New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) With a spike of 81,214 coronavirus cases and 1,095 deaths in 24 hours, India’s tally on Friday mounted to 63,94,069 cases. Out of the total cases, 9,42,217 are currently active, 53,52,078 have been discharged, while 99,773 lost the battle against the viral disease.

While the recovery rate stands at a whopping high of 83.70 per cent, the fatality rate has come down to 1.56 per cent, the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit with a total of 14,00,922

cases, including 37,056 deaths; fol-lowed by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. According to the data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India conducted 10,97,947 sample tests in a single day.

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) The Na-tional Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet against three peo-ple in connection with its probe into the Lashkar-e-Taiba recruitment case in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam, an official said on Friday.

An NIA spokesperson here said that the agency filed the charge sheet against Muneeb Hameed Bhat, Jun-aid Ahmad Mattoo and Umer Rashid Wani, all residents of Kulgam, in

the Special NIA court in Jammu on Thursday under several sections of the Unlawful Prevention Activities Act and the Indian Penal Code.

The case was initially registered by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in September 2017 after it was found that the banned terror organisation LeT was motivating youths such as Bhat and others to join the organ-isation and arrange for their travel to Pakistan for training on the basis

of the valid travel documents on the recommendations of the separatist leaders. The NIA registered a case in September 2018. The official said that “investigation by the anti-terror probe agency established that LeT terrorist Mattoo motivated accused Bhat to join LeT and go to Pakistan for terrorist training”. “Another LeT terrorist Wani gave him funds to meet the expenses of his Pakistan visit. In July-August 2017.

National English Daily

In memory of Dr Asima Kemal and Prof. Dr. Salim W Kemal

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Published from New Delhi & Hyderabad

AHEAD OF PM’S VISIT, RAJNATH SINGH INSPECTS

ATAL TUNNEL

P-5 P-11P-8

SHARIF PLAYING DANGEROUS GAME

AT BEHEST OF INDIA: IMRAN KHAN

WE HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO WIN MEDAL IN TOKYO,

SAYS MONIKA

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday hit out at the Prime Minister on new farm laws which have been enacted. In a video state-ment, she said the Prime Minister was doing grave injustice to farmers by im-plementing the black laws.

On the occasion of the Mahatma Gandhi birth an-niversary, Sonia Gandhi in-voked both Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri and said that the soul of India lives in villages while Shastri gave the famous slogan of “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan”.

The Congress President said, “During the Congress government no law was passed without consulta-tion with farmers or stake-holders, but in this govern-ment laws are passed to help the crony capitalists”.

Sonia Gandhi said that the party along with farm-ers will oppose the new laws till it becomes infructuous, while giving an example of the Land Acquisition laws. She attacked the govern-ment for scrapping the Ag-ricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC).

She also said that dur-ing the pandemic the poor were given ration because of the farmers, but this gov-ernment wants to promote the hoarders and make the

farmers labourers in their own farms. The party has al-ready asked its government to override the farm laws by passing new laws. The party is protesting on Fri-day against the law across the country. Rahul Gandhi will do tractor rallies from Punjab from October 3 to 5, in protest against the Cen-tre’s recently enacted farm laws, party sources said on Thursday. All Punjab Minis-ters and the Congress MLAs will participate in the pro-test rallies, along with AICC General Secretary in-charge of Punjab affairs, Harish Rawat, and state president Sunil Jakhar. The protests are to give the voice to the angst and pain of the farm-ers, whose livelihood and future has been put at stake by the Central legislations, the party said.

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Hundreds of Kisan Congress workers on Friday protested outside BJP President JP Nad-da’s residence here over the alleged misbehaviour of Ut-tar Pradesh Police with Con-gress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra en route to Hathras to meet a gang-rape victim’s family.

The protesters led by its Vice President Surender So-lanki rallied outside Nadda’s residence and raised slogans against the central and Uttar

Pradesh governments.Speaking to the media,

Solanki said: “The way the Uttar Pradesh government came down to dictatorship on Thursday just to prevent

Rahulji from meeting the bereaved family exposes the state government.”

He alleged that Rahul Gan-dhi was “roughed up” by Ut-tar Pradesh Police in a bid to deny him a chance to meet the Hathras family. He also condemned the detention of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gan-dhi Vadra and scores of other party workers, before they were sent back to Delhi.

“Taking them into custody, lathi-charging the Congress workers and even mistreating

women activists shows that the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh wants to eliminate the opposition,” Solanki said.

The Kisan Congress leader also accused the state gov-ernment of “suppressing the truth” in the Hathras gang-rape case as the victim’s fam-ily was not allowed to meet anyone. He pointed out that a video cluipping of the Ha-thras District Magistrate put-ting pressure on the family had gone viral on the social media on Thursday.

Prime Minister is doing grave injustice to farmers: Sonia

Media entry banned in

HathrasHathras (Uttar Pradesh), Oct 2 (IANS) Tempers ran high in Hathras on Friday after the district administration banned the entry of the media in Boolgarhi village where the Hathras assault victim lived. A heavy deployment of police was made around the village on Friday and even the move-ment of locals was restricted. Policemen were seen standing even in the fields to prevent media persons from reaching the house of the victim and meeting her family. A local official who did not identify himself, said that restrictions were in place due to Section 144 being imposed in the dis-trict. In Lucknow, UP minister and government spokesman Siddhartha Nath Singh said, “Today, the Trinamool people tried to reach the village and their purpose was merely to register their presence in this situation. It is like “Main bhi hoon na.” Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were prevented from going to Ha-thras on Thursday amid high drama on the Yamuna ex-pressway.

Jaipur, Oct 2 (IANS) Claiming “gross callous-ness” in handling of the Hathras gang-rape case, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday questioned why opposi-tion leaders were barred from Hathras when the Uttar Pradesh government had nothing to hide.

He also questioned the cremation of the gang-rape victim in the wee hours of Wednesday in the absence of her family while the kin wanted to take her to their village home one last time.

Gehlot was speaking to the media after paying floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at the Secretariat.

“There is gross callous-ness in the Hathras case. The victim was cremated at 2 a.m. in the night. Have never heard of such a case,” Gehlot said. Violence had erupted in Khervada and other parts of Dungar-pur after applicants in the teachers recruitment ex-amination wanted general vacancies to be filled by ST candidates. The Udaipur-Ahmedabad highway was closed for four days due to the violence.

“You perform the cre-mation in the night with police help while the poor mother keeps screaming and requesting to see her daughter one last time... you do not even allow her to bid the last good-bye. Such an incident has never been reported,” the Congress leader added. Reacting to state BJP’s questioning why Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gan-dhi Vadra did not visit Ra-jasthan even though rape cases were reported from this state as well, the Chief Minister said: “Recently, three BJP leaders wanted to visit Khervada village in Dungarpur. Party MLA Madan Dilawar and other

BJP leader went there, but we did not stop them. The opposition has the duty to visit the spot and know about the ground situa-tion in any case.” “I want to clarify that they (oppo-sition leaders) were going to Hathras as opposition leaders. As an opposition, you can call your leaders from Delhi and we will al-low them to visit any place they want to go under po-lice protection,” Gehlot added. Violence had erupt-ed in Khervada and other parts of Dungarpur after applicants in the teachers recruitment examination wanted general vacancies to be filled by ST candi-dates.

Kisan Cong workers protest outside Nadda’s Delhi residence

With 81K new cases, India’s corona tally nears 64L

Blast at gas power plant in Bengaluru,

15 injuredBengaluru, Oct 2 (IANS) A “mi-

nor” explosion was reported at a 370 MW gas power plant of the state-run Karnataka Power Cor-poration Ltd in Bengaluru early on Friday, leaving 15 persons in-jured, including two critically, an official said. Speaking to IANS, District Fire officer, Kishore, said that they received a call from the plant at 3.30 a.m., and fire fight-ers rushed to the spot. “Four fire tenders, two water pumps and two one foam tender were rushed to the spot.

Lucknow, Oct 2 (IANS) Amid the uproar over the Hathras and Bal-rampur gang rape cases, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditya-nath on Friday said that those who even think of besmirching the honour and respect of women in the state would face total destruction.

In a tweet in Hindi, he

said that the offenders would face ‘samool na-ash’ (total destruction). “Such persons will be given punishment that people will remember in future. Your govern-ment is committed to the security and devel-opment of all mothers and sisters. This is our promise, our commit-ment,” he said.

Those dishonouring women will face ‘samool naash’: Yogi

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birth anniversary and wished that the ideals of the Father of the Nation remain a guiding force helping in building a compassionate In-dia. The Prime Minister took to Twitter and wrote, “We bow to beloved Bapu on Gan-dhi Jayanti. There is much to learn from his life and noble thoughts. May Bapu’s ideals keep guiding us in creating a prosperous and compassion-ate India.”

Prime Minister Modi also shared a two-minute video hailing the principles of Gan-dhi. In the clip, he can be heard saying “Gandhiji never tried to create his influence through his life, however, his

life became an inspiration in itself.” Modi also paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at the Raj Ghat. Besides Mahatma Gandhi, Modi also paid trib-ute to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his birth anniversary saying, he epitomised simplicity and lived for the welfare of our nation.

“Lal Bahadur Shastri Ji was humble and firm. He epito-

mised simplicity and lived for the welfare of our nation. We remember him on his Jayanti with a deep sense of gratitude for everything he has done for India,” he tweeted.

Meanwhile, President Ram Nath Kovind also took to the microblogging website to pay his homage to Mahatma Gandhi and said that people should take lessons from his life, particularly when we are

facing a pandemic.“Gandhiji himself never

claimed to be a great soul, in-deed, he went out of his way to tell the world about his vulnerabilities. Yet, he is the best example of realising the maximum human potential,” the President said.

This constant effort to be a better human being and to be more sensitive towards those around him made him a Mahatma, the President said, adding that this path was, of course, extremely difficult. There were many failures along the way. But he continued doggedly, one step at a time. “Gandhiji was more concerned about his duties than his rights, and took up cudgels on behalf of others -- Dalits, peasants, labourers, women and others. Gandhiji

shows, in great detail, what needs to be done -- by indi-viduals, organisations and nations -- to achieve peace-ful coexistence, sustainable development, economic and social equality,” Kovind fur-ther said. He added, “The year-long celebrations of his 150th birth anniversary that culminate today have been an apt occasion to rejuvenate his memories and reorient the moral and ethical foun-dations of public life.”

Gandhiji has so much more to offer to us if we take lessons from his life, par-ticularly when we are facing a pandemic, he said. “Dur-ing the outbreak of a deadly plague, he flung himself into health care and sanitation duties that exemplified his selfless service.”

PM, Prez pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 151 birth anniversary

NIA charge sheets 3 in LeT terrorists recruitment case

Why were opposition leaders stopped en route to Hathras, asks Raj CM

CITY Indian HorizonSaturday, October 3, 20202

Woman who duped 200 people of crores nabbed from SuratNew Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS)

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police af-ter tracking the Instagram ac-count of a woman arrested her from Surat in Gujarat where she had fled after duping at least 200 people of Rs 2 crores by luring them to invest in fic-titious schemes in Delhi.

According to police a man named Parveen Kumar Singh along with his woman friend was operating a society named Jai Maa Laxmi Co-Operative Thrift & Credit Society Ltd.

and running a shop called Ar-pit Cloth Store in Mandawali in Fajalpur, Delhi. Both cheat-ed around 200 people from Mandawali on the pretext of investing in different schemes to earn high profits. They induced people to invest in schemes like Interest Earning Scheme, Loan Scheme, Flat

Booking Scheme and Lucky Draw Scheme.

During the investigation it came to light that neither “Jai Maa Laxmi Co-Operative Thrift and Credit Society” was registered with the RBI as a NBFC nor any person called Parveen Kumar Singh and his woman friend were registered with the RBI. They were not authorised to collect money from the public directly in any scheme.

Both the accused were ab-sconding since the registra-

tion of the case. Efforts were made to trace them by the police. The accused persons were also declared proclaimed offenders by a court.

“In order to locate and nab the accused persons a de-tailed analysis of their social media platform was carried out by the investigating team. Finally the woman accused was traced to Surat, Gujarat, through Instagram and arrest-ed. Efforts are on to trace the other accused as well” said OP Mishra, Joint CP, EOW.

Delhi Deputy CM launches coffee table book on Gandhi

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Del-hi Deputy Chief Minister Man-ish Sisodia launched a coffee table book “Bapu - The Unfor-gettable” on the 151st birth an-niversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Friday.

Speaking at the launch Si-sodia said, “This book cannot fulfil the void created by the absence of Bapu but can cer-tainly make us think, give us ideas, give us a glimpse of his philosophy.”

“There are several un-touched aspects of history in this book, a lot of photographs, epigraphs, and several other details about Delhi which we usually do not get to see,” add-ed Sisodia.

He said, “In today’s times when there are a lot of stories about social decline, we are in

dire need of Gandhian philoso-phies. If Gandhi ji would have been here today, he would have been playing a crucial role in directing us towards the up-liftment of our society.”

Manish Sisodia congratulat-ed the art and culture depart-ment and the archives and said that time and again the Art and Culture department has been organizing events showcasing

the unknown events of Bapu’s life. The archives department has also been working with the same zeal and enthusiasm as it was working before the pan-demic.

Gandhi had a strong rela-tionship with the capital city Delhi. Though his birth and education were in Porbander, Gujarat and he used the tool of non-violence for the first time

in South Africa but from 1915 to 1948, he visited Delhi eighty times and stayed in this histor-ic city for 720 days.

Mahatma Gandhi founded some of the prominent institu-tions in Delhi such as Harijan Sevak Sangh (Kingsway Camp), Khadi Ashram (Narela), Valmi-ki Basti, and also inaugurated Modern School, Lakshmina-rayan Temple, and Hindustan Times.

A webinar on Footprints of Gandhi Ji in Delhi was also inaugurated by Sisodia where the key speakers were Mani-sha Saxena, Secretary (Ar-chives/ACL), Mohammad A. Abid, Special Secretary (ACL), Sucheta Mahajan (JNU), Sohail Hashmi (Heritage Walker) and Rajmani Srivastava (Retd Assis-tant Director, NAI).

No gatherings allowed around India Gate, Section 144 imposed:

Delhi Police

Hathras horror: Update yourself on rape law, Cong tells UP ADGP

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) The Delhi Police on Friday cautioned against any gath-ering around India Gate due to imposition of Sec-tion 144 CrPC.

Police also said that a gathering of up to 100 people is permissible at the Jantar Mantar, but with a prior permission of the

competent authority.“The general public is

hereby informed that in view of DDMA order on September 3, a total gather-ing up to 100 persons is per-missible at the designated place, i.e. Jantar Mantar and that too with prior per-mission of the competent authority,” PRO Delhi Po-

lice and DCP New Delhi, Eish Singhal said.

The order comes after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has planned a protest at the In-dia gate on Friday against Hathras gangrape and mur-der case.

The party’s official Twit-ter handle said: “Let’s stand in solidarity against the barbaric Hathras incident. Today at 5 PM. Location - India Gate.”

Earlier in the week, a ma-jor protest was seen near the India Gate, where Congress workers burned a tractor during a protest against the farm laws. The Delhi Police arrested at least 10 people in this connection.

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Amid the discomfort over the number of seats offered to it by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Chirag Pas-wan has called a meeting of the party’s parliamentary board on Saturday to decide whether to go solo or remain with the NDA for the Bihar As-sembly polls.

The development comes a day after Paswan met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda here

to discuss the seat-sharing for-mula.

An LJP leader said that the meeting at 5 p.m. would dis-cuss the seat-sharing formula and also whether the party should fight the elections on

its own or in alliance.According to party sources,

the LJP has been demanding 36 Assembly and two MLC seats in the state. However, the Janata Dal-United is not keen to give more than 20 seats to the LJP.

Last month, during a par-liamentary board meeting, the LJP had asked its leaders to prepare a list of candidates for 143 of the 243 seats going to the polls.

The LJP has been critical of the Nitish Kumar government

in the state, including its han-dling of the Covid-19 pandem-ic, migrant workers and flood issues.

LJP supremo Ram Vilas Pas-wan has on several occasions written to Nitish Kumar, with the Chief Minister not re-sponding even once.

The Bihar Assembly elec-tions are slated for October 28, November 3, and November 7. Counting of votes will take place on November 10.

The LJP won only 2 seats in the 2015 Assembly polls.

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) The Indian Medical Asso-ciation (IMA) on Friday re-leased a poster carrying the names and photographs of 515 doctors -- 492 males and 23 females -- who died on the line of duty while treating Co-vid-19 patients.

The poster is a tribute paid to the martyred doctors on the occasion of the 151st birth anniversary of Ma-

hatma Gandhi, said the apex association of doctors in the country.

“IMA dedicates the sacri-fice of 515 Indian doctors in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic to the nation. We salute these martyrs, and all the nurses and healthcare workers who sacrificed their lives as well,” the message along with the poster read.

The IMA also said that as

per its records, as many as 2,425 doctors have been in-fected by the virus till Septem-ber. Here’s a break-up:

Practicing doctors: 1,215Resident doctors: 849House surgeons: 361Total infected: 2,425The association recorded

the maximum number of fa-talities in doctors between the age group of 60 and 70 years, followed by the age group of

50 and 60 years. The least fa-tality among doctors has been reported under the age of 35.

Above 50-60 years: 171Above 60-70 years: 201Above 70 years: 66Above 35-50 years: 59Less than 35 years: 18Total martyrs: 515However, the association

is pained by the fact that the sacrifice of the doctors’ com-munity was not resonated by

the government.“The government does not

have data on doctors who died due to Covid-19, but they managed to procure the data on the deaths of NRIs. You see where their (government) pri-ority is,” IMA President Rajan Sharma told IANS.

Sharma’s comment was di-rected at the statement by the Central government where it admitted not to have main-

tained data of the healthcare workers who lost their lives to COvid-19.

The Central government had said in the Parliament last month that data on the number of healthcare work-ers infected by coronavirus or have lost their lives while on Covid-19 duty is not main-tained at the central level by the Health Ministry.

“It is unfortunate that the

government hails us as Co-vid warriors but fails to do the minimum, that is to acknowl-edge the warriors who have sacrificed their lives while treating patients suffering from the deadly virus,” Shar-ma said.

R.V. Asokan, honorary Sec-retary-General of IMA, said that if the government did not have the data, then at least it should consider IMA data.

A Delhi court dismissed the bail plea of an accused arrested in connection with the murder of head consta-ble Ratan Lal during the Feb-ruary Northeast Delhi riots. In its order, it said rioters, in-cluding “burqa-clad women, were clearly seen attacking the police party”, which pri-ma facie indicated that there was a conspiracy to block the Wazirabad road, and if re-sisted by police, could go to any extent “to liquidate them by use of force”.

The observations were

made by Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav in a bail order of Mohd Arif, who was represented by his counsel Mehmood Pracha.

Observing that the charg-es against the applicant are serious in nature, public witnesses in the matter are residents of the same local-ity, and the possibility of applicant threatening or in-timidating them if released on bail at this stage cannot be ruled out, the court dis-missed Arif’s bail.

Going through the state-

ments of witnesses as well as CCTV footage, the court said it was prima facie evident that on February 24, from 11 am onwards, “there was some kind of buzz around and the persons of a particu-lar community are clearly seen charged up”.

Stating that the scene of crime was in front of the an-ti-CAA protest site, the court stated, “It is clearly evident that protestors, organisers, motivated persons in the mob, and certain unscrupu-lous elements.

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) A day after Uttar Pradesh ADGP Prashant Kumar claimed that the forensic report did not mention rape of the Hathras victim, the Congress on Fri-day asked the IPS officer to go back to a law school and up-date himself on the amend-ments made in relevant law in 2013.

Former Union Home Minis-ter P Chidambaram said: “The ADGP of UP would be well-advised to go back to a law school and update himself on

the amendment made in 2013 to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (rape).”

“He should also read the 1994 Supreme Court judg-ment in ‘State of UP vs Babul Nath’ on what was rape even before the amendment. Ab-sence of traces of semen is of no relevance at all.

“The UP Police seems to be a law unto itself. The ADGP has donned the role of a court and is articulating absurd propositions of law that are contrary to the law declared

by the Supreme Court,” add-ed Chidambaram, a Supreme Court lawyer.

The Additional Director General of Police ((Law and Order) had said in a state-ment: “The forensic report clearly stated that no semen was found (on the body). We think some people took ad-vantage of the situation, tried to disturb communal harmo-ny, and create a caste conflict. We are examining this and will arrest those who try to vi-tiate the atmosphere.”

The police officer cited the forensic report and claimed that the 19-year-old died due to trauma on Tuesday.

The Congress is up in arms against the Uttar Pradesh government on the treat-ment meted out to the victim, whose body was allegedly ‘forcibly’ cremated around 3 am on Wednesday by Hathras police in the absence of her family members.

The Allahabad High Court has since taken cognisance of the issue.

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday said it has filed a charge sheet against 33 people in con-nection with the murder of BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi in Chhattisgarh last year. An NIA spokesperson here said that the agency filed the charge sheet on Thursday in an NIA court in Jagdalpur against 33 people, out of which six have been arrested.

Five accused in the case have already died, while 22 are still absconding.

The NIA arrested Madka Ram Tati, Bhima Ram Tati, Linge Tati, Laxman Jaiswal, Ramesh Kumar Kashyap and

Haripal Singh Chauhan, all residents of Dantewada.

The case relates to an IED blast followed by indiscrimi-nate firing on April 9 last year near Shyamgiri Village in Kuakonda Police Station of Dantewada in which Bhima Mandavi, the then sitting MLA of Dantewada, was killed by operatives of CPI (Maoist), along with four police per-sonnel of Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF).

The Maoists also looted the arms and ammunition of the security personnel killed in the attack. NIA took over the case in March this year.

The spokesperson said with no clues available initially,

break-through was achieved in the case after examining several witnesses, surren-dered Maoist cadres and rig-orous technical analysis.

“During the course of in-vestigation, the NIA arrested six accused persons Madka, Bhima, Linge, Laxman, Ra-mesh and Haripal, who had provided shelter, food, lo-gistic support, electric wires and steel containers to the Maoists. “Investigation estab-lished that the decision to kill the then MLA of Dantewada was taken at Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) level meeting held in December 2018 in West Ba-star,” the official said.

Delhi court denies bail to riot accused in head constable’s murder

NDA or solo in Bihar polls: LJP meet on Saturday to decide

Covid-19: IMA honours 515 martyred docs on Gandhi Jayanti

NIA charge sheet against 33 Maoists in Chhattisgarh MLA’s murder case

Delhi: In Central Ridge area, questions on tree plantation

New Delhi, Oct 2, Court-ordered compensatory plantation in Central Ridge has come under cloud with environmentalist Pradip Krishen raising objection to non-native trees being planted in the eco-sensitive area, which has been taken over by the invasive vilayati kikar.

The environmentalist, who has worked on native and non-native trees in dif-ferent parts of the country said jamun, gular, sirus, kasod and maulshree trees being planted in the Ridge are water guzzlers and

non-adaptive to the ridge ecosystem. He also raised concerns on the use of ex-cavators to help plant the saplings and has written to the Delhi Environment De-partment. Trees like jamun and gular are found along perennial streams, and ka-sod isn’t from the region.

As one walks into the Cen-tral Ridge, past kikar and the polo grounds, resilient dhau trees, native to the region, stand tall. A few metres in, however, tracks left behind by excavators can be spotted.

In a written clarification to Krishen’s reservations,

the department has defend-ed its decision. “The scheme of the plantation has been such that Ridge species can adapt to the Ridge environ-ment easily and accelerate ecological restoration… for creating a wonderful and completely sustainable natural forest in this area,” it said.

The Indian Express also reached out to Principal Chief Conservator of For-ests Ishwar Singh, who said, “The trees are being planted as per the HC’s order. The court had specified that the saplings should be more

than six feet high and three-and-a-half years old. Accordingly, pits of appropriate depth were dug for tall saplings.

CITYIndian HorizonSaturday, October 3, 2020 3

Hindu Rao doctors threaten ‘indefinite protest’ over delayed salaries

CVC tightens grip on officials involved in corruption cases

Centre launches campaign for piped water supply to schools, anganwadis

Hathras Horror: Bhim Army Chief demands UP CM’s resignation

Delhi Police bust racket supplying stolen

bikes to snatchers

Child homes linked to Harsh Mander raided,

NCPCR says routine

Syngene joins global consortium on Covid-19 testing research

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Irked over non-payment of salaries, doctors and staff members of North Delhi Mu-nicipal Corporation’s Hindu Rao hospital have warned the authorities that they would hold an indefinite protest if their three-months’ dues are not released immediately.

The doctors and staff mem-bers of the hospitals have not been paid since June, for al-most 109 days. The residents are currently on a ‘Pen Down Strike’ from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. for one week to display their ordeal. The North MCD em-ploys at least 1,000 senior doc-tors, 500 resident doctors, and 1,500 nursing officers.

In a letter to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation Com-missioner, the Resident Doc-tors Association said, “We have continuously demanded for timely disbursement of sala-ries, but no action has been taken since the past 6 months. Presently, the salaries have not been paid for the past 3

months.”It added, “We strongly urge

you for releasing 3 months’ pay and giving us an immedi-ate permanent solution. We apologise to announce if fol-lowing issues are not rectified, we would be forced to hold an indefinite protest considering strictly ‘No pay, No work’.”

The association rued that despite the High Court’s or-der and repetitive issues in the past, the salaries of North MCD doctors and staff are long over-due for three months and its ongoing four months. The let-ter penned by RDA president Abhimanyu Sardana further stated that it is a basic violation of human rights, norms by the Medical Council of India, along with the contempt of court.

“It has become a trend in NDMC hospitals time and again that the salaries are not regularized, and healthcare workers are deeply suffering in the pandemic times,” the doc-tors’ body said, adding that the healthcare workers are pro-

viding their valuable services while risking their lives during the greatest humanitarian cri-sis. In every compensatory way the salary should be of high priority and this issue must be addressed with sincere author-ity and pragmatism, the RDA further said, requesting the civic body to provide a prompt and efficient solution.

Besides Hindu Rao hos-pital, doctors and nurses of other hospitals like Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases, Kasturba Hospital, Girdhari Lal Maternity Hospital and Rajan Babu Institute of Pulmo-nary Medicine and Tuberculo-sis have also been protesting over non-payment of dues.

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) As part of the zero toler-ance against corruption policy, the Central Vigi-lance Commission (CVC) has tightened its grip on officials involved in cor-ruption cases and facing disciplinary action.

The CVC has issued an order to all the ministries to submit the files of of-ficers involved in cases of corruption to the Com-mission 30 days before the retirement of the officers so that appropriate action can be taken against them.

IANS has a copy of the letter issued by CVC Di-rector J Vinod Kumar on October 1. The letter emphasizes on the early

completion of ongoing disciplinary action against government officials who are going to retire soon.

A directive was issued on May 12, 2020 by the CVC saying that mat-ters related to retirement should be submitted to its office by 5 p.m. on the 10th of every month but now it has to be submitted 30 days before the date of retirement of the officers, the letter read.

The Commission said in its letter, “If an officer is retiring on November 30, the report related to the investigation and action taken against him should be available on October 31, so that the CVC can

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat launched a 100-day campaign under the Jal Jeevan Mission on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary on Friday to ensure safe piped water supply to schools and an-ganwadi centres across the country.

Speaking to reporters on the occasion, Shek-hawat said, “Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi, while launching the logo of Jal Jeevan Mission on September 29, called for ensuring drinking water supply in all the schools and anganwadi centres

across the country. In this backdrop we are launch-ing a 100-day campaign to ensure the same.”

“We are asking all the state governments to ensure piped drinking water in all schools and anganwadi centres in the next 100 days.

“It will be a fitting trib-ute to our Father of the Nation on his 151st birth anniversary,” Shekhawat said.

The Minister also wrote to the Chief Min-isters and Lieutenant Governors requesting them to lead this 100-day campaign in their States/UTs starting October 2.

The Minister appealed to them to make it a “Jan Andolan”.

“This 100-day cam-paign is an opportunity to bring a smile on the face of every child of the country, by ensuring their holistic develop-ment,” Shekhawat wrote in his letter.

“The campaign de-mands concerted ef-forts in the form of a time-bound campaign involving Public Health Engineering/Rural Wa-ter Supply Departments and other departments like Education, Women & Child Development, Tribal Welfare, Gram

Panchayats/VWSCs/Pani Samitis, local commu-nities, sector partners, NGOs, Self-Help Groups, etc. so as to make it a true ‘Jan Andolan’,” he said.

The Centre is working on the Jal Jeevan Mission with the objective to pro-vide safe drinking water through household taps to all households in rural India by 2024.

Under this, the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ aims at tap wa-ter supply to households with special focus on women and children. En-suring safe water to chil-dren is a priority under JJM as they are most sus-ceptible to water-borne

diseases like typhoid, dysentery, diarrhoea, cholera, etc.

“Repeated infections due to consumption of unsafe water in their for-mative years may have debilitating effects, re-sulting in stunting. The situation is much more complex in areas where water sources are found to be contaminated with arsenic, fluoride, other heavy metals and pro-longed consumption of water having these con-taminants may lead to degenerating diseases re-sulting in serious health problems,” Shekhawat added.

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) The national Capital on Friday relived memories of the 2012 Delhi gang rape case as various protest groups came together at Jantar Mantar to protest the horrific incident that took place in Hathras re-cently.

Members of Chan-drashekhar Azad’s Bhim Army and All India Stu-dents Association were among those who gathered at Jantar Mantar with post-ers in their hands as they raised slogans seeking jus-

tice for the Hathras victim.Bhim Army Chief Chan-

drashekhar Azad said, “It is not the administration, it is the work of the UP CM who has barred entry to all including media and na-tional or political leaders. I appeal to all safai karam-charis to stop working and let this government live in dirt.”

The Uttar Pradesh gov-ernment and the UP Po-lice are under attack over the alleged gang-rape of a Dalit girl and the manner in which her cremation

was done by the Hathras administration in the dead of night.

Demanding the resigna-tion of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Azad said that it had brought back painful memories of the 2012 Delhi gang rape case.

Personalities such as ac-tress Swara Bhasker and lawyer Prashant Bhushan joined the protests.

“The rape with the Ha-thras Victim was the first crime. The second crime was the inaction of the ad-ministration in UP. We de-

mand an impartial judicial enquiry instead of the SIT set up by the UP govern-ment as we have full faith in the judicial system and hope that justice would be served,” said Bhasker.

In the victim’s village,

media and political leaders are not being allowed and the police have sealed the village.

Meanwhile the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Thursday took suo motu cognisance

of the Hathras incident and issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh govern-ment.

On Thursday, the state government said that the forensic report revealed that the 19-year-old girl who succumbed to her in-juries at a Delhi hospital was not raped.

ADG, Law and Order, Prashant Kumar claimed the cause of her death was an injury on the neck and trauma resulting due to it, as per the forensic science laboratory report.

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Contract research and manu-facturing services company Syngene International Ltd. said on Friday that it has joined a global consortium of 19 organisations from the healthcare industry to help accelerate various aspects of Covid-19 testing, ranging from research to clinical diag-nostic applications.

Led by global biopharma-ceutical company Bristol My-ers Squibb, the consortium brings together a diverse group of companies with syn-ergistic areas of expertise, in-cluding precision medicine, diagnostics, occupational health, pharmaceuticals and clinical testing laboratories, to help provide clarity and po-tential solutions to Covid-19 testing challenges.

“The world of medical sci-ence is benefitting enormous-

ly by sharing information about this coronavirus and we welcome the opportunity to contribute,” Mahesh Bhal-gat, Chief Operating Officer at Syngene, said in a statement.

To advance the goals of the consortium, members may share relevant expertise, ma-terials and experiences to ac-celerate understanding of the disease and analyse available scientific and health data, materials and information to develop, improve and de-ploy current assays and new approaches for the Covid-19 testing paradigm.

They may also share knowl-edge gained from the collab-orative research by publishing work that will inform the sci-entific community and gener-al public of the consortium’s findings.

“We fully support the aims of the consortium and look

forward to sharing our expe-rience and expertise from the last six months including con-ducting testing of our staff, producing proteins, antibod-ies and oligonucleotides for diagnostic kits, and operat-ing one of the largest RT-PCR testing private laboratories in Karnataka,” Bhalgat said.

Syngene said that since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, it has been actively contributing its scientific ex-pertise and resources in the fight against the virus.

It has also collaborated with the Centre for Cellular &

Molecular Biology (CCMB) to deliver a high throughput next generation sequencing (NGS)-based genomic screening as-say that can test 5,000-10,000 samples simultaneously.

“To uncover innovative ways to improve Covid-19 testing quickly during this global pandemic, it’s critical that we break down silos and bring together researchers from different organizations with complementary areas of expertise,” Saurabh Saha, Se-nior Vice President, Transla-tional Medicine, Bristol Myers Squibb, said in a statement.

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) The Delhi Police have busted a chain of auto lifters and mid-dlemen who used to provide bikes and scoo-ties for snatching in Delhi on commission basis. In a major offensive against the auto lifters under operation ‘Eagle Eye’, the Delhi Police have arrested 14 persons and recov-ered 116 bikes from Outer Delhi.

“For the last few months, it was noticed that snatchers were using stolen motorcycles to commit crimes in the Outer District area. It was revealed that there was a nexus between the auto lifters, middlemen and snatchers.

“The auto lifters used to provide stolen bikes or scooties to some middlemen, who supplied the stolen vehicles to snatchers and robbers on commission basis,” said A. Koan, DCP, Outer Delhi.

It was also revealed that these criminals hardly parked the stolen vehicles outside their residences, and rather preferred to park them near parks or other parking lots.

During sustained interrogation of the ar-rested persons, it was revealed that high-end motorcycles were provided to some criminals by the syndicate on high rent for entertain-ing their girlfriends, while the low-end bikes were given to snatchers and robbers on com-mission basis.

According to the police, Vikram, the mas-termind of the syndicate, is a history-sheeter involved in 89 cases. He was arrested under the MCOCA in 2015, but was acquitted in 2018. In his absence, Rashid looked after the functioning of the syndicate. Vikram was re-leased on parole two months ago.

The 14 accused were arrested from Raj Park and Mangol Puri areas and 116 stolen vehi-cles were recovered from different places fol-lowing their tip-offs.

New Delhi, Oct 2, Social activist Harsh Mander Thursday said the National Commis-sion for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) conducted a “surprise raid” on two children’s homes with which he was once associated, demanding to know – among other things – if the children had participated in the anti-CAA protests.

“I learnt today that NCPCR descended on a surprise ‘raid’ on two children’s homes in Delhi with which I have been associated in the past, Ummeed Aman Ghar and Khushi Rainbow Home, on October 1. This was led by chairperson of the NCPCR himself,” Mander said in a statement.

NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo said he wasn’t aware the homes were associ-ated with Mander.

“It’s only after reading his statement that I have got to know about it. There are more than 7,000 such homes, and we had gone to them as part of our routine audits,” he said.

On whether the NCPCR asked about chil-dren’s participation in anti-CAA protests, he said, “I can only tell you once I have the re-port in front of me.” Mander said the body had “four central focuses” in its raids.

take action against the of-ficer.”

The letter has been sent to all the ministries, Pub-lic Sector Undertakings (PSUs), all the government departments and institu-tions. The CVC has also given strict instructions to Vigilance Officers of all the ministries.

Sources said that despite the earlier instructions, the ministries used to send the files of the officers late due to which they used to retire and the cases against them were not settled properly.

Since the officers get pension and other benefits immediately after retire-ment, it is important to set-tle the cases against them.

Noida: 21-year-old biker crushed to death by truck near

Iskcon templeNew Delhi, Oct 2, A

21-year-old man riding a motorcycle died on Fri-day after allegedly getting crushed under the wheels of a truck in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida, police said. The pil-lion rider, who got injured in the accident that occurred at around 6.30 am near the Isk-con temple, under Sector 24 police station limits, is hopi-talised, the police said.

“The motorcycle riders were moving towards the 31/25 roundabout from Gi-jhor village. The truck was coming down from the el-evated road when it hit the motorcycle and one of the riders got under its wheels,”

a police spokesperson said. The deceased has been

identified as Prem Kumar, a native of Samastipur in Bihar while the pillion rider Aqeel alias Mohammed Azhar, from Darbhanga in Bihar, has been hospitalised, the spokesperson added.

The two were staying in rented accommodations in Gijhor village here, accord-ing to the police. Further pro-ceedings in the case are being carried out, the police said.

The driver of the truck, registered in Haryana’s Gurgaon, fled from the spot along with the vehicle after the incident, according to of-ficials.

SOUTH Indian HorizonSaturday, October 3, 20204

Simple functions mark Gandhi Jayanti in Karnataka

Bengaluru, Oct 2 (IANS) Karna-taka joined the nation on the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Friday in a simple man-ner due to Covid-induced restric-tions on large gatherings or func-tions in public.

Governor Vajubhai Vala, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, op-position Congress leader Sid-daramaiah, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) pres-ident D.K. Shivakumar and others paid floral tributes to the Father of the Nation and recalled his service and sacrifice in freeing the country from British Raj.

Vala garlanded Gandhi’s statue installed years ago on the sprawl-ing Raj Bhavan lawns in the city centre and paid tributes to him.

“Yediyurappa also garlanded the statue of Gandhi and paid homage to him at Vidhana Soudha (state secretariat) in the city centre,” an official said here.

In a tweet in Kannada, Yediy-urappa urged the people to cel-ebrate Gandhi’s triumph over the British, marking the country’s in-dependence from colonial rule on August 15, 1947.

“Many of our government pro-grammes are inspired by Gandhi-ji’s thoughts on Sarvodaya, pov-erty alleviation, welfare of the downtrodden, farmers, promotion of cottage industries and environ-ment conservation,” said Yediy-urappa.

The Chief Minister also garland-ed the statue of former Prime Min-

ister Lal Bahadur Shastri at Soud-ha and recalled his services to the nation. Shastri’s birth anniversary also falls on October 2.

State cabinet ministers, legisla-tors and ruling BJP leaders and cadres were present on the occa-sion, wearing masks and observ-ing physical distancing.

Remembering Shastri for his honest and value-based leader-ship as the Prime Minister, Yediy-urappa said the former gave the country “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ slo-gan, underscoring the priorities. He worked towards making agri-culture and food production self-sustainable.

“Let us pay our respects to Shas-triji on his birth anniversary. He was the embodiment of honesty and

patriotism. His valuable public life, doctrine and achievements were exemplary,” said Yediyurappa.

Former state Chief Minister Sid-daramaiah and Janata Dal (Secu-lar) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy also paid homage to the Mahatma and Shastri.

The Congress organised a pro-gramme at its party office in the city centre where the party’s Ra-jya Sabha member Mallikarjun Kharge, former Union minister K.H. Muniyappa, party leader Ra-malinga Reddy and scores of oth-ers were present.

The ruling BJP and JD-S also organised events to pay tribute to Gandhi and Shastri.

“Happy birthday to Mahatma Gandhi, who demonstrated the power of non-violence in liberat-ing India from the colonial rulers. Tributes to Shastri who led a sim-ple life and protected the country in the 1965 war with Pakistan,” said Kumaraswamy in Kannada.

If alive, Gandhi would’ve opposed this govt more: Goa ex-CM

Panaji, Oct 2 (IANS) If Mahatma Gandhi were alive today, he would have launched an agitation against the NDA govern-ment at the Centre that was much bigger than the one he led against the Brit-ish, former Goa Chief Min-ister Luizinho Faleiro said on Friday.

Speaking at a ceremony

at the state Congress head-quarters on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Faleiro also slammed the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government for what he called “trying to destroy evidence” in the gang-rape of a Dalit wom-an in Hathras, by hurriedly cremating the body in the dead of the night, without her parents’ permission.

“Today, after 151 years, we have to do an intro-spection and find out whether these powerful weapons of ‘ahimsa’ and ‘satyagraha’ are relevant or not. The British have gone but today after 151 years of his birth, accord-ing to me, if Mahatma Gandhi were alive, he would have led a much bigger agitation against the present government that is working against the common man,” the Con-gress MLA said.

“Just a few days back, we have seen in UP, how a young Dalit woman was raped and murdered. How the police, the Magistrate and the state government tried to hide the atroci-ties against this vulnerable

section of society and how they tried to destroy the evidence, by cremating the victim without permis-sion of her parents in the middle of the night,” the former Congress Working Committee member al-leged.

He also slammed the UP administration for “man-handling” Rahul Gandhi and detaining him on Thursday when the former Congress President was en route the village of the vic-tim in Hathras.

The Congress in Goa also staged a silent protest to condemn the “manhan-dling and detention of Rahul Gandhi and Priyan-ka Gandhi and atrocities against the Hathras rape victim”.

DMDK chief Vijayakant, wife to be discharged from hospital

Customs questions, lets off LDF councillor in gold smuggling case

Karnataka registers 10,070 new Covid cases

on single day

Will take legal steps regarding canards about me: Chennithala

Chennai, Oct 2 (IANS) Actor turned politician and DMDK president A Vijay-akant and his wife V. Pre-malatha who were under-going treatment at MIOT hospital here after testing positive for Covid-19, will be discharged on Friday, the facility authorities said.

In a statement issued here the hospital said Vi-jayakant, General Secretary of DMDK and Premalatha, Treasurer of the party, who had tested positive for Co-vid-19 have responded ex-tremely well to treatment.

Vijayakant tested posi-tive for coronavirus on

September 22 and Premal-atha on September 28.

The hospital authorities had said that Vijayakant will be discharged once the preliminary tests for Pre-malatha were conducted.

DMDK is part of the rul-ing AIADMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu.

Kochi, Oct 2 (IANS) Customs officials on Fri-day afternoon let off Kar-at Faizal, a high-profile Left Democratic Front councillor, after ques-tioning him for over 30 hours in the Kerala gold smuggling case but told him to appear for ques-tioning whenever called again. Faizal, a member of Koduvally Municipal-ity near Kozhikode, was taken into custody after a raid at his residence in the wee hours of Thurs-day.

Faizal was on the Cus-toms radar ever since the gold smuggling case sur-faced in July.

He was taken into cus-tody after the wife of ac-cused Sandip Nair told the Customs about the alleged relations between Nair and Faizal.

When Faizal was brought here from Kozhikode and ques-tioned since Thursday afternoon, an NIA probe team also visited the Cus-toms House.

Faizal won the local

body polls in 2015 as a Left Front-supported In-dependent candidate. He also has links with Left Front independent legis-lator Karat Razak and his close relative PTA Rahim, also a legislator, whose Indian National League is an ally of the ruling Left.

Faizal came into the media limelight a few years ago when state CPI-M Secretary Kodiyeri Bal-akrishnan travelled in his luxury car during a party rally in Kozhikode dis-trict.

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 2 (IANS) Even a week after Team Nadda was constitut-ed, the anger over the poor representation of veteran BJP leaders from Kerala still per-sists in the saffron party here.

Former organising secre-tary and popular senior lead-er of the BJP in Kerala P.P. Mukundan said it was most unfortunate that party lead-ers who have been slogging for years have been ignored in the rejig.

“Those who came to the party in recent times are be-ing preferred to those who have sweated out in the party for long. This does not augur well as numerous leaders who have served jail terms for the party are there and they did it with utmost com-

mitment. These are people who came to the party with no pre-conditions and hence such people should not be ig-nored,” said Mukundan, who had left the party in 2006 but returned a few years later.

One BJP leader whose in-clusion in Team Nadda has raised eyebrows is former CPI-M Lok Sabha member and former Congress legisla-tor A.P. Abdulla Kutty, who has been given the post of national vice-president.

Fifty three-year-old Abdul-la Kutty began his political career with the CPI-M’s stu-dent wing.

He achieved prominence by defeating present Kerala Congress chief Mullapally Ramachandran twice - in 1999 and 2004 - from the

Kannur Lok Sabha constitu-ency.

In 2009, the CPI-M sacked him from the party amid mounting differences and also because he praised Mo-di’s Gujarat development model.

He won the Kannur As-sembly by-election in 2009 as a Congress candidate and repeated his victory in 2011, but in 2016, lost the polls from the Thalassery seat and after that he went into limbo in Congress politics. In 2019 he joined the BJP.

Soon he was made the vice-president of the Kerala unit and on Saturday got elevated as a national vice-president.

Among the other Keralites who got posts is Tom Va-dakkan, a former Congress

spokesperson who hails from Kerala but is based in Delhi and businessman turned Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, Rajeev Chan-drasekhar.

In Kerala the BJP is caught between the factions of Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleed-haran and P.K. Krishna Das and at times their differences come out in the open, which has been a cause of displea-sure of the national leader-ship of the BJP.

The reshuffle has come as a setback for Kerala based senior leaders including for-mer Mizoram Governor and former Kerala BJP president Kummanam Rajasekharan and P.K. Krishna Das respec-tively.

Bengaluru, Oct 2 (IANS) A “minor” ex-plosion was reported at a 370 MW gas power plant of the state-run Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd in Bengaluru early on Friday, leaving 15 persons in-jured, including two critically, an offi-cial said.

Speaking to IANS, District Fire offi-cer, Kishore, said that they received a call from the plant at 3.30 a.m., and fire fighters rushed to the spot.

“Four fire tenders, two water pumps and two one foam tender were rushed to the spot. The Rail Wheel Factory had immediately rushed one foam tender

from its side, but we did not use it,” he said. Kishore said that the department used foam tender to extinguish fire. “This was a medium range fire incident, had it not been controlled in time, it had the potential to cause a major loss,” he said.

He added that the primary reason was an electric short circuit that resulted in the minor explosion where oil was stored.

Local residents said that they heard a loud blast-like sound and saw fire ten-ders and several ambulances lining up in front of their flats, creating panic.

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 2 (IANS) A day after he was accused of accepting an iPhone from the accused in the gold smuggling and Life Mission cases, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Friday de-nied the charge and warned of legal action against those “spreading ca-nards” against him.

In an affidavit filed in the Kerala High Court on Thursday, Unitac Builders head Santhosh Eapen, an accused listed by the CBI in the Life Mission project corruption case,

mentioned that gold smuggling case prime accused Swapna Suresh had asked him to buy five iPhones to be given to VIP guests invited to the UAE National Day celebrations here in December last. The affi-davit claimed that one phone was given to Chennithala.

Eapen’s firm had got the con-tract for building the Life Mission flats project at Wadakkancherry in Thrissur. He had filed the affidavit in the High Court in connection with his plea to seek quashing of

the FIR registered against him. “No one has given me anything, nor have I taken an iPhone from any-one. The phone that I use has been purchased by me. I have not met Eapen at all. Maybe under the guise of giving it to me, it would have been given to someone else. I will take legal action against baseless canards spread against me. It’s too cheap to level these allegations,” said the Leader of the Opposition.

In Life Mission project, billed as a pet project of Chief Minister

Pinarayi Vijayan, the construc-tion of 140 flats was handed over to Eapen’s firm, in which Swapna Suresh allegedly played a role as it was funded by UAE-based charity Red Crescent and routed through the UAE Consulate.

Swapna Suresh, a former em-ployee of the UAE Consulate, had gone to the UAE along with now-suspended senior IAS officer and Vijayan’s former Principal Secre-tary M Sivasankar, ahead of finali-sation of this project.

On Thursday, the Vijayan gov-ernment suffered a serious setback after the High Court directed that the ongoing CBI probe go ahead, after Life Mission and other ac-cused moved a petition to getn the

Bengaluru, Oct 2 (IANS) Kar-nataka again registered above 10,000 new cases on a single day, taking its Covid tally to 6,11,837, including 1,10,412 ac-tive cases till date.

“The southern state has reg-istered 10,070 new cases on Wednesday after reporting 10,453 fresh cases on Monday, with no signs of let-up even as testing has been ramped up to 96,588 samples,” said the state health bulletin here on Thurs-day.

With 7,144 discharged during the last 24 hours, 4,94,412 pa-tients have recovered across the state from the virus so far.

However, 130 patients suc-cumbed to the infection, taking the state’s death toll to 8,994 since March 8 when the pan-demic broke in the state.

In Bengaluru, 4,853 fresh cas-

es were registered on Wednes-day, taking its tally to 2,37,516, including 49,475 active cases, while 1,85,063 recovered, with 2,482 discharged in the last 24 hours.

With 41 succumbing in the last 24 hours, the death toll in the city rose to 2,977 till date.

Of the 811 patients in the in-tensive care units (ICUs), 268 are in Bengaluru hospitals, 93 in Dharwad, 75 in Ballari, 62 in Hassan and 36 in Kalaburagi.

Among the districts, where fresh cases were reported are Dakshina Kannada 493, Ballari 486, Hassan 383, Bagalkote 336, Udupi 275, Tumakuru 274 and Mandya 266.

Of the districts where dis-charges were reported are Mysuru 722, Davangere 605, Mandya 376, Koppala 333 and Hassan 315.

Blast at gas power plant in Bengaluru, 15 injured

Kerala BJP leaders still miffed with poor representation in Team Nadda

NationIndian HorizonSaturday, October 3, 2020 5

Trinamool leaders stopped on way to Hathras

Hathras (Uttar Pradesh), Oct 2 (IANS) Trinamool Congress MP

Derek O’Brien and other party leaders were stopped by the po-lice on Friday when they were on their way to Hathras to meet the family of the 19-year-old victim, who died after she was bru-tally assaulted a fortnight ago.

“A delegation of the Trinamool MPs that travelled about 200 kms from Delhi has been stopped by UP Police from entering Hathras,” said a statement by the party said, adding they “were traveling separately to express solidarity with the grieving family and convey their condolences.”

Among those who were prevented from proceeding towards Hath-ras included Trinamool MPs Derek O’Brien, Dr. Kakoli Ghosh Dasti-dar, Pratima Mondal and ex-MP Mamata Thakur.

“We are peacefully proceeding to Hathras to meet the family and pay our condolences. We are traveling individually and maintaining all protocols. We are not armed. Why are we stopped? What kind of jungle raj is this that elected MPs are prevented from meeting a griev-ing family? At this moment, we are just 1.5 km from the victim’s home in Hathras,” the statement said.

3 arrested for Bhadohi girl’s murder Bhadohi (Uttar Pradesh), Oct 2 (IANS) Three persons have been ar-

rested for the murder of a 14-year-old Dalit girl who was found dead in a field with her head smashed.

The three were arrested on Thursday and have been identified as Kundan, Collector and Prince, all residents of Gopiganj in Bhadohi. They have confessed to their crime, as per the police.

The Bhadohi police spokesperson said that there was enmity be-tween the girl’s family and the accused, and the latter had threatened the victim’s family with dire consequences on Monday.

The accused found the girl alone in the field on Thursday and killed her. Her brother, who went out to look for her, found the body in the field. The police said her head was smashed with bricks.

Ram Badan Singh, superintendent of police, said: “The head of the girl was smashed with stones. Post-mortem report is awaited.”

The girl was a resident of Chakrajaram Tiwaripur village of Gopiganj police station area. The family has expressed suspicion that she was killed after sexual assault. However, rape can only be confirmed after the post-mortem report.

A team of forensic experts and crime branch officials has also reached the village to collect evidence and probe the matter.

The murder of the 14-year-old comes after the Hathras incident where the 19-year-old was allegedly raped and strangulated. The po-lice have now denied that she was raped even though the victim said in a video message that she was sexually assaulted.

On Tuesday, hours after the Hathras victim died, a 22-year-old Dalit student was also raped and brutalized in Balrampur district. She died on the way to the hospital.

On Thursday, two minor girls were raped in Bulandshahr and Aza-mgarh districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Bengal Minister calls Governor ‘Noirajyapal’

Kolkata, Oct 2 (IANS) On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, senior West Bengal Minister Bratya Basu on Friday called Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar ‘Noirajyapal’, a Bengali compound word that refers to law-lessness and anarchy and the Governor.

The remark was made at a time when Dhankhar went to Gan-dhi Ghat at Barrackpore to pay homage to the Father of the Na-tion. Basu was present along with State Chief Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Abdul Mannan.

“Ask him what his views are on the role of the District Magistrate in Hathras (in Uttar Pradesh), who is trying to intimidate the family members of the (gang rape) victim. Why by making such comments, he is putting a prefix of ‘Noi’ to his name, turning his role from ‘Ra-jyapal’ to ‘Noirajyapal’,” Basu told journalists while Dhankhar was present just a few yards away. Earlier, the Governor criticised the Mamata Banerjee government on various issues ranging from grow-ing political violence to ‘denial’ of benefits to the state farmers.

Dhankhar had recently said that West Bengal has become “home to illegal bomb-making” that has the potential to unsettle democracy and the state administration cannot escape its accountability for the “alarming decline” in law and order in Bengal.

Ahead of PM’s visit, Rajnath Singh inspects Atal Tunnel

Tripura journos protest against attack on media

AMU remembers Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birth

anniversary

Punjab CM slams Akalis for 'political theatrics' over farm laws

J’khand allows reopening of religious sites; permits Durga

Puja with curbs

Nirbhaya’s lawyer to fight case of Hathras victim

Manali, Oct 2 (IANS) A day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to inaugurate the strategic Atal Tunnel beneath the Rohtang Pass, Union Defence Minister Rajnath

Singh on Friday inspected the tunnel to review the arrangements.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur welcomed the De-fence Minister upon his arrival at the

SASE Helipad near here. Accompa-nied by Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, An-urag Thakur, and the Chief Minister, Singh then visited the Atal Tunnel.

They also visited the north and south portals of the tunnel and re-viewed the arrangements.

Director General of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Lt Gener-al Harpal Singh, briefed the Defence Minister about the salient features of Atal Tunnel and the preparedness related to the inauguration of this project of strategic importance.

Earlier, the Chief Minister visited the rally venues in Solang in Kullu district and Sissu in Lahaul-Spiti district to be addressed by Modi and took stock of the preparedness for

the events. Modi will inaugurate the strategically important all-weather Atal Tunnel, the world’s longest highway tunnel, in Rohtang on Sat-urday.

The function will be held at 10 am, said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Atal Tunnel, which reduces the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 km and the travel time by four to five hours, is a 9.02 km-long tunnel.

It will connect Manali with the Lahaul-Spiti Valley throughout the year. Earlier, the valley was cut off for about six months each year owing to heavy snowfall.

The tunnel is built with ultra-mod-ern specifications in the Pir Panjal

range of the Himalayas at an altitude of 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) above mean sea level. The south portal of Atal Tunnel is located at a distance of 25 km from Manali at an altitude of 3,060 metres, while the north portal of the tunnel is located near Teling village in Sissu, Lahaul Valley, at an altitude of 3,071 metres.

It is a horseshoe-shaped, single tube double-lane tunnel with a roadway of 8 metres. It has an over-head clearance of 5.525 metres. It is 10.5-metre wide and has a 3.6 x 2.25 metres fire-proof emergency egress tunnel built into the main tunnel it-self.

The Atal Tunnel has been de-signed for a traffic density of 3,000 cars and 1,500 trucks per day with a

maximum speed of 80 km per hour.It has state-of-the-art electrome-

chanical systems, including semi transverse ventilation system, SCA-DA-controlled firefighting, illumina-tion and monitoring system.

The historic decision to construct a strategic tunnel below the Rohtang Pass was taken on June 3, 2000 when the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister.

The foundation stone for the ac-cess road to the south portal of the tunnel was laid on May 26, 2002.

The Border Roads Organisation worked relentlessly to overcome ma-jor geological and climatic challeng-es, that included the most difficult stretch of the 587-metre Seri Nalah Fault Zone.

Agartala, Oct 2 (IANS) Journalists in Tripura on Friday wore “Black Badge” to protest the Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb’s reported “threats to the media” last month and attacks on seven reporters in less than a month.

Demanding withdrawal of the Chief Minister’s al-leged “threats to the me-dia” in an official function at Sabroom (in southern Tripura) on September 11, Tripura Assembly of Journalists (TAJ), a body comprising editors and working Journalists, spearheading the pro-

tests and recently met Governor Ramesh Bais seeking his intervention. TAJ Chairman and vet-eran Editor Subal Kumar Dey said that after the Chief Minister’s alleged “threat”, seven journalists were attacked in different parts of Tripura but the police did not take any ac-tion against the attackers whereas the Chief Minis-ter remained silent.

Demanding withdrawal of the comments made by the Chief Minister, Dey said that they would send a detailed memorandum to the Prime Minister, Home Minister, In-formation and Broadcasting

Minister, Press Council of In-dia and various other rights bodies in India and abroad. “We would continue our agi-tations until the Chief Minis-ter publicly sought apology for the threat to the media,” Dey added. The Chief Min-ister’s Office (CMO) has, however, claimed that Deb’s comments were taken out of context.

He said that the Chief Minister during a recent meeting with the lo-cal television channels’ owners, categorically stated that his govern-ment was always sup-portive to the media and journalists.

Aligarh, Oct 2 (IANS) On the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gan-dhi on Friday, Aligarh Muslim Uni-versity (AMU) paid tributes to the ‘Father of the Nation’ with a virtual event organised by the Maulana Azad (MA) library.

Addressing teachers, students, and other staff through a video conferencing platform, AMU Vice-Chancellor Tariq Mansoor said that Mahatma Gandhi’s directives on how to contain the South African plague can be useful for the Co-vid-19 affected world.

Gandhiji had then urged people to stay where they are without pan-icking and not disclose the fact that

they have been infected. He asked people to stay clean, keep their residences well-ventilated and sa-nitised, wear clean clothes, avoid lavish dinners and feasts, not use articles used by infected persons, maintain physical distances in rooms of normal proportions, not sleep in kitchens and walk a couple of miles daily for exercise.

“Gandhiji opposed partition until the very end, seeing it as contradicting his vision of unity among Indians of all religions. He was traumatised and lamented by admitting that India won the freedom, but did not attain the Swaraj,” said the Vice-Chancellor.

Chandigarh, Oct 2 (IANS) For-mally launching the Congress signature campaign in the state against the ‘black’ farm laws, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday slammed the Shiro-mani Akali Dal (SAD) for their “political theatrics” over Har-simrat Kaur Badal’s resignation from the Union Cabinet, which they were projecting as a big sac-rifice instead of a duty towards Punjab.

Recalling that he himself had resigned from Parliament twice to uphold the interests of the state and its people, he said he had done it out of a sense of duty and never as a “sham sacrifice”, as had been done by Harsimrat Kaur.

Trashing the SAD protest over the agriculture laws as a “com-plete failure”, Amarinder Singh termed it as an attempt to vitiate the atmosphere of Punjab.

“Where were they when the state government moved a reso-lution in the Vidhan Sabha on August 28 seeking withdrawal of the anti-farmer ordinances and demanding that the Centre make MSP a statutory right,” he asked.

“Their gimmicks now would not help the Akalis woo the farm-ers, whose lives they themselves were party to destroying as al-lies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),” he said, reiterating that his government will challenge the new laws constitutionally.

“This is not a political fight about the BJP or the Congress, but a fight about our Kisani, about Punjab, our vajood (exis-tence),” the Chief Minister said, while addressing the state’s sar-panches virtually, on the side-lines of virtual inauguration of three projects to mark the birth anniversaries of father of the na-tion Mahatma Gandhi and for-

mer Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri from the Civil Secretariat here.

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) President Sunil Jakhar and Punjab Youth Congress (PYC) president Brind-er Singh Dhillon were present at the launch of the signature cam-paign against the farm laws.

Pointing out that despite being just two per cent of the country’s population, Punjab has fed the entire nation for over six decades, Amarinder Singh said soon after the promulgation of the three farm ordinances by the Central govern-ment on June 5, he had written to the Prime Minister to convey his government’s strong reservations and concern.

However, the Centre did not address the state’s concerns but went ahead to enact the anti-farmer agricultural laws through brute majority, he added.

Hathras (Uttar Pradesh), Oct 2 (IANS) Seema Kushwaha, lawyer of the 2012 Delhi rape victim, known as Nirbhaya, will now fight the case of the Hathras vic-tim.

Seema tried to meet the vic-tim’s family on Thursday, but was prevented from meeting them by the police.

“I will not leave Hathras with-out meeting the family. They have requested me to stand as their legal counsel but the ad-ministration is not allowing me to meet them,” she told report-ers. She said that she was in touch with the victim’s brother.

Kushwaha was the family lawyer of the 23-year-old paramedical student who was gang-raped on a moving bus on the night of De-cember 16, 2012, by six people, including a juvenile in Delhi.

The woman died at a Singapore hospital later.

All four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and mur-der case -- Akshay Singh Thakur, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, and Mukesh Singh -- were hanged to death in March, this year.

The 19-year-old Hathras girl had succumbed to assault inju-ries in Delhi’s Safdarjung Hos-pital on Tuesday, where she was

brought on Monday from the Aligarh Muslim University Medi-cal College.

The government has formed a three-member SIT to probe the case and said the matter will be heard in the fast track court. All four accused in the case have been arrested.

Additional Director General (law and order) Prashant Kumar has said that the post-mortem, which was conducted by a team of doctors in Delhi, has estab-lished that the death was caused by the trauma of her neck injury and there was no confirmation of rape.

Ranchi, Oct 2 (IANS) People of Jharkhand heaved a sigh of relief as the state government finally announced reopening of all religious places from October 8 and also paved the way for the public celebration of Durga Puja, albeit strictly adhering to Covid-19 guidelines.

A statement of the Jharkhand gov-ernment said: “After a thorough review of the prevailing pandemic situation it has been decided to allow Durga Puja celebration in the state, keeping in mind that there are no congregations which could trigger the spread of the infection. Therefore, the lockdown re-lated curbs currently within the con-tainment zones will be extended till October 31.”

It said that all the religious sites out-side the containment zones are per-mitted to open from October 8 in com-pliance with protocols which shall be issued separately.

The state government has also allowed interstate public bus travel which shall comply with the SOPs on preventive measures laid down by the Department of Transport and Civil Aviation in this regard.

As per the order issued by the Home Prison and Disaster Management De-partment, SOPs have also been laid down for all the Durga Puja organisers.

The guidelines say that Durga Puja may be performed in small pandals where it has been done traditionally only with the objective of performance of rituals without public participation for which the Puja pandals shall be cov-ered on all sides in a way to prevent any public view of the idols. Moreover these pandals would not be constructed on any themes.

The order said that there will be no decoration in the area around the Puja pandal nor welcome gates in and around the vicinity.

6 Edit indian HorizonSaturday, October 3, 2020

Saturday, October 3, 2020

Readers Response and contribution Welcome

indian Horizon

Days before the Prime Minister’s

scheduled visit to Himachal Pradesh

to inaugurate the Atal Tunnel, touted

as a major developmental feat, has

come the report about most govern-

ment schools in the state being unable

to impart online teaching for lack of

computers and poor Internet connec-

tivity. The problem is especially severe

in tribal areas, where accessibility and

connectivity are difficult because of the

terrain and weather. It also highlights

the role of government schools that

cater to all sections and have helped

in spreading literacy because of their

relatively modest fee structure, mak-

ing education inclusive despite the re-

source constraints. In fact, there have

been reports from various parts of the

country of teachers improvising to im-

part lessons to students in far-flung

areas, even as the Covid-19 pandemic

saw many switch over to government

schools as the academic session got

affected, offline classes were discon-

tinued and there was compulsion of

the fee being paid.

It is only in the fitness of things that

the Centre has now asked the states

to reopen schools in a graded man-

ner after October 15. Having remained

closed for over six months, schools will

find the return to normalcy a lingering

process as the Covid-19 situation re-

mains fluid, which will mean a delay

in resuming full-scale operations. The

schools had been making the transition

even earlier with smart classrooms, on-

line payment of fee and other improvi-

sations. But schools do more than just

teach, they also help mould personali-

ties through extra-curricular and sport-

ing activities. By stipulating that the

states cannot dilute, but make stricter,

the relaxations, the unlocking exercise

puts the onus of implementing the de-

cision on them.

The problem in Himachal also high-

lights the fact that policy decisions

need to be tweaked when it comes

to enforcing them in various parts of

the country. Flexibility is needed so

as to be responsive to the situation

on the ground. With tourism, indus-

trialisation and defence on its list of

priorities, the state also needs to be

attentive to digital empowerment.

BY AMIT KHANNA The term “soft power” was coined

by academic Joseph Nye of Harvard University to describe “the abil-ity to attract and co-opt rather than coerce, use force or give money as a means of persuasion” in his 1990 book Bound to Lead: The changing nature of American Power. Since then, the term has also been used in the context of increasing social and public perception of a nation’s strength. Today, a nation’s power is measured not only because of its economy, geopolitics and mili-tary might but also its culture, food, fashion, films and music, heritage etc -- its soft power.

In recent years, the University of Southern California (USC, Portland) has been publishing the Global Soft Power Report. The report says, as governments grapple with a volatile international political landscape and look to adjust their foreign policy strategies accordingly, they will need to re-evaluate their cur-rent approach to generating and leveraging soft power. In interna-tional diplomacy, where perception matters, it is soft power which gives nations an edge. Where does India stand in the latest rankings? Not in the Top 20 in spite of being the larg-est democracy. The only consola-tion being neither does China.

Globalization has not only cre-ated global brands but certain om-nipresent cultural imprints. A clas-sic example is Hollywood, which has become the world’s favourite entertainment. Or Chinese food, French wine, yoga, ayurveda, soc-cer, samba. With an estimated turnover of over $2.5 trillion annu-ally, culture (excluding tourism and travel, which is a similar amount) is one of the world’s largest indus-tries. France, for instance, draws over 70 million tourists and India a mere 10 million to savour its food, fashion and sights. India’s rich heri-tage of architecture and craftsman-ship, music and dance, food and clothing, spiritualism and colour-ful pageantry and festivals should make it an ideal tourist destination. Unfortunately, ‘Incredible India’ is still just a catchy slogan. While a small country gets three times more travellers, India is handicapped by lack of adequate and friendly tourist infrastructure. Even international destinations like Taj Mahal do not even have enough loos. Beggars and touts and greedy ill-informed guides and touts can put off any visitor.

In the last couple of years, at-

tempts have been made to improve tourist infrastructure but this still falls short of global standards. In my travels around the world, I found smaller countries like Vietnam, Croatia, Peru, Morocco and Norway have leveraged tourism as a major economic activity. Not only have these governments made travel into and within the countries convenient but an enjoyable experience as well. The present government is hoping to change all this but the pace of change is slow. There is too much red tape and obstacles around.

We have not been able to capital-ize even on yoga which is practised by millions in over 100 countries to-day. By getting the United Nations to designate June 21 as Interna-tional Yoga Day, the Prime Minister achieved a breakthrough but where is the follow-up by the ministry of culture or tourism? Why can’t we compile a list of the best yoga gurus and the best ashrams in India and publicise it? Today American and European yoga teachers are more popular than the more accom-plished gurus in India. Similarly, we have not been able to cash in on our rich spiritual heritage. India, besides being home to Hinduism, is also the spiritual home of Buddhism. The much talked about Buddhist circuit (in spite of money pumped in by Ja-pan) is still languishing for want of travel and infrastructure. Gaya does not have an international airport.

Hindu pilgrimage sites continue to be dirty without even a clean toi-let in places like Varanasi or Puri. Though there has been some im-provement in the temple towns in the recent past, a lot more needs to be done immediately. I wish Tirupati, Guruvayur, Vaishno Devi, Amarnath or Nathdwara and other temples were on an organised pil-grimage circuit for travellers. The much talked about Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand is not only unknown outside India but there is hardly enough information and infrastructure for even domestic travellers. Another tour for travel-lers could be built around Sikh gu-rudwaras or various Sufi dargahs. Tourist information and informa-tion booklets are scarce and out of date. One must acknowledge that the Incredible India campaign has been successfully run for the past few years but ease of travel is still an issue. Government has opened the doors for visa on arrival to travellers from dozens of countries but now we need to reduce bottlenecks in

travel and hospitality. Again, given the craze for holistic healing, the push needed for ayurveda is also inadequate in spite of the fact that we have a dedicated ministry for al-ternative and traditional medicine. Kerala’s nature cure by itself can be a big brand. Similarly, Indian hand-icrafts, specially eco-friendly khadi, can become a great 21st century brand if marketed aggressively.

One of India’s best known global brands is Bollywood but even this is not exploited well. Fifty years ago, Indian cinema was extremely popu-lar across Africa, Middle East, East-ern Europe and South East Asia with the locals. In 1957, ‘Mother India’ became an international hit. Actor-director Raj Kapoor was mobbed on the streets of Moscow and Bei-jing. Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Nargis also had millions of fans in various countries. In the 1970s and 80s, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan demonstrated the same cross-border appeal. Today, except for an occasional Shahrukh Khan (Germany) or Aamir Khan (China) starrer, Indian films are basically being watched only by the South Asian diaspora. The people who go as ambassadors of our films -- many are second raters and bureaucrats -- are unable to sell Bollywood well enough. Making India a filming lo-cation is hardly a priority yet that’s what successive governments keep harping about. Films help tourism no doubt but we need to hardsell our entertainment abroad. The recent controversy and its ampli-fication in local media is hardly conducive for growth. The Govern-ment and the industry must work together to monetise the Bollywood brand well.

Unfortunately, besides talking, the Government has done precious little to leverage this globally. Indi-an entertainers too, like our politi-cians, are happy to engage with the Indian diaspora rather than with the world at large. While smaller coun-tries like South Korean and Iranian films which are finding widespread acceptance, we are happy with our captive audience. Our share of the global revenue is less than 2 per cent. The Government, through an impoverished NFDC, does partici-pate in international festivals but India’s presence is abysmally small and insignificant. Bollywood is hap-py participating in dubious awards shows and Indian film stars and singers are happy to perform for di-aspora audiences overseas. Indian

TV channels, including State-run Doordarshan, too suffer from the same malaise -- narrow focussing on the diaspora.

Some of you may recall that In-dian musicians like Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and others were an international craze, what with the Beatles com-ing to learn from the sitar maestro. Even now, Indian music has many followers abroad but have we used it beyond an occasional concert organised by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations or some other Indian concert promoter? Interest-ingly today, even Bollywood music has got its fans around the world. Bhangra is big in some parts of the world. Is there any effort to promote this? Both the Government and the private sector have to work together in this with a definite plan in mind. From its present $500 million annu-ally, we should aim to raise direct Indian entertainment export to at least $10 billion by 2030. Of course, leveraging the soft power of films, music and other art forms is worth several times over.

India food is one of the top four cuisines in the world along with Italian, Chinese and French. Have we leveraged the sheer diversity of our food? Every state in India has its unique flavour but it’s difficult to actually sample local delicacies in any major tourist destination in India. It’s easier to get fast food in India than local delicacies for a trav-eller. On trips across India, I had to seek help to eat local food instead of burgers, pizzas, dosas and biry-ani. Indian cuisine can become the global favourite if marketed well. Indian missions abroad should be holding food popups and festivals regularly.

In the post-pandemic world, soft power is transformative. Time has come to bolster India’s soft power and use it as a force multiplier both economically and strategically. Why can’t we have more festivals of In-dia overseas? ICCR and the Exter-nal Publicity Division of the foreign ministry as well as the Indian Trade Promotion Organisation and the three national academies -- Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sahitya Akademi and Lalit Kala Akademi -- desper-ately need a revamp. The G20 sum-mit in 2022, which is to be held in India to coincide with the 75th an-niversary of India’s independence, could be leveraged to showcase In-dia’s soft power to the world.

IANS

india’s soft power - unrealized potential

BY VISHNU MAKHIJANI Hampi-based curator Lavina

Baldota conceptualised eSantati four years ago as a tribute to Ma-hatma Gandhi on his 151st birth anniversary. “The idea that started with textile art, eKhadi A Canvas, by Gaurang Shah expanded to in-volving art and design minds from various disciplines along with col-lections from different museums - each interpreting their Gandhi,” Baldota said.

Twelve other individuals and institutions eventually came on board. The exhibition opened at Mumbai’s NGMA, on Octo-ber 2 last year and subsequently moved to New Delhi’s Kasturb-hai Lalbhai Museum, New Del-hi’s IGNCA and to Hyderabad’s Saptaparni, is now headed for Vadodara. It has now been im-mortalised in a coffee table book, also titled eSantati’ (Harp-erCollins) for which New Delhi-based poet and mixed media art-ist Navkirat Sodhi has woven its strands together with some soul-tugging verses which, if set to music, could well spawn a new genre in the eRaghupati Raghav Raja Ram’ style.

“Personally, for me, the jour-ney has led to self enquiry, shed-ding of the unnecessary and a humble realization that I have a very long way to go.

To quote Navkirat, ekeep walk-ing till you know this journey knows no end’,” Baldota, whose father was closely association with Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom movement, told IANS in an email interview.

Sodhi couldn’t agree more. “Spiritually, it has been a jour-ney of letting go of unnecessary

mental shackles and transfer-ring all energy into constructive, creative, faith-filled action,” she told IANS.

“Since the book is about the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi’s messages then, now and next e this process has reaffirmed my belief in simple living, high thinking. It has shown me how poignant and infinite his ideas remain for a world grappling with the consequences of its col-lective action,” Sodhi added.

“The power of the Mahatma is such that everyone involved in Santati, whether it’s the cura-tor, the artists, the artisans, the collectors or the viewers have all been touched. The exhibition was experiential and so is the book. The book has immortal-ized the exhibition and all that it stands for. Like the subject we have managed to maintain the austerity and yet create an im-pact,” Baldota said.

“There has been research at many levels, involving many people. For instance, the re-search of Kishore Jhunjhunwa-la (the collector) has been for over 50 years and the research of Navkirat Sodhi has been for two extensive years. Every art-ist involved in Santati delved deeper into Mahatma Gandhi’s ideologies and portrayed what resonated with them,” Baldota explained.

For instance, Gaurav Gupta’s :Tunnel of Infinity” was inspired by the Mahatma’s heartbeat that he came across at Gandhi Smriti, Ashiesh Shah’s “Shanti totem” represented peace and self- re-liance , Prateek Jain and Gau-tam Seth’s “Ahimsa, inspired by

Gandhiji’s spectacles, represent-ed non-violence.

Gaurang Shah’s “Khadi A Can-vas: was obviously a tribute to the eswadeshi’ movement and Khadi, Rajesh Pratap’s “Neel Vi-droh” was inspired by Satyagra-ha, and Jean Francois Lesage’s panels were inspired by Gandhi-ji’s letters and the Dandi March.

“This apart, identifying and ex-hibiting photographs, paintings and sculptures from the collec-tions of NGMA, IGNCA, JJ School of Arts, Museum of Art and Pho-tography and the Kishore Jhunj-hunwala memorabilia have been an important part of my research and curation,” Baldota said.

It was equally hard work for Sodhi, given that Gandhi’s col-lected works appear in over 100 volumes.

“What is now in book form is the result of our physical journey from concept to realisation. We visited each participating artist at their studio during the making of their works. Then I delved for months into the collected works by and about Mahatma Gandhi at the National Gandhi Museum and Library.

“I also visited Mani Bhawan in Mumbai and watched available audio-visual material about the man in India and globally. Once my spirit almost soaked in the light of his philosophy and dyna-mism is when I started penning the poems,” Sodhi explained.

For Sodhi, of course, the re-search was more experiential than academic. It involved hours of staring into the works of artists from NGMA, JJ School of Arts, IG-NCA and reading Mahatma Gan-dhi’s collective works voraciously

from the heart. “The book has art spanning a century and some-where between the photographs of Henri Cartier-Bresson, the paintings of Nandalal Bose, Ram-kinkar Baij, Elizabeth Brunner, the phenomenal weaving by tex-tile designer Gaurang Shah and so much more, my research be-came more of a sublime process to weave art, the struggle for free-dom and a mind that became a universal phenomenon, through poetry,” Sodhi said.

Not surprisingly the way was made easier for her because “po-etry is very much an alive form of expression. There is no greater joy for me to recite or perform to an audience who might oth-erwise be disinclined to or in-timidated by poetry. It is when a poem tugs at those heart strings, that it comes to life. This is why I strive to include newer disci-plines, artists and spectators to the repertoire of poetry’s simple magic,” she said.

What are their next projects?For Sodhi, from how it’s shap-

ing, “it seems like a long work in poetic fiction. I have been doo-dling with the framework for a little while. And a few collabora-tions are still under wraps.

As for Baldota, she is planning on curating a multi-disciplinary exposition on Hampi, facilitat-ing engagement of local crafts and artisans with prominent art-ists and design people.

Given their success with San-tati, there can be doubt that both Baldota and Sodhi have

wings to fly and it won’t be surprisingly if we keep hearing about then in the years to come.

IANS

‘Santati’ an exhibition on the Mahatma, now immortalised in a book

Bridging digital divide

Lack of computers hin-ders studies in Himachal

7OP-EDIndian HorizonSaturday, October 3, 2020

The views expressed in these columns are the writers’ own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Indian Horizon or its management.-Editor

By Therese RaphaelWhen Boris Johnson had his break-

through meeting with then Irish leader Leo Varadkar outside Liverpool in 2019, he had a burning need to strike a Brexit deal and only one major obstacle stand-ing in the way: the Irish border. Faced with either betraying Brexiters in his party, which would have been the end of his leadership, or plunging his country into the chaos of a no-deal exit, the UK prime minister met the European Union more than halfway and clinched a deal.

At first look, the picture couldn’t be more different this year. As Britain and the EU enter their final round of post-Brexit trade talks before Johnson’s Oct. 15 deadline, there isn’t one sticking point but multiple ones “- from access to UK fishing waters for European boats and Brussels demands for a level playing field on state aid to issues around police and judicial co-operation and even how the treaty will be administered and disputes settled.

Negotiations rely on a degree of trust and chemistry to succeed. Johnson may have been regarded sceptically by Europe’s leaders when he replaced Theresa May as prime minister, but there was an effort to build a rapport and take him at his word. A year later, trust in the UK government from the EU side has been eroded. The bloc is threatening legal action over the Internal Market Bill, a bombshell piece of British legislation that breaches international law by overriding parts of the Brexit treaty per-

taining to Northern Ireland. Johnson’s ex-cuse for breaking the deal is that he signed the treaty in a hurry.

Nor is the motivation quite the same this year. Crashing out of the bloc last year with no divorce deal in place would have brought an overnight jolt to just about everything: markets, supply chains, travel, jobs and food bills. The EU too was motivated. The costs for Ire-land alone would have been massive.

If it doesn’t work out this time, the consequences are more a tumble down the stairs than a fall off a cliff for the UK. For Johnson, with an 80-seat parliamen-tary majority, his reputation may take a hit, but his leadership isn’t obviously on the line. While the EU would clearly prefer a deal, bandwidth in Brussels has been taken up with more pressing is-sues; a defence of the bloc’s rules and principles will take precedence.

If it weren’t for Covid-19, you’d say the chances of a deal right now were slim to none. And yet, the pandemic really does change the political calculus. Johnson is already facing battles on several fronts: criticism over his handling of the new coronavirus as case numbers rise and the U.K.’s test-and-trace system has proved a shambles; a rebellion in Parliament over his Covid laws; and pushback from even Brexit-supporting loyalists over his plans to breach international law. Nobody thinks this winter will be anything but painful for the Brits. Job losses are coming, as the Treasury implicitly

acknowledged when it rolled back support last week. While most people accept the re-newal of virus lockdown measures, there is mounting frustration with many of the re-strictions and Johnson rushing in new rules overnight with no notice. Police clashed with anti-lockdown protesters in London too this weekend. It will have unsettled Downing Street that Spain had to bring in the army to enforce restrictions in Madrid.

With this going on, the threshold for Brexit pain is low. Even with a deal that eliminates tariffs and quotas, post-Brexit trade barriers are inevitable. Mi-chael Gove, Johnson’s de facto deputy, admitted that may well mean a two-day pile-up of trucks on the border, as new customs procedures come into force. Without a deal, prices for important foods will rise at a time when people are losing their jobs and perhaps their homes. These are bad optics for a prime minister in need of wins.

A failure to reach a trade agreement from the prime minister who made it all sound so easy would be yet another blow to Johnson’s credibility. It would hand Keir Starmer, the Labour Party leader and former prosecutor, a cudgel to use against the government. None of this guarantees a deal will happen. A year ago the legal text of the main agree-ment had been largely nailed down by the time Johnson and Varadkar met. This time the two sides are working from separate documents. Even for an army of

overworked lawyers, crafting that much legalese is a lot of ground to cover in a very tight time frame.

And much would depend on what com-promises were struck. The EU, never forget, is the more powerful partner. It will com-promise (as it already has on state aid), but it will demand bigger concessions in re-turn. Johnson may have a large parliamen-tary majority, but he’ll still have to expend political capital selling any climb-down. Still, these are unique times, and the Con-

servative leader would be wise to reflect on them. There is no reason ultimately why he shouldn’t seek a deal just as avidly as he did last year. It would reduce uncertainty and allow his government to redouble its efforts on fighting Covid. It would also set a more positive tone for a UK-EU relation-ship, destined by history and geography to remain essential. In a dismal year for the prime minister, Johnson can either add to Britain’s burden or lighten it a little.

Gulf News

Brexit calculus is changed dramatically by COVID-19

By Frank BruniI wasn’t in the crowd of people who

believed Joe Biden shouldn’t deign to debate President Donald Trump, but put me in the crowd that believes he shouldn’t debate him again. Not after Tuesday night’s horror show: a disgrace to the format, an insult to the country, a nearly pointless 90 minutes.

And, I should add, a degradation of the presidency itself, which Trump had degraded so thoroughly already. He put on a performance so contemptuous, so puerile, so dishonest and so across-

the-board repellent that the modera-tor, Chris Wallace, morphed into some amalgam of elementary-school princi-pal, child psychologist, traffic cop and roadkill.

No matter how Wallace pleaded with Trump or admonished him, he couldn’t make him behave. But then why should Wallace have an experience any differ-ent from that of Trump’s chiefs of staff, of all the other former administration of-ficials who have fled for the hills, of the Republican lawmakers who just threw up their hands and threw away any

scruples they had? Trump runs rough-shod over everyone and everything, and on Tuesday night in Cleveland he ran roughshod over the idea that two presi-dential candidates presenting rival vi-sions for America should do so with at least a small measure of dignity and an iota of decorum.

Almost from the start, he talked over Biden, taunting him, demeaning him, trying to provoke him. He interrupted him and interrupted him and then in-terrupted him some more, all the while complaining that Trump, ever the mar-tyr, was being persecuted once again.

“Mr. President, I’m the moderator of this debate, and I would like you to let me ask my question,” Wallace said ear-ly on, trying in vain to contain one of Trump’s tantrums and wrestle him into submission. I’d seen debate modera-tors get perturbed. Wallace bordered on plangent.

“I guess I’m debating you, not him, but that’s OK,” Trump shot back. “I’m not surprised.” Of course not. To be Trump is to be accustomed to an unjust world unimpressed with your majesty.

He plumbed uncharted presidential-debate depths of nastiness. When Biden, objecting to Trump’s reported dismissal of people who serve in the military as “losers,” brought up his son Beau’s tour of duty in Iraq, Trump brought up the past cocaine use of Biden’s other son, Hunter. And looked impressed and de-lighted with himself for doing so.

When Trump was challenged on hold-ing huge rallies where supporters pressed tight together, the coronavirus be damned,

he said that Biden would do likewise if he could just get anyone to show up. When Biden said that Trump needed to get “smarter” about the pandemic, Trump erupted, a Vesuvius of petulance and pet-tiness. “Did you use the word smart?” he asked. “Don’t ever use the word smart with me. Don’t ever use that word. Because you know what? There’s nothing smart about you, Joe.” His voice was so thick with un-warranted condescension that it made my skin crawl.

When Biden noted that under Trump’s watch, our country became the world leader in recorded deaths related to CO-VID-19, with more than 200,000 Ameri-cans gone, Trump’s retort was a claim so hyperbolic that I didn’t know whether to laugh at its inanity or cry over its insan-ity. He said that if Biden had been presi-dent, 2 million people would have died.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that Trump was breathtaking, and I may even be paying him something of a compli-ment, because it takes a peerless combi-nation of audacity and mendacity to pull off some of what he pulled off.

On taxes, for example: He turned the revelation that he had paid only $750 in federal income taxes for each of two recent years into an indictment of, as a former senator and vice president, for creating so many tax loopholes.

On federal judges: His boast of ap-pointing scores and scores of them seg-ued into a rebuke of President Barack Obama and Biden for leaving behind so many vacancies, as if they’d simply for-gotten about them. Not exactly. Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s Republican

majority leader, blocked the Obama ad-ministration from filling many of them, and then, after Trump was inaugurated, abetted him.

On the integrity of the upcoming vote count: He pivoted from Wallace’s ques-tion about whether he would refrain from declaring victory “until the election has been independently certified” into a fresh exhortation that his supporters serve as poll watchers, looking out for sketchy activity. He’s going to get people hurt. I mean, on top of all the people he has hurt already.

Responding to this pile of bile, Biden was hardly a choir boy. “You’re the worst president America has ever had,” he said at one point. He repeatedly called Trump a liar and several times called him “this clown.”

“Will you shut up, man?” Biden said to him. “This is so unpresidential.”

But Biden was right: Trump wouldn’t shut up, and wasn’t remotely presiden-tial, and to the extent that Biden oc-casionally flung mud of his own, well, when you’re dragged into the pigsty, you have no other choice.

Mostly, though, Biden shook his head as Trump ranted and raged. He smiled dismissively. He looked at Wallace or at the camera or anywhere but at Trump, his lack of eye contact a suggestion that some nonsense — and some nonsense purveyors — are best ignored. His obvi-ous strategy was to treat Trump as part spectacle, part joke, all embarrassment. Which is precisely how Trump deserved to be treated.

Gulf News

Presidential debate: What are Biden’s options now?

By Somshankar BandyopadhyayKnowledge is Power. This epony-

mous quote by Sir Francis Bacon in the late 16th century finds itself jus-tified as we live in the Information Age, the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The internet has up-ended our lives over the last couple of decades like a very few discover-ies have in the past century.

The term ‘global village’ is apt for these times. Communication between two points of the earth is now a click of a button. Any form of information is just ‘googled’ and millions of pages will show up on screen. The Information Revolu-tion has opened up new vistas, new avenues of life never imagined be-fore.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandem-ic has also shown how critical this Information Revolution has been. Families split between various cor-ners of the earth have been able to see each other. Students, bereft of attending school physically, have managed to keep their learning on track through online classes. With airlines coming to a standstill, vir-tual meetings have kept businesses running. ‘Work from home’ has be-come commonplace across sectors, unlike being limited to the technol-ogy sectors only a few months ago. Shops may not be open, but online retail is booming. This is especially

the case with grocery shopping, with multiple apps offering fresh food deliveries

So far, so good.Now, let us look at the darker

side. While we extol the virtues of a connected world, it is also a hard truth that millions worldwide remain cut off from the ‘informa-tion superhighway’. In a previous article, I mentioned the UN chil-dren’s agency saying at least a third of children couldn’t access remote learning when the COVID-19 pan-demic closed schools, creating ‘a global education emergency’.

At the height of lockdowns meant to curb the pandemic, nearly 1.5 billion children were affected by school closures, UNICEF said. Thus, we can well imagine if these vast numbers of children remain cut off from the education grid, what impact it will have on their prospects in life.

The problems go far beyond edu-cation. As the internet proliferates into every aspect of our lives, the phenomenon of ‘digital divide’ is getting more stark, widening the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ in this sphere as well. Again, economics come to play in this issue. The International Tele-communication Union (ITU), the specialised agency of the United Nations (UN), warned at the end of

2019 that almost half of the earth’s inhabitants — some 3.6 billion peo-ple — do not even have access to the internet, according to a report by Iberdrola, the Spanish utility.

While one part of the world talks of 5G, internet of Things, smart gadgets, there remains a vast por-tion of our planet where — forget the internet — access to basics like electricity and potable drink-ing water is a luxury. According to Our World in Data, almost a billion people, or 13 per cent of the world’s population, do not have access to electricity. A ‘connected world’ is a joke in poor taste for these teeming millions. And since participation in the modern economy is largely conditional on access to informa-tion and communication technolo-gies (ICT), these people are likely to be bereft of the development that comes hand in hand with these technologies.

According to the Digital Divide Council, digital inequality is evi-dent between communities living in urban areas and those living in rural settlements; between socio-economic groups; between less economically developed countries and more economically developed countries; between the educated and uneducated population.

The Council identifies three criti-cal aspects of the problem:

1. Gender Divide: Men in low-income countries are 90% more likely to own a mobile phone than women. This translates to 184 mil-lion women who lack access to mobile connectivity. Even among women owning mobile phones, 1.2 billion women in low and mid-income countries have no access to the internet.

2. Social Divide: Internet access creates relationships and social circles among people with shared interests. Social media platforms create online peer groups based on

similar interests. This by definition creates an aura of exclusivity and thus social stratification. Non-con-nected groups are sidelined since they don’t share in the internet benefits of the connected groups.

3. Universal Access Divide: In-dividuals living with physical dis-abilities are often disadvantaged when it comes to accessing the internet. They may have the nec-essary skills but cannot exploit the available hardware and software. Some parts of the world will remain segregated from the internet and its

vast potential due to lack of digital literacy skills, low education levels, and inadequate broadband infra-structure.

The problem of digital divide does not limit itself to the less de-veloped countries. A report pub-lished last year by Microsoft esti-mated that 162.8 million people in the US — about half the country’s population — don’t use broadband internet, whether because it’s un-available where they live or they can’t or won’t pay for access.

Gulf News

Knowledge is power, for those who can access it

International8 Indian HorizonSaturday, October 3, 2020

SHARIF PLAYING DANGEROUS GAME AT BEHEST OF INDIA: IMRAN KHAN

Islamabad, Oct 2 (IANS) Paki-stan Prime Minister Imran Khan has lashed out at the fi ery speech-es made by former premier and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, stating that he was playing a dan-gerous game by targeting Islam-abad’s powerful military estab-lishment at the behest of India.In an interview to a private tele-vision channel, Khan accused his predecessor for creating a “huge mischief” by attacking the

Pakistan Army.“Nawaz Sharif is playing a dangerous game against Pakistan and I am 100 per cent sure that India is sup-porting him.“Why Nawaz Sharif always had a dispute with army chiefs, because he was involved in corrupt practices and wanted to control them,” he added.Khan

said Sharif is now playing the same game that was once being played by former founder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain, who he said was also working on India’s agenda and had his support-ers chant ‘Pakistan Murdabad’ along with calling for India’s help

to what he called free Pakistan from oppression.“He (Sharif) is becoming the next Altaf Hussain. He is a coward, I am sure he has support from India. India’s in-terest was to weaken our army. India’s think tanks say they want to break Pakistan. Some foolish liberals were agreeing with the

narrative of Sharif, who is creat-ing a huge ‘fi tna’ (mischief) by attacking the army,” he said.The convicted former leader, who was allowed to fl y to London for treatment late last year, broke his long silence last month, saying that the opposition was up not against “selected prime minis-

ter” but against those who had brought him into power in the 2018 elections.Khan’s statement comes after Sharif’s speeches to

his party members and opposi-tion leaders targeted Pakistan’s military establishment for sup-porting, facilitating and backing the incumbent leader to come in power through rigged elections.Sharif, during his speech re-vealed and claimed that his gov-ernment, in a bid to soothe ties with the Pakistan Army, back-engineered the US Tomahawk missile to enhance the defence capabilities of the country.

Biden leads Trump by 7 pts in New Hampshire: Poll

Seoul, Oct 2 (IANS) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected fl ood recovery efforts at a border village along with his sister, Kim Yo-jong, in her fi rst public appearance after two months, state-media reported on Friday.

According to the report in Pyongyang’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Jong-un inspected the re-construction site in Kim-hwa county, where he was

briefed about damage to dwellings, farms, transpor-tation, the power grid and telecommunications.

“Hearing the report that about 88 per cent of the total construction proj-ect has now been done for nearly 1,000 families, he said with great satisfac-tion that the People’s Army is making world-startling achievements under the energetic leadership and meticulous guidance of our Party,” Yonhap News

Agency quoted the KCNA report as saying.

The leader stressed that “this year has been the one of unprecedented hard-ships but it will be a year of great victory with par-ticularly great worth of struggle”, the report fur-ther said.Without provid-ing a date of their visit, the North’s offi cial newspaper Rodong Sinmun published a photo of the leader and his sister, dressed in a beige trench coat.

Kim Jong-un inspects flood recovery efforts with sister

GLOBAL COVID!19 CASES

CROSS 34.2 MARK

Turkey warned of sanctions over ‘provocations’ in Mediterranean

Washington, Oct 2 (IANS) In a TV interview, US President Donald Trump has said that he “condemns all white suprema-cists”, following controversy over statements he made dur-ing the fi rst presidential debate on September 29.

“I’ve said it many times, let me be clear again, I condemn the KKK (Ku Klux Klan). I con-demn all white supremacists. I condemn the Proud Boys,” the BBC quoted the President as saying on Fox News on Thurs-day evening.“I don’t know much about the Proud Boys,

almost nothing, but I condemn that.”Based in the US with a presence in Canada, Proud Boys are a far-right, neo-fascist, male-only organization with ties to white supremacists that promotes and engages in politi-cal violence.

During the debate when Trump was asked whether he would condemn white suprema-cists and ask them to stand down during protests, the President said: “Proud Boys - stand back and stand by.But I’ll tell you what... somebody’s got to do something about antifa (anti-fas-

cist activists) and the left because this is not a right-wing problem.”

The following day, the Presi-dent tried to explain his stance at a White House briefi ng, say-ing he did not know who the Proud boys were.

Senior Republican members have also expressed unease over the President’s remarks at the debate, te BBC reported

During his time in offi ce, President Trump has been ac-cused of emboldening far-right groups with his rhetoric while being more willing to openly condemn those on the far-left.

I condemn all white supremacists

Washington, Oct 2 (IANS) The overall number of global coronavirus has crossed the 34.2 million mark, while the deaths have increased to more than 1,021,700, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

As of Friday, the total number of cases stood at 34,200,662 and the fatalities rose to 1,021,709, the Univer-sity’s Center for Systems Sci-ence and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.

The US is the worst-hit coun-try with the world’s highest number of cases and deaths at 7,277,352 and 207,791, respec-tively, according to the CSSE.

India comes in second place in terms of cases at 6,312,584, while the country’s death toll soared to 98,678.

The other top 15 countries with the maximum amount of cases are Brazil (4,810,935), Russia (1,179,634), Colombia (835,339), Peru (814,829), Spain (778,607), Argentina (765,002), Mexico (748,315), South Africa (676,084), France (616,986), Chile (464,750), the UK (462,774), Iran (461,044), Iraq (367,474) Bangladesh (364,987), and Saudi Arabia (335,097), the CSSE fi gures showed.

Brazil currently accounts for the second highest number of fatalities at 144,680.

The countries with a death toll above 10,000 are Mexico (78,078), the UK (42,292), Italy (35,918), Peru (32,463), France (32,034), Spain (31,973), Iran (26,380), Colombia (26,196), Russia (20,796), Argentina (20,288), South Africa (16,866), Chile (12,822), Ecuador (11,433), Indonesia (10,856) and Belgium (10,016).

Brussels, Oct 2 (IANS) The European Union (EU) has said it could impose sanctions on Turkey over “provocations and pressures” in a row with Greece over energy resources and mar-itime borders.

European Commission Pres-ident Ursula von der Leyen called on Ankara to “abstain from unilateral actions” in the eastern Mediterranean. She

spoke early on Friday during a meeting of EU leaders in Brus-sels, the BBC reported.

Earlier, Turkey and Greece set up a military hotline to try to reduce the risk of clashes in the region.

Tensions rose earlier this year when Turkey sent a ship into a disputed area to search for potentially rich oil and gas deposits.Von der Leyen told

reporters that the EU wanted “a positive and constructive re-lationship with Turkey and this would be also be very much in Ankara’s interest”.

“But it will only work if the provocations and pressures stop,” she said. “We there-fore expect that Turkey from now on abstains from unilat-eral actions. In case of such renewed actions by Ankara

the EU will use all its instru-ments and options available. We have a toolbox that we can

apply immediately.”After their late-night meeting, EU mem-bers agreed to review Turkey’s behaviour in December and impose sanctions if “provoca-tions” had not stopped.Aus-trian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, posting on Twitter after the meeting, said: “The EU issues a clear threat of sanc-tions against Turkey should it continue to violate interna-

tional law.”European Council President Charles Michel said the EU was offering Turkey closer relations on trade and other areas but holding out the threat of sanctions if ten-sions in the Mediterranean did not de-escalate.The European Union and Turkey have long held a fragile relationship.Turkey has been a long-term candidate for membership of

the EU but efforts have stalled. EU leaders have criticised Tur-key’s record on human rights and the rule of law, in par-ticular in the wake of the 2016 failed military coup.Despite the strains, Turkey remains an important partner for the EU. Turkey hosts millions of mi-grants and struck a deal with the EU that limited the num-bers arriving in Greece.

Dubai, Oct 2 (IANS) A group of expats in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have created a total of 517 pairs of knitted and crocheted prostheses for breast cancer survivors in India, a me-dia report said.

According to a Gulf News re-port published on Thursday, the items are distributed free of cost to survivors who have un-dergone mastectomies or other cancer treatment procedures in India.The latest despatch of prostheses was headed to India with Geetha Krishnan, a support group member of the group, Saaisha India.“At Saaisha, we craft these knockers and give

them to survivors. We purchase the yarn, we knit the knockers and hope it will give hope and strength,” Krishnan, 49, a special educator, told Gulf News.

Each knocker, made of lo-cally available cotton yarn, takes about four hours to craft. Worn under regular undergar-ments, they are comfortable, and provide the look and feel of regular breasts.

The patterns are specifi ed by Knitted Knockers of USA, which fi rst developed the concept of the cotton breast prostheses.

This was then taken up by Saa-isha India, a registered charita-ble trust since April 2018.“Many

of the ladies who lend their time and effort to us learnt crocheting from scratch. We are enthused and encouraged by the response of our benefi ciaries, and are in the process of scaling up in terms of operations, identifying benefi ciaries and adding to our volunteer base,” the Gulf News report quoted Akhila Devi, a freelance trainer who works with the group, as saying.

The knockers crafted by Saai-sha’s UAE-based volunteers have so far been given to 1,000 benefi ciaries, either through hospitals in Chennai, Mumbai, Coimbatore and other cities, or via individual contact.

DONALD TRUMP :Washington, Oct 2 (IANS) A

new poll has revealed that Demo-cratic presidential nominee was leading US President Donald Trump in New Hampshire, a swing state where former Secre-tary of State Hillary Clinton won against the incum-bent leader in the 2016 election.

Released on Thurs-day, the Emerson Col-lege poll found that 45 per cent of the state's voters backed the former Vice President, while 45 per cent sided with Trump, The Hill news web-

site reported.While 1 per cent of the voters were unde-cided, 2 per cent said they would

vote for someone else.Biden leads

among women in New Hamp-shire with 55 per cent, while Trump garnered 42 per cent of

the female votes.Among the male voters, the two rivals were tied at 49 per cent.In the poll, the Presi-dent was ahead of Biden among the age group between 45-64 with 50 per cent.But among all other age groups, the former Vice Presi-dent was leading.

Biden also earned the backing among independents at 54 per cent.According to CBS/YouGov poll released on Sunday, Trump and Biden were also neck-and-neck in the swing states of Geor-gia and North Carolina.In Geor-gia 47 per cent of likely voters support Trump, versus 46 per

cent for Biden, while in North Carolina, 48 per cent of likely vot-ers supported the former Vice President, versus 46 per cent for the President.

Meanwhile, an NBC News-Marist poll also released on Sunday found Biden leading Trump in two other swing states of Wisconsin and Michigan.Last month, the CBS News Tracker revealed that the states of Florida and Texas remain tight battle-grounds in the November 3 presi-dential election, reports Politico news.In the 2016 election, Trump won both the states.

Canberra, Oct 2 (IANS) New Zealanders will be allowed to enter Australia in the fi rst open-ing of international borders by the two countries since travel restrictions were imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack announced here on Friday."The establishment of a travel zone between Austra-

lia and New Zealand has been fi nalised," the BBC reported cit-ing the Australian Deputy Prime Minister as saying to the media.

"This is the fi rst stage in what we hope to see as a trans-Tasman bubble between the two coun-tries, stopping not just at that state and that territory," he added.Ac-cording to the Deputy Prime Min-ister, at fi rst travel will be limited to New Zealanders.McCormack further said that a decision on when Australians may be able to visit New Zealand would be up to

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.Friday's announcement came

after Ardern had said on Septem-ber 28 that an air bubble between her country and some Australian states was possible by the end of this year.

She had confi rmed that work was underway for weeks on the prospect of forming a bubble, and the ability to move between parts of both countries that were not affected by the coronavirus pan-demic, The New Zealand Herald newspaper reported.

Australia opens ‘travel zone’ to New Zealanders

SL Prez instructs completion of 2nd BIA terminal before 2023

UAE expats make knitted prostheses for breast cancer survivors in India

Colombo, Oct 2 (IANS) Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed of-fi cials to complete the con-struction of the second ter-minal of the Bandaranaike International Airport in Co-lombo before the end of 2023.

Construction of the sec-ond terminal, which began in 2014, was scheduled for completion in 2017, the Co-lombo Page newspaper said in a report on Thursday.

But according to experts, many aspects of the design are out of date due to the lack of construction.The Presi-

dent made the statement during a discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat Wednesday on the future plans of the State Ministry of Aviation and Export Zone De-

velopment.A lengthy discussion was

held on the course of action to be taken in the face of the adverse impact on the airport and airlines caused by the disruption of international fl ights due to the Covid-19 pandemic.President Raj-apaksa instructed the author-ities to work day and night taking advantage of the dis-ruption of airport operations and complete the construc-tion work as soon as possible.

On completion of the sec-ond Terminal building, BIA would will be able to handle

total capacity of 15 million passengers annually with the number of Terminal Gates in-creasing two-fold by 2023.

Construction of a multi-level terminal building with an approximate fl oor area of 180,000 m2, will have arriv-als and departures separated vertically. It woul have mod-ern baggage handling facili-ties; more space for passen-gers and new Immigration/ Emigration facilities with a bigger apron to accommo-date 36 aircrafts.

It is also designed to pro-vide an effi cient service to passengers through e-Gate facilities. In parallel, a park-ing lot will also be construct-ed adjacent to the airport.

BusinessIndian Horizonsaturday, October 3, 2020 9

FY21 central tax devolution to states expected to fall by over 36%: ICRANew Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS)

Ratings agency ICRA has esti-mated that central tax devolu-tion (CTD) to the states will be 36.2 per cent lower than the budgeted amount in the FY21 Union Budget.

Accordingly, the CTD is expected to be around Rs 5,00,500 crore (Rs 5,005 bil-lion) in FY2021 from the bud-geted Rs 7,84,200 crore (Rs 7,842 billion).

“If the state governments exhaust a large portion of their permitted borrowing for FY2021 within 9M FY2021,

the anticipated YoY decline in CTD in Q4 FY2021 could lead to fiscal and liquidity stress for the states in that quarter,” ICRA said in a report.

At present, open market borrowings or state develop-ment loans (SDLs) are the chief source of funding the fis-cal deficit of the Indian state governments.

“The gross SDL issuance ex-panded by a substantial 56.8 per cent to Rs 3,536 billion in H1 FY2021 from Rs 2,254 bil-lion in H1 FY2020,” the report said.

“ICRA estimates that Rs 511 billion of SDLs were redeemed in H1 FY2021, lower than the estimated redemption of Rs 674 billion in H1 FY2020. Ac-

cordingly, the net SDL issu-ance rose by an even higher 91.4 per cent in H1 FY2021 to Rs. 3,025 billion from Rs. 1,580 billion in H1 FY2020.”

Resultantly, high market borrowings by the state gov-ernments in H1 FY2021 reflect the expectedly wide gap be-tween their revenue receipts and expenditure led by the adverse impact of the Co-vid-19 pandemic on the fiscal health of the state govern-ments, the report said.

Additionally, the indicative calendar of market borrow-ings for Q3 FY2021 released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) pegs the market borrow-ing of 26 state governments and two Union Territories

(UTs) at Rs 2,022 billion, 24.9 per cent higher than the total SDL issuance of Rs 1,619 bil-lion in Q3 FY2020.

“The step up in the volume of borrowing indicated for Q3 FY2021 is surprisingly muted, relative to Rs 1,673 billion in Q1 FY2021 and Rs 1,863 bil-lion in Q2 FY2021,” the report said.

“In our view, the actual bor-rowings in Q3 FY2021 could appreciably overshoot the indicative amount, especially given the absence of par-ticipation indicated for West

Bengal (WB) in Q3 FY2021.”Furthermore, it said that

based on estimate for full year SDL issuance for FY2021 and the borrowing concluded in H1 FY2021, “we project the gross SDL issuance in H2 FY2021 at Rs 6,797 billion, if the borrowing related to GST compensation would be through SDLs”.

“This is sharply higher than the planned issuance of Rs 4,340 billion of dated securi-ties indicated by the GoI in its borrowing calendar for H2 FY2021,” the report said.

Mumbai, Oct 2 (IANS) India’s foreign exchange reserves plunged by $3.017 billion during the week ended September 25.

According to the Reserve Bank of India’s weekly statistical supplement, the reserves decreased to $542.021 billion from $545.038 billion reported for the week ended September 18.

India’s forex reserves comprise of foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs), and the country’s reserve position with the

International Monetary Fund (IMF).

On a weekly basis, FCAs, the largest component of the forex reserves, edged lower by $1.523 billion to $499.941 billion. Similarly, the value of the country’s gold reserves decreased. It declined by $1.441 billion to $35.999 billion.

Besides, the SDR value was down by $10 million to $1.472 billion.

Additionally, the country’s reserve position with the IMF declined by $43 million to $4.608 billion.

New Delhi: The BSE, the NSE, forex, money and bullion markets will remain closed on Monday on account of Gandhi Jayanti. The Sensex vaulted 629 points while the Nifty

recaptured the 11,400-mark on Thursday as positive macroeconomic data.

The 30-share BSE Sensex soared 629.12 points or 1.65 per cent to close at

38,697.05, led by banking and finance stocks. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 169.40 points or 1.51 per cent to finish at 11,416.95.

IndusInd Bank was the

top gainer in the Sensex pack, zooming 12.41 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finserv and Kotak Bank.

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Airline major IndiGo on Friday said aviation industry veteran Gregg Albert Saretsky has been appointed to the company’s Board of

Directors.Accordingly, Saretsky

has joined the board as a Non-Executive Non-Independent Director and is a nominee of IGE Group.

“An aviation industry

veteran, with an illustrious career spanning over 36 years, Saretsky is presently associated with Wood Buffalo Economic Development Corporation, Ft.

McMurray, AB as Director and Chairman of the Board and RECARO Holding GmbH, Stuttgart, Germany as Director, Advisory Board,” the company said in a statement.

Mumbai, Oct 2 (IANS) Automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) on Friday launched the all-new Thar SUV. According to the company, the all-new Thar will be available in two trims, “AX” and “LX”, with prices starting at Rs 9.80 lakh for the AX series and Rs 12.49 lakh for the LX series.

It comes with two engine options, the “2.0L mStallion TGDi” petrol engine, and “the 2.2L mHawk” diesel engine.

“These engines are offered with a choice of 6-speed manual transmission or 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission, with

an authentic 4x4 manual shift transfer case with a low ratio,” the company said in a statement.

As per the statement, test drives for the all-new Thar will begin in phases, starting with 18 cities from Friday.

“The company will add 100 more cities on October 10, and test drives for the rest of the county will be available from October 15,” the statement said. It has been designed and engineered in India and manufactured out of Mahindra’s Nashik plant. The deliveries of the SUV will commence from November 1, 2020.

India’s forex reserves decline by over $3 billion

Markets closed today on account of Gandhi JayantiGregg Albert Saretsky appointed non-executive director on IndiGo Board

M&M launches all-new Thar SUV New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS)

India’s merchandise exports in September rose by 5.27 per cent on a year-on-year basis, official data showed on Fri-day.

The country shipped out merchandise worth $27.40 billion from $26.02 billion ex-ported during the like period of the previous year.

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the top five commodities that showed positive growth dur-ing September 2020 vis-a-vis September 2019 were other cereals, iron ore, rice, oilmeal

and carpets.On Thursday, Commerce

and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, in a tweet, said: “Make in India, Make for the World: Indian merchandise exports grow 5.27 per cent in Sep 20 as compared to last year. An-other indicator of the rapid recovery of Indian economy as it surpasses pre-COVID levels across parameters.”

In terms of sequential movement, India’s merchan-dise exports in August stood at $22.70 billion from $25.99 billion exported during the like period of the previous

year.However, exports during

April-September 2020-21 were $125.06 billion, exhibit-ing a negative growth of 21.43

per cent over the same period last year.

Similarly, India’s imports declined, falling 19.60 per cent to $30.31 billion in Sep-

tember from $37.69 billion reported for the correspond-ing month of 2019.

“Merchandise imports dur-ing April-September 2020-21 were $148.69 billion, as com-pared to $248.08 billion dur-ing the same period last year, exhibiting a negative growth of 40.06 per cent,” the minis-try said in a statement.

“India is thus a net import-er in September 2020, with a trade deficit of $2.91 billion, as compared to trade deficit of $11.67 billion, showing a substantial improvement of 75.06 per cent.”

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Microsoft has announced to end its 20-year-old Open Li-cense programme for small and midsize organisations from January 1, 2022.

The organisations can con-tinue to renew and purchase new software licenses, soft-ware assurance and online services through the Open License programme until De-cember 31, 2021.

“As of January 1, 2022, commercial customers won’t be able to buy new or renew

software licenses or online services through the Mi-crosoft Open License pro-gramme,” the tech giant said in an update. “New license-only purchases should be transacted through partners in the Cloud Solution Provid-er programme”.

The Microsoft Open License programme was created over

20 years ago for small and midsized customers to buy multiple perpetual software licenses at a volume price.

Microsoft said it is taking a significant step to simplify licensing by introducing per-petual software license pur-chases through the new com-merce experience, as part of its Cloud Solution Provider

programme for partners, with a target availability date of January 2021.

“Small and midsize cus-tomers will benefit from a simplified approach and greater flexibility in how you purchase software licenses in a way that’s easy to under-stand, that directly improves licensing asset management, and with predictable costs,” the company said.

Some companies may have purchased “tokens” to use Microsoft’s online services.

Those tokens will remain “active for five years from the purchase date,” Micro-soft said, adding that its is committed to support every organisation “wherever they are in their digital transfor-mation journey”.

Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partners will offer perpetual licenses after the end of the Open License programme.

Perpetual licenses are pay-once, non-subscription li-censes that don’t expire.

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) The Centre has granted permission for an additional borrowing of Rs 7,376 crore to Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh for successfully undertaking reforms in the public distribution system and ‘ease of doing business’ respectively, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday.

The Ministry had earlier in the day said that it had allowed both the states to borrow Rs 7,106 crore more, but issued a corrigendum later to revise

the amount to Rs 7,376 crore.A Ministry statement said

that Uttar Pradesh has become the sixth state to complete the PDS reform process under the ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ system. This made the state eligible to raise Rs 4,851 crore through Open Market Borrowings (OMBs).

It will help the state in mobilising additional financial resources required to fight COVID-19, it said.

According to the Department of Food and

Public Distribution, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Goa, Karnataka and Tripura have successfully carried out PDS reforms under the system.

Andhra Pradesh, it said, has become the first state in the country to successfully undertake “ease of doing business” reforms and thus become eligible to raise an additional Rs 2,525 crore through OMBs.

Earlier, the state had also completed PDS reforms as per

the ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ system. In view of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, the Centre had in May, 2020 allowed an additional borrowing limit of up to 2 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) to the states for the year 2020-21. This made an amount up to Rs 4,27,302 crore available to the states.

The scheme of raising additional amount had a clause which mandated that 1 per cent of this amount was

subject to the implementation of four specific state-level reforms, where the weightage of each reform is 0.25 per cent of GSDP. The four reforms are related to ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ system, ease of doing business, urban local bodies, and power sector.

Last week, the Ministry granted permission to five states, including Andhra Pradesh, to raise additional financial resources totalling Rs 9,913 crore through Open Market Borrowings.

India’s September merchandise exports rise over 5% YoY

Microsoft ending Open License Programme for SMBs in Jan 2022

Centre allows UP, Andhra Pradesh to borrow Rs 7,376 cr more

Mumbai, Oct 2 (IANS) Securities market regulator SEBI has found that the NSE had engaged in activities unrelated to its core activities as a stock exchange by acquiring stakes in several companies, including Power Exchange India Limited (PXIL) and Computer Age Management Systems Pvt Ltd (CAMS), and imposed a consolidated penalty of Rs 6 crore.

The SEBI order said that through an email dated July 5, 2018, it had directed the

National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) to submit details with regard to stakes, shares and rights held by NSE or through its subsidiaries and the SEBI approvals in this regard.

In response, the NSE submitted requisite details through its email dated July 10, 2018 and October 30, 2019.

Regarding NSE’s reply on investment in PXIL, SEBI noted that the NSE contention that activities of PXIL are related to the activities of a stock exchange

was not found acceptable as the activities of PXIL include providing electronic exchange for trading of power by its members -- power generators, distribution utilities among others -- and is entirely different from NSE, which is for the purpose of assisting, regulating or controlling the business of buying, selling or dealing in securities as specified in Securities Contracts(Regulation) Act, 1956 that do not cover product as traded on PXIL. Also, the products traded on PXIL and

NSE fall in different domain.“Further, submission of NSE

on ‘engaged’ in the activities of PXIL was also not found acceptable by SEBI as NSE is one of the promoter in PXIL and has acquired shareholding as well as nominated directors in the Board of PXIL through which it had engaged in the activities of PXIL,” the SEBI order said on Thursday.

Similarly, in the case of the stock exchange major holding shares in CAMS, the SEBI order said that the contention of NSE that activities of CAMS

are related to the activities of a stock exchange was not found acceptable by SEBI as the activities of CAMS is that of a market intermediary and it provides back-end services to market participants.

The NSE acquired 45 per cent stake in CAMS in 2013 through its wholly-owned subsidiary NSICL.

Subsequently, the NSE diluted 7.50 per cent stake in CAMS as on September 6, 2018 and continued to hold 37.50 per cent thereafter.

The other companies with

NSE investments examined by SEBI were NSEIT Ltd, NSDL E-Governance Infrastructure Ltd, Market Simplified India Ltd, and Receivables Exchange of India Ltd.

A SEBI order said: “In view of the above, it is concluded that the noticee (NSE) had engaged, directly and/or through its wholly-owned subsidiary NSICL, in activities that are unrelated/non-incidental to its activities as a stock exchange by way of acquisition of stake in PXIL, CAMS, NSEIT Limited, NEIL,

MSIL, and RXIL without seeking approval of SEBI and thus, it has violated Regulation 38(2) of Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations (SECC) 2018 read with Regulation 41(3) of SECC 2012.”

The order by Adjudicating Officer Amit Pradhan observed that each investment activities constitute an “independent violation” and as such there are six instances of violations of the provisions of Regulation 38(2) of SECC 2018 read with Regulation 41(3) of SECC 2012.

NSE fined Rs 6 cr for ‘unrelated activities’ without SEBI nod

Business Indian Horizonsaturday, October 3, 202010

‘I was asked to be ready to be voted out: Former Dhanlaxmi Bank CEOChennai, Oct 2 (IANS) The

former Managing Director and CEO of Kerala-based Dhanlaxmi Bank Sunil Gur-baxani on Friday said he was asked to quit on September 7 itself failing which he would be voted out at the September 30 annual general meeting (AGM).

“As early as September 7, I was asked to quit on my own or I would be voted out by shareholders at the Septem-ber 30 AGM. I didn’t quit un-der pressure and hence was

voted out,” Gurbaxani told IANS.

Gurbaxani was appointed as MD & CEO of the bank for a period of three years from February 27, 2020.

The ordinary resolution moved for Gurbaxani’s ap-pointment at the AGM was defeated, with 90.49 per cent of the votes polled against the proposal. Only 9.51 per cent of the votes were polled in fa-vour of his appointment.

“I am going back home with my head held high. It

is strange that a bank Board including a Director-Share-holder who had earlier rec-ommended my name to RBI (Reserve Bank of India) for the top position, voting against in the AGM in about seven months time. This despite the fact the bank has performed well,” he added.

According to him, the RBI’s direction to dismiss an advi-sor who was earlier the Chief General Manager (CGM) of the bank was not only reason for him to be voted out, but

there are governance issues like the appointment of a 69-year old person as a Director and others.

“A sitting Board member voting against a sitting MD is also misgovernance. Only four or five shareholders voted against me while other resolutions were passed at the AGM,” Gurbaxani said.

He also dismissed as mo-tivated the campaign that he was for opening more branch-es in North India.

“We were closing down

branches in North India. Fur-ther out of 40 loss making branches 15 were turned prof-itable. With proper technol-ogy effective control could be exercised over the branches located away from the head-quarters or regional offices. That is how all the new gen-eration private banks work. The fastest cars have the best brakes,” Gurbaxani, who was earlier with Axis Bank, said.

“When there is business po-tential why not tap that with effective control mechanisms.

As an MD & CEO it is also my duty to look at potential busi-ness areas. Similarly, should one not look for people with required skill sets in the mar-ket if such people are not there inhouse?” he asked.

Gurbaxani claimed in the last six months the perfor-mance of some business seg-ments of the bank were bet-ter than that of the last six years. The total deposits have grown, the current account, savings account (CASA) grew by two per cent to 31 per cent,

the new to bank business was also better and the gold loan business too grew well during the last three months.

Meanwhile the RBI on Thursday approved an inter-im arrangement for formation of a a Committee of Directors (CoD) to exercise the powers of MD & CEO till such time a new person takes charge.

The CoD consists of G. Subramonia Iyer as Chair-man, and G. Rajagopalan Nair and P.K. Vijayakumar as Members.

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) International crude oil prices continued to decline on Friday due to persistent global economic uncertainties, going down further after the announcement that US President Donald Trump had tested coronavirus positive.

A further increase in crude supplies also eased the prices,

analysts said.Consequently, Brent crude

slumped below $40 per barrel. Currently, the December contract Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is trading at $39.58 per barrel, lower by 3.30 per cent from its previous close.

The November contract of WTI crude was at $37.40 per

barrel, lower by 3.41 per cent from its previous close.

Oil prices have of late been under pressure due to poor demand amid the coronavirus pandemic and vanishing hopes of further stimulus in the US.

On Friday, prices further declined after Trump announced that he and

First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the infection.

Taking to Twitter late Thursday night, Trump said: “Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for Covid-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this together.”

Intl crude prices decline further on Trump’s corona report

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) State-run RailTel Corporation has filed a Draft Red Herring Prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India for an initial public offer of up to 8.66 crore equity shares.

The IPO will be a complete offer for sale by the Centre. The Book Running Lead Managers (BRLM) for the IPO are ICICI Securities, IDBI Capital Market and Securities and SBI Capital Markets Ltd.

Industry insiders said the com-pany is likely to raise Rs 700 crore through the IPO.

As per the prospectus, the com-pany has established a consistent track record of financial perfor-mance and growth.

“We have been profitable since Fiscal 2007 and have consistently declared and paid dividends since Fiscal 2008,” it said, adding that the company’s net worth has been pos-itive since incorporation and has been consistently growing.

RailTel’s operations have been funded entirely by internal accruals since the fiscal year 2013 and it is a debt-free company, as per the pro-spectus.

RailTel Corporation is a “Mini Ratna (Category-I)” PSU and is one of the largest neutral telecom in-frastructure providers in the coun-try owning a pan-India optic fiber network on exclusive Right of Way (ROW) along railway track.

RailTel files draft papers for IPO with SEBI

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) International crude oil prices continued to decline on Friday due to persistent global economic uncertain-ties, going down further af-ter the announcement that US President Donald Trump had tested coronavirus posi-tive. A further increase in crude supplies also eased the prices, analysts said.

Consequently, Brent crude slumped below $40 per bar-

rel. Currently, the December contract Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is trading at $39.58 per barrel, lower by 3.30 per cent from its previous close.

The November contract of WTI crude was at $37.40 per barrel, lower by 3.41 per cent from its previous close. Oil prices have of late been under pressure due to poor demand amid the coronavirus pan-demic and vanishing hopes of

further stimulus in the US.On Friday, prices further

declined after Trump an-nounced that he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the infec-tion. Taking to Twitter late Thursday night, Trump said: “Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for Covid-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process imme-diately. We will get through this together.”

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Prices of diesel declined for the second consecutive day on Friday across the four metro cities. In the national capital, diesel was priced at Rs 70.46 per litre, down from Rs 70.53 on Thursday.

Similarly, in the other metros, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, the fuel was sold for Rs 76.86, Rs 75.95 and Rs 73.99 per litre, respectively, against the previous levels of Rs 76.93, Rs 76.01 and Rs 74.05 a litre.

The fall in the retail price of diesel continues in line with the easing crude oil prices. The December futures contract of Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) was trading at $39.95 per barrel, lower by 2.39 per cent.

Petrol prices, however, continued to remain unchanged for the 10th consecutive day across the metros.

In Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, it was priced at Rs 81.06,ARs 87.74, Rs 84.14 and Rs 82.59 per litre, respectively.

Intl crude prices decline further on Trump’s corona report

Diesel prices fall across metros amid decline in crude prices

Tesla coming to India next year, says Elon MuskNew Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Friday that the electric car maker is finally ready to enter the India market in 2021.

Musk revealed his plans to bring Tesla cars to India in his response to a Twitter post that asked about the progress on Tesla’s planned entry into India. “Next year for sure,” Musk said in response to the tweet that posted pictures of T-shirts with “India wants Tesla” and “India loves Tesla” printed on them.

“Thanks for waiting,” he added. On several occasions earlier, Musk had revealed that he would like to bring Tesla to India, but in a 2018 Twitter post he cited “some challenging government regulations” as a hurdle.

He also criticised the foreign

direct investment norms for the delay in the electric car maker’s entry into the Indian market.

“Would love to be in India. Some challenging government regulations, unfortunately,” Musk had tweeted in response to a Twitter user who wrote

“No Tesla in India” on his Twitter handle.

In July this year, he hinted at allowing Tesla’s Indian fans to drive an electric Model 3 “hopefully soon”.

In response to a query by a follower who booked the car four years ago, Musk replied

that the “launch should hopefully happen soon”.

However, Friday’s tweet gives a more definitive timeline of Tesla’s possible India entry.

This comes at a time when India is ramping up charging infrastructure for electric vehicles with the aim of significantly increasing the proportion of electric vehicles plying on the roads.

In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Tesla headquarters at Palo Alto, California and met Musk who gave Modi a tour of the company’s electric car plant.

Tesla has not launched any of its electric cars in India or any other country in South Asia yet. The only Asian market where Tesla has a presence is China.

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Base effect along with a re-bound in domestic demand led major automobile play-ers to report healthy year-on-year and sequential sales numbers for Septem-ber. Analysts cited factors such as healthy monsoon, pent up demand and pref-erence for personal mobil-ity over public transport due to the pandemic as other key reasons for the upswing.

Leading the pack was automobile major Maruti Suzuki’s total sales in Sep-tember rose over 30 per cent to 160,442 units from

122,640 units sold during the corresponding month of last year.

“This is a growth of 30.8 per cent over the same pe-riod previous year. The per-formance has to be seen in the context of lower base of September 2019. To-tal sales include domestic sales of 150,040 units and 2,568 units for other OEMs. In addition, the company exported 7,834 units in Sep-tember 2020,” the company said in a statement.

“However, the compa-ny’s sales during the first half of FY21 declined by 36.6 per cent to 469,729

units over H1 April-Sep-tember (FY2019-20).

Similarly, automobile ma-jor Hyundai Motor India’s cumulative sales rose during September. It increased by 3.8 per cent to 59,913 units from an offtake of 57,705 units sold during the like period of the previous year. The company’s total domes-tic offtake during the month under review increased by 23.6 per cent to 50,313 units from 40,705 units sold during the corresponding month of last year.

However, the company’s exports fell by 43.5 per cent to 9,600 units during the

month under review from 17,000 units shipped out during September 2019.

“In the changing busi-ness environment, the green shoots of recovery are clearly visible with sales improving on a month-on-month as well as year on year basis,” said Tarun Garg, Director (Sales, Mar-keting & Service), Hyundai Motor India Limited.

“We are confident that the coming festive season will drive the market on a steady recovery path with positive customer senti-ments.”

However, auto majors

such as Mahindra and Ma-hindra reported a fall of 17 per cent in its total sales during September, on a year-on-year basis.

The company sold 35,920 units, including exports, last month, compared to 43,343 vehicles sold during the same period last year.

It reported a fall of 16 per cent in domestic sales last month to 34,351 units from an offtake of 40,692 units in September 2019.

“With market sentiments indicating a robust festive demand across segments, both in rural and urban markets.

LONDON: The British Muslim billionaire Issa brothers and private equity group TDR Capital have agreed to buy the British supermarket chain Asda from Walmart for an enter-prise value of $8.8 billion and plan to roll out more smaller stores.

The deal will enable Mohsin and Zuber Issa, who founded petrol station

operator EG Group nearly two decades ago, to take Asda back under British ownership for the first time since 1999, when Walmart paid 6.7 billion pounds for the business.

The new owners want to drive growth at Britain’s third-biggest supermar-ket chain by expanding its presence into smaller neighborhood shops to add

to its large supermarket format, bringing it more in line with competitors Tesco and Sainsbury’s which offer both. Walmart will retain an unspecified equity in-vestment in the business, an ongoing commercial re-lationship and a seat on the board, while British retail veteran Roger Burnley will remain in charge at Asda.

“After a successful period

as part of Walmart we are looking forward to helping Asda build a differentiated business that will continue to serve customers brilliant-ly in communities across the UK,” the brothers said.

The new owners will in-vest more than 1 billion pounds in the next three years in Asda to keep prices low and to protect its sup-ply chains. British finance

minister Rishi Sunak wel-comed the deal for Asda which will retain its head-quarters in the northern English city of Leeds.

Britain’s highly competi-tive supermarket sector has been upended this year by the COVID-19 crisis which sparked a jump in sales — and costs — as shoppers stocked up on goods during lengthy lockdowns.

Auto sales zoom in Sep; await festive season for added boost

Walmart sells Asda to billionaire British Muslim brothers and TDR for $8.8 bln

WASHINGTON: Interna-tional Monetary Fund of-ficials on Thursday warned that risks of a sovereign debt crisis sparked by the coro-navirus pandemic will rise without changes to the inter-national debt architecture, including more transparency for government borrowing.

In a blog post and speech, IMF officials called for the G20 debt service suspen-sion initiative to be extended for another 12 months until the end of 2021, and a com-mon restructuring approach across all official bilateral creditors, including China.

A new IMF research paper

also laid out options for im-proving debt transparency and restructurings.

“A pandemic-induced sys-temic debt crisis cannot be ruled out,” IMF First Deputy Managing Director Geoffrey Okamoto said in remarks prepared for delivery to a Peterson Institute for Inter-

national Economics online event. “The longer the prob-lem is postponed, the worse it will become.”

IMF researchers said in a new paper published on Thursday that prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the existing legal architecture governing sovereign debt

restructurings had worked fairly well, especially com-pared with the 1980s, when Latin American debt re-structurings dragged on for years, often blocked by small numbers of bondhold-ers.

Recent innovations in-cluding enhanced Collec-

tive Action Clauses, which allow larger majorities of bondholders to impose new terms on holdouts, have fa-cilitated faster restructur-ings, they said, citing Argen-tina’s agreement a month ago with creditors to re-structure nearly $65 billion in international bonds.

But a large stock of out-standing international sov-ereign bonds, often in low-income countries, lack such clauses, and non-bonded debt typically does not in-clude such majority restruc-turing provisions, making it difficult to restructure debt that becomes unsustainable.

IMF pushes for sovereign debt rules shakeup

Sports Indian HorizonSaturday, October 3, 202011

ROHIT SHARMA BREACHES !,"""-RUN MARK IN IPL

MOST IPL MATCHES: DHONI PLAYS 194TH GAME, OVERTAKES RAINA

ICC women’s team rankings: India 2nd in ODIs, 3rd in T20Is

Abu Dhabi, Oct 2 (IANS) Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has become the third batsman in Indian Premier League (IPL) history to score 5,000 runs.

He achieved the feat during Mumbai Indian’s emphatic 48-run win over Kings XI Punjab on Thursday night at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.

Rohit is currently placed at the third position in the list of highest run-scorers in IPL. He has so far scored 5,068 runs in 192 IPL matches, including a hundred and 38 half centuries.

Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli are the other two players to cross the 5000-run mark in the cash-rich league. Kohli has scored 5,430 runs in 180 matches for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Raina, on the other hand, has scored 5,368 runs in 193 games (4,527 for Chennai

Super Kings in 164 games and 841 runs in 29 games for Gujarat Lions).David Warner (4,793 runs in 129 matches) and Shikhar Dhawan (4,648 runs in 162 matches) complete the top five.

Mississippi, Oct 2 (IANS) Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri has maintained his rich vein of form to shoot a flawless 6-under 66 at the Sanderson Farms Championship for tied seventh place, two off the lead, after the opening round.

Four players -- Charley Hoffman, Kevin Chappell, Jimmy Walker and defending champion Sebastian Munoz -- carded matching 64s to share

the early lead on Thursday.Lahiri hit 15 greens in regulation and converted birdie putts on Hole Nos. 3, 7, 10, 12, 14 and 15. Riding a hot putter, he drained putts of 24 feet on the seventh hole and from 32 feet on the 12th hole.“Obviously confidence is up. I feel like I’m playing really well. I like this golf course. Last year was my first time here, and I really like the way it sets up. It reminds me a lot of the

tracks I grew up playing in Asia. Conditions were great and I enjoyed myself out there,” said Lahiri, who finished T45 last season.The 33-year-old enjoyed a first top-10 in nearly two years at last week’s Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship and carried his new-found confidence to this week’s PGA Tour stop at Country Club of Jackson by firing six birdies against no bogeys.For nearly two

years, Lahiri failed to produce his ‘A’ game but the Tour’s enforced three-month shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic proved to be a blessing in disguise. He spent over a month with his coach Vijay Divecha in India where they dismantled his game and rebuilt the swing to ensure the key fundamentals that helped him win seven times on the Asian Tour previously remained intact.

SAI opens up Karni Singh Range, approves camp for Olympic probables

Paris, Oct 2 (IANS) World No. 1 Novak Djokovic cruised into the third round of the ongoing French Open after defeating Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis in straight sets.

On Thursday, the Serbian beat Berankis 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 23 minutes to improve his 2020 record to 33-1.

This was Djokovic’s 70th win at the Roland Garros, moving him into a tie for second-most all-time alongside Roger Federer. Only Spain’s Rafael Nadal (95) has more wins.

“Of course, winning that many matches on each Slam is a great achievement, and of course it makes me proud, makes me happy,” Djokovic

said after the match as per the official tournament website.“I always aim to play my best tennis in Grand Slams. I think Federer, Nadal, the biggest players in the last 10, 15 years, aim to always play their best in slams,” he added.

The world number will aim to get past Federer when he meets Colombian lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan in the next round.

“I don’t know much about him, to be honest. I have never seen him play, so I’ll have to obviously look at his matches, the videos, and try to prepare myself with my team,” Djokovic said. “It’s always dangerous facing opponents you never faced before.”

Berlin, Oct 2 (IANS) Joshua Kimmich scored a late winner as he helped Bayern Munich beat a resilient Borussia Dortmund 3-2 to clinch the 21st edition of the German Super Cup.On Wednesday, there was a sense of urgency about both teams in seeking to make amends early on as they both lost in the Bundesliga at the weekend. They exchanged half-

chances in the first quarter of an hour, with Kimmich testing Marwin Hitz with a header and Marco Reus firing into the side netting, before Corentin Tolisso opened the scoring following a swift counter-attack, finishing on the rebound from close range after his initial shot had been saved by Hitz in the 18th minute.Thomas Muller then doubled the lead with a well-

placed header at the back post in the 32nd minute, but Julian Brandt kept Dortmund in the game just before half-time, drilling in a superb shot past Manuel Neuer seven minutes later.In the second half, Dortmund came out all guns blazing and scored their second goal in the 55 minute as Haaland overcame Neuer with a well-placed shot following Thomas Delaney’s

perfectly timed through-ball.The match appeared to be heading for a draw until Kimmich scored the goal in the 82nd minute and won the match for Bayern.The result means Bayern have now won five trophies in the last couple of months, adding the Supercup to their Bundesliga, DFB Cup, Champions League and UEFA Super Cup titles.

Bengaluru, Oct 2 (IANS) Indian women’s hockey team midfielder Monika believes the team is slowly getting back into the groove by carrying out their sports activities during the national camp as part of their preparations for the Tokyo Olympics which has now been scheduled for next year due to Covid-19 pandemic.

“It has definitely helped us immensely to raise our intensity once we were back on the field for our preparations for the Olympics,” she added.The midfielder, who has played 150 matches for India, has been part of many important moments for the Indian team such as the gold medal victory at the Women’s Series Finals Hiroshima 2019 and the silver medal-winning

campaign at the Asian Games in 2018.

However, the 26-year-old has always set her eyes on winning an Olympic medal as her ultimate target.“We have done well in many competitions in the last few years, but the Olympics has always been the biggest stage for me. We have to do everything we can to win a medal for India,” Monika said.

“We are very lucky that Hockey India and SAI have taken care of all the precautions that need to be taken during this time so that we can focus on our ultimate target with nothing else on our minds,” she added.

The 26-year-old further said that the members of the Indian team have grown closer to each other since they have spent a lot of time in the SAI campus.

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) The Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Thursday said that it has approved the request for opening training facilities at the Karni Singh Shooting Range here for national squad shooters from October 5.

While the range had already opened up for the core Olympic probables, SAI said that 64 additional shooters would be provided ammunition and targets at government expense.

In addition to the core group, which was revealed by the National Rifles Association of India (NRAI) in June, athletes included in the developmental group and Khelo India shooters

were also training at the Range.SAI also confirmed that it has

agreed in principal with the NRAI to hold a separate camp for shooters who are in the mix for the Tokyo Olympics. “However, considering the prevailing

extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, the details of the camp are being worked out in consultation with all the stakeholders,” it said.

“In light of the present quarantine requirements of 7 days, especially when shooter/support staff would be travelling from various part of the country, holding a short camp of 10 days for shotgun was not considered prudent.

In addition, measures for implementing quarantine process for shooters accommodated at the hotel vis-a-vis the shooters travelling from homes residing in NCR are being worked out.”

Dubai, Oct 2 (IANS) India have overtaken New Zealand to grab the third spot in the ICC women’s team rankings for T20Is after the annual rankings update carried out on Friday.The rankings table sees Australia and England retain the top two positions, their points tally remaining 291 and 280, respectively. India, who made the final of this year’s Women’s

T20 World Cup in March, have overtaken the White Ferns, in what is the only change in the top 15 of the 56-team list.In ODIs, six-time World Cup champions and winners of both editions of the ICC Women’s Championship, Australia’s stellar display during the rating period saw them win 20 of 21 ODIs, increasing their tally by eight points to 160 and because of

that they have maintained their top position.Their massive lead of 39 points over second-placed India is the largest by any team (men or women) in any form of the game. It comes on the back of 3-0 series wins over India, Pakistan, New Zealand, England, West Indies, Sri Lanka and an earlier 2-1 win over England at the start of the ICC Women’s Championship.

Sanderson Farms C’ship: Lahiri continues to hit form with opening 66

Dubai, Oct 2 (IANS) Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni on Friday broke his teammate Suresh Raina's all-time record of most appearances in the IPL -- 193 matches -- as he played his 194th game, against SunRisers Hyderabad at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium here.Dhoni, 39, retired from international cricket in

August. And Raina, 33, opted out of the present tournament due to "personal reasons".The two senior pros have played for CSK since the first IPL editon in 2008, with the exception of two seasons in 2016 and 2017, when CSK was suspended by the Supreme Court in a betting-fixing scandal. Dhoni represneted Rising Pune

SuperGiant and Raina played for Gujarat Lions in those two years.While the pair was expected to be reunited this season, Raina pulled out of the tournament after travelling with the team to the UAE.Dhoni's tally of 194 matches is also the most appearances made by any player for any T20 franchise around the world.

DJOKOVIC TIES FEDERER WITH #"TH

WIN AT ROLAND GARROS

AHEAD OF I-LEAGUE QUALIFIERS, TWO PLAYERS TEST COVID POSITIVE

We have to do everything we can to win medal in

Tokyo, says Monika"We are slowly getting back into the groove by carrying out our sports activities. It was

imperative for us that we focused on our fitness when we were away from the pitch during the

lockdown," said Monika.

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) One player each from FC Bengaluru United and Bhawanipore FC tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the I-League Qualifiers slated to begin next week.

The qualifiers are slated to kick-off on October 8 where five teams will play in a round-robin format and face each other once.

Matches are slated to take place at the VYBK Stadium in Kolkata and Kalyani Stadium till October 19. Apart from FC Bengaluru United and Bhawanipore FC, ARA FC, Garhwal FC and Mohammedan SC are the other three teams which will battle it out for a direct entry in the I-League."The All India

Football Federation (AIFF) in close coordination with the Indian Football Association and competent medical authorities are conducting regular COVID-19 tests on all participating officials, players and support staff for the forthcoming Hero

I-League Qualifiers slated to kick-off in Kolkata on October 8, 2020," an AIFF statement read on Thursday."It is to be notified that one player each from FC Bengaluru United and Bhawanipore FC have tested positive," it informed.

The statement added that all appropriate medical support was being given to the teams, and the players who tested positive are under medical supervision in a quarantined environment as required by the safety measures and COVID-19 protocols put in place for the tournament.

Ahead of I-League Qualifiers, two players test Covid positive

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Saturday, October 3, 2020 !"

Bollywood icon Amitabh Bach-chan is among

the most comfort-able superstars to work with, says Priya Patil, his stylist on Kaun Banega Crore-pati.Talking about Bachchan's prefer-ences when it comes to clothing, Priya said: "The format of the show (KBC) is that it is an evening show and we have been using the three-piece suits for the last three years. He carries it well, so that remains the same. This season, I am following deep

ANIL KAPOOR'S RUMMY CONFESSION: DON'T KNOW HOW TO HOLD THE CARDS RIGHT

ISHAAN KHATTER : FITNESS IS A PASSION OF MINE ILEANA D'CRUZ :

I'VE STOPPED TRYING HARD

TO FIT IN

Actress Ileana DCruz has made a candid confes-sion on social media,

with a monochrome picture she posted on Instagram where she strikes a pose in bikini.Alongside the image, she wrote: "I've always worried about how I looked.

I've worried my hips are too wide, my thighs too wobbly, my waist not narrow enough, my tummy not fl at enough, my boobs not big enough, my butt too big, my arms too jiggly, nose not straight enough, lips not full enough…

I've worried that I'm not tall enough, not pretty enough, not funny enough, not smart enough, not 'perfect' enough."She tagged herself as "beautifully fl awed".

"Not realising I was never meant to be perfect. I was meant to be beautifully fl awed. Different. Quirky. Unique.

Every scar, every bump, every 'fl aw' just made me, me. My own kind of beautiful," she said.Ileana said that she has stopped trying to fi t in.

"That's why I've stopped. Stopped trying to conform to the world's ideals of what's meant to be beautiful. I've stopped trying so hard to fi t in. Why should I?? When I was born to stand out," she said.

This is not the fi rst time Ileana has spoken about self love. Recently, she urged everyone to make themselves their priority number one.

IANS

AKSHAY KUMAR HEADS HOME AFTER WRAPPING 'BELL BOTTOM' SHOOT IN UK

Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar is headed home after

wrapping up the shoot of his upcoming fi lm, Bell Bottom, in the United Kingdom.

The actor posted on his verifi ed Twitter account on Friday to share the news with fans, calling it a fruitful schedule.

"Mission accomplished! After a long but fruit-ful schedule, grateful to

have shot and completed #Bellbottom during the pandemic ! Now its time to head back #JetSetGo," Akshay Kumar tweeted on Friday.

He also shared a beau-tiful photograph from the airport where he can be seen posing in front of an aircraft along with the fi lm's actress Vaani Ka-poor. The fi lm was being shot in Glasgow, Scotland.Commenting on Akshay's

tweet, Huma Qureshi, who also features in the fi lm, wrote: "Yaay! Last days to wear warm hoodies al-ready.. come back to apna desh now #Bellbottom."

Directed by Ranjit M. Tewari, "Bell Bottom" stars Akshay Kumar alongside Vaani Kapoor, Huma Qureshi and Lara Dutta. The spy thriller fi lm is slated to release on April 2, 2021.

IANS

Today on the occasi-son of Gandhi Jay-anti, let's take a trip

down memory lane and talk about what is prob-ably one the most iconic

fi lms in Bollywood. It's none other than 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai'.The fi lm starred Sanjay Dutt in the lead along with Arshad Warsi and Vidya Balan

and immediately won the hearts of everyone with its slice of life content.

Sanjay Dutt even shared a video from the film to mark Gandhi

Ji's birthday and wrote, `Happy Birthday Bapu! #GandhiJayanti`

The actor has given some memorable perfor-mances over the years be

it funny or grey, Sanjay Dutt has nailed each proj-ect that he has taken up and will be seen in a series of fi lms in the future.

IANS

'Happy Birthday Bapu', shares Sanjay Dutt on Gandhi

Jayanti with a video from ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’

Veteran actor Anil Ka-poor recently had a session of rummy

with his family, and later had a confession to make.

In recent Instagram photos he has posted, Kapoor plays cards with his mother, wife and sister. In the caption, he reveals he does not know how to hold cards after all these years!

"Playing mum's fa-vourite card game... it's rummy time! It's been so many years and I still don't know how to hold the cards right," he ad-mitted in the caption.The actor's wife Sunita Kapoor, too, shared

the pictures from their game."Family that plays rummy together stays to-gether," she wrote.A few days ago, Kapoor penned

an emotional post on his mother's birthday, shar-ing how his mother still takes care of everyone in the family."Mothers

always surprise us with their inner strength and selfl ess love they have for their children and as you become a parent your-self, you realise so much more…. in this lockdown, my mom has been tough as a rock and she was still not thinking about herself but concerned and wor-ried about us…

love you mum you are the best mummy in the world… Happy birthday," he had posted.Anil Kapoor will next be seen in Karan Johar's multistarrer his-torical drama, "Takht". He is also a part of the digital fi lm, "AK vs AK."

IANS

Ahead of the release of Khaali Peeli, actor Ishaan Khatter opened

up about the fitness regime he followed to get in shape for his role in the film.From yoga to weight training and dance, Ishaan tried out various fit-ness regimes to keep fit for the romantic action drama.

"We would train 12 to 14 hours a day for six days a week, and sometimes all seven.

I tried barre work, yoga, gym-nastics and rope mallakhamb. I took it very seriously. I defi nitely was 10 times fi tter by the end of it! I went all out in terms of my diet," recalled Ishaan.

"It was the fi rst time I incor-porated weights as a regular and central part of my routine. It all starts and ends with the mind," he shared.According to Ishaan, dance is the best way to burn calories."I tried different styles of dance. I started the day with basic ballet. Dancing is pure joy. It's always going to be the easiest way to burn calories, but dance so much more than fi tness for

me. Fitness is co-related but is, in a way, a separate passion of mine," he added."Early on, I remember being outdoors a lot and playing games in the society with other kids.

At some point I got more into sports. Dancing was always second nature and eventually turned into a major passion by the time I was a teenager," Ishaan continued.

IANS

JACQUELINE FERNANDEZ : STRONG IS THE NEW PRETTY

colours like black, wine, purple because Mr. Bachchan likes to keep it classy and knows how to carry it off. So, the attire is going to be consistent.""Mr. Bachchan is one of the most comfortable superstars to work with. He is always open to trying new things. When I had introduced him to the tie idea last year, he accepted the theme and I garnered appre-ciation from many other people,

too. This year I am using collar pins and brooches and again, he has been open about it," she added.She feels that Bachchan is "such a style icon, whatever he wears, becomes a trend," and adds: "He is a legend, really".The 12th season of Kaun Banega Crorepati will premiere on Monday, on Sony Entertainment Television.

IANS

SALMAN KHAN SHARES A SNEAK PEEK OF BIGG BOSS !# GRAND PREMIERE SET AHEAD OF ITS LAUNCH!

Salman Khan is ready to come up with India's most contro-

versial reality show, 'Bigg Boss 14'. Salman who has been primarily hosting the Bigg Boss since 2006 is yet to come up with its season 14 and it has been said that this season would be different from its previous season amid the Corona-virus pandemic.

During the Colors chan-nel virtual press confer-ence, it has been already disclosed that previous year winner Sidharth Shukla and former con-testants Hina Khan and Gauahar Khan will be part of the show for only two weeks. But recently the offi cial Instagram handle of Colors has shared a glimpse of god woman 'Radhe Maa', that is quite interesting.Salman Khan posted a picture of him-self on Instagram while

sporting a black attire and matching face mask.

He can be seen posing on the brand new set of the Bigg Boss and cap-tioned it, "#BiggBoss14 coming to you this week-end...." Fans also reacted to his post and dropped comments like 'So excited', 'Love you Bhai', and 'Waiting for BB!'

Bigg Boss 14 will pre-miere on Saturday at 9 pm where all the contes-tants will be unveiled by the host Salman Khan. Salman Khan has already revealed the name of singer Kumar Sanu's son Jaan Kumar Sanu as the first contestant on the show. Apart from this it is speculated that Pavitra Punia and singer Rahul Vaidya, Jasmin Bhasin, Rubina Dilaik, Sara Gurpal will be the part of the show.

IANS

Bhumi Pednekar: I have to use my voice to educate people about climate change

Actress Bhumi Pednekar, who has taken up the cause of climate conserva-

tion to raise awareness among fellow Indians, says she wants to use her voice to bring about pos-itive change."I always had this fear," she claimed, recalling how concerned she always was about the environment, even as a child.

"It started from my child-hood. 'What would happen to this world when the water dries up?' That was the fi rst question in my head. So, I started read-ing up on climate change," she recalled."I have always been conscious, and I tried to have a sustainable style of living, espe-

cially since I became an adult. But then I realised I wasn't really doing enough and that's when I started Climate Warrior," she declared.Bhumi's online and of-fl ine initiative Climate Warrior is an initiative to mobilise citizens of India to contribute towards protecting the environment.

The initiative has turned a year old.She wants to use her fame to educate people about climate change."I have become an actor. I have the power to reach out to so many people and I have always tried doing that through my cinema. I have to use my voice, my social me-dia platforms to bring about

positive change in the world and educate people about cli-mate change," she said.Bhumi feels every individual must par-ticipate in raising community awareness about environ-ment protection."When we speak about love for our family, when we speak about love for our na-tion, do we actually mean all this be-cause we should be doing more to pro-tect our families and our nation and our future generations.

IANS