ATHER MMOIN || DCHYDERABAD, JAN. 31

Fresh protests erupted on Fridayafter the Juma prayers at differentplaces in the city against theCitizenship Amendment Act andthe National Population Register.

Youths came out from MasjidAzizia, Humayunnagar, after theprayers, raised slogans of ‘azadi’and staged a protest at the cross-roads.

They demanded revoking of theCAA and withdrawal of the pro-posal to hold the NPR and theNational Register of Citizens toascertain nationality. Youthsclaimed that they will continuetheir struggle to safeguard theConstitution of India. They alsosang the National Anthem.

Youths held similar protests infront of Jamia Masjid,Moazzampura, Mallepally, andJamia Masjid at Barkas. Differentclans gathered on the ground infront of Jamia Masjid, Barkas,and pledged to continue theprotests till the CAA revoked. InMallepally youths holding theTricolour and raised slogansagainst the BJP government atthe Centre.

In another development, theHyderabad police has grantedconditional permission to theAkhand Bharat Sangharsh Samitito organise a meeting in supportof the Citizenship AmendmentAct at the Quli Qutub Shah stadi-um on Sunday. Additional com-missioner of police, law and order,D.S. Chauhan accorded permissionto the samiti to conduct the pro-gramme between 6 pm and 9 pm.

PAGE

8CitySATURDAY | 1 FEBRUARY 2020 | HYDERABADDECCAN CHRONICLE

For women copHome minister Mahmood Ali says 17mobile restrooms are being deployedfor women police officers on bandobust

IN BRIEFSewage board

postpones eventHyderabad: The ‘Meet your

MD and dial your MD,HMWSSB’ programmes,

which were to be held everyfirst Saturday of the month,have been postponed. Thenext date will be intimated

shortly.

SURVEY: 52%WANTS RISE IN CUSTOMS DUTY

DC CORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 31

In a survey on Local Circles,nearly 52 per cent of therespondents support anincrease in customs duty fornon-essential goods.

The survey, which was con-ducted in view of the upcom-ing Union Budget, assumesthat the government willimpose restrictions on importsof non-essential goods.

Out of close to 22,000 citizenswho participated in the survey,26 per cent said these customsduty plus IGST rates on non-essential goods should bemaintained while 21 per centsaid it should be increased by25 per cent. Another 19 percent of the respondents saidthe rates should be increasedby 50 per cent and 12 per centsaid these rates should be dou-bled. However, 18 per cent ofthe respondents said that thecustoms duty plus IGST ratesshould be reduced.

According to the LocalCircles, non-essential importsfrom China amount close to `4trillion a year, creating a hugetrade deficit. These importshave continuously been risingover the years giving toughand unfair competition toIndian businesses.

The centre may be gearing upto place restrictions on theimport of non-essential goods,a move primarily aimed atcurbing imports of non-essen-tial items such as toys, plasticgoods, sports items and furni-ture, especially from China.

When asked their view on theproposal to place restrictionson duty-free purchase of singoods like alcohol and ciga-rettes. 36 per cent said theexisting limits of 2 litres alco-hol and 100 cigarette sticksshould be continued while 29per cent of respondents feelthe duty-free limit should behalved

BUDGET WATCH

Lower prices of essentials in BudgetCity family with annual income of `4.4 lakh rues they still cannot afford a vacationSANJAY SSAMUEL PAUL || DDCHYDERABAD, JAN. 31

Amos Lentin, a 40-year-oldgraduate, who started as asalesman, has now beenworking for an MNC,which is a BPO, for adecade. Amos’ currentannual income is `4.4lakh. He is married toShailaja, who did her BA,B. Ed and was working tillshe gave birth to their firstchild. The couple has twochildren, both studying ina private school.

Life for Mr Lentin andhis family is tough. Askedabout his expectationsfrom the Union Budget2020, he said he wanted theprices of petrol and essen-tial commodities to comedown, as they are thebiggest burden for middle-class families. The Lentinslive in Hydershakote, pay-ing a rent of `8,000 permonth.

They opted for this areabecause it is on outskirtsof Hyderabad and rentalsare much more reasonablethan in the city. The couplehas one dream – to givetheir children the best ofeducation, which, they say,is quite expensive. MrLentin is trying hard to goabroad, the only motivebeing good money, so thathis family can afford acomfortable living.

As the month starts, thefamily spends around`15,000 on groceries, milk,electricity, cooking gasand water bills, apart from`3,000 on petrol for hisbike and `6,000 on month-ly EMIs for household elec-tronics that they havebought. Jennifer, the elderdaughter studying inClass 6, is the class topper.She wants to become adoctor. Son Joel is inClass 3, likes cricket andis a crazy fan of ViratKohli. The family spends`8,000 on school fee.

A major grievance of MrLentin is that he cannotafford to take his family ona vacation. Whatever heearns lets them have ahand-to-mouth existence.The salesperson feels thecost of living in the coun-try has become too expen-sive in recent times. It istough living for a commonman. Even the televisioncable connection, whichwas `150 earlier, is now`350. The salespersonwants the government toprovide health benefits formiddle class also, so thatthey too can avail health-care benefits. Since theyare salaried class, itbecomes scary when afamily person falls ill.

Mr Lentin wants the gov-ernment to announce aseparate policy for middleclass, so that they can survive.

Driver wants govt to makepvt education free for girlsDC CCORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 31

Can there be free educa-tion for girls in privateschools, asks 52-year-oldAllakosa Raju, anautorickshaw driver ply-ing his vehicle every dayfrom the wholesale MondaMarket in Secunderabad.Raju’s response camewhen asked what hisexpectations are from theUnion Budget 2020.

His brings in mostlysmall-time vendors whocome to pick up vegeta-bles from Monday Marketand sell them in theirrespective areas. Afterdropping them at the mar-ket, he picks up regularpassengers. He has beendoing this since last 12years earning, on an aver-age, `600 to `800 a day andeducating his threedaughters studying intenth, eighth and seventhin a private school. Hiswife is a homemaker.

Raju is a smart workerwho started his career asa helper in a kirana shop.He soon realised therewas not much earning inthe shop and learnt todrive an auto rickshaw.He works 365 days a year,unless he or his wife fallsill. Raju lived inSitaphalmandi for a verylong time but recently

moved to Dammaigudanear ECIL.

He found it difficult pay-ing the monthly rent of`4,000 in Sitaphalmandiand educate his daughterstoo. His rent now is `1,500.Most of his monthlyincome of `20,000 goestowards educating hisdaughters, and the rest forgroceries and rent.

As how his business is,Raju says as weekly veg-etable markets have start-ed in many localities, notmany vendors are comingto Monday Market to buyvegetables.

He complains of Olacabs and autos affectingthe volume of his busi-ness. Asked about his sav-ings, he says, “I am edu-cating my children so thatthey can have a better lifecompared to what me andmy wife have gone

through. I am sendingthem to a private schoolbecause they get a bettereducation there. The dailyuse groceries, apart fromsoaps and detergents,have become very expen-sive.

My fuel prices too havebeen rising all the time.Luckily, it is my own auto,which I bought takingbank loan. Otherwise, itwould have been very dif-ficult for me to pay dailyrent for the auto.

When asked what hisexpectations from the gov-ernment and comingbudget are, he says, “Wewant a budget that makesthe common man’s lifeeasier. Why are rates ofeverything going up; fuelprice is high, school feesare high. Can we have afree education for girls inprivate schools?”

Amos Lentin clicks a selfie with his family

Budget should abolishcurrent taxation systemFamily with annual income below `15 lakhfinds its difficult to deal with rising inflationRAJESWARI PPARASA II DDCHYDERABAD, JAN. 31

Abolition of the existingtaxation system and intro-duction of BankingTransaction Tax is one ofthe biggest economic poli-cy decisions that Suranafamily, which has a 150-year-old legacy thatstretches to various busi-nesses, is expecting fromthe government.

Á ‘well-to-do’ family withan average annual incomeof `10 lakh to `15 lakh isfinding it difficult to dealwith the rising inflationrate that is resulting inprice hike while makingeducation and fuel unaf-fordable, said financialanalyst Jithender Surana,49, who is managing ajoint family in the cityalong with his wife, MsShailaja Surana, who isvice-principal in a privateschool. Mr Surana hasrecently admitted his soninto a business manage-ment course, which is cost-ing more than `1 lakh persemester. “Education isimportant for everyone asit moulds one’s future.Given this crucial aspect,there should be morebudgetary allocations foreducation. Besides thereshould be strict rules toregulate private sectorand they should put anend to collection of exorbi-tant fee.” In the 2018-19

Budget, only 3.4 per centwas allocated for educa-tion, which was 3.74 percent in the Budget beforethat. “Despite dealing witheveryday financial hur-dles, what is steadilyincreasing is the price offuel. We spend around `15,000 on fuel alone for a two-wheeler and a four-wheel-er that we have,” added MrSurana.

He thinks that some ofthe points from ‘Artha-kranti proposal’ of econo-my to be implemented inthe country.

On the taxes that oughtto be scrapped, it isbelieved that it shouldresult in increasing thepurchasing power of thefamily as they would bringin more salary to home.This will also mean allcommodities includingpetrol, diesel, FMCG

would become cheaper by35 to 52 per cent and therewon't be any question oftax evasion. With no scopefor black money, it willboost business sector aswell.

And instead of existingtaxes, the Arthakrantiproposal insists onBanking Transaction Taxof 0.7 to 2 two per cent.According to the proposal,it would generate morerevenue than the existingtaxation system.

And it requires no sepa-rate machinery likeincome tax departmentand tax amount would bedirectly deposited in Stateor Central or Districtadministration accountimmediately. As transac-tion taxes would be less,the public will prefer it topaying huge direct andindirect taxes.

Jithender Surana and his family pose for a family photograph

Family with `20K income wants cheap goods

Education is important for everyone as itmoulds one’s future. Given this crucial aspect,

there should be more budgetary allocations foreducation. Besides there should be strict rules toregulate private sector and they should put an endto collection of exorbitant fee.

— JJITHENDER SSURANAFinancial analyst

■ ■ Jithender Surana wants the government toimplement some of the proposal mendtioned in‘Arthakranti proposal’ of economy to be imple-mented in the country.

Fresh CAA protests erupt after Juma prayers AV College studentsprotest for 5th dayDC CCORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 31

About 4,000 students boy-cotted classes at the AVCollege of Arts, Scienceand Commerce atDomalguda on Friday, thefifth day of their protestagainst the proposed pri-vatisation of the aidedinstitute. The studentsraised slogans against thegovernment’s ‘inaction’.

Starting from sendingpostcards, tying black rib-bons to cooking on roads,students were trying tograb the attention of thegovernment. “Certainaided courses are beingturned into self-financecourses, which demandmore fees. If the fee is`2,000 for an aided course,it is `20,000 for a self-financed course. This is aburden on most of the stu-dents who come from poorfinancial backgrounds,”said a student.

Student leader N.Rakesh said, “All this is apart of privatisation andthe government, insteadof creating opportunities,is snatching them awayby giving way to privati-sation.”

An AV College officialsaid, “Some of our surplusstaff were redeployed to agovernment college in2018. According to the GO

No. 890, the surplus staffshould be sent to anotheraided college. However,the commissioner has vio-lated the order and hasredeployed the staff to agovernment college.”

He added that the con-version of courses fromaided to self-finance hadbeen done withoutapproval from theTelangana State Councilfor Higher EducationCouncil (TSCHE) or theOsmania University. TheCommissioner ofCollegiate Education hadtaken the decision.Students demanded thataided colleges should notbe privatised but shouldbe strengthened for thewelfare of several eco-nomically marginalisedstudents.Students from different universities protest at OU Arts college against CAA. — DECCAN CHRONICLE

■ ■ STARTING FFROM send-ing postcards, tying blackribbons to cooking onroads, students were try-ing to grab the attentionof the government.

■ ■ THE CCOMMISSIONERof Collegiate Educationhad taken the decision.Students demanded thataided colleges should notbe privatised but shouldbe strengthened for thewelfare of students.

■ ■ About 18% of respondentssaid that the customs dutyplus IGST rates for non-essen-tial goods should be reduced.

■ ■ The Centre governmentmay be gearing up to place restrictions on the import ofnon-essential goods, a moveprimarily aimed at curbingimports of non-essential itemssuch as toys, plastic goods,sports items and furniture,especially from China.

■ ■ 29% of respondents feellimit on duty-free purchase ofsin goods should be halved

PAGE

9NationSATURDAY | 1 FEBRUARY 2020 | HYDERABADDECCAN CHRONICLE

President’s addressCPM general secretary Sitaram Yechurysaid Society dangerously inchingtoward civil war-like situation

SHORT TAKES

86-yr-old molestergets three-year jail

Mumbai: A special POCSOAct court here on Friday

sentenced an 86-year-oldman to three years’ rigorous

imprisonment for stalkingand molesting a 15-year-old

girl in September 2018.Omprakash Lalaram

Kulshreshta, the accused,was convicted under IPC

section 354, 354-D (stalkingand molestation) and alsothe Protection of Children

from Sexual Offences Act (PoCSO).

CBSE to counselstudents, parents

Interpol nabs drugkingpin in Italy

New Delhi: The CBSE willprovide psychological coun-

selling to Class 10 and 12students and their parents

on how to deal with anxietyand stress due to exams

from Saturday. The 23rd edi-tion of the counselling pro-gramme will also use socialmedia platforms to connect

with the students in a proac-tive way. “The counselling

will begin from February 1,when the students prepare

for exams, and will continueup to March 30 when theywrite exams,” a senior offi-

cial of the CBSE said.

Ahmedabad: The mainaccused in a `900 crore

heroin smuggling racket hasbeen nabbed by Interpol in

Italy earlier this week, anofficial of the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) said

here on Friday. The ATS hadseized 5 kg of heroin in

August 2018 and arrestedtwo people. Probe revealedthat it was part of a 300 kg

consignment which hadentered Gujarat from

Pakistan through the Mandvicoast. Simranjit Singh

Sandhu from Amritsar, wasthe brain behind the racket.

KERALA REJECTSOPPN’S NOTICETO RECALL GUV

DC CCORRESPONDENTTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN. 31

In a setback for the Congress-led UDF in Kerala, theBusiness Advisory Committeeof the Assembly on Fridayrejected the Opposition noticeto the Speaker for a moving aresolution to seek the recall ofGovernor Arif MohammadKhan. The notice given byOpposition leader RameshChennithala was rejected bythe committee on the groundsthat there was no such prece-dent.

The government had taken astrident position against theOpposition motion during themeeting of BAC and called forits out right rejection. Lawand parliamentary affairsminister A.K. Balan slammedthe Opposition move sayingthat the UDF was trying totake advantage of the situa-tion especially in the wake ofthe controversy over CAA.

“We may have divergentopinions but we want ahealthy relationship with theGovernor. There is no prece-dent of House passing a reso-lution against the Governor,”he added.

The minster claimed that theOpposition had not given thenotice under appropriaterules.

Mr Chennithala refuted theclaims of the minister. “Thenotice was given underSection 130 of Assembly rulesof Procedure. The Speaker ison record saying that themotion moved by me wasadmissible,” he told reporters.

Cold weather in N. India intensifies

New Delhi: Cold weatherconditions intensified in

some parts of north India onFriday with minimum tem-

peratures dropping sharplyin Kashmir, Punjab and

Haryana, while a thick blan-ket of fog engulfed Delhi.

The maximum temperaturein Delhi was recorded at 19.7degrees Celsius, two notchesbelow normal, while the min-imum temperature was at 7.2

degrees, one notch belowthe normal. Dense fog was

also observed in some partsof Haryana, Punjab and west-ern Uttar Pradesh. The mini-

mum temperature was belownormal at most places inRajasthan and Himachal.

New Delhi, Jan. 31:Expenses of a student onbooks, stationery and uni-form in rural India on anaverage are over 10 per-centage points higher thanthose in urban areas,although participation ineducation system has seenimprovement at all levels,according to the EconomicSurvey.

As per the EconomicSurvey 2019-20 tabled inthe Parliament by financeminister Nirmala Sitha-raman, the absence ofsuitable financial supportsystem and high burden ofcourse fee, especially inhigher education, pushesthe poor and underprivi-leged out of the educationsystem. Citing data fromthe National SampleSurvey (NSS) report on‘Key Indicators of House-hold Social Consumptionon Education in India2017-18’, the survey saidthat in 2017-18, there wereabout 13.6 per cent personsof age 3 to 35 years whowere never enrolled in theeducation system.

“The reasons they citefor not enrolling were ‘notinterested in education’and ‘financial con-straints’,” it said.

Among those who wereenrolled, drop-out rate wasas high as 10 per cent atprimary level, 17.5 percent at upper primary/middle, and 19.8 per centat secondary level, the sur-vey added. Highlightingthe challenges for‘Education for All’ initia-tive, the survey said thecomposition of variouscomponents of expendi-ture on education indi-cates that the course fees,which is 50.8 per cent at allIndia level, among otherscontributes about half ofthe average expenditure ofa basic course.

Course fees includetuition, examination, dev-elopmental fees and othercompulsory payments.The proportion of course

fee is also high in ruraland urban areas, it added.

“The second largest com-ponent of average expen-diture on education by stu-dent is books, stationeryand uniform,” the surveysaid.

It also pointed out thatstudents pursuing educa-tion in private aided insti-tutions are spending sig-nificantly higher as com-pared to government insti-tutions across rural-urbanIndia.

Quoting the NSS report,the survey said in 2017-18,the average expenditure ofan average student in gov-ernment institutions pur-suing secondary educa-tion was `4,078 whereasthe same for a student inprivate aided institutionwas `12,487. When itcomes to graduation, theexpenditure for an aver-age student in governmentinstitutions was at `10,501,while in private aidedinstitutions it was `16,769.

— PTI

Education in villages costlyRural students spend 10% more than urban counterparts on books, uniforms

Survey: Focus onlabour for jobsFROM PPAGE 11

Amidst a weak environ-ment for global manufac-turing, trade anddemand, the Indian econ-omy slowed down withGDP growth moderatingto 4.8 per cent in the firsthalf of 2019-20, lowerthan 6.2 per cent in H2 of2018-19. When asked ifthere is any change inmeeting $5-trillion targetby 2024, Subramaniansaid, “To best of myknowledge, there is nochange in deadline.”

Subramanian also saidby focusing on labourintensive sector, India cancreate 4 crore jobs by 2025and 8 crore jobs by 2030.“The banking sectorneeds to scale up andbecome proportional tothe size of the economy.The exponential rise inIndia’s GDP and GDP percapita post liberalisationcoincides with wealthgeneration in the stockmarket,” he said.

Interestingly, the Surveyalso traced the country’shistory, right from theancient texts such asArthashastra andThirukural to contempo-rary times and the prob-lem of bad loans. It alsodrew the connectionbetween the invisiblehand of the market, thehand of the trust and howit can contribute toIndia’s target of becom-ing a $5-trillion economy.

Referring to the fourancient objects of humanpursuit — Dharm, Arth,Kaam and Moksh,Subramanian said, “Arth

or wealth is among thesenoble pursuits. Thecolour lavender also sug-gested measures likeincreasing governmentspending and tax cuts.”

The Survey also intro-duced the concept of trustas a public good that getsenhanced with greateruse and suggested thatpolicies must empowertransparency and effec-tive enforcement usingdata and technology toenhance this public good.“Pro-business practicescan help promote theinvisible hand of the mar-ket. In a market economytoo, there is need for stateto ensure a moral hand tosupport the invisiblehand,” the Survey empha-sised.

Facing the worst eco-nomic slowdown sincethe global financial crisisof 2008-09, the Surveycalled for boosting manu-facturing with ‘assemblein India for the world’concept so as to boost jobcreation. For the currentfiscal, it projected a GDPgrowth of 5 per cent, thelowest in 11 years, p and worseningjob prospects.

“The deceleration inGDP growth can beunderstood within theframework of a slowingcycle of growth with thefinancial sector acting asa drag on the real sector.The government must useits strong mandate todeliver expeditiously onreforms, which willenable the economy tostrongly rebound in 2020-21,” it said.

1.5 L Ayushman wellnesscentres proposed by 2022New Delhi, Jan. 31: Topromote preventive healt-hcare, 1.5 lakh AyushmanBharat Health & WellnessCentres are proposed to beset up by 2022, accordingto the Economic Survey2019-20.

The Survey was tabled inParliament on Friday byfinance minister NirmalaSitharaman. A total of28,005 such centres havealready been set up as onJanuary 14, 2020, it added.

“Under MissionIndradhanush, 3.39 crorechildren and 87.18 lakhpregnant women in 680districts across the coun-try have been vaccinated,"the Survey noted. New

vaccines such as Measles-Rubella (MR), Pneum-ococcal Conjugate Vacc-ine, Rotavirus Vaccineand Inactivated PolioVaccine have also beenintroduced, it added.

“As per the latestNational Health Accounts(NHA) 2016-17, the out ofpocket expenditure as apercentage of total healthexpenditure has declinedfrom 64.2 per cent in 2013-14 to 58.7 per cent in 2016-17,” the Survey said.

Primary healthcareaccounts for 52.1 per centof India’s current publicexpenditure on health asper the National HealthEstimates, 2016-17. The

National Health Policy,2017 recommended tospend at least two thirds ofthe government’s healthexpenditure on primaryhealthcare, it added.

“Ayushman Bharat- Pra-dhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (PM-JAY), thehealth insurance scheme,is a major step towardsproviding affordable hea-lthcare to the identifiedpoor,” the Survey said.

The scheme has beenrolled out based on thedeprivation and occupa-tional criteria of theSocio-Economic CasteCensus for rural andurban areas, respectively,it added. — PTI

Many roadblocks todouble farm profitsNew Delhi, Jan. 31: Toachieve the target of dou-bling farmers’ income by2022, the Survey said thereis a need to address somebasic challenges like cred-it, insurance coverage andirrigation facilities in theagriculture and its alliedsectors.

There is also a need toreallocate labour resou-rces to other sectors, giveincreased focus on explor-ing global markets foragricultural commoditiesbesides supplementing eff-orts of farmers with dir-ect income support, itsaid. “The realisation ofthe objective of doublingfarmers’ income necessi-tates addressal of some ofthe basic challenges ofagriculture and allied sec-

tor,” according to theEconomic Survey 2019-20tabled in Parliament.

Issues like investment inagriculture, water conser-vation, improved yieldsthrough better farmingpractices, access to mar-ket, availability of credit,increasing linkages bet-ween agricultural andnon-agricultural sectorsneed attention, it said.

According to the Survey,the coverage of irrigationfacilities needs to beextended while ensuringan effective water conser-vation mechanism. Aninclusive approach to pro-vision for agriculturalcredit has to be undertak-en to address skewness inits regional distribution,it said. — PTI

FOREIGN TOURISTARRIVALS SLOWEDDOWN TO 2.7%New Delhi, Jan. 31:Growth of foreign touristarrivals to India sloweddown to 2.7 per cent inJanuary-October period of2019 in tune with the glob-al trend, according to theEconomic Survey 2019-20.

The Indian tourism sec-tor, which is a majorengine of growth, had wit-nessed a strong perform-ance from 2015 to 2017,with high growth in for-eign tourist arrivals, thesurvey tabled inParliament on Fridaysaid. “However, touristarrivals growth (year-onyear) has deceleratedsince then to 5.2 per centin 2018 and 2.7 per cent inJanuary-October 2019,” itsaid. This trend is notunique to India, as thegrowth in tourist arrivalsglobally also slowed from7.1 per cent in 2017 to 5.4per cent in 2018, it added.

As a result, the surveysaid growth in foreignexchange earnings fromtourism sector has slowedin 2018 and 2019 after reg-istering strong growthuntil 2017. “Foreignexchange earnings tota-lled $24 billion in January-October 2019, with agrowth of 2 per cent,” itsaid. — PTI

Arvind SSubramanian

FROM PPAGE 11

The issue of atrocitiesagainst the minorities inPakistan was alsobrought up by thePresident.

He pointed out thatmutual discussions anddebates strengthendemocracy and alsocalled for making thisdecade India’s decade andthis century India’s cen-tury.

“It is our responsibilityto honour this wish of thefounding fathers of ournation. I am happy thatboth the Houses ofParliament have fulfilledthis wish, by enacting theCitizenship AmendmentAct. At a time when thecountry is celebrating the150th birth anniversaryof Gandhiji, all of youhave given paramountconsideration to this sen-timent,” Mr Kovind said.

On economic issues, MrKovind asked the peopleto use locally manufac-tured products for a bet-ter tomorrow, as he reiter-ated the government’scommitment to makeIndia a $5 trillion econo-my.

He mentioned theSupreme Court’s

Ayodhya judgment, onthe setting up of a Ramtemple, saying that thefaith reposed by the peo-ple of India in democraticinstitutions “strengthensthe foundation of ourdemocracy”.

He also spoke on theabrogation of Article 370,saying there is happinessamong the people of Indiathat people in Jammu andKashmir and Ladakhhave got their rights atpar with the rest of thecountry.

“Today, after sevendecaodes, the whole coun-try is happy that thedream of crores of free-dom fighters, includingDr Syama PrasadMookerjee, has come trueand the people of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh, dal-its and women from thatarea have also got thesame rights as people inthe rest of the country.

“The abrogation ofArticle 370 and Article35A of the Constitutionby a two-thirds majorityin both Houses ofParliament is not onlyhistoric but has alsopaved the way for theequitable development ofJammu-Kashmir andLadakh.”

Bengaluru, Jan. 31:Days after a sedition casewas slapped against aschool in Karnataka, itsheadmistress and a stu-dent’s mother have beenarrested for allegedinvolvement in staging ofa drama portraying PrimeMinister Narendra Modiin poor light over the CAAand NRC, police said onFriday.

The police action cameafter they questioned thetwo women, a few staffmembers of the ShaheenSchool in the district head-quarters town of Bidarand students on Thursday.

They were producedbefore a court whichremanded them to judicialcustody, police said addingfurther investigation wason.

The drama was staged bystudents of fourth, fifthand sixth standard on

January 21. A seditioncase was booked by policeon January 26 against theschool, along with someother sections of theIndian Penal Code (IPC)on January 26, based on acomplaint from socialworker Neelesh Rakshyal.

The play uploaded onsocial media had goneviral.

Officials said, the utter-

ances against the PrimeMinister were not part ofthe original script, but themother of a class six stu-dent allegedly incorporat-ed them during the prac-tice and the teacherallowed it to be part of thedrama.

The complainant hasalleged the school authori-ties ‘used’ the students toperform a drama where

they "abused" Modi in thecontext of the CitizenshipAmendment Act and theNational Register ofCitizens.

The management tried tocreate 'fear' among theMuslims that they wouldhave to leave the country ifthe CAA and NRC wereimplemented, Rakshyalhad charged.

— PTI

HM, parent held for Modi ‘abuse’ in dramaPolice book sedition case against school based on social worker’s complaintCAA | FALLOUT

DC CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, JAN. 31

Asserting that the BJP ledNDA government’s deci-sions are in “deshhit(national interest),” PrimeMinister Narendra Modion Friday asked rulingalliance leaders not to feeldefensive about theCitizenship AmendmentAct (CAA) as the law doesnot discriminate againstany citizen of the country,including the Muslims.

During the NDA meetingto chalk out the rulingalliance’s strategy for theBudget Session of Parl-iament, that commencedon Friday, a key con-stituent of the NDA,Shriromani Akali Dal(SAD) suggested that theNDA should hold meet-ings regularly and not likea “token meeting” in thebeginning of Parliamentsessions.

Another constituentJanata Dal (United) urgedthe Central government toremove questions seekingdetails of parents in theNational PopulationRegister (NPR) question-naire. The JD(U) alsourged the governmentthat each NDA constituentshould be briefed sepa-rately on the issue andtheir concerns should betaken into consideration.

The SAD also supportedthe JD(U) on the issue andalso suggested that thegovernment should alsotake suggestions from theNDA allies on key deci-sions taken by it.

In Bihar, where the

JD(U) is leading the coali-tion government,Assembly polls are sched-uled by the end of thisyear and there is an appre-hension that the “misin-formation” regarding theNPR could dent the NDA'spoll prospects. The gov-ernment had earlier clari-fied that people are free to

not answer questionsabout their parents suchas place and date of birthin the NPR exercise.

Another ally, Apna Dalrequested that the nextnational Census shouldalso release the “caste-wise” data. The PrimeMinister, it was learnt,told the NDA members

that the CAA is notagainst the Indian citizenand the Opposition wastrying to create a riftbetween people and unrestin the country by trying tocommunalise the new law.

Mr Modi, sources said,had wanted NDA leadersto take on the Oppositions’charge against the CAA.

Use swadeshi togrow, says Prez

JAPAN UNEASYABOUT CHINA’SSCS MOVEMENTSRIDHARKUMARASWAMI || DDCNEW DELHI, JAN. 31

Making his country’sunease clear in a veiledmanner about Chinesemilitary assertivenessin the South China Sea(SCS) without namingBeijing, a top Japanesediplomat posted in NewDelhi has said Japan“remains seriously con-cerned about the situa-tion on the groundattempts to unilaterallyalter the status quo con-tinue, and militarisa-tion of disputed fea-tures”.

He added that Japan“considers India as anindispensable strategicpartner to work hand-in-hand to realise a freeand open Indo-Pacific “.

Speaking in Delhi on“Maritime Security inthe South China Sea andthe Indian Ocean:Exploring ConvergentViews”, JapaneseDeputy Chief ofMission (DCM) — nowfunctioning as Chargéd’Affaires (CdA)—Toshihide Ando said, “Ifwe turn our eyes to theSouth China Sea,attempts to unilaterallyalter the status quo con-tinue, and militarisa-tion of disputed featureshas not ceased. Japanremains seriously con-cerned about the situa-tion on the ground asother partners do.”

He added that theJapanese vision of theIndo-Pacific region “isnot exclusive but inclu-sive” and “not aimed atcreating any new insti-tutions or excluding anycountry” and that “it isopen to all countries, aslong as they share itscore concept”.

It may be recalled thatJapan has serious mar-itime disputes withChina. Also, a few south-east Asian nations likeVietnam and Philipp-ines also have maritimedisputes with China. Itmay also be recalled thatthe US, India, Japan andAustralia are part of thefour-nation “Quad”arrangement.

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries pro-ceed towards the Central Hall of Parliament to attend the joint session ahead ofBudget Session, in New Delhi on Friday. — PTI

JD(U) wants rethink on NPR forms

ECONOMIC | SURVEY

■ ■ THE DDRAMA WWASstaged by students ofClasses IV, V and VI onJanuary 21

■ ■ THE PPLAY which wasuploaded on social mediahad gone viral

FROM PPAGE 11

Police recovered a coun-try-made gun, a rifle,about two dozen car-tridges and two dozencountry-made bombs.

The IG said this indicat-ed that he could have keptthe children hostage fordays, and perhapsplanned to blow up thehouse. When Bathamdemanded the withdraw-al of the murder caseagainst him, police

assured him that theywould consider it. Theyalso talked about offeringa government house tohim.

While this conversationwas going on, a policeteam entered the houseby breaking open theback door. Batham firedtwo bullets to scare themaway. “We thought he hadfired at the children andstopped midway,”Agarwal said.

— PTI

COPS RECOVER WEAPONS, BOMBS

DC CCORRESPONDENTTHIRUVNANTHAPURAM,JAN. 31

The condition of theKerala medical studentwho tested positive for thenovel coronavirus, isimproving in the isolationward of Thrissur MedicalCollege where she wasshifted on Friday. Healthminister K.K. Shailajasaid the condition of thegirl was satisfactory. Nonew positive case wasreported in Kerala onFriday.

Of the 24 samples sent toNational Institute ofVirology (NIV) earlier, 18have been found to be neg-ative and results of theremaining are awaited.The authorities sent 15more samples to the NIVon Friday.

The minister said highalert on coronavirus willcontinue in all districts.The number of personsunder surveillance in thestate stood at 1,471 with418 cases with suspectedsymptoms being reportedon Friday.

The police took actionagainst three persons forspreading fake news aboutcoronavirus.

The health authoritiesdecided to conduct aware-ness programmes on coro-navirus in schools fromMonday.

The health ministerpresided over a high levelmeeting of health offi-cials, elected representa-tives, management of theprivate hospitals and allother stake holders inThirssur to review the sit-uation.

She said there was nocause for worry aboutthose who had been admit-ted with suspected symp-toms in hospital. The min-

ister reiterated that thosewho returned from Chinashould immediatelyreport to the nearest hos-pitals or medical centres.Those with suspectedsymptoms should avoidpublic functions, mar-riage ceremonies andmass transport systemsfor the time being.

The private hospitalshave been asked to followthe treatment protocol iss-

ued by the government.Any suspected cases com-ing to the private clinicsand private hospitalsshould be immediately co-nveyed to the governmentcontrol room.

Isolation wards havebeen set up in 85 centres inthe private sector.

The results of the sam-ples of three students whohad returned from Chinaare still awaited from NIV.

The students had present-ed with symptoms of sorethroat following whichthey had been admitted tothe hospital and are cur-rently under observation.

The health authoritieshave taken the initiative toprepare list of people whomight have come in con-tact with the medical stu-dents who returned fromChina before they werequarantined.

PAGE

10NationSATURDAY | 01 FEBRUARY 2020 | HYDERABADDECCAN CHRONICLE

Saddened stateDelhi CM Arvind Kejriwal says it is saddeningto see convicts in Nirbhaya case escapingdeath sentence by using legal loopholes

SHORT TAKES Following Gandhi

A child wears a Mahatma Gandhi mask during the ongoing protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens atShaheen Bagh in New Delhi on Friday. — PTI

New Delhi, Jan. 31: In afirst, railways will allowarmed escorts provided byprivate agencies in goodstrains to ensure safety ofcommodities susceptible topilferage and theft, accordingto an order issued by thenational transporter. Armedescorts have been initiallyapproved in the EasternRailway zone and will bereviewed after a period of sixmonths before it is extendedto the other zonal railways,the order issued on January29 said. “The CompetentAuthority have decided toallow travelling of armedescorts in brake van of mov-ing rakes carrying commodi-ties which are susceptible totheft and pilferage en route,”the order from the RailwayBoard stated.

It was in 2014 that escorts offreight customers wereallowed on board goods trainsto secure their consignments.However, they were notallowed to carry anyweapons. “While there arenot many cases of thefts orpilferage, we decided to trythis out as it was the demandof the sector,” a senior offi-cial said while elaboratingabout the move.

GOODS TRAINTO HAVEGUARDS

YUSUF JJAMEEL || DDCSRINAGAR, JAN. 31

Three suspected Jaish-e-Muhammad cadres attempt-ing to enter Kashmir Valleyafter reportedly sneakinginto Jammu and Kashmirfrom across the border atHiranagar, 56-km east of win-ter capital Jammu, were shotdead by security forces in anencounter at Nagrota alongthe Jammu-Srinagar high-way on Friday, the police said.One policeman was injuredin the shooting.

J&K Director General ofPolice Dilbag Singh said inJammu that three to four mil-itants were going to Srinagarin a truck which was inter-cepted by the police at Bantoll plaza at Nagrota, about14-km up Jammu.

“The terrorists werebelieved to be part of a fresh-ly infiltrated group whichmay have sneaked intoJammu and Kashmir alongthe International Border (IB)somewhere near Hiranagarin Kathua district. They wereon their way to KashmirValley,” he said.

The police said that afterthe truck was signalled tostop at the toll plaza for rou-tine checking the men onboard opened fire triggeringan encounter between themand the security personnel.“Three terrorists were killedand one of our jawan was inj-ured,” the police chief said.

THREE JeMMILITANTSSHOT DEAD

RAJIB CCHOWDHURI || DDCKOLKATA, JAN. 31

West Bengal BJP presidentDilip Ghosh has been bookedin an FIR by the police forhis sexually outrageousremarks on a young woman,Sudeshna Dutta Gupta, forher protests against the CAAand NRC during his Abhi-nandan Yatra in the city onThursday.

This is the second timewithin a month that the BJPMP of Midnapore faced acase for making controver-sial comments.

A case was booked at thePatuli police station undersections 354 (outraging mod-esty), 506 (criminal intimida-tion), 509 (words intended toinsult the modesty of awoman), 427 (mischief), 341(wrongful restraint) and 33(Act) of the Indian PenalCode on Friday.

Gupta said, “I lodged thecomplaint against Mr. Ghoshon the basis of murderousintent and sexual remarksmade by him. I have alsosought for police protectionanticipating threats in thecoming days.”

FIR FILEDAGAINST

WB BJP MP

Jamia studentsstrike after firing New Delhi, Jan. 31:Students of Jamia MilliaIslamia on Friday gath-ered outside the gate ofthe varsity to stage apeaceful protest againstthe amended CitizenshipAct, a day after a manfired a pistol at a group ofagitators there, injuring astudent. The students car-ried posters that read“Stop Hate Speech, Safetyreally?, What’s in thename and Tamache PeDisco, Jamia se Khisko.”

Condemning the attackon students, the protest-ers said they wereshocked when they sawthe man emerge from thecrowd and open fire infull public view amidstheavy police presence.

A student taking part inthe protest, who did notwished to be identified,said, “When I got to knowabout firing, I rushed tothe venue along with myfriends to check. All wewanted was a peacefulprotest. We have beenprotesting here for nearlytwo months. I definitelyfeel police could haveacted much promptly.”Thousands of people andpolice personnel faced offagainst each other nearthe varsity on Thursdayafter a man fired a pistolat a group of anti-Citizenship AmendmentAct protesters.

As night fell, massiveprotests broke out withagitated students and oth-ers gathering near theuniversity, breaking bar-ricades and clashing withpolice personnel.

The protests endedaround 9 pm after policereleased four detaineddemonstrators, accordingto university and policeofficials.

Another student taking

part in the peaceful pro-test on Friday said, “Wehave been protesting pea-cefully for the last twomonths. On Thursday, wewere heading for a peace-ful march towards Raj-ghat. But police hadalready put up barricadesat several intersections.”Students said they willnot allow political partiesto take advantage of theprotests and make it theirplayground for the polls.

PIL on UP’s orderto recover damages DC CCORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, JAN. 31

The SC on Friday soughtresponse from UP govern-ment on a PIL seeking thequashing of the noticesissued to alleged protestersfor the recovery of dam-ages caused to public prop-erty during anti-CAA-NRCprotests in the State.

Issuing notice on a PIL byone Parwaiz Arif Khan, abench of Justice D.Y. Cha-ndrachud and Justice K.M.Joseph gave UP govern-ment four weeks time torespond to the PIL whichhas contended that noticeswere being issued in anarbitrary manner and con-trary to the guidelinesissues by the top court. Thecourt also permitted thePIL petitioner ParwaizArif Khan move an appli-cation for making theCentre a party in the mat-ter. As the lawyer NilofarKhan appearing for the PILpetitioner sought liberty ofthe court to make theCentre a party in the case,the bench asked him to

move an application.He cited instances where

the notices have beenissued for recovery of dam-age caused to public prop-erty in the course of theanti-CAA agitation to thepeople long dead or to thosewho are nonagenarian.The PIL petitioner has alsosought an independentjudicial probe, on the linesordered by the Karnatakahigh court, into the inci-dents of alleged violenceduring protests againstCAA and NRC.

Lawyer Nilofar Khan saidthat the course that hasbeen adopted by the UPgovernment was in breachof the guidelines issued bythe top court in 2009 andreiterated in 2018, theParwaiz Arif Khan that theissuance of notices for therecovery of damage to pub-lic property are being dealtwith by the additional dis-trict magistrate, especiallyappointed for the purpose,where as the top court byits guidelines had said thatretired judges should dealwith it.

INJURED STUDENTDISCHARGEDFROM AIIMSNew Delhi, Jan. 31:Jamia Millia studentShahdab Farooq, who suf-fered injuries after a manfired a pistol at a group ofanti-CAA protesters out-side the university, wasdischarged from AIIMSon Friday morning.

Al-Ameen, a student ofJamia’s Mass Communic-ation department andFarooq’s friend, said hewas discharged from thehospital around 8 am.“His father reached Delhion Thursday night, butShahdab won’t go backhome in Kashmir. He willstay at the university,” Al-Ameen said. Farooq und-erwent a surgery at thehospital, he said. Tensionspiralled in Jamia Nagaron Thursday after a manfired a pistol at a group ofanti-CAA protesters, inju-ring Farooq, before wal-king away while wavingthe firearm above hishead and shouting “Yehlo aazadi” amid heavypolice presence in thearea.

FAMILY CAN’TMEET STUDENTSUNDER WATCHFROM PPAGE 11

During the screening,they will be classified intothree groups — suspectcase, close contact caseand non-contact case.Indian Army officials saidthat the facility consists ofaccommodation barracksfor the students, adminis-trative areas and medicalfacility area. To preventany mass outbreak, thefacility has been dividedinto sectors, each with amaximum capacity of 50students.

The population of thesesectors will not be allowedto intermingle with eachother, or with outsiders,including their familymembers.

No civilians or servingpersonnel detailed work-ing inside the facility willbe allowed to go outsideunless compelled by anextreme emergency.

“Daily medical examina-tion of all students will bedone at the medical facili-ty area and all the staff,health care workers andhousekeeping staff mustwear their personal pro-tective equipment (PPE) atall times,” said the offi-cials.

PPE consists of mask,eye shield, shoe cover,gown and gloves. Rest ofthe visitors and all stu-dents will wear a threelayered mask at all times.After 14 days, personswith no symptoms will beallowed to go home withtheir detailed documenta-tion.

New Delhi, Jan. 31: Nir-bhaya's mother Asha Devion Friday said she willcontinue her fight till theconvicts in the 2012 gan-grape and murder case arehanged, shortly after aDelhi court postponed theexecution of death war-rants till further order.Asha Devi told reportersher “hopes are dashed”but she will continue herfight.

“These convicts have noright to live. We keep get-ting disappointed by thesystem. I will continue myfight till the convicts arehanged,” she said.

A Delhi court postponedthe execution of death

warrants of the four con-victs in the Nirbhaya gan-grape and murder case tillfurther order. AdditionalSessions Judge Dharme-nder Rana passed the or-der on a plea by the con-victs seeking a stay ontheir execution on Sat-urday, February 1.

Asha Devi said becauseof the loopholes in law the“convicts lawyers had theaudacity to challenge mein court that they will notbe hanged.”

The black warrants forexecution of the deathsentence against PawanGupta, Vinay Kumar Sha-rma, Akshay Kumar andMukesh Kumar Singh, we-

re issued on January 17.A 23-year-old physiother-

apy intern who came to beknown as “Nirbhaya” (thefearless one) was gangra-ped and savagely assault-ed on December 16, 2012,in a moving bus.

Will fight till convicts hanged: Asha DeviNirbhaya’s mother says convicts have no right to liveDASHED | HOPES

Army sets up quarantineunit for Wuhan returneesPAWAN BBALI || DDCNEW DELHI, JAN. 31

Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Policehave created quarantinefacilities where familiesand students arrivingfrom Wuhan, China can bemonitored for any signs ofcoronavirus infection. AirIndia is sending a specialflight to rescue Indiansstruck in Wuhan whichhas been hit by coron-avirus.

Indian Army has createda quarantine facility nearManesar where 300 Indianstudents arriving fromWuhan, China can bemonitored for duration oftwo weeks by a qualifiedteam of doctors for anysigns of coronavirusinfection.

ITBP has created a facili-ty swiftly near ITBPChhawla Camp, NewDelhi for quarantine of600 Indian families arriv-ing from Wuhan. Thesefamilies will be monitoredby a qualified team of doc-tors, to watch for any

signs of infection. Theywill be hosted by ITBP.Indian Army officials saidthat screening and quar-antine will be a two stepprocess.

“The first one beingscreening at airport fol-lowed by quarantine atManesar and if any indi-vidual is suspected to beinfected, he/she will beshifted to the isolationward at Base HospitalDelhi Cantonment (BH-DC),” said the officials.The screening at the air-port will be done by a jointteam of Armed ForcesMedical Services and

Airport Health Authority.During the screening

they will be classified intothree groups: suspectcase, close contact caseand non — contact case.The suspect case will beindividuals with any signsof fever and/or coughand/or respiratory dis-tress will be directly tran-sferred to BHDC.

The close contact will beany individual withoutsymptoms but having vis-ited a seafood/animalmarket or a health facilityThe non-contact case willbe any individual withoutany symptom or contact.

Condition of infected medical student satisfactory, says health minister

Coronavirus: 1,471 personsunder observation in Kerala

The Army’s quarantine facility at Manesar. — DC

Maha girl assaultvideo goes viralDC CCORRESPONDENT MUMBAI, JAN. 31

In an instance of moralpolicing, a group of vil-lagers in Jalna brutallyassaulted a boy and hisfemale friend after find-ing them together andshot a video clip of theassault which has sincegone viral.

The officials said thatthe incident took place inGondegaon village wherefour persons targeted theduo, following which thestate government swunginto action and the policedetained one of theattackers.

The police said that theincident took place Thu-rsday and after the saidclip went viral, statehome minister Anil Desh-mukh issued orders to thepolice for timely andstringent action againstthe culprits.

“The duo was brutallythrashed by a group, ofwhich, one suspect hasbeen detained. Theaccused is being ques-tioned to ascertain the

identity of the remainingaccused, who are yet to beapprehended. There is noclarity on why theaccused attacked theduo,” the police said.

The state governmentissued orders citing theseverity of the incident.Mr. Deshmukh said, “Theincident that took placein Jalna is condemnable. Ihave issued orders to takemeasures for stopping it(circulation of the video).Speedy action will betaken against the perpe-trators.”

State police chiefSubodh Jaiswal said thatthe police had been askedto look into the incidentand also inquire if policeaction was delayed. Thehome minister had orde-red an inquiry into thelocal police in the assaultcase and sought a reporton them.

The police filed a case ofassault, molestation andacts of common intentionagainst the accusedunder the Indian PenalCode and further investi-gation was underway.

We have to followthe law, says judgeFROM PPAGE 11

Drawing on seeminglyendless reserves of cou-rage and patience, she hitback saying that shewould continue to fight forjustice.

Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal said itwas “sad” that the con-victs were “escaping thedeath sentence” by usinglegal loopholes, stressing

that there was an urgentneed to amend the laws toensure hanging in cases ofrape within six months.

Arvind Kejriwal tweet-ed: “It saddens me thatconvicts in the Nirbhayacase are escaping thedeath sentence by usinglegal loopholes. We are indire need to amend ourlaw so that in cases ofrape, hanging takes placewithin six months.”

Nirbhaya’s mother reactsoutside the SupremeCourt of India in NewDelhi on Friday.

PAGE

11WorldSATURDAY | 1 FEBRUARY 2020 | HYDERABADDECCAN CHRONICLE

HeartbrokenLondon Mayor Sadiq Khan says he isheartbroken over Britain’s imminentdeparture from European Union

Boris: Brexit not an end but a startLondon, Jan. 31:Britain’s exit from the EUis not an end but a newbeginning, according toPrime Minister BorisJohnson who is set todeliver a message of unityto mark Brexit Day onFriday when the countryfinally leaves the bloc,over three years after thelandmark Brexit vote.

In a video messagerecorded in DowningStreet on Thursday and tobe aired at 22:00 GMT onFriday, an hour ahead ofthe UK’s scheduled exittime, the ConservativeParty leader who tookcharge as UK prime minis-ter last year with a “do ordie” Brexit pledge willcharacterise the historicmoment as a new begin-ning for the country.

“This is the momentwhen the dawn breaks andthe curtain goes up on anew act. It is a moment ofreal national renewal andchange,” Downing Streetsaid in a read-out ofJohnson’s address to thenation.

“Our job as the govern-ment - my job - is to bringthis country together andtake us forward. And themost important thing tosay tonight is that this isnot an end but a begin-ning,” it reads.

In keeping with the mes-sage of unity, Johnson ischairing his first Cabinetmeeting on tour in thenorth of England and haschosen the city ofSunderland - the first cityto declare support for leav-ing the EU in June 2016.

“This is the dawn of anew era in which we nolonger accept that yourlife chances - your family’slife chances - shoulddepend on which part ofthe country you grow upin. This is the momentwhen we begin to uniteand level up,” says Joh-nson, who has vehementlycampaigned for Brexitover the years. The UK’sformal end to its member-ship of the economic bloc,the so-called divorce,comes into effect at 2300GMT on Friday. — PTI

Washington, Jan. 31:Republican Senator Lam-ar Alexander of Tenne-ssee will oppose callingmore witnesses in Pres-ident Donald Trump’simpeachment trial, all butdashing Democratic eff-orts to hear more testimo-ny and boosting odds theSenate will vote to acquitTrump as early as Friday.

A vote on witnesses,expected Friday, couldlead to an abrupt end andassured acquittal in onlythe third presidentialimpeachment trial inAmerican history. Trumpwas pressing for action intime for his State of theUnion address, and thatnow seems likely.

As the Senate adjournedlate Thursday, it set thedate for Tuesday night'sspeech. Despite theDemocrats’ singular,sometimes-passionatefocus on witnesses afterrevelations from JohnBolton, the former nation-al security adviser, thenumbers are now fallingshort.

It would take fourRepublicans to break withthe 53-seat majority andjoin with all Democrats todemand more testimony.Chief Justice JohnRoberts, in the rare role

presiding over theimpeachment trial, couldbreak a tie, but that seemsunlikely. Alexander saidin a statement there was“no need for more evi-dence,” giving the Trumpteam the likelihood of aSenate vote in its direc-tion.

Trump was impeachedby House last month oncharges that he abused hispower like no other presi-dent, jeopardisingUkraine and US-Ukrainerelations. Democrats sayTrump asked the vulnera-ble ally to investigate JoeBiden and debunked theo-ries of 2016 election inter-ference, temporarily halt-ing American security aidto the country as it battledRussia at its border.

The second article ofimpeachment says Trumpthen obstructed the Houseprobe in a way that threat-ened the nation’s three-branch system of checksand balances.

Before Alexander’s state-ment, Republican Sen.Susan Collins of Mainesaid late Thursday shewould vote to allow wit-nesses in the impeach-ment trial, briefly raisingDemocrats' hopes for abreakthrough.

—AP

Senate poised to acquit TrumpEnd draws near in impeachment trial as Democrats likely to fall short in vote

After years of political drama, Britan finally set to leave European Union

Kabul, Jan. 31:Afghanistan will need vastamounts of foreign fund-ing to keep its governmentafloat through 2024, a USagency said Friday, evenas foreign donors areincreasingly angry overthe cost of debilitatingcorruption and the USseeks a peace deal withTaliban to withdraw itstroops from the country.

International moneypays for roughly 75 percent of all ofAfghanistan's costs whilegovernment revenue cov-

ers barely a quarter ofAfghan public expendi-tures.

The Special InspectorGeneral for AfghanReconstruction, whichissues reports quarterly toUS Congress, monitors allUS spending in the 18-yearwar in Afghanistan,America's longest war.

The agency's latestreport was sharply criti-cal of the Afghan govern-ment's efforts to curb cor-ruption, saying it is one ofthe biggest concernsamong frustrated donors.

President AshrafGhani's administration “ismore interested in check-ing off boxes for the inter-national community thanin actually uprooting itscorruption problem,” thereport said, referring tothe Afghan government'sfailing anti-corruptiondrive.

Ghani's future is uncer-tain as final results of lastyear's presidential elec-tion have yet to beannounced, though thepreliminary results gaveGhani the win.

His main rival, AbdullahAbdullah, who serves asthe country's chief execu-tive in a fragile nationalunity government withGhani, has claimed fraud.

Afghanistan ranked lastin the Asia-Pacific regionfor corruption, a globalwatchdog said earlier inJanuary.

According to Transp-arency International,Afghanistan's global rank-ing last year at 173 of180 countries it surveyedwas the worst since thegroup began ranking the

country in 2005.Even as the internation-

al community is payingbillions of dollars annual-ly, the poverty rate inAfghanistan is climbing.

In 2012, 37 per cent ofAfghans were listed belowthe poverty rate, survivingon less than USD 1 a day.Today that figure hasrisen to 55 per cent ofAfghans.

The United States is pay-ing USD 4.2 billion yearlyjust for Afghanistan'ssecurity and defenseforces. — AFP

Afghans will need billions more in aid as US leavesAfghanistan ranks last in Asia-Pacific region for corruption, says global watchdog ARMY | AFFAIRS

IN BRIEFPak: No proposal

for PoK merger Islamabad: Pakistan has reje-cted reports that the govern-

ment intended to mergePakistan-occupied Kashmir

with the country, saying thereis no such proposal. Pakistanidaily Dawn reported that the

speculation about the mergerhad been doing the rounds

for a little over six weeks now.It started with comments

attributed to Farooq HaiderKhan that he had been told

that he would be the last“prime minister” of the PoK.The rumours grew after the

the government renamed oneof the bureaucracy’s service

group, the daily said. “There is no such proposal

under consideration,” ForeignOffice spokesperson AishaFarooqui said on Thursday

when asked about thereports. She also rejected that

government was thinking tobring new regulation to

change the status of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Israel hits Hamas targets

Jerusalem: Israeli aircraftstruck Hamas targets in the

Gaza Strip early Friday in res-ponse to new rocket fire from

the blockaded territory, thearmy said. Three rockets werefired at Israel overnight with-

out causing any casualties.Two were intercepted by air

defences, a statement said. Is-rael swiftly retaliated against

Hamas, the Islamist move-ment which rules Gaza and

which Israel generally holdsresponsible for all rocket fire

from the territory. The militarystruck “Hamas targets in thesouth of the Gaza Strip”, the

army said. Israel has deployedadditional troops to the Gaza

border area since US Pre-sident Donald Trump unveiled

a controversial new peaceplan on Tuesday that was

rejected by the Palestinians.

UNSC for end tofighting in Yemen

United Nations: The U.N. Sec-urity Council called Thursday

for an immediate end to a“significant” escalation in

fighting in Yemen betweenHouthi Shiite rebels and theSaudi-led military coalition

supporting the government.Member nations on the U.N.’smost powerful body “under-

lined their disappointment” atthe return to violence in a sta-tement, saying it “threatens toundermine progress made du-

ring the recent period of de-escalation in Yemen.” The

council expressed hope “thata renewed de-escalation wo-

uld create space for the Yem-eni parties to move towards

comprehensive and inclusiveU.N.-led negotiations urgently,

on the security and politicalarrangements necessary toend the conflict and move

towards a peaceful transition.”The council statement fol-

lowed a briefing Tuesday bythe U.N. special envoy for

Yemen, Martin Griffiths.

Kano, Nigeria, Jan.31: A girldetonated a bomb, killing threeboys at an Islamic seminary innortheast Nigeria in an attackthat bore the hallmarks of BokoHaram, a local militia and resi-dents said Friday.

The girl, aged around 12, deto-nated the device late Thursdaywhen open-air classes were onin Muna Dalti, on the outskirtsof Maiduguri, the capital ofBorno state.

She walked up to the group ofboys who were just ending theirlessons and “blew herself up intheir midst,” Mohammed Bola,head of the militia in the area,said.

“She killed three boys andinjured four others,” Bola saidabout the attack which hap-pened around 1900 GMT. Mom-ents earlier, another young girlstormed into a house in the areaand detonated her explosives,injuring one person, said resi-dent Salisu Mohammed. “Thehouse was totally destroyed.Luckily, no one was killed as theoccupants of the house wereoutside chatting with neigh-bors,” he said.

The two bombers sneaked intothe area together but split toattack different targets, Bolasaid. The scene of the bomb-ings, a popular night time ven-ue for residents, has been repe-atedly targeted by suicideattacks blamed on Boko Haram.

The militant group is notori-ous for suicide attacks on civil-ian targets including schools,mosques and motor parks.

SUICIDEBOMBER KILLS

3 IN NIGERIA

IRAN STRIKE:MORE US TROOPSWERE INJUREDWashington, Jan. 31:The number of UStroops injured by anIranian missile strike inIraq this month hasrisen to 64, according tonew figures released bythe Pentagon.

US President DonaldTrump had initially saidno Americans were hurtby the missiles fired ona base housing US sol-diers in the country’swest on January 8.Democrats later accusedTrump of trying todownplay the injuries.

The American person-nel have been diagnosedwith mild traumaticbrain injury (TBI),Lieutenant ColonelThomas Campbell, aPentagon spokesman,said in a statementThursday. The Pentagonsaid Wednesday that 50soldiers were injured inthe Iranian strike on theAin al-Asad base.

The latest total is anincrease of 14 on thosenumbers. Iran fired onIraqi bases housing UStroops in retaliation foran American droneattack that killedIranian commanderQasem Soleimani inBaghdad, raising fearsof war. Of those diag-nosed with TBI, 39troops have returned toduty, the Pentagon said,while the rest haveeither been sent back tothe US, are waiting to besent back or are current-ly being evaluated. Atthe time of the strikesmost of the 1,500American soldiers at theAin al-Asad base were inbunkers, after they weregiven advance warningfrom superiors. —AFP

■ ■ Iraq’s securityforces haveresumed operationswith the US-ledcoalition to fightIslamic State groupsleeper cells, theglobal alliance said,after tensions led toa more than three-week pause.

Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie (centre), top US com-mander for the Middle East, makes an unannouncedvisit, in Kabul on Friday. — AP

TWITTER, PINTEREST CRACK DOWN ON VOTER MISINFORMATION San Francisco, Jan. 31Twitter and Pinterest aretaking new steps to root outvoting misinformationdesigned to suppress par-ticipation in the Novemberelections.

Twitter unveiled a newtool Wednesday that willmake it easier for users inthe US to report tweets con-taining misleading infor-mation about registering tovote or casting a ballot.The platform said the toolwould be available at “keymoments” throughout theelection. Pinterest, mean-while, announced that itwill remove posts thatinclude false information

about where, how andwhen people can register tovote or cast a ballot. Most ofthe big social media plat-forms already prohibitdeliberately misleadinginformation about voting.

Twitter and Pinterestannounced the new initia-tives just before the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuseson Monday. “As caucusesand primaries for the presi-dential election get under-way, we’re building on ourefforts to protect the publicconversation,” CarlosMonje Jr., Twitter’s direc-tor of public policy andphilanthtropy, said in astatement. —AP

NEW BEGINNING FOR EUROPEBrussels: The EU’s threechiefs hailed Britain’sdeparture from the bloc onFriday as “a new dawn forEurope”, warning Londonwould not keep the bene-fits of membership whenit leaves.

Charles Michel, Ursulavon der Leyen and DavidSassoli - the presidents ofthe EU Council, EuropeanCommission and Euro-pean Parliament, respec-tively - used an open letterpublished in Europeannewspapers to say theywould do “everything intheir power” to make thenew relationship withBritain a success. Brit-ain’s 47-year membershipof the bloc will end on the

stroke of 23:00 GMT -- mid-night Brussels time, threeand a half years after ashock referendum vote toleave. Prime MinisterBoris Johnson has prom-ised to “get Brexit done”and unite the country in anew era of prosperity, butmonths of difficult negoti-ations with Brussels aboutthe shape of future ties lieahead. The three EU lead-ers made clear they wouldnot roll over easily orallow Britain to "have itscake and eat it", insistingBritain could not have fullaccess to the EU marketunless it agrees to followEuropean labour, taxationand environmental rules.

— AFP

New dawn or biggest gamble? British headlines on Brexit dayLondon, Jan. 31: Brit-ain’s Brexit-day frontpages expressed both joyat the country’s imminentdeparture from the Euro-pean Union and remorseand trepidation on Fridayas the UK prepares to go italone after nearly half acentury as part of the bloc.

“Yes, we did it!” said theDaily Express tabloid, afervent campaigner forBritain to leave the EU.

The headline was imp-osed over a map of the UKmade up of front pagesfrom the newspaper fromthe 43 months since theJune 2016 vote, which saw

three Brexit deadlinescome and go before theBritish parliament finallyratified the divorce agree-ment. “A new dawn forBritain,” said its rival andfellow Brexit-supportingtabloid The Daily Mail.

“At 11 pm our proudnation finally leaves theEU - still a friend ofEurope, but free and inde-pendent once more after 47years.” The left-leaningGuardian was more cir-cumspect, leading its frontpage with the words“Small Island” anddescribing Brexit as “thebiggest gamble in a gener-

ation”. “PM wants Can-ada-style trade deal withBrussels,” said the Times,leading with an article onBoris Johnson’s attemptsto flesh out his ideas for afree trade agreementalong the lines of a recentEU deal with Canada.

“Britain bows out of EUwith a mixture of opti-mism and regret,” saidThe Financial Times.

“It’s been quite a ride,”splashed the business CityAM paper over a mock-upof a roller coaster car-riage filled with promi-nent faces from the Brexitsaga. — AFP

US support for Ukraine will not waver, says Pompeo Kiev, Jan. 31: USSecretary of State MikePompeo on Friday expres-sed the United States’unwavering support forUkraine after he metPresident Volodymyr Zele-nsky in Kiev. “Today I'mhere with a clear message:the United States sees that

the Ukrainian struggle forfreedom, democracy andprosperity is a valiant one.Our commitment to sup-port it will not waver,”Pompeo told a press con-ference.

“The US understandsthat Ukraine is an impor-tant country,” Pompeo

said, in a clear reference toreports that he had told aUS journalist thatAmericans did not careabout the country.

Pompeo is the most sen-ior US official to visitUkraine since the start ofthe impeachment processagainst US President

Donald Trump, who isaccused of withholdingmilitary aid to push Kievinto investigating hisDemocratic rival JoeBiden. Washington hasbeen an important backerof Ukraine in its conflictwith Moscow-backed sepa-ratists in the country's

east, providing both mili-tary aid and diplomaticsupport. Zelensky, who hastaken a series of stepsaimed at resolving the con-flict since coming to powerlast year, said he wantedWashington to be moreinvolved in resolving theconflict. —AFP

Anti-Trump activist Stephen Parlato arrives at the Capitol in Washington on Friday. — AP

Brexit supporters hold the Union Jack with a text reading ‘Goodbye EU’ next to a man wearing the EU flag in London on Friday. — AP

Union home minister Amit Shah has reportedly asked the Delhipolice to take the “strictest” action against the young man whoopened fire with a pistol at anti-CAA protesters at Jamia whenthey were setting out for Rajghat on the day of Mahatma Gandhi’s

martyrdom on Thursday, and injured a student. It is unlikely Mr Shahwill be taken at face value.

The shooter’s Facebook activity suggests he has long been linked to theRSS and its affiliates. After discharging a bullet from his gun, he appearedonly a few yards away from the massed police force and seemed confidenthe will come to no harm. When a policeman at last apprehended him, thewidely beamed videos showed the shooter raised a slogan in favour of theDelhi police.

A widely shared view is that the gunman was planted by Hindutva forcesto do something sensational just days before the Delhi Assembly polls onFebruary 8 to consolidate communal polarisation. A somewhat differentbut not wholly dissimilar view is that he, a self-confessed Hindutva

nationalist who was psyched up by pro-pagandist videos (like many youngMuslims drawn to the current conceptof jihad), fell an easy prey to AnuragThakur’s outrageous provocation at apublic meeting two days earlier whenhe instigated a Delhi election rally tochant “shoot the traitors”, with those ofa particular faith being all but identi-fied as such by a long list of BJP topleaders.

Any propaganda-crazed Hindutva-ori-ented youth is likely to be dead certainhe will come to no harm these days.Last month, one of the JNU attackers, ayoung woman who was identifiedthough she too had her face covered, as

an activist of the ABVP, the RSS' student body, is still roaming free. Otherattackers were found to be linked to the same group. But the only FIR filedby the police was against Aishe Ghosh, leader of the students’ union whowas attacked with a rod and had serious injuries to her head. Such a policeforce is expected to be indulgent with criminals of the Hindutva variety.

All this is very well, but what of Mr Thakur? Is it enough that he wasasked by the Election Commission to sit out the campaign for a few days,now that his vulgar exhortation has led to a shooting? Should criminallaw not catch up with him for being an accessory to an attempted murder?Probably none of this will happen. After all, just after saying strict actionwill be taken against the shooter, the Union home minister on Thursdaysaid the Delhi election was a battle between Shaheen Bagh and those whotaught Pakistan a lesson through a “surgical strike”. The dumbest mindcan't fail to see that anti-CAA protesters are being singled out as being ofone faith, though this is a false pitch. The BJP has prepared a communalwicket and is playing every stroke in the book on it, not bothering withany other issue. This is a dangerous poll campaign.

1 FEBRUARY 2020

The Wuhan coronavirus is here. The emergency will stretch India’sscarce medical resources and the formal declaration by WorldHealth Organisation can only add to the panic. The preparedness in

cities and towns with a basic health infrastructure and airport screeningprocesses has been fine so far and there has not been a single death out-side China yet. The coronavirus mortality rate is around only three percent as compared to MERS (35 per cent), SARS (10 per cent) and Ebola (50per cent). But, alarmingly, in at least four countries — the United States,Germany, Japan and Vietnam — the virus has transmitted human tohuman, infecting those who have not been to China.

A Kerala woman studying medicine in Wuhan has been declared thefirst confirmed case in the country and it is a good sign that she is recov-ering. The only problem is this virus may be incubating in many Chinareturnees and there is really no predicting how widely silent carriershave been transmitting a virus strain that has shown an ability to quick-ly spread through large droplets. Home quarantine has been recommend-ed for those who have come back and their discipline to stay isolated willbe tested in the days to come.

China has responded as only a totalitarian state can in containing theoutbreak. Precautions have been widely publicised but it is worth repeat-ing that the mask could be more useful for people on the move and thatwashing hands — for 20 seconds at least with soap and water — is far morelikely to help keep the virus out. Keeping a distance from those showingany symptom of influenza and use of alcohol rubs and awareness aboutnot touching objects in public spaces might help in remaining uninfected.Remember a vaccine is still some time away.

A new emergency

In Delhi, BJP is playinga very dangerous game

A widely shared view isthat the gunman was

planted by Hindutva forcesto do something sensa-

tional just days before theDelhi Assembly polls toconsolidate communal

polarisation. A somewhat different view is that he

fell an easy prey to AnuragThakur’s outrageous

provocation at a publicmeeting...

c m y k c m y k

There’s nothing like white trash at the White House

My powers are ordinary. Only my application brings me success.

DOLLY PARTONMIND POWER

ISAAC NEWTON PAGE

12EditSATURDAY | 1 FEBRUARY 2020 | HYDERABADDECCAN CHRONICLE

Both [the US and Pakistan] areon the same page that there’sno military solution inAfghanistan and we are

working hard to bring peace to thecountry,” said Prime Minister ImranKhan in an interview with CNBClast week. Clearly, the PM’s refer-ence was to efforts Pakistan is mak-ing in tandem with the Khalilzad-Taliban talks in Doha for a ceasefireor at least “reduction in violence” asa prelude to dialogue between theTaliban and Kabul government. Sofar there is no sign the Taliban arewilling to do this, or go beyond reach-ing an agreement for US troop with-drawal in exchange for their pledgenot to allow Afghanistan to be used toplan terrorist attacks against the USand to abjure ties with Al Qaeda,Daesh or other terrorist groups.

Is this enough to bring peace to anAfghanistan in which government

forces would have lost control of anumber of provincial capitals were itnot for US air support operations andcash support for its largely ineffec-tive local forces? The Kabul govern-ment is fragmented and there’s littlechance that it will become more unit-ed or self-sustaining. Now PresidentGhani says he is “totally ready” for awithdrawal of 4,000 of the 12,000 UStroops, but the Taliban want a com-plete withdrawal though they may beopen to making this phased.

The Taliban have said that they donot want to monopolise power butwould want to revise the Afghan con-stitution to make it conform to theirinterpretation of Sharia, and wouldinclude others in the power struc-ture on terms they deem appropri-ate. In their view, Trump is intent onwithdrawing and no further conces-sions are necessary. This could setthe stage for another civil war.

Pakistan must sadly come to theconclusion that while we wish to pro-mote peace, the dire situation inAfghanistan will leave us no choicebut to insulate ourselves even whiletaking every step possible to helpwith reconciliation. This means:

We must ask the Taliban on oursoil to move back to Afghanistan andcarry on negotiations with the USfrom their bases in Helmand andKandahar. Make it clear that werecognise the Kabul government andsupport an Afghan-led and -ownedpeace process. This negotiation, if itmaterialises, will be long and com-plex; if asked we will try to help.

Pakistan should ensure ourrefugees commissioner exercisescomplete control over all camps, andprohibits clandestine addition to therefugee population or use of thecamps as Taliban recuperation cen-tres. While continuing to treat

Afghan patients in our hospitals, wewould carefully vet anyone with bat-tlefield wounds. Complete the fenc-ing of the border and, with UNODC,strengthen surveillance on smugglermovements. We can facilitate Pak-Afghan trade and make suitable con-cessions to ensure Afghan goods aremarketed here and beyond our bor-ders. The truck monitoring systemthe PM has authorised would be anessential tool to check smuggling.With Chinese cooperation, allowAfghanistan to use CPEC and to theextent possible to facilitate the use ofCPEC by Central Asian states. Makeprompt royalty and transit paymentsto the Afghan government.

Pakistan ought to prevail on theAmericans, who eschew nation-building even under a non-Trumpadministration, to continue to pro-vide material support for the salariesof 320,000 Afghan National Defence

forces as well as budgetary supportwhich would allow at least somemaintenance of education and healthservices. The plea should be based onthe fact that an Afghan collapsewould adversely affect the entireregion, and may prove a repeat of thepower vacuum left after the collapseof the Soviet Union.

We should also be prepared in thefuture to help Afghanistan exploit itsmineral deposits (estimated to beworth anywhere between $1-3 tril-lion) and explore the possibility ofmatching Pakistan’s mineralresources with those ofAfghanistan’s (bringing copper orefrom Afghanistan’s Aynak Coppermine to Reko Diq and thus havingenough ore to justify the setting up ofa refinery unit within our bordersinstead of exporting raw ore).

By arrangement with Dawn

Be ready forAfghan angstafter US exit

CAA-NRC: Missing thewood for the trees?

Like mostIndians, I wasalso caught upin the confusionregarding the

Citizenship (Amend-ment) Act and theNational Register forCitizens when I tweeted,“Never thought I wouldever see Asad Owaisi andMIM in a rally holdingIndian flags. Maybe weshould thank PM Modi.”This half-joking tweet gota huge response, both onthe social media andamong my personalfriends — there was criti-cism and compliments inequal measure.

I did not expect such amajor response. Perhaps,this reflects deep divi-sions and growing suspi-cion within our society.That has led me to writethis article.

This is not to clarify thetweet or set the recordstraight — I don’t need todo that. Whoever knowsmy work and my family,particularly my grandfa-ther’s contribution to pol-itics and communal har-mony, knows clearlywhat I stand for. I don’tneed to dwell on it.

The CAA and NRC aresupposed to resolve somelongstanding issues.Instead, the same has cre-ated deep divisions andsuspicions that havespilled onto the streets, inthe form of crowds shout-ing slogans, waving flagsand citing theConstitution.

The Partition of Indiaand its aftermathoccurred more than 70years ago. More than 96per cent of the Indian pop-ulation today is born afterIndependence. Over 45per cent are below the ageof 25 years. For mostIndians, particularly“millennials”, Partition ishistory. That generationhas totally differentdreams and aspirations.Instead of seriously focus-ing on the future, our sub-continent is stuck in thepast. Settling scores, hurt-ing each other, continu-ing with old rhetoric andwasting precious resour-ces on purchasing armshave become the rulerather than the exception.Why are we surviving by

showing the people theghosts of the past? If givena real democratic oppor-tunity, populations inthese countries, particu-larly the young, totallyreject these divisive poli-tics. Other regions havecome out of terrible con-flicts and are now cooper-ating with each other. Wetoo can do it.

The CAA and NRC andthe reactions to it, too,unfortunately seem to berooted in that past. Let usexamine four aspects ofthe controversy.

First, no Indian —Hindu or Muslim — candeny that there was, andstill is, large scale, sys-temic discrimination aga-inst Hindus in Pakistanand in Afghanistan andBangladesh. That is a fact.India, as a secular anddemocratic nation, uphol-ding human rights andthe rule of law, has aresponsibility to providea safe and secure home tothose forced to flee theirhomes and countries. Wehave historically donethat. Even as recently as1970, India gave shelter toalmost 10 million people,mostly Muslims, whowere forced to flee theirown country. We need toask two questions: Is theCAA the only way to givecitizenship to thoseHindus discriminatedagainst in other coun-tries? Do we need to cre-ate insecurity within ourown society, particularlyour Muslim population,in order to provide citi-zenship to Hindus?

We never had a serious,open and honest debateabout this. Protests areessential in a democracy,but protests must lead todialogue. It is not too lateto have that dialogue.And I am happy to hearthat the government isopen to dialogue.

My second point isabout the NRC — everycountry needs to have twothings — a well-definedgeography and its citizen-ry. Some countries mightdispute borders and stakea claim; similarly someindividuals might sneakin and claim the benefit ofcitizenship or subvert thedemocratic politicalprocess. The NRC is sup-

posed to find a solutionfor citizenship. While thenumber of people whomight have sneaked inillegally may be prettysmall, it is significant incertain parts of the coun-try. Unfortunately, theNRC seems to haveopened a Pandora’s boxrequiring every Indian toprove that he/she isindeed Indian purported-ly by producing the birthcertificates of their fatherand mother. Is this reallyrequired? Is it not possi-ble to do it differently?Common sense suggests itis. So, the question is thesame, is the NRC creatinginsecurity among Indiansin the name of identifyingillegal aliens?

Governments of the dayneed to resolve theseissues, without fomentinginsecurity, doubts andunrest. There used to bean old rural saying, do weburn our house to get ridof the rats? In this case, itis entire villages andtowns. There are betterand cost-effective as wellas acceptable methodsfirst to prevent rats fromentering the house, and ifthey do, to catch them. Itis not a perfect analogy,but a close one. Since weare dealing with humanbeings, the process mustbe humane. India is a sig-natory to many humanrights conventions andinternational covenants.More important, we havealways upheld values ofopenness, secularism,pluralism and humani-tarianism.

Third, there is the issueof Kashmiri Pandits. Ithas a certain connectionwith what is happening.Great injustice has beendone to Kashmiri Hindus;according to some esti-mates, over seven lakhfled Kashmir due to dis-crimination, systemicharassment and directviolence. This led tountold misery for morethan three decades. Thosewho wish to go back willhave to be resettled safely.This is a major challengefor our nation for two rea-

sons: a) Unless a Muslimmajority state does nottreat its minorities well,the demand by Muslimsfor equal treatment in therest of India will not beseen as morally defensi-ble, b) the CAA and NRC,which are being seen asdiscriminatory to Mus-lims, need to highlight theplight of Hindus in thepast, present and future.

Fourth, in IndependentIndia, secularism as aconcept has never becomea target. But today, what-ever might be the prob-lem of definition, itappears that there is aconcerted effort on to seri-ously undermine our ownConstitution and its coreprinciple — secularism.Projecting secularism asanti-Hindu is dangerousnot only for India but forHindus living worldwide.Governing a country likeIndia without secular val-ues is not possible, givenits diversity — religious,cultural, linguistic, geo-graphic, ethnic and evenracial. That is exactlywhat is enshrined in theConstitution. Indiashould and will be anexample for governing acountry as large anddiverse as ours.

Let me return to thetweet. In India, someMuslims, even after sevendecades, feel the need toshow their patriotism bywaving the tricolour orsinging the anthem. Thatis not fair. Equally unfairis that some people whopromoted a divisive cul-ture are today trying touse the flag to serve theirown agendas. Statesman-ship, not politicking, isthe need of the hour.

In times of crisis, theonly arbiter, protectorand comfort are the flagand the Constitution. Theflag is not a piece of cloth,neither the Constitution abook, and they representour long-cherished histo-ry and values. But weneed to do more thanwaving flags. The insan-iyat-jamhooriyat princi-ple of former PrimeMinister Atal BehariVajpayee is something towhich we can all harkback. Let’s all togetherensure that we stand bythis ideology and protectit zealously. In fact, secu-larism and nationalismare both required as theygo hand in hand.

The writer is an engi-neer, entrepreneur, politi-cian and a former elected

member of Parliamentfrom Chevella, Telangana

state

In times of crisis,the only arbiter, pro-

tector and comfortare the flag and the

Constitution. Theflag is not a piece of

cloth, neither theConstitution a book,and they representour long-cherishedhistory and values.

Subhani

KondaVishweshwarReddy

NajmuddinA. Shaikh

View from Pakistan

DECCAN CHRONICLE

ADITYA SINHA T. VENKATESWARLUEditor Printer & Publisher

DECCAN CHRONICLE offices are located at:

Hyderabad: 36, Sarojini Devi Road, Secunderabad - 500 003, Ph: 040-27803930-4; Fax : 040-27805256Vijayawada: No.C-3 & 4 Patamata, Industrial Estate, Auto Nagar, Vijayawada (A.P.), Ph: 0866-2555284/2555287; Telefax: 0866-2555234Visakhapatnam: Survey No.1/3A Beach Road, Near Kailasagiri Ropeway, Sector-9 MVP Colony,Visakhapatnam - 530 017 (A.P), Ph: 0891-2552333/2552334; Fax: 0891-2755285Rajahmundry: Vemagiri, Dhawaleswaram Rd, Rajahmundry, Ph: 0883-2417618/2417208; Telefax: 0883-2417208Anantapur: Thapovan colony, Bangalore By-Pass Road, Anantapur - 515004, Ph: 08554-276903; Fax:08554-276904Karimnagar: Survey No.1341, Vavilalapally Colony, Jagityala Road, Karimnagar - 505 001, Ph: 0878-2228908; Telefax: 0878-2220433Nellore: Survey No.527/2, Burranpur Village, Venkatachalam (M), Chemmudugunta Panchayat, Nellore,Ph: 0861-2348581/82; Telefax: 0861-2348580Chennai: SP-3 Developed Plot, Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai - 600 032, Ph: 044-22254747/48/50/51; Advt Fax: 22254765/22254766/42305325Bengaluru: 5th Floor, BMTC Commercial Complex, 80 Feet Road, Koramangala, Bengaluru-560 095 Ph:080-43460500; Fax: 080-22960552. Coimbatore: 77, Vivekananda Road, Ramnagar, Coimbatore - 641 009, Ph : 0422 2231255Kochi: No.3-B, 3rd Floor of DD TRADE TOWER, Kaloor-Kadavanthara Road, Ernakulam, Ph: 0484-4039408Thiruvananthapuram: St Joseph�s Press, TC 15/1040, Cotton Hill, Thycaud (PO), Thiruvananthapuram695 014 Kozhikode: Door No 6/1002 E, First Floor of City Mall, Opp. YMCA, Kannur Road, Kozhikode - 673001, Fax : 0495 4019 018Gram: CHRONICLE Postal registration no: No. H/SD-348/2006-08

LETTERSLETTER FROM CHINAIt is unfortunate that bankswill close for two days dueto a staff strike and theemployees have given a callfor further strikes in thecoming months. It is thegeneral public which isgoing to be the biggestloser and the sufferer.

Lal Melwani Hyderabad

FIRING AT JAMIAThe firing at students of JamiaMillia is the real terrorism whichthe country and the secular popula-tion is scared of. Our securityforces can stop terrorists fromentering the country. However,India is under threat from funda-mentalist organisations and theirmisguided members. These are tac-tics to create fear among secularpeople taking part in protests.

Shaik Yousuf AliHyderabad

Subhani’s cartoon aptly sums upthe firing at Jamia which markingthe culmination of hate speech bypoliticians. It has forced theGandhian ideology and collectiveconscience of a peace loving nationoff the pedestal. India watched inhorror a repeat of the incident 72years ago when Mahatma Gandhiwas felled by the bullets of Godse.

Varghese GeorgeSecunderabad

Radicalisation has reached its peakThe shooting was the result of slo-gans raised by ministers likeAnurag Thakur. Political partiesand media must be held responsiblefor this hatred.

Syed Maaz RazviHyderabad

50 YEARS AGO IN

CHANDIGARH, JAN. 31.HISSAR town in Haryana was

under the Army briefly todayas the State, observing hartalfor the second successive dayin protest against the award ofChandigarh to Punjab, wasrocked by fresh violence whichleft one dead and another seri-ously injured in police firing.

With today’s fatality, the tollin the police firing since yester-day rose to eight. Six personshad been killed at Rewari yes-terday — one body was foundonly today — and one at Dadri.

At Jagardhari in Ambala dis-trict police fired today to dis-perse a violent mob attacking apost office, killing one person.

Second day hartalsparks violence

in Haryana

Email your letters toinfo@deccanmail.com,

editor@deccanmail.com. You canalso send them to Editor, DeccanChronicle, 36, Sarojini Devi Road,

Secunderabad-500 003.

PAGE

13WorldSATURDAY | 1 FEBRUARY 2020 | HYDERABADDECCAN CHRONICLE

Engagement Bill Gates’ eldest daughter Jennifer announces engagement toEgyptian equestrian Nayel Nassar

Bushfire: State of emergency in CanberraCanberra, Jan. 31: TheAustralian capital regiondeclared a state of emer-gency on Friday becauseof an out-of-control forestfire burning erratically toits south.

It’s the first fire emer-gency for the AustralianCapital Territory areasince 2003 when wildfireskilled four people anddestroyed almost 500homes in a single day. Thethreat is posed by a blazeon Canberra’s southernfringe that has razed morethan 21,500 hectares(53,000 acres) since it wassparked by heat from amilitary helicopter land-ing light on Monday, theEmergency ServicesAgency said.

“The state of emergencysets a clear expectation forour community that weneed you to be vigilant,”Emergency ServicesMinister Mick Gentlemantold reporters. “This is theworst bushfire season inthe ACT since 2003.”

The fire is burning atemergency level — thehighest on a three-tierscale of danger — andembers have created dan-gerous spot fires nearby,agency officials said.

Residents of southernCanberra suburbs andsurrounding villages havebeen advised to prepare toeither protect their homes

or evacuate.Roads were blocked to

the village of Tharwa lateFriday because the fireposed too much danger for

residents to evacuate orreturn to their homes. Thefire is the most dangerousof dozens of blazes burn-ing Australia’s drought-

stricken southeast.Unprecedented fires

across southern Australiahave claimed at least 33lives since September,destroyed more than 3,000homes and razed morethan 10.6 million hectares(26.2 million acres).

The fire danger is fore-cast to escalate across thesoutheast in theAustralian CapitalTerritory and the states ofNew South Wales andVictoria as summer tem-peratures rise over theweekend.

The state of emergencygives Canberra’s local gov-ernment additional pow-ers to block roads, directpeople’s movements, con-trol their property andundertake firefightingwork on private land.

—AP

Greta nominatedfor Nobel prizeStockholm, Jan. 31:Teen climate activistGreta Thunberg and theglobal protest movement“Fridays for Future” we-re nominated Thursdayfor the 2020 Nobel PeacePrize by two Swedish law-makers.

“Greta Thunberg is a cli-mate activist, and themain reason she deservesthe Nobel Peace Prize isthat despite her young age,she has worked hard tomake politicians opentheir eyes to the climatecrisis,” Left Party parlia-mentarians Jens Holmand Hakan Svennelingwrote in a letter to theNorwegian Nobel Comm-ittee. “The climate crisiswill produce new conflictsand ultimately wars.Action for reducing ouremissions and complyingwith the Paris Agreementis therefore also an act ofmaking peace,” they said.

The pair added thatwithout the Fridays ForFuture movement andGreta Thunberg, “the cli-mate issue would nothave been on the agendato such an extent as it is

today” Thunberg, 17, wasmentioned as a possibleNobel Peace Prize winnerin 2019, when the honourultimately went toEthiopian Prime Mini-ster Abiy Ahmed for hisefforts to resolve a long-running conflict withneighbouring Eritrea.

In just over a year, theclimate activist, who suf-fers from a form ofautism called Asperger's,has become the voice of ageneration haunted by theclimate crisis. She beganher “School Strike for theClimate” outside theSwedish parliament inAugust 2018, and has sinceinspired and mobilisedmillions of young peopleto get involved. —AFP

Bangladesh capital awash with plastic-coated posters■ The city’s air quality has been ranked one of the worst in the world, says activist PERILS OF | PLASTIC

IN BRIEFESA’s Solar Orbiter

launch on Feb. 7Michigan: A solar orbiter mis-sion by the researchers of theUniversity of Michigan will be

launched on February 7 forstudying the physics of the

Sun and will also be the firstto capture the images of

Sun’s poles. The European Sp-ace Agency’s Solar Orbiter

will function in coordinationwith Parker Solar Probe ofNASA which was launched

earlier in August 2018. Acco-rding to researchers, the orb-iter will be launched from Ca-

pe Canaveral. Solar stormsare generally the torrents of

charged particles and electro-magnetic fields that travel

from the Sun and rattle themagnetic field Earth. Distu-

rbances can harm power linesand put expensive transform-ers at risk and can also dam-

age satellites. The ability ofhumans to predict the threats

arising from solar activityused to come from the data

that is collected from space-craft and telescopes that

were stationed far from theaction on the Sun.

Man killed in Japan avalanche

Tokyo: The body of a Frenchman was found on Friday

after an avalanche struck anorthern Japanese mountain

where he was backcountryskiing with seven other Fre-

nch citizens, local police said.The death of Mr Sylvain Let-

hier, 38, was confirmed after arescue team found his body

off the slopes of the Tomamuski resort in the northern Ho-kkaido region, a brief police

statement said. The avalanchehappened on Thursday after-noon, when the group of ei-ght went off the resort’s skicourses to venture into the

untouched snow on the mou-ntain. Seven of the group we-

re able to descend on theirown by Thursday evening,

leaving Mr Lethier, who was“unconscious and in critical

condition”, according to alocal fire official.

NASA says goodbyeto Space Telescope

New Delhi: After nearly twodecades, NASA has finally bidadieu to one of its iconic tele-scopes. Spitzer Space Telesc-ope that has taken images of

the most ancient objects inUniverse was decommissioned

on Thursday, a tweet fromNASA Spitzer handle said.

“Farewell, Spitzer. Thank youfor the great science”, the

tweet added. Spitzer was thepart of NASA’s four Great Ob-

servatories and displayed aninfrared view of the cosmos.Launched in 2003, the tele-scope was planned only for

five years, but it lasted nearlysixteen and a half years. Sa-

turn’s new ring, directing lightfrom exoplanets, and finding

an entire solar system aresome of the major discoveries

of the Spitzer telescope.Spitzer’s observation also

helped in discovering the old-est galaxy we’ve ever found.

Tokyo, Jan.31: Radioactivewater from the stricken nuclearplant in Fukushima should bereleased into the ocean orvaporised into the air, an expertpanel advised the Japanese gov-ernment on Friday.

The proposal is non-bindingand sets no deadline for the gov-ernment to decide or carry outprocedures to deal with thewater.

The panel has been weighingthe issue for more than threeyears, but a decision is becom-ing urgent as space at the site tostore the water is running out.

The TEPCO-operated nuclearplant suffered a meltdown in2011 after it was hit by an earth-quake-triggered tsunami.

The radioactive water comesfrom several different sourcesincluding water used for cool-ing at the plant, and groundwa-ter and rain that seeps into theplant daily and is put throughan extensive filtration process.

The panel convened by theindustry ministry said releas-ing the water into the sea orinto the air using vaporisationare “realistic options.”

Discarding the water into thesea “can be done with certain-ty,” they added, because themethod is also used at normalnuclear reactors.

The panel only has an adviso-ry role, and in their proposalsaid they hope the government“will make a decision with asense of responsibility anddetermination”.

TOXIC WATERTO BE FLOWED

INTO SEA

Dhaka, Jan. 31: Dhaka isawash with millions ofplastic-laminated cam-paign posters ahead ofelections in theBangladeshi capital, andenvironmentalists are upin arms.

These posters — ofwhich there are an esti-mated 304 million — willlikely end up in sewers,rivers and canals, saysactivist Sharif Jamil. “Ifthey are burnt, they willpollute the air,” he adds.

The city’s air quality hasbeen ranked one of the

worst in the world. “Theposters will take 400 yearsto decompose,” says Jamil,who is general secretary ofthe Bangladesh Enviro-nment Movement, a cam-paign group. Each con-tains about two grammesof polypropylene plastic,according to the Enviro-nment and Social Deve-lopment Organisation(ESDO). SpokesmanHossain Shahriar said theplastics were non-biodegradable and non-recyclable.

“We will be choking

under these plastics sincewe don't have proper recy-cling mechanisms in thecity,” he said. Bangladesh'sHigh Court last weekordered a halt to the pro-

duction, display and dis-posal of plastic-laminatedposters for the mayoraland council elections,which take place onSaturday.

But to no avail. Black-and-white posters contin-ue to festoon the streetsand parks of the congest-ed, cacophonous metropo-lis of 18 million people.Manjur Hossain, head ofDhaka City Corporation’swaste management depar-tment, said they woulddeal with the waste afterthe polls. —AFP

A wildfire glows on the hills near Clear Range, south of the Australian capitalCanberra on Friday. —AP

The state of emer-gency sets a clear

expectation for our com-munity that we need youto be vigilant,this is theworst bushfire season inthe ACT since 2003

— MICK GENTLEMANEmergency Services Minister

We will be chokingunder these plastics

since we don't haveproper recycling mecha-nisms in the city

— SHARIF JAMILGeneral secretary of the

Bangladesh EnvironmentMovement

Greta Thunberg

TheBangladeshHigh Courthas ordered ahalt to theproduction,display anddisposal ofplastic-lami-nated postersfor the may-oral andcouncil elec-tions.

—AFP

20 nations hit, 10k people in ChinaBritish evacuation plane leaves Wuhan with 110 people, US issues travel advisoryWuhan/London/Washington/Paris: With morethan 20 countries nowaffected by the coron-avirus disease, nationsstepped up travel restric-tions on arrivals from theAsian giant on Fridayeven as nearly 10,000 peo-ple were infected in China.

Countries have scram-bled to evacuate theirnationals from Wuhan,with US and Japanese citi-zens leaving first onWednesday.

Britain and France air-lifted hundreds of theirnationals on Friday.

The UK government onFriday confirmed the firsttwo cases of the deadlycoronavirus in the countryand said the patients weremembers of the same fam-ily who were receivingspecialist care.

The UK's Department forHealth stressed that theNational Health Service(NHS) is “well-prepared”to deal with the virus,which originated inWuhan in China and hasclaimed 213 lives there.

We can confirm that twopatients in England, whoare members of the samefamily, have tested positivefor coronavirus, said ChrisWhitty, the UK's ChiefMedical Officer.

The patients are receiv-ing specialist NHS care,and we are using tried andtested infection controlprocedures to prevent fur-ther spread of the virus.The NHS is extremelywell-prepared and used tomanaging infections andwe are already workingrapidly to identify anycontacts the patients had,to prevent further spread,he said. Three peopleaboard Japan’s first evacu-ation flight tested positiveafter landing back home,two of whom showed nosymptoms, underscoringthe difficulty detecting thecoronavirus.

South Korea said 18 ofaround 350 people whowere repatriated fromWuhan were hospitalisedafter showing symptoms.

The US State Departmentraised its warning alert tothe highest level, tellingAmericans "do not travel"to China and urged thosealready there to leave.Singapore, Vietnam and

Mongolia went a step fur-ther. Citing a likely “sharp-er rise” in the spread ofthe virus, Singapore’s gov-ernment barred arrivalsand transit passengerswho visited China in thepast 14 days, and stoppedissuing all forms of newvisas to Chinese passportholders. Mongolia will banChinese nationals and for-eigners coming from theneighbouring country byplane, train or road fromSaturday until March 2.Mongolians will be barredfrom going to China overthe same period.

In Vietnam, PrimeMinister Nguyen XuanPhuc ordered the suspen-sion of new tourist visasfor Chinese citizens andforeigners who have beenin China over the last twoweeks. Trade with Chinawill also be “discouraged”until the outbreak abates,he said. Japan, mean-while, joined Britain,Germany and other coun-tries that have recom-mended that their citizensavoid China. Russia sealedits remote far-easternfrontier. Papua NewGuinea went so far as tobar all visitors from“Asian ports”.

Some countries bannedentry for travellers fromWuhan, the city in centralHubei province where thevirus first surfaced.

Italy, which has stoppedall flights to and fromChina, declared a state ofemergency on Friday tofast-track efforts to pre-vent the spread of thevirus. In Bangladesh’sbiggest airport, workersheld up digital thermome-ters to passengers’ heads.A beeping alarm soundedas a passenger walkingthrough a thermal scan-ner registered a fever.

— Agencies

We’re working veryclosely with China and

with a lot of other people anda lot of other countries oncombating the outbreak ofthe Coronavirus. We think wehave it very well under con-trol. We have very little prob-lem in this country at thismoment.

— DONALD TRUMPUS President

Dead man lies on anempty street in WuhanWuhan (China): A grey-haired man wearing a facemask lies dead on thepavement at ground zeroof China's virus epidemic,a plastic shopping bag inone hand.

On what would typicallybe a crowded street inWuhan, an industrial cityof 11 million under quar-antine, there are only afew passersby and theydare not go near him.

Journalists saw the bodyon Thursday morning, notlong before an emergencyvehicle arrived carryingpolice and medical staff infull-body protective suits.

The man lay straight onhis back in front of aclosed furniture store.

Medical staff in blue over-alls gently shrouded hisbody with a blue blanket.

The ambulance left, andpolice stacked supermar-ket cardboard boxes tohide the scene.

AFP could not determinehow the man, whoappeared to be aged in his60s, had died. AFP contact-ed police and local healthofficials afterwards butcould not get details on hiscase. But the reaction ofthe police and medicalstaff in hazmat suits, aswell as some of thebystanders, highlightedthe fear pervading the city.

A woman standing nearthe man, wearing pinkpyjamas and a Mao cap,

said she believed he haddied from the virus.

“It's terrible,” she said.“These days many peoplehave died.”Wuhan is theepicentre of the outbreakof the new coronavirus,which is believed to havejumped from wild animalsat a city market intohumans.

The virus, whichemerged late last year, hasclaimed at least 213 livesand infected thousands inChina, with at least 159deaths in Wuhan alone.

With the virus spreadingto other countries, theWorld HealthOrganisation has declaredthe crisis a global healthemergency. — AFP

I’M MORE USEFUL HERE: FRENCHDOCTOR STAYS PUT IN WUHAN Wuhan, Jan 31: France ispreparing to airlift hun-dreds of its citizens fromthe Chinese city at the cen-tre of a deadly coron-avirus outbreak, but oneFrenchman is staying put.

Philippe Klein is head ofthe International SOSHospital in Wuhan, thefirst city to be locked downby Chinese authorities asthey battle the spread ofthe virus. “It’s not an actof heroism. It’s been well-thought out, it’s my job,”Klein said of his decisionto stay.

“I think I’ll be muchmore useful here than inFrance.” The new coron-avirus has killed 170 peo-ple so far in mainlandChina, with thousandsinfected across the coun-try.

Klein said he wants tohelp the local French com-munity. Some 500 Frenchnationals are registeredwith the nation’s con-sulate in Wuhan.

French auto giant PSAand Renault have factoriesin the city, and the localuniversities run exchangeprogrammes with institu-tions in France.

Not all French nationalsare leaving - some for pro-fessional or family rea-sons, and others do notwant to spend 14 days inquarantine upon theirreturn to France.

But Klein, a father offour who has been basedin China for six years, rec-ommends they do leave.

The coronavirus hassparked fear of a wider,global outbreak. — AFP

A man wearing a face mask lies dead on the pavement at ground zero of China’s virus epidemic, a plastic shopping bag in one hand. —AFP

SATURDAY | 1 FEBRUARY 2020 | HYDERABAD

■ Invisible hand of market, trust can create wealth

SANGEETHA GGCHENNAI, JAN. 31

Placing wealth creationas its central theme, theEconomic Survey of 2019-20 lauded the role playedby the country’s topentrepreneurs in creat-ing wealth that benefitthe masses. The surveysays a combination of theinvisible hand of themarket, supported bytrust, creates wealth.

Picking up relevantpoints from Arthashastraand Thirukkural andreminiscing the cen-turies-old economic dom-inance of the country, K.Subramanian, ChiefEconomic Advisor to theGovernment of India,batted for more economicfreedom.

“We looked at the top100 entrepreneurs meas-ured using the Forbeslist, looked at the wealththey created in the last 10years, applied necessaryfilters to ensure thewealth was created in theright way and co-relatedit with various otheraspects of the society andfound that the wealthbenefitted the employeesand their suppliers,” hesaid. He finds that citi-zens benefit from thedirect taxes and indirecttaxes paid by these entre-preneurs.

The survey found thatIndia's aspiration tobecome a $5 trillion econ-omy depends criticallyon strengthening theinvisible hand of mar-kets together with thehand of trust that can

support markets. Theinvisible hand needs tobe strengthened by pro-moting pro-business poli-cies to provide equalopportunities for newentrepreneurs, removinganachronic governmentintervention, supportingjob creation by‘Assembling in India forthe world’ and improvingEase of doing business.Scaling the banking sec-tor proportionately to thesize of the Indian econo-my will also help in cre-ation of wealth.

The survey advocatedfreeing up of the econo-my and compared thegrowth of the economypre- and post-liberaliza-tion. Several sectors,including banking andmutual funds, have bene-fitted after they wereopened up for privateplayers.

Wealth creationtakes centre stage

SANGEETHA GGCHENNAI, JAN. 31

The Economic Surveyintroduced a new metricfor the common man—‘thalinomics’ or econom-ics of a plate of food—toguage price inflation andaffordability. While theEconomic Advisorfocused on the modera-tion of price of Thalisince 2015-16, he over-looked the fact that theprice has picked up pacein 2019-20 with theupward movement inConsumer Price Index.

The survey found thatthe price of veg thalishave improved 29 percent from 2006-07 to 2019-20 and that of non-vege-tarian Thalis by 18 percent. As a result, an aver-

age household of fiveindividuals that eats twovegetarian Thalis a day,gained around Rs 10,887,on average per year,while a non-vegetarianhousehold gained Rs11,787. The EconomicAdvisor also mentionedthat the affordability ofthe common man hasimproved since 2006-07.

The conclusion has

been drawn on the basisof an attempt to quantifywhat a common personpays for a Thali, whichincludes cereals, pulses,vegetables and spices.Price data from theConsumer Price Indexfor industrial workers foraround 80 centres in 25states and UTs from April2006 to October 2019 hasbeen used for the study.

The survey has consid-ered 2015-16 as a yearwhen there was a shift inthe dynamics of Thaliprices. Many reformmeasures were intro-duced since 2014-15 toenhance the productivityof the agricultural sector,but the Thali price, afterdecreasing significantlysince 2015-16, increasedin 2019.

Looking into the thali,not for calories but prices

RAVI RRANJAN PPRASADMUMBAI, JAN. 31

Indian companies raisedmore money through pri-vate placements thanthrough public issues inequity and debt market inFY19-20 , a year whenbenchmark indices Sensexand Nifty-50 gained closeto 8 per cent and touchedrecord highs, according tothe Economic Survey.

Corporates preferred pri-vate placement to raisecapital and Rs 6.29 lakhcrore was raised through1,520 issues in April-December 2019 throughthis route, compared to Rs5.3 lakh crore through2,006 issues in the sameperiod in 2018.

As many as 225 issuesraised Rs 1.79 lakh crorethrough private placementof equity securities up toDecember 2019. Out of thisnine were qualified insti-tutional placement allot-ments and 216, preferen-tial allotments, whichraised Rs 34,029 crore andRs 1.45 lakh crore, each.

Resource mobilisationthrough issuance of debtsecurities to publicdeclined significantly, withRs 11,746 crore was raisedthrough 27 issues duringApr.-Dec. 2019 compared toRs 28,565 crore raisedthrough 15 issues in theyear-ago period.

The total money raisedby public and rights issuesrose to Rs 73,896 crore dur-ing the peiord from Rs44,355 crore.

The resource mobilisa-tion through public issueof equity decreased in2019, with 47 companiesmobilising Rs 10,895 crorecompared with 103 compa-nies raising Rs 13,947 crorein Apr.-Dec. 2018, a dip of21.9 per cent. However,mobilisation throughrights issues (equity)increased sharply with Rs51,255 crore raised againstRs 1,843 crore.

Pvt placementsedge outpublic issues

FALAKNAAZ SSYEDMUMBAI, JAN. 31

The Economic Survey 2019-20 on Friday unveiled adynamic health index(Health Score) developedfor housing finance compa-nies (HFCs) and retail non-banking finance compa-nies (NBFCs) to detectearly-warning signals ofimpending liquidity prob-lems facing the companiesin the sectors. The surveysuggested that policymak-ers and other stakeholdersshould use the HealthScore as a valuable tool tointroduce corrective meas-ures to addressunfavourable financialtrends in a timely manner.

“A dynamic health index(Health Score) is construct-ed that captures these risksand can be used as an earlywarning system to antici-pate liquidity crisis in anNBFC. Policy makers can

use this tool to monitor,regulate and avert finan-cial fragility in the NBFCsector,” said the survey.

It said the Health Score isbased on the rollover risk,which includes asset liabil-ity management risk,interconnectedness risk,and financial and operat-ing resilience of an NBFC.The survey's analysisshows the Health Score forthe HFC sector exhibited adeclining trend after 2014.By the end of 2018-19, thehealth of the overall sectorhad worsened consider-ably. Similarly, the HealthScore of the retail NBFCsector was consistentlybelow par for the periodbetween 2014 and 2019.

Following paymentdefaults by subsidiaries ofIL&FS and by DHFL,investors in liquid debtmutual funds (LDMFs) rancollectively to redeem theirinvestments. In fact, the

defaults triggered panicacross the entire gamut ofNBFC-financiers, causinga funding (liquidity) crisisin the NBFC sector.

The problems stemmedfrom the NBFCs over-dependence on short-termwholesale funding fromthe LDMFs.

“While such relianceworks well in good times, itgenerates significant riskto NBFCs from the inabili-ty to roll over the short-term funding during timesof stress. An asset-sideshock not only exacerbatesthe Asset LiabilityManagement problem butalso makes investors inLDMFs jittery and therebyleads to a redemption pres-sure that is akin to a “bankrun.” This run on LDMFsthen precipitates the refi-nancing (rollover) risk forNBFCs and further exacer-bates the initial problems,”said the survey.

Health Score for NBFCs & HFCs RAVI RRANJAN PPRASADMUMBAI, JAN 31

The Economic Survey hasargued for doing away withEssential Commod-itiesAct (ECA) and such othergovernment interventionsthat hurt more than theyhelp.

The case has been arguedin the backdrop of soaringonion prices that havecaused much heartburn tothe common man.

Interventions that wereapt in a different eco-nomic setting may havelost their relevance in atransformed economy.

Eliminating suchinstances of needlessgovernment interventionwill enable competitivemarkets and thereby spurinvestments and economicgrowth, the survey said.Each department andministry in the govern-ment must systematically

examine areas where thegovernment needlesslyintervenes and under-mines markets.

“Frequent and unpre-dictable imposition ofblanket stock limits oncommodities underEssential Commodities Act(ECA) neither brings downprices nor reduces pricevolatility. However, suchintervention does enableopportunities for rent-seeking and harassment,”said the survey. “Forinstance, imposition ofstock limits on dal in 2006-Q3, sugar in 2009-Q1 andonions in September 2019spiked up the volatility ofthe wholesale and retailprices instead ofsmoothening them —incontrast to its objective ofeasing pressure onprices.”

As implementing ECAalso involved significantadministrative effort and

did not bring results, it hadbecome irrelevant.“Around 76,000 raidsunder ECA were conduct-ed during 2019. Assuminga minimum of five per-sons involved in a raid,considerable administra-tive effort goes intoenforcement of ECA. Asthe conviction rate, howev-er, is abysmally low andraids have no impact onprices, the ECA only seemsto enable rent-seeking andharassment. The Act isanachronistic as it waspassed in 1955 in an Indiaworried about famines andshortages; it is irrelevantin today's India and mustbe jettisoned.”

Similarly the regulationof prices of drugs in 2013though drug prices controlorder has led to increase inthe price of a regulatedpharmaceutical drug vis-à-vis that of a similar drugwhose price, it said.

SANGEETHA GGCHENNAI, JAN. 31

The survey wants India togo the China way by focus-ing on labour-intensivesectors and export of net-work products. With ‘Makein India’ slogan makingnot much difference to theeconomic growth, the sur-vey wants to integrate‘Assemble in India’ to it.However, industry saysmere assembling will notprovide competitive advan-tage in the global market.

Taking the Chinesemodel that created 70 mil-lion jobs in the five-yearperiod of 2001-2006, the sur-vey said India should spe-cialise in labour-intensiveactivities. Two groups ofindustries hold the great-est potential for exportgrowth and job creation.

First, is the unexploitedexport potential in tradi-tional unskilled labour-intensive industries such

as textiles, clothingfootwear and toys. Second,is India’s potential toemerge as a major hub forfinal assembly in a range ofproducts, referred to as‘network products.

Network products aremainly six segments,including telecom equip-ments, mobile phones andphotographic machinery.The global market of theseproducts would be $7 tril-lion by 2025. To tap thismarket, India will have tointegrate “Assemble inIndia for the world” intoMake in India’.

However, industry is notso optimistic. “We do nothave a component ecosys-tem in India. What is hap-pening now is merely get-ting components from out-side and assembling themand this will not give us acompetitive advantage inthe global market,” saidKamal Nandi, president,CEAMA.

Chuck Essential Commodities Act

‘Assemble in India’

SBI■ Net profit: Rs 5,583 cr Vs

Rs 3955 cr, up 41%■ NII:–up 22.42% Vs 12.92%■ Domestic NIM: 3.59%, up 62

bps■ Gross NPA: 6.94%, down 177

bps■ Net NPA: 2.65%, down 130 bps■ PCR: 81.73%, up 710 bps

HUL■ Net profit: Rs 1,631 cr Vs

Rs 1,444 cr, up 12.95%■ Net sales: Rs 9,953 cr Vs

Rs 9,582 cr, up 3.87%■ Domestic consumer growth,

up 4%■ Underlying Volume growth:

up 5%

ITC■ Cons. net profit: Rs 4,047.87 cr

Vs Rs 3,136.95 cr, up 29.03%■ Net sales: Rs 13,220.30 cr Vs

Rs 12,506.05 cr, up 5.71%■ Total expenses: Rs 8,779.14 cr

Vs Rs 8,340.61 cr, up 5.25%

Q3 RESULTS

Mumbai, Jan 31: As partof its move to exit the real-ty sector, Indiabulls Groupwill merge over dozenremaining assets ofIndiabulls Real Estate(IBREL) with a new entitythat will be led by EmbassyGroup and Blackstone inan all-stock deal.

On Friday, IBREL boardapproved a proposal tomerge 12-13 ongoing, com-pleted and planned resi-dential and commercialprojects, each being heldby it as well as theEmbassy Group, into anew entity yet to be named,IBREL sources said.

On completion of themerger, the EmbassyGroup will hold control-ling stake in the mergedentity, while the Americanprivate equity (PE) majorBlackstone will be the sec-

ond largest shareholderalong with REITs (RealEstate Investment Trust)unit holders, andIndiabulls Group chair-man Sameer Gehlaut willhold a minority stake, thesources said.

The value of the 12-13properties being mergedinto the new entity isaround Rs 12,000 crore, thesources added.

Indiabulls' bid to exit therealty space got a momen-tum last April after itentered into an agreementto takeover Laxmi VilasBank, but the ReserveBank refused the deal cit-ing the group's exposure tothe realty sector.

In the past two years,IBREL has sold commer-cial assets to Blackstonefor around Rs 12,250 crore

— PTI

INDIABULLS SET TOEXIT REALTY SPACE

FALAKNAAZ SSYEDMUMBAI, JAN. 31

The Economic Surveysaid India’s aspiration tobecome a $5 trillioneconomy depends criti-cally on promoting “pro-business” policy thatunleashes the power ofcompetitive markets togenerate wealth andweaning away from“pro-crony” policy thatmay favour specific pri-vate interests, especiallypowerful incumbents,on the other hand. Theeconomic events since1991 provide powerfulevidence supporting thiscrucial distinction.

Viewed from the lens ofthe stock market, whichcaptures the pulse ofany economy, creativedestruction hasincreased significantlyafter reform. Before lib-eralisation, a Sensexfirm expected to stay init for 60 years, whichdecreased to only 12years after liberalisa-tion. Every five years,one-third of Sensexfirms are churned out,reflecting the continu-ous influx of new firms,products and technolo-gies into the economy.

Despite impressiveprogress in enablingcompetitive markets,pro-crony capitalism hasdestroyed value in theeconomy. For example,an equity index of con-nected firms (companieswith political depend-ence and connectivity)significantly ‘outper-formed’ the market by 7per cent a year from 2007to 2010, reflecting abnor-mal profits extracted atcommon citizens’expense. In contrast, theindex ‘underperforms’the market by 7.5 percent from 2011 (when theCAG audit report on 2Gspectrum allocationnamed private compa-nies that benefited fromthe collusion), reflectingthe inefficiency andvalue destruction inher-ent in such firms.

Giving a politicalcolour to the data, thesurvey said, “pro-cronypolicies as reflected indiscretionary allocationof natural resources till2011 led to rent-seekingby beneficiaries whilecompetitive allocationof the same resourcespost 2014 have put anend to such rent extrac-tion.”

quickBITES

INDICATORS %Sensex 40723.49 -0.47Nifty 50 11962.10 -0.61S&P 500* 3,245.99 -1.15Dollar (`) 71.49 -0.01Pound Sterling (`) 92.71 -0.14Euro (`) 78.42 -0.25Gold (10gm)* (`) 41,453▼131 0.31Brent crude ($/bbl)* 58.04 -0.25IN 10-Yr bond yield 6.599 +0.041US 10-Yr T-bill yield* 1.549 -0.00

* As of 9:30 pm IST

US economicgrowth slows to2.3% in 2019The US economy in 2019expanded by the slowest ratesince President Donald Trumptook office as worsening tradefriction undermined investmentand exports. According to thegovernment's initial estimatethe $21-trillion economy grewby 2.3 per cent compared to2018, far below Trump's prom-ised target of 3 per cent orhigher.

Neemuchwalato step down as Wirpo CEO

Wipro said its CEO Abidali ZNeemuchwala has decided tostep down, and the compa-ny's board has started scout-ing for his successor.Neemuchwala, 52, took overthe additional role of MD inJuly 31. His term as CEO wasto end in 2021. Neemuchwalahad joined Wipro in 2015 asgroup president and COOafter a 23-year term at TCS.

HUL shuffles topdeck, elevatesNarasimhanHUL appointed Prabha Nara-simhan as executive director ofits Home Care segment as partof a top level reshuffle. Shewould replace Priya Nair, ED-Home Care, who moved as ED-Beauty and Personal Care. Nairwill take over from SandeepKohli, who will relocate to Dubai.Nair will stay in the HUL Manage-ment Committee and Narasim-han will join it from Feb. 1.

ITI extends public issueperiod again

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No.APENG/2008/24282. © All rightsreserved. Reproduction in whole or in partwithout written permission of The Editor,

Financial Chronicle ® is prohibited.

State-owned ITI extended theissue period for its ongoing fol-low-on public offer (FPO) byfour working days till February5 following lukewarm responsefrom investors. This is the sec-ond time the company hasextended its issue period. Priorto this, the company, on Jan.28, extended the issue periodby three days till Jan. 31. Also, ithad reduced the price band toRs 71-77 per share.

It's official: General Motorsconfirmed its plan to rebootthe Hummer—a military-style behemoth once seen asa symbol of Americanexcess—in an all-electric version. GM will unveil therevamped GMC Hummer EV in an ad during Sunday'sSuper Bowl game, reviving the a vehichle launched in the1990s but phased out after the 2008 financial crisis.

GM revives Hummeras electric vehicle

0 20 40 60 80Source: CB Insights

Domestic flows intoIndian equity funds

Figures in billion rupees Source: Reuters

1600

1200

800

400

0

Health of the economyGDP growth At constant prices

Inflation

ECONOMIC SURVEY 2019-20

2016-17 17-18 18-19* 19-20** 20-21#* Provisional estimates | ** 1st Advance estimates # Projected

* Revised estimates | ** Budget estimates

8.2

4.5

1.7 1.5

4.1CPIWPI

7.2 6.8 5.0 6.0 - 6.5

Fiscal deficit % of GDP

2016-17 17-18 18-19* 19-20**

3.5 3.5 3.4 3.3

Figures in $ billion, year end*Jan end 2020

Foreign exchangereserves

2016-17 17-18 18-19 19-20*

370 425 413 458

2016 17-18 18-19 19-20

*Apr-Dec 2019 | Average, in %

Current accountbalance-0.6

-1.8-2.1

1.5

2016 17-18 18-19 19-20

*Apr-Dec 2019 | % of GDP

Growth rate of GVA at basic prices in per cent | *Provisional estimates | ** 1st Advance estimates

Source: KBK Infographics

Agriculture &allied sectors

2017-18 18-19* 19-20**

5.02.9 2.8

Industrialgrowth

2017-18 18-19* 19-20**

5.02.5

Services

2017-18 18-19* 19-20**

8.1 7.5 6.96.9

■ A third of Sensex firms getsout of index every five years

Creative destruction gathersspeed after liberalisation

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Most trade pacts have noeffect on exportsA majority of tradeagreements being imple-mented by India have had"no effect" on the coun-try's overall merchandiseexports. The survey saidproducts manufacturedin India have clearly ben-efitted from eight out ofthe 14 trade agreementsconsidered in the survey.Exports of manufacturedgoods from India has ben-efitted from trade agree-ments with Mercosur,Asean, Nepal, Singapore,Chile, Bhutan, Afghan-istan and Japan.

■ ■ ■

GDP growth figures notover or under estimatedIndia's GDP growth isneither overestimatednor underestimated andthe concerns on data are"unfounded", the surveysaid. “Concerns of over-estimation of India's GDPare unfounded,"it said,giving various reasons.Recently, Arvind Subram-anian, former chief eco-nomic adviser, had saidIndia's economic growthrate has been overesti-mated by around 2.5 per-centage points between2011-12 and 2016-17 due toa change in methodologyfor calculating GDP.

■ ■ ■

Infra needs $1.4 trillionduring FY20-25To achieve the $5 trillioneconomy, India needs tospend $1.4 trillion on theinfrastructure sector.“India needs to spendabout $1.4 trillion (Rs 100lakh crore) over theseyears on infrastructureso that lack of infrastruc-ture does not become aconstraint to the growthof Indian economy. Thehighways sector aloneneeds Rs 19.63 lakh croreinvestment.

FROM THE SURVEY

K. Subramanian

PAGE

15DECCAN CHRONICLE

Batting for causeWest Indies legend Brian Lara joined the star-studded list ofplayers who have confirmed their participation in the charitymatch organised to raise funds for Australia’s bushfire victims

GamesSATURDAY | 1 FEBRUARY 2020 | HYDERABAD

SHORT TAKESHyd boys draw,

women lose to AP

Aussie colts toface sanctions

Melbourne: Cricket Australia isconsidering sanctions and “cul-

tural sensitivity training” formembers of its men’s U-19

squad over social media com-ments seen as mocking non-

English speakers. The govern-ing body said it was “extremely

disappointed” by the incidentduring the ongoing World Cup

in South Africa, which it report-ed to the International Cricket

Council. The fallout followedbatsman Jake Fraser-McGurk

posting “Quarter-final here wecome” on Instagram ahead of

their clash with India onTuesday, with several team-

mates including Oliver Daviesand Liam Scott replying in lan-guage interpreted as mocking

non-native English speakers.Cricket Australia’s head of

integrity and security SeanCarroll said the “inappropriatelanguage” was not acceptable.“Some of that language could

be interpreted as ridiculingnon-native English languagespeakers,” he said in a state-

ment late Thursday. — AFP

Zimbabwe playersto take pay cuts

DC CORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 31

Hyderabad boys drew withTamil Nadu in their South Zone

Under 14 cricket tournamentmatch played at Alur near

Bengaluru on Friday.P. Raghava scored 50 and C.

Siddharth Rao contributed 39as Hyderabad were all out for156 in reply to TN’s 97 in the

first innings. Tamil Nadu were147 for 2 in their second innings

when stumps were drawn.BRIEF SCORES

■ South Zone Under 14 boys tour-ney: Tamil Nadu 97 in 41.4 overs &

147/2 in 42 overs (Khush Bhardia 66n.o, A. Siddharth 52 n.o) drew with

Hyderabad 156 in 88 overs (P.Raghava 50, C. Siddharth Rao 39,

Jai Simha 3 for 29, KiranKarthikeyan 2 for 4, Neelesh B. 2 for

23).■ South Zone Under 16 girls tour-

ney: Hyderabad 69/8 in 25 overs (A.K. Aishwarya 2 for 17, Divya Gireesh2 for 14) lost to Kerala 70/2 in 21.4

overs (Abina M 28 n.o)■ Women’s Undeer 23: Hyderabad

147/9 in 50 overs (G. Trisha 42,Anuradha Nayak 36, K. Anjali

Sravani 2 for 29, Jhansi Lakshmi 4for 22) lost to Andhra 149/4 in 37.3

overs (M. Durga 53, C. H. JhansiLaxmi 67, G. Trisha 2 for 24).

Harare: Zimbabwe’s cricketersare set to have their salaries cut

as their national board contin-ues to face financial troubles.

Zimbabwe Cricket chairmanTavengwa Mukuhlani said thisweek during the second test

against Sri Lanka that “soon itwill be necessary to cut back”and reducing players’ salaries

are part of the process. Mukuhlani didn’t give exact fig-

ures of how much salarieswould be reduced by as that

decision would be made by theZimbabwe Cricket board. But

players had been informedthere would be cuts. “It’s an on-going process,” Mukuhlani said.

“But yes, we will have to cutback. It can’t be business as

usual. Obviously it’s a bit of atouchy subject. But I will

assume that everyone willaccept it,” he added.

— AP

Benoni, South Africa: A half-century from opener

Muhammad Huraira on debutand a fine bowling performancepowered Pakistan to a six-wick-

et win over Afghanistan in theICC U-19 World Cup here on

Friday, setting up an excitingsemifinal against arch-rivals

India.Afghanistan fought hard after

posting 189 but just did nothave enough runs on the board.

Huraira, playing his first gameof the tournament, struck amatch-winning knock in the

fourth quarterfinal. Qasim Akram (25 not out off

41 balls)and Mohammad Haris(29 not out off 43) saw the

team through in just 41.1 overs. Tahir Hussain (1/28 in 10

overs), Fahad Munir (2/29 in 7)and Mohammad Amir Khan

(3/58 in 10) were the pick ofthe Pakistan bowlers.

Defending champions Indiaand Pakistan play their semifi-

nal in Potchefstroom onFebruary 4.

BRIEF SCORESAfghanistan 189 in 50 overs

(Farhan Zakhil 40, AbdulRahman 30; Mohammad AmirKhan 3/58, Fahad Munir 2/29)

lost to Pakistan 190/4 in 41.1overs (Mohammad Huraira 64;

Noor Ahmad 2/32).

PAK BEATAFGHANS, TO

MEET INDIA

Wellington, Jan. 31: A nervousNew Zealand threw it away yetagain as a perseverant India pre-vailed in the Super Over for thesecond successive time to take a 4-0lead in the T20 International serieshere on Friday.

Needing just 11 runs off the lasttwo overs with seven wickets inhand, New Zealand dug a hole forthemselves yet again, taking thegame to a Super Over two nightsafter doing the same in Hamilton.New Zealand managed 13 runs insix balls and India got there effort-lessly.

“What’s happened in last two T20games is unbelievable...We arevery proud of how we went aboutour business today,” said India cap-tain Virat Kohli, who struck thewinning four in the game.

KL Rahul smashed 10 runs offthe first two balls before he wascaught. Then, a fired-up Kohli andSanju Samson finished the game instyle.

“It is very tough. To get ourselvesinto the position we got today andthen give them a chance... Indiagrabbed it with both hands,” saidNew Zealand stand-in skipper TimSouthee, who delivered the Super

Over for his side. This was after New Zealandwon a fourth consecutive tossand opted to field. Their regu-lar captain Kane Williamsondidn’t take part in the match

owing to a shoulder niggle.The Indians weren’t off to

a great start but ManishPandey proved his value tothe team with an unbeaten

50 off 35 balls, taking the visitorsto 165 for eight from 88 for six inthe 12th over.

India’s total wasn’t enough con-sidering the batting-friendly condi-tions but the hosts made life a lottougher for themselves from a com-manding position before succumb-ing to pressure.

The entertaining knocks fromColin Munro (64 off 47) and TimeSeifert went in vain (57 off 39).Mohammed Shami, who was rest-ed on Friday, had bowled a brilliant20th over on Wednesday and manof the match Shardul Thakur wasup to the task this time, concedingjust six runs when the oppositionneeded seven for victory.

With the series already in thebag, India gave opportunity to

Sanju Samson, WashingtonSundar and Navdeep Saini forthe first time in the five-matchseries, resting Rohit Sharma,Ravindra Jadeja and Shami.

However, none of them wasable to make an impact in thegame. Chasing 165, New

Zealand lost MartinGuptill early. But Munro andSeifert put on 74 runs for the sec-ond wicket to put themselves ontrack.

Munro scored a half-century of38 deliveries, inclusive of six foursand three sixes. He was out againstthe run of play as Kohli’s direct hitsurprisingly found the target aftera relay throw from the deep.

It was the turning point as NewZealand lost regular wickets.Yuzvendra Chahal bowled TomBruce (0), but Seifert found a part-ner in Ross Taylor as they pushedthe score past 150 in the 18th over.

Seifert scored a half-century off32 balls, including four fours andthree sixes. But the great chokewas yet to come again.

Needing 18 off 18, the Black Capslost four wickets in the last overbowled by Thakur. Taylor holedout of the first ball, while Seifertwas run out two balls later.

Daryl Mitchell (4) was caughtnext and Mitchell Santner (2)couldn't steal two runs off the lastball as the sides engaged in a tie-breaker for the second game run-ning. Put in to bat, the visitorswere struggling at 88-6 at one stagebefore Pandey’s lonesome rescueact took them to a respectable total.

Rahul contributed 39 runs off 26balls, inclusive of three sixes andtwo fours. Leg spinner Ish Sodhigot into the act and ran throughIndia’s batting order.

— PTI

Wellington, Jan. 31: India cap-tain Virat Kohli on Friday said hehas learnt an important lesson inthe back-to-back Super Over fin-ishes against New Zealand: To“stay calm till the end” and bounceback when the opportunity arises.

A nervous New Zealand threw itaway yet again as a perseverantIndia prevailed in the Super Overfor the second successive time totake a 4-0 lead in the five-match T20

International series. “There’s something new

I’ve learnt in the last coupleof games: when the opposi-

tion is playing well, youstay calm till the end and

try to come back,”Kohli said.

The India skippersaid having come

out victorious intwo consecutive

Super Overs for the first

time proves the character of theteam. “We couldn’t have asked formore exciting games, we’ve neverplayed Super Overs before andnow we’ve won two. It shows thecharacter of the team,” Kohli said.

Although Sanju Samson didn’tmake any significant contribu-tion in the match, Kohli said heinitially thought of sending theKerala batsman in the SuperOver along side K. L. Rahul buteventually changed his mind.

“Initially we thought of openingwith Samson and K. L. in the SuperOver, but then K. L. told me Ishould bat because of the experi-ence and the options I’ll bring. His(Rahul’s) two strikes were crucialand then you knock the ball intothe gap and take your team overthe line. Sanju was fearless at thetop of the order. He tried to takethe momentum away, he shouldback himself,” he said. — PTI

New Delhi, Jan. 31: FormerIndia cricketers Rudra PratapSingh, Madan Lal andSulkashana Naik were onFriday appointed members ofthe Cricket Advisory Committee(CAC) by the BCCI. The CAC’simmediate task will be to pickreplacements for outgoing selec-tors MSK Prasad and GaganKhoda. “The term of appoint-ment will be for one year,” BCCISecretary Jay Shah said in astatement.

The CAC, which is also sup-posed to pick the head coaches

for the national teams, wasnot in existence ever sinceKapil Dev, AnshumanGaekwad and ShanthaRangaswamy stepped down

in October last year afterconflict of interest allega-

tions were levelledagainst them.

Initially, GautamGambhir was to be one of

the CAC members butwas not eventually consid-

ered as he is a servingMember of Parliament,

making way for Singh. The34-year-old from UP is the

youngest CAC member. Lal is68 and Naik is 41. — PTI

India: Lokesh Rahul c Santner b Ish Sodhi 39, Sanju Samson cSantner b Kuggeleijn 8, Virat Kohli c Santner b Bennett 11, ShreyasIyer c Seifert b Ish Sodhi 1, Shivam Dube c Tom Bruce b Ish Sodhi12, Manish Pandey (not out) 50, Washington Sundar b Santner 0,Shardul Thakur c Southee b Bennett 20, Yuzvendra Chahal c Seifertb Southee 1, Navdeep Saini (not out) 11. Extras (b 2, lb 3, w 6, nb 1)12. Total (for eight wickets in 20 overs) 165.FoW: 1-14, 2-48, 3-52, 4-75, 5-84, 6-88, 7-131, 8-143. Bowling: Southee 4-0-28-1, Kuggeleijn 4-0-39-1, Santner 4-0-26-1,Bennett 4-0-41-2, Sodhi 4-0-26-3. New Zealand: Martin Guptill c Rahul b Bumrah 4, Colin Munro runout (Thakur/Kohli) 64, Tim Seifert run out (Rahul) 57, TomBruce b Chahal 0, Ross Taylor c Shreyas Iyer b SN Thakur 24,Daryl Mitchell c Shivam Dube b SN Thakur 4, MitchellSantner run out (Samson/Rahul) 2, Scott Kuggeleijn (notout) 0. Extras (lb 7,w 3) 10. Total (for seven wickets in20 overs) 165.FoW: 1-22, 2-96, 3-97, 4-159, 5-163, 6-164, 7-165.BBowling: Thakur 4-0-33-2, Saini 4-0-29-0, Bumrah4-0-20-1, Chahal 4-0-38-1, Sundar 2-0-24-0, Dube 2-0-14-0.

New Zealand lose yet another Super Over thrilleras Kohli & Co. make it 4-0 with win at Wellington

Super Overs have taughtme to stay calm, says Kohli

SCORECARD

Madan Lal, RP,Sulakshana onadvisory panel

Canberra, Jan. 31: SkipperHarmanpreet Kaur struck anunbeaten 42 following a finebowling performance to set upIndia’s thrilling five-wicket winover England in the first matchof the women’s triangular T20series here on Friday.

Indian spinners — RajeshwariGayakwad (2/19), DeeptiSharma (2/30)and left armerRadha Yadav (1/33) — restrictedEngland to 147 for seven in stip-ulated 20 overs, while mediumpacer Shikha Pandey accountedfor two at the Manuka Oval.

Harmanpreet took the runchase deep after the Indian toporder, including Shafali Verma,Smriti Mandhana and JemimahRodrigues — squandered goodstarts. With six needed off thelast over, Harmanpreet, whoseinnings was studded with fiveboundaries until then, hit a tow-ering six to take India to 150 forfive and end the match in stylewith three balls to spare. — PTIBrief scores: England 147/7 in 20overs (Heather Knight 67, TammyBeaumont 37; Rajeshwari Gayakwad2/19) lost to India 150/5 in 19.3 overs(Harmapreet Kaur 42 not out, ShafaliVerma 30; Katherine Brunt 2/33).

Harmanleads India

to victory

TIM SOUTHEE IN SUPER OVERS

‘UNLUCKY’ NEW ZEALAND

Runs Opponents Venue Year Result

25 West Indies Auckland 2008 Lost

6 Australia Christchurch 2010 Won

13 Sri Lanka Pallekele 2012 Lost

19 West Indies Pallekele 2012 Lost

17 England Auckland 2019 Lost

20 India Hamilton 2020 Lost

16 India Wellington 2020 Lost

Tiedmatches

7Won in

Super Over

1Lost in

Super Over

6

DC CORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 31

Academia Sports Village,a Hyderabad-based multi-ple sports promoter, hasjoined hands with promi-nent A-grade Croatiantennis coach DujeTomasovic for a high-voltage internationalsummer camp to beorganised at the end ofMarch.

The camp will be held atthe ultra-modern tenniscourts housed within theHyderabad Polo andRiding Club (HPRC) com-plex at Aziz Nagar on theoutskirts of Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, a two-dayinteraction session andfitness programme forchildren and parentswith Tomasovic will beheld on February 1 and 2at the HPRC, SportsVillage CFO DurdanaArshi said.

Tomasovic has men-tored some of the finestinternational stars fromCroatia and is the head

coach of Tenis Klub Splitfrom where players likeGoran Ivanisevic, MarioAncic, Nikola Pilic,Jelena Kostanic andPetra Martic rose to fame.

Consul General ofTurkey Dr Adnan AltayAltinors appreciatedSports Village CEOMohammad Shamsuddinfor his efforts bring in thebest of coaches for train-ing camps in Hyderabadand hoped the youngsterswould benefit from them.

Speaking at the event,Tomasovic said he

intends to put in place anorganised system whereplayers will be able tochoose the mode of train-ing that suits them well.“The age of five to sevenis the best to start tennis.India is a much biggercountry than Croatia.There is plenty of talenthere. I am looking for-ward to educating playersand coaches — I know alot of ways to help them.They will see tennis in adifferent way I promise,”he said, adding that thedoors of Tenis Klub at

Split in Croatia wouldalways be open to young-sters of Academia SportsVillage for an exchangeprogramme to facilitateplayers to push their lim-its.

“Tennis is much likelife, you have to make adecision before everyshot you hit, and whenthings go wrong you needto control your emotions.More often than not amatch is decided by apoint or two and it’s cru-cial to play those toughones well,” he concluded.

DC CORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JAN. 31

Abid Ali Khan and ShafathAli Khan emerged champi-ons in the 1st TelanganaState Shooting Compe-titions in Big Bore eventsheld at the Aman Sanghi300m Big Bore ShootingRange at Sanghi Nagar inRanga Reddy District onFriday.

Abid shot 289 out of 300 totake the first place in the300m Rifle Prone (NR)men’s championship aheadof Ahmed Abdul Haq Khan(287/300) and MohammedAbdul Shahid (287/300).

Shafath Ali Khan won the300m Rifle Prone (NR) vet-eran’s championship with ascore of 265/300. GustiNoria took silver with239/300 while R. JeetenderRao was third with 201/300.Telangana Rifle Associa-tion president AmitSanghi, vice-presidentGusti Noria, organisingsecretary SohailuddinFarooqui and RangeAdministrator, Sports

Authority of TelanganaState, Alexander Francisdistributed the medals andcertificates.

THE RESULTS■ 300m Rifle Prone (NR)Men: 1. Abid Ali Khan(289/300), 2. Ahmed Abdul

Haq Khan (287/300), 3.Mohammed Abdul Shahid(287/300).■ 300m Rifle Prone (NR)Veterans: 1. Shafath Ali Khan(265/300), 2. Gusti Noria(239/300), 3. R. JeetenderRao (201/300).

Croatian coach for city clinic

Manish Pandeyplays a shot onway to his unbeat-en half-century during the fourthT20I against NewZealand on Friday.

— AP

Virat Kohli reactsafter hitting thewinning runs in theSuper Over.

^̂^

^̂^

Supernatural

Stats: S. Pervez Qaiser

Duje Tomasovic (left) speaks as Turkey Consul General Adnan Altay Altinors (sec-ond from left), Sports Village CEO Md Shamsuddin and CFO Durdana Arshi look on.

Medallists at the Telangana State Shooting in Big Boreevents pose with their trophies at the Aman Sanghi BigBore Shooting Range at Sanghi Nagar on Friday.

Abid, Shafath big shots

PAGE

16GamesSATURDAY | 1 FEBRUARY 2020 | HYDERABADDECCAN CHRONICLE

Regd. No. H/SD/509/2018-20Printed and Published by

T. Venkateswarlu on behalf ofDeccan Chronicle HoldingsLimited. Printed at Deccan

Chronicle Press situated at PlotNo. 9 Alwal Village, Vallabh Nagar

Taluk, Medchal Malkajgiri Dist.Telangana and Published at 36,

S.D. Road, Secunderabad-3.RNI Registration No. 3081/1957.

Editor: Aditya Sinha

Uphill taskSaina Nehwal (in pic) has to make it to four quarterfinals orsemifinals in the next eight tournaments to make the cut forTokyo Olympics, says husband and mentor Parupalli Kashyap

Madrid, Jan. 31 Real Madrid were supposedly in amess last summer and Atletico Madrid about to chal-lenge for the title but each have defied expectationsahead of their meeting at the Santiago Bernabeu onSaturday.

With Real marching to the top of Spanish Leagueand Atletico languishing in fifth, the city derby thisweekend is less a contest of rivals and more a mod-erately awkward assignment for the now titlefavourites. But Atletico will need a similar reversalof form, after four games without a win, in whichthey have lost to Eibar, drawn at home to Leganes —now themselves last in Spanish League — and beenknocked out of the Copa del Rey. In term of competi-tions, Real have won the Spanish Super Cup, pulledthree points clear at the top of La Liga and eased intothe cup quarterfinals, all without Eden Hazard.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelonahammered Leganes 5-0 on Thursday to advance tothe quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey and deliver amuch-needed boost for new coach Quique Setien.

— AFPLIVE ON: Facebook from 8.30pm

ALL EYES ON MADRID DERBYSHORT TAKES

Sindhu, Saina toskip Asian event

New Delhi: India will field a full-strength men’s team at the Asia

Team Championships but thewomen’s side will be led by

young shuttlers AshmitaChaliha and Malvika Bansodafter Saina Nehwal and P. V.

Sindhu decided to give the con-tinental event a miss.

THE SQUADS■ Men: B. Sai Praneeth, K. Srikanth, H.

S. Prannoy, Subhankar Dey, LakshyaSen, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, ChiragShetty, Dhruv Kapila and M.R. Arjun.

■ Women: Ashmita Chaliha, AakarshiKashyap, Malvika Bansod, GayatriGopichand, Ashwini Bhat, ShikhaGautam, Rutaparna Panda and K.

Maneesha.

Niveditha out ofTT Nationals

Hyderabad: Telangana’sNiveditha Balusri put up a

brave fight before going down2-3 (7-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-13) to

Maharashtra’s ManasiChiplunkar in the women’s sin-

gle round of 128 match in theUTT 81st Senior National TableTennis Championships that got

underway at the SaroonagarIndoor Stadium here on Friday.

The Telangana girl gave it herall, even in the decider, she ral-lied from 7-10 to save a match-point, but the Maharashtra girl

prevailed, winning it on her sec-ond match-point.

Niveditha was two sets upand she also had the measure

of her opponent. But theMaharashtra girl staged a fine

recovery to level the scorebefore nailing the Telangana

girl in the decider.In another match, Anuska

Dutta defeated Aditi Sinha 3-2.The other state girls that

failed to advance are PranithaGarlapati, V. Lassya and

Nikhitha Yenibera. Women’s singles results (Round of

128): Garima Goyal (Del) bt PriyadarsiniDas (RBI) 3-1, Shreya Despande (Rlys)

bt Manisha Sharma (Raj) 3-0, KritikaUpadhaya (Asm) bt Pranitha Garlapati

(TS) 3-2, Anuska Duttta (Ben ‘B’) btAditi Sinha (Mah) 3-2, N. Vidya

(TNTTA) bt Anjali Rohilla (Har) 3-0, V.Kowshika (TTTA) bt K. Anitha (Ker) 3-

0, Manushree Patil (Mah) bt KaushaBhairapure (Guj) 3-0, V. Kushi (Kar) btIti Sharma (Raj) 3-0, Nithyashree Mani

(TTTA) bt Phalgun Charvi (AP) 3-0,Sanya Sehgal (Har) bt V. Lassya (Telg)

3-1, Sataporni De (Ben ‘B’) bt HimaniChaturvedi (MP) 3-2, S. Sharmitha

(TNTTA) bt Tamanna Saini (Del) 3-2,Mallika Gogoi (Goa) bt Sayani Bose

(MCIT) 3-2, Varuni Jaiswal (TS) btTanushree Dasgupta (Meg) 3-1, JasminSunny (Ker) bt Nikita Sarkar (Ben ‘B’)

3-1, Pooja Sharma (IA&AD) bt AanchalMalhotra (Del) 3-1, Manasi Chiplunkar

(Mah) bt Niveditha Balusri (TS) 3-2, A.Samyuktha (Kar) bt Prasuma Parekh

(TTFI) 3-0, Prajakta Tipale (LIC) btswetapadma Dalai (Odi) 3-0, Munmun

Kundu (AAI) bt BhuwaneshwariRathore (Raj) 3-0, Neha Patial (Pun) btB. Nagasravani (AP) 3-2, Vartica Bharat

(P) bt Nikhitha Yenibera (TS) 3-0,Maria Rony (Kar) bt Suhana Saini (Har)

3-0, Trisha Gogoi (Asm) bt AnushreeHazra (Rlys) 3-1.

Melbourne, Jan 31:Tireless Dominic Thiemcame from a set down tooutlast GermanAlexander Zverev andmake his first AustralianOpen final Friday, book-ing a showdown withseven-time championNovak Djokovic.

The 26-year-old fifthseed, the first player fromAustria ever to reach theMelbourne decider, bat-tled past seventh-rankedZverev 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4) on a swelteringevening.

Defending championDjokovic awaits him afterthe second seed endedRoger Federer's dreamsin straight sets Thursdayto make his eighthMelbourne Park final.

Thiem has his work cutout against the Serb whois on a 12-match unbeatenstreak this season andhas won all seven of theAustralian Open decidershe has contested.

And if Djokovic needsextra motivation, win-ning on Sunday will seehim reclaim the worldnumber one rankingafter Rafael Nadalcrashed to Thiem in thelast eight.

“It was an unrealmatch, two tie-breakers,so tough and so close. Itwas almost impossible tobreak him,” said Thiem.

Thiem had dealt withsemifinal pressurebefore, although alwayson the slower red clay atRoland Garros.

A jittery Thiem wasbroken in the openinggame, saving two break

points before sending abackhand wide to imme-diately be on the backfoot.

Dominic Thiem said aburst of Sweet Carolineduring a stadium lights

malfunction helped calmhis nerves as he foughtback from a set down toreach the final.

The Austrian fifth seedwas 0-1 down in the thirdset to Alexander Zverev

when the semifinal washalted for nine minutesto fix a light which hadgone out behind the base-line. But Thiem said theNeil Diamond classic,played to entertain thecrowd during the delay,reminded him of goodtimes on skiing holidayswith friends.

“I like this song. I feltlike I was in Austria onskiing holidays, becausethat’s where they playthat song all the time.That loosened me up abit,” Thiem said.

Once play resumed,Thiem went on to win thethird and fourth sets andwith it the match. — AFP

THE RESULTS■ Men’s singles semifinal:Dominic Thiem (Austriax5) bt Alexander Zverev(Germany x7) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6 (4).■ Women’s doubles final:Kristina Mladenovic/ TimeaBabos (France/ Hungaryx2) bt Barbora Strycova/Hsieh Su-wei (CzechRepublic/ Chinese Taipeix1) 6-2, 6-1.

Thiem tames SaschaDominic beats Zverev to

make Oz Open final

Kristina Mladenovic (left) and Timea Babos share alight moment during the presentation ceremony aftertheir 6-2, 6-1 win over Hsieh Su-wei and BarboraStrycova in the women’s doubles final at the Austra-lian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Friday.The pair won their second title in three years. — AFP

Dominic Thiem celebrates afterdefeating Alexander Zverev in theirmen’s singles semifinal at theAustralian Open tennis champi-onship in Melbourne on Friday.Thiem won the match 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(7/3), 7-6 (7/4). — AP

I like this song. I feltlike I was in Austriaon skiing holidays,because that’s wherethey play that songall the time. Thatloosened me up a bit.

— DOMINICTHIEM

on the songSweet Caroline

helping himunwind in the

semifinal