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Defence Minister RajnathSingh on Thursday

informed Parliament that Indiaand China have started disen-gaging their troops from thePangong Tso (lake) in Ladakhand assured that India did notconcede anything while agree-ing for mutual withdrawal.

He also said the pullbackstarted after several rounds oftalks at the military and diplo-matic levels between the twosides over the last few months.The two Corps Commanderswill meet again after 48 hoursto review the withdrawalprocess, Rajnath said.

Officials said the twoarmies were monitoring thewithdrawal of tanks and troopsfrom the south and northbanks of the Pangong lakethrough drones and satelliteimagery. They also said thelocal commanders of the twoarmies were already in regulartouch for the last few weeks tocommence the pullback andthis exercise will continue infuture too.

They admitted this wasthe first step in the long processin breaking the impasse lastingmore than 10 months and saidthe mutually acceptable disen-gagement at the lake was a con-fidence building measure torestore peace at the Line ofActual Control (LAC) inEastern Ladakh.

More than one lakh troopsfrom both the sides were in an

eyeball to eyeball confrontationsince May last year when thefirst face-off took place at thePangong Tso. Moreover, boththe sides amassed tanks andartillery guns closer to theLAC as tension grew followingthe bloody brawl at the Galwanvalley on June 15. TwentyIndian Army personnel includ-ing the commanding officerwere killed in the incident.

Meanwhile, Rajnath in hisstatement on the present situ-ation in Ladakh said in theRajya Sabha, “I am happy toinform the House today that asa result of our well thought outapproach and sustained talkswith the Chinese side, we havenow been able to reach anagreement on disengagementin the north and south bank ofthe Pangong Lake.”

As per the agreement, both

sides will cease their forwarddeployments in a phased, coor-dinated and verified manner inthese areas, he said.

The Defence Ministerassured the House that Indiahas not conceded anythingwhile entering into the disen-gagement process, adding thereare “some outstanding issues”with regard to deployment andpatrolling at some other pointsalong the LAC in easternLadakh.

“It has also been agreed toconvene the next meeting ofthe senior commanders with-in 48 hours after the completedisengagement in the PangongLake area so as to address andresolve all other remainingissues,” he said.

Giving details of the pact,the Minister said, “The Chineseside will keep its troop presence

in the North Bank area to eastof Finger 8. Reciprocally, theIndian troops will be based attheir permanent base at DhanSingh Thapa Post near Finger3,” he said.

“A similar action would betaken in the South Bank area byboth sides. These are mutualand reciprocal steps and anystructures that had been builtby both sides since April 2020in both north and south bankarea will be removed,” Singhsaid.

He also informed theElders that for the time beingpatrolling by both the armies inthat area will not take place till

the outstanding issues wereaddressed in the future militaryand diplomatic level parley.

“These are mutual and rec-iprocal steps and any structuresthat had been built by bothsides since April 2020 in bothNorth and South Bank area willbe removed and the landformswill be restored. It has also beenagreed to have a temporarymoratorium on military activ-ities by both sides in the NorthBank, including patrolling tothe traditional areas,” theDefence Minister said.

Later, some Congressmembers tried to seek clarifi-cations from Rajnath but

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidudid not allow. He said this issuepertained to national securityand talks between the twocountries were still on.Therefore, it will not be appro-priate to seek clarifications, heruled.

The mutual withdrawal oftanks and infantry combatvehicles from heights on thesouthern bank of the PangongTso began on Wednesday afortnight after the CorpsCommanders of the two armiesagreed on January 24 to pushfor an early disengagement oftheir frontline troops from theflashpoints.

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India on Thursday warnedTwitter and others of strict

action for failure to crack-down on content incitingdisharmony and posing threatto national security. These plat-forms were also told to adhereto the Constitution and laws ofthe land.

Making this clear in theRajya Sabha, InformationTechnology Minister RaviShankar Prasad, however, saidthe social media, includingTwitter, Facebook andWhatsApp besides others, werefree to criticise theGovernment.

However, fake news andcontent fanning trouble will notbe tolerated and theGovernment will take strictaction, he said. This came aday after his Ministry rebukedTwitter for not complying withits orders to take down inflam-matory contents.

Enunciat ing theGovernment’s stand on theissue, Prasad said socialmedia platforms cannot givedifferential treatment whilehandling problems on CapitolHill and the Red Fort.

The Government, he said,was committed to freedom ofmedia and rights of individ-uals, but it was equally con-cerned about safety, security,and law and order in thecountry.

“Please don’t spreadenmity, violence and misin-formation. Please follow theConstitution of India and thelaw of the land (otherwise wewill be very strict),” he said.

On Wednesday, hisMinistry had expressed dis-pleasure at Twitter for failingto remove all of the over1,100 accounts and posts ital leged spread misinformation about thewidespread protests by farm-ers against new agriculturallaws.

Prasad said the socialmedia companies took imme-diate action when riots brokeout at Capitol Hil l inWashington but ignored sim-ilar action when farm bill pro-testers ran riot at Red Fort onRepublic Day.

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As much time has elapsedsince the rescue mission

started to save the over 30 peo-ple trapped inside Tapovantunnel in Chamoli district fol-lowing a flash flood caused byglacier burst, the rescue agen-cies have changed their strate-gy with focus on providing life-saving system, possibly topump oxygen, into the blockedtunnel.

Rescue agencies onThursday began drillingthrough the hardened debris inthe choked tunnel, rather thanjust shifting mounds of silt andsludge heaped there by the sud-den flood.

In the meanwhile, the res-cue operation was stalledbriefly on Thursday when theDhauliganga river beganswelling again.

Rescue workers at theTapovan site scrambled to safe-ty, pulling their heavy machin-ery to higher ground. A pressbriefing ended midway and theoperation halted.

It resumed after 45 minuteswith cautious officials sayingthey will send in only small

teams to the rescue site for now.The centre of the rescue

operation remains the 1.5-km“head-race tunnel” — a partof the 2.5-km long network oftunnels — at the 480-MWTapovan-Vishnugad hydel

power project of the NationalThermal Power Corporation(NTPC).

The confirmed death tollin the Uttarakhand disasterrose to 35 with the recoveryof another body in Gauchar

on Thursday, while 169 oth-ers are still missing sinceSunday, after an avalanche ora glacier break triggered asurge of water in theAlaknanda r iver systemflooding the area.

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The Ministry of CivilAviation (MoCA) on

Thursday allowed airlines tocharge 10-30 per cent more fordomestic flights with immedi-ate effect while extending itsearlier decision of allowingairlines to deploy up to 80 percent of their pre-Covid domes-tic capacity till March 31, 2021.

The minimum fare on allseven sectors has beenincreased by 10 per cent andthe maximum fares are up by30 per cent. The price cappingwas put on domestic flightoperators to keep the ticketprices in check due to the lim-ited number of flights. Themove will help to improve thefinancial health of the airlines.

For instance, in category Awhere flight duration time isless than 40 minutes — such asAgartala-Guwahati, Amritsar-

Srinagar, Bengaluru-Chennai,Bhopal-Mumbai among others— the minimum fare has beenincreased from �2,000 to�2,200 and the maximum farefrom �6,000 to �7,800.

For longer duration flighttime between 180 and 210minutes for routes such asCoimbatore-Delhi, Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram, and PortBlair-Delhi, the minimum farehas increased from �6,500 to�7,200 while the maximumfare from �18,600 to �24,200.

The subsequent bands arefor flights with durations of 40-60 minutes, 60-90 minutes,90-120 minutes, 120-150 min-utes, 150-180 minutes and 180-210 minutes. The fresh lowerand upper limits set by theMinistry for these bands onThursday were �2,800 to�9,800 (Amritsar-Delhi,Bengaluru-Goa among oth-ers); �3,300 to �11,700(Ahmedabad-Chandigarh,

Bengaluru-Kolkata, Bhopal-Hyderabad); �3,900 to �13,000(Varanasi-Jaipur, Ahmedabad-Kolkata, Bengaluru-Bhopal);�5,000 to �16,900 (Agartala-Delhi, Bengaluru-Jaipur,Chandigarh-Hyderabad,Chennai-Lucknow); �6,100 to�20,400 (Ahmedabad-Guwahati, Bengaluru-Chandigarh, Chennai-Guwahati, Delhi-Kochi );�7,200 to �24,200(Coimbatore-Delhi, Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram).

Till date, the lower andupper limits for these bandswere �2,500 - � 7,500;�3,000- �9,000; �3,500 - �10,000;�4,500 - �13,000; �5,500 -�15,700 and �6,500 - �18,600,respectively.

The airfare band has beenrevised upwards now as theprice of jet fuel has risen sig-nificantly since last May whenthe fares were set. The sum-mer schedule begins at theend of March for all the air-lines. Aviation regulatorDirectorate General of CivilAviation (DGCA) approvesboth the schedules — summerand winter — of all the air-lines.

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Former Congress presidentRahul Gandhi on Thursday

launched a stinging attack onthe Modi Government sayingthe country is being run by fourpeople and that “farmingreforms” are aimed to create abusiness monopoly, help cor-porate, finish “mandi-system”and impoverish “kisan”, “maj-door” and small businessmen.

Addressing the Lok Sabhaduring the Budget debate, theCongress leader did not takeany names but apparentlyreferred to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, Union HomeMinister Amit Shah and twoleading businessmen of the

country, saying they are theones running the country.

Recalling the PrimeMinister’s speech in the Houseon Wednesday that everyone istalking about the farm agita-tion but not about its “contentand intent”, the Congressleader said “let me make thePM happy” by talking aboutthem.

Amid noisy interruptionsand point of order raised by theParliamentary Affairs Minister,

the MP from Wayanad cited anold family planning slogan,launching “hum do, humare doki sarkar” jibe at the CentralGovernment.

Rahul alleged that thethree new agriculture lawspassed during the MonsoonSession in 2020 would allowindustrialists to buy unlimitedquantity of foodgrains andhoard them. He further allegedthe Acts will destroy India’sfood security system whichwould hurt the rural economy.

“Let us discuss the contentand intent of the farm laws.The content of the first farmlaw is to end the mandis. Thesecond law will allow hoardingby amending the EssentialCommodities Act, and thethird law doesn’t allow farmersto approach court in case of adispute,” said Rahul in theHouse amid vociferous oppo-sition from the BJP members.

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Maharashtra GovernorBhagat Singh Koshyari

found himself in an embar-rassing situation on Thursdaymorning as he was forced todisembark from a StateGovernment aircraft minutesafter he boarded the plane to flyto Dehradun to attend an offi-cial function at Mussoorie, ashe had no official permissionto use the aircraft. TheGovernor then left forDehradun in a commercialflight.

Hours after a protocol con-troversy broke out betweenthe Opposition and the MVAGovernment over the denial ofpermission to the Governor touse the State aircraft, the ChiefMinister’s Office (CMO) laidthe blame at the Raj BhavanSecretariat saying that the staffthere should have ascertained

whether the Governor hadreceived the requisite permis-sion from the StateGovernment to use the aircraft.

While the StateGovernment stood its groundsaying that the Governor facedthe piquant situation owing tothe lapse on the part of an offi-cial concerned at Raj Bhavan,the incident is being seen asfallout of a frosty relationship

that has been prevailingbetween Koshyari and theShiv Sena-led MVAGovernment.

The CMO said that ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackerayhad taken serious cognisanceof the incident and asked theState administration to fixresponsibility on the officialsconcerned at Raj Bhavan forthe lapse.

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Chhattisgarh HealthMinister T.S. Singh Deo on

Thursday wrote to UnionHealth Minister Dr HarshVardhan demanding that coro-navirus vaccine Covaxinshould not be supplied toChhattisgarh.

Singh Deo reasoned thatthe clinical trials of phase-3 ofCovaxin is yet to be complet-ed and this has led to a senseof hesitancy in its use.

In an earlier letteraddressed to Dr HarshVardhan, Singh Deo had point-ed out that the vials of Covaxindo not display expiry dates.

“We would be more thanhappy to vaccinate our benefi-ciaries with Covaxin dosesonce the results of clinical tri-als of phase-3 is completed andshared,” Singh Deo said in theletter.

"I will reiterate that kindlydo not have Covaxin sent fornow as the vaccine will not beusable ... being under emer-gency clinical trial."

He said 1,67,852 healthcareworkers in Chhattisgarh havebeen vaccinated with the firstdose of Covid vaccine byFebruary 8, which is morethan 61 percent of the State’starget.

Singh Deo saidChhattisgarh has got 37,760doses of Covaxin and in Marchwill receive 149,120doses.Vaccination inChhattisgarh started fromJanuary 16.

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The Delhi Police has appre-hended a 16-year-old boy,

who allegedly sexually assault-ed a two-year-old child inDelhi’s Subhash Nagar area.Police said that the juvenile wasapprehended from the railwaystation when he was trying toflee away.

According to a seniorpolice official, a man, a residentof Subhash Nagar, reportedthat his two year-old son hasbeen sexually assaulted by hisdomestic servant aged about 16years.

“He alleged that thedomestic servant took the childfrom her mother to the firstfloor and assured her that hewill let him sleep. After that, themother of the kid indulged inother household work. After 4-5 mintues, she went upstairs tosee her son but found that theroom was locked from inside

and her son was crying,” saidthe senior police official.’

“She unlocked the doorand found that the child hadbeen sexually assaulted. Whenshe confronted this to herdomestic servant he ran awayfrom there. She immediatelytook her child to the police andreported the whole incident.The child was immediatelysent to DDU hospital for med-ical examination and conse-quently a case under section377 of Indian Penal Code (IPC)and 6 Pocso Act,” he said.

“During investigation, itwas revealed that the juvenilewas working as a domesticservant for the last two and halfyears and he was a native ofBihar. Suspecting that he mighttry to leave the city, the policeteams carried out intensivesearch and he was apprehend-ed outside New Delhi RailwayStation,” said the senior policeofficial.

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In a tragic incident, a 22-year-old woman was crushed to

death by a truck after she fell offa scooter in east Delhi's MayurVihar area on Thursday. Policesaid that teams are scanning theCCTV's cameras installed inthe area to identify the truckdriver.

The deceased has been

identified as Swati, a resident ofRajbir Colony in Kondli area.Police said that she was return-ing home from G B PantHospital, where her father haddied on Thursday morning.

According to a seniorpolice official, during enquiry,it emerged that the woman,who was travelling with herneighbour, fell off the scooterwhich hit a speed breaker on

Ghazipur nala road near Chillavillage, and died after a truckcame from behind and ran overher.

“The truck driver escapedfrom the spot. The injuredwoman was taken to a nearbyhospital, where she wasdeclared brought dead,” hesaid.

“A case has been regis-tered under various sections of

the Indian Penal Code (IPC) atthe Mayur Vihar police stationand efforts are being made totrace the truck driver. Policeteams are also scanning CCTVcameras in and around thescene of the incident to iden-tify the driver and ascertain thesequence of events,” saidDeepak Yadav, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), East district.

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A27-year-old woman wasallegedly raped by a man

on the pretext of marriageover a period of two years,while a minor girl was alleged-ly raped by a neighbour atKahnai village in Gurugram,the police said on Thursday.

In the first incident, thevictim, a native of Delhi.

In her police complaint,she said that in August 2019,She met Hari Prakash Pathak- the accused – a resident of

Om Nagar in Gurugram atHuda City Centre MetroStation in Gurugram. Fromthere the duo went for a movieand later on around 1.30 pmthe accused took her to a hotellocated nearby at Rajiv Chowkand raped her against her wish-es for the first time.

The woman also alleged inher complaint that after this inci-dent the accused raped her onseveral occasions on pretext ofmarriage and she got pregnant.

“The woman informedabout her pregnancy to theaccused who stated to the

woman that at this stage hedon’t need child so he had pro-vided a pills to the womanwhich resulting the womansuffer miscarriage. Thereafterthe accused and his familymembers threatened her withdire consequences if sherevealed the matter to anyone,"the woman told the police.

The victim further allegedthat the culprit was raping herfor two years on the pretext ofgetting married. She alsoalleged that the man promisedher on several occasions that hewould soon marry her but

later refused to do so.“In connection with the

incident a zero FIR was filed inDelhi police station they for-ward the matter to theGurugram’s Women police sta-tion (east) for further investi-gation. No arrest has beenmade so far,” Subhash Boken,spokesperson of the Gurugrampolice said.

In the second incident a16-year-old girl was allegedlyraped by her neighbour iden-tified as Arjun during the nightof February 8. The next morn-ing the victim told her ordeal

to her family that the accusedwas harassing her for the past8-9 months.

“In August 2020, Arjunraped my daughter when shewas alone at our house and shegot pregnant. He also threat-ened her with dire conse-quences if she disclosed thematter to anyone,” the victim’smother told the police.

A case under relevant sec-tions of the Protection ofChildren from Sexual Offences(POCSO) Act has been regis-tered at the Women police sta-tion (east) in Gurugram.

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Water Minister andChairperson of Delhi Jal

Board (DJB) Satyendar Jain onThursday instructed the offi-cials to maximize utilisation ofexisting tube-wells to rechargegroundwater so that rainwatercan be harvested during themonsoon period.

The minister convened ameeting of senior officers of theDJB along with its members,wherein he brought forth theneed to augment the city'swater supply.

“The DJB will ensureextraction of around 55 MGDwater from the different WTPcomplexes. In the meeting itwas discussed that most of the‘Water Treatment Plants’ ofDJB are located in floodplainzones where ground water getsrecharged every year in themonsoon during flood, hencethis extraction water will berecharged every year withoutcompromising ground waterlevels. This water will beextracted through tube-wellsand mixed with regular supplywater in the reservoirs,’ hesaid.

DJB has been instructed totake innovative steps to meetwith increasing water demandin Delhi, he added. He furthersaid that water augmentation isthe only solution to meet theincreasing demand of water inDelhi.

Jain also highlighted theneed to augment water capac-ity and spoke about how DJBcan use the existing tube-wellslying defunct for recharginggroundwater along with reduc-ing floods on roads. Due tourbanisation, natural catch-ments, and absorption capac-ity of soil have reduced.

He also added, ''This util-

isation of defunct tube-wells isan opportunity to rechargegroundwater directly in theresidential areas. This will alsoreduce TDS in groundwaterafter dilution of harvested rain-water. The initiative of rejuve-nation of 600 water bodiesand lakes, flood water harvest-ing, rejuvenation of old canalsand irrigation minors will alsobring overall improvement ofgroundwater.”

Delhi government's initia-tives of floodwater harvestinghave also yielded a good resultleading to improvement ofgroundwater up to two metersin Palla area.

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South Delhi MunicipalCorporation (SDMC) has

decided to restart Atal AaharYojna by remodeling thescheme launched in 2017 inwhich people will get a thali(plate) for Rs 15.

Initially it will be startedwith five ‘Inbuilt KitchenMobile Vans’ (IKMV) in eachzone and later two IKMV willbe made available in each wardof the civic body.

Leader of House Narendra

Chawla during the budgetspeech said that provision willbe made to allocate Rs 25 Lakhfor each ward to improve con-dition of 30 to 60 width roads.

“The civic body will alsoprovide Rs 5 lakh in each wardfor installing LED lights atdark spots. Provision will alsobe made to hike funds to cele-brate festivals like Ramlila,Krishnalila, Chhath Puja fromRs 50 Laky to Rs 1 Crore,” hesaid.

In order to contain dustpollution in Delhi, a provision

to impose fine/penalty of Rs50,000 for dumping buildingmaterial along the roadsidewill be implemented. The movewill help in reducing pollutionespecially dust pollution in thearea, he said.

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The Delhi PoliceCommissioner, S N

Shrivastava on Thursdaylaunched Delhi PoliceOrchestra. The MusicalOrchestra will have all the lat-est modern musical instru-ments and in the orchestragroup are those selected policepersonnel, who have expertiseeither in playing the musicalinstruments or those who haveflair for singing.

“The first orchestra musi-cal night was organized in theopen air make-sit theatre atSports Ground, New PoliceLines in Delhi, amidst cheeringof hundreds of top echelon ofDelhi Police and the jawansduring the Bara Khana,” saidAnil Mittal, the AdditionalPublic Relation (APRO), DelhiPolice.

“The Bara Khana was orga-nized to celebrate the winning of the Best Marching Contingent Trophy by Delhi Police parade contingent this

Republic Day Parade atRajpath, after a gap of 14 years.The Musical nite had

enthralling patriotic songs, hitsof bollywood songs and region-al songs from the differentparts of the country,” he said.

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The Economic OffencesWing (EOW) of Delhi

Police has registered a FirstInformation Report (FIR)against the Haryanvi singerSapna Choudhary and otherson charges of alleged misap-propriation of funds, cheatingand criminal conspiracy.

Police said that onWednesday the FIR was regis-tered after a complaint wasreceived from Pawan Chawla,the director of P&M Movies

Private Limited, a firm engagedin the business of celebritymanagement and events.

According to the FIR,Choudhary approachedChawla in March 2018 througha common friend after herexit from a popular realityshow and showed a keen inter-est to work with the firm to getfinancial stability.

“After several discussions,an artist-management agree-ment was executed betweenChawla and Choudhary in2018. As per the terms and

conditions, she was not allowedto work with or join any othercompany or have contact with

any clients of the complainant.In May 2018, Choudhary andher mother approached Chawlafor Rs 50 lakh citing an emer-gency, following which twocheques of Rs 25 lakh each wasgiven to her, the FIR stated.

“In August, she returned acheque of Rs 10 lakh to Chawlaand by September, she gavehim back Rs 3 lakh. She thentook Rs 1.5 lakh from him byNovember and this way, shetook an amount of Rs 38.5 lakhin total from Chawla,” thecomplainant stated.

She collected money fromthe complainant on severaloccasions citing various emer-gencies, police said. On the pre-text of purchasing a new house,Choudhary also got loansarranged from Chawla but didnot pay the remaining amountdespite several promises, thecomplainant alleged.

In January 2020, anotherartist-management agreementwas executed betweenChoudhary and Chawla duringwhich she had tally entire loanaccounts rendered by the com-

plainant and their associatesand confirmed that Rs 3.5crore loan amount was pend-ing from her side, the FIR said.

In March 2020, Chawlaalleged that he got to know thatChoudhary had opened abranch office of his company inGurgoan and had also involvedone of his employees in herventure.

“The accused persons havecommitted breach of trust andmisappropriated huge amountcollected by organising sever-al events clandestinely. The

intention of the accused was toextract money by way of loanextended to over Rs 3.5 croreon the pretext of emergentneed for purchase of house andother emergencies,” the FIRstated.

In September 2018, at thetime of approaching Chawla forRs 1 crore loan for purchase ofa new house, the accused hadinduced that if she will notrefund the loan amount, shewill surely execute the saledeed of flat in Gurgoan in hisfavour, and on the said

assurance, the huge amountwas disbursed to the accused,it added.

The complainant has alsoalleged that he was intimidat-ed by the accused when heasked her to abide by the termsand conditions of the agree-ment executed between thetwo parties on January 30 lastyear and clear the outstandingloan amount.

A case has been registeredagainst the accused and aninvestigation is underway, asenior police official said.

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RAIPUR | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 12, 2021

chhattisgarh 03

People flock to resolve their problems at a camp held in a private school in Rani Laxmi Bai Ward during the ‘Tuhar SarkarTuhar Dwar’ (Government at your Doorstep) drive in the Raipur Municipal Corporation limits on Thursday. Pioneer Photo

STAFF REPORTER nMAHASAMUND

A21-year-old jilted loveron Thursday shot dead

a 20-year-old girl forspurning his overtures in avillage in Chhattisgarh’sMahasamund district. Hesurrendered to the police.Two accomplices are atlarge.

M a h a s a m u n dSuperintendent of PolicePrafull Kumar Thakur toldThe Pioneer over tele-phone Chandra ShekharParmar (21), a resident ofGhodari village, has beentaken into custody.

The accomplicesinclude Bharat Nishad andan unidentified youth,both from Mudhenavillage.

Parmar, a driver, shotRupa Dhiwar (20) on the

forehead when she wasreturning from a medicalstore with her elder sister.She was declared broughtdead at a hospital.

She was a first yearstudent in a private collegein Raipur and belonged toBelsonda village inMahasamund district.

The girl’s family saidthe accused along the twoaccomplices came near thevictim’s house on a bike.After shooting the youngwoman, the three escaped.

Parmar told the policethat he killed Rupa becausehe was in love with her butshe remained cold to him.The police recovered fromhim a country-made pistolused in the crime.

A murder case hasbeen registered againstParmar and hisaccomplices.

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

The Swami AtmanandEnglish Medium School

has been launched to lay thefoundation for a bright futurefor the upcoming generation,Chhattisgarh Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel said onThursday.

Baghel was interactingwith school principalsattending training throughvirtual mode from his officialresidence office.

He said the intention is tolay a base for children frombackward regions and eco-nomically weaker sections toface the future challenges, foroverall personality develop-ment, to instill self-confi-dence and to be sensitive tothe environment.

The Chief Minister saidSwami Atmanand through his

talent and education workedfor educating the downtrod-den people. He brought lau-rels to the state at the nationallevel in this field.

He said that all efforts hadbeen made during Covid-19 torenovate school buildings by

ensuring facilities like library,amphi-theatre, computerrooms, sportsground and more.

Transparency was main-tained in the selection ofteachers and principals, whomust now shape the studentsfor the future, he said.

Based on the presentresponses, even students fromthe best private schools arevying to get admission in thegovernment-run Englishmedium schools. By nextyear, more such schools willbe opened, he added.

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

The Chhattisgarh PublicService Commission is going

to conduct interviews forAssistant Professors (HomeScience and Maths) from March 2to 4, it was announced onThursday.

For nine posts of AssistantProfessors (Home Science) and 99posts of Assistant Professors(Maths), a total of 163 candidateshave been called for the interview,said a press release.

The verification of the docu-ments of the candidates will bedone in two shifts from 9 AM to12 noon and from 1 PM to 5 PMa day ahead of the interview.

The candidates who are

absent during the verification ofthe document will not be allowedto appear in the interview, therelease said.

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

Chhattisgarh Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel on

Thursday told officials thatthere is a need to create aware-ness among farmers about theworth of using vermi-compostmade from cow dung asopposed to chemical fertilizers.

Baghel warned thatdemanding a sudden change inpreference will lead to a nega-tive reaction. If required, work-shops of farmers should be heldin villages, he said.

He was addressing an eventto mark the release of the fort-nightly payment for selling cowdung from his official residencecum office.

Baghel said wider publicitywas necessary to explain tofarmers how vermi-compost isbetter than chemical fertilizers.This will help to change theirmentality.

Apart from the agricultureand horticulture departments,the urban development andforest wings can also procurevermi-compost, he said.

Agriculture MinisterRavindra Choubey said at pres-ent half the cow dung procuredis converted into vermi-com-post. On an average, around 9lakh quintals of vermi-composthave been produced in the stateand around 68,000 quintalshave been sold.


More than 2.23lakh coronavirus

vaccines reachedRaipur on Thursday.

The vaccineslanded at the SwamiVivekanand airporthere by Indigo'sMumbai-Raipur flightat 1:40 pm, Raipur air-port authorities said.

The plane whichbrought the vaccinewas given a water

cannon salute at theairport.

According to theHealth Department,more than 1.67 health-care workers inChhattisgarh have beenvaccinated with thefirst dose of Covidvaccine by February 8,which is more than 61percent of the state’starget.

Covid vaccinationis being done from 9am to 5 pm on fourdays a week.

STAFF REPORTER nKORBA

The BharatAluminium Co Ltd

(BALCO) has initiated a‘Pahal’ (initiative) tomake the Korba town-ship free of plastic andto utilize modern tech-nology to reduce waterand solid waste in thefactory and townshippremises.

Chief ExecutiveOfficer and DirectorAbhijeet Pati said in astatement that the com-pany will take the helpof its employees and theBalco Nagar Chamberof Commerce to banishplastic from daily use.

Alternative bags arebeing provided to theemployees so that theyshun plastic, he said.

Additionally, thecompany is extendingpre-medical and peri-odic medical examina-tion of its employeesand business communi-ty in the context to theCovid-19 pandemic.

He added that thecompany is working onthe principle of ‘zeroloss, zero waste andzero emission’. All flyash is disposed of. Thewater released is recy-cled and put to otheruses. The township bio-waste is converted intocompost.

Over 2L Covid vaccinedoses reach Raipur

English medium schools will lead to bright future: CM

Interview for AssistantProfessors from March 2

BALCO's war on plastic in Korba

Let farmers first realize valueof vermi-compost: Baghel

Jilted lover shootsdead girl, surrenders


The Chhattisgarhgovernment has

accomplished severaltasks at one go byadopting an economic,traditional and yet uniqueidea for proper preserva-tion of crops, beginningwith the 93 lakh tonnes ofpaddy procured fromfarmers.

Every year, a largequantity of rice inwarehouses gets damageddue to moisture, rains,hailstorm, rats and pests.To minimize the loss,special cemented

platforms were builtduring the corona crisis,creating employmentopportunities on a largescale.

A total of 7,606platforms have been builtin all the districts. Nearly3,000 sacks can be piledup in each platform.

These include 786platforms in Raipurdistrict, 711 in Janjgir-Champa, 597 inBalodabazar-Bhatapara,488 in Mahasamund, 469in Raigarh, 465 inRajnandgaon and 430platforms in the district ofBemetara among others.

Proper storage ensuredfor 93L tonnes of paddy

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Army Chief General MMNaravane on Thursday, in

an apparent reference to thetension at the Line of ActualControl(LAC), said the situa-tion there highlighted thenature of threats facing India inpreserving its territorial integri-ty and sovereignty, noting thatthe “legacy challenges” haveonly grown in scale and inten-sity.

His observations came ona day when the first step wastaken by both the armies tobreak the ten-month long log-jam at the LAC in EasternLadakh by withdrawing tanksand troops.

Addressing a seminar orga-nized by the Centre for LandWarfare Studies(CLAWS),Naravane said the Indian Armywill continue to prepare andadapt to the future challenges,the more “proximate, real andpresent dangers” on India’s“active borders” cannot beignored.

He said the ongoing devel-opments along the northernborders should make thearmed forces ponder over thenature of the unsettled bordersand consequent challenges withregard to protecting the coun-try’s territorial integrity andsovereignty.

“Without doubt there arenewer threats on the horizon,but the hard reality is that thelegacy challenges have notquite gone away. In fact, theyhave only grown in scale andintensity,” the Army Chief said.

“While the Indian Armywill continue to prepare andadapt to the future, the moreproximate, real and presentdangers, on our active borderscannot be ignored,” he said.

He said the principal chal-lenge before the Armed Forcestoday is that of the growingcapability enhancements in anera of “finite budgets”, addingthe structures, inventories andhuman resources of the mili-tary will need to adapt andtransform accordingly.

On changing contours ofsecurity challenges, Naravanesaid when India focused onbuilding core capacities in thespheres of land, sea and air , thecountry’s adversaries took thebattle to the newer domains ofspace, cyber, and informatics.

He said India’s adversariesare investing in creating a for-midable stand-off enterprise inthe form of long-range preci-sion fires, hypersonic vehiclesand robust air defence capac-ities.

“In order to win futurewars, mere mastery of thetraditional domains of land,sea and air will no longer suf-fice,” Naravane said. He saidas the adversaries expand the“contest to the grey zone”,there is a “dire” need for mod-ern militaries to be as profi-cient in competition as inhard core “kinetics”.

“We need to shed the clas-sical war and peace dispositionand enhance cross govern-mental fusion in order to winaggressively in the competitivespace,” he noted.

The Army chief alsobroadly touched upon how thefuture wars could be foughtwith the use of highly maneu-verable unmanned aerial vehi-cles, electromagnetic spec-trum technology, swarmdrones or use of low orbit sys-tems.

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The Centre has orderedengagement of 2,000 ex-

servicemen in the CISF on con-tractual basis for deployment inunits to secure vital installa-tions across the country.

A letter with the subject“Engagement of Ex-Army per-sonnel on contract basis inCISF for deployment in PSUs”signed by Deputy InspectorGeneral (DIG), CISF, PK Bhartiearlier this month read, “MHAhas directed to deploy Ex-Army personnel in CISF in theratio of 75: 25 (75 per cent CISF

and 25 per cent Contractual) atselected units by engaging 2000Ex-Army personnel on con-tractual basis in different postson an experimental basis.”

The deployment in theseselected units will be reviewedby the Ministry after sixmonths and twelve monthsfor considering further expan-sion of such deployment atother units.

As many as 13 CISF unitshave been identified for thecontractual deployment on anexperimental basis of ex-armypersonnel.

The units selected for the

contractual engagement of theex-army personnel at SECL,Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, ATPPand OTHPP Obra in UttarPradesh, VSTPP Sidhi,Madhya Pradesh, ONGC,Nazira, Assam, FGUTPP,Unchahar and HTPPKasimpur in Uttar Pradesh,NALCO Angul, Odisha,FSTPP Farakka and GRSEL INWest Bengal, NLC Neyveli,Tamil Nadu, RTPS Raichur,Karnataka and UTPS Ukai,Gujarat.

A total of 63 Sub-Inspectors, 187 Assistant Sub-Inspectors, 424 HeadConstables and 1,328Constables will be absorbed oncontractual basis.

The closing date for sub-mission of application forms bythe ex-army personnel in theCentral Industrial SecurityForce (CISF) has been fixed asMarch 15, 2021 followingwhich recruitment process willbe started.

“In view of the above, con-cerned Sector IsG (InspectorGenerals) are requested toconsider the above facts andmanage posting accordingly.This has the approval of com-petent authority,” it added.

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Amid the rising number ofcoronavirus cases, Saudi

Arabia suspended entry ofpeople for at least 20 countries,including India, said IndianEmbassy in Riyadh onThursday. Indian Embassyposted its advisory on Twittermentioning, “Kingdom ofSaudi Arabia vide its circulardated 2nd February 2021 havetemporarily suspended entryinto the Kingdom for passen-gers coming from the following19 countries, in addition toIndia.”

Saudi Arabia has restrict-ed travel from India,Argentina, the United ArabEmirates, Germany, theUnited States of America,Indonesia, Ireland, Italy,Pakistan, Brazil, Portugal,United Kingdom, Turkey,South Africa, Sweden,Switzerland, France, Lebanon,

Egypt, and Japan. However,there are some exceptions.Saudi citizens, diplomats, andhealth workers coming fromthese countries will be allowedto enter the kingdom “in

accordance with the precau-tionary measures”. Indiancargo flights operating withclearance from the DirectorateGeneral of Civil Aviation(DGCA) do not fall under thepurview of the ban either.

A similar ban was lastimposed in the country inDecember, after a new andmore virulent strain of coro-navirus was detected in theUK. The country had resumedinternational f lights andreopened its ports on January3, 2021.

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The SupremeCourt denied

bail on Thursdayto activist AkhilGogoi, who islodged in jail forhis alleged rolein the violentanti-CAA protests in Assam.

A bench of justices N VRamana, Surya Kant andAniruddha Bose dismissedGogoi’’s bail plea, saying, “Wewill not consider the petitionat this stage.”

The bench, however, toldadvocate Runamoni Bhuyanthat the pet it ioner mayapproach the top court for

bail once the trial starts.Gogoi has challenged a

January 7 order the GauhatiHigh Court, which rejectedhis bail plea in a case relatedto his alleged role in the vio-lent protests against theCitizenship (Amendment)Act (CAA) lodged by theNational Investigation Agency(NIA).

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Recalling the contributionsof party ideologue Deen

Dayal Upadhyay towards build-ing a self-reliant India, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onThursday said that the leaderhad called for self-reliance wayback during the Indo-Pak warin 1965.

“Deendayal Upadhyay’sthoughts are equally relevanttoday and will continue to beso. In 1965, during the Indo-Pak war, India had to dependon foreign countries forweapons. Deendayal had saidat that time that we need tobuild an India that is self-reliant not just in agriculture,but also in defence andweaponry,” PM Modi said.

He was speaking at theSamarpan Diwas on the occa-sion of Upadhyay’s deathanniversary.

“Today, the self-reliantIndia campaign is becomingthe medium for building thefuture of the village’s poor,farmers, labourers and middleclass,” PM Modi said, addingthat the vision on the localeconomy is proof of how prac-tical and comprehensive DeenDayal Upadhyay’s thinkingwas even in those times.

“Today, with the mantra of‘Vocal for Local’, the country isrealising his vision,” he said.

In light of the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic, he said

that with the power of self-reliance, the country had deliv-ered the COVID-19 vaccine tothe whole world.

“In this COVID-19 period,the country displayed the spir-it of Antyodaya, and cared forour country’s poor. With thepower of self-reliance, thecountry has also proved theIntegral HumanismPhilosophy, delivered medi-cines to the whole world, andis delivering the vaccine today,”he added.

He further said that thetransformational changes tak-ing place in the field of infra-structure will make the liveseasier and India will get a newmodern image, and with thestature of the country rapidlygrowing, every Indian will beproud of today’s India.

PM Modi also elaboratedthat in politics, consensus isvalued, and although themajority runs the government,the country runs with consent.

“We value consensus inpolitics. I said in Parliamentthat a majority runs the gov-ernment but the country runswith consent. We have not justcome to run the government,we have come to take thecountry forward. We fightagainst each other in elec-tions, it does not mean that wedo not respect each other,” hesaid.

On the occasion, the PM,along with BJP president JPNadda paid floral tributes tothe leader.

Pandit DeendayalUpadhyay was a RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS)thinker and former leader ofthe political party BharatiyaJana Sangh, the forerunner ofBharatiya Janata Party.

He became the presidentof Jana Sangh in December1967. He contested the LokSabha election and lost. Hepassed away on February 11,1968.

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India has become the fastestcountry in the world to fin-

ish 70.17 lakh vaccinationsagainst COVID-19 in 26 days.And 17 States/UTs reported noCOVID-19 deaths in the past24 hours and the country hadthe lowest active cases per mil-lion population globally.

The Ministry of Health onThursday said that Indiaaccomplished this feat in only26 days, while it took 27 daysfor the US and 48 days for theUK to reach the same figures.India has also been the fastestto touch the 6 million mark afew days back.

“The total cumulative vac-cination coverage of 70,17,114includes 57,05,228 healthcareworkers (HCWs) and13,11,886 frontline workers(FLWs till 8 am on February 11.1,43,056 sessions have beenconducted so far. 4,05,349 ben-eficiaries (HCWs- 94,890 andFLWs- 3,10,459) were vacci-nated on Day-26 (10th Feb2021) across 8,308 sessions,’ thehealth ministry said.

As per the data, 13States/UTs have vaccinated over65% of the registered healthcareworkers (HCWs). Bihar leadswith over 79% of the registeredHCWs vaccinated. The num-ber of beneficiaries being vac-cinated every day has shown aprogressive increase. UttarPradesh ( 6,73,542),Maharashtra ( 5,73,681),Rajasthan ( 5,59,990),Karnataka ( 4,64,485) and WestBengal ( 4,27,042) are amongthe top states in COVID-19vaccinations in the country.

At least seven States/UTshave reported less than 40%vaccinations of the registeredhealthcare workers (HCWs).Puducherry has recorded thelowest vaccination performanceof 17.5 percent. While thecountry recorded 108 deathsdue to Covid-19 in the last 24hours, a matter of relief for thenation is that they were limit-ed to a few states and union ter-ritories as 17 states have notreported any fatality due to

Covid-19, the Health Ministrysaid on Thursday.

The ministry also informedthat 17 states and UTs includ-ing Telangana, Gujarat, Assam,Haryana, Odisha, Uttarakhand,Meghalaya, Nagaland,Lakshadweep, Ladakh, Sikkim,Manipur, Mizoram, Andaman& Nicobar Islands, Tripura,Arunachal Pradesh and Daman& Diu, have not reported anyCovid death in the last 24hours.

The total recovered casesare 1,05,73,372. The gapbetween active cases and recov-ered cases is continuouslyincreasing and stands at1,04,30,810.

The data says 83.20% of thenewly recovered cases againstCovid-19 are recorded in 6States. Kerala has contributedthe highest number to thenewly recovered cases (5,745),followed by Maharashtra(2,421) and Gujarat (495).Kerala has reported the highestdaily new cases at 5,980.

It is followed byMaharashtra and Tamil Naduwith 3,451and 479 new cases,respectively. 108 case fatalitieshave been reported in the past24 hours. Seven States accountfor 79.63% of these.Maharashtra reported the max-imum casualties at 30. It is fol-lowed by Kerala with 18 newdaily deaths.

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The World HealthOrganisation (WHO) on

Thursday heaped praise toIndia on handling the coron-avirus pandemic as cases aregoing down consistently.

Dr Roderico Ofrin, WorldHealth Organization countryrepresentative to India said onThursday that over threemonths now, cases of COVID-19 in India have been consis-tently going down...Considering the magnitudeof the population...it’s some-thing the Government of Indiashould be very very proud of.

“Bringing that diligence,discipline & vigour into theirresponse to vaccination cam-paign, we’ve seen it’s been sosuccessful. Around 6 millionwere vaccinated in 22 days. It’sthe fastest as we see rates ofvaccination happening,” ofrinadded.

The WHO country repre-sentative to India furtherhailed Gujarat Government,saying hats off to Gujarat gov-ernment for taking the reviewamid pandemic for informa-tion and better evidence totweak their responses, whichthey have, especially duringthe second wave that hap-pened.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on

Thursday said it has filedProsecution Complaint(chargesheet) against fiveoffice bearers/members of thePopular Front of India (PFI)and its student wing CampusFront of India (CFI) under theprovisions of the Preventionof Money Laundering Actbefore the Special PMLACourt, Lucknow.

Atikur Rahman, NationalTreasurer of CFI, MasudAhmed, Delhi GeneralSecretary of CFI, SidhiqueKappan, a journalist associated with PFI and Md.Alam, a CFI/PFI member,were arrested by the UPPolice at Mathura while theywere on their way to Hathrasto disturb communal harmo-ny, to incite violence and tospread terror.

The agency init iatedinvestigation in this matter onthe basis of FIR No 199/2020registered by UP Police undervarious Indian Penal Code(IPC) Sections and provi-sions of the UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Actwere invoked.

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The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) on Thursday

filed chargesheet in the caserelating to hoisting of Khalistaniflag at Deputy CommissionerOffice Complex, Moga, Punjabby Cadres of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ)) before NIASpecial Judge, Mohali, Punjabunder various Indian PenalCode sections and provisions ofthe Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act besidesPrevention of Insult to NationalHonour Act, 1971 against sixaccused persons.

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Bihar Chief Minister NitishKumar on Thursday came

out in support of the three farmlaws, saying he is with theGovernment and the laws arefor the benefit of farmers andnot against them.

He said that the Centralgovernment had taken theright path to hold talks with thefarmers to end their agitation.

Nitish, who arrived in thenational capital on Wednesdayevening, met Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in Parliamenton Thursday.

This is the first meetingbetween the two leaders afterthe Bihar assembly poll resultsin November last year.

After meeting Modi, Nitishtold the media: "The purpose ofthe farm laws is to benefitfarmers and it is not againstthem."

When asked about thefarmers protesting sinceNovember 26 last year,demanding the repeal of thethree farm laws, he said, "Weare with the government andthe government has opted forright path by holding talks."

He said that he is hopefulof a resolution soon.

Thousands of farmers fromPunjab, Haryana and WesternUttar Pradesh have beenprotesting at the borders of thenational capital sinceNovember 26 last year.

The farmers are demand-ing repeal of the three farmlaws and also seeking an assur-ance on MSP for their produce.Earlier, 11 rounds of talksbetween the government andthe farmers remained incon-clusive.

To another question if anydiscussions happened on theinclusion of Janata Dal-United(JD-U) in the cabinet, theChief Minister said, "No dis-cussion on cabinet happened."

He also hailed the UnionBudget presented in Parliamenton February 1 and said: "TheBudget is very good despite theeffect of Covid pandemic."

"Even we will bring a goodbudget in the state," he said.

The JD-U leader said thathe and the PM also discussedthe development of Bihar asduring the assembly polls a lotof promises were made to thepeople.

However, he refused tocomment on the ChiragPaswan-led Lok Janshakti Party(LJP), which has been attack-ing the JD-U since last year.

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Union Home Minister AmitShah Thursday said the

process of granting Indian cit-izenship to refugees under theCAA, including to the Matuacommunity of West Bengal,will begin once the process ofCOVID vaccination has ended.

Accusing the oppositionparties of misleading theminorities about theCitizenship (amendment) Act,he said, its implementationwill not impact the citizenshipstatus of Indian minorities.

Shah said the Modi gov-ernment had in 2018 promisedit will bring in a new citizenshiplaw and kept it when the BJPwas voted to power in 2019.He said, after the country washit by the COVID-19 pan-demic in 2020, its implemen-tation had to be kept inabeyance. "Mamata didi saidwe made a false promise. Shestarted opposing the CAA andsaying she will never allow it.The BJP always fulfils thepromises it makes. We havebrought this law and refugeeswill get citizenship.

"As soon as the COVIDvaccination process ends theprocess of granting citizenshipunder CAA will begin. All ofyou will be respected citizens ofthis country," he said, address-ing a rally here in the bastion ofthe Matua community.Matuas, originally from EastPakistan, are weaker section

Hindus who migrated to Indiaduring the Partition and afterthe creation of Bangladesh.Many of them have beenaccorded Indian citizenship buta sizeable section of the popu-lation has not got it. T h eMatua community, with an esti-mated population of three mil-lion in the state, can tilt thescales in favour of a politicalparty in at least four Lok seatsand more than 30 assemblyseats in Nadia, and North andSouth 24 Parganas districts. Itonce stood solidly behind theTMC but had supported the BJPin the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

A section of state BJP lead-ership is apprehensive that thedelay and confusion over theimplementation of the CAAcould make them turn againstthe saffron party.

Shah asserted that Banerjeewill not be in a position tooppose the implementation ofthe CAA as she will cease to bethe chief minister after theassembly polls likely in April-May this year. "MamataDidi is misleading the peopleon the CAA. But let me tell youthat she won't be a position tooppose as she will not be thechief minister after April-May.We will implement the CAA, itis a law that has been passed byParliament," he said.

"As the Home Minister ofthis country, I want to assurethe minorities of India thatnone of you will lose citizen-ship. The CAA is about grant-

ing citizenship to refugees, it isnot about taking away anyone'scitizenship," he said.

Accusing the erstwhileCongress and the Left Frontgovernments of West Bengal ofnever bothering about granti-ng citizenship to the refugees,Shah said they betrayed themmuch in the same way as theTMC did.Shah also attackedthe Mamata Banerjee govern-ment over Bangladeshi infil-tration, and asserted only a BJPgovernment can stop it.

Courting the Matua com-munity, Shah said if voted topower, the BJP governmentwill propose renaming theThaukurnagar railway station'Shri Dham Thakurnagar' afterSri Sri Harichand Thakur, theirsocio-religious guru.

After coming to power inWest Bengal, the BJP govern-ment will introduce 'ChiefMinister Sharnarthi KalyanYojana' for the welfare of therefugee population. Reactingto Shah's assertion about imple-menting the CAA, MamataBanerjee said he should mindhis language and declared shewill never allow it to beenforced in West Bengal.

"The home minister of thecountry should be careful abouthis utterances. We will neverallow CAA, NRC or NPR inBengal. They can say whateverthey want to. They want todestroy Bengal. We will neverallow them to do that," sheasserted.

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Overenthusiasm to appeaseall those who call on him

for favours and donations havelanded a sitting member of theKerala Legislative Assembly introuble which is likely to jeop-ardize his prospects of fieldedagain in the upcomingAssembly election.

Eldhose Kunnappilli, theCongress legislator represent-ing the Perumbavoor Assemblyconstituency has become acontroversial figure as well asa persona non grata for a par-ticular community in the con-

stituency.Though Kunnappilli, a first

time legislator, with a mediocretrack record over the last fiveyears, in a bid to get re-nom-ination was playing all the

tricks in the game, the RamJanmabhumi Temple hasbecome a milestone around hisdreams.

A group of youngsters withthe picture of the proposedLord Rama Temple at Ayodhyawent to the office of the MLAseeking donation for the con-struction of the temple.Kunnappilli donated Rs 1,000/-to the activists and got himselfphotographed with the youths,reportedly RSS activists of thearea.

The photograph wasbeamed through an IslamicTV channel and the MLA

told reporters that it was hisnature to donate to all religiousgroups working for good caus-es. He said he was aware thatthe youths were mobilisingfund for the construction ofthe Sree Ram temple andhence he donated the amount.

This has snowballed intoa major controversy as manyreligious and political outfitsswearing by Islam accused theMLA of hurting the senti-ments of the community.Organisations like SDPI andPFI took marches to the res-idence of the MLA who has

remained incommunicado onthe issue for the last twodays.

The RSS activists led bySree Cherai who had called onthe MLA told media personsthat they had briefed the lat-ter about the purpose forwhich they had called onhim. “The MLA himself askedhis personal staff to pho-tograpg him holding thenotice seeking donations forthe temple and now he isretracting because he is afraidwhether it would cost him hisre-nomination,” said SreeCherai.

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The relations between theMalankara Orthodox

Syrian Church and theCPI(M)-led KeralaGovernment vitiated further byThursday as the working com-mittee of the Church expressedits concern over the attempts bythe Pinarayi VijayanGovernment’s move to derailthe July 2017 Supreme Courtverdict granting the control ofthe churches in the State to theformer.

“The draft bill allegedlyprepared by the Law ReformsCommission appointed by theState Government is an attemptto subvert and derail theSupreme Court verdict whichhad ruled that the MalankaraOrthodox Syrian Church wasthe rightful owner of all theChurches coming under theJacobite sect. The KeralaGovernment instead of imple-menting the apex court verdicthas been trying to dilute andnullify the same by illegalmeans,” Father Johns AbrahamKonat, chief spokesman of theChurch said in a release afterthe meeting.

The working committeemeeting that was presided overby Baselios Marthoma PouloseII and attended by most of thesenior Metropolitans of theChurch described the KeralaGovernment move to bring ina Bill to dethrone the SupremeCourt verdict as an open chal-lenge to the IndianConstitution and Judiciary.“We strongly believe this draftbill is an attempt by the gov-ernment to divide theMalankara Orthodox SyrianChurch with political inten-tions. The Church will strong-ly resist the move by the KeralaGovernment to split theChurch and the believers with

the intention of harnessingpolitical dividents,” said thespokesman in his release.

The Metropolitans made itclear that the Supreme Courtverdict was the law of thecountry. “The rulers who oncedeclared that it was not possi-ble to bring in legislationagainst any verdicts deliveredby the Supreme Court shouldnot go back from their words.We hope and trust theGovernment should abide bythe Supreme Court verdict andrule the State as per the law ofthe land,” said the WorkingCommittee meeting.

The spiritual heads of theMalankara Orthodox SyrianChurch had met PrimeMinister Narendra Modirecently and briefed him aboutthe state of affairs in theChurch in the backdrop ofKerala Government’s refusal tohelp the Church officials totake possession of the places ofworship legally belonging to thesect.

The MOSC has a crucialpresence in districts likeKollam, Kottayam,Pathanamthitta andAlappuzha. Meanwhile thefaction owing allegiance to theAntioch has been staging sit-indemonstration in front of theState Secretariat for the last onemonth demanding they behanded over the administrationof the Churches.

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Afluid political situation hasemerged in the Kerala unit

of the Nationalist CongressParty (NCP) which is analliance partner of the rulingLeft Democratic Front (LDF).However, top leaders said thatthe final decision would betaken by NCP supremo SharadPawar and his Deputy PrafulPatel in New Delhi on Friday.

Speaking to the media,after a meeting with Pawar,state NCP president T.P.Peethamabaran said there aredifferences of opinion betweenthe NCP and LDF leaders.

"Ours is a democratic partyand hence it is natural there willbe differences of opinion. Patelis currently out of the countryand will be reaching shortly forthe decision tomorrow," saidPeethamabaran.

The Kerala's NCP unit hasbeen an alliance partner of theruling LDF for years and hastwo legislators, including astate Minister.

Another NCP seat(Kuttanad), which was repre-sented by Thomas Chandy,has been lying vacant since2019 after he passed away.

The NCP in Kerala got amajor boost when Mani C.Kappen won the Pala Assembly

seat in a by-election in 2019,following the death of veteranK.M.Mani who was theincumbent legislator of Palaconstituency since its inceptionin 1967.

Kappen who lost to Maniin 2011 and 2016, won the seatin 2019 when Mani's party -Kerala Congress (Mani) failedto capitalise on the sympathyfactor after his death.

But things went for a toss,especially for Kappen, eversince K.M. Mani's son - JoseK.Mani who now leads theparty became an ally of theLDF, while the other faction ledby senior legislator P.J. Josephcontinues in the UDF.

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The Gujarat Congress uniton Thursday came out with

a 'PledgePaper', in which itpledged to provide rights to thecitizens which they have beendevoid of under the BJP regimeover the years, through a cardsystem called 'GujRight'.

Talking about the cam-paign, Amit Chavda, theGujarat Pradesh CongressCommittee (GPCC) president,said, "We carried out 'HelloGujarat' campaign some timeago which was well-received bythe people of the state. Basedon the feedback of that cam-paign, we have prepared a 10-point 'PledgePaper', whereinstead of coming out with falsepromises like the BJP, we willbe taking a pledge to providethe urban citizens the rightfulbasic needs. In thisPledgePaper, we pledge to pro-vide free water, better roads,better tax structure, qualityeducation, housing, health,public transport, employmentand better administration."

"The Congress will do arevamp of the Gujarat state,through 'GujRight'. Under thisinitiative, the citizens will beprovided a card through whichthey can avail basic services,facilities and schemes for free.We will be providing free waterto those who are active in con-servation of water and peoplepromoting environmental con-servation efforts will beencouraged. The public will beprovided clean and free publictoilets. We will be rationalizingthe Bus Rapid TransportSystem (BRTS)," addedChavda.

"We will be providing sci-entifically designed service cor-ridors on both sides of theroads in newly developingareas," added Chavda.

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��DibrugarhUniversity Vice-Chancellor(VC) Prof. Ranjit Tamuli wassuspended by GovernorJagadish Mukhi on Thursdayfollowing allegations offinancial irregularities andmisuse of public funds, RajBhawan officials said.

The officials said that theGovernor as Chancellor ofDibrugarh University suspend-ed the VC and handed over thecharge to Prof. R. N. S. Yadav, aprofessor at the Department ofLife Sciences and the Dean ofthe Faculty of BiologicalSciences, as he is the senior mostprofessor of the state varsity.

An Assam Raj Bhawanrelease also said that variousorganisations and individuals

including Dibrugarh UniversityTeachers' Association, DibrugarhUniversity Officers' Association,Dibrugarh UniversityEmployees' Association andelected representatives had ear-lier submitted petitions to theGovernor complaining grossallegations of financial anomaliesand misappropriation of fundsagainst Tamuli.

"Not satisfied with the expla-nation of Prof. Ranjit Tamuli, theGovernor, in order to ascertainveracity of the allegations andfind out the true facts, consti-tuted a fact finding committeeunder the Chairmanship ofCommissioner and Secretary tothe Government of Assam'sHigher Education Department,"the release said.

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The Central government onThursday cleared the

empanelment of 29 IndianPolice Service officers to holdDirector General level or equiv-alent posts across the countryin different departments.

These officers are from1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988batches. The empanelment ofthese officers for DG-level andequivalent posts is consideredby a Selection Committeecomprising of the PrincipalSecretary to Prime Minister, theCabinet Secretary, the HomeSecretary, the Secretary(Personnel) and the Director ofIntelligence Bureau.

Delhi PoliceCommissioner SachidanandShrivastava, a 1985-batchArunachal Pradesh, Goa,Mizoram Union Territory(AGMUT) cadre officer, is theseniormost officer in the list,followed by Pradeep Kapur, a

1986-batch Odisha cadre offi-cer.

Jammu and KashmirDirector General of PoliceDilbagh Singh, a 1987-batchJammu and Kashmir cadreofficer, and his batchmateSantosh Mehra of the AndhraPradesh cadre are also in thelist. Mehra is currently postedas Additional Director Generalin Bureau of Police Researchand Development (BPR&D).

Among the 25 IPS officersof 1988 batch is Praveen Sinha,a Gujarat cadre officer, who wasrecently given the charge of act-ing chief of Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) till a deci-sion is taken on a new Directorto succeed Rishi Kumar Shuklawho retired on February 3after a two-year fixed stint.

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Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD)Vice President, Jayant

Chaudhary, along with 21 iden-tified and 6,000 unnamed peo-ple, was booked for violatingprohibitory orders by joiningKisan Maha Panchayat, organ-ised to support the protestingfarmers at borders near Delhi,in Aligarh two days ago.

According to police, theMaha Panchayat was organisedwithout permission and noone was wearing face masksduring the event. Social dis-tancing norms were not main-tained amid the pandemic.

The leaders have beenbooked under Sections 147(rioting), 188 (disobedience toorder duly promulgated by pub-lic servant), 269 (unlawfully ornegligently spreading infectionof any disease dangerous tolife) and 270 ((malignant actlikely to spread infection of dis-ease dangerous to life) of the IPCalong with the section 3 of the

Epidemic Disease Act on acomplaint filed by a sub inspec-tor.

The FIR stated that around5,000-6,000 people wereattending the farmers' MahaPanchayat in protest againstthree new farm laws, where theRLD leader addressed thefarmers and mustered supportfor BKU leader Rakesh Tikaitin the event.

The RLD has been holdinga series of meetings acrosswestern Uttar Pradesh fromFebruary 4 to muster supportfor farmers protesting againstcontentious farm laws on Delhiborders.

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Aretired IPS officer hasaccused Bihar Minister

Leshi Singh of possessingsophisticated weapons such asAK-47, AK-56 and SelfLoading Rifle (SLR).

Amitabh Kumar Das, a 1994batch IPS officer, has written aletter to Bihar DGP SK Singhal,urging him to immediately con-duct raids on different loca-tions to recover the weapons.Leshi Singh has been recentlyappointed the food and con-sumer Affairs Minister in theNitish Kumar-led Bihar gov-ernment."Keeping theseweapons is a serious criminaloffence. Only armed forces andpolice departments are entitledto procure such weapons," hesaid."I have specific informationabout Leshi Singh keeping ahuge cache of arms and ammu-nition like AK-47, AK-56, SLRin her various known andunknown houses. Theseweapons could be sent to Nepalif raids are not conducted intime," Das said.

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With eye on Assembly pollsin Assam and West

Bengal, Union Home MinisterAmit Shah on Thursday metinfluential Koch-Rajbongshileader 'Maharaj' Ananta Raiand spent about an hour at hishome in western Assam'sChirang district borderingBhutan.

Shah arrived in Guwahatiearly on Thursday from Delhiby a special flight and flew toChirang along with AssamMinister Himanta Biswa Sarmato meet met Rai, one of thefounders of the Greater CoochBehar Peoples' Association

(GCPA), an apex body of theKoch-Rajbongshi people.

The Koch-Rajbongshi peo-ple are living in Assam andWest Bengal and claim to haveover 18.5 lakh voters in the twostates.

"Good days are ahead forthe Koch Rajbongshi people.We are happy that the centralminister came to meet us,"Rai told the media after hismeeting with Shah, who laterflew to Guwahati enroute toWest Bengal, where he attendseveral election related events,including "Poribortan Yatra" inCooch Behar.

Rai without detailing hisdiscussion with the Home

Minister said: "We have dis-cussed many socio-economicissues. We are with the NDA(National Democratic alliance)."

Assam Bharatiya JanataParty President Ranjeet KumarDass and Cooch Behar BJP MPNisith Pramanik were also pre-sent in the meeting betweenShah and Rai.Rai claims to bea successor of the erstwhileKoch-Rajbongshi royal dynastyand an influential superior ofthe community.

The 62-year-old leader toldIANS over phone that Shahmet him and his family mem-bers on Thursday and enjoyedsome light food and "laddus"made at his home.

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Adivision Bench of theKerala High Court on

Thursday directed the StateGovernment to set up CampusPolice units in educationalinstitutions to tackle drugabuse among students.

A Bench headed by ChiefJustice S. Manikumar gave theorder on a case it took up suomoto, based on a letter fromretired police official N.Ramachandran highlightingthe use of drugs in campuses.

The court also suggested

that action should be taken toease the implementation ofthe Narcotic Drugs andPsychotropic Substances Act(NDPS Act) in educationalinstitutions and directed theChief Secretary to take neces-sary action, besides seeking ajoint meeting of top officials ofHealth, Education, Police, andExcise Departments to formu-late the necessary rules.

The strict directions cameon a police report which saidaround 400 institutions in thestate are affected by drug abuse,with a whopping 74.12 per cent

of them being schools, 20.89per cent being colleges and pro-fessional institutions, and restother institutions.

The police report alsopointed out that use of drugsfrom ganja and hashish to syn-thetic drugs was taking placeamong the students.

Stressing need for cam-puses in the state to be free ofdrugs, the court listed thecase's next hearing after threemonths, when it would lookinto all the action that hasbeen taken towards this objec-tive.

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An emotional Salman Khanon Thursday thanked the

judge after receiving a breatherfrom the Jodhpur District andSessions Court, which dis-missed two pleas filed by theRajasthan Government againstthe Bollywood actor in a caserelated to submitting a falseaffidavit in the court in 2003.

As soon as the court ofRaghavendra Kachwal said thatthe pleas against him stood dis-missed in the case, an emo-tional Khan, who attended theproceedings virtually, said,"Thank you sir".

Had the actor been provenguilty, a case under Section 193

of the Indian Penal Code wouldhave been filed against him,which entails a provision ofseven-year imprisonment, hislawyer Hastimal Saraswat toldIANS.

Soon after hearing the ver-dict, Saraswat said, "We finallygot justice after years of hear-ings."In 1998, Khan was arrest-ed for hunting two blackbucksin Kankani village near Jodhpurduring the shooting of the film"Hum Saath Saath Hain". At thattime, a case under Arms Actwas registered against the actorand the court had asked him tosubmit his arms licence.

Khan submitted an affi-davit in the court in 2003, say-ing that he had lost the licence.

He also lodged an FIR at theBandra police station inMumbai in this connection.However, the court later cameto know that Khan's armlicence was not lost, but hadbeen submitted for renewal.

Public prosecutor BhavaniSingh Bhati had then demand-ed that a case of misleading thecourt be filed against the actor.However, on Thursday, theJodhpur District and SessionsCourt judge RaghavendraKachwal dismissed the pleasfiled against Khan.Earlier onTuesday, Khan had apologisedbefore the court for 'mistaken-ly' submitting a false affidavitin 2003 during his hearing inthe blackbuck poaching case.

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interest”, which expanded intoIndian diplomatese. In 2004,Junta strongman Gen ThanShwe visited India and signedan assurance that “Myanmarwould not permit its territory tobe used by any hostile elementfor harming Indian interests”.Even from a deeply hyphenat-ed Indo-Chinese perspective ofone-upmanship, Than Shwehad expressed categorical sup-port to India’s candidature forpermanent membership of theUN Security Council. The mur-murs of Chinese “influence”notwithstanding, the Junta wasconversant with the Chinesetact of keeping the kettle boil-ing along its restive borders withMyanmar to have a constantleverage in Naypyidaw. Indiaperceptibly harboured no suchexpansionist instincts. Soon theJunta denied oxygen to multi-ple India-facing insurgentgroups along the 1600-kmIndo-Myanmar border, a cru-cial step that aided the quellingof various North-eastern insur-gencies. Than Shwe returned toIndia in 2010, reconfirmingthe “balance” achieved in Indiandiplomacy to handle its owninterests along with ideologicalposturing seamlessly.

In 2011, Than Shwe passedon the Junta’s leadership to hisprotégé Gen Min Aung Hlaing,who navigated the delicate

transition to democracy whilestill holding key levers. AungHlaing visited India in 2017and confabulated extensivelywith its security establishment.By now, Indians had realisedthe parallel and irreplaceableheft of the Myanmar Generals,concurrently with its civilianGovernment. Since then, Indiaupped its military sales, invest-ments and engagements withMyanmar. Last year, India gaveit a prized Kilo-class submarinethat had been refitted, the firstever supply of such a platformfrom India to any country. TheMyanmar Military (Tatmadaw)acknowledged and reciprocat-ed India’s overtures, in the fullknow of its larger intent tocheckmate China from makingdeeper inroads. Thereafter, arare combined visit by theIndian Army chief and theForeign Secretary to Myanmarwas suggestive of the deliber-ate outreach, irrespective of thebrewing turf wars between theMyanmar Generals and thecivilian Government. Now theTatmadaw has shed all pre-tences of running a parallelshow and ended the diarchy.

Beyond the hoopla sur-rounding the 2015 surgical strikeagainst insurgent groups basedin Myanmar, the clear under-standing with the Junta hadresulted in similar strikes in 1995

and 2006, and a formal agree-ment facilitating cross-borderaccess had been signed in 2010.Myanmar is keen to focus its mil-itary attention and redeploytroops on its anti-insurgencyoperations in the Northern andEastern borders with China,which hosts most of the anti-Myanmar groups. However,China’s stakes and investmentsin Myanmar remain unmatchedand, unlike India, it does not shyaway from taking an amoralposition in favour of Naypyidaw,such as boycotting talks on theRohingya issue in the SecurityCouncil. Yet, despite China’scontinued beneficence,Myanmar remains sceptical ofBeijing’s game. India had comea long way in understanding theregion’s fragility and in the mer-its of retaining the equationwith forces like the Junta.Additionally, the Indian Armychief has tenured personally inMyanmar as India’s DefenceAttaché and therefore would bewell versed with the localdynamics and stakeholders.With the recent coup d’état inMyanmar, Indian security calcu-lus does not get unduly upset,moral posturing aside.

(The writer, a military veteran, is a former Lt Governorof Andaman & Nicobar Islandsand Puducherry. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

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�� Sir— This refers to the editorial ‘True Spirit'’(February 11). The camaraderie betweenPrime Minister Narendra Modi and leaderof the Opposition in the Rajya SabhaGhulam Nabi Azad is a complete rarity inthe era of polarised polity. When mudsling-ing and verbal abuse have become the orderof the day in both Houses of Parliament, thedisplay of emotions and respect by both theleaders is really in the spirit of goodwill.

This reminds us of the trust betweenAtal Bihari Vajpayee and PV NarasimhaRao. In 1994, Rao requested Vajpayee, amember of the Opposition at that time, tolead the Indian delegation at a crucial UNmeeting in Geneva, where Vajpayee wasinstrumental in India not getting placedunder economic sanctions by the UnitedNations. We don’t have such trust nowbetween the ruling party leaders andOpposition leaders.

We all wish to see more such bonhomieand partnership among our leaders infuture. The other leaders of Parliament andState Assemblies should take a leaf out ofthe above incident and change their behav-iour against political parties and opponents;after all it is their behaviour which is goingto last longer and not the power or posi-tion.The members of the Houses mustutilise all important sessions for usefuldebates to find out amicable solutions topressing problems like the farm Acts,Chinese aggression along the borders andso on.

V Nagendra Kumar | Hyderabad

��Sir —The Central Government seems to betoo generous towards the coastal State ofGoa. It may be because Goa has fought thepandemic in the right way. Union FisheriesMinister Giriraj Singh, during his visit toGoa on Sunday, had announced the invest-ment of �400 crore to make the coastal Statea fisheries hub. But the poor fishermen aredoubtful whether they will be able to reapits benefits. Further, Goa, which is in its dia-mond jubilee year of liberation fromPortuguese rule, got an unexpected bonan-

za from the Union Budget with FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman announcinga grant of �300 crore for the celebrations.

The ambitious plans to boost fish pro-duction in the State are no doubt welcome.But considering the scientific methodsinvolved, it is equally important that thesegrandiose plans do not alienate the tradi-tional fishermen and jeopardise their liveli-hoods.

However, for a protest-ridden State thatGoa has turned into, it is also necessary thatpeople realise that a region cannot remainbereft of development for long periods.Moreover, considering the eco-sensitivenature of the region, it is pertinent to havethe Government envisage plans for sustain-able development in Goa.

Pachu Menon | Goa

��Sir — India has fought Novel Coronavirusvery bravely. The people have followed theGovernment guidelines regarding COVID-19 and are still following the rules of wear-

ing masks, sanitising hands and so on.However, with the opening of economy,social distancing has gone for a toss.Those travelling by buses and other meansof public transport are now careless and notmaintaining “Do gaj ki doori”. This is verydangerous as COVID-19 has not beendefeated yet.

In many nations, it is returning in theform of new strains against which theavailable vaccines are ineffective. It’s nothard to imagine what will happen if evenone such strain of the deadly virus startsto spread fast among our population. TheIndian economy and the health of publicwill go spiralling down as never before.Further, food delivery guys wear masksand hand gloves but these are dirty andunhygienic. Merely wearing a mask andglove is not sufficient, we must keep themclean also.

Neha Singh | Guwahati

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�� Seen from the prism of val-

ues and sovereign morali-ties, the tripping of democ-racy by the Junta in

Myanmar should concern India.Seen from the prism of realism,realpolitik and practical leverages,the change of governance inMyanmar really doesn’t matter.While this realisation may bemorally untenable, lessons fromhistory would remind India thatit has suffered more than gainedwhenever it defined bilateral rela-tions on the basis of “moral” posi-tion, viz; formalising ties withIsrael as late as in 1992. A morenuanced approach of retaining“moral” positions is practised bydemocracies like the US, whohave no qualms in allying withautocratic Sheikhdoms in theMiddle East, whilst still posturingfor democratic reforms therein —basically, fronting “national inter-est” over enthusiasm for democ-racy or liberality in other regimes.

Whereas such overt romancewith ideological concerns ledIndia to publicly support the sup-posedly pro-democracy moor-ings of Aung San Suu Kyi fordecades, much to the consterna-tion of Myanmar’s Junta whofaced no such conundrum indealing with China, alternative-ly. Importantly, even though theJunta had perennial suspicion ofChina meddling in its ethnic-based insurgencies such as theUnited Wa State Army (asopposed to harbouring any suchconcern towards India) — the“moral” intransigence expressedby India and, conversely, the easeof doing business with Chinaensured the relative comfort ofdealing with Beijing for theJunta. The vanity and inefficacyof India’s misplaced “morality” inforeign policy was obvious whenSuu Kyi barely reciprocatedIndia’s unstinted support to her,during her days in theOpposition, as she was coldlypractical and transactional in per-sisting with the China tilt as itserved her interests better vis-à-vis India, “morality” be damned.

The “opening up” of the econ-omy in the early 1990s had aspillover impact beyond the realmof economics as it ushered in agovernance culture of much-needed pragmatism and “self-

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The three announcements regarding insurancein the Union Budget have majorly con-tributed to the post-Budget share market rally.

First is the Government’s plan to allow up to 74 percent foreign equity in insurance companies againstthe existing 49 per cent. Second is privatisation ofone public sector general insurance company andthe third pertains to the planned Initial PublicOffering (IPO) of the Life Insurance Corporation(LIC). Insurance is risk management involving agroup of individuals who give away a part of theirearnings against a guaranteed return of a lump sumfinancial support in case of any personal crisis. Thesuccess of such a scheme depends on how many inthe group are at high risk of actually facing the cri-sis. The bigger the group is, the more dispersed therisk is and more successful the scheme.

During 2018-19, the Indian insurance industrycovered 120.75 crore lives under personal accidentinsurance. Of it, 94.71 crore were covered underGovernment-sponsored schemes like the ‘PradhanMantri Suraksha Bima Yojana’, ‘Pradhan Mantri JanDhan Yojana’ and the Indian Railways Catering andTourism Corporation’s (IRCTC’s) travel insuranceplan. In addition, 2.07 crore health insurance poli-cies were issued covering 47.20 crore individuals with75 per cent of them covered under Government-sponsored schemes. In 2017, a whopping 32.8 crorelife insurance policies were in force so almost 75 percent of the Indian population has life insurance cover.

The performance and potential of the insurancesector is assessed using twin indicators of ‘InsurancePenetration’ that is a percentage of the insurance pre-mium to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and‘Insurance Density’ that is defined as the ratio ofinsurance premium to population. In India,Insurance Penetration has steadily increased to 3.76per cent in 2019 from 2.71 per cent in 2001. In con-trast, Insurance Penetration in Malaysia, Thailandand China was 4.72, 4.99 and 4.30 per cent, respec-tively in 2019. As of 2019, life insurance penetrationin India was 2.82 per cent, while non-life insurancepenetration was only 0.94 per cent whereas global-ly insurance penetration was 3.35 per cent for lifeand 3.88 per cent for the non-life segment.

India is ranked 10th in life insurance and 15thin non-life insurance among the 88 countries forwhich data was compiled by Swiss Re. However,India’s share in the global insurance market was only1.92 per cent during 2018. Global direct premiumssurpassed the $5 trillion mark for the first time everin 2018, reaching $5,193 billion (which is 6.1 per centof the global GDP). Life insurance penetration inthe country is 3.6 per cent of the GDP, way belowthe global average of 7.13 per cent and, in the caseof general insurance, it is even worse at 0.94 per centof the GDP, as against the world average of 2.88 percent. This is not surprising because the average percapita income is low and as many as 82 crore peo-ple hold ration cards for getting subsidised foodgrain. Many more have been claimed to be addedto this list. Obviously, when bare necessities are dif-ficult to afford for a huge section of the population,buying insurance can’t be expected to be part of thepeople’s expense planning in India. Of course, if theGovernment pays bulk of the premium, this segmentof the population can be covered. This is indeedbeing done through schemes like the ‘PradhanMantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana’ and ‘PradhanMantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana.’

At the end of March 2019, therewere 70 insurance firms including 24life insurers, 27 general insurers,seven standalone health insurers and12 re-insurers including foreign rein-surers branches and Lloyds India,eight in public and 62 in private sec-tor. Investments made by the insur-ance industry stood at �38,47,474crore of which the share of life insur-ers was 91.83 per cent and the shareof Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs)was 76.40 per cent. As financial lit-eracy spreads and digital technologyreduces the on-boarding cost of newcustomers of insurance products, itshould be possible to spread theinsurance network far and wide.Despite the dominance of the publicsector, insurance penetration is lowand, therefore, there is a need to bringmore competition, more efficiencyand more technology.

Insurance is a capital-intensivebusiness and requires long-terminvestment from promoters to ensurecompliance with the InsuranceRegulatory and DevelopmentAuthority of India’s solvency require-ments (a prescribed asset-liabilitytest). Indian insurers need addition-al capital and technical know-howfrom foreign partners to scale up andoffer more sophisticated and innov-ative products. That is the justifica-tion for allowing Foreign DirectInvestment (FDI) in Indian insurancecompanies. The FDI cap on insurancecompanies was raised from 26 percent to 49 per cent in March 2016. In2015, the Government permittedIndian insurance firms to have up to

49 per cent foreign investment pro-vided they remained “Indian-ownedand controlled” and even in the lat-est Budget proposal, foreign owner-ship and control of Indian insurerswill be permitted with some safe-guards. For instance, a majority of theBoard of directors and key manage-ment persons of the insurance com-pany must comprise of Indian resi-dents and 50 per cent of the Boardmust comprise of independent direc-tors. Further, to ensure that sufficientcapital is retained in the books, for-eign-owned insurers will be requiredto hold a specified percentage of theprofits as “general reserves.”

As on March 31, 2019, the totalFDI was �13,810 crore, that was�8,328 crore short of the permissibleFDI limit. Private sector insurers whoattracted this FDI have mobilisedinsurance savings and invested morethan �9 lakh crore with Central andState Governments and Indian com-panies. They have not been allowedto take this money out of India; amajor concern the opponents ofFDI in insurance have always had.

Several insurers have beenrestricted from expanding as the 49per cent foreign investment cap pre-vented foreign shareholder frominfusing capital due to the inability ofcash-strapped Indian Joint Ventures(JV) partners to bring additional cap-ital. The Reserve Bank of India is alsoseeking to cap banks’ investment ininsurance companies to 30 per centto isolate them from risks emanatingfrom non-core businesses. That alsorestricts the availability of capital for

insurance firms. As far as the IPO ofLIC is concerned, it has little to dowith insurance penetration and lackof capital among private insurers.

The LIC has an excellent recordof service with claim its settlementratio being 97.79 per cent. On anequity of �100 crore, the LIC earneda profit of �2688 crore and paid div-idends of �2661 crore in 2018-19. Ithad outstanding investments of�27,60,658 crore against which ofcourse are the liabilities to policyhold-ers. So policyholders’ funds versusshareholders’ funds are intricately anduncertainly mixed up. It is a very pre-cious company whose market valueonce listed can at present be only amatter of guesstimate. Some com-mentators have put the value in therange of over �10 lakh crore. TheGovernment has appointed actuari-al firm Milliman Advisors for ascer-taining the embedded value of theLIC. The Government’s shareholdingis likely to go down from 100 per centto 90 per cent and that can give about�1,00,000 crore by a conservative esti-mate, a handsome premium, and alsoa chance to retail investors to partic-ipate in LIC’s growth story. It is a win-win for the Government and the cap-ital market.

The Government is likely toreserve 10 per cent shares in the IPOfor LIC policyholders. It would bedesirable to reserve a large quota forpolicyholders, retail investors andindividual taxpayers. It will alsoboost LIC’s business and valuation asmore policies are bought to qualify forIPO participation.

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Albert Einstein famouslysaid, “We cannot solveour problems with the

same thinking we used whenwe created them.” This holdstrue even today, given the high-ly dynamic business environ-ment. As markets, competitionand technology have evolved,there has been a heightenedneed for a transition from thetraditional managerial mode ofrunning a business to a leader-ship-driven role. Leaders areseen as trendsetters and influ-encers with their bold moves,inspired visions, enthusiasm,imagination and creativity.These traits to a large extent canbe credited to art where, like anartist, business leaders leveragetheir unique personalities, abil-ities and skills to devise creativesolutions to problems.

As one of the finest ways ofexperiencing, decoding andcharacterising life’s experiences,art and leadership have for

long intermingled for persis-tence and growth. Since timeimmemorial, art has poweredhuman thinking by providinginventive and stimulating ideasin the business world. Acrossindustries, the finest businessleaders are known to be prac-tical dreamers with a persuasivepoint of view and clearlydefined ideas and purposes.These qualities can also beattributed to successful artists.The other common threadsthat bind art and leadership arethose of intricacy, diversity andabstractness, which can be usedas examples, motivation andinspiration to drive solutionswithin the business realm.

Art, business and creativ-ity: Within the corporate worldit is no secret that businesseshave typically been dominatedby the analytical, logical, andorganised left side of the brain.Up until now, many leadershaven’t fully explored their

free-spirited right side of thebrain that focuses on intuition,imagination and creativity.Through art, which uses bothsides of the brain, leaders arenow able to think in an abstractmanner and come up with cre-ative solutions.

Indulging in art as a meansof self-expression can go a longway in sparking creative ener-gies, providing inspiration anddeveloping a leader’s personal-ity to drive business results.While logical planning and itsapplication will only be able todrive business to a certainpoint, keeping pace with anevolving business requiresimagination and creativitywhich are the strengths of agood artist and leader.

Benefits of art for businessleaders: Artists are known to bepioneers of invention andexperimental by nature, makingthem innate leaders. Innovationin particular is based on

thought and imagination,which when fused togetherhave the potential to produceremarkable results and con-cepts. That said, innovation isnot usually an easily exposedconcept, rather, it is one whichcomes to the limelight in tan-dem with creativity. Art has theability to refresh these aesthet-ic concepts in a person’s mindand push a leader to innovateand drive new ideas and possi-bilities as solutions to business

challenges. Through theirworks, artists earn and enjoy areputation for being risk-takers,known for using unorthodoxtechniques and styles. Theyare also known for being opento different perspectives in theirworks, making them naturalleaders. These qualities, whenincorporated in the corporateworld will allow leaders toembrace new ideas and takerisks. Across organisations, it iscommon for them to tend toadopt a conservative approachas they grow. Art has the powerto help leaders eliminate the fearof failure or being judged andencourages them to take cre-ative risks and rise with the scaleof a business.

Artists are naturalobservers and pay close atten-tion to detail. They have aknack for understanding con-cepts beyond a superficial leveland making connections thatothers don’t. Business leaders

who include art in their lives,can incorporate the same attrib-utes in their professional deal-ings as well. Such traits will goa long way in enabling them toobserve even the minutest ofdetails and read between thelines, to deliver optimum resultswithin their areas of operations.

Being able to relay a newnarrative through their work isa skill that artists have masteredover time and is a vital qualityamong leaders. Artists knowthat branding is how you areperceived and every leadershould work to develop thistool. No matter how good aproduct or service might be, itis the experience that counts.Leaders have the power toshape this experience by push-ing a strong narrative andbuilding a story around theproduct. Just as artists are ableto tell compelling storiesthrough their works, similarly,a good leader is able to devel-

op the art of storytelling toentice audiences and ultimate-ly grow the business.

One of the biggest chal-lenges any business leader facesis that of infusing passion, con-gregating energies and stimulat-ing change among his teams towork towards achieving theircommon goals. The role of arthere is to bond and engage withthem and assist them to con-nect with their passions.

As art is a medium thatrelies on communication todeliver a message, indulging init can be a great form of expres-sion and it can facilitate collab-oration to solve challenges inthe workplace.

As Pablo Picasso once said,“Inspiration exists, it has to findyou working.” These words,when engraved in the mind andheart of a leader, can go a longway in creating a corporate cul-ture driven by passion and thedesire to do better at all times.

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The writer is formerSpecial Secretary,

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The views expressed are personal.

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US President Joe Biden hasannounced a series of

sanctions on the military lead-ers of Myanmar in response totheir recent action to overthrowa democratically elected lead-ership in a coup.

Tens of thousands haveturned out in street protestsagainst the February 1 coup,which overthrew Aung SanSuu Kyi’s democratically elect-ed government in the SouthEast Asian country, despite arecent ban on large gatheringsand a night curfew.

“Today I’m announcing aseries of actions that we’re tak-ing to begin imposing conse-

quences on the leaders of thecoup. The US government istaking steps to prevent thegenerals from improperly hav-ing access to the $1 billion inBurmese government fundsheld in the United States,”Biden told reporters at theWhite House on Wednesday.

In his first public addresson the situation in Myanmar,which the US and several otherwestern countries continue tocall it by its previous name ofBurma, Biden demanded thatmilitary must relinquish thepower it seized and demon-strate respect for the will of thepeople of Burma as expressedin their November 8th election.

Biden said he has approved

a new executive order enablingUS to immediately sanction themilitary leaders who directedthe coup, their business inter-ests, as well as close familymembers.

“We will identify a firstround of targets this week. Weare also going to impose strongexport controls. We are freez-ing US assets that benefit theBurmese government, whilemaintaining our support forhealthcare, civil society groups,and other areas that benefit thepeople of Burma directly,” hesaid.

As protests grow, violenceagainst those asserting theirdemocratic rights is unaccept-able, Biden said the US isgoing to keep calling it out.“The people of Burma aremaking their voices heard.And the world is watching,” hesaid.

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Yangon: Members ofMyanmar’s myriad ethnicminorities marching behindtheir groups’ flags joined thelarge and enthusiastic protestsThursday against the junta thattook over the government lastweek. The resistance to thecoup received a major boostfrom abroad from President JoeBiden, who ordered new sanc-tions and promised more mea-sures to come.

“The military must relin-quish power it seized anddemonstrate respect for thewill of the people,” he said.

Tens of thousands of pro-testers, if not more, havemarched daily in Yangon andMandalay, the country’sbiggest cities. Large rallies alsohave been taking place in thecapital Naypyitaw and manyother cities and towns.

Participants have includedfactory workers, civil servants,students and teachers, medicalpersonnel and other people

from all walks of life. Buddhistmonks and Catholic clergyhave been visible, as haveLGBTQ contingents behindrainbow flags. On Thursday inthe southern city of Dawei, pro-testers wiped their feet andstamped on a poster of SeniorGen. Min Aung Hlaing, themuch-scorned coup leader whonow heads the ruling junta.

The protesters aredemanding that power berestored to the elected gov-ernment and detained partyofficials, including oustednational leader Aung San SuuKyi, be freed. About 200 politi-cians and activists have beenarrested, according to the inde-pendent Assistance Associationfor Political Prisoners.

The junta has shown nosigns of backing down and onWednesday night arrested moresenior members of Suu Kyi’sNational League for Democracyparty, along with other politi-cians and activists. AP

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Thousands of people fromMyanmar sang songs and

waved glow sticks as they gath-ered in Japan’s capital onThursday to protest the militarycoup in their home country.Many of those in front of UnitedNations University in down-town Tokyo wore red in supportof Aung San Suu Kyi, whoseelected government wasdeposed in the February 1takeover.

Some clutched photos ofSuu Kyi, while others held upmobile phones where mes-sages like “Justice” and “SaveMyanmar” ran across the dis-plays.

“I am here because I want torelay what is in my heart,” saidLei Yee Oo, who has been livingin Tokyo for the past two years,studying law while working at asupermarket and a restaurant.

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Prosecutors at Donald Trump’sSenate impeachment trial

have laid out a strong case againstthe former president, showingpreviously undisclosed and chill-ing security camera footage of themayhem that erupted at the USCapitol last month after a pro-Trump mob smashed their wayinto the building and posed athreat to the lawmakers.

The Capitol building wasstormed on January 6 afterthousands of supporters ofTrump gathered in support offalse claims that widespreadfraud denied him victory in lastNovember’s presidential elec-

tion. Five people died, includ-ing a Capitol police officer, asthe mob breached the buildingwhere the November 3 electionresult was being certified.

The US Senate began theimpeachment trial of Trump, aRepublican, on Wednesdaywith impeachment managersfrom the Democratic Party-controlled House ofRepresentatives making astrong case against the formerpresident accusing him of incit-ing the insurrection.

Led by DemocraticCongressman Jamie Raskin, abattery of his party colleaguesfrom the House ofRepresentatives alleged thatTrump incited his supportersfor violence on January 6 asthey stormed the Capitol Hillwherein Congressmen andSenators were performing theirconstitutional duty of counting

and certification of the presi-dential election results.

Trump lost the elections toJoe Biden, who was sworn in asthe 46th president on January20. While the House, where theDemocrats have the majority,impeached him before January20, when he was still the pres-ident, the Senate impeachmenttrial has begun three weeksafter he left office.

This is for the first time inAmerican history that a formerUS president is beingimpeached. Trump, 74, is alsothe first president ever to havebeen impeached twice.

Leading the charge on theSenate floor, Raskin allegedthat Trump willfully incited aninsurrectionary mob to riot atthe Capitol. Several of hisDemocratic colleagues tookthe Senate floor to argue thatTrump be impeached.

Washington: Donald Trumpspent much of his careerdeploying high-poweredlawyers to do his bidding. Nowhe is having trouble findingtop-tier help when he mightneed it most.

Since losing the Novemberelection to President Joe Biden,Trump has been hemorrhagingattorneys. Established firmsbacked away from his baselessclaims of election fraud.

Those he did retain madeelementary errors in cases thatwere quickly rejected as merit-less. His personal attorney, RudyGiuliani, was ridiculed for hisperformance before a federaljudge during one election-relat-ed case.

His legal options contestingthe election exhausted, Trumpstill needed a team to representhim in his historic secondimpeachment trial on a chargethat he incited the deadly Jan.6 US Capitol riot. AP

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The United Nations’ atomicwatchdog agency said

Wednesday its inspectors haveconfirmed that Iran has begunthe production of uraniummetal — another violation ofthe 2015 landmark nucleardeal with world powers.

International AtomicEnergy Agency head RafaelGrossi told member nationsthat his inspectors had con-firmed February 8 that a smallamount of uranium metal, 3.6grams, had been produced atIran’s Isfahan plant, the Vienna-based organisationsaid.

Uranium metal can also beused for a nuclear bomb andresearch on its production isspecifically prohibited underthe nuclear deal -- the so-called Joint ComprehensivePlan of Action -- that Tehransigned with Germany, France,Britain, China, Russia and the

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Canadian Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau has said

that he held a “good discussion”with his Indian counterpartNarendra Modi on manyimportant issues, including onthe two nations’ commitmentto democratic principles, recentprotests, and the importance ofresolving issues through dia-logue. Trudeau made a tele-phone call to prime ministerModi on Wednesday.

“I had a good discussionwith Prime Minister@NarendraModi on manyimportant issues, and we’veagreed to stay in touch,”Trudeau tweeted.

“The leaders discussedCanada and India’s commit-ment to democratic princi-ples, recent protests, and theimportance of resolving issuesthrough dialogue,” theCanadian Prime Minister’soffice said in a statement, in anapparent reference to the ongo-ing agitation by farmers inIndia. Trudeau in Decembersaid that Canada will always bethere to defend the rights ofpeaceful protests, and hadexpressed concern over thesituation, evoking a strongreaction from India.

India later summonedCanadian High CommissionerNadir Patel and told him that thecomments made by PrimeMinister Trudeau and others in hisCabinet on the farmers’ protest.

Washington: The United Stateson Wednesday said that thereis no change in its policy onJammu & Kashmir.

“I want to be very clearthere has been no change in USpolicy in the region,” StateDepartment Spokesperson NedPrice told reporters in view ofa tweet from the South andCentral Asia Bureau of the StateDepartment which welcomed

the resumption of 4G mobileinternet in Jammu & Kashmir.

“We welcome the resump-tion of 4G mobile internet inIndia’s Jammu & Kashmir. Thismarks an important step forlocal residents and we look for-ward to continued political &economic progress to restorenormalcy in J&K,” tweeted theSouth and Central Asia Bureauof the State Department. PTI

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United States in 2015. Iran had previously

announced the move, saying itsplans to conduct research anddevelopment on uraniummetal production were part ofits “declared aim to design animproved type of fuel,” accord-ing to the IAEA.

Since the unilateralAmerican withdrawal from thedeal in 2018, the other mem-bers have been working to tryand preserve the accord.

Tehran has been using vio-lations of the deal to put pres-sure on the other signatories toprovide more incentives toIran to offset cripplingAmerican sanctions re-imposed after the US pullout.

The ultimate goal of thedeal is to prevent Iran fromdeveloping a nuclear bomb,something it insists it doesnot want to do. Iran now hasenough enriched uranium tomake a bomb, but nowherenear the amount it had before the nuclear deal wassigned.

The latest move by Tehranfurther complicates the effortsof the other member nations toentice the US to return to thedeal — something PresidentJoe Biden has indicated hewould be open to.

When Iran announced itsplans in January to produceuranium metal, the German,French and British foreignministries issued a joint state-ment saying they were “deeplyconcerned.”

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New Delhi:State-owned IndianBank on Thursday said cus-tomers may face inconveniencelater this week as it will carryout software migration withrespect to its merger withAllahabad Bank. The scheme ofamalgamation of AllahabadBank into Indian Bank cameinto force from April 1, 2020.“Our bank has scheduled tech-nical migration of CBS/ITMSsoftware of erstwhile Allahabadbank with CBS/ITMS softwareof Indian Bank on 13-14February 2021. “As such, someof the services related to bank-ing operations may be dis-rupted from 9 PM on February12 to 9 AM on February 15,causing inconvenience to thebank’s customers/stakeholderson these dates,” Indian Banksaid in a regulatory filing.

New Delhi:Prime MinisterNarendra Modi will inauguratethe second edition of theMaritime India Summit 2021(MIS 2021) on March 2, whichwill be held virutally and isscheduled to be participated by24 nations, Union MinisterMansukh Mandaviya said onThursday.

As many as 56 maritimenations, except China, havebeen invited to participate inthe Summit through Indianmissions in those countries.

The minister said about20,000 delegates will participatein the event and more than 400projects are set to be showcasedin the second edition of the

MIS 2021, being organised bythe Ministry of Ports, Shippingand Waterways (MoPSW)jointly with FICCI as an indus-trial partner and EY as aknowledge partner. Mandaviyasaid MIS is going to provide apowerful platform for interna-tional collaboration and bringin partner countries for mutu-al exchange of knowledge andopportunities.He launched abrochure and the websitewww.Maritimeindiasummit.Infor the MIS-2021. Due to theongoing COVID-19 pandem-ic situation, the entire summitwill be held on virtual platformwww.Maritimeindiasummit.In.

PTI

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Equity benchmarks reversedtheir two-session slide to

finish at fresh closing highs onThursday, propelled by robustgains in market heavyweightReliance Industries. Dovishcomments from US FederalReserve Chair Jerome Powellalso bolstered global investorsentiment, which augurs wellfor fund flows into emergingmarkets like India, analystssaid. Overcoming bouts ofmid-session volatility, the 30-share BSE index settled 222.13points or 0.43% higher at itsnew closing peak of 51,531.52.

In similar movement, thebroader NSE Nifty advanced66.80 points or 0.44 per cent toits all-time high of

15,173.30.Reliance Industrieswas the star performer in theSensex pack, rallying 4.07%,followed by Sun Pharma, BajajFinance, PowerGrid, BhartiAirtel, Nestle India and HUL.

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The Government onThursday said that a total of

1.83 crore pregnant womenhave claimed benefits underPradhan Mantri MatruVandana Yojana (PMMVY)from 2018-19 till January 29this year.

Replying to an unstarredquestion in Rajya Sabha byPratap Singh Bajwa about thedetails of the total number ofpregnant women eligible toclaim benefits under PMMVYand Janani Suraksha Yojana(JSY) from the years 2018-19till 2020-21, Union Minister forWomen and ChildDevelopment Smriti Irani said,“The total number of pregnantwomen who have claimed ben-efits under PMMVY schemehas been 1,83,12,303 from2018-19 till January 29.”

Bajwa also asked about the

total number of pregnantwomen who were actuallyenrolled under the PMMVYand the JSY along with detailsof the total number of pregnantmothers below the age of 19years who have undergoneinstitutional deliveries for theyears 2018-19, 2019-20 and2020-21.

The minister said, “AllPregnant Women andLactating Mother (PW&LM)(except those who are in regu-lar employment with theCentral Government or StateGovernment or Public SectorUndertaking or those who arein receipt of similar benefitsunder any law for the timebeing in force) are eligible toclaim benefits for first livingchild of the family under thePMMVY. Under the JSY, preg-nant women undergoing insti-tutional delivery are eligible forthe benefit.”

Mumbai: High commodityprices along with lower salesvolumes are likely to put pres-sure on automakers’ marginsafter an improvement Q3FY21,Fitch Ratings said in a report.“We believe the price hikesannounced by automakers inJanuary 2021 will not fullyoffset higher costs,” the reportsaid.”

We expect a quarter-on-quarter decline in volume from3QFY21 on account of higherprices and a modest supply dis-ruption due to a semiconduc-tor shortage. IANS

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Indias Budget presented onFebruary 1 by Union Finance

Minister Nirmala Sitharamanpoints to a loosening of fiscalpolicy to support the countrysongoing economic recoveryfrom the pandemic and willconsequently lead to a rise inpublic debt.

The debt/GDP trajectory iscore to our sovereign ratingassessment, meaning higherdeficits and a slower consoli-dation path will make India’smedium-term growth outlooktake on a more critical role inour analysis, says Fitch Ratings.

India entered the pan-demic with little fiscal head-room from a rating perspective.Its general governmentdebt/GDP ratio stood at 72 percent in 2019, against a medianof 42 per cent for ‘BBB’ ratedpeers.

“We revised the Outlookon India’s ‘BBB-’ rating toNegative, from Stable, in June2020, partly owing to ourassumptions about the impactof the pandemic on its publicfinance metrics. The budget’sdeficit projections for the fiscalyears ending March 2022(FY22) to FY26 are about 1ppa year above our previous esti-mates between, which couldmake it more challenging to

put debt/GDP on a downwardtrajectory,” Fitch Ratings said.

“We now expect publicdebt/GDP to rise above 90 percent of GDP over the next fiveyears, based on the revisedbudget targets and with ourother previous rating assump-tions remaining unchanged.However, recent reforms andpolicy measures, includingthose announced in the budget,could also influence our growthexpectations and, thus, ourdebt trajectory forecasts,” FitchRatings said.

Fitch’s latest economic out-look projected growth at 11 percent in FY22 then at around 6.5per cent a year through toFY26.

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E-commerce major Amazonhas moved the Supreme

Court in a bid to block Futuregroup’s �24,713-crore deal withReliance, according to sources.

The development comesafter a recent Delhi HighCourt’’s ruling that stayed aprevious order on status quo ofthe deal and ruling that statu-tory authorities cannot berestrained from acting in accor-dance with law.

Amazon has approachedthe Supreme court in the mat-ter against Future, sources closeto the development said.

Future and Amazon didnot respond to e-mailedqueries.

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New Delhi:Moody’s InvestorsService on Thursday saidIndia’s economic recoveryreduces the risk of a sharpdeterioration in public sectorbanks’ asset quality, but thecapital would remain insuffi-cient to support credit growthand absorb unexpectedshocks.

With high credit costscontinuing to suppress theirprofitability, the banks’ capital

buffers will remain insuffi-cient. The government plansto infuse �20,000 crore inequity capital into PSBs nextfiscal. While the amount willhelp the banks meet Basel cap-ital requirements, it will notboost credit growth, Moody’ssaid.”We expect the Indianeconomy to recover in 2021,and this reduces the likelihoodof a sharp deterioration ofasset quality at the banks.

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Mumbai:The Indian rupeeended 3 paise lower at 72.87against the US dollar onThursday amid a firm trendin the domestic equity mar-kets. At the interbank forexmarket, the local unitopened at 72.81 against thegreenback and witnessed anintra-day high of 72.65 anda low of 72.87.

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New Delhi: As India has seena steep downfall in the exportvalue from April 2020, theGovernment has reduced thetax burden on Indian exportersby implementing Remissionof Duties and Taxes onExported Products (RoDTEP)scheme to boost exports.

“The RoDTEP schemeaims to refund currently un-refunded duties/taxes/levies atthe Central, State and locallevel, borne on the exportedproduct, including prior stagecumulative indirect taxes ongoods and services used in themanufacturing of the exportedproducts. However, if RODTEP

is not specifically claimed in theshipping bill, no RoDTEPwould accrue to the exporter.RoDTEP rates will be notifiedas per the RITC Code andtherefore, there will be no needto declare any separate code orschedule serial number forRoDTEP. Also the tax assess-ment will become fully auto-matic for exporters which willbring more transparency andmake taxation smoother.Besides, the scheme will makeIndian products cost-compet-itive in the international mar-ket,” explained Hans RajChugh, FCA, FCS and partner,ASHM & Associates. PNS

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With Valentine’s Dayjust around the cor-ner, it’s time to start

putting together that specialdate look. Of course, yourlook will depend on what’splanned for the day or theevening. But we’ve got youcovered with these excitinghead to toe looks, includingface masks to complimentyour overall attire. TheValentine’s Day store onAmazon fashion and beautyhas an array of fashion andbeauty selections which willwoo your beau and makethem fall even more in lovewith you. Here’s a look.

��Look 1: The Girl Next Door

Printed Crop Tops: Ifyou’re planning a breakfast orlunch date, a printed crop toppaired with a flared skirt or apair of pants will make for theideal look. Pick one with anunusual fusion print andyou’ll find that you stand outeven in your casual best.

Casual Flared Pants: Pairyour fusion crop top with apair of chic flared pants.

Choose one in a comple-menting shade and you’ll havemastered the ideal casual chiclook.

Sleek Analog Dial Watches:A sleek wristwatch is the onlyaccessory you need whenyou’re trying to keep it casu-al. Choose one with a metal-lic strap and an analog dial.

Skincare Combo-kit:Prep your skin for Valentine’sDay with an all-natural skin-care combo kit that will keepspots at bay and nourish youskin. After all, nothing looksbetter than naturally glowingskin.

White Sneakers: Saveyour heels for the evening andgo comfy with a cool pair ofwhite sneakers. These go wellwith the crop top and jeanslook and give you the casualchic effect you were aimingfor.

Pastel-coloured Face Masks:With an entire outfit dedicat-ed to creating a statement, optfor a pastel-coloured facemask that matches your lookand doesn’t take away the

glam-factor as you step out.

Look 2: Indian Traditional Gota Salwar Suit:

Whoever says you can’t pulloff a traditional look onValentine’s Day is mistaken.Surprise your loved one withan all-out traditional gota sal-war suit and watch his jawdrop as you make an entrance.

Textured Bag: A state-ment textured bag goes wellwith a traditional look. Shadesof brown go perfectly with agota salwar suit. Remember to

keep it simple so as not to takeaway from the overall look.

Flower Motif Earrings:Nothing spells traditionalmore than a pair of floralmotif earrings, especially ifthey’re in a complementingcolour. A minimal pair will goa long way in helping you pulloff a classy traditional datelook.

Nude Lips: Make sureyou accentuate your eyes, butkeep your lips subdued witha nude shade. You’ll find that

he won’t be able to take hiseyes off you.

Look 3: Temptress

Red Mini Dress: A redmini dress, is the perfect attireto opt for on Valentine’s Day,especially if you have plans inthe evening. Be it a minishirt dress or a knee lengthsolid red A-line dress, nothinggoes better with a red minidress than truckloads of con-fidence.

Pearl Earrings: Teamyour red dress with a pair ofpearl earrings that will accen-tuate the overall elegance ofthe look. The best thing aboutpearls is whether you chooseminimal or statement pieces,you will always look classy.

Gold ShimmerEyeshadow: While a red dressgoes best with red lips, high-light your eyes with a dash ofgold shimmer on your eyelids.You will find that it adds to thenatural glow on your face.

Floral Fragrance: Add awhiff of a flirty floral fra-grance to complete yourValentine’s Day date nightlook. You’ll leave everyone inyour path mesmerised.

��Look 1: The Boy Next

Door

Fine-knit Pullovers: Fora casual day date with yourloved one, pair a fine-knitpullover in a solid colourwith a pair of nicely fitteddenims.

Smartwatches: Add anelement of sporty casual witha smartwatch. Change thestrap to one that contrastswith the colour of yourpullover, and you have a win-ning recipe.

Tinted Aviators:Transform your brunch orlunch date look with a pair oftinted aviators. Choose onethat frames your face well.

Woody Fragrance: Thereis a certain charm to woodyscented perfumes.Quintessentially masculine,these work wonders on yourconfidence levels besidesweaving a spell on your lovedone.

Look 2: Casual Chic

Printed Polo T-shirts:There’s nothing quite like apolo t-shirt. It’s stylish yetsimple and can pass off for aday date. Steer clear of t-shirts in solid colours andchoose micro prints andstripes instead.

Chinos: If jeans aren’tyour thing for a date look, gocasual with a pair of chinosin shades of beige and khaki.These will go well with theprinted polo you intend towear.

Suede Loafers: A care-fully crafted pair of suedeloafers are minimalistic andeasily adaptable and will gowell with your printed poloand chinos look.

Skincare Regime Kit:While dressing up is half thecharm, the other half is howgood your skin looks. Prepfor Valentine’s Day with askincare regime kit that suitsyour skin type and you’ll beable to flaunt healthy andfresh-looking skin.

Printed Face Masks: Totop it all, opt for a face maskin vivid colours and prints,that will be a seamless addi-tion to your look.

Look 3: Dashing

Navy-coloured Shirt: Aslim-fit formal shirt in navyblue tucked into a well-fittedpair of black trousers is theperfect combination for aValentine’s Day date nightlook, especially if you’replanning to make it anevening to remember.

Metal Strap Watches:Be your fashionable bestwith a sophisticated metalstrap watch. Choose onewith a large classic analogdial and you’ll be at yourclassy best.

Black Leather Oxfords:A well fitted pair of blackleather Oxfords standsunmatched because of itssleek and sophisticated aes-thetic and will go well withyour formal date night look.

Beard Grooming Kit:Staying well-groomed is veryimportant. For the picture-perfect moment, invest in anall-encompassing groomingkit that serves all the require-ments for a tame beard.

Let me take some time to talk aboutthe title of this review, the ship of

Theseus. This gentleman in Greek leg-end was the mythical founder of thecity-state of Athens and he once had aship. Now, this ship was venerated bythe Athenians for centuries afterTheseus lived, but wood, particularlyexposed to seawater does rot away even-tually and planks need to bechanged. This led to variousplanks on the ship beingswapped out often and led to arather interesting situation,debated over for centuries. Ifevery part of the ship was even-tually changed, is it the sameship? My friends in college studyingPhilosophy had to debate this, but it isa very pertinent and interesting issue,particularly with the vehicle we will betalking about today — the new LandRover Defender.

The first generation Defender,which was just the ‘Land Rover’ untilthe Discovery came about, was in pro-duction for just short of seven decadesand there were over two million of thembuilt. It was a rugged, go-anywhere sortof vehicle that was popular with armiesand agriculturists alike. In the latest sea-son of The Crown on Netflix, you mighthave even seen the Queen take MargaretThatcher around her Balmoral Estate inScotland in a Defender. And as theDefender’s rivals got more advanced,vehicles such as the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon, the Defender remained ananachronism, a remnant of the past ina rapidly modernising world. The prob-lem however became that it could notbe sold in America anymore, not onlythe world’s largest car market but a mar-ket where such a car would shine.

So, late in 2019, Jaguar Land Rover

brought us the ‘New’ Defender. Thisvehicle has nothing in common with theold car but the name. It is not even abody-on-frame design, rather a mono-coque, like regular hatchbacks and

sedans where the body itself providesthe vehicle structural integrity. A fewyears ago, nobody could believe that amonocoque could do serious offroad-ing, but it was actually driving the

Compass Trailhawk. I realised thatbetter manufacturing and metallurgyhas made monocoque offroaders pos-sible. With that singular, fundamentalchange of manufacturing philosophy,nothing about this new Defender is thesame as the old one. But because itwears the same name, is it anything likethe original?

Well, to start, Land Rover did notsell the old Defender for Indian roads,the fleet of them hauling tourists andlocals around as well as working in tea-estates in Darjeeling being remnantsfrom the 1950’s and 1960’s. I have dri-ven an old Defender in the UK, thoughnot a late-build one, but rest assured thenew one plays up comfort. I believe thepromotional videos about the newDefender and its ability to go anywherewill have to be checked through a pan-India journey. This car can wadethrough three feet of water and has asonar system to help you do that, its ter-rain response 2 system can drivethrough almost any sort of surface andwhen the going gets tough, you still havefour-wheel drive low range.

There is another thing though, theDefender 110SE, the long wheelbasemodel with the two-litre petrol enginethat I was driving is just a tad expen-sive. And this was the second DefenderI drove, the first being the dealer car inDelhi that had several additional acces-sories. The Defender SE has a regularex-showroom price of �86 lakh, almosta crore on the road but once you addaccessories such as the panoramic sun-roof, the nicer blacked-out alloys, theashwood finish to the doors and on theconsole and the leather seats, all ofwhich the media fleet car had, you willadd almost 10-15 lakh to the final price.I am not sure how much rough road

driving an owner of a one and a quar-ter crore vehicle would do. No doubt,there are those who would, but for manyothers, this is what I describe as a tashanvehicle, a ‘statement’ vehicle, much likethe Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon is, and theGerman vehicle is still body-on-frame.

Even with the smaller two-litrepetrol engine, this is not a very eco-nomical car. While Land Rover has adiesel engine and is offering a Plug-InHybrid, one reason it needed to makea whole new platform is that the300PS engine is quite thirsty indeed.Even with a soft foot, the best I man-aged was around eight kilometres perlitre and with petrol going to touch�100 soon in Delhi, that isn’t cheap torun. Although, I am curious to drivethe PHEV and I hope I get a chance todo that soon enough.

Yes, it is a seven-seater, but if Iwanted a practical luxury seven-seater,I’d jump at a Volvo XC90. If I wantedsomething good-looking for the citybut with some rough-road chops, heckthe Velar makes more sense at thisprice. This is a Land Rover Defenderand paying BMW X7 and Mercedes-Benz GLS money for this does not real-ly compute in my head. But I writeabout cars for a living, and I know bet-ter than most that logic often escapescar buyers. The ‘new’ Defender is avehicle that can go anywhere, it is alsoa vehicle that if you drive around thecity, you will be noticed, in a way thateven a Velar will not, let alone a X7 orGLS. Seriously, if you want to make astatement, whether you are an actor ora politician and want to be seen in a big,bad bruiser of a car, this is the car foryou. However, remember that justbecause the name is same, the vehicledoes not have to be.

There is a popular belief thatart is the motivation, inspi-

ration and creation of creativeminds and beliefs. Those wholove art, like to enhance their col-lection of unique and beautifulitems. If you are bundled withlove and passion for art, a pas-sionate collector and enjoy col-lecting antiques, you are at theright spot. Here is a list of fivemust have antiques by Karabi ArtCommunity.

ANTIQUE FURNITUREAny time you stumble across

antique designs of chairs, table,bed or any other furniture item;it attracts you. While some ofyou might find these collec-tables worthless, the trained eyeor those who know the value ofart would know their worth.Antique furniture is often verywell made and well functional,which makes it a must have forthose who love col lectingantiques.

DISHESChances are many of you

have at least one antique crock-ery item stacked in a cabinet.Perhaps all of us love shoppingfor these collectables. Whetherthey’re displayed in a bookcase,on a table, on a corner table ofyour living room or on a wall, theglint of the polish and the artis-tic design creates an interestingplay with light in a room. Thebest thing about this category ofcollectible antiques is that they

are a beautiful and inexpensivedecoration.

COINS AND CURRENCYTop collectable coins and

currency are valuable and worththe price. Though it is rare, wemight come across expensivecoins and currency out of theblue. So, if that happens or youcollect those unusual and rareitems purposely, make sure youtake good care of them.

RUGSWhile buying antique rugs,

make sure that you spend themost you can afford otherwiseyou might end up with a glori-fied bath mat. There are rugs thathave been traipsed on for over100 years and still look good andattractive. Your trained eyeknows how to spot a beauty.

ANTIQUE BOOKSAntique books are one of the

most inexpensive yet wonderfulways to decorate. Neither theyhave to be pretty nor too old,they just need to be placed well.Placement is the key here! Onshelves, mixed in with art andcollectables or your favouritephotos; a couple of books undera small ornament; and a sectionof vertically stacked books givethe eye a place to rest.

So whether you are a newcollector or just seeking to addto your already existing collec-tion, make sure you have thesemust haves with you.

Actor Arjun Kapoor has come forward to supporta cause that is close to his heart. In the run-up to

Valentine’s Day, he has helped 100 cancer couples.Arjun, whose mother passed away due to cancer,

pledges to support people affect-ed by the virus. He has teamedup with the Cancer Patients AidAssociation (CPAA) for this ini-

tiative.Arjun says, “The pandemichas taught us the importanceof helping one another andspreading love. We look for-ward to celebratingValentine’s month to makeour loved ones feel special.But I have decided to dosomething different thistime. I am supporting med-ical treatment for 100underprivileged coupleswho are impacted by cancer,which means one partner isbattling this deadly disease as

the other one is supportive inevery step of this fight.”

He adds, “This disease severe-ly impacts one’s immunity, making

them extremely vulnerable to theCoronavirus. The previous year hasbeen very painful for these couples.Not only were they fighting a hard bat-tle, but they were also confined to their

homes facing the severe threat ofCOVID. Many of them did noteven have the source of income

to buy food and essential medicines.”

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It’s that time of the year again when peo-ple give a fresh chance to love and per-sonal relationships in life. Well, after

almost a year of staying put and away fromour loved ones, Valentine’s Day will be spe-cial with a whole new vibe this year. It willbe a time to create fresh memories as cou-ples find newer ways to meet each otherand celebrate their love. So while planninga date outdoors, have a look at what dif-ferent outlets in the city have on offer forthe lovebirds.

��Jasmeet Singh Banga, founder of the

restaurant, says, “Love is creamy anddreamy. Hence, we have created specialdesserts, which will be on offer for all thepeople who believe in love. One can enjoyour specially-curated menu like Blueberrymirror glaze cheesecake (heart shape), Redvelvet mascarpone pastry (heart shape),Gulab malai kheer and a special drink, LoveAt First Sight, which is a combination ofwhite spirit and peach finished with cran-berry juice.”

��E��!��Shivam Sehgal, founder of Josh, says,

“Lets celebrate this Valentine’s Day withjosh at Josh. Get a glass of fun, and thenadd another one. It’s the time for a DailyDrinkathon, with offers of 1+1 on Sangriaon Friday, 1+1 on cocktails on Saturday,1+1 on mocktails on Sunday. Not only this,one can also enjoy our heart-shaped Jelloshots for everyone.”

*�� Kampai can be the perfect place for

your cozy love date. Avantika Sinha Bahl,owner at Kampai, says that Valentine’s Dayis all about the perfect expression for yourlove and what else could be better than toexpressing it over a great food. “You canimmerse yourself into five courses special

menu right from soups, salads, carpacio,dimsums, baos, sushi platter, to chef ’s spe-cial dessert platter. Cocktails are also a partof the package, where mixologists havestirred drinks with love. Drinks such asRobust lad, Floating on cloud and Clover’sclubs are on offer,” adds she.

�� B��Saurabh Luthra, founder of Romeo

Lane and Mama’s Buoy, says that RomeoLane is a lane designed to celebrate love.“It’s an ode to Romeo and Juliet. Specialslike Love triangles, Melted heart, Heartbeats, Love trouble, Romeo Juliet pizza, Kisscalzone, Love at first sight and more are onoffer. Enjoy the specials such as Colors oflove, Basket of my feelings, Greek styleromance, Proposal pizza and My little heartat Mama’s Buoi,” shares he.

�� Admire each other and indulge your-

self in the specially-curated menu, whichhas love-based cocktails, strawberry-basedfood and tempting fondues. On theOfferings are cocktails like Pink lady, Cwhat I mean, strawberry bruschetta, fierychicken wings with strawberry and more.

To end your date and mealon a sweeter note, youcan enjoy choco-late fondueserved withbanana, chocochip muffin,red apple, lit-tle heartcookies andmarshmallow.

V i k r a n tBatra, founder,Café DelhiHeights, says,“This Valentine’sDay indulge in roman-tic flavors. We at CaféDelhi Heights believe thatlove needs no boundaries, andso the taste of food. Hence, we havecreated a menu keeping in mind all theflavours.”

��Let’s celebrate love portions and love

bites at Viet:Nom. One can enjoy drinkssuch as The rose, romance, My love, Be myvalentine, Bae, Lovey dovey and more.

Delicacies like Claypot tofu with chilli andcherry, Vietnamese mango curry, Rosescented blue pea jasmine rice, Strawberrypomelo sago, Dimsums and more are onoffer. Manish Sharma, owner of the restau-

rant, says, “There is no sincere love thanthe love of food. Hence, we have curateda special menu to celebrate the true spir-it of love in true foodie style.”

� ��Immerse yourself in an experience of

luxury where your senses travel throughmystique scents and delectable delicacies.“Love is perfect only when you make itperfect,” says Akshay Anand, co-founderof Ophelia. A special menu is curated withlove for your love to celebrate love.Delicacies like Risotto d’or, insalata –Noir(inspired by Olfa Originals Oud D’or)

Roseate churros (inspired by OlfaOriginals Oud Roseate), Crème obsede

(inspired by Olfa Originals OudObsede) and Truly yours and Lovebomb are on offer.

�B� ��The bakery house launches

Valentine’s Day special straw-berry products such as straw-

berry tart and strawberry fraisi-er. Strawberry tart is a colourful

dessert full of fresh cut strawberriescircling a small island of diplomat

cream and strawberry mousse on top ofa “pâte sucrée” biscuit. The classic Frenchstrawberry fraisier is cake made with twolayers of genoise sponge, diplomat creamand a strawberry syrup. “These treats canbe enjoyed in combination with beverageslike hot tea or coffee,” says LaurentSamandari, Managing Director of L’Opéra.

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“Let’s celebrate the day of love throughmusic that touches heart as well as the soul.Since music has the power to bring nos-talgia, live your memories of you and yourpartner started dating,” says Kanishk Tuteja,founder of Nukkad, We Qutub and 1 Oak.Artist Deene Khan, who sings a wide reper-toire of traditional folk and sufi songs, willbe performing live at Nukkad Cafe & Bar.

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Priyank Sukhija, founder of First FiddleRestaurants, who owns Plum by Bentchair,Flying Saucer and Warehouse Café, says thatValentine’s Day has always been special atmy places. “The idea of expressing love toyour partners is important, and if it getscoupled with perfect music, food and cock-tails, the day becomes all the more special.This Valentine’s Day be surrounded by the#Plumazing vibes of Plum by Bent Chairamid the romantic aura as we ‘Let the loveplay’ cupid sway with your bae on thehandpicked playlist all day long. A specialpackage starts at �1,600, which includesflowers, two cocktails and a dessert.Flying Saucer will set your spirits high asAfsana Khan is giving a live perfor-mance. Lord of the Drinks is set to playcupid by offering heart shape cakes.There’s a 10 per cent discount for all thegirls and all the boys table at WarehouseCafé.

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Sofia Kenin’s emotionalAustralian Open defence

ended in a second-round defeaton Thursday but top seedAshleigh Barty overcame a blip toreach the last 16.

The highly-strung Kenin hasstruggled to handle expectationsin her first Grand Slam titledefence and admitted to having afew tears during a tense opening-round win on Tuesday.

The fourth seed shed more onMargaret Court Arena onThursday after her 6-3, 6-2 defeatin 64 minutes to the Estonianworld number 65, becoming thehighest-ranked player to go out ofthe tournament.

“I felt like I wasn’t there, myhead wasn’t there,” a teary-eyedKenin admitted later.

A strong-serving Kanepiproved a bad match-up for Kenin,who had 22 unforced errors andoffered little resistance as her titledefence ended with a whimper.

Kanepi, however, has been instrong form, finishing runner-upin the warm-up GippslandTrophy followed by a straight-setsvictory over Latvia’s AnastasijaSevastova in the Open’s firstround.

The 35-year-old plays 28thseed Donna Vekic of Croatianext.

Meanwhile world No 1 Bartycast friendship aside with astraight-sets victory over compa-triot Daria Gavrilova, butappeared to lose focus serving forthe match before closing out fora 6-1, 7-6 (9/7) win against herFed Cup teammate.

Ukrainian fifth seed ElinaSvitolina scored an efficient 6-4,6-3 win over 16-year-old CocoGauff.

Sixth seed Karolina Pliskovahad few alarms in beatingAmerican Danielle Collins, asemi-finalist at Melbourne Parktwo years ago, 7-5, 6-2.

Swiss 12th seed BelindaBencic was pushed harder by vet-eran Russian Svetlana

Kutznetsova before comingthrough 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in 2hr39min.

TSITSIPAS PREVAILS IN EPICWorld No 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas

was pushed to a marathon fivesets by wildcard ThanasiKokkinakis before making thethird round while Andrey Rublevextended his unbeaten start to theyear.

Later, birthday boy DaniilMedvedev added another win to

his red-hot streak as the Russianfourth seed demolished RobertoCarballes Baena to ease into thethird round and second seedRafael Nadal wrapped up pro-ceedings on the show courts witha 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over MichaelMmoh.

Medvedev, who turned 25 onThursday, powered past theSpaniard 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 on JohnCain Arena for his 16th straightwin dating back to November.

The popular Greek star

dropped only four games in hisfirst-round match, but faced a farsterner challenge from the 267th-ranked Australian. He finallycame through 6-7 (5/7), 6-1, 6-1,6-7 (5/7), 6-4

Kokkinakis, who has beenplagued by injury and illnessduring his career, fought hard.With the home crowd becomingever more vociferous in theirsupport, he gave as good as he gotin a close first set, with both play-ers trading blows in long rallies

and big serves.The Australian saved two set

points at 4-5 and took it to atiebreaker, where he prevailed onthe back of a Tsitsipas doublefault. But the Greek’s superior fire-power and fitness came to the forein the second set and by the thirdKokkinakis appeared to be run-ning out of steam, unable tomatch Tsitsipas’ consistency.

He found a second wind,though, in the fourth set and aftersaving a match point at 4-5 tookit to a fifth, buoyed by the ener-gy of the crowd. However,Tsitsipas’ unrelenting return onserve wore him down and he gota decisive break in fifth game asKokkinakis tired.

The 22-year-old next playsSwede MikaelYmer, whobeat promis-ing Spanisht e e n a g e rCarlos Alcaraz.

Seventh seedRublev has been in impres-sive form and battled pastBrazilian left-handerThiago Monteiro 6-4, 6-4,7-6 (10/8) in workman-like fashion.

He will next play veteranSpaniard Feliciano Lopez. The 39-year-old was taken five sets in hisrecord-extending 75th consecu-tive Grand Slam before beatingItaly’s Lorenzo Sonego 5-7, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. No one has made moreconsecutive Grand Slam appear-ances than Lopez, who is playinghis record-extending 75th in arow, having not missed one sincethe French Open in 2002.

Elsewhere, world number192 Mackenzie McDonald beat

Borna Coric 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to hand theCroatian 22nd seedthe biggest upset of hiscareer.

Italians FabioFognini and

S a l v a t o r eCaruso had tobe separatedby an officialduring a furi-ous argument

after their five-setclassic. Fognini, the

16th seed, prevailed4-6, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (14/12) in nearlyfour hours after afierce battle on John

Cain Arena.

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England wicketkeeper BenFoakes, who is set to don

the big gloves in the secondTest against India, feels thefresh Chepauk track will keeplow and might start offeringturn earlier compared to theseries opener at the samevenue.

England won the first Testby 227 runs but it wasn’t untilthe fourth day when the red-soil Chepauk pitch startedoffering sharp turn. However,with India down 0-1 in thefour-match series, the hostswould like to play to theirstrengths in the upcomingmatches.

Asked how did the pitchlook, Foakes said on Thursday:“It’s different to the last one. It’sa different soil and darker soil.I think it might be quite lowand slow. But I haven’t had a lotof experience with wickets butthat would be my guess.”

The 27-year-old, who hasplayed five Tests and has beenan understudy to Jos Buttler,spoke to reporters during a vir-tual interaction.

To a query if the pitch

would offer turn earlier thanusual, he replied: “I found itquite tricky to read the wick-et. I found in India obviouslythat’s (turners) an avenue theywould like to go down.

“The last wicket probablyplayed pretty well for abouttwo and half-three days, maybe slightly longer. I guess thereis a potential that it would spinearlier (on this track). I would-n’t like to look too far aheadwith that and just look to seewhat’s given on the day and tryand play accordingly,” said theman, who played the last of hisfive Tests, in 2019.

London: Senior wicketkeeper-batsmen Jos Buttler and JonnyBairstow were on Thursdaynamed in a 16-member Englandsquad for the five T20Is againstIndia, scheduled in Ahmedabadbetween March 12 to 20.

Buttler has gone back homeafter the opening Test, which thevisitors won by 227 runs, whileBairstow has been rested for thefirst two five-day games of the

four-match series as part ofEngland’s rotational policy.

Also coming back is all-rounder, Sam Curran, who wasrested for the Test series. Veteranpacers James Anderson andStuart Broad no longer playwhite-ball games but JofraArcher will be available for thefive-match series, which meanshe might be rested at some pointduring the ongoing Test rubber.

The squad also has latestT20 dasher Dawid Malan, whocould be a hot pick at theFebruary 18 IPL auction.Squad: Eoin Morgan (c), JonnyBairstow, Sam Billings, JosButtler, Liam Livingstone,Dawid Malan, Jason Roy, BenStokes, Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer,Sam Curran, Tom Curran, ChrisJordan, Adil Rashid, ReeceTopley, Mark Wood. PTI

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Everton upped the pressure onJose Mourinho with a

thrilling 5-4 victory overTottenham after extra-time toreach the FA Cup quarter-finals,as Manchester City eased intothe last eight by beating Swanseaon Wednesday.

Spurs face a daunting trip toCity in the Premier League onSaturday and defeat after adraining 120 minutes was thelast thing Mourinho wanted.

Spurs have now lost four oftheir last five games and one ofthree chances to end the club’s13-year wait to win a trophy incup competitions is now gone.

Mourinho’s men made abright start at Goodison Park asDavinson Sanchez headed theminto the lead after just three min-utes.

However, the defensiveerrors that have cost Tottenhamdear in recent months were inevidence as Everton struck threetimes in seven minutes justbefore half-time through

Dominic Calvert-Lewin,Richarlison and GylfiSigurdsson’s penalty.

Erik Lamela reduced Spurs’deficit in first-half stoppagetime before another rare goal forSanchez made it 3-3.

Richarlison then smashedhome from a narrow angle torestore Everton’s lead.

Mourinho had left HarryKane on the bench from thestart to ease his return from an

ankle injury. But the Englandcaptain ended up playing forover an hour and met SonHeung-min’s cross at the backpost with bullet header sevenminutes from time to send thegame into extra-time.

Bernard’s brilliant finishfrom Sigurdsson’s scooped passproved a fitting winner to a pul-sating tie to keep alive theToffees’ chances of a first trophysince 1995.

CITY’S RECORD-BREAKING RUNThe defending from both

sides will encourage City, whoalso face Everton in the PremierLeague next Wednesday, afterthey broke the English footballrecord for consecutive wins bya top-flight club.

Kyle Walker, RaheemSterling and Gabriel Jesus wereon target for City, who extend-ed their winning run in allcompetitions to 15 games witha 3-1 success over Swansea.

Victory was also PepGuardiola’s 200th in 268 gamesas City boss, with his side still oncourse for a historic quadrupleof trophies.

Leicester were made to waituntil the 94th minute to booktheir place in the last eight witha 1-0 win over Brighton thanksto Kelechi Iheanacho’s header.

Sheffield United also justneeded a solitary goal to see offBristol City 1-0 thanks to BillySharp’s penalty after AlfieMawson was sent off for han-dling David McGoldrick’s goal-bound shot.

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Barcelona’s hopes of winning the Copadel Rey this season were left hanging

by a thread on Wednesday after Sevillawon the first leg of their semi-final 2-0.

Jules Kounde furthered his growingreputation as one of the world’s most excit-ing central defenders by scoring a stunning

goal at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan beforeIvan Rakitic came back to haunt his for-mer club by adding a second later on.

The 22-year-old Kounde dribbledpast three Barca defenders and shot intothe corner while Rakitic’s strike turned asetback for Ronald Koeman’s side into whatnow looks like a formidable challenge tomake the final.

The winner will meet either AthleticBilbao or Levante, who play the first legof their semi on Thursday, in the final.

“The result is a bit unfair, the rewardfeels too much for them,” said Koeman.“The return will be complicated at 2-0 butwe have had chances and we have to keepgoing. At home, this team is capable of any-thing.”

Koeman had described the cup asBarcelona’s “shortest route” to a trophy thisterm and the sight of Kounde ghostingthrough his defence hardly inspires con-fidence ahead of next week’s meeting withParis Saint-Germain.

Barca face PSG at Camp Nou in thefirst leg of the Champions League last 16on Tuesday.

Yet all is not lost in the cup. AlthoughKoeman fielded his best available XI, afterresting players against Real Betis in La Ligalast weekend, he will also hope to haveinjured defenders available again for thereturn game at Camp Nou on March 3.

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Nearly 12 years after hecrashed out following a

freak accident, a more deter-mined and experiencedNarain Karthikeyan is back tocomplete an “unfinished busi-ness” in the Le Mans Seriesendurance racing.

India’s first Formula Onedriver, Karthikeyan, dislocat-ed his shoulder in June 2009,forcing him out of the 24Hours of Le Mans, which isconsidered one of the world’stoughest races.

The 44-year-old is nowback, forming an all Indianteam comprising former F2and European Le Mans Seriesracer Arjun Maini and 2020IMSA Prototype Challengechampion Naveen Rao.

“Yeah, absolutely, I’m hereto complete an unfinishedbusiness. Le Mans is one of thegreatest races in the world andI want to go back and get thejob done and not only drivethere but be competitive,”Karthikeyan said during a

virtual media conference onThursday.

The trio will representRacing Team India which willmake its debut in the Asian LeMans Series in Dubai thisweekend in a bid to secure aninvitation to the coveted 24Hours of Le Mans, to be heldin France on June 12-13.

Racing Team India’sDubai debut will make it thefirst outfit with an all-Indiandriver line-up to compete ininternational endurance rac-

ing.“It’s such a great thing to

hold an Indian licence. Allthree Indian drivers compet-ing for top honours in LMP2would be awesome.”

The trio will compete inthe top class LMP2 categoryover two, four-hour-long racesat the Dubai Autodrome.

The two runnings of thefour hours of Dubai will takeplace on Saturday and Sundayrespectively before moving toAbu Dhabi’s Yas Marina cir-

cuit for another round of two,four-hour races on February19 and 20.

The distance covered inthis one single race is equiv-alent to 18 Formula 1 races,making it the most extremetest of the man and hismachine in the world ofmotorsport.

“It’s l ike the wholeFormula One race, the cham-pionship in 24 hours,”Karthikeyan said.

“It’s all about endurance,preserving the car, and tryingto get a great setup on the carand work as a team.

“The pit stops need to beright, the driver changes, thechallenges are so many drivingat night and you know near-ly, 400 kilometres per hourevery lap, lap after lap.

“Going through traffic. It'sa very unique challenge and it’sthat's why it's one of the, it isthe toughest race in the worldwithout a doubt. We’re allexperienced but nothing pre-pares you for Le Mans,”Karthikeyan concluded.

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Bergamo: Italy’s Matteo Pessina scoredtwice as Atalanta beat holders Napoli 3-1 on aggregate on Wednesday to booka place in the Italian Cup final.

Pessina’s efforts, both set up byDuvan Zapata, were enough to secureAtalanta a second final in three seasons,after the goalless first leg, where they willface Juventus.

On Tuesday, Juve’s goalless drawwith Inter Milan took them to the May19 final in Rome after winning the firstleg 2-1.

“It’s a great satisfaction. We dedicateit to the fans,” Atalanta coach Gian PieroGasperini said.

“We will think about the final later.For us it’s already a great success. Nowwe have many important games, we willhost Real Madrid. That will be anevent for Bergamo,” he added ahead ofhosting the Spanish giants in theChampions League last 16 on February24. AFP

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Melbourne: India’s Divij Sharanand Ankita Raina crashed out ofthe Australian Open men’s andwomen’s doubles events respec-tively, after suffering straight setdefeats in the opening roundhere on Thursday.

Ankita, the third Indianwoman tennis player to securea place in the main draw of aGrand Slam event, and herpartner Mihaela Buzarnecu ofRomania lost 3-6, 0-6 in justone hour and 17 minutes at thehands of Australian wild cardpair of Olivia Gadecki andBelinda Woolcock.

India’s challenge also endedin the men’s doubles competi-

tion after Divij and hisSlovakian partner Igor Zelenaylost 1-6, 4-6 against theGerman combination ofYannick Hanfmann KevinKrawietz in the first roundmatch that lasted one hour andfour minutes.

The veteran RohanBopanna, who lost his openingmen’s doubles match onWednesday, still has a chance tomake amends as he will partnerChina’s Yingying Duan in themixed doubles and will be upagainst the pair of AmericanBethanie Mattek-Sands andUnited Kingdom’s Jamie Murrayin the first round. AFP

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