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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2020, JAIPUR, LATE CITY, 10 PAGES `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMJOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

To stop manualscavenging,Govt to amendlaw, makemechanisedcleaning must

AVISHEKGDASTIDARNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER19

AMEND THEManual Scaven-ging Act to make mechanisedcleaning of sewers and septictanks mandatory, replace theword “manhole” with “ma-chine-hole” inofficial usage, setupanational24x7helplinetore-portviolations.These are some of the key

measures that are being imple-mented by the Governmentwith an aim to eliminateman-ual scavengingacross thecoun-trybyAugust2021,accordingtoseniorofficials.On Thursday, as part of this

initiative, the Governmentlaunched a “challenge” for allstates tomake sewer-cleaningmechanised by April 2021— ifany human needs to enter asewerlineincaseofunavoidableemergency,propergearandoxy-gentanks,etc.,aretobeprovided.Thechallengewillofferprize

money in various categories to-talling Rs 52 crore. “The actualon-groundassessmentofpartic-ipating citieswill be conductedinMay2021byan independentagency and results will be de-clared onAugust 15, 2021,” saidDurgaShankerMishra,Secretary,Ministry of Housing andUrbanAffairs.Official records show that

manual scavenging has led to376 deaths over the past fiveyears, including 110 in 2019alone — a jump of 61 per centfrom2018.“Wehaveinstructedthatthe

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RACEFORACOVID-19VACCINE

KAUNAINSHERIFFMNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER19

THE OXFORD-ASTRAZENECACovid-19 vaccine candidate hastriggered a robust immune re-sponse inolderadults inphase2clinical trials, demonstrating itspotentialusefulnessinprotectingasectionofthepopulationthatisamongthemostat riskof illnessfromthenovelcoronavirus.Preliminary findings pub-

lishedinTheLancetmedical jour-nalshowChAdOx1nCov-2019–technical name for the vaccinecandidate developed by scien-tists at the University of OxfordandtheBritish-Swedishpharma

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EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,NOVEMBER19

FACINGA sharp surge in Covidcases,DelhiChiefMinisterArvindKejriwal said Thursday that allprivatehospitalsinthecapitalwillhave to reserve 80 per cent oftheir ICU beds and up to 60 percent of normal beds for coron-avirus patients, and defer non-

critical surgeries. Kejriwal alsosaidthatthepenaltyfornotwear-ingmasks has been increasedfour-fold,fromRs500toRs2,000.Hours after the announce-

ment, theHealthDepartment is-suedanorder,directing42privatehospitals to implement thedeci-sion,whichwillleadtoanincreaseof260CovidICUbeds.Inanotherorder, 90 private hospitals havebeenaskedtoreserve60percent

oftheirtotalbedcapacityforCovidpatients. Health MinisterSatyendar Jain said thiswill leadtoanincreaseof2,644beds.TheMinistryofHomeAffairs,

meanwhile,advisedtheHaryanaand UP governments to hold asurvey of private hospitals intheir NCR districts to tackle thecrisis.Addressing a webcast,

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ARUNSHARMAJAMMU,NOVEMBER19

THE JAMMUandKashmirPoliceclaimed to have foiled a plan todisrupttheDistrictDevelopmentCouncil (DDC)polls in theUnionterritory, startingNovember 28,with the killing of four Jaish-e-Mohammad militants nearNagrotaontheoutskirtsofJammu

cityearlyThursdaymorning.Two police personnel were

injured in the three-hour en-counter near the Ban toll plaza,ontheJammu-Srinagarnationalhighway,thatinvolvedtheCRPFandArmyalongwithpolice.IGP, Jammu zone, Mukesh

Singh, said the four,who are yettobeidentified,wereontheirwayto Kashmir and, going by thequantity of arms and ammuni-

tionseizedfromthem,wereplan-ning"somethingverybig".ElevenAK-47 rifles, three pistols, 29grenades and other devices in-cludingmobilephonesandmed-icines with Pakistani marking

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Hopefor large,vulnerablegroup;breakthrough immuneresponse

Newphase2 trial resultsof Oxford vaccine showsuccess in older people

PRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER19

SERUM INSTITUTE of India (SII)will likely apply to India’s topdrug regulator nextmonth foremergency approval for limiteduse of 'Covishield' on frontlineworkersandtheelderly,theCEOof thePune-headquarteredvac-cinemanufacturer said at ame-diasummitonThursday.Covishield is the name in

India of the Covid-19 vaccinecandidate developed by the

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Could seek govtnod in Dec, maycost Rs 500-600:Serum CEO

Cases up, Delhi reserves 80% pvt ICUbeds, hikes fine to Rs 2,000 for no masks

SANTOSHSINGH&LIZMATHEWPATNA,NEWDELHI,NOV19

UNDERATTACKfromoppositionparties over corruption allega-tions against him, JD(U) leaderMewalal Choudhary onThursday resigned as BiharEducation Minister within anhourof takingcharge.Choudhary is facing charges

regardingallegeddiscrepancyinthe appointment of assistantsand scientists during his tenureas Bihar Agriculture University,Sabaur, Vice-Chancellor be-tween2010and2015.Bookedbythepolice,hehadgoneabscond-ing till hegotbail.Sources said the BJP ex-

pressed reservations over con-tinuance of Choudhary in theCabinet. The JD(U), however,maintained that he resignedonhis own. Choudhary said, "I am

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Atthesiteof theencounternearNagrota,ontheoutskirtsof JammucityonThursday.PTI

BJP frowns, ‘tainted’JDU leader out 3 daysafter swearing-in

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,NOVEMBER19

CHINAPERCEIVESa“risingIndiaasarival”andwantstoconstrainitsstrategicpartnershipwiththeUS, its allies andotherdemocra-cies,theUSStateDepartmenthassaidinareport. IthasunderlinedthatChinaintendstodisplacetheUSastheworld'sforemostpower.The Chinese People's

LiberationArmy,thereportsaid,recently provoked skirmishesalong its disputed border withIndia, which killed dozens onbothsides,andremainsinatensestandoffwith India'smilitary.The State Department’s re-

portcomesundertheleadershipof Secretary of StateMichael RPompeowhohasbeencriticalofBeijing’s aggression in the last

fewmonths.In New Delhi last month,

Pompeosaidthat IndianandUSleadersandcitizensseewith“in-creasing clarity” that theCommunistPartyofChina(CCP)is “no friend to democracy andrule of law”, and that the USwould“standwiththepeopleofIndiatoconfrontthreatstotheirsovereigntyandtotheirliberty".The detailed policy docu-

ment by the State Departmenthighlights that China is under-mining the security, autonomyandeconomicinterestsofmanynations in theregion.“Chinaperceivesrising India

asarivalandseeks to impel it toaccommodate Beijing's ambi-tionsbyengagingeconomicallywhile constraining NewDelhi'sstrategic partnership with the

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China sees rising India asrival, wants to constrainties with US: State Dept

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER19

INDIA NEEDS to bewatchful ofthe “transient” tendencies oftrade protectionism emerginggloballyandthegeopoliticssur-roundingtherecenttradegroup-ings,whilekeepinginmindthattradecontinuestoremainanim-portant engine of growth, saidN K Singh, Chairman, FifteenthFinanceCommission.Thefutureof trade policy should becomeclear from January onwardswhen the newUS governmentoutlines its stance.Speaking at the Express e-

Adda (detailed transcript to bepublishednextweek)organisedby The Indian Express Thursday,Singh stressed that a lot more

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SUCCESSOFtheOxfordAstraZenecacandidate isespecially important forIndiabecauseSerumInstituteof Indiaalreadyhas40millionshotsready, and is licensed tomanufactureanddistrib-ute it in largevolumes.Triggeringan immuneresponse in theelderly isa significant challengethat thevaccinecandi-datehasovercome.

KeytoIndia’sCovidfightE●EXPLAINE

D

MewalalChoudharyquitsasBiharMinister, sayscooperatingwithprobe

MewalalChoudharyaftertakingchargeonThursday

MANOJKUMAR JHARJDLEADER

THE EXPRESSINTERVIEW

P4

NKSinghat theExpressAddaonThursday

4 Jaish militants killed; foiled planto disrupt DDC polls: J&K Police

10 YRSMORE IN JAILFORHAFIZ SAEEDPAGE8

Need to reform banking,be watchful on tradeprotectionism: N K Singh

Jaipur

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,NOVEMBER20,2020

BJP frownsnotchargesheetedinthecaseandamcooperatingwiththeinvesti-gation. I decided to resignonmyown."The RJD has been attacking

Nitish,whosoughtre-electionongoodgovernanceplank, over in-clusion of Choudhary in hisCabinet.RJDchiefLaluPrasadhadquestioned the BJP's silence onthematterinatweet.In 2017, before Nitish

switched from theMahagathbandhantoformagov-ernmentwith it inBihar, theBJPhad stalled proceedings in theBiharAssembly over the allega-tionsagainstChoudhary,vowing"not to rest tillMewalalwas ar-rested". This was soon afterChoudharywasbookedforcheat-ing,breachoftrustbyapublicser-vant and criminal conspiracybythe Sabaur Police. Choudharywentmissing before he got bailfrom the PatnaHigh Court. Thematterwas later referred to theVigilanceDepartment.Sources in the BJP said the

party leadership told the CMChoudharywould have to stepdown."It'sanopenandshutcase.Therewasnootherway," said atopBJP leader, pointing out thatthepartyhadalsoledadelegationto the then state governor seek-ing action against Choudhary atthe time. "Howcan theparty besilentoveritnow?"AskedwhytheBJPhadnotob-

jectedearlier,whenChoudhary'snamewas included in the JD(U)list of ministers, the leaderclaimed the party had receivedthe names the sameday as theoath-taking. "We did not askthembecausewedid notwantthemtoaskus in turnwhywereweappointing twodeputy chiefministers."However, the incidentmight

furtherstrainthefraughttiesbe-tweentheJD(U)andBJP,whichisnow the larger party in theAssembly.WithNitishseenasre-taining the CMpost due to BJP"largesse",manyinthepartybe-lieve hemight have sought to"embarrass" the BJP withChoudhary'sappointment.The case pertains to the ap-

pointment of 166 assistant andjunior scientists in BiharAgricultureUniversity,Sabaur, in2012,whileChoudharywasvice-chancellor. It was alleged thatthosewith lessermarks foredu-cational qualification, researchand publication of books gotthroughastheyweregiven20outof20marksinpowerpointpres-entation and interview, whilethoselesserqualifiedgotthrough.While a chargesheet is yet to

be filed against Choudhary, theonly accused, the police haveframedchargesagainst twooth-ers, Rajbhavan Verma andAnilKumar,whose names cameupduring investigation. BhagalpurDIGSujitKumarsaid,"Theinves-tigation is on. A supplementarychargesheetcanbefiled."DocumentsavailablewithThe

Indian Express showseveral dis-crepancies:

■DrSKSingh,whogot53.83marksagainst80foreducationalqualification,gotjust1markeachoutof10forpresentationandin-terview.Hewasnotselected.

■ Dr Sanjeet Kumar, whoscored53.80foreducationquali-ficationandresearch,gotrejectedaftergetting1markeachforpres-entationandinterview.

■SantoshKumarChoudharygot 39.73marks for educationalqualification and research, butwas selected after he scored thefull 10marks in interview andpresentationeach.

■LakshmanK,whogot39.18marks for educational qualifica-tion,wasalsoselectedafterhegotfullmarksininterviewandpres-entation.

■Likewise, Babulal Dadwal,whogot 38.09marks for educa-tionalqualification,made itafterfullmarksininterviewandpres-entation.Choudhary,who belongs to

theOBCKushwaha community,won fromTarapurdefeating theRJD’sDivyaPrakashintherecentelections.Attacking Nitish after

Choudhary's resignation, RJDleaderTejashwiYadavsaid:“Ihadtoldyoubeforethatyouhavegottiredandlostyourabilitytothink.(You)deliberatelymadecorrup-tion-accusedaministerandmadehimresignonly after youhad tofacehugeembarrassmentoverit.”JD(U) spokespersonNeeraj

Kumar said Tejashwi "has nomoralauthoritytotalkaboutcor-ruption", and asked how hewould continue as leader of op-position given that he ischargesheetedinanIRCTCcase.

State DeptUS, Japan, Australia and its rela-tionswith other democracies,"thereportsaid.“Chinaisunderminingthese-

curity, autonomy, andeconomicinterestsofmanyothersinthere-gionsuchasmemberstatesoftheAssociation of Southeast AsianNations(ASEAN),includingthosein the vitalMekong Region, aswell as thenations of the PacificIslands," itsaid.The70-pagereportstatesthat

awareness has been growing intheUS -- and in nations aroundtheworld -- that the ruling CCPhas triggeredaneweraof great-powercompetition.“Yetfewdiscernthepatternin

China's inroadswithin every re-gionof theworld,much less thespecific form of dominance towhich theparty aspires,” the re-portsaid.The CCP aims notmerely at

pre-eminencewithin the estab-lishedworldorder--anorderthatisgroundedinfreeandsovereignnation-states,flowsfromtheuni-versal principles on whichAmericawas founded, and ad-vancesUSnationalinterests--buttofundamentallyrevisetheworldorder, placing the People'sRepublic of China (PRC) at thecentre and serving Beijing's au-thoritariangoalsandhegemonicambitions.“Inthefaceof theChinachal-

lenge, theUSmust secure free-dom," said the report. China, itsaid, seeks todiminishUS influ-encebyfosteringasenseinthere-gion'snationsthatChina'sdomi-nanceisinevitable.“Prime targets include US

treaty-based allies Japan, SouthKorea,Australia,Thailand,andthePhilippines aswell as emergingstrategic partners such as India,Vietnam,Indonesia,andTaiwan,”itsaid.The report also highlighted

Beijing's hard relations withTaiwan,whichitclaimsasitster-ritory.“Beijingmenacesdemocratic

Taiwan,whichitconsidersarene-gade province, intending to re-unify Taiwanwith theMainlandbyforceifnecessary.AndthePLANavyandChineseCoastGuardin-creasingly challenge Japan's ad-ministrative control of theSenkakuIslands,” itsaid.

–WITHPTI

Militants killedwere seized from them. It is thebiggest sucharmshaul in recenttimesintheJammudivision.Thepolicesaidthatduetothe

amount ofweapons, explosivesand ammunition, the truck themilitantswereincaughtfiredur-ingtheencounter.InSrinagar, aspera reportby

PTI,KashmirIGPVijayKumarsaidthe fourmilitantswere on theirway to the Valley, and accusedPakistanof trying to cause trou-bleinthepoliticalprocess.Thepolice said the fourmili-

tantswerea"freshgroupof infil-trators"suspectedtohavecrossedovertheeveningbeforeatthein-ternational border at Samba ortheadjoiningHiranagarsectorofKathua.TheirtruckhadcrossedatollplazainSambaat3.44am.IGPSinghsaid theyhadbeen

receivinginputsaboutinfiltrationattempts,withweapons,sincethe

announcementof theDDCpolls,and vigilancehadbeen steppedup.Accordingtoofficials,thetruckwiththemilitantswasstoppedatapolicenakaattheBantollplazaaround5am.Whileitsdriverfled,themeninsideopenedfire,injur-ing twoof its personnel, thepo-licesaid.Theforcesrespondedswiftly,

gunningdowntwomilitants,thepolice said. The other twowerekilledduring the encounter thatfollowed.Thedriverremainsab-sconding.Of late,therehasbeenaspurt

in infiltration attempts bymili-tantsalongtheinternationalbor-derintheJammudivision,andtheBSF had earlier thismonth de-tected a damaged tunnel-likestructureintheRSPuraSector.OnJanuary31thisyear, three

alleged militants said to havefreshly crossed over had beenkilledinasimilaroperationattheBan toll plaza. TheBSFhad laterdetected a cross-border under-ground tunnel in the sector.Officialssaidtherecouldbesimi-lar tunnels in other areas alongtheinternationalborder.Militantsinvolvedinthe2019

Pulwama terror attack are also

said to have entered the UTthroughacross-bordertunnel intheSambaSector.Senior officers, including the

JammuDIGandSSPandtheCRPFIG visited the spot. Lt GovernorManoj Sinha visited the two in-jured police officers, SelectionGrade Constable MohammadIshaq Malik and ConstableKuldeepRaj.

Scavengingwordmanhole is not to beusedanymoreandonlymachine-holeis to beused fromnowon,” saidMishra.TheMinistry is also tyingup

withMTNL to roll out anational24X7 helpline number wheresuchcasescanbereported.Onthechallenge,officialssaid

thaturbanlocalbodies,statecap-itals and smart cities are eligibletoparticipate. They said the243cities that are eligible to partici-patewill be split into three sub-categories basedonpopulation:upto3lakh,3-10lakhandover10lakh,withprizesrangingfromRs8-12crore.WithSwachhBharatMission

identifiedasatoppriorityareabythe 15th Finance Commission,

and funds available for smartcities and urban development,UnionMinister of Housing andUrbanAffairsHardeepPuri saidthe money needed to shift tomechanised cleaningwouldnotbeaconstraint.The Social Justice and

EmpowermentMinistry,mean-while,hasdecidedtodirectlypro-videfundstoworkerstopurchasecleaningmachines,insteadofgiv-ingmoneytocontractorsormu-nicipalities, said RSubrahmanyam, Secretary,Ministry of Social Justice andEmpowerment.The employment or engage-

mentofpeopletomanuallycleandrains, sewer tanks, septic tanksis an offence punishable by im-prisonment and fine under theManualScavengingAct,2013.Asper the provisions of the law,manualscavengersaretobeiden-tifiedandrehabilitated.However, the problemper-

sists in urban areas, saidSubrahmanyam. “The amend-mentinthelawwillmakemech-anised cleaningmandatory. Itshould not be optional...somemunicipalities likeHyderabad,etc., have donewonderfulwork

inmechanisingthesystem.Butitshouldnotbeabestpractice,ithastobetheonlypractice,”hesaid.According to an assessment

bytheSocialJusticeMinistry,de-spite theManualScavengingActandPreventionof AtrocitiesAct,1989being inplace, FIRs are sel-domlodged indeaths causedbythispractice,convictionsarerare,and the Supreme Court-man-datedcompensationofRs10lakhisnotpaidinallcases.

N K Singhneedstobedoneinthedirectionofbankingandfinancialsectorre-forms and it is now the time tomoveaheadinprivatisingoneortwostate-ownedbanks.At the e-Adda, Singhwas in

conversation with ShankarAcharya, economist and formerChief Economic Adviser; AnantGoenka, ExecutiveDirector, TheIndian Express; and PVaidyanathan Iyer, ExecutiveEditor (National Affairs), TheIndianExpress.“Whocandisagreethattrade

must be an important engineofgrowth,” Singh said, while re-sponding to a question fromAcharyawhethersomeofthere-

centtariffmeasuresandIndianotjoining the RegionalComprehensive EconomicPartnership(RCEP)pointtowardsprotectionism,which can affecteconomicgrowth.“...We should ask ourselves

the question…has the worldturnedincreasinglymoreprotec-tionist?Havethecomparativefac-toradvantagesandfactorefficien-cies of reaching abetter place inthe value-added chain yieldedplace to a different model ofarrangementoftheinternationaleconomicorder?Multilateralin-stitutions, including theWorldTradeOrganisation,arelanguish-ing.Wemaycontinue tobelievethat Indiabelieves inmultilater-alism andmultilateral institu-tions, but the fact remains thatsuddenlyithasbecomelessrele-vantbytheverypeoplewhoprac-ticedvirtuesofthisgoingbackonthis,”Singhargued.Hesaid"wemayhavetowait

till January" to seehowthenewUSgovernment outlines its pol-icyontrade. “Whilecertainlywecannotaffordtobeaprotectionistcountry, we need to be activepartnersinthegamesoftrade,weneed towatch the transient na-ture inwhich the economics ofvalueaddedchainplaysitselfout.Wealsoneedtobemindfuloftheways inwhich geopolitics playsitselfout,”hesaid.On the banking sector,

Acharyapointedout that duringthe termof the government ledby former PrimeMinister AtalBihari Vajpayee, a proposalwasdrafted to reduce theminimumgovernmentownership from51per cent to33per cent—which,ifenacted,wouldhavebeenakeyreform. Singh agreed withAcharya’sassertionthatbankingsector reforms cannot happenovernight and the governmentcanstartbyprivatisingoneortwobanksandseetheoutcomeofthatdecision.Singh, a former top finance

ministrybureaucrat,saidthepro-posal of lowering the govern-ment's stake in state-ownedbanks to 33per cent didnot seethe light of dayas therewas stiffopposition from the Congresspartyatthattime.“…The path forwardwould

be at least in case of one or twobanks to move forward to doawaywith the kind of presentownership structure,whichwehaveinheritedfromadecision(ofbanknationalisation) and if youlook at, historically,maybe thatdecisionmayhaveserveditspur-pose andweneed tomove on,”Singhsaid.While Insolvency and

BankruptcyCode (IBC) andend-ing the culture of ever-greeningof bad loans have been goodsmoves,alotmorereformsarere-quired for the sector includingcompletionoftheongoingamal-gamationofbanks,implementa-tionof Indradhanushpackageofbank reforms, greater accounta-bilityforshareholdersandgreaterautonomyforbankboards,Singhsaid.Singh, who recently pre-

sented the Fifteenth FinanceCommission’s final report toPresidentRamNathKovindandPrimeMinisterNarendraModi,saidtheCommissionhas“soughtto balance theobjectives” of theCentre and states. No state gov-ernmentwashappywith the42percentaward(oftaxdevolution)andwanted50percent,whiletheCentralgovernmenthadadiffer-entview.Singhwasspeakingdaysafter

the releaseof his autobiography,PortraitsofPower:HalfaCenturyofBeingatRingside,arivetingac-countof India'seconomictrajec-toryandhiskeyrole intheshap-ingofpolicy.

Delhi CovidKejriwalsaidthatapartfrompri-vate hospitals, 663 bedswill beadded inDelhigovernmenthos-pitals. The central governmenthas also assured “an additional750beds in theCentre-runhos-

pitals,whichmeans thatwewillhavearound1,413additionalICUbeds in the next few days inDelhi”,hesaid.Whileannouncingthehikein

mask penalty, Kejriwal said thedecision was taken because“many people”were venturingoutwithoutwearing them,put-ting lives at risk. Delhi has beenconsistently registering over7,000newdailycases,placingse-vere strain on critical care facili-tiesandhealthcareworkers.Thedecision todirectprivate

hospitals to reserve ICU bedscomes after a legal dispute be-tweentheDelhigovernmentandthe Association of HealthcareProviders(AHPI).Theassociationhad challenged the decision,whichwas first announced onSeptember 12 to reserve 80percentICUbedsin33privatehospi-tals.The orderwas stayed by the

DelhiHighCourt on September22. Following an appeal by thestate government, the staywasvacatedonNovember12.“After the Delhi High Court

grantedpermissionlastweek,wehad allocated80per cent of theICUbeds across 30-32hospitalsfor the treatment of Corona pa-tients. Thisorderhas todaybeenimplementedinallprivatehospi-talsinDelhi.Thiswillresultintheavailability of 300 to 400moreICUbeds.Thereservationofnon-ICUbeds inprivatehospitalshasalsobeen increased from50percentto60percentforafewdays.Allnon-criticalplannedsurgerieswillbestalledorpostponedforafewdays,”Kejriwalsaid.When contacted, AHPI

Director-General Dr GirdharGyanitoldTheIndianExpressthattheorganisationhadopposedthemove as some of these criticalcarefacilitiesareengagedincan-cer care, kidney and liver trans-plants,andbrainstrokeandheartsurgery."Howwill a hospitalwith40

ICUbeds earmark80per cent ofthosebedsforCovidpatientsandthe rest for non-Covidpatients?Intheabsenceofpropersegrega-tion, the remaining 20 per centbeds cannot be used for non-Covidpatients. Instead, the gov-ernmentshoulddesignatesomemoreprivatehospitalsasCovidfa-cilities and spare some for otherlife-threatening ailments," hesaid."ThegovernmentofIndiahad

issuedclearinstructionsinMarchtonotmixCovid andnon-Covidpatients in the samehospital orwards.Weneedtoenforcethatasnot doing so is also resulting infurther spread of the infection.AHPI is all for using the privatesector infull forcebutwouldliketo followdemarcation/ segrega-tiononlogical lines,"Gyanisaid.Accordingtothegovernment,

only 140 ICUbedswith ventila-tors were vacant Thursdayevening,while319ICUbedswith-outventilatorswereavailable.Later Thursday, following an

inspectionof theDDUHospital,theChiefMinister told reportersthat new ICUbeds are yet to bemadeavailablebytheCentrefol-lowinganassurance fromUnionHomeMinisterAmitShahduringa reviewmeetingonNovember15.“TheHomeMinisterhadsaid

that by Monday evening, 250bedswill be provided tous, andanother250byTuesday...around750ICUbeds,500bedswithven-tilators, and 250 bedswithoutventilatorswillbeallocatedtous.Wearestillwaiting,"Kejriwalsaid.TheHomeMinistry,however,

saidthatsincethemeeting,morethan 28,708 RT-PCR tests havebeenconducted.TheMinistryhaskept a target of 60,000 RT PCRtests per day by the end ofNovember.TheMinistrysaidthat500iso-

lationbedsattheCovidcarecen-tre at Chhatarpurwill be con-vertedtobedswithoxygenfacilitybytheweekend.

FULLREPORTSONwww.indianexpress.com

FROMPAGEONE

New phase 2 trial results of Oxford vaccine

Could seek govt nod in Dec, may cost Rs 500-600: Serum CEO

giant AstraZeneca – has beenfoundtobesafe,well-tolerated,and to produce a similar im-mune response across agegroupsafteraboostvaccination.Importantly, “ChAdOx1

nCoV-19 appears to be bettertoleratedinolderadultsthaninyoungeradults...,”thestudysaid– “and has similar immuno-genicityacrossallagegroupsaf-teraboostdose”.“Further assessment of the

efficacy of this vaccine iswar-ranted inall agegroupsand in-dividualswith comorbidities,”theresearcherssaid.DrMaheshi Ramasamy, an

Investigator at the OxfordVaccine Group, said, “Olderadults are a priority group forCovid-19 vaccination, becausetheyareat increased riskof se-veredisease,butweknowthattheytendtohavepoorervaccineresponses.“Wewerepleasedtoseethat

our vaccinewasnot onlywell-tolerated inolderadults; it alsostimulatedsimilar immunere-sponses to those seen inyounger volunteers. The nextstepwill be to see if this trans-lates into protection from thediseaseitself.”Thesepreliminary findings

are significant for India, as thisvaccine candidate is beingputthroughphase3clinicaltrialsinthecountrybyPune-basedvac-cine manufacturer SerumInstitute India (SII) and IndianCouncil of Medical Research(ICMR).SIIhasalreadymanufac-tured 40million doses of the

vaccine candidateunder anat-riskmanufacturing and stock-piling licence from the topna-tional regulator, DrugsController General of India(DCGI), andwill be supplyingalargechunkof India’sdomesticrequirementforthevaccine.ThefindingsreportedinThe

Lancet (Safety and immuno-genicity of ChAdOx1nCoV-19vaccine administered in aprime-boost regimen inyoungandold adults(COV002): a sin-gle-blind, randomised, con-trolled, phase 2/3 trial) bringshope that the vaccinewill beabletohelpthelargeolderadultpopulation in the countryagainstthevirus.Oxfordresearchershavesaid

that “early efficacy readings”fromongoingphase3trialsare“possibleinthecomingweeks”.Pfizer-BioNTech andModernahave reportedwell over 90percent efficacy for theirmRNAvaccine candidates in early re-sults of phase 3 trials. TheRussian Sputnik V candidate,manufacturedbyalabbasedinMoscow, has also reported ex-cellent phase 3 trial results.Althoughnoneof thesestudieshave been peer-reviewed yet,hopes have risen of the immi-nentarrivalofashotthatcande-feat thevirus thathas sickenedmore than 56million peopleand killed 1.35million aroundtheworldsofar.Duringthephase2trial, the

Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccinewas evaluated in 560 healthyadult volunteers in the age

groups of 18-55 years, 56-69years,and70andolder,whore-ceived either two doses ofChAdOx1nCoV-19,oraplaceboMenACWYvaccine.“Ourfindingsshowthatthe

ChAdOx1nCoV-19vaccinewassafe andwell toleratedwith alower reactogenicity profile(abilitytoproduceadversereac-tion) in older adults than inyounger adults.Immunogenicity(abilitytogen-erate immune response)wassimilaracrossagegroupsafteraboost vaccination,” the studysaid.“Mostofthereportedlocaland systemic adverse events”weremildtomoderateinsever-ity,theresearcherssaid–inlinewith their previous phase 1study. Serious adverse eventsobservedduringthetrial“werejudged to be unrelated to thestudyvaccines”, theysaid.“Local and systemic reac-

tionsweremore common inparticipants given ChAdOx1nCoV-19thaninthosegiventhecontrol vaccine, and similar innature to those previously re-ported(injection-sitepain,feel-ing feverish, muscle ache,headache), butwere less com-mon in older adults (aged =56years)thanyoungeradults.“The severity of symptoms

reported in the standard-dosegroupswas reduced after theboostvaccination,withonlyone(1%)of127participantsreport-ingaseverereactioncomparedwith seven (5%) of 128partici-pants after the primevaccina-tion,”thestudysaid.

Ondetectingapathogen,thehuman body produces twotypes of responseswithin theadaptive immune system:hu-moral or antibody-mediatedimmunity, and cellular immu-nity that occurs inside the in-fectedcellandismediatedbyTlymphocytes.The vaccine candidate in-

duced “specific antibody re-sponse” to the SARS-CoV-2spikeglycoproteinafterasingledose across all age groups and,specifically,theneutralisingan-tibodytitres“afteraboostdosewere similar across all agegroups”, the study said. The T-cell responses “peaked at 14days after the prime vaccina-tion”, itsaid.“The robust humoral and

cellular immuneresponsesob-tainedinourolderadultpopula-tionwere encouraging giventhat a number of studies haveshownthatdecreasingimmunefunctionwith age leads to de-creased immune responses tovaccines.”Dr Angela Minassian,

InvestigatorattheUniversityofOxfordandhonoraryconsultantfor infectious diseases, said:“Inducing robust immune re-sponsesinolderadultshasbeenalong-standingchallengeinhu-manvaccineresearch.Toshowthis vaccine technology is abletoinducetheseresponses,intheagegroupmostat risk fromse-vere Covid-19 disease, offershope that vaccine efficacywillbesimilar inyoungerandolderadults.”

University of Oxford andAstraZeneca.Promisingresultsabout the effectiveness of thecandidate in vulnerable agegroupswere published in TheLancetonThursday.Thecandidate,whichisbe-

ingmanufacturedbySIIunderan agreement with Oxford-AstraZeneca,isthefrontrunnerin India’s own race to find avaccine to defeat the novelcoronavirus.Covishield is likely to be

available for the rest of thepublicbyMarch-April2021,SIICEO Adar Poonawalla said attheHTLeadershipSummit.The vaccine, which can be

stored at temperatures be-tween 2°C and8°C, could costbetweenRs500andRs600 intheprivatemarketforthegen-eralpublic, Poonawalla said.The government, he said,

willgetthevaccineat“amuchlower price” of around $3-$4(approximately Rs 225-300),“because theywill be buyinglargevolumes”of“hundredsofmillions”of doses.But“thegeneralpublic,asI

mentioned,willprobablyhaveto pay around Rs 500-600,”Poonawalla said, adding thatthiswouldbe“farcheaperandmoreaffordable”thansomeoftheother vaccines in themar-ket today.“As soonas theUKauthor-

ities – theMHRA (Medicinesand Healthcare productsRegulatory Agency) – and theEuropean EMEA (EuropeanMedicinesAgency)approvesitforemergencyuse,wewillap-ply to the Drug Controller(DCGI) in Indiaand,hopefully,very soon, we can also get anemergencyuseauthorisation,”

Poonawalla said.“Again,thatwillbe–justto

clarify–alimiteduseforfront-line workers, the elderly...it’sgoing to take another three tofourmonths before it’s avail-able to the general public, be-causethat’sthewaytheemer-gency use licensure willprobablywork,”hesaid.“We are basing the as-

sumption of an emergency li-censure based on positive UKresults...if we have a good UKresult coming in end ofNovember-early December,we apply for an emergency li-censure use. So, you have thevaccine for – again – the vul-nerablepopulationsbyJan-Feband then...March-April for thegeneral public,” Poonawallasaid.“Ifallthatgoesaccordingto

plan, these are the timelines

weare lookingat.”With Indiaseekingaround

300-400 million doses of aCovid-19vaccineby July2021,SII is “gearing up” to increaseits output, and to still have “afew hundred million” dosesleft to offer to the COVAXmechanism led by Gavi, TheVaccine Alliance, Poonawallasaid.“At themoment,we'reata

50-60milliondosecapacityonamonthly basis as an output.ByFebruary,wewillhavegoneto 100 million doses permonth,”hesaid.The firmhas already dedi-

cated two facilities towardsmanufacturing this vaccineandwilldedicatetwomorebyFebruarytodoubleitsmonthlyoutput for both India and CO-VAX.Theseadditionalfacilitiesarecurrentlygettingvalidated.

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3THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,NOVEMBER20,2020

EXPRESSNETWORKWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

CENTRALCENTRAL INSTITUTE OF PSYCHIAINSTITUTE OF PSYCHIATRYTRYKANKE, RANCHI-834006 (JHARKHAND)

ADADMIMISSSSIONION TO TTO THEHE POPOSTSTGRGRADADUAUATE CTE COUOURSRSESES - 2- 202021 S1 SESESSIONSION

Applications are invited from eligible candidates for admission tothe following postgraduate degree/diploma courses of RanchiUniversity commencing from May, 2021 and conducted at thisInstitute.

Sd/- DirectorCentral Institute of Psychiatry

GROUP A1. Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology - 4 s e a t s - ( N O

RESERVATION)Duration - 2 yearsQualification - M.Phil (Medical & Social

P s y s c h o l o g y / C l i n i c a lP s y c h o l o g y ) f r o m aUniversity recoznized by theUGC

2. M.Phil in Clinical Psychology - 16 seats (UR-06, EWS-02OBC-04, SC-03, ST-01)

Duration - 2 yearsQualification - M.A./M.Sc. in Psychology

course from a Universityrecoznized by the UGC withminimum 55% marks for URand EWS and 50% marks forSC, ST & OBC in aggregate.

GROUP B3. M.Phil in Psychiatric Social Work- 12 seats (UR- 07,

EWS-01, OBC-03, SC-01)(02 PH)

Duration - 2 yearsQualification - Master in Social Work course

from a University recoznizedby the UGC with minimum55% marks for UR & EWSand 50% marks for SC, STand OBC in aggregate.

GROUP C4. Diploma in Psychiatric Nursing- 15 seats (UR-08,

EWS-01, OBC-03, SC-02, ST-01) (02 PH)

Duration -One yearQualification - 'A' Grade Certif icate or

Diploma in General Nursingand Midwifery.

Group A & B: Selected candidates will get scholarship of Rs.25,000/- per month.

Group C: Selected candidates will get scholarship of Rs.2500/- per month.

The application form is to be submitted electronically ONLYby internet to CIP website: www.cipranch.nic.in on or beforeDecember 28, 2020. Hard copy of the application form willnot be entertained. Payment fee of Rs.400/- for Unreserved,EWS and OBC candidates and Rs. 300/- for SC/STcandidates has to be made through online transfer.Theamount should be paid online in the Bank of Baroda, KankeBranch in favour of “Account Name:- Fellowship &Scholarship, Account No.:- 26260200000167, IFSC code isBARB0KANKEE (Fifth character is Zero) and MICR code is834012004. Please note that the examination fee is non-refundable.

Online form will be available on our website(www.cipranch.nic.in) from 28.11.2020. Examination andinterview/practical would be held at CIP between February21st to 27th 2021. Last date for joining the courses is May31st, 2021.

Please visit www.cipranchi.nic.in for downloading theprospectus with requisite details before filling the ONLINEapplication form.

262DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

KEYSTATESTOWATCH■Maharashtra■Kerala■Delhi■WestBengal■Haryana

7 DAYS EARLIER:

1.48NOW:

1.47

7 DAYS EARLIER:

7.12NOW:

6.97

DETECTED TODAY

45,576RECOVERED TODAY:

48,493

TOTALCASES17,57,5205,39,9195,03,0844,41,8852,07,039

DOUBLINGTIME**341.9570.2455.9086.5359.51

SURGEIN24HOURS5,0116,4197,4863,6682,562

7-DAYAVGGROWTH*0.21%1.03%1.29%0.83%1.21%

TRACKING INDIA’SCOVIDCURVECASES:89,58,483TESTS: 1,28,508,389 | DOUBLING RATE: 161.55**

RECOVERED:83,83,602DEATHS: 1,31,578

*CompoundedDailyGrowthRateover last7days **Calculatedover7-daygrowth

DataasonNovember18, 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

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIAJAIPUR,NOVEMBER19

RAJASTHAN REPORTED 15more Covid-19 fatalities onThursday, taking the death toll to 2,116,while 2,549 newcasespushedthestate's infection tally to2,34,907.According toahealthdepartmentbulletin, 20,168pa-

tientsarecurrentlyundergoing treatment for thediseasein thestate.The totalnumberof recoveries is2,12,623, it said.Thedeathtoll fromthecoronavirusinfectionstandsat

403inJaipur,210inJodhpur,160inAjmer,154inBikaner,120 inKota,98 inBharatpur,81 inUdaipurand81 inPali.Of thenewcasesreportedinthestate,519areinJaipur,

346inJodhpur,210inAjmer,205inAlwar,203inKota,197in Bikaner, 88 in Sikar and 85 in Sri Ganganagar, besidesthose inotherdistricts.

Man jailed for 20 yrsfor raping minorKota:A24-year-oldmanhasbeensentencedto20yearsinjail for rapingaminorgirl over twoyearsago.Additional Sessions JudgeHanuman Prasad, heading

the special POCSO court in Kota, onWednesday also im-poseda fineof Rs50,000onconvictAjayMeghwal, a res-identofGumanpuraarea.Thecourt,setupundertheprovisionsof theProtection

of Children against the Sexual Offences Act, convictedMeghwal on the basis of depositions by at least 17wit-nesses during the trial, said Public Prosecutor SureshVerma.ThecaseagainstMeghwalwaslodgedonthecomplaint

of theminor rapevictimonAugust4,2018.ThecomplainanthadtoldpolicethatMeghwalhadre-

peatedlyrapedherforyearswiththethreattouploadtheobjectionablevideoclipsonsocialmedia, saidVerma.Onher complaint, the police had lodged a caseunder

section376oftheIndianPenalCodeandvarioussectionofthePoscoAct. PTI

4 govt employeesarrested overbribery chargesJaipur: Four government employ-eeswerearrestedforallegedlytak-ing bribe in two separate cases inJhalawar and Dausa districts onThursday, an Anti-CorruptionBureau (ACB) spokesmansaid.In Jhalawar, district education

officerRanglalMeena,assistantac-countantMahendraMeenaandas-sistant Deepak Verma were ar-rested for taking a bribe of Rs40,000. They had demanded thebribe fromaman to clear his con-structionworkbills, hesaidInDausa,headconstableChatru

RamwasarrestedfortakingabribeofRs3,000forsettlingapolicecase.HehadalreadytakenRs2,000fromthe complainant, the spokesmansaid. He said all the accused havebeenbookedundersectionsof thePrevention of Corruption Act andfurther investigationison. PTI

Rajasthan records 2,549Covid-19 cases, 15 deaths

AVANEESHMISHRACHITRAKOOT,NOVEMBER19

NONEOFtheallegedvictimsofajunior government engineerposted in Chitrakootwho is ac-cused of sexual exploitation ofminorsandsellingpornographicmaterial online has come for-wardtolodgeacomplaint.Withthe CBI seeking more time topresent its case, a POCSO courtin Bandra refused to give RamBhawan Singh's custody to theagencyonThursday.TheCBIhandedoverasealed

letterwithreportedlythenamesofmorethanadozenallegedvic-tims of Singh, 41,who has beensuspended fromhis post in theIrrigation Department.Accordingtoofficials,Singhmayhave exploited more than 50

boysandgirls,betweentheagesof5and16.ThenexthearingwillbeonNovember24.Additional District

GovernmentCounsel(Criminal),Banda, Manoj Dixit, one of thelawyers handling the case, said,“The CBI has recovered 10mo-bilephonesandtwolaptops,andaround four pen drives, sixmemory cards, alongwith sextoys and videography equip-ment (from Singh's home). Inthese gadgets the investigativeagencyhas found65videosand610photos,whichwere soldonthedarkweb."Dixit said some documents

relatedtothecasediarywerenotavailable, leading to the courtdenyingtheCBI's request forre-mand.CBI spokesperson R K Gaur

said they would know more

about the victims and Singh'smodus operandi after they gothis custody and interrogatedhim.Sofar,theCBIclaimstohavegatheredthattheallegedvictimsbelonged to poor families, andthat Singh lured them withmoney or by promising to letthemusegadgets.Denying the allegations,

Singh's counsel Anurag SinghPatel said the only case thatmighthold in court againsthimisundertheITActastheCBIhadfailedtoproduceasingleallegedvictim.Singh had been posted in

Hamirpur,BandaandChitrakootdistricts for the past twodecades.SourcesintheIrrigationDepartment said he was to betransferredfromChitrakootthisyearbutthiswaspostponedduetoCovid.WhileSinghismarried,

heandhiswifehavenochildren.She left their rented two-roomhousesoonafterhisarrest.Theirlandlady,agovernment

teacher, said she had never no-ticed any suspicious activitiesandbelievedthechargesagainstSinghwere fake.Reluctant to talk about the

case,Singh'sneighbourssaidhewas a polite, well-manneredmanwhokepttohimselfandthecharges had come as a shock. Aneighbour said Singh wouldleave forworkaround9amandcomeback late in theevening.Singh has been booked un-

der Section 377 (unnatural of-fences)of theIPC,theProtectionofChildrenfromSexualOffences(POCSO)Actandthe ITAct.Since theCBIsetupaPOCSO

special unit, this is its secondcase inUttarPradesh thisyear.

Neighbours shocked, no FIR byany ‘victim’ against UPengineer

Private trains: 102 firmscleared for RFP stageNew Delhi: L&T, GMR andWelspun are among the topfirms thathavebeen foundeli-gible toparticipate inthe finan-cial bids stage for private par-ticipation in operation ofpassengertrainservicesover12clusters comprising 151 trains,the national transporter saidThursday.The Railway ministry re-

ceived120applications from16firmsattheRequestforProposal(RFP)stageoutofwhich102ap-plicationswerefoundeligiblefor

theRFPstage.Theprojectenvis-ages private investment to thetune of Rs 30,000 crore for run-ning passenger trains over therailnetwork for the first time.The private entities for un-

dertaking the project would beselected through a two-stagecompetitive bidding processcomprising Request forQualification(RFQ)andRequestforProposal.TheRFQfor12clusterswere

publishedon July1,2020.ENS

IRAMSIDDIQUEBHOPAL,NOVEMBER19

FOURTEEN FAMILIES of theGond tribe living in a village inMadhyaPradesh'sBalaghatdis-tricthadtofacesocialboycottformore than two weeks as theycouldnotaffordtocontributeRs200eachtowardscelebrationofDurgaPuja in thevillage.These families, who were

badly hit by the Covid-19 lock-down,hadvolunteeredtopayRs100 each instead but it was notconsidered.Deprived of all facilities like

buying ration anddeniedwork,the families finally approachedthe district administration,which resolved the issue thisweek.OnOctober14, localpujaor-

ganisers SarwajanikDurga PujaSansthaheldameetinginLamtavillageof Balaghatwhere itwasdecided that all 170 families inthevillagewillcontributeRs200each towards the celebration.Butasmanyas40Gondfamilies,manyofwhoworkedasmigrantlabourersandwalkedfordaystoreachhomeafter the lockdown,expressed inability to pay themoney.Under social pressure, 26 of

thefamiliesfinallyrelented.Theremaining14familiesofferedtopayRs100but itwas refused.After the Durga Puja, an-

other meeting was held onNovember3,whenrepresenta-tivesof thevillageunanimouslyissued a diktat for 'paani-tanga'—novillagerwasallowedto speak to or visit the 14 fami-lies. They were not allowed to

purchase ration and even thevillagedoctor—aprivatepracti-tioner—was warned againsttreating them.According to Dhan Singh

Parte,amemberofoneof theaf-fected families, none of theworkers at the Lakdi depot,where his father worked as alabourer, were allowed toworkwithhim.As the boycott continued

fromNovember 3 toNovember17, the families headed byRadhelalMadsole,zillapresidentof Gond Samajh Mahasabha,submitted a memorandum tothepoliceinspectoratLamtapo-

lice station. As the villagers re-mained undeterred after tworoundsofmeetings,thefamiliesapproached the BalaghatCollector along with theSuperintendentofPoliceandtheSub-DivisionalMagistrate.Collector Deepak Arya told

The IndianExpress: “These fami-lies approachedus andwehelda meeting with the villagers.They have beenwarned that ifthis continues, action will betaken against them. Thematterhasbeen resolvedandsituationhasnormalised.”

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

Unable to pay Rs 200 each for Durga Puja, 14 Gondfamilies face social boycott for two weeks in MP

THE AKOLA URBAN CO-OPERATIVEBANK LTD., AKOLA(MULTI STATE SCHEDULED BANK)

"JANKALYAN" 58/59 TOSHINWAL LAYOUT NEAR GOVT.MILK SCHEMEMURTIZAPUR ROAD AKOLA- 444 001

Virtual 57th Annual General Meeting of the Bank is scheduled to be conduct-ed as per the amended guidelines received from the Central Registrar, MultiState Cooprative Societies New Delhi. This meeting will be conducted usingthe Other Audio Visual Means meeting will be held from Monday 21 stDecember 2020 to Friday 25th December 2020 everyday at 3.00 pm usingVideo Conferencing. In absence of the mandatory quorum the meeting willadjourned and will be held at 3.30 pm & no mandatory quorum will be neces-sary for the adjourned meeting. All members are requested to join meetingthrough link, which will be provided separately on your registered Mobile No.OR recorded email address.Notice of the Annual General Meeting (soft copy) is forwarded to all memberson their registered e-mail address/mobile numbers. Agenda of the meeting andAnnual report for FY 2019-2020 is available on the website of the bank.(www.akolaurbanbank.com)Members may send their suggestions and may send their questions on theAgenda points through email (agm2020@aucbakola.com) 7 days before thescheduled date of the Meeting.Date:20-11-2020 By The Order of Board of Directors

(Rajan M. Sontakke)Chief Executive Officer

Note :-All members are requested to register their Mobile No.and emailaddress with the Share department Head Office ,Akola (Mob.No. 9923966166)at an earliest Members may send their personal details along with Mobile no.and Email via email (agm2020@aucbakola.com) to receive the official link ofthe Annual General Meeting.

Notice for the 57 th Annual General Meeting (OAVM)(Only for the ShareHolders)

ANJUAGNIHOTRICHABAJALANDHAR,NOVEMBER19

AFTERMISSINGtwoearlierdates,PunjabChiefMinisterAmarinderSingh’s son, Raninder Singh, ap-pearedbeforetheEDonThursdaymorning in an alleged case ofForeign ExchangeManagementAct(FEMA)violation.Raninder came to the EDof-

fice at around 11:05 am alongwith his counsel Jaivir Shergilland Congress leader Tejinder

Bittu.Hecameoutataround4:55pm.After coming out, Raninder

said: “I amveryhappy toappearandwill assist any inquiry anytime asmany times as wewillcomeandcooperateandwehavenothing to hide. Beyond that Ihavenothingtosayasitissubjectto inquiry.”It is learnt that Raninder has

also submitted documents per-tainingtoEDqueriesrelatedtohisproperty, bank accounts andIncomeTaxdetailsetc.

Amarinder son questioned byED in FEMA violation case

Jaipur

EXPRESSNETWORK4 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,NOVEMBER20,2020

Government of Odisha, “e” Procurement NoticeWORKS DEPARTMENT

Bid Identification No. S.E.K.C., Keonjhar No. 13/2020-21e-mail: sekcpwd_keonjhar@yahoo.com

Letter No. 3280 dt. 11.11.2020

Further details can be seen from the e-procurement portal“http://tendersodisha.gov.in”

Superintending Engineer,Keonjhar (R&B) Circle, Keonjhar

OIPR-34033/11/0014/2021

B-428

1 No of the work: :- 09 Number of Building Works

2 Estimated cost :- Rs. 219.18 Lakhs to Rs. 579.77 Lakhs

3 Period of Completion :- 09 (Nine) Calendar Months to 11 (Eleven)Calendar Months

4 Date and Time of availabilityof Bid document in the portal

:- From 11.00 Hours of 27.11.2020 to 16.00Hours of 09.12.2020

5 Last date/Time for receipt ofbids in the portal

:- 16.00 Hours of 09.12.2020

6 Date of opening of Bid fromPortal

:- 12.00 Hours on 10.12.2020

7 Name and address of theOfficer Inviting Bid

:- Superintending Engineer, Keonjhar (R&B)Circle, Keonjhar-758001.

Government of Odisha “e” Procurement NoticeWORKS DEPARTMENT

Bid Identification No. S.E.K.C., Keonjhar No. 16/2020-21e-mail : sekcpwd_keonjhar@yahoo.com

Letter No. 3400 dt. 16.11.20201. No. of the work :- 09 Number of Building Works

2. Estimated cost :- Rs. 542.07 Lakhs to Rs. 579.00 Lakhs

3. Period of completion :- 11 (Eleven) Calendar Months

4. Date and Time ofavailability of Biddocument in the portal

:- From 11.00 Hours of 10.12.2020 to16.00 Hours of 22.12.2020

5. Last date / Time for receiptof bids in the portal

:- 16.00 Hours of 22.12.2020

6. Date of opening of Bidfrom Portal

:- 12.00 Hours on 23.12.2020

7. Name and address of theofficer inviting Bid

:- Superintending Engineer, Keonjhar(R&B) Circle, Keonjhar-758001.

Further details can be seen from the e-procurement portal“http://tendersodisha.gov.in”

Superintending EngineerKeonjhar (R&B) Circle, Keonjhar

OIPR-34033/11/0017/2021

B-431

GOVERNMENT OF ODISHAOFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, KALAHANDI RWS&S DIVISON, BHAWANIPATNA.

INVITATION OF BID THROUGH e-TENDERINGBid Identification No- 24/EE/RWSS/ 2020-21 /Bpt Dated. 13.11.2020

01. Name of the work :- As per ANNEXURE - A

Procurement Officer Bid Identification No. Availability of tender online for bidding on office hour only. Date of opening (Technical Bid)

From To

1 2 3 4 5

Executive Engineer, Kalahandi RWS&S Division, Bhawanipatna 24/EE/RWSS/ 2020-21 /Bpt Dated- 13.11.2020 21.11.2020 10.00 AM 14.12.2020 05.30 PM 15.12.2020 10.00 AM onwards

O-564

Cost of tender paper & payment of EMD to be made online payment system. Further details can be seen from the e-procurement portal http://tenderodisha.gov.in. Sd/-, Executive Engineer,Kalahandi RWS&S Division, Bhawanipatna

OIPR-25005/11/0007/2021

November 20, 2020

Tender Enquiry No.Work Description

Last Date & Timeof Bid Submission/Date and time ofOpening of bids

Availabilityof Bid

Document

EstimatedCost/EMD

(Rs.)

Rfx- 5000001930TPDDL/ENGG/ENQ/200001257/20-21

20.11.2020 11.12.2020,1500Hrs/11.12.2020,1530Hrs

Rs.7.73 Cr./-Rs.1.00 Lac/-

TATA Power-DDL invites tenders as per following details:

PreviouslyPublished

Date

Revised Due Date & Timeof Bid Submission/ Date& time of opening of bids

02.09.2020

Tender Enquiry No.Work Description

27.11.2020 ,1600Hrs/27.11.2020 ,1630Hrs

Rate Contract for MiscellaneousCivil Works in PAN TPDDL

TPDDL/ENGG/ENQ/200001238/20-21For Supply of Underground Cable FaultLocation System

Army selects 422women officers forpermanent commissionMANAMANSINGHCHHINACHANDIGARH,NOVEMBER19

OUTOF the615womenofficers considered for permanent commis-sionintheArmy,422havebeenfoundfit,accordingtoresultsofaspe-cialselectionboardreleasedbytheArmyonThursday.TheArmyhadconstitutedNumber5SelectionBoard,whosepro-

ceedingswereheld fromSeptember14 to25, to screenshort servicecommissionedwomenofficers forpermanentcom-mission. This was done following an order of theSupremeCourtinFebruary,whichdirectedtheArmyto induct all eligiblewomen short service commis-sionedofficers inpermanentcommission.The five-member board included a woman

Brigadier fromtheArmyMedicalCorps.Accordingtotheresultsof theselectionboard,57

women officerswhowere found fit for permanentcommission have opted not to take it. Sixty-eightwomenofficerswhohavenot beengrantedperma-nent commissionwill nowbe released fromservicewithpension.A total of 106officerswhohavenotbeen recom-

mendedforpermanentcommissionwillbeallowedto serve till 20years of service to earnapensionand

thenreleasedfromservice.A total of 42 officers have had

their candidature postponed be-cause they are in a temporary lowmedical category and have beengiventime.Theresultof sixofficershas beenwithheld due to non-re-ceipt of requisite medical docu-mentswhiletheresultof40officershas beenwithheld on administra-tivegrounds.There are also a number of

womenofficerswhohavenotbeengranted permanent commissionandwillbereleasedfromserviceinthenearfutureaftercompletingtheterms of their engagement undershortservicecommission.Thewomenofficerswhohave

beenselectedforpermanentcom-mission belong to branches suchas Engineers, Signals, IntelligenceCorps, Army Air Defence, ArmyAviation Corps, Army OrdnanceCorps, Army Service Corps andCorps of Electronics andMechanicalEngineering.Thereareapproximately 1,653womenoffi-cersserving intheArmycurrentlyoutof a totalof nearly43,000offi-cers.With permanent commission

being granted to women officersinthesebranches,theywouldnowbeeligibleforpromotiontohigherranks. However, there is still am-biguityonwhethertheywillbeof-feredcommandsofunitsandreg-iments asmanywhoare senior inageandservicehavenotbeenableto do essential courses as theywere not open to them as shortservice commissionedofficers.

GREATER CHENNAI CORPORATIONSolid Waste Management Department

DIPR/ 4337 /Tender/2020 Superintending Engineer/SWM

S.W.M.C.No.A7/3041-46/2020ERRATA

Eratta Published on “The Hindu” Tamil Newspaper and “Indian Express”English Newspaper, Dated: 11.11.2020.

To Published to be read asThe Superintending Engineer (SWM), GreaterChennai Corporation (GCC) invites onlinetender for Reclamation of Perungudi DumpingGround through Bio-mining (Package 1 to 5)and Reclamation of Perungudi Dumping Groundthrough Biomining and construction of InterimLandfill site (Package 6) for which RFP documentsare available in online www.tntenders.gov.infrom 18.11.2020 onwards

The Superintending Engineer (SWM), GreaterChennai Corporation (GCC) invites onlinetender for Reclamation of Perungudi DumpingGround through Bio-mining (Package 1 to5) and Reclamation of Perungudi DumpingGround through Biomining and constructionof Interim Landfill site (Package 6) for whichRFP documents are available in onlinewww.tntenders.gov.in from 25.11.2020 onwards

Pre Bid Meeting25th November 2020 at 11.00 AM

Pre Bid Meeting02nd December 2020 at 11.00 AM

Last Date and Time of Submission of Bid08th December 2020 at 03.00 PM

Last Date and Time of Submission of Bid23rd December 2020 at 03.00 PM

Bid Opening Date and Time09th December 2020 at 04.00 PM

Bid Opening Date and Time24th December 2020 at 04.00 PM

DIPR/ 4329 /Tender/2020

TAMILNADU MEDICAL SERVICES CORPORATION LTD.No.417, Pantheon Road, Egmore, Chennai-600 008.

Phone : 28191890 / 28190259; Fax: 044 –28190636 E-Mail: equipment.tnmsc@tn.gov.in

General Manager (Equipment)

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVE BIDDING – TENDER EXTENSION NOTICE1. The Tender due dates are extended as follows:1) Tender No.PKG3/ICB/TNUHP/JICA/C2/USG/TNMSC/ENGG/2020, dt.04.02.2020 -UltrasoundMachine (5), UltrasonogramColour Doppler with 3 probes (18) & Portable UltrasoundMachine (6)2)TenderNo.PKG6/ICB/TNUHP/JICA/C2/OPE-I/TNMSC/ENGG/2020, dt.04.02.2020 -MultiparaMonitor (4), Multipara monitor with IBP (4), Multipara monitor with ETCO2 (18), Defibrillator (15),Anesthesia Work Station with monitor (18), Anesthesia Work station (20), Operation Theatrefracture Table (with ortho attachment, C-arm compatible) (17) & Operation Theatre Table (withGeneral Surgery attachment) (10)Sl. No. Sale period Submission of Bids Opening of Bids1 Upto 14.12.2020 15.12.2020, 03.00 PM 15.12.2020, 04.00 PM2 Upto 17.12.2020 18.12.2020, 03.00 PM 18.12.2020, 04.00 PM

for details visit www.tenders.tn.gov.in and TNMSC website www.tnmsc.tn.gov.in.

SARDAR SAROVER NARMADA NIGAM LIMITED(A wholly owned Government of Gujarat Undertaking)

Tender Notice No, &Name of the work

1

1) Est. Cost(Rs. in

lacs)2) Tender Fee

(in Rs.)3) EMD(Rs. in lacs)4) Class5) Time Limite

2

(a) Pre-bid Meeting(b) Last date for online downloading/

submission of tender documents(c) Date for physical submission of

tender documents(d) Online verification of tender

documents(e) Online opening of Technical bid(f) Online opening of price bid

3

Tender Notice No- 1 of 2020-21ID No. 435637Shortlisting of Agencies for providingComprehensive Architectural Servicesfor Development of Multi Storeyed StateBhavans/ Guests Houses and Central &State PSU Bhavan at Kevadia,Narmada

1) N.A.2) 29,500/-3) N.A.4) N.A.5) N.A.

(a) 25/11/2020 @ 11.30 hrs.(b) 03/12/2020 up to 18.00 hrs(c) 04/12/2020 up to 16.00 hrs(d) 04/12/2020 at 16.00 hrs.

onwards (if possible)(e) 04/12/2020 at 16.30 hrs

(if possible)(f) N.A.

Work under the Chief Engineer, (Dam & Vadaodar), Kevadia Colony

Note : The details regarding contact place for physical submission and opening of tender,please visit website www.ssnnl.nprocure.com INF/1300/20-21

RJD’S RAJYA SabhaMPMANOJKUMAR JHA was one of theparty’s key strategists for theBihar Assembly polls and thevoiceofthepartywhoaddressedthemedia prior to and after theelection.HespeakstoDIPANKARGHOSEonthepollcampaign,theresults and the way forward.Excerpts

After thecountingday,RJDwenttoEC,allegingelectoralmalpractice.Thepartyrefusedtoattendtheswearing-intoo. Is thispetulanceor isRJDtakingtheseallegationsforward?Areyouapproachingcourt?We would not have ap-

proached the EC if we did nothavesubstantialbasisforraisingconcernsaboutthemalpractices.Weareveryseriousabouttheseissues and in theprocess of col-lecting data and evidence fromreturningofficers.Oncewehavecompletedourresearch,wewilldecideonaway forward.

Yousaythere isabasis forgoingtotheEC.Therewerenarrowseatsyes.Butthesefellbothways-- totheNDAandtoyou.Thedatashowsthatthere isonlyoneseat,Hilsa,wherethewinningmargin issmaller thanthepostalballotcount.What istheevidenceofwrongdoing?The evidence is scattered all

over thepublic sphere. Our sup-porterswhokeptaneyeondelayindeclarationofresultsasthedayprogressedhaveseenenoughev-idence. Onwhat groundsweresuchalargenumberofpostalbal-lotsdeclaredinvalid?

Youareapartythatsaysyoubelieve indemocraticethos.Anelectionwasfought,onesidewon,another lost,albeitnarrowly.Whatdemocraticprecedentdidnotattendingtheswearing-inset?Democracyisnotjustagame

ofmaths.When institutionsareclearly shown to be abdicatingprocedural norms, our clearstand against it will go down inhistoryasaremarkablemomentofupholdingdemocraticvalues.

Hasthepartydoneapost-mortemof theresults,andapart fromthecloseseatsissues,whatarethebroadtakeawaysforyou?I think analysis is going to

take somemore timeas thedif-ferences in vote share andmar-ginsareverythin.Also,thereareso many variables. We ran aclean campaign and connectedvery well with the people...Thoughtheyareneverareliableindex, most exit polls favouredus. Thebroad takeaway forus isthatpeopledidreposetheirfaithin us -- we are still the largestparty in theAssembly.

YourpartycolleaguehasattackedtheCongressasaweaklink,basicallysayingtheirleadershipisnotcommitted.Theywon19outof70seats. Isthataproblemyoutoohaveidentified?Those are personal views of

individuals. I think the allianceworked verywell together, bothonlevelof ideasaswellasexecu-tion,andwehadalotgoingforus.

Youmustbe lookingat thecabinet formationclosely.NitishKumarisCMandthere

aretwoDeputyCMs,noneofwhomareSushilModi.Howdoyouseethisgovernmentfunctioning?Asmuchasoneunderstands

theworkingsofdemocracy,oneis also keenly aware of the lessthan ideal situations it maythrowupfromtimetotime.Thisisoneof them.Dopeopleexpectthat the CM will have a freehand? Does he even have themoralauthoritytogovern,giventhe poor mandate given to hispartybythepeopleofBihar?Weare entering a very difficultphase, muchworse thanwhatwe have seen underMr Kumar,as far as governance and socialfabricof thestateareconcerned.Havingsaidthat,weareastrongandresponsibleopposition.Wewill be vigilant, wewill be de-manding, andwewill hold thisgovernment toaccount.

Therehavebeencontroversiesonthecabinettoo.NotasingleMuslimrepresentative.Andaministerwhosteppeddownfollowingacorruptioncharge.Howdoyouseethis?It isallveryunfortunate.The

hollownessoftheso-calledgoodgovernance promise/sloganstandsexposed.

TherehasbeencriticismthattheRJDmayhaveconductedagoodcampaign,butwas

missing inactionbefore it. Infact,manybelievethat if thepartyandits leadersweremorevisibleduringtheCovidmigrantcrisis,oronthestreetsbefore, thiscouldhavetakenyouoverthe line.Throughout themigrant cri-

sis during the lockdown, it wasRJDratherthanthegovernmentthatwas on the groundhelpingstranded Bihari migrants. Ourleaders and our cadresworkedtirelessly on the ground... Ourpoliticsishumanitarian,notjustthatof hollowoptics.

Lastly,withafracturedmandate, thesearetenuousalliances. If yousayNitishKumariscornered, is therearoadbacktotheMahagathbandhanforhiminthenext fiveyears?Well,givenMrKumar'sposi-

tion it is an idea thatmay strikehim sooner or later. Humouraside, we are very clear in ourthinking.Mahagathbandhanhasits progressive agenda andweare committed to it and to eachother. We will build on ourstrengths,rectifyourshortcom-ings,andplaytheroleofarobustopposition.WiththebettermentofBiharat theheartof allwedo,let me say this: though the CMmay find the going difficult, weare and will remain closer topeople and firmlyon the sideofthepeople.

THE EXPRESS

INTERVIEWWITH

MANOJJHA

RJDSPOKESPERSONANDRAJYASABHAMP

‘Wewill be vigilant, demanding, andwewill hold this govt to account’

Will continuetalks with China,another roundsoon, says MEAEXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,NOVEMBER19

INDIA ON Thursday said it willcontinue dialogue and commu-nication throughmilitary anddiplomatic channelswith Chinaontheborderstandoff ineasternLadakhand that both sideshaveagreed to hold another roundoftalkssoon.External Affairs Ministry

spokespersonAnuragSrivastava,while referring to the ongoingmilitary talks between the twocountries, alsorejectedas“base-less"areportinaBritishdailyTheTimes,which quoted a Chineseprofessor to claim that theChinese PLA had used “mi-crowaveweapons”toforceIndiansoldierstoleavepositionsineast-ernLadakh.He said the objective of the

military talks is to ensure com-plete disengagement and fullrestorationofpeaceandtranquil-lityalong theLAC in thewesternsector.At an onlinemedia briefing,

he recalled the eighth round oftalks between senior militarycommandersof IndiaandChinain Chushul on November 6.These discussionswere candid,in-depth and constructive, hesaid. "Wewill continueourdia-logue and communicationthroughmilitaryanddiplomaticchannelsandhavealsoagreedtohaveanotherroundoftalkssoonwith a view to achieve this ob-jective,"hesaid.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,NOVEMBER19

STRESSING THAT there was ahugepotentialtofurtherrampupeconomicengagementbetweenIndiaandLuxembourg, thethirdlargestsourceofForeignPortfolioInvestments(FPI)forthecountry,PrimeMinister NarendraModiwhileaddressingthefirstsummitintwodecadesbetweenthetwocountriesonThursdaypitchedforstrengtheningofcooperationinarange of areas such as financialanddigital technologies.Addressing thesummit,held

throughvideoconferencing,Modialso talked about the commonvaluessuchasdemocracy,ruleoflaw and freedom, which havestrengthenedthebilateral ties."There is a huge potential to

expand economic engagementbetween the two countries.Wehave good cooperation in areaslike steel, financial technology,digitaldomain,butthereisamas-sive possibility of taking it for-ward,"thePrimeMinistersaidatthe meeting with his Luxem-bourgcounterpartXavierBettel.Luxembourg is one of the

mostimportantfinancialcentresglobally. Several Indian compa-nieshaveraisedcapitalbyissuing

GlobalDepositaryReceiptsattheLuxembourgStockExchange. Several Luxembourg-based investment funds holdsubstantial banking and assetmanagementmarket share inportfolio investments inIndia.

Modi to attendG-20 summit

PrimeMinister NarendraModiwill attend the 15thG-20 sum-mit, which will be held onNovember21and22,attheinvi-tation of King Salman binAbdulazizAlSaudofSaudiArabia,saidMEA spokespersonAnuragSrivastava on Thursday. Thethemeofthesummitis"Realisingtheopportunitiesof21stCenturyforall".Srivastava said, "The focus of

the summitwill be on inclusive,resilientandsustainablerecoveryfrom the COVID-19. During theG20summit,theleaderswilldis-cusspandemicpreparednessandtheways andmeans to restorejobs.”

Huge potential toexpand economicengagement withLuxembourg: PM

PrimeMinisterNarendraModi

Jaipur

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

THERISE of equitymarkets over the last 20dayshasnotonlytakeninvestorsbysurprisebutalso ledtouncertainty. If therearesomewhoareunsurewhethertoremaininvestedorbookprofits,therearemanywhoarewon-dering if they should enter themarkets atsuchhigh levels.

Whoisdoingwhat?Datashowthatforeignportfolioinvestors

(FPIs) are takingmedium- to long-termpo-sitions in the Indian market. They havepumped in a net of over Rs 42,000 crore inNovember alone, so far. In fact, FPI inflowsthisyearareset tobe thehighestever—thenet FPI inflow for FY21has already reachedRs 138,107 crore,marginally short of the Rs140,032crore inFY13.So, if youwere to follow FPIs, there is a

clear signal to invest or to remain invested.Ontheotherhand, ifyoulookatthetrendofdomestic investors, it would emerge thatthey have been busy booking profits amidthe sharp rise inmarkets. Trade data of do-mesticinstitutionalinvestorsincludingmu-tual funds showthat theyhavepulledout anetof closetoRs30,000crore inNovember.ItisimportanttonotethatDIIsdon’tinvestorbookprofitsforthemselves—ifmutualfundinvestors start redeeming their units, thefund house will have to sell stocks in theschemetohonour the redemption.

What is fuellingtherally?Therallyisclearlydrivenbypositivenews

flows. The outcome of the US Presidentialelection in the first week of November fu-elledFPIinflowsintoemergingmarketsandledtoasharprally inequitymarketsworld-wide including in India. This was followedbysuccessiveannouncementsofpromisingresults inCovid-19vaccine trails byPfizer&BioNTech,ModernaandRussia,boostingeq-uitymarketsover the last10days.TheresulthasbeenthatFPIshavepumped

inlargesumsofmoneyintoIndianequitiesinNovember,andtheSensexhasralliedbyover4,100pointsor10.6%inthesameperiod.

Will therise inmarketscontinue?For now, themarkets are flushwith liq-

uidity — and sincemoneywill find its wayintotheequitymarkets,theyarelikelytore-main strong.Market participants, however,remaincautious,andthereisafeelinginthemarketthattheinvestmentstorieswillkeepchanging—fromlargecapstomid-andsmallcaps, frompharmaandIT tobankingandfi-nance, and then to infrastructure-oriented

sectors, etc — and so, investors need to dotheirduediligencewhileparkingtheirfunds.Fundmanagers with mutual funds as

wellasbrokeragehousessayinvestorsmustlook at quality companies and not getswayedbytherally.WhileFPIshavebeeninvesting,manysay

that once retail investors start investing, sowilldomestic institutional investors.

So, shouldoneinvestatcurrent levels?Investors should never look at levels to

invest.While itmatters for traders, it does-n’tmatterfordisciplinedmonthlyinvestorswho are willing to invest for 10, 15 or 20years. Investments shouldbedone inadis-ciplinedmanner, and there is no harm instarting now. One must remember thatwhenever the Sensexhashit a newhighorlandmark—be it 10,000, 20,000, 25,000or30,000 — each of these levels has seemedexpensive at that point of time. However,with time, investors have concluded that itwas a mistake not to have started invest-ments then.WiththeSensexhavingralliedswiftlyby

4,180points or 10.6% in amatter of 14 trad-ing sessions, there is always a possibility ofsome profit-booking, and thus a dip in the

market—but thatdoesnotmean itwill notachieve new highs. In fact, dips should beutilised to invest further.CJGeorge,MD,GeojitFinancialServices,

said, “Weareadvisingourclients tonotgetcarried away by the exuberance and, in-steadof chasingtherally, theyshouldchasequality companies or invest throughmu-tual funds.”Caution is necessary, however, for in-

vestorswhoarenearingretirement,andwhocannot afford to remain invested formuchlonger. They would dowell to book someprofitsattheselevels,andstartparkingtheminsafedebt instruments.Andeventheyshouldnotpulloutalltheir

equity investments. Given the averagelongevity, if someone is 55 years old, theymay start booking profits on some invest-ments thatmay be critical for the post-re-tirementmonthlyincome,andleavetherestfor another 10 years or 15 years, andwith-drawwhentheyturn,say,65or70,depend-ingontheneed.Those who have been looking to book

someprofits to utilise themoney for any oftheir financialgoalscandosoat this timeasthemarketsare tradinghigh.Itisimportanttounderstandthatinterest

ratesarecertainlynotgoingtogointodoubledigits, and so equities could be the best betforprotectionagainst inflation.

Whataretheconcernstokeepinmind?Evenasthreevaccineshavereportedhigh

efficacyinphase3trials,andareexpectedtobemade available over the next couple ofmonths,many feel that the impact in Indiawill be slow in comparison to low-popula-tioncountries,as itwill takealongertimetocoverthemassivepopulation.Therearealsoconcerns over the pace of economic recov-ery, as India is among the countries hardesthitbyCovid-19 in termsof economy.Whilethemarketshavehadasignificant

rally,Georgesaid,“Idonotseethattheecon-omywill jump in the immediate future tojustifythemarketlevels…However,FPIsaretaking a call on the Indian economyand in-vesting in themarket.”In fact, a report byOxfordEconomicson

Thursday said that India’s growth equilib-riumwillworsenoverthemediumterm,andpotentialgrowthwouldaverageat4.5%over2020-25, as opposed to its pre-coronavirusforecastof 6.5%

5WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

MEHRGILLNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER19

EARLIER THIS month, Turkey presidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan’s son-in-law, BeratAlbayrak, announcedhis resignation as thecountry’sTreasuryandFinanceMinister.Thequestion commentators are asking iswhether themoveis relatedtotheworsen-ingTurkisheconomy,orwhetheritconcernsthepowerequationswithinthefamily.

WhathashappenedwiththePresidentandhisson-in-law?Albayrak announced his decision on

InstagramonNovember8,sayinghewasre-signing for health reasons. The resignationwentlargelyunreportedbythemainstreamTurkishmedia,apparentlyforfearofaback-lashfromErdogan.IttookthePresident’sof-fice over 24 hours to acknowledge and ac-cept the resignation. On November 11,Erdogan appointed former Deputy PrimeMinisterLutfiElvanasAlbayrak’ssuccessor.Albayrak’sannouncementcameadayaf-

terErdoganhadfiredtheGovernorofTurkey’sCentral Bank,MuratUysal, 16months afterhehad takenoffice. Somebelieve this is thereasonAlbayrakresigned.ErdoganreplacedUysal with former FinanceMinister NaciAgbal,whohasbeencriticalofAlbyarak’seco-nomic policies over the last two years.According to somemedia reports, AlbayrakwasnotbriefedaboutUysal’ssacking.

Whyistheresignationsignificant?Media reportshavenoted thatAlbayrak

wasviewedasErdogan’sheirapparent,andthathewasbeinggroomedfortherole.Onhisblog, theTurkisheconomistUgur

Gürses has calledAlbayrak’s resignation “aprivilegeofhisown”sincethereisnoexam-pleinthe17-yearErdoganadministrationofsomeone“whoresignedwithpersonalpref-erence”. He noted that Albayrak’s resigna-tionisananomaly,consideringallministershave so far been dismissed or relocated atErdogan’swill.Thatmakestheresignationespeciallysur-

prising, given thatAlbayrak is thought tobethecountry’ssecondmostpowerfulperson.

HowbadisTurkey'seconomy?Erdoganhasbeen inpowersince2003,

firstasPrimeMinister,andthenasPresidentsince 2014. In these years, Turkey’s econ-omynearlydoubledinsizeatanannualrateofabout5.6%,accordingtoaBBCreport,butthenit shrankinthethirdandfourthquar-tersof 2018.

Thatwas the yearwhenAlbayrak tookover as FinanceMinister. Since then, theeconomyhasbeenmarkedbyslowdownsandtheweakeningof theTurkishlira,bothof which have been exacerbated by thepandemic. And 2018 was also the yearwhentheparliamentarygovernmentsys-temwas replacedwith a presidential sys-tem,concentratingpowerinthePresident,and giving Erdogan greater powers to in-fluence institutions such as the country’sCentral Bank.When Albayrak took over as Finance

Minister,hisearlyinitiativeswereaimedatkeeping interest rates low and inflation incheck.Thisunorthodoxapproach is some-thing Erdogan is known to favour. In fact,oneofthereasonsthatthelirahasbeenhit-ting record lows against the dollar is be-cause of pressure from Erdogan on theCentralBanknot to raise interest rates.In September this year, however, the

CentralBankraised itsbenchmark interestrateby2percentagepointsinthehopethatthiswillbringdowninflationandattractin-vestors tobuy the lira.

HowisAlbayrak’stenureasFinanceMinisterperceived?Due to high rates of unemployment,

double-digit inflation and the decliningvalueofthelira(ithaslostmorethan25%ofitsvaluesincethebeginningofthisyearandis one of theworst performing currenciesof the year), Albayrakwas considered anunpopular FinanceMinister of what wasonce seen as one of the fastest-growingglobalmarkets.However,asGürsesnotesonhisblog,be-

ingthePresident’sson-in-law“gavehimverysolidpoliticalsupportandstrength”,becauseof which hewas able to sign “wrong deci-sionsinablindfold”.Someofthesedecisionsinclude imposing interest restrictions onbankdepositsandloans,restrictionsonfor-eignexchange transactions, andpressuringcompaniestolowerpricesfollowingthecur-rencyshockinAugust2018.In contrast, newCentral BankGovernor

Agbal and FinanceMinister Elvan, in com-mentstheymadelastweek,havepromisedto improve the quality of public finance bymaintainingfiscaldiscipline

So,howshouldtheresignationbeunderstood?The news portal The Middle East Eye

wrote that Albayrak’s resignation couldhave been prompted by a realisation fromErdogan about the unmanageable scale ofTurkey’s economic crisis, with the tippingpointbeingAlbayrak’sdecisiontostartus-ingupforeigncurrencyreservestokeepin-terest rates down. As per an estimate byGoldmanSachs,Turkeyhasspentover$101billiontointerveneinitscurrencymarkets.Fromoneperspective,Albayrak’sresig-

nation can be seen as a case of “palace in-trigue”—asaWashingtonPostanalysishascalled it—andasanattemptbyErdogantohave the final say in financialmatters.From another perspective— that of fi-

nancialanalystssurveyedbyReuters—thisseries of events can be seen as a shift to-wardsmore“orthodox”andrestrictiveeco-nomic policies, with hope placed in thecombinationof Agbal andElvan to salvagethecurrency,andpossiblystabiliseit,byfo-cusingon increasing interest ratesandun-dertakingstructural reforms.

What to make of market rallyWheneverthemarkethasscalednewhighs inthepast,as ishappeningnow, investorshavefoundit tooexpensivetoenter.Onlywithtimehavemanyinvestorsrealiseditwasamistakenottohaveinvestedthen

MOHAMEDTHAVERMUMBAI,NOVEMBER19

GANGSTERRAVIPujari,whowasextraditedto India from Senegal in February last year,hassofarbeenquestionedbytheKarnatakaPolice in cases registered there. MumbaiPolicelastweekwonacourtorderforhiscus-tody,but thegangsterhasopposed this.

Howmanystatepolice forceshavesoughtcustodyofPujari?ThepoliceforcesinMumbai,Gujaratand

KeralaaretryingtogetcustodyofPujari,whohas cases registered against him there, be-sidesinKarnataka.Mostoftheserelatetoex-tortion, and his victims include actors andpoliticians.MumbaiPoliceplanstotryPujariin 19major cases and had approached theKarnatakaHighCourtseveral timesseekinghiscustody,buthadnotbeensuccessfulun-til lastweek.TheCrimeBranchinKarnatakais investigatinghimin107cases.Once theMumbai CrimeBranch started

seeking his custody, Pujari’s lawyer filed awrit petition in theHighCourt praying that

hiscustodynotbegiventoan-otherstatepoliceforcetill thetrial iscompletedinthemaincases against him inKarnataka.

HowwastheMumbaipoliceawardedhiscustody?A sessions court in

Bengaluru allowedMumbaiPolice to take his custodybased on a letter and a pro-duction warrant a specialcourt inMumbai. This courtis conducting the trial in a2015caseinvolvingachargeofconspiracytomurder against political leader Raju Patil.Pujari too isanaccused in that case.

WhydoesPujarinotwanttobetakeninMumbaiPolicecustody?Incourt,hislawyerDilrajSequeiraargued

that sending him toMumbai would delaythe cases in Karnataka. Sequeira also ex-pressed fears for Pujari’s life owing to thehighnumberof Covid-19cases inMumbai,

Sources said one of themain reasons why Pujaridoes not want to be sent toMumbai is that he fears athreat tohis life,especially inMumbai. In a citymarkedbyintense gang wars over theyears, aides of various gangsarekept inseparatebarracksinthesameprison,or ideallyin separate prisons so thattheydonotattackeachother.In thepast, anaideofChhotaRajan,OPSingh,waskilledinNashik prison by rival gangmembers in 2002. In 2013,

gangster Abu Salemwas attacked in Talojaprisonbyanotherprisoner,DevendraJagtap,who hadmanaged to smuggle in a firearm.Salemsurvived theattack.

Whichgangs IsPujariaffiliatedto?Rajan moved to Mumbai in his early

years, living first in Dombivli and later inAndheri. He caught the attention of ChhotaRajan following themurder of amancalledBalaZalte,whomPujarisuspectedofhaving

tipped off the police about a gangmember.Pujari then startedworking in the gang at atime when Dawood Ibrahim and ChhotaRajanwere together.Later,after the1992-93riots inMumbai,

when thegang split andRajanandDawoodbecame enemies, Pujari sidedwith Rajan.However, when there was an attack onPujari’s life in Bangkok in 2000, he becamesuspicious about several people, includingPujari, whomight have leaked his location.Pujari then started his own gang andmod-elledhispersonaasa‘Hindudon’, likeRajan.Sincethen,hehasfunctionedindependently.

WhenisPujari likely tobesenttoMumbai?While theMumbai Police said theywill

try to get him to the city in a week’s time,Pujari’slawyerislikelytoopposethesessionscourt order in theHighCourt. The lawyer isexpectedtoarguethattheRajuPatilcasewasnotmentioned in the list of cases he couldbe tried for in the extradition order by theSenegal government last year. If the HighCourtdoesnotintervene,heshouldbeinthecitybynextweek, anofficer said.

Why gangster Pujari doesn’t want to go toMumbai

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to explained@indianexpress.comE EXPLAINEDTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,NOVEMBER20,2020

EXPLAINED YOURMONEY

Sandeep Singh

INDIAACTIVECASES 443,303

WORLDTOTALCASES56,561,918

Source:JohnsHopkinsUniversity,updatedat11pmonNov19

INDIATOTALCASES8,958,483

Source:MinistryofHealth&FamilyWelfare,updatedat11pmonNov19

Note: TheNov18 figure in this graph isbasedon thegovernmentupdateonNov19

600,000

500,000

400,000Nov9 Nov18

LAST 10 DAYS

505,265

443,303

IT IS widely understoodwhy healthauthoritiesaroundtheworld, includ-ing in India, recommend against us-ing amaskwith an exhalation valve.Now,astudyhasusedvideostoshowhowmaskswithvalvesfailtofilterex-haled air, thus protecting thewearerbutnotothers.The study is published in Physics

of Fluids. The author, MatthewStaymates, is a researchphysicist with the USNational Institute ofStandards andTechnology. Staymates,whose work involvesflow visualisation tech-niques that capture themovementofaironcam-era,turnedthisexpertisetowardmasks.“Our intuition was

that these valve masksarenotappropriateforsourcecontrolduring this pandemic,” StaymatestoldTheIndianExpress,byemail.“Thisnewworkwas designed to visuallyshowwhythis is thecase.Thevideosarepowerful andeasy tounderstandforabroadaudience, andourhope isthatmanypeopleget a chance to seethis and realisewhy valves are not agood idea rightnow.”

The videosStaymatescreatedtwovideoswith

mannequins, using different tech-niques. One videowas created usingthe“schlierenimagingsystem”,whichmakesexhaledbreathmorevisiblebe-causeitiswarmerandlessdensethanthesurroundingair.“Theopticalcom-ponents are fairly simple, except forthe largemirror that Iuse,”hesaid.

Theschlierenimagingsystemshows themove-mentoftheairitself,whilethe“fogvisualisationsys-tem”, with which theother video was made,shows themovement ofexhaled particles. “A fogdroplet generator is usedtoproducethefogwithinthe ‘throat’ of theman-nequin.AbrightLEDlightis positionedbehind the

headofthemannequin,andthishelpsto brightly illuminate the droplets astheyexitthemouthofthemannequin,”Staymatessaid.The secondvideo showsdroplets

escapeunfilteredthroughthevalveofanN95mask.Whenthereisnovalve,nobreathisvisiblebecausethemaskhas filteredout thedroplets.

KABIRFIRAQUE

PAPERCLIP

NEWRESEARCH

Videos show how masks withvalves fail to filter exhaled air

(Fromleft):Amannequinexhalingwithanexhalationvalve,noexhalationvalve,andnomask.MatthewStaymates/Physicsof Fluids

SENSEX: NOVRALLY

45,000

44,000

43,000

42,000

41,000

40,000

39,000

Oct19

Oct26

Nov02

Nov09

Nov14

Nov19

40,431.6

43,599.96

44,180.05

43,593.67

39,614.07

Source:BombayStockExchange

Stockpricesdisplayedat theBombayStockExchange lastweek.PTI

RaviPujara. ExpressArchive

Broken economyor family feud:Why has Erdogan son-in-lawquit govt?

BeratAlbayrakwasseenasheirapparent toErdogan.AP

Jaipur

6WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

FIGHTING SMARTERIn itsbattleagainst latestwaveofCOVID,Delhimustgobythescience, calibrate its response, resist stringent lockdown

H ITBYANalarmingrise inCOVIDinfectionsoverthepastthreeweeks,Delhionceagainfacesthedifficultchallengeofbalancinglivesandlivelihoods.TheDelhigovernmenthas,sofar,rightlyrefusedtoreimposeatotallockdown.Ithas,instead,talkedofincreasingthenumberoftests,improvingcontacttrac-ingandscalingupitshealthinfrastructure—theCentrehasalsopitchedintosupportthena-tionalcapital’sendeavour.Butwithexpertsblamingthecurrentsurgeoncrowdinginmar-ketsduring festivals, questions continue tobe raisedaboutDelhi’s containmentmethods.Muchof thecriticismisvalid—theDelhigovernmentdidnotreadtheearlysignsofasurgeininfection,itsinformationdriveduringthefestiveseasonleftmuchtobedesiredandthetaskof rampingupmedical amenitieswas left too late. But as it responds to the current emer-gency,theArvindKejriwalgovernmentshouldstaythecourseonitsstatedpositiononlock-downs.While it considers imposing selective restrictions— it has reportedly sought theCentre’spermissiontoshutdownmarkets inhotspots—thegovernmentwoulddowell tosendoutthemessagethattheproposedmeasuresdonotportendareturntothedayswhenbusinesseslostcontactwithcustomersandpeoplewerelockedoutof thejobmarket.Lockdownsarebluntinstrumentsthatshouldnotbethefirstlineofresponseinapublic

healthemergency.Theywerenecessarytocheckthedangeroustransmissionof thecoron-avirusduringtheearlydaysofthepandemicwhenverylittlewasknownaboutthepathogen.Themeasureshaveunleasheda collateral tragedy that continues to take ahigh tollmorethanfourmonthsafter theeasingof the lockdown.Reports inthisnewspaperhaveshownhowtheeconomicdisruptiondealtacruelblowtothelivesandfortunesofpeoplerangingfromworkersatthelowestrungoftheeconomicladdertomiddle-classfamilies.Manywhohadleftsmalltownstoseekabetterlifeinthecountry’smetrosandbigcities,includingDelhi,foundtheiraspirationsthwartedandsetback.AreportinthisnewspaperonThursdayshonealightonthedevastatingtollonthecapital’sworkingwomen,manyofwhomarefirst-timeearnersandsolebreadwinnersintheirfamilies.ThelatestsurgeinDelhiisanotherindicatoroftheunpredictablewaysofthecoronavirus.

Butwearemuchbetterequippedtodealwiththecontagion,bothintermsofscientificknowl-edgeandmedicalcapabilities,comparedtofourmonthsago.Forinstance,thesuper-spreadertheory—afeweventsorlocalitiesareresponsibleforcreatingwebsoftransmission—isnowanimportantpartoftheanti-COVIDdiscourse.Newlearningshaveopenedpathwaystocal-ibratedandtargetedresponsestothepathogen,thatcancontainitsspreadwithoutdestroy-inglivelihoods.ItisthisknowledgethattheDelhigovernmentmustturnto,anddrawfrom,asitgrappleswiththevirus.

SHADOW IN BENGALAheadof acrucialassemblypoll, onus isonallparties

toshunpoliticalviolence

W ITHBIHAR IN its kitty, the BJP’s top brass is turning its attention tothe next big electoral prize,West Bengal,which is scheduled to goto polls in less than sixmonths. Union HomeMinister Amit Shahandpartychief JPNaddawill reportedlyvisit thestateat leastonceamonth till the elections tomobilise cadres, who are currently engaged in a violentstand-offwithTrinamoolCongress(TMC)workers.TheBJPhasbeenontherise inWestBengal— itwon18 seats andover40per cent votes in the2019general election—andits surgehas soundedawarning for the ruling TMC.What’sworrying, however, is thatthe intensifying competition has often threatened to push the state to the edge, withmurderandviolenceall toooftenusedtosettlescores—sinceJune1,at leasttwodozenpoliticalworkershavebeenmurderedandmanygrievouslyinjured.Thestakesarehigh,and leaders shouldbeextremelycareful about themessage theysendout to thework-ers at thegrass roots.This, of course, is not going to be easy in a climate inwhich there is increasingpres-

sure on every office and official to take sides. On Thursday, Governor JagdeepDhankarpostedavideoonsocialmediasaying,“Thereisnosignofwaningofpoliticalviolence,po-litical vendetta and political killings and I fear that the number of such deathsmay gouptothreedigitnumbers.”Ominouswords,whichallpartiesmustheed,notwithstand-ingthefact that theGovernor’soffice, too,has invitedaccusationsofpoliticisation.Byallaccounts, Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee has failed to end the political violence thathas been a grimhallmark of Bengal politics since the1970s. TheCongress and theCPMhavebeenseentouseviolencetocaptureofficeandstayinpower,andtheTMCissaidtohavecontinued inthesamevein.As theBJPhits thetrail aggressively, sensinganoppor-tunity intheanti-incumbencythatmayhavebuiltoverBanerjee’s twotermsinoffice, itseemskeenonpolarising voters around identity issues such as theCAAandNRC,morethanquestioning thegovernment’s recordoncorruptionandunemployment.It's disquieting that physical violence continues to be the leitmotif of politics in the

state. This is aparibortan thathasnothappened. If it has taintedBanerjee’s record inof-fice, shehasnooneelse toblame.

PICTURE PERFECT POLLCampaigns for localbodyelections inKerala focuson

community—andappearance

T HEWRITINGHASbeenonthewallforawhilenowbuttheongoingcampaignsfor the three-tierKerala local bodypolls haveunderlined it— if youhope tomakeit,youhavegottolookit.Acrossdistricts,candidatesofallthethreema-jorpoliticalcoalitionsinthestatehaveturnedtosleekdigitalcampaignstoen-gagewiththeirelectorate.TakeDValsala,aCPI(M)candidateinthefifthwardoftheBedadkapanchayat inKasaragoddistrict. Inanalmostcinematic campaignposter,Vatsala is shownworking onher sewingmachine, a reference toher employmentwith a tailoringunit inKudumbashree.Thistrendisnotentirelynew.Socialmediahasshowntimeandtimeagainthatthereis

nobetterwaytodrawinanaudiencethanwithsleek,well-shotphotographsthatestablishimmediaterecallvalueandemotionalconnect.Asfarbackasin2006,duringthelegislativeassemblyelectionsinthestate,candidateshadgivenintotheappealofPhotoshop, ironingoutperceivedimperfectionsforpicture-perfectposters.Whatisdifferentthistime,though,ishowthecampaigns, like thenow-ubiquitousweddingphotoshoots,haveturnedaritualexerciseintoanalmostcinematiccelebration.Insituatingcandidatesintheirmilieuxf