PNS n HYDERABAD

Pledging his government's fullsupport to the family ofColonel Santosh Babu, killed inthe clash with Chinese troops,Telangana Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao onMonday visited the bereavedmembers and handed overcheques for Rs five crore ex-gratia announced by him.

Rao met the family mem-bers at their residence atSuryapet town, about 130 kmsfrom here, consoled them andhailed the supreme sacrifice ofSantosh in the service of thenation besides handing overthe appointment letter to hiswife for a state government job

in top rank, an official releasesaid here.

The 39-year old colonelwas among 20 Indian soldierswho were ki l led in theGalwan Valley in easternLadakh on June 15 during aviolent clash with Chinesetroops in the biggest militaryconfrontation in over fivedecades.

Soon after reaching thehouse of Santosh, Rao paid flo-ral tributes to a portrait of the

martyred officer and consoledhis wife Santoshi, parentsUpender and Manjula andothers, the release said.

The CM also spoke toSantosh's young children, itsaid.

Rao expressed his anguishover the Army officers deathand assured to stand by thefamily as he told them theycould contact him wheneverthey needed any help.

HYDERABAD, TUESDAY JUNE 23, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

}

RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

Established 1864Published From

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*LATE CITY VOL. 2 ISSUE 253*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

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MONEY 8WORLD SHARES SLIP AS GLOBAL

VIRUS TALLY APPROACHES 9 MILLION

ANALYSIS 7NECESSITY SPAWNS

INVENTION

SPORTS 12PUJARA HITS NETS WITH

SAURASHTRA MATES

Exports improving,down by about 10-12 pc so far in June:Goyal

8

2

5

Modi has mas-tered the art ofusing tech toreach out

‘Why Is China Praising PM?’

Page 11

MANISHA KOIRALAMULLS OVER NEPAL'S

FUTURE, FACESTWITTER FLAK

2 2

2

{MAHA CORONA CASES SPIKE BY3,721 TO 1,35,796; 62 MORE DIE

MUKESH AMBANI JOINS CLUB OF WORLD'S10 RICHEST PEOPLE, TAKES 9TH SPOT

The net worth of Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd.,has jumped to $64.5 billion, making him the only Asian tycoon

in the exclusive club of the world's top 10 richest people,according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He overtookLarry Ellison of Oracle Corp. and France's FrancoiseBettencourt Meyers, the wealthiest woman, to reach the No.9 spot. Ambani, who owns 42 per cent of Reliance, hasbenefited from a flurry of investment into thecompany's digital unit, Jio Platforms Ltd., thatReliance said has made it net-debt free ahead ofa March 2021 target.

With addition of 3,721 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, Maharashtra'stotal count has risen to 1,35,796, a Health official said. With 62 more

people succumbing to the infection, the number of fatalities has gone upto 6,283, he said. A total of 1,962 patients were discharged in the day,taking the number of the recovered cases to 67,706,the official said. The number of active cases undertreatment now stands at 61,793 in the state.Maharashtra COVID-19 figures are as follows:positive cases 1,35,796, new cases 3,721, deaths6,283, persons discharged 67,706, active cases61,793, people tested so far 7,87,419.

US President Donald Trump's plan to restrict employment-based visascould affect an estimated 240,000 people seeking to work in the US acrossindustries from technology to finance and hospitality. Trump said in a FoxNews interview Saturday that he will announce new restrictionson various work visas Sunday or Monday. The plan won'taffect certain workers who are already in the US, he added.There will be very few exclusions, Trump said, when askedabout upcoming rules on several different visa categories,including the H-1B program for high-skilled workers, the L-1program for managers transferring within their companies,and H-2B visas for non-agricultural temporary workers.

TRUMP TO ORDER NEW H-1B VISA CURBSIN A PLAN THAT MAY AFFECT 2,40,000

The Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra has pausedthree projects signed with Chinese companies days after the India-

China clash at Ladakh in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed. Theprojects, with proposed investments worth over Rs5,000 crore, were finalised at the recent "MagneticMaharashtra 2.0" investor meet held just before theborder fight. "Yes, the decision was taken afterconsulting the centre. We have put the projects onhold and are waiting for further directives from thecentre," Maharashtra Industry MinisterSubhash Desai said.

MAHARASHTRA PAUSES 3 CHINESEPROJECTS DAYS AFTER LADAKH CLASH

HHYYDDEERRAABBAADDWWEEAATTHHEERR

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated June 22, 2020 5:00 PM

AALLMMAANNAACC

TODAY

Month & Paksham:

Ashadha & Shukla Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Dwitiya: 11:18 am

Nakshatram:Punarvasu: 01:33 pm

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 03:34 pm – 05:11 pm

Yamagandam: 09:02 am – 10:40 am

Varjyam: 09:25 pm – 10:59 pm

Gulika: 12:18 pm - 01:56 pm

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 11:08 am – 12:44 pm

Abhijit Muhurtham: 11:52 am – 12:44 pm

FFoorreeccaasstt:: HazeTTeemmpp:: 31/24HHuummiiddiittyy:: 6666%SSuunnrriissee:: 05.43 amSSuunnsseett:: 06.53 pm

PNS n HYDERABAD

Allaying fears stoked by a 'fake'survey, the TS government onMonday denied suggestionsthat the state faces the secondhighest risk of communitytransmission of Covid-19 inthe country, after Delhi.

The survey in question,attributed to India in Pixels,claimed that, at 122 per centTelangana is in high risk zone,next only to New Delhi, whichtops the list at 143 per cent.The survey, reportedly basedon data harvested by AarogyaSetu app, claims to have deter-mined the levels of risk ofcommunity transmission invarious states, includingMaharashtra (65%), TamilNadu (38%) and AndhraPradesh (8%).

Describing the study as'plain mischief ', the TelanganaHealth Department issued astatement, saying, "This is com-plete misinterpretation of data

and not a true reflection of thesituation on ground."

"The formula behind this

infographic is the creation of aprivate person who is neithera doctor nor an expert. It is

neither a scientific formulanor issued by the Government.

KCR trying hard to pay fullsalaries, pensions this month

L VENKAT RAM REDDYn HYDERABAD

After having paid truncatedsalaries and pensions for threeconsecutive months, theTelangana State government ismulling to pay full amounts to itsemployees and retired staff inJuly.

As things stand, the govern-ment requires about Rs 3,500crore to pay salaries and pen-sions in full. So, the govern-ment has decided to auctionbonds to raise Rs 2,000 croreadditionally on June 23. Therest -- Rs 1,500 crore may beadjusted from its ownresources.

The TS government has

already raised Rs 12,000 crorethrough auctions of bondswithin three months this fiscal2020-21 --from April-June.The fresh auction would takethe total amount raised to Rs14,000 crore.

The TS government is eligi-ble to auction bonds worth Rs15,000 crore for this entire fis-cal. Thus, it is already just Rs1,000 crore short of reachingthe ceiling.

TS rejects ‘fake’ survey oncommunity transmissionn Arogya Setu app is not used by everyone; numbers are misleading

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana Institute ofMedical Sciences and Research(TIMS) will be inauguratedwithin a week, Health MinisterEatala Rajender declared onMonday. He said that ProfVimala Thomas has beenappointed as the officiatinghead.

Minister Rajender issued anumber of directions duringa review with the officials ofthe Ministry of Health at theFamily Welfare Office in VengalRao Nagar. He ordered that

50% of the staff at TIMS shouldbe engaged on a weekly basis onrotation and theyshould be availablein three shifts.

Eatala said thatthe governmentlabs were able toperform 2,290tests per day

so far.

He announced that in anoth-er week, the state will be able toincrease testing capacity by 4,310tests, thus being in a position toconduct 6,600 tests perday.Eatala said "the Center is justclapping hands without fundingin the control of coronaviruspandemic. So far, only 214

crores has been released bythe Centre, he said.

He said that itwas shameful tostage dharnas infront of the hospi-tal for politicalreasons.

Centre confined to clapping andlighting lamps, Eatala ridicules

Doctor succumbsto Covid-19PNS n HYDERABAD

In a first in TS, a Hyderabad-based doctor succumbed tocoronavirus on Monday. The70-year-old doctor,Gnanaeshwar, who had beenrunning a private clinic inKhairatabad for over adecade, was reportedlyadmitted to KIMS on June 16with high fever.

As he tested positive forcoronavirus, he was shiftedto Gandhi Hospital on 20June. The doctor had comor-bidities, including hyperten-sion.

The official announcementregarding the death of thedoctor has raised a controver-sy as the time of his death wasmentioned as 4:23 pm onJune 22, though the docu-ments were released in themorning on Monday. Thefamily declared that the doc-tor succumbed to the virus at8:00 pm on Sunday.

More than 100 doctorshave tested positive forCOVID-19 so far inHyderabad.

CM KCR visits family of martyredColonel; Hands over Rs 5 cr cheques

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Covid-19 caseload in TSseems to be mounting unabat-edly, with 872 people testingpositive for coronavirus onMonday. This biggest-eversingle-day spike of coron-avirus cases takes the state’scount to 8,674.

As many as 713 of thefresh cases werereported inGHMC area,while 107 casesis a new highfor Ranga-reddy district.Among thosewho tested pos-itive is a GHMCcorporator and 4 ofher srelatives. Twelveout of 33 districts in the statereported cases on Monday.

The state had recorded thehighest single-day surge onSunday with 730 coronaviruscases. Monday also witnessed

seven new fatal-ities, pushing the

state’s death toll to217.

In all, 3,189 samples weretested on Monday, taking thetotal figure of tests to 60,243.There are 4,452 active cases inTelangana and 4,005 peoplehave been discharged.

872 cases in a day,panic mounts in State

In-charge VC rule 11 universities in TelanganaPNS n HYDERABAD

Four months have elapsed sinceChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao proddedthe authorities on the pressingneed to appoint regular ViceChancellors to universitiesbeing run by in-charge VCs.On February 19 this year, theChief Minister specifically askedofficials to come up with namesby constituting search com-mittees. The universities werealso advised to constitute theExecutive Committees prior to

the appointment of VCs. TheChief Minister wanted thewhole process to be completedin two or four weeks. Still, 11universities in Telangana are stilllanguishing under in-chargevice-chancellors, who are seenmore as lame ducks than asheads of institutions.

Eleven of the 15 universitiesin the state are under the con-trol of the EducationDepartment. The 11 varsitiesare being administered by in-charge VCs since the RGUKTwas sanctioned to Telangana at

Basara. The SatavahanaUniversity has been adminis-tered by in-charge VC for thepast three years.

The Mahatma GandhiUniversity has been under thecontrol of in-charge VC sinceJune 30 last year. Likewise,Osmania, Kakatiya, Telangana,Palamuru, JNTU, PottiSriramulu Telugu universityand Dr BR Ambedkar OpenUniversities have been runningunder the aegis of in-chargeVCs since July 24.

Disinformation no substitutefor leadership: Manmohan

All SSC studentspromoted in TSPNS n HYDERABAD

The TS Board of SecondaryEducation (BSE) announcedSSC results on Monday.

In a statement, EducationMinister Sabita Indra Reddymentioned that all studentswho had registered for theMarch 2020 SSC PublicExamination were declaredsuccessful in view of the coro-navirus crisis. The grades ofSSC students have beenfinalised. The results wereuploaded onto the board's web-site www.bse.telangana.gov.inon Monday at 3-00 pm.

In all, 5,34,903 studentswere declared passed andtheir grades decided on thebasis of marks obtained dur-ing internal assessment.

51 L farmers get Rs 5,295 cr Rythu Bandhu PNS n HYDERABAD

Agriculture Minister SNiranjan Reddy said onMonday that Rs 5,294.53 crorehad been credited to the bankaccounts of 50.84 lakh farmerswith the help of new technol-ogy. Also, 63,477 RoFR(Recognition of Forest Rights)Agency Area pattadar farmersreceived Rs 82.37 crore intotheir bank accounts.

About 5 lakh farmers wereyet to give their bank accountdetails. So, Agriculture

Extension Officers had beenasked to credit the amount tothese farmers' bank accounts as

and when details were received. All farmers who had

received pattadar passbooks up

to June 16 were eligible toderive benefits under RythuBandhu scheme, the Ministersaid. The government has allo-cated Rs 14,000 crore to extendinput subsidy to farmers underRythu Bandhu during Kharifand Rabi. Telangana was theonly state to lend every supportto the farmer, he said.

The pro-farmer policies ofthe K Chandrasekhar Rao gov-ernment had been serving asexamples for the whole coun-try to emulate.

Telangana Governor Tamilisai participated in a video conference interacting withPalamuru University academicians and administrators on Monday.

n Lines up auction of bonds on June 23 to raise Rs 2,000 crn To adjust another Rs 1,500 crore from its own resources

Government hasdecided to auctionbonds to raise Rs2,000 croreadditionally onJune 23. The rest --Rs 1,500 crore maybe adjusted fromits own resources.

The state hadrecorded the highestsingle-day surge onSunday with 730coronavirus cases.Monday alsowitnessed seven

new fatalities inthe last,

pushing thestate’sdeath tollto 217.

AgricultureExtension Officershad been asked tocredit the amountto these farmers'bank accounts asand when detailswere received.

KCR expressed his anguish over the Armyofficers death and assured to stand by thefamily as he told them they could contacthim whenever they needed any help

2

2

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Congress and the BJP onMonday engaged in a bitterverbal duel over the govern-ment's handling of the Ladakhstand-off with China, afteropposition party leaderManmohan Singh said disin-formation is no substitute fordecisive leadership and askedthe Prime Minister to bemindful of the implications ofhis words, drawing the ire of

the ruling party, which accusedSingh of "abjectly surrender-ing" hundreds of square kilo-metres of India's land to China.

22

713 in GHMC and 107 in RR district

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao handed over to martyred Col Santosh's wife Santoshi her appointment letter and otherdocuments in Suryapet on Monday.

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(IN HYDERABAD)

If anyone fails to notice thedifference in the wayJawaharlal Nehru respond-

ed to the Sino-Indian conflictin 1962 and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s response tothe recent clashes at the bor-der, they should be regardedas fools who do not travel withtime.

Leaders of yore compro-mised on various issues andwere keen on grabbing powerfreeing India from the BritishRule. They also were keen tointroduce politics of heredityin the country.

The short-sighted leaderswere power hungry, but didnot exhibit the yearning toprotect the sovereignty andfrontiers of the country andthe dignity of its people.

People should be shocked atNehru’s response to Chinaoccupying Aksai Chin area inLadakh in 1961. During adebate on the issue in theRajya Sabha on December 5,1961, Nehru said that theAksai Chin was the placewhere even grass does notgrow and people would notreside at the height of 17,000feet above sea level.

Responding to Nehru’s con-tention, member of theConstituent AssemblyMahavir Tyagi, showing hisbald head, said “Here, hairdoes not grow. On that score,can anybody say that the headhas no value at all?”

In fact, Sardar Patel, whowas responsible for merger ofover 562 Princely States withthe Union of India, hadwarned Nehru not to walkinto the trap set by China.

He warned Nehru, who byvirtue of his Panchsheel doc-trine was complacent thatChina would not harm India,that China would make Indiabelieve that it is peace-lovingcountry. Nehru was limited towriting letters to China.

Jana Sangh founder ShyamaPrasad Mukerji also pointedout Nehru’s blunders longback; Nehru remaining pas-sive to China encroachingTibet and India ordering uni-lateral ceasefire in Kashmir toallow Pakistan occupy a partof it.

He protested against onenation and two Constitutionspolicy of the country andentered Kashmir in 1953. TheGovernment put him in cus-tody where he breathed hislast. Atal Behari Vajpayeealleged conspiracy by Nehruin the death of Mukerji. Byrejected a probe, Nehru con-firmed Vajpayee’s contention.

As warned by ShyamaPrasad Mukerji, China did notstop at encroaching Tibet andwent on to occupy AksaiChin.

As Nehru was dilly-dallying

to take action, in 1961 Chineseforces marched 70 km west ofTibet to occupy Sinkiang. InOctober 1962, the Chineseforces removed the Indianborder post at Dhola andentered the North EastFrontier Agency region andlater the forces enteredBombdila in ArunachalPradesh.

As a result, Nehru gotGeneral Thapar to resign andshifted Krishna Menon, whowas Defence Minister.Nobody could predict themarch of China into the coun-

try. There was none to resist. The Indian Army went up

to Assam and started return-ing. Nehru in a radio messagesaid that his heart went out forthe people of Assam. As luckwould have it, China withdrewits forces behind the LACobserving ceasefire. The peo-ple of Assam realised thatNehru left then in the lurch.

Because of Nehru’s policies,

Pakistan occupied apart of Kashmir.After the 1962war withIndia, Chinareached a borderagreement withPakistan and occu-pied a part of the PoK.

But today’s India is differentfrom India of 1962.

Modi was not born whenIndia became Independent. Atthe age of eight, he became amember of the RSS andimbibed patriotism. That waswhy, ever since he became thePM he tried to set the wrongscommitted by previousregimes.

The whole world approvedwhen Modi scrapped Article370.

The credit for teaching abefitting lesson to Pakistanand making it stand guilty ofpromoting terrorism in frontof the world goes to Modi.

Today, China would not beable to encroach India as it didin 1962. Then India has not

updated its weaponry.Today, India’s comes

third after the USAand China in termsof defence spending.

Indian forces areequipped with the state-of-

the-art weaponry. India isbattle ready engaging Pakistanarmy at the international bor-der. However, China’s battlereadiness is under questionsince it did not engage itself inany war after the 1979 warwith Vietnam.

Both India and China havenuclear weapons. Therefore,China would not be able tohazard a misadventure.

Support for China is on thewane with each passing day. Itsimage has completely tar-nished after the Covid-19pandemic.

All super powers across theglobe are extending the handof friendship to India.

To achieve the objective tofinding a place for India in thecomity of the nations, Moditried to convert diplomatic ties

as economic ties. He also heldmeeting with head of China atWuhan and Mamallapuram.

At the same time, Modi hassent the message that he is nota weak leader like Nehru andwould not keep mum if India’scapacities are underestimated.

In Doklam, China under-took construction in India-Bhutan-China junction.

But Indian Army crossedthe LAC and resisted China.Col Santosh Babu and otherjawans were martyred dri-ving away the Chinese forcesin Galwan valley. At the sametime, Indian forces killedmany Chinese soldiers.

“Our soldiers died chasingaway enemy forces and did notsurrender even one post toChina,” declared Modi at theall-party meeting.

The morale of theOpposition parties that hith-erto surrendered to the rivalsat the cost of sovereignty of thecountry dipped at the roar ofModi.

To cover up their lapses,they resorted to a maliciouscampaign against Modi. Theyshould know what would hap-pen if they were to spit on Sun.

Y SATYA KUMAR

BJP National Secretary

TRULY

SPEAKING

CHINA KNOWS IT CANNOT TOY WITH MODIPeople should be shocked at Nehru’sresponse to China occupying Aksai Chinarea in Ladakh in 1961. During a debate onthe issue in the Rajya Sabha on December 5,1961, Nehru said that the Aksai Chin wasthe place where even grass does not growand people would not reside at the height of17,000 feet above sea level

PV KONDAL RAO

n WARANGAL

The people in rural areas in thedistricts are in the grip ofCoronavirus fear as the posi-tive cases are increasing man-ifold in the state. Especially,after Hyderabad, Jangaon dis-trict witnessed rise in numberof positive cases.

Though the numbers ofcases have not increased in theWarangal urban and otherareas, the case of a fertilizerdealer and his family testingpositive for Corona is sendingjitters among the farm sector.

Initially Jangaon was neveran epicentre of the Coronapositive cases and cases wereevident in Warangal urbanand Bhupalpalli districts. Therewere cases of home quarantinein Veldanda village of Jangaondistrict as a primary contactfrom the Markaz sold muttonthrough his shop to the vil-lagers. However, that episodehas not created any seriousrepercussions in the district asthe first phase occurrencesflared up during the seriouslockdown time.

The fresh phase of 'commu-nity transmission' was ofcourse evident in the farm sec-tor and if the number of casesincreases with the extendedtesting process, the fear ofcommunity transmissionwould spread its tentacles inthe next week or so.

The fear of this is sendingshivers down the spine of thepeople and other businessestablishments in the semi

urban parts of the region. Thesemi urban areas and mandaland revenue division head-quarters of Jangaon districthave been taking necessaryprecautions and in certainparts connecting the ruralareas, the village publicannouncement systems arewarning citizens withoutmasks and other precautionsfacing the threat of fines.

Though the Suryapet districthas also witnessed a similarkind of 'community transmis-sion' in the first phase lock-down, meticulous efforts fromthe concerned officials haveenabled the region overcomethe threat of pandemic.Though the district is some-what free from Corona, theadjacent areas like Aler inYadadri district are leaving nostone unturned to overcomethe threat.

It may be recalled thatTelangana on Sunday record-

ed the steepest jump in the sin-gle day Covid-19 cases with asmany as 730 people testingpositive for the virus.Telangana was one of the firststates to impose the lockdownand kept things largely undercontrol with strict enforce-ment. However, the surge afterthe relaxation in the lock-down upset all its calcula-tions.

The officials in the healthdepartment point out thatevery time the government feltthat it had contained thespread, a new problemcropped up.

In the initial phase, it wasthe arrival of people fromabroad which kept the author-ities on tenterhooks. By screen-ing the passengers at the air-port, testing those with sus-pected symptoms and by send-ing others to quarantine, theauthorities were able to keepthings under control.

TS districts in grip of Corona fear

PNS n MANCHERIAL

Government Whip andChennur MLA Balka Sumaninstructed the officials to expe-dite developmental works inthe district. He was speaking ata review meeting with officialsconcerned on TelanganakuHaritha Haram, 2BHK houses,Roads, Raithu Bandhu andother schemes in Chennur onMonday.

Suman said Chief MinisterK Chandrasekhar Rao wasleaving no stone unturned toincrease green cover in theState through Haritha Haram.He requested the officials of theForest department to achievethe annual target set for thisedition of the massive planta-tion drive and to ensure 100per cent survival rate ofsaplings. He added forests playa vital role in reducing globalwarming.

The Government Whipreviewed progress develop-mental works taken by various

departments from the last oneyear. He told them to speed theactivities to avoid inconve-nience to the public. Heordered the officials of theDistrict Rural DevelopmentOrganisation to utilise fundsfor constructing rainwaterrecharge pits. He asked theauthorities to have coordina-tion with public representa-tives.

The legislator told the offi-

cials and public representativesto focus on development ofChennur Assembly constituen-cy and to make it a model seg-ment in Telangana. He said theconstituency would grow onmany fronts in particular irri-gation and agriculture soon. Hestated that he had laid a specialfocus on it and was striving hardfor bringing adequate fundsfrom the government.

Collector Bharati Hollikeri,

DCP D Uday Kumar Reddy,In-charge DFO Lavanya,DRDO Sheshadri, ZillaParishad, CEO Narendermunicipal and DPOVeerabuchaiah Chennur chair-person Archana Gilda andcommissioner K Bapu andmany other officials were pre-sent. MP Dr B VenkateshNetha and MLC P SatheeshKumar also participated in themeeting.

Officials told to expedite pending works

Government Whip and Chennur MLA Balka Suman addressing a gathering at a programme on Monday

Continued from Page 1

This is the first time that TS hasregistered 100% pass percent-age. Last year, 92.43 per centstudents had passed the exam--all-time high. In 2018, thepass percentage was 84.4.

The Minister asked studentsto collect their marks memo-randa from their schools. Incase of any discrepancies in themarks memoranda, studentsare advised to apply to the SSCBoard through their respectiveheadmasters. She suggestedthat students should selecttheir future course according totheir aptitude in order to havea bright future.

Examinations were held foronly three papers before thelockdown took effect.Examinations for nine papers,including major subjects likeEnglish, Mathematics andScience, could not be con-ducted.

Continued from Page 1

JNAFAU Vice-Chancellorpost has remained vacant sinceJan 17.

Appointment of regularVCs has become imperative.For, the absence of regular VChas affected administrativesupervision and has halteddevelopmental work in theuniversities. Amidst all this,the state government has givenpermission to start five privateuniversities, drawing flak fromvarious sections.

In this backdrop, the gov-ernment issued a notificationon July 23 last year forappointing VCs for nine uni-versities, with JNAFAU andRGUKT being the exceptions.In all, 984 had applied for thepost then.

Governor TamilisaiSoundarrajan reviewed thesituation on September 17.The government, sensing pres-sure from the Raj Bhavan, didconstitute search committeesin September. However, thingshave not fallen in place for itto appoint regular VCs. InFebruary this year, the govern-ment asked officials to com-plete the process in two or fourweeks.

The search committees con-stituted by the state govern-ment have not held a singlemeeting till date. For each uni-versity, a three-member searchcommittee has been appoint-ed, with Chief SecretarySomesh Kumar being the stategovernment nominee on it.

Most of the varsity nomi-nees are from Telangana andlocals have been named asUGC nominees. Yet, thesearch committees have notmet even once in the past ninemonths. This has drawn crit-icism from all quarters.Officials decry that there is noscope for holding the meetingsnow because of the Covid-19threat. However, some circlesargue that the meetings couldstill be held via video confer-ence. As for applicants for VCposts, many professors couldnot apply in response to thenotification issue last year asthey do not have the requisiteexperience of 10 years. Someof them in fact fell short ofexperience by just one month.These professors have nowurged the government to givethem an opportunity to apply.

Meanwhile, those who hadapplied earlier have sinceimproved their merit.

He personally handed overa letter appointing Santoshi asa Group I service officer in thestate government and docu-ments allotting a house site of711 sq yards at the BanjaraHills here, the release said.

Rao gave a cheque for Rsfour crore to Santoshi and Rsone crore to Col Santoshs par-

ents. Talking to reporters later,Santoshi thanked the chiefminister for the financial sup-port and said the state govern-ment has given her the choiceof choosing a department totake up a job in the Group Icadre, the top rank in the stateservice.

She also thanked Rao and

the state government forannouncing financial assis-tance of Rs 10 lakh each to thekin of the 19 other jawans whowere killed in the clash withChinese troops.

Energy Minister GJagadeesh Reddy, who hailsfrom Suryapet, accompaniedRao during the visit and said a

bronze statue of the martyredofficer would be installed in hishome town.

Rao invited Santosh Babu'sfamily members to his resi-dence for lunch, Reddy said.

Santosh's mother said Raosvisit to their residence gavethem courage and thankedhim for his support.

CM KCR visits family of martyred...

Continued from Page 1

The policies in TS wouldhelp pave way for brightfuture of the country, he said.

Describing Rythu Bandhuas unique in the country, theMinister said the scheme hadbecome feasible because ofthe far-sightedness of KCR.He greeted Agriculture,Finance and RevenueDepartment employees forgenerating funds for the RytuBandhu scheme.

Disinformation no substitute for...

In-charge VC rule 11universities in Telangana

Continued from Page 1

Speaking for the first timeon the Ladakh stand-off, theformer prime minister alsocalled upon his successor toensure justice for soldiers whodied defending India's territo-rial integrity, asserting that "todo any less would be a historicbetrayal of people's faith."

In a statement, Singh saidthe government's decisionsand actions will have seriousbearings on how the futuregenerations perceive us, andclaimed that China is "brazen-ly and illegally" seeking toclaim parts of Indian territo-ry such as the Galwan Valleyand the Pangong Tso Lake bycommitting multiple incur-sions since April 2020 tilldate. He also said the primeminister must always be mind-ful of the implications of hiswords and declarations onour nation's security as alsostrategic and territorial inter-ests, in an apparent criticism

of Narendra Modi's remarks atan all-party meeting last weekthat neither is anyone insideIndia's territory nor has any-one captured its posts whilereferring to Ladakh face-off.

The Prime Minister's Officehas already clarified Modi'scomments, and said attemptsare being made to give a "mis-chievous interpretation".

"We remind theGovernment that disinforma-tion is no substitute for diplo-macy or decisive leadership.The truth cannot be sup-pressed by having pliant alliesspout comforting but falsestatements," Singh said.

Reacting sharply to Singh'scritical remarks, the BJPlaunched a stinging counter-attack against him and theCongress.

In a series of tweets, BJPpresident J P Nadda said thesenior Congress leader and hisparty should stop "insulting"our forces repeatedly andquestioning their valour.

51 L farmers get Rs 5,295 crRythu Bandhu

All SSCstudentspromoted in TS

Continued from page 1

State government employ-ees are being paid half theirsalary and pensioners 75% oftheir pension since Aprilthis year due to financial cri-sis aggravated by the corona-induced two-month-longnational lockdown that fol-lowed the March 22nd JanataCurfew.

In a day or two, ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao may hold a high-levelmeeting to take stock of thestate's financial position andexplore options to pay fullsalaries and pensions fromthis month.

The government's deci-sion to impose cuts insalaries and pensions had

invited the wrath ofTelangana employees andpensioners. Cases have beenfiled in the Telangana HighCourt against the govern-ment's decision. The HighCourt had found fault withthe government for imposingcuts in pensions, seeking toknow under which Act thiswas done.

In this backdrop, the stategovernment hurriedly pro-mulgated an ordinanceempowering the state gov-ernment to defer payment ofsalaries and pensions for aperiod of six months -- fromMarch to September thisyear. This led to apprehen-sions that the pay cuts wouldcontinue till September.

The TS government has

been under tremendouspressure from employees'and pensioners' unions topay full salaries, particular-ly after the Andhra Pradeshgovernment restored fullsalaries and pensions fromMay after having imposedcuts in March and April.The TS unions sought toknow why a revenue-sur-plus state like Telanganacan't do it when a revenue-deficit state like AP couldpay full salaries and pen-sions.

In this backdrop, the TSgovernment is now trying tostretch its resources toarrange funds for makingmake full payments for staffand pensioners this month.

The TS government had

pinned hopes on the optionto auction bonds with theCentre

raising FRBM borrowinglimit of all States from 3% to5% of GSDP to help tide overthe present financial crisisaggravated by the prolongedlockdown. Of the 2% hikeallowed by the Centre, just0.5% hike is unconditional,which the TS governmentwants to utilise and raise anadditional Rs 5,000 crore.The rest of the hike -- 1.5%-- is conditional. In order toavail this, the Centre hasrequired States to implementreforms in the power sector,urban local bodies etc, whichthe TS government hasrefused to do, come whatmay.

KCR trying hard to pay full salaries...TS rejects‘fake’ surveyon communitytransmissionContinued from Page 1

The formula assumes thatonly 2,933 are in quarantinein Telangana which is anabsolute lie. The actual num-ber of people in quarantine inthe state will be several timesthat number," the statementpointed out. The HealthDepartment mentioned thatthe infographic uses self-reported data from AarogyaSetu app, which is not used byeveryone. The map suggeststhe data is based on AarogyaSetu app, which is self-report-ed and it assumes the figuresto be correct.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Municipal Administration &Urban Development MinisterKT Rama Rao held a reviewmeeting with corporators andGreater Hyderabad MunicipalCorporation (GHMC) offi-cials on the implementation of'Telangana Ku Haritha Haaram'programme on Monday.

The Minister said that thesixth phase of Haritha Haaramwill be implemented from June25 to August 15, 2020 andChief Minister will launch theprogramme.

He said that the governmentfixed the target to plant 2.5crores saplings in GHMC area.

As part of Haritha Haram700 tree parks and 75 Yadadrimodel plantations will be takenup in GHMC. Yadadri Modelplantation should be taken upwhere sufficient governmentlands are available includingOU campus, CentralUniversity, NGRI, endowmentsland and others.

To improve greenery in thestate, Chief Minister KChandrashekar Rao, envisagedmassive task in a phased man-ner and designed to TKHHprogramme.

Instructing officials to createawareness among the people,the Minister said that the needof greenery is evitable at thejuncture and to create goodambiance to the future gener-ation for their well being andexplain the benefits of clean airto keep the body in goodhealth.

He asked corporators, andofficials to involve the local res-idents, Residential WelfareAssociations, Colony WelfareAssociations ensure morenumber of saplings are plant-ed. To monitor the HarithaHaaram Programme, headvised the corporators to cre-ate WhatsApp group for prop-er implementation of tree plan-tation. The Minister instruct-ed the corporators to preparegreen action plan in their

respective divisions by June 30and to have details of openplaces, schools, colleges, gov-ernment institutions, parks,graveyards, lakes, ponds andnalas where the saplings can beplanted.

He further instructed thecorporators to visit each andevery house and distribute thesaplings as per their require-ment and also take plantationof mosquito repellent plantsalong bunds to reduce mosqui-to menace in that area andherbal and medicinal plants tominimise bad odor.

KTR instructed the officialsto provide 2 nurseries in eachdivision. Regarding providinginfrastructure to the citizensabout 3,000 Public Toilets willbe constructed by August 15,2020 he added.

Minister Talasani SrinivasYadav asked the corporators toinvolve RWAs and colony peo-ple and co-ordinate with themfor success of tree plantationand create awareness amongthem the necessary of greencover for wellbeing of society.

He said it is their responsi-bility to provide good environ-ment to the coming generation.

Srinivas Yadav presided overthe TKHH meeting held inGHMC Head office. MinisterCh Malla Reddy, Mayor DrBonthu Rammohan and othersofficials were present.

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | JUNE 23, 2020 hyderabad 03

MA&UD Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar reviews ongoing cleaning operations on Musi River at Babughat on Monday

RIVER RREJUVENATION

RIME ORNERC

Former home guard convicted of raping minor

HYDERABAD: A local court onMonday convicted a formerhome guard who was accused ofraping a minor girl in 2017. Thearrested person has beenidentified as 31-year-old ThotaSugunkar Soma Murthy.According to the police, thehome guard used to visit thevictim's house frequently as hewas friends with her mother.During one of his visits, the manhad raped the child. Based on acomplaint from the victim'smother, the Chatrinaka Policebooked a case and arrestedMurthy. The court awardedMurthy a sentence of 10 yearsrigorous imprisonment afterfinding him guilty under sectionsof the POCSO Act and imposed afine of Rs 20,000. Murthy wasalso found guilty under section506 of the IPC, for which he wasawarded a sentence for twoyears and imposed an additionalfine of Rs 2,000 on him.

Burglar nabbed,valuables worth Rs 11L recovered

HYDERABAD: The Nampallypolice nabbed an interstatehouse burglar and recoveredstolen property worth Rs 11.10lakh from his possession onMonday. The arrested personhas been identified as ShaikRaheem Ali, 4, a labourer fromBazarghat in Nampally hailingfrom Koppal in Karnataka. Basedon a complaint from SachinKumar Bhutada, the NampallyPolice registered a case andbegan an investigation. Bhutadaowns a money lenders shop nearBazarghat in Nampally. On June17, when the complainantopened the shop, he found thatthe almara in the shop and backdoor of shop was broken. Uponchecking, he found 25 tolas ofgold ornaments and Rs 1,50,000cash was stolen. Raheem Ali wasearlier involved in nine casesunder the Hyderabad PoliceCommissionerate and casesunder four police stations inKarnataka. He was previouslyconvicted for nine years invarious police station cases ofKarnataka state and lodged inGulbarga jail. Police recoveredgold ornaments worth Rs10,00,000 and Rs 1,10,000 cashfrom his possession.

Man arrested for stealing carposing as valet

HYDERABAD: A 23-year-oldcollege dropout was arrested bythe KPHB police on Monday forstealing a car after posing as avalet. The arrested person hasbeen identified as MohammaedAdil, a resident of Shivani NagarColony in Ameenpur. He is aDegree drop out, said the police,adding that he began working asa delivery boy for a food deliveryservice. According to the police,to show off in front of his friendsthat he has a car, Adil hatched aplan to steal car. On June 19, heparked his bike in front of Pistahouse restaurant in Nizampetand waited for the opportunemoment. A car arrived and Adilpretended to be from the valetservice and took the car keysfrom the driver to park it in thecellar. However, as soon as Adilgot into the car, he sped away.On Monday morning, duringvehicle checking at Nizampetcross roads, police officialsstopped Adil when he wasdriving the stolen car. Whenasked for documents, Adil triedfleeing the place. However, hewas apprehended immediately.Upon interrogation, he confessedto the crime. The KPHB policetook him into custody and areinvestigating.

Minor girl hangs self after brothertakes away mobile

HYDERABAD: A minor girlcommitted suicide by hangingherself from the ceiling in herhouse at Moghalpura on Sunday.According to the police, the 13-year-old girl was staying alongwith her mother and brother inMoghalpura of Old City. OnSaturday night, the girl wasplaying on her mobile phonewhen her elder brother snatchedaway the mobile phone from her.Upset over her brother notallowing her to use the mobilephone, she went into herbedroom and hanged herselffrom the ceiling fan, said thePolice. The Moghalpura Policebooked a case under Section 174of CrPC (suspicious death) andan investigation had begun. Thepolice shifted the body toOsmania General Hospitalmortuary for an autopsy afterwhich the body was handed overto the family members.

NAMRATA SRIVASTAVAn HYDERABAD

Five days after the governmentdeclared the Intermediateexamination results, lectures,students and parents are askingthe Telangana State Board ofIntermediate Education(TSBIE) to not conduct anysupplementary examination.

A total of 4,11,631 candi-dates appeared for II yearIntermediate exams, of them68.86 per cent students quali-fied for the higher education.While the I year's pass percent-age is 60.01 per cent of the4,80,555 students whoappeared for the exams. Thisleaves 1,92,172 first year and1,28,169 second year students,

who will be taking the supple-mentary examination, if con-ducted.

"As the Coronavirus epi-demic continues to boom bythe day, the increase in num-

ber of positive cases is not justlimited to the GHMC but alsoto the districts. In view of thepresent situation, it is better toannounce that all studentshave passed the Intermediate

examinations," states ERaghunandan, Co-Convenerof Telangana Child RightsWelfare Association (TCRWA).

Despite the government pro-viding psychiatric helpline forstudents who appeared in theIntermediate exams statewise,Telangana has already wit-nessed death of six students bysuicide.

Hence, many parents areurging the government toadopt the measures taken byAndhra Pradesh govenment.AP Education MinisterAdimulapu Suresh on Saturdaydeclared that state's I and IIyear intermediate students willbe promoted without appear-ing for the supplementaryexams.

Addressing the issue, NagatiNarayana, State President ofTelangana Parents Association(TPA), noted in a statement,"We want the government tocancel the Intermediate supple-mentary exams and declare theresults with the appropriategrades so that all the studentswho have passed will pass. Asthe EAMCET exam is alsogoing to take place in both theTelugu states at the same time,cancelling supplementaryexams will ease the process."

The state government hasn'tcommented about the con-cern of lecturers and parentsyet. According to reports, theauthorities will make anannouncement regarding thematter in a couple of days.

Minister: 700 tree parksto come up under GHMC

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana State Council ofHigher Education (TSCHE) isgearing up for Degree admis-sions in July. The Councilreleased notification of DegreeOnline Services, Telangana(DOST), 2020, for admissionsinto various conventionalDegree courses on Monday.

DOST offers single windowfor seeking admission into anyof the undergraduate coursesin any of the state universitiesincluding Osmania, Kakatiya,Telangana, Palamuru,Mahatma Gandhi,Sathavahana Universities.Candidate must register byvisiting the website and loggingin by the Intermediate hallticket number.

To make sure that there iszero human touch this year,due to Coronavirus pandem-ic, Board of IntermediateEducation (TSBIE) has intro-duced real time digital face

recognition of T-App folio,which can be installed on thephone. The candidates canregister in DOST through T-App Folio Mobile App basedphoto authentication, DOSTHelpline Centre (HLC) orMeeSeva Centre for registra-tion in DOST.

Once registered, they mustfill in the application form withall the details that are required,keeping in mind that once thedata is submitted it cannot beedited.

Then the candidate must

choose the course and collegeof their preference by givingthe priority numbers. Seats willbe allotted based on the meritand reservations in force.

To the pay the fees, existingthree payment gateways i.e.,Bill-desk, Atom and T-Walletcan be used by students whoare allotted to Universities.Students eligible for e-pass feereimbursement need not payany amount for online self-reporting.

The classes will commenceon September 1, 2020.

Degree admissions from July 1

Concern over TS Inter supplementary exams

MA&UD Minister KT Rama Rao in a review meeting with corporators and GHMC officials on Monday.

MA&UD Minister KT Rama Rao takes a closer look at photographs of link roads

KTR inaugurates four link, slip roads in HydHYDERABAD: MunicipalAdministration and UrbanDevelopment Minister KT RamaRao on Monday declared openfour link roads to facilitatesmooth flow of traffic in differentareas of the twin cities.

These link roads have beendeveloped by the HyderabadRoad Development CorporationLimited in association with theGHMC and HMDA. Covering atotal distance of 4.67 kms, thefour link roads were developedat a cost of Rs 33.80 crore.

In addition to these four linkroads, another 33 link roads arelikely to be opened by the end ofJuly. As per the instructions ofthe Minister, the GHMC, HMDAand HRDCL utilised lockdownand completed several suchworks at double speed, officialssaid. KTR directed the HRDCL,

HMDA and GHMC to focus ondeveloping link roads for easingtraffic congestion on majorthorough fares. The three civicbodies identified 137 link roads.With the development of theseroads,126.2 km distance can becut short for motorists savingtravel time and fuel.

In the first phase, HRDCL hastaken up development of 37 linkroads. An estimate of Rs 313.6crore was prepared to developroad connectivity, which willreduce around 44.67 kilometres.The four link roads opened onMonday are part of these roads.

The Municipal AdministrationDepartment is conductingsurveys to reduce vehiculartraffic on main roads. The stategovernment is developingalternative road ways to bringthem for usage.

PNS n HYDERABAD

An Assistant Sub-inspectorwith the Kalapathar police ofHyderabad Police commis-sionerate who had testedpositive for Coronavirus, diedwhile undergoing treatmentat Gandhi Hospital onMonday. The deceased per-son was identified as 47-year-old Mohammed Yousuf.Yousuf had reported for dutyas an ASI at the Kalapatharpolice station 20 days ago.

According to sources,Yousuf was suffering from alung infection. After showingsymptoms for the virus, theASI had tested positive for thevirus last week and wasadmitted to the hospital. Hedied while undergoing treat-ment early on Monday, saidthe police.

59-yr-old man with swineflu, Coronavirus recovers PNS n HYDERABAD

In what is described as a"rarest of rare case" by doctors,a 59-year-old patient who hadtested positive for Covid-19and H1N1 and was also suffer-ing from high risk co-morbidi-ties has recovered.

A team of experts atContinental Hospital, one ofthe leading healthcareproviders, claimed to havesaved the life of the man whohad high-risk co-morbiditieslike kidney dysfunction andcoronary artery disease.

The patient a diabetic, suf-fering from hypertension andcoronary artery disease with ahistory of PTCA and hypothy-roidism, had tested positive forboth Covid-19 and swine flu.

Though initial tests showedpositive for H1N1 and nega-

tive for Covid-19 virus, arepeat test conducted showedthe patient was positive forCoronavirus too.

"Not just being tested fortwo deadly viruses, the patientwas on the verge of develop-ing multi-organ damage syn-drome, with complicationsassociated with his kidneys,bleeding rectum and others. Inintensive care unit, the patientwas put through inverse ratioventilation to ensure we don'tlose the patient," said Dr NNalini, Senior ConsultantPulmonologist.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Kacheguda Police ofHyderabad City PoliceCommissionerate on Monday,arrested three persons in con-nection to the murder of a 85-year-old woman reported atKachiguda on Saturday.

The arrested persons havebeen identified as Dalai Laxmi,46, a native of Orissa,employed to take care of thevictim, Mandula Mahender,30, a resident of Mahabubabaddistrict and Sagaram SatishKumar, 36, the owner of 'SriVijayalaxmi Home CareServices' business at Uppal.

The victim was identified asSriramshetty Kamalamma, aresident of Chappal Bazar.Based on the complaint of herson, Sriram Shetty SureshKumar, 63, the police regis-tered a case.

The death of the womanwas reported on Saturday aftershe failed to respond to neigh-bour's calls. Neighbours thenwalked into the house only tofind her lifeless body on thebed and the maid abscondingwith the gold jewelry.

The Kachiguda police visit-ed the crime scene, collectedCCTV footage and identified

Laxmi as the accused. DalaiLaxmi was nabbed along withMandula Mahender. Goldornaments and Rs 26,000 cashwas seized from them.

Police said that during inter-rogation, Laxmi confessed thatMahendar instigated and abet-ted her to commit the grue-some murder. Laxmi smoth-ered Kamalamma to deathwith pillows and then stole thegold jewelry as per their plan.

According to the police,Sagaram Satish Kumar facili-tated Laxmi in committing theoffence by omitting his duty toverify her identity andantecedents before appointingand assigning her as a caretak-er.

The accused persons werearrested under sections 302,380 and 304-A of the IPC andare being produced before acourt for judicial remand.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana State Board ofIntermediate Education hasextended the deadline foronline application frommanagement of junior col-leges for extension of affil-iation and sanction of addi-tional sections for the aca-demic year 2020-21.

The board had invitedall the junior colleges tosubmit the online registra-tion forms on June 9. Now,the new dead line for thecollege managements isextended upto June 27 with-out any late fees. The col-leges will be able to fill theforms till July 4 with latefees of Rs 4,000; till July 11with a late fee of Rs 5,000and till July 18 with late feesof Rs 10,000.

ASI succumbs to Covid-19

Date extendedfor affiliationof jr colleges

The caretakerconfessed thatMahendarinstigated andabetted her tocommit thegruesome murder

PNS n HYDERABAD

A GHMC corporator has test-ed positive for Coronavirusalong with four of her relativeson Monday.

Officials said their swabsamples were collected onSaturday, with the results com-

ing late on Sunday. They areundergoing treatment now. Itis also learned that a sectionofficer in the engineering wingof the Secunderabad Zonaloffice too has tested positive.

Officials have sprayed dis-infectants and cleaned theoffice premises.

GHMC corporator,4 relatives test +ve

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana contributed 5.92 ofthe hospital ventilators for 1lakh people, while AndhraPradesh has contributed 3.63ventilators for 1 lakh people.As per study by Centre forDisease Dynamics, Economicsand Policy, Telangana is oneamong the seven states in thecountry, with most hospitalbeds and ventilators.

There are 2.48 public ICUbeds per lakh, 9.35 private ICUbeds per lakh in Telangana.Further there are 1.24 publicventilators per one lakh pop-ulation and 4.67 private venti-lators per one lakh totaling to5.92 ventilators per lakh.

Likewise, In AndhraPradesh there are 2.02 publicICU beds per lakh, 5.25 privateICU beds per lakh. Further

there are 1.01 public ventilatorsper lakh population and 2.62private ventilators per lakhtotalling to 3.63 ventilatorsper lakh in Andhra Pradesh

As per the data, “Most hos-pital beds and ventilators inIndia are concentrated in sevenstates - UP (14.8%), Karnataka(13.8%), Maharashtra (12.2%),TN (8.1%), West Bengal (5.9%)and Kerala (5.2%) “

The data considers thatTelangana has 863 public hos-

pitals and 3,247 private hospi-tals. While there are 20,983beds in public hospitals, thereare 78,936 in private hospitals.

There are 258 public hospi-tals in Andhra Pradesh and506 are private hospitals. Whilethere are 23,138 beds in pub-lic hospitals, there are 60,092inprivate hospitals.

There are 49.69 beds perlakh population in public hos-pitals Telangana and 186.93beds per lakh population inprivate hospitals totalling to236.62 per lakh population.This is higher than nationalaverage of 137.62 per lakhpopulation. There are 40.40beds per lakh population inpublic hospitals AndhraPradesh and 104.93 beds perlakh population in private hos-pitals totalling to 145.33 perlakh population.

TS among 7 states with mosthospital beds and ventilators

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana High Court onMonday expressed its angerover the failure of SouthCentral Railways (SCR) toattach an extra bogie to theHyderabad-Patna train forstranded migrant workers.

It summoned the division-al railway manager and askedhim to appear before it onTuesday seeking explanation

as to why they were least con-cerned about the strandedmigrant workers belonging toother states.

A division Bench passedthese orders while dealingwith a batch of PILs filed byconcerned citizens of the stateurging the HC to issue direc-tions to the state governmentto transport the migrant work-ers to their native states intrains and buses.

TS HC expresses anger over SCR failure to help migrants

NHO for womensafety awarenessPNS n HYDERABAD

The Cyberabad Police havecome up with online safetyawareness sessions focusingmainly on the womenemployees who are newentrants to the corporateworkplace. New Hire Orien-tation on safety awarenessare conducted every fortnig-ht on a Saturday and are opento all employees.

Cops crack Kachegudamurder case, arrest 3

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | JUNE 23, 2020 hyderabad 04

Tennis star Sania Mirza planting a sapling as part of Green India Challenge, inHyderabad on Monday

GREEN DDRIVE

PNS n HYDERABAD

IT and Industries MinisterKT Rama Rao on Mondayshared his insights on poten-tial investment avenues in awebinar hosted by Invest Indiaunder the tit le 'FoodProcessing Sector Edition'.KTR said that the water rev-olution in Telangana hasincreased the production offish and meat in the state. Healso said that Telangana hasestablished a very strong basefor ensuring revolutions acrossagriculture, livestock, fish-eries, poultry, and dairy indus-try.

Minister said that the foodprocessing sector will createtremendous opportunities inthe coming future and alsomentioned that the govern-ment will provide completesupport to the companieswhich come forward to investin the food processing sector inthe state.

The state has invested heav-ily in irrigation infrastructure,created large reservoirs andestablished strong farm levelecosystem (ranging from socialsecurity, farm input support,warehousing and marketinginfrastructure, farm gate pro-curement infrastructure,farmer producer organizations)

In the webinar, KTR said

that Telangana is also one of thebest states in terms of ease ofdoing business and for settingup industry. "Our fast-growinglocal economy, quality of infra-structure, competitive costs,dynamic policy, strategic loca-tion, logistics, and a proactivegovernment differentiate us,evident by the fact that we havebeen a state of choice for major

international companies acrossvarious sectors," he said.

Minister also said that theadvent of tremendous irriga-tion potential has opened upopportunities for the cultiva-tion of a diverse range of cropsin the state. Telangana govern-ment is equipped to facilitatecontract farming and market-oriented cultivation at a large

scale enabled by state govern-ment agencies, he added.

KTR stated that the compa-nies investing in the food pro-cessing sector and interested inlarge scale procurement ofagriculture and related com-modities from the state canexpect tailor-made incentivesand handholding support fromthe state government to estab-lish manufacturing facilitiesand to establish supply chainlinkages including joint ventureopportunities with local indus-try.

The session was attended bymore than 200 prospectiveinvestors from around theglobe considering India formanufacturing and salesopportunities. The investorscome from sectors such asready to eat foods, confec-tionery, beverages, fruits, veg-etables, dairy, poultry, meat,maize, flowers, and health-oriented cereals such as millets,quinoa, etc.

KTR: TS best in terms of EoDB

IT Minister KT Rama Rao during a webinar hosted by Invest India under the title 'Food Processing Sector Edition'

PNS n HYDERABAD

"Though Aatmnirbhar con-cept has been proposed inIndia since Independence, it'sfor the first time it is used inTOTO covering all fieldsincluding Industries,Agriculture, SMEs, PSUsamong others touching allIndians" said Union Minister ofState for Heavy Industries &Public Enterprises Arjun RamMeghwal. He was speakingduring a Webinar organised byFederation of TelanganaChambers of Commerce andIndustry ( FTCCI) titled -"Atmanirbhar Package:Opportunities for Industry".

"We are in the midst of

global pandemic coupled withtension along our borders. Weneed to create an opportunityout of these situations.Atmanirbhar Bharat is such aconcept which empowers and

makes India a self-reliantnation. The government hasinitiated many a steps in thisdirection which propels ournation to develop local indus-tries, export more of our pro-

duce and lessen imports. Weneed to be proud and vocalabout our local produce. Therecent Coal mines auctionprocess in in this direction ofensuring transparency andavailability of natural resourcefor our nations need and lessenimports of coal," he added.

Opening the webinar andcomplimenting the Centralgovernment for theAtmanirbhar package to makeour country strong and selfreliant Karunendra S Jasti,president, FTCCI said, "thoughthis package has providedmajor relief measures to all sec-tors specially MSMEs, the pric-ing factor that made our prod-uct uncompetitive with respect

to the foreign players should beidentified and corrected. Itwould be productive for theindustry if a white paper reportfrom the government be exclu-sively released on the opportu-nities that lie for Indian indus-tries both individually andalso collaboratively with friend-ly foreign partner countries."

Members also sought clar-ity and status on the Rs 5 lakhcrore payment which is due toMSMEs from PSUs and gov-ernment departments. Thewebinar among others wasattended by officials and thinktank from Corporate,Industry, entrepreneurs fromTelangana and AndhraPradesh region.

Need to be vocal for local, says Arjun Meghwal

PNS n HYDERABAD

Bharatiya Janata Party'sTelangana unit chief BandiSanjay and other leaders werearrested by the police here onMonday as they tried to laysiege to the directorate ofhealth to protest what they callthe state government's failureto contain the spread ofCOVID-19. Sanjay, also aMember of Parliament AfromKarimnagar, was leading theprotest at the directorate officein Koti as part of the state-wideagitation called by the BJP.

Raising slogans of 'KCRdown down' and 'saveHyderabad from Coronavirus'the leaders gathered at theoffice. They were also demand-ing resignation of HealthMinister Eatala Rajender. Thepolice placed several BJP lead-ers under house arrest inHyderabad and other districtsto foil the protest.

Former BJP state chief KLaxman, former MinisterPeddi Reddy, former MP PSudhakar and member of StateLegislative CouncilRamchandra Rao were amongthe leaders kept under housearrest. Police had also madetight security arrangements at

state BJP headquarters to pre-vent the leaders from takingout any protest march. Sanjayand some others, however,succeeded in reaching thedirectorate. Police shifted totheir vehicles and whiskedthem away. The BJP leaderalleged that the TRS govern-ment was using police force tosuppress a democratic protest.He alleged that there is devil'srule in the state.

Sanjay said they called forthe protest to demand the gov-ernment to increase the num-

ber of COVID-19 tests in thestate, fill-up the vacancies inthe Health Department andstart services at the newlyestablished Telangana Instituteof Medical Sciences (TIMS).He alleged that due to the inef-ficiency of the TRS govern-ment that Coronavirus wasspreading fast in the state.

He found fault with the stategovernment for issuing GOstating not to provide treat-ment to cops in police empan-elled hospitals. Bandi termedgovernment's act as atrocious.

He asked government to revealwhy it is neglecting the policewho stood in the front row infight against Coronavirus.

He said instead of respond-ing to the points raised by BJPchief JP Nadda over Covid-19,the TRS leaders tried to divertpeople's attention and makeallegations to take politicalmileage. Referring to the healthminister's counter attack onNadda questioning him aboutthe situation in BJP-ruledstates, the state BJP presidentsaid Karnataka and UttarPradesh had conducted fivelakh tests each. "Gujarat andHimachal Pradesh have alsoconducted 3 lakh tests each.How many tests were conduct-ed in Telangana," he asked.

The BJP leader said the TRSgovernment had been claimingthat it procured 10 lakh PPEkits and 10 lakh N-95 masksbut the doctors came out onstreets to protest over lack ofPPEs. He said the governmentfailed to protect doctors, otherhealthcare workers and police-men. Telangana has been wit-nessing a big surge in COVID-19 cases. It Sunday recorded730 cases, the highest singleday jump since March 2, whenthe first case was detected.

PNS n YADADRI

Leakage of water into the LordLakshmi Narasimha Swamytemple and cracks developingon structures due to the recentheavy rains expose the defi-cient quality in execution of theworks to give facelift to theancient and historic temple atYadagirigutta.

Ever since KCR became theChief Minister, he embarkedon the temple renovationworks and constituted theYadagirigutta TempleDevelopment Authority(YTDA). He allotted Rs 1,200crore to it. A small hillock hasbeen procured and also 250acres below the hills. Onanother hillock, constructionof a presidential suit has beentaken up.

So far Rs 750 crore hasbeen released to the YTDA. Ofthe amount, Rs 250 crore wasspent on the construction ofthe temple. Works are underprogress under the supervisionof the Chief Minister for thepast four years. But, the defi-ciency in quality is beingexposed of late.

On June 11, heavy rainlashed the temple town lead-ing to the road getting washedaway near the spot where vehi-cle pujas are performed on thehill. In the rains that lashed thetown on June 13, water reached

into the sanctum-sanctorum ofthe shrine. Water also enteredAshtabhuji mantal, internal aswell as outer mantaps of thetemple and Addala Mantap(mirror mantap) of the shrine.The road near the templepond was also washed away.

The YTDA officers visitedthe temple but could not findthe leaks. Experts from aHyderabad-based organisationwhat supervises the executionof huge structures visited thetemple and inspected it for fourhours and said that it wouldsubmit its report soon.Besides, the sand under theblack stone flooring all aroundthe temple caved in. The blackstone towards the south ofBrahmotsava Mandap got

damaged and water logged inthe area. There, Technologycommittee visited the templeonce again and inspected thestructures.

If minor showers cause hugedamage to the temple, whatwould be the fate of the tem-ple if torrential rains lash thetemple town? Last year, slab ofa temple building under con-struction collapsed leading tofour construction workers sus-taining serious injuries.

Also, last year the road laidon Pedda Gutta got washedaway in the heavy rain experi-enced towards the end of lastyear. Besides, the roads underconstruction in front ofPresidential Suits also gotwashed away.

Corona treatment: Government neglecting cops, says Bandi Sanjay

Former BJP state unit president K Laxman during the protest in city on Monday

So far Rs 750 crore has been released to the YTDA. Of the amount, Rs 250 crorewas spent on the construction of the temple

Rainwater seeps intoYadadri temple structures

Arjun Ram Meghwal

We are in themidst of globalpandemic coupledwith tension alongour borders. Weneed to create anopportunity out ofthese situations,said the UnionMInister

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Leader of the Opposition NChandrababu Naidu demand-ed that the government rollback the hike in petrol anddiesel prices. People and allother sectors are facing finan-cial crisis due to the Covid-19.In this backdrop, governmentsacross the world are support-ing the people to revive theirfinances by providing dis-counts in all sectors. However,the situation is different here,the ruling party was pushingthem into further problems byincreasing the fuel price, helamented.

To provide a sigh of relief topeople, Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy has toappeal to the Central govern-ment to roll back the fuelprices, he suggested.

Naidu recalled that in 2018,the TDP government hasreduced Rs 2 per litre on fuelprice on humanitariangrounds and the Jagan gov-

ernment shall take it as aninspiration. The increase infuel prices during the lasttwo weeks has severe effect onthe transport sector, addedNaidu. During the last 15days, Rs 8.88 was increased onpetrol and Rs 7.97 wasincreased on diesel. The gov-ernment has levied VAT of Rs2.76 on petrol and Rs 3.07 ondiesel imposing an extra bur-den on people during theCovid-19 induced lockdown.With the increase in fuel

price, the transport sector hasto bear Rs 3,893 crore burdenper year, hence, lakhs of peo-ple depending on the sectorare bearing the brunt, he said.

He further pointed out thatwith the carelessness of thegovernment, prices of essen-tials commodities has gone upand with the fuel price hike,essentials prices are not in thereach of the common man,alleged Naidu and demandedthat the government roll backthe fuel prices immediately.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Minister for EndowmentsVelampalli Srinivas, Durgatemple Executive Officer MVSuresh Babu, Temple TrustBoard chairman P Sominaiduand other board membersoffered ‘Sare’ to GoddessKanakadurga to mark the firstday of ‘Aashada Masam’ onMonday at 8.30 am. Speakingon the occasion, the ministersaid he offered prayers for theprosperity, happiness and tosave the country and the Statefrom the deadly Covid-19pandemic. He hoped thatGoddess shall shower bless-ings on people.

He said that devotees, whowish to offer ‘Sare’ to Goddess,shall book their slot between 6am and 5 pm. Devotees fromother States offer ‘sare’ toGoddess, which was the cus-tom followed since a long timeand guidelines were prescribedto them. Devotees should visit

the temple as per the time slotgiven to them while bookingtheir slot online. The templeExecutive Officer said thatdevotees shall book their tick-et online www.kanakadurgam-ma.org, kanakadurgammaapp, Mee Seva centres between6 am and 5 pm and book theirtime slot for darshan.

Devotees should follow theguidelines and wear masks, socialdistancing and use sanitiser. They

should not come in groups and fol-low strict Covid-19 rules. Sanitiserfacility is provided on the templepremises and devotees shall sani-tise themselves before entering thetemple premises. For couple, whowish to take part inKadgamalarchana, arrangementshave been made for four couplesand for Srichakranavavarnarchanaservices arrangements are made for five couples, said theEO.

Minister offers ‘Sare’ toGoddess Kanakadurga

Minister for Enowments Velampalli Srinivas, Durga temple Executive OfficerMV Suresh Babu and others offer ‘Sare’ to Goddess Kanakadurga on Monday

Covid-19 spreads to Vizag AgencyPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

A woman outsourcing sanitaryworker has tested positive forCovid-19 at Chintapalle ofVizag district on Saturdaynight, the first confirmedinfection reported in the trib-al pockets of the Agency.

Visakhapatnam district has11 tribal mandals with a pop-ulation of over 6.5 lakh andover three to four tribal man-dals in the Agency shares bor-der with Odisha and alsoneighbouring East Godavaridistrict.

Officials of the Medical andHealth Department are exam-ining how the woman con-tracted the virus. Vizag

Agency has been considered agreen zone in the district butwith the first Coronaviruscase surfacing in the tribalpockets, the people are in agrip of fear. The womanpatient was shifted to Vizag fortreatment

“We have sanitised the

entire Chintapalle. We havetraced all the contacts of thecase and tested them. They areall negative. However we putall of them in quarantine.Chintapalle is now a contain-ment zone in Vizag Agencywith restricted entry and exit.House to house survey isgoing on to identify any sus-pect cases,” said Project Officerof Integrated TribalDevelopment Agency- Paderu,Dr S Venkateswar.

The leaders and activists ofCPM have appealed to theMLAs and officials to imposethe strict lockdown for a cou-ple of weeks in Vizag Agencyto contain the spread of thevirus in the tribal pockets.

PNS n HYDERABAD

To increase oil palm cultiva-tion in more districts, theState government clearedproposals to take up a pilotproject in about 2,717 acresin erstwhile Mahbubnagardistrict along with Nirmal,Mancherial andM a h a b u b a b a ddistricts.Administrative sanc-tions have been given for cul-tivation of oil palm in about1,000 acres where drip irriga-tion systems were installed,and cultivation has alreadybegun in about 98 acres.

The Oil Palm AdvisoryCommittee chaired byAgriculture Minister SNirajan Reddy met here onMonday and advised farmerswho have access to water sup-ply throughout the year, toconsider taking up oil palmcultivation and earn goodprofits.

The Minister said oil palmcultivation was being pro-moted under the CentrallySponsored Scheme ofNational Food SecurityMission. The governmentwill supply saplings and alsonecessary fertilisers for thecrop, he added.

TS to take upoil palmcultivation in2,717 acres

Gear up forHarith Haram,officials toldPNS n KARIMNAGAR

Collector K Shashankinstructed officials to pre-pare plans to plant saplingsas part of Telangana KuHaritha Haram programme.The Collector conducted areview meeting with officialsto discuss about HarithaHaram programme at collec-torate conference hall hereon Monday.

Speaking on the occasion,he wanted the officials toplant saplings in two-rowseither sides of RajivRahadari, R&B roads andNational Highways.Instructing the officials toplant flower and fruit-bear-ing trees, he said the heightof saplings should be 1.5metre. Instructing officials totake steps to make availablesufficient trees in nurseries,he wants to prepare planswell in advance to plantsaplings in villages and man-dals besides identifying openplaces.

Rythu Banduto revive ruraleconomy:Harish PNS n HYDERABAD

As per the directions of ChiefMinister KChandrashekharRao, RythuBandhu money is beingdeposited into farmer'saccounts, said FinanceMinister Harish Rao.

Under the flagship schemeall the farmers will be givenRs 5,000 per acre as invest-ment assistance. The moneyis being transferred throughthe e-Kuber platform ofReserve Bank of India.

“The money started flow-ing in from Monday morningand every hour, three lakhfarmers are getting moneyinto their accounts. So far, 39lakh farmers have got Rs2,736 crore,” he said.

“The process of depositingwill continue till Tuesdayand all the farmers who havepattadar passbooks willreceive the Rythu Bandhubenefit. Agriculture, Revenue,and Finance Departmentshave worked very hard toensure that the money reach-es the farmers.

Despite a drastic reductionin revenues due to Covid-19,necessary funds for thescheme were arranged. Thisshows the commitment of theGovernment towards the wel-fare of the farmers. ChiefMinister directed that theentire allocated budget of Rs7,000 crore should be spenttowards investment assis-tance in vanakalam under theRythu Bandhu. This would becrucial in reviving the ruraleconomy.

Naidu recalled that in2018, the TDP govt has

reduced Rs 2 per litre onfuel price on humanitarian

grounds and the Jagan govtshall take it as an inspiration

During the last 15 days,Rs 8.88 was increased on

petrol and Rs 7.97 wasincreased on diesel, he

pointed out

AP govt should roll back petroland diesel price hike: Naidu

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | JUNE 23, 2020 nation 05

SHORT READS

Tripura govt to startlearning initiative forstudents on mobileAGARTALA: The Tripuragovernment has come up with aspecial intitiative to engagestudents in the learning processthrough mobile phones, even aseducational institutes across thecountry continue to remainclosed amid the COVID-19pandemic, a state minister said."Lockdown was announced inMarch and since then, it becameuncertain when schools wouldreopen. So, we have decided tolaunch a new project — 'EktuKhelo, Ektu Padho' — fromJune 25 for students up to class8," Education Minister Ratan LalNath said. Nath said people havemobile phones in even remotevillages of the state, even ifinternet access or cable TVnetwork is not available. "Thosewho have Android phones canreceive the study materialsthrough WhatsApp, and othersvia SMS. Guardians' phonescould be used for the purpose,"he said on Sunday. As perguidelines, lessons andexercises will be sent tostudents on mobile phonesevery morning, and feedback onAtheir performance is to becollected in the afternoon. Nathsaid academic coordinators indifferent districts would sharethe content with headmasters ofschools, who would engageteachers to monitor the process.

Tamil Nadu announcescomplete lockdown in Madurai

MP Governor Tandon'scondition improvingbut still on ventilatorLUCKNOW: The condition ofMadhya Pradesh Governor LaljiTandon is improving, but he isstill on ventilator support, ahospital official said onMonday. Tandon, 85, wasadmitted to the MedantaHospital on June 11 withbreathing problems, difficulty inurination and fever. The MPgovernor's kidney and liverfunctions are stable. However,he is still on supportiveventilation, Medanta HospitalDirector Rakesh Kapoor said."Tandon's condition is on animproving trend but he still haslung problem. We are workingon it," Kapoor said.

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadugovernment on Mondayannounced complete lockdownin Madurai Corporation limitfrom the midnight of June 23to June 30 midnight owing toincreasing coronavirusinfection. According to thegovernment order, thecomplete lockdown will also beapplicable for Paravai TownPanchayat and rural blocks ofMadurai East, Madurai Westand Thirupparankundram. Thegovernment has allowed someservices during the completelockdown period which includehospitals, diagnostic labs,pharmacies, ambulance andhearse vans. Plying of taxis,autorickshaws, private vehicleswill be banned except formedical emergencies and forferrying passengers to andfrom railway station andairport. Central and stategovernment offices willfunction with 33 per cent staffstrength.

BMC asks publicto reportovercharging byprivate hospitalsPNS n MUMBAI

The Brihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) has appea-led to citizens to bring to itsnotice if they have been over-charged by private hospitals forthe treatment of COVID-19.The civic body last monthappointed auditors for variousprivate hospitals after receivingcomplaints of overcharging bysome facilities for coronavirustreatment. Since then, the audi-tors have settled 134 com-plaints pertaining to 26 privatehospitals and bill amounts havebeen collectively reduced by Rs23.42 lakh, the BMC said in astatement. The total amountcharged from all the com-plainants was Rs 1,61,88,819.After the audit of these bills, theamount was reduced to Rs1,38,46,705, it said.

Maha govt to maintainstatus quo on MoUswith Chinese firmsPNS n MUMBAI

There will be status quo withregard to the MoUs, worthmore than Rs 5,000 crore, theMaharashtra government hadsigned with three Chinesecompanies on June 15,Industries Minister SubhashDesai on Monday, a movethat comes in the backdrop ofthe Ladakh clash.

Desai, however, clarifiedthat the status quo does notmean cancellation of theMoUs relating to projectsworth Rs 5,020 crore.

According to an officialstatement, Desai said the stategovernment is awaiting clearpolicy decision regarding theprojects in the present condi-tion.

The relationship betweenIndia and China has come

under severe strain followinga violent face-off between thetroops of the two countries inthe Galwan Valley in Ladakh,in which 20 Indian Army per-sonnel were martyred.

The MoUs were signed lastMonday under the MagneticMaharashtra 2.0 investor sum-mit, hours before the face-offtook place.

Army jawan killed as Pakistanitroops shell forward areas along LoCPNS n JAMMU

An Army jawan was killed onMonday in unprovokedPakistani firing along the Line ofControl (LoC) in Rajouri districtof Jammu and Kashmir, raisingthe number of soldiers who fellto cross-border firing this monthto four, officials said.

Pakistan Army and Rangerspersonnel also targeted forwardareas and posts along the LoC inKrishna Ghati sector of Poonchand along the InternationalBorder in Hiranagar sector inKathua district, promptingstrong retaliation by the Indianforces, the officials said.

"Pakistan army resorted tounprovoked ceasefire violationalong the LoC in Nowsherasector of Rajouri, causing criti-cal injuries to Havildar DipakKarki who later succumbed tohis injuries," Jammu-based ArmyPRO Lt Col Devender Anandsaid. He said the firing fromacross the border in the sector

started at 5.30 am and wasresponded effectively by theIndian Army. However, it wasnot immediately clear if therewas any casualties on thePakistani side in the retaliatoryaction, the officer said.

“Havildar Karki was a brave,highly motivated and a sinceresoldier. The nation will alwaysremain indebted to him for hissupreme sacrifice and devotionto duty,” Lt Col Anand said.

He is the fourth Army per-sonnel to be killed in Pakistanifiring along the LoC in Rajouri

and Poonch this month. Twosoldiers were killed in Pakistanifiring in Rajouri district on June4 and 10, while another soldierfell to cross-border firing inPoonch on June 14.

There has been a spurt inPakistani shelling along the bor-der in Jammu and Kashmir thisyear with over 2,027 cases of vio-lation of a ceasefire agreementbeing reported till June 10.

Pakistan Army personnel alsotargeted forward areas inKrishnagati sector in Poonch dis-trict, the army spokesman said.

‘Sadistic': Cong's Moily slamsCentre over fuel price hikesPNS n NEW DELHI

Senior Congress leader andformer petroleum minister MVeerappa Moily on Mondayslammed the Centre over therepeated fuel price hikes in thelast few days, saying it is "sadis-tic" on the Modi government'spart to "fleece" people amid theCOVID-19 pandemic.

His attack came on a daypetrol price was hiked by 33paise per litre and diesel by 58paise to take retail rates torecord high as the oil compa-nies increased prices for the16th day in a row.

"Despite the COVID-19pandemic which is creepingday by day and the deflation inthe economy, the governmentis fleecing the people of thecountry and making themshed tears," Moily said in astatement.

"It is sadistic on the part ofthe Modi government toincrease the prices of petroland diesel despite the slump incrude prices at the cost of thesufferings of the people ofIndia," the former petroleum

minister said.The fuel prices are now at a

four-and-a-half month high inIndia even as crude oil rateshave slumped below the USD40 a barrel mark, he said.

"In 16 days, petrol price hasbeen hiked by Rs 8.3 per litreand diesel by Rs 9.46, a recordincrease in rates of the fuel inany fortnight since pricingwas deregulated," Moily said.

Petrol price in Delhi washiked to Rs 79.56 per litre fromRs 79.23 while diesel rateswere increased to Rs 78.55 alitre from Rs 78.27, according

to a price notification of stateoil marketing companies.

Rates have been increasedacross the country and varyfrom state to state dependingon the incidence of local salestax or value added tax (VAT).

On reports that USPresident Donald Trump hastaken a decision to order newcurbs on H1B visas, Moily saidthis is "the biggest blow" to theemployment prospects ofIndians in the United Statesand the most detrimental andreactionary decision taken bythe Trump administration.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court Mondaysaid Chief Justice S A Bobde hasagreed to set up a three-judgebench to hear during the daythe pleas seeking modificationof its order which stayed thisyear's historic Lord Jagannath'sRath Yatra in Puri due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.

A bench headed by JusticeArun Mishra, before whom theCentre mentioned the matterand sought modification of theJune 18 order, told the lawyersthat the CJI has agreed to setup a three-judge bench forhearing the pleas which havesought to allow the Rath Yatrawith certain conditions.

Earlier in the day, the Centretold the apex court that RathYatra in Puri can be allowedwithout public participation inview of the coronavirus pan-demic and said the "tradition of

centuries may not be stopped".The Odisha government

also supported the Centre'sstand in the apex court, whichis likely to hear the plea seek-ing modification of its June 18order staying this year's PuriRath Yatra due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It is a matter of faith forcrores. If Lord Jagannath will

not come out tomorrow, hecannot come out for 12 yearsas per traditions," said SolicitorGeneral Tushar Mehta, whomentioned the matter before abench headed by Justice ArunMishra.

Mehta said that besidesmaintaining precautions, thestate government can imposecurfew for a day.

"All 'sebayats' and 'pandas'who have tested negative (forCOVID-19) can participate inrituals as may be decided byHH Shri Shankaracharya.People may not congregate andseek blessings on TV during livetelecast. Raja of Puri and thetemple committee may super-vise arrangements of these rit-uals," Mehta told the bench.

The Puri Rath Yatra, whichis attended by lakhs of peoplefrom across the world, isscheduled from June 23.

The apex court had on June18 said that in the interest ofpublic health and safety of cit-izens, this year's Puri RathYatra cannot be allowed andthat "Lord Jagannath won'tforgive us if we allow" it.

A day after the order waspassed, some applicationswere filed in the top courtseeking recall and modifica-tion of its order.

Rath Yatra: BJP Prez hails SC forhonouring 'symbol of our faith'PNS n NEW DELHI

BJP President JP Nadda hashailed the Supreme Court rul-ing that has allowed the RathYatra celebration at Puri.Calling it a "symbol of ourfaith", Nadda said it's a centu-ry long tradition. However,Nadda urged everyone to takehealth precautions in view ofthe COVID-19 pandemic.

"I heartily welcome theSupreme Court's decision toconduct the holy Rath Yatra ofMahaprabhu Jagannath jiwhich is going on for centuries.It is a symbol of our faith. Bestwishes to all devotees.Everyone is requested to takefull care of health regulationsat this time. Jai Jagannath!, theBJP President tweeted after thetop court set aside its earlierorder banning this year's cel-ebration due to the pandemic.

His response came after a

bench headed by Chief JusticeS.A. Bobde noted that thecourt is willing to modify itsJune 18 order which put a stayon the Rath Yatra in the back-drop of the COVID-19 pan-demic. The Rath Yatra isscheduled on June 23.

He also credited PrimeMinister Narendra Modi withinitiating talks with all stake-holders and Home MinisterAmit Shah. On Sunday

evening, Shah spoke toGajapati Maharaj -- the Kingof Puri-- and Shankaracharyaof Puri and sought their viewson the Yatra as per the instruc-tions of Prime Minister Modi.

Nadda said that theSupreme Court "honoured thefaith of all" after they saw the"importance of the subject". Hethanked the apex court forremoving the roadblock inthe path of the Yatra.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal announced onMonday that his governmentwill give pulse oximeters to theCOVID-19 patients underhome isolation in the city andsaid the number of coron-avirus tests has increased bythree times in the nationalcapital.

Addressing an online mediabriefing, Kejriwal said India iscurrently fighting two warsagainst China -- one againstthe virus that has come fromthe neighbouring country andthe other on the border.

"Twenty of our brave sol-diers did not back down, wewill also not retreat and winboth wars against China," hesaid, adding, "This is not thetime for politics, all of us haveto fight the wars together."

Talking about his govern-ment's efforts to contain thespread of COVID-19, the chiefminister said around 18,000coronavirus tests are beingconducted daily in the city now.

There are around 12,000people under home isolationand they will be given pulseoximeters by the AamAadmi Party (AAP) govern-ment, he said.

Delhi govt to give pulseoximeters to those inhome isolation: Kejriwal

CJI-led bench to hear pleas seeking nod forPuri Rath Yatra without public participation

Madras HC cancels death sentence of5 accused in TN honour killing casePNS n CHENNAI

The Madras High Court onMonday acquitted the primeaccused and modified the deathsentence awarded to five othersto life imprisonment in 2016honour killing of a 22-year oldman in full public view inTirupur district in Tamil Nadu.

Passing orders on appeals, adivision bench of Justice MSathyanarayanan and M NirmalKumar acquitted BChinnaswamy, father of Kausalya,whose husband Shankar washacked to death in front of her inUdumlapet town and relievedhim from all charges includingthat of criminal conspiracy. Thebench sentenced the five otheraccused to life imprisonment fora minimum of 25 years withoutany right to remission.

Chinnaswamy and the othershad been sentenced to death by

a lower court in connectionwith the horrific daylight killingwhich was caught on camera andevoked public outrage.

The High Court also con-firmed the acquittal of Kausalya'smother and two others.

The court also ordered releaseof all those acquitted who arepresently under incarceration iftheir custody is not required in

connection with any other case.Sankar, a dalit and native of

Kumaralingam near Udumalpet,fell in love with non-dalitKausalya, while they were study-ing in a private engineering col-lege in Pollachi. They got mar-ried against the wishes of herparents following which thefamily allegedly hatched a con-spiracy to eliminate them.

ISI using Pak diplomatic missions foranti-India agenda, London new hubPNS n NEW DELHI

Pakistan is using its diplomaticmissions, particularly in Londonto "fund and foment" anti-Indiahate campaigns. The role of thePakistan High Commission inLondon, primarily of a colonelrank officer of Pakistan Armyposted as an advisor there, hascome to light, a report of theIndian intelligence agencyreveals.

The colonel is assigned thetask of re-uniting splinter groupsof pro-Khalistan Sikhs, operatingfrom Britain, Germany, theNetherlands and some othercountries of Europe.

At the behest of Pakistan's spyagency, Inter-ServicesIntelligence (ISI), the colonelhas been instrumental in fund-ing Khalistan groups, includingSikhs for Justice (SFJ) which has

an office in London.India's premier anti-terror

agency NIA has found the ISI'srole in execution of a series ofdrone operated arms droppingincidents inside Indian territorythrough a pro-Khalistan terrorkingpin Gurmeet Singh Bagga.

Reports say that Bagga, basedin Germany's Hamburg, haslinks with Khalistani militants

operating from Britain and theUS including Gurpatwant SinghPannu of SFJ. The colonel, whoworks under a senior official ofPakistan Navy posted at HighCommission, has been a key per-son in organising several anti-India protests at the Indian HighCommission office in London.

ISI-backed Khalistani groupshave attacked several Indians

outside the Indian HighCommission office, near BushHouse in London in March2019. Later it was found that SFJorganised the attack with help ofthe Overseas Pakistani WelfareCouncil, backed by the ISI andthe Pakistan High Commission.

Pannu and his close aides havebeen frequent visitors to thePakistan High Commission,located at Lowndes Square.

As per Intelligence reports,several meetings of SFJ officebearers and the Colonel rankofficer have been held at thisoffice in past one year relating toanti-India campaign"Referendum 2020" in a bid togarner support of the Sikh dias-pora in US, Canada and Europe.However, the ISI's plot to rekin-dle the Khalistan movement hasnot been supported by Sikhsaround the world.

NS n NEW DELHI

Congress's Rahul Gandhi,whose "Surender Modi" dig atthe Prime Minister toppedTwitter trends yesterday, todayhad a tough question: Why isChina praising Prime MinisterNarendra Modi amid the clashin Ladakh. Since PM Modi's allparty meeting on Friday, wherehe said China has not capturedany Indian territory or crossedthe border, Mr Gandhi hasbeen making repeated jabs atthe Prime Minister, accusinghim of ceding Indian territoryto the Chinese.

Today, Rahul Gandhi posteda news report on Chinesemouthpiece Global Times'spraise for the Prime Minsterover his comments on Friday'sall-party meet. The accompany-ing tweet read, "China killed oursoldiers. China took our land.Then, why is China praising MrModi during this conflict?"

In a report titled "Indiaknows it can't have a war withChina'," published yesterday,the Global Times had quotedexperts who said that PMModi is "playing with words inorder to avoid an escalation".

"China's capability not only interms of the military, but alsooverall and international influ-ence, is superior to India's," thereport read.

Also PM Modi's "assertionthat Indian forces can take allnecessary steps is a show ofstrength for domestic audi-ences to appease the Indian

masses and boost the Indiantroops' morale," the reportread.

Rahul Gandhi has beenrepeatedly targetting the PrimeMinister over the June 15 vio-lence at Ladakh's GalwanValley - the the worst face-offsince 1967, in which 20 Indiansoldiers had died and 76 were

injured in a clash with Chinesetroops.

His tweets became sharperafter Friday's all-party meet,where PM Modi had said,"Neither is anyone inside ourterritory nor is any of our postcaptured".

"While we have given a freehand to our armed forces,diplomatically too we havemade our stand clear to China.India wants peace and friend-ship but protecting its sover-eignty is supreme," the PrimeMinister had said.

The day after, Rahul Gandhisuggested that PM Modi sur-rendered Indian territory toChina. Yesterday, posting anarticle in a foreign publication,he tweeted, "Narendra Modi Isactually Surender Modi".

It drew angry responses fromthe BJP leaders, one of whom,Himanta Biswa Sarma, said"surrendering is the hallmark ofGandhi-Nehru family".

"In 1962, Assam was almostgiven away by Pt Nehru.When Chinese Army hadcaptured Bomdila, Nehrusaid, "My heart goes out topeople of Assam." Shame," histweet read.

‘Why Is China Praising PM?’Fresh Jab From Rahul Gandhi On Ladakh

Rahul Gandhi (@rahulgandhi)

China killed our soldiers.China took our land.Then, why is China praising Mr Modi during this conflict?

The unbearable tragedy at theGalwan Valley has little to dowith territorial claims and isinstead a distraction “withChinese characteristics” to

cover the fact that Chinese President XiJinping’s flagship project, the Belt and RoadInitiative (BRI), is floundering. At theNational People’s Congress in May thisyear, Beijing announced a military bud-get of $178.6 billion for 2020 and said itwould grow by 6.6 per cent year-on-year,while foreign affairs spending was cut by11.8 per cent. The military budget stoodat $175 billion in 2018 and $177.5 billionin 2019. Helena Legarda, analyst at theMercator Institute for China Studies(MERICS) mused, “Beijing clearly doesnot feel safe enough domestically orinternationally to slow down its militarybuildup and modernisation, even at a timewhen the economy is suffering.”

China’s outstanding debt claims areestimated at $5.5 trillion, that’s 40 per centof its Gross Domestic Product (GDP),according to the Institute of InternationalFinance. The institute estimates thatChina’s debt-to-GDP ratio rose by 11 per-centage points in 2019 and is now peggedat 317 per cent. It could be higher as thecalculations do not include all categoriesof debt. Moreover, China’s reported GDPseems too high and the excess of liabili-ties over assets of China’s financial insti-tutions has not been factored in.

Data for the first quarter of 2020showed a hike in bad loans, defaults anddelayed repayments as the Coronavirus hitthe economy and first-quarter GDPshrank for the first time in China’s record-ed history. The rise in defaults was despitelenders agreeing to delay $124 billion inrepayments from smaller companies.The International Monetary Fund (IMF)predicts the Chinese economy would growonly 1.2 per cent in 2020-21 as against 6.1per cent in 2019-20. However, at theNational People’s Congress in May 2020,Premier Li Keqiang said China would notset a target for GDP growth for 2020-21.He announced a stimulus of $672.4 bil-lion, which many considered inadequatebut China cannot afford more debt.

China’s economic slowdown beganbefore the Coronavirus pandemic derailedthe world economy. After the second Beltand Road Forum meeting in Beijing inApril 2019, several Western think-tanksscrutinised BRI finances from publicrecords and found an opaque web of reck-less lending, restructured loans, renego-tiated loans, debt forgiveness, refinancingand deferrals. Now, Zou Jiayi, ViceMinister at the Finance Ministry, whorepeatedly warned about the debt risksfrom the project, has been asked to makethe BRI “more manageable and financial-ly practical.” Observers expect it to besharply downsized, with viable projects

getting priority and the restignored. The objective is tosomehow avoid a massive default.

The BRI has become fiscal-ly unsustainable because China’spolicy banks gave huge loans tofragile States and then extendedand even expanded credit lines.The Washington-based consul-tancy, RWR Advisory, notes thataround $461 billion has beengiven for transport and energyprojects from the Horn of Africato Central Asia from 2013 underthe BRI umbrella.

China’s total lending toAfrican Governments, firms andState agencies is around seven percent of its external debt, valuedat $2.06 trillion at the end of 2019by China’s State Administrationof Foreign Exchange. Ernst &Young estimates that Chinesefirms invested $72.2 billion inAfrica between 2014 and 2018.Herbert Poenisch, former senioreconomist, Bank for InternationalSettlements, put the total out-standing lending by Eximbank inall countries at $285 billion.Hong Kong-based bankersbelieve that possibly theGovernment “does not knowhow much it is owed or bywhom.”

Lending slowed down evenbefore the COVID-19 shock.Logan Wright, director of Chinamarkets research at RhodiumGroup, reported that net out-bound lending has been negativesince 2019; lending by mainlandpolicy banks to Africa droppedafter peaking at $29 billion in2016. Commerce Ministry data

showed that the number of over-seas contracts signed by Chineseconstruction firms for BRI-relat-ed lending fell sharply in 2018,reflecting the growing unease inBeijing that the BRI was “way outof control.” A Hong Kong bankersaid that by 2019, China hadexhausted its ability to maintainthe momentum. Beijing’s solutionto fund BRI by lending in ren-minbi did not work as most bor-rowers only wanted dollars.

This compelled China toincrease its dollar-denominatedexternal debt. The COVID pan-demic put Beijing in the unen-viable position of being asked toforgive some, or even all, of itsloans. At the G20 in April 2020,China offered to freeze all debtrepayments for the world’s poor-est countries until end-2020, thefirst time Beijing joined a glob-al debt relief initiative. But itrefused to include distressedloans disbursed by Eximbank orChina Development Bank in theG20 programme. Analystsexpect massive downscaling ofthe project. A few new andviable projects will be launched;the rest sidelined. Lending toAfrica will be tightly controlled,but gaps could be met by “newactors” such as technology firmHuawei.

The Coronavirus has madeit impossible to ignore the warn-ings. The Bank for InternationalSettlements warned in 2016that excessive credit growth inChina posed the risk of a bank-ing crisis within three years. InDecember 2017, the IMF

warned that China’s growingdebt-dependency could triggera new global financial crisis ascredit growth had outpacedGDP growth, corporate debt was165 per cent of GDP and house-hold debt had risen by 15 per-centage points of GDP over thepast five years.

Columnist Gordon GChang believes that China’s for-eign exchange reserves could beless than claimed as there havebeen derivative transactions tohide the quantum of dollar sell-ing to support the renminbi andstuffing of non-liquid invest-ments into its reserves. Theincreased budget of the People’sLiberation Army (officially by6.6 per cent) is an extra burdenthough deft management hasmarginally increased foreignexchange reserves to $3.09 tril-lion in April 2020 from $3.06trillion in March 2020.

As its domestic strainincreases, Beijing may showmore aggression abroad —Ladakh (India), South ChinaSea, near Taiwan — to show thatit is unperturbed by the pan-demic or slowdown. Its chutz-pah is unparalleled. In June2020, Naypitaw discovered to itschagrin that China is covertlybuilding a Hong Kong-size cityin Shwe Kokko fishing village inKayin State, on the banks ofMoei river, its border withThailand. Possibly it would beused to leverage Myanmar debtat a future date.

(The author is a senior jour-nalist. Views are personal)

When Donald Trump won the 2016 USpresidential poll, he didn’t just shake upthe American polity but visibly the entire

world. As political commentators in India and else-where tried to figure out the nuances of the US’bizarre electoral college system and how the win-ner of the popular vote actually lost an election,the world prepared for Trump. It has been a rollercoaster ride since January 2017 when Trump tookoffice. From his market-moving Twitter tirades tothe many self-aggrandising press briefings, Trumphas said a lot of things to a lot of people.

But as the US heads into the next presidential election cycle later this year, canDemocratic Party candidate Joe Biden, who was also former President Barack Obama’sVice President, defeat Trump? Biden has maintained low profile during the Coronaviruspandemic. Even during the racial protests that engulfed certain American cities, hemaintained studied silence, possibly in order to avoid his legendary gaffes. This isin sharp contrast to Trump’s bombastic statements. By all accounts, Biden is lead-ing Trump in the polls across several important American “battleground” States wherethe 2020 election will be won and lost. The average of national surveys has put Bidenup over Trump. However, this discounts the latter’s extremely good ground game;last time his team knew they had an upper hand even before the election. This iswhy they allowed the mainstream media to portray him as weak, which doubled thesurprise of his victory. It has been 28 years since an incumbent US President lostre-election. Putting Trump on the backfoot might actually spur him to revitalise hisbase. The riots now, with their senseless and wanton destruction, will actually playinto Trump’s core support base of White voters. Trump likes playing the insurgentcard when it comes to electioneering. And with the media and analysts sitting in theirivory towers in America’s coastal cities, they forget how electorally important thisbase is. For Biden to ensure victory, he will have to reach out to Trump’s core voterbase. While he has the polling lead for now, he has not started that outreach. Keepin mind that as the first votes were counted on that fateful November night in 2016,Hillary Clinton had a 96 per cent chance of being the US’ 45th President.

Faith and wisdom, both are God-gifted virtuesand do not need to be in collision with eachother. In fact, we need both of these ennobling

faculties even more during the pandemic for thesake of our spiritual and holistic well-being. Thatis the larger purpose of religion. Practitioners anddevotees do not need to follow rituals if they posea threat to humanity itself like congregations andmass gatherings would at this point. Most worldreligions, ours included, have adapted to the timeswhere assembly of the faithful at a shrine coulditself become a super-spreader of the disease, con-sidering no filtering is possible without recording

a COVID-free status of each seeker. Be it online prayer services, no-touch rituals anddiverting contribution to pandemic management, temples, churches and mosquesaround the world have redefined the way divine will can be translated on earth. Butthe row over the Puri rathyatra, where the idols of Lord Jagannath, brother Balabhadraand sister Subhadra are taken out in chariots for their annual vacation to their aunt’splace, thereby allowing the masses to avail divine benediction for the last 300 years,has again posited reason before a collective heave of emotion. Though devotees reg-ularly seek audience before the Lord at his shrine in Puri, the rathyatra has been asort of divine endorsement of a massive public spectacle and celebration that hasbecome a socio-cultural icon of Odisha and fuelled the economy of the temple town.Each year, a group of specialist craftsmen are hired to carve the three chariots. Thevery act of taking out a procession would expose the temple administration and thestate Government to an unprecedented logistical challenge of conducting ceremonieswith clinical precision and crowd management. It was foreseeing a possible publichealth and safety crisis that the Supreme Court had called for a total prohibition ofthe festival last week. “Lord Jagannath will not forgive us if we allow it,” Chief JusticeSA Bobde had ruled. But following protestations by Puri seer Shankaracharya SwamiNischalananda Saraswati, who claimed he was not consulted about the cancella-tion, the court has now left it to the temple administration and the State Governmentto manage the yatra on a limited scale. Servitors believe that stopping the yatra, whichis considered a transformative moment in nature’s cycle, would not be apt whenhumanity was suffering the most and that once broken, it could not be held for thenext 12 years. Of course, the temple authorities depend on this yatra and its fervourto plan their calendar of activities and some servitors singularly dedicate themselvesto preparations. Much money has already been spent and more so for testing all the372 labourers engaged in building the chariots in isolation. Temple authorities alsoclaimed that thousands of people in Puri municipality had gathered on the road con-necting Puri Jagannath temple to Gundicha temple on May 30 by maintaining socialdistance for singing the state anthem. So they now want the yatra to be performedby 500-600 servitors, maintaining a social distance on the 3-km road stretch andthe temple police to ensure discipline and provide back-up. They won’t allow con-gregation of devotees who can watch the procession live on TV. Would this meanthat the servitors themselves will have to go through testing and screening proto-cols before being in close proximity to each other while pulling the chariot and tak-ing turns on the rope? Would the police be able to hold off an unexpected swarm ofdevotees, given the emotional surge the event inspires each year? Let us not forgetthe stampedes associated with the event each year, when even the most meticu-lous drill has not been able to tame devotees wishing to pull the chariot for a fewmoments. Also, given that a minimum of 4,000 people are required to pull the threechariots, even a scaled down number could be big enough to monitor on the ground.

The Naveen Patnaik Government, which has its hands full with arresting the spi-ral of COVID-19, has quite a challenge in conducting a crowdless yatra. Accordingto data, around six to seven lakh people gather on the first day of the festival. On thereturn journey, the crowd swells to almost double, numbering well over 10 lakh peo-ple. The State Government’s challenge will be to keep people indoors on the day byway of an administrative curfew of sorts if it wants to uphold tradition and set anexample of how festivals can be managed in the post-pandemic era. Certainly Patnaikwould not want to risk a protocol which has aggressively contained the virus. Odishais a low incidence State thanks to his proactive containment measures and prepared-ness in setting up COVID facilities even before the predictive figures came in. So hecertainly would not want to spill water on the hard work he has done until now. Orhe could well lay the template for the mass festivals that will follow, like the GaneshUtsav in Maharashtra. Indeed, community festivals need a new common protocolin the post-pandemic era that shouldn’t be seen as being in competition with reli-giosity or diluting faith itself. It should be about treasuring God’s creation called life.

Rathyatra challenge

Foreign policy test

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Bare facts” (June 22). Indiahas always been unduly accom-modative of and friendly withChina while the latter has provedto be just the opposite. Thestory goes back to the greatbetrayal of 1962 when formerPrime Minister JawaharlalNehru’s bonhomie was returnedin the form of an invasion by theChinese. The recent India-Chinaface-off along the Galwan Valleyhas proved once again that ten-sion-free relations with expan-sionist China is wishful thinking.New Delhi needs to be practical.India’s China policy and also thatwith Taiwan needs a reset. NewDelhi must also think of extend-ing strategic support to Tibet andHong Kong.

MC JoshiLucknow

Reset terms

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Bare facts” (June 22). Ladakhhas shown China’s aversion toexisting peace arrangements. Itis under the impression that it is

invincible. But it must not forgetthe defeat it suffered at thehands of Vietnam.

Success is not the property ofany country. Likewise, defeat isnot a permanent problem of anynation. China is at loggerheads

with Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet,Japan, Vietnam and more impor-tantly with India.

By now it is clear that Chinaattaches more importance toland than good neighbourly rela-tions. The recent Chinese aggres-

sion along the Galwan Valleymust prompt India to forgealliances with other countrieshostile to it. India will need to setup new terms of peace.

KV SeetharamaiahHassan

Coordinated efforts

Sir — A spike in the number ofCoronavirus cases should sendalarm bells ringing. Death toll,too, has shown a sharp rise. Inparticular, Delhi, Mumbai andChennai pose enormous chal-lenges as they account for morethan half of the total cases in thecountry. Faced with a flaggingeconomy, the Union Governmentwas left with no option but toreopen markets. But due tomounting cases, a few States havetaken the right decision to extendthe lockdown. However, this maynot be of much help. Effortsmust be on to increase testing andtracing contacts. Testing capaci-ty has been increased to three lakhpeople daily but this is less thanadequate. Central and StateGovernments, too, need to workin tandem. Given that the spreadthe infection is showing differenttrajectories in different parts ofthe country, coordination ofresources and strategies will becrucial.

Venu GSKollam

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

www.dailypioneer.comfacebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

op nionHYDERABAD | TUESDAY | JUNE 23, 2020

06

China’s BRI trap

SANDHYA JAIN

As its domestic strain increases, Beijing may show more aggression abroad to show

that it is unperturbed by the pandemic or slowdown. That its chutzpah is unparalleled

India does not want escalation but if there isany action from China,the forces have beengiven the freedom togive a befitting reply.

Union Minister—Rajnath Singh

Due to the lockdown, peoplehave been watching web shows.That’s how people in Londonstarted recognising me. I oftenhave people waiting outside toget a glimpse of me.

Actor—Radhika Apte

We are fighting two warsagainst China — at the border and against the virus.Our 20 brave soldiers didn’tback down. Even we won’tretreat and win both the wars.

Delhi Chief Minister—Arvind Kejriwal

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

Are we prepared for a Chinese boycott?

In the aftermath of the India-China face-off at the bor-der, there has been a growing chorus to boycottChinese products and understandably so.

Interestingly, the call has elicited little response. Thepros and cons of whatever India does on the diplomat-ic and economic fronts in the context of seriouslystrained relations with China must be weighed upon.In retaliation to China’s military aggression, econom-ic gains and not losses should follow any measure taken.We should not get carried away by the nationalistic pitch.We need to recognise our strengths and weaknesseswithout getting downbeat. Frankly speaking, India doesnot have enough economic muscle to flex around.

Undeniably, Chinese products occupy much of thespace on the shelves of shops and stores in India. Chinahas not just developed a niche market; it has diversifiedinto all products and overwhelmed the Indian market.Whatever their quality, Chinese products are relativelycheaper and more affordable and face no serious com-petition. Experts are divided on the issue of imports fromChina. While some endorse the boycott call, others favourmore tariffs. We should think twice about the advisabil-ity of indiscriminately cutting down on trade with a neigh-bouring country that has a strong footprint bordering on

monopoly in the manufacturing industry and global sup-ply chains. For people to shift their brand loyalty, theyhave to have an option. To what extent the boycott willmoderate Chinese behaviour towards India is not clear.Whether the threat to boycott Chinese products can beused as a bargaining chip at the negotiating table, too,is not clear. Self-reliance and “Make in India” are wor-thy goals which we should actualise. We must unlock ourfull potential and emerge as an economic powerhouse.

G David MiltonMaruthancode

CHINA’S ECONOMICSLOWDOWN BEGAN

BEFORE THEPANDEMIC

DERAILED THEWORLD ECONOMY.

AFTER THE SECONDBELT AND ROAD

FORUM MEETING INAPRIL 2019,

SEVERAL WESTERN THINK-TANKS

SCRUTINISED BRIFINANCES FROM

PUBLIC RECORDSAND FOUND AN

OPAQUE WEB OFRECKLESSLENDING,

RESTRUCTUREDLOANS,

RENEGOTIATEDLOANS AND DEBT

FORGIVENESS

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Insurgent incumbent The only place throughwhich I can give an answeris through IPL even if I play for India. I want to face the fear and that’s the only way to live life.

Indian cricketer—S Sreesanth

Even after keeping devotees indoors, managing a people’sfestival is a big task. Will Odisha lay template for similar events?

While Democratic challenger Biden is picking up in the polls,ruling out Trump is a mistake that few should make

Necessity spawns invention

MODI MUST ALWAYS BE MINDFUL OF THE IMPLICATIONS

OF HIS WORDS AND DECLARATIONS ON OUR NATION’S

SECURITY AS ALSO TERRITORIAL INTERESTS.

—FORMER PRIME MINISTER

MANMOHAN SINGH

DR SINGH CAN CERTAINLY SHARE HIS WISDOM ON

MANY SUBJECTS BUT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE

OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER ISN’T ONE OF THEM.

—BJP PRESIDENT

JP NADDA

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

The handwritten sign on the shuttered paanshop in my neighbourhood had just aphone number on it. I had, on a whim,

gone to the market to see if there was any pos-sibility of getting some cigarettes. With nothingto lose, I tried the number. A man named Tiwarianswered the phone and when I asked him aboutthe possibility of getting cigarettes, he said hecould deliver them the next morning. Not justthat, Tiwari also asked me if I wanted the“imported” or “Indian” variety of that particu-lar brand. The price was finalised at a 50 per centmark-up to the maximum retail price (MRP) andpromptly at 10 am the next morning, Tiwari wasthere on his Scooty.

Surprised, I asked him how he had managedto reach me during a complete lockdown in ourneighbourhood where the policemen were notjust stopping people but actively demonstratingtheir penchant for using force.

Apparently, Tiwari was helped by serendip-ity. Several months ago, to make an extra buck,Tiwari had started selling bread and eggs fromhis paan shop. Now, he was allowed to open hisshop as part of essential services and that is howhe was managing to move around freely. Ofcourse, there were few people buying eggs andbread from him, since these were easily avail-able, but cigarettes and paan masala wereanother matter altogether.

Though the pandemic-induced lockdownwreaked havoc on the livelihoods of millions ofhawkers, the street vendors were the worst-hitsince they were surviving from day-to-dayeven before the shutdown began. But there areother small shopkeepers, mechanics and servicepersonnel, who are still suffering immense hard-ships due to the lockdown, even though muchof the economy has been opened up in a grad-ed manner now by the Government in a bid tostart up the growth engine.

However, the resourcefulness and resilienceof our workmen should not be underestimated.This is especially true for services and goods forwhich there is a non-discretionary demand.

A few days into the lockdown, I noticed thatsuddenly the number of vegetable vendors whopeddle their wares on carts in our neighbour-hood had increased significantly. This seemedodd and so I hypothesised that these were peo-ple who ordinarily work other trades but werenow forced to do this to earn a livelihood. Thisnebulous hypothesis was confirmed and thedetails fleshed out by Krishna, whom I accost-ed while he was on his rounds selling vegetablesnear my house.

It turned out that Krishna was otherwise adaily wage labourer — the kind that throng“labour chowks” in any city in the morning inthe hope of being picked up by a contractor towork on a building site. With the constructionbusiness being shut and being a resourceful man,he struck a deal with his neighbour, Ahmad.Ahmad is a kabadiwala (scrap collector) who hasa rickshaw which he uses. But kabadiwalas arenot allowed to ply their trade now. So Krishnaoffered to rent Ahmad’s rickshaw at `50 a day.Now Krishna goes at 3 am to the wholesale veg-etable market and gets vegetables to hawkthrough the day. The iron law of markets makesboth of them better off during the lockdown.

The resourcefulness of people slightly up thesocial ladder is also quite in evidence these days.Some at the top of the pecking order have used

their “contacts” in the administrationto get COVID-19 passes on their cars,which allow them to travel in the cityway past the curfew hours and alsocross State borders that till now remainfirmly shut for the common man.

The not so fortunate ones havefound other ways to manage the policeroadblocks. For instance, I noticed thatthere is a sudden increase in the num-ber of people who are socially-inclinedand are thus providing relief to strand-ed migrants and daily wagers. Theircars have got home printed signs thatread “COVID-19, Relief Material” andalways seem to be filled with bags andcartons. Except somehow, I never seethem going out to distribute this mate-rial to the needy.

Wikipedia lists at least 12 lan-guages with the phrase “Necessity is themother of invention.” This is certainlythe case nowadays. A friend shared apicture of how he has carefully markedhis cigarettes so that he can smoke themover time — one third in the morning,one third after tea and so on. The paanshops in his area haven’t opened up asyet and he obviously hasn’t heard of hisneighbourhood “Tiwari.”

People who never tasted any otheralcohol except for Scotch whisky aremaking do with whatever they can laytheir hands on — in a friend’s case, abottle of cheap vodka.

My own case was a bit more pro-saic. Of all things, the strap of my chap-pals broke early on in the lockdown.Since one was home-bound, this itemof footwear was the one used most ofthe time. Clearly something had to bedone. So I went to the neighbourhoodkirana (grocery) store, got some adhe-sive and used it liberally on the strapto fix it. Thankfully it is holding up andhopefully will last me till the “non-essential” shoe shops open.

Social distancing, a phrase which

has entered common parlance, thanksto its constant use in the media, hasbeen internalised by most people whocan afford to distance themselves.Except that the distancing is mostlyfrom the hoi polloi and that, too, onlywhen it can be done without any dis-comfort.

In my neighbourhood, initially nomaids or gardeners were being allowed.The residents, inspired by videos ofcelebrities on social media doingjhaadoo-pochaa (sweeping and mop-ping), decided that they, too, could doit. Alas, this lasted only for a few daysand soon the maids were called back.However, now quite a few of the maids,having lost their livelihood, had goneback to their villages. Thus, the few whoremained were cajoled and implored totake on work at extra houses.

The one thing which didn’t involveany social distancing was of course buy-ing fruits and vegetables. This is oneactivity in which every household inIndia excels. In the initial days of thelockdown, as soon as the fruit/vegetablehawker would call out, women from thecolony would come out and crowdaround him.

No masks of course were worn byany of them possibly taking the initialWorld Health Organisation (WHO)recommendations of masks not beingneeded seriously. More importantly,every single apple, mango, tomato,potato and okra was hand-picked froma pile and then the usual haggling overprice happened.

Now, of course, with the pandem-ic spreading like wildfire and theWHO recommending masks andgloves as a means of escaping infection,the ladies of the colony and even thefruit/vegetable vendors are sportingmasks. That they hang loose most of thetime is another matter.

Yet another thing which happened

during the forced lockdown was anincreased interest in sports. This, ineffect, meant playing the one gamewhich is easiest to play on the road, inyour garden, driveway or even your ter-race — badminton. It was vaguelytouching to see couples, who last pos-sibly picked up a racket 20 years ago,suddenly bonding over a game of bad-minton on their terrace. Board gamesalso became all the rage for familiesforced to stay indoors and, of course,their prices skyrocketed thanks to theopportunism displayed by online toyvendors.

The children continued ridingtheir bicycles as well as playing othergames, blissfully unaware of the needfor social distancing. While ordinarilythey would play inside the house sincethe roads had traffic, the lockdownmeant that the roads were almostempty and so they could play in thestreets.

Incidentally, it also meant that theroads were taken over by dogs, birds,stray cattle and in our case, several hors-es — I am not sure where they camefrom — maybe because no weddingswere taking place, the ghodi walas (wed-ding mare providers) had let them looseto feed on whatever they could find.

Now with the Unlock 1.0 in forceand our leader telling us to unlock,unlock, unlock, things are changing.For instance, since there is a gradualincrease in construction activity as wellas street hawking, the number offruit/vegetable sellers has decreased toalmost pre-lockdown levels.

Tiwari now opens his paan shop asusual but what is curious, continues tosell his wares at a mark-up. When Iasked him why he is doing this now, heconspiratorially whispers — “Sir,banned hai na.”

(The writer is Professor, Departmentof Physics and Astrophysics, DU)

The resourcefulness and resilience of our workmen should not be underestimated. This is especiallytrue for services and goods for which there is a non-discretionary demand

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

UTTAM GUPTA

SEVERAL MONTHS AGO,

TO MAKE AN EXTRA BUCK,

TIWARI HADSTARTED

SELLING BREAD AND EGGS FROMHIS PAAN SHOP.

NOW, HE WASALLOWED

TO OPEN HIS SHOP AS PART OF ESSENTIAL

SERVICES AND THAT IS HOW

HE WAS MANAGINGTO MOVE AROUND

FREELY. OF COURSE,THERE WERE FEW

PEOPLE BUYINGEGGS AND BREAD

FROM HIM,SINCE THESE WERE EASILY

AVAILABLE, BUTCIGARETTES AND

PAAN MASALAWERE ANOTHER

MATTERALTOGETHER

The Supreme Court was against burdening customers with a loantrap while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by oneGajendra Sharma, demanding a “waiver on interest charged”

by a bank citing the relief given by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)on the payment of equated monthly installments (EMIs) during Marchand August 31 due to the pandemic. A three-Judge Bench of theSupreme Court observed: “There is no merit in burdening customers,who have opted for the RBI-approved loan moratorium, with addi-tional interest. Once you fix a moratorium it should serve the pur-pose desired. We see no merit in charging interest on interest.” TheBench, which posted the matter for hearing in the first week of Augustto allow the Centre and the RBI to review the situation, asked the IndianBanks Association (IBA) to examine whether they could bring newguidelines on the issue of loan moratorium. From this, it would appearthat the apex court may be concurring with the petitioner. It believesthat without granting interest waiver on the amount remaining unpaidduring the moratorium period, the very act of granting it is renderedmeaningless. This is reinforced by another observation by the Bench,“On the one hand, you are granting moratorium (on loans) but con-tinuing with interest. It is more detrimental.” As we await the court’sorder we need to address some pertinent questions.

What did the RBI offer to the borrowers? What did it cost thebanks and how will interest waiver impact them? How will bank depos-itors be affected? Let us check a few facts. On March 27, the RBIGovernor announced a comprehensive action plan to resuscitate theeconomy. Among other things, the plan sought to ease the stress ofloan repayments on businesses and individuals and this included athree-month moratorium on payment of installments in respect of allterm loans outstanding on March 31.

As the lockdown continued much longer than it was initially envis-aged on May 22, the Governor announced extension of the morato-rium for another three months till August 31. He also allowed thosewho availed of working capital facilities to convert accumulated inter-est for the deferment period (March 1 – August 31) into a FundedInterest Term Loan (FITL) which can be paid by March 31, 2021.

The RBI also eased asset classification norms for all accountscoming under the moratorium. These accounts will be treated as non-performing assets (NPA) from 270 days overdue instead of 90 daysoverdue as per extant rules. It has also extended the 210-day reso-lution period for all large, stressed accounts under its June 7, 2019circular. On its expiry, if banks are not ready with a resolution plan,the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) comes into play by a fur-ther 180 days.

The RBI has thus taken all necessary steps to shield COVID-19affected businesses and individuals from going into default and neg-ative consequences such as a loan becoming a NPA or proceedingsunder the IBC that go with it. It has also eased the burden of payingback accumulated interest for the moratorium period. There couldnot have been a more generous relief package. This has come at thecost to banks who will be required to make additional 10 per centprovision on these so-called “standstill” accounts (albeit borrowerswho decide to avail of the moratorium) over three quarters endingMarch, June and September. Yet, borrowers are dissatisfied and aredemanding waiver of interest, too, arguing that the latter is meaning-less without the former. The apex court is concurring with this inter-pretation.

However, this interpretation may not hold ground because themoratorium is actually a “deferment” of existing and current liabili-ties. It means that for now, keeping in view the prevailing excruciat-ing circumstances, the borrower need not pay for the specified peri-od. But, it does not alter any of the other covenants in his loan agree-ment with the bank. If, he decides not to pay interest during the mora-torium period, “the interest accrued on the unpaid interest amount”will have to be paid by him.

Granting interest waiver (in addition to deferment) will amountto creating discrimination among borrowers who decide to avail ofthe moratorium and others who don’t. There are a large number ofborrowers in the latter category as can be seen from the followingnumbers reported by the largest Public Sector Bank (PSB) viz. theState Bank of India (SBI). According to the SBI, over 80 per cent ofits retail borrowers did not avail of the moratorium for two out of thefirst three months initially allowed by the RBI. Further, 90 per cent ofsuch borrowers did not avail of the moratorium for one month. Inother words, they continued to pay the EMI. If, the Supreme Courtgrants interest waiver, are we then to infer that those who have alreadypaid their EMIs will get refund of the “interest on interest” from thebank? If they don’t (very likely) then we will end up with two sets ofborrowers viz. one who availed of moratorium and got interest waiv-er too and the other, who got neither just because he decided to pay.

Plus, loans worth 40,00,000 crore are eligible for the six-monthmoratorium allowed by the RBI. Taking the average lending rate atone per cent, the interest cost for six months works out to about`2,00,000 crore. This will be the loss to banks if the court allowsinterest waiver for the moratorium period. But, the buck does not stophere. The banks give loans using depositors’ money. If, the formersuffer a loss, this will impact the latter by way of reduction in the depositrate. There are millions of depositors who depend solely on interestincome for their survival. Already, in a declining rate scenario (thiswas even before the Corona crisis), they have suffered heavily. Theinterest rate on the Senior Citizen Saving Scheme, which is normal-ly kept immune from market-driven variations, too, has declined byover two per cent in the last couple of years. The crisis has aggra-vated their woes. To give relief to a certain section of society at thecost of another will be discriminatory.

To argue that deferment of an existing liability per se is no reliefis untenable. If, someone is passing through a difficult phase (say,in case of this petitioner whose shop remained closed during the lock-down) and he is exempted from having to pay the EMI during thisperiod, which is what the RBI has done, this by itself is unquestion-ably a big relief. While he will be happy to get interest waiver as well,that does not take away from the fact that he got a huge relief.

What if the Centre decides to pay for interest waiver? It can doso for PSBs only and this won’t be possible in case of private banks.This will lead to an anomalous situation whereby someone who hastaken loan from a private bank won’t get the benefit of interest waiv-er. That apart, the Government needs to decide whether it can affordthis when it needs to keep its scarce (and dwindling) resources forthe basic needs of the poorest only. Hopefully, the apex court willsee the inherent flaw in allowing interest waiver for the moratoriumperiod and dismiss the demand made by the petitioner.

(The writer is a New Delhi-based policy analyst)

As agri-business celebrates theremoval of pulses, oilseeds, cere-als and so on from the purview

of the Essential Commodities Act(ECA), Indian farmers and consumersdon’t have reason to celebrate. TheGovernment’s advisors, in an attempt tobring in more “agri-dollars”, may havemisled the Narendra Modi Governmentby opening doors for cartelisation ofthese commodities, while at the sametime dismantling the consumers’ andfarmers’ only defence against monopoly.For evidence, we need to look no fur-ther than 2015. Modi 1.0 was complet-

ing one year in office as prices of puls-es skyrocketed to over `200 a kg. Afterthe Income Tax Department investigat-ed the matter, a 2.5 lakh crore dal scamwas unearthed. The I-T Department’sAppraisal Report in the Case of PulseImporters and Traders Group said, “Theabnormal price situation in India wascreated by a coordinated collusive activ-ity orchestrated by a few trading andfinancial entities.” They found that“physical stocks of pulses (were) cor-nered in domestic and internationalmarkets. Significant long positions onthe future were taken on exchanges tocreate an artificial scarcity at the whole-sale and retail levels.”

International agri-business andgrain traders had shrewdly circumvent-ed the ECA by leveraging their overseaspresence and created a monopoly by“procuring and hoarding stocks of puls-es in national as well as overseas mar-kets.” They manipulated domestic dalprices to plummet so that they gainedmaximum from the stocks bought at lowprices. The super profit earned in this

manner was not offered to tax and wassiphoned off either abroad or convert-ed into unaccounted cash through entryoperators. It was then that theGovernment, using the ECA, raided andseized over 70,000 metric tonnes (MT)of pulses from hoarders and traders andbroke the cartel. The entire supplychain was complicit in the scam and infact the IT Department investigated theNational Commodity and DerivativesExchange (NCDEX) too, for its role inaiding this crisis. It turned out that thefeat was jointly managed by the inter-national agri-business, localsuppliers/traders and agri-commoditybrokers at the NCDEX.

Now, the Government’s advisorshave removed all barriers to stockinglimits. The people responsible for the dalscam can now legally operate and evenbe absolved of their past crimes.

A curious case: Cotton is not onlya fibrous cash crop for Indian farmersbut is also an oilseed. Many experts haveraised bio-safety concerns on GMO Btcottonseed being blended freely into our

edible oils. Nevertheless, the demand forcottonseed oil is ever-growing. Much likepulses, oilseeds were removed from theECA, too. There are unconfirmedreports of cottonseed being removedfrom the ECA as it is also an oilseed.Interestingly enough, the ModiGovernment has had a taste of BtCotton monopoly, where it used ECAto prevent unfair business practices andcontrol prices of cottonseed in 2015. Thiswas done because illegal trait value wasbeing charged.

To the rescue: The ECA had repeat-edly come to the aid of the IndianGovernment, legal traders, farmers andconsumers. Of late, it helped break thecotton seed and dal cartels. However, thesafeguard measures of emergency con-trol laid out by the Government in theOrdinance for protecting different stake-holders is not strong enough. TheGovernment must keep all seeds forsowing under the purview of the ECAand add clauses to strengthen this law.India’s cotton farmers are already high-ly indebted and 84 per cent of farmers’

suicides are reported from the cotton-farming belts. No illegal trait fees androyalties should be charged and cottonseed should remain under the ECA.

Don’t ape the US: The Governmentneeds to study the dal scam and the ITDepartment’s findings. We need tobring pulses and oilseeds back under theECA. By deregulation, we are blindlycopying the US’ post World War-II farmpolicy, which has failed for US farmersand led to the creation of agri-commod-ity giants. The liberalisation of farm-gatehas destroyed farmers not just in the US,but in Mexico, Brazil and elsewhere, too.Indian farmers will be the biggest losersand consumers won’t be far behindeither. Consumers will gradually feel theburn of such deregulation, too. TheCentre must tread carefully. Before dis-mantling the ECA, the Governmentmust revisit the dark history of the EastIndia Company, which was the world’sfirst agri-business trans-national corpo-ration.

(The writer is Director, Policy andOutreach, NSAI)

Strengthen Essential Commodities ActBy deregulation, we are copying the US’ failed post World War-II farm policy which led to the creation of agri-commodity giants

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | JUNE 23, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

SHOBHIT MAHAJAN

INDRA SHEKHAR SINGH

A highlyunreasonable

request Granting interest waiver, in addition to deferment,

will amount to creating discrimination amongborrowers who decide to avail the RBI’s loan

moratorium and others who don’t

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | JUNE 23, 2020 money 08

CAPSULE

Crude oil futuresslump on lowdemandNEW DELHI: Crude oil futureson Monday dropped 0.43 percent to Rs 3,038 per barrel asparticipants trimmed theirpositions on low demand. Onthe Multi CommodityExchange, crude oil for Julydelivery fell by Rs 13, or 0.43per cent, to Rs 3,038 perbarrel with a business volumeof 4,635 lots. Crude oil forAugust delivery was quotinglower by Rs 21, or 0.68 percent, at Rs 3,061 per barrelwith an open interest of 58lots. Globally, West TexasIntermediate crude oil wastrading flat at USD 39.75 perbarrel. However, Brent crudewas trading 0.07 per cent upat USD 42.22 per barrel inNew York.

GE Power Q4 netprofit down 44 pc atRs 14.87 crNEW DELHI: GE Power Indiaon Monday reported over 44per cent decline inconsolidated net profit at Rs14.87 crore for the quarterended March 2020. Thecompany had posted aconsolidated net profit of Rs26.85 crore during the quarterended March 2019, aregulatory filing said. Totalincome rose to Rs 773.65crore in the quarter underreview from Rs 400.81 crorein the same period a year ago.For fiscal year 2019-20,consolidated net profit rose toRs 84.60 crore as comparedwith Rs 75.40 crore in 2018-19. Total income in 2019-20increased to Rs 2,570.79 crorefrom Rs 2,035.21 crore in2018-19. The company'sboard recommended adividend of Rs 2 per equityshare for the year endedMarch 31, 2020.

Adani Power boardapproves delistingfrom BSE, NSENEW DELHI: Adani Powerboard on Monday approvedthe proposal to delist thecompany's equity shares fromstock exchanges. Thecompany has worked out thefloor price of an equity shareof Rs 33.82 to buy 96.53crore scrips with the public forabout Rs 3,264 crore. In aregulatory filing, the companysaid it will seek shareholdersnod for delisting on BSE andNSE through a postal ballot.Shares of the company weretrading at Rs 37.85 apiece onBSE in afternoon session,down 0.39 per cent from theirprevious close.

Rupee surges 17paise to 76.03against US dollarMUMBAI: The rupee onMonday appreciated 17 paiseto close at 76.03 (provisional)against the US dollar in linewith positive equity marketsamid sustained foreign fundinflows. Besides, a weak USdollar against major globalcurrencies also aided therupee's upward movement,forex dealers said. At theinterbank foreign exchangemarket, the rupee openedstrong at 76.16 and it furtherrushed to touch a high of75.98 during the trade. Thedomestic currency finallysettled at 76.03 against the USdollar, registering a rise of 17paise over its previous closeof 76.20. On the equities front,the 30-share BSE benchmarkSensex was trading 442.58points higher at 35,174.31.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Hindustan Motors (HM)on Monday said there isn o a d v e r s e f i n a n c i a limpact on the companydue to the coronaviruspandemic.

In view of outbreak ofCOVID-19 and the subse-quent lockdown imposedby the central and stategovernments, the compa-ny is closely monitoringthe impact of this pan-demic, Hindustan Motorssaid in a regulatory filing.

T h e c omp a ny h a dclosed Uttarpara plant cit-ing severe cash crunchdu e t o p o or s a l e s o fAmbassador cars.

PNS n KOLKATA

Food and beverages majorPepsiCo said on Monday thatit will install communitywater filters for safe wateraccess in the cycloneAmphan-affected villages insome districts on WestBengal. Installing 80 commu-nity filters will enable theavailability of clean water formore than a year, benefittingover 8,000 affected people inPurba Medinipur, Howrah,Kolkata, and South 24Parganas districts, it said.

The PepsiCo Foundationhas partnered withSustainable Environment andEcological DevelopmentSociety (SEEDS).

PNS n NEW DELHI

ICICI Bank on Monday saidit has sold 1.5 per cent stakein its life insurance sub-sidiary for around Rs 840crore with an aim to strength-en the balance sheet.

Last week, the lender hadinformed exchanges aboutselling a little less than 4 percent stake in its general insur-ance subsidiary for Rs 2,250crore. While announcing itsresults for 2019-20 on May 9,ICICI Bank had said it wouldlook at further strengtheningthe balance sheet as opportu-nities arise. "In line with thisintent and pursuant to approvalgranted by the Board, theBank has today divested2,15,00,000 equity shares offace value of Rs 10 each ofICICI Prudential LifeInsurance Company, repre-senting 1.50 per cent of itsequity share capital at March31, 2020, on the stock exchangefor an approximate total con-sideration of Rs 8.40 billion (Rs840 crore )," ICICI Bank saidin a regulatory filing.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Mahindra & Mahindra(M&M) on Monday said ithas introduced its newSarpanch Plus range of trac-tors in Maharashtra, withthe launch of the 575Sarpanch Plus model pricedat Rs 6.60 lakh (ex show-room, Maharashtra). The 575Sarpanch Plus is an upgradeof the company's popular575 Sarpanch and the newseries offers models spanningmultiple horsepower-pointsfrom 30 HP to 50 HP catego-ry, M&M said in a statement.It offers 2 HP more power,higher max torque and back-up torque, to cover moreland quickly, the companyadded.

The new Sarpanch Plusseries comes with a 6-yearwarranty and can be bookedonline for an initial paymentof Rs 5,000 and is availablewith special finance and cus-tomer schemes, it added.

PNS n MUMBAI

Singapore-based DBS Bankon Monday reported nearlyeight-fold jump in profit for2019-20 from its India opera-tions at Rs 111 crore.

The bank had posted a netprofit of Rs 14.5 crore in2018-19.

The lender, whose networkin India has now increased to34 branches, reported 24 percent growth in net revenues at

Rs 1,444 crore during the lastfinancial year and a fall instressed assets.

DBS Bank India CEOSurojit Shome said the perfor-mance should be seen as beingdemonstrative of the bank'sfocus and commitment toIndia.

“Despite the prevailingheadwinds, we are confidentthat we will continue to capi-talise on growth opportuni-ties,” Shome said.

PNS n BANGKOK

World shares sagged Mondayas reports of new coronavirusinfections in the U.S. andworldwide surged, with theglobal total approaching 9 mil-lion. European marketsopened lower after a mixedsession in Asia.

Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.3%to 6,275.24. The CAC 40 inParis edged 0.2% lower to4,967.73, while Germany'sDAX slipped 0.1% to12,315.63. U.S. futures augureda strong start to the week, withthe contracts for both the S&P500 and the Dow up 0.8%.

Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 wasalmost unchanged at 5,944.50,supported by a report that con-

sumer spending has rebound-ed more quickly from the pan-demic shock than expected,analysts said.

“However, that partlyreflects pent-up demand andthe strong support from gov-

ernment initiatives.Employment income hasslumped and we only expectspending to return to pre-virus levels next year,” MarcelThieliant of Capital Economicssaid in a report.

Exports improving, down by about10-12 pc so far in June: GoyalPNS n NEW DELHI

India's exports are showingsigns of improvement as thecontraction in outbound ship-ments in June so far has comedown to about 10-12 per centas compared with 60 per centin April, Commerce andIndustry Minister Piyush Goyalsaid on Monday.

Declining for the thirdstraight month, India's exportsdipped 36.47 per cent in Mayto USD 19.05 billion.

"Currently we are about 10-12 per cent down in June. Soin a sense, we have reached upto 88-90 per cent of the level ofexports that we had in June2019 in the current month inthe first two weeks. I am await-ing the data for third week (ofJune)," Goyal said at a CII func-tion.

The minister said that thefocus is on sustainablegrowth and not on giving"handout" for exports.

He said subsidies arenever good for business-es and don't helpdomestic exporters inengaging with the

world from a position ofstrength and power.

When asked about foreigndirect investment (FDI), hesaid almost all sectors are openfor overseas investors, but theministry is open to other ideas.

"We have some constraintsin multi-brand retail becausewe have a large part of Indiansdependent on small mom-and-pop stores," he said,adding that these shops havekept essential supplies availableand played a key role duringthe ongoing coronavirus pan-demic.

"In insurance, our expecta-tions from insurance compa-nies was much more and deep-er, sadly we feel let down. Sothere are few sectors where wewould like all of you tell us," headded.

The minister said that thegovernment has to balancesecurity concerns and openingup of economy.

"FDI is welcome, but we cer-tainly have to take precau-tions that we do not get thewrong type of capital which isopportunist and which is notreally good for thenation,"Goyal said.

The minister also said thatthe government is giving spe-cial focus to high quality stan-

dard products."I think a lot of people

have not appreciated thatour government is giving

priority to high qualitystandards....(But) Indiahas finally evolved

and has made upits mind that weare going to only

accept goodquality prod-ucts," he added.

‘Huge opportunities forbusinesses in railways’NEW DELHI: Railways MinisterPiyush Goyal on Monday saidhuge opportunities are there forbusinesses in the sector as theministry is willing to lease outtraffic routes and parcel trainsto them. He said the railwaysare now going to start 150private trains to movepassengers and invited theprivate sector to participate inthat.

"Private sector can support inmillion ways... I am going tolease out new routes, in thesense that I am going to saythat okay you (private players)identify the route (where) youwant to set up a train service.

"If you want, we are willingto co-invest with you in newlines. We are willing to leaseout traffic routes, we arewilling to lease out parceltrains. So, there are a lot ofopportunities opening up for

the private sector," Goyal saidin a CII online event.

He added that the privatesector can look at an elevatedcorridor along the nationalhighways as land procurementwould not be a challengethere.

The minister also said thaton Sunday, railways were ableto move about 95 per cent ofthe freight that it did on June21 last year.

PNS n NEW DELHI

India's economic recovery ismore likely to be a 'U' or 'W'shaped rather than 'V' as theimpact of COVID-19 will beprofound on a nation that wasalready struggling for growthprior to the pandemic, analystssaid. "Before the onset ofCOVID, Indian economy hadslowed down to 4.5 per centGDP growth, not participatingin the global resurgence of2018 and 2019," CentrumInstitutional Research said ina report on Monday.

For India, the outbreak ofpandemic came at most inop-portune time as the economyshowed nascent signs of recov-

ery after bold measures, fromboth the government and theReserve Bank of India.

"India rightly went in for anearly lockdown to counterCovid, thereby delaying thepeak, but will have muchslower economic recovery.Given the last two years lack-lustre growth, the govern-ment has limited resources tosupport demand in the econ-omy. Thus, we believe that theimpact of Covid will be pro-found in India and the recov-ery will be more 'U' or 'W' than'V' expected in some advancedeconomies," it said.

Economic recession and recoveryare often charted in the most com-mon shapes such as U, V and W.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Traders' body CAIT onMonday burnt Chinese goodsin Delhi's main market KarolBagh to demonstrate theirresentment and anger againstthe killing of 20 Indian soldiersin clashes with the Chinesetroops in the Galwan Valleylast week.

The protesting traders ledby Confederation of All IndiaTraders (CAIT) SecretaryGeneral Praveen Khandelwalwere briefly detained by thepolice and taken to the Karol

Bagh Police Station. The trader's body claimed

that Maharashtra ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackerayhas accepted its demand to

cancel three MoUs signed bythe Maharashtra governmentwith Chinese companiesrecently. While compliment-ing Thackeray, Khandelwal

said, "This step is in linewith the sentiments of thepeople of the country and willbe a lesson to China".

"This demonstration is areflection of the boiling angerin the hearts and minds ofIndian traders and citizensagainst China's continuedantagonism towards India.Due to the prevailing state ofCOVID-19 pandemic, thisdemonstration was done byadopting all measures ofsocial distancing and safetyprecautions," the CAIT said.

World shares slip as globalvirus tally approaches 9 million

PNS n NEW DELHI

India – Business Wire IndiaGodfrey Phillips India hasonce again been recognized asamongst the top 50 India's BestCompanies to Work For 2020,an annual ranking of compa-nies with exceptional peoplepractices and workplace cul-tures. Godfrey Phillips Indiaparticipated for the secondyear and received a ranking of29th, improving over the 37thposition last year. The recog-nition is a testament to the richand vibrant culture of theorganization that valuesrespect, transparency, collabo-ration and empowerment.

With ‘People First' approach

as a core of its philosophy, therecognition celebrates severalbest practices of the Companythat includes the Bottom Upapproach for building empow-erment, encouraging risk tak-ing and learning from failures,support for the employeesfrom excellent medical bene-fits to training, upskilling,reskilling and development

programs. The Company alsotakes pride in its high employ-ee engagement which was vis-ible in the crisis period of thepandemic where the Companywas consistent with communi-cation, objectives, directionand guidance along with theleadership reaching out andconnecting empatheticallywith the employees.

DBS Bank logs Rs 111cr profit from India ops

PNS n HYDERABAD

Institute of Cost Accounts ofIndia (ICAI) Hyderabad chap-ter management committeehas electedManikyalaVenkateshwarlu asits chairman in the 55th yearAGM held here in city.Elections were held for the2020-21 committees duringgeneral body meeting and MVenkateshwarlu won the elec-tion.

M Venkateshwarlu possess-es 22 years of professionalexperience in the field andcurrently he is working asAccounts Officer in theTSSPDCL. Khaja Jalaluddinwas elected vice chairman ofthe committee whereas HimaVidya elected Secretary andLavanya Kanduri as theTreasurer.

Elected chairman MVenkateshwarlu thanked themembers of the committeeand vowed to work with all thestakeholders for the collectiveprogress. He said that separateplan of action would be readyfor the MSME sector in the

coming days. He furtheradded that these sectors wouldbe brought to the tracks ofprogress using online tools.

He said that challenges ofthe industry emerged due tothe Covid-19 crisis would beaddressed firmly and suitably.Raising an important factor, hesaid that following the boycottof goods from China acrossthe country, he would strive tocash in on the demand for thelocal products in the market.

Venkateshwarlu also said thatthe agenda of the Central govern-ment regarding 'Atmanirbhartha'would be further propelled in thecoming days.

ICAI Hyd chapterelects its chairman

India ‘fast moving' economy, says Aus ministerPNS n MELBOURNE

Describing India as a "complexmarket" but a "very fast movingeconomy", Australian trademinister Simon Birminghamhas said that the government isprogressively implementing therecommendations of a report tofurther deepen its trade andinvestment relations with NewDelhi.

India is Australia's eighth-largest trading partner andfifth-largest export market, withtwo-way goods and servicestrade valued at 30.3 billionAustralian dollars in 2018-19. Ina recent interview to a televisionnews channel, Birminghamsaid, "India is a complex mar-ket". However, it is a "very fastmoving economy" with "lots ofdifferent pieces with lots of dif-

ferent states". "And that's whywe commissioned an IndiaEconomic Strategy that hasmany recommendations to it,and we're getting on and we'reprogressively implementingthose recommendations so thatwe can deepen our ties in areaslike education, build newopportunities in areas such asagriculture," he told the SkyNews.

‘No financialimpact due tocoronavirus’

ICICI Banksells stake inlife insurance

M&M launchesSarpanch Plustractors

Relief forvillages inBengal

Traders burn Chinese goods in DelhiSINO-INDIA BORDER TENSION

Economic recoverylikely to be ‘U' or ‘W'

Goyal said thatthe pvt sectorcan look at anelevated corridoralong the NHs asland procurementwould not be achallenge there

Simon Birmingham

Godfrey Phillips India ‘the bestcompanies to work for in 2020’

The recognition is atestament to the richand vibrant cultureof the organizationthat values respect,transparency

The traderswere brieflydetained bythe policeand takento the KarolBagh PS

EPFO adds 1.39 croresubscribers in last two fiscalsPNS n NEW DELHI

Retirement fund body added1.39 crore new subscribers inlast two financial years, theMinistry of Labour &Employment said on Monday.

"Recently published provi-sional payroll data by theEPFO highlights the evergrowing trend of increasingsubscriber base for EPFO,since the collation of payrolldata from September 2017,"the ministry said in a state-ment.

The payroll data presents theconsolidated annual figuresfor 2018-19 and 2019-20.

Net addition to subscriberbase rose from 61.12 lakhadded in 2018-19 to 78.58lakh in 2019-20, registering a28 per cent growth, it added.

The data published compris-es of all the new members whohave joined during the monthand whose contribution isreceived.

The subscriber growth is onaccount of lower exits andhigher rejoining by exited

members, it explained.The tax-free returns of 8.5

per cent for 2019-20, which isone of the highest amongother social security instru-ments and fixed deposits, hashelped the EPFO reduce itsexits for 2019-20 by around 10per cent as compared with theprevious year, it said.

Moreover, there has been arobust increase of around 75per cent in terms of rejoiningby the members exited from43.78 lakh in 2018-19 to 78.15lakh in 2019-20, it claimed.

fter successfullykeeping audi-ences engagedand entertained,Flipkart Video isbringing back

Kya Bolti Public with Season2 on popular demand.Launching on the Flipkartapp, the show deliversresponses to some of thecountry’s most contestedquestions with its uniqueformat, witty one-liners,and audience poll entries.From Bollywood to sportsto everyday life, it’s the ulti-mate entertainer to settlehousehold debates.

Truly loving his experi-ence as a host, Maniesh Paulhad earlier rallied up hisfollowers on social media inthe lead up to the launch ofseason 2. Getting his fans tojoin in the excitement,Maniesh had posted a series of stories onInstagram, asking his fol-lowers to choose how hisdays would shape up. Fromwhat he should have fordessert to what his workoutshould be, Maniesh let hisfollowers pick a choice in all his important tasks overthe week. Fans did not failto impress him as theyenthusiastically connectedwith Maniesh through his

stories.“Kya Bolti Public has been

such a unique experiencefor me. It was the first timeI was shooting and hostinga show from home withoutany elaborate setup and Ican’t believe that we’realready back for season 2.Flipkart Video has createdsuch a simple yet engagingformat and the responsefrom the public has beenoverwhelming. I am lookingforward to yet another successful season and I can’t wait to find out Kya Bolti Public?,” Manieshsaid.

So, are you ready forround 2?

Just like before, Kya BoltiPublic Season 2 integratestwo highly engaging con-cepts, gamification, andvideo streaming on theFlipkart app.

Spanning over a month,the show will have a newepisode each day that willbe live for a whole 24 hours.The poll-based game showwill ask its viewers a set of 5exciting questions everyepisode with 2 options tochoose from. The questionshave no right or wronganswer and the results solely

depend on, like the showname suggests, India’s mostpopular choice.

This season, Kya BoltiPublic allows everyone achance to win big, with atruly democratic approach.Every single participantwho selects the ‘popularvote’, is guaranteed to win aprize! From gift vouchersto SuperCoins as well as a

grand prize of gift vouch-ers worth rupees 1 lakheach day, there is a lot upfor grabs. Yes, it is thateasy; this is your chance towin big prizes every day byjust following yourinstincts. Tune into theFlipkart app, tap on thevideo button at the bottomof your screen, click onKya Bolti Public Season 2and play the game now!

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

TuesdayJune 23, 2020

SPANNING OVER AMONTH, THE SHOWWILL HAVE A NEWEPISODE EACH DAYTHAT WILL BE LIVEFOR A WHOLE 24HOURS

“Jobs always doesn’t giveus room to grow,sometimes we have tomake some. It’s easy towait for approval but a lotharder to take aninitiative. The mostsuccessful people areproactive.

ANURADHA VELLALNATIONAL HEAD OF TALENT

ATTRACTION TO COCA COLACOMPANY.

The question is how manyof us will be able to workfrom home when theCOVID-19 crisis fades?It’s like a massiveexperiment in‘telecommuting’,telecommuting being thetalk of the town. But let’snot forget it’s a sign ofprivilege as som, like agrocery store manager,might not be able toafford a similar luxury.

VIMMI CHACHRA, CHRO FOR SOPRA STERIA

MANAGING YOUR CAREER amid COVID 19 crisis

The pandemic has brought with it a set of challenges that include students and many others lookingfor jobs in vain. The Pioneer's SHIKHA DUGGAL speaks to experts from various fields who speakon what can be done to make this a little less chaotic

oronavirus hascertainly changedhow many feelabout theirfuture. Most areworried about

securing that first job oftheirs. According to reports,people who had secured aninternship or post-graduatework say have either beencancelled or offers have beenrevoked. Several graduatingstudents are looking forways to upskill or aremulling over notentering the job marketright now. The Pioneerhas industry experts acrossvarious sectors giving us afew tips on how we canprogress in such uncertaintimes like this pandemic.

An initiative taken bynaukri.com called ‘Step-up’fulfils the criteria of manag-ing the current job market.“It is designed to supportorganisations that arerecruiting people as aresponse to COVID-19 pan-demic. The industriesinclude medical care, med-ical equipment, pharmacy,and telecom. It equipsorganisations from select

industries with free solu-tions and personalised sup-port to help them recruitfaster,” informs SharmeenKhalid, the chief humanresources officer.

These unprecedented timeshave called for a new normaleverywhere. From youngsterslooking to be entrepreneurs,young leaders changing theworld to the crisis accelerat-ing digitisation, allof this is redefin-

ing

the under-standing of‘work’. On oneside we haveindustries whose rev-enue has boomed sudden-ly. Imagine the life of asoftware engineerworking for ‘Zoom’now, since asbefore thepandemic,videoconfer-encingmeantonly

Skype. The ‘Zoom’ app is theofficial center for all videocall sessions. It’s garnering alot of attention now, hence itsbusiness model has helpedearn good money leading toprogression. And on theother side, we have industrieslike tourism, aviation, retail,real estate, automobiles, etc.that have been impactedadversely.

Speaking on how shemanages engagement and

work per-for-

mances amid an outbreak,Dr. Lavanya Kannairam,team lead for TheCaterpillar India Pvt. Ltd.,says, “I am delivering what’sbeen expected from me asan employee with utterfocus. Looking at the cur-rent scenario, I feel beingpositive is the key alongwith some liberation.Start developing

resilience

and embrace the change weare observing with regardsto working from home.”

“Jobs always doesn’t giveus room to grow, sometimeswe have to make some. It’seasy to wait for approval buta lot harder to take an initia-tive. The most successfulpeople are proactive,” sharesexpresses Anuradha Vellal,

the National Head ofTalent Attraction toCoca Cola company.Even in these distress-ing times, Anuradha

feels you can stillshow-caseyour tal-

ents and show everybodyelse how much you can con-tribute amid a pandemicdespite working from home.

Work from home beingthe new normal today hascome with its sets of chal-lenges too. Sometimes itleads to ample distractionsmaking it hard to separateyour personal life from pro-fessional one or your inter-net at home may not be areliable one. “The questionis how many of us will beable to do it when theCOVID-19 crisis fades? It’slike a massive experiment in‘telecommuting’, telecom-muting being the talk of thetown. But let’s not forget it’sa sign of privilege as som,like a grocery store manager,might not be able to afford asimilar luxury. As of now,my company Sopra SteriaIndia Ltd. has allowed itshundred percent staff towork from home and therehas been no loss of produc-tivity. If you hand over theright tools to empower youremployee, the results aregoing to be assuring,”assures Vimmi Chachra,CHRO for Sopra Steria.

C

FROM YOUNGSTERSLOOKING TO BEENTREPRENEURS,YOUNG LEADERSCHANGING THEWORLD TO THECRISISACCELERATINGDIGITISATION, ALLOF THIS ISREDEFINING THEUNDERSTANDINGOF ‘WORK’

Cops and Corporates

unveil #PlayFromHome

n the occasion ofWorld MusicDay, Cisne forArts, an eventplanning organi-sation, launched

#PlayFromHome — a musiccompilation with bandsfrom Police Band ofCyberabadCommissionerate and cor-porate establishments likeSalesforce, Cognizant,RealPage, Novartis, andZemoso Technologies tocelebrate the day.

The music album featuresold concert recordings ofUstad Zakir Hussain fromConfluence — Ustad ZakirHussain, Bela Fleck, andEdgar Meyer, Begum Abida

Parveen from Paigham-e-Mohabbat — Abida Parveenand Muzaffar Ali, by artistsPurbayan Chatterjee, JimmyFelix, Flute Nagaraju, andRajesh Vaidhya, with a spe-cial appearance by notedsinger Kailash Kher.

Music composer andsinger Kailash Kher in hisnote, over a video, said, “Iam happy to note a uniqueinitiative to spread the heal-ing power of music is beingconducted by CyberabadPolice and Corporate Bandsof Hyderabad.” He said, “JaiJai Kara (a Hindi version ofthe Bahubali song Jai JaiKara), Hyderabad VasiyonDena Saath Hamara andcongratulated the musicians

for bringing together amusic piece to spread loveand harmony for thehumanity.”

The #PlayFromHome ini-tiative is aimed to reach outto the corporate world tojoin in its mission to healthe world through musicand show solidarity withpeople searching for a cre-ative release in times ofsocial isolation and work-from-home.

CyberabadCommissioner, V CSajjanar, said, “Cyberabadpolice strongly believemusic can heal the world,Cyberabad Police MusicBand wishes everyone ahappy world music day.”

‘PlayFromHome’ resultedin an album that just took10 days, a convergence ofpassion with the professionof corporate music talentsin harmony with musicalmaestros to spread the mes-sage of harmony and peace.

Harini Madhira, Founder,

Cisne For Arts, said, “We as acompany have alwaysbelieved in the power ofmusic and Indian art forms,in particular, to beat stressand engage audiences. Wehave introduced Indian artforms in the corporate set-ting with much success. Intimes of social distancingand work from homeprocesses, companies needsuch activations to engageand break the monotony ofthe workdays. We felt thatmusic was the big connector,whichever the industry. So,we used this opportunity tobring people from three dif-ferent backgrounds on acommon platform.Everybody just took off to it.”

O

Maniesh Paul back with

Kya Bolti Public -2

A

THE#PLAYFROMHOMEINITIATIVE ISAIMED TO REACHOUT TO THECORPORATEWORLD TO JOININ ITS MISSION TOHEAL THE WORLDTHROUGH MUSIC

10

Hyderabad Tuesday June 23 2020 what’s brewing?

Boost yourimmunityto sailthrough theMonsoon

Boost yourimmunityto sailthrough theMonsoon

Boost yourimmunityto sailthrough theMonsoon

Boost yourimmunityto sailthrough theMonsoon

Boost yourimmunityto sailthrough theMonsoon

Boost yourimmunityto sailthrough theMonsoon

Boost yourimmunityto sailthrough theMonsoon

Boost yourimmunityto sailthrough theMonsoon

Boost yourimmunityto sailthrough theMonsoon

Boost yourimmunityto sailthrough theMonsoon

Boost yourimmunityto sailthrough theMonsoon

his year hasbeen nothingshort of event-ful so far, andwith monsoonknocking at

our doors, little modifi-cations in our diet cansave us from moreunwanted trouble on thehealth front.

It is a cue for everyoneto adopt a diet that suitsthe changing weather,which brings with it sea-sonal maladies such asthe flu, allergies, and

infections.With the worldwide

threat of the coronaviruspandemic looming atlarge, now is not the timeto get sick and be privyto a whole lot of infec-tions. The period callsfor building a strong androbust immunity thatwill help you steer clearof the season’s diseases.

The best way to goabout it is practicing abalanced lifestyle whichinvolves nutritious eatinghabits, plenty of exercise,

yoga and meditation,deep sleep and a positiveoutlook towards life.Eating right is perhapsthe most crucial aspecttowards a healthy anddisease free body, Gaiafounder and directorDolly Kumar toldIANSlife.

Here is her list of fivesuper-healthy foods thatwill not only boost yourimmunity and health butalso ensure that youremain active andfocused during the day.

T

GREEN TEAEvery Indian loves a nice cupof steaming hot tea especially

during the monsoon hours.Sipping tea in the comfort of

your homes while listening tothe music of the monsoon

shower is one of the simplerpleasures of life. Instead ofhaving the regular milk and

sugar concoction, switch to anice and aromatic cup of

green tea. A warm healthydose of green tea helps youstay invigorated throughout

the day. Green tea is fortifiedwith natural antioxidants. It is

also a great source forbolstering the immune systemand enhancing one's memory.The minerals and nutrients in

green tea help the body todetoxify its impurities

accumulated over time. Theyalso improve the body's

digestive system and also helpin cleansing the skin.

HONEYIt is nature's answerto most healthailments. Honey is theideal remedy for sorethroats, coughs andcold due to itssoothing effect on thethroat. Multifloralhoney whenconsumed with someginger is the perfectcure for ailing throats.A natural substitutefor sugar, multifloralhoney is also a greatimmunity booster as itis free from fat,cholesterol andsodium.NEEM

Neem is the king of all medicinal plants andhas been used since the ancient times tocure all kinds of diseases and disorders. Itis the perfect remedy for stomach bugs,which are so prevalent in this season. Thecooling properties of neem are next to noneand can be consumed in the form ofreadymade capsules. Its anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and blood-cleansing properties aid inbuilding up the body's resistance againstexternal infections and malicious agents.Neem also helps in strengthening thebody's immunity and digestion.

ALOE VERAAloe Vera is great for maintaining the overall

health. It is a powerhouse of nutrients as itcontains more than twenty amino acids and

essential minerals such as calcium,magnesium, and sodium along withenzymes, vitamins, polysaccharides,

nitrogen and other vital nutrients. It alsoimproves hair and skin texture and keepsthem healthy and lustrous. A natural curefor constipation and acidity, Aloe vera canalso improve the body's digestive system.

OLIVE OILThe rainy season is a catalyst for heightening one's cravings for friedsnacks like pakoras. It is alright to indulge your taste buds every once ina while. Just make sure that you replace the ordinary cooking oil with thehealthy and extra flavorful light olive oil. Olive oil being rich in mono-saturated fatty acids, has a light texture that complements a dishperfectly, making it a great alternative to regular cooking oil and ideal foralmost all cuisines. It also reduces the risk of cancer, Type-2 Diabetes,cardiovascular diseases and breast cancer as it is packed with numerousanti-oxidants. Now who said fried pakoras cannot be healthy!

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

i lmmaker RamGopal Varma onFather ’s Dayannounced his newfilm Murder, which

he said is “based on thetragic story of Amrutha andher over loving fatherMaruthi Rao”.Unveiling theposter onTwitter, hew r o t e ,“This isgoing tobe ah e a r twrench-ing storybased ont h eA m r u t h aand MaruthiRao saga of theDANGERS of a fatherLOVING a daughter toomuch...launching the posterof a SAD FATHER’s film onHAPPY FATHERS’ DAY#MURDERlove (sic).”

He further added, “MUR-DER film meanders between3 moral dilemmas 1.on limitof a father’s control over hischild 2.should a daughter beignored even if she’s presum-

a b l y

ignorant about what’s goodfor her? 3.Can it be justifiedto take someone’s life inorder to better someoneelse’s life?” (Sic)

Amrutha, a dominantcaste woman from theVyshya community, had

married Pranay, a Dalitfrom the Mala com-

munity, in 2018.S t a u n c h l y

opposed tothe inter-caste mar-riage of hisd a u g h t e r,M a r u t h iRao was

accused ofpaying Rs 1

crore to a con-tract kil ler in

September 2018, tomurder Pranay. The murderhad taken place onSeptember 14, 2018 whenPranay and Amrutha werecoming out of a hospital. Hedied after suffering twoheavy blows to his head andback.

Noted supporting actorSrikanth Iyengar and newbieAvancha Sahithi are playinglead roles in Murder, a jointproduction venture betweenN Karuna, N Kranti andAnuraag Kancharla. Anand

Chandra is making hisdirectorial debut.

mid reports that PuriJagannadh is tweakingthe script of his next withVijay Deverakonda dueto prevailing condi-

tions, Charmme Kaur, who is apartner on the film, pointedout that nothing has changedand nothing will be. Puri’sfilm is set in Mumbai and hehas already shot a good 40per cent before Covid-19outbreak brought the shoot-ing to a screeching halt. Withcorona cases continuing tospike in Mumbai, there is adebate whether he will startshooting anytime there. It is inthis context rumours have sur-faced whether the director is alter-ing the script to suit some otherlocation. “Nothing has beenchanged n nothing will be changed!! Fighter script is a blockbuster..shoot will begin only after coronacrises settles down .. we r superduper confident about FIGHTER.. original title announcement soonstay tuned (sic),” Charmme has recently posted, while replyingto a fan.

Being made in Telugu and Hindi simultaneously, the film, an emotional action-drama, is a joint pro-duction venture between Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, Puri Jagannadh and Charmee Kaur. It co-starsAnanya Panday, Ramya Krishna, Ronit Roy, Ali, Vishu Reddy and Getup Sreenu.

11

Hyderabad Tuesday June 23, 2020tollywood

ike many filmmakers ofthe current lot, JayanthGali, the director of forth-coming release Love Life &Pakodi, left a lucrative ITjob in the US to follow his

dream — filmmaking. However,unlike others, he didn’t hone his film-making skills by making short filmsor by assisting a prominent director.“When I was in the US, I bought a lotof equipment like cameras, lenses andmicrophones and studied them indetail. I arrived in India in 2010 witha set of equipment with which a filmcan be made but the problem was thatI couldn’t assemble a team of my pre-ferred choice in spite of investing a lotof time. I wasn’t in a hurry to makea film to begin with. I wanted to geta feel of working with my team first.Later, I realised the need to writesomething which will excite someoneto actually put his money on it,”Jayanth tells us in a conversation.

The Anantapur lad came toHyderabad in 2012-13 to pitch ascript called Love in a Small Town.“The story was set in Anantapur butit was too radical at that point of time.I was keen on my debut film being anoriginal. It didn’t find takers though.I went back to Bengaluru and wasassociated with something else, wait-ing for a day when stories of my typewould find an audience. Luckily, thesuccess of Pellichoopulu heralded anew era and convinced me that the

audience was prepared for rooted andreal stories. I made up my mind to tryagain and that’s when I started pen-ning Love Life & Pakodi,” he remi-nisces, adding that after completingthe first draft, he narrated to his friendShravan who gave his vote. “Morerewrites followed and after a point Iwas ready with something whichexcited actors and technicians whowanted to be a part of it.”

The director is guarded about giv-ing away the storyline, insisting that

it’s too early at this point of time. He,however, shares, “Any relationshipbegins on a simple note and reachesa complicated phase. The film tracesthe journey of a couple (played bynew faces Kartheek Bimal Rebbaand Sanchitha Poonacha) who facecomplications and confusions out oftheir bond while rediscovering them-selves at every step. It addresses a lotof questions this generation of young-sters have with regards to relation-ships. It will be entertaining and at the

same time makeyou think.”

He further adds thatthe title track of the film —Vedi pakodi, with lyrics Evarevarikieduravtharo ae katha eppudumodalavthundo — perfectly encapsu-lates the concept of the film in a sim-ple yet funny and energetic way.Jayanth has also produced the filmand explaining the rationale behindit, he maintains, “I was telling a newstory and with a team that has no fea-

ture film experience. So it’s natural forany typical producer to find it risky.It is the reason why I decided to pro-duce it myself.”

Jayanth, who completed his engi-neering in Chennai, once harboureddreams of becoming an actor. “Backin the day, I had good hair, so I decid-ed to try my luck in acting. But overtime I realised that I wasn’t meant forit. During my stay in the US in thesecond half of last decade, I wasexposed to a lot of world cinema. Itwas a natural progression to gobehind the camera, influenced bysuch cinema. It was not as if I could-n’t become an actor, so let me turn adirector,” he clarifies, adding that thecelebrated Quentin Tarantino is hisfavourite filmmaker. “There will beone person who leaves a lastingimpression on the way you think andit was Tarantino for me. His passiontowards his craft is evident in every

frame of his cinema and his atten-tion to detail is something

which inspired me andcontinues to do so

now as well. Infact, there is a

small tributeto him in myfilm.”

Shot in40-45 daysi nBengaluru,Love Life &Pakodi is in

the finalstages of post-

production rightnow. With cinema

halls shut due to theoutbreak of Covid-19,

the director wants to wait andwatch. “The film has to find its audi-ence whether its cinema halls or OTTplatforms. Under the circumstances,I see the film dropping mostly on anOTT platform. While ideally, Iwould've wanted audience to watch itin theatres but given the prevailingconditions, it’s too much to ask ofthem. But let’s see,” he concludes.

The Anantapur lad,Jayanth Gali, came

to Hyderabad in2012-13 to pitch ascript called Lovein a Small Town.

The filmmaker lefta lucrative IT job

in the US to followhis dream —

filmmaking, findsNAGARAJ

GOUD

thidi actress Amrita Rao decided to forgo rent of hertenants from March to July, because they are stuck in

the lockdown and facing economical crisis. The actresssaid, “Some of my tenants are in freelance professionslike acting and cinematography. Such professions have

no guaranteed monthly income. The pandemic is a dire situationfor all and they decided to be safer with their families back

home. I feel the situation calls for me to be understanding andhelp them in my best capacity.” However, she also mentioned,“Those tenants who have been occupying flats and have not

lost their jobs should not use the lockdown as a merepretext to skip paying dues and harass the landlords

unnecessarily, which is also a growing menaceduring the lockdown.” Amrita was last seen

in the Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrerThackeray.

VARMA announces a film based onPranay murder case

l F

a

A

Driven zeal

Amrita Raoforgoes rent of her

tenants due to lockdown

Super Machi back on setsuper Machi, featuringKalyaan Dhev andRachita Ram, is thelatest Tollywood filmto have resumed

shooting after the Telanganagovernment gave its consent tolet the industry function. Thefilm’s last schedule began onMonday in Ramanaidu Studios,Hyderabad, with the lead pairand Ajay partaking in the shoot.

The producer informed thatthey are practicing the guide-lines listed out by the govern-ment, while simultaneouslyadding that post-productionworks too are going on in full-swing. “Rachita Ram will be amajor plus for our film, so willKalyaan Dhev who will enter-tain with his acting prowess.Thaman’s music will be anadded attraction. We’ve shot a

couple of songs so far andthey’ve shaped up well. The titlesong, especially, will be a chart-buster. The film is a love storylaced with family emotions,”said producer Rizwan.

Directed by debutant PuliVasu, the film features RajendraPrasad, Naresh VK, PosaniKrishna Murali, PragathiMahesh, Shariff and Satya insupporting roles.

No change in Fighter script: Charmme

Manisha Koiralamulls overNepal's future,faces Twitter flak

epalese origin Bollywood actressManisha Koirala is facing socialmedia flak after she took to Twitter toexpress concern over her country onMonday.

“Territorial sovereignty + political sovereign-ty + economical sovereignty = sovereign state!! Let’s mull over this!” tweeted ManishaKoirala.

“I was simply mulling over where Nepalstands today n where it's head-ing in future, on thesefronts.. we kinda knowthe past .. not saying it’seither good or bad..just mulling..” shewrote in a separatetweet.

The actress facedcriticism for her state-ment from theTwitterati. A user said:“Nepal is soon going toturn into China’s colony.”

Some uncouth users askedher to pack her bags and leave India. A usereven accused her of being “ungrateful” towardsIndia where she has worked all her life.

After a while, the actress shared anothertweet, requesting everyone not to be disrespect-ful.

“A heartfelt request please let’s not be aggres-sive and disrespectful..we are in this situationtogether..our respective Gov’s will resolve theissue. In the meantime we can be civil. I remainhopeful,” she wrote.

ns

by

12HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | JUNE 23, 2020

AFP n SAN SEBASTIÁN

Real Madrid knockedBarcelona off the top ofLa Liga by beating Real

Sociedad 2-1 on Sunday asSergio Ramos rolled in anoth-er penalty before being forcedoff due to injury.

Karim Benzema continuedhis excellent form by adding asecond at Anoeta and whileMikel Merino gave RealSociedad hope with seven min-utes left, Madrid held on to goabove Barca on head-to-head.

Real Sociedad were con-tenders for the top four beforethe three-month suspensionbut a draw and two defeatssince the restart leaves themsixth, five points adrift.

Ramos scored his 20th con-secutive spot-kick in the 50thminute to become La Liga’shighest ever scoring defenderon 68 goals, overtaking RonaldKoeman on the all-time list.

“He’s the best defender inthe world,” said ZinedineZidane. “What he has beendoing and achieving for somany years is incredible.”

But Ramos limped off 10minutes later with what lookedlike a knee injury, which will bea huge concern for Madrid if theproblem proves serious. He wasseen sitting with an ice-pack onhis left knee in the stands.

“Right now it hurts a lotbut that’s just the bang I think,”said Zidane afterwards. “That’sthe good news but we’ll see.”

Madrid also benefittedfrom two tight decisions afterAdnan Januzaj drove in anequaliser for Real Sociedad,only to have it ruled out beforeBenzema doubled the lead andwas adjudged not to have con-trolled with his arm.

Both calls were close andthe fact they fell for Madrid will

not have gone unnoticed inBarcelona.

It was Barca’s failure to scoreat Sevilla that presented theopportunity to Madrid, whosevictory in one of their toughestfixtures left has shifted the titlerace back in their favour.

Their defence, which boaststhe club’s best record at thisstage in 32 years, has been key.

Casemiro ssuspendedCasemiro is suspended

after picking up a yellow cardalthough Real Mallorca athome on Wednesday is thekind of fixture Madrid shouldbe able to negotiate, even with-out Ramos and their onlydefensive midfielder.

Zinedine Zidane will atleast hope to have Eden Hazardfresh again after the Belgian wasnamed on the bench. GarethBale was also among the sub-stitutes not to be brought on.

His replacement ViniciusJunior caused AndoniGorosabel problems with hispace and it was the Brazilianwho won the penalty, afternipping inside the defenderbefore his right foot was caughtby Diego Llorente.

Ramos made no mistakebut seemed to take a bang onhis knee shortly after anddespite limping on for severalminutes, was eventuallyreplaced by Eder Militao.

His removal coincided

with a surge from RealSociedad, who thought theyhad equalised when Januzajdrove into the corner only forMerino to be ruled offside, seento be close enough to Courtoisto be interfering with the goal-keeper’s line of sight.

Real Sociedad's sense offrustration was compoundedwhen Benzema made it two.

Referee Javier Estradaagain consulted VAR but thistime allowed the goal to stand,believing Benzema to havecontrolled with his shoulderbefore firing in.

Merino set up a nervy fin-ish with a thundering shot inoff the crossbar but Madridheld on for an important win.

AFP n LIVERPOOL

Liverpool will need favoursfrom Manchester City to

clinch a first Premier Leaguetitle in 30 years this week afterbeing held to a 0-0 draw byEverton in a Merseyside derbywithout the usual fervourbehind closed doors on Sunday.

Everton came the closest tobreaking the deadlock as TomDavies struck the post andAlisson Becker saved fromDominic Calvert-Lewin todeny the Blues a first derby winin 10 years.

Liverpool remain well oncourse to win the league witha 23-point lead over City at thetop of the table.

The Reds could clinch thetitle on home soil againstCrystal Palace on Wednesdayshould Pep Guardiola’s mendrop points at home to Burnley.

However, if City beat theClarets and Chelsea onThursday, Liverpool’s nextchance will come when theytravel to their closest chal-lengers on July 2.

“Both teams showedthey understand it is a derbyeven without fans,” saidLiverpool manager JurgenKlopp. “Intense, physical, allplayers were all in.”

The visitors began a derbylike no other in the unfamiliarsurroundings of a Portakabinin the Goodison Park car parkbefore making their entrancefrom the opposite end of theground to their hosts asEverton’s tight tunnel leaves lit-

tle room for social distancing.“Everyone didn’t know

really what to expect,” saidLiverpool defender Virgil vanDijk. “It was just good to beback out there.”

Klopp left Mohamed Salahon the bench for the full 90minutes due to a minor injury

problem.Without the Egyptian

and Andy Robertson’spositive runs from left-back, Liverpool lackedtheir usual dynamism as

they struggled to break thehosts down.

“We didn’t have enoughchances for the possession wehad,” added Klopp. “We have tobe more clear in the rightmoment.”

Roberto Firmino draggedthe Reds best chance of thegame wide in the first half,while Trent Alexander-Arnoldand Fabinho tested Jordan

Pickford with free-kicks.But the longer the game

went on, it was Everton wholooked the more likely side toscore on the counter-attack.

Richarlison fired a warningshot as he blazed over after get-ting in behind.

Calvert-Lewin’s improvisedflick then forced Allison into afine save and Davies’s follow-upeffort came back off the post.

Calvert-Lewin then head-ed just wide from the resultingcorner and Allison stood tall todeny Richarlison again asEverton scented a first derbyvictory in 22 attempts.

“We had two or threeopportunities to score. Wewere a little bit unlucky,” saidEverton manager CarloAncelotti.

But both had to settle for apoint as Liverpool failed to winin the Premier League for onlythe third time this season.

LONDON: Spurs defender Jan Vertonghenhas agreed to extend his contract until theend of the season, the Premier Leagueclub announced on Monday.

The Belgian international was due toleave Spurs on June 30. GoalkeeperMichel Vorm has also signed an exten-sion to his deal.

A number of players out on loan,including Danny Rose, will also stay attheir respective clubs.

“We can confirm that defender JanVertonghen and goalkeeper Michel

Vorm have agreed to extend theirexisting contracts with the club

until the end of the 2019/20 sea-son,” a Spurs statement said.

“Both players’ con-tracts were due to expire atthe end of this month and

this extension meansthey will now be avail-able to play for us for

the remainder of thecurrent season.” AFP

PTI n NEW DELHI

Architects of Saurashtra’smaiden Ranji Trophy tri-

umph including CheteshwarPujara and skipper JaydevUnadkat are back at the netsmore than three months sincethey won the coveted title inMarch.

Pujara has been training athis academy, located in the out-skirts of Rajkot, alongsideUnadkat, batsman ArpitVasavada and medium pacerPrerak Mankad.

Compared to the biggercities in India, the Covid-19 caseload in Rajkot is on the lowerside with 185 infections report-ed so far.

“It has been close to 10 daysnow. Though we were workingon our fitness during the lock-down, there is no substitute tohitting the nets and it feelsgreat. We are following all theGovernment guidelines whilepractising,” Vasavada, man of thematch in the Ranji Trophy final

against Bengal said on Monday.While all professional crick-

eters will need four to six weeksfor regaining match fitness, thetask is a tad tougher for thebowlers, who are at a bigger riskof getting injured after a longbreak.

AFP n BERGAMO

Atalanta, inspired by themessage ‘I will be reborn,

you will be reborn’, broughtSerie A football back toBergamo in style on Sundayfollowing the coronaviruslockdown with a 4-1 victoryover Sassuolo as Inter Milanenjoyed a 2-1 victory againstSampdoria.

Bergamo was badly hit bythe virus, with the city, situ-ated in the northernLombardy region of whichMilan is the capital, at the epi-centre of Italy’s Covid-19 cri-sis.

Gian Piero Gasperini’sside hosted rivals Sassuolobehind closed doors in theirGewiss Stadium in a matchplayed in memory of thecity’s thousands of virus vic-tims.

Duvan Zapata scored a

brace with Berat Djimsiti alsoon target as Sassuolo’s MehdiBourabia turned into his ownnet, before pulling a goalback deep into injury time.

During a minute’s silencebefore the game, players

formed a circle, with thebackdrop of the music‘Rinascero, Rinascerai’ (I willbe reborn, you will bereborn), a song composedduring lockdown by RobyFacchinetti, an Italian musi-

cian from Bergamo.On the pitch, Atalanta

consolidated their hold on thefourth and finalChampions Leaguespot, moving six pointsahead of fifth-placedRoma.

“It’s a very impor-tant victory, when you resumeafter a long time it isinevitable there will bedoubts, but we put them toone side by playing an excel-lent match that led to a greatsuccess which was alsoimportant for our position inthe table,” said Gasperini.

Atalanta are six pointsbehind Inter Milan who beatSampdoria in the San Siro,with goals from RomeluLukaku and LautaroMartinez, to close to withinsix points of leaders Juventus.

“When you have theopportunity, you have to kill

off the game,” said Inter coachAntonio Conte.

“But we are six pointsbehind (Juventus) and thereare 12 games left in which wewill have to give our life.”

Lukaku opened the scor-ing after ten minutes follow-ing good work from Martinezand Christian Eriksen.

The Belgian celebratedhis 18th league goal this sea-son by taking the knee, andraising his right fist to the skyin memory of George Floyd.

Lukaku then powereddown the right, pulled the ballback for Antonio Candreva,who crossed for Martinezto added a second afterhalf an hour.

Norwegian midfielderMorten Thorsby finished offa rebound to get a goal backfor Sampdoria who are hov-ering above the relegationzone.

PTI n JOHANNESBURG

Cricket South Africa (CSA)on Monday revealed that

seven people have tested pos-itive for the novel coronavirusafter mass testing was con-ducted in the organisa-tion.

CSA conducted over100 tests throughout thecountry on affiliate staffand some of the con-tracted professional players,including the franchise train-ing squads that had beenassembled after the

Government announced thatnon-contact sport couldresume in Level 3 of thenationwide lockdown.

“We were definitely goingto have people testing positive.Having conducted over 100

tests, seven is actually quitelow,” CSA’s acting CEOJacques Faul told Sport24.

However, Faul did notreveal if any playerreturned a positive result.“Our medical ethical pro-

tocol does not allow us to shareinfo about people that havetested positive,” Faul said.

Real Madrid’s captain Sergio Ramos scores his side first goal from the spot against Real Sociedad during La Liga match on Sunday La Liga/Twitter

VARealTwo tight

decisions in LosBlanco's favourhelp them beat

Sociedad 2-1 &reclaim top spot

in La Liga

Derby deadlockLiverpool’s title march delayed by Everton stalemate

Liverpool and Everton players observe a minute silence before the start of play AP

Pujara hits nets withSaurashtra mates

‘Reborn’ Atalanta lift crushed Bergamo

Atalanta's Luis Muriel heads the ball during Serie A match against Sassuolo AP

Vertonghen tostay at Spurs

After Dimitrov, Coricdiagnosed with Covid-19AFP n ZADAR

Borna Coric announced onMonday he has become the

second player to test positive forcoronavirus after taking part inan exhibition tournament inCroatia featuring world numberone Novak Djokovic.

“Hi everyone, I wanted toinform you all that I tested pos-itive for Covid-19,” the Croatian,ranked 33rd in the world, post-ed on Twitter.

It follows Sunday’sannouncement by GrigorDimitrov that he had also test-ed positive after pulling out ofthe exhibition event, which isone of the biggest since the ten-

nis season was halted because ofthe pandemic. Coric tweeted: “Iwant to make sure anyone whohas been in contact with me dur-ing the last few days gets tested!

“I am really sorry for anyharm I might have caused! I’mfeeling well and don’t have anysimptoms. Please stay safe andhealthy! Lots of love to all!”

One of Djokovic’s coachesand another member ofDimitrov’s entourage have alsoreportedly tested positive for thevirus, according to Croatia’s N1television channel.

Coric had beaten Bulgaria’sDimitrov in the second leg of theAdria Tour in Zadar on Croatia’sAdriatic coast on Saturday.

CSA reports 7 +ve casesAP n ISLAMABAD

APakistan Cricket Boardmedical official says the

upcoming tour of England dur-ing the coronavirus pandemicis a “big risk” but one that isnecessary to help the countryget through the crisis.

“During the pandemic it’s(the tour) a big risk,” said thePCB’s director of medical andsports sciences Dr SohailSaleem on Monday.

“We haven’t experienced(playing during a pandemic),but for both teams it will be afirst. The pandemic meansrisk, but consider them (play-ers) as ... Providing peopleentertainment.”

Saleem said he was encour-

aged by football resuming inEurope where the Bundesligaand the Premier League havestaged games played in emptystadiums.

“There’s no crowd in foot-ball and there will be no spec-tators at cricket stadiums too,”he said.

“The anxiety level of peo-

ple sitting at home is rising, butcricket can be seen as loweringthese.”

The Pakistan team isscheduled to leave forEngland on Sunday to playthree Tests and three T20s inAugust and September. ThePCB is sending an extendedsquad of 29 players in casereplacements are needed foranyone testing positive duringthe tour.

All 29 players will be test-ed twice for Covid-19 beforethey board the f light toLondon. Once the team landsin the UK, Saleem said theplayers will go through anoth-er testing session before theystart training in a bio-securedenvironment.

Glacier covered with whitesheets to slow melting

Almost a fifth of Earth'socean floor has been mapped!

Niue’s election: MP wins seat on coin toss

The two candidates for the seat of Mutalau, a village on Niue'snorthern point, could not be separated. Both had the samenumber of votes, just as had happened in the last election; in

2017 it was 19-19, in 2020 it was 26-26. The result was decidedby the toss of a coin. It fell for Makaseau Ioane, and with it wentthe seat in parliament. Unadulterated by formal political parties,attack ads, or costly campaigns, elections on the tight-knit Pacificisland of Niue are democracy in pure form. In this year's poll,sitting MP Opili Talafasi was returned to his seat with 14 votes.Several otherelectorates werewon uncontested.A coral island inthe South Pacific,one-sixth the sizeof greaterLondon, Niue is aself-governingstate in "freeassociation" withNew Zealand, which is 2,400km to the south-west and whichholds responsibility for its defence and international relations.Formally, Niue is a member of the Realm of New Zealand: theQueen is Niue's head of state. While 1,700 Niuens live on theisland, more than 30,000 - more than 95% of the its people - livein New Zealand, where they enjoy citizenship rights.

Us humans know more about the surface of the Moon thanwe do Earth's oceans, but there's progress on closing thatgap. The Seabed 3030 Project reports (via BBC News) that

scientists have mapped 19 percent of ocean floors tocontemporary standards, or a huge leap over the six percentfrom Seabed's launch in 2017. A significant portion comes fromnearly 5.6 million square miles of depth data collected in projectpartner GEBCO's grid in 2019. That's roughly twice the size ofAustralia, Seabed 2030 said. The initiative has been helped by133 contributors,partners andsupporters. Some ofthe data, includingGEBCO's latest, hadbeen publicly availablebut hadn't been turnedover until recently.Organization leadersare also counting oncrowdsourced ship data and even robotic mapping vessels to fillin the gaps. There's still a lot of work left to reach the 2030target of mapping everything, and much of it is the deep sea. Acomplete map could be beneficial on many levels, however. Itshould improve humanity's understanding of the oceans(including tides and tsunamis), help sustain sealife populationsand even aid in laying undersea data cables.

Avast tarpaulin unravels, gathering speed as it bouncesdown the glacier over glinting snow. Summer is here andthe alpine ice is being protected from global warming. In

northern Italy, the Presena glacier has lost more than one thirdof its volume since 1993. Once the ski season is over andcable cars are berthed, conservationists race to try and stop itmelting by using white tarps that block the sun's rays."Thisarea is continuously shrinking, so we cover as much of it aspossible," explains Davide Panizza, 34, who heads theCarosello-Tonalecompany thatdoes the work.From coveringaround 30,000 sqmetres in 2008when the projectbegan, his teamnow places100,000 sqmetres underwraps.The coverings are "geotextile tarpaulins that reflectsunlight, maintaining a temperature lower than the externalone, and thus preserving as much snow as possible," he said.On the border between the Lombardy and Trentino Alto Adigeregions, workers unroll the sheets in long strips, covering anarea at an altitude of 2700-3000m.

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Iconic ‘Into the Wild’bus removed

An abandoned bus in the Alaskawilderness where a young mandocumented his demise over 114

days in 1992 has been removed byofficials as the bus has become a lurefor dangerous, sometimes deadlypilgrimages into treacherousbackcountry. The bus was popularisedafter Sean Penn's 2007 feature "Intothe Wild" movie. The bus wasimmortalised in John Krakauer's 1996book "Into the Wild" that narrated thestory of 24-year-old wanderer ChrisMcCandless, who died inside it in1992 after a 114-day stay. Elevenyears later, Penn adapted the bookinto a feature film, starring EmileHirsch as McCandless. The StampedeTrail area that lies north of DenaliNational Park and Preserve, does nothave cellphone service and is markedby unpredictable weather and at-timesswollen rivers. Many people have triedto follow the footsteps of McCandlessand some have had to be rescued orhave died.

Eng tour during pandemic is ‘big risk’: PCB doctorWill be difficult for Sarfarazto be on bench: LatifLAHORE: Former Pakistancricketer Rashid Latif feelsit will be difficult for for-mer captain Sar farazAhmed to sit on the benchduring the team’s much-anticipated tour of England.

Sarfaraz was included inthe 29-member Pakistansquad for the tour with

head coach Misbah-ul-Haqsaying at the time that theformer captain will be theteam’s second-choicestumper behindMohammad Rizwan. Latif,however, feels he will keepwickets in the T20I seriesand will sit on the bench inthe Tests.