˘ ˇˆ˙˝ˇ˛˚ ˝˜ˆ˙˜ˇ · 2020. 3. 18. · ries of the madhu babu pension yojana and an...

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The Commissionerate policeon Tuesday issued guide-

lines for IT companies func-tioning in the twin cities ofCuttack and Bhubaneswar toprevent the spread of COVID-19.

The CP issued the regula-tions exercising their specialpowers under Section 35 of theOdisha Urban Police (OUP)Act.

The firms have been issuedinstructions not to allow anyemployee, who has travelled

abroad in the last 14 days,to come to their premis-es, and force them towork from home for aperiod of 14 days.

If he or she cannotwork from home, he orshe may be asked to availleave as per the policies ofthe company.

If any employee is beingvisited by family members,who have travelled abroad,then the employee should selfdeclare and stay at home quar-antine for a period of 14 days.

Any employee havingfever, cough, should not beallowed to enter the premises.If possible, temperature can betaken using a non-contact ther-mometer at the entry point

The companies are advisedto restrict all travels within oroutside the country unlessabsolutely necessary and con-duct such meetings using suit-able IT platform.

“Any company failing toimplement the above instruc-tions would be liable for pros-ecution under Section 100 ofOdisha Urban Police (OUP)Act. The primary liabilitywould be the head of the estab-lishment. Besides they wouldbe prosecuted under otherSections including 269,270 and304 of the Indian Penal Code(IPC),” stated a notificationissued by the CP.

Besides, all officers abovethe rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector are instructed to visitIT companies and initiateaction in case of violation.

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Puri GajapatiM a h a r a j a

Dibyasingha Deb andhis family wouldremain in self-quaran-tine for 14 days as theyreturned toBhubaneswar from theUnited States on March15.

The family hadgone to the US to attendseveral programmes inthe Jagannath templesin various Americancities.

After reaching here, theroyal family registered online inthe State Government’sCOVID-19 portal. The familyis currently staying in their res-idence here taking precautionsfor maintaining good health inview of the highly-infectious

virus. The Gajapati Maharajahas also appealed to people,who have arrived in the Statefrom abroad on or after March4, to immediately register in theGovernment’s COVID-19 por-tal and remain in home isola-tion for at least 14 days.

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The Government’sallowances for elderly per-

sons, widows and physically-challenged persons would bepaid in advance in view of theCOVID-19 (novel coronavirus)outbreak, said Social Security& Empowerment of Personswith Disability Minister AshokChandra Panda on Tuesday.

The allowances would bepaid in advance this month forthe months of April, May, Juneand July. Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik has issued a directivein this regard, Panda said.

Around 28 lakh beneficia-ries of the Madhu Babu PensionYojana and an equal number ofbeneficiaries of the NationalSocial Assistance Programme(NSAP) in the State would bebenefited with the decision, headded. The move is meant toprevent the beneficiaries, espe-cially elderly persons, fromcoronavirus contamination,official sources said.

interview of the weekpioneer

She is witty, vivacious andendowed with a winsome

personality. Anshu PragyanDas, a forest officer, has expe-rienced working in TigerReserves of Odisha likeSimilipal and Satkosia for aconsiderable period of timewith valuable contributionstowards protection of land-scape and livelihood of forest-dependent communities.Having completed 13 years ofher service, her main thrust hasbeen wildlife conservation andecotourism. She has worked allalong in tandem with environ-mentalist, carefully nourishing,nurturing, preserving and pro-tecting her motto to promoteecotourism. Engrossed in inter-action with biopic compo-nents, she focuses on socially-responsible travelling by ‘leaphomes and the gentle brawns’while working for the eco-nomic amelioration andempowerment of the commu-nities concerned. She is thewoman behind the successfulecotourism project, SatkosiaSands at Badmul in SatkosiaTiger Reserve. The project,first of its kind in the State,earned revenue of Rs 1 crorelast year; and this year also pro-viding employment in manyriverine villages of the SatkosiaTiger Reserve, mostly forwomen. She also brought in theconcept of Eco-Village bytransforming one forest depen-dent-village to a self-dependentone. Odisha's first CanopyWalk was her innovation,which is built by villagers withtraining under her stewardship.Nature education programmesin ecotourism like poacher-turned-protectors, know yourbirds and Walk in Jungle havebeen her brainchild. In 2018,she was the brain behind crack-ing the pangolin trade racket incentral and eastern India afterarrest of a wanted internation-al pangolin trader, ShamsuddinKhan. She has authored twobooks “Birds of SatkosiaLandscape” and “Satkosia, theSeen & the Unseen”, which havereceived wide acclaim. InFebruary 2020, she received theIndian Express Devi Awardfrom the Chief Minister alongwith 12 other women achiev-ers for her significant contri-bution to ecotourism. She hasproved beyond doubt that awoman is not always an objectof sympathy but is an impor-tant and an indispensable partof governance and decisionmaking. In an interview to ThePioneer, Anshu Pragyan spoketo Sugyan Choudhury on theoccasion of the InternationalWomen’s Day.

How easy it is for womento be in forestry sector?

I believe in poet WilliamWordsworth’s observation onforest that has inspired me towork under the greenwoodtrees:

“One impulse from a ver-nal wood

May teach you more ofman,

Of moral evil and of good,Than all the sages can”

Women and men both arecreations of God; and sinceyears, they have been living onthis earth with love and har-mony. The approach of bothtowards execution of theirduties or taking care of theirresponsibilities is the same.But in the sector like forestry,there are certain advantages ofbeing a lady on job. In ourState, the forest cover is almost40% and a majority of thepopulation is dependent onforest and forest produce fortheir alternative livelihood.They reduce pressure on forestand motivate general public

towards wildlife conservation.What are your interest

areas in work field?As a Government servant,

accomplishing duties on timehas always been my primeconcern. I do photography,sometimes write. I have twobook publications till now. Onholidays, I do birding too. Agood book sometimes is myfavourite companion. Workingwith people for a developmen-tal cause has always been themain charm in Governmentservices.

Ecotourism being newsubject in Odisha, how couldyou make the BadmulEcotourism project successfulin a small duration?

Credit for the success thisproject goes to the hardwork-ing community membersworking over there. As aGovernment servant, I haveonly given my best in fulfillingthe requirement of the land-scape. Ecotourism has multi-dimensional impact on societyand also on forest. Odisha isrich in forests and wildliferesources, beautiful valleys,sky-touching mountains, mes-merising rivers and thousandof streams all over. Because ofecotourism, people from allover the world are getting achance to visit Odisha andwitness its diversity. TheBadmul project overlookingthe Satkosia gorge started dur-ing 2016 with three tented

accommodations run by eightvillagers. Now, the projectstands with 19 tents and cot-tages managed by 34 villagersbenefitting eight 8 to 10 river-ine villages of Nayagarh district.It has turned to be favouriteplace for backpackers and nov-elists. Gradually, the turnoverof the project increased from 4lakh in 2016 to 1 crore during2019. Of course, this successhas been possible because ofthe hard work of the commu-nity members and cooperationof local public. I would thankall forest staffs, who complet-ed the work in time and withtransparency. Any person maygo to Badmul and ask the vil-lagers the reason of their suc-cess; and they will say it is hardwork and transparency whichhas changed their lives.

Has it been an innovativework?

It is mostly the requirementof landscape according towhich we design different pro-jects while working for an eco-tourism project, ideas shared bythe local people. Of course, thesilence of forest too brings innew thoughts sometimes.

How far does the StateGovernment accommodateinnovation?

Any innovative work ben-eficial for our people has alwaysbeen a yes from theGovernment.

How much can eco-tourism tone up the economyof the State?

The Odisha model of eco-tourism is a community-basedmodel in which a major shareof the revenue generated goesback to the community itself.Many women are employed indifferent ecotourism destina-tions now. It has been an alter-native income for the forest-dependant communities whowere earlier dependent onpoaching, smuggling, fishing,collecting honey, firewood, etc.,for their survival. Throughecotourism, they are now ableto sustain their livelihoods.Our State’s ecotourism modelis people-centric. Beside sup-porting the State’s economy,ecotourism is the only way toinvite tourists from differentparts of the world to see thecaptivating beauty which ourState is having.

What is the role of womenin ecotourism?

Our Indian culture hasalways believed in the strengtha women carries. In this chang-ing world where women arefound bringing positive resultsin different sectors of the soci-ety, ecotourism has emerged asan area which supports bothlivelihood and conservation. Itis the women in remote areaswho have conserved forestssince ages. Now, who can bet-ter speak about the interestingfactsof nature and secrets ofwilderness to the tourists otherthan women themselves! Yes, itis the women who are thebackbone of this project.

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As part of the precaution-ary measures against the

coronavirus , the StateGovernment on Tuesdaydirected for stopping ofdance performances in allbars and clubs across theState capital with immediateeffect.

As per a direction ofKhordha district CollectorSitanshu Rout and ExciseSuperintendent PrasannaAcharya, no types of danceper formances would bestaged in bars and clubs as ameasure to prevent spread oft h ecoronavirus.

Notably, on Monday, theTwin City Commissioneratepolice had ordered closure ofa l l shopping mal ls inBhubaneswar and Cuttackfrom March 16 to March 31to check spread of the killer virus.

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A gunrunner was arrested bypolice from the Buddha Park

area under theChandrasekharpur police sta-tion here on Tuesday.

The arrestee was identifiedas Pinku Diggal (30), a residentof Dunguri Garh under theBisipada police station inKandhamal district. Presently,Pinku was residing at Kargil

slum under the Airport policestation here.

Police seized a 9mm pistol,a revolver, two live bullets,seven empty bullet shells and aPulsar bike from his possession.But his associate managed togive a slip to the police team.

Following specific inputs,personnel of Quick Actionteam (QAT) and theChandrasekharpur police car-ried out a raid on the BuddhaPark and managed to nabDiggal. He was arrested underSection 25 (I-B) A of the ArmsAct 1959.

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In view of the novel coron-avirus outbreak, Housing

and Urban DevelopmentDepartment has issued sever-al guidelines for regulation ofservices at Aahaar centres inthe State.

In order to slow down themovement of crowd and decon-gest the Aahaar centres, servingtime during day time has beenextended from 10 am to 4 pm.People will make a queue at thecentres with 1.5-metre distanceto be maintained between twoindividuals. Hand wash facili-ty would be placed outside thecentres and people would wash

their hands before entry.For purchasing token for

food, beneficiaries would dropmoney inside the box kept forthe purpose to minimise phys-ical contacts. Token counterswould be anitised regularly.

Housing and UrbanDevelopment PrincipalSecretary G Mathivathnan hasissued orders to all MunicipalCommissioners and ExecutiveOfficers of Municipalities andNotified Area Councils (NACs)in this regard.

Police or Home Guardswill be deployed to regulatemovement of the crowds at theAahaar Centres.

If required people may beencouraged to carry the platewith food to outside theCentres for eating and bins maybe kept outside for placing theused plates, said the officialorder.

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Ol l y w o o ds i n g e r

Humane Sagar haslanded in a soupfor his recent song“Jhia Nuhein TuCoronavirus” .Thesong amid thecoronavirus scarehas drawn flakfrom various quar-ters.

T r o u b l emounted for theOllywood singer on Tuesday asmembers of several socialorganisations lodged a com-plaint in this regard at theMahila police station inCuttack.

The complainants alleged

that the song is derogatorytowards women and demand-ed a ban on it.

Penned by Pabitra andmusic being composed byGanesh Prasad, the songdescribes a girl as coronavirus.

The song has been criticised bymany, including those belong-ing to the Odia music industry,as the track surfaced at a timewhen coronavirus outbreakhas created havoc across theworld.

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While people are rushingout to buy face masks

and sanitisers to keep them-selves safe from the coron-avirus, Cuttack-BarabatiCongress MLA MohammedMoquim on Tuesday visitedbusy lanes in Ward-17 ofCuttack and distributed theseessential items among the pub-lic.

Moquim encouraged thecitizens to be alert and adopthealthy practices to tackle thedeadly virus. He began the dis-tribution drive from Ward-17and would continue it in otherareas of his constituency incoming days.

In another joint awareness

drive in the city, theCommissionerate police andthe Khan Nagar YouthAssociation distributed masksamong people near theBadambadi Bus-Stand and sen-sitised them about precautionsto fight back COVID-19.

“Thousands of peoplecommute to/from theBadambadi Bus-Stand. Theyare highly prone to the virus.We aim to make people awareof the preventives to save themfrom coming in contact withcoronavirus,” said a memberthe association.

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In a Special Mention in theRajya Sabha, BJD member

Dr Sasmit Patra on Tuesdayreiterated Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik’s demand thatthe Centre give focus on devel-opment of eastern India as akey to development of thecountry.

The Chief Minister hadplaced the demand in the 24thEastern Zonal Council Meetingheld in Bhubaneswar a fewweeks back.

Dr Patra further empha-sised that if a nation-wideanalysis is done for tele-densi-ty, banking density, rail androad density; then the eastzone which includes Odisha

would be at the bottom in allthese subjects that are in UnionList.

Reiterating the CM’sdemands, Dr Patra said thatthere is a need to double theallotments made to this regionso that they catch up to thenational benchmarks. The eastzone contributes maximum tothe mineral wealth of the coun-try and in turn manufacturingand energy security of theCountry. The fruits of thiswealth should boost econom-ic growth of this region and itspeople. Royalty on coal has notbeen revised from 2012. Thereis an urgent need to revise roy-alty on coal and also to sharethe proceeds of clean energycess with the State

Government.Further, he stated that there

is a need to provide a specialeconomic package for speedingup infrastructural developmentof the region. He stronglystressed on the issue that theUnion Government worksstrenuously towards the fulfil-ment of these demands raisedby CM Patnaik at the earliest.

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Ateacher of a primary schoolin Kalahandi district was

placed under suspension onMonday for allegedly spreadingrumours about coronavirus.

The Kalahandi Collectorsuspended Bindu Mahanand,who was working as a Teacherat the Dudkela Primary Schoolunder Golamunda block ofthe district. The teacher wasarrested on Sunday in thisconnection.

He had allegedly posted amessage on WhatsApp claim-ing that a coronavirus-infectedman returned from Bengaluruand confined himself to hishouse at Khaliakani village inGolamunda block.

Following this, police andblock officials visited the villageto verify the claim. The infor-mation was found to be falsefollowing which the police reg-istered a case againstMahanand and arrested him.

The State Government hadwarned that stern action wouldbe taken against anyonespreading rumours about thedisease.

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An illegal sand smugglingracket was unearthed by

Barbil police recently and asand loaded truck was seized,besides four persons arrested.

According to sources, dur-ing vehicle checking, the Barbiltehsil and police team were ver-ifying the papers of a sandloaded hywa truck where theyfound the transit permit wastampered. The date, weightand destination were not men-tioned in the transit permit.

On inquiry, it was revealedthat the truck had loaded thesand from Tumkele balighat,near Lahunipada in Sudergarhdistrict and was transportingthe same to Barbil town. Thesand lessee issued TPs usingmagic pen which was erasedand used again and again bytruck owners to smuggle sandand sell them in the Barbil area.

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More than 54,000 personsare under community

surveillance against the back-drop of coronavirus pandem-ic and the health workers are inregular touch with them,Health Minister HarshVardhan informed Parliamenton Tuesday. People with flu-likesymptoms but without a his-tory of travel abroad are undercommunity surveillance.

Informing the Rajya Sabhaabout measures taken to fightthe pandemic, the HealthMinister assured Rajya Sabhamembers that any complaintabout reported unhygienicconditions in the quarantine isgetting due attention.

Highlighting the role of themedical fraternity, HarshVardhan said, “As one metresocial distancing is required tobe taken while dealing withthose affected with the virus, Ilaud doctors and paramedicswho are working honestly withdedication while taking risks intreating these patients.”

“I laud all doctors andparamedics, be it in villages orcities or in private orGovernment in controllingcoronavirus at all levels,” he toldthe House while replying tosupplementaries duringQuestion Hour. His remarkswere lauded by all members,including those from theOpposition.

The Minister also urgedMPs to visit quarantine facili-

ties in their areas and suggestways to help improve facilities.He noted that the response hasbeen positive in appreciatingthe high quality treatment atquarantine facilities.

On reports about poorfacilities at such centres, HarshVardhan said these reports areexceptions. “I can agree withyou that the facilities may notbe good. It is quite possible thatat some places bathrooms maynot be 5-star type. We are acti-ing in strongest possible man-ner on such complaints. These

are rare complaints,” he said.The Minister also said the

Indian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR) scientists arein touch with scientists all overthe world regarding the use ofretroviral drugs in treatingcoronavirus patients and inthe research underway acrossthe world in finding treatmentof the virus.

Fielding questions onimpact of the pandemic ontourism sector, TourismMinister Prahlad Singh Patelsaid in the Upper House the

Government’s immediate pri-ority is to ensure safety ofpeople and it will later evalu-ate losses incurred by the cul-ture and tourism industry dueto restrictions on visitors.

Responding to series ofqueries during the QuestionHour, he said the Governmenthas banned tourist visit andeven Archaeological Survey ofIndia (ASI) monuments andtemples are shutdown.

Taking a view contrary tohis former party presidentRahul Gandhi, Congress MP

Karti Chidambaram sprang asurprise in the Lok Sabha bycomplimenting the UnionGovernment for its efforts totackle coronavirus and saidone should not “play politics”over the issue.

Rahul has all along beentargeting the ModiGovernment’s response in tack-ling coronavirus and accusingit of being in stupor. Karti,however, pointed to complaintsthat people, being quarantinedover coronavirus suspicion,have been kept in “substan-dard” facilities under “unhy-gienic” conditions. He saidmany of these people, most ofwhom were quarantined fol-lowing their return fromabroad, have the wherewithalfor self-isolation and should beallowed to do so.

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With 137 positive cases byTuesday evening and

three deaths, latest in Tuesdayin Maharashtra, theGovernment has decided torope in accredited private labsto conduct tests for the infec-tion and recommended anti-HIV drug combinationLopinavir-Ritonavir on case-to-case basis for treatment of theviral infection.

At present onlyGovernment labs are permittedto do the test and the Centre ismaking arrangements to near-ly double its testing capacity. AUnion Health Ministry officialssaid that around 60 accreditedprivate laboratories are likely tobe given permission to conductthe tests soon. Confirmatorytests for COVID-19 are cur-rently being done free-of costat Government set-ups.

As per the guidelinesissued by the Government forprivate labs, test should beonly offered when prescribedby a qualified physician as perICMR guidance for testing.Since the guidance evolvesperiodically, the latest revisedversion should be followed.

The guidelines state thatthe ICMR will share the SOPs

for laboratory testing and pro-vide positive controls for estab-lishing the test as soon as theprivate laboratory concernedhas procured the primers,probes and reagents as perSOPs. Adoption of commercialkits for testing should be basedon validations conducted bylCMR-National Institute ofVirology (NIV), Pune.

It also states that appropri-ate biosafety and biosecurityprecautions should be ensuredwhile collecting samples froma suspect patient. Alternatively,a disease specific separate col-lection site may be created.

All the private testing lab-oratories have been asked toensure immediate/real-timereporting to the State officialsof IDSP (Integrated DiseaseSurveillance Program ofGovernment of India) andICMR HQ for timely initiationof contact tracing and researchactivities.

Raman R Gangakhedkar,

head of the Epidemiology andCommunicable Diseases atICMR, said the testing capac-ity is not an issue as per thecapacity of 52 labs, India canconduct up to 10,000 tests perday at present.

“Around 600 samples arebeing tested per day,” he said,adding 60,000 testing kits areavailable now and additional200,000 kits have been ordered.

According to the currenttesting protocols, only thosewith history of travel to high-risk countries affected by therespiratory virus and thosewho came in contact with pos-itive patients have been askedto be quarantined for 14 days.Others with symptoms of theinfection are being tested.

The official said the deci-sion to allow anti-HIV drugcombination on case-to-casebasis follows the success in thetreatment of an Italian elderlycouple at Jaipur’s SMS hospital.

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Lucknow: To contain the coro-navirus spread, the UttarPradesh Government onTuesday extended the closureof all educational institutions,cinemas, mulitplexes andtourists places in the State tillApril 2 and implemented work-from-home protocol to theextent possible.

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State Sports Director VineelKrishna on Tuesday issued a

video clip informing that he hasbeen under self-quarantine sinceMonday.

“Though I have not shownany symptoms of coronavirusafter the recent foreign visit, Ihave kept myself under self-quarantine as per the Odisha gov-ernment’s advisories. I have reg-

istered myself on the COVID-19website,” said Krishna, a seniorIAS officer.

He also urged others to fol-low the Government advisories tohelp tackle spread of coron-avirus.

The official had recentlygone to the United States on someofficial work.

Meanwhile, StateGovernment COVID-19 ChiefSpokesperson Subroto Bagchion Tuesday informed that 1,239persons have registered so far forself-quarantine in the last 24hours. Of them, 554 have regis-tered through call centres and 685through the COVID-19 portal.

Out of 32 persons’ swab andblood samples, 31 have beentested negative. The condition ofthe person, who has tested pos-itive, is stable at the CapitalHospital now, he furtherinformed.

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The State Government onTuesday announced to pay a

5% enhanced DearnessAllowance (DA) to its employeeswith retrospective effect from July1, 2019.

In an office order, FinanceSecretary AKK Meena statedthat the Government wouldrelease the additional dose of DAat the rate of 5% enhancing theexisting rate from 12% to 17% onthe basic pay with effect from July1. 2019 in favour of the employ-ees covered under the ORSPRules, 2017.

“The additional dose of DAfrom 01.7.2019 to 31.12.2019will be paid in cash. The last datefor presentation of bill towardsdrawal of arrear claims in respectof DA @5% from 01.7.2019 in theTreasures, Special Treasures, Sub-Treasures in the current financialyear is 26.3.2020,” the officeorder said.

The order further stated thatfor the all-India service officersserving in the State Government,

the GA & PG Department wouldissue orders separately. TheWork-Charged employees draw-ing regular scale of pay under theORSP Rules, 2017 are also eligi-ble to get the increased DA.

The teaching and nonteach-ing staffs of fully-aided non-Government educational insti-tutions covered under the ORSPRules, 2017 and the teaching andnonteaching staffs of universitieswho are in receipt of regular scaleof pay under the ORSP Rules,2017 and for whom the StateGovernment is bearing full salarycost would also get the hiked DA.They also include the teachers ofuniversities who enjoyAICTE/UGC scale under ORSP(College Teachers Rules, 2019),the order stated.

“The DA in accordance withthis memorandum will also beadmissible to the StateGovernment employees whowere in service on July 1, 2019 buthave ceased to be in service at thetime of sanction of DA as per therevised scale of pay,” the ordersaid.

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sThe Sun Temple in Konark has beenincluded under the country’s list of 19 mon-

uments which would be developed as IconicSites by the Centre. This was informed byUnion Culture and Tourism Minister PrahladSingh Patel replying to a query by BJD MP DrSasmit Patra in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Notably, Union Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman in her Budget speech for 2019-20had announced allocations to develop infra-structure at 17 places across the country.However, the Sun Temple and the PuriJagannath Temple did not find mention in the

Centre’s list. This had created resentmentamong Odisha people.

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The Orissa High Court BarAssociation in an emer-

gency meeting on Tuesdaydecided that its memberswould not attend the courtworks from March 18 to 31 inview of the State Government’sguidelines against mass gath-erings due to the coronavirus

scare. “The association unani-

mously decided to suggest itsmembers to avoid court pro-ceedings and to stay awayfrom mass gatherings as a pre-cautionary measure,” said asso-ciation secretary Sanjay KumarDas here after the e m e r g e n c ymeeting.

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With the coronavirusscare triggering mass

home return of migrantworkers of Odisha, theauthorities in the State havetaken measures to preventmass gatherings and set upquarantine camps at the vil-lage community halls andGovernment-run health cen-tres.

More than 10 lakh peoplefrom the State’s Ganjam andKendrapada districts areemployed in textile, cotton-ginning, carpet, diamond-polishing, and constructionsectors in States like Gujarat,Maharashtra, Kerala, TamilNadu, Karnataka and AndhraPradesh.

A senior Kendarpada

official said the districtauthorities have geared up tokeep a tab on the health pro-files, travel histories and clin-ical records of the returnees.

In Ganjam, the adminis-tration has imposed pro-hibitory orders under Section144 of CrPC to prevent massgatherings, Ganjam CollectorVijay Amruta Kulange said.

“Labour officers havebeen asked to keep a strictvigil on those returning fromother states. The prohibitoryorders will remain in forcet i l l fur ther orders ,” he said.

Kendrapada is also wit-nessing mass homecoming ofmigrant labourers, many ofthem from Covid-19-affect-ed States, Collector SamarthVerma said.

“The administration is

leaving no stone unturned toensure people’s safety at thishour. Isolation wards forquarantining vulnerable peo-ple will be set up soon,” hesaid.

Panic is palpable amongthe residents of the district,Verma said, insisting thatSarpanches of Panchayatsand Ward Members andCouncillors of urban localbodies are working everyday to identify suspectedcases.

“We are not taking anychance. Special arrangementshave been made at all healthcentres to isolate suspectedcases. Officials are screeningthe returnees. So far, wehaven’t found anyone withsymptoms of Covid-19,”V e r m aadded.

��2�!�� !�"

Rail commuters in Bhadrakwill have some new facili-

ties soon. In this regard, recent-ly, local MP Manjulata Mandalalong with several representa-tives met Railways MinisterPiyush Goyal in New Delhi andraised a few demands.

An important meeting washeld at East Coast Divisionwith its General Manager andseveral senior officials regard-ing developmental works ofBhadrak railway station amongothers at Bhubaneswar onMarch 11 in presence of MPMandal.

Accordingly, several newinitiatives have been started.

Proposal for stoppage of trainat Bhadrak, No. 22603/04( K h ar a g pu r- Vi l lupu r amJunction), 22605/06 (Purulia-Villupuram Junction) and22831 / 32 (Howrah-Sri SatyaSai Prashanti Nilayam) Expressat Bhadrak has already beenrecommended to RailwayBoard for approval, said a com-munique signed by DGM (G),East Coast RailwayAshokKumar Mishra.

Similarly, a proposal isunder active consideration ofSouth Eastern Railway for anew weekly train betweenBaleswar and Bangalore.Regarding new train connec-tivity between western Odishaand northern Odisha,improved patronisation of theweekly train Howrah-Sambalpur-Howrah is underconsideration.

Similarly, work is in progressfor raising of platform heightfrom low level to high level at

Baudpur, Kenduapada andManjuri Road. Apart from this10 bays of platform sheds at plat-form No. 1 at Bhadrak railwaystation is under progress andplatform shelter for platform No.3 and 4 will be processed.

Construction of underpassat LC gate No. 118 is awaitingsanction at Railway Board on50:50 cost sharing basisbetween Centre and the State.Apart from that feasibility isbeing examined to augment theBhadrak-Bhubaneswar MEMUto 16 coaches. In addition,B a n g i r i p o s i - B a r i p a d a -Bhubaneswar superfast Express

coaches have been patronizedwith more ACCZ coaches forunserved passengers. Twomore GS coaches have beenadded from March 9, said MPMandal.

Fly over at LC gate No. 119has been sanctioned. Proposalfor construction of rail overbridge (ROB) has been sent toRailway Board for sanction on50:50 sharing basis at LC gatesof Manjuri Road andKenduapada. The lift on plat-form number 1,2 and 3 will becompleted soon in March andthe lift on platform No. 4 and5 shall be completed by April.

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In an attempt to increasesecurity and curb the crime

rate, all major towns of Koraputdistrict are kept under CCTVsurveillance.

In the first phase, 35 CCTVswere installed in all vulnerablepoints of Kotpad, borderingChhattisgarh, 62 CCTVsinstalled in Sunabeda andSemliguda and a total of 92 cam-eras had been installed at Jeyporewhile control rooms had beenset up at respective police sta-tions. For all that, the expenceshad been incurred from repec-tive MLA LAD funds.

Informing this to media-persons earlier, Koraput SPMukesh Kumar Bhamoo saidthe CCTVs would not onlyimprove security but also keep

an eye on traffic norm violatorsand ganja smugglers.

However all said and done,just after a month the CCTVsinstalled now seem to be invain due to lack of propersurvillence.

Rajendra Gauda of Jeyporesaid the day when the CCTvswere installed, the denizenswere happy with a hope that thespeed bikers and the streetRomeos would be punished butafter the installation there weremore speed bikers and thetraffic was the worst ever.

The members of theJeypore Citizen Committeesaid there was requirement ofstaffs for surveillance ofCCTVs and also e-challanrequired for the offenders orlawbreakers.

Two years back, theJeypore administration hadinstalled 10 CCTVs in Jeyporetown but these were rendereddefunct in the absence of main-tenance.

�2�*�&�� &�1�

Khariar MLA AdhirajMohan Panigrahi asked

the Executive Engineer of RuralDevelopment department,Khariar division, to discussabout completion of a roadwork connecting Dhanksar toDuajhar village of Khariarblock.

The longstanding demandof the people of Dhanksar vil-lage for construction of a bridgeon a small river that kept thevillage aloof for four months ina year from the State Highwaywas fulfilled after a long time.

The road connects manyvillages of RanimundaPanchayat to Khariar town.The bridge was constructed butthe approach road was leftincomplete due to problems in

land acquisition. "Inspite of constructionof the bridge ourproblem remainedintact," said the peo-ple.

Panigrahi invit-ed the EE to visit thesite. The people ofDhanksar village and,the Sarpanches ofRanimunda andSardhapur GramPanchayats were alsoinvited to the worksite to discuss withthem about the landacquisition problem.

The villagersdemanded that the road becompleted and they were readyto cooperate for it. The EEinformed that lands of two outof six owners had beenacquired. "Payment has beenreleased to these two legalholders, but in the rest of thecases the acquisition was notpossible because the legal hold-ers are many. Funds requiredfor acquiring the land havealready been placed with the

Land Acquisition Office, butthey could not proceed becausethe land to be acquired is in ajoint patta. All the members,who are legal holders of thepatta have to be present,"informed the EE.

When the MLA asked thevillagers to get all the legalholders together, the villagersagreed to take that responsi-bility.

"I am in contact with the

LAO for speeding up theprocess and will inform theMLA and the villagers once theofficial process is completed,"informed the EE.

The MLA also advised theEE to take over a GP road fromKirkira to Mundapala- Kupia,so that the road could be devel-oped to create the shortestroute to Dharamgarh town ofKalahandi district viaHatibandha.

&�� !�"

The Hotel and RestaurantAssociation of Odisha

(HRAO) has urged ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik tosupport the hospitality andtravel industries in the State asthey have been severely impact-ed by the outbreak of novelcoronavirus (COVID-19).

“The travel trade and hotelindustry of Odisha is going tobear a huge financial burden asmany inbound tourists are can-celling their bookings, largeconferences, banquet book-ings and marriage bookings inmost of the hotels,” wroteHRAO chairman JK Mohantyto the Chief Minister on

Monday.Mohanty, also IATO

Eastern Region chairman,demanded deferment of pay-ment of bank loans by hotelowners as they will face diffi-culties in paying interest andbank EMIs by COVID-19impact. The Governmentshould waive SGST for thehotels till the situation becomesnormal.

The other demands includewaiver of fees for any upcom-ing licenses and permits renew-al such as BMC holding tax,Bar licence fee, gound waterfee, electricity fee, a completeGST tax holiday for theTourism, Travel and HospitalityIndustry for the next twelvemonths and immediate sanc-tion of funds to reimburse PF,ESIC, Professional Tax, salariesof employees in the sector.

&�� !�"

Union Steel MinisterDharmendra Pradhan has

informed that the Steel Authorityof India Limited (SAIL) willcommence operations from theParadip Port for exports soon.The Union Minister also said thenumber of containerized ship-

ments has increased for cateringto smaller sized export orders.

The SAIL has exported var-ious products to new interna-tional markets. Some of the ini-tiatives taken towards higher cus-tomer satisfaction for exportmarkets include commence-ment of exports from the ParadipPort, he said.

&�� &�1�

Nuapada district CollectorM a d h u s m i t a

Sahu held a reviewmeeting of officials ofLower Indra IrrigationProject (LIIP) to dis-cuss about progress inthe realignment workin NH-353 nearPendrawan village,which has remainedincomplete due toobjection raised by afew land owners whohave claimed compensationfor their houses.

As informed by the LIIPofficials, the Collector insistedon settling of the land acquisi-

tion issue as soon as possibleand completion of the work innext few weeks.

The realignment work withan estimated cost of Rs 22.99crore consisted of realignmentof 9.972 km road includingconstruction of embankment,

wing culvert and wing wall etc.The cost has now escalated toRs 30.364 crore. The fund hasalready been placed with theNH authority. Out of this total

length, work has been com-pleted in 9.7 km. Work in rest272 metres is not progressingdue to problems in land acqui-sition. The LIIP authorityinformed that the proposal forland acquisition has been sentto the department of Water

Resources, Government ofOdisha for approval.

"We hope to complete thework within a month" said oneEngineer of LIIP.

&�� $�' (��"

The Keonjhar Sadar policehave succeeded in nabbing

three robbers involved in theBank of India Paapanga branch

loot incident. The robbers hadbroken into the bank onFebruary 9 night and escapedwith more than Rs10 lakh bysmashing the bank locker. Theyhad also carried away a bag fullof coins which they left on theway as it was heavy to carry.

The police had registered acase and after investigationsucceeded to trace the culpritsfrom different places inJharkhand State.

The arrested culprits areWasim Akram, alias Chotu, res-ident of Radhanagar PS area,Shem Skeikh, resident ofAmanath village, MohamedSamiul and Siekh of Rajmahalpolice station limits. Some moreinvolved in the crime will also bearrested soon , the police said.

There was another dacoityincident on February 18, wherethe dacoits had looted Rs 4 lakhfrom the Canara Bank,Handibhanga branch at 3pmafternoon and the miscreantswere still untraced.

&�� $�' (��"

All educational insti-tutions, cinema

halls, shopping mallshave been closed bythe district adminis-tration here as preven-tive measure for curb-ing spread of caron-avirus in the district.

The Collector Keonjharhad issued directives in socialmedia and Press regardinginformation on COVID 19along with advice on how toprevent spread of the disease.The Health department is nowextra conscious to trace anyinfected patient and quarantinesuspected patients in theDistrict Headquarters Hospital.

The shopping malls in thedistrict including BIG Bazaarimmediately shut down on

Monday morning while bigstores have also closed tem-porarily. Parents and studentswere worried about the finalexams in schools and collegeswhich were suspended imme-diately.

However, the schoolsunder the ST SC WelfareDepartment have beeninstructed to run the hostels asusual taking precautionarymeasures for prevention of thevirus.

&�� (��"��:�1�

The district administrationhas been geared up for

corona precautions inJharsuguda district.

A 24 hour control roomhas been made operational inthe District HeadquartersHospital (DHH) with doctorsand other staff on duty for 12hours. Isolation wards hadbeen opened at the DistrictHeadquarters Hospital as well.

The control room will con-tinue till March 31. If anybodyhas fever,cough and difficultyin breathing,helpline number9439986853 can be used forany information on Corona.

Official sources clarifiedthat the district administrationhad already made adequatearrangements to tackle any sit-uation concerning the epi-demic. A vehicle has been alsoprovided to the control room,the district administrationinformed.

&�� !�"

The suspended workers ofBirla Tyres have threat-

ened mass immolation in frontof the plant if their grievanceswere not addressed by theState Government by March 30.

As many as 11 suspendedworkers said that they wereunder suspension for last 18months and despite appealingto authorities at different lev-els including the LabourDepartment Minister, Secretaryand the district Collector, therewas no result.

Neither their suspensionorders were revoked nor theywere allowed to work, theyalleged, adding that they werein abject penury having noother means of eking out liveli-hoods.

They said in a statementthat the company used to givebonus and festival advancesbefore Durga Puja in eachyear.

Yet in year 2018 the bonusfor the finical year 2017-18 andfestival advances were given bythe management only afterlabour unions sat on dharana.

Although the dharana waswithdrawn following interven-tion of the then districtCollector assuring the agitatorsto look into their demands inpresence of the company offi-cials, yet in the subsequentstage the management sus-pended 11 workers who werein the agitation.

Since then, although theyhave been running from pillarto post for revocation of theirsuspensions yet they didn’t getany relief, they said.

Demanding interventionof the Chief Minister, the sus-pended workers threatened tointensify their agitation if theirplight was not mitigated.

&�� !�"

Union MinisterDharmendra Pradhan on

Tuesday wrote to Union MSMEMinister Nitin Gadkarurequesting his early interven-tion for setting up an extensioncenter of Central Tool Roomand Training Centre (CTTC)at Angul to provide production,design, consultancy and train-ing facilities to small scaleindustries.

Now, CTTC, Bhubaneswaris among 10 TRs/TDIs in India,with extension centers at Jajpurand Rayagada which haveplayed an instrumental role insupporting the development ofsmall-scale industries, up-skilling of technical manpow-er and creation of employ-ment prospects. Another cen-tre if established at Angulwould provide affordable train-ing programmes and provideproject consultancy to themany small-scale industriesoperating around Angul, heargued.

&�� A�:�"�

A10-year-old girl wasallegedly raped by a minor

boy in the Odagaon area ofNayagarh district on Mondayevening. The incident tookplace when the victim, a Class-V student, along with her twinsister was going for tuitions. Theaccused, a 14-year-old boy ofClass-IX, forcibly took her to asecluded place and raped her.

The girl returned homeand narrated the incident to herparents following which thefamily members of the girllodged a complaint with theOdagaon police.

The girl’s condition wasstated to be critical. Police reg-istered a case against the boyand took him into custody. Hewas sent for medical examination.

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BRAHMAPUR: Small to largevendors selling items otherthan essential commoditieslike vegetables, grocery andmedicine have suffered a lot asthey have closed their countersas a measure to check spread ofnovel coronavirus inBrahmapur and other cities ofGanjam district.

Apart from imposingSection 144 of the CrPC tocheck gathering, districtCollector Vijay AmtrutaKulange has also asked all ven-dors, excepting grocers, drug-gists and vegetable sellers, toclose down their shutters.

Kulange moved in the dis-trict headquarters city ofChhatrapur and silk cityBrahmapur and created aware-ness for stopping spread ofcoronavirus. DRDA PD ErSidhartha Sankar Swain,Chhatrapur Sub-CollectorPriya Ranjan Prusti, TehsildarNila Madhab Bhoi, NAC EOBikram Dora and ChhatrapurIIC Priyash Ranjan Chhotraywere present. PNS

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi onTuesday made his attack against

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla moredirect and fiercer alleging with nodiscussion happening the lowerhouse had become a “loudspeaker”of the Government. He said not onlyhim but even the Tamil Nadu MPswere disallowed from speaking ontheir mother language issues.

The former Congress chief alsocontinued attacking Prime MinisterNarendra Modi over the economicsituation in the country, saying thePM should get his head “out of thesand” to deal with the problem fac-ing the country. Rahul said Indiashould be preparing itself not just tofight the coronavirus but also for theeconomic devastation that wouldaffect crores of people.

Rahul said it was an “insult” tothe people of Tamil Nadu that MPswere not allowed to ask questions onthe regional language issue, andalleged that with no discussion hap-pening, the Lok Sabha had becomea “loudspeaker” of the Government.

Rahul’s remarks came afterOpposition members, includingfrom the DMK, the Congress and theNCP, walked out of the Lok Sabhaclaiming they were not allowed to aska supplementary question related to

official language during the QuestionHour.

Speaking to reporters outsideParliament, Rahul said he was notallowed to ask a supplementary onMonday on a question on the 50biggest wilful defaulters and thesame happened to Opposition MPson a question on the Tamil language.

Rahul alleged that the Speakertook away the rights of the people ofTamil Nadu by not allowing the sup-plementary question on their lan-guage.

“Now it is ok for the Speaker tohurt me, I understand he doesn’twant me to speak. But today theentire Tamil people wanted to ask asupplementary about the Tamil lan-guage. This is not about one person,this is not about Rahul Gandhi, thisis about the people of Tamil Naduand their language and even theywere not allowed to ask that question,this is absolutely an insult to the peo-

ple of Tamil Nadu,” he said.Asked if he believes the Lok

Sabha speaker is acting in a partisanmanner, Rahul Gandhi said, “This isa House that belongs to all states, alllanguages. There should be a dis-cussion here, but no discussion ishappening these days. Nobody canask a question.” “There is one-waytraffic and it (Lok Sabha) has become

a loudspeaker,” he said.Later, in a tweet, Rahul said the

people of Tamil Nadu were “disre-spected” when the Speaker refusedto allow a supplementary question onthe Tamil language.

On the state of economy andCOVID 19, he said Indian economywill be devastated and it is like atsunami is coming Narrating an

incident to highlight the gravity ofthe economic situation, he said thatbefore the tsunami came, waterreceded off the Andaman andNicobar Islands and when fishermenwent to sea, the tsunami struck.

“So the water is going to come.I have been warning the governmentthat a massive (economic) tsunamiis coming and they are fooling

about, they are not clear about whatto do. India should be preparing itselfnot just for COVID-19 virus but forthe economic devastation that iscoming,” he said.

“I am saying it again and again,nobody is listening to me. I am sorryto say, our people are going to gothrough unimaginable pain in thenext six months,” he said.

&�� !�1��%

Prime Minister Narendra Modi onTuesday lauded the work of all health

workers and doctors handling crisis inthe outbreak of coronavirus and askedBJP MPs to spread awareness about thepandemic while making it clear thatthe ongoing Parliament’s Budget Sessionwill not be curtailed.

Modi, who was addressing the BJP par-liamentary party meet, said the Parliamentshould continue till April 03 as lawmakers theyshould be seen to be doing their work at a time

when a health concern stares at 130 crore people,he said. Modi praised all doctors and other

medical staff besides airline crews and oth-ers involved in tackling the coronavirus

crisis, saying they have worked posi-tively and tirelessly, ParliamentaryAffairs Minister Pralhad Joshi toldreporters.

Modi also praised the media forspreading awareness on the virus.

He asked BJP MPs to spread aware-ness among the people in small groups and

suggested that they should refrain from launch-ing any mass agitation till April 15.

&�� !�1��%��

As a Bill to amend the CompaniesAct 2013 and decriminalise

various offences under it was intro-duced in Lok Sabha on TuesdayOpposition members of variousparties said that the Governmentwas decriminalising corporateoffences on the pretext of ‘ease ofdoing business’ and not looking afterthe interest of common investorswhile protecting big businessmen byreducing penalties.

Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD) said

the Government was giving banksa long rope in the “guise” of ease ofdoing business and “reducing penal-ties” when “banks are failing”.This , he said, would encouragecriminals. Mahtab said the Act hasbeen amended repeatedly whichreflect an “adhoc approach” of theGovernment.

Questioning the timing of intro-duction of the Bill, the BJD MPasked, “Is this an opportune time tointroduce the Bill when a large pri-vate bank has collapsed?”

On March 5, the Reserve Bank

superseded the board of Yes Bank inthe wake of deepening crisis, main-ly due to huge bad loans and a mora-torium has been imposed. Under arevival plan, SBI and some privatebanks have made investments in YesBank.

Many companies are folding upbecause of the activities of promot-ers, Mahtab said.

Sauguta Roy (TMC) said theGovernment was influenced byindustry in amending the compa-nies act. “Today (former) CEO ofYes Bank is in Enforcement

Directorate custody...TheGovernment is seeking to decrim-inalise certain regulations in thename of ease of doing business,” Roysaid.

Yes Bank co-founder and for-mer CEO Rana Kapoor is in EDcustody. Backing TMC and BJDmembers, Congress leader of theHouse Adhir Ranjan Chowdhurysaid the Government can be “iden-tified as by the corpoates... for thecorporates”.

He claimed that theGovernment is diluting Corporate

Social Responsibility (CSR) normsto help the corporate sector.

Manish Tewari (Congress) saidGovernment was seen to be withdefaulters rather than with thesmall investors . He also said thatpeople were “losing confidence inbanking sector.”

Introducing the bill, Minister ofState for Finance and CorporateAffairs Anurag Thakur made itclear that the Government was notlooking to decriminalise non-com-poundable offences which includefrauds and injury to the public.

&�,��"�� !1��%

In a bid to contain the novelcoronavirus, the Centre on

Tuesday ordered the installationof thermal scanners at the entrypoints of Government buildingsand suspended temporary andvisitors passes with immediateeffect. The regular supply ofhand sanitisers and soap mustalso be ensured, the Departmentof Personnel and Training(DoPT) said while announcinga slew of measures to contain thespread of the virus.

“Those found having flu-like symptoms may be advisedto take proper treatment andquarantine, etc,” it said.

The entry of visitors inoffice complexes must be dis-couraged to the maximumextent possible, the DoPT saidwhile directing Ministries tosuspend routine visitors andtemporary passes with imme-diate effect. “Only those visitorswho have proper permission ofthe officer who they want tomeet should be allowed afterbeing properly screened,” it said.

Asking officials to avoidnon-essential travel, it askedthem to hold meetings as muchas possible through video con-ferencing. Besides, meetingsshould be either rescheduled orthe number of participants min-imised. “Undertake essentialcorrespondence on official e-mail and avoid sending files anddocuments to other offices, tothe extent possible. Facilitatedelivery and receipt of dak at theentry point itself of the officebuilding, as far as practicable,” itsaid.

The order also said all gyms,recreation centres and creches in

Government buildings shouldbe closed and the workplace,particularly frequently touchedsurfaces, be properly cleanedand frequently sanitised. “Ensureregular supply of hand sanitis-ers, soap and running water inthe washrooms,” the order said.

Asking for a liberal leaveprocedure, the order said leavesanctioning authorities areadvised to sanction leave when-ever any request is made for selfquarantine as a precautionarymeasure. The order asked allofficials to take care of their ownhealth and look out for respira-tory symptoms or fever. If feel-ing unwell, they should leave theworkplace immediately afterinforming their reporting offi-cers and adhere to home quar-antine, it said.

The department order alsoadvised employees in higherrisk categories like older, preg-nant employees or those withunderlying medical conditionsto take extra precautions.

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As more people isolate them-selves at home in the wake

of coronavirus outbreak, theAndaman and NicobarAdministration has advisedDoordarshan Port Blair andCable TV operators to telecastinteresting programmes andmovies to encourage people tostay home.

In an order on COVID-l9issued on Tuesday, theAndaman and Nicobar Islandadministration has directed allDivisional Commissioners toask DD Port Blair and CableTV operators to show interest-ing programme on the DDand Cable TV to ensure thatpeople remain in the house.

In a tweet, Chetan Sanghi,Islands administrator stated:“No visitor needs to come to

Government offices. “ Officerswill take phone calls during vis-itor hours. DD Port Blair &Cable TV being advised totelecast interesting programs &movies to encourage people tostay home.”

“If people are sitting athome and can’t go tomovie or shopping

malls due to coron-avirus outbreak, he/she mayopt for cable TV network orDD channels for time pass toremain at home,” said an offi-cial of Andaman Island. Thenumber of coronavirus cases inIndia reached 137 on Tuesday.The administration has alsoadvised officials to insist the vis-itors to discuss or solve their

grievances on telephone insteadof visiting personally in offices.

The administration has alsodecided the payment of currentelectricity and water bill may bemade with next month billingcycle without late fee surchargein the Islands. Earlier, as a pre-

cautionary measure, theAndaman and Nicobar

administration has direct-ed tourists to refrain from trav-elling to the islands from March16 midnight. The islands are afavourite tourism spot fordomestic and international vis-itors alike. “As a precautionarymeasure, beaches, eco-tourismspots and water sports will beclosed from March 16, 2020 toMarch 26, 2020,” it said.

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In a major judgment to provideequal opportunities in the armed

forces, the Supreme Court onTuesday ordered the Navy to grantpermanent commission to womenofficers in three months and said theycan sail as efficiently as male officers.This opens the door for women offi-cers to be deployed on warships. Thejudgment comes nearly a month afterthe apex court granted permanentcommission to women in the Army.

Maintaining that women andmen officers should be treated equal-ly, the a Bench headed by Justice DYChandrachud on Tuesday also saidthere cannot be “101 excuses” for notgranting gender equality in thearmed forces and a level playing field

is needed. Denying permanentcommission to women officers whohave served the nation would resultin a serious miscarriage of justice, itsaid.

The Bench, also comprisingJustice Ajay Rastogi, rejected theCentre’s stand that sea sailing dutiescannot be granted to SSC (ShortService Commission) women offi-cers in the Navy because its vesselsdo not have washrooms for them.

Such arguments, the court said,are contrary to the Centre’s policy of1991 and 1998 which lifted thestatutory bar on the induction ofwomen officers in the Navy.

The Bench quashed the prospec-tive effect of the policy barringwomen officers inducted before2008 from being granted permanentcommission in the Navy. It also

granted pension benefits to womenofficers who have retired and werenot granted permanent commis-sion.

It said there cannot be genderdiscrimination in granting perma-nent commission to women officersin the Navy after the statutory bar

was lifted by the Centre to allowentry of women.

“Once statutory bar was lifted toallow entry of women officers then

male and female officers are to betreated equally in granting perma-nent commission,” the court said. Italso said there is enough documen-tary evidence to suggest womenofficers in the Navy have broughtaccolades to the force.

The first naval woman pilot -Sub-Lieutenant Shivangi - joined theoperational duties at the Kochi navalbase on December 2 last year. She hasbeen flying the Dornier surveil-lance aircraft of the Indian Navy.

In August, Indian Air Force’sWing Commander S Dhami becamethe first woman officer in the coun-try to become the Flight Commanderof a flying unit. Wing CommanderDhami took over as FlightCommander of a Chetak helicopterunit at the Hindon airbase inGhaziabad near Delhi.

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In an apparent reference toCongress MP Rahul Gandhi,

Speaker Om Birla said on Tuesdayit was not right to raise questions onthe decisions of the Chair outsidethe House even as Oppositionmembers, including Congress,DMK and NCP, walked out of theHouse claiming they were notallowed to ask supplementary ques-tions during the Question Hour.

The Speaker’s comments in theHouse came a day after Congressleader Rahul Gandhi said that hewas not allowed supplementary toa question on the willful defaultingbanks in the country.

The Opposition members whowere supported by Rahul sought to

ask supplementary when Ministerof State for Home Affairs NityanandRai was replying to a questionrelated to official language. Raiwas replying to a question as whatwas being done to make Hindi anational language.

As the Speaker took up the nextquestion during the Question Hour,

DMK leader T R Baalu vociferous-ly protested that they should beallowed to ask supplementary ques-tions.

Amid the din, Congress leaderRahul intervened by standing upand saying that it was an issue atthe heart of the people of TamilNadu and that supplementariesshould be allowed.

He was referring to issuesregarding official language.

With the Speaker continuingwith the next question, membersfrom various Opposition parties,including DMK, Congress and NCPwalked out from the House.

Some Congress leaders werealso seen talking to TMC leaderSudip Bandhoypadhya but theparty’s members remained in their

seats. Earlier , when the House took

up a question related to cold stor-age for fish, where many supple-mentaries were asked stretching toa good 20 minutes when Speakermoved on with the next question.Speaker had, at the beginning,sought members to ask short ques-tions so that maximum questionscould be answered by the ministers.He has also been asking ministersto reply in brief.

“If one question takes around15-20 minutes... And then sayingsupplementary questions are notbeing allowed after 12 (noon) is notgood,” Birla said. He also said thatraising questions against the deci-sion of the Chair outside the Houseis not right.

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If you have a disliking for the chemicalhand sanitisers then you can look to a

herbal option that has been scientifical-ly developed by Indian scientists from theCouncil of Scientific & IndustrialResearch’s (CSIR) lab, Institute ofHimalayan Bioresource Technology(IHBT) at Palampur in HimachalPradesh.

The IHBT developed sanitiser con-tains natural flavours, active tea con-stituents and alcohol content as per theWorld Health Organisation (WHO)guidelines. The product is free fromparabens, triclosan, synthetic fragrance

and phthalates, said a RK Sud, scientistfrom the IHBT.

The technology has been transferredto a private unit through a pact inked onTuesday between the CSIR lab and A BScientific Solutions at the HimalayanState.

As per the agreement, CSIR-IHBTwill transfer its expertise for making handsanitizers and other disinfectants to theprivate firm, A B Scientific Solutionswhich will be setting up a unit at the Stateitself. It will market hand sanitizers andother disinfectants in all the major citiesacross the country, said the scientist.

The development of herbal hand san-itizer is very timely considering the cur-

rent stupendous rise in demand of a gen-uine product for preventive measureagainst Corona virus and amidst reportsof many spuriousmaterials beingsold in thenational market.

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Coimbatore: A 40-year old tourist fromThailand, quarantined at a Governmenthospital here, tested negative for coro-navirus but died hours later earlyTuesday due to “kidney failure”, officialssaid.

The man was a diabetic and beenundergoing dialysis at the GovernmentMedical College Hospital since hisadmission three days ago and died dueto renal failure, hospital Dean Dr Asokantold reporters. The patient’s blood andsputum samples sent to Chennai earli-er for testing returned negative forcoronavirus on Monday night, he said.

According to officials, the man waspart of seven-member team which hadcome to the country for pilgrimage ear-

lier this month and visited variousspots, including places of worship.

As the team was to leave forChennai, he was found with symptomsof coronavirus during screening at theairport here on Sunday and admitted inthe isolation ward of the hospital.

Meanwhile, two women — a 58-yearold estate worker from nearby Valparaiand 22-year old from Pollachi — havebeen admitted to the hospital with sus-pected symptoms of coronavirus.

The estate worker had gone toKollam in Kerala and returned two daysago while the other had a travel historyto Hyderabad and been suffering fromthroat pain and fever sinceMonday. PTI

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The Tamil NaduGovernment has drawn up

plans to conduct thermalscreening of passengers at rail-way stations following thecoronavirus threat, HealthMinister C Vijayabhaskar saidon Tuesday.

The Government’s onlyplea to the people was to avoidtravelling unless necessary, hesaid.

Talking to reporters afterreviewing precautionary mea-sures at the central railwaystation here, he said thermalscreening would be taken up inassociation with railway policeand health department staff aspart of an awareness cam-paign.

Vijayabhaskar saidSouthern Railway officials haveinformed him that specialtrains operating from Chennaiwere cancelled in view of thecoronavirus scare.

“..Railway police will takeup thermal screening inside thetrain.We have planned likethat,” he said, adding railaypolice and staff would under-go orientation programme atMadras Medical College inthis connection.

He said nursing studentsat MMC would also be work-

ing on three shifts as part ofawareness campaign at railwaystations.

To a query, he said 1,84,860passengers were screened at theairport till date and 147 sam-ples taken for testing and onlyone case tested positive onMarch 7.

The 45-year-old man hasrecovered and will be dis-charged soon from the gov-ernment hospital here, theminister said. Appealing tothe people not to panic, he saidthose people who have travelhistory of visiting the virusaffected countries and thosewho have symptoms of cold,cough and breathlessness needto undergo tests for COVID-19.

The minister said the gov-ernment has received theCentre’s nod for setting uptesting centres at Tiruvarur,Theni and Tirunelveli. Thelab at the government hospitalwould also begin testing sam-ples for COVID-19 virus, hesaid.

The Southern Railway saidit has taken several precau-tionary measures in the wakeof the virus outbreak.

Various advisories havebeen issued by the union gov-ernment such as avoidance ofnon-essential travel and mass

Puducherry: Puducherryreported its first coronaviruscase on Tuesday even as ChiefMinister V Narayanasamyannounced closure of allschools, colleges, cinemas andgymnasium centres in theunion territory till this month-end as a precautionary mea-sure.

A 68-year-old woman test-ed positive in Mahe, an enclaveof the union territory in Kerala,and her condition was stable inthe government general hospi-tal there, director of Health andFamily Welfare Services MohanKumar said.

Sources said the womanhad returned from SaudiArabia after a pilgrimage onMarch 13.

Narayanasamy chaired ajoint meeting of officials ofHealth and other departmentshere and reviewed the stepstaken to prevent the spread ofthe infection in the union ter-ritory.

The government has ear-marked Rs 7.5 crore to theRevenue Department to pro-cure on emergency basise-quipment to rise to any exi-gency, he told reporters.

The Health Departmenthas been asked to immediate-ly recruit doctors and nurses tomeet the shortage in man-power to meet any require-ment.

All the tourists coming toPuducherry from other statesand also abroad would be sub-

ject to intensive screening at theentry points, bus terminals, air-port and other vulnerablespots.

Already, there was a declineby 50 per cent in the flow oftourists into the former Frenchcolony.

“The government does notwant to remain slack and hencea multi-pronged approach hasbeen adopted to keep the infec-tion at bay,” he added.

Those organising socialfunctions, including marriages,had been asked to restrict theinvitees.

Places of worship had alsobeen asked to put in place thenecessary facilities for the pil-grims and devotees to washtheir hands. PTI

Thiruvananthapuram : Atleast 300 Keralites, includingstudents, are stranded at theKuala Lumpur airport follow-ing cancellation of flights toIndia due to the coronavirusoutbreak.

Those stranded have comefrom various countries includ-ing Philippines, Cambodia andMalaysia.

“We are students fromPhilippines. We are strandedsince the past few hours asmany flights have been can-celled. We cannot go back toPhilippines and neither theIndian government is preparedto take us. We are trying to con-tact Indian officials.

None of us want to go backto Philippines,” a woman stu-dent said in a video telecast byvarious channels.

According to her, there aremany from various parts of thecountry, who have been wait-ing for hours at the transit air-port at Kuala Lumpur airport.

After they got the boardingpass, they were informed thatflights have been cancelled,some of them said in a video. PTI

Wayanad (Ker): Multi-lingual pam-phlets are now part of awareness dri-ves against coronavirus in Kerala,where the State Government hasstepped up divergent initiatives tocontain its spread.

Thinking out of the box in creat-ing awareness on containing and safe-guarding against the disease, the dis-trict administration in Wayanad, amajor tourist centre, on Tuesdayreleased pamphlets on the do’s anddon’ts on the virus in different lan-guages including foreign languages.

Pamphlets are ready in three for-eign languages— French, Spanish andGerman and six Indian languagesincluding Bengali, Assamese, Telugu,Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam, officialsources here said.

Being a place where tourists from

the world over throng, a leaflet inEnglish alone would not be sufficientto all who are from other non-Englishspeaking countries, Europe in partic-ular, authorities said.

Pamphlets in other Indian lan-guages are also ready for distributiontargeting north Indian labourers, theysaid.

District collector Adeela Abdullasaid the initiative would go a long wayin properly educating and guidingpeople of different regions to under-stand and get guided accordingly to notonly prevent the spread but to take careofthemselves.

Developed by Totem ResourceCentre in association with the districtadministration, the first leaflets werereleased by State Transport minister AK Saseendran at a function held in thecollectorate here this morning. PTI

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After Siddhivinayak templetrust decided to shut the

doors to fight coronavirus pan-demic, Shri Mata Vaishno DeviShrine Board authorities onTuesday appealed to the pil-grims to postpone their visit tothe Holy Cave Shrine till nor-malisation of the situation.

Since January 1, 2020 morethan nine lakh pilgrims havealready performed darshan atthe cave shrine recording high-est ever footfalls in the last fiveyears during the period. Anaverage number of over 20,000pilgrims were currently reach-ing Katra base camp and grad-ually the footfall was expectedto increase in the coming dayswith exam season getting over.

In Katra, Spokesman ofthe Shrine board issued a writ-ten statement after ChiefExecutive Officer, Shri MataVaishno Devi Shrine Board,Ramesh Kumar reviewed allaspects related to yatra and thesafety of pilgrims.

“Considering the spreadof Coronovirus, the CEOappealed pilgrims to postponetheir visit to the Holy CaveShrine till normalisation ofthe situation”, the statementsaid.

The Shrine Board hastaken several other preventive

measures for ensuring safety ofthe pilgrims. These includecurtailing of Atka Aarti slots,closing of Garbhjoon Cave atAdhkuwari, restricting yatra ingroups etc.

Shrine Board spokesman,however, maintained, all thepilgrims visiting the Holy CaveShrine have to fill SelfReporting Form available atYatra Registration Counters,Accommodations, HelipadTerminal of Shrine. Further,they are required to passthrough mandatory ThermalImage Scanning at Katra beforeproceeding for yatra. Largenumber

For last two days, largenumber of pilgrims enrouteKatra were facing hardshipsdue to closure of restaurants,eating joints, food stalls, dhabas

across Jammu region.On its part Shri Mata

Vaishno Devi Shrine boardauthorities had earlier issued anadvisory to the NRIs/ foreign-ers and other visitors not tovisit the Shrine for 28 days afterlanding in India as a precau-tionary measure againstCoronavirus.

The domestic visitors hav-ing symptoms like cough,heavy fever and breathingproblems also advised toreschedule or postpone theirvisit to the Holy Shrine, theadvisory said. “The advisoriesare also being issued on themultipurpose audio systemthroughout the track fromKatra to Bhawan for creatingawareness about the coron-avirus.

Meanwhile, the

Government Tuesday extend-ed J&K Epidemic Disease(COVID-19) Regulations, 2020to both the divisions of Jammuand Kashmir to step up effortsto tackle the contagious coro-navirus disease.

The Regulations wereextended to whole of J&Kunder the orders of LieutenantGovernor Girish ChandraMurmu which define powers,duties and responsibilities tothe surveillance personnel,duties and responsibilities ofMedical Officers andPractitioners, Enforcement &Offences.

In Jammu and Kashmir, atotal number of 2615 travelersand persons in contact withsuspected cases have beenenlisted for surveillance and, sofar, three cases have testedpositive in Jammu andKashmir. 2060 persons havebeen kept under home quar-antine and 28 are in hospitalquarantine. Persons who areunder home surveillance standat 297 while as 230 personshave completed their 28-daysurveillance period. “113 sam-ples have been sent for testing,of which 105 tested as negativeand three cases have tested pos-itive, so far, while as reports offive cases are awaited till March17, 2020”, Governmentspokesman said. Bengaluru: Three people,

including a doctor who hadtreated the country’s first coro-navirus victim, have tested pos-itive for the infection in the last24 hours, taking the total num-ber of COVID-19 cases inKarnataka to ten.

The family doctor of the 76-year-old man from Kalaburagiwho died last week was amongthe infected, the Health andFamily Welfare Departmentsaid in an update on Tuesday.

The 63-year-old doctorhad treated the elderly man whodied “due to co-morbidity andalso tested positive for COVID-19.” He is under strict homequarantine, the department said.A 20-year-old woman, a resi-dent of Bengaluru, whoreturned from the UK, has alsotested positive for the virus.Earlier on Monday, a 32-year-old man, a software engineerwho arrived from the US viaLondon earlier this month, test-ed positive for the virus.

He was on the same flightas another person who waslater confirmed to be infected.He was under home quarantine,and has now been admitted toan isolation facility, the updateadded. PTI

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Maharashtra, which has sofar recorded a maximum

number of confirmed Covid-19cases in the country, sufferedfirst fatality on Tuesday, as a 63-year-old coronavirus-affectedpatient died at Mumbai’sKasturba Hospital and the totalnumber of persons tested pos-itive for the pandemic rose to40 in the State.

With the latest coronaviras-related death in Mumbai, thetotal number of deaths arisingof Covid-19 climbed to three inthe country. Earlier, one deatheach had been reported fromKarnataka and Delhi.

“Apart from the patientwho died today, there are 40other patients who have testedpositive are undergoing treat-ment at hospitals. Of them, thegravity of symptoms is notsevere but the condition of one

patient is critical. The remain-ing 32 others are not display-ing symptoms of disease,” chiefminister Uddhav Thackeraysaid.

Denying speculation in asection of electronic mediathat the State Governmentwould close down suburbantrain services in the metropo-lis and it would shut downMantralaya (State Secretariat)and Government offices forseven days, the Chief Ministersaid: “We will not discontin-ue operation of suburban trainsin the city. Nor will we closedMantralaya and Governmentoffices as speculated in themedia. We are constantlyassessing the emerging situa-tion. We will take appropriatedecisions at appropriatetime”.

Talking to media personsafter reviewing the Covid-19situation in the State, Uddhav

appealed the Mumbaikars totravel in trains and buses if itwas very essential for them.“Since trains and buses areessential services, we have noplans at the moment to shutdown the public transport sys-tem. Similarly, there is no planto shut down Mantralaya andGovernment offices. But, weare considering if we can bringdown the number of employ-ees in Government by 50 percent,” the Chief Minister said.

The senior citizen, whodied at the Kasturba Hospitalon Tuesday morning, hadreturned to Mumbai fromDubai on March 5, “He wasfirst admitted to HindujaHospital on March 7 for treat-ment of high blood pressure.He was on March 12 shifted toKasurba Hospital where hetested positive for Coronavirus.Initially, he* was responding totreatment. He breathed his lastat 7 am today,” State HealthMinister Rajesh Tope said.

The total number of con-firmed Coronavirus cases rose

from 39 to 41, as two fresh pos-itive cases were reported onTuesday. Of the two freshcases, one is a 49-year-old manwho had returned to Mumbaifrom the United States onMarch 7, while the secondpatient is a 26-year-old man,who had returned to Pune onMarch 14 and is currently at aPimpri-Chinchwad MunicipalCorporation (PCMC)-run hos-pital at Bhosari.

Confirming the death of

the 63-year-old man at theBrihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC)-runKasturba Hospital, a statementreleased by the Epidemiologycell of the hospital said: “Patienthad high blood pressure, pneu-monia and inflammation ofheart muscles and increasedheart rate, leading to his death.He was a positive case ofCOVID-19”.

Meanwhile, a statementissued by the Ministry of

Health said in New Delhi saidthat the patient who died atKasturba Hospital, had notrevealed his travel history whenhe was initially admitted to aprivate hospital for five daysbefore being shifted toKasturba Hospital. “The patienthad travel history to Dubai,which he reportedly did notdisclose at the time of hisadmission to the private hos-pital,” the Heatlh Ministrystatement said.

There are currently 105suspected Coronavirus cases inthe state. “All these 105 personsare hospitalised. As of today,as many 1169 people havecome from Coronavirus pan-demic-hit countries. Afterfound suffering from fever,cold, irritation in throat, asmany as 900 people have beenquarantined in various hospi-tals . Of them, 779 peoplehave tested negative, while 41persons have tested positive forCovid-19,” Tope said.

Listing new measures ini-tiated by the State Government

to prevent the spread ofCoronavirus, the chief minis-ter said: “We have spoken to theheads of various drug compa-nies and experts in health sec-tor. They have offered to coop-erate with the state govern-ment. The companies haveeven offered to give us drugs,masks, sanitzers and ventilatorsfrom their CSR funds...Wehave authorised the districtcollectors to purchase ventila-tors and other equipmentrequired for their needs fromthe local market”.

“We have intensifiedscreening of passengers arriv-ing at the airports or ports atthe airports and ports. Wehave made adequate arrange-ments for quarantining peoplecoming from abroad,” the chiefminister said.

“The persons whom wehave advised to quarantinethemselves at their homesshould take care of themselvesand not stir out of their homes.We have also ordered closure ofschools in rural areas and

asked the authorities to keepsanitizers, soap and water atpublic toilets in rural areas,”Uddhav said.

Official sources said thatthe state government wouldbook 20 rooms at Mirage(Madison Group), 100 at ITCMaratha, 70 at PWD GuestHouse in Andheri and 50 atNiranta Airport Transit Hotel,which would be designated asa ‘quarantine’.

Those requiring quarantineare being sent to Seven HillsHospital, Mumbai. MunicipalCommissioner Pravin Pardeshihas meanwhile called uponthe private sector to implement“Work From Home” (WFH) asfar as possible for the next cou-ple of weeks. In a related devel-opment, the Western Railwayhas decided to cancel 35 tripsof 10 train services due to lowoccupancy arriving out ofCOVID-19. The CentralRailway has cancelled 23 trainsdue to low occupancy arisingout of the outbreak ofCoronavirus.

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Close on the heels of the clo-sure of the famous

Siddhivinayak temple inMumbai and Tuljabhavanitemple in Osmanabad districtin the aftermath of the outbreakof Coronavirus, the authoritiesdowned the shutters ofrenowned Shiridi Saibaba tem-ple in Ahmednagar district onTuesday afternoon.

“Shri Saibaba temple willremain closed for darshan from3 pm today till further notice.Similarly, the temple’sPrasadalay, accommodationcentre and Canteen will alsonot be open for the devotees foran indefinite period,” SaibabaTrust’s Chief Executive OfficerArun Dongre said.

Talking to media persons,Dongre said: “There wouldnot be any crowd in around thetemple. There would be just

four to five priests when wetake out a customary palkhi (procession) of Saibaba onThursday. Though the templewould be closed to devotees fordarshan, the on-line darshan ofSaibaba will continue. So is thelive telecast of pujas”.

On Monday, the manage-ments of Siddhivinayak templein Mumbai and Tuljabhavanitemple at Osmananad had dis-continued darshan for devoteesin view of the Covid-19 situa-tion in the state.

Reports from Kolhapur,meanwhile, said that thefamous Ambabhavani templein the western Maharashtratown would also be closed fordarsan to devotees. “A formaldecision in this regard wouldbe taken at joint meetingbetween the district collectorand temple trust chairmanMadhav Jadhav,” a templespokesperson said.

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Bengaluru: The functioningof the Lokayukta as an organ-isation came under scrutiny ofsome Karnataka legislators,with a Congress MLA claimingit has become a “toothlessbody” and seeking a compre-hensive law to strengthen it, asthe Assembly on Tuesdaypassed an amendment to theLokayukta Act.

The Assembly on Tuesdaypassed the KarnatakaLokayukta (Amendment) Bill,2020, to further amend theKarnataka Lokayukta Act, 1984to enable the organisation tofunction more effectively.

As the Law and

Parliamentary Affairs MinisterJC Madhuswamy moved theKarnataka Lokayukta(Amendment) Bill, 2020 for theconsideration of the House,senior Congress legislator andformer Speaker KR RameshKumar questioned the effec-tiveness of Lokayukta.

Pointing out that earlierthere was state vigilance com-mission which was replaced byLokayukta duringRamakrishna Hegde’s tenure asChief Minister, he asked, “isthere any use because ofLokayukta? is there any quali-tative change? the purpose forwhich this institution was cre-

ated, has it served the pur-pose?”

He asked as to what wasthe “net result”, after Lokayuktatook up several cases of cor-ruption, and also wanted toknow was there any valuebased change.

“A few people have refusedto file their assets and liabilitiesbefore Lokayukta, which ismandatory for public servants.

Is it to rehabilitate some-one?” he asked, as he appealedto the government to go in fora drastic law to achieve theintended objectives, whichthe whole country shouldappreciate.

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Rajinikanth is here to stayand leaders of other polit-

ical parties better start ways andmeans to check his caravan asit begins its journey acrossTamil Nadu soon. This wasstated by the film actor himselfduring a private function lateMonday at Chennai.

“There has been a groundswell of public support to myannouncement about the pre-conditions for launching thepolitical outfit. As we approachthe 2021 Assembly Election inTamil Nadu, this could devel-op into a political tsunami inmy favor,” said Rajinikanth.

Last Wednesday sawRajinikanth addressing themedia in Chennai after a briefinteraction with the district-level office bearers of RajiniMakkal Manram. Though hedid not take any questionsfrom the media, he stated thatthere was a political vacuumin the State and people want-ed a change. His declarationthat he would not be the chiefministerial candidate has gonedown well with Tamil nation-alist film makers like BharatiRaja and Vadivelu, anothersuper star who immediatelyannounced their support toRajinikanth.

Since Rajinikanth is not anatural Tamilian, there arereservations among Tamilchauvinist movie makers andartists against his politicaldreams. But his decision not toaccept the chief ministership ofthe State and announcementthat he would be a watch dogof the Government has beenwidely welcomed.

But the Muslim commu-

nity in the State is not humoredby the actor’s decision to ven-ture out into the terrain of pol-itics. “Rajinikanth is beingdeployed by the RSS-led sanghParivar to mislead people inTamil Nadu. All his plans,including two separate personsheading the party and the gov-ernment resemble the RSSstyle. The Narendra Modi-Amit Shah experiment at theCentre is being extended toTamil Nadu,” said P AbdulRahman, vice president, TamilNadu Thowheed Jamaath.

Rahman said in a releasethat the Sangh Parivar’s effortsto enter Tamil Nadu met witha failure as the people could seethrough their “evil intentions”.“The RSS has selectedRajinikanth to implement theirHindutwa politics in the Stateand this would not work here,”he said. The TNTJ leaderpointed out that the actor wasfully behind the RSS in theCAA issue and that itself gaveout his true colours.

But an interesting reac-tion came from KManickavasagam, a decoratedpolice officer from Thanjavur.“The exemplary and extraor-dinary political ideas are apreview to your outstandingbrand of politics for providinga corruption-free, dynasty-freeand service oriented govern-ment for the people of TamilNadu is a welcome move,” saidManickavasagam in a letter toRajinikanth. The super starhad declared last Wednesdaythat there would not be anyprofessional politicians in thesystem envisaged by him andno one should join him withthe aim of making money oroccupying positions of power.

Allahabad: In the wake of thependency of the case in theSupreme Court, the AllahabadHC on Tuesday pushed thedate for the compliance of itsorder for the immediateremoval of anti-CAA protest-ers' posters toApril 10.

The order was passed bythe High Court Bench com-prising Chief Justice GovindMathur and Justice RameshSinha on an application movedby the Lucknow district mag-istrate.

The Uttar Pradesh gov-ernment on Monday hadmoved an application beforethe court, seeking more time tofile the compliance report inthe matter.

The State Governmenthad contended that a specialleave petition (SLP) againstthe March 9 decision of theHigh Court is pending beforethe Supreme Court, which hasreferred the matter to a largerbench.

“Having considered thefacts stated in the applicationand the affidavit annexed thereto, at this stage we deem itappropriate to extend the timefor the filing the compliancereport up to April 10, 2020,” theBench observed. PTI

Bengaluru: Rebel CongressMLAs from political crisis-hitMadhya Pradesh on Tuesdayclaimed 20 more MLAs fromthat party want to join themand they were thinking of join-ing BJP in the days to come.

Speaking to reporters forthe first time after arriving inBengaluru and sending in theirresignations, the 22 MLAs saidthey were ready to face anyconsequences.

“Jyotiraditya Scindia isour leader; we have been doingpolitics with him for years,most of us are in politicsbecause of him...We are stillthinking regarding joining BJP.If we get protection from cen-tral police, we will go toMadhya Pradesh andthink about it,” a woman MLAsaid.

The legislators claimed 20more MLAs are with them, buthave been kept in captivity. Ifthey too were with the rebels,

Congress would have clearlybroken and no law could havebeen enforced on the group.

The rebel MLAs said theyare ready for any consequencesand were confident that peopleof their constituencies are withthem.

In a massive setback forthe Congress, its prominentyouth leader JyotiradtyaScindia quit the party and in acoordinated rebellion last week22 MLAs loyal to him resignedin Madhya Pradesh, pushingthe 15-month-old Kamal Nathgovernment to the brink of col-lapse.

Scindia joined the BJP onMarch 11.

“We were quiet when ourleader Jyotiraditya Scindia wasnot made Chief Minister.Kamal Nath, who became CM,did not give any funds to our

constituencies, while clear-ances were given forChhindwara (constituency rep-resented by Nath) at almostevery cabinet meeting”, a rebelMLA said.

Another MLA said Nathhad no time to meet them andhear their grievances.

“When there is no devel-opment in our constituency,what is the use?”

Several MLAs also allegedthat seniority and capabilitywere not considered in form-ing of Ministry after the elec-tions.

They said they even metCongress leader Rahul Gandhiin this regard, but nothingcame of it. Rejecting claims byCongress leaders that they wereheld hostage here, the MLAsclarified that they had come tothe city voluntarily. PTI

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Much to the relief ofCongress backed Left

Front Rajya Sabha candidateBikash Ranjan Bhattacharyathe Election Commission onTuesday cancelled the nomi-nation of Dinesh Bajaj anIndependent nominee backedby the Trinamool Congress ontechnical grounds.

Bajaj a former TMC MLAhad filed his nomination for theRajya Sabha elections barely aminute before the closure of thedeadline.

With the cancellationBajaj’s nomination only fivecandidates remain in the frayfor five seats indicating thatBengal will see no contest in theelections for the Upper House.The other four candidates areformer TMC MPs Dinesh

Trivedi, Subroto Bakshi,Mausam Benazir Noor, andArpita Ghosh. All but Bakshihad suffered a defeat at thehands of the BJP candidates inthe May 2019 parliamentaryelections.

A much relievedBhattacharya who had last timesuffered a fate almost similar tothat of Bajaj later said “a con-spiracy being hatched by theTMC and the BJP to defeatdemocratic forces has finallybeen defeated on technicalgrounds … The BJP and TMChad conspired to field a com-mon candidate in the lastmoment so as to ensure cross-voting by pumping in ill-gottenmoney.”

Meanwhile after the StateElection Commission post-poned the civic poll process forthe time being in view of

Corona threat the StateGovernment is reportedly plan-ning to bring an ordinance toappoint an administrator forthe Kolkata MunicipalCorporation

Senior State Minister andKolkata Mayor Firhad Hakimon Tuesday said that theGovernment has no choice butto get the polls conducted inthe month April which seemsunlikely due to Corona threator bring an ordinance appoint-ing an administrator for theKolkata Municipal Corporation(KMC).

Much to the chagrin of theopposition BJP the Mayor saidunlike the Bengal MunicipalAct or Howrah MunicipalCorporation Act there is noprovisions to appoint anadministrator for the KMC. “Inthat case an ordinance will have

to be brought to that effect if atall no election can be con-ducted in April,” he said.

Reacting to Hakim’s state-ments senior State BJP leaderSayantan Basu said the TMCwas trying to evade polls andavoid a sure defeat.

“They know that theirdefeat is certain and so they aretrying to bring an ordinance forKolkata. We know that there isa Corona threat. But they canwait till the month of Maywhen the polls can be con-ducted. The present KMCboard has its term till May…They are trying to hide behindCorona virus to escape thepolls,” he said.

Elsewhere the StateGovernment took extraordi-nary measures to check Coronaproliferation by shutting downall the cinema halls and even

shootings at Tollygunge filmcity for the next two weeks orso.

Apart from this all the his-torical monuments likeHazarduari, CoochbeharHouse etc were closed for thepublic even as about 6,300suspected people were forcedinto home isolation.

The Corona scare took itstoll on transport business toowith most thoroughfares wear-ing a near-deserted look. Seniorofficials at Kolkata MetroRailway said a drop in ticketsale by at least 1.5 lakh per dayon an average. Lack of passen-gers led the Indian Railways onthe other hand to cancel anumber of trains includingHowrah-Mumbai DurantoExpress, Puri Express and anumber of local and passengertrains, sources said.

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The Indian National Ship-owner Association (INSA)

has written a letter to DGshipping as onboard crew isbeing termed as virus carrierand hence not allowing themfor sign in /off despite end ofcontract period.

Speaking exclusively withThe Pioneer, Indian nationalsserving in Merchant Navy saidthat the Indian Sea Fearers hav-ing no travel history to Chinaand Covid -19 affected coun-tries are not being allowed tosign off and sign in.

Admitting the fact thatthe maritime trade has fallen10-17 percent so far andexpected to be worsen more asorders for upcoming monthshave been shut, a senior offi-cials said that several maritimeoperations have been halted,instance - Crew sign in/ off,repair work of the ships, vettinginspection on tankers, addingcertification of Indian vesselcould get jeopardized and drydocking of ships.

Crew sign on/off, Serviceengineers / Repair work of theships, vetting Inspection ontankers, Certification of theIndian Vessel could getJeopardised and dry dockingof ships. The Pioneer spoke tomany sailors on boards on this.

In their letter to AmitabhKumar, Director General ofShipping, the association mem-ber mentioned that Indianseafarers on board Indian shipswhich are operating on theIndian coast should be allowedto sign off without any restric-tion. “Indian seafarers on boardIndian ships have no history ofhaving visited any of COVID-19 affected countries in thepast 30 days should be per-mitted to be sign off freely.Iffound to be symptomatic theymay be asked to undergo test-ing and quarantine. Indianseafarers joining ships shouldbe allowed to sign on to Indian

ships without any hindrance orrestriction,” the letter read.

While speaking to the cor-respondent, onboard sailorsshared their experience to be insea amidst the COVID -19.These remote workers whoare bound to stay away fromtheir families at least for the sixmonths are being termed as thevirus carrier at harbor.

“We follow the instructionsand with limited stock of foodand wine , we try to maintainjoy in sea. We are the supplychain as at any condition, weneed to transport the essentialwhich are require for survival,instance - oil and coal, there aremany countries in the Southhemisphere which are reliableon oil to produce electricity..but, in this difficult timeswhen no one wants to see us atharbor, it is difficult for us alsoto sustain in blue waters forlong,” said a third officer deput-ed on the merchant ship.

Adding insight to sailor'stough time, another sailor saidthat we are receiving advi-sories in every hour and beingguided by seniors what to doin hard times , however Coronapain is more hitting psycho-logically than affecting ourphysical health… staying awayfrom families and dedicated todeliver the supply in time , seashore companies are not pro-viding us the quarantine suitseven..everything is not wine,”he added.

Meanwhile , many issuespertaining to repair squad andspecialist engineers are beingfaced as the engineers should bepermitted to board Indian shipsfor the purpose of carrying outrepairs and maintenance.

Citing the example ofSingapore, Liberia and MarshalIsland, shipping agencies urgedDG shipping to grant extensionto the existing ships certificatesfor a period of at least six - eightmonths for smooth maritimetrade functioning.

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Since 1991, a lot has been said,written and debated ad lib aboutliberalisation, globalisation andease of doing business. However,not much has been said about the

need to free the employment market.Discussions on a new/alternative labourlaws do take place. So do talks on the needto revise minimum wages. Do we notrealise that tinkering of this naturewould take the economy nowhere? Timeand again, Governments raise the min-imum wages to seek applause. Somelabour or trade union leaders do clap butthat would be about it. Such moves do notincrease employment. If anything para-doxically, they bring down wages.

The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947,has been the guiding code of all employ-ment, except for the uppermost layer ofofficers and executives. When the Act waspassed, it was intended essentially forworkers by the then Government.Because of the low salaries prevailingthen, clerical staff got included. In theabsence of any other guidelines, the sit-uation has degenerated to the extent thatany employee can file a suit in a labourcourt. As a result, every responsibleemployer thinks not twice but thricebefore making appointments at Class II,III or IV levels. As far as the number ofjobs is concerned, it is these categories thatare critical. Employers, up to a point, takeshelter in outsourcing. However, suchproxy appointments can hardly be a helpin generating jobs on a national scale.

If one wants to see glaring examplesof what damage the Industrial DisputesAct and its corollaries have done in India,one may visit West Bengal. This State,which was once India’s leading industri-al province, has become a graveyard ofindustries. Kerala is another State, whichis also a cemetery of industries, albeit asmaller one, because the IndustrialDisputes Act-inspired trade unionismstopped the State’s economic growthearly in its tracks. In the heyday ofmonopolies and restrictive trade practices,a majority of large business houses wereheadquartered in Kolkata. The IndustrialDisputes Act-bred trade unionism effec-tively chased them out. It is, therefore,time that India reconsiders the IndustrialDisputes Act.

Prima facie, unions are meant to pro-tect and promote the welfare of theirmember workers. As it happens, mostunions are affiliated to one politicalparty or the other. Their leaders havepolitical ambitions. In the bargain, the pri-ority of their loyalty may be the party.Moreover, fundamentally, the strength ofa trade union lies in the number of itsmembers; their welfare is a lower prior-ity. Further, the concept of the worker’sunion is traced to the desire for revolu-tion; aid and abet to bring down bour-

geois institutions.A paradox of the Indian

scenario is its high populationand, hence, the consolation of ademographic dividend on theone hand, and minimum wagesdeclared by State Governmentsplus the laws and labour courtsbeing prejudiced againstemployers. The other paradoxis the national outcry for morejobs. None of the points we havemade so far help achieve greateremployment. If anything, theyactually shrink the prospects foremployment.

Three years ago, a MorganStanley report had stated thatIndia’s labour laws force firmseither to remain small, employ-ing fewer workers or to use cap-ital-intensive technology. Nowonder, the share of India’smanufacturing sector in GDPterms is one of the lowestamong emerging markets.India’s track record in creatingproductive jobs has been poor.

How can there be any pro-ductive job growth if the coun-try’s labour market is shackledwith regulations made 60 or 70years ago? Another factor so faroverlooked is that work itself isa training as well as experience.Even if a youngster has missedsufficient schooling, his earlystart in a job can offset the dis-advantage to a significantextent. On the other hand, ifhe/she has to be without workfor several years, he/she would

lose self confidence, learn littleand lack experience, which is aspringboard for building acareer, however humble. Anidle mind is a devil’s workshopis an old truism. The imposi-tion of a minimum wageignores this old wisdom. Inassuring one person with acomfortable wage, it ruins upto nine potential careers. Thesenine include those who remainjobless merely because theminimum wage stifles thegrowth of the economy.

There was a time when anunemployed person could liveoff his family, which in turndepended on farming its land.But now, with increased popu-lation and a reduction in the sizeof most farms, this alternativefor a man without a job orincome is no longer there; itwould be difficult to survive.Therefore, some income is amust. A low wage is better thanno wage. The flip side of this sit-uation should be an encourage-ment to entrepreneurs. Demandfor handmade goods, especial-ly in the affluent world, isbelieved to be limitless, provid-ed it is not too expensive.

Labour law is a concurrentsubject under the IndianConstitution. Thus, both theCentral and State Governmentshave the right to formulate lawson the subject, which meansmultiplicity of laws, at timeswith overlapping jurisdictions.

For example, there are 44Central laws and about 160 Statelaws on the issue of labour(source: ILO, 2013). Most arearchaic, dating to pre-indepen-dence era. There is an urgentneed to overhaul these laws toattune them to present realities.There are multiple laws govern-ing a single area. For instance,there are 19 laws governing con-ditions of work and industrialrelations, 14 laws on socialsecurity and labour welfare,among others.

It is, therefore, advisable toscrap all these laws, includingthe Industrial Disputes Act. Intheir place, a worker contractBill should be passed, whichwould be between an employ-er and an employee, as per theirmutually agreeable wishes,including the salary/wage. Theonly universal condition shouldbe that 25 per cent of thissalary should be handed over asa draft of a public sector bank,payable exactly five years later.These drafts, month by month,would be the employee’s post-employment benefits. This is toassure him/her that even if theemployer closes down, the ben-efits are safe. Otherwise, thereshould be total freedom, whichwould enable numerous pro-jects, especially labour-intensive,to mushroom and bloom.

(The writer is a well-knowncolumnist and an author. Viewsexpressed are personal))��(�� )��*��

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Taxing the driver” (March 17).It’s surprising that despite a fall ininternational prices of crude oildue to the spread of COVID-19,fuel prices in the country remainat an all-time high. Yet again, theGovernment has hiked the exciseduty on diesel and petrol by �3.Oil prices have crashed by about50 per cent since mid-January.Whenever international pricesof fuel increase, the oil companiesimmediately increase the retailprice. There is a need to pass onthe benefit of price reduction inthe international market to thepeople. The major portion of thecountry’s revenue is generatedfrom the sale of fuel and liquor butunfortunately, both are kept outof the purview of the Goods andServices Tax (GST).

Aditi SangarVia email

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “The Corona diplomacy”(March 17). It’s good that Indiahas reported fewer positive cases

of COVID-19 than others suchas China, South Korea, Iran,Italy or even the US. Yet we mustdouble our efforts to stop thespread of the virus because ourcountry has a pathetic record indisaster management. A sud-den rise in the number of casesmay make us vulnerable.

The Government’s move toput a blanket ban on tourist visasfrom all countries is commend-able. But first and foremost, itmust try to stop panic as deathsdue to other reasons could alsobe construed as death due toCoronavirus. Clear communica-tion is key. As far as wearing

masks is concerned, it must beclearly communicated throughall available channels whetherthey serve any purpose or not.More than the masks, peopleshould keep their hands germ-free. This is why we must devel-op the healthy habit of washinghands for at least 20 seconds and

use alcohol-based hand sanitis-ers. The Central as well as theState Governments must ensurethat masks and sanitisers areavailable in quantities, especial-ly in high-risk prone areas and ataffordable rates.

Vinod C DixitAhmedabad

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “The Corona diplomacy”(March 17). Due to the lack of amedicine/vaccine in sight, theCoronavirus pandemic hasbesieged the world. Thankfully,several nations are conductingresearch to develop a vaccine. Butit was shocking that instead ofworking together with Germany,which is developing a potentialvaccine for COVID-19, the UShas acted shamefully by demand-ing that the said medicine beavailable exclusively forAmericans. COVID-19 is a glob-al threat and nations have to fightit collectively.

Akhiliesh KumarNoida

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British educationist Alick Maclean undertookarguably one of the earliest attempts at pro-ducing a university ranking system.

Maclean’s study Where We Get Our Best Men(1900), which betrays the late Victorian England’sobsession with its own laurels, remained unno-ticed outside the university circuits in England.However, more than a hundred years later, thecontext, connotations and the scope of such rank-ings have changed dramatically. With the inclu-sion of higher education as an “internationallytraded” service in the General Agreement onTrade in Services (GATS), universities havebecome commodities that must sell to sustainthemselves in a globally-competitive educationindustry. Rankings are loudly advertised and havebecome the very touchstone of marketability. Evenin a welfare State like India, where the bulk ofhigher education is Government-aided andtherefore beyond the pale of market vagaries, therehas been, of late, a near-feverish fixation withrankings. And while (because) Indian universi-ties weren’t performing too well at Times HigherEducation Supplement (THES), Shanghai JiaoTong University (SJTU) or Webometrics worldrankings, we introduced leagues of our own inthe form of National Assessment andAccreditation Council (NAAC) and NationalInstitutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). Tomany of the stakeholders, “ranking” is an unwar-ranted western import which puts the institutionsof developing countries at a natural disadvantage.

With their emphasis on measuring researchoutput in terms of publications in English lan-guage journals, the global system of accreditationperpetuates the dominance of Anglo-Americanand to a lesser extent, European institutions.Besides the system of peer-review and mutual-referencing aren’t the most transparent of acad-emic practices. Since the Government appearskeen on incrementally linking an institution’sdomestic and international standings with the vol-ume and the manner of funding, some even sus-pect that the entire hoopla is a decoy for privati-sation. And then there are those critics whobelieve that at a time when the majority of uni-versity graduates, as highlighted in theGovernment’s own findings, are unemployable,our pursuit of global stature reeks of waylaid com-petitive nationalism, hollow chest-thumpingand the general lethargy of a stagnated eductionsector. They argue, with some merit, that it wouldprofit the universities more if the staff aremobilised towards research and teaching insteadof tedious report compilation. Till a few years ago,before the launch of NAAC and NIRF, manybelieved that better rankings accrue from user-friendly websites and perception management.

Under the circumstances, quality becomes aprocedural casualty and our estimation of a uni-versity’s true worth, based on a set of universalparameters, remains delusional and misleading.For example, in several assessment paradigms, theshare of international faculty and foreign studentssubstantially propels an institution’s ranking.While this may not be the strength of Indian uni-versities, not many countries of the world canboast of a higher education system which is morecommitted to affirmative action and socialinclusion, than our own.

The massification of education and steep risein enrollment rates may not deliver immediatedividends but these steps will see India rise as aleader in research and development (R&D) intimes to come. Fortunately, the NIRF identifiesan institution’s inclusivity at the levels of region,

class, gender and physical disability asa parameter in quality assessment. Butthere are, as yet, no points for diversi-ty in faculty.

As India aims to overhaul its high-er education infrastructure through aNew Education Policy (NEP), creatingworld-class institutes of eminence (IoEs)and acquiring better global rankingsappear to be two of the priorities. It isexpected that resources generatedthrough public private partnership(PPP) and introduction of industry-cen-tric courses will provide stimulus tothese enterprises. The Ministry ofHuman Resource Development’s(MHRD) pitch for IoEs encouragesinternational outreach. Under thescheme, the 16 designate institutionshave been empowered to collaboratewith foreign universities and recruit upto 25 per cent of their total facultystrength from outside India.

The success of the much-touted‘Study in India’ campaign, too, is large-ly hinged on our ability to create IoEsand secure better ranking. The cam-paign, if successful, will not only bringrevenue but the increase in the numberof offshore students would also improveour global stature. The degree of inter-nationalisation of higher education,which is partly consequent upon glob-al ranking, will certainly augmentIndia’s soft power. The Government’swebsite on the initiative lists instructionin English medium, the size of India’smarket, recent start-up culture and plu-ralist campuses as our strengths. Butwhen we leverage our educationalinfrastructure to entice the global stu-dent community, we need to ask the fol-lowing question: who are we inviting tostudy in India and what do we have tooffer? Given India’s financial constraintsand our social commitment to bring themajority into the fold of higher educa-tion, planners and policymakers willhave to make a series of difficult choic-es. They will have to choose between

scaling a few hand-picked institutionsto global stature and making the major-ity of Central/State universities compet-itive with respect to education infra-structure in Asia and Africa. Let us notforget that as of now, Indian universi-ties cater mostly to students fromSouth Asian Association for RegionalCooperation (SAARC) and Associationof Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)countries.

In some cases, to the wealthy SouthKoreans and Africans, too. In terms oftheir preferred academic destinations inIndia, these foreign students choosemostly institutions located in metropol-itan centres. Therefore, we also need tochoose between buttressing the existingpatterns of student-inflow and creatingregionally diverse centres of learning.Further, we have to decide between pro-moting subjects which feed the localindustry and those that are most soughtafter in the target countries. If we are toinvite students to study in India, whenthe domestic expectation itself is of acosmic proportion, we must think ofways of marrying the two prerogatives.A balance must be struck between thestrategic need to invite foreign studentsand delivering on the moral imperativesof the State.

Policymakers need to think ofdeveloping regional centres of excellencebased on local trends, proclivities,resources and history. Delhi is nearlysaturated, so are Bengaluru, Hyderabadand Pune. India needs to create morehubs, showcasing local strength andareas where Indians excel. To thateffect, here is a modest proposal.Institutes based in the north-easternStates can be developed into hubs fortraining in cottage and small-scaleindustries. Maharashtra and Gujarat canbecome centres of commerce and tradeeducation. South India could be devel-oped into India’s science hub whileBengal and Bihar can shine as regionscatering to humanities and social sci-

ences. Haryana can do exceptionallywell in sports and physical health andMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh andOdisha can lead global research on trib-al knowledge systems and sustainablehuman ecology. At the same time, wemust also think of capitalising ondomains of knowledge to which we havehad privileged access and that have tra-ditionally been our strength. In subjectssuch as ayurveda, yoga and mentalhealth, with an untapped global market,we have a lot to offer even to the mostadvanced countries of the world. Thereis an ayurvedic medical college in myown nondescript village in Bihar. Butover the years, instead of attracting stu-dents from other States, let alone fromother countries, the institution hasshrunk both physically and in terms offootfall. Instead of investing in disci-plines where global competition is stiff,the MHRD should think of promotinga few institutes dedicated to indigenousknowledge systems as IoEs. In theseareas, the chances of becoming a worldleader are bright, realistic and hugelyrewarding.

But as we draw these schemes, wemust never forget that a lot will dependon the quality of teachers employed atthese institutes. Paradoxically, as thingsstand today, students studying outsideIndia, with their international experi-ence and exposure, are being project-ed as key to the success of the ‘Study inIndia’ initiative. We have to put in placea robust system of attracting and retain-ing talented students and teachers.Given the current state of affairs,appointment of teachers would be agood beginning point. Unless we engageand strengthen our workforce, theseschemes will be reduced to corporatestyle weekend workshops on capacitybuilding that offer nothing but a distrac-tion from monotony. That too on aweekend.

(The writer teaches English at theUniversity of Delhi)

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Aclear picture of the full ramifi-cations of the extraordinaryCoronavirus outbreak is yet to

emerge. Till about two weeks ago thevirus was just a news story but now, ithas touched all our lives. Right fromwork, play, entertainment, the right topray and to “what is for dinner today”,every aspect of the common man’s lifehas been affected. It has changed nor-mal routines and many are now work-ing from home. Students are on a forcedholiday and irritable as they havelargely been confined to home by

schools and institutions of higher edu-cation shutting down. Even those stay-ing in hostels have been told to pack upand go home. Worried parents havethemselves given up socialising, goingto restaurants or the cinema. It has alsoresulted in an unprecedented focus onhealth and hygiene, not just in the pub-lic sphere but also in our private space.Authorities have issued numerous pub-lic health advisories and dos and don’tsto prevent the spread of theCoronavirus. Right now, the situationseems to be spiralling out of control andas of now no end is in sight.

But this should not result in panic.It is indeed a good thing that theGovernment has declared it as a“national calamity” and the States andthe Centre are working in tandem tocheck the spread of the dreaded virus.The number of confirmed cases inIndia has risen to 137, with three casu-alties, according to the Health Ministry’sdata. As the number grows daily, many

businesses have closed, there is mayhemon the stock market, hospitals are over-flowing with patients and even themovie industry has postponed new filmreleases with movie halls being shuttemporarily. It will certainly take a longtime for the country to recover from theeffect of this pandemic.

Even the gods have not beenspared, say media reports. Apparently“fearing” that the deities, too, could beinfected with the Coronavirus, thepriests of a famous temple in UttarPradesh have covered them with masksand asked the devotees to clean theirhands with sanitizers before touchingthe idols. Some like the Swaminarayantemple have been shut indefinitely. Forthe first time, the centuries oldTirumala Tirupati Devasthanam hascancelled major services.

Interestingly, the Coronavirus hascome as a blessing in disguise for theNarendra Modi Government as it haspushed almost all other burning issues

to the background. Politically impor-tant issues like the flailing economy, theanti-Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA) protests, the Delhi riots and soon, have been put on the back-burner.Even in Parliament the debate on theanti-CAA protests was not as stormy asexpected. The Modi Government gotaway with muted attacks, though theformer Congress president RahulGandhi continues his tirade against theCentre on the sliding economy.

Coronavirus is taking a toll on eco-nomic activities around the world as theentire supply chain continues to beaffected and major global events areeither being cancelled or postponed.The impact on the Indian economy isgoing to be much worse now, thoughthe Government is yet to come up withan assessment.

Indian economists are worriedthat the Coronavirus outbreak coulddrag growth in the current January-March quarter and the next financial.

The Government has projected five percent growth in the current financial yearand the projected growth for the nextfiscal, starting April 2020-21 has beenpegged at six per cent to 6.5 per cent.

The manufacturing industry, thereal estate sector, the aviation and hos-pitality industry, major sports eventsand almost every segment of econom-ic activity has seen a downtrend.Airline tickets and hotel bookings aregoing at almost half price.The $46 bil-lion global cruise industry is alsowatching the Coronavirus outbreaknervously. If the spread of the diseaseisn’t contained soon, it could even affectthe advertising and marketing spendsof brands.

The Reserve Bank of IndiaGovernor, Shaktikanta Das recentlywarned that the pharma and electron-ic manufacturing sectors might getimpacted due to the virus and the GrossDomestic Product (GDP) growth islikely to go down further. He said that

the Coronavirus outbreak appears to beworse than the Severe AcuteRespiratory Syndrome (SARS) andthis time China’s share in the worldGDP and trade is much higher. IndianIT companies depend on Shanghai andBeijing and the big picture points to thefact that many existing projects mightnot be completed. India’s leadingautomakers — Mahindra, Tata Motorsand Hero MotoCorp — admit that theCoronavirus outbreak has hit produc-tion and supply of spare parts. The sec-tor saw sales decline by 15 per cent inthe April-January period.

Fear of the unknown is powerfuland the virus still remains alien. SARStook about six months to stop, largelythrough public health measures. Beingthe second-most populous country inthe world, India has cause to worry butthere should be no panic. Coronavirusis an evolving disease and we have noother option than to wait ad watch.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

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With normal banking ser-vices in Yes Bank to

resume at 6 pm on Wednesday,the private sector bank'sadministrator and newinvestors assured all depositholders that their savings in thebank were absolutely safe andcustomers would have muchbetter experience when theyresume usual interaction withthe lender.

"There is no need to worryabout safety of deposits in thebank. The bank has emergedstronger with the equity sup-port of domestic banks andquick action by the RBI and theGovernment. So when normalbanking services resumetomorrow, customers canexpect to get much better expe-rience," Prashant Kumar, YesBank administrator and thenext MD and CEO of thebank's newly constituted board,told media persons at a Pressconference.

Responding to questionswhether there would be a flur-ry of withdrawals from thedepositors once normal bank-ing services resume onWednesday, he said that YesBank has sufficient fundinglines available with it and basedon analytics and positive vibes

generated by the restructuringscheme, there would not be aflurry of withdrawals.

"Even during moratoriumperiod, only one-third ofdepositors withdrew their sav-ings to the extent of �50,000while the remaining did notwithdraw at all. In fact, in lastfour days, Yes Bank has seenmore inflows than outflow,"Kumar said.

Asked if there was a con-tingency plan to check with-drawal rush, he said he had noreasons to believe why thatwould happen but even in theevent of an eventuality, thebank has sufficient fundinglines available to it.

The State Bank of India

(SBI), which has become theanchor investor in Yes Bankafter if picked up close to 49 percent stake in the bank, also saidthat it did not see nervousdepositors flocking Yes Bankbranches for withdrawals oncenormally banking servicesresumed. "There are sufficientfunding lines to meet any even-tuality. We do not see anothermoratorium being put inplace," said SBI ChairmanRajnish Kumar.

He added that everyonewanted to lift moratorium onYes Bank at the earliest givenstrong presence of SME sectoron its portfolio. Longer restric-tions would have impacted thesegment.

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State Bank of India ChairmanRajnish Kumar on Tuesday

said that the state-run bank willnot sell any of its shares in thecrisis-hit Yes Bank in the nextthree years. The SBI has beenallotted 605 crore shares in YesBank for an investment of�6,050 crore and would be thelargest shareholder in therestructured bank with a stakeof 49 per cent.

Its statement gains signif-icance as the reconstructionplan for Yes Bank said that thelargest public sector bank willhave to hold at least 26 per centstake for the next three years.Concerns of a possible profi-teering by the investing bankshave arisen as the prevailingshare price of Yes Bank isnearly six times the price atwhich the domestic banks havesubscribed to its shares. YesBank shares closed at �58.65 apiece on BSE on Tuesday.

Rajnish Kumar on Tuesdaysaid that although he cannottalk about other banks, regard-ing SBI, "not even a single sharewill be sold in three years".

Other private sector bankswho have put in a total of�3,950 crore so far, would haveto hold at least 75 per cent oftheir investment for a three

year period under the terms ofrestructuring scheme.

Even if such entities wantto sell the 25 per cent of theirinvestment now, which they arefree to execute under thescheme, they would end up notonly recovering their entireinvestment but also makingwindfall gains.

Among the private players,ICICI Bank and HousingDevelopment FinanceCorporation committed Rs1,000 crore each. Axis Bank andKotak Mahindra Bank com-mitted to invest �600 crore and�500 crore, respectively. BothFederal Bank and BandhanBank have been allotted sharesfor �300 crore each as per theircommitment and IDFC FirstBank has been issued equityshares in the crisis-ridden bank.

Rajnish Kumar said that itwas decided that a two-stagefunding should be carried outfor Yes Bank as trying to raisethe total required capital in onego would have extended themoratorium on the privatesector lender.

"Enough money was avail-able, but in the first stage (it wasdecided) let it be within Indiandomestic bankers. Lot of for-eign investors had interest... butthat would mean longer mora-torium," he said.

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Shares of Yes Bank continuedto remain in heavy demand

for the third consecutive dayand further jumped over 59 percent on Tuesday after Moody'supgraded the company's rat-ings.

Rising for the third con-secutive day, the company'sscrip zoomed 58.09 per cent toclose at �58.65 on the BSE.During the day, it jumped72.91 per cent to a day's highof �64.15. On the NSE, it rosesharply by 59.29 per cent toclose the day at �59.10.

The scrip has jumped over134 per cent in three days. Thecompany's market valuationhas risen by �8,570.52 crore to�14,958.52 crore in these threedays. In traded volume terms,221.96 lakh shares were trad-ed on the BSE and more than22 crore shares on the NSE dur-ing the trade.

Yes Bank shares had onMonday also jumped sharplyby over 45 per cent afterannouncement of a restruc-turing plan.

The rating agency upgrad-ed the company's ratings andalso its outlook was changed topositive. In a filing to the BSEon Monday, YES Bankannounced that the board ofdirectors of the company hasbeen approved for reconstitution.

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There is no plan to privatiseIndian Railways as it

belongs to the people of thecountry, Railways MinisterPiyush Goyal asserted in RajyaSabha on Tuesday after somemembers raised concerns overit. Replying to a discussion onthe working of the Ministry ofRailways, Goyal announced aninvestment of �50 lakh crore inthe national transporter overthe next 12 years.

"I want to make it crystalclear that there is no plan orproposal to privatise IndianRailways, it will not happen.Indian Railways belongs to thepeople of this country, it willremain so," Goyal said.

Keeping in mind develop-ment of the railways, the gov-ernment may, however, bringin a few services under privatesector in order to provide bet-ter services to the passengers,he added.

Participating in the dis-cussion, several Rajya Sabhamembers raised concerns overthe poor financial health of therailways, decline in job oppor-tunities and delay in execution

of major projects, besides pri-vatisation of the national trans-porter. Goyal said the govern-ment was committed to mak-ing Indian Railways world classin every aspect.

"In the next 12 years we aregoing to invest �50 lakh crorein the Indian Railways. We willdo it in public private partner-ship. We will also give thechance to the people of thiscountry to be part of thisprocess," he added.

Goyal, in reply to allega-tions by Trinamool Congressmember Derek O'Brien, saidthat sharing of funds betweenthe Centre and state govern-ments for new railway projectswas started during the UPAregime of which the TrinamoolCongress was a part, and it wasinherited by the BJP as a lega-cy. The minister, however,added it was "not a bad prac-tice".

Goyal cited various newsreports on the performance ofthe railways under formerRailway Minister andTrinamool Congress chiefMamata Bannerjee. "I don'twant to politicise the issue oflosses," he added.

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Amazon India has said it isworking extensively with

seller partners to ensure prod-uct availability, and bringing onadditional capacity for delivery,after stocks ran out on some popular items, especial-ly in the household staplescategory.

With coronavirus fearsprompting more and morepeople to shop online, thecompany said it is working toensure that prices are not arti-ficially raised on basic needproducts during the pandem-ic and has blocked or removedtens of thousands of items, inline with its policy in thisregard.

Summing up actionsAmazon India has taken tominimise the spread of thecoronavirus while supportingthose directly and indirectlyimpacted by the global pan-demic, the company in a blogon Monday said it has recent-ly seen an increase in peopleshopping online, which, in theshort term, is having an impact on how it serves cus-tomers.

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Automobile dealers' bodyFADA on Tuesday said it

has filed an application with theSupreme Court seeking exten-sion of sale and registration ofBS-IV vehicles till May 31, 2020— an extension of two monthsfrom March-end deadline toclear the stock of such models.

The Federation ofAutomobile DealersAssociations (FADA) on behalfof its members has once againapproached the SupremeCourt, and has filed an inter-locutory application along withan application seeking modifi-cation in writ petition datedOctober 24, 2018.

In the petition, in the mat-ter of M C Mehta versus Unionof India and others, the apexcourt had directed that nomotor vehicle conforming toemission standard BS-IV shallbe sold or registered in theentire country with effect fromApril 1, 2020.

"We have submitted anapplication with the SupremeCourt for extension of regis-tration process of BS-IV vehi-cles till May 31, 2020. We are

now seeking an urgent hearingon the matter," FADA PresidentAshish Harsharaj Kale toldPTI. The two-wheeler BS-IVinventory at dealerships acrossthe country stood at around8.35 lakh units valued ataround �4,600 crore, he added.

"The situation in the pas-senger vehicle and commercialvehicle segments is much bet-ter as compared to two-wheel-ers," Kale said. FADA had filedan application earlier as wellwhich was rejected by the apexcourt on February 14 this year.

"Post our initial applica-tion, necessitated due to hugeunsold BS-IV inventory andslowing sales, getting rejectedby the apex court on February14, 2020, there has been adrastic change in circumstancesin conducting business asusual," Kale said.

The spread of coronavirushas led to a drastic drop in salesand customer walk-ins havereduced to a trickle, he added.

"As caution sets in due tofear of spreading of the virus,counter sales has fallen by 60-70 per cent across auto dealer-ships in these past few days,"Kale said.

London: Britain's Chancellorof the Exchequer Rishi Sunakis getting ready to unveil a res-cue package on Tuesday forbusinesses hit by the coron-avirus outbreak, a day afterPrime Minister Boris Johnsonannounced unprecedentedmeasures for everyone torefrain from social contact andunnecessary travel.

The near-lockdown in placeto tackle the spread of COVID-19, which has claimed 55 lives inthe UK, has threatened the clo-sure of large numbers of busi-nesses in the country, includingpubs, bars and restaurants.

The package being

finalised by the Indian-originfinance minister will build onthe 12 billion pound he had setout in his first Budget lastweek, when he suspended busi-ness rates for many firms inEngland, put in an emergencytemporary loan facility in place,extended statutory sick payfor workers, set up a "hardshipfund" for local authorities andboosted NHS funding.

He is chairing a committeeon Tuesday to address theescalating economic repercus-sions of the pandemic and willdiscuss further potential mea-sures with Johnson to beunveiled later. PTI

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The negative impact of thecoronavirus outbreak on

the economy will be balancedto "a very large extent" by thedecline in global oil prices, asenior government official saidon Tuesday. The official furthersaid he expects the economy togo on an upward trajectory in2020-21, adding that a degreeof fiscal stimulus may also bewarranted to boost growth.

"We had expected that theeconomy had bottomed out inthe third quarter of fiscal 2019-20 and the last quarter of currentfiscal will see an improvement,followed by further improve-ment in the fiscal 2020-21.

"However, there is no deny-ing the fact that the Covid-19'simpact on the global economywill be significant. This isbound to affect Indian eco-nomic prospect as well," he toldPTI. On the other hand, avery bright silver lining hasbeen provided by the collapseof oil prices, he added.

"It is well known that adecline in global oil prices hasa significant upward impact oneconomic growth in India.

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While the world economyhas taken some beating

after the outbreak of coron-avirus or COVID-19, Ministerof State for Finance AnuragSingh Thakur on Tuesdaypointed out that the latest data"do not suggest any adverse impact on the econo-my" after the outbreak ofCOVID-19.

"Additionally, a positiveimpact on India's economymay arise from decline in glob-al oil prices triggered by theoutbreak of COVID-19,"Thakur said in reply to a queryraised by Rajya Sabha memberVaiko.

The minister said that theoutbreak of coronavirus hasemerged as a key risk to humanhealth as well as the globalgrowth outlook throughnumerous channels like trade,production and supply chaindisruptions; decline in demand;lower tourism and businesstravel; loss of investors' confi-dence; and productivity lossesfrom the morbidity and mortality of the workforce.

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Investor wealth dropped by�9.74 lakh crore in two days

of market fall this week trig-gered by weak global trendsand fears of coronavirus hittingthe overall economy. In twodays, investors have lost�9,74,176.71 crore wealth. Atclose of trade on Tuesday, themarket capitalisation of BSE-listed companies was at�1,19,52,066.11 crore.

Fag-end selling pulled downthe BSE's key bellwether indexby 810.98 points or 2.58 per centon Tuesday. Markets erased allits early gains, tracking weakglobal cues and finally closed at30,579.09. On Monday, the keyindex had plummeted 2,713.41points or 7.96 per cent.

"The Indian markets con-tinued to plummet on Tuesdaytracking weak global cues. Themarkets across the globe arewitnessing high volatility andthe recent stimulus measureshave failed to assuage theinvestor fears.

"On the domestic front, themarkets will continue to followthe global cues and thereforefurther downside cannot beruled out in the near-term,"according to Ajit Mishra, VP —Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

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Stock indices erased early gainsto sink deeper into red on

Tuesday as the global equity routintensified amid the coronavirus-triggered recession fears. Afteropening on a positive note, the 30-share BSE Sensex traded modest-ly higher for a majority of the ses-sion, but succumbed to a suddensell-off in the last hour of trade.Itfinally closed 810.98 points or 2.58per cent lower at 30,579.09, aftergyrating 1,653 points during theday. Likewise, the broader NSENifty slumped 230.35 points or2.50 per cent to finish at 8,967.05.Nifty has ended below the key9,000-level after March 2017.

Global markets reeled afterthe Wall Street suffered its worstcrash since the ‘Black Monday’ inOctober 1987, with the US Fed’semergency rate cut failing to liftinvestor sentiment amid thedrumbeat of negative news sur-rounding the Covid-19 pandem-ic. Unabated foreign fund outflowsand a weak rupee further weighedon domestic bourses, traders said.

ICICI Bank was the top loserin the Sensex pack, tumbling 8.95per cent, followed by IndusIndBank (8.89 per cent), Bajaj Finance(6.26 per cent), HDFC (4.74 percent), Infosys (4.68 per cent) andKotak Bank (4.53 per cent). Onthe other hand, HUL spurted

3.49 per cent, Hero MotoCorp3.09 per cent, Asian Paints 3.05 percent, PowerGrid 2.53 per cent andMaruti 2.12 per cent.

According to traders, value-buying lifted benchmarks duringthe first half of the session, but thegains could not be sustained asmarkets succumbed to coron-avirus-led fears of an impendingrecession. “After trading in thepositive for the majority of theday, the indices turned red duringthe last hour of trading, with sell-ing mainly seen in financials.European markets and Dowfutures added to the negativity.“Covid-19 showed no signs ofabatement and with central banks’monetary policy actions havinglimited impact, calls were out formore actions to contain the spreadof the virus,” said Vinod Nair,Head of Research at GeojitFinancial Services. BSE bankex,finance, telecom, teck, IT andrealty indices gained up to 4.46per cent, while FMCG ended inthe green. Broader BSE midcapand smallcap indices ended upto 2.27 per cent lower. Elsewherein Asia, bourses in Shanghai andSeoul ended in the red, whileHong Kong and Tokyo turnedpositive. Markets in Europecracked up to 3 per cent in earlytrade. Meanwhile, the rupee wasflat at 74.20 per US dollar (intra-day).

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Budget carrier GoAir onTuesday announced sus-

pending international opera-tions and offering leave with-out pay programme for itsstaff on a rotational basis, amidsharp decline in air travel dueto the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement to PTI, theairline said the sharp decline inair travel that it was experi-encing was “unprecedented”.

Against this backdrop, thecarrier said it was temporarilysuspending all internationaloperations, starting March 17until April 15.

“GoAir has also initiated ashort term and temporary rota-tional leave without pay pro-gramme that will not only helpthe company counter the short-term reduction in capacity, butwill also ensure that a cross sec-tion of our employees stayaway from the workplace toensure business continuity,”the statement said.

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Moody’s Investors Service onTuesday lowered India’s

GDP growth forecast for 2020calendar year to 5.3 per cent, oncoronavirus implications on theeconomy. Moody’s had inFebruary projected a 5.4 percent real GDP growth for Indiain 2020. This too was a down-grade from 6.6 per cent earlierforecast. The 5.3 per cent realGDP growth forecast for 2020compares to 5.3 per cent growthestimate for 2019 and 7.4 percent achieved in 2018.

Stating that there was sig-nificant economic fallout frommore rapid and wider spread ofthe coronavirus, the ratingagency on Tuesday said damp-ening of domestic consumptiondemand in affected countriesexacerbates disruptions to sup-ply chains and cross-bordertrade of goods and services.

“The longer the disrup-tions last, the greater the risk ofglobal recession becomes,” itsaid. Moody’s forecast a 5.8 percent growth rate for India in2021. “A number of govern-ments and central banks haveannounced countervailing mea-sures, including fiscal stimuluspackages, policy rate cuts andregulatory forbearance; howev-er, the effectiveness of policyeasing will be blunted by mea-

sures to contain the outbreak,and policy space is constrainedfor some sovereigns,” it said.Also, tighter funding condi-tions and exchange rate depre-ciation could stress sovereignswith high foreign currencyexposure, heavy reliance onexternal market funding or lowforeign currency reserve cover-age, it said.

Moody’s said oil price shockadds to growth and fiscal pres-sures for exposed sovereigns. “Aperiod of lower oil prices willfurther weigh on the econom-ic and fiscal fundamentals of oilexporters, while mitigating thetrade shock for importers.”

Meanwhile, Moody’sInvestors Service has said thatglobal spread of new coron-avirus (Covid-19) will signifi-cantly slow economic growth,which will in turn amplify itsfinancial impact on several keyfree movement-driven sectors.“Sectors reliant on trade and thefree movement of people aremost exposed, such as passen-ger airlines, shipping, and lodg-ing and leisure, which includescruise lines and restaurants,”Vice President - Senior CreditOfficer - Benjamin Nelson atMoody’s said in a statement.Global automakers are alsounder great pressure because oftheir reliance on internationalsupply chains, while gaming and

non-food retail in certainregions are also exposed tosupply chain disruptions, andthe inevitable decline in foottraffic. “Companies’ ability towithstand the effects of thevirus will depend on its dura-tion, and we caution that asevents unfold very rapidly on adaily basis, our assessment ofexposure will change over time,”another Vice President - SeniorCredit Officer - at Moody’sRichard Morawetz said.Moody’s assessment is based onits baseline scenario, whichassumes a normalisation of eco-nomic activity in the second halfof the year, and the ability ofsome companies to withstandthe effects of the virus willdepend on its duration.

The agency’s downside sce-nario factors in a jump in casesand public fear that the viruswill not be contained in the firsthalf of 2020, leading to exten-sive and prolonged travelrestrictions and quarantines,along with a prolonged slump incommodity prices. The numberof deaths around the worldlinked to Covid-19 has topped7,000, after Italy announced anew surge in fatalities, with over1,75,000 infections recordedglobally so far. In India, thenumber of infected cases stoodat 125, as per union health min-istry log.

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Script Open High Low LTPOBEROIRLTY 436.50 449.00 426.30 439.20YESBANK 40.80 64.15 40.80 58.65RELIANCE 1041.20 1059.00 1004.00 1008.90HDFCBANK 1002.00 1012.85 955.00 975.25ICICIBANK 405.00 410.05 364.05 366.85SBIN 226.05 229.80 212.25 214.90BAJFINANCE 3728.00 3750.00 3402.50 3444.85INDUSINDBK 664.00 705.80 590.60 604.30INFY 585.20 592.05 550.10 555.60HDFC 1861.00 1869.00 1740.20 1754.80TATAMOTORS 82.70 84.80 77.50 77.90IDEA 6.01 6.25 4.71 4.85TATASTEEL 297.25 307.70 280.40 282.30TCS 1725.00 1731.00 1623.00 1658.20MARUTI 5549.00 5746.45 5500.00 5603.95IBULHSGFIN 154.95 174.90 150.10 160.10KOTAKBANK 1380.00 1401.40 1302.55 1321.40LT 967.25 1005.00 940.25 955.20ITC 147.35 155.80 140.00 149.20SUNPHARMA 373.45 395.15 364.50 370.55UPL 375.00 376.20 343.30 351.00RBLBANK 165.90 174.30 157.60 165.15BHARTIARTL 464.65 480.70 444.40 454.10AXISBANK 513.00 531.00 478.00 489.10HINDUNILVR 1951.00 2087.95 1931.35 2009.00BAJAJFINSV 7481.15 7599.25 6959.65 7016.25ONGC 60.80 63.20 59.70 60.05VSTIND 3421.00 3617.25 3416.25 3571.50ZEEL 163.00 169.00 131.65 133.20GODREJCP 506.00 540.00 496.65 525.70MUTHOOTFIN 729.00 730.05 620.95 657.00JUBILANT 334.35 334.35 295.95 301.85ASIANPAINT 1691.10 1778.95 1670.00 1734.20JUSTDIAL 339.35 339.35 299.20 311.50PVR 1243.45 1368.50 1185.20 1313.55PIDILITIND 1471.10 1591.10 1469.30 1557.00VEDL 75.55 80.40 74.45 75.00INDIGO 945.00 1005.65 936.95 983.25COALINDIA 145.00 155.25 142.35 145.90INFRATEL 209.35 213.30 190.70 194.05FDC 211.40 216.95 202.85 204.85BANDHANBNK 280.00 292.55 252.25 257.75JSWSTEEL 185.00 193.50 175.20 176.45JINDALSTEL 110.00 116.75 105.90 107.15HDFCAMC 2535.00 2625.00 2411.00 2449.00L&TFH 71.00 73.50 66.10 66.60BANKBARODA 64.95 69.60 62.15 66.10ESCORTS 674.70 686.05 629.45 650.35MANAPPURAM 125.55 126.25 100.45 103.25PEL 887.00 937.70 850.00 876.85STAR 366.00 366.00 318.00 320.00APOLLOHOSP 1465.00 1517.50 1415.40 1431.50BPCL 366.50 385.60 354.05 356.85MOTHERSUMI 66.75 68.00 60.30 60.80TITAN 1000.00 1038.00 978.50 1001.70SRTRANSFIN 760.00 829.50 760.00 781.00HINDPETRO 204.50 221.95 200.20 216.95NESTLEIND 14694.00 14849.00 14271.25 14541.50AUROPHARMA 409.95 444.60 407.00 413.10EICHERMOT 16855.80 17449.95 16567.30 17085.75ADANIENT 134.00 140.40 130.80 133.30ULTRACEMCO 3525.00 3575.00 3455.25 3499.00M&M 391.75 407.65 370.00 376.30HCLTECH 450.00 478.50 443.50 452.25DLF 147.65 155.00 143.80 144.60SAIL 27.70 30.40 27.00 28.25FORTIS 131.00 134.00 127.60 131.80HDFCLIFE 475.00 486.00 459.90 463.90JUBLFOOD 1415.25 1436.15 1281.25 1323.45ACC 1133.00 1161.30 1103.65 1121.40POWERGRID 157.50 170.25 155.75 162.15ADANIPORTS 264.50 283.35 264.50 267.35IOC 90.05 93.45 89.00 89.45WIPRO 184.80 185.50 170.85 173.80SIEMENS 1155.00 1207.15 1126.80 1135.90SRF 3218.30 3359.25 3109.80 3255.75MIDHANI 205.00 219.45 199.00 201.10CANBK 100.50 104.75 98.00 99.50BRITANNIA 2760.00 2793.65 2670.20 2700.00MGL 880.00 886.50 847.80 877.85LTI 1527.00 1527.00 1430.00 1489.05NAM-INDIA 282.50 292.00 268.25 273.05BERGEPAINT 428.00 464.60 422.50 449.50BHEL 24.00 25.30 23.00 23.40HEROMOTOCO 1783.00 1901.90 1758.05 1839.15INDIACEM 103.90 103.90 97.15 98.70ADANIPOWER 28.25 29.75 26.15 26.90BIOCON 269.00 275.00 261.00 264.00CIPLA 395.50 421.85 391.00 401.75NCC 20.90 22.30 20.20 21.40GLENMARK 212.15 223.70 204.75 206.30GRASIM 566.80 585.00 553.50 556.10FEDERALBNK 66.50 66.50 57.15 58.15M&MFIN 260.00 275.30 245.20 248.55NMDC 73.55 78.50 72.90 73.90DIVISLAB 1890.00 1961.65 1873.20 1935.00NTPC 90.05 95.80 86.30 88.45BALKRISIND 880.00 932.50 868.90 880.45BATAINDIA 1350.05 1370.50 1297.10 1306.75DEEPAKNI 428.80 446.50 403.00 409.15AUBANK 906.15 915.70 810.00 838.45LICHSGFIN 260.00 273.35 247.50 250.75SPICEJET 41.60 45.65 39.80 42.05SYNGENE 265.90 266.00 248.00 254.00PNB 35.95 37.20 35.00 35.40HINDALCO 115.60 120.50 113.70 115.50TATACONSUM 305.00 309.00 282.00 284.05MRF 61650.00 63717.35 60284.10 61769.40

TRENT 568.00 580.15 527.20 534.00AMBUJACEM 178.20 181.45 170.10 171.75ASHOKLEY 63.50 66.00 62.00 64.40DRREDDY 2800.00 2902.00 2759.55 2791.15GODREJIND 341.05 341.05 322.30 325.00UJJIVAN 240.00 252.15 205.85 213.45DMART 1935.00 2095.00 1911.00 2029.35TECHM 595.00 617.40 584.00 599.00NIITTECH 1308.00 1308.00 1171.30 1190.00SUNTV 353.00 375.00 334.00 364.55IDFCFIRSTB 25.70 27.60 25.05 25.25PFC 92.50 99.10 89.40 90.20NATIONALUM 30.00 31.70 29.20 30.25NESCO 540.00 556.00 528.25 535.70TATAELXSI 772.00 784.45 706.65 723.70LUPIN 608.25 646.20 599.60 619.95SHREECEM 20061.30 20811.85 19369.40 20030.00LAXMIMACH 2388.00 2645.05 2388.00 2604.40NAVINFLUOR 1310.30 1398.00 1285.00 1285.00IGL 387.00 391.25 370.25 377.65BAJAJ-AUTO 2339.00 2371.20 2252.70 2262.00SBILIFE 720.10 769.00 676.00 683.65BEL 66.35 71.40 65.95 69.95MINDTREE 819.00 882.00 809.30 868.00PETRONET 207.00 211.40 198.60 201.50GAIL 78.10 80.75 73.00 74.40MCX 1094.75 1164.10 1048.85 1054.80ICICIPRULI 341.00 369.50 330.85 335.15DABUR 430.00 450.75 424.75 430.05ADANIGAS 106.95 111.40 102.20 107.60RECLTD 95.00 99.90 92.10 93.85PAGEIND 19030.70 19700.00 18636.65 18906.60COLPAL 1153.00 1196.70 1143.20 1159.00HEXAWARE 282.65 325.20 274.55 277.45VOLTAS 615.25 626.05 590.80 595.00MARICO 250.15 257.05 245.70 250.55CGCL 178.45 191.70 173.80 185.20OMAXE 161.00 164.10 157.60 158.50BANKINDIA 35.60 37.15 35.00 35.90EQUITAS 69.50 70.95 58.70 62.20

INTELLECT 65.05 71.50 62.50 63.30GRAPHITE 152.10 163.45 152.10 157.60IPCALAB 1321.95 1352.25 1263.25 1339.50BEML 507.65 512.00 478.40 486.00OIL 70.00 73.75 68.45 71.45DELTACORP 84.20 90.00 77.45 78.25ATUL 3972.45 4077.35 3938.25 4015.00TVSMOTOR 373.10 400.25 373.00 384.25HAVELLS 566.00 585.15 561.85 570.20HEG 690.00 715.00 660.00 662.50DALBHARAT 582.65 609.20 541.90 550.00APOLLOTYRE 99.80 101.50 92.60 93.50TATAPOWER 41.00 42.40 38.55 38.95GUJGAS 253.20 259.95 244.95 249.00LALPATHLAB 1501.00 1554.00 1485.00 1500.00GMRINFRA 16.30 17.00 16.10 16.70CADILAHC 248.15 268.20 247.45 261.90CANFINHOME 366.55 367.20 350.10 363.30POLYCAB 828.90 874.00 799.95 838.00SUNTECK 292.50 292.50 276.45 284.70RADICO 308.00 308.70 292.00 301.50UBL 950.65 1013.00 943.55 965.25TORNTPOWER 281.20 291.45 273.90 280.35BOSCHLTD 11160.00 11375.25 10332.00 10453.55THYROCARE 517.00 573.75 504.80 538.95MFSL 400.00 415.00 373.70 378.45TATAMTRDVR 42.10 44.10 38.60 39.05RAMCOCEM 625.50 647.00 599.60 609.00WELCORP 88.00 95.00 82.00 83.55IRCON 363.60 367.30 340.00 340.00NATCOPHARM 568.70 570.15 514.50 548.95ABCAPITAL 55.30 56.25 52.35 52.90UNIONBANK 29.70 31.10 29.00 29.85CHOLAFIN 233.55 241.80 214.50 217.35ABBOTINDIA 14364.60 15085.00 14147.35 14922.50ICICIGI 1082.00 1122.75 1050.00 1075.50DCBBANK 135.50 142.95 129.05 130.00BHARATFORG 370.75 389.90 351.10 357.70INFIBEAM 41.00 41.00 38.90 38.90ADANIGREEN 117.00 124.50 112.70 123.30TORNTPHARM 1965.00 2025.00 1933.10 2001.45BLISSGVS 104.55 107.95 95.00 104.80BOMDYEING 46.50 51.40 46.00 48.05IDBI 22.10 23.20 21.25 21.70SPARC 109.00 111.00 101.70 102.45CASTROLIND 117.00 119.05 113.00 113.35AVANTI 337.00 343.95 320.45 326.00GRANULES 153.00 155.35 149.20 149.80VENKYS 775.00 789.85 710.00 719.85CONCOR 355.00 367.00 338.10 340.05ASTRAL 1020.35 1051.95 985.50 1008.55IRB 63.20 70.30 62.50 64.50

INOXLEISUR 305.00 309.55 280.90 290.65RPOWER 1.24 1.33 1.22 1.23PIIND 1282.00 1350.00 1257.00 1261.35STRTECH 70.60 74.85 69.65 70.55RAYMOND 306.00 322.30 295.00 305.40MAHINDCIE 95.00 95.00 81.20 83.65ITI 54.95 59.90 52.80 55.10PFIZER 4230.00 4249.00 4126.00 4152.00LTTS 1251.00 1281.50 1210.00 1238.90PNBHOUSING 240.00 249.15 224.70 231.00NAUKRI 2180.00 2201.85 2069.15 2080.00ISEC 375.25 387.25 334.00 345.20DIXON 3999.90 4013.00 3780.00 3796.60CHAMBLFERT 124.80 124.90 116.10 119.75METROPOLIS 1681.70 1702.15 1614.00 1647.00AJANTPHARM 1261.45 1309.35 1230.90 1256.65RELAXO 642.00 668.75 615.00 615.00GSKCONS 8594.00 9036.45 8396.75 8700.00WELSPUNIND 29.90 32.70 27.00 31.15WOCKPHARMA 210.25 218.00 203.00 204.85GODREJPROP 778.90 797.30 754.00 757.15GNFC 128.00 129.65 121.50 122.30WHIRLPOOL 2055.00 2079.55 2011.05 2050.10FORCEMOT 875.00 875.00 810.00 832.60NBCC 17.75 18.35 16.75 17.05INDHOTEL 105.00 108.30 99.05 100.80BALRAMCHIN 101.60 108.50 100.50 101.20PTC 36.15 37.30 35.25 35.50HINDZINC 138.00 142.05 130.05 134.05JAICORPLTD 58.75 59.90 55.00 55.30MPHASIS 700.00 729.00 655.00 696.60HEIDELBERG 155.00 155.00 145.50 146.30NOCIL 75.00 77.05 71.45 72.15IDFC 22.35 22.40 20.20 20.50CEATLTD 814.00 830.45 783.20 790.603MINDIA 18950.00 18950.00 17909.40 18139.00AMARAJABAT 540.35 545.10 522.70 527.60IIFL 113.50 115.25 107.45 110.00SUZLON 2.01 2.10 2.01 2.04EXIDEIND 138.55 143.70 137.70 140.00KTKBANK 50.00 51.40 48.85 49.25HONAUT 30000.00 30570.00 29000.00 29046.75SOUTHBANK 6.60 6.73 6.14 6.27SANOFI 6900.50 6968.00 6751.15 6786.15SWANENERGY 100.90 104.50 99.95 100.00RAJESHEXPO 625.00 627.95 595.50 598.95WABAG 126.50 127.90 115.30 120.00GODFRYPHLP 1016.45 1024.80 931.00 931.00NHPC 19.40 19.40 18.05 18.25BASF 1058.40 1058.40 988.00 993.55CUMMINSIND 415.60 460.00 415.60 448.00EDELWEISS 61.00 65.20 56.60 57.65RAIN 65.80 68.90 61.25 62.35VINATIORGA 792.00 821.05 785.00 804.00MEGH 43.15 43.85 40.20 40.20AAVAS 1680.75 1680.75 1545.00 1654.00PHILIPCARB 74.50 76.50 71.10 71.70AKZOINDIA 2192.05 2249.85 2096.90 2209.00SCI 42.45 44.70 41.70 42.40BBTC 940.80 1006.40 865.00 871.00ALKEM 2436.15 2509.90 2291.25 2333.80TV18BRDCST 16.30 16.80 15.30 15.60RCF 30.25 30.85 28.30 29.00GODREJAGRO 375.00 375.00 338.90 345.25RITES 266.00 270.25 253.55 260.05VBL 712.25 742.75 686.55 705.10APLLTD 542.00 550.55 523.50 545.00JMFINANCIL 81.10 83.90 63.50 64.90KEC 277.95 277.95 257.85 260.45GILLETTE 5200.00 5555.00 5060.05 5102.50CREDITACC 699.95 708.00 625.20 644.60REPCOHOME 207.65 207.65 195.30 201.60SUPREMEIND 1000.20 1058.75 988.95 1055.00BAJAJHLDNG 2900.00 2900.00 2607.30 2652.00JSWENERGY 45.05 45.25 41.50 43.90ENGINERSIN 63.90 63.90 53.00 54.50GESHIP 219.40 219.40 211.20 218.10RESPONIND 79.00 85.00 77.85 84.75HAL 612.90 612.90 546.00 555.00MASFIN 986.00 1040.00 928.00 938.00SYNDIBANK 15.80 16.15 15.05 15.25GSFC 42.00 43.80 41.00 41.40PCJEWELLER 11.50 11.70 11.00 11.15INDIANB 53.00 54.55 51.00 51.55NLCINDIA 43.90 43.90 40.60 40.85RVNL 16.40 16.80 15.75 16.00KANSAINER 433.00 448.65 400.00 414.15CROMPTON 242.90 242.90 220.05 222.00ORIENTBANK 38.20 42.45 38.20 40.00CESC 483.30 506.85 470.30 483.90JINDALSAW 65.10 65.10 59.85 60.65GHCL 102.20 105.65 95.05 101.55ORIENTELEC 204.35 212.00 193.20 198.15CUB 180.65 184.10 175.00 177.20FSL 34.90 35.50 33.60 33.90DBL 266.10 285.10 265.00 272.55HINDCOPPER 24.00 24.50 22.20 23.20PGHH 10060.00 10151.70 9762.75 10069.00BALMLAWRIE 82.35 85.45 78.95 80.50PRESTIGE 210.00 219.00 200.00 207.75VAIBHAVGBL 760.00 828.85 760.00 797.80DEEPAKFERT 69.05 72.75 68.20 69.35VGUARD 178.00 179.95 167.50 172.55KAJARIACER 464.10 468.40 458.25 462.10JKTYRE 47.40 51.65 47.40 47.95RELCAPITAL 4.95 5.06 4.73 4.75ABFRL 212.00 213.90 204.95 206.05WESTLIFE 349.75 352.60 330.00 338.00RALLIS 196.50 201.05 190.60 194.90

SONATSOFTW 228.00 266.00 223.00 223.80LAKSHVILAS 15.40 15.80 14.60 14.95TRIDENT 4.51 4.51 3.90 4.03RELINFRA 12.55 12.55 11.85 11.85JBCHEPHARM 545.50 556.95 539.95 539.95TTKPRESTIG 5211.10 5244.25 4544.35 4787.45PHOENIXLTD 650.15 652.45 612.70 639.50BIRLACORPN 584.20 597.20 562.80 565.65KEI 359.95 365.90 333.80 337.75ASTRAZEN 2190.00 2286.35 2141.00 2221.95IEX 143.40 147.70 141.60 145.75DISHTV 5.77 5.95 5.53 5.92QUESS 410.00 420.45 371.85 381.40FINEORG 2033.65 2126.20 1950.50 2108.35VIPIND 300.00 327.25 291.00 293.40IFCI 3.89 4.05 3.74 3.89COROMANDEL 568.00 576.55 551.15 561.05SUDARSCHEM 388.65 388.65 361.00 363.00APLAPOLLO 1400.00 1401.45 1305.60 1337.45AIAENG 1661.00 1661.00 1515.00 1537.60CARBORUNIV 236.75 249.20 234.45 245.00PGHL 3572.90 3678.70 3480.00 3480.00JCHAC 2550.00 2640.05 2321.00 2590.00TIINDIA 460.50 468.20 442.00 451.90ASHOKA 64.75 68.10 56.60 59.20GICRE 131.00 140.00 123.00 129.80FCONSUMER 11.95 11.95 11.63 11.63HUDCO 23.45 23.60 21.85 22.70EMAMILTD 200.10 202.65 192.25 195.75KRBL 208.00 212.95 191.00 191.00GMDCLTD 36.50 39.25 36.00 36.50FINOLEXIND 492.00 497.45 481.20 490.75JAMNAAUTO 27.50 28.40 25.80 26.65ADANITRANS 188.10 188.10 165.00 180.00BAYERCROP 3960.00 4039.65 3840.00 3885.00BAJAJCON 132.00 135.35 129.00 133.75LINDEINDIA 485.00 504.25 474.75 482.00NH 288.90 295.80 271.60 275.20CYIENT 347.00 347.00 320.00 325.65AEGISLOG 168.85 170.05 150.00 156.90GSPL 190.00 196.70 186.00 191.40TVSSRICHAK 1077.85 1113.45 966.00 1010.00AMBER 1268.10 1279.90 1205.10 1207.00GLAXO 1230.55 1258.60 1207.00 1246.05ALBK 8.50 8.68 8.04 8.10IBULISL 70.95 70.95 70.95 70.95COCHINSHIP 235.00 246.00 227.00 233.05TIMKEN 892.15 896.60 849.80 872.10BLUESTARCO 667.00 730.00 667.00 710.20HSCL 39.60 39.60 37.05 37.35ERIS 396.20 416.30 389.15 401.75CARERATING 341.00 374.05 340.00 360.00OFSS 2022.00 2044.45 1993.00 1993.00GREAVESCOT 99.00 104.00 98.30 99.80EIDPARRY 147.00 149.45 135.90 139.85HFCL 10.01 10.64 10.00 10.35MOTILALOFS 592.70 623.05 580.20 601.00SJVN 19.45 19.75 19.20 19.45FLFL 293.00 318.00 272.50 297.00JYOTHYLAB 105.00 106.85 100.00 100.95KNRCON 229.00 234.40 222.90 231.05MOIL 106.40 111.50 100.00 101.00MINDAIND 307.00 307.00 289.55 292.20INOXWIND 22.55 26.00 22.55 22.60VMART 1723.70 1810.85 1705.00 1792.00JISLJALEQS 4.13 4.13 3.92 3.92CORPBANK 10.00 11.10 10.00 10.20DBCORP 83.15 88.50 81.35 86.00SUNDRMFAST 354.55 358.25 332.20 335.50RATNAMANI 1247.60 1248.25 1184.25 1222.20TATACOFFEE 64.35 66.00 62.90 62.90SOBHA 212.55 219.65 194.90 196.50MMTC 12.50 12.90 12.20 12.60NIACL 84.00 86.90 80.95 82.90BAJAJELEC 352.00 353.70 345.00 345.00CRISIL 1366.90 1386.45 1346.25 1375.15DCAL* 65.00 65.00 61.05 61.05JAGRAN 45.00 45.75 42.25 42.75CHENNPETRO 69.30 72.00 67.60 68.15DCMSHRIRAM 232.00 237.80 226.55 227.10REDINGTON 103.90 106.00 90.10 92.75GALAXYSURF 1335.00 1386.60 1333.25 1356.05JKCEMENT 1178.15 1240.45 1150.00 1150.00

CENTURYPLY 120.20 129.00 110.50 115.00CAPPL 266.00 285.00 261.00 261.00DHANUKA 319.35 348.25 319.35 323.60LUXIND 1148.35 1191.35 1126.10 1168.00TATAINVEST 706.30 727.65 706.30 720.55PARAGMILK 62.40 65.80 60.00 60.85UCOBANK 11.85 11.85 10.70 10.74TAKE 51.50 53.50 47.00 47.95SYMPHONY 1040.00 1105.70 1039.95 1043.00TATAMETALI 489.00 497.70 461.00 461.95ANDHRABANK 9.95 10.10 9.50 9.68PNCINFRA 135.30 140.30 130.05 134.35CCL 185.00 185.60 177.70 181.10UFLEX 168.00 170.70 161.40 164.10ALLCARGO 86.05 88.20 84.05 84.10CENTRALBK 13.50 13.65 13.05 13.05BLUEDART 2180.00 2323.30 2180.00 2300.00GARFIBRES 1266.80 1266.80 1200.00 1204.95IOB 7.99 7.99 7.23 7.40MAHLIFE 284.50 284.50 265.00 272.80JKLAKSHMI 226.15 237.90 226.10 237.90SUPRAJIT 150.00 152.65 127.50 134.60SADBHAV 45.50 45.50 43.25 43.25SHANKARA 333.00 340.25 332.50 332.50LAURUSLABS 370.00 389.35 369.20 371.80MHRIL 158.00 172.00 158.00 166.00ITDC 144.30 148.50 137.45 138.00SCHNEIDER 74.90 74.90 67.00 67.90VARROC 225.15 231.30 211.45 214.20SKFINDIA 1727.00 1740.00 1651.40 1704.00ENDURANCE 752.10 752.10 701.05 735.05KALPATPOWR 252.00 257.70 235.70 250.00JSL 30.65 31.50 29.40 29.70ADVENZYMES 115.65 124.80 115.60 122.70FINCABLES 259.00 279.00 259.00 262.00GEPIL 578.10 605.85 575.70 588.75SHILPAMED 352.75 352.75 338.45 338.45SHK 83.50 87.20 80.60 82.20GUJALKALI 238.15 240.05 229.00 230.00NETWORK18 19.60 19.80 18.55 18.55ITDCEM 44.30 44.30 38.00 39.35GPPL 62.00 63.85 58.00 63.30J&KBANK 14.90 15.00 14.10 14.55MAHSCOOTER 3140.20 3200.00 3075.00 3200.00WABCOINDIA 6293.00 6390.00 6269.40 6330.00GDL 103.05 104.00 95.60 96.85ARVINDFASN 230.25 232.70 185.55 200.10SHRIRAMCIT 1048.60 1075.00 1006.00 1059.00MAHABANK 10.00 10.00 9.41 9.52BDL 194.00 199.00 190.85 192.75SCHAEFFLER 4500.00 4896.00 3993.55 4136.40MRPL 36.60 36.85 34.20 34.30SOLARINDS 1020.05 1039.25 998.00 1021.10BRIGADE 180.00 188.05 172.00 172.85ZENSARTECH 100.90 102.40 99.00 101.15PRSMJOHNSN 47.30 47.30 41.55 41.60GICHSGFIN 70.00 72.30 66.90 68.45JSLHISAR 41.65 42.80 39.25 39.25PERSISTENT 586.10 601.15 584.45 592.55KPRMILL 496.00 511.35 455.00 455.00FRETAIL 138.40 138.40 138.40 138.40ASTERDM 115.70 116.15 112.20 113.40MINDACORP 72.00 76.00 72.00 73.10EIHOTEL 90.65 90.65 80.00 80.50ORIENTREF 162.05 180.00 160.00 160.10SIS 364.00 444.05 364.00 436.00HERITGFOOD 286.00 295.30 251.20 276.35LEMONTREE 36.25 38.50 35.50 36.00TIMETECHNO 35.45 35.45 32.95 34.40ECLERX 404.95 421.05 390.75 394.00CHOLAHLDNG 452.20 469.05 431.05 469.00TEAMLEASE 2150.00 2192.95 2110.00 2123.00THERMAX 776.55 778.40 746.00 777.20UNITEDBNK 4.65 4.86 4.61 4.66ORIENTCEM 55.40 60.50 54.80 56.40ESSELPRO 157.70 162.55 157.10 157.10HIMATSEIDE 70.55 73.55 67.00 71.30GRINDWELL 530.90 544.00 525.40 536.55MAGMA 25.85 26.90 23.25 23.25INDOSTAR 272.60 276.20 272.50 273.75GULFOILLUB 576.10 600.00 576.10 594.00VTL 905.05 923.05 856.15 895.00TEJASNET 40.95 43.65 38.50 40.60GET&D 93.15 95.25 86.00 86.00ZYDUSWELL 1306.65 1318.10 1305.10 1313.20DHFL 12.32 12.32 12.32 12.32IBREALEST 50.85 50.85 50.85 50.85NILKAMAL 1200.00 1217.45 1198.20 1198.20IFBIND 370.25 370.60 330.60 343.60MAHLOG 275.10 283.50 274.65 277.75TVTODAY 160.00 164.20 155.25 159.50CERA 2348.55 2378.95 2332.20 2339.85LAOPALA 180.25 181.00 169.00 169.00TCIEXP 640.10 699.75 620.00 639.00TNPL 119.30 122.95 117.10 118.10HATHWAY 15.00 15.15 14.20 14.70SOMANYCERA 126.15 135.90 126.15 130.00VRLLOG 195.00 195.00 178.30 179.50KPITTECH 71.00 73.05 62.40 64.90CENTRUM 12.00 12.35 11.30 11.30STARCEMENT 70.15 71.55 69.10 70.50MAXINDIA 75.55 79.25 75.00 76.80MAHSEAMLES 228.55 232.50 224.60 224.60NBVENTURES 47.50 49.00 43.30 43.30SFL 1479.00 1479.00 1418.15 1449.90SHOPERSTOP 274.05 278.10 255.45 258.65TCNSBRANDS 450.00 477.00 450.00 470.70CHALET 239.20 240.55 234.90 240.55GAYAPROJ 12.60 12.60 12.60 12.60

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 9285.40 9403.80 8915.60 8967.05 -230.35YESBANK 40.80 64.90 40.80 59.10 22.00HINDUNILVR 1955.55 2088.00 1951.95 2001.95 60.05EICHERMOT 16710.00 17460.00 16600.05 16950.00 456.30HEROMOTOCO1783.00 1903.60 1756.35 1829.00 45.50COALINDIA 145.20 155.40 142.30 147.25 3.35MARUTI 5502.00 5746.95 5502.00 5600.00 119.75CIPLA 397.00 422.00 390.75 405.00 8.60ASIANPAINT 1699.00 1779.80 1670.00 1720.00 36.60POWERGRID 156.55 170.35 155.75 161.15 3.20ADANIPORTS 265.00 283.35 265.00 265.95 4.55ITC 148.00 155.80 146.05 149.15 1.90NESTLEIND 14500.00 14777.00 14250.00 14573.95 176.75HCLTECH 450.00 478.60 443.35 455.00 4.30SUNPHARMA 376.00 395.60 364.20 371.00 2.45VEDL 76.55 80.45 74.40 75.05 0.20ONGC 61.10 63.00 59.65 60.20 0.05BRITANNIA 2720.00 2795.75 2669.05 2704.95 -4.05ULTRACEMCO 3520.00 3575.00 3454.70 3507.95 -10.10HINDALCO 117.00 120.85 113.85 115.20 -0.45RELIANCE 1047.25 1060.00 1003.20 1011.50 -4.20TITAN 1005.00 1038.00 977.80 1006.75 -4.60TECHM 600.00 617.95 583.30 600.00 -3.40IOC 90.00 93.50 88.95 89.10 -0.60BHARTIARTL 465.00 481.00 444.35 458.00 -6.80LT 972.00 1005.00 940.15 953.00 -15.70DRREDDY 2830.00 2904.00 2757.75 2765.00 -61.95HDFCBANK 1008.00 1010.00 954.70 976.20 -23.30BPCL 365.00 385.65 354.00 356.00 -8.65TATASTEEL 300.00 307.65 280.50 282.00 -7.60BAJAJ-AUTO 2345.20 2372.70 2250.05 2270.50 -69.05NTPC 91.00 95.90 86.35 88.05 -2.75GRASIM 571.30 585.65 553.25 556.35 -20.55WIPRO 178.55 185.55 170.75 173.20 -6.55TCS 1730.00 1731.00 1623.15 1632.00 -64.40M&M 392.00 408.00 369.95 376.35 -15.45INFY 588.10 592.00 550.00 560.00 -23.15SBIN 227.20 229.90 212.05 213.90 -9.45AXISBANK 515.15 531.30 477.45 485.65 -22.95KOTAKBANK 1392.00 1402.95 1303.10 1319.45 -64.25HDFC 1858.05 1869.90 1740.00 1755.85 -85.90JSWSTEEL 188.90 193.50 175.15 176.00 -10.00GAIL 78.50 81.00 72.95 73.45 -4.70BAJFINANCE 3702.10 3734.70 3402.00 3448.95 -223.30BAJAJFINSV 7501.00 7521.95 6956.80 7017.55 -478.05TATAMOTORS 83.05 85.00 77.40 77.50 -5.45UPL 370.00 379.95 343.10 350.55 -26.25INFRATEL 209.90 214.50 190.70 193.55 -15.85ICICIBANK 407.00 408.45 364.00 366.95 -35.95INDUSINDBK 670.00 707.45 585.40 603.05 -61.10ZEEL 162.50 169.20 131.60 133.00 -33.35

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 22210.00 22802.55 21843.00 22003.15 -181.20HINDPETRO 206.00 221.90 200.25 218.90 14.10PIDILITIND 1474.70 1592.00 1469.80 1560.00 79.40CADILAHC 249.30 268.35 247.10 261.50 12.15IBULHSGFIN 154.05 174.95 150.10 161.00 7.40BERGEPAINT 428.50 465.55 422.30 449.05 19.80AUROPHARMA 414.60 444.90 406.00 420.00 15.10LUPIN 605.25 646.25 596.35 619.15 20.15GODREJCP 506.00 540.70 496.50 525.05 16.00NIACL 84.90 87.00 81.20 85.00 2.50DMART 1945.00 2096.10 1912.00 2045.00 48.70SRTRANSFIN 765.00 829.35 763.00 781.65 18.00DIVISLAB 1892.00 1963.10 1872.25 1928.00 36.10ASHOKLEY 63.50 66.05 61.90 64.45 1.10DABUR 431.50 450.90 424.40 438.00 6.50BANKBARODA 63.80 69.60 62.15 64.65 0.95HAVELLS 565.90 585.45 561.00 570.00 4.15PAGEIND 19146.00 19739.50 18650.05 19100.00 127.55NMDC 74.00 78.45 72.90 74.05 0.20SHREECEM 19905.05 20796.00 19350.00 20201.90 43.85INDIGO 952.00 1010.00 937.30 980.00 1.60PGHH 10086.00 10395.80 9777.00 10099.80 10.15COLPAL 1165.20 1195.90 1142.70 1155.05 -1.15PEL 881.35 938.00 850.00 876.75 -3.00MCDOWELL-N 527.15 541.30 518.60 522.30 -2.45ACC 1141.10 1162.35 1103.05 1126.60 -6.80MARICO 252.50 257.00 245.90 250.45 -2.05PNB 36.50 37.20 34.95 35.50 -0.30OFSS 2010.00 2059.15 1990.00 1990.00 -19.65SIEMENS 1153.00 1207.80 1125.05 1136.90 -11.35BIOCON 270.00 275.25 261.00 264.10 -4.10UBL 976.00 1012.95 945.05 959.50 -15.80HINDZINC 138.00 142.00 130.00 136.00 -2.25HDFCLIFE 475.00 486.00 460.00 465.80 -8.40ICICIGI 1075.00 1123.20 1045.20 1066.00 -21.80PFC 92.60 99.20 89.30 90.30 -2.00DLF 150.00 155.00 143.90 145.30 -3.70GICRE 131.60 135.45 122.55 128.00 -3.60PETRONET 208.00 211.50 198.75 201.35 -6.40BAJAJHLDNG 2752.00 2778.75 2649.70 2650.00 -90.95HDFCAMC 2555.00 2624.00 2410.00 2429.65 -87.70AMBUJACEM 180.50 181.75 170.10 172.10 -7.35CONCOR 357.00 367.90 338.00 338.00 -16.85NHPC 19.25 19.40 18.00 18.00 -1.15BOSCHLTD 11085.10 11390.15 10310.00 10400.00 -669.60SBILIFE 732.00 768.50 675.00 686.65 -44.90BANDHANBNK 283.20 292.55 252.20 256.50 -18.10L&TFH 72.00 73.70 66.00 66.30 -4.70ICICIPRULI 362.00 365.60 330.50 331.80 -27.85MOTHERSUMI 67.05 68.00 60.20 61.15 -5.60IDEA 6.00 6.20 4.70 4.90 -0.80

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European and Asian stockmarkets steadied on

Tuesday following Wall Street'ssharpest daily drop in morethan three decades, with ana-lysts forecasting more volatili-ty as governments and centralbanks scramble to try andcalm the panic.

The dollar bounced backfrom heavy losses against theeuro on Monday, while oilprices also recovered.

European stock marketssurged around five percent inearly deals Tuesday beforeeither limiting or erasing all thegains.

"As has been the case everytime the European marketshave tried to rebound, it is notgoing to be smooth sailing," noted ConnorCampbell, analyst at Spreadextrading group.

Wall Street indices col-lapsed Monday in their worstday since 1987, with the S&P500 and Nasdaq droppingabout 12 percent and the Dow

sinking nearly 13 percent.US futures rallied Tuesday.

In a move meant to helptame the massive volatility inthe markets caused by thecoronavirus outbreak, theFrench bourse regulator onTuesday banned short-sellingin 92 stocks for the day.

"Taking into account thesignificant losses in recent dayson the financial markets, theFinancial Markets Authority(AMF) has decided to take anurgent step," it said in a state-ment.

The ban order coversmostly bank and financialstocks.

Investors use short-sellingto bet the market will fall,putting tremendous downwardpressure on prices at a timewhen buying interest is virtu-ally non-existent.

While governments andcentral banks attempt to soothemarkets with massive stimuluspledges and interest rate cuts,more countries are going intolockdown to prevent the out-break's spread — bringing theworld economy juddering to ahalt.

There is a broad consensusthat the disease, which haswiped trillions off market val-uations, will cause a globalrecession, with the airlineindustry among the first in thefiring line, leading companyheads to plead for billions ofdollars in state help to preventthem going under.

The Italian governmentTuesday said it intends to re-nationalise the bankrupt for-mer national carrier Alitaliaunder an emergency econom-ic rescue.

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Dar Es Salaam: Tanzania andSomalia on Monday becamethe latest East Africa countriesto confirm their first cases ofcoronavirus, as neighbouringcountries shuttered bordersand schools as fears of conta-gion rose.

As the global pandemictakes root in Africa, Chinesebillionaire Jack Ma announcedhe was donating 20,000 testingkits, 100,000 masks and 1,000protective suits to each of thecontinent’s 54 countries.

“We take precautions andget prepared ahead of time, asAfrica can benefit from theexperience and lessons of othercountries that were earlier hithard by the virus,” he said in astatement on Twitter.

In a little over a week, 21new African countries havereported cases, bringing thetotal affected to 30.

In West Africa, Liberiaand Benin also recorded theirfirst cases Monday.

A 46-year-old Tanzanianwoman tested positive for theillness after returning from

Belgium on March 15, whereshe had been staying with a rel-ative sick with coronavirus.

Health Minister Ummy

Mwalimu said the woman,who was recovering in hos-pital in Arusha, was notdetected by temperature scan-ners but reported herself fortesting. AFP

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Tehran: Iran issued its mostdire warning yet on Tuesdayabout the outbreak of thenew coronavirus ravaging thecountry, suggesting “millions”could die in the IslamicRepublic if the public keepstravelling and ignoring healthguidance.

A state television jour-nalist who also is a medicaldoctor gave the warning onlyhours after hard-line Shiitefaithful the previous nightpushed their way into thecourtyards of two majorshrines that had just beenclosed over fears of the virus.

Meanwhile, Iran’ssupreme leader issued a reli-gious ruling prohibiting“unnecessary” travel in the

country.Roughly nine out of 10 of

the over 18,000 cases of thenew virus confirmed acrossthe Middle East come fromIran, where authorities deniedfor days the risk the out-break posed. Officials havenow implemented new checksfor people trying to leavemajor cities ahead of Nowruz,the Persian New Year, onFriday, but have hesitated toquarantine the areas.

That’s even as the deathtoll in Iran saw another 13 percent increase on Tuesday.Health Ministry spokesmanKianoush Jahanpour said thevirus had killed 135 morepeople to raise the total to 988amid over 16,000 cases. AP

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Washington: US Secretary of State MikePompeo warned China on Monday notto spread disinformation on the novelcoronavirus after an official in Beijingpromoted a conspiracy theory on USinvolvement. Pompeo raised “strongobjections” to Chinese efforts “to shiftblame for COVID-19 to the UnitedStates” in a phone call with Yang Jiechi,a top foreign policy official in Beijing, theState Department said. Pompeo “stressedthat this is not the time to spread disin-formation and outlandish rumors, butrather a time for all nations to cometogether to fight this common threat,” aState Department statement said. AFP

'��*��%��5#��@��#��7�� Washington: As Americans prepared to confine them-

selves within their homes to stop the deadly spread ofcoronavirus, US President Donald Trump has warnedthat the crisis could stretch up to August.

As of Monday evening, at least 85 people havedied of coronavirus with the confirmed cases cross-ing 4,500 in the US.

The country has stepped up efforts to contain thevirus by placing travel restrictions, closing schools, restau-rants and bars and cancelling entertainment events acrossthe country. “It seems to me that if we do a really goodjob, we’ll not only hold the death down to a level thatis much lower than the other way had we not done agood job. But people are talking about July, August,something like that. So, it could be right in that periodof time where it, I say, washes through,” Trump toldreporters at a White House news conference. PTI

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Lahore: Pakistan reported itsfirst casualty due to the novelcoronavirus on Tuesday, healthministry officials said as thenumber of positive cases of theCOVID-19 infections rose to193 in the country.

The first fatality wasreported from Lahore.Meanwhile, Sindh has 155 pos-itive cases, followed by KhyberPakhtunkhwa with 15,Balochistan 10, Gilgit-Baltistan5, Islamabad 2 and Punjab 6,officials said. PTI

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Washington: Joe Biden haswon the Democratic primary inWashington state, US mediahave projected, in another boostfor the frontrunner who is hop-ing to build an insurmountablelead over rival Bernie Sanders.

After most of the voteswere counted on Monday night,NBC and the New York Timescalled the result — a narrow vic-tory for Biden, who is up againstSanders for the chance to chal-lenge President Donald Trumpin November.

They said that former vicepresident Biden had won 37.9percent of the vote, with the left-ist Sanders close behind with36.4 percent.

The result came as millionsof Americans were due to troopto polling stations in three morestates on Tuesday, with anxietyrunning high over the fast-spreading coronavirus that haskilled more than 80 people inthe US so far.

As Arizona, Florida, andIllinois prepare for the pri-maries, there was confusionover whether polling stationswill be safe during the pan-demic.

Voting has been postponedin Ohio, where officials orderedpolling stations closed, makingit the latest and largest state toupend the voting schedule dueto the outbreak.

Tuesday may be a make-or-break moment for Sanders,who will face mounting pressureto quit if he does not score amajor upset. AFP

3��4��*�� 6��8�4�� #��%�� 'Washington: A coalition of lib-eral groups is calling on JoeBiden and Bernie Sanders tochoose a woman of colour astheir running mate, as a way toboost turnout among the keygroups of voters Democratsneed to win the presidency.

In a letter sent to both can-didates, the last two viable con-tenders in the Democratic pri-mary, the groups note thatwomen and people of colourmake up the majority of the

party’s voters in the last two pres-idential elections. “At the inter-section of those communities …women of colour have a uniqueand critical role to play in gal-vanizing the entire progressivecoalition,” the letter reads.

Biden, a former vice presi-dent, pledged during Sunday’sDemocratic debate to pick awoman as his running mate ifthe wins the nomination.Sanders, a Vermont senator,said he would “in all likelihood”

choose a woman. Aimee Allison,founder of She The People, saidthe letter is “a warning to notrepeat the mistake that HillaryClinton’s campaign made in2016” by tapping a white maleas her running mate. “Thewarning is, if you have an all-white ticket, if you don’t put awoman of colour on the ticket,some of us will come out for you,but not in the numbers you needto win the battle ground states,”Allison said. AGENCY

Baghdad: Adnan Zurfi, Iraq’ssecond premier-designate thisyear, is respected for focussingon public services and securi-ty but faces resistance from fac-tions wary of his close ties withthe United States.

The 54-year-old lawmakeris the ex-governor of the ShiaMuslim shrine city of Najaf, hasadvanced degrees in religiousstudies and was a long-timemember of the Dawa Partywhich opposed ex-dictatorSaddam Hussein.

After a failed 1991 uprisingagainst Saddam, Zurfi fled toSaudi Arabia and then on to theUnited States, returning to Iraqafter the US-led invasion in2003.

He is an Iraqi-US dualnational and his wife, five sonsand two daughters still live inthe United States.

Under Iraqi law, he wouldhave to renounce his American

citizenship to take up the pre-miership, which is yet to beconfirmed by Parliament.

Zurfi was appointed Najafgovernor in 2004 by the USoccupation force, to take on theMehdi Army of Shiite clericMoqtada Sadr, which wasattacking American troops.

He later managed to repairhis relationship with Sadr, nowa kingmaker in Iraqi politics.

Zurfi has been able to builda public profile in Iraq as a TVtalk show regular, clean-shavenand with his silver-tinged hairslicked back.

Fellow MP SarkawtShamsaddin said Zurfi hadearned respect for taking theinitiative on social and eco-nomic projects and describedhim as “a moderate Shiite voicewho is supportive of ties withthe West”.

In order to win the pre-miership, he will have to over-

come the resistance of politicalfactions allied with Iran,Washington’s arch-rival, whichis an influential force in Iraqipolitics.

Zurfi’s nomination byPresident Barham Saleh cameon a day crisis-battered Iraqfaced new turmoil: a pre-dawnrocket attack on an Iraqi basehosting foreign troops, andlooming curfews to slow thecoronavirus pandemic.

The rocky security situa-tion and collapsing oil pricescome after months of anti-gov-ernment protests and will formthe main challenges for the newpremier-designate.

As a relatively young new-comer in Baghdad, there arehopes he could shake up poli-tics after months of paralysis.

“Zurfi is a new name andthat’s probably more an advan-tage than a disadvantage,” saidSajad Jiyad, an Iraqi analyst. AP

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Bangkok: Bombers attacked amajor Government office inThailand’s insurgency-plaguedfar south as hundreds of localofficials and Muslim clericsmet Tuesday to discuss fightingCOVID-19.

At least 20 people werehurt, none seriously.

The Southern BorderProvinces AdministrationCenter in the capital of Yalaprovince coordinates govern-ment policy in the region wherea Muslim separatist insurgencysince 2004 has led to the deathsof about 7,000 civilians, soldiers,government workers and rebels.

Thailand’s three southernmostprovinces of Pattani, Narathiwatand Yala are the only ones withMuslim majorities in predom-inantly Buddhist Thailand. YalaHospital reported 20 peoplewere hurt in the attack. Nonewas badly injured, said Col.Pramote Prom-in, a spokesmanfor the center. Surveillance videoshowed the bomber parking apickup truck in front of the cen-ter and then placing anotherexplosive device in the middleof the road before fleeing on awaiting motorcycle, said policeCol. Naravee Binwae-arong ofthe Yala police station. AP

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Beijing: The first of China’snew medium-sized carrierrocket Long March-7A suf-fered a failure, official mediareported on Tuesday.

The rocket blasted off at9:34 p.M. Beijing Time onMonday from the WenchangSpace Launch Centre on thecoast of China’s Hainanprovince, but a malfunctionoccurred later, state-runXinhua news agency reported.

Chinese space engineerswill investigate the cause of thefailure, it said. With plans toreach Mars and set up its ownspace station, China is devel-oping new generation mediumlaunch vehicles including theLong March-6A, Long March-7A and Long March-8. A testversion of the Long March-5B,which has the largest carryingcapacity to low-Earth orbit, hasbeen produced and will beused to launch the modules ofChina’s space station, accord-ing to CASC. PTI

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ATTENTION GST TAXPAYERS REGISTERED IN DELHI

File your GST returns ON TIME

The last dates for filling GSTR-3B are as under:

For the month of Annual Turnover Last date(without late fees)

February, 2020 up to Rs. 5 crores 24th March, 2020above Rs. 5 crores 20th March, 2020

File the returns and pay the tax on or before due date toavoid:l Imposition of interest and penalty.l Cancellation of GST registration.l initiation of recovery proceedings.l lodging of FIR against the defaulters as per act.

Don't wait for the last date.

Your tax will help in growth of your delhi

for any help taxpayers may Contact at Helpline No:23352310-14

Sd/-Commissioner, VAT/GST

Deptt. of Trade & TaxesGovt. of N.C.T. of Delhi

Vyapar Bhawan, I.P. Estate.DIP/Shabdarth/1466/19-20 New Delhi-110002

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��4��The Triptych 2020 was a gala evening of

everything outstanding, stylish andfashionable; the graduating students ofSatyam Fashion Institute (SFI), Noida puttogether a dreamy sequence of 23 differentthemes celebrating life, women, and moreover 99 students graduating from FashionDesign, Textile Design, Lifestyle Accessoriesand Post Graduate Diploma in FashionDesign. The show was recently held SatyamFashion Institute; Sector 62 Noida waschoreographed by Rachna Sikka.

The glamorous event provided a plat-form to showcase the ravishing attiredesigned by the Graduating Batch fromscratch under the supervision of ShowOrganisers Dr Vandana Jaglan, Principal,

and Dr Neetu Malhotra, HOD SFI.The event was aptly organised and cel-

ebrated with the unabashed spirit of awoman on the auspicious occasion of theInternational Woman’s Day. Sneh Singh,Chairperson, and Pradeep Gupta, Secretary,Satyam Group of Institutions talked abouttheir experience with organising the evening.“Every individual and every year that goesby is an inspiration. The ideas, the presen-tation, the out of the box innovative stylesof representing something new, somethingold, something beautiful and sometimessomething not so beautiful keeps us goingyear after year. Being around such creativespirits motivates you to bring out the bestin yourself.”

The St George’s School, Alaknanda,New Delhi has implemented a

novel green initiative by installing adedicated roof-top solar panel systemto generate green and clean electric-ity for the school which will meet 100per cent of the school’s power needsthrough solar energy.

This environment-friendly sys-tem will power the entire infra-structure including classrooms, smartboards, laboratories, staffrooms,principal and management rooms,auditorium and all air conditionerswithin the school’s premises.

In other words, this solar panel

system will be catering to 100 percent of the school’s electricity require-ment thereby eliminating depen-dency on any external source of elec-tricity, and also championing thecause of using 100 per cent renew-able resource of electricity. In addi-tion to the above, this new roof-topsolar panel system will also power allthe flood lights installed in theschool’s playground.

Dr Sara George Muthoot, direc-tor, St George’s School said: “Withthis initiative, the school has entereda special league of select schools inIndia that run purely on renewable

and non-conventional sources ofenergy like solar power. We are gladand humbly proud of having accom-plished this eco-friendly project sat-isfactorily.”

Alexander George Muthoot,Vice-chairman, St George’s Schoolsaid: “The school is part of TheMuthoot Group’s Education Divisionwhich has always endeavoured toimplement eco-friendly measuresacross all its educational institutes.Making the school solar energyenabled was a project close to ourheart and we are glad to have accom-plished it.”

Afinal year student ofComputer Science

steam of the UniversitySchool of Informationand CommunicationTechnology, IP University,Hitesh Popali has toppedin the GATE 2020 examin computer sciencestream. He has scoredhighest ever score of 92 incomputer science.

Meanwhile, the uni-versity also organisedtwo-day stakeholder’sconsultation for SCOyoung scientist conclave atthe Dwarka campus of the

university. A welcome speech

was given by Prof SanjivMittal, Director,Academic Affairsand Prof NC Gupta,Dean, University Schoolof EnvironmentManagement of theUniversity.

The vice-chancellorof the university ProfMahesh Verma gracedthe occasion. Scientistscame from across thecountry participated inthe consultation pro-gramme for the purpose.

!��",��Manav Rachna

International Institute ofResearch and Studies invitesapplications for admissionsto its Master of BusinessAdministration programme.

Programmes offered:Master of BusinessAdministration — MRIIRS ,MBA in Innovation,Entrepreneurship and VentureDevelopment (IEV) — MRI-IRS, Banking and InsuranceManagement, AviationManagement, WasteManagement.

Eligibility: Graduation orpost graduation or candidatesmust have passed the finalexamination conducted by theinstitute of CharteredAccountants of India/Instituteof Cost &Works Accountantsof India/ Institute of CompanySecretaries of India/ any othercourse which is Governmentrecognised course with mini-mum 50 per cent marks.

How to apply: Log on tomanavrachna.edu.in.

��'��&�,'��!!�IMS-Design & Innovation

Academy invites applicationsfor admissions to its Bachelorsof Science: Jewellery Design,Bachelors of Fine Arts: FashionDesign, Bachelors of FineArts: Applied Arts andBachelors of Fine Arts: FashionInternational.

Eligibility: Candidateswho have passed or will appearfor the qualifying examinationsunder the higher secondaryfrom any recognised Board ofEducation such asAISSCE/IB/ICSE, or equiva-lents.

All eligible candidates willhave to undergo DesignEntrance Exam (DEE) at DIA,Campus Noida which com-prises of a written test and per-sonal interview.

Last date to apply: July,2020

How to apply: Log on towww.diaindia.co.in or theapplication form can beobtained for �1000 by cashfrom the academy or by post

enclosing aDemand Draft of �1050/- infavour of Design & InnovationAcademy.

�*"�1!*"��",��The KIIT Group of

Colleges invites applicationsfor admissions to variouscourses in 2020-2021 session.The courses offered are BTech(CSE ECE, EEE, CivilEngineering & MechanicalEngineering), MTech (ECE &CSE), MBA, BBA and BCA.

Eligibility: Candidatesmust have appeared/passedClass XII examination forbachelors degree, andappeared/passed graduationfor masters degree pro-grammes.

Last date to apply: June30, 2020

How to apply: Log on towww.kiit.in or call on9811626767.

��-��'�B�+��"TKWs Institute of Banking

& Finance invites applicants foradmissions to its postgraduatediploma in Banking andFinance for PG Diploma inBanking & Finance.

Duration: One yearEligibility : Minimum

qualification is graduate in anystream with 50 per cent marks,students awaiting final yearresults may also apply.

This programme starts byproviding fundamental clarityand then advances to exposethe participants to all essentialsof banking & finance.

How to apply: Log on towww.tkwsibf.edu.in or theadmission forms can beobtained by filling the appli-cation by paying an amount of�1,000 through demand draftin favor of TKWs Delhi.

For any team to flourish, itrequires harmony, com-

panionship, one vision and agreat leader who could ensureall of these are available. A suc-cessful team is one whichefficiently splits tasks andeffectively manages time. Ifyour team has some of thesetraits, you are good to go butif you have them all, your teamis unbeatable and smart.

But what makes a team sogreat? What are those ele-ments which could enhancethe team performance? Howcould leaders be better at theirjob?

Here are three mostimportant team-building tipsthat a leader must know:

Build relationships, rela-tionships will build team:We are social animals — wedesire companionship andconstructive relationships justas much we need food andwater. In other words, the bet-ter our relationships, themore joyful and progressive-ly profitable our work life is.Great working connections

give us a few more advan-tages: our work becomes pro-gressively pleasant.Additionally, people tend toaccept changes that organi-sations need to actualise, andthis way they can becomeprogressive and innovative.

In addition, great rela-tionships at work give organ-isations an opportunity:rather than investing timeand energy in dealing withnegativity, we can, rather,center around concerns thatmatter the most. Clients, sup-pliers and key stakeholdersare overall fundamental to anorganisation’s well-being. Inthis way, it’s essential to cre-ate and keep great relationswith other colleagues.

How can you establish agood relationship with yourteam?

�When you form goodrelations with your partners,you structure an incrediblenetwork that encourages youto work and become moresuccessful. If you believe theindividuals you work with,

you can be transparent inyour messages and activities,and you know they are alwayswatching your back.

�The better and moreviably you speak with peoplearound you, the more extrav-agant your connections willbe.

�Give importance to col-leagues so they could feeltheir assessments are consid-ered and that they can alto-gether accomplish the hier-archical objectives.

� Invest in your col-leagues’ personal develop-ment. People often leave badenvironment more than for ahigher renumeration. It isessential for an individual’sgrowth to keep learning, staycreative, and recognise theirlatent talents.

�Devote sometime ofyour day for relationshipbuilding, even if it’s just 20minutes. Take out time torecall one thing each one ofyou is thankful for.

Be transparent: A trans-parent working environmentsupports fear-free environ-ment, one that urges every-one to be open about theiraccomplishments and short-comings and would overall beable to make a more secure,progressively positive atmos-phere.

Communicate down thehierarchy, loud and clear:Among different advantages,open communications con-structs kinship and trustbetween colleagues, ensuresstraightforwardness in theenvironment, empowersemployee management, sup-ports confidence, andencourages organisationaldevelopment.

Building a successfulteam is no cakewalk. Theprocess is about establishingtrust among each other andwith the right set of skills, aleader can convey, assist, andcreate a healthy workingatmosphere.��!��4��' �'��

&��

The JEE MAINS 2020 is just a fewweeks away and the aspirantsare fighting tooth and nail to get

through the exams that they’ve beenpreparing for the last two years.Although, it’s natural for them to feela little more stressed during thisperiod, but if planned carefully, it canbe easily avoided.

While following a consistent anddisciplined approach is a key to crackIIT Main examinations; it is also cru-cial to pay attention to speed and theamount of time given to each ques-tion. Self-study is extremely helpfulbut at the same time group studies orcoaching is a great option to clear one’sdoubts and queries.

With a month to go, studentsshould examine and analyse theirweak areas and common mistakes andthoroughly practice those to get bet-ter marks in the JEE exams. It is advis-able to assign more time on topics andsubjects that an aspirant is not veryconfident about. This time should bespent wisely on memorising the for-mulas, method of calculations and thetime taken to solve a particular ques-tion in order to prepare themselves forthe exams.

The best way a student can get thefeel of the exam, prepare themselvesfor a three-hour paper and know theiractual strengths and weaknesses is bysolving a mock paper. Students mustgo through the last few years’ questionpapers and solve more and more ofthem to feel confident before they

appear for the main exams. Solvingmock papers not just helps in esti-mating the time spend on each ques-tion but also helps in selecting and pri-oritising the important questionsfirst.

Besides good and quality prepa-ration, it is necessary to relax and havea good sleep at night. During andbefore the examination, it is importantto have a rich and healthy diet andkeeping hydrated.

Here is a set of do’s and don’ts thatcan easily help the young aspirants tosail through the preparation periodand during the day of the mainexamination:-

�,��Assign 7-8 hours every day on a sub-ject� Do not proceed ahead withoutclearing your doubts; clear your doubtsregularly

� Solve as many questions as possiblewith a paper and pen� Check the syllabus from the JEEwebsite and make a note of all the rel-evant things�To check your speed and accuracy,give regular mock tests�Do a detailed test analysis after everytest

�,�=*��Never pile up your doubts; if you arestuck somewhere, seek help�Do not compare your studying pat-tern with your peers; everyone has aunique strategy to study�Do not spend too much time on asingle topic� Never give a test without a time limit�Avoid last-minute study, as thiswill just build tension in your mind.You must feel relaxed.

Here are some important topicsthat you must pay attention to:-

!�*��0�Complex Number� Conic Section� Circle� Calculus� Vector & 3 D� Probability� Trigonometric Equation� Properties of Triangles� Quadratic Equation� Sequence and Series� Permutations and combination

Chemistry� Chemical bonding� Electrochemistry� Coordination compound� Salt analysis� Ionic equilibrium�Thermodynamics & thermochem-istry� Aldehydes and ketones� Aromatic hydrocarbons� GOC isomerism� Liquid solutions� Alkyl halides and aryl halides

&� ��"�� Rotational Motion� Thermodynamics (ThermalPhysics)� SHM� Electrostatics� Optics� Modern Physics

Keep these small things in mindand you will surely get amazingresults. Take care of yourself and wish-ing you all the best!

��!��+>?��4��+��

It is believed that BhraguRishu,a great saint, started writing

about all animals present on theearth, air, water and humanbeings. He wanted to write thecharacteristics of each living beingabout their life span, their eventsin their life, good or bad inadvance which will go up tothousands of years. But he realisedthat it was a difficult task there-fore, he dropped the idea of writ-ing about karma of every livingbeing and only focused on thekarma of human beings.

He wrote in detail about eachand every individual which exist-ed even prior to the birth and alsowrote about the fate and destinyof millions and billions of peopleyet to be born in coming cen-turies. This was an amazing workdone by him which is appreciat-ed even today. While writingabout the various people, heobserved that certain numbers aretypical and are linked to specificcharacters.

Every individual who is bornon this earth will have to bear thefruits of his karma, many timesthe mistakes are done and alsothere is an abuse of the gifts whichhave been provided by the nature.These errors are carried alongwith the person as an added bur-

den so as to realise and learn aparticular lesson that he failed tolearn in the previous life. The bur-den carried by the individuals isthe mis-deeds of the previous gen-eration and is known as karmicdebt numbers. The karmic debt isa significant difficulty in this lifeas payment for the misapplicationof energies in a past life.

These numbers are 19, 16, 14and 13. A person who is eitherborn on 19, 16, 14 or 13 of anymonth or whose destiny numberis 19, 16, 14 or 13 is supposed tohave karmic debt. Out of these

four karmic debt, the degree ofpunishment or effectiveness ishighest in the people with karmicdebt 19, the next are 16, 14 and 13in order of decreasing the effectsof karmic debt. It is mildest in caseof 13 and strongest in case of 19.

The karmic debt is concernedor effective after the age of 25&continues upto the age of 50. Itmeans during this period, a per-son will rise to the top, will dropabruptly to the ground and willstart again. It means in these 25years, he will have many ups anddown, peaks and bottoms. If aperson has psychic number oryear number 13 and the destinynumber 19, he will experiencesuch type of rise and fall through-out his life. He may experiencefailures, accidents, negativity anddown fall.

This theory says no personcan escape or get salvation untilhe has paid back for the sins,wrong things, frauds, exploitation,theft or for that matter any actdone which has damaged orcaused problems for anyone emo-tionally or financially. He has todefinitely settle the account of hismisdeed in one, two or morenumber of birth/rebirth.

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John McEnroe was No 1 tennis player from1980 to 1984 and one of the finest shot-

making players in tennis the world has everseen. But the world also remembers him asabusive, arrogant and entitled from hisbehavior on the court. Contrast him withanother tennis champion of recent times —Roger Federer. For Federer, losing or mak-ing mistakes is not a sign of weakness, but ablessing, because they help him hone whathe needs to work on to improve and be hisbest. Moral of the story: One might still suc-ceed in a vocation purely because of natur-al ability or talent, but this success is alwayspre-determined,and one should be carefulthat the pursuit of success at any cost doesnot leave behind a negative atmosphere in itswake.

Learning to lose or fail is one of the mostcritical attributes required for being successfulin any sphere of life. Carol Dweck, a famouspsychologist talks about the growth mindsetwhich allows us to learn from our failures andimprove our abilities in contrast to a fixedmindset, where we shirk failures, and thinkthat our abilities are carved in stone or can’tbe improved.

A fixed mindset, as it assumes a fixedability or aptitude, does not know how to dealwith or learn from failures and greatly lim-its the growth of an individual.

In one of the studies conducted by Dweckand her team, they found that children whodisplayed a 'growth mindset' displayed high-er levels of achievement in school (and out-side) in areas where success could be mea-sured, regardless of their initial aptitude.

They also found that children from poor-er households, who displayed a growthmindset, on an average performed as better,as children from high income householdswho had access to a far better quality of edu-cation.

In India, this insight holds huge promisein how we approach education (public or pri-vate) for hundreds of millions of children whocome from low income group householdsand may not have access to high quality edu-cation.

How does one learn to develop a growthmindset or an ability to learn from failures?

Our decade long experiments in usingsport in schools have shown us that sportcould be a powerful tool to teach critical life-skills including the ability to deal with fail-ures.

Sport can mimic life (on playgrounds)and if used appropriately in learning envi-

ronments such as schools can help shape rightexperiences and behaviors of children. Mostimportantly, the cost of failures extracted onplaygrounds is very small compared to costsof failures in real life - so children can betaught to fail often and learn from their mis-takes on the playgrounds.

While sport can be a great vehicle forteaching the growth mindset to children, itis not complete without informed adult(parental or teacher) guidance. Caring adultscan recognise the right opportunities to getthe child to focus squarely on the process orthe effort (the notion of practice or trainingin sport), and not on the outcomes (such aswinning or losing).

The adult could also make the childrealise the importance of deliberate practicewhere by applying herself to any task or voca-tion (and learning continually from mis-takes), she can increase her aptitude and abil-ities significantly in that task.

In the words of an ancient philosopher,to succeed is to have failed, and to fail is tohave succeeded. This philosopher certainlyknew how failures always predicate success,but success by itself means nothing besidesbeing a positive outcome of an event.

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The Faculty ofEngineering at theUniversity of Sheffield,

UK invites applications forscholarships of up to £3000to overseas students startingan undergraduate degree inSeptember 2020 in one of thefollowing Engineeringdepartments: Aerospace,Automatic Control &Systems, Bioengineering,Chemical Engineering, Civil& Structural Engineering,Electronic & ElectricalEngineering, MaterialsScience & Engineering,Mechanical Engineering,General Engineering.

The scholarship amountawarded is dependent on aca-demic achievement, qualifica-tions equivalent to A levels:A*AA - £1000, A*A*A -£2000 and A*A*A* - £3000.Visit here to confirm theequivalent of A*AA .

Eligibility: Make the uni-versity your first (firm)choice in the UCAS applica-tion process for 2020 entry,apply to study a full-timeundergraduate programme inthe relevant department, beclassed as an overseas studentfor tuition fee purposes. Thescholarship is awarded in theform of a cash bursary oncourse registration once eligi-bility is confirmed. The

scholarship amount is depen-dent on academic achieve-ment please email theUndergraduate AdmissionsTeam for your chosenDepartment. Visit for detailshttps://www.sheffield.ac.uk/faculty/engineering/study/schol-arships.

The University of Westof England invites fundingfor international studentswho have achieved the equiv-alent of a British First in anundergraduate degree.

Eligibility: Hold anunconditional offer or a con-ditional offer where IELTS orequivalent English languageis the only condition. Be anew student to UWE Bristolwith no previous UK study.Applicants hold an uncondi-tional offer or a conditionaloffer where IELTS or equiva-lent English language is theonly condition. Be a new stu-dent to UWE Bristol with noprevious UK study. Be classedas overseas for fees purposes.Not be a sponsored studentor in receipt of another schol-arship/award. Provide officialtranscripts at the time ofapplication. Hold an uncon-ditional offer or a conditionaloffer where IELTS or equiva-lent English language is theonly condition.

How to apply: Submit aapplication:https://welcome.uwe.ac.uk/live/sits.urd/run/siw_lgn.

Application deadline:May 31, 2020.

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One of the common char-acteristics of successfulentrepreneurs is that

they launched their ventureswhile they were young.According to a survey done byErnst and Young with nearly 700entrepreneurs, more than half ofthem launched their companieswhile they were in their 20s.

The survey also found thatthey did not jump-start theirventures straight after finishinghigher education. They had togain experience before theycould launch their venture.However, nearly a third of thepeople who participated in thesurvey said that higher educa-tion provided them with thegrounding they needed for theirbusiness practice. Having anentrepreneurial component inhigher education will aid in thecreation of more entrepreneursand ventures, in turn creatingjob opportunities.

To become a successfulentrepreneur, a positive atti-tude and a support structure area must. This will foster positiveopportunism and greater accep-tance of failure. Universitiescan give students useful and sys-tematic knowledge on all aspectsof running a business, and equipthem with the necessary tools toprepare them for eventualities.

It goes without saying thatcampus life will give them plen-ty of opportunities to test theirbusiness ideas and get feedbackon their work. They also get toanalyse variables of trade in a

systematic way, formulate andtest hypotheses, and think aboutabstract concepts. If they canlearn to solve problems and takecreative decisions based on reli-able data, they will learn how torun a business that operates witha high degree of accountability.This will teach them how to suc-cessfully manage commercialconcerns in the long run.

College students are in animportant transitional phase intheir life. As they start to explorepersonal independence, theiridentities start to solidify. If theyreceive the right stimulation, itallows them to develop a high-er degree of self-control andwork on their vision.

Universities must includecourses and facilities that teachstudents critical thinking andrisk taking. This will help themform an identity as an entre-preneur. Observational andexperiential learning must begiven equal importance. In otherwords, the course must focus oboth theory and practice.

The universities must pro-vide facilitators who are capableof delivering content to students.

This includes academics andsuccessful entrepreneurs. Thedelivery methods must also bediverse to cater to the widestpossible cross-section of stu-dents as possible.

Internet media, incubationsupport, simulations, help devel-oping a business plan, internshipopportunities, case studies, one-on-one interactions, study vis-its, project work, mentoring, andcompetition among others willhelp support a successful imple-mentation of an entrepreneur-ship education curriculum.

Students need requisiteknowledge and skill set to con-duct their study with a focus onselection and recruitment. Thismust be accompanied with asupporting environment andmotivating incentives like grantsalong with a grading system thatallows them to conduct study inan effective way. Lecturers canaid them with progress reviews,using right teaching methodsand implementing a rewardsystem to acknowledge theirparticipation.

For entrepreneurship edu-cation in higher education to be

a success, graduates must pos-sess certain core competencies.They need to be able to identi-fy and evaluate business oppor-tunities, identify and solve prob-lems, make the right decisionsat the right time, network, com-municate effectively, and displayout of the box thinking.

If they can tick all the aboveboxes, then they have demon-strated that they have the corecompetencies needed to kick-start their own venture.Graduates must also be capableof developing a business planthat can sustain after launch.

Apropos sustainability, theventure must be able to provideemployment, make enoughprofits to fuel expansion, inno-vate consistently and effective-ly, develop a strong publicimage, and satisfy all stake-holders.

If such a structured frame-work can be executed success-fully, we will be able to integrateit with the existing curriculumand scale it up on a nationallevel.

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The ongoing Pakistan SuperLeague (PSL) was onTuesday suspended after

the country’s Cricket Boardrevealed that a foreign playershowed symptoms of the dread-ed COVID-19 with former cap-tain-turned-commentatorRamiz Raja claiming that it wasEngland’s Alex Hales.

The PSL had entered theknockout stages and semifinalmatches were due to be playedon Tuesday and final onWednesday in Lahore. The PCBhad also shortened the league byfour days considering the wors-ening coronavirus situation butwas forced to call it off onTuesday.

“...This new developmentcame after a player who leftPakistan told us that (he has)

symptoms and this (decision tosuspend PSL) isn’t in light ofbeing panicked...We made ourdecision after thorough deliber-ation,” PCB CEO Wasim Khansaid.

“But before this there was nosuspected case at all, which iswhy the decision wasn’t madebefore,” he added.

Pakistan’s former Test cap-tain Raja claimed that Halesmight be the player being sus-pected. As a precautionary mea-sure, all PSL players and broad-casters are now being tested forthe virus.

“What I know is that he isyet to have tests but we don’tknow whether the symptoms hehas is of Corona or not. But weall now need to be very cautiousand obviously adopt a commonsense approach to deal with thisproblem,” Raja said.

The 31-year-old Hales, aright-handed opener, has goneinto self-isolation after reachingEngland.

In the PSL semifinals,Multan Sultans were to take onPeshawar Zalmi at 2pm at theGaddafi Stadium, followed by aclash between Karachi Kingsand Lahore Qalandars at thesame venue in the evening.

Most of the 34 foreign play-ers, who took part in the PSL,began heading home last weekafter the PCB said it would notstop anyone from withdrawingfrom the league due to theCoronavirus fears.

Responding to a questionKhan said that the KarachiKings team had reservationsabout playing in the tournamentand the decision was then madeafter consulting all the franchis-es. “We have done everything toensure health and safety ofeveryone because of the coron-avirus and we consulted the gov-ernment and health officials inall decisions,” he said.

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England batsman AlexHales on Tuesday said he

has gone into self-isolationdue to fever and persistentdry cough after returningmidway from the now-post-poned Pakistan SuperLeague (PSL) but is yet to gethimself tested for the dread-ed COVID-19.

“Like many other over-seas players, I reluctantlyleft the Pakistan SuperLeague early because withCOVID-19 reaching globalpandemic status, I felt itwas more important to bewith my family rather thanface a period of lockdownthousands of miles fromhome,” Hales said in a state-ment after the PCB’s com-

ment.“I returned to the UK in

the early hours of Saturdaymorning feeling perfectly fitand healthy and withabsolutely no symptoms ofthe virus,” he added.

Hales plays for KarachiKings in the PSL.

“However, I awoke earlyon Sunday morning havingdeveloped a fever and fol-lowed the governmentsadvice of self-isolation, aprocess I am obviously stillfollowing having developeda dry and persistent cough.

“At this stage, it has notbeen possible to be testedalthough I am hopeful thatmight be the case later todayso I can get absolute confir-mation of my current healthstatus,” he added.

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The European championship,due to be played in June andJuly this year, has been post-

poned until 2021 because of thecoronavirus pandemic, Europeanfootball’s governing body UEFAsaid on Tuesday.

UEFA said the new proposeddates for the tournament wereJune 11 to July 11 next year, as Euro2020 becomes Euro 2021.

It said the postponementwould “will help all domestic com-petitions, currently on hold due tothe COVID-19 emergency, to becompleted”.

The announcement comesafter UEFA held crisis talks with itsnational associations as well asclubs and players bodies via video-conference, as the continent fightsto deal with the health crisis.

“The health of al l thoseinvolved in the game is the prior-ity, as well as to avoid placing anyunnecessary pressure on nationalpublic services involved in stagingmatches,” UEFA said in a state-ment.

Most of Europe’s domesticleagues have ground to a halt overthe last week as football confrontsits biggest issue in modern times.

Europe has become the epicen-tre of the coronavirus pandemic,with France on Tuesday joining

Italy and Spain in applying strictlockdown measures and Europeanleaders also planning to ban allnon-essential travel into the con-tinent.

More than 2,100 people havedied in Italy, which was supposedto host the opening game of Euro2020 in Rome.

The UEFA Champions Leagueand Europa League competitionsfor clubs have been suspended,with both still in the last-16 stage,but postponing the EuropeanChampionship means they, alongwith national leagues, will have thechance to be completed, assumingtravel restrictions are lifted intime.

‘FULL SUPPORT’ FOR CHANGESUEFA has set up a working

group involving leagues and clubswhich will try to come up with anew match calendar to allow forthe season to be completed.

Twenty of the 24 nations set totake part in the Euro have alreadyqualified, but play-offs to deter-mine the final four participants,due to be played this month, havebeen postponed.

UEFA said those matches, andother scheduled friendlies, wouldnow be played in June “subject toa review of the situation.”

South America’s equivalent ofthe Euro, the Copa America, also

scheduled for this June and July,has also been postponed by a year,ensuring European-based playerswill be free to finish the seasonwith their clubs.

The move was welcomed bynational associations in countriescurrently battling the pandemic.

“People’s health and well-beinghas to be the primary concern forus all, so we fully support UEFA’sdecision to postpone EURO 2020,”said the English FA’s CEO, MarkBullingham.

Meanwhile, French FootballFederation (FFF) president Noel LeGraet gave the postponement his“full support”, calling it a “wise andpragmatic decision”.

KNOCK-ON EFFECTSEuro 2020 was due to be held

in 12 countries. There is no sugges-tion the format or number ofvenues will change.

The semi-finals and final aresupposed to be played in Londonand there will be considerableknock-on effects from the post-ponement — the women’sEuropean Championship is sched-uled to run from July 7 to August1 next year in England, with thefinal at Wembley.

UEFA also planned to stage anUnder-21 Euro in Hungary andSlovenia in June next year.

Moving the Euro by a year also

puts UEFA on a collision coursewith football’s world governingbody FIFA, whose presidentGianni Infantino has planned tostage the inaugural edition of hishighly lucrative Club World Cup inJune and July next year in China.

However, Infantino indicatedin an open letter on Monday thatFIFA will “look to find in duecourse solutions in a spirit ofcooperation, taking into accountthe interests of football at all lev-els”.

UEFA president AleksanderCeferin thanked Infantino for hisintervention and for saying FIFAwill do “whatever is required tomake this new calendar work”.

“In the face of this crisis, foot-ball has shown its best side withopenness, solidarity and toler-ance,” Ceferin said.

As for its club competitions,UEFA could still come to a deci-sion to try to complete theChampions League and EuropaLeague by curtailing the competi-tions, meaning ties up to the semi-finals could be decided in one-offmatches.

Reports on Tuesday indicatedboth tournaments could concludewith a ‘Final Four’ meeting in thescheduled host cities — Istanbulfor the Champions League andGdansk in Poland for the EuropaLeague.

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With the COVID-19 pandemic halt-ing all sport activities, India’s former

chief badminton coach Vimal Kumar onTuesday urged the government to allowthe Olympic-bound athletes to continuetheir training after conducting the requiredtests.

Following the respective directives ofthe Talengana and Karnataka govern-ments, the Pullela Gopichand academy inHyderbad and Prakash PadukoneAcademy in Bangalore have been shutdown for two weeks.

Rio Silver medallist PV Sindhu, men’s singlesplayer B Sai Praneeth andmen’s doubles pair ofChirag Shetty andSatwiksairaj Rankireddy haveso far assured themselves of aberth at the Tokyo Olympics.

“I feel sad for the sports com-munity. They follow healthylifestyle, they have good immu-nity unlike general public. So Ibelieve the government shouldlook at ways to test these athletes who havealready qualified and allow them totrain,” Vimal said.

“If it was some other year I wouldn’thave said so but it is an Olympic year, itcomes after every four years. So put themthrough constant testing and even ifsome test positive I believe they will recov-er in two weeks time.”

“In badminton, look what China,Japan or Korea are doing. They are stay-ing in different countries and training.Here we have hardly 100 odd people whohave qualified for Olympics. They have tobe looked at a little bit differently,” Vimalsaid. Sindhu’s father PV Ramana said atleast the shuttlers who have qualified forOlympics should be allowed to train at theGopichand academy.

“Badminton is not a contact sports, soyou can maintain that 5 feet distance. SoI believe at least players who have quali-fied should be allowed to train. Otherwise,if you don’t train for 15 days, it will takeanother two months to get back to matchfitness,” he said.

“There are 8 courts at the academy, soit is possible to allow Sindhu, Sai andChirag-Satwik to continue their on-court

training. There will be hardly a few play-ers and they can take the necessary pre-cautions, and still train,” said Ramana, aformer India volleyball player.

With the Gopichand academy lockeddown, Sindhu and Praneeth are trying tofind ways to keep themselves fit.

“The two week break will affect ourfitness. The gym in my apartment has alsobeen shut so I don’t have any way to workon my fitness. I take long walks and joginside the campus,” Praneeth said.

“There is lot of uncertainty right now.If things improve, how will the BWF goabout organising the events, we don’tknow. But nothing is in our hand.”

Ramana, who was part of the teamthat won a Bronze at the 1986 AsianGames, said he is trying different ways tokeep Sindhu fit.

“She is doing some light exercise at theterrace like dips and leg works. Our houseis in a hilly area, there is no movement ofpeople or vehicles in that road, so she isdoing some jogging, stretching and exer-cises for strengthening for legs in morn-ing and evening,” he said.

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All national camps, except for thosewhere athletes are preparing for

Tokyo Olympics, were on Tuesday post-poned until further order in view of theCOVID-19 pandemic with the SportsAuthority of India (SAI) making arrange-ments for the return of the trainees totheir homes.

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said theacademic training at the National Centreof Excellence and Sports Auhtority ofIndia Centres will also be suspended.

“Due to Covid-19, SAI has decidedthat: All National camps shall be post-poned except for those where athletes arebeing trained as part of Olympics#Tokyo2020 preparation,” Rijiju tweeted.

“Academic training in National Centreof Excellence & STCs shall be suspend-ed till further order,” he added.

Rijiju said the move is temporary andprecautionary and training will resume if

the situation caused by the pandemicimproves.

“This is just a temporary and precau-tionary step for the safety of oursportspersons. I appeal all our young ath-letes not to be disheartened. We willresume the academic trainings soon afterassessing the situation.”

Later SAI stated that no tournament,sports function, seminar and workshopwill be held till clearance is obtained andrestrictions are withdrawn by the centralor state authorities.

Hostel facilities of the trainees, how-ever, might be kept open till March 20 toavoid inconvenience to athletes.

“Athletes who have an exam to takein the next few days will be allowed to stayat the center and take the exam. However,it is being ensured that all health proce-dures are followed and the highest levelof hygiene is maintained so that athletesstaying back do not catch an infection,”the SAI said.

“All other trainees are being sent backhome after intimation to parents andwhile following travel precautions. Thosewho have their home town within 400kilometers of the centre will be providedAC-3 tier train ticket. Those whosehometowns are beyond 400 kilometerswill be provided with an air ticket.”

A few days back, the government hadissued two advisories regarding trainingand competition of athletes.

The ministry had told those, whowere training and taking part in the eventsabroad especially for Tokyo Olympicsqualifiers, to continue their competitions.

Rijiju had also clarified that there wasno ban on national events with theadvice that they be held without specta-tors.

The Athletics Federation of India isgoing ahead with the Indian Grand Prixseries, from which athletes can qualify forthe Olympics, starting March 20 withoutspectators.

��)��0 Star javelin throw-er Neeraj Chopra, who hasqualified for the upcomingTokyo Olympics, is returninghome from his training base inTurkey owing to the COVID-19 pandemic that has forcedmany countries to shut theirdoors to passengers arrivingfrom outside.

The 22-year-old Choprahas been training in Turkey forthe last one month. He quali-fied for the Tokyo Games in acompetition in South Africawith a throw of 87.86m, hav-ing made his return from anelbow surgery last year.

“Turkey is closing its bor-ders on March 18 and Neerajhas to fly out before that. He isreaching home onWednesday,” an official of theAthletics Federation of Indiasaid.

“He (Neeraj) is also nottaking part in the Doha leg of

the Diamond League on April17,” he added.

Another Indian javelinthrower Shivpal Singh, whohas also qualified for the TokyoGames, is also returning homefrom his Potchefstroom —his training base — in SouthAfrica.

“Shivpal is also returningfrom South Africa. There willbe no Indian left trainingabroad. In this situation, younever know when a countrycloses its borders or cancelsflights. We cannot take chancesas athletes may remain strand-ed,” the AFI official.

The 24-year-old Shivpalhad crossed the qualifyingstandard of 85m by hurling thespear to a distance of 85.47min the ACNW Meeting atPotchefstroom to join Chopraas the second Indian to qual-ify for the Olympics in javelinthrow. PTI

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The opening three track andfield meetings on the elite

Diamond League circuit havebeen postponed in response tothe growing global crisis aroundthe new coronavirus.

The meetings affected areDoha on April 17, Shanghai onMay 16 and another Chinesevenue that was yet to be named,on May 9. “This decision wasmade in close consultation withorganising committees, localauthorities and sports governingbodies,” Diamond Leagueorganisers said in a statement.

“It is forbidden to enterQatar from a number of coun-tries and the government inDoha has suspended allnational and internationalevents for a period of 30 days.

“While the number of newinfections is now decreasing inChina, the fact remains thatpreparations for the meetings

have been set back by severalweeks and the closed bordersand travel restrictions make itimpossible to organise interna-tional top level competitions.”

Organisers added that thecurrent plan was to stage theShanghai event on August 13.

New dates for Doha and thesecond meeting in China remainto be announced, with a possi-bility being that they could beheld after the September 9-11Diamond League final in Zurich.

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The International Olympic Committeesaid on Tuesday it was not the time for

“drastic decisions” over the staging of theTokyo Olympics, which has not yet beenpostponed because of the deadly coronaviruspandemic.

“The IOC remains fully committed tothe Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and withmore than four months to go before theGames there is no need for any drastic deci-sions at this stage; and any speculation at thismoment would be counter-productive,”the IOC said in a statement after its execu-tive board met in Lausanne.

The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled torun between July 24-August 9, but the year’sbiggest sporting event is as yet one of the solesporting competitions to have survived apostponement in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak that has caused more than 7,400deaths and infected more than 180,000around the world.

“This is an unprecedented situation forthe whole world, and our thoughts are withall those affected by this crisis,” the IOC said.

IOC president Thomas Bach added:

“The health and well-being of all thoseinvolved in the preparations for the OlympicTokyo 2020 is our number-one concern.

“All measures are being taken to safe-

guard the safety and interests of athletes,coaches and support teams. We are anOlympic community; we support oneanother in good times and in difficult times.

This Olympic solidarity defines us as a com-munity.”

The IOC acknowledged preparations forthe Tokyo Games had been impacted, andencouraged all athletes to continue training

“as best they can”.“The IOC has confidence that the

many measures being taken by manyauthorities around the world will help con-tain the situation of the COVID-19 virus.”

PRACTICAL ADAPTATIONSOne of the results of the virus outbreak

has been the cancellation of qualifiers, in anumber of sports, for the Tokyo Olympics.

But the IOC insisted it would work tosurmount any difficulties that threw up.

“To date, 57 percent of the athletes arealready qualified for the Games,” it said. “Forthe remaining 43 percent of places, the IOCwill work with the IFs (international feder-ations) to make any necessary and practi-cal adaptations to their respective qualifica-tion systems for Tokyo 2020.”

The IOC vowed to “continue to act ina responsible way and have agreed the fol-lowing overriding principles about thestaging of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020:

“1. To protect the health of everyoneinvolved and to support the containment ofthe virus. 2. To safeguard the interests of theathletes and of Olympic sport.”

The IOC will continue to monitor the

situation 24/7. Already in mid-February, atask force was set up .

The body added any decision it takes onthe staging of the Games “will not be deter-mined by financial interests, because thanksto its risk management policies and insur-ance it will in any case be able to continueits operations and accomplish its mission toorganise the Olympic Games”.

A taskforce (consisting of the IOC, theWorld Health Organisation, the Tokyo2020 Organising Committee, the Japaneseauthorities and the Tokyo MetropolitanGovernment) was created in mid-Februaryto ensure “coordinated actions by all stake-holders” and offer guidance the IOC said itwould follow.

Already, the format of all the testevents in March and April in Japan has been“altered to allow for the testing of essentialGames elements”.

“The lighting of the Olympic torch inGreece and subsequent elements of theTorch Relay in Japan are being adapted, theentire Games preparation supply chain hasbeen analysed, and alternative plans are inplace in the event of anticipated disruption,”the IOC said.

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Valencia, the first Spanish football club to reportcoronavirus infections, on Monday said that

35 percent of players and staff members have test-ed positive for the disease.

The club said the virus spread among thesquad following last month’s trip to Milan, “an areaconfirmed as ‘high risk’ by the Italian authoritiesdays afterwards”, for the first leg of theirChampions League last-16 tie against Atalanta.“Despite the strict measures adoptedby the club” after the match, “theselatest results show that the exposureinherent to such matches has causeda positive test rate of around 35%,”Valencia said in a statement.

“All cases are asympto-matic and those involved arecurrently isolated at home,receiving medical assessmentand carrying out their sched-uled training plan.”

On Sunday, Valenciaannounced that five of theclub’s players and staff hadtested positive for COVID-19,including Argentine defenderEzequiel Garay.

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��,0The Copa America due to kickoff in June in Argentina andColombia was on Tuesday post-poned by a year to 2021 becauseof the coronavirus pandemic,organisers CONMEBOL said.

The announcement cameshortly after UEFA’s decision toalso push back Euro by 12 months.

The Copa is South America’smain continental competitionbetween national sides and hadbeen scheduled to run betweenJune 12-July 12.

The competition was beingstaged for the first time in twocountries rather than one.

The finals featuring 12 teams,for this edition included inviteesAustralia and Qatar.

“It’s an extraordinary measuredue to an unexpected situation,and therefore responds to thefundamental need to avoid anexponential evolution of the virus,”said CONMEBOL.

The tournament is nowrescheduled to run from June 11-July 11 2021.

“We also thank UEFA and itspresident Aleksander Ceferin forworking together and the co-ordi-nated decision to also postpone the2020 Euros for the betterment ofthe whole football family,” addedCONMEBOL.

The South American govern-ing body had decided to align theCopa, which mostly used to beplayed in odd years, to the Eurosin order to reduce the impact onEuropean clubs, where a largenumber of South American inter-nationalss ply their trade. AFP

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D�� 9�� B��-��:�(-�(��,�'��+**��/��/��-��+�+,�0��-*,- ,0 Japan Olympic Committee deputychief Kozo Tashima on Tuesday said hehad contracted coronavirus.

“Today, my test result showed posi-tive for the new coronavirus,” Tashima saidin a statement, issued via Japan FootballAssociation, which he also heads.

“I have a mild fever. Examinationsshowed a symptom of pneumonia, but I’mfine. I will concentrate on treatment fol-lowing doctors’ advice,” he said.

He began feeling chills and experi-enced a mild fever from Sunday.

“I have chosen to face the illness asso many people are doing in Japan andaround the world,” he said, adding that hehoped his decision would help eradicatethe stigma attached to infection. AFP

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