JOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA

THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020, JAIPUR, LATE CITY, 12 PAGES `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMJOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

DIPANKARGHOSEBHAGALPUR, JULY1

THESIGNSofeconomicdistressare obvious. It's the city’s oldest“big hotel”, and at 4 pm on aweekday,with offices andmar-kets nearby, the restaurant ofHotelRajhansisempty.Thereareonlytwowaiters,bothwatchingPrimeMinister NarendraModiannouncemore free ration for

thepoor.Asthespeechends,theoverwhelmingfeelingisofrelief-- anda littledisappointment.Relief, saysSonuKumar, one

of the twowaiters, because “hedidnot announce another lock-down”.Anddisappointment,be-cause he was waiting for thePrimeMinister to tell the coun-try aboutwhatwas happeningontheborderwithChina.“Idon’tmean a ban on goods, becausethat wouldmeanmore losses,butheshouldhaveatleastmen-tionedChina,no?”heasks.Bhagalpuraspirestobecome

oneof the four “SmartCities” inBihar,withmarketsthatsellmo-bilephonesandplastic trinkets,

flatscreen TVs and silk sarees.Here, traders back the govern-ment in its economic offensiveagainst China. But, with an im-portantcaveat: thegovernmentmust provide options that willnot sink the local economy.With 60,000 returningmi-

grants,andaCovidcounttouch-ing500,thedistrictisalsothefo-cusofamonth-longassignmentby The Indian Express to trackhow lives and livelihoods insmalltownIndiaarecopingwiththeunlockdown.The flavour of the week,

though,isChina.Orrather,ChinaMarket, opposite theBhagalpurrailway station. Its small shops

sellcheapelectronicequipment,most of it sourced from China.There is a torch that sells for Rs230, an emergency light for Rs150, plastic bats, toys. But therearenocustomers.“China killed 20 of our sol-

dierson theborder,wearewiththe government. Who doesn’twant to sell Indian goods? Butarethereanyinthemarket?Giveus an alternative,” saysManishSah, a shopkeeper.“Ourbusinesshasfallenover

90percent.Muchof themarketrevolvedaroundtherailwaysta-tion, and since that is shut, ex-cept for one train, everything isgone. If the government bansChineseitemswithoutgivingusanyotheroptions,wherewillwego?” asks another shopkeeper,whodoesnotwishtobenamed.As for those clamouring for

war, there is a word of cautionoutsidethedistrictsoldierswel-

fareoffice,about3kmaway.Andtheman voicing it is HonoraryNaikSubedarYogendraMandal,whospent24yearsintheIndianArmy, serving in the 10th andthenthe14thBiharregiment.Hespent fouryears inLadakh, overtwo terms, and is one of thenearly 6,000 ex-servicemenfromBhagalpurdistrict.That's not all. Both his sons

arealso in the IndianArmyand,he says, one of them is beingmovedtoGalwanValley,thesiteoftheviolentface-offwithChinatwoweeksago.“Iknowhowdifficulttheter-

rainis.Iwaspostedabout110kmCONTINUEDONPAGE2

PAGE1ANCHOR

TheChinaMarket inBhagalpur; (Right)HonoraryNaikSubedarYogendraMandal servedfor20years.His twosonsare intheArmy,oneposted inGalwanValley.DipankarGhose

ASADISTRICTUNLOCKS

ANEXPRESS SERIES

In China Market: ‘Want to sell Indian goods but where are they?’

EXPRESSNETWORK

SECONDBLAST IN 2MONTHSATGOVTPLANT IN TN, 6 DEADTNCUSTODYDEATH:SUB-INSPECTORARRESTEDPAGE4

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

TWODAYSAFTERBANONAPPS

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, PATNA, JULY1

INAMOVE that targets Chinesetrade and investments in India,the government Wednesday

said itwould not allowChinesecompanies to participate inhighway projects includingthosethroughjointventuresandalsonotallowChineseinvestorsinmicro,smallandmediumen-terprises (MSMEs).

“Wewill not givepermissiontojointventuresthathaveChinesepartnersforroadconstruction.Wehavetakenafirmstandthatifthey(Chinese companies) come viajoint venture in our country,wewill notallow it,”UnionMinisterforRoadTransport,HighwaysandMSMENitin Gadkari told newsagencyPTI inaninterview.OnMSMEs,hesaidwhilethe

effortwas to enhance local pro-ductioncapacity, foreigninvest-mentwasalsobeingpromoted.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

SUSHANTSINGH&KRISHNKAUSHIKNEWDELHI, JULY1

A DAY after XIV CorpsCommanderLtGeneralHarinderSingh and South XinjiangMilitary Region CommanderMajorGeneralLiuLinheldexten-sive talks at the Chushul borderpointonwaystoreducetensionsalong the Line of Actual Controlin Ladakh, Army sources indi-cated that moremeetings andtalkswill beneeded, bothat themilitaryanddiplomaticlevels,to

breakthe impasse.Sourcessaidbothsides,atthe

meeting that went on for 11hours,“emphasisedtheneedfor

anexpeditious,phasedandstep-wisede-escalationasapriority”.Thiswasthethirdmeetingofthe

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

RajnathSingh, J&KL-GGirishChandraMurmuWednesday.PTI

CurbsonuseofChinese telecomgear,BSNLcancelstenderfor4G

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, JULY1

USSECRETARYof StateMichaelR Pompeo Wednesday wel-comed India’s ban on Chinesemobileapplicationscallingthem“appendages of CommunistParty of China's surveillancestate.” And Australian PrimeMinister Scott Morrison un-veiledAustralia’sDefencestrate-gic update inwhich he referredto the India-Chinastand-off.FromAustraliatoJapan,United

States toAseanand countries inEurope,a loosestrategiccoalitionis taking on China even asNewDelhi tries tobreak thedeadlockwith Beijing amid the standoffalongtheLineofActualControl.Though this is not linked to

SouthBlock’scoercivediplomacy,CONTINUEDONPAGE2

US backs appban; Chinachill promptspushbackelsewhere too

Wehavetakenafirmstand:NitinGadkari

Chinese firmsbarred fromroadprojects, investing inMSMEs

LAC stalemate: More meetings needed,Rajnath, Army chief in Ladakh tomorrow

Athree-year-oldboywalksawayfromthebodyofhisgrandfather(notshowninthisphotograph)whowaskilledwhenmilitantsopenedfireonCRPFpersonnel inSopore, JammuandKashmir,onWednesday.ACRPFheadconstablediedintheattack.ANI

3-yr-old watching, his grandfather andCRPF head constable killed in SoporeNAVEEDIQBAL,ADILAKHZER&BASHAARATMASOODSRINAGAR,SOPORE, JULY1

THE THREE-year-old pretendshishandisagun,turnstheindexfinger towardshimself, actsas ifhe is pulling the trigger, andmimics thesoundof gunshots.It’s several hours since the

toddler was photographed sit-ting on the bodyof his grandfa-ther, killedduringanencounteratSoporeonWednesdaymorn-ing. He is still wearing the bluetrack pants and full-sleeved

T-shirtthatofficersattheSoporePoliceStationboughtforhim,tochange him out of his blood-stainedclothes.The J&K Police, which re-

leased the boy’s photos sayingtheyhadrescuedhimat thesiteof theencounter,saidhisgrand-father, 65-year-old BashirAhmad Khan, was killedwhenmilitantsopenedfireonsecurityforcesontheoutskirtsofSopore.The CRPF,which lost aHead

Constablewhilethreeof itsmenwere injured, said they had gotoff theirvehicles tosetuparou-tinecheckpointwhentheattackhappened. “Militants hiding in

theatticof amosquestartedfir-ing indiscriminately,” a CRPFspokesmansaid, identifyingthedeceased as Head ConstableDeep Chand. While they firedback,theCRPFsaid,themilitantsmanagedtoescape.As the boy listens, back at

Khan’shomeontheoutskirtsofSrinagar, the family accuses po-liceof shootingKhanafterdrag-ging him out of his car. He qui-etly hands over a glass of watertohismotherIram,whoisincon-solable at the loss of her father.“Couldn’t they see he was ac-companiedbyachild?”shecries.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Powered by entry-levelsurge, Maruti, Hyundaisee spike in June salesSANDEEPSINGHNEWDELHI, JULY1

MARUTI SUZUKI India andHyundai Motor India have re-ported a sharp rise in sales inJuneover thepreviousmonth–spikes driven by pent-up de-mand for cars, and a trend offirst-timebuyerschoosingsmallandcompactvehiclesinordertoavoidusingpublic transport.Bothcarmakershaveexperi-

encedafasterrecoveryinsalesinruralareasthatarelessimpactedbytheCovid-19pandemic.Thereis alsogreaterdemand forCNG-run vehicles amid the continu-ousincreaseinthepriceofpetrolover thepastmonth.Maruti Suzuki India, the

biggestmanufacturerofpassen-ger vehicles in the country, an-nounced sales of 51,274units inthe domestic market in June

2020. HyundaiMotor India an-nouncedthesaleof21,320unitsin June.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

AUTOMAKERSBELIEVEtheyareseeingsomepent-updemand,alongwithpeoplemovingawayfrompublictransportastheeconomyreopensslowlyevenasthepandemicrageson.Availabilityofcreditoneasiertermsisalsohelping.

Someshunningpublictransport

121DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

KEYSTATESTOWATCH■Maharashtra■TamilNadu■Delhi■Telangana■Haryana

7 DAYS EARLIER:

3.17NOW:

2.97

7 DAYS EARLIER:

6.20NOW:

6.63

DETECTED TODAY

18,653RECOVERED TODAY:

13,157

TOTALCASES1,74,76190,16787,36016,33914,548

DOUBLINGRATE**21.6614.7618.229.0421.24

SURGEIN24HOURS4,8783,9432,199945338

7-DAYAVGGROWTH*3.32%4.88%3.95%7.97%3.39%

TRACKING INDIA’SCOVIDCURVE

CASES:5,85,492TESTS: 88,26,525 | DOUBLING RATE: 19.84**

RECOVERED:3,47,978DEATHS: 17,400

*CompoundedDailyGrowthRateover last7days **Calculatedover7-daygrowth

BasedondailydatafromUnionMinistryofHealth, ICMRandstates.Oftendailynumbers includedatafrompreviousdays.Assuch, trendsbasedondailynumbersare indicative,notdefinitive

CASE FATALITYRATIO

Deaths as a ratio ofpositive cases (in %);indicator of progressin averting deaths

Positives againstnumber tested

(in %); indicator ofthe spread of disease

Becoming sick vsrecovering; more

recoveries for 14 daysmay signal the peak

POSITIVITY RATE DAILY IN, DAILYOUT

9 of 12 confession statementsnear copies of one anotherKAUNAINSHERIFFMNEWDELHI, JULY1

THE POLICE have charged 12with the brutal murder of 20-year-old waiter Dilbar Negi onFebruary 26 in the Delhi riots.Negi’sbodywasfoundmutilatedand charred in Anil Sweets inShiv Vihar, the shop where heworked.Besidesmurder, theaccused

have also been charged withcriminalconspiracy,rioting,andpromoting enmity betweengroups.A scrutiny of their confes-

sion statements by The IndianExpress reveals a pattern: Nineof the 12 accused have state-ments near identical – wordsand sentences are repeated adverbatim.Three of the remaining ac-

cused have distinct statementswhere they talkof howtheygot

a pistol and one admits that hestarted“indiscriminatefiringonHindus.”These statements, recorded

under Section 161 CrPC and at-tached in the chargesheet, arenotsubstantiveevidencebutcanbeusedtocorroborateorcontra-dict evidence during the trial.The chargesheet has been filedin the court of ChiefMetropolitan Magistrate,Karkardooma.Alltheaccusedareinjudicial

custody.

Matching excerpts forfour: SeelampurConsider the matching ex-

cerpts in the following state-ments of Azad (24),Rashid/Monu (20), Ashraf Ali(29) and Mohd Faizal (20) re-lated to theSeelampur riots:AZAD: “In the last few days,therewereprotestsagainstCAA

CONTINUEDONPAGE5

DELHIRIOTSMURDERCHARGESHEET

KAUNAINSHERIFFMNEWDELHI, JULY1

WHILENINEof the12havenearidentical confessions, the re-maining three, Shahnawaz,SalmanandSonuSaifi,havesep-arate statements inwhich theytalkofprocuringapistolandoneadmits to “firingatHindus.”According to Shahnawaz’s

statement -- part of the DelhiPolice chargesheet in themur-der of Dilbar Negi -- as he sawthe crowd coming fromMustafabad, “I andmy friends,Sahil Parvez, Salman and theirfriends collected sticks, match-stickandbottles.”

CONTINUEDONPAGE5

3 admit to pistol,firing; hunt onfor 24 suspects

JOHNSONTABENGALURU, JULY1

ASYSTEMdesignedtocentralisebed allocations in Bengaluru,with themunicipal corporationgiven the powers to inform pa-tients,determinetheseverityoftheir symptoms, and ensuretheir transfer in ambulances tohospitalsorcarecentres,hasledtochaos in thecity.Ambulances, often carrying

multiple people, arewaiting forhours outside hospitals as thelatter demand paperwork re-gardingtests,whichisnotbeing

madeavailable topatients.On June 27, Karnataka

Director of Health and FamilyWelfareServicesDrOmPrakashPatil issuedacircularforbiddinggovernmentandprivatelabora-tories from conveying positiveresults of Covid tests to individ-uals concerned directly. Theywere told to upload the resultson the ICMR portal and onlysharedetailswithstateofficials.RevenueMinister R Ashoka,

who was given charge of the

state’s anti-coronavirusmeas-uresonJune25,saidoncethere-sult was known, officials of theBBMP (Bruhat BengaluruMahanagara Palike) “who haveaccesstoaspreadsheetwiththelatesthospitalbedpositionswillfind a vacancy and coordinatewiththepatientandambulanceservicestotakethepatienttotherighthospital”.Whilethiswasmeanttopre-

ventasituationwherepatientsCONTINUEDONPAGE2

TESTREP RTSFROMTHE

FIELDTRACKINGTHEVIRUS,

LOCKDOWN

PARESHDAVEOAKLAND(CALIFORNIA), JULY1

CALIFORNIAREGULATORSsuedCisco Systems Inc Tuesday, ac-cusing it of discriminatingagainstanIndian-Americanem-ployee and allowing him to beharassed by twomanagers be-causehewasfromalowercastethan them.USemploymentlawdoesnot

specificallybar caste-baseddis-crimination, but California'sDepartmentofFairEmploymentand Housing contends in thelawsuitthattheHinducastesys-tem is based on religion, whichisaprotectedclass.The lawsuit, filed in federal

court inSanJose,doesnotnamethe alleged victim. It states thathehasbeenaprincipalengineeratCisco's San Joseheadquarterssince October 2015 and that hewas born at the bottom of thecastehierarchyasaDalit.LikeotherlargeSiliconValley

employers,Cisco'sworkforcein-cludes thousands of Indian im-migrants, most of whomwereborn Brahmins or other highcastes.Former Cisco engineering

managers Sundar Iyer andRamana Kompella also are de-fendants in the lawsuit, whichaccuses themofharassment forinternallyenforcingthecastehi-erarchy.Cisco spokeswoman Robyn

Blum said the network gearmakerfolloweditsprocesstoin-vestigate employee concerns inthis caseandwould “vigorouslydefenditself”againstthelawsuit.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Californiaregulatorsaccuse Ciscoof caste bias

THEEDITORIALPAGE

HORSEMENOFTHEAPOCALYPSEBYSYEDAKBARUDDINPAGE6

Govt ICUs full, beds short, Bengaluru battleagainst surge leaves ambulances stranded

INDIA BREAKS SILENCEON HONG KONG PAGE 4

Jaipur

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

SoporeKhan’s son Suhail Ahmad askswhyKhanwouldhavecomeoutof his car in themidst of firing,addingthereisnobulletmarkonthe vehicle. “They say he waskilledincross-fire.Thenheshouldhavediedinsidethevehicle.”TheJ&KPoliceandCRPFhave

deniedthefamily’sallegations,in-cluding that security forces tookphotosofKhan’sbody.Soonafterthe shootout, the J&K Policetweetedpicturesofanofficercar-rying the boy after his “rescue”.Minutes later, pictures appearedof himsitting on thebodyof hisgrandfatheronsocialmedia.National Conference leader

OmarAbdullahaccusedthesecu-rity forces of using the boy as a“propaganda tool”. “Everythingbecomesapropagandatoolinthebloody violence in Kashmir. Athreeyearoldtoddlerhastohavehismiserybroadcasttothewholeworldtodrivehomethe‘wegoodtheybad’message,”hetweeted.Omar also said, “Wewould

have expected no less from themeninuniformthantorescuetheyoung boy& for that they haveour gratitude butwewould ex-pectbetterthanforthemtofilm&useathreeyearold’spainthewayit’sbeingdonetoday.”PDP president Mehbooba

Mufti’s daughter Iltija Muftitweeted fromhermother’shan-dle: “Two versions aboutwhatcausedthedeathofa65yearoldcivilianinSopore.FamilyhasheldCRPF responsible for his coldbloodedmurder.”At a press conference, IGP,

Kashmir,VijayKumarsaid,“Ifanycivilian says that the CRPF hasdone this, please cometousandreport.Wewilltakeaction.Thisisnot true at all. It is just to spreadrumours and create lawandor-derproblems.”CRPF Special DG (J&K Zone)

Zulfiqar Hassan told The IndianExpress, “I can say that the anglefromwherethefirecameandhitthecivilian, itwas fromthemili-tantside…Thecivilian,whowascaughtinthemiddleofthefiring,mayhavegotouttotakecover.”Thefamilysaysthatthethree-

year-old, the youngest of threesiblings,wasdeeply attached tohisgrandfather.“Heaccompaniedhimeverywhere, sleptwithhimand looked forhimthemomenthe got up in themorning,” Iramsays.EarlyWednesdaymorning,Khanhad takenhimalongashedrovetoHandwara,viaSopore,tofetchthefamily’sdomestichelp.SpeakinginamixofUrduand

Kashmiri,theboywondersatthecrowdathisnana’shouse.ThefactthatKhanisnomorehasnotreg-istered; he askshismother if hecangoout to look, as “nana is inthecarwaitingforme”.Thefamilymarvelsthathees-

capedwithoutascratch.Anaunt,who picked him up from theSoporePoliceStationandgothimhome,says,“Itisamiraclethatthebulletsmissedhim.”

Cisco“Cisco is committed toan in-

clusiveworkplaceforall,”shesaid.“Wewere fully in compliancewith all laws aswell as our ownpolicies.”IyerandKompelladidnotre-

spond to requests for comment.Itwasnot immediatelyknownifthetwohaveretainedattorneys.ThecivilrightsgroupEquality

Labs ina2018report cited in thelawsuit foundthat67percentofDalits surveyed felt treated un-fairlyattheirUSworkplaces.At Cisco, the unnamed em-

ployee reported Iyer to HR inNovember2016foroutinghimasaDalittocolleagues.Iyerallegedlyretaliated, but Ciscodeterminedcastediscriminationwasnotille-gal,andissuescontinuedthrough2018,thelawsuitstates.Ciscoreassignedandisolated

theemployee,rejectedaraiseandopportunitiesthatwouldhaveledto one and denied two promo-tions,accordingtothelawsuit.REUTERS

LAC stalemateCorpsCommanders—themeet-ings on June6and June22wereheldatMoldoontheChinesesideof theLAC,oppositeChushul.In Beijing, Chinese Foreign

Ministry spokesperson ZhaoLijian told reporters: “The twosides continueworking towardsimplementing the consensusreachedatthetwoearlierroundsof commander-level talks andmadeprogressineffectivemeas-uresbyfrontlinetroopstodisen-gage andde-escalate the situa-tion.Chinawelcomesthat.”“WehopetheIndiansidewill

workwith the Chinese side to-wards the same goal, keep upclose communication throughmilitaryanddiplomaticchannels,andeasethesituationandreducethe temperature along the bor-der,”Zhaosaid.Meanwhile,DefenceMinister

Rajnath Singh will be visitingLadakhFridayforareviewof thesituation.AccompaniedbyArmychiefGeneralMMNaravaneandNorthernArmyCommander LtGeneralYKJoshi,Singhwillinter-actwithtroopsandwillbebriefedbymilitary commanders. Thiswillbehis firstvisit toLadakhaf-tertensionsbeganinMay.Army sources said the

TuesdaymeetingatChushul“waslong andheld in a business-likemanner keeping in view theCovid-19protocols”. Thediscus-sions,sourcessaid,“reflectedthecommitmentof bothsides tore-ducetensionsalongtheLAC”.“Moremeetingsareexpected

both at themilitary and at thediplomatic level, in future, to ar-rive atmutually agreeable solu-tionandtoensurepeaceandtran-quility along the LAC as perbilateral agreements andproto-cols,”sourcessaid.The sources did not refer to

any ‘consensus’ or ‘agreement’reachedondisengagementorde-escalation.“Theprocessofdisen-gagement along the LAC is com-plex,”sourcessaid.Disengagement refers to the

process inwhich troops of twosidespullbackfromstandoffpo-sitionsorsituationsofcloseprox-imity, therebyending such face-to-facesituations.De-escalation,in contrast, refers to both sidesbringing downenhanced trooplevels tomore ‘normal’ levels,therebyreducingriskofconflict.A security official told The

Indian Express that during themeeting the Chinese sidestonewalledalldiscussionsonthePangong Tso area where theyhave moved eight kilometreswest on to the Indian sideof theLAC, and are in a faceoff withIndiansoldiersbetweenFinger4andFinger3.Therewasalsonosubstantive

discussionon theDepsang area,where Indian patrols are nolonger being allowed to reachPP10,PP11,PP11A,PP12andPP13—onthearc formedbyRakiandJivannalas—byChinesetroopsataplacecalledBottleneck.PangongTsoandDepsangare

two ‘areas of friction’where thetwosidesdonotagreeonthe lo-cationof theLAC.According to the official, the

emphasisisonatleast“maintain-ingtheequilibrium”sothatnoin-cident, like theoneon June15 inGalwanValley,where 20 Indiansoldiersandanunspecifiednum-berofChinesesoldiersdied,takesplacesbetweenthetwosides.Another government official

saidthatthe“talksatthemilitarylevelareameanstokeepthenewstatusquostable”eventhoughtheIndianpositionisunequivocalonseeking restorationof status quoante as of April on the LAC. ThishasbeenconveyedtotheChinesesiderepeatedly,theofficialsaid.According to the official, the

progress in these talkshas tobeseen from the prism of the“groundsituation,”whichhaswit-nessed no change in the recentpast.OnTuesday,bothsidesreiter-atedtheconsensusarrivedonJune6, butprogresshasbeendifficult

becauseofhighdegreeofmistrustandChineseintransigence.The official said they expect

this tobea“longhaul”andthereis fear it could eventually lead toa“hardenedall-seasonLAC”.Theofficial cited the example of theKargil-Dras sector on the LineofControl(LoC)withPakistanwhichhadno round-the-clockdeploy-ment of forces before the 1999KargilWar.Now,thereisamoun-taindivisionwhichisdeployedinthatareathroughtheyear.

US backs app banmovesbythesecountriesaddupto a concertedpushback againstBeijing.Pompeo,whowasbriefing re-

porters inWashingtonDC, said,“WewelcomeIndia’sbanoncer-tainmobileappsthatcanserveasappendagesofCCP’ssurveillancestate. India’s cleanappapproachwillboostIndia’ssovereignty,willalsoboostIndia’sintegrityandna-tionalsecurity,astheIndiangov-

ernment itself has stated.”Morrison Wednesday

announced Australia’s 2020DefenceStrategicUpdate, a270-billionAustralian dollar 10-yeardefenceplanwhich includes, forthe first time, land, sea and air-basedlong-rangeandhypersonicstrikemissiles.Significantly, the India-China

standofffiguresinitsassessment.“Tensions over territorial claimsare rising across the Indo-Pacificregion, aswehave seen recentlyonthedisputedborderbetweenIndia and China, and the SouthChinaSea,andtheEastChinaSea.The risk of miscalculation andeven conflict is heightening…Previous assumptions of endur-ing advantage and technologicaledgearenolongerconstantsandcannot be relied upon. Coerciveactivities are rife,”Morrison saidattheUpdate’sannouncement.This comes days after

AustralianLabourMPShaoquettMoselmane,whopraisedChina’s

handlingofthecoronaviruscrisis,was questioned by policewhoraidedhishomeaspartofaprobeintowhetherChineseagentshaveinfiltratedhisoffice.OnTuesday,Japan delivered its toughestwords to China on the issue ofHongKong after Beijing report-edlypassedasweepingnationalsecuritylawforthecitythatTokyosaidwould shake internationalfaith in the “one-country, two-systems”principle.Japan and China are also

locked in awar of words over aJapanesemovetochangethead-ministrativestatusoftheSenkakuIslands,whichChina claimsandreferstoastheDiaoyuIslands.Also, last week, India and

Japan Navies conducted their15thjoint“goodwilltraining”ex-erciseintheIndianOcean.The US Federal Communi-

cations Commission’s designa-tionof Huawei Technologies Co.andZTECorp. as “national secu-ritythreats,”isseenastightening

thescrewsonChinesemanufac-turers.Thisis likelytohaveanim-pactonothercountries,includingIndia,which isyet tomakeupitsmindonthe5Grollout.TwoUSaircraftcarrierskicked

offjointexercisesinthePhilippineSeaSunday,aweekafter theUSSNimitz and another carrier, theUSSTheodoreRooseveltconductedtheirownjointoperations in thearea. It is rare tosee threeUSair-craft carriers operating at thesametimeintheWesternPacificand evenmore unusual to haveseparatedual-carrierexercisessoclosetoeachother.OnSaturday, theAssociation

of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) said, in a statement is-suedbyVietnamonbehalfofthe10-nation bloc, that a 1982U.N.oceanstreatyshouldbethebasisof sovereign rights and entitle-mentsinthedisputedwaterway.Europe, too, iswaking up to

theChina challenge,withmanyleaders condemning Beijing’s

movetopressaheadwithitsnewsecuritylawsinHongKongwarn-ing that itwill speed up the re-assessment of China as a trust-worthyeconomicpartner.EuropeanUnionCouncilpres-

identCharlesMichelsaid“wede-plore thedecision”and theheadof the European Commission,UrsulavonderLeyen,saidtheblocwasdiscussing,withinternationalpartners, anypossiblemeasuresinresponse.TheEUrecentlyannounceda

newschememeanttofightbackagainstChina’suseofstatesubsi-diestogiveitsfirmsanunfairad-vantage against European rivals.A long-planned investmentscreeningmechanismmeant toshieldkeyEuropeanfirmsandin-dustries frompredatory acquisi-tionswillfinallybeimplemented,amoveseenasanattempttokeepChinaincheck.NewDelhi iswatching these

movescarefully,awarethathowitconductsnegotiationswithChinaisalsobeingwatchedworldwide,saidaseniorofficial.“ThatChina’speaceful rise is amythhas beenreinforcedthroughitsaggressivebehaviourinthelastfewmonths.More andmore countries willpushback,”hesaid.

Bengaluruwentfromhospitaltohospitalforabed,onpaperithasledtoprob-lemsofitsownasBengalurusees500-pluscasesdaily.On Tuesday, a 25-year-old

pregnant woman was left atVictoria Hospital — the largestCovid facility in the city—by anambulance. As the hospitalsought a copyof her test results,herhusbandtrieddesperatelytoreachtheBBMPofficialwhohadcalledthem.“Mywifehadbeengoing for

regularexaminationstoamater-nity hospital near ourhome.OnMonday, they askedher to get aCovid-19 test done. Today a cityofficialtoldusshehastestedpos-itiveandmustbeadmittedinhos-pital…They arenot allowingusinaswedonothaveacopyofthereport,” the 26-year-old said,standingwith her outside thehospital. “She is in goodhealth, Ido not knowwhy theywant toadmither.”Karnatakarequireshospitalor

institutionalquarantine,depend-ingonsymptoms,forallCovid-19patients. OnWednesday, withcasessurging,expertsadvisedthegovernment to adopt a homequarantine policy for asympto-maticcases.Bengaluru has been seeing

more than500 cases daily sinceJune27,with thehighest single-dayspikeof783onJune28.Itsac-tivecasenumbersstandat4,649ason July 1,with191patients inICU.Of itstotal5,290cases,4,932havebeenreportedinJunealone.As on June 27, out of 2,033

bedsavailableacrossgovernmentfacilitiesinBengaluru,1,770wereoccupied.All100ICUbedsingov-ernment hospitals were full.While around 1,500 beds areavailable in private hospitals onpaper for coronavirus patients,theyhavenotbeenofficiallyallot-tedtotheState.TusharGirinath,theofficialin-

chargeof streamliningbedallo-cations for Covid 19 patients inBengaluru,saidtheyhavedetailsregarding vacancies in all hospi-tals. “Hospital bedpositions areupdatedat regular intervals andpatients are allotted tohospitalsonthisbasis,”Girinathsaid.However, ambulancedrivers

say it is theywho are facing thebrunt of the new system. “Wehavebecomelikecallcentres,”MRudresh, an ambulance driverwhohadjustdepositeda35-year-old, severely unwell patient atBowringHospital,said.“BBMPof-ficials tell us topickupapatientanddropthem.Wehavetocoor-dinatebetweenthepatientsandhospitals.Sometimesthepatientsdonot have thedocuments andweare shuntedbetweenhospi-tals. It ischaotic.”Rudresh said recently, one

ambulancewasused to pick upfivepatients.“Onedoctorrefusedtogetin.”Another ambulance driver

saidhespentanhouronMondayatVictoriaHospitalasrelativesofa 56-year-old patient tried toarrange for a copyof her test re-port.“Thehospitalsaidthedocu-mentationwasnotright.”Ahospitalofficialsaidtherel-

ativeshadahandwrittennoteofthetestresult.“WeneedaPDF.”An official at a government

hospital being used to treat“mediumrisk”patients,however,said the streamlining of admis-sionsbeingtriedbythenewsys-temwasessential.OnJune27,forexample, the official said, “Wehad20patientswaiting outsidewhenallour150bedswerefull.”UnderKarnataka’sthree-level

systemofcategorisationof coro-navirus patients, those sympto-matic and in vulnerable groups,liketheelderlyabove60,pregnantwomenand thosewith co-mor-bidities, are to be admitted inCovid19hospitals;theelderlyandthose below60with no symp-tomsbutco-morbiditiesaretobetaken to dedicated state healthcentresorprivatehospitals;low-riskcasestoCovidCareCentres.Till the third week of June,

Bengaluru looked likeoneof thecoronavirus success storiesamongmega cities—with 827casesand43deathsatatimethatMumbai had 60,228 cases and3,167deaths,Delhi 44,688 casesand 1,837 deaths; and Chennai34,245 cases and422deaths. Itspracticeof quarantiningpositivecases and identifying contactswithin 24hours of apositive re-sultwaslaudedasafactor.Underlining the seriousness

ofthebedcrisisnow,aseniordoc-tor at aCovidhospital inBengal-uru said, “Wedon’t knowwhenwewillreachthelimit; italreadylookslikewe’regettingthere.”

China Marketfrom Leh... There was a placecalledtheThreeSistersmountainwhere you could see China. Itused to be so cold that our foodwasneverwarm,andwehadnoappetite,”Mandalrecalls.Thenewsoftheborderdeaths

shookhim.“Sofar,whatwehavesaidanddoneinresponseisokay,butmoremust follow. I amsurethatModi is looking for the righttimeandopportunity,”hesays.Mandalwarns, though, that

the cost of war is terrible. “Oureconomicsituationandtheirswillboth be damaged, our lives andtheir lives will both be lost.Perhaps,first,wecantryandsolveitwithoutbullets,"hesays.That's the hope across the

markets of Bhagalpur, includ-ing the Khalifabagh bazarwhere Chinese phones areneatlypackedinpolythene,andbusiness has picked up in thelast twoweekssincethereturnof migrant workers. At everycorner is a shop that sells elec-tronics,oramobilephone,withbillboards of Vivo, Xiaomi orOppo.Says the local distributor of

a Chinese smartphone brand:“In Eastern Bihar, we usuallysell as many as 15,000 phonesa month. Combine that withthe two other Chinese brands,that’s above 60 per cent of themarket.” But over the pastmonth, as the rhetoric againstChina and for “Make in India”has grown, he has been scour-ing the market for opportuni-ties, to no avail.“Iftheybanthesephones,like

theydidTiktok,thefirstthingthatwillhappenisthat22Indiansthatwork in this officewill lose theirjobs.Then, theIndiansthatworkinthecompany'sfactoriesinIndiawill losetheir jobs,”hesays.Onhis table is a newsticker:

Below the nameof the Chinesebrand,itsays“MakeinIndia”witha logo that has the TajMahal, apeacock, the IPL symbol, theMake-in-Indialion,andalotus.

FULLREPORTSONwww.indianexpress.com

FROMPAGEONE

Chinese firms barred from road projectsButhere too, Chinese investorswould not be allowed. "Forupgradationof technology, re-search, consultancy and otherworks,wewill encourage for-eign investment and joint ven-tures inMSMEs, but in case ofChinese,wewill not entertainthem,"Gadkarisaid.Already,theCentralgovern-

mentseemstobemovinginthedirection. Sources in the Bihargovernment said a tender forconstruction of amega bridgeover Ganga at Patnawas can-celled.Thoughtechnicalreasonshavebeencitedforthecancela-tion, state government sourcessaid “chances of Chinese com-paniesgettingthebid”couldbethemainreason.Afreshtenderfor the Rs 2,900-crore project,wouldnowopenonJuly30.Whencontacted,BiharRoad

Construction Minister NandKishore Yadav told The IndianExpress, “It is true that five ofseven bidders were Chinesecompanies and five of thesecompanieshadbeencollaborat-ingtogettheproject.Therehadbeen incomplete paperworkandhence the tenderwas can-celled,”hesaid.Separately, theDepartment

of Telecommunications (DoT)onWednesday formally can-celled theMarch23 tender for

4Gnetwork installation, plan-ning,testing,andmaintenance,floated by state-run BharatSancharNigamLimited (BSNL)and Mahanagar TelephoneNigam Limited's (MTNL), ac-cording to official documentsaccessedby The Indian Express.The DoT has decided to barChinesetelecomvendorsinthenewtender.These decisions come

withintwodaysoftheMinistryof Electronics and InformationTechnologybanning59appsofChineseoriginincludingTikTok,UCBrowser andShareIt onna-tionalsecurityconcerns.Itispartof the government’s coercivediplomacytosendastrongsig-nalandmessagetoBeijingthatitcannotbebusinessasusual.Twomonths ago, in April,

theDepartment for Promotionof Industry and Internal Trade,hadmadeitmandatoryforfor-eign direct investment fromneighbouringcountries to takepriorgovernmentapproval.TheDPIIT move, also targeted atChineseinvestmentsintoIndia,wastakentocurbopportunistictakeovers/acquisitionsofIndiancompanies during times ofCovid-19pandemic,whenval-uationswereatnewlows.AccordingtoGadkari,apol-

icy will be out soon banning

Chinese firms and relaxingnorms for Indiancompanies toexpand their eligibility criteriafor participation in highwayprojects.Therewereafewproj-ects undertaken earlierwhichinvolved Chinese partners.Whenaskedaboutthis,hesaidthenewdecisionwouldbeim-plementedincurrentandfuturetenders.Withrespecttoexistingten-

ders and future bids, Gadkarisaidrebiddingwouldbedoneiftherewere any Chinese jointventures. “Wehavedecided torelaxnorms forourcompaniesto ensure that they qualify forbidding in largeprojects. IhavedirectedtheHighwaysSecretary(GiridharAramane) andNHAIChairman(SSSandhu)toholdameeting for relaxing technicalandfinancialnormssothatourcompaniescanqualifytowork,”hesaid.Elaboratingonit,hesaidif a contractor canqualify for asmallproject,hecanqualify fora large one too. "Constructionnorms are not good so I haveasked to change it. We arechanging it so thatwe can en-courage Indian companies,” hesaid.Accordingtohim,qualifica-

tionnorms for projects are be-ingrationalisedtoensureIndiancompaniesdonotrequiretoen-

terintopactswithforeignpart-nerstograbprojects.“Evenifwehavetogoforforeignjointven-ture in the areas of technology,consultancy or design,wewillnotallowChinese,”Gadkarisaid.In the telecom sector, the

DoTdecisiontobaruseofequip-mentprovidedbyChinesetele-com vendors could lead tohighercostsaswellasadelayintherolloutof4Gservicesbythestate-run telcos,which are al-readybehindprivateoperatorsin implementing the technol-ogy. Both BSNL andMTNL donothavea4Gnetwork.“Thecostsforuscouldbe25-

30per cent higher now if newtenderbarsthem(Chineseven-dors).Weare also anticipatingdelayof 2-3years fromnormalschedule,”anofficialsaid.According to industry esti-

mates, Chinese telecom gearvendorshavea25percentsharein the total Rs12,000 croredo-mesticmarket. For both BSNLandMTNL,whose3Gnetworksmainly comprise equipmentfrom Shenzhen-based ZTE, ashift to European vendors islikelytoputfurtherstressonitslimitedresources.

(WITHINPUTSFROMPTI,AASHISHARYANINNEW

DELHIANDSANTOSHSINGHINPATNA)

MSILandHMILhavecloseto70percentshareinthedomes-ticmarket. In thesmallcarseg-ment, these two automakershaveanevenbiggershare.MSIL and HMIL also ex-

ported4,289and5,700unitsre-spectivelyinJune2020.While retail sales forMSIL

and Hyundai India are downby 53.8 per cent and 49 percentrespectivelyfromthecor-responding month last year,bothcompanieshavereportedsharp increases in sales overMay2020.While MSIL sold almost

four times its May sales of13,865 units in the domesticmarket, HyundaiMotors soldmorethanthreetimestheMaynumberof 6,883units.“Retail inquiries, bookings

are back at 80-85 per cent ofpre-Covid levels, ShashankSrivastava, ED, sales andmar-keting at MSIL, said. The rea-son,hesaid,wasa“mixofsev-eral factors”.“Whilethereissomepent-

up demand, a big part of thisriseindemandisonaccountofpeople moving away frompublic transport andwantingto have their own vehicle.Besides, facilitationintermsofflexiblefinancingschemesbe-

ing offered in these times hasalsohelped,” Srivastavasaid.Headdedthatwhilesmaller

carsaregettinga lotof traction,“there is a clear trend of cus-tomersshiftingtowardsCNGaspetrolpriceshaveshotupsignif-icantlyoverthelastone-month.Wehavealsoseenfasterrecov-ery in rural markets less im-pactedbyCovid-19.”AHyundaiIndiaofficialcon-

firmed the trends of increaseddemand for smaller and com-pact vehicles from first-timebuyers,andofthebetterrecov-eryinruralmarkets.Whileretailsalesarerising

andthereisexistinginventoryinthemarket,thereislesserac-tivityatthewholesalelevel, in-dustryplayerssaid.“Whileourretaildemandisbackto80-85percentofpre-Covidlevels,thewholesale demand is back toonly 50 per cent,” Srivastavasaid.

AHyundaiofficialsaidthatthe company had decided tokeep its production level forFY’21 at 70 per cent of lastyear'sproduction.Amongothermanufactur-

ers, Toyota Kirloskar Motorsannouncedmore thandoublethe sale numbers in June(3,866 units) overMay (1,639units). In June 2019, TKM sold10,603units.HondaCarsIndiasaidithad

despatched 1,398 units in thedomestic market in June, asagainst 10,314 units in June2019.Thetrendofrecoveryisvis-

ible in the two-wheeler seg-ment aswell. HeroMotoCorphassaidthatitmadewholesaledeliveries of 4,50,744 units inJunetodealerships,whichwasover four times the 1,12,682units it despatched in May2020.“Amajorpartof themarket

demandisemanatingfromtheruralandsemi-urbanmarkets,which have been helped to alarge extent by the variousstimulus packages rolled outby the government. A combi-nation of multiple factors, in-cluding the forecast of a nor-malmonsoon, a bumper rabicropandtheupcomingfestiveseason are expected to keepthemomentumgoingoverthenext few months,” PawanMunjal,chairman&CEO,HeroMotoCorp, said.As the country went into

lockdown and all productionandsales froze,almostallpas-senger vehiclemanufacturersregistered zero sales in April.Some sales followed the gov-ernment’sdecisiontorelaxre-strictionsinMay.Junehasseenamuchbroaderrevivalinretailactivity.Maruti sold10,458units in

the mini segment (Alto & S-Presso) in June, down 44 percent over the sales of June2019. In thecompact segment(WagonR, Swift, Celerio, Ignis,Baleno, and Dzire), it sold26,696 units, down 57.6 percent. In theutility vehicle seg-ment, thecompanysold9,764units, down 45 per cent overthepreviousyear.

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Jaipur

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PRESSTRUSTOFINDIAJAIPUR, JULY1

RAJASTHAN CHIEF MinisterAshok Gehlot onWednesdaysaidhisgovernmentwillengage‘swasthya mitras’ to spreadawarenessaboutCovid-19pan-demic in all the villages of thestate.During a review meeting

held through video conference,the chief minister said the gov-ernmenthadconductedamas-siveawarenesscampaign invil-lages and now it will engage‘swasthyamitras’ for this pur-pose, according to an officialstatement.Gehlotsaidhisgovernment’s

objective is to bring down themortality rate due to coron-avirus tonegligible.“Deaths from coronavirus

should be negligible inRajasthan,” the chief ministersaid.Hesaidthestategovernment

willengage ‘swasthyamitras’ inevery village whowill play animportant role in spreadingawareness about the ways toprevent Covid-19 infection, ac-cordingto thestatement issuedhere.Expressing concern on the

rising number of coronaviruscases, the chief minister saidpeople will have to strictly fol-low preventivemeasures suchas wearing masks, frequenthand washing, not spitting inpublic places andmaintainingsocialdistancing.Gehlot said despite an in-

crease in the number of activecases in the last few days, thedeathrateinthestatewaslowerthanthenationalaverage.Duringthevideoconference,

Healthminister Raghu Sharmasaid the work of door-to-doorsurveywill be taken forward inUnlock-2.He saidRajasthan is the first

state to conduct a comprehen-sivecampaignforpublicaware-ness, which started across thestate fromJune21.ChiefSecretaryDBGuptain-

formed that a strategy of ran-domtestingisbeingchalkedoutin the districts wheremigrant

workers have come in largenumbers.Ministers, district collectors

andotherofficialsalsoattendedvideoconference,thestatementsaid.

Eight deaths, 298 freshcases recorded

Meanwhile, the state re-ported eight deaths and 298fresh coronavirus cases onWednesday, taking the totalnumber of fatalities and infec-tions to421and18,312, respec-tively.Three deathswere reported

from Jaipur, two from Jodhpur,one each from Barmer andSawaiMadhopur, an official re-port said, adding that one pa-tientdiedoutside thestate.Alwar reported the maxi-

mum 47 cases, followed byJaipur(42),Pali(27),JodhpurandPratapgarh (26each).Sixteencaseswere reported

fromSirohi, 13 fromBikaner, 10each from Dholpur, Sikar andUdaipur; eight each from Kotaand Jhunjhunu, seven fromChurubesides cases fromotherdistricts.According to the bulletin,

13,274 people have been dis-

charged from hospitals whilethe number of active casesstandsat3,317.

Interestwaiverfor agri traders

In a relief to agriculturetraders, the state governmenthasdecidedtoextendtheinter-est waiver scheme tillSeptember 30 for the recoveryof outstandingmandi fee andotherarrears.ChiefMinisterAshokGehlot

has agreed to the proposals re-ceived in this regard from theDepartment of AgriculturalMarketing to provide relief toagriculturetradersinviewofthecoronaviruspandemicandlock-down,anofficialstatementsaid.AtotalamountofRs68crore,

includingmandi fee, allocationfee and other arrears, was out-standingtillSeptember30,2019.For the recovery of this

amount, the government hadfixed a deadline of March 31,2020 to pay the due principalandgave75percentdiscountonthe interestpayable.Earlier the period of the

amnesty schemewasextendedfromMarch31toJune30,whichhas now been extended tillSeptember30,2020.Similarly, the state govern-

ment had started a scheme forrecoveryofoutstandingduesonMandi duty on commoditiesand sugar imported fromotherstates. The deadline to pay thedueswasJune30,whichalsohasbeen extended tillSeptember30.

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIABIKANER, JAIPUR, JULY1

FOURPEOPLEwerekilledandsixothers injured in two separateaccidents in Bikaner andJaisalmerdistricts,policesaidonWednesday.A jeep collidedwith a truck

on Wednesday in Bikaner’sNokhapolicestationarea,killingtwo people and leaving threegrievously injured, theysaidThose in the jeep were re-

turning after attending amar-riageceremony.Mahendra Kumar and Ram

Swaroopwerekilledintheacci-dent. Their bodies have beenhanded over to their familymembers after post-mortem,police said. The injuredpersonsare being treated at the PBMHospital, theysaid.In the Nachna police station

areaof Jaisalmer, a jeepcollidedwith amotorcycle on Tuesdaynight, killing two youths andleaving threeothers injured.Police said that five persons

were riding on themotorcyclewhen itwashit by the jeep. It issuspected that the driver lostcontrolof thevehicle, theysaid.Swaroop Singh (26) and

Kishan Lal (28) were killed.Those injuredwere rushed to ahospital inPokhran.Thebodieswerehandedover

to family members after post-mortem was conducted onWednesday.Acasehasbeenreg-istered against the jeep’s driver,police said.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEJAIPUR, JULY1

MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS in-cluding doctors based in Jaipurare increasingly depending ontelemedicine to manage theirpractice and interact with pa-tientsduringtheCovid-19crisis.Agroupofcity-baseddoctors

in association with entrepre-neurs onWednesday launcheda mobile application titledMyClinix,whichaimstoconnectdoctorsandpatientsoveracom-monplatformandallowthemtoschedule appointments aswellas get carry out video or audioconsultations.“We have created the app

keeping in mind the centralgovernment’s guidelines fortelemedicine released inMarch.Ever since theCovid-19crisis,manypatientsareunableto physically visit doctors they

havebeenconsulting foryears.MyClinixhopes tosolve this is-

sue byproviding both thedoc-tors and patients a consoli-

dated platform to interact,”said Jaipur-based doctor

Sudipto Chakravarty, who isone of the founders of the app,developed by a Bangalore-based startup.He added that patients and

doctors need to register them-selvesontheappafterinstallingit in their mobile, followingwhichtheycanstarttheconsul-tationprocessirrespectiveofthelocationof theperson.“It isnotadvisableforelderly

patientswhoareatagreaterriskduringtheCovid-19outbreaktoventureoutof their houses. Butthey have distinctmedical his-toriesandhavetovisittheirfam-ily doctors at regular intervals.This application will simplifymatters for them as now theycangetintouchwiththeirphysi-cian from their homes,” said DrChakravarty.The application was

launchedonWednesday,ontheoccasion of National Doctor’sDay.

Govt to engage ‘swasthyamitras’ tospread Covid-19 awareness: Gehlot

JantarMantarobservatory in Jaipurwearsadeserted lookonahotWednesdayafternoon.Rohit JainParas

Covid on mind, docs launch teleconsultation app

Peopleshowerflowerpetalsonmedics toapplaudthemfortheircontribution inthefightagainstCovid-19ontheoccasionofNationalDoctor'sDay, inKolkataonWednesday. PTI

4 killed, 6 hurtin two separateroad accidents inBikaner, Jaisalmer

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIAJAISALMER, JULY1

THREE PEOPLEwere killed andfourothers,includingabrideandagroom,were seriously injuredwhen their car overturned inJaisalmerdistrictonWednesday,police said.Theaccidentoccurredunder

the Mohangarh police stationarea when themarriage partywas returninghome, theysaid.The car which had seven

people in it, including the brideandthegroom,wasgoingtoBoavillage from Chundhi village. Itoverturned apparently due tothe a tyre burst, police said,addingthreepeoplediedonthespotwhile four others sufferedinjuries.The injured have been ad-

mitted to a state-run hospital,theysaid.

Three includingbride, groomkilled, 4 injuredas car overturnsin Jaisalmer

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEJAIPUR, JULY1

THE OPPOSITION BJP hasslammed theAshokGehlot-ledCongress government inRajasthan, accusing it ofmisus-ingstatemechanismsandagen-cies for ‘spying on MLAs andpublic representatives’.The BJP levelled the allega-

tionsafteraletter,allegedlywrit-ten back in April this year hassurfaced, in which the intelli-gence unit of the RajasthanPolicehadrequestedthatanewunit of the state special branchin Delhi be created, for ‘collect-ingintelligence’relatedtomove-ments of the state’s public rep-resentatives visiting Delhi andfromtheperspectiveofsecurity.Theletter,datedApril22and

written by the AdditionalDirector General of Police,Intelligence to the AdditionalDirector General of Police,Reorganisation,statesthatthereispresentlyaunitfunctioninginDelhiforthesecurityoftheChiefMinister and the Governor butthereisnofunctioningunitofthestatespecialbranchinthecapitalforcollectionof intelligence.“After keeping inmind the

present political situation ofRajasthan state and because ofthe regular visits of state’selectedpublicrepresentativestothe national capital, difficulties

arise in the collection of intelli-genceabout theirmovements,”reads the letter.The letterstates that there is

a dire need of opening a unit ofthestatespecialbranchinDelhifor intelligence collection andtheperspectiveof security.The letter requests the cre-

ation of 10 posts of police offi-cials in Delhi for this purposeand also gives a breakup ofbudget required for it.Whencontacted,Additional

Director General of Police,Intelligence, UmeshMishra de-clinedtocommentontheissue.Aseniorpoliceofficialsaidon

theconditionofanonymitythatsuch proposals have been for-warded to thegovernmentear-lieraswell.State BJP president Satish

Poonia said that the state gov-ernment doesn’t trust its ownMLAs and alleged that theCongress is misusing officialmechanismforspyingonpublicrepresentatives.“Thisisagovernmentmisus-

ing statemachinery for spyingon public representatives. Thetiming of the letter shows thatthe government was trying tospy onMLAs in order to gatherinformation pertaining to theRajya Sabha elections. ThisshowsthattheCongressgovern-mentdoesn’ttrustitsownMLAsand there is internal disputewithin theparty,” saidPoonia.

BJP accuses Cong ofspying on MLAs afterletter seeks spl policeunit in national capital

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIAJAIPUR, JULY1

A CULTURAL organisation inRajasthan has objected to themention of queen Padmini in aClass 10 textbook as the reasonbehindtheattackonChittorgarhbyAlauddinKhilji.The reference in the general

knowledgebookwhichledtotheobjection by the Chittorgarh'sJohar Smriti Sansthan (JSS) isAwadhipoetMalikMohammedJayasi's (1540 AD) poem'Padmavat', according towhichAlauddin Khilji attacked erst-while Chittorgarh Rawal RatanSinghforhiswifePadmini.Theorganisationsaidtheau-

thoritieshaveattemptedtocon-nect two historical episodes di-videdbyover twocenturiesandtwodifferentregionsinthetext-book, 'Rajasthan ka Itihas EvamSanskriti'.“Thedifferencebetweenpe-

riods of Rawal Ratan Singh(1303 AD) and MalikMohammedJayasi (1540AD) isabout237years.Duringthispe-riod, none of the historicalbooks say Alauddin Khilji at-tackedChittorgarhforPadmini.It is a historical blunder beingrepeatedagainandagaintoplaywithsentimentsof theRajputs,”said84-year-oldheadof theJSS,Takhat SinghSolanki.TheJSSidentifiesitselfasaso-

cial-cum-research body, which

holds the annual JoharMela tomark the self-immolation ofwomenafterRawalRatanSinghlost Chittorgarh to AlauddinKhilji.The organisation came to

limelight after it banned theen-try of tourists at the Chittorgarhfort and hung effigies of'Padmavat'moviedirectorSanjayLeela Bhansali, actor RanveerKapoorandSalmanKhanforthesupportingthemovie.JSS treasurer Narpat Singh

Bhati said it seems the presentgovernmenthasdonethistoap-peasetheirvotebank.“The Rajputs have never

bothered about a series of at-tempts made by consecutivegovernments to tarnish our

rulers. But, our tolerance has alimitwhenitcomestothesacri-fices which shaped modernIndia,”hesaid.Udaipur-based historian

Chandra Shekhar Sharma saidZiauddinBarani (1285-1357CE)in his book Tariq-I-Firoz ShahiwrotethatKhiljiattackedGujaratkingKarnaofVaghelaDynastyin1301ADtocapturehiswife.The Persian historian didn't

mention Padmini as the reasonbehindtheattackonChittorgarh,hesaid.“EventheKhilji'scourthisto-

rian Amir Khusro in his warmemoir Khazian ul-Futuh didmention about the attack onChittorgarh but not a word onPadmini,” saidSharma.

Cultural body objects to mention ofJayasi’s ‘Padmavat’ in school textbook

Govts trying to manage perception,must accept Covid situation: Rahul

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY1

ASCOVID-19casesinthecountrycontinuetosurge,seniorCongressleader Rahul Gandhi onWednesdaysaidgovernmentsaretrying to “manage” the “percep-tion” and give a sense that theproblemis“notasbadasitis”andarguedthatitisimportantto“ac-cept”theproblem,defineit“accu-rately”andfightit.Theremarkscameduringhis

interaction with four Indiannursesworking inNewZealand,Australia, the United Kingdomand India on the occasion ofDoctor’sDay.Theinteractionwasstreamed on socialmedia plat-forms.Duringtheinteraction,thefrontlinehealthworkers sharedtheir experiences, perspectivesandthechallengestheyarefacing.

Expressing solidarity withhealthworkers, Rahul describedthem as “a non-violent Army”risking their lives to savepeoplefromthepandemic.Speaking about the situation

inDelhi,hesaidtesting isnotbe-ing allowed atmany hospitals.“Oneof thedoctors Iwas speak-ing to in a private hospital wastellingmethatitbecomesimpos-sibleforthemtoworkiftheycan-not test Covid patients. If theydon’t know if the patient hasCovid or not, they don’t knowwhere toputhim... So theyweresaying that they are completelyfrustratedanddonotknowhowtomoveforward,”hesaid.Rahul was in conversation

withAnuRagnat,whoworks inNewZealand,NarendraSingh, inAustralia, Sherlylmol Puravady, anurse inLiverpool,UK,andVipinKrishnanofAIIMS-Delhi.

TMC workers manhandled me, vandalised vehicle: Bengal BJP chiefEXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA, JULY1

MEDINIPUR MP and WestBengal BJP president DilipGhosh onWednesday said thathe had been manhandled byTrinamoolCongresssupportersandhis vehiclewas vandalised.The incident took place at NewTown in Rajarhat while Ghoshwasoutforamorningwalk.TheBJPleaderwasscheduledtotakepart ina ‘ChaChakra’ (chatovertea) with local party workerslater.

Speakingtoreporters,Ghoshallegedthathissecurityperson-nelwerealsoattacked.“I am presently staying in

Rajarhat-New Town area. I wasout foramorningwalkandwasscheduled to visit a tea stall atnearbyKochpukurvillagetotalkto our party workers. Before Icould reach there, Trinamoolsupporters vandalised the teastall. Later, they heckled andmanhandledme and several ofour vehicles were vandalised.My security guards who cameto rescuemewere also beatenup. The local police were in-

formed about my visit to thearea. However, they did noth-ing,” saidGhosh.PartysourcessaidthatUnion

HomeMinister Amit Shah hadtalked toGhoshover thephoneand enquired about the inci-dent.The state BJP president has

recently shifted to a new 12-bedroom residence at Rajarhatarea in North 24 Parganas dis-trict.Ghosh has also alleged that

theownerof thenewresidencewas being harassed by the ad-ministration.

“Thisisnotnew.Suchattackstakeplaceveryoftenandmyve-hiclehasbeenvandalisedmulti-ple times before. However, thishas intensified days after Ishifted to the new residence inRajarhat. The owner of thehouse is being harassed andthreatenedby the local author-ities. Hehas been asked to sub-mitbuildingplansandpropertydeeds and was summoned byofficers in Lalbazar (KolkataPolice headquarters). I don’tknow why TMC has so muchproblem with me. They arescaredtoseeme,”addedGhosh.

Jaipur

EXPRESSNETWORK4 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF GENERAL MANAGER(P&C) IDCO,

IDCO TOWERS, BHUBANESWAR-751022, ODISHARFP Call Notice No. IDCO/H.O./P&C/EST/E 1536/04/2020 8942Date: 17.06.2020NOTICE INVITING REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL UNDER NATIONAL

COMPETITIVE BIDDING THROUGH e-Procurement1. Name of the Work: Fixation of rates for Supply, Installation, testing &

commissioning of Fire fighting fixture.2. Other details

Further details can be seen from the e-Procurement Portal.www.tendersodisha.gov.in. Corrigendum or addendum if any will notbe published in news papers and can only be seen in the e-procurementportal www.tenderodisha.gov.in as well as IDCO websitewww.idco.in.

Sd/-Chief General Manager (P&C) I/C

IDCO, BhubaneswarOIPR-14003/11/0038/2021

Procurement Officer BidIdentification

No.

Availability of Tender onLine for Bidding

From To

1 2 3 4

Chief General Manager(P&C), IDCO, IDCO Towers,Bhubaneswar-751022

Bid ID. No.-PC-EST-E-16/2020-21

17.00 Hours ofdt. 24.06.2020

17.00 Hours ofdt. 03.07.2020

CAD-196

GOVERNMENT OF ODISHA,“e”-PROCUREMENT NOTICE

OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDINGENGINEER, KHORDHA (R&B)

CIRCLE, KHORDHAWORKS DEPARTMENT

Tender call NoticeE-mail: rbcirclekhurda@gmail.com

Bid Identification No. SE-Khorda (R&B) Circle-04/2020-21 Memo No- Dt.The Superintending Engineer, Khordha (R&B) Circle, Khordha onbehalf of Governor of Odisha inviting percentage rate bid in doublecover system in ONLINE MODE from eligible contractors forBuilding work as detailed in the table below:1. Nature of Work : Building Work2. No of Work : 1 No

3. Tender Cost : Rs. 10000.00 (On-line)

4. Class of Contractor : 'B ' Class , & , A Class5. Available of Bid

document in theWebsite

: From Dt. 08.07.2020 10.00 AM toDt. 20.07.2020 05.00 PM

6. Date of opening of Bid : Dt. 21.07.2020 at 11.30 AM7. The Bidders have to participate in ONLINE bidding only.

Further details can be seen from the Website:https://tenderodisha.gov.in. Any Addendum/ Corrigendum/Cancellation of tender can also be seen in the said website.

B-116

Superintending Engineer,Khordha (R&B) Circle, Khordha

OIPR-34127/11/0006/2021

DIPR/ 2472/Tender/2020

STATE INDUSTRIES PROMOTION CORPORATION OF TAMILNADU LIMITED19-A, RUKMANI LAKSHMIPATHY ROAD, EGMORE, CHENNAI - 600 008.

CIN U74999TN1971SGC005967

SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER, SIPCOT, Chennai-8

Tender Notice NIT.No.15/CW/DO/T.No.20/2020-21 Dt.30.06.2020For and on behalf of State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil

Nadu Limited, sealed bids are invited under “Two Cover System” for thefollowing work from Class-I State level registered Civil contractors of PWD,Highways, National Highways, TWAD, CMWSSB or with an equal monitory limitin other Government/Quasi Government Organisations having experience insimilar nature of works.. Tenders will be received upto 3.00 PM on 30.07.2020and the same will be opened on the same day at 3.30 PM.

Name of Work Approx. value of work EMDConstruction of innovation center atSIPCOT Industrial Complex, Hosur.

Rs.869.12/- lakhs Rs.4,45,000/-

in the form of Demand Draft drawn in favour of SIPCOT Ltd., payable atChennai.The tender Schedule can be Downloaded at free of cost from the websitewww.tenders.tn.gov.in

LIZMATHEWNEWDELHI, JULY1

MONTHSAFTERthewithdrawalofSPGprotectiontotheGandhis,the Union Government onWednesday issued an order forCongress leader PriyankaGandhiVadratovacatethebun-galowallocatedtoherinLutyensBungalowZone.AnoticesentbytheMinistry

of Housing and Urban AffairsaskedtheCongressgeneral sec-retarytovacatehergovernmentbungalow in Delhi by August 1.Itsaidherallotmentstandscan-celledfromWednesday,andshe

owesRs3.46 lakh indues to thegovernment.Priyankaandherfamilywere

allotted the Type 6B bungalowin 1997 as shewas an SPG pro-tectee.“Consequent upon with-

drawal of SPG protection andgrant of Zplus security cover byMinistry of Home of Affairs,which does not have provisionfor allotment/retention ofGovernment accommodationon security grounds to you, theallotment of Type 6B house no.35 Lodhi Estate, New Delhi ishereby cancelled w.e.f 01/-07/2020. One month conces-sionalperiodonthesamerentieupto01.08.2020isallowedasperrules,” thenotice said.It said that any stay beyond

August 1 will “attract damagecharges/penalrentasperrules”.The Congress said themove

showed that Prime MinisterNarendraModi was unnervedby Priyanka’s political activities

inUttarPradesh.While Congress spokesper-

son Randeep Surjewala allegedthat the government wasblindedbyrevengeandsaid theCongresswouldnotbedeterredby such notices, Punjab ChiefMinisterAmarinderSinghaskedthegovernmenttowithdrawtheorderintheinterestofPriyanka’ssafety.In November last year, the

governmentwithdrew the SPGcoverthatwasgiventoCongress

leaders Sonia Gandhi, RahulGandhi and Priyanka since theassassination of former PrimeMinister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.TheHomeMinistryhadsaidthedecisionwas takenafter “threatassessment".In December, Parliament

passed the SPG (Amendment)Bill that limits SPG protectiononly to the PrimeMinister andhis family and to a former PMandhis family for fiveyears.FollowingWednesday’s no-

tice,CongressleadersspeculatedthatPriyanka,whoistheparty’sin-charge of UP, may shift baseto Lucknow. “She has been try-inghard,thoughunsuccessfully,to resurrect the Congress in UP.It is anopportunity to shift basetoLucknowtobreathlifeintotheCongressandestablishherselfasa leader,” a senior party leadersaid.Surjewala said PMModi’s

andhisgovernment’s“blindrageand revenge against the

Congress leadership is wellknown”. He said the govern-ment had withdrawn the SPGcover given to Nehru-Gandhifamily members and formerPrime Ministers ManmohanSingh andHDDeveGowdabe-cause they “continuouslyshowedthemirroroftruthoftheanti-people policies to the gov-ernment”.“NowtheModigovernment

has stooped even further.Whether it is Modi or UP CMYogiAdityanath,theyaredeeplyunnervedbythepoliticalactivi-ties and activism of PriyankaGandhi Vadra as also theCongress inUPbringing to lightsuccessive failures of the BJPgovernment… Priyanka…willnotbedeterredby…such fruit-less and wasteful exercises…and by your threats or your no-tices,” Surjewala said.Singh said political differ-

ences cannot and shouldnotbeallowed to come in the way of

ensuringfool-proofsecurityandsafety of any person, especiallywhen that person belongs to afamilythatlosttwomemberstoterror attacks. He said that nei-ther the withdrawal ofPriyanka’s SPG cover nor thecancellationof her governmentaccommodationwas justifiablein the circumstances. Any com-promise on Priyanka’s safetycouldbeconstruedasapoliticalwitch-hunt,hesaid.CongressleaderinLokSabha

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury saidthemoveshows theBJP’sprior-ities. “Before evicting theChineseintruderswhohavenotonly occupied strategic heightsinLadakhbutalso,killedoursol-diersdastardly,evictingPriyankaGandhi from her bungalow ismoreimportant. Insteadofwag-ing battle against Congress andGandhi parivar, wage the battleagainst Corona and China,” hetweeted.

WITHENSINPUTS

GovtciteswithdrawalofSPGprotection;Congressalleges revenge

Priyanka told to vacate bungalowbyAugust 1

PriyankaGandhiVadra

Smokebillowsfromafireafteranexplosion inNeyveliLigniteCorporationpowerplant inTamilNadu’sCuddaloredistrict,Wednesday. PTI

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICECHENNAI, JULY1

SIXWORKERSdied and17wereinjured as a boiler at a thermalpower station of NLC IndiaLimited inNeyveli, Tamil Nadu,sawablastonWednesdaymorn-ing.The injured have been

broughttoChennaifortreatment.Tenof themhavesevereinjuries.AnofficialoftheGovernment

of India-owned NLC said theywereinvestigatingthereasonsforthe blast in power station II,which has about 2,000workersandsevenunitswithacapacityof210MWeach.This is the second such blast

atNLCIndiawithintwomonths,

with theMay 7 incident havingleft five killed and three injured.Labour unions andpolitical par-ties have accused theNLCman-agement of compromising onsafety.APTIreportsaidthesixkilled

were all contractworkers, agedbetween25and62years.UnionHomeMinister Amit

Shahexpressedanguishovertheincidentandassuredallpossiblehelp to the Tamil Nadu govern-ment. He said he had spoken toChief Minister Edappadi KPalaniswamiandCISFpersonnelwerehelpinginthereliefwork.PalaniswamiannouncedRs3

lakheachtofamiliesofthesixde-ceased,Rs1lakhtoeachof thoseseverelyinjuredandRs50,000fortheothers.

Second blast in 2 monthsat govt plant in TN, 6 dead

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, JULY1

FOR THE first time since the Hong Kongprotests broke out last year, India onWednesday spoke out at the United NationsHuman Rights Council and said the relevantparties shouldaddress the issues“properly, se-riously and objectively”.This is being seen as a retaliatory step in

termsof reputational cost toBeijing, after Indiainflicted economic cost to Beijing by banningChinese mobile apps. The statement was de-liveredby India’sPermanentRepresentative totheUNinGeneva,RajivKumarChander, at the44th session of theHumanRights Council be-ing held between 30 June-21 July inGeneva.“Given the large Indian communitythat makes the Hong Kong SpecialAdministrativeRegionof China itshome, Indiahas been keeping a close watch on recent de-velopments,” Chander said, reading out fromaprepared statement.“Wehaveheardseveralstatementsexpress-

ing concern on these developments.We hopetherelevantpartieswill take intoaccount theseviewsandaddress themproperly, seriouslyandobjectively,” Chander said, while making astatement during ‘Presentation of annual re-port and oral update on Covid-19 by the HighCommissioner under Agenda 2.

ARUNJANARDHANANCHENNAI, JULY1

THEMADRASHighCourt-appointed CB-CID teamprobing the custodial death of atrader andhis son at Sathankulampolicestationnear Thoothukudi arrested oneofthe two accused sub-inspectors onWednesday.Meanwhile,thetwoFIRsofsus-piciousdeaths(176CrPC)werealteredtoin-cludemurdercharges(302IPC).TheCB-CIDteamhasbookedsixofficers

fromSathankulampolice station.Whilesub-inspectorRaghuGaneshwasarrestedonWednesday,sub-inspectorBalakrishnanandfourothersareyettobearrested.ACB-CIDofficial saidGaneshwouldbe

senttojudicialcustodyonWednesdaynight.Theyhaveformed12teamstonabtheotheraccused. The senior inspector ofSathankulamstation,Sridhar,whowasac-cusedofanactiveroleintorturesessionsinaffidavitsgivenbypeoplewhofacedcusto-dial torture lastmonth,was spared. Apartfrom sub-inspectors Ganesh and

Balakrishnan, constablesMaharajan,whoallegedlymadederogatory remarks at thejudicialmagistrate onSunday, Sellathurai,MuruganandMuthurajwerenamedinthecase. TheMadrasHChad on Tuesday di-rectedTirunelveliDSPAnil Kumar toheadtheCB-CIDprobe toprotectevidenceuntiltheCBI takesover the investigationon thestate government’s request. The CB-CIDteam conducted enquiries with familymembers,acquaintancesof thevictims.P Jeyaraj (62)waspickedupbyapolice

team fromhis shop on June 19. His son JBennix(32),whowenttothepolicestation,was also taken into custody. According tothecharges,bothfatherandsonweresub-jected to torture through thenight beforetheywereremandedinjudicialcustodyonJune20. Sathankulamstationwasbroughtunder the control of the RevenueDepartmentonMondayasperthedirectionoftheHCaftertheKovilpattijudicialmagis-trate,whowasinitiallydeputedtoprobethecase, saidhewasharassedand threatenedby senior officers duringhis inquiry at thestationonSunday.

TNCUSTODYDEATHS

One cop arrested, murdercharge added in FIR

YUBARAJGHIMIREKATHMANDU,JULY1

UNDERFIREforhisremarksagainstIndiaandtoldbythe ruling Nepal Communist Party to prove hischargesorresign,NepalPrimeMinisterKPSharmaOli initiatedconciliatorymovesonWednesday,butthechorusagainsthimcontinuedtogrow.Leelamani Pokhrel, a member of the Nepal

Communist Party standing committee, echoed theother leaders, tellingOli: “Yourallegationthat Indiawasplottingtotoppleyoudidnotbehovethestatureofthepositionthatyouhold.Youmustfurnishprooforquit.”MatrikaYadav,alsoastandingcommitteemem-

ber, saidOli shouldquit thepost immediatelyasheactedmorelikea“gangleaderthanthatoftheparty”.OnWednesday,Oli invited someof his cabinet

colleagues, loyalists anda fewparty leaders beforethe committeemeetingbegan. “Oliwasmild inhisexpression and lookedworried.Heaskedus tode-

fendhim inna-tional interest,”said one of theleadersinvited.In the infor-

mal meeting,somemembersadvised him tohand over thePrimeMinister’s postto PushpaKamal DahalPrachanda forthe remaininghalf of thetenure as pertheunderstand-ing reachedbe-tween them28monthsago.A group of

leaders, includ-ing CivilAviationMinisterYogeshBhattarai andAgricultureMinisterGhanshyamBhusal, offeredto step down.Bhusalmade itclear that hewas not happywith the PrimeMinister’s wayof functioning.

Oli softens stance,but pressureto quit mounts

DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI,JULY1

THECBI has registered a case ofcorruption against arms dealerSanjay Bhandari, SamsungEngineeringLtdandunknownof-ficials of Oil and Natural GasCorporation(ONGC)amongoth-ers for alleged irregularities inawardofacontractrelatedtoape-troleum project at Dahej inGujarat.Sourcessaidthecasewasregistered based on a referencesent by the ED to CBI last yearwhenEDwasprobinganallegedLondonpropertyassociatedwithCongress president SoniaGandhi’sson-in-lawRobertVadra.ThelatterhasdeniedowninganypropertyinLondon.Among those bookedby the

CBIareBhandari’s companyM/s.Santech International, FZC,UAE;M/s. Samsung Engineering Co.Ltd., South Korea; M/s. FosterWheeler Energy Ltd., UK;HongNamKoong, the then SeniorManager of SECLand “unknownofficialsofONGC/OPal”.According to CBI, “Sanjay

Bhandari,DirectorofM/s.Santechinternational,UAEacted incrim-

inal conspiracywith other ac-cused and in furtherance of thesaid conspiracy entered into aconsultancyagreementwithM/s.SECL in violation of the contractagreementbetweenM/s.OPaL&M/s.SECLandallegedlyobtainedUS$49,99,969(approx)fromM/s.SECLintheoverseasbankaccountofM/sSantechInternational,UAEinordertoinduceunknownpub-licservantstoshowallegedunduefavour to the consortiumofM/sSECL in the award of contract ofDFCUprojectatDahej,Gujarat.”IntheFIR,theCBIalleged“the

saidagreementwasrelatingtotheconsultancy services to be pro-vided by M/s. SantechInternationalFZCtoM/s.SECLforobtainingthesaidcontract”.The Indian Express had on

February10, 2019, reported thatprobingVadraandhisrelationshipwithBhandari,theEDwaslookingintowhethera2008dealbetweenONGCandSamsungEngineeringLtdwas linked toallegedpayoffsthatwerebehindthepurchaseofa property in London. The ED isprobingVadrainconnectionwithhalf-a-dozenpropertiesinLondon,which, it claims, are indirectlyownedbyhim.

CBI books SanjayBhandari for ‘corruption’in petroleum contract

After banningChinese apps,India raises HongKong at the UN

Sd/- Executive Engineer,Mangaluru Smart City Limited, Mangaluru

E-tender notification No. MSCL/AEC-14/2020-21 Date:01.07.2020Advt. No.73/2020-21

Mangaluru Smart City Limited invites fresh tender for Architecture &Engineering Consultancy for the project “Development of Waterfront,Public Spaces with Mangala Corniche including town planningscheme proposal for Mangaluru Smart City”. Further details can beobtained from http://www.eproc.karnataka.gov.in

Refer this e-Tender Notification No. MSCL/AEC-13/2020-21 Dated:20.06.2020, the same isnowcancelled.

MANGALURU SMART CITY LIMITED

CIN: U74999KA2017PLC102010 Phone: 0824-2986321Email id: smartcitymangaluru@gmail.com Website: www.mangalurusmartcity.net

Address: M.G. ROAD, LALBAGH, MANGALURU-575003,DAKSHINA KANNADA, KARNATAKA.

DIPR/MNG/MCA/193/20-21 dt.1.7.20

Jaipur

EXPRESSNETWORK 5WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

FROMPAGEONE

and NRC; my friends told methosewhodon'thaveevidence(to prove citizenship) will beevicted from the country. Onthebasisof this,on24February,in Seelampur, riots hadbegun;and slowly it spread acrossJamnapar. At around 2-3 pm,manypeople startedgatheringatShivViharTirahaandstartedpeltingstonesatHinduhouses.Hindus also started peltingstones at us; this went on forquite a long time.”“....At Mustafabad, many

peoplehadgatheredandstatedthat Muslims will be evictedfrom the country and todaywe have to show them thestrength of Muslims. Alongwith theentirecrowd, I alsogotcarried away by what thecrowdwas saying…The crowdgathered at Shiv Vihar, whereHindu pelted stones at us, wethrewstonesat them.Fromourside, thecrowdwassloganeer-ing:kill them,wewillnot leavethe Kaafirs today. I got carriedaway and started peltingstones. I continued to peltstones for a long time.”"…After this, the crowd

started climbing onto thegodownofAnilSweetshopandRajdhani School and indulgedin stone pelting. I returned tomy house in the night andstayed there. I committed amistake, please forgiveme."MONU: “In the last few days,there were protests againstCAA and NRC; my friends toldme those who don't have evi-dence (to prove citizenship)will be evicted from the coun-try. On the basis of this, on 24February, in Seelampur, riotshadbegun;andslowly it spreadacross Jamnapar. At around 2-3 pm, many people startedgathering at Shiv Vihar Tirahaand started pelting stones atHindu houses. Hindus alsostartedpeltingstonesatus; thiswent on for quite a long time.”“....At Mustafabad, many

peoplehadgatheredandstatedthat Muslims will be evictedfrom the country and todaywe have to show them thestrength of Muslims. Alongwith theentirecrowd, I alsogotcarried away by what thecrowdwas saying…The crowdgathered at Shiv Vihar, whereHindu pelted stones at us, wethrewstonesat them.Fromourside, thecrowdwassloganeer-ing:kill them,wewillnot leavethe Kaafirs today. I got carriedaway and started peltingstones. I continued to peltstones for a long time.”"…After this, the crowd

started climbing onto thegodownofAnilSweetshopandRajdhani School and indulgedin stone pelting. I returnedhome after 7-8 hours andstayed there. I committed amistake, please forgiveme."All these sentences are re-

peated,adverbatim, inthecon-fessionstatementsofAshrafAliandMohd Faisal.

Matching excerpts fortwo: JafrabadSimilar is the pattern in the

confession statements ofMohammed Shoeb (22) andShahrukh (24) related toJafrabad riots.SHOEB: “There were protestsagainst CAA and NRC; myfriends told me those whodon't have evidence (to provecitizenship) will be evictedfrom the country. On the basisof this, on 24 February, inJafrabad, riots had begun; andslowly it spread across

Jamnapar,”“...At around 3 pm, many

peoplestartedgatheringatShivVihar Tiraha and started pelt-ing stones atHinduhouses.”“...At Mustafabad, many

people gathered and startedsayingMuslimswill beevictedfromthecountry, andtodaywehavetoshowthemthestrengthofMuslims. I alsostartedsloga-neering and others who werewithmealsostartedsloganeer-ing against the Hindus. Afterthis, the entire crowd, startedsloganeering, to set fire, throwout the kaafirs and NaareTakbir, Allah Hu Akbar; andstarted throwing marbles andstones using a slingshot atHinduhouses.”SHAHRUKH: “There wereprotests against CAA andNRC;my friends told me those whodon't have evidence (to provecitizenship) will be evictedfrom the country. On the basisof this, on 24 February, inJafrabad, riots had begun; andslowly it spread acrossJamnapar,”“...At around 3 pm, many

peoplestartedgatheringatShivVihar Tiraha and started pelt-ing stones atHinduhouses.”“...At Mustafabad, many

people gathered and startedsayingMuslimswill beevictedfromthecountry, andtodaywehavetoshowthemthestrengthofMuslims. I alsostartedsloga-neering and others who werewithmealsostartedsloganeer-ing against the Hindus. Afterthis, the entire crowd, startedsloganeering, to set fire, throwout the kaafirs and NaareTakbir, Allah Hu Akbar; andstarted throwing marbles andstones using a slingshot atHinduhouses.”

Matching excerpts forthree:The statements of Tahir

(38), Parvez (34) and Rashid(22), constitute a similarmatching set, identical to thestatementsabovewithaminoraddition.TAHIR: “In the last few days,there were protests againstCAA and NRC; my friends andexperts toldmethat thosewhodon't have evidence (to provecitizenship) will be evictedfrom the country. On the basisof this, on 24 February, inJafrabad riots had begun; andslowly it spread acrossJamnapar…”“...At around 3 pm, many

peoplestartedgatheringatShivVihar Tiraha and started pelt-ing stones atHinduhouses.”“...At Mustafabad, many

people had gathered andstarted telling that Muslimswill be evicted from the coun-try, and todaywehave to showthem the strength of Muslims.After this, the entire crowd,startedsloganeering, toset fire,throwoutthekaafirsandNaareTakbir, Allah Hu Akbar; andstarted throwing marbles andstones using a slingshot atHinduhouses.”These paragraphs from

Tahir’s statement are repeatedadverbatimintheconfessionalstatements of both Parvez andRashid.Thestatementsdiffer in the

weapons used. Azad andAshraf Ali said that they had a“woodenballa”;Monusaidthathe had an “iron rod;” Faizalclaimed that he had a “stick.”Shoeb, Shahrukh,Tahir, Parvez,andRashidclaimed that theyhad “stored” lathis at theirhomes.

9 of 12 confessionstatements nearcopies of each other

In his statement, Salmansaid thathehad“toldSonu…tobring thepistolbecausehehadpurchased a pistol three-fourmonths back fromShahnawaz.”Headmits thathe “wore (a)

helmet, and started indiscrim-inate firing on Hindus at theShiv Vihar Tiraha, emptied themagazine, and returned thepistol to Sonu.”Inhis statement, Sonusays:

Salman, who was peltingstoneswithus, askedmetogetapistol,which IhadpurchasedfromShahnawaz…Ibought thepistol frommyhouse and gaveit to Salman. Salman wore thehelmet, and began firing thebullets atHindus.”The Delhi Police

chargesheetcitesananalysisof

Call Detail Records of the ac-cused to show that they werepresentat thecrimescene.Andfootage from CCTVs seizedfrom the Rajdhani School, po-lice said, locate six of the ac-cused there.For example, the

chargesheet says, Azad, is seen“carrying a danda” at 4:09:05pm; Faisal is “seen” at 3:44:50pm; Shahrukh at 3:27:20 pm;Shoeb is “seen” at 3:37:04 pm;Rashid is “seen”at3:37:55pm;Tahir is “seen” at 3:41:59 pm;Salman is seen at 4:50:25 pm.Police have also identified

24 more “suspects”, who stillhave to be questioned. Detailsof the further investigationwillbeplacedon record in the sup-plementary chargesheet, thepolice has said.

3 admit to pistol, firing;hunt on for 24 suspects

MILINDGHATWAIBHOPAL, JULY1

ALMOST 100 days after the BJPunseated the Kamal Nath gov-ernment in Madhya Pradesh,Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan is set to have a full-fledgedCabinetonThursday.Chouhan had taken oath

aloneonMarch23,thenightbe-fore the Prime Minister an-nounced the nationwide lock-down.AfterworkingaloneuntilApril 21,he inducted fiveminis-ters, including two loyalists offormer Congress leaderJyotiraditya Scindia, whose re-bellionbroughtdowntheprevi-ousCongress-ledgovernment.Over the last few days there

were fractious discussions inNewDelhi and Bhopal onwhowill make it to the Cabinet be-cause the party had tomake atightropewalkintryingtoadjustBJPleaders, includingthosewhohad beenministers in the past,aswellScindia'ssupporters,whowill soon faceby-elections.Twenty-twoCongressMLAs,

including six ministers in theerstwhile Kamal Nath govern-ment, had resigned and laterjoined the BJP earlier this year.While two of his loyalists, TulsiSilawat and Govind Rajput, arealready ministers, Scindia islearnt tohavewanted10otherstobeaccommodated.Mostseatsboundfortheby-

elections are in the state'sGwalior-Chambalregion,where

theformerUnionministerholdsclout. The Congress had donewell in the region in the 2018

Assemblyelections.Chouhan had a tough time

convincing the BJP high com-

mand to accommodate seniorMLAs who were ministers inhis three previous terms be-tween 2005 and 2018, even astheparty looked fornewerandenergetic faces. Three BJPMLAs who were ministers inthepast areunlikely tomake itto his Cabinet this time, it islearnt.The Chief Minister, who

spent two days in Delhi beforereturningtoBhopalonTuesday,hintedthathehadtomakesomecompromises. “Jab bhimanthanhotahai amrit nikalta hai, vish toShivpee jatehai (everychurningproduces nectar, Lord Shiv con-sumes the poison),’’ he told themediaonWednesday.TakingadigatChouhan, for-

mer CM and Pradesh Congress

Committee chief Kamal Nathtweeted, “The churning lastedso long that it produced onlypoison. Poison will have to bedrunk daily from now on be-cause there will be churningeveryday.”Nath was likely indicating

thatthegovernmentwillhaveatough time because Chouhanwill have to dealwith unhappyBJP aspirants who will not beable togetministerial berths.Uttar Pradesh Governor

AnandibenPatel,whotookoathasMPGovernoronWednesday,willadministertheoathofofficeto newministers on Thursday.Thestate'sincumbentGovernor,LaljiTandon,isundergoingtreat-ment at a private hospital inLucknow.

100 days after taking over, Chouhan set to have full CabinetCMHINTSATCOMPROMISES,ASSCINDIAALLIESSETTOGETCHUNKOFBERTHS;KAMALNATHTAKESADIG

ShivrajSinghChouhanwithAnandibenPatel inBhopal. PTI

TABASSUMBARNAGARWALAMUMBAI, JULY1

PRIVATE LABORATORIES havekick-startedantibodytestingforanyonewhowants to undergothe same, with most requestscoming from the private sector—peopleattachedtosalons,filmindustry, private hospitals, andindustrial andcorporateoffices.Thyrocare, which has con-

ducted about 5,000 ELISA (en-zyme-linked immunosorbentassay) antibody tests acrossIndia,saidithasfound8percentof those examined testingposi-tive for antibodies against thecoronavirus.Severalof thesamplesittook

inMumbaiwere part of a sero-surveillance being undertakenbyBMCalongwithNitiAayog.The ELISA IgG antibody test

involves taking a blood sampleof apersontocheckwhetherheorshehasdevelopedantibodiesagainst an infection. Antibodiestaketwoweekstodevelopafterexposure to infection. A personmay or not develop symptomsbutwill still develop antibodiesto fight the infection.Thistest,usedassurveillance

tool, indicates howmanymayhavegotexposedavirus.In European countries, the

test is being used as an “immu-nity passport” for peoplewant-ing to return toworkwhile be-ing assured that they haveimmunityagainstCovid-19.“Wehavemostlyreceivedre-

quests fromcorporate offices indifferent parts of India thatwanteditsemployeestoresumework.Wefoundthat10percentof those examined in cities and5 per cent in smaller townstestedpositive.Onanaverage,8percentpeopletestedhadbeenexposed toCovid-19 anddevel-oped antibodies,” said Dr AVelumani,founderofThyrocare.

ThyrocareischargingRs600pertestandresultsaregeneratedin24hours.Thelab'sheadofop-erations, Dr Caesar Sengupta,said they started antibody test-ingfromJune26,andhavebeentestingamixof high-riskpopu-lation and the general popula-tion. “Wearealso testing indus-triallabourerswhoarereturningtowork,”headded.Suburban Diagnostics

started antibody testing fromMonday, and has tested 250samples so far. The lab is charg-ing Rs 950 for walk-ins, and Rs1,450 forhometesting.“We are receiving queries

fromhealthworkerswhowantto know if they have been ex-posed to the virus. Salonswanttheir employees to be tested.Since the film industry hasstarted shooting, several arecoming for ELISA tests,” said DrSanjayArora, founderandman-aging director of Suburban

Diagnostics.The lab found 25 per cent of

those examined tested positivefor antibodies but Arora saidmoretestsareneededtodrawadefinitive conclusion on the ex-posure rate. “Testing 250 sam-plesisasmallnumber.Thismayormaynotindicateactualexpo-suretothevirusamongthegen-eralpopulation,”Arorasaid.DrNilesh Shah, grouppresi-

dent at Metropolis, said theystarted ELISA testing in 45 labson Tuesday and have testedaround 500 people so far. “Wehave mostly tested corporateemployeestillnow.Somehous-ing societies are also approach-ingus,"hesaid,addingthattheyare yet to analyse the positivityrateandwillarequirelargerpooltododo.Until last month, Indian

Council of Medical Research(ICMR) guidelines had allowedantibodytestingforfrontlineand

healthworkers, in containmentzones, and for government ap-provedsero-surveys.On June 23, in its revised

guidelines, while ICMRmain-tained RT-PCR (real-time poly-merase chain reaction) testwasthe“goldstandard”fordetectingCovid-19infection,itallowedpri-vate labs to performELISA anti-bodytestsforabroaderspectrum.A spokesperson for SRL

Diagnostics said they are stillevaluating protocol and willsoonstartperforming the tests.India so far has 1,000 ap-

provedCovid-19testinglabs,730of them in the public sector. InMay, ICMR had conducted asero-surveillanceof26,400peo-pleandfound0.73percentpos-itive for antibodies, indicatingtheexposureof viruswas lowerthan1percent.India so far has 1,049 ap-

proved labs. Among them, 761are in thepublic sector.

MEANWHILE,INMUMBAI:MumbaiPoliceonWednesdayissuedprohibitoryordersunderCrPCSection144tocheckthespikeinCovid-19cases.Theorderprohibitsthe“presenceormovementofoneormorepersonsinpublicplacesorgathering”,anofficialsaid.NirmalHarindran

Corporate sector queues up as pvtlabs begin ELISA tests for antibodies

KARISHMAMEHROTRANEWDELHI, JULY1

SOME STATES have been utilis-ing testing laboratories, espe-cially private labs, at a “sub-op-timal” level and it is “stronglyrecommended” that laborato-riesshouldbefreetotest“anyin-dividual in accordance to ICMRguidelines”, the ICMR and theHealthMinistry has stated in aletter to state governments andUnionTerritories.The letter notes that states

havemade prescription from agovernmentdoctormandatorytoallowforaCovid-19test, andob-servesthatthismayposeimped-imentsandleadtodelays.Theletter,signedbyICMRdi-

rector-general Dr BalramBhargava andHealth SecretaryPreeti Sudan states: “It has beenobservedthatinsomeStates/UTs,thecapacityutilizationofthetest-ing labs particularly the ones inprivate sector, is grossly sub-op-timal. It is strongly advised thatyoushouldtakeallpossiblestepstoensurefullcapacityutilizationof all COVID-19 testing laborato-ries intheState/UT.”Currently, Telangana and

Maharashtra have the troublingduoofhighpositivity(both18percent)andlowtestsperpopulation(251 and 863 tests per 100,000population, respectively).WhileDelhihasahighertestingratio,itshighpositivity rate also inches itclosertotheworrisomequadrant.Ontheothersideof thespec-

trum, JammuandKashmirhas alowpositivity rate of 2 per cent

and a high testing ratio of 2,910per100,000people.Eleven states andUTshave a

positivity rate below5per centandatestingratiobelow1,000per100,000population. Another 12stateshaveasimilarpositivityratebutatestingratiobetween1,000and2,000per100,000people.At 212 per 100,000 popula-

tion,Biharhassomeofthelowesttesting rates. Telangana, UP,Jharkhand,MadhyaPradesh,andWest Bengal all have below600testsper100,000population.Theletterstates:“Atthisjunc-

ture, it isabsolutelynecessarytofacilitatetestingattheearliestbyenabling all qualifiedmedicalpractitioners, including privatepractitioners,toprescribeCOVIDtesttoanyindividualfulfillingthecriteria for testing as per ICMRguidelines.Infact,ICMRstronglyrecommends that laboratoriesshouldbefreetotestanyindivid-ual in accordance to the ICMRguidelines and State authoritiesmust not restrict an individualfromgettingtested...”Theministry and the ICMR

encouraged states to set upcampsandmobilevans inhigh-incidence areas to collect sam-ples using rapid antigen tests, anew type of quick and cheapertest recentlymade available bythegovernmentagency.The positivity rates of

Telangana (18%), Maharashtra(18%), Delhi (16%), and Gujarat(8%) remain someof thehighestinthecountry.The ICMR has also added a

newsetofvalidatedantibodyandRT-PCRkits.

Somestatesusing test labsatsub-optimallevel: ICMR,govt

Jammu:TheJammuandKashmiradministration has initiated aninquiry into the circumstancesthat led a private hospital atBanihal conduct surgery on awomanwithoutwaiting for herCovid-19report.The32-year-oldlater testedpositive for thevirusBanihal Sub Divisional

Magistrate Zahir Abbas said thewomanwasoperated for herniaonMondayandherCovidtestre-portcameaspositiveonTuesday.As per the protocol, a hospital isrequiredtoget thepatient testedforCovidbeforeundertakingsur-geryonhim/her,hesaid.A surgeon at the hospital,

meanwhile,saidthesurgeryhadto be performed in emergencyfollowing obstruction in her ar-tery.“...Herfamilyinsistedonget-ting her operated at Banihal inviewof restrictionsoninter-dis-trictmovement intheUT.” ENS

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBENGALURU, JULY1

KARNATAKA’SCOMMISSIONERfor Health and FamilyWelfareServiceshasissuedashowcausenotice to 18 private and publichospitalsinBengaluruforrefus-ing treatment to a 52-year-old,who later died of influenza-likeillness symptoms.The notice was issued after

reportsindicatedthatBhawarlalSujani could not get admissionatvarioushospitalsthroughJune27and28.Thehospitals, includ-ing major ones like Bowring,Fortis andManipal, have beentold togetbackwithin24hoursonwhyactionshouldnotbeini-tiated against them, includingunder the State DisasterManagementAct.Thenotice,byCommissioner

PankajKumarPandey,saysSujani“succumbedduetodenialof ad-

missionby18hospitals…HissonVikramJainandnephewDineshhavestatedthatSriBhawarlalwastaken to these hospitals onSaturday andSunday for admis-sion on observing some ILI-likesymptoms. But none of thehos-pitals admittedon thepretextofunavailability of beds/ventila-tors.” Thenotice underlines thatprivatemedical establishments“cannotdeny/refuse/avoidtreat-ment to patientswith Covid 19andCovid19-likesymptoms”.As per the SOP for coron-

avirusinKarnataka,peoplewithILIsymptomsaretobetreatedassuspectedcasesandtested.Bengaluruisseeingasudden

surge in cases, especially sincethe beginning of June, resultinginaheavydemandforbeds.Thenearly 100 ICU beds in govern-menthospitalsandmedicalcol-leges are currently full, and thegovernment has been trying togetprivatehospitals todedicate

50 per cent of their beds forCovid19patients referredby it.On June 27, it had issued a

warningtothemfordenyingad-mission tocoronaviruscases.The Karnataka government

hasprescribedamountsrangingbetween Rs 5,200 per day for ageneralbedandRs10,000foranICUwithaventilator,forpatientsreferredbyittoprivatehospitals.For patients reaching privatehospitalsonown,theceilinghasbeen set at Rs 10,000 for a gen-eral ward and Rs 25,000 for anICUwith a ventilator. However,in the case of patients who re-portdirectlytoprivatehospitalsand have a private insurancecover, there isnoceiling.Healthofficialssayprivatehospitalsarefavouring patientswith privateinsurance.As per official data, of the

1,619 beds in the private sectorforCovid19cases,only418werefullbetweenJune1andJune28.

Notices to 18 hospitals inBengaluru as 52-yr-old dies

Probe orderedafter hospitalperforms surgerywithout waitingfor Covid result

ABHISHEKSAHAGUWAHATI, JULY1

UNION HOME Minister AmitShah has told Assam HealthMinisterHimantaBiswaSarmatotry to conduct 10,000 Covid-19testsperdayinGuwahati,evenasthecity remainsundercompletelockdownandcontinuestoshowa spike in the number of peopleinfectedwiththecoronavirus.Speaking at a press briefing

Wednesday, Sarma said,“Conducting10,000testsperdayis abig task... I think inGuwahatisomanypeoplemightnot comeforward to submit samples perday—wecannot forcepeople. Inourmodest target,we shouldbeabletoconduct2,000-4,000testsper day. Of course, if we can do10,000testsitwillbeverygood.”As a consequence of Shah’s

telephonic conversation withSarma, and in consultationwiththeICMR,theAssamgovernmenthasdecidedto implementanewtestingregimewiththe‘QCovid-19Ag’test,throughwhichthere-sult of a sample canbeobtainedwithin 15minutes to one hour.The government has ordered 2lakh ‘Q Covid-19 Ag’ test kits,Sarmasaid.Medicalstaffwouldbetrained

to use the newkit on Thursday,anditisexpectedthatfull-fledgedtestingthroughitwill start inthecityinthenexttwo-threedays.GuwahationTuesdayhadre-

ported 382 fresh coronaviruscases and byWednesday after-noon, another 157people testedpositive from the city. As ofWednesdayevening, Assamhadreportedatotalof8,547Covid-19cases, including2,885 cases, andhadreported12fatalities.

Shah asks Assam toconduct 10,000 testsin Guwahati per day

Now, a coronavirus hurdle in bullet train projectVISHWASWAGHMODE,MAYURAJANWALKAR&NEERAJTIWARIMUMBAI, JUNE28

THE SHIV Sena-ledMahaVikasAghadi government inMahara-shtrahasanewreasontogoslowontheMumbai-Ahmedabadbul-lettrainproject–Covid-19.TheRs 1.1 lakh crore-project

thatChiefMinisterUddhavThac-

kerayhaddescribed as a “whiteelephant”wasannouncedjointlybyPrimeMinisterNarendraModiand his Japanese counterpartShinzoAbeinTokyoin2017.Japan International Coope-

rationAgency(JICA)isfunding80per cent of the estimated cost ofthe project through a soft loan.The remaining cost has to beborne by Gujarat andMahara-shtra in the formof landacquisi-tionsfortheproject.

Railways set up theNationalHigh SpeedRail Corporation Li-mited (NHSRCL), a special pur-posevehicle, toexecute theproj-ect.With108kmof the530-kmof corridor inMaharashtra, thestatehastoacquire353of theto-tal1,400hectaresrequiredfortheproject.However,withthepeopleof the area opposing theproject,acquisitionhasbarelybegun.Within days of taking office,

Uddhavhad announced that all

big projects, including thebullettrain,would be reviewed in thelightof thestate’smassivedebt.Now, Covid-19has provided

thegovernmentwithareadyrea-son.Aseniorfinancedepartmentofficial said the governmenthadalreadyimposeda67percentcutin expenditure ondevelopmentschemesforthecurrentfinancialyearduetoreducedrevenuecol-lectionamidthepandemic.“Thegovernmenthastakena

decision that projects, inwhichwork isyet tocommence,wouldbe stayed for a year now,” stateTransportMinisterAnilParabtoldThe Indian Expresswhen askedspecificallyabout thebullet trainproject. The government maylater review the projects put onhold,asourcesaid.“At thismoment,wehaveno

suchidea(of restructuringthefi-nancialagreement), soaspertheagreement,wewill continue to

support (the project),” saidShinsukeNagai, seniorrepresen-tativeof JICA, India.On the ground, however, the

delaysarealreadybeingfelt,mak-ingtheplannedrolloutinAugust2022,tocoincidewith75yearsofIndependence, tough. InGujarat,wherework on the project hadcommenced,thedisplacementofmigrantworkers following thelockdownfromMarch24hasal-readycausedalabourshortage.

Jaipur

6WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THE GRAIN MOUNTAINExtensionof PMGKAYiswelcomeamidcontinuingeconomic

distress.ButFCI’sproblemofplentyremains

RICEANDWHEATstocksingovernmentgranariesstoodat73.85milliontonnes (mt) as on April 1, 3.5 times the normative operational-cum-strategic reserve requirement for thisdate. Twomonths later,with theprocurementofthenewwheatcrop,theseinventoriesrosefurthertoanall-time-highof over97mt.Against thisbackground,andontopof the

widespread distress unleashed by the COVID-19 induced lockdown, there is a strongmoral as well as economic case for offloading the excess grain lying with the FoodCorporationof India(FCI),byevengivingitoutfree.That’swhatisbeingdonethroughthePradhanMantriGaribKalyanAnnaYojana (PMGKAY).Under the scheme,over80crorepeoplewerebeingprovided5kgoffreegrainpermonthduringApril-June.Ithasnowbeenextended for another fivemonths till November. In all, itwould amount to some32mtbeinggivenfreeofcost.Consideringthatthisgrainisgoinglargelytopoororlow-incomehouseholds—andtheyarealsotheworst-affectedbythecurrenteconomicdislocations—themoralargument is self-evident.Asregardseconomics,itistruethattheFCIincursanaveragecostofRs37.27onprocur-

ing,bagging,transporting,handling,storinganddistributingeverykgofrice,andRs26.84forwheat.Totheextentanygrainisissuedfreeofcost, thereisanobviouseconomicloss.But these“economiccost” calculationsdonot factor in thebuffer “carryingcost”,whichisbasically the interestandstoragechargespayableontheexcessstocksheldbytheFCI.ThiscarryingcostisestimatedatRs5.40perkgduring2020-21.On32mt,itwillworkouttoRs17,280crore. Themore theexcess grain that is offloaded, themorewill be the sav-ings on this count. From the FCI’s and the government’s subsidy standpoint, the issuepriceofgrainshouldideallybeascloseaspossibletotheeconomiccost.Butthat’simpos-sible, given the sheer quantumof excess stocks. PMGKAY, if anything, has provided anavenue for liquidationof this surplus riceandwheat.There is nodoubt that the FCI’s grainmountainhas been the singlemost important

reason forno significant incidenceof starvationor food riotsduring theongoingCOVIDpandemic—afarcryfromthe1943BengalFamineandotherpastlarge-scalecalamities.But that does not still justify themagnitude of procurement— 39mt of wheat and 50mt-plusof ricefromthe2019-20crop—beingundertakenbygovernmentagencies.TheFCI’s problem of plentywill, indeed, remain even if the PMGKAY is extended beyondNovember.Theexistingregimeofopen-endedminimumsupportprice-basedprocure-ment for paddy andwheat is financially and environmentally unsustainable. The gov-ernmentshouldmaintainsufficientstocksof all essential foodstuffs—includingpulses,edibleoil, sugar,andmilkpowder—todealwithcontingencies.But thatdoesn’t requireeven60mt inFCIgodowns.

OLI’S BLUSTERNepalPMseeks toblameNewDelhi forhisdiscomfiture in

office,his rivalsareright incallinghimout

NEPALPRIMEMINISTERKPOli’sremarkthathispoliticalrivalsarecon-spiringwithIndiatoremovehimfromofficeisill-judgedandmislead-ing. In Kathmandu, senior leaders of the Communist Party of Nepal(CPN), including former prime ministers Pushpa Kamal DahalPrachanda, Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhalnath Khanal, and former

deputyPMBamdevGautam,havedemandedthatOliquitofficeovertheremarks.Oli,whoisalso theCPNchief, appears isolatedwithin theparty, andmaynot find thegoingeasy.His attempt to drag India intoNepal’s internal politics, rooted in power rivalrieswithintheCPN,hasbeenrightly criticisedathome.PrachandadescribedOli’s remarksas “nei-therpolitically correct,nordiplomaticallyappropriate”, andwarnedthat thestatement“maydamageour relationswith theneighbour”.Olihasconsistentlymaintainedananti-Indiastance—it facilitatedhis rise inpolitics.

As the leaderof Communist PartyofNepal-UnifiedMarxist Leninist (CPN-UML), hewasthe faceof theanti-Indiaprotests that rockedNepal following the2015borderblockade.It helped him gain the upper handwhen the CPN-UML and the CPN-Maoists led byPrachandafoughtthe2017electionstogetherandthereaftermergedtoformtheCPN.Olihassincebeenaccusedofconsolidatingpower,bothingovernmentandparty,whiletak-ingNepalawayfromIndiaandclosertoChina.Themergerfailedtoresolvethelong-stand-ingrivalrybetweenthetwoCPNgroupsandthecontradictionsarenowmanifestinthefac-tionalfightwithintheparty.EventhereportedattemptsbytheChineseCommunistPartyleadershiptomediatepeaceamongtheCPNfactionshavenotsucceeded.Meanwhile,Olisoughttotapintoanti-IndiasentimentinsectionsofNepalsocietytowhipupanational-ist fervour,andcontainthechallengetohis leadership.Therecentcartographicchallengeto India—Nepal’sParliamenthaspassedaConstitutionAmendmentBill thatendorsesanewmapwhich includes Indian territory—wasasmuchOli’s attempt to foregroundhisnationalistcredentialsandconsolidategroundwithintheCPN.The latestdevelopmentssuggest thatOlimayhaveoverplayedhisanti-Indiacardby

accusingpartycolleaguesof conspiringwitha foreignpowertotopple thegovernment.Prachandaandothersmaynotwanttheirnationalistcredentialsquestionedinaclimateofhyper-nationalism.ThereislittleforIndiatodointhiswarofwords,butwaitforNepal’sleaders to settle theirdisagreements.

DRAW A LINEFornow,actionagainstmatch-fixing insport is

hobbledby lackof legaldefinition

RAVINDERDANDIWALHASbeenaccusedofbeingthekingpininaglobaltennismatch-fixingandbettingscambytheVictorianpoliceinAustralia.Dandiwalhasdabbledincricketinthepast—hetriedtorunaT20leagueinMohaliandissupposedtohavebeenbehindaleagueinNepal—andhasbeen labelled as a “personof interest” by theAnti-CorruptionUnit

(ACU)of the Indiancricketboard.Despitehis tennismisadventuresandhisknownpast,that’sallthatthenon-enforcementagencycando.Thelawdoesn’tallowittoevencallhimin forquestioning. Since fixing isn’tdeemeda legaloffence, it canat themost try tostophimfromenteringcricket stadiums.Unsurprisingly,astheBCCI’sACUhead,AjitSingh,toldthisnewspaper,thelistof“per-

sonsof interest”islong.If theACUisabletosuccessfullywarntheplayersabouttheseper-sons or if their personnel spot and stop them from contacting the players, they simplychangetheirmethodology—orthesport.AsDandiwalapparentlyswitchedfromcrickettotennis.Thesparsely-staffedACUunitdependsontheplayerstoreportanyuntowardap-proach.It’sabattleagainsthumannature—onethattheanti-corruptioncrusadersinsportoften lose.Withoutadequate legislation inplace, theculpritsaren’t reallyworried.TheACUneedstoconstantlymonitor,updatethedatabaseofsuspectedpersons,share

informationwithother boards and the ICC—andhope that theplayers do their bit. Fornow,beyondthis,notmuchcanbereallydone.“That’swhyweneedamatch-fixinglaw,”Ajit Singh told thisnewspaper. Thecycleof impunityneeds tobebroken.

Horsemen of Apocalypse

SyedAkbaruddin

Pandemicaccentuateschallengestoglobalorder.Newframeworkisneeded, Indiamustberule-shaper

THEERUDITEUNSecretaryGeneral,AntonioGuterres, is a consummatediplomatwho iswidely regarded as having his ear to theground.However, littledidheknowthatthebiblical analogy of the four horsemen ofApocalypsethatheenunciatedonJanuary22astheprincipalglobalchallengesintheUN’s75th anniversary year would be over-whelmedbyanunforeseenblackswanevent—thecoronacrisis.Midwaythroughtheyear,itisnotgeopo-

liticaltensions,climatecrisis,globalmistrustorthedarksideofthedigitalworld—thefourissues which Secretary General Guterreslistedasprimarythreats—thatordinarypeo-pleviewastheirprincipalpreoccupation.Thechallengesthehorsemenposehave,fornow,been overshadowed by the uber crisisspawned by the black swan. 2020will godownastheyearof thecoronacrisis.However,prudentplanningforthedayaf-

terrequiresanassessmentofwherethelong-termexistentialthreatsstand.EvenastheUNprepares for its 75th anniversary, are thehorsemen reined in and locked away in thestables?Areanystrainingatthebitandwant-ingtoberunaways?The notion that the pandemic has not

been “bad” for the environment is wide-spread. InAprildailycarbonemissionsweredownby 17 per cent compared to last year.NewdatainJuneindicatesthattheyare5percentlowerthanatthesamepointin2019,in-dicating a spurt. The drop in emissions in2020—projectedtobeabout8percentdownon last year —will just put us on track towherewe should be, if we are to reach theParisagreementgoalof limitingwarmingto1.5C.Thethreatof climatechange,althoughraising itsheadagain, hasbeenconstrained.Thehorsemanwhosethreatisexistentialhasgivenusa longer leaseof existence, fornow.Cyberspacehasbeenadigitalsaviourdur-

ing the corona crisis. Constancy of virtualcommunicationsenhancedthroughvariousservices, new apps, expanded coverage hasbeenkeytoenhancedvirtuallivesformillionsby increaseof theavenues forworking fromhome,videochatconnectivityandonlinede-livery of goods. Companies that have deftlyused cyberspace have prospered themost.

Amazontowersoverallotherswithanetcap-italgainofover$400billion in2020.However,thereisagrowingbodyofthou-

ghtthat“darkside”troublesarelikely.Asurgeincybercrimeandcyberfraudisanticipated,ifnottherealready.Thelogicbeingthatcybe-rspaceusehasexpandedwithoutcommen-surategrowthinsecurityfeatures.AnarticlebyStevenMcBrideinForbesmagazineinMaypredicted that the corona crisis practicallyguarantees thatwewill see the “largest cy-berattackever”inthenextsixmonths.Severalothers,too,aremakingdireprojectionsofanimpending“cyberPearlHarbour”.Thishorse-man is lurking in theshadowsanda“break-out”cannotbediscounted.Instances of accentuation of geopolitical

tensions during the corona crisis arewell-documented.TheUS-Chinarelationshipwasalready deteriorating, the blame game overthe virus has exacerbated it. The brazen be-haviourofChinainmattersrelatingtoTaiwan,Hong Kong, Australia, South China Sea andthe India-China border has added to the in-flammable state of geopolitics. That there isnorecoursetothose involvedreflectsonthepoorstateofglobalgovernancemechanisms.Rarelyhastheworldseensuchpaucityof in-ternational cooperation sinceWorldWar II.Theunravelingoftheglobalinfrastructureofinstitutionsandpartnershipsthathavebeenbuilt sinceWorldWar II is stark. The horse-mansignifyingariseingeopolitical tensionsis trottingabout.Thepaucityofglobaltrustamongststates

hasplummetedtoitsworstsinceWorldWarII.TheEUthattoutsan“evercloserunion”hasnot been a pretty picture.When facedwithcorona crisis shortages, almost all EU statesresponded at the national level. Globally, atonetime,morethan70percentoftheworld’sportsofentry—air,seaandland—restrictedtravel.AccordingtoaGlobalTradeAlertstudy,nearly90governmentsblockedtheexportofmedicalsupplieswhile29restrictedfoodex-ports.Inmanyregionswhereco-operationwas

flourishingall of a sudden thereare rivalriesand hard feelings between people wheretherehavebeennobordersat all. For exam-ple, the Nordic region. Norway opened its

borders to the rest from the region barSweden,becauseof its infectionrate.Lackof trust isalso impactingdiversified

supply chains. The corona crisis is driving ashiftfromefficiencytoself-sufficiency.JapanispayingcompaniestorelocatefactoriesfromChina. President Emmanuel Macron haspledged “full independence” for France incrucialmedical supplies by year-end. PrimeMinisterModihascalledforselfrelianceandbeing vocal for local in India. In theUS, sup-portfor“BuyAmerican”benchmarksforgov-ernmenthealthspendinghasgrowingbipar-tisan support. Countries are preparing forindividuallyforgingrecoverieswhenthecri-sispasses.Thishorsemaniscantering.SecretaryGeneralGuterresmaynothave

gaugedthespeedwithwhichthehorsemenwill gather pace but got the trends right.However, underpinningGuterres’s progno-siswasthatthesethreatsbeyondbordersarebest addressed bymultilateral bodies. Alas,evenwhileGuterres’ apocalyptic horsemenhave been prancing around, theUN systemhas beenmissing in action, except at thefringes.Barringthedescentofaguardianan-gel, the current multilateral order thatGuterrespresidesover is indeeptrouble.Thelasttimethinkingaboutthemultilat-

eralorderwascementedwasatatimewhenIndia did not independently partake in thethoughtprocess.Itresultedinourbeingcon-fined to the category of “ruler takers” for 75years and counting. Challenges that tran-scendborders are of cardinal importance toIndia’swellbeing.Itis,therefore,timetocon-ceptualise,inconcreteterms,pathwaystoad-dressthem.Thiswillneedtoincludeouren-visaging theneworder and India’s ownrolein it aswell aswhoourpartners in this ven-turearetobe.Othersarealreadyworkingontheirgameplans.Thehereandnowisimpor-tant.So,too, islookingbeyondthehorizon.Ifwewanttobe“ruleshapers”ratherthanbe-ing“ruletakers”,thenweneedtostartwork-inginpartnershipatblueprintsforchange.Itisnever tooearly toplanfor thefuture.

Thewriter retired fromthe IndianForeignService inAprilas India’sPermanentRepresentativetotheUnitedNations

Instances of accentuation ofgeopolitical tensions duringthe corona crisis are well-documented. The US-Chinarelationship was alreadydeteriorating, the blamegame over the virus hasexacerbated it. The brazenbehaviour of China inmatters relating to Taiwan,Hong Kong, Australia,South China Sea and theIndia-China border hasadded to the inflammablestate of geopolitics. Thatthere is no recourse to thoseinvolved reflects on the poorstate of global governancemechanisms. Rarely has theworld seen such paucity ofinternational cooperationsince World War II. Theunraveling of the globalinfrastructure of institutionsand partnerships that havebeen built since World WarII is stark. The horsemansignifying a rise ingeopolitical tensions istrotting about.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

B E C A U S E T H E T R U T H I N V O L V E S U S A L L

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020WORDLYWISE

Hungryman, reach forthebook:it is aweapon.— BERTOLT BRECHTTHEEDITORIALPAGE

AmritaDutta

NOT FAIR, BUT HOW LOVELYExploitative ideasof skincolourdon’thave todefineyou forever

A LITTLE GIRL and her brother go to themarket.Theysniffpurpleflowers,posta let-ter in a red post-box, spy an orange catpeeking out frombehind a basket of greenbhindi, andwatchtheirmotherhagglewitha fisherwoman in an ochre sari. These areimages from a wordless picture book forchildren that artist-writer ManjulaPadmanabhanmade in 1986.What standsout inAVisit to TheCityMarket (NBT) is therich earth of the children’s skin, and themany shades of dark brown of other peo-ple, fromcoffeetochocolatetochestnut.ForPadmanabhan, one of the most genre-bending English writers in India, the bookwasamilestone. “Thosechildrenaredark,”she told me in an interview in 2015. “Tillthen, Ihadbeenusing—notpink,butasoftbrowncolour.AndIsuddenlythought:Whydon’t I use brown? The full undilutedbrown. Itwas very liberating. But I also re-alised thatmanypeople found it ugly.”I cameacross thebookyears later, as an

adult, longafter Ihadsteppedoutofachild-hood where the word for dark skin inBengali—formydarkbrownskin—wasnotjustshamla,butmoyla (dirty).TheadsofFair& Lovely, beaming in the message of“twachakanikhar”even inourunfamiliar-with-Hindi homes, therefore, didnotneedany translation.Afair-skinobsessioninacountrywhere

themajority of people are brown is a life-long training in self-loathinganddiscrimi-nation. It is tangledwithbroaderstructures

of inequality, fromcastetogenderandclassprivilege, securing them in place with itssofter,more invisiblepower. Itworks insid-iously against the vulnerable, by chippingawayat their self-worth.For Hindustan Unilever, it has meant

cold, hard profit — Fair & Lovelywasmadefor Indianmarkets in1975, and is nowaRs2,000-crore business. In 2020, comes theturnaround,promptedbytheintrospectionin America of ways by which apparentlyneutralcultural idealsof successandbeautyperpetuate systemic bias. “We recognisethat the use of thewords ‘fair’, ‘white’ and‘light’ suggestasingular idealofbeautythatwe don’t think is right,” the company hassaid,whileannouncing itsdecisiontodrop“fair” fromthebrandname,andassuringus— in the face of 45 years of evidence to thecontrary—that it iscommittedto“aglobal,inclusiveportfolio of skin care brands”.This is suspiciously less than a cosmetic

change. More than black or brown lives,profitmatters, which in an attention econ-omy runby global socialmedia algorithms,needsinsinceresocialmessagingtomanage.NeitherHULnorotherbrandsthatreignovertheRs4,000-crorewhiteningcreammarkethas shown a desire to examine their role inthe perpetuation of racist, casteist ideas ofskin colour. Nor how deviously they havetwistedideasofwomen’sempowermenttosellunsubstantiatedclaimsofmelanin-sup-pressing “miracles”. In Fighting PovertyTogether (2011), thewriter Aneel Karnani, a

professor of strategy at University ofMichigan, cites HUL research that claimed“90 per cent of Indianwomenwant to usewhiteners,becauseit isaspirational, likelos-ingweight. A fair skin is, like education, re-gardedasasocialandeconomicstepup.” Inrecentyears, Fair&Lovelyadshave showedwomen turning into successful teachers,cricket commentators or a lawyer fightingfor“women’srights”bylighteningtheirskin.Inoneadvertisement,ayoungworkingpro-fessionalprovesherworthtoherfather,whowisheshehadason,bytransformingherselfintoa fairwoman.HUL and other brands are not the only

onesguiltyof colouristbias—fromcinemato news television and advertising, therehasbeenlittlechallengetotheupper-caste,North Indian ideal of beauty anddesirabil-ity. But, given the generations of darkwomen andmenwho have beenmade tofeelunworthybecauseof thecolourof theirskin, it is not a burden they can shrugoff.Exploitative ideas of skin colour do not

define you forever. I remember flippingthrough Padmanabhan’s book, as I read ittomydaughter, lingeringoveralittlebrowngirl dressed in a bright yellow— a colour Iwas ashamed towear as a child— and herstatuesque mother, a darker shade ofbrown, also in a yellow sari, and feeling awarmglowof affection: This is us. Not fair,but how lovely.

amrita.dutta@expressindia.com

A fair-skin obsession in acountry where the majorityof people are brown is alifelong training in self-loathing and discrimination.It is tangled with broaderstructures of inequality,from caste to gender andclass privilege, securing themin place with its softer, moreinvisible power. It worksinsidiously against thevulnerable, by chipping awayat their self-worth.

PM ON ASSAMPRIMEMINISTERINDIRAGandhi, todayde-clared that she had an “openmind” on ne-gotiations to settle the foreigners issue inAssam. “I amfornegotiations. I havealwaysbeenworkingfornegotiations.Wewantne-gotiations. But so far as secession is con-cerned,therecanbenotwoopinionsthatnoprice is toogreat topay for theunityand in-tegrityof thecountry…IamwillingtoagreetoanythingprovidedotherIndiansaresafeinAssamandnottoanythingthatputsthelivesof minorities in danger. They are not statis-tics, theyarehumanbeings—men,womenandchildren,” she said.Meanwhile, theAll-AssamGana Sangram Parishad said that it

would not accept any “consensus” reachedby the political parties butwas prepared tothrashout a solution to the foreigners issuethrough direct negotiations with an openmind.

BAGHPAT VISITAFTERATWO-HOURvisittoBaghpat,HomeMinisterZailSinghand11MPs, including10women, returned to Delhi, seemingly con-vinced that the 25-year-old, Maya Tyagi ofSankalputhi village, was brutally assaultedandparadednakedonthemainroadonJune18.While the Congress (I) delegations holdthecrowd,allegedlycollectedduringashoot-out inwhich threemenwerealsokilled, re-

sponsible for the outrage, the Lok Dal sup-porters put the blame squarely on the localpolice. Common people and shopkeepersaround themain chowkwhere the killingtookplaceappearedtobesilencedbythefearof beingpersecuted.

JANATA EVICTEDA POLICE PARTY, accompanied by amagis-tratebrokeopenthelocksof theJanataPartyoffice in Patna and threwout all the effects,including typewriters and duplicatingma-chines, apparently to “evict” theparty fromthe building. The incident took placewhenSingh and other partymembers had goneout for lunch.

JULY 2, 1980, FORTYYEARSAGO

Jaipur

7THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020 WHATTHEOTHERSSAY

‘‘China has won the first battle against the epidemic, and this is worthy ofpride. But to maintain victories, we must also look at what is going on in theworld. It is a global fight, and situations in other battlefields will affect theChinese battlefield.’’ — GLOBALTIMES, CHINATHE IDEASPAGE

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

The only sphere whereAyurveda seems to havesucceeded is in themanufacturing sector. Notprepared to takemarginalisation like theother actors in this play, themanufacturers have tried towin this game by takinginnovation to another level.They have found that withthe right kind of packaging,positioning and pricing, anyAyurvedic medicine can betransformed to an FMCGand be sold as well as, oreven better, than products ofmodern pharmaceuticalcompanies.

Ayurveda deserves better Unlock the House

THEPREAMBLEtotheIndianConstitution— “We the people of India… adopt, enactand give to ourselves this constitution”—declares the ultimate sovereignty of thepeople. The Constitution rests on the au-thorityof thepeople.Thisideaisexercisedthrough the instrument of representativedemocracy.Accordingtoconstitutionalexperts,par-

liamentarydemocracyconsistsof therep-resentationof thepeople,responsiblegov-ernment andaccountability of the councilof ministers to the legislature. We, theMembersofParliament,oweourpowerdi-rectlyor indirectly tothepeopleof India.I am goaded to quote Edmund Burke:

“Parliament is not a congress of ambassa-dors from different and hostile interests;which interestseachmustmaintain,asanagent and advocate, against other agentsandadvocates;butParliamentisadeliber-ativeassemblyof onenation,withone in-terest, that of thewhole;where, not localpurposes, not local prejudices, ought toguide,butthegeneralgood,resultingfromthe general reason of the whole. Youchoose aMember indeed; butwhen youhave chosen him, he is not Member ofBristol,butheisaMemberofParliament.”So,whenpeopleelectarepresentative,

he or she represents the people of thecountryirrespectiveof colour,creed,casteandreligion.Weelectedrepresentativestocarryforwardthepeople’smind,whichin-cludes their weal andwoe and the viewsofthenation,asaninputtoParliamentandextract as an output the plethora of Acts,rules, sub-rules, etc, to serve the country.We safeguard the basic features of thedemocraticrepublic,infusedwiththespiritof justice, liberty, equality and fraternity.Parliament is considered the arena of de-bateanddialogue,decencyanddiscussion—thediademsof parliamentaryniceties.There is no gainsaying the fact that

COVID-19 has affected every segment ofournationallife.Eachandeveryinstitutionhas been undergoing a paradigm shift todealwith this threat. One such institutionis Parliament, the sanctum sanctorum ofIndiandemocracy.Thepeopleof thecoun-try have long remained watchful ofParliament’s proceedings as the power ofthe executive originates from this augustHouse.Inthewakeofthepandemic,aquestion

has been in the air: Howwill Parliamentresumebusiness?TheFinanceBillconcernsthecountry’s

finances, rangingfromtaxesandexpendi-ture to the government’s borrowings andrevenue,andmore.After thepresentationofthebudget,theFinanceBill isintroducedin the Lok Sabha. In aword, it is crucial tothecountry.Now,considerthattheFinanceBillhasbeenpassedwithoutawordofdis-cussioninParliament—anunprecedentedevent. And since the prorogation of theHouse due to the pandemic onMarch 23,

nostandingcommitteehasconductedanybusiness.In normal circumstances, there are

threesessionsofParliamentinayear—theBudget Session, Monsoon Session andWinter Session. TheMonsoon Session isgenerallyheldfromJulytoSeptember.Thistime, anewmodusoperandi for the func-tioningof theHousehastobeworkedout.Several options can be considered, learn-ing from the best practices of legislaturesaroundtheworld.First,therecanbetheusualmeetings/sit-

tingsbutwithpreventivemeasuresinplaceto protectMPs. In addition to ensuring so-cial distancing, Parliament’s premises canbe sterilised as per WHO guidelines.Legislatures in Egypt, France, Germany,Israel,SwedenandtheEuropeanParliamenthaveoptedforthismodel.Second,Parliament sessionscanbeat-

tendedremotelythroughvideoconferenc-ing and web meetings. Indonesia,Venezuela,SouthAfrica,Poland,Argentina,Brazilandmanyothershaveoptedforthismodel.Third, a hybridmodel,which incorpo-

rates elements of both the abovemodels,canbeconsidered.ThePhilippinesandtheUnitedKingdomcanserveasaguideinthisregard.Article 85(1) in the Constitution states:

“ThePresidentshallfromtimetotimesum-mon eachHouse of Parliament tomeet atsuch timeandplaceashe thinks fit, but sixmonthsshallnotintervenebetweenitslastsittinginoneSessionandthedateappointedfor its firstsittinginthenextSession.”Themaximum gap of sixmonths be-

tween sessions is important to be kept inmind.Thelastsittingof the17thLokSabhawas onMarch 23. Sixmonths or 180dayswill elapse on September 19. The Housemustbesummonedbefore thatdate.Our Constitution states that the

President may summon Parliament “tomeet at such time and place as he thinksfit”.Besides, therulesofprocedureofbothHousesrequirethesecretary-generaltois-sue summons to eachMP specifying the“date, time and place of commencementof theseason”.Theseenablingclausescanbe used to hold the sittings of the Housethroughhybridor remotemeetings.A crucial factor that should not be lost

sight of is that though the power to sum-monParliament is vested in thePresident,the latter actson theadviceon thecouncilofministers,headedbytheprimeminister.Asessionisnotterminatedbyadjourn-

ment. During the eighth Lok Sabha, a ses-sionwhich commenced on February 23,1987, was adjourned sine die onMay 12,1987.TheLokSabha,however,wasnotpro-rogued. On a proposal from the thenMinister of Parliamentary Affairs, theSpeaker, exercisinghis powers under rule15of theRulesOfProceduresandConductof Business in LokSabha, agreed to recon-venethesittingofLokSabhafromJuly27toAugust 28, 1987. The twoparts, precedingand following theperiodof adjournment,weretreatedasconstitutingoneseasondi-vided into twoparts.Thepeopleareeagerlyawaitingthere-

sumption of Parliament, especially at atime the country is reeling from amon-strouspandemicandconcernedabouttheChineseaggression.

Thewriter is the leaderofCongress inLokSabha

Whenonemanufacturerpushesanuntestedproduct inanunethicalmanner,whydoes itvilifyAyurvedaasawhole?

BABA RAMDEV HAS done a disservice toAyurveda.HeputsoutCoronil, adrug in themarket that claimsnothing short of being a“cure” for theworst public health crisis wehave faced in a long time. Soon, it turns outthat thedrughad failed tomeetboth scien-tificprotocolsandregulatoryrequirements.This episode reinforced all the modernstereotypesof traditionalmedicine—thatofmumbo-jumbo peddled by charlatans andquacks. Specifically, it buttresses an old butill-informedscepticismaboutAyurveda,thatwhile it might have a strong knowledge ofplantsandtheirmedicinalvalue, it isnotev-idence-based, that it has unstructured con-ceptsthatarenotbelievable,andthatitcan-notexplainhowitknowswhat itknows.Hundreds of practitioners, researchers

andmanufacturers that Ihavemetover thelast three decades while researchingAyurveda have taughtme otherwise. Yes, Iknowandhavewrittenaboutpopularmed-icines that Ayurveda is today known for —Liv-52,Septilin,Hajmola(didyouknowthisisacandyversionofKshtudhavardhakbati?).Yes, I know theunderbelly of Ayurveda too— BAMS doctors prescribing allopathicdrugs, andworse, Ayurvedic practitionersmixing steroids in their prescriptions. Butmy research has shownme several otherworldsofAyurveda—theworldof theprac-tisingAyurvedic doctor, the teachers in thescores of colleges and universities ofAyurvedaandresearchers indifferent insti-tutes. These worlds are much bigger anddeeper,beyondthatof Patanjali,DaburandHimalaya.Thatworldisvibrant,hasintegrityand it is important that it be known, re-spectedandvalued.Thanks tometiculous researchbyhisto-

rians and anthropologists, we know thatAyurveda functioned in a dynamic andproactive state for a very long time.“Tradition” isnotthebestwaytodescribeit,becausethatmakesitseemlikeastaticwis-dom of one time. In reality, the canonicalAyurvedic texts were complemented byhundreds of commentaries — adapting,modifying, even challenging principles bystating evidence to the contrary. Also, therewereexchangesofknowledgebetweenprac-titioners of the broad traditions of Unani,Ayurveda and Siddha, acknowledged untilthe colonial period, which brought in thehegemony ofmodern bio-medicine. Undertheinfluenceofcolonialism,wetetheredthelanguage,theinstitutionsandthesystemsofAyurvedic knowledge production to themargins of our learning and education.Weclosedmany doors andwindows of scien-tificpracticeswithinandaroundtraditionalmedical systems. But in a trick of inversion,we say theydonot follow the languageandmethodologyof science.Contrary to popular opinion, there are

thousands of Ayurvedic practitioners whoare true to their education and confidentlyprescribe only Ayurvedicmedicines. Theyhave foundways, for instance, to comple-mentsurgerywithsupportinrecovery.Theystayuptodatewiththelatest investigations

andmolecules entering themarket so thatthey can support their patients.Most often,they have to do thiswhile being judged onthe basis of rank ignorance and false pridefrompractitionersofmodernmedicine.Despite Ayurvedic knowledge being

rooted in a different philosophy, teachershavefoundwaysofkeepinguptheprocessofadaptinglearningfromthetextstocontem-porary education, fitting intomodern clas-sificationsofanatomy,physiologyandhigherspecialisations at a deeper level. They haveboth adapted to and adopted new knowl-edge, widening their horizons unhesitat-ingly, truetotheir tradition.Yettheyhavetofaceunhappystudents, strugglingwith lowself-esteem, under immense pressure tocompromise theirknowledge.ResearcherslikeAshokVaidyahavetaken

theresponsibilityofexplainingthemeaningof Ayurveda tomodern scientific research.Theyhavesystematically,faithfullyandoftenwithverylittlerecognition,donethedifficultjob of getting the languages of science andAyurveda to speak to each other. They havelearnt and used their methods, while alsothinkingcarefullyofcredibletranslationsbe-tween two languages,methods, and indeedworld-views.Fromthis, theyhaveproducedcredibleevidencethatcorroboratesandcom-plementsmodernmedicalresearch.Despitethis hardwork and brilliance, they struggletopublish in themainstreamandthose thatdo,nevermakebreakingnews.Withthisenormouseffortavailable,and

giventhatthespiritof inquiryguidesscience,it couldwell have been expected that com-munication between science, theseworldsof Ayurveda and the public would be fos-tered. Thiswould have been a great contri-butiontomedicalknowledge, forhumanityas awhole. Sadly, though,with honourableexceptions, this has not been the case. So, itis Ayurvedic doctors, teachers and re-searcherswho havemade it their businesstoinquire, implement, investigateandinno-vatewiththeseknowledgesystemsincom-municationwith science.Withoutwaitingforreciprocity,confidentlycarryingthedou-ble burdenof understanding theAyurvedicaswellasmodernscientificknowledge,theyarepossiblycontributingmoretothegreater

commongood.Theonly spherewhereAyurveda seems

to have succeeded is in themanufacturingsector.Notpreparedtotakemarginalisationliketheotheractorsinthisplay,themanufac-turershave tried towin thisgameby takinginnovationtoanotherlevel.Theyhavefoundthatwith the right kind of packaging, posi-tioningandpricing,anyAyurvedicmedicinecanbe transformedtoanFMCGandbesoldas well as, or even better, than products ofmodern pharmaceutical companies. Thissuccesscomeswithaprice.Ayurvedicman-ufacturers have to enter the race to createnewproducts,of “matching”thecapacityofbiomedicine tomakenewproducts; and of“matching”thecapacitytominethemarketforequallyhugeprofits.The worlds of Ayurveda have long de-

bated some of the fundamental flaws builtinto this apparent success. When twoknowledge traditionshave twocompletelydifferentperspectivesonbodyanddisease,then why compete on the medicine andcure? Andwhen parameters of treatmentand expected outcomes are of differentkinds, then how can the protocols of bio-medicine beused for evaluatingAyurvedicmedicines?Why can Ayurvedic manufac-turingnotfocusoncreatingadifferentworldofdiagnosis, treatmentandcure inkeepingwithitsperspective,expandingtherangeofchoicespatientshave?Thecommercialsuc-cess of Ayurvedic manufacturers enablesthem to be the emblemof Ayurveda in thepublic imagination. Thus, when one of theroguemanufacturers pushes an untestedproduct in an unethical manner it vilifiesAyurveda as a whole. But on the flip side,evenwhentheeditorofTheLancet, theven-erable journal of medicine, admits that hewas under immense pressure from thepharma industry topublishunreliabledataonRemdesivir, itwas consideredanexcep-tion,anddidnotmalignthemodernmedicalsystem as a whole. I think Ayurveda de-servesbetter.

Thewriter isprofessorofpolitical science,UniversityofDelhiandauthorofPower,

Knowledge,Medicine:AyurvedicPharmaceuticalsatHomeandintheWorld

Madhulika Banerjee

SMART MOVE

THISREFERSTOtheeditorial, ‘Newredline’(IE, July1).Unlike1962,thecontestwith China this time is amultidimen-sional one.We should be prepared touse non-linear options and hit themwhereithurts.Thisiswhywehavetobesmart about dealingwith Chinese im-ports.Whileblockingoffessentialsup-plies suchasactivepharmaceutical in-gredients and other critical inputs forIndian industry is silly, targetingChinese internetplatformsclosesase-curity loophole and leverages India’shugemarketpotentialtoputeconomicpressureonChina.Thisisalsoanoppor-tunity to develop Indian alternativesleveragingour strengths in IT.

SanjayChopra,Mohali

SAD REALITYTHIS REFERS TO the article, 'Guardingthe guardians' (IE, July 1). The imple-mentationof theDKBasu judgmentstocurb police brutality has been, by thewriter’s ownadmission, a fiasco.Mostpeople are still terribly afraid of andavoidcontactwiththepolice.Thisisun-fortunate.Thepolicehavearoundtheman air of impunity, be it free rickshawrides,custodialtortureorfakeencoun-ters. At times, probably because of ouraversion to the slow system, we areswayedintocelebratingpoliceofficers’cruelty as instant justice.Wemust re-alise that the object of their bloodlustcanbeanyone.Wemustrealisetheim-

portanceof dueprocess.MAbdullahGhazali,Patna

TORTURE IGNOREDTHISREFERSTOtheeditorial, ‘Deathincustody’(IE, June30).Accordingtodatasubmitted by the state police to theMadrasHighCourt,therewere157cus-todial deaths in Tamil Nadu between2012and2016.Thereisanurgentneedfor India to ratify the United NationsConvention against torture (UNCAT),whichitsignedin1997buthasnotrat-ifiedyet.DespitetwoofficialBillswhichlapsedandareportbythelawcommis-sion, the issue has not been a priorityfor theCentral government. Thismustchangeat theearliest.

ShubhamChoubey,Gurugram

LETTER TO THEEDITOR

ONJANUARY30,IndiahaditsfirstCOVID-19patient, the same day the World HealthOrganisation (WHO)declared theoutbreakasapublichealthemergencyof internationalconcern. OnMarch 11, when theWHOde-clareditapandemic,thegovernmentofIndiainvoked the Disaster Management Act(2005), and the Epidemic Diseases Act(1897). The national lockdown began onMarch25.These invocationsweremeant tofacilitate and galvanise disaster prepared-ness tomeet theunparalleledhealthcrisis.After PrimeMinister Narendra Modi's

warcryagainstthepandemic,citizensmusthave felt relieved and secure when thehealthministry briefed themedia on April12 that nation is over-prepared in terms oftesting, training and hospitalisation to stayahead of the disease curve. It stated, “As oftoday, if we need 1,671 beds for COVID-19patients, we have over 1 lakh 5 thousandbeds available”. Even though the figurelooked impressive, on theground, thebedswere scattered and not located as per thehospitals’ requirement at a given point intime. Thus, when there is no coordination,cooperation and collaboration amonghos-pitals inageographical region, theproblemofshortageofbedsgetsacutelyexacerbatedand becomes unmanageable even with aslight increase in thenumberof patients. Ahospital that is full may deny admission,

whereas bedsmay be available in anotherhospital. But for a patient, it is too burden-some to locate hospitals with vacant beds.This has caused tremendous hardship tomany patients, resulting in delayed treat-ment andevendeaths.On June 5, Neelam, who was eight-

monthspregnant,wasrefusedadmissionbyeighthospitalsin12hoursanddiedinanam-bulanceinNoida.Aprobeorderedbythedis-trictmagistratefoundthatshehadtoshufflebetweenhospitalswithoutaproperreferral,and Noida hospitalsmade excuses to denyheradmission.Manysuchtragicstorieshavebeen reported from different parts of thecountry. Meanwhile, high courts and theSupreme Court took note of the difficultiespeoplewerefacinginaccessingmedicalcareandpassedscathingremarksonthegovern-ments' handling of the situation. The Courtreminded the custodians of public healthservicesthattheyareduty-boundtoprovidecare.Thegovernment,awareof itsinadequa-cies,triedtoropeinprivatehospitalssoastocoverasmuchgroundaspossiblefromtest-ing to hospital beds for serious COVID pa-tients. The delayed corrective measures,morethanfourmonthsafterthefirstCOVIDcase, reflect misjudgement of an evolving,calamitouspandemic.In 1992, there was no disaster, no epi-

demic and no pandemic. Hakim Seikh, a

farm labourer, fell from a train atMathurapur station in West Bengal ataround 7.45 pm on July 8, and sustained aheadinjury.Hewasgivenfirst-aidinthepri-mary health centre atMathurapur and re-ferred to a higher centre for further treat-ment. Unfortunately, he was deniedadmission due to the lack of a bed in fourgovernmentmedical colleges, and twopri-vate hospitals. He finally got admission intheCalcuttaMedical Research Institute thenext day andwas treated there. This case,PaschimBangaKhetMazdoorSamityvsStateofWest Bengal and Anr, was adjudicated bythe Supreme Court in 1996. The Union ofIndia was also made a party to the case.Considering the range of implications, theapex court observed that other states,though not parties, must take necessarysteps in lightof thedirectionspassed.The SC ruled that denial of emergency

treatment is a violation of the right to lifeguaranteed under Article 21 of theConstitution.Theorderlaidoutcomprehen-sive guidelines for proper documentationandprotocolsforreferral/transferofpatients.Ifapatientistoosicktobetransferred,he/sheistobekeptonatrolleyandevenonthefloortillshe/hecanbeaccommodated.Toeasethepressureforemergencybeds,theSCrecom-mended that “a Central Bed Bureau shouldbe set upwhich should be equippedwith

wireless or other communication facilitiestofindoutwhereaparticularemergencypa-tient can be accommodatedwhenapartic-ularhospitalfindsitselfabsolutelyhelplesstoadmit a patient because of physical limita-tions. In such cases, the hospital concernedshouldcontactimmediatelytheCentralBedBureauwhichwill communicate with theother hospitals and decide inwhich hospi-talanemergencymoribund/seriouspatientis to be admitted.” The Delhi government’s“CoronaApp”isagoodinitiativetolocateva-cant beds, but is yet to prove effective.Nonetheless,allthebedsavailablewitheveryhospital inageographical regionneed tobepooled forequitabledistribution in thebestinterestsof thepatients.Were these SC recommendations taken

seriouslyandfollowedanywhere in India inthelast27years?Instead,thestatesarebusyreinventing thewheel amid the pandemic.Theneglectofemergencyhealthservicesfordecades is taking a toll. Hakim Seikh waslucky to survive. But theremay be no suchluck for many of the seriously ill patients,withCOVIDorotherwise.

Thewriter isprofessorof emergencymedicine (surgery), departmentof

emergencymedicine,All India InstituteofMedical Sciences,NewDelhi.Viewsare

personal

CreationofCentralBedBureau,hospitaltransferprotocols, is long-overdue

It shouldn’t take a pandemicLRMurmu

IDEASONLINE

ONLY IN THE EXPRESS

●●ATONEMENT,NOTPRIDE:PRANNVDHAWANANDDHRUVJADHAV

●●ABASELESSMERITOCRACY:

NOUMAANANWER

www.indianexpress.com

Adhir RanjanChowdhury

CR Sasikumar

Parliamentrepresentswillof thepeople.Waysmustbe foundfor it toconveneanddebate in

timesofCovid-19

Jaipur

8 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

E V E N T S, A N N O U N C E M E N T S , L A U N C H E S , C S R I N I T I A T I V E S, A P P O I N T M E N T S , M O V E M E N T S , C E L E B R A T I O N S

Central University of Rajasthan

NOTICE BOARD A P P O I N T M E N T S, M OV E M E N T S , C E L E B R A T I O N S , H O N O U R SCORPORATE ASSOCIATE DIARY

Central University of Rajasthan has again proven its worth asout of 30 Assistant Professors recruited since June 2019 tillJune 2020,14 Assistant Professors have succeeded in gettinghandsome research grant out of the 18 Assistant Professorswho submitted the proposals under UGC Start-Up ResearchGrant scheme for the newly recruited Assistant Professors inBasic Science in first few months of their career at CURaj.

Out of the 30 Assistant Professors recruited since June 2019,21 teachers are from Basic Science and Engineering and out ofthese 18 Assistant Professors applied for the grant as 3teachers joined during the pandemic period.

For obtaining the UGC Start-Up Research Grant, applicationsare invited from eligible candidates having at least 5publications in reputed journals. In addition, it is essential togive a viable research proposal to be evaluated by an expertcommittee.Needless to mention here that each of the 18Assistant Professors have at least 5 good quality publicationsto their credit in addition to having PhD and few years of post-doctoral experience abroad.

The success of this scheme is achieved by CURaj due tocareful recruitment of high quality teachers and the keeninterest taken by the Vice-Chancellor of the University, inmonitoring the preparation of the proposal, interactingindividually with each teacher, understanding the proposal andgiving necessary suggestionsin finalizing the proposal.

Speaking on the success, Vice Chancellor, Prof. Arun K Pujarisaid that "Central University of Rajasthan has made itmandatory for every newly recruited teacher in Basic Scienceand Engineering to prepare and submit a proposal for Start-Up-Research Grant. The idea behind this is to inculcate the bestpractice of writing research proposal and generating researchfunds from external agencies from the beginning of the career."

He further added that the advantage of such grants is that ithelps the teacher as they acquire financial freedom to meethis/her research needs, to support the travel to attendconferences, to set up the Lab and also this type of grant helpsthe teachers in preparing the basic foundation for larger grantslater.

Sri Chaitanya School

HUDCO Posts Robust Financial Results in 2019-2020Shri M. Nagaraj, CMD, HUDCO, shared the highlights ofHUDCO's robust performance in 2019-2020, wherein thecompany has recorded Outstanding financial results in itsGolden Jubilee Year witnessing a 45% growth in Net Profit thathas touched an all-time high of Rs 1708.42crore in 2019-2020,from Rs 1180.15 crore in 2018-2019. HUDCO has seen a 13%growth in its net worth that has reached Rs 12343.49 crore in2019-20, from Rs 10955.77 crore in 2018-2019. The net totalincome also witnessed a quantum jump of 35% to Rs 7571.64crore in 2019-2020, from Rs 5591.22 crore in 2018-2019.Further, Shri D. Guhan, Director (Finance), has shared thatHUDCO Board has also approved an all-time high dividend ofRs 3.10 per share subject to approval by the shareholders. Theabove includes interim dividend of Rs 0.75 per share paid inMarch, 2020. The total dividend recommended by theCompany is Rs 620.59 croreas against Rs 165.16 crore in theprevious year. Further, HUDCO's Net NPA is 0.19%, which isamong the lowest in the sector.During the year 2019-2020,HUDCO's emphasis was on sanction of projects pertaining toHousing-PMAY(U), Expressways and Water Supply projects.

HUDCO

Mody university always committed to work towards the betterment of girleducation and women empowerment. Mody university tirelessly workingsince last three decade for girls education. In the 265 acre of lush greencampus at Laxmangarh in sikar district provide word class facility withrenowned teachers and academicians. Students of mody university createseveral benchmarks in the field of education around the world. On theoccasion of successfully completing three decades ModyUniversityannounce several special scholarships for students. Mody university willgive 100 percent scholarship to 12th state board toppers; beside thisuniversity also give around 30 percent special scholarship to Sekhawatistudents and around 25 percent for all Rajasthan state students. Along withthis mody university also provide different scholarships to those student whosecure more than 55 percent marks in their 12th examination. Through thedifferent scholarship schemes mody university makes sure that student fromevery segment will must get the facility and privilege for higher education.Vibrant courses of Arts & Humanities, Science, Engineering, Management,Law,Architecture, Fashion & design makes it different. Due to diverse courseand state of the art facility mody university becomes the first choice for highereducation among girls.

Mody University

On the occasion of International Yoga Day, 21 June, ShriAmitava Chatterjee, Chief General Manager, SBI JaipurCircle, underlined the importance of Yoga for thecustomers and staff members of the bank. On thisoccasion, Mr. Chatterjee also released a video based onYoga called "Healthy Habits" in which he explained thatYoga is defined in different words, but his experience saysthat Yoga is the art which is the human mind, thought and

Jeevan Rekha Hospital Cardiac Sciences Team performed it'sfirst TranscatheterAortic Valve

Replacement (TAVR) case in a Post Bypass patient with SevereAortic Stenosis.

This latest technique has turned out to be a boon for a patientsuffering from severeAorticStenosis with high risk for open heart surgery. This 67 years oldgentleman 10 years after his Coronary Artery Bypass Surgerypresented to our hospital with shortness of breath and chestpain on walking. Patient was evaluated by some other hospitalsalso. Cardiac surgeon Dr. Sameer Sharma evaluated thispatient and found severe aortic stenosis. Aortic valve is thevalve in main vessel Aorta on left side of heart which suppliespure blood to all organs in body.

Cardiac Team led by Dr. Sameer Sharma, Dr. Pradeep Singhal,Dr. Ram Chitlangia & Dr. MukeshGarg performed this procedure in cath lab with activeparticipation of cath lab team of VikashSharma, Samarveer singh, Manthan, Rahul, Kajal, Sanjay,Neelu, Priyanka, Himanshu and Meeta.In carefully selected patients this procedure is safe andconvenient. The advantages of thisprocedure is shorter Hospital Stay, faster recovery andavoidance of major surgery and anaesthesia.

Sri Chaitanya School sets world record for yogaSri Chaitanya School, Ajmer Road achieved World Record for

Jeevan Rekha Hospital

SBI - Jaipur

action. By coordinating the three, man reveals the best possibility of life.Hesaid that with the help of yoga man can achieve the best of his potential. Heappealed to all staff members and customers to give Yoga and Pranayama aplace in daily life. This time due to COVID-19 epidemic, State Bank of Indiacelebrated Yoga Day on a digital platform instead of organizing it collectively.

315 FIELD REGIMENT (KARGIL)SALUTES ITS MARTYRS

On the auspicious occasion of Martyr’s Day of315 Field Regiment (KARGIL) we fondly remem-ber and salute our brave souls of Kargil War.

NK Bishnui Ray,L/Nk P Gopaiah,Gnr INC Singha, SML/Hav Mallayya,NK Sarvan Kumar andGnr Raj Kumar.

SALUTE THE SOLDIER

Maj CB DwivediSM

Jaipur

NIHALKOSHIENEWDELHI, JULY1

THEDEATHof asumowrestler (rikishi)dueto Covid-19 in May has opened a debateaboutthedietandlifestyleof Japan'sheavy-weightwrestlers.

Whoistherikishiwhodied?ShobushiKanji,just28,diedonMay13be-

cause ofmultiple organ failure after hewasfoundcoronaviruspositive .Hewasnota topprofessional sumowrestler butwas in thefourth-tierdivision,the‘Sandanme'.Shobushiwasoneofthesevenwrestlerswhotestedpos-itivefromtheTakadagawastable.AstableislikeanakharainIndia,aplacewherewrestlerstrainandlive.AccordingtoareportintheJapanTimes,Shobushi “is thought tobe the firstperson inthe20stodiefromthevirusinJapan”.HeisalsothefirstsumowrestlertodieofCovid-19.

Whyis thereadebateontheirdiet?Last week, the heaviest-ever rikishi,

AnatolyMikhakhanov,whoweighed 292.2kgjustbeforeheretired,wasvocalabouttheill-effectsofeatingtogainweightinthesport.AsahiShimbunreportedthatShobushiwasadiabeticanddoctorscited'poorhealth'asoneof thereasonsforhisdeathaftertestingpos-itive for Covid-19.Mikhakhanov is from theRepublic of Buryatia near Serbia, where hereturnedafter calling it aday in2018.Ayearafter adopting a fitness regimen ofwalking,having fivesmallmealsadayandnoteatingafter7pm,Mikhakhanovlost100kilograms.“It's never easy to stay healthy as long as

you're living the life of a sumo wrestler,”Mikhakhanovwasquotedas sayingbyAsahiShimbun.“Youaretheonlypersonthatcantakecareofyou.Nobodyinyoursumostablecaresaboutyou.Itistrueyoucannotdotrainingun-lessyoueat.Butthereisnosenseinendingupill.”Whenhewas active, hewouldhave twohugemealsadayandwouldgulpdownacrateofbeerand200piecesofsushibeforegoingtobed.Hewasdiagnosedwithhypertension,andinitiallyfounditdifficulttowalkshortdistanceswithoutachesafterhisretirement.

Whatis thedietof arikishi?Though theystart theirdayatdawn, the

first meal sumowrestlers have is aroundnoon. The first-half of the day is spend instrenuous training and practice, whichmeanstheyareveryhungrywhenitismeal-time.Thetypicalmealofarikishiisthehigh-protein chankonabe or chanko, which is abrothofvegetables, includingbokchoy, fish,chicken,meat,mushroom,onionsandeggs.They also eat huge amounts of rice. Theyhavelargeportionsofchankotwiceadayandsleepshortlyaftereachof thesebingeeatingsessions.Theaverageintakeofarikishiisbe-tween 7,000 and 10,000 calories a day (foranaveragehuman it is2,000-2,500caloriesa day). There are noweight restrictions insumowrestling in Japanandhence the aimis togetheavieraswellasstrongerandflex-ible.Rikishisusetheirsuperiorbodyweightandstrengthtopushanopponentoutof theringorforceanypartof thebody,otherthansolesof feet, to touch thering.

Does lookingobesemeanarikishi ispronetohealth issues?Reports say Shobushi was diabetic.

However, it isunclearif itwasbecauseofhisgenes or lifestyle. Yet previously done re-searchshowsthatarikishiwhoisobesemayhaveexcellenthealthparameters.Awidelycitedstudybyprofessoremeritus

of OsakaUniversity, YujiMatsuzawa, called‘Theroleof fat topologyintheriskofdisease'points tosumowrestlershaving lessvisceralfat (around organs including stomach andpancreas;knowntoincreaseriskofheartdis-ease and stroke) as compared to an equallyobeseperson.“Sumowrestlerseatahigh-en-ergy diet (7,000 to 10,000 calories) to gainweight but at the same time they performstrenuous physical training daily. Althoughtheyshowmarkedobesityandhavemarkedlyhighwaistcircumference,theaverageratioofvisceral-to-subcutaneous fat (just below theskin) is0.25 inyoungsumowrestlers,whichis comparable to subcutaneous obesity, andtheirglucoseandlipidlevelsremainnormal,”thestudystates.BasedonCTscanimages,thestudystatesthatsumowrestlershaveverylit-tle intra-abdominal visceral fatwith ‘devel-opedmuscularity’.However, the study,pub-lished in the International Journal of Obesity,haswarned that in retiredwrestlers, whodon'tdoasmuchphysicalactivity,thechancesof diabetes can increase if they continue tohavethesamehigh-calorie intake.

Whatarethestress levelsarikishi faceswhileatastable?The life of a rikishi is hard, like Indian

wrestlerswhostayinakharaswherethereisaclearhierarchybetween‘senior'and‘junior’andaguru-shishyatradition.Arikishibelongsto a stable where there is a stablemaster(Oyakata)whoisthehead.Stablesalsohavea hairdresser (Tokoyama) as a rikishimustalways keep his bun (Chonmage) in place.Theaverageageatwhichanaspiring rikishicanjoinastableis15.Thebuddingwrestlersare expected to clean, cook and serve andusuallygettoeatlastaftertheseniorprofes-sionals(seniormostiscalledsekitori)finish.Awrestlercannotjoinanotherstableandhasto remainwith the same one till he retires.Wrestlers in the lower divisions are hardlypaid but once they climb up the laddermoney starts coming in. In the lower divi-sions mobile phones cannot be used andtherearealsocertainrestrictionsonarikishistaying outside the stable with his wife.Grand Champions, once they retire, havespokenaboutrelentlessbeatingswhileatthestable. The death of a 17-year old sumowrestler in 2007, according tomultiple re-ports because of beatings at the stable,causedanuproar in Japan.

EXPERTSEXPLAIN

AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI, JULY1

ONTUESDAY,theUSFederalCommunicationsCommission (FCC) designated Chinese tele-comvendorsHuaweiTechnologiesCompanyandZTECorporation,andalltheirparent,sub-sidiaryandaffiliatefirmsas“nationalsecuritythreats”.HuaweiandZTEhavebeenaccusedofbeingclosetotheChinesegovernmentandspyingforitbysharingthedataofUScitizens.

WhataretheallegationsagainstHuaweiandZTE?The US-Huawei-ZTE tussle is nearly a

decade old now. The first official actionwastaken in 2012, when the US HouseIntelligenceCommitteereleasedareportsay-ingHuawei andZTEposeda risk tonationalsecurity, and suggesting that US businessesavoid buying equipment from them. ThecommitteesaidneitherHuaweinorZTEhadproperly addressed concerns raised on thetheirability tosnooponUScitizensor firms.TheUShasoftenaccusedHuaweiandZTE

ofworking inways thatwere contrary to its“nationalsecurityorforeignpolicyinterests”.US authorities claim these companies sendregular data packets to Chinese intelligenceagenciesby installingwhatarecalled“back-doors” incritical telecominfrastructures.

■ The US has accused the founders ofHuaweiandZTEofbeingclosetocoremem-bersofChineseCommunistPartyandreceiv-ing regular funding from the People'sLiberationArmy.“Bothcompanieshavecloseties to the Chinese Communist Party andChina’smilitaryapparatus,andbothcompa-niesarebroadlysubject toChineselawobli-gatingthemtocooperatewiththecountry’sintelligence services,” FCC Chairperson AjitPai said in the latestorder.

■ TheUShad also accusedHuawei andZTE of violatingUS economic sanctions im-posed on Iran. Former President BarackObama's administrationhadblacklisted ZTEfor sevenyears for sellingequipment to Iran.WhilecurrentUSPresidentDonaldTrumphas

saidZTEwouldbeabletoremaininbusinessintheUSafterpayingafineof$1.3billion,andproviding “high-level security guarantees”,FCC's latestactionsundoesthatdecision.

■In2018,basedonaUSwarrant,CanadianauthoritiesarrestedMengWanzhou,daugh-terofHuaweifounderRenZhengfei,forviolat-ing sanctions placed on Iran.Wanzhou re-mainsunderhousearrestinCanada,awaitingeitherextraditiontotheUSorreturntoChina.

Whatequipmentdotheymanufacture?Huawei,theworld'slargestmakeroftele-

comequipment,andthesecondlargestman-ufacturer ofmobile phones and spareparts,hasof latetriedtodiversifyintothesoftwareindustry.TheShenzhen-headquarteredcom-pany, now 33 years old, had started out bymakingrouters,Ethernetswitchesandwire-lesslocalareanetworkequipment.Ithasnowexpanded its footprint to optical transportnetworks, cloud computing and smart datastorage solutions. It has also ventured intomobile operating systemwith the launchofHarmonyOS,which it claimscouldcompetewithGoogle'sAndroidandApple's iOS.ZTE,alsoheadquarteredinShenzhen,man-

ufacturesback-endnetworkhardwaresuchas

Ethernet switches, small base stations, andbasebandunits.The35-year-oldcompanytoohasmoved into databasemanagement sys-tems,cloudcomputing,softwareandstoragesystems,aswellasnetworkcontrolandman-agement software systems. ZTEhas tie-upswithseveralbigcorporationstomanufacturetheirequipmentinChinaatverylowcosts.

Whyis thebanimportant?The classification as ‘national security

threats' couldputpressureonUSallies suchasIndiatotakesimilar,ifnotthesame,action.AbanonHuaweiandZTEbyothercountriescouldmeananincreaseofupto30percentincostof telecomequipmentacrosstheboard,especiallywhenmanycountriesaregearinguptolaunch5Gservices,accordingtoexperts.The only other major players globally

present in the telecom equipmentmarketare Ericsson,Nokia and Samsung.Owing totheir large units in China, Huawei and ZTEhave managed to keep prices of networkrouters, Ethernet switches and base trans-ceiver stations incheckover theyears.In India, Huawei and ZTE control a com-

binedabout25percentoftheRs12,000croretelecom equipmentmarket. Bharti Airtel's

networkcomprisesupto30percentChinesetelecom equipment, including Huawei's,whileVodafoneIdeauses40percent.BSNL's3G network largely comprises equipmentfromZTE,whoseshare is40percent.

HowdoestheHuaweibanimpact India?With the reserve price for 8,300MHz

spectrum,includingthe5Gband,unchangedat Rs 5.22 lakh crore, low-cost equipmentfromHuawei or ZTE could have providedsomerelief todomestictelecomcompanies.InDecember last year, TelecomMinister

Ravi Shankar Prasadhad said all players, in-cludingHuawei,hadbeenpermittedtopar-ticipateinthe5Gtrialsinthecountry.HuaweiIndia’sChiefExecutiveOfficerhadsaidinJune2019 that the companywas ready to sign a“no backdoor” agreementwith the govern-ment—itwouldvouchthatitdidnotgainac-cess toanyIndiancustomer’sequipment.Alothaschangedsincethen.Followingthe

attackontheLineofActualControl,a4Gnet-workexpansiontenderfloatedbyBSNLforit-selfandMahanagarTelephoneNigamLimited(MTNL)hasbeencancelledandis likelytobereworkednextweek tobarChinese vendorssuchasHuaweiandZTEfromparticipating.Privatetelecomoperatorshavewarnedof

huge economic costs if such a ban is put inplace.Oneofthemostimportantimplications,they said, couldbe the lossof their cost arbi-trage, as barringHuawei andZTE fromevenbiddinginthe5Gauctionscouldmeanequip-ment up to 30per cent costlier. “Overall, theprices of Chinese gear are up to 30 per centlowercompared to theirEuropeancompeti-tion.Thatgivesusbuyersapointtonegotiate.Withthemgone,ourpowertonegotiatealsogoes,”anexecutivehassaid, addingthat tak-ingChinesevendorsoutoftheequationwouldresult inaduopolyofEricssonandNokia.Reliance Jio uses equipmentmanufac-

turedbySamsung.Thecompany'spresidentMathewOommen said in a recentwebinarthat as companies move towards deploy-ment of 5G technologies in their respectivecountries, they must be wary of vendorswhichcanbringa“digitalpandemic”.

9WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Why Huawei, ZTE are ‘threats’SIMPLYPUT

TheUShasdesignatedHuaweiandZTEasnationalsecuritythreats.Whatdoesthismeanfortelecomcompaniesworldwide, includinginIndia, thatwereusingequipmentfromtheseChinesemanufacturers?

AFTER THREEmonths of missteps, thereseems tobeconsensus—or rathera late re-alisation— that not all patientswithCovid-19 need to be taken to hospitals. We haveknownwithfaircertaintysinceearlyMarchthatCovid-19doesnotspreadlikeEbola,andthatintheabsenceofeffectivemedicaltreat-ment,non-pharmaceuticalinterventionslikehand-washing, masking and physical dis-tancingwouldbe thebestdefence.Andyet,fornearlyonehundreddays,confirmedcasesof Covid-19 in India’s citieswere being ad-mittedtohospitals, irrespectiveof thesever-ityof disease.Thisblunder—withnoclinical justifica-

tion—resultedinfirstparalysing,thenover-whelming,andfinallycrushingentirehealthsystems. Thehospitalswere rendered inca-pableofcaringfortensof thousandsofotherpatients with non-Covid-related diseases,andjeopardisedthewellbeingof theirover-worked staff.What can other cities, townsand villages in India learn from this, as thepandemicspreads to thehinterland?There are a finite number of permuta-

tions that can occur, when someone is ex-posed toCovid-19. Let’swalk throughthesepossibilities,andthepossiblecarepathwayseachsituationwarrants.Asymptomatics: If exposed, one gets

Covid-19 or one doesn’t. Of all who get it,mostwill beasymptomatic: theywill shownosymptoms,butwillcontinuetospreadit.It is likely that theymay be less contagiousthansomeonewhoisactivelycoughing,butthere is no evidence to suggest that theasymptomatic patients do not spread thevirus. They,however,neednotreatment.Presymptomaticsandmildcases:Ofthe

fewthataresymptomatic,allwillfirstbepre-symptomatic.Thisistheroughlytwo-dayin-terval inwhich theywill becontagious,willspreadthevirus,butwillnothavedevelopedsymptoms.Eventuallytheywilldeveloponeoracombinationof theCovid-19symptomswe recognise: loss of smell or taste, cough,fever, andsoon.Mostofthesesymptomaticcaseswillonly

havemild symptoms andwill also need notreatment,exceptwhatphysiciansappropri-ately call “symptomaticmanagement”,withmedicationstosimplymanagethefeverandcough andbodyaches. Home remediesmayhelpwith some of this, but there is no evi-dencethattheyalterthecourseofthedisease.Symptomatics, moderate: Of the re-

mainder,somewilldevelopmoderatesymp-toms,andsomewilldevelopseveredisease.Onlythesetwocategoriesneedsophisticatedmedical intervention.Thosewithmoderatesymptomswillben-

efit fromoxygen therapy, and “pronation,”

which inplainEnglish,means lyingonyourbelly,insteadofyourback.Doingsoopensuptheairchambersinthebackofyourlungsthatare normally collapsed, thereby providingmore oxygen to your blood. Early evidenceshowsthatthishelpsaverttheneedformoreaggressive interventioninsomecases.But the principal intervention for those

withmoderate severity is oxygen—whichcan be delivered through amask and tubeconnectedtoaportableoxygentank(whichlikeagascylinder, isheavy, andmustbere-placed); or as piped oxygen, as is availablein some hospitals, andwhich comes fromlarger tanks;or simplyviaa small, portablemachine called an oxygen concentratorwhichmakesoxygenfromair.Manypeoplewith lung diseases have them at home.There is no clinical justification to take upICUbedsforthesepatients.Theydonotneed

ventilators, or intensive care specialists —especiallywhennocity inIndiahasenoughof either, andmost smaller towns and vil-lageshaveneither.Severe cases: Unlike run-of-the-mill

pneumonias, we have observed that theshortness of breath in patientswith Covid-19canprogressabruptly,andthesepatientsneedventilators.Thesebreathingmachinesarehighlycomplexsystemsthatneedskilledtechnicianstorunthem,andrequirethatpa-tients have a flexible plastic tube advancedintotheirtrachea(windpipe),typicallybyananaesthesiologist or emergency physiciansor intensivists. Thepatients thenhave tobekeptsedated(asleep)withapreciselydosedintravenousmedication — an overdose ofwhichcaneasilykill thepatient.Andfinally,plasma donated from Covid-19 survivorshelpssomeof thesickest.Thesearethecrit-

icalelementsofan“ICUbed”—thereisnoth-ingspecial about thebed itself.Community-basedcare:Thebestwayto

relaxtheloadonhospitalsistokeepallthosewhodonotneedhospital-basedcare, awayfromhospitals— foras longas is safelypos-sible. Keeping people home safely meansmonitoringsymptomaticpatientsbymeas-uring their respiratory rate (counting howmanybreathstheytakeperminute—theav-erageperson takes about12) and their oxy-gensaturation,usingasmalldevicethatclipsontoyour fingertips, calledpulse-oximeter.Neighbourhoodchampionsandcommunityhealthworkerscanbeeasilytaughttodothisviaonline teachingaids.If the oxygen saturation begins to go

down,ortherespiratoryratebeginstogoup,the patients need intervention— first, oxy-gentherapy.Mostwillnothaveaccesstohos-pitals, and can be safely given oxygen athomewhen possible, or in neighbourhoodCovid-care centres. Aminoritywill have togo tohospital.Therewill,ofcourse,bemanyexceptions

to this neat linear progression, but the vastmajoritywill follow this trajectory, as datafromaroundtheworldareshowing.(Westilldon’thave reliableclinicaldata fromIndia.)This strategy is not new. By early April,

patients in NewYork, where the epidemicwas then at its peak,were being sent homewithpulse-oximetersandevenoxygencon-centrators.VariousstatesinIndiawereatthetime embracing unproven, unvalidated in-terventions.Insteadofdistributingspicemixtures,ar-

senicumalbumandhydroxychloroquine, itwillnowbewisertodistributepulse-oxime-terstocommunitiesatrisk.Sofar,earlydatasuggest that a steroid and the antiviralremdesivirmayshowsomebenefit inmoresevere hospitalised cases. Favipiravir hasbeenapproved foruse inmoderate cases inIndia, but the data have not been released.Note however, that a similar wonder-drugforinfluenzamostlybringsdownsymptomsbyaday.Thesemedicationsarenotcures.Covid-19 will ravage neighbourhoods

across India. The best strategy will be tomountahyper-localresponsethatisbackedbyscience.DharaviandKerala—verydiffer-ent from each other — have shown how ahighly context-driven strategyworks.Mostof thosewhowill get Covid-19will be fine.Among those who have some symptoms,monitor as many as possible with pulse-oximeters (or simplybycounting the respi-ratory rate, when devices run out). And ifshortofbreath,administeroxygenationandpronation.Aminoritywillgetverysick,andwill re-

quire critical care. The harsh reality is thatmostfromthelastgroupwillnotgetthecaretheyneed.Wecannot fixdecadesofneglectwhile in the throesof apandemic.

(DrSatchitBalsari is assistantprofessor inEmergencyMedicineand inGlobalHealthatHarvardUniversity’smedicalandpublic

health schools.DrZarirUdwadia isConsultantChest

Physician,PDHindujaHospital&MedicalResearchCentre,Mumbai)

Satchit Balsari &ZarirUdwadia

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to explained@indianexpress.comE EXPLAINED

THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

If you are infected: demystifying Covid-19 care

How a coronavirusdeath has rekindleddebate on weight ofsumo wrestlers

AHuaweistore inBeijing,onWednesday.AP

EXPOSURE

HaveCovidDon’thaveCovid

Asymptomatic SymptomaticPre-symptomatic

Mildsymptoms OtherShortnessofbreath

Highflowoxygen Pronation VentilationPharmaceuticals

TOP 10STATES

INDIA COUNT: 5,85,493 (17,400 DEATHS)

1,74,761Maharashtra

90,167Tamil Nadu

18,014Rajasthan

23,492 UP

87,360 Delhi

32,557Gujarat

18,559West Bengal

14,548Haryana

15,242Karnataka

16,339Telangana

UnionHealthMinistryupdateasof11pm,July1.Somestatesmayhavereportedhighernumbers.Onlystates/UTswithatleastonecaselistedabove.

3,47,979PATIENTSDISCHARGEDIN35STATESANDUNIONTERRITORIES

RESTOFINDIAAndamanandNicobarIslands 97AndhraPradesh 14595ArunachalPradesh 191Assam 8227Bihar 10043Chandigarh 440Chhattisgarh 2860DadraandNagarHaveli 213Goa 1315HimachalPradesh 953JammuandKashmir 7497Jharkhand 2490Kerala 4442Ladakh 973MadhyaPradesh 13593Manipur 1234Meghalaya 52Mizoram 160Nagaland 459Odisha 7065Puducherry 714Punjab 5568Sikkim 89Tripura 1388Uttarakhand 2881

Have a question on the COVID-19 outbreak andwhat you should/should not do?Write to explained@indianexpress.com

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

585,481India

240,578Italy

230,211Iran

314,991United Kingdom

279,393Chile

249,271Spain

2,638,338US

1,402,041Brazil

285,213Peru

TOTAL CONFIRMED: 10,509,749 DEATHCOUNT:512,331Source: JohnsHopkinsUniversity,updatedat11pmonJuly1 . JHU’sIndiatallyandHealth

Ministry’stally(right)maynotmatchastheseareaccountedatdifferenttimes.

THEWORLD653,479Russia

A sumowrestler’saverage intake is7,000to10,000caloriesaday. File

Jaipur

10THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

FOREST FIRES

INDONESIAPROVINCEDECLARESEMERGENCYIndonesia’s third-largest province declared a state of emergency after identifying morethan 700 fires, as the country braces for its annual fire season. The province of CentralKalimantan said the state of emergency will run until Sept 28.

SOUTHASIA

PakistanArmyappointsfirstwomanLtGenPAKISTAN ARMY has pro-moted awoman officer totherankoflieutenantgeneralforthefirsttime,themilitarysaidTuesday.MajorGeneralNigarJohar,whogotthecov-etedpostofathree-stargen-eral,hasalsobeenappointedas the first female surgeongeneralofthePakistanArmy.“Sheis the1st femaleofficertobepromotedasLieutenantGeneral.Theofficerhasbeenappointed as 1st femaleSurgeon General of PakArmy,” the Inter-ServicesPublic Relations DirectorGeneral, Maj Gen BabarIftikhar,tweeted.Johargrad-uated fromArmyMedicalCollege,Rawalpindi, in1985and joined the Army’sMedicalCorps.

LtGenNigarJoharalsobecamePakistanArmy’sfirstfemalesurgeongeneral

TOPOFTHEWORLD

USA

JudgedelaysreleaseofbookbyTrump’snieceDISTRIBUTIONOFatell-allbook by US PresidentDonaldTrump’sniecewasblocked by a judgeTuesday after thePresident’sbrothersaiditspublicationwouldviolatea pact among familymembers, but a pub-lisher’schiefexecutivesaysthebookhasalreadybeenshippedand couldnot bestopped. NewYork stateSupremeCourt JudgeHalBGreenwaldissuedanor-der requiring the niece,Mary Trump, to explainwhy they should not beblocked frompublishingthe book: TooMuch andNever Enough: How MyFamilyCreated theWorld’sMostDangerousMan.

ITALY

‘ISIS-made’drugsseizedinrecordhaulITALIAN POLICE haveseized 14 tonnes of am-phetamines,allegedlypro-duced in Syria by theIslamic State group anddestinedfortheEuropeanillegal drug market.Customs Police Col.Domenico NapolitanocalledthediscoveryofthedrugsintheportofSalernothebiggestamphetamineseizureevermadeworld-wide.Napolitano said thedrug’s production pro-videsISwithvitalrevenue.The amphetamineswerelabelled captagon, thestreet name for a drugwhose chemical base isfenethylline.

REUTERS&PTIHONGKONG, JULY1

HONGKONGpolice firedwatercannonandteargasandarrestedmore than 300 people onWednesdayasprotesters took tothe streets indefianceof sweep-ingsecuritylegislationintroducedbyChinatosnuffoutdissent.Beijingunveiledthedetailsof

themuch-anticipated law lateonTuesdayafterweeksofuncer-tainty,pushingChina’sfreestcityandoneof theworld’smostglit-tering financial hubs on to amoreauthoritarianpath.The United States and the

United Kingdom have con-demnedthemove.BritishPMBorisJohnsonsaid

the new law violated Sino-British Joint Declaration. "Westand for rules and obligationsandwethinkthatisthesoundestbasis of our international rela-tions. The enactment and theimposition of this NationalSecurity Law constitutes a clearand serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. It vio-latesHongKong'shighdegreeofautonomy and is in direct con-flictwithHongKongBasicLaw,"JohnsontoldMPs.US Secretary of State Mike

Pompeo said the United Stateswould not stand idle as China“swallows” Hong Kong into its“authoritarian maw”. Pompeosaidthenewlawwasanaffrontto all nations andWashingtonwould continue to implementPresident Donald Trump’s di-rective to end the territory’sspecial status.In Hong Kong, as thousands

ofprotestersgatheredforanan-

nual rallymarking the anniver-sary of the former Britishcolony’s handover to China in1997, riot police used peppersprayand firedpellets.Police said they had made

morethan300arrests for illegalassemblyandotheroffences.The law punishes crimes of

secession,subversion,terrorismandcollusionwithforeignforceswithupto life inprison,will seemainland security agencies inHongKongforthefirsttimeandallows extradition to themain-land for trial.China’s Parliament adopted

the law in response to protestslast year triggered by fears thatBeijing was stifling the city’sfreedoms,guaranteedbya“onecountry, two systems” formulaagreed when it returned toChinese rule.Hong Kong police cited the

lawinconfrontingprotesters.“You are displaying flags or

banners/chanting slogans/orconducting yourselveswith anintent such as secession or sub-version,whichmayconstituteof-fencesunderthe...nationalsecu-ritylaw,”policesaidinamessagedisplayedonapurplebanner.

THENEWYORKTIMESJULY1

MORETHAN48,000coronaviruscases were announced acrosstheUnitedStatesonTuesday,themostofanydayofthepandemic.Officialsineightstates—Alaska,Arizona, California, Georgia,Idaho,Oklahoma,SouthCarolinaandTexas—alsoannouncedsin-gle-dayhighs.Tuesdaywasthefourthtime

inaweekthat theUnitedStatesposted a new single-day caserecord.The number of newcases in

theUnitedStateshasshotupby80 per cent in the past twoweeks, according toaNewYorkTimesdatabase.More than 4,600 new cases

of the viruswere announced inArizona,byfaritsmostinasingleday, as Vice President MikePenceplannedtotravelthereonWednesday. More than 7,800new cases were announcedacrossCaliforniaandmore than6,800 inTexas.The increase in infections

cameas the leadersof themostpopulous counties in TexaspleadedwithGov.GregAbbottto allow them to issue stay-at-home orders. “We are havinganexperiment, agamble, in thehopes that we can be the firstcommunity that suddenly flat-tens the curve without a stay-at-home order,” said LinaHidalgo, theexecutive inHarrisCounty, which includesHouston, the hardest-hit areaof the state.California’s case count has

explodedinrecentdays—lead-ing the governors of NewYork,New Jersey andConnecticut totell travellers fromCalifornia toquarantine for 14 days, joiningthe ranks of travellers fromother hard-hit states.

DAWITENDESHAWADDISABABA, JULY1

AT LEAST 52 peoplewere killedin Ethiopia’s Oromiya region inprotestsfollowingthefatalshoot-ingofapopularsinger,aregionalspokesman said onWednesday,laying bare splits in the primeminister’s political heartlandaheadofnextyear’spolls.Musician Haacaaluu

Hundeessaa was shot dead onMonday night in what policesaidwasa targetedkilling.Protests reflecting anger at

thekillingofapopularfigureanda sense of politicalmarginalisa-tionbrokeoutthenextmorningin the capital and other townsand cities in the surroundingOromiyaregion.Thedeadincludedprotesters

and members of the securityforces, spokesman GetachewBalcha said. Some businesseshadalsobeenseton fire.Police said late on Tuesday

that a policemanwas also killedinAddisAbaba,andthreeexplo-sionstherehadkilledandinjuredanunspecifiednumberofpeople.Prominent Oromo opposi-

tion leader Bekele Gerba andmediamogulJawarMohammedwerealsoarrestedwhenJawar’s

bodyguards refused to disarmduringastand-offwithpolice.Haacaaluu, whose funeral

will beheldThursday, provideda soundtrack to a generation ofyoung protesters. Their threeyears of bloody street demon-strations forced the unprece-dentedresignationof theprevi-ous prime minister and theappointment of PrimeMinisterAbiyAhmed in2018.REUTERS

LALITKJHAWASHINGTON, JULY1

“IRRESPONSIBLE” AND “erro-neous”media leaksnotonlyun-dermine the position of the USPresident, but also damage theabilityof thenationtocollect in-telligence, theWhiteHouse hassaid,refutingreportsofRussiaal-legedly giving bounties toTaliban-linkedmilitantsforkillingAmericantroopsinAfghanistan.The intelligence assessment

ontheRussianbountieswasfirstreportedbyTheNewYorkTimes.Subsequently, othermediaout-lets also published the report,triggeringacontroversy.“Which allies will want to

share informationwithus if theyknowthatsomerogueintelligenceofficercangosplashthatinforma-tionon the frontpageof amajorUS newspaper?”White HousePressSecretaryKayleighMcEnanysaidonTuesday.McEnanyalsore-futed reports that PresidentDonald Trumpwas briefed ontheissue.“Inthisadministration,we’veseen100criminalleakre-ferrals to the DOJ in 2017, 88 in2018, and 104 on average peryear,”McEnanysaid.PTI

SHEILADANG&KATIEPAULNEWYORK,SANFRANCISCO,JULY1

ADVERTISEMENTS FORmorethan400brandsincludingCoca-Cola and Starbucks are due tovanish from Facebook onWednesday, after the failure oflast-ditch talks to stopaboycottoverhatespeechonthesite.UScivilrightsgroupshaveen-

listed themultinationals to helppressure the socialmedia giant

intotakingconcretestepstoblockhate speech in thewake of thedeath of George Floyd and amidanationalreckoningoverracism.Facebook executives includ-

ing Carolyn Everson, vice presi-dentofglobalbusinesssolutions,andNeil Potts, public policy di-rector,heldatleasttwomeetings

withadvertisersonTuesday,theeve of the planned one-monthboycott, three sourceswhopar-ticipatedinthecallstoldReuters.Buttheexecutivesofferedno

newdetails onhowtheywouldtackle hate speech, the sourcessaid. Instead, they pointed backtorecentpressreleases,frustrat-ing advertisers who believethoseplansdonotgofarenough.Facebook Chief Executive

Mark Zuckerberg has agreed tomeetwith the organisers of theboycott, a spokeswoman saidlateTuesday.REUTERS

LARRYNEUMEISTERNEWYORK, JULY1

HARVEYWEINSTEINandhisfor-merstudio’sboardhavereacheda nearly $19million settlementwith dozens of his sexual mis-conduct accusers, New Yorkstate’s attorney general andlawyersinaclass-actionlawsuitsaidTuesday.The agreement was an-

nounced byNewYorkAttorneyGeneralLetitiaJamesandChicagoattorneyElizabethA.Fegan.The deal, if approved by

judges in federal courts, wouldpermit accusers to claim from$7,500 to $750,000 from the

$18.8millionsettlement.The formerHollywood pro-

ducerwas convicted earlier thisyear of rape and sexual assaultagainsttwowomen.Accusationsbydozensofwomenin2017de-stroyedhiscareerandgaveriseto#MeToo,theglobalmovementtohold powerfulmen accountablefortheirsexualmisconduct.The 68-year-old was diag-

nosed inMarchwith the coron-avirus just days after he wasmovedtothestate’smaximumse-curityWendeCorrectionalFacilitynearBuffalo tobegin servinghis23-yearprisonsentence.AP

Mississippi dropsConfederatesymbol from flagEMILYWAGSTERPETTUSJACKSON, JULY1

WITHAstrokeof the governor’spen,Mississippiisretiringthelaststate flag in the US with theConfederate battle emblem—asymbolcondemnedasracist.Republican Governor Tate

Reeves signed the historic BillTuesday at the Governor’sMansion,immediatelyremovingofficial status for the 126-year-oldbannerthathasbeenasourceofdivision forgenerations.“Thisisnotapoliticalmoment

tome but a solemn occasion tolead our Mississippi family tocome together, to be reconciledand tomoveon,” Reeves said onlive TV just before the signing.“Wearearesilientpeopledefinedbyourhospitality.Weareapeo-pleofgreatfaith.Now,morethanever,wemust lean on that faith,put our divisions behindus, anduniteforagreatergood.”AP

Mississippi’swasthe lastUSstate flagwiththeConfederateemblem.AP

Over 300arrested in Hong Kong’sfirst protest under newsecurity law

RALLIESONANNIVERSARYOFHONGKONG’S 1997HANDOVERTOCHINA

UKsayslawbreachesSino-BritishJointDeclaration;USsayswon’tstandidleasChina‘swallows’HK

HongKongprotestersgesturewith five fingers, signifyingtheir “Fivedemands—notone less”slogan,Wednesday.AP

New coronaviruscases in US up 80%in past two weeks

Asoldiercarriessamplesfrompatients inBamako,Timbuktu,Mali.AP

Covid-19 casesmount in remoteTimbuktu

BABAAHMEDTIMBUKTU, JULY1

HARANDANE TOURE startedtakingmalariapillswhenhefirstspiked a fever but as the dayspassedhisillnessonlyworsened.Doctors ultimately told him

he was among the hundredsnow infected with the coron-avirus in this town long fabledfor being inaccessible from therestof theworld.There are no commercial

flights to Timbuktu, whose re-mote location in the SaharaDeserthaslongmadethetown’snamesynonymouswiththeendsof the Earth. Health officials saythe global pandemic hasman-aged to reach here all the same.Alreadytherearemorethan500cases including at least ninedeaths,making itMali’s largestoutbreakoutsidethecapital.At the localhospital, acluster

of tents set up outside nowhouses 32 Covid-19 patients.There isn’t a single ventilatoravailable.Temperaturesregularlysoar above 45 degrees Celsius,addingto thepatients’miseryastheybattle fever.AP

Facebook frustrates advertisers asboycott over hate speech kicks off

Zuckerberghasagreedtomeettheorganisersof theboycott

Harvey Weinstein reaches tentative$19-million deal with his accusers

Hewasconvictedearlier thisyearof rapeandsexualassaultagainst twowomen

‘Irresponsible’media leaksdamage abilityto collect intel:White House

52 killed in Ethiopiaprotests followingsinger’s fatal shooting

HaacaaluuHundeessaaintraditionalcostumelastyear.ThemusicianwasshotdeadMondaynightinwhatpolicesaidwasatargetedkilling.

7-DAY VOTE ON CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES THAT COULD SEE PUTIN IN POWER TILL 2036 COMES TO AN END

Even as Russians vote in elaborate referendum, its outcome is preordainedANDREWHIGGINSMOSCOW,JULY1

THEOUTCOMEofRussia’sseven-daynational plebiscite, intendedto keep President Vladimir V.Putininpoweruntilatleast2036,isallbutcertain:PutinwillgetthenumbersheneedsafterafinaldayofvotingonWednesday.Lessclear,however,iswhyhe

even needs voters to approve araft of constitutional amend-mentsthat,alreadyapprovedbythe national parliament inMoscow and regional legisla-turesacrossthecountry,entered

into lawmonthsago.“From a juridical point of

view, this whole exercise is in-sane,” saidGregBYudin, a soci-ologist and political theorist attheMoscowSchoolofSocialandEconomic Sciences. But, headded,“it isnotatallameaning-lessprocedure,”becauseRussia’ssystemunderPutindependsonthe appearance of popular sup-port to confer legitimacyonde-cisionshehasalreadymade.“It istheatre,butveryimpor-

tantandwell-playedtheater.Thesystemneedstostagedisplaysofpublic support even when itdoesn’thaveit,”Yudinsaid.“This

vote isputtingPutin’s theatricaltechniques to the test.”Inafinalmelodramaticflour-

ishonTuesday,Putinaddressedthenationagainst thebackdropofmonumentstoSovietsoldierskilledfightingNaziGermany,as-suring voters that their voicesmattered, no matter that thescores of amendments theywerebeingaskedtovoteonhavealready been enacted and theamendedconstitutionhasbeenpublishedand isonsale inbookstores. “Thevoiceof eachof youis themost important, themostsignificant,”Putinsaid.Voterscould, intheory,reject

theamendments,andPutinhaspledged to honour their deci-sion.Butthechancesofthathap-pening areminuscule, not leastbecauseofwhatGolos, an inde-pendentelectionmonitoringor-ganization, described onTuesday as an electoral processrigged fromthestart.Golos said the vote, unfairly

skewed by a noisy one-sidedpropagandacampaignbystate-controlled media and blatantpressurefromasprawlinggalaxyof state-funded companies andorganisations,does“notallowustotalkseriouslyaboutthepossi-bilityofthewillofthepeoplebe-

ingexpressed.”The state’s vast reachand re-

sourceshaveallowedit tomobi-lize people like LyudmilaSavinkina, the editor in chief ofYegoryevsk Today, a small statetelevisionstationinatownsouth-eastofMoscow.Inarecordingob-tainedbyGolos, sheorderedherstaffnotonlytovotebuttomakesure they voted in the town ofYegoryevsk, no matter wheretheyareusuallyregistered.(Localofficials risk losing their jobs ifthey fail tomobiliseenoughvot-ers intheirowndistricts.)Forthosewhodisobeyed, the

editor toldher staff, therewould

beconsequences.Those,shesaid,“mayvary, I’m justwarningyou.And this concerns both you andme. Iwill not even explain it toyou. Everyone can lose jobs,bonuses—and this amid apan-demic,whenmanypeople havealreadylosttheirjobs.”Savinkinadidnotrespondtotelephonecallsseekingcomment.For weeks, a long parade of

prominent Russians who de-pendon the state for their posi-tions and income—fromactorsandmusicianstothepatriarchoftheRussianOrthodoxChurch—haveparadedacrossstatetelevi-sionurgingpeople tovote.NYT

PutinaddressesRussiansamidthereferendumonconstitutionalamendments.Reuters

Whynew lawwillworryTaiwan

CHINA’SSWIFTpas-sageofthesecuritylawthatthreatensHongKong’sautonomywillbeworryingtoTaiwan,whichhassofarheldoffBeijing’sattemptsatpersuad-ingittowardsunification.Withthere-electionofpro-in-dependencePresidentTsaiIng-weninTaiwan,Chinahassteppedupflightsofmilitaryaircraftintotheisland’sair-space,andalsowarneditagainstprovidingasylumtoactivistsfromHongKong,ac-

cordingtoaNewYorkTimesreport.AsChinatakesamoreaggressivestanceintheregionamidtheCovid-19pan-

demic,Taiwan’sworriesarefurthercompoundedbyun-certaintyregardingUSsupportunderTrump.FormerUSNSAJohnBoltonsaysinhisnewbookthatTrumprepeatedlydismissedTaiwan’ssignifi-canceincomparisontoChina.TheUSPresidentisalsotryingtoholdtogetheramuch-trum-petedtradedealwithChina.

Jaipur

11SENSEX: 35,414.45 ▲ 498.65 NIFTY: 10,430.05 ▲ 127.95 NIKKEI: 22,121.73 ▼ 166.41 HANG SENG: 24,427.19 ▲ 125.91 FTSE: 6,088.55 ▼ 81.19 DAX: 12,111.94 ▼ 198.99

THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

GOLD`49,908

RUPEE`75.60

OIL$42.07

SILVER`51,870

Note:Gold, silverratesatspotmarket inDelhi;goldper10g, silverper1kg;Brentcrudeasof2230IST

Internationalmarketdatatill1900IST

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH PUNE(An Autonomous Institution under Ministry of HRD., Govt. of India)Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune - 411 008 l www.iiserpune.ac.in

Advt. No. 29/2020/IISER-P/Rect./01.07.2020 Registrar

For detailed information about emoluments, requirements andsubmission of online application, please visit www.iiserpune.ac.inand click on the link “Opportunities – Technical/Administration”.The last date for submission of online application isJuly 22, 2020.

RECRUITMENT: OFFICE SUPERINTENDENTInstitute invites online applications from Indian nationals havingexcellent academic record for the position of “OfficeSuperintendent”[Level-6,ReservedforOBC (NCL)Category].

ODISHA RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AGENCYS-3/59, Mancheswar Industrial Estate, Bhubaneswar-751010Phone: (0674) 2588260, 2586398, 2580554, Fax: 2586368

Website : www.oredaorissa.com,E-mail : ceoreda@oredaorissa.com

e-TENDER CALL NOTICENotice No: 2701 Date: 30.06.2020

Tender is invited through e-tender portal from eligible bidders fordesign, engineering, supply, installation, testing, commissioning andacceptance of Rooftop Solar Power System (RSPS) and solar StreetLighting System (SLS) through off-grid mode along with comprehen-sive Operation & Maintenance (O&M) for ten (10) years at variouslocations in the 115 no. of Panchayat Samiti Office premises acrossall 30 district(s).

Details can be seen from the website www.tenderwizard.com/OREDA or www.oredaorissa.com. Further corrigendum, if any, willbe uploaded in these websites only.

Sd/-Chief Executive

Tender Notice No: AMD/WR/ESG(Civil)/Internal & External Painting MIG & Elect/2019-20/148&01Dated: 24/01/2020

GOVERNMENT OF INDIADEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY

ATOMIC MINERALS DIRECTORATE FOR EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH1-10-153-156, AMD COMPLEX, BEGUMPET

HYDERABAD - 500016

Director, AMD, DAE, on behalf of the President of India invites online item rate tender (in two bid) throughe-tendering mode from reputed, qualified, experienced, technically and financially sound firms for the workof “ SUPPLY, INSTALLATION, TESTING & COMMISSIONING FOR 1. LAN UPGRADATION: SWITCHES,CABLES, & OTHER PASSIVE COMPONENTS, 2. AMD WAN UPGRADATION: DATA ENCRYPTION SD-WAN,NASSERVER,SFFSERVERWITHMONITOR,NETWORKMANAGEMENTSYSTEM,INTEGRATIONOF DEVICES WITH EXISTING BSNL MPLS BASED VPN ROUTERS, FIREWALLS CONNECTING HQAT HYDERABAD & SIX REGIONAL CENTERS OF AMD AT NEW DELHI, BENGALURU, TATANAGAR,SHILLIONG, JAIPUR AND NAGPUR. WARRANTY WITH ONSITE MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT FORA PERIOD OF 3 YEARS”. Estimated cost: Rs. 1,54,00,000/-, EMD Rs. 3,08,000/-, completion period 04months, Cost of tender processing fee Rs. 5900/- in the form of e-payment. Detailed tender notice alongwith other documents are available on website: <www.tenderwizard.com/DAE>. Tender documents areavailable for view/download from 02/07/2020 (11:00 hrs) to 15/07/2020 (17:00 hrs). Pre-bid queries from16/07/2020 to 17/07/2020 (17:00 hrs). Date of uploading of pre-bid clarifications on 22/07/2020. Closingof online submission of tender’s upto 17:00 hrs on 25/07/2020. Receipt of hard copies towards EMD etc.upto 15:00 hrs. on 31/07/2020. Opening of online tender (Technical bids) on 04/08/2020 at 15:30 hrs.Financial bids of qualified bidders shall be opened at a later date to be notified separately. Detailed NITis also available on website: www.amd.gov.in for view only. For further clarification, please contact on040-27761159, 040-27776267.

NOTICE INVITING e-TENDERNIT NO.AMD/AMDC/LAN-UPGRADATION/2020-21/T-1 dated 02/07/2020

Tender Notice No: AMD/WR/ESG(Civil)/Internal & External Painting MIG & Elect/2019-20/148&01Dated: 24/01/2020

GOVERNMENT OF INDIADEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY

ATOMIC MINERALS DIRECTORATE FOR EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH1-10-153-156, AMD COMPLEX, BEGUMPET

HYDERABAD - 500016

Director, AMD, Begumpet, Hyderabad invites on behalf of the President of India, sealed item rate tender intwo parts (TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL) from eligible vendors, for the following work in the permisesof AMD complex, Hyderabad

1) Sale of Tenders: 02.07.2020 to 10.07.2020 on working days only up to 17:00 Hrs.2) Dates for Site visit: 02.07.2020 to 10.07.2020 (Please note that site visit is mandatory)Tender documents: Tender Documents can be obtained in person or by post from Incharge AMDC, AMD,Complex, Begumpet, Hyderabad 500016, (Phone No. 040-27761159, 040-27776267) on any workingday from 02.07.2020 to 10.07.2020 on submission of required documents as per eligibility criteria givenin detailed NIT at cost of Rs. 500/- (Postal charges Rs. 100/- extra) by non-refundable crossed demanddraft, drawn on any nationalized/ Scheduled bank in favour of the Pay & Accounts Officer, AMD payableat SECUNDERABAD. Cheques/ Bank Gurantees/ Postal Orders will not be accepted. For downloadedTenders, Cost of Tender and documentary evidence in support of eligibility criteria should be submittedalong with the Technical bid.For further details and eligibility criteria, please refer to the Notice Inviting Tender available in AMD’s websitehttps://www.amd.gov.in. The tender Documents will also be available for downloading from the AMDwebsite from 02.07.2020 to 10.07.2020.

NIT NO. AMD/AMDC/LANWAN/AMC/2020-21/1 DATE: 02.07.2020BRIEF TENDER NOTICE

Earnestmoney(In INR)

12600/-

Last Date ofSubmission

14/07/2020(15:00 Hrs)

Estimatedjob value (InLaksh INR)

6.3

SCOPE OF WORK

Comprehensive AnnualMaintenance Contract of :1) AMD-LAN (VLAN) 320nodes atAMDHyderabad, 2)Secured LAN (intranet) 100Nodes at AMD Hyderabad,3) AMD-WAN (wide areaNetwork) comprising of VPNequipment (Including Rout-ers) inter connecting AMDHeadquarters, Hyderabadwith SIX Regional Centres ofAMD viz, New Delhi, Jaipur,Nagpur, Shillong, Tatanagarand Bangalore.

TenderNo.

NIT NO.AMD/AMDC/LANWAN/AMC/

2020-21/1Date:

02.07.2020

Period ofcompletion

1 YEAR

Date andTime ofOpeningof part 114/07/2020(15:30 Hrs)

AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI,JULY1

INDIA’SDEPENDENCEon“foreignappswhichhaveall agenda for avariety of reasons must stop,”Union Electronics and Infor-mationTechnologyMinisterRaviShankarPrasadsaidWednesday.“Inthewakeofthebanwhich

wehave imposed ... I don’twanttogointothedetailsofit...emerg-encypowershavebeenexercisedandthelegalprocesseshavebeenfollowed. But I think it is a greatopportunity for goods and appsmadebyIndians,”hesaidatavir-tualconferencetomarkfiveyears

ofthecompletionofDigitalIndia.Prasad also requestedNass-

compresidentDebjaniGhoshandInfosys’ non-executive chairmanNandanNilekani,whowerepres-entattheconference,toencoura-gestartupsandindividualswhichmadesuchapps.TheMinistry of Electronics

andInformationTechnologyhadMondaybanned59apps,includ-ingpopular ones of Chinese ori-ginlikeTikTokandShareIt,basedoninformationthattheywereen-gaged in activities “prejudicial tosovereignty and integrity”, de-fence,securityandpublicorder.

Full report onwww.indianexpress.com

‘Dependence on foreign appswhich have agenda must stop’

BRIEFLYSeniorLICofficialtakeschargeNewDelhi: LIC saidDineshBhagat has taken charge asAdditionalZonalManagerofNorthernZone,whichcom-prises Delhi, Haryana,Himachal Pradesh, Jammu& Kashmir, Leh, Punjab,RajasthanandChandigarh.

`2crfromJSPLtoChhattisgarhCMReliefFundNew Delhi: Jindal Steel &Power Ltd (JSPL)Mondaysaid itdonatedRs2croretotheChhattisgarhChiefMini-ster Relief Fund tohelp thestatebattleCOVID-19. ENS

VaidyatakesoverasIOCChairmanNewDelhi:ShrikantMadhavVaidyaonWednesday tookover asChairmanof IndianOil Corporation (IOC). HesucceedsSanjivSingh,whosuperannuatedonJune30.

CarlyletobuystakeinAirtel’sdatacentrebizNew Delhi: Carlyle Groupsaid itwillacquireabout25percentstakeinAirtel’sdatacentrebusiness,NxtraData,for$235million.

Pricefixing:USDoJchargesGlenmarkNew Delhi: GlenmarkPharmaceuticals Inc, USA,was charged for conspiringto fix prices for genericdrugs,theUSDepartmentofJustice said Tuesday. AGlenmark spokespersonsaid, “Westronglydisagreewith the charges being ad-vancedby the Federal gov-ernmentanddonotbelievethe evidence supports thegovernment’scase”. PTI

Makers, importers of pulse oximeters, oxygenconcentrators asked to submit pricing dataENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JULY1

ASTHEdemandforpulseoxime-ters and oxygen concentratorssurge in thewake of thepande-mic,theNationalPharmaceuticalPricingAuthority (NPPA)has di-rectedmanufacturers and im-

portersof theseproducts to sub-mit pricingdata. Themoveaimsto ensure that people seeking tobuy these items at this time arenotfleecedintheprocess.As per some industry execu-

tives,therehavebeeninstancesofhike in prices of these productsduetoariseindemandandocca-sional shortage insupply. Stating

thatmaximumretailprices(MRP)of medical devices cannot behiked over 10per cent in a year,NPPAsoughtinformationonMRPdetails of pulse oximeters andoxygen concentrators, a copy ofthenotificationwhichThe IndianExpresshasviewedstated.

Fullreportonwww.indianexpress.com

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JULY1

THE WORLD Bank’s Board ofExecutiveDirectorshasapproveda$750millionMSMEEmergencyResponse program to supportfunding to micro, small, andmediumenterprises(MSMEs),se-verelyimpactedbytheCOVID-19pandemic.The programmewill help in

improving funding capacity ofsmall finance banks (SFBs) andnon-bankingfinancialcompanies(NBFCs)fortheMSMEsector.TheWorldBanksaidthispro-

grammewill address the imme-diateliquidityandcreditneedsofsome1.5millionviableMSMEstohelp themwithstand the impactof the current shock andprotectmillions of jobs. The loan has amaturity of 19 years including afive-yeargraceperiod.

World Bank to give $750 mnfunding support to MSMEs

New Delhi: Insolvency profes-sional entities (IPE)will nowbeable to provide support servicesto any all insolvencyprofession-als(IP)handlingacorporateinsol-vency resolutionprocess (CIRP),asper anotificationby the insol-vencyregulatorWednesday.IPEs assist IPs in carryingout

theirresponsibilitiesinmanagingtheCIRP, including collating clai-

msofcreditorsandpreservingthegoingconcernstatusandthevalueofassetsof thecorporatedebtor.Experts said the move will

boost the business of IPEs andhelpdevelopmentofmoreIPEstosupport IPs aswell ashelp insol-vencyprofessionalstotakeonas-signmentswith the support ofIPEsthatwouldotherwisenotbeabletotakeup. ENS

Insolvency professionals canget support services from IPEs

‘Manufacturing index still in contraction mode in June’Mumbai: India’smanufacturingactivitysurgedsharplyinJunebutcontinuedinthecontractionmodefor a third straightmonthasde-mandandoutput suffered fromthreemonths of lockdowns toquellthespreadofthecoronavirus.

At47.2 in June, the seasonallyadjusted IHS Markit IndiaManufacturingPMIIndexsurgedfrom30.8inMay.Areadingbelow50 indicates contraction.Despitetherise,thelatestreadingpointedtoa thirdsuccessivemonthlyde-

clineinthehealthofthemanufac-turing sector, albeit one thatwasfar softer than registered inAprilandMay, itsaid.PMIfell to27.4inApril from51.8 inMarch, its low-est reading sincedata collectionbeganover15yearsago.ENS

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JULY1

GOODSANDServices Tax (GST)collectionintheApril-Junequar-terdeclined41percenttoRs1.85lakhcrore,datareleasedfromtheFinanceMinistry onWednesdayshowed.While themonth-on-monthcollectionsshowedapickup in June, rising to Rs 99,940crore, from a record low of Rs32,394crore inApril inwhatcanbe seen as a sign of greater eco-nomic activity amid easing oflockdown for COVID-19, the re-coverycouldalsobepartlyattrib-uted to delayedpayments frompreviousmonths as deadlines

wereextended,officialssaid.Finance and Revenue

SecretaryAjay Bhushan Pandeysaid that 70-80 per cent of theJunecollectionwouldhavecomefromtransactionsinMay.“Wearedoing that exercise to find outfromtheavailabledatabutmyes-timateisthat70-80percentoftheJunecollectionwouldhavecomefromtransactionsinMay,”hetoldTheIndianExpress.TheFinanceMinistryinitsre-

leasesaidtherevenueshavebeenimpacted due to the pandemicandrelaxationinreturnfilingandtaxpaymentdeadlines.“Therev-enues during the financial yearhasbeenimpactedduetoCOVID-19,firstlyduetotheeconomicim-

pact of the pandemic and sec-ondlyduetotherelaxationsgivenbytheGovernmentinfilingofre-turnsandpaymentoftaxesduetothepandemic.However,figuresofthe past threemonths show re-covery inGST revenues,” the re-leasesaid.InApril,whichreflectsGSTrev-

enues for sales inMarch, theGSTrevenuedeclined71.6percent toRs32,294crore.InMay,thecollec-tionswere recordedatRs62,009crore, a decline of 38.2 per centover the same period last year,while in June, the collectionsde-clined9percenttoRs90,917crore.“The government collected

gross#GST revenueof Rs90,917croreinJune2020,whichis91per

cent of the collections in June2019,”Office of FinanceMinisterNirmalaSitharamantweeted.DetailedbreakupforGSTcol-

lections raised in various statesshowedthatmoststatesrecordedadeclineinGSTcollectionsinJune.However, states such as Punjab,Chhattisgarh,Madhya Pradesh,Bihar,AndhraPradesh,Telangana,Karnatakaalongwithnortheast-ern states of Assam, Sikkim,Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura,NagalandandArunachalPradeshrecorded growth inGST collec-tionsinJuneoverlastyear.Taxexperts saideven though

GSTcollectionshavedeclined forthequarter, signsof recoveryarethereinJune.

MONTH-ON-MONTHRISE INJUNECOLLECTIONONPICK-UP INBIZACTIVITIES, DUES

PRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI,JULY1

THENATIONALPharmaceuticalPricingAuthority (NPPA)hasde-cided to allowpharmaceuticalcompaniestoincreasethepriceofessentialbloodthinnerheparinby50percentuntilDecember,citingshortages and rising costs of therawmaterialsfromChinausedtomake it here. Thepricehike alsocomesasheparinwasamongsev-eral drugs flaggedby theHealthMinistry as essentialmedicinesthat needed to remain in stockwhilethecountrybattledtheon-goingCOVID-19pandemic.Meanwhile,otherpharmaceu-

tical companies have also ap-proachedthedrugpricingwatch-dog seeking price increases forvariousotheressentialmedicineslikeparacetamolformulationsandantibioticsonsimilargrounds,TheIndianExpresshaslearnt.Thedevelopmentalsocomes

atatimewhentensionsbetweenIndiaandChinahavebeenontherise.While therehadbeen issueswithdelayed clearances of con-signments fromChina at Indianportsoverthelastfortnight,ship-mentsofpharmaceuticalproductshave begun to get released thisweek, as per PharmaceuticalsExportPromotionCouncilofIndiaChairmanDineshDua.TheNPPAhadreceivedappli-

cationsfrom“several”companieswithmajormarket share of he-parin injections seeking an up-wardpricerevision.Indoingso,the

firmshadsubmittedthatthecostoftheheparinsodiumactivephar-maceutical ingredient (API)usedtomake thedrughad risen “to aconsiderable extent”,making it“entirely unviable” for them tocontinuemanufacturingit.Thecostsof theAPIconstitute

a“major”portionoftheinputcostforthedrugandtheAPIis“mainlyimported fromChina,” the firmshadsubmittedtoNPPA,accordingtoanotificationdatedJune30.“TheAuthority furthernoted

thatHeparininjection5000IU/mlhas also been included in list ofmedicineessentialforpatientsad-mittedinICUandHospitalizationdue to COVID-19 circulated byMinistry of Health & FamilyWelfare.Uninterruptedsupplyofsuchmedicines is essential formanagementofCOVID-19,”statedtheminutes of NPPA’s June 22Authoritymeeting. “Further, re-ports of shortagehavealsobeenreceivedforHeparinInjection.”TheIndianExpresshasreviewedacopy

oftheminutes.A committee headed by

Central Drugs StandardControlOrganisationjointdrugcontrollerDrSEswaraReddyhadinformedtheAuthoritythattherehasbeena211percentincreaseinthepriceof heparin’sAPIwhencomparedto the base year of September2018,accordingtotheminutes.Asperpharmaceuticalassoci-

ations, API costs imported fromChinaandusedtomakeessentialmedicinesherehaveonaveragerisen20-35percentinthelast3-6months,withamajorityoftherisebeingbrought induring thepan-demic.Antibioticazithromycinhasseena“substantial”increaseinAPIcosts,asperIndianPharmaceuticalAlliance Secretary GeneralSudarshanJain. Paracetamolprod-ucts, as per IndianDrugManu-facturers Association SecretaryGeneralDaaraBPatel,havealsoex-periencedsimilarhikes.

Full report onwww.indianexpress.com

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI, JULY 1

THE RESERVE Bank of India(RBI) on Wednesday said thegovernment has approved ascheme for non-banking fi-nance companies (NBFCs) andhousing finance companies(HFCs) to improve their liquid-ity position and avoid any po-tential systemic risks to the fi-nancial sector throughaspecialpurpose vehicle (SPV).As per the government de-

cision, SBI Capswhich is a sub-sidiary of the State Bank ofIndia has set up an SPV (SLSTrust) to manage this opera-tion. “TheSPVwillpurchasetheshort-term papers from eligi-bleNBFCsandHFCs,whichwillutilise the proceeds under thisscheme solely for the purposeof extinguishingexisting liabil-ities,” the RBI said.According to theRBI, the in-

struments will be CPs andNCDswith a residualmaturityof notmore than threemonthsand ratedas investmentgrade.“The facility will not be

available for any paper issuedafter September 30, 2020 andthe SPV would cease to makefresh purchases afterSeptember30,2020andwouldrecover all dues by December31,2020orasmaybemodifiedsubsequently under thescheme,” it said.

TAX RATES that are lower thanrevenue neutral levels, coupledwith the sluggish economicgrowth,haveendedupimpactingrevenues, Finance SecretaryAJAY BHUSHAN PANDEY said,addingtherearenointrinsicstruc-tural issueswith the indirect taxregime. In an interview withAANCHALMAGAZINE, Pandey,who holds charge as RevenueSecretary,saidraterationalisation,correctionofinverteddutystruc-ture have beendiscussed in theGST Council and the decisionsabout thesewill be taken in thenext8-9months.Editedexcerpts:

Howdoyouseeresolvingthedeficitinthecompensationcessfund?Taxcollectionsarereflectiveof

tax rate andeconomicactivity inthe country. In the pre-GSTregime,onanaverage,mostitemswere sufferinga tax rateofmorethan 31 per cent. The revenueneutralratewasdecidedat17-18per cent, but today the averageGST rate is 11-12per cent.Manyitemsare exempted.Most itemsareatalowertaxratethanearlier.Yet,averagemonthlycollectioninthefirstyearofGSTwasRs89,000crore, in the secondyear it cametoaroundRs97,000croreandlastyear itwasmore thanRs 1 lakhcrore. This isdespite the fact thattheratesonmanyitemswerere-duced in the first, second, andthirdyear.Also, in FY20 (July-

September),therewaslowereco-nomicactivity,eventhenaveragetaxrevenuelastyearwasRs1lakhcrore.Lastyear,theFY20nominalGDPgrowthratewas7.5percentbut thedomesticGST collection,leaving aside the import part asGDPgrowthand taxgrowth canbecomparedondomesticcollec-tion,wasaround9percent—bet-terthanGDPgrowth.Thepercep-tion that GST revenue has notgrown,thusleadingtoacompen-sationgapisnotcorrect.What onehas tounderstand

is that thecollectionisdowndue

to rates that are lower than rev-enueneutralrates.Alsoduringlastyear and this year, the slump ineconomic activity is reflected inGSTcollection.Inthecurrentsitu-ationifGSThadnotcome,wouldtheVAT revenuehave grownby14percent?So,therefore,itisnotcorrect to infer that because ofGST,revenuehasdeclined.Thewayweareusingdataan-

alytics to target thosewhoare atthefringeofthelaw,thecollectionhasbeenandwillbehigher thanGDPgrowth.However,inCOVID-19situationifthecollectionislessthan14percentgrowthrate,thenthequestion ishowtobridgethecompensationgap.Theanswerisin theGSTCompensationAct it-self,whichsaysthatthecompen-sationwouldbepaidoutfromthecompensationfundandthesolu-tion has to be found by theGSTCouncil,whichdiscussed this inthelast2-3GSTCouncilmeetings.TheGSTCouncilwill takeappro-priatedecisionsonthis.

Isoneoftheoptionsonthetableaboutlessthan14percentgrowthrateasisinthecompensationlaw?Itwillbeveryprematureforme

tosaywhatGSTcouncilwilldecide.

Puttingitanotherway,inretrospect,was14percenttoohighanaskingrateforcompensation?Supposing the economyhad

grown at 12 per cent, then ofcourse, 14 per centwas achiev-able.Butsupposingtheeconomygrowsonly at say5per cent or 6percent,thenofcoursethe14percent(ishigh).Say,thegrowthwas

happeningat12percentandiftheGSTcollectionsweregrowingat5percent,thenitwouldhavebeenacauseofworryandmeantsomeGST implementation problem.But as long as GST collection isgrowingatahigherrate thantheeconomicgrowth, then itmeansthat the problemdoesn’t lie somuchintheGSTimplementationandthenitisonaccountof lowereconomicgrowth.And, thenonehas to look for certain solutionsthat howdowemanage till theeconomy picks up, what is thekind of solutionswhich peoplecanarrive at andall those thingswill be looked at by the GSTCouncil.

Inthisyear,goingforward,whatcouldbethetopreformsunderGSTinthecomingsixmonths?Wehave to improve the tax-

payers’ experiences, if there areproblems, however small itmaybe, itmaybe affecting evenonetaxpayer,wehave to ensure thathealsogetsassmoothanexperi-enceasanyoneelse...andforthatwe are constantlyworkingwithInfosys.Onthelargerpolicyquestions,

suchasinverteddutystructure,orraterationalisation,thegoodthingis that over the last fewmonths,several groupshavebeenconsti-tuted under the GST Council.Those discussions are going on.Somedecisionshavebeen takenandmoreandmoredecisionswillgettakenaswegoforward.Thisisa continuous exercise andhope-fullywithinthenext8-9months,manysuchdecisionswillbetaken.

Includingraterationalisation?This is something beingdis-

cussed. TheentireGSTCouncil isvery sensitive to theneedsof theindustryandaccordinglytheytakeanappropriatedecisionwhetheritisraterationalisation,orinverteddutystructureorwhetheritis fur-thersimplification.

Full interviewonwww.indianexpress.com

E●EXPLAINED

GSTCOLLECTIONonamonth-on-monthbasishas,however,shownare-covery,partlyduetopickupineconomicactiv-ityandoverduepay-mentsfrompreviousmonths.Revenuetrendincomingmonthswillbecrucial forthegovern-menttobeabletomeetitsexpenditurealongwithcompensationpay-mentstostates.

Revenuetrendtobekey

Down41%inApr-Jun:GSTmop-uptakesalockdownhit

RBI unveilsliquidityscheme forNBFCs, HFCs

INTERVIEWWITHFINANCESECRETARYAJAYBHUSHANPANDEY

‘Collection is down due to levies lowerthan revenue neutral rates, wrong toinfer revenue has declined due to GST’

Rising costs of raw materials from China: NPPAto allow pharma cos to raise heparin price by 50%

AMIDRISINGTENSIONS,INDIA&CHINAHAVEBEENBLOCKINGCONSIGNMENTSATTHEIRRESPECTIVEPORTS

ThecostsoftheAPIconstitutea“major”portionoftheinputcostforthedrugandtheAPIis“mainlyimportedfromChina,”thefirmshadsubmittedtoNPPA

Jaipur

NITINSHARMA&SHAHIDJUDGECHANDIGARH/MUMBAI,JULY1

Newly-crownedPremier LeaguechampionsLiverpool travel to Etihad Stadium onThursdaynighttotakeonsecondinthetableManchesterCity,title-holdersforthelasttwoseasons. As is the custom, Pep Guardiola’steamwillgivetheRedsaguardofhonourbe-forekick-off.Eventhoughtherewillbenofansinattendanceatthevenue,it’sboundtomakeevery Liverpool fan’s heart swellwith prideand there are bound to be a few tears of joywhentheywatchtheendof their30-year ti-tledroughtfromafar.KenSkupski, a former top50men’s dou-

bles tennis player, was just seven whenLiverpoolwonitslastleaguetitle,backin1990.Hedoesn’t remember it, but curiously, has afaint recollection of his hometown club los-ing the 1988-89 title to Arsenal based on aweakerscoringrecord(bothteamsweretiedon76points).“Thathurt,”heoffers.Patrick Newton, another Liverpool resi-

dent,wasjustfourwhenLiverpoolwonwhatis arguably considered themost grippingChampionsLeaguefinalseverplayedin2005.He doesn’t havemuch recollection of thatmatch that he assumes hewatched at hisgrandparents’ home (“Family tradition, towatchallfinalsthere,”heexplains).ItwasonlyafewmonthsafterNewtonhadattendedhisfirstmatchathisfavouriteclub’shomegroundAnfield–aYouthFACuptie.“Myparents prettymuch started taking

metomatcheswhenIwasoldenoughtoleavehome,”hesays.While Skupski andNewtonhaveno rec-

ollection of the last time Liverpoolwon theEnglish Football League – the top flight divi-sionuntil thePremier Leaguewas formed in1992 – over in Leeds, 61-year-old SimonPlimleyhadspentjustunderhalfhislifewait-ingtoembracethatold,longlostfeelingagain.That feeling of watching The Reds beingcrownedchampionsofEngland.

Subdued celebrationsAnd so it happened,whenChelsea beat

second-placedManchesterCity, and the ti-tle was secured. Yet this time, precautionsagainsttheCOVID-19pandemicwouldforcethecelebrations tobesubdued– including,

empty stands this Thursday night whenCity’s players give the new champions aGuardofHonour.“Toknowthatwewon’tseeitandthetro-

phyceremonyinperson, thatwewon’tbe inthegrounds toenjoy themoment, it’s a littledisappointing,” saysNewton,who grewuplisteningtostorieshisgrandfatherwouldtellhimof the glory years in the 1970s and 80s,whenthelikesofKennyDalglish,IanRush,BillShankly,BobPaisleyetall ruledtheroost.“The older generation, they’ve seen it,

they’ve experienced it. They knowwhat it’s

like. For (the younger generation) to thinkwe’re finally going to see it, to have ourmo-ment,andnowit’sbeentakenawayfromus.It’saterriblesituationintheworld,sowecan’tcomplain,butyes, it isdisappointing.”Skupski acknowledges that disappoint-

mentaswell.Butthe37-year-oldalsoexudesasenseof relief.“Youhavetoappreciatethefactthereare

things going on bigger than football,” saysthe 2017Wimbledonmen’s doubles quar-terfinalist.“Wehavehadanamazingseasonbutatonepointwealmosthadtoaccepttheseasonwasgoing tobevoid. So tobeable tocomeback to finish offwhatwe started is areliefmorethananything. It’sdisappointingtonotbeinthestadiumbutattheendof theday, we are just super excited to finally getbackonourperch.”

Football getawayWheneverhemanagedtotakeaweekor

twoofffromthetenniscircuit,SkupskiwouldsneakinanoutingatAnfield–includingthe5-

2win over local rivals Everton. Newtonhasgone for all homematches this season eversincehewasemployedbyTheAnfieldWrap–afan-sitethatstartedoffbypublishingpod-casts(includinginterviewswithformerplay-ers Dalglish andKevin Keegan, and currentmanagerJurgenKlopp).Plimley,though,isaveteran.He’sbeengo-

ingforgamessince1969.“In the last five decades, I have seen

Liverpoolwinning three Champions Leaguetitles,atWembley(1978),Paris (1981)andinMadridlastyear,” liststhesexagenarian.“I’vealsowatchedthemplayfourFACupfinalsandfourdifferentleague-titlewinningmatches.”This time though, once the league

restarted behind closed doors in June, thematchexperiencewasdifferent.“I ammissing the camaraderie of fellow

fans–travelling togetheronthebus,havinga pre- and post-match beer together andtauntingtheoppositionfans,”hesays.“Ican’treplicate this at home asmywife was nothappyaboutmemakingalotofnoiseinfrontof the television.”The stadiummay be shut for them, and

visitstothepubs–aregularvenueforbanteramong fans –limited because of the pan-demic. Butwith Liverpoolwinning its firstleague title in 30 years, and 19th overall,meansTheUnbearables(atagLiverpool fansweregivenbyrivalfans,butonethattheyem-bracedcitingtheopponentsbeing‘jealous’oftheclub’s achievements)nowholdbraggingrights.Andafterthethree-decadewait,there’sa long listof rival fans the ‘torture’will be re-paid to–which includes, inSkupski’s list,hisformer doubles partner andAndyMurray’scurrentcoachJamieDelgado.“My entire career, I’ve had to listen to

ManchesterUnitedfanstellmehowgoodtheirteamwas and how sad itmust be being aLiverpoolfan,”Skupskisays.“IhavetoadmitIwasenviousoftheirsuc-

cess. The title has beenourneed for too longasother fanshavemockedus for so long.Butnowit’stimeforTheUnbearablestoenjoytheirwonderfulteam.”And he signs off in amanner typical of

Liverpool fans:“YNWA.”You'll NeverWalk Alone. Ironic in these

times.TVGUIDE:ManchesterCityvsLiverpool,

liveonStarSportsNetworkandHotstarfrom12.45am(Thursday)onwards.

12THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

SPORTWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

R.N.I.No. RAJENG/2015/64747 Vol. IVNo.169

PrintedandPublishedbyR.C.Malhotraonbehalf of The IndianExpress (P) LimitedandprintedatDBPrint Solutions (AunitofDBCorp. Ltd.), BhaskarPrintingPress, Shivdaspura,RailwayCrossing, TonkRoad, JaipurandpublishedatD-54,GroundFloor, ResidentialRoad, SardarPatelMarg,ChomuHouse,C-Scheme, Jaipur -302001(Rajasthan). Phone:0141-4043972. Fax:01414043973. Editorial office: The IndianExpress (P) Limited,B1/B, Sector–10,Noida–201301. Phone:0120-6651500.Advertisingofficephone:0141-4043972.Chairmanof theBoard:ViveckGoenka,Chief Editor:RajKamal Jha, Editor:UnniRajenShanker, Editor : P.Vaidyanathan Iyer *

(*Responsible for selectionofNewsunder thePRBAct.) Copyright: The IndianExpress (P) Limited.All rights reserved.Reproduction inanymanner, electronicorotherwise, inwholeor inpart,withoutpriorwrittenpermission isprohibited. The IndianExpress®

Fields of Fanfield RoadTheymaynotbeabletocelebrateatthestadium,butLiverpoolfansarerevellingattheendof the30-yeardrought

Sanga’sstatementsoughtinWCprobeFormer Sri Lanka captain KumarSangakkarahasbeenaskedtorecordhis statement in front of a special in-vestigatingunitof theSportsMinistryprobingallegationsthatthecountry's2011WorldCupFinallosstoIndiawasfixed, localmedia reportedhere.SriLanka'ssportsministrylastmonthordered an investigation into formersports minister MahindanandaAluthgamage'sallegationthatthena-tional cricket team's loss to India inthe2011WorldCupfinalwasfixedby"certainparties". PTI

RonpowersJuveto3-1winatGenoaCristianoRonaldoscoredwithalong-range rocket on a night when eachJuventus goal wasmore spectacularthantheother ina3-1winat relega-tion-threatened Genoa. Chasing arecord-extendingninthstraightSerieA title, thevictory restored Juventus'four-point lead over Lazio, whichwon 2-1 at Torino earlier Tuesday.Since losing the Italian Cup final toNapoli in a penalty shootout,Juventus has won all three of itsleaguematches in the restart. AP

LivecricketinSAtoresumefromJuly18Thepostponed '3TCricket' competi-tion,whichwouldmarktheresump-tionof livecricket inSouthAfrica fol-lowingthecoronavirus-forcedbreak,willbeheldonJuly18. TheSolidarityCup, which will see 24 of SouthAfrica'stopcricketersfeatureinthreeteamsplaying twohalves in a singlematch,was scheduled to be held onJune27butwaspostponed afterCSAfeltmoreworkwas needed to stageit. The teams that will take part inthematch are the Eagles, to be cap-tainedbyABdeVilliers, Kingfishers,to be led by Kagiso Rabada and theKites, which will have Quinton deKock as skipper. PTI

BRIEFLY

Messiscores700thgoalindrawvsAtleticoLionel Messi scored his 700th career goal for club and country before Atletico Madridcame back to draw 2-2 in the Spanish league and deal Barcelona's title hopes a majorblow. Barcelona's third draw in four rounds left it in second place, one point behindleader Real Madrid. Madrid hosts Getafe on Thursday with a chance to open up a four-point lead with five more matches remaining.

CROSSWORD4159

ACROSS1 Noise interruptsspeech inchurchceremony(10)

8 Girl I careabout(5)

9 Wronglypresumeit’s thehighest (7)

10 Addone’s ringingtones to theconversation?(5,2)

11 Smallpictureaspartof acollection(5)

12 What is left (6)14 Firmforhorses (6)17 Oneof thedamsels Ienjoyholding (5)

19 Ahighpost? (3,4)21 Canhideperhaps, thoughconfinedtoonearea(7)

22 Rosie is inwillowyshape(5)

23 Possiblyagoodtryer?That’s somewhatdisparaging(10)

DOWN2 Attackingagirl indistress(7)

3 Iamontimefor thepicture(5)

4 Agree it looks likewhatwasdespatched(6)

5 I’mthetypetomakeanimpression(7)

6 WhentheDevildrives, theymust (5)

7 Thetopsalesmaninprint?(4,6)

8 Official titleof greatmerit(10)

13 Comparativevacuum?(7)

15 Acoal-burningvessel(7)

16 Greyhound?(3,3)

18 Whereonemaysitorget toone’s feet (5)

20 Rod,poleorperch(5)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)Moneycouldbethemainregionof lifestillrequiringattention,although

theexcitementshouldbeover.Iamnotaskingyoutobeasaint,butIdothinkthatyoushouldbegintobealittlelessconcernedwithyourownaffairsandmorepreparedtohelpotherswhohavemissedout.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)Yourchart today iswhatastrologerscall‘exalted’. Thisonewordshouldbe

enoughtoconveytheimpressionthatyouarewellonthewayto improvements in thequalityof your life.Therespectyoudeserve iscoming,andwillbeverygratifyingwhenitfinallyarrives.

GEMINI (May22- June21)There is only onething left to say athomebut, exactlywhat, is not clear

fromyour chart. Havingfitted one last piece into thejigsawyoumaybe able togo your ownway and leavefamily relationships tolook after themselves.Hopefully, other peoplewillnowco-operate.

CANCER(June22- July23)Aplethora ofplanetary patternsprogresses slowlythroughyour

horoscope. As theydo so,youwill becomehappierwithyour ideas andmoresuccessful in setting thepace at home. Youwill alsocookup anewwayofmakingoneof yourmajor ambitionscome true.

LEO(July24-Aug23)Prosperity is indeedon theway. It just sohappens that onevery particular

planetary alignment indicatesawell-deserved increase inyour earnings. I earnestly hopethat the promise of the starscomes to pass.What youhave to do, though, is takethe initiative.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sep23)Thedown-to-earthandtheultra-mundanewillbeintricately tiedto the

profoundandthe long-term.Thereforedon’tdismissapparentlymeaninglesspeopleoreventsoutofhand, for theymayeventuallyhavegreatsignificance.Themost trivialdevelopmentsmaywellbe themost important.

LIBRA(Sep24-Oct23)This is thesectionoftheweekduringwhichyoushouldbeginto thinkabout

money.Yoursolarchartdenotesexcellent financial skills, so Ihavenodoubt thatyouarenowpoisedtopickupa fewbargains.Evenwhen selectingpartners,youneedtoshoparound.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov23)Sometimesyouareguilty, like anyordinarymortal, ofcrossing the road

andwalkingpastwhenyou see trouble.However, theimpact theSunhashadrecently indicates thatfor thenextmonthyou shouldmakeapoint of helpingpeoplewhoaremuchworseoffthanyou.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)Thecurrenttendency inyourchart isverymuchtowardsdevoted

hardworkanddedicationtoyourresponsibilities.Evenrelationshipsmustbeworkedat,otherwiseeventswill slipfromyourgrasp.Assoonas thathappens, thenyou’llhavetodealwithcircumstancesthatyouthoughthadbeenfinishedwith.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)Wecannot livebybreadalone.Whataremarkably truestatement that is,

andhowamazinglyrelevant toyourcurrentcircumstances. Ifyoukeepyoureyes fixeddoggedly to theground,marvellousopportunitieswillflybyunseen.Raiseyoursightsto theskies.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)Onlywhenothershave beenput rightin nouncertaintermswill yoube

able to get yourway at home.However, itmaybe anotherfewdays before youhave thevery genuine satisfaction ofhaving beenproved right.Even then, youmaynotreceive an apology.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)Theconcludingscene isabout tobeplayed inoneparticulardrama.

Probablyall that isat stake isaquestionof fact. It allboilsdowntowhoiscorrectbut,asaPiscean,youmustremember that truth is relative.Everyonecouldberight, each intheirownway.

SUDOKU4157

DifficultyLevel2sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4156

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.The__ofbecominga‘__-___’keepssomepeoplefrombecominganything.-EricHoffer(4,.,3-4)

SOLUTION:MELEE,ARENA,HASTEN,BEFOREAnswer:Thefearofbecominga‘has-been’keepssomepeoplefrombecominganything.-EricHoffer

LMEEE THANES

ENAAR EEORBF

SolutionsCrossword4158:Across:1Exhale,4Versed,9Sundown,10Tuner,11Rhine,12Concern,13Conscripted,18Ruffian,20Impel,22Cones,23Snooker,24Seemed,25Offset.Down:1Ensure,2Hanoi,3Lioness,5Eaten,6Sincere,7During,8Anachronism,14Offence,15Pairoff,16Cracks,17Claret,19Issue,21Pekes.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

SimonPlimley(greyjersey),aregularatLiverpoolgamessince1969,duringthefirst legof theChampionsLeaguesemifinalsinMadridlastyear.(Belowleft)KenSkupskiwithhissonTaylorataLiverpoolvsLeicestermatchatAnfield.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA, JULY1

AS SHASHANKManohar stepped down asthe International Cricket Council chairmanonWednesday,hecticparleysareexpectedindifferent cricket boards in the next fewweeks,with aneye tonominatehis succes-sor. It is learnt that the ICC AnnualConference,scheduledinmid-July,hasbeenpostponedindefinitelybecauseofCovid-19.Manohar’ssecondtwo-yeartermwould

havecometoanendat theFullCouncil. Thesenioradministrator,whobecamethe ICC’sfirst independent chairman in2016, hadal-readyannouncedthathewouldn’tbeseek-inga third term.The ICC release said deputy chairman

ImranKhwaja“willassumetheresponsibil-ities of the Chairperson until a successor iselected”. The Board agreed to the ad-hocarrangement when it met today. The ICCchairisusuallyelectedattheFullCouncil,butnowthat it ispostponed, itneeds tobeseenwhat timeline the game’s global body putsout. “The process for the Chairperson elec-tion is expected to be approved by the ICCBoardwithinthenextweek,”theICCstated.WiththeCovid-inducedeconomiccrisis

looming on the horizon, the majority ofcricket boards need the BCCI’s support, es-pecially in terms of playing bilateral series,asabailout.TheBCCI is readytoprovidetheleadership.However,thispaperunderstands,the Indianboardhasn’t yet takenadecisiononwhether to nominate someone from itsfoldor tothrowitsweightbehindaconsen-suscandidate.ComingbacktoManohar,hebecamethe

ICC chief, nominated by the BCCI, inNovember 2015 after the Indian board hadrecalledNSrinivasanandreplacedhimwiththeformer.Nextyear,ManoharquittheBCCIpresidentshiptobecometheICC’sfirst inde-pendentchairman.However,afterjusteightmonthsinoffice,heresignedbuteventuallytookitback.HistenuresawtheICCdisman-tle theBigThreemodel to adopt amoreeq-uitable revenuedistributionsystem. “ThereisnodoubtthatcricketowesShashankadebtofgratitudeforallhehasdoneforthesport,”Khwaja, the ICCdeputychairman, stated.

Manohar stepsdown as ICCchairman

Jaipur