HYDERABAD, TUESDAY *LATE CITY VOL. 3 ISSUE 144 3 … · 2021. 3. 15. · HYDERABAD, TUESDAY MARCH 16, 2021; PAGES 12 `3 RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469 Established 1864 Published From HYDERABAD

HYDERABAD, TUESDAY MARCH 16, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

www.dailypioneer.com

RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

Established 1864Published From

HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN VIJAYAWADA

*LATE CITY VOL. 3 ISSUE 144*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:

MONEY 8ASTRAZENECA REASSURES SAFETY OF

COVID VAX; SAYS NO EVIDENCE OF RISKS

ANALYSIS 7WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR

THE HIGH FUEL PRICES?

SPORTS 12KOHLI & CO EYE

SERIES LEAD

}ANANDANNOUNCES

TWO NEW FILMS

Page 11{

YOUTUBER LILLY SINGH'S PRO-FARMERMESSAGE AT THE GRAMMYS RED CARPET

YouTuber and content creator Lilly Singhmade a statement at the GrammyAward ceremony by wearing mask

that showed her support for the farmer'protest in India. Ms Singh, who has beenvocal about her support for theprotesting farmers, posed in a mask witha message: "I stand with farmers". "I knowred carpet/award show pictures always getthe most coverage, so here you go media.Feel free to run with it. #IStandWithFarmers#GRAMMYs," she tweeted and wrote on Instagram.In little overan hour after she shared the photo, her Instagram post was"liked" by over 52,000 people.

NCB MOVES SUPREME COURT AGAINSTHC ORDER GRANTING RHEA BAIL

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) hasmoved the Supreme Court challengingthe Bombay High Court order granting

bail to actress Rhea Chakraborty, arrestedover drugs-related charges in actorSushant Singh Rajput's death case. Abench of Chief Justice Bobde and JusticesAS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian willhear the plea on March 18. On October 7,last year the Bombay High Court had grantedbail to the actress and directed her to deposit apersonal bond of Rs 1 lakh. It had however rejected the bail pleaher brother Showik Chakraborty, who is also an accused in thecase, and an alleged drug peddler Abdel Basit Parihar.

THE 7-LETTER WORD GOT TWITTERUSERS BANNED FOR NO REASON

Twitter users who used the word"Memphis" found themselvestemporarily locked out of their

accounts at the weekend because of abizarre bug. Several users sharedscreenshots showing messages fromTwitter saying their account was beinglimited for violating the platform's rules,after they had tweeted a message whichincluded the word "Memphis." Twitter lateSunday acknowledged the error and said it hadbeen fixed. Reports of the bug emerged after some soccer fansnoticed that posts mentioning Olympique Lyonnais playerMemphis Depay were being blocked.

IM TERRORIST ARIZ GETS DEATH PENALTYIN BATLA HOUSE ENCOUNTER CASE

ADelhi court Monday awarded death penal-ty to Ariz Khan for the murder of deco-rated Delhi Police Inspector Mohan

Chand Sharma in connection with thesensational 2008 Batla House encountercase, saying the offence fell under the"rarest of the rare category" warrantingthe maximum sentence. AdditionalSessions Judge Sandeep Yadav said Arizbe hanged by neck till death. InspectorSharma of the police's special cell was killed dur-ing the Batla House encounter between the police and alleged terror-ists in Jamia Nagar in south Delhi following serial bomb blasts in thenational capital in which 39 people died and 159 were injured.

HHYYDDEERRAABBAADDWWEEAATTHHEERR

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated march 15, 2021 5:00 PM

FFoorreeccaasstt:: Partly cloudyTTeemmpp:: 34/18HHuummiiddiittyy:: 29%SSuunnrriissee:: 06:23 amSSuunnsseett:: 06:26 pm

2

Congress can only

provide corruption

guarantee: Nadda

5

Sensex tanks 397

points; Nifty slips

below 15,000

8

BJP marching ahead in Kerala despiteCongress-Left...

AALLMMAANNAACC

TTOODDAAYY

Month & Paksham:

Magha & Shukla Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Tritiya: 08:58 pm

Nakshatram: Ashwini: Full Night

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 03:23 pm – 04:53 pm

Yamagandam: 09:25 am – 10:55 am

Varjyam: 03:03 am – 04:50 am

Gulika: 12:24 pm - 01:54 pm

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 11:28 pm – 01:16 am

Abhijit Muhurtham: 12:00 pm – 12:48 pm

2

ML MELLY MAITREYI n HYDERABAD

Expressing confidence that it canovercome the economic disrup-tion caused by the Covid-19 pan-demic, the Telangana Governmentanticipated Gross State DomesticProduct of Telangana for 2020-21to be Rs 9,78,373 crore, margin-ally higher than the Rs 9,69,604crore of the last financial year.

However, the per capita incomeby the end of current fiscal wasexpected to be Rs 2.27 lakh, mar-ginally lower than that of Rs 2.28lakh in 2019-20.

Governor TamilisaiSounderarajan revealed this dur-ing her address to the joint sittingof the State Legislature on Mondaywhen she said that the TelanganaState formulated its developmentmodel as individual centric and

finalised plans after assessingavailable resources and the needs.“With strict fiscal discipline, theState has been increasing its rev-enue resources,” the Governorsaid.

From 2014- 2019, with 17.24percent average annual growthrate, Telangana State hadincreased its revenues and stoodfirst in the country. In 2013-14,

the State’s GSDP was Rs 4,51,580crore and by 2019-20, it increasedby 114.71 per cent to reach Rs 9.69lakh-crore, the Governor said.

She said that the per capitaincome in 2013-14 in Telanganawas Rs 1.12 lakh and by 2019-20,it more than doubled to Rs 2.28lakh.

Corona failed to haltTelangana growth saga

n Despite pandemic,Telangana may seemarginal rise inGSDP in 2020-21

n Per capital incomeexpected to be Rs 2.27 lakh

n State economy showsstrong recovery evenduring crisis

Session for 10 days,Budget on March 18

Governor praises ‘communalharmony’, embarrasses State BJPK VENKATESHWARLUn HYDERABAD

By intent or accident, the TRSGovernment left the BJP squirm-ing during the address ofGovernor Tamilisai Sounderarajanto the joint sitting of the StateLegislature on Monday.

The Governor, in her speechprepared by the State Government,had to read the lines: “The TRSGovernment is committed to sec-ularism in the state where Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb flourishes. Allreligions are getting equal impor-tance and justice in the stateunder the TRS government”.

These words were seen by manyas a jibe at BJP, with GovernorTamilisai, who has a BJP back-

ground, getting caught in thecrossfire since she has made itclear that she will not do politicswhile holding the gubernatorialpost.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Short of resigning fromthe Congress, theparty that he joinedbefore the last gener-al elections, formerTRS MP KondaVishweshwar Reddyhas decided to distancehimself from the party,for now. VishweshwarReddy, an engineer, entrepreneurwith several patents to his credit,

entered politics by joiningTelangana Rashtra Samithi

and contested successful-ly from Chevella. Hesaid that he enteredpolitics to serve peopleand for the bettermentof Telangana. “Till yes-

terday I worked for thesuccess of Congress can-

didate Chinna Reddy fromthe Graduate constituency of

Hyderabad-Ranga Reddy andMahbubnagar. I wish him to win.

Now that the election is over, I wantto take a break for three months,” hesaid.

Notably, Vishweshwar Reddyhas not yet submitted any resigna-tion letter to the State Congressparty president.

Speaking to The Pioneer,Vishweshwar Reddy said he calledup TPCC president Uttam KumarReddy and told him that he wasdistancing himself from the partyactivities.

KCR absentat BAC; BJPnot invitedPNS n HYDERABAD

The Business Advisor yCommittee (BAC) meeting forthe Budget session of the StateAssembly held on Monday wasunusual to say the least, since itwas held without the presence ofthe Leader of the House andChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao.

NIPER-Hyd tobe ‘instituteof nationalimportance’ PNS n NEW DELHI

The National Institute ofPharmaceutical Education andResearch, Hyderabad will soon getthe tag of “institute of nationalimportance” along with five othersuch institutes in the country.

Union Chemicals andFertilisers Minister DVSadananda Gowda on Mondayintroduced a Bill in the LokSabha that seeks to provide theNational Importance tag to sixpharmaceutical education andresearch institutes.

Covid spike: PM to meetCMs tomorrowPNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister Narendra Modihas called a meeting of all ChiefMinisters to discuss the upsurgein Coronavirus cases in severalstates. The virtual interactionwill take place at 12.30 pm onWednesday, sources said.

This comes as the country –which had been reportingaround 10,000 daily Covid casesearlier this year – has logged26,291 cases, which is its high-est single-day spike in 85 days.

Govt collects Rs 26,457 cr by decreasing stakes in 6 DPSUsPNS n NEW DELHI

The government has collected Rs26,457 crore by decreasing itsshareholding in six defence publicsector undertakings (DPSUs) in thelast five years, according to detailsprovided by Minister of State forDefence Shripad Naik in RajyaSabha on Monday.

Responding to a question, Naiksaid a total of Rs 14,184.70 crorewas collected by decreasing stakesin Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL) while the amount was Rs8,073.29 crore from BharatElectronics Limited (BEL) and Rs2,371.19 crore from BharatDynamics Limited (BDL).

Similarly Rs 434.14 was fetched

from Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited(MIDHANI), Rs 420.52 crore fromGarden Reach Shipbuilders &Engineers Ltd (GRESE) and Rs

974.15 crore was collected fromMazagon Dock ShipbuildersLimited (MDL).

He said the policy of disinvest-ment of minority stake withouttransfer of management control isbeing followed for priority sectorincluding defence to unlock value,promote public ownership.

The minister said the policy isalso aimed at meeting the mini-mum public shareholding norms ofSEBI (Securities and ExchangeBoard of India) and for ensuringhigher degree of accountability.

HAL is India's aerospace behe-moth while MDL and GRESE arethe country's premier shipbuilders.

Railway 'privatisation' very dangerous: Basheer

Lok Sabha member E T Mohammed Basheer Monday expressed concerns overcertain railway services being handed over to private players, saying it was"very dangerous" and the government should not do so.

He was participating in a discussion in Lok Sabha on demands for grants for therailways for 2021-22. The railways is a national property and its "privatisation isvery dangerous", The IUML MP said. "We should not hand over our nationalproperty to private sector." During the discussion, Hanuman Beniwal of theRashtriya Loktantrik Party asked as to how the "privatisation" of railways will impactits employees. He also demanded that the vacancies in the sector be filled at theearliest. Anupriya Patel (Apna Dal) asked about the steps taken by the governmentto increase freight basket to push revenues. BJP members hailed the railways forextending support and services during the coronavirus pandemic. Lallu Singh(BJP) said the government has taken several steps to increase the rail networkcoverage. BJP member Sushil Kumar Singh said the railways was misused forpolitical purposes earlier, but now works are getting done on ground rather thanjust announcements being made.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The CBI has booked five lieutenantcolonel-ranked officers, 12other personnel andsix civilians foralleged corruptionin recruitment inthe Armythrough ServiceSelection Boardcentres, officialssaid on Monday.

The agency car-ried out searches at30 locations spreadacross 13 cities, includ-ing the Base Hospital in DelhiCantonment, on Monday in con-nection with the case, they said.

The search operation wasspread across Kapurthala,

Bhatinda, Delhi, Kaithal, Palwal,Lucknow, Bareilly, Gorakhpur,Visakhapatnam, Jaipur, Guwahati,

Jorhat and Chirangon.Lt Col MCSNABhagwan of the Army

Air Defence Corps,the alleged master-mind of the recruit-ment racket, isamong thosebooked, they said.

"Several incrimi-nating documents

related to the recruit-ment process have been

recovered during thesearches which are being scruti-

nized for further investigation,"CBI spokesperson R C Joshi said.

Nandyal tippleruses ballot todemandfavourite bottlePNS n NANDYAL

Election staff counting the votescast for the just-concluded UrbanLocal Body elections in Nandyalof Kurnool district were left flab-bergasted when they found arather peculiar chit in one of theballot boxes.

After reading the chit, theystruggled to control their laugh-ter, and evidently failed.

PNS n CAMBRIDGE/ENGLAND

Regular booster vaccines againstthe novel coronavirus will be need-ed because of mutations that makeit more transmissible and betterable to evade human immunity, thehead of Britain’s effort to sequencethe virus’s genomes told Reuters.

The novel coronavirus, whichhas killed 2.65 million people glob-ally since it emerged in China inlate 2019, mutates around onceevery two weeks, slower thaninfluenza or HIV, but enough torequire tweaks to vaccines.

Sharon Peacock, who headsCOVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) which has sequenced half ofall the novel coronavirus genomesso far mapped globally,

‘Regular Covid boostervaccines are the future’

Govt stops Rs 2,000currency notes printingPNS n NEW DELHI

Rs 2,000 currency notes have notbeen printed in the last two yearseven as the quantum of India's high-est denomination currency note hascome down, the Lok Sabha wasinformed Monday.

In a written reply, Minister ofState for Finance Anurag SinghThakur said 3,362 million curren-cy notes of Rs 2000 denominationwere in circulation on March 30,2018, constituting 3.27 per cent and37.26 per cent of the currency interms of volume and trade respec-tively. As of February 26, 2021, 2,499million pieces of Rs 2,000 notes werein circulation, constituting 2.01 percent and 17.78 per cent of banknotesin terms of volume and value,respectively.

"Printing of banknotes of a par-ticular denomination is decided bythe government in consultationwith RBI to maintain desireddenomination mix for facilitating

transactional demand of the public."During the years 2019-20 and

2020-21, no indent has beenplaced with the presses for print-ing of Rs 2000 denominationbanknotes," he said. The ReserveBank of India (RBI) had in 2019stated that 3,542.991 millionnotes of Rs 2,000 were printedduring the financial year 2016-17(April 2016 to March 2017).

5 Lt Col-ranked officers,18 others booked by CBI

ARMY RECRUITMENT SCAM

In fact, Telangana BJPchief Bandi SanjayKumar led a delegationof his party leaders tomeet the Governor onMonday over theBhainsa communalviolence

Congress in self-destructive mode,will take a break: Konda Vishweshwar

2

The Business Advisory Committee ofTelangana State Legislature hasdecided to hold the Budget session

for 10 days till March 26. The meetingwas held on Monday after theGovernor’s address to the joint sitting ofthe Legislature and was chaired byAssembly Speaker Pocharam SrinivasReddy. Legislature Affairs MinisterVemula Prashanth Reddy, FinanceMinister Harish Rao and leaders ofpolitical parties attended the meeting tofinalise the business agenda.

2

22

2 2

2

2

2 2

2

Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Phone: 040-23322341, Hyderabad Office: F-502, Diamond Block, Lumbini Rockdale, Somajiguda, Hyderabad - 500 082. Telangana. Printed at Sree Seshasai Enterprises, Plot No.19, IDA Balanagar , Hyderbad-500037, Medchal -Malkajgiri District, Telangana. Chief Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: B Krishna Prasad, AIR SURCHARGE of Rs 2.00.

Although every possible care and caution has been taken to avoid errors or omissions, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that information given in this publication is merely for reference and must not be taken as having authority of or binding in any way on the writers, editors, publishers, and printers and sellers who do not owe any responsibility for any

damage or loss to any person, a purchaser of this publication or not for the result of any action taken on the basis of this work. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent court and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only. Readers are advised and requested to verify and seek appropriate advice to satisfy themselves about the veracity of any kind of advertisement before

responding to any contents published in this newspaper. The printer, publisher, editor and any employee of the Pioneer Group's will not be held responsible for any kind of claim made by the advertisers of the products & services and shall not be made responsible for any kind of loss, consequences and further product-related damages on such advertisements.

hyderabad 02HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | MARCH 16, 2021

EGG RATES

` 45, 830 (10 gm)

` 00

GOLD

` 71, 500(1kg)

` 00

VIJAYAWADA 340

HYDERABAD 393

VISAKHAPATNAM 505

RREETTAAIILL PPRRIICCEE `̀33.. 4400

SILVER

HYDERABAD

BULLION RATES

`̀//110000

CHICKEN RATES

Dressed/With Skin `186

Without Skin `211

Broiler at Farm `128

`̀//KKGG

(IN HYDERABAD)

SNCN ACHARYULU n HYDERABAD

The results of the Urban LocalBody elections have not onlyvalidated the general percep-tion that YS JaganmohanReddy is a strong leader buthave brought comparisonsbetween the AP Chief Ministerand his Telangana State coun-terpart K Chandrasekhar Rao.

In fact, such comprehensivehas been the YSRCP’s sweep inthe local body polls, that itappears that Jagan is now themost popular leader, way pastKCR in terms of popularity, inthe two Telugu states.

Statistics support this theo-ry; the vote share of YSRCPand the TRS in the Assemblyand Municipal elections intheir respective states provethis.

Based on vote share alone,KCR emerged as a strongleader in Telangana, but Jaganemerged stronger in AndhraPradesh. In Telangana, TRSwon 109 of the 120 municipal-ities and 7 of the 9 municipalcorporations (excludingGreater Hyderabad Municipal

Corporation).However, the vote share of

TRS got reduced in municipalelections compared toAssembly elections. In the2018 Assembly elections, theTRS got 46.9 percent of thepopular vote but this dipped to43 percent in the municipalelections.

In AP, the YSRCP won 73 ofthe 75 municipalities and 11 ofthe 12 municipal corporations(counting of votes for the EluruMunicipal Corporation ispending). The YSRCP voteshare actually improved com-pared to the party’s perfor-mance in the 2019 Assemblyelections. In 2019, YSRCP gar-nered a whopping 50 percentof the vote share, in itself arecord for the Telugu States.However, the party improvedon its performance and bagged52.3 percent of the popular votein the Urban Local Body elec-tions. What is even moreastounding about the YSRCP’svictory is the fact that this resultcame despite the ruling partyfacing strong political rivals. InTelangana, TRS has little toworry about the opposition—

its rivals either lack a base orare beset with infighting. ForJagan and his party, the TDPremains a potent threat, and themachinations of the BJP-JanaSena combine will always keeptheir rivals on the edge. Whileit’s their populist and welfareschemes that have catapultedboth KCR and Jagan tounprecedented heights in theirrespective Telugu state, thefact that two parties receivedpositive votes cannot be over-looked. However, there havebeen some unforeseen bumpsfor KCR – the DubbakaAssembly by-poll loss and thereduction in the TRS strengthin the GHMC elections havebrought along a sense of dis-comfort for the party chief. Asenior political leader pointedout that in TS, TRS has been inpower since the past sevenyears, whereas in AP, theYSRCP is enjoying what poll-sters call the “honeymoon”phase where disenchantmentwith the ruling party has notyet set in. YSRCP has been inpower for only two years, hencethere is no anti-incumbencyfactor for it to contend with.

Campaigning in Keralain 2009, former PrimeMinister Manmohan

Singh had called the Left ashurdles to development andquoted the example of manyprojects and schemes thatcould not be implementedbecause of severe oppositionfrom the Left parties.

Congress leader ShashiTharoor too termed the Leftparties as antagonists to devel-opment. He predicted thatthe Left parties, with their out-dated and rejected philosophy,would become redundant.

Had the Left parties notblocked land acquisition, theVallarpadam InternationalTranshipment Terminal wouldhave been realised long back.The Left parties also opposedthe Indo-US nuclear deal.Other projects blocked by theLeft are liquid natural gasproject, land acquisition toimplement Sabarimala MasterPlan, international airport atThiruvananthapuram and the

Naval Academy at Ezhimala. As per the 15th Finance

Commission, unemploymentrate in the country is 6 asagainst 11 in Kerala. The stateresorted to huge borrowings,the debt burden crossing Rs37,864 crore as on January2021.

CAG statistics show thatKerala's borrowings exceededits budget estimates by 88percent. It indicted the KeralaInfrastructure InvestmentFund Board for reckless bor-rowing.

The Kerala government’smajor contribution to theGSDP comes from promotionof lotteries making peopleyearn to earn easy money. Ina state that has a population ofover 3.5 crore, lottery ticketsworth Rs 7.5 crore are soldevery week.

Left leaders of Kerala didnot lag behind in encouragingcorruption. According to theNational Crime Records

Bureau, the state ranked No.3 in corruption. The CM ofKerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, isfacing a CBI investigation forawarding Rs 374 crore con-tract to SNC Lavalin ofCanada when he was thePower Minister.

The Kerala Governmentpunished a Principal Secretaryin the gold smuggling case toshield several bigwigs.

CPM secretary KodiyeriBalakrishnan had to stepdown after his son wasdetained in Bengaluru in adrugs case. The Kerala HighCourt ordered a CBI probeinto the Wadakkanchery Life

Mission’s house project onallegations of large-scale irreg-ularities.

Former CM OomenChandy and KPCC presidentRamesh Chennitala calledthe government of Kerala asthe most inefficient, anti-development and corrupt.\

In this backdrop, why hasthe Congress of West Bengaljoined hands with the Left?

It was proven time andagain that the two parties,devoid of common ideology,practise only politics ofopportunism.

These two parties that locktheir horns in Kerala have

been trying to join hands atthe national level yearning toprovide an alternative to theNarendra Modi government.

People are aware that theunity of Congress and Leftparties, which assail theModi government, is a farceand they lack basic under-standing on how to developthe country.

The situation in Keralaand West Bengal would not

have been so miserable hadthe developmentmodel of Leftparties beenappropriate.

M o d ilaunched powertransmission pro-ject, solar powerproject , IntegratedCommand and ControlCentre and Smart RoadsProject in Kerala in Februarythis year indicating that hisonly agenda is to develop thecountry.

The condit ion ofCongress, with a history ofover 100 years is pitiable, inthe state. Senior leader PCChacko resigned fromCongress saying that there’sno internal democracy.

Former Congress generalsecretary Vijayan Thomasjoined the BJP levelling thesame charges.

Because of anarchism, cor-ruption, inef f iciency,groupism, ideological pover-

ty among the Left parties andCongress becoming

weak, the people ofKerala are inclinedtowards the BJP.The architect of

Konkan Railways andDelhi Metro E Sreedharan

joining the BJP stands as tes-timony to this.

Over the past severalyears, the youth and com-mon man in Kerala startedshowing interest towards theBJP.

The BJP got a vote share of13.28 percent in Kerala in thefirst local body electionsheld in 2015 after Modi cameto power at the Centre. In theKerala Assembly polls in2016, its vote share increasedto 14.96 percent. In 2019 LokSabha polls, vote share of theBJP increased to 15.64 per-cent.

At several places, not onlythe Hindus, but a lsoMuslims, Christians andwomen have evinced interest

in the BJP. Therefore, the BJP gave

tickets to 112 Muslims and500 Christians in the localbody elections held inDecember 2020. The BJPcandidates offered stiff com-petition to UDF and LDFcandidates in several munic-ipalities.

The St George OrthodoxChurch in Alappuzha, with ahistory of over 1,000 years,pledged its support to theBJP.

In January, representativesof two Christian groupscalled on the PM at Delhi todiscuss their problems withhim. The BJP opened itsaccount by winning theNemom Assembly seat inThiruvananthapuram in2016. Since then, the BJP hasbeen growing with eachpassing day and is in a capac-ity to influence voters notonly in Thiruvananthapuramdistrict but also in severalregions across Kerala.

Y SATYA KUMAR

BJP National Secretary

TRULY

SPEAKING

The BJP got a vote share of 13.28 percent inKerala in the first local body elections heldin 2015 after Modi came to power at theCentre. In the Kerala Assembly polls in 2016,its vote share increased to 14.96 percent. In2019 Lok Sabha polls, vote share of the BJPincreased to 15.64 per cent

BJP marching ahead in Kerala despite Congress-Left conspiracies

Jagan emerges as strong as KCR after ULB polls

ML MELLY MAITREYI n HYDERABAD

Telangana State is forgingahead in development andwelfare on the strength of itsseveral innovative schemes. Itproved its mettle by enteringinto yet another financial yearwith self-confidence despitethe economic recession of2019-20 and adverse impact onState finances due to Covid-19pandemic, said GovernorTamilisai Soundararajan hereon Monday.

Addressing the joint ses-sion of the State Legislature onthe first day of the Budget ses-sion, the Governor asserted,“This development and welfareyagna will continue and manymore steps will be taken withhumanitarian perspective toensure fruits of progress willreach the downtrodden onpriority basis. My governmentis rededicating itself to achievethis objective.”

In a 40-page address thatlasted over an hour and 15minutes, the Governor traced

the impressive milestonesachieved by the State under theleadership of Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao in sever-al sectors since its formationand substantiated them by lau-rels it won from Central andinternational agencies.

“The State became a torch-bearer to the entire country inmany sectors including in tack-ling the dreaded Coronavirus,”she said. Citing the EconomicSurvey report, the Governorsaid Telangana stood topmostin curtailing spread of pan-demic, deaths due to virus,conducting greater number of

tests and ensuring fast eco-nomic recovery.

From a state of backward-ness that prevailed in all sectorsin the region in the undividedState, Telangana reached thepresent Stage thanks to thou-sands of hours of brainstorm-ing and endeavouring for six-and-a-half years, the Governorsaid. “End-to-end planningand perfect execution made itpossible for the rise ofTelangana State to third posi-tion in SustainableDevelopment Goals Indiaindex declared by UNO.Success is half-achieved when

one has a good plan,”Soundararajan said.

Substantiating the stridesachieved in various sectors,from agriculture, health toindustry and infrastructure,she highlighted that Telanganaovercame power crisis andnow emerged as the State pro-viding 24-hour free powersupply to farm sector anduninterrupted power to allsectors.

“The State’s installed powercapacity at the time of bifurca-tion was only 7,778 MW andnow it is 16,245 MW, the thenper capita power consumptionwas 1,110 units and now it is2,071 units and higher thannational average of 1,208 units.The solar power generationtouched 4,840 MW from 71MW. The works on Yadadri,Bhadradri power plants arebeing completed on fast trackto make Telangana a power-surplus State. The CentralElectricity Authority acknowl-edged the success of Telanganain the power sector,” theGovernor said.

Government vows to continuedevelopment, welfare ‘yagna’

Continued from Page 1

“This became possible ast he St ate gover nmentspent Rs 2.3 lakh-crore ascapital expenditure in lasts i x ye ars f rom b ot hBudget and non-Budgetfunds while from 2004 to2014, Rs 54,052 crore was

spent as capital expendi-ture.

The State stood amongthe top five States in thecountry with the best per-formance in increasing itsown resources, takingloans within the limits ofFRBM and to increasecapital expenditure.

Continued from Page 1TThe Houses will take up condolence motions of deceased member NomulaNarasimaiah and eight other former members on March 16. The House willhave a discussion on March 17 and later in the day, a reply by the ChiefMinister on Motion of Thanks to the Governor's address. Finance MinisterHarish Rao will present the Annual Financial Statement (Budget) for 2021-22on March 18 and the session will have holidays on March 19 and 21.


The words certainly embar-rassed the BJP, which hasbeen upbeat following itsvictory in the Dubbak by-election and the GHMCpolls.

It may be recalled that theTelangana BJP did its best tocorner the TRS Governmentover various issues and del-egations of leaders of the saf-fron party were a regularsight at the Raj Bhavan.

In fact, Telangana BJPchief Bandi Sanjay Kumarled a delegation of his partyleaders to meet the Governoron Monday over the Bhainsacommunal violence.

Taking this into account,the Governor mentioningcommunal harmony in thestate did leave the BJPsquirming.

Governor Tamilisai, saidin her speech thatHyderabad has achievedname and fame as a ‘City ofMedicine’.


According to sources, theChief Minister left the Houseas Congress Legislator Party(CLP) leader Mallu BhattiVikramarka got late inattending the BAC meetingsince he was busy with theCLP meeting at the time.

As a matter of courtesy,Legislative Affairs MinisterVemula Prashanth Reddyand Chief Whip DasyamVinaya Bhaskar went to theCLP office to invite Bhatti tothe BAC meeting. However,Bhatti was in a meeting alongwith his party MLAs in theCLP office. Seeing Vemulaand Dastyam, Bhatti offeredtea and snacks while theyindulged in casual chit-chat.Meanwhile, the ChiefMinister, who was waiting for

the Opposition leaders, leftthe House, perhaps assumingthat may take time for theCLP leader to attend theBAC meeting. Meanwhile,the Government pointedlydid not invite the BJLP leaderto the BAC meeting. It’slearnt that the Governmenthas decided that it will inviteonly parties with five ormore MLAs. This ensuredthat only the floor leaders ofthe Congress and AIMIMrepresented the Oppositionsince even Telangana TDPMLA Mechha NageshwarRao was not invited. Whilethe TDP appeared to havetaken it in stride, the BJP pre-ferred to take it as an affront.Expressing anger over themove, the newly-elected BJPMLA M Raghunandan Raocriticised the Government.


The National Institute ofPharmaceutical Educationand Research Bill, 2021provides for granting thestatus to the six institutes inAhmedabad, Guwahati,Hajipur, Hyderabad,Kolkata and Rae Bareli. TheNational Institute ofPharmaceutical Educationand Research Act, 1998 (13of 1998) was enacted todeclare the NationalInstitute of PharmaceuticalEducation and Research atMohali, Punjab to be aninstitute of national impor-tance and to provide for itsincorporation and mattersconnected therewith.


The number of deaths dueto the disease increased to1,58,725 with 118 morefatalities being recorded in24 hours. India currentlyhas 2,19,262 active cases,which is 1.93 per cent ofthe total infections in thecountry.


Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited(MIDHANI) produces vari-ous super alloys, steel compo-nents and other materials fordefence and other strategicsectors. BDL is one of India'sleading manufacturers ofammunition and missile sys-tems while BEL is an aero-space company.

To a separate question,Naik said capital procure-ment of defence equipment isundertaken from variousdomestic as well as foreignvendors, based on threat per-ception, operational chal-lenges and technologicalchanges and to keep thearmed forces in a state ofreadiness.

"Government is takingmeasures for modernisation

of the armed forces, throughprocurement of new equip-ment and upgrading of exist-ing equipment so as to ensure

that the armed forces areequipped to meet the entirespectrum of security chal-lenges," he said.


“We have to appreciate thatwe were always going tohave to have booster doses;immunity to coronavirusdoesn’t last forever,”Peacock told Reuters at thenon-prof it WellcomeSanger Institute’s 55-acrecampus outside Cambridge.

“We already are tweak-ing the vaccines to dealwith what the virus isdoing in terms of evolution- so there are variants aris-ing that have a combina-tion of increased trans-missibility and an ability topar t ia l ly evade ourimmune response,” shesaid.


The CBI has acted on a com-plaint from Brigadier(Vigilance) VK Purohit alleg-ing that on February 28, 2021an input was received aboutalleged involvement of servingpersonnel in accepting bribefor clearance of review med-ical exam of temporarily

rejected officer candidates atthe Base Hospital in NewDelhi. The complaint stated atLt Col Bhagwan, currently onstudy leave, and Naib SubedarKuldeep Singh are alsoinvolved in seeking gratifica-tion from potential officercandidates at SSB centres, theysaid. The agency said that LtCol Surender Singh of 31 SSB

centre North; Lt Col YSChauhan of 6 MountainDivision Ordnance Unit; LtCol Sukhdev Arora ofDirectorate General ofRecruiting; Lt Col Vinay, GTO,Selection Centre South,Bangalore; and Major BhaveshKumar allegedly facilitatedthe selection of candidatesthrough SSB.

Govt collects Rs 26,457 cr by...

Corona failed to halt Telangana growth saga


“I took this decision afterworking hard and giving myinputs and a six-point agendaon how to take on TRS effec-tively. I am disappointed thatthe Congress is going nowhereand is in self-destructivemode. No one is able to takeon the corrupt rule of KCR,”he said. On the speculationthat he was inclined to join theBJP, Vishweshwar Reddy said

he would spend the next threemonths considering variousoptions. “I may join BJP or TJSor some party or I may evencontest as an Independent oraltogether quit politics. Thereis a need for a second region-al party in Telangana but notlike the party being planned byYS Sharmila with the backingof KCR, KVP RamachandraRao and YS JaganmohanReddy to split the votes, “ hesaid.

CM absent at BAC... 5 Lt Col-ranked officers...

Session for 10 days, Budget on...

‘Regular Covidbooster vaccinesare the future’

NIPER-Hyd tobe ‘institute ofnational... Railway ‘privatisation' very...


He also took an indirect dig at TMC leader and West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee, who has also served as a railwayminister earlier. There have been several railway ministers fromWest Bengal and one of them had made at least three majorannouncements but not much happened which wasdisappointing, he said.Participating in the discussion, NationalConference member Hasnain Masoodi said J&K did not receivethe attention it deserved in the budget.Magunta SreenivasuluReddy (YSR Cong) said the number of second class coaches intrains are getting reduced and that such coaches should continueto be there. Amar Singh (Cong) claimed that the internal revenuesof the railways have been falling since the BJP came to powerand he also raised concerns about the sustainability of theproposed bullet train project.

Covid spike... Congress in self-destructive mode...


The chit was an appeal to YSJaganmohan Reddy, to re-intro-duce their favourite brand ofliquor. The appeal was dropped

by an obviously desperate tip-pler in the ballot box for the29th municipal ward in thetown. The author appealed tothe CM to replace the newbrands of liquor.

Nandyal tippler uses...

Governorpraises‘communalharmony’...

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | MARCH 16, 2021hyderabad 03

Governor Dr. TamilisaiSoundararajan on Mondaypresented a laptop to one B.

Pramod, a III year student ofPharm-D. Responding to hisrequest for a laptop receivedthrough her social media account,the Governor invited Pramod to theRaj Bhavan, here, and handed overthe laptop to him. The laptop wasprocured from the Governor's discretionary grant. Earlier in his postthrough a social media platform, Pramod, a native of Chegur villageof Nandigama mandal in Rangareddy district, appealed the Governorto provide him with a laptop so as to help him continue his studiesthrough online mode too. Presenting the laptop to the student, Dr.Tamilisai Soundararajan told the student to come out with flyingcolours in his studies and make it big in his chosen field."You needto serve the needy. Help the deserving and be responsive to thepoor and other downtrodden sections while making your own markin your chosen field. We must give back something to the society,"the Governor told the beneficiary. The student, who came along withhis father, Shekhar Goud and his grandfather Narsimhulu Goud tothe Raj Bhavan, was visibly moved by the gesture of the Governor.

AClass X student fromHyderabad, Meghana hasadopted a peacock at

Nehru Zoological Park (NZP)for a period of two-months,according to zoo authorities.The youngster visited the ZooPark along with her familymembers and offered to adopta peacock on her birthday. Theteenager, who is the daughterof one Satish, presented a cheque of Rs 5,000 to Curator of NehruZoological Park, V V L Subhadra Devi.Speaking on the occasion,Subhadra Devi thanked Meghana and her family members foropting to adopt a peacock on her birthday and also said that she ishappy to see that teenagers are coming forward to adopt theanimals in Zoo and showing keen interest in Wildlife conservation.The Curator of Hyderabad Zoo also appealed to the citizens to comeforward in more numbers to adopt the animals. Meghana alongwith family members visited the peacock enclosure of the NehruZoological Park and expressed satisfaction over the zoomanagement in maintaining the standards.

Class X student adopts peacock at Nehru Zoological Park in Hyd

CITY LIGHTS

About 14 students ofEnglish and ForeignLanguages University

(EFLU) were taken intopreventive custody on Sundaywhen they protested forreopening of hostel facilitieson the campus. Over 30students staged a protest and sat on a hunger strike in front of theuniversity gate. They demanded the administration reopen thehostel facilities as they were facing problems in accessing onlineclasses. "Some students were protesting in front of the universitygate. On information, we reached the spot and took 14 of them intopreventive custody and all of them were released later," said anofficial of Osmania University Police Station.

Students of EFLU protest over reopening of hostel, detained

Researchers from the Processes, Architecture and TechnologiesResearch in IoT department in International Institute ofInformation Technology Hyderabad (IIITH) creates a low-cost

flexible pressure sensor with an AI-embedded algorithm that helps inquantifying performance and progress of patients undergoingphysiotherapy. Flexible electronics or developing thin, bendable andstretchable circuits for 'smart' applications is one of the fortes of thisresearch group. Their experimental canvas for the required physicalrehabilitation exercises was a sensory mat containing designatedareas for placing weights. "In this case, apart from the typical smartproperties of sensors, we also wanted to cover a large area and tryto map the pressure distribution in the entire area," says Dr AftabHussain. With conductive foam as the main ingredient, this low-costpaper-based 4X4 pressure sensor matrix was fabricated with a layerof paper each on top and the bottom, sandwiching copperelectrodes. Each time the foam is pressed, there is a reduction inresistance that can be detected through an external circuit.

IIIT students develop low-cost flexible sensor to help patients

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana has reported 157new Covid cases and one deathin the last 24 hours, health offi-cials said on Monday.

After recording over 200cases for two consecutive days,the state saw 157 new infec-tions but the drop may be dueto fewer tests conducted dur-ing the last 24 hours.

The officials conducted38,517 tests during the periodas against over 50,000 a dayearlier.

The fresh cases pushed thestate's Covid tally to 3,01,318.One more person succumbedto the virus, taking the deathtoll to 1,654.

The fatality rate remained at0.54 per cent against thenational average of 1.4 percent.

While 44.96 per cent ofdeaths were due to Covid-19,remaining 55.04 died due tocomorbidities.

According to the dailymedia bulletin released by theDirector of Public Health andFamily Welfare, GreaterHyderabad MunicipalCorporation reported 35 newcases, followed by Medchal

Malkajgiri (12) andRangareddy (11). Four districtsreported no cases while in theremaining 26 districts thecount was in single digit.

The total number of activecases saw a marginal drop to1,983 as 166 people recoveredfrom the pandemic.

The active cases include 718who are in home/institution-al isolation.

The cumulative recoveriesrose to 2,97,681. The recoveryrate stands at 98.79 per centbut still above the nationalaverage of 96.7 per cent.

With an alert sounded inview of the surge in Covidcases in neighbouringMahrashtra and Karnataka,

authorities in Telanganaramped up daily tests to50,000. However, the numbersdropped due to weekend.

A total of 38,517 tests wereconducted during the last 24hours. Of this 34,326 sampleswere tested in governmentlaboratories and remaining4,191 in private laboratories.

With this the number oftests conducted in the state sofar climbed to 92,38,982.Samples tested per millionpopulation rose to 2,48,226.

Bed status in 62 governmenthospitals treating Covid-19shows that 8,047 out of 8,454beds were vacant. Similarly, in215 private hospitals 6,808 outof 7,667 beds were vacant.

Telangana logs 157 new viruscases, drop due to fewer tests

PNS n HYDERABAD

The South Central Railway (SCR) zone onMonday extended the periodicity of 30 specialtrains to various destinations across the coun-try for the convenience of passengers till June.

"In order to facilitate the passengers, Railwayshave extended the periodicity of 30 special trainsbetween various destinations," said a railway zoneofficial.

The extension is in the months of April, Mayand June for trains with daily, weekly and bi-weekly frequency. Meanwhile, the railway par-cel management system is being transformed inphases with computerization to benefit ordinarycitizens as well as businesses alike.

Computerized parcel management systemhas been extended from 84 locations to 143 morein phase- II and 523 more in phase-III.

SCR extends periodicity of30 special trains until June

PNS n HYDERABAD

Ganja worth over Rs 13 lakhwas seized in Nagpur from acar that was being driven by aman, who lost his job as adance teacher in a Hyderbad-based school due to the coro-navirus-induced lockdown,police said on Monday.

The man, ShivshankarYallaya Isampalli, 27, a residentof Kukatpalli, told the policethat he was driving the car forlivelihood as he was unem-ployed, but had no knowledgethat there was drug in the vehi-cle, they said.

“Police had received a tip-offthat ganja is being smuggled ina car, following which a naka-bandi was put in place onWardha Road and the car wasstopped at 9 am on Sunday," apolice official said.

“During the vehicle check-ing, police recovered 91 kg ofganja stuffed in four plasticsacks. Shivshankar wasdetained and ganja worth Rs13.73 lakh, the car, Rs 1,200cash and a mobile phone wereseized," he said.

The car was going to Delhifrom Hyderbad, he added.

"During the interrogation,Shivshankar told the policethat he used to work as a danceteacher in a Hyderabad school,but lost his job due to the coro-navirus lockdown last year.

Another teacher from theschool promised to pay him Rs10,000 for driving the car toDelhi and he agreed for thetask as he was unemployed,"the official said.

The accused, who has beenbooked under the NarcoticDrugs and PsychotropicSubstance (NDPS) Act, toldthe investigators that he wasunaware of what he was trans-porting in the car, although thepolice do not believe his ver-sion, he added.

Police are collecting infor-mation about the teacher, whohad asked him to drive the carto Delhi. “A team will leave forHyderabad to arrest theteacher who had given the carto Shivshankar,” the officialsaid, adding that there could bea large network of smugglers inthe case.

ANUSHA PUPPALAn HYDERABAD

Some private schools, not justin Hyderabad but also in otherparts of Telangana, are alleged-ly conducting classes for pri-mary school students on thecampus despite the State gov-ernment issuing an order thatschools cannot open till theorders were issued even if stu-dents want to get their doubtsclarified.

The state government onFebruary 23 had decided toreopen schools for only ClassesVI to VIII from February 24,2020. The decision was takenfollowing instructions fromthe Chief Minister, KChandrashekhar Rao, StateEducation Minister P SabithaIndra Reddy.

However, the parents andthe members of HyderabadSchool Parents Association(HSPA) alleged that someschools are reopening physicalclasses for primary classeswithout any consent from thestate government as Telanganagovernment has so far

announced re-opening physi-cal classes only from Class VIto Class XII. The state govern-ment has not taken any deci-sion on reopening of primaryclasses in view of Covid pan-demic.

Kadapa Venkat Sainath,Member of Hyderabad SchoolParents Association (HSPA)

said, "The schools in Telanganaare above the law of land theysee the education departmentas only a facilitator to provideapprovals rest they run theirown constitution. Privateschools continue to defaulteducation department ordersand run their own set of rules.Despite of issuing clear GO that

it is the choice of parents whymanagements are harassingparents for sending children toschool."

Meanwhile, it was foundthat St Joseph School atHabisguda has issued an offi-cial circular stating re-openingof school from March 22, 2021for students of classes I, II andIII promoted to classes II, IIIand IV. However, this decisionwas allegedly taken by schoolauthorities despite noannouncement of re-openingof school for primary classes bythe state government.

The circular reads, "Theschool will reopen on March22, 2021 at 8:30 am for studentsof classes I, II and III promot-ed to be classes II, III and IV."

A parent said, "Despite noannouncement by the stategovernment how can schoolsre-open physical classes forprimary sections. With increas-ing Covid cases we parents arescared to send our children toschools even if they are study-ing in higher secondary class-es. There is no question ofsending our younger kids to

schools when other states arewitnessing huge spike in num-ber of cases."

According to the circular,apart from re-opening theschool for primary classes theschool has also instructed theparents to buy books andschool uniforms at the schoolpremises from March 20 toMarch 27, 2021.

The school authorities alsoinstructed the parents to settlethe dues till the month ofFebruary 2021 on or beforeMarch 15, 2021 falling whichthe results of the final exams ofdefaulters will be with held.

The school also stated thatthe books will be availablethrough online on March 18,2021 for the students promot-ed to Classes II & III and onMarch 19, 2021 for the studentspromoted to Class IV. Thelink for online payment forbooks will be shared by theparents only after the fee duestill the month of February2021 are cleared. The book setswill be delivered to the postaladdress provided by the parentthrough the given link.

Schools in city reopen for primaryclasses despite government order

With the 11-day annual brahmotsavams of SriYadadri Sri Lakshminarsimha Swamy beganon Monday amid rituals performed bythe temple priests, the templepremises were decked up withcolorful lights. The brahmotsavamsbegan at Balalayam withVishwaksena pooja and SwasthiVachan chanted by vedic pandits.The temple priests alsoperformed Rakshabandhan atthe Balalayam.

DECKED UP

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Food Corporation ofIndia (FCI) has been objectingto receive the custom milledrice (CMR) from Telanganaraising one question or theother, making the otherwisesimple procedure more com-plex and causing severe incon-venience to the state govern-ment and also to the millers.

This has been delaying theprocess of the millers supply-ing the custom milled rice tothe FCI. The FCI stores therice received from states in itsgodowns. Recently, the FCIdecided to reduce the stocks ofCMR stored in godowns from22 lakh tons to 14 lakh tons.

The millers allege that theFCI has been raising objectionsin spite of the quality of thecustom milled rice being good.

These objections pertain torice quality or about the pres-ence of worms in it or aboutthe colour of the rice and cit-ing these as reasons FCI isrefusing to accept the rice.

During the FCI inspection,custom milling of rice was notaffected earlier. This time, themillers said that they suspen-ded milling during the FCI ins-pection. The rice millers recallsuspending the milling forabout 20 days in February.

The stocks of custom milledrice pertaining to the last rabigot piled up in rice mills.Therefore, the millers urgethe FCI to accept the CMRwithout raising unnecessaryobjections so that the pro-curement of rabi rice wouldtake place without any hic-cups, the rice millers associa-tion representatives said.

Ganja seized from car driven byHyderabad teacher who lost job

TS Gov Tamilisai Soundararajan presents laptop to needy student

FCI delaying inaccepting CMR

PNS n HYDERABAD

BookMyShow (BMS) fined byDistrict Consumer DisputeRedressal CommisionHyderabad for 'unfair' internethandling fee charges from theconsumer while bookingmovie tickets.

The Forum has imposed afine of Rs 5,000 and alsodirected to pay Rs 25,000compensation to a Hyder-abad resident for collectinginternet handling charges.

Vijay Gopal a Hyderabad-based activist had purchasedtwo movie tickets online (ExA-I) on January 6, 2019 bypaying an amount of Rs341.79 including Rs 41.78under the head 'internet han-dling charges'.

Annoyed with extra

charges, Vijay filed a com-plaint on January 18, 2019under Section 12 of TheConsumer Protection Act,1986 alleging collection ofinternet handling chargesover and above the legallyauthorised movie ticket priceas an unfair trade practice by

the Opposite parties andseeking appropriate direc-tion.

The consumer forum hasdirected BookMyShow to payan amount of Rs 5,000 toConsumer Legal Aid Accountof the Court towards penal-ty and to pay Rs 25,000 com-pensation and Rs 1,000towards costs of litigation tothe complainant within 45days from date of receipt ofthe order, failing which theabove amount will attract ainterest date of18 per cent perannum from the date of thisorder till actual payment.

The consumer forum hasalso directed BookMyShow torestrain from collecting morethan Rs 6 under internethandling charges as stipulat-ed by the government.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The CyberabadSOT busted a drugracket and arrestedthree persons inclu-ding a constable oncharges of manufa-cturing and supplying Alprazolam, a syntheticdrug here on Monday. Police seized 140 kilosof Alprazolam worth Rs 8.5 crore in the mar-ket. The arrested persons were Linga Goud,Vinod Kumar and Ramakrishna Goud.

Police said Linga started preparingAlprazolam by procuring raw material fromdifferent pharma companies and processed thesame in the pharma company of his friend.

“He took the help of Ramakrishna, apolice constable at the AR Headquarters inMedak to sell the material. The constable mis-used his position to avoid the local police inpolice checking,” said PV Padmaja, DCP.

Following a tip-off, the police team caughtthe vehicle and arrested the trio.

Forum fines BookMyShow forunfair internet handling charges

PNS n HYDERABAD

Two unidentified men, pos-ing as cops, robbed fouryoungsters at gunpoint in alodge at Medchal on Sunday.

Manikanta along with hisfriends Srihari and Samsonwent for gambling in a lodgeon the invitation of Akhil, theorganiser at 10 pm. Whilethey were busy playing, twomen posing as cops bargedinto their room. “They beatthe youngsters with lathisand brandished a toy pistoland fled with Rs 2.5 lakh andother valuables from them,"said police adding that thevictims were terrified by thearmed suspects and did nottry to resist their attempts.

The police booked a caseand verified footage fromsurveillance cameras andwere able to find clues.

With toy gun, fake cops rob youths in Hyd

Cop, two others held with drugs

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | MARCH 16, 2021 hyderabad 04

Corona scare: Mbnr Collectorcautions people to be vigilant

PNS n NARSAPUR

Ummannagari DevenderReddy has been appointedas State Labour WelfareBoard chairman on Sunday,according to NarsapurMLA Madan Reddy.Disclosing this to media athis camp office, he said thatthe State governmentrecently constituted theTelangana State LabourWelfare Board. However,due to the MLC electioncode of conduct, theappointment of chairmanwas kept on hold.

He said the party alwaysrewards sincere leaders. TheMLA thanked ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao for appointingDevender Reddy the chair-man of the Welfare Board.

Devender ReddyappointedLabour WelfareBoard chairman

The current financialyear 2020-21 isexpected to endwith the revenueshortfall of about Rs40,000 crore due tothe adverse impactof pandemic andlockdown for about45 days thathamperedeconomic activity

PNS n HYDERABAD

BJP delegation led by its pres-ident Bandi Sanjay Kumarurged Governor TamilisaiSoundararajan to instruct thegovernment to take stringentaction against the culprits, whoresorted to violence in Bhainsaon March 7.

A memorandum was sub-mitted to the Governor and acopy of which was released to

the media here on Monday, theBJP urged the Governor thatthe systematic violence that isbeing perpetrated by a combi-nation of radical elements andcommunal fanatics in Bhainsa.

“In recent communal vio-lence that broke out in whichmany houses and shops wereset on fire and many peoplereceived severe stab injuries.Two of the injured whose con-dition was critical were admit-

ted to a hospital in Hyderabadand they have been undergoingtreatment. Our worker hadtaken initiative in taking theinjured to the hospital,” Sanjayreminded.

"We request you to interveneby summoning the DGP tohave a detailed report on com-munal riots and instruct him tobook the communal fanatics,who have been spreadinghatred in the Bhainsa region

and periodically igniting riots.”The BJP requested theGovernor to instruct the gov-ernment to take the necessaryaction to maintain peace andharmony in Bhainsa town.

“They demanded for a high-level police inquiry into a seriesof communal incidents to iden-tify the habitual culprits, whoincite riot incidents, and toopen rowdy-sheets againstthem. Police pickets should be

set up permanently at incident-prone areas. Steps should betaken to beef-up intelligencenetworks to identify anti-national elements acrossNirmal district and the State topre-empt such unfortunateincidents,” he said.

They asked the govern-ment to keep a strict vigil onthose who are infiltrating intoTelangana from the neigh-bouring Maharashtra, espe-

cially the minorities, as there isan intent to create communaldisturbances in Bhainsa town.

They urged the Governor toinstruct the government not toviolate fundamental rights andhuman rights by taking inno-cent people into custody i.e.,using third-degree torturemethods, especially the youthfrom the majority community,who tried to protect themselvesfrom the violent incidents.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Governor TamilisaiSounderarajan's speech in theBudget Session of theAssembly came in for criticismfrom the Opposition partyleaders. Congress LegislativeParty leader Mallu BhattiVikramarka has alleged thatthe Governor's speech lackedin substance. He alleged thatthe state government hadmade the Governor tell all lies.He said while the Governorshowed no concern over themurder of the advocate couplein broad daylight, she said thatthe law and order situation inthe state was good. Neither wasthere any mention of theCentre's farm laws. The stategovernment had turned theBudget session into a 'joke', healleged.

While speaking to the mediaat Gunpark after the BusinessAdvisory Committee (BAC)meeting on Monday, Bhattidemanded that the state gov-ernment provided the detailsof the pension given to personsabove 57 years. He said that hehad been waiting for theBudget session thinking thatthe government might clarifyon the 'UnemploymentAllowance Scheme' issue in theGovernor's speech. He askedthe state government to tellwhether it had given a single

ration card additionally toanyone. He also pulled up thestate government on theMission Bhagiratha water andsaid that the governmentshould provide data as to howmany persons in the state weregetting water from the project.

Mulugu MLA Seethakkaalleged that the Governor'sspeech was nothing but abunch of lies. She alleged thatthe TRS government hadraised more debts than all theprevious governments puttogether in the last 60 years.The Governor's speech sound-ed like a document showering

praise on the Chief Minister.She demanded that the stategovernment did justice to theBhainsa rape victim. Recallingthat the then Congress govern-ment ran a budget session for18 days even during theTelangana movement,Seethakka demanded that thegovernment extended the ses-sion further beyond what wasdecided in the BAC meeting.

Seethakka alleged that theGovernor knew that the speechprepared by the governmentwas full of lies. The Governorhad visited several hospitalsduring Covid-19 and statedthat there was no correct treat-ment for Corona. However, theGovernor read that the stategovernment did very well dur-ing the corona and the pan-demic.

Munugode MLAKomatireddy Rajagopal Reddyalleged that the TRS partycame to power by deceivingthe unemployed youth in thename of 'UnemploymentAllowance Scheme'. Hedemanded that the Speakergave him a chance to meet themembers of opposition parties,who all would speak in theHouse. Komatireddy allegedthat the Chief Minister hadbeen laying red carpet to thepersons, who had betrayedTelangana by 'looting' the stateresources.

PNS nMEDAK

As part of a three-and-a-half-month-long foundation course,many Civil Services officers vis-ited the district on Monday andcalled on District Collector SHarish and would stay in select-ed villages till March 21 and studythe geographical conditions, eco-nomic situation, livelihood andimplementation of State andCentral government schemes.

The team would make suitablesuggestions and recommenda-tions for the implementation ofthe schemes. The eight-memberteam comprising four-womanbureaucrats represent HimachalPradesh, Haryana, Gujarat,Maharashtra, West Bengal, TamilNadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Sushmita Selvaraj of 2017batch of the Civil Services, PrasadRavi and Ankit Kumar Singh ofthe 2018 batch, Deeksha Langasta

of the 2019 batch will study theconditions at Ramanthapur vil-lage in Veldurti mandal of the dis-trict, while M Rajaraj Bharat andDr Bhukya Snehapriya of 2017batch, Tushar Dudu of 2018batch and Rini Chowdhary of2019 would study the conditionsin Chandaipeta in Cheguntamandal.

The District Collector appoint-ed DRDO Srinivas as nodal offi-

cer for Ramanthapur village andMedak district panchayat officerTarun as the nodal officer forChandaipeta.

The Collector explained thegeographical conditions to theIAS officers through a PowerPointpresentation and asked them tofurnish their schedule details tothe panchayat secretary or man-dal officials to make suitablearrangements for them.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao con-vened a meeting here onMonday with Minister forFinance Harish Rao andfinance department officialsto give a final shape to theBudget for 2021-22.

The Chief Minister hasalready held many Budgetpreparatory meetings withofficials of various depart-ments and gave a fiat tothem to lay emphasis onboth welfare and develop-ment activities.

He examined the Budgetproposals and allocationssubmitted by officials todecide the final allocation tovarious departments keepingin view the priorities of thegovernment. The Budgetrelated meetings are expect-ed to continue on Tuesdaytoo.

The Chief Minister in hisearlier meetings with theFinance Minister anddepartment officials indi-cated that in the wake ofimproved revenues sinceJanuary, the next year Budgetallocations could be higher

while being realistic aboutthe expected State's own rev-enues. The State is also look-ing at additional resourcemobilisation of about Rs30,000 crore through landmonetization and amend-ing regulations in awardingof mining contracts amongother things.

The current financial year2020-21 is expected to endwith the revenue shortfall ofabout Rs 40,000 crore due tothe adverse impact of pan-demic and lockdown forabout 45 days that ham-pered economic activity.

CM holds meet to givefinal shape to budget

No substance in Governor’sbudget speech: CLP leader

No proposal to set upTurmericBoard in TSPNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana farmers, whowere eagerly waiting for set-ting up of Turmeric Board inthe state have received a jolton Monday as the CentralGovernment has announcedthat there was no such pro-posal to establish a TurmericBoard in Telangana State.

Replying to a query raisedby TRS MP K R SureshReddy in the Rajya Sabha,Union Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar saidsince the Union Ministry ofCommerce and Industry hadalready set up a regionaloffice-cum-extension centreof Spices Board atNizamabad for export pro-motion of spices includingturmeric, the question ofestablishing a TurmericBoard would not arise.

Telangana State is thelargest producer of turmer-ic with 3.86 lakh tonnes hav-ing a cultivation area of 1.37lakh acres.

The Union Minister’sstatement shocked not onlythe turmeric farmers in theState, but also caused embar-rassment to BJP MPDharmapuri Arvind, whopromised to bring TurmericBoard to his Nizamabad con-stituency.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Former Minister and ex-Leader of Opposition inTelangana Legislative CouncilMohammed Ali Shabbir hasdescribed the address byGovernor Dr. TamilisaiSoundararajan to the StateLegislature on Monday asfactually incorrect and mis-leading.

"The Governor's claims onTelangana's annual growthrate, GSDP and Per CapitaIncome are factually incor-rect. The Comptroller &Auditor General of India(CAG) and the 15th FinanceCommission have clearlypointed out serious auditingerrors in the budget figures ofthe Telangana government.They have accused the TSgovernment of inflating fig-ures to show high revenues.Therefore, any estimation onthe growth rate, GSDP, or PerCapita Income based onthose inflated figures will beerroneous and could not betrusted," Shabbir Ali said ina media statement today.

"TS government hasclaimed of achieving 17.24percent annual growth from2014 to 2019. It also claimedthat the GSDP has increasedby 114.71 percent in the lastsix years. But it remainedsilent on over Rs. 3 lakhcrore loans,” he pointed out.

Guv’s speechmisleading,says Shabbir

BHAINSA RIOTS

BJP urges Guv to instruct govt to take action against culprits

IAS officers to study schemes’implementation in Medak dist

IAS officers interact with District Collector S Harish in Medak district on Monday

PNS nMAHBUBNAGAR

The Coronavirus has not beencompletely eradicated thereforethe people of the district need tobe vigilant, said Collector SVenkat Rao.

He said there was a need tofocus on Corona once again asthe number of cases is on the risein the state and country. Heurged everyone to wear masks,use sanitisers and adhere to thesocial distance to keep the virus

at bay. The Collector directedmunicipalities and gram pan-chayats in the district to conductmassive awareness programmeson Corona over the comingweek. On Monday, the Collectorheld a review with district offi-cials on Covid at his chambers.

He directed to increase theCorona testing in the districtbecause of the increasing numberof cases on at least 100 peopleevery day in each primary healthcentre.

Appeal to set up mirchiprocessing units in MuluguPNS nMULUGU

Member of the National MirchiTask Force Nasireddy SambashivaReddy appealed to the govern-ment to set up mirchi processingunits in the district to provideadditional income to the localmirchi farmers as well as employ-ment opportunities to the localunemployed youth.

Sambashiva Reddy participat-ed in the District Level ExportPromotion Committee (DLEPC)

and District Industries PromotionCommittee (DIPC) meetingchaired by District CollectorKrishna Aditya at the Collectoratehere on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion, hesaid that farmers have beendeprived of the market for theirproduce, hence, they are unableto get profits, he expressed con-cern. He urged the horticulturedepartment to take steps to pro-mote organic methods in chillicultivation.

n Seethakka allegesGovernor's speech hasonly all praises for CM

n Komatireddy says CMlaying red carpet toTelangana betrayers to loot the state

12 teachersfoundpositive forCovidPNS n HYDERABAD

As many as 12 teach-ers and two others at agovernment school inMancherial district ofTelangana on Mondaytested pos it ive forCovid, an official said.

Covid tests wereconducted for 55 peo-ple in the school aftera teacher tested posi-tive, she said.

Out of the 55 peo-ple, 14, including 12teachers, a cook and astudent, were foundpositive, she said.

All 14 were asymp-tomatic andthey havebeen advised homeisolation.

S an i t i s at i on hasbeen taken up in theschool and tests wouldb e c on du c te d onTuesday for the con-tacts of those whowere found to havecontracted the infec-t i on , t he of f i c i a ladded.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Couple of TRS MLAsrounded up the sittingBJP MLC and a contes-t ant f rom t heH y d e r a b a d -R a n g a r e d d y -M a h a b u b n a g a rGraduate MLC con-s t i tuenc y NRamchander Rao andplayfully said that theongoing Budget ses-sion would be his lastone. TRS MLA fromS h e r i l i n g a m p a l l yAr ikepudi Gandhisaid, “Shall we offeryou a TRS shaw l”.However, RamchanderRao kept his cool andretorted, “We will seeas to what will happenon March 17”. It maybe recalled that theruling TRS had fieldedformer Prime Ministerlate PV NarasimhaRao’s daughter SurabhiVani D e vi againstRamchander Rao andC ong ress f i e ldedChinna Reddy and aformer MLC from thesame constituency ProfK Nageshwar Rao wasalso in the fray.

TRS MLAspull a fastone on BJP MLC

PNS n PEDDAPALLI

Cracking the whip against therowdy sheeters, theRamagundam Commissionerateissued notices to them onMonday. During a counsellingorganised on the premises of theRamagundam Commissionerate,Commissioner of Police VSatyanarayana enquired aboutthe details of the crimes commit-ted by the rowdy-sheeters.

He warned that rowdysheeters would be prosecut-ed under the PD Act if they

were convicted of illegalactivities in the past. Eachrowdy-sheeter was asked abouttheir families, friends, detailsof the crimes they have com-mitted and their currentlifestyle.

As part of the counselling ofrowdy sheeters, the CP said thatthose registered as rowdysheeters should be prosecutedif they take the law into theirown hands and commit uneth-ical activities again.

He warned that the surveil-lance of rowdy-sheeters would

continue and that legal actionwould be taken against thoseinvolved in land grabbing set-tlements, rioting and sexual

harassment of women.History sheets are being main-

tained on 386 rowdy-sheeters sofar under RamagundamCommissionerate.

He said there are legal restric-tions on the movement ofrowdy sheeters. He said thatthose who indulge in illegalactivities will be punished andstrict action will be taken if thepeaceful atmosphere is dis-turbed and those who commitserious crimes will not beneglected under any circum-stances.

CP cracks whip against rowdy-sheeters

Commissioner of Police Satyanarayanacounselling rowdy- sheeters inRamagundam on Monday

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | MARCH 16, 2021 nation 05

The Indian Railways hasrendered yeoman serviceduring the coronavirus

pandemic by transporting 43lakh migrant labourers,distributing two crore free foodpackets and making availableseveral hundred coaches to beused as healthcare centres, BJPMP Ram Kripal Yadav said onMonday. Initiating the debateon Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Railways, Yadav said the IndianRailways has been completely changed into a dynamic development-oriented organisation under the leadership of Prime Minister NarendraModi in the last several years. During the coronavirus pandemic, therailways has offered over 200 coaches to be used as healthcare centres,43 lakh migrant labours were transported through hundreds of specialtrains, two crore free food packets were distributed while 55,000 litres ofdrinking water have also been given to the needy, he said. Criticising theprevious United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for announcingmany railway projects "for political considerations", Yadav said everythinghas changed after the Modi government came to power and everydecision is taken in the interest of the country.

Amale elephant walking along arailway track was seriouslyinjured when an express train hit

it near Pudupathi under Madukkaraiforest range here on Tamil Nadu-Kerala borer early on Monday,railway sources said. Theelephant, about 20 years inappearance, was hit by the Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai Expressfrom behind around 1.30 AM, despite the train driver applyingbrakes on noticing it, they said. Railway personnel, alerted by thedriver, and some locals, who rushed there after hearing some noise,informed the forest department. Two veterinarians found injuries inthe front leg, abdomen and rear part of the elephant which was lyingon one side after falling to the ground under the impact of themishap, and given first aid, they said. A crane has been requisitionedto lift the elephant and assess injuries on the other side followingwhich the further course of action would be taken.

INDIA CORNER

Top officials of the waterresources ministries of Indiaand Bangladesh will meet

here on Tuesday to discussissues related to river water-sharing and flood forecast,sources said on Monday. TheIndian delegation will be headedby Pankaj Kumar, secretary in the Jal Shakti Ministry. The Bangladeshside will be headed by senior secretary Kabir Bin Anwar, the sourcesadded. The meeting takes place ahead of Prime Minister NarendraModi's visit to Bangladesh later this month. Sources said the two sideswill discuss water sharing of Manu, Muhuri, Khowai, Gumti,Dudhkumar and Dharla rivers. They added that discussions are alsoexpected to take place on withdrawing water from Feni river for theSabroom town in Tripura. Further, talks are also expected on a possibleMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) for drawing water from theSurma river. India and Bangladesh have a robust mechanism in placeto address water issues at different levels.

Railways lauded in Parliament foryeoman service during pandemic

India-Bangladesh meet onriver water sharing on Mar 16

The driver andconductor of abus were killed

and at least 10passengers receivedinjuries after thevehicle overturned inChhattisgarh'sDhamtari district, apolice official said onMonday. The accidenttook place aroundSunday midnightnear Sambalpurvillage under Arjuni police station limits when the private bus, witharound 45 passengers on-board, was heading towards Jagdalpur fromRaipur, he said. Prima facie, it seems one of the tyres burst followingwhich the vehicle overturned, the official said. The bus driver, SheikhImamuddin (46), and conductor Asif Kureshi (33) died on the spot,located around 70 km from the state capital Raipur, while 10 passengerswere injured, he said. After being alerted, a police team rushed to the spotand shifted the injured passengers to the district hospital, he said.

2 killed, 10 injured after busoverturns in Chhattisgarh

Elephant hit by train on Tamil Nadu-Kerala border

Cong, govt spar in Lok Sabhaover donations to PM Cares FundPNS n NEW DELHI

The Congress and the govern-ment traded barbs in LokSabha on Monday over dona-tions to the PM Cares Fund,with the opposition party alleg-ing that LIC gave money to thecorpus instead of providingbenefits to people and unionminister Anurag Thakur hit-ting back at it over the RajivGandhi Foundation accept-ing funds from China.During the Question Hour,

acting Leader of the Congressin Lok Sabha Ravneet Singhsaid migrant labourers andthe poor suffered during thecoronavirus-induced lock-down."They did not get the benefitsthey should have got. LICgave its funds only to PMCares. Why is it so?" Bittualleged and asked the ministernot to give a "political answer".Speaker Om Birla told Singh

that if he asks a political ques-tion, he ought to get a politi-cal reply.Replying to Singh, Thakur,

who is the minister of state inthe finance ministry, said dur-ing the lockdown, migrantlabourers faced hardshipswhile returning home.Thakur listed out the steps

taken by the government togive relief to migrant workersduring the lockdown."There were instances where

someone donated the entirepension amount to PM CaresFund. Even those who gotwages through MNREGAscheme also donated money tothe PM Cares Fund just to helpothers," Thakur said.The Prime Minister's CitizenAssistance and Relief inEmergency Situations (PMCARES) Fund was establishedin March last year with the pri-mary objective to deal with anykind of emergency situation

like the one currently posed bythe COVID-19 outbreak andprovide relief to those affected.Several public sector under-

takings (PSUs), governmentemployees contributed moneyto the fund.

The money was also usedfor various coronavirus-relat-ed initiatives, the minister said.

"But there is one family inthe country who created theRajiv Gandhi Foundation anddid the job of filling their

accounts. Through the RajivGandhi Foundation, these peo-ple did not give priority to eventhe Prime Minister's NationalRelief Fund," Thakur said.

"This party (Congress) didthe job of filling (the accounts)of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.They feel the pinch becausetheir account has now beenclosed. Rajiv GandhiFoundation also took moneyfrom China," Thakur said.

Congress leader RahulGandhi was present in theHouse during that time.

Thakur said severalaccounts were created underthe Rajiv Gandhi Foundationthrough which money wastaken from different PSUs.The Rajiv Gandhi Foundationis headed by interim CongressPresident Sonia Gandhi.According to RGF website, italso has Rahul Gandhi andPriyanka Gandhi Vadra as itsmembers.

PNS n RANIBANDH

Chief Minister MamataBanerjee is in pain because ofthe injur y she receivedrecently, Home MinisterAmit Shah said on Monday,whishing her a speedy recov-ery, but questioned thatwhether she could feel thepain of families of BJP work-ers who have been killedduring the TrinamoolCongress's rule in WestBengal. Addressing a rally atRanibandh in the Bankuradistrict, Shah promised thatif the BJP is voted to powerin West Bengal, it will imple-ment the Seventh PayCommission for the Stategovernment employees. "Didi(Banerjee), when you gothurt in your leg, you feltpain. I wish you a speedyrecovery. But, what aboutthe pain of the mothers of130 BJP activists who werekilled by TMC goons. Didyou ever try to feel theirpain?" he said.

"You never felt the pain ofthese people. They will give

you a befitting reply whilecasting their votes in theAssembly polls," he added.

Shah said that if the BJP isvoted to power in the state,it will ensure that the rightsof the tribals are secured.

"TMC seeks cut moneyeven for a tribal certificate.We will ensure the land rightsof the tribals. The specialfocus will be on education,health and drinking water forthe tribals in the area. We will

also mention it in our mani-festo," he said. Bankura dis-trict, in the western part ofthe state, has a significanttribal population, crucial toany party's electoral success.

Earlier in the day, Shah wasscheduled to address arally inthe Jhargarm district but gavea brief speech virtually. TheBJP said that he couldn'tattend the rally due to tech-nical glitches in his heli-copter.

Amit Shah wishes speedyrecovery, targets Mamata

PNS n BHOPAL

Madhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Shivraj SinghChouhan has urged Unionminister Nitin Gadkari toapprove 26 road projectsworth Rs 1,858 crore in thestate and also requested himto consider developing a'Narmada Expressway' fromAmarkantak to the Gulf ofKhambat.

Chouhan and Gadkari metat the CM's official residencehere on Sunday evening.

"The chief minister hasurged Gadkari to approve 26road projects worth Rs 1,858crore under the Central RoadFund Scheme," a public rela-tions department official said.

Besides, Chouhan alsorequested the Minister forRoad Transport andHighways to consider devel-oping a 'NarmadaExpressway', from the originof the river Narmada inAmarkantak (MP) to the Gulfof Khambat (Gujarat) with anindustrial corridor on itsboth sides, the official said.

Gadkari informed on theoccasion that under theBharat Mala scheme, anaction plan has been made toprovide Rs 50,000 crore toMP for the development ofnational highways.

The Union minister alsourged the state government toget forest clearances and landacquisition works done onpriority, the official said.

Chouhan said the worldfamous Khajuraho templecity in MP is being developedby the Union TourismMinistry as an "iconic site".Therefore, it is necessary todevelop a 10.15- km-longBanitha-Khajuraho nationalhighway as a four-lane road-for providing smooth con-nectivity to the world her-itage site.

PNS n JAMMU

This year's Amarnath Yatra islikely to witness heavy rush ofpilgrims, a top CRPF officerhere said on Monday, andasserted that all necessaryarrangements will be made toensure it passes off peacefully.

Inspector General (IG) ofCentral Reserve Police Force(CRPF), Jammu sector, P SRanpise said all units and for-mations have been briefedabout the threat posed bysticky bombs, and asked toremain on high alert.

The 56-day yatra to the3,880-metre-high cave shrineof Amarnath in the SouthKashmir Himalayas is sched-uled to start from the twinroutes of Pahalgam and Baltal

on June 28 and culminate onAugust 22.

Talking to reporters afterinaugurating a free medicalcamp organised by the 166thBattalion of the force in Sidhrahere, the CRPF IG said, "It islikely that the yatra this yearwill attract heavy rush, andkeeping this thing in mind, we

will study the requirements,and all necessary arrangementswill be made for the success ofthe pilgrimage."

"We already had a meetingwith civil police and projectedthe requirement... We willstudy the logistic requirementsneeded at the Yatri camps andmight require more forces," he

added.To a question on the num-

ber of troops required for thepilgrimage, the IG said, "Thatwill be decided by the govern-ment after a review of the over-all situation."

The CRPF officer said quickreaction teams (QRTs) wouldbe deployed wherever required,including in yatri camps andalong the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway.

"Personnel who will bedeployed on yatra duty willalso undergo pre-inductiontraining like in the past,"Ranpise said.

He said the CRPF has ade-quate deployment along thehighway and would be utilis-ing drones and other technol-ogy during the yatra.

Amarnath Yatra may attract heavy rush

PNS n BENGALURU

The Indian Space ResearchOrganisation (ISRO) intends tooffload most of its space- relat-ed activities to industry andenhance focus on advancedresearch, its Chairman K Sivanhas said, as the governmentopens up the sector to get pri-vate players onboard.

Sivan, also Secretary in theDepartment of Space (DoS),

said the reforms initiated inthe sector by the government inJune last year to promoteenhanced private participationin the space domain has gener-ated enthusiasm among theindustry.

"Future of space activities isnow changing. Otherwise (ear-lier), all the space activities weredone by only ISRO.Now, we aregiving equal opportunity to pri-vate players to also do it", he said.Sivan was addressing a webinarorganised by the University of

Petroleum and Energy Studies(UPES) on "Futureof Aerospace& Avionics in India". He saidISRO can share its technologieswith private players and is giv-ing them opportunity to utiliseits facilities.

"We want to hand-hold themto bring them to our (ISRO's)level so that most of activitiesthat ISRO is doing can beoffloaded to industry and we canspend more time on advancedresearch to take India to the nextlevel (in the space sector), hesaid.

As part of space reforms for"Unlocking the space potential

of India" to enable private play-ers to carry out end-to-endspace activities, the establish-ment of Indian National SpacePromotion and AuthorisationCentre (IN- SPACe) has alsobeen announced.

An autonomous body underthe DoS, IN-SPACe acts as a sin-gle window nodal agency forenabling and regulating spaceactivities and usage of ISROfacilities by NGPEs (non- gov-ernment private entities).

It works out a suitable mech-anism to offer sharing of tech-nology, expertise and facilitiesfree of cost wherever feasible orat reasonable cost basis to pro-mote NGPEs.

Sivan, however, made it clearin the interaction with studentsand faculty of the Dehradun-based private university lastFriday that Bengaluru-head-quartered ISRO is not looking atcollaboration with NGPEs at thisstage.

ISRO will enhance focus on advanced research, says chief

PNS n DHAKUAKHANA

BJP president J P Naddaon Monday said theCongress can provide only"corruption guarantee"wherever it comes to powerthough it has promised five-guarantees in the poll-bound state of Assam.

Many Congress leaders arenow coming to Assam andtalking about the five guaran-tees, Nadda said at an electionrally here.

Congress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra dur-ing her recent Assam pollcampaign had launched itsfive- guarantee campaign.

"For 60 years, Congressleaders only indulged in cor-ruption and so for the last fiveyears, we had to fill up pot-holes, repair roads and con-vert double lane highways tofour and six-lanes", the BJPpresident said.

It is the BJP which has amission and the "Congress isonly interested in commis-

sion", the BJP chief alleged.He also accused the

Congress of "latkana" (delay-ing), "atkana" (stalling) and"bhatkana" (misleading) butPrime Minister NarendraModi believes in "jodna" (inte-grating).

"It is the Prime Ministerwho through his initiativeshas joined Assam and theNortheast with MainstreamIndia", Nadda said.

Assam has moved aheadalong the path of develop-ment due to the efforts of thePrime Minister which the

Sarbananda Sonowal-led BJPgovernment in Assam hasexecuted in the state.

"The people of the state hasthe responsibility of electingBJP candidate NabakumarDoley from this seat onMarch 27 and we assure youthat the government willcomplete all pending works inthe next five years", he said.

Nadda is on a day-long visitto the state for campaigning.He will address two more ral-lies at Sootea and Barchalla.

Elections to the 126-mem-ber Assam assembly will beheld in three phases on March27, April 1 and April 6.

Apart from five lakh jobs infive years, the other guaran-tees promised by theCongress are bringing in a lawto nullify the controversialCitizenship (Amendment)Act, raising the daily wage oftea workers to Rs 365, freeelectricity up to 200 units perhousehold and Rs 2,000monthly income support toall housewives.

Congress can only providecorruption guarantee: Nadda

PNS n NEW DELHI

Congress leader RahulGandhi on Mondayattacked the governmentover reports that it plans tosell its residual stake in thealready privatised Delhi,Mumbai, Bengaluru andHyderabad airports, alleg-ing that such privatisationhurts the public and ben-efits only a handful ofcronies.

The government plansto sell its residual stake inalready privatised Delhi,Mumbai, Bengaluru andHyderabad airports as partof the ambitious Rs 2.5lakh crore asset monetisa-tion pipeline identified toraise additional resources,according to sources.

Rahul Gandhislams govt

PNS n NEW DELHI

Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Monday accusedthe BJP of seeking to drastical-ly curtail the powers of hiselected government through anew bill in the Lok Sabha.

He also said that the bill is“contrary to ConstitutionBench judgement”.

The National CapitalTerritory of Delhi(Amendment) Bill, 2021, thatseeks to give more powers toDelhi lieutenant-governor (L-G), will be introduced in theLower House on Monday.

In a tweet, the AAP nation-al convenor said he stronglycondemns "BJP's unconstitu-tional and anti-democracy"move.

"After being rejected byppl of Delhi (8 seats inAssembly, 0 in MCD bypolls),BJP seeks to drastically curtailpowers of elected govern-ment through a Bill in LS

today. Bill is contrary toConstitution Bench judge-ment. We strongly condemnBJP's unconstitutional n anti-democracy move," Kejriwaltweeted.

“The Bill says- 1. For Delhi,“Govt” will mean LG Thenwhat will elected govt do? …2. All files will go to LG Thisis against 4.7.18 ConstitutionBench judgement which saidthat files will not be sent toLG, elected govt will take alldecisions and send copy ofdecision to LG,” he said inanother tweet.

‘BJP trying to curtailpower of Delhi govt’

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Rajya Sabha onMonday approved a billwhich declares two foodtechnology institutes atKundli in Haryana andThanjavur in Tamil Naduas national institutes.

The Rajya Sabha passedThe National Institutesof Food Techn ology,Entrepreneurship andManagement Bill, 2019by voice vote on Monday.

The Bill declaresNational Institute of FoodTechnology Entre pre-neurship and Management Kundli, and theIndian Institute of FoodProcessing Technology,Thanjavur as NationalInstitutes of FoodT e c h n o l o g y ,Entrepreneurship andManagement.

Food techinstitutes to benational ones

PNS n NEW DELHI

A Bill to amend the JuvenileJustice (Care and Protection ofChildren) Act, 2015, which seeksto increase the role of districtmagistrates and additional dis-trict magistrates, was introducedin the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Congress MP Shashi Tharooropposed the Bill at the introduc-tion stage but Women and ChildDevelopment Minister SmritiIrani rejected the points raised byhim. The Juvenile Justice (Careand Protection of Children)Amendment Bill-2021 was laterintroduced by a voice vote.

As per the Cabinet decision,in every district, the districtmagistrate and the additional dis-trict magistrate will get the

power to monitor functions ofagencies responsible for theimplementation of the Act.

The district child protectionunit will also function under thedistrict magistrate. According toamendments cleared by theCabinet last month, beforebecoming a member of a childwelfare committee, backgroundand educational qualificationchecks will be included.

The amendment to the Billintends to empower districtmagistrates and additional dis-trict magistrates to authoriseorders of adoption, propose thatappeals on the orders of adoptionmay be referred to the division-al commissioner, and tostrengthen child welfare commit-tees.

Bill to amend juvenile justice law introduced in Lok Sabha

Nitin Gadkari urged toapprove MP road projects

through productivity-linkedschemes as they have done forbatteries, as also spur con-sumer demand throughaccess to cheaper finance.

India’s weightage is todayseven per cent of the world’sGDP, based on purchasingpower parity. As we begin theroad to recovery and target toreflate to healthy pre-crisisgrowth averages of six-eightper cent, increased econom-ic activity will mean highermobility levels and highermanufacturing intensity,therefore, higher emissions.

Even though India main-tains that we are on target toachieve the goal of producing450 gigawatts of renewableenergy by 2030, we require$600 billion of funding toleapfrog to that goal. Apartfrom multilateral funding formega renewable projects andfor FDI for electric vehicles,there is need for easier financ-ing through developmentfinance institutions for longgestation projects. While theGovernment supports newerfinancial instruments likegreen bonds to raise capital atcompetitive rates to financeclimate-friendly projects,public sector banks need toextend lower interest rates tocompanies at the forefront ofsustainable ESG investing.

So, what kind of financial

allocations and prospects arewe looking at?

Being the most populouscountry with a high-livingdensity, being a large manufac-turing hub and having a largeconsuming population, ouraverage carbon footprint isestimated at 0.19 tonne percapita among the poor, and1.32 tonne among the rich. Asthe target is to cut emissionintensity of the GDP by 33-35per cent by 2030, this in itselfholds great business potential.

Second, there is heightenedawareness by corporates toprovision for ESG investing intotheir business planning. So,with 24 of the largest conglom-erates in India (that contributeto emitting 530 million tonnesof CO2 annually) having signeda declaration on climate change,this is an important beginning,as the private sector plays a vitalrole in bringing technical exper-tise and enhanced spending onresearch and development.

According to the WorldEconomic Forum estimates, a“nature-positive economy”could globally deliver $10 tril-lion of annual business andcreate 395 million jobs by2030. It is projected that forevery $1 spent to advance theglobal energy transition, itoffers returns of around $3-8as renewable and clean ener-gy infrastructure construction

generates twice as many jobsper $1 million spent as com-pared to fossil fuel projects.

The vast potential for thetransition to green technologyis embedded in Budget 2021itself, as also the 15th FinanceCommission report pushingfor priority outlays with ̀ 7 lakhcrore allocated for urbanisationover the next five years; ̀ 5 lakhcrore allocated for water, san-itation and waste manage-ment; `15,000 crore for cleanair; and ̀ 2.87 lakh crore for theJal Jeevan Mission.

With the Governmenthaving set an aspirational tar-get of becoming a $10 trillioneconomy by 2030, much ofIndia’s growth will unfold inthe next decade. This makesintegrating the principles ofgreen recovery a win-winbusiness proposition that canaddress the concerns of jobs,growth and sustainability.This is an opportunity thatmust be tapped into by forg-ing stronger public-privatepartnerships with the Centreand State Governments, asalso by accessing global exper-tise for technology inputs ifwe are to make the green tran-sition in conformity with theParis Agreement.

(The writer is an author,columnist and Chairperson,NCFIL, at NITI Aayog. Theviews expressed are personal).

Politics, they say, is a dirty business. If that be correct, it is arguably not too far fromthe truth to claim that sycophancy is the oxygen and ego booster that most politi-cians live on. It’s their ticket to power and a surefire method for survival in the schem-

ing, manipulative underbelly of politics. There have been any number of people in publiclife who have embraced, and even perfected, the art of servile flattery for self-promotion

and self-interest. The one-leader outfits in particular,and all parties in general, can be accused of this trait.Hitherto not tainted much by this blemish, sycophancyhas come of age in the “party with a difference”, too.Speaking at an event in Haridwar recently, Uttarakhand’snew Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat compared PrimeMinister Narendra Modi to Lord Ram, saying that Modihas become so popular that the leaders of variouscountries now line up to get their pictures clicked withthe Indian Prime Minister. He also equated Modi’sregime to the “good work done by Lord Ram for soci-ety” and, therefore, people started considering him godand a similar thing will happen with Modi, too. Lastmonth, a video showed Rae Bareli’s circle officer Anjani

Kumar Chaturvedi in uniform touching Shivpal Singh Yadav’s feet. A video, showing 1996-batch IPS officer Rajeev Mishra in uniform touching Bengal

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s feet, had in August 2019 triggered a controversy. InMay 2015, her Minister Rachpal Singh — a former IPS officer — stood calmly while apoliceman tied his shoelaces at a public function. Similarly, Etah SSP Ajay Mohan in January2013 touched the feet of Ramgopal Yadav, the brother of SP’s former chief MulayamSingh Yadav. But perhaps no party has perfected the art of sycophancy as much as theCongress stalwarts. Zail Singh, grateful to his party’s leader for getting him into RashtrapatiBhavan, famously said he would gladly “sweep the ground” that Indira Gandhi walkedupon. And taking the top spot in the pantheon of flattery would be Dev Kant Barooah,who served as the Congress president during the Emergency. He is remembered eventoday for his adulation of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, which he encapsulated in his procla-mation in 1974: “India is Indira. Indira is India”. Such leaders, who crawl when asked tobend, are a disgrace to society and the people they represent. There should be no place

These are public-funded “white elephants”, a fiefdom of those who have been able tosecure permanent appointment either on the basis of their talent or “otherwise”, asit offers terms and conditions – handsome salary, job guarantee, HRA, TA, DA and

other perks – which the highly competitive private sector can hardly match. Most of theVice-Chancellors are political appointees who are subservient to the cause of their mas-ters and their single-point agenda is to appoint those who are either “recommended” orbelong to a particular ideology. Earlier, the Congress and the Left ruled the roost, partic-ularly in Central varsities, but now the BJP and RSS are in the driving seat. Our universi-ties are fraught with nepotism, favouritism, bribery, financial misappropriation and all forms

of corruption. These are the focal points of an ideo-logical war among the faculty members but out of focusfor academics. Crippled with inherent corruption andbogged down by incompetency, our universities havefailed to keep pace with their global counterparts andstand nowhere in terms of research, innovation andgeneration of ideas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hasemphasised on reforming universities so that they canplay a leading role in India’s development in terms ofideas, innovations, quality research and startups. Thesegoals cannot be achieved unless those in the univer-sity system give up their complacency. We need tounderstand that our universities have a wider role to

play than just being the mega centre of awarding degrees and handing out diplomas.All hell broke loose when Nita Ambani, the Reliance Foundation chairperson and non-

executive director of Reliance Industries, was made a visiting professor in the social sci-ence faculty of the Banaras Hindu University. A section of teachers and intellectuals areopposing it tooth and nail on social media and a few even argue that it is part of the ModiGovernment’s “hidden agenda to privatise public universities”. Those who join an Indianuniversity as PhD research scholars know that more than their academic work, their ser-vility counts. No surprise, completing their thesis and submitting research often takeslonger than usual and they are considered “jhola dhone waale” (who carry the bag ofprofessors). Armed with the tricks to deceive plagiarism tools and with leisure and plea-sure of their guides, they somehow secure a PhD. Ironically, many of these PhD hold-ers end up as teachers in colleges. Now, those who have paralysed the university sys-tem for years are alleging that it’s being privatised. Obviously, they are more concernedabout protecting their vested interests rather than about the universities landing in privatehands. However, it’s for universal good to abandon such unfounded apprehensions andmove towards making our universities progressive. Our students can gain a lot from theexperience of an industry giant or, for that matter, from bureaucrats, doctors, engineers,scientists, Army officers, young entrepreneurs and others who have excelled in their respec-tive fields. Our universities cannot remain functioning in silos and there is a need to bringabout systemic changes. The sooner it starts, the better it would be.

White elephants

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

www.dailypioneer.comfacebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | MARCH 16, 2021

06

SycophantsWith a clean profile, Tirath Singh Rawat's fawning

on PM Modi doesn't gel with the BJP's image

India must go for far-sighted policy initiatives and a collaborativeresponse with multilateral institutions to transit to clean energy

PICTALK

Devotees perform ‘Chunri Manorath’ on the banks of Yamuna river, in Vrindavan PTI

THIS OPPORTUNITYMUST BE TAPPEDINTO BY FORGING

STRONGER PUBLIC-PRIVATEPARTNERSHIPS

WITH THE CENTREAND STATE

GOVERNMENTS, AS ALSO BYACCESSING

GLOBAL EXPERTISEFOR TECHNOLOGYINPUTS IF WE ARE

TO MAKE THEGREEN TRANSITION

BINDU DALMIA

Our varsities must not function in silos and there is a pressing need to bring about systemic changes

Green energy as thenext growth propeller

At the Quad summitlast week, as also at thelast G20 summit,Prime Minister

Narendra Modi reiterated India’scommitment to combat climatechange, as we move towards thetarget of “net-zero emissions by2050”. This calls for far-sightedpolicy initiatives and a collabo-rative response with multilater-al institutions to achieve a tran-sition to clean energy.

The sunrise sectors thatemerged as post-pandemicgrowth catalysts have been health-care, ed-tech, digitisation, fin-techand e-commerce. While there isa greater urgency to transition tosmart infrastructure and greentechnologies, this space is yet tosee traction, as renewable energy,electric vehicles (EVs), sustainableinfrastructure, smart urbanisationand smart ruralisation, water har-vesting, recycling of post-usagewastage and so on, are still innascent stages of adoption by cor-porates and consumers.

Currently, there is a resis-tance to invest in the vast arrayof utilities and products thatcome under the sustainabilitysector, like solar and wind ener-gy, or EVs, as most products haveshorter technology life cycles.Also, these products need aproven track record of usage andneed to achieve economies ofscale to lower costs before con-sumers actually buy into them.

Just to illustrate this point,electric mobility is a sunrise sec-tor in the sustainability field, withthe potential to create 15 millionjobs globally. Considering thatIndia has high dependency on oilimports and rising levels of pol-lution remain a challenge,autonomous vehicles and EVs area solution to both the problems.Yet, EVs account for less than oneper cent of the total vehicles soldin India. Similarly, though solarpower prices have declined glob-ally and India produces thecheapest solar power as projectcosts have declined, the transitionto solar energy is just two per centof the global energy generated.

To accelerate the transitiontowards deep-decarbonisationand facilitate adoption, theGovernment needs to furtherincentivise the supply side

SOUNDBITEQUAD WILL DEAL WITH CHINA EFFECTIVELY Sir — This refers to the editorial ‘Docilethreat’ (March 15). The first summitmeeting of the Quad countries — India,Japan, the US and Australia — is a leaptowards realising a free and open Indo-Pacific. The Trump dispensation, in deal-ing with an aggressive China, went by itsgut instincts and lacked a larger strategicvision. While it largely sought to push theQuad in a military direction, US PresidentJoe Biden is seeking to expand its scopeand adopt a holistic approach to push backan aggressive Beijing. This is smart strat-egy as military coordination without aneconomic and technological anchor isinsufficient to meet the challenges posedby China.

The emphasis is on resilient supplychains, emerging and critical technologies,maritime security and climate change.Hence, the idea is to insulate other coun-tries from becoming dependent onBeijing’s economic and technologicalpatronage. This will offer members mar-ket access and technology transfers as analternative to Chinese products.

India should fully capitalise on thesecoalitions to obtain cutting-edge technol-ogy, boost domestic research and devel-opment and kickstart its own industrialreforms. Also, India is on the right trackin seeking to firewall critical sectors fromChinese equipment and cyber attacks —such as the recent intrusions into India’spower infrastructure. With telecom form-ing the backbone of a digital economy, thissector must be protected from Chineseintrusions. We must be ready to meet allthe challenges posed by our northernneighbour.

N Sadhasiva Reddy | Bengaluru

COMMON PEOPLE SUFFER DUE TO BANK STRIKESir — It is not the Government or theFinance Minister who suffers from abank strike. Common people are the vic-tims and poor, uneducated people in vil-lages who have no access to e-banking areat the receiving end of it. The debit card

transaction has a limit and in case moremoney is required to be withdrawn ortransferred, those who are without inter-net banking account are left in the lurch.

Bank employees and unions don’t givea second thought before taking a breakfrom work in the name of strike. Bankemployees should go to strike only on pub-lic holidays and on weekends. Further, theyshould voluntarily give up their salaries forthe number of days they are on strike andask the Government to donate it to thepoor. Further, banks should not be pri-vatised but salary should be given in accor-dance with the work done by an employ-ee and the system of fixed salary shouldbe done away with.

In the tussle between the Governmentand bank employees, customers should notbe made to suffer.

N Nagarajan| Secunderabad

END CORRUPTION IN ELECTIONS

Sir —Elections in India, whether it is pan-chayat or parliamentary polls, have under-gone many changes. Money plays a vitalrole in elections these days. Our leadersindulge in large-scale corruption and dowhatever they can to lure voters. The cul-ture of sops and freebies has become com-mon. Voters also don’t hesitate in takingfavours. The criminalisation of politics isalso a big problem amd many notoriouscriminals have entered politics and alsowon elections. People often vote for suchanti-social elements out of fear or intim-idation. We must keep in mind that ourvote is the deciding factor and we mustexercise our franchise judiciously.Remember, it is these politicians who makelaws in Parliament and State Assemblies.

Sravana Ramachandran | Chennai

Send yyour ffeedback tto:[email protected]

Food delivery at the doorstep is not an easybusiness. The delivery executives are oftenfaced with various difficulties like traffic jam,

customers cancelling orders at the last moment,sometimes the address is hard to locate and achange of order, to name a few. Many customerswho order online don't choose the option ofadding tip to the delivery boy. They are highlyunderpaid and, in many cases, are the onlybreadwinners in their family. Many studentsbelonging to poor background work as food

delivery agents after their college or universi-ty timings in order to sustain themselves andearn some extra bucks as pocket money. A badreport from a customer means they might losetheir job. Therefore, it is rare to spot a deliveryman arguing with the customers.

Recently, social media was taken by astorm when a Bengaluru-based woman allegedthat a delivery man punched her on the noseand fled when she refused to accept the deliv-ery as it was too delayed. Every single incidentof frayed tempers during food delivery can betraced to delay on the part of the boys.

While the customers have nothing muchto lose, the delivery boys have much at stake.The Bengaluru incident snowballed on socialmedia into a vituperative clash between therich and the poor, female and male, outsidersand locals and much more. Such happeningscan destroy the goodwill between membersof the society.

Ganapathi Bhat | Akola

Food delivery men face hardships Repatriation of morethan 45 lakh peoplefrom variouscountries during theCOVID-19 lockdownhighlights thesuccess of diplomacy of the current Government.

External Affairs Minister — S Jaishankar

An investigation intomultiple allegations of sexual harassmentagainst New YorkGovernor AndrewCuomo is underway

and the public should wait for itsoutcome.

US President — Joe Biden

My character JunaidAlam in Assi NabbePoore Sau is a deviltrapped in a humanbody. To bring griefinto the lives of 100mothers was his motive.

Actor

— Raqesh Bapat

The BSP will contest the 2022Assembly electionsalone and will notenter into an alliancewith any party.

Bahujan Samaj Party president— Mayawati

You are always going to miss MarkWood. He is feelingbetter today, sohopefully he'll be fitfor the next game.

England captain

— Eoin Morgan

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

Who is responsible forthe high fuel prices?

IT’S MY GOOD LUCK THAT I SURVIVED. I HAVE A

PLASTER AND I CANNOT WALK BUT I NEEDED TO

COME OUT AND TALK TO THE PEOPLE.

—WEST BENGAL CM

MAMATA BANERJEE

DIDI, YOU’RE ROAMING AROUND IN A WHEELCHAIR,

CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR LEG, BUT NOT THE PAIN OF

MOTHERS OF MY 130 WORKERS WHO WERE KILLED.

—UNION HOME MINISTER

AMIT SHAH

Faced with skyrocketing prices of petrol anddiesel, (with petrol crossing the `100-markin Sri Ganganagar), Prime Minister

Narendra Modi has blamed the erstwhile UPAregime for not doing enough to increase domes-tic production, thus making India vulnerable torising international prices, while Minister forPetroleum and Natural Gas DharmendraPradhan has urged oil exporting countries toexercise restraint while fixing the price ofcrude. However, their arguments don’t enthuse.

With the pricing of oil products being linkedto international prices (even domestic refiner-ies are paid for their supplies on this basis), evenif the share of indigenous production were toincrease from the current 15 per cent to, say, 50per cent, Indian consumers would still be pay-ing what they pay today.

Even if the extant system of “linkage withinternational price” were to be abandoned andoil companies allowed to price products basedon market forces, then also, considering thatdomestic supply is far short of demand, it isunlikely that they would charge any less. Asregards Pradhan’s point, exporters don’t pay heedto what leaders of importing countries say whilefixing the price. They go fundamentally by theglobal demand-supply balance and don’t evenlook at their cost of production. When, the bal-ance is tight, they increase the price. Forinstance, in 2008, when the demand zoomed(courtesy, pump-priming by developed countriesin the wake of the Lehman financial crisis besidesmajor booster doses from China and India),crude price touched a record high of $150 perbarrel. In 2014, under similar circumstances, ittouched $117 per barrel.

At another extreme, in 1997 when there wasmassive destruction of demand (due to the Asianfinancial crisis), the price plummeted to $10 perbarrel. In recent times, due to excess supplybuilding all through 2015, it reached $26 per bar-rel in January, 2016. In April 2020, the priceplunged to another low of $20 per barrel, cour-tesy the Coronavirus-induced disaster and theresultant demand annihilation. The price hassince been rising in sync with revival of demandand is currently hovering around $70 per bar-rel. From these trends, it is clear that theexporters won’t reduce the price merely becausewe want them to. The only way India can getsome leeway is by taking measures whichimpact the demand-supply dynamics.

We need to intensify our efforts on multi-ple fronts. These include among others increas-ing the percentage of ethanol in fuel mix; reduc-ing consumption of diesel by farmers acceler-ating the pace of solar-based power supply forrunning pumps; electrification of railways (it hasplans to power trains with electricity drawn fromsolar plants to be set up along the tracks); pur-suit of conservation efforts across all sectors likeindustries, services, infrastructure and makingthe policy and regulatory environment conducivefor increasing domestic production of crude andgas.

However, it would be naïve to expect theabove measures to deliver results immediately.It can happen only in the medium to long-termand therein also the scope for substantial relief

to consumers is limited. The realculprit is the disproportionatelyhigh component of taxes. To get asense, let us look at some numbers.

The pump price is the sumtotal of the ex-refinery price (ERP),freight charges, dealer commissionand taxes. The ERP in turn islinked to the import parity price(IMPP) and export parity price(EPP) of respective fuels in theratio of 80:20. In Delhi, the priceof ̀ 89.29 per litre (as on February16, 2021) includes ERP plus freight`32.1; central excise duty (CED)`32.9; dealer commission `3.68;Value Added Tax (VAT) `20.61.

With the tax component alonebeing `53.51 per litre, even if theERP goes down to `22 per litre —the level that existed in June 2020when international crude price was$40 per barrel (given the pasttrend, this level won’t sustainbeyond a few months) as againstthe current $70 per barrel — theprice at the pump would still be ahigh of `79.29 per litre.

With respect to taxes, even asthe Centre and State Governmentsblame each other, the fact remainsthat both are equally responsible.Let us look at the precise bifurca-tion. Out of the CED i.e. about `33per litre collected by the Centre,`18 per litre comes from the Roadand Infrastructure Cess (RaIC)which is entirely retained by it. Ofthe balance ̀ 15 per litre, it retains59 per cent or `9 per litre (aftergiving 41 per cent to States underthe 15th Finance Commission’s

devolution formula). On a netbasis, thus, the Centre gets ̀ 27 perlitre while almost an equivalentamount `26.6 per litre goes to theState.

Finance Minister (FM),Nirmala Sitharaman has opinedthat bringing petrol and diesel —besides crude, natural gas andAviation Turbine Fuel — under theGoods and Services Tax (GST) canhelp in reducing the tax burden.But it is easier said than done. TheConstitutional Amendment Act onGST provided for inclusion ofthese products but the purpose wasdefeated by branding them as“zero-rated” — a glamorousnomenclature for continuing themunder the pre-GST regime.

This was prompted by thefear of revenue loss. But the GSTCompensation Act, 2017 — alongwith an amendment to this Act togarner resources by levying cess ongoods falling in the highest 28 percent slab to fund compensation tothe States for the loss of revenue —was meant precisely to address thisconcern. Yet, the decision to keepthese products outside GST in thefirst place defies logic.

Replying to a question on a TVchannel on July 1, 2017, the thenFM and chairman, GST Council,Arun Jaitley had said that he was“personally not in favour of exclud-ing” the aforementioned prod-ucts. Yet, the Central Governmentand States decided to excludethem and the position continues todate.

Following a spike in oil prices,both the Centre and States feel thatnow is the time to bring themunder GST. They don’t realisewhat they are up to. Even if theCouncil decides to put them in thehighest tax slab (by any stretch ofimagination, oil and gas productscan’t be termed as demerit or singoods; so placing them in 18 percent/12 per cent slab would bemore realistic), the tax rate onpetrol will be 28 per cent (or evenless at 18 per cent/12 per cent ifthey are put in any of these slabs).Against this, the current tax rate isa whopping 167 per cent(53.51/32.1x100)!

At present, the Centre collectsover 20 per cent of its indirect taxrevenue (ITR) from CED on petroland diesel. States, too, get about 20per cent of their ITR from VATand other taxes on these fuels. Puttogether, their collection comesclose to `4,50,000 crore annually.In this backdrop, they will shud-der at the very thought of reduc-ing tax to a mere1/6th/1/9th/1/14th of what theyare collecting today.

The message is loud and clear.For lowering the burden of fueltaxes, the Centre and States needto put their heads to see how taxrevenue from other sources can beboosted (there is huge untappedpotential, including taxes evaded).If they don’t do that, there is noescape for consumers from havingto pay high fuel prices perennial-ly.

For lowering fuel taxes, the Centre and States need to see how tax revenue from other sourcescan be boosted. If they don’t, then consumers will have to pay high fuel prices perennially

KALYANI SHANKAR

WE NEED TOINTENSIFY OUR

EFFORTS ONMULTIPLE FRONTS.

THESE INCLUDEINCREASING THEPERCENTAGE OF

ETHANOL IN FUELMIX; REDUCING

CONSUMPTION OFDIESEL BYFARMERS

ACCELERATING THE PACE OF

SOLAR-BASEDPOWER SUPPLY

FOR RUNNINGPUMPS;

ELECTRIFICATIONOF RAILWAYS;

PURSUIT OFCONSERVATION

EFFORTS ACROSSALL SECTORS AND

MAKING THEPOLICY AND

REGULATORYENVIRONMENT

CONDUCIVE FORINCREASING

DOMESTICPRODUCTION OFCRUDE AND GAS

Famous author Emma Goldman once said, “Politicians promise youheaven before elections and give you hell after.” It is true that therate of compliance with election promises is erratic for most par-

ties after coming to power. So what is the point of coming out with apre-election manifesto? The political manifesto has a long history asit is a written statement of the beliefs or aims of a party. In 1848, theCommunists released their statement of belief; in 1850, the Anarchistsreleased theirs. Then came the Fascists’ manifesto of 1919, propagat-ing the rights of women to cast votes, proportional representation, min-imum wages and so on. Political manifestos are interesting becausepeople get a glimpse of what is in store for them if the party they votefor comes to power. In India, the statement of belief is more relevantas political parties are multiplying fast. According to the ElectionCommission (EC) the total number of parties registered is 2,698, witheight national parties, 52 State and 2,638 unrecognised ones.

With elections to five State Assemblies soon, there will be a show-er of manifestos. Political parties, particularly regional ones promise,laptops, cycles, mixers, televisions and even washing machines. Nationalparties mostly promise free electricity or water, waiver of farm loansand so on, to lure voters. In the days of the pandemic, the BJP promisedfree COVID shots for Bihar if voted to power. The DMK in Tamil Nadureleased its manifesto recently with a whopping 500 poll promises. Theseinclude a waiver of education loans (for those under 30) and reducedfuel pieces. It promises an allocation of `1,000 crore towards the ren-ovation and conservation of Hindu temples. Party chief MK Stalinannounced that the DMK would also allocate `200 crore for church-es and mosques. All this from a party with an atheist ideology!

The late Labour politician Peter Shore once described manifestosas “a party’s contract with the electorate.” I once asked then FinanceMinister Madhu Dandavate how they would achieve the Janata Dal’spoll promise of waiving loans taken by thousands of farmers. He smiledsheepishly and said, “We promised because we did not think we wouldcome to power so soon.” While offering freebies, the parties do notcalculate the cost of implementing them. The Congress and the BJP,the two major political parties, have promised 33 per cent reservationfor women in legislatures and Parliament. The BJP’s Sankalp Patra had75 resolutions and the ruling party is fulfilling its pre-poll promises likeconstruction of the Ram Mandir, abrogation of Article 370 and so on.Before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had also assured that apartfrom making India the third-largest economy of the world by 2030, itwould double the farmers’ income. However, once elected, no partyhas ever delivered its promises hundred per cent. The late Andhra PradeshChief Minister NT Rama Rao had come up with a single-page mani-festo containing promises relating to food, clothing, and shelter and wona massive mandate. So it is not the number of pledges a party makesbut the intention to fulfill them, which matters. In the US, manifestosare policy-based, generally covering the economic and foreign policy,healthcare, governance reform, environmental issues, immigration andso on. President Joe Biden even released a separate agenda for Indian-Americans during his campaign. In many European countries, the man-ifestos tend to mention more concrete policy choices and their bud-getary implications. It is vital to make parties accountable for their promis-es as the manifesto is a kind of political bargain in lieu of votes. TheEC should keep an eye on the nature of manifestos and make the par-ties agree to the realities before promising things. It is also for the peo-ple to reject unrealistic promises. Party manifestos should be legallybinding or else they mean nothing.

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

Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal hasannounced that some

Government schools will be dis-affiliated from the Central Boardof Secondary Education (CBSE)and affiliated to the new DelhiBoard of School Education(DBSE) in the 2021-2022 acade-mic year. While presentingDelhi’s annual budget for 2020,Deputy Chief Minister ManishSisodia had announced that theGovernment was setting aside`62 crore to set up a separate StateBoard of Education. Currently,there are over 1,000 schools runby the Delhi Government whichare all affiliated to the CBSE.

What is the rationale orwhat benefits will accrue bysetting up a DBSE and by disaf-filiating schools from the CBSE,is a speculative question shroud-ed in mystery as no rationale hasbeen given for the move. TheDelhi Board of Higher

Secondary Education was set upby a resolution on November 26,1942, and dissolved with effectfrom July 1, 1962, when schoolswere affiliated to the CBSE,reads a notification of the DelhiAdministration dated June 30,1962. The CBSE, set up almosta century ago in 1929, has growninto a prestigious, autonomousBoard of education in India forpublic and private schools,including for many Indianschools across the world. From309 schools in 1962, today theCBSE has 25,185 schools includ-ing 228 institutions in 25 foreigncountries affiliated to it. Allthese schools follow the NationalCouncil of Educational Researchand Training (NCERT) curricu-lum.

The British set up the firstschool Board in 1921. The SadlerCommission’s report of 1917-19led to the formation of variousBoards of secondary education

in India. The Uttar PradeshBoard of High School andIntermediate Education was thefirst such Board with a vast juris-diction. In 1929, theGovernment of India set up ajoint Board namely, the Board ofHigh School and IntermediateEducation, Rajputana. Thisincluded Ajmer-Merwara,Central India and Gwalior. Laterit was confined to Ajmer, Bhopaland Vindhya Pradesh. In 1952,it became the CBSE. It was a boldand futuristic experimenttowards inter-State integrationand cooperation in the sphere ofsecondary education.

Besides facilitating rapidgrowth and expansion, the CBSEdid a commendable job inimproving the standard of sec-ondary education in the institu-tions recognised by it throughtransformative initiatives andperiodic inspections. All SainikSchools, Kendriya Vidyalayas

(KVs), all Jawahar NavodayaVidyalayas (JNVs), EklavyaModel Residential Schools, mostprivate schools and thoseapproved by the Centre are affil-iated to the CBSE. There are1,245 KVs — including oneeach at Kathmandu, Tehran andMoscow, 647 JNVs, 3,011Government Schools, 20,265private schools, and 14 CentralTibetan Schools affiliated to theIndian Board. Such is its credi-bility and international repute,the Board has schools affiliatedto it in Africa, the Gulf, Nepal,

Bangladesh, Japan, Singaporeand Malaysia. Over the years,responding to the needs andaspirations of the students, theCBSE has taken steps to trans-form the education ecosystem,especially in pedagogy, theexamination process and assess-ment of papers.

The CBSE grants affiliation,following a transparent and rig-orous procedure, to the schoolsunder two broad categories —regular (Government) and gen-eral (independent). Schools seek-ing affiliation must fulfil essen-tial requirements and procurefrom the State EducationDepartments mandatory certifi-cates, that is ‘No ObjectionCertificate’, ‘RecognitionCertificate’ and land area docu-ments as per extant rules andprovisions of the Right toEducation Act, 2009 (RTE Act).The CBSE strictly monitors theobservance of affiliation granti-

ng conditions by the schools. Incase a school is found violatingthe provisions of the affiliationby-laws or examination by-laws,or does not abide by its direc-tions, the CBSE imposes penal-ties, including withdrawal ofaffiliation. All schools funded bythe Centre and majority of theschools affiliated to the CBSE areprivate. Delhi, Sikkim, ArunachalPradesh, Chandigarh andAndaman and Nicobar Islandsdo not have their own secondaryschool Board as they are affiliat-ed to CBSE. Over the years, therehas been spectacular growth inthe number of CBSE-affiliatedschools and students studying inthem. During the period 2011-2019, the number of candidatesappearing for the Board exami-nation from these schoolsincreased from 18,32,364 to31,14,832, registering an increaseof almost 70 per cent. This is sobecause the Board strives to

achieve academic excellence byconceptualising policies andoperational planning to ensurebalanced academic and physicalactivities in the affiliated schools.It follows the scheme of studies,curriculum, academic guide-lines and capacity-building pro-grammes as per the objectives setby the National CurricularFramework and in consonancewith the policies approved andthe laws enacted by Parliament.

Before the setting up ofthe National Testing Agency,the CBSE was also entrustedwith the task of holding NEETexams and continues to con-duct successfully many othertests. The decision of theDelhi Government remainsshrouded in mystery. Giventhe multiple benefits of aninternationally-reputed Boardlike the CBSE, disaffiliationand creation of a new Boardis hard to justify.

Over the years, there has been spectacular growth in the number of CBSE-affiliated schools and the number of students studying in them

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | MARCH 16, 2021

07

www.dailypioneer.com facebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

FIRSTCOLUMN

REJECT UNREALISTICPOLL PROMISES

Manifestos of political parties should be legally binding or else they mean nothing

UTTAM GUPTA

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

The writer is a New Delhi-based policy

analyst. The viewsexpressed are personal.

No rationale behind disaffiliating schools from the CBSE

DEVENDER ASWAL

The writer is formerAdditional Secretary,

Lok Sabha. The views expressed

are personal.

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | MARCH 16, 2021 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

Honda Motorcycle &Scooter India (HMSI)

on Monday launchedCB500X in the countrypriced at Rs 6.87 lakh(ex-showroom,Gurugram). The companyhas commencedbookings for the model.The new model will besold from the company's

BigWing Topline and BigWing dealerships across the country."Honda has been delivering upon its promise to expand the funculture in India. Today, we are happy to introduce the most awaitedmotorcycle in our premium line-up – the CB500X. Be it rough cityroads, open highways or country track, CB500X is always ready toaccompany you for an unforgettable journey," HMSI ManagingDirector, President & CEO Atsushi Ogata said in a statement.

HMSI drives in CB500Xpriced at Rs 6.87 lakh

The rupeeextended its

early gains to closethe day 33 paisehigher at 72.46(provisional)against the USdollar amid alacklustre trend in

the domestic equity market. At the interbank forex market, thelocal unit opened at 72.71 against the greenback, andwitnessed an intra-day high of 72.40 and a low of 72.75. Itfinally ended at 72.46 against the American currency,registering a rise of 33 paise over its previous close. On Friday,the rupee had settled at 72.79 against the American currency.The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strengthagainst a basket of six currencies, climbed 0.12 per cent to91.78. Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oilbenchmark, fell 0.01 per cent to USD 69.21 per barrel.

Rupee surges 33 paise toclose at 72.46 against USD

Gold in the national capi-tal rose by Rs 61 to Rs

44,364 per 10 grams onMonday, according toHDFC Securities. In theprevious trade, the pre-cious metal had closed atRs 44,303 per 10 grams.Silver also gained Rs 162to Rs 66,338 per kilogramfrom Rs 66,176 in the pre-vious trade. "Spot gold

prices for 24 carat in Delhi were Rs 61 higher despite of rupeeappreciation," according to HDFC Securities, Senior Analyst(Commodities), Tapan Patel. The Indian rupee soared 33 paise to72.46 against the US dollar on Monday, tracking weakness of theAmerican currency in the overseas market. In the international mar-ket, gold was trading marginally lower at USD 1,726 per ounce andsilver was flat at USD 25.95 per ounce.

Gold rises by Rs 61; silver gains Rs 162

Low-cost fashion brand Hennes& Mauritz AB said Monday its

sales dropped 21 per cent duringthe December through Februaryperiod as an increase in onlinebusiness could not make up forthe temporary closure of 1,800stores due to the pandemic. The

Stockholm-based retailing group said the number of closed storesdecreased to about 900 on March 13 this year as some countriesincluding Germany — H&M group's largest market -— allowedsome stores to reopen. It noted an improvement, with sales so far inMarch up by 10 per cent compared with the same period in 2020,when the pandemic had started forcing restrictions on public life inmany countries. The company released the figures ahead of its fullearnings report for the December 1 - February 28 period, which willbe published March 31.

H&M sales drop a fifth duringwinter but improve in March

PNS n MUMBAI

Equity benchmark Sensextumbled 397 points onMonday, tracking losses inindex heavyweights RelianceIndustries, HDFC twins andICICI Bank amid weak macro-economic cues.

After gyrating 1,035.71points during the day, the 30-share BSE index ended 397points or 0.78 per cent lowerat 50,395.08. The broader NSENifty finished 101.45 points or0.67 per cent down at14,929.50.

Bajaj Finserv was the toploser in the Sensex pack, shed-ding around 3 per cent, fol-lowed by Bajaj Auto, BajajFinance, L&T, Asian Paints, DrReddy's, ICICI Bank, HDFCBank and Reliance Industries.

On the other hand, TechMahindra, PowerGrid,IndusInd Bank, HCL Techand NTPC were among thegainers.

According to Binod Modi,Head-Strategy at RelianceSecurities, domestic equitieswitnessed sharp sell-off for

the second consecutive tradingday as mounting concernsabout resurgence of COVID-19 cases in various parts of thecountry and rising bond yieldsmade investors jittery.

"Further, unexpected con-traction in IIP data for January2021 and sharp spike in CPIprint also weighed on senti-ments," he said.

Industrial productiongrowth re-entered the negativeterritory by contracting by 1.6per cent in January, whileretail inflation soared to athree-month high of 5.03 percent in February on costlierfood items, as per data released

post market hours on Friday.Further, the wholesale price-

based inflation rose for the sec-ond consecutive month inFebruary to 4.17 per cent, asfood, fuel and power pricesspiked.

Elsewhere in Asia, boursesin Shanghai and Seoul were inthe red, while Hong Kong andTokyo ended on a positivenote.

Stock exchanges in Europewere also trading with gains inmid-session deals.

Meanwhile, the global oilbenchmark Brent crude wastrading 0.01 per cent lower atUSD 69.21 per barrel.

AstraZeneca reassures safety of Covidvax; says no evidence of risksPNS n NEW DELHI

Drug major AstraZeneca hastermed its COVID-19 vaccinesafe amid various nations sus-pending its rollout due to thecases of blood clots in certainpeople who received the jab.

Countries like Denmark,Norway and Iceland have tem-porarily suspended the rolloutof the company's vaccine intheir respective geographies.

The AstraZeneca/OxfordCOVID-19 vaccine, which isbeing produced by SerumInstitute of India, is part of theCOVID-19 vaccination drive inIndia. Both, Covishield(AstraZeneca/Oxford) andCovaxin (Bharat Biotech) arecurrently being administered inthe country as part of the drive.

"Following a recent concernraised around thromboticevents, AstraZeneca would liketo offer its reassurance on thesafety of its COVID-19 vaccinebased on clear scientific evi-dence. Safety is of paramountimportance and the company iscontinually monitoring the safe-ty of its vaccine," the drugmajor said in a statement onMonday.

A careful review of all avail-able safety data of more than 17million people vaccinated in theEuropean Union (EU) and theUK with COVID-19 vaccineAstraZeneca has shown no evi-

dence of an increased risk ofpulmonary embolism, deepvein thrombosis (DVT) orthrombocytopenia, in anydefined age group, gender, batchor in any particular country, itadded.

AstraZeneca noted that so faracross the EU and the UK, therehave been 15 events of DVT and22 events of pulmonaryembolism reported amongthose given the vaccine, basedon the number of cases thecompany has received as ofMarch 8.

"This is much lower thanwould be expected to occur nat-urally in a general population ofthis size and is similar acrossother licensed COVID-19 vac-cines. The monthly safety reportwill be made public on theEuropean Medicines Agencywebsite in the following week,in line with exceptional trans-parency measures for COVID-19," it added.

Furthermore, in clinical trials,even though the number ofthrombotic events was small,these were lower in the vacci-nated group, it said.

There has also been no evi-dence of increased bleeding inover 60,000 participantsenrolled, it added.

"The nature of the pandemichas led to increased attention inindividual cases and we aregoing beyond the standard

practices for safety monitoringof licensed medicines in report-ing vaccine events, to ensurepublic safety.

“In terms of quality, there arealso no confirmed issues relat-ed to any batch of our vaccineused across Europe, or the restof the world," AstraZenecaChief Medical Officer AnnTaylor said.

Additional testing has, and is,being conducted by the compa-ny and independently byEuropean health authoritiesand none of these re-tests haveshown cause for concern, sheadded.

During the production ofthe vaccine more than 60 qual-ity tests are conducted by thedrug firm its partners and bymore than 20 independent test-ing laboratories, Taylor noted.

"All tests need to meet strin-gent criteria for quality controland this data is submitted toregulators within each countryor region for independentreview before any batch can bereleased to countries," sheadded. The company is keepingthis issue underclose review butavailable evi-dence doesnot con-firm thatthe vaccineis the cause,she noted.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Retirement fund body EPFOclosed 71.01 lakh employees'provident fund (EPF) accountsduring April-December in2020 post pandemic which ishigher than 66.66 lakh in thesame period year ago,Parliament was informed onMonday.

The government hadimposed lockdown to containthe COVID-19 pandemic onMarch 25, 2020.

"The number of Employees'Provident Fund (EPF)accounts closed during theperiod from April toDecember, 2020 is 71,01,929,"Labour Minister SantoshGangwar said in a writtenreply to the Lok Sabha onMonday.

According to the reply, thenumber of closure of EPFaccount in April-December2019 was 66,66,563.

The EPF account is closedfor many reasons includingsuperannuation, job loss orchanging jobs.

The minister also stated thatthe number of EPF accountswith partial withdrawal alsorose to 1,27,72,120 in April-

December 2020 from54,42,884 in the same period in2019.

Total withdrawals from EPFaccount in April-December2020 rose to Rs 73,498 crorefrom Rs 55,125 crore in thecorresponding period year ago.

In a separate reply to theHouse, the minister said thatunder the AatmanirbharBharat Rozgar Yojna (ABRY),1.83 lakh establishment orfirms have been registeredcovering 15.30 Lakh employ-ees till February 28, 2021.

As much as Rs 186.34 crorehas been released under theABRY till February 28, 2021.

The ABRY scheme has beenlaunched to incentivizeemployers for creation of newemployment along with socialsecurity benefits and restora-

tion of loss of employmentduring the COVID-19 pan-demic.

This scheme being imple-mented through theEmployees' Provident FundOrganisation (EPFO) reducesthe financial burden of theemployers of various sectors/industries and encouragesthem to hire more workers.

Under ABRY, theGovernment of India is bear-ing for a period of two years,both the employees' share (12%of wages) and employers' share(12% of wages) of contributionpayable.

In another reply to theHouse, the minister said theEPFO has invested Rs27,532.39 crore in exchangetraded funds (ETF) tillFebruary 28, 2021.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Conformity assessment proce-dures will be put in place toverify that goods and servicessold on e-commerce platformsmeet required standards andtechnical regulations, accord-ing to the draft e-commercepolicy.

The policy, which is underdiscussion, also stated thatactions and things which can-not be done by the online plat-form entities "can also not bedone" by any of its associatesand related parties.

Government may, fromtime to time, notify partieswhich fall in the definition ofassociates and related parties,it said.

"Conformity assessmentprocedures will be put in placein order to verify that goodsand services sold, on e-com-merce platforms, meetrequired standards and tech-

nical regulations, as prescribedby sector specificregulations/rules," the draftsaid.

These procedures are relat-ed to testing, verification andcertification of goods and ser-vices, among others.

It also said that a long-runendeavour will be to convertGeM (Government e-market-place) into a marketplacewhere "ordinary consumers"could procure, increasing theefficiency in the Indian econ-omy. Currently, only the gov-ernment departments andagencies are allowed to pro-cure goods and services fromthe GeM portal.

According to the draft pol-icy, an e-commerce operatoroperating in marketplace orhybrid mode will have to man-age its relationship with sellerson its platform in an agnosticmanner and without beingpartial to any of its sellers.

PNS n MUMBAI

The domestic ship-breakingindustry's revenue is expectedto see a 10 per cent year-on-year increase this fiscal due toimproved availability of con-demned vessels and higherrates for steel scrap, ratingsagency Crisil said on Monday.

Further, with India enactingthe Recycling of Ships Act,2019, and joining the HongKong InternationalConvention (HKC), which setsthe standards for ship recy-

cling,the move has bolsteredthe country's leadership posi-tion globally, it said.

According to the report, aplunge in global trade due tothe COVID-19 pandemicweighed on sea freight, hurt-

ing viability of shippers andmaking more vessels availablefor dismantling at cheaperrates.

Consequently, from the sec-ond quarter starting July 2020,there was a sharp rise in thenumber of vessels bought forbreaking, compared withmuted activity in the first quar-ter. Usually, the vessel procure-ment rate is about USD 20-30per tonne higher than the steelscrap selling rate, which indi-cates ship-breaking is a loss-making proposition.

PNS n MUMBAI

Ultimate Kho Kho, the firstprofessional Kho Kho leaguepromoted by the DaburGroup, has roped in SonyPictures Networks India as theofficial broadcast partner forthe maiden edition of thetournament slated towardsthe end of the year.

Sony Pictures has signed anexclusive multi-year televi-sion and digital broadcast dealwith the Kho Kho league, theleague said in a statement onMonday without disclosingthe sponsorship deal value orthe tenor of the contract.Thegames will be available onSony's OTT platform SonyLivas well, it said.

Ultimate Kho Kho is pro-moted by Dabur Group chair-man Amit Burman, who hadin 2019 made a commitmentto invest Rs 200 crore todevelop the game afteracquiring the commercialrights from the Kho KhoFederation.

The league is an attempt tobring back one of the oldestsports packaged in a modernavatar coupled with a new for-mat and as a television prod-uct that has the potential torevolutionise the sport andmake it commercial success,Burman said.

Kho Kho is popular inmany part of the countryowing to its easy-to-play rulesand high-speed format.

PNS n MUMBAI

State-run Bank of Barodaannounced a 10 basispoints reduction in itsrepo-linked lending ratefrom 6.85 per cent to 6.75per cent, effective fromMonday. With this revi-sion in Baroda RepoLinked Lending Rate(BRLLR), the lender isoffering home loans at arate starting from 6.75 percent and car loans begin-ning from 7 per cent.

BoB reduces repo-linked rates by 10bps to 6.75 pc

Shipbreaking industry’s revenue to rise by 10 pc this fiscal: Crisil

Draft e-com policy mootsassessment procedures

Sony picks up rightsof Ultimate Kho Kho

PNS n NEW DELHI

Drug firm Natco Pharmaon Monday announcedits foray into pheromone-based technology for pro-viding integrated pestmanagement solution tofarmers in India.

The company throughits CHS division is work-ing with ATGC BiotechPvt Ltd for thepheromone-based matingdisruption technology,Natco Pharma said in a fil-ing to BSE. “During Kharif2021, NATCO plans tolaunch its first green labelpheromone product foreffective management ofPBW in cotton crop,under its brand NAT-MATE PBW," it added.

Natco Pharmaforays intopheromone-based tech

PNS n MUMBAI

Allianz Investment Management SE (Allianz) has part-nered with Kotak InvestmentAdvisors to invest in theIndian private credit market.

So far, Allianz - the invest-ment management arm ofAllianz Group - has investedaround USD 650 million inthe country's private creditmarket and plans to increaseit to USD one billion in 2021,a statement said on Monday.

In February this year, ithad made its maiden creditinvestment of USD 150 mil-lion in Kotak InvestmentAdvisors' (KIAL) 11th RealEstate Debt Fund thatachieved closure of USD 380million.

"As a growth economy, theIndian economy's capitalneeds are spread across thespectrum of equity and cred-it. Our partnership blends onthe strength of two partners.

"Allianz brings with it themuch wanted large package ofdry powder and KIAL has theexpertise in identifying theright opportunities as andwhen they arise in India,"Kotak Mahindra BankManaging Director & CEOUday Kotak said in the state-ment. Commenting on thedevelopment, AllianzInvestment Management AsiaCEO & CIO (Asia), Ritu Arorasaid, "We believe this partner-ship is a natural fit and willenable us to capitalise on thebest private debt opportunitiesavailable in India.

Allianz partners withKotak to invest inprivate credit market

Sensex tanks 397 points;Nifty slips below 15,000

EPFO closed 71L accounts in Apr-Dec

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

TuesdayMarch 16, 2021

SHIKHA DUGGAL

fter Covid-inducedlockdown, feel easyto wear clothes hasbecome a go tooption for many of

us including celebrities.Fashion trends always holdsome influence on us, and therecent one being the athleisureclothing, it seems like fashiondesigners are intending todesign for social media only! Itwas Manish Malhotra who kit-ted out Karishma Kapoor inthe trendiest athleisure looksin Dil To Pagal Hai way backin 1997. At the moment, thetrend has a pinch of youth cul-ture in it, the street-cum-workout style and celebs car-rying such a look with a sass isbringing the trend on top of‘what’s the current’ charts. Aswe have stepped into the New Year, let’s take solace inthe fact that the current fash-ion trend is more prevalentthan in earlier times givingsome credits to the ‘papz’ aswell.

What is athleisure look?

A type of cross-mixed cloth-ing fabricated with a uniquestyle worn for athletic activi-ties and that’s why the nameathleisure. Remember, a fewdays ago when Kiara Advani’syellow lime athleisure outfitwent viral for some reason? Itbrings on some drama to yourdaily-wear! Even, KareenaKapoor Khan, who was preg-nant with her second childrecently broke the internet bysharing a photo of her show-ing off her baby bump in styl-ish pink athleisure. Nowmonths after months, there isno turning away from ath-leisure sets. There are alwaysways to freshen up this look!Combining it with yoga pants,jeggings, sneakers, etc. it'sgoing to make you look sofashionable.

COMFORT&CHIC!

MALAIKA ARORA

The chaiya-chaiyaactress’s yoga pants look isalways out there! When onearth she’s taking her petfor a stroll or going to thegym or even on a dinnerdate with her rumouredboyfriend Arjun Kapoor,her diverse looks in theyoga pants serves as aninspiration for a young girlor even a middle-classwoman to ardently begingoing to the gym just sothat you can carry thatlook. These yoga pants area forever staple now! It’snot like a basic pair but sotrendy, you can exclusivelywear it for your workouts.Sometimes, even the small-est of details can make ahuge difference in the waywe like to style our lookslike the newly-launchedmesh fractions it holds onthe thighs area. Malaika iscertainly putting her bestfoot forward when itcomes to athleisure wear.

HRITHIK ROSHAN

We have seen many actorstaking their shirts off andshowing the abs, well thingshave changed now! Actorsare now wearing proper ath-leisure wears taking their fit-ness obsession to anotherlevel. Hrithik Roshan’s hothiking pants and bottomhigh tops will make youdrool. He’s always on a high-performance with his activewear, athleisure is the newthing in the sportswearscene. High quality yogapants can be pulled off reallywell on a daily basis.Comfortable and sleek jog-gers makes you do any taskso easily anywhere!

SANYA MALHOTRA

Athleisure isn’t always about thefully covered active-wear, shorts isalso thing in it and the youngactress Sanya never goes wrongwith her match of shorts and teeswhen off to gym! Giving fans asneek peek into her workout ses-sions, her outfits are so loved. Witha simple and usually a preferableblack athleisure look, she makesexcercising so much fun to look at!At present, wearing athleisure hasbecome the new standard. It’s likeliving, eating and sleeping in it.Timeless shorts in plush fabrics isthe current go to shopping item!Athleisures of any kind are so goodthat it will ignite the fire of doingimpulse shopping whenever youvisit a store.

RAKULPREET SINGH

The Tollywood actress Rakul’snot just being fit game but her ath-leisure wear game is also on!Mixing the right blend of fashionand sports wear, she’s out there giv-ing us the right proportions of bothpurpose and sustainable clothing!Going to the gym with paparazziwaiting outside for the actress toarrive and go click, click, click —she has fun getting clicked whilegoing for an activity! The active-wear is so stylish and begining tohave a cult following across themarket. Rakulpreet’s teal athleisureoutfit has my vote!

KIARA ADVANI

Kiara has a very flexiblewardrobe style when itcomes to exercising.Making a statement with allthe novel and vibrant col-ored athleisure sets, she’staking the social mediawith a storm. Every otherpap wants to know whatshe is wearing to the gym!Not just that, one can alsowears it when running for ascript-hearing. The ath-leisure wear is so at easethat for a lover of thiscomfy wear can cover themaximum space in theirwardrobe. The active-wearis so popular these daysthat in which color youdon’t have it. And, not toforget the graphic printsthat it comes along with! Alot of mixing and matchinggoes into it for donning thistrend.

A

re you dealing withthe stressful symp-toms of PCOS? Be itmissed periods,excessive hair growthon the face or body,

weight gain, acne and fertilityissues. The pandemic made itall the more difficult to consultour doctor face-to-face to dealwith these problems, but digitalhealthcare platforms have madeit easier for women dealingwith such queries to consult theright doctor.

The COVID-19 pandemicmay have accelerated the shifttowards digital healthcare prac-tices in India, but its adoptionamong women in 2020 — espe-cially in non-metro cities - hasbeen significant. Registering anoverall growth of more than212 per cent from the previousyear, online consultationsemerged as one of the preferredmodes of consulting doctors bywomen in India, according todata from Practo.

According to Practo, morewomen in non-metro citiesopted for online consultationsin 2020 — growing at an aver-age rate of 550 per cent, com-pared with 400 per cent record-ed among women in metrocities. This means that even asthe majority (65 per cent) of thetotal number of online consul-tations done by women in 2020were from metro cities, therehas been a steady increase inthe percentage of women fromnon-metro cities adoptingtelemedicine. In fact, this trendhas been developing over thepast three years.

PCOS, skin allergy, weight

loss, thyroid, depression, hair-fall, and UTI were some of themost discussed queries bywomen from non-metro citieslast year, says the health plat-form.

Women with PCOS havenumerous cysts in their ovaries,caused by an overproduction ofhormones called androgens.Polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS) is a condition that pre-vents the ovaries from function-ing properly. PCOS is also a red

flag for the inception of type 2diabetes, explains PrabhaAcharya, Homeopath, who alsoconsults on Practo.

For few women, gainingweight can influence their hor-mones. If you’re obese or over-weight, this might help get yourhormones back to normal.Losing 10 per cent of your bodyweight may help your menstru-al cycle become more pre-dictable. This should help youget pregnant.

Therefore, weight loss priorto conception helps improvelive birth rate in obese womenwith or without PCOS. In sim-ple words, living a healthylifestyle and following diet, withregular exercise, no smoking,less stress, and control of dia-betes and other medical condi-tions prescribed by your doctorshould improve your fertilityodds. To lose weight on a PCOSdiet, re-frame your thinking toeating to live, not living to eat.

Change yourcircumstances

¬Drink a lot of water and keepyourself well hydrated.¬Eat foods low on theglycemic index. Lowglycemic index foods are car-bohydrates that break downslowly in the body, not caus-ing a dramatic spike andthen drop in insulin levels.Eat oats, brans, whole grains,broccoli, apples, etc. Avoidfoods that are sugary andstarchy such as: syrups,sugar, jams, scones, whitebread products etc.¬Eat more fruits and vegeta-bles for good fiber intake.Fiber helps promote healthyestrogen metabolism whichaids in the reduction of ele-vated levels of androgens.E.g. whole grains, apples(with skin), green leafy veg-etables, etc.¬Eat small frequent meals in aday and avoid skipping anymeal and especially the firstmeal of the day i.e. breakfast.¬Include lean protein in yourdiet. E.g. lean chicken, fish,egg, nuts, legumes, pulses,low fat dairy products,skimmed milk, etc.¬Eat healthy Omega-3 fats indiet. Sources: fatty fish, oliveoil, walnuts, flax seeds, etc.And avoid foods that arehigh in saturated fat, such asmeats, cheeses, and friedfoods.¬Get some sun rays for 10-15minutes for your Vitamin Drequirement. Great foodsources of vitamin D are codliver oil, eggs, salmon, etc.¬Exercise daily. Exercise playsa huge role by keepingweight in check, this helpsregulate the hormones andincreases chances of ovula-tion. Distress yourself. Tryyoga.¬Avoid drinking aerateddrinks. Avoid processed,junk food, quit smoking andalcohol. Regular visit to doc-tor for follow up.

Follow your plan and mostimportantly believe in your-self because only you havethe potential to change yourcircumstances!

HERE ARE QUICK

TIPS FROM THE

DOCTOR:Dealing with

stressfulsymptoms ofPCOS? Here

is whatwomen can do

about it

veryone’sfavorite actor,businessperson,mom and cultur-al icon, DrewBarrymore is

creating an army of opti-mism and she’s lookingfor recruits! You heard itright. This 2021, celebratewe-time with your friendsand family in an excitingdose of cheer and inspira-tion from the endearingCharlie’s Angels sensationin The Drew BarrymoreShow.

The week’s highlightepisode will guest star thesole actor in Hollywoodwho has made a mark inevery film that he hasworked on, MatthewMcConaughey. An actorand producer, theAcademy Award winningactor is acclaimed world-wide for his stellar perfor-mances on the big screenas well as television fol-lowing the success of TrueDetective. Some of hisother best works includeThe Wolf Of Wall Street,Mud and ChristopherNolan’s Interstellar.

Conversing with DrewBarrymore about hisrecent success,Greenlights, a biography,Matthew says, “I love thepoetry of the way youspeak and think and Ihave been having themost incredible timereading your book. I lovethat in the opening youmention that this is notan advice book and thatyou aren’t preaching butrather say that this is aplaybook based on adven-tures of my life which issuch a nice way of gettinginsights into your lifejourney.”

He further adds, “I callit an approach book andnot an advice bookbecause nobody likes tobe told what to do espe-cially I don’t. But I didhave a great time sharingcertain things of my ownlife, certain things in lifethat have given me satis-faction, approaches that Ihave taken at that I havefailed at. What has helpedme are my journals of mysuccesses and failures thatI have kept with me forthe past 36 years.”

Speaking about his lovefor journaling, MatthewMcConaughey tells, “Istarted keeping a journalwhen I was 14. A lot ofmen and women do so atthat age. I was confusedand I wrote down everyquestion that popped inmy head and every littleproblem I had. Later on, Icontinued to write whenthings were going well;when I was doing well;when my relationshipswith people improved.But when I look back, Ithink to myself the kindof flow I was in at thattime. What journalingdoes for me is that I don’twrite things so I canremember, I write thingsdown so I can forgetthem. If I want to go backto the inspiration I had, Iknow that it’s been writ-ten down and I don’t haveto think hard aboutremembering it.”

(Tune in to a newepisode every day and

watch Drew Barrymore beher cheerful best bringing

to light the people whohave actually made a dif-ference in their life, week-

nights at 9 only on ZeeCafé).

A

e

MATTHEWMCCONAUGHEY

ABOUT HISINSPIRATION& LOVE FORJOURNALING

10

Hyderabad Tuesday March 16 2021what’s brewing?

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

FUN

he 63rd edition of theGrammys were historicfor Beyonce, who isnow the female artistwith the most trophies.She has 28 Grammys

now, surpassing the record heldby singer Alison Krauss — the28th win was for Best R&BPerformance for Black Parade.The big three Grammys went tolast year’s big winner Billie Eilish(Record of the Year forEverything I Wanted), TaylorSwift (Album of the Year forFolkore) and H.E.R (Song of theYear for I Can't Breathe). Thebiggest winner, however, wasMegan Thee Stallion who scoredthree Grammys — Best NewArtist, Best Rap Song and BestRap Performance for Savage.“You deserve this,” Billie Eilishsaid in her speech to MeganThee Stallion, also nominated forRecord of the Year.

Trevor Noah opened music’sbiggest night from Los Angeles,joking that it would be thelargest outdoor event of 2021since the storming of the USCapitol in January. “I know thatyou haven’t been able to go to aconcert in a long time — neither

have I. So tonight we’re bringingthe concert to you,” he said. JohnPrine, who died at the age of 73last year, received awards forBest Roots Performance and BestRoots Song from the RecordingAcademy. Chick Corea alsoreceived a Posthumus award forBest Improvised Jazz Solo.

Here are this year’s Grammywinners:

Record of the Year: EverythingI Wanted by Billie Eilish

Album of the Year: Folklore byTaylor Swift

Song of the Year: I Can’tBreathe by H.E.R

Best New Artist: Megan TheeStallion

Best Pop Solo Performance:Watermelon Sugar by HarryStyles

Best Pop Duo/GroupPerformance: Rain On Me —Lady Gaga and Ariana GrandeestTraditional Pop Vocal Album:American Standard — JamesTaylor

Best Pop Vocal Album: FutureNostalgia by Dua Lipa

Best Rock Performance:Shameika by Fiona Apple

Best Metal Performance: Bum-Rush by Body Count

Best Rock Song: Stay High byBrittany Howard

Best Rock Album: The NewAbnormal by The Strokes

Best Alternative Music Album:Fetch the Bolt Cutters by FionaApple

Best R&B Performance: BlackParade by Beyonce

Best Traditional R&BPerformance: Anything For Youby Ledisi

Best R&B Song: Better Than IImagined by Robert Glasper

Best R&B Album: Bigger Loveby John Legend

Best Rap Performance: Savageby Megan Thee Stallion, featur-ing Beyonce

Best Melodic RapPerformance: Lockdown byAnderson Paak

Best Rap Song: Savage byMegan Thee Stallion, featuringBeyonce

Best Rap Album: King’sDisease by Nas

Best Dance Recording: 10% byKaytranada, featuring Kali Uchis

Best Dance Electronic Album:Bubba by Kaytranada

Best ContemporaryInstrumental Album: Live At TheRoyal Albert Hall by SnarkyPuppy

Best Country SoloPerformance: When My AmyPray by Vince Gill

Best Country Duo/GroupPerformance: 10,000 Hours byDan-Shay and Justin Bieber

Best Country Song: Crowded

Table by The HighwomenBest Country Album:

Wildcard by Miranda LambertBest New Age Album: More

Guitar Stories by Jim Kimo WestBest Improvised Jazz Solo: All

Blues by Chick CoreaBest Jazz Vocal Album: Secrets

Are The Best Stories by KurtElling

Best Jazz Instrumental Album:Trilogy 2 by Chick Corea,Christian McBride and BrianBlade

Best Large Jazz EnsembleAlbum: Data Lords by MariaSchneider Orchestra

Best Latin Jazz Album: FourQuestions by Arturo O’Farrilland The Afro Latin JazzOrchestra

Best Bluegrass Album: Homeby Billy Strings

Best Traditional Blues Album:Rawer Than Raw by Bobby Rush

Best Contemporary BluesAlbum: Have You Lost YourMind Yet? by Fantastic Negrito

Best Reggae Album: Got To BeTough by Toots And The Maytals

Best Spoken Word Album:Blowout by Rachel Maddow

Best Comedy Album: BlackMitzvah by Tiffany Haddish

Best Compilation Soundtrackfor Visual Media: Jojo Rabbit byvarious artists

Best Score Soundtrack forVisual Media: Joker by HildurGuanadottir

Best Music Video: Brown SkinGirl by Beyonce, Saint Jhn andWizkid, featuring Blue Ivy Carter

Best Music Film: LindaRonstadt: The Sound Of My Voiceby Linda Ronstadt

The Grammy music awards,which were slated for January 31in Los Angeles, were postponeddue to the Covid-19 pandemic,which has been rapidly spread-ing in.

2021 GRAMMY'S ROUND UP

T

Singer Taylor Swift’s albumof the year win for Folkloreat the 63rd Annual

Grammy Awards has made herthe first female artiste to win thetop honour three times in hercareer.

She also won it in 2010 forher album Fearless and again in2015 for 1989.

Prior to the pop singer, cele-brated musicians Stevie Wonder,Frank Sinatra and Paul Simonhave won the top prize thrice.

In her acceptance speech, the31-year-old singer thanked hercollaborators, Laura Sisk, JackAntonoff and Aaron Dessner,and her boyfriend, actor JoeAlwyn, for helping her write thesongs during the coronaviruspandemic.

“I had the best time writingsongs with you during quaran-tine,” Swift said.

Alwyn is credited on Folkoreunder the pseudonym WilliamBowery.

The album, Swift’s eighth,released in July last year.

In addition to album of theyear, Swift was nominated at theceremony for pop solo perfor-mance (Cardigan), popduo/group performance (Exile),

song written for visual media(Beautiful Ghosts), pop vocalalbum (Folklore) and song of theyear Cardigan).

The singer also performed atthe Grammys for the first timein five years, singing a medley ofsongs from her albumsEvermore and Folklore.

The audience-free perfor-mance scene was set up on astage inside the Los AngelesConvention Center, where mostof the performances were pre-recorded because of pandemicprecautions.

TAYLOR SWIFT BECOMES FIRST WOMANTO RECEIVE TOP HONOUR THRICE

Megan Thee Stallion was thebig winner at the 63rdGrammy Awards, winning

three trophies in a night whenBeyonce broke the record for mostnumber of Grammy wins. Scoringan individual haul that stands at 28Grammys, Beyonce has now sur-passed the record previously heldby Alisson Krauss.

Megan won three Grammys –Best New Artist, Best Rap Song andBest Rap Performance — at the in-person live/virtual ceremony hostedby Trevor Noah on Sunday night(Monday according to India time)that had as a highlight an extendedin-tribute section honouring thosewho died in the last one year.

Three awards presented duringthe telecast went to protest songs.Lockdown, released by AndersonPaak, which was inspired by theBlack Lives Matter demonstrations,won for Best Melodic RapPerformance. I can’t breathe, byH.E.R. won Song of the Year. Blackparade, Beyonce’s own release, fromher Black Is King film, won BestR&B Performance and saw herbecome the singer with most num-ber of Grammys.

Beyonce’s record-breaking wincame after her wins in the BestMusic Vdeo category for Brown skingirl, which she shared with daughterBlue Ivy, and Best RapPerformance, which she shared with

Megan Thee Stallion for their songSavage (remix). Apart from sharingthe award with Beyonce, Meganalso won the inaugural award of thenight — Best New Artist.

“I don’t want to cry. It’s been ahell of a year, and we made it,” saidMegan while accepting her award.

She also set the stage on fire withher performances of her songs,Body, Savage and Up, and withthree wins out of four, she was thestar of the night, till Ringo Starrannounced that Billie Eilish wonthe Record of the Year, making ither second consecutive win in thesame category. Even Eilish couldn’tbelieve she had won the award.

“I was going to write a speechabout how you deserve this butthen I was like, there’s no waythey’re going to choose me,” Eilishsaid. “I was like, it’s hers. Youdeserve this. You had a year that Ithink is untoppable. You are aqueen. I want to cry thinking abouthow much I love you,” she added.

MEGAN THEE STALLION WINS BIG,

BEYONCE SETS RECORD

ctor SudheerBabu who isback inaction aftersuccessful V,feasted on 8,000

calories worth ice-cream to cele-brate cheat day!

In his new Instagram post, Sudheercan be seen walking into an ice-creamparlour and indulging in a big bowl ofchocolate ice cream.

“8000+ calories ice cream. This is a8000 + calories cheat meal that I havehard earned after a rigorous phaseFinished the takie part and also the rigidi-ty. I feel I am going to look and feel mybest in #SrideviSodaCente,” he wrote.

The gig, as his post mentions, was obvi-ously a stunt to promote his upcoming filmSri Devi Soda Centre, directed by KarunaKumar. The film also stars actress Anandhi.Details of the film are still to be revealed. Theactor, seems to be having a busy year ahead,with some big releases his way including MohanKrishna Indraganti’s Aa Ammayi GurinchiMeeku Cheppali and Sridevi Soda Center.

11

Hyderabad Tuesday March 16 2021 tollywood

K RAMYA SREE

ommercial elementlooking at Tollywood’sManmadhu in an allnew avatar, where heperforms some realheroic stunts, playing

an NIA Officer is a treat towatch. Wild Dog, whose trailerdropped recently, took netizenson a roller-coaster ride — onelooking at Nagarjuna in an allnew form and the other its story

on serial blasts took placein Hyderabad thatshook the country.

For any action filmbased on real inci-dents, getting thestunts right is crucialand director AhishorSolomon’s Wild Dogthrives on high-octaneaction sequences andbreathtaking combatstunts. To ensure theyget the action scenesright, the makers of

Wild Dog, produced byNiranjan Reddy and Anvesh

Reddy under MatineeEntertainment, roped inAmerican stunt director DavidIsmalone, who worked in severalHollywood films including Fastand Furious 7.

To make the film feel evenmore realistic, the makers

have roped in a real Majorwho was involved in

these kinds of opera-tions in the coun-

try.Akkineni

Nagarjunasays David

Ismalone was chosen so that theaction sequences would bemounted in an authentic mannerand it’s very important in gettingevery action sequence right inthe film. Adding further, he says,“When you are stepping into therole of an NIA officer, everymove that you make must becarefully monitored to make itlook authentic and David hasmastered this art. He even hasclarity on how to hold a gunwhile walking next to a bombthat is waiting to explode. This isthe first time I’m playing a char-acter like this and it was excitingsince I got to learn somethingnew.”

However, with David unableto travel due to the Coronaviruspandemic, the makers of WildDog decided to bring on boardstunt director Shyam Kaushal,who worked on films like Dangaland Ek Tha Tiger for thesequences to sync with thescenes that were earlier shot byDavid.

Terming his director as Mrperfectionist, Nag says hebelieved in Solomon despite himbeing a debutant director as heknew Solmon since Oopiriwhere he was the writer for thefilm.

The trailer launched byChiranjeevi was the talk of thetown. Nag shares, “During thelaunch, I wanted Chiranjeevigaru to watch the trailer andthen post it on his Twitter. Afterwatching the trailer, he wasspellbound by the engaging nar-ration and was very happy tolaunch it.” “I later shared thetrailer with Mahesh, and within3 minutes he replied saying thetrailer is ‘too cool, too terrific’. Iuploaded the chat’s screenshoton my social media. It was atreat to MB fans as they werehappy to see Mahesh’s DP morethan my film’s trailer,” he laughs.

Speaking about shooting forWild Dog, Nag says, “I was here

when the blast took place andeven visited the blast site just toknow how it happened. It shookme. Shooting for Wild Dogwhere we recreated these places,took me back to those dayswhere we would go to GokulChat to have pani puri and howglorious the place was.”

For the unknown, Wild Dogdoes not have any songs and it’sa non-commercial film, say themakers. Nag feels the era wherehaving commercial elements in afilm is a must is gone. He says,“It’s just an element. A lot offilms now have just one or twosongs unlike earlier where sixsongs are a must. People areexposed to world cinema espe-cially because of Covid-inducedlockdown. With this healthyexposure I’m sure people’s mind-set towards cinema will change.”

In a concluding note, the actorthanks Thaman for giving abrilliant background score.“After the shoot was done, wewere discussing the musicand the same time wewatched Krack. We foundthe background score fantas-tic. Despite Thaman nothaving enough time, heworked for us and com-posed multiple ver-sions, until wewere happy withthe product. Ithank Thamanfor keeping upwith us,” heconcludes. Thefilm, alsostarring DiaMirza, AliReza,amongotherswillreleasein the-atresonApril2.

WALKING NEXT TO A BOMB

NAG: WAS TAUGHT HOW TO HOLD A GUN WHILE

amantha Akkinenialong with DevMohan, directorGunashekhar andproducer Dil Rajulaunched their

upcoming magnum-opusShakauntalam on Mondaybankrolled by GunaaTeamworks! In the epic lovestory, tollywood biggieSamantha Akkineni will beseen playing the titular rolewhile the Sufiyum Sujatayumfame will make his telugudebut. He will be seen playingthe role of king dushyanta inthe period drama for which thefilm also had a formal venera-tion ceremony held in

Hyderabad. “Films of thesekinds need huge investmentand I loved the script, thus Icame forward to co-produceShaakuntalam along withGunasekhar,” tells the star pro-ducer, Dil Raju who is co-pro-ducing the film along withdirector Gunashekhar. Delvinginto the immortal love of ideal-istic pair Shakuntala andDushyant, the plotline will takeyou on a traverse of sage vish-wamitra and apsara meneka.Shaakuntalam, a pan-Indianfilm will begin shooting fromnext week & The brand DilRaju will surely bring extrabuzz for the film which is likelyto release sometime next year.

ilmmaker SSRajamouli sharedthe look ofBollywood actressAlia Bhatt as Sitain his upcoming

film RRR. The release of thepicture also marks Aliasbirthday on Monday.

In the image, Alia wears agreen saree paired with vin-tage puff-sleeved brocadered blouse. The filmmakerdescribed the character asstrong-willed.

“Strong-willed and resol-vent SITA’s wait forRamaraju will be legendary!Presenting @aliaa08 as #Sitato you all @tarak9999@AlwaysRamCharan #RRR

#RRRMovie,” Rajamoulitweeted.

Alia shared the same pic-ture and captioned it with aheart emoji on Instagram.

The much-awaited RRRboasts of an ensemble castcomprising Telugu stars RamCharan and Jr NTR alongwith Bollywood stars AliaBhatt and Ajay Devgn.

The period drama revolvesaround the fictitious talebased on the life of Telugufreedom fighters, AlluriSeetharama Raju andKomaram Bheem.Unconfirmed reports suggestthe film is being produced at an estimated budget of Rs 450 crore.

ALIA asRajamouli's Sita

Sam's next

Shakauntalam

launched

nandDeverakonda,who'supcomingmovie

Pushpaka Vimanam isgarnering all the buzzthat it can in the city gavea birthday treat to hisfans on Monday. We aresmitten by the two hugeannouncements that hehad to make! Without

much ado,Anand

discloses that he's onboard for a big bannerfilm with producersMadhu Sridhar Reddy,Balaram Varma Namburi,Bala Somineni Punderbankrolled by MadhuraEntertainments and RollCamera.The other one being theHigh Life Entertainmentsproduction with KedarSelegam Setty and VamsiKarumani producing it!Wishing the young andpromising actor Anand ahappy birthday, there isnews that Uday Shettywill be making his debutas the director for themovie project. The movieis going to go on floorssoon and one can’t waitto watch it in theatres.Announcement on rest ofthe cast is yet to bemade.

C A

AF

S

ANANDANNOUNCES

TWO NEWFILMS

SUDHEER BABUGORGES ON OVER 8KCALORIES ICE-CREAM!

sport 12HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | MARCH 16, 2021

INDIA FINED FOR SLOW-OOVER RATE Dubai: Indian players have been fined 20 per cent oftheir match fees for maintaining a slow over-rate againstEngland in the second T20I. Javagal Srinath of the ICCElite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction afterVirat's side was ruled to be one over short of the targetafter time allowances were taken into consideration.

MANIKA OUT OF SINGLES OLY QUALIFIERSDoha: Manika Batra's run at the World Singles OlympicQualification Tournament came to an end after shesuffered a 1-4 defeat to Monaco's Xiaoxin Yang in thewomen's singles knockout stage-I semi-final match.Despite losing the first two games, Batra held her nerveand attempted a comeback by winning the third game.However, her higher-ranked opponent Yang, worldnumber 44, didn't let the momentum slip and wrappedup the tie 11-9, 11-4, 8-11, 11-4, 11-9.

ANNU BETTERS OWN NATIONAL RECORD Patiala: Annu Rani bettered her own javelin thrownational record but still missed the Tokyo Olympicsqualification mark by more than half a metre on theopening day of the Federation Cup Senior NationalAthletics Championships. Rani clinched the Gold with abest throw of 63.24m which she came up in her thirdattempt, obliterating her earlier national mark of 62.43mwhich she had recorded during the World C’ships inDoha in 2019. The Tokyo Olympics qualification mark forwomen's javelin throw is 64m.

YUKI GOES DOWN FIGHTING IN DUBAI Dubai: Indian tennis player Yuki Bhambri frittered awaya one-set advantage against Aijaz Bedene in a first roundmatch to bow out of the Dubai Duty Free Championshipson Monday. Yuki made a promising start but eventuallylost 6-3, 1-6, 4-6 to the world number 59 from Slovenia.Returning to competitive tennis after a long injury lay-off,Yuki had qualified for the main draw after beatingPrajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar Ramanathan.

PSG MISS OUT ON TOP SPOT IN LIGUE 1 Paris: PSG missed the chance to move top of Ligue 1on Sunday after falling to a shock 2-1 home loss toNantes, allowing Lille to maintain their league leaddespite drawing 0-0 at Monaco. The reigning championshad the chance to take first place from Lille on goaldifference but strikes from Randal Kolo and MosesSimon wiped out PSG's half-time lead, which camethrough Julian Draxler.

EN-NNESYRI GIVES SEVILLA DERBY WIN Seville: Youssef En-Nesyri's fantastic first-half strikehelped Sevilla seal a 1-0 derby victory over Real Betis onSunday to take a big step towards securing a top-fourspot in La Liga. The Moroccan backed up his midweekChampions League double in Sevilla's last-16 exit at thehands of Borussia Dortmund with a 27th-minute winner.

UNCAPPED PEDRI NAMED IN SPAIN SQUADMadrid: Barcelona midfielder Pedri was called up to theSpain squad for the first time on Monday ahead of WorldCup qualifiers against Greece, Georgia and Kosovo. The18-year-old Pedri has been one of the stars of the seasonin La Liga after establishing himself as a key creator inBarca's midfield. There were also returns to the squadfor Jordi Alba and midfielder Thiago Alcantara. Agencies

SINGLES

AFP n NORTH POINT

Darren Bravo hit 102 whileShai Hope and skipper

Kieron Pollard made half cen-turies as West Indies defeatedSri Lanka by five wickets in thethird and final One-DayInternational on Sunday.

West Indies chased downtheir target of 275 with nineballs to spare, swept the series3-0 to follow their 2-1 win inthe T20 matches.

Evin Lewis was the firstman out, bowled for 13 bySuranga Lakmal (2/56) in thefifth over. The early wobblecontinued as JasonMohammed was bowled for 8by Wanindu Hasaranga (1/49).

Unfortunately for the SriLankans, a 109-run standbetween Shai Hope andDarren Bravo put the hostsback on course fromthere.

At 148/2 the WestIndies were cruising butthe fall of Hope for 64 toPerera opened the doorfor Sri Lanka.

N i c h o l a sPooran blasteda quickfire 15off 8, includingtwo sixes,before perishingto Gunathilaka inthe 35th.

With the WestIndies needing 106runs off the final 15overs, the matchwas in the balance.

Pollard (53*) and Bravotook it away from Sri Lankafrom there. Pollard helpedhimself to three consecutivefours off Lakmal in the 37thover to relieve the scoreboardpressure and Bravo started toup his run-rate.

He slammed LakshanSandakan over long-off for sixin the 38th before ticklingHasaranga down the legside forfour in the 43rd to move intothe 90s. In the 45th he raisedhis fourth ODI century withanother clip past fine leg. Heperished in the 47th over toLakmal, caught brilliantly by aleaping Karunaratne at extracover for 102.

An unbeaten 53 fromPollard in the company ofJason Holder (14*) saw the

West Indies home fromthere. Earlier, asked to batfirst, Sri Lanka posted atotal of 274/6 thankslargely to half-centuries

from AshenBandara (55*)and Hasaranga

(80*).Both sides

will now playtwo Tests,starting nextSunday.

India pacer Jasprit Bumrah announced on Monday that he is married to sportspresenter Sanjana Ganesan. “Steered by love, we have begun a new journeytogether. Today is one of the happiest days of our lives and we feel blessed to beable to share the news of our wedding and our joy with you,” Bumrah andSanjana tweeted on Monday

Windies sweepSL ODI series

PTI n AHMEDABAD

Their confidence soaring highafter a resounding series-lev-elling win, India would look

to build on their new approach ofbatting freely and fearlessly whenthey take on England in the thirdT20, here on Tuesday.

The Men in Blue were off to ahorrible start in the T20 series, suf-fering a eight-wicket loss in theopening match but turned thetables on England with a seven-wicket win in the second game.

In stark contrast from the firstmatch, Virat Kohli and his menexcelled in all departments.

The inclusion of Ishan Kishan,who made a sparkling debut witha 32-ball 56, allowed India to goahead with their new approach thatencourages batsmen to expressthemselves.

Despite losing KL Rahul infirst over with no runs on theboard, the 22-year attacked fromthe word go, smashing Jofra Archerfor a boundary in the very first ballhe faced.

The hosts will also gain con-

PTI n AHMEDABAD

Young batsman IshanKishan says having faced

the best pacers from across theworld during the IPL had givenhim the confidence to play fear-lessly against England on hisIndia debut.

Kishan’s blistering 56-runknock at the top laid the plat-form for India’s comfortableand successful chase in the sec-ond T20 on Sunday night.

The 22-year-old left-han-der acknowledged the contri-bution, the IPL stint has madein his growth as a batsman.

“It obviously helped (toface the likes of Mumbai

Indians teammates Trent Boultand Jasprit Bumrah) in the nets.They are very pacy bowlers and

to hit shots against them givesconfidence,” Kishan said at thepost-match conference.

“In IPL you get to facequality bowlers from across theworld and you start gettingused to these bowlers. And Ithink that really helped me.”

Kishan also said that theteam management had backedhim to play his natural gamewithout feeling the pressure.

“Before the match I wastold to go and open the inningsand play freely the way I playin IPL. I was told not to takeextra pressure. But it being myfirst game I was little nervouswhile going at the ground.”

“But when you wear thejersey of your country thatpressure simply goes away andyou try to give your best.”

The debutant was in awe ofVirat Kohli during their 94-runstand and hopes to pick thebrain of India skipper duringthe five-match series.

“It was proud feeling forme because I had just seen him(Kohli) on TV, his attitude onthe ground, but to see it fromthe other end is totally differ-ent. I think it is somethingwhich I can change in myself,his energy, his appearance onthe ground, there is a lot tolearn from him.

“The way he talks in theground it takes pressure fromyou. I just want to make surethat I learn a lot from him inthis series,” Kishan said.

PTI n AHMEDABAD

India have exposed England’s“weakness” in handling slow

conditions but competing herewill only prepare them well for theT20 World Cup, feels skipper EoinMorgan.

Morgan admitted they strug-gled to get used to the slow surfaceused for the second match onSunday which India won by sevenwickets.

“I suppose the difference wasin the wicket we played and howwe adapted. It was different wick-et from the one we batted in thefirst game. The pitch was slow andlow and one thing that does isexpose our weakness on thesesurfaces a little bit,” said Morgan.

“We don’t play a lot on slow,low wickets and the more that wecan do that, the better. You onlybecome better in these conditionsby playing in them and makingmistakes.”

The English skipper, however,said playing in such tough condi-

tions ahead of the ICC World T20later this year in India, will onlyhelp them.

“I thought the other night (1stT20), the pitch really suited usbecause it had more pace in it —similar to a wicket at home.

“But this (2nd T20 wicket)took us out of our comfort zoneand really was a typical Indianwicket that we would play on in anIPL game. Again, your accuracyhas to be on,” Morgan said.

“You tend to learn quicker ifyou’re winning and confident andeverything goes reasonablysmoothly — you can integrate thelearning quite quickly — but equal-ly, if we have to learn the hard way,we’re still going through thatprocess of trying to learn game-on-game so when it comes to theWorld Cup in seven months’ time,we can be as best prepared.”

KISHAN HELPED KOHLIFormer England captain

Michael Atherton says debutantIshan Kishan’s aggressive batting at

the top helped ‘under-pressure’Virat Kohli settle down and play hisnatural game in the second T20I.

Atherton said Kishan’s fluentbatting (32-ball 56) helped in tak-ing some pressure off Kohli, whohad registered three ducks in hisprevious five innings.

“I think Virat felt under a lit-tle bit of pressure in that first gamebecause of what he’d said in thepress conference about India play-ing a slightly more aggressivegame,” the former England skippertold Sky Sports.

“The problem in that firstgame, with the line-up that Indiahad was that they had quite a lotof similar players in the top-orderand I think Kohli felt pressured.

“He’s (Kohli) an elite playerand scores very quickly but not likea (Rishabh) Pant or, indeed, anIshan Kishan. So when that youngman came in and played the waythat he did, I think that justallowed Kohli to come in and playhis natural game,” he observed.

IPL experience helped Kishan on debut

AFP n TURIN

Cristiano Ronaldo hit back athis critics with a quick-fire

hat-trick as Juventus brushedaside Cagliari 3-1 on Sunday, fivedays after their ChampionsLeague elimination.

Portuguese star Ronaldo

bore the brunt of the criticismfor Juve’s latest European flopafter failing to score in either legof the last-16 defeat by Porto,while also being partly atfault for whatproved

to bethe goal

which knockedthem out.

But the 36-year-old scoreda header in the 10th minute atthe Sardegna Arena, added asecond from the penalty spot 15minutes later, and completed a‘perfect’ treble on 31 minuteswith a fine left-footed strike.

Defending championsJuventus are 10 points behindleaders Inter Milan, who beatTorino 2-1 earlier Sunday, butwith a game in hand.

Andrea Pirlo’s side pulledjust one point behind second-placed AC Milan, whose titlehopes took a big hit following a1-0 home defeat to Napoli.

“Our approach was spot onand it was important to get offon the right foot after beingknocked out the other night,”said Pirlo. “Ronaldo was angrylike the rest of the team. Hereacted like a true champion.”

He could also have been

sent off after a quarter of anhour, receiving only a yellowcard for dangerous play as his

boot struck Cagliari goal-keeper Alessio Cragno in theface while attempting to meet

a Federico Chiesa cross.Ronaldo is the leading scor-

er in Serie A with 23 goals thisseason, ahead of Inter’s RomeluLukaku, who has 19.

His career tally is now 770goals, overtaking Brazil legendPele’s 767 scored in officialmatches which he matched ear-lier this month.

Later at San Siro, AC Milan’s

hopes of a first title since 2011diminished as they failed to winfor their third consecutive gameat home, days before they hostManchester United in their last16 Europa League decider.

Matteo Politano scored theonly goal just after the breakwith Milan finishing the gamea man down after Ante Rebicwas sent off in injury time forarguing with officials.

Napoli’s Champions Leaguehopes have been revived as theymove above Roma into fifthbefore the two sides play nextweekend.

AFP n MADRID

Zinedine Zidane admittedReal Madrid are struggling

to explain Eden Hazard’s fitnessproblems after the club con-firmed the Belgian is injuredagain ahead of Tuesday’sChampions League gameagainst Atalanta.

Hazard came off the benchagainst Elche in La Liga onSaturday to make his firstappearance since January butZidane said in a press con-ference on Monday theBelgian is out again, withwhat the club confirmedwas a “muscle injury inthe right pelvis”.

Zidane said there are“things I cannot explain”regarding Hazard’s fitnessissues and when askedabout the club’s long list ofinjuries, he pointed to var-ious factors including“things up here in the head,which influences a lot”.

Hazard has playedonly 14 times this sea-son for Real Madrid,continuing a night-mare period forthe 30-year-oldforward, who joined

from Chelsea for 100 millioneuros in the summer of 2019.

“He is not going to be fit,”said Zidane. “There are thingsI cannot explain. Like always Itry to stay positive and hope itwill be a little thing. Somethingis happening. He is a playerwho was never injured in hiscareer. We want to help him.”

Real Madrid beat Atalanta1-0 in the first leg in Italy lastmonth as they bid to becomethe first Spanish team to reachthe Champions League quar-

ter-finals.Barcelona and Sevilla

were both knocked out lastweek while Atletico Madrid

face Chelsea onWednesday, hoping to

overturn a 1-0 defeatfrom the first leg athome.

“I have nodoubt Atalanta aregoing to come hereto win,” saidZidane. “We are

going to have toplay very well.The first legmeans noth-ing, we have tostart from

zero.”

Zidane admits confusionafter Hazard injured again

Ronaldo responds to critics with hat-trick

Not surpisedto see Ishanteeing off: RoyPTI n AHMEDABAD

Having seen Ishan Kishan’s exploits in theIPL, England opener Jason Roy was not

surprised at all when he saw the young left-hander taking the game away from his teamin the second T20I.

“He’s obviously a star player, he’s donethat for Mumbai Indians, numerous amountsof time so I wasn’t surprised when I saw himkind of teeing off a bit because everyoneknows he’s a star player so good on him,” Roysaid in a virtual media interaction with theUK media.

“A couple of times he might have got alittle bit wrong with the ball but he capitalisedby hitting it for six. It’s just a case of just mak-ing sure you kind of execute your skillsextremely well.”

India have come into the series with theintention of playing more fearless cricket,which was on display in the second T20.England, on the other hand, are already usedto that brand of cricket.

“It has worked for us in 50 overs crick-et, it worked for us in kind of 10 to 20 gameswe’ve played. Our policy is to play aggressivecricket, but the problem is, when you’re play-ing on pitches like this you have to be a lit-tle bit more calculated. You have to assess ita bit quicker,” said Roy.

“If you’re wanting to play that way, yougot to accept that some days it’s not going togo that way. You are going to be three-fourdown in a powerplay. But with the depth ofour batting lineup, that’s the opportunity itgives to the top order batsmen,” Roy said.

Roy has been consistent with scores of 49and 46 but has not converted into a big knockand that is something he wants to do in theremaining games.

He termed India a class team but saidthey are confident to bounce back onTuesday.

“The boys have bounced back, we’re a fastlearning side. I don’t think there’s been a hugeamount of wind out of our sails to be hon-est,” he concluded.

Utd close in on CL returnManchester: ManchesterUnited tightened their grip ona return to the ChampionsLeague next season as CraigDawson’s own goal earned OleGunnar Solskjaer’s men a 1-0win over West Ham on Sunday.

Victory moved United backabove Leicester into second inthe Premier League and closedthe gap to runaway leadersManchester City to 14 points.

Despite also having a gamein hand on their local rivals, theRed Devils are unlikely to haulin Pep Guardiola’s men but donow enjoy a nine-point cushion

over the fifth-placed Hammersin the battle for ChampionsLeague places.

Former United boss DavidMoyes has failed to win in 15attempts as the visiting manag-er at Old Trafford and the Scotwas left to rue an overly cau-tious approach before fallingbehind early in the secondhalf.

Whille the hosts held outfor a fourth consecutivePremier League clean sheet toclose in on the much-neededresources of Champions Leaguefootball next season. AFP

India exposed Eng weakness in handling slow conditions

Virat Kohli shake hands with Eoin Morganafter end of 2nd T20 match on Sunday AP

Rohit all set to make comeback in XI after ‘couple of games rest’

Kohli & Co eye series leadIndia vvss Eng (3rd T20I)Live from 7:00pm ISTSTAR SPORTS 1 & 1 HINDI

fidence from Kohli unbeateninnings in the second game as hetook the side past the finish line,breaking a sequence of low scores.

The skipper did not have thebest of times in the preceding Testseries and also got out cheaply in thefirst T20. Both Kohli and ShreyasIyer will target big scores.

The bowling department, whichdidn’t have runs to defend in theopener, did a fabulous job to restrictEngland to 164. The biggest positivewould be Hardik Pandya bowlingfour overs which allowed the hoststo go with an extra batsman.

The bowlers will look to repli-cate their good show from the lastmatch where they found theirrhythm.

What India would aspire is abetter effort from Rishabh Pant, whohas been promoted to number fourahead of Iyer. The big-hitting wick-etkeeper has looked lethal in bothoutings but failed to capitalise on hisstarts.

India are unlikely to tinkerwith the winning combination savethe return of star white-ball open-er Rohit Sharma who is expected to

be back in the side after being rest-ed for a couple of games.

With Kishan faring well, KLRahul, who looked out of sorts inboth the outings, is expected tomake way for Rohit.

The primary objective for Indiaremains the same — to get an ideaof the core group of players goinginto the ICC T20 World Cup inOctober.

England attack looked lessthreatening in the absence of MarkWood, who missed the second T20due to a bruised heel. However, skip-per Eoin Morgan confirmed that thepacer will return in the next game.

Opener Jason Roy has looked ingood nick but missed out on half-centuries in both games, He will beeager to go the distance comeTuesday.

With the series locked at 1-1, thethird T20 promises to be a crackerof a contest with both teams be vyingfor the bragging rights at the theNarendra Modi stadium.

With the game set to unfold ona surface that red soil beneath, thespinners are expected to test thebatsmen.

Documents

HYDERABAD, TUESDAY *LATE CITY VOL. 3 ISSUE 144 3 … · 2021. 3. 15. · HYDERABAD, TUESDAY MARCH 16, 2021; PAGES 12 `3 RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469 Established 1864 Published From HYDERABAD