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indianexpress.com

JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA

THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2020, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `6.00 (`8 PATNA & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMJOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

MENTAL HEALTH &WELLNESS

CABINETCLEARSNEWEDUCATIONPOLICY

Doorsopenfor foreignunivs;4-yrUGwithexitoption, flexibleMaster’sEXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY29

PAVINGTHEwayforforeignuni-versities to set up campuses inIndia, the new NationalEducation Policy (NEP) statesthat theworld's top100univer-sitieswillbe“facilitated”tooper-ateinthecountrythroughanewlaw.TheUnionCabinetapprovedtheNEPonWednesday.The government's position

on foreign universities effec-tively reverses the BJP's earlierstand on The ForeignEducational Institutions(Regulation of Entry andOperations) Bill, 2010, broughtby the UPA-2 government.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Oneregulator;moreporousscience-humanitiesdivide

149DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

KEYSTATESTOWATCH■Maharashtra■TamilNadu■Delhi■Andhra■Karnataka

7 DAYS EARLIER:

2.41NOW:

2.23

7 DAYS EARLIER:

8.10NOW:

8.63

DETECTED TODAY

48,513RECOVERED TODAY:

35,286

TOTALCASES3,91,4402,27,6881,32,2751,10,2971,07,001

DOUBLINGRATE**27.6821.4289.967.6311.96

SURGEIN24HOURS7,7176,9721,0567,9485,536

7-DAYAVGGROWTH*2.60%3.36%0.80%9.44%6.02%

TRACKING INDIA’SCOVIDCURVE

CASES:15,31,669TESTS: 1,77,43,740| DOUBLING RATE: 19.81**

RECOVERED:9,88,029DEATHS:34,193

*CompoundedDailyGrowthRateover last7days **Calculatedover7-daygrowth

DataasonJuly28, releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealth, ICMRandstates.Oftendailynumbers includedatafrompreviousdays.Assuch, trendsbasedondailynumbersare indicative,notdefinitive

CASE FATALITYRATIO

Deaths as a ratio ofpositive cases (in %);indicator of progressin averting deaths

Positives againstnumber tested

(in %); indicator ofthe spread of disease

Becoming sick vsrecovering; more

recoveries for 14 daysmay signal the peak

POSITIVITY RATE DAILY IN, DAILYOUT

MANAMANSINGHCHHINAAMBALA, JULY29

THE government hailed "a newera in our military history", asfive Rafale jets landed at the airbase in Ambala onWednesdayafternoon, marking the firstbatch of multirole combat

fighter aircraft acquired by thecountry inover twodecades.Considered one of themost

potentcombatjetsglobally,witha proven track record, the twotrainerandthreesingle-seatver-sions of the French fighter air-craft completed their 7,000 kmjourney fromMerignac air basefrom France shortly after 3 pm.

The five aircraft, with seven pi-lots, had taken off onMondayandhadaday's layoverat theAlDhafraairbase in theUAE.Welcoming the aircraft,

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

India gets first major fighters in 20 yrs,Rafale jets touch down in Ambala

DEVENDRAPANDEYMUMBAI, JULY29

NO FANS inside the stadium atleastinthebeginning,commen-tators to sit six feet apart in stu-dios, less crowded dugouts, notmore than15players inadress-ing room, post-match awardpresentations to follow socialdistancing norms — and fourCovid tests in twoweeks for allplayers.These are some of the key

normsintheStandardOperatingProcedure(SOP)preparedbytheIndian cricket board to be sentsoonto IPL franchiseowners forthe T20 tournament that is ex-pected to be held in the UAEfromSeptember toNovember.While the government's ap-

provaltomoveIPL-13totheUAEis awaited, the Emirates CricketBoardhasconfirmedits interestinhostingtheeventafterreceiv-inga request fromtheBCCI.Speaking to The Indian

Express,aBCCIofficialsaidit'snotCONTINUEDONPAGE2

IPL in time ofCovid: Nofans, 4 testsin two weeksfor players

ThefiveRafalesareescortedbytwoSU30MKIsas theyenter Indianair spaceonWednesday.Theaircraft landedat theairbase inAmbalaa littlepast3pm.@DefenceMinIndiaTwitter

THEBIRDSHAVELANDEDSAFELYRAJNATHSINGH,DEFENCEMINISTER

Governor blinks, saysyes to Gehlot proposalfor House from Aug 14HAMZAKHAN&LIZMATHEWJAIPUR,NEWDELHI, JULY29

FOLLOWING AWEEK of hecticparleys, protests and exchangeof letters between Raj Bhavanand the state government inRajasthan, Governor KalrajMishra onWednesday night fi-nallyagreedtocallanAssemblysession fromAugust14.“On the new proposal sent

by the state Cabinet, I am sum-moningtheHousefromAugust14, 2020,” Mishra told TheIndian Express. He blamed thedelay in calling the session onthe state Cabinet, pointing outthat it was “not explaining thereasonswhy theywant to con-vene the regularmonsoon ses-sion on such a short notice inthis period of pandemic andalso in the unusual politicalconditions”.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

KALRAJMISHRARAJASTHANGOVERNOR

THE EXPRESSINTERVIEW

P7

DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI, JULY29

THEGOVERNMENTWednesdayissued guidelines for phase 3 ofits unlockdown, allowing gym-nasiums and yoga institutes torestartfromAugust5andrevok-ing thenight curfewthatwas inplacesinceMay.However, schools and col-

leges,Metrorailservices,cinemahalls, swimming pools, enter-tainment parks, theatres, bars,auditoriumsandassemblyhallswillcontinuetoremainshutun-til August 31, according to thenew guidelines issued by theMinistryofHomeAffairs(MHA).“Social/ political/ sports/ en-

tertainment/academic/cultural/religious functions and otherlargecongregations”willalsonotbeallowed,theguidelinesstate.The restrictions on interna-

tional air travel and rail serviceswill continue. And, for

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Unlockdown 3:Gyms to open,no night curfew,schools still shut

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY29

THE NEWNational EducationPolicy (NEP), approved by theUnion Cabinet onWednesday,focuses on overhauling theschool curriculum, with “re-formed” Board exams, a reduc-tion in the syllabus to retain"coreessentials"andathruston“experiential learning and criti-cal thinking”."While the Board exams for

Grades10and12willbecontin-ued,theexistingsystemofBoardandentranceexaminationsshallbe reformed to eliminate theneed for undertaking coachingclasses. To reverse these harm-ful effects of the current assess-ment system, Board examswillbe redesigned toencourageho-listicdevelopment;studentswillbe able to choose many of thesubjects in which they takeBoard exams, depending ontheir individualised interests,"thepolicy states.Speaking at the Cabinet

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

For schools,‘low stake’Boards, cutin syllabus

SC dismisses Soz wife’s pleaas J&K says no detention, hesays: not let out today too

ANANTHAKRISHNANG&BASHAARATMASOODNEWDELHI,SRINAGAR,JULY29

THE SUPREME CourtWednesday disposed of a pleaby the wife of Jammu andKashmir Congress leaderSaifuddin Soz claiming that hehadbeenillegallydetained,withthegovernmentsubmittingthathewasneverdetainedorputun-derhousearrest.

A Bench of Justices ArunMishra, Vineet Saran andM RShahsaiditwouldnotenterinto

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

RSS wanted more, Govtwalked the tightropeSHYAMLALYADAV&RITIKACHOPRANEWDELHI, JULY29

IN THE wide-rangingconsultations over thenewNationalEducationPolicy(NEP),asignificantvoice at the head tablewasthatoftheRashtriyaSwayamsevakSangh(RSS).A stream of RSS affiliates

wereinvolvedthroughthedraft-ing process. There weremeet-ingsbetweenRSSfunctionaries,educationministersofsomeBJP-

ruledstates,representa-tivesoftheGovernmentand NEP drafting com-mittee chairman KKasturirangan.But the final policy

approved by the UnionCabinetWednesday shows the

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

SaifuddinSoz,AbdulQayoom

SQUADRONGAPPAGE6

KEYCHANGESSCHOOLS■Boardexams“easier”■ Breakfast tobeaddedtomid-daymeals■ “Wheneverpossible”,mediumof instruction inmother tongue

HIGHEREDUCATION■Entryof foreignuniversities■ Four-yearBachelor's■HigherEducationCommissionof India toreplaceUGC,AICTE■M.Phil tobediscontinued

EXPERTEXPLAINSDrAmitabhaGhosh

DESTINATIONMARSWhyeveryone loves the redplanet

NASAPlanetaryScientist

EXPLAINED PAGE13

New Delhi

Cut in syllabusbriefingannouncingthenewpol-icy, School Education SecretaryAnitaKarwal said, “Boardexamswill be lowstake. The focuswillbeontestingconceptsandknowl-edgeapplication.”Thedocumentadds“...allstu-

dents will be allowed to takeBoardExamsonup to twoocca-sions during any given schoolyear, onemainexaminationandoneforimprovement,ifdesired.”The Cabinet also approved

changing thenameof theUnionHumanResourceDevelopmentMinistry to ‘EducationMinistry’to bring the “focus backonedu-cationandlearning”.Onmediumof instruction in

schools, the education policystates, “Wherever possible, themediumof instruction until atleast Grade 5, but preferably tillGrade8 andbeyond,will be thehomelanguage/mothertongue/locallanguage/regionallanguage.Thereafter, the home/local lan-guageshallcontinuetobetaughtasalanguagewhereverpossible.Thiswillbefollowedbybothpub-licandprivateschools.”Aseniorministryofficialclar-

ified to The Indian Express thatmothertongueasmediumof in-structionwasnotcompulsoryforstates.“Educationisaconcurrentsubject.Which iswhy thepolicy

clearly states that kids will betaught intheirmother tongueorregionallanguage‘whereverpos-sible’,”theofficersaid.Aneducationpolicyservesas

a comprehensive framework toguidethedevelopmentofeduca-tion in the country. It provides abroaddirection andwhile stategovernmentsareexpectedtofol-lowit,it’snotmandatorytodoso.Thedocumentcallsforanem-

phasisonmathematicsandcom-putational thinking, besides“knowledgeonancientIndiaandits contributions to modernIndia”. Thepolicy advocates theintroduction of “contemporarysubjects such as artificial intelli-gence, design thinking, holistichealthandorganicliving”.The school curriculumover-

haulwill come in the shapeof anewNational Curricular Frame-work for School Education (orNCFSE 2020-21),whichwill beundertaken by the NationalCouncil of Educational ResearchandTraining(NCERT).Textbookrevisionswillbeun-

dertakenbasedontheNCFSE.TheNCERThas already undertakentwoextensiverevisionsofschooltextbookssince2014.In a shift fromthe1986edu-

cationpolicy,whichpushedforauniform10+2structureofschooleducation,thenewpolicypitchesforreconfigurationofcurriculum

andpedagogyina“5+3+3+4”de-sign, with three years of pre-school, followedbyClass1and2infoundationalstageof3-8years.Followingaprotest bypoliti-

calparties,thereferencetoHindiand English in the draft NEP re-garding the three-language for-mulahasbeendroppedfromthefinalpolicydocument.“Thethreelanguageslearnedbychildrenwillbe the choices of States, regions,andof the students, so longasatleast twoof the three languagesarenativetoIndia,” itstates.

Foreign univsAmajor criticismof allowing

foreignuniversities tooperate inIndia at the timewas that theywouldraisethecostofeducationthroughhigher tuition fees andpoaching of faculty frompublicuniversities,andputitoutofreachof a large section of the popula-tion.“Alegislativeframeworkfacil-

itatingsuchentry(offoreignuni-versities)willbeputinplace,andsuch universitieswill be givenspecial dispensation regardingregulatory,governance,andcon-tentnormsonparwithotherau-tonomous institutions of India,”thenewpolicysays.The NEP cleared by the

Cabinetisonlythethirdmajorre-vampoftheframeworkofeduca-tioninIndiasinceindependence.

Thetwoearliereducationpolicieswerebroughtin1968and1986.Besides opening up Indian

highereducationtoforeignplay-ers,thenewpolicymarksasignif-icantshiftintheformatofunder-graduate education with thereintroduction of the four-yearmultidisciplinaryBachelor'spro-gramme,withexitoptions.While the traditional three-

year BA, B.Sc, andB.Vocdegreeswillcontinue,underthefour-yearprogramme,studentscanexitaf-teroneyearwithacertificate,af-tertwoyearswithadiploma,andafterthreeyearswithaBachelor'sdegree.“The4-yearmultidisciplinary

Bachelor'sprogramme,however,shallbethepreferredoptionsinceitallowstheopportunitytoexpe-riencethefullrangeofholisticandmultidisciplinaryeducationinad-dition to a focus on the chosenmajorandminorsasperthechoi-cesofthestudent,”thepolicysays.Highereducationinstitutions

willhavetheflexibilitytoofferdif-ferent designs forMaster’s pro-grammes.Studentswithathree-yearBachelor'sdegreecanpursueatwo-yearMaster'sprogramme,andforstudentswithafour-yearBachelor’sdegreewithResearch,there could be a one-yearMaster’s.ToenrollforaPh.D,aMaster’s

degreeora4-yearBachelor’sde-

greewith Research shall be re-quired. TheM.Phil programmeshallbediscontinued.TheNEP also paves theway

forasingleoverarchingregulatorfor higher education,whichwillreplace the University GrantsCommission (UGC) and the AllIndia Council For TechnicalEducation(AICTE).Thesinglereg-ulator, called the HigherEducation Commission of India(HECI),willhave“fourindepend-ent verticals” to carry out thefunctions of regulation, funding,accreditation, and setting stan-dardsforlearningoutcomes.All universities and colleges

must aim tobecomemultidisci-plinaryby2040. Evenengineer-ing institutions, such as IITs,willbe expected to move towardsmoreholistic andmultidiscipli-nary educationwithmore artsandhumanities.“Studentsofartsandhumanitieswillaimtolearnmorescienceandallwillmakeaneffort to incorporatemore voca-tionalsubjectsandsoftskills,”thedocumentsays.The newpolicy talks about

moving away “fromhigh-stakesexaminationstowardsmorecon-tinuousandcomprehensiveeval-uation”— this, evenas a contro-versyragesoveradirectionbytheunion government to all highereducationinstitutionstoholdex-amsforfinalyearstudentsamidsttheCovid-19pandemic.TheNEP,whichwill replace

the current policy that has beenin place for 34 years now, is theproduct of extensive consulta-tionswithstakeholdersacrossthecountry, Higher EducationSecretaryAmitKharesaid.“An important point is that

therewas awide consultationprocess,”Kharesaid. “Just togiveyouan idea, through theMyGovplatformweapproached all the2.5lakhgrampanchayatsfortheirsuggestions.WegotthedraftNEPtranslated into 22 languages,againtherewaswidespreadcon-sultation. Therewas a dialoguewithMPs,andtherewasaspecialmeetingof theCentral AdvisoryBoard of Education (CABE) onMay21,2019.”

RSSgovernmenthaswalked thepo-litical tightrope. Its biggest con-cessiontotheSanghismoresym-bolicthansubstantive–renamingtheHRDMinistryastheMinistryofEducation.Onsomeof theRSS’s keyde-

mands,thegovernmenthas,asofnow, kept a distance. Case inpoint:thenewNEP’sstandonthethree-languageformula.Thegovernmentdroppedthe

provisionthatstipulatedHindiasoneofthelanguagesthatstudentsshould study in Grade 6 afterprotests frompolitical parties,mainly in TamilNadu,who sawthisas“imposition”ofHindi.Theearlierversionofthedraft

NEP, submitted by theKasturi-rangancommittee, uploadedontheMinistry’swebsiteonMay31last year, read: “In keepingwiththeprincipleofflexibility,studentswhowish to change one of thethreelanguagestheyarestudyingmaydo so inGrade6, so longasthe studyof three languages bystudents in theHindi-speakingstateswouldcontinue to includeHindiandEnglishandoneof themodern Indian languages fromother parts of India, while thestudyof languagesbystudentsinthe non-Hindi-speaking stateswould include the regional lan-guage,HindiandEnglish.”However, the final policy ap-

provedbytheCabinetgivesstatesgreater flexibility and says that“nolanguagewillbeimposedonanyState”.“Thethreelanguages...willbe

thechoicesofStates,regions,andof course the students them-selves, so long as at least twoofthe three languagesarenative toIndia,”thepolicysays.Theprovisiononallowingfor-

eign universities to set up cam-puses in India has been intro-duceddespiteoppositionbyRSS

affiliateSwadeshiJagranManch.While the RSS demand on

emphasizing “ancient Indianknowledge”hasbeenincludedinthe policy, the document states"theseelementswillbe incorpo-ratedinanaccurateandscientificmanner throughout the schoolcurriculumwhereverrelevant".SpeakingtoTheIndianExpress,

RSSaffiliates said theirdemandswere accepted and they arehappywiththeNEP.SaidBalmukundPande, san-

gathanmantri of Akhil BhartiyaItihasSankalanYojna:“Whateversuggestions Igave,morethan80per cent of themhave been ac-cepted. I don’t want to tell youwhichofmysuggestionswerenotaccepted.”SaidMahendraKapoor, san-

gathanmantri of Akhil BhartiyaRashtriyaShaikshikMahasangh:“Manyofoursuggestionsareac-cepted.Once, the fullNEPdocu-ment is out, only then Iwill beable to saywhichofmy sugges-tionsarenotaccepted.”Onthedroppingof theHindi

reference in the three-languageformula, RSS sources said itwasdonewiththeirconsent.TheRSSis learned to have agreed, as acompromise,with theprovisionthatteachinguptoatleastGrade5willbeinthemothertongue/re-gional languageand thatno lan-guagewillbeimposed.

Unlockdown 3containment zones, the govern-ment has extended the severecurbsinplacetillAugust-end.“InUnlock3,whichwillcome

into effect fromAugust 1, 2020,theprocessofphasedre-openingof activities has been extendedfurther. The newguidelines, is-suedtoday,arebasedonfeedbackreceivedfromStatesandUTs,andextensiveconsultationsheldwithrelated CentralMinistries andDepartments,”theMHAsaidinastatement.“Restrictionsonmovementof

individuals during night (Nightcurfew)havebeenremoved,”thestatement said. Theprevious setofguidelineshadreducedthecur-fewperiodfrom9pm-7amto10pm-5am.While allowing gyms and

yogainstitutestoopen,theguide-lines state that theywill have toadhere to a StandardOperatingProcedure (SOP) thatwill be is-suedbytheHealthMinistrytoen-suresocialdistancing.“Afterextensiveconsultation

with States andUTs, it has beendecidedthatschools,collegesandcoachinginstitutionswillremainclosedtillAug31,2020,”theysay.“Internationalairtravelofpas-

sengers has beenpermitted in alimitedmannerundertheVandeBharatmission. Further openingupwill takeplace in a calibratedmanner,”theMHAsaid.Within containment zones,

strict perimeter controlwill bemaintainedandonlyessentialac-tivitiesallowed,theguidelinessay.

Five Rafale jetsPrimeMinister NarendraModitweeted that there is no greater“punya (virtue)”, “vrat (vow)” or“tapasya(worship)”thanprotect-ing the nation. “Nabh SparshamDeeptam (Touch The SkyWithGlory),” he added,which is alsothemottoof theIndianAirForce.“TheBirdshavelandedsafely

in Ambala,” Defence MinisterRajnath Singh said in a post onTwitter. Inwhatwas seen as aveiled reference to China, Singhadded,“Ifanyoneshouldbewor-ried about thisnewcapability ofthe IndianAir Force, it shouldbethosewhowant to threatenourterritorial integrity.”TheRafalewere escorted by

twoSukhoi30MKIsaftertheyen-tered the Indian air space andweregivenawatersaluteonland-ing.TheywerealsogreetedbytheINSKolkatawarshipintheArabiansea.“Mayyoutouchtheskywithglory,”messaged the ship to theRafaleflightformationleader.The five aircraft will be in-

ducted into the Ambala-based

No. 17 Squadron, also knownasthe‘GoldenArrows’,nextmonth.India’s lastmajor acquisition

offighterplaneswas23yearsago,whentheSukhoiswereimportedfromRussia.TheIAFisdownto31fightersquadronsagainsttheau-thorisedstrengthofatleast42.Chief of theAirStaffAirChief

MarshalRKSBhadauria andAirOfficer Commanding in ChiefWesternAirCommandAirMar-shalBSureshreceivedtheRafaleaircraftastheylandedatAmbala.Thecrewthat ferried theaircraftwas led by the CommandingOfficerofNo.17Squadron,GroupCaptainHarkiratSingh.

Gehlot govtEarlierintheevening,thestate

government had yielded to theGovernor’s direction regardinga21-daynotice for calling anAss-embly session, with the stateCabinetsendingafreshproposaltoRaj Bhawanasking for an ses-siononAugust14.LawandParliamentaryAffairs

MinisterShantiKumarDhariwaltoldTheIndianExpressthegovern-menthadchosenAugust14asthenewdate as itwill be 21 days ifcounted from July 23. “Our firstproposalwassenttotheGovernoronJuly23,”Dhariwalsaid.Raj Bhawan spokesperson

Lokesh Chandra Sharma con-firmed the Governor has ap-provedtherecommendation.On Wednesday morning,

GovernorMishrasaidtheGehlotgovernmenthadnotgivenaclearor reasonable answer toqueriesraised byhim, and returned thestate Cabinet’s recommenda-tion—thirdinaweek–seekinganAssembly session. He stood hisgroundon the need for giving a21-daynotice for calling the ses-sion,elsespecifyingthereasonforcallingitonurgentnotice.TheGovernoralsosaidensur-

ing the “freewill” ofMLAsbeingkeptatresortswithinandoutsidethestateishisresponsibility.Havingreceivedthenotefrom

Raj Bhawan,Gehlot said, “Todayalsowehave been told thatwecancall it (only) in21days…Thelove letter has arrived, now I amgoing to have teawithhim (theGovernor).Kebhaiaapneprempa-trateesribaarbhejdiya,aapchahtekyahain(Youhavesentmealoveletter for the third time,whatdoyouwant),tellus,wewillworkinthatmanner.”HewasspeakingtopartyleadersandMLAsatacere-mony in the party officewhereGovind SinghDotasra formallytookchargeasstatepresident.After this, Gehlotwent toRaj

Bhawanduringtheday,andlaterheld a cabinet meeting in theevening. Speaker C P Joshi alsomettheGovernorduringtheday.Sourcessaidthatthesetwomeet-ingswiththeGovernorwerecru-cial inbreakingthedeadlock.At the party office around

noon, Gehlot had praised hisMLAsforsittingatFairmontfor15daysandnotgettinglured,sayingthat“historyisbeingmade…beit21daysor31,wewillwin.” “Thestate and the country are askingtheGovernor,whyareyoucreat-ingahurdleincallingtheAssem-bly, this is beyond understand-ing,”hesaid. WITHENS,DELHI

Soz wife’s pleathequestionanyfurther.In her plea, Soz's wife

Mumtazunnisa had said hehadbeendetainedsinceAugust5lastyear,when the special status ofJ&K was abrogated, and thegrounds for his arrest had notbeen furnished till date. Shesaidthis amounted to “depriving thedetenuof his fundamental rightofmaking effective representa-tion guaranteed” under theConstitutionandlaws.Speaking to The Indian

Expressoverthephonefromhishouse in Srinagar, Soz, 83, saidhe had tried to leave even onWednesday. "I amat the gate, Iwanted to visit my daughterandIamnotbeingallowed,”hesaid. “Theysay theyhaven't re-ceivedanyorder(regardinglet-

ting him out). When will theyreceive the order?”Jammu and Kashmir High

CourtBarAssociationchiefMianAbdul Qayoom, who has alsobeen in detention for almost ayear, is,meanwhile, set towalkfreeonThursday,withtheUnionTerritoryadministrationassuringtheSupremeCourtof thesame.Issuing the order in the

QayoomcaseonWednesday,theSupremeCourthadawordofad-viceforthepeopleofKashmir.“Somany things happened there,which should not have hap-pened... Hope people look to-wards the future and stopwan-deringinthepast,”thecourtsaid.AppearingforMumtazunnisa,

SeniorAdvocateAbhishekManuSinghvi said though the J&Kad-ministrationaffidavit claimsSozisnot illegallydetained, thiswascontrarytofacts.CallingSoza“categorisedpro-

tectee”, the J&K administrationsaidinitsaffidavitthatSoz“neverwas under any detention” andthat “no restrictionwhatsoeverhas beenplaced on (his)move-ment”.DisposingofSoz’swife’splea,

JusticeShahdrewSinghvi’satten-tiontoparagraph10of thedocu-ment submitted by the J&K ad-ministration. As per theparagraph, “it is submitted thatnoneoftheconstitutional,funda-mentalorstatutoryrightsofProf.SaifuddinSozhavebeenviolatedor infringed”. It added that theclaims “in respect of house ar-rest/detention of Prof SaifuddinSoz are false, frivolous andbase-less ashehasnot beendetainedat all, let aloneunderprovisionsof Jammu and Kashmir PublicSafetyAct,1978,asalleged”.TheJ&Kgovernmentsubmit-

ted that as “a categorised pro-tectee”, Soz “is provided withround the clock armed guardsand Personal SecurityOfficers”.“Further,whenever he goes outfor his personal, political or offi-cial assignments, he travels inGovernmentBulletResistantve-hicleswithotherGovernmentve-hicles”.OnwhocouldvisitSoz,thead-

ministrationsaid,“Thereisnore-striction on any guests to (the)house, subject to proper check-ing... by the access control secu-ritydeployedathisresidence.”The affidavit also submitted

thatSozhadtravelledoutsideJ&K“on several occasions”, listingthree flights — on October 20,December15,andDecember20,2019— between Srinagar andNewDelhi.

IPLjusttheplayersonthefield,eventheir wives and girlfriends(WAGs), and franchise owners,willhaveto follownormsfor the“bio-bubble”thatwillbedefined.“The BCCI will not decide

whetherWAGsandfamilymem-bers can travelwith theplayers,wehave left it to the franchises.Butwehaveputoutaprotocolinwhich everyone, even teambusdrivers, can't leave the bio-bub-ble,”theofficialsaid.“TheSOPwillbehandedover to the franchisesonce we have a meeting withthemnextweek.If theyhaveanygrievances,theycancomebacktotheboardandwewilldiscussit.”TheSOPalso states that each

playerwill undergo four Covidtestsinthespanoftwoweeksbe-fore the start of the tournament.Two tests will be held in Indiaprior to departure and twodur-ingquarantineintheUAE.TheSOPhasbeenpreparedon

thelinesofnormsdevisedbytheEnglandandWalesCricketBoardfortheTestseriesagainsttheWestIndies.In thepast, playerswho rep-

resent India have joined the IPLteamsseparatelybutnosuchre-laxationwould be allowed thistime. Theywill have toenter thebio-bubblealongwiththerestoftheirsquadmembers.

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34.78LAKHRAPIDTESTSBETWEENJUNE18-JULY29

SOURAVROYBARMANNEWDELHI,JULY29

ASKINGFOR“strictcompliance”,Chief Minister Arvind KejriwalWednesday said symptomaticpeoplewhotestnegativeduringa rapid antigen test (RAT)mustbe retested using RT-PCR. Thiscame after he held a meetingwithhealthdepartmentofficialsonWednesdaymorning.“Existingguidelinessaythat

if any patient’s antigen test isnegativebuthassymptoms,RT-PCR testmustbedoneonhim. Idirectedofficerstodaytoensurestrict compliance of theseguidelines,” he tweeted.As per Delhi Health depart-

mentdata, between June18andJuly 29, 4.78 lakh rapid antigentestswere carried out. Of these,over 3.9 lakh were conductedfrom July 1-July 29. ThenumberofRT-PCRtestsconductedinthisperiodwere1.8lakh,lessthanhalfof rapidantigentests.Till July 23, 2,818 people

(showing symptoms)were re-tested throughRT-PCRmethod,ofwhich404testedpositive.Rapid antigen tests, which

provide resultswithin 30min-utes, started inDelhi on June18.While the sensitivity of RT-PCRtests is 70%, that of antigen testsis 40%. This iswhy ICMRadvisesgovernments tomake sympto-matic patients undergoing RATand testing negative to get re-testedthroughRT-PCR.While sensitivity of antigen

tests is lesser, theyarehelpful inexpandingtestingatafasterrate,especiallyincontainmentzones,health centres and among spe-cialsurveillancegroupspronetogetting infected.

OnMonday, the Delhi HighCourt had asked theDelhi gov-ernmentwhy itwas goingwithrapid antigen testing,whichhasahigherrateof falsenegativere-sults as compared to RT-PCR, astheprimarymodeof Covid test-ing. “ShouldwegobyRAT at all,instead of RT-PCR?” a bench ofJustice Hima Kohli and JusticeSubramoniumPrasadhadsaid.The National Centre for

Disease Control (NCDC) has alsowrittentotheDelhigovernmentto increase testing throughRT-PCR.Asero-surveyconductedbyNCDCrecentlyfoundover23%Delhi residents have developedantibodiesagainsttheinfection.Dr Lalit Kant, former

head (Epidemiology andCommunicable DiseasesDivision), ICMR, told The IndianExpress:“Rapidantigentestishigh

onspecificityandlowonsensitiv-ity,andcangivefalsenegatives. Ifapersonhassymptomsandtestsnegative by rapid antigen test,thenhe/she should be testedbyRT-PCR. This is basedon the factthatsensitivityofRT-PCRishigherthanthatof rapidtest.Sensitivityis the probability that a personwithdisease testspositive.Whatwedonotknowyetishowinfec-tiousisapersonwhoisrapidtestnegative and RT-PCR positive.Researchonthiswouldbeusefulforrefiningtestingstrategies.”At rapid test centres, those

whotestnegativearehandedoutsmall slips of paper, bearing thewords “this is to certify thatMr/MsNAMEhasnottestedpos-itive in theRapidDiagnosticTestfor Covid 19... if you are sympto-matic,thenyoumustcontinuetoisolateyourselfandgetanRT-PCRtestdoneasthistestdoesnotruleoutCovid-19infection”inEnglish.OnWednesday, the city saw

1,035 new cases and 26 deaths.Thetotalcaseloadisnow1,33,310andthedeathtollstandsat3,907.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,JULY29

THESUPREMECourtWednesdaywarned of contempt actionagainstIIT-Bombayafteritbackedoutof theproposed smog towerpilotproject inthecapital."Howcantheybackoutfrom

a government project?Wewilldraw contempt against them.What is thisnonsense?"abenchof Justice ArunMishra, JusticeVineetSaranandJusticeMRShahremarked after SolicitorGeneralTusharMehta informed it aboutIIT'swithdrawal."Itwas stated by the learned

Solicitor General that they havebeen unable to enter into anyagreementwithIIT-B.IIThasnowbackedout.Thesearedilly-dally-ing tactics; a violation of the or-der passed by this court has al-readybeencommitted…byIIT,"thecourtsaidinitsorder.The Indian Express had re-

ported on July 29 that the time-lineforsettinguptwosmogtow-ersinDelhi--atAnandViharand

ConnaughtPlace--willhavetoberevisedasIIT-Bombay,whichwasheading the pilot project, has"backed out". Coming downheavilyontheinstitute,thebenchsaid,"WehavetoproceedagainstIIT-B aswell as against personsconcerned for violating thiscourt's order and backing outfromthebasisof theorder..."The court's referencewas to

its January13direction to set upsmog towers in the capital tocombat increasingairpollution."It isnotexpectedof such in-

stitutions to act in themannerprojected in amatter relating topublicinterest. It isshockingthatsuchconductisprojectedbysuchapublic functionary," itsaid.Stating that it is "not at all

happywith the state of affairs",the court directed that its order"be complied with forthwith,otherwise itwouldbetakense-riously".ThebenchaskedMehtato call the official concernedfromIIT-Btoexplainitsconduct.The SG sought a day's time, fol-lowingwhich the court postedthematter for Thursday.Mehta also told the bench

thatauthoritiesareintalkswithIIT-Delhi and NationalEnvironmental EngineeringResearch Institute (NEERI) forthe project.Meanwhile, theUnionEnvironmentMinistryandCentral Pollution Control Boardtold thecourt inanaffidavit thattheyhadconvenedameetingonJuly27withIIT-Delhi,NEERIandNBCCLtdand they "haveagreedtotakeuptheproject". Itsaidthefurtherdiscussionswereneededonavailabledesigns.

North body sends notice to Atishi,Chadha over ‘corruption’ attack

*Total active cases

CORONAVIRUS IN THECAPITAL

TOTAL CASES

1,33,310Total Vacant

HOSPITAL BEDS 16,038 13,080VENTILATORS 1,207 811

Dailycases Recoveries Deaths TestsJuly 28 1,056 1,135 28 18,544July 29 1,035 1,126 26 17,392Total 10,770* 1,18,633 3,907 9,94,219

Complywith protocolon antigen tests: CM

Sensitivityof RT-PCR tests is70%, that of antigen tests is40%. Abhinav Saha

Smog tower project: SC warnsIIT-Bombay of contempt

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,JULY29

NORTH MCD'S leader of theHouse Yogesh Kumar VermaservedalegalnoticetoAAPMLAsAtishi and Raghav Chadha overtheir allegations that the civicbody has been unable to paysalaries tohealthcareworkersatits hospitals because of "corrup-tion". Both shot back at a pressconference, saying theywill notbesilenced.Verma threatened civil and

criminaldefamationproceedingsagainst the two leaders, sayingtheyare liabletopayRs1crore ifthey do not issue unconditionalapologiesinaweek.Verma,inthelegal notice, claimed theMCD'searnings fromproperty tax dur-ingthelastquarterof2019-20re-ducedby over 53% compared tothe corresponding quarter in2018-19. In the notice, Vermaconcededthecivicbodyisnotleftwith sufficient funds to paysalaries to "some doctors and

healthworkers" due to thedropin incomebetween January andJune2020andDelhigovernment"withholding" its dues to theMCD.He said the statements byAtishiandChadhacontain"reck-less imputations likely to affect"hisreputation.AtishitoldTheIndianExpress:

"He himself conceded theMCDcouldnotpaydoctorsandhealth-careworkers. TheDelhi govern-ment, in an affidavit in the HC,saidithasclearedalldues;wearenot saying this.Where has themoney gone? Secondly, against

howmany peoplewill they filedefamation notices? CAG haspointed out irregularities, a for-merNorthMCD commissionerhassaidso.EverycitizenofDelhiholdstheMCDascorrupt."ChadhasaidtheBJPshouldtry

andfindasinglepersonwhobe-lievesthecivicbodiesarenotdensofcorruption:“BJPleadersManojTiwari andVijay Goel have alsocalledMCD corrupt in the past.Will he (Kumar) file defamationsuits against them aswell?Wewill hit the streets and go to thepeopleagainstthisnotice.”

The IndianExpress reportdated July29

Registered Office: Bombay House, 24, Homi Mody Street,Fort, Mumbai - 400 001, India

Tel.: +91 22 6665 8282E-mail: cosec@tatasteel.com Website: www.tatasteel.com

CIN: L27100MH1907PLC000260

THNOTICE OF THE 113 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, E-VOTING AND BOOK CLOSURE

thNOTICE is hereby given that the 113 Annual General Meeting ('AGM') of the Members of Tata Steel Limited (the 'Company') will be held on Thursday, August 20, 2020 at

3:00 p.m. (IST) via two-way Video Conferencing ('VC facility')/Other Audio-Visual Means ('OAVM') ONLY to transact the businesses as set out in the Notice of the AGM.

In accordance with the General Circulars issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs dated April 8, 2020, April 13, 2020 and May 5, 2020 (collectively called 'MCA Circulars')th

and the Securities and Exchange Board of India Circular dated May 12, 2020 ('SEBI Circular'), the Company has sent the Notice of the 113 AGM along with the link for theth th

5 Integrated Report &113 AnnualAccounts of the Company for the Financial Year 2019-20 (the 'Integrated Report') on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, through electronic mode

only, to those Members whose e-mail addresses are registered with the Company/Registrars and Transfer Agent ('RTA'), TSR Darashaw Consultants Private Limited

('TSR')/Depositories. The requirement of sending physical copies of the Integrated Report has been dispensed with vide MCACirculars and SEBI Circular.

The e-copy of the Notice of the AGM along with the Integrated Report of the Company is available on the website of the Company

at https://www.tatasteel.com/media/12381/tata-steel-ir.pdf and may also be accessed from the relevant section of the websites of the Stock Exchanges i.e. BSE Limited

('BSE') and National Stock Exchange of India Limited ('NSE') at www.bseindia.com and www.nseindia.com respectively. The AGM Notice is also available on the website of

National Securities Depositories Limited ('NSDL') at www.evoting.nsdl.com.

Remote E-Voting:

In compliance with Section 108 of the Companies Act, 2013 ('Act') read with Rule 20 of the Companies (Management and Administration) Rules, 2014, Regulation 44 of the

Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, and the Secretarial Standard on General Meetings ('SS-2')

issued by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, each as amended from time to time, the Company is providing to its Members, the facility of remote e-voting before the

AGM and during the AGM in respect of the businesses to be transacted at the AGM and for this purpose, the Company has appointed NSDL to facilitate voting through

electronic means.

The detailed instruction for remote e-voting are given in the Notice ofAGM. Members are requested to note the following:

a. The remote e-voting facility would be available during the following period:

Commencement of remote e-voting From 9:00 a.m. (IST) on Sunday, August 16, 2020

End of remote e-voting At 5:00 p.m. (IST) on Wednesday, August 19, 2020

The remote e-voting module will be disabled by NSDL thereafter and Members will not be allowed to vote electronically beyond thesaid date and time;

b. The voting rights of the Members shall be in proportion to their share of the paid-up equity share capital of the Company as on Thursday, August 13, 2020

('Cut-Off Date'). The facility of remote e-voting shall also be made available during the Meeting and the Members attending the Meeting, who have not already cast their

vote by remote e-voting shall be able to exercise their right during the Meeting. A person whose name is recorded in the Register of Members / Register of Beneficial

Owners as on the Cut-Off Date only shall be entitled to avail the facility of remote e-voting before / during theAGM.

c. Any person who acquires shares and becomes a Member of the Company after the dispatch of the Notice of AGM and holds shares as of the cut-off date i.e. Thursday,

August 13, 2020, may obtain the login ID and password for remote e-voting by sending a request to NSDL at evoting@nsdl.co.in or may contact the toll-free number

provided by NSDL: 1800-222-990.Aperson who is not a Member as on the cut-off date should treat the Notice of theAGM for information purpose only.

d. The Members who have already cast their votes by remote e-voting prior to the AGM will have right to participate at the AGM but shall not be entitled to cast their votes

again on such resolution(s) for which the Member has already cast the vote through remote e-voting prior to theAGM.

e. Members who need assistance before or during the AGM can contact NSDL on evoting@nsdl.co.in/1800-222-990 or contact

Mr.Amit Vishal, Senior Manager – NSDLat amitv@nsdl.co.in/022-24994360 or Mr. Sanjeev Yadav,Assistant Manager-NSDLat sanjeevy@nsdl.co.in/022-24994553.

As per the SEBI Circular, no physical copies of the Notice of the AGM and Integrated Report will be sent to Members. Members who have not registered their e-mail

addresses are requested to follow the process mentioned below before 5:00 p.m. (IST) on Thursday, August 13, 2020, for registering their e-mail addresses to receive the

Notice ofAGM and Integrated Report electronically and to receive login ID and password for e-Voting:

I. For Members who hold shares in Electronic form:

a) Visit the link: https://green.tsrdarashaw.com/green/events/login/tib) Enter the DP ID & Client ID, PAN details and captcha codec) System will verify the Client ID and PAN detailsd) On successful verification, system will allow you to enter your e-mail address and mobile numbere) Enter your e-mail address and mobile numberf) The system will then confirm the e-mail address for the limited purpose of service of the AGM Notice & Integrated Report

II. For Members who hold shares in Physical form:a) Visit the link: https://green.tsrdarashaw.com/green/events/login/tib) Enter the physical Folio Number, PAN details and captcha codec) In the event the PAN details are not available on record, Member to enter one of the share certificate's numberd) System will verify the Folio Number and PAN details or the share certificate numbere) On successful verification, system will allow you to enter your e-mail address and mobile numberf) Enter your e-mail address and mobile numberg) If PAN details are not available, the system will prompt the Member to upload a self-attested copy of the PAN cardh) The system will then confirm the e-mail address for the purpose of service of theAGM Notice & Integrated Report

Updation of Bank account details:

Members who have not updated their bank account details for receiving the dividend directly in their bank accounts through Electronic Clearing Service or any

other means may follow the below instructions to do so:

Demat Holding

Physical Holding Send hard copies of the following details/documents to the Company's RTA, viz. TSR Darashaw Consultants Private Limited (`TSR’), (formerly TSR

Darashaw Limited) at 6-10, Haji Moosa Patrawala Industrial Estate (Near Famous Studio), 20, Dr. E. Moses Road, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai 400 011,

latest by Friday, July 31, 2020:

a. a signed request letter mentioning your name, folio number(s), complete address and following details relating to Bank Account in which the

dividend is to be received:

i) Name and Branch of Bank and BankAccount type;

ii) BankAccount Number & Type allotted by your Bank after implementation of Core Banking Solutions;

iii) 11 digit IFSC Code.

b. Cancelled cheque in original bearing the name of the Member or first holder, in case shares are held jointly;

c. self-attested copy of the PAN Card; and

d. self-attested copy of any document (such as Aadhaar Card, Driving Licence, Election Identity Card, Passport) in support of the address of the

Member as registered with the Company

The Members who are unable to receive the dividend directly in their bank account through Electronic Clearing Service or any other means, due to non-registration of the

Electronic Bank Mandate, the Company shall dispatch the dividend warrant/Bankers' cheque/demand draft to such Members, upon normalization of postal services and

other activities.

Mr. P. N. Parikh (FCS: 327) or failing him, Ms. Jigyasa Ved (Membership No. FCS 6488) and failing her, Mr. Mitesh Dhabliwala (Membership No. FCS 8331) of

M/s Parikh & Associates, Practising Company Secretaries, have been appointed as the Scrutinizer to scrutinize the remote e-voting process before and during the AGM

in a fair and transparent manner.

The results of the remote e-voting before and during the AGM shall be declared not later than 48 hours from the conclusion of the AGM. The results declared along with

Scrutinizer's Report will be placed on the Company's website www.tatasteel.com and on website of NSDL www.evoting.nsdl.com and website of Stock Exchanges i.e. BSE

Limited ('BSE') and National Stock Exchange of India Limited ('NSE') at www.bseindia.com and www.nseindia.com respectively.

Book Closure and Dividend:

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN pursuant to Section 91 of theAct and the Rules framed thereunder, as amended from time to time, that the Register of Members and the Share

Transfer Books of the Company (for both, fully paid-up and partly paid-up Ordinary Shares) will be closed from Saturday, August 8, 2020 to Thursday, August 20, 2020 (both

days inclusive) for the purpose of payment of dividend for Financial Year 2019-20. The dividend of 10/- per fully paid-up Ordinary (equity) Share of 10/- each (100%) and

`2.504 per partly paid-up Ordinary (equity) Share of 10/- each (paid-up `2.504 per share) (100%), if declared by the Members at theAGM, will be paid subject to deduction of

income-tax at source ('TDS') on and from Monday,August 24, 2020 as under:

• In respect of Ordinary Shares held in physical

To all the Members, after giving effect to valid transmission and transposition in respect of valid requests lodged with the Company as on close of business hours on Friday,

August 7, 2020.

• In respect of Ordinary Shares held in electronic form:

To all beneficial owners of the shares, as on the close of business hours on Friday,August 7, 2020, as per details furnished by the Depositories for this purpose.

Members are requested to immediately notify any change in their address and/or Bank Mandate details to their respective DPs for shares held in demat form and to the

Company's RTA- TSR Darashaw Consultants Private Limited for shares held in physical form at the following address:

TSR Darashaw Consultants Private LimitedUnit: Tata Steel Limited6-10, Haji Moosa Patrawala IndustrialEstate (Near Famous Studio), 20, Dr. E. Moses Road,Mahalaxmi, Mumbai 400 011

` `

`

form:

Tata Steel LimitedSd/-

Parvatheesam KanchinadhamCompany Secretary &

Chief Legal Officer (Corporate & Compliance)(ACS: A15921)

July 29, 2020

Mumbai

Members holding shares in demat form are requested to update their Electronic Bank Mandate with their respective DPs.

0-50 Good

ANANDVIHARSatisfactory

0 500

74AQI

Pollutant:OZONE

SIRIFORTSatisfactory

0 500

SHADIPURModerate

0 500 500

51-100 Satisfactory 101-200 Moderate 201-300 Poor 301-400 VeryPoor 401-500 Severe

DWARKA- SECTOR8Satisfactory

0

86AQIPM:10

111AQIPM:10

92AQIPM:10

Atishi,Chadhaatthepressconference,Wednesday.AmitMehra

New Delhi

JIGNASASINHANEWDELHI, JULY29

AN AYURVEDA doctor, who issuspectedbypolicetohavebeenthemastermindbehind at least50murdersof taxidrivers intheearly 2000s, andwhose associ-ates used to dump bodies in acanalinfestedwithcrocodilestogetridofevidence,wasarrestedin Delhi Wednesday — sixmonths after he jumped parolewhile serving a life sentence attheCentral Jail in Jaipur.AccordingtoDelhiPolice,Dr

Devendra Sharma (62)was ar-rested from his residence inDelhi’sBaprola.Hewasalsobe-hind an illegal kidney trans-plant racket in the 1990s withanetworkspreadacross Jaipur,Ballabhgarh and Gurgaon, po-lice said.“After jumping parole in

Jaipur,hewentbacktohisnativevillage, then moved to Delhi,wherehemarriedawidow,andstartedlivingwithherinBaprola.He started a property business,andevenmediatedforthesaleofabuildinginConnaughtPlacetoapersoninJaipur.This,too,wasacheating scam,” DCP (CrimeBranch)RakeshPaweriyasaid.The DCP said it was while

gathering information of“wanted criminals in the area”that aDelhi Police Inspector gotinformation that Sharma wasliving in Baprola. “We receivedinformation about him aweek

ago. A teamhad been deployedtosearchhimthen,” saidpolice.Police said hewas calm and

didn’t try to run. His interroga-tion started on Tuesday after-noon and lasted till the earlyhours of Wednesday. Whenaskedaboutmediareportsfromback in the day about him hav-ing been involved in 100mur-ders,heislearnttohavetoldpo-lice: “I lost count after 50... itmight have been 100. It is noteasy to remember.”“Hewasarrested forseveral

murder cases in 2002-04 andwas convicted in 6-7 cases. Hewas released on parole for 20days after staying in Jaipur’sCentral Jail for 16 years,” saidtheDCP.HesaidhecametoDelhibe-

cause hewanted to start a newlifeand livepeacefully.Sharmawashandedlifeterm

fortheabductionandmurderofacabdriver inGurgaon in2002.Malini Agarwal, Additional

DG (Rajasthan Jails), told TheIndianExpress: “Hewasgrantedparole on January 28 and was

supposed to come back onFebruary 16 but he went toAligarhanddidn’treturn.Parolewas granted by the district col-lector after a lot of verification,andSharmawasreleasedonthebasisofhisconductinthejail.HehasbeenarrestedinDelhiandisinTihar Jail.”According to a police officer

in Delhi, Sharma obtained hisBAMSdegree inBiharwherehebegan runninghis own clinic in1984. In 1994, he suffered a fi-nancial setback of Rs 11 lakhwhenheinvestedinagasdealer-ship scheme after he gotscammed.“Ayearlater,hisforayintothe

world of crime beganwhen hestarted running a fake gasagency. Around the same time,he also began the illegal kidneytransplant racket. During inter-rogation,hedisclosedthat from1994-2004, he got more than125 kidney transplants done il-legally forwhichhewaspaidRs5-7 lakheach,” theofficer said.The doctor ran his clinic on

andoff till 2003,whenhegot intouch with men who used tohiretaxis,andkillthedriversatasecludedplace.“Theyusedtodumpthebod-

ies on the way to Aligarh inHazaracanal,Kasganj,whichhadcrocodiles, andhence therewasno chance of retrieval. Sharmaused to sell the taxis in KasganjordismantletheminMeerutandmakeaboutRs25,000per vehi-cle,” saidanofficer.

SOMYALAKHANINEWDELHI,JULY29

AWEEKago,whennursing offi-cerBhanuSharmawasondutyatLok Nayak Hospital's Covid-19ICU,hegotacallfromayoungpa-tient’shusbandthatmadethe30-year-oldtearup—andsignupforplasmadonation. “Thepatient isin her 30s... her husband re-questedmetosomehowsaveheras they have a two-year-olddaughter.Ihaveadaughterofthesameagetoo.IrealisedthatapartfromCovidduty,Imustdoevery-

thing elsepossible to save lives,”saidSharma,whohadtestedpos-itiveforthevirusonJune13.On Monday, he donated

plasma for the first time at LokNayak,wherehehasbeenwork-ing at since 2014. “I was hospi-talisedasIhadtroublebreathingandfever...Ihavebeenonthatbedso I know what it feels like.Donating plasmawas themostobviousdecision,”saidSharma.For the last three days, Lok

Nayak’s nursing officers havebeendonatingplasmaatacamporganised by theNurses’ Union,said union head Jeemol Shaji.

“Over 90 nursing officers testedpositivewhile on duty servingCovidpatients.All thosewhore-coveredandfitthedonationcrite-rionaredoingtheirbit.Wehopeto inspiremore people to comeforward,”saidShaji.Amongthedonorswasnurs-

ingofficerSurendraKumarYadav(31),whowasasymptomaticandrecovered bymid-June. A fatherof two, Yadav said, “While onCovid duty, I heard of youngpa-tients succumbing to the virus,somedidn’tgetplasmatherapy...Iknowthesuccessofthetherapyisdebatablebutifmyplasmacan

saveevenone life, Iwill considermyself lucky.”

Yadavdecidedthatassoonashe develops enough antibodies,

he would donate plasma. OnMonday,hewasthefirst in line.OnWednesday, itwas nurs-

ingofficerPradeepBarwar'sturnto donate plasma. The 33-year-old had recoveredmid-June butthedeathofafewacquaintancesdue to Covid shook him up: “Ican’t say if theywouldhave sur-vived if plasmawas given but Ihad todomybit forothers. Iwilldonateagainif Igetthechance.”The campalso sawanursing

officer fromSafdarjungHospitalonTuesday.AthulRavi(26)joinedSafdarjungonMay30andtestedpositive for the virus on June23.

After recovering and rejoiningduty,Ravigottoknowofapatient— fromhis home state, Kerala—whoneededplasma.“WehaveaWhatsAppgroupofKeralitesandsomeone posted about the pa-tientandasked if I coulddonate.SoIwenttodonate,”hesaid.In a bid to bridge the gapbe-

tweenCovidpatientsandplasmadonors,aWhatsAppgroupcalled‘Abhayam’ (meaning ‘shelter’ inMalayalam), comprising 200nursingofficersandotherstaffatAIIMS,hascometotheirrescue.Coordinator Joseph C T (41)

said, “Thegrouphasbeenactive

for a fewmonths now andwasaimedatprovidinghelptoneedypatientsoutsideAIIMS;thenwerealisedtherewasalackofbloodinbloodbanks,sowestartedco-ordinatingthat.Forafewweeksnow,we have been helping pa-tientsgetplasma.”In the group, messages of

“plasmaneeded”areshared,andnurseswhohave recovered do-nate or spread theword. “Lastweek, an AIIMS nurse donatedplasma and so did his brother,who is not anAIIMS employee...Wewantmore people to comeforward,”saidJoseph.

4THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,JULY30,2020

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

RAIN CHECKAtRajghat,Wednesday.Rain lashedpartsofDelhi-NCR,bringingrelief fromthesultryweather. PraveenKhanna

SUKRITABARUAHNEWDELHI, JULY29

FORKASHMIRA’Sfamily,educat-ing their daughter Rukhsana inan English-medium privateschool was an aspiration theyhadachievedbypullingtogethertheir income from scrap collec-tion. But reeling under financialduress,they—likemanyfamiliesacross Delhi — are now lookingtoswitchtoagovernmentschool.Unable to pay fees for

months because of shrinkingincomes, lost jobs and reducedwork, manyworking class andlower middle-class familiesacross the city who had en-rolledtheirchildrenin low-costprivate schools are discoveringthat paying for schooling is nolonger something they can fitinto their diminished house-hold budgets.Before the lockdown,

Kashmira'shusbandwouldearnRs 7,000-8,000 amonth by col-lecting and selling scrap, andfrom that theywould set asideRs 2,135 permonth to educate10-year-old Rukhsana in anEnglish-mediumprivate schoolnear theirhome inSeemapuri.Since the lockdown, he has

notbeenabletoearnmorethanRs 2,000 a month — even less

than the school fee. Kashmirahas visited the governmentschoolnearherhometoenquireabout admissions, butwas toldtherearenoseatsintheEnglish-mediumsection inclassV.“Wereally can’t doanything

right now. The school has beenasking us about fees butwe arebarelybeingabletoputtogethermealsforthefamily.Idon'tthinkI have an option other than en-rollingmydaughter foraHindi-medium seat, even though shehas studied in Englishmediumsince nursery. We ourselvesnever studied andwant her tostudy well and get a good job.Once she's enrolled, at least I'llhave the comfort of knowingthatshecancontinuestudying,”saidKashmira.InthecaseofSarla,wholives

in a jhuggi in Sunder Nagri andwhose husbandworks as a TVmechanic, it's not one but twochildren who she is looking totransfer.“Luckily,mymiddlesonisan

EWSstudentinaprominentpri-vate school sowe don’t have topayhis fees.Wehavebeenpay-ing for schoolingmy two othersons—Rs500foroneinnurseryandRs1,600foranother inclassVIII — because we didn’t wantthemtofallbehind,but thathasbecome impossible to sustain,”

shesaid.Despite families looking to

change their children's schools,they have not yet been able tobecause 'non-plan admissions'in Delhi government schoolshavenotyetbegun. ‘Planadmis-sions’—whichisthemasstrans-ferof childrenfromfeederMCDorprivateschoolstopartnergov-ernment schools at entry-levelclasses — began in June and isclose tocompletion.However, ‘non-plan admis-

sion’—whichisadmissionof in-dividual schools at differentclasses—havenotyetbeennoti-fied.ThisprocessusuallybeginsinApril,which iswhen the aca-demicsessionbeganthisyearin

governmentschoolsthroughre-mote learning.InthecaseofSumeetUppal,a

singlemotherwhosupportsherdaughter's education by takingtuition classes, this hasmeantthat her daughter has not beenpartof anyschoolsinceMarch.“My daughter studied in a

privateschoolinPunjabiBaghtillclass VIII. I had already plannedto shift her to a governmentschool inclass IXbecause itwasexpensive forme, but the lock-down started inMarch and thetransfercouldn’tbedone.Whenthe schoolbeganonline classes,they asked for fees. I said I can’tpay because none ofmy tuitionclassesarehappeninganymore,

and asked for a transfer certifi-cate. Since then, there has beenno update about admissionsopeningingovernmentschools.I went to the nearby one at thebeginningof Julytoenquire,buttheheadof the school said theyhaven't received anydirections.So I've been teaching her athome,” shesaid.This flux in schools also ex-

tends to thosewhohave taughtat Delhi government schools,likeguestteacherswhohavenotbeencalledfordutyorpaidsinceMay8.Sunil Shastri, who taught

Sanskrit inagovernmentschoolin Shastri Nagar, has been un-employed for threemonthsbe-cause of this, and is now tryingto remove his daughter from aprivate school in Shastri Nagarand enroll her in a governmentschool in his village inRajasthan’s Jaipur district,where he has returned for thetimebeing.“I haven't been able to pay

the fee of Rs 1,950 for monthsnow. It’s evendifficult forme togetaschoolleavingcertificateasthey’re askingme to clear twomonths fees before that. I don’twant a year of her education tobe ruined because of my em-ployment uncertainty,” saidShastri,who isa singleparent.

SurendraKumar(left)andBhanuSharmadonateplasma

DrDevendraSharma(62)is suspectedtobebehind50murdersof taxidrivers intheearly2000s

SAKSHIDAYALGURGAON,JULY29

THE HARYANA ForestDepartmenthasemployedaerialseeding technique to improvegreencoverintheAravalliareaofFaridabad.According toofficials,themethod involves sprayingseedballsorseedpellets—seedscoveredwith amixture of clay,compost,char,andothercompo-nents—fromtheair.InFaridabad,these will be dispersed using“seedingdrones”developedbyastartupincubatedat IIT-Kanpur.“Inthecontextof theAravalli

region...,thiswillbespeciallyuse-fulsincetherearemanyareasthatareeitherdifficult to reachor in-accessiblealtogether,makingtra-ditionalmethods of plantationdifficult,”saidanofficialfromtheFaridabadforestdepartment.Principal Chief Conservator

of Forests Dr Amarinder Kaursaidthisproject isbeingdoneinHaryana on a pilot basis “to re-generate the low vegetationdensityordenudedareason in-accessible or difficult sites” ofAravalli andShivalikhills.Themethod of plantation is

beingimplementedon100acresof landduringthepilotphase“totest efficacy of the seed disper-sal mechanism and review thesuccess rate”. It was imple-mented in Yamunanagar andMahendragarhearlier in July.“Itwill alsoprovideworkop-

portunities to the local commu-nity,especiallywomen,whocanpreparetheseedballs,”shesaid.The species that will be

planted in the Aravalli areas in-clude Acacia senegal (Khairi),Ziziphusmauritiana (Beri), andHolarrhena spp (Inderjo), all ofwhich have a higher chance ofsurvival in these areas. Officialssaid“sitespecific”grassseedswillalsobe added to themix as they

serveasgoodsoilbinders.The seedingdrone is capable

ofcarrying2kgofseedsatatime.It isequippedwitha“precisede-liverymechanism” for seeds ofdifferent sizes,which it drops atpredetermined intervals fromaheight of 25 to 50metres. A sin-gledrone,officialssaid,canplant20,000-30,000seedsaday.Under phase 1 of the planta-

tion in Faridabad, a five hectare

areainthedistrict’sBadkhalareawillbetargetted.“The drones will disperse

5,000seedsperhectare.Survivalrateinthissortofplantationtendsto be low, less than 50%. So, thepoint of planting such a highquantity is that, even if the sur-vival rate is 20%, we will have1,000 trees,” said AdditionalPrincipal Chief Conservator ofForests,VinodKumar.

Students of class 9, 11 get second shot topass exam — via projects, assignments

UNABLETOAFFORDFEES,MANYLOOKTOGOVTSCHOOLSFORADMISSION

Jobs shrink, some parents considermoving kids out of private schools

WHATISAERIALSEEDING?Aplantationtechniquewhereinseedballs—seedscoveredwithmixtureofclay, compost, charandothercomponents—aresprayedusingaerialdevices, includingplanes,helicoptersordrones.

HOWDOESITWORK?Seedsballs/pelletsaredispersedinatargetedareabylow-flyingdrones,withthecoatingprovidingtherequiredweightforseedstoairdroponapre-determinedlocationratherthangettingdeterredbythewind.Thesepelletssproutwhenthereisenoughrain,withnutrientspresentwithinthemhelpingininitialgrowth.

WHATAREITSADVANTAGES?Areasthatareinaccessible,havingsteepslopesornoforestroutes,canbetargetedusingthismethod.Theprocessof theseed’sgerminationandgrowthissuchthatitrequiresnoattentionafterit isdispersed—thereasonwhy

seedpelletsareknownasthe“fireandforget”wayofplantation.Theyeliminateanyneedforploughinganddiggingholesinthesoilanddonotneedtobeplantedsincetheyarealreadysurroundedbysoil,nutrients,andmicroorganisms.Theclayshellalsoprotectsthemfrombirds,antsandrats.

WHATKINDOFSPECIESCANBEDISPERSED?Thosenativetotheareaandhardy,withseeds thatareof anappropriatesizeforpreparingseedballs,withahighersurvivalpercentage.Officials say itiscritical that thetimingoftheseedingbecorrect.

INTERVENTION FROMABOVE

TheseedingdronehasbeendevelopedbyanIIT-Kanpurstartup

Non-planadmissionsusuallybegin inApril.But ithasbeendelayedthisyear.Archive

SUKRITABARUAHNEWDELHI, JULY29

STUDENTS IN Delhi whowereunable topass their class IXandXI final exams this year will begiven “one last opportunity” toclearthegradethroughprojectsandassignments inAugust.As schools across the coun-

trywereclosedinMarch, justastheywereconductingorhadjustconcluded their final exams, allstudents up to class VIII werepromoted to thenextclass.However, the CBSE had di-

rected that all class IX and XIstudentswhofailedtoclear theexamsbegivenanotheroppor-

tunity to be promoted to thenew grade through eitherinternal tests, projects or as-signments.On Tuesday, the Delhi gov-

ernmentissuedacircularthatitsschools are to set assignmentsand projects for all such stu-dents, and also stated that pri-vate recognised schools, whichhad not conducted their re-examsofar,“mayalsofollowtheaforesaid procedure to assessstudentsof their schools”.This provision extends to all

students of these grades whocould not pass — regardless ofhowmanysubjectstheyfailedtoclear, orhowmanytimes.These assignments are to be

set digitally by subject teachersof the respective schools byAugust 7. The students are tosubmit the completed assign-mentsbyAugust18.Thecircularis also very particular about thecontentof theassignments.“While allotting the assign-

ment/project,itmustbeensuredbythesubjectteacherthatwordshurting religious sentiments re-lated to caste, contradictorystatementhavingdoublemean-ing, and name of god/goddess,etc shouldnotbe thepart of theassignment/project,” it reads.Thedetailed instructions for

the assignments also includeprovisions for studentswhoarenotcurrently inDelhi and those

whose families do not have ac-cess todigitaldevices.“Students who are not in

Delhi at present can also submittheir completed assignments/project reports through digitalmeans in soft copy. All Heads ofSchoolsmustmonitorandensurethat if thestudentshavenodigi-tal device, the assignment /proj-ect tosuchstudentsbeallotedinhardcopybycallingtheirparentsatschool,” thecircularsays.Like theCBSE, theDelhigov-

ernment also emphasised thatthisprovisionisjusta“one-timeopportunity being extendedonly in the current year in viewof theunprecedentedconditionof Covid-19”.

‘MUST DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO SAVE LIVES’

From Covid ward to plasma bank, nurses in capital go the extra mile

Aerial seeding to increasegreen cover in Aravallis

ManheldforthreateningpoliceteamNewDelhi:Amedicalrep-resentativewas arrestedforallegedlyrobbingRs85from an autorickshawdriver and later threaten-ing police with a gun inDefence Colony. DCP(South) Atul KumarThakur said that the ac-cused allegedly threat-enedtokillhimselfwhenpolicetriedtonabhim.

GovttoldtoreleasefundstopaydoctorsNewDelhi:TheDelhiHighCourt Wednesday toldthe Delhi government toreleasethefundsrequiredtopaystipendsofresidentdoctors in the six hospi-tals run by North MCDwithin15days.

CM,L-GmeetNewDelhi:AdayaftertheDelhiCabinetrejectedthepanel of the Delhi Policeto argue riots cases inSC and HC, CM ArvindKejriwal met L-G AnilBaijal. The two are learnttohavediscussedthedis-puteover the issue.ENS

AwarenessdriveonquakesNewDelhi:Asthecitywit-nessed around 18 mildtremors since April, theDelhi governmentWednesday launched anawareness campaign onstepstobetakeninsuchasituation.PTI

BRIEFLY

Doc behind ‘50 murders’held after skipping parole

New Delhi

THE OLD saying, “Change is theonly constant in life,” could nothave been more relevant thanwhat it is today during the COVID-

19 pandemic. The change society is wit-nessing across the globe has far morewider ramifications than were ever visu-alized.The way of thinking, working, socialbehavior and interaction are being trans-formed across the globe, and we Indiansare no exception. The changes are im-pacting not only India’s socio-economicand political life but also psychologicaland mental well-being of its citizens.

In the absence of any effective knownacquired immunity or preventive safe-guard such as the anti-SARS COV-2 drug,the only available option for us to handlethis pandemic is to keep each individualat a safe distance from one anotherthrough social distancing.The advisory forit has been defined by the Centre of Dis-ease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA,and recommends that people should stayat least 6 feet apart from each other.

Clearly, social distancing is pivotal tothe preventive measures advocated byvarious academic advisories and regula-tory bodies and their experts. However,these measures impact a country’s econ-omy, especially in lockdowns. Globally, alarge number of people have lost theirjobs and livelihoods, and are feeling asense of deep uncertainty — how longthe pandemic will last and its outcome

and the fear of getting infected with coro-navirus.

Over and above the economic turmoil,people now have signs of increased psy-chological distress and suffering. TheCOVID-18 pandemic is now posing atremendous challenge to people’s mentalhealth and well-being.The emerging crisishas triggered a wide variety of psycho-logical problems, such as anxiety and de-pression. According to one study, nearlyone-third of people surveyed had experi-enced varying degree of psychologicaldistress due to pandemic.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemicstruck the world, the rapid industrializa-tion, pollution and fast pace of life wereidentified as the cause of the widespreadproblem of mental illnesses includingloneliness. These illnesses spread as epi-demic across the globe, including India.The Lancet, a well-regarded medical jour-nal published from the UK, put out a re-port titled “The burden of mental disor-ders across the states in India:The GlobalBurden of Disease Study 1990-2017.” Itwas released in February 2020. The au-thors claim that nearly 197 million Indi-ans were suffering from mental disorders,including 45·7 million reported to havedepressive disorders, and 44·9 millionwere suffering with anxiety disorders.Other nations reported a rise in similarmental disorders, and it is believed thattoday nearly 264 million of the world’spopulation suffers fromdepression.

The World Health Organization (WHO)has also warned that mental health prob-lems will be the main cause of disabilityin the world in 2030. Now people, alreadysuffering from mental health conditionsare being adversely affected by the emo-tional responses elicited by COVID-19pandemic. This is resulting in further de-terioration of their existing mental healthconditions due to chronic stress, causedby economic and psychological turmoil.Besides, those people are not gettingtimely health services like therapy andmedication because of disruption inhealth services across the country.

The feeling of loneliness is another se-

rious mental health issue, with a risingnumber of the global population becom-ing more isolated and lonelier. It is esti-mated that about 9% of the populationof Japan, 22% of the population of theUSA, and 23% of the UK population al-ways or often feel lonely. Even in Indiawhere the joint family structure is stillwidely intact, senior citizens are now in-creasingly left to live alone, and hardlyany relatives or anyone close to themvisit. In this disintegrating society, theolder generation rarely speak to their rel-atives on the phone and have no one togive them company or to have conversa-tions with them.

Due to fear of being infected and get-ting others infected, the older generation

is forced stay alone in their homes. Theworst hit is those who were largely caredfor by social and voluntary services.Clearly, the feeling of loneliness, duringthe COVID-19 pandemic, is expected tomake this vulnerable population highlysusceptible to mental disorders. Unfortu-nately, large per cent of people dying be-cause of COVID-19 belong to elder pop-ulation already suffering from otherserious illnesses like diabetes, cancer andheart ailments. Moreover, governmentmachinery especially medical fraternity ispre-occupied with COVID-19 cases andthey have no time and resources to lookafter the people having mental illnessand other ‘lonely’ elders.They are gettingbadly neglected.

Technology and social media havebrought some relief but it is a doubleedge weapon. For those who have accessto technology and know how to use it, itcan to some extent mitigate the impactof social distancing.As for the elder pop-ulation, the adverse impact of social iso-lation can be negated by regular phoneconversations and messaging by thosewho are perceived as close relatives. Thisgroup of people may be their siblings,children and grandchildren or friends,neighbours and caregivers. Having audio-visual communication through social plat-forms like Skype and Facetime and beingpart of a joint interest group can be usefulin connecting an isolated group of people

to the rest of the world.The emergence ofvirtual gatherings, parties or social eventsis a welcome move. It is desirable and rec-ommended that the older generationshould also engage in reading, dancing,yoga and pranayama, taking relaxingbaths, and learning music and new skills.Remember, no age is unsuitable for learn-ing and gaining new experiences.

In a country like India, it is not easy forthe government to provide a universal so-lution. However, it should be possible todevelop “policy guidelines for elderly andpsychological vulnerable people” andtimely appropriation of resources to en-sure safeguards against mental disor-ders/illnesses among this section of thenational population.

Even till now, we don’t know exactlyhow long the COVID-9 pandemic will lastor what will be its spread and impact. Itis too early to realize the aftermath of thepandemic as more efforts like coming outwith antiviral vaccine or drug are neededby experts. However, one thing appearsdefinitive that the government should en-force physical distancing and not “socialdistancing/ isolation”, especially forhighly vulnerable section of the society. Ifa proactive approach is not brought to ad-dress the issue of mental health, a disasterawaits the country.This could be the onsetof a COVID-19 pandemic triggered wide-spread economic devastation and a men-tal health crisis in the country.

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5WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY30,2020

New Delhi

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

BUSY AS EVERHOSPITALISED AFTER being tested positive for Covid-19,Madhya PradeshChiefMinister Shivraj SinghChouhan is notmakinghisabsencefeltindailyfunctioningoftheCMO,itseems.HehasaddressedCabinetmeetingsonavirtualplatformfromthehospitalandadvisedpeoplenottobescaredofcoronavirusbut instead consult doctors for any symptoms. His personalaides say Chouhan is recovering fast, and in hospital himselfwasheshis clothes toprevent others fromgetting infected. Infact, thishashelpedChouhan:whilehecouldnotearlierclosehisfist—aresultofapastfracture—washingclothesthesedayshasmadeit flexibleandhecannowcloseit,hisaidessay.

DIGEST THE DETAILSWHILECABINETbriefingsregularlygivejournalistsanoppor-tunitytoquestionthegovernmentonarangeofsubjects,some-timesbeyondCabinet-relatedissues,onWednesdaytheydidnot get a chance to pose any question on the neweducationpolicy announcedby the government. At themedia briefing,Union Information and Broadcasting Minister PrakashJavadekar “requested” journalists to first “digest” the details,aseveryonewouldhavequestionsaboutthepolicy,consider-ing education involves everyhousehold. Since thepolicyhasbeenexplainedbyhighereducationandschooleducationsec-retaries,andUnionHRDMinisterRameshNishankPokhriyal,Javadekarsaid, “wewill takequestionsafterward,not today”.

RETURN OF INDIAN IDOLTHEINDIANHighCommissioninLondonwillsendhomea10th-century idol of Lord Shiv— ‘Natesh’—whichwas stolen fromGhateshwarTempleinRajasthan’sBaroliin1998.Theissuehasbeenpendingforlong,andaftertheBritishgovernment’scoop-eration,theidolwillbereturnedtotheArchaeologicalSurveyofIndia,possiblyinoneof theVandeBharatflights.

6THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY30,2020

GOVT&POLITICSWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

SUSHANTSINGHNEWDELHI, JULY29

THE INDUCTION of five FrenchRafale aircraft at Ambala onWednesday will be a gamechanger inmanyways, butmaynotmakeupfortheshortfallfacedbytheIndianAirForce,accordingtoseniorofficersof IAF.The Rafale aircraft’s arrival

brought attention to thebiggestchallengeconfrontingtheIAF:itsdepleting strengthof fighter jets.Against an authorisation of 42squadrons, it will have 29squadronsin2023.Atpresent, itsfleet comprises 30 squadrons offighterjets.“Is getting two squadrons of

Rafale significant? Yes, it is agamechangerinmanyways.Butdoes this inductionmakeup forall the other shortfalls faced bytheIAF?No,thosechallengesre-mainandwillhavetobetackled,”aseniorIAFofficertoldTheIndianExpress.Thestrengthof 29squadrons

by 2023 includes two Rafalesquadrons, one additionalMiG-29 squadron andone additionalsquadron of indigenous LightCombatAircraft (LCA) Tejas jets,

into the IAF fleetasperschedule.Bythen,thePakistanAirForcewillhave27 fighter squadronswhileChina’s PLAAir Force is assessedtohavethecapacitytobearatleast42squadronsagainstIndia.The shortfall in the current

strength is expected to bemadeupover thenext twodecadesbytheproposalforacquisitionof114foreign fighter jets under theMakeinIndiascheme,alongwiththeacquisitionofindigenousLCATejasfighters.“The squadron strength is a

forcestructureissueanddependson a host of factors.We cannotlosesightof thedevelopmentsintheNorth andWest;with bothour adversaries continuously in-creasing andupgrading their in-ventories,” IAF Chief Air ChiefMarshal RKSBhadauria told TheIndianExpress inMay.EventhoughtheIAFdesiresa

strengthof 45 fighter squadronsforatwo-frontchallenge,thelasttimeithaditsauthorisedcomple-ment of 42 squadrons was in2002, just after India hadmo-bilised its forces against Pakistanfollowing the terror attack onParliament.Sincethen,thenumbershave

steadily fallen, and the trendwill

continuewith five squadrons ofold RussianMiG aircraft gettingdecommissionedinthenextcou-ple of yearswhile IAF adds fouradditionalsquadrons.The IAF has long been cog-

nisant of the challenge of its de-pletingfightersquadronstrength.InJune2017,thethenIAFChiefAirChiefMarshalBSDhanoahadtoldthis newspaper that “one of ourmain focusareas is tobuilduptotheauthorisedstrengthoffightersquadronsattheearliest”.TheIAF’sauthorisedstrength

of 42 fighter squadrons “is theminimumstrengthnecessarytodominate a two-front conflict,”Dhanoa who saw the Balakotairstrikes as IAF Chief last yearhadsaid.The IAF plans to procure 83

LCAMk IAs andmore than 100LCAMk II fromHindustanAero-nauticsLimited(HAL),andhasal-readyraisedthesecondsquadronof Tejasagainst its initial orderof40aircraft.However,thesuppliesfromHALare behind the sched-uledinductionplan,leadingtodis-comfortwithintheIAF.IAFissuedarequestforinfor-

mationfor114multirolefightersinJune2018toforeignmanufac-turers:Boeing,LockheedMartin,

Dassault Aviation, Saab AB,Airbus Defence and Space,RussianAircraftCorporationandSukhoi Company. It plans to in-duct theaircraftwithin12yearsofthecontract.Arequestforpro-posal isawaited.Meanwhile, the government

hasdecidedtoprocure21MiG-29aircraftfromRussiawhichwouldbeinductedintoserviceasanad-ditional squadron. The 12 Su-30MKIs,lostinaccidents,arealsobeing replenished by HALthrough a contractwith Russia,whichhasbeenapprovedby thegovernment. However, theRussianconnectisalsolimitedasthe IAF had earlier pulled out ofthe collaborative venturewithSukhoi todevelop the FifthGen-erationFighterAircraft(FGFA)af-ter11years,citingdisagreementsover cost sharingplans, technol-ogytransfersandthetestaircraft’stechnologicalcapabilities.France has already handed

over 10 Rafale jets to India, ofwhichfivehaveflowntoAmbala.Allthe36RafalefighterjetsfromFranceareexpectedtobeinIndiabyend-2021.The fittingof addi-tional India-specific enhance-mentsislikelytotakeafewmoremonths.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY29

THE VICE-CHANCELLORS ofJawaharlal Nehru University(JNU)andJamiaMilliaIslamiaonWednesday described the newNationalEducationPolicy(NEP)approved by the Union Cabinetasapositivestep.“The approval of theNEP by

thegovernmentisapositivestepforward. NEP is the outcome ofanextensive,highlyparticipatoryand inclusive consultationprocess.NEPaimsatmeetingex-isting challenges in educationand building the foundation ofIndia’spromisingfuture.Welookforward to its implementation,”saidJNUV-CMJagadeshKumar.Jamia V-C Najma Akhtar

calledtheNEP“groundbreaking”.“Higher education in India

will now be holistic andmulti-disciplinarywithashared focusonscience,artsandhumanities.TheNEPwill createnewoppor-tunities for students in the do-main of higher education. Theycan pursue education withgreater flexibility in a seamlesslearningenvironment.Theycanenter, exit and re-enter as pertheir convenience and careerchoices,” shesaid.“A single regulator for all

highereducationalinstitutionsisagreatideaasitwillbringcoher-enceofapproachandpurpose.Itwill realise the vision of educa-tion in India,”Akhtaradded.She also said the “focus on

theuseofnewtechnologies”will“rampupdigital learning”.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY28

SENIORCPMleaderBrindaKaratonWednesdaywrote to HomeMinisterAmitShah,seekingpros-ecutionof former interimCBIdi-rector and serving IPS officerMNageswaraRaoforhis“mostout-rageouspoliticallymotivatedsta-tements”,whichshesaidgoaga-inst the spirit of theConstitutionandincite“communalfeelings”.She also filed a complaint

againstRaowiththeDelhiPolice.Karat’scomplaintcomesdays

afterRaoclaimedonTwitterthatIndian history had been “dis-torted”withthe“whitewashing”of“bloodyIslamicinvasions/rule”,namingpreviouseducationmin-isters, includingMaulana AbulKalamAzad,who“wereinchargeof Indianmindspace”for20“outof30years(1947-77)”.Rao’spostallegedthissystem

patronised pro-Left academicsandsidelinedpro-Hindunational-istscholars.InherlettertoShah,Karatsaid

Rao, currently the Director-General of Home Guards, FireServicesandCivilDefence,has“in-sulted heroic freedom fighterMaulana Abul KalamAzad andother notable educationists be-longingmainly to theMuslimcommunityusingderogatorylan-guage against themand incitingfeelings of enmity between twocommunities”.ArguingthatRaohasviolated

servicerulesprohibitinggovern-mentofficers frommaking“po-litically motivated publicstatements”, Karat accused Raoof having “openly praised” theRSSandBJP for the“rehinduisa-tionof India”.Karat said that eachofficer is

“duty bound to protect and de-fendtheConstitutionofIndia”,butRao, in his “public statement onTwitter reported in The IndianExpress, dated July 27th…hasmadethemostoutrageouspolit-ically motivated statementswhichalsogoagainstthespiritoftheConstitution”.Sheadded,“Thisisnotthefirst

time he has so violated servicerules or incited communal feel-ings. On somewhat similar gro-

undswhenhewasaservingofficerin theBerhampurDevelopmentAuthority in Odisha in the latenineties,hemadesometoxiccom-munalstatements.Twoofficialin-quiries foundhimguilty and in-dictedhimand tookdisciplinarymeasures. So, he is ahabitual of-fenderwithabadrecord.”Stating that Rao’s comments

may“makehimeligibleforinduc-tion into the BJP or RSS after hisscheduledretirementonJuly31”,Karatsaidsincehehasmadethesestatementsasaservingofficer,he“must be charge sheeted for vio-lation of service rules and alsoprosecuted under the relevantsectionsof theIPC”.InhercomplainttoDelhiPol-

ice, the CPM leader sought theregistration of an FIR againstRaounderSec153Aand295Aofthe IPC.Ina letter to theSHO,Mandir

Margpolice station,Delhi PoliceCommissioner and DCP, NewDelhi, shesaidRao’s “words, lan-guage, tenor and intention is tocauseenmityandhostilitybetw-eencommunitiesandtoincitefe-elingsofhatredagainstMuslims”.“Hiswordsamounttoacrim-

inal offenceunder Sec153AandSec295(A)of theIPC.Hehasalsoreferred to ‘left’ historians in themostderogatory terms. I requestyoutofileanFIRonthebasisofmycomplaint,”Karatwrote.

Rafale agamechanger, now IAFchallenge is toboost jet strength

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY29

THECPMonWednesdayhit outat the government after theUnioncabinetapprovedtheNewEducation Policy (NEP). Arguingthat education is in the Conc-urrent List in the Constitution, itaccusedtheCentralgovernmentof imposing the NEP “unilater-ally”,bypassingalltheobjectionsandoppositionrecordedbyvari-ousstategovernments.“Anewpolicyofsuchanature

needs to be discussed in theParliament. Thiswasassuredbythegovernmentearlier. Thedraftis, as per norm, placed on thetableof theHouseswithastatu-tory time limit within whichMembers of Parliament canmove amendments/give opin-ions. The Parliament has beencompletely bypassed,” the CPMsaidinastatement.TheCPMsaidthesuggestions

givenbythestakeholders,mainlytheacademicia, the teachingco-mmunity,thestudentsandintel-lectualshavenotbeenconsideredwhilefinalisingthenewpolicy.“Thisunilateraldriveistode-

stroytheIndianeducationsystemwith a policy that seeks greatercentralization,communalization

andcommercializationof Indianeducation,” it said. “Education isin the Concurrent List in ourConstitution. ItisagrossviolationbytheCentralgovernmenttoim-poseaNewEducationPolicyuni-laterally bypassing all the objec-tionsandoppositionrecordedbyvarious state governments,” itadded.Thepartydemandedthata “thorough discussion” inParliamentbeheldbeforeimple-mentationof thenewpolicy.The CPM also hit out at the

central government for taking astandthatitwasnotinapositiontopaytheGSTshareof thestatesas per the current revenue shar-ingformulaforthisfinancialyear.“The Finance Secretary in-

formedtheParliamentaryStand-ingCommittee that the govern-ment is innoposition topay theGSTshareof the states asper thecurrent revenuesharing formulafor this financial year, 2020-21.Stategovernmentswereguaran-teed compensation from theCentreforthefirstfiveyearsofGSTimplementation.Thiscompensa-tionwasinlieuofGSTtakingawaythepowersof statesto levysomeindirect taxes to raise revenues.”“Thesefundsareallthemorenee-dednowwhenthesingle-mindedfocusshouldbeoncombatingthepandemic,”astatementsaid.

CABINETNODTONATIONALEDUCATIONPOLICY

CPM slams govt:Parliament has beencompletely bypassed

JNU, Jamia V-Cs: Movegroundbreaking, positive

Brinda writes to Shah,seeks action againstNageswara Rao for‘outrageous’ remarks

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICECHENNAI, JULY29

Nearly 4 kg gold, 610 kg silver,8,376 books, 38 air conditionersand10,438dressmaterialshavebeen listed by the Tamil Nadugovernmentaspropertiesof for-merChiefMinisterandAIADMKchief, late J Jayalalithaa, at herPoesGardenresidence.The state government is in

theprocessofacquiringassetsofthe formerChiefMinister at herthree-storeyVedaNilayamresi-dence,whichwasoriginallypur-chasedbyher latemother.The acquisition, which has

been opposed by Jayalalithaa’slegalheirs—hernieceDeepaand

nephew Deepak — would in-clude shifting her properties tothe ownership of the PuratchiThalaivi Dr J JayalalithaaMemorialFoundationheadedbyChief Minister Edappadi KPalaniswami.Eleven televisions, 10 refrig-

erators, 29 telephones andmo-bile phones, 394mementos, 65suitcasesand108cosmeticitemsand six clocks have also beenlistedamongJayalalithaa’sassets.Twomango trees, a jackfruit

tree,fivecoconutandfivebananatreeshavebeenlistedaswell.The former Chief Minister’s

residenceisbeingacquiredafteran ordinancewas promulgatedinMaytofacilitateitstemporarypossession to convert it into amemorial.ThestategovernmentdepositedRs67.9croreinthecivilcourt on July 25 for acquiringVeda Nilayam. Out of this sum,Rs 36.9 crorewould be paid to-wards I-Tandwealthtaxarrearsand the remainingamountmaygoto Jayalalithaa’s legalheirs.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICECHENNAI, JULY29

DMKCHIEFMKStalinhasspokentotopOppositionleadersandCMsfromvarious regional parties fortheir support to put pressure ontheCentre toprovideOBC reser-vation inmedical admissions tostate-runmedicalanddentalcol-legesundertheall-Indiaquota.ThemovefollowstheMadras

HighCourtdirectingtheCentreonMondaytosetupacommitteetoexaminetheissue.StalinspoketoCongresspres-

identSoniaGandhiandCPMgen-eralsecretarySitaramYechury.Healso dialled CMs including Y SJaganMohan Reddy of Andhra

Pradesh,KChandrashekarRaoofTelangana,UddhavThackerayofMaharashtraandMamataBaner-jeeofWestBengal.Helatertwee-tedthathespoketotheleadersinthewakeofMadrasHC’s“historicjudgment”andsought their sup-porttourgetheCentretoconveneacommitteemeetingonpriorityandprovidetheOBCreservation.StalinalsospoketoformerPM

H D Deve Gowda, NCP chiefSharadPawar,BSPchiefMayawati,SP leaderAkhileshYadavandNCleaderOmarAbdullah.

4 kg gold, 8,376 books amongJaya properties listed by TN govt

KaratalsofiledacomplaintagainstRaowithDelhiPolice

J Jayalalithaa

RESERVATION INMEDICALADMISSIONS

Stalin dials Oppn leaders, CMs topressure Centre for OBC quota

HIMACHALPRADESH

VARINDERBHATIACHANDIGARH, JULY29

ANINVESTIGATIONintoHaryanaShahriVikasPradhikaran’s(HSVP)saleofaplottothestatearchaeol-ogydepartment,allegedlyforex-cess paymentworth crores, tobuild a state-of-artmuseumhasbroughtoutstartlingfacts.ThefileonwhichHSVPclaims

tohavetakenthethenchiefmin-ister’sapprovalfortransferofland“isuntraceable”,saidsources.Thethendirectorofarchaeol-

ogyandmuseumsdepartment,SKSaxena,whotookpossessionoftheplotinPanchkula’sSector5,isnomore.Sourcessaid“nomeasur-ementof thesitewasdoneat thetimeofallotment(August1996)orpossession (May1998)or raisingof additionaldemandofRs22.88crore (September 2016),which

waseventuallypaidtoHSVP”.Theplotwasallottedtothear-

chaeologydepartmentonAugust23, 1996, for constructionof theStateArchaeologicalMuseumatthe rateof Rs185per sq. yard (Rs17,90,800).PaymentwasmadetotheHaryanaUrbanDevelopmentAuthority(HUDA),nowHSVP.OnMay23, 2019, PWD(Buildings&Roads)informedthearchaeologydepartmentthat insteadof9,680sq.yards,HUDAhadgivenposses-sionof8,860sq.yards.Thearchae-ologydepartmentrequestedHU-DAtoincreasetheFloorAreaRatio(FAR)from100percentto150percent.HUDAthenasked for addi-tionalpaymentofRs22.88crore.PrincipalSecretary (Archaeo-

logyandMuseumsDepartment)Ashok Khemka has demandedsternactionagainsttheerringof-ficials andadjustment of the ex-cessamountpaid.

Afterthemattercametolight,HSVPofferedtocutdowntheroadbetweentheplotandIndradhan-ushstadiumintohalf,andtransferittothearchaeologydepartment.Khemkajunkedtheoffer.“The

roadwidth is proposed tobe re-

ducedfromthepresent12mtsto6.7mtsbyaddinga5.3mtswidestrip to the plot. Narrowing theroadwould render access to themuseumsitedifficult.Thearchae-ology department thereforeagrees to take possession of the

plot as at site, that is, 1.83 acreswithexcessamountadjusted,”hewrotetothestategovernment.He added, “Possessionof the

plotwashandedoveronMay22,1998,byajuniorengineer(HUDA)to SK Saxena. The thendirectorwas negligent in taking posses-sionof thesitewithoutactualdi-mensionsandsiteplansketch.ButHSVP isnota realestatedealer, itis a plannedurbanagencyof thestate. Each and every site in aplanned sector ismapped andmeasuredbefore allotment. Thedimensionsandactualareaofthesitewouldexistinsomepre-allot-mentHSVPrecord,buttherecordwasnotproduceddespiterequestandremindertotheprincipalsec-retary (town and country plan-ning)andHSVPofficers.”“The act of HSVP to allot and

handoverpossessionofanunder-sizedplottoagovernmentdepart-

ment ismost brazenand strainsbona fide by suggesting fraud,breachoftrust,andfalsificationofofficialrecords,”Khemkaadded.Calling theearlierpossession

certificatedatedMay22,1998--bywayofwhichthe landwastrans-ferred toarcheologydepartment—a“defectivecertificateandno-possession”,hewrote,“HSVPmustbedirected tohandoverproperpossessionoftheplotwithcorrectdimensions, area and site plansketchandcompensate thegov-ernmentexchequerasCMandfi-nancedepartmentmaydetermineforthe23-yeardelayinhandoverofproperpossessionof theplot forwhichfullpricewaspaidin1997.”Healsoraisedobjectionsover thearchaeology department beingchargedRs22.88 crore for addi-tionalFAR,saying,“itwasanunjustenrichmentofHSVPatthecosttothegovernmentexchequer”.

ARafaleaircraft landsat the IAF base inAmbalaonWednesday. @DefenceMinIndiaTwitter

Theplot inSector5,Panchkula

MUSEUMPROJECT INPANCHKULA

Probe into plot sale to archaeology dept opens can of worms

DMKchiefMKStalin

Shimla: Themuch-awaited ex-pansionoftheHimachalPradeshCabinetwill takeplaceThursdaywith theRaj BhawanconfirmingthemovelateonWednesday.Theoath-taking ceremonyof

newministerswill beheldatRajBhawanonJuly30at11.15am,anofficialspokespersonsaid,addingtherewillbealivewebcastof theceremony.Thespokespersonsaidthis soon after ChiefMinister JaiRamThakur called onGovernorBandaru Dattatreya at the RajBhawanWednesdayevening.Threeministerialberthshave

been lyingvacant for severalmo-nths.Thestategovernment,how-ever,hasnotyetmadepublic thenamesofthosewhowilltakeoathonThursdayasministers. ENS

CM to expandcabinet today

New Delhi

GOVT&POLITICS 7WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY30,2020

NOTICE TO SHAREHOLDERSTRANSFER OF UNCLAIMED DIVIDEND & EQUITY SHARESTO INVESTOR EDUCATION AND PROTECTION FUND (IEPF)Notice is hereby given to the shareholders of the company thatpursuant to the provisions of section 124 (6) of the CompaniesAct, 2013 read with the Investor Education and Protection FundAuthority (Accounting, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Rules, 2016as amended from time to time, all the shares in respect of whichdividend has remained unclaimed for seven consecutive years ormore will be transferred to the Investor and Education ProtectionFund (‘IEPF’) on November 1, 2020.In compliance with said Rules, the company has sent individualnotices to all the concerned shareholders who have not encashedtheir dividends for seven consecutive years and whose sharesare liable to be transferred to the IEPF. The company has alsouploaded the details of shareholders whose shares are liable to betransferred to IEPF Authority on its website : www.indiaexpomart.com under investor relation section.In this connection, please note that for shares held in physicalform, a duplicate share certificate (s) held by the member, willstand automatically cancelled.In case the company doesn’t receive any claim from theconcerned members on or before due date i.e. November 1, 2020,the company shall with a view to complying with the requirementsset out in the Rule, transfer the shares to the IEPF without furthernotice in accordance with the requirement of the said rules. Pleasenote that no claim shall lie against the company in respect of unpaid/unclaimed dividend and shares transferred to IEPF pursuant tothe said Rules.In case of any clarification/ assistance in this regard, theconcerned member(s) may write to the company at its corporateoffice at India Exposition Mart Ltd. Plot No. 23 –25 & 27- 29,Knowledge Park – II, Greater Noida, Gautam Budh Nagar - 201306or sending an email to the company at cs@indiaexpocentre.com

For India Exposition Mart Ltd.S/d

Anupam SharmaCompany Secretary

Date : 30 July, 2020Place: New Delhi

Website : www.indiaexpomart.com

.

MINUTES BEFORE his officecleared the notification to con-vene the Assembly session onAugust14,afterfourrepresenta-tions by the Ashok Gehlot gov-ernment, Rajasthan GovernorKALRAJMISHRAannouncedthedecision in an interview to LIZMATHEW. Denying allegationsof partisanship by the rulingCongress, Mishra said that hehad gone entirely by the rules.Excerpts:

Whythedelay inagreeingtothestategovernment'scallforanAssemblysession?The state cabinet was not

ready to explain the reasons itwanted to convene the regularMonsoon Session at such shortnotice, in thisperiodof thepan-demic and also given the un-usualpolitical conditions.

But legalandconstitutionalexpertsareclear that thegovernorhastoactontheaidandadviceof theCabinet.AndthatArticle163limitsanydiscretionarypowersofthegovernor.Thegovernor isboundtoact

on the aid and advice of theCouncil of Ministers but I wasnotrulingoutcallingthesession.

As per provisions of Article 174,thegovernorisboundbythede-cision/recommendationsmadebythestatecabinet.Para150(h)of Article 163 does not give thegovernorageneraldiscretionarypower to act against orwithoutthe advice of his Council ofMinisters; the area of the exer-cise of this discretion is limited,andeveninthislimitedarea,theactioncannotbearbitraryorfan-ciful. Itmustbeachoicedictatedbyreason,actuatedbygoodfaithandtemperedwithcaution.I raisedquestions (overcall-

ingthesession)becausethesit-uation is not normal. The RajBhavanquestionedtheurgencyof summoning the House,asked about the arrangementsregarding safety of more than1,000 people whowould be inthe House, and whether thegovernmentwouldseeka trustvote or not.

But is it right foragovernortoget intoHouseseatingarrangements?Covid is the responsibility of

the entire State machinery. Asthegovernor, Iwas trying toen-suresafetyof thepeople.

Yourmentionof lawandorder issuesafterGehlottalkedaboutgheraoingtheRajBhavanpromptedtalkthatyoumightseekthestategovernment'sdismissalusingArticle356.Itwasnotrightonthepartof

theChiefMinistertomakeproac-tive statements. I was pained athis statement that the stategov-ernmentwouldnotberesponsi-ble if people gheraoRaj Bhavan.So I asked theCMabout the lawand order situation in the state.

Now,onthenewproposalsentbythestateCabinet, Iamsummon-ingtheHousefrom14thAugust.

DoyoubelievetheCMshouldmoveatrustmotionwhentheAssembly isconvened?The trustmotion is an activ-

ityof theHouse.It isthedecisionof theChiefMinisterinthepres-entcircumstances.

Whenthegovernment isnotmakinganyformalmentionofatrustmotion,andthe

Oppositionisnotseekingone,whyareyouinsistingonprotocols forafloortest,asoutlinedbycourts inUttarakhandandKarnataka?The Chief Minister is telling

themedia that hewants a trustvote in the Assembly but thegovernor isnot summoning theHouse.This is thereasonIaskedthestategovernmentthatifyouare going in for a trust vote, youshouldfollowtheconditionslaiddown in various judgments bytheSupremeCourt.

TheCongresshasaccusedyouofpartisanship,of actingunderpressurefromtheBJP,whichwantsmoretimeinthehopethatmoreCongressMLAswouldrebel.Thereisnopartisanship.Iam

advisingthestategovernmentasper the provisions of theLegislative Assembly rules andArticles 174 and 163 of theConstitution.

In1995,whileyouweretheUttarPradeshBJPchief,youhadprotestedagainst thegovernoroverhisactions.Now,youarefacingangryprotests fromtheCongress.AreboththeKalrajMishras intheright?MulayamSinghYadavwasthe

CMof thestatethen.Somecrim-inals had surroundedMayawatiataguesthouseinLucknow.Theyenjoyed State patronage. I re-quested the Chief Secretary, theDGPtodosomething,butnothinghappened. After I met theGovernor, he ordered that thesafety ofMayawati be ensured.Thetwosituationsarealtogetherdifferent. (Followingwhat cametobeknownastheguesthousein-cident, the BSP chief hadpulledsupport to the Mulayam-ledSamajwadi Party government,pavingthewayforaBSP-BJPcoali-tiongovernment.)

TheBJPhas longaccusedCongressgovernmentsofmisusinggovernors.Howdoes it feel tobe inthedocknow?There is nomisuse of power

in my capacity as Governor ofRajasthan. Iamtakingeveryde-cisioninthetrueletterandspiritof theConstitution.

I raisedquestions (over calling the session)because the situation is not normal. TheRajBhavanquestioned theurgency of summoningtheHouse, askedabout the arrangementsregarding safety ofmore than 1,000peoplewhowouldbe in theHouse...

There is nomisuse of power inmycapacity asGovernor ofRajasthan. I amtaking every decisionin the true letter and spirit of theConstitution.

ARUNSHARMAJAMMU,JULY29

IN A U-TURN from its earlierstand, the BJP onWednesdaysaid the setting upof toll plazasontheKathua-Jammu-Srinagarnational highways is necessaryfordevelopment.When the BJP was in the

Opposition in Jammu andKashmir, it had objected to thethenstategovernment’smovetoset up a toll plaza at Lakhanpurandcomparedittothecollectionof “jazia’’ fromVaishnoDevi pil-grimsonthewaytoKatra.BJP workers led by party

leader Chander Parkash Gangahad inMay2014dismantled thestructureofatollplazacomingupatSaroreinSambadistrict.BJP spokesperson Brig. (re-

tired) Anil Gupta said” “Thelongest National Highway (NH44)thatconnectsKanyakumaritoKashmir and enters JammuandKashmiratLakhanpurhasanum-berof toll plazasalong its stretchandanybodytravellingbyroadtoJ&K has to pay toll tax at theseplazas. To say that ‘jazia’ is beingimposedby starting toll plaza atLakhanpur is not only false butethicallyalsoincorrect.’’The BJP leader said earnings

fromthetollplazaswillbeutilisedformaintenanceof thehighway.“No amount of politics or agita-tionswilluprootthesetollplazas,’’Guptasaid,adding,“theyareheretostayandnewoneswillcomeupin those stretches of NH as andwhenfour-laningiscompleted’’.Jammugots its first toll plaza

on the Jammu-SrinagarnationalhighwaynearNagrotain2015. In2018, another toll plaza cameupatSarore,whereBJPworkershaddismantled the structure fouryears ago. The third toll plazacameupatLakhanpuronJuly21.

JAMMU&KASHMIR

BJP U-turn ontoll plazas:Necessary fordevelopment

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY29

RAJASTHANASSEMBLYSpeakerCP JoshiWednesdaymoved theSupremeCourt challenging thestateHigh Court’s July 24 orderasking him tomaintain “statusquo”onthequestionofdisqualifi-cationof19rebelCongressMLAsof the Sachin Pilot camp, sayingthat“theHighCourtactedingrossjudicial indiscipline” and theor-derwas a “direct intrusion” intotheSpeaker’sdomain.TheSpeakerhad issuedano-

ticetotheserebelMLAsonJuly14after the Congress had com-plained that they had defied awhip to attend two legislatureparty meetings. As the MLAsmoved theHighCourt challeng-ingthenotice, thecourt, inanin-terimorder on July21, asked theSpeakertogivethemtimetillJuly24toreplytohisnotice.Joshithenapproached the SupremeCourt,which refused to stay the order,sayingthatthematterneedstobeheardindetail.AstheHighCourtpassedastatusquoorderon July24,Joshihadwithdrawnhispeti-tiontoweighhislegaloptions.Sources in the Congress said

theSpeaker isunlikelytoseekanurgenthearingasthepoliticalbat-tleisstillongoinginRajasthan.In the fresh petition, the

SpeakersaidtheHighCourtorder“is ex facie unconstitutional andin the teethof the lawdeclared”by a Constitution bench of theSupremeCourtinthe1992caseofKihotoHollohanvsZachillhuand

Others. “The impugnedorderre-straining the Speaker fromper-forminghisConstitutionaldutiesunder theTenthSchedule isadi-rect intrusion by theHighCourtinto the domain exclusively re-served for theSpeakerunder theTenth Schedule of theConstitution,”itsaid.The order “interdicts the

Petitioner/Speaker fromactingunder the Tenth Schedule at thestageofnoticeitselfandrestrainshimfromevenproceedingtocallfor replies/comments from theRespondents”, the petition said,termingit“adirectinterferenceintheproceedingsof theHouse...”.Theorder is “constitutionally

impermissible”, argued thepleafiled through Senior AdvocatesKapilSibalandVivekTankha,andAdvocateSunilFernandes.In theKihoto case, Joshi said,

theSupremeCourthadstatedthatcourts cannot interdict theSpeaker fromproceeding at thequia timet stage (whereaction isthreatenedor imminent buthasnotyetcommenced).Seekinganinterimstayonthe

order, theSpeakersaid“theHighCourtactedingrossjudicialindis-ciplineandjudicialimproprietyinseeking to reopen settled issuesdecidedbyaConstitutionBenchof thisHon’bleCourtinKihoto”.

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIANEWDELHI, JULY29

CHIEFMINISTERAshokGehlot’solder brother Agrasen skippedan appearence before theEnforcement Directorate onWednesdayinconnectionwithamoney-laundering case, citinghealth issues, officials said.His son Anupam Gehlot,

however,reachedtheagencyof-ficeinDelhiandwasquestionedabout his business linkswith acompanypromotedbyhis fam-ily,AnupamKrishi.Officialssaidtheagencyalso

handed over a fresh summonsforhis father to appear before itonAugust 4 in connectionwiththe money-laundering caselinkedtoalleged financial irreg-ularities inexporting fertiliser.AgrasenGehlotwasaskedby

the central probe agency to de-posebeforetheinvestigatingof-ficer of the case onWednesdayinDelhiunderthePreventionofMoneyLaunderingAct.

THE EXPRESS

INTERVIEWWITH

KALRAJMISHRARAJASTHANGOVERNOR

‘A trustmotion is the decision oftheCM in present circumstances’

RAJASTHANPOWERPLAY

SREENIVASJANYALAHYDERABAD, JULY29

TELANGANA CHIEFMinister KChandrashekarRao’sdecisiontodemolishtheexistingsecretariatand construct a new one amidthe Covid-19 pandemic hascome under criticism,with op-position leaders and activistssaying that the nearly Rs 400crore required to build the newstructure could be used to en-hancehealth infrastructure.The foundationstonefor the

new secretariat was laid by CMRaoonJune27lastyearbeforeitgotembroiled in legal tangles.On July 7, the government

started demolishing the 10-block secretariat, including GBlockfromwherethelastNizamranhisadministration.Theworkstarted a week after theTelanganaHighCourtdismisseda bunch of petitions by activistsagainst thedemolition.RoadsandBuildingsMinister

VPrashanthsaidthat90percentofthedemolitionworkhadbeencompleted..

TelanganaPradeshCongressCommittee president N UttamKumarReddysaid,“Afterthebi-furcation of the state, offices inalmostall theblockswerereno-vatedandrefurbished.These10blocks could have been con-vertedintotemporaryhospital.”TelanganaBJPpresidentand

LokSabhaMPBandiSanjaysaid:“He (theCM) is busywithdem-olitionworkanddesigningcon-tracts. I think the OsmaniaGeneral Hospital was deliber-atelyfloodedbecausetheywantto demolish it and build a newhospital. It is all about privateconstructioncontractsandmak-ingmoney,”heclaimed.Activist P L Vishweshwara

Rao,vice-presidentofTelanganaJana Samitiwhichhad filedoneof the PILs against the demoli-tion, saidmost of the buildingscould have been used for an-other30-40years.

DEEPMUKHERJEEJAIPUR, JULY29

THEBAHUJANSamajParty(BSP)onWednesdayfiledapetitioninRajasthanHigh Court challeng-ing the Assembly Speaker's de-cision last year to approve themergerof sixBSPMLAs into therulingCongressThe bench of Justice

Mahendar Kumar Goyal taggedthe BSP's petitionwith that of aseparate petition by BJP legisla-torMadan Dilawar against themerger,andbeganhearingbothpleas.Dilawar,whohadonTuesday

filed twowrit petitions, with-drewoneonWednesday.Init,hehad challenged the Speaker'scommunication yesterday, in-forming him that his petitionseeking disqualification of thesix BSP legislators has been re-jected.Thematterwillbeheardnext

onThursday.BSP state unit president

BhagwanSinghBabasaid: “Wehave said in the petition thatthe merger is not valid sincetherehasn'tbeenanymergerofthe BSP, which is a nationalparty,with the Congress at thenational level. No merger cantake placewithout approval of

the party president.”Appearing through video-

conferencingforDilawar,senioradvocateHarishSalve,whohadearlier representedthegroupof19rebelCongressMLAs,arguedthatuntilthereisamergerof theparty at the national level, thestateunitofanationalpartycan-notmerge on its own since it isillegal.The BSPwas represented by

senior advocate and the party'snationalgeneralsecretary,SatishChandra Misra, who also ap-peared through video confer-encing.

DineshKumarGarg, a coun-sel for the BSP, said: "We chal-lengedtheSpeaker'sSeptember18, 2019 order approving themerger....ThemergertookplaceaftertheMLAssubmittedanap-plication to the Speaker onSeptember16.Wehavesaidthiswas contrary to constitutionalprovisionsof ScheduleX.”Advocate Ashish Sharma, a

counsel for Dilawar, said: "Ourargument was on the point ofSchedule X of Constitution andonbasis of paragraph4and2ofthe Schedule, challenging themerger.”

BSP files plea against merger of 6 MLAs with Cong

RajasthanAssemblySpeakerCPJoshi

‘Intrusion... grossjudicial indiscipline’:Speaker moves SCagainst HC order

AgrasenGehlotcitedhealthissues

Raolaidthefoundationforanewsecretariatlastyear.

Gehlot brother skips EDsummons, gets Aug 4 dateKCR decision to demolish

existing secretariat, buildnew one comes under fire

New Delhi

PRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI,JULY29

THE INDIANCouncil ofMedicalResearch(ICMR),incollaborationwith theHealthMinistry andAllIndiaInstituteofMedicalSciences,planstorolloutaprojecttocreatea rigorous database of Covid-19patients admitted in hospitalsacross the country in aneffort tounderstandhowtreatmentcanbeimproved.Theproject,anationalclinical

registry,willalsoserveasacrucialplatformtoconductclinicaltrialsto study the effectiveness ofnewer therapies being used aspartof treatmentforthisdisease.Around15institutionsareex-

pectedtohelpcreatethisnetworkandgethospitalsandmedicalcol-legesonboardaspartoftheexer-cise,whichisawaitingclearancesfroma commonethics commit-teeof theICMR.“We are starting a clinical

Covidregistrywherein15mentorinstitutions (across the country),which are institutes of nationalimportance,will be helping us.Thepurposeof thesementor in-stitutions is to encourage otherhospitalsandmedicalcollegestoparticipate,” ICMR DirectorGeneralDrBalramBhargavatoldTheIndianExpress.“WehavedataattheMinistry

ofHealth,wehavedataatICMRin

termsoftesting,butwewouldliketo havehospital data so thatwecangetaperspectiveofwhathashappened to these patients andwhat is theprogress.Wehave togetethicalclearanceforthis... it isaworkinprogress,”headded.The registrywill be actively

rolledout“asapriority”,saidNITIAayogmemberDrVKPaul,whois also the chair of the Covid-19NationalTaskForcethat first rec-ommendedthisregistryaspartofitsgoaltopromoteresearch.“Thewholeideaisthatwecre-

ateanetworkof institutions thatarelookingafterCovidpatientsofvariousseverityandfromvariousparts of the country. The experi-

encegainedfromthisclinicalen-terprise and clinical work, col-lectedinasystematic,structured,scientificwayonalargesetofvari-ables,(wouldthenbe)availableasarepositoryordatabase,”hetoldTheIndianExpress.“There is a teamof clinicians,

scientists, analysts andbiostati-cianswhowill run it. Itwill be avery vibrant (registry)... it is for anational cause (collecting thisdata).Wewill use it for under-standingthisdiseaseandtolearntomakebetterdecisions,”hesaid.Accordingtohim,“morethan

ahundred”hospitalsareexpectedto take part in the exercise.“Centresof excellencehavebeen

identified,whowill thencreateasub-group likeoneof thosehub-and-spokemodels,”hesaid.Thepurposeofthedatabaseis

tohelpunderstandthediseaseandthefactorsthatcauseadverseout-comes.Itisalsotounderstandhowthesamedeterminantsmayaffectpeoplebasedonotherfactors.“Thepurposeistounderstand

thedisease, tounderstanditsde-terminants... why adverse out-comes happen,what therapies

workordon’twork,”saidDrPaul.“Some(patients)die, somedon’tdie. Thosewho died,whatwaswrongwiththem?Isitgenetic?Isit environmental?... Is it certainbodyelements?”hesaid.One way the registry is ex-

pected todothis isbyprovidingstandarddemographicdata likemortalityratesspecifictothesexof the patient andmortality bytime.However,itwouldalsocol-lectothertypesofdatathatmay

helphealthcareworkersunder-standwhat interventionsmayhelp them improve the survivalrates of their patients. This in-cludes testing the effectivenessof newer therapies byusing thedatabase as a platform for clini-cal trials.“Thiswillbeaplatformwhere,

already,(weare)recordingathou-sanddatapoints. Say, youhave anewdrug...Wecanchoosewhichgroup to give it to (based on thedata points),” said Dr Paul.“Tomorrow,we can say, if I adddrug‘x’atthisstage,willitmakeadifference?”Another important purpose

theregistryisexpectedtoserveisto collect data onhowother ap-proaches like changing thepos-ture of the patient or providingoxygen at a certain timewouldhelpimproveoutcomes.“Forexample,ifthesecondary

infection rates are high, canwechange that by doing certainthings,whichisnotatrialinatrialsense, but is just a quality im-provementpathway?”hesaid.“For quality improvement

studies,clinicalstudiesandhard-coreclinicaltrials,thisbecomesaplatforminadditiontoadatabasewhichmakesusunderstand thedisease, thediseasedynamic, itsdeterminants and... the patho-physiology.And,on(allthatdata),do studies. That is thevision,” headded.

8THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,JULY30,2020

THEOUTBREAKWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Healthworkersconductadoor-to-doorsurvey inChemburEastareaofMumbaionWednesday.AmitChakravarty

JOHNSONTABENGALURU,JULY29

OVER65%ofCovid-19deathsthathaveoccurredinBengalurusinceJuly1—whencasesandmortali-ties inthecitybeganrocketing—happenedwithin24hoursofhos-pital admission or involved pa-tients whowere already deadwhen brought to hospital, ananalysis of daily health bulletinsputoutbytheKarnatakagovern-mentshows.Bengaluru saw 860 coron-

avirus-linkeddeathsbetweenJuly1andJuly28.Of these,479(55%)diedwithin24hours of hospitaladmissionwhile 94 (10%)weredeclared dead on arrival, showsthedata,thatincludesdateofad-mission in each case anddate ofdeathincaseof fatalities.The data also shows that all

thepatientswhodiedwithin24hours of hospitalisation hadbeen admitted in a state ofbreathlessness.DrK S Sathish, a pulmonolo-

gistandmemberof theCovid-19state death audit panel, said pa-tientswereshowingupathospi-talsverylate.“Thisisalwaysabigissue— the patient is not diag-nosedandvisitsthehospitalattheeleventhhour,”hesaid.“Out of the 50 deaths at our

hospital, as many as 21 werewithin12hoursofadmission, in-cludingmanywithinthreehours.Five to sixpatientswerebroughtdead. Nearly 70% of deaths oc-curredwithinthreedaysofventi-lationinICU.Thisisasignthatpa-tientsarearrivinginhospitalverylate,”saidDrCNagaraja,thedirec-toroftheRajivGandhiInstituteofChestDiseases,oneofthegovern-ment-runhospitalstreatingcoro-

navirus cases. Nagaraja is also amemberofthedeathauditpanel.Of the91deaths reported till

July15attheVictoriaHospitalat-tached to theBangaloreMedicalCollegeandResearchInstitute,39occurredwithin 24hours of ad-mission,includingseveralwithin10hours, thenodalofficerfortheCovid-19 core committee at theinstitute,DrSmithaSegu,said.“Ofthepatientswhocameon

time,veryfewwent into ICU,”DrSegusaid.Severalinstancesofseverelyill

patientsbeing turnedaway fromhospitals havebeen reported inBengaluru.Whilethegovernmenthasputinplaceacentralbedallo-cationsystem,thereareonlyabout100ICUbedsavailableinthegov-ernment sector still, against a re-quirement of over 500. Privatemedical colleges and hospitalshavebeenropedinonlyrecently.BetweenMarch and July 28,

Bengaluru recorded957deaths,860oftheminJulyalone.Ofitsto-tal 48,821 cases, as many as44,266werereportedthismonth,ofwhich35,102caseswereactiveonJuly28.WhileBengaluru’sdataof95.3

deathspermillionpopulation isnearlythreetimesthestate’stollof31.8permillion(thecityaccountsfornearlyhalfofKarnataka’s totalcases), the case fatality rate is al-mostthesame,at2%.Anearly analysis of Covid-19

deaths inKarnataka till Junehadalsoidentifiedlatearrivalathospi-tals, apart fromage and comor-bidities, as key factors. Data be-tweenMarch10andearlyJuneof72 deaths showed that elderlypersons with Severe AcuteRespiratoryInfectionsweremorelikely to succumb to the novelcoronavirusthanothercategories.

July surge: 65%of the deceasedhospitalised latein Bengaluru

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIABHOPAL, JULY29

MADHYA PRADESH BJP presi-dent and Khajuraho Lok SabhaMPVDSharmahas tested posi-tive for coronavirus, ahealthof-ficial saidonWednesday.Besides Sharma, state BJP

general secretary(organisation)SuhasBhagatandanotherpartyleader have also tested positivefor the coronavirus, theofficial said.“Came toknowthat Sharma

(VD Sharma) is not well andIpraytoGodforhisspeedyrecov-ery,”ChiefMinisterShivrajSinghChouhan, who is recuperatingfromCovid, tweeted.

SANTOSHSINGHPATNA,JULY29

BETWEEN JULY 1 and July 29,Covid-19 cases in Bihar climbedfrom10,205to45,919.Andofthetotal 273 Covid-19 deaths re-portedinthestatesofar,195haveoccurred in the past 27 days. Asthecasesspike, thestategovern-ment faces fivekeychallenges initsfightagainstthevirus:

LOW TESTING: Though dailytestingcapacityhasgoneupfrom10,000samples toover14,000, ithastoberampedupmuchmore.Biharhastested5.04lakhsamplessofar. Incomparison,TamilNaduand Maharashtra have tested24.14lakhand19.25lakhsamples,respectively.Themanagerofahospitalsaid,

“Unless adistrict is givenat least1,000 testing kits daily, it is diffi-culttomeetthedemand.Weneedto collect enough samples at thelevel of primaryhealthcare cen-tres...Delay in testingmeans fur-therspread.”Amongthedistrictsthat have startedwitnessing asurge in cases are Begusarai,Munger, Bhojpur, EastChamparan,West Champaran,Nawada,NalandaandGopalganj.

ABhojpur resident said, “All fourmembers of my family havesymptoms similar to Covid-19...

Sincewearenotvery ill,wehavenotfelttheurgencytogettested...not enough kits are available.

Somepeople inmy localityhavesimilar symptoms but have notgonefortesting.”

SHORTAGE OF BEDS WITHOXYGEN CYLINDERS: Twodaysback,CMNitishKumarsaid5,000bedswillsoonbeaddedtothe 8,000 beds in the state. Thegovernment has started a 100-bed hospital at PatnaMedicalCollegeandHospitalandanother100-bed Covid facility atPatliputra Sports Complex. Butthis has not taken the load offdedicatedCovidhospitals.Whilemost districts have adequatebedswithoxygencylinders,hos-pitals in Patna needmore suchbeds. Panic has drivenmany tokeepoxygencylindersathome.

VENTILATORCRISIS:Mostdis-tricts do not have ventilators atSadarhospitalsandsomearede-pending on private hospitals.DarbhangaDMThiyagrajan SMsaid,“DarbhangaMedicalCollegeandHospitalhassomeventilators.Wehavealso identified aprivatehospital that has80ventilators.”SeveralDMshaveaskedthestategovernment to provide thematleast 10 ventilators to dealwithcritical patients, but thedemandhasnotbeenmetyet.

Health Minister MangalPandeysaid,“TheCentrehasgivenus 750 oxygen concentrators.DRDO is alsoopeninga500-bedCoronahospital inBihar.”

SHORTAGEOFHEALTHCARESTAFF: The Patna HC recentlypulled up the state governmentfor not filling 8,768 of the total11,645posts fordoctors.Aseniorbureaucratwhohasworkedwiththehealthdepartmentsaid,“Over1,000 posts of special doctorswereapprovedthreemonthsago,butappointmentshavenottakenplace.” Out of the 4,704posts ofGrade I regular nurses, 2,710 arevacant.Of the19,179 contractualpostsfornurses,18,871arevacant.“Atseveralplaces, thereistoo

muchdependenceon juniorres-identdoctors. InCovid times,weneed experts,” said a doctor atNalanda Medical College andHospital(NMCH),Patna.

PREVENTINGSPREADINVIL-LAGES:WithseveralblocktownsreportingCovidcases,thegovern-mentfacesachallengetopreventthe outbreak from reaching vil-lages. There are concerns aboutverylowtestinginvillages.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.comEXPRESSNEWSSERVICE

JAMMU,JULY29

AUTHORITIES IN Kathua onWednesday ordered weekendlockdowns for an indefinite pe-riodinthedistrict,beginningJuly31, to slow the spread of thecoronavirus.Therestrictionswillbeginat5

pmonall Fridaysandwill last till6amonMondays,KathuaDistrictMagistrateOPBhagatsaid.Kathua is the seconddistrict

after Jammu to announce aweekend lockdown in JammuandKashmir.The decision came on a day

the district recorded 17 newcases—12ofthemwereCISFper-sonnel.Kathuahasreportedato-

tal of 511 Covid-19 cases, out ofwhich176areactive.An official order stated,:

“Thereshallbecompleterestric-tion onmovement of individu-als, vehicles and all activitieswithinthejurisdictionofdistrictKathua, except themovementforemergencymedical require-ments, from5pmonall Fridaystill 6amonallMondays’’.The statement added that

thedecisionwas takenafter ex-tensive consultations with theChiefMedicalOfficerofKathua,epidemiologists and otherhealthprofessionals.Chemists, milk, curd and

cheese sale counters, and veg-etable/fruit sale points shall re-mainopenduringthelockdown,theorder said.

After Jammu, weekendlockdown in Kathua

Source: Stategovtdata

March22 April22 May22 June22 July22

TRACKINGBIHAR’S POSITIVITY SURGE

1.3% 1.04%

4.8% 4.8% 7.34%

Nursingstaff atPatnaMedicalCollegeandHospitalprotest indemandofovertimesalaries. PTI

As cases surge, Bihar faces 5 key challenges

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, JULY29

A DOCTOR was allegedly at-tackedwith a sharpweapon bythe son of a Covid-19 patient,who died at a hospital in LaturonWednesday.While the doc-tor suffered a deep cut to thechest, he was said to be stable,police said.The Indian Medical

Association (IMA) staged aprotestwith local doctors shut-ting down their clinics after theattack. Police later registered acaseandarrestedthe35-year-oldmanonchargesofassaultagainstDrDineshVermaofAlfaHospital.According to police, a resi-

dent of Udgir was admitted toAlfa Hospital on Tuesday after-noon for treatmentof Covid-19.Local IMAdoctors said she diedonWednesdaymorning.

“DrVermainformedherson,and together they took a lift tothegroundfloor.Assoonastheysteppedout,thepatient’ssonat-tackedhimwithaknife,”saidDrAvinash Bhondwe, IMA statepresident.Latur SP Dr RajendraMane

saidtheincidenttookplaceasthekin of the deceasedwere angryoverherdeath.Policesaidtheac-cusedwillbetestedforCovid-19before further investigation.

ShoppingforrakhiaheadofRakshaBandhan, in Jammu.AP

NewDelhi: Inamulti-countrysymposiumwithDrAnthonyFauci, top infectious disease

expert intheUS,andotherma-jorinterna-tional ex-perts, theIndianCouncil ofMedicalResearchwill hostdiscus-sions andpresenta-

tions on “Novel Ideas inScienceandEthicsofVaccines

against Covid-19pandemic”onThursday.Aseriesofsessions,begin-

ning at 4.30pm,will explore“Timely & safe — towards aCovid-19 vaccine”, “Novelideasinvaccinedevelopment,rollout, andadopting emerg-ingevidenceinpandemicsit-uations”, and “The ethics ofdifferent development ap-proaches—Equity of partici-pation in development &Communityengagementandconsensus”.The symposiumwill be

moderatedbyChrisAnderson,aBritish-AmericancuratorofTEDTalks. ENS

ICMRplans national registry of Covidpatients to help improve treatment

ICMR to host symposiumwith international experts

USexpertDrAnthonyFauciwillalsoparticipate

MP BJP chief,gen secy testpositive: official

VDSharma,CM ShivrajSinghChouhan

Man held for attacking Latur doctorover parent’s death, say police

OMKARGOKHALEMUMBAI, JULY29

THESTATEgovernment,respond-ingtoapleafiledbyactorPramodPandey(70)seekingtoquashandset aside restrictions onmove-ment to shooting sites, onWednesdaytoldtheBombayHighCourt that itsdecision tobar castand crew, including actors agedabove65,onsetsoffictionornon-fictionprogramming,wasnotper-manent andmay change as pernewunlockguidelinesonJuly31.Government Pleader

Purnima H Kantharia told theHighCourtthatthedecisionwasnot arbitrary or discriminatory,but itwas in the interest of sen-ior citizens. “There may be achange. We don’t knowwhatchangesmaycomeuponAugust1.Asof today, itwouldnotbeanarbitrarydecisionasit isof tem-porary nature and taken in theinterest of persons above 65yearsold,”Kantharia said.Adivisionbenchof Justice S J

Kathawallaand JusticeR IChaglaheardthepleaschallengingthere-strictions.JusticeKathawallaaskedthe stategovernment to clarify iftherestrictionsweremandatory.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICERAJKOT,AHMEDABAD,VADODARA, JULY29

ONAdaywhenGujarat reported1,144 Covid-19cases—itshighestso far in aday— taking the statetally to over 59,000 cases, ChiefMinisterVijayRupaniduringavisitto Rajkot and Vadodara onWednesdaysaidthatthestatehadfewer fresh cases thanKerala onTuesdayandranked12 in the to-talnumberofcasesinthecountry.InRajkot, Rupani told apress

conference, "I amhappytosharethatthankstocooperationofpeo-ple,wearecontrollingcoronasit-uation verywell. Almost 50,000cases are reported every day inIndia...Keralawas,around15to20daysago,claimingthatcoronahadbeencontrolledfully.Peoplewerebusy discussing Kerala modelwhenitreported1,168casesyes-terday. There are more than10,000 active cases in Kerala. InGujarat,thenumberofnewcaseswas1,105yesterday."TheCMwasaccompaniedby

DeputyCMNitinPatelandChiefSecretary Anil Mukim, amongothers, duringhis visit toRajkotandVadodaratotakestockoftheCovid-19situation.

Surat: “In the past, BJPleaderstalkedaboutturn-ing Surat into Shanghai,butduetotheinefficiencyof the BJP (government),today it is nowhere nearShanghai. Because ofcoronavirus,whatwecansee is that Surat has be-come Wuhan," saidGujarat Congress presi-dentAmitChavdainSuratonWednesday.Hewas inthecity to takestockof itsCovid-19situation.AccompaniedbySurat

cityBJPpresidentBabubhaiRayka and Leader ofOppositionPrafulTogadiya,Chavdavisitedthecivic-runSMIMERhospital and thestategovernment-runNewCivilHospital.ENS

Surat has becomeWuhan: Chavda

Maharashtra toHC: May allowcast, crew agedabove 65 atshooting sites

VijayRupani

Gujarat cases rise,CM says situationbetter than Kerala

ANURADHAMASCARENHASPUNE, JULY29

MAHARASHTRAWILLstartclin-ical trials using convalescentplasmatherapyfor472severelyillpatientsacross21medicalcol-legesnextweek.Asanincentiveto encourage donors, the stategovernmentwillgiveRs2,000toeachplasmadonor.The recovery rate in

Maharashtrais59.24percentandtillTuesday,asmanyas2.32 lakhpatientsinthestatehadrecoveredfromtheinfection.Thestategov-

ernmentalreadyhasalistof3,000eligibledonorsandauthoritiesarehopeful that at least 20 per centwillbereadyaftercounselling.The 'Platina trial', an initiative

of the stateMedical EducationDepartment,was announcedbyChiefMinisterUddhavThackerayamonth ago. Rs 16.65 crore hasbeenallocatedforthisprojectfromtheChiefMinister’sReliefFund.Dr SanjayMukherjee, who

handedover charge as state sec-retary of medical education toSaurabhVijayonWednesday,toldTheIndianExpressthetrialwouldbeginsoon.“This is the largest convales-

centplasmatherapytrialfortreat-mentofsevereCovid-19patients,especially in theabsenceof defi-nitetreatmentdrugsforthesame.This is, in fact, theworld's largesttrial-cum-treatmentproject,tobe-gin soonacross21centres in thestate. The trialwill be carriedoutin17medical collegesunder theDepartmentofMedicalEducation,governmentofMaharashtra,andfour BMC medical colleges inMumbai,”saidMukherjee.RecoveredCovid-19patients,

whoseplasmacontainsantibod-iesagainstcoronavirus,candonateplasma28daysafterrecoveryandagainafterfourweeks.

Mumbai:Malls andmarketcomplexeswill reopen, andwill function from9am to 7pm, in the state, including inthe Mumbai MetropolitanRegion,undernewguidelinesissued by the state govern-mentWednesday.While shops inmallswill

reopen, theatres, food courtsandrestaurantsinthesecom-plexeswill remain shut, ac-

cordingtothenewguidelines,signed in by Chief SecretarySanjayKumar.However, un-like the Centre’s newguide-lines thatwerealso issuedonWednesday, “movement ofpeople for shoppingandout-doorexerciseswillcontinuetobe restricted to neighbour-hoodareas.” Thestatehasalsoretained night time restric-tionsonmovement.ENS

Maharashtra retains nightcurfew, malls to reopen

Maharashtra to start ‘largest’ plasma therapytrial across 21 medical colleges next week

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK 9WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY30,2020

SANTOSHSINGHPATNA,JULY29

A FOUR-MEMBER Bihar Policeteam on Wednesday met itscounterpartsinMumbai’sBandraover the probe into the death ofactor Sushant SinghRajput after“newevidence”emergedfollow-ing an FIR lodged by the late ac-tor's father, Krishna KishoreSingh, in Patna against actressRheaChakravartyandfiveothers.The FIR, registered at Patna's

RajivNagarpolice stationon July25,accusesthesix,whichincludesRhea's familymembers, of abet-ment to suicide, criminal intimi-dationandcriminalconspiracy.AseniorpoliceofficertoldThe

Indian Express: “Since new factshavecometolight,ourteamhasgone to collect information thathas emerged from MumbaiPolice's probe. They have not

gonewithanywarrant.”In the FIR, Singh alleged si-

phoning of Rs 15 crore fromSushant’s account in one year“to bank accounts of personsnot knownor connected to thelate actor”. Singh has also ac-cusedRheaofgivingSushantanoverdose of medicine at her

home and “falsely telling himthat the actor was sufferingfromdengue”.Sushant,34,was founddead

at his Mumbai apartment onJune14.SinghallegedintheFIR:“Mydaughter hadmet SushantinMumbai.Ashewastalkingin-coherently,mydaughterinsisted

onhis treatmentbyagooddoc-tor.ButRheainsistedonSushantgetting treatmentathome.”Singh, a retired engineer, al-

legedthatRheachangedhisson'sphonenumber inDecember“sothatpeopleknowntohimcouldbecutoff fromhim”.Singh alleged in the FIR that

Rheahad“developedanacquain-tance”withhissonwhenhewasat thepeakofhisactingcareer in2019“underadeliberateconspir-acy so that Rhea could establishherself in the film industry andwithaneyeonSushant’swealth”.“I had tried to bring Sushant

to Patna but Rhea and her fam-ilymembersdidnotletthathap-pen. Sushant had once toldmethat Rhea and others had beentryingtodeclarehimlunatic,”healleged in theFIR.InBihar,rulingNDApartners

BJPandLJPhavedemandedaCBIprobe into theactor'sdeath.

MAULSHREESETHLUCKNOW,JULY29

APART FROM attending the“bhoomi pujan” for the Ramtemple inAyodhyaonAugust5,PrimeMinister NarendraModiis likely to launchpostal stampsonasymbolicmodelof thetem-pleandtheRamayana.Even aspreparations are un-

derway inAyodhya for theocca-sion, the Ram JanmabhoomiTeerthKshetraTrusthasappealedto“RamBhaktas” to“notbeanx-ious to reachAyodhyaonAugust5”andassuredthemtheywouldgettheopportunitytoparticipatein the “Ram Janma BhoomiMandirNirmanYagya” at anap-propriatetimeinthefuture.Y P Singh, director of

AyodhyaResearchInstitute,toldThe Indian Express, “If things goas planned, then postal stampswill alsobe launchedonAugust5.Oneofthesestampsislikelytobe on a symbolicmodel of RamTemple and another on scenesdepicting the significance ofRaminothercountries.”He said Ayodhya Research

Instituteispreparingbigpostersandcut-outsof symbolsof RamLila from different countries todepict the “cultural presence ofRam across the world”, andthese would be put up on theroute to theRamTemplesite.Hesaidpreparationsarealso

ontoensurenon-stoprecitationof RamCharitraManas at 25 lo-cationsonthe4.5-kmroutetobetakenbythePrimeMinisterfromSaketDegreeCollegeinAyodhya—wherehischopperwill land—totheRamtemplesite.TopreparethecityforAugust

5, walls and pillars are beingpainted with pictures of Ramand scenes from the Ramayanaanddecoratedwith“rangoli”.Meanwhile, the Ram

Janmabhoomi Teerth KshetraTrust issuedanappeal topeoplenot to try to reach Ayodhya for“bhoomipoojan”consideringthepandemicsituation.ChampatRai,generalsecretaryofthetrust,saidthattheRamTemplemovementstarted in 1984 and since thencrores of “Ram Bhakhta” haveprovided support, thus itwouldbe their desire to be present forthis occasion. However, he said,consideringthepandemicsitua-tion, it isnotpossible.“Thus, Ram Janma Bhoomi

Teerth Kshetra Trust makes anappeal toallRamBhaktasnottobecome anxious to reachAyodhya and instead all shouldwatch the live telecast onDoordarshan,” he said, and re-questedeveryonetolightlampsin theirhomes in theevening tomark theoccasion.

VISHWASWAGHMODE&SANDEEPASHARMUMBAI, JULY29

WHILETHEBJP is set toobservetheRamtemplegroundbreakingceremony in Ayodhya in UttarPradeshonAugust5withmuchfanfare, theShivSena is likely tokeepcelebrationslow-keyamidthe pandemic. OnWednesday,party leaders and functionariessaidthepartyhasnotissuedanyinstructionsonthecelebrationsover theceremonyyet.“Adecisiononitwillbetaken

soon,”SanjayRaut,SenaMP,said.A Sena leader said, “So, the

celebrationsmay be low-key toavoidlargegatheringsofpeople.”Another party functionary

said Chief Minister and Senachief Uddhav Thackeray hadsuggestedthatavirtual ‘bhoomipujan’of theRamtempleshouldbehelddue to thepandemic.ChandrakantKhaire,asenior

Sena leader from Aurangabad,said,“Weareplanningtoorgan-isesomecelebrationsonAugust5while abiding by all the lock-down guidelines and Covid-19preventivemeasures.”TheSenahasbeenvocalabout

theRamtemple,withThackerayhas visitedAyodhya three timesinthelasttwoyears,includinghisvisit inMarch tomark the com-pletion of 100 days in office asChiefMinister. NCP chief SharadPawarhadsaidhewasnotagainsttheconstructionof thetempleastheSupremeCourthasgiventheverdict on it. “But the ceremonyshouldbeheldwithfewerpeopletoavoidcrowdingandspreadingthecoronavirus,”Pawarsaid.

AVANEESHMISHRALUCKNOW, JULY 29

DAYS AHEAD of the August 5foundationlayingceremonyfora proposed Ram temple inAyodhya, the Uttar PradeshSunni Central Waqf Board onWednesday announced thesettingupof aTrust to facilitatethe construction of a mosqueon a 5-acre land in Dhannipurvillage of Ayodhya.The Supreme Court had in

November last year, while de-cidingonthe title suit, directedtheCentre to allot a5-acreplotto the UP SunniWaqf Board inlieu of the disputed plot.Announcingthesettingupof

the Indo Islamic CulturalFoundationTrust,astatementis-sued by the UP Sunni CentralWaqf Board named nine of the15members of the Trust, “with

theUPSunniCentralWaqfBoardbeing its founder trustee”.According to thestatement,

the trustees named are BoardPresident Zufar AhmadFarooqui,VicePresidentAdnanFarrukh Shah, Secretary AtharHusain, Treasurer Faez Aftaband members MohammadJunaid Siddiqui, SheikhSauduzzaman, MohammadRashid and Imran Ahmad. Thestatement said the Trust willco-opt theremainingsixmem-bers soon.

Officials of theWaqf Boardsaid they are yet to get posses-sion of the land where theAgricultureDepartment,whichwas the custodian of the land,has been growing crops.“The Board had received

documents related to the landaroundMarch7, butweareyetto get physical possession. Wewere told that we would getpossession within 20-25 daysbut Covid happened and theprocess got delayed,” theBoard's Chief ExecutiveOfficerMohammad Shuaib told TheIndian Express.In February, the Board had

decided to accept the 5-acreland alloted by the state gov-ernment in Ayodhya and saidthat a Trust would be set up tobuild amosque, two centres toshowcase Indo-Islamic cultureandstudy,acharitablehospital,andapublic libraryontheplot.

UP Waqf Board sets up Trustto build mosque on 5-acre land

WaqfBoardofficialssaidtheyareyet togetpossessionof the land,wheretheAgricultureDepartmenthasbeengrowingcrops

On Aug 5, PMlikely to launchpostal stampson Ram temple,Ramayana

Ram templeceremony: Amidpandemic, Senato plan low-keycelebrations

Bihar cops in Mumbai to probe Sushantfather’s FIR against late actor’s friend Rhea

RHEA APPEALS SC TOMOVE PATNACASE TOMUMBAIMumbai: Actor RheaChakraborty onWednesdaymoved the SupremeCourt forastayoninvestigationsbyPatnapolice, and sought transfer ofthe probe to Mumbai, afterPatna police lodged an FIR onSushantSinghRajput'sfatherKKSingh's complaint, accusingherabetmenttosuicide.Advocate Satish

Maneshinde, representing

Rhea,said,“Aninvestigationun-derSection174ofCrPCisalreadyunderway (inMumbai).Wehavesoughtastayoninvestiga-tionbyPatnapolice and trans-feroftheprobetoMumbai.”Mumbai Police,whichhad

registeredanAccidentalDeathRecord,hassofarrecordedthestatements of over 40people,includingRhea.NoFIRhasbeenregisteredinMumbai.ENS

New Delhi

10WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

OMAR’S CHOICEHeisspotonthat findinganewpoliticalplank isachallenge,

a lotdependsonhowherises to it

INANEXTRAORDINARILYcandidandreflective interviewandasignedarticle inThe IndianExpress, breakinghis silence sincehisdetention last year, the formerJammu& Kashmir chief minister, Omar Abdullah, spoke of the “betrayal” ofAugust 5, 2019, how it had destroyed the bridge between amainstreampartylike theNational Conference and theCentre, and reduced suchparties, seen to

have carried the can for Delhi, into “elements of ridicule”. He expressed doubt aboutwhether therewasanymorespaceorscopeformainstreamparties inKashmir—“find-ingapoliticalplankatthispoint isnotgoingtobetheeasiest thing”.Hisownpoliticshasbecome“a lotmoreangryandresentful” and“less trusting”, he said. ButAbdullah,whowasdetainedonthedaytheCentrestrippedthestateof its special statusandbifurcatedit into twounion territories and released sixmonths later, also appears tohave come totermswith the fact that the decisions of that fateful August day are here to stay. Hede-scribedhis state ofmind as somewhere between “pessimismand realism”, but it is hissuggestion that itmay be pointless to demand a rolling back of the decision on Article370 that ispolitically significant.TheNational Conferencewill fight it out legally, but its top leader says that he is not

goingtofoolpeopleintobelievingthatJ&K'sspecialstatuscouldbebroughtback.Thisandhis statement, that hewould not contest elections in J&K until statehood has been re-stored— “thenwe’ll go ahead from there”— have sparked some outrage in the Valley,wheretheseremarksarebeingseenasanabdicationbythemainregionalpartyofKashmirfromits commitment to theAugust4GupkarDeclaration.Arrivedatbetween the lead-ersofall J&Kparties, itsaidthattheywouldremain“unitedintheirresolvetoprotectanddefend identity, autonomy and special status of the JK State against all attacks and on-slaughtswhatsoever”.Abdullahwas careful todrawa thick linebetween theNCandKashmiri separatism,

asserting that while the experiences of the last year hadmade him distrustful of theCentre, and“Delhidid itsdamnedest toequateuswith separatists”, hewasnotgoing tocomeoutof detention“espousingapolitical line that Idon’tbelieve in,because itmightbe popular or itmight be favourable at the time”; hewould not incite violent proteststhat endup taking the lives ofmorepeople, he said. Evenashehasdeclaredhewill notparticipateintheelectoralprocessofaUnionTerritory,hehasunderlinedhiscommitmentto thedemocraticprocesses.Goingahead, forhimand forotherpoliticiansof themain-streaminKashmir,thechallenge,ashehasadmitted,willbetofindthenextstepsinapo-litically denuded landscape—where the persistence of a political vacuumhas alwaysbeen fraughtwith thedangerof hardliners rushing in.

YOU HAVE NO MAILCOVID-19claimsanageingvictim—therailwaydakcarrier

whoboresensitive letters fromtheburrasahibs

IT’SLIKEEXECUTINGadeadhorse, just tomakesure it staysdead.Thedakcarri-erswhoboremessagesacross theworld’sbiggest railwaysystemwerealreadysuperannuated as the officers they served turned to email. But now, the finan-cialbelt-tighteninginresponsetothepandemichasclosedaroundtheirthroatslikeanoose. Theyhavebeenreplacedbydigital communications.

Theideaofadakcarrierseemsimpossiblyquaintnow,butbackintheday,theyservedthe samepurpose as 128-bit encryption.Wehave forgotten that India’s railway systemwaslaidoutaftertheuprisingof1857.Itsfirstprioritywasrapidtroopmovement. Itssec-ondwastheefficientcarriageofgoodsandproducefromthehinterlandtoindustrialcen-tresandports.Payingpassengerscameadistantthird.Withpeople, therailwayalsocar-riedthefluandtheplagueacrossthecountry.AnditcarriedMahatmaGandhiinthird-classcompartments,protestingaboutfilthyloosandbearingwordof freedom.Butoriginally,the railwaywasa strategic asset of theempire, and informationandorderswouldhavehadtobedeliveredby trustedcarriers, in the interestof security.Modernityhasendedtheromanceoftherails,andnow,privatisationlooms.Thedriv-

ers’runningroomswithporcelainserviceandwhitelinenarelongforgotten.Thestationmasterisnolongerapillarofthecommunity.Theneatstaff linesbesidestations,withtheirtendedgardens,wickergatesand thecharacteristic earthenwarechimneysbent likeanupside-down J, aremuch reduced. Only a few stations remain relatively untouched—picturesque Barog in the hills, and imperial palaces of the age of steel and steam likeHowrahandVT.Amidst thisgeneraleclipse,will the lossof thedakcarrier, themostob-scure relicof thecolonial era, benoticedverymuch.

The limits of science

Vikram Patel

Reputationof scientists,alreadytaintedasbeingelitist,willbefurthermuddiedbyourrole inthispandemic

FOURMONTHSSINCEtheworld’smoststrin-gentlockdownwasimposedwithfourhours’notice on over a billion unprepared peoplewiththepromise,buttressedbyscientificjar-gon and graphs of curves, that this extremeactionwould flatten the curve of infectiondowntozerobymid-May,weremainmiredin the grip ofmultiple epidemics unfoldingwithdifferenttrajectoriesacrossourcitiesandtowns. As I try tomake sense of why thingshavegone soawry, one thoughtwhich trou-blesmethemostisanhonestappraisalofthecontributionofscience,whetherinthiscoun-tryorglobally.Afterall, I belongto thatcom-munity. Never before has science been somuch in the spotlight in global andnationalaffairs and yet, it seems tome,we have notquitecoveredourselvesinglory.Inparticular,wehave failed in our obligation to acknowl-edgetheuncertaintiesinourobservations,thelimitations of ourmethods and the impor-tanceofothertraditionsofknowledge.The history of this pandemic is littered

withpremature,andofteninaccurate,scienti-ficpredictions ranging fromtheestimatesofthenumbersofpeoplewhowilldieunlessna-tionsimposealockdowntotheeffectivenessofdrugtreatments.Crowningthesescientificdisciplines isthefieldofmodelling, for itwasits estimates of mountains of dead bodieswhich fuelled the panic and led to the un-precedentedrestrictionsonpubliclifearoundtheworld.Noneof theseearlymodels, how-ever, explicitly acknowledged the huge as-sumptionsthatweremade, forexamplethatmortalitywas distributed evenly across thepopulation (incorrect, because it is heavilyconcentratedintheelderly)orthateveryonewhoisnot infected isvulnerable (likely tobeincorrect as evidence of innate immunitymounts).Theassumptionthattheviruswouldrampageuniformlyinallpopulations,whichwasanaïveonetobeginwith,forboththeso-cialconditionsandhumanbiologywhichin-fluencethetransmissionofinfectiousdiseasesvaryenormouslyacrosscontexts,canbesafelyjunked.Whileitisfairtodefendmodellingscience

asjustonetool intendedtopredictanuncer-tainfutureandguidegovernments,suchmod-elsmustneverbeinterpretedasif theyoccurin a vacuum, agnostic to their historical, so-cial, cultural and economic context. This re-sponsibilityfallssquarelyontheshouldersofthe scientific community, asmuch as policy

makers.Thelatestexampleofthemyopicper-spectivewhichdominatesmodelling enter-prisesistheunpublishedbutpubliclyaccessi-blepaperauthoredbyscientistsfromtwoIvyLeagueUS universitieswhich recommendsthe closure of red-light areas in India to dra-matically reduce the number of COVID-19deaths.Thepaperhas,rightly,promptedfuryand spurred JVRPrasadaRao, formerHealthSecretaryandUNSecretary-General’sSpecialEnvoyonAIDS, towritea letter, co-authoredwithIndia’sleadingactivistsandresearchers,expressing outrage at the study’s researchmethods and ethics. Perhaps themost egre-giousconcern is the ludicrouslynaïveobser-vationthatsexworkers,alreadyamongstthemostdiscriminatedgroupsonthemarginsofsociety, could simplybe redeployed toothervocationstostaveoffthehungerandviolencethatwouldbefallthemwhentheredlightar-easareshut.Indeed,thiskindoftunnelvisionhaschar-

acterised scientific proclamations from theoutset of the pandemic,with little attentiontotheirsocietalimplicationswhichwouldre-quireathoroughassessmentoftheimpactofpoliciesonthemostvulnerable.Thefactthatmany liveswill be lost as a result of the lock-downsisnowemergingacrosstheworld,withrecentreportsfromUNICEFdocumentingtensofmillions of childrenwhose routine vacci-nationshavebeendisruptedandfromOxfamthat “up to 12,000 people could die fromhungereverydayglobally—2,000morethandied fromCOVID-19eachday inApril”.Mostofthesedeathswilloccurinthepoorestcom-munities. It is perhaps not surprising thatsomescientistsvociferouslycalledforgovern-ments to act swiftly to impose lockdowns.Afterall,mostofmycommunity,andthegov-ernmentofficialswhoconjureandimplementthese policies, enjoy salaried jobswhich canseamlessly pivot to on-line platformswhichwecanoperatewith ease fromour spacioushomesinwhichbeinglockeddowncanevolveintoarathercongenialopportunitytomasterculinary skills and not have to commute towork. Itwillnotsurprisemeif thereputationofscientists,alreadytaintedinsomequartersasbeingelitist,willbefurthermuddiedbyourrole inthispandemic.Andsohereweare,aftermonthsofbeing

tantalised by headlines of billions of dollarsallocated to funddramatic scientific discov-eries, implementing strategies we have

knownaboutfordecades:Thehumblefront-lineworkerburrowingsystematicallythroughthe community to identify cases, trace theircontacts, isolate themat home, and restrictmovementsinareaswhereclustersemerge.Itis instructive thatMassachusetts in theUS,home to theworld’s leadingmedical schoolandteachinghospitals,hasdeployedPartnersinHealth,aNGOwhichhaspreviouslyworkedinthepoorestcountrieshelpingcontainepi-demics such as Ebola through communitybased first-responders, to guide the state’spandemic control programme. The successstories in India, fromKerala toDharavi, alsobearthehallmarksof suchastrategy.Whatmarksthecurrentpandemicoutas

being unlike any other public health emer-gencythatprecedesit is itsglobalstage,withthe cacophony of debates and disputes be-tweenscientistsplayedoutinfullpublicviewondigital platforms. It comes as no surprisethat waves of panic and anger sweep theworld, as populationswhichwere led to be-lieve that scientific commandmentswerewritteninstoneandthatgovernmentleaderswere responding accordingly, are coming togripswith the truth that there ismuch thatwedon’tunderstandaboutthevirusandtheresponsibility of containment has been de-volvedtotheordinarycitizenandthelocalau-thorities.Which is, ironically,what it shouldhavebeenfromthestart.Whilescience-informedpoliciesareanas-

piration,wealsoneedtoappreciatetheirlim-itationsandassumptionstoensurethatsuchpolicies do not lead to avoidable harms andpromiseunrealisticresults.Ihopethescientificcommunitycanemergefromthisexperiencewithmorehumility, toacknowledgethatwedon’t have all the answers all the time, thatother disciplines such as the humanities arejustasimportant,thatourrecommendationsare often founded on an incomplete under-standing of the problem, that these willchangeasnewknowledgeemerges,andthatit is in keepingwith our tradition to admitwhenwearewrongandusetheseopportuni-tiestorefineourmethods.Aboveall,wemustbecautiouswhenrecommendinganypolicyactions to ensure they always take into ac-counttheperspectivesofthevulnerablewhowillbemostseriouslyaffected.

Patel is thePershingSquareProfessorofGlobalHealthatHarvardMedicalSchool

And so here we are, aftermonths of being tantalisedby headlines of billions ofdollars allocated to funddramatic scientificdiscoveries which willilluminate our path tovictory over the virus,implementing strategies wehave known about fordecades: The humble front-line worker burrowingsystematically through thecommunity to identify cases,trace their contacts, isolatethem at home, and restrictmovements and crowdedevents in areas where clustersemerge.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

B E C A U S E T H E T R U T H I N V O L V E S U S A L L

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY30,2020WORDLYWISE

VanGoghwould’ve soldmorethanonepainting ifhe’d puttigers in them.

— BILL WATTERSONTHEEDITORIALPAGE

Anirudh Burman

LICENCE RAJ FOR DATARegulationsproposedbydraftreportonnon-personaldataneedarelook

INDIAISINCREASINGLYrushingintoalicence-permit raj for thedata economy. Even as thePersonal Data Protection Bill, 2019, is beingconsideredbyParliament, thegovernment’s(CommitteeofExpertsonNon-PersonalDataGovernance Framework) has sought com-ments on a draft report for regulating non-personaldata. If accepted in itscurrent form,the report is likely to seriously erode, if notend, India's competitive advantage in infor-mationtechnology.Unlikepersonaldata, there isnoclear ra-

tionale forwhytheuseofnon-personaldataneedsregulation.Mostgovernmentsregulatepersonal data for the possibility of misuseagainst individuals. Non-personal data is bydefinition data unrelated to individuals, andnocountryhassofarannouncedanyconcreteplans to regulate it. Since India is likely to bean exception, onewould have expected astrong, evidence-based case for regulatingnon-personal data.Worryingly, the draft re-portadduceshardlyanyevidence.Thedraft report argues first, that compa-

niesthathaveafirst-moveradvantageindata-related businesses have an enormous com-petitive advantage. It states that since thisadvantageishardtoovercomethroughmar-ket forces, there isaneed for regulating theiruseofdata. Itdoesnotanswerwhycompeti-tionlawandIndia'sCompetitionCommission

areinadequate,orhownon-personaldatareg-ulationwouldbeabettermethodforpromot-ingcompetitiveness.Second,itprovidesonlyhypothetical examples of howanonymisedpersonaldatacouldbede-anonymisedtotar-getindividualsorgroups.However,sincesuchde-anonymiseddatawouldbecomepersonaldata,theuseofsuchdatashouldbegovernedby personal data regulation under thePersonalDataProtectionBill.Third,thereportargues,againwithoutevidence,thattheman-datedsharingof non-personaldatawill leadto higher innovation. This, despite over-whelmingevidencehighlightinghowtheex-propriation of private property discouragesinnovationandgrowth.Ontheseshaky foundations, thedraft re-

portproposesanexpansiveregulatoryregimethatwouldmandatedata-sharingbyanyonecollectingdataaboveacertainthreshold,andrequire registrationwith another newdataregulatory body for anyone collecting or de-rivingbenefits fromnon-personaldata.Also,itproposesstate“beneficialownership”ofcer-taincategoriesofnon-personaldata.Forthis,thereportmakesaspeciousargument—thatuseful data created by a business should nolonger be considered property ownedby it:“Theterm'ownership'holdsfullmeaningonlyin terms of physical assets.” It says that thegovernment should be the beneficial owner

of what it calls “community non-personaldata”,which isstilldatacollectedandgener-atedby theprivate sector.Not onlydoes thisupendIndia'sexistingregimefor intellectualproperty, italsogoescontrarytoglobalprop-ertyrightsprotectionsIndiahassignedupto.If implemented,thisislikelytohavedele-

teriouseffectsoninnovationnotjustintheITsector,butinanyindustrythatusesdata.Thevolume-based threshold for compliance islikely to have the same results that suchframeworkshavehadinIndia'smanufactur-ing sector, where firms stay small to avoidcompliance.Overdecades,Indiahaslearnthardlessons

regardingtheinteractionbetweenstateregu-lation andprivate enterprise. The rollbackofthestatehasledtoanastonishingproportionof India'spopulationescapingpoverty in thelastthreedecades.Stateregulationmustiden-tify concrete problems, not create interven-tionistbureaucraciesbasedonpotentialones.These lessons havemade India one of theworld's largest economies and enabled thepresentgovernmenttoseek“atmanirbharta”.By ignoring these lessons, the reportpro-

poses to replicate the failuresof regulation intheindustrialsectorinthedigitaleconomy.

Thewriter isassociate fellowatCarnegieIndia.Viewsarepersonal

The draft report argues first,that companies that have afirst-mover advantage in data-related businesses have anenormous competitiveadvantage. It states that sincethis advantage is hard toovercome through marketforces, there is a need forregulating their use of data. Itdoes not answer whycompetition law and India'sCompetition Commissionare inadequate.

ASSAM FORMULAOFFICIALLEVELDISCUSSIONSwill begin ina day or two to give shape to the final “for-mula” which emerged during the negotia-tions held by Manipur Chief MinisterDorendra Singhwith leaders of the Assammovementtofindasolutiontotheproblemof foreignnationals.After theproposalsaregivenconcreteshapetheywillbeplacedbe-forethePrimeMinisterforherapproval.Thiswas indicated by the Congress( I) GeneralSecretary S SMahapatra, shortly after CMSingh hadmet the PMandHomeMinister.Mahapatra was present at bothmeetings.Mahapatra,whoheadstheNortheastregioncell intheAICC-Iwashighlyoptimisticabout

the outcome of the effort initiated byDorendra Singh. “If everything goes wellcomplete peacemay return to Assam” be-fore the coming Independence day, he toldreporters at an informalbriefing.

INDIA WINS GOLDINDIAREGAINEDTHEOlympichockeygoldmedal after a lapse of 16 years with an ex-citing 4-3 victory over Spain in Moscow.Surinder Singh Sodhi gave India a 2-0 halftime lead in the second half. M K KaushikandMohammadShaheedaddedtwomoretothetally. Inbetween,Spain’sveteranfull-back Juan Amat scored a hat-trick by con-verting three of the five penalty corners

earnedbyhisteaminthesecondhalf.PrimeMinister Indira Gandhi has congratulatedtheIndianteamforitsvictory.Shedescribedit as the “most creditable victory”. UnionEducationMinister B Shankaranand, alsocongratulatedthe Indianteamonitssplen-didvictory.

BUND BREACHEDTHE BREACH IN the Bihar bund over theriver Gandak in Deoria district widenedfrom 700metres to 1,500metres. An SOShas been sent to the Bihar Government,whichmaintains this bund to immediatelytake steps for plugging thebreachandpro-tecting theUPpopulation fromadeluge.

JULY 30, 1980, FORTYYEARSAGO

A HOME FOR TIGERSurveyshowsathirdof India’s tiger reservesarenearingpeakcapacity.Creativesolutionscanreducehuman-animalconflict

LASTYEAR, INDIA’Stigercensusrevealedthatthecountry ishometonearly3,000 of these big cats. Thatwas rightly considered a significant achieve-ment given that India’s tiger population had come down to around 1,400in2006andtheanimalhadbeencompletelywipedoutof reservessuchasSariska.AsurveybytheUnionenvironmentministry,whosereportwasre-

leasedonTuesday, alsocelebrates this success.But it addsacaveat:Seventeenof India’s50 tiger reserves are approaching their peak carrying capacity. In fact, nearly a third ofthe country’s tigers today liveoutsideprotectedareas (PA). As these carnivores spill outof thenationalparks, theycomeintoproximitywithhumansettlements.This isamajorreason for the rise inhuman-animal conflicts in thepast fiveyears.Maletigersrequirearangeof70-150squarekmandfemalesneedabout20-60sqkm.

The animal is highly territorial and does not like sharing spacewith even its siblings orcubs.Whenit isaboutayear-and-a-halfold,atigerbeginsitssearchforterritory.Whenitcannot findspace inaPA, theadolescenteithermovesoutor forcesanageingtigeroutofthereserve.The itinerantanimal is confrontedwithashortageof prey—researchshowsthatone tiger requiresapreybaseof 500animals to survive. Thebigcat is forced tosheditsnaturalreticencetowardshumansandstalksfarmsandvillagesforlivestock.Tigersdonothaveanaturalpropensitytoattackhumans.Eventhen,reportsofpeoplebeingmauledtodeathbytigersareincreasinglybecomingfrequent.Accordingtodatapresentedbythenministerof state forenvironment, forestandclimatechange,MaheshSharma, in theLokSabha lastyear,morethan100peoplewerekilledbytigersbetween2015and2018.ThetigerpopulationseemstobegrowinginMadhyaPradesh,Karnataka,Maharashtra

andUttarakhand.Expertssuggestthattheproblemofplentycanbesolvedbyrelocatingsometigersfromplaceswhosecarryingcapacityischallengedtoonesthathavescopetohostmore animals. The country’s conservation authorities could take a cue from lastyear’scensuswhichhadrevealedscopefor improvement intheEasternGhats’ reserves.Asthecountrycelebratesitsconservationsuccess,policymakersandscientistswillhavetoput their heads together todevisemore creative solutions and findhomes for the in-creasingnumberof tigers.

New Delhi

11THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY30,2020

WHATTHEOTHERSSAY‘‘Washington has lost in terms of morality and justice. This will generallyhelp China accumulate more resources to resist US suppression.’’

— GLOBALTIMES, CHINATHE IDEASPAGEWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

There is confusion on whichministry should underwritethe dog sterilisationprogramme — the healthministry as a healthprogramme, the urbandevelopment ministry as aprogramme for cities, theanimal husbandrydepartment, or theenvironment ministry. TheAWBI, now under the aegisof the Ministry of Fisheries,Animal Husbandry andDairying, has been steadilyreducing its financial aid —it was only Rs 1 crore for theentire country six years agoand is today nil.

For the love of dog Caste to kisanpolitics

LASTMONTH,theCongresselevatedHardikPatel,26,tothepostofworkingpresidentofits Gujarat unit. This strategicmove, a fewmonthsbeforeeightassemblyby-pollsandlocalelections, transfiguresthestate’spoli-ticsandGujaratCongress incriticalways.HardikPatelbeganhispoliticalcareerin

2015, attending to the Patel community’sdemand for recognition as an OtherBackwardClass(OBC).HeturnedagainsttheBJPwhentheagitationwascrushed,result-inginthedeathofnineyoungmenandthearrestofabout1,500others.Patelspent200days in jail before the Gujarat High Courtasked him to stay out of the state for sixmonths.Duringthistime,hebecamecloserto theCongressandsupportedtheparty inthe2017election.Gradually,here-configuredhispolitical

narrative to expandhis reachbeyond ruralPatels. Hehas set aside the quota questionafter joining the Congress in 2019 and fol-lowing the introduction of the 10per centreservation for economicallyweaker sec-tions. He now tries to appear as a peasantandyouthleader.This evolution is in tune with the

Congress’sevolutioninGujarat.Patelsusedto support the Congress until the 1960s,when it becamea safe home for Brahminsand Banias. From the late-1970s, theCongress turned to theOBCs, especially totheKshatriya-Thakors andKolis under theleadershipofMadhavsinhSolanki,whowasalso popular among Harijans (Dalits),Adivasis andMuslims (hence the famousKHAMcoalition).Thiscaste-basedcoalitionfurtheralienatedthePatels,whofullyshiftedto the BJP, as Banias andBrahmins had al-readydone.TheHindunationalistcoalitionwas solidifiedunderNarendraModi in thewakeof the2002communalviolence.TheCongresshasgraduallyrealisedthat

itsoldunderstandingofcastepolitics,whichwasdevoidofcaste-classinteraction,wouldnot take it far in a post-liberalisation envi-ronment. It has since established itself as apartyof ruralGujarat, first inSaurashtra(asevident fromthe2015 local elections), andthenacrossthestate,whiletheBJPremainedmoreurbanandmiddle-classoriented.Thisrural-urbandynamicbecamenoticeableinthe 2017 assembly election — 57 of theCongress’s 77MLAs came frompredomi-nantly rural constituencies, while the BJPwon46of56urbanseats.The urban/rural divide is increasingly

manifestinpoliticsbecauseoftheevolutionoftheeconomy,whereindustrydeveloped,to some extent, at the expense of agricul-ture.MSMEshavebeenaffectedbytheriseofoligopoliesandhighlycapitalisticinvest-ments have not created adequate jobs. Asper the Socio-Economic Reviewof Gujarat(2019-20),everyRs1croreofinvestmentbybig industrieshascreatedlittleabovethreeadditional jobsfrom1983tillnow!

ThePatels,liketheMarathasandJats,arethemselves divided along the urban/ruralline.AKalaiyarasan’scalculationsbasedontheIndianHumanDevelopmentSurveyre-veal that 20 per cent of the richest amongthePatelscornered61.4percentofthecom-munity’s total income in 2011-12 (against52.8 per cent in 2004-5), whereas 20 percent of the poorest got only 2.8 per cent(against4.1percentsevenyearsbefore). InthecaseofpoorPatels,thissocio-economictrendisevenmoreunfavourableastheylagbehind OBCs and Dalits. In 2011-12, themean incomeof thebottom20per cent ofPatels (Rs6,978)wasalmosthalf themeanincomeofthesecondtothebottomquintileofDalits(Rs11,411).Theclosingofthegapisevenmore obvious between Patels andOBCs: The third quintile of the Kolis andotherOBCsearnalmostasmuchasthesec-ondtothebottomquintileof thePatelsandtheir top 20-40 per cent earns almost asmuchasthethirdquintileofPatels.Theclasselement among Patels coincideswith theurban/rural divide, as the rich Patels arethosewhohave successfullymoved to ur-ban Gujarat and share bonds with thewealthyGujarati diaspora in theUS. PoorPatels are still in villages and cannot find agoodjobintown.These divisions are visible inGujarat’s

polity.While the Congress represents theruralPatels, theBJP ismoreof aspokesper-son of the urban ones. Only one of the 15Patel Congress legislatorshails fromanur-banseat,whereasoverthree-fourthsof the29 Patel BJPMLAs come from predomi-nantlyurbanseats.Certainly,Patelsruntheshow inVijay Rupani’s government,withhalfof thecabinet“reserved”forthem.But,the most influential Patel ministers —Deputy CM Nitin Patel, Kaushik Patel,SaurabhPatel—representindustrial-urbaninterests. TheOBCs,who occupy about 30percentoftheBJP’slegislativebody,hadjustonecabinetspotuntilthecabinetexpansioninearly2019,afterwhichtheygottwoaddi-tionalcabinetministers(bothCongressturn-coats). In contrast, the Congress is in thehandsofyoungOBCandPatidarfacesfromaruralbackground.BesidesHardikPatel,theparty’s regional president, Amit Chavda isanOBCleaderfromcentralGujaratandtheopposition leader in the Vidhan Sabha,PareshDhanani,isaLeuvaPatelfromAmreli.The position of a kisan leader has long

been vacant in Gujarat. Keshubhai Patel,Gujarat’s chief minister beforeModi, wasthe last powerful politician to canvass forfarmersopenly.HardikPatelmaygettodonthe hat of a kisan leader. In the 1980s, theGujarat Congress initiated a new formofcaste politics that announced theMandalandBahujanmoment. Today, itmay inau-gurate the return of the kind of kisan poli-ticsthatCharanSinghhadpromoted,inthebackdropofanagriculturalcrisisthatmakesthe urban/rural divide even more pro-nounced. What remains to be seen iswhether thepartywill stand also by thoseatthebottomofruralsociety—thelandlesslabourersfromAdivasi,lowerOBCandDalitmilieux.

Jaffrelot isseniorresearchfellowatCERI-SciencesPo/CNRS,Paris,professorof Indian

PoliticsandSociologyatKing’s IndiaInstitute,London.Laliwalaisan

independentscholaronpoliticsandhistoryofGujarat

Ifwecancoexistwithanimals,wewillbenefit farmore fromour interactionwiththemthantheywithus

DOGSANDINDIANSwerebarredfromenter-ing prominent roads during the British Raj.Killingdogswasconsideredpartof the sani-tationprocess.Thisdidnotreducethepopu-lation of these animals before or sinceIndependence.In1980,adogcountestimated8 lakhdogs inDelhi. Thousandswere killedeverymonthinabidtoridthecityofdogs. In1987,aMCDsurveyrevealedthatthedogpop-ulation was still 8 lakh. The survey alsoshowedthat thenumberof peoplebittenbydogsactuallyincreasedwhenmoredogswerekilled.Dogsexistindevelopingcountriesbecause

of poor solidwaste disposal systems. Theymust be dealt with scientifically and hu-manely.OtherwisewewillrepeatthedisasterofSuratin1994whenalldogswereremovedandrats took theirplace immediately, creat-ingfearsofplague.Irememberthemasksandfearacrossthecountry.AWHOstudyinthe1990sshowedsteril-

isation and vaccinationwas the onlyway todealwithstreetanimalsandthethreatof ra-biesfromthem.Thissurveyinformedanorderof a lower court inDelhi that asked the gov-ernment to sterilise and vaccinate dogs in-steadofkillingthem.In 2001, the Centre notified the Animal

BirthControl (ABC) rules.While local bodieswere asked to execute the sterilisation pro-gramme,itwasexpectedthattheCentreandstategovernmentswouldextendfinancialas-sistance. TheAnimalWelfare Board of India(AWBI)wasmandated toassist andmonitorthesedrives.Unfortunately, the governmentmadeno

financialprovisionforsterilisation.Afewmu-nicipalities have implemented this pro-grammevery effectively on their own—es-pecially inDelhiwherethedogpopulationisnowunder a lakh and dog bites have comedown from72,000 a year in 2000 to 12,000.Thecentreswhichissuetheanti-rabiesinjec-tions inDelhiwill tell you thatmost of thesebites are from foreign pet dogswhobelievethey should protect their owners. ButGhaziabad,Faridabad,NoidadonothaveanyanimalbirthcontrolprogrammeandGurgaonimplements such a programme irregularly,whichisawasteofmoney.There is confusion onwhichministry

shouldunderwrite the dog sterilisationpro-gramme—thehealthministryasahealthpro-gramme,theurbandevelopmentministryasaprogrammeforcities,theanimalhusbandrydepartment,ortheenvironmentministry.TheAWBI,nowundertheaegisof theMinistryofFisheries, Animal Husbandry andDairying,hasbeensteadily reducing its financialaid—itwasonlyRs1crorefortheentirecountrysixyearsagoandistodaynil.Since2009, thehighcourtsof Karnataka,

MaharashtraandHimachalPradeshhaveat-temptedtoreinstatethedogkillingregimeinonewayoranother,butsuchinvasiveactionshavebeenstayedbytheSupremeCourt.Thejudiciary realised that governments weredraggingtheirfeetontheimplementationoftheABCrules.TheAWBIwas,therefore,askedtodrawoutadetailedstate-wise implemen-tation frameworkandamodule for carryingouthighthroughputsurgeriesforstreetdogs.Thiswasissuedtoallstates in2016.ThestreetsofDelhiwere fullof diseased

dogs till a littleoveradecadeago.With reg-ular sterilisation drives conducted by theMCD,thenumbershavefallendrasticallyanddog bites have reduced. The caregivers ofstreet dogs have played a crucial role in be-friending dogs and getting themneutered.Suchinteractionreducesaggressionindogsand they perceive humans as friendly andnon-threatening. These caregivers get ha-rassed over simple acts of compassion, butthese are people who use their time andmoney to serve the community.We shouldbegrateful to them.Constructivemeasurestocontrolthedog

populationneedtobeundertakenbythean-imalbirthcontrolmonitoringcommittees inthe states. Unfortunately, these committeesdon’tmeet,theyhavenotallocatedanybudgetfortheprogrammeandareculpableforbadlyexecutedprogrammes.TheUttarakhandgov-ernment has set an example by establishingAnimal Birth Control Campuseswith ade-quatehospital facilities. Anevaluationof theprogramme after two years of operationfounditextremelyeffectiveincontrollingbothaggressionindogsandtheirpopulation.UttarPradeshhas started a similar programme inLucknow.Unfortunately,theMinistryofHealthand

FamilyWelfare has not acted on the SC’s di-rectivetocreateaschemetosupport the im-plementation of the dogpopulation controland rabies eradication programme.Uttarakhand’sexperienceshowsthesalienceof suchaprogramme.TheCentre has bannedbreeders andpet

shopswhich sell animalswithout licences.Thisruleisnotbeingfollowedbutitcouldbe-come a significant part of a larger solution.Adoption of Indian dogs is a healthier andmorepracticaloption.Theyarebetter suitedto our environment and are intelligent andfriendly.Iftwoineveryhundredpeopleadoptan Indian dog, therewill be no dogs on theroads. Till then,we need a robust spay andneuter programmeand community partici-pationtokeepthestreetanimalshealthyandfriendly.Most peoplewho complain about dogs

have foreign species at home— several ofthemcouldhaveboughttheanimalsillegally.They are bitten by foreign dogs but take outtheirangeronIndiandogs. I findthisattitudeelitist and bizarre. I also find the use of theword rabid inappropriate. A rabid dog losestheuseofhisnerves—firstsight,thenthroat,then the legs. Suchdogs donot jumpabout,climb overwalls. Rabies is nowvery rare in

Delhi becauseof theABCprogramme.Whatthewriter of a recent article in this paper(CoomiKapoor’s‘Gonetothedogs’,IE,July27)probablymeantwasaviolentforeigndogthattheownermis-trainedandthensetloose.Theownershouldbepunished.Streetdogsorcolonydogsdonotbitewan-

tonly. There are three reasons for themget-ting aggressive. One, if the female is onheatthemaleswillbreakboundaries toreachherandgetaggressivebecausetheyarebothsex-uallychargedandnervous.Two, if the female has a litter, she knows

most of her babieswill die andher pain andangercomesoutasshetries todefendthem.Anyonewho feeds dogs knows that five outof sixpuppieswilldie. Three, if theyarecon-stantly hit by people, dogs becomevery de-fensive. Sterilisation takes away the first tworeasonsandineverycolonywherestreetan-imals are allowed to live and let live, there iscompleteharmony.Some people use their profession and

powertoabuseandbullyharmlessdogfeed-erswho then reach out tome. They cannotbullyme, so like all bullies, they back downin private and thenwhen the opportunityarises,theyusetheirprofessionalclouttoat-tackme.Iamaneight-timeMP—thelongestserv-

ingMPinthecurrentParliament.EverythingIdo isbasedonscientific studiesandoutof adesire toprovidesolutions that serveall. I donotwantaSuratagain. Idonotwantacoun-trywhich encourages violence against ani-mals because the next stepwill be violenceagainstpeople. IcertainlydonotwantIndiandogsreplacedwithinbredforeignspecieswhoalsosufferalot.IfIamwrong,areallthejudgesin thecourtsalsowrong?Are theanimalbe-haviourscientistswrong?Duringthelockdown,lakhsofpeople,es-

pecially young people, have emerged asthoughtful, generous and brave animal car-ers.Manyof themhavebeensubjectedto ir-rationalabuse.Butweshouldrememberthateveryanimalcarertakescareofthepeopleinthecommunitybyfeedingthedogs.Animals bring happiness. Theword ani-

mal comes fromanima—thesoul. Eachani-malthinks,dreamsandwantsthesamenur-turingthatwedo.Ifwecancoexistwiththem,wewillbenefit farmorefromourinteractionwith them than theywith us. Let us be hu-mane and kind to each other and theworldaroundus. Indiawillbenefit.

Thewriter isa formerministerandBJPMP

ManekaGandhi

WHO REPRESENTS

THISREFERSTO to the article, ‘The caseforpresidentialsystem’ (IE, July25).Thewriterbelievesthatinapresidentialsys-tem, the head of the government canhaveafreehandinappointingexpertsasministers.However,evenintheUS,nom-ineesneedtheapprovalofthesenate.Theparliamentarysystemisbasedonthefacttheexecutivederivesitspowerfromthelegislature.Ourpresentsystemdoesnotensureparliamentaryrepresentationtoapartycommensuratewithitsvoteshare.Arepresentativesystemshouldbeamix-tureof proportional representationandfirstpastthepostsystem.

ParthNawale ,Mumbai

BE CAUTIOUSTHIS REFERS TO the article, ‘The lock-down advantage’ ( IE, July 28). PMNarendraModi’snoteofextremecautionin the latest edition of Mann ki Baatshouldbeheeded.Indiahasaddednearlytwolakhcasesinthepastfourdayswithearlierhotspots likeDelhi,Mumbai andChennaigivingwaytoamorepan-Indiadistribution.ThepandemicisenteringaphasewherebackwarddistrictsinBihar,Jharkhand,UP andBengalwill start re-portingmorecases.Theemphasismustbeonreducingmortality.

Vandana,Chandigarh

BEWARE, BAD LOANS

THISREFERSTOtheeditorial,‘Stresstest’(IE, July 28). It is not surprising to learnabouttheRBIgovernor'swarningtothecountry’s banks. Theeconomy is in thedoldrumsdespite theeffortsof thegov-ernment. Banks andNBFCswere strug-glingwiththeeconomicdownturnevenbeforethepandemicbecausethelackoffresh credit demand. Thenewmorato-riumannouncementcouldaggravatethebad loanproblem. Barring a few selectcompanies,mostfirmstodaydonothavethecashflowstosustainbusiness.

BalGovind,Noida

LETTER TO THEEDITOR

CONGRESSMPShashiTharoor('Caseforpres-identialsystem',IE,July25)hasverythought-fullyreopenedthedebateontheparliamen-tary versus presidential systems that hadbeendormantforseveraldecades.Hemakesseveralvalidpoints,includingthepropensityof lawmakerstodefectatthedropofahat insearchofperksandoffices,whichheblamesontheparliamentarysystem.Consequently, according to Tharoor, the

systemproducesgovernmentsfocusedmoreon politics and personal aggrandisementrather than policy. The sordid spectacle inRajasthanbears testimony to the lack of in-terest on the part of the executive and thelegislature in policymaking and legislation,preoccupied as they are with retaining orcapturingpower.Unfortunately,thiscontin-ues to be true evenwhenweare in distresstodaybecauseof thepandemic.Iamnotcertainthatthisisthefaultof the

parliamentarysystem.Thecausesforthepo-liticalmalaiseinIndiaaremanifoldandtheyare not limited to a particular form of gov-ernment. The first is the lack of ideologicalcommitment, with the exception of a sub-stantialportionof thedevoteesofHindutva,on the part of the political class. Devoid of

politicalprinciplesmany, if notmost,politi-cians are up for sale. For these venal politi-cians, defection and party-hopping are notseriouspoliticalmaladiesbutessentialcom-ponentsof theirpoliticalstrategytoattainorretainpower.This is unlikely to change even if India

moves to a presidential system. In fact, it isprobable that itwill contributehugely to anexecutive-legislature deadlock as a result ofcompetitive buying or a legislature that iscompletely bought off by, and therefore to-tallysubservientto,theexecutivebytheofferofperks.Thelatterwillcompletelyinvalidatethe basic principles of separation of powersand checks and balances that are essentialpre-requisites forapresidential system.Second,casteandcommunalconsidera-

tionsplayabig role in Indianelections. Thisisasocietalvirusthatisunlikelytodisappearby switching to a presidential system. Thesameconsiderationswillapplyinchoosingapresidential cabinet thataffectscabinet for-mation in a parliamentary system. It isutopian to assume that the president willchoose his cabinet based primarily on con-siderationsofmerit.Infact,leavingthechoiceof the cabinet to thewhims and fancies of

the president will additionally vitiate theprocess.Third, in the absence of a viable party

structure, the presidential systemwill en-courageevenmore irresponsiblebehaviourby elected legislators, especially those be-longing to opposition parties. If the currentIndian legislaturesareacrossbetweenrub-ber-stamping bodies and those engaged increatingmayhem, legislatures in the presi-dentialsystemwillbecomeinfinitelyworsewithboththesecharacteristicsondisplayona much larger scale. They are unlikely totransformthemselves intogenuinelydelib-erative bodies that Tharoor imagines theycould become. It is farmore likely that theywill turn intohighly recklessgatheringsen-gaged in pork-barrel activities primarily forpersonalgains.Theproblemliesnotwiththeparliamen-

tary systembutwith thepolitical cultureofthe country. This is demonstrated above allby thewayvotersmake their choicesbasedon communal, caste and other primordialconsiderationsandinresponsetoemotionalappeals rather than making informedchoicesaboutpublicneedsandservices.Thesorry state of India’s public health system

during this pandemic is clear evidence thatpublichealthwasnotaconsiderationforthevoterswhencastingtheirballotsinstateandparliamentaryelections.Thewastefulexpen-diture indulged in by governments is testi-monytothecallousnessof theauthoritiesaswell as the apathy of the general public. Allthis proves the truth of themaxim “peopleget thegovernment theydeserve.”Misplaced, indeedhighlydistorted,pub-

licprioritiesandtheingrainedvenalityofthepolitical class are the root causes of themalaise in the Indianpolity. These twin fac-torsandnotparticularformsofgovernmentare the independent variables that help ex-plain the sorry state of democratic institu-tions that Tharoor laments so eloquently. Iamafraid Indianswill have to livewith thissituation until the political culture of thecountryat thepopular level andat the levelof the political class undergoes a radicaltransformation.Changingtheparliamentaryform into a presidential one is not thepanacea.

Thewriter isUniversityDistinguishedProfessorEmeritusof InternationalRelations,

MichiganStateUniversity

Indianeedsanewpoliticalculture,notapresidentialsystem

The government we deserveMohammedAyoob

IDEASONLINE

ONLY IN THE EXPRESS

●●DOCTORSANDSOCIETY:

KARANTHAKUR

●●GENDEREDLENSOFJUSTICE:

UNNATIGHIA

www.indianexpress.com

Christophe Jaffrelotand Sharik Laliwala

CR Sasikumar

ChoiceofHardikPatelasGujaratCongressworkingpresidentannouncesnewformof an

oldpolitics

New Delhi

12THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY30,2020

EXPRESSNETWORKWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

SRINATHRAOMUMBAI, JULY29

HOURSBEFOREthreemenwerelynchedatGadchinchlevillageinMaharashtra’s Palghar on April16,agroupof10villagershadheldameetingandallegedlydecidedto“teachalesson”tothievesdis-guised as sadhus anddoctors. Achargesheet filed by theMahar-ashtraCIDearlierthismonthsaidthefatalattackonsadhusMahantKalpavruksha Giri (70) andSushilgiriMaharaj (35)andtheirdriverNilesh Telgade (30)was afalloutof thismeeting.The three were driving to a

funeralinSuratonApril16whenvillagersinGadchinchlestoppedtheircarandattackedthemwithstones, sticksandaxes.Mahant Giri, the CID

chargesheet states, was over-poweredbyvillagersafterheranaway from a police constablewhowas trying to help him “inanattempt tosavehisownlife”.Videoclipsoftheincident,whichformpart of the evidence listedin the chargesheet, however,showed the constable hadpushed Mahant Giri away to

makehisownescape.The 5,921-page chargesheet

states that rumours of thievesand organ-harvesting gangs onthe loose had led to panic inGadchinchle, Divshi, Dabhadiand Kinhavli villages in PalghardistrictandRudanavillageintheneighbouringUnionTerritoryofDaman&Diu.Villagers,itfurtherstates,hadtakentopatrollingtheroads every night armedwithflashlights, stones, woodensticks, iron rods, axes, shovels,sicklesandhandheldslingshots.“Even after the nationwide

lockdownwas announced onMarch 24 and citizenswere or-dered to stayathome,people inthesevillagesstayedintouchandcame together. Some of the ac-cusedspreadrumoursbyphoneand through word of mouthabout thieves coming [in] dis-guisedassadhus,policemenanddoctors...,”thechargesheetstates.Earlier,onApril14,agroupof

villagersatSarniPimpalpada,60km fromGadchinchle, had at-tacked two doctors and theirdriver.Mistaking the occupantsofthecarforthieves,thevillagers

hadpeltedthemwithstonesandpolicemenwhohadreachedthespot torescuethem.OnApril 16, the chargesheet

adds, accusedRajeshDhakalRaoheldameetingwithnineotherco-accused anddecided to “teach alesson”toanythievestheycaught.Themeetinghadbeen termed inthe chargesheet as a “premedi-tated criminal conspiracy”, pun-ishableunderIPCSection120B.Hours later, at 8.54 pm,

Telgade’scar,whichthetwosad-hus had hired from Mumbai,was detained by forest depart-ment guards at a check-post inGadchinchle. The three menwereturnedbackbyauthoritiesat the Daman & Diu border forattemptingtocrossoverwithoutavalid travelpass.Aftersomevillagersgathered

around their car, forest guardscalledaconstableatKasapolicestation at 9.26 pm to informabout the tensesituation.Thechargesheetclaimedthat

the villagerswere insistent ondealingwiththe“thieves” them-selves andprevented the policefromtakingtheinjuredmentothehospital. Four policemen cameunderattackwhileextractingthe

twosadhusandtheirdriverfromtheirdamagedvehicle.Three policemen, the

chargesheet states,managed toescortSushilgiriandTelgadeintoapolicecarwhileAssistantPoliceSub-InspectorRBSalunkhetooktheelderlyMahantGiritothefor-est guards’ checkpost. However,as villagers hammered on itsdoor andwindowswith sticksand stones, Salunkhe and thesadhuwere forced to leave thecheckpost.Videosshotonmobilephones

by locals showed both themenbeing attacked by villagers andSalunkheabandoningtheelderlymanafterbeingoverpoweredbyarmed men. However, thechargesheet states thatMahantGirimade a run for it “in an at-tempt to save his own life” butcouldnotescapethemob.The chargesheet,whichwas

filed at a magistrate court inDahanu town, includes state-mentsof226witnesses,mostofwhomcomprise thepolicemeninjured in the attempt to shieldthe three victims, the forest de-partmentguards,Gadchinchle’ssarpanch,herhusbandandothervillagers.

ASADREHMANLUCKNOW,JULY29

THEDISTRICT sessions court ofGorakhpur inUttarPradeshhasconvictedactivistParwezParvaz,65, in a 2018 gangrape case andsentencedhim to life imprison-ment along with another co-accused.In 2007, Parvaz hadmoved

the AllahabadHigh Court seek-ingregistrationofanFIRagainstYogi Adityanath, whowas thenanMPfromGorakhpur,allegingthat he gave a hate speech. In2018, after the High Court al-lowedtheUPgovernmenttonotprosecuteAdityanath—nowthechief minister of UP — Parvazfiled a petition in the SupremeCourtagainst theorder.Parvaz was arrested in

September2018aftera40-year-old woman accused him andMehmood alias Jumman Baba(66)ofgangrapeonJune3,2018.In her police complaint, the

womanhadallegedthatshehadgone to the house of JummanBabaonJune3,2018for“seekingremedies” for hermarital prob-lems,whenhetookhertoaniso-latedplaceandrapedheratgun-pointalongwith“someonewhoJummancalledParvezbhai”.“District and Sessions Judge

Govind Vallabh Sharma onTuesday sentenced the two ac-cused – Parwez Parvaz andMehmoodaliasJumman–tolifeimprisonment. The court alsoimposedafineofRs25,000eachon both and ordered that Rs40,000fromthefinebegiventothe gangrape victim,” govern-mentcounselYashpalSinghsaid.

Parvaz's lawyer MiftahulIslam,meanwhile,saidthattheywill be challenging the convic-tion inahighercourt.Islam alleged that the court

didnotallowthedefencetosub-mit written arguments onTuesday. “Without concludingthe arguments, the judgmentwaspronounced.Therewerenoarguments andwewere not al-lowedtosubmitourwrittenar-gumentsaswell,” Islamsaid.But the government counsel

said that lawyers were givenenoughtimetosubmittheirargu-ments. “They (thedefencecoun-sels)were stalling the court pro-ceedingsinordertodelayit.Theyhad ample time to argue. Thecourt proceedingswere held asperthelaw,”YashpalSinghsaid.In May 2017, after the BJP

came to power in UP andAdityanath became the CM, thestategovernmentrefusedtogivesanctiontoprosecuteAdityanathand fourotherBJP leaders in the2007hatespeechcase.Thestatehadrefusedtogrant

sanction, saying the “video evi-dence (CD)” sent to the CentralForensic Science Laboratory in2014was“tampered”with.In February 2018, the

AllahabadHighCourtdismisseda writ petition filed by Parvazand his colleague Asad Hayat,challenging the UP govern-ment’s refusal to grant sanctionto prosecute Adityanath in thehatespeechcase.“The Special Leave Petition

againsttheHighCourtjudgmentis pending in the SupremeCourt,” S Farman Naqvi, thecounsel for Parvaz and HayattoldThe IndianExpress.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, JULY29

ADAY after hewas arrested inconnection with the ElgarParishadcase,DelhiUniversityas-sociate professorHanyBabuMTwasWednesday sent to thecus-todyoftheNationalInvestigationAgency(NIA) forsevendaysbyaspecialcourt inMumbai.The NIA, through special

public prosecutor PrakashShetty,soughtBabu’scustodyfor10days,claimingthattheagencywants to question him in thecase based on letters recoveredfrom electronic articles seizedduring the investigation.The NIA claimed that Babu

wasa“supporterofNaxalactiv-ities andNaxalitemovements”.

It alleged that a documentwasfoundwhich elaborates on hisassociationwiththebannedCPI(Maoist).Hiscustodywassoughtstating that it was necessary toconfront the various facts re-vealed during the investigationof theotheraccused.Sofar,11othershavebeenar-

rested in the case, including DrAnand Teltumbde and GautamNavlakha,whowereheldbytheNIAinAprilafterittookovertheprobe fromthePunepolice.Babu’s lawyer R

Sathyanarayanan opposed theremand plea, stating that NIAhasbeenquestioninghimforthepastfourdaysafterhepresentedhimself before the agency afterbeingsummonedandhencefur-thercustodial interrogationwasnot required. Special Judge A T

Wankhede granted the NIAseven-daycustodyofBabuuntilAugust 4, considering the “na-ture of the allegations” againsthim.Babu’s wife Jenny Rowena,

whoteachesatDelhiUniversity’sMiranda House, had told TheIndian Express on Tuesday thathis arrest was a “joke and afarce”.ThePunePolicehadclaimed

thata letterwasrecoveredfromarrested accused RonaWilsonduring his arrest in June 2018,which allegedlymakes amen-tion of a “ComradeH.B” in con-nection with the “solidaritymovement in support ofComradeSai” (GNSaibaba).Thepolice had said that it was sus-pected that the person referredtowasBabu.

AMILBHATNAGARNOIDA, JULY29

A25-YEAR-OLDman,wantedinakidnappingcase,wasarrestedonWednesdayforallegedlytryingtorunhisSUVoverhiswife follow-inganaltercationwithhisin-lawsattheirresidenceatFatehabadinAgradistrict.Thewomansufferedminor injuries. His three friendswerealsoarrested.According to police, the ac-

cused, Khetpal Singh, waswanted in a case filed by his in-lawsforallegedlykidnappinghissister-in-law in March. For anout-of-court settlement,heandhis three friends visited his in-laws’ housewhere the incidentoccurred.“We received information

that a car had overturned atParaolivillage.Whenthepolice-men reached the spot, theyfound that locals had caught amanwhowas trying to flee. Itlater came to light that the ac-cusedwas trying to settle a po-lice case with his in-laws. Atsome point during the interac-

tion,theargumentescalatedandhe tried to flee. It appears thatthewifecame in frontof thecarand he tried to drive past her,"said Pradeep Kumar, StationHouseOfficerof Fatehabad.TheSUV had BJP flags, but SHOKumarsaid,“Wearenotawareifhe holds any position at the or-ganisational level.”According to police, while

Singhandhisthreefriendswerespeaking,hisin-lawsthreatenedto call the police. They tried toflee in Singh’s SUV but his wifeblocked it. “He tried to run overher but the SUV hit a pole at adistance and came to a halt.Localsheldtheaccusedandtiedhim to a polewhile waiting forthe police,” said a police officer.Singh has been booked undertheattempt tomurdercharge.The first case against Singh

wasregisteredunderIPCsection366 (kidnapping). His in-lawshad alleged that he coerced hissister-in-law to elopewith him.She was rescued by the policeearlier this month. The case ispending in the Agra DistrictCourt.

TORAAGARWALAGUWAHATI, JULY29

AREDkangaroo,thelargestofallkangaroosinAustraliaandthreepairsofhyacinthmacaws,nativetoSouthAmerica,areamongtheexoticanimalsrescuedafterfor-est department officials bustedasmugglingracketattheAssam-MizoramborderonTuesday.The rescued animals, which

alsoincludedthreerareAldabratortoises and two capuchinmonkeys, were found in plasticboxes and cartons in a vehiclethatwasstoppedatacheckpostin Assam’s Cachar district, au-thorities said.“We are investigating the

matter,”saidDFO,CacharForestDivision, Sunnydeo Choudhary.“The smugglers were trying totake theanimals fromMizoramto Guwahati, following which

theanimalswouldbetakenelse-where, maybe Kolkata or an-otherbigcity.”Two people, Narsimha

Reddy and Navnath TukaramDaigude, have beendetained inthis connection. The animals,

now at the Cachar ForestDepartmentoffice,willbetrans-ferred to Assam State Zoo inGuwahati.“Theseareextremelyrareand

exotic animals. In fact, theAldabra tortoise, native to the

UNESCOWorld Heritage site ofAldabraAtollintheSeychelles,isoneof thelargesttortoisesintheworld,” said Choudhary, addingthat the tortoiseand themacawspecieswereclassifiedas‘vulner-able’ in the International UnionforConservationofNature list.Choudhary said the animals

are “healthy and safe”. “Theyhave been checked by the doc-torshereandwehaveput themonaspecialdiet,”hesaid.Headded that the truckwas

intercepted at Lailapur Forestcheck gate, a common tradetransit route.“At least 200 trucks pass

through every night, carryingdifferent items.When this onepassed, our team detected astrange smell fromthevehicle,”saidChoudhary,“Thedrivertriedto pass it off as rotten fruit, butour personnel searched the ve-hicleand foundtheanimals.”

Theofficialsaidthiswaspartof a larger racket and they sus-pecttheanimalsweresmuggledoutofMyanmar.“Thisisnosmalltradebut ahuge racket runningat an international level.Whilewehavenever interceptedave-hicleonthisparticularroute,myunderstandingisthattheycouldbe testing new routes to carryout the trade,”hesaid.InMarch 2018, officials had

seized Gaboon vipers, mar-mosets and giant scorpionsamong other exotic animals inJorabat. The investigation laterrevealed that the animalsweresourced fromThailand.Meanwhile, theAssamState

Zooispreparingforthearrivalofthe rescued animals. “We havereadied the enclosures, and aregoingtokeepthemquarantinedfor a few days,” said TejasMariswamy, DFO, Assam StateZoo.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,RAIPUR, JULY29

THENIAonWednesdayarrestedthreepeoplefromChhattisgarh’sDantewada in connectionwiththe murder case of BJP MLABhimaMandavi.TheDantewadalegislatorwas killed alongwithfour personnel of ChhattisgarhArmedForceonApril9 lastyearin a Maoist ambush nearShyamgiri village in thedistrict.

Those ar-rested havebeen identi-fied asLaxmanJaiswal (45),RameshKashyap (35)and KumariLingeTati(25).The NIA has

accusedthemofprovidinglogis-ticalsupport,includingIED-mak-ingmaterial, totheattackers.Police had earlier arrested

two men in this case fromDantewada for conspiringwiththeMaoists, which resulted intheattackagainstMandavi.“Investigation has revealed

that the arrested accusedLaxman Jaiswal... who runs agrocery shop in Nakulnar, pro-vided electric wires, explosivesubstances and other items forthe IED blast carried out by CPI(Maoist) cadres. AccusedRamesh Kumar Kashyap aliasRameshHemla (ex-sarpanchofKakadi Village) and KumariLinge Tati were instrumental inprovidinglogisticsupporttotheNaxalites andwere part of theconspiracy which led to thekilling of BhimaMandavi andfoursecuritypersonnel,”theNIAsaid inastatement.The accusedwere produced

before the NIA Special Court,Jagdalpur, onWednesday andhave been taken on police re-mand for sevendays,NIAsaid.Theambushhadinvolvedan

IEDblastfollowedbyindiscrim-inatefiringbyMaoists,whoalsotookawaythearmsandammu-nition of the killed securitypersonnel.

RED KANGAROO, HYACINTH MACAWS AMONG THE RESCUED

Therescuedanimalswere foundinplasticboxesandcartonsinavehiclestoppedatacheckpost inCachardistrict.

Policeofficialsat thecrimespot inGadchinchlevillage. File

Forest dept busts smuggling racket in Assam

NIA arrests 3from Dantewadain BJP MLAmurder case

Activist who filedpetition against Yogiin 2007 convicted ofrape, gets life term

HanyBabu(left) isproducedat thespecialNIAcourtonWednesday.GaneshShirsekar

CHARGESHEETONPALGHARLYNCHING

Hours before attack, villagers decidedto ‘teach thieves a lesson’, saysCID

Agra man accused ofabducting sister-in-lawheld for bid to run overwife after altercation

JAYMAZOOMDAARNEWDELHI, JULY29

INDIA HAS lost 4,685 sq km oftigerforests—morethanthesizeof Goa andMumbai combined— between 2011 and 2017, re-veals the full report of the 2018All-India Tiger estimation re-leasedonTuesday.Due in September 2019, the

quadrennialreportwasdelayedby 11months. On July 29, 2019,PrimeMinister NarendraModireleased a summary report, an-nouncing a 33 per cent jump inIndia’s tigernumber from2,226in2014to2,967 in2018.In September 2019, The

Indian Express exposed majoranomalies in the 2014 report’sphoto database. The WildlifeInstituteof India(WII)thatpart-ners the National TigerConservation Authority (NTCA)in thequadrennial surveymod-ifiedthe2014photoalbumonitswebsitewithacorrigendum.Besides tiger numbers, the

quadrennial survey also esti-matestheextentoftigerpresencein the country. Awider and un-broken tiger range signifies bet-terchancesformaintainingcon-nectivity and gene flow amongdifferent localpopulations.Whileregisteringanimpres-

sive gain of 741 tigers in fouryears, the 2018 report said thatthe extent of tiger-occupiedforests remained stable at 88-89,000sqkmsince2014.Whilethetigerabandonedone-fifthofitsnational range inthatperiod,new areas colonised by the bigcat compensated for the loss.However,thestatusof India’s

forest cover changed since the2011ForestSurveyof India (FSI)reportthatwasusedforthe2014tigersurvey.Sothe2018tigerre-port “recomputed tiger-occu-piedforestsforthe2014cycleontheforestcoverof2017”tomakethis comparative analysis. Thereworkedfiguresrevealedalossof4,685sqkmoftigerforestsbe-tween2011and2017.Adjusted for 2017 forest

cover, the extent of tiger-occu-piedforestsreportedin2014wasreduced significantly in theShivalik, central Indian, andWestern Ghats landscapes (seechart). On paper, this loss waslargelycompensatedbyagainof4,080sqkmoftigerforestsinthenorth-east.This gain is possibly due to

the inclusion of high-altitudeforests where tigers have beenrecentlyrecordedsincetheover-all forest cover actually shrunkinthenorth-eastduring2011-17.Overall, theFSIrecordedthede-struction of 34,204 sq km offorests in India during that six-yearperiod.While WII Principal

InvestigatorYVJhaladeclinedtocomment, NTCA chief SP Yadavwasnot immediatelyavailable.“Yes,wegainedsomeandlost

some. Forest dynamics is anon-going process due to environ-mental events and human-in-duced causes. India’s efforts onthe tiger front are unparalleled.Sustenance of ecosystem serv-iceswill dependon activeman-agement of human-tiger inter-face,” said Dr Rajesh Gopal,formerNTCAchiefwholaunchedthe quadrennial all-India cam-era-trapsurvey in2006.

741 tigers gained,4685 sq km of tigerforest lost: report

DU prof Hany Babu sentto seven-day NIA custody

SANJANABHALERAOMUMBAI, JULY29

FOLLOWINGAsurgeinman-an-imal conflict in Nashik farm-lands, the Maharashtra ForestDepartmenthascaughtsixleop-ardssinceJuly2.Suspectedleop-ardattackshave left at least fivedead and asmany seriously in-jured in a 12-km stretch in thedistrict, sinceDecember.On Wednesday, an adult

male leopard — the sixth in amonth —was caught in a cage

putupbytheNashik’sforestde-partment team. The team sus-pects the animal might be theelusive the leopard thatwas re-sponsible for theattacks.The leopard’s scat and swab

samples have been sent toHyderabad’s Centre for CellularandMolecular Biology (CCMB),forDNAanalysisforconfirmation.Reports received from the

CCMB lastweekhad stated thatan adult male leopard was re-sponsible for the conflict cases.The report was based on swabsamples of four of the five vic-

tims,officials said.VivekBhadane,RangeForest

Officer (RFO), Nashik said,“Farmlands provide shelter tothesebigcatsandtheirpresencein thearea isnotnew.However,the continuous attacks haveraisedaconcernforthesafetyofvillagers.Thereisfearamongvil-lagersandtremendouspressurefrom the locals to capture theleopard(s).”Seniorforestofficialssaidthe

risingman-animalconflictwasamatterof concern,butcapturingthebigcatswasnotthesolution.

Landscapes 2014 Revised Loss/Gain(FSI2011) (FSI2017)

Shivalik 10017 8815 1202Central 41974 40185 1789WGhats 29511 27824 1687NE 5821 9901 -4080Sunderban 1841 1834 7India 89164 88559 605

TIGER FORESTS (IN SQKM)

BhimaMandavi

Nashik: Suspected man-eating leopard caught

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA, JULY29

THE BODY of a BJPworker wasfoundhangingatDigha town inWest Bengal’s East MidnaporedistrictonWednesday.PurnachandraDas,44,wasthe

BJPboothpresidentofwardnum-ber41intheRamnagar-2munic-ipalarea. Arelativesaid,“HewascalledforameetingbylocalTMCleadersinthemorning.Sincethen,hewasmissing.” Locals spottedthebodyhangingnearhishouseatandcalledpolice.Thebodywassentforpost-mortem.BJP president of Kanthi

(Organisation)AnupChakrabortysaid, “TheTMCmurderedDas ina planned manner. For a longtime, theywere trying to framehiminfalsecases.Herecentlygotbail in all cases and returnedhome. Local TMC leaders calledhim in a kangaroo court thismorning. Since then, he wasmissing.Wesuspect thathewasmurdered before being hanged.Wearedemandingatransparentinvestigationinthiscase.”TMC leaders denied all alle-

gations.Alocalpartyleadersaid,“The case is being investigated.The cause of the death will beclearafter investigation.”Police have said the cause of

the deathwill be revealed afterthepost-mortemreport.

BJP worker’sbody foundhanging inBengal town

New Delhi

NASAwill launchitsPerseverancerovertoMarstoday.AlookatNASA’sexperiencewithpreviousrovers,whatwillbenewwiththefourth-generationrover,andwhythere issomuchrecent interest inMars

IMAGINE DRIVING on the loneliest road intheworld. For the traveller, it is a catharticexperience. One can drive for hours on endwithoutseeinganothercarorhumanbeing.There is the wilderness, the landscape ofmountains and valleys, the open sky aboveand the spectacular night bejewelled bystars.DrivingonMarsisasomewhatsimilarexperience.Exceptthereisnoroad.Therovercandriveanywhereitchoosesto,andisableto. Exceptnohumanormachinehasdrivenon the roadbefore. That is the rushof oper-atinga roveronMars.

WhathasNASA’sexperiencebeenwithmultiplegenerationsofMarsrovers?NASA’s incredible journey of driving on

Mars started about 23 years ago, in 1997:whentheMarsPathfinderMissionwiththeSojournerroveregressedontheMartiansoil.Itwasanunforgettableexperiencetobepartof theOperationsteamforMarsPathfinder:amissionputtogetheronaverytightbudgetthat many thought would fail. However,Mars Pathfinderwould succeed and in theprocesswould change the subsequent his-toryofMarsExploration.Thus,NASAwouldgo on to send the twin rovers, Spirit andOpportunity, toMars in 2003, followed byCuriosity in2012, followedbyPerseverancethat is scheduled to launch later today.The Sojourner rover, a technology

demonstrationmission, lasted for 83 days.SpiritandOpportunitysetanewparadigmofa long term robotic presence onMars, last-ing about 6 and 15 years, respectively.Curiosity landed in 2012: and continues tooperate today.With each rover generation,thenumberandthecomplexityof scientificinstruments increased. Sojourner was asmallrover,almostlikeatoy,acoupleof feetin lengthandwidth. Spirit andOpportunityweremuch larger: about the size of a golfcart.CuriosityandPerseverancearethesizeof a small car.The science returns of exploringMars

with a rover have been very significant.Roversprovideawaytostudy the local areainmuch higher resolution than is possiblefrom an orbiting spacecraft. In addition,rovershaveasuiteof instrumentsfromdrillsto spectrometers tomicroscopic imagers:these instruments help understand the lo-calgeologymuchlikeafieldgeologistwouldstudy rocks on Earth. In addition, startingwith Spirit and Opportunity, rovers haveacted asmobile weather stations onMarsthatmonitorchangesintheMartianatmos-pherecontinuouslyovermultipleyears.With each new generation of rovers,

NASA has added new capabilities and asomewhatdifferent instrumentsuite toan-swer important scientific questions.Exampleswouldbetheadditionofadrillon

Spirit and Opportunity, and amass spec-trometer,aninstrumenttomeasureisotopesofdifferentelements, forCuriosity.WiththelaunchofMarsPerseverance,thefourthgen-eration of Mars rovers, NASAwill take for-ward this tradition.

What isnewwithPerseverance?■First, Perseverancewill carry aunique

instrument, MOXIE orMars Oxygen ISRUExperiment: which forthe first timewillmanu-facturemolecularoxygenon Mars using carbondioxidefromthecarbon-dioxide-richatmosphere.ThereisthenewpushforISRU at NASA: in NASAjargon, ISRU means InSituResourceUtilization:or the use of local re-sources tomeet humanneedsorrequirementsofthe spacecraft. WithoutISRU,explorationofMarsinthefuturedecadeswillbe incredibly expensiveand thereby impossible.Ifastronautshavetocarryoxygenorwaterorrocketfuelfortheirjourneyforatwo-yearjourneytoMarsandback, thecostwillbeunderstandably exces-sive. In away, this is sim-ilar to a traveller fromNewDelhi having tocarry their own oxygen, food supplies andaircraft fuel foratwo-yearstayinNewYork:the cost per passenger will be incrediblyhigh. IfoxygencanbesuccessfullyextractedonMars in some significant scale, this canhavetwodirectadvantages:first,theoxygencanbeused forhumanvisitors toMars, and

second,theoxygencanbeusedtomanufac-turerocket fuel for thereturn journey.Thus,if the technologydemonstration is success-ful,NASAcaneasilyscaleuptheoxygengen-erationrateperdayforMOXIEbyahundredtimes:thiswouldbeofgreatuseforafuturehumanmission toMars.

■ Second, Perseverance will carryIngenuity, the first ever helicopter to fly on

Mars.ThisisthefirsttimeNASAwill flyahelicopteron another planet orsatellite. Ingenuity is atechnology demonstra-tion: the challenge, ofcourse, is to fly the heli-copter in the thinatmos-phere of Mars. Like adrone on Earth, a Marshelicopter can help inrover drive planning andin fetchingsamples fromlocations that the rovercannot safely drive to. Ifthis technology demon-stration is successful, wewill see a greater role forsuchhelicoptersinfuturemissions.

■ Third,Perseveranceistheplannedfirststeptobring back rock samplesfromMars for analysis insophisticated laborato-ries on Earth: with thegoalof lookingforbiosig-

natures:orsignaturesofpresentorpast life.Perseverancewillcollectsamplesandasec-ondrovermissionwill flywithinadecadetohelp transport the rock samples back toEarth.TheanalysisofMartianrocksonEarthwill likely provide a reliable indication ofwhetherlifeonMarsisfeasibleinthepastoratpresent.

What is thereasonforthenear-terminterest inMars?Mars is a fascinating planet for hu-

mankind.Locatedintheverynearbackyard(about 200 million km away), Mars is aplanet that humans can aspire to visit or tostay fora longerduration.Marshad flowingwaterandanatmosphereinthedistantpast:andperhapsconditions tosupport life.But,inthenearterm,theincreaseininter-

est related toMars isbecauseof ElonMusk’splansforcommercialtravel.AhumanmissiontoMarshasalwaysbeenanaspirationfordif-ferentspaceagenciesincludingNASA.Thoughtechnologicallypossible,thecostwasknowntobeprohibitive:perhapsoftheorderof$500billion or 20 times NASA’s budget. Hence,NASA’splanstosendastronautstoMarshavebeen, in large part, aspirational: in otherwords,withoutadequatefunding.Musk has unveiled a new architecture

to get to Mars. Musk’s vision is to use acombinationof cost-savingmeasures, likereusable launchvehicles, in-orbit refuelingandmanufacturing rocket fuel onMars, toreduce the cost of a journey toMars downby1/1000th.Thus, thepriceperpassengerforgoing toMarsonhisStarshipSpaceshipwould be on the order of $200,000 or Rs1.5crore.The launchvehicleat thecentreofElon Musk’s plans is the StarshipSpacecraft: the most powerful launch ve-hicle ever built, with the ability to trans-port 100 metric tonnes to Earth Orbit.SpaceXisscheduledtoflyaroundtheMoonwith its firstprivatepassenger in2023:andhasthegoal foracrewedmissiontoMarsasearly as 2024. Aswe speak, the Starship isbeing built and tested in a sleepy SouthTexas town called Boca Chica. In a decade,SpaceXwith its StarshipSpacecraft,mighttransform space travel and realise Musk’sdreamof turninghumankind intoamulti-planetary species.

TODAY’S EXPERTDRAMITABHAGHOSHisaNASAPlanetaryScientistbasedoutofWashingtonDC.HehasworkedformultipleNASAMarsMissionsstartingwiththeMarsPathfinderMissionin1997.HeservedasChairoftheScienceOperationsWorkingGroupfortheMarsExplorationRoverMissionandwastaskedwithleadingtacticalRoverOperationsonMarsformorethan10years.HehelpedanalysedthefirstrockonMars,whichincidentallyhappenedtobethefirstrockanalysedfromanotherplanet.

AnillustrationofNASA’sPerseveranceroveroperatingonthesurfaceofMars.NASA/JPL-CaltechLaboratory

EXPLAINED SCI-TECHCORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

1,531,669India

298,909Iran

402,697Mexico

303,092United Kingdom

349,800Chile

459,761South Africa

4,375,217US

2,483,191Brazil

395,005Peru

TOTAL CONFIRMED: 16,797,288 DEATHCOUNT:661,724

Source: JohnsHopkinsUniversity,updatedat11pmonJuly29. JHU’sIndiatallyandHealthMinistry’stally(below)maynotmatchiftheseareaccountedatdifferenttimes.

THEWORLD827,509Russia

TOP 10STATES

INDIA COUNT: 15,31,669 (34,193 DEATHS)

3,91,440Maharashtra

2,27,688Tamil Nadu

43,843Bihar

73,951 UP1,32,275Delhi

57,982Gujarat

62,964West Bengal

1,10,297Andhra Pradesh

57,142Telangana

Have a question on the COVID-19 outbreak andwhat you should/should not do?

Write to explained@indianexpress.com

1,07,001Karnataka

UnionHealthMinistryupdateasof11pm,July29.Somestatesmayhavereportedhighernumbers.Onlystates/UTswithatleastonecaselistedabove.9,88,029PATIENTSDISCHARGEDIN35STATESANDUNIONTERRITORIES

RESTOFINDIAAndamanandNicobarIslands363ArunachalPradesh 1330Assam 34947Chandigarh 934Chhattisgarh 8257DadraandNagarHaveli 982Goa 5287Haryana 32876HimachalPradesh 2330JammuandKashmir 18879Jharkhand 9078Kerala 20894Ladakh 1327MadhyaPradesh 29217Manipur 2317Meghalaya 779Mizoram 384Nagaland 1460Odisha 28107Puducherry 3011Punjab 14378Rajasthan 38514Sikkim 579Tripura 4269Uttarakhand 6587

ANEW study has foundthatanendogenouspro-tein (one that originateswithin the body’s sys-tems) prevents coron-aviruses,includingSARS-CoV-2, from fusingwithhost cells. The protein,called LY6e, is producedby the human immunesystem. Researchersfrom Germany,Switzerland have pub-lished their findings in the journalNatureMicrobiology.LY6ewasdiscoveredin2017,dur-

ing research by virologist StephaniePfänder (then with the Institute ofVirology and Immunology inSwitzerland, now with Ruhr-Universität Bochum in Germany) in

Charles Rice’s lab atRockefellerUniversity inNew York, in order toidentify genes that pre-vent coronavirus infec-tions.Sincethen,furtherinvestigationshasshownthat the protein exertedthis inhibitory effect onall analysed coron-aviruses, including.Testswith different cell cul-tures have shown that

LY6eaffects theability of thevirus tofusewith thehost cells.This was validated in an animal

model.Mice lackingLy6e in immunecellswerefoundhighlysusceptibletoa normally non-lethalmouse coron-avirusandsuccumbto infection.

Source:Ruhr-UniversityBochum

PAPERCLIP

NEWRESEARCH

Immunoprotein found to impaircoronavirus-cell interaction

13WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

AANCHALMAGAZINENEWDELHI, JULY29

THEDISTRIBUTIONofGSTproceedshastrig-geredanewflashpoint inCentre-staterela-tionsamidfreshindicationsofdelayedcom-pensationpaymentsandduestothestates.WhiletheCentreonMondayreleasedRs

13,806 crore to the states forMarch 2020,wrappingup the full payout for FY20 at Rs1.65lakhcrore,compensationpaymentsforthis financial year sinceApril remainpend-ing.KeyFinanceMinistryofficialsarereportedtohavebriefed the StandingCommitteeonFinanceTuesdayabouttheCentre'sinabilitytopaystatesinthenearfuture.Punjab has responded by flagging the

need for “timely GST payments”, statingthatfourmonthsofpendingduesareequiv-alent to twomonths of salaries bills of thestate. Kerala has described the reportedstatementbyMinistryofficialsasa“brazenbetrayalof federaltrust”.WestBengalChiefMinisterMamataBanerjeewrote toPrimeMinisterNarendraModi earlier thisweek,urgingtheCentretoreleaseGSTcompensa-tionworthRs4,135croreforAprilandMay.

WhyhasGSTcompensationbeenanissue?The concerns started surfacing in

October last year, when the payments tostatesgotdelayedasGSTrevenuescameinlower than expected. The Covid-19 pan-demic has deepened the economic slow-downandimpactedrevenues,withGSTcol-

lectionsrecordinga41%declineintheApril-Junequarter.As the amount to be paid to states

startedrisingwithacompounded14%rateevenascompensationcollectionsremainedaround thesame level for twoconsecutiveyears,thehigh14%ratehasbeenviewedasdelinked from economic realities. For in-stance, in the ongoing financial year, theSGST(stateGST)revenuefor JunehasbeenRs 23,970 crore, whilemonthly protectedrevenue isRs63,706crore, leavingagapofRs39,736crore(nottakingintoaccountset-tlement of IGST, the tax levied on all inter-state supplies of goods and services). OnlyRs14,675crorehasbeencollectedascom-pensation cess in April-June, including Rs7,665crore in June.The Centre has cleared compensation

dues for FY20 of Rs 1.65 lakh crore, whilethecollectionunderthecompensationcessfund was only Rs 95,444 crore, implyingthe payments were over 70% higher thanthe collection. Thegapwaspartly bridgedby money from the compensation fundthat had remained unutilised in the firsttwoyearsofGST,alongwithRs33,412crorethatwasploughedbackfromConsolidatedFund of India to the compensation fund.(Thiswasafterthesettlementof IGSTdueshad showed an excess apportionment bythe Centre in FY18, due to the ad-hocmethodof IGSTsettlementbeingfollowedin the first fewmonths after the GST roll-out in July2017.)Now,compensationpaymentstostates

arependingsinceApril.

Howmuchis transferredtothecompensationfund?In the Budget for 2020-21, while an-

nouncingthetransferofbalancesduefromthe collections for 2016-17 and 2017-18 intwo instalments to theGSTCompensationFund,FinanceMinisterNirmalaSitharamanhad said that henceforth, transfers to thefundwould be “limited only to collectionbywayofGSTcompensationcess”.Vijay Kelkar, former Finance Secretary

and 13th Finance Commission Chairman,and Pune International Centre’s SeniorFellowVBhaskarco-authoredarecentpa-

perthatquestionedthisproposition.“Whilethe Centre’s position appears legally ten-able, it does not appear ethically defensi-ble… its decision to restrict transfer to theFundonlytocompensationcesscollectionsseemsmore a fiscal aspiration than a legalcompulsion.Section10(1)of theActallowsfor‘otheramounts’alsotobecreditedtotheCompensation fundwith the approval oftheGSTCouncil,” theywrote.At present, the cess levied on sin and

luxurygoodssuchastobaccoandautomo-biles flows into the compensation fund. Inthe GST Council meetings in early 2017,

stateshadsuggestedalternativesourcesofrevenueforthecompensationfundincaseof a shortfall, with borrowing among theoptions. Minutes of the 8th GST Councilmeeting state: “The Hon’ble Chairperson(then FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley) thatcompensation to States shall be paid for 5years in fullwithinthestipulatedperiodof5 years and, in case the amount in theGSTCompensation Fund fell short of the com-pensationpayableinanybimonthlyperiod,the GST Council shall decide themode ofraisingadditional resources includingbor-rowingfromthemarketwhichcouldbere-paid by collection of cess in the sixth yearor further subsequentyears.”

Whataretheoptionsformeetingthecompensationgap?Marketborrowinghasbeendiscussedin

theGSTCouncilasoneof thepossiblesolu-tions,althoughthelegalityof theCouncilinborrowingwill need to be explored. Thereis also an emerging view among states infavourofhikingtheGSTratesorrestructur-ingtheGSTslabs.Thestates,however,agreethattinkeringwiththeratestructureneedstobedoneonlyafter theeffectsof thepan-demic-inducedslowdownwearoff.There are differing views among states

ontheCouncilitselfresortingtomarketbor-rowing.WhileKeralabackssuchamoveandBiharopposesit,allstatesareunanimousonstickingtothe14%assuredrateforcompen-sation.Somestatesarealsoof theviewthatthe compensation period should be ex-tendedbeyondthestatedperiodoffiveyears.

Hiking the cess rate or lowering of theguaranteed compensation rate have fea-tured in the discussions of GST Councilmeetings,but statesarenot in favourof ei-ther option. As per estimates shared byBiharDeputy ChiefMinister Sushil KumarModi, even if revenue collections in 2020-21areprojectedat65%of therevenuescol-lectedin2019-20,therewouldbearevenuegapofRs2,67,000crore for states. Even if a5%cessis leviedonhigh-endluxurygoods,which form about 10% of the overall GSTbase, itwould only yield about Rs 22,000-25,000croreperannum,hehadearliersaid.In theirpaper,KelkarandRaohavesaid

theCentreshouldpromptlyrespondtothedemand from states to pay them overduecompensationcessbyborrowing fromthemarket. “Though it does not appear to belegallyliable, ithasamoralimperativetodoso, even if the guaranteed rate of revenueof 14% is inordinately high in the presentCOVIDledeconomicdownturn,”thepapersaid,addingthatarestructuringof theGSTmodelshouldbeconsideredif thelossesforstatescontinue.

Whenarethese issuesbeingtakenupnext?In the previousGST Councilmeeting in

June, itwas decided that the nextmeetingwouldbeconvenedinJulyandwillbeaone-agendameeting,focusingonlyoncompen-sation.Themeeting isyet tobeconvened.Kerala FinanceMinister Thomas Isaac

onWednesday called for an immediateCouncilmeeting.

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to explained@indianexpress.comE EXPLAINED

THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY30,2020

GST proceeds: what’s due to states, andwhat Centre proposes

UnionFinanceMinisterNirmalaSitharamanchairs theGSTCouncilmeetingthroughvideoconferencingonJune12.PTI

Destination MarsEXPERTEXPLAINSDrAmitabhaGhosh

FromThe IndianExpresspanelof specialists, exclusive insight

New Delhi

NANDITABOSE&DIANEBARTZWASHINGTON, JULY29

AMUCH-ANTICIPATEDcongres-sional hearing featuring theCEOsof fourofAmerica’slargesttech firms kicked off onWednesday afternoon in a con-frontation that promises ahealthydoseofpolitical theater,while also offering a windowinto the thinking of lawmakerstrying to rein inBigTech.Facebook’sMarkZuckerberg,

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Google’sSundar Pichai and Apple’s TimCook—who together representabout $5 trillion of theUS econ-omy—appearedviavideoconfer-ence before theHouse JudiciaryCommittee’santitrustpanel.USPresidentDonaldTrump,

whohasclashedwithseveralof

the biggest tech companies, onWednesday threatened to takeactionagainst them.“If Congress doesn’t bring

fairness to Big Tech,which theyshould have done years ago, Iwill do itmyself with ExecutiveOrders,”hesaidonTwitter.US Representative David

Cicilline,aDemocratandchairoftheantitrustsubcommittee,alsopummelledthefourcompanies.“Theyhavetoomuchpower,”

hesaid inopeningremarks.

In theiropeningremarks, theCEOs defended themselves bysayingtheyalsofacecompetitionand by pushing back againstclaims they are dominant. Thehearingmarks the first time thefourCEOshaveappearedtogetherbeforelawmakers.A detailed report with an-

titrustallegationsagainstthefourfims and recommendations onhowtotametheirmarketpowercouldbereleasedbylatesummerbythecommittee.REUTERS

14THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY30,2020

THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

JAPAN

Courtrecognisesatomicbomb‘blackrain’victimsTokyo:AJapanesecourtonWednesday for the firsttimerecognisedpeopleex-posedtoradioactive“blackrain”thatfellafterthe1945US atomic attack onHiroshimaasatomicbombsurvivors,orderingthecityand theprefecture to pro-videthesamegovernmentmedicalbenefitsasgiventoother survivors. TheHiroshimaDistrict Courtsaid all 84 plaintiffs whowereoutsideofazonepre-viously set by the govern-mentaswhereradioactiverain fell alsodeveloped ra-diation-induced illnessesand should be certified asatomicbombvictims.Alloftheplaintiffsareolderthantheirlate70s,withsomeintheir90s.AP

TheUSdroppedtheworld's firstatomicbombonHiroshimaonAugust6,1945

TOPOFTHEWORLD

PAKISTAN

ManshotdeadinsidecourtroominPeshawarPeshawar:AmanfromtheminorityAhmadicommu-nity, facing trial for blas-phemy,was shot deadonWednesdayinfrontofthejudge ina local court situ-ated in a high-securityzone in Pakistan’sPeshawarcity,police said.Tahir Ahmad Naseem,who was arrested twoyears ago on blasphemycharges,diedonthespotinthe court of AdditionalSession JudgeShaukatullah Khan, theysaid. The court is situatedin a high-security zonewhere the provincial as-semblybuildingisalsosit-uated.Itwasnotclearhowthe armedattackerman-agedtogetintothecourt.

GERMANY

HolocaustsurvivorsurgeFBtoremovedenialsBerlin:Holocaustsurvivorsaroundtheworldarelend-ing their voices to a cam-paign launchedWednesday targetingFacebook head MarkZuckerberg,urginghimtotakeaction to removede-nial of theNazi genocidefromthesocialmediasite.Coordinated by theNewYork-basedConferenceonJewish Material ClaimsAgainst Germany, the#NoDenyingIt campaignuses Facebook itself tomake the survivors’ en-treaties to Zuckerbergheard, posting one videoper dayurginghim to re-moveHolocaust-denyinggroups,pagesandpostsashatespeech.

RICHARDSANDOMIRJULY29

REESE SCHONFELD, whofounded the Cable NewsNetworkwithTedTurner in theearly 1980s before developinganothermajorcablechannel,theFood Network, a decade later,died Tuesday at his home inManhattan.Hewas88.His daughter Juliette

Schonfeld Reverand said thecause was complications ofAlzheimer’sdisease.Schonfeld, who had years

earlier run a service that soldnightly packages of news to lo-caltelevisionstations,wasskep-tical when Turner asked him in1979 to help start a 24-hournews channel. Turner, the im-petuous entrepreneur andyachtsman who owned theAtlantaBravesandtheTBSchan-nel, had expressed a dislike fornews, Schonfeld said.“He’d say, ‘I hate news, I’ll

never donews, I don’t believe innews,’ ” Schonfeld recalled in anoral history interview for theTelevisionAcademy in 2005. “ ‘Ihaveentertainmentprogrammes

stackedupinmybasement.’ ”ButTurnerhadhadachange

of heart about theviabilityof anall-newsnetwork andwaswill-ing toputmillionsof dollars be-hindit.Schonfeldwaspersuaded.HebecameCNN’sfoundingpres-ident, in charge of content, per-sonnelandscheduling.Thiswas in the early days of

basic cable, and Turner andSchonfeld were gambling thatCNNcouldeffectively challengethe threemain broadcast net-works in their news coverage,which at the time consistedlargely of 30-minute evening

newscasts. Inthehopeof findingan audience, CNNwould covernews around theworld all day,with time slots for financial,

sports, entertainment and talkprogramming.Schonfeld adopted theword

“randomonium,”firstusedbythe

rockerFrankZappain1980,tode-scribeCNN’sfluidmixofcontent.Hehiredon-airpersonalitieslikeformerCBSNewscorrespondentDaniel Schorr andwar reporterPeter Arnett, and brought fromradiowhatbecamethelong-run-ning political debate show“Crossfire,”originallyamatchbe-tween liberal columnist TomBraden and conservative com-mentatorPatBuchanan.But evenwith CNN’s influ-

encegrowinganditsNielsenrat-ingsrising,TurnerfiredSchonfeldtwoyearsafterthelaunch.“If I had been working for

anyone else, given the Nielsenratings, I would’ve expected amoment of congratulations,sharedglory,butTedTurnerdidnot like to share glory,”Schonfeldwroteinamemoir,Meand Ted Against theWorld: TheUnauthorized Story of theFounding of CNN (2001). By hisaccount,TurnercomplainedthatSchonfeldwastoodemandingoftheon-air talent.Turneralsodis-likedSchonfeld’schoiceofBradenandBuchananfor“Crossfire,”ac-cordingtothememoir.He then worked on various

projects before 1992, when he

joined an executive team thatstarted the Food Network,whichwent on the air the nextyear. He was named its presi-dent. “Iamanewsman,”hetoldTheNewYorkTimes in1995.“Mybeat now is food.”Schonfeld left the Food

Network in 1995, thoughhe re-mainedon its board.He soldhisstakeinthecompanyin1999,ade-cisionthatSchonfeldlaterregret-ted,feelinghehadsoldtoosoon.Hewas later involved invar-

ious business ventures and in-vestments but none involvingtelevision.NYT

HE JOINED TED TURNER TO CREATE THE CABLE NEWS NETWORK AND OVERSAW ITS GROWTH BEFORE BEING FIRED

Reese Schonfeld, founder of CNN and a television veteran, dies at 88

JULIANEBARNES&DAVIDESANGERWASHINGTON, JULY29

RUSSIANINTELLIGENCEserviceshave been spreading disinfor-mation about the coronaviruspandemic, according to newlydeclassified intelligence, mate-rial that demonstrates howMoscow is continuing to try toinfluenceAmericansastheelec-tiondrawscloser.Russianmilitary intelligence,

knownastheGRU,hasuseditstieswithaRussiangovernmentinfor-mationcentre, InfoRos,andotherwebsitestopushoutEnglish-lan-guagedisinformationandpropa-gandaabout thepandemic, suchasamplifying falseChineseargu-ments that theviruswascreatedby theUnitedStatesmilitaryandarticles thatsaidRussia’smedicalassistance couldbringanewdé-tentewithWashington.The disinformation efforts

area refinementofwhatRussiatried to do in 2016. The fake so-cial media accounts and botsused by the Internet ResearchAgencyandotherRussia-backedgroups to amplify false articleshave proved relatively easy tostampout. But it is farmoredif-ficult to stop the disseminationof such articles that appear on

websites that seem legitimate,according tooutsideexperts.“Russianintelligenceagencies

are taking amore central role indisinformationeffortsthatRussiais pushing now,” said LauraRosenberger, the director of theAllianceforSecuringDemocracy.“Itisnotthebluntforce”oftheop-erationsmountedbytheInternetResearchAgency.TwoAmerican officialswho

described thenewlydeclassifiedintelligencebutwouldnotprovidetheunderlying reports about theactivitiesof theGRUandtheSVR,Moscow’s equivalent of theCIA.Theydiscussedtheinformationontheconditionofanonymity.NYT

REUTERSBERLIN, JULY29

Berlin’s Tegel airport began largescale coronavirus testing onWednesday, as airports acrossGermanypreparedfortheadventof free, compulsory testing formanypassengersfromnextweek.Tworoomsweresetasidefor

tests, but an airport spokes-woman said a larger spacewasbeing prepared, indicating thatauthorities are preparing fortesting to remain a fixture for along timetocome.“These roomsareof course a

bit small, as you can see,” saidspokeswoman SabineDeckwerth.“ThatiswhythelargeTerminalD inTegel is beingpre-paredtohostabiggerone.”

An increase in thenumberofinfections across Europe hasdashed thehopesof airlines andtouristdestinationssuchasSpainforarelativelyquickreturntomasstourismaftermonthsoflockdown.Airports such as Frankfurt,

Germany’s busiest, have beenoffering testsover thepreviousweeks, but now preparationsaregearingupacross thecoun-try for the testingofpassengersarriving from countriesdeemedhigh risk that is due tobegin nextweek.

SCALED-DOWN HAJMuslimpilgrimscircle theKaabaat theGrandMosqueas theyobservesocialdistancingamidtheCovid-19pandemic inMecca,SaudiArabia,onWednesday.Pilgrims,moving insmallgroupsafterdays in isolation,arrivedat Islam’sholiest site inMecca for thestartof auniqueandscaled-downHajexperiencereshapedbythepandemic.For thefirst timeinSaudihistory,thegovernmentbarredMuslimsfromabroadfromenteringtoperformtheHaj inorder to limitexposureof thecoronavirus.Instead,anywherebetween1,000to10,000peoplealreadyresiding inSaudiArabiawereselectedtotakepart in theHaj.AP

DAVIDESANGER,EDWARDWONG&JASONHOROWITZWASHINGTON, JULY29

CHINESEHACKERSinfiltratedtheVatican’s computer networks inthepast threemonths, a privatemonitoringgrouphasconcluded,in an apparent espionage effortbefore thebeginningof sensitivenegotiationswithBeijing.The attackwas detected by

RecordedFuture, a firmbased inSomerville, Mass. The ChineseCommunistPartyhasbeenwag-ingabroadcampaigntotightenitsgripon religiousgroups, inwhatgovernmentleadershaveperiod-ically referred to as an effort to“Sinicisereligions”inthecountry.Chinaofficiallyrecognisesfive

religions, including Catholicism,but theauthoritiesoftensuspectreligiousgroupsandworshipersofunderminingthecontroloftheCommunist Party and the state,andof threatening the country’snationalsecurity.Chinesehackersandstateau-

thoritieshaveoftenusedcyberat-tackstotrytogatherinformationon groups of Buddhist Tibetans,

MuslimUighurs andFalunGongpractitionersoutsideChina.Butthisappearstobethefirst

time that hackers, presumedbycybersecurity experts atRecorded Future to beworkingfor the Chinese state, have beenpublicly caught directly hackinginto the Vatican and the HolySee’sStudyMissiontoChina, theHong Kong-based group of defactoVaticanrepresentativeswhohaveplayedarole innegotiatingtheCatholicChurch’sstatus.The Vatican and Beijing are

expected to start talks in

September over control of theappointmentofbishopsandthestatus of houses of worship aspartofarenewalofaprovisionalagreement signed in 2018 thatrevisedthetermsoftheCatholicChurch’soperations inChina.Theseriesofintrusionsbegan

inearlyMay.Oneattackwashid-den inside a document that ap-peared to be a legitimate letterfrom theVatican toMsgr. JavierCoronaHerrera,thechaplainwhoheadsthestudymissioninHongKong, Recorded Future said in areportreleasedthisweek.NYT

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIAWASHINGTON,JULY29

ANINDIANnursehasbeenkilledoutsideahospital in theUSaftershewas stabbedmultiple timesand struck by a vehicle, inwhatpoliceinSouthFloridaarecallinganincidentofdomesticdispute.Merin Joy, 26, who is from

Kerala, was stabbed “multipletimes” while leaving CoralSpringshospitalonTuesday.Coral Springs Police Deputy

Chief Brad McKeone said thewoman was leaving BrowardHealthCoralSprings,wheresheworked, when theman “pulledupbehindherandendedupat-tackingher”.Joy was stabbed “multiple

times” and then “struck by thevehicle as the suspect fled fromthescene”,McKeonewasquotedas saying by the South FloridaSun-Sentinel. Joywas rushed tothe nearest trauma hospital inPompanoBeachwhere“shediedashort time later”.Witnessesdescribedthesus-

pect’scarandpolice foundPhilipMathew,34,ofWixon,Michigan.PolicesaidMathewhadaself-in-flicted knife wound and wastransportedtoanareahospitalfortreatment.Policebelievethestab-bingwaspart of a domestic dis-pute between Joy andMathew.Mathew is being chargedwithfirst degreemurder. Police couldnot immediately confirm if thetwoweremarried.PTI

GILLIANFLACCUS&JONATHANLEMIREPORTLAND, JULY29

FEDERAL AGENTS who haveclashed with protesters inPortland, Oregon, will begin a“phasedwithdrawal” from thecity, Governor Kate Brown saidWednesday.Acting Homeland Security

Secretary Chad Wolf said in astatement the plan negotiatedwithBrownoverthelast24hoursincludes a “robust presence” ofOregonStatePolice inthedown-townofthestate’s largestcity.“Stateand local lawenforce-

mentwill begin securing prop-erties and streets, especiallythosesurroundingfederalprop-

erties, that have been undernightly attack for the past twomonths,”Wolf said.

AgentswiththeUSCustomsand Border Protection and USImmigration and CustomsEnforcementwill begin leavingthe city’s downtown area onThursday, Brown said. FederalProtectiveServiceagents—whoarealwayspostedattheMarkOHatfield Federal Courthouse —willworkalongsidestatepoliceto guard the exterior of thecourthouse anda limitednum-ber of other federal agents willremain inside the courthouse,she said.PortlandMayorTedWheeler

applauded the end of what hecalled“anillegaloccupation”inaTwitterpost.AP

Officials say Russianintel spreading virusdisinformation in USMoscowhasrefinedtechniquesitusedin2016,expertssay

Healthcareworkerspreparingcoronavirus tests thisweekinOrlando,Florida.Russiahassought toamplify falsearguments that theviruswascreatedbytheUSmilitary.NYT

Trump: Fauci’shigh approvalrating ‘curious’

REUTERSWASHINGTON, JULY29

US PRESIDENT Donald TrumpgrousedonTuesdayaboutmed-ical expert Anthony Fauci’s highapproval ratings and joked that“nobodylikesme”ashestrugglestoimprovehisstandingwithvot-ers forhishandlingof thecoron-aviruspandemic.Fauci,aninfectiousdiseaseex-

pertwho is on Trump’s coron-avirustaskforce,isoneofthemosttrustedpeopleingovernment.Trump said he deserved

plauditsfortheirhandlingof thevirus,not just Fauci.“He’sworkingwith our ad-

ministrationandforthemostpartwehavedoneprettymuchwhathe andothers... who are terrific,recommended.Andhe’s got thishighapprovalrating.Sowhydon’tI haveahighapproval ratingandthe administrationwith respectto the virus?We should have avery high (approval rating),”Trumpsaid. “So it sort of is curi-ous, amanworks for us, andyetthey’rehighlythoughtofandno-body likesme. It canonly bemypersonality,”hesaid.

TrumpwithFauciduringabriefing inApril.Reuters

Germany beginsmass coronavirustesting at airports

Passengersarrivingfromcountriesdeemedhigh-risktobetestedfromnextweek

Indian nursestabbed to deathoutside hospitalin Florida

Oregon governor: Feds to start leaving Portland

ReeseSchonfeldwasCNN’s foundingpresident

SundarPichaiofGoogle,JeffBezosofAmazon,TimCookofAppleandMarkZuckerbergofFacebookattendedthehearing

Setback inbidtorepairtroubledties

CHINAANDtheVaticanhavesharedatroubledrelationshipfordecades.ChinahasdeniedthePope’sau-thorityover theCatholicChurch inthecountry,andin-stead, thestatewouldrunchurchesandappointbishops.However, inabidto improverelations,BeijingandtheVaticansignedanagreement

lastyearunderwhichChinawouldrecognisethePope’sauthorityover theChurch. Inre-turn, thePopewould

give formalrecognitiontothebishopsappointedbyBeiijing.Talksset forSept thisyearweremeantto finalise thede-tailsof theagreement.Thehacking incidentrepresentsasetbacktothisprocess.

China hacks the Vaticanahead of talks, monitor says

Big Tech faces US Congressin antitrust showdown

Federalofficerspushbackdemonstratorsduringaprotest inPortland,Oregon,Wednesday.AP

New Delhi

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2,90,000.00 01 ¸ffW

Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board(Govt. of NCT of Delhi)

9, Institutional Area, Pankha Road, Janakpuri, New Delhi-110058Tel:- 28522085, 28525232 Fax:- 011-28522085, Email:- ambdl@nic.in,

Website:- www.delagrimarket.nic.in

NOTICE INVITING E-TENDERThe following item rate e-tenders are invited through e-tendering on behalf of Vice Chairman, DAMB.

1. Date and time of pre bid meeting 04.08.2020 at 11:00 am at 9, Institutional Area, Pankha Road, JanakPuri, New Delhi-110058

2. Technical Bid shall be opened online on 13.08.2020 at 15:00 Hrs at 9, Institutional Area, Pankha Road,Janak Puri, New Delhi-110058.

3. Terms and Conditions and details can be seen at website https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in (ID:-2020_DAMB_192975_1

Sd/-DIP/Shabdarth/0188/20-21 PE-II, DAMB

S.No

Name of work Estimatedcost

Earnestmoney

Time ofcompln.

Last Date &Time of receipt

oftenders throughe-procurement

Tender ID no /NIT No

1 Designing. Detailed Engineering,supply, Fabrication, Erection Testingand commissioning includingoperation and maintenance for 5years (1 year warranty period + 4 Yearoperation and maintenance) of 350KLD capacity effluent treatment plantwith all interconnection piping works,Mechanical, electrical onlinemonitoring system and its link withDPCC and CPCS server on lumpsumbasis at Fish Market Gazipur Delhi

Rs.293.30 lacs

Rs.5,86,600/-

Four months+ 5 yearsoperation

andmaintenance

24.07.2020 2020_DAMB_192975_1

26/DAMB/Engg/PE-II/2020-21

TENDER DATE EXTENSION NOTICEThe Date of opening of tender specification no. PVVNL-MT/COM/20/19-20 for supplyof 500 nos. 33 KV TVM Cat-C Meter is hereby extended from 29.07.2020 to28.08.2020. Time of opening tender and other terms & conditions shall remainunchanged.For detailed information please log on www.pvvnl.org & E-Tendering websitewww.etender.up.nic.in till the date of submission of bids. Superintending Engineer(Commercial) “Help line Number for Information of Theft of Electricity: “1800-180-3002 (Meerut) & 9412207451” Remark :- www.etender.up.nic.in

´fÂffaIY 6560 dQ³ffaIY :- 29.07.2020 Sd/- Chief Engineer (Commercial)For Managing Director

Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd.,Victoria Park, Meerut

“SAVE ELECTRICITY IN THE INTEREST OF THE NATION”

The University invites e-tender for the preparations of 40 Pages

OMR with Barcode Answer Books along-with University Water Marks

Seal Paper, 50 Lakhs copies. The Blank e-tender form is available on

Government of Maharashtra’s authorized e-tendering web site

www.mahatenders.gov.in. The tender document and details of tenderth

are available on website date 29 July, 2020. The last date of submission is

20 August, 2020.th

Dr. Niraj KhatyRegistrar ( Officiating)

Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, NagpurTender Notice

Tender No. RTMNUP / 40PAB / 2020 / 1 Dt.29/07/2020

Tele : 011 26105472 No. 1 Delhi Air Sqn NCC (Flg)NCC BuildingsB/6, Safdarjung EnclaveNew Delhi - 110029

AUCTION NOTICEThis notice is for Auction of the state property unserviceable/unusable misc items i.e. iron, aluminium, plastic, electric,electronic items lying in above mentioned office premises. Payorder/DD of Rs 1000/- in favour of CO No. 1 Delhi Air Sqn NCC(Flg) is essential to be deposited with the cashier of the unit toparticipate in the tendering. Tenders are being invited from theinterested vendors. Tender must be sealed and dropped insidethe tender box placed at above mentioned address upto 1300hrs on 12 Aug 2020. Tenders will be opened at 1600 hrs by aBoard of Officers on the same day. Interested bidders can visitthis unit premise for assessing the rates of condemn itemsfrom 05 Aug 2020 to 07 Aug 2020 from 0930 hrs to 1730 hrsCompetent Authority has full rights to withdraw or makechanges in the tendering process.

Sd/-(Sumeet Malhotra)Wing Commander

DIP/Shabdarth/0189/20-21 Commanding Officer

OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEERP.W.D. KANKER CIRCLE KANKER (C.G.)

Online tenders are invited for Construction of Road Work, TenderDownloaded up to Date 05/08/2020

Sr. NIT System Name of Work ProbableNo. No. Tender Amount of

No. Contract1 2 3 4 501 43 64709 50.00

Lakh

02 44 64710 50.53Lakh

03 45 64711 60.00Lakh

04 46 64712 140.00Lakh

05 47 64713 60.00Lakh

Short e-PROCUREMENT TENDER NOTICE

W.B.M. & B.T. Patch Repair work on var-ious road under Sub Dn. Bhanupratappur.

WBM at BT Patch Repair work onBhanupratappur Pakhanjore Bande P.V.109 road in km 28 to 90 under PWD SubDivision Bhanupratappur & Pakhanjore.(Under P.G. work)

B.T. Patch Repair work on various roadunder Sub Dn. Antagarh.

W.B.M. and B.T. Patch work on KankerBhanupratappur Sambalpur Road (SH-6),Rajnandgaon to Bailadila Road (SH-6),Sambalpur Silpat Road (SH-6) &Bhanupratappur-Pakhanjore-Bande Road(SH-25) Under Sub DivisionBhanupratappur (Length 74.40 Km.)

B.T. Patch Repair work on various roadunder Sub Dn. Kanker.

All Documents related to Tender are to be submitted byTenderers online only, failing which the tenderer can not participate inthe bidding, for tender details please visit on this sitehttps://eproc.cgstate.gov.in

Note:- CONTRACTOR SUBMIT THE CERTIFICATE REGARDINGMACHINERIES & PLANTS AS PER ANNEXURE-G - 7(d)

(for sr.no 01 to 05)

Bid Submission due Date (Online) 05.08.2020Bid Opening date (Scheduled) 10.08.2020 10.00 am

Sd/-Superintending Engineer

82662 P.W.D., Kanker Circle, Kanker

Delhi Transport Infrastructure DevelopmentCorporation Ltd.

An Enterprises of Govt. of NCT of Delhi.ISBT Kashmere Gate Delhi-110006

NOTICE INVITING TENDERThe Executive Engineer, DTIDC invite tenders on behalf of MD, DTIDCLtd for the following works through e procurement solution only.

The Tender forms and other detail can be obtained from the website:https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in/

Sd/-Executive Engineer

DTIDC Ltd. ISBTDIP/Shabdarth/0190/20-21 Kashmere Gate, Delhi

1. NIT No. : 18/DTIDC/2020-21

Tender ID No. : 2020_DTIDC_193019_1Name of work : M/o ISBT at Kashmere Gate.SH : Renovation of DTIDC Office at Second

and Third Floor at ISBT Kashmere GateEstimated Cost : Rs. 79,12,896/-Earnest Money : Rs. 1,60,000/-Time Allowed : 45 DaysLast date of receiptof tenders

: 11/08/2020

15WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY30,2020

New Delhi

''IMPORTANT''Whilst care is taken prior toacceptance of advertisingcopy, it isnotpossible toverifyits contents. The IndianExpress (P) Limited cannot beheld responsible for suchcontents, nor for any loss ordamage incurredasaresultoftransactions with companies,associations or individualsadvertising in its newspapersor Publications. We thereforerecommend that readersmake necessary inquiriesbefore sending any monies orentering into any agreementswith advertisers or otherwiseacting on an advertisement inany manner whatsoever.

II AnitaRikhyD/o Late Sh.PremSagar SethW/oSh.SanjayRikhyR/oC-9/9170, VasantKunj, NewDelhi- 110070havechangedmyname toAnitaSethRikhy for all purposes.

0040543234-2

II KiranKumari aliasKiranD/oSh.Lal SahabGautamW/oSh.DineshKumarAryaR/o F-1/123, Sector-11, Rohini, Delhi-110085havechangedmynametoKiranArya for all purposes.

0040543234-1

II,,hhiitthheerrttoo knownasAdityaS/oNareshKumar residingat5/357,MohallaMehram,Shahdara,Delhi-110032,have changedmynameandshall hereafter be knownasAdityaRaghuvanshi.

0040543218-4

II,,MMIINNAAKUMARI(MEENAKUMARIPANDEY)Daughter of LateDWARIKANATHPANDEYR/oC-98, Brij Vihar, P.O.ChanderNagar,Ghaziabad,Uttar-Pradesh-201011,have changedmyname,fromMINAKUMARI(MEENAKUMARIPANDEY)toMEENASHARMA,for future reference.

0040543251-4

II,,LLaaxxmmiiW/O-Shri NandRamR/O-B-345,ShakurPur,J.J.Colony,Delhi-110034,declarethat both thenames LAXMI andLACHMAareone& the sameperson.

0040543251-9

II,,KKaavviittaa KAPOORW/oVickyKapoorR/o-A-77, VivekVihar,Phase-1,Shahdara,Delhi-1100095,have changedmyname,fromkanchanKapoor toKavitaKapoor,for all,futurepurposes.

0040543218-3

II,,JJAAGGAADDIISSHHSKUMARS/O-LATESH.UDHARAMR/O-À-19/20,DOUBLE-STORYMALKA-GANJ,DELHI-110007,havechangedmyname JAGDISHKUMAR to JAGADISHSKUMAR,for all purpose.

0040543218-5

II,, VikashSharmaS/oBinodSharmaR/oQtrNo-55, Block-4,CISF, FamilyQtr Complex,Sector-4, Bawana, Delhi-110039, have changedmyminor daughter’s name fromNivikaaged 8Months toNivikaSharma forever

0070709845-1

II,, VIDHISHAKHAITAND/OSURESHKHAITAN residingat-52/126, FIRST FLOOR,CHITRANJAN-PARK, DELHI-110019.have changedmynametoVIDISHAKHAITAN.

0040543251-3

II,, Urvi JosephAliasAdi JosephD/o JosephVargheseR/o3097/4, Gali No-4, RanjeetNagar, Patel Nagar, Delhi-110008, have changedmynametoAadiAnjali 0070709832-1

II,, SureshH.S. aliasH.S. SureshaliasHanumanthappaShivakumarSureshS/oHanumanthappaShivakumarR/oA-1/81, SecondFloor,Panchsheel Enclave, NewDelhi-110017, have changedmyname toHanumanthappaShivakumarSuresh

0070709854-1

II,, SamsonPonselvanR/o-C-245,ParamountGolfForeste,Site-C,UPSIDC,GreaterNoida-201306,U.P.,have changedmyname,asJeyapaul Kanagaraj SamsonPonselvan,S/o JeyapaulKanagaraj. 0040543191-1

II,, SahinaBegumW/oAslimKhanR/oWard-3Cheeka, TehsilGuhla, Distt. Kaithal, Haryana(India) have changedmynamefromSahinaBegumtoGeetaRani. PleaseNote.

0040543216-1

II,, Safia Salam,D/o-Abdul SalamR/o-E-172-173, 2nd-Floor,Left,Block-E,LajpatNagar-1,SouthDelhi-110024,havechangedmyname toSophiaSalamPermanently.

0040543251-8

II,, Rajni KaliaD/oVinodKumarKalia R/o 110/15, VijayColony,ShahabadMarkanda,Kurukshetra, Haryana-136135,have changedmyname toRiximBhanot for all purpose

0070709835-1

II,, PoonamW/oAnandBalupuriR/oB-36, StNo. 10-B,MolarbandExtension,Badarpur, Delhi-110044, havechangedmyname toPoonamBalupuri 0070709849-1

II,, PARDEEPSINGH,S/OMEHTABSINGH,R/o-CB-47, NARAINA,RING-ROADNEWDELHI-110028,changedmyname toPARDEEPSINGHCHHIKARA,permanently. 0040543251-1

II,, NIKITA, D/ORAVIKANTMALIk,FLATNO -243, NUOVOAPPTS,SECTOR - 10PLOTNO25DWARKANEWDELHI 110075.Changedmyname toNIKITAMALIK, permanently.

0040543251-2

II,,ManishRaj S/oShambhuPrasadVermaR/oH-32, East ofBhola Takies, DharampurWardNo-9, Samastipur, Bihar-848101, have changedmynametoKshitij Raj Shrivastava

0070709846-1

II,, LuckmiVashiumW/O,GrantsonVashiumR/oShangshakPhunghonVillage,P. O.&P. S. Shangshak, UkhrulDistrictManipur have changedmyname to LakmiVashium forall purposes.

0040543217-1

II,, JayashreeHonnappanavarAlias JayashreeSureshW/oHanumanthappaShivakumarSureshR/oA-1/81, SecondFloor, Panchsheel Enclave,NewDelhi-110017, havechangedmyname toHonnappanavar Jayashree

0070709856-1

II,, JashandeepSinghS/oBaljitSinghR/oVPOPatti,Hoshiarpur, Punjab-146104,have changedmyname toJaskeerat Singh

0070709834-1

II,, HemantGadhaiyaS/OShekharChand residingatIX/2396,Gali No-10,RaghubarPuraNo-2,GandhiNagar, Delhi-110031, have changedmynametoHemant Jain videaffidavitdated 28/07/2020 atDelhi.

0050167008-1

II,, Gajender s/oamarpalwz -37choukhandi village. TilakNagarNewDelhi 110018 havechangedmyname toGajerderpanwar. 0040543195-1

II,, BalkishanS/O, PajanaR/oS/o:Pajana, 333, SinghpurCharanPathka, Phulari, Chhatarpur,MadhyaPradesh - 471501havechangedmyname toKishanLal Kumar for all purposes.

0040543211-1

II,, AshaRamNautiyal S/oJagdishPrasadNautiyal R/o247, 8, B-Block, UttrakhandEnclave, Delhi-110084, havechangedmyname toAshishNautiyal 0070709853-1

II,, Anil PachpandeAliasAnilPachpandeyS/oNivruttiSadashiv PachpandeR/oP-523,JalvayuVihar, Sector-30,Gurgaon,Haryana-122001,have changedmyname toAnilNivrutti Pachpande

0070709836-1

II SATENDERS/OMALKHANSINGHH.NO-557-259, NEW-SANJAYCOLONYPANIPAT,HARYANA-132103havechangedmyname toSATENDERTHAKUR,PERMANENTLY.

0040543218-7

II NareshAggarwal S/O RamKumarR/O-M-196, DLFCapitalGreensMoti-NagarDelhi-110015.changedmynametoNareshKumar. 0040543218-2

IIMohammad iqbal s/oMohdfurqanvillagemitthopur PostIslamabadDistrict BijnorUttarPardeshhave changedmyname to IQBAL s/oMohdfurqan 0050167043-1

IIManoj Kumar S/O, Raj KumarR/o 32-C, Pocket E, DilshadGarden, Delhi—110095havechangedmyname toManojKakkar for all purposes.

0040542976-1

IIManni DeviW/ORetafinaR/O-B-1078, Transit Camp,Govindpuri,Kalkaji,NewDelhi-110019.HaveChangedmyName toManiDevi.

0040543218-1

II BINDUW/OSATENDERTHAKUR,H.NO-557-259, NEWSANJAY-COLONYPANIPAT,HARYANA-132103have changedmynametoBINDUTHAKUR,PERMANENTLY.

0040543218-6

II,, Nitin Kumar S/oMadanLalSaini R/o-152,MasjidMoth,South-Ex.Part-2, NewDelhi-110049.haveChangedmynametoNitin Saini.

0040543251-7

MMyyoriginal-Documents PowerofAttorney,Aggreement toSell,Receipt Etc.OfProperty.No.R-141,Mohan-Garden, UttamNagar,NewDelhi-110059,havelost finder contact:Rajni BholaW/o-SatishBholaMobile-No.9873758436.

0040543251-5

II,, SATPARKASHS/oBhagatsinghR/o-wz-122dasgharaN.D.have lostmyoriginalcertificate class-10th year-1988Rollno-439297CBSE-Delhi.

0040543251-6

PPEERRSSOONNAALL

LLOOSSTT&&FFOOUUNNDD

Classifieds

PUBLIC NOTICEBe it know to all that my clients Sh.Jagdish Chandra and Smt. Santosh Deviboth of R/o 1903, Gali No. 114,Ganeshpura, Trinagar, Delhi-110046have disowned and debarred his sonnamely Yash Aggarwal and his wifenamely Smt. Tamana Rani from theirentire movable and immovableproperties of my client and have severedtheir all social relation with them due totheir grave disobedience and hostilebehavior towards my clients. If anyonedeals with them same shall be doneupon their own risks and consequences,my clients shall not be responsible fortheir any kind of act and deed.

Sd/- (Meghna Adlania)Advocate

Ch: 332-A, Western Wing,Tis Hazari Court Dl-110054

PUBLIC NOTICEBE IT KNOWN TO ALL CONCERNED THATMY CLIENTS SH. MAHESH S/O LATECHHEDA LAL R/O A-1028, SHYAM COLONY,PHASE-2, BUDH VIHAR, DELHI-110086 HASSEVERED ALL HIS RELATIONS IN ALLRESPECTS WITH HIS SON TEJVEERSINGH. MY CLIENT AND HIS REST OF THEFAMILY HAS NO RELATIONS WITH THEAFORESAID TEJVEER SINGH BECAUSE OFHIS REGULAR NUISANCE, BAD BEHAVIORAND MISCONDUCT TOWARDS MYCLIENTS AND HIS FAMILY. MY CLIENT HASALSO DISOWNED HIM FROM ALL HISMOVEABLE AND IMMOVABLEPROPERTIES/ ASSETS. MY CLIENT SHALLNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ACTS,DEEDS AND THINGS IN ANY MANNER BYTHE ABOVE SAID TEJVEER SINGH. ANYPERSON DOING ANY TRANSACTION WITHTHE AFORESAID TEJVEER SINGH, SHALLBE DOING AT HIS OWN COST &CONSEQUENCES.

Sd/-RAKESH KUMAR GARG

ADVOCATE27/3, SECTOR-2, ROHINI, DELHI

k 3 5h k (8)PUBLIC NOTICE

Known to all that my client Sanjay is the partnerof M/s Ginni Land Base is the owner of 3rd floor,A-35, Rangpuri (Vasant Kunj) Nangal Dewat,New Delhi. And he has lost original sale deedrelated to above property, executed by M/sShakuntala Properties Pvt. Ltd., in favour of M/sGinni Land base partnership Firm registeredvide sale deed no. 14498 dt. 18.12.2012. Policecomplaint dt. 26.07.2020 was lodged with DelhiPolice. It is informed that any deal with said lostdeed by any person except my said clientregarding said property, shall be deemed as nulland void. If any person found said deed or ishaving right in said property then he may contactand handover the same and apprise his claim toundersigned and within 8 days of thispublication.

Sd/-For AD REM LEGAL SOLUTION

Ch. No. 760, Dwarka CourtSector-10, Dwarka, New Delhi-75

M: 9899013918

PUBLIC NOTICEIt is for General Informationthat I, Mahesh Kumar S/oJugal Kishor R/o P-95-A, F/F,P-Block, Vishnu Garden, NewDelhi-110018, declare thatname of mine and my fatherhas been wrongly written asMahesh and Deen Dayal inmy PAN Card No.AVDPM0012A. The actualname of mine and my fatherare Mahesh Kumar and JugalKishor respectively, whichmay be amended accordingly.

PUBLIC NOTICEThis is to inform the public at large thatMy clients Mr. Vijay Kumar Sharma S/oLt.VN Sharma and Mrs. Suman SharmaW/o Mr. Vijay Kumar both R/o- Flat No-4, Gangotri Apartments, Vikaspuri,Delhi-110018 here by disown their sonMr Nipun Sharma from all their Movableand Immovable property and they arenot responsible for any acts of their son.If any person deals with said Mr. NipunSharma in any way in that case he/shewould be doing so at their own risk.

Sd/-AMAN OBEROI-ADVOCATE

FA-27, MANSAROVER GARDEN,NEW DELHI-110015

(M): 9811740707

PUBLIC NOTICEGeneral public is hereby informed that myclients Sh. BaIwan Singh S/o Sh. Jeet Ramand his wife Smt. Bala Devi both R/O 77.Village Mohammad Pur, Ramzan Pur Delhi-110036, have disowned their son namelyAmit Kumar age 25 years from their entiremovable and immovable properties as hehas gone out of control. MY clients and theirentire family have severed all the relationsfrom him. If anybody deals with him it shallbe entirely at their own risks, cost andconsequences. My clients shall not beresponsible in any manner for any kind of hisdeed, act and conduct.

Sd/-(KRISHAN KUMAR)

ADVOCATECH.NO. 803, 8TH FLOOR, LAWYERS

CHAMBER BLOCK DISTRICT COURTROHINI, DELHI-110085

PUBLIC NOTICEInformed to General Public, that my clientsCHARAN SINGH S/O LATE SHRI KALU RAM &BHATERI DEVI W/O SHRI CHARAN SINGHBOTH R/O VILLAGE & P.O. POOTH KALAN,DELHI, have severed all the relations from theirgrand son DILBAGH SOLANKI S/O LATE SHRIRAM KUMAR S/O SHRI CHARAN SINGH and hiswife SMT. PAYAL SOLANKI W/O SHRI DILBAGHSOLANKI, as they are disobedient, rude and notunder the control of my clients aforesaid. Fromhereon my clients have debarred their grand sonDILBAGH SOLANKI S/O LATE SHRI RAMKUMAR S/O SHRI CHARAN SINGH and his wifeSMT. PAYAL SOLANKI W/O SHRI DILBAGHSOLANKI, from all their movable and immovableproperties. That by playing fraud upon my clientand taking undue advantage of his old age Dilbaghhas succeed to got signed on some blank papers ofmy client. If any person, organization, institutiondoes any transaction with them does so at theirown risk, for that my clients shall not be responsiblein any manner whatsoever.

Sd/- RAKESH KUMARAdvocate

Enrl. No. D/1141/2004

PUBLIC NOTICEGeneral Public is hereby informed thatmy client Sh. Dhananjay Kumar PandeyS/o Sh. Bajrang Bali Pandey R/o F-6,Nihal Vihar, Nangloi Delhi 110041, haveDisowned his wife Prema Pandey alsodisowned his both son RITESHPANDEY & ABHISHEK PANDEY fromall movable and immovable Propertiesdue to their misbehaviour.Hereafter MyClient not be held responsible for anykind of acts done, Criminal activities byhim/her in money or Transaction andany Illegal/Legal And Property Purposein Future.Anybody Dealing With Themin any manner whatsoever will be doingat his/her own cost, Risk &Responsibility

Parkash Chand (Advocate)Enrl.no-D-9065/2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION KINDLY VISIT: www.haryanaeprocurement.gov.in or www.etenders.hry.nic.in82005/HRY

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION KINDLY VISIT: www.haryanaeprocurement.gov.in or www.etenders.hry.nic.in82004/HRY

SR.No.

1

2

3.

NAME OFBOARD/CORP./

AUTH

GMDA,

GURUGRAM

J.C.BOSE UNIVER-

SITY OF SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLO-

GY,YMCA, FARID-

ABAD (HARYANA)

GMDA,

GURUGRAM

NAME OF WORK NOTICE TENDER

RESTORATION OF DAMAGED PARKING AS WELL AS

FOOTPATH BY PROVIDING AND LAYING GSB, WMM,

BM, BC PROVIDING AND FIXING KERB & CHANNEL,

INTERLOCKING TILES IN CRICKET PAVILION IN

SPORTS COMPLEX SECTOR 38 GURUGRAM

SUPPLY OF DESKTOP COMPUTERS AND OTHER

TENDERS.(FOR MORE DETAILS, PLEASE REFER

TO THE WEBSITE.)

(I) O&M OF TRAFFIC LIGHTS IN OLD GURUGRAM

AT VARIOUS LOCATION UNDER JURISDICTION

OF GMDA FOR THE YEAR 2020-2021 (RE CALL)

(II) O&M OF TRAFFIC LIGHTS IN NEW GURU-

GRAM AT VARIOUS LOCATION UNDER JURISDIC-

TION OF GMDA FOR THE YEAR 2020-2021

AMOUNT/EMD (APPROX.)IN RUPEES

52.43 LACS

Total Appox.

Cost

Rs.33962423/-

59.28 LACS

OPENING DATECLOSING DATE

(TIME)

28.07.2020

10.08.2020

29.07.2020

18.08.2020

30.07.2020

13.08.2020

WEBSITE OFTHE BOARDCORP./AUTH

https://www.gmda.

gov.in/

www.jcboseust.

ac.in

https://www.gmda.

gov.in/

NODAL OFFI-CER/CONTACTDETAILS/EMAIL

xen3infra1.gmda

@gov.in

0129-2310164

dr.purchase@

jcboseust.ac.in

8851038654

engmobl.gmda@

gov.in

MARTYR OF 208 Bn, COBRA

CT/GD, Pranjal Pachoni, of 208, COBRA made thesupreme sacrifice during an anti-maoist operationin forest area of Vill- Aitrajpad, Sukma,Chhattisgarh on 30th July 2016. The CRPF proudlyremembers the braveheart who laid down his life atthe altar of duty while fighting with maoists. Hiscourage and bravery would remain an abidingsource of inspiration for the Force.

IG & All Ranks of COBRA

SALUTE THE SOLDIER

CT/GD

PRANJAL

PACHANI

PUBLIC NOTICEPublic at large is herebyinformed that my clientSh. Nirmal Singh, S/o Sh.Babu Singh R/o B-153C,Vasant Kunj Enclave,Vasant Kunj, New Delhi,had been working withSh. Arun Tiwari S/o LateSh. Visheswar Dayal R/oD-59, Ground Floor,Nangal Devat Village,New Delhi, as EstateManager since January2002 till July 2020. Duringthe course of employmentmy above said cliententered into and signed anumber of Sale-PurchaseAgreements, Power ofAttorney, Sale Deeds etc.in respect of variousproperties throughoutDelhi especially RuchiVihar, Village Rangpuri,New Delhi on behalf of hisemployer, the above saidArun Tiwari. My client nowhas left the services ofSh. Arun Tiwari as EstateManager and alsosevered all hisprofessional and fiduciaryrelations from him. Anyperson whether known orunknown to my clientdeals with Sh. Arun Tiwariwill do so at his risk, costand consequences andmy client will not beresponsible for the samesince July 2020 onwards.

Sd/-RAJKAMALADVOCATE

CHAMBER NO. 443,SAKET COURT COMPLEX

NEW DELHI-110017MOB: 9899210094

16 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY30,2020CLASSIFIEDS&TENDERS

New Delhi

17SENSEX: 38,071.13 ▲ 421.82 NIFTY: 11,202.85 ▼ 97.70 NIKKEI: 22,397.11 ▼ 260.27 HANG SENG: 24,883.14 ▲ 110.38 FTSE: 6,138.45 ▲ 9.19 DAX: 12,839.76 ▲ 4.48

THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY30,2020

ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

GOLD`53,797

RUPEE`74.80

OIL$43.62

SILVER`65,540

Note:Gold, silverratesatspotmarket inDelhi;goldper10g, silverper1kg;Brentcrudeasof2300IST

Internationalmarketdatatill1900IST

Government of RajasthanDIRECTORATE OF CIVIL AVIATION

State VIP Hangar. Sanganer Airport, Jaipur-302011Telefax: 0141-2550543 Email dcarajasthan@gmail.com

No. F. 3(10)DCA/OPS/2020/ 339 Dated: 22 July 2020

CORRIGENDUMReference is made to this office Short term NIT (Tender Tender ID2020_CIVN_190224_1) of even reference and SPPP reference No.DCA 2021SLOB00010 dated 13th July, 2020 for hiring of Multi EngineMid Size Jet (Turbofan) Aircraft on short term contract published on e-tendering web site eproc(@rajasthan.gov.in And in all India levelEnglish daily news paper with wide circulation and One State levelleading daily newspaper on 18th July 2020.The following amendmentsare hereby made in the NIT under Reference:-1. Due to technical error Col. No. 7 to 9 will not be conidered. Price

schedule will be considered as per column No. 3 to 6 and accordinglydecision will be taken.

Sd/-(Capt Keshri Singh)

UBN NO. 2021SLOB00010 DirectorDIPR/C/5639/2020

Tender Enquiry No.Work Description

Last Date & Timeof Bid Submission/

Date and time ofOpening of bids

EstimatedCost/EMD

(Rs.)

Availabilityof Bid

Document

TATA Power-DDL invites tenders as per following details:July 30, 2020

Tender Enquiry No. Revised Due Date & Timeof Bid Submission/ Date& time of opening of bidsWork Description

PreviouslyPublished

DateTPDDL/ENGG/ENQ/200001221/20-21

RC for Supply of LT Palm Connectors for DTs23.05.2020 08.08.2020 at 1700 Hrs/

08.08.2020 at 1710 HrsRfx. 5000001706

TPDDL/ENGG/ENQ/200001226/20-21RC for supply of "Distribution Box with MCCBof various ratings"

07.07.2020 03.08.2020 at 1600 Hrs/03.08.2020 at 1700 Hrs

RC for Construction of ESS for 1 year2.8 Cr./

6.2 Lacs30.07.202011:00 Hrs

TPDDL/ENGG/ENQ/200001228/20-21 20.08.2020;1600 Hrs/20.08.2020;1630 Hrs

Hiring Commercial Vehicles onmonthly basis for a period ofFour (04) Years w. e. f. Jan'21

24.6 Cr./5 Lacs

30.07.202011:00 Hrs

TPDDL/ENGG/ENQ/200001229/20-2120.08.2020;1500 Hrs/20.08.2020;1500 Hrs

Rates Quotations in sealed cover/e-procurement are invited by theundersigned from the reputed, bonafide, resourceful & experiencedfirms/contractors who are having similar nature of work experience forthe details mentioned below for “Supply of boats & Manpower foroperation and maintenance of pollution response equipment andcombating oil pollution for 3 years and extendable up to further 2years (as per same terms and conditions) at Karwar Port, UttaraKannada” as per the enclosed Specification, Terms and conditionsinclusive of all charges, levies & duties except GST. - Fuel and freshwater supply to the boats on Port account and nil charges towardsmobilization/ demobilization.Unit: Per day 24 hours, Rate(excluding GST): in Figures.................words: .......................................... Amount: ............

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST / Call-2

Sd/- Marine Engineer,Ports & IWT Department, Karwar.

Government of Karnataka

NO.ME/GNL/CR-04/2020 Date: 28.07.2020

(Department of Ports & Inland Water Transport)Office of the Marine Engineer, Department of Ports & IWT, Baithkhol,

Karwar- 581302

For any further information please contact the following the address.

(2)PhoneNo.: 08382-221402. (3) www.eproc.karantaka.gov.in

Submit your complet finished rates including all applicable taxes & dutiesexcluding GST to the undersigned before 07.08.2020. The sealedquotation rates are purely used for obtaining estimate sanction andevaluation of tender purpose only and not for awarding the contract.

(1) E-mail:marineengineerkwr@gmail.com

DIPR/KWR/MCA/235/20-21 dt. 28.7.20

NewDelhi: IndiGo’s parent com-pany, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd,WednesdaypostedanetlossofRs2,844 crore for April-June as itsrevenue fromoperations fell 92percentyear-on-yearbuttotalex-penses fell onlyby52percentasagainstthesameperiodlastyear.TheApril-Junequarterwassignif-icantlyhitbythenationwidelock-down imposed to contain thepandemicandledtodomesticop-erationsbeingshuttillMay25.“Theaviationindustryisgoing

through a crisis of survival andtherefore, our cash balance re-mains our number one priority.However,wealso recognize thatmajor disruptions offer compa-nies opportunities for improve-ment inproduct, customerpref-erence, costs and employeeengagement,” IndiGo CEORonojoyDuttasaid. ENS

`2,844 cr net lossfor InterGlobeAviation in Q1

BRIEFLYSept30:FY19ITRdeadlineNewDelhi:The IncomeTaxDepartment has extendeddeadline for FY19 incometax returns (ITR) to Septe-mber30fromJuly31.

NewdeadlineforBPCLbidsNewDelhi:AFinanceMinis-trynotificationsaidthedea-dline for bidding for theCentre’s53percentstakeinBPCLhasbeenextended toSeptember30. ENS

AcharyaagainstsuspendingIBCNew Delhi: Former RBIdeputygovernorViralAcha-rya, at Entrepreneurmaga-zineawards,saidsuspensionofIBCforayearis"toolong".

‘ReviewMEIScoverage’New Delhi: The RevenueDepartment, sources said,has asked its commercecounterpart to reviewcov-erageof theMEISscheme.

$3-mngrantgetsADBnodNewDelhi:ADBWednesdaysaidithasapproved$3mil-liongranttoIndiatosupportitsfightagainstCOVID-19.

TechMahindra,CyQureXpactNewDelhi: TechMahindraand CyQureX of HindujaGroup’shavesignedaglobalpartnership to jointly offercybersecuritysolutions.PTI

US Federal Reserve repeatspledge to keep rates lowREUTERSWASHINGTON, JULY 29

THE FEDERAL Reserve onWednesday repeated a pledgetouse its “full rangeof tools” tosupport the US economy andkeep interest ratesnearzero foras long as it takes to recoverfrom the fallout from the coro-navirus outbreak, saying thepath of the economy will de-pend significantly on thecourse of the virus.“Following sharp declines,

economicactivityandemploy-ment have picked up some-what in recent months but re-mainwell below their levels atthe beginning of the year,” UScentralbankpolicymakerssaidinastatement issuedat theendof their latest two-daymeeting,held by video conference.“The path of the economy

willdependsignificantlyonthecourse of the virus,” the state-ment added.All members of the Fed’s

policy-settingcommitteevotedto leave the target range forshort-terminterest ratesatbe-tween 0 and 0.25 per cent,where it has been sinceMarch15whenthepandemicwasbe-ginningtohit theUnitedStates.

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI, JULY29

PRIME MINISTER NarendraModi onWednesday joined ameeting with heads of banksand NBFCs, where the need forintrospectionamongbankersinorder to ensure “bankable proj-ects” do not suffer from lack ofcredit in the name of pastnon-performing assets (NPAs)wasdiscussed.While the Centre empha-

siseditwillsupportthebankingsystem, itwasnotedthat “smallentrepreneurs, SHGs, farmersshouldbemotivatedtouseinsti-tutional credit to meet theircreditneedsandgrow”.“Each bank needs to intro-

spect and take a relook at itspractices to ensure stable creditgrowth. Banks should not treatall proposals with the sameyardstickandneedtodistinguishandidentifybankableproposalsand to ensure that they get ac-cess to funding on their meritand don’t suffer in the name ofpastNPAs,”thePrimeMinister’sOffice(PMO)saidinastatementafterWednesday’smeeting.“It was emphasised that the

governmentisfirmlybehindthebanking system. The govern-ment is ready to take any steps

necessary tosupport itandpro-mote itsgrowth,” it added.Wednesday’smeetingcomes

amid demands by banks andnon-banking financial compa-nies (NBFCs) seeking additionalliquidityforlowerratedcompa-nies,alongsideonetimerestruc-turing of loans to support themduring thepresentdownturn.TheCentrehasutilisedthefi-

nancialsystemtoinjectliquidityand amajor portion of the overRs 20 lakh crore AtmanirbharBharat package, comprising ofbanks providing loans tomicro,small andmedium enterprises(MSMEs) and the Reserve Bankof India providing systemic liq-uidityandotherregulatorycon-cessions.

Themeetingdiscussedwaysto increase credit penetrationthroughcollaborativeuseofdig-ital technologies.“Banks should adopt fintech

like centralised data platforms,digital documentation and col-laborativeuseof information tomovetowardsdigitalacquisitionof customers. This will help in-crease credit penetration, in-creaseeaseforcustomers, lowercosts for banks and also reducefrauds,”thePMOstatementsaid.Whilereviewingtheexisting

loan schemes, the governmentsaidthatbanksneedtobeproac-tiveandactivelyengagewiththeintendedbeneficiariestoensurethat the credit support reachesthemina timelymanner.

USFederalReserveChairJeromePowell. Reuters file

Jaypee Infra minority shareholders approachNCLAT, seek modification of NBCC proposalENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI, JULY29

THECORPORATEinsolvencyres-olution process of JaypeeInfratechLimited(JIL) is likely tobe further delayed as a group of30minority shareholders of thecompany have moved theNational Company Law

AppellateTribunal(NCLAT)chal-lenging the approval of plan ofNBCCIndia.Theminority shareholders

have challenged the approval oftheresolutionplanofNBCCIndia,alleging that the interests of theminorityshareholdershadbeencompletelyignored,eventhoughJIL had enough assets whichcouldbeliquidatedtoprotectthe

investors’ interests.Theminority shareholders

haveaskedthemNCLATtoeitherset aside theNational CompanyLaw Tribunal (NCLT)’s decisionapproving NBCC’s resolutionplan ormodify it to the extentthat theminority shareholdersareallowedtoexit thecompanyby selling their shares at a fairmarketvalue.

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JULY29

ASPRODUCTIONandsalesofcarswerehitsignificantlyfollowingtheimpositionoflockdownacrossthecountryamidsttheCOVID-19pan-demic, Maruti Suzuki IndiaLimited— the largest passengercarmanufacturerinthecountry—postedits firstquarterly loss in17years,sinceitslistinginJuly2003.ItannouncedalossofRs249croreinthequarterendedJune30,2020.Thecompanyalsoannounced

an80percentdipinrevenueasitfell fromRs18,735 crore in June2019toRs3,677croreinJune2020.During thequarter the com-

pany sold76,599units—67,027

vehicles in thedomesticmarketand9,572unitsasexports.Bycom-parison, the company had sold4,02,594units in the correspon-dingquarterlastyear.Initsstatement, thecompany

saiddue to the lockdownandre-strictionsonaccountofsafety,“theproduction in thewholequarterwasequivalent to just about twoweeks’ofregularworking.” Itfur-thersaid thatowingto theglobalpandemicofCOVID-19,“itwasanunprecedented quarter in thecompany’shistorywhereinalargepart of thequarterhadzeropro-ductionandzerosales incompli-ancewitha lockdownstipulatedby the government. Productionand sales started in a very smallwayinthemonthofMay.”

COVID impact: MSILposts `249-cr loss in Juneqtr – first time in 17 years

SANDEEPSINGH,GEORGEMATHEW&SUNNYVERMANEWDELHI/MUMBAI,JULY29

WITHBANKSpushing foraone-time restructuring of loans, theReserve Bank of India (RBI)mayprovide this leeway for selectstressed sectors. Sectors such astourism, hospitality and real es-tatehavebeenseekingthisreliefto tide over the business slumpresulting fromeffects of COVID-19pandemic induced economicdownturn.A senior officialwith a lead-

ingfinancialservicesfirmsaidre-structuring of genuine cases ofnon-performing loans is theneedof thehour, as itwill allowthe system to declog and startfunctioning. Stating that sectorssuchasrealestate,hospitalityareindireneedofthesame,hecalledforRBItohaveasincerelookintothematter.Citing cases where just a

Rs50-100croreadditional fund-ingmayrevivetheprojectandtheloan,hesaidthehousingfinancecompanies (HFCs), non-bankingfinancialcompanies(NBFCs)andbanksarenotabletoprovidethatadditionalfundingasthattoowillgetaddedtothenon-performingasset (NPA) of that particularcompany.“TheRBIneedstoallowrestructuringofnon-performingloans and then thebanks and fi-nancial institutions can analysethe cases andpick the ones thatarefeasibletorevive.ButuntiltheRBI allows it, it is not possible to

cleanup,”headded.He said inmost of the cases,

the interest is only getting accu-mulated and there is no resolu-tioninsight.Aseniorgovernmentofficial said thediscussionshavebeenheldwiththeRBIand“thereisemphasisontheissuethatsec-torspecificrestructuringmaybeneeded.” FinanceMinistry offi-cialsdidnotreplytoqueriesseek-ingcommentsforthestory.According to the RBI’s sys-

temic risk survey, the top threesectorsidentifiedasadverselyaf-fectedbytheCOVID-19pandemicare:Tourismandhospitality,con-structionandrealestateandavi-ation.Theirprospectsofrecoveryin the next sixmonths appearbleak, theRBIsays.Though bankers are not in

favourofcontinuingthemorato-rium,theyarenotsureabouttheneedforanacross-the-boardloanrestructuringschemewhichwasmisusedbycorporatesinthepast.“Corporateshadmisusedloanre-

structuring till about six yearsback.Badloanswerehiddenun-der the carpet using loan recastschemes… and helpful banksevergreenedtheseloansbysanc-tioning fresh loans. The assetqualityreviewin2015threwouta lot of skeletons from the cup-boards of banks and corporates.The RBIwill have to ensure thatthisdoesn’thappenagain,”saidabankingsource.SBIChairmanRajnishKumar

hadalreadygoneon record say-ing, “in my view, moratorium(extension) is not required. (Atleast) anacross theboardmora-toriumisnotneeded.Somesec-torsmayneed relief, that’s a callthe RBI will have to make.”However, HDFC ChairmanDeepak Parekh had said it isworth considering (loan recastscheme)tosavefutureproblems.InMarch,toproviderelieftobor-rowers whose cash flows havebeen hurt by the Covid pan-demic, the central bank had al-lowedadefermentofloanrepay-ments for3months initiallyandlaterextendedit tillAugust31.IndiaInchasbeenpushingfor

extensionofthemoratoriumfur-ther or a one-time loan restruc-turing plan,whichwould allowborrowers to renegotiate loanterms to extend the repaymentcycle and cut loan rates. TheRBIhad lastweekwarned against aspike inNPAs to 14.7 per cent ofadvancesinaworstcasescenariointhecurrentfiscal.The RBI has already hinted

thatmoratoriummaynotbeex-tended.

BANKERSCAUTIONSUCHASCHEMEWASMISUSEDINTHEPAST

PRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI,JULY29

ANEXPERTcommittee studyingSerumInstituteof India’s requesttostart late-stagehumantrials inIndiaforaCOVID-19vaccinecan-didatedevelopedbytheUniversityofOxfordhasdeferreditsdecisionon the matter until the Pune-headquarteredfirmrevisesitspro-posal. Serumhas an agreementwithAstraZeneca—oneofthevac-cine’s developers— tomanufac-tureitforlow-andmiddle-incomecountries.According to minutes of a

meeting held by the SubjectExpert Committee forCOVID-19onTuesday, Serumhasbeen toldtosubmita“revisedprotocol” forevaluation. The committee hadrecommended around eightamendments to the firm’s pro-

posaltoconductlatestagetrials.ItisunclearhowlongSerum’s

requestforanapprovalwillbede-layedasaresult.Thefirmsaiditdidnot have any comments on thisdevelopmentasofnow.“The protocol designed by

SerumproposedaphaseII/IIItrialinaround1,600participants,”saidaseniorgovernmentofficial.“Thecommitteeisaskingforadditionalinformation,”theofficialadded.One of the revisions the SEC

hassoughtisademarcationofthephase II andPhase III part of theprotocol.Ithasalsorecommendedthat the clinical trial sites beingproposedforthestudybe“distrib-utedacrosspan-India”. TheSEC’sotherrecommendationsrelatedtohowthe trialswould test for theabilityof thevaccineto invokeanimmuneresponse,Serum’scalcu-lations todetermine the samplesize itwouldbestudyingandthedropout rates it hadproposed. ItsoughtclarityontheroleofIndianCouncilofMedicalResearchinthestudy, alongwith a copy of theMemorandumofUnderstandingsignedbetweenthetwo.SerumCEOAdarPoonawalla

earlier toldThe IndianExpress thefirmintendedtoconductphaseIIItrialson4,000-5,000participantsinPuneandMumbaiinAugust.

Full report onwww.indianexpress.com

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JULY29

AMID INDICATIONS of delayedcompensationpayments undertheGoodsandServicesTax(GST)regimeby theCentre to states inthenearfuture,stateshaveraisedconcernsaboutthependingduesforthisfiscal,citingtheneedforex-penditureintheirrespectivestates.Kerala Finance Minister

ThomasIsaacsaidanyrevisitingofpresent arrangements for GSTcompensationwillbeabetrayaloffederaltrust.FinanceMinistryof-ficialsarereportedtohavebriefedthe Standing Committee onFinance Tuesday about theCentre’s inability topay states in

thenearfuture.Accordingtosources,duringa

ParliamentaryStandingCommi-tteemeetingonTuesday,FinanceSecretaryAjayBhushanPandeysaid theCentre isnot in theposi-tion topayGSTCompensation tostatesascollectionshavesubstan-tially fallendue toCOVID-19out-break.His commentswere in re-sponse toOppositionmembers’queries regarding the shortfall inthe revenue in viewof the pan-demic, sources said. Though, themeeting of the StandingCommitteeonFinance,underthechairmanship of BJP memberJayant Sinha,was focusedon theissuesrelatedtostart-upsandin-novation-orientedbusinessenter-prises, in the end some of theOppositionmembersstartedask-ingquestionsaboutrevenueposi-tionandpaymentofGSTcompen-sationtostates.It is learnt when Congress

party member Manish Tiwari

asked if theCentrewas trying togobackonitscommitmenttothestates, FinanceMinistry officialsaidthereareprovisionsintheGSTlawsthatallowtheCentretodefercompensationpaymentstostateswhenGSTcollectionsfallshort.“Accordingtonewsreportsthe

hearing before the StandingCommitteeonFinance,Centrehastaken the stand that GSTCompensation can’t bepaid andpresentarrangementsberevisedbyCouncil.Suchabrazenbetrayal

of federal trust! Convene theCouncilmeeting immediately aspromised,”Isaacsaid.Revenue shortall and theen-

suingdelayedcompensationpay-mentswere raised in the previ-ousGSTCouncilmeetingheld inJune,whereinitwasdecidedthataCouncilmeetingsolelyfocusedon compensation issuewill beheldinJuly.Themeetingisyettobeconvened.Punjab Finance Minister

ManpreetSinghBadalonTuesdaysaidduesarependingtoallstatessinceAprilandtimelypaymentisimportant tomeet the expendi-ture requirements of the state.“...thecompensationhasonlybeenreceived upto March 2020. 4monthsof duesare still pending.April, May, June, and now July2020.4monthsofpendingduesisequivalent to2monthsof salarybillofallPunjabemployees.Pleaseaskyouralliancepartners to stopmisleading, and releasewhat is

due not just to Punjab, but allstates,”Badalsaid.The Centre had onMonday

released Rs 13,806 crore to thestates forMarch 2020,with thefull payout for FY20 at Rs 1.65lakh crore. The compensationpaymentstostatesforthisfinan-cial year beginning April are,however, stillpendingAs per the GST (Compen-

sationtoStates)Act, statesare tobecompensatedforanyrevenueloss less than the annualisedcompounded growth rate of 14percentfromthebaseyear2015-16till fiveyearstransitionperiodsincetheGSTrollout(2017-2022).Compensationpaymentsareget-tingdelayedasrevenueshortfallhasworsened due to Covid-19pandemic. GST collections hadrecordeda41percentdecline intheApril-June quarter, falling toRs 1.85 lakh crore from Rs 3.14lakhcroreduringthesameperiodayearago.

Panel studying Serum Institute’s request to startlate-stage human trials in India defers decision

COVID-19VACCINECANDIDATE

SeekCouncilmeetoncompensationpayment

E●EXPLAINED

INDIAINChasbeenpush-ing for extension of themoratorium further or aone-timeloanrestructur-ingplan,whichwouldal-lowborrowerstorenego-tiate loantermstoextendthe repayment cycle andcut loanrates.

Whatisaloanrecast?

RBImayallowone-timeloanrecast inconstruction, realestate, tourismandaviation

FinanceSecretaryAjayBhushanPandeyhassaidtheCentre isnot inapositiontopayGSTCompensationtostatesascollectionshavefallenduetothepandemic, sourcessaid

States voice concern over pending FY21 GST dues

AsperminutesofameetingbytheSubjectExpertCommitteeforCOVID-19Tuesday,Serumhasbeentoldtosubmita“revisedprotocol”forevaluation

PrimeMinisterNarendraModiduringan interactionwithstakeholders frombanksandNBFCsonWednesday, inNewDelhi. @narendramodi

Ensure funding to bankable proposals:Banks, NBFCs told at meet with PM

New Delhi

THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY30,2020

SPORTWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

18

VolLXXXVIIINo.225Regd.No.DL-21046/03-05R.N.I.No.506/57. PrintedandPublishedbyR.C.Malhotraonbehalf of The IndianExpress (P) LimitedandPrintedatThe IndianExpress (P) LimitedPress,A-8, Sector-7,Noida -201301andPublishedatThe IndianExpress (P) Limited,MezzanineFloor, ExpressBuilding,9&10,

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AKMAL’S BAN HALVEDPakistan batsman Umar Akmal's three-year ban for failingto report corrupt approaches was on Wednesday reduced to18 months on “compassionate” grounds but the cricketersaid he was not satisfied with the reprieve .

NITINSHARMACHANDIGARH, JULY29

STAYINGATresortsat thegolf courses,dailychecks for symptomsand temperature, fill-ing aquestionnaire daily apart fromunder-goinganantigentestbeforeteeingoff,amo-bile PCR rapid test forCovid-19onarrival atthevenue,self-drivingarentalcarforalmostfiveweeks.These are parts of the protocol Indian

golfer Shubhankar Sharmawill have to ad-here toduringhis 32-day stay in theUnitedKingdom for five European Tour events.Sharma,accompaniedbylong-timementorGurbaazMann, arrived in Birmingham onTuesdaymorningandwillbeteeingoff intheHero Open at the Forest of ArdenMarriottHotel andCountryClubonThursday.“I had already decided to play on the

European Tour amonth ago and it was al-ways the plan that whenever competitionresumesandIamable to fly toEurope, Iwillgo. So, Iwasmentallyprepared toplay,” the24-year-oldChandigarhprosaid.“Onceitwasdecided, thetravelpartwas

notabigconcernasweunderstoodthepre-cautions likewearing face shields and PPEkitsontheAirIndiaflightandsubmittingourtest reports after the arrival here. I alsopacked5-6masksandextrasanitiserbottlesfor the trip.We have seen sport resumingacross theworld in bio- bubbles and oncewelandedhere,allfocushasbeenonplayingsomegoodgolf,”sharedSharmaaheadoftheonemillionEuroprizemoneyevent.Earlierthismonth,theEuropeanTourre-

sumed golf actionwith the BritishMastersin Newcastle, England. The event had onlyone top-50 player – LeeWestwood – in the130-strongfield,andsawlessthan500peo-ple on the course but no spectators. TheEuropean Tour’s tournament bio-bubble isdeveloped by its chief medical officerAndrewMurray and themedical advisoryboardincludesvirologistsandseniorhealthofficials fromFIFA,WorldRugbyandATP.According to the protocol, players, cad-

dies, hotel staff andmedia undergo an at-home Sure-Track test before every tourna-ment and those testing negative have anon-site rapid testing phase at the venue.

Players are also required to submit dailysymptomquestionnaires and temperaturereadings. All the six tournaments in theUKSwingaretakingplaceatgolfcourseslocatedwithin300milesof eachother.“Wewere required to submit our nega-

tive test reports upon arrival at HeathrowandtherewillalsobeatestbeforeweteeoffonThursday.All thevenueshaveon-coursestay and food arrangements, and each per-sonisrequiredtotravel,work,relaxanddinewith one other person only – which isGurbaazMann inmy case. During practice,eachgolferwasonhisownandweallunder-stand this is being done for our safety. Theonly thing left to decide iswho between ustwowilldrivetherentalcarfirstattheendofthe tournament (laughs),” addsSharma.

A dip in formSharma’s recent results have not been

kindtohimandthetwo-timewinnerontheEuropeanTourhasslippedtoacurrentworld

ranking of 316. He had only two top-10 fin-ishes sinceMarch 2019 -- tied-seventh fin-ishesatItalianMastersinOctoberandTurkishOpeninNovember.WiththeTokyoOlympicsgettingpostponed,Sharmawhoiscurrentlybehind compatriots Rashid Khan, UdayanManeandShivKapurinworldrankings,des-peratelywantstobeamongthetoptwofromthecountrytoqualify for theGames.Hewill head to Hertfordshire after this

week followed by twoweeks at Newport,WalesandanotheratSuttonbeforereturningtoIndia.“Ididn’tgetthebestofstartslastyearandmyworld ranking has gone down. ThisextraoneyearmeansIamstill inthemixandcanstartafresh.EventhoughOlympicsarestillfar away, playing in it remains a dream foreveryathlete.Whenpracticeresumedat theChandigarhGolf ClubandCGArange inMay,itgavemetimetoworkonmyswing.WhileIhave gone back tomy old putter, I have gotnewwedgesandtheyhavegotgoodbouncewhichwillhelpmeinEurope,”addsSharma.Mann, who also modifies Sharma’s

equipmentat theCGArange inChandigarh,wasbusymakingsomechangestoSharma’sreserveequipmentinthelastthreemonths.Hewill also do the caddie’s job, somethinghe did for Sharma atWGCMexico in 2018,whereSharmafinished tiedninth.“In the last threemonths, we got some

clear idea about the changes need in thetechnique and equipment.We had reserveequipmentanddecidedtomakethechangesaccordingly. Shubhankar’s putter needed abigoverhaulandwedidsomechangeswiththedriveraswell,” saidMann.

Life inside the golf bubbleSHASHANKNAIRNEWDELHI, JULY29

THE SIGNING of an NBAG League contractfor Princepal Singhmay not be a first-timedevelopment. Rather it is the path that hehastakenthatmayultimatelysethimupfora degree of success not encountered by anIndian athlete prior to him, in any iterationof theNBA.Thismovenowsetshimonapo-tential one-year timelinewhere amarkedgrowthinvariousfacetsofhisgamemayen-ablehimtobeoneofthenamescalledoutintheNBA’s2021draft.

WhyisPrincepalSingh’scontractabigdealfor Indianbasketball?AstheonlyIndianamong12eliteinterna-

tionalprospectsonatwo-yearstintwiththeNBAAcademy in Australia, Princepal Singhhadalreadybeenearmarkedassomeonetolook out for. But by signingwith the NBA’sSelectTeamonaprofessionalcontractfortheGLeague, Princepal nowstands a chance toplaywithamixoftopcollegeprospectsalongwith players who are one rung below theNBA ladder. By being apart of theG Leagueteam,Princepalisessentiallybeinggroomedtoplay in theNBA.Hehas nowbecome thefourthIndianplayertosignacontracttoplayin the USA. For a variety of marketing rea-sons, thismove obviouslymakes sense fortheNBAaswell.

Willheplaywithtopplayers?One of Singh's teammates in the Select

Teamwill be JalenGreen,who is across theboard, a Top-3 prospect in the NBA 2021draft.Soisanotherteammateofhis,JonathanKuminga. Joining themwill beDaishenNixandIsaiahTodd–bothofwhomarefive-starrated prospects as well. Thismeans that some of the NBA’spotentialtopplayersinthecom-ing decade are going to be histeammates and if reports are tobebelieved,thisisoneofthebestteamsat this level assembled.Daily practices and going up

againsttheseplayerswillinitselfbe a boon to an internationalplayerwho picked up the gameasrecentlyas2014.BasicbasketballIQ,tough-ness, a feel for thegame, are someof theas-

pectsofhisbasketballthathavetheabilitytogoupwardswhenplayingalongsideaspecial

groupof talentedplayers.

Whatkindofgameswillhebeapartof?Anessentialpointisthatthe

NBASelectTeammayplayasetnumberof gamesagainstotherG-League teams but thesegames and their points are notcountedintheoverallstandings.Theteamisprimarilyadevelop-

mental squadtoprepareplayers for therealdeal. The idea is toput youngprospects in a

controlledadultenvironmentandgivethemachance topickup thegameprofessionallyand give them a year’s advantage over col-legegraduates.

Does thismeanhe’llplay intheNBA?ThequestionofwhetherSinghcanplayin

theNBA through thedraft route in 2021de-pends upon the progress hemakes in theGLeague.Whatstandshimingoodsteadisthattopscoutswillbecloselyporingoverhiswork,especiallyconsideringtheywouldbepresentfortheotherprospects intheteamaswell.He will be coached by five-time NBA

championBrian Shawand the emphasis ofhis time in theG Leaguewill be onmakinghimabetterplayerasopposedtomouldinghis talent intoactual results for the team.As a forward/centre, a lot of his success

will depend upon howmuch ball handlingandplaymaking skills he is able toworkon.With the ever-changing tide of the NBAgame,bigmenarenowexpectedtohavetheskillsetsofamid-sizedpointguardandSinghwill beevaluatedonthosegroundsaswell.A disadvantage for Singhwould be that

asmuch as hewould improvewith the topprospects intheSelectTeamroster, chancesare that those top prospects get a lotmoreattention all across the board. There is alsothe chance that Singhmay not be ready forthe 2021draft anddecides to abandon thatpath to stay longer in the G League and de-velophisgamefurther.

What kind of financial remuneration isavailable in theGLeague?The contract cap for players in the NBA

Select Team is $500,000. According to a re-port inESPN, Singh's teammate JalenGreenhasbeensignedbytheNBAforthemaxpos-sibleamount,thatis$500,000.AnotherESPNreporthasalsostatedthatanotherteammateof his, Isaiah Todd has signed a contractaround$250,000.While Singhmightnotbeearning those

numbers,bybenefiting fromthechanges inrules brought about by the G League, is eli-gible for a fair contract -- somethingwhichwasnotpossibleearlierashighschoolplay-erswouldgoeitherdirectly to theNBA, likeKobeBryant or LeBron James orwouldbe apart of a college teamfor anyearbefore en-listing for the draft, like Rookie of the Yearcandidate JaMorant.

Why G League matters for Princepal:Playing time, scouts, top coach

PrincepalSinghwillbecoachedbyfive-timeNBAchampionBrianShaw.

CROSSWORD4183

ACROSS1 Startof play (5,5)8 Nowsoupsetas to faint(5)

9 Calmdownwhenyouhaveapparentchoiceof evils (2,5)

10 I’mboredperhaps,dueto this?(7)

11 Requestweturnsideways(5)

12 Oldmagistrates,unusuallysevere (6)

14 Caught in theactof feedingsomethingsweet (6)

17 Hidingplacemanyyearntofind(5)

19 Toldtogo inaship, agrees(7)

21 Passageoutof areligiouspamphlet (7)

22 Going in forcompetitionattempt (5)

23 Hadauthority,yetpreventedfromskating?(4,6)

DOWN2 Unruffledpoise tomakeanatomofdifference(7)

3 Desertedarea is inabadway(5)

4 Outlawwentuptobedandwasarrested(6)

5 Goasteptowardsmakingasecretpolice force(7)

6 Cheatwonatcards(5)

7 Fly roundwithnoregardtotherules,butperfectly(10)

8 Tookawaybadcutters for re-setting (10)

13 Globe inorbit (7)15 In factawildenthusiast (7)16 Abeating leavesapermanentimpressiononone(6)

18 Roundfish? (5)20 Novel supporter in the fleshperhaps (5)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)You’re entering abusyphase so you’llprobably need allthehelp you can

get. Splendid planetaryindications reinforce theregionof your chartruling friends andacquaintances. Youmayfollowyour stars andbuild upanetwork of contacts for useatwork aswell as in yourleisure life.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)Theperiod you arenowenteringwillput amazingpressure on you to

movehome. I’m talking, bytheway, in termsof a time-scale of at least sixmonths,but thepoint is that anypremature decisionwilleither not come topass or beseverely delayed.

GEMINI (May22- June21)Long-buriedfeelingsanddesiresshouldcometothesurface, andquite

right, too.This isapositivephase, favouringall long-termadventuresandfar-flungpossibilities. Integrity isamust.Themomentyourstandardsslip, thenyourplanswillbegin tocomeunstuck.

CANCER(June22- July23)Youmust be atsomepains to pointout that obstaclesare not your

responsibility. However, ifyou canpossibly alsospread theword that you arenot solely to thank for anumber of favourablemoves,and that other people shouldshare the credit, then yourhumilitywill eventuallybe rewarded.

LEO(July24-Aug23)Please don’timagine that youhave beenpassedby. There is enough

in today’s stars to indicatethat should you accept firstthat cooperation is vital, andsecond, that other people’sfeelings should be taken intoaccount. In otherwords,selflessnesswins theday.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sep23)There’s stillno let-upatwork. In fact,there iseveryindicationthat life is

about togetevenbusier.Pleasedon’tgrumble, forconsciouslyorunconsciously,youareinviting freshresponsibilitiesand lettingyourself in forextrahardwork.

LIBRA(Sep24-Oct23)Your romantic andsocial prospects arenot perfect, butyou’re ninety-five

percent there. Do give allpersonal contacts, fromthemost intimate liaisonsright down to casualmeetings, your fullestattention. The last thing youwant to donow ismake a slipthatwill upset someonewhomatters to you.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov23)Everythingthat Ihavesaidabout thepotential forchangeathomecontinues,

yet ina farmore intensefashion. If Iwereyou, I’dwaituntil thedustsettlesbeforeactingoncurrent feelings.Perhaps, though,youcanpressonwithsmall andunimportantplans.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)If you’reholdingdiscussions,conductingadebateorattendingan

interview,welldone:youareabsolutelyandtotally intunewithyourstars. Inanycase,pleasedomakeapointof sharingallyourdesires,hopesandplanswitheveryonewhoisconcerned,howeverremotely.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)The financialindicationsarecontradictory,butI’d sayyou’re inwith

abetter thanaveragechanceofawindfall. The importantpointisnot togetboundupwiththedetailsof incomeandexpenditure,but toresolve todealwithmoneybetter.Apositiveattitudenowequalsprosperity in the future.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)Get into topgearandtakecontrol.Atwork,athome, inloveand inbusiness,

this is thedaytomakea freshstart. Psychologicalandmaterial spring-cleaningshouldbecomprehensive,thoroughandall-embracing.Leavenostoneunturned.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)Youmay try tomake things easierfor yourself bybeing as flexible as

you canover long-termemotional engagements. Yourstandards are high andgetting higher, so youmustknowwhat youwant ofyourself before demanding itof others. That’s only fair.

SUDOKU418

5

DifficultyLevel2sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU418

4

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.Ifanypersonwishtobeidle, letthem_______-Ovid(4,2,4)

BVAEO EPTYLN

SYILL AORUFV

SolutionsCrossword4182:Across: 1Armada,4 Icarus,9Pimento,10Extra, 11Crypt, 12Terrace, 13Goodoffices, 18Chianti, 20Limit, 22Alibi, 23Epsilon,24Lintel, 25Adores.Down: 1Aspect,2Mummy,3Donated,5Clear, 6Rat race, 7Spaces,8Post offices, 14Opinion, 15 Illused, 16Scrawl, 17Atones, 19Noise,21Molar.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

ShubhankarSharmahastravelledtoUKforthe5-weekswingofEuropeanTour

GolferShubhankarSharmawearingafaceshieldandmaskbeforeboardingaflight for theUnitedKingdom. (Topright)AfterwinningtheMaybankChampionship in2018. Twitter/File

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