Priyanka sendsnew year diariesto party’s ‘for-gotten' workers

‘Economicslowdownbottomed out,uptickhereafter’

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RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

*Late City Vol. 2 Issue 91*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Established 1864Published From

VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPALRAIPUR CHANDIGARH BHUBANESWAR

RANCHI DEHRADUNHYDERABAD

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated january 31, 2019 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Magha & Shukla Paksha

PanchangamTithi : Saptami: 06:10 pm

Nakshatram: Ashwini: 08:53 pm

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start any important work)

Rahukalam: 09:-40 am – 11:05 am

Yamagandam: 01:54 pm – 03:18 pm

Varjyam: 04:26 pm – 06:13 pm

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Indian-origin technology executive Arvind Krishna has been named ChiefExecutive Officer of American IT giant IBM. Krishna, 57, succeeds

Virginia Rometty, who described him as the "right CEO for the next era atIBM" and "well-positioned" to lead the company into the cloud andcognitive era. "I am thrilled and humbled to be elected as the next ChiefExecutive Officer of IBM, and appreciate the confidence thatGinni and the Board have placed in me," Krishna said in apress statement released by IBM. With his appointment,Krishna joins the club of Indian-Americans at the top of thebiggest multinational companies.

ARVIND KRISHNA NAMED ASEXECUTIVE OFFICER OF IBM

FARMINGTON VARSITY FRAUD: TELUGUTECHIE SENTENCED TO 6 MONTHS’ JIALAcourt in the United States has sentenced Phanideep Karnati, a Telugu

techie, to six months in jail for recruiting students, in connection withthe University of Farmington immigration fraudcase.Thirty six-year-old Phanideep was one ofeight individuals from around the US, who werecharged with conspiracy to commit visa fraudand ‘harbouring aliens for profit,' following aninvestigation by the US Immigration andCustoms Enforcement's (ICE) under theHomeland Security Investigations (HSI.)

AIR INDIA PLANE WITH 5 DOCTORS,TO AIRLIFT INDIANS FROM WUHAN Apassenger aircraft left India for Wuhan city in China's Hubei province

Friday to bring back Indians stranded there amid a raging coronavirusoutbreak, sources in the government said. Sources said that over 325Indians are waiting to be picked up at Wuhan, the epicentre of theoutbreak. The Air India flight will return to India by Saturday afternoon.The crew, include five doctors, nurseshave been instructed to only allow non-infected people into the aircraft. Equippedwith masks, gloves and medicines, theywill refrain from de-boarding the aircraft.

India on Friday banned exports of all kinds of personal protectionequipment, including clothing and masks used to protect people fromair borne particles. The move assumes significance as there could be aspurt in demand for such products due to outbreak of deadlycoronavirus that has claimed more than 200 lives in Chinawhile the number of confirmed cases reached near 10,000."Exports of all varieties of personal protection equipment,including clothing and masks prohibited with immediateeffect till further orders," the directorate general offoreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

INDIA BANS EXPORT OF ALL KINDS OF RESPIRATORY MASKS

Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy addressing a reveiw meeting in Amaravati on Friday

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy has said that the gov-ernment is keen on totalrevamp of education andhealth sectors in the Statethrough new recruitments.These two sectors should haveadequate staff and the neces-sary staff should be recruitedimmediately, he added.

The Chief Minister said

enough staf f should berecruited in the police depart-ment to enable the cops toavail their weekly offs sansbreak.

At a review meeting here onFriday, the Chief Ministerdirected officials to releasefunds which were being allo-cated for the upkeep of thehospitals under Nadu-Neduprogramme. Funds could beutilised for the recruitment of

doctors, nurses, lab techniciansand pharmacists.

Jaganmohan Reddy saidfunds were being allocated forschools as part of the Nadu-Nedu programme, whichcould be utilised for therecruitment of teachers andother staff. Only then wouldthe Amma Vodi programmeand mid-day meal scheme besuccessful in the long run.

Continued on Page 3

Pension at beneficiaries'doorstep from todayPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Taking forward the plan ofdecentralisation of administra-tion by Chief Minister YSJaganm ohan Reddy, pensionswill be delivered at thedoorstep of beneficiaries fromSaturday as a part of the 'YSRPension Kanuka' programme.

About 54.64 lakh beneficia-ries would get their pension attheir doorstep on a single dayfor which Rs 1,320.14crore has beenreleased and the vil-lage and ward volun-teers from their respec-tive Secretariats will com-plete delivering the bene-fit amount to pensioners byafternoon. This would beanother step in tune with theimplementation of theJaganmohan Reddy govern-ment's Navaratnalu as enunci-

ated in the party man-ifesto. Instead of ben-eficiaries going tothe pension dis-

bursement offices,volunteers will visit benefi-

ciaries at their doorstep andcomplete the formalities thenand there itself.

The pension benefit has beenincreased to Rs 2,250 from Rs1,000 and volunteers have been

equipped with smart phoneswith biometric information ofthe beneficiaries to deliver thepension at their doorstep with-out any hassles. While the gov-ernment has earmarked Rs15,675.20 crore for the yeartowards the programme, Rs1320.14 crore has already beenreleased for the first month tobe paid on February 1.

Continued on Page 3

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

After former joint director ofCentral Bureau ofInvestigation and retired IPSofficer V V Lakshminarayanaquit Jana Sena on Thursday,citing his leader PawanKalyan's return to films, theJana Sena chief, accepting hisformer leader's resignation,said that he has to do films tokeep his party and his homerunning. "I neither owncement, milk factories normines or power projects. I'mnot even a governmentemployee who draws highsalary. I only know cinema andthere are families whose sur-vival depends on me. I do

films for them and my fami-ly. I do them to keep runningmy party as well. I hopeLakshminarayana garu madean effort to know about thesethings and mentioned themappropriately in his resigna-tion letter," Pawan said in astatement on Friday.

Continued on Page 3

PAWAN ON HIS SECOND INNINGS

There are familiesthat depend on me

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy conduct-ed a review meeting on thesupply of quality rice, withofficials of Civil Suppliesdepartment on Fr iday.Officials stated that 26.63lakh tonnes of quality ricewas required for the distrib-ution across the State andcurrently 28.74 lakh tonnesof rice was available.

Minister for Civil SuppliesKodali Venkateswara Raotook part in the meetingand showed the quality ricesamples to the ChiefMinister.

The Chief Minister direct-ed officials to start the sup-

ply of quality rice from April1 in all districts across theState. One constituency ineach district would be select-ed and the quality rice inpacks would be suppliedfrom April 1. Packaged qual-ity rice would be supplied in22 constituencies in the firstphase to be launched onApril 1.

Continued on Page 3

Quality rice for cardholders from April 1

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

L Mohan Reddy (23) fromMuppala in Guntur districtcommitted suicide by jumpingoff the hostel building inGermany on Wednesday. Thedeceased joined MS inDuisburg Essen University,Germany, in 2017. Accordingto sources, Mohan Reddyresorted to the extreme stepafter he failed in a few subjectsin semester examinationrecently.

It is learnt that the deceasedexpressed his displeasure offailing in exams with his fatherGovinda Reddy over phone a

few days ago. The deceasedalso expressed his doubt ofclearing all the pending sub-jects in one go as the MScourse would be completed in2020.

Continued on Page 3

Guntur lad endslife in Germany

Virus-hit Wuhan turns a ghost cityDead man found on an empty street in Wuhan amid virus outbreakPNS n WUHAN

A grey-haired man wearing aface mask lies dead on thepavement at ground zero ofChina's virus epidemic, aplastic shopping bag in onehand.

On what would typically bea crowded street in Wuhan, anindustrial city of 11 millionunder quarantine, there areonly a few passersby and theydare not go near him.

AFP journalists saw thebody on Thursday morning,not long before an emergencyvehicle arrived carrying policeand medical staff in full-body

protective suits.The man lay straight on his

back in front of a closed furni-

ture store. Medical staff inblue overalls gently shroudedhis body with a blue blanket.

The ambulance left, andpolice stacked supermarketcardboard boxes to hide thescene. AFP could not deter-mine how the man, whoappeared to be aged in his 60s,had died. AFP contacted policeand local health officials after-wards but could not get detailson his case.

But the reaction of the policeand medical staff in hazmatsuits, as well as some of thebystanders, highlighted thefear pervading the city.

A woman standing near theman, wearing pink pyjamasand a Mao cap, said shebelieved he had died from thevirus.

"It's terrible," she said. "Thesedays many people have died."

Wuhan is the epicentre ofthe outbreak of the new coro-navirus, which is believed tohave jumped from wild ani-mals at a city market intohumans.

Continued on Page 3

A grey-haired manwearing a face masklies dead on thepavement at groundzero of China's virusepidemic

PNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Friday asserted thathis government has no reasonto feel defensive about theCitizenship Amendment Act(CAA) and asked NDA lead-ers to back the measure strong-ly in Parliament.

A BJP ally told PTI afterthe meeting that Modiasked the NDA leaders,who met to strategise asParliament's BudgetSession began here onFriday, to aggressivelytake on the oppo-sition's chargethat thea m e n d e dcitizenshiplaw discrim-

inated against Muslims andsaid that minorities are asmuch "ours as other citizensare".

The government has donenothing wrong as far as theamended Citizenship Act isconcerned and has no reasonto feel defensive about, he

said, according to theally, who did not

wish to be quoted.The National

D e m o c r a t i cAlliance (NDA)leaders also hailedthe prime minister

for the Bodoaccord and set-

tlement ofBru tribememb ersin Tripura.

Opposition leaders have saidthey will raise the issue ofnationwide protests againstthe CAA in the session, as theyaccused the Modi governmentof arrogance and making noeffort to reach out to protes-tors.

PM Modi asks NDA leadersto back CAA strongly

Oppn leaders saidthey would raise theissue of nationwideprotests against theCAA in the session.They accused theModi govt ofarrogance and makingno effort to reach outto protesters

Coronavirusis global emergency: WHOPNS n NEW DELHI

The new coronavirus hasbeen declared a global emer-gency by the World HealthOrganization, as the out-break continues to spreadoutside China.

"The main reason for thisdeclaration is not what is hap-pening in China but what ishappening in other coun-tries," said WHO chief TedrosAdhanom Ghebreyesus.

The concern is that it couldspread to countries withweaker health systems.

Meanwhile, the US hastold its citizens not to travelto China.

The state departmentissued a level four warning -having previously urgedAmericans to "reconsider"travel to China - and said anycitizens in China "shouldconsider departing usingcommercial means".

NIRBHAYA CASE

Delhi court postpones hanging PNS n NEW DELHI

The four death row convicts inthe Nirbhaya gang rape andmurder case will not be hangedon Saturday morning as aDelhi court on Friday post-poned the execution of theirblack warrants till furtherorder.

Additional Sessions JudgeDharmender Rana passedthe order on the plea by the

convicts seeking adjourn-ment of the executions "sinedie" (with no appointed date

for resumption).Mukesh Kumar Singh (32),

Pawan Gupta (25), VinayKumar Sharma (26) and

Akshay Kumar (31) werescheduled to be hanged onFebruary 1 at 6 am.

Continued on Page 3

PNS n HYDERABAD

TDP leader and Anantapurformer Lok Sabha member JCDiwakar Reddy received a joltfrom the YSRCP government.

The government on Fridaycancelled the limestone miningleases granted to Trishulcement company owned by JCDiwakar Reddy in Anantapurdistrict. Not only that, the gov-

ernment told JC company thatan inquiry will be conductedsoon into the illegal mining andtransportation of limestone inviolation of the terms and con-ditions of the leases. In fact,these mining leases were givento the JC family during the YSRgovernment in 2007. But, JCcould not begin the construc-tion of cement factory till now.

Continued on Page 3

Additional SessionsJudge DharmenderRana passed the orderon the plea by theconvicts seekingadjournment of theexecutions ‘sine die’

Govt keen on revamp of education, health sectors

ANOTHER

PROMISE

FULFILLED

n One constituency in each districtwould be selected and qualityrice in packs would be suppliedfrom April 1

n Packaged quality rice would besupplied in 22 constituencies inthe first phase

L Mohan Reddy (file photo)

Govt cancels mining leasesof JC’s cement factory

{

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CAPSULE

Services of SrivariSevakulu laudedVIJAYAWADA: Whilecomplimenting the impeccableservices of Srivari Sevakulu tothe multitude of visiting pilgrimsto Tirumala, TTD ExecutiveOfficer Anil Kumar Singhaltermed Srivari Sevakulu as a'Supporting Arm" to TTD.Addressing 3,500 SrivariSevakulu at Asthana Mandapamin Tirumala on Friday, who havecome to render services to thepilgrims on the occasion ofRathaspathami, which isscheduled for February 1, the EOsaid, Srivari Sevakulu offereddedicated services duringGaruda Seva last year andVaikuntha Ekadasi on January 6."When compared to these twochallenging festivities, thepressure will be less duringRathaspathami. However, we allshould be alert in dischargingour responsibilities", heobserved.

ALIET students render serviceVIJAYAWADA: NCC cadets ofAndhra Loyola Institute ofEngineering and Technology(ALIET), Department of Electricaland Electronics Engineering,paid a visit to Prem Dan NivasMissionaries of Charity,Vijayawada, served food to theinmates on Friday. Later,students of EEE distributedwashing powder, bathing soaps,shampoo sachets, pastes andmosquito repellents to theinmates. Rev Fr Dr A FrancisXavier, Director ALIET, O MaheshPrincipal and HoD EEE, GNaveen Kumar appreciated theNSS coordinator A Rajesh andfaculty MM Karunakar, MRamakrishna and students.Sisters and Missionaries ofCharity appreciated the initiationtaken by the ALIET.

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 1, 2020 vijayawada 02

EGGRATES

` 40,820 (10 gm)

` 500

GOLD

` 46,500(1kg)

` 3300

HYDERABAD 355VIJAYAWADA 365VISAKHAPATNAM 400RETAIL PPRICE `3.65

SILVER

VIJAYAWADABULLION RATES

`/100

CHICKENRATES

Dressed/With Skin `141

Without Skin `160

Broiler at Farm `97

`/KG

(IN VIJAYAWADA)

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Banking services were paral-ysed with the launch of a two-day strike on Friday by theemployees for the redressal oftheir long pending demands.Several public sector banks,including branches and ATMs,remain closed in many areasacross Krishna district. Ademonstration was organised atthe Andhra Bank zonal officeat One-Town as part of the stir.

Speaking to The Pioneer, GVRamana, organising secretaryNational Confederation of BankEmployees (NCBE), alleged thatafter the five-year wage revisionfrom 2012 to 2017, the 11th by-partite settlement was assured bythe India Banks Association(IBA) by November 1 the sameyear. However, after repeatedreminders a meagre increase of2 per cent was effected by theauthorities concerned.

He said bank employeesunder the aegis of UnitedForum of Bank Unions(UFBU) and representatives

of bank management (IndianBank's Association or IBA)had a last-minute meeting onwage settlement issues, whichwere pending since November2017. IBA said it has increasedthe pay hike offer of 12.25 percent to 19 per cent, includingperformance-linked incentive,but the bank unions refused tobudge from their demand of a20 per cent pay hike on payslip

components with adequateloading thereof, he added.

He said that they have beendemanding five-day a week,merger of special allowancewith basic pay, scrapping ofnew pension scheme, update ofpensions, improvement in fam-ily pension and many more.

L Chandrashekar, joint sec-retary NCBE, said a represen-tation has been submitted to

Governor Biswa BushanHarichandan. He said that theother demands include alloca-tion of staff welfare fund basedon operating profit, exemptionfrom income tax, on retrialbenefits without ceiling, uni-form definition of businesshours, lunch hours in branch-es, introduction of leave bank,defined working hours fromofficers and equal wage for

equal work for contractemployees.

V Bhavani Prasad, NCBE,Central Committee member, YSrinivas Rao, AIBEA, Krishadistrict secretary, YVSatyanarayana, State secretaryAIBOC, Ajay Kumar, Statesecretary, BEFI, bank officials,staff and others participated inthe demonstration.

Employees staging a protest in front of Andhra Bank as a part of the strike in Vijayawada on Friday

Strike paralyses banking servicesn GV Ramana, organising

secretary NationalConfederation of BankEmployees (NCBE),alleged that after the five-year wage revision from2012 to 2017, the 11thby-partite settlement wasassured by the IndiaBanks Association (IBA) byNovember 1 the sameyear. However, afterrepeated reminders ameagre increase of 2 percent was effected by theauthorities concerned

PNS n AMARAVATI

Deputy Chief Minister AllaKali Krishna Srinivas (Nani),who holds the health portfo-lio, on Friday directed thedistrict-level heads of thehealth department to be onhigh alert to prevent thespread of coronavirus in theState. Speaking to officials,he said coronovirus suspectsshould be stay put in theirrespective houses for 28 dayswearing masks.

They should approach thegovernment hospitals if theyhad symptoms of fever,cough and cold.

The minister said toll-freenumbers 1100 and 1102 wereset up to help the coro-

novirus suspects. He saidnodal officers have beenappointed in each district.He asked officials of thehealth department to makescanning equipment andmasks available at airportsand seaports.

Corona scare: Nodalofficers appointed

Name Name of Mobile of District Nodal Officer number

Srikakulam Dr. B Jagannadha Rao 9963994337

Vizianagaram Dr M Chamanthi 9492024155

Visakhapatnam Dr M Parthasaradhi 7382555264

East Godavari Dr. M. Mallikharjun 9392133322

West Godavari D . K Suresh Babu 9440471232

Krishna Dr. Amrutham 9491647614

Guntur Dr P. Ratnavalli 8309176892

Nellore Dr R Swarnalatha 9440294507

Chittoor Dr. Sudarshan 8790995129

Kadapa Dr. K Kondaiah 9848399496

Anantapur Dr. C Padmavati 9849902398

Kurnool Dr. C Sridevi 9849902411

IANS n BERLIN

Researchers have found thatlow-intensity exercise triggersbrain networks involved in cog-nition control and attention pro-cessing, while high-intensityexercise primarily activates net-works involved in emotion pro-cessing.

Using resting state functionalmagnetic resonance imaging(MRI), a non-invasive techniquethat allows for studies on brainconnectivity, the study, pub-lished in the journal BrainPlasticity, shows for the firsttime that low and high exerciseintensities differentially influ-ence brain function.

"We believe that functionalneuroimaging will have a majorimpact for unraveling body-brain interactions," said studylead author Angelika Schmittfrom University Hospital Bonnin Germany.

"These novel methods allow usto 'look' directly into the brainsof a group of athletes, and,maybe even more importantly,

understand the dynamic changesin brain structure and functionassociated with the transitionfrom a sedentary to a healthylifestyle," Schmitt added.

For the findings, 25 male ath-letes underwent individualassessments using an incremen-tal treadmill test. On separatedays they performed low andhigh-intensity exercise bouts for30 minutes.

Before and after exercising, Rs-

fMRI was used to examine func-tional connectivity of differentbrain regions that are linked tospecific behavioural processes.Participants also completed aquestionnaire to measure positiveand negative mood before andafter the exercise.

The behavioural data showeda significant increase in positivemood after both exercise inten-sities and no significant changein negative mood. The results of

the Rs-fMRI tests showed thatlow-intensity exercise led toincreased functional connectiv-ity in networks associated withcognitive processing and atten-tion.

High-intensity exercise, onthe other hand, led to increasedfunctional connectivity in net-works related to affective, emo-tional processes. According to theresearchers, high-intensity exer-cise also led to a decreased func-

tional connectivity in networksassociated with motor function.

The investigators noted thatthis is the first study to report dis-tinct effects of exercise intensityon specific functional networkswithin the brain at rest.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Renowned whistle artist KSiva Prasad enthralled SrivariSevakulu on Friday. As a partof the orientation programmeto Srivari Sevakulu in connec-tion with Rathasapthami atAsthana Mandapam, a pro-gramme by the whistle wizardhas been organised.

Siva Prasad has presentednoteworthy songs ofAnnamacharya, which includ-ed Kondalalo nelakonna…,Tandanana Aahi…, PidikitaTalambrala…, NarayanateNamo, Vedukundama… andbhajans Sarvatra GovindaNama Sankeertana…,Govinda Krishna Jai…torhythmic accompaniment ofBharadwaj on keyboard,Manjunath on tabla, OSDPhanirangasai on mridangam.

TTD EO Anil KumarSinghal and Additional EO AVDharma Reddy compliment-ed and thanked the maestro.The EO and Additional EO

later felicitated the versatileartist, who charmed with histalent for over an hour.

Siva Prasad, who is now 65-year-old, is a disciple ofCarnatic music legend the lateM Balamuralikrishna. He hasgiven over 11,000 concertsworldwide and was felicitatedwith many titles, includinghuman dlute, Swasa NadaBrahma and many more.

TTD EO inspects measures forRathasapthami in mada streetPNS n VIJAYAWADA

TTD Executive Officer AnilKumar Singhal, along withadditional executive officerAV Dharma Reddy on Friday,inspected the arrangementsmade in four mada streets inconnection with annualRathasapthami.

Later, speaking to media per-sons, the Executive Officer saidall the galleries are providedwith German sheds to shield thedevotees from scorching tem-peratures during the day. Hesaid continuous annaprasadam,water and buttermilk distribu-tion has been ensured in the gal-leries for devotees.

"We have set up 64 foodcounters, 1.75 lakh half litrewater bottles and two lakh but-

termilk sachets for devotees.Nearly, 3,500 Srivari sevakulu,300 scouts, 300 NCC apartfrom 300 Security guards ofTTD, 1,000 police personneland 14 swimmers have alsobeen roped in take care of the

pilgrim safety and security mea-sures," he added. The ExecutiveOfficer said Vahana Sevascommences with SuryaprabhaVahanam at 5.30 am and con-cludes with ChandraprabhaVahanam by 9 pm on Saturday.

TTD Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal, along with additional executive officerAV Dharma Reddy, inspects arrangements for Rathasaptham at mada street inTirumala on Friday

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Modern women, especiallybusy, working moms are toobusy to take care of theirhealth and are at increased riskof heart disease. Indians havea higher risk of heart disease ata young age compared to oth-ers. In women, approximately35 per cent of heart attacks arebelieved to go unnoticed.

Heart disease isn't just formen or elderly. While it's acommon misconception thatheart disease is a men's disease,both men and women can beat heart disease risk. Heartattack causes nearly one inthree deaths in women.

In fact, heart-attack iswomen's No. 1 killer. As com-pared to men, women withhypertension and diabetes are

at higher risk of atherosclero-sis, a condition in which plaquebuilds up inside arteries. Notonly this, women are morelikely than men to have chron-ic stable angina, a serious heartproblem. Women have small-er coronary vessels than thoseof men, which leads toincreased heart disease risk andthe need of urgent interven-tion. Mortality after an acute

coronary event is two timeshigher in women than in menunder 50 years of age.

Dr PV Siva Prasad, ChiefInterventional Cardiologist, saysheart disease symptoms gounrecognised in majority ofwomen due to lack of awarenessmost likely results in ignoringthe heart disease symptoms. Inmost cases, women ignore mildto moderate discomfort unless

it continues for an extendedperiod of time. In fact, somewomen wait for a few hoursbefore seeking medical helpeven when in extreme discom-fort. Young women often missthe signs of a heart attack, asthey assume they are too youngfor heart disease or an event likeheart attack, he said.

In many young women thesedays have professional andhousewife responsibilities, stayphysically inactive, do not takecare of their nutritional needs,consume excess fat and carbo-hydrates, smoke and do not haveenough time to rest. This isbecause their stress-inducedfast lifestyle is making themadapt to unhealthy practices.This aggravates the risk factorsthat cause heart-related prob-lems, he added.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Oil Palm Developers andProcessors Association(OPDPA), the nodal agencyfor Oil Palm development inIndia, hailed the AP govern-ment's move for sanctioningfunds to the tune of Rs 80.32crore towards 1.7 per centOER for the year 2018 -2019.Farmers will receive differen-tial amounts based on FFBssupplied in the oil yearNovember 2018-October2019.

Sanjay Goenka, President ofthe Oil Palm Developers andProcessors Association,expressed his happiness onreleasing funds for oil palm

farmers and said "It is a posi-tive move by the governmentand we thank Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddy forreleasing funds to the tune ofRs 76.01 crore on behalf of theState government to cover theprice differential for oil palmfarmers. This will not onlyboost the income of farmersbut also act as a positive step

towards motivating them tocontinue to expand cultivationof this highly productive andbeneficial crop. This proactivemove will also help the nationin realising the dream of self-sufficiency in edible oil".

He said that around twolakh hectares of oil palm cul-tivation is undertaken in theState and this grant will ben-efit more than three lakh oilpalm farmers, thereby ensur-ing highest levels of agricultureincome to farmers.

The association is continu-ing its persuasion with thegovernment both at the Stateas well as the Centre to protectthe interests of the oil palmfarmers and industry at large.

Govt applauded for sanctioningfunds for oil palm farmers

Whistle wizard Sivamesmerises audiencewith his performance

Whistle wizard Siva Prasadaperforming during an orientationprogramme for Srivari Sevakulu inTirumala on Friday

The minister said toll-free numbers 1100and 1102 were set upto help the coronovirussuspects. He saidnodal officers havebeen appointed ineach district

Exercise intensity influencesbrain functions differently

Using resting statefunctional magneticresonance imaging(MRI), a non-invasivetechnique that allowsfor studies on brainconnectivity, the study,published in thejournal Brain Plasticity,shows for the first timethat low and highexercise intensitiesdifferentially influencebrain function

CPM demands withdrawalof tax proposal on fuelPNS n VIJAYAWADA

CPM West Krishna secretaryDV Krishna on Friday con-demned the proposal of impos-ing taxes on fuel by the Stategovernment. Addressingthe media here onFriday, he remindedthat Chief MinisterYS JaganmohanReddy assured thepeople of the State thatif he comes to power hewould not increase taxes inany form, however, after com-ing to power he is going backon his word.

He reminded that theYSRCP government after com-ing to power increasedAPSRTC charges and now

increase in tax on petrol anddiesel would be dealt a big blowto the transport sector, whichwould have its impact on essen-tial commodities indirectly.

Despite the governmentbeing in dire straits, it has

passed a GO to pay Rs5 crore as lawyer fee tofight the case againstthe agitatingAmaravati farmers

and women, who wereagainst the shifting of

capital from Amaravati. Healleged that the governmentputting people into troublewith its wrong policies and cre-ating regional differences. Hedemanded that the govern-ment withdraw the proposal ofincreasing tax on fuel.

‘Modern women prone to heart attacks' Engg studentsheld for ganja peddlingPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Task Force police arrestedfour members of a gang andrecovered 13 kg ganja andseized a motorbike from theirpossession under MylavaramPolice Station limits. The arrest-ed were identified as studentspursuing engineering, saidNuzvid DSP Srinivasulu.Speaking to the media, he saidon the instruction of SPRavindra Babu they formed ateam to crackdown ganja ped-dlers in Krishna district. TheTask Force sleuths laid a trap tonab the offenders. Tactfully,they apprehended the cul-prits, while they were sellingganja to daily wage labours.

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 1, 2020 vijayawada 03

New scheme fortailors, Rajakas,Nayee BrahminsAMARAVATI: The State willextend an annual financialassistance of Rs 10,000 toeligible Nayee Brahmins, tailorsand Rajakas for a period of fiveyears under the ‘JaganannaChedodu' scheme, according toan order issued by Special ChiefSecretary to the GovernmentKarikal Valuven on Friday.

APS calls on APCC chiefVIJAYAWADA: The agitatingleaders of AmaravatiParirakshana Samithi (APS)JAC met Andhra PradeshCongress Committee presidentSailajanath on Friday. The JACleaders briefed him about theagitation and demand thatAmaravati be announced as theonly capital of the State.Leaders submitted amemorandum to the APCCpresident seeking support tothem. Speaking on theoccasion, the JAC leaders saidit was not right on the part ofthe Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy toannounce three capitals forAndhra Pradesh. Theycondemned the government'smove on three capitals issue.They said that APCC hadassured to support the JACagainst the three capital issueand decentralisation. He saidthat the Congress was totallyagainst the announcement ofthree capitals to the State. Theysaid that the JAC leaders wouldmeet the farmers in Amaravatiand then go to Delhi to meetPresident Ramnath Kovind andPrime Minister Narendra Modi.They said that they woulddemand the President and thePrime Minister to saveAmaravati. The JAC leaders toldthat they would also meetIndian National Congresspresident Sonia Gandhi and AllIndia Congress Committeegeneral secretary Rahul Gandhi.

CAPSULE

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Social activist Swami Agniveshalleged that ever since the BJPgovernment took charge at theCentre it was creating commu-nal and racial differences amongpeople by enacting CAA, NRCand NPR.

Addressing a huge gatheringat the Makineni Basavapunna-iah Stadium here on Friday, hesaid that the Ganga Yamunaculture has been flourishing inthe country for centuries andthe BJP is trying to destroy thatculture. He said the BJP was try-ing to inflame hatred amongpeople causing bloodshed in thecountry.

He said that Gandhian fol-

lowers would oppose CAA andother enactments and con-demned the firing at the JamiaMilia Islamia University.

Rajaratna Prakash Ambedkarsaid that the Constitution pre-pared by Ambedkar considersall the citizens in the countryequal and the RSS and BJP weredividing people on the lines ofcaste.

Alliance against CAA, NRCand NPR convener ShabbirAhmad, MP Kesineni Srinivas,East MLA Gadde Ramamohan,CPI leader Ramakrishna, ZamatUlema Sunnat Zamat, AhelHadis, pastor Santisagar,Muppalla Subba Rao, DigambarKamble, Mahasena Rajesh,Jamat city leader Karimuddinand others were present.

BJP destroying ‘Ganga-Yamuna'culture, alleges Swami Agnivesh

PNS n AMARAVATI

In a surprise development,YSRCP MP fromNarasarasopet LavuKrishnadevarayulu on Fridayexpressed solidarity with thefarmers staging protests in theCapital region opposing thethree Capitals proposal.

Addressing the farmers atthe relay hunger-strike camp atVelagapudi, he said the govern-ment is ready to hold talks withthe agitators. He suggested tothe farmers to come for talkswith the government and makesuggestions.

The YSRCP MP said theproblems should be solvedamicably ensuring that justicewas rendered to the farmers,who had parted with theirlands for the capital project.He said, "The governmentunderstands the sentiments ofthe farmers, who have inher-ited their lands from theirforefathers. Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy is farmer-friendly. He will move aheadonly after rendering justice to

farmers," he said.Stating that YSRCP had won

151 seats in a landslide victo-ry because all sections of soci-ety had voted for it,Krishnadevarayulu hoped thatthe process of doing justice tofarmers would begin soon.

Amaravati JAC leadersthanked the YSRCP MP forexpressing his solidarity withthe farmers. They urged him totake their demands to thenotice of the Chief Ministerand solve their problems.

Govt ready for talks withryots, says YSRCP MP

PNS n AMARAVATI

Farmers continued theirprotests for the 45th day onFriday in protest against theproposal to constitute threecapitals. Farmers staged var-ious forms of protest atMandadam, Tullur andVelagapudi and other capitalvillages.

In a novel protest, farm-ers performed special pujasat various temples in theregion offering prayers toGod to change the mind ofthe State government tostall the three capitals con-cept mooted by the Stategovernment.

Former MP and TDPsenior leader Maganti Babuexpressed solidarity with

protesters. He sat in thedharna camp at Velagapudiand raised slogans against theState government.

Speaking on the occasion,he called upon farmers to beready to take the fight toDelhi seeking justice. Statingthat he was the son of afarmer, he knew what theAmaravati farmers weregoing through all these daysand demanded that the cap-ital be continued inAmaravati.

Babu said the people wereunable to understand whythe government wasadamant in setting up ofthree capitals there was noneed for such an arrange-ment for decentralisation ofdevelopment.

Farmers pray God to change govt's mind

Social activist Swami Agnivesh addressing a gathering at the Makineni Basavapunnaiah Stadium in Vijayawada on Friday

n Social activist SwamiAgnivesh said that Gandhianfollowers would oppose CAA and other enactmentsand condemned the firing atthe Jamia Milia IslamiaUniversity

n Rajaratna Prakash Ambedkarsaid that the Constitutiondrafted by BR Ambedkarconsiders all the citizens in thecountry equal and alleged thatthe RSS and BJP were dividingpeople on the lines of caste

PNS n HYDERABAD

Andhra Pradesh has shownsignificant gain in forest cover.According to economic surveyreport, 990 sq km of forestcover was added in AndhraPradesh. It stands second inthe gain while Karnatakagained maximum of 1,025 sqkm, Andhra Pradesh (990 sqkm). Telangana gained justabout 200 sq km of forestcover. States showing loss inforest cover are Manipur,Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradeshand Mizoram.

In India, the forest and treecover reached 80.73 millionhectare, which is 24.56 per centof the geographical area of thecountry.

The total forest cover of thecountry, as per current assess-ment 2019 is 7,12,249 sq km,which is 21.67 per cent of thetotal geographic area of thecountry.

As per economic survey

report, a comparison withsome other emerging andadvanced economies showsthat India's growth in forestcover has been in positive ter-ritory.

There has been an increaseof 3,976 sq km (0.56 per cent)of forest cover, 1,212 sq km(1.29 per cent) of tree coverand 5,188 sq km (0.65 percent) of forest and tree cover

put together at the nationallevel as compared to the pre-vious assessment 2017.

In terms of canopy densityclasses, area covered by VeryDense Forest (VDF) is 99,278sq km (3.02 per cent),Moderately Dense Forest(MDF) is 3,08,472 sq km (9.39per cent) and Open Forest(OF) is 3,04,499 sq km (9.26per cent).

AP shows significantgain in forest cover

Naidu ridicules CMfor decrease innumber of pensionersNS n AMARAVATI

Ridiculing the State govern-ment for decrease in the num-ber of pensioners, TDP chiefand Opposition leader NChandrababu Naidu on Fridaysaid when the age was relaxed,the number of beneficiarieshad come down.

Taking to the Twitter, hereacted to the reports that thenumber of beneficiaries of var-ious schemes had come downsignificantly.

"Is it not cheating when thenumber of pensions has beendecreased by seven lakh ineight months. Is it not cheatingif the government goes back onits promise of providing pen-sions by relaxing the age limitto 45 years women belonging toSC, ST, BC and Minorities butthe number of pensions hascome down," he said.

Naidu said the State govern-

ment had deceived the farmersby promising them to provideanl amount of Rs 12,500 inaddition to Rs 6,000 extendedby the Centre. The governmenthad wound up the employmentdole for youth.

"As many as 12 charge-sheets have been against CM YSJaganmohan Reddy. He hasbeen facing charges underSection 420. But, still he ismending his ways," he added.

Pension atbeneficiaries'doorstep...

Continued from Page1

The government has fur-ther considered that the exist-ing eligibility criteria forsanction of pensions underthe 'YSR Pension Kanuka'was revised in such a way thatthe benefit of pension shallreach all sections of needyintended for the pension.

Under the Old AgePension (OAP), widow,weavers, toddy tappers, fish-ermen, single women, tradi-tional cobblers and othercategories, Rs 2,250 is beingprovided every month.Similarly, for the physicallychallenged, the pensionamount is Rs 3,000 and forCKDU/Dialysis it is Rs 5,000to Rs 10,000. Also, the agefor old-age pensioners(OAP) has been reducedfrom 65 to 60 years. With theincrease in the number ofpensioners, the list of bene-ficiaries has gone up to 54.64lakh this year.

Govt planschopper servicefor MedaramPNS n HYDERABAD

If you have plans to visitMedarm Jatara, now you havean option to take a chopperthere. Tourism Minister SrinivasGoud said helicopter trips toMedaram will be introduced.The Government has spentabout Rs 20 crore in creatingguest houses and other touristamenities at Medaram, wherethe Jatara will begin on Feb 5. Heasked the real estate industry toadopt stadiums and aid in cre-ating better facilities. They canalso support sport under theirCSR activities. TheGovernment was willing towork them in develop therequired sport infra, the minis-ter said at the Credai HyderabadProperty Show inauguration.

Guntur lad ends life in GermanyContinued from Page1

However, hi father reported-ly told him not to panic about thebacklogs and concentrate onstudies, as he can complete all the

backlogs in the final semester. Apall of gloom descended on theresidence of Mohan Reddy afterthe university authorities fromGermany informed his parentsabout the suicide.

There are familiesthat depend on me

Continued from Page1

Though Pawan has signedtwo films-Pink remake and aperiod drama with Krish-there is utmost secrecy sur-rounding them. Both havebeen launched without anynoise and the actor has begunshooting for the former.

Govt cancels mining leases...Continued from Page1

The previous TDP govern-ment gave relaxation of fiveyears for setting up of the fac-tory. But now, the YSRCP gov-ernment has cancelled the leasesaying that the company hadfailed to set up the factory.

Earlier in October 2019, theRTA officials seized over 50buses belonging to DiwakarTravels owned by JC Diwarkar

Reddy's family, citing violationof norms.

Diwakar Reddy had reactedstrongly over cancellation ofmining leases. "For these peo-ple, opponents should die. Ifthey do not die, the govern-ment will take revenge. This isnothing but factionism. Theywill kill people and destroytheir financial roots. Afterthat, they want to see theOpponents wives and chil-

dren beg on roads. Only then,their ego will be satisfied. Bytaking revenge on me, Jaganhas again displayed his faction-ist mentality," he said.

He added, "The YSRCP gov-ernment is seething in angerand is very keen on revenge.When compared to the lossinflicted by Jagan for AndhraPradesh, my lease cancellationis nothing. I am not worried.We will settle this in the court."

Continued from Page1

This is for the second timethat the execution of the deathwarrants has been deferred.The first order for execution ofdeath sentence, issued onJanuary 7 for January 22, wasstayed on January 17. The sec-ond warrant, issued on January17, for February 1 was stayed onFriday. Advocate A P Singh, thecounsel for the three convicts —Pawan, Vinay and Akshay —had urged the court to adjournthe matter "sine die" sayingtheir legal remedies were yet tobe exhausted. The Tihar jailauthorities challenged theirapplication saying it was notmaintainable and the deathrow convicts can be hanged sep-arately. The argument of theTihar jail authorities was how-ever not accepted by the court.

The convicts' lawyer arguedthat rules dictate that when oneconvict's plea is pending theothers cannot be hanged.

The judge noted in the orderthat if an appeal or an applica-tion is made by only one con-vict, the execution of sentenceshall be postponed in the caseof co-convicts also.

The judge said: "Withoutcommenting upon the dilatorytactics adopted by the convicts,suffice it would be to state thatseeking redressal of one's griev-ances through procedure estab-lished by law is the hallmark ofany civilised society. The courtsof this country cannot afford toadversely discriminate any con-vict, including death row con-vict, in pursuit of his legalremedies, by turning a Nelson'seye towards him.

"As a cumulative effect of the

aforesaid discussion, I am of theconsidered opinion that theexecution of warrants issued bythis court vide order datesJanuary 17, 2020 deserves to bepostponed till further orders."

The court said a copy of thisorder be given to the counsel forconvicts and the jail officials pre-sent in the court. "The jailsuperintendent is directed to filethe compliance report bytomorrow," it said.

Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devisaid she will continue her fighttill the convicts are hanged.

Devi told reporters her"hopes are dashed" but she willcontinue her fight till the con-victs are hanged.

"These convicts have no rightto live. We keep getting disap-pointed by the system. I willcontinue my fight till the con-victs are hanged," she said. on

The advocate representingNirbhaya's parents told thecourt that for last one year theconvicts have been asked repeat-edly to avail their legal remediesbut they were avoiding.

"They are using delay tacticone by one. The convicts havebeen misused entire system," theadvocate said.

Vinay's mercy plea before thepresident is pending. During theargument, which lasted for overtwo hours, advocate VrindaGrover, appearing for Mukesh,too sought stay of execution.

Mukesh's mercy plea wasdismissed by President RamNath Kovind on January 17.The appeal against the rejectionwas thrown out by the SupremeCourt on Wednesday.

Grover said, "If the mercyplea of Vinay allowed, it willopen a chance for me to fileanother mercy plea. In YakubMemon's case there were talksof filing second mercy plea. It'swrong to say that there's no legalremedy left." The curative peti-tions of Vinay and Akshay havebeen rejected by the apex court.Pawan is the only one yet not tofile a curative plea. Convictshave the option of moving amercy petition before the pres-ident only after the apex courtdismisses their curative plea.

Earlier in the day, theSupreme Court dismissedPawan's plea seeking review ofthe decision by which his appli-cation claiming to be a juvenileat the time of the offence wasrejected.

Delhi court postpones hanging

Virus-hit Wuhan turns a ghost cityContinued from Page1

The virus, which emergedlate last year, has claimed atleast 213 lives and infectedthousands in China, with atleast 159 deaths in Wuhanalone. With the virus spread-ing to other countries, theWorld Health Organizationhas declared the crisis a glob-al health emergency.

Authorities have imposedan unprecedented lockdown ofWuhan, blocking off roads outof the city and banning flights,in a bid to stop the virusspreading. Those who aretrapped are enduring a tor-

menting wait for the lock-down to end, for a cure to befound, or even just for check-ups at overwhelmed hospitals.

AFP reporters in Wuhanhave seen long queues at hos-pitals, with some patients say-ing they had queued for two

days to see a doctor.Many brought their own

chairs for the wait. With mosttraffic banned, people whoventure outside have to walk orbike everywhere in the hugecity. The dead man on thestreet on Thursday lay oneblock from the WuhanNumber Six Hospital, one ofthe main medical centres fortreating those with virus symp-toms.

A team of forensic expertswho examined him wereimmediately sprayed with dis-infectant by colleagues afterremoving their hazardousmaterial suits. One man smok-

ing near the scene was toldsharply by police to put out hiscigarette and don a face mask.

He quickly followed theirorders. In the two hours thatAFP observed the scene, atleast 15 ambulances passedby, attending other calls.

Finally, a white van withblacked-out windows arrivedto take away the man. Thebody was zipped into a yellowsurgical bag, and carried intothe van on a stretcher.

Staff immediately beganto clean the ground as thevan drove away, disinfectingthe streets where the bodyhad lain.

Quality rice forcard holdersfrom April 1

Continued from Page1

In the second phase to belaunched in May, 46 constituen-cies would be covered and 70constituencies in the third phaseto be launched in June.

Similarly, 106 constituen-cies would be covered in thefourth phase in July and all the175 constituencies would becovered in the final phase inAugust.

In order to supply packagedquality rice, 99 rice packingunits were set up at 30 placesacross the State. Of them, 41 areof the Civil Supplies depart-ment and 58 were brought inthe PPP mode.

Each unit has the capacity topack 2,000 tonnes of rice permonth. The Chief Ministerinstructed officials to go forenvironmentally-friendly pack-aging rather than plastic bun-dles.

He further instructed offi-cials to recruit manpower forthe supply and door-to-doordistribution of rice and alsoarrange required vehicles fortransportation.

Govt keen on ...Continued from Page1

In the case of weekly off forpolicemen, the CM said that itshould not lead to a decrease intheir efficiency. Importanceshould also be given to fillingthe posts in the revenue depart-ment and to provide adequateequipment to the survey staff.Officials said that a plan ofaction would be prepared forfilling up of the posts in alldepartments in the next threeweeks.

PV KONDAL RAOn WARANGAL

CPI Maoists continue to rely ona leadership blend of veteransand Young Turk in their centralcommittee. The party, now ledby Namballa Keshava Rao aliasBaswaraju has got a total of 21central committee members.The central committee too issupported by a polit buro andthat, as per the intelligence net-work, would act as a parallelcentral committee or an alterna-tive central committee, whichprovides political education and

military advancement throughSCOPE and SCOMA.

The new central committee isreportedly reconstituted recent-

ly and 12 members among thesehails from two Telugu states.Apart from Namballa KeshavaRao, Akkiraju Haragopal alias

Ramakrishna alias RK hailsfrom Andhra Pradesh state.From Telangana, the formerCentral Committee secretaryMuppalla Lakshman Rao aliasGanapathi, Mallojula Venugopalalias Vivek, Katakam Sudarshanalias Anand, Malla Raji ReddyAlias Sangram , ThippiriTirupathi alias Devji, KadariSatyanarayan Reddy alias Kosa,Modem Balakrishna aliasManoj, Pulluri Prasad Rao aliasChandranna, Gajarla Ravi aliasGanesh and Paka Hanumanthualias Uke Ganesh are the mem-bers of Central Committee.

12 from AP, TS in Maoist new central panel

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 1, 2020 nation 04SHORT READS

Kunal Kamra hailsstance of IndiGocaptain Rohit Mateti NEW DELHI: Kunal Kamra onFriday hailed IndiGo captainRohit Mateti who conveyed hisanguish to the airlinemanagement for not consultinghim before announcing a six-month ban on the comedian forheckling Republic TV chiefArnab Goswami. "Captain RohitMateti ko mera salaam (I hailCaptain Rohit Mateti)," Kamrasaid on Twitter. In a letter to theIndiGo management onThursday, Mateti had said hewas "disheartened" to learn thatKamra was banned from flyingpurely on the basis of socialmedia posts and that thoughhis behaviour was "unsavoury",it was not qualifying of a level-1unruly passenger".

BJP releasesmanifesto for DelhiAssembly polls

EC holds meeting withDelhi CS, police chiefon pollsNEW DELHI: The ElectionCommission is holding ameeting with Delhi ChiefSecretary, city police chief andother top officials to review pollpreparedness, officials said onFriday. The Commission woulddiscuss various importantissues related to conducting ofpeaceful elections in Delhi onFebruary 8. The review comesa day after a shooting incidentnear the Jamia Millia Islamiahere in which a student wasinjured.

Foreign exchangereserves reach life-time high of USDMUMBAI: The country's foreignexchange reserves reached alife-time high of USD 466.693billion after a massive USD4.535 billion spike in the weekto January 24, according to theReserve Bank of India data. Inthe previous week, the reserveshad increased by USD 943million to USD 462.16 billion.In the reporting week, theincrease in reserves was mainlyon account of a rise in foreigncurrency assets, a majorcomponent of the overallreserves, which rose by USD4.470 billion to USD 432.919billion, the RBI data released onFriday showed. Expressed indollar terms, the foreigncurrency assets include theeffect of appreciation ordepreciation of non-US unitslike the euro, pound and yenheld in the foreign exchangereserves.

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Fridayreleased 'Delhi Sankalp Patra',its manifesto for DelhiAssembly polls, and assertedthat the party will change thecity's future. The documentwas released in presence ofUnion Ministers Nitin Gadkari,Prakash Javadekar, HarshVardhan, party's Delhi unitpresident Manoj Tiwari andMPs. Addressing the media,Gadkari said the party will runthe "bullet train" of developmentin the national capital."BJP's history is linked to Delhi.The future of Delhi will bechanged by the BJP," he said.

Farrukhabad hostage crisis ends;Captor shot dead, wife lychedPNS n FARRUKHABAD (UP)

The hostage crisis inFarrukhabad ended shortlyafter midnight on Friday afterthe 23 children who were heldcaptive for about eight hourswere rescued by the policeand the captor was shot dead,while his wife was lynched byangry locals.

The hostage drama began atKasaria village on Thursdayevening when SubhashBatham, who is a murderaccused, invited the children,aged between six months and15 years, to his daughter'sbirthday party.

"The accused had invited thechildren for the birthday partyof his daughter and held themhostage. It started about 5.45pm on January 30 and contin-ued for about eight hours,"Director General of Police(DGP) O P Singh said, addingthat in the entire operation theyhad tried to "engage" theaccused and were successful.

He said the accused had ini-tially released a six-month-old girl by handing her over tohis neighbour from a balcony.

Police said Batham, who

seemed mentally unstable,handed over the girl to hisneighbour from a balcony.

The accused fired frominside the house on those whotried to speak to him, thepolice said, adding that a manand two policemen suffered abullet injury.

The motive of the accusedwas not known immediately.

"The accused was killed andthere were about 23 children

who were rescued safely,"Additional Chief Secretary(Home) Awanish Awasthi toldreporters at a hurriedly calledpress conference at 1.20 am.

His wife died in a hospital onThursday night. She had triedto escape from the spot whenBatham opened fire, but wascaught by angry locals whothrashed her and pelted stonesat her, IG Kanpur MohitAgarwal. She sustained a head

injury in the attack, but theexact cause of death would beknown after post-mortem, hesaid. "The man held the chil-dren hostage in the basementof the house and he fired sixshots from inside the building,"the IG said.

He said Batham fired onthose who attempted to speakto him. Batham wanted to talkto the local MLA, but herefused to speak to the leaderwhen he arrived, Agarwal said.

Chief Minister YogiAdityanath monitored the sit-uation in Farrukhabad, whichis nearly 200 km from statecapital Lucknow.

"The CM as soon as he gotto know about the incidentcalled a meeting of crisis man-agement group and personal-ly monitored the situation andensured children are rescued

safely," Awasthi said."It is laudable that all the

children who were held hostagein Farrukhabad were freedthrough the efficient strategyand planning of police," UnionHome Minister Amit Shahsaid, congratulating the chiefminister and UP police.

Earlier, a team of NSG(National Security Guard)commandos had taken a spe-cial aircraft to reachFarrukhabad, a senior securi-ty official in Delhi said.

Meanwhile, Adityanathannounced an award of Rs 10lakh for the UP Police teamthat successfully carried out therescue operation.

"All personnel who tookpart in the operation will begiven a certificate of apprecia-tion," said UP Additional ChiefSecretary Awanish K Awasthi.

‘CAA against NEpeople, their culture’PNS n NEW DELHI

The Citizenship AmendmentAct (CAA) is against the peo-ple of the Northeast and thelegislation will "destroy" thelanguage and culture of theregion, Congress MP AbdulKhaleque said on Friday.

The Lok Sabha MP fromAssam said the party will con-tinue to lodge protest againstthe "anti-people" law, bothinside and outside Parliament.

"The CAA will hurt theinterests of the people of theNortheast and endanger thelanguage and culture of thepeople of the region,"Khaleque told reporters here.

The Congress leader saidthis in the wake of PresidentRam Nath Kovind's remarks atthe joint sitting of both hous-

es of Parliament hailing theCAA.

Kovind said the legislationhas fulfilled the wishes ofMahatma Gandhi.

"We have protested againstthe CAA inside Parliamentand near the statue ofMahatma Gandhi today. Wewill continue to protest againstthe CAA both inside and out-side Parliament till the act isrepealed," he said.

According to the CAA,members of Hindu, Sikh,Buddhist, Jain, Parsi andChristian communities whohave come from Pakistan,Bangladesh and Afghanistantill December 31, 2014 facingreligious persecution therewill not be treated as illegalimmigrants but given Indiancitizenship.

PNS n NEW DELHI

There is a need to address therising food subsidy bill, and thegovernment needs to "revisit"the subsidised rates at whichfoodgrains are distributedthrough ration shops, theEconomic Survey said onFriday.

Foodgrains via ration shopsare supplied at highly sub-sidised rates of Rs 3 per kg forrice, Rs 2 per kg for wheat andRs 1 per kg for coarse grainsthrough Public DistributionSystem (PDS) as per theNational Food Security Act(NFSA).

"With a large share of poorpeople, maintaining food secu-rity is still a challenge. Therates fixed under the NFSA ini-tially for a period of three yearshave not been revised since2013, resulting in burgeoningfood subsidy. The rates underNFSA and the coverage needto be revisited," the Surveysaid.

The food subsidy bill hasincreased from Rs 1,13,171.2crore in 2014-15 to Rs1,71,127.5 crore in 2018-19, it

said adding that the reasons forwidening of the food subsidyhave been many.

While the economic cost hasincreased, the central issueprice (the rate at which grainsare sold in ration shops) forNFSA beneficiaries has notbeen revised from Rs 200 perquintal in case of wheat and Rs

300 per quintal in the case ofrice. The acquisition and dis-tribution costs of foodgrainsfor the central pool togetherconstitute the economic cost.The difference between theper-quintal economic cost andthe per-quintal Central IssuePrice (CIP) gives the quantumof food subsidy.

PNS n LONDON

Britain's exit from the EU is notan end but a new beginning,according to Prime MinisterBoris Johnson who is set todeliver a message of unity tomark Brexit Day on Fridaywhen the country finally leavesthe bloc, over three years afterthe landmark Brexit vote.

In a video message recordedin Downing Street on Thursdayand to be aired at 2200 GMTon Friday, an hour ahead of theUK's scheduled exit time, theConservative Party leader whotook charge as UK prime min-ister last year with a do or dieBrexit pledge will characterisethe historic moment as a newbeginning for the country.

"This is the moment whenthe dawn breaks and the cur-

tain goes up on a new act. It isa moment of real nationalrenewal and change," DowningStreet said in a read-out ofJohnson's address to the nation.

"Our job as the government

my job is to bring this countrytogether and take us forward.And the most important thingto say tonight is that this is notan end but a beginning, itreads.

In keeping with the messageof unity, Johnson is chairing hisfirst Cabinet meeting on tourin the north of England and haschosen the city of Sunderlandthe first city to declare supportfor leaving the EU in June 2016.

This is the dawn of a new erain which we no longer acceptthat your life chances yourfamily's life chances shoulddepend on which part of thecountry you grow up in. Thisis the moment when we begin

to unite and level up, saysJohnson, who has vehementlycampaigned for Brexit overthe years.

The UK's formal end to itsmembership of the economicbloc, the so-called divorce,comes into effect at 2300 GMTon Friday, after which it ceas-es to be part of any of the EUinstitutions, including theEuropean Court of Justice.However, the UK will contin-ue to follow EU rules and pro-

cedures until the end of a pre-agreed transition period, whichruns until December end 2020.

During that period, bothsides are bound by a PoliticalDeclaration signed alongsidethe EU Withdrawal Bill tostrike a new agreement for theirfuture trading relationship.

"We on the UK side wantthis to be an opportunity todemonstrate that we can beeven greater neighbours, alliesand friends. Our vision for thefuture relationship, for whichwe have a template in thePolitical Declaration, willdefine that, UK foreign secre-tary Dominic Raab toldreporters ahead of Brexit Day.

"We genuinely see this asturning a page, looking forwardto forging even stronger tiesabout reaching out to the rest

of the world and be an evenstronger force for good, saidRaab, another hard Brexiteer inJohnson's Cabinet.

The end to the UK's 47-yearmembership of the economicbloc, which will now be madeup of 27 European countries,will be marked by pro-Brexitcelebrations at ParliamentSquare in London as well assome anti-Brexit marches inLondon and Northern Ireland.

The UK's Union Jack flagsare lining up the Mall, whichleads up to Buckingham Palacein London, and all major gov-ernment buildings in the polit-ical hub of Whitehall will be litup in its red, white and bluecolours as a similarly themedlight display in Downing Streetcounts down the final Brexithour.

Britain exits EU, Boris Johnson sees ‘dawn of new era’ for UKIn keeping with the message of unity,Johnson is chairing his first Cabinetmeeting on tour in the north of Englandand has chosen the city of Sunderlandthe first city to declare support forleaving the EU in June 2016

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Economic Survey onFriday pitched for scrapping ofthe Essential Commodities Act(ECA), saying the law is"anachronistic" that leads toharassment and is of no help inchecking price volatility.

The Survey also favoured"dynamic" foodgrain policythat allows switching fromprocurement and distributionof grains to cash transfers, butdisfavoured loan waiver tofarmers that disrupts the cred-it culture.

"The consumer affairs min-istry and its related arms mustexamine whether the anachro-nistic ECA, which was passedin 1955 in an India worried

about famines and shortages, isrelevant in today's India," itobserved.

Stating that around 76,000raids under the ECA were

conducted last year, the Surveysaid that considerable admin-istrative effort goes intoenforcement of this law assum-ing a minimum of 5 persons

involved in a raid."As the conviction rate, how-

ever, is abysmally low andraids have no impact on prices,the ECA only seems to enablerent-seeking and harassment.The Survey provides clear evi-dence that the case for jettison-ing this anachronistic legisla-tion is strong," the documentsaid.

The Survey noted that fre-quent and unpredictable impo-sition of blanket stock limits oncommodities under this law"distorts the incentives for thecreation of storage infrastruc-ture by the private sector,movement up the agriculturalvalue chain and developmentof national market for agricul-tural commodities".

His wife died in a hospital on Thursdaynight. She had tried to escape from thespot when Batham opened fire, but wascaught by angry locals who thrashedher and pelted stones at her, IG KanpurMohit Agarwal

The food subsidy bill has increasedfrom Rs 1,13,171.2 crore in 2014-15 toRs 1,71,127.5 crore in 2018-19, it saidadding that the reasons for widening ofthe food subsidy have been many

Shah congratulates UP CM,police for rescuing childrenPNS n LUCKNOW

Home Minister Amit Shah onFriday congratulated UttarPradesh Chief Minister YogiAdityanath and the state policefor the operation in which 23children held captive at a housein Farrukhabad were rescued.

In a tweet, the Union HomeMinister said "It is laudable toget all the children heldhostage in Farrukhabad inUttar Pradesh safely rescuedthrough the efficient strategyand planning by the police. Icongratulate Chief Ministerand Uttar Pradesh police."

The chief minister thankedthe Home Minister in a tweet-ed: "Thank You, HonourableHome Minister. Yes, UttarPradesh government has apolicy of zero tolerance againstcrime. Crime against women,children and other weakersections of society cannot betolerated at any cost."

"The courage and strategyby which our police freed 23children from the criminal iscommendable.Under your

guidance, the law and order ofthe state is determined andalways alert to extend protec-tion to the public," Adityanathsaid in another tweet in Hindi.

As many as 23 childrenaged between six months and15 years, who had been takenhostage by a murder accused

after inviting them to hisdaughter's birthday party, wererescued late on Thursday nightafter police killed their captorin a village here.

The hostage drama began atKasaria village in the afternoonand continued for about eighthours.

Address rising food bill,revisit PDS rates: Survey

PNS n NEW DELHI

Chandrayaan2, India's sec-ond lunar mission, has stim-ulated a new interest in tech-nology among the country'syouth, President Ram NathKovind said on Friday.

"The objective of India'sspace programme has alwaysbeen service to humanity. Dueto the tireless work of country'sspace scientists, Chandrayaan2has stimulated a new interestin technology among thecountry's youth," he told law-makers during a joint sitting ofParliament. A highly com-plex mission, Chandrayaan2comprised an orbiter, a landerand a rover. Hundreds of peo-ple had gathered at SatishDhawan Space Centre to wit-ness the September 6, 2019,landing attempt on the Moon.Though the lander Vikramcrash-landed on the lunarsurface, possibly damagingthe rover, ISRO said the orbiterlaunch was successful and it isworking well.

"My government hasalready approvedChandrayaan3. ISRO is alsoworking expeditiously on themanned spacecraft pro-gramme — Gaganyaan, aswell as Aditya-1 Mission," hesaid.

Ram Nath Kovind

‘Chandrayaan-IIstimulatedyouth's interestin tech’

PNS n PANAJI

A foreign national hospi-talised in Goa as a precau-tionar y measure sinceJanuary 28 for the novelcoronavirus has tested neg-ative and would be dis-charged soon, a senior statemedical official said onFriday.

The man had arrived inGoa after visiting China andwas kept in the isolationward of Goa MedicalCollege and Hospital(GMCH) with symptomssimilar to novel coronavirus,officially called 2019-nCoV,infection.

"We have received thereport from the Pune-basedlaboratory. His sample hastested negative. As perWorld Health Organisationguidelines, he can now bedischarged from the ward,"GMCH Dean Dr ShivanandBandekar told PTI.

Coronavirus:Foreigneradmitted tohospital

Survey for scrapping ‘anachronistic'Essential Commodity Act 1955

CMP wamts actopmagaomst ‘hate speeches'PNS n NEW DELHI

CPI(M) politburo memberBrinda Karat has written toDelhi Police CommissionerAmulya Patnaik, demandingimmediate action on theparty's complaint against "hatespeeches" by BJP leaders andurging him to take preventivesteps against right-wing organ-isation Hindu Sena.

The party had written a let-ter to the police commission-er on January 29 giving detailsof "hate speeches" made by BJPleaders Anurag Thakur andParvesh Verma while cam-paigning for the DelhiAssembly polls.

"The details showed that thespeeches constitute criminal

offences under the IPC. Wehad also mentioned the specif-ic provisions which shouldapply namely under Section153A/ 153B/ 295A/ 298/ 504/505/ 506 of the Indian PenalCode, 1860, among others.

"Regrettably and for reasonsbest known to you and theDelhi Police, you chose not toact on our complaint. Thedirect result of your inactionwas seen yesterday when anarmed man shot directly atJamia students, in full view ofthe Delhi Police personnelwho acted as spectators," theletter stated. It also alleged thatthe "criminal concerned" is asupporter of the ruling partyand the ideology of the Sanghparivar.

"The courage and strategy by which our policefreed 23 children from the criminal iscommendable.Under your guidance, the lawand order of the state is determined and alwaysalert to extend protection to the public,"Adityanath said in another tweet in Hindi

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 1, 2020 nation 05SHORT READS

MP: Coach separatedfrom express trainafter technical glitchINDORE: Alert railwaypersonnel averted an accidentby safely separating a coach ofthe Somnath- Jabalpur Expressthat had developed a technicalglitch at Ujjain district ofMadhya Pradesh on Friday, anofficial said. A technical glitchin a wheel caused overheatingin the axle of B-1 coach ofSomnath-Jabalpur Expressbecause of constant friction,senior public relations officerJitendra Kumar Jayant ofRatlam division (WesternRailway) said. "We found outabout the problem at around 2am on Friday and keeping thesafety of passengers in mind,this coach was separated fromthe train at Khachrod station,"he said. Passengers of thiscoach were shifted to othercoaches, he said, adding thatthe train was delayed by twoand half hours.

Army sets upquarantine facility inManesar for 300students returning

Six men includingAfghan national heldby Punjab STF, 188 kgheroin seizedCHANDIGARH: The Special TaskForce (STF) of Punjab has seized188 Kg heroin and othercontrabands from a house inSultanwind area of Amritsardistrict and arrested six persons,including a Afghanistan national,officials said on Friday. Theseized heroin which is worth Rs1,000 crore in the internationalmarket, was smuggled intoIndia from Afghanistan viaPakistan, they said. The SpecialTask Force, Border Range madethe recovery late on Thursdaynight. STF recovered 188 kgheroin, 38 kg dextromethorp-han, 25 kg caffeine powderprobably used to cut and mix theheroin and six drums ofchemical composition weight207 kg, officials said. Sixpersons were arrested from thehouse where preparation,mixing and cutting of drugs wastaking place, officials said. TheAfghan national has come toIndia a few days ago and histask was to dilute the heroinwhich was of very high quality toincrease its quantity, they said.

NEW DELHI: The Indian Armyhas set up a quarantine facilityin Manesar near Delhi to keeparound 300 Indian studentsbeing evacuated from China'sHubei province in view of theoutbreak of coronavirus.Officials said the Indian Armyhas created the facility nearManesar where the studentscan be monitored for any signsof infection for a duration oftwo weeks by a qualified teamof doctors and staff members.An Air India flight was sent toWuhan on Friday to bring backthe Indian students stuck inHubei province, the epicentre ofcoronavirus. The flight isexpected to reach India ataround 2 am on Saturday. Theprocedure of screening andquarantine will comprise twosteps. The first one will be atthe Indira Gandhi Internationalairport followed by quarantineat Manesar, an official said.

PNS n JAIPUR

Rajasthan Chief Minister AshokGehlot on Thursday said Khadiembodies Mahatma Gandhi'sprinciples of truth, non-violenceand simplicity, besides elimi-nating the distinction betweenrich and poor and of caste andreligion.

He was addressing the inau-gural session of the two-dayInternational Conference onGlobalization of Khadi here.

People should come forward,especially younger generationto connect with Khadi and pro-mote it, Gehlot said.

"Khadi is not just clothing buta reason for self-respect andrespect. It eliminates the distinc-tion between rich-poor and

caste-religion and it embodiesMahatma Gandhi's principlesof truth, non-violence and sim-plicity," he said.

The chief minister said that thestate government will make every

effort to implement the sugges-tion that will come in the two-dayconference.

He said that besides being amajor medium of employmentfor rural areas, Khadi is helps in

empowering women.Gehlot said that to promote

Khadi and related institutions,the state government has decid-ed to give 50 per cent discounton Khadi garments in Rajasthan,

which has shown encouragingresults. State Industries MinisterParsadi Lal Meena said this is thefirst time in the state that such adiscount has been given onKhadi textiles.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Tesla and SpaceX CEO ElonMusk is a musician now! Yes,you read it right. Recently theTesla CEO just dropped anelectronic song, "Don't Doubtyour Vibe," on SoundCloud.

The Tesla owner posted aseries of tweets suggesting hehad written a song and alsovoiced it. The tweet read:"Don't Doubt your Vibe." Healso wrote "I wrote the lyrics &performed the vocals!!"

The lyrics are: 'Don't doubtyour vibe, because it's true.Don't doubt your vibe, becauseit's you." In the entire four-minute song, the entrepre-neur plays with different beats,probably testing all his love formusic.

The Tesla CEO also changedhis Twitter display name to "E'D' M" and tweeted photos ofhimself in a studio before

sharing it. Once the post wentviral, social media has beenabuzz with reactions.

A user @Garrett_Wattswrote: "Well now I know exact-ly what my Cybertruck shoulddo when I ask it: "Should Idoubt my vibe?" Another user@Modestep wrote: "I don'teven have time for a haircut yetyou somehow find time tobuild rockets, solar panels,cars, tunnels, brain implants,

satellite internet and now makeemotional bangers too. How?!"

A post read, "You know.That wasn't as bad as I thoughtit would be."

A Tweeple remarked,"Thank you so much for beingwho you are, hands down oneof the most interesting innova-tors and dreamers of our gen-eration. Love the track, sosimple, but catchy and chill.Keep it up Elon!"

Elon Musk is a musician now!

PNS n NEW DELHI

President Ram Nath Kovind onFriday described the centralgovernment's decision to abro-gate Article 370 of the Constitu-tion from Jammu and Kashmiras a historic one and said thatit has paved the way for equaldevelopment of Jammu andKashmir and Ladakh.

Addressing the joint sessionof Parliament here ahead of theBudget Session, Kovind said,"The abrogation of Article 370and Article 35A of theConstitution by Parliament isnot only historic but it has alsopaved way for equal develop-

ment of Jammu and Kashmirand Ladakh."

The President stressed thatrapid development of Jammuand Kashmir and Ladakh, pro-tection of culture and traditions,transparent and honest admin-istration and empowerment ofdemocracy are among the pri-orities of his government.

The government had abro-gated the Article 370 of theConstitution from Jammu andKashmir, that gave special sta-tus to the erstwhile state onAugust 5. The governmentalso bifurcated the state ofJammu and Kashmir into twoUnion territories.

Oppn howls as Prez mentionsCAA as Gandhi's willPNS n NEW DELHI

In a rare but not the first suchoccasion, opposition parties onFriday jointly expressed theirobjection by sloganeering"shame, shame", that reverber-ated in the Central Hall ofParliament when PresidentRam Nath Kovind mentionedthat Citizenship AmendmentAct (CAA) was the will ofMahatma Gandhi which thegovernment had fulfilled.

Kovind made the statementwhile addressing a joint sittingof the Parliament before thebeginning of the Budget sessionwhich is divided into two parts.The first part began on Fridayand go on till February 11, afterwhich the session will beadjourned for a short break. Thesecond half of the session will befrom March 2 to April 3.

The opposition's objectioncame minutes after thePresident started speakingabout the benefits of the CAAmentioning the governmenthad fulfilled the will ofMahatma Gandhi with thepassing of the CitizenshipAmendment Bill, 2019 in boththe houses of Parliament. TheCAA which came into forceearlier this month after it waspassed in the winter session ofParliament last year.

As the opposition's sloga-neering continued, thePresident continued his speechdescribing how the Act wouldbenefit the immigrants ofminorities of six religious com-munities persecuted from

Pakistan, Bangladesh andAfghanistan.

"I am happy that the will ofthe Father of the Nation,Mahatma Gandhi, has beenfulfilled by enacting a

Citizenship Amendment Actby both the Houses ofParliament."

Kovind also condemned theatrocities on the minority com-munities in Pakistan and

"urged the world communityto take cognizance of this andtake necessary steps in thisdirection".

The President stressed thatthe government makes it clearthat the procedures whichwere there earlier for people ofall religions of the world, whobelieved in India and want totake citizenship of India, arethe same today.

"A person of any creed cancomplete these processes andbecome a citizen of India. Thegovernment has made severalprovisions for granting citizen-ship to refugees in any regionand especially in the NorthEast," he said.

The Lok Sabha passed theCitizenship Amendment Billon December 9, 2019 while theRajya Sabha passed the Bill onDecember 12, 2019. The Actcame into force on January 10this year.

PNS n GORAKHPUR

After New Year cards,Congress General SecretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra isnow sending out New Yeardiaries to senior party work-ers.

The diaries carry a photo-graph and a quote from lateIndira Gandhi which says,"Zindagi mein mauke aapkepaas chal kar nahin aate,aapko unka nirmaan karnahota hai aura unhe apnehaath mein lena padta hai"(In life, opportunities dontwalk up to you. You have tocreate them and then takethem in your hands).

Uttar Pradesh Congress sec-retary Vishwa Vijay Singhsaid: "Late Indira Gandhi is aninspiraration for all and we aretrying to take her message toall in order to create social har-mony.

Under the leadership ofPriyanka Gandhi Vadra, we

are preparing to battle forcesthat are working against theConstitution."

The diaries are being set outto about 1,000 persons in eachdistrict and those in the listinclude party veterans andold timers.

Singh said that the diarieswill be sent to those Congressleaders who are old and inac-tive. The idea is to reach outto them and their families.

The families of former MPNarsingh Narain Pandey, for-mer union minister MahavirPrasad, former MLAHaridwar Pandey andLalchand Nishad havereceived these diaries.

Former Mayor PawanBarthwal said: "This is a signif-icant message that will revivethose cadres that have becomeinactive in recent years."

Social workers, teachers,farmers and governmentemployees are also being sentthe diaries.

PNS n NEW DELHI

President Ram Nath Kovind onFriday hit out at those whoindulge in violent activities inthe name of protests and saidthat the government is readyfor mutual discussions anddebate on each issue but saidsuch violent activities weakenthe society and the nation.

The President was address-ing the joint sitting ofParliament at the Central Hallhere, before the start of theBudget session. The first partof the session began on Fridayand will go on till February 11,after which the session will beadjourned for a recess. The sec-ond half of the session willcommence from March 2 and

will go on till April 3. "MyGovernment is of the firm viewthat mutual discussions anddebates strengthen democracy.At the same time, any kind ofviolence in the name of protestsweakens the society and thenation," Kovind said.

His remarks came in thebackdrop of violent protestsagainst the CAA. The LokSabha passed the Citizenship(Amendment) Bill, 2019 onDecember 9 last year, while theRajya Sabha passed it onDecember 12. The Act cameinto force on January 10 thisyear.

As per the law, migrants ofsix non-Muslim communities— Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain,Parsi and Christian — whohave come from Pakistan,Bangladesh and Afghanistantill December 31, 2014 will begiven Indian citizenship.

The law sparked country-wide protests and violence atsome places in which about 25people were killed.

Violence in the name ofprotest weakens country: Prez

Obscene contentfound ondisgraced J&Ktop cop's phonePNS n SRINAGAR

Obscene content has beenfound on disgraced Jammu &Kashmir DSP DavinderSingh's mobile phone,sources said.

Davinder Singh's phonewas sent to forensic expertsfor examination by the NIA.A team of NationalInvestigation Agency offi-cials is currently interrogat-ing him in Jammu.

Last week DG NIA, Y.C.Modi, reviewed the investiga-tions in the case.

On January 11, policearrested Davinder Singh onthe Jammu-Srinagar nation-al highway when he wastransporting two HizbulMujahideen militants includ-ing top commander NaveedBabu and his accomplice anda lawyer to Jammu.

After initial investigationsby the J&K police the case washanded to the NIA. Policesources had said that the twoterrorists and the lawyer hadplanned a travel to Pakistanafter reaching Jammu.

Singh was earlier shiftedfrom Srinagar to Jammu ona transit remand where anNIA team questioned him.After his arrest by the J&Kpolice, multiple raids wereconducted at his residence inSrinagar.

Singh was posted with theanti-hijacking wing of Jammu& Kashmir Police in Srinagar,and was part of the securitystaff that had received a groupof foreign diplomats whovisited Kashmir last month.

The opposition'sobjection came minutesafter the Presidentstarted speaking aboutthe benefits of the CAAmentioning the govern-ment had fulfilled the willof Mahatma Gandhi withthe passing of theCitizenship AmendmentBill, 2019 in both thehouses of Parliament

PNS n NEW DELHI

In a dark room at the ongo-ing India Art Fair in thenational capital, one of Indiasbiggest art events, shinesthrough an illuminated figu-rative painting by Raja RaviVarma, the indisputablefather of modern Indian art.What is interesting is that itis the only Raja Ravi Varmapainting in the entire Fair,and the gallery presenting ithas nothing else on display.

Amit Vadehra from thepresenting Crayon ArtGallery said that they chosejust one work to give thepainting the importance itdeserves. "We used speciallighting in a dark space witha bench inspired from the

1700s," he said.Raja Ravi Varma (1848-

1906) is India's most cele-brated classical painter ofthe modern era, best knownfor his fusion between

European academic stylewith mythological themesfrom Puranas and otherHindu texts.

His exhibited paintingeVishnu on Sheshnag' is aniconic and seminal repre-sentat ion of R aja R aviVarma's work, depicting theclassical iconography of thedeity represented here withhis wives, Goddess Lakshmiand Goddess Bhumi oneither side, on the seat of theSheshnag, the snake king.

Also known as Shesha, thesnake king is depicted indelicate fashion, in Varma'srenowned painterly style.

Also on view is the paint-ing's oleograph on paper, amore affordable version ofthe coveted painting.

Raja Ravi Varma: The crownjewel of India Art Fair 2020

Impose President rule, postponeDelhi poll: Hindu MahasabhaSaffron outfit, Hindu Mahasabha, on Friday demanded Presidents

rule to be imposed in the nation capital here in view of the ShaheenBagh protest and the coronavirus outbreak. The outfit chief SwamiChakrapani said: "The Shaheen Bagh blockade has created a law andorder situation. The JNU violence has also contributed to the breakdown. In light of this, postponing the Delhi Assembly electionscheduled for February 8 will be a logical decision." Chakrapani alsocondemned the gun assault at the protest site on Thursday that leftone student injured. This is not the first time, the outfit has lashed outat the Shaheen Bagh president. Earlier, Chakrapani called ShaheenBagh as the "anti-national version of Jallianwala Bagh massacre".Swami Chakrapani had then alleged: "Jallianwala Bagh was acongregation for nationalist cause where patriotic slogans were raised.In constrast, Delhi's Shaheen Bagh protesters are raising anti-Indiaslogans and Hindu-phobic posters. "No wonder, this is the anti-nationalversion of Jallianwala Bagh. Protestors at Shaheen Bagh have blockedthe main road for over a month demanding rollback of the contentiousCitizenship Amendment Act.

Officer stays back in North Blockfor Budget, ignores personal lossPNS n NEW DELHI

There are some people for whomduty comes first. They are alwaysready to make any sacrifice toremain committed to their jobs.

Kuldeep Kumar Sharma,Deputy Manager (Press), hasbeen in lock-in as he is one of thekey staff tasked with printing ofconfidential Budget documents.While he was busy with theassignment, his father passedaway on January 26, 2020.

Despite the colossal loss,Sharma decided not to leave thepress area given the nature of hisduty. He ignored his personal lossand showed extraordinary sin-cerity to his job.

"Informing with regret thatShri Kuldeep Kumar Sharma, Dy

Manager (Press), lost his fatheron 26 Jan, 2020. Being on Budgetduty, he was on job in the lock-in. In spite of his immense loss,Sharma decided not to leave thepress area even for a minute," theFinance Ministry said in a tweet.

As Budget documents aresecret until they are presented inthe Parliament by the UnionFinance Minister, its printingremains a confidential exercise.

The security is quite tight inthe North Block basement where

these documents are printed. Somuch so that the personnelinvolved in the exercise are notallowed to go out for almost 10days, from the day printingstarts till its presentation.

The printing of Budget papersbegin with a customary 'halwa'ceremony. It takes place in thepresence of the Finance Minister.After 'halwa' is distributed amongthe Finance Ministry staff, thoseassigned with the printing ofBudget are locked in the base-ment press area of the NorthBlock.

Till the Budget presentation,fooding and lodging arrange-ments are made inside the NorthBlock. The staff are not allowedto call their family members dur-ing the quarantined period.

The first part of thesession began on Fridayand will go on till February11, after which thesession will be adjournedfor a recess. The secondhalf of the session willcommence from March 2and will go on till April 3

Khadi embodies Gandhi's ideals of truth, non-violence: Gehlot

PNS n JAIPUR

A six-year-old physically chal-lenged boy, Rajdeep, was severe-ly tortured by his teacher andbeaten with an iron stick for notbinding his copy, in Bundi,Rajasthan. The boy was made tohang into a water tank and heslipped into it but was immedi-ately evacuated. Completelydrenched, the boy went to hishouse shivering leaving his par-ents shocked.

Soon after, his father alongwith some villages came toschool and locked the teachersinside.

The innocent boy had asurgery a few months back andhence he cannot even walk

straight. Following the parents'complaint additional districtadministration (ADM) hasassured them to take actionagainst the teacher.

Father Sonu Singh said thatRajdeep told him how brutallyhe was beaten by his teacherwith stick and who then hangedhim into water tank. When hefell into water tank, she howev-er, pulled him out too, he said.

Such a punishment is unac-ceptable and hence we have sub-mitted a complaint at police sta-tion, he said. ASI DurgashankarGautam at Sadar police stationsaid that investigation into thematter is underway as complaintwas received in this perspectiveon late Thursday evening.

6-year-old torturedby Rajasthan teacherfor not binding book

Priyanka sends newyear diaries to party’s‘forgotten' workers

‘Abrogation of Art370 historic decision’ The chief

minister said thatthe stategovernment willmake every effortto implement thesuggestion thatwill come in thetwo-dayconference

The Economic Survey for 2019-20 hasbeen prepared by the Chief EconomicAdvisor, Dr K Subramanian, keeping

the ambitious target of achieving the $ 5 tril-lion economy status by 2024-25, set by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, at its centre. Therigorous analysis (a lot of it involves runningof “regression equations” — a euphemismin econometric analysis to bring out corre-lation between various economic parame-ters) done by the CEA has to be seen in thebackdrop of deceleration in the GDP (grossdomestic product) growth to its 11-year-lowof five per cent during the current year (firstadvance estimate) and the dire need to res-urrect it without losing much time. Indeed,he projects the growth for 2020-21 at 6.5 percent (pertinently, this is significantly high-er than the projection of the InternationalMonetary Fund [IMF] at 5.5 per cent).

In sync with this pretty ambitiousrebound and keeping the economy on a highgrowth trajectory for the next four years, thedominant focus of the survey is on “wealthcreation” with better distribution, which ina way also reflects Modi’s assertion time andagain that “unless wealth is created, it won’tget distributed.” These prognosticationsthough need to consider a piece of researchreleased by rights group Oxfam ahead of thejust concluded 50th Annual Meeting of theWorld Economic Forum in Davos,Switzerland. According to the study, India’srichest one per cent holds more than four-times the wealth held by 953 million peo-ple who make up for the bottom 70 per centof the country’s population. Further, thecombined total wealth of 63 Indian billion-aires is higher than the total Union Budgetof India for the fiscal year 2018-19(`24,42,200 crore). Between 2014-15 and2018-19, the average growth in GDP wasabout 7.5 per cent, which demonstrates thatwealth was generated at a fast pace but itsdistribution was highly inequitable. So, byrestoring growth to a higher level 2020-21onward won’t assure better distribution.

The survey gives an indication ofdecline in growth having already bottomedout (during the second quarter, it was 4.5 percent) and that during the second half, thepick-up is anticipated in view of increase inFDI, building demand pressure and increasein GST (Goods and Services Tax) collections.The reference here may be to GST collectionduring November/December, 2019 crossing`100,000 crore each (this is likely to touchRs 115,000 crore). But this is more due tointensified efforts to rein in tax evasion,increasing compliance and checking fraud-ulent claims of input tax credit (ITC) ratherthan being indicative of any significantrevival in economic activity.

In any case, in view of the survey itselftalking of five per cent growth for the wholeyear, it is abundantly clear that there is notgoing to be any dramatic turnaround dur-ing the second half.

To see resurrection of growth during

2020-21, Dr Subramanian hasalluded to the need for deviat-ing from the fiscal deficit targetof three per cent set by the Modigovernment for the year. This initself is a substantial slippagefrom the three per cent glidepath recommended by the DrNK Singh committee on reviewof the Fiscal Responsibility andBudget Management (FRBM)Act to be achieved by 2018-19.Any reference to the three percent benchmark is laughablewhen seen in the backdrop ofthe current year (2019-20),which is expected to end with aslippage to at least four per cent(against a target of 3.3 per cent),that too when off-budget liabil-ities and extra-budgetaryresources (EBRs) are not includ-ed. If EBRs are included (thereare some reports pointing to theFinance Minister’s intent tomaking these transparent inthis budget), then the year mayend up with a deficit close to sixper cent.

Therefore, for boostingdemand and investment (theseare the two overarching con-straints on growth), to expect thegovernment to achieve thismerely by deviating from the so-called prudential fiscal norms(read FRBM) is tantamount to“missing the wood for the trees.”Here, it may be pertinent torecap that already, through a

number of mini-budgets pre-sented by the Finance Minister(a spate of policy announce-ments and support measuresmade during August/September2019 subsequent to the mainbudget presented in July 2019),the Government had alreadyinjected a number of demandboosters.

Indeed, a number of thosemeasures had meant huge lossof revenue. For instance, thesteep reduction in the corporatetax (from 30 per cent to 22 percent for existing firms and from25 per cent to 15 per cent fornew companies to be set up afterOctober 1, 2019) meant a loss ofabout ̀ 1,45,000 crore; even afterconsidering many firms notavailing of the lower rates, theactual is still high at about`1,00,000 crore. Taking intoaccount other sops like taxrefund to exporters, special dis-pensation for real estate sector,support to housing finance com-panies and so on, the total sup-port would work out to wellabove `2,50,000 crore.

As stated by the PrimeMinister ad infinitum, the sur-vey, too, reiterates the dire needfor a whopping investment of`100 lakh crore in infrastructureover the next five years. This isto be funded by 39 per cent con-tribution from the UnionGovernment and States each and

22 per cent by the private sector.This will translate to ` 8 lakhcrore annually by the Centre andState each. For the Centre, thisamount is even higher than itsbudget fiscal deficit [or total bor-rowings] for the current year.Likewise for the States, thenumbers look theoretical to saythe least. The official think tankwill really have to look for inno-vative ways, including muchgreater participation of privatesector (foreign investmentincluded) of financing the mam-moth investment in infrastruc-ture. It is not as if the task is notdoable. This requires a completeoverhauling of the Indian bank-ing sector as also the non-bankfinance companies (NBFCs). Inthis context, the CEA needs tobe commended for undertakinga comprehensive analysis of thereforms undertaken in the bank-ing sector since 2015-16, vizcleaning up of the balance sheetsof public sector banks (PSBs),the Insolvency and BankruptcyCode (IBC) and its use forrecovery of NPAs (non-per-forming assets), improvement inthe quality of lending and so on.

He has visibly demonstrat-ed as to how indiscriminatelending during 2008-2013 neg-atively affected investment andincrease in the quality of lend-ing from 2014 onward will pos-itively impact investment and

growth. But one wonderswhether the “bad loan” syn-drome has really bottomed outor more skeletons are yet tocome out. The NBFC crisis inparticular raises serious concern,especially when one looks at twobehemoths in this segment, theInfrastructure Leasing andFinancial Services (IL&FS) andDewan Housing and FinanceCompany (DFCL) going bust.Considering that a sizeablechunk of the funds has report-edly been siphoned off by dubi-ous promoters/management,the concern only gets aggravat-ed.

With the government nowbeing forced to consider andsanction specialdispensation/packages even forNBFC (as the stakeholders con-sider their revival as crucial torevival of credit flows, invest-ment and demand), one won-ders we may not be landing ina situation of the exchequerpouring water (read funds) in abottomless pit. One can onlyhope that we don’t see morecases of willful default or misap-propriation of funds or else anyrevival attempt using tax payersmoney is bound to fail.

The survey rightly empha-sises the need for expeditingreforms particularly in the areaof banking (the recommenda-tion for reducing the govern-ment’s shareholding below themajority mark is pending forlong), land acquisition, enforce-ment of contracts, elimination ofbureaucratic red-tape, removingbottlenecks in transportationand clearances at the ports (thisis particularly relevant for boost-ing exports) and so on as thesemajor bottlenecks come in theway of ease of doing businessand attracting investment. Ithas also guarded theGovernment against too muchof intervention and micro-man-agement of activities (includingimplementation of welfareschemes) which, if left to themarket forces, would delivermuch better results. DrSubramanian has aptly articulat-ed the role of what heeuphemistically describes as therole of “invisible hand” juxta-posed with “public trust” instimulating wealth creation.

Both are crucial pillars ingalvanising Indian economy onto a high growth trajectory,yielding better distributioneffects. Seen from an economist’sperspective, this looks eloquent.But, when it comes to executionwhich has to be done by thepolitical class, one gets into a log-jam as it is prone to controllingmost of the things; in fact,almost all of the essential itemsin the consumer’s basket.

(The writer is a New Delhi-based policy analyst)

Arvind Krishna, an alumnus of the IndianInstitute of Technology, Kanpur, has beenchosen to lead IBM Corporation, one of

the oldest names in American technology. Thisis yet another feather in the cap of engineersfrom India who have taken over the reins atleading American corporations after SatyaNadella at Microsoft and Sundar Pichai atGoogle. It is a matter of immense pride to seeIndia-educated engineers and managers takeleading roles at global corporate behemoths.But there are a couple of points that must be

raised. First is the inability of India to create leading global companies and theopportunities that follow, which effectively forced thousands of young Indian menand now increasingly, women, to go to the US to make their fame and fortune.None of the three men mentioned above holds an Indian passport anymore, hav-ing sworn allegiance to the US.

There is, however, another problem right now, which is India’s declining stan-dards of higher education. While the Indian Institutes of Technology and the IndianInstitutes of Management, at least the older ones, might still make some globalrankings, the plain and simple fact is that most Indian institutes of higher edu-cation are not ranked in the top 1000 universities of the world. One of the sur-prising facts that has emerged from the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan is thatthere are thousands of Indian students studying in China despite medical andengineering seats going abegging in India. Most likely that is because the edu-cation imparted in India has drastically declined, evident in the number of peo-ple who blindly believe WhatsApp posts. China has made it a point of pride tolift its colleges into the global rankings. This particularly hurts given that Indiahas one of the youngest populations in the world. If we are to take advantageof our demographic dividend, we need to ensure we have top-notch centres ofeducation. We must not forget that quality matters just as much as quantity. Sowhile we must celebrate the success of these three men and the countless otherIndians who have become successful in the US and elsewhere, we must askwhat we are doing to ensure that Indians keep climbing to the top across theworld and how we are going to create success inside our shores. Right now,things are plainly not going too well.

The contagion of the coronavirus has beeninstantaneous and intense, enough for usto act pronto rather than waiting for the

World Health Organisation (WHO) to declareit as a global health emergency. Although earlystudies indicate this strain is less fatal than therespiratory syndromes caused by earlier twovariants — SARS and MERS — its spreaddespite containment protocols shows that thevirus, which mutates during species jumps andprobably originated in a market legally tradingwild animals, has already infected a large num-

ber of people. As it incubates in its host for around 10 or more days before man-ifesting symptoms, the deaths are just the tip of the iceberg. Experts say thatany flu virus can extend its reach by not killing its host too rapidly and/or mak-ing the host sick enough to pass it on. Therefore, the outbreak is hardly a mea-sure of the carriers in circulation. No amount of blocking information, which Chinais known to resort to, will help. For just like climate change, the world is undergreater threat from such epidemics than other major diseases. Coronavirus hassickened citizens from every nation in a globalised world that cannot do withoutengaging with each other. Which is why the fightback must also be a coordinat-ed effort beyond borders with a common mechanism set up along the lines ofworld bodies that monitor climate threats and solutions. Every nation should beinvolved in sharing a disease control protocol and pool research for an antidote.As of now, the Chinese are working on one with Alibaba founder Jack Ma promis-ing funds for a rollout. But this is still a post-onset initiative, what we need is athreat preparedness. This will particularly help countries like India where the chal-lenges are many. These include a density of population, low awareness levels,a weak public health delivery mechanism and a compromised infrastructure thatis not geared to emergency responses. In fact, even the Chinese public healthsystem has crumbled in the face of such an attack, exposing the chinks in its“great power” armour. Besides, the current outbreak has had many infected peo-ple displaying no symptoms. If this is more common than an exception, thenchances are that this virus, too, will become endemic with year on year reprisalsand mutations. This is why the world needs to wage a united war on pestilenceor face an evolutionary culling of human lives. What we must also guard our-selves against is using xenophobia to characterise diseases. Just like ebola andthe AIDS virus before it was ascribed to Africa, there’s a perception about theflu virus spreading out of lab leaks in China and the nation is being wrongfullyproscribed as a giant germ factory. The fear and speculation about a new dis-ease tend to get magnified if it originates in the Orient and strengthen prevalentbiases. What we must understand is that whatever be the origin of viruses, inan open world, they become as much of an immediate threat for everybody. Nomatter how advanced the medical facilities, they always fall short in handlingepidemics. We could do without the misinformation and mount a united cam-paign based on surveillance, sharing information and R&D.

It’s early days yet but India is not immune to the coronavirus either as it istrying to contain returnees from China. Pharmaceutical companies are bracingup for a hit as India sources about 70 per cent of bulk drugs and ingredientsfrom China, Wuhan being one of the many source suppliers. Antibiotics like peni-cillin G, tetracycline and supportive pills like vitamins C and D use ingredientsmade using the fermentation-based process, which is dominated by China inthe pharma market. We are heavily dependent on our eastern neighbour for chem-icals-based ingredients that are used for cardiovascular drugs, particularly statins.India also sources components for its own tech products, a secondary sectorwhich might be hit with containment protocols. Besides, the fear psychosis issuch that anything coming out of China is being feared to be smeared with thecoronavirus from factory floor workers there. So there might be a temporary freezeon these supplies. If anything at all, the virus has been a lesson for India. It hastaught us the need to be in continuous deployment mode, something that helpedus combat the deadly Nipah virus in Kerala. It has also awakened us to the needof monitoring the health of farm animals and wildlife. But most importantly, it isalso warning bells for us to focus on drug manufacturing, reduce dependenceon China and keep prices in check. For the inter-connectedness of the South Asianregion as a whole, thanks to China’s Belt and Road Initiative in the neighbour-hood, means that we have to learn to live with threats.

Global scare

Double standards

Sir — Though stand-up comedi-an Kunal Kamra is absolutelyright to feel aggrieved about ArnabGoswami’s style of “journalism”,he shouldn’t have indulged in aforced debate with Goswami with-out direct provocation from the lat-ter on a personal basis. Of course,the TV anchor threatens, insultsand belittles his guest if he/she doesnot dance to “saffron” tunes andinstigates his viewers against the“sickulars” who dare to questionthe series of unilateral intolerantdivisive agenda of theGovernment. Yet eye for an eye isnot the answer. Let Goswami playthe role of a zealous bhakt in theguise of a journalist but whyshould Kamra allow himself toengage in such a heated one-wayconfrontation, thereby “honour-ing” that very bullying act of theanchor which he is opposing? Solet Goswami do his job as he deemsfit! And Kamra should vent hisfully justified anger through hisown civilised way, i.e. comedyshows, which provide himimmense opportunity to protestagainst pseudo-nationalism, intol-erance and muscle-flexing by rid-ing on pun and satire. “Playing vic-

tim” has been a long-time tactic ofSangh sympathisers, which theyruthlessly milk to their politicaladvantage by playing with foolishreligious, caste and ethnic senti-ments. Why allow Goswami to act

as a “victim” of tirades? Though theincident took place on Indigo air-lines, the Civil Aviation Ministryhas promptly suspended Kamrafrom flying until further notice. Butwhat “exemplary action” had the

Ministry taken when Shiv SenaMP Ravindra Gaikwad hit a crewmember on an AI flight in 2017?The ban on flying was revokedafter he offered a token “regret.”Not to speak of awarding clean-chit

to Pragya Thakur when she alsocreated a scene and refused tocooperate with Spice jet crew.These are just double standardsand are reprehensible.

Kajal ChatterjeeKolkata

Stop the hate speeches

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “A ban too late” (January 31).Mahatma Gandhi was shot by anindoctrinated fanatic on January30, 1948. On the same day after72 years, another fanatic shot atstudents, who were peacefullyprotesting against the citizen-ship law near Jamia Milia, injur-ing one student in the presence ofpolicemen. The country mustrealise what speeches of politicalleaders can do, as this incidentfollowed election rallies in Delhiwhere BJP leaders AnuragThakur and Parvesh Verma madevitriolic speeches. This irrespon-sible behaviour has to stop beforeit is too late and engulfs the nationin hate.

Sujit DeKolkata

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

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op nionVIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 1, 2020

06

Can invisible hand work?

UTTAM GUPTA

Seen from an economist’s perspective, the Economic Survey looks eloquent. Butexecution could run into a logjam as politicians are prone to controlling the consumer

When people like SharjeelImam, who talk of breakingIndia, are concerned, they should be shot deadin public.

BJP MLA—Sangeet Som

Over the last four years,Abidali helped build a strongexecution mindset, drove key acquisitions and scaled ourdigital business globally.

Wipro Chairman—Rishad Premji

Thank you Indigo... a sixmonth suspension is honestlyvery kind of you... Modijimight be suspendingAir India forever.

Stand-up comedian—Kunal Kamra

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

Is the virus a bioweapon?

The world has yet another reason to be wary of China.After threatening the West with its economic aggres-sion that re-laid market strategies, where it has tried

to have domestic companies replace foreign companies asdesigners and manufacturers of key technology and prod-ucts first at home, then abroad, it is being seen as a viruscapital. Fears that the real source of the coronavirus is froma laboratory in Wuhan, which is linked to its covert bio-logical weapon programme, give the Communist regimean intimidating aura around its intentions of global domi-nance. Of course, the Chinese Government is yet to admitthe “accidental” pathogen leakage as a probable cause forthe virus outburst. But if the news has even an iota of truthbehind it, then China needs to be castigated and ostracisedby the international community for its unethical ways togain global supremacy.

But with disclosures that it had also developed an “anti-dote” for the SARS virus, which again originated fromWuhan city in China in 2002, it becomes evidently clearthat China is involved in a mad scramble for recognitionas a superpower. A typical arms race where the procure-ment and hoarding of not only traditional but also biolog-ical weapons gives a new meaning to modern warfare isnothing short of an alarming proposition for the whole world.No one in their right sense would want to envisage visions

of another World War. When nations with intentions of secur-ing borders pile up weapons of mass destruction to counterthreats from enemy countries, we should not forget thatwe are inching closer to doomsday. The world can neverbe safe from the effects of these destructive weapons.Meanwhile, novel Coronavirus (nCoV) is gradually spread-ing across the globe. Many countries are taking precau-tionary measures and maintaining a strict vigilance at alllevels to contain the deadly virus. But with China havingbecome a hub of international business activities, thechances of restricting the spread of nCoV appear challeng-ing at the moment.

Pachu MenonGoa

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Indians at the foreWatched that super over fromBumrah. He is a fabulousbowler but could use thecrease a little more to createdifferent delivery angles.

Former cricketer—Sanjay Manjrekar

No nation can handle epidemics alone. So there is a need tomount a united campaign on surveillance and sharing R&D

Another Indian leads a global tech company. We must notforget that he, too, had to leave India to achieve success

Iran’s loss, ISIS’ gain

WE HEAR INSTANCES OF HINDU WOMEN PICKED UP BYMUSLIM MEN. NO ACTION IS TAKEN AS TERRORISTS

LIKE KEJRIWAL ARE HIDDEN EVERYWHERE.—BJP LOK SABHA MEMBER

PARVESH VERMA

THE PEOPLE OF DELHI WILL DECIDE WHETHER THEYCONSIDER ME THEIR SON, THEIR BROTHER, OR A TERRORIST.—DELHI CHIEF MINISTERARVIND KEJRIWAL

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Not very long ago, December 2017 to beprecise, the world was celebrating thedefeat of the Islamic State (ISIS), the dead-

ly face of terror that had compelled the worldpowers with differing strategic interests to cometogether to defeat it and along with it the ideaof a medieval Islamic Caliphate. The ISIS had suc-ceeded in recreating it by capturing swathes ofterritory in Iraq and Syria, including oil fields,refineries and mine fields of strategic minerals.

The aura of the ISIS was such that it not onlyattracted thousands of jihadists from differentparts of the world, including Europe, but alsodared to challenge the might of the United States(US) by executing and beheading American cit-izens. The menace of ISIS grew so fast and rapid-ly that the entire world was unanimous in coun-tering the threat posed by it. Qaseem Soleimani,an Iranian General, was the face of armed resis-tance against the ISIS in Iraq and Syria along withthe USA, Russia, Turkey and its Europeanallies. Soleimani contributed in a big way in thedefeat of the ISIS. The US and Iran, adversariesin the Middle East, identified a common enemyin the ISIS and effectively fought togetheragainst it to eliminate the terror group’s de factostate in Iraq and Syria. However, realpolitik soonovertook the strategic convergence of interestswith Iran and the US almost at the verge of a warwith a renewed Middle East crisis.

The ongoing US-Iran crisis reached the peaklast month with US President Trump authoris-ing the killing of General Qaseem Soleimani, thehead of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s eliteQuds Force and an American ally in the fightagainst ISIS while he was on a visit to Iraq. Thisraised the tensions between the US and Iran toa new level with the future of the US forces inIraq in the doldrums.

It also let loose many Shia militias whichSoleimani had carefully raised and groomed tocounter and challenge the ISIS. Their focus allof a sudden shifted from combatting ISIS to theirnewly-emerged enemy, the US assets and troopsin the Middle East. Under the threat of Iranianretaliation, even the focus of Americans and oth-ers has been diverted from the ISIS and other rad-ical Islamist jihadi terror groups for the timebeing. If at all there was a clear winner of theongoing US-Iran conflict, it was undoubtedly theterror organisation. It has provided the ISIS withthe much-needed oxygen as well as time andspace to reorganise and regroup.

As a result, the US and its allies now face thedual threat of Shia militias and the Sunni radi-cal Islamist jihadi terror groups led by the ISIS.The fall of Soleimani has provided them a newopening. The growing demand of ejecting USforces from Iraq has further complicated thesecurity scenario in the region and in theprocess hurt the efforts to counter ISIS whichhave suffered a serious blow.

My assessment when Iraq’s Prime Ministerdeclared a final victory over Islamic State inDecember 2017 was that the “ISIS may have beendefeated but it was not destroyed. It may havebeen disseminated but was not dissolved.”

According to Goldenberg, an Americandiplomat who had served as Special Advisor inthe Middle East between 2009-12, “The ISISretains an underground presence and could take

advantage of the chaos of an Americanwithdrawal or a US-Iranian conflict toimprove its position in Iraq.”

The assessments are seeming to beproving true with increased frequenciesof terror attacks by the ISIS after theelimination of General Soleimani. Theupheaval created by his killing has givenrise to such conditions in Iraq that theISIS is ever-willing to exploit.

The weakening of the Shia militiasas a consequence to absence ofSoleimani’s charisma as well as sterlingleadership qualities will definitely weak-en the Iraqi Government which wouldcreate a space for the ISIS and otherSunni terror groups to stage a comebackin the region.

Moreover, the US focus shiftingtowards defending its bases in Iraq andthe security of green zone, will allow theterror group to manoeuvre more freely.The ISIS fighters, who had dispersedand gone underground are nowrebuilding and re-emerging fully recu-perated as a potent threat in form ofinsurgency, Improvised ExplosiveDevices, bombings, targetted killingssuicide attacks, sniper attacks and lonewolf attacks. It is too early to assess ifthey would continue with this tactics orattempt once again to establish anIslamic Caliphate.

The US is trying to put up a bravefront by denying any surge in the activ-ities of the terrorist organisation due toits own activities. It is also obstinatelyclaiming that most of the recent attacksby the group may have been plannedwell before the killing of Soleimani(because of the time and resourcesrequired to plan and execute such oper-ations, more so when the ISIS is suffer-

ing from a unified command crisis anddispersion of its fighters). But the factremains that with a divided focus it hasbecome increasingly difficult for the USto contain the terror group.

The flare-up in the US-Iran crisishas certainly provided opportunity toAbu Ibrahim al Qurayshi — the newly-appointed successor of the assassinat-ed long-time ISIS leader Abu Bakr alBaghdadi — to strengthen his grip andrevitalise the terror outfit to intensifyits attacks in the region.

Under Qurayshi’s leadership, thegroup may also attempt to regain lostterritories in Syria and Iraq dependingon the resistance it faces, as this wouldgive the new chief an opportunity toestablish his hold more firmly over thegroup and prove his mettle.

The ISIS attacks on US-backedKurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forceshave also intensified during the lastmonth. The group is also trying torestore and rejuvenate its social mediawing, its main source of funding andrecruitment. Disturbingly, the terroristgroup’s propaganda sites are on the riseon various social media platforms andapps.

The re-emergence of ISIS wouldhave a definite impact on theAfghanistan-Pakistan region (Af-Pakregion) with its consequential fallout forIndia and regional peace and stabilityin South Asia.

Soleimani’s successor, BrigadierGeneral Ismail Qaani, is an old hand atfomenting trouble in Afghanistan andPakistan. Solemani himself had playedan active role in Afghanistan by coop-erating with the Northern Alliance tofight the growing might of the Taliban.

In a later turn of events after theAmerican invasion of Afghanistan,Iran courted Taliban to fight theAmericans and other Western troops inAfghanistan. General Qaani, who till aslate as 2018 was the Iranian deputyAmbassador to Afghanistan, wasinstrumental in managing Iran’s Afghanpolicy.

Pakistan has also been accused ofcross-border terror in Sistan-Baluchistan by Iran. Tehran is opposedto the rise of any Sunni-fundamental-ist regime on its eastern border and withPakistan now assisting the US to forgea deal with the Taliban, Iran has furtherbeen angered.

Shia-Sunni violence in Pakistan andpersecution of Shias remains a constantpoint of friction between Iran andPakistan. Thus a US-Iran conflict mayhave an impact in the situation inAfghanistan with Iran turning a blindeye to the rise of ISIS in the Af-Pakregion as a complimentary threat to theUS. In the process, Iran will try its bestto derail the Afghan peace process.While Iran may have its own axe togrind in Afghanistan and sort outPakistan as well for promoting theAmerican interest in the region, rise ofISIS will have adverse impact on India’ssecurity.

ISIS may well use Pakistan andBangladesh as launch pads to renew itsthreat of Ghazwa-e-Hind. India willhave to be cautious and watchful andat the same time strengthen its intelli-gence apparatus to counter the emerg-ing challenges.

(The author is a Jammu-based vet-eran, political commentator, security andstrategic analyst)

The terror group stands to gain much from the assassination of Iranian GeneralSoleimani, who was the face of armed resistance against it in Iraq and Syria

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

Address farmsector woes

DHIRESH KULSHRESTHA

If the Government wishes to grow the economy,then it needs to make an all-out effort to turn

agriculture into a profitable business

ANIL GUPTA

ISIS MAY WELL USEPAKISTAN

ANDBANGLADESH

AS LAUNCH PADSTO RENEW ITS

THREAT OFGHAZWA-E-HIND.

INDIA WILL HAVE TO BE

CAUTIOUSAND WATCHFUL

AND AT THE SAME TIME

STRENGTHENITS INTELLIGENCE

APPARATUS TO COUNTER

THE EMERGINGCHALLENGES IN

THE REGION

As India plans to become a $5 trillion economy by 2024, it can-not ignore the importance of the farm sector in helping it achievethis target. This is because we are an agriculture-based econ-

omy and more than 50 per cent of the population depends on theagri sector for its livelihood. However, the poor state of the rural econ-omy is an area of concern for everyone and is affecting the coun-try’s fiscal health too. The Government would do well to pay atten-tion to some of the predominant problems hampering the growth ofthis key sector in its pursuit of the $5 trillion dream.

Subsidise inputs: India is a consumption-driven market and notan export-driven one like China and Singapore. As per the report ofthe National Statistical Office (NSO), half of the country’s populationlives in rural India. Hence, it becomes a critical consumption mar-ket for the fertiliser industry, seed industry, tractor producing com-panies, other items essential for farm production and a host of con-sumer goods. The Government needs to provide farmers essentialinputs on subsidised rates, especially for those growers who haveholdings that are smaller than five acres.

Small and marginal farmers’ issues: The Government mustfocus on the problems plaguing small and marginal farmers. Accordingto a report by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development(NABARD) small and marginal farm holdings generate meagre incomesand result in farmers accruing major debts and then committing sui-cide due to the inability to pay off those loans. If the Indian econo-my has to be resurgent, the agriculture sector needs more subsidyand easy agri-credit for small and marginal farmers.

Develop the dairy sector: Dairy farmers can earn as much as75-85 per cent of the market price by selling the milk produced ontheir farms to cooperative societies like AMUL and other major milkmarketing companies. India also has the largest bovine populationin the world. However, the milk production per animal is significant-ly low as compared to the other major dairy producers of the world.Moreover, nearly all of the dairy produce in India is consumed domes-tically, with the majority of it being sold as milk. On account of this,the dairy industry holds tremendous potential for value-addition andoverall development and the Government must focus on this to bet-ter the lot of farmers.

Need to develop vegetable and fruit markets: Indian farmersearn scarcely 10 per cent of the market price for their perishable pro-duces like vegetables and fruits. Since a market is the primary medi-um for farmers to exchange their produce for money, lack of con-nectivity to ensure that their harvest reaches buyers in time, resultsin lowering the farmers’ ability to monetise their produce. TheGovernment needs to plug these gaps and provide farmers a wayto get their produce to the markets at the earliest and provide coldstorages and freezer trucks, better road and rail connectivity so thatthe 40 per cent of the produce that is lost now can be saved andthis in turn improves the monetary gains of the growers.

Reduce imports: As we all know, agricultural imports causedomestic prices to fall and this directly hurts the farmers. TheGovernment needs to focus on increasing agricultural production inthe country and review its policy on bumper production. The MinimumSupport Price should be reconsidered for the development of the farmsector as farmers are producers and their interests must also be pro-tected by policymakers, just like that of any citizen of the country.

Need for more agri-NBFCs: Adequate availability of finance isa prerequisite for the growth of any sector and the farm sector is noexception to this rule. However, the difficulties faced by growers inaccessing loans when they need them the most have hampered thegrowth of the sector. Many farmers are either left un-served or under-served due to the lack of timely access to institutional finance viaagri-loans. Without access to credit, most farmers with small hold-ings are restricted to farming, trading, processing practices that resultin low levels of productivity. Although various financial institutionshave come up and have set shops in rural India, the majority of agristakeholders still have limited or no access to them. For the inclu-sive development of agriculture sector, financing is an important ele-ment and the Government must focus on developing this on a warfooting.

Irrigation facilities: Farmers suffer due to floods in one part ofthe nation and drought in another area. The Government needs tofocus on water management through river linkages and also providesubsidy for water conservation in rural areas for agrarian purposes.

If the Government wishes to stem the crisis plaguing the farmsector and grow the economy, then it needs to make an all-out effortto turn agriculture into a profitable business and make major policydecisions to achieve that goal.

(The writer is Associate Professor of Economics, Faculty ofBusiness Management at the Marwadi University, Rajkot)

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman will present her sec-ond Union Budget today at a

time when the Indian economy isgrappling with the lowest growth insix and a half years, with the GrossDomestic Product (GDP) dipping to4.5 per cent in the July-Septemberquarter. Economists are now more orless in agreement that the currentslowdown has cyclical as well asstructural features.

Also, most economists believe thatit is more of a demand side problemthat needs to be tackled by providingmore disposable incomes in the handsof the people. The fiscal space avail-able to the Government to leverage the

fiscal policy is limited owing to lowerthan expected tax revenues and thecorporate tax cut announced inSeptember 2019 that have constrainedincome.

The Government has alreadycommitted an economic stimulusthrough the National InfrastructurePipeline (NIP), the proposed expen-diture for which in the Financial Year2021 (FY) is `19.5 trillion. Providingsuch funds (the Centre and States arerequired to pitch in 39 per cent each)at a time when the resources of theGovernment have hit rock bottom isa challenge.

Taxes, which are a major sourceof Government revenue, have reachedonly 45.5 per cent of the FY 2020Budget estimates as per the ControllerGeneral of Accounts.

Clearly, the tax collections havenot matched the seven per centgrowth of the economy in the first halfof this fiscal. It is highly unlikely thatthe Government will be able to reachits target tax collection of `24.61 tril-lion by the end of March 2020.Therefore, a larger fiscal hole isexpected in this Budget. The higher

oil prices amid US-Iran tensions havenot helped ease the Government’s fis-cal deficit worries.

When faced with a prolongedslowdown a prescription of fiscalstimulus is normal. When the privatesector is not forthcoming in terms ofconsumption and investment expen-diture, the Government has to step up.The Centre must stretch itself withoutworrying too much about missing thedeficit target. When the fiscal stimu-lus shows its impact, the corporateearnings increase along with that ofretail investors. Also, it directly impactsthe jobs and incomes generated in theprocess.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)has done its bit by changing its stanceon the monetary policy from “neutral”to “accommodative” and reducing therepo rate by 135 basis points in 2019.Thereafter, it adopted a wait-and-watch approach and kept the repo rateunchanged to a nine-year low of 5.15per cent. This was necessitated by ris-ing inflationary pressures in the econ-omy. The RBI has revised its estimateof retail inflation for the second halfto 5.1-4.7 per cent from 3.5-3.7 per

cent. Under the given circumstances,when pursuing an expansionary mon-etary policy looks dangerous and theGovernment finds its hands tied forfiscal stimulus, the question ariseswhat approach should be adopted thatcan be successful in bringing the econ-omy back on track?

Here are some ways throughwhich the Finance Minister can steerthe economy on the path to recovery.

Boost demand: Economists agreethat a slowdown in consumptionthrough a lack of demand has been amajor contributor in the currentdeceleration as consumption is the“engine” of the economy. Hence, theFinance Minister should ensure anincrease in disposable income in thehands of people who have the highmarginal propensity to consume andlow marginal propensity to save.Schemes like the Kisan SammanNidhi, increasing allocations under theMahatma Gandhi National RuralEmployment Guarantee Act, givingincome tax relief to the lower middleclass and even schemes having thecharacter of the Universal BasicIncome (UBI) like Universal Pension

can go a long way in boosting demand,especially rural demand.

Allow States to borrow more:States can help the CentralGovernment in providing a fiscal stim-ulus and distribution of resources. TheCentre should in fact raise the borrow-ing limits of States so that more moneyflows into all regions, thereby boost-ing demand.

Fill Government posts: If theCentre and State Governments decideto fill vacant posts in their offices ona priority basis, it will not only createpurchasing power but also give a fil-lip to the youth who are living throughthe worst employment crisis thecountry has seen in decades.

Private investment revival:Private investment has not picked uptill now due to stress in the bankingsector, especially in the non-bankfinancial company sector, a weaken-ing demand and falling business sen-timent. The early December quarterearnings indicate that the stimulusthrough rate cuts and lower corporatetaxes has not been able to boost busi-ness growth. Net sales of many BSE-listed companies show a lower year on

year growth of 4.07 per cent from 4.81per cent in the preceding Septemberquarter.

Faster revenue generation: TheGovernment’s tax revenue for April-November 2019 was just ̀ 11.7 trillion,just 0.8 per cent more than collectedlast year. Through disinvestment also,the Government generated revenue of`18,099 crore, which is way below thetarget of `1.05 trillion that it set foritself. In order to meet its expenditure,the Government will have to step uprevenue generated through the disin-vestment route while not giving anyfurther rebates in income tax rates. Amajor relief in personal income taxrates may also not help in boostingconsumption. Given the present cir-cumstances of low business sentiment,uncertainty in the global businessenvironment and deceleration in pri-vate investment — any increases indisposable income will not convertinto spending entirely — it is likely thatmost of it will be saved for emergen-cies. Instead the Government shouldbring more of high income earnersinto the tax net.

Control wasteful expenditure

for fiscal consolidation: During hardtimes, no one, including theGovernment can afford wastages andleakages. The Government needs toseriously plug in leakages from the sys-tem and plan its expenditure in a bet-ter way.

A cautious monetary policy: Atpresent the RBI has to worry aboutinfusing capital into banks that needit, ensure smooth mergers andtakeovers and prevent any furtherbank frauds that have proven detri-mental to the health of the bankingsector in the past. Some reliefannouncements for the non-bankingsector for purchase of bad assetsshould be there. The transmission ofrates must be ensured and at a quick-er pace, while further reductions canonly be done if inflation allows that.Since the fears of “stagflation” grippingthe Indian economy are already there,the RBI can do nothing more than justwait and watch.

(The writer is Professor and Headof Department of Management andCommerce at Trinity Institute ofProfessional Studies, GGSIPU, inDwarka)

It is possible to fix the economy When faced with a prolonged slowdown, a prescription of fiscal stimulus is normal. When the private sector is not forthcoming

in terms of consumption and investment expenditure, the Government has to step up

MEENAL JAGTAP

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 1, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 1, 2020 money 08

CAPSULE

Texmaco Rail &Engineering Q3 netprofit drops 30 pcNew Delhi: Texmaco Rail &Engineering Ltd on Fridayreported a 29.8 per centdecline in consolidated netprofit at Rs 14.75 crore for thequarter ended on December31, 2019. The company hadposted a net profit of Rs 21.02crore in the year-ago period,Texmaco Rail & EngineeringLtd said in a BSE filing.However, total income of thecompany during the Decemberquarter increased to Rs533.31 crore, over Rs 469.90crore in same period last year.Texmaco Rail & EngineeringLtd is an engineering andinfrastructure company withfive manufacturing units in theoutskirts of Kolkata.

India produced 64.3MT crude steel inApr-Oct FY'20NEW DELHI: India produced64.3 million tonne (MT) ofcrude steel and 59.73 MT offinished steel during April-October, 2019-20, said theEconomic Survey tabled inParliament on Friday. TheSurvey also noted that thesteel sector achieved a growthof 5.2 per cent during April-November period of theongoing financial year ascompared to 3.6 per cent inthe year-ago period. "During2018-19, India produced109.2 MT of crude steel and inthe current financial year (FY)till October 2019, crude steelproduction was 64.3 MT,displaying a growth of 1.5 percent over correspondingperiod of last year withutilization capacity of 77.4 percent," the Economic Survey2019-20 said. Similarly,production of finished steelwas 137.2 MT in 2018-19 and59.73 MT during April-October2019, it noted.

Uptick in retailprices in FY20mainly on veggiesNEW DELHI: Consumer priceinflation has been witnessingmoderation since 2014,however, there has been an"uptick" in the prices of fooditems, particularly vegetables,owing to output disruptionsand low base effect, theEconomic Survey said onFriday. The Survey hasrecommended measures tosafeguard farmers throughprocurement under PriceStabilization Fund to helpregulate the price volatility ofimportant agri-horticulturalcommodities and also addedthat Minimum Support Price(MSP) needs to be made moreeffective.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Delhi Police ask for as many as45 documents before giving itsclearance for opening an eateryin the national capital as gainstonly 19 to buy a gun, theEconomic Survey said onFriday while making a case fordoing away with unnecessarycontrols.

According to the NationalRestaurants Association ofIndia (NRAI), a total of 36approvals are required to opena restaurant in Bengaluru, 26in Delhi and 22 in Mumbai.

In contrast, China andSingapore require only fourlicences to open a restaurant.

"Delhi requires a 'PoliceEating House Licence' fromDelhi Police that asks for 45documents compared to just19 needed to buy a gun. Thescope for streamlining is clear,"according to the EconomicSurvey 2019-20 tabled inParliament.

Delhi and Kolkata require a'Police Eating House Licence',it said adding the number ofdocuments needed to obtain

this licence from Delhi Policeis 45 – far more than the num-ber of documents required fora license to procure new armsand major fireworks, 19 and12, respectively.

It also said that large scopefor improvement is in the fourparameters, where India lagsbehind -- Starting BusinessRegistering Property, PayingTaxes, and EnforcingContracts.

The World Bank ranks 190

countries on doing businessindex based on ten parameters.

India has moved 14 places tobe 63rd among 190 nations inthe last World Bank's ease ofdoing business ranking.

It has significantly improvedits performance in remainingsix parameters - resolvinginsolvency, registering prop-erty, construction permits, get-ting electricity connection,getting credit, and tradingacross borders.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Chief Economic Adviser K VSubramanian on Friday saidIndia's GDP is expected togrow at 6-6.5 per cent next fis-cal as the economic slowdownhas bottomed out.

As per the first advanceestimates released by theNational StatisticalOrganisation (NSO), the coun-try's economic growth is like-ly to hit an 11-year low of 5 percent in the current fiscal end-ing March 2020.

The Economic Survey 2019-20, prepared by a team lead bySubramanian, has projectedthe GDP to expand in therange of 6-6.5 per cent during2020-21.

The Indian economy hashit the bottom and it will seean uptick from here, he said ina media briefing post theEconomic Survey.

Amidst a weak environmentfor global manufacturing, tradeand demand, the Indian econ-omy slowed down with GDPgrowth moderating to 4.8 per

cent in the first half of 2019-20,lower than 6.2 per cent in H2of 2018-19.

Based on NSO's firstadvance estimates of GDPgrowth for 2019-20 at 5 percent, an uptick in GDP growthis expected in the second halfof the fiscal, it said.

According to it, the uptick insecond half of 2019-20 wouldbe mainly due to ten positivefactors like picking up of NiftyIndia Consumption Index for

the first time this year, anupbeat secondary market,higher FDI flows, build-up ofdemand pressure, positive out-look for rural consumption,rebound of industrial activity,steady improvement in manu-facturing, growth in merchan-dise exports, higher build-up offoreign exchange reserves andpositive growth rate of GSTrevenue collection.

The survey also emphasisedthat merger of public sector

banks may increase the finan-cial strength of the mergedentities, lower the risk aversionand result in lowering of lend-ing rates.

Further, as the implementa-tion of GST further settlesdown, the increased unifica-tion of the domestic marketmay reduce business costs andfacilitate fresh investment.

Reforms in land and labourmarket may further reducebusiness costs, said the survey,presented a day beforeSitharaman's Union Budget2020-21.

PNS n NEW DELHI

There has been an increase inpassenger volume of IndianRailways by 1.85 per cent anda growth of 5.34 per cent inloading freight in 2018-19, theEconomic Survey 2019-20 saidon Friday.

The survey was tabled inParliament by Union FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanwho will present the UnionBudget on Saturday.

As per the pre-Budget sur-vey, during the year 2018-19,Indian Railways carried 120crore tonnes of freight and 840crore passengers making it theworld's largest passenger car-rier and fourth largest freightcarrier. "Revenue earning

freight loading by railwaysduring 2018-19 was 12,215lakh tonnes as against 11,596lakh tonnes during 2017-18,registering an increase of 5.34per cent," the survey said.

"Passengers originating was

84,390 lakh in 2018-19 as com-pared to 82,858 lakh in 2017-18, registering an increase of1.85 per cent in 2018-19 overthe previous year," it said.

It also said that safety isaccorded the highest priority

by railways and steps are beingundertaken on a continuousbasis to prevent accidents andto enhance safety of the pas-sengers.

During 2018-19, conse-quential train accidentsdecreased from 73 to 59 incomparison to the corre-sponding period of the previ-ous year. In the year 2019-20(April - October 2019), 41

consequential train accidentshave occurred, it said.

Commenting on the clean-liness parameters of the nation-al transporter, the survey stat-ed that for railways which cov-ers over 8,700 stations and car-ries around 230 lakh passen-gers daily with clientele of var-ied socio-economic back-grounds, cleanliness was a con-tinuous process.

Chief Economic Adviser K V Subramanian

Based on NSO'sfirst advanceestimates of GDPgrowth for 2019-20at 5 per cent, anuptick in GDPgrowth is expectedin the second halfof the fiscal, itsaid.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Government interventions toregulate prices of essentialdrugs have led to hike in theircost when compared to unreg-ulated similar drugs instead ofmaking them affordable,according to the EconomicSurvey for 2019-20.

In India, the governmenthas historically relied on pricecontrols to regulate the pricesof pharmaceutical drugsthrough the NationalPharmaceutical PricingAuthority (NPPA) and Drug(Prices Control) Order, saidthe Survey.

The government throughDPCO ensures that the med-icines listed under the NationalList of Essential Medicines(NLEM) are available at a rea-sonable price to the generalpublic, it added.

"The regulation of prices ofdrugs through the Drugs

Prices Control Order (DPCO)2013, has led to increase inthe price of a regulated phar-maceutical drug vis-a-vis thatof a similar drug whose priceis not regulated," theEconomic Survey 2019-20,tabled in Parliament onFriday, said.

It further said: "Our analy-sis shows that the increase inprices was witnessed for moreexpensive formulations thanfor cheaper ones and those

sold in hospitals rather thanretail shops, reinforcing thatthe outcome is opposite towhat DPCO aims to do - mak-ing drugs affordable."

It estimated that the pricesof drugs that came underDPCO, 2013 increased onaverage by Rs 71 per mg of theactive ingredient and for drugsthat were unaffected by DPCO,2013, the prices increased byRs 13 per mg of the activeingredient.

Japanese car maker Lexusbegins local productionPNS n NEW DELHI

Japanese car maker Toyota'sluxury vehicle arm Lexus onFriday said it has commencedlocal assembly of cars in India.

The company said it hascommenced assembly of BS VIcompliant ES 300h luxurysedan at its Bengaluru-basedplant with deliveries expectedto begin in February.

The ES 300h Exquisite ispriced at Rs 51.9 lakh, while ES300h Luxury trim is tagged atRs 56.95 lakh (ex-showroom).

The company also launchedtwo more products -- all newLC 500h coupe priced at Rs1.96 crore and three variants ofNX 300h F Sport tagged at Rs54.9 lakh, Rs 59.9 lakh and Rs60.6 lakh, respectively.

Commenting on commenc-

ing local manufacturing inIndia, Lexus India ChairmanMasakazu Yoshimura said theinitiative is significant for thecompany and for its presencein the country.

"Today's announcement rep-resents our strong commit-ment to not just delivering anexceptional product and expe-rience for our guests here, butsustainably enhancing ourbusiness for greater contribu-tion to the economy and

industry in India," he added.The company continues to

import most of its productsinto the Indian market as com-pletely built up (CBU) units.

Lexus India President PBVenugopal said the launch ofthree products showcases com-pany's dedication to bringingan amazing range of cars tocustomers in India.

When asked if the companywould look at assembling moremodels in India, he said thecompany keeps on evaluatingon such issues.

Lexus India also announcedthe launch of four new guestexperience centres inChandigarh, Chennai, Kochiand Hyderabad.

The company already hassuch centres in Delhi, Mumbaiand Bengaluru.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Coromandel InternationalLimited, India's leading agrisolutions provider has report-ed the financial results for thequarter ended 31st December2019.

Consolidated performancefor the quarter ended 31December 2019 During thequarter ended 31 December2019, the Company's consol-idated Total Income stood atRs. 3,288 crores in comparisonto the corresponding quarterlast year of Rs. 3,059 crores.

Profit before depreciation,interest, taxes and exception-al item (EBITDA) has grownby 42% to Rs. 432 crores vs. Rs.305 crores during corre-sponding quarter of last year.

Consolidated net ProfitAfter Tax for the quarter is Rs.265 crores in comparison toRs. 154 crores for the corre-sponding quarter last year,registering a year on yeargrowth of 72%.

For the nine months ended31 December 2019, theCompany's consolidated Total

Income is Rs. 10,296 crores(corresponding period LY Rs.10,614 crores), EBITDA atRs. 1,341 Crs vs Rs.1,185 Crsof LY growth of 13% andProfit After Tax is Rs. 831crores (Nine months ended 31December 2018 Rs. 610crores) growth of 36% YoY.

Economic slowdown bottomed out,uptick hereafter: Subramanian

During 2018-19, consequential trainaccidents decreased from 73 to 59 incomparison to the corresponding periodof the previous year. In the year 2019-20(April - October 2019), 41 consequentialtrain accidents have occurred, it said.

Sameer Goel

Sensex drops190 pts; Niftyends below 12K

SBI profit jumps41pc to Rs6,797cr in Q3

PNS n MUMBAI

Market benchmark Sensex fell190 points and the Niftyslumped below the 12,000level on Friday after theEconomic Survey suggestedrelaxing fiscal deficit target torevive growth. Witnessing asharp decline at the fag end ofthe session, the 30-share BSESensex settled 190.33 points, or0.47 per cent, lower at40,723.49. It hit an intra-daylow of 40,671.01 and a high of41,154.49. Likewise, the broad-er NSE Nifty finished 73.70points, or 0.61 per cent, downat 11,962.10. ONGC was thetop laggard in the Sensexpack, dropping 5.80 per cent,followed by PowerGrid, HCLTech, TCS, Tata Steel andReliance Industries. On theother hand, Kotak Bank, SBI,IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airteland Tech Mahindra endedwith gains. According toDeepthi Mary Mathew,Economist at Geojit FinancialServices, the Economic Surveyhighlights the difficult fiscalsituation, and possible crowd-ing out of private investors dueto the increased market bor-rowing by the government.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Textile major Arvind Ltd onFriday reported a consolidat-ed net profit of Rs 35.35 crorefor the third quarter endedDecember.

The company had posted anet profit of Rs 40.43 crore inOctober-December quarter ayear ago, it said in a BSE filing.

Its revenue from operationsstood at Rs 1,868.80 croreduring the quarter underreview. It was at Rs 1,680.26crore in the correspondingquarter of previous fiscal.

"EBIDTA margin in Textilesimproved because of baseeffect, and lower input costs.Margins in Denim categorysaw some improvement fromoperating leverage," the com-pany said in a post earningstatement.

"Higher garmenting vol-umes resulted in marginimprovement as well. AMD(advanced material) marginsincreased by over 3 percentagepoints to over 13 per cent aspart of the portfolio matured,"it added.

The results are not compa-rable with the previous year'speriod because of demerger ofcompany's branded apparelbusiness to Arvind FashionsLtd with effect from November30, 2018.

"To the extent current quar-ter and nine months endedDecember 31, 2019 are not

comparable with the quarterand nine months endedDecember 31, 2018 and theyear ended March 31, 2019,"the company said.

The company's total expens-es during October-Decemberstood at Rs 1,819.41 crore.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Deregulating labour laws,encouraging MSMEs, increas-ing female participation inworkforce and higher spend-ing by pubic sector on healthand education would help cre-ate more jobs and increaseemployability in the country,the Economic Survey 2019-20said on Friday.

Besides, the survey alsopointed out that India needs tocreate 55 lakh to 60 lakh jobsannually over the next decade.

The document tabled inParliament on Friday notedthat states like Rajasthan whichwent for deregulation of labourlaws created more jobs thanthose which followed old legalframework.

"Deregulating labour lawrestrictions can create signifi-

cantly more jobs, as seen by therecent changes in Rajasthanwhen compared to the rest ofthe states", it said.

It further stated that iflabour force participation rate(LFPR) remains at about 60per cent in the next twodecades, about 55-60 lakh jobswill have to be created annu-ally over the next decade.

The survey strongly pitchedfor labour reforms for provid-ing flexible labour laws in thecountry to boost job creation,especially among micro, smalland medium enterprises(MSMEs).

There were no major labourreforms initiated by the statesfrom 2007 to 2014. In 2014,Rajasthan was the first statethat introduced labour reformsin major Acts. Thereafter,many states followedRajasthan's path.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The country's largest lenderSBI on Friday reported a 41per cent jump in net profit toRs 6,797.25 crore in theOctober-December quarterthis fiscal compared to Rs4,823.29 crore in the year-agoperiod. Consolidated incomerose to Rs 95,384.28 crore inthe third quarter from Rs84,390.14 crore in October-December 2018-19, SBI said ina regulatory filing.

On asset front, the lendershowed improvement withthe gross non-performingassets (NPAs) falling to 6.94per cent of the gross advancesas at December 31, 2019 from8.71 per cent by same periodin 2018. The net NPAsdropped to 2.65 per cent from3.95 per cent.

On standalone basis, netprofit jumped 41.2 per cent toRs 5,583.36 crore in the thirdquarter of the current fiscalcompared to Rs 3,954.81crore during the correspond-ing October-December periodin the same period a year ago.

Kirloskar OilQ3 net up 14pc at Rs 46 crPNS n NEW DELHI

Kirloskar Oil Engines onFriday posted 14.29 per centincrease in consolidated netprofit at Rs 46.36 crore for thethird quarter endedDecember 31, 2019.

The company had report-ed a net profit of Rs 40.56crore for October-Decemberperiod of 2018-19.

Total income howeverdeclined to Rs 842.8 croreduring the quarter as againstRs 882.90 crore in the year-ago period, Kirloskar OilEngines said in a regulatoryfiling.

Shares of the companywere trading 0.75 per centdown at Rs 146.40 apiece onthe BSE.

It further statedthat if labour forceparticipation rate(LFPR) remains atabout 60 per centin the next twodecades, about 55-60 lakh jobs willhave to be createdannually over thenext decade

The results are notcomparable withthe previous year'speriod because ofdemerger ofcompany's brandedapparel business toArvind FashionsLtd with effectfrom November 30,2018

Drugs price control hasled to increase in costs

ESSENTIAL DRUGS

Coromandel Internationalconsolidated net profitrises 71.40%

45 documents for openingrestaurant, 19 to buy a gun!

Rly passenger volume up by 1.85 pc, freightloading rose by 5.34 pc in 2018-2019

ECONOMIC SURVEY

‘Job creation linked to labourreforms, higher women participation’

Profit beforedepreciation, interest,taxes and exceptionalitem (EBITDA) hasgrown by 42% to Rs.432 crores vs. Rs. 305crores duringcorresponding quarterof last year

Arvind Q3 net profit at Rs 35.35 crore

SaturdayFebruary 1, 2020

Follow us on@TheDailyPioneerfacebook.com/dailypioneer

We are very happyto share our stories

with people fromdifferent states. In

this festival, weperformed skits

and plays about theimportance ofsaving the girl

child, childmarriage, dowry

issues and genderequality after

noticing that thesecrimes were on therise. We also wrote

on various issues aspart of the reading

week initiative by theorganisers.

ONE OF THE STUDENTSFROM UTTAR PRADESH

he NationalChildren’s LiteraryFestival, 2020,turned out to bean eye-opener ofsorts for visitors as

many government school stu-dents from various statesasked people visiting theirstalls to play a game beforethey even revealed the workthey’ve done.

As part of the game theyasked people to select twoslips from a box. The slipscontained questions likename any ‘President’ and/or‘political leader’ of our coun-

try. When people came upwith replies like RamnathKovind, K ChandrasekharRao and so on, they got upsetand asked ‘Why only remem-ber male leaders and notones like Pratibha Patil andMamata Benerjee?’

They then said that theyare conducting this game tobring to light the inequalityfaced by women across allfields. The students, who hadcome from 10 states acrossIndia, came up with theirown stories about variousissues like gender equality,child marriages and more.

The three-day festival con-cluded on Friday at CHAITraining Centre, Medchal.During the fest, studentsinteracted with guests andparticipated in various skitsand acts, which explained theaforementioned societalissues and the need to seewomen as equal to men.

One of the students (theorganisers wanted them to beanonymous) from UttarPradesh, said, “We are veryhappy to share our storieswith people from differentstates. In this festival, we per-formed skits and plays about

the importance of saving thegirl child, child marriage,dowry issues and genderequality after noticing thatthese crimes were on the rise.We also wrote on variousissues as part of the readingweek initiative by the organ-isers.”

Students Uttar Pradesh,Bihar, Delhi, Jharkhand,Maharashtra, Odisha,Rajasthan, Uttrakhand, TamilNadu and Telangana show-cased their work and narrat-ed their stories. Studentsfrom a government school inDelhi told us, “Here, we

showcased our work by rep-resenting the famous placesin Delhi like Parliament,Supreme Court and so onand urged officials to providejustice to victims. Our mainfocus is to inculcate readinghabit in children. We areoverusing technology and areaddicted to our mobiles. Thisis pushing children awayfrom reading. We narratedstories that we heard fromour grandparents. In this fes-tival, we got to know aboutdifferent cultures of otherstates.”

Out of all stalls, the

Telangana stall became high-light of the festival withshowcasing beautiful Bonaluand Bathukamma festivitiesfor the audience. Studentssaid, “Here, we are displayingstories about women safetyand narrating the importanceof festivals like Bonalu andBathukamma. We are veryhappy to showcase our workin such a festival.”

Mohammed Asif,Executive Director, PlanIndia, said, “This is the sec-ond edition of the festivaland the first one was held lastyear in Lucknow. The theme

is dreams and aspirations.This is a festival for the stu-dents, by the students. Thefestival helps children thinkabout various societal issuesand present ways to tacklethem. More than 1,000schools auditioned and about10 were selected for the mainfestival. We are doing the fes-tival in 10 states now andwould definitely expand pan-India soon.”

He said, “This fest encour-ages children to rediscoverthe joy of reading and re-imagine gender in children’sliterature, including texts,

stories and imagery. We arehappy to see the participationof children from differentstates. Coinciding with fiveyears of the Centre’s BetiBachao, Beti Padhao initia-tive, this year’s ChildrenLiterary Festival workedaround those ideologies. Wehope to help children identi-fy, the gender representationin what they read. By meansof the Children’s LiteraryFestival, we hope to traingirls and boys to be able tocreate a gender-neutral worldand express the samethrough various forms of art.”

When kids turn

EYE-OPENER

The secondedition of

the NationalChildren's

LiteraryFestival

concludedrecently inHyderabadand it had

childrennarrating

stories aboutvarious issues

like genderequality, child

marriages,reading habits

and more,reports V

SATEESHREDDY

T

Students from Delhi

Students from Telangana

Students from UP

ASWATHAMA:Shaurya shines, but film falls flatK RAMYA SREEn HYDERABAD

aga Shaurya hasbeen craving for hit,especially after hislast film,Naratanasala,tanked miserably at

the box office. He has nowpinned all his hopes onAswathama.

Speaking of the film, this isShaurya’s first attempt at beinga screenwriter and he has goneall out on the film’s promotions.He has even built abs for hischaracter.

So, does it live up to hisexpectations? Let’s find out.

Aswathama is the story of aman searching for answers ashis life gets entangled with vari-ous issues.

Gana (Naga Shaurya) is ahappy-go-lucky boy until hefinds out about his sister’s sui-cide attempt days before hermarriage. It disturbs him men-tally and he goes on a hunt tofind out the reason why shewanted to end her life. Duringhis efforts to find the culprit, herealises that it’s not just Priya’s(Gana’s sister) problem but ofmany other girls in Vizag city.The story takes off from thereand shows Gana trying to findout the person behind thecrime.

The film begins on a highnote with Pawan Kalyan’s voicethat says ‘The evil will be killed’.

While the first 20 minutes

makes one wonder what isgoing on, the pace picks uponce the hero finds out abouthis sister’s suicide attempt. Thefilm did have its share of lagsand lack of logic, but it man-ages to convey its message,albeit in a dramatic way.

The romantic thread betweenNaga Shaurya and MehreenKaur Pirzada in the first halffelt pointless and the songs toowere placed just for the sake ofhaving melody.

All these put together makethe first half boring. But thesecond half keeps you grippedas Gana tries to find out whothe antagonist, played by JisshuSengupta, is.

He kidnaps women with thehelp of fishermen, impregnatesthem and hands them back tothe fishermen who drop themat nearby hospitals. The climaxis again a drawback to the film.

A lot of questions arise onceyou watch the film. Especiallyon the existence of cops.

For instance Gana beats upall the suspects left right andcentre, but cops are no where tobe seen.

The cops again go missingwhen a group of four men kid-nap multiple women fromstreets and malls. And whenthey do start investigating, theyare unable to find clues, but thehero manages to get all theclues.

Also, is the antagonist theonly doctor in Vizag, that thepolice repeatedly come to his

house and request him to con-duct post-mortems on peoplewhom the former killed dis-cretely? Granted that films dotake a few liberties and throwlogic out the window, butassuming that the audience iswearing blinders and dumb is acompletely different level.

Speaking of acting, there isno one in the film whom wecan speak of except for Shauryaand Jisshu.

Shaurya has given his all andexcelled as a responsible broth-er. Jisshu’s acting, although abonus to the film, makes youfeel like you are watching

Arvind Swamy from Dhruva. Itlooked like he was imitatingArvind. The others were notgiven enough screen time toeven mention.

Music by M. Ghibran wasalso okay. We will surely forgethis songs once we are out of themovie hall.

Although the basic messageof the film was good, the storycould’ve been tighter to notbore the audience. DirectorRamana Teja was good enoughto capture the emotions and thebond between a brother and asister but failed to deliver anall-out thriller as was promoted.

N

VERDICT: Poor screenplay,lacklustre script makethe film boring. ButShaurya navigatingthe twists and turnsin the plot and themessage the crewwish to conveythrough the filmmakes this a one-time watch.

Rating:

2 stars

10

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

Vijayawada Saturday February 1, 2020 what’s brewing?

ctor-producer Margot Robbie hopesmore and more men turn up towatch female-driven films, like herlatest Birds of Prey, as she believesthey will be able to relate with suchstories.

Robbie is returning as Harley Quinn in Birdsof Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation ofOne Harley Quinn)”, on which she also servesas producer.

Directed by Cathy Yan, the DC film hasbeen penned by Bumblebee scribe ChristinaHodson.

Birds of Prey also features Mary ElizabethWinstead as Huntress, Jurnee Smollett-Bell asBlack Canary, Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cainand Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya.

Robbie said she watches films regardless ofthe protagonists gender.

“I hope that guys watch films with femaleleads as much as they watch ones with maleleads. Cause I watch films despite the gender ofthe protagonist and find a way to relate just onhuman behaviour.”

“I feel if more men watch female-drivencontent they’d find a way to relate as well,” the29-year-old actor told Sky News at the pre-miere of the movie here.

The new film is a spin-off of Suicide Squadthat introduced Robbie as Harley Quinn.

Robbie said despite being a champion ofwomen’s rights, she ultimately wanted the bestperson for the directing job.

“It was a big priority for me to always seekopportunities for women because they cate-gorically and historically get fewer opportu-nities.”

“However, at the end of the day, the bestperson for the job should get the job and ifthe best person that came in was a guy wewould have had a guy directing this film,but Cathy was the best person for this job,”she added.

This award season has been a let downwhen it comes to a lack of female nomi-nees in the directing categories at thisyear’s BAFTAs and Oscars and theactor hopes next year is better.

“I hope that’s not the case next year. Iloved a lot of movies this year, I lovedmovies that were directed by phenome-nal female directors as well, but yeah, whatcan you do?” Robbie said.

She is nominated for best supporting actressBAFTA for Once Upon A Time... In Hollywoodand Bombshell. She has also earned an Oscarnod for Bombshell.

A

Hope more men watch

female-led movies like

Birds of Prey:

MARGOTROBBIE

ollywood stars AntonioBanderas and Penelope Cruzare set to co-star in a new filmtitled Competencia Oficial(Official Competition).

The project from Madrid’sThe Mediapro Studio will be directed byArgentine filmmakers Mariano Cohn andGaston Duprat. The actors recently starredin Pain and Glory, although they neverappeared together on screen, reports vari-ety.com.

The last time the Spanish actors shareda scene was in the 2013 film I’m SoExcited.

Other cast members include Spanishveteran Jose Luis Gomez, Carlos Hipolito,Irene Escolar, Koldo Olabarri, NagoreAranburu, Pilar Castro and JuanGrandinetti.

Penelope Cruz, AntonioBanderas team

up again

H

Linda Hamilton‘wants to be

done with' TheTerminator

ctress Linda Hamilton would be happyto ‘never return’ to The Terminator fran-chise unless she can star in a strippeddown smaller film.

Hamilton, 63, returned to the fran-chise after nearly three decades for

Terminator: Dark Fate last year (2019), whichreceived strong reviews but disappointed at the boxoffice — putting creator James Cameron’s plans fora trilogy in jeopardy, reports aceshowbiz.com.

She says that she’d be happy to not makeanother Terminator film, but if plans for a newmovie go ahead, she said she should be less riskyfinancially, with fewer expensive special effects.

“Something says to me... I don’t know. Iwould really appreciate maybe a smaller ver-sion where so many millions are not at stake.Today’s audience is just so unpredictable. Ican’t tell you how many laymen just go, ‘Well,people don’t go to the movies anymore.’That’s not Hollywood analysis; that just

comes out of almost everybody’s mouth,”Hamilton told The Hollywood Reporter.

A

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 1, 2020 sport 11

PTI n NEW DELHI

Former India cricketersRudra Pratap Singh,

Madan Lal and SulkashanaNaik were on Friday appoint-ed members of the CricketAdvisory Committee (CAC)by the BCCI.

The CAC’s immediatetask will be to pick replace-ments for outgoing selectorsMSK Prasad and GaganKhoda.

“The term of appoint-ment will be for one year,”BCCI Secretary Jay Shah said

in a statement.Initially, Gautam

Gambhir was to be one of theCAC members but was noteventually considered as he isa serving Member ofParliament, making way forSingh.

The 34-year-old fromfrom Uttar Pradesh is theyoungest CAC member. Lal is68 and Naik is 41.

CAC is a high-profilebody but its job is limited.However, its seniormostmember Lal is looking for-ward to the challenge.

“Responsibility is aresponsibility. Name of thegame is to take the responsi-bility and do the job honest-ly,” Lal said, adding that he hasno information yet onwhether BCCI is doing awaywith the zonal policy for pick-ing selectors or not.

“I have no idea if the zonalsystem will be followed or youcould pick the selections fromany region. Today, I have gotofficial communication onthe appointment and in thecoming days, we will get toknow more,” he added.

PTI n CHRISTCHURCH

Dane Cleaver smashed anunbeaten century as New

Zealand A put India A in a tightspot by amassing 385 for five intheir first innings on the secondday of the first unofficial Test.

After Will Young (54) com-pleted his half-century, the hostssuffered a mini-collapse, losingthree wickets cheaply but Cleaver(111 off 194 balls) and MarkChapman (85 off 187 balls) res-urrected the innings, adding anunbeaten 209 runs for the sixth

wicket.Cleaver sent the ball across

the fence 16 times, whileChapman smashed eight bound-aries in his innings.

At stumps, the duo was at thecrease with New Zealand takingan overall lead of 169 runs.

On day one, India A were allout for 216 in their first innings.

For India A, SandeepWarrier claimed two wickets,while Mohammed Siraj (1/104),Ishan Porel (1/61), ShahbazNadeem (1/67) accounted forone wicket each.

PTI n CANBERRA

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaurstruck an unbeaten 42 fol-

lowing a fine bowling perfor-mance to set up India’sthrilling five-wicket win overEngland in the first match ofthe women’s triangular T20series on Friday.

Indian spinners —Rajeshwari Gayakwad (2/19),Deepti Sharma (2/30)and leftarmer Radha Yadav (1/33) —restricted England to 147for seven in stipulated 20overs, while right-arm medi-um pacer Shikha Pandey(2/33) accounted for two atthe Manuka Oval.Harmanpreet took the runchase deep after the Indiantop order, including the 15-year-old Shafali Verma (30),Smriti Mandhana(15) andJemimah Rodrigues (26) —squandered good starts.

Veda Krishnamurthy (7)and Taniya Bhatia (11) alsofailed to stay on the crease as

England bowlers struck atregular intervals.

With six needed off thelast over, Harmanpreet,whose innings was studdedwith five boundaries untilthen, hit a towering six totake India to 150 for five andend the match in style withthree balls to spare.

Earlier, put in to bat,England suffered a top orderbatting collapse as openersAmy Jones (1) and DanniWyatt (4) were dismissedcheaply.

Natalie Sciver (20) andFran Wilson (7) soon fol-lowed, leaving England reel-ing at 59 for four in 10 overs.

Skipper Heather Knightthen took charge, hitting abrisk 44-ball 67. Her inningswas laced with eight bound-aries and two sixes.

Wicketkeeper TammyBeaumont supported hercaptain with a 27-ball 37. Theduo helped England post afighting total.

PTI nWELLINGTON

India captain Virat Kohli onFriday said he has learnt animportant lesson in the back-

to-back Super Over finishesagainst New Zealand: To “staycalm till the end” and bounce backwhen the opportunity arises.

A nervous New Zealandthrew it away yet again as a per-severant India prevailed in theSuper Over for the second succes-sive time to take a 4-0 lead in thefive-match T20I series.

“There’s something new I’velearnt in the last couple of games:when the opposition is playingwell, you stay calm till the end andtry to come back,” Kohli said at thepost-match presentation ceremo-ny.

Needing just 11 runs off thelast two overs with seven wicketsin hand, New Zealand dug a holefor themselves yet again, taking thegame to a Super Over two nightsafter doing the same in Hamilton.

New Zealand managed 13runs in six balls and India got thereeffortlessly.

The India skipper said havingcome out victorious in two consec-utive Super Overs for the first timeproves the character of the team.

“We couldn’t have asked formore exciting games, we’ve neverplayed Super Overs before and

now we’ve won two. It shows thecharacter of the team,” Kohli said.

Although Sanju Samson did-n’t make any significant contribu-tion in the match, Kohli said heinitially thought of sending theKerala batsman in the Super Overalong side K L Rahul but eventu-ally changed his mind.

“Initially we thought of open-ing with Samson and KL in theSuper Over, but then KL told meI should bat because of the expe-rience and the options I’ll bring,”he said.

“His (Rahul’s) two strikes

were crucial and then you knockthe ball into the gap and take yourteam over the line. Sanju was fear-less at the top of the order. He triedto take the momentum away, heshould back himself.”

Kohli also lavished praise onyoung pacer Navdeep Saini, whowent wicketless on Friday.

“Saini was impressive with hispace again. We were very proudwith the way we went about it,” hesaid.

New Zealand skipper TimSouthee, who stood in for injuredregular captain Kane Williamson,

said they presented India oppor-tunities and the visitors grabbedthem with both hands.

“It’s very tough especially inthe positions we put ourselves into.We gave them (India) a chanceand they took them with bothhands,” he said.

“We have a young bowlingattack and, it is tough, when youhaven’t won and you play againsta quality opposition in India, givethem a sniff and make it tough foryourselves.”

Man-of-the-match ShardulThakur, who finished with figures

of 2 for 33 and also bowled thecrucial last over in which NewZealand needed just seven runs,said such nail-bitting finishesaugurs well for India ahead of this

year’s ICC T20 World Cup.“I’m feeling good, we play for

such nail-biting finishes, we could-n’t have asked for anything morein these two games,” he said.

IANS n NEW DELHI

Jasprit Bumrah might be consid-ered one of the best in the busi-

ness at present, but former Pakistanpacer Shoaib Akhtar believes thatit is Mohammed Shami who is bestfast bowler in the world at present.Akhtar not only praised the Indianpacer for his brilliant show in thethird T20I against New Zealand,but also said that Shami uses hisexperience really well in tough sit-uations.

“Shami is a very clever bowler.He is the find of India and he is thebest fast bowler in the world.Whatever situation you put him in,he always excels, whether it's aworld cup or a T20 in New Zealand,he’s a very very smart fast bowler.When he got to know that yorkerswon’t work, he immediatelyswitched to length balls and bounc-ers,” Akhtar said on his Youtubechannel.

“When Taylor hit Shami for asix in the first ball, I thought thematch was over but that’s where theexperience of Shami came into play.He realized there was little bit ofdew which will help the ball skid ifhe hits the length.”

New Zealand needed 9 runs offthe last six balls when Kohli hand-ed the ball to Shami and eventhough Taylor started the overwith a six, the pacer kept cool andcame back to dismiss him off thelast ball to tie the game.

“Taylor hit me a lot through themidwicket region in my last matchbut unfortunately he dragged thesame shot onto his stumps on thelast ball. But credit to Shami,”Akhtar pointed.

Earlier Rohit Sharma also cred-ited Shami for bringing the teamback into the game after a master-class from Kane Williamson hadalmost seen the Kiwis stroll home.

“I think Shami’s last over wascrucial, and actually that got us thevictory. Not my two sixes. It wasShami’s over where we defendednine runs. It’s not easy with thedew,” Rohit had said.

AFP n HARARE

Astubborn 80 not out from SriLankan opener Kusal Mendis

frustrated Zimbabwe’s hopes of squar-ing the two-Test series on Friday’s fifthand final day of the second Test inHarare.

Set a challenging 361 to win, SriLanka dropped anchor, scoring just 51runs in the afternoon session, to reach156 for three at tea.

Sri Lanka lost captain DimuthKarunaratne in the morning andOshada Fernando for 47 just afterlunch but Mendis batted though totea, striking 10 fours in his 170-ballvigil.

Zimbabwe gained some renewedhope shortly before the interval whenAngelo Mathews slapped a deliveryfrom Victor Nyauchi straight to CraigErvine at mid-on.

Sri Lanka require another 205 inthe last session although with rain

forecast, any result other than a drawwould now be a surprise.

Instead they batted on briefly toreach 247 for seven before the decla-ration came with Williams, whomade a century in the first innings,picking up the three runs he neededfor another half-century to finish 53not out.

Williams then chose to open thebowling with spinner Raza who tookseven wickets in the first innings.

NEW DELHI: World No 2 TaiTzu Ying edged worldchampion PV Sindhu inthe most-awaited clash totake Bengaluru Raptors tovictory over HyderabadHunters in the showdownbetween the last two years’champions at the PBL. Thiswas the first triumph of theseason for the defendingchampions Raptors aftersuffering three losses on thetrot.

Tai came out as thestronger of the two, makinga fast start to go up to 3-0.It, however, did not take theRio Olympic Silver medal-list long to level matters.Finding her trademarksmashes, she made it 3-3before moving ahead to 8-5 as the Chinese Taipei ace

seemed to be struggling tofigure out Sindhu.

Amid roars of supportfrom the crowd, Sindhulooked to be in control toinch her way ahead to 10-7. The Raptors ace thentried accelerating her gameand used her skilful decep-

tion at the net to take twopoints on the trot. That wasall she could manage to doagainst a determinedSindhu who never faltered.

Running Tai aroundthe court by rotating thedirection of the shuttle,the Indian raced ahead to

12-9 and soon bagged theopening game 15-11.

A highly competitivesecond game ensued whichwitnessed the stamina andhunger of both. Tai keptanswering Sindhu’s powersmashes with her ownattacking game, keepingthe game on par till 8-8.Infusing a little more speedin the exchanges, Tai gotthe better of Sindhu tomove ahead to 12-9. Withthe World No. 2 havingreached game points, theIndian banked on heraggression to close the gapbetween the two to just twopoints before extending therallies in an attempt todraw an error from Tai’sracquet. It did not help hermuch as Tai took the sec-

ond game 15-13.With the momentum

having swung her way, Taidid not make any mistakein the decider to open up abig lead of 6-2, riding onher finesse. Under pressure,Sindhu made unforcederrors which did not helpher cause further.

Having put Sindhu onthe backfoot, Tai kept goingfor her smashes to lead 13-9. With Sindhu’s smashlanding wide, the highlyanticipated match ended inan 11-15, 15-13, 15-9 vic-tory for Tai, sealing the tiefor the Raptors.

Elsewhere in the matchfor home team Verma beatsBrice Leverdez 15-12, 10-15, 15-6 for his first win ofthe fifth season.

PTI n BENONI

Ahalf-century from openerMuhammad Huraira on

debut and a fine bowling per-formance powered Pakistan toa six-wicket win overAfghanistan in the ICC U-19World Cup on Friday, setting upan exciting semifinal againstarch-rivals India.

Afghanistan fought hardafter posting 189 but just didnot have enough runs on theboard. Huraira, playing his firstgame of the tournament, strucka match-winning knock in thefourth quarterfinal.

Qasim Akram (25 not outoff 41 balls)and MohammadHaris (29 not out off 43) saw theteam through in just 41.1 overs.

Tahir Hussain (1/28 in 10overs), Fahad Munir (2/29 in 7)and Mohammad Amir Khan(3/58 in 10) were the pick of thePakistan bowlers.

Defending championsIndia and Pakistan play theirsemifinal in Potchefstroom onFebruary 4. India had beatenAustralia in their quarterfinalmatch.

Talking about the team’sperformance, Pakistan captainRohail Nazir said: “We dropped2-3 early catches and had weheld on, we could have restrict-ed them to a lesser total. Thespinners bowled really well inthe middle overs and bowledthem out for 190. The wicketwas turning a bit and our planwas to rotate strike. The open-

ing partnership was good andwe played sensibly in the mid-dle overs.”

On the India game, headded: “It is another game.India is a good side and we needto play good cricket. The crowdreally motivated us, appreciat-ed us and I hope they turn upfor the semifinal and cheer forus.”

Afghanistan captain FarhanZakhil said 189 was defendable.

“The wicket was good andour batsmen did not takeresponsibility. They bowled welland created the chances. 190was a par score for our bowlers.We expected our fast bowlers toprovide early wickets and theywere not able to do that,” saidZakhil.

‘STAY CALM TILL THE END’

India captain Virat Kohli takes a catch to dismiss Martin Guptill AP

India always find a way

PTI nWELLINGTON

New Zealand threw it awayfrom a winning position in

the last two T20s but openerColin Munro instead gave cred-it to the visitors, saying they“always” find a way to bounceback.

“That’s cricket isn’t it? Weput ourselves in positions to winboth of those games I thought.But India, with the roll they’reon at the moment and thecricket that they’re playing,they always just find a way. Andthen Super Over is a bit of luck

each way. It can go either wayI reckon,” he said.

“We’re all sitting in thesheds now and talking about itand hurting that we have let twogames like that slip. And, I putmy hand up too. We talk aboutrunning quickly between thewickets and then I wasdawdling with that second one,and Kohli picks up and doessome magical work and that’s it.

“There are a few guys thatare hurting. But we are tight inour group and we will bounceback, come Sunday hopefully,”he added.

Mitchel Santer celebrates taking a catch to dismiss Sanju Samson AP

MOST RRUNS AAGAINST IINDIA IIN TT20IBatsman M Runs AVG HS S/R 100/50Colin Munro (NZ) 11 411 41.10 109* 146.78 1/3Aaron Finch (AUS) 13 405 31.15 89 137.28 -/2Glenn Maxwell (AUS) 13 353 35.30 113* 145.86 1/1Kane Williamson (NZ) 11 325 29.54 95 135.98 -/2Evin Lewis (WI) 9 322 46.00 125* 173.11 2/-

FAISEL FEATURES

Kohli says two Super Over finishes taught him to stay calm and bounce back when chance comes

PTI n WELLINGTON

Crediting India’s second successive SuperOver win to the team’s never-say-die atti-

tude, middle order batsman Manish Pandeysaid they will push for an unprecedented 5-0series whitewash in the fifth T20I.

The two sides meet for the final match atMt Maunganui tomorrow.

“It has been our motto, not only for thesetwo matches, that till the time the last ball isbowled, we won’t give up any match. If youplay with that intent you will get match-es like these where you might get a SuperOver, and you win from there,” Pandeysaid at the post-match conference.

“And now we have anopportunity to make it 5-0 and it will be reallyamazing to do that. Comethe fifth match, we willlook to go 5-0 up, that isour plan. Nobody hasdone it before and espe-cially India has not done itbefore. So, I think it will bea great start to do that.”

Asked if the playersbelieved they could pull off aSuper Over win yet again asthey did on Friday, Pandeysaid, “In the middle, it lookedlike we were a little easy onourselves. But since it hadhappened the last game, wethought we had to bowlgood balls and it is possi-ble we push it to a SuperOver. And then, as the ballswent by and we reached the lasttwo balls, we were certain thatthis would go to Super Over.

“We were ready for it in theback of our mind. We havevery good bowlers and Shardul(Thakur) bowled a very good last over. For hiseffort, he deserved it that the game went intoa Super Over,” said Pandey who made 50 notout off 36 balls.

We will go forwhitewash: Manish

TIED MMATCHES IINVOLVED NNZ IN TT20IsOpponent Venue Date WinnerWindies Auckland 16-02-2006 New Zealand**Windies Auckland 26-12-2008 West IndiesAustralia Christchurch 28-02-2010 New ZealandSri Lanka Pallekele 27-09-2012 Sri LankaWindies Pallekele 01-10-2012 West IndiesEngland Auckland 10-11-2019 EnglandIndia Hamilton 29-01-2020 IndiaIndia Wellington 31-01- 2020 India*New Zealand’s win over West Indies at Auckland onFebruary 16,2006 came in bowl-out.

Mohammed Shami in a file photo AP

Shami isworld’s bestpacer: Akhtar

RP, Madan, Sulakshana named in CAC Cleaver, Chapman putNZ A in driver’s seat

Harmanpreet Kaur in action

Harman’s six win 1st T20

Ind-Pak clash in U-19 semis

Pakistan’s players celebrate after the dismissal of Afghnistan’s batsman

Mendis spoils Zimbabwe partyTai beats Sindhu, open Raptors account

Tai Tzu Ying returns shot against PV Sindhu during PBL clash in Hyderabad

his year has kickedoff on a successfulnote for Satyadev.His role as anArmy man,although brief, in

Mahesh Babu-starrer SarileruNeekevvaru was received welland he will begin shootingfor debutant director VishvakKhanderao’s period dramedysoon. And now we’ve exclu-sively learnt that he hasgreen-lit another solo project,which will mostly roll inApril. It will be directed bySanjeev Reddy who directedABCD, featuring Allu Sirish,last year. The actor and thedirector have been friends fora long time.

A well-placed source closeto the development tells us,“Sheik Dawood, the screen-play writer of films like

Venkatadri Express,Express Raja andAnanda Brahmo, haspenned the film’s script.He and Sanjeev havebeen working for morethan six months on thescript, which is a crime-drama infused with thrillerelements. Satyadev wasmighty excited with the storyand decided to comeonboard. He felt it was theright project for him afterVenkatesh Maha’s UmaMaheswara Ugra Roopasyaand Vishvak’s untitled perioddrama. Prominent writerLakshmi Bhupala played acrucial role in setting up thiscombination and he is alsoinvesting in the project. Hehas recently started penningthe dialogues.”

The source further adds

thatbesides Satyathe story hasscope for threeother importantroles. Anotherproducertoo is like-ly to jointhe film asa partner, discussions onwhich are going on. “Thestory is completely set inHyderabad and the pre-pro-duction has commenced,”the source concludes.

Vijayawada Saturday February 1, 2020

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12

CHOOSI CHOODANGAANE: Love from her point of view

KEDARn HYDERABAD

he strength ofproducer RajKandukuri’s lat-est movie,ChoosiChoodangaane,

lies in the non-linearscreenplay — just like theproducer’s previous super-hit movie, Pelli Choopulu.The second half of themovie revisits the firsthalf, throwing new lighton a college romancethat has been done todeath. Even though it isa typical boy meets

girl(s) story, in a raremoment of clarity inTelugu cinema, we get to

see the girl’s unrequited lovestory from her point of view

that is separate from the boy. Even though the three prin-

ciple characters in the film haveinteresting bio-data, the film’sdirector and writer Sesha Sin-dhu Rao, wanted the focus onlyon the chemistry among them.Though this could have been

an advantage if the actors werefleshed out or were capable ofextraordinary performances,but that wasn’t the case here.

Shiva Kandukuri (Sidhu),who debuted with this film,couldn’t readily fit into the filmjust as much as a foot gettingused to a new shoe. Though hisrole required him to experiencea range of emotions, coveringthe joy of first love to the sad-ness in unrequited love, hisexpression more or less staysconstant throughout. Thoughhis acting fell short he playedan important role in highlight-ing the other two characters inthe film.

Varsha Bollamma (Sruthi)

and Malavika Satheesan(Aishwarya) form the core ofthe film as characters withtraits that are polar opposites.While the former is easy going,thoughtful and goal-oriented,the latter is selfish, uptight andmanipulative.

Their acting too comple-mented their personalities andtogether they stand as two pil-lars between which Sidhuswings about seeking love thathe believes is refused to him byboth women.

Even though the charactershad potential to make a mark,shoddy dialogues let themdown. Good dialogues giveinsight into the mind of the

characters and are influencedby the kind of setting the char-acters are placed in. The moviedoesn’t show the characters faceany external hurdles eventhough Sidhu and Sruthi choseoff-beat careers such as photog-raphy and music. The onlyproblems they face are theirown indecisiveness. So themovie limits the characters bygiving them no life beyondtheir relationship to each other.

Music by Gopi Sundarproved to be saving grace forthe film although the filmmak-ers choose to use it mostly formontages that only drag thepace of the movie. The cine-matography by Vedaraman andediting by Raviteja Girijalabring nothing new to the table.The camera work in too shakyand out of focus to registeremotions properly, and theediting separates scenes fromone another instead of joiningthem by a thread.

Choosi Choodangaane hadthe potential to spin somethingfresh from an old yarn, but wasweighed down by clichéd dia-logues and sloppy acting.

CAST: VarshaBollamma, Malavika

Satheesan, ShivaKandukuri, AnishKuruvilla, Pavitra

Lokesh

Rating:2.5/5 stars

VERDICT: Choosi Choodangaanetries to bring freshness to atypical college romance. Itsefforts are fruitful depending onwhat one is looking for. Watchthe movie for good female leadsand an interesting screenplay.Rest can be set aside.

tollywoodSATYADEVsigns ABCDdirector'snext

Satyadev whohad a good run

in 2019 hasmanaged to

bag goodprojects in 2020too. NAGARAJ

GOUD findsout about the

actor's nextprojects

SHEIK DAWOOD, THE SCREENPLAY WRITER OF FILMS LIKEVENKATADRI EXPRESS, EXPRESS RAJA AND ANANDA BRAHMO,HAS PENNED THE FILM’S SCRIPT. HE AND SANJEEV REDDY HAVEBEEN WORKING FOR MORE THAN SIX MONTHS ON THE SCRIPT.

ctor-producer-TV judgeNagababuKonidela gives allfitness goals tohis fans with his

recent post on Facebook.The actor posted series of

pictures of himself trans-forming to a fit body. Hecaptioned the image, “De-cide. Commit. Succeed. It’stotally 6 months of metamo-rphosis Weight loss. (sic)”

His post inspired manypeople with netizens show-ering praises on his hardwork and dedication.

“Your dedication shouldbe appreciable sir. In one of

your interviews you arealready said your dream issix pack.. all the best foryour six pack sir, (sic)" wroteone user.

“Hardwork never failslooking slim & fit,(sic)”wrote another user.

While some called him asa competitor to his son Var-un Tej, others felt he lookedyounger than Pawan Kalyan.

On the work front, theactor is presently a judge toa non-fiction show Adirindi.He has recently quit popularcomedy show Jabardasth cit-ing differences with the pro-ducers of the show.

— K RAMYA SREE

ANagababu givesfitness goals

BIGIL GIRL TODEBUT INTOLLYWOOD

am-starrer Red, whichalready sees NivethaPethuraj and MalvikaSharma as leadingladies, has got anotheraddition. Amrithya

Aiyer, who was seen as a footballcaptain in Vijay-starrer, a recentTamil monster hit Bigil, has beensigned by the makers to play asupporting role. “She will be seenas an innocent girl who is headover heels in love with one of thetwo roles played by Ram. Eventhough she will be making herdebut in Telugu with a two-hero-ine film, the role has its ownimportance. Director KishoreTirumala has extended her partslightly to that of the Tamil ver-sion,” said a source.

Red, an investigativethriller, narrates the confu-

sion that arises whencops find out that the

an accused in themurder of a

youngster hasa look-alike. Ithas been pre-

dominantly shot in Hyderabadand Goa till now. Produced bySravanthi Ravi Kishore, it is setto hit the screens on April 9.Kishore Tirumala is planning towind up the shoot by mid-March.

r

Sriwass' crime-comedywith Danayya's son

lthough Maruthi’s namewas attached to launchproducer D.V.V. Danayya’sson Kalyan Dasari some-time back, the phenome-nal success of Pandaga

Chesko meant that the director islooking at A-listers for his next.

We now hear that Sriwass haslanded the film. Known for his pop-corn entertainers, the untitled filmwill be a departure from the kind offilms Sriwass makes. “He has beentrying to attempt a new genre for along time now and he’s doing thatwith his new film. It will be a con-cept-based crime comedy and thedirector is pumped up about it. Hehas been in frequent touch withKalyan and the discussions betweenthem have been productive. The filmwill go to sets in March and will bepredominantly shot in Hyderabad.Sriwass wants to ensure that Danayyamakes profit even before the film'srelease,” said a source.

The source further added thatKalyan is a trained actor and has alsobeen a regular to his dad’s produc-tions like Bharat Ane Nenu and RRR,monitoring the filmmaking processclosely. “He understands the techni-cal side of filmmaking very well andSriwass believes that his actor is anabsolute natural,” informed thesource further. — NG

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