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A shok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot camps got three more days to whet their knives before the Rajasthan High Court declares the winner of the legal bout and leaves the floor open for political bloodletting. The court on Tuesday con- cluded its hearing on petition filed by the Pilot camp on dis- qualification notice served by the Assembly Speaker on 19 rebel MLAs and reserved its judgement till Friday, directing the Speaker not to act against the lawmakers during this period. Rajasthan Assembly Speaker CP Joshi, who called the meeting late evening, deferred the proceedings against rebel MLAs from Pilot group till 5.30 pm on July 24. The Speaker held a meet- ing with Devdutt Kamat, the counsel for Mahesh Joshi, the Chief Whip of Congress in Rajasthan. Joshi said as per the orders of the High Court, he will not act on notices against rebel Congress MLAs, includ- ing Sachin Pilot, until the court verdict. After the CLP meeting, Gehlot asserted those betraying the party will not be able to show their faces in public. This was the second consecutive day Gehlot slammed rebel Congress MLAs, including Sachin Pilot. Breaking his silence on the Rajasthan crisis, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi listed the alleged “attempt to topple” the Government in the State as among the Centre’s “achievements” in the Covid-19 era. The Gandhis, have so far, refrained from making any public comment on the crisis triggered by Pilot’s revolt. The CLP meeting of Rajasthan MLAs and other senior leaders of the party was held at the Farimont Hotel. Gehlot told his MLAs to stay at hotel for a few more days. Senior Congress leaders, including national general sec- retary and Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pande, KC Venugopal, Ajay Maken, Randeep Surjewala, Vivek Bansal along with Chief Minister, were pre- sent at the meeting. This is the third meeting of the CLP in the last one week. Addressing the Cabinet meeting Gehlot reiterated that a conspiracy to topple his Government was being hatched but said he was confi- dent that the Government will complete its tenure. “The State Government is fighting with coronavirus cri- sis and at the same time, a leader who was a State Congress president and a few other MLAs in collusion with the BJP were “hatching a con- spiracy” to topple it,” Gehlot alleged without taking the name of Pilot or any other party leader. “This is intolerable and condemnable. Those betraying the party will not be able to show their faces in public,” Gehlot added. According to a statement issued by Congress chief whip Mahesh Joshi, Gehlot said efforts are being made to “weaken democracy” in the country but Congress MLAs are fighting firmly to save it. Referring to the ongoing court case, Gehlot mocked and questioned Pilot for hiring lawyers Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi, saying they command a tall fee. R ajasthan’s eleven former policemen, including a cir- cle officer and a police station’s in-charge were convicted by a court here on Tuesday for gun- ning down Raja Maan Singh of Bharatpur and his two col- leagues over 35 years in Deeg area of the State. After convicting the then circle officer Kan Singh Bhati and local police station in- charge Virendra Singh along with nine other policemen on charges of killing erstwhile Bharatpur riyasat’s chief and his colleagues Sumer Singh and Hari Singh, Mathura District Judge Sadhana Rani fixed Wednesday for pronouncing the quantum of sentences. According to prosecution, Singh and his colleagues were killed in an encounter by a Deeg police at the local grain market on February 21, 1985, a day after Singh, then con- testing the Assembly election as an independent candidate, had allegedly damaged the former Rajashan’s Chief Minister Shiv Charan Mathur’s helicopter. He was also accused of damaging some publicity mate- rial and a stage set up for Mathur to address an election rally in favour of the Congress candidate Brajendra Singh, a retired IAS officer, the prose- cution had told the court. Initially probed by the local police, the case was later hand- ed over to the CBI for investi- gation and its trial was shifted to Mathura on the Supreme Court orders. “Though we have got delayed justice, I am happy that guilty persons have ultimately been convicted,” said Krishnendra Kaur Deepa, a member of the Bharatpur royal family and a multiple-term Rajasthan MLA, either as an independent or from the erst- while Janata Dal or the BJP between 1985 and 2018. A study conducted from June 27 to July 10 by the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) in collabora- tion with the Delhi Government indicated that a large number of infected per- sons remain asymptomatic. Delhi’s sero-prevalence study has found that 23.48 per cent of the people have been affect- ed by Covid-19 in the city, which has several pockets of dense population. A sero-survey involves test- ing of blood serum of individ- uals to check for the prevalence of antibodies against an infec- tion. “The results of the sero- prevalence study show that on an average, across Delhi, the prevalence of IgG antibodies is 23.48 per cent. The study also indicates that a large number of infect- ed persons remain asympto- matic,” the Union Health Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. “This implies that nearly six months into the epidemic, only 23.48 per cent of the peo- ple are affected in Delhi, which has several pockets of dense population,” said the Ministry, attributing it to efforts taken by the Government to prevent the spread of infection, includ- ing lockdown, containment and surveillance measures, including contact tracing and tracking, as well as citizen’s compliance to Covid appro- priate behaviours. It, however, said a signifi- cant proportion of the popula- tion is still vulnerable and therefore, the containment measures need to continue with the same rigour. Non-pharmacological interventions such as physical distancing, use of mask, hand hygiene, cough etiquette and social distancing, etc, must be followed strictly, it underlined. Ghaziabad: A Ghaziabad-based jour- nalist was hospitalised after he was shot at by some assailants near his home and nine people have been arrested so far in connection with the case, police said on Tuesday. The attack comes days after Vikram Joshi, who works with a local daily, lodged a complaint at the local Vijay Nagar police post against some people for harassing his niece on July 16. Joshi was returning home in Vijay Nagar area with his two daughters on a motorcycle when he was waylaid by over half a dozen armed men around 10.30 pm on Monday, officials said. The journalist was shot in the head by one of the accused, who then fled the spot, leaving him severely injured. He was taken to a hospital where he is in a critical condition, they said. Senior Superintendent of Police, Ghaziabad, Kalanidhi Naithani said nine people, including two of the three named in the FIR, have been arrested while the local police post in-charge was suspended in the wake of the incident. R ajiv Gandhi assassination case con- vict Nalini Sriharan, lodged in the special prison for women here, threat- ened to end her life, a senior jail offi- cial said on Tuesday. Her legal adviser said a represen- tation has been given to authorities to shift her to Chennai Puzhal prison con- sidering her safety. Nalini’s threat to end her life came after a co-prisoner, who was in a nearby cell, complained against her to authorities. The co-prisoner, also a life convict, alleged that the Rajiv case convict was harassing her by giving more and more work and requested that her cell be changed, a top prison department offi- cial said. Following the complaint, jail authorities questioned Nalini and changed the cell of the complainant. “Nalini, during questioning started a quarrel with the jailor. She said the complaint of the co- prisoner was false and that she did not harass her. Nalini said she will commit suicide if the cell of the co-prisoner was changed,” the official told PTI. B JP leader and Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon died at a hospital in Lucknow early Tuesday. He was 85. He was admitted to the hospital on June 11 with breathing problems, fever and difficulty in urination. A veteran BJP leader belonging to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani-era, Lalji Tandon had earlier served as a Cabinet Minister in Uttar Pradesh. He had taken oath as the Madhya Pradesh Governor on July 29 last year after serving on the same post in Bihar for near- ly 11 months. He died at 5.35 am at Medanta Hospital, according to his son Ashutosh Tandon, who is a Cabinet Minister in Uttar Pradesh. Lalji Tandon is survived by his wife and three sons. His mortal remains were consigned to flames at Gulala Ghat in Lucknow in the evening. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, UP Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, State BJP chief Swatantradev Singh, a number of ministers in the State Government and party workers were present during the cremation. The cremation was held with full state honours, spokesperson of BJP’s Lucknow unit Pushkar Shukla said. According to Medanta Hospital Director Dr Rakesh Kapoor, Tandon died following a cardiac arrest. “He was admit- ted on June 11 and on investi- gation he was found suffering from a liver ailment. Later, liver and kidneys stopped func- tioning and he was put on the life support system. Despite all efforts, he breathed his last on Tuesday morning,” he said. Lalji Tandon’s body was kept at his official residence in Hazratganj and later at his Sondhi Tola home in the Chowk area for people to pay their last respects. Condoling the demise of Lalji Tandon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he will be remembered for his untiring efforts to serve society. In a series of tweets, Modi recalled that Lalji Tandon played a key role in strengthening the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Vice-President M enkaiah Naidu described Tandon as a “people’s leader” who worked relentlessly for the uplift of the downtrodden. I n the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the annual Amarnath yatra has been final- ly cancelled by the Amarnathji Shrine Board. The crucial deci- sion was taken by the Chairman of the Shrine Board Lt-Governor Girish Chandra Murmu after holding discus- sion with all the board mem- bers via video conferencing and taking into account the feed- back of the Government on Tuesday. It is for the first time, the annual yatra to the cave shrine has been cancelled even before it was formally flagged off. Due to fair weather condi- tions at the cave shrine, the major portion of the Shiv Lingam (ice stalagmite) which takes form inside the cave shrine has already melted away ahead of the Shravan Purnima, the day yatra is culminated on the day of Raksha Bandhan, falling on August 3 this year. The Jammu & Kashmir administration had separately informed the Chairman of the Shrine Board that it would not be advisable to conduct Amarnathji Yatra 2020. The administration also suggested that the yatra should be can- celled. “Based upon the circum- stances, the Board decided with heavy heart that it is not advisable to hold and conduct this year’s Amarnathji Yatra and expressed its regret to announce the cancellation of Yatra 2020,” said the statement issued by the Amarnath Shrine Board. It added, “The Board is aware of and respects the sen- timents of millions of devotees and to keep the religious sen- timents alive, the Board shall continue the live telecast/ vir- tual darshan of the morning and evening aarti. Further, the traditional rituals shall be car- ried out as per past practice. Also, the Chhadi Mubarak shall be facilitated by the Government.” During its 39th meeting the Shrine Board also observed that coronavirus pandemic has put the health administration system to its limit. The spike has been particularly sharp in July. Health workers and secu- rity forces are also getting infected and the focus of the entire medical, civil and police administration at the moment is on containing the local transmission of the Covid-19 pandemic. The health concerns are so serious that the strain on the health system, along with the diversion in resources to the yatra, will be immense. This would also unnecessarily put the Yatris at risk of catching the Covid-19. T he CBI on Tuesday ques- tioned Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s OSD Devaram Saini in connection with the alleged suicide of SHO Vishnudutt Vishnoi of Rajgarh police station in Churu district on May 23. Saini’s questioning comes a day after the agency quizzed Olympian Congress MLA from Sadulpur (Churu) Krishna Poonia, who had reportedly complained against the SHO. Following Poonia’s representation to the CM’s office, Saini is said to have issued some instructions to the police. Saini was quizzed on the letter written by him to the police on Poonia’s representa- tion against the SHO before his alleged suicide, sources said. Poonia was quizzed for three hours at her residence at Vaishali Nagar in Jaipur on Monday, they said. A CBI team of officials of the Special Crimes Unit (SCU) headed by a Superintendent of Police from the agency head- quarters here had reached Jaipur on Monday and is like- ly to return to Delhi on Wednesday, sources said, adding more suspects will be summoned subsequently. They said the evidence gathered so far will be analysed before further action against the suspects is undertaken. Saini was asked to appear before the CBI office in Jaipur at 10 am and his questioning lasted for over an hour. Vishnoi’s body was found hanging from the ceiling of his official residence in Churu and the case was handed over to the CBI on June 5 by the State Government. New Delhi: India’s Covid-19 fatality rate has dropped sig- nificantly to 2.43 per cent from 3.36 per cent on June 17 due to effective clinical management of coronavirus cases, the Centre said on Tuesday, asserting the coun- try has handled the pan- demic “relatively well”. Detailed report on P4

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Page 1: 0$ %1/(2/!˛3 ˝0/(ˆ $G ˙! ˘ ˘ ˘ - %€¦ · other MLAs in collusion with Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot camps got three more days to whet their knives before the Rajasthan High

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Ashok Gehlot and SachinPilot camps got three more

days to whet their knives beforethe Rajasthan High Courtdeclares the winner of the legalbout and leaves the floor openfor political bloodletting.

The court on Tuesday con-cluded its hearing on petitionfiled by the Pilot camp on dis-qualification notice served bythe Assembly Speaker on 19rebel MLAs and reserved itsjudgement till Friday, directingthe Speaker not to act againstthe lawmakers during thisperiod.

Rajasthan AssemblySpeaker CP Joshi, who calledthe meeting late evening,deferred the proceedingsagainst rebel MLAs from Pilotgroup till 5.30 pm on July 24.

The Speaker held a meet-ing with Devdutt Kamat, thecounsel for Mahesh Joshi, theChief Whip of Congress inRajasthan. Joshi said as per theorders of the High Court, hewill not act on notices againstrebel Congress MLAs, includ-ing Sachin Pilot, until the courtverdict.

After the CLP meeting,Gehlot asserted those betraying

the party will not be able toshow their faces in public. Thiswas the second consecutiveday Gehlot slammed rebelCongress MLAs, includingSachin Pilot.

Breaking his silence on theRajasthan crisis, formerCongress chief Rahul Gandhilisted the alleged “attempt totopple” the Government in theState as among the Centre’s“achievements” in the Covid-19era. The Gandhis, have so far,refrained from making anypublic comment on the crisis

triggered by Pilot’s revolt.The CLP meeting of

Rajasthan MLAs and othersenior leaders of the party washeld at the Farimont Hotel.Gehlot told his MLAs to stay athotel for a few more days.

Senior Congress leaders,including national general sec-retary and Rajasthan in-chargeAvinash Pande, KC Venugopal,Ajay Maken, RandeepSurjewala, Vivek Bansal alongwith Chief Minister, were pre-sent at the meeting. This is thethird meeting of the CLP in the

last one week.Addressing the Cabinet

meeting Gehlot reiterated thata conspiracy to topple hisGovernment was beinghatched but said he was confi-dent that the Government willcomplete its tenure.

“The State Government isfighting with coronavirus cri-sis and at the same time, aleader who was a StateCongress president and a few

other MLAs in collusion withthe BJP were “hatching a con-spiracy” to topple it,” Gehlotalleged without taking thename of Pilot or any otherparty leader.

“This is intolerable andcondemnable. Those betrayingthe party will not be able toshow their faces in public,”Gehlot added.

According to a statementissued by Congress chief whipMahesh Joshi, Gehlot saidefforts are being made to“weaken democracy” in thecountry but Congress MLAsare fighting firmly to save it.

Referring to the ongoingcourt case, Gehlot mocked andquestioned Pilot for hiringlawyers Harish Salve andMukul Rohatgi, saying theycommand a tall fee.

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Rajasthan’s eleven formerpolicemen, including a cir-

cle officer and a police station’sin-charge were convicted by acourt here on Tuesday for gun-ning down Raja Maan Singh ofBharatpur and his two col-leagues over 35 years in Deegarea of the State.

After convicting the thencircle officer Kan Singh Bhatiand local police station in-charge Virendra Singh alongwith nine other policemen oncharges of killing erstwhileBharatpur riyasat’s chief and hiscolleagues Sumer Singh andHari Singh, Mathura DistrictJudge Sadhana Rani fixedWednesday for pronouncingthe quantum of sentences.

According to prosecution,Singh and his colleagues werekilled in an encounter by aDeeg police at the local grainmarket on February 21, 1985,a day after Singh, then con-testing the Assembly election asan independent candidate, hadallegedly damaged the formerRajashan’s Chief Minister ShivCharan Mathur’s helicopter.

He was also accused ofdamaging some publicity mate-

rial and a stage set up forMathur to address an electionrally in favour of the Congresscandidate Brajendra Singh, aretired IAS officer, the prose-cution had told the court.

Initially probed by the localpolice, the case was later hand-ed over to the CBI for investi-gation and its trial was shiftedto Mathura on the SupremeCourt orders.

“Though we have gotdelayed justice, I am happy thatguilty persons have ultimatelybeen convicted,” saidKrishnendra Kaur Deepa, amember of the Bharatpur royalfamily and a multiple-termRajasthan MLA, either as anindependent or from the erst-while Janata Dal or the BJPbetween 1985 and 2018.

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Astudy conducted from June27 to July 10 by the

National Center for DiseaseControl (NCDC) in collabora-tion with the DelhiGovernment indicated that alarge number of infected per-sons remain asymptomatic.Delhi’s sero-prevalence studyhas found that 23.48 per centof the people have been affect-ed by Covid-19 in the city,which has several pockets ofdense population.

A sero-survey involves test-ing of blood serum of individ-uals to check for the prevalenceof antibodies against an infec-tion. “The results of the sero-prevalence study show that onan average, across Delhi, theprevalence of IgG antibodies is23.48 per cent.

The study also indicatesthat a large number of infect-ed persons remain asympto-matic,” the Union HealthMinistry said in a statement onTuesday.

“This implies that nearlysix months into the epidemic,only 23.48 per cent of the peo-ple are affected in Delhi, whichhas several pockets of densepopulation,” said the Ministry,attributing it to efforts taken bythe Government to preventthe spread of infection, includ-ing lockdown, containment

and surveillance measures,including contact tracing andtracking, as well as citizen’scompliance to Covid appro-priate behaviours.

It, however, said a signifi-cant proportion of the popula-tion is still vulnerable andtherefore, the containmentmeasures need to continuewith the same rigour.

Non-pharmacologicalinterventions such as physicaldistancing, use of mask, handhygiene, cough etiquette andsocial distancing, etc, must befollowed strictly, it underlined.

Ghaziabad: A Ghaziabad-based jour-nalist was hospitalised after he was shotat by some assailants near his home andnine people have been arrested so far inconnection with the case, police said onTuesday.

The attack comes days afterVikram Joshi, who works with a localdaily, lodged a complaint at the localVijay Nagar police post against somepeople for harassing his niece on July16.

Joshi was returning home in VijayNagar area with his two daughters on

a motorcycle when he was waylaid byover half a dozen armed men around10.30 pm on Monday, officials said.

The journalist was shot in the headby one of the accused, who then fled thespot, leaving him severely injured. Hewas taken to a hospital where he is ina critical condition, they said.

Senior Superintendent of Police,Ghaziabad, Kalanidhi Naithani saidnine people, including two of the threenamed in the FIR, have been arrestedwhile the local police post in-charge wassuspended in the wake of the incident.

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Rajiv Gandhi assassination case con-vict Nalini Sriharan, lodged in the

special prison for women here, threat-ened to end her life, a senior jail offi-cial said on Tuesday.

Her legal adviser said a represen-tation has been given to authorities toshift her to Chennai Puzhal prison con-sidering her safety. Nalini’s threat to endher life came after a co-prisoner, whowas in a nearby cell, complained againsther to authorities.

The co-prisoner, also a life convict,

alleged that the Rajiv case convict washarassing her by giving more and morework and requested that her cell bechanged, a top prison department offi-cial said.

Following the complaint, jailauthorities questioned Nalini andchanged the cell of the complainant.“Nalini, during questioning started aquarrel with the jailor.

She said the complaint of the co-prisoner was false and that she did notharass her. Nalini said she will commitsuicide if the cell of the co-prisoner waschanged,” the official told PTI.

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BJP leader and MadhyaPradesh Governor Lalji

Tandon died at a hospital inLucknow early Tuesday. Hewas 85. He was admitted to thehospital on June 11 withbreathing problems, fever anddifficulty in urination.

A veteran BJP leaderbelonging to the Atal BihariVajpayee and LK Advani-era,Lalji Tandon had earlier servedas a Cabinet Minister in UttarPradesh.

He had taken oath as theMadhya Pradesh Governor onJuly 29 last year after serving onthe same post in Bihar for near-ly 11 months.

He died at 5.35 am atMedanta Hospital, according tohis son Ashutosh Tandon, whois a Cabinet Minister in UttarPradesh.

Lalji Tandon is survived byhis wife and three sons.

His mortal remains wereconsigned to flames at GulalaGhat in Lucknow in theevening. Defence MinisterRajnath Singh, UP GovernorAnandiben Patel, ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath, State

BJP chief Swatantradev Singh,a number of ministers in theState Government and partyworkers were present duringthe cremation.

The cremation was heldwith full state honours,spokesperson of BJP’s Lucknowunit Pushkar Shukla said.

According to MedantaHospital Director Dr RakeshKapoor, Tandon died followinga cardiac arrest. “He was admit-ted on June 11 and on investi-gation he was found sufferingfrom a liver ailment. Later,

liver and kidneys stopped func-tioning and he was put on thelife support system.

Despite all efforts, hebreathed his last on Tuesdaymorning,” he said.

Lalji Tandon’s body waskept at his official residence inHazratganj and later at hisSondhi Tola home in theChowk area for people to paytheir last respects.

Condoling the demise of

Lalji Tandon, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said he will beremembered for his untiringefforts to serve society. In aseries of tweets, Modi recalledthat Lalji Tandon played a keyrole in strengthening the BJP inUttar Pradesh.

Vice-President M enkaiahNaidu described Tandon as a“people’s leader” who workedrelentlessly for the uplift of thedowntrodden.

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In the wake of the coronaviruspandemic, the annual

Amarnath yatra has been final-ly cancelled by the AmarnathjiShrine Board. The crucial deci-sion was taken by theChairman of the Shrine BoardLt-Governor Girish ChandraMurmu after holding discus-sion with all the board mem-bers via video conferencing andtaking into account the feed-back of the Government onTuesday.

It is for the first time, theannual yatra to the cave shrinehas been cancelled even beforeit was formally flagged off.

Due to fair weather condi-tions at the cave shrine, themajor portion of the ShivLingam (ice stalagmite) whichtakes form inside the caveshrine has already melted awayahead of the Shravan Purnima,the day yatra is culminated onthe day of Raksha Bandhan,falling on August 3 this year.

The Jammu & Kashmir

administration had separatelyinformed the Chairman of theShrine Board that it wouldnot be advisable to conductAmarnathji Yatra 2020. Theadministration also suggestedthat the yatra should be can-celled.

“Based upon the circum-stances, the Board decidedwith heavy heart that it is notadvisable to hold and conductthis year’s Amarnathji Yatraand expressed its regret toannounce the cancellation ofYatra 2020,” said the statementissued by the Amarnath ShrineBoard.

It added, “The Board isaware of and respects the sen-timents of millions of devoteesand to keep the religious sen-timents alive, the Board shallcontinue the live telecast/ vir-tual darshan of the morningand evening aarti. Further, thetraditional rituals shall be car-ried out as per past practice.Also, the Chhadi Mubarakshall be facilitated by theGovernment.”

During its 39th meetingthe Shrine Board also observedthat coronavirus pandemic hasput the health administrationsystem to its limit. The spikehas been particularly sharp inJuly. Health workers and secu-rity forces are also gettinginfected and the focus of theentire medical, civil and policeadministration at the moment

is on containing the localtransmission of the Covid-19pandemic.

The health concerns are soserious that the strain on thehealth system, along with thediversion in resources to theyatra, will be immense. Thiswould also unnecessarily putthe Yatris at risk of catching theCovid-19.

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The CBI on Tuesday ques-tioned Rajasthan Chief

Minister Ashok Gehlot’s OSDDevaram Saini in connectionwith the alleged suicide ofSHO Vishnudutt Vishnoi ofRajgarh police station in Churudistrict on May 23.

Saini’s questioning comesa day after the agency quizzedOlympian Congress MLAfrom Sadulpur (Churu)Krishna Poonia, who hadreportedly complained againstthe SHO. Following Poonia’srepresentation to the CM’soffice, Saini is said to haveissued some instructions to thepolice. Saini was quizzed onthe letter written by him to thepolice on Poonia’s representa-tion against the SHO beforehis alleged suicide, sourcessaid.

Poonia was quizzed for

three hours at her residence atVaishali Nagar in Jaipur onMonday, they said.

A CBI team of officials ofthe Special Crimes Unit (SCU)headed by a Superintendent ofPolice from the agency head-quarters here had reachedJaipur on Monday and is like-ly to return to Delhi onWednesday, sources said,adding more suspects will besummoned subsequently.

They said the evidencegathered so far will be analysedbefore further action againstthe suspects is undertaken.

Saini was asked to appearbefore the CBI office in Jaipurat 10 am and his questioninglasted for over an hour.

Vishnoi’s body was foundhanging from the ceiling of hisofficial residence in Churu andthe case was handed over to theCBI on June 5 by the StateGovernment.

New Delhi: India’s Covid-19fatality rate has dropped sig-nificantly to 2.43 per centfrom 3.36 per cent on June17 due to effective clinicalmanagement of coronaviruscases, the Centre said onTuesday, asserting the coun-try has handled the pan-demic “relatively well”.

Detailed report on P4

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Himachal Government hasset a target of planting

about 1.20 crore saplings in

12000 hectares of area of 41Forest Divisions of the State,Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakursaid on Tuesday. Presiding overthe 71st State level Van

Mahotsav here, he plantedsapling of 'Chinar' in thepremises of Peterhof and saidthe Government has started sixnew schemes for promoting

afforestation in the State whichinclude Vidyarthi Van MitraYojna, Samudayik VanSamvardhan Yojna, VanSamridhi Jan Samridhi Yojna,

Policy for setting NewIndustries based on Cheer PineNeedles, Providing Weapons toForest Guards and a scheme toreward local communities fortheir outstanding contributionin afforestation process. Thakursaid to sensitise the peopleregarding rights of girl childand also associating the com-munity in process of afforesta-tion, the Govt has also started‘Ek Buta Beti Ke Naam’Scheme. He said that under thisscheme the family of girl childat the time of her birth are pro-vided five saplings, tree guard,a name plate of girl child, 20 kg.vermi compost and technicalknowhow.The CM said that theState Govt was keeping a strictvigil on encroachment of for-est land, adding that strictaction was being taken againstillegal forest felling. He said thatthe forest department mustensure survival rate of thesaplings, adding that the sur-vival rate of sapling during thelast about two years have beenabout 70 % which was one ofthe best in the country.

He also interacted withSpeaker Vidhan Sabha VipinSingh Parmar who plantedsapling in Palampur ForestDivision, Rural DevelopmentMinister Virender Kanwar whoplanted sapling at Una ForestDivision, Social Justice andEmpowerment Minister RajivSaizal who planted at SolanForest Division, Deputy SpeakerHans Raj who planted a saplingat Churah Sub Division. He alsointeracted with several otherMLAs through video confer-encing on the occasion.Education Minister SureshBhardwaj said the State ForestDepartment has been playing akey role in increasing the forestcover in the State.

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Punjab Government onTuesday made it clear that

strict legal action would be ini-tiated not only against thoseusing “fake” certificates toreceive government benefits,but also against any officer orofficial found involved in ver-ifying such certificates.

Issuing a strong warning,Punjab Social Justice,Empowerment and MinoritiesMinister Sadhu SinghDharmsot said: “Those usingfake certificates to receive gov-ernment benefits will not be

spared at any cost, and any offi-cer or official found involved inverifying such certificateswould also face stern action.”

Dharmsot said that theDepartment has received anumber of complaints in whichcandidates belonging to non-SC category have used fake cer-tificates to get admissions ineducational institutions and insome cases they have also gotjobs on these certificatesobtained on fake grounds.

The matter would be inves-tigated thoroughly and wouldbe taken to its logical ends andanyone found involved in it,

would be strictly punished, hesaid.

The Minister added thatthe constitution of the countryhas given certain rights to thedowntrodden communities tobring them at par economical-ly and socially with other com-munities.

“It is for this purpose, theyhave been given reservation ineducation and government ser-vice. It is criminal for anynon-SC candidate to use fakecertificate and the benefit of SCcertificate should only be real-ized by an eligible person orcandidate,” he said.

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Page 3: 0$ %1/(2/!˛3 ˝0/(ˆ $G ˙! ˘ ˘ ˘ - %€¦ · other MLAs in collusion with Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot camps got three more days to whet their knives before the Rajasthan High

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Haryana Government has geared up tobecome the first state in the country to

achieve the target of making 11 villages in everydistrict of the state ‘Lal Dora’ free by October2 on the occasion of birth anniversary ofMahatma Gandhi.

This would be done under the Svamitvascheme, as announced by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on the occasion of PanchayatiRaj Day. This information was shared during ameeting held under the chairmanship of ChiefMinister Manohar Lal with Surveyor General ofIndia, Lt. General Girish Kumar regardingreview of the Haryana Large Scale MappingProject and SVAMITVA scheme, through videoconferencing, held here.

During the meeting, the Chief Ministerurged the officers of Survey of India to prepareStandard Operating Procedure (SOP) for thedepartments including Development andPanchayat, Revenue and Disaster Management,Urban Local Bodies so that they can freely carryout the work related to this scheme. Besides this,SOP should also be prepared for getting admin-istrative approval from the Chief Secretary’soffice.

While ensuring that full cooperation will beextended to the Survey of India, Manohar Lalsaid that the State Government will leave nostone unturned in achieving the Prime Minister'sgoal set under the SVAMITVA scheme.

He said that all the necessary informationrelated to properties and revenue records ofthe Gram Panchayats and MunicipalCorporations should be made available on asingle platform.

The Chief Minister was apprised that thework of mapping using drones has been com-pleted in Municipal Corporation of Karnal, 140villages and Jind and Sohna cities. The work ofdigitizing the records of the remaining nineMunicipal Corporations will be done in the nextphase.

Principal Secretary, Development andPanchayat Department, Sudhir Rajpal informedthat by July 27, the work of line marking of LalDora area in the villages will be sent to Surveyof India.

After declaring the village Sirsi in districtKarnal free from Lal Dora, now the process ofmaking eight villages of Panchkula free from LalDora is in the final stage.

He assured the Chief Minister that Haryanawill be a leading State in the country for declar-ing 11 villages in every district as free from LalDora under the Svamitva scheme by October2.

He said that in 242 villages and three citiesincluding Karnal, Jind and Sohna this work willbe completed at a fast pace.

Surveyor General of India, Lt. General GirishKumar, apprised the Chief Minister that alongwith line marking, 30 drones would be deployedat different locations.

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Punjab on Tuesday got itsfirst Plasma Bank at

Government Medical Collegeand Rajindra Hospital, Patiala,which is also the country’ssecond Plasma Bank afterDelhi.

Inaugurating the Bank viavideoconferencing, the stateMedical Education andResearch, Minister OP Sonisaid that the Plasma Bank willplay a vital role in the fightagainst this pandemic, andwould prove a milestone.

Soni said that various tri-als of plasma therapy havebeen successfully conductedearlier in the State, which pavedthe way for the establishmentof Plasma Bank.

He said that Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh is mak-ing all possible efforts to min-imize the deaths, which isoccurring due to COVID-19.

Giving information aboutthe newly-established plasma

bank, he said that it is equippedwith two plasma machines anda third machine would beintroduced soon. “We have noshortage of testing kits forantibody testing and latest test-ing equipment will be availablesoon,” he added.

At the same time, Soniappealed to all the recoveredCOVID-19 patients to comeforward to donate plasma,adding that “the initiativewould be successful only withtheir support”.

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There will be close coopera-tion between Punjab

Government and the state’spremier IIT Ropar and IIMAmritsar institutions, particu-larly in the area of SkillDevelopment, among others.

Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh held twoseparate video conferences withthe heads of the two premierinstitutions on Tuesday.

The State Governmentsigned three MoUs with IITRopar in the areas of skilldevelopment. The MoUs pro-vide for IIT’s TechnicalEducation Department tobecome Academic Mentor forthe state’s Engineering Collegesat Gurdaspur and Ferozepur, aswell as for Sri Guru GobindSingh Skill Institute at ShriChamkaur Sahib, fiveGovernment Polytechnics and10 Government ITIs.

Technical EducationMinister Charanjit SinghChanni said IIT will also helpthe State in developing onemodel ITI and one model

polytechnic and the otherswould be modelled on similarlines subsequently.

IIT Director Prof SK Dassuggested that the State shouldtake initiative for setting up aDefence manufacturing corri-dor, with IIT’s support in arti-ficial intelligence (AI) andstrategic designing of defenceequipment. Responding, theChief Minister said that hewould take up the issue withthe Centre.

Capt Amarinder directedthe Chief Secretary ViniMahajan to resolve the IIT’sland acquisition related issues,while urging the IIT to devel-op its campus as a green cam-pus, with extensive landscapingand afforestation.

He also directed the ChiefSecretary to constitute a com-mittee to look into the IITDirector’s submission thatPrivate Universities or Collegesin the State are increasing seatsfor engineering courses with-out any checks and balances.

IIM Amritsar also extend-ed support to the StateGovernment in promoting skilldevelopment and its director,Prof Ramamoorthy Nagarajan,said that the institution wouldbe organizing various short-term courses for officers,including Excise, BusinessManagement, Taxation etc. TheIIM has adopted five villages inAmritsar area as part of its CSRoutreach, the Chief Ministerwas informed.

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Facing attack from varioussections for his controversial

statements comparing Punjabisand Jats with the Bengalis,Tripura Chief Minister BiplabKumar Deb on Tuesday apol-ogized asserting that he did notintend to hurt sentiments.

Deb had stirred a contro-versy by saying that Punjabisand Jats are physically strongbut less brainy while Bengalisare known to be very intelli-gent.

However, in a series oftweets in Hindi on Tuesdaymorning, the Chief Ministersought forgiveness for hisremarks saying that many of hisfriends were Punjabis and Jats,and he is proud of people hail-ing from the two communities.

“I always salute the contri-butions of the Punjabi and Jatcommunities in the freedom

struggle of the country. And I can never imagine

raising questions on the roleplayed by these two commu-nities in advancing India,” Debtweeted.

“I had expressed the viewssome people have about them.I am proud of Punjabi and Jatcommunities. I have livedamong them for quite sometime...If my statement has hurtanyone's feelings, I apologisefor that," the Chief Ministersaid on Twitter.

Taking serious note ofDeb's “derogatory” remarksagainst the Punjabis andHaryanvis, Aam Aadmi Party’sPunjab unit presidentBhagwant Mann demandedimmediate dismissal of BJPleader as Tripura’s ChiefMinister “for his insensateremarks”.

“Such communal and racistremarks laid bare the cheap

ideology not only of Biplab Debbut also that of the entire BJP,which deserved to be con-demned in strongest possibleterms,” said Mann in a jointstatement along with theLeader of Opposition in PunjabVidhan Sabha Harpal SinghCheema, MLAs — ProfBaljinder Kaur, Kultar SinghSandhwan, Aman Arora, MeetHayer, Jai Kishan Singh Rouri,Rupinder Kaur Ruby andKulwant Singh Pandori.

Mann said that if the com-munity (the Punjabis) aboutwhich the BJP Chief Ministerhad made derogatory anduncouth remarks, had notmade supreme sacrifice to lib-erate the nation from theBritish hegemony, he won’thave been the Chief Minister ofTripura state.

“Punjabis have made aspace for themselves all overthe world by contributing to

the economic, social and polit-ical growth of the countriesthey were settled in by dint oftheir ability and hard work,which is why the number ofPunjabi Ministers in Canadacabinet, including the Ministerof Defence, are higher than thePunjabis in the Modi Cabinet,”said Mann.

Mann said that when thecountry was wrestling withthe spectre of starvation afterattaining independence, thebenefactor farmers of Punjaband Haryana had contributedto turn the country a self-suf-ficient in food grains.

A day before Congress’national chief spokespersonRandeep Surjewala had saidthat Deb, with his controversialremark, has insulted the “Sikhbrothers” of Punjab and the Jatcommunity of Haryana.

“This is the BJP's lowlymindset. Why are Khattar ji

and Dushyant Chautala silent?Where are Modi ji andNaddaji? Apologize, takeaction,” Surjewala had tweeted.CONTROVERSIAL STATE-MENT

Addressing a programmeat the Agartala Press Club onSunday, Deb had said thatevery community in India isknown for its certain type andcharacter.

A video clip of the chiefminister's statement had goneviral on social media.

“For Bengal or Bengalis, itis said that one should not chal-lenge them when it is regard-ing intelligence. Bengalis areknown as very intelligent andit is their identity,” Deb washeard saying in the clip, adding,“When we talk about the peo-ple of Punjab, we say he's aPunjabi, a Sardar.

They may have less intel-ligence but are very strong. One

can't win them over by strengthbut with love and affection. Alarge number of Jats live inHaryana. So what do peoplesay about Jats? Jats are less intel-ligent but are very healthy. Ifone challenges a Jat, he willbring a gun from his house,”.

DEB’S PAST CONTROVER-SIES

Earlier, too, Chief MinisterDeb had courted controversieson multiple occasions. In 2018,he said that internet and satel-lite television existed in thetime of the Mahabharata.

He had also questionedthe crowning of Diana Haydenas “Miss World” in 1997 andalleged that international beau-ty pageants were a farce.

Last year, he claimed thatMughals intended to destroythe cultural wonders of theState by “bombing” its artsand architectures.

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The total number ofCOVID-19 positive cases

crossed 27000-mark inHaryana on Tuesday with thestate reporting 604 fresh cases.The total number of positivecases in the state stood at27462 which include 6146active cases.

Nine deaths have also beenreported in the last 24 hourstaking the total toll to 364 in thestate.

“Out of 604 fresh cases, 121were reported from Gurugram111 from Faridabad, 94 fromPanipat, 55 from Ambala, 41from Sonepat, 33 from Karnal,28 from Palwal among othercases,” stated Haryana HealthDepartment’s evening bulletin.

Of the nine deaths, twoeach were reported fromFaridabad, Rohtak, Karnal andone each from Jhajjar, Palwaland Panipat have been report-ed in the last 24 hours in thestate. Among critical COVID-19 patients, 155 patients wereon oxygen support while 38were on ventilator in the state,the bulletin stated.

With 364 deaths so far, thefatality rate is recorded at 1.33percent in Haryana. The case-doubling rate in Haryanaincreased to 23 days, COVIDpositive rate was recorded at5.95 per cent, recovery raterecorded at76.29 percent,according to the health bulletin.

Till date, 27462 patientsincluding 726 in the last 24hours have recovered and havebeen discharged from hospitalsin the state. As many as 4.67lakh samples have been testedtill date in Haryana. The reportof 5978 samples is awaited, the

bulletin added.Notably, the intensive sam-

pling of COVID through rapidantigen testing kits are beingdone in districts of Gurugram,Faridabad, Sonepat and Jhajjarin the state.

Meanwhile, Haryana ChiefMinister Manohar Lal Khattaron Tuesday launched a webportal for plasma donation inthe state.

For this, patients whohave recovered after defeatingCOVID-19 infection willreceive an SMS on their mobilefor plasma donation, on whichthey will be requested to donateplasma.

At present, plasma bankshave been opened inGurugram, Faridabad, Rohtakand Panchkula. The number ofCOVID-19 Warriors who havebravely defeated the virus isaround 20,000 in the state.

381 FRESH CASES,INCLUDING 30 COPS AND16 BSF TROOPERS

Inching closer to the11,000-mark, Punjab onTuesday reported 381 freshcases of the novel coronavirus— including 30 cops and 16troopers of the Border SecurityForce (BSF) — along with twodeaths. With this, the state’sCOVID-19 tally has reached10,889, and the death toll at263.

As Ludhiana and Patialaeach reported a death, Sangrurwith 74 cases reported thehighest number in the past 24

hours. Patiala (68), Ludhiana(65), Amritsar (56), Jalandhar(33), SAS Nagar (25), Ropar(14), and Gurdaspur (10)reported cases in double digit,besides Fatehgarh Sahib (8),Tarn Taran (5), Bathinda (5),Hoshiarpur (2), Ferozepur (2),Kapurthala (1), Barnala (1)and Mansa (1).

The districts of Ludhiana,Jalandhar, Amritsar, Sangrur,Patiala and Mohali have beenregistering an alarmingly highnumber of cases since the pastweeks. On Tuesday, these dis-tricts together accounted for 84percent of the fresh COVID-19cases.

In fact, these six districts —of which four have crossed1000-mark — collectivelyaccount for 69 percent of thestate’s total positive cases, and74 percent of the total deaths.

Among the fresh cases,124 have the contact historyand nine have the travel histo-ry, while 210 have no travel orcontact history and catego-rized as “new cases”. The newcases include 30 policemen,including 27 from Sangrur andthree from Mohali; 16 BSFpersonnel from Amritsar; 26millworkers from Sangrur; sixhealthcare workers, one jailinmate, among others.

In a late development, asmany 80 cases have surfaces inHoshiarpur of which 67 arefrom the BSF Sub TrainingCentre, Kharkan Camp, and 13from Garhshankar.

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Fourteen more people tested positive for COVID-19 inChandigarh on Tuesday, taking the total number of cases

reported so far in the Union Territory to 751.Four members of a family, including a one-and-half-year-

old girl, in Sector 41 area of the city were among new cases. Twocases each were reported in Daria and Sector 9 and one eachin Behlana, Sector 32 and Sector 29. Three members of a fam-ily in Sector 15 also tested positive for the viral disease, accord-ing to the medical bulletin.So far, 12 people have died in thecity due to COVID-19. A total of 11,271 samples have beentaken for testing so far and of them, 10,468 were negative whilereports in 50 cases are awaited, the bulletin stated. There are221 active cases in the city. A total of 518 people have been curedof the disease so far, it said.

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Haryana Government hasdecided to declare one

Central Jail and three DistrictJails in the State as Special Jails(Temporary Jails) for con-finement of new male pris-oners remanded to judicialcustody till the receipt of theirCOVID-19 reports.

Chief Minister ManoharLal has approved a proposal inthis regard. These special jailswould include Central Jail-II,Hisar and district jails ofFaridabad, Karnal and Rewari,an official spokesman said.The spokesman said that onemedical officer each and otherpara medical staff would bedeputed for examination andtreatment of prisoners at thesespecial jails.

It would be ensured thatthe medical officers and paramedical staff are tested forCOVID-19 and negativereports obtained before theirdeputation at these jails. Apartfrom this, it would also ensurethat testing of prisoners forCOVID-19 and submission ofreports is done on priority

basis, he added.The spokesman further

said that tests of prisonerswould be conducted usingRT-PCR instead of rapid testkit at government institutesonly.

The prisoner wards wouldbe established in the COVID-19 dedicated hospitals andevery COVID positive pris-oner would be admitted andtreated in these wards. Itwould also ensure that sam-pling for COVID-19 tests ofsuch prisoners or staff thathad been in contact with anyCOVID positive prisoner orstaff is done promptly at thejail itself through a mobileteam of Civil Hospital con-cerned, he added.

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The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB)on Tuesday announced the Class 12 exam

results, declaring a pass percentage of 90.98, animprovement of more than 4.5 percentagepoint on last year.

“Out of the total 2,86,378 students who hadappeared in the examinations before theCOVID-19 outbreak, 2,60,547 students (90.98per cent) passed the board examinations thisyear,” State Education Minister Vijay Inder Singlasaid.The pass percentage in 2019 was 86.41.

The Minister informed that for the secondyear in a row, the performance of the govern-ment schools was better than that of the affili-ated and associated schools in the terms of passpercentage.

While Government schools recorded apass percentage of 94.32, for affiliated and asso-ciated schools, the numbers are 91.84 and 87.04,he said.

Singla said as examinations for some sub-

jects had to be cancelled due to the coronaviruspandemic, the PSEB adopted the best-per-forming-subject formula for declaring theresults.

Under the formula, he said, if any studentappeared in four subjects, the average of the bestthree was awarded to him in the subjects forwhich the exams had to be cancelled.Singla saidthe last chance compartment students have beendeclared pass on the basis of average of alreadypassed subjects.

The minister informed that the result ofthose students who have applied for improve-ment has not been declared as they will be givenanother chance to appear in the examinationsonce the situation gets normal.

The cabinet minister further informed thatthe pass percentage of students belonging torural areas was 93.39, which was higher than91.96 recorded for urban area students.

He further said that this year, 68.26 per centstudents of open school category passed theexams.

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The pass percentage in class12th in Haryana stood at

80.34 percent with girls out-shining boys by scoring 86.30pass percentage.

75.06 per cent boys havepassed the senior secondaryexamination, results for whichwere declared by the Board ofSchool Education, Haryana(BSEH) on Tuesday.

Manisha, an arts student ofGovernment Senior SecondarySchool in Sihma,Mahendragarh district hastopped in the HSBE class 12thexam by scoring pass percent-age of 99.8.

The second position wasbagged by Pushpa, aCommerce student from KVMSr Secondary Schools inKaithal district and Sanyam, aCommerce student fromSharda Sr Sec schools inFatehabad who have scored99.6 percent each.

Bhawana Yadav fromGovernment Sr SecondarySchools in Rewari districtscored 99.2 percent, highest inScience stream in the state.

In all, 2,12,693 candidateshad appeared for the exami-nation out of which 1,70,881have passed this year. As manyas 112816 boys took the exam-ination out of which 84685passed while 86196 out of the99877 girls have passed.

This time, the pass per-centage of private schools wasrecorded at 80.97 percent, bet-ter than 79.78 percent record-ed in government schools ofthe state.

Apart from this, the stu-dents in urban areas ofHaryana performed better thanrural areas. The pass percent-age of students in the urbanareas was recorded 82.28against 79.14 percent in theurban areas.

The pass percentagerecorded in Science,

Commerce and Arts streamwas 82.55, 89.43 and 78.08respectively.

Among districts,Panchkula stood high in thetally by achieving 90.01 passpercentage followed by Jindwhich recorded 86.53 percent.Sonepat district recorded thelowest pass percentage of only71.83 percent.

Chairman of the HaryanaSchool Education Board, JagbirSingh informed that due toCOVID-19 outbreak in March,the senior secondary classexams could not be held for allsubjects. The remaining paperswere cancelled and the Boardhas followed the assessmentpolicy announced by CBSEBoard to calculate marksawarded to the students forcancelled papers, he added.

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Chandigarh: Haryana CMManohar Lal Khattar onTuesday launched e-Sachivalaya portal, a digitalplatform, facilitating people totake online appointments forvirtual meetings with the CM, Deputy CM , Ministers andother Heads of Depts. Speakingon the occasion, the CM urgedthe people of the state to ensuremax utilisation of this portal forgetting their work done relat-ed to the Govt. He said that inthis hour of COVID-19 crisis,they should not travel to visitthe Govt offices by riskingtheir lives, rather while fol-lowing stay at home normthey should use this portal toresolve their problems and fur-ther get the desired worksdone. AddressingAdministrative Secretaries,Divisional Commissioners andDeputy Commissioners,

Khattar said that with the e-Sachivalaya concept, any per-son seeking appointment formeeting Ministers and Officersat their offices in HaryanaCivil Secretariat, Chandigarhdo not have to appear physi-cally, rather through theirmobile phones, laptops theycan simply book their appoint-ments digitally. After taking theappointment, within 24 hoursthey will be given a time slot forthe virtual meeting, he said.Khattar said that in the last sixyears, through e-governance,many digital services have beenstarted in the direction of goodgovernance. During COVID-19 crisis, Haryana UdhyamMemorandum portal waslaunched to facilitate MSMEs.Similarly, online education hasbeen made available throughlearning management systemsoftware, he added. PNS

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There’s no letting up inCongress leader Rahul

Gandhi’s attack against theModi Government. In yetanother scathing attack on theruling dispensation, the formerCongress chief on Tuesdayquestioned the NarendraModi-led Government over its handling of the coro-navirus pandemic.

At the same time, accusingthe Centre of trying to toppleState Governments in MadhyaPradesh and Rajasthan in themiddle of a pandemic, RahulGandhi tweeted, “Achievementsof the government during thecorona period: February — HelloTrump Government droppedin March-MPApril — CandleBurningMay — 6th governmentanniversaryJune — Virtual rallyin BiharJuly — Rajasthan gov-ernment tries to topple.”

Taking to Twitter, Rahulraised questions over prioritiesof the Modi Government amidthe fight against coronaviruspandemic. “That is why thecountry is ‘self-sufficient’ in theBattle of Corona,” RahulGandhi tweeted as he took adig at the Modi Government.

Rahul had last weekattacked the BJP and accusedit of “institutionalising lies”over Covid-19 deaths, GDP fig-ures and the Chinese aggres-sion at the border.

Hitting out at the BJP overthe rise in the number of deathsdue to Covid-19, he had saidIndia will pay its price when the“illusion” is shattered.

Rahul has been attackingPrime Minister Narendra Modion the face-off with Chinatoo. On Monday, he saidNarendra Modi had come topower with the help of a ‘fab-ricated strongman image’ butnow that image of a leader with

a 56-inch chest was underattack from China.

Rahul, in his second videoput on social media in a week,claimed that China may bethinking on a larger scale of“doing something with Pakistanin Kashmir” and wanted toimprove its tactical position inareas such as Demchok, Galwanand Pangong Lake.

In the first video the Gandhiscion had said the PrimeMinister’s blunders, fragile econ-omy, troubled neighbourhood

and a weak foreign policy hadprompted China to act.

“PM fabricated a fakestrongman image to come topower. It was his biggeststrength. It is now India’sbiggest weakness,” Rahul saidin his video.

Commenting on the recentIndia-China border face-off inthe Ladakh region, the Congressleader claimed it was not just aborder issue but designed to putpressure on Modi.

“And what they are doingis that they are attacking hisimage. They understand that inorder for Narendra Modi to bean effective politician; in orderfor Narendra Modi to surviveas a politician, he has to protectthe idea of “chhappan inch”(56-inch chest). And this is thereal idea the Chinese are attack-ing,” the Congress leader said.

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The United Nations’ body,World Meteorological

Organisation (WMO), haswarned that locust attacks areposing a serious threat to foodsecurity in parts of East Africa,India and Pakistan as a resultof changing climate conditionsthat can be linked to humanactivity.

The Ministry of Agriculturemade a detailed presentationbefore the ParliamentaryCommittee on Agriculture onTuesday on the recent locustattacks and steps taken to pre-vent them in nine States.

As per the presentation, theMinistry told the panel that ithad carried out locust controloperation in over 3.70 lakhhectare land from the affectedareas. “Swarms of immaturepink locusts and adult yellowlocusts are today active inJaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur,Bikaner, Churu, Sikar, Nagaur,Hanumangarh, Sri Ganganagar,Ajmer Pali, Alwar and Tonkdistricts of Rajasthan,” offi-cials added.

Sources said as per the pre-sentation, five companies with15 drones have been deployedat Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner,Nagaur and Phalodi inRajasthan for effective control oflocusts on tall trees and ininaccessible areas throughspraying of pesticides. Aerialspraying capacity has beenstrengthened for anti-locustoperations with deployment ofa Bell helicopter in Rajasthan foruse in Scheduled Desert Area asper the need and Indian AirForce has also conducted trialsin anti-locust operation by usingMi-17 helicopter.

According to sources, thepanel stressed that there shouldbe greater scientific researchon means to control the menaceand also compensation for farm-ers if the crops get affected.

While the WMO saidextreme weather events and cli-matic changes such as increas-es in temperature and rainfallover desert areas, and thestrong winds associated withtropical cyclones, provide anew environment for pestbreeding, development and

migration. WMO cited an arti-cle in Nature Climate Changeand said while desert locustshave been here since biblicaltimes, recent intense outbreakscan be linked to anthropogenicclimate change and theincreased frequency of extremeweather events.

“Attribution of a singleevent to climate change is dif-ficult. However, climaticchanges such as increases intemperature and rainfall overdesert areas, and the strongwinds associated with tropicalcyclones, provide a new envi-ronment for pest breeding,development and migration.This suggests that global warm-ing played a role in creating theconditions required for thedevelopment, outbreak and sur-vival of the locusts,” scientistsfrom the IntergovernmentalAuthority on Climate Predictionand Applications Centre said(ICPAC).

Large and aggressiveswarms of these crop-devour-ing short-horned insectsrecently invaded over twodozen districts of desert areas

in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradeshand Gujarat.

The article cited the role ofIndian Ocean warming, intenseand unusual tropical cyclonesin the region and heavy rain-fall and flooding as playing animportant role. “The recentlocust outbreaks and the role ofIndian Ocean warming showthat the impact of climatechange is not merely the con-sequences of changes in meantemperature, but also ofincreases in extreme andunprecedented events,” the arti-cle said.

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As the World Brain Day onJuly 22 this year is dedi-

cated to raising awareness forParkinson’s Disease (PD),experts warn that those suffer-ing with the neurogenerativebrain disease may be particu-larly impacted by the currentCovid-19 pandemic.

Especially, in the backdropof social distancing norms, leav-ing the patients to be confinedin the four walls of their hous-es making him vulnerable toanxiety and stress, said DrRajinder K Dhamija, Head ofNeurology Department of theLady Hardinge Hospital, Delhias he advised that they should beencouraged to keep in contactwith their healthcare providers.

“Although no direct effectof Covid-19 has been reportedyet on people suffering with thePD, there are enormous possi-ble indirect effects and impli-cations,” he added.

World-over, more than 7million people are affected with

PD while in India, the preva-lence is around 10 per cent ofthe global burden. It is knownto occur in 1 per cent of peopleabove the age of 65 years.

“These days we are gettingcases of as young as 40 year-oldimpacted with the disease. Thisis called young-onset-PD. PDsymptoms develop slowly overa long time, and could becaused by nerve damage in thebrain. One of the more com-mon warning signs of the braincondition includes a smellysymptom that you may not benoticing,” added Dr DebashishChowdhury, Head of theNeurology Department of theGB Pant Hospital in Delhi.

Early diagnosis and accessto effective treatment are vitalin order to help patients findrelief and enhance their qual-ity of life. Dr Chowdhuryshared that it is must that thepatients maintain their routinedosage and healthy lifestyle.

Many symptoms of PD arepoorly recognised and under-treated, which is detrimental

for those living with the dis-ease. There is a profound needfor improved standards of careacross the globe to prevent theneuro-disease, Dr Dhamijapointed out.

Another contributory fac-tor may be that the immuneresponse in PD may be dis-rupted and this may also pre-dispose this population toCovid 19, he added.

Persons with PD infectedwith SARS-CoV-2 are likely tohave a motor and non motordeterioration. Hence, cliniciansmust assess these patients forworsening in PD from baselinestatus and up titrate thedopaminergic drugs as neces-sary. Lack of physical activitymay lead to a worsening in themotor as well as non motorsymptoms such as constipa-tion. Patients should be advisedto follow a light yoga programat home, mindfulness applica-tions and maintain stretchingand exercises may be followedwith apps, tele-consultation andvideo consultation techniques.

“We are in touch with ourpatients through tele-consul-taion to ensure that their bet-ter health,” said Dr Chowdhury.

Also, PD patients should beencouraged to join peer supportgroups via social media servicesas well as various societies sothat they may be able to inter-act with other peers duringthese trying times. These strate-gies may encourage PD patientsto be resilient even in times ofcrisis, said the doctors.

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Even as the Union HealthMinistry has been stressing

on aggressive testing is necessaryto bring down the Covid-19 pos-itivity rate so as to bring downpositivity rate below 5 per cent,at least ten States are not meet-ing the WHO testing criteria i.e.more than 140 tests/day/million.Goa is testing highest at 1,333tests per day per million.

Incidentally, these are someof the populous States likeUttar Pradesh, Bihar,Chhattisgarh, West Bengal,Odisha, Jharkhand, AndhraPradesh and Odisha wherenumber of cases are on increasein each passing days.

Talking to reporters here ata Press briefing here onTuesday, Rajesh Bhushan, OSD,Union Health Ministry saidaggressive testing is necessaryto bring down the Covid-19positivity rate; the aim is tomaintain this level of testing soas to bring down positivity ratebelow 5 per cent.

India currently has 8.07 percent positivity rate with 30State/UTs reporting lower pos-itivity rate than India average.

The “Test, Track, Treat”

strategy encapsulates the holis-tic framework for managementof Covid-19. Led by the Centre,it has been implementedthrough various measures bythe State/UT Governments.While States/UTs have sub-stantially expanded their testingnetwork, they have also under-taken measures to facilitatewidespread testing by people at

large. As a result the nationalaverage of tests/day/million hassubstantially jumped to 180, ason date, said Bhushan.

WHO in its Guidance Noteon “Public Health Criteria toAdjust Public Health and SocialMeasures in the Context ofCovid-19” has advised com-prehensive surveillance for sus-pected Covid-19 cases. WHO

has advised that a countryneeds 140 tests/day/ millionpopulation.

The Centre and ICMR havecontinually advised theState/UT Governments toimprove the number of testsconducted. Through the coor-dinated efforts, India’s testingper million (TPM) hasincreased to 10,421. This has

helped in early detection andtimely and effective clinicalmanagement of Covid-19 cases.

In tandem with increasedtesting, the Confirmation Rateor Positivity Rate for India iscontinuously reducing and cur-rently stands at 8.07%.

There are 30 State/UTs inIndia which have lowerPositivity Rate than the India

average. This indicates thatCentre-led initiative ofincreased testing is working inyielding positive results.

Dr VK Paul, Member(Health), NITI Aayog talkedabout the progress of the vac-cines in the country: “India’stwo Covid-19 vaccines are inphase 1 and 2 of trials.Discussions have already begun

how will the vaccines be made available to all thosewho need it.”

“The Government willleave no stone unturned toensure people of India andinternational community haveaccess to an Indian vaccine asearly as possible. Every possible facilitation will beensured making sure trials

conducted scientifically and ethically, and we arrive at anaffordable option.”

Our death rate is 2.43 percent which is very less in com-parison to other countries. Theactual Covid-19 caseload of thecountry is 4,02,529. We shouldcare more about the activecases instead of the outstand-ing figures, Bhushan added.

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The Supreme Court hasagreed to hear former Delhi

Law Minister Jitender SinghTomar’s plea challenging theDelhi High Court’s verdictholding as “void” his electionto the legislative assembly in2015 polls for furnishing false information of his educa-tional qualification in the nom-ination papers.

A Bench headed by ChiefJustice SA Bobde issued noticeseeking replies from therespondents concerned, includ-ing those who had contestedfrom Tomar’s constituency andits returning officer.

“Issue notice,” said theBench, also comprising JusticesAS Bopanna and VRamasubramanian, whichheard the matter throughvideo-conferencing.

In its verdict on January 17this year, the Delhi High Courthad held Tomar’s election to TriNagar constituency in 2015polls as “void”.

It said false declaration bythe Aam Aadmi Party leaderabout his educational qualifi-cation that he had obtained a valid LLB degree,and vocation has resulted in“inducement and thwarted freeexercise of electoral right of the voter”.

In the apex court appeal,Tomar, represented by advocateKush Sharma, has sought set-ting aside of the High Courtverdict.

He said the High Courthad “erroneously held that theappellant (Tomar) had not law-fully obtained his LLB degreeand was not duly enrolled as anadvocate at the time of filing his nomination, andfurther held that nomination ofthe appellant was improperlyaccepted”.

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The Union Health Ministryhas warned all States

against use of N95 masks withvalved respirator, saying thesecan be detrimental as thevalves do not prevent the virus

from escaping out of the mask.The Ministry has pre-

scribed the use of home-madeprotective cover described onthe website of the ministry.Prof (Dr) Rajiv Garg, DirectorGeneral of Health Services,issued the directive in a letterto the health secretaries of allStates on Monday.

“It has been observed thatthere is an inappropriate useof the N95 mask (particu-larly with valved respirator)by the public other thandesignated health workers.In this regard, I would like

to draw your attention to theadvisory on the use of home-made protective cover for faceand mouth available on thewebsite of the MoHFW,” theletter said.

“It is to bring to yourknowledge that the use ofvalved respirator N95 masks isdetrimental to the measuresadopted for preventing the

spread of the coronavirus asit does not pre-

vent the virusfrom escaping

out of the mask,”as per the letter.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has

attached assets worth over Rs100 crore in the multi-levelmarketing Bikebot scam.

The ED has attached mov-able and immovable assets tothe tune of Rs 103.73 crore ofGarvit Innovative PromotersLtd. (GIPL), its promoter SanjayBhati and others in the scamunder Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA).

Attached assets include 26immovable properties worth Rs101.45 crore situated in GautamBuddh Nagar, Ghaziabad,Bulandshahar, Kanpur andIndore along with bank bal-ances in 22 bank accountsamounting to Rs 2.28 crore.

PMLA investigation intothe scam was taken up in June2019 on the basis of FIRs reg-istered at Dadri police station

in Gautam Buddh Nagar(Noida) against the accusedfirm and its promoter SanjayBhati and others.

GIPL and its promoterSanjay Bhati, along with others,had floated highly lucrativeinvestment plans in the guise ofa Bike Taxi service styled asBikebot, wherein a customercould invest in one, three, fiveor seven bikes which would bemaintained and operated by thecompany. In return, theinvestor would be paid month-ly rent, EMI and bonuses (incase of investment in multiple

bikes) and further incentives onadding additional investors ina binary/multi-level marketingstructure.

The company also allottedfranchisees in various cities butthe bike taxi hardly operated inthese cities. The plans werefloated in August 2017 and thecollection of money frominvestors/customers and repay-ments to them continued tillearly 2019.

In November 2018, thecompany floated similar plansfor e-bikes stating that thepetrol bikes were facing issuesregarding registration andoperation. The subscriptionamount for the e-bikes wasalmost double the investmentamounts for regular petrolbikes. The funds so collectedhave been used for repaymentto the earlier investors, acqui-sition of other companies, pur-chase/creation of various

immovable and movable assetsin the name of companies andalso transfer to other compa-nies and individuals as loansand investments without prop-er documentation.

Earlier, searches were con-ducted at 12 locations incrim-inating documents, includingproperty papers were seized.Survey conducted in a co-operative bank in Noidarevealed suspicious transac-tions and involvement of somebanking officials in aiding andabetting the accused in laun-dering of the public money, theagency said.

“Investigation conductedso far has resulted in identifi-cation of 19 immovable prop-erties in Gautam Buddh Nagar,Ghaziabad, Bulandshahar,Kanpur and Indore in thename of GIPL along with sevenother properties,” the ED saidin a statement.

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The daily ping-pong tradingof charges between the rul-

ing BJP and the Congress con-tinued uninterrupted onTuesday when Union MinsterPrakash Javadekar lashed out atthe latter for making randomcriticism of the Modi-Government and claimed thatCongress was losing a leader amonth would soon become a“party of tweets” as it is doingno work among people.

Javadekar said the anti-CAA Shaheen Bagh protestsand Delhi riots were theCongress’s “achievements” inFebruary followed by desertionof Jyotiraditya Scindia and lossof power in Madhya Pradesh inMarch, and “incitement” ofmigrants in April and “May:

6th anniversary of the historicdefeat of the Congress” fol-lowed by June “DefendingChina” by Congress witnessingin July its “virtual collapse inRajasthan”, he said. Congressleader Sachin Pilot’s “rebel-lion” against the Ashok GehlotGovernment has triggered aserious crisis in the State gov-ernment.

“Rahul Baba note India’sachievements in ‘war against#Corona’. India has the leastaverage cases, active cases anddeath rate than the US, Europeand Brazil. By making fun ofcandle lights, @RahulGandhi jiyou have insulted the people ofIndia & brave Corona war-riors,” tweeted senior BJPleader and claimed the conse-quences that befall the opposi-tion party.

In a swipe at Rahul Gandhiover his regular tweets attack-ing the Central Government,Javadekar said the Congresswould soon become a “party oftweets” as it is doing no workamong people and “losing”one leader after another.

“A frustrated and depressedparty is trying to launch allsorts of attacks on theGovernment,” he said.

“People are standing withModi. The Congress has become helpless,” Javadekaradded.

Rahul had earlier said thatattempts to topple CongressGovernment in Rajasthan andthe “Namaste Trump” eventswere Modi-Government’s“achievements” even as a majorcoronavirus pandemic is stillunderway in the country.

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Crucial evidence relating to making coun-terfeit seals of the UAE Consulate in

Thiruvananthapuram came out on Tuesdayas the sleuths of National InvestigatingAgency raided a shop near the Secretariat inthe city. The Special Court in Kochi onTuesday extended the NIA custody ofSwapna and Sandeep by another three days.

The NIA team reached the capital citywith Sarith, the prime accused in the GoldSmuggling operation through diplomaticchannel in Thiruvananthapuram Airportwhich was busted by the Customs a fortnightback.

Sarith was taken to various places in thecity where he, Swapna Suresh and SandeepNair, the other two kingpins of the racker, metand devised strategies to smuggle in the goldthrough diplomatic route. Neither the NIA

nor the Customs officials have spoken to themedia about the course of the investigationor the progress so far made.

The Special Court in Kochi on Tuesdayextended the NIA custody of Swapna andSandeep by another three days . The judgeasked the NIA sleuths to produce the duo inthe court on Friday to hear their plea for bail.Fazal Fareeth, the master-brain who was heldby the Dubai Police in connection with thecase is expected to reach Kerala in the nexttwo days. Meanwhile , the BJP in Keralaobserved Tuesday as Black Day demandingthe immediate resignation of Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan owning up moral respon-sibility for the smuggling.

“This is the first time in the history ofKerala, the Chief Minister’s Office is gettingfigured in a smuggling scam. All evidencesand reports point to the involvement of theChief Minister and his office in the case.

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What is unique about the GoldSmuggling through diplo-

matic channel that was busted bythe Customs officials atThiruvananthapuram Airport isthe similarities in the character andnature of the three prime accused-Sarith, Swapna Suresh andSandeep Nair.

All three belong to lower mid-dle class background and hadmade it big through shady deals.Similarly those who were takeninto custody by the Customs fromMalappuram district were all per-sons from financially weak fami-lies and were doing menial jobs forsurvival before they struck gold insmuggling operations.

While Swapna, daughter of aDubai based small-time entre-

preneur had a wayward life andwanted to make easy money, Sarithand Sandeep offered her the routeto make millions easily.

Both Sarith and Sandeep weredriving around in swanky import-ed cars while Swapna changed herhusbands many time in the pastlike the way she changes from onecostume to other.

The rise of Rameez, SayedAlavi and Fazal Fareeth are mindboggling. Their lives have lot ofsimilarities with Imtiaz Ali, thepoor cycle puncture repairer andJaved Mir, a plumber, both stayingin small towns in Kerala andcharacters of the novel “WhoPainted My Money White”authored by Sree Iyer.

Ali and Mir who were strug-gling to meet both ends togetherwere helped by strangers who

give them �five crore each with noconditions attached.

All they were asked to do wasto open accounts in the districtcooperative banks and issuecheques worth �three crore eachin the names of some organisationsabout which Ali and Mir had neverheard in their life.

The remaining money wouldremain with the duo who mayhave to offer boarding and lodg-ing facilities to the friends of the strangers who may drop inrarely.

The story takes place duringthe UPA regime of 2004-2014‘fame’ when there were strongreports of containers laden withfreshly printed currency notes of�500/ and �1,000/- denomina-tions found their way to Indianeconomy through Cochin Port.

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On Tuesday 720 new per-sons were diagnosed

with Covid-19 and a septu-agenarian woman suc-cumbed to the pandemic atT h i r u v a n a nt h ap u r a m ,according to Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan. But theChief Minister, who wassounding cautious till lastFriday sounded optimistic,jovial and assured the peo-ple that there was noting tobe worried about as theGovernment is fully in con-trol of the situation.

“There is nothing toworry about. We are doingquite well in managing thepandemic. We have theworld’s lowest case fatalityrate of 0.33 per cent. Thismeans that out of every 100Covid-19 patients, only 0.33

persons succumb to this pan-demic,” he said.

Vijayan also said that theState has the best testingrate in the country. “Thereare 110 testing centres andefforts are on to open moretesting centres and ramp upthe number of persons test-ed. It is not the number ofpersons who are tested thatdetermine the quality of test-ing. The Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR)has complimented and con-gratulated the pattern whichwe are using and has askedother States to replicate thesame,” said Vijayan in his vir-tual press meet on Tuesdayevening.

He said as on Tuesday,there were 8056 Covid-19patients in the State. “Wehave 353 hotspots in Kerala.The day saw 984 persons get-

ting hospitalised in the State,”said the chief minister.

The Chief Minister fur-ther stated that out of the 720persons tested positive onTuesday, 528 were infectedthrough contacts and 34 per-sons could not make out howthey got infected.

The capital city ofThiruvananthapuram tested151 covid-19 positive caseswhile Kollam had 85 coron-avirus cases. There are 13,994 cases of the pandemicacross the State while 274patients were fully recov-ered from the pandemic.Borrowing from the termused by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, the chiefminister lambasted the oppo-sition for seeing negativity inall development activitiesundertaken by the LDFGovernment.

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Tamil Nadu on Tuesday diag-nosed 4,965 new persons

with Covid-19 while the pan-demic claimed 75 personsacross the State. Though thereis no palpable change in thenumber of persons gettingafflicted with Covid-19 in theState, Chief Secretary KShanmugham said that therewas an encouraging develop-ment from Chennai whichshows a fall in the number ofpatients.

The day saw 4,894 patientscoming out of the hospitals fullycured and this has taken thenumber of persons recoveredfrom the pandemic till date to1.26 lakh. The medical bulletinissued by the State Governmentsaid that on Tuesday, 50,055

persons were tested makingthe number of persons tested tilldate to 1.8 lakh.

As on Tuesday, there were51, 344 active cases of covidacross Tamil Nadu while thenumber of cases diagnosedwith the ailment till datereached 1.95 million.

While Chennai tested 1,130persons positive, the neigh-bouring districts continued tobe of concern. Chengalpet had256 patients wholeKancheepuram registered 262patients and Thiruvallur 366.

Reports from the Southernand western districts were notinspiring as Thoothukudi diag-nosed 269 persons,Virudhunagar 360 cases andTiruchirappalli tested 127 pos-itive cases. Out of the 75 deaths,69 had pre-existing morbidity.

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The first 2 MegaWattST capac-ity Solar Power Plant of the

Western Naval Command wenton stream at Karanja NavalStation at Uran in Raigad districtof coastal Konkan region, onTuesday.

Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar,PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC FlagOfficer Commanding-in-Chief,Western Naval Command, e-inaugurated the solar powerplant.

The solar power plant, whichis one of the largest solar plantsin the region, comprises solarpanels, tracking tables and invert-ers—all of which have been developed indige-nously.

The plant is grid intercon-nected utilising the state of artsingle axis sun tracking technol-ogy with computerised moni-toring and control.

“The project is a significant

step by the Indian Navy towardsharnessing Solar energy and useof renewable source of energy formeeting the power supplyrequirement of Naval Station,” adefence spokesperson said.

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Amid the ongoing coron-avirus crisis, a 53-year-

woman from Nanded with“severe heart failure and irre-versible damage to the heart” has undergone a suc-cessful heart transplant at the Kokilaben DhirubhaiAmbani Hospital (KDAH)here.

Announcing Mumbai’sfirst successful heart trans-plant after the Covid-19 out-

break, Dr. NandkishoreKapadia, Director, Heart &Lung Transplant Centre,KDAH, said: “Patients areimmuno-compromised andgiven the current COVID sit-uation, additional care had tobe taken.

All necessary tests werecarried out and all parametersfollowed that were essential forthe success of the surgery. Thetransplant was successful andthe patient is recuperating well”.

The recipient was a 53-year-old female from Nandedwith severe heart failure andirreversible damage to theheart, which required a hearttransplant.

She was on the transplantlist from the past eight months.Her condition worsened, theonset of the Covid-19 pan-demic reduced her chances ofreceiving a new heart, as therewas a steep decline in thenumber of organ donations andorgan transplants.

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Lucknow: The hospitalityindustry in Uttar Pradesh isunable to regain its business inthe unlock phase, mainly dueto the fear of the pandemic andthe restrictions imposed bythe government.

While 60 to 70 per centeateries opened up after thestate government gave the nodlast month, half of them areplanning to shut down again following lack of cus-tomers.

The 55-hour weekendshutdown now has worked asa catalyst. IANS

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Awar of words broke outbetween the Opposition

BJP and Shiv Sena-led MahaVikas Aghadi (MVA) alliancepartners on Tuesday overSena president UddhavThackeray’s impending visitto Ayodhya for the RamMandir’s foundation layingceremony on August 5.

On a day Shiv Sena MPand spokesperson SanjayRaut confirmed that Uddhavwould definitely go toAyodhya on August 5, UnionMinister of State forConsumer Affairs, Food andPublic Distribution andsenior state BJP leaderRaosaheb Danve fired thefirst salvo at the Shiv Sena bylampooning its presidentover his dilemma about thelatter’s visit to Ayodhya.

“In the event of his notgetting the invite for the

bhoomi puja ceremony, willUddhav go to Ayodhya as aRam Bhakt. If it so war-rants, let him take the per-mission of the coalition part-ners in the MVA (Congressand NCP) to go to Ayodhya.In matters relating to LordRam, where is the question ofprestige?. In the past,Uddhav would say; `PehlaMandir Phir Sarakar’ (templeis first priority then comesthe government) Now he issaying: `Pehla Sarkar PhirMandir’ (first priority isGovernment then comes thetemple)”.

On his part, Raut said: “Uddhav Thackeray will def-initely go to Ayodhya for theBhoomi Puja ceremony ofRam Mandir. We (Shiv Sena)are associated with the RamMandir as a matter of faith,religion and politics. TheShiv Sena has in the pastplayed a big role in the Ram

Mandir construction move-ment. Like I said yesterday,Uddhav Thackeray had goneto Ayodhya before becomingthe Chief Minister and alsoafter 100 days in the CM’soffice”.

“From the point of viewof the country and Hindutva,the Ram Mandir foundationceremony is a historic occa-sion. But for the fact that weare in the midst ofCoronavirus, lakhs of thedevotees of Lord Ram wouldhave gone to Ayodya. Butbecause of coronavirus, therewill be restrictions on theinvites. From the informationI have got, only 150 peoplewill be invited to the foun-dation stone laying ceremo-ny,” Raut said.

Maharashtra YouthCongress Committee presi-dent Satyajeet Tambe hit outat the BJP for its continuedefforts to divide the country

on religious lines. “We havebeen seeing right from theday the it was founded, theBJP did not want “AmarAkbar Antony” to live har-moniously in the country.This is what the RSS’ secondchief Golwalkar has taughtthe Sangh parivar workers(who constitute the BJP).History has stood testimonyfor the manner in which theBJP has conducted itself. Allthe same, it is not a matter ofconcern for the ruling MahaVikas Aghadi in the state”.

Meanwhile, former NCPMP tweeted: “UddhavThackeray is among inviteesfor bhoomi pujan of RamTemple. He may participaterespecting Covid 19 restric-tions in his personal capaci-ty. The head of a seculardemocracy should refrainfrom promoting a particularreligious activity.

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Chief Minister MamataBanerjee on Tuesday blew

the poll bugle calling upon thepeople of Bengal to reject an“arrogant party of outsiders andpromising to trounce the BJP inthe next year’s Assembly elections.”

Speaking in her first mass vir-tual rally during corona timesBanerjee said, “Bengal will refuseto take directions from Gujarat…we will not be ruled by a party ofoutsiders… Bengal will be ruledby the Bengalis only.”

In an apparent reference toPrime Minister Narendra Modiand Home Minister Amit Shahthe Chief Minister said that “itseems that the two brothers havemade up their mind to make Indiaopposition free,” adding how “the

BJP is splurging crores to topplegovernments in other States… andnow they are trying to do the samein Bengal too by dangling bags fullof cash… But the people of thisState should ask them where thismoney is coming from? Whosemoney is this? I will tell you whosemoney this is. It is all the public’smoney which they are spendingduring the elections.”

The Centre was always tryingto humiliate Bengal and bulldozethe common man’s rights shesaid. Training her guns at NewDelhi, she said, “Centre is alwaysmaligning Bengal… But justbecause you are in power at theCentre, you cannot bulldoze ourrights? The people of Bengal willteach you this lesson.”

The Chief Minister wasspeaking on the Trinamool

Congress Martyrs’ Day observedon July 21 to remember 14 partymen who were killed in a policefiring while staging a movementin Kolkata in 1992.

Her urgency to reach out tothe electorate saw the ChiefMinister announcing poll sops inadvance even as she promised freelife time ration to the electorate.“If I come back to power muGovernment will provide free lifetime ration to the people of theState,” Banerjee said.

Taking a jibe at the BJP for“jumping too much after winninga few seats in 2019Lok Sabha elec-tions with the help of CPI(M) vot-ers,” Banerjee said, “now the timetake revenge is coming… we willgive them humiliating defeat inthe elections so that the BJP willlose its deposit.”

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In a marginal fluctuation inthe number of recorded

Covid-19 infections duringthe last 24 hours, Maharashtraon Tuesday witnessed 8,369new infected cases, while asmany as 246 people suc-cumbed to the pandemic invarious parts of the State.

Having breached 8,000cases’ mark in terms of infec-tions for three consecutivedays (Thursday-8641, Friday-8308 and Saturday-8348), wit-nessed highest-ever daily tallyof 9,518 infected cases onSunday and seen a drop ofnearly 1,278 to touch 8,240cases on Monday, the state wit-nessed 8,369 fresh positivecases on Tuesday.

With the fresh infectionsand fatalities, the total num-ber of positive cases rose to3,27,031, while the total num-ber of deaths went up to12,276 on Tuesday.

Of the total fatalitiesreported on Tuesday, Mumbairecorded 62 deaths taking upthe total number of deaths inthe metropolis from 5,755 to5817, while the number ofcorona cases rose by 992 totouch 103,368.

Apart from 52 deaths inMumbai, there were 56 deathsin Pune, 27 deaths in Thane,17 in Aurangabad, 10 inSolapur, 8 in Satara, 7 inNashik, 6 each in Raigad,Latur and Jalgaon, 5 inPalghar, 4 in Nanded, 3 eachin Ahmednagar, Parbhani,

Osmanabad, Yavatmal,Kolhapur and Nagpur, 2 eachin Nandurbar, Sangli andWashim and 1 each in Dhule,Jalna, Beed, Akola, Amravati.In addition, three personsfrom other states died.

With 78132 infected casesand 2096 deaths, Thane con-tinued to be the second worsthit district in Maharashtra.

Pune, which has emergedas the third worst affected dis-trict in terms of spread of thepandemic, has recorded 59745infections and 1457 deaths tillnow.

Meanwhile, the total num-ber of patients dischargedfrom various hospitals afterfull recovery since the secondweek of March this yeartouched 1,82,217. The recov-ery rate in the state stood at55.72 per cent. The mortalityrate in the state is 3.75 percent. The state health author-ities pegged the number of“active cases” in the state at1,32,236.

Out of 16,40,644 samplessent to laboratories, 3,27,031have tested positive (19.93per cent) for Covid-19 untilTuesday. Currently,7,79,676people are in home quarantinewhile 45,077 people are ininstitutional quarantine.

Jammu: The total cases ofcoronavirus jumped to over15,000 after 608 fresh caseswere detected while nineCovid-19 positive patientsdied in Jammu & Kashmir onTuesday.

So far, over 5.28 lakh sam-ples have been tested in Jammuand Kashmir. Out of this 15,258patients have tested positive.The total number of activepositive patients stood at 6,540.

According to the mediabulletin, out of 608 fresh cases,106 patients tested positivefrom Jammu division while502 cases tested positive fromKashmir division.

A total number of 181patients were discharged afterthey recovered. In Kashmirdivision, the highest number of213 cases were detected fromSrinagar district followed by 83cases from Budgam and 47from Kupwara. PNS

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Page 6: 0$ %1/(2/!˛3 ˝0/(ˆ $G ˙! ˘ ˘ ˘ - %€¦ · other MLAs in collusion with Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot camps got three more days to whet their knives before the Rajasthan High

Sir Edwin Lutyens’ Delhi,with its heritage and a graceso fragile, will soon bescarred and disfigured as itsiconic architecture and lush

greenery may give way to modernbuildings after the UnionGovernment remains steadfast withits plan to redevelop its stretch fromthe Rashtrapati Bhavan to the IndiaGate and even beyond till theYamuna front.

Some of the mansions sprawlingin the cool, green light of the day, withtheir symmetry — striking and flaw-less — are waiting to be razed to theground. The trees that have stood wit-ness to history may not survive to tella tale of another day. The amaltas treesthat broke into soft yellow blossomsevery summer, the sun-warm jamunsdotting the grassy grounds and the bit-ter-sweet smell of neem pods whencrushed under the feet after rains mayslip into the twilight sepia of oblivion,though assurances continue of no treesbeing felled during the exercise.

Lutyens’ Delhi stands as a trib-ute to the time and the timeless spir-it of the city. The leafy boulevardswalk you back to the memories of anera bygone under a soft lilac sky.Generations have grown up to iden-tify the city with its pristine architec-ture shimmering in the amber sun-shine like a jewel unspoilt in theemerald green. The Central Vista,with some of the most iconic build-ings of Delhi, came into being whenthe British capital was shifted toDelhi from Calcutta in 1911.Architects Edwin Lutyens andHerbert Baker designed large sec-tions of the area with iconic featuresbut could not complete their task.The green expanse left was later filledup with buildings that house CentralGovernment offices, though these areno match to the Lutyens’ creations.

Restructuring the Lutyens’ willtake away from the city its soul andcharacter. It will irreversibly deface thecity and rob it of its identity anduniqueness. The stakeholders, howev-er, claim that this will not affect theimposing edifice and architecture asconceived by Lutyens as long as all theregulations are followed.

The revamp has been proposed tomeet the crushing need for space andreflect the aspirations of a new andresurgent India as pleaded byGovernment sources. But then, whycan’t the lawmakers and Governmentemployees find space to live andwork elsewhere in this ever-expand-ing city? The swathe of green and high-end lifestyle of Lutyens’ Delhi cushionsits residents from the hoi polloi, from

the crowded zones where thecity lives and breathes. The rul-ing elite will have a real taste oflife in the capital if they rubshoulders with the commoners.It will give them a hands-on feel-ing of the traffic jams, the crowdand the dust, the filth and thegarbage, poverty and lawless-ness, lack of orderliness — all ofwhich are unheard of within thesafe bastion of Lutyens’ Delhi,like the palace of Oscar Wilde’sThe Happy Prince, where sorrowwas not allowed to enter.

The proposal envisagesonly the three top-most func-tionaries of India’s democracy,the President, Vice Presidentand the Prime Minister, livingand working from the RaisinaHill. The Central Vista revampbrings down the babus literal-ly from their exalted positionon the Raisina Hill to theplains, alongside the Rajpath. Isthere a message, too, that theyare only public servants? TheNorth and South Block will beconverted into museums — butdo we need more of them andthat, too, within Lutyens? Wealready have the national muse-um and the archives. Havingswarms of visitors in thesehuge buildings every day willnecessitate heavy police pres-ence in view of their proximi-ty to the presence of the high-est dignitaries of the country.

Ten square doughnut-shaped buildings, comprising 51Ministries of the CentralGovernment, will come up atfour locations of the CentralVista. One of them would

replace the Indira GandhiCentre for Arts near a round-about with heavy traffic densi-ty. The police or the NDMC willbe under tremendous pressureto cater to the extra load of traf-fic, parking, civic and otheramenities.

In addition, hutments are tobe razed to house office com-plexes, robbing the heritagezone further of its greenery andopen space. The subways andthe metro link to be provided forseamless movement betweenthe office complexes are a mam-moth exercise, difficult to be exe-cuted without altering or scar-ring the beauty and symmetry.The proposal to add anotherbuilding to the existingParliament House will againencroach upon the greenexpanse left alone so thoughtful-ly by Lutyens and Baker to pre-serve the unique façade of NewDelhi.

Around 2,000 people filedobjections with the DDA and1,200 were called for hearings.Some averred that the change inland use was not legally tenable.Others felt that the revamp can-not be done in isolation withoutconsidering the surroundingzone. Besides, a detailed study isrequired to study the impact ofthe resultant pressure on civicamenities, traffic and trans-portation.

Experts have also warnedthat any plan of such magnitudeshould not be executed in haste.They have cited instances ofgreat cities that have integratedmodern refurbishments with

iconic historical structures seam-lessly and have befittingly ren-ovated heritage structures tosuit our new-age demands. Evencities like Washington DC,London and Paris have beenmodernised where new-agearchitecture has been blendedand balanced with the heritagelook and the old-world charm.

In this great city, our coun-trymen and our generations tocome have a stake. For a pro-ject of this significance and ina location as critical, thereneeds to be a widespread con-sultation before taking anysuch decision of historical sig-nificance. And finally, the mootpoint is: Whether there is aneed for such a project at all?

The best thing heard aboutthe Central Vista revamp is theshifting of the residence ofthe Prime Minister to theRashtrapati Bhavan precincts.This will clear up an importantarterial road from that zone toSouth Delhi. Lutyens’ Delhineeds to be decluttered further.All political party offices andthe sarkari ones working fromhutments within New Delhishould be moved out, extend-ing the green belt further. Whynot conduct an exercise toassess whether so manyMinistries are actuallyrequired? Babus of our exaltedbureaucracy won’t underminetheir own strength. We need anoutside expert to deliberate,something on the lines of therecent restructuring of myriadcadres in the Railways. Let thecore strength remain in

Lutyens’ zone and the restmoved out to marked areas likethe CGO complex or in newhubs. In this digital age with thefacility of video conferencing,do we need overcrowding andincreasing pressure on civicamenities in a heritage zone?

Instead, the iconic IndiaGate environs, giving theimpression of an embattledfortress with police barricadesand fortifications, need to befurther opened up and beauti-fied. The majestic RajpathLawns lie trampled under theugly green PWD poles foralmost six months of the year,half in preparation for theJanuary 26 parade and theother half in dismantling thewhole façade. It’s time to decidewhether a resurgent India,whose democratic credentialsare solidly established, stillneeds to purvey its militarymight in a parade everyRepublic Day.

With evidence of continu-ous settlement since the 6thcentury BC, Delhi is one of theoldest inhabited cities in theworld. Destroyed several timesas it passed into the hands ofmany ruling dynasties, the cityhas been built and rebuiltaround its treasured ruins.And now, with plans to revampthe Lutyens’ Delhi, the city onceagain stands muted at thecrossroads of time, war-wearyand subdued, pleading with abroken soul to be left alone.

(The writer is former IPSofficer and Central InformationCommissioner)

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Sir — This refers to the report,“T20 World Cup postponed”(July 21). The InternationalCricket Council’s (ICC) decisionto hold in abeyance the T20World Cup in the wake of theCOVID-19 pandemic is wel-come. Given that the cricketersthemselves have not been unableto play the sport, the idea of con-ducting a major tournamentlike the T20 World Cup this yearseemed to be absurd. Althoughthe ICC’s decision may come asa shock to cricket aficionados,they must not lose hope as thedeferment of the World Cup hasenhanced the possibilities for theconduct of the Indian PremierLeague (IPL).

Tushar AnandPatna

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Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Rajasthan wrangle” (July21). The more pertinent ques-tion is why is the Congressunable to retain talent andyoung leaders? The Gandhifamily must take the entire

blame as it failed to reward thosewho performed. Assam’sHemanta Biswa Sarma quitbecause he wasn’t taken serious-ly. Jyotiraditya Scindia, too,walked away after he was repeat-edly marginalised by the KamalNath Government.

Both Sonia Gandhi andRahul Gandhi showed little sen-sitivity towards their concernsand, instead, backed those par-

tymen who humiliated the youthleaders. Like Scindia, SachinPilot, too, was close to RahulGandhi but was betrayed. Sincelong there have been calls for theparty to introspect but the grandold party has been unable tocontain rising resentment. Thetime to introspect, too, seems tohave gone now.

ShadabVia email

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Sir — The University GrantsCommission’s (UGC’s) new set ofguidelines, asking universitiesto conduct the final year/finalsemester exams beforeSeptember 30, is unjust. Thosestudents in the rural areas will bethe worst sufferers. Aren’t stu-dents’ lives more important than

these examinations? It is anestablished fact now that main-taining physical distance andbreaking the chain of infection isthe best remedy to fight the virus.Wouldn’t the UGC be putting thestudents’ lives at stake? Manyhave travelled back to their homeStates and will have to return forthe exams. The UGC mustreverse its order and assess thestudents on the basis of marksobtained in internals.

Nagendra Kumar VempalliHyderabad

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Sir — The Coronavirus pandem-ic has forced us to inculcate a lotof safety-related habits andbehavioural changes, too. Butwhat’s striking is that accordingto a BBC report, more than onemillion people have given upsmoking since the pandemic hit.This is a positive development,which must be incorporated inour lives well beyond the lock-down and the pandemic.

AyushVia email

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Page 7: 0$ %1/(2/!˛3 ˝0/(ˆ $G ˙! ˘ ˘ ˘ - %€¦ · other MLAs in collusion with Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot camps got three more days to whet their knives before the Rajasthan High

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The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)has introduced a new kind of form for fil-ing tax returns and form 26AS in antici-

pation of better tax compliance, wherein form26AS will now be pre-loaded with informationrelating to investments as well. With this, theCBDT has given another opportunity to citizensto file accurate and true income returns for theassessment-year 2018-19 by July 31. The CBDThas been scanning computerised records of tax-payers and sending messages via the ShortMessaging Service (SMS) and emails to taxpay-ers who have been found to be remiss in theirduty to the nation.

The big question is why is such an exerciseneeded at all? Despite various innovative ideasadopted by the CBDT to encourage people to paytheir taxes regularly, India has not movedtowards a practical and easy tax regime wherepeople diligently file their taxes and disclose theirtrue income. We are yet to reach a stage wherewe, as a society, take pride in filing our taxes anddisclosing our actual income.

In view of this general reluctance to pay taxesamong Indians, an altogether new tax regimeshould be introduced without the largely-mis-used exemptions that we currently have. Whydo we need to give two confusing options to tax-payers of either availing some exemptions or get-ting a flat basic �� lakh as tax-free income? Onlythe latter option of �� lakh as tax-free incomeneeds to be retained.

The tax system should be further simplifiedby abolishing cess, surcharges and so on. It is amatter of concern that despite repeated assur-ances by the Government, the much-awaited,new and simplified Income Tax Act has not beenintroduced in the country to replace the six-decade-old Income Tax Act of 1961, which isnow full of confusing amendments.

The implementation of the Raja ChelliahCommittee recommendations to fix the highesttax slab at 30 per cent, to be in tune with mostcountries around the world, had abolished thepractice of converting black money into whitemoney. Gradually increasing the highest slab, aswell as imposing cess and surcharges, hasundone the good achieved earlier. Hence, thehighest tax slab of 30 per cent should be restoredso that people find it advantageous to keep theirincome books honest.

Rather a permanent Voluntary DisclosureScheme (VDS) should be introduced with a pro-vision for people to declare their income at thehighest suggested tax rate of 30 per cent. It couldbe any income without the taxpayer having todisclose its source.

This will make all cash transactions, espe-cially in property deals, accounted for if regis-tration fee on property deals is also reduced tosay, just two per cent, from what it is at present.The names of all those disclosing their incomesunder the suggested 30 per cent slab should beon the tax department’s website so that status-conscious people may race to disclose theirincome.

The basic tax exemption now fixed at �� lakhshould pave the way for abolishing all tax exemp-tions, including on charity, donations, contribu-

tion to political parties and even agri-cultural income. The fact remains thatan ordinary farmer does not earnmore than �� lakh. And this provisionis grossly misused by ultra-rich people,including celebrities to declare theirunaccounted income as agriculturalincome through purchase of somefarmland meant for the purpose ofevading taxes only.

Income tax slabs should be 10 percent and 20 per cent for incomesbetween �5-�10 lakh and �10-�15lakh respectively and thereafter itshould be 30 per cent for the rest. TheLK Jha Committee recommendationsto make the calendar year the FinancialYear (FY) too, should be implementedin line with most countries around theworld. The fiscal year of April-Marchis a colonial legacy which was intro-duced by the British in India for theirown interests and convenience.

Rather than concentrating on smallcash transactions through BhimAppand so on — which result in frauds per-petrated on illiterate people — allsales and purchases above �10,000should be compulsorily made throughbank transactions only. For this to work,transaction charges on credit cardsshould also be slashed to just half percent (Goods and Services Tax-exempt-ed). That, too, should be borne by theCentral Government, with all incentiveson purchases made through creditcards abolished.

Such a system will fetch much high-er tax revenue for the Government. Thepresent two per cent transactioncharges on credit cards force traders tocharge it separately from customers,specially where trade margins are low.

Banks issuing credit cards will earnmuch more even with a half per centtransaction charge because of theirincreased use. Plus, two sets of creditcard swiping machines should be madecompulsory for every GST-registereddealer so as to avoid cash payments bythose seeking to evade taxes.

The Input Tax Credit system in theGST regime, particularly in the man-ufacturing sector, is the biggest sourceof corruption and tax evasion. TheGST invoices left out by ordinary cus-tomers are sold by traders to manufac-turers/producers to avail false Input TaxCredit. Reforms in the Input TaxCredit system can only be possiblethrough drastic changes in the GST tax-structure, wherein basically only twoGST rates of 10 per cent and 30 per centexist, abolishing all other existing GST-rates. Abolishing lower slabs of threeand five per cent will be more thancompensated by abolishing slabs of 12and 18 per cent. On the other hand,abolishing the highly corrupt system ofInput Tax Credit from the manufactur-ing and producing sector will fetchmuch more revenue to the exchequerand it will not harm the manufactur-ers/producers because of abolition ofhigher GST slabs of 12 and 18 per cent.

In the same way, a GST of 18 percent in the service sector is excessive-ly high, where for example those par-ticipating in TV panel discussionshave to pay roughly half of their hon-orarium in tax, including GST andincome tax. All Government paymentscan be considered to be exempted fromGST to avoid unnecessary Governmentaccounting by putting tax from oneGovernment pocket to other.

Unfortunately, unmindful policy-makers brought clutch-plate and clutch-bearing under different GST slabs of 18and 28 per cent respectively. Likewisesimilar items sold by confectioners, likesweets, biscuits, savoury items and soon, attract different GST slabs, with dia-betes-causing sweets attracting justfive per cent GST.

To remove confusion and abnor-mality, invoices for items like gold jew-ellery can be drawn in two parts, onefor metal and embodied items and theother for making charges so that 10 percent GST may be payable only on thelatter. Cess on extra-luxurious itemsshould be replaced by additional GSTslabs in multiples, going as high as 50per cent in some cases.

The Government must also bringpetroleum products under the GSTregime to ensure uniform pricing ofpetrol and diesel in all States.

At present, India is the only coun-try in the world to have so many GSTslabs. Zero per cent GST should onlybe retained on totally unbranded rawmaterials, which cannot be consumedwithout giving them a finishing touch,for example agricultural products, fish,meat, cotton, yarn and so on. All itemsof long-term use like cars, air-condi-tioners, television sets, refrigerators andso on could attract 30 per cent GSTwhile their parts could uniformlyattract 10 per cent GST. In the end, theGovernment must realise that taxrationalisation on even small things canresult in more revenue earning for theGovernment and turn a country thatavoids paying its taxes into one thattakes pride in doing so.

(The writer is an RTI consultant)

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Among the most common age-related neuro-degenerativediseases affecting people above

the age of 60 is Parkinson’s Disease(PD). It is second only to Alzheimer’s.With an ageing population andincreased life expectancy due to bet-ter healthcare, India will see a propor-tional rise in cases of PD, making ita major health problem. The diseasewas first described by a British doc-tor named James Parkinson in 1817as the “shaking palsy.” Today, an esti-mated 10 million people worldwidehave PD and it affects one per centof the population above the age of 60.Men have a 50 per cent higherchance of developing the disease ascompared to women. Though theprevalence of this disease in India isless compared to other countries, the

absolute number of cases is muchhigher due to a larger population. Pluswithin India, the prevalence of thisdisease varies across regions and theParsi community has the highestcases.

PD is a slowly progressive disor-der with no identifiable cause. Itresults from loss/degeneration ofdopamine-producing cells in a regionof the brain called the substantia nigra.The cause of cell death/degenerationis not known. The disease manifestswhen more than 60 per cent of thedopamine-producing cells are lost.Dopamine is a neurotransmitterwhich helps in transmitting signals todifferent parts of the brain tosmoothen our movements.

Like many other diseases, PD isalso not fully understood despite allthe research available today and,therefore, many myths are associat-ed with it. Statistically there is anincreased risk of developing PD inpeople exposed to certain pesticidesand among those who have had priorhead injuries, while there is a reducedrisk in people who smoke tobaccoand drink tea or coffee. Genetic fac-tors have been implicated but have

not been proven conclusively in thetransmission of the disease.

It usually starts with a barely-noticeable tremor in just one handfollowed by slowing of movement andstiffness in the limbs. As the diseaseprogresses, simple tasks of walking,writing or talking become difficultand the muscles become rigid. Sowhat are the common myths andmisconceptions associated with thisdisease? As the world celebrates July22 as the ‘World Brain Day’, it is vitalto bust some of the myths on PDsequentially.

Myth: Hand tremors are a con-firmed sign of PD.

Fact: While it is true that handtremors are seen in most patients ofPD, they may be absent in up to 25per cent of the patients. Tremors canalso be caused by stroke, multiple scle-rosis and traumatic brain injury.However tremors in PD always occurat rest (while not performing anymovement of the limb) and alwaysbegin on one side of the body.

Myth: PD only affects our mobil-ity.

Fact: Tremors, stiffness or rigid-ity of the limbs and slowness to ini-

tiate movement are the hallmark ofthis disease. However, the body alsoloses its ability to balance. Besides this,there could be difficulty in swallow-ing, chewing and trouble speakingclearly. There is increased sweatingand salivation. Day time sleepinessand loss of urinary control are othermajor problems faced by thesepatients, combined with loss of visu-al-spatial orientation and visual hal-lucinations.

Myth: PD is hereditary.Fact: Most cases aren’t hereditary.

It’s rare for the disease to be passeddown from parent to child. However,having a first-degree family member(a parent or sibling) with Parkinson’sraises the risk by three per cent.

Myth: PD is not treatable.Fact: There is treatment but

there is no cure, so what does thatmean? With treatment a person withPD can lead a good quality of life butthe medications have to be taken life-long. The medications only controlthe symptoms and do not take careof the underlying cause of the disease.It is just like treating diabetes or highblood pressure. We cannot curethese diseases but can bring them

under control with medication.Myth: Drugs used to treat PD are

not safe and can worsen the disease.Fact: There are no drugs in

Allopathy without side-effects. Drugsused in the treatment of PD can overa period of five to 10 years cause dysk-inesia or abnormal, involuntary anduncontrolled movements of the limbs,eyes or the lips. This may requireadjustments of the frequency anddose of the dopaminergic drug alongwith the addition of another medica-tion. These drugs are safe for long-term use.

Myth: The disease affects onlythe elderly.

Fact: It is true that PD has high-er prevalence in the age group above60 years. However, in India nearly fiveper cent of the patients are below 40years of age. More than 10 per centpeople now being diagnosed in theUS are less than 40 years old. A recentstudy found that the prevalence of thedisease ranges from 41 people per1,00,000 in the fourth decade of lifeto more than 1,900 people per1,00,000 among those who are 80years and older.

Myth: When medications fail,

there is no hope.Fact: When a person has dis-

abling tremor or dyskinesia, which isunresponsive to medication or if thesymptoms become resistant to med-ication after many years of treatment,these patients can be offered a surgi-cal option called the Deep BrainStimulation (DBS). DBS can helprelieve the symptoms of tremors, stiff-ness or rigidity and dyskinesia. In thisprocedure, electrodes are placed inthe brain and are connected to a stim-ulator device. Similar to a heartpacemaker, the neurostimulator gen-erates electrical impulses to regulatebrain activity. Because DBS canworsen cognition or memory prob-lems, it is not recommended for peo-ple with dementia.

Myth: The disease follows a pre-dictable pattern of progression.

Fact: PD is very unique to eachperson. The progression of this dis-ease cannot be predicted even byexperts, implying that a few years intothe disease some people may be in afar better physical shape as comparedto others.

Myth: One can get tested for PDin a lab for confirmation of the diag-

nosis and early treatment.Fact: The diagnosis of PD is

based on clinical examination of apatient and not based on lab reportsor brain imaging. The identificationof at least two symptoms amongbradykinesia (slow movements), resttremor, rigidity and postural instabil-ity can confirm the diagnosis. Brainimaging may be used to look for othercauses of PD-like diseases.

Myth: PD is fatal.Fact: Although PD is a dis-

abling disease and its diagnosis is dev-astating, it is not a death sentence. Itis not like a heart attack or a strokethat can immediately be life threat-ening. It is a slow, progressive disease,which over a period of time makesthe patients dependent on others fortheir mobility and activities of dailyliving. However, the progressiontakes many years and with continuedmedication many patients are able tolead a normal life. Boxing legend,Mohammad Ali lived with this dis-ease for 32 years and Hollywood starMichael J Fox has been living with PDfor the last 29 years.

(The writer is a consultantNeurosurgeon at Apollo Hospital)

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London: China threatened a"forceful counter-attack" onTuesday in response to Britain'sannouncement that it wouldsuspend its extradition treatywith Hong Kong followingBeijing's introduction of anational security law for theformer British colony.

On Monday, BritishForeign Secretary DominicRaab told parliament the extra-dition treaty would be sus-pended immediately and anarms embargo would beextended to Hong Kong.

"We will not consider re-activating those arrangements,unless and until there are clearand robust safeguards, whichare able to prevent extraditionfrom the UK being misusedunder the new national secu-rity legislation," Raab said.

The decision appeared toinfuriate Beijing.

"China will make a force-ful counter-attack to the UK'swrong actions," said Chineseforeign ministry spokesmanWang Wenbin at a daily newsconference on Tuesday.

"China urges the UK togive up its fantasies of contin-uing colonial influence in HongKong and immediately correctits mistakes," he said.

London has been dismayed

by a crackdown in Hong Kong,which returned to Chineserule in 1997, and the percep-tion that China did not tell thewhole truth over the coron-avirus outbreak.

Raab said he would extenda longstanding arms embargoon China to include HongKong, meaning no exports ofweapons or ammunition and aban on any equipment whichmight be used for internalrepression, like shackles andsmoke grenades.

Australia and Canada sus-pended extradition treaties withHong Kong earlier this month.U.S. President Donald Trumphas ended preferential econom-ic treatment for Hong Kong.

Last week, Prime MinisterBoris Johnson ordered equip-ment from China's HuaweiTechnologies to be purgedcompletely from Britain's 5Gnetwork by the end of 2027.

China has accused Britainof pandering to the UnitedStates.

Britain says the new secu-rity law breaches the guaranteesof freedoms, including anindependent judiciary, thathave helped keep Hong Kongone of the world's most impor-tant trade and financial centressince 1997. AGENCY

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London: US Secretary of StateMike Pompeo held “candid? dis-cussions in London with one ofAmerica's closest allies onTuesday, amid growing ten-sions between the West andChina.

Hong Kong and humanrights figured high on the agen-da as Pompeo met with BritishPrime Minister Boris Johnson,

the UK leader's office said.The session came just hours

after Britain suspended its extra-dition treaty with Hong Kongand blocked arms sales to theformer British territory —angering Beijing — after Chinaimposed a tough new nationalsecurity law.

Pompeo described his talksin London as being “construc-

tive? and “candid", and ranging"from 5G telecommunication toour negotiations for a US-UKfree trade agreement". Pompeowill also meet with senior mem-bers of Johnson's ConservativeParty who blocked plans togive Chinese telecommunica-tions company Huawei a role inthe UK's new high-speedmobile phone network. AP

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Hong Kong: It was one of thefirst protests in Hong Kongafter a feared national securi-ty law came into effect.

Among a dozen or solunchtime demonstrators at aluxury mall in the Centralbusiness district, a man raiseda poster that - viewed fromafar - read in Chinese,“Liberate Hong Kong, revolu-tion of our times.”

The government had justbanned the slogan, saying ithad separatist connotationsand so ran afoul of the newsecurity law's prohibition ofsecessionist acts.

Shortly after, riot policeentered the mall, shooing awayonlookers. They detained theman, telling him the sloganwas banned. But when officerslooked at the poster up close,no words could be made out.It merely had circular shapesagainst a contrasting back-ground. They snapped a fewphotographs of the poster andlet him go.

Since the imposition of thesecurity law -- which banssecessionist, subversive andterrorist activities, as well ascollusion with foreign forces,with penalties of up to lifeimprisonment -- anti-govern-ment protesters in Hong Kong,and those supporting themovement, have adapted theirmethods to try to make theirvoices heard without violatingthe legislation.

Before the law took effectJune 30, protesters often heldup colourful posters plasteredwith slogans that ranged fromcondemning the Chinese gov-ernment to calling for HongKong's independence. Sincethen, they have become cre-ative in obscuring their mes-sages.

Many of the protesters atthe luxury mall held up blankpieces of white paper to protestagainst China's “white terror”of political repression. Otherposters are designed to cir-cumvent bans on slogans.

The government has notyet made clear if such forms ofexpression are illegal.

The law has had a chillingeffect on “yellow shops” thatsupport the protest move-ment. Many have removedprotest artwork and stickynotes bearing words ofencouragement from cus-tomers, out of fear that theycould land them in troublewith the authorities.

Some shop owners, likeTan Wong, have instead put upblank sticky notes to show sol-idarity with the movement.

“We are doing this rightnow because (the shop) isprivate property. We are tryingto tell Hong Kong people thatthis is the only thing that we'yellow shops' can do,” saidWong, who runs Kok KokChicken, a Korean fried chick-en store.

“If we do not persist, wewould no longer be able todeliver our message to others,”he said. AP

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St. Paul (US): The MinnesotaLegislature passed a package ofpolice accountability measuresearly Tuesday that includes aban on neck restraints like theone that was used on GeorgeFloyd before his death inMinneapolis.

The sweeping package wassaid to be one of the most sub-stantial changes to the state'scriminal justice system in yearsand also bans chokeholds andso-called warrior-style trainingin which officers are instruct-ed to view all encounters asinherently dangerous.

Passage of the measurescomes after nearly two monthsof negotiations that followedFloyd's death May 25.

The Black man wasrestrained face down in thestreet while handcuffed andwith three officers holding himdown, including a white officerwho had a knee to Floyd's neckfor nearly 8 minutes.

The House approved themeasure 102 to 29 just beforemidnight Monday. The Senatepassed it 60 to 7 and sent thebill to Gov. Tim Walz a coupleof hours later.

The legislation also

improves data collectionaround deadly force encountersand creates a new state unit toinvestigate those cases.

It increases funding forcrisis intervention training,creates an arbitration panel tohandle police misconduct casesand establishes incentives forofficers to live in the commu-nities they police, the StarTribune reported. TheDemocratic governor had tocall the special session to givelawmakers a chance to rescind

the emergency powers he'sbeen using to respond to thecoronavirus pandemic. HouseDemocrats blocked a GOPeffort to void those powers.

The session also gave leg-islators another chance to passthe policing measures and abonding bill, which they wereunable to agree on during lastmonth's special session.

The bonding bill fell to thewayside as legislators worked topass police reform as timeexpired on the session. AP

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President Donald Trumpacknowledged a "big flare-

up" of COVID-19 cases, butdivisions between the WhiteHouse and Senate Republicansand differences withDemocrats posed fresh chal-lenges for a new federal aidpackage with the US crisisworsening and emergencyrelief about to expire.

Trump convened GOPleaders at the White House onMonday as Senate MajorityLeader Mitch McConnell pre-pared to roll out his $1 trillionpackage in days.

But the administration crit-icised the legislation's moneyfor more virus testing andinsisted on a full payroll taxrepeal that could complicatequick passage. The timelineappeared to quickly shift.

“We've made a lot ofprogress,” Trump said, butadded, "Unfortunately, this issomething that's very tough."

Lawmakers returned to aCapitol still off-limits to

tourists, another sign of thenation's difficulty containingthe coronavirus.

Rather than easing, thepandemic's devastating cycle ischurning again, leavingCongress little choice but toengineer another costly rescue.

Businesses are shuttingdown again, many schools willnot fully reopen and jobs aredisappearing, all while federalaid will expire in days.

House Speaker NancyPelosi, D-Calif., said anyattempt by the White House toblock money for testing “goesbeyond ignorance.”

The political stakes arehigh for both parties before theNovember election, and evenmore so for the nation, whichnow has registered more coro-navirus infections and a high-er death count — 140,800 —than any other country.

Treasury Secretary StevenMnuchin and acting chief ofstaff Mark Meadows will meetprivately Tuesday with Pelosiand Senate Democratic leaderChuck Schumer.

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The Justice Department onTuesday accused two

Chinese hackers of stealinghundreds of millions of dollarsof trade secrets from compa-nies across the world and morerecently targeting firms devel-oping a vaccine for the coron-avirus.

The indictment, whichofficials expected to discuss ata news conference, says thehackers in recent months hadresearched vulnerabilities inthe computer networks ofcompanies publicly known fortheir work in developing vac-cines and treatments.

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Beijing: China on Tuesdaysought to defend its recentclaims over the SaktengWildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan,saying the boundary betweenthe two countries is yet to bedemarcated and it has pro-posed a "package solution" toresolve the border dispute.

In a surprise move, Chinarecently staked claim over theSakteng Wildlife Sanctuary inBhutan at the GlobalEnvironment Facility (GEF)Council and opposed fundingto the project.

Asked about China's claimover the sanctuary in Bhutan,Chinese Foreign Ministryspokesman Wang Wenbin told

a media briefing here that theboundary between the twocountries is yet to be demar-cated.

"China's position remainsconsistent and clear. Theboundary between China andBhutan has not been delimitedand there are disputes in themiddle, eastern and westernsections," he said.

"So, China advocates apackage solution to resolve thedispute,” he said. "China isopposed to making an issue ofthese disputes at multilateralforums and China remains incommunication with the rele-vant parties on this issue,” thespokesman said. PTI

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Islamabad: Pakistan's aviationauthority has suspended anoth-er 68 pilots for possessingdubious licences, taking thenumber of those taken off dutyfor flying with fake credentialsin the country to 161.

They were suspended bythe Aviation Division onMonday, the Dawn newspaperreported.

The suspended persons areamong the 262 pilots, whowere grounded and put underinvestigation by the aviationministry last month, for pos-

sessing suspicious licences,according to the newspaper.

Other than the 161 flyinglicences that have been sus-pended so far, 28 licences havebeen cancelled. The decision onthe remaining 73 pilots isexpected within the next twodays. The government wasexpected to present a report onJuly 21 before the SupremeCourt on measures being takenfor the safety of air travellersafter Federal Minister forAviation Ghulam Sarwar Khanhad announced in the National

Assembly that the licences of asmany as 262 Pakistani pilotswere dubious.

However, contrary to theaviation minister's claim, thePakistan Civil AviationAuthority recently declared thatall commercial/airline trans-port pilot licences (CPL/ATPL)issued "are genuine and valid-ly issued". A spokesman for theAviation Division said all thePakistani pilots flying on inter-national or domestic routeshad been cleared and are expe-rienced. PTI

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London: The UK is one ofRussia's top Western intelli-gence targets, an influential UKparliamentary panel has con-cluded in a report released onTuesday.

The House of CommonsIntelligence and SecurityCommittee (ISC), which hasoversight over the country'sintelligence services, conclud-ed in a long-awaited report onfeared Russian influence inBritish affairs that “immediate

action" is needed to assist thecountry's intelligence servicestackle the “very capable adver-sary" in the form of Russia.

“It appears that Russia con-siders the UK one of its topWestern intelligence targets…This is likely to be related to theUK's close relationship with the

US, and the fact that the UK isseen as central to the Westernanti-Russian lobby,” notes the50-page report.

“The way forward lies withtaking action with our allies; acontinuing international con-sensus is needed againstRussian aggressive action. TheWest is strongest when it actscollectively and that is the wayin which we can best attach acost to [Russian President]Putin's actions,” it adds. AP

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Equity indices ratchetedhigher for the fifth session

on the trot on Tuesday as pos-itive results from early trials ofa COVID-19 vaccine candidatebuoyed markets globally.

A sharp recovery in therupee and healthy earningsfrom some corporates added tothe bullish mood here, traderssaid. The 30-share BSE Sensex,which opened on a firm foot,stayed in the positive territorythroughout the session andclosed at 37,930.33, up 511.34points, or 1.37 per cent.

Similarly, the NSE Niftyrose 140.05 points, or 1.27 percent, to end at 11,162.25.

This is the highest closingfor both the benchmarks sinceMarch 5.

PowerGrid was the topgainer among the Sensex con-stituents, spurting 6.14 percent, followed by Maruti, ICICIBank, HDFC, Kotak Bank,Axis Bank, and RelianceIndustries.

On the other hand, BajajFinance, Bajaj Finserv, AsianPaints and Sun Pharma wereamong the laggards, droppingup to 4.31 per cent.

Global equities ralliedafter Oxford University’sCOVID-19 vaccine candidateshowed positive trial results,while EU leaders finalised a750-billion euro stimulus plan.

“EU leaders havefinally reached an agreementon a massive stimulus plan tocombat the pandemic impact.News about successful pro-gression of COVID-19 vaccinetrials also boosted the globalmarkets while positive quar-terly earnings results, espe-cially from the leaders, pro-vided an additional support tothe Indian markets.

“Although the market

uptrend remains intact,investors are advised to becautious since it seems to be inovervalued territory.

Result-heavy day today,and stock specific commentarywill be looked at,” said VinodNair, Head of Research atGeojit Financial Services.

BSE energy, oil and gas,bankex, realty, power, financeand auto indices jumped up to2.94 per cent, while telecom,FMCG, healthcare and teck fin-ished lower.

Broader BSE mid-capindex slipped 0.22 per cent,while the small-cap gauge rose0.24 per cent.

HDFC Life Insurancelogged 6 per cent rise in stand-alone net profit at �451 crorefor the first quarter of the cur-rent financial year.

Announcing its resultspost market hours, FMCG major HindustanUnilever reported a 5.7 per centincrease in consolidated netprofit to � 1,897 crore for theJune quarter.

The coronavirus vaccinedeveloped by the University ofOxford appears safe andinduces a strong immuneresponse within the body, sci-entists announced on Monday

after the first phase of “promis-ing” human trials against thedeadly disease.

In India, AIIMS-Delhialso began recruiting volun-teers for conducting human

clinical trials of the indige-nously developed COVID-19 vaccine candidateCovaxin.

Bourses in Shanghai,Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoulended on a positive note.

Stock exchanges in Europewere also trading with signifi-cant gains in early deals.

The number of COVID-19 cases around the world hascrossed 1.46 crore. In India,the number of infections hasspiked to 11.55 lakh, accordingto the Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, internationaloil benchmark Brent crudefutures climbed 2.08 per cent toUSD 44.18 per barrel.

In the forex market, therupee appreciated 17 paise toclose at 74.74 against the USdollar.

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India’s e-commerce business isexpected to grow at a com-

pound annual growth rate(CAGR) of 27 per cent toreach USD 99 billion by 2024,Goldman Sachs said projectingthat Reliance Industries wouldcapture half of the online gro-cery sales through its Facebook.

In a report titled ‘GlobalInternet: e-commerce’s steep-ening curve’, Goldman Sachssaid the COVID-19 pandemichas driven a doubling of pen-etration of e-commerce glob-ally with categories such as con-sumer packaged goods dri-ving as much as three years ofpenetration growth in threemonths.

“We forecast India e-com-merce will reach USD 99 billion

by 2024, growing at a 27 percent CAGR over 2019-24, withgrocery and fashion/apparellikely to be the key drivers ofincremental growth in ourview,” it said. Online penetra-tion of retail is expected toreach 10.7 per cent by 2024,versus 4.7 per cent in 2019.

“The biggest near termtheme in India internet, inour view, is the foray ofReliance Industries (India’slargest market-cap companywith presence across sectorssuch as energy, telecom, andretail) into e-commerce, andthe company’s tie-up withWhatsApp for online grocery,”it said.

Facebook has picked up a9.99 per cent stake in JioPlatforms, the subsidiary of RILthat houses the country’syoungest but biggest telecomcompany as well as an array ofapps. RIL’s e-commerce ven-ture, JioMart plans to useFacebook’s WhatsApp to con-nect local grocery stores withcustomers.

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The Centre is planning toexpand its disinvestment

plans and considering to bringtwo key sectors - banking andinsurance - into the ambit of itsnew disinvestment policy, offi-cial sources said.

A new disinvestment orprivatisation policy is in themaking and people in theknow of things said that adraft cabinet note is being pre-pared for the same.

The Prime Minister’sOffice (PMO), the FinanceMinistry and the Niti Aayoghave already discussed theinclusion of insurance sectorfor strategic disinvestment andthe banking sector is likely tobe discussed upon later.

Among the insurance com-panies, the Life Insurance

Corporation of India will notbe part of this disinvestmentprocess.

There are a total of eightstate-run insurers, including sixgeneral insurance companiesand one reinsurance company.

Of late, the Governmenthad to infuse capital into thegeneral insurance companies asthey were undercapitalised.

Earlier this month, theUnion Cabinet approved cap-ital infusion of �12,450 croreinto three state-run insurancecompanies - the OrientalInsurance Company, theNational Insurance Companyand the United India InsuranceCompany.The approvedamount also includes �2,500crore infused in FY 2019-20.Inthe last Budget on February 1,the Government had set aside�6,950 crore for recapitalisation

of the three public sector gen-eral insurance companies.

Further, the talks of stakesale in banks, interestingly,comes just over couple ofmonths after the merger of 10public sector banks came intoeffect on April 1.With themerger coming into effect,India currently has 12 publicsector banks, down from 27 inthe year 2017.The considera-tion of widening the ambit ofthe privatisation plan comes asthe government seems confi-dent of a successful stake salein PSU oil major BPCL, thebidding date for which endsthis month.Several global anddomestic oil giants have showninterest in buying the 52 percent stake in the state-run oilcompany, according to peoplein the know of things.

During the announcement

of the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’economic package in May,Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman had said that theCentre will come up with a newPublic Sector Enterprise Policy,and open up all the sectors tothe private sector.

She had said that under thenew policy, a list of strategicsectors requiring the presenceof PSEs in public interest willbe notified and in these sectors,at least one enterprise willremain in the public sectorwhile the private sector will alsobe allowed.

The Minister had said thatto minimise wasteful adminis-trative costs, the number ofenterprises in the strategic sec-tor will ordinarily be only oneto four and the others will beprivatised, merged or broughtunder holding companies.

New Delhi: India proposes amajor shift in its foreign tradepolicy, that will explore freetrade agreements only withcountries that can support its‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ missionand provide it necessary rawmaterials, critical componentsand equipment required tosupport manufacturing activi-ties.As a 1st step in this direc-tion, Dept for Promotion ofIndustry and Internal Trade ofthe Commerce Ministry hasproposed entering into FTAsand mining agreements withresource-rich countries in LatinAmerica and Africa.In an inter-nal presentation made by thedept on augmenting industri-al growth in India, it has saidsuch focused FTA arrange-ments will help country toboost electric vehicle penetra-tion as countries such asBolivia, Argentina, Chile,Congo, and South Africa arerich in mineral resources, par-ticularly lithium,cobalt. IANS

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The downslide in vehicle registration eased inJune, but was still deep in the red on a year-

on-year basis.Accordingly, the Federation of Automobile

Dealers Associations’ data showed that vehicleregistration in June declined by 42 per cent ona YoY basis to 9,84,395 units from 16,97,166units off-take during the like month of last year.

In May, the downslide rate in vehicle reg-istration had plunged by 88.87 per cent on a YoYbasis.

On a sequential basis, June’s vehicle regis-trations were higher than that of May, when theoff-take stood at 2,02,697 units.

Notably, the trend shows that India’s autosector continued to reel under the economicimpact of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Besides, the data showed that registrationof personal vehicles fell 38.34 per cent to 1,26,417units last month, and that of commercial vehi-cles plunged 83.83 per cent to 10,509 units.

In the two-wheeler segment, 7,90,118 vehi-cles were registered, which was 40. 92 per centlower than the 13,37,462 units registered a yearago, the FADA data showed.

However, the data showed that tractor reg-istration during the month under review grewby 10.86 per cent to 45,358 units.

Commenting on the data, FADA President

Ashish Harsharaj Kale said: “Unlock 1 .0 cou-pled with increase in demand from the ruralmarket has boosted the retail sales with respectto the May numbers.”

“At the end of June, almost 100 per cent deal-ership outlets (showrooms and workshops) wereoperational across the country, barring a fewcities and towns which have once again imple-mented stringent lockdown.”

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Rahul Bajaj has decided toresign as Non-Executive

Chairman of Bajaj Finance,following which his son SanjivBajaj will take over the postwith effect from August 1.In aregulatory filing, the companysaid that its Board of Directorson Tuesday approved theappointment of Sanjiv Bajaj, theVice Chairman of the compa-ny, as the nextChairman.”Rahul Bajaj, Non-Executive Chairman of theCompany, having been at the

helm of the Company since itsinception in 1987 and theGroup for over five decades, aspart of succession planning, hasdecided to demit the office asChairman of the Board w.e.f.close of business hours on July31, 2020,” it said. He would,however, continue to serve thecompany as a Non-ExecutiveNon Independent Director.

Sanjiv, who will head BajajFinance starting August 1, alsochairs the board of Bajaj Allianzand is the Managing Directorof Bajaj Holdings &Investment.

Mumbai:FMCG majorHindustan Unilever (HUL) onTuesday reported a 7 per centgrowth in standalone net prof-it for the first quarter (April-June) of FY21 at �1,881 crore.

During the correspondingperiod of the previous fiscal,the company had reported astandalone net profit of � 1,755crore. The company, in a reg-ulatory filing, reported a 4.43per cent rise in total incomeduring the period under reviewto �10,716 crore. “In a chal-lenging context of Covid-19disrupting markets and oper-ations, HUL has delivered a

resilient performance withturnover growth of 4 per centand profit after tax and beforeexceptional items growing 7per cent,” it said.Sanjiv Mehta,Chairman and ManagingDirector, said, “While con-straints continue due to restric-tions in several parts of thecountry and the near-termdemand outlook remainsuncertain, we remain well posi-tioned to drive competitive,profitable and responsiblegrowth.

The long-term structuralopportunity of FMCG in Indiaalso remains intact.” IANS

New Delhi: The Govt has noti-fied two Ordinances whichseek to provide barrier-freetrade for farmers’ produce out-side the notified farm mandis,and empowers farmers to enterinto farming agreements withprivate players prior to pro-duction for sale of agri-pro-duce. The Farmers’ ProduceTrade and Commerce(Promotion and Facilitation)Ordinance and the Farmers(Empowerment andProtection) Agreement onPrice Assurance and FarmServices Ordinance were pro-mulgated on June 5, 2020.However, the UnionAgriculture Ministry notifiedthe two Ordinances on July 20.According to the notification,the Farmers’ Produce Tradeand Commerce Ordinanceallows intra-state and inter-state trade of farmers’ pro-duce outside the Governmentnotified mandis. PTI

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The record high forexreserves of USD 516 billion,

of which USD 81 billion addedsince governor ShaktikantaDas has assumed office, willhelp greater foreign fundinflows and lower the cost ofoverseas funds for corporates,says a report. Governor Das’efforts since assuming office inDecember 2018, resemblethose of the Bimal Jalan-YVReddy era a decade ago whenthe reserves touched for thefirst time to adequately coverimports, and the reserves atover USD 516 billion are suf-ficient to buffer the economyagainst any contagion, Bank ofAmerica said in a report onTuesday.The present forexreserves are sufficient to cover14.9 months of imports, whichare around 20 per cent of GDP,said the report, adding pre-Covid, the import cover was11.4 months.

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Economic activity continuesto remain weak and will

lead to a 6.1 per cent contrac-tion in India’s GDP in the cur-rent fiscal, a foreign brokeragesaid on Tuesday.

The Reserve Bank is like-ly to pause at the upcomingpolicy review in August and cutrates by 25 basis points each inthe October and Decemberreviews, Japanese brokerageNomura said in a report.

All the analysts expect a

contraction in the GDP due tothe COVID-19 pandemic,which has impacted both sup-ply and demand forces in theeconomy since March. Officialdata also suggests a surge ininflation, which will furtherdrag down the GDP in realterms.

Nomura said the Junequarter will be the ‘nadir’ froma growth perspective and theeconomy will contract by 15.2per cent and the GDP willnever come into the positiveterritory in the remaining part

of this fiscal.It estimated contractions of

5.6 per cent in September quar-ter, 2.8 per cent for Decemberquarter and 1.4 per cent in theMarch quarter, which will givea full fiscal GDP at negative 6.1per cent.

“Overall, aggregatedemand continues to lag aggre-gate supply, especially due toweak services activity and sub-dued urban consumptiondemand,” it said.

Demand has taken a larg-er hit from the lockdown, like-

ly reflecting higher precau-tionary savings by consumersamid rising income uncertain-ty.

In contrast, the supply sideis constrained only to theextent mandated by the rules,it said.

The brokerage said thegrowth estimates are arrived atafter analysing ‘ultra’ high fre-quency indicators such as var-ious mobility indices, employ-ment and electricity demand toglean the direction of thegrowth trajectory.

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The rupee rose by 17 paiseto close at a two-week

high of 74.74 against the USdollar on Tuesday trackingpositive domestic equities andhopes of a COVID-19 vaccine.

At the interbank forexmarket, the domestic unitopened on a strong note at74.79 against US dollar.

During the session, ittouched an intra-day high of74.73 and a low of 74.87against the US dollar. Thelocal unit finally settled at74.74, up 17 paise over its pre-vious close.

It had settled at 74.91

against the US dollar onMonday. Forex traders saidpositive domestic equities,foreign fund inflows andhopes of a COVID-19 vaccinesupported the rupee.

A coronavirus vaccinecreated by the University ofOxford appears safe andinduces a strong immune response within thebody, scientists announcedon Monday after the firstphase of human trials.

In India, AIIMS-Delhi onMonday began recruiting vol-unteers for conducting humanclinical trials of the indige-nously developed COVID-19vaccine candidate Covaxin.

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While most of the organisationshave put a hold or postponed

the joining of freshers owing to thecurrent coronavirus pandemic, JKLakshmipat University (JKLU) hascome to the rescue of such work-forces.

The institute has unveiled onlinethree-six months of modular cours-es in MBA and Engineering to helpstudents learn the additional skills intheir respective domains that willgive them an edge over others dur-ing the current time.

The USP of these courses is onethat can resume his/her master’s

degree from the advanced level afterthe successful completion havingearly exit options with the certificateand advanced certificate after threemonths and six months respective-ly.

In MBA, the courses include —certificate in Business Management,advanced certificate in BusinessManagement, and AdvancedDiploma in Business Management,whereas in MDes they are offeringDesign Thinking for Innovation,Design Foundation, and PgD inIntegrated Design. Similarly, atMTech, they have a Certificate in AI& ML, Advanced Certificate in AI &ML, PgD in AI & ML.

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In an effort to upskillthe youth and

enable them to makeproductive use oflockdown, Aide etAction has launchedthe “iLEAD GoesOnline” initiativethrough a Facebooklive session.

The objective ofthe programme is toimpart vocationaleducation to youthfrom marginalisedsections of the soci-ety. The initiative

encompasses 13iLEAD coursesthrough a digitalmedium.

The 13 courseswhich are now avail-able online are tally,computer operator,beauty therapy, fash-ion designing, BSPA,CRR, automobile,ITeS, electrician, hos-pitality, BSPC, beautician and elec-trical and the plat-form is available tothe registrationsthrough the skil ltraining initiative.

The healthcare sector has under-gone a massive transformation

over the last decade. There has beenan increase in both public and pri-vate expenditure. Progressivehealthcare and the patient-centrictreatment approach has become areality. Technology has played amassive role in this shift, bringinghome advanced diagnostics, high-quality devices at low costs, andmore efficient life-support sys-tems.

Modern healthcare focuses notjust on cures but on the wholegamut of the healthcare experience.From approachable healthcareworkers and state-of-the-art infra-structure to digital health tools andhospital ambiance, patients expectquality service, and the industry hashad to step up to meet theirdemands. As a result, the industryis going through a boom, and theneed for specialised managementprofessionals has increased mani-fold.

With the COVID-19 crisissweeping the globe, there has beena greater need for healthcare man-agers. They handle the business sideof healthcare delivery, as they are incharge of scheduling, budgeting,and looking for ways to improvepatient care. It is the perfect option

for people who want to make useof their communication and organ-isational skills while making a dif-ference in the lives of those in need.

Most people who go for adegree in healthcare managementfind a job in a hospital or an out-patient setting. Smaller clinics allowhealthcare managers to overseeseveral disciplines, from marketingand budgeting to human resourcesand record management. Largerhospitals, on the other hand, offermore diverse opportunities. Youcan move into roles like CEO,CFO, or CMO. You also have theoption of working in residential

care and nursing facilities, whereapart from the business and admin-istrative responsibilities, you alsoget a chance to maintain relation-ships with their patients and theirfamilies. You can also work for thestate or central government - doingresearch, addressing pressing pub-lic health problems, or even over-seeing health education and aware-ness programmes.

Some subjects are common tohealthcare management courses inuniversities across the world. Theseinclude healthcare quality improve-ment, healthcare marketing, basicsof managed care, healthcare ethics

and law, and project management.Apart from thorough training intheoretical courses, you also getpractical experience and scenario-based simulations to prepare you tolead a team of healthcare workers.

An ideal career in healthcaremanagement will put all the skillsyou learn in your graduate pro-gramme to good use. Apart fromtechnical skills, a professionalhealthcare administrator will needa lot of soft skills too. Not only willyou be in charge of a team ofhealthcare professionals, but youwill also be working very closelywith the physicians apart fromacting from donning the role of theorganisation’s representatives atmeetings. It is expected out of themto stay abreast of the latest changes,superior communication skills,managing facilities, and diligentplanning and problem-solvingskills.

The field of healthcare is evolv-ing, and you no longer have to beon the frontlines to carve out a suc-cessful career in the industry. Thebest part about launching a health-care management career is that youdo not have to remain in the sameposition forever.

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The schools and universities acrossthe world have moved theirlearning management from

offline to online due to a global pan-demic. From students with poor con-nectivity to students with no internetaccess at all, delay in completing the syl-labus to getting everyone together inone classroom, uneven attendance,being unable to help the smarter lot stayencouraged to trying various ways tokeep the less engaged students con-centrated; the transition hasn't been aseasy as it seems.

But, here’s the thing; while a sig-nificant number of similar trainingabilities are required in both in-per-son and online classrooms, teachersin an online class additionally needsome more skills.

Online education is still a newconcept and keeping in mind that thistechnique offers advantages to stu-dents and educators as well, the dif-ference in the environment requiressome extra efforts from both the par-ties. Regardless of whether the teacheris hoping to take on an online class orkeen on teaching school students, it’sessential to recognise what makes agreat teacher in any virtual classroom.

Instructors of online classesshould be:

Good with communicationskills: A successful online class beginswith students effectively mindful ofthe subject and subtopics that are dis-cussed in the classroom. The envi-ronment is not very conventionalclassroom-like, so it requires theteacher to use the best approach pos-sible. A teacher who starts the day ona positive note witha prayer or affir-mation; communicate with a con-trolled use of language; incorporate aninformal tone; and use a comfortablestyle of teaching can make learning inan online setting a powerful experi-ence. Sharing learning goals andexercise plan with the timetable ofexercises could also be beneficial.

Synchronous learning thatincludes quizzes and tests help teach-ers keep up with their student’s pro-ductivity. Teachers need to create,practice, and model their way ofteaching, and everything about onlineclassroom guidelines like how stu-dents ought to speak with one anoth-er when studying together on a videocall.

Prepared to relate textbookexamples with real-life: Online teach-ing requires broad utilisation offocused instructional procedures sothat students can understand conceptsbetter. Associating the textbook con-tent with students’ own at-home con-ditions will connect with them inlearning and assist them with apply-ing their learning. For example, whendoing math, ask students to makeword problems dependent on theirenvironment. In language classes,they may consider their surroundingsto describe characters. Urge them toshare their insights with their com-panions which will bring them clos-er to the learning experience. Thesetechniques help students gain adap-

tive and positive behavioural skillswhich will enable them to deal withchallenges of new learning environ-ment.

The educator needs to build upthe ability to adjust the contentaccordingly and furnish students withmore straightforward comparisonsor supplemental exercises applicableto their surroundings. He/she maypermit students to browse variouschoices for finishing a task. Makeassignments in dynamic google sheetsand various other formats that willhelp them assemble, plan, create, andexplore together.

Know when to stop: Moderninstructors should know when it’s anideal opportunity to unplug and sim-ply unwind. They should know thatwith the current scenarios, the strug-gle to keep online classes entertainingand fruitful, so it’s considerably impor-tant for them to set aside some timefor themselves as well as for kids. Theylikewise should realise when it’s anideal opportunity to advise their stu-dents to unplug as well. They mustgive their class a mindful break andlet them be free.

Persistent: It’s often difficult forstudents who are new to online class-es to learn and adapt as quickly as theywould in a traditional classroom. So,the teacher must remain patientthrough the process of helping stu-dents explore the technicalities,remain concentrated, or comprehendclass material.

Quick & effective in giving feed-back: It is significant for an educatorto spare time for study-related ques-tions, remarks, and feedback fromeach other. This specified time forafter-study discussions lets studentsvoice their opinions and considera-tions and compose their doubts.

The motivation behind this ses-sion for students during or after theclass is to answer their concerns andmeasure their learning journey. Thereare a few simple ways that can beutilised to direct performance-basedprogress. For instance: teachers canprepare google forms for students toraise their lengthy questions or cre-ate multiple-choice questions to knowthe understanding level of students.These instruments help give signifi-cant, explicit, and quick feedback.

Approachable: Apart from thegiven classroom duration, teachersmust also be available for their stu-dents for their doubts and concerns.It does not have to be an online one-to-one session but could includeemails, google forms, or online chatsto ensure they are getting the fulllearning experience.

Cooperative: Part of being aneducator is having the option towork as an individual or as a team. Atthe point when a teacher acts as ateam player, it gives students a supe-rior opportunity to learn and have agreat time. Taking care of issuestogether will just lead to success anddoing so cultivates a feeling of a sin-gle unit.

The online classroom initiativemay be a sudden move for the mostpart of teachers and students but withthe growing advancements in the edu-cation-tech industry, the change hadto come at some point. It is, in fact,preparing both the parties to beaccustomed to the new way of teach-ingwhich maybe here to stay.!���������������������$������2���������"��%���&��������D�$������:�������D�!��������(�������

Sports has been a dream career formany in India. The sports indus-

try is full of vivacious events andleagues that have witnessed a dra-matic jump in the last decade. Therising consumption of sports con-tent, rise in women’s sports, emerg-ing e-sports have all been crucial inthe evolution of the sports industry.While we were expecting manymore upcoming leagues, opportu-nities and content around sports, thecoronavirus pandemic hit the world.

When we start stepping towardsthe new normal and sports eventsstart picking up, the industry will bewitnessing a giant leap in terms ofdigital transformation and technol-ogy.

The industry is ripe with digitalinnovations, technological advance-ments in video production that willbe seeing the light of the day muchbefore what was expected in thesports industry. For example:Remote production for sports eventshas become the need of the hour.Due to the pandemic a team of 200-300 people cannot gather and workon production. While many coun-tries are looking to re-open sportsevents behind closed doors, withoutspectators on field, this technologycan allow broadcasters to producethis content on video even while sit-

ting thousands of miles away.Similarly, with the economy reopen-ing there are many other trends thatupcoming sports management stu-dents can expect, which can open upa plethora of career opportunities forthem.

E- sports will continue to rise:With the expansion of the e-sportsecosystem we can expect to see dra-matic growth in streaming andbroadcast sponsorships. As a part ofsports and sports events we can alsoexpect much more integrated spon-sorship opportunities to work withbrands devising strategies to influ-ence difficult to reach audiences. Thepopularity of e-sports globally hasalso created a room for launchingnew franchise leagues, reach larger

audiences through streaming chan-nels.

Emerging technologies likecloud computing are expandinghorizons for the industry: Cloudcomputing enables the athletes tocrunch huge amounts of data andanalyse it in very less time in orderto enable them to improve their per-formance. Athlete ManagementSystems are now being used world-wide by many top performers totrack their strength and condition-ing training. Cloud has also madebroadcasting easier.

Sports brands to leverage dig-ital marketing and ads: During thepandemic, social media has wit-nessed humongous content frombrands, athletes and leagues. Sincethe content like video bytes from aplayer has mostly been reactive, wecan expect a formalised processpost the pandemic that brands willbe following. Brands will focus ondigital marketing and advertisingtools to build up virtual engagement,that can be used to retain consumers.

In this unprecedented time, theindustry is foreseeing a lot of oppor-tunities in the positive light that willenable them to adapt to changesmuch ahead of time.

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Communication skills often make the cru-cial difference between excellence and

mediocrity and the role of effective commu-nication has assumed all the more importanceduring the ongoing tough times for bridgingbarriers to communication. This was statedby experts at a Workshop on EffectiveCommunication held under the aegis ofInternal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) ofIndira Gandhi University (IGU), Meerpur(Rewari), a State University at Haryana. Theworkshop was led by Prof Romika BatraDirector IQAC at IGU.

Speaking as chief guest Prof SK GakharVice Chancellor, IGU said: “In the modernday world, the need for effective communi-

cation has increased manifold when one isrequired to transmit quickly and clearly allsorts of information and knowledge.Communication Skills has been made amandatory component in the curriculum ofall courses at IGU keeping in view the vastimportance of developing soft skills amongststudents.”

In her opening remarks, Dr AnnapurnaSharma Registrar, IGU stated that the key tosuccessful and effective communication isbeing a patient listener. According to her, oneneeds to be compassionate and considerateto other people’s views to be a good com-municator.

The workshop was coordinated by DrReena Hooda (Dept of CSE) and convenedby Dr Bijender (Dept of English). Dr

Devender (Dept of Economics) and DrJasvinder (Dept of Management) were theorganising secretaries.

In her concluding remarks, Prof RomikaBatra Director IQAC, hailed the efforts of theorganising team and the guest speakers andstated that the workshop surely helped a lotin identifying different communicationstyles, understanding & avoiding commonerrors and using communication to have suc-cessful outcomes in personal and profes-sional lives.

The workshop had over 150 participantsfrom states such as West Bengal, UP,Uttrakhand, Telangana, Tamil Nadu,Rajasthan, Nagaland, Maharashtra, MP,J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi,Bihar, Assam and Andhra Pradesh.

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In a first of its kind private ini-tiative to help put the Indian

economy back on a growthpath, EdTech startup BadaBusiness has reached out to 50million entrepreneurs, MSMEsand wantrepreneurs under itsambitious ‘India RevivalMission’ to help them revivetheir COVID-hit businesses.The initiative lasting threemonths not only elicited par-ticipation of a record numberof small entrepreneurs but alsoreceived support of industryleaders and Union MinistersNitin Gadkari and Kiren Rijeju.

Under the dynamic leader-ship of business coach Dr VivekBindra, CEO & Founder, BadaBusiness, the mission waslaunched in April after a coun-try-wide lockdown forced busi-nesses to down their shutters,

having a devastating impact onthe MSME sector. According toa recent report by credit ratingagency CRISIL, a 5 per centcontraction is expected in theIndian economy this fiscalwhich will significantly hurtMSMEs.

The fall in revenue will besteeper at 17-21 per cent forMSMEs compared to the formalsector, it added. In such cir-cumstances, the sector needsgrowth, development and skillsupport to revive itself andcross its 30 per cent contributionin GDP.

The startup considered it asocial and nationalistic respon-sibility to train, equip and skillsmall businesses to lift them outof the financial morass. Theobjective of the mission was tohelp businesses reinvent theirstrategies to thrive in a postCOVID world.

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With this norm of online education, India based, ed-techcompany, Board Infinity, has taken an initiative to launch

a new programme — Machine Learning (ML) and ArtificialIntelligence (AI) for skilling early career professionals and col-lege students. The duration of this programme is six months,which contains self-paced online videos and live virtual class-es.The course provides a perfect mix of theory, case studies, andextensive hands-on assignments to turn a beginner into a proby the end and make them deployable as a machine learningengineer.

The programme is perfect for students and working pro-fessionals who want to build a career path in this highly sought-after domain. During the 150+ hours of learning, the learners'get an opportunity of one-on-one mentorship from industryexperts working in companies such as Flipkart, Accenture, JioSamsung India, eClerx, Cerner Corporation, State Street andmany others, which helps building practical knowledge of prepar-ing for and cracking ML & AI job interview process, receive com-plete career coaching and certifications. This programme willhelp those who wish to build their career as a Machine LearningEngineer, Data Scientist, and NLP Engineer.

The programme ensures opportunities to interview with start-ups, growing mid-large and large organisations for internshipsand full time job opportunities.

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�What is Premium LearningOnline (PLO)?

The PLO is a unique learningmodel, carefully designed to be onpar with face-to-face classes oncampus. This new technology willbe used to deliver 13 short onlinecourses for undergraduates, post-graduates and working profes-sionals. These 30-60-hour coursesare curated specifically to cater tothe growing trend of upskilling ina fast-evolving and uncertainworld.

�How does it work?The online courses are taught

by top international faculty usinga lab-style approach, where stu-dents learn by doing and practicalapplication. As opposed to only lis-tening to a lecture in a traditionalclassroom, students are given apractical problem to solve every 15minutes, in a study group com-prising three-five students. Throughthis, students get the chance toapply theory to practice in anengaging environment, and get immediate actionable feedback. The find-ings are then presented to the rest of the class. Unlike monotonous record-ed lectures, students get the chance to learn, interact and collaborate withprofessors and peers real-time, thereby making the learning process engag-ing and enriching

�What are the benefits of PLO? The PLO courses are curated keeping in mind the critical skills that

will be required for professionals to succeed in an ever-changing econo-my. The curriculum is packed with projects, case studies, pitches, and groupdiscussions with the objective to ensure that students and professionalsdevelop in-demand job skills and enhance their employability and careerprogression.

Participants can acquire various new and relevant skills with the cut-ting-edge curriculum and advance their career in high-demand fields likeBusiness Management, Data Science, Digital Marketing, Innovation &Entrepreneurship, Technology and more.

�Who can benefit from this programme?The courses are carefully designed for students (undergraduates and

postgraduates) who want to learn new skills and make themselves job-ready,as well as for working professionals who wish to upskill themselves in orderto accelerate in their careers. Upon completion, students earn a certificateof completion from SP Jain School of Global Management, a leadingAustralian business school ranked No 12 in the world by Forbes -2019 -2021), which helps them add immediate value to their career.

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The IIHMR Universityinvites application forLate Shri PD Agarwal

Scholarship for studentsenrolling for its two-year MBAin Rural Management course.The university is offering 21scholarships in two categories.

The first category of schol-arships will cover 20 per cent ofthe total tuition fee on a first-come-first-serve basis. This isavailable to the first 20 studentswith 50 per cent and abovemarks in graduation. The sec-ond category of the scholarshipwill cover 50 per cent of thetotal tuition fee ans is only forone student with 50 per centand above in CAT/XAT. Thetuition fee for the two-yearcourse is �5,25,000.

The amount of scholarshipwill be adjusted in the fee andwill not be disbursed directly tothe student.

The MBA in RuralManagement course by IIHMRUniversity is committed todeveloping a cadre of trainedprofessional managers. Theycan manage rural developmentorganisations and programmesin both the public and the pri-vate sectors.

The course admits 30 stu-dents every year and focuses onrural-urban linkages and inter-dependencies, water, sanita-tion and nutrition, child devel-opment, rights and protection,

livelihood, skills and enter-prises, and agri-business and

value chains.

The University ofIndianapolis invites applica-tions for its InternationalStudent Grant based on stu-dents’ merit. By providing the30% tuition fee annually, thisgrant will assist students toachieve their educational goalswithout any hurdles. Indian stu-dents can apply.

Eligibility: You should bean international student; youshould have minimum GPA: Bor above. You must be accept-ed into any undergraduatedegree programme at theUniversity of Indianapolis.Aspirants must submit the fol-lowing documents: Pre-quali-fication degree, copies of aca-demic transcripts, certificates ofEnglish language proficiency, astatement, and a copy of pass-port. Admission require-ments: All high school diplo-ma holders will be selected foran undergraduate degree pro-gramme at the university.

Language requirement:Applicants must have suffi-cient knowledge of English iftheir first language is notEnglish. The minimumrequirement is TOEFL 70,IELTS 6.0, or PTEA 54.

How to apply: Applicantsdon’t need to make a formalapplication. They will auto-matically be identified oncethey are admitted.

Application deadline: Thelast date is November 1, 2020.

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With technology becomingthe core of everything dur-ing the pandemic, we have

witnessed many advancements andusage of technology, which otherwisewould have taken at least another sixyears. It almost feels like we havetaken a leap of six years when itcomes to the usage of technology inour daily lives.

Therefore, proper vocationaleducation also demands the adapta-tion of technology at the Godspeedso that we can align our thoughts insuch a way that a product should bemanufactured in the least possibletime and delivered via technology tothe consumer as early as possible.

In order to fight the economiccrisis of pandemic, an individualshould be skilled enough so thatcompanies can hire him just becausehe has all the requisite skills to speedup their delivery process.

The Government should alsogive special focus on the vocationeducation in order to sail through theeconomic slowdown. Vocationaleducation is the backbone of everydeveloped nation.

For example- China has a hugeplatform for vocational training.They make sure that their training

reaches to the last mile of the coun-try so that well-trained people can beplaced in the industry. So, this sec-tor needs a push from the govern-ment.

Here are some of the waysthrough which vocational educationcan be strengthened.

In our country, vocational edu-cation is often clubbed with schools,colleges and universities. It needs tobe given a distinct identity in addi-tion to importance. The lack ofnodal body to control this vocationaleducation provided by the privateplayers show there is a lot of mis-communication.

This is the best time when anysupport from the Government anda push in the vocational educationcan ensure a highly skilled India,which is a step towards self-reliance.The move will also attract a lot ofinvestment. For example: Industriesgo to China because they get trainedmanpower there and it's easy any dayto set up a company there as com-pared to other countries like India.

It only takes a matter of a day tocollect the manpower besides landand others. But, finding a skilledmanpower is never an issue there. It’sa challenge in many other countries,

where vocational education has notbeen promoted like other streams ofeducation. Importance of trainedmanpower is the need

As people have been losing jobsdue to the coronavirus pandemic, itshows the need of training hasbecome the only pivotal thing at themoment.

The pandemic has highlightedthe importance of training in everyorganisation and trained manpow-er. It has been seen that skill hasalways opened doors for manyopportunities in our country. Weneed a big push to come out of thepandemic. There are lots of vocationswhich cannot be trained online suchas stitching, hospitality and nursing.

So, Government should givepermission to start any such vocation.All the industries and institutionsshould embrace the change. With thekind of market we have, everybodyhas the issue of cash in hand. In ourcountry, the penetration of vocationaleducation is one of the lowest in theworld. The entire community espe-cially the youngsters, who are in theage bracket of 21 to 35 year, they needto unlearn and relearn. With a lot ofdoors being closed, there are 1000new opportunities are also getting

generated. But the problem is, wedon't have the skills required for thesejobs.

For example: During the pan-demic, the number of websites cre-ated in last three months is almostequal to the websites created in ayear's time. A lot of new skills andavenues have opened up. Newageskills like digital marketing, data ana-lytics are in high demand

People have shifted to their ownhome cities because of safety reasonsor they have lost their jobs. Now theyneed to know the skills which are indemand in their particular city. If youare in Bengaluru, you need to knowIT skills but when you are in Gujarat;you need to acquire industry skills toget jobs. People should identify skillsthey need and similarly find the bestpeople/company who can acquire thebest skills for that.

In India specialisation is talkedabout but rarely practiced. Example:You go to an ENT specialist whenyou have a throat/ear/nose issue butyou go to a orthopedic? Similarly,why not going to a specialist for yourcareer? Do career and skills notdeserve equal if not higher impor-tance?

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TRAINED MANPOWER IS KEY

Page 12: 0$ %1/(2/!˛3 ˝0/(ˆ $G ˙! ˘ ˘ ˘ - %€¦ · other MLAs in collusion with Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot camps got three more days to whet their knives before the Rajasthan High

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New Zealand Cricket chair-man Greg Barclay has said

that a decision on the fate of the2021 Women’s World Cup willbe taken in the next two weeks.

Barclay’s comments cameafter the International CricketCouncil (ICC) on Monday saidthe event, to be held in NewZealand from February 6 toMarch 7, was still on scheduledespite the Covid-19 threat.

“The decision (about theODI World Cup) will be madein the next two weeks,” Barclaytold Radio New Zealand.

“...Because if there is a needto postpone that event thenobviously we need to know thatsooner rather than later and like-wise if it is to go ahead then weneed to make a final decision sothat we can throw all theresources necessary to run a firstclass world event in February.”

Though New Zealand isamong the least affected nationsby the pandemic, possible trav-el restrictions there and aroundthe world at that time make theevent a bigger logistical chal-

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Former speed merchant Brett Lee reck-ons Australia’s pace triumvirate would

hold the key during the year-end homeTest series against India and is keen to fig-ure out how much the kookaburra ballswings without saliva Down Under.

Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and JoshHazlewood form a fine pace attack forAustralia.

With the ban on saliva due to theCovid-19 pandemic, one of the world’sfastest bowlers wants the custodians of thegame to come up with an “artificial sub-stance” to maintain the balance betweenbat and ball.

“Playing at home obviously gives youthat advantage, but that said I know thatIndia will pack a full strength squad totour Australia. I still believe if Australiais to win our bowlers hold the key,” Leesaid.

The kookaburra seam is not as pro-nounced as Dukes or SG Tests balls andthe flattening of seam coupled with banon saliva will make it harder for bowlersof both teams.

“It will definitely change the way thegame is played so we don’t want to makeit even harder for bowlers even more thanit is currently is,” said the 43-year-old Lee.

India’s pace attack, which has beenphenomenal in the past three years, hasthe capability of “knocking over any toporder” in world cricket but it will againboil down to how much the ball swings.

“India have got some extremely goodpace bowlers that are capable of knock-ing over any top order. Once again I thinkit comes down to how the ball will swingor not swing in different conditions(Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne andSydney).”

TWO-WEEK QUARANTINEMelbourne: India will have to undergoa two-week quarantine period, mostlikely in Adelaide, once they touch down

in Australia for the much-anticipatedtour later this year, said Cricket Australia

acting chief Nick Hockley.Hockley’s statement is in complete

contrast to the views of BCCI presidentSourav Ganguly, who had already made

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With the ICC T20World Cup’s post-ponement clearing

the decks for a full-fledgedIPL, the glitzy event’sGoverning Council will meetin a week or 10 days’ time toplan its next course ofaction, eyeing UAE asthe host this year.

An IPL betweenSeptember and earlyNovember has beenmade possible by the ICC’sdecision on Monday to post-pone the T20 World Cup inAustralia, scheduled forOctober-November, due tothe Covid-19 pandemic.

“The IPL GC will meetwithin a week or 10 days andall decisions (including finalschedule) will be taken there.As of now, the plan is to havea full fledged IPL comprising60 games and most likely inthe UAE,” Patel said.

Asked about the mainchallenges in conducting theevent in current scenario, Pateladded: “Just the operationalside of it. Whether you do ithere or outside, it doesn’t mat-ter (with no crowds).”

The franchisees hadalready been working on theirplans for the IPL even beforethe ICC announcement.

With majority of theIndian players not havingaccess to grounds amid thepandemic, teams will need atleast three to four weeks to getthem match ready.

Foreign players will fly indirectly to the UAE from theirrespective countries.

“Our players will need atleast three to four weeks oftraining, if not more. We willfinalise all our plans once the

BCCI announces the dates. Itlooks like the IPL will be in theUAE and we are ready forthat,” a team owner said.

Since India tour Australiafor a four-Test series rightafter the IPL, training of theTest players is also an impor-tant issue.

Test specialists likeCheteshwar Pujara andHanuma Vihari, who are notpart of the IPL, are likely to

train for the eagerly-awaitedseries in a bio-secure environ-ment at the newly-renovatedMotera Stadium inAhmedabad during the timeof the IPL.

A few fringe players areexpected to join them atMotera along with the Indianteam’s support staff, which isfree during the IPL.

Work from home hasbecome the norm amid the

pandemic, therefore, there is apossibility that IPL commen-tary will happen from thecomfort of the living room, asafer and cost effective-optionconsidering the likes of SunilGavaskar, who is 71, areinvolved.

The viewership is expect-ed to be a record one with peo-ple craving for Live cricket,something KXIP co-ownerNess Wadia has said.

However, it remains to beseen how much the broadcast-ers and teams are able toattract from the sponsors inthe current financial climate.

More moot points andquestions ahead of the IPLGC meeting:

1) More double headersexpected (original schedulehad only five double headers).

2) BCCI will need to pro-vide a Standard OperatingProcedure to IPL teams eventhough they will have theirown SOPs in place.

3) Will the BCCI compen-sate teams for not being ableto generate gate money thisyear?

4) Will there be virtualcommentary from Star Sports?It was seen in the recent 3TCevent in South Africa with thelikes of Aakash Chopra, DeepDasgupta and Irfan Pathancommentating from home.

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England star Ben Stokes has outdone West Indies cap-tain Jason Holder to become the world’s top-ranked

Test all-rounder while also attaining a career-best thirdposition among batsmen in the ICC Test PlayerRankings, following a match-winning performance atOld Trafford.

Stokes, who trailed Holder by 54 rating points goinginto the second Test in Manchester, enjoys a lead of 38points after his memorable knocks of 176 and 78 notout and a match haul of three wickets helped Englandwin by 113 runs and level the three-match series 1-1.

Stokes ended Holder’s 18-month reign at the top,becoming the first from England at the summit sinceAndrew Flintoff in May 2006. His tally of 497 ratingpoints is the highest by any Test all-rounder sinceJacques Kallis aggregated 517 in April 2008.

India’s Ravindra Jadeja remains in third spot withAustralian Mitchell Starc and Ravichandran Ashwinrounding up the top-five.

Among batsmen, Stokes is joint-third with MarnusLabuschagne, only behind Steve Smith and India skip-per Virat Kohli, with specialist batsmen like KaneWilliamson and Babar Azam below him in the list. Hiscaptain Joe Root is ninth while opener Dom Sibley hasadvanced 29 places to a career-best 35th position aftera sturdy first innings 120.

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have adropped a spot each to be eighth and 10th respective-ly.

Stuart Broad, who was not pickedfor the opening Test, returned to thetop 10 of the bowlers’ rankings afterclaiming three wickets in each innings.

He is now England’s top-rankedbowler, one slot ahead of JamesAnderson, who dropped to 11thafter being rested for the match.Chris Woakes, who scalpedfive in the match to reachthe 100-wicket mark, is in21st position, his highestsince late 2016.

For the West Indies,Holder remains the top-rankedWest Indies batsman in 41stposition despite slipping fourplaces.

He has also dropped a slotamong bowlers to take third place,behind Pat Cummins and NeilWagner.

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Wolves moved closer to aplace in the Europa

League with a 2-0 win overCrystal Palace, while SheffieldUnited’s own European hopeswere dashed by a 1-0 defeatagainst Everton on Monday.

At the other end of the

Premier League table, Brightonguaranteed their PremierLeague survival with a 0-0draw against Newcastle.

Wolves, now unbeaten inthree games, opened the scor-ing four minutes before half-time at Molineux.

Andros Townsend lostpossession and Joao Moutinho

found Matt Doherty, whocrossed for Portuguese mid-fielder Daniel Podence to headhis first goal for Wolves.

Jonny condemnedPalace to a seventh suc-cessive defeat in the68th minute, turning tofire home from close-range after Adama

Traore and Raul Jimenezcarved open the Palace defence.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s sideclimbed to sixth place, onepoint above Tottenham, andwill be certain to qualify for theEuropa League if they win atChelsea in their last game of theseason on Sunday.

They would also qualify ifTottenham lose at Palace intheir final match.

At Bramall Lane, SheffieldUnited were handed a secondsuccessive defeat, ending theirbid to cap a superb first seasonback in the top-flight by earn-ing a European berth.

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it clear that he was not infavour of a two-week quarantineperiod for the Indian teamonce they disembark inAustralia.

Hockley said all the playersand support staff will be provid-ed with the best of the facilitiesto train within quarantine rules.

“The two-week quarantineis pretty well-defined. What weare working on is making sure

that even within that quarantineenvironment, the players havegot the absolute best trainingfacilities, so that their prepara-tion for the matches is as opti-mal as it can possibly be,”Hockely was quoted as saying byESPNcricinfo.

“We’ll obviously take theguidance of the health expertsand the authorities. Whether it’sa hotel on-site or hotels in close

proximity to venues, it’s certain-ly about creating that environ-ment where we are minimisingrisk of infections and creating abio-secure environment is theabsolute priority.”

The website reported thatnot just the visiting Indian teambut also the IPL-returnedAustralian cricketers will haveto serve the mandatory quaran-tine period.

lenge.“How do you get teams

travelling around the world,they’ve got to hub through othercountries and what are theimplications of that?” Barclaywondered. “Then getting them

through the quarantine restric-tions that may be in place andof course all of that comes witha cost and so there are budgetaryimplications heading intoFebruary (but) all of that is sur-mountable,” he added.