12
A day after the Lok Sabha passed two contentious agriculture Bills, despite the opposition by BJP’s oldest ally Shiromani Akali Dal terming it as an “anti-farmer” move, farm- ers’ protests have spread in sev- eral States, including Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and western Uttar Pradesh. A protesting farmer in Punjab on Friday tried to com- mit suicide by consuming poi- sonous substance. Farmers’ organisations have decided to hold a “rail roko” agitation from September 24 to 26 in protest against the Bills. Thousands of farmers from western Uttar Pradesh held a sit in protest on the Delhi-Meerut expressway on Friday. The Congress has announced to launch a nation- wide agitation against the farm Bills and is in talks with other Opposition parties to corner the Modi Government. Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Friday said Punjab alone would suffer a loss of 4,000 crore every year due to these legislations that will lead to mass destruction of rural livelihoods, increase farmer distress. “We have decided to hold a rail roko nationwide agitation from September 24 to 26 against the three agriculture legislations,” Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said. Already, differ- ent farmer organisations in Punjab have given a call for a “bandh” on September 25. A protesting farmer has tried to commit suicide in Badal village, the hometown of the Badals, in Muktsar district. He ate poison on Friday morn- ing around 6:30 and his con- dition is still critical. Thousands of farmers are sitting on dharna in Muktsar, Amritsar and other areas in Punjab under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Bhartiya Kisan Union, All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee and Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh. The farmers argue that the legislations would lead to the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporates. According to Rakesh Tikait, Bharatiya Kisan Union, thou- sands of farmers have protest- ed at the Delhi-Meerut Expressway against the passage of farm Bills. A member of Punjab Aarhtia Association, said, “These legislations will ruin the agriculture marketing infra- structure network created in the past five decades. Benod Anand of Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, an organisation of 62 farmers unions,” he said, adding that farmers will hit the road on September 24 across India. The Centre has brought the Bills without discussion with stakeholders, he alleged. “Agriculture falls in the State list of subjects,” he said, adding that the Union Government’s action impinges on the State’s rights. Traditionally at odds (farmers and arthiyas) are together in this one-on-one against the BJP-led Centre aided by Opposition parties, farmers’ organisations and activists. Perhaps the real issue is too technical and the threat of new ecosystem rendering MSP irrelevant more impacting. In Haryana, the members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union blocked the national highway-44 on September 10, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the agriculture ordinances. Protesters were also baton charged in Pipli near Haryana’s Kurukshetra, for defying the administration’s warnings dur- ing the coronavirus pandem- ic. T he Lok Sabha on Friday witnessed heated exchanges between the Congress and the BJP members, leading to four adjournments over Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur barb that Sonia “Gandhi family was cheating the public”, during a debate on the tax laws amendment Act to include tax concessions to donations in PM Cares Fund. The Lok Sabha resumed only after Thakur apologised. Chaos started after Congress MPs Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari and TMC MP Sougata Roy opposed the cre- ation of PM Cares Fund and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allowed her deputy Thakur to reply to the Opposition charges. Praising Prime Minister Naredra Modi and the fund, Thakur started attacking the Opposition and alleged that “Gandhi family” fooled the people by including the Congress president in the PMNRF set up by Jawaharlal Nehru. “Opposition opposing PM Cares Fund, just for the sake of it, is like they opposed EVMs & then lost many elec- tions. They subsequently termed Jan Dhan, demoneti- sation, Triple Talaq and GST bad. They find a defect in everything, truth is their inten- tion is defected. Nehru ordered the creation of the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund in 1948 like a royal order but its registration has not been done even till today. How did it get FCRA clear- ance?,” Thakur asked. The Opposition leaders slammed Thakur and sought his apology. H ours after the suspension of flights by Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) from India to Dubai for 15 days after two fliers tested positive for coronavirus, Air India Express on Friday evening announced that flight opera- tions will begin as originally scheduled from September 19. The announcement was made by the Air India Express on its Facebook and Twitter pages late on Friday. “Attention passengers from/to Dubai! All Air India Express flights from/to Dubai will operate as per original schedule w.e.f tomorrow, September 19, 2020 (sic),” the airline tweeted. Earlier on Friday morning, the DCAA temporarily sus- pended Air India Express flights scheduled to resume from September 19 to October 2, for 15 days alleging that two coronavirus positive passen- gers flew on board the flights on two separate occasions despite having Covid-19 pos- itive test reports, a day before start of mega T20 cricket event ‘Indian Premier League’ in the UAE. The Air India Express ear- lier submitted a letter to DCAA expressing its profuse apologies and detailing various actions taken in association with the concerned ground- handling agents to guard against such lapse in the future. A n enquiry ordered by the Indian Army to probe a controversial encounter in which three unidentified “ter- rorists” were killed in Amshipora of Shopian on July 18 has concluded that the three of them were labourers from Rajouri. They have been identified as Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohd Ibrar. Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Friday said investigation into the laps- es will be conducted with utmost fairness and will be taken to the logical conclusion. The Indian Army has ordered disciplinary proceed- ings under the Army Act against those found prima- facie answerable. Srinagar-based Defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia in a written statement said, “The enquiry has brought out certain prima facie evidence indicating that during the operation, pow- ers vested under the AFSPA 1990 were exceeded and the do’s and don’ts of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) as approved by the Supreme Court have been contravened.” Op Amshipora had earlier come under the scanner after three Rajouri-based families lodged a missing report on August 10 at police post Peeru in Kotranka tehsil claiming they were not in touch with their children, ever since they had reached Shopian in search of work since July 17, 2020. These families had approached the police after images of the slain ultras, killed in the encounter, were circu- lated in the social media along with images of three youngsters from Rajouri. The Defence spokesman, however, added, their DNA report is awaited and the police are also investigating if they were in anyway involved with terrorism or related activities. T he Central Government will allow private compa- nies to set passenger fares once they start operating train ser- vices in the country, a move aimed at luring investors. “Private players have been given the freedom to fix fares in their own way,” said VK Yadav, chairman of Railway Board. But, “air-conditioned buses and planes also operate on those routes, and they have to keep that in mind before fix- ing fares. The move is considered to attract investors. As per reports, the decision to allow private players in Indian Railways will attract an invest- ment of around USD 7.5 bil- lion in the next five years. Various companies like Alstom SA, Bombardier Inc, GMR Infrastructure Ltd and Adani Enterprises Ltd have reportedly expressed their interest in such projects. The Indian Railways will also start levying ‘’user fees’’ as part of train fares for the sta- tions that have been redevel- oped and those with high foot- fall in order to generate rev- enue to provide better facilities for passengers. Once it comes into effect, it will be for the first time that such charges are levied on rail passengers. G oogle on Friday restored the Paytm app on its Play store after removing it for a few hours for violating its policy on sports betting activ- ities. The app was back on the Google Play Store on Friday evening after the Softbank- backed Paytm removed the “cashback” feature from a recently-launched game on the application. “Update: And we’re back!” Paytm said in a tweet. On Friday morning, Google removed the Paytm app — which facilitates use of wallet and payments bank services — from the Play Store. “The app was blocked for violation of Play policies — a clarification of our policy was released earlier today ahead of the IPL tournament,” Google said in a response, adding that only the app availability on Play store was impacted. T he Delhi Government on Friday announced that in view of Covid-19, “all gov- ernment and private schools will remain closed for all stu- dents till October 5. However, online teaching and learning activities will continue as usual”. The official order issued by the Directorate of Education (DoE) said school principals are authorised to call “staff as per requirement for smooth conduct of online classes or any other work”. A ccusing the opponents of the agriculture Bills passed by the Lok Sabha of “standing with middlemen”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday assured farm- ers that the Government’s purchase of their produce and Minimum Support price (MSP) would continue. He asked them “not to be mislead by the lies” of those “who ruled the country for decades”. Asserting that three Bills passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday were aimed at “reforming agriculture”, the Prime Minister said the legis- lation would “free” farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country and fetch them more returns. He said new moves by the Government would provide farmers with rakhsha kavach” and save them from brokers. “But a few people who ruled the country for decades are trying to mislead farmers and telling lies. They had promised about the reform in their manifesto but forgot after reforms and when the NDA implement- ing them, these people are creating misgivings,” Modi said on the occasion of inau- guration of Kosi rail mega bridge in Bihar while addressing through video conference. Without naming the Congress, Modi hit out at the Opposition party for “double crossing” farmers and creat- ing “disinformation”. Praising Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Modi said, “Nitish understood what damage Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), set up by States to regulate markets, had done to the farmers and “removed APMC Act in the State.” A day after Akali Dal’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the Union Cabinet opposing the con- troversial farms Bills, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala met Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday in a bid to find a way out of the vexed situation with farmers on the warpath in the State. Sources said the State Government would reach out to the farmers and their organisations to take the message across that the Bills would actually help their cause. JJP leader Digvijay Singh Chautala asserted that the party’s coalition with the BJP in Haryana is going strong and accused the Opposition Congress of trying to mislead the farmers. He downplayed reports that there was fissure in the alliance saying the Congress spreads rumours. Interestingly, JJP had ear- lier apologised for the lath- icharge on farmers in Kurukshetra’s Pipli last week when farmers were protesting against the three farm ordi- nances promulgated by the Union Government. Asked if the JJP was fac- ing any pressure in its alliance with the BJP after Harsimrat’s resignation, Digvijay said, “Our tie-up is strong. Our responsibility is to ensure that farmers’ crops are pro- cured as per the MSP and we will ensure this in the upcom- ing procurement season. The biggest issue is the MSP. It is our commitment to farmers that we will not allow their crops to be procured below the minimum support price.” RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015

 · 2 days ago  · The details can be viewed and downloaded online directly from the Government of Chhattisgarh Integrated e-Procurement Portal () from Date 24.09.2020, at …

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Page 1:  · 2 days ago  · The details can be viewed and downloaded online directly from the Government of Chhattisgarh Integrated e-Procurement Portal () from Date 24.09.2020, at …

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%��� *-)�.-/01

Aday after the Lok Sabhapassed two contentious

agriculture Bills, despite theopposition by BJP’s oldest allyShiromani Akali Dal terming itas an “anti-farmer” move, farm-ers’ protests have spread in sev-eral States, includingMaharashtra, Punjab, Haryana,Telangana, Chhattisgarh andwestern Uttar Pradesh.

A protesting farmer inPunjab on Friday tried to com-mit suicide by consuming poi-sonous substance. Farmers’organisations have decided tohold a “rail roko” agitationfrom September 24 to 26 inprotest against the Bills.Thousands of farmers fromwestern Uttar Pradesh held a sitin protest on the Delhi-Meerutexpressway on Friday.

The Congress hasannounced to launch a nation-

wide agitation against the farmBills and is in talks with otherOpposition parties to cornerthe Modi Government. PunjabFinance Minister ManpreetSingh Badal on Friday saidPunjab alone would suffer aloss of �4,000 crore every yeardue to these legislations thatwill lead to mass destruction ofrural livelihoods, increasefarmer distress.

“We have decided to holda rail roko nationwide agitationfrom September 24 to 26against the three agriculturelegislations,” Kisan MazdoorSangharsh Committee general

secretary Sarwan SinghPandher said. Already, differ-ent farmer organisations inPunjab have given a call for a“bandh” on September 25.

A protesting farmer hastried to commit suicide inBadal village, the hometown ofthe Badals, in Muktsar district.He ate poison on Friday morn-ing around 6:30 and his con-dition is still critical.

Thousands of farmers aresitting on dharna in Muktsar,Amritsar and other areas inPunjab under the banner ofKisan Mazdoor SangharshCommittee, Bhartiya Kisan

Union, All India KisanSangharsh CoordinationCommittee and RashtriyaKisan Mahasangh. The farmersargue that the legislationswould lead to the dismantlingof the minimum support price(MSP) system, leaving them atthe “mercy” of big corporates.According to Rakesh Tikait,Bharatiya Kisan Union, thou-sands of farmers have protest-ed at the Delhi-MeerutExpressway against the passageof farm Bills.

A member of PunjabAarhtia Association, said,“These legislations will ruin the

agriculture marketing infra-structure network created inthe past five decades. BenodAnand of Rashtriya KisanMahasangh, an organisation of62 farmers unions,” he said,adding that farmers will hit theroad on September 24 acrossIndia.

The Centre has broughtthe Bills without discussionwith stakeholders, he alleged.

“Agriculture falls in theState list of subjects,” he said,adding that the UnionGovernment’s action impingeson the State’s rights.Traditionally at odds (farmersand arthiyas) are together inthis one-on-one against theBJP-led Centre aided byOpposition parties, farmers’organisations and activists.Perhaps the real issue is tootechnical and the threat ofnew ecosystem rendering MSPirrelevant more impacting. In

Haryana, the members of theBharatiya Kisan Union blockedthe national highway-44 onSeptember 10, demanding theimmediate withdrawal of theagriculture ordinances.

Protesters were also batoncharged in Pipli near Haryana’sKurukshetra, for defying theadministration’s warnings dur-ing the coronavirus pandem-ic.

%��� *-)�.-/01

The Lok Sabha on Fridaywitnessed heated exchanges

between the Congress and theBJP members, leading to fouradjournments over Ministerof State for Finance AnuragThakur barb that Sonia“Gandhi family was cheatingthe public”, during a debate onthe tax laws amendment Actto include tax concessions todonations in PM Cares Fund.The Lok Sabha resumed onlyafter Thakur apologised.

Chaos started afterCongress MPs Shashi Tharoor,Manish Tewari and TMC MPSougata Roy opposed the cre-ation of PM Cares Fund andFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman allowed herdeputy Thakur to reply to theOpposition charges.

Praising Prime MinisterNaredra Modi and the fund,

Thakur started attacking theOpposition and alleged that“Gandhi family” fooled thepeople by including theCongress president in thePMNRF set up by JawaharlalNehru.

“Opposition opposing PMCares Fund, just for the sakeof it, is like they opposedEVMs & then lost many elec-tions. They subsequentlytermed Jan Dhan, demoneti-sation, Triple Talaq and GSTbad. They find a defect ineverything, truth is their inten-tion is defected. Nehruordered the creation of thePrime Minister’s NationalRelief Fund in 1948 like a royalorder but its registration hasnot been done even till today.How did it get FCRA clear-ance?,” Thakur asked.

The Opposition leadersslammed Thakur and soughthis apology.

��&����������� *-)�.-/01

Hours after the suspensionof flights by Dubai Civil

Aviation Authority (DCAA)from India to Dubai for 15 daysafter two fliers tested positivefor coronavirus, Air IndiaExpress on Friday eveningannounced that flight opera-tions will begin as originallyscheduled from September 19.

The announcement wasmade by the Air India Expresson its Facebook and Twitterpages late on Friday. “Attentionpassengers from/to Dubai! AllAir India Express flightsfrom/to Dubai will operate asper original schedule w.e.ftomorrow, September 19, 2020(sic),” the airline tweeted.

Earlier on Friday morning,

the DCAA temporarily sus-pended Air India Expressflights scheduled to resumefrom September 19 to October2, for 15 days alleging that twocoronavirus positive passen-gers flew on board the flightson two separate occasionsdespite having Covid-19 pos-itive test reports, a day beforestart of mega T20 cricket event‘Indian Premier League’ in theUAE.

The Air India Express ear-lier submitted a letter toDCAA expressing its profuseapologies and detailing variousactions taken in associationwith the concerned ground-handling agents to guardagainst such lapse in the future.

%��� *-)�.-/01

An enquiry ordered by theIndian Army to probe a

controversial encounter inwhich three unidentified “ter-rorists” were killed inAmshipora of Shopian on July18 has concluded that the threeof them were labourers fromRajouri.

They have been identifiedas Imtiyaz Ahmed, AbrarAhmed and Mohd Ibrar.

Army chief General ManojMukund Naravane on Fridaysaid investigation into the laps-es will be conducted withutmost fairness and will betaken to the logical conclusion.

The Indian Army hasordered disciplinary proceed-ings under the Army Actagainst those found prima-

facie answerable.Srinagar-based Defence

spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia ina written statement said, “Theenquiry has brought out certainprima facie evidence indicatingthat during the operation, pow-ers vested under the AFSPA1990 were exceeded and thedo’s and don’ts of Chief ofArmy Staff (COAS) asapproved by the Supreme

Court have been contravened.”Op Amshipora had earlier

come under the scanner afterthree Rajouri-based familieslodged a missing report onAugust 10 at police post Peeruin Kotranka tehsil claimingthey were not in touch withtheir children, ever since theyhad reached Shopian in searchof work since July 17, 2020.

These families hadapproached the police afterimages of the slain ultras, killedin the encounter, were circu-lated in the social media alongwith images of three youngstersfrom Rajouri.

The Defence spokesman,however, added, their DNAreport is awaited and the policeare also investigating if theywere in anyway involved withterrorism or related activities.

���''���%������� *-)�.-/01

The Central Governmentwill allow private compa-

nies to set passenger fares oncethey start operating train ser-vices in the country, a moveaimed at luring investors.

“Private players have beengiven the freedom to fix faresin their own way,” said VKYadav, chairman of RailwayBoard. But, “air-conditionedbuses and planes also operate

on those routes, and they haveto keep that in mind before fix-ing fares.

The move is considered toattract investors. As perreports, the decision to allowprivate players in Indian

Railways will attract an invest-ment of around USD 7.5 bil-lion in the next five years.Various companies like AlstomSA, Bombardier Inc, GMRInfrastructure Ltd and AdaniEnterprises Ltd have reportedlyexpressed their interest in suchprojects.

The Indian Railways willalso start levying ‘’user fees’’ aspart of train fares for the sta-tions that have been redevel-oped and those with high foot-fall in order to generate rev-enue to provide better facilitiesfor passengers.

Once it comes into effect,it will be for the first time thatsuch charges are levied on railpassengers.

%���� *-)�.-/01

Google on Friday restoredthe Paytm app on its Play

store after removing it for afew hours for violating itspolicy on sports betting activ-ities.

The app was back on theGoogle Play Store on Fridayevening after the Softbank-backed Paytm removed the“cashback” feature from arecently-launched game onthe application.

“Update: And we’re back!”Paytm said in a tweet. OnFriday morning, Googleremoved the Paytm app —which facilitates use of walletand payments bank services —from the Play Store.

“The app was blocked forviolation of Play policies — aclarification of our policy wasreleased earlier today ahead ofthe IPL tournament,” Googlesaid in a response, addingthat only the app availabilityon Play store was impacted.

���''���%������� *-)�.-/01

The Delhi Government onFriday announced that in

view of Covid-19, “all gov-ernment and private schoolswill remain closed for all stu-dents till October 5. However,online teaching and learningactivities will continue asusual”.

The official order issuedby the Directorate ofEducation (DoE) said schoolprincipals are authorised tocall “staff as per requirementfor smooth conduct of onlineclasses or any other work”.

����������� ������ ������� ���� ���

%��� *-)�.-/01

Accusing the opponents ofthe agriculture Bills

passed by the Lok Sabha of“standing with middlemen”,Prime Minister NarendraModi on Friday assured farm-ers that the Government’spurchase of their produceand Minimum Support price(MSP) would continue. Heasked them “not to be misleadby the lies” of those “whoruled the country for decades”.

Asserting that three Billspassed by the Lok Sabha onThursday were aimed at“reforming agriculture”, thePrime Minister said the legis-lation would “free” farmers tosell their produce anywhere inthe country and fetch themmore returns. He said newmoves by the Governmentwould provide farmers with“rakhsha kavach” and savethem from brokers.

“But a few people whoruled the countr y fordecades are trying to misleadfarmers and telling lies. Theyhad promised about thereform in their manifesto butforgot after reforms andwhen the NDA implement-

ing them, these people arecreating misgivings,” Modisaid on the occasion of inau-guration of Kosi rail megabridge in Bihar whi leaddressing through videoconference.

Without naming theCongress, Modi hit out at theOpposition party for “doublecrossing” farmers and creat-ing “disinformation”.

Praising Bihar ChiefMinister Nitish Kumar, Modisaid, “Nitish understoodwhat damage AgricultureProduce Market Committee(APMC), set up by States toregulate markets, had doneto the farmers and “removedAPMC Act in the State.”

���&���������02*.1%230

Aday after Akali Dal’sHarsimrat Kaur Badal

resigned from the UnionCabinet opposing the con-troversial farms Bills ,Haryana Deputy ChiefMinister and JJP leaderDushyant Chautala met ChiefMinister Manohar LalKhattar on Friday in a bid tofind a way out of the vexedsituation with farmers onthe warpath in the State.

Sources said the StateGovernment would reach outto the farmers and theirorganisations to take themessage across that the Billswould actually help theircause.

JJP leader Digvijay Singh

Chautala asserted that theparty’s coalition with the BJPin Haryana is going strongand accused the OppositionCongress of trying to misleadthe farmers. He downplayedreports that there was fissurein the alliance saying theCongress spreads rumours.

Interestingly, JJP had ear-lier apologised for the lath-icharge on farmers inKurukshetra’s Pipli last weekwhen farmers were protestingagainst the three farm ordi-nances promulgated by theUnion Government.

Asked if the JJP was fac-ing any pressure in its alliancewith the BJP after Harsimrat’sresignation, Digvijay said,“Our tie-up is strong. Ourresponsibility is to ensurethat farmers’ crops are pro-cured as per the MSP and wewill ensure this in the upcom-ing procurement season. Thebiggest issue is the MSP. It isour commitment to farmersthat we will not allow theircrops to be procured belowthe minimum support price.”

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Page 2:  · 2 days ago  · The details can be viewed and downloaded online directly from the Government of Chhattisgarh Integrated e-Procurement Portal () from Date 24.09.2020, at …

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The Delhi DevelopmentAuthority (DDA) has fully

automated the process of pay-ment of water bills to facilitatedigital mode of payment.

“Public who are availingservices of DDA can deposittheir bills online. Most of thepeople taking services are fromDwarka and Rohini and thisprocess will benefit them themost,” the Delhi DevelopmentAuthority (DDA) said in astatement.

“The customers will berequired to have a bankaccount for the payment ofwater bills online. The paymentcan be made through debitcard, credit card and net bank-ing etc. The payments can alsobe made through Bharat Billpay system as well. The URL ofthe water bill system ishttps://online.dda.org.in/water-billonline. Its link also exists onDDA’s website www.dda.org.in.

“Online system is one ofour priority areas. People canavail the benefits of various ser-vices offered by DDA at thecomfort of their homes. Thewater bill payment system hasbeen developed in-house byDelhi Development Authority(DDA),” it said.

���''���%������� *-)�.-/01

Senior Aam Aadmi Partyleader and Lok Sabha MP

Bhagwant Mann on Friday saidthat September 17 will be con-sidered as a black day for thefarmers of India as on his birth-day Prime Minister NarendraModi presented a bunch ofanti-farmer bills to the nation.

Mann said that both theCongress and the ShiromaniAkali Dal are equally responsi-ble for bringing these bills.

“The AAP protested againstthese bills at the Lok Sabha. I ammaking it very clear that thisamendment bill is completelyagainst the farmers and will onlybenefit the industrialists. Atthe end of the day, the farmerswill become beggars. The farm-ers are very strong and no billor atrocity can stop these coura-geous people," he said.

"The Green Revolutionhas affected the farmers ofPunjab because the ground-water level has gone downdrastically. Amid all theseproblems the farmers ofPunjab were trying their best,but now after these amend-ments, their lives will be dev-astated,” he said.

Mann said, "I want to askthe Congress party to cleartheir stand on this issue. Whenthese bills were in the prepara-tory state then the PunjabChief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh andPunjab Finance MinisterManpreet Singh Badal sup-ported these bills. Both ofthese leaders are from theCongress party. I believe thatboth the Congress party andthe Shiromani Akali Dal areequally responsible for theseanti-farmer bills”.

���''���%�������*-)�.-/01

Ahorse allegedly died ofelectrocution in Hazrat

Nizamuddin Basti in SouthDelhi on Friday, police said.

The incident happened atAlvi Chowk around 11 am, apoliceman present at the spot said.

���''���%�������%(3(%32$

Gurugram recorded 5,237Covid-19 cases in the last

twenty days from August 30 toSeptember 18. The officialssaid the reason behind the risespike is the flouting of Covid-19 norms.

However, the city hadrecorded over 421 fresh Covidpatients on Wednesday, thehighest single day count in thelast three months. The healthdepartment attributes this spiketo the fact that more people aregetting themselves tested fol-lowing Haryana government'sdecision to allow walk-ins forCovid test without prescription.

"We are registering morethan 300 cases every day. It isa concern for us. We are work-ing hard to contain spread inlimited places. People need tofollow Covid guidelines andmaintain social distancing rulessaid a health official.

In view of the rising cases,the district administration hassuggested home isolation."Ithas been observed that 80%corona-infected patients mayrecover from it if they follownecessary guidelines of thehealth department," he said.

Meanwhile,the districthealth department detected339 fresh infections in the dis-trict on Friday. The Covid-19tally in Gurugram rose to17,063 according to a dailyhealth bulletin.

Three more patients infect-

ed with coronavirus died onFriday in Gurugram. A total of156 persons in the districthave lost their lives to thedreaded virus to date.

There are a total of 2,755active Covid cases inGurugram. A total of 14,152people have been cured anddischarged after recovery.

The health departmentsaid out of 156 deaths 110 dieddue to co-morbidities and theremaining 46 without co-mor-bidity.

Meanwhile, Amit Khatri,District Commissioner,Gurugram has directed all gov-ernment and private hospitalsin the district to reserve at least35% beds for Covid-19patients.

“These health facilitieshave been instructed to updatethe data about availability ofbeds daily on“onemapggm.gmda.gov.in,”Khatri said.

���''���%������� *-)�.-/01

The National InformaticsCentre (NIC) has filed a

complaint with the Delhi Policeabout a suspected malwareattack after one of its staffer faceddifficulty in accessing his officialemail account on a computer.

According to a senior policeofficial, an email was sent to theofficial ID of an NIC staffers andwhen the receiver clicked on thelink, it appeared that malwarehad set in on that particularcomputer but the NIC claimedthere is no loss of data.

“The First InformationReport (FIR) was registered inthe first week of September onthe complaint of the NIC, fol-lowing which the Delhi Police

investigated the matter and hasidentified the source,” said thesenior police official addingthat for now they cannot disclosethe source yet as they are pro-ceeding further in their investi-gation.

“The reports being carriedin certain sections of the mediaabout widespread cyber intru-sion involving high offices areunsubstantiated and do notreflect the current stage of inves-tigation,” said Anil Mittal, theAdditional Public RelationOfficer (APRO).

The NIC of the UnionMinistry of Electronics andInformation Technology is pro-viding network backbone and e-governance support to centraland state governments, UT

administrations, districts andother government bodies.

“A government employeehad recently reported that hewas having difficulty in access-ing his official email account bythe NIC which was lying unusedfor some weeks,” said Mittal.

“It was found by the NICthat there was an attemptedbreach by unidentified cyberactors -- a kind of regular activ-ity over cyberspace which was,however, detected by its robustcyber security systems,” saidMittal.

“As an abundant precau-tion, a formal investigationinto the matter has beenlaunched and a case registeredat the Delhi Police's SpecialCell,” he added.

���''���%�������*-)�.-/01

Delhi’s last ele-phant— ‘JAS-

MINE’ celebrated ayear of freedom & isliving a safe, retiredlife at the WildlifeSOS ElephantRehabilitation Centrein Haryana.

After having suf-fered decades of abuseand torture isolation,Jasmine’s long-awaitedrescue in 2019 finallyclosed the curtain onthe Capital’s long-drawn associationwith captive elephants.

Her rescue wasfacilitated by the DelhiPolice, ForestDepartment andwildlife conservationNGO, Wildlife SOS.

In a city which isnot a suitable habitatfor elephants, 40-yearold Jasmine sufferedsilently for decades.Navigating throughthe jam-packed roadsof Delhi, even as thenoise from the trafficcaused her immensepsychological distress,was a part of her dailyroutine.

Gracing eventsand ceremonies, givingjoyrides to people andbegging on the streetswas her designated‘occupation.’

According to offi-cials, Jasmine wasforced to live in despi-cable conditions alongthe banks of the infa-

mously polluted Yamuna river,where she would eat and batheevery day.

Relief from her stressful lifeseemed afar, until the DelhiHigh Court passed an order torehabilitate the remaining sevenelephants of the city in 2019.While six elephants were safe-ly relocated out of the city,Jasmine and her owner wentmissing for several months andwere eventually tracked downby the enforcement authoritieswhich led to a dramatic rescueoperation that lasted almost 14hours.

The Delhi police, ForestDepartment and Wildlife SOSfacilitated the rescue opera-tion and they safely relocatedDelhi’s last elephant from thebustling city to the peaceful jun-gles of Ban Santour, near theKalesar National Park. TheElephant Rehabilitation Centre,jointly run by Wildlife SOS &the Haryana Forest Departmentcovers 400 acres of forested landand provides a safe sanctuaryfor abused, exploited, sick andgeriatric elephants requiringlifetime care and treatment.

Dr. S. Ilayaraja, DeputyDirector, Veterinary Services forWildlife SOS, said,“Jasmine’shealth has been severely com-promised due to negligenceand her feet are in terriblecondition. She is currentlyreceiving regular medicatedfoot baths to aid the fast recov-ery of her torn and delicatefootpads and wounded cuti-cles.”

Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder & CEO, Wildlife SOSsaid, “Jasmine’s life was bur-dened, and physically so, withthe overbearing weight of a car-rier crushing her spine and herspirits down.

���''���%������� *-)�.-/01

Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Friday

appealed to gym owners and thegeneral public to follow the safe-ty protocol at the gym centersto minimize the risk of spread-ing of Covid-19 infection.

The representatives of thegym associations of Delhi metwith the Chief Minister andthanked him for opening thegyms and yoga centres inDelhi.

Kejriwal tweeted, "I appealto all gym operators and thepublic in Delhi to follow thesafety protocols at gym centers.We have to stop the spread ofcorona infection along withstaying healthy."

The meeting came after anorder issued by Delhi DisasterManagement Authority say-ing that the gyms and yoga cen-tres will be allowed to open

outside the containment zonesin Delhi. The order was issuedon September 13, and varioussafety measures such as ther-mal screening, limited entry,

and regular sanitization of thegym areas are being followed toensure safety inside the gyms.

Kejriwal appealed to thegym owners that they shouldensure all the ‘StandardOperating Procedures’ issuedby the central government areproperly followed.

“People coming for work-outs at these establishmentsshould follow all safety stan-dards and protocols to cease thespread of Corona infection.The Delhi government hasstarted opening the city afterUnlock orders of the Centralgovernment were issued andthe economic activities alsobegan in Delhi. It took sometime to get the permit for theopenings of gyms but we con-

tinued raising the issue in theDDMA meetings,” he said. .

“I am glad that we wereable to convince LieutenantGovernor that the opening ofyoga and gym establishmentswere very important so thatpeople stay healthy andimmune,” he said.

Meanwhile, the nationalCapital recorded 4,127 freshCOVID-19 cases on Friday,taking the total number ofpersons infected with coron-avirus to over 2.38 lakh.

According to the Delhihealth department bulletin theactive cases tally was 32250 andout of the total number of bedsin Covid hospitals, 8018 arevacant. As per report, 2335beds in Covid care centres are

occupied by persons underquarantine, including travellerswho have returned by ‘VandeBharat Mission’ and bubbleflights, it said.

The number of tests doneper million, as was 127927 itsaid. A total of 201671 patientshave recovered, migrated orbeen discharged. The numberof COVID-19 containmentzones in Delhi has risen to1751.

On Thursday, Delhirecorded 4,432 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to over2.34 lakh while the death tollreached 4,877 with 38 freshfatalities. While on Wednesday,the national capital had regis-tered a record single-day spikeof 4,473 COVID-19 cases.

���''���%������� *-)�.-/01

With an aim to increase thespeed and ensure timely

running of trains includinggoods trains, Indian Railwayshas initiated several measuresfor upgrading the infrastruc-ture, modernising the rollingstock for streamlining opera-tions.

In a written reply to aquestion in the Rajya Sabha,Railways Minister Piyush Goyalsaid the blueprint for increas-ing the speeds of trains will betaken such as including increas-ing the track speeds on trunkroutes to 130 Kmph, enhancingthe speed potential of GoldenQuadrilateral and its diagonalto 160 Kmph.

Accordingly, 160 Kmphprojects on the Delhi-Mumbaiand Delhi-Howrah sectors arealready sanctioned, he said,adding that discontinuance ofmanufacturing of IntegralCoach Factory (ICF) designcoaches with ‘MaximumPermissible Speed’ (MPS) of110 kmph and enhanced man-ufacture of Linke HofmannBusch (LHB) coaches withMPS of 160 Kmph.

“Introduction of modernsignaling systems such as ‘TrainCollision Avoidance System’(TCAS), accelerated removal ofpermanent speed restrictions,construction of roads overbridges and under bridges willalso be done to eliminate levelcrossing gates,” he said.

"The average runningspeeds of trains on railway sys-tems depend upon various fac-tors, such as, type of trackstructure, signalling systems,motive power, type of rollingstock, network congestion, etc,”he said.

“Some of the internationalrailway systems, such as theShinkansen in Japan andtheTGV system in France, havededicated networks of highspeed railway lines with maxi-mum speeds over 300 Kmph.The average running speeds ofall categories of trains acrossdifferent railway systems abroadare not compiled,” he added.

The railway minister fur-ther said that Indian Railwayshas a heterogeneous system

with freight trains and passen-ger carrying trains being oper-ated on common tracks with avery high level of capacity uti-lization.

During the financial year2019-20, the average speed ofpremium trains (Rajdhani,Shatabdi, Duranto and VandeBharat) was above 70 kmph,Superfast trains was above 55kmph, express services wasabove 50 kmph and that offreight trains was 24 kmph.However, during the currentfinancial year, i.e. 2020-21, theaverage speed of freight trainshas increased to 46.71 kmph, hesaid.

In reply to another ques-tion, he said that IndianRailways has planned to set up

solar plants on its vacant landand along the tracks. “As a partof this initiative, 4.7 Mega Watt(MW) land based solar plantshave already been commis-sioned. Action has been takenfor installation of solar powerprojects on unused railwayland at Bhilai (Chhattisgarh, 50MegaWatt (MW), Diwana(Haryana, 2 MW)

To further proliferate solarplants, railways has planned toinstall solar plants of 20 GigaWatt (GW) capacity by theyear 2030 by utilizing its vacantland and to begin with, bids for3 GW solar plants on vacantrailway land parcels and landparcels along the railway trackhave already been invited, hesaid.

���''���%������� *-)�.-/01

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

charge Durgesh Pathak onFriday alleged that the BJPruled municipal Corporationsused distorted map of India inbooks meant for 4th standardstudents.

Pathak said that the samemaps were issued by China andPakistan. Slamming the BJP-ruled Corporation, he said thatthe attempts made by Pakistanand the Chinese Governmentsfor years to play with the ter-ritorial integrity of India, havebeen validated and provenright by the BJP-led MCD.

On behalf of the AAP,Pathak demanded immediatewithdrawal of these books andsaid that all the BJP leaders and

officials associated with this actshould be booked under sedi-tion. Addressing the media, hesaid, "Many revolutionariesand freedom fighters have suf-fered in jail because of demand-ing freedom for our nation,they stayed in jail for years andsacrificed their lives and manypeople were martyred for ourfreedom”.

“Since India gained inde-pendence, we fought threewars for the protection of ournation and its people. Manysoldiers were martyred andmany women lost their hus-bands and mothers lost theirsons but unfortunately, theattempts made by Pakistanand the Chinese governmentsfor years to play with the ter-ritorial integrity of India, havebeen validated and proven

right by the BJP-led MCD,” hesaid.

“The maps that have beenprinted in the books of the 4thstandard of MCD's schools arethe same maps that are issuedby the Pakistan governmentand the same maps which areissued by the Chinese govern-ment have been approved forthe books of the MCD schoolsin Delhi,” he said, adding thatthe fact that they cannot cleanroads and cannot pay salariesto their staff can be forgiven butplaying with territorial integri-ty cannot be forgiven.

“How is it possible thatthese maps are being given tostudents in the classrooms?There is an education com-mittee that approves the syl-labus and everything forschools,” he asked?

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Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on Friday

slammed the farm legislations“being forced on to the nation”by the Central Government aspart of the Kisan maaru, Punjabmaaru (Destroy Farmers,Destroy Punjab) conspiracy ofthe BJP-led NDA, of which theAkalis “shamelessly” continueto be a part at the cost of theirown State and its people.

“I don’t know what enmitythe BJP and the Akalis have withPunjab and why they are out todestroy us,” said the ChiefMinister while launching the vir-tual Kisan Mela of the PunjabAgriculture University,Ludhiana. The launch was heldwith virtual connectivity at 100

locations and participated byfarmers, farmer representatives,and other stakeholders, includ-ing Ministers, MLAs and PunjabCongress president Sunil Jakhar.

Warning again that the leg-islations will lead to growingangst among the people in theborder State, thus giving Pakistanthe opportunity to stoke morefires, Capt Amarinder said thatthe anti-farmer move will spoilPunjab’s abo hawa (environ-ment). “Delhi has to rethink onthis issue,” he stressed, adding thatthe legislations would undo thesacrifices made by Punjab and itsfarmers over 65 years to makeIndia self-sufficient in food.

Accusing the Akalis of play-ing their own political games inthis entire affair, Capt Amarinderasked the Badals why the SAD hadfailed to stand with the Punjab

Government on these Bills andeven on the critical water issue.“Did you not think even once whatwill happen to Punjab withoutagriculture and without water?” heasked the Akalis, pointing out thatwith the SYL issue hanging overthe State, the situation was perilousand the SAD had only con-tributed to the crisis by support-ing the farm ordinances.

“Notwithstanding theCentre’s denials, these new lawswill eventually pave the way forthe elimination of the MSPregime and end of the FCI(Food Corporation of India),leaving the farmers at the mercyof big corporates, as recom-mended by the Shanta Kumarcommittee.

Strongly opposing the legis-lations, the Chief Minister alsotrashed the Centre’s guarantee of

MSP not being tampered with,saying that it was aConstitutional guarantee givenby the Parliament, which, in fact,the incumbent government atthe Centre was trying to destroywith their brute majority. “Eventhe MSP already announced onitems like Maize is not beinggiven to the farmers,” he noted,questioning the sincerity of theGovernment of India.

Categorically rejecting BJPand SAD claims that Punjab wason board with the farm ordi-nances, the Chief Minister madeit clear that the issue of any suchordinances or new laws on agri-culture was never discussed at anyof the meetings in which hisGovernment was represented atthe high-powered committee setup by the Centre on agriculturalreforms.

Page 3:  · 2 days ago  · The details can be viewed and downloaded online directly from the Government of Chhattisgarh Integrated e-Procurement Portal () from Date 24.09.2020, at …

RAIPUR | SATURDAY | SEPTEMBER 19, 2020chhattisgarh 03

The Raipur district administration on Friday issued the zone maps of Covid-19 hotspotareas of the capital city. The administration urged people not to visit these hotspot zonesunnecessarily. Pioneer Photo

e-PROCUREMENT TENDER NOTICEeProcurement Portal: https://eproc.cgstate.gov.in

(First Call)System Tender No. 67797/ NIT No. : 11/SAC/2020-21 Dated : 17/09/2020Online Tenders are invited for the following works up to 08/10/2020 at 17:30 Hour Name of Work : Construction of Cross Regulator at RD. 14310 m. and 3.22 m. Fall at RD.

15000 m. of Sondur Feeder Canal.Probable Amount of Contract : Rs. 405.85 Lakhs

The details can be viewed and downloaded online directly from the Government of Chhattisgarh Integratede-Procurement Portal (https://eproc.cgstate.gov.in) from Date 24.09.2020, at 17:31 Hours.(IST) onwards.NOTE :- All eligible/intrested contractors/bidders are mandated to get enrolled on the Integratede-procurement portal (https://eproc.cgstate.gov.in) and get approval on specific vendor class fromPWD under Centralized Contractor/Supplier Registration in order to download the tender documentsand participate in the subsequent bidding process.

GOVERNMENT OF CHHATTISGARH, WATER RESOURCES DEPARTMENTOFFICE OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER

MAHANADI PROJECT, RAIPUR (CHHATTISGARH)

Executive EngineerWater Management Dn., Rudri

Code No. 38for, Chife Engineer

Mahanadi Project, Raipur (C.G.)G- 83743/5 Ryp/Dtd 18.9.20

e-Procurement Tender NoticeMain Portal: http://eproc.cgstate.gov.in

NIT NO: 328/RSCL/2020 RAIPUR DATED: 17/09/2020Online bids are invited for the following of works up to 08/10/2020 at 17:30 hours.

The details can be viewed and downloaded online directly from the Government of Chhattisgarh e-ProcurementPortal https://eproc.cgstate.gov.in and website of Raipur Smart City Limited https://www.smartcityraipur.orgfrom 17/09/2020 17:30 Hours (IST) onwards up to 08/10/2020 up to 17:30 Hrs.For more details on the tender and bidding process you may please visit the above-mentioned portal.

OFFICE OF THE RAIPUR SMART CITY LIMITED

MANAGING DIRECTORRAIPUR SMART CITY LIMITED,

RAIPUR (C.G.)

Sl.No.

SystemTender No.

Name of work/Description of work Tenderamount

EMDAmount

Time Period

1 67893 Construction of Vending Zone below Telibandha Overbridgein Raipur

` 156.40 LAKH

` 1.57 LAKH

06 Month includingmonsoon season

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

The challenge has beentaken up to develop

Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi,Chhattisgarh's newest dis-trict, as per the expectationsof its residents, ChiefMinister Bhupesh Baghelannounced on Friday.

The dedication andfoundation laying ceremonyof development works of`332 crores will give a newdirection to the district forprogress, he said whileaddressing its residents vir-tually from Raipur after theceremony.

He said it wasannounced on August 15,2019 to form the new dis-trict and it came into exis-tence on February 10, 2020.

Recalling freedom fight-ers Barrister ThakurChedilal and Pt Madhav RaoSapre, Baghel said the dis-trict has historical impor-tance in terms of heritage,religion and tourism.

The river Narmadabegins its journey fromMarwahi and do does riverArpa. Besides promising tokeep the Arpa river clean,Baghel announced an ‘ArpaMahotsav’.

Presiding, AssemblySpeaker Dr Charan DasMahant said it is a dreamcome true for the Marwahiresidents that their demandfor a separate district hasbeen fulfilled after years. MPJyotsana Mahant and cabinetMinisters ere also linked vir-tually to the event.

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

Chhattisgarh has 27 percentchildren whose lack of

nourishment cannot be curedjust by feeding but it is neces-sary to identity their healthproblems and admit them inhealth centres, a senior officialsaid on Friday.

The Secretary in theDepartment of Women andChild Development, PrasannaR, said this as part of an aware-ness campaign of ‘Poshan Maah’(Nutrition Month) beingobserved in Chhattisgarh.

An online trainingprogramme was conducted onFriday via webinar to identifyserious and moderatelymalnourished children andtheir management by thecommunity.

Prasanna told thedepartment officials to work incoordination with the HealthDepartment.

He said that Anganwadi

workers and assistants aredirectly connected to the com-munity and they can play animportant role to bring aboutbehaviour change in the society.

UNICEF state head JobZachariah Said that 68 percentof children died in India due tomalnutrition.

It has been observed thatmalnutrition increases with adisaster. Malnutrition of chil-dren is expected to increase by14 percent after the Covid-19

epidemic, he added.He called for a fight against

both Covid and malnutrition.Zachariah also underlined

the need for breast feeding forsix months and the need fordiet and vaccination in chil-dren.

The webinar was attendedby UNICEF Nutrition SpecialistFarhat Sayed, Technical Expertfrom New Delhi Dr. AmarNidhi and Abhishek Singh fromUNICEF.

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

Chhattisgarh LabourMinister Dr

Shivkumar Dahariya onFriday gave away sewingmachines to 30 ragpickerwomen so that they takeup sewing and embroideryat the Skill DevelopmentCentre in Raipur.

The Minister also gavean advance amount of`1,000 for their immediateexpenses.

The new respectablework will bring positivechanges in their lives, hesaid, and urged otherwomen to also becomeself-dependent.

Dr Dahariya said

shops will be provided to10 women who developskills at the Centre underthe Urban SlumDevelopment Scheme.

He said the govern-ment has told officials tobring ragpicker women

into the mainstream ofsociety and prepare betteremployment opportunitiesfor them.

Chief Secretary R.P.Mandal said stitching andembroidery will definitelyimprove their lives.

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

Aspecial revision of theelectoral roll ahead of

elections to urban bodies inChhattisgarh has been post-poned due to the spread ofthe Covid-19 pandemic,State ElectionCommissioner Thakur RamSingh said on Friday.

He said in a statementthat the decision was takenon the request of DistrictCollectors.

The Commission hadissued notification forrevision of electoral roll onJuly 21. The primary publi-cation of the electoral rollwas to be done on

September 9 and claims,objections and correctionswere to be invited fromSeptember 18.

Elections are due to atotal of 10 urban bodies ineight districts: Durg,Bemetara, Raipur, Korea,Sukma, Bijapur, Kanker andSurajpur.

These include theMunicipal Corporation ofBhilai, Risali and Birgaon,Municipal Council ofShivpurcharcha, and NagarPanchayat Maro, Konta,B h a i r a m g a r h ,Bhopalpatnam, Narharpurand Prem Nagar.

A by-election is also duein Nagar PanchayatMagarload ward Number 11

in Dhamtari district.Thakur Ram said the

primary publication of theelectoral roll was doneeverywhere except in Durg,which has been hit seriouslyby Covid-19.

The Deputy DistrictElection Officers ofBemetara, Korea, Raipur,Sukma, Bijapur, Surajpur,Kanker and Dhamtari havealso urged postponement ofthe electoral roll reviewprocess in view of thecoronavirus.

Thakur Ram said thatconsidering the prevailingconditions, the completeschedule of electoral rollrevision has beensuspended.

C'garh amendsrules to ensuretoilets in factoriesRAIPUR: In a significant move, thegovernment has amended theChhattisgarh Factories Rules 1962 toensure a toilet for every 25 womenemployees. It is also mandatory toprovide a toilet for every 25 maleemployees.

The government said on Fridaythat it had amended section 46 of theChhattisgarh Factories Rules.

At least one toilet must be pro-vided compulsorily for every 25women workers -- like in the case ofmen.

For more than 100 men in a fac-tory, one toilet for each 25 men up tothe first 100 and another toilet foreach 50 men will have to be arranged,the government order said.

Women toilets must haveadequate sanitary napkins as perIndian standards and these should besupplied daily, it said.

Sewing machines help ragpickerwomen to start new lives

Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi willdevelop as people want: CM

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

Chhattisgarh Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel on Friday

expressed concern that theCentral government’s 'OneNation, One Market’ ordinanceis unfavourable for farmersand will ruin the ‘mandi’system.

Most farmers are smallmarginalized farmers who can-not travel to other states to selltheir agricultural produce.This will deprive farmers fromreceiving minimum supportprice for their crops, he saidafter inaugurating and layingfoundation of developmentworks for Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi district.

Baghel said the amend-ments done by the Centre in

the Essential Goods Act willcreate problems to act againsthoarding and inflation.

Contractual farming willfavour private companies, hesaid. The entry of private com-panies into cooperative sectorwill result in multinationalcompanies and industrialiststaking over the cooperativesinstitutions.

The Chief Minister said

while many countries havemanaged to successfully con-trol Covid-19, it has become acrisis in India.

If the Central governmenthad adopted a more creativeand compassionate approach,the nation would not have hadgone through such a difficulttime, he said.

He said that using thecorona crisis, the Central gov-ernment has brought fourordinances for exploitation offarmers today.

With amendments in theEssential Goods Act 1955, pro-duction and sale of fertilizershave also been deregulated.Provision has been made toallow private equity in contrac-tual farming and cooperativebanks.

27 percent malnourished childrenneed admission in health centres

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

The Chhattisgarh HealthDepartment on Friday

fixed rates of CT scan for pri-vate hospitals and labs --`1,870 for CT Chest withoutcontrast for lungs and `2,354with contrast for lungs.

The rate of high-resolu-tion HRCT investigationrequired during Covid-19treatment has been fixed, anofficial press release said.

“As per the order releasedby the Health Department,`1,870 will be charged for CTChest without contrast forlungs (and) `2,354 will becharged for CT Chest withcontrast for lungs,” it said.

The order said that allprivate hospitals and labs offer-ing Covid treatment mustcharge the fee prescribed by the

government. Also, only essen-tial investigation should be car-ried out as per Covid protocolset by the ICMR and the gov-ernment.

Further, the RT-PCR/True-Nat and antigentest will be done only at ICMRand state government author-ized hospitals and labs.

Violation of these direc-tives will attract penalty underthe Epidemic Diseases Act1897 and the ChhattisgarhEpidemic Diseases Covid-19Regulation Act 2020, the pressrelease said.

‘One Nation, One Market’ordinance against farmers

Electoral roll revisionpostponed due to Covid

STAFF REPORTER n BIJAPUR

AChhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) consta-ble who had gone missing was found dead

on Friday in Bijapur district, police said,adding he had been killed by Naxalites.

The body of Mallu Ram Suryawanshi (38),who went missing from his camp a week ago,was found on the Bijapur-Gangloor road nearPadeda village, Inspector General of Police(Bastar) Sundarraj P said. A police team shift-ed the body to a hospital for post-mortem.

The Gangaloor area committee of theMaoists claimed responsibility for the murderin a pamphlet recovered from the spot, the

officer said. Suryanwanshi, from Bilaspur dis-trict, was attached to the 17th Battalion of CAF.

He was posted in the Battalion's pioneercompany which handles construction works,including setting up police camps, in interiorareas, Sundarraj said.

Prima facie, it seems he was killed withsharp-edged weapons but the exact cause of thedeath will be known after the autopsy, he said.

A search operation has been launched totrace the assailants. With this, eight people --three policemen, a forest official and four civil-ians -- have been killed in separate Naxalite-related incidents in Bijapur district in the lastone month, the officer said.

Body of missing CAF jawanfound, Maoists killed him

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

The family of Chhattisgarhresident Jhamsingh

Dhurve who was allegedlykilled by the Madhya PradeshPolice in Kabirdham districtwas sanctioned `4 lakh infinancial assistance from theChief Minister discretionaryfund on Friday.

The assistance wasannounced at the initiative ofForest Minister MohammedAkbar who is an MLA fromKawardha assembly inKabirdham district, an officialpress release said.

Earlier, the district admin-istration had provided `1 lakhto the distraught family, thestatement said.

Akbar said that JhamsinghDhurve of Balsamund village

in the Jhalmala police stationarea in Kabirdham was shotdead in firing by the MadhyaPradesh Police on theinter-state border onSeptember 6. Another villager,Nem Singh Dhurve, escapedunhurt.

Preliminary findings ofJhalmala police pointed thatthe MP Police allegedlyopened unprovoked fire onthe two tribals while they werereturning after fishing inMadhya Pradesh, Akbar hadsaid earlier.

The Minister said the trib-als had no connection withNaxalites.

Akbar has also written toMadhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Shivraj SinghChouhan and raised the issuewith Chhattisgarh GovernorAnusuiya Uikey.

Family of man killed byMP Police to get `4L

Chhattisgarh govtfixes CT-scan rates

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Parliament on Friday passeda Bill to reduce for one year

the salaries of MPs by 30 percent “to meet the exigenciesarising out of the Covid-19pandemic”. The Bill was passedin Rajya Sabha with a voice votewhile Lok Sabha had passed theSalary, Allowances and Pensionof Members of Parliament(Amendment) Bill, 2020 Billearlier this week. The RajyaSabha also approved two Bills,replacing ordinances relatedto the Central Council ofHomoeopathy and the IndianMedicine Central Council.

While supporting the cutsin salaries, most Oppositionmembers who participated inthe discussion urged the gov-ernment to review its decisionto suspend the Members ofParliament Local AreaDevelopment (MPLAD)scheme for two years saying it

was necessary to carry outdevelopment works in theirrespective constituencies.Parliamentary Affairs MinisterPralhad Joshi, however, saidthis was a temporary suspen-sion.

Minister of State for HomeG Kishan Reddy moved theSalaries and Allowances ofMinisters (Amendment) Bill,2020 and both bills were takenup simultaneously and passedby voice vote.

During the debate, Joshisaid it did not matter howmuch money was being savedthrough salary cuts of mem-bers. “Charity should beginfrom home and that is the con-cept we have started. It is not�4 crore saving as said byDMK member but � 53.9 croreper year from members’ salary,”he said. DMK member PWilson had earlier during thediscussion said the measurewould entail savings of just �4

crore.On several opposition

members asking the govern-ment to stop various projectslike Bullet train and construc-tion of a new Parliament build-ing to cut costs, Joshi said,“First you say public spendingshould be increased and nowyou are demanding that allthese projects should bestopped. At least, we don’t pay

to some private trust from PMRelief fund. These peopleraised similar issues in 2019election and people haveanswered,” Joshi further said.

Reddy said COVID-19 hasimpacted the incomes of peo-ple working in the private sec-tor and so the Prime Ministerinitiated this bill which entails30 per cent reduction in min-isters’ salaries.

Senior Congress leaderGhulam Nabi Azad saidaround 70 per cent MPsdepend on their salaries andhave to take care of everyexpense through these emolu-ments alone. He said MPLADfunds are meant for takingcare of needy people in theirconstituencies and are utilisedfor various things like pur-chasing ambulances, making

small roads and communitycentres.

“It (MPLAD) should notbe suspended for two years.How did you presume thatcorona will go on for twoyears? Even if you had to do ityou should have reduced it byhalf to �2.5 crore. My sugges-tion to the Government will beto reduce it to one year and inthat one year �2.5 crore fund be

kept,” he said.Similarly, Vishambhar

Prasad Nishad (SP), V VijaysaiReddy (YSRCP), KSomaprasad (CPI-M), FauziaKhan (NCP), Veer Singh (BSP),Nazir Ahmed Laway (PDP)while supporting the reductionin salaries, sought restorationof the MPLAD scheme.

Pointing at the PM CARESfund, Congress MP Rajeev

Satav said “no one knows towhom it is caring”. He alsopointed out expenses by thegovernment during the pan-demic on projects such asCentral Vista, Bullet train anda special �850 crore aircraft forthe PM. Trinamool Congressmember Dinesh Trivedi saidthe bill for reduction of mem-bers’ salaries was decided onlyby some MPs on whatsapp.

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Indian genes are helping bat-tling coronavirus and reduc-

ing the mortality rate in com-parison to the US and Europe,according to scientists includ-ing an expert from the BanarasHindu University (BHU). Thestudy is published in the PLOSONE journal.

A team comprising distin-guished genetic experts fromsix institutions, led by ProfGyaneshwer Chaubey of theBHU, analysed complete DNAdata of the Angiotensin-con-verting enzyme 2 (ACE2) geneof X chromosome from variouscontinental populations andfound that it is the Indian genesthat have protected the popu-lation and helped battle thedeadly virus.

This explains why the mor-

tality rate of COVID-19 hasbeen much higher in Europeancountries and in the US, ascompared to India andSoutheast Asian countries, theysaid.

The scientists have provid-

ed a possible molecular genet-ic explanation for why Iranians,Europeans and Americans ofEuropean ancestry are at moremortality risk to the novelCoronavirus than people inIndia and East Asia, as reflect-

ed in the current global distri-bution of reported COVID-19cases per 1,00,000 inhabitants.

The international teamanalysed complete DNA data ofthe ACE2 gene from variouscontinental populations andfound that certain mutations inthis gene are helping SouthAsian and East Asian popula-tions in successfully battling thevirus and reducing mortalityrate in comparison to the USand Europe.

There have been a few ini-tial studies on the ACE2 geneby other research groups, butall of them looked for thepresence or absence of variousmutations, whereas, this teamused more powerful haplo-type-based analysis (themethod in which experts breakthe whole length of DNA intoseveral pieces and make com-

parisons).The second important

finding is about two majormutations which are responsi-ble for strengthening the entrypoint of the Coronavirusamong South Asians. “Thus,this paper adds importantpotential implications tounderstanding the transmis-sion patterns of Coronavirus invarious populations across theworld,” said Anshika Srivastava,one of the authors of the paper.

Rudra Pandey and PrajwalSingh from BHU, AvinashRasalkar, Pankaj Srivastavafrom Sagar Central University,Rakesh Tamang from CalcuttaUniversity and Pramod Kumarfrom National Centre forDisease Control (NCDC) werealso involved in this research.

%��� *-)�.-/01

As the Covid-19 batteredworld continue to scout for

vaccine to combat the deadlyvirus, States in India are bank-ing on herbal immunity boost-ers among other safety normslike masks and social distanc-ing to keep the pathogen at abay which has so far infected 54lakhs people and claimed83,000 lives across the country.

While Tamil Nadu is dis-tributing Siddha-based herbalimmunity boosters like‘Athimathuram’ and ‘KabasuraKudineer’, Karnataka is sup-plying ayurveda-based immu-nity enhancing tablets anddecoction to the locals as part

of the fight against coronavirus.So is the case with Delhi andPunjab where cops are beingarmed with the formulationbased on medicinal plants andessential oils to fight the virusfrom the front.

Punjab has recentlyannounced doling out to itspolice personnel Covid-carekits having medical gadgetslike mask, oximeter besidesmedicines and an herbal immu-nity booster Amynity Plus tocombat the virus. Nearly 3,800police personnel have testedCovid positive in the State.

The herbal formulation isextract of around 51 herbs likeharad, Neem, Amla, Sunthi,Ashwagandha, Gudduchi

besides eight essential oils toempower immunity of the bodysystem.

Dr Sanchit Sharma,Executive Director of AIMILPharmaceuticals which hasdeveloped the herbal brew,noted that not only a strongimmune system but multi-sys-tem immune defence could bethe perfect solution to tackle theinfection which has brought theworld standstill.

Like in Punjab, police per-sonnel in Delhi are being dis-tributed ‘Ayuraksha Kit’ com-prising of ‘Kadha’ concoction(herbal tea), ‘Sanshmani’ tablet(made from Giloy), oil to beused as nasal drops and pack ofChyawanprash while Tamil

Nadu is offer-ing the concoc-tion like‘Athimathuram’and ‘KabasuraKudineer’.

“These arenot a cure forCovid-19 butfor boosting theimmunity of anindividual,” saidChief MinisterEdappadi K

Palaniswami launched thescheme by distributing thedrink to police personnel.

Similarly, KarnatakaGovernment is offeringayurveda-based immunityboosting tablets and decoctionto lakhs of families inShivamogga under an initia-tive by Karnataka RuralDevelopment and PanchayatRaj Minister K S Eshwarappaas part of the fight againstcovid-19. Likewise, UttarPradesh too is pushing herbalimmunity boosters to fight thevirus.

In fact, scientists fromGovernment organisations tooare doing their bit in thisregard. For instance, Dr SanjayJachak, scientist fromResearchers from NationalInstitute of Pharmaceutical Educationand Research (NIPER) inMohali, Punjab has devel-oped an immunity boosterherbal tea —a combination ofsix herbs such as Aswagandha,Giloy, Mulethi, Tulsi andGreenTea--to strengthen thebody and build physical resis-tance to the virulent infec-tions.

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Earlier in the day, theHomoeopathy Central

Council (Amendment) Bill,2020 seeking to further extendthe time to form the CentralCouncil of Homeopathy by ayear and the Indian MedicineCentral Council(Amendment) Bill, 2020 alsoseeking a year’s time to recon-stitute the central council andprovides for a board of direc-tors to exercise its powers inthe interim period was passedin the Upper House after adebate.

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The Congress on Fridayannounced to launch a

nationwide agitation againstthe Centre’s three agriculture-related Bills. It is in talks withother Opposition parties tocome on board to corner theModi Government on thefarmer related issue which hasalso led to the resignation ofUnion Minister HarsimranKaur of Shiromani Akali Dal,BJP’s oldest ally in the NDA.

With farmers protestingagainst the bills, Congressalleged that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has misled thefarmers and the country andModi is a big liar.

“Person sitting on primeminister’s post should notmislead farmers and country.The PM is lying at a timewhen the country is battlingcoronavirus and China isbreathing down our neck,”Congress chief spokespersonRandeep Singh Surjewala said

at AICC Press conferencenear Parliament.

Congress said any move to“disturb” the present procure-ment system may deepen“social unrest” amongst farm-ers of the state”. “We urge uponthe government to review andreconsider these measures asthese are unlikely to deliver onthe promises made to them.Agri-marketing should be leftto the states as envisaged in theConstitution,” the party said.

Congress again ques-

tioned as to why the ModiGovernment is trying to fin-ish off MSP. “Both theAgriculture minister and thePM are saying that MSP willcontinue but when mandiswill be finished, who will giveMSP? Will FCI (FoodCorporation of India) go tofarmers’ fields to give MSP?”Prime Minister NarendraModi says now farmers cansell produce anywhere, 86.2per cent farmers own lessthan six acres of land and 60

per cent own less than twoacres of land. How can suchpoor farmers have access tofar-off markets,” Surjewalasaid. He was joined by hisparty colleagues andParliamentarians GauravGogoi, Rajeev Satav, JasbirSingh Gill, Hibi Eden, andAmar Singh.

Surjewala further askedthe Centre, “How will smallfarmers f ight for r ightsagainst mega corporate?”“When APMC act will nolonger be there, how willsmall farmers, mandi workersand transporters earn theirlivelihood? The mandi feeshelps development in vil-lages,” Surjewala said alsoannouncing for the joint agi-tation against the decision.

AICC sources said thatagitation being planned withother parties can be bothphysical and virtual.

Accusing the Congressof doublespeak, the BJP hasbeen pointing out that theopposition party itself had inits manifesto for 2019 LokSabha elections proposed theabolition of APMC Act andmaking agricultural producefree from restrictions.

But former Har yanaChief Minister BhupinderSingh Hooda said his partywi l l move a resolut ionagainst the legislations whenthe assembly session is con-vened. Talking to reporterslater, Hooda said Haryanafarmers are facing an exis-tential crisis due to the three“black laws”, which will “takeaway” the protection pro-vided to them. It is importantthat all parties raise theirvoice in the interest of theState’s farmers, he said,adding that they will notallow the implementation ofthe legislations in Haryana.

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Following the agreementbetween External affairs

minister S Jaishankar and hisChinese counterpart Wang Yion September 10 to defusetension at the Line of ActualControl (LAC) at the earliest,the next round of militarylevel talks will see India urgingsimultaneous disengagementand de-escalation. The CorpsCommander-level talksbetween the two armies arelikely to take place in the nexttwo to three days.

The Indian stance during

the forthcoming military leveltalks was discussed at greatlength for more than 90 min-utes in the China StudyGroup(CSG)meeting chairedby National Security AdvisorAjit Doval here on Friday,sources said. The top defencebrass including Chief ofDefence Staff(CDS)GeneralBipin Rawat took part in thecrucial meeting, they added.

The two commanders LtGeneral Harinder Singh andMajor General Liu Lin haveheld five rounds of parleys sofar since June 6 but no signif-icant improvement took place

on the ground. The last roundwas held on August 2 when itwas agreed to disengage andde-escalate.

However, China did nothonour the commitment andin fact tried to unilaterallyalter the LAC in south bank ofthe Pangong Tso(lake)onAugust 29 and 30. The aggres-sive action was thwarted by theIndian army.

Moreover, both the sides inthe last fortnight fired morethan 200 rounds in the air onat least four occasions therebyincreasing tension at thealready volatile border.

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Sudarshan TV, which is fac-ing legal proceedings in the

Supreme Court, has moved anapplication seeking a live tele-cast of the hearing of the plea,which has raised a grievanceover its “Bindas Bol” pro-gramme, the promo of whichhad claimed that the channelwould air a “big expose on theconspiracy to infiltrate Muslimsin government service”.

On September 15, the topcourt had restrained the chan-nel from telecasting theepisodes of “Bindas Bol” tillfurther orders, saying that “theintent” of the episodes “primafacie” appeared to “vilify” theMuslim community.

The application filed bySudarshan News through itsdirector and editor SureshChavhanke said, “It is respect-

fully submitted that the presentcase is one of the most impor-tant cases concerning the pub-lic at large as the question offreedom of press protected byArticle 19(1)(a) of theConstitution of India isinvolved.”

It said crores of viewers ofthe channel want to knowabout the legal proceedingsand hear the points of argu-ments being raised by the par-ties.

“Direct for a live telecast ofthe proceedings of this casethrough audio-visual broad-casting/telecasting universallyby an official agency as thecourt may deem fit and prop-er,” the application said.

A bench comprising jus-tices D Y Chandrachud, InduMalhotra and K M Joseph willtake up the matter for hearingat 12 noon.

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The Supreme Court hasenhanced the compensa-

tion to a victim of road accidentsaying that courts should bemindful that a serious injurynot only imposes disabilitiesbut also inflicts deep mentaland emotional scars.

The apex court said it hasemphasised time and againthat “just compensation”should include all elementsthat would go to place the vic-tim in as near a position as sheor he was in, before the occur-rence of the accident.

The top court said that noamount of money or othermaterial compensation canerase the trauma, pain and suf-fering of the victims.

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Eminent fashion designerSharbari Dutta on Friday

was found dead under myste-rious circumstances police saidadding she was discovereddead inside her bathroom withblood oozing out of her mouthand some bruises on her ankle.

Dutta 63 and daughter ofDutta Bengali poet Ajit Dutta,was a pioneer of male fashiondesigning. She had draped agalaxy of cricketing icons likeSachin Tendulkar, SunilGavaskar, Imran Khan, KapilDev, Sourav Ganguly apart

from a host of film personali-ties and politicians.

Dutta reportedly did notenjoy good chemistry with hisson and his wife who lived inthe same building runningseparate brands after the moth-er and the son parted waysthree years ago.

Though preliminary post-mortem reports suggested she“might have suffered a cerebralattack,” the police would notcome out with any final con-clusion. “The investigationprocess is on and things wouldbe clear in a few days thoughinitial PM reports suggest thatshe had suffered cerebralstroke.”

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Fifteen more Covid-19 patients died here in Jammu &Kashmir while 1,330 new cases of coronavirus were

reported taking the total tally of active positive cases to20,770 and the total number of deaths to 966 on Friday.

Compared to Kashmir valley, the situation is worrisomeacross Jammu region as no district remains untouched withthe spread of the virus in the last two weeks.

The hilly districts of Doda and Kishtwar and twin bor-der districts of Rajouri and Poonch are recording spike innumber of cases due to blatant violation of social distanc-ing norms and ignorance over use of face masks in public.

Several social gatherings in the region were directlylinked to spread of the virus in remote areas of the hilly dis-tricts. Meanwhile, situation across Jammu hospitals remaingrim. Large number of patients from the periphery arereaching GMC, Jammu for admission and when they failedto get hospital bed or admission in the isolation ward thecaretakers show their resentment as chaos is prevailing inthe hospital premises.

According to the media bulletin, 672 cases were report-ed from Jammu while Kashmir region recorded 658 cases.Out of fifteen deaths, 10 patients died in Jammu and fivein Kashmir valley on Friday. Out of 20770 active positivecases, Jammu region accounted for 11823 patients whileKashmir reported 8947 cases. Out of 966 deaths, 757 werereported from Kashmir and 209 from Jammu region.

A total number of 39,305 patients have recovered so faracross Jammu & Kashmir.

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The forecasts made by ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan and

Health Minister KK Shylaja early thismonth is coming true in Kerala as thenumber of persons diagnosed withCovid-19 continued to surge ahead onFriday too. The last 24 hours saw theState identifying 4,167 new patientsacross Kerala out of which 3, 849 per-sons contracted the disease throughsocial contact.

The death toll in the State touched501 by Friday evening as theDepartment of Health confirmed that12 persons succumbed to the pan-demic. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, CPI(M)State Secretary who addressed themedia earlier in the day blamed theopposition BJP and the Congress forthe surge in the Covid-19 cases.

“The demonstrations and ralliesstaged by the BJP and the Congress

across Kerala were with the intentionof sabotaging the good works beingdone by the CPI(M)-led Government.They threw to the wind all safety pro-tocols and restrictions like wearingfacemasks and maintaining social dis-tancing,” Balakrishnan said whilespeaking to the press after the StateSecretariat meet.

Thiruvananthapuram districttopped the table with 926 new patientson Friday while Kozhikode diagnosed404 patients. Except in Wynadu districtwhich diagnosed 68 new cases, all dis-tricts registered high numbers ofpatients. The medical fraternity in theState is upset over the ever increasingnumber of health workers who con-tract the pandemic. On Friday 102health workers were diagnosed withCovid-19. As on Friday, there were 35,724 Covid-19 patients in the State. OnFriday, 3,282 persons were admitted tohospitals across the State.

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Junior engineer Dharmpal ofmedical road electricity

house was suspended for giv-ing the wrong electricity con-nection. On his suspension, theunion of JEs visitedSuperintendent Engineer SKJain and said that wrong actionhas been taken againstDharmpal. In this case, theinquiry committee has beenestablished.

In the medical road pow-erhouse,there was a domesticconnection in the name ofAslam. Executive engineerAkhilesh Kumar told that a billwas outstanding for Rs 3.67lakh on Aslam’s connection. Anew connection cannot begiven on an outstanding billconnection.

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There was a time then thewhole world was crazy

about the cycle and all thecycles around the world werefitted with Aligarh lock at thattime. The frame lock was notmade anywhere in the worldexcept Aligarh. Its technologyand design were prepared bytechnicians of the Aligarh lockindustry. That lock was man-ufactured in more than hun-dreds of factories here.

But now the time haschanged and this industry hasbeen reduced to 30% only. Inaddition to the decreaseddemand for bicycles, theincreasing demand for thecable lock and wire lock alsoresults in the lagging demandof frame locks.

All kinds of locks are madein Aligarh from the vault to fur-niture and are export to dif-ferent countries from here, butby the year 1980, Aligarh wasrecognized worldwide for itsbicycle lock. Konark Lock,Link Lock, Harrison Lock,

Master Bajaj Lock, and otherwell-known brands had estab-lished unitary rule on domes-tic and foreign markets. At thattime, 70 to 100 skilled laborersworked in a factory. With pass-ing time, the design of the bicy-cle changed and the demandalso started decreasing becauseof the bike market. RangerCycle replaced StandardCycle.

The locks installed in themstarted being made in othercountries as well with newtechnologies. Cable and wirelock started trending in themarket. Due to the fashionlook, the demand of Aligarh'sframe lock started decreasing.After 2005, Chinese madecheap wire and cable lockscame in the market, this direct-ly affected the manufacturingunit of Aligarh.

President of AligarhManufacturing Bicycle LockAssociation Hari Om Aggarwalsaid that Aligarh bicycle lockshad a worldwide identity butchanging trends brought thecrisis on this business.

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Because of the increasingnumber of Corona patients,

the district administration hasbanned the supply of oxygencylinders for industries. Nowcylinders will be supplied in thehospital only. An order hasbeen issued on behalf of the druginspector to all four whole-salers in the city. The cylinderwill be issued for industry onlyunder special circumstances.

There are 4 wholesalerssupplying oxygen gas cylindersin the district. These includeRadhika Air Traders based atTalanagari, Laxmi Traders atRam Ghat Road, Universal GasCylinder at Masudabad, andTrilok Gas Service at MarrisRoad. These traders are supply-ing cylinders for industries andmedical purposes. Etah, Kasganj,Hathras, and Agra also getting cylinders from these

wholesalers.

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If your electricity bill is notreaching your home or there

is a mistake in the bill, thendon't worry, you will have tosend the old bill to Whatsappnumber 9193304552 of theElectricity Department and theproblem will be resolved.

If there is not too muchmistake in the bill then the newbill will be generated in an hourand will be reached on yourWhatsApp, otherwise, it will beavailable on the second day,Aligarh is the first district in thestate to start this facility.

During the corona period,the major problem was that thebill not reaching the con-sumers. Meter readers also didnot stop visiting the homes totake the readings during thelockdown.

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Even as the CPI(M) State Secretary KodiyeriBalakrishnan alleged about a BJP-Congress con-

spiracy to derail the Kerala Government, the Centralinvestigating agencies, probing the gold smuggling,import of Quran and violation of protocols by aMinister, said that the Intelligence Wing of the KeralaPolice was spying on them.

“Telephones of senior investigating officials arebeing tapped by the State Intelligence Wing report-ing directly to the Chief Minister. They are keepingan eye on all out activities in the gold smugglingprobe, Quran import case and drug trafficking probe,”a senior official in the investigating team told ThePioneer on Friday. He said though he or other offi-cials in the team are not familiar with the nuancesof telephone tapping, it is a truth that the State offi-cials were resorting to all kinds of dirty tricks to keeptrack of the progress they make in the investigating.The Intelligence Bureau is closely following the activ-ities of their Kerala counterparts.

“It is routine and characteristic of the CPI(M) toensure that their people are guarded and protectedfrom the investigation. They feel that we do not knowof their antecedents. Swapna Suresh and her associ-ate were taken to the Thrissur Medical CollegeHospital so that they could communicate with herthrough the mobile phones of the hospital staff. Aminister (A C Moideen) reaching the hospital at thattime was not a coincidence,” said the official.

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The CPI(M) on Friday allegedthat there was a deep-rooted

conspiracy by the BJP and theCongress against the Governmentof Kerala and the current unrestseen in the State is a proof of thissecret plan.

“The BJP and the Congresswant to sabotage and derail theKerala Government led by theCPI(M). A conspiracy has beenhatched by the Sangh Parivar andthe Congress to murder Minister KT Jaleel. The attacks on the officialcar of the Minister on Thursday bythe BJP elements is proof of thisplan,” said Kodiyeri Balakrishnan,CPI(M) Kerala secretary during apress meet at the capital city onFriday.

Balakrishnan was addressingthe media after Friday’s StateSecretariat meet of the CPI(M). Hesaid there was nothing unusual inthe National Investigation Agencysummoning Jaleel to their office.“The NIA in its letter of invitationsent to Jaleel has said that the agencywould like to speak to him as a wit-

ness. But the Congress and the BJPare blowing it out of proportion,”said the Secretary who se sonBineesh Kodiyeri too had beeninvited by the EnforcementDirectorate recently. Balakrishnansaid that the BJP and the Congresswere on a massive drive to recruitgoondas to eliminate the CPI(M)cadre and the State Government hasall the documentary evidence. “TheCongress is organizing ‘get togeth-ers’ of its goonda elements acrossKerala. The BJP is also doing thesame thing,” he said.

The State Secretariat in itsmeeting concluded that the Centrewas deliberately denying and delay-ing the financial dues meant for theState. “ The Congress is upset overthe general impression that theCPI(M) would come back to powerin the 2021 Assembly election andthat party is staring at a bleak future.Irrespective of the attitudes of theBJP and the Congress, the CPI(M)is going ahead with its developmentagenda for the welfare of the peo-ple,” said Balakrishnan whileexplaining the decisions taken in theSecretariat meeting.

Jaipur: RajasthanCommissioner of Informationand Public RelationsDepartment Mahendra Sonisaid that to prevent the risingcorona infection in the State,the resolution of “no mask-noentry” and other measuresshould be made available tothe people. Spread wide pub-lic awareness of corona byusing various means of pub-licity. Soni was directing thedistrict information and pub-lic relations officers throughvideo conferencing from theheadquarters here on Friday.

Commissioner Soni saidthat cases of corona infectionin the State have been steadi-ly increasing.

In view of this, we all haveto become more serious andresponsible, he said. For this,eminent doctors of the coun-try have considered masks tobe the most useful. Accordingto him, if all people havemasks, then the possibility ofinfection of this virus is great-ly reduced.

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Two more Maharashtra Ministers — Nitin Raut and HasanMushrif – tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday.The two ministers took to twitter to share information about

their having contracted Coronavirus. Sixty-three-year Raut, who is Maharashtra Energy Minister

and the State working president of Congress, tweeted: “I havetested positive for COVID-19. I would request all those who hadcome in contact with me to get themselves tested as a precau-tionary measure. Stay Safe everyone and take care”.

Mushrif, who is the State Rural Development Minister andNCP leader, said in a Marathi tweet posted on his official han-dle: “I have tested positive for COVID-19 and those who camein my contact should get themselves tested. I will soon be at yourservice defeating coronavirus. My health is fine”.

With Friday’s development, the total number of Maharashtraministers testing positive for Covid-19 has gone up to ten. Earlier,Ministers Jitendra Awhad (housing), Ashok Chavan (PWD),Dhananjay Munde (social justice), Sunil Kedar (animal hus-bandry), Balasaheb Patil (cooperation), Aslam Shaikh (textile),Abdul Sattar (MoS-rural development), Sanjay Bansode (MoS-environment) and Vishwajit Kadam (MoS-cooperation) had test-ed positive for Coronavirus.

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The daily Covid-19 tollcrossed 400-mark in

Maharashtra for the secondconsecutive day on Friday, as440 more deaths were report-ed in the state, while 21, 656more people tested positivefor Coronavirus.

A day after staggering 468deaths were reported in thestate, Maharashtra logged 440more deaths on Friday, takingthe total number of deaths to31,791.

Of the 440 deaths record-ed on Friday, 405 deaths werereported today while 35 olddeaths were added to the tallyafter the updation of the Covid-19 portal.

With 21,656 fresh infectedcases, the total number ofinfections jumped from

11,45,840 to 11,67,496.Of the total 440 deaths

(including 35 old deaths)reported on Friday, Nagpuraccounted for a maximum of64 fatalities, while there were52 deaths in Mumbai, 39 inPune, 34 in Satara, 32 inThane, 21 each in Ahmednagarand Sangli, 16 each in Nashikand Jalgaon, 12 each in Solapur,Aurangabad and Latur and 11deaths in Kolhapur and 10 inYavatmal.

Similarly, in the lowerrange, there were 9 deaths inRaigad, 7 in Beed, 6 inSindhudurg, 5 in Palghar, 4each in Nanded and Gondia, 3each in Dhule, Parbhani andWashim, 2 in Osmanabad andone each in Jalna, Hingoli,Akola, Amravati and Buldhana.In addition, two from outsidethe state died in Maharashtra.

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Page 6:  · 2 days ago  · The details can be viewed and downloaded online directly from the Government of Chhattisgarh Integrated e-Procurement Portal () from Date 24.09.2020, at …

Media, particularlytelevision, coverageof Sushant SinghRajput’s suicide — Iwill call the manner

of his death so until established oth-erwise — and its aftermath hasraised questions. Avoiding themutually accusatory statementsthat have been doing the rounds, Iwould rather focus on some of thedeeper issues involved. The first iswhether the extent of coverageextended to it is justified.

The event, doubtless, was mosttragic. A young man, who has givenmuch to Indian cinema, and couldhave given more, has been cut shortin his prime. The unnatural natureof his passing, the allegations andcounter-allegations ranging over it,the controversy about who shouldinvestigate it, the Centre’s decisionto put the CBI in charge, theSupreme Court’s verdict endorsingthe transfer and the subsequentdevelopments, certainly meritedmedia coverage. But did it have totake up huge chunks of prime-timecoverage on most channels sinceJune 14 when the alleged suicideoccurred?

The question is relevant whenthe country is facing a seriousthreat of Chinese aggression, a rag-ing and escalating COVID-19 pan-demic and an economy in crisis —to mention three of the mostimportant challenges. The argu-ment that these are also receivingattention raises the question: Is theattention of the deserved qualityand extent? The question can becountered by two arguments. First,any answer, in the negative or affir-mative, will involve a large measureof subjective judgement and, hence,cannot be regarded as definitive.The second can be that viewerswant the kind of coverage provid-ed.

As to the first, all judgments onall issues are subjective in thesense that whatever the quality ofthe evidence, a person or a groupmust assess it and come to a con-clusion. The assessment is by indi-viduals who have their ownpredilections and orientations,which they may or may not be ableto overcome. But then, a societywould not have been able to func-tion if it did not proceed by accept-ing as valid judgements that, underthe normative criteria embedded inits underlying social contract,passed the tests of rationality andmorality.

Here, rationality dictates thequestion: Whether Rajput’sdeath and its sordid aftermathhas greater relevance to thelives of the country and its peo-ple than the Chinese aggression,the COVID-19 pandemicand/or the economic crisis?One can argue that the after-math’s importance can hardly beunder-stated because it is lead-ing to the unravelling of theBollywood drug network, whichin turn may lead to the eradica-tion of the drug trade’s tentaclesthroughout the country. Againstthis, one has the Union Ministerof State G Kishan Reddy’s writ-ten reply to a question by aCongress MP, K Sudhakaran, inthe Lok Sabha on September 15stating, “Narcotics ControlBureau (NCB) carries outsearch, seizure, arrest and inves-tigation continuously through-out the year on the actionableinputs developed on its ownand/or on receipt from othersources. During the period ofCOVID-19 lockdown, no suchactionable inputs were receivedby the NCB revealing the nexusbetween people in the filmindustry and drug traffickers.”He, however, added, “However,a case in this regard has beenregistered by NCB Mumbaizonal unit on August 28, 2020.Till date, in this case 10 personshave been arrested. Drugs suchas Ganja, Hashish, Tetra HydroCannabinol and Lysergic acidDe-ethylamide have been seizedin the operation.”

Clearly, one has to see whatthe NCB produces. Until then it

would be a bit too much to citethe possibility of its unearthinga pan-India drug racket to jus-tify the massive coverage givento the train of events followingRajput’s death. This leads to thesecond justification cited above:Viewers want it. This may betrue given that the titillation andvoyeuristic pleasure that a verylarge number of people getfrom watching the lives ofcelebrities unscramble or theaftermath of a shocking tragedyunfold.

The mere fact that peoplewant to see something does notmake it acceptable. Time waswhen nothing was consideredwrong with masses assembled inRome’s Colosseum roaring inapplause as a gladiator killedanother or a lion. Even now,many in Spain are happy to wit-ness bullfights in which mata-dors kill bulls in unequal com-bat, and thousands participate injallikattu in South India inwhich bulls suffer horribly.

Clearly, popular participa-tion or viewing does not by itselfjustify an event or its extensiveand approbatory coverage —especially when it diverts atten-tion from critical issues facing acountry and trivialises discoursein what the German socialphilosopher, Jurgen Habermas,calls the “public sphere.” The lat-ter, he states in The StructuralTransformation of the PublicSphere (1962), is a virtual orimaginary community whichdoes not necessarily exist in anyidentifiable space. In its idealform, the public sphere is “made

up of private people gatheredtogether as a public and articu-lating the needs of society withthe state.” It is a space where pri-vate individuals discuss publicmatters, which mediatesbetween society and the state,leading to a critical consensustranslating itself into a coherentpublic opinion, which makes thestate accountable to citizens.

The media has a critical rolein providing information for dis-cussion in the public sphere. It,however, also has a responsibil-ity to ensure that investigationsproceed along right lines.Investigating and prosecutingagencies charged with deliveringcriminal justice are known tomake mistakes and even frameinnocent persons, often whenunder pressure to solve a crime.This writer’s decision to becomea journalist has been significant-ly influenced by his witnessing,as a school student in the early1950s, the film Call Northside777. Directed by HenryHathaway, it was based on thereal life efforts by a Chicago DailyTimes reporter, James McGuire,undertaken at the behest of thecity editor, Karin Walsh, that ledto the release of Joseph Majczek,wrongly convicted of murderinga police officer and serving a 99-year prison term.

One, however, must proceedwith extreme caution. Pressureson investigative agencies to pro-duce results can make probes gohorribly wrong, leading to pro-longed, rough interrogation,arrest and prosecution of inno-cent people whose lives are dev-

astated in the process even if thejudiciary exonerates them in theend. The matter reminds one ofthe title of Malcom Feeley’smuch-discussed book, TheProcess is the Punishment:Handling Cases in a LowerCriminal Court, first publishedin 1979. Doubtless, the bookdeals with lower criminal courtsin the US and not India. Also, weare talking here not just aboutlower criminal courts but theentire process. It can be a longhaul, involving expenses in theform of lawyers’ fees and trans-port, time spent in preparations,which often involves time takenoff from income-generatingactivities and, of course, stressand worry.

Should a person, eventuallyproved innocent, have beenmade to suffer all this becausemedia pressure led to him/herbeing pronounced guilty? Thisdoes not mean that investigativejournalism should not extend tocases under investigation. But itdoes mean scrupulous obser-vance of the canons of fair playand integrity and two cardinalprinciples of democratic, liber-tarian jurisprudence, wedded torespect for human rights.

The first is enshrined inArticle 11(1) of the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rightsadopted by the United Nationsin 1948. It reads, “Everyonecharged with a penal offence hasthe right to be presumed inno-cent until proved guilty accord-ing to law in a public trial atwhich he has had all the guar-antees necessary for his defence.”

It is also incorporated in TheEuropean Convention for theProtection of Human Rights,originally Convention for theProtection of Human Rights andFundamental Freedoms, whichcame into force on 3 September1953. It states in Article 6(2),“Everyone charged with a crim-inal offence shall be presumedinnocent until proved guiltyaccording to law.”

The famous English jurist,William Blackstone, articulatedthe second principle when hewrote in Commentaries on theLaws of England, “..all presump-tive evidence of felony should beadmitted cautiously, for the lawholds that it is better that tenguilty persons escape than thatone innocent suffer.” BenjaminFranklin, one of the foundingfathers of the United States,went further and said, in a let-ter in March,1785, “That it isbetter 100 guilty Persons shouldescape than that one innocentPerson should suffer, is a Maximthat has been long and general-ly approved.”

Journalists should remem-ber both, always.

(The writer is ConsultantEditor, The Pioneer, and author)

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����������� ������Sir — Question Hour is the liveli-est hour in Parliament and lendsa certain depth to proceedings.MPs ask questions to hold theGovernment and its Ministersaccountable. It is a sacred parlia-mentary device meant for exer-cising legislative control overexecutive actions. Unfortunately,the ruling party has watereddown the Question Hour for thismonsoon session. This decisionerodes the constitutional man-date of parliamentary oversightover executive actions as envis-aged under Article 75 (3) of theIndian Constitution.

Noor Ahmad Hyderabad

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Sir — It was heart-wrenching towatch the viral video on socialmedia, which claimed that thou-sands of Indians, mostly from UPand Bihar, are lodged in jails ofSaudi Arabia for more than sixmonths now. With the lockdowneased, many Governments haveevacuated their citizens as hasours. But somehow we havebeen callous about these helpless

migrants, who have not been ableto articulate their plight.

AMS NadwiLucknow

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Sir — The ongoing investigationinto the Delhi riots of February2020 has begun to assume a far-cical character. The focus of the

investigation has shifted from theperpetrators of the riot and itsinstigators and turned towardsonly civil society dissenters andprotesters of Government poli-cies. In effect, the conspiratorialnet has been cast so wide as tocapture anyone who opposed theCitizenship (Amendment) Act(CAA), be it a student activist,political leader or voluntaryworker. The investigation must

be thorough, fair and transpar-ent, and deemed as such.

Bhagwan ThadaniMumbai

������������������Sir — The collection of digitaldata on our President, PrimeMinister, politicians, judges, mil-itary officers, industrialists andother dignitaries by China is a

matter of national security. AnEnglish newspaper report saidthat a company associated withthe Chinese Government and themilitary is monitoring theInternet and social media activ-ities of about 10,000 distin-guished Indians and their closeones. It is clear from this thatalong with strategic and econom-ic aggression, the digital breachis also a part of China’s hybridwar against India. Along with theexpansion of information tech-nology and the Internet, theissue of data security is a matterof grave concern.

Bhupendra Singh RangaHaryana

����������� �Sir—The Telangana Governmenthas announced that senior stu-dents of classes IX to XII shouldstart attending school with 50 percent teachers. However, withmany parents unwilling to paythe fees for the month of June,the State Government mustarrange the necessary amountfrom its Treasury to get the sys-tem rolling.

SM Arif HussainHyderabad

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Responding to the pandemic, the Reserve Bankof India (RBI) had “permitted” banks to grantmoratorium on payment of instalments of

term loans due after March 1 up to August 31. Asimilar dispensation was “allowed” on recovery ofinterest on working capital. The moratorium wasinitially permitted up to the end of April and 55.1per cent of customers of Scheduled CommercialBanks (SCBs), accounting for 50 per cent of out-standing credit, had availed this facility. In PublicSector Banks (PSBs), 80.3 per cent of all individ-ual customers, accounting for 80 per cent of totaloutstanding individual loans, opted for the mora-torium. A whopping 74 per cent of Micro, Smalland Medium Enterprise (MSME) borrowers and28.8 per cent of corporate borrowers, covering 81.5per cent and 58 per cent (by outstanding amountin category loans), availed the facility.

For private banks, 41.8 per cent of individualcustomers, accounting for 80 per cent of outstand-ing individual loans, and 20.9 per cent of all MSMEcustomers opted for moratoriums, comprising 42.5per cent of outstanding loans to MSMEs. About 21.6per cent of corporate borrowers, covering 19.6 percent of total outstanding corporate loans, had availedthe facility.

The Supreme Court has extended the morato-rium and the Central Government has appointedan expert panel to look into the issue. Exactly howmany loans accounts and what loan amount is undermoratorium are not known. Some borrowers mayhave decided against seeking the moratorium facil-ity due to uncertainty about relief on interest. Hadthe interest relief been announced upfront, almostall borrowers would have instantly opted for themoratorium, except possibly for borrowers tooproud of their financial standing to seek any relief.

Since the verdict of the apex court was not avail-able by August 31, it was the borrowers’ call to takea wager on the verdict and decide whether to optfor a moratorium or not. It is unclear if the relief,if and when granted, would be available only tothose availing of the moratorium. Overall, the sys-tem lacks incentives for those remaining fully com-pliant while the non-compliant people may hopeto get some relief. Had the interest relief been a mat-ter of legal right under the Banking Regulation orDisaster Management Acts, it would have beenthrough by now. The Disaster Management Act(DMA), empowering the Government to takeimmediate relief and rescue measures, cannot beover-read to give it unfettered powers to deal withthe full economic fallout of the disaster. It certain-ly does not empower the Government to alter termsof private contracts on jobs, rentals, sales, lendingand so on. That explains why the tone and tenorof parts of the “orders” issued under the DMA isnot peremptory, prescriptive, definitive but indica-tive, persuasive and advisory in nature. Hence, legal-ly binding orders regarding timely payment of fullsalaries, non-recovery of rent and school fees andso on could not be issued for this reason. Appealsto good conscience is a different matter.

Likewise, the Banking Regulation Act (BR Act)would by itself not confer any rights on the RBI tomandate any alteration in individual contractsentered into by the banks unless supplemented withlegal remedies under the Securitisation andReconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcementof Securities Interest Act (SARFAESI Act) or theInsolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).Appropriately, the RBI has “permitted” grants ofmoratorium while extending regulatory forbearanceon recognition of the non-performing asset (NPA).The BR Act does not empower the RBI to mandate

changing loan terms already contracted.Loan contracts can be changed only onthe orders of insolvency courts.Mandatory moratorium requires morethan the BR Act.

There are no free lunches in econom-ics except those paid for by others. If bor-rowers get interest relief during themoratorium period, bank investors anddepositors would stand to lose unlesscompensated by the Government, like ithappens in farm loan waivers. Charity atothers’ expense is systemic. Relief to bor-rowers at the expense of depositors is akinto relief to consumers ending up suppress-ing remunerative market prices for farm-ers.The bank depositors are also adverse-ly impacted by the pandemic-induced fallin interest rates that stand to benefit newborrowers as well as the borrowers whoare able to refinance high-cost old loans.The post-outbreak rate cuts and liquidi-ty infusion by the RBI, aided by rising for-eign exchange reserves, has caused a pre-cipitous fall in interest rates. Some areoffering record-low home loan interestrates under seven per cent per annumwith new products of repo-linked homeloans on offer. Low interest rates bringcheer to borrowers but gloom to depos-itors.

There are no fiscal guarantees todepositors on minimum interest rates andthe IBC haircuts have been too costly insome cases. When corporate borrowersget a tax reduction bonanza, they don’tshare the booty with lenders as they arenot obliged to. When farm loans arewaived, Governments provide fiscal sup-port to banks but at present the Centredoes not seem able and willing to com-pensate the banks for interest relief.

In the absence of fully disaggregat-ed data on different types of loans undermoratorium, a back-of-the-envelopequantification of the impact of interestrelief can be �1 lakh crore per month,

assuming interest relief to be about oneper cent per month on total pre-pandem-ic outstanding credit of about �100 lakhcrore. Even direct fiscal relief to the gen-eral population is not of this magnitude.

Financial stakes on the SupremeCourt’s verdict are very high. The inter-est relief has been sought from the high-est court of justice precisely because it isnot a legal right. The golden balance ofjustice is being watched by distressed bor-rowers and anxious depositors. All bor-rowers are not equally distressed by thepandemic. Some differentiating criterionbased on quantum of liability outstand-ing on March 1 and purpose of loan(whether educational; for first home/caror second one, for the EconomicallyWeaker Section or affordable housing,past credit history) and proven impact ofthe contagion on income can be evolvedto give relief to a truly needy class of bor-rowers. The relief even to this subsetshould not be entirely a burden on bankdepositors. Ideally such relief is best pro-vided by governments under fiscal stim-ulus paid by taxpayers, current or future.

The need to maintain the health ofbanks can hardly be overemphasised.Deep-rooted socio-cultural beliefs stigma-tising indebtedness (indebted personembarrassed and lenders reviled ) contin-ue to change worldwide.

Post World War, the wheels of growthare lubricated by the continuous supplyof credit. India joined the borrow/spendbandwagon in the 80s. Lending byScheduled Commercial Banks rose from�8,64,300 crore (30 per cent of the GrossDomestic Product [GDP]) at the end ofMarch 2004 to �67,35,200 crore at the endof March 2014 (60 per cent of the GDP).At present, bank lending is only about 50per cent of the GDP.

As on July 31, the total deposits ofSCBs were �141,61,689 crore (�127,44,583crore a year ago); outstanding credit was

�102,65,888 crore (�97,29,002 crore a yearago) and investments were �42,78,294crore (�35,57,063 crore a year ago). Thecombined effect of risk aversion of banksto lend and predominantly domesticfinancing of fiscal deficit is that only abouttwo-third of deposits get lent to non-Government entities.

We have made great strides in termsof expanding the reach of banking ser-vices and financialisation of savings buthigh-profile delinquencies by those whocan afford to pay continue to eclipse theseachievements.

The gross NPA of SCBs that hadpeaked to 11.2 per cent in 2017-18 hasbeen brought down to 8.5 per cent byMarch. This achievement is at great costto bank investors/depositors on accountof hefty haircuts following not-so-com-petitive slump sales of distressed compa-nies under the conventional, single roundbidding system being followed under theIBC. The RBI has assessed that the grossNPA of all SCBs may increase from 8.5per cent in March to 12.5 per cent byMarch 2021 and even to 14.7 per cent ifthe adverse economic impact of thepandemic is very severe. Seeing theplight of forecasting tools, the economicfallout of the contagion is hard to predictand measure.

Since bank lending is only about 50per cent of the GDP and post-pandem-ic recovery would require a heavy doseof credit, it is imperative to maintainincentives for financial savings.

Erosion of bank profitability runs therisk of dire consequences of de-finacial-isation or informalisation of savings,derailing the hard-won recovery. Thebanking system needs calibrated supportto prevent relapse into transmitted sick-ness.

(The writer is a retired IAAS officerand former Special Secretary, Ministry ofCommerce and Industry.)

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It is disconcerting that every sec-ond child in India suffers someform of nutritional failure in India.

Over the years, Government data haveborne witness to how many people,especially women and children, donot get three square meals in a day.Worryingly, the potential disrup-tions caused by the lockdown maymake the varied forms of malnutri-tion a lasting reality. However, thelaunch of the Government’s flagshipprogramme ‘POSHAN Abhiyaan’,seems to have made some headway,with an ambitious target of achievinga malnutrition-free India by 2022.

It also aims to reduce stunting inchildren aged between zero and five

years from 38.4 per cent to 25 per centduring the same period, along withreducing the level of anaemia and lowbirth weight in children.

With inter-sectoral convergencebeing the key strategy, the pro-gramme makes a shift from the exist-ing approach of making planning andimplementation the responsibility ofone Ministry. Instead, it rightly notesthe various critical components ofsuccess and makes ‘POSHANAbhiyaan’ a multi-ministerial initia-tive. While the Ministry of Womenand Child Development acts as thenodal office, the Ministry of DrinkingWater and Sanitation is responsible forthe Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)that ensures cleanliness and hygieneand the Ministry of Education isresponsible for the Mid-Day MealScheme (MDMS).

Two other Ministries, that ofHealth and Family Welfare and theone responsible for RuralDevelopment, are looking after healthprogrammes such as Mission

Indradhanush for immunisation cov-erage and rural income schemes, suchas MNREGA, respectively. The LPGdistribution scheme by the Ministryof Petroleum and Natural Gas enabledsafe and hygienic cooking in under-privileged households.

But will India accept malnutritionas everyone’s problem? The copiousfund allocation for the ‘POSHANAbhiyaan’ and its increase in the pastthree years have shown theGovernment’s sincerity in taking themission to its intended conclusion.From �950 crore in 2017-18, the cur-rent allocation for the ‘POSHANAbhiyaan’ reached a sum of �3,400crore for the financial year 2019-20.However, the potential challenge canbe bringing social and behaviouralchange towards malnutrition at thecommunity level. Ensuring equitablenutrition to build a healthier nationwill require the following.

Eating local and seasonal food:This comprises a part of the trendknown as “sustainable eating” and has

been proven to be an economicalsolution to the food crisis globally.This saves time and the cost of trans-portation while promoting the use offewer preservatives. Such food itemsare also suitable to fulfil the nutrition-al needs of the people in a way thatis commensurate with the local envi-ronment.

The concept of introducingkitchen gardens in schools to fulfilsome part of the requirements underthe MDMS is an innovative step. Inthe coming days, introducing moresteps, such as promotion of local,nutritious millet and crop diversifica-tion to promote traditional millet willbe the right steps to complement thisongoing effort. Recent studies haveobserved that investing $1 in nutri-tion-related interventions will haveeconomic gains of about $19 to $22.

Addressing intrinsic social andcultural biases: In his paper‘POSHAN Abhiyaan: MakingNutrition a Jan Andolan’, NITI Aayogmember Vinod K Paul and co-

authors observe that despite theProhibition of Child Marriage Act,2006 mandating the legal age ofmarriage at 18 for girls, 30 per centof them are married before that ageand eight per cent are already preg-nant by the time they are 15-19 yearsof age. Facing intra-household depri-vations due to their sex and abjectpoverty, these young girls often foregonecessary nutrition, care, and rest evenduring their pregnancy, thus deliver-ing low birth weight babies. Forthese babies, the cycle of malnutritionhas already begun, they note.

This long-standing social biasdeepens with socio-economicnuances. For example, in tribal house-holds, the overall amount of food isanyway low and the men, by tradition,get the larger share of it, consideringthe physical labour they must under-take. A male child may get less to eatthan his father, but is likely to get morethan his mother, grandmother or sis-ter. There is a need to free nutritionfrom the perceived requirement of the

receiver. Disseminating a scientifical-ly-validated diet chart according to ageand sex to the Panchayat level can helpin spreading awareness and helphouseholds modify their practices.

Clear and visible measures forbetter accountability: Owing to thepossible institutional leakages,Government initiatives should bemonitored by some metric foraccountability. For this, an enhancedinformation and process system iscrucial. Monitoring, surveillance, andevaluation remain critical to allGovernment initiatives not only tofirm up the people’s trust but for bet-ter outcomes as well. Understandingground-level realities will not onlyenrich policymakers’ understanding,it may help in building a positive per-spective among beneficiaries aboutpublic interventions. Public consulta-tions, surveys among beneficiariesand social audits are some of the mosteffective ways to do this.

Building a case against hiddenhunger: Few realise that malnutrition

is not exclusively a rural phenomenon.Many people, especially children, inthe cities, too, suffer from malnutri-tion, albeit of a different kind. Sincea good part of their diet is filled withrefined and finished items, not tomention the large amounts of salt,sugar and trans-fat they consume, thechildren lack micronutrients such asiron and zinc. Traditional crops andmillet, marked as nutri-cereals thatshould have been part of our diet, arefast becoming a favourite of the edu-cated and wealthier part of the soci-ety. However, as companies produc-ing fast-moving consumer goodslook to the rural market to revive fromthe economic effect of the pandem-ic, it is important to ensure that ruralconsumers do not acquire the habitsof cities. The onus is on theGovernment to ensure that the learn-ings from the cities reach the villagesbefore it is too late.

(The writer is Associate Professor,Health Economist, IIHMR University,Jaipur)

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Russia has approved R-Pharm’s Coronavir treat-

ment for outpatients with mildto moderate COVID-19 infec-tions and the antiviral drugcould be rolled out to phar-macies in the country as soonas next week, the company saidon Friday.

Coronavir’s approval as aprescription drug follows thegreen light for another RussianCOVID-19 drug, Avifavir, inMay. Both are based on favipi-ravir, which was developed inJapan and is widely used thereas the basis for viral treatments.

R-Pharm’s announcementis another sign Russia is push-ing hard to take a global leadin the race against the virus. Itis already exporting itsCOVID-19 tests and hasclinched several internationaldeals for supplies of its Sputnik-V vaccine.

R-Pharm said it receivedapproval for Coronavir afterPhase III clinical trials involving168 patients with COVID-19.

Washington: The United Stateson Friday ordered a ban ondownloads of popular Chinese-owned video app TikTok anduse of the messaging and pay-ment platform WeChat, sayingthey threaten national security.

The move, to be imple-mented Sunday, comes amid ris-ing US-China tensions andefforts by the Trump adminis-tration to engineer a sale ofTikTok to American investors.

“The Chinese CommunistParty has demonstrated themeans and motives to use theseapps to threaten the nationalsecurity, foreign policy, and theeconomy of the US,” CommerceSecretary Wilbur Ross said in astatement.

The initiative would banWeChat, an app with massiveuse among Chinese speakers,and TikTok from the onlinemarketplaces operated by Appleand Google.

But while WeChat will effec-tively be shut down from Sundayin the US, existing TikTok user

will be able to continue using theapp until November 12 -- whenit would also face a full ban onits US operations.

But the CommerceDepartment said if nationalsecurity concerns over TikTokwere resolved before then, theorder may be lifted.

TikTok’s brand of brief,quirky videos made on users’cellphones has become hugelypopular, especially among youngpeople.

The plan follows through ona threat by President DonaldTrump, who has claimedChinese tech operations may beused for spying, and it ramps upthe pressure on TikTok parentByteDance to conclude a deal tosell all or part of TikTok to allayUS security concerns.

A deal which appeared to betaking shape would allow SiliconValley giant Oracle to becomethe tech partner for TikTok, butsome US lawmakers haveobjected to allowing ByteDanceto keep a stake. AFP

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Hong Kong’s high court onFriday ruled that same-sex

couples should receive equaltreatment under inheritancelaw, in a step forward for LGBTrights in the finance hub.

But the victory came on thesame day as a separate legal bidfor full recognition of foreignsame-sex marriages was struckdown, underscoring what cam-paigners say is a lack ofprogress on equality issues.

Hong Kong’s law does notallow same-sex marriage anddoes not recognise foreignunions, though limited recog-nition has been granted inrecent years in several land-mark rulings.

Edgar Ng, a gay HongKonger, last year launched alegal challenge against the city’sinheritance and intestacy laws,alleging discrimination on thebasis of sexual orientation.

In 2018 he bought a gov-

ernment-subsidised flat, a yearafter marrying his partner inLondon, according to courtdocuments.

Under Hong Kong’s hous-ing policy, his husband cannotbe recognised as the jointhomeowner, and Ng was con-cerned that should he die with-out a will, his property wouldnot be passed to his partner.

In the judgement handeddown Friday, Judge AndersonChow said the exclusion ofspouses in same-sex marriagesfrom their legal entitlements“constitutes unlawful discrim-ination”.

The judge said “differentialtreatment is not justified”.

LGBT rights activists withcampaign group Hong KongMarriage Equality described theruling as an “important victory”.

“The government shouldseize this opportunity to workwith the LGBT+ community toimplement marriage equality inthe city,” the association said.

Taipei: China’s military sent 18planes including fighter jetsover the Taiwan Strait in anunusually large show of force onMonday as a US envoy held aday of closed-door meetingson the self-governing islandclaimed by China.

Under Secretary of StateKeith Krach, who handles theeconomic growth, energy andthe environment portfolio, heldtalks with Taiwan’s minister ofeconomic affairs and vice pre-mier. He also met with businessleaders over lunch and was todine with President Tsai Ing-wenlater Friday.

In response to Krach’s visit,the Eastern Theater Commandof the Chinese People’sLiberation Army held combatexercises near the Strait, in atleast the second round of wargames this month aimed atintimidating supporters of the

island’s independent identity.Taiwan’s defense ministry

said two bombers and 16 fight-er jets from China crossed intoTaiwan’s air defense identifica-tion zone. It said it scrambled jetsin response and monitored themovements of the Chineseplanes. Chinese defense ministryspokesperson Ren Guoqiangcalled the drills a “legitimate andnecessary action taken inresponse to the current situationacross the Taiwan Straits tosafeguard national sovereigntyand territorial integrity.”

“Recently, the U.S. And(Taiwan’s ruling) DemocraticProgressive Party authoritieshave stepped up their collusionand frequently stir up troubles,”Ren told reporters Fridaymorning.

“Whether it is usingTaiwan to contain China orrelying on foreign powers tothreaten others, it is wishfulthinking and is destined to bea dead end.” In a brief messageon its microblog, the EasternTheater Command said theexercises involved naval and airforce units in the Taiwan Straitaimed at gauging their ability

to carry out joint operations.China’s Ministry of Foreign

Affairs also defended the move.Ministry spokesman WangWenbin said China has the“firm will, full confidence andsufficient ability to thwart allexternal interference and sepa-ratist actions by Taiwan inde-pendence forces.” Beijing viewsTaiwan as part of its own terri-tory and strongly opposes anytype of formal interactionbetween other countries and theself-ruled island democracy.

Krach’s trip follows a visit inAugust by U.S. Health SecretaryAlex Azar, the highest-level U.S.Cabinet official to visit since theU.S. Switched formal relationsfrom Taiwan to China in 1979.

It is one of a series of movesby the Trump administration tostrengthen relations withTaiwan, including stepped-uparms sales and support for theisland’s participation in inter-national forums.

Before Krach’s arrival, theU.S. Ambassador to the UnitedNations, Kelly Craft, had lunchWednesday with Taiwan’s topofficial in New York, in a meet-ing she called historic. AP

Beijing: Thousands of peoplein northwest China have test-ed positive for a bacterial dis-ease after a leak from a state-owned biopharmaceutical plantmaking animal vaccines lastyear.

Health officials in Lanzhoucity said 3,245 people had con-tracted brucellosis, a diseaseoften caused by close contactwith infected animals or animalproducts that can bring aboutfevers, joint pain andheadaches.

Another 1,401 people test-ed as an early positive for thedisease, and health authoritiessaid there was no evidence ofperson-to-person transmissionso far.

Chinese authorities found a biopharmaceuticalplant had used expired disin-fectant in its production ofBrucella vaccines for animalsbetween July and August lastyear — meaning the bacteriawas not eradicated in its facto-ry exhaust. AFP

Pristina: Kosovo awarded USPresident Donald Trump onFriday with one of the country’shighest honours for his gov-ernment’s efforts on peace andreconciliation in the formerwar-torn region.

President Hashim Thaciawarded Trump with Kosovo’sOrder of Freedom “for hisexceptional contribution forthe freedom of Kosovo and thestrengthening of Peace andreconciliation in the region.”

The honour is given tolocal and foreign citizens fortheir high contribution indefending Kosovo’s freedom.

Trump’s administration hasbeen working to normaliserelations between Serbia andKosovo, two former Balkanwar foes, and two weeks agoSerbian President AleksanderVucic and Kosovo PrimeMinister Avdullah Hoti signedan economic normalisationdeal at the White House.

Thaci also awarded Trump’sNational Security AdviserRobert O’Brien and his envoyfor Serbia-Kosovo talks RichardGrenell with the lowerPresidential Medal of Merits. AP

Houston: Sitting across fromher lawyer at an immigrationdetention center in ruralGeorgia, Mileidy CardenteyFernandez unbuttoned her jailjumpsuit to show the scars onher abdomen. There were threesmall, circular marks.

The 39-year-old womanfrom Cuba was told only thatshe would undergo an opera-tion to treat her ovarian cysts,but a month later, she’s still notsure what procedure she got.After Cardentey repeatedlyrequested her medical recordsto find out, Irwin CountyDetention Center gave hermore than 100 pages showinga diagnosis of cysts but noth-ing from the day of the surgery.

“The only thing they toldme was: ‘You’re going to go tosleep and when you wake up,we will have finished,’”Cardentey said this week in aphone interview.

Cardentey kept her hospi-tal bracelet. It has the date, Aug.14, and part of the doctor’sname, Dr. Mahendra Amin, agynecologist linked this weekto allegations of unwanted hys-terectomies and other proce-dures done on detained immi-grant women that jeopardizetheir ability to have children.

An Associated Press reviewof medical records for fourwomen and interviews withlawyers revealed growing alle-gations that Amin performedsurgeries and other procedureson detained immigrants that

they never sought or didn’t fullyunderstand. Although someprocedures could be justifiedbased on problems document-ed in the records, the women’slack of consent or knowledgeraises severe legal and ethicalissues, lawyers and medicalexperts said.

Amin has performedsurgery or other gynecologicaltreatment on at least eightwomen detained at IrwinCounty Detention Center since 2017, including one hysterectomy, said Andrew Free,an immigration and civil rightslawyer working with attorneysto investigate medical treat-ment at the detention center.Doctors on behalf of the attor-neys are examining new recordsand more women are comingforward to report their treat-ment by Amin, Free said. AP

Washington: An Indian-American federal judge hasturned down an appeal by 169Indian citizens who had chal-lenged President DonaldTrump’s order that barred for-eign nationals on H-1B spe-cialty occupation visas fromentering the US till the end ofthe year.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows UScompanies to employ foreignworkers in speciality occupa-tions that require theoretical or

technical expertise. The tech-nology companies depend onit to hire tens of thousands ofemployees each year fromcountries like India and China.

US District Judge Amit PMehta of US District Court forthe District of Columbia in his11-page order on Wednesdaysaid that Indian citizens, whoare now trapped abroad duringtrips to India when bordersclosed, are unlikely to win theircase contesting the travel banproclamation of Trump. PTI

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United Nations: The UNSecurity Council on Fridaywelcomed the start of theAfghanistan PeaceNegotiations in Doha andstrongly encouraged the partiesto continue pursuing confi-dence-building measures,including reduction in vio-lence and to continue to engagein good faith.

In a statement, the 15-member powerful organ of theworld body reaffirmed itsstrong commitment to the sov-ereignty, independence, terri-torial integrity and nationalunity of war-torn Afghanistan.

“The members of theSecurity Council recognisedthat a sustainable peace can beachieved only through a com-prehensive and inclusiveAfghan-led, Afghan-ownedpeace process that aims at apermanent and comprehen-sive ceasefire as well as aninclusive political settlement toend the conflict inAfghanistan,” it said.

They “strongly encouragedparties to the negotiations tocontinue pursuing confidence-building measures includingreductions in violence and tocontinue to engage in goodfaith.”

The Council reaffirmed theimportance of the UN’s role inpromoting peace and stabilityin Afghanistan and welcomedthe efforts of all regional andinternational partners ofAfghanistan in facilitating intra-Afghan negotiations and inhelping the parties reach peace.

The Security Council mem-bers also thanked the govern-ment of Qatar for facilitating thefirst round of negotiations.

The first-ever direct talksbetween the Afghan govern-ment representatives and theTaliban began on September 12.

Negotiators from theAfghan government and theTaliban will hold talks as partof intra-Afghan negotiations inDoha to bring a lasting peaceto Afghanistan. PTI

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New Delhi:Shri J K Jain hastaken over as Director (HR) ofDelhi Transco Limited. Withproficiency in Hindi , Englishand Bengali, Shri Jain is a qual-ified Chartered Accountant.He has also done courses inM a r k e t i n g & F i n a n c i a lManagement as well asBusiness & Labour Laws fromIndian Institute ofManagement,Kolkata(IIM– C).

An officer of DANICS of1994 batch, Shri Jain has exten-sive work experience of morethan 26 years. Shri Jain startedhis career as SDM of HausKhas, Delhi and move tobecome Deputy Secretary(Finance). The other importantpostings Shri Jain has handledin Delhi include, Collector –Property Taxes in MCD.

NewDelhi: In order to cater therising passenger traffic andthe demand for better ser-vices, AAI`sTuticorin Airportis undergoing major up-gra-dation in phaseswith cost of Rs381 crores.The master projectincludes widening extensionand strengthening work ofexisting Runway and associat-ed infrastructure.

In order to cater to the ris-ing passenger traffic, con-struction of the new DomesticTerminal Building is alsoplanned, spreading over anarea of 13530 sqm.The newTerminal Building will be ableto handle 600 passengers dur-ing peak hours. The TerminalBuilding will be equipped withall the modern facilities andpassenger amenities.

New Delhi:29th August 2020was a day which will be markedas a special occasion in thediaries of many women. On thisday, a unique networking plat-form for Global Indian Women,GIWA - was launched at the TajAmbassador, New Delhi.Though keeping in mind, therestrictions of COVID 19, thegathering was of only 25 women(maintaining the social distanc-ing norms), the excitement theydemonstration was massive andmind blowing. Based on the ideaof giving women ‘Wings to Fly’,GIWA Women Association aimsat helping women from diversebackgrounds to come forwardand fulfil their dreams. Givingthem the requisite platform toshowcase their talents and get-ting for them the much-awaitedaccolades.

New Delhi:Indian fan manu-facturers on Thursday soughtlower GST rate at 5 per cent onfans, saying the existing 18 percent tax is "adversely" impact-ing the industry.

The lower GST (goods andservices tax) slab would makethe fans a promptly accessiblecommodity for everyone byincreasing grass-root level pen-etration, exceptionally in ruralIndia, the Indian FanManufacturers Association(IFMA) said in a statementafter its virtual Annual GeneralMeeting.

The fan industry lostaround 35 per cent of its annu-al sales due to the outbreak ofCOVID-19 this year during thepeak sale period, causing hugefinancial losses for fan compa-nies, said the association.

PTI

New Delhi: The rapid increasein Covid-19 afflictions and inter-mittent lockdowns will increaseasset quality challenges of non-banking financial companies(NBFCs), already grappling withthe economic slowdown sincelast fiscal, Crisil Ratings said onFriday. According to Crisil, thetrend in monthly collection effi-ciency till August 31, 2020(unadjusted for moratorium)shows there is still some way togo before reaching pre-pan-demic levels. While the recent restructuringscheme afforded by the ReserveBank of India (RBI) would be aleash on reported non-per-forming assets (NPAs), under-lying challenges continue.Loandelinquencies of NBFCs coulddart up 50-250 basis points(bps) this fiscal, depending onthe segment of operation,because of vulnerability in bor-rower cash flows. IANS

New Delhi: Markets regulatorSebi on Friday extended thedeadline till October 18 tosubmit public comments on theproposed format for businessresponsibility and sustainabil-ity reporting in view of theimpact of the COVID-19 pan-demic.

The proposed format forbusiness responsibility and sus-tainability reporting coveringenvironmental, social andGovernance perspectives willbe applicable to top 1,000 list-ed firms by market capitalisation.

The comments on the pro-posed format were invited tillSeptember 18.

PTI

New Delhi:Beginning Monday,Indian customs authorities willstrictly scrutinise documentsprovided by importers claimingduty benefits under free-tradeagreements, a move aimed atcurbing serious misuse of theconcessions under these pacts,finance ministry sources said.

Importers will now have toprovide sufficient proof to thedomestic customs authoritiesthat the goods being importedhave a minimum 35 per centvalue addition in the countryfrom which it is being exportedto India, they said.

"It will be the responsibilityof importers to ensure that thegoods being imported by themshould have been only manu-factured or produced on the for-eign countries and minimum 35per cent value addition have

taken place in those countries,"the sources said.

For example, if a mobile isexported from, say, Indonesia toIndia, then it would qualify to beof Indonesian origin only ifsuch mobile is made significantlyin Indonesia and 35 per cent ofits value is contributed by thatcountry. The move assumes sig-nificance in the backdrop of con-cerns being raised by certainquarters of the domestic indus-try about misuse of free tradeagreement (FTA) benefits from10-member ASEAN countries.

The importer has to possessall documentary proof to provethat the 35 per cent value addi-tion requirement has been metand showing a mere 'certificateof origin' provided by the export-ing country to Indian importerwould not suffice. PTI

Mumbai: Equity benchmarksnursed losses for the second con-secutive session on Friday asinvestors offloaded banking,finance and consumption stocksamid mixed global cues.

The BSE Sensex, whichopened on a firm footing, cameunder fag-end selling pressureand closed at 38,845.82, down134.03 points or 0.34 per cent.

Similarly, the broader NSENifty slipped 11.15 points or 0.10per cent to finish at 11,504.95.HDFC Bank was the top loseramong the Sensex constituents,skidding 2.39 per cent, followedby Kotak Bank, Bajaj Finserv,Maruti, Titan, SBI, HUL, HDFCand Tata Steel.

Bharti Airtel led the gain-ers' list with a jump of 3.73 percent. M&M, NTPC, TechMahindra, Sun Pharma,PowerGrid and ONGC wereamong the other winners,climbing as much as 2.72 percent. During the week, theSensex dropped 8.73 points or0.02 per cent, while the Niftyadvanced 40.50 points or 0.35per cent. "Indian benchmarkindices, after trading in the

green for most of the day, suc-cumbed to a round of selling inthe last hour of trading, to closeout the day flat, with a slightnegative bias. PTI

New Delhi: Google on Fridaysaid it does not allow apps facil-itating sports betting and willremove such apps from theGoogle Play Store. There is oftena surge in launch of such appsbefore major sporting tourna-ments like the IPL. The latest sea-son of the IPL is scheduled tostart from September 19 in theUnited Arab Emirates. "We don'tallow online casinos or supportany unregulated gambling appsthat facilitate sports betting. Thisincludes if an app leads con-sumers to an external websitethat allows them to participate inpaid tournaments to win realmoney or cash prizes, it is a vio-lation of our policies," Googlesaid in a blog post. PTI

Mumbai: India Ratings andResearch has revised its outlookon the banking sector to 'neg-ative' from 'stable' for 2HFY21.

The ratings agency Ind-Rasaid this revision was done inview of an expected spike instressed assets, higher creditcosts, weaker earnings onaccount of interest reversalsand lower fee income, andmuted growth prospects.

Even the capital buffersfor most public sector banks(PSBs) remain modest, it said.

As per Ind-Ra's bear case,the spike in stressed assets dueto the pandemic is expected todouble the credit costs forbanking system than estimat-ed pre-Covid-19 levels forFY21.

Consequently, Ind-Ra

revised the rating outlook onPSBs to 'negative' for 2HFY21.

"PSBs' modest capitalbuffers are expected to depletefurther in FY21, due to provi-sioning requirements. Also,pre-Covid profitability expec-tations for FY21 would bebelied and most banks arelikely to report net losses," theagency said in a statement.

"They may also need tocontinue to build-up their pro-vision cover in FY22 forrestructured assets as some ofthe restructured assets couldturn NPA in FY23. PSBs' couldrequire INR350 billion-550 bil-lion in 2HFY 21 for Tier-1 ratioof 10 per cent. Covid-19 orcontingent provisions are muchlower than that for privatebanks." IANS

New Delhi: Retail inflationfor farm workers and rurallabourers cooled down to 6.32per cent and 6.28 per cent,respectively, in August com-pared to the year ago periodmainly due to the softening ofprices of some food items. Point-to-point rate of inflationbased on the CPI-AL(Consumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers) andCPI-RL (Consumer PriceIndex-Rural Labourers) was6.39 per cent and 6.23 per centrespectively in August 2019, thelabour ministry said in a state-ment.

Inflation based on foodindex of CPI-AL is at 7.76 percent and of CPI-RL at 7.83 percent in August 2020 comparedto 7.27 per cent and 6.98 percent, respectively, in the same

month last year.Among states, the maxi-

mum increase in the CPI-ALand CPI-RL was experiencedby West Bengal State (27 pointsand 28 points respectively)mainly due to rise in the pricesof wheat-atta, pulses, mustard-oil, milk, chillies-green, ginger,country liquor, firewood, bidi,meat goat, fish dry, bidi, busfare, vegetables and fruits etc.

The maximum decreasein CPI-AL and CPI-RL wasexperienced by Kerala (6 pointsand 8 points respectively)

mainly due to fall in the pricesof pulses, coconut oil, chillies-dry, onion, fish fresh etc. Labour Minister SantoshGangwar said, "The continuedsoftening of inflation in suc-cession for seven months maybe mainly attributed to therelief measures announced bythe government to help poorpeople including labourers dur-ing the COVID-19 pandemic."The increase in the index willhave a positive impact on thewages of millions of workersworking in the unorganizedsector in rural areas."Director General LabourBureau D S Negi said, "LabourBureau has been able to bringout the monthly indices as perthe pre-defined schedule con-sistently even during the toughtime of COVID-19." PTI

New Delhi: Over 4.87 crore e-way bills, valued at over Rs13.85 lakh crore, were gener-ated by businesses and trans-porters in August, reflecting apick up in economic activity,GSTN data showed.

Electronic way or e-waybills are required for inter-state movement of goods worthover Rs 50,000. For intra-statemovement, limits vary fromstate to state.

As per the data shared bythe Goods and Services TaxNetwork (GSTN), 4.76 crore e-way bills, valued at over Rs13.66 lakh crore, were gener-ated in July.

The number stood at 4.27crore in June (worth Rs 12.40lakh crore), 2.51 crore in May(Rs 8.98 lakh crore), 84.53lakh in April (Rs 3.90 lakhcrore) and 4 crore in March (Rs11.43 lakh crore).

In February, before the

coronavirus lockdown cameinto force, 5.63 crore e-way billswere generated, valued at Rs15.39 lakh crore.

In a statement, GSTN,which manages the technologybackbone of GST, said busi-nesses can now download theire-way bill data for past one-month period from the e-waybill portal run by the NationalInformatics Centre (NIC).

So far, taxpayers or trans-porters could download e-waybills generated by them for alimited period of 5 days. GSTNsaid it had received suggestionsfrom taxpayers to increase thenumber of days for which e-way bills could be downloaded.

"Taxpayers can now makeuse of this facility to downloadthe e-way bills in excel formatand use in their systems. Thisfacility is presently availabledaily between 8 AM to 12noon," it said. PTI

New Delhi:Telecom regulator TRAI on Friday issued a fresh setof rules for publication and advertisement of tariff plans by tel-cos, in a bid to boost transparency in mobile offers and to helpsubscribers make informed decisions.

The consumer-oriented move assumes significance as tele-com subscribers often grapple with issues such as lack of infor-mation, unclear or hard to find plan details - a situation that affectssubscribers' ability to make proper choices.

Tightening the rules for telcos, Telecom Regulatory Authorityof India (TRAI) on Friday issued directions on tariff publica-tion and tariff advertisements. "...It has been observed that exist-ing measures adopted by telecom service providers are not trans-parent as they should be and that some of the telecom serviceproviders are not prominently highlighting additional terms andconditions," TRAI directive said. PTI

Hong Kong: Investmentbetween the United States andChina tumbled to a nine-yearlow in the first half of 2020, hitby bilateral tensions that couldsee more Chinese companiescome under pressure to divestUS operations, a research reportsaid. Investment, both directinvestment by companies andventure capital flows, betweenthe two countries fell 16.2% to$10.9 billion in January-Junefrom the same period a year ear-lier - also hurt by the coronaviruspandemic, according to figuresfrom consultancy RhodiumGroup and the NationalCommittee on US-ChinaRelations, an NGO. That's a farcry from half-yearly totals ofnearly $40 billion seen in 2016and 2017. Flows are unlikely torecover this year, regardless of theoutcome of the U.S. presidentialelection, the report said.

New Delhi: Although festiveseason demand may providesome temporary relief to the autoindustry in the next two-threemonths, the continued dispro-portionate wholesale billings byoriginal equipment manufac-turers could lead to increasedstress for dealers if uptake islower than expected, accordingto a report.

In its latest report on theauto sector, India Ratings andResearch (Ind-Ra) on Fridaysaid retail sales are likely tocontinue to lag behind wholesalesales in September 2020although the sector has report-ed a month-on-month rise insales over May-August 2020after the washout in April.

"After an above-averageacreage backed by adequatemonsoon, the prospects of arobust kharif harvest have orig-inal equipment manufacturers

(OEMs) hoping for a retaildemand revival from the ruralside during the upcoming festiveseason," the ratings agency saidin a statement. It added that salesare likely to remain sluggish inSeptember, especially on theretail side, "due to the inauspi-cious period of Shraadh".

The retail demand alsoimproved sequentially overApril-August 2020, the salesvolumes are still much lowerthan wholesales. But, passengervehicle (PV) and two-wheeler(2W) retail sales volumes fell 7per cent and 29 per cent year-on-year, respectively, in August2020.Amid the increasing casesof COVID-19 and job lossesacross the sections of the society,consumer sentiment remainsweak; the overall retail sales inAugust 2020 were only around71 per cent of the August 2019levels, it said. PTI

Gurugram:, RITES Ltd. (NSE:RITES, BSE:541556), the leadingTransport InfrastructureConsultancy and Engineeringfirm, reported that its Board ofDirectors has approved buy-back of96,98,113 equity sharesofface value of ̀ 10 each at ̀ 265pershare, translating into the totalbuy back amount not exceeding�257 crore.The company waslisted in July 2018 and at present72.02 % shares are held by GoIand balance is with the public&FIs. Commenting on the sharerepurchase program, Mr. RajeevMehrotra, Chairman andManaging Director, RITESLimited, said, “The company hasstrong financial fundamentalswith debt free balance sheet. Thisrepurchase reflects manage-ment's confidence in the com-pany and growth in sectors”.

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Mumbai: The rupee strength-ened by 21 paise to close atmore than one-week high of73.45 against the US dollar onFriday as the greenback weak-ened in the global markets.

At the interbank forexmarket, the domestic unitopened higher at 73.47 againstthe dollar and touched a day'shigh of 73.15 as the dollar fellagainst its major rivals.

The local unit later lostsome ground to close up by 21paise at 73.45, a level not seensince September 7. OnThursday, the rupee depreciat-ed by 14 paise to end at 73.66against the US dollar. The rupeeadvanced largely due to broaddollar decline globally. PTI

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The pandemic and then a series of lock-downs, that followed shortly after, gaveus a moment to hit pause on our fast-

paced lifestyles. There was enough time toreflect on our actions, relationships, beliefs,the power of art, fashion and creativity. Wecould discover a narrative that stirs the exist-ing dialogue of love, where the boundariesare patched, corridors of division are nar-row, cults and definitions are pushed far andwide to make space for love — the only thingthat matters. This is what fashion designerGaurav Gupta’s muse turned out to be whilehe worked on his collection for the FDCIIndia Couture Week 2020, the digital ver-sion. He said, “Through our theme — Nameis Love — we aim to put all the light on love;for self, all genders, all body shapes, all eth-nicities, all sexualities, and most important-ly, for inclusivity.”

During the process of casting models forthe show, which kickstarted online yester-day, he discovered “beautiful stories” wheredifferences and sexualities were not justaccepted but celebrated. Said Gaurav, “Wewere enamoured by every individual’s sheeroptimism. Their experiences felt familiar andbold. And I realised that their stories need-ed to be told.”

A young, proud lesbian couple Anjaliand Manauti living with their parents; Vee,an 18-year-old trans-male student; AnjaliLama, the first Indian trans-female super-model, and many other models who earneda name in unconventional setups, becamethe designer’s many ways to represent thevaried forms of love. “I hope that this mes-sage resonates and connects with millionswho are facing prejudice or feel inhibited toexpress themselves due to the pre-conceivedsocietal norms,” said Gaurav and empha-sised, “We’re celebrating uniqueness.”

In these desperate times when humanshave become more agile and vulnerable, thedesigner was glad that technology couldmake the Couture week happen. Said he, “Itwas the need of the hour to keep the showgoing, lighten up the mood and make thingsmore celebrative. It has given me hope. It’sso nice to see that millions of people aroundthe world can view the show and our col-lections.”

Well, the show is definitely differentunder the shadow of the novel Coronavirusbut what’s new this time? “We have present-ed 50 new women’s wear, 20 men’s wear and50 jewellery pieces. I wanted my collection

to reflect me and my choices. It had to bevery ‘Gaurav Gupta.’ I also discovered newcolours like Cerise, Bright Emerald, BerryPink, Snow Pink, Shadow Pink and more.I wanted to give a new life to these sophis-ticated colours. I also wanted to do a wholeBlack-and-White line. It was very new andcool for me. I also played with a lot of organ-za giving rise to new forms,” he said.

Another notable thing about his collec-tion, he pointed out, was the indigenoustechnique of sculpting, which was reinvent-ed in the form of structured wings, graph-ic spiralling ruffles and architectured waves.“We have also incorporated dramatic shim-mers, sheer fabrics, 3D floral applique, intri-cate hand embroideries along with pearlsand metallic sequins,” said Gaurav.

The designer’s men’s wear was refinedwith embroideries and mystical motifs. Saidhe, “We have introduced full Bordeaux vel-

vet suits with the house’s signature sculpt-ing techniques, punctuating the looks andcreating perfect statement pieces for acocktail or reception.”

The garments, sharply tailored andaccented with ornate hand embroi-deries, gave a meticulous and detailedlook — coming all the way from thecrisp ‘Downtown Abbey’ shirt inEgyptian cotton. The collection wasfurther elevated with timelessaccessories across all categorieslike pocket squares, bow-ties andloafers.

Gaurav’s collection alsofound their way to the couturejewellery. The line wasexpressed through fivedistinct elements ofinfinity, classic, pearl,feather and forest and

featured pieces created with rare diamonds,rubies, emeralds, opals and

tanzanite — sourced fromBurma, Botswana,Colombia andHyderabad.

The handmade col-lection was created with

precious stones, crafted inshades of white androse gold. It was ren-dered with details of a

custom wedding gown.The jewellery wasinspired by the Indianheritage integrated withthe influences of theVictorian era. Said

Gaurav, “We havetaken this ideologyto construct and re-invent these jewels.What makes our jew-

ellery couture unique isa distinct approach,where each diamond isindividually cut accord-ing to the design.” His lat-est collection includednecklaces, bracelets, rings,earrings and ear-cuffs.

Talking about whetherthe festive market is trend-ing more than the weddingone, the designer chose thelatter. He said, “The weddingmarket is more in trend andwill always be. Brides arelooking for authentic sculp-

tures and that ‘wow’ factor,something timelessthat they can weareven after four to five

years. They can also mix and match a lot ofthings from my collection. They wear ourlehenga blouses with saris because there’s somuch detail in each element that one is ableto play it up as and when they want to.”

When we talk of the Couture Week, itis imperative to know the consumer behav-iour as the buying pattern internationally hasundergone a drastic change. The gulf coun-tries are purchasing more as they are com-paratively less affected from COVID-19.Added Gaurav, “But slowly and gradually,the international markets are coming backinto line. We have a big market in the gulfall across UAE and Middle East. Earlier, theyused to fly down and have couture appoint-ments but this time they’re all purchasingour products online, even couture. They dovideo consultation with our stylists and getgarments fitted virtually.”

Actor Farhan Akhtar will open Star Sports’Live Broadcast on ‘Cricket Live’, ahead ofthe opening match of Dream11 IPL 2020.

The nation has been going through toughtimes due to COVID-19, making this seasoneven more special since it gives a reason for peo-ple to come together to watch our very owntournament.

Farhan will set the tone of the tournamentby introducing ‘Cricket Live’, before the much-anticipated clash between Mumbai Indians andChennai Super Kings. He will be addressingtoday’s testing times, and how we need to to rideover this crisis.

Speaking on this, Farhan said, “These aretrying times and our nation continues to per-severe and move forward. With the world pick-ing up pace in the new normal, the announce-ment of the IPL was a breath of fresh air. I havebeen looking forward to some sporting action,and Live Indian cricket is back after a long hia-tus. There’s much to learn from the journey ofa team or an individual in it. To rise after youfall, to learn from ones mistakes and mostimportantly, to stay grounded and humble invictory. I resonate with this feeling even moreafter working on my forthcoming film Toofaanin which sport is the backdrop, made on sim-

ilar ethos. It is important to stay resilient, opti-mistic and ready to battle all odds for a bettertomorrow. Personally, it also is an absolute plea-sure to open the maiden show. Looking forwardto a grand opening game.”

(Watch the actor on Star Sports’ pre-showCricket Live from 6 pm onwards on September19.)

Fashion designerSharbari Dutta was

found dead inside thebathroom of her SouthKolkata’s Broad Street res-idence on the interveningnight of Thursday andFriday.

As per police sources,Dutta was found deadinside her bathroom ataround 12.15 am onFriday. Officials of localpolice station and theKolkata Police headquar-ters Lalbazar’s homicidebranch reached the spot atnight.

Her family memberssaid Dutta (63) was lastseen during the dinner onTuesday. After that shealso went incommunicado.

Primary investigationsuggests that she died of asudden cardiac attack inthe toilet. But Dutta’s fam-ily members claim thatshe was otherwise keepingfine and had no suchchronic ailment.

Kolkata Police’s homi-cide branch will carry outthe investigation to findout the actual reason of thedesigner’s sudden demise.

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��������Dutta’s body was sent for thepost-mortem examination.

Daughter of celebratedBengali poet Ajit Dutta,Sharbari Dutta was a popularname in the costume design-ing industry for over past fewdecades, and was the onlywomen designer to work onmen’s ethnic fashion wear. Itwas Dutta who had intro-duced coloured Bengali dhotisand designer Punjabi kurtas tothe mainstream fashion worldwith her exclusive touch onbright colours along withembroidery works.

The fashion mogul hasalso styled present PrimeMinister of Pakistan ImranKhan and cricketer SachinTendulkar.

Dutta has shattered stereo-types defining men’s ethnicfashion over the years. Well,through a flood of condo-lences from models, actors andpeople from the film industryfor her family on social media,we can certainly see how signif-icantly she contributed to theIndian fashion at large.

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India has made a remarkable progressin several areas over the seven decadessince Independence. But at the same

time, it has been beset by some fundamen-tal and chronic problems. There is pover-ty and inequity, the air in many cities isunbreathable, the streets are littered withgarbage, women feel unsafe, levels of basiceducation are low and the economy issharply declining. The problems have last-ed so long that they seem unsolvable in alifetime.

Architect-author Goonmeet SinghChauhan argues that they can actually besolved decisively. To achieve this, he pre-sents a new methodology that he callsInvertonomics in his eponymous book,which inverts problems into economicopportunities. The book identifies eightpersistent problem areas and proposeswell-resolved and, in some cases, success-fully-implemented models for tacklingthem. It presents innovative yet pragmat-ic ideas that will have a direct impact onour lives and help us realise the dream ofan advanced India. We speak to him tofind out how. Excerpts:

�How did you conceptualise it?I have always enjoyed solving prob-

lems, especially the stubborn ones. A three-pronged strategy typically works for me.It begins with analysing the problem andits key drivers in a manner where we canmeasure the critical root causes and theirimpact. Then, the process of solutioneer-ing begins on how the ‘whole relates to theparts’, and simultaneously, how the ‘partsrelate to the whole’. It may seem abstractbut the key to problem-identificationtypically lies in a few parts, while the solu-tion lies in the whole. Once the key stoneand the king pin have been identified, thefinal step begins. The third leg of the exer-cise is imagining a new ecosystemapproach, wherein all parts work synergis-tically to achieve a newer, brighter andbeautiful possibility.

As architects, we have a free hand increating newness within the limits of aland. Sometimes, we look at urban designand try it to impact the quality of lives ofpeople. But our interventions tend to bemore physical in nature. This book is aresponse to my inner calling to go beyondthe physicality so that true transformationcan happen. It has ideas that use money,technology and common sense to solvesome real, hard problems of our country.

�What research went into it? And howlong did it take to complete the book?

I started thinking about it 10 years ago.I wanted to write 21 ideas but when I gotto the research part and assessing the prac-ticality of each solution, it turned out tobe an exhaustive process and every ideatook more than a year each to be accom-plished. The book project relied on a teameffort for research, which was based on

three methods — physical measurementand secondary data collection on ground,internet-based research to inform us ofinterventions that spread across geogra-phies and time, interviews withinformed persons in civil soci-ety and the bureaucracy togauge the practi-cality of ours o l u t i o n sproposed.

E v e r yc h a p t e rs t a r t swith ag e n e r a lnarrative ofthe problem —for this, we usedinternet-based researchto find out about the histo-ry of the problem across geo-graphies and time. For instance,we studied how honking was apublic issue in post-World War ILondon and in Hitler’s Germany. Westudied the solutions that various govern-ments and NGOs had attempted earlier;successful case studies that could bescaled up to be applied across a nationalscale; a lot more. It took seven years tocomplete the book including an year-longprocess of edits and updates.

�Your book lists some successfully-implemented models that you’vedesigned. Can you elaborate on them?

A few of the book’s ideas have been orare being implemented with some initialsuccess and a lot of promise.

�The Wise foundation (WorldInitiative for Service and Education):This idea looks at establishing free residen-tial schools for underprivileged children,who seek out a living foraging throughgarbage. These kids would now be housedin free residential hostels-cum-schools andreceive love and care. They would grow upin campuses called Sanctuaries, whichwould be set in suburban fringes of thecities and would impart value based edu-cation based on Sewa and Samridhi.

These sanctuaries would be set up and runby educational trusts and the entire capi-tal and operational expenditure would bepaid by the trust. However, the govern-

ment would step in as a regulator andfunding agency. They would pay a fee

for each child like a parent wouldpay for a residential school. This

fee would enable the educa-tional trust to receive a

return on investment forthe educational trust,

thereby allowingthis project to

scale up.We are

imagining aproject of

one millionc h i l d r e n

across 500 centresin 30 states. The Delhi

Government has alsoexpressed its eagerness to

adopt this model and are look-ing to establish the first such

school in Delhi soon.�Clean and dry toilets: Six months

before the Commonwealth games, theMunicipal Corporation of Delhi took onthe challenge of building public toilets ofinternational quality in the city. They werein need of �100 crore for the project andstruggled to get provision for the funds.

At this point, we suggested a modelwherein new toilet complexes would becreated on a PPP model and sited adjacentto existing MCD governed marketplaceswithin their parking lots. A concessionairewould build on a 2,000-square foot plinth,modern toilets with a frontal entrance intoa reception area that would be manned tocollect charges and lead to separate, cleanand dry toilets with dedicated attendants.These would be flanked by two kiosks forice-cream/florist/ATMs and on top of thisstructure would be a coffee shop of 2,000square feet. The janitors and operations ofthe entire complex would be managed bythe concessionaire. The revenues from payand use toilets would far exceed the oper-ational expenses and we recommended the

concessionaire would pay an annuity to themarket association in addition to payinga upfront bid money to acquire the rightsto build to the municipality.

The proposal was implemented and28 new international-quality toilet com-plexes were constructed and theMunicipality earned significant sums inrevenues. The project has been hugelysuccessful and can be easily replicatedacross India.

�How can invertonomics be used wide-ly in India, including the remote andunderprivileged areas?

Invertonomics imagines a rejuvenat-ed Bharat and proposes three megainterventions in India’s rural hinter-land.

�Office of Bharat: The office ofBharat would be like a central business-cum-administrative district centre, oneeach for India’s 650 districts. This 100-acre development would have within ita new administrative set up includingcivil administration, police, districtcourts, disaster management centre.Social infrastructure such as education-al facilities, health facilities, culturalcomplex, sports centre, vocational train-ing centre and business centres includ-ing an international logistics orientedagricultural mandi, ware housing, coldstorage, food processing plants, commer-cial office centre, rural hotels, hostels,rural shopping centre etc. A new cen-tralised powerhouse like this will spur thedormant administrative, commercialand socio-economic energies of ourhinterland into action. This nucleuswould infuse capital into the districteconomy and act like a catalyst of com-merce and social change.

�C ocoons: The CocoonCorporation of India shall provide post-paid containers (called cocoons) to thefarmers to store their produce and sup-port with facilities for digital trade oftheir agri-commodities. This facilitywould help the farmers and allow themto fetch a better price for their produceand significantly empower them finan-

cially both in terms of revenue as well asthe ability to raise capital at lower inter-est rates. The corporation shall also runa proper logistics centre to ship thesecocoons (containers), which are rodent,dust and weather-proof, and even refrig-erated in case needed for their trade des-tinations. The platform would radicallyempower farmers, making agriculture theengine of rural economy once again, notremittances from rural folk living incities.

�Residential development aroundthe office of Bharat: A true socio-eco-nomic revival shall happen around theseoffices of Bharat as new residentialdevelopments, schools, hospitals, cultur-al complexes, etc, will enable jobs, liveli-hood and quality life for the rural folk.It will decongest our cities too as villageswould become preferable places to live,learn and work.

�Long-term solutions such as sensitis-ing the public through education andawareness campaigns have always beenthere. Do you think this approachwould lead to faster and more effectivemeans of modifying citizen behav-iour?

The book promises to change thepace of change. So far, we have been cut-ting butter with a chainsaw, while all weneed is a butter knife called invertonom-ics! I feel citizen behaviour can bealtered using a three-pronged approach,including creating an inspired citizenshipwherein individuals act in the interest ofcollective good.

�Money and technolog y :Invertonomics uses a carrot and stickapproach by offering each individualmonetary incentives or disincentives forexpected citizen behaviour. For assessingindividual behaviour, it uses non-inva-sive technology to gauge behaviour in thepublic domain. For example, to managethe incidence of honking on our roads,the book proposes an auditory charge of�1 for every instance of honking beyonda threshold of say 30 free honks amonth. It further levies a charge of �10,

say for honking near a hospital or a nightwithin a colony. It also incentivises theleast honkers by measuring their relativeperformance to peers in the same city.Such positive citizens may receive recog-nition or rewards or corporate dis-counts, while non-compliant citizenswould pay hefty fee. They would alsoreceive surrogate tutorship on how toimprove their citizenship by adjusting toacceptable behaviour.

�Measurement, transparency andconnectivity: More complex issues likesafety in cities and equity would requirean ecosystem level shift, which shall beachieved using measurement of some keyparameters, tabling them in a transpar-ent, technology-driven manner and thenpublishing the data real-time on publicplatforms so that all the stakeholders areconnected with that data. Such awarenessand collective intelligence of the ecosys-tem shall raise the median performanceof all systems and accelerate the trans-formation to higher ground.

�In a country as diverse as ours, howdifficult do you think it is to catalysechange?

When demographics are diverse,one has to work out simple and binarysolutions where expected behaviour bycitizens is understood by all. Like theOdd-Even scheme of the Delhi Governmentwas easily understood by an auto driver aswell as a financial analyst because the expec-tation was binary. The compliance was high.

In India, we tend to obfuscate the lawand the poor citizen often finds himself onthe wrong side of it, forcing him to use unfairmeans to extricate himself out of the situ-ation. This phenomenon has led to the incre-mental lowering of the median of citizen-ship, with citizens adopting a sort of flexi-ble morality that suits their convenience.Invertonomics proposes the use of very sim-ple laws and the new ecosystem would laydown binary expectations. Also incentivesin terms of money are easily understood byall. Money is like a universal language thatpossibly rivals music in its universal appeal!Money-based systems shall ensure thatthings operate in a demography-agnosticmanner, successfully.

�You’ve mentioned in the book, “InIndia, we are in a negative cycle as far ascitizen participation for common good isconcerned. This shift can only come frompolicy change and legislation aimedtowards the creation of definitive goals.”How do you think this can be acted uponin India, where it might take years tochange policies and laws or create a newone?

Change is always bottom up. While it’saffected through top-down instruments likenew legislations, new institutions and a newecosystem, the demand for it is always pro-pelled by the need for it. It takes civil soci-ety and thought leaders to articulate a visionthat gradually alters the popular narrative.Thereafter, the course of transformation caneither take an incremental route or an accel-erated route, depending upon the willing-ness of the political dispensation and thestrength of the advocacy to take a hard lookat issues and seek convenient and strong res-olutions.

We need conversations around inspiredcitizenship, and local-level leadership todemonstrate action in areas, which can behandled locally like segregation of garbage,pedestrian safety and much more. For this,we have also set up the InvertonomicsFoundation for India, which promises totake up issues from the book and pursuethem to make sure that they get imple-mented and how.

Last month, I discovered the power ofpaper in the hands of an artist sculp-

tor. I was looking at a lantern. One thatwas sliced vertically and had a surrealflavour. Suddenly, the object had becomesubject through an interplay colours andthe contours. Master sculptor VivekDas from Jharkhand is expanding thepaper’s potential through the time wornart of papier mache.

%������'�%�%��Paper oscillates through time and

tide. Paper has been the greatest inven-tion for an artist, it has been a symbolof possibility and an abacus for writers,researchers architects, designers, artistsand sculptors ever since its inventionin China around 105 A.D. We think ofLeonardo da Vinci’s drawings, we thinkof Reubens, Raphael, Rembrandt, VanGogh and the ultimate Picasso. Paper ismore than a medium, more than a mate-rial, it is the most humble of tools in anartist’s hands.

Vivek Das’s lantern tells us thatpaper has a vast potential as a materialfor sculpture. Not only is it versatile: itcan be featherweight and translucentwhile being heavy and rigid like papier-mâché. But most importantly, it’s non-toxic, it’s not so expensive and is acces-sible to everyone. Vivek says, “I try to cre-ate sculptures all the time in the hope thatI can convert these into bronze.”

Curves, curls, convex and concavesurfaces all come into play as he createssculptural wonders that celebrate themalleable magic of papier mache. Vivekbrings back the words of the greatFrench writer and poet Rainer MariaRilke who in his Book of Hours said: “Goto the limits of your longing… Let every-thing happen to you: beauty and terror.”

In that universal cadence, Rilkeassures us to “just keep going,” for “near-by is the country they call life.” Das exem-plifies this and more in his brilliantworks. Says he, “Whenever I try to pickout a subject to create, I find there is a

co-existence of life with thingsthat connect — for instance thelantern connects with life andlight. I didn’t want to create aportrait of the lantern as it is.That would be too common, Iwanted a unique portrayal.”

The lantern born of Vivek’smany moorings and thoughts isa metaphor for the existence ofman through thick and thin, forhis spirit of being that livesthrough the times rendered bothwithin and without. “Beauty hasno other origin than the singu-lar wound, different in everycase, hidden or visible, whicheach man bears within himself,”said the French writer JeanGenet. Vivek’s sculptures areabout solidity and an inner life-force, their undulating formsconveying “tension, force andvitality.”

����������������Vivek says, “I’m touching

upon untold histories, as well ashighlighting its parallel to myown identity.” He appreciates thepapier mache for its accessibili-ty, and explores the medium invarious ways. “It’s a practicethat’s very practical to follow,” hesays. “No kiln, foundry, or harsh

chemicals are necessary.” Heapproaches the medium withempathy. “It’s about assessing thecomposition I want to make,responding to it, and giving itwhat it needs,” he explains. “Myapproach is to treat papier machelike a complex yet beautiful con-textual composition with adynamic, hidden life.”

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Using the traditional papier-mâché process to shape hissculptures, he models and occa-sionally carves the paper toachieve the desired shape, creat-ing a sort of hybrid of sculptureand drawing. His admiration forpaper’s tactile qualities, the sub-tlety of its colour and the softnessof its shadows evokes a sense ofphysical space.

The lantern seems to speakof a psychological space and timethrough the layering of paper.Looking at Vivek’s works werealise that papier mache isinnovative and inventive, thereare endless ways that paper canbe drawn on, cut, embossedand manipulated, both two-dimensionally and sculpturallyto create masterpieces.

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Newly crowned US Openchampion Naomi Osaka

pulled out of the French Openwith a sore hamstring on Friday,in a fresh blow to the coron-avirus-hit Grand Slam which isalready missing world numberone Ashleigh Barty.

Japan’s Osaka made theannouncement just days afterlifting her third Major titlebehind closed doors in NewYork.

“Unfortunately I won’t beable to play the French Open thisyear,” Osaka said in posts onInstagram and Twitter. “My

hamstring is still sore so I won’thave enough time to prepare forthe clay — these two tourna-ments came too close to eachother for me this year.”

The French Open is due tostart on September 27 at RolandGarros, rescheduled from earli-er in the year because of thecoronavirus pandemic.

Osaka, who has never madeit out of the third round of theFrench Open, did not say whenshe will play next. She did assureher fans they would see her“sooner than later”.

The withdrawal of third-ranked Osaka means RolandGarros will be missing two of the

world’s top three, after reigningchampion Barty said earlier thismonth that she wouldn’t returnto defend her title.

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Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s pokerface, Virat Kohli’s raw emotions

and Rohit Sharma’s effortless han-dling of his Galacticos will be backto charm cricket fans across the globewith the Indian Premier Leaguestarting on Saturday, promising to bea happy distraction in a worldscarred by Covid-19.

Rohit’s defending championsMumbai Indians will be lockinghorns with Dhoni’s Chennai SuperKings in what is likely to be a fitting-ly exciting opening showdown here.

The tournament, which has beenshifted to the UAE due to five mil-lion plus Covid cases in India, is a‘TV-only event’, expected to belapped up by all and sundry whocrave for cricket and Bollywood inequal measure during prime time.

Bollywood had its share of primetime in the past few months but restassured, the next 53 days wouldbelong to Dhoni’s CSK, Kohli’s RCBand Rohit’s Mumbai Indians chal-lenged by young pretenders compris-ing KL Rahul’s KXIP and ShreyasIyer’s Delhi Capitals among others.

IPL happening in foreign shoresis not a new phenomenon, not eventhe shift to the Emirates but as Indiansports hits the restart button with thebillion dollar cricketing extravagan-za, the hugely popular event to be

held closed doors in a bio-secureenvironment will be a new experi-ence.

David Warner or Chris Gayle’stowering sixes welcomed by artificialcrowd cheer will be the new normaland the deafening roars duringSuper Overs will be missing but noone can complain as at least the showwill go on in amid a devastatinghealth crisis.

A look at the teams would indi-cate that Mumbai Indians by a dis-tance is the most formidable withRohit, Pandya brothers — Hardikand Krunal, the indomitable KieronPollard and the ‘King of Death’bowling Jasprit Bumrah giving it amenacing look.

The perennial Dad’s ArmyChennai Super Kings can never becounted out till that man with ‘HawkEyes’ uses his peripheral visionbehind the stumps.

Experience can’t be bought andthe likes of Shane Watson, DwayneBravo, Faf du Plessis and Ravindra

Jadeja have given their blood andsweat for the ‘Yellows’ and it wouldbe no different this time.

For Kohli, winning a tournamentas a captain would reaffirm his sta-tus even as naysayers question hisstyle of leadership. The team is ashade better with presence of AaronFinch, Chris Morris and the wonder-fully gifted Devdutt Padikkal, who ifall goes well, is destined to becomea big name in years to come.

Delhi Capitals, with their newfound vigour and more pragmaticnew owners, found their mojo lastyear and would like to go one betterunder an enormously talented skip-per in Shreyas Iyer, who can bematched in skills by a Prithvi Shawor a Rishabh Pant.

Seasoned brains likeRavichandran Ashwin would beideal foil for the team’s youthful exu-berance.

KXIP’s KL Rahul is a class actand how he shapes as a leader couldalso create a narrative for the future

when Indian cricket goes throughanother change of guard in next fewyears.

There will be a lot of interest asto how he handles players like GlennMaxwell, Gayle and MohammedShami, who are savage on their daysbut can be ordinary on some others.

Handling an inconsistent team toa decent finish will be on top ofRahul’s agenda.

The low profile SunrisersHyderabad once again will be gun-

ning for a place in the summit clashand their skipper David Warnerknows how to win the IPL havingalways led the way with spectacularperformances.

There is Jonny Bairstow’s flair,Kane Williamson’s poise and RashidKhan’s flamboyance with a host ofyoungsters like Virat Singh andPriyam Garg eager to make a namefor themselves.

When the IPL was partially heldin UAE back in 2014, KKR were the

eventual champions.If Ben Stokes is the world’s best

all-rounder across formats, AndreRussell probably is a bit moredestructive in this format as he hit 52sixes during their horrendous lastedition.

The 2018 U-19 World Cup stars— Shubman Gill, Shivam Mavi andKamlesh Nagarkoti — add a dash ofyouth. Eoin Morgan’s leadershipskills that might prove to be handyin case a normally inconsistentDinesh Karthik misfires.

Rajasthan Royals is the weakestteam lacking quality in the Indianline-up but expect Jos Buttler, SteveSmith and Jofra Archer to do theheavy lifting in Stokes’ absence.Stokes is currently in New Zealandto be with his ailing father.

MI START FAVOURITESMumbai Indians are traditional

slow-starters in the IPL but onpaper, they will be the favouritesagainst Chennai Super Kings in theopening game in Abu Dhabi.

MI looks the most preparedand set team with a scary batting line-up of Rohit, Quinton de Kock,Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan,Hardik and Krunal Pandya, KieronPollard. Trent Boult and NathanCoulter-Nile will complete their

quota of foreigners.For CSK, the core has remained

the same save for Suresh Raina, whowas their worst performer last yearand has pulled out citing personalreasons this year. His replacementRuturaj Gaikwad remains in quaran-tine having tested Covid-19 positiveat least five times.

But there is Watson, AmbatiRayudu, Kedar Jadhav, RavindraJadeja, and Bravo, who have all wonmatches from hopeless situations.

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Abu Dhabi: Going through a poorrun of form, Australian top-orderbatsman Chris Lynn is banking onhis exploits at last year’s T10 tour-nament in UAE to turn thingsaround and contribute to his IPLteam Mumbai Indians.

Lynn, a hard-hitting opener, hada poor run at the recently-conclud-ed Caribbean Premier League hav-ing scored less than 150 runs in ninegames for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.

However, the 30-year-old wasthe highest run-getter at last year’sT10 league in UAE. He amassed 371runs for Maratha Arabians andalso smashed the highest individualscore of 91 off 30 balls.

“I have got some really goodmemories from the T10 tour-namemt last year here in AbuDhabi, so hopefully just reconnectwith what worked for me there andhopefully put some performaces onthe board,” he said.

However, Lynn will find it dif-ficult to break into the MI’s playingXI with coach Jayawardene alreadymaking it clear that he will not tin-ker with the opening combinationof Rohit Sharma and Quinton deKock.

The Australian said he is readyto bat at any position that MumbaiIndians coach Mahela Jayawardene

deems fit.“Rohit! what aworld class player, runson the board, on and offthe field what he’s con-tributed to Mumbai is

something really real-ly special. AndQuinny (De Kock)

has been out-standing withthe gloves andbat in hand,”Lynn said in a

video posted onMumbai Indians

official Twitterhandle.

New Delhi: Former Australian speedsterBrett Lee has tipped three-time championsChennai Super Kings to win the 13th IPL,saying the variety in their spin departmentgives them an advantage in the UAE condi-tions.

“They (CSK) are up there. I have pickedthem to win and I think CSK have a goodchance because of their spin attack,” Lee said

on Star Sports show Game Plan.“With Santner, Jadeja needs to step up

and be the No 1 spinner and CSK have gotgreat variety and none of the spinners aresame, so they are at an advantage for the con-ditions in the UAE as the tournament pro-gresses.”

Four-time winners Mumbai Indian willmiss the services of their bowling spearheadLasith Malinga who opted out of the tour-nament citing personal reasons.

However, the 43-year-old Lee said he hasno doubts that Jasprit Bumrah will be ableto fill in the shoes of the experienced seam-er.

“I am always Bumrah’s fan since he burstonto the scene some years ago. He has gota different bowling action, he pushes the ballin, and can swing the ball both ways. He isgood with the new ball but I like him withthe old ball and that’s why he can fill the shoesof Malinga and can bowl at death overs,”he said.

“He can bowl at 140kmph andzoom the ball in at the batsman’sfeet. He is bowling the yorkersconsistently and there are veryless bowlers like that, so he canfill those shoes.”

Lee, who has 310 wickets in76 Tests and 380 scalps in 221 ODIs,said he considers Mumbai Indians inhis top four.

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His sabbatical from the game hasdone Mahendra Singh Dhoni a

world of good, Chennai Super Kingscoach Stephen Fleming said onFriday, asserting that the enigmaticskipper is “mentally engaged anddetermined” to encounter the chal-lenges of a “tactically different” IPL.

Dhoni’s CSK will take on RohitSharma’s Mumbai Indians in thetournament opener on Saturday.Fleming, a former New Zealand cap-tain, stressed that his team’s experi-ence of winning big matches willcome in handy during the next 53days.

Dhoni retired from interna-tional cricket last month after beingon a break for over one year andwhen asked about the 39-year-old’spreparedness for the IPL, Flemingsaid, “It has been no different. He’svery fit and mentally, he’s been veryengaged and determined.”

“In some ways the break canwork for the experienced and older

players that we have. MS is fresh andready to go,” Fleming said in a pre-tournament interview to CSK’s offi-cial website.

The three-time champions arebanking heavily on their 35-plusplayers, including Dhoni himself,Shane Watson, Dwayne Bravo, Kedar

Jadhav, and Imran Tahir to name afew.

“...Experienced players identifykey times and that’s why they’ve doneso well in their careers. They can turngames, absorb pressure or just sumout the situation. That’s what expe-rience is about and that’s why wevalue it so highly,” said Fleming.

“And that’s why we’ve been ableto get over the line in so many closegames because the key player hasbeen one with a lot of experience.And you also mix that with skill. Youare conscious of having a skilful sideand adding youth when we can andwith that get the balance pretty right.”

Starting against a quality side likeMI is certainly exciting for Fleming,who wants his men to have a crackat the defending champions aftertheir agonising last-ball loss in theprevious edition.

“The first game is always full ofanxiety, nerves and excitement, andCSK-MI has added extra excitementand pressure and we enjoy that.We’ve earned the right to play the

first game by playing well last year,and given the way the final finishedlast year, it’s nice to have anothercrack at MI.

“They (MI) are a very good sideand it gives you a good gauge as tohow the pre-season has gone and theareas that need improvement. Youget a good idea after the first gameas to where your team is sitting.”

With the home advantage ofplaying seven games at Chepaukgone, Fleming is bracing up for avery different tournament tactical-ly where adaptability will be the key.

“I see this season is going to bevery different tactically. With no realhome ground advantage here, we’vegot to be very good at adapting to theconditions in each ground.

“We’ve got three differentgrounds to assess and each groundhas its own character and nuancesand we’ve just got to be good enoughto pick the right team and get theright game plan to match that. It’s likeevery game is an away game,” heexplained.

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Top-seeded Simona Halepimproved to 7-0 in tennis’

restart with a 7-5, 6-4 win overDayana Yastremska on Friday toreach the Italian Open quarters.

Halep, who is actually on an11-0 run overall stretching backto February, recovered an earlybreak in the opening set and thenoverpowered her 29th-rankedopponent the rest of the way.

Having won a title in Dubaibefore the coronavirus pan-demic, Halep marked herreturn with another trophyin Prague last month. Shethen skipped the US Opendue to health concernsamid the pandemic.

Halep, who losttwo straight finals inRome to ElinaSvitolina in 2017and 2018, will nextface either 10th-seeded Elena Rybakinaor Yulia Putintseva.

Also on the red

clay courts of the Foro Italico,defending champion KarolinaPliskova defeated Russian qual-ifier Anna Blinkova 6-4, 6-3and will next play 11th-seededElise Mertens, who eliminatedMontenegrin qualifier DankaKovinic 6-4, 6-4.

In men’s action, 15th-seed-ed Grigor Dimitrov ended therun of 19-year-old JannikSinner with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4win.

Sinner, the Italian who hadbeaten third-seeded Stefanos

Tsitsipas in the previousround, missed an easy over-head smash into the net onDimitrov’s fifth match point.

The tournament hasbeen played without

fans so far due to thepandemic, althoughthe Italian Govtannounced Fridaythat up to 1,000spectators will beallowed in to watchthe semifinals andfinals.

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Tottenham scored twice in thefinal 10 minutes to avoid a humil-

iating Europa League exit toLokomotiv Plovdiv as Jose Mourinho’smen came from behind to beat thenine-man Bulgarians 2-1 onThursday.

Harry Kane’s penalty and TanguyNdombele’s winner five minutes fromtime ensured the 2019 ChampionsLeague finalists did not fall at the firsthurdle of their Europa League cam-paign to a side that have never pro-gressed beyond the qualifying stagesof European competition.

“I think it was a helluva experi-ence for the players. Sometimes infootball miracles happen and whenyou play a knockout, one-leg it is theperfect scenario for a miracle tohappen,” said Mourinho.

“Everyone on their side had themoment where they dream and wehad the moment where we believeda nightmare could arrive.”

Mourinho named a strong sidefeaturing Kane, Hugo Lloris and SonHeung-min with just four changesfrom Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Evertonto start their Premier League cam-paign.

But there was more evidence

why Spurs are desperate to secureGareth Bale’s return on loan from RealMadrid as they struggled to breakPlovdiv down and went behind toGeorgi Minchev’s header 19 minutesfrom time.

The tie swung back in Spursfavour nine minutes later whenMomchil Tsvetanov punched clear offhis own line and the referee had nooption but to point to the spot andsend Tsvetanov off.

Birsent Karagaren was then also

shown a second yellow card beforeKane dispatched the spot-kick intothe top corner.

Ndombele has struggled for gametime under Mourinho despite beingthe club’s record signing.

But the Frenchman, who wasintroduced on the hour mark, provedthe match winner by bundling homefrom close range.

A trip to Macedonia next week toface KF Shkendija faces Mourinho’smen in the third qualifying round.

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Liverpool completed the signingof Thiago Alcantara from

Bayern Munich on Friday, bring-ing in one of the world’s most tech-nically gifted players to add anoth-er dimension to the English cham-pions’ midfield.

The 29-year-old Thiago endedhis seven-year spell at Bayern bymoving for an initial fee of 20 mil-lion pounds ($26 million), with apotential additional 5 millionpounds ($6.5 million) later.

“My decision is purely ofa sporting nature,” the Spaininternational said in a videoannouncing his departurefrom Bayern.

“As a football player, Iseek new challenges todevelop myself fur-ther. Bavaria willalways be my home.”

Thiago, whosefather is formerBrazi l midfielderMazinho, leavesBayern as a EuropeanCup winner, his lastmatch being the 1-0 vic-tory over Paris Saint-

Germain in the Champions Leaguefinal in August. He also won sevenstraight Bundesliga titles withBayern.

“When the years are passing,you are trying to win as much asyou can — and when you win, youwant to win more,” Thiago said.

“I think this club describeswhat I am as well. I want toachieve all of the goals, win asmany trophies as possible.”

At Liverpool, he will add amore creative edge — nurtured at

Barcelona’s famed La Masia acad-emy — to a midfield that cur-rently is more notable for itsenergy and intensity throughhard-running players like

Jordan Henderson, GeorginioWijnaldum and James

Milner.Thiago — with

his technique, touchand vision — willprovide Liverpoolwith more controlin midfield, too,allowing managerJuergen Klopp toadopt a different

approach in certaingames.

New Delhi: Olympic Silver medal-list PV Sindhu on Thursday pulledout of the Denmark Open tourna-ment scheduled to be held inOdense from October 13 to 18.

“Sindhu is not playing inDenmark, she has pulled out,” asource in the Gopichand Academytold PTI.

The BAI had on Tuesday writ-ten to the players who have senttheir entries for the DenmarkOpen, stating that they would be“travelling or participating at theirown responsibility due to the cur-rent pandemic” and “have to sendtheir consent within September17”.

Though Sindhu decidedagainst travelling to Denmark, sheplans to participate in the AsiaOpen-I and Asia Open-II sched-uled to be held in November.

Kidambi Srikanth, LakshyaSen and Subhankar Dey wereamong those players who have senttheir consent letters and will beparticipating in the super 750event.

Saina Nehwal and ParupalliKashyap have also sent their con-sent letters but will take a final callnearer to the date of the tourna-ment.

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Earlier this month, theFrench tennis federationrevealed plans to allow 11,500fans to attend each day, with theRoland Garros venue dividedinto three independent zones.

However, the deterioratinghealth situation in the countryand current FrenchGovernment regulations cap-ping public gatherings at 5,000forced them into a rethink. Therevised number wasannounced by tournamentdirector Guy Forget just 10 daysago. AFP

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