· the ‘bastar tigers’ special force will be formed in all dis-tricts of bastar division which...

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In the middle of the stand-offin eastern Ladakh last year,

China unleashed coordinatedcyberattacks on India’s powerfacilities that may have triggeredthe massive power outage in Mumbai in October 2020.

The outage led to a coun-trywide uproar as India’s finan-cial capital came to a grindinghalt on October 12. Mumbai life-line local trains were shut, hos-pitals could not carry lifesavingoperations and stock exchangeremained out of gear for hours.

The cyberattack on powerfacilities may have been initiat-ed by a group of Chinese hack-ers, according to a study that firstappeared in the New York Times.

China-linked threat activi-ty group RedEcho may haveplanted malware in key powerplants in India, said the study.“The Mumbai power cut pro-vides additional evidence sug-gesting the coordinated target-ing of Indian Load DispatchCentres,” said the study.

The study also suggestedthat some of the country’s mostsensitive infrastructures are vul-nerable to cyberattacks fromChinese hackers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry ofPower on Monday said there isno impact on operations ofPower System OperationCorporation (POSOCO) dueto any malware attack and thatprompt actions are taken onadvisories issued against suchthreats.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi, Vice-President M

Venkaiah Naidu, Union HomeMinister Amit Shah andMinister for External Affairs(MEA) S Jaishankar receivedthe Covid-19 jab even as morethan one million citizens reg-istered themselves on the Co-WIN portal till 1 pm onMonday with India opening upvaccination drive for thoseover 60 years and within theage bracket of 45 to 59 yearswith specified comorbidities.

AIIMS chief Dr RandeepGuleria said the PrimeMinister’s move to take the firstdose of Covid-19 vaccine onthe very first day of the inoc-ulation drive should eliminateany hesitancy from the mindsof people about the vaccine.

Vaccines provided to ben-eficiaries at the Governmenthealth facilities will be entire-

ly free of cost, while privatefacilities cannot charge thebeneficiary a sum above �250per person per dose (�150 forvaccines and �100 as opera-tional charges.

As the vaccination pro-gramme got underway inother places across the coun-try, Venkaiah, Shah, Jaishankartoo was vaccinated onMonday.

Bihar Chief Minister NitishKumar and his Odisha coun-terpart Naveen Patnaik alsoreceived their shots.

Similarly, NCP chiefSharad Pawar, his wife, and MPdaughter Supriya Sule tooreceived the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine at a civic hospital inMaharashtra while Kumar saidvaccines will be provided freeto everybody.

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The Road, Transport, andHighways Ministry has

achieved the enviable target ofconstructing record 30 kmhighway a day. The feat couldbe achieved after the con-struction of 11,035 kilometresof national highways this fiscalso far.

Union Road Transport,Highways Minister NitinGadkari said highway buildinghas achieved a new feat, withthe construction touchingrecord 30 km a day. “We havebuilt 11,035 km of highways tilldate this year. This comes to32.85 km a day of highwaybuilding, which is a record,”Gadkari said on the sidelines ofan event talking to the media.

Gadkari said that by end ofthis financial year the con-struction could go up to 40 kma day.

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After a harsh winter for thenorthern States, most parts

of the country should brace fora hotter than usual summerthis year.

In its summer forecast,India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) onMonday forecast that day tem-peratures are likely to be abovenormal in north, northeast,parts of east and west Indiaexcept for south and centralIndia between March and May,which represents the pre-mon-soon season for the country.

“The maximum tempera-tures will be as high as 0.86degrees celsius higher thannormal across northern, east-ern, and western India,” theIMD said.

However, the pre-mon-soon months of March, April,

and May will provide somerespite for the other regions,especially south India, wherethe mercury is likely to dip asmuch as 0.57 degrees celsiusfrom its normal. There is aprobability forecast for abovemaximum temperatures inChhattisgarh, Odisha, Gujarat,coastal Maharashtra, Goa andcoastal Andhra Pradesh.

The worst impact of thesummer will be felt in Odisha

and Chhattisgarh, where max-imum temperatures will devi-ate 0.86-degree celsius fromtheir usual averages.

Last week, Bhubaneswarwas the first region to record 40degrees celsius anywhere inIndia this year. North IndianStates such as Delhi, HimachalPradesh, Haryana, and UttarPradesh should brace for sum-mer temperatures anywherefrom 0.46-degrees celsius to0.71-degree celsius above nor-mal.

“During the upcoming hotweather season (March toMay), above normal seasonalmaximum temperatures arelikely over most of the subdi-visions of north, northwestand northeast India, a few sub-divisions from Eastern andWestern parts of Central Indiaand few coastal subdivisions ofnorth peninsular India.

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New Delhi: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi asked the nurs-es administering the Covid-19vaccine to him on Mondaywhether they were planning touse some special thick needleas politicians are known to be“very thick-skinned”, drawinglaughter from the medical staffwho immediately felt at ease.

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New Delhi: Protesting farmerleaders in the vulnerable agegroup on Monday said they arenot afraid of coronavirus andwon’t take vaccine jabs, even asthe second phase of vaccinationdrive got underway to inocu-late senior citizens and thoseabove 45 with underlying med-ical conditions.

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New Delhi: Delhi fought thecoronavirus well and broughtdown both the positive aswell as death rates, said DelhiHealth Minister SatyenderJain on Monday. There arechallenges but the DelhiGovernment is ready to dealwith it, be it vaccination orhealth infrastructure.

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With high hopes to repeatthe 2017 success story in

Punjab, Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh succeededin inducting India’s most-sought-after political strategistPrashant Kishor in his team forhis 2022 electoral campaign.

A year before Punjab goesto polls in January-February2022, the Chief Minister onMonday announced to appointthe election strategist as his“Principal Adviser”, giving himthe status of a Cabinet Minister.

“Happy to share that@PrashantKishor has joinedme as my Principal Adviser.Look forward to workingtogether for the betterment ofthe people of Punjab!,” CaptAmarinder broke the news onTwitter.

At present, Prashant Kishoris heading the TrinamoolCongress' campaign for the2021 West Bengal elections, hisgrowing closeness to the partychief Mamata Banerjee becom-ing a sore point for manysenior leaders in the party.

Kishor had first made aname for himself as a pollstrategist for Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in his maiden

Lok Sabha election in 2014.After that, Capt Amarinderhad employed Kishor’s IndianPolitical Action Committee (I-PAC) to handle his poll cam-paign in Punjab in the 2017Assembly polls — which led toa resounding victory for theCongress in the State.

The Congress in 2017 hadstormed to power by bagging77 seats in the 117-memberassembly. In fact, Kishor wasthe brain behind PunjabCongress programmes like

“Coffee with Captain” and“Punjab Da Captain” to drumup support for the party.

Last year, Kishor hadreportedly told CaptAmarinder that he would be“quite happy” in handling theelection campaign of theCongress in Punjab for the2022 Assembly polls.

“Before the Covid-19 (cri-sis), I met him (Kishor). I didask him are you interested (inhandling the Punjab Congresscampaign). He was very inter-

ested,” the Chief Minister hadstated in June 2020.

Prashant Kishor hasbecome a much sought after fig-ure for most non-BJP parties tobolster their chances of winningelections. He has previouslyhandled election campaigns forDelhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal, Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister YS Jagan MohanReddy, Maharashtra ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackeray,and RJD's Tejashwi Yadav.

He also assisted BiharChief Minister Nitish Kumarand joined the JDU but quit theparty later over differences.He has also worked on variouselection campaigns for theCongress.

The 2022 Punjab electionswill be crucial for all playersinvolved as the months-longprotest against the farm lawshave had a huge impact on thepolitics of the State.

The Congress' support forthe farmers' protest helped itsweep the recent urban bodypolls in Punjab — winning sixmunicipal corporations,emerging as the largest party in the seventh andbagging most of the 109municipal council and nagarpanchayats.

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Chhattisgarh Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel on

Monday presented a bold bud-get with an estimated grossexpenditure for 2021-22 at�105,213 crore and fiscal deficitpegged at 4.56 percent, andclaimed it will take the State tonew heights.

Laying the papers in theAssembly, Baghel said the bud-get embodies the core mantraof ‘Garbho Nava Chhattisgarh’.

The budget, he said, stoodfor HEIGHT: H for Holisticdevelopment, E for Education,I for Infrastructure, G forGovernance, H for Health andT for Transformation.

Baghel who also holdsfinance portfolio, said total

receipts amounted to �97,145crores, total expenditure�97,106 crores, revenue expen-diture �83,028 crores, capitalexpenditure 13,839 crores andrevenue deficit �3,702 crores.

Thus, the total fiscal deficit

is �17,461 crores or 4.56 per-cent of GSDP.

He added that in the unionbudget 2021-22, share in centraltaxes for the State has decreasedby �4,128 crores as compared tobudget provisions of the current

year.Highlighting the expendi-

tures, he said revenue expendi-ture is 85.50 percent and capi-tal expenditure 14.50 percent.

The expenditure in thesocial sector is 38 percent andin the economic sector 39 per-cent. The social sector expen-diture is pegged at 15.9 percent,SC/ST development is 2.4 per-cent, on health 5.9 percent andon women and child develop-ment 2.3 percent.

The Chief Ministerannounced to establish C-Martto bring all ‘Chhattisgarhi’ prod-ucts under one roof.

He said fisheries has beenbrought under the status ofagriculture. The TelghaniDevelopment Board, LeatherCraftsman Development Board,Iron Craftsman DevelopmentBoard and Rajak-karDevelopment Board will be setup to revive rural businessskills.

He announced plans toopen 119 English mediumschools and an autonomousnational level boarding schoolat Nava Raipur as well as con-struction of an airstrip atremote and backward Koreadistrict.

The ‘Bastar Tigers’ specialforce will be formed in all dis-tricts of Bastar division whichis said to be a game changer fortackling Maoist militancy withlocal recruits. A Cyber ForensicLab will come up at the policeheadquarters.

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The Delhi TransportCorporation (DTC) on

Monday approved the bids forthe procurement of 300 Air-Conditioned (AC) low floorelectric buses.

Transport Minister KailashGahlot who was also present in the board meeting said “Thisdecision comes a few monthsinto Delhi Government successfully launching theDelhi EV Policy, under the dynamic leadership ofChief Minister Arvind Kejriwaland the ongoing full-fledgedawareness campaign SwitchDelhi encouraging Delhiitesto shift to EV. This year will seea thousand new buses beingadded in DTC and close to 600new Electric buses inductedunder the Cluster scheme too.With the arrival of these 300electric buses, Delhi will take itsfirst huge leap to its dream ofa fully electric public transportin the city.”

These 300 Low Floor 12meters BS-VI compliant Air-Conditioned buses would beequipped with State-of-the-Art facilities like, Real-TimePassenger Information System,CCTVs, Panic Buttons, GPSand other facilities, along withbeing differently-abled friend-ly.

Further, to ensure passen-ger safety, especially of womenpassengers, these buses wouldbe integrated with the newlybuilt Command and ControlCentre of Kashmiri Gate.

Earlier, DTC had floatedopen tender for the procure-ment of 300 Low Floor 12meters ful l Electric Air-Conditioned buses inDecember 2020. Prior to this,two tenders have been short-closed owing to various rea-sons. These 300 ElectricBuses, after approval by theCabinet, will start arriving inOctober 2021 and the entireinduction will be completedby February 2022.

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Thirteen spa centres at zone-4 of the Municipal

Corporation of Gurugram(MCG) jurisdiction were sealedby a team led by zonal taxationofficer of the MCG on Mondayafter they were found to beoperating without valid tradelicence, the MCG official said.

The centres were located atOmaxe City Centre Mall on theSohna Road.

Earlier on February 26, theMCG Commissioner hadordered the concerned offi-cials to take action against theestablishments who are oper-ating without trade licences.

As per the instructionsJoint Commissioner-4 of theMCG, Pradeep Ahlawat hadformed a team under the super-

vision of Zonal Taxation OfficerDevender Kumar to take actionagainst these establishments.

“13 spa centres were sealedon Monday by the MCG team.These centres were being runwithout obtaining a valid tradelicense from the MCG. It ismandatory for all commercialoutlets to obtain a necessarybusiness licence under section331, 335 and 336 of theHaryana MunicipalCorporation Act, 1994,”Pradeep Ahlawat, JointCommissioner zone-4 of theMCG said.

“We had received a com-plaint that these establishmentsare being operated illegally inthe Omaxe City Centre Mall.Based on the complaintreceived, sealing action wastaken on Monday,” the officersaid.

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Former Miss India DelhiMansi Sehgal joined the

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in thepresence of party leader RaghavChadha.

Chadha said, “I am delight-ed that the AAP and ArvindKejriwal instill confidence inyoung people to join politics andserve the people, and the AAPfamily is growing leaps andbounds with each passing day.I welcome Mansi into the AAPfamily.”

Speaking on the occasion,Sehgal, Miss India Delhi 2019,said she was inspired by thehonest governance of ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal andtherefore chose to join the AAP.

Sehgal is a trained engineer,TedX speaker and an entrepre-neur, who has her own startup.In her introduction to the MissIndia Delhi pageant, she hadspoken about her keen interestin philanthropy and organdonation.

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Atrader was robbed of �10lakh by two unidentified

scooter-borne armed robbers inGhaziabad. Police said that theincident occurred on Monday atabout 11:00 am in posh com-mercial hub of Raj NagarDistrict Centre (RDC) in thecity.

According to a senior policeofficial, the cashier Nitin Sharmaof KR Foods Private Limited,dealing in cow butter (Ghee)product came to deposit the cashof rupees ten lakh in the RDCbranch of HDFC bank.

“As he stepped out of his car,two robbers intercepted him andon the gun point, they took thebag containing cash,” said thesenior police official.

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A22-year-old man has beenarrested while a juvenile

was apprehended after briefexchange of fire in Delhi’s Rohiniarea. Police said that the accusedwere involved in firing at DelhiPolice constables in BhalswaDairy area on February 25.

The accused has been iden-tified as Yogesh Verma, a resi-dent of Bakhtawarpur in the city.Police said that the accused isinvolved eight cases of autotheft while juvenile was wantedin two attempt to murder caseregistered at NIA and BhalswaDairy police stations.

According to Rajiv Ranjan,the Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (DCP), Outernorth dis-trict, on the evening of February25 at around 06.15 PM,

Constables Sandeep andBhupender of Bhalswa Dairypolice station were on checkingduty when three young boyscame on a motorcycle having adefective number plate.

“Being suspicious, the policepersonnel signaled to stop thebikers. They stopped the bikeand the pillion rider tried toescape. When the police tried tocatch him, he fell and fired onConstable Sandeep while anoth-er accused also opened fireConstable Bhupender, whichluckily did not hurt them,” saidthe DCP.

“On the intervening night ofSunday-Monday, specific inputswere received that the ersoninvolved in Bhalswa Dairy firingwould be coming to Rohiniarea following which a trap waslaid,” said the DCP.

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The Delhi Police on Mondaysaid that more than 80 per

cent of its personnel havereceived the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine.

Earlier, Delhi PoliceCommissioner, S N Shrivastavahad asked the personnel of theforce to get COVID-19 vaccinejabs at the earliest, saying therehas been no instance of any sideeffects so far.

In a circular, he had notedthat Covid-19 vaccination isessential for everyone’s healthand priority is being given topersonnel till March 1.

According to a senior policeofficial, a total of 66,246 policepersonnel have got the firstdose vaccine till 7 PM on Friday.

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The Delhi Police has arrest-ed a 40-year-old man who

had allegedly attacked a DelhiPolice constable when he wentto apprehend him for harassinga woman.

The accused has been iden-tified as Shivram, a resident ofSangam Vihar in south Delhi.

According to Atul KumarThakur, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), South district, a womanhad filed a complaint againstthe man at KM Pur police sta-tion on Saturday.

“She had alleged that heabused, molested and misbe-haved with her, police said. Theaccused also threatened her ofdire consequences and forcedher to meet him. After receiv-ing the complaint, SubInspectors Komal and SandeepYadav and Constable Nehru

rushed to the spot near INAcircle where the accused hadcalled the woman to meethim,” said the DCP.

“When Shivram spottedthe presence of a police team, he ran away and jumped into a drain. ConstableNehru chased him andShivram hit him with a brickon his forehead,. The accusedwas overpowered and both heand Nehru were taken toAIIMS for treatment,” said theDCP.

“A case under relevant sec-tions of Indian Penal Code(IPC) was registered againstShivram and he was subse-quently arrested. During inves-tigation, it was revealed thataccused Shivram used to workin Civil Defence and he washarassing the woman by stalk-ing her with an intent to out-rage her modesty,” said theDCP.

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The second phase of theCovid-19 vaccination drive

began on Monday in the nation-al Capital, with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi taking the jabon the first day. The drive alsosaw several senior citizens com-ing forward to take the first shot.

Meanwhile, Dr RandeepGuleria, AIIMS Director, saidthat PM’s move to take the firstdose of Covid-19 vaccine on thevery first day of India opening upthe inoculation drive for seniorcitizens and those aged 45 andabove with comorbidities shouldeliminate any hesitancy from theminds of people about the vac-cine. The PM had received theindigenously developed Covaxinjab by Bharat Biotech around6.30 am on Monday morningafter which he was kept underobservation for half-and-hour asper protocol, after which he

left,” said the officials.“Took my first dose of the

Covid-19 vaccine at AIIMS.Remarkable how our doctorsand scientists have worked inquick time to strengthen theglobal fight against Covid-19,”the PM tweeted after taking thevaccine shot. “I appeal to allthose who are eligible to take thevaccine. Together, let us makeIndia Covid-19 free!” he said.

“AIIMS was intimatedabout the Prime Minister’svisit to the hospital to take thevaccine late Sunday night andas such no special arrange-ment was made for him,Guleria told PTI.

“As it was a week day, hechose to come early in themorning so as not to cause anyinconvenience to patients atthe hospital,” Guleria said.

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To facilitate and assistemployees who are retiring

within a year, New DelhiMunicipal Council (NDMC)has introduced a Pension HelpDesk on every first Monday ofthe month.

The Financial Advisor,Pushkal Upadhyay inauguratedthe first Pension Help Desk atNDMC Convention Centre.Inaugurating the Desk,Upadhyay said that NDMC isnot only careful for its employ-ees but continues to take care ofthem as pensioners as well. Toalleviate their problems, thecivic body will operate the deskon the first Monday of eachmonth to facilitate pensionersretiring within a year to assistthem in filling up all the forms.

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The Indian Railways has sur-passed last year’s cumulative

freight loading on 28thFebruary in spite of Covid-19challenges.

The Ministry said thatfreight figures continue tomaintain the high momentumin terms of loading, earning andspeed in the month of February2021 as well for IndianRailways. Yesterday’s loadingcrossed five million tonnes.

“As on 28 February, IndianRailways cumulative freightloading was 1102.17 milliontonnes for this year which ishigher compared to last year forthe same period (1102.1 milliontonnes). On a month to monthbasis up to February 28, theIndian Railways loading was112.25 million tonnes, which isalmost 10 per cent higher com-pared to loading up to

February 28 of last year. (102.21million tonnes),” it said.

On a day to day basis, thefreight loading of IndianRailways was 5.23 milliontonnes, which is 36 per centhigher compared to last year’sloading for the same date (3.83million tonnes).

The average speed offreight trains in the month ofFebruary 2021 was 46.09 kmphwhich is more than double as

compared to last year for thesame month (23.01 kmph). On28th February, the averagespeed of freight trains was47.51 kmph compared to 23.17kmph last year for the same datewhich is also more than double.

Also in the month ofFebruary this year, IndianRailways earned Rs. 11096.89crores from freight loadingwhich is 7.7 per cent highercompared to last year’s earnings

for the same period (Rs10305.02 crores). On 28thFebruary 2021 Indian Railwaysearned Rs 509.44 crores fromfreight loading which is 34 percent higher compared to lastyear’s earnings for the same day(Rs 378.56 crores).

It is worth mentioning thata number of concessions/dis-counts are also being given inIndian Railways to makeRailways Freight movementvery attractive. Strong emer-gence of business developmentunits in zones and divisions,constant dialogue with theindustry and logistics serviceproviders , faster speed etc areadding to the robust growth offreight business for theRailways.

It may be noted thatCOVID 19 has been used byIndian Railways as an oppor-tunity to improve all-roundefficiencies and performances.

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Delhi’s Indira GandhiInternational Airport

(IGIA) has emerged as the‘Best Airport by Size andRegion’ in Asia-Pacific for2020. The Covid-19 pandem-ic had a dramatic impact onglobal passenger traffic in 2020as well as changing customerperceptions and expectations ofthe airport experience. Despitethe challenges posed by thepandemic, DIAL showed itsefforts in providing a superiorcustomer experience undertrying circumstances.

The Airport ServiceQuality programme is theworld’s leading airport cus-tomer experience measure-ment and benchmarking pro-gramme. The ASQ Departures

programme measures passen-ger’s satisfaction across 34 keyperformance indicators. Morethan half of the world’s travellerpass through an ASQ airport.

ACI adopted the rigorousquality control process for theASQ awards programme toensure the benchmarking andfindings from the ASQ surveyremained of the highest qual-ity during the COVID-19 pan-demic.

Commenting on theachievement, Videh KumarJaipuriar, CEO-DIAL men-

tioned, “We are proud to seethe continued recognitionreceived by Delhi Airport inAirport Service Quality overthe past several years. DelhiAirport has consistently raisedthe bar in terms of service andoperational excellence. DIALhas once again consolidated itsposition on the world aviationmap. I commend the effortsmade by the employees ofDIAL and that of all stake-holders in the IGIA commu-nity. This award is a testimonyof continued improvements inpassenger-service that DelhiAirport has witnessed sinceDIAL took over its operationsin 2006. The award demon-strates DIAL’s strong focus onoperational efficiencies andresilient approach towards ser-vice delivery.

The entire 2020 was a Covidyear. Not only Delhi and

India, but also the entire worldwas going through a toughtime and everyone was fight-ing the virus. Despite variouschallenges, Delhi fought thevirus and brought down boththe positivity and death ratesdown. In the initial days,everything was new to every-one and people thought thevirus would go in summer.The lockdown was alsoextended but nothing changed.The biggest challenge was howto contain and treat the virus.

The Delhi Governmentproactively worked and adapt-ed itself to the situation andcame up with several initia-tives which brought the casesdown. The DelhiGovernment’s initiatives havebeen copied and followedwidely by the entire nation andthe world. For example, plas-ma therapy and home isola-tion, were started first byDelhi in the entire world. Thefirst plasma bank in thenational Capital was openedon July 4. Later on August 27,America also suggested plas-ma therapy for Covid 19.Similarly, home isolation wasfirst started by DelhiGovernment which largelyhelped it to control and cure

the virus and was followedwidely by other States.

Delhi Health MinisterSatyender Jain spoke to ThePioneer’s PrincipalCorrespondent Sapna Singhon various issues pertaining toDelhi’s fight against Covid-19.

Delhi Government isapproaching its target with alow corona positivity rateand zero death, what are thechallenges ahead?

The Covid-19 cases havebeen recorded less than fiveper cent in the past threemonths and since one month,the positivity rate is one to halfper cent. If it is going belowone per cent, we can say thesituation is normal because thebase is low but still Corona isunpredictable and I will appealto the masses to wear masksand follow social distancingnorms. There was a time when8,600 cases were recorded butnow the situation has beenimproved.

Challenges ahead are howto create awareness amongthe masses and to understandhow the Covid-19 is acting atdifferent stages. Along with theCentral Government, we arelearning about Corona’sbehaviour via research anddevelopment model. Certainly,

there are chal-lenges but DelhiGovernment is also ready todeal with it, be it at vaccinationor health infra.

The medical institutions inDelhi are playing pivotal rolein the Covid-19-pandemictimes but as per the economicsurvey (GNCTD) 2019-20,the number of medical insti-tutions in Delhi has increasedat low rate. Does the DelhiGovt has any plan to expandthe institutions?

At present, Delhi has10,000 beds and our target is toexpand these to 15,000, wehave started constructions ofthree new buildings and twoare purely dedicated to Covid-19 treatment facility — Burariand Ambedkar Nagar. Theseinstitutions will be fully oper-ational once the pandemic getsover. One medical institutionin Dwarka would have startedfunctioning but covid outbreakhalted the project. We haveAIIMS-like institutions, forinstance, GB Pant. I would saythat our institutions are betterthan those of Centre. Getting

treatment in AIIMS orSafdarjung is a tedious processbut in our hospitals, people geteasier, faster and timely treat-ment.

Despite the fact that Delhi’spopulation has been increas-ing at the rate of 10 per centin every five years, how theAam Aadmi Party (AAP)dispensation will providehealth services to its citi-zens, when the bed ratio is

still 2.94 per thousand pop-ulation against the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO)prescribed standards – fivebeds per thousand?

Delhi Government is cre-ating the best health infra-structure in the world. If we goby the WHO standards, weshould compare Delhi withother Indian States, and notonly India, at the global arenafor the coronavirus treatment,we have provided best treat-

ment by increasing bed num-bers. Delhi’s health model is toptreating Covid, and we arebeing widely appreciated atinternational level.

The AAP Government hasincreased its health budgetfrom 11.54 per cent in 2013-14 to 14.89 per cent in 2018-19 as per the economic sur-vey report (GNCTD) 2019-20. However, there are coreareas in health sector where

PPP model plays a crucialrole. For instance, DelhiGovernment has joinedhands with the private play-ers for providing Dialysisser vices. How does theGovernment help commoncitizens with low cost treat-ment having a major stake inprivate entities in criticalhealth infra.. as we have seenin Corona times?

Health is our priority andthis year too, the health budgetwill be higher than the previ-ous one. Our focus will remainon health. We have a transpar-ent system where patients cancheck the availability of beds.For instance, at present, out of5,700 beds, 399 beds are occu-pied and 5,363 are still free forCovid treatment. The DelhiGovernment is ready to dealwith any circumstancesbecause our objective is clearand that is to provide basichealth facilities to our people.

Delhi Government hasjoined hands with private hos-pitals. Though we cannotmake a dedicated facility fordialysis, Government providesfree such treatments for theEconomically Weaker Section(EWS) in private hospitalsalso. LNJP and Rajiv GandhiSuper Speciality Hospitals havebeen established to treat life

threatening diseases.In the digital era when DelhiGovernment will soon turnout to be one State to have acloud-based well-beingadministration system as thefacility in healthcare serviceswith the induction of HealthInformation ManagementSystem (HIMS), how is theAAP Government ready forthis?

The Delhi Government isready for the digital transfor-mation, for it will save timeand will help medical staff toprovide faster treatment hav-ing history details of patients.With a cloud base system, theinformation and medicationwill work hand in hand thuswill help in both ways.

With 338 Mohalla clinics(Pilot + regular), the AAPclaims revolution in healthcare services. Do you thinkthese clinics may reduce thepatients load in big hospitals?

Definitely, the impact willbe visible after the number ofthe clinics reach upto 1,000.Presently, on an average,50,000 people visit OPDs inthese Mohalla clinics acrossDelhi. If patients get timely,needy and speedy treatmentnearby, it will certainly reducethe burden on bigger hospitals.

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A30-year-old man wasallegedly killed while his

brother suffered injuries afterthey objected to a youth ridinghis motorcycle rashly in theBindapur area in Delhi’sDwarka area. Police said theyhave arrested three men inconnection with the incidentand the weapon used in com-mission of the crime has alsobeen recovered.

The deceased has beenidentified as Suraj PrakashSingh while his brotherChander (28) is still undergo-ing treatment at the local hos-pital.

According to a seniorpolice official, the incident tookplace on Sunday night whenSuraj along with his brotherChander were on the way tobuy fish from a nearby market.

“They objected to a manriding his bike rashly. The twosides got into a heated argu-ment and the motorcyclistcalled his associates and

attacked the brothers with aknife,” said the senior policeofficial.

“Suraj died during thecourse of treatment at the DeenDayal Upadhyay (DDU) hos-pital and his brother Chanderis stated to be out of danger.Chander, in his complaint toldpolice that one Kaku was rid-ing his bike rashly. When heobjected, they both had a heat-ed argument following whichKaku called his associates. Hethen attacked Chander and hisbrother with a knife,” he said.

“Police has registered acase under relevant sections ofIndian Penal Code (IPC) atBindapur police station andthree accused have been arrest-ed in connection with the inci-dent,” said Santosh KumarMeena, the DeputyCommissioner of Police (DCP),Dwarka district. The arrestedaccused have been identified asPiyush Sharma (19) alias Kakuand his associates SandeepSharma (31) and Shiv Narayan(32), police said.

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1. Formation of a special police force, BastarTigers, in all districts of Bastar division2. Establishment of "C-Mart" store to makeChhattisgarhi arts, crafts, forest produce, agri-culture and all other types of products andcuisines available under one roof3. Setting up rural industrial park similar toPauni Pasari scheme in cities4. Fisheries to get same status as agriculture

5. Four new development boards constituted torevive traditional rural business skills -

Telghani, leather craftsman, ironcraftsman and Razakar

Development Board6. New justice scheme will belaunched for rural agricultural

landless labourers7. "Shaheed MahendraKarma Tendu Patta

Collector Social SecurityScheme" for Tendu Pattacollector families8. Assistance of `5 lakhto journalists on acci-

dental death9. Lump sum assistance of

`5,000 to women underKaushalya Maternity Scheme onbirth of second girl child10. Mukhyamantri DharsaDevelopment Scheme to facilitatefarmers to reach the fields11. Establishment of ChhattisgarhCultural Zone on the lines ofBharat Bhawan, Bhopal, in NavaRaipur.12. Provision of `30 crores forShri Ram Vangaman tourismcomplex13. 119 new English schoolsunder Swami Atmanand EnglishMedium School Scheme14. Establishment of NationalLevel Boarding School at NavaRaipur15. Provision of `5.85 crores for

Padhna Likhna Abhiyan Yojana16. Establishment of 7 new colleges

17. Graduation courses started in 14colleges and PG courses in 15 colleges18. Establishment of 9 boys and 9 newgirls hostels19. Building 6 new colleges20. Establishment of 2 new ITIs21. Provision of new items totalling `504crores for construction of 12 railway

overbridges, 151 new bridges, 585 roads22. Provision of `12 crore for constructionof 104 roads and 116 bridges in Naxalite

affected rural areas.23. Provision of `300 crore for new

irrigation schemes24. Provision of 45 crores for newwater supply schemes in urbanareas

25. Establishment of Gems andJewellery Park at Pandri Raipur

26. Provision for extension of electric line to facilitate irrigation of fields along rivers27. Establishment of Bio Ethanol Exhibition Site Plant in Village Godhi, Bemetara28. Establishment of 11 new tehsils and 5 new subdivisions29. Creation of 2,200 new posts of women home guards in girls hostels, ashrams30. Government takes over Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College Durg31. Provision of `5,703 crore for Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana32. Provision of 2,500 crore under Krishak Jeevan Jyoti Yojana33. `150 crores for energization of agricultural pumps, provision of 530 crores under Saur Sujala.34. Target set for disbursement of Short-term agricultural loan worth `5,900 crore

without interest to farmers35. Provision of `175 crores for Godhan Nyaya Yojana36. Establishment of state level helpdesk centre for unorganized workers37. Provision of `150 crores for Chhattisgarh Roads and Infrastructure Development

Corporation for construction of 3,900 km long roads and bridges costing 5,225 crore38. Provision of `100 crores for Mukhyamantri Sugam Sadak Yojana39. Provision of `940 crores for 24 roads of length of 825 km in the ADB Phase-3 project.40. Provision of `152 crores for 4 major irrigation projects Arpa Bhaisajhar, Kelo, Rajiv

Samoda Diversion and Sandhur41. Monthly Stationery Allowance of Patwaris increased by `25042. Honorarium of Swachhta Didis to be increased from `5,000 to `6,00043. A provision of `300 crores for the construction of new medical colleges Kanker, Korba

and Mahasamund44. Establishment of

C o m m u n i t yHealth Centre atSanna, Jashpur,Sh iv r i n ar ay an -Janjgir and 30 bedhospital at Risali-Bhilai

45. Provision of 13crores for the ChiefMinister Haat BazarClinic Scheme

RAIPUR | TUESDAY | MARCH 2, 2021

chhattisgarh 03

Notice Inviting Expression of Interest (EoI)EoI No.20/2021 System No-72003

Subject: Inviting EoI for Rate Contract for Item of Survey andpreparation of Details Project Report

On behalf of District Water and Sanitation Mission, District SurajpurThe Executive Engineer, PHE District Surajpur invites Expression of Interest(Eol) for the following item of Survey and preparation of Detailed ProjectReports for Retrofitting/ Single Village Scheme from the registered firmshaving experience of similar nature of work. The firms may submit their offerfor the Rate contract for item of survey and preparation of Detailed ProjectReports works under PHE District Surajpur Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM),Chhattisgarh, subject to fulfillment of required eligibility criteria.

1. Name of the Work:-

Quantity of works - 500Remarks - The rates of all items (1 to 4) should be inclusive of, the cost of all

equipment's, man power, transportation, data collection, drawingsand cost of all software required for completing all the activitiesrelated to survey

The detailed EoI document will be available in the e-procurement portalhttps://eproc.cgstate.gov.in . Bids are to be submitted online in the portalhttps://eproc.cgstate.gov.in on or before 17:30 hrs of 15.03.2021 In no casemanual EoI will be entertained.

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEERPUBLIC HEALTH ENGINEERING DIV. SURAJPUR

DISTT. SURAJPUR (C.G.)

Executive Engineer, Public Health Engineering Division

Surajpur (C.G.)G- 87463/4 Ryp/Dtd 1.3.21

Sr.No.

Description of work

1 21 Carrying out topographical survey Total station survey and review of the

data available for survey work and planning of the schemes for water supplyschemes under and as per the guidelines of Jal Jeevan Mission and CG PHE.

2 Preparation of detailed designs of all the components of the SVS andpreparation of cost estimates based on CG PHE USOR-2020 Calculation ofannual maintenance cost and other standard features of the SVS andformulation of salient features and report for the complete water supply scheme.

3 Preparation of drawings such as Index plan, key plan, flow diagram, plottingand corcections to the L sections provided by PHED/service provider.Preparing the BOQ of all the components os per the instructions ofEngineer in Charge. Submission of the scheme in soft copy & 5 hard copies

4 Preparation of power point presentation, compliance of the remarks till thefinat approval

Tender Notice(1st Call)

Contractors, Registered appropriate class in UnifiedRegistration System [e-Registration] invited Online tenders forthe following works :-

Last date of tender Download up to 18.03.2021 17:30 PMNote :- All eligible/interested contractors are mandatedto get enrolled on the e-Procurement portal(https://eproc.cgstate.gov.in) in order to download the tenderdocuments and participate in the subsequent bidding process.

OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEERPUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, CIRCLE NO-1 RAIPUR (C.G.)

Superintending EngineerP.W.D. Raipur Circle No-1

Raipur (C.G.)G- 87442/4 Ryp/Dtd 1.3.21

NIT No./System

Tender No.

Name of Work Probableamount of

contract1 2 3

169/71036 WHITE WASHING, COLOUR WASHING,PUTTY, DISTEMPERING & PAINTINGWORK IN, MEKAHARA HOSPITALSECTION RAIPUR (C.G.)

Rs. 30.00Lakh

170/71037 WHITE WASHING/COLOUR WASHING, INR.B. & N.R.B. UNDER CONST. SUB-DN.NO.-2 RAIPUR

Rs. 25.00Lakh

Budget Highlights 2021-22

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

Chhattisgarh annual budgetpresented by Chief

Minister Bhupesh Baghel onMonday was well received onthe Twitter.

After Baghel tabled thebudget in the Assembly,#CGBudget2021 began totweet and soon the hashtagwas on top in Twitter’s Indiatrends for about three hours, apress release said.

A total of 28,314 tweetswere seen on the microblogging website and it

reached around 88 lakhpeople. Ministers, MLAs andpublic representatives acrossthe country tweeted about thebudget.

People appreciated theprovisions for three newmedical colleges andprovisions for employmentopportunities in rural areas.Also welcomed wereannouncements related toinfrastructure development,roads and bridges in Naxaliteareas, opening of 119 Englishmedium schools and 10 newcolleges.

C’garh budget trends on Twitter

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

Thirteen transgenders havebeen recruited as consta-

bles in the ChhattisgarhPolice.

They include DeepikaYadav, Shree Sahu, NishuKshatriya, Shivanya Patel,Naina Sori, Sonia Janghel,Krishi Tandi and SaburiYadav from Raipur district.

The others are, SunilYadav from Bilaspur, KomalSahu from Dhamtari,Akshara from Ambikapurand Kamta and Neha fromRajnandgaon districts.

Their selection followedthe recruitment of 2,259police constables in the examheld in 2017-18. While, Dollyfrom Rajnandgaon and RuchiYadav from Bilaspur district

are on the waiting list. Vidya Rajput, a Member

of Third Gender WelfareBoard in the government,told The Pioneer that due tostigma, people excluded

transgenders from family andsociety.

Now a message has gonethat the transgender commu-nity too can perform like any-one else and that they too are

entitled to a respectable life.She expressed her grati-

tude to the Chhattisgarh gov-ernment and police.

One of the constables,Krishi Tandi, said: "I am veryhappy today. I have no wordsto express my happiness. All13 of us worked very hard forthis exam."

"This was an opportunitythat can change our lives. Soeveryone worked hard dayand night," Tandi said.

Komal Sahu added: "Thisnews is still unbelievable tome because I never thought Iwill ever get a reputed job andrespect in society."

Of total, 2259 post, 2038including 1736 men, 289women and 13 transgendershave been selected and twotransgenders are in waitingwhereas 221 posts are vacant.

Vishwanath invitesCM to megacricket event

RAIPUR: Renowned Indian crick-eter Gundappa Vishwanath onMonday paid a courtesy call onChhattisgarh Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel and invited him tothe opening ceremony of the RoadSafety World Series Cricket Leagueon March 5.

The tournament will be heldfrom March 5 to 21 at the ShaheedVeer Narayan Singh InternationalCricket Stadium in Nava Raipur. Atotal of 15 matches will be organ-ized, with leading players from vari-ous countries taking part.

Vishwanath invited the ChiefMinister for the opening ceremonyand presented him the first ticket ofthe match. He also gifted a bat as amemento.

Transgenders to don ‘khaki’ in C’garh


Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh'ssecond largest city, joined

India's air map on Mondayas Chief Minister BhupeshBaghel virtually launchedthe first flight connectingNew Delhi.

"Today is a very impor-tant day for Chhattisgarh,"Baghel said on the occasionat the Bilasa Devi KewatAirport (Chakarbhatha)."The old dream of connect-ing Bilaspur by air has cometrue."

Baghel joined the inau-guration from his office inthe Assembly premises. Theceremony was presided overby Union Aviation MinisterHardeep Singh Puri.

Assembly Speaker Dr.Charandas Mahant,Agriculture and WaterResources Minister RavindraChaubey, other cabinet min-isters and MLAs were present.

The Chief Minister said

various organizations, civilsociety and the state govern-ment have been making con-sistent efforts to get Bilaspuron the air map.

He praised Puri for act-ing promptly so that theflight could start within amonth.

Baghel said the people ofthe region will be able totravel to New Delhi, Jabalpurin Madhya Pradesh andPrayagraj in Uttar Pradesh.

He urged Puri to start aninternational air servicefrom Raipur, saying theRaipur Airport has beendeveloped for internationalflights. He also sought flights

to Dehradun and Ranchi.He also that if the airline

starts a morning flight afternight stay, the governmentwill reduce the rate of VATon ATF in Chhattisgarh.Currently, 4 percent VAT isapplicable on ATF.

Puri said that with theintroduction of this air serv-ice, business and tourismwill flourish in this region.

He said `130 croreshave been spent on thedevelopment of the SwamiVivekananda Airport inRaipur. Construction of anew terminal buildingin Raipur is underconsideration.

The Chief Ministerinteracted with the passen-gers of Bilaspur traveling onthe first flight.

Two flights of aircraft(72 seating) will operatefrom Bilaspur to Delhi onMondays, Wednesdays,Fridays and Sundays.

The first flight will leaveDelhi and reach Bilaspur at3.20 am via Jabalpur andreturn to Delhi fromBilaspur at 3.45 pm viaPrayagraj. The second flightwill reach Bilaspur fromDelhi at 4 pm via Prayagrajand will go from Bilaspur toNew Delhi via Jabalpur at4.30 pm.

CM launches first flightservice from Bilaspur


The coronavirus vaccina-tion for the elderly began

in Chhattisgarh on Monday,the Health Department said.

“The vaccine was receivedby elderly people. By Mondayevening, 3,259 persons hadreceived vaccine shots,” saidDr Amar Singh, theImmunization Officer.

No case of side effects wasreported, Dr Amar said,adding health and frontlineworkers who were left out alsoreceived the vaccine shot.

Vaccination of peoplebetween 45 and 59 years alsostarted. These people have topresent a certificate ofco-morbidity signed by a reg-istered medical practitioner.

In all, 509 people between

45 to 59 years received thefirst dose of vaccine, DrThakur said.

Chhattisgarh has set a tar-get of vaccinating 30 lakh eld-erly people.

Health officials said thatfor vaccination Aadhar card isthe most preferred identityproof document. Apart fromAadhar voter id, passport,PAN card, pension docu-ments or any other photo idcard issued by the competentauthority is acceptable.

Covid vaccine is free ofcost in government hospitalswhile private hospitals willcharge `250.

The Health Departmenthas appealed to people whohave received the first dose ofCovid vaccine to strictlyfollow Covid appropriatebehaviour. It is fully effectiveonly after the second dose ofvaccine is taken.

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

Commotion enveloped theChhattisgarh Assembly on

Monday after opposition mem-bers strongly backed CongressMLA Santram Netam when healleged corruption in the pro-curement of computers andaccessories in the TribalWelfare Department.

The opposition demandeda probe by a JointParliamentary Committee oran investigation to be led by aMinister or a senior officer.Tribal Welfare minister DrPremsai Singh Tekam promisedto look into the matter.

It was during Question Hourthat MLA Netam raised the issueof procurement of computers,printers, photocopy machinesand projectors and sought toknow the details of paymentmade to various agencies.

Minister Tekam repliedthat no payment was made tofive agencies when their

equipment did not pass thespecifications test. The orderswere cancelled. A process is onto blacklist them.

One agency cleared thequality check but the paymentwas pending, Tekam said.

The Tribal Commissionerhad written on September 2,2020 that irregularities areinvolved but after three monthsdenied this was so, said Netam

Leader of OppositionDharamlal Kaushik said since aruling party member is raisingcorruption charges, a thoroughprobe should be held.Dharamjeet Singh (JCC-J) alsosought a probe.

Parliamentary AffairsMinister Ravindra Choubeyintervened saying membersshould not paint all executivesin bad colour. But as theCongress MLA and oppositionmembers stood up seeking aprobe, Minister Tekam pledgedto look into the matter.

Opposition backs CongMLA over corruption

Covid vaccination forelderly begins in C’garh

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The Supreme Court, hearingan appeal against a Calcutta

High Court order allowing CBIprobe into an alleged coal min-ing and transportation case,Monday said it would firstexamine a legal issue whetheran intra-court appeal can beentertained by the high court ina criminal matter against anorder of a single judge bench.

A bench headed by JusticeD Y Chandrachud, meanwhile,granted time to CBI to file itsresponse to the appeal of AnupMajee, the director of a com-pany engaged in purchase andsale of the dry fuel, which is anaccused in a case of alleged ille-gal coal trading in the Asansol-Raniganj belt of West Bengal.

Majee, in his plea, has chal-lenged the Calcutta High Courtorder which allowed the CBI toinvestigate a case of alleged ille-gal mining and transportationof coal in West Bengal withoutthe State’s consent.

In the proceedings con-ducted through video confer-encing, the bench, also com-prising Justice M R Shah,referred to an earlier judgementin which it was held that a let-ter patent appeal (LPA), alsoknown as intra-court appeal,would lie in the high courtagainst the order of a singlejudge bench in a criminal case.

“We are concerned with theissue of maintainability of LPAbefore the division bench. Weare not concerned with subse-quent development,” the bench

said. It adjourned the hearing on

Majee’s plea to March 10 afteraccepting the request ofSolicitor General Tushar Mehtawho was representing the CBI.

Earlier, the bench hadissued notices to Centre andCBI and had sought theirresponse by March 1 on the pleawhich claimed that the centralprobe agency lacked jurisdic-tion to lodge an FIR in the caseafter the withdrawal of gener-al consent by the West BengalGovernment in 2018.

It, however, had refused togrant protection to Majee.

Senior advocate A MSinghvi, appearing for WestBengal government, had saidthat he supported the con-tention of Majee on the ques-tion of law as there was no con-sent given to the CBI to inves-tigate the case after West Bengalwithdrew its general consent.

On February 12, a divisionbench of the Calcutta HighCourt had stayed a single benchorder that had restricted a CBIinvestigation into alleged illegalmining and transportation ofcoal to just “railway areas” of thestate and rejected the plea ofMajee for grant of protectionfrom any coercive actionagainst him.

It has been observed that ifthe process of investigation isstalled at this stage, material evi-dence which may have to becollected can get lost and theaccused may be able to achievethe objective for which “frivo-lous litigation” has been filed.

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Five States—Maharashtra,Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka,

Tamil Nadu and Gujarat —continue to cause serious con-cern for the Centre by showinga consistent surge in newCovid-19 cases. Put together,they contributed 84 per cent ofthe 15,510 fresh infectionsreported in a day on Monday.

The Union HealthMinistry said on Monday,India’s total number of activeCovid-19 cases was recorded at1,68,627, comprising 1.52 percent of the total infections.

Maharashtra aloneaccounts for 46.39 per cent ofIndia’s total active cases, fol-lowed by Kerala with 29.49 percent. “A total of 15 states andunion territories have regis-tered more than 1,000 active

cases. Kerala and Maharashtraare the two states with over10,000 active cases, while therest of the 13 States and UTshave between 1,000-10,000active cases,” the Ministry said.

The total number of caseswith the UK, South Africa andBrazil variants of SARS-CoV-2 in the country as on date hasreached 213, the Ministry said.

A total 15,510 new caseswere registered in a span of 24hours. Maharashtra continuesto report the highest daily newcases at 8,293, followed byKerala with 3,254 cases whilePunjab has reported 579 newcases.

The Centre is continuous-ly engaging with the states andunion territories manifestinghigher number of active casesand those reporting a rise in thedaily new Covid-19 cases.

States and UTs have beenadvised to maintain a contin-ued rigorous vigil for contain-ing the spread of COVID-19.Need for effective testing, com-prehensive tracking, promptisolation of positive cases andquick quarantine of close con-

tacts are strongly emphasised,the Ministry said.

“Eight states are displayingan upward trajectory in thedaily new cases,” it underlined.

So far, a total of 1,43,01,266vaccine doses have beenadministered to beneficiaries

through 2,92,312 sessions.These include the first dose to66,69,985 healthcare workers,second dose to 24,56,191healthcare workers and51,75,090 frontline workerswho have taken the first dose.

“The next phase ofCOVID-19 vaccination hascommenced from today forthose who are over 60 years ofage and for people aged 45 andabove with specified comorbidconditions.

“A simplified process ofregistration has been set up,whereby potential beneficiariescan have the option of advanceself-registration, on-site regis-tration or facilitated cohortregistration,” the ministry said.

Five States account for86.79 per cent of the newdeaths. Maharashtra saw themaximum casualties of 62deaths. Kerala followed with 15daily deaths and Punjab hasreported seven fatalities in aspan of 24 hours.

A total of 20 States and UTshave not reported any Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours.

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Politics erupted over PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s

vaccination on Monday as theOpposition accused him ofusing the occasion for electoralgains while the BJP sought thenation to “speak in one voice”in the battle against coron-avirus and sought theOpposition to not to come upwith “wild theories” and politi-cise the vaccination drive

Politcising Modi gettinghis first vaccine dose in the sec-ond-phase scheduled for seniorcitizens, Trinamool CongressMP Shantanu Sen claimed thatthe Prime Minister’s jab was“publicity” adding,“Photograph is more importantthan protocol”.

Commenting on Modi’s“changed appearance”, heclaimed that the PM’s “newlygrown Rabindrik beard”would have become invisibleif he had worn a mask. Adding‘God save India’, theTrinamool MP added thatMamata Banerjee was “savingBengal”.

Several other politicianslike Congress’s Adhir RanjanChowdhury and SP’s Akhilesh

Yadav have politicised vacci-nation as a BJP “stunt”.

Chowdhury said, “In PM’sinoculation visuals, there wasgamcha of Assam, and nurs-es who vaccinated him werefrom Kerala and Puducherry”.

Kicking off part-2 ofIndia’s Covid vaccination pro-gramme, Prime Minister Modi received hisfirst jab of the vaccine onMonday at All India Instituteof Medical Sciences in NewDelhi, sporting an AssameseGamcha.

He got a jabb by nurses-Sister Niveda & sisterRosamma hail ing fromPuducherry and Tamil Nadurespectively.

The event soon turnedinto political name calling inthe backdrop of high pitchpoll campaigns in five States,including Bengal, Assam andTamil Nadu and Kerala,going for Assembly electionsby the march-end and thenext month.

BJP hits back with UnionMinister Ravi Shankar Prasadstressing the need to speak inone voice to battle-out coro-navirus pandemic as BJPpresident JP Nadda demand-

ed that the Opposition shouldstop resorting to “ wild theo-ries” to crit icise Indianachievement.

Prasad said Modi hadworn Assamese gamcha andMundu last year when hehad appealed to light a lampto fight corona. “Than therewere no elections”, Prasadsaid and taking a swipe upsuggested to Chowdhury to “wear all Bengali symbolswhen he gets himself vacci-nated “.

BJP chief said that theOpposition party comes upwith “wild theories” to ridculeIndia’s achievements.

“Congress and theOpposition is not proud ofanything Indian. They shouldintrospect about how theirlies on the COVID-19 vaccinewill be used by vested inter-est groups for their own agen-das. People of India havebeen rejecting such politicsand will keep doing so in thefuture”, Nadda tweeted.

Union aviation ministerHardeep Singh Puri also tooka swipe at the oppositionleaders, saying they are on aquest for permanent politicalmarginalisation.

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Farmer ProcessingOrganisation (FPO)

‘Krishak Utpadak SanghthanEvam Audyanik ViparanSahkari Samiti’ from UttarPradesh’s Varanasi, PrimeMinister’s ParliamentaryConstituency has become thecountry’s first agricultural enti-ty to be registered under theambit of the CooperativeSocieties Act.

Generally, the FPOs areregistered under theCompanies Act. But, this is thefirst time that such an entity hasbeen established under theCooperative Societies Act asthe part of the Government’sCentral Sector Scheme titled“Formation and Promotion ofFarmer ProducerOrganizations (FPOs)” to formand promote 10,000 new FPOs.More FPOs are on the wayunder the scheme.

One of the implementingagencies of the scheme, theNational CooperativeDevelopment Cooperation(NCDC), an apex finance enti-ty under the Union AgricultureMinistry, will handhold theVaranasi-based FPO for nextfive years in helping it settingup the multi-service center

facilities for mushroom pro-duction and cultivation whilethe green chilli drying systemwill be equipped with dryerswith vacuum nitrogen dryingcapacities. It was registered onFebruary 26, 2021, as part ofthe ‘Formation and Promotionof Farmer ProducerOrganizations (FPOs)’ schemewhich was launched by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onFebruary 29, last year.

It aims at bringing smalland marginal farmers on abigger platform as a joint enti-ty to help them become ‘aat-manirbhar’ (self-reliant) in thelong run.

On the occasion of thefirst anniversary of the schemeon Monday, UnionAgriculture Minister,Narendra Singh Tomar tweet-ed that FPOs will help toimprove the rural economyand create employmentopportunities for rural sectorin the villages itself and thiswill prevent migration tocities. Later at an event online,Parshottam Rupala, UnionMinister of State forAgriculture and FarmerWelfare termed the FPOs’scheme as a game changer inthe country’s agricultureecosystem and said that “FPOswill make farming more viable

by aggregating land. ““Formation of FPOs is

not just a scheme but it is aplan to give a new dimensionto Indian Agriculture in anew India. We will ensure thateach FPO is a role model initself,” he said at the eventwhich was also attended byKailash Choudhary, UnionMinister of State forAgriculture and FarmerWelfare besides senior officialsfrom the concerned depart-ments from the Ministry andimplementing agencies likeNABARD.

Sanjay Agrawal, UnionAgriculture Secretary said thatin each block there should bean FPO which acts as catalystfor institutional infrastruc-ture while Sundeep Nayak,Managing Director of theNCDC, said that the farmersin the country are keen to setup FPOs as it will help themboost their income and makethem self-sustaining.

“This is just the begin-ning”, he said adding thatmore than 2200 FPOs produceclusters have been allocated forthe formation of FPOs in thecurrent year. “TheGovernment aims at trans-forming agriculture into a sus-tainable enterprise throughFPOs,” Nayak said.

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With 2,000 assessors whowill go on the field to

assess the performance of citiesthis time, the Ministry ofHousing and Urban Affairs(HUA) on Monday launchedthe field assessment ofSwachchh Survekshan (SS)2021, which is dubbed as theworld largest cleanliness drive.

Launching the sixth editionof the SS 2021, Durga ShankarMishra, Secretary, Ministry ofHUA said that this year SwachhSurvekshan will get over 3crore citizen feedback throughvarious platforms and focuswould be on parameters per-taining to wastewater treat-ment and reuse along withfaecal sludge. Similarly, thecrucial issues of legacy wastemanagement and remediationof landfills have also beenbrought to the fore in this edi-tion of Survekshan.

Every year, the on-fieldassessments for SS takes placebetween January 4-31.However, the same had beendelayed by two months due tothe COVID pandemic and willnow be conducted between 1-28 March 2021. The secondphase of SBM-U for a period of5 years (2021-26) has recentlybeen announced in the UnionBudget of 2021.

Speaking at the webinar,Mishra said, “SS has led to aspirit of healthy competitionamong cities and towns ofIndia. The journey that startedin 2016 with only 73 cities withmillion plus population hasgrown manifold, with 434 citiesin 2017, 4,203 cities in 2018,4,237 cities in 2019 and 4,242cities in SS 2020, including 62Cantonment Boards. Citieshave been regularly filling intheir data, updating theirprogress in the MIS along withrunning several citizen centriccampaigns in preparation of SS2021. Today, we are happy toformally kick off the survey asmore than 2,000 assessors getready to go on the field to assessthe performance of cities”.

The Swach Survekshan wasintroduced by MoHUA in 2016as a competitive framework toencourage cities to improve thestatus of urban sanitation while

encouraging large scale citizenparticipation.

Since its launch in 2014,Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban(SBM-U) has made significantprogress in the area of bothsanitation and solid waste man-agement. 4,360 Urban ULBshave been declared ODF, 2158cities certified ODF+ and 551cities certified ODF++.Moreover, 66 lakhs individualhousehold toilets and over 6lakhs community/ public toiletshave been constructed/ or areunder construction.Additionally, nearly 60,000 toi-lets across 2,900+ cities havebeen made live on GoogleMaps. In the area of solidwaste management, 97% ofwards have 100% door-to doorcollection while 68% of thetotal waste generated is beingprocessed. A total of six citieshave been certified as 5 Star, 86as 3 star and 65 as 1 star underthe Star Rating Protocol forGarbage Free Cities.

The next phase of theMission will focus extensivelyon aspects of sustainable san-itation including faecal sludgeand wastewater management,along with holistic solid wastemanagement with a focus oncurbing and ultimately elimi-nating the use of single-useplastic (SUP), reducing air pol-lution through effective man-agement of construction &demolition waste, and reducingsoil pollution through remedi-ation of legacy dumpsites.

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“Are you willing to marryher,” was the question

posed to a public servant, whois accused of repeatedly rap-ing a minor girl but when theSupreme Court on Mondaywas told that he is alreadymarried he was asked to seekregular bail from the courtconcerned.

A Bench headed by ChiefJustice S A Bobde was hear-ing a plea filed by the accusedwho is serving as a technicianin Maharashtra StateElectr icity ProductionCompany Ltd and has movedthe apex court against theBombay High Court February5 order which had cancelledthe anticipatory bail grantedto him in the case.

When the hearing com-menced, the bench also com-prising Justices AS Bopannaand V Ramasubramanian,asked the accused “Are youwilling to marry her?”

“If you are willing tomarry her then we can con-sider it, otherwise you will goto jail,” observed the benchadding “We are not forcing

you to marry.”After taking instructions

on the query posed by thebench, the counsel appearingfor the petitioner, said theaccused was initially willingto marry the girl but she hadrefused and now he was married to someone else.

As the counsel said thatthe accused is a public ser-vant, the bench said, “Youshould have thought thisbefore seducing and rapingthe girl. You knew that youare a government servant”.

The counsel said thatcharges in the case are yet tobe framed.

“You apply for regularbail. We will stay arrest,” thebench said.

The apex court grantedthe accused protection fromarrest for four weeks.

The top court was hearinga plea filed by the accusedagainst the Bombay High Court’s February 5 ordercancelling the anticipatorybail granted to him by thetrial court in January lastyear.

He has also been accusedof offences punishable underthe Protection of Childrenfrom Sexual Offences(POCSO) Act.

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Aplea challenging the ElectionCommission’s decision to

conduct Assembly elections overeight phases in West Bengalwas filed in the Supreme Courton Monday.

The plea, filed by lawyer ML Sharma, seeks the apex court’sdirection to the poll panel to stopit from conducting eight-phaseelections in the State as it violatesArticle 14 (right to life) andArticle 21 (right to life) of theConstitution.

On February 26, theElection Commissionannounced the schedule forassembly elections to be held inWest Bengal, Assam, Kerala,Tamil Nadu and in Puducherry.While the Trinamool CongressParty-led West Bengal will haveelections over eight rounds fromMarch 27-April 29, polling inTamil Nadu, Kerala andPuducherry will be held in onephase on April 6 and in Assamover three phases.

The plea, which may comeup for hearing in few days, alsoseeks a direction to the CBI toregister an FIR into the allegedchanting of religious slogansduring electioneering in WestBengal.

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The NIA on Monday arrest-ed four alleged drug traf-

fickers from Srinagar in con-nection with the HandwaraNarco-Terrorism Case.

The arrested accused areAltaf Ahmed Shah(Dangherpora , KheerBhawani, Ganderbal, Jammuand Kashmir) ShowkatAhmad Parray (ParrayMohalla, Wangipora Sumbal,Bandipora, J&K), MudasirAhmad Dar (Wanduna,Shopian, J & K) and Amin

Allaie alias Hilal Mir (NearPetrol Pump, Shan-e-KashmirNational Highway Sangam,Bijbehera, Anantnag, J&K).

The case relates to seizureof 21 kg of heroin and cashamount of Rs 1,35,89,850from the members of a drugssyndicate operating in theValley.

The case was initially reg-istered as FIR No. 183/2020dated June 11, 2020 atHandwara in Kupwara districtwherein during checking ofvehicles at Kairo Bridge,Handwara, accused Abdul

Momin Peer’s Hyundai Cretavehicle was intercepted bypolice at a naka and during

search Rs 20 Lakhs along withtwo kg heroin was recoveredand seized.

The NIA had re-regis-tered the case on June 23 lastyear and took up the investi-gation of the case. Achargesheet was filed in theinstant case on December 5,2020 against six accused per-sons before the NIA SpecialCourt, Jammu.

Investigation so far hasrevealed that the accused per-sons were involved in cross-border smuggling of heroin inhuge quantities from Pakistanand were supplying the samein J&K and other parts of thecountry, the NIA said.

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Patna: A 20-year-old youthhas been arrested by the Biharpolice for allegedly raping athree-year-old girl in the state'sJamui district on Monday.

The accused has been iden-tified as Hareram Manjhi, whois a native of Dhamana villagenear the Aliganj police stationin Jamui district.

He had come to Khutaunavillage to attend the marriageof his cousin brother. Manjhispotted the victim who wasplaying outside her house atnearly 9 a.m. He lifted her andtook her to a nearby desertedhouse and raped her. The vic-tim's screams were not heardby anybody due to the loudmusic being played at the mar-riage venue nearby.

After committing thecrime, Manjhi tried to fleefrom the village but the vil-

lagers became suspicious andcaught him.

They found the girl lying inthe deserted house, bleedingprofusely. Following this, thevillagers handed Manjhi over tothe police. Pramod KumarMandal, Superintendent ofPolice (SP) of Jamui districtsaid, “We have registered anFIR under the POCSO Act andarrested the accused. He hasbeen sent to judicial custody.”

“We will soon file achargesheet in the matter andare committed to bring up thematter in a fast track court forspeedy justice,” Mandal said. IANS

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Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath saidon Monday that hisGovernment has accorded toppriority to the development ofthe Jewar International Airportin Noida.

He said that despite theCovid-19 pandemic, the speed,transparency and execution asper the schedule of this projecthas demonstrated the newwork culture of the state. It hasbeen decided to increase thenumber of airstrips from two tosix at this airport, he informed.

The Chief Minister alsoappreciated the work of theZurich Airport InternationalAG, a developer selected forJewar airport, and assured theirrepresentatives of all possiblehelp to be provided by the gov-ernment.

Adityanath was reviewingthe progress of the project onMonday on the occasion of thesigning of the 'state supportagreement' between Yamuna

International Airport PrivateLimited and NoidaInternational Airport Limited,constituted by Zurich AirportInternational AG, the chosendeveloper for Jewar airport.

The Chief Minister recalledthat the Jewar airport projectwas lying pending with the pre-vious governments for almost30 years.

“We decided in March2017 itself that this projectwould be completed on prior-ity in the interest of the coun-try and the state,” he said.

In 2017, Lucknow andVaranasi had the only opera-tional airports in the state. Injust three years, five more air-ports, including in Gorakhpur,Hindon, Agra, Prayagraj andnow Bareilly, have becomeoperational.

There were only two inter-national airports in the coun-try's largest state (Lucknowand Varanasi), but now therewill be five international air-

ports with the addition ofJewar, Kushinagar andAyodhya to the list.

The Chief Minister saidthat he was of the view thatgood connectivity expeditesthe development process. “Theprocess of operationalisation of21 airports and seven run-ways is underway. The effort isto make Uttar Pradesh soar inthe field of civil aviation,” hestated.

Reviewing the displace-ment and subsequent rehabil-itation of the families affectedby the construction of Jewarairport, the Chief Minister saidthat dialogue should be estab-lished with these families andthey should have a better dis-placement mechanism.

He directed the concernedofficials to address this issuewithin one week, saying thatthe process of allotment ofplots to the displaced popula-tion should be conducted withcomplete transparency. IANS

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Chennai: DMK President MKStalin turned 68 on Monday andthe party marked the occasionby releasing a campaign song forthe April 6 Assembly elections.

The song titled “Stalin dancevaraaru, vidiyal than poraru”(Stalin is going to come andensure dawn) was relased bysenior DMK leaderDuraimurugan.

On Monday, Stalin paidfloral tributes at the memorialsof his father and former ChiefMinister of Tamil Nadu,Muthuvel Karunandihi, thefounder of Dravidian politics,C.N. Annadurai, besides visitingthe memorial of E.V.S. Periyar,the rationalist leader of TamilNadu. While addressing a DMKleadership meet, Stalin said thatif voted to power, he will striveto make Tamil Nadu the beststate in all spheres of life.

Several programmes,including sporting events, wereorganised by the DMK youthwing across the state to mark theoccasion.

Former Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, Congressleader Rahul Gandhi, BJP leaderKushbhu Sundar and MNMleader and Tamil superstarKamal Haasan extended theirwishes to the DMK leader on hisbirthday.

With DMK out of power inTamil Nadu since the past 10years, the onus is on Stalin toscript a grand comeback for theparty in the coming Assemblyelections. And the party con-verted his birthday celebrationsas an opportunity to connectwith the masses with pro-grammes held across all the 284constituencies in the state. IANS

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Gandhinagar: There was an average of around64% polling in the local body elections formunicipalities, district and tehsil panchayats inGujarat on Sunday. Voting for 8,473 seats inmunicipalities, 980 in district panchayats and4,773 in taluka panchayats took place across36,008 booths. The counting of votes will takeplace on March 2.

According to the State Election Commission(SEC), around 64 per cent voter turnout wasrecorded in the elections to Gujarat's 81 munic-ipalities, 31 district panchayats and 231 talukapanchayats which were held in a largely peace-ful manner.

As per the figures provided by the StateElection Commission (SEC), there was 58.82percent voter turnout across 81 municipalities,65.80 per cent in 31 district panchayats, and66.60 per cent in 231 taluka panchayats.

The average voting percentage across allthese local bodies together was around 63.74 percent.

The SEC officials said voting for 8,473 seats,comprising 2,720 in 680 wards in 81 munici-palities, 980 in 31 district panchayats and4,773 in 231 taluka panchayats took place across36,008 booths.

Out of them, 237 seats remained unopposed,

and no forms were filled for two seats in talu-ka panchayat.

The elections were held on a total 8,235 seatsfor which the BJP had fielded 8,161 candidates,Congress 7,778, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)2,090, among others, said the SEC.

Besides these, by-elections for two seats intaluka panchayats and 24 seats in municipali-ties, was also held on Sunday, where there was47.63 percent voter turnout in municipality by-elections and 68.65 per cent in taluka panchayatsby-elections.

Gujarat BJP president CR Paatil led a roadshow in Navsari, while Leader of Opposition inthe Assembly, Paresh Dhanani, took part in amotorcycle rally in Amreli. Aam Aadmi Partyhead and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwalsought votes during a road show in Surat on thelast day of campaigning on Friday.

For the first time, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) has fieldedcandidates in minority-dominated seats inGodhra, Modasa and Bharuch municipalities.

According to the Director General of PoliceAshish Bhatia, over 44,000 policemen along with54,000 Home Guards were deployed to ensureincident-free voting on Sunday. IANS

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Kanyakumari: Kumbh SandeshYatra, aimed at spreading themessage on the significance ofKumbh Mela, started fromVivekananda Centre inKanyakumari on Saturday. Theyatra was flagged off by SwamiChaityananand Maharaj,Vivekananda Ashramam,Kanyakumari and PonguletiSudhakar Reddy, BJP nationalco-incharge, Tamil Nadu.

The 25 days yatra beingorganised by the GramodayaChamber of Commerce andTechnology will cover 5000 kmbefore concluding in Haridwar.“Started from Kanyakumari, theRath Yatra will travel via all fourplaces where the Kumbh Melais held, including Nasik, Ujjain,and Prayagraj and reach Delhiand later to Haridwar,” saidHaridwar-based Divya PremaService Mission presidentAshish Gautham. PNS

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Alert jawans of Kathua police inJammu region late Sunday night

foiled a cow smuggling bid after inter-cepting a water tanker near SatkeyChak and rescued nine bovines packedinside the modified cavity.

However, the driver of the watertanker managed to give a slip to thepolice party deployed at one of thesecurity checkpoints along the Nationalhighway. In the last one month Kathuapolice has successfully foiled 16bovine smuggling bids and rescuedover 200 bovines.

At present Kathua police is cater-ing for over 500 bovines, kept in a cow-shed in Kathua. These bovines wererescued by the police teams while theywere being illegally transportedtowards the Kashmir valley.

Senior Superintendent of Police,

Kathua Shailendra Mishra said, “lateSunday night a rare type of bovinesmuggling bid was noticed in which a

water tanker was being usedfor illegal transportation of ani-mals”.

He said a water tankerbearing Reg.No.JK02AD-5569was intercepted by the policeteams.” When the driver wasdirected to stop for checking,the driver of the water tankerparked the vehicle way behindthe naka point and fled awayfrom the spot taking advantageof the darkness”

During checking of thesaid tanker 09 bovines werefound loaded inside the tanker.

According to a writtenstatement issued by the Kathuapolice, “A case vide FIR No.100/2021 Under Sections 188

IPC,11 PCA Act has been registered inP/S Kathua and further investigationhas been set into motion”.

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After suffering for 12 long years subsequent to mar-riage at the tender age of seven, 18-year-old Mansi

Gurjar has finally summoned courage to initiate stepsto annul her child marriage.

A resident of Paladi village of Rajasthan's Bhilwaradistrict, Mansi knocked the doors of Bhilwara's FamilyCourt and filed the case for annulment of her childmarriage on which Family Court Judge MukeshBhargava has issued summons to her so-called 'hus-band'.

Manasi elicited the support of Dr. Kriti Bharti,Managing Trustee and Rehabilitation Psychologist ofSarathi Trust, Jodhpur, in her quest to break free fromchild marriage. Dr. Bharti, known for launching a cam-paign that facilitates annulment of child marriages,said that Mansi, 18, was married at the age of sevenin 2009 to a young man from Banera tehsil.

The child bride is busy pursuing her first year ofgraduation. Her marriage took place in 2009 undersocial pressure. All of seven years, old, Mansi realisedwhat had happened only a few years ago.

After Mansi became an adult, she refused to acceptthe marriage. Since then, her in-laws have been puttingpressure on her family and Mansi. They've even threat-ened the family with dire consequences. Certain castepanchs have also been threatening the family of penal-ty and social boycott if the child marriage wasannulled.

Mansi and her family became depressed for a longtime owing to pressure and personal fear of caste pan-chayats. Now, with help from Dr. Kriti Bharti of Saarthi Trust, Mansi has shown courage to annul thechild marriage. Dr. Bharti helped Mansi file a childmarriage annulment case in the family court ofBhilwara District. In the petition, Dr. Bharti plead-ed on behalf of Mansi and presented the facts relat-ed to her age and other facts in the court.

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Lucknow: The Congress has appointedseven new presidents for district unit inDeoria, Maharajganj, Jalaun, Kanpur,Unnao, Bulandshahr, and Lucknow City(South).

An official statement from the AllIndia Congress Committee said that theCongress President has approved theproposal of the appointment of presidentsof seven district/city Congress committees in Uttar Pradesh with imme-diate effect.

Ramji Giri has been appointed pres-ident of Deoria district, Sharad SinghBabloo for Maharajganj district, RajivNarayan Mishra for Jalaun district, AmitKumar Pandey for Kanpur Nagar .

The DCC of Unnao district will haveArti Bajpai as its president andBulandshahr District and Lucknow City(South) will have Sheopal Singh andDilpreet Singh, respectively. IANS

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Maharashtra Governor BhagatSingh Koshyari said here on

Monday that the Centre owed a siz-able sum of Rs 29,290 to the ShivSena-led MVA Government asGoods and Services Tax (GST)compensation.

Addressing a joint sitting of theMaharashtra Legislature on the firstday of the State Legislature, Koshyarisaid: “By the end of February 2021,out of the Rs 46,950 crore due to myGovernment as Goods and ServicesTax Compensation, the CentralGovernment has paid just Rs 6140crore and Rs 11,520 crore as loan forGoods and Services Tax compen-sation. Goods and Services TaxCompensation to the tune of Rs29,290 crore is overdue from theCentre”.

Lamenting that the State econ-omy had slowed down because ofthe Covid lockdown, medical emer-gency and natural calamities, theGovernor said: “Of the revenue col-lection target of Rs 3,47,456 crore,the State has collected just Rs1,88,542 crore at the end of January2021. This is 35 per cent less thanthe budgetary estimate and 21 percent lower than the collection in thesame period in the previous year.

The Governor said that thestate government was pursuingwith the Government of India forincreasing the grant in aid receivableto my State in accordance with therecommendations of the Central

Finance Commission.“Last year was not only a year

of medical emergency but also pre-sented several economic challenges.As jobs and livelihoods were affect-ed, my Government undertookmassive humanitarian aid pro-grammes,” he said. The Governorsaid that in view of the pandemic sit-uation and the economic condition,the State government is pursuingwith the Centre to increase the lat-ter’s contribution to central schemes

“To stimulate the economy, mygovernment has provided for 75percent of the budgetary provisionfor capital expenditure and released100 percent money to the LocalDevelopment Fund, DPC schemesand Dongri Vikas Karyakram,” theGovernor noted.

Alluding to the success ‘MyFamily, My Responsbility’ scheme ofthe chief minister, Koshyari said thatthrough as an ‘innovative healthcheckup mission in the country’, thestate government had carried outtwo rounds of surveys, the stage gov-ernment had reached out to all thefamilies in the state. During the sur-vey, it had examined high-risk per-sons and senior citizens and detect-ed many Covid-19 cases whichhelped chart out the state healthmap. “By participation of citizensin the management of Covid-19pandemic, our state ensured suc-cessful control of this epidemic. Butthe battle against Covid-19 is still onand now the ‘Me Jababdar’ (MyAccountability) mission has been

launched,” the Governor said. Koshyari said that the state

government had effectively com-bated the pandemic by reducing thenumber of active cases, dealingsuccessfully with problem areas likeDharavi (Mumbai slum), first to setup jumbo (field) corona hospitals,implementing the Mahatma PhuleJeevandayi Yojana to prevent exor-bitant charges for treatment.

The government had also aug-mented testing facilities and regu-lated testing fees, hiked capacity inpublic hospitals and reserved bedsin private hospitals at affordablerates, for public benefit, he said.

Stressing on the need for “con-stant Vigil” on safety measures as theCovid-19 dangers have not passedwith the imminent possibility of a‘second wave’, the Governor stressedon physical distancing norms, face-masks, washing hands, etc.

The Governor said that the Statewas also implementing the Covid-19 vaccination programme andinvesting in public health infra-structure by approving new medicalcolleges for Sindhudurg, Nashikand Osmanabad, with plans formore in future. Chief ministerUddhav Thackeray, his deputy AjitPawar, Leaders of Opposition inrthwe Assembly and Council respec-tively Devendra Fadnavis andPravin Darekar, ministers and leg-islators from both the houses werepresent at the Joint sitting of mem-bers from both the Houses of theState Legislature.

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Srinagar: The Jammu andKashmir Police have arrested aperson, who was helping theJaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) ter-rorists, at Awantipora in SouthKashmir's Pulwama district andrecovered incriminating mater-ial from his possession, policesaid on Monday.

Police said following specificinformation about presence ofterrorists in Larow Jagir Tral,police along with army's 42RRand the CRPF launched a searchoperation in the area.

During searches one ter-rorist associate of the JeM, iden-tified as Muzamil Qadir Bhat, aresident of Larow Jagir Tral wasarrested. “Incriminating mater-ial of proscribed terror outfitJeM has been recovered from hispossession. On his disclosure,one hand grenade was alsorecovered which he had con-cealed in the compound of hishome,” police said.

Police said preliminaryinvestigation has revealed thatthe arrested person was in con-tact with JeM commander inTral. IANS Itanagar/Agartala: Arunachal

Pradesh has reported zeroCovid cases during the last tendays, even as the state's recov-ery rate stands at 99.67 percent, the second highest in thecountry after the UnionTerritory of Dadra & NagarHaveli and Daman & Diu hav-ing a recovery rate at 99.82 percent, health officials said onMonday.

According to the datareleased by the Union Ministryof Health and Family Welfareon Monday, the total Covid-19positive cases in ArunachalPradesh were 16,836, whilethe number of recoveries stoodat 16,780.

In all, 56 patients havesuccumbed to the coronavirusin the northeastern state regis-tering the fatality rate of 0.33per cent. As per the informa-tion released by the UnionMinistry of Health and FamilyWelfare, the recovery rate ofseven of the eight northeasternstates excluding Sikkim isabove 98 per cent.

Sikkim's recovery rate is97.05 per cent and mortalityrate is 2.20 per cent, the thirdhighest in India after Punjab(3.20 per cent) andMaharashtra (2.42 per cent).

The northeastern state ofMizoram among the 28 statesin India has the distinction ofhaving the lowest death rate of0.23 per cent and the state'srecovery rate is 99.21 per cent.

Mizoram was the lone statein India where there was noCovid-19 related death untilOctober 28 last year even as thefirst death was reported inIndia on January 30, 2020.

According to the health

officials in Aizawl on Monday,Mizoram has so far reported4,423 Covid-19 cases with tenpeople having died.

While 4,393 people haverecovered from the infectiousvirus, there were 20 activecases as on Monday. The offi-cials said that all the ten deathswere in two -- Aizawl (9) andSerchhip (1) -- of the state's 11districts.

Meanwhile, in a bid tocontain the spread of coron-avirus, officials in Meghalayasaid that the night curfew (11p.m. in the night to 5 a.m. inthe morning) would remain inforce in Shillong and otheradjoining areas under the EastKhasi Hills district for the nextseven days from Monday.

Besides Shillong, the nightcurfew is being extended fromtime to time in Mizoram cap-ital Aizawl.

According to the officials ofthe Health and family WelfareDepartment of Assam, the statehad reported its first death dueto coronavirus on April 10 lastyear.

The first death in Assam, aswell as in the northeasternregion, was reported fromHailakandi district in southernAssam where a middle agedman, who had gone abroad,succumbed to Covid-19 at theSilchar Medical College andHospital.

In Assam, 2,17,537 peoplehave so far been infected by thedreaded virus and 2,14,830people recovered from the dis-ease with the recovery andmortality rates are 98.76 percent and 0.50 per cent respec-tively. The state's active cases onMonday were 1,615. IANS

Lucknow: Under the ongoingMission Shakti programme, girlstudents in more than 40,000upper primary schools will learnself-defence techniques betweenMarch 1 and 31.

According to Vijay KiranAnand, Director-General ofSchool Education, “These class-es will help rural students boosttheir self-confidence and self-esteem. It is time for the girls ofclass 6 to 8 to learn self-defencetechniques. Participants willalso be given certificates.”

He further said that the edu-cation department has 10,748physical education instructorswho have been given the respon-sibility to train girl students.

The department has madea provision of Rs 3,000 perschool for the purpose.

The trainers will train girlsin their own school and a near-by schools as well, said the offi-cial. He said that the main pur-pose of self-defence training isthat is to make the girls physi-cally and mentally self-depen-dent so that they can face any sit-uation. IANS

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Four months ago, a 27-year-old Muslim man had

allegedly 'eloped' with a girlfrom another faith to get mar-ried, which had created a lot ofsensation. The man was latercaught and jailed for over amonth.

The couple has since beenwaiting for permission fromthe sub-divisional magistrate(SDM) to get 'legally' marriedbut has been asked to wait foranother month.

The couple has anAllahabad high court order,giving them freedom to getmarried and an exemptionfrom notice period under spe-cial circumstances by the mar-riage officer.

SDM Sadar area, VishuRaja, said, “The law favours thecouple, but they would have towait for a police report toensure there is no law-and-order issue. The couple had

come with their friends whoagreed to sign as witnesses onSaturday but the girl's family isstill against the marriage.”

The SDM said that thecouple represented themselvespersonally, as well as throughtheir legal counsels, for theapplication of marriage underthe special act. They producedan Allahabad high court orderwhich stated that days of noticeperiod can be exempted underspecial circumstances by themarriage officer.

“The judgement favoursthem. However, we are seekinga verification report on 12points to ensure that neither ofthe persons is already married,their actual place of residence,possibility of law-and-orderissue, etc. Police report is cru-cial here as well. This pro-ceeding may take less than 30days to complete and the per-mission would be granted tothe couple for marriage afterthat,” said the SDM.

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rich quickly by avoiding com-petition against Indian busi-ness communities and cross-ing over to the new State,where they would have tocompete only against thePunjabi and Sindhi farmers.For the rest, Jinnah pleadedbrilliantly for those Muslimswho wanted or half-wished aseparate homeland. This wasJinnah’s role in actuality; hisfee was his place in history’shall of fame. Fortunately forhim, he died within 13 monthsof Independence. The wordmohajir, a term for Muslimsfrom Uttar Pradesh (UP) andBihar migrating to Pakistan,came into circulation soonthereafter. But mohajirs soonfound themselves not onlyunwelcome but also the targetof ethnic hostility in the newlycarved out Muslim home-land. Jinnah’s deputy LiaquatAli Khan, from UP, was assas-sinated a mere four years afterPakistan had been carved out.

What prevails in Pakistannow is the will of the WestPunjabis who are two-thirdsof the country’s population.Their need for Kashmir hasbeen to keep the countrytogether and paper over theirdominance of everything,which is now a bone of con-tention. Plus, they portrayIndia as a great threat to the

survival of Pakistan and thusjustify the indispensability ofthe Army as the country’sguardian.

If one looks at the latestceasefire agreement, onewould conclude that forIslamabad, it is a temporarymove to hopefully tide overthe crises the country is facing.The moment Pakistan’s rulersare able to find some way ofrelief for these crises, the cur-rent agreement will turn intoa mere piece of paper. Onereason for Pakistan’s softeningcould be that its rulers realisethat China has overplayed itshand, whether with India,Taiwan or the South ChinaSea, and that the US hasreacted strongly, though so faronly in words. Otherwise,there is no explanation forBeijing to kick off a con-frontation in Ladakh duringthe winter. It could have wait-ed until after the spring toexercise its options whichwere three: To try and grabsome strategically useful landpoints, to ease off by extract-ing some other concessions orby continuing to harass theIndian forces by creating localpoints that would pose athreat. Similarly, Islamabadwants to cool off vis-à-visNew Delhi until China warmsup again after, say, arriving at

some settlement with the US.If not, the rulers would waitfor circumstances to change;for a true momin, his faith inAllah the Merciful is infinite.We must not compare it withthe mind of a thinking or ret-icent Hindu.

Another possibility mightbe that Pakistan’s real ruler,General Bajwa, wants to easeIndia’s pressure on his easternIndian front and use it to set-tle his scores with Baluchistan,like General Tikka had tried todo in East Pakistan in 1971.Bajwa may have been advisedthat the Baloch province is sorich in resources that it couldgreatly help in solvingPakistan’s economic problems.But to exploit these resourceswould take time, peace andcomplete control. I concedethat this possibility may soundtoo farfetched, but unlessIslamabad takes some drasticsteps, how can it keep the eco-nomic wheels of Pakistanrolling? If it depends onChinese loans, Pakistan couldbecome a Beijing protectorateinch by inch, as one hasalready begun to see with theChina Pakistan EconomicCorridor coming into play.

(The writer is a well-known columnist and anauthor. The views expressedare personal.)

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One mistake Indiansmust not make is toread Pakistan throughIndian eyes.

Normally, anything that leads topeace should be welcome.Similarly, we should welcomethe fact that Pakistan has agreedto cessation of the ongoinghostilities with us and honourthe ceasefire pact of 2003.

Yet, one must interject a noteof caution here. This is becausequite a few Indians, includingexpert observers, have interpret-ed the venom from Islamabadon Kashmir for years as revengefor India dismembering theircountry in 1971. In actual fact,as soon as the anger of the defeatwas forgotten, the Pakistaniswere relieved that the “darkshort people” — as the Bengalisare contemptuously referred toby Pakistanis — who were amajority of their population,were finally gotten rid of.

Poet Mohammad Iqbal, whowas also a leading light of theMuslim League, as its presidenthad in 1930 at Prayagraj (thenAllahabad) proposed a separateMuslim homeland which com-prised only the north westernprovinces. He made no mentionof Bengal or any part thereof.The larger Pakistan was for MAJinnah’s glorification; he beganby dreaming of six provinces,four in the west and two in theeast, including Assam. Throughhis League colleague who wasthe Premier of Assam for sever-al years after 1939, Mohd SaadAli, he had nearly succeeded inrecording that the adivasis werenot Hindu but animists. Thiswas to bring down the Hindupercentage of population anddraw Assam into Pakistan whenthe moment of decision came.When Jinnah could not getAssam, except the district ofSylhet, Bengal and Punjab weredivided by Sir Cyril Radcliffe,the lawyer dispatched byLondon. Jinnah was sorely dis-appointed at getting what hecalled “a moth-eaten Pakistan”.

Here, it has to be iterated thatJinnah did not represent the ulti-mate choice of any Pakistaniexcept the Gujarati-speakingbusinessmen like the Khojasand Memons who wanted to get

SOUNDBITE�� Sir —The second phase of India’s vacci-nation drive has been rolled out andPrime Minister Narendra Modi got thefirst shot of COVAXIN, the India-researched and produced COVID-19vaccine (produced by Bharat Biotech) atthe All India Institute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS) in Delhi. The drive aims tocover 10 crore people across the coun-try. So far, more than 1.5 crore peoplehave received the jabs.

Mostly the elderly would benefit inthe second phase. This phase is a nation-wide drive to inoculate people above 60years of age and those above 45 years withco-morbidities. Several old people wereseen at the centres to get themselves inoc-ulated. The self-registration process in Co-WIN module has allowed people to get asmany as four people registered, pickslots at their nearby vaccination centre andreschedule the appointment. Thus, thevaccination pace is expected to increasein the coming days.

A lot of hard work has gone intoreaching this phase wherein theGovernment has started to vaccinate gen-eral population. We must rely on our vac-cines as they are absolutely safe and arebeing used all over the world. In the com-ing days, we hope that the process willpick up pace and get completed inrecord time. On the other hand, there isalso the need to worry as the countryreported a single-day rise of 16,752cases in the last 24 hours, the highest inthe last 30 days, taking the overall tallyto 1,10,96,731 on Sunday.

CK Ramani | Mumbai

�� Sir — When cricket matches like T-20s andODIs are making life hell for the bowlerswith batting-friendly surfaces, Test match-es of late, especially pink-ball day-nightTest matches, have come like a whiff offresh air for the bowlers. The pink-ball Testcricket is still evolving and teams are stillgetting to grips with the ball that was toughto handle for a spinner due to the extra

gloss on it. Also, there have been only 16pink-ball Test matches in the world andmany of those have finished fairly early.There have been some abysmal battingperformances, like in the pink-ball TestsIndia and England have played. The pink ball is bringing new dimensions

to the game, and the players need to adoptthese. If one plays more and more, hewould obviously get used to it. Cricketerswere playing with the red ball for a longperiod of time, then they shifted to thewhite ball. That’s how the format keeps onevolving and, with this new dimesnsion,more action is expected in the comingdays. Not only the players but also spec-tators will enjoy more pink-ball game inthe coming days.

V Nagendra Kumar | Hyderabad

�� Sir — It is good on the part ofMaharashtra Forest Minister SanjayRathod to resign from his post after theOpposition BJP linked him to a 23-year-

old woman’s alleged death by suicide inPune. This will pave the way for animpartial enquiry in the case.

The audio clip which surfaced onsocial media two days after her death, inwhich two men are talking about thewoman’s death, should be sent to foren-sic science laboratory for examination.The BJP has claimed that one of the menin the audio clip is Rathod while the ShivSena leader has denied the charge. On theother hand, responding to theOpposition’s demand for a case againstthe Minister, Chief Minister Thackeraysaid a First Information Report (FIR)can’t be registered before investigation.The Maha Vikas Aghadi Governmentmust get the case investigated by theCentral agencies for a free and impartialinvestigation. The CM must act andthink out-of-the-box to save his image.

MR Jayanthy | Coimbatore

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Under a big bang approach to privatisationannounced in the Union Budget, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman has divid-

ed the Central Public Sector Undertakings(CPSUs) in two broad categories i.e. strategic andnon-strategic. Whereas the former is broken upinto four subgroups: Atomic energy, space anddefence; transport and telecommunications;power, petroleum, coal and other minerals; bank-ing, insurance and financial services, the latterincludes all other sectors such as hotel and touristservices, industrial and consumer goods, trad-ing, marketing and so on. As per the plan, allPSUs in non-strategic sectors will be privatisedand all loss-making enterprises in this catego-ry will be closed. In the strategic sector, too, theGovernment will be open to privatisation withthe caveat that at least one undertaking (and amaximum of four) will be retained in the pub-lic sector.

When seen in the backdrop of the UnionGovernment having made an indiscriminateentry in almost every conceivable business activ-ity, including areas such as hotel and tourist ser-vices where it had no business to be present inthe first place, any initiative aimed at exitingfrom all of these is welcome. This has the poten-tial to unlock value and generate huge revenuebecause of the high valuation that the real estateand properties under these PSUs command. Asregards the strategic sector, though theGovernment does not rule out privatisation, thecaveat of retaining a maximum of four under-takings in the public sector can defeat the pur-pose. For instance, currently there are around12 oil PSUs ranging from upstream oil produc-ers like the ONGC and OIL to downstream oilrefining and fuel marketing firms IOC, BPCLand HPCL to gas transporter GAIL IndiaLimited and engineering firm Engineers IndiaLimited. These 12 could be consolidated intofour behemoths through a process of merger andamalgamation, leaving no space for privatisationwhatsoever.

Why does the Government want to put thiscaveat? What does it fear? Sans this, will it com-promise national interest? In the above exam-ple, consider an extreme scenario, in which thereis not even one PSU and the entire oil and gasspace is occupied by private enterprises. Are weto infer that this will compromise India’s ener-gy security? If this were to be the case, then whynot reserve this sector exclusively for PSUs? Whyallow even one private company? This line ofargument is bizarre. For ensuring security instrategic items, the critical requirement is to havea minimum number of companies to ensurethere is adequate competition and supply in themarket. Who those firms are —whether ownedby private promoters or the Government —should not matter.

In the 1970s-80s, when India needed todevelop these sectors and private players wereunwilling to invest, it made sense for theGovernment to take the lead. Since then, lot ofwater has flown down the Ganga. Currently,there is considerable interest among privateinvestors and the Government itself is invitingthem. Therefore, any arbitrary restriction shouldbe avoided. Any decision to privatise a PSU

should be taken on the merit ofeach case, irrespective of whetherit is in a strategic or non-strategicarea. Likewise, the mandatory clo-sure of any loss-making enterpriseshould apply to all such entitieswithout any distinction. Nationalsecurity concerns are always bestaddressed through strong, resilientand responsive regulatory andsurveillance mechanisms.

Implementation is far moreimportant than the policy. In thisregard, the score of the ModiGovernment during the last sevenyears or so (it was pursued undera sophisticated nomenclature‘strategic disinvestment’) has beendisappointing. Except for two bigticket sales like the divestment ofits 51.11 per cent shareholding inHPCL in 2017-18 and 52.63 percent stake in the REC in 2018-19,there is nothing much to show.Even these sales can’t be termed asprivatisation as the buyers wereONGC and PFC respectively —both PSUs.

As per the original plan, 51.11per cent shares of the UnionGovernment in HPCL were to besold to a private investor. Butthings did not pan out as plannedand in January 2018, theGovernment had to ask ONGC topick up the entire stake, as it des-perately needed money to meet thefiscal deficit (FD) target. In the caseof REC too, it asked the PFC tobuy. During 2018-19, Air India wasalso put on the block but failed.

During 2019-20, besides resur-recting that offer, the Governmentalso took up sale of all of its share-holding in BPCL (53.29 per cent);CONCOR (30 per cent); SCI(63.75) per cent; NEEPCO (100per cent) and THDC India Limited(75 per cent). Sans NEEPCO andTHDC which were sold to NTPC— a CPSU in the power sector —others made no progress. During2020-21, COVID-19 spoilt theparty. For 2021-22, there is notmuch hope either. The target forproceeds for disinvestment speaksfor itself. At �1,75,000 crore, thisis substantially lower than thetarget for 2020-21 (�2,10,000crore). This is despite adding twoPublic Sector Banks (PSBs) andone general insurance company tothe list of those (Air India, BPCL,SCI, CONCOR, LIC) alreadyunder the hammer. The man-darins in the Finance Ministryhave sensed that some disinvest-ments may not go through, otherswould fetch lower valuation.

There are four major bottle-necks in the way like policy flip-flops (it stymied Air India’s sale in2018-19/2019-20); bureaucraticred tape (but for this, HPCL couldhave got a private suitor andBPCL’s sale could have happenedin 2019/20); thrusting decisions onPSU Boards under a typical top-down approach; linking share saleto meeting the FD target. The lasttwo reasons have the inevitableeffect of delaying and reducing

realisation from every sale. The Budget offers nothing to

address any of these bottlenecks.Under a business as usualapproach, it will take several years,if not decades, for the sale processto get completed. The decision toset up an empowered group of sec-retaries to address the concerns ofpotential investors won’t be ofmuch help as even under thisarrangement, bureaucrats will con-tinue to rule the roost.

The Centre should de-bureau-cratise the process of runningPSUs. This should be done evenbefore privatisation is taken up.The Government may set up aholding company — on the linesof a bank investment company rec-ommended by an RBI committeeunder P Nayak — where all itsshares in PSUs will be vested. Itshould authorise the holding com-pany to take all decisions, includ-ing share sale to private investors,in consultation with the manage-ment. To be manned by eminentprofessionals drawn from respec-tive fields, the company should tobe given full autonomy in itsworking.

This mechanism will also helpin de-linking divestment from theBudget exercise and give much-needed flexibility to the holdingcompany to decide the contoursand timing of sale, taking intoaccount the market conditions soas to maximise the proceeds fromsales.

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In today’s world we are sur-rounded by ArtificialIntelligence (AI) which

finds its application every-where, from science fiction tolocal hospitals. AI helps med-ical professionals by relievingthem of routine tasks and alsomakes medical proceduressafer and pocket-friendly forpatients.

Further, AI-guidedmachines are also capable ofperforming minute surgerieswith accuracy and help intransporting substances,which are unsafe for humansto handle. In medical systems,call centre staff for websiteshas increasingly beenreplaced by chatbots that useNatural Language Processing(NLP) to provide callers withinformation and managequeries.

In various hospitals andother health institutes, AItechnologies such as fuzzy

systems, Bayesian networks,artificial neural networks andsmart hybrid systems arebeing used.

AI in medicine can be dif-ferentiated into two subtypes— virtual and real. The phys-ical segment deals with robot-ics that helps in procedures,for instance smart prosthet-ics for people with disabilitiesand the treatment of theelderly. The interactive com-ponents range from applica-tions for electronic healthrecord systems to neural net-work-based guide in caredecisions for patients.

There is increasing use ofAI-powered robots in thesurgical environment.Robotics technology can beapplied in many areas thatdirectly affect patient care.Some of their applicationsinclude disinfecting patientrooms and operating setsand reducing the risks for

patients and medical per-sonnel.

They can be used in lab-oratories to take samples andtransport, analyse and storethem. Also, the robotic labassistant can exactly locate thevessel from which the bloodis required to be taken andextract the sample withoutcausing pain and anxiety tothe patients, who are troubleda lot by the multiple pokesthat a doctor or nurse makesfor finding a good vein.

AI software also helpsprimary healthcare doctors inidentifying patients who needadditional treatment and havespecific protocols. It will beused by medical practitionersfor commenting, reviewingpatient conversations and soon.

The COVID-19 pandem-ic has changed the world andadversely affected multiplelayers of our society. Frontline

workers and particularlythose who have been in directcontact with patients areexposed to major risk.

To mitigate the spread ofthe Coronavirus and to pro-tect healthcare workers andpatients, medical services hadbeen largely restricted,including the cancellation ofelective surgeries. This result-

ed in a substantial burden forpatients and economic lossfor various hospitals. It is insituations like this that AI-robot surgeries could be apowerful tool to maintainsurgical volumes while at thesame time mitigating the fearof contamination by operat-ing procedures on patientswithout healthcare workerscoming in physical contact.

While talking about theCoronavirus, it is imperativeto mention that using AI topredict its pattern was able tohelp mitigate the crisis tosome extent. For instance —BlueDot — a Canadianorganisation specialising ininfectious disease forecasting,used AI to gather data frommultiple points.

It was able to predict theCOVID-19 outbreak andalert people around, evenbefore the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) did so.

Similarly, an AI-poweredchatbot, based in Singaporenamed SGDormBot, helpedin mass screening for symp-toms among migrant work-ers.

The pandemic has alsohighlighted the need for rapidscreening and testing ofpatients to improve treat-ment pathways and reducethe risk of cross-infection.The use of AI here, for access-ing electronic health records(EHR) of routinely-orderedtests and vital signs can pro-duce an effective tool toscreen patients in emergencydepartments and hospitaladmission units.

Data collected fromEHRs can be further supple-mented with data from wear-able technology such as smartwatches or mobile healthapps and medical devices.

With the potential appli-cation of AI within the

healthcare system, the ques-tion remains how this willaffect the workforce.According to McKinseyGlobal Institute, 50 per centof companies say thatautomation will decrease thenumber of full-time staff by2022 and that by 2030, robotswill replace 800 million work-ers across the world.

Also, automation of cler-ical processes could potential-ly have an impact on the non-clinical workforce of thehealthcare system. Specialtiessuch as radiology whereimaging reports can be auto-mated and produced by AIalgorithms may well be thereality.

Of course, the ethics ofdata sharing and privacyimplications for patients andtheir insurers is debatable. Aswe enter a brave new worldwith AI, it entails certainbenefits and limitations.

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The writer is a Padma Shri awardee and

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Police in Myanmar’s biggestcity fired tear gas Monday at

defiant crowds who returned tothe streets to protest lastmonth’s coup, despite reportsthat security forces had killed atleast 18 people a day earlier.

The protesters in Yangonwere chased as they tried togather at their usual meetingspot at the Hledan Centerintersection. Demonstratorsscattered and sought in vain torinse the irritating gas fromtheir eyes, but later regrouped.

The coup reversed years ofslow progress toward democra-cy in Myanmar after five decadesof military rule. It came Feb. 1,the same day a newly electedParliament was supposed totake office. Ousted leader AungSan Suu Kyi’s party would haveled that government, but insteadshe was detained along with

President Win Myint and othersenior officials.

The army has leveled sev-eral charges against Suu Kyi —an apparent effort by the mil-itary to provide a legal veneerfor her detention and poten-tially to bar her from running

in the election the junta haspromised to hold in one year.On Monday, Suu Kyi made acourt appearance via video-conference and was chargedwith two more offenses, herlawyer Khin Maung Zaw toldreporters.

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AParis court on Mondayfound French former

President Nicolas Sarkozyguilty of corruption and influ-ence peddling and sentencedhim to one year in prison anda two-year suspended sen-tence.

The 66-year-old politician,who was president from 2007to 2012, was convicted for hav-ing tried to illegally obtaininformation from a seniormagistrate in 2014 about alegal action in which he wasinvolved. The court saidSarkozy is entitled to request tobe detained at home with anelectronic bracelet.

This is the first time inFrance’s modern history that aformer president has been con-victed of corruption.

Sarkozy’s co-defendants —his lawyer and longtime friendThierry Herzog, 65, and now-retired magistrate GilbertAzibert, 74 — were also foundguilty and given the same sen-tence as the politician.

The court found thatSarkozy and his co-defendantssealed a “pact of corruption,”based on “consistent and seri-ous evidence”.

The court said the factswere “particularly serious”given that they were commit-ted by a former president whoused his status to help a mag-istrate who had served his per-sonal interest. In addition, as a

lawyer by training, he was“perfectly informed” aboutcommitting an illegal action,the court said.

Sarkozy had firmly deniedall the allegations against himduring the 10-day trial thattook place at the end of lastyear. The corruption trialfocused on phone conversa-tions that took place inFebruary 2014.

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Berlin: A temporary agreementwith Iran to allow UnitedNations inspectors continuedaccess to the country’s atomicfacilities lays the groundworkfor the return to full verifica-tion measures if and whenTehran allows it, the head of theInternational Atomic EnergyAgency said Monday.

Iran began restrictinginternational inspections lastweek, but under a last-minutedeal worked out during a tripto Tehran by Rafael Grossi, thehead of the Vienna-based UNatomic watchdog, some accesswas preserved.

Under the agreement, Iranwill no longer share surveil-lance footage of its nuclearfacilities with the IAEA but ithas promised to preserve thetapes for three months. It willthen hand them over to theIAEA if it is granted sanctionsrelief. Otherwise, Iran hasvowed to erase the tapes, nar-rowing the window for a diplo-matic breakthrough.Inspections are a critical part of

the landmark 2015 nucleardeal with world powers, knownas the Joint ComprehensivePlan of Action, or JCPOA.

Since President DonaldTrump pulled the US unilater-ally out of the deal in 2018, Iranhas been slowly increasing itsviolation of the pact by enrich-ing more uranium than allowed,and to a greater purity thanallowed, among other things.

The violations have beenintended to put pressure on theother signatories to the deal —Britain, France, Germany,Russia and China — to come upwith ways to offset the economicdevastation caused by Americansanctions, but so far they havenot been able to come up witha solution suitable to Iran.

US President Joe Bidenhas said he is ready to join talkswith Iran and world powers todiscuss a return to the deal. Thenew restrictions on inspec-tions complicate matters, and,in effect, set the clock tickingon coming up with some sortof a resolution. AP

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In his first public speech sinceleaving office in January, for-

mer US president DonaldTrump indicated he mightlaunch a third presidential bidin 2024, called for RepublicanParty unity and slammed theJoe Biden administration, say-ing it was “anti-jobs” and “anti-science”.

“We will take back theHouse. We will win the Senateand then a Republican presi-dent would triumph the WhiteHouse. I wonder, who thatwill be,” he said amidst cheersfrom his supporters at theannual session of theConservative Political ActionCommittee in Orlando,Florida.

Though 74-year-oldTrump multiple times in his

speech stopped short fromannouncing that he will run forpresident 2024, he gave enoughindications that he is moving inthat direction.

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Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu on

Monday accused Iran of attack-ing an Israeli-owned ship in theGulf of Oman last week.

Netanyahu spoke to Israelipublic broadcaster Kan andsaid that “it was indeed an actby Iran, that’s clear.”

“Iran is the greatest enemyof Israel, I am determined tohalt it. We are hitting it in theentire region,” Netanyahu said.

The mysterious explosionstruck the Israeli-owned MVHelios Ray, a Bahamian-flaggedroll-on, roll-off vehicle cargoship, as it was sailing out of theMiddle East on its way toSingapore on Friday.

Kathmandu: Nepal PresidentBidya Devi Bhandari onMonday summoned a sessionof the House of Representativeson March 7, days after the apexcourt reinstated the lowerhouse in a landmark verdictthat annulled embattled PrimeMinister KP Sharma Oli’s“unconstitutional” decision todissolve it.

President Bhandari calledfor the commencement ofHouse on recommendation ofGovernment of Nepal, inaccordance with Article 93 (1)of the Constitution of Nepal,according to a notice issued bythe President’s Office onMonday. As per the notice, the275-member lower house willbegin at 4:00pm on the slateddate. PTI

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Hungary’s right-wing PrimeMinister has threatened to

pull his party out of its groupin the European Union’s legis-lature as the conservative groupedges closer to excluding itslargest Hungarian delegation.

In a letter on Sunday tochairman of the EuropeanPeople’s Party (EPP) group inthe European Parliament

Manfred Weber, PrimeMinister Viktor Orban con-demned a group proposalagreed to on Friday that wouldallow for entire parties to beexcluded from the center-rightEPP, rather than just individualMEPs as currently allowed.

Orban wrote that the pro-posed rules, which are expect-ed to pass with a two-thirdsvote at an EPP group meetingon Wednesday.

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The new head of the WorldTrade Organization threw

her support behind long-fruit-less efforts among membercountries to agree on fisheriessubsidies that could reduceoverfishing, calling the effortsa top priority as she took officeon Monday.

Director-General NgoziOkonjo-Iweala, a Nigerianeconomist and former gov-ernment minister, donned amask and doled out elbowbumps — Covid-19 oblige —as she took up the job at WTO

headquarters on the banks ofLake Geneva.

“I am coming into one ofthe most important institu-tions in the world and we havea lot of work to do,” saidOkonjo-Iweala, 66, who is boththe first woman and the firstAfrican to hold the job. “I feelready to go.”

Negotiators have beentasked with striking an agree-ment that could help eliminatesubsidies for illegal, unreport-ed and unregulated fishing,and prohibit some fisheriessubsidies that contribute toovercapacity and overfishing.

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In his first public speech sinceleaving office, former US

president Donald Trump hascalled for Republican Partyunity while indicating that hemight launch a third presiden-tial bid in 2024 even as heslammed the Biden adminis-tration, claiming that the coun-try has gone from “AmericaFirst” to “America Last” in justone month.

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Leading car makers MarutiSuzuki, Hyundai and Tata

Motors reported robust salesgrowth in the domestic marketin February as the demand forpersonal mobility amidCOVID-19 pandemic contin-ues to drive the market.

Others, including ToyotaKirloskar Motor (TKM),Mahindra & Mahindra, andHonda Cars India, also report-ed strong wholesale dispatch-es to dealers last month.

The country’s largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India(MSI) said its domestic salesincreased 11.8 per cent to1,52,983 units last month, asagainst 1,36,849 units inFebruary 2020.

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Cooking gas LPG price was on Mondayhiked by Rs 25 per cylinder across all cate-

gories, including subsidised fuel and thoseavailed by Ujjwala scheme beneficiaries - thefourth increase in rates in a month’s time.

LPG prices have gone up by Rs 125 per14.2-kg cylinder since the beginning of February,price data from state-owned oil marketing com-panies showed.

Also, jet fuel prices were hiked by a steep 6.5per cent on the back of a rally in internationaloil prices.

A 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi now costs Rs819 as against Rs 794 at which they were suppliedon Sunday.

The increase is applicable across all cate-gories, including subsidised and non-subsidisedusers.

LPG is available only at one rate, marketprice, across the country. The government,however, gives a small subsidy to select customers.

However, this subsidy has been eliminatedin metros and major cities through successiveprice increases over the past couple of years.

So, in places like Delhi, there is no subsidypaid to customers since May 2020 and all LPGusers pay the market price, which currently is Rs819.

An oil company official said a small subsidyis paid to customers in remote and far-flung areasto make up for the higher price arising fromfreight charges.

LPG prices were hiked first by Rs 25 percylinder on February 4, followed by a Rs 50 percylinder increase on February 15 and Rs 25 raiseon February 25.

Prices have been on the rise sinceDecember and rates have cumulatively gone upby Rs 175 per cylinder.

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India’s first auction of spec-trum in five years attracted

Rs 77,146 crore of bids on theopening day on Monday withReliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, andVodafone Idea participating inthe bidding process - aresponse that the governmentsaid was better than expected.

There were, however, notakers for spectrum in 700MHz and 2500 MHz bands onthe first day, and the auctionswill continue and conclude onTuesday.

About 2,308.80 MHz ofspectrum, that carry telecomsignals, in seven bands worthnearly Rs 4 lakh crore at thereserve or start price, wasoffered for bidding in the auc-

tion that began on Monday.Communications MinisterRavi Shankar Prasad said Rs77,146 crore worth of spectrumwas bid on the first day butthere were no takers for the air-waves in the premium 700MHz as also 2500 MHz bands.

The response from playersand the bids received sur-passed government’s internalestimates, that had anticipatedbids worth Rs 45,000 crore.

“The winning bids thathave come till 6 PM today is Rs77,146 crore. We thought sincethere are only three players, andspectrum replacement is hap-pening...Our estimation wasthat the bids will touch aboutRs 45,000 crore, but it is a mat-ter of assurance that it has goneas high as Rs 77,146 crore,”Prasad said.

The bidder-wise detailswere not available immediate-ly. A total of 2,308.80 MHz

spectrum is being put to auc-tion, out of which there havebeen bids for 849.20 MHz sofar, an official release said.

Bids were received in 800MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz,2100 MHz and 2300 MHzbands, as players gave theprized 700 MHz band a misson the first day of auctions.

“Total value of spectrumput to auction was about Rs 4lakh crore. In this, 700 MHzband was a costly band, andthat cost itself is Rs 1.97 lakhcrore,” the minister said addingthat the government will takea call on 700 MHz band, usedfor 5G, in case it remainsunsold in the ongoing auctions.Excluding 700 MHz and 2500Mhz bands, the biddingaccounted for 60 per cent of thespectrum that was put to auc-tion.

The 700 MHz band wentunsold during the 2016 auc-

tions, too. During 2016, whenthere were seven bidders, thespectrum sold was 41 per centby quantity and 12 per cent byvalue of the total spectrum putto auction. The correspondingfigures in the 2021 spectrumauction so far are 37 per centand 19 per cent respectively,with three participants.

Spectrum will be offeredfor assignment for a validityperiod of 20 years. Successfulbidders can pay entire bidamount in one go (upfront), orexercise an option to pay a cer-tain amount (25 per cent forspectrum won in 700 MHz, 800MHz, 900 MHz bands or 50per cent for spectrum won in1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300MHz, 2500 MHz bands)upfront with remainingamount in a maximum up to16 equated annual instalments,after a moratorium of twoyears.

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GST collections crossed the�1 lakh crore-mark for

the fifth month in a row inFebruary, rising 7 per cent toover �1.13 lakh crore, indicat-ing economic recovery, theFinance Ministry said onMonday.

The collection is, howev-er, lower than the record�1,19,875 crore collected in theprevious month.The gross GSTrevenue collected in February2021 is �1,13,143 crore, ofwhich CGST is �21,092 crore,SGST is �27,273 crore. IGSTis � 55,253 crore (including�24,382 crore collected onimport of goods) and Cess is�9,525 crore (including �660crore collected on import ofgoods).”In line with the trendof recovery in the GST rev-enues over past five months,the revenues for the month ofFebruary 2021 are 7 per centhigher than the GST revenuesin the same month last year.

“During the month, rev-enues from import of goodswere 15 per cent higher andthe revenues from the domes-tic transaction (includingimport of services) are 5 percent higher than the revenuesfrom these sources during thesame month last year,” theministry said in a statement.

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Benchmark BSE Sensexsurged nearly 750 points

and NSE Nifty rallied over232 points on Monday asinvestors cheered the domesticeconomy returning to positiveterritory after two quarters ofcontraction.

The 30-share BSE indexbriefly traded above the 50,000-mark in day trade before clos-ing at 49,849.84, showing a riseof 749.85 points or 1.53 percent. Of the Sensex con-stituents, 29 closed with gains.

Likewise, the NSE barom-eter Nifty settled with a gain of232.40 points or 1.60 per centat 14,761.55.

Top performers werePowerGrid, ONGC, UltratechCement, Asian Paint, KotakBank and Titan – rising asmuch as 5.94 per cent.

“Positive global cues andUS yields retreating from highsled to a strong opening todaywith Indices sustaining gainsthroughout the day. The broad-er markets saw energetic buy-ing momentum across PSUbasket and sectors like Paints &Speciality Chemicals,” SRanganathan, Head ofResearch at LKP Securitiessaid.

After two consecutivequarters of contraction, theIndian economy has finallyentered an expansionary path.

The Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) grew 0.4 per

cent in the October-December2020 period compared with thesame period a year back, datareleased by the NationalStatistics Office on Fridayshowed.

High-frequency indica-tors were pointing towards thefact that the domestic economyis slowly entering the recovery

path.Vinod Nair, Head of

Research at Geojit FinancialServices said, “Domestic mar-kets kick-started the month ona strong footing with increasedoptimism led by GDP reachingpositive numbers, improvingauto numbers and steady PMImanufacturing data.”

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday empha-

sised on farmers getting moreavenues to sell crops and saida food processing revolutionwas needed in the country forvalue addition to farm produceand to realise better prices.

Addressing a webinar oneffective implementation ofBudget provisions regardingthe Agriculture Ministry, he

underlined the need forincreased participation of pri-vate players in the farm sector,including in research anddevelopment (R&D) work.

Without making anydirect reference to the threenew farm reform laws or to thethree-month-old agitation byfarmers, Modi said there is aneed for expanding options forthe country’s farming com-munity to sell agri produce.

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The rupee dropped by 8paise to close at 73.55

against the US dollar onMonday, extending its fallingstreak to a third day due tospike in global crude oil pricesand strong American curren-cy.

At the interbank forexmarket, the local unit openedlower at 73.76 against thegreenback and witnessed anintra-day high of 73.19.

The local currency finallyended at 73.55 against theAmerican currency, registeringa fall of 8 paise over its previ-ous closing.

On Friday, the rupee hadsettled at 73.47 against theAmerican currency.

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Gold prices on Monday roseby �241 to �45,520 per 10

grams in the national capital inline with the strong global bul-lion market trend, according toHDFC Securities.

The precious metal hadclosed at �45,279 per 10 gramsin the previous trading session.Silver also jumped by � 781 to�68,877 per kg, compared withthe previous close of 68,096 perkg.HDFC Securities SeniorAnalyst (Commodities) TapanPatel said, “Spot prices for 24karat gold in Delhi rose by�241, in line with the recoveryin global gold prices whilerupee appreciation cappedupside.” The spot rupee wastrading around 16 paisestronger against the dollar,halting three days of loss, dur-ing the intra-day session,HDFC Securities added.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi taking the first dose

of the Covid-19 vaccine wouldgo a long way in building con-fidence in the ongoing nation-wide vaccination processagainst the pandemic, BharatBiotech said on Monday.

The PM on Monday tookhis first dose of the COVID-19vaccine at AIIMS here andappealed to all those who areeligible to get inoculated. NurseP Niveda, who hails fromPuducherry, administeredBharat Biotech’s COVAXIN tothe prime minister. “We thankthe Prime Minister for takingthe first dose of the COVID-19vaccine himself and are deeplyappreciative of the gesture.This has set a powerful exam-ple for all Indians to follow,which will go a long way inreducing vaccine hesitancy andbuilding confidence in immu-nisation against the ongoingpandemic,” Bharat BiotechInternational CMD KrishnaElla said in a statement. Thishas set a powerful example forall Indians to follow, which willgo a long way in reducing vac-cine hesitancy and buildingconfidence in immunisationagainst the pandemic, headded.

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The Associated Chambersof Commerce and

Industry of India(ASSOCHAM), one of theapex trade associations of thecountry successfully organ-ised another edition of thewebinar series on ‘Illness toWellness’ campaign, themedaround “Thyroid & RelatedDisorders – Impact on Health”.

ASSOCHAM organisedthis webinar with an objectiveto cascade mass awarenessand disseminate knowledge &wisdom for prevention andtreatment of thyroid.

The virtual event wasgraced by a team of eminentGastroenterologists, hepatolo-gist who shared their valuableinputs on causes, trends andrecent advancements in thetreatment of thyroid.

The ASSOCHAM’s cam-paign running under a CSRinitiative supported bySAVLON, aims at promotinghealthy living with a keenfocus on wellness and preven-tive health through healthy

habits, diet, exercise, and holis-tic health.

Sharing his perspective,Dr Joshi said: “Thyroid disor-der occurs when thyroid glanddoes not work properly eitherpermanently or temporarily.However, the disease is treat-able and one needs to consultendocrinologists once in threemonths and in some cases onlyonce in a year.”

Dr Joshi also emphasisedon following healthy lifestyle,balanced diet and follow reg-ular exercise regime.

Addressing theASSOCHAM webinar, DrTripathi talked about the var-ious thyroid disorders in detail.He said, the commonest thy-roid disorder isHypothyroidism, followed byH y p e r t h y r o i d i s m .Hypothyroidism can affectthe entire life span of a humanfrom congenital hypothy-roidism at birth, to juvenilehypothyroidism, adult onsethypothyroidism and even inthe elderly age group. The

treatment of hypothyroidismis generally lifelong, but it iseasy to begin and continue andis without side effects.

Dr Kapoor, in his addressalso explained thyroid is a but-terfly shaped gland in theneck which weighs about 18grams it is not a disease. Theunder functioning glands leadsto hypothyroidism and theover functioning gland leads tohyperthyroidism.

On behalf of the chamber,Rajput said that following aregular exercise regime, main-taining healthy weight togeth-er with low fat, low sugar, lowrice and high fibre diet can goa long way for everyone tokeep such ailments at bay.

He added: “In India over42 million people suffer fromthyroid ailments and 1 in 10adults suffer from hypothy-roidism, a condition in whichthe thyroid gland doesn’t pro-duce the required hormones tomeet the needs of the body. Itcan also cause serious compli-cations during pregnancy.”

ACentral Fabrication Unit for pros-thetics and orthotics is being devel-

oped at Narayan Seva Sansthan withsupport from Rotary Foundation. Theunit will provide artificial limbs andequipment to bolster NSS global cam-paign for empowering the differently-abled. The cutting-edge technologyinstalled at the unit will ensure qualityand affordable prosthetics and will helpto bring down the cost of the procedures.

During the programme Rotary gov-ernor (District 6900), Rajesh Agrawalsaid: “To give a fresh start to the differ-ently-abled, NSS is serving needy indi-viduals by offering services such as freefood, operative surgery, limbs, education,and skills. With setting up for artificiallimb manufacturing, which will bring usadditional accomplishment to change thelives of differently-abled people.”

In a two-phase project, GlobalGrant by Rotary Foundation, RotaryClub Emory-Druid Hills(USA District-6900), Rotary Club Udaipur Mewar bud-get is USD 182995 passed in the firstphase.

Speaking on occasion PrashantAgarwal, President, Narayan SevaSansthan said: “Due to the RotaryFoundation, our various efforts toestablish this unit have now been suc-cessful. NSS hopes that the installationof the central manufacturing unit willmeet the demands and release of thepatient load to achieve stability in thequality of equipment manufactured ina short period of time.”

��6�B� Papayas are rich inVitamin C, fibre andantioxidants which preventcholesterol build up in yourarteries and boosts immunity,apart from the several otherhealth benefits.

It also helps in weight lossbecause the fibre content inpapaya leaves you feeling fulland clears your bowel move-ment.

It is also a richsource of phytonu-trients andflavonoids thatprevent yourcells fromundergoingfree radicald a m a g e .Some stud-ies have alsolinked the con-

sumption papaya to reducedrisk of colon and prostate can-cer.

The presence of variousvitamins and nutrients alsohelp in preventing the skinfrom free radical damage there-by keeping all the signs of age-ing at bay.

Several studies have shownthat eating papayas also help inmaintaining and improving

h e a r thealth.

With India beginningthe COVID-19 vacci-nation phase 2 fromMarch 1 administering

vaccines to those above the age of60 and people with other medicaldiseases, it won’t be too long whenpeople above 50 and less will alsobe able to receive the jab.

Despite the fact that the virusis a new and a highly transmissibleone, the medical fraternity haslearnt immensely from it in the lastyear. It has managed to fight the dis-ease, analyse and lay down proto-cols for the treatments, and aboveall, have worked from all parts of theworld together as one to producereliable and safe vaccines in recordtime.

Therefore, as your much await-ed turn rolls in, here are some pre-cautions you should remember toadhere to before you go to thehealth facility for your inoculation.

Some of these precautions applyto any vaccine you may have takenbefore this.� Take normal diet the eveningbefore the vaccine.�Avoid alcohol before the injection(and for a few days after). This helpsin reducing any mild side effectsyou may have. �Clarify with your physician aboutyour underlying illnesses and med-ical history (the Ministry of Healthand Family Planning, Govt. of

India has issued clear guidelines andyour physician will be aware of this).

Precautions specific to theCOVID-19 vaccine:� The three basics of COVID-19preventive measures will have to befollowed (i.e. wearing a mask, handhygiene and social distancing) at the

vaccination site and in public places.�Cough/sneeze etiquette should bepracticed in all areas. � Register yourself for the vaccineand go to the centre designated toyou on the date intimated.�Do not worry about side effects.Any vaccine can have side effectsbut they are miniscule compared tothe good they do to the individualand to the society.

Vaccines are voluntary, so

decide for yourself but rememberthat we already have a vast experi-ence in vaccines, tried and tested inmany diseases to make the world ahealthy place for ourselves and ourchildren.

With the COVID-19 vaccines,we have learnt to deal with this dis-ease scientifically, clearly and withoptimism.

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Dysphagia, a medical condition that makes swallowing of foodor fluid difficult, is one of the lesser-known side effects of

COVID-19 infection. The condition has so far been observedas a fallout of viral and bacterial infections, pharyngeal andesophageal obstructions or other palate problems and neurolog-ical diseases. Dysphagia was witnessed in maximum cases ofsevere cases of COVID-19, especially those who developed acuterespiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and were ventilated.

There are a few ways to feelbetter even if one has this con-dition:� Think of baby food andbring your food to that consis-tency. Include a lot of fluid suchas juices to the diet. As you getcomfortable, slowly shift to anormal diet. Chew the foodcompletely before swallowing� Sit upright when you eat ordrink. Start with liquids usingstraw. Do not lay down orbend while eating or drinking.Stand or walk for a minimumof 30 minutes after meals � Small portion sizes help toease the discomfort of dyspha-gia. Clear your mouth com-pletely before taking the nextbite.

Most of the COVID-19patients also experienced achange in their voice, rangingfrom a rough one to a deeper-pitched one or a mere whisper.

The inflammation of vocal cords is exacerbated by long periodsof coughing. Such an effort makes the vocal folds put extra effortto clear any mucus from lungs and throat, in the process mak-ing them swollen and inflamed.

Easing the sore throat and post-COVID voice problem canbe done by following these steps:� Keep yourself well hydrated with warm fluids. Drink abouttwo liters of fluid (plain water and fresh juices) daily. Avoid caf-feine or alcohol as they can aggravate the condition� Warm saline gargles and steam inhalation for at least 15 min-utes� Try to rest your voice as much as possible.

If you are in hospital then you must keep a few things in mindthat comprises immediately informing the concerned Doctoror paramedical staff immediately if you are feeling more shortof breath during or after the meals.

If you are recovering at home, then you must be careful abouta few things and directly inform your General Physician if youare facing problems while eating or drinking something andcoughing or choking while having your food. Such patients shouldavoid shouting, smoking or chewing tobacco and going in dustyareas Medicated lozenges can also be used.

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We all might havehad a toothacheat least once in a

while. While as painful it is,it is also extremely annoy-ing.

Here are a fewremedies thatcan helprelieve thepain.

R i n s ewith saltwater. Saltwater is a nat-ural disinfec-tant. One canrinse their mouthtwice to relieve the pain andinflammation caused bybacteria.

Use garlic. Garlic canhelp in killing the harm-

ful bacteria that causesdental plaque and can alsohelp in relieving toothache.Crush a clove of garlic and

apply it to the affected areaand let it sit for five minutes.Alternatively, you can alsochew a clove of garlic.

Cloves can help. Clovesare known to relieve

toothache andreduce inflam-

mation formany years.Dab a smallamount ofclove oil ontoa cotton ball

and apply it tothe affected

area. You maywant to dilute the

clove oil with a few drops ofa carrier oil, like olive oil, orwater. Do this a few timesper day.

You can also add a dropof clove oil to a small glassof water and make a mouth-wash. Use it twice daily forbest results.

Toothaches are common,especially if one prefers to eat

a lot of sweets. ROSHANI DEVI shares easyhome remedies that can help

ease the pain without much hassle

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Good health and beauty are two sidesof the same coin. For a flawless skin,lustrous hair and a slim figure, good

health must be on top of the list. A healthywoman is also better equipped to deal withthe stresses of daily life. A body that ishealthy is imperative for preserving beau-ty and building up immunity.

The right diet is absolutely essential togood looks. A diet for beauty should be highin vitamin-rich foods and low in carbohy-drates and sugar. The answer is to choosefrom a variety of foods, to ensure a balanceddiet. Fresh fruits, raw salads, sprouted grainsand yogurt should be included in the dailydiet. Have whole grain cereals. Reduce teaand coffee and have freshly extracted fruitand vegetable juices, lassi and clear soups.Avoid fried snacks, rich gravies and desserts,and confectionary items. Add the juice ofa lemon to a glass of water and have it firstthing in the morning. Drinking adequatewater helps to eliminate toxins and wastesfrom the system.

Exercise, together with a balanced diet,can work wonders. Not only does it buildup stamina and strength, but improvesblood circulation to the skin and scalp.Every tissue of the body needs oxygen, sobegin your exercises by doing deep breath-ing in front of an open window. Check withyour doctor before beginning regular exer-cise. Walking is good physical activity, as itexercises all the muscle groups. The ancientIndian doctrine of Yoga has attained uni-versal popularity today. In fact, it hasbecome very relevant to modern lifestyle,bringing about harmony of body andmind.

Pay attention to cleansing and dailyhygiene. Improper daily hygiene can under-mine the health in a number of ways. Theskin is influenced by many external factors,like dirt, chemical pollutants, bacteria andvirus. By daily washing, bathing andcleaning, we can remove impurities andkeep ourselves free from infections. A dailybath, or shower, is a must, especially onreturning home. During the ancient times,infusions were used to wash the body. Soakneem leaves in hot water and let it standovernight. Use the water to bathe the nextmorning.

Adequate sleep is also essential for fit-ness. Sleep is a way of restoring energy tothe body and is nature’s best cure. It is abeauty treatment in itself.

A positive mental attitude is alsoimportant, because mind and body areclosely related. All of us encounter a certainamount of stress and anxiety in our dailylife. It is a matter of learning how to copewith it. We have to train our minds towardspositive thinking and relaxation. Regularpatterns of rest and exercise, along with hob-bies and interests certainly help. Some peo-ple are so aware of the world around them.They are always keen to learn new things.Hobbies, interests and new activities canactually be very relaxing to the mind. Theyalso give another dimension to the person-ality.

Indeed, the finest foundation for beau-ty consists of some common factors, whichwe often overlook.

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and the largest phase of vaccina-tion drive against Covid-19 whichwill reach out to around 27 crore ofpopulation aged above 60 or above45 with co-morbid conditions.

However, registration isrequired to receive the vaccinedoses. The Government has provid-ed three modes for the registrationof eligible beneficiaries — online,on-site and facilitated cohort reg-istration.

The first is advance self-regis-tration under which the beneficia-ries will be able to self-register inadvance by downloading the CO-Win 2.0 portal and through otherIT applications such as ArogyaSetu etc.

Eligible people can registerthemselves on the platform fromMonday, March 1, 9 am onwards.The platform can be accessed viaweb or through a mobile applica-tion.

Eligible beneficiaries can regis-ter at the CO-WIN 2.0 portalthrough their mobile number fol-lowing a step by step process. Afterregistration, the application willshow the government and privatehospitals serving as CovidVaccination Centres (CVC) withthe date and time of the availableschedules. The beneficiary would beable to choose the CVC of his/herchoice and book an appointmentfor vaccination.

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As the world experiences theCOVID-19 pandemic, there hasbeen an upsurge in people turn-

ing active on social media. This phasehas unlocked the creative minds andpushed people to explore relativelyfresh opportunities. AradhanaSrivastava, Public Relations Expertfrom Savin Communication says,“Social Platforms have hidden potential,if cultivated fairly can yield exception-al output both in matter of content andvogue.”

Social Media has always been ahighly interactive platform catering tousers of a young generation, giving riseto a new community called“Influencers.” These social media con-noisseurs have turned into a drivingforce for the national economy in themost surprising way. They are the firstpreference of any brand because of theirbetter reach among millions of insta-gram users and creators.

Welcome the nano influencersThe latest community of influ-

encers added to the Instagram family ispopularly called “Nano Influencers.”These are the social media warriors withthe power to influence a small group of1000-5000 people and have the abilityto nurture communities with specificinterests and influence.

Partnering with nano-influencers isfast becoming a major strategy point for

brands with budgetary constraints dueto the pandemic. A report by MarketingWeek projected that 52 per cent ofbrands are planning to collaboratewith more nano-influencers in theforthcoming months and 44 per cent ofbrands who are already collaborating,plan to continue their association with

these new-age agents of social mediagrowth. Engaging with such influencersis not only cost-effective but also help-ful in reaching highly engaged audiences.

New-age celebsRemember the ice bucket chal-

lenge? Those were the days when film

celebrities used to set trends that wentviral but the situation has flipped now.Nowadays, it is the Nano influencers’who are driving public opinion in amicro-manner than global celebrities. Nowonder that this community has becomethe new-age celebs and has even moti-vated various brands to collaborate.

Taking over competitionNano-influencers may take over

from the micro-influencers as key brandpartners in the coming years. Micro-influencers who have followers between5k to 100k have been the premiere pref-erence for any brand campaigns for thepast couple of years but it is beingobserved that nano influencers haveestablished a closer relationship withtheir audience and are considered a morereliable option to take the brand forward.

The need of the hourSince there are thousands of nano

influencers creating content forInstagram, brands look for a platformthrough which they can directly pick theright influencer for their needs. One suchforthcoming platform is ‘We TheInfluencers’. It is an online communityof talented and enthusiastic influencersfrom all across the country. This platformwill cater to a common room for boththe brand and the influencer, allowingthem to communicate and create fruit-ful collaborations.

A helpful companion Marketing specialists are searching

for creators with an individual approachand who enjoy the trust of their follow-ers. Since the nano influencers tick boththe boxes, they’ve become the ideal com-panion for brands looking for new waysto spread their message. What makes thisassociation better is the fact that theseyoung guns are also highly dedicated totheir work and are open to learning newthings.

Do you often find yourselfjuggling to achieve a fine

balance between the lifespanand design of our interiors?Trust us, it’s not a herculeantask. Undoubtedly, home decormust be planned very thought-fully whether you are re-pur-posing the space or thinking ofsome minor tweaks. There arevarious elements and aspects tokeep in mind, such as the cli-mate in your city and the designaesthetics. Today, the evolvingtechnology and innovationshave ensured the integration ofall these elements under oneroof. Parul Mittal, Director,Greenlam Industries Ltd sharesa few simple decor themes thatoffer you the best of both worlds– durability and design.

��,,%�(�:�.�$*�(.%The entry of your house is

usually through the living roomwhich sets the tone for the entirehome and leaves the firstimpression. Therefore, a mini-mal and clean look is needed forsuch spaces. Calming shadesgive your mind, body and soula certain level of relaxation.Throw muted shades of yellow

and grey to your cushionsplaced on a sofa set in mutedblue. These colours will instant-ly infuse a comforting vibearound your space. The bestway to distinguish your colourscheme is by keeping yourwalls, door and floor crispwhite.

While visual impact ofdoors must not be compro-mised as they are some of themost visible design elements inthe house, its resistance andlifespan should top your check-list.

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The majestic grandeur andsimplicity of a natural elementlike wood is just limitless. Woodholds the power to make anunmatched statement and looksabsolutely charming when usedfor home interiors. If you havecream or off-white interiors,opting for a darker shade ofwooden doorset to comple-ment the entire ambiance. Keepyour area spick and span byplacing minimal kitchen essen-tials out in the open. Make itlook more modern by showcas-

ing your silver crockery andglassware in open cabinets.

,�%(&(�%($��6�6,4'�We all have stepped into a

new year with positivity andhopefulness. How about wepaint this outlook all over thehouse to ensure every touchpoint encourages you? Spill thepantone colour ‘Ultimate Gray’on your walls to add an instantwarmth and comfort. Since, weare talking about all the earthytones, we suggest going for acrisp yet classic white shade fordoors. It will not only exudesheer panache but also a strongsense of calmness. Make yourspace functional and minimal;this can be done by placing astatement sofa and a mini-breakfast table in oppositedirections.

Every element of yourhouse speaks to you and bringsalong a purpose to fulfill. Thethree distinct decor looks arean inspiration for designing aspace that brings élan as well asensures durability. So, think nofurther and get on with curat-ing your own dream-likehaven.

The armed forces of Indiahave been on the front-

line of the COVID-19 pan-demic in India, protectingthe citizens of the countrywhile being in harm’s way.Bollywood star AyushmannKhurrana, who is current-ly shooting for his next,Anek, directed by AnubhavSinha, has been deeplymoved seeing the com-mendable work that theCentral Industrial SecurityForce (CISF) in Guwahatihas been doing. The youthicon was requested to senda video message to theentire unit stationed inAssam and Ayushmannsent them a heartfelt thankyou.

In the video,Ayushmann says, “I wouldlike to congratulate all themajors and soldiers fromthe CISF Guwahati regi-ment on how right sinceCOVID-19 unfolded, untilnow, they have contributedto the aviation security withpatience and valour. I trulysalute all your efforts toserve. I truly hope you staysafe and healthy.”

Ayushmann has alwaysbeen inspired by the armymen in India who selfless-ly devote their lives to pro-tect others. The actor hasalso been deeply moved bythe pandemic and how ithas impacted people fromevery strata. He has alsocomposed some heartfeltpoems on this sufferings of

people during the pandemic, whichinstantly became a rage in the coun-try. The actor will be shooting forAnek right through March beforejumping onto his next film, Doctor G.

At the art gallery, Akar Prakar,there are canvasses created by

Sayed Haider Raza in his last fewyears. They are a testimony to his lovefor painting and clearly prove that hewas a pilgrim of deeper intensities ingeometry and symbolism.

Amongst all the works in thisseminal show, it is Shantibindu thatstrikes a deep chord in this critic. Ina conversation to me in 2004 on theeve of his 85th birthday, he said, “Mybindu is primarily a philosophicalexpression, an act of faith in the infi-nite, an affirmation of spirituality.When I sit down in front of one of mypaintings to contemplate, I sudden-ly feel a great expansion of the spir-it, I feel like a man liberated from thewants of material desires, a man whobelongs to the vastness of the presentand past.

Shantibindu tryst Raza Sahib’s tryst with the

Shantibindu began in the 1990s. Theblack orb that went beyond the blacksun into infinite realms and referencesgave way to a set of concentric geo-metric circles that formed a suffusedethereal Bindu, which looked like asymphony of peace created for a vistaof harmonies. For Raza, the recurringBindu became a new corollary oncanvas with infinite variations.

The Shantibindu for Raza was anexemplification of Purusha Prakritiprinciples. These principles dwellon the infinite, on dualities anddeeper philosophies of the innerspirit and outer realities of nature’s rel-ativity. Born of a meditative mooring,

his bindu was the device of a spiritu-al firmament. The softly nuancedpastel toned circles resonate with aharmony emanating from the epi-centre. Their terracotta and soft tint-ed colour tones form an elegantexemplar. The Shantibindu became

an iconic nucleus in which the cen-tral core was an energy that createda ritual.

Nostalgia and memory Looking at this show highlights

the power and prowess of his paint-

ings that come rushing into humanmemory. His early landscapes ofEuropean cities, churches, glowingember like landscapes that spoke ofhis passion for nocturnes, his mid-night moorings of works likeTapovan, La Terre, Saurashtra,

Rajasthan and his Shantibindu series,all become a part of his pilgrimageof painting. India’s avant grade artistwho combined expressionist brush-work with the symbolism of geom-etry woven into personal memorylives through his works.

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Milan won an intense bat-tle with rivals Roma at

the Stadio Olimpico in theItalian capital on Sunday night,as Stefano Pioli’s side push fora first league title since 2011.

A Franck Kessie penaltygave Milan the lead five min-utes before the break afterFederico Fazio fouled DavideCalabria.

Jordan Veretout pulledRoma level five minutesafter the break with anarrowed shot, but the awayside were soon back in front.

Ante Rebic drilled homethe winner eight minutes laterafter collecting a pass fromAlexis Saelemaekers follow-ing a poor clearance fromRoma goalkeeper Pau Lopez.

Off-form Milan star ZlatanIbrahimovic had been substi-tuted shortly before Croatiainternational Rebic scored thedecisive goal.

“I told the lads that twogames (losses) cannot takeaway the confidence build up

over a year,” said Pioli.“It’s an important win at a

decisive moment in the seasonwhich takes us out of

two very strange weeks.”Earlier, Napoli’s record

goalscorer, Dries Mertens,returned from injury tohelp the southerners boosttheir Champions League

hopes with a 2-0 win overlocal rivals Benevento, to

sit just a point behind Romain sixth.

Mertens started for thefirst time in over two monthsafter injuring his ankle inmid-December, and the 33-year-old got his boot to aFaouzi Ghoulam cross after

half an hour for his 131stNapoli goal.

Matteo Politano turned inthe second in the 66th minute,with Gattuso’s side holding onfor the points despite KalidouKoulibaly’s sending-off 10minutes from time.

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Domestic giants Mumbaitrounced Himachal

Pradesh by 200 runs in theirfinal Elite Group D game hereon Monday to remain unbeat-en in the league stage of theVijay Hazare Trophy.

Mumbai had won their firstfour matches against Delhi,Maharashtra, Puducherry andRajasthan.

Opting to bat at the SawaiMansingh Stadium, Mumbaiposted an imposing 321/9, cour-tesy Shardul Thakur’s 92,Suryakumar Yadav’s 91 andAditya Tare’s 83 after a top-orderfailure.

Himachal were then bun-dled out for a meagre 121, withleg-spinner Prashant Solanki(4/31) shining with the ball.

After losing four for 49,Suryakumar began the rescueact and toyed with the Himachalattack, striking 15 boundarieson his way to a 75-ball 91.

He found an able ally in theexperienced Tare (83 off 98balls; 6x4; 1x6) who played theperfect second fiddle as the duoforged a 99-run fifth wicketstand to rally the innings.

After Suryakumar fell in the31st over, Tare and Sharduladded 112 runs for the sixthwicket, as they tackled the

Himachal attack with ease.Shardul, one of the heroes

of the Brisbane Test againstAustralia, hammered six bound-aries and as many sixes, as hecantered to 92 in just 57 balls.

Thanks to Shardul’s hit-ting, Mumbai crossed the 300-run mark, but Tare’s patientknock was equally important ashe anchored the innings andsupported the aggressors.

In the other two Elite GroupD league games, Maharashtrathrashed Puducherry by 137runs, while Delhi defeatedRajasthan by eight wickets.

SAURASHTRA IN Q/FIn Group E games at

Kolkata, Saurashtra suffered ashocking 62-run loss at the

hands of Services but still man-aged to finish as group toppersand qualified for the knock-outphase.

Saurashtra finished with 16points, four clear of Chandigarhwhose direct qualification hopeswere dashed with an eight-wicket loss to Jammu &Kashmir at the JadavpurUniversity second campus inSaltlake.

At the 22 Yards Academy inSaltlake, Services rode on RahulSingh Gahlaut’s career-best 158to post a challenging 301 forseven and in reply Saurashtrawere bundled out for 233 in 43.1overs.

Elsewhere at Eden Gardens,hosts Bengal lose by five wick-ets against Haryana.

U’KHAND PIP ASSAMUttarakhand thrashed

Sikkim by 145 runs to remainunbeaten in the Plate group, andclinch a spot in the knockoutphase, pipping Assam by virtueof a better net run-rate.

Assam completed itsengagements with a crushing182-run win over Mizoram.

Both Uttarakhand andAssam finished with an all-winrecord but the former qualifiedfor the next stage due to a high-er NRR (3.273) as against thelatter’s 1.909. Meghalaya edgedNagaland to the third spot byvirtue of a superior NRR despitesecuring 16 points. They werefollowed by Sikkim (4 points),Arunachal Pradesh (2),Mizoram (2) and Manipur (0).

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Jurgen Klopp believesLiverpool can prove the

doubters that have written theirseason off wrong after snappinga four-game Premier Leaguelosing streak to win 2-0 atSheffield United on Sunday.

The English champions’title defence has been decimat-ed by injuries and they face abattle just to qualify for nextseason’s Champions League viaa top-four finish.

Klopp’s men remain insixth, but are now just twopoints behind fourth-placedWest Ham and can leapfrogChelsea in fifth when the Bluesvisit Anfield on Thursday.

“Plenty of people have writ-ten us off. That’s fine,” saidKlopp. “With all the problemswe have had, we’re still aroundthe exciting places.”

Jordan Henderson has beenadded to Liverpool’s long-terminjury list, while goalkeeperAlisson Becker was absent after

he lost his father this week. But the Championship-

bound Blades proved the per-fect opponents for Klopp’smen to restore some confi-dence as Curtis Jones’ second-half strike and Kean Bryan’sown goal got the Reds back towinning ways.

“This was about us show-ing we’re still there,” addedKlopp.

“We play Chelsea onThursday, we have to show itagain. We have to win footballgames, we know that. There’sno way into the ChampionsLeague without results.”

Sheffield United are still 15points adrift of safety at the bot-tom of the table and managerChris Wilder admitted his sidelacked the quality to challengeeven a depleted Liverpool.

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Atletico Madrid bouncedback from recent poor

form with a hard-fought 2-0win at Villarreal on Sundaythat allowed the La Liga pace-setters to extend their lead tofive points.

An own goal fromAlfonso Pedraza and JoaoFelix’s powerful strike gaveAtletico a precious win after awobble which had allowedBarcelona and Real Madrid togain ground in the title race.

Diego Simeone’s side hadcome into the match off theback of a Champions Leaguelast 16 defeat to Chelsea and aleague run in which theypicked up just five points from

their previous four matches.However, the win ensures

Atletico hold second-placedBarca at bay and crucially

keeps the gap between themand rivals Real Madrid at sixpoints ahead of next weekend’slocal derby.

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Big guns Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharmaand Ajinkya Rahane went full throt-

tle at the nets as the Indian cricket onMonday trained in earnest for theupcoming fourth and final Test againstEngland.

The fourth Test starts here onThursday.

Captain Kohli, his deputy Rahaneand senior opener Rohit were seen bat-ting at the nets in a video posted by theBCCI on Twitter.

The three senior players drove,pulled and flicked against the fast

bowlers and spinners at the NarendraModi Stadium here.

Head coach Ravi Shastri was seeninteracting with Rohit and Kohli beforethe two star batsmen sat together for adiscussion.

Left-arm spinner Axar Patel, whobagged 11 wickets in India’s thumpingwin in the pink ball third Test at the samevenue, was seen rolling his arms over atthe nets against some of the world’s bestbatsmen.

They were also seen fielding withRahane, standing next to Rohit in thesecond slip position, taking a one-handed diving catch to his right.

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West Indian battinglegend Viv Richardsis not amused with

past and present English crick-eters “moaning and groaning”about the spin-friendly pitch-es in India and said the visitorsdid not prepare well for thechallenge.

The newly-laid Moteratrack in Ahmedabad became asubject of debate after Indiacrushed England inside twodays in the third Test to go 2-1 up in the four-match series.The severe criticism camefrom former England captainslike Michael Vaughan and asection of the British media.

All the chatter has notgone down well with Richards,whose incredible range ofstrokes and fearless approachto the game terrorised thebest of bowlers in his prime inevery corner of the cricketingworld.

“I’ve been asked questionsrecently about the Test matchthat was played in India, thesecond and third Test matchagainst England.

“And I am a little confusedabout the question reallybecause there seems to be a lotof moaning and groaningabout the wicket that theywere playing on,” Richardssaid in a video posted on hisFacebook page.

“I just felt that the oneswho are moaning, in my opin-ion, should realise that thereare times that you’re going toget a seaming track, a ball thatis basically jumping off a goodlength and everyone thinksthat’s a problem for batters,” hereasoned.

The 68-year-old pointedout that playing in India hasmostly been about tacklingquality spinners and thatEngland may not have donetheir homework properlyahead of the tour.

Weighing in on the debate,the batting great said, “... Butnow you’ve seen the otherside, and this is why I think itwas given the name Test matchcricket, because of the test ofthe mind and will and every-thing else that goes with itwhen you’re competing.

“And the complaints havebeen that the wicket is spin-ning too much and all thatsorts of stuff. This is another

side of the coin guys.“People seem to forget that

if you’re going to India, youshould expect that. You aregoing to spin land. You shouldbasically prepare yourself toknow what you’re going toencounter.”

Richards said that Indiahave pushed England out oftheir comfort zone, weeks afterthe visitors started the serieswith a big win.

“Ever since that first Testmatch, England were in theircomfort zone. They have nowbeen taken out of their comfortzone at present and they havegot to find ways and means tocope with what they are going

to encounter.“Spin is also a part of the

game, this is what a Test matchbrings. The Indian pacers havebeen brilliant over the past fewyears in terms of substance, thewicket-taking ability and stufflike that.”

The legend urged theEnglish team to work harderand face the challenge resolute-ly.

“...Now that you’re in India,you are going to encounterthings and have got to find away. You’re going to get dirty.There is nothing in the rulebook that says I’ve got to scoremy runs in pretty, classicalways,” he said.

London: England on Mondayappointed former openerMarcus Trescothick as the newbatting coach of the nationalteam, besides roping in JonLewis and New Zealand’s JeetanPatel as bowling and spin bowl-ing coaches on permanentbasis.

These three are part of thefour new appointments toEngland’s coaching set-up,which is being headed by chiefcoach Chris Silverwood.

Trescothick will take overfrom Jonathan Trott, whoreplaced South African JacquesKallis in the ongoing tour.Kallis had played the role of abatting consultant for Englandin Sri Lanka.

“...I’m really excited aboutthe calibre of the individualsthat we’ve appointed into thesespecialist roles. Marcus, Jonand Jeetan have demonstratedtheir ability at the highest leveland also show huge potentialfor the future,” ECB perfor-mance director Mo Bobat saidin a statement.

Trescothick, who scoredover 10,000 International runsacross formats between 2000and 2006, is expected to take uphis new role in mid-Marchafter stepping down from hisposition as assistant coach atSomerset. PTI

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New Delhi: Australian greatSteve Waugh feels that ViratKohli is like a “modern-dayhero” who represents the “newattitude of India” of takingeverything head on with amind set of nothing is impos-sible.

In a 60-minute documen-tary titled, Capturing Cricket:Steve Waugh in India, the for-mer Australia captain said thatKohli is loved by the fans for hisattitude of not being intimidat-ed by an opposition.

“What they love aboutKohli is that it’s like the newattitude of India, get stuck in,don’t be intimidated. Takeeverything on and anything isachievable and possible. But he’slike the modern-day hero,”Waugh was quoted as saying ina media release after the launchof the documentary.

The documentary capturesthe very essence and undyinglove for the game in Indiathrough the lens of Waugh andis brought by discovery+. PNS

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Australian all-rounder GlennMaxwell is chuffed about

playing alongside and learningfrom Virat Kohli in the upcom-ing IPL, calling the Indian cap-tain “the pinnacle of the game”for his dominance across for-mats. The Kohli-led RCB boughtMaxwell, who was released byPunjab Kings, for a whopping�14.25 crore at the auctions lastmonth.

“It’s (RCB stint) going to benext level,” Maxwell toldAustralian Associated Press. “He’s(Kohli) been the pinnacle of thegame for a while as a multi-for-

mat player from Tests all the wayto T20s. “He’s been able toadapt his game, dominate for along period of time and dealwith the Indian pressure ofbeing their captain and their bestplayer,” Maxwell added.

The Indian Premier Leagueis scheduled to start in the sec-ond week of April and theswashbuckling all-rounderhopes to pick up some leader-ship qualities from the Indianskipper, who will also beMaxwell’s captain at RCB.

“I’m looking forward towatching him go about hiswork, not just in games but intraining, and hopefully tappinginto some of the leadershipstuff and try and learn off him.”

· the ‘bastar tigers’ special force will be formed in all dis-tricts of bastar division which...

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