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

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2020, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES `5.00/EX-KOLKATA `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN)WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMJOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

THEEDITORIAL PAGE

PROTECTINGARTICLE32BY UPENDRABAXIPAGE6

CALLSFORSTEPPINGUPTESTINGTOCHECKTRANSMISSION

PMurgesCMs toget fatality rateunder1%,sayswillworkasa teamonvaccineKAUNAINSHERIFFM&KRISHNKAUSHIKNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER24

ASTHEracetofindanefficaciousvaccine against Covid-19 picksup, Prime Minister NarendraModi urged states Tuesday tobuild decentralised mecha-nisms, down to the block level,in the form of task forces forsmooth administration of thevaccine, expected to take placeearlynextyear.Interacting with Chief

Ministers via videoconference,thePrimeMinister,whileunder-liningthatthere’snodecisionyeton which vaccine will be fi-nalised and when, repeatedlyemphasised the key role thatstateswillplayinvaccineadmin-istration.Heurgedstatestopro-vide individual plans for a finalblueprintofthecountry’slargestimmunisationdrive.Cautioning against laxity in

thefightagainstthevirusandat-tributingtherecentsurgeinpos-itive cases to “widespread care-lessness”, Modi told ChiefMinisterstoworktowardsbring-ingthepositivityrateunder5percent and the fatality rate under1percent.“A few days ago, the Centre

hadrequestedstatesthatasteer-ingcommitteebeconstitutedatthe state level (on vaccine ad-ministration) and a task forceformedatthedistrictlevel. Isug-gestthatthisbedoneattheblocklevel.We have to do this as fastaspossible;wehavetodelegatethistoonepersontoensurethatthereareregularmeetings,train-ing,monitoringandonlinetrain-ing. Besides, being engaged infightingthepandemiconadailybasis,wehavetoparallellyestab-lish thismechanism.”“I request that you send a

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER24

THE J&K administration onTuesday alleged that NationalConference(NC)leadersandfor-mer chiefministers Farooq andOmar Abdullah are among en-croachers of state land, sayingtheir residence in Jammuwasbuilt on illegally occupied land.The administration also in-cluded FarooqAbdullah’s sisterSuraiya Matto, NC offices inJammuandSrinagar,andaTrustonce ownedby the Congress inits freshlistof illegalbeneficiar-iesof theRoshniAct.According to investigations

carried out by the UT adminis-tration,in1998,theAbdullahsal-legedly bought three kanalsfrom different land owners invillage Sunjwan in Jammu's

Bahu tehsil to build their resi-dence. However, instead of tak-ing possession of the threekanals of private land, they al-legedly encroached on morethan seven kanals of a nearbyprimestateand forest land.“Themarketvalueof theen-

croached land is around Rs. 10crore going by prevalent landvaluation,” a J&Kofficial said.Theirnamesarepart of a list

of encroached land “other thanRoshni”,wherethelandis“phys-icallyencroachedbutnotshownin revenue records”. The list of“encroachers”alsohasnamesofbusinessmanMushtaq Chayaand AshfaqMir, who has beenidentifiedasthesonof J&KHighCourt judge Justice (retd) AliMohammedMir.Denying the allegations, the

NationalConferenceonTuesdaysaid, "The news attributed tosourcesthatDrFarooqAbdullahisabeneficiaryof theRoshniActis completely false and is beingspreadwithmaliciousintent.DrFarooqAbdullahhasnotavailedof the Roshni scheme for eitherhis residence in Srinagar or inJammu and anyone who saysotherwise is lying."In the list of alleged illegal

beneficiaries of the Roshni ActCONTINUEDONPAGE2

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER24

CITING “SOVEREIGNTY and in-tegrity of India”, the Centre onTuesdaybanned43mobileappswith Chinese links, amove thatfollowsthebanof177appsovertwo rounds in June andSeptember thisyear.The latest exercise, which

comesamidIndia-Chinatensionattheborder,sawthebanofon-demand courier serviceLalamove India, in addition toAlibaba Group’s online retailserviceAliExpress.Variousotherapps related to the AlibabaGroupandatleast15datingappshavealsobeenbanned.“Ministry of Electronics and

Information Technology,Government of India, today is-suedanorderunderSection69Aof the Information Technology

Actblockingaccessto43mobileapps. This action was takenbased on the inputs regardingtheseappsforengaginginactiv-ities which are prejudicial to

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI,NOVEMBER24

THEENFORCEMENTDirectorate(ED) on Tuesday conductedsearches at 10 places in ThaneandMumbai, including the res-idences andoffices of Shiv SenaMLAPratapSarnaikandhissons,in connection with an allegedmoney launderingcase.Sarnaik, a three-time Shiv

SenaMLAfromThane,hadiniti-atedabreachofprivilegemotionagainstRepublicTVEditorArnabGoswamiforhisremarksagainstMaharashtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray and otherministers of the MaharashtraVikas Aghadi (MVA) govern-ment.Hewasalsooneofthefirstpoliticians in the state to seek areinvestigation into the AnvayNaik suicide case, for whichGoswamiwas subsequently ar-

restedby theRaigadPolice.While the probe agency did

notdisclosedetailsoftheallegedmoney laundering case, it saidsearcheswereconductedonthepromoters of Topsgrup, a secu-rity firm founded by RahulNanda, and"relatedmembers,

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

VOTE FORPAGDTORESTORE IDENTITY:FAROOQ PAGE 9

CHARGESHEET FILEDIN TRPSCAM PAGE 10

EDtakingSarnaik’s sonforquestioning.Deepak Joshi

Aparaveterinaryworkerwitha3-litrecontainerof‘semenstraws’. Express file

Farooq,Omarsaidtohavetakenover land inJammu

ED raids on Sena MLAwho moved privilegemotion against Arnab

WITHTHE latestorder,Indiahasbanneda totalof 220mobileappswithChinese links since June.Thedecision,whichwasalsopartiallyechoedbytheUS in itsbanningofpopularvideoappTikTok, follows thestandoff between IndiaandChinaat theLineofActualControl.

ReflectsbordertensionE●EX

PLAINED

Alibaba, dating appsamong 43 morewith China linksbanned by Govt

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

SHAJUPHILIPTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,NOVEMBER24

ASOCIETYregisteredby formerAAPvolunteers; a groupof pro-fessionals,businessmenandres-idents' associations backed byretired bureaucrats; a coastalcollective based on a successfulcorporatemodel;agroupofvot-ersunitedbywater scarcity.Across Kerala, a state that is

sharplydividedalongpartylines,apolitical is the new political --at leastat thegrassroots level.From state capital

Thiruvananthapuram to com-mercial hub Kochi, unconven-tionalnon-politicalmovements

have fielded candidates for thelocal body elections to be heldin threephasesonDecember8,12and14.Allof themdependoncrowdfunding and hope toclaim the electoral space avail-ableatamicrolocal level,wherefamiliarity and accessibilitymatter themost.“ThisisanewtrendinKerala.

People have realised that tradi-tionalpoliticalparties,whichareengagedwithstateandnationalissues, cannot be actively in-volved in local issues. Local is-suesdemandpeoplewhoareac-cessible and familiar to thecommonman.Atthepanchayatlevel, peoplewantbasic civic is-sues to be resolved and do notcaresomuchaboutpoliticalaffil-

iations,’’saysProfGGopakumar,political scientist and formerVice Chancellor of CentralUniversityof Kerala.Forinstance,V4Kochi,which

is registered as a society, hasfieldedcandidates inall 74divi-sions of the Kochi MunicipalCorporation.Most of its leadersareyoung, andmanyhavebeenAAP volunteers.“Traditional parties have

grown irrelevant and obsolete.Wewanttoeradicatethemfromlocaldevelopmentalpoliticsandtakedemocracydirectly topeo-ple.Weareadvocatingfortrans-parencyingovernanceanderad-ication of corruption,” saysNipun Cherian, V4Kochi cam-paigncontroller.

“V4Kochi is mobilising re-sources via crowdfundingthrough bank transactions.There will be complete trans-parency inworking. People arelookingforanalternativetoCPM,Congress andBJP.Weareevolv-ingasapoliticaloutfitof the21stCentury,’’ says Cherian, 34,whoisanengineerandentrepreneur.Kerala has experimented

with one such model before,when candidates put up byKerala-basedKITEXGroup’scor-poratesocialresponsibilitywingTwenty20 won the local bodypolls in Kizhakkambalam pan-chayat on the outskirts of Kochiin 2015. This time, Twenty20 isgearing up to contest in fourmorevillagepanchayats.

“When Twenty20 tookcharge in 2015, the panchayatwas in debt of Rs 39 lakh. Afterfive years, the panchayat has asurplus of Rs 13.57 crore. Wehave improved efficiency infunctioning. There is zero cor-ruption andwe provide provi-sions at 50 to 70 per cent sub-sidised rate,’’ says Sabu Jacob,KITEXmanaging director andchief co-ordinatorofTwenty20.Twenty20's success has

spawnedseveralsimilarmodels.At Chellanam, a coastal villagepanchayatinErnakulamdistrict,a group of voters has floated aseparate "20-20" and hopes toaddresstheperenniallocalissueof coastal erosion thatdisplacesseveralfamilieseverymonsoon.

“Thismovementbeganafewmonths ago.We are contestingin allwards as amarkof protestagainst all political parties thathaveneglectedthedevelopmentof this village.We have formedgroups in all wards and pickedcandidates. Most of ourmem-bers are youngsters who arelooking for a change,’’ saysPavizham Biju, a businessmanwho is one of those behind themovement.In Kottayammunicipality,

there is another 20-20 contest-ing in five out of 50 wards. AtVadakarapathy panchayat inPalakkad,alocalmovementthatemerged from a people’sprotestagainstwater scarcity is

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

PAGE1ANCHOR

VolunteerscampaignforV4Kochi inKochi.V4kochi facebook

No politics is new politics in Kerala’s local body elections

Abdullahs infringed on landfor offices, house: J&K probe

ARUNJANARDHANANCHENNAI,NOVEMBER24

UPAALLY andDMK leaderMKStalinmetTamilNaduGovernorBanwarilal Purohit Tuesday andsoughttheimmediaterelease“onhumanitarian grounds” of thesevenpersonssentencedtolifeintheassassinationofformerPrimeMinisterRajivGandhi in1991.AdecisionbytheTamilNadu

governmenttoreleasetheseven,whohaveservednearly30yearsof rigorous imprisonment, ispending for approvalbefore theGovernorsinceSeptember2018.TheDMK'smovecomesfour

days after the Centre told theSupremeCourt that the CBI hasnothingtodowithapetitionforremission of sentence filed by

oneoftheseven,AGPerarivalan.Thepleaisanissuebetweenthepetitioner and the office of theGovernor, it said.Perarivalanwas 19when he

was arrested in June 1991 andaccused of having bought twobattery cells for Sivarasan, theLTTE member who master-mindedtheassassination.Speaking to reporters, Stalin

said: “Yet again, we have askedtheGovernortotakethedecisionimmediately... Perarivalan’s

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

In search ofvaccine coldchain, someclues fromdairy sector

PARTHASARATHIBISWASPUNE,NOVEMBER24

AMID CONCERNS that a Covid-19vaccinewouldrequireaneffi-cient,countrywidecoldchainin-frastructure, the dairy industrycouldoffersomeanswerstopol-icymakers and public healthprofessionals.The industry records almost

8 crore artificial inseminationsacrossthecountryannually.Theprocessinvolvescollectionofse-men from elite bulls in 56 bullstations,which is frozen invialsor 'straws', and transported inliquid nitrogen containers (atminus 196 degrees Celsius) todairyfarmersacrossthecountry.“Themost crucial aspect of

the artificial insemination coldchain is its reliability (ensuringviability of the sperms fromthepointof semenextraction to in-seminationintoafemalebovine)and reach (to the distant interi-ors). I am sure this can be ofsome relevance to the nationalrolloutoftheCovidvaccine,”saidRajivMitra,CEOofPrabhatDairybased in Ahmednagar,Maharashtra,whichispartoftheFrench Lactalis Group and doesroughly 1 lakh artificial

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Bengal ready to work with Centre, allstakeholders for vaccination: MamataEXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA,NOVEMBER24

WEST BENGAL Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on Tuesdaytold PrimeMinister NarendraModi that thestategovernmentwas prepared toworkwith the

Centreandotherstakeholderstospeedily implement a Covid-19vaccinationprogrammeinWestBengal. Banerjee also assuredModithatthepandemicwasun-dercontrol inBengal.Thecommentsweremadeat

avideoconferencethattheprimeministerheldwithchiefministers

to discuss the pandemic and avaccinationprogramme.The reviewmeeting came a

day after Oxford-AstraZenecaannounced that interim trialdatafromthecrucialphase-3tri-alsshowedthatitsCovid-19vac-cinecandidatewas70.4percent

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

MAULSHREESETHLUCKNOW,NOVEMBER24

THEUTTAR Pradesh Cabinet onTuesday cleared a draft ordi-nance to check “unlawful reli-gious conversions” and “inter-faith marriages with the soleintentionof changingagirl's re-ligion”, with provision for jailtermofupto10years.According to the “Uttar

Pradesh Vidhi Virudh DharmaSamparivartan PratishedhAdyadesh 2020” (prohibi-

tion of unlawful religious con-version), amarriagewill be de-

clared “shunya” (null and void)if the “sole intention” was to“changeagirl's religion”.“Those getting the conver-

siondonewouldhavetofacejailterm of up to 10 years,” said agovernment statement. If it isfound that the conversion isdone “forcibly, through atrocityor cheating”, theoffencewill benon-bailable.“TheCabinet has taken abig

decision... it was necessary formaintainingnormallawandor-derinthestateandtoensurejus-ticeforwomen,especiallythosefrom the Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes,” said Uttar

Pradesh Cabinet MinisterSidharthNathSingh,whoisalsothegovernmentspokesperson.“More than 100 cases of

forcible conversions have cometo light. Theway inwhich reli-gious conversions are done us-ingdeceit, lies, forceanddishon-esty is heart wrenching, and itwas necessary to have a law inthis regard,”hesaid.Singh said theproposed law

hasprovisionforjail termof1to5 years, and aminimum fine ofRs 15,000. However, in case thewoman is from the ScheduledCasteorScheduledTribeor

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

ABHISHEKANGADNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER24

PREPARE A list of doubtful orsuspicious institutions and ap-plications, use fraud detectionsoftware, conduct randomchecks and audits by an inde-pendentauthority,usemorein-dicators to identify schools onthe National Scholarship Portal(NSP), includemoreapplicationdataon theportal.Taking note of an investiga-

tion by The Indian Express onhow a nexus of middlemen,school staff and district officialswere illegally diverting pre-Matric scholarships forpoormi-

noritystudents,thesearethefivekeypreventivemeasureslistedbytheMinistryofMinorityAffairstobe implemented “immediatelyfor securing the process” for theacademic year 2020-21.Themeasureswerelistedina

letter dated November 18,signedbyAdityaSSingh,UnderSecretary, and sent to principalsecretaries andsecretariesof allstatesandUnionTerritories.Referring to the findings of

TheIndianExpressinvestigation,the letterstates:“Thereportde-tails instances aswell asmodusoperandiadoptedbyunscrupu-lous elements in collusionwithsome school authorities, possi-blyrelatedofficialsandthebankcorrespondents, to defraud thebeneficiaries under Pre-MatricScholarshipSchemeofMinistryofMinorityAffairs.”It asks states to "thoroughly

investigate thematter and fur-nish a report to this Ministry”and says that “further longerterm measures are also pro-posedtobetakeninduecourse”.As part of its investigation,

TheIndianExpressmatcheden-triesontheNSPwithbeneficiarybank accounts in the PublicFinance Management System(PFMS)tofindcasesoftheschol-arshipbeingillegallydivertedinJharkhandandBihar.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

ElephantridesresumedatAmerFort in JaipuraftereightmonthsonTuesday.Rohit JainParas

THESCHOLARSHIP

SCAM

The letter refers toreportsbyThe IndianExpress

Rajiv assassination:Stalin meets Governorfor release of convicts

WHATSTATES SAID■ In touchwithSerum,havetaskforce forvaccine:Maharashtra

■ReadytoworkwithCentre,all stakeholders:WestBengal

■ConsidervaccineforUttarakhandinviewofKumbh:Uttarakhand

■Pollutionanimportant factor:Delhi

■Readying logistics formassvaccination:UP

Saysanyvaccinewillmeetall themedicalparameters,blamessurgeon ‘widespreadcarelessness’

To block fraud, Centre sendsstates a list of dos and don’ts

CentrehastoldSCuptoGovernor totakecallonPerarivalan

UP clears ‘love jihad’ law: 10-yr jail, nulling marriage WORLD

TRUMPADMINCLEARSWAYFORSTARTOF FORMALTRANSITION TOBIDENPRESIDENCYPAK TO FORMNEWINTELBODY TOCOORDINATE SPYAGENCIESPAGE12

Kolkata

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER25,2020

Cold chaininseminationsinayear.Sincethespermslosetheirvi-

abilityatnormalroomtempera-tureswithin15minutesofcollec-tion, about5mlof semen is firstdiluted to fill up to 250 'straws',each containing0.25-0.5ml so-lution. These 'straws' are thensealed,withdetailsof thedonorbull,dateofcollectionetcprintedonthem,andfrozenbyimmers-inginliquidnitrogencontainers.The containers – typically

about35litresor48litrescapac-ity – are then transported fromthebullstationstodifferentpartsof thecountry.“Liquid nitrogen is themost

importantingredientinourcoldchain. It ensures that the frozenstrawsaremaintainedat the re-quired temperature even sec-ondsbeforebeingusedtoinsem-inate the female animal,” saidAshok Pande, Group VicePresident(ScientificResearchandLivestockDevelopment) at BAIFDevelopment ResearchFoundation.With 300 active bulls at its

two stations atUrulikanchan inPunedistrictandDharouliinJind(Haryana),BAIFproducesaround45lakh'semenstraws'everyyear.That makes it India’s secondlargest after theNational DairyDevelopmentBoard,whichman-ages four stations at Bidaj(Gujarat), Salon (Uttar Pradesh),Alamadhi (Tamil Nadu) andRahuri (Maharashtra) that to-gether supply about 380 lakh'straws'annually.Theartificial insemination is

carried out by paraveterinaryworkers,whotransferthe'semenstraws' into 3-litre containers,thusensuringeasyportabilitytotheinteriors.“The3-litrecontainer(which

hasabout720straws) is the realreason for the success of India’sartificialinseminationandcross-breeding programme.Our par-avets can carry these containerson two-wheelers, and reach re-motevillages,”saidPande.Beforeinsemination,thepar-

aveterinaryworkers thaw thefrozensemenbyusingspecially-made artificial inseminationguns.The coolantused– liquidni-

trogen sourced from chemicalfertiliser units or liquid oxygenplantswhichproduce it as aby-product – andmachines for fill-ing it intostrawsareestablishedtechnologiesfordairyfarmers.“Each time the container is

opened, liquidnitrogenescapes.Wemaintain a reserve stock ofliquid nitrogen at our centres,fromwhereitcanberefilled.Theprocess isn’t very complicated,”saidMitra.Thatlackofcomplicationmay

be of some assurance in thesearchforviablecoldstorageso-lutionsforaCovid-19vaccine.

China appssovereigntyandintegrityofIndia,defenceof India,securityofstateand public order. Ministry ofElectronics and InformationTechnologyhas issued theorderfor blocking the access of theseapps byusers in India based onthe comprehensive reports re-ceived from IndianCyberCrimeCoordinationCenter,MinistryofHomeAffairs,” the governmentsaidinastatement.Lalamove, which entered

India in 2019, has been opera-tional in cities such asAhmedabad,Bengaluru,Chennai,Hyderabad,Mumbai, Pune andGurugram.Thecompanywasse-verely hit by the Covid-19 lock-down,giventhatalargechunkofitsuserbaseinIndiawasmediumandsmallbusinesses.AliExpress,whichistheretail

serviceofAlibaba,hadcomeun-derthescanneroftheIndiangov-ernment earlier this year alongwithotherChinesee-commercecompanies,forallegedlyevadingCustoms duties and GST pay-ments by showing purchasesmadeinIndiaas“gifts”.

Tuesday’s exercise also sawthebanofseveralutilityappssuchas CamCard - Business CardReader,videostreamingappslikeWeTV,MangoTV, Taobao Live,and mobile games such asHappyFish,Heroes Evolved andConquistaOnlineII.Thepreviousroundsof appbanssawthegov-ernmentpullingtheplugonsev-eral appswith high user basessuch as TikTok, PUBGMobile,WeChat, ShareIt, UCBrowser,CamScanner,ClubFactory,Sheinetc.

ED raidsincludingsomepoliticians".The agency later detained

Sarnaik'sson,VihangSarnaik,andbroughthimtoitsofficeatBallardEstate in SouthMumbai for fur-therquestioning.The ED case against Nanda

and Sarnaik is based on an FIRregisteredbytheMumbaiPoliceafter amagistrate court directedit todo so, basedonacomplaintfiledbytwosenioremployeesofTopsgrup,whose serviceswereterminated by the company onOctober10forallegedembezzle-mentof funds.In their complaint to thepo-

lice, the two former employeeshaveallegedthatNandadivertedmoney to an offshore trust andalso alleged irregularities byTopsgrup in the acquisition of afirmintheUKin2007.Thecom-plainthasalsoallegedthatNandahadabusinessrelationshipwithSarnaik.NandatoldTheIndianExpress

that Topsgrup filed an FIR in

September against the twoem-ployeesforsiphoningfundsfromthe company and terminatedtheiremployment."I settled in London14years

ago andTopsgrup in India is be-ingmanagedbyprofessionals. Iamjustashareholderinthefirm.In 2019, I got to know that thecompany is defaulting on pay-mentsso Icameto Indiaandtheboard initiated a forensic auditwhichshowedmoneyhadbeenembezzledbythechiefexecutiveofficer,RameshIyer,andDirector,Finance,AmarPanghal.Theirem-ploymentwas terminatedandaFIRwas filed against them.Nowtheyhave filedacomplaintwiththeEDagainstme."Nandadeniedbusinessdeal-

ingswithSarnaik."IhaveknownPratapSarnaikfor25yearsandhehasnot investedevena rupee inmycompany,"saidNanda.Thecomplainthasallegedfor-

eign exchange violations in theacquisition of UK-based TheShieldGuardingCoLtdforRs140crorebyTopsgrupin2007.TheUKfirmfiledforbankruptcyin2016.The complaint has also allegedthatNandadivertedmoney to aMauritiustrustthatallegedlyhasacloserelationshipwithSarnaik.Nanda has informed the ED

that theMauritius trustwascre-atedasper lawsafter consultingtop law firmsKhaitan&Co andNishith Desai & Associates fortransferring66percentsharesofTopsgrup. "No fundswere evertransferred to theTrust.Wehadopened a bank account inMauritius but this accountwas

neverused,"saidNanda.Leaders of theMaharashtra

VikasAghadihitoutattheBJPandtheCentreovertheEDraids.“What is happening in the

state is reflectiveof thedefeatistmindset of our opponents.Instead of answering the ques-tionsof people, theCentre is us-ingGovernmentagenciesagainstitspoliticalopponents.Thisisnotproper.OuropponentsknowthatwiththeMVAgovernmentcom-pletingoneyearinpower,itisdif-ficult forthemtocomebackintopower.ThatisthereasontheyareusingthepowertheyhaveattheCentre,”NCPChiefSharadPawarsaid.Shiv Sena MP and party's

spokespersonSanjayRautcalledthe raids political vendetta. “IfanybodythinkstheMVAgovern-mentwill comeunder pressureby using Central agencies, thentheyarelivinginafool’sparadise,”hesaid.OnTuesdayevening, Sarnaik

metRaut in the Saamanaoffice.“WeareunawareoftheEDinves-tigation andare gathering infor-mation,”Sarnaik toldmediaper-sonsafterthemeeting.

Abdullahsare the twin offices of theNational Conference in Jammuand Kashmir. According to thelist, Sher-e-Kashmir Bhawan ofthe National Conference inJammuhad3kanaland16marlaof land, whichwas regularisedunder the Act. Similarly, inSrinagar, the party got 3 kanaland16marlaoflandinthename

ofNawai-SubahTrust.Thenamesarepartofalistof

closeto2,000beneficiariesoftheJ&K State Lands (Vesting ofOwnership to the Occupants)Act2001–commonlyknownasthe Roshni Act -- and other en-croachersofstateandforestland,publishedbytheUTadministra-tion. Under theAct, undue con-cessionswereallegedlygivenforregularisationoflandconversionat rates far below those stipu-lated and the cut-off year keptgettingshifted.Sofar,167namesinKashmir

and1,781namesinJammuhavebeenpublishedbytheadminis-tration. Sources saidmore listsmaybepublishedinduecoursetoabideby thedirectionsof theJ&KHighCourt,whichhadcalledthe Act “unconstitutional” inOctoberthisyear,orderingaCBIenquiry and asking the UT ad-ministrationtopublishnamesofallencroachers.Among the alleged illegal

beneficiaries of the Act is alsoFarooqAbdullah’ssisterSuraiyaMattoo.Fortheregularisationof3 kanals and 12marla of land,Mattoowas supposed topayRs1croretothestate.Thesamehasnot been paid yet, according totheadministration.Alsointhelistofbeneficiaries

isKhidmatTrustatJhelumBundinSrinagar.TheTrust,whichalsoruns the Khidmet Press and acommercialbuilding,wasgivenseven kanals and 15marlas ofland under the Roshni Act inSrinagar.The Khidmat Trust was es-

tablished inSeptember1992bythe Congresswith former stateparty chief GhulamRasool Karasitsfirstmanagingtrustee.ThetrusteesincludedCongresslead-ers Ghulam Nabi Azad, M LFotedar and Mangat RamSharma.In2015,KartransferredtheTrusttohisfamilymembers.TheRoshniActproposedthat

ownershiprightsbegiventoper-sonsholdingstatelandunautho-risedly till the cut-off year of1990,onpaymentequivalent tothemarket rate prevailing thatyear, as “eviction of these landsis very difficult, if not impossi-ble”. In 2005, the PDP govern-ment led byMuftiMohammedSayeed relaxed the cut-off yearto 2004, whichwas further re-laxed to 2007 under theCongress government led byGhulamNabiAzad(theCongressand PDPwere in alliance at thetime).The objective of theActwas

toraiseresourcesforharnessingthehydro-electricitypotentialofthestate.Whilethegovernmenthad expected to realise over Rs25,000 crore as regularisationfees, a 2014 report by theComptrollerandAuditorGeneralhad noted that only Rs 76 crorehad been realised from thetransfer of encroached land be-tween2007and2013.Investigationshaverevealed

irregularities such as underval-uationofland,vestingofowner-shipwithoutanypaymenttothestate, and regularisation of pro-hibited encroachments such asthoseonforest lands.In2011, a retiredprofessor, S

KBhalla,filedaPILalleginglarge-scaleencroachmentofstateandforest land across J&K. In 2014,Bhalla filedanotherPIL, seekingvigilance inquiry and actionagainsttheguilty.OnNovember28, 2018, the StateAdministrativeCouncilrepealedthe Act and cancelled all pend-ing applications. The Anti-CorruptionBureauregistered17FIRs.OnOctober9,theHighCourt

passed an order on Bhalla’s PIL,callingforaCBIinquiryandcan-celling all allotments "ab initio(fromthebeginning)".ThecourtalsodeclaredtheRoshniAct“un-constitutional, contrary to lawandunsustainable”,andorderedtheUTadministrationtorecoverall land given away under thelegislation.

Kerala electionscontesting10outof17wards.AtKottur panchayat inKozhikode,thosewho resisted a proposedmining project are now in theelectoralfray.Inthestatecapital,notedtech-

nocratandformerstateplanningboardDrGVijayaraghavanisoneof the promoters ofThiruvananthapuramVikasanaMunnettam(TVM).With“devel-opment” as itsmain poll plank,TVMiscontestingin14of100di-visions of theThiruvananthapuramMunicipalCorporation.“Politicalpartiesdoverylittle

for theoverall developmentof acity. In Thiruvananthapuram, is-suesof themiddleclassareneg-lected. A lot of people in the citydonotvoteduringelectionsdueto their disillusionment withpoliticians and the system.Wewould like toseesuchsegmentsvote for our candidates,’’ saysTVM spokesperson S NRaghuchandran Nair, who ismanagingdirectorofSIPropertiesKeralaPvtLtd.

To block fraudIt found that the scam roped inschools fromPunjab andAssamaswell.In several cases, The Indian

Expressfound,middlemeneitherconvinced school owners ornodalofficerstoprovidetheNSPlogin IDsandpasswordsorusedfake school letter pads to obtainthem.Then, theyinvolvedbank-ing correspondents to open ac-countsofprospectivebeneficiar-

iesusingtheirAadhaarcardsandfingerprints before applying ontheir behalfwithhelp fromdis-trictofficials.The fivekeymeasures it sug-

gestsare:■Provide additional data on

NSP:Atpresent, the letterstates,theNSPuses only one indicatortoidentifyaschool--theUnifiedDistrict Information System forEducation(U-DISE)code.

■Listinstitutionsfromwheredoubtful applicationshavebeenreceived:Theletterstatesthatdis-trictandstatenodalofficers“willconductmandatoryphysicalver-ificationof such institutions andfurnish a declaration of havingdonesoontheportal”.

■Use fraud detection soft-ware: “The doubtful/suspiciousapplicationsidentifiedbytheNSPportal through ‘FraudDetectionSoftware’will also be resent forreverification to the states,” theletterstates.

■Recheck verified applica-tions:Allapplicationsalreadyver-ified “as ondate” shouldbe sentforre-verificationandcrosscheckwithschoolrecords.Besides,schoolswillmaintain

year-wisehardcopiesofcertifiedlistsofapplicantsandretainthemforuptofiveyears.

■Verify nodal officers: Theletter also asks for reverificationof all district nodal officerswhowill ensure through theheadofthe school that the institute'snodal officers are“permanent/regularemployees”and that they have not sharedtheirUser-IDandpasswordwithanyotherperson.

Stalinmother ArputhamAmmal hasbeenfightingforjusticeformorethan29years.Wehaveexplainedall these factors to theGovernor.TheGovernorrepliedthathewilltake an appropriate decisionsoon.”TheDMKdelegation,which

includedDayanidhiMaran, alsosubmittedaletterstatingthatthepartyhadbeencontinuouslyde-mandingthereleaseofthesevenconvicts--NaliniSriharanandherhusband Murugan, Santhan,Jayakumar, Robert Payas and PRavichandran, apart fromPerarivalan.It was the petition filed by

Perarivalan in December 2015that reviveddemands for there-leaseof theconvicts.

‘Love jihad’ lawaminor, thepersoncanbe jailedfor3to10years,withaminimumfineofRs25,000.In case ofmass conversions

done forcibly or through cheat-ing, the jail termwould rangefrom3 to 10years,with amini-mumfineofRs50,000.“Ifsomeonewantstoconvert

their religion aftermarriage, anapplicationwill have to be sub-mitted to thedistrictmagistratetwomonthsinadvance.Thecon-versioncantakeplace if permis-sionisgranted,”saidSingh.Last year, the UP State Law

Commissionhadsubmittedare-port on the subject to ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath, alongwith a draft ‘Uttar PradeshFreedomof ReligionAct, 2019’,proposingthat“conversiondoneforsolepurposeofmarriagetobedeclarednullandvoid”.Theprocesstobringalawwas

speededupafterAdityanath re-centlysaidatapublicmeetinginJaunpur that thosewaging “lovejihad” should eithermend theirwaysor beprepared for their fi-nal journey – “Ramnaamsatyahaikiyatranikalnewalihai”.The BJP-ruled states of

Haryana andMadhya Pradeshhave also sought to bring a lawto checkwhat they say is “lovejihad”. Last week, at least fiveOpposition-ruled states con-demned the move as an en-croachmentonpersonalliberty,andanattempttocreateacom-munaldivide in thecountry.

FULLREPORTSONwww.indianexpress.com

FROMPAGEONE

PM urges CMs to get fatality rate under1%, says will work as a team on vaccine

Bengal ready for vaccine rollout, says Mamata

detailed plan soonon the vac-cine front, and last-mile deliv-ery. Thiswill helpusmakede-cisions.Theexperienceofstates(on vaccine administration) isofutmostimportance.Becauseeverything moves from thestate level. You have to proac-tivelyparticipate,”hesaid.Heassuredstatesthatthey

wouldbeconsultedonthedis-tributionof thevaccineonceitisavailable.The“campaignforvaccineforeverycitizenisana-tionalcommitment”and“suchalarge-scalevaccinationcam-paign should be smooth, sys-tematic and sustainable as itwill goon fora long time”.He said states should ex-

amine cold storage require-ments,andpossibilitiesofaug-menting them. “States shouldstart working on additionalcoldstoragerequirementsandlookwhere all new cold stor-ageispossible.Directionshavealready been given by theCentre,butwehavetobereadyto implement it. Wewill en-sure additional supplies. Thedetailed planwill be finalisedand shared with states soon.Both state and central teamsarehavingadialogue,”hesaid.To queries from states on

the pricing of different vac-cines, the PrimeMinister said

pricing is still unknown. “Youarewellawareof thedevelop-ment of vaccines being re-ported internationally.We al-most reached the final stagesof the development of a vac-cine.We are keeping awatchon these developments. Weare in touch with everyone.Thereisstillnodecisiononthenumber of doses; there is stillnodecisiononthepriceofeachof these vaccine candidates.We still don't have an answerto thesequestions,”hesaid.“There is competition

amongvaccinemanufacturers.Different countries also havediplomatic interests.We alsohave towait for theWHO.Wehave created amechanism tohave real-time engagementwithglobalregulators,govern-ments of other countries andmultinational companies,” hesaid.“For us, safety is as neces-

sary as speed.Whatever vac-cineIndiawilladministertoitscitizens,itwillbeaprovenone,onallscientificparameters,”hesaid.ThePrimeMinisteralsore-

quested states to examine thegroundsituationontherise ininfectionrateinadecentralisedmanner.“Instead of discussing the

national picture, we have tostartdiscussingitinalocalisedmanner; by this, we will beable to address the problemfaster. The proportion of theRT-PCR tests have to increase.Wehavetomonitorhome-iso-latedpatients inabetterman-ner. Any complacency showninhomeisolationcanresult inapatient arriving in ahospitalinseverecondition.Insuchcir-cumstances, we cannot savelives,”hesaid.He urged states to ensure

oxygen supply at the villagelevel. “At the village level, theprimary and communityhealthcentreshavetobebetterequipped. Oxygen supply inthe vicinity of these villagesshould be ensured. Our aimshould be bringing down thefatality rate under 1 per cent.Wehave tominutelyexaminethe reason for every deathfrom the smaller towns. Thatshould be the level of focus.Only then wewill be able tocontrol thesituation,”hesaid.“Thosewhoareworkingon

the development of a vaccineare doing that; however, wehave to focus on containmentof the infection.Wecannotbecomplacent... The trend insome of our states is worri-some. Authorities have to be

extracautiousandputmoreef-fort in stopping the transmis-sionof thevirus,”hesaid.Hesaidthat inmanycoun-

tries, and in “some states ofIndia”,thereisarecenttrendofcases increasing and this is“concerning” and “all of ushave to be more aware andalert”.“To control the transmis-

sion, we have to increase thepaceof ourefforts like testing,confirmation, contact tracing,anddata.Wehavetogivethemutmost priority. We have tobring thepositivity rateunder5percent.”At themoment, the coun-

try, he said, is going throughthe fourth phase of the pan-demic. In the firstphase, therewas fear, “everyonewas pan-icking due to the pandemicandeveryonewasreacting”.In the second phase, “fear

gotmixedwith doubts aboutotherpeople, it createdanen-vironment of hatred”. Peoplefearedtheywouldbecut-off ifthey testedpositive, and “a lotof people started hiding theirinfection”.Thefear,hesaid,dis-sipated in the third phase andthingsbegantostabilize.Butitalsoledtothecurrentsituationafter people became lax, hesaid.

effective. In Pune, Dr CyrusPoonawalla,thefounderof theSerum Institute of India (SII)said the vaccine would beavailable in India “very soon”.TheSII istestingandmanufac-turing the candidate under li-cence.The Bengal chief minister

joined Tuesday’s meeting,which was also attended byUnion Home Minister AmitShah, from Bankura district.Assuring Modi that WestBengal was prepared withtrained manpower and re-quired infrastructure, includ-ing a cold chain, for a vaccina-

tion programme, Banerjeesaid, “We are ready to workwith the Centre and all otherstakeholderstoensurespeedyand universal vaccination foreveryone as soon as the vac-cine isavailable.”Despite the festival season

andmassive urban railmove-ments,West Bengal was suc-cessfulinreducingthepositiv-ityrateandthedeathrate,andimproving the discharge rate,Banerjeeadded."Despitesharingseveralin-

ternationalandinter-statebor-dersandbearingtheburdenofpatients from neighbouring

states,West Bengal has beenperformingremarkablywellascomparedtootherpartsof thecountry,” the chief ministersaid, according to a statementissued by the state govern-ment. Lauding the efforts ofhealthworkers to contain thepandemic, Banerjee said,“ASHAworkers have alreadymade45crorevisits tohouse-holds in a great public healthcampaign.”Thechiefministeragain reminded the primeminister that the Centre hadnot released adequate fundsto states even though ex-penses were increasing on

every account amid the pan-demic. West Bengal was stillowedGoodsandServicesTax(GST)compensationworthRs8,500 crore, she added,whilethe state administration hadspent around Rs 4,000 crorefor Covid management.Banerjee said till now theCentre had given Bengal onlyRs 193 crore.Taking a cue from her

Maharashtra counterpartUddhav Thackeray, Banerjeesaid “political gamesmanshipand competitive rallies”mustbeavoided in thegreaterpub-lic interest.

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Whyonevaccinecandidate isparticularly importantfor IndiaNEWEPISODEEVERYDAY

In today'sepisodewe’re lookingatwhytheOxford-AstraZenacavaccinecandidate isofparticular importanceto India.

DOWNLOADAPP

A ‘PINKBLOOM’ PHENOMENON ISDRAWINGTOURISTS TOTHIS KERALA VILLAGE

SpreadoveravastareainKozhikode'sAvalaPandinearPerambra,thispinkfloweringplant,whichbelongstothefamilyofCabombafurcata,hasattractedwidespreadinterestsamongsocialmediausers.

EXPRESSSPORTS VIDEO

GLIMPSEOFTEAMINDIA’SNEWJERSEY

Jersey’s similarity tothe1992WorldCupjerseypointedoutbyfans.

WEB

EXCLUSIVE

SCANTHISQRCODETODOWNLOADTHEAPP

FINANCECOMMISSIONCHAIRMANNKSINGH

OnExpressAdda, Singhshareshisassessmentof Indiancivil service

■VISUAL STORIES

■ DAILY BRIEFING

■ PODCASTS

■ CUSTOMIZABLENEWS EXPERIENCE

IndianExpress★★★★★■4.6

HC asks docto take downposts criticalof Byju’s firmSOFIAHSANNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER24

OBSERVING THAT socialmediaencouragespeopletopostunsub-stantiatedcontent,theDelhiHighCourtonTuesday, inyet anotherorder, restrained a Twitter userfrompostingorsharinganythingdefamatory,derogatoryanddep-recatory against edtech firmWhiteHatJr,itsmanagementandits employees, and askedhim totakedowncertainexistingtweetscriticisingthecompany.TheByju’s-owned company,

which provides online codingclasses tochildren,has thisweektakentwosocialmediausers–anengineer andadoctor – to courtforposting allegedlydefamatorycontent and runningan “unsub-stantiatednarrative”againstitandthecurriculumbeingofferedbyittothechildren.On Monday, the court had

passed a limited ad interim in-junctionagainstPradeepPoonia,an IITian, and askedhim to takedowncertain tweets andvideospostedonYouTube.Hearing WhatHat Jr’s suit

againstMumbai-basedAniruddhaMalpani,whosewebsitesaysheisthe founder of an angel invest-mentfirm,JusticeMuktaGuptaonTuesdayobserved that everyonehasstartedmaking“unsubstanti-ated” assertions –when some-bodyputsoutapost,theotherper-sonthinkswhathasbeenstatedinthat post is a “gospel truth” andwithoutknowing them, feels theneedtoshareit.“I cannot get out of this fact

that a person thinks he is doingright when he is posting [re-posting] somebody’s posts...notevenknowingwhoisthepersonposting it, whether that personhas a mala fide intention orwhether that person has someadverse interest... andstill claimthat I am right. It is inconceiv-able,” thecourt said.Thecourtalsosaidthataper-

son can today create a “cacoph-ony” by the number of peopletweeting and retweeting thesame thingwhichmayhave nobasis. “It ishappeningday inanddayout. I amresponsible formytweet, butwhen I tweet, ImustsaywhatIknowasafact,notwhata third party knows. You don’tevenknowthepersonwhoisac-tually tweeting, putting it on apost... which you tweeted for-ward,” JusticeGuptaobserved inresponse to a submission thattherewere several complaintsagainstWhiteHatonsocialmedia.WhiteHathadearliersubmit-

tedbeforethecourtthatMalpanihasinvestedinseveralstart-ups,including one dealing in educa-tionaltechnologylikeBibox,andposteddisparagingtweets–suchasonereferringtoSameerBajaj’sappointmentasitsglobalheadofcommunicationsandexternalaf-fairsas“appointingaspindoctoris likeputting lipstickonapig”.Itwasarguedthatsuchcom-

mentsarenot fair criticism, andthat reputation is an equally aprotectedright.Malpanitermedthesuitanat-

tempt tomuzzle freespeechandarguedthateverytweethasbeentaken out of context before thecourt.Oneofthereasonsthecom-panywasbeingaddressedinsucha fashion, he argued, is for itsclaims to make children ElonMusk, engineer-industrialist andoneoftheworld'srichestpersons,and for using a campaign called‘WolfGupta’,whichshowsachildas someonewho could go on toearncrores. Inasimilarcase, thecourthadonMondayrestrainedPooniafromdownloadingthein-structions and curriculum ofWhiteHat and circulating it inpublic domain, and also prohib-itedhimfromhackingoraccess-ingitssystem.

Kolkata

3THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER25,2020

WESTBENGALWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

(AnAutonomous InstitutionEstablished byGovernment ofBihar)

AICTE-ApprovedTwo-Year Full-Time

POST-POST-GRADUGRADUATEATEPROGRAMME INPROGRAMME INDEVELOPMENTDEVELOPMENTMANAGEMENTMANAGEMENT(PDM 2021-23)

Udyog Bhawan, East Gandhi Maidan, Patna 800004, Bihar | Phone: (0612) 2675180, 2675181 |Mobile: 9523096030

DMl's inception.

Associate Organisations

Pursue DMI’sPursue DMI’s PDM to Empower GrassrPDM to Empower Grassrootsoots

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA,NOVEMBER24

AKOLKATAbusinessmanwasonTuesday arrested for allegedlyinfluencing the investigation inthe Rose Valley chit fund scamandcheatingseveralpeople, in-cluding politicians, using fakedocuments of the EnforcementDirectorate(ED)andtheCentralBureauof Investigation.The complaint against ac-

cused Sudipta Roy Chowdhurywas filed by the assistant direc-torofKolkataEDatBidhannagarNorth police station onSeptember9.Later,thedetectivedepartmentofBidhannagarpo-lice took over the investigationof the case. Earlier in 2018, hewas arrested by ED in a similarcaseof extortion. "EDhas filedafake case against me," saidChoudhurywhile hewas beingtakentocourtonTuesday.Policehave recovered fake ED andCBI

documents fromhisoffice."One Sudipta Roy

Chowdhury has been arrestedtoday. Investigationison,"saidapolice officer. He has been ar-restedundersection420(cheat-ing and dishonesty), 468 (for-gery for purpose of cheating),471 (whoever fraudulently ordishonestlyusesasgenuineanydocument), 472 (whoevermakes or counterfeits any seal),474 (whoeverhas inhisposses-sionanydocumentknowingthe

same to be forged) and 120B(criminal conspiracy) of IndianPenalCode, saidpolice .An influential businessman

with political connections,ChowdhurywasassociatedwithBrand Value CommunicationsLtd, a subsidiary of a now col-lapsedPonzy firm.He is alleged to have prom-

ised several politicians in thepast to settle matter with thecentral agency in the chit fundprobe.

Knownforpolitical links,SudiptaRoyChowdhuryallegedly influencedprobe

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA,NOVEMBER24

THE COVID-19 active caseloadinWestBengal droppedbelow25,000onTuesdayas3.646re-coveries pushed it down to24,880.Therecoveryrate is stillsteadily inching up though ac-cording to the trends it isplateauing after days of signif-icant jumps. On Tuesday, thedischargeratewentupto92.88per cent.Thestaterecorded3,545new

infectionsthattookthecumula-tivenumberofcasesto4,63,463,while 49 deaths pushed up thetoll to 8,121. A bulk of the caseswerereportedfromKolkataandits adjacentdistricts. In the cap-ital, there were 867 patients,while 816 tested positive inNorth 24 Parganas. Therewere232 new cases in South 24Parganas,and191inHooghly. InHowrah,161people tested.InNadia,219testedpositive,

110 tested positive in PaschimBardhamanand therewere101new cases in Murshidabad. In

North Bengal, Jalpaigurirecorded 133 cases in 24 hours,Darjeeling recorded 83, andMalda recorded53cases.Thestatehealthdepartment

said 44,562 tests were con-ducted in 24 hours, driving upthecumulativesampletestedto56,09,893.Accordingtothegov-ernment, 91,254people are stillin home quarantine while 903peopleare insafehomes.

2 decomposed bodies found in flatKolkata:Semi-composedbodiesofanelderlycouplewererecov-ered from a flat in Kolkata’sGirish Park area on Tuesday, aseniorpoliceofficer said.Neighbours alerted the po-

lice after they noticed a foulsmellemanatingfromtheflatonthesecondfloorofabuildingonRamdulal Sarkar Street, he said.The police broke open the doorand recovered the bodies ofBiswajit Mitra (71) and Sipra

Mitra (68).“Preliminary investigation

revealedthatthecouplewasde-presseddue to a financial crisis.Though we are yet to find anysuicide note, it seems the duodied by suicide,” said the inves-tigativeofficeratGirishParkpo-lice station. The bodies weresent to the RG Kar MedicalCollegeandHospitalforautopsy,hesaid,adding,“Wearewaitingforthepost-mortemreport.”PTI

A RACE SANS AUDIENCETheRoyalCalcuttaTurfClubreopenstoemptystandsonthefirstdayof apre-wintermatchonTuesday.Puntersbetonlineas theywerenotallowedtoenter theclubduetoCovid-19. ParthaPaul

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA,NOVEMBER24

ADAY after a roll-on roll-off, orRo-Ro, vessel capsized on theGanga at Manikchak Ghat inMalda district, three people onboard the ship remainedmiss-ing even as rescue operationscontinued in full swing onTuesday.The vehicle, run by a

Jharkhand-basedoperator,cameover from Sahibganj inJharkhand. Initially, 15 peoplewere missing but 12 of themswamtosafety.Themissingpeo-ple were identified as MoynaSheikh (35),Mantu Sheikh (40)and Tarak Prasad Yadav (42).According to primary informa-tion, they are residents ofJharkhand.Ro-Ro vessels can transport

10-12 lorries at a time. Lorrydrivers prefer the waterwaysince the land route is muchlonger. According to the policeand local sources, on Mondayevening the lorries loadedwith

stonechipsarrivedatManikchakfrom Rajmahal Ghat inJharkhand. After the third lorrywas safely offloaded, the vesseldeveloped a snag and sent ninetrucks sliding into the river.Someof thosetrucksarestill

underwater and have not beenfishedout. Local administrationofficialsaremakingeffortstolift

the lorries using cranes. A teamof the National DisasterResponse Force is also at thespot.Following the accident on

Monday evening, the searchoperations spanned fromManikchak to Raiganj inneighbouring Uttar Dinajpurdistrict.

Rescueoperation inprogressatManikchakinMaldaonTuesday.Express

Three still missing in Malda mishap,efforts on to salvage sunken lorries

Four Banglanationalshandedover to BGBKolkata: Four Bangladeshi na-tionals were apprehended byBSF near the international bor-der inWest Bengal's Nadia dis-trict and handed over to BorderGuardBangladesh(BGB)asahu-manitariangesture,astatementby the country's paramilitaryforcesaidonTuesday.The Bangladeshis told BSF,

they had been working inBurdwantownaslabourersandwanted to reunite with theirfamilyintheirnativevillage,thestatement said.The four persons, including

twochildren,wereapprehendedwhile trying to cross over to theneighbouring country nearNoonaganj outpost onMondaymorning, thestatementsaid.Adoptingagoodwillgesture,

BSFapproachedBGB,heldaFlagMeetingwithBGBCommanderofBenipurpostandthenhandedover the family to the BorderGuardBangladesh. PTI

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA,NOVEMBER24

DISSIDENT TRINAMOOLCongress(TMC)leaderandstateTransport Minister SuvenduAdhikarionTuesdayattendedanindependent political pro-grammeorganisedwithoutanypartybannerorposter, adayaf-ter therewas no breakthroughin his talks with party MPSaugataRoy.TheMP, however, said there

was room formore discussionswith the disgruntled leader toend the “misunderstanding”thathascroppedup.“Yesterday, we held ameet-

ingwith him for over an hour. Iwouldn'tsaywhetherthemeet-ingwassuccessfulorfailure.Butthere isroomfor furtherdiscus-sions to address themisunder-standing. It takestimetountan-

gle complications one by one.However, he is very upset withtheparty,”Roy told reporters.Arifthasdevelopedbetween

Adhikari and the party leader-shipinrecentweeks. Itwidenedduring the “NandigramDibas”rallies earlier this month inwhich both sides made ran-corous speeches. The TMCheavyweighthasaddressedpo-liticalralliesrecentlyundernon-TMCbanners,withpostersbear-ing his photo appearing inMedinipur, other parts of the

Jangalmahal area, and Kolkata.Theseposterswereputupbyanorganisation called “DadarAnugami[Elderbrother’sfollow-ers]”.The procession in Purba

Medinipurdistrict’sKhejuriareathat Adhikari attended onTuesdaywas also organised by“Dadar Anugami”. Two TMCMLAs, Ranjit Mondal andBanasreeMaity,alsotookpartinthe procession that was earlierorganised annually by the TMCin memory of its workers at-tacked by the CPI(M) onNovember25,2010.In his brief speech, Adhikari

did not make any commentsagainst theparty.A sectionof theTMC leader-

shipbelievesAdhikaricanstillbekept in the party fold. Its hopeswere renewed last Thursdayaf-ter the minister quashed ru-moursof hismove to theBJP.

TMC’sSaugataRoyandSuvenduAdhikari

There is room for more talkswith Suvendu, says Saugata Roy

‘Democraticinstitutionsdestroyed oneby one by Modi’Kolkata:Democraticinstitutionsof the country are being de-stroyedonebyonebytheBJP-ledNarendraModigovernment,saidTMCMPSaugataRoyonTuesday.Addressingmediapersonsat

theTrinamoolBhawan,Roysaidhe has never seen such a lowlevelofpolitics."Ihavebeenapolitician fora

very long time, but I have neverseen such low level of politics.What is happening in the coun-try is a matter of concern. Thedemocratic institutions, whichwere created as per theConstitution, are being de-stroyed.TheSupremeCourt, theCBI and even the post ofGovernor—all arebeingunder-mined.Wewant the people ofthe state to resist such attemptsto destroy these institutions,"saidRoy. ENS

TOTAL CASES

463463

430462 RECOVERED

INCREASE

3545DEATHS

8121

5609893 SAMPLESTESTED TILL NOV 24

STATECOUNT

Active caseload fallsbelow 25K, recoveryinches towards 93%

Thestaterecorded3,545newinfectionsand49deaths linkedtothecoronavirus

ROSEVALLEYCHITFUNDSCAM

Businessman held for dupingpeople using fake ED papers

Kolkata

DELHI JAL BOARD : GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHIOFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (SDW) VIII

SEC. 16-D, PAPPANKALAN; N. DELHI-110075

PRESS N.I.T. No. 5/EE(SDW)VIII/ (2020-21)

Further details in this regard can be seen at (https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in)

STOP CORONA: Wear Mask, Follow Physical Distancing, Maintain Hand Hygiene

S.No.

Name of work EstimatedCost in Rs.

E/Moneyin Rs.

Tenderfee inRs.

Date of release oftender in e procurement

solution

Last date/ time of receiptof tender through

e procurement solution

1 Construction of 15 MGD Effluentpumping station for water body/lake at Pappankalan Dwarka

2,67,25,873/- 5,36,000/- 1500/- Tender ID2020_DJB_196887

Date. 23.11.20

15.12.2020at 03:05 P.M.

ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER)Advt. No. J.S.V. 234/2020-21

Sd/-EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (SDW) VIII

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, RWS&S DIVISION, BALASORETel: 06782-262249, Fax: 262931, email: eerwss_bls@nic.in, eerwssbls@gmail.com.

NATIONAL COMPETITIVE BIDDING THROUGH e-TenderingIdentification No 14 Dt. 17-11-2020

O-585

1. Nos. of Work : 19 Nos RPWS schemes in Balasore district.

2. Estimated cost : Rs. 15.51 lakhs to Rs. 244.44 lakhs

3. Period of completion : 180 days to 330 days4. Availability of bid document in Portal : Dt. 26-11-2020 at 10.00 hours to 05.12.2020 up to 17.00 hours through online.

5. Seeking of Clarification : Dt. 26.11.2020 at 10.00 hours to Dt. 03.12.2020 up to 15.00 hours

6. Date of opening of Bid : Dt. 11.12.2020 at 11.00 hours in the O/O EE, RWSS Division, Balasore.7. Name and address of the Officer

Inviting Tender: Executive Engineer, RWS&S Division, Balasore

Bid Cost & Bid Security will be receipt through electronic payment by NEFT/RTGS.Further details can be seen from the e-Procurement Portal: http://tendersodisha.gov.in

EXECUTIVE ENGINEER,RWS&S DIVISION, BALASORE.

OIPR/25013/11/0005/2021

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA,NOVEMBER24

CHIEF MINISTER MamataBanerjee on Tuesday claimedthat new farm laws enacted bythe Centre led to blackmarket-ingofpotatoesandonions,caus-ingtheirprices torisesharply.“Thecentralgovernmenthas

madedestructivefarmlawslead-ing toblackmarketingof essen-tial food items like potato andonion,”thechiefministersaidatan administrative meeting inBankuradistrict.Banerjee said that in a letter

shetoldPrimeMinisterNarendraModi that the Centre should ei-therensurethatthereisnoblackmarketingof theseitemsorpro-vide states thenecessary powertotackle theproblem.“Earlier we used to keep a

checkonpricesoftheseessentialfood items but now the centralActs have robbed the states oftheir powers. This has causedlosses to farmers aswell as con-sumers.We also could not con-trol theprices,”Banerjeesaid.The chief minister said the

state government shouldnot beblamed for the high prices ofitems such as potatoes andonions. Theywere earlier in thelistofessentialcommodities,butinSeptember,theCentreenactedthe Essential Commodities(Amendment) Act, 2020,whichremovedcereals,pulses,oilseeds,edible oil, onions and potatoesfrom the list. “The Centre hasmadesuchanactthatit[pricing]hasgone into thehandsof blackmarketeers," Banerjee said, ac-cusingtheUniongovernmentoflootingfarmers.Shepointedoutthathergov-

ernmentwasstillsellingpotatoesat Rs 25 per kg from its “SufalBangla”outlets,usingthestockithad procured earlier. Banerjeesaid her government does not

knowhow long it can keep sell-ing potatoes at subsidised ratesas the stockwill end soon, andunderthenewlawthestatecan-notreplenish it.She reiterated her criticism

of Union HomeMinister AmitShah’svisit toanAdivasi familyin the district’s Chaturdihi vil-lage for lunch earlier thismonth.She also said the West

Bengal government has notstopped its social welfareschemes and has paid salariesand pension regularly despitetightfiscalconditionduetoverylittle financial help from theCentre during the COVID-19pandemic.The state has spent Rs 4500

croreforcoronavirustreatmentfacilities from it's own coffersdespite the tight financial situ-ation,shesaidatanadministra-tive reviewmeetinghere.She said that work for a Rs

2,500 crore World Bank proj-ect to improve irrigation facil-ities and flood protectionmeasures in the LowerDamodarBasinbenefitting thepeopleof fivedistrictswill startfrom January.

WITHPTI INPUTS

CM faults newfarm laws forprice increase

CMMamataBanerjeeatameeting inBankura. Express

4THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER25,2020

WEST BENGALWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

MAJERHAT BRIDGE SET TO REOPENInarelief forcommuters inKolkata’sNewAliporeandBehalaareas,authoritiesare likelyreopentheMajerhatbridgethismonthorearlyDecemberafteragapof aroundtwoyears. ShashiGhosh

DIPANKARGHOSENEWDELHI, NOVEMBER24

BESIDES DEVELOPMENT, “in-sidervsoutsider”will beoneofthe primary themes of theTrinamoolCongress’scampaignfor the upcoming Assemblyelections in West Bengal, ac-cording toparty leaders.The party, they said, will

push the idea that the BJP,which is being seen as its pri-marycontenderas it tries tore-tain power in the state for thethirdtime,hasbrought in“peo-ple from outside” who do notunderstandBengal.Trinamool supremo and

Chief Minister MamataBanerjee will address a publicrally inBankuraonWednesday,

her first public rally since thepandemic began, virtually be-ginningwhat is expected to bea fierce political contest.AseniorTrinamoolleadersaid

that over the next fewmonths,thepartywillemphasise“lackoflocal leadershipintheBJP”.On its socialmediahandles,

the Trinamool has alreadylaunched a campaign, likely tobeasloganthroughtheelection-- “Banglar Gorbo Mamata(Bengal’s prideMamata)".

“Chief Minister MamataBanerjee is the pride of Bengal.Who does the BJP have tocounter her? It is a point theTMCwill make: look at the BJPteam in Bengal. Amit Shah isleading the charge, the state in-chargesareKailashVijayvargiya,Amit Malviya and ArvindMenon.TheydonotunderstandBengal. They are only pushingdivisivenesswhilewewillpushdevelopment and the Bengaliidentity,” aTMC leader said.That the Trinamool leader-

ship isnot takingtheBJP lightlyisevidentbytheselectionof thevenue for Banerjee’s first rallyafter thepandemic.Union HomeMinister Amit

Shah visited Bankura just aweekago.Addressingagather-ingMonday, the TMC supremo

described Shah’s recent visit toa tribal household in Bankurafor lunch as “show off” andclaimed that the food itemsserved to the BJP leader werecookedat five-starhotels -- theallegation has been rubbishedby theBJP.She also hit out at Shah for

apparently mistaking a statueofatribalhunterforthatof free-dom fighter BirsaMunda.Banerjee is spending two

days in Bankura. Among the 18Lok Sabha seats the BJPwon inBengal in2019areBankuraandBishnupur, which cover 13Assembly segments.In the run-up to Banerjee’s

rally, the Trinamool has organ-isedapressconferenceadayonvariousissuesandaddressedbyadifferent leader orminister.

OnMonday, the press con-ference was by MP NusratJahan, while earlier press con-ferenceswereheldbyministersBratya Basu, ChandrimaBhattacharya and Dr ShashiPanja and party MPs KakoliGhosh Dastidar and SukhenduSekharRay.“Not only inKolkata,we are

alsoholdingdistrict-levelpressconferences regularly. This isalsotoshowourbenchstrengthas a party. While MamataBanerjee is our leader,we haveotherBengali stalwartswhoarepart of the TMC. LeadersBengalis know and recognise.The issuesbeing raisedarealsopositive.Onedayonhealthcare,another day on what has beendoneforwomen,”aseniorpartyleader said.

AseniorTMCleadersaidthatoverthenextfewmonths, thepartywillemphasise“lackoflocal leadership inBJP”.

‘Insider vs outsider’ to be prominenttheme of TMCcampaign against BJP

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA,NOVEMBER24

BJPNATIONALgeneralsecretaryKailashVijayvargiyaonTuesdayassured elderly “kirtan” singersthattheywillbepaidpensionsifthe BJP comes to power in thestate.Addressingpartyworkers in

South 24 Parganas district’sBaruipur, Vijayvargiya said,“When ‘kirtan’ singers turn 60,theycannotsinganymoreduetotheirage. Itbecomesdifficultforsuch artists to provide for theirfamilies once they stop singing.They become a burden to thefamily. So theymust get someamount ofmoney as a pension.When Iaddressed this issuebe-fore PrimeMinister NarendraModiandUnionHomeMinisterAmit Shah, they said all suchartistswillbeprovidedpensionsonce the BJP forms the govern-ment inWestBengal.”The BJP leader said the

Mamata Banerjee governmentdidnotsendalistofsuchsingers

to theCentre."So far, a list of 1,200 singers

has been prepared. They willstartgettingpensionsfromnextmonth.When the state govern-mentwas asked to senda list ofsuchsingers inBengal, itdidnotsend the list,"headded.Meanwhile, sourcessaid the

BJP would undertake an out-reach programme titled “DuareDuareBJP[BJPatyourdoorstep]”to counter the state govern-ment's “Duare Duare PaschimBanga Sarkar” scheme, whichwas announced by chief minis-terMamataBanerjee recently.“In the first phase of the ini-

tiative,which is to beheld fromDecember 1 to 12, our youthworkers will visit every house-hold in the state spread across294Assemblyseats,”saidBJPMPSaumitraKhan.

Noimpactonsocialwelfareschemesdespite financialconstraints:Mamata

Minister meetsdissident MLAKolkata: Trinamool Congress(TMC) leaderandstateministerRabindranath Ghoshmet dis-gruntled party MLA MihirGoswami at his residence inCoochBehardistrictonTuesdaytopersuadehimtoremainintheparty.Goswami recently criticised

the functioning of the party. Inseveralsocialmediaposts,hehashinted at leaving the TMC, andalsometBJPMPNisithPramanika fewdaysago."I had come earlier but did

not get the chance tomeethim.TodayIcameagain.Heisaseniorand experienced politician. Hewill decidewhether to leave orremainintheparty.Ifanyonehasany grudge against the partythen hemust say it out loud toleavenoroomforanymisunder-standing. There is noharm in it.We have said that Mihir da isverymuch in the party and heshould remainwith the party,”said Ghosh after he talks withthedissident leader. ENS

Listof 1,200singersready, saysVijayvargiya

Vijayvargiya promises‘kirtan’ singers pensionif BJP is voted to power

NARADASTINGCASE

PIL in HC seeks swift probeKolkata:Aggrievedwith an “in-tentionaldelay”bytheCBIintheNarada sting operation investi-gation,CongressLeaderAmitavaChakrabortyhasfiledaPILintheCalcuttaHCandsoughtitsinter-ventiontospeeduptheprobe.The CBI has yet to file a

charge-sheet. Many TMC lead-ershavebeenaccusedofaccept-ingbribe for lobbying.

Chakraborty'scounselBikashRanjanBhattacharyaarguedthatLokSabhaSpeaker’spermissionto file charge-sheet against law-makersisnotrequiredasthecasewasreferredtotheCBIbytheHC.ThePILislistedfortomorrow."Itisacaseofanunderstandingbe-tweentheBJPandtheTMC.Thisis delaying the investigation,"Chakrabortysaid. ENS

HARISHDAMODARANNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER24

SUGARMILLS in Uttar Pradeshareworried about low recoverylevelsofthesweetenerfromcanein the 2020-21 crushing season(October-September), which,theysay,willincreaseproductioncostandmakeit furtherdifficulttopayfarmers.Mills in the state have so far

crushed86.187lakhtonnes(lt)ofcaneandproduced8.018ltsugarat an average recovery rate of9.30per cent in the current sea-son.Forthecorrespondingperiod

of2019-20, theycrushed73.629lt cane and produced 7.322 ltsugaratahigherrecoveryof9.94percent.“Wearecrushingmorecane,

butareproducing6kglesssugarfrom every tonne. At existingsugar realisations of Rs 31/kg,that translates into a loss of al-most Rs 19 per quintal of cane.

Howwillwepay even the pres-ent,forgethigher,caneprice,”anofficial from the UP SugarMillsAssociation(UPSMA)asked.Ameeting of theUP govern-

ment’s cane price fixation com-mittee is scheduled in LucknowonWednesday. The committeeis expected to take a call on thestateadvisedprice (SAP)of canepayablebymills for the2020-21season. The cane SAP under theYogiAdityanath-ledBJPgovern-menthasbeenraisedbyonlyRs10/quintal(fromRs305toRs315forgeneral,andfromRs315toRs325forearly-maturingvarieties)since2016-17.Whilethereispressureonthe

state government to increasecanepriceafter a longgap,millsare, however, yet to dischargeeventheirpastSAPdues.Duringthe2019-20season,theycrushed1,118.02ltofcanewhoseaverageSAPvaluewasRs35,898.14crore.ButasofNovember17, theyhadpaid only Rs 30,164.69 crore,translating into arrears of Rs

5,733.45crore.“WehavesoughtthattheSAP

for2020-21bemaintainedatlastyear’s level and also permissiontomake the canepayment in2-3 installments.Further, thestategovernment should provide acane subsidy of Rs 15/quintal tocompensate for the lower sugarrecovery,” the UPSMA officialsaid.The reduced sugar recovery

is being blamedmainly on cli-matic factors. The early onset ofwinter –more specifically, lowdifference between day andnight temperatures – is said tohaveaffectedsucroseaccumula-tion in cane. ButDrBakshiRam,director of the Indian Council ofAgricultural Research’sSugarcane Breeding Institute,Coimbatore,saidlowerrecoverycouldalsobeduetotheextendedcrushingseasonin2019-20.He said most mills in UP

crushed cane through Mayand some even ran till early-June.

UP cane farmers hit pay hurdleas mills say getting less sugar

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD,NOVEMBER24

A SPECIAL court of the CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI) inAhmedabad on Tuesday dis-chargedtwopolicemenaccusedin the Sadiq Jamal Mehtar en-countercaseof 2003,observingthattherewasnothingonrecordtosupportallegationsoftheirin-volvement,markingthefirstdis-charge in thecase.According to the CBI, the ac-

cused policemen—RLMavaniandAjayapalsinghSiyaramYadav—were part of the “encounterteamandpresent at the spot ofencounter”. The court said thattheywere part of a “disciplinedforce,whereseniorsarenotaccus-tomed to hear ‘no’ from themouthofstaffonduty”.The twoaccusedwere facing

charges of criminal conspiracy,wrongfulrestraint,wrongfulcon-finement,kidnappingorabduct-inginordertomurder,kidnappingorabductingwith intentsecretlyandwrongfullytoconfineperson,murder andabetmentwhenof-fencewascommitted.Discharging Mavani and

Yadav, thespecialCBIcourt said,“...There is nothing on record tosupport the allegations of in-volvement of these two appli-cants from start to finish. Nonehas said so and nothing is onphysicalrecordtoshowthattheyhave gone toMumbai withMrTarun Barot to take custody ofSadik... If there is nothing onrecordwith regard to the pres-enceandinvolvementofpresentapplicants then they cannot betaken as conspirators. There isnothing to show that they havecommitted any overt act withknowledge or have tacitly con-sentedtotheobjectofdetentionandkillingof Sadik(sic)...”The court reliedon50prose-

cutionwitnesses’ statements aswell as the FIR filedby the crime

branch in thecase.TheFIRnotedthattheaccusedParmarfiredfiverounds andaccusedSaiyad firedsixroundsonSadiq.“Asper theFIR, thesetwoap-

plicants(MavaniandYadav)havedonenothingduringthesecross-fires. Ithasnotbeen investigatedthatatthattime,thesetwoappli-cantswerearmedwithweaponsornot...Theirmerepresenceattheplace of encounter, that too, onobeyingtheorderofseniorofficer,isnotsufficienttochargethemformurder...Wemust keep inmindthat these two applicantsare/werepartof suchdisciplinedforce,whereseniorsarenotaccus-tomed to hear ‘no’ from themouth of staff on duty,” notedspecialCBI JudgeBharatAmbalalDave.Sadiq (28), fromBhavnagar,

was killed on the interveningnightof January12and13,2003,atNarodanearGalaxyCinema,af-ter an intelligence input for-warded by the Gujarat Policelinkedhim to SalimChiplun, anaide of gangstersAnees Ibrahim(gangster Dawood Ibrahim’sbrother) and gangster ChhotaShakeel.The alert said that “Dubai-

based” Sadiqwas sent by terror-ist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba to killthen deputy primeminister LKAdvani,thenGujaratchiefminis-ter Narendra Modi and VHPleaderPravinTogadia.Asper theCBI’s investigation,

Sadiq was apprehended inMumbai by theMumbai policeand was interrogated by sub-sidiary intelligencebureau (SIB),Mumbai officers in December2002.Subsequently,onJanuary2,2003,accordingtotheCBI,Gujaratpolice brought him toAhmedabad, kept him in illegalconfinementandkilledhim.While opposing the dis-

chargepleas,thepublicprosecu-tor had argued that Sadiq “wasnot a terrorist but hewas a vic-tim”.

GUJARAT

Two cops accusedin Jamal encountercase discharged

Customs arrestsSivasankar insmuggling caseThiruvananthapuram: The cus-toms, which is probing into acase relating to smuggling ofgold through diplomatic cargo,on Tuesday arrested MSivasankar,formerprincipalsec-retary to the Kerala ChiefMinister. The suspended seniorIAS officer has been in judicialcustody after the ED arrestedhim in connectionwith allegedmoney laundering. ENS

Kolkata

EXPRESSNETWORK 5WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER25,2020

PERMANENTCOMMISSIONFORWOMEN

Plea in apexcourt flagsselectionprocessKRISHNKAUSHIKNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER24

DAYSAFTERtheArmymadepub-lic results of a selection board –grantingPermanentCommissionto422womenofficersoutof615applicants – an applicationwasfiled in the SupremeCourt chal-lengingtheselectionprocess.Thepetition, filedby lawyers

Archana Pathak Dave andChitrangdaRastravara onbehalfof Lt Colonel AshuYadav and10otherpetitioners,willbetakenupincourtonWednesday.According to the application,

the processwas conducted in a“prejudicialmanner”. It says lessthanhalf theapplicantshaveac-tually been granted PermanentCommission,andnot422.“Denying PC (Permanent

Commission) to scores of ex-tremely meritorious and out-standingwomen officers basedon unknown, undisclosed andsurreptitiousparameters,deviat-ingfromthesettlednormsasap-pliedtogentlemenofficerswhilegranting them PC, smacks ofgross arbitrariness,” says the ap-plication.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,NOVEMBER24

JOURNALIST PRIYA Ramani, ontrialinadefamationcasefiledbyformerUnionministerMJAkbar,has through her lawyers told aDelhicourtthatshewillnotset-tle the case with Akbar andstandsbyher statement.The submissionsweremade

before Additional ChiefMetropolitan MagistrateRavindraPandey,whohadurgedlawyers for both Ramani andAkbar to consider settling thedefamationcasesincetheoffencewascompoundableinnature.On Tuesday, ACMMPandey

askedthelawyerswhethertheyhad a chance to talk or "are thedoorsshut?"BhavookChauhan,appearing on behalf of Ramani,told the court, "Our stand isclear... Ramani stands by herstatement. If the complainantwantstowithdrawthenhemaybring itonrecord."Senior advocate Geeta

Luthra, appearing on behalf ofAkbar, told the court, "If the ac-cused was apologetic. If therewasany indication fromthem, Iwill askmybriefingcounsel."Akbar'slawyerstoldthecourt

to continue the case on itsmer-its, following which the courtsaid the issueof settlementwasclosed. The court set the nextdateofhearingonDecember2.Akbar has sued Ramani for

defamationoverallegationsofsex-

ualmisconduct andharassment.With several otherwomencom-ing forwardwith similar allega-tions,Akbar resignedasMinisterofStateforExternalAffairs.On Tuesday, Luthra con-

cluded her final arguments,whichweremade for a secondtime, since a new judge wastransferred to thecase.Luthra begun thehearing by

goingthroughthebackgroundofthe case and told the court thatAkbarhada "long, illustrious ca-reer...animpeccablereputation.Itwasnotonly inprofessional life...Hehasdoneextremehandworkandwasanexactingsenior..."Luthrathenreadoutexcerpts

fromRamani's article publishedinVogue in2017. "Shenames thecomplainant, says he didn't doanything.Despitethatsheiscall-ing himapervert, predator... It'snotthatshehasdoneanyresearchoranyenquiry....”She also read out Akbar's

statement made to the courtalongwiththatofhiswitnesses."This takescareof showing thatreputationwas impeccable andhewasrespectedamongstrightthinkingmembers of the soci-ety," Luthra said.

DEFAMATIONCASE

Ramani stands bystatement, says won’tsettle case with Akbar

ARUNJANARDHANAN&ESHAROYCHENNAI,NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER24

ADEEP depression over Bay ofBengal that has intensified intoa cyclonic storm is expected tomake landfall Wednesdayevening along the Tamil Naducoastwithawindspeedof 120-130 kmph, gusting up to 145kmph,weather officials said onTuesday. Authorities in TamilNaduandPuducherry,whichareexpectedtotakethebruntofcy-clone Nivar, said precautionarymeasures were being takenwhile the central governmentassuredallnecessaryhelp.In New Delhi, India

Meteorological Department(IMD) officials said Nivar waslikely to intensify into a severecyclonic storm in the next 12hours and intoavery severe cy-clonic storm in the subsequent

12hours.“It is very likely to move

west-northwestwards for next12 hours and then northwest-wards. It is very likely to crossTamil Nadu and Puducherrycoasts between Karaikal andMamallapuram on November25 late evening as a very severecyclonic storm with a windspeedof 120-130kmphgustingto 145 kmph,’’ IMD DirectorGeneralDrMMohapatra said.Prime Minister Narendra

ModispoketoTamilNaduChiefMinister Edappadi KPalaniswami and PuducherryChiefMinisterVNarayanasamyandassuredallpossiblesupportfrom the Centre. “I pray for thesafety andwell-being of thoseliving in the affected areas,” thePrimeMinister later tweeted.Apart from Chennai and

someotherpartsofTamilNadu,Mohapatrasaid,AndhraPradeshand Telanganawill experienceheavyrainfall.

TN, Puducherrybrace for cyclone

ESHAROY&ANJUAGNIHOTRICHABANEWDELHI,CHANDIGARH,NOVEMBER24

STUBBLEBURNINGinPunjabin-creased by 46 per cent this yearin comparison to last year, ac-cording to data released by theMinistryofEnvironment,ForestsandClimateChange.In a report on ‘Active Fire

Events(AFE)’,theMinistryfoundthattherewere76,537incidentsof stubbleburninginPunjabbe-tween September 21 andNovember 22 as against 52,225sucheventsduringthesamepe-riod in2019.Duringthesameperiod,AFEs

in Haryana went down from6,551 last year to4,675 this year (a drop of28.6 per cent), according tothereport.On possible reasons for the

rise in stubble burning cases inPunjab this year, agriculture ex-pertandformerPunjabDirector,Agriculture,SutantarKumarAeri,saidharvestingstartedearlywiththeearlyonsetofwinter.

“In 2019, we had rains inSeptember.Thatwasmissingthisyear,makingconditionsidealforearly harvesting and sowing. Sofarmersdidn’twait for thestub-blemanagementmachinery toreach them, and went aheadwithwheatsowingimmediatelyafter harvesting paddy and set-tingthestubbleonfire,”hesaid.Another factor, said Aeri,

could have been the protestsagainst the Centre's farm laws.“In somedistrictswhere farmerunionsarestrong,theyinstigatedfarmers to set stubble on fire asmark of protest against theCentre's laws. Even those farm-erswhohadearlierbeenmanag-ing stubble ineco-friendlywaysburnt theirstubblethisyear,”he

toldThe IndianExpress.Experts say that the rise in

fires is surprising consideringPunjabhad less stubble toman-age this year — production ofstubble has gone down by 15%this year — and enoughresources (74,000 stubblemanagement machines thistime) inhand.According to the ministry,

districts such as Sangrur,BathindaandFirozpurinPunjabhave thehighestAFE (active fireevents) counts, with their AFEsrising by 45.7%,35%and40.5% respectivelyover2019.Thereportsaidthatthisyear,

alldistrictsofPunjab,exceptSBSNagar, have shown an upwardtrendintheirAFEs.The Centre has blamed the

increase in stubble burning inPunjab on “the lack of ground-level implementationofCentre-supportedschemes”.Thisyear, therewere26days

in Punjab duringwhich stubbleburning contributed to morethan10percentof PM2.5 levelswhiletherewere21suchdaysin2019.

Professor S N Tripathi of IIT-Kanpur,anexpertmemberintheNational Clean Air Programme,saidhewas surprised to find in-cidents of stubble burning inPunjab in August-September.“This was quite surprising aspeakstubbleburningtakesplacefrom the thirdweek of OctobertillNovemberfirstweek.ButthisyearinPunjab,therewereactivefire events even by the end ofAugust and early September.Also, the numberswere higherthan last year by 100 per cent.Thenumberof incidentsalsoin-creased marginally in UttarPradeshandRajasthan,butthoseweren'tsignificantandwouldn’thavehadan impact. InHaryana,activefireeventshavedecreased.Of course, we don’t knowwhythis increase (in Punjab) hastaken place but it is definitelyalarmingandneedstobelookedinto,’’saidTripathi.Prof Tripathi added, “What

hastobelookedatisiftheCentralschemesrolledoutin2017-18arebeing implementedby the stategovernments, and if not, thenwhy.”

Theearlystart toharvestingthisyearcouldbeoneof thereasonsfor increasedcasesof stubbleburninginPunjab,accordingtoexperts

Stubbleburningcasesup46%inPunjab,down28%inHaryana

PriyaRamani,M J Akbar

Awaterloggedroad inChennaiduringheavyraintriggeredbyCycloneNivar. PTI

Kolkata

6WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

OPEN CAUTIOUSLYBankingsectorneedsmorecompetition.Butallowingcorporatesinwithoutstrongregulationcouldheightensystemicrisk

D ESPITEREPEATEDCALLSforliberalisingentryintothebankingsectorinIndia,theReserveBankof India (RBI) has until nowbeen conservative in its ap-proachwhen it comes to grantingbank licences.Underboth the2001andthe2013 licensingguidelines, only a fewnewprivate sectorbankswereal-

lowed to enter the sector. Calls for allowing inbig corporate houseshaveuntil nowbeenfirmly resistedby the central bank. But goingby the report of the internalworkinggroup(IWG)of theRBI,releasedonFriday,afundamentalshift inthethinkingonthiscontentiousissueappearstohavetakenplace.TheIWGhasrecommendedallowinglargecorporate/in-dustrial houses topromotebanks in the country, despitemost experts cautioningagainstsuchamove.Whiletherecanbenoargumentagainsttheneedtousheringreatercompeti-tion,andtheneedforgreaterprivatecapital, especiallyat thecurrent juncture, this recom-mendationcallsforavigorousandopendebateontheissueofcorporateownershipofbanksbeforeimplementation.The risks associatedwith allowing large corporate houses to promotebanks arewell

known.AstheformerGovernorandDeputyGovernoroftheRBI,RaghuramRajanandViralAcharya, havewarned, doing so could lead to “connected lending”,wherein depositors’moneycouldeasilyfinditswayintothekittyofthecorporatepromotersandtheirconnectedbusinesses,heighteningsystemicrisk.Giventhequestionablestandardsofcorporategover-nanceinIndiancompanies—numerousexamplesofcronycapitalismhavecometolightinthe recent past—questionsover conflict of interest arebound to arise. As the report itselfmentions,“itwillbedifficulttoringfencethenon-financialactivitiesof thepromoterswiththatofthebank”.Thereisalsothefearofthemorepoliticallyconnectedbusinesshousesob-tainingtheselicences.Andcomingatatimewhenmanylargecorporatesareconsolidatingtheirpositioninsectoraftersector,allowingbigger,muscular,andwell-connectedbusinesshousesentry intobankingcould lead to further concentrationof power. This, asRajanandAcharyahave cautioned, could “exacerbate the concentrationof economic (andpolitical)powerincertainbusinesshouses”.Ithasbeenarguedthatsuchconcernscanbeaddressedbystrongsupervisionandwell

thought out regulation.However, recent episodes suchas the collapseof IL&FS, theNiravModiscamatthePunjabNationalBank,andtheimplosionof thePunjabandMaharashtraCooperativeBank,don'tinspireconfidenceintheregulator’ssupervisorycapabilities.Financialskulduggeryisareality.Creativewaysofcircumventingregulationsarelikelytocropup.Thusthe importanceof firstbeefingupregulatoryandsupervisorycapabilitiescan’tbestressedenough.Whilethereisastrongcaseforliberalisingentryintothebankingsector,andtoen-couragethecreationofbigprivatebankscapableofmeetingthefinancingneedsoftheecon-omy,asystemof stringentchecksandbalanceswillneedtobeput inplacebeforethecen-tralbankcontemplatesanysuchstep.

BEFORE THE FIRST SHOTIndiawillneedtobuildanadultvaccinationsystemvirtually

fromscratch.There isnotimeto lose

I NTHEPASTthreeweeks, late-stagetrialsforaCOVID-19vaccinehaveshownen-couragingresults,evenasmanypartsof theworld, includingIndia,grapplewitha new surge of infections. Particularly heartening for India are the interim datafrom the trials of the vaccine jointly developed by Oxford University and the

pharmamajor,AstraZeneca.ThePune-basedSerumInstituteof India,acollaboratorintheproject, reportedlyanticipates thepreventive“tobeavailable in thecountryverysoon”.But it’salsoevident that the immunisationdrivewillbea long-drawnaffairandthefirstlot of the vaccineswill have to be rationed. The government has reportedly created adatabaseof onecrorehealthcareworkerswhowill get the first shot. Thenext challengewill be tocreatean infrastructure for storinganddistributing thevialsof thepreventiveandmobilisingaworkforce toundertake the inoculationdrive.TheOxfordAstraZeneca vaccine canbe stored at 2 to 8degrees Celsius. This is good

newsforIndiabecausethecountrydoesnothavethecoldstorageinfrastructurerequiredby the other frontrunner candidate, the Pfizer vaccine,whichmust be stored at freezertemperature.Muchworkwill stillneedtobedonetobraceuprefrigerationamenitiesatmultiple points in the vaccine supply chain, includingmedical stores at thedistrict andvillagelevelsandtheill-equippedPHCs.Transportingthevaccinesfromthelaboratoriestothecentreswheretheywillbeadministeredwillrequirecoordinationbetweenpharmacompanies,healthcareandtransportauthoritiesandadministrativeagenciesatdifferentlevels. Tracking each vial as itmoves across the supply chainwill be important for pa-tient safety.Anetworkofhealthworkerswillhave tobe trainedanddeployedtoensurethatpeopledon’thave to travel longdistances toget themselvesvaccinated.Indiadoesnothavemuchexperienceofvaccinationprogrammesacrossallagegroups.

The country’s immunisation drives, by and large, target children andpregnantwomen.Unlike theUS,whichhasan influenza inoculationprogramme, Indiawillhave tobuildanadultvaccinationsystemvirtually fromscratch.Thechallengeof inoculatingasubstantialchunkofthecountry’s130crorepopulationinabouttwoyearsagainstthecoronaviruscanbegaugedfromthefactthatlessthan20crorechildrenhavebeenvaccinatedagainstpolioin25years. It’s imperativethatthecountryputsasysteminplaceforthepurpose.

CONSENSUS BUILDERAschiefminister, TarunGogoi ledAssam’s recovery

after the insurgencyyears

W HENTARUNGOGOI becamechiefminister for the first time in2001,Assamwasreelingundertheaftereffectsof twodecadesofviolentagi-tationsandinsurgencies.Gogoihadtwobattlestowin:RebuildAssamfromthewreckageofthepastandrebrandtheCongressasaninclusive

party.Hewassuccessfulindoingboth—hewonthenexttwoelectionstobecomethestate’slongest-servingCMandrepairedAssam’sfracturedsocietyandcrumblingeconomy.Gogoiwassuccessfulbecauseherecognisedtheimportanceofmaintainingsocialpeace

eveninthefaceofgraveprovocations.Heengagedwithdifferentinsurgentgroups—ULFA,Bodoparties—andmanymilitantsjoinedthemainstream.HealsoskilfullynegotiatedwiththeCentreforfinancialsupport.Assamdidseebombblastsandcommunalviolenceunderhiswatch, butGogoi presentedhimself as a leaderwith ahealing touch.UnderGogoi, theCongressmanaged toovercome theperception that itwas inimical to regional andethnicinterests,thelegacyof itspoliticalpositioningduringtheAssamMovement.Gogoichampi-onedtheAssamAccordandbelievedthataNationalRegisterofCitizensofferedasolutiontothestate’slongstandingcomplaintaboutillegalmigration.Hehadanuancedpositiononthematter and refused to frame it in religious terms.Gogoiwas in the forefrontwhenAssamtooktothestreetsagainsttheamendmenttothecitizenshipAct.Longyearsinpoliticsandgovernment—GogoijoinedtheCongressunderIndiraGandhi,

served in theNarasimhaRaoministry, andwas trustedbybothSoniaandRahulGandhi—had,perhaps,convincedhimthataggressivemeasuresareunlikelytoresolveproblemsthatstemmedfromthelegaciesofcolonialismandPartition.Gogoi’smethodwastoletwoundshealandbuildonthepositives.Assam,andthecountry,benefitedfromthisapproach.

Protecting Article 32

Upendra Baxi

SwarnaRajagopalan

RighttoconstitutionalremediesistheConstitution’ssoul.Surelyapexcourtismindfulof that

THE INVISIBLE PANDEMICGender-basedviolencewaspredictable, andpreventable, falloutof lockdown

THELEARNEDCHIEF Justiceof India, JusticeSA Bobde, is reported to have stated duringthehearing of journalist SiddiqueKappan’sbailmatter,thattheCourtwastryingto“dis-courage” recourse to Article 32, the funda-mental right to constitutional remedies.Pratap BhanuMehta, in a scathing article(‘Their Lordships &Masters’, IE, November18) says that theCJI has “unwittingly let thecatoutof thebag”,demotingthefundamen-tal right to amerematter of organisationaladjudicative leadership. For him, this is “aperfect metaphor for our times”, becausesuchdiscouraginginvolvesepisodicsuspen-sion of Article 32. Apart from recallingphilosopherWalter Benjamin’s thesis thatthereis“nodocumentofcivilisationwhichisnot at the same time a document of bar-barism”,Idonotengagethewideraspectsofhis analysis but here focus narrowly on theanalyticof Article32.Thecatwasoutofthebagalongwhileago.

The apex judicial process shows clearly thattheCourtregardsArticle32asajudicialpowersubject to the fundamental principles of ad-ministrationofjustice.Ithasalreadyextendedrulesanddoctrinessuchaslaches(delays)orres judicata (amatter already decided by acompetentcourt)oranyotherprincipleofad-ministrationof justice. CJIMHidayatullah inTilokchand (1970) said thatwhat Article 32does is tokeepopen“thedoorsof thiscourt”and requires the state not to “put any hin-drance” to a person seeking to approach theCourt.Butthisdoesnotmeanthat“theCourtmustignoreandtrampleunderfootalllawsofprocedure, evidence, limitation, res judicataandthelike”. JusticeMPThakkar(andJusticeBCRay)inKanubhaiBrahmbhatt(1987)wentevenfurther:Speakingof the“alarmingpro-portions”ofjudicialdelays,theyobservedthat“timeforimposingself-disciplinehasalreadycome, even if it involves shedding of someamount of institutional ego” and to “inspireconfidenceinthelitigantsthat justicewillbemetedouttothemattheHighCourtlevel,andother levels”. True, faith “mustbe inspired inthehierarchyofCourtsandthe institutionasawhole” and not” only in this Court alone”.So, even if there is a constitutional right to

remedies it remains subject to thedisciplineof judicialpowerandprocess.But the Court has also discovered new

facets of Article 32. As early as 1950, it hasruledthatpowersunderArticle32arenotlim-ited to the exercise of prerogativewrits; in1987theCourtruledthatithaspowerstorulefor compensation of violation of fundamen-tal rights; and in1999 it said that this powerextended to the rectification of its ownmis-takesorerrors.Thus, it issimplyunworthytoattributeorimputeanyinsidiousmotivefroma stray remark:Does CJI Bobde at allwish tocancelall thesenorms,andmore?Many further questions are raised. First,

cantheCJIortheCourtasawholesufferfromepistemic collapse so as to receive sharp re-mindersandrebukes fromcitizencommen-tators?Howmayweeverforget that justicesswearanoathtoprotect the“constitutionbylawestablished”andthattheyinheritjudicialworldsandwisdom?Second,justicesusuallycome to the SupremeCourt not as Alice en-ters theWonderland; rather they emerge asjudicialbeingsafter longyearsat thebarandthebench,andmanyhaveservedaschiefjus-ticesofoneormorehighcourt.Aretheythenlikely tosuffer fromamnesiaof theconstitu-tionalfactthatArticle32doesnotmerelycon-ferwidepowersontheCourtbutalsotheju-dicial duty to provide constitutionalremedies?Third, do lawyers and justices not know

thatwhatdistinguishesArticle32fromArticle226 is the very dimension; the high court’svast jurisdiction technically casts nodutyonthem to enforce fundamental rights. Theyhavethediscretiontoactornotto;incontrast,theSupremeCourtmust.Fourth,Article32 isnotabsolute,nocon-

stitutional right is. Of course, the SupremeCourtdecidesonwhat“appropriateproceed-ings” shouldbe for it tobesomoved.But theCourtmaynotprescribeanyprocessasitlikesbut only that processwhich preserves, pro-tectsandpromotestherighttoconstitutionalremedies.Article 33 clearly says that the rightwill

notextend to themembersof armed forces,thosemembers of armed forces “charged

withthemaintenanceofpublicorder”,those“employedinanybureauororganisationes-tablishedbylaw”for“intelligenceorcounterintelligence”,and“employedbyanyStatebu-reauororganisationestablishedbyanyForce”for(orinconnectionwith)“telecommunica-tion system”. Article 32may not restrict orabrogate the “maintenance of disciplineamongthem”.TheCourthasalsoupheld (in1997) the 50th amendment enlarging thescopeofthisarticleagainstachallengeofthebasic structure of the Constitution. And thepowermayvalidly bedelegated to the rule-making competence of the executive, pro-vided that such rules “are necessary for en-suring theproper dischargeof duties by theArmedForces”.Justice AK Patnaik, editing further DD

Basu’s Shorter Constitution of India , rightlydoubtsthestatepowertoamendalawunderArticle33,andparticularlyArticle34,autho-risingParliamenttoindemnifyparticularper-sons “for any act done… in connectionwiththemaintenanceorrestorationoforderinanyareawithin the territory of India”. But evensuch a power, Justice Patnaik rightlymain-tains,willnoteclipsetherightofa“person…detainedwithout the authority of law… tomoveforhabeascorpus”.The just demand for an expeditious and

effectivebailsystemstemsfrommanifestdis-crimination in bail where one case is fasttrackedwhereasothersareconsignedtoslowmoving judicial action, evenwhen rights tolifeandhealthareendangered.Scandalousju-dicial delays,measures of decongestion anddiversion, and a bold resolution of “whowatches thewatchman” syndromenowde-mandurgentapexresponse.As theYalehistorianRohitDeremindsus

vividly,Article32makestheapexcourtintoa“people’scourt”.AndfuturehistoriansshouldnotbeabletoconcludethattheCourtdeliber-ately dealt deathblows to this “soul” of theConstitution, as Babasaheb Ambedkar de-scribedArticle32.

Thewriter isprofessorof law,UniversityofWarwick,and formervicechancellorofUniversitiesof SouthGujaratandDelhi

THE NATIONAL Commission for WomensoundedanalarminearlyAprilthatdomesticviolencecaseshadspikedinjustthefirstweekoftheCOVID-19lockdown,ashaddistresscalls.ThiswasechoedbytheUNSecretary-Generalwhousedtheterm“shadowpandemic”.Sincethen, across theworld, police, shelters andhelplineshaveconfirmedthatalthoughthein-cidence of domestic violencewas alwayshigher thanwe liked to admit, therewas analarming increase in its frequencyduring thepandemic.Women,andgenderandsexualmi-noritieswere confined indoorswith theirabusersandevenmakingacallorsteppingoutforshelterwerelikelytobeverychallenging.Tothoseworkinginvictimsupportservices

andadvocacyagainst gender-basedviolence,thisisnosurprise.Hadthestate,societyorme-diapaid anyattention todecadesof feministstudiesorreports,wewouldhaveknownhowtobrace for sucha spike. Butwhen thepan-demichit,wholesocietiestookcoverwithzerosocialprotectioninplace,triggeringahuman-itariancrisistoequaltheimpactofCOVID-19.Till date, public discussion of the pan-

demic’simpactongenderviolenceisconfinedtodomestic violence. But violence cannotbecategorised in airtight boxes—domestic vio-lence; rape and sexual assault; street sexualharassment;workplace sexual harassment;custodialrape;conflict-relatedsexualviolence;communalviolence;war;dronestrikes;casteviolence.Violenceistheshort-handlanguageweuse to communicate power play and, assuch,differentkindsandcontextsofviolencelieonaspectrumwhichisdefinedbyinequal-

ityandthedesiretocontrol.Theonlyrealtrickle-downeffectweknow

of isproliferatingbrutalisation.Structuralvio-lence, as in the deep-seated inequalities ofIndiansociety,createsaclimatewherestatevi-olenceistoleratedbecauseweareconditionedtograntingotherspoweroverusandcondon-ing its abuse. Thosewhoare instrumental incarryingout the state’s coerciveorders inter-nalisethatsenseofentitlement.Whenthecon-stablewho is rewarded forbrutalitywithun-dertrialsgoeshome,theonlylanguagehehasmasteredisthatofcoerciveforce.Thechildwit-nessesdailyviolenceandunderstandsit tobethenormallanguageofhumaninteraction.Themalechildwhogetseverythinghereachesforknowsheisentitledandthathecangrabwithimpunity—becauseeveryotherauthority fig-ure,political,socialandeconomic,does.Whilewehavebeenfocusedondomestic

violence,asineveryothercrisis,wecouldan-ticipate a rise in other kinds of violence too.Mostrapesareperpetratedbypeopleknownto the victim; now lock them together in asmall joint familyhomeand imaginethe ter-ror. Remember that the lockdownmadeac-cess to reproductive healthcare, includingabortion, very difficult. The tediumof lock-downisthenewcontextofmaritalrape,withfrustrationoverincomeuncertaintyprofferedasjustification.Thelockdownrenderedhundredsofthou-

sandsjoblessandhomeless.Peoplefaintedanddiedonthatbrutalwalkhome.Whathappenedtotheirchildren?Howmanywererapedortraf-ficked?Wewillnotknowhowmanygirlswere

marriedforciblyandearlyindesperationtoseethemsafe and fed.Wecanonly imagine theplightofwomenandgirlswithdisability, leftalonetofendforthemselvesintheaftermath.Asthestreetsemptiedout,howmanywomensellingvegetablesortea—allowedtoworkafewhours aday—weremademorevulnerable toharassment by passers-by or police?With“work-from-home”,howmanynewformsofworkplaceharassmenthaveemerged?Wewillknowonlywithtime,howmanynewkindsofviolencehaveemergedasproductsof thisex-tendedperiodofdesperation,tediumand“nooneislooking”impunity.Violenceistheominous,omnipresent,ob-

viousrealityinthelivesofgirls,women,sexualandgenderminoritiesandmany,manyboys.Whatwe know fromevery complex emer-gency in history is that sexual and gender-basedviolence is bothearlywarningof a cri-sis as well as one of its most brutalconsequences. Far fromshadowyor surpris-ing,sexualandgender-basedviolencewasthemost predictable consequence of the lock-down.Systematiccreationofasupport infra-structure (easy accesshelplines, secure shel-terserviceswithenablingcultures),bystanderintervention awareness andgender violencesensitisationof thepoliceandadministrationespeciallyforcrisiscontexts,wouldhavemit-igatedtheepidemicofviolence.Butthetruthiswesimplydonotcareenough.

Thewriter isan independent scholarandfounderofPrajnya,whichhasworked forgenderviolenceawareness since2008

The just demand for anexpeditious and effective bailsystem stems from manifestdiscrimination in bail whereone case is fast trackedwhereas others areconsigned to slow movingjudicial action, even whenrights to life and health areendangered. Scandalousjudicial delays, measures ofdecongestion and diversion,and a bold resolution of ‘whowatches the watchman’syndrome now demandurgent apex response.

To those working in victimsupport services andadvocacy against gender-based violence, the spike inviolence is no surprise. Hadthe state, society or mediapaid any attention to decadesof feminist studies orreports, we would haveknown how to brace for it.But when the pandemic hit,whole societies took coverwith zero social protectionsin place, triggering ahumanitarian crisis to equalthe impact of COVID-19

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

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

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER25,2020 WORDLYWISEBanking institutions aremore dangerous to

our liberties than standing armies.— THOMAS JEFFERSONTHEEDITORIALPAGE

5 KILLED IN ASSAMFIVE PERSONSWERE killed and several in-jured while troops were called in at twoplacestorestoreorderonthefirstdayof thestate-wide indefinite non-cooperationmovement in Assam, launched by centralandstategovernmentemployees.Ofthefivedead, threewerekilledinpolicefiringintheindustrial town of Tinsukia and the otherswas stabbed to death at Kalapahar andMaligaon area of Guahati city. Troopswerecalled in to support civilian authorities. Themovement is in support of a charter of de-mands, including an immediate solution tothe foreigners issue and andmeeting theseven demands of secretariat employees.

Workinallcentralandstategovernmentof-ficeswascompletelyparalysed inalmostallthe districts of the Brahamaputra Valley asemployees did not turnupdespite the gov-ernment's sternwarning.

MANDATE FOR CMSTHE CONGRESS-I CHIEF ministers ofMaharashtra,OrissaandRajasthanwonmas-sivemandateas results in theAssemblyby-elections gave the party a marginal gain.With results for all but three of the 15 seatsdeclared, theCongress-I got eight seats andtheoppositionwonfour.Thechiefministerswhowon landslidevictories are J BPatnaik,A R Antulay and Jagannat Pahadia, all of

whomshifted to the states from theCentreafter the JuneAssemblyelections.Of there-maining four seats, twowent to theLokDaland one each to the Bharatiya Janata Partyandthe JanataParty.

CHARLES IN DELHIPRINCE CHARLES, HEIR apparent to theBritish throne, was accorded awarmwel-comeatPalamairport.HeisinIndiaona12-daystatevisitandwasgreetedbydignitaries,includingambassadors,Unionministersandheads of missions. He was greeted byExternalAffairsMinisterPVNarasimhaRaoand the otherministers present included PCSethi,NDTiwari andPranabMukherjee.

NOVEMBER 25, 1980, FORTYYEARSAGO

Kolkata

7THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER25,2020 WHATTHEOTHERSSAY

“While many are thrilled by the prospect of immunisation .. the unusual speedwith which these products have been developed and tested has promptedanxiety among others, including those normally sanguine about vaccines.”

— THEGUARDIANTHE IDEASPAGEWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

There was personalchemistry of course –Vajpayee and Advani’sshared love for Bollywoodfilms and their matchingemotional quotients. Bothwere sensitive men, capableof crying or laughing at thedrop of a hat. The secondstrand in their bond wasprofessional compatibility,the ability for one to handleparty and the other tomanage Parliament. But thethird and most importantreason was the teamworkembedded into their politicalideologies.

Pulling off thepandemic poll

BiharaffirmedElectionCommission’sabilitytoconductelectionsthatarefree, fair—andsafe

THEDUSTHASsettledonthepollingfieldsof Bihar. A newgovernment has assumedoffice. The “masked” swearing-in cere-monywasasoberingreminderofthesedif-ficult times. The run-up to the elections,amidapandemic, turned the spotlight onthe Election Commission. A quotidian af-fairbecameanextraordinarychallenge.Democracies around theworld were

equally confounded. It was a Hobson’schoice—toconductelections intimeortodefer them to an uncertain future. A fewnations dithered, while others like SouthKoreawent ahead. On September 25, theChief Election Commissioner, while an-nouncing the schedule of elections, pro-claimedthat itwasa“leapof faithandnota leap into thedark.”The numbers were staggering. Bihar,

withmore than 73million electors, out-strips the entire population of the UnitedKingdom.Astatewhichwasbequeathedaproud legacyof havinggiven theworld itsfirstrepublicisnoordinarystate.Aconstel-lation of factors forced it to demonstrateleadershipyet again. Thediewas cast andelectionshadtobeheldintime.Anigglingdoubt remained.Would voters shy awayfrom turning up at the polling booth?Globalexpertsraisedaredflagonthepos-sibilityof lowturnout.Amammothprepa-rationexercisefollowed.Consultationwithpolitical parties, governmentmachineryand other stakeholders was set intomo-tion. Detailed instructions and advisoriesspelt out safety and health protocols. Theresults were astounding. People of Biharbeliedallexpectations.Thenumberswerehigher thanwhattheyhadbeenfiveyearsago.Morethan57percentvotersexercisedtheirfranchiseinathree-phasepoll. Itwasareaffirmationoftheirunwaveringfaithindemocracy. Equally, it was a testimony tothe abiding trust in the ElectionCommission to conduct elections whicharenotonly freeand fair, but safeaswell.A few things stand out from themas-

siveelectoralexercise,whichdeservespe-cialattention.First, inastatewiththehigh-est population density, voters even inremoteruralhinterlanddemonstratedre-solveanddiscipline.Forthemostpart,theyqueuedupasprescribed,maintaining theetiquette of social distancing. Managingcrowds during campaignswas a tougherproposition. Cases were registered in in-stancesof egregiousviolations.Second,themessagingofsafeprotocols

resonatedwith themasses. People, whowereordinarilyunaccustomedtowearingmasks even during times of contagion,

camemasked up orwrapped their tradi-tionalgamchhaorsariasameasureofpro-tection.Glovesandprotectivegearhithertoassociatedwithhospitalsbecameembed-ded in theelectionprocesswithease.Third, evenwhen afforded a choice to

usethepostalballot,anoverwhelmingma-jorityof theagedandthe infirmpreferredto use the EVMat the polling station. Themuch-malignedmachinewonoverthepa-per ballot. This is a tribute to the belief ofIndianpeopleintherobustnessoftheelec-tronicmachine,politicalrhetoricnotwith-standing.Fourth, the entire administrativema-

chineryof thestate,whichwilly-nillygetsinvolvedinelectionsonewayortheother,worked as a teamunited towards a com-mongoal.ThehealthdepartmentofBihardelivered not only the kits to be used byover 7,00,000 polling personnel, but alsomade precise arrangements for safe dis-posalof bio-medicalwaste. Policeandex-cise authorities stepped up their vigil, es-pecially along the borders,making recordseizuresof cashand liquor.TheElectionCommissionplaysthepre-

eminentroleofsuperintendence,directionandcontrolofelections,unlikesomeotherdemocracies.TheConstitutionarmsitwiththe necessary heft to enforce order. Eachelectionhasseenanincrementalimprove-mentoverpreviousones.Thecommissionhas embraced the use of technology on amuchgreaterscalethanfarmoreadvancednations. The entire cycle of voting, fromregistrationof voters to counting, is a partof an integrated digital framework.Candidatesandpoliticalpartiessecureper-missionsonline and file nominationsdig-itally. People with disabilities are able tovoluntarilymakerequestsforwheelchairsandspecial assistance.Deploymentof theelectronicallytransmittedpostalballotformembers of the armed forces and diplo-matic missions abroad has helped in in-creasing their participation in elections. Acrowd-sourcing of time-stamped photosand videos alert the authorities on viola-tions of the model code of conduct,promptingquickaction.Anationalelectionmanagementbodyhashelpedinthestan-dardisationofrulesof thegameanddefin-inguniformprocessesforregistration,vot-ing and counting. The utility of thisinstitutionwasalsobroughtinsharprelief,giventhetimelyandorderlydeclarationofresults.TrenchantcriticsalsoraisedatoasttotheimmaculatearrangementsforBiharelections.Wavesof pandemics, by their veryna-

ture,taketimetoabate.Someearlysignalsof development of a vaccine have raisedhope of humanity beating the vexatiousvirus. Democracy, which defines the soulofournation,cannotbeheldhostagetotheinvisibleenemy.Evenaforcemajeurecan-not shake the democratic compactwhichbindsourcountry.

Thewriter isDeputyElectionCommissioner, ElectionCommissionof

India.Viewsarepersonal

A JUGALBANDI IS a concert featuring twomusicians with separate styles and oftendistinct instruments. Yet, they somehowmanage tomakemusic together.NarendraModiandAmitShahareonly the latest inalong line of jugalbandis in the BharatiyaJanata Party. The first was from the early1950s during the early years of the JanaSangh — the precursor party to the BJP.Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the youngestvice-chancellor in the history of CalcuttaUniversity, was the erudite voice inParliament. His partner was DeendayalUpadhyaya, deputed from the RSS to pro-vide the organisational chords toMookerjee’s rhetorical flourishes. Thischoice of Mookerjee and Upadhyaya wasdeliberatesocialengineering.Hindunation-alismalwaysknewitwasbothamovementseeking to shape society as well as a partypursuingpower. Itneededanoratoraswellas anorganiser.The jugalbandi thatembodiedthismost

was the 60-year-long partnership of AtalBihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani.Bothhadseparatestylesanddistinct instru-ments.VajpayeegrewupinapoorGangeticBrahminfamilyandjoinedtheRSSbecauseof his caste and because his Gwalior wasalsoMarathi-speaking. Advani came fromthe cosmopolitan Karachi of the 1930s. Hespoke English before he learnt Hindi, andhis wealthy family owned a horse-drivenVictoria carriage (a luxuryeven inKarachi)and possessed a lavish homewith a roomjust forgames.Had itnotbeen for thecata-clysmofPartition—whichturnedthepros-perous Advanis into penniless refugees —AdvanimightneverhavejoinedtheRSS.Hewas, and this is the irony, too much of a“Macaulayputra”.What accentuated these social diver-

genceswas—as iswell known— ideologi-cal postures that seem the reverse of theirbackgrounds.Vajpayeewasthe“moderate”who knew how to seduce Parliament; hewas the greatest political orator India hasproduced.Advaniwas the“hardliner”whocould divine themood of the cadre and ofthe RSS. More than Parliament, he caredwhat the party headquarters at AshokaRoad in Delhi and RSS basecamp atHedgewar Bhawan in Nagpur thought.There was an element of acting in boththeseoutlooks;VajpayeeandAdvaniknewtherole theyhadtoplay.But therewasalsomuchauthenticity to the act.Yet, despite thesedifferences,Vajpayee

andAdvaniworkedtogethertocontrol theirpartyfrom1968(afterDeendayal’smurder)all theway till 2004 (when the BJP lost thenational elections). Their partnership en-abledthe firstbloomof the lotus.Andevenwhenthe lovefromtheirpoliticalmarriageevaporated (which it did from 1998 to2004) they remained united. Divorce wasnot anoption.This ability to stick together through

thickandthinwasbasedonthreeentwinedstrands. There was personal chemistry ofcourse — their shared love for Bollywoodfilms and their matching emotional quo-tients. Thesecondstrand in theirbondwas

professional compatibility, the ability forone to handle party and the other toman-ageParliament. But the thirdandmost im-portant reason for the strength of their re-lationship was the teamwork embeddedinto their political ideologies. Right fromtheir youth, the RSS tells its own one ac-count of history. This version has Hinduslosingbattlesandbeinginvadedbyforeign-ers because of back-stabbing and in-fight-ing.Theveracityof thishistory isbesidethepoint.Whatmatters is that its lessonshavebeenconvertedtoanethicoforganisationalunity —what I call “Hindu Fevicol” in myrecentbookon theBJPbeforeModi. It is anethic demonstrated by Vajpayee andAdvani’s ability to see eachother through.Inacountryashierarchicalas India,pro-

fessional rankings formulatedearly tendtopersist.Diplomats,bureaucrats,andgener-als from “senior batches”would rather re-sign than serve under a “junior”. To workunder someonewhohas onceworkedun-der you is considered a loss of face. One ofthe fewexceptions is theexampleof crick-eter Virat Kohli who first reported to cap-tain M S Dhoni, then one day becameDhoni’s captain. It goes to Dhoni’s creditthat he continued serving despite this de-motion.Team-buildingmatteredmorethanego-massages.Now consider this: From1968 to 1986,

Vajpayee was the leader of his party, andAdvani served under him. But in 1986, theRSS forced the “Gandhian socialist”

Vajpayee to step down. For the next nineyears,Vajpayeemighthavesulkedonmute,buthecontinuedtobepartof theBJP, serv-ing under Advani as the party moved in amore radical direction. Cut to 1995, whenAdvani — who was the RSS’s choice forprimeminister — announced Vajpayee asprime ministerial candidate. Advani re-alised that, in thecomingelections, theBJPcould notwin amajority and the coalitionallies itneededwouldrecoil fromhisbluntimage. The rest is history, as Vajpayee be-cameprimeministerthrice—in1996,1998,and 1999— and Advani servedwordlesslyunder him. For a duo to switch positionsonce (like Dhoni and Kohli) is noteworthy.To have them switch places twice has noprecedent anywhere in theworld.A jugalbandi isaconcert revelling indif-

ference. But it ismore than that. Both per-formershavethesamestatus;nomusicianis the accompanist of the other. They arebothplayinganequalmusic.Whattomake,then, of the music being played in today’sBJP? Narendra Modi is currently AmitShah’s boss. But if their party requires, arethey capable of one day switching places?Vajpayee and Advani, for all their manymany foibles, were driven by somethinglarger than themselves. Howwill historyjudge today’s jugalbandi?

Sitapati is the author,most recently, ofJugalbandi: TheBJPBeforeModi.He teaches at AshokaUniversity

TOO MUCH POWERTHIS REFERS TO the report, 'Allowingcorporatestoownbanksapotentialrisk'(IE,November24).Theproposaltoopenupbanklicencesforcorporateswillex-acerbatetheconcentrationofeconomicandpoliticalpowerinbusinesshouses.Itwillincreasetheimportanceofmoneypower in our political system, andwillleadtoauthoritariancronyism.Thepo-tential contagianrisksof thisuncalled-formovewill leadtocorporatedefaultsrisingsignificantly. Thecountrywilldobetter if professionalmanagement isbroughtintoPSBs,andsellstakestothebroaderpublic,forenergyandefficiencyinthem.

RajivBoolchandJain,Zirakpur

NO PLANTHISREFERSTOthereport,‘SCseekssta-tus report from states, Centre’ (IE,November 24). The Supreme Court'sconsternationovertheCOVIDspikede-spite its suomotu intervention in Juneis evident from the direction to statesand the centre to file status reports intwo days. It may be recalled that thiscourt had earlier rejected a PIL for for-mulation of a national plan to combatCOVID-19.Moreover, it isnotclearhowthe SC is going to assess or audit thesereportstoit'ssatisfaction.Thekeytosuc-cess in disaster management is pre-paredness. Inadequacies intermsof lo-gistics, human resources, and lack of awell-coordinatedplanareevidentfromimpromptumeasuresacrossstates.

LRMurmu,Delhi

KASHMIR AND GURUIN THE EIGHTIES in Kashmir;my fam-

ilywouldtraveltofarawayDelhi,tovisitGurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib.My grandfa-ther explained the significance of thispilgrimage. In the last quarter of 17thcentury, our country saw its rights andliberties being snatched away by therulers. Pandit Kripa Ram Dutt fromMartand, Kashmi. brought this to thenotice of ReveredGuru TegBahadur atAnantpurSahib inMay1675.TheGururaisedhisvoiceforthecountrymenandsoonwas imprisoned and tortured atDelhi and finally beheaded at Sis Ganjat Chandani Chowk onNovember 11,1675. In 1783, Baghel Singh built theGurdwaraSisGunj.TheindebtedNationgavethetitleof“Hind-di-Chadar”—theShieldof Bharat—to the reveredGuru.Since 1979 on Republic Day, the SikhRegiment salutes twice— once to thePresident and the second time toGurdwaraSisGanj. Sikhhistoryand itslinkwith Kashmir is little known andshould be made part of the schoolcurriculum.

ReapanTikoo,viaemail

LETTERS TO THEEDITOR

GROWING UP IN the northeast of India inthe Ninetieswas not easy. Therewould befrequent bandhs, especially on January 26and August 15, when insurgent groupswould“request”ustoavoid joiningthecel-ebration of the “Indian colonial state”. Itwouldbeunimaginabletoventureoutaftersunset without your parents worryingabout you and almost all business estab-lishmentswould shut before dusk.Assam was no different when Tarun

Gogoiassumedresponsibilityaschiefmin-isterof thestate. Itwasatimewhenpeoplewere trying tomigrate from the state for abetter life. An incompetent administrationhad pushed the state to the brink of bank-ruptcy. The shadow of ULFA and SULFA (astate-backed insurgent outfit of surren-deredmilitants) loomedlargeoverthemostprosperous and populated state in theNortheast.The Assamese people, who had

emerged after agitations in the 1970s and’80s,were indesperateneedofhope.Anal-ternativeemergedinTarunGogoi,whowasnot your traditional crafty politician but aleaderwhoprovidedthestatewithamuch-needed healing touch. It is not that he didnot have adversaries, but his ever-smiling

face and approachable nature endearedhimtoall. Inanageof showmanship,powerandarrogance,Gogoi'sbiggeststrengthwasto make everyone feel loved and wanted.Even his biggest detractors will agree thathewasnot a vicious person.Asanadministrator,Gogoiwasmoreof

adelegator.Thisensuredtheemergenceofagroupof second-rungleaders inthepartyunder his tutelage, among themHimantaBiswa Sarma, Pradyut Bordoloi andRockybul Hussain. Detractors often criti-cisedhimforbeingsoftonreligiousminori-ties. The truth ishe inherited thisproblem.In fact, one of the factors that helped theCongresswin consecutive elections underGogoi’s leadershipwashis subtle rejectionof an alliance with AIUDF leader,Badaruddin Ajmal. It is said there wastremendous pressure on Gogoi from theCongresscentral leadership to “accommo-date”Ajmalbeforethe2006assemblyelec-tions. But to his credit, Gogoi defied theleadership and this open defiance provedtobeadecisive factor in theCongresswin-ningtheelection.ThepeopleofAssamsawhisstanceasacommitmenttopreservetheheritage and culture of the state.Not many leaders from the Northeast

havebeenable tohold their own in the so-callednational parties. The slogan Indira isIndia, coined byDKBaruah, is an exampleof the sycophancy leaders from the regioncould stoop to. Gogoiwasdifferent. Hebe-longed to a generation of leaders likeWilliamSangma,HiteshwarSaikia,SantoshMohan Dev, Bibhu Devi, G G Swell and S CJamir, who held sway on their own andwerenot seenas thevoiceof “Delhi” in theNortheast.This isanimportantaspectmiss-ing in today’s Congress — the absence ofstrongregional leaderswhoechothesenti-ments of the region toDelhi.The demise of Tarun Gogoi marks the

end of an era. As chief minister of Assam,he rebuilt the state and its economy.Millennialsmaynot remember,but if theirlivesaresignificantlybetterthanours,somecreditgoestoGogoi.Hewasamanwhoap-preciatedordinarypartyworkersandneverfailed to acknowledge their contribution (Ihave personally witnessed this frommyYouthCongress days).His biggest strengthwas his humility, something hard to spotamongour current leaders.I did not always agree with himwhen

wewere in the sameparty. Inhindsight, asayoungerperson, Iwasmore forceful than

himona lotof issues suchasNRCandCAA,and I openly disagreed with the Congresshigh command. He agreedwithme in pri-vate, but to my dismay never spoke outforcefully on these issues. Frustrated, I leftthe Congresswhile he stayed on. I have al-ways felthecouldhavedonemoreto influ-ence opinion in the party because of hisstature. When I met him earlier this yearduring a Supreme Court hearing on theCAA,hesmiledandsaid:“Iunderstandwhyyou left theparty, but this is how thepartyfunctions these days.” I was no longer up-setbutbowledoverbyhishonestyandhu-mility. TarunGogoi themanwasnodiffer-ent fromTarunGogoi the chiefminister.This ability of Gogoi's — to disagree

withoutupsettingaformerjuniorcolleagueor a foe — is a quality all of us could try toemulate.Hisdemisemaynotbefelt imme-diately, butwhenAssam’s political historyis written, it would be impossible to over-look his contributions, especially the im-pact of his 15 years as CM. All of us whoknewhim, irrespective of party affiliation,willmournhis demise.

Thewriter is chairman, IndigenousProgressive Regional Alliance

IDEASONLINE

ONLY IN THE EXPRESS

●●CRITICISMTHATGOESTOOFAR:

HITESHJAIN

●●AHEALTHPLANFORBIHAR:PIASEN

www.indianexpress.com

AshishKundra

Vinay Sitapati

The power of two

CR Sasikumar

FromMookerjee-UpadhyayatoVajpayee-Advani, theBJPhasvalorisedteamwork.Howwillhistory judgeModi-Shah?

TarunGogoihadtheability todisagreewithoutupsettingcolleagueor foe

Leader with a healing touch

PradyotManikya BikramDebbarma

Kolkata

CALENDAR8 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER25, 2020

CROSSWORD4285

ACROSS1 Tomsent roundone in theclubforcheese (9)

8 Rascalwithastrange loveurge(5)

9 Musichallmedley(7)

10 Timewhenthehandscometogether (6)

11 Wizard flier(6)

12 Late findwildlyexaggerated(8)

15 Anenclosedplacemightbecostlier (8)

18 Movethatshortens thegamealittle? (6)

20Toilerdisposedtobeliehisnature (6)

21 Left inastateofwretchednessorverynear(7)

22 Point toweaktrackof ananimal (5)

23 Atheatricalentrance(5,4)

DOWN2 Sawnoticeontime(5)

3 Be idleperhapsbut readytoeat (6)

4 Broke in tostabaplantexpert(8)

5 Ascoopfor thegardeningcorrespondent?(6)

6 Nimblenessof soldier in Italyonmanoeuvres (7)

7 Protectaworkerwhoisaccused(9)

11 Lackingagametoplay-orrivals (9)

13 Doingwithoutbecauseworking(8)

14 Computerscreenhelpsteachers (7)

16 Cattledrives (6)17 Threatenadevilwithsomethingconclusive(6)

19 See Igoroundahouse in thenorth (5)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)Therereally isagreatdeal tobedoneto liftyourhorizonsabovethe

purelymundaneandroutinenutsandboltsof daily life.Furthereducation is stronglyindicated inyourchart,whichsuggests thatallofyouhavethechancetoimproveyourselves.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)Business affairsmust take asmuchof your attention asrequired. Dobe

sure not to play free and easywith other people’smoneythough, as your viewof thefacts is coloured bywhatyouwould like to be true,rather thanbywhatactually is true.

GEMINI (May22- June21)Yourromantic starsarenowlookingverypowerful. TheMoonandVenus,

twoveryemotionalplanets,aresoalignedas togetyourfeelingsmovingand, in therightcircumstances, setyourhearton fire.Of course,whatyouneed is theperfectpersontoappear, andthat’sanunknownquantity.

CANCER(June22- July23)Youtendtoseeeverythingaseitherblackorwhite, aperhaps inevitable

consequenceof theneedtochoosebetweendifferentoptions.Try tobemoreflexible;bothrecentsuccessesanddisappointmentshavemadeyoumoretolerantofothers,perhapswithgoodreason.

LEO(July24-Aug.23)Youmay let go ofthe past a little,especially at home.The emphasis

today is on relationswithchildrenwhich, on apsychological level, indicatesthat you can also bemorechildlike. This of coursemeans that you can enjoyyourselfmore thanusual.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sept23)Apartnerorcolleaguemaybereadytoclinchadealwhichwilldo

youapowerof good,especiallyathome. If youcan force thepaceandgetothers todivulgeall theyknow, thendoso,butpleasegogently.Afterall, yourgoal is togetat the truth,rather thantoprovethatyouwereright.

LIBRA(Sept24-Oct23)Today’spersonalchoicesanddecisionsarelikelytobemadeinaspirit

ofoptimism.Thisisfinejustaslongasyourealisethatconditionsmayhavechangedbythetimeyoucometoimplementthem,soincludeafewsafeguards.Thatsonlycommonsense.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov22)Youmighthavebeenmisledormisinformed,butyoumayput itall

downtoageneralcommunicationsbreakdownrather thantoanygeneralmalice.Yourplansshouldnowbeshapedbyhowmuchcashyouhave inyourpurse.You’llhavetoworkwithinyourlimits: there isnootherchoice.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov23-Dec22)Thenextfewdayscouldfindyouwakingup,asif fromadeepsleep.You’ll

begintorealisethatsituationswhichseemedsoconfusedarereallyverystraightforward.Athomeyoumaygiveachildoryoungerrelationonehundredandonepercentsupport.Nothinglesswilldo.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)Sometimes thepressureofdecidingwhat todonext isjust toogreat!You

maywell feel likewithdrawingfromthe fray, andwhynot?Youhavereceivedquiteabattering fromcertainpeoplein therecentpast, andyoumightconcludethatnowit’stimeto lookafternumberone.Inotherwords,you.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)Youwill alwayshaveagreatneedforcomfortandstability,but

recentlyyouhave felt thisslippingaway.Don’tworry. It’sjust thatacuriousseriesofplanetarycycles is saving thebest fornextweek. If yougivealittlenow, thenyou’ll receivemuchmore later.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)Youremotionaldepthshavebeenstirredupbyrecentplanetarybattles,

whichhave forcedyouto facethetruthaboutat leastoneindividual.Youmaybegin tosee the futurewitha littlemoreclarity.Thathas tobegoodnews.Neverdoubt,though, thatyouhavethe loveof thatonespecialperson.

SUDOKU4303

DifficultyLevel5sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4302

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.Wesecureourfriendsnotbyaccepting___butbydoingthem.-Thucydides(7)

SOLUTION:GRAVY,SPOOK,SCURFY,AVAUNTAnswer:Wesecureourfriendsnotbyacceptingfavoursbutbydoingthem.-Thucydides

GVYAR CRSYFU

KOPOS AANTUV

SolutionsCrossword4284:Across:1Getaway,4Floor,7Turn,8Assuages,10Shakehands,12Sherry,13Capone,15Schooldays,18Partaken,19Hail,20Dowse,21Trinket.Down:1Gates,2Threaten,3Yes-man,4Foundfault,5Orgy,6Respite,9Depreciate,11Tomahawk,12Slipped,14Honest,16Split,17Grow.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

TRIPURA STATE ELECTRICITYCORPORATION LIMITED

(A Govt. of Tripura Enterprise)

NOTICE INVITING E-TENDERDeputy General Manager (Material Management), TSECL,Banamalipur, Agartala invites tenders through electronictendering (e-tendering) on behalf of TSECL from the eligible &resourceful manufacturers/ Local SSI manufacturers havingsufficient technical & financial capabilities for following works.Details of tenders will be available in the website www.tsecl.in& https://tripuratenders.gov.in/nicgep/app.

1. Procurement of 9 watt star rated LED Bulb as per BISstandard as per attached technical specification.

2. Procurement of AMR compatible LT meter with upto dateamendment.

Sd/-Deputy General Manager (MM),

(Materials Management Division),TSECL, Banamalipur, Agartala.

WATCOOFFICE OF THE MANAGING DIRECTOR, WATCO.

Ground Floor, Unnati Bhawan,H.B. Colony, Satyanagar, Bhubaneswar-751007, Odisha, India

Telefax: - +91-674-2391444E-mail - mail@watcoodisha.in, md@watcoodisha.in

INVITATION FOR BID (IFB)Bid Identification No. WATCO (W)-13/2020-21 Dtd. 23.11.2020

WATCO No. 3947 Date: 23.11.2020

C-224

1 Name of the work :- “Construction of Training -cum-Demonstration Center and development ofPark at Septage Tratment Plant Basuaghai,Bhubaneswar.”

2. Estimated cost :- Rs. 385.00 Lakh

3. Period of completion :- 6 (Six) Months.

4. Date & time ofavailability of biddocument in the portal

:- From 11.00 AM of Dt. 03.12.2020 to 5.00PM of 17.12.2020

5. Last date / time ofreceipt of bids in theportal

:- 5.00 PM of 17.12.2020.

6. Date & time of openingof technical bids

:- 12.30 PM of 18.12.2020.

7. Name and address ofthe Officer inviting Bid

: Managing Director, WATCO Telefax:- 0674-2391444. E-Mail: mailwatcoodisha.inmd@watcoodisha.in

8. The bidders have to participate in ONLINE bidding only.

Further details can be seen from the web site"www.tendersodisha.gov.in."

(Managing Director)WATCO

OIPR/13083/11/0015/2021

SALUTE THE SOLDIER

The CISF proudly remembers the supreme sacrifice ofthese brave--hearts. On this day, they laid down their livesat the altar of duty while fighting with the terrorist out-fits.Their courage and bravery would remain an abidingsource of inspiration for the force. The force will remaineternally indebted to them for their noblest deeds.

CT/GD D.P.R. SWAMY

ONGC AGARTALA

25-11-1996

L/N BISWAJIT JAMATIA

ONGC AGARTALA

25-11-1996

CT/GD ANIL TOPPO

4TH RES. BN. RANCHI

25-11-1996

''IMPORTANT''Whilst care is taken prior toacceptance of advertisingcopy, it isnotpossible toverifyits contents. The IndianExpress (P) Limited cannot beheld responsible for suchcontents, nor for any loss ordamage incurredasaresultoftransactions with companies,associations or individualsadvertising in its newspapersor Publications. We thereforerecommend that readersmake necessary inquiriesbefore sending any monies orentering into any agreementswith advertisers or otherwiseacting on an advertisement inany manner whatsoever.

Kolkata

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER25,2020

GOVT&POLITICSWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

IDEAOUTSIDETHEBOXLOKSABHAMPKartiChidambaramonTuesdaysprangasur-priseontheparty,suggestingthatCongressgeneralsecretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra should contest the by-election forKanyakumari Lok Sabha seat in Tamil Nadu. The seat fell va-cantwith thedeathofpartyMPHVasanthakumar.Karti saystheCongressneedsaboldmove thatwill fireup imaginationoftheaveragepartyworker,andPriyanka’scandidaturewouldbe such amove. But not everyone in the Congress agrees.MohanKumaramangalam, one of theworking presidents ofTamil Nadu Congress, said Priyanka,when she does contest,shoulddo so froma seat inUttar Pradesh, or anyotherHindiheartland state. He argued that thatwould fire up Congressworkers—ataplacethepartyneedsthemthemost.

FOR EXTENSIONCPILEADERandMemberofParliamentBinoyViswamhasde-mandedanextensionofthePradhanMantriGaribKalyanAnnaYojanaforsixmonths–untiltillMay2021.Thescheme,whichwas launched as a response to the coronavirus pandemic inMarchforthreemonths–Aptil,MayandJune–wasextendeduptoNovember.However,nodecisionhasbeentakensofartoextend it beyond November. In a letter to PrimeMinisterNarendraModi, Viswamhaswritten, “Over 80 crore Indiansavail the benefit of this scheme and its sudden closurewillcausegreatdistressamongthem."Healsomadeacaseforuni-versalisationof thepublicdistributionsystem.FoodMinistrysources indicatedthat theschemeisunlikely tobeextended.

ORDER IN, ORDER OUTACIRCULARissuedbythemedicaldepartmentoftheRailwaysMinistryonMondayimmediatelycreatedacontroversywithinthebureaucracy,especiallyatatimewhenIndianRailwaysandtheRailwayBoardarereelingunderCovid-19infection.Thecir-cularsaidthatrailwayhospitalsshouldreferitsemployeesonlytoothergovernmenthospitals, if needed–andonly if govern-menthospitalsdonothavefacilitiesfortreatmentcantheem-ployeesbereferredtoprivatehospitals.Withininternalgroupsofofficers,theorderquicklystartedbeingdescribedas"bizarre"and"ridiculous".Officerssuspectthemedicaldepartmenthadnotconsultedthepowersthatbebeforeissuingit.SobyTuesday,anotherorderwasissued–thisonesaidMonday’sorderstandswithdrawn.

9

KANCHANVASDEVCHANDIGARH,NOVEMBER24

INWHAT isbeing seenas a signof thaw between Punjab ChiefMinister Amarinder Singh andhis former Cabinet colleagueNavjot Singh Sidhu, the formerhas invited the latter toa lunch-eonmeetingonWednesday.Themeeting comes after al-

most three-month-long effortsof Congress general secretaryand Punjab affairs in-chargeHarish Rawat to bridge the gulfbetweentheduo.While all eyes are on the

meeting,media advisor RaveenThukral stated that themeetingwill discuss national and statepolitics. “Punjab CM@capt_amarinder has invitedNavjotSinghSidhufor lunchto-morrow (Nov 25). He &@sher-ryontoppareexpectedtodiscussstate&nationalpoliticsovertheluncheonmeeting,”hetweeted.Sources close to theCMsaid

thatthemeetingwill takeplaceat

the CM’s farm house nearChandigarh. Thegovernmentaswell as the party is tightlippedaboutwhatwill transpire in themeetingbutsourcessaid it couldleadtoSidhu’sreturnintheCabinet.However, sourcesclose to the

CM said, “Tomorrow’s lunch isabout‘breakingbreadtobreakice’.Thereisnothingmoretothemeet-ing. It is tooearly to sayanything.But theCMis firmthat if Sidhu iswilling tobe reinducted into theCabinet, hewill not be handedLocalBodiesDepartment.”The Cabinet has a vacancy

that was not filled by the CMever sinceSidhuquit.

Amarinder invitesSidhu to lunch meeting

AmarinderSingh,NavjotSinghSidhu

Farmer leadersheld in night raidsEXPRESSNEWSSERVICECHANDIGARH,NOVEMBER24

AHEADOF the farmers’ protestmarch to Delhi, Haryana Policeon Tuesday took asmany as 72farmer leaders into preventivecustody inmultiple night raids,invitingsharpreactionsfromtheOpposition and the farmingcommunity.Farmerleaderssaidthatpolice

conducted raids between 1 amand3amandinsomecasesevenscaledwalls of homes to detainsleepingmembersoffarmunions.CMManohar Lal Khattar con-firmedthat“somefarmerleaders”had been taken into custody bypolice, amove that theCongressdescribedas“shameful”.According to seniorCongress

leaderRandeepSinghSurjewala,farmer leaders includingKaramSingh Mathana, SatyawanKathura, Kala Kanoh, SatyawanNarwal and Prahalad SinghBharukherawere arrested from

differentpartsof thestate.“All this showshowthegov-

ernment isafraidof theagitationof farmers,”saidafarmerleader.“Thesearepreventivearrests,”

HaryanaDGPManojYadavasaidTuesday.Policealsoconductedaraidat

the Ratia residence of farmerleaderMandeepNathwan in themidnight, but hewas not at hisresidencethattime.Later,inarecordedvideomes-

sageNathwansaid, “TheKhattargovernment is adopting an op-pressive policy to stop farmers...Manyofourleadershavebeende-tainedduringraidsthattookplaceat1am.Thisagitationwon’tbeal-lowedtobesuppressed.Thefarm-erswill go toDelhi in every cir-cumstance.”Accordingtoreports,police is

alsolookingforHaryanaBhartiyaKisanUnion(BKU)chiefGurnamSinghChaduni,who is themainfaceofthefarmers'agitationinthestate. FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICECHANDIGARH,NOVEMBER24

TWODAYSaheadof thefarmers’proposedmarch to the nationalcapitaltoopposetheCentre’sfarmlaws, theHaryana governmentTuesday announced that itwillkeepthestateborderssealedfromNovember 25 to 27. As ChiefMinisterManoharLalKhattarde-clared that the “statewill takeevery step required tomaintainlaw and order”, state policeplanned additional deploymentandmulti-layer barricading onhighways leading in and out ofstate.Policealsoissuedadetailedadvisory urging commuters tomodify their travel plans inviewofthefarmers’agitation.“Thestategovernmenthasde-

cidedtosealtheHaryana-Punjabborder onNovember 25 and26and Haryana-Delhi border onNovember 26 and 27 in viewoftheproposedcallof‘DelhiChalo’...Wewill take every step requiredtomaintain lawandorder... I ap-peal to farmers that the DelhiChalo call given by someoutfitshasnomeaningbecausethethreelawswhichtheCentreenactedarepro-farmer,”Khattarsaid.

The farmers, however, saidthat theywill start gathering ontheAmbala-Delhi highwaynearAmbalafromNovember25.Acomprehensivetraveladvi-

sorymentioned the commutersmay face traffic blockages onroadsatentrypointsfromPunjabinto Haryana onNovember 25andNovember 26 and on entrypointsfromHaryanaintoDelhionNovember26andNovember27.Officials said strictness along the

borderswith Punjabwill be im-posed for three days beginningWednesday.Theprimaryobjectiveofthese

arrangements is to maintainproper lawandorder topreventanykindofviolence,facilitatefunc-tioningof trafficandpublic trans-portsystemsandtoensurepublicpeaceandorder.The instructionsinforceduetoCovid-19pandemicsituationhave alsobeenkept inmind,”policespokespersonsaid.

SHAJUPHILIPTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,NOVEMBER24

THE KERALA government onTuesdaydecidedtobringanordi-nancetowithdrawthecontrover-sial amendment to the KeralaPoliceActmandatingajailtermforany“offensive”socialmediapost.The amendment had trig-

geredprotestsfromvariousquar-tersandlefttheCPMcentrallead-ershipred-faced.On Friday, Governor Arif

MohammadKhanapproved theordinanceincorporatingthenewsectionof118(A).Thegovernmenthadenvisagedpunishmentuptoa five-year jail term, but theGovernor reduced it to threeyears.Thegovernment,however,announced onMonday that itwouldnot go aheadwith imple-mentingtheamendment.Astheprotestscontinuedand

theOppositionquestionedthein-tention behind freezing theamendment, the governmentwas leftwith little option but towithdrawit.AfterameetingTuesday,Chief

MinisterVijayansaid thecabinethaddecided to recommend theGovernortoissueanordinancetowithdrawtheearlieroneincorpo-rating section 118 (A) in theAct.The new ordinance would bebrought as Kerala Police(Amendment) WithdrawingOrdinance,2020.He said the amendmentwas

brought in against the backdropof increasing instances of socialmediaabuseagainstwomenandmountingprotest fromcivil soci-etyagainstsuchharassment.Theamendmentwas aimed at pre-venting circulation of fake anddefamatorynews,hesaid.However, various quarters of

society raised concerns and thegovernmentconsideredtheopin-ion that the amendmentwouldgiveexcessivepowertopoliceandchancesofmisuseofthenewlawarehigh,hesaid.Vijayan said that in this issue

too,thegovernmentisstickingtoits approach to lend ears to theopinions emerging fromsociety.As concerns still linger about theamendment, the government isoftheopinionthatitissuitabletowithdrawtheordinance,hesaid.

ARUNSHARMAJAMMU,NOVEMBER24

TWOENVOYS from theUS em-bassyinNewDelhicalledonrep-resentatives of twomainstreampoliticalpartiesandasecurityan-alyst in Jammuon Tuesday anddiscussedissuesof“commonin-terest’’ in theUnionTerritoryaf-terthewithdrawalofspecialsta-tus and bifurcation of theerstwhile state of Jammu andKashmir, according to theNational Conference (NC) andApniParty.Sources saidminister coun-

selor forpoliticalaffairs in theUSEmbassyGrahamMayerandsen-iorpoliticaladviserASukeshheldnearlyanhour-longmeetingsep-aratelywithNC'sprovincialpres-identDevinderRana, Apni PartyspokespersonVikramMalhotra,

andsecurityanalystBrigadierAnilGupta(retired).The US envoys are likely to

meet BJP leaders here onWednesday.Sources said discussions

ranged on issues from 4G topost-Article 370 scenario, espe-cially themoodof thepeople atlarge and the coming DistrictDevelopment Council (DDC)elections. They also discussed

thePrajaParishadmovementinJammu to analyse reasons be-hind the pent-up feeling of dis-criminationamong Jammures-idents in the erstwhile state,according to theparties.In a statement, the NC said

MayerandSukeshcalledonRanaandspokeonissuesof “commoninterest’’with“focusonsocio-cul-tural richness of unique anddi-verse” J&K.Theydiscussedavar-ied range of subjects, includingenvironment, tourism, academ-icsandsharingofknowledgeandideasaimedatpromotinguniver-sal brotherhood, amityand tran-quilitybetweenthecommunities,thepartystated.Apni Party spokesperson

VikramMalhotra said they dis-cussedthecurrentpoliticalsitua-tion in J&Kand the comingDDCelections, and the emergence ofApniParty,amongotherissues.

New Delhi/Jammu: With theprobeintotheRoshnilandscamshowingmany political leadersas alleged illegal beneficiaries,the ruling BJP on Tuesdaystepped up its attack onCongress and NationalConference leaders in J&K.Addressing reporters, Union

minister Ravi Shankar Prasadsought a thorough probe.Pointing out that the names ofseveraltoppoliticians, includingNC leader Farooq Abdullah andformer stateministers fromhisparty and the Congress, havecometothefore,hesaid:“Therewasaconsciouslootbypowerfulpeopleof forestlandandgettingbenefits under the Roshni Act,whichhasbeendeclareduncon-stitutionalby thehighcourt."Union minister Anurag

Thakurdescribed the leaders ofGupkarallianceas“gangof landencroachers’’. ENS

Srinagar: National Conference(NC)presidentFarooqAbdullahonTuesdayurged thepeople toensure the victory of thePeople's Alliance for GupkarDeclaration (PAGD) candidatesby huge margins in the DDCpolls so that it succeeds in itsaimof restorationof thespecialstatus of Jammu and Kashmirwhich was revoked by theCentre inAugust last year.“If we have to succeed, then

you should vote only for the al-liance.Thisalliancewas formedto restore our identity, restorethe statehood and that whichwas taken away from us -- theArticles 370 and 35-A.We havecometogethertokeepthisstateunited,” he said in a video re-leasedby thePAGD.Abdullah is under self-isola-

tion after a member of hishousehold staff tested positiveforCovid. PTI

Came togetherto keep stateunited: Farooq

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,NOVEMBER24

THE EDITORS Guild of India onTuesdaydemandedthatKerala’sChief Minister must withdrawthe Kerala Police Act 118 Aamendment as it will “deeplyhurt thecauseof freespeech”.In a statement issued on

Tuesday, the Guild said that it“urges the Chief Minister ofKerala towithdrawthedisturb-ing amendment to the KeralaPolice Act 118 A immediately,which provides for upto threeyears of punishment for publi-cationofmaterialwithaninten-tion to intimidate, insult, or de-fame anyperson through socialmedia”.“Although the government

has placed the amendment onholduntildiscussedbythestateassembly and has given an as-surancetotheKeralaHighCourtthatthestatepolicewillnottakeanyadverseactions,buttheordi-nanceisstill in forceandhasthepotential for gravemisuse andshould be withdrawn forth-with,” theGuild stated.Itfurthermentionedthatthe

amendment“woulddeeplyhurtthecauseoffreespeechandfree-dom of press as it gives unbri-dledpowers to thepolice to tar-get political opposition and thepressinthenameofmonitoringcontent on social media” andagain iterated it that be with-drawnimmediately.

FarmersassociatedwiththeBKU(Ugrahan)atKhanauri inSangrurdistrict,near theHaryanaborder. Express

Farmers set formarch, Haryana to sealborders, take ‘steps tomaintain order’

BJP targetsCong, NC overRoshni scam

TABASSUMBARAGARWALAMUMBAI,NOVEMBER24

TOCOPEwith the effects of thelockdown, theMaharashtragov-ernment has decided to give fi-nancial aid and 5-kg ration to5,600 sex workers of MumbaieverymonthtilltheCovid-19pan-demicisover.But even asMaharashtra be-

came the first state inOctober toissueagovernmentresolutiontothiseffect,NGOshavepointedthatalargershareofsexworkers–in-cluding somewith no proof ofidentity likerationcard,Aadhaarcardorbankaccount–aremissingfromgovernment’s listofbenefi-ciariestogetthefinancialaid.Each sexworkerwill receive

Rs 5,000 permonth alongwiththree kg ofwheat and twokgof

rice.Childrenofsexworkerswhogotoschoolwill receiveRs2,500permonthtosupporttheironlineeducation.Mumbai'svastcommunityof

sexworkers areoneof theworsthitbythepandemic.Physicaldis-tancingnormshave forced theirbusiness to shut. In September,Durbar Mahila SamanvayCommittee, a collective of sexworkers, had approached theSupremeCourthighlighting thatthecommunitywasfacingshort-ageof foodandshelteraswell asfinancialcrisis.OnSeptember29, theSChad

directed all states toprovidedryrationtosexworkerswithoutin-sisting on proof of identity. Thecourtaskedthestatestonotonlyproviderationtothosesexwork-erswho had approached it butalsotoreachouttomore.The statewomen and child

development(WCD)departmenthasso farprepareda listof 5,600sexworkers and their 1,592chil-dren inMumbaiwith thehelpofMumbai District Aids ControlSociety(MDACS).While the dry rationwill be

distributedwithoutinsistenceonidentificationproof, the govern-menthasinsistedonbankdetailsandAadhaarcardnumberfordi-rect benefit transfer of Rs 5,000every month. “An NGO has towriteareferralletteridentifyingasex worker. What happens tothosewhoarenotassociatedwithanyNGO,howwilltheygetfinan-cialaid?Mostdonotevenhaveabank account or Aadhaar card,”saidPritiPatkarfromanti-traffick-ingNGOPrerana.TheMDACSworkswith sex

workersandNGOstopreventandtreat HIV infection. Its officialshavefoundtheprocessof identi-

fying a sexworker, whenmostprefertouseapseudonym,anim-pediment in enlisting them asbeneficiaries.ThedatawithMDACS,which

functions under the NationalAids Control Society, showsthere are 14,000 sex workersregisteredinMumbai.Butsofar,ithasmanagedtopassonnamesof only 5,600.When contacted,Dr Shrikala Acharya, project di-rectorofMDACS,said,“Basedonwhat the government asked usto do, we have provided infor-mation for sex workers whohavebankaccountsandAadhaarcards...”PremaGadge, DeputyWCD

officer for Mumbai city, saidAadhaar card andbank accountdetails are necessary to ensurethereisnoduplication.“Weneedbank account details for directbenefittransfer...”

SREENIVASJANYALAHYDERABAD,NOVEMBER24

THEANDHRAPradesh govern-ment issettobeginworkonfourfishing harbours and 25 aquahubstoencouragefishingactivity,provide livelihood and employ-menttofishermenandtopreventthem frommigrating to otherstatesinsearchofworkThefourharbourswillbecon-

structedatanestimatedcostofRs1,510 crore at Juvvaladinne inNellore district, Uppada in EastGodavari district, Nizampatnamin Guntur district, andMachilipatnaminKrishnadistrict.The aquahubs,meanwhile,willbesetup ineachof thestate’s25Parliamentaryconstituencies.Chief Minister Y S Jagan

MohanReddylaidthefoundationstones for the fishing harbours

andaquahubs virtually, and theconstructionworkisscheduledtobeginfromDecember15afterthebiddingprocessiscomplete.Jagansaidthatdespitehaving

the second-longest coastline inIndia,thereisalargemigrationoffishermenfromAndhraPradeshtootherstates.Healsonotedthatattimes,fishermenfromAndhrahave been jailed in other coun-

tries—he pointed to the recentrelease of fishermen fromSrikakulam and Vizianagaramdistricts, whowereworking inGujarat and were caught inPakistani waters and subse-quently jailed inthatcountry.State Fisheries Minister S

Appalarajusaidthattheenhancedfacilitieswill boostmarine catchbyover3lakhtonneandwillpro-videdirect and indirect employ-mentto50-80,000people.The statewill invest around

Rs 3,500 crore to develop thefour harbours and aqua hubs.The government will also en-courage aqua culture, freshwa-ter fish farming, aqua productbazaars, and storage andmar-keting facilities. Fourother fish-ingharboursareproposedtobedeveloped at a later stage andtheywillcatertoover7lakhfish-ermen in thestate.

Maharashtra to give rations, aid toMumbai sex workers during pandemic

KeralaCMPinarayiVijayan

Kerala to bringin ordinanceto withdrawsocial medialegislation

US embassy envoys meet NC,Apni Party leaders in Jammu

NC’sDevinderRanawithGrahamMayerandASukesh

ISSUESOF ‘COMMON INTEREST’DISCUSSED

ChiefMinisterYS JaganMohanReddy

Andhra to set up 4 harbours,25 aqua hubs to promote fishing

Editors Guildurges KeralaCM to withdrawamendment

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER24

SIGNALLING LONG-TERMcom-mitment toAfghanistan’s future—beitunderTalibanorotherpo-liticalforces–IndiaTuesdayann-ouncedabout150projectsworth$80million (aboutRs592 crore)intheconflict-riddencountry.NewDelhialsocommittedto

buildanewdam,whichwillpro-vide drinkingwater to 2millionresidentsofKabul.This new commitmentwas

announced by External AffairsMinister S Jaishankar at theAfghanistan 2020 Conference,which he addressed throughvideo-conferencing.Afghanistan's

President Ashraf Ghani, UNandEUofficials, besides representa-tivesofothercountries,attendedtheconference.Since 2002, India has so far

committed $3 billion (aboutRs2,200 crore) towards rebuild-ing and reconstruction ofAfghanistan.While Indiadidnotinvest inAfghanistanduring theTalibanyears from1996 to2001,thegovernment’sdecisionnowtoinvest in Afghanistan's future,whereTalibanissettoplayadom-inant role, is being seenas ama-jordeparturefromthepast.Itsig-nals that India is finallysheddingthehesitationsofhistory.NewDelhihashadabitterex-

periencewith the Taliban. Now,withtheir returnafter theUSex-

itingAfghanistan, SouthBlock isquickly trying to adapt to thechangedcircumstancesandreachouttotheTaliban.Jaishankar said at the con-

ference, “I am happy to an-nounce today an agreementwith Afghanistan for buildingthe Shahtoot dam, whichwould provide safe drinkingwater to 2million residents ofKabul city. It buildson the202-km Phul-e-Khumri transmis-sion line of 2009, throughwhich we provided power tothe city. India will also launchphase-IV of high-impact com-munity development projectsin Afghanistan, which includearound150projectsworth$80million.”

India pledges aid to rebuildAfghanistan, commits $80 mn

SANTOSHSINGHPATNA,NOVEMBER24

THERULINGNDAhasfieldedfor-merminister andBJPMLAVijayKumar Sinha for the election tothe Assembly Speaker's post,pitching him against RJDMLAAwadhBihariChoudhary,theop-positionMahagathbandhancan-didate.With numbers in favour of

theNDA, thiswould be the firsttimeaBJP legislatorwill occupythe Speaker's post in the BiharAssembly. Since 2005 polls, theJD(U) has been getting itsMLAstothepost.WhileUdayNarayanChoudharywasSpeaker for twoterms (2005-2010 and 2010-

2015), Vijay Kumar Choudharywas the Speaker between 2015and2020.While names of BJP veteran

Nand Kishore Yadav and PremKumar,bothministers inthepre-viousgovernment, hadbeendo-ingrounds,topBJPleadersdecidedtomaintainsocialbalance inrep-resentationofkeypostsandchoseSinha,afour-timeLakhisaraiMLAfrom theupper caste Bhumiharcommunity. A BJP leader said:"AfterhavinggivenDeputyChiefMinister posts to RenuDevi, anEBCleader,andTarkishorePrasad,whobelongs toOBC, itwasonlyfair togive theSpeaker'spositiontoanuppercaste.Sinhaisaveteranandhasenoughadministrativeex-perience.”

BJP set to get AssemblySpeaker’s post in Bihar

Kolkata

HC grants interimprotection fromarrest to Kangana,sister Rangoli

Showik’s friend, one othergranted bail in drugs case

PM likely to visit SerumInstitute over weekend

NewDelhi: JournalistArnabGos-wamiurged theSupremeCourtonTuesdaytoissuenoticetotheMaharashtraAssemblySpeakerto clarify his stand on theclaim of a House official whosaid he sent a letter to the jour-nalist in a matter of allegedbreachofprivilegemotionattheSpeaker’sdirection.A bench headed by Chief

Justice S A Bobde initially ob-servedthatitmightbe“necessaryin all probability to serve theSpeaker”toknowhisversion,butlater adjourned the hearing on

Goswami’s plea by twoweekssayingthatithasnotgonethroughthereplyoftheassistantsecretaryof theAssembly.ThecourthadonNovember6

issued a show cause notice toVilas Athawale, AssistantSecretaryofMaharashtraVidhanMandal Sachivalaya, asking himto explain as towhy contemptproceedings be not initiatedagainst him for his letter to thejournalist seeming to “intimi-date” him for approaching theapexcourtontheissueofallegedbreachofprivilegemotion. PTI

Goa govt issues cessnotice to JSW Steel,company moves HC

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER25,2020

EXPRESSNETWORKWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

10

267DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

KEYSTATESTOWATCH■Maharashtra■Kerala■Delhi■WestBengal■Haryana

7 DAYS EARLIER:

1.47NOW:

1.46

7 DAYS EARLIER:

7.01NOW:

6.87

DETECTED TODAY

37,975RECOVERED TODAY:

42,314

TOTALCASES17,84,3615,66,4535,34,3174,59,9182,19,963

DOUBLINGTIME**257.1570.7856.7788.5258.89

SURGEIN24HOURS4,1533,7584,4543,5572,663

7-DAYAVGGROWTH*0.28%1.02%1.27%0.81%1.22%

TRACKING INDIA’SCOVIDCURVE

CASES:91,77,840TESTS: 13,36,82,275 | DOUBLING RATE: 149.49**

RECOVERED:86,04,955DEATHS: 1,34,218

*CompoundedDailyGrowthRateover last7days **Calculatedover7-daygrowth

DataasonNovember23, releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealth, ICMRandstates.Oftendailynumbersincludedatafrompreviousdays.Assuch, trendsbasedondailynumbersare indicative,notdefinitive

CASE FATALITY RATIO

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

Positives againstnumber tested

(in %); indicator ofthe spread of disease

Becoming sick vsrecovering; more

recoveries for 14 daysmay signal the peak

POSITIVITY RATE DAILY IN, DAILYOUT

OMKARGOKHALEMUMBAI,NOVEMBER24

IN A relief to actor KanganaRanaut and her sister RangoliChandel, theBombayHighCourtonTuesdaygrantedtheminterimprotection fromany coercive ac-tion,includingarrest,byMumbaiPoliceinanFIRregisteredagainstthem for allegedhate posts andstatements on social and elec-tronicmedia.Thecourtalsorecordedandac-

ceptedastatementbyhersisters’lawyer that theywill respond tosummonsandappearbefore theinvestigatingofficerofBandrapo-licestationonJanuary8between12and2pmtorecordtheirstate-ments.Thecourtnotedthatinves-tigationinthecasewillcontinue.Adivisionbenchof JusticesS

S Shinde and M S Karnik washearingapleabyRanautandhersister filed through advocateRizwan Siddiquee, challengingBandra magistrate’s order toMumbai Police to take cog-nizanceofcomplaintagainstthesisters and summons issued tothem to appear before police.The plea also sought to quash“absolutelyvagueandbaseless”FIR filedagainst them.Lastmonth,theMetropolitan

Magistrate’scourtatBandrahadorderedthepolicetoinvestigateacomplaintfiledbyMunawwarAli Sayyed, a Bollywood castingdirector and fitness trainer,which referred to Ranaut’s andChandel’s tweets and otherstatements.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI,NOVEMBER24

ASPECIALcourtonTuesdaygran-ted bail to twomen arrested byNarcotics Control Bureau (NCB)inconnectionwiththedrugscasefollowing the death of actorSushantSinghRajput.ActorRheaChakrabortyandherbrotherSho-wikwerealsonamedasaccusedinthecase.The accused, AnkushArneja

andSuryadeepMalhotra,werear-rested in September. The two,through lawyer Taraq Sayyed,submitted to the court that theNCBarrestedthemonthebasisofstatementsofco-accusedrecord-ed under Section 67 of NarcoticDrugsandPsychotropicSubstan-cesAct.Sayyedsubmittedthataf-ter the SupremeCourt order lastmonth ruling that statementsrecordedunderSection67cannot

be admissible as confessionalstatements,theNCBdoesnothaveenough evidence to continue tokeepthemincustody.The NCB said Malhotra, a

friendofShowik,wasarrestedonthebasisofastatementofaco-ac-cused.Thedefencesubmittedthattherewasno recovery fromhim.Against Arneja, theNCB said hisname had cropped up in theprobe into his linkswith co-ac-cusedAnujKeswani,fromwhomcommercialquantitywasallegedtohavebeenseized.The defence submitted that

basedononestatementalone,theaccused cannot be kept behindbars, andalsostatedthatWhats-Appchatscannotbethesoleevi-dencetoformthebasisofthecase.Thecourtallowedthebailap-

plicationsofthetwoaccusedonapersonalbondof Rs50,000withconditions, includingdepositingtheirpassports.

SHAJUPHILIPTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,NOVEMBER24

TWOMONTHSaftersheaccuseda juniorhealth inspectorof rapewhenshewent tohimtoobtaina Covid-negative certificate —triggeringoutrageinKerala—thewomanonTuesdaytoldtheHighCourt that itwasconsensual sexand that she filed the complaintat thebehestofherrelatives.OnTuesday,thecourtgranted

bail to PradeepKumar, 44, aftergoing throughthewoman’saffi-davit.Thecourtalsodirectedpo-lice to takeappropriate action inaccordancewith lawagainst thewoman and her relatives, whowere allegedly involved inmak-ingthefalseallegation.The case, which emerged in

early September, had snow-balled into amajor issue, dent-ingtheimageof thestatehealthdepartment at the time of thepandemic. Kumar lost his joband spent 77 days in jail beforehewasgrantedbail.Granting himbail, judge PV

Kunhikrishnan said, “The crimi-

naljusticedeliverysystemcannotgo on like this. Based on a falsecomplaint, a person is in jail forabout77days. This court cannotshutitseyeinsuchsituations.”“The Director General of

Policeshouldtakethiscaseveryseriouslyanddotheneedfulandfileareportbasedontheinquirybefore the court in threemonths,” the judgesaid.On August 30, the com-

plainant, a home nurse inMalappuram, who had earliertested positive for Covid, got intouchwithKumar,whowas thehealthinspectoratKulathupuzhaprimaryhealth centre inKollamdistrict, for inter-district travel.Next day, after testing negative,shecontactedKumaragaintoob-

tain a Covid-negative certificate.Asadvisedbyhim,shewenttohisresidence in Pangode village inThiruvananthapuramdistrict.Thewoman,inherstatement

to the police later, alleged thatKumar gagged and rapedher athishome,andthreatenedhertoremainsilent.OnSeptember7,thehealthin-

spector was arrested after thecomplaintwas lodged.After twounsuccessful attemptsatobtain-ingbailfromtheHighCourt,athirdbail applicationwasmoved onTuesdayalongwiththewoman’saffidavit, inwhichshesaid itwasconsensual sex and that shedidnotwanttopursuethecase.Referring to theaffidavit, the

courtsaid,“Thepersonallibertyofa citizen ishis fundamental rightunder Article 21 of theConstitutionof India. This is a fitcaseinwhichthepetitionershouldbereleasedonbailforthwith.Thisshould be taken very seriously.Nobody shouldmake such falsecomplaintagainstaperson.’’Itsaidtheallegationtarnishedtheimageof healthworkers in the state. Ifanybodyisresponsibleforthat,thelawofthelandshouldactswiftly.

Kerala woman takes back rapecharge against health inspector

BRIEFLY

JAMMU&KASHMIR

Pakmankilledin infiltrationbidinSambasectorJammu: A Pakistan na-tionalwas killed TuesdaymorningafterBSFperson-nel foiled an infiltrationbid through the interna-tional border in Sambasector. The deceased hasbeen identified as AbdulHamidof ChamanKhurdin Shakargarh area ofPakistan. The bodywaslaterhandedovertoPakis-tani Rangers at a flagmeeting.BSFtroopsareonhighalertfollowingthere-cent infiltration by fourJaish-e-Mohammadmili-tants who were latergunneddownat Ban TollPlaza along the Jammu-Srinagarhighway. ENS

ODISHA

Coupletriesself-immolationoutsideHouseBhubaneswar: A couplefromNayagarhdistrict inOdisha tried to immolatethemselves outside theAssembly onTuesday, al-legingnoactioninthecasepertaining to the abduc-tion andmurder of theirfive-year-old daughter.Security personnel tookthem into custody andsent themhome, policesaid. The couple said thattheirdaughterwentmiss-ing on July 10 andher re-mains were found twoweeks later. Thoughapo-lice complaint, no actionwas taken, they alleged.“The main accused is aminister’s aide. Sonoonehas takenanyaction,” thegirl’s fatheralleged. ENS

BrahMoslandattackcruisemissiletestedPune: TheArmyTuesdaysuccessfully tested itsBrahMos supersonic landattack cruisemissile fromAndaman&Nicobar Isla-nds,hittingatarget inBayof Bengal. The test comesover a month after theNaval versionof BrahMossupersonic cruisemissilewassuccessfully test firedfromNavy’sindigenously-built stealthdestroyer INSChennai,hittingatargetintheArabianSea. ENS

Themissilehita targetinBayofBengal. Twitter

IN AN online interaction withChiefMinistersonTuesday,PrimeMinisterNarendraModiwarnedagainst any laxity in fighting thepandemic and called formeas-ures to reduce thepositivity andfatality rates. The Indian ExpresstakesalookatwhatthestatestoldthePrimeMinister:

MAHARASHTRA:ChiefMinis-terUddhavThackerayrequestedPrimeMinister NarendraModitoinstructallthepoliticalpartiesto refrain fromholding politicalprotests and not to play politicswith lives of people during thepandemic. “All our effortsmayfail and it may invite the Covidwave,” he said. Thackeray’s re-quest comes against the back-dropof theprotests that theBJPorganised across the state overthe reopening of places of wor-ship andon inflatedpower billsinMaharashtra.Hesaidthegov-ernment is working as per theCentre’s instructions and a taskforcehasbeensetuptomanagevaccination in thestate.

KERALA:ChiefMinisterPinarayiVijayan pointed to the financialcrisis being faced by Kerala anddemanded the Centre to allotfundstogivefinancialassistanceforthefamiliesofthosewhohavediedofCovid-19.Hesaid thede-layinallottingGSTcompensationtothestateshouldbeavoidedandthedemandsofthestatesshouldbe factored intherecommenda-tions of the 15th FinanceCommission, he said, accordingtoastatement.Thestatesshouldbe givenmore freedom in theutilisationofthestatedisasterre-sponsefund,saidVijayan.

WEST BENGAL: ChiefMinisterMamataBanerjeesaid theCovid

situationisundercontrol,urgingthePMtosendfundstotacklethepandemic. Lamenting the non-paymentofRs8,500croreinGSTdues, she said the state has al-ready spent around Rs 4,000croreforCovidmanagementbutthe Centre has only released Rs193 crore. Participating in thevideo conference fromBankura,Banerjeesaidthecountryislook-ing forward to an early vaccina-tionprogrammeandassuredthather state is fully prepared for itwithadequatehumanresourcesand infrastructure. She said thatdespitemassive railmovementand Durga Puja, Kali Puja andChhatth festivities,West Bengalhas seen improvement in termsof the fatality, positivity and re-coveryrates.

HARYANA: Chief MinisterManoharLalKhattarsaidtestinginHaryanahasreached1.24lakhpermillion, higher than the na-tionalaverage.Hesaidananalysisof datapointed tohighcase loadfromdistricts aroundNCR. Afterthemeeting, the ChiefMinisterannounced restrictions on gath-erings across the state fromNovember 26, especially in six

districts adjoiningNCR. He alsosaidthatHaryanawillnotimposenightcurfewbut“morestrictnessisbeingfocuseduponduringtheday hourswhen people tend togatherandcrowdsareformed”.

CHHATTISGARH:Chief Minis-terBhupeshBaghelsaidtheCovidsituationwas “under control” inthe state. He said the positivityratewas 4 per cent in July, 8 percent in August, 15 per cent inSeptember, 10.5 per cent inOctober,reducingto7percent inNovember. He said the fatalityrate stood at 1 per cent inOctober-November. He said thestate has enough testing equip-mentandbeds.

GUJARAT: Chief Minister VijayRupanipointedtoarrangementsto deal with the post-Diwalispike in thenumberof cases.Asper an official statement, thestate government pointed tonight curfew, weekend curfewand restrictions on gatherings,besidesanumberofvacantbeds,increasing the effectiveness ofambulanceservicesandthe104fever helpline which 2.78 lakhpeople have sought help from.

He alsomentioned heightenedcommunitysurveillance.“IwanttoreassurethepeopleofGujaratthat the situation is completelyunder control. There is no needto panic,” he said. He said twocommittees have been formedtooverseethevaccinationdrive.

RAJASTHAN: Chief MinisterAshokGehlotrequestedthateachstateshouldonlyusetheRT-PCRmethod for testing, pointing outthat Rajasthan and Tamil Naduwere the only stateswhere 100percentof thetestswerecarriedout thisway.He said that due tothe state’s initiatives, the deathrate is constantly below 1 percent, andatpresent it is 0.89percent, saidanofficial release fromthe Rajasthan government. Healso spoke of increased capacityof hospital beds, ensuringmoreventilatorsandstrengtheningtheoxygensupplysystem.

WITHENSINPUTSFROMMUMBAI,KOLKATA,

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,RAIPUR,CHANDIGARH,

AHMEDABADANDJAIPUR

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

From vaccine-readiness to needfor funds: what states told PM

PMModiandHomeMinisterAmitShahduringthevirtualmeetwithCMsTuesday.PTI

SUSHANTKULKARNI&ANURADHAMASCARENHASPUNE,NOVEMBER24

PRIMEMINISTERNarendraModiis likely to visit the SerumInstitute of India and GennovaBiopharmaceuticals—twoinsti-tutes inPuneinvariousstagesofproducing and testing a vaccineagainst coronavirus — over theweekend to understand theprocess of vaccine productionanddistribution.WhileSerumInstitute is test-

ing and manufacturing theOxford-AstraZenecavaccinecan-didate, Gennova Biopharmace-uticalsisallsettostartPhase1hu-man clinical trials of its ownvaccinecandidate.Pune Divisional Commi-

ssionerSaurabhRaosaidthelocaladministration and policema-chinerywerewaiting for anoffi-cial communication about theproposed visit of the PrimeMinister.DistrictCollectorRajeshDeshmukhalsosaidtheadminis-

trationwaswaitingforanofficialcommunication.In viewof this, a ‘familiarisa-

tion visit’ to Puneof foreign am-bassadorsandhighcommission-ers on November 27 has beenpostponed toDecember 4. Theforeign ambassadors and highcommissionersarealsoexpectedtovisittheSerumInstituteofIndiaandGennovaBiopharmaceuticalsduringtheirone-dayvisit.Localadministrationofficials,

however, said they had startedpreparingthegroundworkforthePM’svisit.Topadministrativeandpolice officials from Pune andPimpri-Chinchwad have heldmeetingsaboutvariousarrange-ments tobemade for thevisit ofthePManddiplomats.Meanwhile, in an email re-

sponse to queries by The IndianExpress, AdarPoonawalla, CEOofSerumInstitute,saidthatPhase3trials of the Covishield vaccinewereunderway.“While UK trial results have

beenreleased,weexpectthedataon the Indian trials to be outwithinamonthorso,”hesaid.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI,NOVEMBER24

THE MUMBAI Police CrimeBranchonMonday fileda1,400-page chargesheet in the allegedfakeTelevisionRatingPoints(TRP)case,namingsixchannels,includ-ing those of Republic MediaNetworkandNewsNation,asal-legedly payingmoney to boostTRPsforaroundtwoyears.TheownersofRepublicmedia

and News Nation have beennamedaswantedaccused inthechargesheet.Thepolicesaidtheywere likely to charge them in asupplementarychargesheetlater.Thepolicesaidthatallnamed

in the chargesheetwere free-to-air channels and relied solely onadvertisement revenue as ameansof income.Thechargesheetcomesaday

beforetheMumbaiPoliceissettosubmititsinvestigationreportinasealed cover before theBombayHigh Court, which is hearing aplea byRepublicmedia seekingthattheFIRagainstitbequashed.While inOctober, police had

saidchannelswerepayingmoneytointermediaries likeemployeesofHansaResearchGroup—whichmeasures TRPsonbehalf of Bro-adcastAudienceResearchCouncil(BARC)— to boost it, the charg-esheet talks about anotherman-nerinwhichTRPswereboosted.Assistant Inspector Sachin

VazefromtheCrimeIntelligenceUnit (CIU),which is probing thecase, said: “Apart from payingmoney to boost TRPs, we havefound that Republic networktook the help of dual LogicalChannelNumber (LCN) toboostTRP.UsingLCNwouldshowthataparticularchannelwasnotonlybeingwatched by people in thenewschannelsection,butalsobythosewatching the channels inthekidssection.Byshowingthechannel on two frequencies, itsTRP increased.”“ThisisagainstTRAI(Telecom

Regulatory Authority of India)guidelines,” he said, adding thattheywillalsolookintotheroleofcableoperators.Insynopsisofthechargesheet,

policesaid,“HansaVisionPrivateLimitedistheholdingcompanyof

HansaResearchGroup.Duringin-vestigation, it has come to lightthattheformerhadmonetaryre-lationswith TV channels. It hasbeenfoundthatthecompanydidnotrevealthistoBARC.”Of the 12 people charges-

heetedinthecase,fiveareformerHansaResearchGroup employ-ees,ownersofnewschannelsandoneRepublicmedia employee–assistantvice-president(distribu-tion)GhanshyamSingh,currentlybehind bars. The statements ofnearly 140witnesses have beenattachedtothechargesheet.The charges applied relate to

cheating, forgery, criminal con-spiracy and destruction of evi-dencewith themaximumsen-tenceof10years.“Wehave filed a chargesheet

against 12people today. The in-vestigation against the rest con-tinuesandwewillbefilingfurtherchargesheets,”Vazesaid.He added that while the

probe began after Hansa em-ployees named India Todaychannel—whichwasmentionedintheFIR—“itturnedouttobeabogusclaim”.

Republicmedia,NewsNationownersnamedasaccused

TRPfraudcase:Police file1,400-pagechargesheet

LALMANIVERMADEHRADUN,NOVEMBER24

RESPONDING TO a call of RajyaSabha MP from UttarakhandAnil Baluni, many MPs, MLAsand stateministers are going totheir villages to celebrate Igas, afolk festival held 11 days afterDiwali and also called BudhDiwaliinthehill-state'sKumaonregion,onWednesday.Ajay Bhatt, BJP MP from

Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar,who will celebrate Igas atDankhal village in Almora dis-trict,said:“Followingmigration,villagesaregettingdesertedandI have raised this issue inParliament aswell. If people re-turntotheirnativeplacestocel-ebrate festivals and get con-nectedtotheirroots, itmayleadtoa reverse-migration.”According to folklore, news

of Ram’s return to Ayodhyareached people in the hills ofpresent-day Uttarakhand 11days later, and thus Igas is cele-

brated11daysafterDiwali.State WCDMinister Rekha

Arya said she has over theyears celebrated Igas inDehradun, Haldwani andBareilly,butthistimeisgoingtoher village – Sonadipokhri inSomeshwar. “The childrenshouldknowaboutourfestivalsand local cuisine.”Arya said the idea came last

year from Baluni, the BJP's na-tionalmedia in-charge.“The objective of my appeal

tothepeopletocelebrateIgasattheirvillagesistoreestablishtheold glory of this lok parva (folkfestival) and preserve the cul-tural heritageassociatewith it,”Baluni said.BJP MLA from Badrinath

Mahendra Bhatt, who has goneto his village, Brahmanthana inChamoli district, said, “The aimis to give amessage tomigrantsto return home. Many peoplecome home during Diwali, andif they stay on, theywill under-standourrichlocalculturalher-itagebetter.”

In Uttarakhand,a festive attempt tocheck migration

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEPANAJI,NOVEMBER24

STATINGTHATthecompanyfail-edtorespondtotworemindersaswellasahearing,theGoagovern-menthasfinedJSWSteelLimitedmore thanRs 156 crore towardsunpaid cess under Goa RuralImprovement andWelfare CessAct,2001,fortransportofcoal.According to anotice sent by

thegovernmentonNovember9,which emerged late Mondaynight, the companywas giventime up to November 24(Tuesday)topaytheamount.JSWisamong19corporatesissuedno-tices—inall,cessdueshavebeenestimatedatoverRs200.73crore,including JSW’spurported liabil-ityofoverRs156.34crore.In a statement on Tuesday,

JSW said it has challenged thematter inHigh Court and itwillcome up for hearing onNovember26.“JSWdefendedthechallenge onmaintainability ofthe petition by stating that the

constitutionalviresoftheActwasbeing challenged in the instantcase,whichdidnotrequiretheis-suanceof anyparticular notice,”thecompanysaidinastatement.Underthe2001law,ownersof

all“carriertransportingmaterial”aresupposedtopayacessunderschedule-I,with the amount go-ing towards rural improvement.Goa government has estimatedthis cost at Rs 50 per ton for3,12,69,986 metric ton of coaltransported throughMormugaoPort Trust to the JSW plant inKarnatakabetweenJuly2014andJuly2018,thenoticestated.Accordingtoofficials,thefirst

noticewas issuedonSeptember9 this year, and the second onSeptember29,bothofwhichre-ceived no response from thecompany. The company alsofailed to appear in the hearing,and later, onOctober 13, soughtmoretimecitingCovid-19restric-tions,officialssaid.Theletterwassent by SouthMargao office ofTransport to JSWSteel Limited'sMumbaiheadoffice.

Thecasehadsnowballed intoamajor issue,dentingthe imageof thestatehealthdepartmentatthetimeof thepandemic

Arnab urges SC to issue notice toMaharashtra Assembly Speaker

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEPATNA,NOVEMBER24

BJP LEADER and former Bihardeputy chief minister SushilKumarModionTuesdayaccusedRJD chief Lalu Prasad ofmakingtelephone calls fromRanchi jailto someNDAMLAswith the in-tention of "toppling" the newlyformedNDAgovernment in thestate. He alleged that Lalu is of-fering theNDA legislators "min-isterialberths"inreturnfortheirsupport. "Lalu Yadav makingtelephone call (**********) fromRanchi toNDAMLAs& promis-ingministerial berths.When Itelephoned, Laludirectlypickedup. I said don’t do these dirtytricks fromjail, youwillnot suc-ceed," the former deputy CMtweeted. RJD spokespersonMrityunjay Tewari said: "NDAleadershavebeensufferingfromLaluphobia.Theyaretryingtodi-gress fromreal issues,whichourleaderTejashwiPrasadYadavhasbeenremindingthemof...”

Lalu tryingto topplegovt, saysSushil Modi

Kolkata

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

INDIAACTIVECASES 443,486

WORLDTOTALCASES59,401,413

Source:JohnsHopkinsUniversity,updatedat11pmonNov24

INDIATOTALCASES9,139,865

Source:MinistryofHealth&FamilyWelfare,updatedat11pmonNov24

Note: TheNov23 figure in this graph isbasedon thegovernmentupdateonNov24

500,000

450,000

400,000Nov14 Nov24

LAST 10 DAYS

443,486

IN SEPTEMBER, researchers pub-lished the results of clinical trials onan innovation: 3D printed nasalswabs as an alternative to commer-cial swabs to test for Covid-19 (re-ported in The Indian Express onSeptember28). Sincethen,hospitalsworldwide have used the originalfilestoprintswabsintensofmillions.Nextweek,theresultsof thetrial, firstpublished in the journal ClinicalInfectious Diseases, will now be pre-sented at the annual meeting of theRadiological Society of NorthAmerica (RSNA)nextweek.ResearchersatUniversityofSouth

Florida(USF)Healthdesigned,testedand produced the 3D printed nasalswabprototype.The large-scaleclin-ical trial began in lateMarch at three sites:Tampa General Health(Florida), NorthwellHealth (NY), and ThomasJefferson UniversityHospital (Philadelphia).Other sites joined later.The swabswere found toworkaswellandassafelyas the standard commer-cialnasal swabs. Theonlyadverse reaction was afewinstancesofslightnasalbleeding.The cost ofmaterials per 3D-printednasal swab ranges from 26 to 46cents; commercial swabs cost about$1each, theauthors said then.By now, “USF Health has printed

morethan100,0003DNPswabs,andhospitalsaroundtheworldhaveusedour 3D files to print tens of millionsmoreswabsforpoint-of-careuse,”DrSummerDeckerofUSFHealthsaidinastatement issuedbyRSNA.After researchers designed and

tested the 3D printed alternative,TampaGeneralHospital (affiliatedtoUSF) adopted the swab as its stan-dardofcareandbeganprintingmore

than 300 swabs a day for the hospi-talanditsaffiliatedcarecentres.The

hospital’s six printerscontinue to print about9,000 swabsperweek.The 3D printing

process takes up to 15hours depending on theprinter.Theprintedswabsare rinsed in isopropyl al-cohol,curedandhand-in-spected for defects. Eachswab is then sterilised inan autoclave and packedina testkit.

USF filed for a provisional patentonthe3Dswabandprovidedthede-sign files and clinical data at no costtohospitals,clinicsandlicensedmed-ical device companies around theworld.“Medical3Dprintingishousedin

the field of radiology, and RSNA andthe3DPrintingSpecialInterestGroupgive us a voice. This project showsnovel ways that radiology depart-mentsaroundtheworldcandirectlyimpact hospitals and clinical careduring a crisis like Covid-19,” DrDecker said.

Source:Radiological SocietyofNorthAmerica

PAPERCLIP

NEWRESEARCH

3D printed swabs now inuse worldwide: developers

UDITMISRANEWDELHI,NOVEMBER24

A RECENT report by an Internal WorkingGroup of the Reserve Bank of India has at-tracteda lotof attentionaswellascriticism.The IWGwas constituted to “review extantownership guidelines and corporate struc-tureforIndianprivatesectorbanks”andsub-mitted its report lastweek.The IWG submitted several recommen-

dations,butone,inparticular,hasraisedalotofconcern.Thishadtodowithallowinglargecorporate/industrialhousestobepromotersof privatebanks.Inajointwrite-uppublishedonLinkedIn,

former RBI Governor RaghuramRajan andformer RBI Deputy Governor Viral AcharyaseverelycriticisedthesuggestionbytheIWG,describing it a “bombshell”. “It would be‘penny wise pound foolish’ to replace thepoor governance under the present struc-ture of these (public sector/government-owned)bankswithahighlyconflictedstruc-ture of ownership by industrial houses,”RajanandAcharyawrote.

WhywastheIWGconstitutedandwhatwere itsrecommendations?The banking system in any country is of

critical importanceforsustainingeconomicgrowth.India’sbankingsystemhaschangeda lot since Independencewhenbankswereowned by the private sector, resulting in a“large concentration of resources in thehandsof a fewbusiness families”.Toachieve“awiderspreadofbankcredit,

prevent itsmisuse,directa largervolumeofcredit flowtoprioritysectorsandtomake itan effective instrument of economic devel-opment”,thegovernmentresortedtothena-tionalisationofbanksin1969(14banks)andagain in1980(6banks).Witheconomicliberalisationintheearly

1990s,theeconomy’screditneedsgrewandprivate banks re-entered the picture. AsChart1shows, thishadasalutaryimpactoncredit growth.However, even after three decades of

rapid growth, “the total balance sheet ofbanks in India still constitutes less than 70percentof theGDP,whichismuchlesscom-pared toglobalpeers” suchasChina,wherethis ratio is closer to175%.Moreover, domestic bank credit to the

private sector is just 50% of GDPwhen ineconomies suchasChina, Japan, theUSandKorea it is upwardsof 150per cent. In otherwords, India’s banking system has beenstruggling tomeet the credit demands of agrowing economy. There is only one Indianbank in the top 100 banks globally by size.Further,Indianbanksarealsooneoftheleastcost-efficient.Clearly, Indianeedstobolsteritsbanking

systemif itwantstogrowatafastclip. Inthisregard, it is crucial tonote thatpublic sectorbanks have been steadily losing ground toprivate banks as Charts 2, 3 and 4 show.Privatebanksarenotonlymoreefficientandprofitablebutalsohavemoreriskappetite.It is inthisbackgroundthat theIWGwas

askedtosuggestchangesthatnotonlyboostprivatesectorbankingbutalsomakeitsafer.Forthemostpart, theIWG’srecommen-

dationsareunexceptionableinthattheybol-sterprudentialnormssothattheinterestsofthedepositorsaresecureandbanksandtheirpromotersarenotable togamethesystem.

Whyis therecommendationtoallowlargecorporates tofloat theirownbanksbeingcriticised?Historically,RBIhasbeenoftheviewthat

the ideal ownership status of banks shouldpromote a balance between efficiency, eq-uityand financial stability.A greater play of private banks is not

without its risks. The global financial crisis

of2008wasacaseinpoint.Apredominantlygovernment-owned banking system tendsto bemore financially stable because of thetrust ingovernmentasan institution.Moreover, even in private bank owner-

ship, past regulators have preferred it to bewell-diversified — that is, no single ownerhas toomuchstake.More specifically, the main concern in

allowinglargecorporates—that is,businesshouseshavingtotalassetsofRs5,000croreormore,where thenon-financial businessof thegroupaccounts formore than40% interms of total assets or gross income — toopen their own banks is a basic conflict ofinterest, or more technically, “connectedlending”.

What isconnectedlending?Simply put, connected lending refers to

a situationwhere the promoter of a bank isalsoaborrowerand,assuch, it ispossibleforapromotertochannelthedepositors’moneyinto theirownventures.Connected lending has beenhappening

for a long timeand theRBIhasbeenalwaysbehind the curve in spotting it. The recentepisodes in ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, DHFL etc.wereallexamplesofconnectedlending.Theso-calledever-greeningof loans(whereoneloanafteranother is extended toenable theborrowertopaybackthepreviousone)isof-ten thestartingpointof such lending.Unlike a non-bank finance company or

NBFC (many of which are backed by largecorporates), a bank accepts deposits fromcommon Indians and that is what makesthis riskier.Simplyput, it isprudenttokeeptheclass

ofborrowers(bigcompanies)apartfromtheclass of lenders (banks). Past examples ofsuchmingling—suchasJapan’sKeiretsuandKorea'sChaebol—cameunstuckduringthe1998crisiswithdisastrousconsequencesforthebroadereconomy.Inthepast,RBIhasalwaysfrownedupon

this suggestion. In fact, when the IWGreachedouttoitssetofexperts, it foundthatbarringone,allof them“wereof theopinionthatlargecorporate/industrialhousesshouldnotbeallowedtopromoteabank”.

Thenwhyrecommendit?The Indian economy, especially the pri-

vatesector,needsmoney(credit)togrow.Farfrombeingabletoextendcredit,thegovern-ment-ownedbanksarestrugglingtocontaintheirnon-performingassets.Government finances were already

strainedbeforetheCovidcrisis.Withgrowthfaltering,revenueshaveplummetedandthegovernment has limited ability to push forgrowththroughthepublic sectorbanks.Largecorporates,withdeeppockets, are

theoneswiththefinancialresourcestofundIndia’s futuregrowth.Of course, choosing this option is not

without serious risks.

11WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DEBRAJDEBAGARTALA,NOVEMBER24

PARTSOFNorthTripurahavewitnessedvi-olentprotestsrecentlyovertheproposedre-settlement of Bru tribals. One personwaskilled in police firing on Saturday, a FireServicepersonneldiedof injuries inhospi-tal, and 23 people including 15 police per-sonnelwere injured.

Whataretheprotestsabout?In 1997, 37,000 people of the Bru (or

Reang) tribe fled to Tripura fromMizoram,on account of ethnic clashes there. Sincethen,5,000havereturnedtoMizoramwhile32,000 remain in camps in Tripura. InJanuary thisyear, anagreementwassignedbytheCentre,thetwostategovernmentsandBru representatives to allow the remaining32,000topermanentlysettle inthestate.ThisledtoprotestsfromBengaliandMizo

groups in Tripura. They claim that settlingthousands of migrants permanently in

Kanchanpur sub-division of North Tripuradistrictwould lead to demographic imbal-ance, exert pressure on local resources andpotentially leadtolawandorderproblems.

WhoaretheBrus?Theyareacommunityindigenoustothe

Northeast,livingmostlyinTripura,Mizoram,andAssam. In Tripura, they are recognisedasaParticularlyVulnerableTribalGroup. InMizoram, theywere targeted by ethnic or-ganisationswhodemandedthattheBrusbeexcludedfromelectoralrolls.

HowdidtheprotestsinTripuradevelop?Itstartedwithmemoranda,demonstra-

tions and press conferences of a newlyformedorganisationcalledNagarikSurakshaMancha.Theseescalatedtohighwayblock-adesandviolentclasheswithpolice.TheMizoConvention,aTripura-basedor-

ganisation,hasteamedupwiththeManchaon a platform called Joint MovementCommittee (JMC) and announced that notmore than1,500Bru familieswould be al-

lowedtosettleinKanchanpur.

DotheBrushaveanysupportinTripura?The Indigenous Progressive Regional

Alliance (TIPRA) chaired by Pradyot DebBarman,scionoftheerstwhileTripuraroyalfamily and formerly a Congress leader, hasthrownitssupportbehindtheBrus.Pradyothas demanded action against the killers ofthefireman,andcalledforpeace.TheoppositionCongressandCPM,onthe

otherhand,havecriticisedthepolicefiring.

Whatistheresettlementplan?Over the last 10months, the state has

planned12resettlementspotsacrosssixdis-tricts with 300 families each. Under theagreement,theCentrehasannouncedaspe-cialdevelopmentprojectwithfundingofRs600 crore. Each resettled familywill get anestimated0.03acres(1.5gandas)of landforbuilding a home, Rs 1.5 lakh as housing as-sistance, and Rs 4 lakh as a one-time cashbenefitforsustenance,amonthlyallowanceof Rs 5,000 and free rations for two yearsfromthedateof resettlement.

If itwasagreed,whytheprotests?JMC convenerSushantaBaruahsaidthe

agitationwasstartedtosave“ancestrallands”fromBrumigrants. “Thoughopposedto thewhole idea of havingmore people perma-nentlysettlewithin limitedresourcesof thearea,wehonouredtheagreementsignedbycentralandstategovernmentsandagreedtoit.Butnowthedistrictadministrationhaspro-posedtosetupsixof12resettlementsitesinKanchanpur aloneand settle 5,000 familieshere,” Baruah said. He alleged that 650Bengali families fromaroundKanchanpurand81MizofamiliesfromJampuiHillrange,whofleddueto“atrocities”byBrus,wereyettoberesettledtwodecadeson.

Whatisthegovernmentstand?The RevenueDepartment has stressed

that Brumigrantswould be settled in vari-ous locations identified in six districts. Thegovernment has clarified that concernsaboutthemigrantsbeingsettledinoneplaceare false, and appealed to people to refrainfromsharingsuchcontentonsocialmedia.Kanchanpur Sub-DivisionalMagistrate

Chandni Chandrandeniedhaving received

anypolicydecisionregardingsettling5,000migrantfamilieswithinherjurisdiction.Theselectionoffamiliesofresettlementisstillinprogressandnofigurecanbecitednow,shetoldTheIndianExpress.A letter from theNorth TripuraDistrict

Magistrate to theOfficer onSpecialDutyoftheRevenueDepartment,datedOctober28,readsthatthedistrictadministrationhades-timatedthefundrequirementforpermanentsettlementof6,000Brumigrantsinthedis-trict.Thefiguresinthelettershowthat5,000Brufamilieswereestimatedtoberesettledinsix locationsinKanchanpursub-division.

HowhavetheBrusreacted?MizoramBruDisplaced Peoples Forum

generalsecretaryBrunoMshasaidtheagita-tionhasleftmigrantsinfearanduncertainty.“Wearesufferinganeconomicblockadeduetothismovement.Wehaven’treceivedfood-grains as per our relief package thismonthand if this strike continues,wedon’t knowhowlongwecanputup,”hesaid,urgingthegovernmenttoensurelawandorder.

Corporates as banks: key issuesSIMPLYPUTQUESTION&ANSWER

ArecentRBIreporthasrecommendedthat largecorporateandindustrialhousesshouldbeallowedownershipofprivatebanks.What ledtothisrecommendation,andwhyhas itcomeinforcriticism?

ANILSASINEWDELHI,NOVEMBER24

THE 70% overall efficacy readout notwith-standing, the AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19vaccine,AZD1222,couldcomeasbetternewsthan that of the Pfizer-BioNTech andModernavaccines,despitebothhavingearlierreportedmuchhigherprotectionofupto95%.Hereare fivereasonswhytheAZD1222pre-liminary results holdmorepromise, both inmedicaltermsandformarketssuchasIndia.

The half-dose boost

1THE analysis issued by Oxford-AZ onMonday showed a striking difference inefficacy, depending on the amount of vac-cine delivered — two full doses given amonth apart looked to be just 62% effectivewhile, intriguingly, participants who re-ceivedaloweramountofthevaccineinafirstdoseandthenthefullamountintheseconddosewere found to be90% less likely to de-velopCovid, comparedwithparticipants intheplacebogroup.While the reasons for this are still being

examined,thehalfdosegivinghigherprotec-tionisreallygoodnews—asthemanufactur-erswillhavemoredosesavailable,makingitpossibletocovermoreof thepopulation,es-pecially in the initialmonthswhen supplywillbeconstrained.Also,theoverall70.4%efficacyisstillhigher

thanformostflu jabs,whichoffer40-60%.

Wider efficacy

2THEOxford-AZvaccine,fromtheprelim-inary results, shows that itworks acrossall age groups— including the elderly. Plus,there’sareallyinterestinghintintheprelim-inarydatathattheregimenisalsoabletore-duceasymptomaticinfection.Boththeseas-pects are being seen as big advantages overthe initial trial results put out by the Pfizer-BioNTechcombineandModerna.Crucially,if theOxford-AZvaccineisbetter

attacklingsymptomaticspread,itmightallowcountriestogettoapointwhereauthoritiescanstopthevirusinitstracks,anditcan’ttransmitfrompersontoperson.There’sgoingtobealotmoredatatocomeandoverthenextmonthorsoontheseaspects.Also, therewere no severe cases in the

23,000peoplewhogot theshot.

Easier storage&distribution

3UNLIKEtheModernaandPfizer-BioNTechvaccines, whichmust be stored/trans-portedat–20-80°C,theOxford-AZcandidatecanbestoredatclosertonormal fridgetem-peratures,whichmeansitcanbedistributedandadministeredcheaperandfaster.Thevaccinecanbetransportedundernor-

mal refrigerated temperatures of 2-8°C, AZsaidMonday. By comparison, Pfizer has todistributeitsvaccineusingspeciallydesigned“thermal shippers” thatusedry ice tomain-taintemperaturesof–80°C.The Oxford-AZ vaccine can be supplied

usingtheusualsupplychainforvaccinescur-rently in use across countries such as India,especiallytoruralareaswherecoldchainlo-gisticsareweak.

Much cheaper

4ASTRAZENECA, which has pledged itwon’tmakeaprofitonthevaccineduringthepandemic,hasreachedagreementswithgovernmentsandinternationalhealthorgan-isations such as GAVI that pegs its cost at

about$2.50adose.In contrast, Pfizer’s vaccine costs about

$20 a dose, whileModerna’s is upwards of$25.ThereisatheoreticalpossibilitythattheOxford-AZ vaccine could get even cheaper,giventhefindingthatasmallerinitialdoseismoreeffectivethana largerone.

Made in India

5SERUM Institute of India’s Covishield,whichthePune-basedcompanyhasbeenproducing “at risk”, is a variant of AZD1222and is currently undergoing late-stage hu-mantrials.Thiscouldbeamongthefirstvac-cinesthatcouldbeusedtoinoculate Indiansonce the bridging studybeing conducted inIndia isclearedbythedrugregulator.Plus,theresultsof theOxford-AZvaccine

couldbeextremelypositivenewsforRussia’sSputnik V vaccine,which uses a technologysimilar to AZD1222. The Russian vaccine isalso under trials in India, with the involve-mentofHyderabad-basedDrReddy’sLabs.Indiadoesn’t reallyhaveanyfirmtie-ups

for either the Pfizer-BioNTech orModernavaccine—bothofwhichusethenovelmRNAtechnology—atpresent.

5 reasons why Oxford-AZ vaccine scores

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

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER25,2020

Why settlement of Bru tribals has triggered violent protests in Tripura

Avehicleburntduringtheprotests inNorthTripura. Express

480,719

v

PRIVATEBANKSVERSUSOTHERBANKS, OVER THEYEARSCHART 2: BANK GROUP-WISE CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS DEPOSITS IN%CHART 1: BANKING SECTOR CREDIT

(% TOGDP)

CHART 3: BANK GROUP-WISE CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS ADVANCES IN%

2000 2005 2010 2015 20201950 2020

2000 2005 2010 2015 2020

■PSB ■PVB ■FB Source:RBI

81.89

79.41

12.56 8.03 6.54 4.67 4.45 4.1519.21 18.08 21.26

36.04

74.25 77.24 74.2859.8

12.63 5.47 17.12 4.7 5.05 4.3 4.8917.31 19.44 30.35

78.16 77.68 76.2664.75

100806040200

100806040200

Source:EconomicSurvey-2019-20

Entryofprivatebanks

■PublicSectorBanks ■OldPrivateSectorBanks■NewPrivateSectorBanks Source:RBI

CHART 4: STAFF EXPENSESTO TOTAL INCOME15

131197

Mar’15 Mar ’16 Mar ’17 Mar ’18 Mar ’19 Mar’20

50

25

103DprintednasopharyngealswabsdevelopedbyUniversityofSouthFlorida.Radiological SocietyofNorthAmerica

Kolkata

12THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER25,2020

THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

USA

NYC’sfirstBlackmayor,DavidDinkins,diesDAVID DINKINS, whobrokebarriersasNewYorkCity’s first African-Americanmayor, butwasdoomedtoasingletermbyasoaringmurderrate,stub-born unemployment andhismishandlingofariot inBrooklyn,hasdied.Hewas93. Dinkins diedMonday,the NewYork City PoliceDepartment confirmed.Thedepartment said offi-cerswerecalledtothefor-mermayor’s home in theevening. Initial indicationswerethathediedofnaturalcauses.Dinkins,acalmandcourtly figurewith apen-chantforformalwear,wasadramatic shift frombothhis predecessor, Ed Koch,andhissuccessor,RudolphGiuliani— twocombativeandabrasivepoliticians ina citywith aworld-classreputation for impatienceandrudeness.AP

DavidDinkins

TOPOFTHEWORLD

PAKISTAN

ImranappointshislawyeraschairmanofPTVPAKISTANPRIMEMinisterImranKhanhasappointeda lawyer,wholedhis legalteaminthePanamaPapersleakcase,astheheadofthestate-run PakistanTelevision(PTV),mediare-portssaidonTuesday.Theappointment of lawyerNaeemBukhariwasmadein apparent haste as thefederal Cabinet had in itsmeetinglastweekconsid-eredabriefforhisappoint-mentbutdidnot endorsehisinductionasPTVchair-man,Dawnnewspaperre-ported. The notificationread: “The FederalGovernment ispleased toappoint ShahzadaNaeemBukhari as IndependentDirector of PakistanTelevision CorporationBoard.”PTI

TAIWAN

TsaiaimstoguardsovereigntywithnewsubmarinesTAIWANPRESIDENTTsaiIng-wen on Tuesdayvowed to defend thedemocratic island’s sov-ereignty with the con-structionofanewfleetofdomestically-developedsubmarines,akeyprojectsupported by the UnitedStates to counter neigh-bouring China. Taiwanhas been for yearswork-ing to revamp its subma-rineforce,someofwhichdate back toWorldWarTwo, and is nomatch forChina’s fleet.REUTERS

JAMESGLANZ,BENEDICTCAREY&HANNAHBEECHNOVEMBER24

ASTHEcoronavirussweptacrosstheworld, it picked up randomalterations to its genetic se-quence. Likemeaningless typosin a script, most of thosemuta-tionsmadenodifferenceinhowthevirusbehaved.But one mutation near the

beginning of the pandemic didmakeadifference,multiplenewfindings suggest, helping thevirus spreadmore easily frompersontopersonandmakingthepandemicharder tostop.The mutation, known as

614G,wasfirstspottedineasternChinainJanuaryandthenspreadquickly throughout Europe andNewYork City.Withinmonths,thevarianttookovermuchoftheworld,displacingothervariants.Formonths, scientists have

been fiercely debating why.Researchers at Los AlamosNationalLaboratoryarguedinMaythat the variant had probablyevolvedtheabilitytoinfectpeoplemoreefficiently.Manywerescep-tical,arguingthatthevariantmayhavebeensimplylucky,appearingmoreoftenbychanceinlargeepi-demics, likeNorthern Italy’s, thatseededoutbreakselsewhere.But ahost of newresearch—

includingclosegeneticanalysisof

outbreaks and lab work withhamstersandhumanlungtissue—hassupportedtheviewthatthemutated virus did in fact have adistinctadvantage,infectingpeo-plemore easily than theoriginalvariantdetectedinWuhan,China.There is no evidence that a

coronaviruswiththe614Gmuta-tion causesmore severe symp-toms,killsmorepeopleorcompli-catesthedevelopmentofvaccines.Nordothefindingschangethere-ality thatplaces thatquickly andaggressively enacted lockdownsandencouragedmeasureslikeso-cial distancing andmasks havefaredfarbetterthanthethosethatdidnot.But the subtle change inthe virus’s genome appears to

havehadabig rippleeffect, saidDavidEngelthaler,ageneticistatthe Translational GenomicsResearch Institute inArizona.

“Whenall is said anddone, itcouldbethatthismutationiswhatmadethepandemic,”hesaid.The first outbreaks of the

viruswouldhavespreadaroundtheworldevenwithoutthemu-tation,believemostresearchers,includingEngelthaler.Theorigi-nal variant spotted inWuhan inlate2019wasalreadyhighlycon-tagious,hesaid.Butthemutationappears to havemade the pan-demic spread farther and fasterthanitwouldhavewithout it.One study found that out-

breaks in communities in theUnited Kingdom grew fasterwhen seeded by the 614G vari-ant than when seeded by itsWuhan ancestor. Another re-ported that hamsters infectedeach othermore quickly whenexposed to the variant. And in athird, the variant infected hu-

man bronchial and nasal tissueinacell-culturedishfarmoreef-ficiently than itsancestor.In one of the new studies, a

Britishteamofresearchershadanadvantagesharedbynooneelse:Theywereabletodrawuponthelargestnationaldatabaseofcoro-navirusgenomesequencesintheworld. The researchers collectednewevidencethat, at least in theUnitedKingdom,thevarianttookover because it indeed spreadsfaster. “Whenwelookatclusters,theGvariantgrowsmorequickly,”said ErikM.Volz, a researcher atthe Medical Research CouncilCentre for Global InfectiousDisease Analysis at ImperialCollegeLondonandthe leaderof

thestudy.The data collected by the

Covid-19 Genomics UKConsortiumallowed the teamtoobserve the growth of infectedclustersasakindofhorserace.Sidebyside,didclustersof614Ginfec-tions grow faster than infectionsinvolvingtheancestralvariant?The614Gvariantclearlywon

therace, theanalysis found.Theprecise rate remains uncertain,but themost likely value gives614Groughlya20%advantageinitsexponential rateof growth.The virus will continue to

change, andwhilemostof thosechangeswillbemeretypos,somemay be more meaningful,Engelthalersaid.NYT

SCIENTISTS WERE SCEPTICAL THAT A MUTATION MADE THE CORONAVIRUS MORE CONTAGIOUS. BUT NEW RESEARCH IS CHANGING MINDS

Evidence builds that an early mutation made pandemic harder to stop

ACovid-19 intensivecareward inBergamo, Italy, early inthepandemic.NYT

REUTERS&NYTWASHINGTON,NOVEMBER24

USPRESIDENT-ELECT JoeBidenon Tuesday began a newphasein his transition to theWhiteHouseaftertheTrumpadminis-trationgavetheDemocrataccesstocriticalresourcesthatwillen-able him to take the reins ofpower in January.The General Services

Administration’sannouncementonMondaythatitwouldformallyrecogniseBiden’stransitioncameafter weeks of the presidentfalsely claiming that theNov. 3election had been marred bywidespreadvoterfraud.Trump, in a post on Twitter,

offeredsupport for themove.Critics have said the

President’s refusal to accept theresults underminedUSdemoc-racy and undercut the next ad-ministration’sabilitytofightthenovel coronavirus.WhileTrumpstoppedshortof

conceding,itwastheclosesthehascometoacknowledging that it istimetohandoverpowertoBiden,whowilltakeofficeonJanuary20.TheGSAannouncementwill

allow the president-elect to ac-cessmillions of dollars in fundsand focus on putting together aleadership team.Themovefollowedakeycourt

decision in Pennsylvania,where

the state’s SupremeCourt ruledagainsttheTrumpcampaignandthePresident’s Republicanallies,statingthatroughly8,000ballotswithsignatureordate irregulari-tiesmustbecounted.InMichigan, the statewide

canvassing board, with twoRepublicansandtwoDemocrats,voted,3-0,toapprovetheresults,with oneRepublican abstaining.ItofficiallydeliveredtoBidenakeybattleground state, and rebuffedthePresident’s legalandpoliticaleffortstooverturntheresults.WhileTrumponMondaysaid

he backed GSA AdministratorEmilyMurphy’sdecision, heandhis advisers vowed to continuefightingtheelectionresults.“Theelectionisover. It’stime

toputasidethepartisanshipandthe rhetoric designed to de-moniseoneanother.Wehavetocome together,” Biden tweetedonTuesday.

RAHIMFAIEZKABUL,NOVEMBER24

ROADSIDE BOMBS exploded incentral Afghanistan onTuesdaykilling at least 13 civilians and atraffic policeman, officials said,evenasgovernmentnegotiatorsand the Talibanmeet to try toenddecadesofwar.Tariq Arian, spokesman for

the Interior Ministry, said 45peoplewere alsowounded in alate afternoon blast in BamiyancityinBamiyanprovince.Severalshops and vehicles were de-stroyedordamaged.Mohammad Reza Yusuofi,

spokesmanfortheprovincialpo-lice chief in Bamiyan, said therewere twobombs that explodedinquicksuccession.Nooneimmediatelyclaimed

responsibility for theattackandZabihullah Mujahid, Talibanspokesman, said the groupwasnot involved.Violenceandchaoshave in-

creased in Afghanistan in re-cent months even as govern-ment negotiators and theTalibanaremeeting inQatar tofind an end to decades of re-lentlesswar.Thetwosideshavemade little progress.Also on Tuesday, Norway's

Foreign Minister Ine EriksenSoereide said the Scandinaviancountrywillprovidearound650millionkroner($72.1million) indevelopmentassistanceandhu-manitarian aid in 2021 toAfghanistan.“Our support and further

level (of assistance) will be as-sessedonthebasisoftheauthor-ities'effortsagainstcorruption,”Soereidesaid inastatement.AP

SAJJADHUSSAINISLAMABAD,NOVEMBER24

PAKISTANPRIMEMinisterImranKhan has approved the settingup of the National IntelligenceCoordination Committee, amechanism to coordinate overtwo dozen intelligence organi-sations in the country, to beheaded by the ISI chief, accord-ingtoamediareportonTuesday.Although there have been

discussionsabouttheestablish-mentof thecoordinationforum,itstermsofreferenceandmodusoperandiwouldbedecidedonceit formally takes shape, Dawnnewspaper quoted a senior se-curity sourceas saying.Themoveispartof the long-

awaited reform of the intelli-

gence apparatus,which aims atclarifying the role of respectiveagencies, improving their coor-dinationandoptimisingtheirca-pabilities, the report said.A leaked version of the

AbbottabadCommission’sreporthad revealed that the commis-sion,whilenotingtheabsenceofcivil-militaryintelligencecoordi-nationmechanism,hadproposedthe establishment of an agencyonthelinesoftheUSDepartmentof Homeland Security to syner-gise the working of main spyagencies inthecountry.TheAbbottabadCommission

was set up to investigate the cir-cumstances surrounding thekilling of elusive Al Qaeda chiefOsamabinLadeninaUSraidonacompoundinthegarrisoncityofAbbottabadin2011.PTI

MARTINQUINPOLLARDWENCHANG,NOVEMBER24

CHINA HAILED as a success itspre-dawn launchonTuesdayofaroboticspacecrafttobringbackrocks fromtheMoon in the firstbidbyanycountrytoretrievelu-nar surface samples since the1970s, a mission underscoringChineseambitions inspace.The LongMarch-5, China’s

largestcarrierrocket,blastedoffat 4.30 am Beijing time (2030GMT on Monday) in a launchfromWenchang Space LaunchCentreon the southernChinese

island of Hainan carrying theChang’e-5spacecraft.The China National Space

Administration (CNSA) calledthe launcha success and said inastatement that therocket flewfor nearly 37 minutes beforesending thespacecrafton its in-tendedtrajectory.The Chang’e-5 mission,

namedaftertheancientChinesegoddess of theMoon, will seekto collect lunarmaterial to helpscientists understand moreabout the Moon’s origins andformation.Themissionwill testChina’s ability to remotely ac-quiresamplesfromspace,ahead

ofmorecomplexmissions.State broadcaster CCTV,

which ran live coverage of thelaunch,showedimagesofCNSAstaff in blue uniforms applaud-ing and cheering as theywatchedthespacecraftclimbingthrough the atmosphere, light-ingupthenight sky.If themissioniscompletedas

planned, it wouldmake Chinaonlythethirdcountrytohavere-trieved lunar samples, joiningtheUSandtheSovietUnion.Theprobe is due tobeon the

lunar surface forabout twodays,whiletheentiremissionissched-uledtotake23days.REUTERS

GURDIPSINGHSINGAPORE,NOVEMBER24

SINGAPORESAIDonTuesdaythatits security agencies arrested aBangladeshiman,whowasplot-tingattacksagainstHindusinhisowncountryandplanningtofightinKashmir,aftertheyinvestigatedthesuspiciousactivitiesof37peo-pleaspartofheightenedsecuritymeasuresinthecity-statefollow-ingrecentterrorattacksinEurope.In a statement, theMinistry

ofHomeAffairssaidcounter-ter-rorism investigations into thesuspiciousactivitiesof37peopleinSingaporewerecarriedoutaf-termostofthempostedonsocialmedia, incitingviolenceorstok-ing communal unrest in the af-termathof theattacks inFrance.OneBangladeshimanunder

investigation—identifiedas26-year-oldAhmedFaysal—wasar-rested over “terrorism-relatedactivities”, theministry said.Hehadboughtfoldableknives,

whichhe claimedhewouldusefor attacks against Hindus inBangladesh,itsaid,addingthathewas also willing to travel toKashmir to fight against “per-ceivedenemiesof Islam”.Preliminary investigations

showed that Faysal was radi-calisedandharbouredtheinten-tion to “undertake armed vio-lence”, Channel News Asiareported,citingthestatementis-sued by Singapore’sMinistry ofHomeAffairs.PTI

YUBARAJGHIMIREKATHMANDU,NOVEMBER24

GENERALWEI Fenghe, China’sDefenceMinisterand amemberof its Central MilitaryCommission, will spend a sub-stantial amount of time in theheadquarter of the Nepal Armyduringhis12-hour-long “work-ingvisit” toNepalonNov29.

Officialssaidsecurity,defence andmilitary-to-military co-operationwould beone of themain agen-daswhenthetwo sides

meet.GeneralFengheisthehigh-est-ranking Chinese official tovisit Nepal after President XiJinping’svisit lastyear.Apart from meeting both

Nepal President Bidhya DeviBhandari and PrimeMinister KP Sharma Oli, Gen Fenghe isscheduledtomeetNepal’sChiefof Army Staff General PurnaChandraThapa.Thevisitcomesattheendofa

series of three high-level visitsfromIndia—R&AWchiefSamantGoel,Chief ofArmyStaffGeneralM M Naravane and ForeignSecretaryHarshVardhanShringla—withinaspanofsixweeks.

AnothercourtsetbackforTrumpinPennsylvania;MichigancertifiesBiden’swin

STILLNOCONCESSION,BUTPRESIDENTRUNNINGOUTOFOPTIONS

Trump admin clearsway for start offormal transition to Biden presidency

REUTERSWASHINGTON,NOVEMBER24

USPRESIDENT-ELECTJoeBidenisexpected to nominate formerFederalReserveChairJanetYellenasUSTreasurysecretary,breakinga231-yeargenderbarrierandput-ting a seasoned economist andlabourmarketexpertinchargeofleading the country out of thesteepestdownturnsincetheGreatDepression.Yellen, 74, brings Biden

decades of economic policy ex-perience and is respected by

Congress, international financeofficials, progressives and busi-ness interests alike. She hascalled for opening fiscal spend-ing taps to revive an economywrackedbythecoronaviruspan-demic and would be the firstpersontoheadtheTreasury,theFed and the White HouseCouncil of EconomicAdvisers.

Biden set to name Yellenas Treasury secretary

Bernstein says 21 GOP senatorsexpressed contempt for TrumpNew York: Former Watergatesleuth Carl Bernstein took toTwitter to list the names of 21Republicansenatorswhohesayshave“repeatedlyexpressedcon-tempt” for Donald Trump andhis fitness tobePresident.Bernstein’s post was con-

demned Monday by some ofthoseinvolved.Itwasaneyebrow-raisingmodern twiston journal-ismfromthe formerWashingtonPost reporter who, with BobWoodward in the1970s,penned

scoopsthatledtotheresignationofPresidentRichardNixon.Bernstein said he learned of

thepoliticians’supposedprivatefeelings through conversationswiththeircolleagues,staffmem-bersand lobbyists.SenatorsChuckGrassley,Rob

Portman, Todd Young and TimScott,whowereallinBernstein’slist, denied the journalist’sclaims.MittRomneywasalsoonthe list,buthehaspubliclycriti-cisedTrumpin thepast.AP

JanetYellen

Thepresident-electwillnowreceive federal fundingtostartthetransition.AP

Roadside bombattack inAfghanistankills at least 14

Pak to form new intel bodyto coordinate all its spyagencies under ISI chief

Bangladeshi manwho ‘planned tofight in Kashmir’held in Singapore

China DefenceMinister’s Nepalvisit: Cooperationbetween armiesis main agenda

ALongMarch-5rocketcarryingtheChang’e-5 lunarmission liftsoff at theWenchangSpaceLaunchCentre insouthernChina’sHainanprovince,earlyonTuesday.AP

China hails successful launch asrobotic spacecraft heads to Moon

Darwin notebooks reportedstolen from Cambridge libraryASSOCIATEDPRESSLONDON,NOVEMBER24

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITYlaunched an appeal Tuesday tofind two valuable notebookswrittenbyCharlesDarwinafterthey were reported as stolenfromtheuniversity’s library.Thenotebooks, estimatedto

beworthmillionsofpounds, in-clude the 19th-century scien-tist’sfamous‘TreeofLife’sketch.

Theyhaven’t been seen since2000,and foryearsstaff at the li-brary believed that themanu-scripts had probably beenmis-placed in the vast archives. Butafter doinga thorough search, li-brarystaffnowconcludeit’slikelythatthenotebookswerestolen.“Mypredecessors genuinely

believedthatwhathadhappenedwas that these had been mis-shelved ormisfiled,” said JessicaGardner,universitylibrariananddirectorof libraryservices.

GeneralWeiFenghe

WITH THE head of theGeneral ServicesAdministrationdesignatingBiden as the apparent win-ner of the US election,thepresident-elect’s transi-tion team gets access tothese key resources fromthe federalgovernmentun-der the PresidentialTransitionAct:■ $6.3 million in federalfunds for the transition.■Office space provided bythe federalgovernment.■ Security clearances formembers of the transitionteam.■ The opportunity for theBiden team to work withthe heads of federal agen-cies in order to ensurea seamless transitionof power.■Regularbriefingsonsecu-rity threats to theUSaswellas on ongoing military op-erations.

Biden teamtofinally get accessto key resources

Theelection isover. It’stimetoputasidethepartisanshipandtherhetoricdesignedtodemoniseoneanother.Wehavetocometogether.”

JOEBIDENU.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT

Kolkata

13SENSEX: 44,523.02 ▲ 445.87 NIFTY: 13,055.15 ▲ 128.70 NIKKEI: 26,165.59 ▲ 638.22 HANG SENG: 26,588.20 ▲ 102.00 FTSE: 6,407.71 ▲ 73.87 DAX: 13,261.50 ▲ 134.53

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER25,2020

ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

GOLD`48,569

RUPEE`74.01

OIL$46.51

SILVER`59,301

Note:Gold,silverratesatDelhispotmarket;goldper10g,silverper1kg;Brentcrudeasof2300IST

Internationalmarketdatatill1900IST

NOTICE INVITING TENDERNATIONAL COMPETITIVE BIDDING

CHENNAI METROPOLITAN WATER SUPPLY AND SEWERAGE BOARD

DIPR/4375/Tender/2020

Sealed bids are invited from the eligible bidders for the following work as per theprocedure of CMWSSB under two cover system conforming to the Tamil Nadu Transparencyin Tenders Act, 1998 and Rules 2000.

SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER (CONTRACTS & MONITORING)

1. CRRT - Phase 1 –Package 25- Supply and laying of 750mm dia CI force main fromTondiarpet ‘B’ pumping station to Tondiarpet ‘F’ New sewage pumping stationin Area V-CNT/SEW/NCB/CRRT/ Phase-I/059C/2020-21,Bid security Rs.5.75 Lakhs

2. CRRT – Phase I – Package 43C – Supply, fixing, testing and commissioning of ClassIP 55 Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) including prewired control panel and alliedcivilworks for submersiblepumpets in various SewagePumping Stations inAreasIV, V&VI – Tender No.CNT/SEW/NCB/CRRT/Phase I/085/2020-21 -Bid Security –Rs.3.25 Lakhs.

3. CRRT–PhaseI–Package43D–Supply,fixing,testingandcommissioningofClassIP55VariableFrequencyDrive(VFD) includingprewiredcontrolpanelandalliedcivilworks for submersible pumpets in various Sewage Pumping Stations in Areas VII,VIII & IX – Tender No.CNT/SEW/NCB/CRRT/Phase I/086/2020-21 -Bid Security –Rs.2.89 Lakhs.

4. Availability and Cost of Bid document in the form of CD : 27.11.2020 to28.12.2020, Grievances Redressal& Facilitation Officer, CMWSS Board,(Telephone: 044-28451300 Extn:217) for Rs.5,900/-(including GST) ThroughWebsite: www.chennaimetrowater.tn.nic.in&www.tenders.tn.gov.in

5. Date of Pre-Bid meeting : 15.12.2020 at 11.30 A.M.6. Bids will be received upto 03.00 PM and opened after 3.30 P.M on 29.12.2020.7. For all other details refer bid document in the website from 27.11.2020

GREATER CHENNAI CORPORATIONBuildings Department

DIPR/4387/Tender/2020 Superintending Engineer (Buildings)

B.D.C.No.B1/1790/2020e -TENDER NOTICE

Tender is invited by the Superintending Engineer (Buildings) for thefollowing work as per details furnished below

Proposed construction of Burial ground in Kodungaiyur Dumpingground campus separately for Hindus, Muslims and Christians atChinandimadam in Dn-37, Zone-4.

For more information see http://tntenders.gov.in &www.chennaicorporation.gov.in

Pre bid meeting held on 17.12.2020Tender Works Value approx.

Rs.5,38,63,346/-EMD AmountRs.5,38,700/-

Tender Date and Time: 05.01.2021 upto 3.00 P.MTender open Date and Time: 06.01.2021 at 3.30 P.M

NMDC Limited(A Government of India Enterprise)

'Khanij Bhavan', 10-3-311/A, Castle Hills, Masab Tank, Hyderabad - 500 028.CIN: L13100TG1958GOI001674

Tender Enquiry No. : HO(Contracts)/NISP/Maint/Inst/763 Dated : 25-11-2020

The detailed NIT and Bid documents can be viewed and / or downloadedfrom NMDC website http://www.nmdc.co.in, Central Public Procurementportal (CPP PORTAL) http://www.eprocure.gov.in/epublish/app and MSTCportal https://www.mstcecommerce.co.in from 25-11-2020 to 24-12-2020.

The Bidders, on regular basis are required to visit the NMDC's website / CPPPortal /MSTC websites for corrigendum, if any, at a future date.

Chief General Manager (Contracts), NMDC Limited, Hyderabad,Fax No. : +91-040-23534746, Tel No. : +91-040-23532800, Email :steelcontracts@nmdc.co.in

NMDC Limited, A "NAVARATNA" Public Sector Company under Ministry ofSteel, Govt. of India, invites online bids from experienced domestic bidders forMaintenance of Instrumentation Installation of RMHS, Coke oven, By-product, Sinter plant and respective auxiliaries for a period of 2 years for3.0 MTPA Integrated Steel Plant at Nagarnar, near Jagdalpur,Chhattisgarh state.

For accessing the bid document from MSTC portal, bidders to visit MSTCwebsite and search Tender Event No. NMDC/HO/69/20-21/ET/665.

For further clarification, the following can be contacted :

CONTRACTS DEPARTMENT

Chief General Manager (Contracts)

BRIEFLYMuthootplantobuyIDBIMFnixedNewDelhi:TheReserveBankhas rejectedMuthoot Fina-nce’s proposal to buy IDBIBank’smutual fund busi-ness,sayingitisnotinconso-nancewiththeactivityofanoperatingNBFC.

`2.5Kcrraisedviabonds:SBINewDelhi:StateBankofInd-ia (SBI) said it has raisedRs2,500crorefrombond.

CARS24raises$200mnNewDelhi:Onlineused carmarketplaceCARS24raised$200million, inlatestfund-ingledbyDSTglobal. PTI

REUTERSBENGALURU,NOVEMBER24

TESLA INC crossed $500billion inmarketvalueonTuesdayasinvestorslappedupitsshares in the run-up to its addition to theS&P500 index, extendingameteoric rallythathas seen the stockgainmore thansixtimesthisyear.SharesoftheEVmakerhaverisennearly28percentsincetheS&PDowJones IndicesdecidedtoaddthecompanytothebenchmarkindexfromDecember21.Itssharesroseasmuchas3.9percentto

a record high of $542.35 in early trading,valuingthecompanybrieflyat$514billion.The recent rally alsoboostedCEOElon

Musk’s networthby$7.2 billion to $127.9billion,helpinghimgopastBillGatestobe-cometheworld’ssecond-richestperson,ac-cordingtotheBloombergBillionairesIndex.Musk,whowasranked35thinJanuary,

hasadded$100.3billiontohisnetworthsofarthisyear,accordingtotheindex.Tesla has become by far theworld’s

mostvaluableautomaker,despiteaproduc-

tionthatisafractionofToyotaMotorCorp,VolkswagenAGorGeneralMotorsCo.Sharesof otherelectricvehiclemakers

have also risen in the last fewmonths asPresident-elect Joe BidenmadeboostingEVsatoppriorityduringhiscampaign.“Oneof the coreunderpinnings of the

Biden platformwill be around pushingcleanenergy andzero-emissions vehicleswithhopesofacceleratingthedeploymentofelectricvehiclesandpublicchargingout-letsby2030,”WedbushanalystDanielIvessaidinanote.

Sputnik V maker saysvaccine to be pricedunder $20 per personENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER24

THESPUTNIKVCovid-19vaccine,set to be tested inmid- to late-stagehumantrials in India, isex-pected to be priced at less than$20 for two doses, the RussianDirect Investment Fund (RDIF)said Tuesday. This couldmeanthat the vaccine could be up tothreetimesmoreexpensivethanCovishield,theSerumInstituteofIndia(SII)candidatewhichiscur-rently the frontrunner in theIndianraceforavaccine.TheRussiansovereignwealth

fund also said preliminary datafromvolunteerscollected42daysafter the first dose indicated thatSputnikVhadanefficacyofabove95percent.Theefficacyof avac-cineindicatesitsabilitytoproduceadesiredresultwhich,inthecaseofCovid-19vaccines,includespa-rameters like their ability to re-ducethenumberofseveresymp-tomaticcasesinthoseinoculated.SputnikV’s efficacy informa-

tion,likemostvaccinecandidatesfor which the information has

beenannouncedsofar,isstillpre-liminary in nature and yet to bepublishedinascientificjournalorpeerreviewed.At less than $10 a dose, the

SputnikVvaccinewouldbemuchcheaperthanothercandidateslikethose by Pfizer-BioNTech andModerna-NIAID, according toRDIF CEOKirill Dmitriev. At thesametime,SputnikV,likemostofthe frontrunners in the globalCovid-19vaccine race, is given intwo shots,with the seconddosegiven21daysafterthefirst.In India, Covishield — cur-

rently inphase3 clinical trials—will be priced at $3 a dose. SII—which isconductingthetrials forthisvaccine,developedusingthe“masterseed”fromthecandidatedevelopedbyOxfordUniversityandAstraZeneca—planstoapplyforemergencyuseapprovalsoon.While RDIF did not specify

how many volunteers it hadbasedits95percentefficacyread-outon,itsinterimanalysisofdataobtainedfrom18,794volunteersseven days after they receivedbothdosesofthevaccineshowedanefficacyofaround91.4percent.

AMIDCOVID-19

‘Hiring activity improves, led byrecruitment in non-tech sectors’Even though competition for jobs was lower compared toseveral months ago, recruitment activity in Indiawitnessed an uptick in September, LinkedIn’s ‘LabourMarket Update’ said

Year-on-year hiring activity recorded in previousmonths

■ April: -50% ■ July:>0% ■ August:12%

Tesla mkt value tops $500 bn;Musk net up $100 bn since Jan

ElonMuskisnowtheworld’s secondrichestperson,asper theBloombergBillionaires Index. Reuters file

Soon, ‘0’ prefixto call mobilesfrom landlinesNewDelhi:Callerswillsoonbere-quiredtoadd‘0’prefixformakingcalls from landlines to mobilephones in the country,with theDepartmentofTelecommunicati-ons (DoT) asking telcos tomakenecessaryarrangementsbyJanu-ary1 to implement thenewsys-tem. TheDoThas acceptedTrai’srecommendation for having the‘0’ prefix for such calls, to createsufficient numbering space fortelecomservices. ENSWITHPTI

Monthly rise in procurementand payments to MSMEs: Govt

What is the case against Karvyand what next for its clients?ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI/MUMBAI,NOV24

AYEARaftermisappropriationofmoneyandsecuritiesbelongingtoinvestorsbyKarvyStockBrokingLimited(KSBL)cametolight,boththeexchanges and the regulatorhavetakenactionagainstthebro-keragefirm.While Sebi had initially esti-

matedthatKarvyhadtransferredRs 1,096 crore to its real estatebusiness, lastweek theNationalStock Exchange said that fundsand securities worth Rs 2,300crorebelongingtoabout2.35lakhinvestors of KSBLhavebeen set-tledso far.TheNSEalsosaid thatin coordinationwith othermar-ketinfrastructureinstitutionsandunder the guidance of Sebi, ittransferred securities to respec-tiveclients,invokedbankguaran-teesdepositedwithclearingcor-porations and liquidatedsecurities held by Karvy Groupcompanies.

Whatisthecase?The case pertains to Karvy

unauthorisedlytransferringsecu-rities of clients intooneof its de-mat accounts by misusing thePoAs(PowerofAttorney)givenbyitsclients.InNovember2019,when the

case came to light, SebimovedagainstKarvyforviolatingnorms,includingtransferringclient shares to itselfand pledging clientsharestoraisemoney,whichitdivertedtoitsreal estatearm.Manyof Karvy’s over 2.40lakhclientshadcom-plained to the regula-toraboutmoneyandsecuritiesnotcomingtotheir tradingaccounts.Karvyallegedlymisusedclientac-countswithout informing them,or reporting to thedepositoryorthestockexchange.Securities lying inDepository

Participant (DP)accountsbelongtoclientsandcanonlybepledgedtomeet theobligationsof the re-

spective clients andKSBLhadnolegalrighttocreateanypledgeonthosesecurities.InitsreportsubmittedtoSebi,

theNSEhad then said thatKSBLmisused the power of attorneygivenbyitsclientstoclandestinelysellclientsecuritiesthroughenti-tiescontrolledby it, andusedthefundsforitsownpurposes.Tohide

this,KSBLdidnotre-port theDPaccount(No.11458979) initssubmissions to theNSE fromJanuary toAugust2019andthiswas detected onlyduring inspection,theNSEsaid.

Howmuchmoneywasinvolved?TheSebiorderin2019saidthat

anetamountofRs1,096crorewastransferredbyKarvyStockBrokingtoKarvyRealty.However, as perthe latest figure releasedbyNSElastweek, theexchangehad set-tled those funds and securities

worthRs2,300crorebelongingtoabout2.35lakhinvestorsofKSBL.Sources say that some amountmaystillbetheretobesettledbe-causeofdisputesbutthemajorityoftheamounthasbeensettled.Whilecustomerswerelooking

at the stock exchanges for themoneyandsecuritiesallegedlysi-phonedoffbyKarvyfromtheirac-counts, Sebi started investigatingsimilar diversions of funds fromthe clients’ accounts by otherbrokinghouses.

Whathappenstotheclients?AsNSEhasnowexpelledKSBL

fromthemembershipof theex-changeandSebi in its final orderhasbanned the firm fromtakingfreshbusiness,theexistingclientscan’ttradethroughKSBL.Stockex-changeofficialssaythatalltheex-istingclientsof KSBLwouldhaveeithergottheirsecuritiesbackandtransferredittoanotherbrokeragefirmorwouldhave received thevalueof their securities into theirbankaccounts.

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER24

THEMINISTRY of Micro, Smalland Medium Enterprises(MSMEs)Tuesdaysaidthattherehas been amonthly rise in pro-curement and payments toMSMEs,alongsideafall inthera-tioofpendencyofpayments.ThependingpaymentstoMSMEsarearoundone-fifthagainstthepro-curementandwithinthe45-daywindow,itsaid.Totalprocurementandtrans-

actionsfromMSMEshasgoneupalmost two-and-a-half times inOctober to Rs 5,000 crore com-

paredtoRs2,300croreinMay,theministry said, adding that pay-ments toMSMEshave also goneup in the sameproportion fromabout76percentinMaytoabout80percentinOctober.On Monday, The Indian

Express had reported that thepending dues to MSMEs, asshown on theministry’s dash-board, rose to Rs 969.19 crore inJuly, higher thanRs 561.64 croreofpendingduesinMayandcon-tinuedtobeelevatedinAugustatRs830.36crore.TheMinistryclar-ified that totalduesat theendofamonth“havetobeseenagainsttotal procurement and transac-tions at the end of the same

monthandthepaymentsmade”.The proportion of pending

paymentsaspartoftotaltransac-tionshas reduced toabout20.65percentinOctoberfrom23.9percent inMay, as reported by 26ministries and 100 CPSEs inOctober as against 25ministriesand79CPSEsinMay,itsaid.Theprocurementdata,how-

ever, is not reflected in theMinistry’s dashboard. TheMSMEMinistry’s Samadhaanportalaccountsforonlyapartofthe total dues to units. The cor-poratesectorandstatesandstategovernment enterprises oweMSMEs, in addition to dues re-flectedontheportal.

NIFTY50CLOSESABOVE13,000FORTHEFIRSTTIME

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,NOVEMBER24

BUOYED BY sustained foreignfund flows,domesticmarketsonTuesdayhitanall-timerecordhighwiththeNSENiftyindexcrossingthe13,000levelassuccessfulvac-cinetrialsboostedthesentiment.IgnoringtherecentspikeinCovidcases, the Sensex jumped 446points to44,523.02 and theNSENifty indexgained129points at13,055.15.The bull run is being fuelled

foreignportfolio investors (FPIs)who have made the highestmonthlybuying inNovember inthe last twodecades. Foreign in-vestorshavepumpedinaroundRs53,167croreinNovemberandin-vestedRs1.01lakhcroreinIndianequitiesincalendaryear2020,aid-ingNiftytotouchthe13,000levels.“TheFPIinflowincreasedcon-

siderablyespecially after theendoftheelectionintheUSandweak-ness in thedollar index.Anothermajorreasonbehindsucha large

inflowwastheexpectedstimulusworthtrillionsofdollarsfromcen-tralbankstoreviveeconomiesthatarehithardbytheCovid-ledlock-down,” saidHemang Jani,Head-Equity Strategy, Motilal OswalFinancialServices.Indicationsareinfavourofthe

prevailingbullishness to extend

furtherbutthepacecouldbegrad-ual,saidananalyst.Nifty touched anothermile-

stoneasitcrossedthe13,000levelfor the first time and settledaroundtheday’shigh.Therupeeappreciated10paise

tocloseat74.01againsttheUSdol-laronTuesday.

Dow hits record 30K oneconomic recovery hopes

REUTERSNEWYORK/LONDON,NOV24

THE DOW Jones IndustrialAverage breached the 30,000-markforthefirsttimeonTuesday,as optimism that Covid-19 vac-cineswill open theway to eco-nomicrecoverynextyearfuelledWallStreet’sreboundfromapan-demic-drivencrashthisyear.Thego-ahead for President-elect JoeBiden’s transition to theWhiteHousealsoboostedsentiment.By 12:01 p.m. ET, the Dow

Jones Industrial Averagewas up1.69 per cent at 30,092.53. TheS&P500wasup1.57percentandthe Nasdaq Composite was up

0.99percent.European markets tracked

gains in Asian andUS equities,withthebroad-basedSTOXX600indexopening0.8percenthigher.Safe-havenassetgold fell toa

four-month lowonTuesdayandlookedsettodipbelowthe$1,800levelasprogressonvaccinesandhopesforaquicktransitionintheWhiteHousedrove investors to-wardsriskierassets.Brent crude futures rose 45

cents,or1percent,to$46.51abar-rel to add to amore than20percent surge thismonth,whileUSWest Texas Intermediate crudeadded46cents,or1.1percent, to$43.52. Brent crude is trading atitshighestlevelsinceMarch.Meanwhile, Bitcoinmoved

within awhisker of its all-timehigh,afterhitting$19,000forthefirsttimeinnearlythreeyears.

‘Economicactivity upon pent-updemand, maynot sustain’Novtrends indicatemoderation: Icra

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER24

THEPICK-UP ineconomicactiv-ity in October is the result ofpent-up demand andmay notsustaingoingahead,Icrahassaid.Multiple fast-paced indica-

tors, including GST collections,have been showing a sharp re-coverysinceOctober.Theagencysaid available trends for earlyNovember are suggesting somemoderation inthesespikes.“Wecautionthatthespikesin

production seen in the varioussectors in October 2020, are anexaggerationofthetruerecoveryontheground,astheyhavebeendriven by a large component ofpent-up demand thatmay notsustainafter thefestiveperiodisover,” its principal economistAditiNayarsaid.WITHPTI

AnOxfordVaccineGroupresearcherinalaboratoryinEnglandworksonthecoronavirusvaccinedevelopedbyAstraZenecaandOxfordUniversity. JohnCairns/UniversityofOxfordviaAP

Vaccineboost, recordFPI inflowspropelmarkets to life-timehighs

Brentathighestlevel sinceMarch

30%:Hiring recovery recordedinSeptember,overayearago

Recovery innon-techsectors:Withhiringactivity risingandthedigitaldivide isnarrowing,arecovery isbeingseen inhiringfor thenon-techsectors

4.2xLikelihoodof jobseekers inbadly-hitsectors, like recreation&travel,searchingforemployment inadifferentsector; lower than6.8timesasofJune

Source: LinkedIn/PTI

Ban onKarvyBrokingconfirmedENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,NOVEMBER24

THE SECURITIES and ExchangeBoardof India (Sebi) onTuesdayconfirmedthebanonKarvyStockBroking fromtakingnewclientsanddirected exchanges andde-positories to takeappropriateac-tionagainst theentity anddirec-tors.TheNationalStockExchange(NSE) declared Karvy StockBroking(KSBL)adefaulterandex-pelleditfromthemembershipoftheexchangefornon-compliancewithvariousregulatoryprovisions.Karvyhasalsobeenprohibited

fromalienatinganyofitsassets,ex-ceptwithpriorpermissionof theNSEtillthesettlementofclaimsofinvestors.OnNovember22, 2019, Sebi

bannedKarvy fromtaking freshbusiness for allegedlymisappro-priatingmoneyandsecuritiesbe-longingto its investors inorder tofund its real estate arm KarvyRealty. Thedirections in the ex-parteorderpassed inNovember2019are operating against it tilldate,Sebisaid.Karvyneitherfiledanyreplyforrevocationofinterimorderornottoconfirmtheinterimdirectionnoravailedopportunityofhearing,itsaid.Invariouslettersseeking adjournment, Sebi saidKSBLmadesubmissions that it istransferringsecuritiesandfundstoits clients. “Such letters andcon-duct of KSBL show it admitswrongdoing, asalleged in theex-parteorderandtherefore,hasbeentakingthestepstoremovetheef-fectsof itswrongdoingsuchasre-questingmoretimesoastoreturnthe funds/securities to its clientswhosesecuritieswereunauthoris-edlypledgedbyKSBL,”itsaid.

Kolkata

14THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER25,2020

SPORTWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

KOHLI,ASHWINNOMINATEDFORPLAYEROFTHEDECADEAWARD

ThetalismanicViratKohliandRavichandranAshwinwereonTuesdaynominatedforthecovetedICCMen'sPlayeroftheDecadeAwardwiththeIndiancaptainfeaturinginall fivemen'scategoriesforhis incredibleruninthelast10years.Kohliandveteranoff-spinnerAshwinarethetwoIndiansamongsevenplayersnominatedforthemostprestigiousaward.BesidestheIndianduo,JoeRoot(England),KaneWilliamson(NewZealand),SteveSmith(Australia),ABdeVilliers(SouthAfrica),andKumarSangakkara(SriLanka)aretheothercontendersinthiscategory.

R.N.I.No.WBENG/2005/20789VOL.XVINo.210PrintedbyV.SrinivasanandPublishedbyV.Srinivasanonbehalf of The IndianExpress (P)LtdandPrintedatSaraswatiPrintFactoryPvt.Ltd,789,Chowbhaga(West),Kolkata-700105andPublishedatTheIndianExpress (P)Ltd JLNo.29&30,N.H.-6,Mouza-Prasastha&Ankurhati,P.O. -Salap,P.S.-Domjur,Howrah-711409.Ph: (033)66043800Fax: (033)66043825&66043847.Chairmanof theBoard:ViveckGoenka,Chief Editor :RajKamal Jha,Editor :UnniRajenShanker,Editor (Kolkata):RakeshSinha*(*Responsible forselectionofnewsunderthePRBAct)Copyright :

The IndianExpress (P)Limited.All rightsreserved.Reproduction inanymanner,electronicorotherwise,inwholeor inpart,withoutpriorwrittenpermission isprohibited.The IndianExpress®

DEVENDRAPANDEYMUMBAI,NOVEMBER24

THEINDIANcricketteamwillgoretroforthelimited-oversseries inAustraliabydonningthe iconicdark-blue teamkit fromthe1992World Cup, hosted jointly by Australia andNew Zealand. The jersey with broad-coloured stripes across the shoulder hasgreat recall valueas itmarkedthe introduc-tion of coloured clothing, white balls andfloodlightsata50-overWorldCup.TheIndianteamhadtodoawaywiththe

lighter-bluejersey,variousversionsofwhichhavebeenworn fornearly twodecades,be-cause anewkit sponsorhas signeda three-yeardeal.When India play Australia in the first

One-DayInternational inSydneyonFriday,old-timers fromtheteamof1992willcher-ishseeingthedark-bluekitbackonthefield.Former India wicketkeeper Kiran More, a

member of the ’92 World Cup team, haspreserved the jersey,which stands out be-causeof itscleanlookintheabsenceofmul-tiple sponsor logos and 'India' writtenacross it in yellow.More was pleasantly surprised and

turnednostalgicwhenheheardthecurrentgeneration of players, captained by ViratKohli, opted for this kitwhen the BCCI con-sulted thembefore they left for the tour.

Downmemory lane“I come acrossmany peoplewho agree

that this was the best jersey of the Indianteam.Thecolourisamazinganditisstillfreshin people’s minds. It was the first timeweplayedaWorldCupincolouredclothingandwith thewhite ball. Ask any cricketer frommy generation and they will say the 1992WorldCupjersey is thebest.WehadplayedincolouredclothingearlierbutnotataWorldCup,”More toldThe IndianExpress.The Indian teamwill wear the retro kit

for the three One-Day Internationals andthreeT20Internationalsbeforeswitchingtowhites for theTest series.Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan

tweeted a picture of him in the jerseywiththe caption: “New jersey, renewedmotiva-tion,Ready toGo.”Lastweek,MPLSports, themerchandise

brand of online gaming companyMobilePremier League, bagged the rights for threeyearsafterNikedecidedtoenditslong-termassociationinSeptember.AtopBCCIofficialconfirmed the new kit sponsor could notcopy the ‘design’usedbyNike.To avoid copyright violations, the BCCI

andMPL offered the players different op-

tions. The players opted for the 1992 kit,whichreachedtheminAustraliaonTuesday.“AsMPLisanewsponsor,theycannotuse

adesign similar towhat theprevious spon-sor had. TheMPLhad sent us a fewdesignsfortheone-daykit, includingthedesignfrom1992.We asked the cricketers to give theiropinion.Theychosetheonewhichwasworn

byourplayersduring the1992WorldCup,”BCCI treasurerArunDhumal said.

Short-lived affairThetrystwiththe1992kitforthecurrent

playerswon’tbelongtermasthenewspon-sorswilleventuallycomeupwiththeirowndesign,theBCCIofficialsaid.“Asanewspon-sor (MPL Sports), theywill eventually havetocomewithadesignoftheirown.Theywillhavetousetheirowntechnology(forcreat-ing fabric),”Dhumaladded.The Indian team finished seventh in the

round-robin stagewinning just twogames.MoreisrememberedforrilingupPakistan’sJavedMiandadwithhisappealsfrombehindthewicket,whichsawthebatsmanjumpupanddowntomockhim.The below-par finish of the team does

not take away any emotion attached to thejerseyforMore.“Otherthanthejersey, Ievenhavethesweater,”Moresaid.“It isverypre-cious tome.”

Given option of picking kit, Team India goes for ’92 World Cup look

Youngest manager sets tone for the seasonTHEMASTERMIND of the biggest upset intheopeningroundofmatches intheIndianSuperLeague(ISL) is just35yearsold. ‘Just’,becausehe is amanager andnot aplayer.Grard Nus, the globe-trotting Spaniard

whojoinedNorthEastUnitedinAugustistheyoungestmanagerever inthe ISL.AnditdidnottakelongfortheformerGhanaassistantcoach,whostartedhiscareerasthecoachofLiverpool’s academy, tomakean impact.NorthEast were the whipping boys of

the last ISL season –winning only two outof the18matchesandconceding twice thenumberof goals they scored. Itwaswidelyexpected that they’dbe rolledover in theiropener by Mumbai City FC, one of thefavourites this seasonwhonot only have astar-studded squad, but in Sergio Loberathey have amanagerwho has had successin India and abroad.But Nus and NorthEast showed they

wouldn’tcareaboutreputations.NorthEastplayedwithin their limitationsbutNusor-ganised them in such a way that Mumbaifound it hard to break themdespite domi-nating the first half.A red card to Mumbai playmaker

Ahmed Jahouh helped NorthEast’s cause,but the fact thatMumbaididnotmanagea

single shot on target showed how disci-plined NorthEast were and the precisionwithwhichtheyexecutedNus’sgame-plan.Incredibly, Nus is younger than the

playerwho scripted an improbable come-backover theweekend for FCGoa.Igor Angulo’s goal-scoring reputation

precedes him.He came to India after scor-ing nearly a hundred goals in the last four

years in Poland’s top division. But theSpaniard had to fill the big void left at FCGoa with the departure of FerranCorominas,oneof thefineststrikerstohaveplayed in India.Angulo,36,showedhisclass inthespace

of three second-half minutes againstBengaluru FC in the battle of the two titlecontenders. His goals in the 66thminute –a neat left-footed shot across the goal tobeatGurpreetSinghSandhu–andthe69thminute – using his chest to score from aclose-range – salvaged an otherwise aver-age evening forGoa.Given that almost one-third of the for-

eignplayers and sevenoutof 11managersin the ISL this season are from Spain, it ishardlysurprising that theyhadthebiggestimpact in the opening round.And if first impressions are anything to

go by, then a 35-year-old manager and a36-year-old player will be the ones towatch out for this season.

ROUND 2 FIXTURES: Nov 25: FC Goa vsMumbai City; Nov 26: Kerala Blasters vsNorthEastUnited;Nov27:SCEastBengalvsATKMohun Bagan; Nov 28: Bengaluru vsHyderabad;Nov29: JamshedpurvsOdisha

[ ISLWRAP: RD 1 ]

Amidst the focus on the much-im-proved foreign signings across allteams, it is easy for an Indian player togo missing. But 22-year-old AnirudhThapa reminded everyone why he istipped to be one of the flag bearers ofIndian football in the days to come.Thapa, who has been one of the

consistent performers for the last cou-ple of seasons, became the first Indiangoal scorer of the season – a stat thatmatters even now because the Indianplayersdon’t routinely find thebackofthe net. Thapa looked sharp inChennaiyin’s2-1winover Jamshedpuron Tuesday, and scored after only 47seconds – a low, right-footed drivefromjust inside thebox to find thebot-tom right corner.Thapa’s India teammate Brandon

Fernandes was another Indian playerwho impressed. TheFCGoamidfielderdid not start thematch for FC Goa dueto a niggle he carried coming into theseason, but his introduction againstBengaluru in the 57th minute turnedout tobegame-changingashe initiatedthemoves that led to both Goa goals

MIHIRVASAVDA

Thapa, Brandon shine

SHAMIKCHAKRABARTYKOLKATA,NOVEMBER24

ROHITSHARMAandIshantSharmacouldplayapartintheTestseriesinAustraliaastheBCCIis now in talkswithCricketAustralia (CA) asregardstoarelaxationinthequarantinerulesfor theplayers. According to aBCCI official, ifthe rules are relaxed, thenRohit and Ishantmight reachAustralia in time tobe availableforIndia’ssecondandfinaltourgame,againstAustralia 'A' in Sydney fromDecember 11 to13.AspertheAustraliangovernment’sgeneralCovidprotocol, a14-dayquarantineperiod isnecessaryuponreachingAustralia.“BCCI is in talkswithCA,which in turn is

negotiatingwith theAustralian governmentaboutarelaxationinthequarantinerules(forthetwoplayers). If therulesarerelaxed, thenbothRohitandIshantcouldbeavailableforthe(second) tour game,” a BCCI official told TheIndianExpress.AlthoughtheAustraliangovernmentman-

dates a14-dayquarantineperiod for incom-ing travellers, there’s a provision for exemp-tionwhichislistedinthe‘exemptioncategory’.TheAustraliangovernment’shealthadvisory,as put out on thegovernmentwebsite, says:

“TheAustralianHealth Protection PrincipalCommittee (AHPPC) recognises someothertravellers shouldbeexempt fromquarantinerequirementsaslongastheytakestepstomit-igate risk. These travellersmust apply for aquarantine exemption in linewith state andterritoryrequirements.”TheBCCI andCAunderstandably are try-

ingtotakethe‘exemption’routeforRohitandIshant, as theAustralian cricket bodynegoti-ateswith theAustraliangovernment.DuringtheIndianPremierLeague(IPL)also,theBCCIsuccessfullynegotiatedwiththegovernmentauthorities inAbuDhabi to relax thequaran-tineperiodfortheEnglishandAustraliancrick-eterswhowenttoUnitedArabEmirates(UAE)afterplayingalimited-oversseriesinEngland.Rohithadsufferedahamstringinjurydur-

ingtheIPL,whilearibcageinjuryruledIshantoutof thetournament.Botharedoingtheir rehabat theNational

CricketAcademy (NCA) at themoment. TheBCCImedicalteamisassessingtheplayersanditislearntthatasofnow,Rohit’sfitnesslevelis“70percent”.On Sunday, the Indian teamhead coach

RaviShastrihadspokenabouthowitwasim-portant for the two players to fly out toAustraliainthenext“threetofourdays”.

BCCI asks CA to relaxquarantine for Rohit, Ishant

Ok TestedChahalhasbecomeavirtuoso inwhite-ball cricket,buthisevolutionsuggests the leggiedeservesacrackat the five-daygame

SRIRAMVEERAMUMBAI,NOVEMBER24

YUZVENDRACHAHALcapturesourimagina-tionbecauseofwhathascapturedhis imagi-nation.Atthemomentofthereleaseoftheball,a spinnernarrows thevariousgeometric op-tionsavailabletohimbyinstinctandimagina-tion.Thechoicesreveal thecharacterandtheskill.WithChahal,thequestionalwayswas:ishisartrestrictedtoacleverresponsetoanat-tackfromabatsman?Canheinducemistakesinabatsmannotlookingtohitout?Orinotherwords,canhetranscendfromalimited-oversvirtuoso toTests?Doeshehave thenous, thepatience,theskill,thecraft,thetemperament,andthefitnessforit?“I have only onebigwish left: to play for

India inwhites, I amready for Tests,” Chahalvoicedhis desire to this newspaper last year.Hisownsparsefirst-classturnoutdoesn’thelpbutincreasingly,evidencesuggeststhathehasgrownenoughtoatleastbetried.Watching himbowl in recent times has

been abrain-teaser. Unlikemanyof his con-temporaries, Chahal uses the traditional leg-spinner’s skillset to tackle the demands ofmodern-daycricket.“He is ready for Tests,” says Narendra

Hirwani, former India leg-spinner and thespincoachattheNationalCricketAcademy.“Heisatthelaststageofevolutionasaspin-ner. Ab improvement kya bacha hai? He isdoingeverything.Heisreadingthebatsmenand the conditions. It’s not about his foot,head,shoulder,elbowanymore.Heissmart,and he is aware of what he can do. Shaanahai (he’s shrewd)”.Therewasenoughevidence,duringtheIPL

forRoyalChallengersBangaloreandover thepast year, of Chahal’s ability to produce themosteffectiveball fromhisrepertoireagainstabatsmanhewantstofox.

TheegobusterTakethelastoverofthechasetoChrisGayle

when he had to defend three runs againstKingsXIPunjab.Gayledoesn’tusuallyconsiderthe arc fromcover point towide long-off asplaces to plunder runs against a leggie. Hedoesn’tbingeoninside-outloftedcoverdriveseither. So, Chahal shiftedhis line towell out-side off, fromaround the stumps. Therewas

neither drift nor dip, butGaylewasdraggedoutof his comfort zone.Hewatched the firstball turn intohim froma lengthandwithoutthepressingneedtohiteveryball,jabbedittoshortmidwicket. The secondand thirdballswerethingsofbeauty:fullofimagination,dare,impishness.Theyweretosseduphigh,ratherslowlyanddangerouslywide.Andjustaboutspinningbackintolegalboundaries.Gaylejustgapes at the first one that nestles into the’keeper’sglovesanddragstheothertotheleg-sideforasingle.Thatlinehasbeenattemptedby leggies before, but not thepace or trajec-tory;theyareusuallyfiredacross,flat,fast,andawayfromthebatsman. Notlikethis.ThiswasateasetoGayle’sego,presented

in anout-of-comfort-zone framework. Thatcombination is Chahal’s speciality. The in-stinctof a limited-oversbowler, thevocabu-laryof aTest leg-spinner.Inthatsameover,thereweretwodotballs

atKLRahulaswell,againtailoredtoperfection.Twoslowheavily-side-spunleg-breaks,start-ingfrommiddlestump.Chahalmusthavere-alisedRahulwouldn’tthinkofcomingdowntohimnorhas the tendency.Theonlyplausiblealternativewas slog-sweeping, but Chahalraised the riskswith his off-stump line. So,Rahul triedcuttingandbothtimes,endedupchoppingittoshortcover.ItwaslefttoNicholasPoorantodowhatmostbatsmenloathetodoagainst Chahal: rushdown the track for the

loftedhit tosettle the issue.Eventhen, the fi-naldeliverywasamagnificentrarity:atossed-up loopy one, just that the left-handerwasbraveenoughtochargeout.

The ‘wider’ oneBatsmenhesitateinrushingouttoChahal

aftertheyseeotherstryitoutdisastrously.LikewhathappenedtoWriddhimanSahathisIPL.Heoftenuseshis feetbut it’snoteasyagainstChahalashecandriftitfurtherawayfromtheoff-stump.SunilGavaskar,onair,letoutadeep-rootedappreciative cryof “beauty”when re-playsrevealedthesensuousleg-breakhadrap-idly dipped and turned after drifting away,beatingSaha’sexpansiveambitions.That outside-off line continues to be

Chahal’smostrecognisedfeature.Hehasevennamed it a ‘wider’.Hedoesn’tmerelypush itwideassomespinnershavedoneinthepast;hedrifts it away. A significant difference andthereasonwhybatsmenfailtonail it.Usually,thedriftthataright-handerisused

toistheonethatcomesintheairtowardshim,sometimesalarminglydriftingfurtherdown,openinghimupand then suddenly turningsharplyacrosshim.Thisoneisdifferent.Rightfromthemomentof its release, it’s going theotherwaybutbecauseofthedrift(asopposedtobeingthrownoutwide)thebatsmenseemtothinktheycanreach itbefore itgets too farawayfromthem.Afatalmistake.Goodbatsmenendupbeingluredin.Like

Sanju Samson this IPL. Just a littlemore con-tortionattherelease,aslightopeningupper-haps, but otherwise therewas no real give-away.Thecockedwristuncoiledtotheleft, totheoff-side,atrelease(ratherthantotherightor straight down) and the ball drifted awaywithfuriousrevolutions.Samsonstartedtoad-just his downward bat swing, the ball keptdrifting away, upsetting the timing and thepointof impactonthebat,andslicingoutasamiscuedhit.MSDhoniwasalsosimilarlytakenout.The

driftmakesthebatsmanwaitthatbit longer,a toughdemandespecially on the front footas they start to stutter into tinymovementstobalancethemselvesasthewaitfortheballstretches.So,Dhonitooktheotherapproach,in total contrast to Samson, to hit a similarball.Hechosetogodownonhisbackkneetoholdbalanceevenashereachedout.Butthedrift isn’t an easy beast to tame. In the end,

Dhoniwasforcedtolungeoutalotmorethanhehadbargainedforandcouldn’tgetenoughbehindthehit,holingout to long-off.It’saballChahaltypicallyusesagainstbig

hitters, drags themaway from their hittingpositions,awayfromtheircomfortzones.

The orthodox lineHepings the leg-andmiddle-stumpline

to batsmen not that good against leg-spin.“Thosewhohavedoubtsinthem,na,heusesthat line,”observesHirwani.Doubts leadstostutteringstepsastheygingerlyopenupandprodatitunsureoftheextentofvenomintheball. In his six-for atMCG in January 2019,coupleofAustraliansareswallowedupthus:Marcus Stoinis embarrassed and JhyeRichardsonowned.“Woh Handscomb ka wicket dekha?”

Chahalasks.Ofthesix,hecherishedthatone.It’s themoment Peter Handscomb, past hisfiftyandconsideredgoodagainstspin,endeduponabananapeel, stutteringandslippingastheball skiddedrapidly totraphimlbw.It drifted in fromwell outside off-stump

and swerved in towardsmiddle. “I have al-wayshadthatdrift,that’skeyforme,”Chahalsays.Handscomb just about leaned forwardwhenthedriftmadehimstopandtheleftfootstarted to stutter out as he tried tohold bal-ance. He did it reasonablywell but the sub-sequent speed of the skidding ball thatstraightenedwastoomuchforhim.Or the time Chahal stumped Sam

Billings, another batsmanwith a good rep-utationagainstspin, in2018. Itwasaclassichumiliator: big drift, sharp dip, and rapidturn. Billings was strandedway down thetrack,doneintheair,desperatelywavinghisbat across the line.Off the field, Chahal is the kind of man

whomakestheaccompanyingphotographerask him to hop on to a suitcase placed on adressing-tablemirrorandsitcross-leggedaf-ter an interview.Without either an inhibit-ingself-consciousnessorflagrantshowman-ship, Chahal wordlessly hopped on it andsmiled. There is a level ofmaturity thatonlythosecapableofchildishnesscanreach,criticClive Jameswrote, and Chahal’s Instagrammoods reveal enough impishnesswhile hisbowlingartshowcasesthatincreasingmatu-rity.HistimehascomeinTests.Aretheselec-tors tunedin?

KiranMoreposeswithhis1992WorldCupjersey;TheteamcaptainedbyAzharuddinbeforeaphotoshoot;OpenerShikharDhawantweetedapictureofhiminthe jersey fromSydneyonTuesday.Credit:KiranMore/Twitter

GrardNus,35,tookoverthemantleatNorthEastUnitedinAugust. NEFC/Twitter

NFLmakeshistorywithall-BlackofficiatingcrewTampa(US) :An all-Black officiatingcrewworkedanNFLgameforthefirsttime in league historywhen the LosAngeles Rams faced the Tampa BayBuccaneers. Referee JeromeBoger ledthe crew,whichalso includedumpireBarry Anderson, down judge JulianMapp, line judge Carl Johnson, sidejudgeDale Shaw, field judgeAnthonyJeffries and back judge Greg Steed.When theNFL announced the crewwasbeingassembledlastweek,leagueexecutivevicepresidentoffootballop-erationsTroyVincenthailedthemovea“atestamenttothecountlessandim-measurable contributionsof Blackof-ficialstothegame,theirexemplaryper-formance,andtothepowerofinclusionthatisthehallmarkofthisgreatgame.”

EPL:FanstoreturnfromnextweekLondon:SupportersaresettoreturntoEnglish Premier League games nextweek for the first time sinceMarch.BritishPrimeMinisterBorisJohnsonisallowingareturnofspectatorstosportsstadiumsaspartofaneasingofcoron-avirus restrictionswhen thenationallockdownendsonDecember2.Amax-imumof4,000fanswill initiallybeal-lowedintovenuesintheareaswiththelowestCOVID-19infectionratesandupto2,000intheareasplacedinthenexttierof restrictions.Thehighest-riskar-easstillwon'tbeallowedfans. PlansforthereturnofspectatorsinOctoberwereput on hold due to a spike in coron-aviruscases.

GriezmanndeniesriftwithMessiLondon: Barcelona forward AntoineGriezmannhasdismissed talkof a riftwithteammateMessiandsaidhehadnothing todowith recent commentsabout theArgentine forward fromhisformer agent and his uncle. Earlier,Griezmann’s former agentEricOlhatssaidMessi’s“reignofterror”hadmadelife difficult forGriezmann,while theFrench forward’s uncle said itwasnoteasytoplayinthesameclubasthesix-timeBallond’Orwinner. AGENCIES

BRIEFLY

YuzvendraChahalhas theability toproducethemosteffectiveball fromhisrepertoireagainstabatsmanhewants to fox. SuvajitDey

SHORTSTORIESTracing the rise of talented game changers who are primed for their time in the sun during this Australian summer[ ]

Kolkata