12
A greeing to discuss the four- point agenda of the farm- ers, the Ministry of Agriculture on Monday invited 40 protest- ing farmers’ unions for the next round of talks on Wednesday to find a “logical solution” to the current impasse over the three new farm laws that has led to massive protests near Delhi’s borders for the last one month. This will be the sixth time that the Centre will be making an attempt to convince farmers to call off their month-long agi- tation. However, a joint front of farmer unions had proposed that the talks be held on Tuesday. Meanwhile, reacting to the Government response, farmers’ unions have agreed “in-princi- ple” to a Government propos- al for talks, but said the Centre should have spelt out the agen- da of the meeting in its invite. Samyukt Kisan Morcha — an umbrella body of 40 unions protesting against the con- tentious legislations — said the farmers have agreed to go for the meeting on the date proposed by the Centre, while All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) has said the Centre has shown an unwillingness to resolve the issue. “The Government has used vague and unspecific lan- guage, indicating its unwill- ingness to discuss the full agen- da items proposed by farmers,” the organisation said in a statement. It also said the Government is trying to find ways to blame farmers in order to cover up its consistent adamant stand of continuing with the three farm laws and Electricity Amendment Bill. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, however, said he is hopeful to find an early solu- tion to end the impasse. Speaking at a virtual event organised by Confederation of NGOs of Rural India (CNRI), he said a “wall of lies” has been spread in a “planned manner” among farmers against the new farm laws, but it will not last long and protesting peasants will soon realise the truth. Earlier in a letter to the unions, Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal noted that the farmers’ groups had commu- nicated their willingness to hold discussions with an open mind. “The Government of India is also committed to logical solution of the relevant issues with an open mind and honest intentions,” he said. However, the Government letter does not specifically make reference to the farmers’ key demand for repeal of three reform laws. With regard to the pro- posed agenda by the unions for the meeting, Aggarwal said a detailed discussion will take place on three farm laws, MSP procurement system as well as Electricity Amendment Bill and ordinance to tackle air pol- lution in and around Delhi and NCR. The decision to finalise the date for next of round talks was after a high-level meeting held by Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on the farmer crisis. However, the Government letter did not make any specif- ic reference to one key condi- tion proposed by the unions seeking talks on modalities for the repeal of the Acts. The date given by the Government for the next round of talks is the same day when unions have also decided to hold a tractor march from Singhu Border and Tikri Border to the Kundli- Manesar-Palwal (KMP) high- way. The last formal meeting took place on December 5, in which union leaders had demanded a clear “yes or no” answer from the Government on their main demand of the repeal of the three laws while the sixth round of talks origi- nally scheduled for December 9 was called off a day after an informal meeting of Shah with some union leaders failed to reach any breakthrough. M ore than 1,500 telecom towers in Punjab have been damaged by farmers protesting against the three farm laws, disrupting ser- vices in some pockets, sources said. Power supply to towers that relay telecom signals was snapped and cables cut in sev- eral parts of the state as farm- ers vented their anger on the infrastructure owned by bil- lionaire Mukesh Ambani’s firm Jio as they saw him along with infrastructure tycoon Gautam Adani as major beneficiaries of the new laws. Neither Ambani’s Reliance group nor Adani's companies are into the busi- ness of procuring foodgrains from farmers. “Till yesterday, 1,411 towers were damaged and today the count has gone well past 1,500,” a source with knowledge of the matter said. In Jalandhar, some bun- dles of Jio’s fibre cable were also burnt. Jio has 9,000 plus towers in the state. Another source said the most common way of dam- aging the telecom towers was to cut off the power supply. In at least one case, the generator at a tower site was physically taken away and allegedly donated to a local gurudwara. Videos of Jio employees being threatened and made to flee have gone viral. T he Government on Monday launched a two- day dry run for coronavirus vaccine programme in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Assam. The focus of the dry run will be on management of possible adverse events fol- lowing immunisation (AEFI) as well as on adherence and management of infection con- trol practices at the session site to prevent disease transmis- sion. The mock drill is being carried out in Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh, in Rajkot and Gandhinagar in Gujarat, Ludhiana and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr) in Punjab and Sonitpur and Nalbari districts in Assam. The Centre had asked each of the four States to plan the dry run in two districts and preferably in five different ses- sion-type settings — district hospital, community health centre (CHC) or primary health care centre (PHC), urban site, private health facil- ity and rural outreach. At least 125 intended ben- eficiaries each in four States who had registered on the Co-WIN App were sent SMSes informing them about the time and place of their “Covid-19 vaccination” under a mock- drill and preparations made to administer the shots at desig- nated centres. It is being conducted to test the laid out mechanisms for Covid-19 vaccination in the States and provide insights into any gaps to be addressed before the commencement of the actual vaccination drive, according to officials. They said the exercise test- ed the functionality of Co- WIN, which is an online plat- form for monitoring the deliv- ery of Covid-19 vaccine, deployment of team members, checking cold storage, trans- portation arrangements and other arrangements while fol- lowing all necessary proto- cols. It will also include testing of cold storage and trans- portation arrangements for Covid-19 vaccine and man- agement of crowds at session sites with proper physical dis- tancing, the Ministry said. As per the checklist shared with the States by the Union Health Ministry, beneficiaries will be pre-identified and an SMS will be sent to them in advance with the name of the vaccinator and the time of the immunisation. New Delhi: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who had tested positive for Covid-19 and was hospi- talised in Dehradun after devel- oping fever, was admitted to AIIMS in Delhi on Monday. T he Union Home Ministry on Monday extended the Covid-19 Pandemic Guidelines for Surveillance, Containment and Caution to January 31, ask- ing States to keep vigil on the tackling of new variant of the virus in the United Kingdom. The current guideline was issued up to December 31. “The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued an order today to extend the earlier Guidelines for Surveillance to remain in force up to 31.01.2021. While there has been a continuous decline in the active and new Covid-19 cases, there is need to maintain surveillance, containment and caution, keeping in view the surge in cases globally, and emergence of a new variant of the virus in the United Kingdom (UK),” said the Home Ministry in a statement. The Ministry said con- tainment zones should be demarcated carefully and pre- scribed containment measures must be strictly followed with- in these zones. “Covid-appropriate behav- iour promoted and strictly enforced; and the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) prescribed in respect of various permitted activities followed scrupulously,” said the MHA asking States to adhere to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) prescribed by the Union Health Ministry. In November, the MHA had said in addition to guide- lines already in place since October, States and Union Territories, based on their assessment of the situation, may impose local restrictions, such as a night curfew. However, the MHA has said State Governments shall not impose any local lockdown outside the containment zones, without prior consultation with the Union Government. The Government has advised vulnerable persons, i.e., persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women, and children below the age of 10 years, to stay at home, except for meeting essential requirements and for health purposes. T he Congress is likely to propose the name of Rahul Gandhi as its next party chief at a conclave being planned in Rajasthan by the end of January 2021. AICC sources said Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is keen to hold the conclave in Jaipur or Udaipur and desires to stage manage Rahul’s return as Congress president. Incidentally, during the last national conclave of the Congress in 2012 at Jaipur the Gandhi scion was appointed as national vice-president of the AICC. Sources in the AICC said the Congress conclave will be held in January or February 2021 after the internal organ- isation polls being undertak- en by the party’s Central Election Commitee in a phase- wise and virtual mode. Gehlot has been in talks with Rahul’s office for the conclave with a proposal to hold the session either in Jaipur or Udaipur. The final decision on this will be taken after Rahul’s return from abroad. Sources said the proposal for the re-appointment of Rahul as Congress president will be put forth during the conclave even though Rahul has strictly said no to his comeback. Rahul relinquished the presidentship on moral grounds after the dismal per- formance of the party in Lok Sabha elections 2019. “However, many feel that his statement that he is ready to do anything for the party at a meeting with senior leaders and Sonia Gandhi, has been assumed as his acceptance to take over as the Congress president. Hence the mood in the party is in that direction,” said a senior leader. Sonia has already declared that she will in no case con- tinue to head the party which she agreed to continue as interim in August for only six months, party leader said. C hief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat on Monday commended the Odisha Police by applauding the force’s efforts in successfully tackling the challenges of Leftwing extremists (LWEs) with the help of Central para- military forces. Delivering the keynote address in virtual mode at the ongoing 62nd Senior Odisha Police Officers’ Conference here, General Rawat also extolled the Odisha Police in maintaining high standards of law and order. “Odisha Police has earned very high stan- dards of law and order in the State and have succeeded in tackling the challenges of LWE with good results,” he said. Asserting that police being the most visible representatives of the Government and first responders during any crisis, General Rawat termed the police force as “Pioneers of Security”. Dwelling over national security, he pointed out that the fallout of events such as climate change, deglob- alisation, regionalisation, pop- ular protests, trade wars have raised the risks of destabilisa- tion and disruptions. “Also, asymmetric warfare has brought in greater challenges,” he said and pointed out that in this background, the role of police in ensuring internal sta- bility is “critical”. T he State Cabinet on Monday approved a pro- posal for an amendment to the Odisha Advocates' Welfare Fund Act, 1987. The families of the mem- bers of the Advocates' Welfare Fund would receive more ben- efit on account of their death. The members on their retire- ment or on voluntary cessation of practice on the ground of permanent physical or mental disability would also get more benefit. The State Government would be empowered to amend the Schedule to the Odisha Advocates' Welfare Fund Act, 1987 on the recommendation of the Committee of the Trust taking into account the amount available in the fund. T he State Cabinet on Monday decided to cele- brate the 100th year of Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to Odisha. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said Gandhi is an eter- nal source of inspiration for all. The Mahatma visited Odisha eight times during the period 1921-1946. On March 23, 1921, Gandhi came to Odisha for the first time and addressed a his- toric gathering on the riverbed of Kathajodi in Cuttack.To make this memorable, the Cabinet decided to organise year-long grand celebrations from March 23, 2021. It would inspire especially youths on the ideals and principles of the Mahatma; and above, his mantra of Ahimsa and the magnitude of his greatness, the Cabinet felt. P eople’s representatives start- ing from Sarpanch to Chief Minister and all State Government employees from the entry level employees to the Chief Secretary would have to submit their property lists to the State Government. A proposal to this effect was approved at a State Cabinet meeting held under the chair- manship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday. The people’s representatives and Government staffs would provide their property lists every year and these data would placed in the public domain. A copy of the list would be sent to the State Lokayukta as well. The Cabinet also passed a resolution to reserve seats in engineering and medical col- leges for eligible students who pass out from Government-run schools. It was also decided for this purpose that a high-level empowered committee would be formed under the chair- manship of a retired High Court judge to chalk out a detailed framework to execute the resolution and submit a report in three months. The decision would be executed from forthcoming academic session. The Cabinet also approved a proposal for change in cadre rules for the Geological Survey and Exploration wing of the erst- while Odisha Mining and Geology services Rules 1976. The Geological Survey and Exploration wing would be known as the Odisha Geological Service. A total of 12 proposals received the State Cabinet’s approval.

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Page 1: 2020/12/28  · ˘ ˇˆ˙˝ ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ˙ˇ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˙˜ ˘ ˆˇ!!!˘ ˘ ˚ "#

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Agreeing to discuss the four-point agenda of the farm-

ers, the Ministry of Agricultureon Monday invited 40 protest-ing farmers’ unions for the nextround of talks on Wednesdayto find a “logical solution” tothe current impasse over thethree new farm laws that hasled to massive protests nearDelhi’s borders for the last onemonth.

This will be the sixth timethat the Centre will be makingan attempt to convince farmersto call off their month-long agi-tation. However, a joint front offarmer unions had proposedthat the talks be held onTuesday.

Meanwhile, reacting to theGovernment response, farmers’unions have agreed “in-princi-ple” to a Government propos-al for talks, but said the Centreshould have spelt out the agen-da of the meeting in its invite.

Samyukt Kisan Morcha —an umbrella body of 40 unionsprotesting against the con-tentious legislations — saidthe farmers have agreed to gofor the meeting on the dateproposed by the Centre, whileAll India Kisan SangharshCoordination Committee(AIKSCC) has said the Centrehas shown an unwillingness toresolve the issue.

“The Government hasused vague and unspecific lan-guage, indicating its unwill-

ingness to discuss the full agen-da items proposed by farmers,”the organisation said in astatement. It also said theGovernment is trying to findways to blame farmers in orderto cover up its consistentadamant stand of continuingwith the three farm laws andElectricity Amendment Bill.

Union AgricultureMinister Narendra SinghTomar, however, said he is

hopeful to find an early solu-tion to end the impasse.Speaking at a virtual eventorganised by Confederation ofNGOs of Rural India (CNRI),he said a “wall of lies” has beenspread in a “planned manner”among farmers against the newfarm laws, but it will not lastlong and protesting peasantswill soon realise the truth.

Earlier in a letter to theunions, Agriculture Secretary

Sanjay Agarwal noted that thefarmers’ groups had commu-nicated their willingness tohold discussions with an openmind.

“The Government of Indiais also committed to logicalsolution of the relevant issueswith an open mind and honestintentions,” he said.

However, the Governmentletter does not specifically makereference to the farmers’ key

demand for repeal of threereform laws.

With regard to the pro-posed agenda by the unions forthe meeting, Aggarwal said adetailed discussion will takeplace on three farm laws, MSPprocurement system as well asElectricity Amendment Billand ordinance to tackle air pol-lution in and around Delhi andNCR.

The decision to finalisethe date for next of roundtalks was after a high-levelmeeting held by Union Home

Minister Amit Shah withUnion Minister Piyush Goyaland Union AgricultureMinister Narendra SinghTomar on the farmer crisis.

However, the Governmentletter did not make any specif-ic reference to one key condi-tion proposed by the unionsseeking talks on modalities forthe repeal of the Acts. The dategiven by the Government forthe next round of talks is thesame day when unions havealso decided to hold a tractormarch from Singhu Border

and Tikri Border to the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) high-way.

The last formal meetingtook place on December 5, inwhich union leaders haddemanded a clear “yes or no”answer from the Governmenton their main demand of therepeal of the three laws whilethe sixth round of talks origi-nally scheduled for December9 was called off a day after aninformal meeting of Shah withsome union leaders failed toreach any breakthrough.

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More than 1,500 telecomtowers in Punjab have

been damaged by farmersprotesting against the threefarm laws, disrupting ser-vices in some pockets, sourcessaid.

Power supply to towersthat relay telecom signals wassnapped and cables cut in sev-eral parts of the state as farm-ers vented their anger on theinfrastructure owned by bil-lionaire Mukesh Ambani’sfirm Jio as they saw himalong with infrastructure

tycoon Gautam Adani asmajor beneficiaries of thenew laws. Neither Ambani’sReliance group nor Adani'scompanies are into the busi-ness of procuring foodgrainsfrom farmers. “Till yesterday,1,411 towers were damagedand today the count has gone

well past 1,500,” a source withknowledge of the matter said.

In Jalandhar, some bun-dles of Jio’s fibre cable werealso burnt. Jio has 9,000 plustowers in the state.

Another source said themost common way of dam-aging the telecom towers wasto cut off the power supply.

In at least one case, thegenerator at a tower site wasphysically taken away andallegedly donated to a localgurudwara. Videos of Jioemployees being threatenedand made to flee have goneviral.

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������������� ��������������������������������������������� � �� ����������� ������� ��������!�������! ���"��#����$ �� ��% ��&� ��'

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The Government onMonday launched a two-

day dry run for coronavirusvaccine programme in AndhraPradesh, Punjab, Gujarat andAssam.

The focus of the dry runwill be on management ofpossible adverse events fol-lowing immunisation (AEFI)as well as on adherence andmanagement of infection con-trol practices at the session siteto prevent disease transmis-sion.

The mock drill is beingcarried out in Krishna districtin Andhra Pradesh, in Rajkotand Gandhinagar in Gujarat,Ludhiana and Shaheed BhagatSingh Nagar (Nawanshahr) inPunjab and Sonitpur andNalbari districts in Assam.

The Centre had asked eachof the four States to plan thedry run in two districts andpreferably in five different ses-sion-type settings — districthospital, community healthcentre (CHC) or primaryhealth care centre (PHC),urban site, private health facil-ity and rural outreach.

At least 125 intended ben-eficiaries each in four Stateswho had registered on theCo-WIN App were sent SMSesinforming them about the timeand place of their “Covid-19

vaccination” under a mock-drill and preparations made toadminister the shots at desig-nated centres.

It is being conducted totest the laid out mechanismsfor Covid-19 vaccination in theStates and provide insightsinto any gaps to be addressedbefore the commencement ofthe actual vaccination drive,according to officials.

They said the exercise test-ed the functionality of Co-WIN, which is an online plat-form for monitoring the deliv-ery of Covid-19 vaccine,

deployment of team members,checking cold storage, trans-portation arrangements andother arrangements while fol-lowing all necessary proto-cols. It will also include testingof cold storage and trans-portation arrangements forCovid-19 vaccine and man-agement of crowds at sessionsites with proper physical dis-tancing, the Ministry said.

As per the checklist sharedwith the States by the UnionHealth Ministry, beneficiarieswill be pre-identified and anSMS will be sent to them in

advance with the name of thevaccinator and the time of theimmunisation.

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New Delhi: Uttarakhand ChiefMinister Trivendra SinghRawat, who had tested positivefor Covid-19 and was hospi-talised in Dehradun after devel-oping fever, was admitted toAIIMS in Delhi on Monday.

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The Union Home Ministryon Monday extended the

Covid-19 Pandemic Guidelinesfor Surveillance, Containmentand Caution to January 31, ask-ing States to keep vigil on thetackling of new variant of thevirus in the United Kingdom.

The current guideline wasissued up to December 31.

“The Ministry of HomeAffairs (MHA) issued an ordertoday to extend the earlierGuidelines for Surveillance toremain in force up to31.01.2021. While there hasbeen a continuous decline inthe active and new Covid-19cases, there is need to maintainsurveillance, containment andcaution, keeping in view thesurge in cases globally, andemergence of a new variant ofthe virus in the UnitedKingdom (UK),” said the HomeMinistry in a statement.

The Ministry said con-tainment zones should bedemarcated carefully and pre-scribed containment measuresmust be strictly followed with-in these zones.

“Covid-appropriate behav-iour promoted and strictlyenforced; and the StandardOperating Procedures (SOPs)prescribed in respect of variouspermitted activities followedscrupulously,” said the MHAasking States to adhere to theStandard Operating Procedures(SOPs) prescribed by theUnion Health Ministry.

In November, the MHAhad said in addition to guide-lines already in place sinceOctober, States and UnionTerritories, based on theirassessment of the situation,may impose local restrictions,such as a night curfew.However, the MHA has saidState Governments shall notimpose any local lockdownoutside the containment zones,without prior consultation withthe Union Government.

The Government hasadvised vulnerable persons, i.e.,persons above 65 years of age,persons with co-morbidities,pregnant women, and childrenbelow the age of 10 years, to stayat home, except for meetingessential requirements and forhealth purposes.

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The Congress is likely topropose the name of Rahul

Gandhi as its next party chiefat a conclave being planned inRajasthan by the end ofJanuary 2021.

AICC sources saidRajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot is keen to holdthe conclave in Jaipur orUdaipur and desires to stagemanage Rahul’s return asCongress president.

Incidentally, during thelast national conclave of theCongress in 2012 at Jaipur theGandhi scion was appointed asnational vice-president of theAICC.

Sources in the AICC saidthe Congress conclave will beheld in January or February2021 after the internal organ-isation polls being undertak-en by the party’s CentralElection Commitee in a phase-wise and virtual mode.

Gehlot has been in talkswith Rahul’s office for theconclave with a proposal to

hold the session either inJaipur or Udaipur. The finaldecision on this will be takenafter Rahul’s return fromabroad.

Sources said the proposalfor the re-appointment ofRahul as Congress presidentwill be put forth during theconclave even though Rahulhas strictly said no to hiscomeback.

Rahul relinquished thepresidentship on moralgrounds after the dismal per-formance of the party in LokSabha elections 2019.

“However, many feel thathis statement that he is readyto do anything for the party ata meeting with senior leadersand Sonia Gandhi, has beenassumed as his acceptance totake over as the Congresspresident. Hence the mood inthe party is in that direction,”said a senior leader.

Sonia has already declaredthat she will in no case con-tinue to head the party whichshe agreed to continue asinterim in August for only sixmonths, party leader said.

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Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)General Bipin Rawat on

Monday commended theOdisha Police by applaudingthe force’s efforts in successfullytackling the challenges ofLeftwing extremists (LWEs)with the help of Central para-military forces.

Delivering the keynoteaddress in virtual mode at theongoing 62nd Senior OdishaPolice Officers’ Conferencehere, General Rawat alsoextolled the Odisha Police inmaintaining high standards oflaw and order. “Odisha Policehas earned very high stan-dards of law and order in theState and have succeeded intackling the challenges of LWEwith good results,” he said.Asserting that police being the

most visible representatives ofthe Government and firstresponders during any crisis,General Rawat termed thepolice force as “Pioneers ofSecurity”. Dwelling overnational security, he pointedout that the fallout of eventssuch as climate change, deglob-alisation, regionalisation, pop-ular protests, trade wars haveraised the risks of destabilisa-tion and disruptions. “Also,asymmetric warfare hasbrought in greater challenges,”he said and pointed out that inthis background, the role ofpolice in ensuring internal sta-bility is “critical”.

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The State Cabinet onMonday approved a pro-

posal for an amendment to theOdisha Advocates' WelfareFund Act, 1987.

The families of the mem-bers of the Advocates' WelfareFund would receive more ben-efit on account of their death.The members on their retire-ment or on voluntary cessationof practice on the ground ofpermanent physical or mentaldisability would also get morebenefit. The State Governmentwould be empowered to amendthe Schedule to the OdishaAdvocates' Welfare Fund Act,1987 on the recommendationof the Committee of the Trusttaking into account the amountavailable in the fund.

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The State Cabinet onMonday decided to cele-

brate the 100th year ofMahatma Gandhi’s visit toOdisha.

Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik said Gandhi is an eter-nal source of inspiration for all.The Mahatma visited Odishaeight times during the period1921-1946.

On March 23, 1921,Gandhi came to Odisha for thefirst time and addressed a his-

toric gathering on the riverbedof Kathajodi in Cuttack.Tomake this memorable, theCabinet decided to organiseyear-long grand celebrationsfrom March 23, 2021. It wouldinspire especially youths on theideals and principles of theMahatma; and above, hismantra of Ahimsa and themagnitude of his greatness,the Cabinet felt.

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People’s representatives start-ing from Sarpanch to Chief

Minister and all StateGovernment employees fromthe entry level employees to theChief Secretary would have tosubmit their property lists tothe State Government.

A proposal to this effectwas approved at a State Cabinetmeeting held under the chair-manship of Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik on Monday.The people’s representativesand Government staffs would

provide their property listsevery year and these datawould placed in the publicdomain. A copy of the listwould be sent to the StateLokayukta as well.

The Cabinet also passed aresolution to reserve seats inengineering and medical col-leges for eligible students whopass out from Government-runschools.

It was also decided for thispurpose that a high-levelempowered committee wouldbe formed under the chair-manship of a retired HighCourt judge to chalk out adetailed framework to executethe resolution and submit areport in three months. Thedecision would be executedfrom forthcoming academicsession. The Cabinet also

approved a proposal for changein cadre rules for theGeological Survey andExploration wing of the erst-while Odisha Mining andGeology services Rules 1976.The Geological Survey andExploration wing would beknown as the OdishaGeological Service. A total of12 proposals received the StateCabinet’s approval.

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The State on Monday reg-istered 234 new Covid-19

positive cases in 24 districts,with which the total countrose to 3,28,738. Of the newinfections, 136 were from dif-ferent quarantine centres and98 local contacts.

Angul district recordedthe day’s highest 36 cases fol-lowed by Sundargarh 28 ,Khordha 25, Mayurbhanj 17,Jharsuguda 15, Cuttack 12and Kendrapada 10. The total

active case in the State stoodat 2,753.

So far, 68.55 lakh sampleshave been tested including28,652 tests on Sunday. Three

more patients succumbed tothe virus on the day, withwhich the total death tollsurged to 1,864. A five-month-old boy was among

those who died. The childhailed from Rayagada dis-trict. The other two werefrom Khordha (Bhubaneswar)and Sundargarh.

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State Capital cityBhubaneswar on Monday

registered 22 new Covid-19cases, increasing its totalcount to 31,577, including289 active cases. Of the new

cases, 13 were local contactsand nine were quarantinecases.

One more person suc-cumbed to the virus in thecity on the day, with whichthe total death toll rose to 289.However, 33 persons recov-ered on the day, increasing thetotal recoveries to 31,028 inthe city.

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Congress Legislature Party(CLP) Leader Narasingha

Mishra fell sick just afteraddressing a rally of his partyduring the gherao of the CBIoffice here on Monday. He wasimmediately rushed to a hospi-tal for treatment.

Mishra complained of chestpain after his speech and thenfainted.Earlier on the day, theState unit of the Congress cele-brated the party’s foundationday at its State headquarters herein the morning, where Mishrawas present. At around 11 am,

a rally was taken out to gheraothe CBI office in protest againstthe Central investigationagency’s alleged inactiveness inthe State. He was rushed to theApollo Hospitals, where he wasadmitted to the EmergencyWard. Later, Pradesh Congress

Committee (PCC) presidentNiranjan Patnaik said Mishra’shealth condition was stated tobe normal at thehospital.“Mishra is a diabeticand he travelled a long distancefrom Balangir today. He is allright now,” Patnaik said.

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Tea seller and social workerPadma Shri D Prakash Rao

undergoing treatment at theSCB Medical College Hospitalafter being infected withCovid-19 is now in an ICU ofthe hospital here after hishealth condition deteriorated,informed Dr Jayant Panda,who is heading a team of doc-tors constituted for his treat-ment.

Notably, Gajapati districtCollector Anupam Saha andPrakash Rao were admitted to

the SCB Hospital on December25 after they tested Covid-19positive. While Saha has beenshifted to a cabin after his con-dition improved, Rao has beenmoved to the ICU.

A team of doctors com-prising of Dr Jayant Panda(Medicine), Dr Jyoti Patnaik(Pulmonary), Dr Bidyut Das(HoD, Rheumatology), DrUmesh Patra (HoD,Hepatology), Dr RK Jena(HoD, Hematology) and DrSatyanarayan Routray (HoD,Cardiology) is engaged fortreatment of the two eminentpersons.

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The Odisha Government hasrevoked the Letter of Intent

(LI) in favour of Shyam Ores(Jharkhand) Private Limited forgrant of mining lease for JillingLangalota mine and forfeited allthree installments of upfrontpayment totalling Rs90,60,13,852.

Outstripping other bidders,Shyam had emerged as pre-ferred bidder for the mine overan area of 456.037 hectare ofland, quoting a premium of 135per cent. Other companies whohad participated for the blockwere Adani, Serajuddin,Amalgam, JSW, Forway, TP Saoand Essel Mining. The EsselMining was the existing lessee ofthe mine and has EC limit of 6.28MT pa and resources of 79.122MT.

The Government revokedthe LI as the preffered bidderShyam Ores failed to complywith the prescribed require-ments timely to be considered forbeing declared as the successfulbidder followed with subsequentgrant and execution of mininglease deed with the extendeddeadline.Hence, theGovernment pointed that Shyamis liable for action pursuant toclause 4.3 of LoI read with rule10 (6B) of Auction Rule 2015.

Notably, the former lesseehad filed a writ petition in theSupreme Court seeking exten-sion of its lease period. The apexcourt vide order Dt 14.2.2020had ordered that the auctionwould be held subject to finalorder of the court .

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Union Environment Minister PrakashJavadekar on Monday through videocon-

ferencing hoisted the Blue Flag at the Puri seabeach and seven other beaches in the country.

“It is a proud moment for India that all theeight beaches which were showcased havebeen awarded the coveted Blue Flag. I compli-ment and congratulate the State Governments,officials and people for this feat.

We have identified 100 beaches in the nextphase and plan to make them neat and clean.With people’s participation, we wish to makethem of international standards in coming 3-4years,” said Javadekar.The Puri beach hasreceived the Blue Flag certification by theFoundation for Environment Education (FEE),Denmark. A beach has to meet 33 criteria fixedby the FEE to get the tag.

Notably, the 870-metre stretch of the Puribeach from Digabareni Square to the backsideof Mayfair Hotel has been developed as Blue Flag

beach under the World Bank-funded IntegratedCoastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP) ofthe State Forest and Environment Departmentand the Union Ministry of Environment, Forestand Climate Change.

Public toilets, changing and shower rooms,watchtowers, solar lighting system, sittingarrangements, demarcation of safe swimmingzone, approach road, fencing with plantation,jogging track, etc., have been developed on thisstretch.

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The Choudwar Circle Jail hascome up with a dedicated

80-bed psychiatric hospital totreat mentally-ill inmates. Thehospital constructed at the costof over Rs 1 crore was inaugu-rated by Director General ofPrisons Santosh KumarUpadhyay on December 26.Besides having accommoda-tion facilities for 80 mentally ill

inmates, the hospital has alsosix high security cells for man-agement of violent and aggres-sive patients.“Earlier, prisonerssuffering from mental illnesswere being taken to the SCBMedical College Hospital fortreatment.

Now, exclusively, the men-tally ill prisoners have beenkept in the block from whichthe Psychiatric Hospital is func-tioning for better monitoring oftheir mental illness by anexpert,” said Choudwar JailSuperintendent SubhakantaMishra.

At present, the Circle Jailhas total 924 inmates and ofthem as many as 74 inmates aresuffering from mental illness.Due to excess number of men-tally ill inmates, there were

problems in providing neces-sary treatment to them. Nowthe problem has been solvedwith setting up the hospital andthey all are now being treatedinside the jail premises.

Only critical cases wouldbe referred to the SCB MentalHealth Institute, Mishra said.Upadhyay, who inspected dif-ferent wings and activities ofthe Choudwar Jail howeverstressed on augmentation of thejail food processing unit.

The DG Prisons said,“Considering the mushroom-ing of different food adulterat-ed unit, we have planned toenhance the capacity of pro-duction of different food mate-rials by the inmates and theirmarketing by setting up stallsat different places."

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X-Athon, the annual half-marathon of theXavier Institute of Management (XIMB) is

scheduled to be held on January 2 and 3 next.The event is organised by the entrepreneurial

minds of XIMB. It strives to contribute to thesociety in a responsible and wholesome man-ner.

Given the complexity of the year 2020, peo-ple have struggled for their mental and physi-cal wellbeing. In the same breath, they have alsoforged innovative solutions in the new normal.

Setting this tone of an inclusive approach tothe people’s holistic wellbeing, the theme for X-Athon is "Mental Wellness: One Stride at a Time”.It has a revamped approach so that participantscan run, jog, or walk anywhere and anytimealong with their loved ones for a distance of 15km. In a truly novel perspective, participants canjoin the marathon indoors or/and outdoorskeeping the Covid-19 restrictions in mind.

The X-Athon has adapted itself to becomean online event. Participants’ daily progress willbe monitored by the StepSetGo app, which willbe installed on their phones to track their totalactivity during the two-day event. With the

promise of fun and inculcating a healthyapproach to life, X-Athon is a registered eventwith a minimal amount of Rs 100 charged perperson. All proceeds from the event would bedirected towards a social cause, an annual tra-dition followed by X-Athon.

It will be concluded with the top 5 partic-ipants receiving rewards worth Rs 5,000 alongwith exciting free goodies and an e-certificateof participation for all the participants.

In its digital avatar, the X-Athon would cap-ture the spirit of resilience and social supportregardless of the trying circumstances human-ity faces. Register for X-Athon athttps://www.townscript.com/e/xathon-2020-014311

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Town-based civil societyorganisation People’s

Forum on the occasion of its30th foundation day organiseda blood donation camp incollaboration with AamaOdisha and AnnapurnaFinance at the Anjushree

Kalyani Mandap here onSunday. The camp was inau-gurated by People’s Forumsecretary and AnnapurnaFinance director GobindaChandra Patnaik and CEOSanjay Kumar Patnaik.

Notably, due to the coro-navirus pandemic, blood col-lection has been affected, dueto which there is shortage ofblood at the Blood Banks..

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Credit flow to allied sector ofagriculture has slowed

down as bankers are reluctantto provide credit facilities to thecritical sector. While theOdisha Government is pursu-ing vigorously for agri-businesspromotion and asking thebanks to provide more andmore credit for the entrepre-neurs eager to pursue enter-

prises in the allied sector,bankers are not forthcoming.Allied sector of agriculturecovers poultry, dairy, fishery,piggery, goatery andothers.According to latestreport on credit flow to alliedsector, while annual target forthe sector is set at Rs 4,707crore, achievement byNovember 30 has been lessthan 30 per cent.

Total Rs 1,383 crore hasbeen sanctioned making it 29per cent of the total annual tar-get.The dairy sector suffered alot with hardly 11 per cent ofachievement during the periodas only Rs 194 crore has beensanctioned out of a target of Rs

1,767 crore.The Fishery sectoralso faces a tough time asachievement is hardly 12.5 percent as bankers have funded Rs135 crore out of target of Rs1,083 crore.

The Animal Husbandrysector has achieved only 14.5per cent because banks havefunded Rs 117 crore out of Rs811 crore target. However,other allied sector activitieshave achieved more successwith Rs 590 crore funding,while target was Rs 182 crore,officials said. With banks keep-ing applications of MukhyaMantri Krishi Udyog Yojana(MMKUY) pending, achieve-ment of target for 2020-21

looks as an uphill task. TheMMKUY, a flagship pro-gramme of the StateGovernment for promotingcommercial agriculture enter-prises, has not experiencedsmooth take-off, thanks tolackadaisical approach of thebankers in Odisha.The StateGovernment has programmedfor provision of up to Rs 50lakh subsidy for setting up ofcommercial agriculture, horti-culture, animal husbandry andfisheries units.

Latest report on credit toallied sector reveals that amajority of the applications arepending with banks forapproval. While 1,332 applica-

tions were given green signalfor the MMKUY Program, atleast 933 applications are pend-ing with banks. Banks havealready rejected 103 applica-tions, while approving only296 applications. Meanwhile,the banks have been requestedby the State Government to dis-pose of the pending applica-tions by December.

In the meantime, the StateGovernment has been pursuingKisan Credit Card (KCC) loansin a vigorous way. The StateGovernment has taken specialdrive for saturation of KCC todairy farmers andfishers.Bankers have beenrequested to sanction KCCloans to livestock farmers andfishers on a mission mode,pointed out an official.

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As many as 181 people havereturned to Odisha from

the United Kingdom in thepast 22 days, of whom 62 havereportedly gone untraceable,informed Directorate of PublicHealth Dr Niranjan Mishra onMonday.

Amid the scare of a newmutant strain of coronavirus,the non-traceability of 62 UKreturnees could pose a biggestthreat to the Government inthe battle against Covid-19.

According to Dr Mishra,the 181 people returned to theState from the UK betweenNovember 30 and December21, of whom the Governmenthas details about 119 and the

remaining 62 returnees areuntraceable. Of the totalreturnees, 119 have under-gone Covid-19 test in phasesand six of them (3 each fromBhubaneswar andJagatsinghpur) were foundpositive.“The 62 untraceablereturnees have provided falseinformation in their declara-tion forms, for which it is dif-ficult to reach them at theiraddresses and given phonenumbers.

It has created a concern forthe Government,” Dr Mishrasaid.However, efforts areunderway to trace them inorder to conduct their genomesequencing for the new virusstrain if they are infected withthe virus, he added.

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In view of the coronaviruspandemic, there would be no

Zero Night celebrations in thetwin city of Cuttack andBhubaneswar this year.Officialsof Bhubaneswar Municipal

Corporation (BMC) andCuttack Municipal Corporation(CMC) have come up withspecial guidelines which pro-hibit large gatherings duringZero Night celebrations.

Any kind of event or con-gregation including Zero Nightcelebration at hotels, clubs,convention halls, kalyan man-daps have been strictly prohib-ited in Cuttack andBhubaneswar. The residents of

Cuttack and Bhubaneswar havebeen advised to celebrate NewYear with their friends, familyand relatives at private houses,establishments adhering to theCovid-19 norms issued byGovernment.Meanwhile, secu-rity would be tightened tomaintain law and order inCuttack and Bhubaneswar,police said..Steps would betaken to check drunken drivingand other anti-social activities

d u r i n gcelebrations.Bhubaneswar DCPUmashankar Dash said, “Asthere will be no Zero Night cel-ebrations, 20 platoons of policeforce will be deployed in the cityon December 31.”

Besides, surprise raidswould be carried out on hotelsand clubs. Patrolling will beintensified and blocking will bedone in different prominentjunctions in the city, he added.

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Legendary music maestro84-year-old Shantanu

Mohapatra was admitted to theCare Hospital here in a criticalcondition on Monday.

He is suffering from acutepneumonia; and his kidneysare not functioning.Mohapatrahas been associated with theOdia music industry for almost60 years.

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The State Cabinet onMonday approved repeal of

as many as 206 Acts of the StateLegislature Assembly enactedduring the years 1974 to 2016identified by the LawDepartment for their repeal inconsultation with the con-cerned administrative depart-ments as they have becomeredundant.

Most of the said Acts areamending Acts, and after theycame into force, the amend-ments sought to be made bythem get lodged in the respec-

tive principal Acts. Hence,there is no necessity to retainthese Acts. Besides, some Actsenacted for a particular pur-pose as onetime measure havelost their necessity.

The State Law Commissionhad recommended for repeal ofthese 206 Acts to remove con-fusion from public mind andalso contribute to ‘GoodGovernance’.

Accordingly, the Cabinetdecided to accept the recom-mendation and take steps forenactment of the OdishaRepealing Bill, 2020, whichwould repeal the 206 Acts.

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The So Am I (SAI)Foundation Trust, a non-

profit social organisation,launched "SwaAahar Initiative"under its Hunger Free Odishadrive for sustainable livelihoodof mild and moderate catego-ry of persons in the urban aswell as rural areas.

The initiative was inaugu-rated by former Chief SecretaryBK Pattnaik, former DGPSatyajit Mohanty and linguistPadma Shree Debi PrassanaPattanaik, SAI chairmanMaharaja Prabin ChandraBhanjdeo and MaharaniRashmi RajyalakshmiBhanjdeo. Under the initiative,unemployed mass will beemployed for various incomegenerating sources such as vegecart, juice/ tea cart, saplings

bouquet stalls etc. For mostpart, the foundation aims atemploying people with specialneeds (often orthopedic chal-lenges), the poor (widows,divorces, and skilled seniors).

Co-founder of SAIFoundation Dr ChidatmikaKhatua said, “ We have startedwith One Food Bank onAugust 18 2019. Today with thegrace of God, we are able toserve 9 lakh meals, havingthree food banks and twomobile food banks.

Lockdown due to the pan-demic had given us an oppor-tunity to serve many categoriesof people throughout the State.

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The country has been expe-riencing an unprecedent-

ed crop harvesting due to theCovld-19 pandemic. Plannersand economists have alreadyforecast a difficult year for theeconomy and the projectedhigh growth rate of the GDPmay not be achieved. Theshort-term credit structureof co-operative is now facinga major challenge to combatthe situation.

Farming process of cropslike paddy, vegetables and oilseeds has been badly dam-aged. Due to Covld-19, trans-portation is also affected.Besides, seeds and fertilisersare not available adequately

for growing short durationcrops. Imbalanced rains haveworsened the situation.

As the largest dispenser offarm credit, the Odisha StateCo operative Bank and 17District Central CooperativeBanks should come forwardto disburse adequate loans byliving up to the expectation ofthe farming community, giventhe current crisis time.

The Kharif finance limitfor the year 2020-21 is Rs9,000 crore and the Rabifinance limit for the same yearis Rs 4,000 crore in Odisha.The State Cooperative Bankand all the 17 District Central

Cooperative Banks have alsobeen advised to encourage thefarmers to undertake shortduration crops wherever pos-sible and the finance is viablethrough the 2,708 of PrimaryAgriculture CooperativeSocieties in Odisha by theadvice of the State LevelBanker's Committee (SLBC).It is practicable and effectivethrough the departments ofAgriculture and Co-opera-tion.

The Government of Indiahas also taken steps as part ofthe National CooperativePolicy for the agriculture sec-tor in presence and monitor-

ing by the ChairmanNABARD and al l StateRegistars of CooperativeSociet ies , DepartmentalSecretaries and representa-tives of State CooperativeBanks. So always the growthof the country depends on theeconomic growth of agricul-ture and agriculturists.

In Gujrat, Maharastra,Kerala, Tamilnadu,Karnataka, Bihar, UttarPradesh, Andhra Pradesh,Odisha and Madhya Pradesh,a large number of tribal peo-ple live and the condition ofthese labourers is very muchlike that of slaves. These are

called in different names indifferent States. There are anumber of factors responsiblefor the continuous and enor-mous increase in the numberof agricultural labourers inIndia.

The important factors areincrease in population,decline of cottage industriesand handicrafts and villageindustries, eviction of smallfarmers and tenant from land,uneconomic holdings, andincrease in indebtedness, cap-italistic agriculture, and dis-placement of means and sub-sidiary occupations, disinte-gration of peasantry and dis-

integration of joint familysystem. Major initiativesadopted by the Governmentfor ameliorating the econom-ic condition of agriculturallabourers are passing ofMinimum Wage Act.,

abolition of bondedlabourers, providing land tolandless labourers, provisionof housing to houseless, spe-cial scheme for providingemployment, Crash Schemefor Rural Employment(CSRE), Pilot Intensive RuralEmployment Project (PIREP),Food for Works Programmes(FWP), National RuralEmployment Programme

(NREP), Rural LandlessEmployment Programme(RLEP), Drought Prone AreaProgramme (DPAP), JawaharRojgar Yojana (JRY), DesertDevelopment Programme(DDP),

National Scheme forTrainging for Rural Youth forSelf Employment (TRYSM),Development of Women andChildren in Rural Areas(DWCRA), Abolit ion ofBonded Labourer Act.(ABLA), Integrated RuralDevelopment Programme(IRDP).

Some suggestions thatmay help the the socio eco-nomic improvement of theagricultural labourers are bet-ter implementation of leg-

islative measures, re-settle-ment of agricultural workers,improvement in the bargain-ing position, creating alter-native sources of employ-ment, protection of womenand child labourers, improve-ment in agricultural sector,regulation of hours of work,improving the working con-ditions, credit at cheaper ratesof interest, proper training forimproving skil l of farmlabourers, co-operative farm-ing and successful executionof MGNREGS etc.

(Ex-Director Co-operativeBank, Bangalisahi , PO.Telenga Bazar, Dist Cuttack -9 Mob : 8018005702,9090325802)

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Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik has called upon all

Odias residing in differentparts of the world to joinhands to prove the promi-nence of ‘brand’ Odisha.

Addressing the inauguralsession of a two-day GlobalOdia Mahotsav 2020 onDecember 26 virtually, Patnaiksaid, “We all are one family

though we live in differentparts of the world. Mo Parivarof Odisha Government ismeant to connect Odiasaround the world. All Odias

should unite and build brandOdisha globally.” Speaking atthe event, Union MinisterDharmendra Pradhan stressedon the need of concerted

efforts to strengthen the State’economy. He said,” LordJagannath himself is the brandof Odisha and the identity ofOdia community. We have agolden opportunity to proveand promote the glory of theState on the world stage.”

The Minister also stressedon preparation for a visionaryroadmap as Odisha is going tocomplete 100 years of its for-mation as a language-basedState.

Puri MaharajaDibyasingha Deb said themankind can achieve victorythrough both moral and intel-lectual development. He alsostressed on the need for devel-opment of both spiritual andthe materialistic aspects oflife to build a healthy and safe

society. Kenya’s MP Dr SwarupRanjan Mishra proposedestablishment of a healthyrelation between Kenya andOdisha, especially by collabo-rating in the health, agricul-ture, mines, tourism, sportsand industry sectors.

Mo Parivar convenorArup Patnaik called upon allparticipants of the event toprepare a digital directorycontaining contact details ofOdias across the globe.

For building a brandOdisha at the internationallevel, Higher EducationMinister Dr Arun Sahoostressed on the need to achievethe highest standard in edu-cation and art and culturethrough skills of micro teach-ing. At the event’s valedictory

session on Sunday, OdishaSociety of the Americas (OSA)president Kuku Das spoke onthe outfit’s aim to proveOdisha and Odias as ‘best’globally.

The event, organised bythe Odisha Society of theAmericas in association withThe Odia Diaspora fromAround The World, aimed atpromoting and propagatinglanguage, culture and heritageof Odisha globally and devel-oping a global synergy to con-tribute to various sectors suchas healthcare, education,tourism, skill development,entrepreneurship, etc.

The event also aimed atbuilding a global network forinclusive progression of Odiasaround the world.

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The Instrumental LandingSystem (ILS) has been

completed at the VSS Airporthere after three years. The basework, house and other con-struction works had beenundertaken last year.

During the lockdown peri-od, the ILS had come fromDelhi by a trawler. The engi-neers from Delhi took up theinstallation work of the ILS. Oncompletion of the ILS, onSunday, a plane of the AirportAuthority of India had donetrial run, flight in sky and land-ing formalities.

On necessary approval byDGCA, flights can take upand land in opposite weatherconditions in Jharsuguda air-port with the help of ILS. Theapproval may take at least twomonths, said Director of theAirport Kishore Kumar

Senapati. This ILS has beenprocured from overseas andestablished in the Airport at acost of Rs 26 crore.

Earlier, the planes couldnot land or take off in the air-port in simple fog or rain dueto non-availability of ILS inJharsuguda airport. Hence,many flights were cancelled ordiverted to Bhubaneswar orKolkata for landing leavingthe passengers in great trouble.The setting up of the ILS with-in only 3 years of opening ofVSS Airport is a matter of pridefor airport, said Senapati.

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After being featured inrenowned lyricist Gulzar’s

‘A Poem A Day’, a collection ofpoems, Kosli poet Padma ShriHaldhar Nag has expressedhis gratitude to the notedfilmmaker and also to ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik.

Nag has written a letter toGulzar and Patnaik thankingthem. He praised the ChiefMinister for the decision of set-ting up of a Kosli dialect and lit-erature research centre at hisvillage Ghens in Bargarh dis-trict.

Notably, Nag has foundplace on the first page of ‘APoem A Day’ which is a col-lection of Indian poems select-

ed and translated by Gulzar.The book features 365 con-temporary poems in 34 lan-guages of 279 poets across thecountry. The book begins withNag’s two poems ‘PanchaAmruta’ and ‘ChitthiDeuchhen re Haldhar’. On thefirst page, Gulzar writes, “DearHaldhar, you are like sunrise ofmy book”. Gulzar has also senta letter to Nag expressing thathe is excited to meet him inperson.

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Maoists blocked theKotagarh-Muniguda road

near Radiguma in Kandhamaldistrict on Monday by fellingtrees during the bandhobserved by the Red rebels.Vehicular movement was tem-porarily hit due to the incident.

The ultras also put upposters at various places inKotagarh and Tumudibandhaareas of the district appealingpeople to extend support to thebandh call. In the posters, theMaoists have opposed con-struction of the CRPF camp inthe area and destroying ofganja cultivation. The Red

rebels have also alleged thattribal people are being engagedas police informers by moneyand false promises.

The Maoists had earliergiven an Odisha bandh call forthe day protesting the recentdeaths of several Maoist cadresin encounters with securityforces.

Releasing an audio clip inthis regard, CPI-Maoist OdishaCommittee spokespersonSonali said the rebels wouldgive befitting reply to thedeaths of the cadres. Termingthe deaths as killings by SOGand DVF jawans, she warned ofdestroying the police inform-ers network.

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The BJD observed its 24th foundation day here on Saturdayin a grand manner with garlanding of the Biju Patnaik stat-

ue at Badmal. Later, a function was held under the chairman-ship of Health Minister Naba Kishore Das, who said the BJD hasalways been trying to fulfil the dream of Bijubabu for a newOdisha.

Das said the BJD is a strong and disciplined party under anable leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has won theconfidence of people and formed government for the five con-secutive terms.Party leadersSandip Awasthy, Tapas RayChowdhury, Pintu Padhi,Trinath Gual, Rabi Singh,Harish Ganatra, BenugopalPanigrahi, Pratap Nanda, JayPrakash Kuanar, Tulasi Das, JayKumari Patel, Sukanti Jaypuria,Gobind Singhania, Prasant Jenawere present among others.

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As many as 31 employees ofthe Nilachal Ispat Nigam

Limited (NINL) who weredeployed to a Chhatisgarhbased steel plant which is aCPSU faced stiff resistancethere and returned to Odishawithout being able to joinwork.

According to informationavailable, 31 employees, mostof whom are company execu-tives, belonging to officercadre of NINL, following clo-sure of Kalinga Nagar unit,were deputed to work inChhattisgarh in NagarnarSteel plant near Jagdalpur, a

steel project of NMDC. Theyreturned to Odisha in ahumiliating condition as thelocal people in Chhattisgarhreportedly did not allowthem to join in their work dueto public protest against deci-sion of privatisation ofNagarnar unit.

The 31 officers of NINLwere deputed to join in theChhattisgarh unit in the mid-dle of December who after aweeklong wait returned totheir home State on December22 due to local resistance.

According to some peo-ple, the MMTC (aGovernment of India under-taking) which is major stake-holder of NINL should nothave sent these officers ondeputation without sufficientground preparation and homework.

It may be mentioned herethat, the NINL is promotedby the MMTC Limited whilethe Nagarnar steel project

which is yet to be commis-sioned is promoted byNMDC, a Government ofIndia undertaking. The NINLwas established with MMTCas major stakeholder withother partners like, IndustrialPromotion and InvestmentCorporation of Orissa limited(IPICOL) and several otheragencies. It is a 1.1 milliontone plant at Kalinga Nagarestablished about 2 decadesback as a public sector steelplant.

Unfortunately, productionin NINL has been stopped forlast 8 months as result ofwhich, more than 1,000employees are without salaryfor last eight months creatingserious discontentmentamong its staff.

The NINL managementunder the advice of the SteelMinistry had decided to rede-ploy some of the staff of NINLin the Chhattisgarh project, asister concern.

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Sambalpur city escaped froma mishap after an attempt

was made by anti-socials to seta petrol pump located atMudipada Chhak on fire onSunday.

Two miscreants demandedRs 5,000 as protection moneyfrom the driver of an oil tankerthat was engaged to unload fuel

at the filling station. When thedriver refused to pay, the goonsclimbed the tanker and tried toset it afire. Sources said thatwhile the miscreants attempt-ed to set the tanker aflame, for-tunately, their matches did not

burn. The locals, who were pre-sent at the petrol pump, man-aged to nab the two andinformed police.TheSambalpur Town policereached the site and detainedthe accused persons.

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The farmers of severalseaside vi l lages have

threatened to stage a dharnabefore the Collectorate iftheir demand to renovatecoast canal was not addressed.They said that due to siltingfor years the British timecanal is had been rendereduseless. As a result their fields

face the adverse impact ofsaltwater ingression duringhigh tide of Bay of Bengal.

They have been bearingthe brunt of the saline wateringression into their fieldsand the affected GPs areBhimpur, Kumarpur,Tundura, Chhachina,Bardhanpur , Inchidi,Sahajanpur, Kusmulipahi,Tundurapahi andBardhanpurpahi etc, theyinformed. Although theyhave been pleading beforethe district administrationand elected representativesyet no action was taken con-cerning their grievances, theyalleged. The canal was dug

way back in the nineteen cen-tury as the first project underthe ‘Food for work’ pro-gramme, after the patch wasacutely hit by the worstfamine in the 1860s.

The coast canal connectsthe r iver Hoogly atGeonkhali; 45 miles(72 km)from Calcutta with riverMatai at Charbatia nearBhadrak. Its length in Orissawas 92miles(147.2 km) and isdivided into four ranges.The works for the OrissaCoast Canal started in theyear 1880-81 under food forwork to prevent people fromacute famine then. Theamount of original estimate of

the Orissa Coast Canal was Rs36 lakh inclusive of the indi-rect charges and was revisedin 1888 chiefly on account ofexcess in navigation worksdue to bad foundation andcost of extra land. The revisedestimate was nearly Rs 45lakh.

Apart from providingrelief to starving people ofOdisha during ‘NankaDurvikhya’ , it proved to bea boon for the undividedBaleswar district as it openedup new trade transport andcommunication routes.Besides navigation and irri-gation, the canal helped infish farming etc.

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Miscreants allegedly lootedmore than Rs 9 lakh at

gunpoint in two separate inci-dents in Baleswar and Ganjamdistricts on Monday. In the firstincident, an employee of SwostiResort was on his way to bankin a car carrying Rs 6 lakh todeposit the amount.

In meantime, three motorcycle-borne miscreants intercepted

the four-wheeler near theBhejiput School underKhallikote police station inGanjam district, terrorised himby brandishing guns, andsnatched money from him. Inanother incident, Ashok Jena(45), who works as an accoun-tant with a private company inBaleswar, was travelling to a bankby a motorcycle carrying Rs 3.20lakh for depositing cash whentwo persons attacked him andfired at his leg near Khan Nagarunder Sadar police station.

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Since its inception from June2020 all-out efforts have

been made to put in placeemployee friendly policies thatcan open new opportunities,create a learning environmentfor growth and developmentand also remove stagnation atTPCODL. These efforts haveushered positive changes andenhanced significantly employ-ee engagement.

To meet its stiff targets andplans, the TPCODL has re-engineered and reinforced sev-eral functions creating newpositions of CommercialManagers, Customer ServiceManagers, Customer RelationsExecutives, Engineering andQuality Assurance Engineers,Enforcement Managers,Projects Managers and otherswhich have provided new vis-tas of challenging opportunitiesto our existing employees andlook forward to assured careerenhancements shortly on thesealmost forty new positions.

Exposure and training innew technologies like SCADA,GIS, and Smart Metering willenhance their capabilities andgrowth aspects too. Also adecision was taken to imple-ment Modified Assured CareerProgression (MACP) Schemeand ensured grade levelenhancements.

Proactive engagement withour technician cadres and reg-ular interactions with theunions have been on top pri-ority ensuring several rounds of

meetings and discussions withsenior leaders. To ensure seam-less understanding and to shareregular updates, the HR teamhas regular communicationwith their representatives.Open Door Policy adopted bythe TPCODL has paid rich div-idends and within six monthsmany long pending grievanceshave been resolved.

The management imple-mented the one-time 40%relaxation scheme in promo-tions, introduced 21 days SCC-MV training with the help ofOPTCL for Lineman A/Operator A; there by clearedpromotions to the blockedpositions.

All these actions and deci-sions quickly have enabledpromotions for almost 150Linemen, another 29 to bepromoted shortly asChargeman A after completingtraining and 50 OfficeAssistants getting opportunitiesto join mainstream Pay roll, HRand Administration functions.

The TPCODL has provid-ed employment opportunitiesto almost 400 meritorious can-didates through its transparentrecruitment process within theguidelines set by the regulatorsand intends to increase theemployment opportunities infuture.

Almost more than 65%employees recruited are fromOdisha who are delighted todayto be part of the TPCODL fam-ily.Almost 7,500 local employ-ments were created for variousworks.

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Various leaders of BJP paid floral tributes to former PrimeMinister Atal Bihar Vajpayee at his memorial at Barbil on

his 96th birth anniversary. "Vajpayee's sense of duty and serviceto the nation will always serve as an inspiration for us," said Statecouncil member Deba Prasad Mishra, while paying tributes tothe former PM.

BJP District president Swapna Sahu , District BJP Youthvice president Bikas Saraogi , Padmolochan Das, Raju Siddhu,Ajay Jhaa and Yuva Morcha president Amit Sahu were also pre-sent among others. Vajpayee strived for good governancethroughout his tenure. Observing a Good Governance Day athis birthday is therefore a befitting tribute to the leader, said RajjuSiddhu.Beside the BJP Party Office the Day was also observedat various wards ofBarbil BJP Mandal.In Ward No. 14 and15 party workerscelebrated the daywith the slumdwellers and chil-dren. The pro-gramme was alsoheld at Champua,Joda, Bhadra Sahiand Bamebari.

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Vigilance officials onMonday raided several

places in connection with alle-gations against Santosh KumarRaut, Secretary, ServiceCooperative Society, Uma,Kantamal block in Boudh dis-trict, regarding possession ofassets disproportionate to hisknown sources of income. Thetotal immovable and movableassets in the names of Rout andhis relatives were calculated asRs 1.09 crore.

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Page 4: 2020/12/28  · ˘ ˇˆ˙˝ ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ˙ˇ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˙˜ ˘ ˆˇ!!!˘ ˘ ˚ "#

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India joined the coveted list ofnations in the world having

most eco-friendly beaches onMonday with at least eightbeaches—Kappad in Kerala,Shivrajpur (Gujarat), Ghoghla(Diu), Kasarkod and Padubidri(Karnataka), Rushikonda(Andhra Pradesh), Golden(Odisha) and Radhanagar(Andaman & Nicobar Islands)— conferred with internation-al Blue Flag certificate.

A Blue Flag beach is aneco-tourism model endeav-ouring to provide the touristsor beachgoers clean andhygienic bathing water, facili-ties, safe and healthy environ-ment and sustainable develop-ment of the area.

Japan, South Korea and theUAE are the only other Asiannations who have been con-ferred with a couple of BlueFlag beaches.

The Blue Flag was hoistedin these beaches virtually byUnion Environment MinisterPrakash Javadekar on Monday,suggesting a global recognitionof India’s conservation andsustainable developmentefforts. Blue Flag beaches areconsidered the cleanest beach-es of the world.

The Flags were also simul-taneously hoisted on thesebeaches physically by stateministers and senior officials ofthe respective state and Unionterritories.

India secured theInternational Blue FlagCertification for these beacheson 6 October when anInternational Jury comprisingof member organisationsUNEP, UNWTO, UNESCO,IUCN, ILS, FEE etc.announced the award atCopenhagen, Denmark.

Blue Flag certification is aglobally recognised eco-label

accorded by “Foundation forEnvironment Education inDenmark” based on 33 strin-gent criteria.

Terming it a “proudmoment” for the country,Javadekar said the certificationis a global recognition ofIndia’s conservation and sus-tainable development efforts.

While hosting the flag,Javadekar said that neat andclean beaches are an indicatorthat the coastal environment isin good health and the BlueFlag certification is a globalrecognition of India’s conser-vation and sustainable devel-opment efforts.

The EnvironmentMinister further said that hun-dred more such beaches willbe made Blue Flag in thecoming 3-4 years and high-lighted that cleaning beachesneeds to be a made a “JanAndolan” not only for its aes-thetic value and tourismprospects but more impor-tantly towards reducing themenace of marine litter andmaking coastal environmentsustainable.

The Government had onSeptember 18 recommendedthese eight beaches for thecoveted international eco-label. India began its humblejourney in 2018 for develop-ment of pilot beaches (oneeach in coastal states/UTs)and presented the first set ofeight beaches for the certifi-cation for the ensuing touristseason 2020.

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The CBI has bookedFaridabad-based firm

Richa Industries Ltd. and 11directors of the company fordefrauding Indian OverseasBank and Union Bank of Indiato the tune of about � 237 crore.

The agency registered thecase following a complaintfrom the Indian Overseas Bankunder various Indian PenalCode (IPC) Sections relating tocriminal conspiracy, criminalbreach of trust, forgery of valu-able security, forgery for thepurpose of cheating, usingforged documents as genuineand criminal misconduct bypublic servants.

The loan account of theaccused firm became NPA andthe Bank alleged in its com-plaint that the accused firm andits directors besides unknownpublic servants cheated thebank to the tune of �236.74

crore from 2015 onwardsacross Faridabad, Haryana andUdham Singh Nagar,Uttarakhand.

The accused company hadallegedly siphoned off thebank’s funds and cheated thelending banks to the tune of�236.74 crore.

The account of the accusedcompany was declared fraud onApril 15 by Indian OverseasBank and on August 21 thisyear by the Union Bank andreported to the Reserve Bankof India.

Among other issues, thecompany was flagged by theauditor to have indulged inbooking of loss by overstatingconsumption of entire stockduring 2015-16 and 2016-17which was abnormally high ascompared to the past trend.

It also allegedly divertedfunds from the textiles divisionto the PEB (Pre EngineeringBuildings) division.

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Congress on Monday cele-brated its 136th

Foundation Day at its head-quarters in Delhi even thoughparty president Sonia Gandhiand former party chief RahulGandhi gave the event a miss.Senior leader A K Antonyunfurled the flag at the AICCheadquarters in the presence ofsenior leaders like GhulamNabi Azad, Anand Sharmaand party general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra.

While Sonia Gandhi hasbeen avoiding attending pub-lic events due to health issues,Rahul Gandhi left on a shortpersonal visit abroad only onSunday.

On the occassion, the AllIndia Congress Committeeurged members to organise‘Tiranga Yatra’ and other“innovative campaigns” whilefollowing all Covid-19 proto-cols.

Taking to Twitter, RahulGandhi marked the occasionby highlighting his party’spledge for “truth and equality”and said that “Congress hasbeen committed from the

beginning to raise the voice ofthe nation”.

Speaking to media,Priyanka Gandhi said the gov-ernment should “listen to thevoice of farmers and take backthe laws” and should not paintthe agitation as a “politicalconspiracy”.

“It is a sin to use the kindof words they are using forfarmers. Government isanswerable to farmers.Government should listen tothem and take back the laws,”Priyanka said.

She, however, avoidedquestions pertaining to hisbrother’s trip abroad when theparty is on its final stage oforganisational polls and elect-ing a new head of the party.

She responded only questionsrelated to the farmers struggle.

Rahul Gandhi’s absenceon the occasion come underattack from the BJP. MadhyaPradesh Chief Minister ShivrajSingh Chouhan questionedRahul Gandhi’s disappearanceon an important occasion forthe party.

Congress GeneralSecretary KC Venugopalaccused the BJP of “indulgingin low-level politics” and hit-ting out at Rahul Gandhi“because they want to targetonly one leader”. “RahulGandhi has gone to see hisgrandmother. Is it wrong?Everybody has the right toundertake personal visits,” hesaid.

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As it scouts for the genomesamples of the Covid pos-

itive flyers who have returnedfrom new variant-hit UK andmade genome testing manda-tory for 5 per cent of the totalpositive Covid cases, theUnion Health Ministry onMonday issued a detailedaction plan which the genom-ic surveillance consortiumwould follow if the new strainis detected.

The Indian SARS-CoV-2Genomics Consortium(INSACOG) has been formedto expand whole genomesequencing across the nation.

According to consortium’saction plan, in case the UKvariant or any other variantmutation is detected in anysample, the virus will be sentto any of the two notifiedCOVID Virus Repositories atRCB- Faridabad or NIV, Punefor isolating the virus andfurther culturing.

“This can then be sharedas per notified guidelines for

the development of assays,which will help in the valida-tion of diagnostics and alsotesting of the vaccines underdevelopment. The molecularsurveillance will be closelylinked with the epidemiolog-ical surveillance and clinicalspecimens will also be col-lected for relevant clinical cor-relations,” the INSACOG said.

Further, the relevant casedetails, travel details, of anysample detected with the newUK variant, or any other foundto be of significant from a pub-lic health perspective, will becommunicated to NCDC(Director) Nodal Unit. Nodetails shall be revealed beforedue approval by the competentauthority.

“NCDC Nodal Unit willmaintain a database of allsamples of the new variants (ofpublic health significance).The data will be epidemiolog-ically analysed, interpretedand shared with state or dis-trict for investigation, contacttracing and planning responsestrategies. All the genomic

sequencing data will be main-tained in a National databaseat two sites, NIBMG, Kalyaniand IGIB, New Delhi,” itadded.

Ten regional genomesequencing labs are — CSIRInstitute of Genomics andIntegrative Biology in Delhi,CSIR Centre for Cellular andMolecular Biology inHyderabad, DBT NationalInstitute of BiomedicalGenomics near Kolkata, DBT-Institute of Life Sciences inBhubaneswar, DBTInSTEM/NCBS in Bengaluru,DBT-Centre for DNAFingerprinting andDiagnostics in Hyderabad.

It also includes NationalInstitute of Virology and DBTNational Centre for CellScience in Pune, National

Centre for Disease Control inDelhi and NIMHANS,National Institute of MentalHealth and Neuro-Sciencesin Bangalore.

According to experts,India needs to increase viralGenomic surveillance in orderto understand the spread ofthe virus in a rapid and robustmanner. In that context, theIndian SARS-CoV-2Genomics Consortium willhelp to expand whole genomesequencing of SARS-CoV-2virus across the nation, aidingunderstanding of how thevirus spreads and evolves.

Ten regional genomesequencing laboratories spreadacross the country will cater tothe nearest states, which willsend five per cent of the pos-itive samples to these labs forgenome sequencing. The viralgenome sequencing data gen-erated by regional genomesequencing laboratories will besent to the National Centre forDisease Control (NCDC),Delhi for collation and inte-gration.

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In the backdrop of themonth-long and ongoing

farmers’ agitation on the out-skirts of Delhi, the BJP onMonday cited BJP’s win in theBihar Assembly poll, 11 Stateby-elections and 8 local bodiespolls to claim that “rural India”,including “kisan”, is firmly“standing” with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

“Kashmir ho ya Gauhati,apna desh apni maati...”,declared Union MinisterSmiriti Irani as sought to pro-ject recent poll victories of theBJP as an endorsement of farmreforms carried out by theModi-government about six-month ago.

The minister said the out-come of elections, held betweenSeptember and December, arean indication that Modi and theBJP have been able to securethe trust of the people.

She said since the lawswere passed opposition was

creating misinformation thatpeople were not happy andexpressing their anguish.

Addressin a press confer-ence here Irani said support forthe news laws and theGovernment’s response to theCovid-19 pandemic, whichwas carried out simultaneous-ly with the Modi Government’sdevelopment agenda has playeda key role in scripting theparty’s performance.

“Ever since the agriculturereform bills have been passedin Parliament the oppositionparties have been trying to cre-ate misinformation that thepeople in rural areas are unhap-py with the Union government.But the democratic processshows the truth ...how in therural areas whether it is farm-ers or ordinary people, espe-cially women have shown theirfaith in PM Modi and the BJP,”said the union minister.

Irani said since September27, 2020 and till December 22,the BJP won the Bihar assem-

bly elections, by polls in 11state; and eight local bodyelections.

The Minister who is alsoan MP from Amethi, UP, saidas against BJP which got over-whelming support , Congresscollected a duck in some ofthese states.

“Unki party ka haal unkenivrtman adhyaksh ki hi tarahhain”, she quipped taking a digat Rahul Gandhi who lost his2019 Lok Sabha poll to herfrom Amethi.

Farmers are demandingroll-back of three farm lawswhich they apprehend wouldhandover farm marketing tothe big corporates and phase-out Minimum Support Priceand the “Mandi system’. Thegovernment is firm on notscrapping new laws sayingreforms in farm sector are longoverdue and need to be donefor modernisation and increas-ing income of the farmers.

The stand-off is on despitesix rounds of negotiations.

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Right of being representedthrough a lawyer is part of

“due process clause”, theSupreme Court has said whilesetting aside the AllahabadHigh Court order which haddismissed an appeal filed by aman in a 1987 murder case not-ing that his counsel had notappeared during the hearing.

The apex court, whichrestored the appeal and askedthe high court to consider tak-ing it for hearing at an earlydate, said it was open for thehigh court to appoint an ami-cus curiae to assist it when thepetitioner was not representedbefore it through lawyer in thematter.

“It is well accepted thatright of being representedthrough a counsel is part of dueprocess clause and is referableto the right guaranteed underArticle 21 of the Constitutionof India,” a bench headed byJustice U U Lalit said.

“In case the advocate rep-resenting the cause of theaccused, for one reason or theother was not available, it wasopen to the court to appoint anamicus curiae to assist thecourt but the cause in any caseought not to be allowed to gounrepresented,” the bench, alsocomprising Justices VineetSaran and S Ravindra Bhat, saidin its December 18 order.

The top court passed theorder while hearing a plea

filed by the convict against theApril 2017 verdict of highcourt which had dismissed hisappeal challenging the trialcourt judgement awarding himlife term in a murder case.

It noted the submission ofpetitioner’s lawyer that theappeal was disposed of by thehigh court in the absence of anyrepresentation on behalf of theappellant.

The bench said the highcourt, while noting that theman was not representedthrough lawyer during thehearing, went into the matterand affirmed the view taken bythe trial court.

“In the circumstances, wehave no other alternative but toset-aside the judgment passedby the high court and to restorecriminal appeal…to the file ofthe high court to be disposedof afresh,” the apex court said.

It noted that the man, whowas on bail while his appealwas pending in the high court,has since been taken in custody.

“In the circumstances, werequest the high court to con-

sider taking up criminalappeal.…for hearing at anearly date and in order tofacilitate the exercise, we directthe registry of the high courtto list the appeal before theappropriate court on January11, 2021 for directions,” thebench said.

It said the convict shallappear before the high courtthrough advocate on January11 and in case of any default,the high court may considerappointing an amicus curiae toassist it in the matter.

“During the pendency ofthe matter before the highcourt, the appellant shall con-tinue to remain in custody,” thebench said while disposing ofthe plea.

The man, along withanother accused, were con-victed by a trial court in themurder case and they weresentenced to life term.

One of the convicts haddied during pendency of hisappeal before the high courtand proceedings related tohim were abated.

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Pune-based Serum Instituteof India (SII) on Monday

announced the launch of theworld’s most affordable pneu-mococcal conjugate vaccine(PCV) in India that aims toprovides protection against 10variants of pneumococcus bac-teria causing pneumonia,meningitis, ear, and bloodinfections in children.

SII, which is the world’slargest vaccine maker by vol-ume, has priced the PCVbranded as Pneumosil at $3 perdose for public market, and lit-tle over $10 per dose for privatemarket. In India, three dosesare required for the full PCVvaccination.

Pneumococcal conjugatevaccine is imported and sold inIndia by Pfizer and GSK. Whilethe Pfizer vaccine Prevener 13is sold at Rs 3,801 per dose,GSK vaccine Synflorix is sold

at Rs 2,195 per dose, makingthem the costliest vaccine in thechild immunisation schedule.

Prevener 13 provides pro-tection against 13 variants ofpneumococcus bacteria com-pared to 10 of Synflorix.

The high cost of the vac-cine had the Indian govern-ment delay the inclusion ofPCV in the universal immuni-sation programme (UIP),meant to vaccinate childrenfree of cost. The launch of SII’saffordable PCV will allow theIndian government to intro-duce this vaccine as part of UIP.

Adar Poonawalla, ChiefExecutive Officer of SII, saidthe company had a capacity toproduce 100 million doses ofPCV per annum.

The company has begunshipping the vaccine toUNICEF, for supplying to childimmunisation programmes invarious low and middle incomecountries. The PCV has been

prequalified by the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO).

Poonawalla said India toois in the process of placingorder for 20 million-30 milliondoses of the vaccine and that itwould help it to prevent 50-60percent of infant deaths innext two to three years depend-ing on the coverage.

Pneumococcal disease is asignificant contributor to theunder-five mortality rateworldwide. Annually, an esti-mated 71 percent of deaths inchildren are caused by pneu-monia and 57 percent aresevere pneumonia cases.

Every year nearly 67,800children under 5 years of agedie in India from pneumo-coccal diseases.

Recognizing its wide-spread fatality, the WHO rec-ommends the inclusion ofPCV in routine childhoodimmunization programmesin all countries.

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India and South Korea willdiscuss the entire gamut of

defence ties and security sce-nario including Chineseaggressive posturing in theSouth China Sea during ArmyChief General M M Naravane’sparleys with the Korean topbrass during his three-day dayvisit to Seoul starting Monday.

The two countries are keento further explore possibilitiesto forge joint ventures indefence production in India.Korea of late has emerged as abig supplier of military plat-forms and weapons to India.Naravane will take stock ofthese ties with the senior mil-itary and civilian leadership inSeoul, officials said here onMonday.

Both nations have a con-vergence of outlook in thestrategic and defence realm.India’s “Act East Policy” findsresonance in the presentRepublic of Korea administra-tion’s “New Southern Policy”.

The major areas of concernfor South Korea are increasingChinese hegemony in theSouth China Sea, security of sealines of communication(SLOCs) due to incidents ofpiracy and hostilities with theDemocratic People’s Republic

of Korea (DPRK). Seoul con-siders New Delhi as a stabilis-ing influence in the IndianOcean region, they said whilehighlighting the importanceof the Army chief ’s visit.

Incidentally, the ArmyChief ’s visit to South Koreacomes two weeks after con-cluding a six-day crucial tourof the United ArabEmirates(UAE) and SaudiArabia that reflected India’sgrowing strategic ties with thetwo influential Gulf nations. Itwas the first ever visit by anIndian army chief to SaudiArabia.

Last month, Naravane trav-elled to Nepal on a three-dayvisit that had significant diplo-matic over tones. In October,the Chief of Army Staff, accom-panied by Foreign SecretaryHarsh Vardhan Shringla, trav-elled to Myanmar during whichIndia decided to supply anattack submarine to theMyanmar Navy besides agree-ing to further deepen militaryand defence ties.

Meanwhile, in Seoul,Naravane will meet the coun-try’s minister for nationaldefence, army chief and chair-man of joint chiefs of staff. TheArmy chief will also meetSouth Korea’s minister ofdefence acquisition planningadministration (DAPA).

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The Election Commissionsuccessfully held Assembly

polls in Bihar, one of India’smost populous states despitethe COVID-19 pandemic andis now preparing to conductpolls in states and union terri-tories as per schedule nextyear, its chief Sunil Arora saidsumming up 2020.

The Chief ElectionCommissioner (CEC) pointedout that the exercise involvednearly 7.3 crore voters andover 1.06 lakh polling stations.

“We were able to conducta COVID-safe election, with avoter turnout of 57.34 per cent,which was higher than the56.8 per cent turnout recordedduring the previous election in2015,” Arora told PTI.

This was also an electionmarked by enthusiastic partic-ipation of women voters, whooutnumbered men at thepolling booths, he said.

The facility of postal ballotswas extended to citizens abovethe age of 80 years and personswith disability.

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While most political partiesrefused to speculate on

Board for Control for Cricketin India president SouravGanguli’s two-hour-long parleywith Bengal Governor JagdeepDhankhar, State BJP presidentDilip Ghosh on Mondayreminded that performance wasthe key to getting priced posi-tions in the BJP adding peoplelike Ganguli would be an assetto the party.

When asked to commenton the Monday’s one-on-onemeeting between Dhankhar—often alleged by the rulingTrinamool Congress as the BJP’sde facto points-man in Bengal— and the former India captain,Ghosh said he had no infor-mation about such discussionshaving taken place between thetwo.

“He is a famous personal-ity … one of the most success-ful batsmen and captains of theIndian cricket team … notonly Sourav Ganguli but any-one can meet the Governor,” hesaid adding however “I don’tknow whether there is anypolitical connection in thismeeting.”

On his willingness to get thecricketing southpaw in the BJP’steam he said, his party alwayswanted people like SouravGanguly to its ranks.

“Our doors are always openfor people like him. In the pasttoo, many celebrities joined ourparty and in the coming daysmore willcome. When good people of

repute join your party it sendsa positive message to the peo-ple.”

When asked as to whetherGanguli featured on top of the

BJP’s list of next ChiefMinisterial candidate Ghoshsaid, “anyone can work on anyposition because the BJP alwaysputs right kind of people in rightplace so as to serve the peopleproperly.” When asked specifi-cally whether he would like tosee him as the next ChiefMinister of the State she said,“anyone can be a Chief Ministerbut for that one has to join theparty, perform and deliver,”adding the top leadership woulddecide the things at an appro-priate moment.

When the same questionwas put to senior BengalMinister Subroto Mukherjeehe too showed his ignoranceabout the Sunday’s meetinghaving taken place between theGovernor and Ganguli. Whentold that the meeting had indeedtaken place he said “I should not comment on

anyone meeting the Governor… I can only say that India isplaying well in the second testin Australia … but for themeeting you are talking aboutI am least interested aboutthat…”

Ganguli who enjoys anexcellent chemistry with UnionHome Minister Amit Shah ear-lier told the media not to readmuch into the Sunday’s meetingas it was a courtesy call.

“A meeting was long over-due as he had expressed hisinterest in visiting the EdenGardens … I had gone to invitehim to visit the stadium …nothing more should be readinto this meeting,” Ganguli whohas throughout his career main-tained a neutral political stancenotwithstanding his goodchemistry with all the politicalparties like the Left Front, TMCand now the BJP said.

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Little more than a week after HomeMinister Amit Shah’s grand road-

show at Bolpur, Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee is all set to take outher own “padyatra” along the same routeon Tuesday.

Though the road show is seen as ananswer to Shah’s rally the main themeof the of Tuesday’s march have beenbased on the songs of Poet LaureateRabindranath Tagore who foundedShantiniketan at Bolpur then a smalltribal hamlet.

Several artists from various districtsof Bengal will participate in the road-show and perform Rabindra Sangeet,sources said.

Meanwhile in a related developmentBanerjee on Monday said that theState Public Works Department (PWD)

would take back the control of a roadnear the Visva Bharati University cam-pus.

The 2.9 km long road connectingtwo campuses of the centrally controlleduniversity -- Santiniketan andSriniketan – was handed over to theuniversity in 2017.

The decision was taken after reportsthat the University authorities hadmade the road out of bounds for thegeneral public. The Chief Ministerwho was at Bolpur on Monday said“there are many complaints from localpeople that they are not being allowedto use the road and it was causing incon-venience. So, the PWD will now takecontrol of it.”

The decision is seen as a part of theongoing Centre-State (read BJP-TMCconflict in the run up to 2021 BengalAssembly elections.

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With the ruling Janata Dal(United) going through a

crisis in Bihar, the reins of theparty have been entrusted toChief Minister Nitish Kumar'smost trusted aide and formerIndian Administrative Serviceofficer RCP Singh.

How well would Singh playthe role of the JDU's 'Bigg Boss',only time will tell. But it isbelieved that strengthening the

organisational structure andexpanding the party to otherStates will be a major challengefor Singh.

Nitish Kumar has been theuniversally accepted and tow-ering leader in the JDU. In sucha situation, there are seriousapprehensions whether Singhwill be able to create his ownimage as an acceptable leaderof the party. There are manystrong leaders in the partywho have the capability to take

over the leadership reins. Willthey accept Singh as theirleader, is a question beingasked.

The JDU, which was thelargest party in Bihar, couldonly achieve the third positionin the recently concludedAssembly polls. Singh had ear-lier earned praise for the role heplayed in the expansion andstrengthening of the party.

In the JDU's NationalExecutive meeting, the party

had indicated that it no longerwants to be strong only in Biharand passed a proposal regard-ing the JDU's expansion toother states on similar lines asin Bihar.

Former Bihar minister andLegislative Councillor NeerajKumar said, “Singh has beenassociated with the JDU for along time and has played animportant role in the organi-sation. His administrative expe-rience and communication

skills will prove to be very use-ful in the organisational devel-opment of the JDU.”

A senior JDU leader said it

was becoming quite a dauntingchallenge for Nitish Kumar tohandle the dual responsibilityof Chief Minister as well asparty President. Change wasconsidered necessary to give anopportunity to new generationleaders and to energise theparty workers so entrusting theresponsibility of leading theparty was given to Singh.

Even when GeorgeFernandes and Sharad Yadavwere president of the JDU

Nitish Kumar remained themost visible face of the party.Party leaders said that Kumarhad taken the party to newheights.

From the start, Singh wasseen as the successor of NitishKumar. Singh comes from theKurmi caste and is one ofKumar's most trusted aides.

It is also considered a chal-lenge for Singh to keep in stepwith the other political outfitswho are part of the NDA

alliance in Bihar. Senior BJPleader and Rajya Sabha MPSushil Kumar Modi said thatunder Singh's leadership theBJP-JDU political relations andalliance will be furtherstrengthened.

Congratulatory messageshave been pouring in afterSingh became the party'sNational President, but itremains to be seen how hewould deal with the upcomingchallenges.

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Under the new educationpolicy, children from class

3rd to 5th will be given pre-pri-mary education at Anganwadicentres along with meals. Forthis, educational data of theworkers and assistants workingat these centers will be pre-pared. This will also do thework of teaching children.After the preparation of theeducational data, these willalso be given training at BlockResource Centers (BRC).

There is a plan for pre-pri-mary studies in Basic

Education Council schoolsunder the new education pol-icy. Anganwadi centers will beused for pre-primary studies.Children between three andfive years of age will study here.

Also, activities will be con-ducted at these centers underthe supervision of the BasicEducation Department.

This has also created thepossibility of additional workon departmental employees.

Teachers or academic per-sons will give the training to theworkers of Anganwadi centers.This will also provide addi-tional work on them.

Panaji: Higher secondary andcollege examinations will beheld offline this academic yearin Goa, Chief Minister PramodSawant said on Monday.

Speaking at a functionorganised to felicitate meritori-ous students at the HarmalPanchkroshi educational insti-tute in North Goa district,Sawant said that there was anx-iety among students about whenand how the exams would beconducted.

“A lot of students are won-dering when higher secondaryschools or colleges will resumeclasses. We are stressing on

offline exams this year. Class XI,XII as well as college exams willbe held offline,” Sawant said.Currently, schools in Goa areonly allowed to hold offlineclasses for Class X and Class XIIstudents, while other studentsare taught online by education-al institutions. Classes for ClassX and Class XII students beganfrom November 21 this year.

According to the GoaBoard of Secondary and HigherSecondary Education, examsfor Class X are scheduled tobegin from May 13, while ClassXII exams are scheduled tostart from April 26. IANS

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With the arrest of another overground worker (OGW)

belonging to the Lashkar-e-Tayyebaterror outfit , the joint team of secu-rity forces in Jammu & Kashmirhave unearthed a sinister plot ofPakistan based handlers to targetfamous religious places and disturbpeace in the region.

In the last four days, jointteams of security forces have avert-ed three major terror strikes withthe arrest of six terrorists and theirassociates and recovery of arms andammunition.

According to the preliminaryreports, handlers sitting acrossPakistan were directing theseOGW's to carry out terror strikesespecially on famous religiousplaces in order to disturb peace in

the communally sensitive Jammuregion.

According to a statement issuedby the office of Inspector Generalof Police, Jammu range on Monday,“Police in Jammu district arrestedone person linked with the pro-scribed terrorist organization LeTwho was tasked by the handlersfrom across the border to carry outgrenade blasts in the city at NHWbye pass road last evening”.

Police have identified thearrested person as MohammadAshraf S/O Ghulam Din R/O Lar,Mahore, Reasi A/P Peerbaghcolony, Sunjawan, Jammu. Twohand grenades were recovered fromhis possession.

Official sources claimed thehandler across the border was incontact with more terror operatives.Jammu police have launched a

massive manhunt to track downtheir footprints to avert any otherstrike.

This is the second terror mod-ule linked with LeT which has beenbusted by the Jammu police in thepast one week. A similar modulelinked with TRF (LeT) was bustedearlier in which 02 persons name-ly Raees Ahmad Dar S/O GhulamHassan Dar R/O Churath, Devsar,Qazigund and Sabzar AhmadSheikh S/o Ghulam Ahmad SheikhR/o Ashmuji, Kulgam were arrest-ed with one Ak series rifle, one pis-tol, two magazines of AK rifle, 60rounds of AK rifle and 15 roundsof pistol.

Another module was busted inPoonch on Sunday with the arrestof three militants of the newly float-ed JK Ghaznavi Force in Mendhararea who were planning to target

religious places of minorities start-ing with the famous temple of Ari.Six grenades have so far beenrecovered from their possession.Apart from three arrests, two morepersons have been detained forquestioning. SSP Poonch RameshAngral said that the arrested mili-tants were planning to carry out agrenade attack on a religious placeat Ari in Mendhar at the behest oftheir Pakistani handler to disturbpeace and communal amity in thedistrict.

Some videos regarding tacticsof grenade lobbying were alsofound in the mobile phones of theaccused. SSP Poonch added that itis a major success for securityforces as a major terror plot of mil-itant strikes and inciting commu-nal violence has been averted inPoonch.

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Aman has filed a complaintagainst his newly-married

wife who has allegedly runaway from his home with cashand gold jewellery.

In his complaint filed at theShamli police station, Pinku,who is a resident of theSimbhalka village in Shamlidistrict, said he got married onNovember 25. His wife, who isa resident of Baghpat district,was missing from December 26night.

Pinku alleged that his wifehas run away from his homeand has taken away Rs 70,000cash and gold jewellery.

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Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh):TheAkhil Bharatiya AkharaParishad (ABAP) now wantsthe Kumbh Mela in Haridwarto be held on a grand scalebecause the pandemic is slow-ing down.

The ABAP has sent aninvitation to Uttarakhand ChiefMinister Trivendra SinghRawat to visit Prayagraj in thenew year and see the arrange-ments made for the annualMagh Mela. Incidentally, theUttarakhand Chief Ministerhas tested positive for Covidand is in hospital.

“We want him to see howthe Magh Mela is being orga-nized on a grand scale, despitethe pandemic. The ABAP hadbeen contemplating to holdHaridwar Kumbh Mela on asmaller scale till now, but nowthat the cases of corona aresteadily decreasing, the ABAPhas decided that the fair shouldbe held in full grandeur, fol-lowing all the safety norms,”said ABAP chief MahantNarendra Giri.

Mahant Hari Giri, generalsecretary of ABAP and chiefpatron of Juna Akhara, saidthat this decision has beentaken in view of the present sit-uation in terms of decliningnumber of corona cases acrossthe country. IANS

Patna:A 16-year-old girl,returning from a householdchore, was allegedly waylaidand gang raped by three knownpersons in Bihar's Rohtas dis-trict, police said on Monday.

The crime was committedin Rohtas' Dehri-on-Sonelocality on December 23 butwas reported to police only onFriday, Dehri SDPO SanjayKumar said.

“We have registered anFIR under Section 376 D (gangrape) of the IPC and efforts areon to nab the accused. Duringpreliminary investigation, itappeared that the accused arefriendly with the victim,” hesaid.

As per the statement of thevictim's mother, her twodaughters went to a nearbyshop to buy some domesticitems on December 23. Whilereturning, the accused inter-cepted them and took them toa deserted house in the vicin-ity, where they tied up theyounger girl and took turns torape the 16-year-old.

“After the incident, theaccused released the victimand her sister and threatenedthem with dire consequences ifthey revealed the incident toanyone. The victim, after reach-ing home, narrated her ordealto her mother, who theninformed the police,” Kumarsaid. IANS

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Aday after the EnforcementDirectorate (ED) sum-

moned his wife Varsha toappear before it in connectionwith the PMC Bank scam onDecember 29, Shiv Sena leaderSanjay Raut on Monday hit outat the BJP for its “act of cow-ardice” which reflected its“frustration” against him for hisrole in MVA Government’sformation in the State andcharged that through the ED, itwas targetting the rulingalliance leaders for the past oneyear.

Hitting out at the BJP-ledNDA for “misusing” its inves-tigating agencies against itspolitical rivals, Raut said at anews conference here:“Targetting the women of ahousehold is an act of cow-ardice. We are notscared of anyone and willrespond accordingly. The BJP’sact reflects its frustrationagainst him, owing to his rolein the formation of the MahaVikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the State lastyear and his refusal to yield topressure to make itunstable”.

Raut, it may be recalled ,had played a key role in bring-ing the Shiv Sena, NCP andCongress, together to form a

three-party alliance govern-ment in Maharashtra inNovember last year.

Asserting that the BJPshould learn to learn to facepolitical battles should be“fought face to face” instead ofusing its investigating agenciesagainst political rivals, Rautsaid: “I have spoken to ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackerayin this regard. The Shiv Senawill respond to the BJP in itsown way. There’s no need topanic”.

Alluding to the “blatantmisuse” of the Central investi-gating agencies against its polit-ical rivals, Raut said: “Duringthe past one year, our leaderslike Sharad Pawar, EknathKhadse and Pratap Sarnaikgot notices from the ED. NowI am being discussed in con-nection with the summonsissued to my wife” .

Raut's wife Varsha willappear before the ED onTuesday. The ED is under-stood to be investigatingalleged financial transactionsbetween Varsha Raut andPravin Raut, who is under arrest in the PMC Bankcase.

“The ED wanted somepapers and we have submittedthem in time,” Raut said, evenas he dismissed the notices as“pieces of paper, nothing else”.

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Replying to a private newschannel’s query on “onenation, one election”,Chief Election

Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arorapithily said that the ElectionCommission was ready for it if thelegislature (Parliament) carriesout the necessary (constitutional)amendments. The ElectionCommission was not authorisedto decide on it, he clarified.

The amendments that theCEC was referring to were per-haps Article 83 (2) and 172 of theConstitution of India which per-tain to durations of the House ofPeople and State Assemblies,respectively. At present, theyenjoy a term of “five years fromthe date appointed for its firstmeeting”. At any given time, dif-ferent State Assemblies would bein different stages of their lifecycle. No elected Governmentwould voluntarily like to give upthe term even a day earlier thanis absolutely necessary. However,at present, the President of Indiaunder Article 85 (2) (b) can dis-solve the Lok Sabha. TheGovernor of a State, under Article174 (2) (b), can dissolve a legisla-tive Assembly.

Prime Minister NarendraModi’s idea of simultaneous elec-tions is apparently more compre-hensive. The BJP’s election man-ifesto, “Sankalp Patra-2019”,pitches for simultaneous elec-tions to Parliament, StateAssemblies and local bodies witha view to “reducing expenditure,ensure efficient utilisation of theGovernment’s resources and secu-rity forces, and effective policyplanning”. The manifesto statesthat the BJP will try to build con-sensus on this issue with all polit-ical parties. However, no attemptat “consensus building” appears tohave been undertaken by it so far.

The Election Commission ofIndia’s authority to conduct elec-tions extends over the House ofPeople (the Lok Sabha), Councilof States (the Rajya Sabha), Statelegislative Assemblies, legislativeCouncils, the President and theVice-President of India and so on.It has been constituted underArticle 324 of the Constitution ofIndia. The offices of the ChiefElectoral Officers in all States andUnion Territories are part of theElection Commission. The elec-tion to local bodies like panchay-ats and municipal corporations/municipalities, on the other hand,are conducted by the StateElection Commissions constitut-ed under Article 243K. Moreover,

panchayats and municipalitiesalso enjoy five-year durationunder Articles 243 E and 243 U,respectively, of the Constitutionof India. However, there are noclear-cut constitutional provi-sions to dissolve these localbodies prematurely.

In 2015, the department-related Parliamentary StandingCommittee of Personnel,Public, Law and Justice hadexamined the issue of“Feasibility of HoldingSimultaneous Elections to theHouse of People (Lok Sabha)and State LegislativeAssemblies”. From ReportNo.79 of the StandingCommittee — tabled in bothHouses of Parliament — onDecember 17, 2015, it appearsthat political parties were divid-ed on the subject. In their writ-ten submissions, the AIADMK,DMDK, Asom Gana Parishad,the Indian Union MuslimLeague and the ShiromaniAkali Dal supported the idea,though with certain riders. Onthe other hand, the IndianNational Congress, TrinamoolCongress, the NCP, the CPI andthe AIMIM opposed the idea asimpractical.

The first general electionsto the Lok Sabha and to theState Assemblies were heldsimultaneously in 1952. Thepractice continued in threesubsequent elections in 1957,1962 and 1967. However, thesynchrony got disturbed due tothe premature dissolution tosome legislative Assemblies in1968 and 1969. Later, the term

of the Fifth Lok Sabha wasextended until 1977 underArticle 352. Thereafter, theSixth, Seventh, Ninth, Eleventh,Twelfth and Thirteenth LokSabha were dissolved prema-turely. On numerous occa-sions, various States went underthe President’s rule underArticle 356, and came out of itat different times through freshlegislative elections.

The committee found thatseven out of 16 Lok Sabhaselected in 1969, 1977, 1980,1984, 1996, 1998 and 1999witnessed premature dissolu-tion. The Anti-Defection Act,1985, that prevented switchoverby breakaway factions in casethe Government loses majori-ty, has a direct bearing upon theterm of the legislature.

Putting the clock back to1952 might not be easy. But amore important question is,how desirable would it be? Theproposal comes with attendantlogistical and expenditure chal-lenges. In terms of numbers, theElection Commission of Indiahas Electronic Voting Machines(EVMs) and Voter VerifiablePaper Audit Trail (VVPAT)machines in excess to the num-ber required for the Lok Sabhaelections. In reply to a questionin the Lok Sabha (vide unstarredquestion 1911 dated July 3,2019), Law Minister RaviShankar Prasad informed theHouse that 14.88 lakh BallotUnits and 11.3 lakh ControlUnits (constituting an EVM)and 11.59 lakh VVPATmachines were used in the 2019

general elections. The ElectionCommission has 23.3 lakh BallotUnits, 16.35 lakh Control Unitsand 17.4 lakh VVPAT machines,including those blocked in elec-tion petition cases. A majority ofthese were procured over thepreceding three years. In replyto another question (videunstarred question 5198 datedJuly 24, 2019), the Ministerreplied that the ElectionCommission had procured13.95 lakh Ballot Units and10.55 Control Units between2016 and 2019 at an estimatedcost of �2056.20 crore (exclud-ing taxes and transport).

The Election Commissionknows the template of handlingsimultaneous elections. The2019 general elections wereheld simultaneously along withelections to four legislativeAssemblies like AndhraPradesh, Sikkim, ArunachalPradesh and Odisha. However,the Election Commission’sinventory of EVMs andVVPAT machines, though inexcess to the requirement forgeneral elections, might bequite insufficient for holdingsimultaneous elections all overIndia. The older EVMs, whichhave outlived their lifespan,have to be retired and replaced.This would mean (a) signifi-cant enhancement, if not dou-bling, in the number of EVMsand VVPAT machines avail-able; (b) augmenting storagefacilities for these during elec-tions (strong rooms) and per-manently (warehouses).

The Standing Committee

concluded that simultaneouselections are not feasible in thenear future. However, citingthat under Sections 14 and 15of the Representation of thePeople Act, 1951, the ElectionCommission can notify elec-tions to the Lok Sabha and Statelegislative Assemblies sixmonths prior to the end of theirnatural term, it suggested hold-ing elections in two phases. Itimplied that elections to somelegislative Assemblies could beheld along with the Lok Sabhapolls, and others in the mid-term of the Lok Sabha. TheStanding Committee recom-mended the plan to be initiat-ed with effect from November2016. The Government sat overthe report for more than twoyears before sending it to theLaw Commission. The LawCommission’s report has notbeen finalised as of date. In fact,after the 21st Law Commission’stenure ended on August 31,2018, there is no clarity aboutthe Law Commission itself.This has recently resulted in apublic interest litigation beingfiled in the Supreme Court.

At present, “one nation,one election” seems more of arhetoric than a resolution. Eventhe ruling party knows well thatit would be difficult to tacklethe situation if simultaneouselections result in hungAssemblies in four or fiveStates simultaneously.

(The writer is an author andindependent researcher based inNew Delhi. The views expressedare personal.)

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Sir — It is really shocking that inan alleged honour killing case, ayoung man was murdered by hiswife’s relatives in Kerala, andwhat makes it more horrendousis that this crime took place in aState known for its literacy rateand progressive nature. A simi-lar incident had occurred a yearago in the State which boasts ofgender and social equality and iswell known for its political andsocial consciousness.

Kerala is the birthplace ofone of the greatest reformists ournation has seen — Sree NarayanaGurudev, who devoted his entirelife for the uplift of the downtrod-den and put an end to casteismand communalism during theearly period of the last centuryand paved the way for a highlyliterate, enlightened and progres-sive society which later becamea role model for the nation.

Such shameful incidents tar-nish the good reputation of theState and its people whose pro-gressive thinking, passion foruniversal literacy and robustpublic healthcare system havealways earned wide praise.

M PradyuKannur

������� ��������Sir — India is the second mostpopulated country in the worldwith nearly 1.35 billion people.Not only after the lockdown butbefore that too, India was awholesale market of unem-ployed youth.

This sorry state clearly begsthe question, which type ofself-reliant India do we wish for

if the country with the highestpercentage of youth is unable todirect them and offer thememployment? It seems surpris-ing that the results of an elec-tion pop up everywhere but theresults of competitive examshardly make it to the news. Thepromises of employment seemto be made just for addingbeauty to manifestoes or for the

sake of making announcements.The unemployment scenario

is getting worse. If India gets touse her own youth’s brainpower,that would be the true definitionof becoming self-reliant ratherthan using the technologies ofother countries and calling itdeveloped and digital India.

Aman JaiswalDelhi

�����������������Sir — United Kingdom (UK)Prime Minister Boris Johnson, byaccepting India’s invite to be thechief guest at the next RepublicDay parade in New Delhi, haspleased a host of nations, andrubbed a few the wrong way.

That it would be his firstofficial tour abroad after exitingthe European Union indicatesthe importance attached byhim to the Indo-UK coopera-tion. Both nations are tradition-ally bound together throughareas of common interest.Mutual trust has always beenthe glue that has firmly heldtogether the two countries.

An early harvest deal and afree trade agreement are expect-ed to be inked by Johnson andPM Narendra Modi. The“Enhanced Trade Partnership” isall set to see the light of the dayas also a decade-long roadmapbetween the two countries. Afterthe pandemic, India and the UKseem committed to reinvigorat-ing the badly affected economythrough each other’s largesse.

Ganapathi BhatAkola

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The green shoots seen in October, in partic-ular the rise in the Index of IndustrialProduction (IIP) by 3.6 per cent, have

prompted agencies to revise their growth assess-ment for the current financial year (FY) from theminus 9.5-10.5 per cent projected earlier to minus7.5-8.5 per cent, now. For the FY 2021-22, whenthe impact of the virus is expected to subside toa large extent due to the availability of the vac-cine, it is only natural to expect an economicrebound. However, it is necessary to take a prag-matic view based on an objective assessment ofhow the situation unfolds on ground zero.

To begin with, the Gross Domestic Product(GDP) growth had already started sliding fromthe third quarter (Q3) of the FY 2018-19 and con-tinued all through the FY 2019-20, culminatingin a low of three per cent during its last quarterending March 31. During the whole of 2019-20,the growth plummeted to a decade low of 4.2 percent, down from an average 7.5 per cent record-ed in the previous five years.

A nationwide lockdown in March dwelt abody blow by bringing most of the economicactivities to a grinding halt. As a result, there wasa precipitous decline in GDP growth by 24 percent during Q1 of the current FY ending June 30.The slide continued during Q2 ending onSeptember 30, though the deceleration wasmodest at 7.5 per cent (courtesy the graded exitfrom the hard lockdown).

However, the crucial point is that even ifgrowth rebounds to the seven per cent-10 per centrange, the resultant GDP would have merely recu-perated to the 2019-20 level or about �14,500,000crore or $2.1 trillion. The Union Budget for 2020-21 was prepared with an overarching focus onmaking India a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25,a target that Prime Minister Narendra Modi setat the start of his second inning in May 2019.

To reach there, the economy needed to growclose to 20 per cent per annum consistently overa period of five years — a rate never seen beforeeven in a single year. It was totally unrealistic.Now, with the setback of 2019-20 and 2020-21and India likely to remain stuck at $2.1 trillionduring 2021-22, the target of $5 trillion by 2024-25 is unrealistic. For now, we need to analyse thereason behind the slowdown during these twoyears apart from the COVID-19 impact. The twodeterminants of growth are demand (this includesprivate consumption, Government demand andexports) and investment.

During 2019-20, thanks to the massive lossof jobs and declining incomes, even as privateconsumption suffered, an increase in Governmentspending failed to offset this loss. A number offiscal measures announced by Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman in August/September 2019(steep reduction in corporate tax, tax refund toexporters, sops for the real estate sector, supportto housing finance companies and so on) besidesmonetary policy support, including reduction inthe repo rate by 1.35 per cent, failed to providethe required demand boost.

During 2020-21, both the Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) and the Centre unleashed their fire-power to counter the effect of the virus. Whilethe former cut the repo rate again by 1.15 per centand injected mammoth liquidity close to�8,00,000 crore besides granting a six-monthmoratorium on repayment of banks loans, the lat-ter came up with stimulus packages announcedby Sitharaman in three tranches in May, October

and November. These packages interalia targeted MSMEs (micro, smalland medium enterprises), NBFCs,power distribution companies (PDCs),migrant labour, agricultural credit, thelower middle class, agriculture infra-structure and farm reforms, structuralreforms in coal, minerals, civil aviation,defence, fertilisers and the MahatmaGandhi National Rural EmploymentGuarantee Act (MGNREGA), healthand the State Governments’ resourcesand public sector reforms. Together withthe RBI’s support, including on-tapTargeted Long Term Repo Operations(TLTROs) of �1,00,000 croreannounced on October 11, these add toa grand total of nearly �30 lakh croreor 15 per cent of the GDP.

This is in addition to the demandboosters announced in the Budget pre-sented on February 1. Those includedinter alia changes in personal incometax to leave more money in the handsof individual assesses, abolition ofDividend Distribution Tax (DDT),concessions for MSMEs (includinginnovative steps for timely payment oftheir dues and increase in financingespecially through “invoice financ-ing”), start-ups, exporters and the realestate sector.

Given the canvas of thereforms/measures and the “seemingly”large quantum of money promised forall affected segments, it is only naturalto expect a rebound of the economyafter the impact of the pandemic isreduced and eventually dissipated.However, it is necessary to make anobjective assessment of how many of theabove policy announcements and mea-sures have been operationalised onground zero.

First, in several areas, theGovernment has merely camouflagedexpenses on existing schemes under the

stimulus package. For instance, �75,000crore under PM-KISAN, �90,000 croreto PDCs to enable them to clear theirpending dues to power generators,�65,000 crore to clear pending subsidydues to fertiliser manufacturers and soon. Second, of the total package of�30,00,000 crore, the actual outgo byway of budgetary support is just about�4,00,000 crore. Out of this, a majorslice of �1,50,000 crore is for providingfree food — five kg per person permonth to over 80 crore people coveredunder the National Food Security Act(NFSA) and one kg pulse per householdto 16 crore households. Being help inkind, it does not put cash in the handsof beneficiaries; hence it does notboost demand.

Third, an overwhelming share ofthe stimulus is in the form of loan frombanks and Financial Institutions (FIs).For instance, �3,00,000 crore to MSMEsor identified stressed sectors under theEmergency Credit Line GuaranteeScheme (ECLGS), loan of �75,000crore loan to NBFCs, housing financecompanies (HFCs), microfinance insti-tutions (MFIs), �30,000 crore addition-al emergency working capital (upfront)to farmers for crop loans from theNational Bank for Agriculture andRural Development (NABARD) and soon.

The impact thereof is only to theextent these facilities are actually availedof. Here, one is reminded of the proverb“there’s many a slip between the cup andthe lip.” Look at these numbers: Underthe ECLGS, �3,00,000 crore was intend-ed to be loaned to eight million MSMEs.Against this, only about �1,50,000 crorehas been given to four million suchenterprises. Fourth, the Government isbetting big on investment in infrastruc-ture. Of the �100 lakh crore proposedover the next five years, 39 per cent has

to come from the Centre and States each(balance 22 per cent by the private sec-tor). This translates to �8,00,000 croreannually by the Centre and State each.But there is no blueprint on how theseresources will be garnered. Even so,given the current financial health ofbanks with ballooning non-performingassets, they don’t have the wherewith-al for financing on this scale.

Put shortly, there is too muchfocus on packaging but too little fromthe Government by way of budgetarysupport. On the other hand, even as theRBI has pumped too much money intothe loan tap, with the fundamentals ofdemand being weak, there are notmany takers. Loan sanctions and dis-bursements have also been affected dueto inherent weaknesses of NBFCs (theyare mostly into giving loans to MSMEsand individuals). Some of the big onessuch as Dewan Housing FinanceCorporation Limited, InfrastructureLeasing & Financial Services Limitedand so on, have gone bust.

Going forward, a big push togrowth during 2021-22 could be hit bycontinuing vulnerabilities of banks andNBFCs, overleveraged agencies imple-menting projects such as the NationalHighway Authority of India and theinability of the Government to imple-ment long-pending reforms. This wouldinclude failure to implement land andfarm reforms, the inability to makedirect benefit transfers of fertiliser andpower subsidy, enforcement of con-tracts, elimination of bureaucratic redtape, removing bottlenecks in trans-portation and clearances at the portsand so on. So, while we must be opti-mistic about the coming year, we haveto be realistic, too.

(The writer is a New Delhi-based policy analyst. The views expressed

are personal.)

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Today a large part of the Indianmedia has lost its voice andthe trust of the people, too. It

has become a “godi media.” Insteadof being the Fourth Estate andserving the Indian people, it haslargely become part of the FirstEstate, as stated by eminent journal-ist and Magsaysay Award winnerRavish Kumar. This brings us to thekey question: What is the role of themedia?

This was explained by JusticeHugo Black of the US SupremeCourt in The New York Times vs. US,1971 (the Pentagon Papers case) in

these stirring words: “In the FirstAmendment, the Founding Fathersgave the free Press the protection itmust have to fulfil its essential rolein our democracy. The Press was toserve the governed, not the gover-nors. The Government’s power tocensor the Press was abolished sothat the Press would remain forev-er free to censure the Government.The Press was protected so that itcould bare the secrets of theGovernment and inform the people.Only a free and unrestrained Presscan effectively expose deception inGovernment. And paramountamong the responsibilities of a freePress is the duty to prevent any partof the Government from deceivingthe people and sending them off todistant lands to die of foreign feversand foreign shot and shell. In myview, far from deserving condemna-tion for their courageous reporting,The New York Times , TheWashington Post and other newspa-pers should be commended forserving the purpose that the

Founding Fathers saw so clearly. Inrevealing the workings of theGovernment that led to the Vietnamwar, the newspapers nobly did pre-cisely that which the Foundershoped and trusted they would do.”

Historically, the media arose inEngland and France in the 17th and18th centuries as an organ of thepeople against feudal oppression. Atthat time all the organs of powerwere in the hands of the feudalauthorities (kings, aristocrats and soon). Hence, the people had to cre-ate new organs which would repre-sent their interests and the media(apart from the Parliament), was oneof these new organs. In Europe andAmerica, it represented the voice ofthe future, in contrast to the old, feu-dal organs which wanted to preservethe status quo.

Great writers like Voltaire,Rousseau, Thomas Paine and so onused the media (which was thenonly print media and that, too, notin the form of regular newspapersbut pamphlets and leaflets) to com-

bat feudalism, religious bigotry andsuperstitions.

Thus, the media was of greathelp in transforming Europeansociety from the feudal to the mod-ern age. India’s national aim is totransform itself from an underdevel-oped to a highly developed andhighly industrialised country. If wedon’t do so, we will remain con-demned to massive poverty, recordunemployment, appalling level ofchild malnourishment, almost totallack of proper healthcare and goodeducation for the masses, amongother things.

Our media must play an impor-tant role in this historical transfor-mation, as the European mediadid. But for that it must stop behav-ing like a mouthpiece and serve thegoverned, not the governors (asJustice Black said in his judgment).The Indian media must attack feu-dal forces like casteism and commu-nalism, condemn religious bigotryand attempts to polarise our society.It must promote scientific ideas,

social harmony and the unity of ourpeople. It should stop divertingattention from real issues and focus-ing on relative non-issues like thelives of film stars and cricketers (e.g.the suicide of Sushant Singh Rajput,allegations made by KanganaRanaut, Kareena Kapoor’s secondpregnancy and Virat Kohli’s decisionto take paternity leave and so on),petty politics, astrology, among oth-ers, and instead focus on the realissues, which are mainly socio-eco-nomic. This includes the problemsof unemployment, malnourishment,lack of healthcare, price rise, theagrarian crisis and so on.

For years, the Indian mediaturned a Nelson’s eye to the largenumber of farmers’ suicides in ourcountry, until a brave journalist, PSainath, revealed the sad truththrough his persistent reporting. Itwas only then that the rest of themedia began reporting the agrari-an distress in the country.

Some years ago, a fashion showwas held in Mumbai during the

Lakmé Fashion Week in which themodels wore cotton outfits. Thisevent was covered by over 500fashion/lifestyle journalists while thefarmers who produced that cottonwere committing suicide just anhour’s flight away, in Vidarbha. Noone covered those suicides exceptfor a few local journalists.

Many TV anchors forget theirjournalistic ethics and just indulgein propaganda. To give an example,some time ago an organisationcalled the Tablighi Jamaat was lam-basted by the media as spreaders ofthe Coronavirus. They were evengiven despicable names like “Coronajihadis” and “Corona bombs.” Imade a personal investigation intothis and found that the allegationsagainst the Tablighi Jamaat werefalse. The Tablighi Jamaat is a reli-gious organisation which meets atits Markaz in Delhi once or twice ayear, where Muslims come from sev-eral countries. This year, too, manypeople came from Indonesia,Malaysia, Kazakhstan, the United

Arab Emirates and so on. Some ofthem were apparently infected withthe virus, without being aware of it.But to say that they knowinglybrought the disease with them tospread it in India, as propagated bycertain sections of the media, waspatently false (as indeed the courthas now found).

Another example of the parti-san behaviour of the “godi media”is the way they have characterisedthe ongoing farmers’ agitation as amovement of Khalistanis, Pakistanis,Maoists and anti-nationals.Countless examples of this kind ofbiased reporting can be given.

One can only hope that theIndian media will some day get overits sorry plight and emerge as achampion of the people instead ofbeing, to use US President DonaldTrump’s words, “an enemy of thepeople.” Only then will it earn thepeople’s respect.

(The writer is a former judge ofthe Supreme Court of India. Theviews expressed are personal.)

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Karachi: Neha loved thehymns that filled her churchwith music. But she lost thechance to sing them last yearwhen, at the age of 14, she wasforcibly converted fromChristianity to Islam and mar-ried to a 45-year-old man withchildren twice her age.

She tells her story in a voiceso low it occasionally fadesaway. She all but disappears asshe wraps a blue scarf tightlyaround her face and head.Neha’s husband is in jail nowfacing charges of rape for theunderage marriage, but she isin hiding, afraid after securityguards confiscated a pistolfrom his brother in court.

“He brought the gun toshoot me,” said Neha, whoselast name The Associated Pressis not using for her safety.

Neha is one of nearly 1,000girls from religious minoritieswho are forced to convert toIslam in Pakistan each year,largely to pave the way for mar-riages that are under the legalage and non-consensual.

Human rights activists saythe practice has acceleratedduring lockdowns against thecoronavirus, when girls areout of school and more visible,bride traffickers are more activeon the Internet and families aremore in debt.

The US State Departmentthis month declared Pakistan “acountry of particular concern”for violations of religious free-doms — a designation thePakistani government rejects.The declaration was based inpart on an appraisal by the USCommission on InternationalReligious Freedom that under-age girls in the minority Hindu,Christian, and Sikh communi-ties were “kidnapped for forcedconversion to Islam… forciblymarried and subjected to rape.”

While most of the con-verted girls are impoverishedHindus from southern Sindhprovince, two new cases involv-ing Christians, includingNeha’s, have roiled the countryin recent months.

The girls generally are kid-napped by complicit acquain-tances and relatives or menlooking for brides. Sometimesthey are taken by powerfullandlords as payment for out-standing debts by their farm-hand parents, and police oftenlook the other way. Once con-verted, the girls are quicklymarried off, often to oldermen or to their abductors,according to the independentHuman Rights Commissionof Pakistan.

Forced conversions thriveunchecked on a money-mak-

ing web that involves Islamicclerics who solemnise the mar-riages, magistrates who legalisethe unions and corrupt localpolice who aid the culprits byrefusing to investigate or sab-otaging investigations, say childprotection activists.

One activist, Jibran Nasir,called the network a “mafia”that preys on non-Muslimgirls because they are the mostvulnerable and the easiest tar-gets “for older men withpedophilia urges.” The goal isto secure virginal brides ratherthan to seek new converts toIslam.

Minorities make up just 3.6percent of Pakistan’s 220 mil-lion people and often are thetarget of discrimination. Thosewho report forced conversions,for example, can be targetedwith charges of blasphemy.

In the feudal Kashmoreregion of southern Sindhprovince, 13-year-old SoniaKumari was kidnapped, and aday later police told her parentsshe had converted fromHinduism to Islam. Her moth-er pleaded for her return in avideo widely viewed on theinternet: “For the sake of God,the Quran, whatever youbelieve, please return mydaughter, she was forcibly takenfrom our home.” AP

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First came the Brexit tradedeal. Now comes the red

tape.Four days after sealing a

free trade agreement with theEuropean Union, the Britishgovernment warned business-es to get ready for disruptionsand “bumpy moments” whenthe new rules take effect onThursday night.

Businesses were scram-bling Monday to digest thedetails and implications of the1,240-page deal sealed by theEU and the UK on ChristmasEve.

The UK left the EU almosta year ago, but remained with-in the bloc’s economic embraceduring a transition period thatends at midnight Brussels time— 11 pm in London — onDecember 31.

The agreement, hammeredout after nine months of tensenegotiations, will ensure Britainand the 27-nation bloc cancontinue to trade in goodswithout tariffs or quotas.

That should help protect the660 USD 894 billion in annualtrade between the two sides, andthe hundreds of thousands ofjobs that rely on it.

But the end to Britain’smembership in the EU’s vastsingle market and customsunion will still bring inconve-nience and new expenses forboth individuals and business-es - from the need for touriststo have travel insurance to themillions of new customs dec-larations that firms will have tofill out.

“Businesses will need tomake sure that they’re readyfor new customs proceduresand we as individuals willneed to make sure that ourpassports are up to datebecause they need to have atleast six months before expiryon them in order to be able totravel abroad,” said MichaelGove, the British Cabinet min-ister in charge of Brexit prepa-rations.

“I’m sure there will bebumpy moments but we arethere in order to try to doeverything we can to smooththe path,” he told the BBC.

British Prime Minister BorisJohnson’s Conservative govern-ment argues that any short-termdisruption from Brexit will beworth it, because the UK willnow be free to set its own rulesand strike new trade dealsaround the world. AP

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most prominent womens rightsactivists was sentenced onMonday to nearly six years inprison under a vague andbroadly-worded law aimed atcombating terrorism, accordingto state-linked media.

Loujain al-Hathlouls case,and her imprisonment for thepast two and a half years, havedrawn criticism from rightsgroups, members of the U.S.Congress and European Unionlawmakers.

Al-Hathloul was among ahandful of Saudi women whoopenly called for the right todrive before it was granted in2018 and for the removal ofmale guardianship laws thathad long stifled womens free-dom of movement and ability

to travel abroad.State-linked Saudi news

outlet Sabq reported that al-Hathloul was found guilty bythe kingdoms anti-terrorismcourt on charges includingagitating for change, pursuinga foreign agenda, using theinternet to harm public orderand and cooperating with indi-viduals and entities that havecommitted crimes according toanti-terror laws. She has 30days to appeal the verdict.

A rights group called“Prisoners of Conscience” thatfocuses on Saudi politicaldetainees said that al-Hathloulcould be released as early as theend of March 2021 based ontime served. She has beenimprisoned since May 2018and 34 months of her sentenc-

ing will be suspended.The judge ordered her to

serve five years and eightmonths in prison for violatinganti-terrorism laws, accordingto Sabq, which said its reporterwas allowed inside the court-room during Mondays ses-sion.

Sabq reported that thejudge said the defendant had confessed to committingthe crimes and that her con-fessions were made voluntari-ly and without coercion. Thejudge said the verdict wasissued in the presence of theprosecutor, the defendant, a representative from the Governments Human RightsCommission and a handful of select local media represen-tatives. AP

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West Palm Beach: PresidentDonald Trump has signed a$900 billion pandemic reliefpackage that will deliver long-sought cash to businesses andindividuals.

It also averts a Governmentshutdown.

Trump announced thesigning in a statement onSunday night.

The massive bill includes$1.4 trillion to fund govern-ment agencies throughSeptember and contains otherend-of-session priorities suchas money for cash-starved tran-sit systems and an increase infood stamp benefits.

Democrats are promisingmore aid to come oncePresident-elect Joe Biden takesoffice, but Republicans are sig-nalling a wait-and-seeapproach. AP

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AChinese citizen journalistwas jailed for four years

Monday for her reporting fromWuhan as the Covid-19 out-break unfurled, her lawyersaid, almost a year after detailsof an “unknown viral pneu-monia” surfaced in the centralChina city.

Zhang Zhan, a formerlawyer, was sentenced at abrief hearing in a Shanghaicourt for allegedly “pickingquarrels and provoking trou-ble” during her reporting in thechaotic initial stages of the out-break.

Her live reports and essayswere shared on social mediaplatforms in February, grab-bing the attention of authori-ties, who have punished eightvirus whistleblowers so far asthey defang criticism of the

government’s response to theoutbreak.

Beijing has congratulateditself for “extraordinary” suc-cess in controlling the virusinside its borders, with aneconomy on the rebound whilemuch of the rest of the worldstutters through painful lock-downs and surging caseloads ayear on from the start of thepandemic in Wuhan.

Controlling the informa-tion flow during an unprece-dented global health crisis hasbeen pivotal in allowingChina’s communist authoritiesto reframe the narrative intheir favour, with President XiJinping being garlanded for hisleadership by the country’sruling party.

But that has come at a seri-ous cost to anyone who haspicked holes in the official sto-ryline.

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Kathmandu: A high-levelChinese delegation led by a viceminister of the CommunistParty of China met top NepalCommunist Party leaders onMonday and discussed thepolitical situation in the coun-try, amid an intensified effort byBeijing to patch up differencesbetween Nepal’s feuding leaders.

Vice Minister of theInternational Department ofthe CPC Guo Yezhou, whoarrived here on Sunday in whatis believed to be China’s des-perate attempt to avert a verti-cal split in the NCP, on Mondaymet Pushpa Kamal Dahal‘Prachanda’, who claims controlover the ruling party afterremoving Prime Minister KPSharma Oli from the posts ofthe party’s parliamentary leaderand chair.

Contemporary politics,

especially that has arisen afterOli’s move to dissolve theHouse of Representatives, thepossibility of bringing the twofactions of the NCP together

and Nepal-China cooperationfigured during the talks, TheKathmandu Post reported,quoting Prachanda’s secre-tariat. PTI

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Cairo: Tribal clashes in Sudan’stroubled Darfur region havekilled at least 15 people inrecent days, forcing authoritiesto deploy more troops, thestate-run news agency report-ed.

The violence came as thou-sands of displaced peopleprotested against a decision bythe U.N. Security Council toend the mandate of a U.N.-African Union peacekeepingforce in Darfur and replace itwith a smaller political mission.

The clashes over the week-end in the town of Gereida inSouth Darfur province pittedthe Fallata tribe against theArab Masalit. The unrest posesa challenge to authorities in thecapital, Khartoum, who aretrying to end the country’slong-running rebellions as partof a fragile transition to democ-racy following last year’s over-throw of President Omar al-Bashir.

Al-Bashir waged ascorched-earth campaign

against rebels in Darfur in theearly 2000s. Some 300,000 peo-ple were killed and 2.7 millionwere forcibly displaced. TheInternational Criminal Courtlater charged al-Bashir andothers with genocide andcrimes against humanity.

The latest violence comesamid tensions between militaryand civilian authorities, who aresharing power in a transition-al government. Civilian leadersare demanding greater controland oversight over the military’s

economic assets, built up overdecades of internal conflicts.

The violence was linked toa dispute over a water source,Omar al-Malek, a local leader,was quoted as saying by thestate-run SUNA news agencylate Sunday. It said the Fallataretaliated after two of its tribes-men were slain, killing at least13 members of the Masalit andwounding at least 34 others.

Mahdi Musa, the governorof South Darfur, said authori-ties have deployed troops to

help detain those implicated inthe fighting.

“The era of reconciliationconferences is over, and the eraof enforcing the law has come,”he was quoted as saying bySUNA. He was referring torecent negotiations to settle thedispute. The clashes came afterthe UN Security Council votedunanimously last week not toextend the mandate of thejoint mission, known asUNAMID, when it runs out onDec. 31. AP

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Moscow: Azerbaijan’s DefenseMinistry said on Monday itsarmy units have been attackedby “an illegal Armenian armedgroup” in Nagorno-Karabakh,killing one Azerbaijani service-man and wounding another.

The ministry said the attacktook place in the Khojavendregion on Sunday afternoon andwas thwarted, leaving all sixattackers dead.

The statement comes just

hours after the ArmenianDefense Ministry denied mediareports of fighting in the neigh-boring Hadrut region and saidthe ethnic Armenian forces inNagorno-Karabakh were “strict-ly observing” the cease-fire.

Neither Armenian orNagorno-Karabakh officialshave so far commented onAzerbaijan’s statement.

Nagorno-Karabakh lieswithin Azerbaijan but was

under the control of ethnicArmenian forces backed byArmenia since a separatist warthere ended in 1994. That warleft Nagorno-Karabakh itselfand substantial surroundingterritory in Armenian hands.

Heavy fighting erupted inlate September in the biggestescalation of the decades-oldconflict between Armenia andAzerbaijan, killing more than5,600 people on both sides. AP

�4��2��5�����"���������#������������"����� ������6���2��� Kabul: At least four people

were killed in separate attacksacross Afghanistan on Monday,officials said, raising furtherconcerns about the fate of peacetalks that have been suspendeduntil at least next month.

No one claimed responsi-bility for the attacks, and alocal Islamic State affiliateopposed to the peace processhas continued to regularly tar-get civilians and Afghan secu-rity forces. The IS militantshave even clashed with thelarger and more well-estab-lished Taliban.

The Taliban have haltedtheir attacks on US and inter-national forces but continue totarget Afghan security forceseven as the insurgents haveheld talks this year with the US-backed government.

The Taliban attacked apolice district headquarters in

the western Farah provinceearly Monday, killing onepoliceman and wounding threeothers, according to MohibullahMohib, a spokesman for theprovincial police chief.

He said the attack beganwhen a suicide bomber was shotby police. His vehicle exploded,however, and then gunmenopened fire. He said at least fourinsurgents were killed and eightothers were wounded.

In the eastern Ghazniprovince, two employees of theprovincial revenue agency wereshot and killed, according toAhmad Khan Serat, aspokesman for the provincialpolice chief. In the easternKhost province, a roadsidebomb killed a member of thesecurity forces and woundedtwo other people, including aprovincial council member,according to Kafel Rayan, headof the provincial council. AP

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Jaipur: After the death of theGovernment personnel,Rajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot has given relax-ation in 84 cases of applicationfor compassionate appoint-ment by the dependents. Inthese challenging circum-stances of the Covid-19 pan-demic, this sensitive decision ofthe Chief Minister will helpthese families.

Gehlot has relaxed in con-sidering sympathetic consid-eration of minimum age limit

and delay of 9, one of the max-imum age limit and 74 cases oflate application.

This will provide relief tothese families dependent on thedeceased.

It is noteworthy that afterthe death of a governmentemployee, the dependent has toapply for a compassionateappointment within 90 days.Also, in case of a dependentbecoming a minor, there is aprovision to apply within 3years of attaining majority.

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Sheatwork, a one-stop knowl-edge hub for women entre-

preneurs has partnered withThe Entrepreneurship School,a pioneer in entrepreneurshipeducation to unveilAatmanirbhar She AgileStartup Program, a speciallydesigned 8-week (16 sessions)online course for aspiringwomen entrepreneurs.

The Aatmanirbhar She AgileStartup Program is a spe-

cially created program forwomen entrepreneurs spreadacross eight weeks exposingparticipants to lessons thatwill equip them with therequired knowledge on struc-turing business, and finallysetting it up.

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Extending gains for thefourth straight session, key

stock indices Sensex and Niftyraced to new peaks on Mondayin line with broad-based rallyin global equities as investorscheered a USD 2.3 trillion USstimulus package and last-minute Brexit deal.

The benchmark indexSensex settled up by 380.21points or 0.81 per cent at its all-time closing high of 47,353.75.The index also scaled its freshrecord intra-day peak of47,406.72 on the back of gainsin banking and energy stocks.

The NSE Nifty ended123.95 points or 0.90 per cent

up at new closing high of13,873.20. It also touched itsall-time intra-day high of13,885.30.

On the Sensex chart, Titan,SBI, L&T, IndusInd Bank,Ultratech Cement, HDFCBank, and Asian Paints weretop gainers.

Reliance Industries, KotakBank, HDFC, ICICI Bank, AxisBank, Bharti Airtel and ONGCwere among the gainers.

While, HUL, Sun Pharma,Dr Reddy and Bajaj FinServclosed with losses. Of theSensex constituents, 26 stockssettled with gains and 4 withlosses.

In the previous trading dayon Thursday, the 30-share

Sensex had surged 529.36points or 1.14 per cent to closeat 46,973.54. The broader NSENifty had zoomed 148.15points or 1.09 per cent to13,749.25. Markets were closedon Friday on account ofChristmas.

“Indian market started onan upbeat note in the final weekof the year owing to positiveglobal cues. The global marketcheered the news of the USD2.3 trillion pandemic stimulusannounced in the US and thehistoric post-Brexit trade dealstruck between the UK andEU,” Vinod Nair, Head ofResearch at Geojit Financialservices, said.

US President Donald

Trump has signed into law amassive USD 2.3

trillion spending bill thatincludes a USD 900 billioncoronavirus

relief package, averting agovernment shutdown andextending coronavirus

aid to millions sufferingfrom the economic impact ofthe pandemic.

Trump initially hadrefused to approve the legisla-tion for days

after receiving it. He hadcalled the bill “a disgrace”.

The advancement ofrollout of COVID-19 vaccinesin India too uplifted

domestic sentiments, lead-ing to positive momentum

across all the sectors.“We can expect the

momentum to be maintainedas investors are focusing moreon the positive side of theseevents and are not worriedabout the peak valuations andlockdowns triggered by thenew strain of virus,” Nair said.

Among the BSE sectoralindices, realty rose by 2.65 percent, metal by 2.25 per cent,consumer durables by 2.19per cent, industrials by 1.76per cent and banks by 1.5 percent.

Broader small cap, mid capand large cap indices outper-formed the benchmark indexSensex, rising by up to 1.49 percent.

“Domestic equitiesremained upbeat and gainedsharply led by strong reboundin financials and cyclical sec-tors.

Satisfactory progress onvaccination rollout globally,Brexit trade deal and presidentTrump signing pandemic reliefbill in the USA bolsteredinvestors’ confidence globally,”Binod Modi, Head- Strategy atReliance Securities said.

Among Nifty constituents,41 stocks advanced while ninedropped. Tata Motors, JSWSteel, Titan and SBI wereamong top Nifty gainers,whereas Shree Cement, SunPharma, Cipla and Britanniawere laggards.

New Delhi:Markets regulatorSebi is looking to rope in an inde-pendent agency that will traceaccused entities against whomnotices have been issued by theauthorities, and serve summonsto them.The work is expected tobe carried out by engaging sys-tems through competent man-power such as ex-servicemen,ex-police personnel, investiga-tors, detectives and alike. In anotice issued on Monday, theregulator invited applicationsfor empanelment of an agencyfor providing such services. Thescope of the work includes trac-ing of accused entity based onrecords and addresses provid-ed by the regulator and servingof summons or notices issued bythe Sebi’s special courts andSebi authorities .

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The export subsidy of Rs3,500 crore, recently

announced by the governmentfor sugar season 2020-21(SS21), stable domesticdemand and rise in ethanolprice are likely to increase theoperating margin of sugar millsto 10.5-11.5 per cent this finan-cial year, according to a report.

The export subsidy,announced by the governmentfor October-September SS21,will help sustain the commod-ity’s exports at almost last year’slevel, Crisil Ratings said in areport.

This, together with stabledomestic demand, higher con-tribution from ethanol due tohigher cane diversion forethanol production andincreased ethanol price, will

lead to a 100-200 basis points(bps) increase in the operatingmargin of sugar mills to 10.5-11.5 per cent this fiscal, itadded.The Cabinet Committeeon Economic Affairs (CCEA)had recently approved anexport subsidy of Rs 3,500crore for up to 6 million tonnes(around Rs 5.8 per kg) forSS21. “Though lower than theRs 10.4 per kg subsidyannounced for SS20, the cur-rent subsidy, in tandem withruling international prices willhelp domestic mills cover thecost of production, renderingexports viable,” Crisil RatingsSenior Director Anuj Sethisaid.Crisil expects export vol-umes in SS21 to be in the 5-5.5million tonnes range, slightlybelow the target of 6 milliontonnes, due to the smallerexport window available.

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The Finance Ministry hasreleased the ninth weekly

instalment of �6,000 crore tothe States to meet the GSTcompensation shortfall.

Out of this, an amount of�5,516.60 crore has beenreleased to 23 States and anamount of �483.40 crore hasbeen released to the threeUnion Territories (UT) withLegislative Assembly (Delhi,Jammu & Kashmir andPuducherry) who are membersof the GST Council. Theremaining 5 states -- ArunachalPradesh, Manipur, Mizoram,Nagaland and Sikkim -- do nothave a gap in revenue onaccount of GST implementa-tion.

The government had set upa special borrowing window in

October 2020 to meet the esti-mated shortfall of Rs 1.10 lakhcrore in revenue arising onaccount of implementation ofGST.The borrowings are beingdone through this window bythe Centre on behalf of thestates and UTs. The borrowingshave been done in 9 rounds.The amount borrowed so farwas released to the States onOctober 23, November 2,November 9, November 23,December 1, December 7,December 14, December 21and December 28.

The amount released thisweek was the 9th instalment ofsuch funds provided to thestates. The amount has beenborrowed this week at an inter-est rate of 5.1508 per cent.

So far, an amount of Rs54,000 crore has been bor-rowed by the Central govern-

ment through the special bor-rowing window at an averageinterest rate of 4.7488 per cent.

In addition to providingfunds through the special bor-rowing window to meet theshortfall in revenue on accountof GST implementation, theGovernment has also grantedadditional borrowing permis-sion equivalent to 0.50 percent of Gross States DomesticProduct (GSDP) to the stateschoosing Option-I to meetGST compensation shortfallto help them in mobilisingadditional financial resources.

All the states have beengiven their preference forOption 1. Permission for bor-rowing the entire additionalamount of Rs 1,06,830 lakhcrore (0.50 per cent of GSDP)has been granted to 28 statesunder this provision.

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At least in the oil sector, theglobal health emergency

caused by coronavirus is com-ing to India’s advantage. Whilethe relatively lower globalprices helped the governmentboost its revenues by increas-ing duty on auto fuels, thedemand squeeze due to thepandemic and softer crudeprices could help it further bysharply reducing the import billthat may fall to decade-low lev-els of $60 billion in FY21.

Declining consistentlysince April, India’s oil importsfell 18.14 per cent (YoY) toaround 122.7 million tonnes(MT) in April-November peri-od of FY21 as compared to129.9 MT in the same periodlast year.

In value terms, the April-June oil imports stood at $32.4billion, down 53.44 per cent inthe dollar terms from $69.6 bil-lion in April-November ofFY20.With international crudeprices hovering lower than thelevels prevailing in Decemberlast year by almost $15 a bar-rel and average crude prices inJanuary-March period expect-ed to remain at the same lev-els of the previous fiscal, India’simport bill could fall below $60billion in FY21, the lowestlevel in last decade.A similarimport bill was witnessed inFY16 when crude had fallen to$26 a barrel for some time.Thelower import bill will comeeven if oil imports remain atthe same levels of last year. InFY20, India imported 227 MTof crude.

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Air India pilots’ associationshas asked its members to

maintain the printed weeklyoffs and not to change them.

“You are hereby directed tomaintain CMS Printed WeeklyOffs and Not to change yourPrinted Weekly Offs. This is foryour kind information andstrict compliance Contract co-pilots do not come under thepurview of this directiveMembers are advised to contactoffice bearers in case of anydoubts or clarification”, theIndian Pilots’ Guild and IndianCommercial Pilots’ Associationsaid in a joint directive to AirIndia pilots.

Earlier, the Indian Pilots’Guild and Indian CommercialPilots Association had direct-

ed Air India pilots not to giveany extension on “Flight Time”,“Flight Duty Time” or“Landing” till further notice.

In a letter to their mem-bers, the associations said thatthe hostile work environmentprevailing in the company forthe last few months has signif-icantly increased the mentalpressure on pilots. “Active mit-igation is now unavoidable tokeep flight operations safe,”the letter said.

Informing the manage-ment of their decision, the AirIndia pilots said in letter toR.S.Sandhu, Director(Operations), Air India, “Thisis to inform you that we will nolonger extend unconditionalcooperation while the top man-agement continues to mock thedignity of our profession”.

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The rupee appreciated by 6paise to close at 73.49

against the US dollar onMonday, following a rally instock markets and weaknessin the American currency.Thesustained foreign fund inflowsalso supported the rupee,traders said.

At the interbank forex mar-ket, the domestic unit

opened at 73.52against the USdollar and witnessed an intra-

day high of 73.47 and a low of73.61.The local unit finallysettled at 73.49 against theAmerican currency, register-ing a rise of 6 paise over itsprevious close.On Thursday,the rupee had settled at 73.55against the US dollar.Forexand equity markets wereclosed on Friday forChristmas.Meanwhile, thedollar index, which gauges thegreenback’s strength against abasket of six currencies,slipped 0.25 per cent to 89.99.

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Telecom service providersexpect the Government to

take immediate steps to resolvethe issues of the sector whichhas played the role of anenabler for other key industryverticals and supported 30-35per cent of GDP during theCOVID-19 crisis, industrybody COAI said.

COAI Director GeneralLt Gen SP Kochhar told PTIthat the telecom sector needs tomake huge investment in infra-structure and needs regulato-ry support, review of theadjusted gross revenue (AGR)definition, GST exemption onAGR dues, promises made inNational DigitalCommunications Policy 2018for ease of doing business etc.

“Telecom is not a verticalindustry in itself; rather it is an

enabler of horizontal growthacross industries, be it manu-facturing, e-commerce, health-care, education, and so on.Thus, the concerns affectingthe telecom industry becomethe concerns of these indus-tries, and so the issues of tele-com need to be addressed as anissue affecting the overall econ-omy of the country, so it shouldbe given priority,” Kochharsaid.

He said that the transfor-mation that was seen in 2020after the pandemic has furtherproved how telecom acts as agrowth catalyst in a digitalsociety.

“Telecom has enabled 30-35 per cent of the GDP in theCOVID-19 lockdown, otherthan the present 6 per centdirect contribution to theGDP. This is significant con-sidering the fact that overall,

54 per cent of India’s GDPcomes from the services sec-tor,” Kochhar said.

The sector narrowlyescaped financial collapse fol-lowing the apex court uphold-ing the government’s method tocalculate revenue share withtelecom operators. The rulingburdened telecom operatorswith total dues of around Rs1.47 lakh crore.

“Some of the top chal-lenges faced by our memberTSPs today are those related toAGR issues, spectrum pricing,Right of Way (RoW) rules, andcell tower radiation. COAI hasbeen pressing the governmentand TRAI on these,” Kochharsaid.

The successful bidders inthe upcoming auction of spec-trum worth Rs 3.92 lakh crorewill also need to pay 3 per centAGR on revenue.

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The year 2020 changed several aspectsof our life as the COVID-19 virusunleashed its wrath all over the world.One of the biggest considerations was

what we eat, as the pandemic helped to re-focusour attention on the health risks associated witha poor, unhealthy diet. With people spendingmore time indoors, it was inevitable to cutdown on bad eating habits and focus on ahealthy diet to achieve optimal fitness. So, herewe take a look at the diet trends that took thefront seat in 2020.

2-��)�2(.�#"��3"�2The keto diet emphasises proteins and fats

and limits the intake of carbohydrates so that thebody burns fats rather than carbohydrates.Similar to other low-carb diet trends like theAtkins diet, the keto diet necessitates maintain-ing a ratio of 4:1 by weight of fat to combined pro-tein and carbohydrates. This type of diet excludeshigh-carb foods like sugars, grain, pasta and breadalong with starchy vegetables and fruits. Instead,it focuses on increasing consumption of dairy andnuts which are healthy fats.

"#2�!,"22�#2�6��2"#.Intermittent fasting can be considered as a

nutritional regime rather than a conventional dietsystem. However, it is presently the most popu-lar fitness and health trend in the world. Peoplearound the globe are accepting it as a part of theirlifestyle to improve their health and lose weight.It is basically a fasting pattern that observes cer-tain periods of eating and fasting. The most wide-ly adopted is the 16:8 method where a person caneat for 8 hours and the remaining 16 hours is thefasting period. Such a nutritional regime can help

reduce inflammation, body weight and alsoreduces cholesterol levels.

2-������(�3"�2Paleo diet is also known by the name

‘Caveman Diet’ focuses on consuming foods sim-ilar to a manner consumed by primitive peoplein the Paleolithic era. In practise, a paleo dietrefrains from processed foods that can cause seri-ous health issues like diabetes, heart problems andobesity. The diet advises people to stick to local-ly sourced products like fresh fruits, vegetables,fish, nuts and seeds that result in a diet with highfibre and protein. The diet also recommends tostay away from wheat products, dairy, legumes,potatoes along with salt and sugar.

:�.�#�3"�2Veganism is a way of living that aims to

exclude every form of animal cruelty andexploitation, be it for food or any other purpose.As a result, people adhering to a vegan diet avoidall types of products that are derived from ani-mals like eggs, dairy products and meat, but con-sume all types of vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts,legumes and grains. People who stick to a vegandiet tend to be thinner with lower Body MassIndex. Several studies have shown that vegansbenefit from a lower risk of Diabetes.

When it comes to diet, it is important tounderstand that no “one cap suits all”. Every indi-vidual has different dietary requirements, whichis why it is always a good idea to make an edu-cated decision by researching, learning about thedifferent diet types and taking the help of a pro-fessional if required.

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When cells of the body do not respond appropriately to thehormone insulin, resulting in non-utilisation of glucose from

the blood for energy, it is labeled as insulin resistance. This leadsto Type-II Diabetes, prediabetes and gestational Diabetes. Obesity,Inactive lifestyle, and high carbohydrates diet are the leading caus-es of insulin resistance.

Fortunately, there is a lot one can do to decrease insulin resis-tance. Lifestyle interventions are more effective in reducing insulinresistance and the risk of Diabetes compared to pharmacologicalinterventions. Let us take a look at some tips to help the body dealwith insulin resistance.

Lose bodyweight: Losing bodyweight can help lower insulinresistance. The smaller the fat cells, the more sensitive they are toinsulin and the body has to manufacture less insulin to shuttle glu-cose to the cells. It saves the pancreas from fatigue and lowers theinsulin levels in the blood, which significantly reduces the healthrisks. According to a study published in the Journal of GeneralInternal Medicine, losing over 5 per cent of body weight reducedthe risk of Type-II Diabetes by up to 60 per cent for three years.

Lose belly fat: Excess fat in the belly also referred to as vis-ceral fat, reduces insulin sensitivity, and is mainly responsible forpromoting insulin resistance in the liver and muscles. Several stud-ies point to a correlation between excess belly fat and low insulinsensitivity. Unfortunately, there are no proven ways to target fatin the abdominal area in an effort to decrease it. However, if onekeeps a check on the overall body weight, the visceral fat in thebelly will be under control as well.

Increase fiber intake:Increased fiber intake is linkedto a decreased risk of diabetes,heart diseases, and cancer.Broadly speaking, fiber is cate-gorised as soluble or insoluble.Most food items contain a com-bination of different types offibers. Insoluble fiber is a bulk-ing agent that helps prevent con-stipation. Soluble fiber helpslower the level of blood choles-terol and promoting satiety.Studies have found a linkbetween the intake of solublefiber and improved insulin sen-sitivity. Soluble fiber feeds thegut-friendly bacteria and keepsone healthy. Foods rich in sol-uble fiber include oatmeal,legumes, flaxseeds, brussels,sprouts, and oranges.

Keep a check on mentalstress: Mental stress affects thebody adversely. Chronic mentalstress can upset the blood sugar

levels and increase insulin resistance, as the body activates the fightor flight response to acute mental stress. This stimulates the pro-duction of cortisol and glucagon. Glucagon breaks down storedglycogen, and the sugar is then released into the bloodstream, push-ing up the levels of blood sugar. Studies indicate that high levelsof stress hormones can reduce insulin sensitivity. Yoga practice isvery effective in combating mental stress. If one is a beginner toyoga practice, make sure to practice under the guidance of a trainedinstructor before the postures are mastered.

Ensure adequate sleep: Insufficient sleep is linked to a num-ber of health issues, including weight gain, heart diseases, com-promised immune response, insulin resistance and Type-IIDiabetes. Deep sleep, which is the most restorative stage of sleep,plays a major role in the regulation of blood sugar levels and main-tenance of insulin sensitivity. Getting adequate sleep also helps reg-ulate hormones that stimulate the appetite and also reduces therisk of metabolic dysfunction. Ensure to get at least eight hoursof sleep every night to maintain good health. It is highly advis-able to avoid exposure to blue light — light from electronic devices— for at least half an hour before one goes to sleep.

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�������� Peanuts, alsoknown as groundnuts, are arich source of nutrients likemagnesium; Vitamin E,copper, phosphorus,potassium, zinc, calcium,arginine and many others.

Several studies sug-gest that peanutscan help lessenthe risk of car-d i ov a s c u l ard i s e a s e s .Antioxidants,on the hand,help to protectthe body fromoxidative stress,which occurs in cases of var-ious cancers and diseases.

Peanuts are also anextremely high source of plantprotein and medical practi-tioners have advised that it

should be incorporated in thediet for children, vegetarians,and protein deficient people.

Peanuts provide our bodywith essential Vitamins, whichhelps in regulating metabo-lism, converting fat and car-

bohydrates into energy,and facilitating bone

and tissue forma-tion.

Eating nutshas been associ-ated with plentyof health benefits

— from increasedcognitive function

to protection fromAlzheimers and lower risk ofmortality and developingchronic diseases like respira-tory disease, neurodegenera-tive disease, Diabetes andcancer.

While working fromhome has elimi-nated the need of

waking up early in themorning to dress up foroffice and also the timewasted in travellingto the office dueto traffic jams,it has alsob r o u g h twith it awhole lot ofother prob-l e m s ,includingback pain.

Here are afew things onecan do to treat andprevent it.

Take break at regularintervals. Sitting for longhours can take a toll on yourspine health. Don’t forget tostand up and walk a fewsteps and/or stretch for a

few minutes. This will helpin relaxing the muscles.

Posture is key. Avoidbeing in a comfortable posi-tion while working on lap-tops. Instead sit with your

spine straight. Use a heat-

ing pad. Onecan use ah e a t i n gpad torelive thel o w e rback pain.Do it daily.

G e te n o u g h

sleep. Lack ofadequate sleep

can worsen the pain.Hence, it is advisable tohave a quality sleep foreight hours. Your pillowand mattress also has a roleto play. So, make sure youhave the right one.

Work from home has bothpros and cons with backache

being a part and parcel of it. ROSHANI DEVI shares

easy home remedies that caneliminate the pain

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Winters have arrived in full swing, andwhile some people are relishing the cold

temperatures, others are experiencing arunny nose, sore throat, cough, and constantsniffing by falling prey to viral infections. Asper Ayurveda, the science of healing, kaphadoshas are responsible for regulating the res-piratory system of the body, whereas vatadoshas pertain to manage the overall immu-nity, ojas. Generally, people with weakimmunity are likely to catch viral infections.So, if you are looking for a potent solutionto prevent or ward off dreading flu or cold,give a bolster to your immunity with the fol-lowing homemade ayurvedic remedies.

Tulsi: Tulsi, also known as the “Mothernature of medicines” is enriched with antiox-idant and anti-inflammatory properties thathelp to prevent common colds and infections.Consuming tulsi leaves every day increasesthe production of antibodies and strength-ens overall immunity. Relieving the airwaysand lowering down the body temperature,tulsi leaves are effective in curing cold, cough,and viral fever. To attain the maximum ben-efits of “The Queen of herbs”, you can chewfour-five tulsi leaves first thing in the morn-ing, create a concoction with tulsi, ginger, andpeppercorns, or add a few tulsi leaves in hottea.

Honey: Loaded with antimicrobial prop-erties, delicious honey does not only tasteheavenly but also helps a sore throat. Honeyprovides respite from nasal and throat con-gestion by loosening the thick mucus andhelps you to cough it out. Taking a teaspoonof honey every day boosts metabolism,improves digestion, and builds immunity. Ifyou are suffering from a bad cold and cough,mix equal parts of honey and ginger juice andtake the mixture once in the morning andbefore going to bed.

Giloy: Also known as amrita or guduchiin the native language, the heart-shaped spice,giloy works wonders to ward off cold andcough. Giloy is a natural immunity boosterwith rich antioxidant properties, whichshields the body against foreign pathogensinto the body. The giloy extract flushes outtoxins from the body and balances kaphadoshas thus, reduces frequent coughs, sniff-ing, sore throat as well as fever. You can eitherconsume a teaspoon of giloy juice or take agiloy tablet with warm water.

Ashwagandha: One of the most reliedupon herbs in Ayurvedic medicine, ashwa-gandha, is a powerful remedy in bolsteringimmunity. The super herb consists ofumpteen number of active ingredients,which are beneficial for various bodily func-tions and managing doshas. The roots ofAshwagandha have potent diuretic, antiox-idant, and analgesic properties, that help tofight infections and control symptoms of cold,cough, and viral bugs. The sedative attributeof ashwagandha also helps to deal with fatigueand chronic stress that generally accompa-ny viral infections.

Ginger: An inexpensive and pungentspice, ginger has remained an all-timefavourite home remedy for Indians to curecold and cough. The anti-inflammatorygingerols present in it help to relieve sorethroat and destroy rhinovirus, the pathogenresponsible for cold. You can drink two tothree cups of ginger tea to warm up on a coldwinter day and keep the body healthy.

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WONDER SPICESDO THE TRICK

Alma, one of the top fiveglobal leaders of energy-based medical and aesthet-

ics solutions, today announced thelaunch of renowned Europeanskin-remodeling brand, Profhilo,in India, offering a new break-through approach in skin anti-age-ing. Profhilo, developed by theinternational pharma company,IBSA, created a new concept of‘Bioremodeling’ in the dermalinjectables industry, offering anoverarching approach to skin age-ing, beyond currently availablesolutions.

As we age, production of col-lagen and elastin, the proteinsresponsible for skin elasticity andfirmness, slows down, resulting inskin laxity and sagging skin.Profhilo delivers a high concen-tration of pure Hyaluronic acid todifferent layers of the skin, pro-moting the multilevel and dynam-ic remodeling of extracellularmatrix in terms of elasticity andsupport, while maintaining theviability of fibroblast, ker-atinocytes, and adipocytes to pro-vide deep hydration and rejuve-nation of the skin tissue. With 64MG of hyaluronic acid persyringe, Profhilo delivers thehighest concentration of thiscompound to the skin as com-pared to other HA-based treat-ments.

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Pandemics have been arecurring challenge since

medieval times, but the scaleand global impact of COVID-19 is truly unprecedented. It ismainly a respiratory infec-tion which can lead to severecomplications such as cardiacproblems, septic shocks, liverand kidney failures, etc.

Thus, people with pre-existing health conditions,such as Diabetes, are at ahigher risk of developingsevere illness with COVID-19.While this risk was identifiedquite early, new research hasbrought to light the adverseimpact of air pollution onDiabetics and the likelihood ofthe pollution leading toCOVID-19 infection in suchpeople.

Highly polluted areas areknown to amplify the severi-ty of respiratory illnesses andinfections. Hence, air pollu-tion can be a core cause ofworry in the war againstCOVID-19. One of the key

strategies in combating thiscontagion has been to boostthe immunity of the peopleaffected or at risk, and that’swhere diabetes becomes acomorbid condition. Poorglycemic control in peoplewith diabetes brings downimmunity, making peoplewith the condition more vul-nerable to infections. In manycases, the infection also aidssecondary issues, such as bac-terial infection of the lungs,

etc. Thus, it becomes a lotmore difficult for people withdiabetes to keep themselvessafe from COVID-19 infectionwhen air pollution levelsbecome severe. The recentsurge in air pollution andCOVID-19 cases in Delhicould also be attributed to thisnexus between poor air qual-ity, weak immunity and respi-ratory infections.

It is, therefore, extremelyimportant for people withdiabetes to understand thiscorrelation between thesethree menaces. One shouldavoid venturing outdoors ondays with poor air quality toreduce the risk. It is alsoimperative to lead a healthylifestyle that involves eating abalanced diet, regular physicalactivity and staying away fromhabits such as smoking anddrinking.

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Move over millennials as Gen Zis becoming a more important

target audience for social media mar-keting as they enter adulthood,according to a new study by AmazonAlexa.

While 68 per cent of Gen Zers“expect brands to contribute to soci-ety,” 71 per cent of Gen Zers say theywant ads to have more diversity.

“That means your social mediachannels should display what yourbrand is doing in that respect,” saidKim Kosaka, Director of Marketingat Alexa, detailing the social mediatrends that will rule 2021.

Anyone born between 1981 and1996 is considered a Millennial, andanyone born from 1997 onward ispart of a new generation called Z.

COVID-19 has drasticallychanged the way people utilise socialmedia. “With a 74 per cent rise insocial media marketing spend dur-ing the pandemic, marketers areinvesting more money in socialmedia marketing. They expect tospend the same, if not more, in thecoming year,” Kosaka said in a blogpost.

One of the most unique things

about Gen Z is their world outlook— they often see themselves as glob-al citizens.

Gen Zers care about what’sgoing on in the world becausethey’re more connected to it than anyother generation before them.

As the aptly nicknamed“iGeneration,” they’re the first gen-eration to have grown up withsmartphones and social media eas-ily at their disposal, Kosaka noted.

“Generally speaking, Gen Zerswant to see brands that care aboutequality and the environment, andneed those values prominently dis-played on social media in order forthem to engage.”

Another key piece of the socialmedia puzzle for Gen Z is givingthem options. “Younger genera-tions are constantly toggling between

different apps and social mediachannels. It’s your job to make sureyou’re right there with them whenthey decide to make the jump fromInstagram to TikTok,” she empha-sised.

Speaking of TikTok, the video-sharing social network has becomeone of the most successful socialmedia channels during the pandem-ic.

TikTok saw nearly 100 per centgrowth in the United States in 2019,and the average time spent onTikTok per user in the US inSeptember 2019 was nearly 500minutes. “TikTok has also continuedto produce a number of viral videosover the course of the pandemic,”said Kosaka.

On average, TikTok ads clock inat around $10 per 1,000 impressions

(CPM) vs Instagram, which only hasa CPM of about $8.

“People are using social mediato connect with more brands fromhome and shopping from their lap-tops and phones. The role of influ-encers in that sales process hasbeen amplified by the pandemic,” sheobserved.

Social media influencers arealso becoming increasingly impor-tant in relaying health messages toyounger audiences during the pan-demic.

“The UK government hiredinfluencers to help relay COVID-19safety messages to young peopleusing the platform. This trend willlikely continue in 2021 as the pan-demic continues to be part of oureveryday lives,” she added.

—IANS

Even though it has been a challeng-ing year for various sectors,including the tattoo industry, we

have seen a fair share of tattoo trendsthis time. As minimalistic trends wereon the rise, we could see the micropieces of ink popped up everywhere.Right from the neck tattoos to match-ing pieces shared among friends, therewere plenty of options to take inspira-tion from. Just like tattoos, we also sawsome piercing trends. While some peo-ple choose makeup or outfit as a meansof expressing their style, some prefer todo this through various accessories —and ear piercings are one of the mostvisible ways to do so.

Next year — 2021 — is upon us, andthere are various emerging tattoo andpiercing trends to try this year. Here’s

a list to choose from:

�������These tattoos are characterised by

maximising the life-like quality of any-thing we see in the world — monu-ments, animals, flowers etc. It can alsobe categorised as a “3D” tattoo withaccurate representations of real-life

imagery. It is important to note that a real-

ism tattoo done by an inexperiencedartist or someone who isn’t trained inthat particular style can be a disaster.But if done right, it will surely make youstand out. Tattoo expert, Lokesh Verma,founder of Devil’z Tattooz, is known forhis coloured realism and portraits style

of tattooing that is mastered by only afew people across the world.

�������Also known as chest tattoo, these

tattoos are considered among one of thebest chest tattoos for women because itlooks great aesthetically and gives a fem-inine feel.

“People are crazy over these charm-ing sternum tattoos; it is done over anintimate place which means it’s not foreveryone to see all the time. The underbreast area is a sensitive spot, closer toyour bones so you can definitely expectthis one to hurt. The amount of pain willalso depend on the kind of design andstyle you have chosen and the kind ofartist you are with. So, go for a rathersimple design if you are a first timer,”says celebrity tattoo artist, Vikas Malani,co-founder, BodyCanvas Tattoos.

� ���*���H�������A new, revolutionary way to immor-

talise voices or your favourite tunethrough body art is the futuristic, lat-est invention in the world of tattooing.“Soundwave tattoos are a new technol-ogy and it’s really cool. You can have themessages or sound of your special oneand hear it anytime you want. This ismore like a coded message which noone else can know, but whenever youfeel like hearing their sound you can justscan the tattoo and playback,” saysLokesh Verma, who is known for pio-neering soundwave audible tattoos inIndia.

Here is how it works: Record anaudio clip between five to 30 seconds ofyour loved ones and send it to your tat-

too studio. They will create a soundwaveof that audio clip and ink it on your skinpermanently which you can playback byscanning it with your mobile phonewhenever you want to hear their pre-cious voice.

So, if you want to tattoo the sound-wave of your baby’s first words, a mes-sage from your partner or the voicemessage in memory of your late grand-parent/loved one, then go for this tat-too.

�������These are for people who want

bold tattoos. While they are mostly pop-ular among men, it has also gained a lotof female attention nowadays. Armbandsare usually like a bracelet usually doneon arms as the name itself suggests. Theycan be of different types — solid blackor with a theme like tribal, mandala,polynesian, nature-related or space-related. These tattoos can look very cooland aesthetically pleasing without tak-ing up too much space on the forearmor bicep.

� �����These are mostly rendered in a real-

istic style that portrays head shot of aperson. Portrait tattoos are usually fortattoo lovers who want to memorialisean important figure or person. They typ-ically represent something or someoneextremely meaningful — could be of aloved one who recently passed away, anewly born baby, a pet or your favouritemusician.

�������“Less is more” is the word on the

street. Too much makeup, too manyaccessories, loud clothing, etc. is no morein trend and might lose anyone’s atten-tion. People simply don’t have any cluewhere to look first. The same applies totattoos. Often, it’s the dainty tattoos thathave a huge influence on your style.Want to convey across a powerful mes-sage in a subtle way? Then small tattooscharacterised with clean lines are the wayto go.

Miniscule tattoos are one kind of tat-toos that are super discreet, incrediblydetailed, pretty and aren’t likely to date.That is why the millennials, especiallywomen still haven’t grown tired of thetiny trend.

������I�����������������A piercing through the upper lip

frenulum is sometimes called a “smiley,”because it is usually only visible whensmiling. Similarly, the lower lip frenu-lum piercing is sometimes referred to asa “frowny.” Originally called an “UpperLip Frenulum Piercing,” people soonbegan calling it a “scrumpur.”

Vikas says, “Since ages, piercingshave always been in trend but the stylechanges over the period of time. Smileypiercings have managed to become oneof the hottest piercing trends of the year.Due to its increase in popularity anddemand, the youngsters have been veryopen to getting a smiley piercing; most-ly because of its location.”

An industrial piercing also called asscaffold piercing or construction pierc-ing, is any two pierced holes connectedwith a single straight piece of jewelleryor a bar, however, it typically refers to adouble perforation of the upper ear car-tilage specifically and looks like a con-necting bridge. This is one of the uniqueear piercings and most trending too.

The Song of Scorpions, thelast film of late actor

Irrfan Khan, will release onthe big screen in early 2021.

Directed by Anup Singh,the drama revolves around anindependent young tribalwoman, who tries to over-come a brutal betrayal so as tofind her voice. Irrfan, whopassed away in April thisyear, will be seen in the roleof a camel trader.

Also featuring WaheedaRehman and Iranian starGolshifteh Farahani, the filmhad its world premiere at the70th Locarno Film Festival in2017.

“The Song of Scorpions isa special story and it is trulyan honour for us to presentIrrfan Khan’s final perfor-mance in it. We will be offer-ing this film to the audiencesas a tribute to the beloved starof the Indian cinema,” said

Abhishek Pathak of PanoramaSpotlight, one of the produc-ers of the film.

“We feel blessed that weare the chosen ones to presentthis gem to the world,” saidGyan Sharma of producers 70MM Talkies.

Irrfan breathed his last onApril 29 at the age of 54. Hewas admitted to Mumbai’sKokilaben Dhirubhai Ambanihospital due to a colon infec-tion. However, he succumbedto his ailment.

The actor was still undertreatment for colon cancerwhen he returned to the act-ing world with his last release,Angrezi Medium, a follow-upto his 2017 hit, Hindi Medium.He was away from the bigscreen since the release ofKarwaan in 2018, the year hewas diagnosed with the dis-ease.

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India marched towards adominant series-levelling vic-tory after their formidable

bowlers scythed through theAustralian batting, relentlesslypressing home the advantage ofa sizeable first-innings lead onthe third day of the second Test,here on Monday.

Australia were wobbling at133 for six at stumps on the thirdday of the Boxing Day Test at themagnificent Melbourne CricketGround.

Aiming to exorcise theghosts of being bowled out fora lowest ever 36 in the series-opener, the visitors had put up326 on the board for a 131-runlead in reply to Australia’s first-innings total of 195 all out.

Australia were ahead by

only two runs at close of play.“This game is not over yet,

we still have to get four morewickets,” India skipper AjinkyaRahane, whose hundred on thesecond day set the tone for theside, said at the end of day’s play.

“Credit to the bowlers, theybowled in the right areas,” headded.

Seeking to wipe out thedeficit, Australia began their sec-ond innings on a disastrous noteas Joe Burns (4) not only got outfor a poor score, but also wast-ed a review after pacer UmeshYadav (1/5) opened him upwith the one that swung awayvery late.

Introduced early into theattack, seasoned off-spinnerRavichandran Ashwin (1/46)once again showed his classwhen he bamboozled Marnus

Labuschagne (28 off 49 balls)with a slider that went straightwith the angle.

Ashwin let one slide acrossand with the batsman looking todefend. The ball went the otherway and took an outside edge onits way to Rahane at first slip.

Matthew Wade (27 batting,89 balls) and Steve Smith (6 bat-ting, 20 balls) survived theremaining overs prior to the teabreak, which they took at 65 fortwo. At that break, the hoststrailed India by 66 runs.

More misery awaitedAustralia in the final sessionwhen they lost four wickets forthe addition of 68 runs, takingIndia closer to an equaliser in thefour-match series after thehumiliating defeat in the open-er at Adelaide Oval.

Smith’s horror run in the

series continued as he wasbowled by Jasprit Bumrah (1/34)round his legs when the ballclipped the bails of the off-stumpafter the batsman had shuffledtoo much.

Wade, looking the bestamong Australian batsmen, wastrapped in front of the wicket byRavindra Jadeja (2/25) at 98 forfour.

And while the scoreremained the same, Australialost another wicket in TravisHead a couple of overs later.

There was no encore ofskipper Tim Paine’s battlingknock in the first Test as he wascaught behind off the bowling ofJadeja.

Australia could have beenseven down had Pant held on toa Pat Cummins edge off Ashwin.

However, India too have a

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India captain Virat Kohli onMonday headlined the ICC

top honours for the decade, win-ning the Sir Garfield Sobersaward for the best male cricketerof the past 10 years.

Kohli was also picked forthe ODI Cricketer of the Decadeaward.

Former India skipper M SDhoni won the ICC Spirit ofCricket Award of the Decade,chosen by fans for his gesture ofcalling back England batsmanIan Bell after a bizarre run outin the Nottingham Test in 2011.

The International CricketCouncil made the announce-ments via Twitter, bestowing thetop honours on Kohli, whoscored 66 out of his 70 interna-tional hundreds, in the ‘ICCAwards’ period.

In the same period, he wasalso the batsman with mostfifties (94), most runs (20396)besides having the maximumaverage (56.97) among playerswith 70 plus innings.

Overall, the 32-year-old has

amassed 12040 runs in ODIs,7318 runs in Tests and 2928runs in T20Is, averaging morethan 50 across formats. Kohliwas also part of the WorldCup-winning India squad in2011, something he will cherishfor life.

“Firstly, it’s a great honourfor me to receive this award. Themoments I hold closest to myheart in the last decade definite-ly has to be the World Cup winin 2011, the Champions Trophywin in 2013 and winning theseries in Australia in 2018,”said Kohli in a statement.

On Sunday, Kohli was the

lone player to be named inteams of the decade across for-mats and was named captain ofthe Test all-stars.

On being also named theODI Cricketer of the Decade,Kohli added: “ODI cricket issomething that I took to veryearly. I came to the ODI teamfirst and then, I made my Testdebut a couple of years later.

“So, I got the understandingof my game pretty soon, prettyearly. And as I mentionedbefore, my only intention andmindset was to make winningcontributions for the team andI just tried to do every game thatI play.

“I never focussed on statsand numbers along the journeyat all and those things justbecome the by-product of whatyou do on the field and those forme, just end up being milestonesthat you cross on the way to thepath to victory.” For the ODIhonour, Kohli was the onlyplayer with 10,000 plus runs inthe ICC Awards period includ-ing 39 hundreds and 48 fiftiesat an average of 61.83.

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New Test captain MohammadRizwan made 71 and Faheem

Ashraf 91 to help Pakistan weathera top-order collapse, then fight backon a day punctuated by lashing rainand hail to reach 239 before their lastwicket fell in the last over on Mondayon the third day of the first Testagainst New Zealand.

Rizwan came tothe crease whenPakistan was 52-5 dur-ing a morning session in which theylost four wickets for 32 runs. He leftwhen they were 186-7 in the final ses-sion, having done as much as a cap-tain can to rescue his team fromimminent peril.

With Faheem, who made hishighest Test score and was the lastman out, Rizwan put backbone intothe Pakistan innings as they repliedto New Zealand’s first innings of 431.

Faheem outlasted Rizwan and

played some elegant shots, somestreaky to accumulate 15 fours anda six and ensure Pakistan avoided afollow on NZ likely would not haveenforced late in the day. He carriedPakistan past the follow-on mark of231 with a four from the bowling ofWagner 15 minutes before stumpswhich also took him past his previ-ous highest test score of 83.

India close in on series-parity�������������$�������������������<<A=��������������������������#�����<� �������

cause for concern as Umeshhobbled off the field after suffer-ing a calf injury in the innings’eighth over.

Bowling his fourth over, thepacer had complained of pain inhis calf and had been taken forscans after being assessed by theBCCI medical team.

Earlier, riding captainAjinkya Rahane’s classy hundredand Ravindra Jadeja’s 15th half-century, India managed enoughruns on the board to putAustralia under pressure despitelosing their five remaining wick-ets for only 49 runs after resum-ing the day on 277 for five.

Jadeja (57) added 123 runsfor the sixth wicket with skipperRahane, whose vigil came to anwhen he was run out, his first inTests, after making a classy 112with the help of 12 boundariesin 223 balls.

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There were no demons in the MCGpitch but very very poor batting by the

Australian batsmen, said the legendaryRicky Ponting, lashing out at the homebatters for playing rash shots against theIndian bowlers in the second Test.

India are marching towards a domi-nant series-levelling victory after reduc-ing Australia to 133 for six at stumps onthe third day. The hosts are ahead by justtwo runs with only four wickets in hand,going into the penultimate day.

And Ponting minced no words in crit-icising the Australian batsmen.

“You can’t blame the pitch. Thepitch has been absolutely perfecttoday. It’s a little bit of spin, yes, butyou’d expect that. Day three of aTest Match. Very little on offerfor the fast bowlers, but it’s justbeen poor batting. Very, verypoor batting so far,” Pontingwas quoted has saying bySeven.

The former skip-per believes theAustralians were notproactive enough against theIndian bowlers in this match.

“It’s been one of the reasons, I think,that they've eventually got themselves out,playing rash shots. They haven't been ableto tick the scoreboard over on a regularenough basis. Pressure builds. When pres-sure builds, bad shots come,” Ponting said.

“I talked about it in first innings aswell particularly with the way they playedRavi Ashwin. They weren’t proactiveagainst him. Yes, it's been good bowling,but sometimes against the best bowlersyou have to take more risks as a batsman.For the sheer fact they’re not going to bowlbad balls.”

He went on to praise the display of theIndian bowling attack.

“The lesser skilled bowlers you cansit on all day because you know you'regoing to one or two scoring opportu-nities an over, but Bumrah, Ashwin,

Jadeja, even Siraj to a cer-tain degree in this game,they don’t make many

mistakes. “They’ve actual-ly forced the Australian

batsman into making mis-takes. When you're just sit-ting there waiting for goodbowlers to make mistakes,you're basically are a sitting

duck,” Ponting said.

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India’s debutant pacerMohammed Siraj on Monday

said that the MCG track hasslowed down considerably and towipe off the Australian tail, theywill have to hit one area consis-tently.

The Indian bowlers, despiteUmesh Yadav’s injury early intothe second innings, reduced thehome team to 133 for six. Thehosts have just a two-run leadwith four wickets remaining inthe second Test.

“The track on the first daywas very helpful for bowling butit has become very slow today.Not much is happening andthere wasn’t much swing onoffer. The key is to remain patientand hit one area consistently,”Siraj said during the virtualmedia conference.

His senior pace bowlingpartner Jasprit Bumrah told himthat the only way to get wicketson a flat deck is to build pressurewith a lot of dot balls.

“Jassi bhai told me that don'ttry anything different. Bowl inone are and create pressure with

dot balls and there should beequal focus on each ball,” the 26-year-old Hyderabad pacer said,having already got three wicketsin the match including that ofTravis Head in the secondinnings.

Siraj’s elevation as a Testbowler has happened in thewake of some great performancesfor Hyderabad and India A at the

first-class level.“During lockdown, I had

worked very hard on my fitnessand that's paying off well. I didwell for India A in red ball for-mat and that really helped andafter my good performance withthe white ball in this year's IPL,I got confidence that I can do wellfor senior team also and hopeful-ly, I will keep up the good work

in future too,” he said.What helped Siraj perform

impressively with the red kook-aburra is his experience of play-ing for A team in New Zealandearlier this year.

“The SG seam is more pro-nounced and the kookaburraseam flattens quickly like it hashappened now. I bowled well inNew Zealand during A tour andthat experience helped me a lot.

"Actually, if you see there isnot much difference as to howyou perform in Ranji Trophy andat this level. Yes, performances atthe Test level has its own valuebut the basics don’t change,” hesaid.

He is indebted to Indianteam's bowling coach BharathArun, who was also his mentorwhen he first came up the ranksfor the Hyderabad Ranji side.

“I have always said aboutArun sir's contribution in mycareer. When he was Hyderabadcoach, he would tell me, “Thekind of quality you have, you canget any batsman out in worldcricket. Same here before my Testdebut, he gave me a lot of encour-agement,” he said.

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Ajinkya Rahane pro-duced a master-class

after taking over the reinsat a low point for histeam but when it comes tohis best knock, the stand-

in India skipper Mondayplaced his century atLord’s ahead of the latesteffort, against Australia.

Rahane’s classy 112paved the way for Indiataking a substantial 131-run first innings lead in

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the ongoing second Testagainst Australia, who werein all sorts of trouble at theclose of play on the thirdday.

“It was really special.Getting a century always is.Still feel that my hundredagainst England at Lord's ismy best," Rahane said afterthe day’s play.

The unassumingIndian entered the Lord'sHonours Board when hestruck an elegant 103 off154 balls during the Indianteam’s tour of England in2014.

Leading the side justdays after a humiliatingdefeat in the series-openerat Adelaide Oval, Rahaneearned praise from thecricket fraternity for themanner in which he han-dled his bowlers and hisfield placements atMelbourne.

“Captaincy is all aboutbacking your instinct.You’ve got to back your gutfeeling. Credit to thebowlers, they bowled inthe right areas,” he added.

After his effort with thebat, his bowlers put India insight of a series-levellingwin by reducing Australiato 133 for six in their sec-ond innings.

Asked about the match,he preferred to stay cau-tious.

“This game is not overyet, still have to get fourmore wickets.”

Leading the team in theabsence of Virat Kohli,Rahane came into thematch after losing seasonedpacer Mohammed Shamiand he was also heldresponsible for running outKohli in Adelaide.

However, on Monday itwas Rahane who foundhimself at the receivingend after what seemed likea needless call by RavindraJadeja, which led to hisdismissal.

Asked about his runout, Rahane said, “I initial-ly thought I was in. I toldhim (Jadeja) not to worryabout my run out and to dokeep doing well.”

Jadeja went on to scorehis 15th Test fifty but gotout after reaching the mile-stone.

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India fast bowler UmeshYadav hobbled off the field

after suffering a calf muscleinjury during the third day ofthe second Test againstAustralia here on Mondayand has been taken for scans.Umesh, 33, was in the mid-

dle of a fine spell when heexperienced pain in his leftleg and called for immediatemedical attention. He laterlimped back to the dressingroom.

“Umesh Yadav com-plained of pain in his calfwhile bowling his 4th overand was assessed by the BCCI

medical team. He is beingtaken for scans now,” BCCImedia team released a state-ment. India are already miss-ing the services of seasonedpacers Mohammed Shamiand Ishant Sharma and thelatest injury would add to thevisiting team’s woes in thefour-match Test series.