamous facesthrew shade atDr. Oz’s guesthosting stint.CNN host JakeTapper tweeted“Half of Dr. Oz’smedical advice isbaseless or wrong,study says,” alongwith a link to arelated WashingtonPost article.Numerous other fanstweeted that as hard asit would be to go with-out the beloved triviashow, they would beboycotting the nexttwo weeks of Dr. Oz’shosting gig.

G

D

Jeopardy! fans call for boycottafter Dr.Oz guest hosts show

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

FUN

RACHEL DAMMALA

t wasn’t long agowhen Tollywwodactor JagapathiBabu praised theKannadiga com-munity for their

love and warmth. The grow-ing Kannadiga community inthe city is proof of howHyderabad too, has been wel-coming to these lovable peo-ple. And why would they not,given the amount of similari-ties we share! Beginning withour spoken language, to thescript, some masalas andrecipes, and festivals and tra-ditions, Kannadigas andHyderabadis have so much incommon!

Reportedly, Telangana hasKannadigas who hailed fromregions on the Hyderabad-Karnataka border that wereruled by the Nizams andmostly belonged to the fivedistricts — Bidar, Yadgir,Raichur, Koppal andGulbarga — which were thenpart of the Hyderabad state.Kannadigas from Bellary ofthe then Madras State (whichis now in Karnataka) alsomoved to Hyderabad in theearly 19th century in searchof jobs and to establish theirbusinesses.

“Most Kannadigas whosettled in Hyderabad arefrom northern parts ofKarnataka. You can say we’reone of the most silent com-munities in the city. We don’tmake much noise, we don’tget much prominence, we goabout our simple, busy livesin peace,” shares Raj Chetan,a businessman who is alsopractising law. Come to thinkof it, you wouldn’t easilyrecognise a Kannadiga in agroup, like you would aDelhiite, Punjabi, or aTamilian, unless of courseyou hear a Bengulurian say-ing ‘maga’ and speak with abeautiful, rythmic lilt! “We’reseldom loud, are mostly verysoft spoken, and have manyacademic genuises, you seeus covering all major profes-sions, mostly medicine,”informs Chetan, who’s a sec-ond generation Kannadigaraised in the city.

Kannadigas are known for

their love for food and get-ting it right! Not many knowthat the Taj Mahal Hotelsbelong to them. Sandarshiniand Dwarka group of hotelsare a favourite in the city andoh, and who doesn’t love thepure aroma of good gheedosas from Udupi? We alsonow have Donne Biryaniplaces in the city! Chetandraws our attention to some-thing we missed out. Theroadside jowar roti stallsgrowing in greats numbers inthe city! Also called joledarotti, these roadside bandisowned by Kannadigas have

been serving healthy, freshrotis for office goers andfoodies in various placesacross the city, have younoticed? “It’s a sign ofHyderabadis willing to adaptto simple Kannadiga cuisineseveryday, despite their ownrich food culture,” remarksChetan.

The Kannadigas also lovetheir literatue and poetry,and so was born KarnatakaSahitya Mandira, over 70years ago, in Kachiguda andBarkatpura. “The organisa-tion was formed to boast of,and promote Kannadiga cul-

ture in poetic and literaryways. We have weekly pro-grames about our scripture— called Sangeeta Sahitya.People also walk in to cele-brate their birthdays here,Kannadiga style. This placecan easily host over 200 peo-ple,” they tell us.

What we cannot miss aretheir educational insititutionsunder the KarnatakaShikshana Samithi. Theyhave their NrupatungaEducational Institutions,established in 1928, and thencame Sharada KarnatakaKanya Shala to educate girlchildren. These institutionshave given the city many IAS,IPS officials, doctors andpoets.

“We also have theJanardhana Dhama inNarayanaguda. The place isfor people to have their nearand dear one’s post-death rit-uals and ceremonies,”informs Raj Chetan. And notto forget their vedic educa-tion centres like RaghavendraMutt and Uttaradi Mutta.

Talking about how the cityhas grown holistically, PoojaPrahlad says, “I came toHyderabad from Bengaluruafter my studies looking for ajob and no matter how hard Itried to go back home, it just

didn’t work for me. Thetechological boom, the waybig brands and companieshave been investing in thecity in the past decade areproof of how good a placeHyderabad is. It’s a healthcarehub too, with big pharmacompanies finding homehere. Although, I did havemy fair share of difficultiesinitially, I have found myfamily in my friends herewho are so welcoming andwarm.”

Pooja also points out howthe city is one of safest placesfor women who venture outat night. “There were timeswhen I travelled alone at 1 or2 am in the night and reachhome safe and sound. I haveno complaints,” the market-ing professional shares. PriyaSindhe, a freelance photogra-pher, writer and translaterfrom Bengaluru just movedto the city and has heard somuch about it, she says shecan’t wait to see what the cityhas to offer. “My uncles havebeen living here for close to 4decades now and I remembervisiting the city for summervacation. I loved everything ithad — food, culture, monu-ments. Now that I have final-ly moved to the city, I’mexcited to experience it all.”

I

WORKING TOWARDS

PROGRESS, UNITY

ne functional areathat is soughtafter by severalMBA students isFinancialManagement. In

the recent past, technologyhas made sweeping changesin all aspects related to man-aging money and financialmanagement. Here are a fewemerging trends in FinancialManagement, which can’t beignored — and B Schoolmust focus on and impartknowledge in these areas inorder to create an efficientworkforce that is future-ready.

Fintech:

Today the influence ofdigital technologies onfinance is palpable and digi-tal banks, wallets,blockchain tech, and moreare becoming a reality.Digital finance is a termused to describe the impactof new technologies on thefinancial services industry. Itincludes a variety of prod-ucts, applications, processesand business models thathave transformed the tradi-tional way of providingbanking and financial ser-vices. To remain relevant inthe future understanding all

aspects of fintech and know-ing how it is altering thelandscape of financial ser-vices can help in creating anefficient workforce.

Financial analytics:

Financial analytics helpsin shaping up business goals.Any organisation canimprove the decision-mak-ing strategies of business bygetting deeper insight intothe financial status of itsbusiness and improve theprofitability, cash flow andvalue of its business. DataScience and Financial ana-lytics is being used in manyfinancial institutions includ-ing insurance companies,banks to understand the

consumer to reduce lossesby eliminating below zerocustomers, to increase cross-sale and to measure the life-time value of a customer.Financial analytics is animportant area that must bestudied by tomorrow’s forcewhich can deal with finan-cial management.

Artificial intelligence infinance:

Artificial Intelligence (AI)is a powerful tool that isalready widely deployed infinancial services. It hasgreat potential for positiveimpact if companies deployit with sufficient diligenceand care. AI is being imple-mented by banks to assess

risks, detect and preventpayments fraud, improveprocesses for anti-moneylaundering (AML) and per-form know-your-customer(KYC) regulatory checks.Artificial intelligence is lead-ing the front of the digitaltransformation strategy infinance today and its role isgoing to grow bigger in thefuture. Adept proficiency inAI is mandatory for an effi-cient workforce of tomor-row.

Detection of financialfrauds:

Modern financial institu-tions face the growing threatof fraud in different andever-changing ways. Frauddetection is a set of activitiesundertaken to preventmoney or property frombeing obtained through falsepretences. Fraud detection isapplied to many industriessuch as banking or insur-ance.

Data mining is used toclassify, cluster, and segmentthe data and it helps in auto-matically finding associa-tions and rules in the datathat may signify interestingpatterns, including thoserelated to fraud. Experts usesuch intelligence systems to

encode expertise for detect-ing fraud in the form ofrules. This area is gainingimportance and is an emerg-ing trend in the study offinancial management forcreating an efficient work-force.

Machine learning infinancial management:

Today machine learningalgorithms are used to auto-mate trading activities andprovide financial advisoryservices to investors.

Machine learning cananalyse millions of data setswithin a short time toimprove the outcomes with-out being explicitly pro-grammed. Supervised learn-ing, unsupervised learning,semi-supervised learning,and Reinforcement learningis an emerging trend in thestudy of finance manage-ment and the future work-force can be efficient if theydevelop expertise in thisdomain.

Blockchain-basedmodes of transactionsand financial services:

A financial system underpinned by blockchainoffers many opportunitiesfor the accountancy profes-sion in the near future.Blockchain technology is adecentralised, distributed,and public ledger that isused to record transactionsacross many computerswithin a network. In thefinance industry, this under-lying technology allows the

transfer of currency withconfidence that the transaction is secure andreliable. Blockchain is forsure an emerging trend inthe study of financial man-agement and will have a tan-gible impact across severalfinancial services.

The future workforcemust certainly be proficientand develop expertise in thisdomain.

(The writer is a Vice-Chancellor, Symbiosis

International University)

Making moneymatters manageable

Technology has madesweeping changes in allaspects related to managingmoney. Dr Rajani Gupte listsemerging trends in the fieldfor creating an efficientworkforce

O

Still Here ishere to stay

elhi-based rap-per Krsna’sStill Here is his first full-length albumin over seven

years. He says a majorityof the songs on thealbum were written dur-ing lockdown last year.Still Here released byRaftaar’s Kalamkaar is anautobiographical albumthat reflects his journeyin the hip hop musicindustry up until now.The songs on the albumdescribe everything hehas gone through as oneof the first hip hopartists to emerge in thescene to finally receivingthe recognition due tohim for his creativeinvestments.

Be it the introspectivenature of the title trackand intro song Still Hereto the storytelling narra-tive expressed in thetrack Dream, the albumoffers an informedinsight into the personbehind the artist. Eventhe more commercialofferings on the albumsuch as the breakthroughsingle Roll Up featuringBadshah and Villain fea-turing Karma and andIkka stay true to theessence of the album interms of lyrics. There arealso some playfulmoments in the albumwhere he addresses therise of critics and hatersin songs like Fall Off —Interlude and Saza-e-Maut featuring Raftaar.

Speaking of the album,KRSNA says, “I am con-scious of what my listen-ers want from me and Itry my best to bridge the gap of audienceexpectations of hard-hit-ting technical lyrics with my personal desire tocreate music that isbeyond just rap.Throughout my career Ihave concentrated onmaking great hooks formy songs but since 2019,I found myself donningthe hat of a more aggressive lyricist andpeople, sort of, forgot my signature style.Hopefully this albumwill bring that back andstill connect with mycore audience of avid hiphop heads.”

D

Raj Chetan Pooja Prahlad

ThursdayMarch 25, 2021

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sport 11VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 25, 2021

PTI n PUNE

India opener ShikharDhawan, who hit 98 in thefirst ODI against England

after warming the bench for themajor part of the T20 series, onTuesday said International crick-et is all about pressure and as anexperienced player he knowshow to handle it.

Having lost his place in theT20 eleven, Dhawan was underpressure to perform in the open-ing ODI with India spoilt forchoice in all batting positions.

“(In) International cricket,pressure is always there and thething is as a experienced player,I know how to handle pressure.

“…and secondly, as I said, Iam a experienced player, so Iknow what shots to play on whatcertain wickets and we read the

wicket nicely and communicatevery nicely in the batting unitand that’s what we did and thatworked for us,” the southpawsaid at the virtual post-matchpress conference.

Dhawan, who was benchedafter the first T20 of the five-match, explained how he kepthimself positive.

“I was focusing on myprocess, fitness, skill-work, gym-work and I always stay in a pos-itive mental space. I always tryand look at positives from everysituation. That’s what I wasdoing. I was confident with mybatting. I knew that if I get anopportunity, I’ll take it,” the ele-gant left-hander added.

Dhawan also said that wick-et at the MCA stadium onTuesday was seaming andswinging.

“It was seaming and swing-ing so, it wouldn’t have made anysense if you would have gonehard at the start, losing two-threewickets, so our plan was just stayon the wicket and respect thegood deliveries and we knewthat, we can always cash thoseruns later on,” he signed off.

KOHLI, ROHIT MOVE UPIndia captain Virat Kohli

moved up a place to fourth inthe ICC T20 rankings for bats-men, while his deputy RohitSharma climbed three spots to14th in the latest list issued onWednesday.

Kohli, who slammed anunbeaten 80 off 52 balls comingin as an opener in the seriesagainst England, is now thehighest ranked from India aheadof K L Rahul.

PTI n PUNE

India batsman Shreyas Iyerwas on Wednesday ruled out

of the ongoing ODI seriesagainst England as well as theentire IPL starting next monthafter dislocating his left shoulderin the opening game here.

Sources in the BCCI saidthat Iyer is set to undergosurgery on his left shoulder as heis currently in severe pain, whichwill rule him out of action for aminimum four months.

"He will have to go underthe knife. So, it looks not just thefirst part of IPL but Iyer will missthe entire IPL. It might take aminimum four months beforehe can hit the nets again. He hasbeen under severe pain," the

BCCI source said.Iyer is also unlikely to play

for English county sideLancashire in their One-Daytournament. Lancashire had onMonday announced the signingof Iyer for the tournament start-ing on July 23.

The 26-year-old Iyer suf-fered the injury in the eighthover of the England inningswhen he dived on a drive hit byJonny Bairstow off pacer ShardulThakur.

He captains Delhi Capitalsin the IPL, which begins onApril 9.

In his absence, the DC cap-taincy could be handed to eitherRishabh Pant, Australian SteveSmith or senior off-spinner RAshwin.

PTI n PUNE

India all-rounder KrunalPandya had his late father

Himanshu’s travel bag in thedressing room as he tried tokeep him close ahead of hisoutstanding ODI debut inwhich he smashed the fastest50 by a debutant.

Celebrating his 30thbirthday on Wednesday,Krunal and his youngerbrother and star all-rounderHardik Pandya spoke aboutthe close relationship theyshared with the SeniorPandya, who died of a heartattack in January.

“So basically the thing is,he passed away on 16thmorning and I was playingSyed Mushtaq Ali on that day.He had a habit of keeping hisclothes ready in the night, hisshoes, his pant, his shirt, hatas well.

“So what I did was justbefore the game, I got his bagfrom Baroda here, and Ithought, I know he is notwith us, but those clothes,which he was supposed towear in that game, I thoughtI’ll bring that and keep in thedressing room,” Krunalrevealed on BCCI’s officialwebsite.

Apart from his 58-runknock, Krunal also picked upa wicket in the game. Hebroke down while speaking

to the host braodcaster afterthe match and was comfort-ed by his brother.

“Obviously, I worked sohard to be here...Not just incricket, but in terms of every-thing, taking care of my dietto fitness, to everything andagain this is all dedicated tothe old man

“...His blessings are therewith us and obviously it wasvery emotional for you andme, both of us, and again get-ting a cap from you,” Krunaltold Hardik.

Kruna has gone througha lot in the past few months.After being dropped from theIndian T20 team, he wascaught in a spat with all-rounder Deepak Hoodabefore losing his father, whohad played a key role inmaking him a cricketer.

“...My focus has alwaysbeen about how I can be thebest version of myself, how I

can improve, not just as acricketer, but how can Iimprove as a human being aswell.

“.. .Again somewheredown the line, I just feel his(late father’s) blessings arethere, just feel moresecure...This is for him,” saidKrunal.

Hardik, on his part,revealed that Krunal’s bodylanguage showed his love fortheir late father.

“It shows in your bodylanguage as well, but notmany people know, ourfather is actually with us inthe dressing room, Krunalhas been carrying...Ourfather passed away at 4o’clock in the morning and hewas someone who used toalways keep his stuff readyfor the next day.

“Krunal has been carry-ing the bag which has his(stuff),” revealed Hardik.

Got dad’s bag to dressing roomto keep him close: Krunal

Know how to handle pressure of Int’l cricket: Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan and Indian skipper Virat Kohli run between wickets during India’s innings in 1st ODI AP

PTI n NEW DELHI

Adominant India swept thewomen’s 25m pistol event

with Chinky Yadav winningGold after Aishwary PratapSingh Tomar’s historic top fin-ish in the men’s 50m rifle 3 posi-tions final of the ISSF World Cuphere on Wednesday.

At 20, Tomar became theyoungest Indian ever to winGold in this event when he shot462.5 to claim the top prizeahead of Hungary’s world num-ber one Istvan Peni (461.6) andDenmark’s Steffen Olsen (450.9).

After that, Yadav upstagedthe experienced Rahi Sarnobatand the fancied Manu Bhakerto win Gold in a 1-2-3 finish forIndia. The country’s overalltally swelled to 19 with 9 Gold,five Silver and as many Bronzemedals.

The 23-year-old Yadav pre-vailed over Sarnobat, 30, 4-3 ina shoot-off after their scoreswere tied at 32.

Bhaker, aged only 19, shot28 to settle for the Bronzemedal before being eliminated,leaving her two other compa-triots to fight for the top prize

at the Dr Karni Singh ShootingRange.

All three shooters havealready bagged their quotas forthe Tokyo Olympics.

Yadav, who fetched theOlympic quota with a second-place finish at the 14th AsianChampionships in Doha in2019, led the pack after first 20

targets with a score of 14.She was followed by

Bhaker at second with 13.Then, the shooter from

Bhopal led with a score of 21and pulled away from the rest,even as the seasoned Sarnobatclawed her way back into thefinals after struggling in bottomhalf.

In the finals, Yadav shot allthe five targets twice — in thefirst competition stage’s secondseries and the sixth series of theelimination stage — afterbeginning with two.

“I have trained in advancefor tie shoots in final, I just hadto do my best, not think whois in competition with me andwhich level they are in,” Yadavsaid.

Sarnobat, the most experi-enced of the three, had a fiveout of five in the third series ofthe first stage before shootingfour targets thrice in the fourth,seventh and ninth series inelimination.

The third ranked Bhakerhad only one five out of five, inthe fourth series.

Earlier in morning, Tomarstarted India’s day on a rousingnote.

“This will further boost myconfidence ahead of the TokyoOlympics,” he said after hismaiden Gold in a senior worldcup.

The other Indians in thefinal, veteran Sanjeev Rajputand Niraj Kumar, finished sixthand eighth respectively.

India sweep women’s 25m pistol event

Indian shooters Rahi Sarnobat, left, Chinky Yadav, center and Manu Bhaker posefor photo with medals after 1-2-3 finish in 25m pistol event

PTI n PARIS

London Olympics Bronze medallistSaina Nehwal crushed Ireland’s Rachael

Darragh in straight games in the women’ssingles opening round to make a winningstart to her campaign at the OrleansMasters here on Wednesday.

The fourth seeded Indian, who is des-perately seeking ranking points to makeit to her fourth Olympics, took just 21 min-utes to beat Rachael 21-9, 21-5 and set upa clash with France’s Marie Batomene.

Saina had pulled out of the openinground of All England OpenChampionships last week after suffering athigh injury.

Top Indian male shuttler KidambiSrikanth, seeded number one, entered thethird round with a 21-15, 21-10 win overcompatriot Ajay Jayaram in 25 minutes.

In the first round, Srikanth hadreceived a bye, while Ajay had prevailed19-21, 23-21, 21-16 over fellow Indian AlapMishra.

Mixed doubles pair of Pranaav JerryChopra and N Sikki Reddy beat Austria’sDominik Stipsits and Serena Au Yeong 21-7, 21-18. The Indian duo will meetDenmark’s Niclas Nohr and Amalie

Magelund next.Ira Sharma, who was promoted to the

main draw from the women’s singlesqualification, saw off France’s Leonice Huet12-21, 21-14, 21-17 and will square offagainst Bulgaria’s Mariya Mitsova.

On Tuesday, India’s Kiran Georgehad stunned Netherland’s Mark Caljouw,who had reached the semifinals of AllEngland Championships last week, 13-21,21-18, 22-20 in a thrilling opening roundmatch.

Mithun Manjunath beat France’s LucasClaerbout 21-14, 21-10 but Subhankar Deylost 17-21, 13-21 to Denmark’s DitlevJaeger Holm in the opening round.

PTI n CHENNAI

Three-time IPL championsChennai Super Kings on

Wednesday unveiled a new-look jersey that features cam-ouflage as a tribute to thecountry’s armed forces.

Unveiled ahead of the2021 IPL season, the jerseyalso has three stars atop thefranchise’s logo to denote thethree titles won in 2010, 2011and 2018, besides the camou-flage as a tribute to India’sarmed forces.

“It has been on our mindfor some time now to findways to raise awareness aboutthe significant and selflessrole of the armed forces. Thecamouflage is an appreciationof their service...They are thetrue heroes,” CSK CEO KSViswanathan said in a release.

The IPL team also releaseda short video of talismanic

skipper Mahendra SinghDhoni, launching the new jer-sey on its Twitter feed.

CSK hold the armed forcesclose to the heart and showedtheir appreciation by present-ing a cheque of `2 crore at thestart of the 2019 IPL season.

The jersey has beenredesigned for the first timesince the inaugural edition in2008, the release said.

The camouflage on theshoulders is bordered withgold bands that signify thehigh standards set by the teamboth in terms of consistencyand fair play. CSK have wonthe IPL fair play award sixtimes in 11 seasons.

CSK jersey features camouflageas tribute to armed forces

Mumbai: The Indian mem-bers of Delhi Capitals, includ-ing pacers Ishant Sharma andUmesh Yadav, arrived inMumbai and straightawaywent for the seven-daymandatory quarantine aheadof the Indian Premier Leaguebeginning on April 9.

The Delhi Capitals, whohad reached the finals in thelast edition in UAE, will takeon Chennai Super Kings intheir first match of the IPLseason at the WankhedeStadium here on April 10.

“A few Indian members ofthe Delhi Capitals’ squad,which included pacers IshantSharma and Umesh Yadav,leg-spinner Amit Mishra andall-rounder Lalit Yadav,assembled at the team hotel inMumbai on Tuesday, 23March 2021. The players willbe in quarantine until 30March 2021,” a release said.

Ajinkya Rahane, who hasbeen on a break since playingin the four-match Test seriesagainst England, also gearedup for bio-bubble life. PTI

DC players assemble inMumbai for quarantine

PNS n NEW DELHI

India’s Yuki Bhambri will lead the chal-lenge of Delhi Binny’s Brigade in the

Tennis Premier League 3.0, which willbe played in Mumbai later this year.

Yuki was picked for `4.20 lakh atthe auction on Tuesday and also find-ing a place in the team was ManishSuresh Kumar, while the women’s slotwas filled by Thailand’s PeangtarnPlipuech, ranked 294 in the world.

The highest bid of the day was infavour of Ramkumar Ramanathan,who was picked for `4.5 lakh by theMumbai Leon Army, co-owned byLeander Paes.

India’s top ranked men’s playerPrajnesh Gunneswaran was picked byRajasthan Tigers for `3.70 lakh, whileSaketh Myneni went to Pune Jaguars for`4.40 lakh.

Divij Sharan was picked by GujaratPanthers for `4.10 lakh, while PuravRaja went to the Chennai Stallions for`3 lakh.

Ankita Raina garnered the highestprice for women’s players, picked byHyderabad Strikers for `4.10 lakh,while from the other Indian women inthe auction, Rutuja Bhosle, was pickedby Pune Jaguars for `3 lakh.

Yuki to lead DelhiBinny’s Brigade

PTI n DUBAI

Talismanic captain SunilChhetri will not be there to

inspire but a young Indian teamwill seek to play fearless footballagainst a more fancied Oman inits first International match inmore than a year here onThursday.

Chhetri is not with the teamfor the two International friend-lies here — the second oneagainst the UAE on Monday —as he is recovering from Covid-19.

But the side with an averageage of just over 24 is raring to goin its first International matchafter November 2019 and manyof them have done well in therecent Indian Super League fortheir respective franchises.

Head coach Igor Stimacsaid he has told the players toplay free and fearless football ashe is not expecting much fromthese two matches.

“We wanted to give themthe experience of playingstronger teams, that will givethem more confidence and fear-lessness in future. I have toldthem there should not be anypressure on them,” Stimac saidahead of the match.

“We are not obsessed withresults.”

Talking about Oman,Stimac said, “I have seen theirmatch against Jordan. They area really physical side, well organ-ised and really patient. We alsohave worked hard and we expecta good game tomorrow.”

Oman are coming into

Thursday’s match after playingout a goal-less draw with Jordanon Saturday.

The absence of Chhetri, thesecond highest Internationalgoal-getter among active players,will be felt greatly but India didpull off a goal-less draw againstAsian champions Qatar in Dohawithout the star striker in a 2022World Cup qualifying roundmatch in 2019.

“It’s a big miss, not havingChhetri bhai in the squad. ButI’m sure the boys will take thisas an opportunity and we haveto play together as a team,” saidnumber one goalkeeper andsenior player Gurpreet SinghSandhu who has led the side onmany occasions.

Fortunately for Stimac, the27-member squad is a mixtureof players who have been with

the team earlier and new faceslike Akash Mishra, ListonColaco, Ishan Pandita, BipinSingh and Lalengmawia. Therookies would be especiallyeager to showcase their talentafter making an impact in ISL.

The likes of AmrinderSingh, Chinglensana Singh,Rowllin Borges and LallianzualaChhangte have been the topIndian performers for their ISLteams and they will be proppedup by experienced campaignerslike Gurpreet, Sandesh Jhinganand Anirudh Thapa.

More than half of the 27players are either new faces orhave not played for India though

they were in the earlier squads.It is expected to be a tough

match against Oman who havebeaten India in both the legs ofthe 2022 World Cup qualifiersin 2019.

Oman are ranked 81st inthe FIFA chart while India areat 104th but Stimac’s menshould take confidence from thefact that they were on equalterms with the Gulf side in thehome leg match of the 2022World Cup qualifiers inGuwahati.

History also favours Omanas they have won five times inthe six matches played againstIndia in the last decade. Onematch ended in a draw.

India are out of reckoningfor a 2022 World Cup berth butare still in contention for qual-ification in the 2023 Asian Cup.

Saina, Srikanth makewinning starts

PTI n BENGALURU

Australian leg-spinner AdamZampa is getting married

and will miss Royal ChallengersBangalore’s opening IPL matchagainst defending championsMumbai Indians on April 9, theteam’s director of cricket MikeHesson said on Wednesday.

“Adam Zampa is gettingmarried... We won’t have our fullcontingent of overseas playersavailable for the first game,”Hesson said in a video posted inTwitter. The 28-year-old Zampa,who has 200 wickets in 173T20s, played just three matchesand took two wickets last seasonin UAE.

“It’s an important time forhim and it’s something that as afranchise we are aware of and werespect and we hope he has agreat time,” Hesson said.

“So when he joins us, onceagain he is going to be fresh andmake a massive contribution tothe rest of the tournament.”

Shreyas out ofEngland ODIsLikely to miss entire IPL too

India seek to play fearless football vs Oman

India vs OmanLive from 7:15pm IST

EUROSPORT

Zampa to missRCB’s IPL openeragainst MI

12

Vijayawada Thursday March 25 2021 tollywood

Debating is fantastic!Introspecting on the same,Thalaivi actress Kangana Ranauthas a lot more to say aboutnepotism and bullying downsouth while at the pressconference of her upcomingtrilingual movie.

here is no denyingthat nepotismexists in the filmindustries, at leastwith what the‘queen’ of

Bollywood Kangana affirms,but do outsiders who are notthe nepo-kids get bullied inthe showbiz industry evendown south? With KanganaRanuat winning a nationalaward for her path-breakingperformances in Panga andManikarnika as the bestactress, she has a lot more toadd to it apart from tastingstardom and celebrating thesuccess of this prestigiousevent.

According to reports, thePanga actress who’s alwaysrunning into banters saidthat nepotism does exist inthe south industry as well,but outsiders aren’t bullieddown here. Speaking at thetrailer launch of her trilin-gual film, Thalaivi, theactress added, “Since Thalaivi is the culmination of many industries, one thing I noticed in the South film industries —

be it Tamil or Telugu — isthat there may be nepotismin the South film industrybut there is no groupism andgangism. There’s no subject-ing outsiders to bullying!They are very supportive andinclusive of people who comefrom outside. And the kindof love and encouragement Ihave experienced here, Idon’t want to leave. I’m herenow. I hope to do many morefilms here.”

With nepotism debatesbeing picked up time andagain on social media begin-ning at the coffee couch onStar World’s Koffee withKaran, many of us have a lotof opinions to cater to.

Apart from slamming the culture of favouritismand lobbying in theBollywood film industry, on the work-front KanganaRanaut in order to make her portrayal as Jayalalithaaauthentic, underwent drastic body transformationgaining about 20 kgs for herrole in the film which is slat-ed to release on April 23,2021.

INCLUSIVE OF OUTSIDERS'

‘SOUTH INDUSTRY ISSUPPORTIVE AND ha has been launching back-to-

back shows to cater to theTelugu originals loving audienceand a variety of genres foreveryone! After teasing theaudience with a glimpse of

Tamannaah Bhatia-starrer 11th Hour wherewe’ll see the Baahubali actress in a role likenever before marking her digital debut.

Arriving with full josh on the festivitiesof Ugadi, the wait is over! With looks thatcould kill and a character that will stay withyou, it seems like no one could have fit thepart better. Bringing some of the biggeststars on board with shows and digital pre-mieres like Samantha’s Sam Jam, RanaDaggubati’s No 1 Yaari, Ravi Teja’s Krack,Allari Naresh’s Naandhi, and nowTamannaah’s 11th Hour, aha is constantlyproving itself to be a trailblazer in theTelugu entertainment space.

Speaking about the series, Tamannaahsaid, “11th Hour is a story of how awoman, Aratrika Reddy, fights her way in aman’s world to achieve what she strives for.An apt mix of thrills and drama, the 8-episode web series begins on a fateful notewhen Aratrika, the CEO of Aditya group, amulti-billion-dollar conglomerate, finds hercompany in financial ruin. With twentynail-biting minute episodes where friendsturn foes, the viewers will find themselveson edge wondering if Aratrika will ever beable to outsmart her way out of this messand win the biggestfight of herlife.”

Inspired by Upendra Namburi’s book 8Hours, the series has been written and pro-duced by Pradeep Uppalapati under theIntroupe Films banner. Helmed by well-known and acclaimed director PraveenSattaru — 11th Hour is going to be themost-talked webshow! With an excitinglineup of films like Zombie Reddy, ArdhaShatabdham for Ugadi, aha is constantlygiving its viewers a lot to look forward towith a release almost every single week. Sokeep your eyes and ears open for moreupdates coming up on 11th Hour only onaha, real soon!

riti Sanon is all excited to bepart of Adipurush, the epictale helmed by Om Raut.This saga about theRamayana stars Prabhas,Sunny Singh, Saif Ali Khan

and now Kriti Sanon, who shared a pic-ture of herself with Prabhas, Sunny andOm Raut on social media. She openedup about her role in a candid chat.

Kriti shared that playing the role ofSita in the high-budget Adipurushcomes with its own pressure. She men-tioned that a role such as Sita’s wouldhave many expectations, and portray-ing it the right way is a tough job. Shesaid, “I am overwhelmed and gratefulthat I am playing such an iconic char-acter. The role comes with a lot of pres-sure because we don’t want to (portray)anything that is not (true to) the part.People’s sentiments are attached to thecharacter.”

In conversation, she mentioned thatbeing authentic to the story will helpget it right, and that one needed tokeep a check on their body language

and dialogue delivery when playing arole such as Sita’s in today’s world.Further, she expressed faith inAdipurush director Om and said she isin ‘safe hands’. She spoke about gettingused to a new language, revealing thatshe had to work on her Telugu for thefilm as it will be released in bothHindi and Telugu. She gushedabout her friendship withPrabhas, saying “When Ifirst met him, Ithought he was shy,but once we startedchatting, we wereunstoppable. He is afoodie, and lovesfeeding his co-stars.”

The OneNenokkadine actress willhave her solo scenes shotfirst in Arunachal Pradeshand then the rest of them willbe shot with Prabhas and otheractors. Besides Adipurush, Kriti alsohas Bhediya, a horror movie, withVarun Dhawan in her kitty.

ctor Raj Tarun ofUyyala Jampalafame, has teamedup with debutantedirector SantoMohan Veeranki

for a coming-of-age feel-goodromantic comedy to be pro-duced jointly by NandkumarAbbineni and BharathMaguluri under Dream TownProductions and HighFivePictures banners.

In the latest update, thefilm, Stand up Rahul’s firstlook poster has just droppedand Twitter is already abuzzwith best wishes and congrat-ulatory messages for theteam. In the poster, Raj Tarunappears to be a confused soulsitting on the desk with aquestion mark on his face. Hehas a mic hanging over hishead too. But what grabs ourattention the most is his styl-

ish makeover. He looks uber-cool in a clean-shaven lookwith a stylish hairdo. Whilethe title sounds interesting,the first look poster veryrefreshing.

Makers of the film say thatit is a story of a reluctantstand-up comic who doesn’tstand up for anything in life,but eventually finds true loveand then learns to stand upfor his parents, for his loveand for his passion for stand-up comedy.

Varsha Bollamma of Middle Class Melodies fameplays the leading lady in thefilm that has music bySweekar Agasthi, whileSreeraj Raveendran cranksthe camera. Venella Kishore,Murali Sharma, Indraja, DeviPrasad and Madhurima arethe other prominent cast ofthe film.

Kriti working on herTelugu for Adipurush

ports dramas havebecome a new trendin Tollywood. Afteractor SundeepKishan’s recent A1Express on hockey,

Telugu audiences will now wit-ness another sports story of aKabaddi player. Titled ArjunChakravarthy, the film is said tobe based on a player whoseachievements were not celebrat-ed much.

On the occasion of WorldKabaddi Day, the makers ofArjun Chakravarthy haveunveiled the first glimpse thathas newcomers Vijaya RamaRaju and Sija Rose playing thelead roles. Actors Ajay,Dayanand Reddy, Ajay Ghoshand Durgesh are part of the sup-porting cast. Debutant writer

Venu KC is directing this biopicthat is being bankrolled by SriniGubbala under Gannet Celluloidbanner.

Arjun Chakravarthy is beingshot in Telugu and Tamil simul-taneously and being dubbed inHindi, Malayalam, Kannada andaiming for a pan-India release.

Revealing details about theshooting, the makers said, it’sbeen two years since the shoot-ing and the film was shot in over125 locations across Indiaincluding Telangana, AndhraPradesh, Jammu and Kashmiretc.

The protagonist has reported-ly gone through seven physicallook changes to portray the lifejourney of the character in allthe age variations from child-hood to middle age. Also, sets

for the film to look very authen-tic, which includes village set inthe 1960s, 1980s, Hyderabadtown set in the 1960s wereassembled and the art depart-ment was handled by SumithPatel. An extensive search fornearly two years went into themaking of these sets.

enior Tollywood pro-ducer KovelamudiKrishna Mohan Raohas passed away onWednesday. KrishnaMohan happens to be

the brother of veteran director KRaghavendra Rao.

The producer is said to be suf-fering from health issues for thelast few months. This morningKrishna Mohan breathed his lastat his residence in Filmnagar,Hyderabad. According to hisfamily members, Krishna Mohanwill be laid to rest at FilmnagarMahaPrasthanam.

On RK Films production ban-ner, Krishna Mohan producedmany films. Superstar MaheshBabu’s ‘Bobby’ was one amongthem.

Krishna Mohan was survived

by two daughters. Learningabout this death, severalTollywood celebrities haveexpressed their deep condolencesto the family members.

Deeply saddened by thedemise of the producer, MegastarChiranjeevi said, “My filmYudhabhumi, Iddaru Mitralu,was produced by Mohan garu.Krishna Mohan Rao garu is awonderful person, and his loss isirreplaceable. May his soul rest inpeace.”

Producer Krishna Mohan Rao no more

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TAMANNAAH'S

11TH HOUR ON AHA

Another sports dramaset for pan-India release

Raj Tarun looks ubercool in his next