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JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

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

TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2020, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES `6.00 (`8 PATNA & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

SRINATHRAOMUMBAI, JULY27

BEITthebattlefieldsofYemenorthe trap he fell into in India,Muhammad Gibran SalehGibran has only one name forthose responsible: “Badmen”.Oneof themfiredthebulletthatshattered a part of his face twoyears ago, and two others “ranaway” with his passport andmoney inMumbai.The 26-year-old is among

severalsoldierswhowereflownover in January for specialisedtreatment by Yemen’s exiledgovernment after theywere in-

juredinthecivilwarthateruptedin 2015 between a coalition ledbySaudiArabiaandIran-backedHouthi rebels.Today, the soldiers are con-

finedtotheirhotelrooms,await-ingsurgeriesstalledbytheCovidlockdown,nursinglandminein-juries, gunshot wounds andshatteredbones.And,Gibranhasasmuch disdain for his compa-triots fighting for theHouthisasfor the two Yemeni nationalswho allegedly scammed himandhavesincebeenarrested.“In Yemen we are fighting

Iran,andinIndiawearetroubledbycheats...ourownpeople,”saysGibran,anInspectorintheYemen

Army,whohas beenput up at ahotelinVashiwithfivecolleagues.The UN has termed the

Yemenwarastheworld’sworsthumanitariandisasterwithoveran estimated 100,000 peoplekilled, more than 3million dis-placedandnearly3.2millionfac-ing starvation. And the govern-ments of Saudi Arabia andYemenhaveanagreementwithFortisGroupofHospitalstotreatwounded soldiers at their cen-tres inDelhi,MumbaiandPune.The soldiers say that before

thepandemicstruck,whentestsandsurgerieswereunderwayatFortisHospital inMulund, a fel-lowsoldierbeingtreatedinPune

lured the groupwith theprom-iseofbettertreatmentatanotherhospital in Navi Mumbai inFebruary.Theysaythatthesoldiercon-

nected them to two Yemenitranslators, Fahad Razwan Al-Maktari and Abdulgani Ali Al-Guzi. Taken in by promises ofquicktreatmentandreturn—Al-Guzifalselyclaimedtobework-ingwith theYemenEmbassy inDelhi — the soldiers say theywere admitted to another hos-pital in violation of the agree-mentwithFortisandtrickedintosurrendering theirpassports.The two accused allegedly

used thepassports towithdraw

11,500 Saudi Arabian Riyals (Rs2.05 lakh) that the Yemen gov-ernment hadwired for the sol-diers. Gibran then lodged a po-lice complaint followingwhichthe duowas arrested in Powailastmonth-end.“Al-Guzi and Al-Maktari

were arrested and booked lastmonth by the Powai police onchargesof cheatingand forgery.Theywere released on bail lastweek,”saysAnkitGoyal,DeputyCommissioner of Police. “Wehave seized the passports fromthecustodyoftheaccused.Oncethe complainant writes to thecourt, and the court passes an

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PAGE1ANCHOR

(Fromleft)AbdelFattah IsmailOmarAl-Rajhi,KhaledAbbadMohamedSaleh,AbdullahKhaledAl-Shagdari,MuhammadGibranSalehGibran inVashi,Mumbai.AmitChakravarty

READY FOR TAKE-OFFThefirstbatchof fiveRafale jetsat theDassaultaviationfacility inMerignac,France,aheadof their flight to India.Afterair-to-air refuellingandasinglestopenroute, themulti-role fighteraircraftarescheduledtoarriveat theAmbalaAirForceStationonWednesday. PTI REPORT,PAGE6

Shot in Yemen, scammed in India, surgery stalled by lockdown

JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

THEWORLD

WORLD’S BIGGESTCOVID VACCINESTUDYUNDERWAYASU.S.-MADESHOTSPUT TO FINAL TESTCHINASEIZESU.S.CONSULATE INCHENGDUPAGE15

THEEDITORIAL PAGE

NEEDAGLOBALCOALITIONOFDEMOCRACIESBYCRAJAMOHANPAGE12

‘Hindus resentful’: HCseeks copy of officer’snote to riot probe teamsPRITAMPALSINGHNEWDELHI, JULY27

THEDELHI High CourtMondaydirected Delhi Police to file acopy of an order passed by itsSpecial Commissioner of Policeto chiefs of teams probing theNortheastDelhiriots,whichhasbeen challenged by families oftwopersonswhowerekilled intheFebruaryviolence.JusticeSureshKumarKait is-

sued the direction on a plea bySahil Parvez, whose father wasshot dead near his home, andMohd Saeed Salmani, whosemotherwas lynched inside herhouse.The petitioners have cited a

report‘ResentmentinHindusonarrests, take care: Special CP toprobe teams’, published in TheIndianExpresson July15.

As reported by The IndianExpress, the July 8 order, signedbySpecialCP(Crime&EconomicOffencesWing)PraveerRanjan,stated that the arrest of “someHinduyouth”fromriot-hitareasin Northeast Delhi had led to a“degree of resentment amongtheHinducommunity”and“duecare and precaution” must betakenwhilemakingarrests.Theorder was addressed to seniorofficers heading probe teams,and asked them to “suitably”guide the investigatingofficers.Responding to The Indian

Express report, Delhi Police PROMandeepSRandhawawrotethenextday:“Theletterwaswrittenonly to informthe investigatingofficers about the representa-tions being received from boththe communities and to sensi-tiseandguidethemthroughthe

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

RAJASTHANCRISIS

Saysconfidencemotionshouldbetelecast live, askswhatCovidstepsinplace forHouse

FairmontHotel inJaipur.Holedupthere,Gehlot, loyalistshelda‘SaveDemocracy,SaveConstitution’protestMonday. PTI

HAMZAKHANJAIPUR, JULY27

WHILE HE returned the AshokGehlot government’s recom-mendationforanAssemblyses-sion from July 31— the secondtime in five days — RajasthanGovernor KalrajMishra said onMondaythat“if thegovernmentwants to seek a trust vote, thenthiscanbeareasonablebasisforcallingasessiononshortnotice”.But,hesaid,whiletheGehlot

government's comments, as re-ported in print and electronicmedia,makeitclearthatitwantsa trust vote, it hasn’tmentionedthisinitsrecommendationforanAssembly session. Citing theCovidpandemic,Mishraalsosaidthat a session cannot be called“withoutanyspecialurgency”.Saying that “Raj Bhavan has

no intention of not calling anAssembly session”, Mishra, ac-cording toastatement releasedby his office, asked the govern-ment toact on threepoints andsend a fresh proposal address-ing these:

■Reiteratinghisearlierstate-ment,hesaid“aclear21-dayno-tice” should be given for callingan Assembly session. He alsopointed out that a healthy de-bateonimportantsocialandpo-litical issuescanbeheldonline.

■Mishra also issued direc-tions in case of a trust vote: itshouldbeconductedinthepres-enceof theprincipalsecretaryoftheparliamentaryaffairsdepart-ment, be decided only through

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Speaker withdrawsplea in SC againstinitial order of HCANANTHAKRISHNANGNEWDELHI, JULY27

THESUPREMECourtMondayal-lowed Rajasthan AssemblySpeakerCPJoshitowithdrawhispetition challenging the Rajast-hanHighCourtorderof July21.TheHighCourthadextended

until July 24 the time given bytheSpeakerto19CongressrebelMLAs, seeking their response tothe disqualification notices hehadserved.The bench of Justices Arun

Mishra, B R Gavai and KrishnaMurari allowed the Speaker towithdrawhispetitionaftersen-ior advocateKapil Sibal said theHC had subsequently passed adetailedorderonJuly24inviewof which the petitionerwantedtowithdrawthechallengetotheearlierorderand takeappropri-

ate legal recourse against thelaterorder.“Mr.KapilSibal, learnedsen-

ior counsel, has submitted thattheHighCourthaspassedade-tailed order and the ad interim

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

GEORGEMATHEW/SUNNYVERMAMUMBAI/NEWDELHI, JULY27

WITH ALMOST 50 per cent ofborrowersandoutstandingloanamountscomingundermorato-rium,financialsectorbigwigsin-cludingHDFCChairmanDeepakParekh and Kotak MahindraBank Vice Chairman and MDUdayKotak onMondaypushedfor a one-time loan restructur-ing scheme to tackle the risingbanking stress due to Covid-19pandemic.After listening to RBI

Governor Shaktikanta Das’s ad-dress to the CII national councilonthedynamicshiftsunderwayin the Indian economy, Parekhadvised him against extendingthemoratoriumon loan repay-mentssince itwouldhurtbanksand institutions. The total non-food credit as on July 3, 2020,stoodatRs102.05lakhcrore,and

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Governorstallscall forHousesession: ‘Whythesilenceontrustvote’

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

Parekh, Kotak push forone-time restructuringof corporate loans

Amidst race for vaccine, Govt readiestrial sites, detailed data on volunteersPRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI, JULY27

THEGOVERNMENThasat leastfive sites ready across fourstatesfor late-stagehumanclin-ical trialsexpectedbytheendofthis year for several Covid-19vaccine candidates, includingthose developed by theUniversity of Oxford, ZydusCadila and Bharat Biotech. An

additionalsixsitesarebeingsetup to ensure ready availabilityof healthyparticipants.SpeakingtoTheIndianExpress,

Department of Biotechnology

Secretary Dr Renu Swarup saidthatwithtrialsitesready,compa-nies would have a handy andlarge database of volunteers, “acoupleofthousands”ateachsite,aswell as trainedpersonnel, at atimewheneffortsarebeingfast-tracked to find a vaccine againstrisingcases.Locatingtherightvolunteers

—who have not been infectedwith Covid-19 earlier, are not

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

SHAJUPHILIPTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,JULY27

WHEN OFFICIALS from theKendriya Vidyalaya SangathantookhimtoKochiFridaymorning,18-year-oldVinayakMMalilwastoldthathewouldgetacall froma “topperson”. Itwasonlywhenthe call came that they finally

brokethesuspense--itwasPrimeMinisterNarendraModi callingduring the recordingofMannKiBaat,whichwasairedSunday.Theteenager,hailingfroman

SC family inManjallur villageofKerala’s Ernakulam district, isamong the top scorers in theCBSE Commerce stream in theClass 12 board exams. And thePrimeMinisterwas speaking tohimduring his interactionwith

fourstarperformerswhobravedthe odds to score highmarks inthisyear's exams.Thesonofdailywageworker

Manoj and Thankamma,Vinayak studied at the JawaharNavodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) atNeriamangalam in Ernakulam,and bagged 493 marks out of500 in theexam.“When officials from the

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Acoupleofthousandvoluteersateachsite:DBTSecy

RaisedemandatCIImeetaddressedbyRBIGovernor

Vinayak(secondfromleft)withhis family.Express

147DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

KEYSTATESTOWATCH■Maharashtra■Delhi■TamilNadu■Karnataka■AndhraPradesh

7 DAYS EARLIER:

2.46NOW:

2.28

7 DAYS EARLIER:

7.96NOW:

8.54

DETECTED TODAY

49,931RECOVERED TODAY:

31,991

TOTALCASES3,75,7991,30,6062,13,72396,14196,298

DOUBLINGRATE**26.0381.3522.0611.927.25

SURGEIN24HOURS9,4311,0756,9865,1997,624

7-DAYAVGGROWTH*2.77%0.89%3.26%6.04%9.93%

TRACKING INDIA’SCOVIDCURVE

CASES:14,35,452TESTS: 1,68,06,803 | DOUBLING RATE: 19.81**

RECOVERED:9,17,567DEATHS:32,771

*CompoundedDailyGrowthRateover last7days **Calculatedover7-daygrowth

DataasonJuly24, releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealth, ICMRandstates.Oftendailynumbers includedatafrompreviousdays.Assuch, trendsbasedondailynumbersare indicative,notdefinitive

CASE FATALITYRATIO

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

Positives againstnumber tested

(in %); indicator ofthe spread of disease

Becoming sick vsrecovering; more

recoveries for 14 daysmay signal the peak

POSITIVITY RATE DAILY IN, DAILYOUTHALFTHE loanoutstand-ing isundermoratorium,evenasbanksstareathigherNPAsbyMarch2021.Giventhedemandsfor succour,RBI isweigh-ingbetweenextendingthemoratoriumbeyondAugustandallowingaone-time loanrestruc-turingprogramme.

DemandsforsuccourE●EX

PLAINED

THE IDEASPAGE

THELOCKDOWNADVANTAGEBYVINODK PAULPAGE13

I will fight, will not engineerprotests to score a point: Omar

Class 12 star performer from Kerala Dalit colony,family says hardships could not stop his dream

NAVEEDIQBAL,BASHAARATMASOOD&PVAIDYANATHANIYERSRINAGAR, JULY27

VOWING to fight, “politically,democratically and legally,” theabrogation of special status anddowngrade of Jammu andKashmirtotwoUnionTerritories,Omar Abdullah, Vice President,J&K National Conference, sug-gested the need for an “honest”recalibrationofhisparty’ssloganonautonomyand findinganew“politicalplank.”In an interviewtoThe Indian

Express on Saturday, his firstsinceAugust5,2019,andhis re-lease on March 24 this year,Abdullahsaidthetimeforstreetprotests to force a rethink had

passed and that he was not aleader who would “engineerstreetprotests”.(Full textof inter-view, see indianexpress.com).“I'msorry, that isnotme. It is

not my politics, it is not myparty's politics. I will not engi-neer a protest to score a point.Particularly in Kashmir,where Iknowthatanengineeredprotestwill, in all likelihood, end verybadly for poor youngsters whowill get sucked into it,”hesaid.“I've said this before, if I am

notwillingtoputastoneoragunintomyownkids' hands, I haveno business doing the same toany young Kashmiri. I am veryclearonthat…Soif thepeopleofJammuandKashmirarelookingtowardsmeassomesortofper-sonwhowill rallythemout into

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Won’tstandupforthemtomorrow,saysNCVicepresident,onOpposition‘betrayal’overCentre’sAugust5move

‘FINDINGAPOLITICALPLANKISTHECHALLENGE’OMARABDULLAHFORMERCM, JAMMU&KASHMIR

INTERVIEWONwww.indianexpress.com

THE EXPRESSINTERVIEW

New Delhi

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY28,2020

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Theworryabout theriseofNPAs in IndiaNEWEPISODEEVERYDAY

In today'sepisodeof the3Thingspodcast,wetalkaboutwhythethreatof arisingnumberofnon-performingassets isworryingeconomists

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Governor‘yes’ and ‘no’ buttons, telecastlive, andrecordedonvideo.

■Citingthepandemic,Mishrasaid: “It is the constitutional re-sponsibilityof theGovernor,thatin such adverse circumstances,without any special urgency,(why should) anAssembly ses-sion be called and the lives of1,200 persons (including 1,000employees)beputatrisk.”“Fromwhat I know, there is

noseatingplantoaccommodateall the 200MLAs while main-taining social distancing,while,tocheck infection...,”hesaid.Meanwhile, at a ‘Save

Democracy, Save Constitution’meeting at Fairmont Hotel,where the Congress is keepingitsMLAs,Gehlot saidhehad re-ceived a “six-page love letter”from the Governor andwouldrespond. He said this was thefirst time that such questionswere being raised, adding thatAssembly sessions have beencalledwith just 2-3 days noticein the past. He said he had spo-kentoPrimeMinisterNarendraModiontheGovernor’sconduct.At themeeting, the party’s

Rajasthan in-charge AvinashPandealsoreadouta lettersentto President RamNath Kovind.The letter, sent by MLAs sup-

portingtheGehlotgovernment,says that Governors in severalstates are violating theConstitution on instructionsfromtherulingparty. ItasksthePresident to intervene.SourcessaidRajBhavanwas

particularly unhappywith thegovernment saying, in its rec-ommendation sent on July 25,that as per Article 174 of theConstitution, the Governor is“bound” to follow the cabinet’srecommendation and cannottake a decision as per his own“vivek” (discretion).Mishra has said that while

under Article 174 (1), theGovernorwill indeed act as perthe Cabinet’s recommendationunder normal circumstances,“but if the circumstances arespecial,theGovernorwillensurethat an Assembly session iscalled as per the spirit ofConstitution”,whereinitshallbeensured that apt time and pro-tection are extended to theMLAs, apart from their “inde-pendence”, “freemovement.”

Speakerorder passed has merged intothe final interim order that hasbeen passed by theHigh Court.Thus,hewantstowithdrawthispetitionwith libertytoavailap-propriateremedyasagainstthe

subsequent order,” the benchsaid.HearingtheSpeaker’sappeal

on July 23, the bench had re-fused to stay the HC order andsaid it needed to hear themat-ter in detail. Sibal had arguedthatasperthe1992judgmentoftheConstitutionBenchinKihotoHollohan vs Zachillhu & Others,courtshadno jurisdiction to in-terfere in disqualification pro-ceedingsby theSpeaker, beforea finaldecisionhasbeenmade.

Vaccine raceasymptomatic and are healthy— has been a problem in con-ductingclinical trials.Swarupsaidthefivesiteshad

beenestablishedbytheNationalBiopharmaMission and GrandChallengesIndiaProgramme--apartnership between the gov-ernment and the Bill andMelinda Gates Foundation toencourageinnovativehealthanddevelopment research. A com-mon protocol has been estab-lishedtoinitiateCovidepidemi-ologystudies.The five sites are at INCLEN

Trust International in Palwal,Haryana; KEM in Pune; theSociety for Health AlliedResearch in Hyderabad; theNational Institute ofEpidemiology in Chennai; and

Christian Medical College inVellore, TamilNadu.

“Having trained andequipped sites for field trials inhealthy populations has been achallenge for vaccinemanufac-turers.Thesefivesiteswillmeetthis challenge,” Swarup said,adding that the five, as well asadditional ones (including theexisting DemographicSurveillanceSitesthatarebeingupgraded), wouldmeet globalregulatory requirements andwouldbeavailabletoanygroupconductingphase-IIIhumantri-als. She called this among thegovernment’s“top-most”prior-itiesat this time.While the Oxford vaccine

seemsthemostlikelyforphase-III stage now, Swarup addedthat, "irrespective of the candi-date, our aim remains tostrengthenmanufacturing ca-pacities so as to have equitabledistributionof thevaccine toallcitizens".Outlining how the sites

wouldshortentimelinesforvac-cine developers, the DBTSecretarysaid, “Therearea lotofethicalguidelinesthatneedtobefollowed. So if you keep all thatready, you get (the volunteer’s)consent, then the trials can startimmediately." Also in placewould be engagementwith the

community aswell as informa-tion on comorbidities regardingthevolunteers,dataonserosur-veillance, and access to theCentral ImmunoassayLaboratory.“We are confident this will

beaworld-classclinicaltrialnet-work,"Swarupsaid,addingthatscientists will be able to followuponthevolunteersoveralongduration.Welcoming the initiative, a

clinical trial practitioner in-volved in the development of aCovid-19 vaccine said,"Dependingonthephaseof thetrial, the volunteers range fromthosewithoutanycomorbiditiestothosewithcomorbidities,butnone of them should have hadthe infection earlier... Wemayscreenseveralpeoplebutexpe-rienceahigh failure rate."

Parekh, Kotakhalf of it isundermoratorium.“Please do not extend the

moratoriumbecauseweseethatevenpeoplewhohavetheabilitytopay,whetherindividualsorcor-porates,aretakingadvantageanddeferringpayment,” Parekh toldtheGovernorinanonlineCIIses-sion.“Thereissometalkthattherewillbeanotherextension...thisisgoing tohurt us, particularly thesmallerNBFCs,”hesaid.The RBI had announced a

three-monthmoratoriumonre-payments inMarchtohelpbor-rowers tackle the impact of theCovid-19 pandemic. This wasextended by another threemonths, scheduled to get overon August 31. As much as 67.9percentof theloanoutstanding,and 80 per cent of individualcustomers, of PSU banks haveoptedformoratorium.Incaseofprivate banks, 31.1 per cent ofloanoutstandingisundermora-torium,according toRBIdata.“If restructuringisnotgiven,

theamountofNPAsinyourownreport is 12.5 per cent inMarch2021,oritcouldevenbe14.7percent,”Parekhsaid.The RBI’s Financial Stability

Report released last Fridaypro-jectedgrossNPAs to rise to12.5percentofadvancesinthebase-line scenario and 14.7 per centin theworst-case scenario. Thismeans NPAs are likely to go upby Rs 4 lakh-Rs 6.2 lakh crorefrom around Rs 8.5 lakh crore(8.5 per cent of total outstand-ing) inMarch2020.Earlier, welcoming the RBI

Governor at the CII session,Kotak said, “There’s growingview across CII membership oftheneedforaone-timerestruc-turing.”TheRBIGovernordidnotex-

press any view on themorato-rium or loan restructuring de-mand,butsaidhehas“notedit”.A section of India Inc, how-

ever, wants themoratorium tocontinue.“Giventhestressintheeconomy, Ibelieve therewill bemore companies joining theNPAs list, and themoratoriumextension should be seriouslylooked at and considered,” saidBharti Enterprises’ ViceChairmanRakeshBhartiMittal.Finance Minister Nirmala

Sitharamanhadlastmonthsaidthe government was in activediscussionwiththeRBItoofferaone-time loan restructuringplanforcompanies.Manybankstoo had taken up such restruc-turingproposalswithRBI.Atabankingandeconomics

conclave in June, the country’slargest bankSBIhad said anex-tensionof the loanmoratoriumoraone-timerestructuringmaynot be necessary across theboard. “Somesectorsmayneedrelief, that’s a call the RBI willhave to make,” SBI ChairmanRajnishKumarhadsaid.The RBI allows interest

waivers, reduction in rates,rollover of repayment and in-creaseininstalmentsduringre-structuring. Such accounts donotbecomeNPAs.Hinting that it may not be

keen on extending themorato-

rium,theRBIonFridaysaidpan-demic-induced regulatory dis-pensationsintermsofthemora-toriumonloan instalmentsanddefermentof interestpaymentsmay have implications for thehealthof commercialbanks.Based on the disclosures

made by NBFCs and HFCs, theassets under moratorium aredominated by wholesale cus-tomersandreal-estatedevelop-ers.

Riot probe teamsinvestigationof thesecases.”But therewasno suchmen-

tion in the Special CP’s orderwhich specifically highlighted“resentment among Hinducommunity” over arrests of“someHinduyouth”.Thetwopetitioners,through

theircounselMehmoodPracha,soughtquashingof theJuly8or-der. To this, the court orally ob-served that no action can betakenbasedonanewsreport,onwhichthepetitionwasfiled,un-less some authenticity to theclaimsisprovided.Itsaidthatin-stead of filing this petition, thepetitionerscouldhaveaccessedtheJuly8letterthroughtheRTI.“The counsel representing

Delhi Police seek time to placeonrecordJuly8order.Letneed-ful be done within two dayswith an advance copy to theother side,” JusticeKait said.Making his submission

through video conferencing,Pracha sought direction to po-lice to produce the July 8 orderaswell as any other such orderissued by authoritieswhich, hesaid,amountsto interferenceintheperformanceof investigativefunctionsbypoliceofficers.“Clearlyunderpressurefrom

these efforts, respondent num-ber 4 (Special CP) issued an or-der dated July 8 observing thatthere was a degree of resent-ment in the Hindu communityagainst the arrest of certainHindupersons,anddirectingin-vestigating officers that theyshould be careful in the futurewhenmaking arrests, and thatarrests of persons should bemade only after discussion ofthe evidencewith special pub-lic prosecutors who have beenillegally appointed to representthe police in these cases,” thepleaclaimed.It soughtquashingof theor-

der so that investigation is con-ductedonlyasper themandateof law.The plea stated that “is-

suance of such orders, and thegeneralmannerinwhichthepo-lice are investigating themur-ders of the familymembers ofthepetitioners, isnotonly indi-rect violation of the basic prin-ciples of criminal law, but alsofrustrates the process of thecriminal justice system”.“Undertheinfluenceofsuch

illegal orders, the investigatingofficershaverefrainedfromtak-ingfullandfreeactionasperlawagainst several individuals, notonly in the caseswhich pertaintothepetitioners,butalsoothercasesrelatingtothecarnagethathadrenderedNortheastDelhi awarzone for several days inFebruary2020,” thepleastated.

Yemenorder, wewill release the pass-ports.”Fortis Hospital declined

comment.YahyaYahyaGhobar,Consul General of Yemen inMumbai,calledfor“greaterpro-tection”ofYemeninationalsbe-ing treated in Indian hospitals."India has a very good reputa-tion in Yemen. We know thatIndiahasgoodhospitalsandthebesttreatment,butsuchcasesofcheatingwill affect this reputa-tion,"hetoldThe IndianExpress.InVashi,housedin“comfort-

able”air-conditionedroomsandback in the care of Fortis,Gibran'scolleague,AbdelFattahIsmail Omar Al-Rajhi (30), sayshe is afraid to even travel to thenearest branch of Western

Union towithdrawmoneysentbyacharity inYemen. "Becauseof corona we cannot go any-where. And I fear being caughtoutside without any docu-ments,"hesays.The soldiers are hesitant to

talk about thewar beyond say-ing that they were hurt in ex-change of fire. But the injuriesarevisible.Ismailhasawoundedshoulder, Abdullah Khaled Al-Shagdarihasabulletwoundonhisleftwrist,andAnisAliNajiAl-Thamdi's left leg is broken andwrapped inbandages.Of the six, Gibran's room-

mate Khaled AbbadMohamedSaleh is the most severely in-jured. Fighting in the Yemenicity of Sa'dah, Saleh says hestepped on a landmine a year-and-a-half ago, losing his rightlegbelowthekneeandcarryingdeepscarsonhis left arm.Gibran himself has only

barelybeenabletospeakcoher-entlyafterundergoingextensiveplasticsurgerytorepairhisface."I was lying on a bed for nearlytwoyearsbeforeIcametoIndia.It is only here that I have recov-ered,"hesays.Before the lockdown and

once his shoulder had startedhealing, Ismailwaskeentostepoutside. "We carry a love forMumbaiandIndiainourhearts.And when we finally go backhome, wewant to have some-thing good to say to our familyand friends. But so far, there isnothing,”hesays.

Class 12 starKendriyaVidyalaya regional of-ficecamehomeonJuly23, theytoldmethatatoppersonwouldcall the next day and that theywould come in themorning totakeme. They did not give anyindication that it would be thePrimeMinister,’’ saysVinayak.For17years,Vinayak'sfamily

has been living in a two-roomhouseerectedona small parcelof landallottedunderagovern-ment scheme for the landless.His father works in pineapplefarms and his elder brotherVishnu Prasad is a sales em-ployeewithanautomobilefirm.According to Vinayak's

mother, thefamily isstill repay-ingthebankloanavailedtocon-struct the house in the Dalitcolony. “But the hardships didnotstopmysonfromdreamingof abetter life,” shesays.“My dream is to enter the

Civil Service. I want to pursue adegreecourseintheCommercestream, preferably in DelhiUniversity, and attend CivilServicecoaching,’’saysVinayak,speaking to The Indian Expresssoon after returning from anInternet cafe inMuvattupuzhatown nearby where he hadmailedabunchof applications.“I haven't really travelled

outside Kerala, except for visitsto the temples inMadurai andPalani (in neighbouring TamilNadu),”hesays.OnFriday,thePrimeMinister

also spokewith Kritika NandafromPanipatinHaryana,UsmanSaifi from Amroha in UP, andKaniga fromNamakkal inTamilNadu.WhenModi askedwhether

hehadamessageforthosewhowillappearfortheboardexamsin future, Vinayak said: “Hardwork and proper utilisation oftime.’’ Responding to anotherquestion, on social media, hesaidthathisschooldidnotallowstudentstouseelectronicgadg-ets.ThePrimeMinisterquipped:“So, youare lucky.’’

Omar Abdullahthe streets and God forbid getsome of them killed, then I amnotthatperson,Iwillnotdothat.Iwillraisemyvoiceagainstwhathashappened.IwillfightagainstwhathashappenedbutIwillnotgive somebodywearing a uni-formwith a gun an excuse or areasontokilloneofus.That'snotme,"Abdullahsaid.NewDelhi,Abdullahsaid,had

reducedthepoliticalmainstreamintoan"elementofridicule"andhefeltbetrayedbythewaypolit-icalleaders,acrossthespectrum,hadreactedto theCentre'sdeci-sion.Hesaidhewill"happilylosehisvoice"whenthefreedomsofthoseleadersarecurbed.Toaquestiononthefutureof

mainstream politics in J&K,Abdullahsaid,"ThisisaquestionI do not have an answer to. Idon't knowhowmuchpoliticalspace today actually exists formainstreampoliticalparties. It'ssomethingthatIhavebeenask-ingmyselfanddeliberatingoverall thewaysinceAugust5.""Wewentagainstsentiment...

NewDelhi's actions reduced ustoelementsof ridicule. I'mnotafool that I'm living indenial thatall Kashmiris were deeply dis-tressed bymy detention, theyweren't. I will honestly tell youthere were enough Kashmirishappy to see us detained... whoturned around and said, ‘This iswhat Farooq Abdullah gets forsayingBharatMataKi Jai. Serveshim right. Keep him as long asyou like. This iswhat youget forcontestingelections.Thisiswhatyougetforputtingdownprotestsin2010/2016’,"hesaid.Asked if JKNCwouldchange

its autonomy slogan, Abdullahsaid:"Ican't speakfor theparty,but I will not support a sloganthatismerelip-serviceorhood-winking. I thinkwe need to behonest with people, even if itmeansthatintheshorttermwewill be less attractive. I will ad-mitthismuchthat findingapo-litical plank at this point is notgoingtobetheeasiestthing.Butit's a challenge,"hesaid.Abdullah did not hide his

anger against what he calledwas the "betrayal" bya rangeofpolitical leadersincludingDelhiChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal,Telangana Chief Minister KChandrashekarRaoandTDP'sNChandrababuNaidu,andpartiesfromacross theboard."Again, such a great degree

ofdisappointment... I'mlessre-sentfulof theirsupporttoBJPon35A and 370 but I'm deeply re-sentful about their support onthe UT and the dismember-ment,becausetheydidnotneedtosupporttheBJPonthat. Itwasneverpartof theBJP'sagenda. Itwas done purely to punish J&K.Topunish thepeople tohumili-ate them,"hesaid."Andthenthewaythedeten-

tions were handled. Token lipservice...Theywerehappytotakeoursupportwhentheyneededitfortheirowncausesbuttheydid-n't find common causewith usandhonestly, Iwill not standupfor a single one of them tomor-row.Notoneofthem.Godforbidanyof themgettakenoff to jail, Iwill not utter aword for them...God forbid, anything like thishappens to them, Iwill losemyvoiceaswell.Ihavenocausewiththem.That'sit.Iwillspeakforthepeople of J&K, I don't speak foranybodyelse,"hesaid.Sayingtherewasnothingleft

tofear,Abdullahwarnedthatthepossibility of demographicchangecan'tbeignoredalthoughitwasn'tsomethingimmediate."Itakesomesolacefromthefactsome of the changes that havebeenmadecanbeundone. I amnotgetting intodetails now,be-cause that is a post-Assembly,poststatehoodscenario,"hesaid."Do I fear this whole thing

about altering the character ofJ&KasaMuslimmajoritystate?Idon'tthinkit'ssomethingthatweshould ignore but it's not some-thing that's going to change im-mediately.Ithinkit'salsolessofathreat to Kashmir than it is toJammu.Whichiswhytoday,youfind Jammumore agitated. Partofmetakesagreatdegreeofsat-isfaction, in part perverse satis-faction,fromseeingthepeopleinLeh so agitated about domicilebecause theywere so happy tocelebratetheendof370and35Aand now they're screaming forthesameprotections,"hesaid.

FROMPAGEONE

New Delhi

PRITAMPALSINGHNEWDELHI, JULY27

THEDELHIHigh CourtMondayrestrained theDelhi Police fromissuing any communication re-lated to Pinjra Tod activistDevanganaKalita in connectionwith the Northeast Delhi riotscaseuntil the charges, if any, areframedandthetrialcommences.Asperthepetition,Kalitaisac-

cused in four FIRs, includingonefor allegedly participating inprotests at Darya Ganj onDecember20lastyearandtwoforher alleged role in the anti-CAAJafrabadsit-inprotestinFebruary.JusticeVibhuBakhru’s order

read:“Thecasesconcerningcom-munalriotsareundoubtedlysen-sitive cases. This court is also in-

formed that FIRs filed in suchcases are not being publicly dis-closed. In thecircumstances, thiscourt considers it apposite todi-rect the respondent not to issueanyfurthercommunicationnam-inganyaccusedoranywitnesstillthecharges,ifany,areframedandthetrial iscommenced.”JusticeBakhrupassedtheor-

der on Kalita’s petition, seekingdirectionstotheDelhiPolicenotto leak allegations about her to

themedia while investigationwas pending. The court had onJune 10 restrained Delhi Policefrom“issuinganystatementsorcirculating information regard-ing allegations andevidence al-legedlycollected”againstKalitatoanyperson,includingtheme-diaoronsocialmedia.She had in her plea also

soughtdirectionstothepoliceto“forthwithwithdraw all allega-tions”containedinaJune2“briefnote”circulated to themedia.JusticeBakhru,observed,“…

thiscourtisunabletoacceptthatthe said police communicationviolates the fundamental rightsof thepetitioner (Kalita) or pro-visions of any law. Thequestionwhether the respondent (DelhiPolice) is eventually able to es-tablish their allegations beyond

anyreasonabledoubtisamatterfor the trial court toconsideraf-teradue trial.”It further observed that “the

petitioner had also prayed thatrespondentberefrainedfromis-suinganyfurtherstatementstillthependencyof the trial”.“Mr Lekhi (ASGAmanLekhi)

hadsubmitted that the responseof thepolicehasbeenmeasuredand, therefore, theyhaveonly is-sued one note in respect of thiscase,andthiswouldalsoestablishthat theyarenot runninga cam-paigntomalignthepetitioner.Theimpugnednotehasbeenjustifiedashavingbeenissuedatthetimeof filingof thechargesheet.Thus,innormalcourse,therewouldbenonecessityofissuinganyfurthercommunication till the finalout-comeofthecase,”itobserved.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY27

A 39-YEAR-OLDmanwho suf-feredaclose-rangepenetratinggunshot injury to his headwassuccessfully operated on bydoctors at Sir Ganga RamHospital.The patient, Radhey Shyam,

a resident of Sonia Vihar, wasshifted to the hospital fromLokNayak on July 4. Hewas imme-diatelyputonventilatorsupportas he had breathing difficultiesandwasbleedingprofusely.According to doctors, a CT

scanofhisbrainrevealedmulti-ple gunshot fragments outsideandinsidetheskull,causingsig-nificant injury to the dominanthemisphere of the brain (lefthemisphere).“This kind of injury is con-

sidered the most complicatedtype of brain injury and isamongst the most life-threat-ening. In this case, the best weexpectedwas thepatient’s sur-vival. Time was of the essenceashisconditionwasdeteriorat-ing. Despite the pandemic, itwas decided to form an emer-gencymedicalboardandwheelthepatient for surgerywithout

waiting for his Covid result,”said Dr (Prof) Samir K Kalra,

seniorneurosurgeon,SirGangaRamHospital.As the doctors removed the

bone flap, they foundhundredsof fragments of gunmetal andpellets. “Multiple pellets hadpenetrated the skull at variousdepthsandhadcrushed the leftpart of his brain,whichwasun-der severe pressure and hadstarted bulging out. Therewerealsomultiple clots that neededremoval…safecontrolofbleed-ingwastheaiminthissituation,”saidDrKalra.Following the surgery, the

patient was gradually weanedoff theventilatoranddischarged

onMonday.His younger brother Uma

Shankar said: “Hewas headingtothemarketwhenanunidenti-fied person shot him. He isn’tabletospeakyetandiscommu-nicating insign language.”According to doctors, many

modificationshadtobedoneforthe surgery— the choice of sur-gicalattire,safetymeasures,op-erativeprocedure. “PPEsuits forsurgerymakemovementscum-bersome, and eye shieldsmakevisibilityverypoor.Bravingthesechallenges, the surgical teamwas successful in the difficulttask,” saidDrKalra.

3THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY28,2020

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

‘JOBLOSSESDURINGLOCKDOWNPUSHEDMANYTOBRINKOFSTARVATION’

BEYOND BORDERSPakistani refugeesnearMajnuKaTilamakerakhis forsoldierspostedontheborder,Monday.PraveenKhanna

RadheyShyam, thepatient

HOWDOESONELOGIN?Typejobs.delhi.gov.inonanybrowser—phoneorlaptop.Thehomescreenof thebilingualportal, inHindiandEnglish,hastwoself-explanatoryoptions—IwantajobandIwanttohire.

HOWDOESAJOBSEEKERREGISTER?Onclicking ‘Iwanta job’,onehastoenter theirmobilenumberandthenenteranOTPto log in.Thenextpagehas32categoriesof jobstochoosefrom—fromaccountant toconstructiontoeventmanagement.Thenextstepis tocreateaprofilebyenteringdetails suchasname,qualification,workexperience.

HOWISONECONNECTEDTOEMPLOYERS?Anindividualwillbeintroducedtoarangeof jobsdependingontheirqualifications.Onceapersonappliesforajob,theywillbeconnectedwithemployersoverWhatsApporvoicecall.

WHATPROMPTEDTHEGOVERNMENTTOLAUNCHSUCHAPORTAL?AccordingtotheCM,the

pandemicwreckedtheeconomywithpeoplelosingjobsinlargenumbers,factoriesshuttingdown,resultinginwidespreaddistress.“Peopleneedjobs,businesses, income.Weneedtofocusontheeconomynow,”hesaid.Hesuggestedthatwithmigrantsreturninginlargenumbers, labourcrunchshouldnotactasanobstaclefortraderslookingtoliftshutters.Morethanademand-supplygap,theissuewasaboutconnectingjobseekerswithjobgivers.Thisportal ismeanttobridge

thatdivide.

WHATELSEISBEINGDONETOREVIVEDELHI’SECONOMY?TheDelhigovernmenthasbeenvocal inpushing forresumptionofMetroservices.However, adecisiononthis canonlybetakenby theUniongovernment.Amongothersteps, thegovernmenthasallowedstreetvendorsandhawkers to restartbusinesses.Aslewof othermeasuresareexpectedoverthecourseof theweek.

Rozgar Bazaar: Logging in

Over18,500vacancieshavebeenpostedonthesite

Day 1: 50,000 sign up on govt job portal

HC restrains Delhi Police from issuingstatement on Pinjra Tod activist’s case

Site launchedtomatchpeoplewholost jobswithtraders,contractorsnotgettinghandstoreopenshops, factories:CM

DevanganaKalita isaccused infourFIRs

0-50 Good

ANANDVIHARModerate

0 500

133AQIPM:2.5

IGIAIRPORT(T-3)Moderate

0 500

SHADIPURModerate

0 500 500

51-100 Satisfactory 101-200 Moderate 201-300 Poor 301-400 VeryPoor 401-500 Severe

DWARKA- SECTOR8Satisfactory

0

87AQIPM:10

127AQIPM:10

155AQIPM:10

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY27

WITHINHOURSof its launchonMonday, a Delhi governmentportal meant to connect jobseekers and job providersrecorded over 50,000 registra-tions for jobs, while 1,071 em-ployers had posted asmany as18,585vacancies,ChiefMinisterArvindKejriwal’soffice said.Whilelaunchingtheportalat

noon, Kejriwal spoke about theextent of job losses during thelockdown, which he said hadpushed many people to thebrink of starvation despite gov-ernment assistance in terms ofarranging cooked meals atmakeshiftcentresandrationforworkersnotholdingPDScards.“Many migrants had left

Delhi in recent months. Now,they have started returning inlarge numbers. Many tradersand contractors are not gettinghands to reopen shops, resumeconstructionwork, reopen fac-tories.Ontheotherhand,peoplewho lost their jobs are not get-ting hired. Tomatch them, weare launching the portal,”Kejriwal said.Registrationfigures,released

around6pm,was an indicationof themagnitude of the unem-ployment crisis, senior govern-ment officials said.Most vacan-cies available were in thecategoryof“backoffice/dataen-try” (17,527), said the officialstatement.

Vacanciesareavailableunder32 categories on the website,jobs.delhi.gov.in, ranging fromconstruction labourers to webdesigners. There are categoriesforcooks,drivers,networkengi-neers,interiordesignersandsev-eralotherprofessionalstoapply.“As per data from the

Employment department, theRozgarBazaar sitehasattractedmassive response in the first sixhours. 51,403 job-seekers hadregistered, whereas 1,071 em-ployersposted18,585vacancies.Theportalprovidesforjobseek-ers to connect with employersvia phone orWhatsApp. In thefirst six hours, 26,722 connec-tions had been initiated,” thestatement said.EmploymentMinisterGopal

Rai appealed to people to assistthose whomay not be able tohandle the online registrationprocess, which requires signingupwithamobilephonenumber.Rai also appealed to industrybodies to get employers to reg-isterontheportal in largenum-

bers. He said even governmentcontractorsarestrugglingtoen-gage workers to resume con-structionworkatvarious sites.In2017, thegovernmenthad

launched a portal, which it saidwouldactasacommonplatformfor employers and job seekers.That portal was disbanded lastnight.Overtheyears,employment

exchanges, similar to a job por-tal,undertheDelhigovernmenthave lost relevance — between2013 and 2016, the number ofemployers registered at the 12exchangesdroppedfrom438to289.Earlier thismonth, theDelhi

government had set up a com-mittee to accelerate economicrecovery in thecity.The head of the committee

Jasmine Shah,who is alsohead-ing the Dialogue andDevelopment Commission, hasbeenmeeting business ownersfromdifferent sectors to discusswaystohelpbusinessesthathavebeenhitbythepandemic.

CMArvindKejriwalwithEmploymentMinisterGopalRai

Street vendors canresume work: Govt

AtSarojiniNagarmarketonMonday.PraveenKhanna

ANANYATIWARINEWDELHI, JULY27

THEDELHIgovernmentMondaypassed an order to allow streetvendors and hawkers to restartbusinesses.Whilestreetvendorshad been allowed to operate insome markets earlier thismonth, because of lack of clearorders, manywere not allowedtorestartwork.“Due to some confusion,

streethawkerswerenotallowedtowork. The Delhi governmentisnowtakingoutspecialorders,underwhichstreetvendorsandhawkerswill be allowed to op-erate their businesses,” ChiefMinisterArvindKejriwal said.Asperanorderissuedbythe

DDMA,vendorswill beallowedtooperatebetween10amand8pm for aweek initially andwillhavetoensuresocialdistancing.Weeklymarkets,however,havenotbeenallowedto function.

Only a few vendors have re-turnedtomarketssuchas thoseat Karol Bagh and JamaMasjid,whilemanyhaveresumedworkattheSarojiniNagarandJanpathmarkets.At the JamaMasjid vendor

market, only 20 of the 360 ven-dorsunderavendorassociationhave returned. Saira Banu (35),who sells clothes and earns Rs300-400 on a regular day, re-turned two days ago: “Whatshall we do at home?We needtoearn.”With fourchildrenandno income for the past fewmonths,thefamilyhasbeentak-ing loans from people theyknow,eatingatschoolsandshel-ters, andavailing free ration.Tohelpvendorsrestartbusi-

nesses,thePrimeMinisterStreetVendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi(SVANidhi) schemewas rolledoutbytheMinistryofUrbanandHousingAffairsonJune1. Itpro-videsRs10,000 loanwith inter-esttovendors.Registrationison.

DyalSingh(E)principalgetsone-monthextensionNew Delhi: DelhiUniversity has overruledthe decision of theGoverning Body of DyalSingh(Evening)Collegetonot grant interim exten-sion to Principal PawanSharma, whose termended Sunday, as hewasfoundguiltyofplagiarismby a panel. DUwrote totheGBto“follow”theuni-versity directives andgrant him a one-monthextension.

TeenAgePolice: Pubs,bars toberopedinFaridabad: Fivedays afterFaridabad Police an-nounced itwouldbe cre-ating a ‘Teen Age Police’(TAP)toprotectteenagersbetween 13 and 19 frombullying, drugs, and alco-hol dependency, theCommissionerMondaysaiditwillalsocoordinatewith coaching centres,pubsandbars, apart fromschools and parents. “Acampaign will be con-ducted by TAP whereintheywill visit pubs, bars,hookah bars and othersuchoutletstodiscourageownersfromservingtheseitems to teenagers,” saidCommissionerOPSingh.

DU’smockOBEfacesglitchesagainNewDelhi:Thefirstdayofmock online open-bookexams conducted byDelhiUniversity,asperitsrevised datesheet, onceagain saw complaints oftechnical glitches, servererrors and problems inquestion papers. DU hadheld one round of mockOBEstartingJuly4,whenthe actual OBE for final-year students was sup-posedtobeginonJuly10.However, exams wererescheduled to begin onAugust 10. DeanExaminations VinayGuptadidnot respondtocalls and texts for a com-ment.ENS

BRIEFLY

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

CENTRAL INSTITUTE OF PSYCHIATRYKANKE, RANCHI-834006 (JHARKHAND)

Stray Vacancy Round for the eligible candidates listed for

Central & Deemed University for Stray vacancy (Medical)

available on MCC website (www.mcc.nic.in) will be held in the

Teaching Block of CIP, Ranchi at 2.00 p.m. on 30.07.2020 for

admission to the following postgraduate degree course. Eligible

NEET candidates who have registered for MOP-UP and stray

vacancy round ONLY need to apply.

1. MD (Psychiatry) : 03 Seats (01-UR, 01-OBC, 01-SC)

All the candidates who desire to join the course are directed

to report on 30.07.2020 at 10.00 a.m. to attend the Stray

Vacancy Round counselling along with AIPGMEE, 2020 Rank

letter and all original documents. The number of seats may vary

at the time of counselling. For more information kindly visit

www.cipranchi.nic.in. Sd/-Director

ADMISSION TO THE POSTGRADUATECOURSES-2020 SESSION

High ammonia levels in Yamunawater, teams sent for inspectionNew Delhi: The Haryana StatePollutionControlBoard(HSPCB)sent teams for inspection toPanipat and Sonepat districtsMonday, following complaintsof high ammonia levels in rawYamunawater inDelhi.HSPCBmember secretary S

Narayanan said the teamswillcollect samples from the river

fromvariouslocationsinthetwodistricts and also look for viola-tions in terms of industrial andsewage discharge. “Sample testresultswill be available in adayortwo... If anyviolationisfound,we will take necessary actionagainst theviolator,”hesaid.The Delhi Jal BoardMonday

morningreducedwaterproduc-

tioncapacityby25%afterreport-ing high levels of ammonia inrawYamunawaterreceivedfromHaryanaforthesecondtimeinaweek. Ammonia levels touched2ppmMonday, less than3ppmrecordedFriday.TheDJBhasaca-pacitytotreat0.9ppmofammo-nia,andsafelevelsareconsideredtobe0.5ppm.ENS

Docs save man shot in head at point-blank range

ABHINAVRAJPUTNEWDELHI,JULY27

SELF-EMPLOYED professionalssuch as doctors, lawyers, char-teredaccountantsandarchitects,thoseemployedbyprivate firmsinSouthDelhi,andthosewithof-fice spaces that fall under theSouthMCD’s jurisdiction, willnowhavetopayprofessionaltax.OnMonday, the civic body

passedaproposal to levythetax.It would also be charged fromcompaniesregisteredinthejuris-diction of South MCD, said aspokesperson. In case of thoseworking in private firms, the of-ficewilldeductpayfromsalaryofemployees.TheMCDwillearnRs150croreayearfromtheproposal.As per the proposal those

earning less than Rs 50,000 amonthwill not be charged any-thing; those earning Rs 50,001-Rs75,000willbechargedRs100per month; those earning Rs75,001-Rs1 lakhpermonthwillhave to pay Rs 150; and thoseearning above Rs 1 lakhwill bechargedRs200amonth.Narender Chawla, leader of

the house in SouthMCD, said,“This is a very nominal amount,only frompeoplewho are earn-

ing. The same tax is levied inMaharashtra,West Bengal.Weprovide all kinds of sanitationservices for a personwhen theyworkinourjurisdiction;inreturn,we are asking for a nominalamount.” Chawla said the pro-posal to introduce professionaltaxwill be sent toDelhi govern-mentfornotification.The SDMC also approved a

proposal towaive house tax ofaround10 years for residents ofunauthorisedcolonies,iftheypaytax for 2019-20 and 2020-21.Chawla said, “We already carryout sanitationwork inunautho-rised colonies... we are givingthemrelief forsomanyyears.”Thenewtaxwascriticisedby

theAAP,whichcalledthedecision“inhuman and unacceptable”.PartyleaderDurgeshPathaksaid:“WewillfightagainstitinsidetheSDMChouseandonthestreets...and informeveryoneof howtheBJP is looting poor people.Volunteers, AAP leaders andcouncillorswillopposethisdeci-sion at every level.” The BJP hasbeen in power at all threeMCDsince2007.“Delhi has two governance

models—oneistheAAPgovern-mentunderCMArvindKejriwalandthesecondisthecorruptBJP-ruledMCDs. The AAP govern-ment has not increased a singletax in the last six years but dou-bled the budget for citizens ofDelhi,”hesaid.TheSouthMCDalsoapproved

recommendationsofthemunic-ipalvaluationcommitteetodou-bletaxoncommercialpropertieson rent. “These taxes have notbeen increased from2004... TheDelhigovernmenthasdecreasedgrants, and funds from internalsources are also down due toCovid.Ifwedonotincreasetaxes,wewillnotbeabletopayourem-ployees,liketheNorthMCD,”saidChawla. These decisions are ex-pectedtoaddRs450croretotheMCD’scoffersannually.

For revenue boost, SouthMCD to levy professional tax

PROFESSIONALTAXSLAB(permonth)

FORTHOSEEARNING:

`50,001to`75,000`100`75,001to`1 lakh`150`1 lakhandabove`200

New Delhi

613CASESONMONDAY, LOWEST IN2MONTHS

PRITAMPALSINGHNEWDELHI, JULY27

THE DELHI High Court onMondayaskedtheDelhigovern-ment why it was going withrapid antigen testing (RAT),which has a higher rate of falsenegative results as compared toRT-PCR, as theprimarymodeofCovid testing.“Shouldwe go by RAT at all,

instead of RT-PCR?” a bench ofJustice Hima Kohli and JusticeSubramoniumPrasadsaid.The bench was of the view

that in light of the NationalCentre for Disease Control’s(NCDC) sero-survey report andthehighrateof falsenegativesofRAT,“RT-PCRtests,whosenum-bersareplummeting, shouldberampedup”.It askedwhy RATwas being

used as the frontline test, withRT-PCRbeingrecommendedforonly those who are sympto-matic.“…Insuchascenariohowcan the Delhi government gowith RAT as its front line test,when its rate of false negativeswas very high,with RT-PCR be-ingrecommendedforonlythosewhoweresymptomatic,” itsaid.The bench noted that the

sero-survey in thenational capi-tal carriedoutbytheNCDCindi-cated thatmore than 22.86 percent of the population has beenexposed to Covidwithout evenrealising as theywere probablyasymptomatic.Itsaidwhiletherewere54labs,bothpublicandpri-vate, inDelhiwhich are capableof carrying out 11,000 RT-PCRtests per day, between July 15 toJuly 23, the number of RT-PCRtests per day had not crossed6,000. It said, “ICMR never saidthat RT-PCR, which is the goldstandard test, be replacedwithRAT.” TheHighCourt also asked

theDelhigovernmentwhyadoc-tor’sprescriptionwasrequiredforundergoingCovidtesting.ItaskedNCDCwhat its short-term rec-ommendationswere in light ofthe sero-survey report to tackletheinfection.The bench also asked the

Delhi government to “strictly”follow the guidelines on CovidtestingasissuedbyICMRandnotaccording to its own interpreta-tion. The Delhi government’sstanding counsel Satyakamtoldthebenchthehealthdepartmentwas strictly adhering to ICMR’sguidelines, which say that peo-ple testing negative for RAT butshowing influenza like illness(ILI)havetoundergoRT-PCR.Thestandwas opposed by advocateRakeshMalhotra,whosoughtdi-rection to theDelhi governmentforswift testingofCovidcases.He told thebench that ICMR

only said that persons showingILI and testing negative in RAT

have to go for RT-PCR, and thisstrategy was not applicable tothosehavingsevereacute respi-ratory illness (SARI). However,Delhi government has includedSARI in its list of high-riskgroupindividualswhohavetofirstun-dergoRAT.ICMR,representedbycentral government standingcounsel Anurag Ahluwalia, toldthe bench that it hadnever rec-ommended SARI for RAT andthat it was not similar to ILI.Hearing this, the bench ob-served, “Why are you tweakingICMRadvisory?Whyareyouin-cluding SARI? Tell your clients(Delhi government) to strictlyfollow ICMR advisory. You can-not interpretonyourown.”OnMonday, Delhi reported

613 new cases in the last 24hours- the lowest daily increaseinthe last twomonths.Thetotalcasessurgedto1,31,219whilethedeath toll rose to 3853with 26morefatalitiesreportedMonday.For over aweek, the number ofRT PCR tests have been around5000,however,itdroppeddownsignificantlyonMondayto3,821tests.

To reach kids without phones, internet,Nuh plans teaching — via loudspeakersSAKSHIDAYALGURGAON,JULY27

WITHONLINElearningemergingas a challenge inHaryana's Nuhdistrict,wheremanyresidentsdonothavemobilephonesorinter-net, the district administrationand education department areworkingonaplantoimpartedu-cation to students of Classes IX-XII via loudspeakers, includingonesinstalledatmosques.District Education Officer

(DEO)AnupSinghJakharsaidthedepartment will utilise loud-speakers already installed atschools, but also look further.“Some schools have loudspeak-ers.Nuhalsohasmanymasjids-—somevillageshavefive,othershaveeight,withloudspeakersal-ready installed.Wewill contactthemaulvisof themasjidclosesttotheschoolandcoordinatewith

them touse the loudspeaker forclasses, if they can give us sometimeduringtheday,”hesaid.“In Nuh, most people don’t

havemobilephonesandinternet.Wethoughtwhynotarrange forour teachers fromboth govern-mentandprivateschoolstoteachas per a timetable using loud-speakers,andstudentscanstudyfromtheirhomes,”saidJakhar.Headded the department began

working on the plan after a rec-ommendation from the districtdeputycommissioner,Pankaj.Officials see the locations of

schools as a determining factor,admitting that if schools are lo-cated away from villages or onmain roads, itmaybedifficult touse loudspeakers to reach stu-dents in their homes. In suchcases, theysaid, theywill relyonreligiousplaces.Toensurethelessonsreachall

students,thedepartmentismak-ingarrangementsforthoseresid-inginareasfarawayfromschoolsor masjids to walk down tohomesofstudentsresidingclosertotheestablishments.TheDEOSundaydirected all

block education officers to pre-parealistofschoolsintheirareas,categorisingthemintothosehav-ingloudspeakers, thosewhocanarrange loudspeakers,andthoselocated close to religious places

suchastemples,masjidsandgu-rudwaraswithloudspeakers.Thelistshadtobesubmittedby3pmMonday. "Schools opened inHaryanafromMonday.Teachershave startedcoming, aspergov-ernmentdirectives.Itwilltakeusaweek to plan things to impartlessons using loudspeakers, andexpecttostartclassesusingthemfromnextweek,"saidJakhar.While this strategy is being

adopted for students of ClassesIX-XII, the DEO said that foryoungerstudentsinClassesI-VIII,thedepartmentwillcontinuetheconcept of 'mohalla paathshala',throughwhichithasbeenteach-ingchildrenthroughoutthelock-down. Under this, officials saidstudents fromaneighbourhoodgather in one place where anolderperson--ateacherorsomeeducatedperson,includingthosewhohavecompletedtheirMAorJBTs--holdclassesfreeofcost.

Man posing as govtservant held for fraud

Woman’sbody foundin suitcase inGhaziabad

Loudspeakersalreadyinstalled inschoolswillbeusedtoholdclasses.Wewillalsocoordinatewithmaulvisatmasjidstousetheirloudspeakers for thepurpose:DEONuh

ON THE GOAmansellingchildren'sattireaheadofEid,atOldDelhi’sMeenaBazaronMonday. TashiTobgyal

Thebenchwasof theviewthat in lightof theserosurvey,RT-PCRtestsshouldberampedup.AmitMehra

AMILBHATNAGARGHAZIABAD, JULY27

AN UNIDENTIFIED body of awomanwas found in a suitcasein Ghaziabad's SahibabadMondaymorning. According topolice,thewomanappearstobeinherearly twentiesandeffortsareontoascertainher identity."We received information

about a suitcase lying aban-doned in Dashmesh Vatika.Whenwe opened it, we foundthe body of a woman withwounds on her neck... Our firsteffort is to identify her.We arealsorelyingonpublicfeedback,"said Keshav Kumar, CO,Sahibabad.According to police, the

womanwas wearing a yellowsuitandherhandsandlegsweretied. She had henna on herhands; police are probing if shegotmarriedrecently.Police suspect shemayhave

beenstrangledastherewasverylittle blood inside the suitcase,butthefinalpost-mortemreportis awaited.The scope of investigation

hasspreadtoDelhi,Haryanaandacross Uttar Pradesh. An imageof thewoman's body has beencirculatedbypoliceonhundredsofWhatsApp groups for help inidentification. Police said theyreceivedacallfromHaryanaask-ingaboutthephoto,andtheleadisbeingworkedon."An inspector has been sent

toDelhi,wherethereisacellthatspecialises in missing personscomplaints. Information hasbeen relayed to several parts ofUP, andwe are hoping formoreleads.Sinceithappenedatnight,apersonfromanyregion,includ-ing Delhi, could have droppedthebodyandfled. Identificationis themostcrucial," saidKumar.Police have obtained CCTV

footageclosetothespottotracetheaccused.

*Total active cases

CORONAVIRUS IN THECAPITAL

TOTAL CASES

1,31,219Total Vacant

HOSPITAL BEDS 15,451 12,601VENTILATORS 1,188 776

Dailycases Recoveries Deaths TestsJuly 26 1,075 1,807 21 17,533July 27 613 1,497 26 11,506Total 10,994* 1,16,372 3,853 958,283

HCasks:Whymoreantigen thanRT-PCR?

TRANSMISSION CORPORATION OFANDHRA PRADESH LIMITED

NOTICE INVITING BIDS1. The APTRANSCO (Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Limited)invites bids on e-procurement platform for supply of following equipment.

2. The interested bidders are required to enrol themselves on the “e-pro-curement market place“ at www.tender.apeprocurement.gov.in

3. Complete set of bidding documents are available atwww.tender.apeprocurement.gov.in

Sd/-Chief Engineer/TransmissionVidyuth Soudha, Vijayawada

Phone/Fax No. 0866-2429230 Extn: 2040;2031; 2034

R.O. No. 201PP/CL/ADVT/1/1/2020-21

Sl.No.

SpecificationNo.

Name of the Equipment Quantityin Nos.

TenderAvailability

Date1 PMM-22-e-

16/20202.4 KVAR, 1 Phase, 36kV, 54.7Amps Air core Series Reactors Drytype with supporting structure for38kV, 7.2 MVAR Capacitor Bankscomprising of 200kVÁR cells.

180 Nos. 28.07.2020

2.4 KVAR, 1 phase,36kV, 54.7AmpsAir core Series Reactors Dry typewithout supporting structure

25 Nos

DELHI JAL BOARD: DELHI SARKAROFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (SOUTH) IV

O.H.T.O. I. A. Ph-II: OPPOSITE GOVIND PURI: NEW DELHI-20.e-mail: eesouthiv498@gmail.com/Tel. 011-26388976

Press N.I.T. NO: 11 S-IV (2020-21)

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

S.No.

Name of work EstimatedCost

(In Rs.)

Date of release oftender in e-procurement

solution

Last date/time of receipt oftender through

e-procurement solution

1. Providing laying internal D.I. water distributionsystem in Abul Fazal Enclave Part-I, block A to Din Okhla Constituency AC-54 under EE(South)IV

1,84,38,163/- 2020_DJB_192989_424.07.2020

17.08.2020up to 3.00 pm

Sd/-(Rajeev Kumar Gupta)

EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (SOUTH) IVISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER)Advt. No. J.S.V. 113/2020-21

Delhi Transport InfrastructureDevelopment Corporation Ltd.

An Enterprises of Govt. of NCT of DelhiISBT Kashmere Gate Delhi-110006

NOTICE INVITING TENDERThe Superintendent Engineer, DTIDC invite tenders on behalf of MD,DTIDC Ltd. for the following works through e procurement solution only.

The tender forms and other details can be obtained from the websitehttps./govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in/

1. NIT No. : 15/2020-21

Tender ID No. : 2020_DTIDC_192898_1

Name of work : Renovation of DTIDC Ltd. office atKashmere Gate, Delhi.

SH : Internal Electrification & installations

Estimated Cost : Rs. 9,35,153/-Earnest Money : Rs. 18,703/-Time Allowed : 60 Days

Last date of receiptof Tenders

: 04.08.2020

Sd/-SE/Civil

DTIDC Ltd. ISBTDIP/Shabdarth/0178/20-21 Kashmere Gate, Delhi

HIMACHAL PRADESHPUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

e-Procurement NoticeINVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB)

2nd Call1. The Superintending Engineer, 1st Circle, HPPWD, Mandi on behalf of Governor of H.P invites the

online bids on item rate, in electronic tendering system, in 2 Cover System for the under mentioned workfrom the eligible and approved contractors/Firms registered with HPPWD Department.

2. Availability of Bid Document and mode of Submission: The Bid document is available online and bidshould be submitted in online mode on website https://hptenders.gov.in.Bidder would be required to register in the web-site which is free of cost. For submission of bids, the bid-der is required to have Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) from one of the authorized CertifyingAuthorities (CA). “Aspiring bidders who have not obtained the user ID and password for participating ine-tendering in HPPWD may obtain the same from the website: https://hptenders.gov.in. Digital signatureis mandatory to participate in the e-tendering. Bidders already possessing the digital signature issuedfrom authorized CAs can use the same in this tender

3. Key Dates:

4. TENDER DETAILS:The Tender Documents shall be uploaded On-line in 2 covers.

i) Cover 1 shall contain Scanned Copies of all "Technical Documents/Eligibility Information’’.ii) Cover 2 shall contain ‘‘BOQ/Financial Bids’’ where Contractor will quote his offer for each item.5. SUBMISSION OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS: The bidders are required to submit (a) original demand draft

towards the cost of bid document and (b) original bid security/Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) and otherTechnical Documents in O/o Superintending Engineer, 1st Circle, HPPWD, Mandi as specified in Keydates Sr. No. 3 on Tender Opening Date, failing which the bids will be declared non-responsive.

6. BID OPENING DETAILS: The bids shall be opened on 11.08.2020 at 1130 HRS in the officeSuperintending Engineer, 1st Circle, HPPWD, Mandi by the authorised officer. In their interest the tender-er are advised to be present along with original documents at the time of opening of tenders. If the officehappens to be closed on the date of opening of the bids as specified, the bids will be opened on the nextworking day at the same time and venue.

7. The bids for the work shall remain valid for acceptance for a period not less than 120 days alter the dead-line Date for Bid Submission.

8. Other details can be seen in the bidding documents. The officer inviting tender shall not be held liable forany delays due to system failure beyond its control. Even though the system will attempt to notify the bid-ders of any bid updates, the Employer shall not be liable for any information not received by the bidder. Itis the bidders’ responsibility to verify the website for the latest information related to the tender.

9. The clauses related to Arbitration in SBD may be read as deleted.The department has right to extend or cancel the bids without declaring any reasons thereof.

On behalf of Governor of Himachal Pradesh.Sd/-

Superintending Engineer,1st Circle, HPPWD, Mandi, Distt Mandi H.P.

1. Date of On-line Publication 29.07.2020, 1000 HRS.

2. Document Download and End Date 29.07.2020 at 1000 HRS to11.08.2020 upto 1000 HRS

3. Bid Submission Start and End Date 29.07.2020 at 1000 HRS to11.08.2020 upto 1000 HRS

4. Physical Submission of EMD and Cost of Tender Document 11.08.2020 upto 1100 HRS

5. Date of Technical Bid opening, Evaluation of Technical Bid 11.08.2020 at 1130 HRSfollowing Opening of Financial Bid.

Sr. Name of Work Estimated EMD Cost of EligibleNo. Cost (in Lacs) Tender Class of

(in Lacs) (in Rs.) Contractor1. 1198.14 12.31 5000/- Class-AOutput and Performance Based Road Contract for the

maintenance of Bakhrot Sanarli Kelodhar Luhri Road(Portion Bakhrot to Behna) Km. 0/0 to 41/800 (MDR0021) Package in Mandi District of Himachal Pradesh.

1869/HP

OOFFFFIICCEE OOFF THE D.G. & I.G. OF PTHE D.G. & I.G. OF POOLLIICCEEJHARKHAND MANTRALYAJHARKHAND MANTRALYA

DPRD BUILDING, DHURWDPRD BUILDING, DHURWAA,, RRAANNCCHHII--883344000044..RE-TENDER NOTICE NO. 03/2020-21

Sealed tenders are invited from the Manufactures/suppliers/authorized dealers who areGSTregistered for the Supply of following FSLEquipments forJharkhandPolice :-

The details of which are available in the scope of services of the tender document. NITdocuments can be obtained at the office of the undersigned on any working day between 11.00hrs. to 16.00 hrs. after the publication of this tender by making a payment of Rs. 3000/- (Rs.three thousand) only non-refundable, by bank draft drawn in favour of the undersigned payableat Ranchi. Bidder can also download the Tender document from Jharkhand Police Web-sitewww.jhpolice.gov.in in case the tender downloaded, the bidder has to enclose a demand draftRs. 3000/- in favour of IG of Police (Provision), Jharkhand, Ranchi along with the tenderdocument..

I.G. of Police (Provision)Jharkhand, Ranchi.PR.NO.231207 Police(20-21):D

Description of items to besupplied Qty

Last Dateof Sale oftenderpapers

Pre- BidLast Date ofsubmission

of Bid

Opening ofTechnical

bid

Gas Chromatography withhead Space auto sampler(under buy back option)

0104.08.202011.00 hrs.to 16.00

hrs.

06.08.202011.00 hrs.

11.08.202015.00 hrs.

11.08.202016:00 hrs

Water Purification system 01Automatic Distillation

analyser 01

Automated Ballistics TestingEquipments 01

THECITY4 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY28,2020

NewDelhi:A rented farmhouse,luxurycars,uniformedbouncers,meetings at high-end clubs andhotels — thesewere just a fewarrangements thatwere put inplaceinabidtolureandallegedlycheatthoselookingforaloan,bya Civil Lines resident andhis as-sociates. RiteshTiwari (42),whoclaimed to be a “highly-placedgovernmentservant...withaccessto theHomeMinister ”, and hisfour associateswere arrested bythe Crime Branch for allegedlycheating twovictimsto the tuneofRs50lakhonthepretextofpro-viding loansamounting toRs25croreandRs50crore, saidpolicespokespersonMSRandhawa.Aseniorofficersaidthatdur-

ing the course of investigation,two complaints were receivedfrom a doctor and a business-man. Randhawa said, “The ac-

cused would locate a personwho needed a loan and thenmeet them at five-star hotels,high-end clubs, and a politicalparty’s office in one case. Theywould convince the victim ofhowwell-connectedtheywere.”During the probe, it was re-

vealed the victimswould thenvisit a farmhouse inDelhi hiredby the accused. Police said they“setupinawaythatitlookedlikeahigh-riskcategorypersonlivedthere”.Randhawasaid, “Thevic-timswouldseeseveralguards inMufti and civvies, high-end carsparked inside.” After goingthrough paperwork, Tiwari andhis associates would allegedlyconveytheirloanshadbeensanc-tioned. After asking themtopay‘stamp duty’, they would stopcommunicating with them,Randhawasaid.ENS

New Delhi

5WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY28,2020

WHY IS E-WASTE MANAGEMENTIMPORTANT IN TODAY'S LIFE?In today's life, electronics have become anintegral part of our life. We have Smart-phones, TV, Music system, household ap-pliances such as fridge, washing machine,AC, etc. On a global scale, in 2019, 53.6Million Metric tons of e-waste was gener-ated. Of these, only 17.4% has been docu-mented as collected and properly recycled.The remaining were either dumped ortraded or recycled in a non-environmen-tal-friendly manner.

As an emerging economy and the sec-ond most populated country in the world,our consumption has increased. We arethe second-biggest market for smart-phones.As you know, every product has itslifespan.The lifespan varies depending onthe usage, consumer's personal choice,technology growth, repairability, etc.

Our country is the third-largest gener-ator of e-waste in the world, and the formalsector recycles only 10% of this waste.Theinformal sector handles the rest.The infor-mal sector plays a vital role in our econ-omy and has a vast network across India.Any waste that's generated at home isusually disposed of through scrap dealersor kabadiwallas. It's convenient and theypay a hefty price. Considering the unethi-cal disposal and recycling of waste by theinformal sector, e-Waste Managementwas deemed necessary.

e-Waste in its complete form is nothazardous in nature; only the improper re-cycling/processing of e-Waste is danger-ous and harmful to the environment. Theimproper recycling has had tremendoushealth and environmental impact in cer-tain parts of India, and so does even now.However, proper recycling can reduce car-bon footprint drastically and make ourcountry cleaner and greener.

In a nutshell, proper e-Waste Manage-ment enables■ For proper disposal of e-Waste by con-

sumers and companies■ To create awareness on how to dispose

of, handle and recycle e-waste■ To set the responsibilities of different

stakeholders, including the consumers.■ To conserve natural resources by proper

recycling for recovery of the material,which attributes towards the circulareconomy.

WHAT KIND OF TECHNOLOGIESDO YOU USE FOR E-WASTEMANAGEMENT?There are various processes involving var-ious technologies available in the market toprocess e-Waste. In general, there arethree necessary steps involved in the pro-cessing - Dismantling and Segregation (1ststage of recycling), and Material Recovery(2nd stage of recycling).

Dismantling is the first step, which isdone on a semi-automated line. The dis-mantled material is then segregated toseparate metals such as Iron, Aluminiumand copper, non-metals such as plastics,ceramics, etc. and further recyclable ma-terial such as Printed Circuit Boards(PCBs), Copper wires, Batteries, etc.

The core of e-Waste management is

efficient material recovery from the waste,especially the metals and the preciousmetals in PCBs. At Adatte, apart from the1st stage recycling, we specialize in metalrecovery from PCBs. As part of metal re-covery form PCBs, we separate the com-ponents using an automated process. Thecomponents and board then undergo dif-ferent physical and chemical processes torecover the precious metals.

We are among the few players in theindustry providing end-to-end e-Wastemanagement service and metal recoveryfrom PCBs.

HOW DO YOU ENSURE A SAFER ANDGREENER RECYCLING PROCESS?Our recycling process is fairly automated,with human involvement only required formaterial handling. We use chemicals thatare safe and approved for industrial use.Our state-of-the- art plant has an ad-vanced air and water treatment system.Our plant has dust collectors to capturethe dust generated during the dismantlingand segregation process. There is an ad-vanced air purification system to treat thefumes generated during the metal recoveryprocess. Our air system is integrated withthe process, so it prevents any emission offumes in the work area. We leverage dif-ferent wet scrubbers, UV treatment sys-tem, and dust collector that varies in sizeand treatment process to treat the air fur-ther before it's released in the environ-ment.

In contrast, the informal sector's recy-cling process involves direct exposure toe-Waste PPEs. The open burning of e-Waste without any mask or air pollutiontreatment system is very hazardous due tothe presence of carcinogenic gases in it.They use dangerous chemicals for metalrecovery, which are dumped into waterbodies without treatment, and that has re-sulted in severe health impacts on peopleliving in the areas where this kind of pro-cessing is done.

We are committed to the principle ofzero liquid discharge.We have an Effluenttreatment plant (ETP) for the treatment ofwastewater followed by an evaporator.Our recycling process enables maximumrecovery to contribute towards the circu-

lar economy.We help to reduce the carbonfootprint through greener recycling. Com-pared with traditional mining, the metalrecovery process reduces the carbon foot-print of copper by 3 x, of Aluminium by 11x, of precious metals by 24 x. Water andenergy consumption are also significantlyless. In general, urban mining (metal min-ing from e-Waste) is much greener andsafer compared to traditional mining.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THEHAZARDOUS WASTE?e-Waste, as such, is not hazardous in na-ture. Specific components such as PCBs,wires, CFL/Mercury lights (now obsolete),Batteries, etc. can be hazardous if not han-dled correctly.

Our recycling unit can process the en-tire e-Waste, including PCBs and wires.Wegenerate less than 5% as process residuefrom our process, which is further disposedof responsibly throughTreatment, Storage,and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs). For batter-ies, which is the other significant haz-ardous component, we have agreementswith downstream recyclers.

WHAT TYPES OF SERVICES DO YOUPROVIDE?We offer end-to-end e-Waste manage-ment services. As an authorized recycler,we offer■ Pan India Collection (Business)■ Dismantling of all e-Waste■ Printed Circuit Board Recycling■ On-site and off-site Data Destruction■ Compliance Documentation■ EPR fulfilment■ Green Certificate for Dismantling and

Recycling.If you have recycling and data destruc-

tion requirements, we are always there asyour e-Waste Management partner.We of-fer a pan India service for Businesses and

Corporates. You no more need to worryabout data compliance. We provide bothon-site and off-site data destruction.

As brands and corporates are morecommitted towards sustainability andproper recycling, we go a step forward towork with them as a recycling partner.Weoffer proof of recycling via video and time-stamped photos as per customer require-ment as the commitment to transparency.

We offer customized services as perclient needs with quick turnaround time.

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FACEDIN THE INDUSTRY TODAY?There are three significant challenges thatthe industry faces today.

Lack of awareness - What is E-Waste, how it has to be disposed of, theenvironmental and health impacts of im-proper disposal, and whom to contact inorder to dispose of the waste responsibly.Any e-Waste, even the smallest ones suchas charger, TV remote, AA/AAA batteries,wires, cartridges, etc. have to be disposedof properly, and must not be mixed withregular household waste. There are mis-conceptions between recycling and refur-bishment. Not all products can be refur-bished or sold as second hand.The productmust be in good condition, and there mustbe a demand for such a product at present.Even if the product is in good conditionand the technology is outdated, the prod-uct is a scrap to be recycled.

Processing of Waste by InformalSector -At present, most of the e-Waste inIndia flows through the informal sector.The informal sector is vital to our economyand plays a significant role in e-Waste col-lection. The informal sector haphazardlyhandles, dismantles, and recycles the e-Waste using processes that have a sub-stantial environmental impact.Also, sincethe informal sector has minimal costs, it

can offer better prices to the customers,especially individuals, who, at the mo-ment, don't have any legal obligation todispose of the waste responsibly.

Emotional attachment to theproducts -A smartphone today can have ahefty price tag on it.A consumer who spentthousands on a product does not want toaccept a heavily discounted price after afew years so that the product can be re-sponsibly disposed of. What users have tounderstand is that the hefty price tag is ma-jorly because of the Brand name, R&D in-volved, product development costs, mar-keting etc., and not because of thehardware.The hardware is only of marginalvalue.With today’s advanced technologies,electronic products have become compactand light, which means lighter hardwarewith lesser material constituents.The emo-tional attachment to the product and scrapvalue of the product play a primary role inkeeping the obsolete waste at home foryears or disposing it to the highest payer. Ifheld at home for years, the product that canbe recycled and put into use in the circulareconomy is no longer there for use,or whendisposed to the highest payer, the materialundergoes dangerous recycling with sub-stantial environmental impact.

HOW DO YOU MAKE PEOPLE AWAREOF THE USEFULNESS OF E-WASTEMANAGEMENT?Awareness cannot be created by one per-son or one company alone.There has to becollective effort by the Recyclers, Producers,NGOs, and the Government. The govern-ment plays a major role here.Through theproducers, the government can createawareness regarding the recycling of theproduct, right when the consumer buysthe product, which is the first step in E-Waste generation. This can be donethrough a simple flyer along with the prod-uct, buy-back programs etc.

Various stakeholders in the wastemanagement industry such as Recyclers,NGOs, PROs etc. have been spreading theword through campaigns in educationalinstitutions, housing societies, and com-panies, and also through articles like thisone. Again, this strategy can also beadopted by the government and produc-

ers to reach a larger audience.

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONSFROM THE GOVERNMENT?The government has taken various mea-sures to tackle e-Waste menace. Since theintroduction of the E-Waste ManagementGuidelines, in 2016, there has been a lotof traction towards formal e-Waste man-agement. However, the government has totake further steps to bridge the gap be-tween formal and informal sector.The gov-ernment has to take necessary steps in or-der to ensure that there is a smooth flow ofmaterial (especially hazardous compo-nents) from the informal to the formal sec-tor, because as of today the informal sectoris the biggest collector.

The e-Waste recycling industry in Indiais considered as a negative-return indus-try by Financial Institutions due to lack ofsynergy between various stakeholders andgovernment support.The government hasto support authorized recyclers through fi-nancial subsidies, Start-up India program,and ease of material availability.

FINALLY, PLEASE SHARE YOUR SUC-CESS JOURNEY WITH US.

Before 2016, I didn't have much ideaabout e-Waste. I personally had a lot ofused mobile phones and other electronicgadgets at home for years without dispos-ing of. During my MBA at Essec BusinessSchool, France, me and my partner Mr.Praveen Kumar, who was also a part of theMBA program, participated in the MaiBangkok Business Competition.We got in-troduced to the world of e-Waste by ourProfessor, who had close contact with aFrench recycling company.We learnt aboutthe danger of improper e-Waste handlingand the lack of infrastructure in India. Ourbusiness proposal at the business compe-tition was much appreciated, and thefeedback was overwhelming.

We realised that there was a huge gapbetween generation and formal recyclingof e-Waste in India, and hence we returnedfrom France to India in 2017,and registeredAdatte E-Waste Management Pvt. Ltd.Many have asked us about the word"Adatte" and have confusion in pronounc-ing it. It's a Sanskrit word for "reclaim".

We had to undergo the traditional hur-dle of establishing a business in India.Wehave started small with an initial capacityof 1,825 Tons per annum with our forte inthe niche segment of material recoveryfrom PCBs.We had our initial struggle anddelays, but now we are reaching towards asteady state.We have catered our service toa lot of business clients, producers and in-dividual consumers. We have conductedawareness program in schools, collegesand through social media.

Our commitment is to offer a haven for e-Waste through responsible recycling andhelp our clients to achieve sustainability. Inthe ongoing geopolitics between nations,natural resources play a critical role in thenation's development. I am confident withthe metals that are extracted through properrecycling of e-Waste,our nation's growth canbe supported to a certain extent.

www.adatte.in

ADVERTORIAL

Our recycling process enablesmaximum recovery to contributetowards the circular economy.

Abhimanyu Ajay MehraCo- Founder

Praveen Kumar SundararajuCo- Founder

“With truckloads of e-Waste generated every year in India, a synergy isrequired between the informal and formal e-Waste management sectors to

ensure smooth collection of hazardous waste to dispose them in anenvironmental-friendly manner. Further, at Adatte, our philosophy is to

provide end-to-end e-Waste management services, with specialisation in metalrecovery from Printed Circuit Boards,” say the duo Co- Founders

Abhimanyu Ajay Mehra and Praveen Kumar Sundararajuof Adatte E-Waste Management Pvt. Ltd.

Urban Mining through proper e-Waste Recycling iscritical for nature and environment conservation

New Delhi

6THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY28,2020

GOVT&POLITICSWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

INVITE FOR INVITEBJPleaderandRajyaSabhaMPAnilBaluniseemstohaveusedan invitation for tea from Congress leader Priyanka VadraGandhitobe ‘vocalabout local’. InresponsetoPriyanka’s let-ter, Baluni, allotted her former residence at 35-Lodhi Estate,thankedherbutsaidheisnotgoingoutduetotheCovidpan-demic and his illness --- Baluni has had a successful cancertreatment.ButhepromisedPriyankathathewouldinvitehertoenjoyUttarakhand’s traditional foodathisnewresidence.

FAREWELL TIMEAFTER SERVINGas Secretary of theDepartment of DrinkingWaterandSanitation formorethanfouryears, senior IASof-ficer Parameswaran Iyer will demit office nextmonth. Thegovernment has accepted his resignationwith effect fromAugust21. Iyer, a1981-batchUttarPradeshcadreofficer,hadtaken voluntary retirement in 2009 and joined theWorldBank. But he joined the government again in early 2016 andsteered theCentre’s ambitiousSwachhBharatMission.

NO POSITIVE, THISAFTERBJPleadersinBiharandMadhyaPradeshChiefMinisterShivraj Singh Chouhan, an NDA ally in Rajasthan has nowtested positive for Covid-19. Lok SabhaMP from Nagaur,Rashtriya Loktantrik Party convenorHanumanBeniwal, hasannouncedthathehadgoneforatestaftersymptomsshowedup, and the results came positive. Beniwal, one of themostoutspokenNDAleaders,requestedallthosewhocameincon-tactwith him to get tested. Incidentally, Beniwal had earliertriggeredanuproarthathadledtoadjournmentinLokSabhaduringtheBudgetSession.HehadsaidthereshouldbeaprobeonwhethercoronaviruswasbeingspreadfromtheresidenceofCongresspresidentSoniaGandhi,asalargenumberofpeo-ple found infectedwere fromItaly.

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, JULY27

AS THE first five Rafale fighteraircraftareontheirwaytoIndia,marking a new milestone inIndia-France defence coopera-tion, New Delhi has been intouchwith all major arms sup-pliers — Russia, the US, Franceand Israel — at the political anddiplomaticlevelamidtheborderstandoffwithChina.External Affairs Minister

S Jaishankar on Sunday spokewith Israel’s Foreign MinisterGabi Ashkenazi as the latestconversation.Earlier, Defence Minister

Rajnath Singh had spokenwithhisIsraelicounterpartBenjaminGantz, andbothhad“expressedsatisfaction at the progress ofstrategic cooperation betweenthe two countries anddiscussedpossibilitiesof furtherstrengthening the defenceengagements”.Jaishankar has also spoken

with US Secretary of StateMichael R Pompeo, and SinghwithhisUS counterpartMark TEsper, while National SecurityAdviser Ajit Doval has been intouchwithhiscounterpartintheTrumpadministration,RobertCO’Brien.ChairmanoftheUSJointChiefs of Staff, General Mark AMilley,andChiefofDefenceStaff,GeneralBipinRawat,havehadaconversation in the last fewweeks.Thefocusoftheseriesofcon-

versations was to advancemilitary and intelligencecooperation.SinghhadtravelledtoRussia

inJune,wheretheRussianlead-ershiphadassuredIndiaofearlydelivery of weapon systemswhichwereorderedandhasre-spondedpositivelytoIndianac-quisitionproposals.WithFrance,too,theconver-

sations have taken place be-tweenJaishankarandhisFrenchcounterpart Jean-Yves LeDrian,while that country’s DefenceMinisterFlorenceParlyhadwrit-ten to Singh to condole the

deaths of 20 soldiers in GalwanValley in the June 15 clashwiththe Chinese army. Parly had re-called that India is France’s“strategicpartnerintheregion”,andhad“reiteratedhercountry’sdeepsolidarity”.“The delivery of the Rafale

fighter jets is significant step instrengtheningairpowerandde-fencepreparednesswiththefirstfive Rafale fighter aircraft, builtby Dassault, flying out fromMerignac airbase in Bordeaux,France, to India today,” a state-ment from the Indian embassyinFrancesaidonMonday.India’sAmbassadortoFrance

Jawed Ashraf, who saw off theRafale aircraft andmet the IAFpilots,saidthatthelong-awaitedand much-needed twosquadrons of Rafale would addgreat strength to IAF and thecountry’sdefencecapabilities.“Our pilots tell us that they

areextremelyswift,nimble,ver-satile and very deadly aircraft.Youmight call them that theyare both beauty and the beast,”Ashraf,whowasearlierjointsec-retary in the PrimeMinister’sOffice and has served as India’s

envoy to Singapore, said inFrance.In a statement, the IAF said

theaircraft are likely toarriveatAmbala Air Force Station onWednesday, “subject toweather”, and that “No 17Squadron, the ‘Golden Arrows’,is being raised at this baseequippedwithRafaleaircraft”.The jets took off from

MerignacairbasenearBordeaux,France, and had successfullyreached Al Dhafra French basenearAbuDhabi,UAE,byMondayeveningaftersortieofoversevenhours, the IAFsaid.The Golden Arrows, which

willberesurrectedwiththenewRafale jets, were raised in 1951and have been involved inmany significant operationsthrough their history, includingthe Kargil War, but was dis-banded in2016.India had bought 36 twin-

engine fighter planes fromDassaultRafalethroughaninter-governmentalagreementsignedin2016.All36aircraftaresched-uled toarrivebyendof 2021.

WITHINPUTSFROMKRISHNKAUSHIK

Thecrewof the firstbatchofRafaleaircraftpreparetotakeoff fromMerignaconMonday.PTI

HARISHDAMODARANAMROHA(UP), JULY27

INDIA’SFESTIVALseasontakesoffnextmonth. It is also the primeseasonforthecalvingofbuffaloes,whosehigh-fatmilkprovidesthebase ingredients – ghee, khoya,chennaandpaneer– inmost in-digenoussweetsconsumeddur-ingthisperiod.But for Sanjeev Kumar

Cheema, the upcoming festivalsdon’tpromisehope.“I sawmilkprices fall for the

first time this summer, whenbuffaloes produce less. FromAugust, their biyana (calving)willbeginandproductionwillgoup, peaking in thewinter.Whatwill happen then, if festival de-mand isn’t also going to begood?,” asks this farmer fromSirsaMohan in Amroha districtofwesternUttarPradesh.

Cheema is among the 31members of his village’s cooper-ative society supplying to theGujarat Cooperative MilkMarketing Federation’s (betterknown as Amul) Banaskanthadairyunion,whichprocured4.17lakhlitresperday(LLPD)outofitstotal average 59.92 LLPDofmilkin2019-20fromUP.SinceMay21,the union has reduced its pur-chasepriceforbuffalomilk—with6.5% fat and 9% solids-not-fat(SNF)content—fromRs43.88toRs39perlitre.“Woh kya karenge jab aage

doodhnahibikrahahai(Whatcantheydoifthereisnoconsumerde-mand)?OthersarepayingRs33-36/litre. Also, the Banaskanthadairy and our societywill give abonusofupto4%fromtheiryear-endprofits,which is another Rs1.56/litre,”notesCheema.The Sirsa Mohan society

members—allfromanextended

family of Cheema Jats—are cur-rently supplying 140-150 litresdaily to the Banaskantha union,against 230-240 litres till earlyApril. OnMarch20, fivedaysbe-forethenationwidelockdownbe-gan, the union’s procurementfromUPhitahighof7.9LLPD;itisnowabout4.3LLPD.“Procurement is lowmainly

becausebuffaloesgivelessmilkatthis time.Myworry iswhathap-pens when they calve,” saysMahendra Singh Sirohi fromKailsa village of Amroha, whosupplied over 286 litres milkworth about Rs 11,702 fromhisseven buffaloes to the Banas-kanthadairyduringJuly1-15.For this 110-bigha (18 acres)

farmer—hegrowssugarcaneon80bighas,paddyon10bighasandjowar/bajra fodderon the rest—milk is a source of liquidity andsupplementaryincome.“Rasoikakharchanikaljatahai(ittakescare

ofkitchenexpenses),”addsSirohi.But it’s not only farmers like

him.BharatSingh’stwobuffaloeswillcalvewithinamonth.Aland-

less JatavDalit farm labourer, healso has three calves aged 1-2years. “I sell 10 litres daily to theKailsasocietyduringSeptember-

Marchandhopetotouch25litresonce the calves get into produc-tion,” says the 50-year-old,whofeeds his animals the sugarcanetopsandwheatstrawhereceivesaspartwagesinkind.Forallof them,theovernight

closureofhotelsandsweetshops,plusnoweddingsandotherpub-lic functions,meant a sharp fallindemand.Beforethelockdown,Subhash SinghMahali earned acommission of Rs 1.40/ litre onthe 240-odd litres that he col-lecteddaily from40-50 farmersin Amroha’s Siwora village forGopaljeeDairyFoodsPvt.Ltd.Hehas since shut down the collec-tioncentre.“Private dairieswere buying

buffalomilk at Rs 45-46/ litre inFebruary-March.Post-lockdown,they stopped procuring or re-duced their rates to Rs 30-31. Iftherewas no lockdown, priceswouldhave crossedRs50,” says

Mahali.EventheUPgovernment’sPradeshik Cooperative DairyFederation slashed its procure-mentpricetoRs32/litrebyMay9,before raising it marginally toRs36onJune12.UPislargelyabuffalobelt.Out

of its estimated 30.52 milliontonnes(mt)milkoutputin2018-19,19.46mt(63.8%)wasfrombuf-faloes.The2019LivestockCensusshowedthestate’sbuffalopopula-tion,at330.17lakh,exceedingthe190.20lakhofcattle.Thepresentdemandcrisis—

ex-factorypricesofskimmedmilkpowderandbutterhavecrashedtoRs150-160andRs200-220perkg, respectively, fromRs300-320andRs340-350pre-lockdown—couldparticularly impactbuffalomilk. One reason for this is thatbuffaloesmostly conceive afterOctoberwhentemperaturesdrop,leadingtotheircalvingandprod-ucingmoremilkfromAugust.Milk

suppliesinUP—andotherbuffalobeltslikeEastRajasthanorGuntur-Prakasam-Nellore in AndhraPradesh—will, thus,increasesig-nificantlyinthecomingmonths.Secondly, cowmilk typically

contains3.5%fatand8.5%SNF.Inbuffalomilk, the SNF is slightlyhigher,butthefatcontentcangoto 10-11%. “While unsold skim-medmilk powder stocks withdairieshavemounted,therewillstill be somebuyers suchasbis-cuitcompaniesthatareregister-ing good consumption growth.The problemwould be in fat,”saysDSunilReddy,managingdi-rector of the Hyderabad-basedDodlaDairyLtd.A surplus inmilk fat is some-

thingIndiahasrarelyseenbefore.Itwouldberarerduringthefesti-val season that is synonymouswithmilk-basedsweets.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

Milk demand down, festival season offers no hope in UP’s buffalo belt

Atacollectionpoint inKailsavillageofAmroha. TashiTobgyal

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY27

IndiahostedIndonesianDefenceMinisterGeneralPrabowoSubia-ntoMonday, with the govern-ment saying in a statement thatthe visiting dignitarywas in thecountry “for strengthening theties between the twomaritimeneighbours”.SubiantometDefenceMini-

ster Rajnath Singh for aDefenceMinisters’dialogueinDelhi.Acco-rdingtothestatement,Singhsaidthe“defencecooperationbetweenIndiaandIndonesiahaswitnessedanupswing in the recent years,which is in consonancewith theComprehensiveStrategicPartne-rshipbetweenthetwosides”.Theministersagreedtofurther

enhancebilateraldefencecooper-ation inmutually agreed areas,whichcanincludedefenceindus-triesanddefencetechnology.

Delhi, Jakartaagree to enhancedefence ties

5Rafale jetsonway, IndiaupsdiplomaticgameagainstChina

MANOJCGNEWDELHI, JULY27

HAVINGDECIDED towage apo-litical battle over the crisis inRajasthan, the Congress onMonday fielded senior leaderPChidambaramandthreeformerUnion Lawministers— SalmanKhurshid,KapilSibalandAshwaniKumar — to take on RajasthanGovernorKalrajMishraforhisre-fusal to accept theAshokGehlotcabinet’s recommendation forholdinganAssemblysession,os-tensiblytoprovehismajority.The party also took to the

streets, holding demonstrationsoutside Raj Bhavans in all statecapitals.Chidambaramsaidthatinhis

“personalview”,SachinPilot,whois leading the rebellion againstGehlot, seems to be “entirely intheembraceoftheBJP”,andques-tionedtheformerdeputyCM’ssi-lenceonconveningofthesession.Hesaid:“...Infact,heshouldbe

thefirsttostandupandsay,pleasecall a session of the Assembly;thenwewillknowwhichpartyhebelongstoandwhathewilldo.HehasmaintainedthathebelongstotheCongress…hemaintainsthatGehlothaslosthismajority,soheshouldactuallyjointheCongressin telling theGovernor…(to) calla session.”What Pilotwill do inthe session “is his decision, butwhyishesilentaboutcallingases-sion”,heasked.Recalling court judgments in

thecontextofArunachalPradesh,Uttarakhand and Karnataka,which he said had come downheavily onGovernors, Chidam-baramsaid, “Despite these judg-mentsandthestatementsof law,the Governor of Rajasthan hasstalled…aperfectlyvalidrequestof the Council of Ministers ofRajasthantoconveneasessionoftheAssembly.”He said theGovernor has no

discretionatall inthematter.InalettertoGovernorMishra,

Khurshid,SibalandKumarwrotethat the delay in convening theAssemblysessionhas“resultedinan avoidable Constitutional im-passe”.“Webelievethatasperes-tablished conventions of theConstitution,principlesofParlia-mentary democracy, relevantArticles of the Constitution andauthoritativepronouncementsoftheSupremeCourt,theGovernorisboundtoactontheaidandad-viceof theCouncilofMinistersinthematterofconveningtheStateAssembly,”theystated.They said theGovernor’s of-

fice, as envisaged under theConstitutional scheme, is “aboveandbeyond the constraints andcompulsions of partisanpoliticssothatitsholdercanactfreelyandfairlytoupholdtheConstitution”.Theywrote:“Havingservedas

UnionministersofLawandJusticeatdifferentperiodsoftimeandasstudentsofConstitutionallaw,weare of the clear view that estab-lished legal position obliges theGovernortocalltheAssemblyses-sioninaccordancewiththeadviceof thestatecabinet.“Anydeviationfromtheestab-

lished constitutional position inthepresentcircumstanceswouldbeanavoidablenegationof youroathofofficeandwillcreateacon-stitutionalcrisis.”

Cong fields party’slegal eagles to battleGovernor’s delay oncalling House session

RAJASTHANPOWERPLAY

(Clockwise fromtop)Chidambaram,Sibal,Khurshid,AshwaniKumar

UP: Council chairmanrejects Cong plea forMLC’s disqualificationMAULSHREESETHLUCKNOW,JULY27

THEUTTAR Pradesh LegislativeCouncil Chairman RameshYadav onMonday rejected theCongress’s application, seekingthe disqualification of MLCDinesh Pratap Singh from theUpperHouse.Hesaid theappli-cation was not “posharniya”(sustainable)undertheanti-de-fection laws.AsaBJPcandidate,DineshSi-

ngh had unsuccessfully con-tested the 2019 Lok Sabha elec-tion against then UPAchairperson Sonia Gandhi fromRae Bareli. Earlier in the Cong-ress,hewaselectedtotheUpperHouse in 2016. He was sus-pendedbytheCongress in2017.The applicationwasmoved

byCongressMLCDeepak Singhastheparty’s“chiefwhip”intheLegislative Council inMay 2018after Dinesh shared a dais withthen BJP national presidentAmitShah.“Wewill approach the court

tomorrow as there was a clearground to cancel his member-ship.Hehadsaidthathegaveupthe Congress membership. He

not only stood on the dais withthenBJPnationalpresidentAmitShahbutlatercontestedanelec-tionontheBJPsymbolfromRaeBareli,” Deepak Singh told TheIndianExpress.“The membership of

Naseemuddin Siddiqui was re-cently rejected, but a differentapproach has been shown to-wardsourapplication,”hesaid.Congress leader Naseem-

uddin Siddiqui recently lostmembershipoftheUpperHouseaftertheBSPmovedapetitioninthe Lucknow bench of theAllahabadHighCourt.Accordingtosources,Dinesh,

in his reply to the disqualifica-tion application, argued thatDeepak cannot be consideredthe “chief whip” as he was theonly CongressMLC. He furthercontendedthatnewspaperclip-pings, which were part of theCongressapplication,cannotde-termine whether he attendedthe Shah meeting and thatDeepakwas not present at theevent tosubstantiatehis claim.Dineshhas reportedlymen-

tionedthathewassuspendedbytheCongress, and therefore, theclauseofhavingleftthepartyonhisownwasuntenable.

HC junks plea against BSPMLAs who joined CongDEEPMUKHERJEEJAIPUR, JULY27

THERAJASTHANHigh Court onMondaydismissed apetition byBJPMLAMadanDilawarseekingdisqualificationofthesixBSPleg-islatorswhohadmergedwiththeCongress inSeptemberlastyear.The petition before Justice

MahendarKumarGoyalhadalsoquestioned the RajasthanAssembly Speaker's “inaction”overapleasubmittedbyDilawarinMarch,requestingtheSpeakertodisqualifythesix legislators.Dilawarstatedinthepetition

thatwhile the Speakerwas nottakingactiononhisapplicationinMarch,hewasexpeditiouslyde-ciding the matter of rebelCongressMLAs loyal to formerdeputychiefministerSachinPilot.Thecourtdismissedthepeti-

tionsincetheSpeakerhadpassedtheorderonDilawar'scomplaint.AdvocateAshishSharma,rep-

resentingDilawar,said.“...Duringpendencyofthepetition,wewere

communicatedthroughemailbytheAssembly secretary that ourpetition has been dismissed bythe Speaker. In view of thisdevelopment, our petition be-cameinfructuous.”Beforethepe-titionwasdismissed,BSPhadre-questedthecourttoletitbecomeapartytothecase.TheBSPhasis-sued awhip to the sixMLAs tovote against the Congress in anyno-confidencemotion, or otherproceedings held during theAssemblysession.“The merger of BSP MLAs

withtheCongressisillegal,”BSP'sRajasthan unit presidentBhagwanSinghBabasaid.But Lakhan Singh, one of the

sixMLAs, told themedia: “ForninemonthstheBSPdidn'tthinkaboutusandnowitisremember-ing us. This is not BSP...thiswhiphas been issued on instructionsof BJP. All six of us have alreadymergedwith the Congress.Wehavemerged after following thelaw.”He said all sixMLAs are sup-

portingtheCongress.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY27

FROMRESEARCHandinstructionto graduation ceremonies, theCovid-19 pandemic is changingthefaceofhighereducation.Inmid-March, theUnionand

stategovernmentsdecidedtoor-deralleducational institutionstoclosetill furthernotice.Theshut-downhasdisruptedtheacademiccalendar andplunged3.75 crorestudentsand14lakhteachersintouncertainty.Withnoclarityonreopening,

highereducation institutionsarenowfacedwithdifficultquestions.Canonline classesbeaseffectiveand accessible as face-to-faceclasses?Will all universities andcolleges have to adopt a hybridmodelofteachinginfuture?How

should a teacher gradeandeval-uate students in a pandemic?How big a hit would campusplacementstakethisyear?The IndianExpresshas invited

IIT-Delhi Director Professor VRamgopalRaotoanswersomeof

thesecriticalquestionsaboutthefutureofhighereducationas it isbeingreshapedbythepandemic.Apartfromheadingaglobally

ranked institution, Raowas thechairperson of the committeetaskedbythegovernmenttodraftacommonminimumstrategyforreopeningthe23IITs.Hewasalsoamemberof thepanel basedonwhose advice theHRDMinistryrescheduledmajorentrancetestslike NEET, JEE (Main) and JEE(Advanced). IIT-Delhi is also theorganising institute for JEE(Advanced)thisyear.RaowillbetheExpertGuestat

the latest edition of E-Xplained,theunique series of explanatoryconversations that The IndianExpresshosts from time to time.ExpertGuests at E-Xplained ses-sions since the lockdownbeganhave included Kerala’s HealthMinister K K Shailaja, PublicHealthFoundationofIndiapresi-dentDrKSrinathReddy,industri-alistDrNaushadForbes,andcap-italmarketsexpertNileshShah.

VRamgopalRao

Toregister, smsIEEXP<space>PD<space>YourNameandEmailid to56161

IIT-D Director V Ramgopal Raois guest at E-Xplained tomorrow

Goa: Oppnstages walkoutfrom AssemblyPanaji: The Opposition onMonday staged awalkout fromGoa Assembly after SpeakerRajeshPatnekardidnotallowanadjournmentmotion to discusstheCovid-19situationinthestate.TheMLAswent toGovernor

SatyaPal’s residence, askinghimtonot givehis assent toBills andbudgetarydemands.GoaForwardPartyleaderVijai

Sardesai said, “They are passingBillswith no opposition, nodis-cussioninahurry.Wehavebeenasking for adiscussiononmeas-ures to tackleCovid. Thegovern-ment’s only response is co-mor-biditiesasthereasonfordeath.”CongressLeaderandLeaderof

theOppositioninAssemblyDiga-mbarKamat called for anexten-sionof theAssemblysession.MLAs in the ruling party

calledtheexercisebyoppositionMLAsa“publicity stunt”.ChiefMinister Sawant, how-

ever, said his government “hasbeentransparentfromthebegin-ningontheCovidresponse”. ENS

New Delhi

Hepatitis is a Life-threatening Disease

(Issued in public interest by ADVERTORIALAlniche Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd.)

LIVER IS an important organ of thebody which lies under the rightribcage in upper abdomen.

It performs many important functionswhich are essential like

■ Bile production for proper digestionof food

■ Breakdown of carbohydrates, fatsand protein to turn them into chemicals in away which the body can utilise

■ Storage of glucose, vitaminsA,D,E & Kand synthesis of proteins

■ Production of clotting factors■ Filtering toxins which is an immuno-

logical function and going by the sheer sizeof the organ it is very important

Due to such important functions itleads to maintainance of body milieu andany impairment leads to many signs andsymptoms.

What is compromised liver andwhat causes it ?

Compromised liver is a self explanatoryterm meaning that there is dysfunctionof the organ presentations of which aredescribed later. Multiple conditions cancause it.

It may present as an acute conditionwhich can be caused by viral infectionslike Hepatitis A, B & E, certain drugs, bysudden drop of blood pressure or gallstone disease.

Or it may manifest as a chronic condi-tion which again may be due to viral infec-tions( Hepatitis B & C), alcohol, obesity anddiabetes. Later three are new lifestyle dis-eases and have become the most impor-tant cause of liver disease in present timeand are replacing the viral infections whichused to be the primary cause earlier.

Also the liver may be involved by de-posits of cancers from elsewhere in body ordue to cancer of gall bladder, bile duct andpancreas where the drainage of bile isblocked. Besides the cancer may occur inliver per se.

How can a person know his liveris not doing well or is compromised?

Common and classic symptoms includenausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, pain inright side of upper abdomen, yellow dis-colouration of eyes ( jaundice). Fatigue andweight loss may occur. With greater dys-function or compromise of function -

■ There can be abdominal pain andswelling

■ Swelling in legs and ankles■ Itchy skin■ Whitish or pale coloured stools■ Tendency to bruise easily■ Vomiting of blood or black coloured

stool■ Alteration of mentation like confu-

sion, slowness, repetitiveness, forgetful-ness

However liver disease does not alwayscause noticeable signs or symptoms andmay be picked up on routine investiga-tions like liver function tests or ultrasoundof abdomen which are now done as partof annual check ups.

What is hepatitis? Why does ithave so many types?

Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver.This is usually picked up in blood tests (Liver Function Tests) where the enzymesare increased. Besides this there are othertests like ultrasonography and Fibroscanto assess liver function.

Hepatitis has many types depending oncause of inflammation. Important ones arediscussed here briefly.

Most commonly it is caused by hepatitisviruses. Other important causes are toxicsubstances like alcohol and certain drugs.Also there are some immune disorderswhere one’s immune system acts againstone’s liver which we term as autoimmunehepatitis.

There are 5 main viruses A,B, C, D & E.Of theseA&E are the most prevalent in ourcountry and infection due to these iscaused by ingestion of contaminated foodand water.Vaccination is available for he-patitis A at present.These are preventableby good hygienic practices and proper san-itation and safe water supply. These leadto acute illness in which one may loose ap-petite, have vomiting, becomes jaundicedand has itching.The disease contributes tosignificant morbidity. The disease is usu-ally self limited but in a small percentagecan lead to acute liver failure which has al-most 90% mortality.

Hepatitis B & C are the result ofparenteral contact like blood transfusion,tattooing, invasive medical,surgical or dentalprocedures using improperly sterilised

equipment.These viruses can also be trans-mitted from mother to baby and also by sex-ual contact. Hepatitis B can lead to bothacute and chronic illness while C mainlyleads to chronic illness.These two are impor-tant cause of liver cirrhosis which meansthat liver has become stiff and scarred whichleads to findings earlier described in com-promised liver.Liver cancer can also develop.Safe and effective vaccine is available forprevention of hepatitis B.

Besides these viruses most of the viralillness may involve the liver like Dengue.May involve the liver. Now Covid 19 hasbeen seen to compromise liver functions.Infections like malaria can also infect liver.

Besides the viruses alcohol is an impor-tant toxin affecting the liver which if takenin long term over the years can cause in-flammation and permanent damage toliver by progression into cirrhosis.

Uncontrolled diabetes and obesityemerging as important cause of liverdisease which starts with fat deposition inthe liver ( fatty liver) and this may induceinflammation which is called NASH ( Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis). This also canprogress to irreversible damage

Why is hepatitis considered to bedangerous?

As clearly answered in previous ques-tion that there is a possibility of FulminantHepatic Failure ( or acute liver failure) withacute hepatitis A, B & E which though rareand unpredictable is associated with higharound 90% mortality. It needs liver trans-plant for which also a short window isavailable and is out or reach of a commonman due to high costs and lack of organdonation despite concerted efforts of bothGovernmental and non Governmental or-ganizations. Moreover illness contributessignificantly to economic loss both for the

individual and nation, even if not fulminantdue to loss of man days.

As far as chronic hepatitis is considered( this means inflammation lasting for morethan six months) we can broadly say thatthere are four stages of progressionStage 1- Inflammation or HepatitisStage 2- Fibrosis – Start of scarring of liverStage 3- Cirrhosis – Liver is scarredStage 4 - Liver failure

These are stages in continuum and mayultimately need a transplant or culminate indeath. Not only this, liver cancer can alsodevelop in cirrhosis and also in inflamedliver (especially in Hepatitis B)

Thus it is clearly evident that steps

should be taken to prevent such eventu-ality like vaccination of Hepatitis A & B.Fortunately effective treatment is nowavailable for Hepatitis B & C infection.

Inflammation due to alcohol ( AlcoholicHepatitis) if severe has a very pooroutcome especially if person continues toconsume alcohol despite jaundice. Alco-holic hepatitis can progress to cirrhosisand liver failure. Looking at such poorprognosis it is advisable to avoid Alcoholand if at all taken it should be kept in safelimits.

Control of diabetes and obesity is essen-tial to prevent progression from fatty liverto NASH

Measures like regular check-ups, screen-ing strategies, healthy diet and exercise,vaccination, proper treatment in time go along way in preventing hepatitis and its

progression. If it reaches a stage of cirrho-sis and liver failure, treatment involves ex-pensive medical measures and necessity ofliver transplant to improve survival.

All these outcomes go to show thatchronic hepatitis is dangerous because ofits progressive nature.

If a person has underlying liverproblems what can happen in Covid19 infection ?

There are two ways to answer this ques-tion whether COVID 19 alters liver functionand whether it harms those with underlyingliver disease.

The virus has been shown to cause liverdysfunction in form of derangement in liverenzymes in 20-25% of patients sufferingfrom Covid-19.This percentage increases inthose suffering from severe Covid-19 to 30-40%.Also the drugs used to treat Covid likeAzithromycin & Remdesivir affect liver.However the rise in enzymes settles downwith time in those who recover.

However data shows that mortality dueto Covid 19 is increased by overall 3 timesin patients with underlying chronic liverdisease and it increases substantially withthe severity of liver disease. Also there is ev-idence of worsening of liver disease inthose having previous disease after Covid19 infection.

What are the precautions thatneed to taken and is there any spe-cific diet that you would recom-mend at this point of time ?

Best way to avoid COVID-19 is to avoidexposure.

This means avoid going out and travel.Wearing a mask, maintaining proper so-

cial/ physical distance of 6 feet and per-sonal hygiene especially washing handswith soap and water for 20 seconds re-peatedly are the measures which in anycase are to be followed during this pan-demic and are no different for patientswith liver disease.

As regards diet, eating healthy diet isimportant during COVID 19 pandemic notonly for liver patients but for all as it af-fects our body’s ability to prevent , fightand recover from infections.

No foods or dietary supplements canprevent or cure COVID-19 infection.Healthy diets are important for supportingimmune systems.

It is recommended to have food com-prising a mix of whole grains, lentils,beans, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables,eggs, fish and milk. Salt content of foodshould be cut back. Moderate amount offats and oils are allowed.The sugar intakeshould be limited.

Good hydration is crucial and water isthe healthiest and cheapest drink.

Drinking alcohol does not protectagainst COVID -19 as people might con-fuse that alcohol as a sanitizer kills virus .Always keep it in safe limits.The permissi-ble limits are different for different re-gions. It is usually 14 units ( ~25ml/unit ofspirit 40%) per week for women and men.This is equivalent to drinking not morethan 6 pints of 4% strength beer or 7medium sized glasses of wine ( 175ml12% strength) a week.

KEY TAKE AWAYS■ Liver is an important organ with es-

sential functions of proper digestion andassimilation of nutrients in body and is oneof the important organ for detoxification

■ Hepatitis viruses, excessive alcoholand certain drugs can harm the liver andmake it compromised

■ Hepatitis can lead to cirrhosis, liverfailure and liver cancer

■ COVID-19 can affect liver and worsenthe disease in pre-existent liver disease,hence the precautions are necessary

■ Vaccination, healthy lifestyle , gooddiet, avoiding alcohol consumption, con-trol of diabetes and obesity, regular healthcheck ups are important in preventing liverdisease and if ad all it does occurs to treatit in time.

CONTROL OFDIABETES ANDOBESITY IS ESSENTIALTO PREVENTPROGRESSION FROMFATTY LIVER TO NASH(NON ALCOHOLICSTEATOHEPATITIS).

ALCOHOLIC HEPATITISCAN PROGRESS TOCIRRHOSIS AND LIVERFAILURE.

HEPATITIS A&EARE THE MOSTPREVALENT IN OURCOUNTRY ANDINFECTION DUE TOTHESE IS CAUSED BYINGESTION OFCONTAMINATED FOODAND WATER.

World Hepatitis Day

Speaking on the various facets of Hepatitis and its effects on liver,Dr. Mandhir Kumar, Co-Chairperson, Institute of Liver,Gastroenterology and Pancreaticobiliary Sciences, Sir Ganga RamHospital, New Delhi, says “Liver is one organ in the body withmultifarious functions and is vital to the body’s overall metabolic,detoxification, and immune system activities. Liver’s functions can becompromised by a number of reasons, including anything that causesinflammation of the liver, in the form of Hepatitis A-E, alcohol intake,junk food and high fat diets etc. Thus, my advice to people is to eat theright food and avoid alcohol, and if at all alcohol is taken it should bein safe limits."

7WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY28,2020

New Delhi

KARISHMAMEHROTRANEWDELHI, JULY27

ANNOUNCING GOALS to con-duct 10 lakh tests daily, almostdouble the current rate, in thecomingweeks, PrimeMinisterNarendraModi launched threehigh throughputCovid-19 test-ingfacilities inKolkata,Mumbaiand Noida. These facilities willbe able to conduct 10,000 testsaday.“Togetherwe have to create

new health infrastructure andmake government and privatedispensariesandclinicsineverydistrict and village more effi-cient.Thefightagainstcoronainour villages will not be weak-ened...Andwiththis,wehavetokeep in mind that our coronawarriorshouldnotbeavictimtoanykindof fatigue.Wewill alsohave to work continuously toconnectnewandretiredprofes-sionalstothehealthsystem,”he

said inavirtual announcement.The labs launched on

Mondaywillconducttestingnotjust for Covid-19 but alsoHepatitis B and C, HIV, dengueandotherdiseases.

Underlining the enhancedhealth infrastructure, the PMsaid Covid testing centres havebeen ramped up from one inJanuaryto1,300now.WhilethecountrydidnothaveasinglePPE

kitmanufacturerbeforethepan-demic,therearenow1,200man-ufacturersproducing5 lakhkitsa day, he said. Similarly, Indiaused to be dependent on im-ports for N95masks and venti-lators, but nowproduces 3 lakhmasks daily and has the capac-ity tomanufacture3 lakhventi-latorsayear.Productionofmed-ical oxygen cylinders was alsoscaledup,hesaid.“Due to these collective ef-

forts, not only are the lives ofpeople being saved, but thecountry is going to be the ex-porter of the things we usedto import.”India now has more than

11,000 Covid facilities and 11lakh isolationbeds, thePMsaid.The training of paramedics,ASHAworkers, ANMs and an-ganwadi workers is also un-precedented.“Because the right decisions

were taken at the right time inthe country, India is in amuch

more stableposition thanothercountries. Today, the death ratefrom corona in our country ismuch less than inbig countries.At the same time, the recoveryrate here is much higher thanothercountriesandisimprovingdaybyday.Today,afterbeingin-fectedwith corona in India, thenumberofcuredpeopleisaboutto reach10 lakh.”Until a vaccine ormedicine

for Covid-19 is found, theuse ofmasks, social distancing andhand sanitisation is importantduring upcoming festivals, hesaid.“Wealsohavetomakesureinthistimethatpoorfamiliesdonothavemoredifficulties.”UnionHealthMinisterHarsh

Vardhan, ICMR DG BalramBhargava, Maharashtra CMUddhavThackeray,WestBengalCMMamataBanerjeeandUttarPradeshCMYogiAdityanathalsoattendedthe launch.India conducted 1.7 crore

Covid-19 testsuntil July26.

GARGIVERMAJAGDALPUR,JULY27

SEVEN-YEAR-OLD Somu startsfromhis house just as the loud-speakermountednearthevillagepanchayatbhawancracklestolife.It’s 8 am and the children ofBhatpal village inChhattisgarh’sBastar gather in houses ear-marked by the school teachingstaff tobegin their lessons.Thereareno teachers in front of them,though.Theylistentoacoupleofvoicesontheloudspeakerteach-ing English through Halbi, thetribal language. Somu writesdown ‘t-r-e-e’, mouthing theword, as the voices explain that‘rut’ inHalbiis ‘tree’ inEnglish.WiththeCovid-19pandemic

resulting in closure of schools,many students are studying on-line. However,with parts of thestatelackingInternetconnectivityanddevices,anovelapproachhasbeenadoptedinBastardistrict.“We have put up six loud-

speakersforthevillageofaround300 families. The loudspeakersareusedtoteachEnglish,anddis-seminateinformationonmalnu-trition andother community is-sues,” said Nikhilesh Hari, adevelopmentassistantofthedis-

trictmineral fund, who spear-headedtheidea.In Bhatpal, 20 km from the

district headquarters ofJagdalpurand266kmfromstatecapitalRaipur,thesessionsontheloudspeakers are being heldtwice a day since June 14. Eachsession runs for around90min-utes, and includes storytellingandconversation.Whileoneof thespeakersre-

cites a story inHalbi, translatingwords and sentences, the otherspeaker asks questions. As thechildren hear folk stories, theylearntotranslatebasicsentences

—“yemochomachliaaye”to“thisismyfish”.Theloudspeakerisop-erated from the panchayatbhawan, and the recordings aremadeatthedistrictheadquartersand transferredonpendrivesbyteacherstothevillage.Shailendra Tiwari, oneof the

teachers, said, “Insteadof takingclasses in a school,wehave ear-marked houses with literatemembers, where children cangather in groups of 8-10. Theteachersteachinthehouses,andchildrendo their homeworkun-derthesupervisionofadults.”Children are also allowed to

studyintheirhouses,Tiwarisaid.“Theloudspeakersareplacedinamanner that they can be heardfromeverypart of the village. Sochildren can sit at homeand fol-lowthelesson.”Muchworkgoesintogenerat-

ing these sessions. “Our Englishteacherswrite thescript inHindiand submit it to another team,which convertsHindi intoHalbi.Wehavetheatreartistesworkingwith us, who give voice to thescript. It takes aday tomakeonesession, andwedo it non-stop,”Harisaid.AccordingtoRajatBansal, the

District Collector, the idea camewhile looking for alternatives toaccessible distant learning. “Wecan’texpectallparentstohaveac-cesstoconnectivity,devicesortheknowhow. Loudspeakers havebeen used for information dis-semination for a long time...Currently, theprogramme is be-ingruninsevenblocksinthedis-trict,”hesaid.Anditisnotonlythechildren

who learn. According to SureshBhagat, a local resident, the les-sons fall on their ears as theygoabout their work. “We learnEnglishwordsforanimals,tools,etc. It is fun to work like this,”hesaid.

SANTOSHSINGHNAYAGAON(BEGUSARAI),JULY27

NISHUKUMARI, a Class IX stu-dentatagovernment-runschool,is studying with her brotherNirbhay, a Class VII student andcousin Arpit, a Class I student.Their grandfather BhagirathSinghiskeepingawatchonthemas the three have to finish theirhomework before private tutorSubodhSingharrives.Nishu’s father Shivjyoti

Kumar, a farmer, saysmost par-entsattheirvillage,NayagaoninBihar’s Begusarai district, arenowdependingonprivatetutorsfor their wards’ education asthere are no signs of schoolsopeninganytimesoonandmanyare finding it difficult to followonline classes due to poorInternetconnectivity.TheclassesbeingairedonDoordarshantoohave found fewtakers in the re-gion asmany don’t have televi-sionsets; theone-waynatureofthe lessons and outdated con-tenthasalsofailedtoattractstu-dents, say local residents.Shivjyoti has 40 quintal of

wheat fromhis landaftershare-cropping and hewill give a part

ofittoSubodhSinghaspayment.“Wheat is our cash. Several

farmersgivewheatastuitionfeeonmost occasions.The teachercharges Rs 1,000 permonth forteaching for an hour daily,” saysShivjyoti.The age-old barter system

seems to have returned to theriverine areas of Matihani andBegusarai, with most farmerssayingtheyhavenotseenmuchcash in the past threemonths.Farmers in the regionalso culti-vatemaize, but there has beenlittle sale of maize owing to the

low prices, makingwheat theircashintimesofCovid-19andthelockdown.Shivjyoti says there are few

takersformaizeaseveryhouse-holdhasitstockedupasfarmerswait forbetterprices.Nayagaon,withapopulation

of about3,500,hasnearly1,000schoolgoing children. Whilemost of them are enrolled ingovernment schools at the vil-lage,about10percentgotopri-vate schoolsnearby.SudhirSinghisamong20-odd

privatetutorswhoteachstudents

inandaroundthevillageandtheyhavenever beenasbusy as theyhavebeeninthelastthreemonths.Severalof themarenowteachingthree to fourbatchesof students,either at theirhomesof studentsoratthestudents’homes.SudhirSingh,whosayshehas

been into teaching for about 35yearsnow, sayshehasnoprob-lemwithgettingwheatinreturnfor his lessons as “everyoneneedstobuywheatanyway”.AshutoshJha,SKJhaandAK

Singh are among the other pri-vate tutors who have no prob-lemwith this system. “This is atemporaryphaseandwillpass,”saysAshutosh.Sanjay Singh, the Special

Project Director of BiharEducationProjectCouncil,underthe state educationdepartment,said, “Wehave been conductingonline classes on Doordarshanbetween 9 am and 3 pm forClassesItoXIIbutwedonothaveaclearideaabouthowmanystu-dentsareactuallyfollowingthem.Our challenge is to reach out tovillagestudents.Weareworkingonbuilding a system that incor-porates online and minimumphysicalpresenceof teachers.”

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

8THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY28,2020

THEOUTBREAKWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Schools shut, children of Bastarvillage get lessons via loudspeakers

Low on cash, farmers shift to bartersystem to ensure kids’ education

PM: Because right decisions taken atright time, India is in stable position

PrimeMinisterNarendraModiduringthe launchof threehighthroughput labs inNoida,KolkataandMumbaiviavideoconferencing, inNewDelhionMonday.ANI

EDUCATION INTHETIMESOFPANDEMIC

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, JULY27

THE FAMILYmembers of poetVaravara Rao onMondaywrotetoMaharashtra HomeMinisterAnil Deshmukh, stating theywerenotprovidedanyinforma-tion about his health. Rao (80),whoisbehindbarssince2018af-ter being named as an accusedin the Elgaar Parishad case, hadtested positive for Covid-19 onJuly16andiscurrentlyreceivingtreatmentatNanavatiHospital.Theletterwrittenbyhiswife,

P Hemalatha, and three daugh-ters, Sahaja, Anala and Pavana,stated that they have been de-nied any information about hiscondition or the treatment be-inggiven tohimat thehospital.“We are extremelyworried

and anxious to knowabout hishealth.Wearewritingtoyousincehe is lodged in a jail under yourministryasanundertrialprisonerand it is your bounden duty tolookafterhiswell-being. It isalsoyourduty to informhis family incaseof anyproblemtohishealthaspertheCharterofPatientRightspreparedbytheUnionHealthandFamilyWelfareMinistry,”thelet-ter stated, adding that theyhavebeen“keptinthedark”for12daysabouthiscondition.Raohadbeenshiftedtostate-

runJJHospitalearlierthismonthandmade to undergo tests, in-cluding one for Covid-19. Aftertesting positive, he was firstshifted to a civic hospital beforebeing transferred to NanavatiHospital.Thefamilyhassaidthattheonlyofficialinformationpro-vided to themwas that he hadtestedpositive for thevirus.Theletter said that there was noproper response to repeatedcalls toTalojaCentral Jail,wherehewas lodged.

ANURADHAMASCARENHASPUNE,JULY27

THE STATE-RUN B J MedicalCollege and Sassoon GeneralHospitalinPunehasreportedthecountry’s first documented caseofverticaltransmissionofCovid-19frommothertochild.Accordingtoresearchersatthe

medical college, this is the firstproven case of transplacentaltransmissionofSARS-COV-2fromapregnantwoman to the foetusinIndia.So far, it is unclearwhether

and how SARS-COV-2 can betransmitted from themother tothe foetus andworldwide therearefewcasesthathavebeendoc-umentedininternationaljournals.In April, the Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR) saidtherewas emerging evidence tosuggest that a pregnantwomancan transmit the infection toherunbornbaby.The Pune hospital’s

Department of Paediatrics,Obstetrics and Gynaecology,Microbiology andBiochemistryhas reported the case. AccordingtoDrAartiKinikar, Professorand

Head of the Department ofPaediatrics,itwasextremelychal-lenging as the baby had devel-opedsevereCoviddisease.“A 22-year-old pregnant

womanfromHadapsar reportedtoSassoongeneralhospitalinthelastweek ofMay andhad feveronedaybefore thedelivery. Shetestednegative for Covid via theRT-PCR test but an antibody testshowedevidenceof Covid infec-tion by a strong antibody re-sponse,”DrKinikarsaid.The doctor added that after

thebabywasborn,hernasopha-ryngeal swab, placenta andum-bilical stump tested positive forCovidbyRT-PCR. Shedevelopedsymptomswithin24to48hoursandhad fever, lethargyandsignsof severe disease alongwith ab-normalbloodtestssuggestingse-vere inflammation, the doctoradded. “Wewere able to detecttheinfectionintheumbilicalcordandplacenta.Themotherhadtheinfectionearlier butwas asymp-tomatic,”DrKinikaradded.The baby required intensive

carebutrecoveredcompletelyaf-ter three weeks and was dis-chargedinJune,saidDrMurlidharTambe,DeanofBJMedicalCollegeandSassoonGeneralHospital.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICELUCKNOW,JULY27

PRAYAGRAJ POLICE found thebody of a 60-year-old Covid pa-tient around 500metres awayfrom Swaroop Rani NehruHospital, where he was beingtreated since July 23, on Sundaynight.Noexternal injurywas found

on the body, said Circle Officer,Prayagraj,AmitKumarSrivastava.Thecauseofthedeathisnotclearas the post-mortem report isawaited.The patient’s family alleged

thathefledbecauseofnegligence

andharassment by the hospitalstaff. The hospital, however, de-niedtheallegationsandsaiddoc-torsareputtinginallefforts.OnFriday,a27-year-oldCovid

patienthadslithiswristinsidethebathroomof thehospital,wherehewas undergoing treatmentsinceJuly21.The60-year-oldpatient, a re-

tiredgovernmentemployee,wasadmitted to the hospital withbreathlessnessandhighfever.OnSaturday afternoon, thehospitalstaff foundhimmissing fromhisbedand informedthepoliceandhisfamilyafterfailingtofindhim.“Myfatherwasregularlybeing

harassedby thehospital staff fol-

lowingwhichhegotupset. Theydidnot take careof hishealthbynotgivingproperfoodandmedi-cines.Hehad toldmeabout thisoverphone,”saidhisdaughter.SwaroopRaniHospital is af-

filiated to Moti Lal NehruMedical College, located on thesamecampus.Principal of Moti Lal Nehru

Medical College,Dr SP Sigh said,“We all areworking in a criticalconditions andhospital staff areensuring that all patients getproper treatment. We havehelpedmany patients recover.This patient was also showingsignsofrecovery,butwecouldnotunderstandwhyheleft...”

DEBRAJDEBAGARTALA, JULY27

AMITABHABHOWMIKsaid thathe sawhis father Shyamalendudie,gaspingforbreathonawheel-chair at Tripura Sundari DistrictHospital in Tripura’s UdaipurtownonSunday,minutesafterhetestedpositiveforthecoronavirus.Amitabhahasnowclaimed thatthenegligenceofthehospitalau-thoritiesledtothedeath.Shyamalendu,76,hadtofre-

quentlyvisithospitalsashesuf-feredfromkidney-andheart-re-lated ailments. A few days ago,he developed a fever, and afterhestartedexperiencingrespira-tory problems, Amitabha tookhim to the district hospital,

where the two underwentmandatory rapidantigen tests.After the test results came

positive for both, Amitabha hasclaimed,thehospitalauthoritieskeptthetwowaitingonawheel-chair for over an hourwhile ar-ranging for an oxygen cylinderandanambulance to take themtoAgartala.Amitabhaisnowadmittedat

a Covid Care Centre inChandrapur.GomatiChiefMedicalOfficer

Dr Niru Mohan Jamatia saidShyamalendu died within 15minutes of testing positive.Jamatiaadmittedtosomedelayinprocessingthepatient’sbody,but said it was due to Covid-19related precautions as per gov-ernmentguidelines.

Pune reports firstdocumented case ofvertical transmissionfrom mother to child

ANURADHAMASCARENHASPUNE, JULY27

THEWORKboycottbynursesatoneofthecity’sbestknownhos-pitals took a turn for theworseonMonday, with hospital au-thoritiesrefusingtoagreetothedemand of a salary hike, andwarning that they will recruitnewpeople.About 200 nurses at the

JehangirHospital havenot beenattending work since Sunday,complaining of low salaries andexcessive workload. However,theyareattendingtoemergencyandcriticalcarepatients.The hospital admitted that

somenurseswhowerenotpartof the original agitation onSundayhadalsojoinedthestrike.In a late night statement on

Monday, thehospital said itwasdoing everything to take goodcare of the nurses, includingtimely payment of salaries andsomespecialallowances,butthatitwasnotinapositiontoincreasethe salaries at this point. “In ad-dition,specialcareistakenabouttheir diet, transport, accommo-

dation.Hostelaccommodations,as well as themeals, are takencareof...treatmentisofferedfreeof costnotonly to thestaff but isalso extended to their familymemberswho are Covid-posi-tive,” it said inastatement.Butthenursesarenotrelent-

ing. “Aren’t our demands justi-fied, especially after a daily 12-hour work schedule, with nocoolingoffperiodorevenaCovidallowance.Wehavebeenwork-ing for a pittance, and nurses insome other hospitals are beingpaiddouble...Thisisjustnotfair,”saida50-year-oldnurse.The nurses said they were

being paid a minimum of Rs12,000 toRs14,000 inamonth.A group of agitating nurses

todaymetDistrictCollectorNavalKishoreRamtoseeksupport.One nursing association has

thrownitsweightbehindtheag-itatorsandwrittentothehospi-tal. “We have demanded thattheir duty hours should not ex-ceedsixhourswithPPE,andad-equaterestshouldbeprovided,”Jibin TC, state president of theUnitedNursesAssociation, said.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIAMUMBAI, JULY27

ACTOR AISHWARYA RaiBachchan and her daughterAaradhyaonMondaytestedneg-ative for Covid-19andweredis-chargedfromacityhospitalhere.“Aishwarya and Aaradhya

have thankfully testednegativeandhavebeendischarged fromthehospital.Theywillnowbeathome,” the 46-year-old actor'shusband, Abhishek Bachchan,tweeted.

Aishwarya and Aaradhyawereshiftedtotheisolationwardof theNanavati Hospital on July17, almost a week after testingpositive for Covid-19. AmitabhBachchan,77,andAbhishekwereadmitted to the hospital onJuly11.

Kept in the darkabout his health:Varavara Rao’sfamily writesto Deshmukh

AishwaryaRaiBachchan

Aishwarya, daughter testnegative, discharged

NishustudieswithherbrothersNirbhayandArpit, inNayagaon,Begusarai. SantoshSingh

Officials saytheyhaveputupsix loudspeakers inBhatpalvillage,whichhasaround300families.GargiVerma

Tripura man says fatherdied on hospital wheelchairwhile waiting for oxygen

Patient’s body found 500 m fromUP hospital, kin allege negligence Patna: Amid a surge in Covid

cases and growing pressure onthe Bihar government, thehealthdepartmentMondayap-pointed Pratyaya Amrit as thenewPrincipalHealthSecretary.Amrit, a senior IAS officer

holdingchargeoftheenergyanddisaster management depart-ments, has replacedUdai SinghKumawat—thesecondsuchap-pointment in twomonths.The number of Covid cases

has increased from 10,205 onJuly1 to41,111on July27.CMNitishKumarwasreport-

edlyupsetwithKumawat’swork.Amrit’simmediatechallenge

is to increase testing and thenumber of beds with oxygencylinders in thestate. ENS

Bihar appointsPratyaya Amritas health secy

AtestingcampatPMGPcolony inMankhurdareaofMumbaionMonday.AmitChakravarty

Demanding better pay,200 nurses boycottwork at Pune hospital

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK 9WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY28,2020

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BACK TO ‘NATURE’TO SECURE OUR ‘FUTURE’“Nature is essential for human existence and good quality of life”.Failure to recognise this fact not only results in a model of economicgrowth that significantly contributes to the loss of biodiversity, it alsomisses the opportunity to effectively deploy nature in helping resolvemajor societal challenges such as climate change, food security and dis-aster risk reduction. The sustainable deployment of natural capital,that is the world’s stocks of natural assets which include geology, soil,air, water and all living things, has an important role in achieving theUnited Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. For decades, IUCN hascarried out innovative conservation initiatives that have simultaneouslyhelped protect, manage and restore the environment while deliveringtangible and sustainable benefits for people.This type of approach isnow widely known as Nature-based Solutions (NbS). IUCN launchedthe Global Standards for NbS on 23 July 2020 as a user-friendly frame-work for the verification,design and scaling up of NbS.

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ARUNJANARDHANANCHENNAI, JULY27

THE MADRAS High Court onMonday directed the Centre toset up a committee to examinetheissueofOBCquotainadmis-sions to state-runmedical anddental colleges under the all-India quota. The court said thecommittee, comprising repre-sentativesfromtheCentre,stateandtheMedicalCouncilof India(MCI), should be constitutedwithin threemonths.The courtwas hearing pleas

moved by the Tamil Nadu gov-ernmentandpoliticalparties,in-cluding DMK, AIADMK, PMK,besides a few other outfits,which challenged the Centre’sdecisiontonotprovide50%OBCreservationinstate-runcollegesundertheall-Indiaquotaforun-dergraduate,postgraduateanddental courses in2020-21.Everystatereservesacertain

perentage of seats in govern-

ment medical and dental col-legesforstudentswithdomicilewhile surrendering the rest tothe all-India quota. Tamil Nadu,which has surrendered around15percentof itsmedicalseatstothe all-India quota, provides 69per cent reservation under theTamil Nadu Backward Classes,SchedulesCastesandScheduledTribes (Reservation of Seats inEducational Institutions and ofAppointments or Posts in theServices under the State) Act,1993, which is protected underArticle31-Bandhasbeenplacedin the Ninth Schedule of theConstitution. The state's OBCquotaof50percent(30 percentGeneral OBCs and 20 per centMBCs) is way above the 27 percent Central OBC quota (inCentraluniversities,AIIMSetc).The petitioners argued that

while a 2010 notification of theMedicalCouncilof Indiahadsaidthat all-Indiaquota seats canbedistributed as per the reserva-tion policies of the respective

states, the Centre never imple-mented it.According to the All India

Federation of Other BackwardClasses Employees WelfareAssociations, the alleged viola-tionofthereservationpolicyhadledto“notasingleseat”beingal-lotted to OBC candidateswhentherewerenearly8,000MD/MSseats across states in 2020.“Since 2017 onwards, nearly40,842 seats were given by thestatestoAIQ(all-Indiaquota)buttheallotmenttoOBCswaszero,”saidastatement fromAIBOC.Askingforacommitteetobe

set up, the first bench of ChiefJustice A P Sahi and JusticeSenthilkumar Ramamoorthysaid any decision itmakes shallbeapplicableonlyfromthenextacademic year and that theCentre can pass any legislationtoprovideOBCreservationintheall-Indiaquotaseatsformedicaladmissions.Thebenchalsosaiditwasnot

passing a positive order to pro-

vide reservation in view of thesettledlawthatcourtscannotin-terfere in policymatters of thegovernment unless fundamen-tal rights are affected.“Reservation is not a legal andfundamental right,” the courtsaid.TheOppositionDMKpassed

aresolutioncallingthecourtor-derahistoricjudgmentandsay-ing the order shows that TamilNaduwill be at the forefront ofimplementingsocialjustice.TheDMK had earlier legally chal-lengedtheCentre’s10%quotaforeconomically weaker sections,saying that reservations werenot for poverty alleviation butmore like social justice pro-grammes.The PMK, an ally of the

AIADMK-BJPallianceinthestateand backed by a powerful OBC-Vanniyar community in north-ernTamilNadu,hadinJunesaidthat the Centre’s refusal to pro-videreservationforOBCs inAIQseatswas“unjustandrigorous”.

ADMISSIONSTOSTATE-RUNMEDICALSCHOOLS

MadrasHCdirectsCentre tosetupcommitteeonOBCquota

WorkerscleanRamKiPauriaheadof the foundation layingceremonyofRamtemple, inAyodhya,onMonday.PTI

India hands over10 broad gaugelocomotives toBangladesh

MAULSHREESETHLUCKNOW,JULY27

The Ram Janmabhoomi TeerthKshetraTrusthasdecidedtoputa “Kaal Patra” — a time capsule— in the foundation of the RamTemple tobebuilt inAyodhya.According to a member of

the trust, the idea behind thismove is to ensure that futuregenerationsarenotcaughtupinlegal disputes over Lord Ram’sbirthplace. The“BhoomiPoojan”forthetemplewouldbedonebyPrimeMinister NarendraModionAugust5.Sharing details, Trustmem-

ber Kameshwar Chaupal said ithas been decided at ameetingthat the time capsule wouldcarryamessageaboutAyodhya,LordRamandhisbirthplaceandit will be preserved so as to lastfor thousandsof years.“Suchideascomewithexpe-

rience. During discussion, itemergedthatduringexcavationof ancient sites, not just in Indiabutalsoabroad,evidenceof our

ages-old culture has come out.And,inacountryandlandwhichbelongstoRamandwhereRamispresent ineveryparticle, sucha longdispute went on over his

birthplace,” Chaupal told TheIndianExpress.Therefore,hesaid,ithasbeen

decided that inorder to save fu-turegenerations fromanycourtcase, a “timecapsule”would beput in the founda-

tionof theRamTemple.However, he said, it would

taketimetopreparethiscapsuleanditwouldbeputafterthelay-outof the temple isprepared.“For over 70 years, people

were roaming in thecourt inalongdispute.People likeme,

whowere children then, havegrownold.Peopleinthepastleft‘Shila Patta’,which helped. So itwasdecidedthatweshouldalsoensure that our future genera-tions are not caught up in anycourtbattleandthereality about Ayodhya and

Ram is preserved for the nextthousandsof years,”headded.

He said this time capsulewouldbekept at adepthof 200feetwhen thegroundwouldbedug to build the foundation ofthe temple.“Tampatra par likha hua ek

kaal patra hoga... JismeinAyodhyaaurbhagwanramkavi-varan hoga taki aanewali peeriko Court mein khara na honapare...” (It would be a time cap-sule in which details aboutAyodhyaandLordRamwouldbewrittenonacopperplatesothatthe future generation does nothave to stand incourt,”ChaupaltoldThe IndianExpress.He said experts have been

contactedfordecidingtheexactcontentinthe“minimumpossi-blewords” and for preparationof the timecapsule that can lastfor thousandsof years.Meanwhile, the Uttar

Pradesh government has pre-pared a phase-wise develop-ment plan for Ayodhya and thefoundationstonesfortheseproj-ectswouldalsobelaidonAugust5.Manyotherprojectswouldbeinaugurated thesameday.

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, JULY27

INDIAONMondayhandedover10 broad-gauge (BG) locomo-tives to Bangladesh, aiming tohelp handle the increasing vol-ume of passenger and freighttrain operations in the neigh-bouringcountry.The locomotives were

flagged off virtually by ExternalAffairsMinisterSJaishankarandRailwaysMinister PiyushGoyaland were received byBangladesh’sForeignMinisterAK Abdul Momen and RailwayMinisterNurul IslamSujan.The 10 locomotives handed

overonMondayaredesignedforaspeedof120mph,andaresuit-able forhauling freightandpas-senger trains.The Indian Railways has

modifiedthemtosuitthemaxi-mum height restrictions inBangladesh.Jaishankar said, “The pan-

demichasalsoforcedustocomeup with innovative solutionsaimedatminimisingdisruptionsto our supply chain logistics.Thankstoourwell-timedefforts,thebusinesscommunitiesofthetwo countries have startedutil-isingfreighttrainsfortransport-ingcommoditiesandrawmate-rials for manufacturingindustries. The movement offreight via rail has also ensuredthatthesupplyofessentialcom-modities... remains undis-rupted... particularly in theholymonthof Ramzan...”BangladeshForeignMinister

Momensaid,“We believe ‘connectivity is

productivity’ and our visionaryPM (Sheikh Hasina) has beentrying toexpandourconnectiv-itywithourneighbours...Robustrailway connectivity is an en-abler of economic growth, aplatform for uniform develop-ment anda catalyst fornationalintegration...”Momensaid.Goyal underscored the sig-

nificanceofrailwaycooperationinenhancingbilateral tradeandinfurtherboostingtheeconomicpartnership between the twocountries.

NewDelhi: The Supreme CourtonMondayaskedtheUniversityGrantsCommission(UGC)tore-plytopetitionschallengingitsdi-rective to universities and col-leges to hold final-yearexaminations by September 30,2020.A bench of Justices Ashok

Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy andM R Shah also directed that acopy of the petitions be servedupon the Centre and soughtreplies in three days. The courtfixed July31tohear itnext.The petitions, including one

filedbytheShivSenayouthwingYuva Sena, havehighlighted therisksassociatedwithholdingex-amsatatimeCovid-19casesarerisingandsaidmanystateshavealready cancelled or postponedexams. They also pointed to thefloods inAssamandBihar. ENS

Trust to place time capsulewith message on Ayodhya,Ram in temple foundation

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY27

THESUPREMECourtonMondayadjournedahearingonpetitionschallengingtheMaharashtralawproviding reservation toMarathasinjobsandadmissionsto September 1, with the stateundertaking not to make anyfresh recruitments tillSeptember15,2020Senior Advocates Mukul

Rohatgi and P S Patwalia, ap-pearing for the state govern-ment, told a bench of Justices LN Rao, Hemant Gupta and SRavindraBhatthatthestatehadalready decided by way of aGovernmentResolutiononMay4 that no fresh recruitmentwill

bemade.The SC bench was hearing

petitions challenging TheSocially and EducationallyBackward Classes (SEBC) Act,2018.The petitions have chal-

lenged the BombayHigh Courtorderof June2019which,whileupholdingthelaw,hadalsoheldthat16percentreservationwasnotjustifiableandaddedthatthequota should not exceed 12 percent in employment and13percent in admissions to govern-ment-runeducationalinstitutes.“At the outset, Mr Mukul

Rohatgi, learned senior counselappearing for the State ofMaharashtra, submitted that asper theGovernmentResolutionwhichwaspassedbytheStateof

Maharashtraon04.05.2020,ex-cept Public Health Departmentand Department of MedicalEducation and Research, all theotherDepartmentsshallnotun-dertakeanytypeof freshrecruit-ment process...Mr MukulRohatgiandMrPSPatwalia,sen-iorcounsel,appearingonbehalfof theStateofMaharashtra,sub-mitted that no regular appoint-mentsshallbemadeintermsoftheGR(governmentresolution)datedMay4,2020tillSeptember15,2020,” thebenchnoted.The court however declined

tointerferewithPGmedicalad-missions as they are in the finalstage. It also fixed August 25 tohearanapplicationforreferringthe matter to a ConstitutionBench.

MARATHAQUOTAINJOBS,EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTES

SC adjourns hearing on pleas againstquota law, state keeps hiring on hold

SC notice to UGCon pleas againstexam directive

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK10 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY28,2020

Purvanchal Vidyut VitranNigam Limited (PuVVNL) .(A subsidiary of UP Power

Corporation limited) PurvanchalVidyut Bhavan, Vidyut Nagar,P.O. - D.L.W., Varanasi -221004Website: http://www.etender.up.nic.in Tender Date ExtensionThe date of submission & openingof e-tender no., EAV-03/2020-21,EAV-06/2020-21 & EAV-07/2020-21 is here by extended up to13.08.2020 (15:00 PM) &14.08.2020 (15:00 PM)respectively. Further details can beseen at website www.etender.up.nic.in. Other terms and conditionsshall remain same. Sd/- (RajeshKumar) SuperintendingEngineer (MM-I) “SAVEELECTRICITY IN THE INTERESTOF NATION” ´fÂffaI : 2033/´fc.d½f.d½f.d³f.d»f.(½ff.)/Àff.´f i.-I/AA-I/d½fÄff´f³f dQ³ffaI : 27.07.2020

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEERConstruction Division-2, P.W.D, Bulandshahr

No. 1506 /7A Dated. 21-07-2020E-Procurement Inviting Tenders Notice

On behalf of Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Executive Engineer, Construction Division-2, P.W.D., Bulandshahrinvites following percentage rate bid online through http://etender.up.nic.in from the eligible and approvedContractors registered with UP PWD, from Date 17.08.2020 10.00 A.M. to 24.08.2020 upto 12:00 Noon as perthe prescribed T-1 of Govt. of U.P. The technical bids will be opened online on dated 24.08.2020 at 12:30 Noon.If the office happens to be closed on the date of opening of the bids as specified, the bids will be opened onlineon the next working day, at the same time and validity of bid will be considered from the original date. The dateand time of opening of the financial bid shall be notified on the website.

1. The Bid Security and Tender Document Fee must be deposited through Internet Banking only.2. All registered contractors have to upload Turnover certified by C.A. of last 5 year and details of maximum cost work

satisfactorily completed in last 5 years on Chanakya Software before submission of tender.Details of e-tender uploaded on https://eternder.up.nic.in shall also be uploaded on uppwd Chanakya software, before lastdate & time of submission of bid.

3. Terms & Other Conditions related to bid are available on https:// etender.up.nic.in

Sl.No

Name of Work Estimatedcost

(Rs. inLac)

BidSecurity(Rs. inLacs)

WorkComplet-

ion

Tenderdocument

fee includingGST

ContractorsCategory

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 Construction of Guard Room &Repair of Bitumen TankSikandrabad Store

10.00 1.00 02Month Tender Cost-Rs. 225+500+G.S.T. 18% 131= 856

A , B , C & D

2 Special Repair of Baral Link Road 33.00 3.30 01 Month Tender Cost- Rs. 300+500+G.S.T. 18% 144= 944

A , B , C & D

3 Construction of Drain Under NewConstruction of Ajay Nagar UrfJafarpur (Dhanpura) Bhuhu LinkRoad (Anjudi Basavat)

12.94 1.30 01 Month Tender Cost- Rs. 225+500+G.S.T. 18% 131= 856

A , B , C & D

Sd/-Assistant Engineer

Construction Division-2, PWDBulandshahr

Sd/-Executive Engineer,

Construction Division-2, P.W.D.Bulandshahar

UPID-153755 DATE 24.07.2020WWW.UP.GOV.NIC.IN

KARISHMAMEHROTRANEWDELHI, JULY27

THEMINISTRYofElectronicsandInformation Technology hasbanned 47 apps that are clonesor variants of the 59 Chinese-linkedappsbanned in June.Sources in theministry told

TheIndianExpressthat“theprob-lem is with the operationalethicsofcertainapps”.“Thisisanongoing process. If apps qualifyunder the same grounds of op-erational ethics, then theywillalso come under the scanner,”thesourcesaid,addingthat“op-erational ethics” refers to “datagoing back to the Chinesegovernment”.An order to ban the 47 apps

was issuedonFriday.Citing the “emergent nature

of threats”frommobileapplica-tions, includingpopular ones ofChinese origin such as TikTok,ShareIt,UCBrowser,ClubFactoryand CamScanner, the Centrebanned 59 apps on June 29based on information that theywereengagedinactivities“prej-

udicial to sovereignty and in-tegrity”, defence, security andpublicorder.Themovewasseenasaretal-

iatory step amid the borderstandoff between India andChina. State-owned telecomcompanies alsomoved to keepChinesevendorsoutoftheirnet-workupgradation tenders.“TheMinistryof Information

Technology has receivedmanycomplaintsfromvarioussources,including several reports aboutmisuse of some mobile appsavailableonAndroidandiOSplat-forms for stealing and surrepti-tiouslytransmittingusers’datainan unauthorised manner toserverswhichhavelocationsout-side India,” the government hadsaidinastatementonJune29.“The compilation of these

data, itsminingandprofilingbyelements hostile to national se-curity and defence of India,whichultimatelyimpingesuponthe sovereignty and integrity ofIndia, is a matter of very deepand immediate concern, whichrequiresemergencymeasures,”it said.

KARISHMAMEHROTRA&MANOJCGNEWDELHI, JULY27

IN THEIR presentations beforethe parliamentary Joint SelectCommittee examining thePersonalDataProtectionBill, theUnionHomeMinistryaswellasseveral of its agencies are learntto have argued for why theyneeded exemption from theplanned legislation.Therepresentativescitedthe

"sensitive" nature of their func-tions andduties, aswell as gavetheCovid-19pandemicasarea-son why the governmentneededaccess topersonaldata.Amongthosewhoappeared

before the committee, thatmetonMonday for two-and-a-halfhours, were Home SecretaryAjayKumarBhalla, headsof theNational Investigation Agencyand the Narcotics ControlBureau,RegistrarofCensus,anda representative of theNationalCrimesRecordBureau. The LawSecretary, InformationTechnology Secretary, and amember of the UniqueIdentificationAuthorityof India(UIDAI)alsomadepresentations.According to sources,

SamajwadiPartyMPRamGopalYadav, who is amember of thecommittee, enquired whatmeasureswere included in theBill to guard citizens againstabuseofsuchpowersbythegov-ernment.What was the assur-ancethattheroomthecommit-teesatinforthemeetingwasnottapped for example, he report-edlyasked.To Congress MP Manish

Tewari's query onwhether theagencies were prepared to ac-cept legislative or judicial over-sight, the Home Secretary saidthey only wanted executiveoversight over the expressedpowers.TheUIDAIwasmeanttogive

a presentation comparing theActgoverningitandthedataBill.However, itfailedtotablethere-quireddocumentandhencethecommittee did not take up itspresentation, it is learnt.Approved by the Cabinet in

2019, the Personal DataProtection Bill intends to regu-late the collection, movementand processing of data that ispersonal, or which can helpidentifyanindividual. Italsoau-thorises the government totransfercertaintypesofpersonaldata overseas and the govern-

mentagenciespowerstocollectpersonal and sensitive data ofcitizens.The committee’s discussion

on Monday revolved aroundArticle 35 of the Bill, which letstheCentralgovernmentgiveex-emption to any governmentagency from the legislation, al-lowingittoprocesscitizens’per-sonaldata“forpreventingincite-ment to the commission of anycognizable offence relating tosovereignty and integrity ofIndia, the security of the State,friendly relations with foreignStates, public order,” or “ in theinterest of sovereignty and in-tegrity of India, the security oftheState, friendlyrelationswithforeignStates,publicorder”.Itsayscertainprovisionscan

also be exempt “in the interestsof prevention, detection, inves-tigation and prosecution of anyoffence or anyother contraven-tion of any law for the time be-ing in force”, if it isnecessary forlegalrights,judicialfunction,andjournalisticpurpose.An earlier draft of the Bill,

prepared by the JusticeSrikrishna committee in 2018,hadprovidedexemptionstothegovernment for collecting suchdata for purposes of security,

criminal investigations andcrime prevention. It had, how-ever,stipulatedthattheseexcep-tionsbeauthorisedbyaseparatelawanddatabecollectedonly ifit is “necessary for, and propor-tionate to” the government’sinterests.ThenewBilldoesnotinclude

anyof these limitations.The Joint Select Committee

now considering the data Bill isheaded by the BJP'sMeenakshiLekhi. It was set up bypassing aParliamentary StandingCommittee on InformationTechnology that was led by theCongress's ShashiTharoor.Among those present at

Monday's meeting were S SAhluwalia (BJP), Ritesh Pandey(BSP),BhartruhariMahtab(BJD),RajeevChandrasekhar(BJP),andGauravGogoi (Congress).Incidentally, attendingadis-

cussionwiththethinktankIDFCInstitute Monday, JusticeSrikrishnasaidtheexceptionsal-lowing for government surveil-lance make the new Bill“Orwellian” law. “Even today,people will say that it’s a goodthing for crooks to be bumpedoff since he’s a badman... Evenan accused has human rights,"hesaid.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY27

THESUPREMECourtonMondayasked the J&K administration ifitwillagreetothereleaseof J&KHigh Court Bar AssociationPresidentMian Abdul Qayoom,who was detained under thePublic Safety Act, before his de-tentionexpiresonAugust6, ifheagreesnottovisit theUnionter-ritoryor issueanystatement tillAugust7.A bench headed by Justice

SanjayKishanKaulmadethere-marks after Solicitor GeneralTusharMehta,appearingfortheJ&K administration, informedthe court that Qayoom's deten-tionwillnotbeextendedbeyondAugust6.“Wearetryingforaworkable

arrangement. The governmentmay have some apprehensionsdue to the approaching date,”thebenchsaid,apparentlyrefer-ringtooneyearoftheabrogationofArticle370onAugust5.“Areyouwillingtoreleasehim

ifhedoesn’tgothere(Kashmir)tilltheseventh,agreestostayinDelhiandnot release any statements,”thebenchaskedMehta,whosaidthat hewill respond in twodaysafterseekinginstructions.Qayoomhas challenged the

May 28 order of the J&K HighCourt upholding his detentionunder the PSA. In his plea,QayoomhascontendedthattheHC order is ex facie unsustain-able in law as it is premised on“stale, irrelevant,remote,vague,imprecise and deficient”groundsof detention.Appearing for the appellant,

SeniorAdvocateDushyantDavesaid theadministrationwasnotdoinganyfavourbyagreeingnottoextendthedetention.Thegov-ernment, he contended,didnothaveanyevidencetosupportthedetention,andthatQayoomwasnotgiventhematerialontheba-sisofwhichhewasdetained.Heurged the court to grant bail toQayoomwithout further delayandsaidhewasnotacriminalorinvolved in any anti-nationalactivity.

Duties require access todata:Home, agencies toHousepanel

RAAKHIJAGGALUDHIANA, JULY27

AS THE farmers’ tractormarchrolled out across Punjab toprotest theCentre’s recent farmordinances, a 17-year-old girlwas in the driver’s seat inBathinda’s Mehma Bhagwanavillage.BaldeepKaur led the tractor

march from her village withother farmers following her intheirvehicles.Sitting beside her grand-

mother, Baldeep said, “Mygrandfather and grandmotherused to go in kisan union dhar-nas on a regular basis. I have al-waysbeeninspiredbythem.So,when I heard that a tractormarchwasscheduled, Idecidedtobeapartof it.”Monday’s tractor march

across the state was backed byseveralfarmerunions,includingthe BKU (Ugrahan) and BKU(Dakaunda). Several farmersjoinedthestatewidemarchthatwasheldatmorethan50placesacross thestate.Baldeep, who rode her trac-

torwearingablackT-shirt, said,“These ordinances are not

farmer-friendly.We are alreadyunder losses and the govern-mentwill further takeawayourrighttocultivateourfieldsascor-porate sectorwill be allowed totake over agriculture sector.Already due to rising prices ofdiesel and petrol, our financeshave takenahit.”Her father Jagseer Singh,

added, “Daughters have startedtakingcareof farmingnow,boysneedto learnsomelessons. Shehelpsmea lot in farming.”Baldeepsaidthatitwasafter

seeing her father go throughhardships as a farmer that she

decided tosupport thecause.“I have seen the hardships a

farmergoesthrough.Asmygrand-parentsarepartofunion,Idecidedtobepartofit,”saidBaldeep,whoplans to doB.Sc (Agriculture) tolearnfarmpractices.Meanwhile, in Bathinda,

farmerswent toUnionministerHarsimrat Badal’s office, wherea memorandumwas taken byBathinda mayor Baldev Nath,who isalsoaSADleader.InMansa, farmers were not

allowedtomarchaheadtowardscity area, but police stoppedtheminoutskirtsonly.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, JULY27

THEMUMBAIPoliceonMondayrecorded the statement of filmdirectorMaheshBhattaspartofitsinvestigationintothedeathofactor SushantSinghRajput. Thepolice is set to record the state-mentof filmproduceranddirec-torKaran Johar thisweekend.Bhatt was questioned at

Santacruz police station be-tween11.30amand2pm.Asen-ior police officer said that Bhattwasquestionedaboutthisasso-ciationwith Rajput. “Bhatt toldus that he hadmet Rajput onlytwice, the first time in August2018, after which he had alsopraisedRajput inaTwitterpost,and the second time in Januarythisyear,” theofficeradded.Accordingtothepolice,Bhatt

said he did not discuss films orcastingRajput inanyofhis filmsduringeitheroff thesemeetings."Atthefirstmeeting,theyspokeabout a book Bhatt claimed tohavebeenwritingat that time,"saidtheofficer,addingthatatthesecond meeting at Rajput'shome, his girlfriend RheaChakrabortywasalsopresent.Reactingtoallegationsmade

bypeopleonsocialmediathathecastsonlyestablishedstarsinhisfilms, Bhatt told police his filmproductionhouse,VisheshFilms,

worksonlywithnewcomers.“We called Bhatt for ques-

tioning to corroborate certainfactsthathavecometolightdur-ing the course of the investiga-tion and to clear doubts in peo-ple's minds about ourinvestigations,” said theofficer.Thepolicewill record Johar's

statement thisweekend in con-nection to the film Drive thatRajputhadmadewithhisproduc-tionhouse,DharmaProductions,the officer added. Before Johar,however,thepoliceissettoques-tion Dharma Productions CEOApoorvaMehta on Tuesday inconnectionwith the agreementsignedwithRajputforDrive.The Bandra police station,

whichisconductingtheinvesti-gation, has received a report onRajput’s viscera from theKalinaForensic Science Laboratory(FSL). “The FSL has informed usthattherearenosignsofpoison-ingintheviscera.Onthebasisofour probe so far, there is no evi-denceof foul play in thedeath,”saidanofficer.Meanwhile,ParthPawar, the

sonofFinanceMinisterandNCPleader Ajit Pawar, met stateHomeMinister Anil Deshmukhon Monday with a request toconsider transferring the probeto the CBI, claiming to have re-ceived emails, messages andphonecallsfromyouthofseveralstatesaskingforhisintervention.

NAVEEDIQBALSRINAGAR, JULY27

WITH THE Central law on landacquisition being extended tothe Union Territory of Jammuand Kashmir, the J&K adminis-tration has withdrawn a 1971circularthatrequiredanoobjec-tion certificate (NOC) from itshome department for acquisi-tion or requisition of land infavour of the Army, BSF, CRPFandothersimilarorganisations.Suchacquisitionwillnowbe

covered under the Right to FairCompensation andTransparency in LandAcquisition, Rehabilitation andResettlementAct, 2013.InanorderissuedbytheUT’s

RevenueDepartmentonJuly24,theJ&Kadministrationsaid,“Inview of the extension of theRight to Fair Compensation andTransparency in LandAcquisition, Rehabilitation andResettlementAct,2013totheUT,the circular dates 27.08.1971,which prescribed obtaining ofNoObjectionCertificatefromtheHomeDepartment for acquisi-tion/requisitionof landinfavourof Army, BSF/CRPF and similarorganisations is hereby with-drawn.”Additionally, Collectors for

landacquisitionineverydistrictdesignated under the Right toFair Compensation Act, and theCompetent Authority LandAcquisition (CALA) under theNational Highway Act, 1956,have been asked to process thecasesof landacquisition/ requi-sition “strictly in accordancewiththeprovisionsof thesetwoActs and the rulesmade there-underhenceforth”.Themove comes days after

the J&K administration gave itsapproval to an amendment tothe Control of BuildingOperationsAct,1988andtheJ&KDevelopment Act, 1970. Thisprovidesspecialdispensationforcarryingout constructionactiv-

ities in “strategic areas” byarmedforces.The Right to Fair

Compensation andTransparency in LandAcquisition, Rehabilitation andResettlementAct,2013providesfor land to be acquired “forstrategic purposes relating tonaval, military, air force, andarmed forces of the Union, in-cluding central paramilitaryforces or any work vital to na-tional security or defence ofIndiaorStatepolice,safetyofthepeople”;andstatesthat“inrela-tion to acquisition of land situ-ated within a Union territory(exceptPuducherry),theCentralGovernment is the appropriateauthorityforacquisitionof land”under theprovisionsof theAct.The decision allowing con-

structionin“strategicareas”wascleared by the LieutenantGovernor G CMurmu-led ad-ministrative council on July 17.After the move was criticised,theadministrationclarifiedthatthechangesprovideforaspecialdispensationforregulatingcon-structionin“strategicareas”,re-quired by the Armed Forces fortheir “direct operational andtraining requirements”.In the sameclarification, the

administration noted, “Thetransfer,bothacquisitionorreq-uisitions, continues to be gov-ernedbytheexistinglawandthenormsonthesubject.Thereisnodecision to either transfer anynew land or declare areas out-side cantonments or army landasstrategic.”

MANISHSAHULUCKNOW,JULY27

THE POLICE in Uttar Pradesh’sGorakhpur district onMondayarrested five people in connec-tionwiththedeathofa14-year-old boy,whose bodywas foundadayafterhewasabductedfromhis home in the Pipraich area ofMisrauli village. The prime ac-cused,andoneofthosearrested,is thevictim’sneighbour.“Five persons have been ar-

restedandtwoothersarestillonthe run,” said Gorakhpur SSPSunilKumarGupta.Thepolice said around3pm

on Sunday, the victim’s fatherMahajanGupta,whorunsapaanshop, received a ransom callfrom an unidentified number.Thecaller askedhimtopayRs1croretoensurehisson’s release.Following a preliminary in-

vestigation,thepolicepickedupafewlocalpeople, includingtheboy’s neighbourDayaNand, forquestioning.After Daya Nand failed to

provide proper answers duringquestioning, the police interro-gated him at length. The policesaid the boywas killed becausehehad identifiedDayaNand.Taking note of the incident,

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathasked the police to consider in-voking theNational SecurityAct(NSA)againsttheaccused,andex-peditethetrial.Healsoissueddi-rections to find if therewas anylapse on part of the police. ThegovernmentalsoannouncedRs5lakh compensation for the vic-tim’sfamily.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICESURAT,AHMEDABAD, JULY27

FARMER LEADER Jayesh Patel,who was in the forefront ofprotests inSuratagainst landac-quisitions for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project,joined the BJP in the presence ofits newly appointed Gujarat unitpresident CR Paatil inGandhinagaronMonday.Patel, the southGujaratpresi-

dentof theKhedutSamajGujarat(KSG),Patel,alsoknownasJayesh‘Delad’afterthevillagehebelongsto, isalsooneof the18directorsofSumul Dairy, which has over 2.5lakhmembers.HealsoheadedtheParshottamFarmersMandal.“We tookuparmsagainst the

government to get justice forfarmers.Forthepast20-25years,

Ihavebeenworkingfor farmers...During the discussions on farm-ers’ issueswith CabinetMinisterGanpat Vasava and IshwarbhaiPatel inthepasttwomonths, I re-alised that these can be resolvedthroughtalks,notagitations.Withme joining the BJP, farmers willbenefitandco-operativesocietieswill be strengthened,”Delad toldThe IndianExpress.

KSG member Vasant Patel,also joined theBJP.KSGpresident Jayesh Patel —

the namesake of Delad — said,“They might have entered theparty for some personal gains. Inour various movements, JayeshPatelwaswithus,fightingagainsttheBJPgovernment...Nowhehasjoined the party, which is a bitshockingforus.InKSG,theorgan-isation is important, not persons.KSG has not lost any importantperson nor has the organisationbecomeweakaftertheirexit.Thatonly one person followed him tothe BJP shows his influenceamongthe farmers.”Delad,whojoinedKSGin1995,

foughtfortherightsof farmersforcompensation as per themarketprice for the bullet train projectand express highway project. Hewas among those detained by

Surat police duringKSGagitationagainst thebullet trainproject.“After meetings with Chief

Minister Vijay Rupani and rev-enueminister Kaushik Patel, aswell asOlpadMLA, the jantri ratefor five villages was increasedfrom Rs 91 to Rs 710, benefitingthe farmers. We are not againstdevelopmentandhopethatwithfarmers’ support, the bullet trainissuewillberesolvedthroughdis-cussions,” saidDelad.Askedwhy the farmer leader

joined the BJP, party state presi-dent Paatil said, “They donot seeanyfutureintheCongress...That’swhy theyhave joined theBJP... Tostrengthen the organisation, weare fully active. If the Congress isscared after my appointment,then this fear is justified. Theyneedtobescaredasitisuncertainhowlong theywill survive.”

JayeshPatelwithBJPGujaratpresidentCRPaatil.Express

Surat farmer leader who fought against landacquisition for bullet train project joins BJP

PUNJABPROTESTSFARMORDINANCES

In Bathinda, 17-year-oldgirl leads tractor march

BaldeepKaurrecentlypassedherClass10exams.GurmeetSingh

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEVADODARA,AHMEDABAD,JULY27

RAMNIKBHAI AMBANI, elderbrother of the late DhirubhaiAmbani,thefounderofRelianceIndustries, died in AhmedabadMondayafternoon.Hewas95.The Ambani family stated

thathe“passedawaypeacefullyinhis sleep”.Ramnikbhai was on the

board of directors of RelianceIndustriestillhewas90,retiring

in 2014. A foundingmember ofReliance Industries, he “was amanwith an unrelenting questfor knowledge”, a statement

fromthe family read.Born in Junagadh in 1924 to

Hirachand and JamunabenAmbani, he was the eldest ofthreebrothers—othertwobeingDhirubhaiAmbaniandNatubhaiAmbani--andhadtwosisters—TrilochanabenandJasumatiben.Ramnikbhai’s wife

Padmaben died in 2001. He issurvived by his children Nita,Meena, Ila and Vimal Ambani,fivegrandchildrenandtwogreatgrandchildren. Ila ismarried toGujarat cabinetminister for en-ergy, SaurabhPatel.

J&K: Army, CRPF,BSF will no longerrequire NOC forland acquisition

After banning 59Chinese-linkedapps, Centrebans 47 variants

SHUSHANTSINGHRAJPUTDEATH

Police record MaheshBhatt’s statement,Karan Johar to bequestioned this week

TheJ&Kadministrationhaswithdrawna1971circular thatrequiredanNOCfromitshomedepartment foracquisition/requisitionof landinfavourofArmy,BSF/CRPF

SC asks J&K if Qayoomcan be released beforehis detention expires

RamnikbhaiAmbaniwas95

Dhirubhai Ambani’s brotherRamnikbhai dies in Ahmedabad

Abducted teenkilled in UP, Yogiasks cops toconsider NSAagainst accused

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK 11WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY28,2020

NOTICE FOR ESTABLISHING CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE- WELDINGThe Government of India has received financing from the World Bank towards thecost of the Uttarakhand Workforce Development Project (UKWDP), and intends toapply part of the proceeds for the following:

Bids are invited from reputed firms vide National Competitive Bidding (NCB)method. A complete set of bidding documents is available on the websitehttps://uktenders.gov.in & www.uksdm.org from 28.07.2020; 1100 hrs. to31.08.2020; 1100 Hrs. A pre-bid meeting is scheduled on 10.08.2020 at 1500 Hrs.Bids must be submitted online on the website https://uktenders.gov.in on orbefore 1100 Hrs. 31.08.2020. The technical bids will be opened on 31.08.2020 at1600 hrs.

Project Director

State Project Implementation Unit, UKWD ProjectGovt. ITI (Women) Campus 26-EC Road, Dehradun-248001,

Email- spiuukwdp@gmail.com

SUPPLY AND RELATED SERVICES REQUIRED DURATION BID SECURITY

Supply, installation, commissioning of welding equipmentand providing complete solutions for establishing CoE(Welding) at GITI Boys, Dehradun (Sahaspur)

24 months 11.0 lakhs

G.B.N. GOVT. POLYTECHNIC, NILOKHERI

Applications are invited from eligible Candidates latest by17.08.2020 for preparing a panel of Guest/Visit facultyrequired from time to time as detailed below:Sr. No. Name of Institute Name of Post1. M.K. Govt. Polytechnic, Guest/Visiting faculty in

Jattal (Panipat) a) Chemical Engg.b) Textile Technology

a. The attested Xerox copies of all documents must beattached with the Application Form.

b. The Application Form and details are available atwww.gpnilokheri.ac.in

c. Detailed qualifications are available at DepartmentPortal http://techeduhry.gov.in. Knowledge of Hindiupto Matric Standard.

d. The Candidate must apply directly to the Principal,M.K. Govt. Polytechnic. Jattal (Panipat).

Sd/-Principal

GBN Govt. Polytechnic,Nilokheri.

81956/HRY

INTEGRATED HQ OF MOD (ARMY)QUARTERMASTER GENERAL'S BRANCHDIRECTORATE GENERAL OF SUPPLIES

AND TRANSPORTREGISTRATION AS APPROVED ASC

CONTRACTORS1. Applications are invited from interested firms for registration

with Directorate General of Supplies and Transport asRegistered ASC Contractors for annual contracts for supply ofMeat Dressed/Chicken (Broiler) Dressed in Chilled/Frozen statefor approx 259 stations to the Indian Army.

2. The firms applying for registration are required to be registeredunder serial number 3 and 4 in schedule 1 of FSSAI Act 2006,containing list of food business falling under the purview ofCentral Licensing Authority. Interested firms should have theirown integrated slaughtering and processing facilities to handleonly Goat/Sheep and Broiler where there are no chances of anymix up with the slaughter and process of other large animals forproduction of Beef/Pork etc.

3. Tenders are invited between Oct to Dec at HQ Commands forcontracts for the period from 01 Apr to 31 Mar.

4. Interested parties may submit application on the printed letterhead of firm to Director General of Supplies and Transport(DGST) alongwith FSSAI certificate. Any additional informationmay be obtained from the undersigned.

Colonel (Contracts)Directorate General of Supplies and Transport

Quartermaster General's BranchIntegrated Headquarters of MoD (ARMY)

New Delhi — 110011Telephone No : 011-23018353

E-mail ID — contracts.56@gov.inAdvertisement No : PC/63016/Q/ST5

davp 10602/11/0007/2021

Government of IndiaMinistry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions

Department of Administrative Reforms & Public GrievancesPRIME MINISTER'S AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

TO BE PRESENTED ON 31.10.2020Applications are invited for District Performance Indicators Programmes of Government ofIndia and Innovations in Public Administration.(A). The District Performance Indicators Programmes are:

(i). Inclusive Development through Credit Flow to the Priority Sector,(ii). Promoting People's movements —"Jan Bhagidari" in the district

(iii). Improving service delivery and redressal of public grievancesEligibilityDistricts are eligible to compete for the Awards for the above District Performance IndicatorsProgrammes(B) Awards for Innovation in Public Administration will be considered in the following

fields:"Environment conservation, disaster management, water conservation, energy education,health, women and child centric initiatives etc".Eligibility:- Organisations of Central/State Governments/Districts are eligible to apply for theAwards in Innovations.(C) Aspiration District ProgrammeEligibility:- All Aspiration Districts(D) Namami Gange ProgrammeEligibility:- 57 District Ganga CommitteesOnline Applications may be submitted on the designated portal from 01.08.2020Last date for filling applications online on PM Awards' portal will be 15.08.2020Modalities and other details of the scheme are available on PM's Awards Portal(pmawards.gov.in) and the link of which is also available on website of the Department ofAdministrative Reforms and Public Grievances (http://darpg.gov. in).Contact person for further clarificationDirector (AR)Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances,5th Floor, Sardar Patel Bhawan, Parliament Street,New Delhi — 110001 Tele Fax : 011-23743030Email: satish.kj@nic. in

Sd/-(Kamal Kumar Thakur)

Under Secretary to the Govt. of Indiadavp 32101/11/0001/2021 011-23401428

ANANTHAKRISHNANGNEWDELHI, JULY27

THESUPREMECourtreserveditsorderMondayonapetitionseek-ingtransferofmoneyreceivedinthe PM CARES Fund to theNationalDisasterResponseFund,apleaopposedbytheCentre.Thepetitioner alleged itwas createdto circumvent the NationalDisasterManagementAct.“It’s a public charitable trust

and any private individualwhowants to contribute can con-tribute to it,” Solicitor GeneralTushar Mehta told a bench ofJustices Ashok Bhushan, RSubhash Reddy andMR Shah,addingthat“allgovernmentcon-tributionswillgotoNDRFonly”.Appearingforthepetitioner,

NGO Centre for Public InterestLitigation, senior advocateDushyant Dave said “nobody is

doubting the bona fides of any-body. Our argument is you arecircumventing the Act whichmandates the executive to firstexhaust the National DisasterResponseFund”.The NDRF, said Dave, has to

be audited by the ComptrollerandAuditorGeneral(CAG)while“PMCARES is audited by someprivate auditor”. He said, “thisgovernment believes in trans-parency”, and that PM CARESFund should at least have beenauditedbytheCAG.“Ourcase is this is tocircum-

vent NDMA... This is a fraud ontheConstitution.Allweare say-ingit’ssubjecttopublicscrutiny...It’s entitled to Income Tax ex-emption,”Davesaid,adding“ourargument is this could neverhave been done under the Act”.Senior advocate Kapil Sibal,

who was appearing in a con-nectedmatterrelatedtodrawing

up a national disastermanage-mentplan, saidcontributions toPM CARES are eligible for CSRbenefitsandwonderedwhythenwill corporates and others do-natetotheNDRF.Mehta pointed out that CSR

benefitsarealsoavailablefordo-nationstoNDRF.Reservingitsorder,thebench

gaveDaveandMehtathreemoredaystofileadditionalwrittenar-guments, if any,onthis.TheCentre,initsaffidavitfiled

in thematter, defended the cre-ation of the PM CARES FundwhichacceptsfundsforCovidre-

lief operations and opposed thetransfer of these funds to theNDRF. The government said“there does exist a NationalDisasterResponseFundasstipu-latedunderSection46ofDisasterManagement (DM) Act, 2005whichsofarconsistedofthefundin the formof budgetary provi-sions made by the CentralGovernment inNDRF and StateGovernments and CentralGovernment in State DisasterResponseFundswithoutanypri-vatecontribution”.Itsaid“thereareseveralfunds

whichareeitherestablishedear-lier or now for carryingout vari-ousreliefworks.PMCARESisonesuch fundwith voluntary dona-tions”andthat“mereexistenceofa statutory fundwouldnot pro-hibit creationof a different fundlike PMCARES Fundwhichpro-videsforvoluntarydonations”.The bench also heard argu-

ments on the response to theproblems caused to migrantlabour because of the lockdownandthepleafordrawingupadis-astermanagementplan.Mehta submitted that trans-

port facilities have already re-sumed across the country andthattherehasbeennodemandforspecialtrainsinthelast20days.Thebench,however, referred

tosomeapplicationspointingoutthat there is stillmigrant labourstuckinMaharashtra.“Theremay be peoplewho

don’t have money,” observedJusticeShah.Thebenchsaidif thereisany-

one left stranded, theyshouldbesent home and that it will passnecessaryorders.Mehta said the “difficulty is

someorganisations givenames.Whenwegoforpersonalverifica-tion, they say they don’t evenknowtheirnamesareincluded”.

Reserving itsorder, thebenchgaveDaveandMehtathreemoredaystofileadditionalarguments, if any

NDRF, PMCARES: SC reserves orderas Centre says both funds can exist

SC contempt notice an attempt tostifle criticism: ex-judges, others

NIA files chargesagainst six peoplefor ‘providinglogistical supportto JeM militants’

131citizenscall forwithdrawalofnotice toPrashantBhushan

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY27

CALLING THE Supreme Court'sdecisiontoinitiatesuomotucon-tempt proceedings againstlawyerPrashantBhushanan“at-tempt at stifling criticism", agroupof131prominentcitizens,includingformerSupremeCourtjudgeMadanBLokurandformerDelhi High Court Chief Justice AP Shah, released a statement ofsolidarityonMonday.ArguingthatBhushanonlyar-

ticulated some of the concernsraisedaboutthefunctioningoftheapex court, the statement urgedthecourttowithdrawitscase“intheinterestofjusticeandfairnessandtomaintainthedignityoftheSupremeCourtof India”.“An institutionas important

astheSupremeCourtofacoun-trymust be open topublic dis-cussionwithoutthefearofretri-bution or action of criminal

contempt,”thestatementreads.Bhushanwas issued anotice

bySClastweekafterthecourtini-tiated fresh contempt proceed-ingsagainsthimfortwotweetsheposted.AbenchheadedbyJusticeArun Mishra said Bhushan'stweetshadbroughttheadminis-trationof justicein“disrepute”.Thecomplaintwasregistered

overa June29tweetbyBhushaninvolvingapictureofCJISABobdeonaHarleyDavidsonmotorcycleinNagpur,andoneonJune27re-garding the judiciary,which thecourtsaidwassubsequentlypub-lishedinTheTimesof India.The statementnoted: “In the

pastfewyears,seriousquestionshave been raised against the re-luctanceoftheSupremeCourttoplay its constitutionally man-dated role as a checkongovern-

ment excesses and violation offundamental rights of peoplebythe state. These questions havebeenraisedbyall sectionsof thesociety—media, academic, civilsociety organisations,membersofthelegalfraternity,andevenbysitting and retired judges of theSupreme Court itself. More re-cently,theSupremeCourt’sreluc-tance to intervene in a timelymanner toavert themigrantcri-sisduringthelockdowncameun-der immensepublicscrutiny.”Besides Justices Lokur and

Shah, senior advocates AnandGrover, C U Singh, GopalSankaranarayanan,SanjayHegde,historian Ramachandra Guha,former CICWajahatHabibullah,author Arundhati Roy, andYogendra Yadav of Swaraj Indiaareamongthesignatories.

North central railways @ CPRONCR817/20(D)

Maoists killCAF constablein Chhattisgarh

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JUNE27

CONGRESS LEADER and formerEnvironment Minister JairamRamesh on Monday wrote toEnvironmentMinister PrakashJavadekar, explaining his objec-tions to thedraft EnvironmentalImpactAssessment(EIA).This is the latest in the ex-

changeoflettersbetweenthefor-merandtheincumbentenviron-ment ministers on the draftEIA.TheMinistryforEnvironment,Forest and Climate Change hascalled for suggestionsandobjec-tionstothedraft byAugust10,af-terwhichit istobenotified.Ramesh first wrote to

JavadekaronJuly25,“stronglyob-jecting’’ to thedraft. Hehad saidthedraft reflects “amindset thatseesenvironmentalregulationasunnecessary regulatory burdenandnotasanessentialobligationtobemetfor thehealthandwel-

fare of ourpeople and for ensur-ingdevelopment that is sustain-able’’. In his response, Javadekarwrote, “All your suggestions areunfoundedandbasedonmisin-terpretation. Iwill reply toyou indetail. The governmentwill fi-nalise after considering varioussuggestions. Government deci-sionsarealwaysopenforscrutinyby Parliament and StandingCommittees.’’Rameshisthechairmanofthe

StandingCommittee on Scienceand Technology, Environment,ForestsandClimateChange.Inhisfour-pageletterMonday,

Rameshstated,“Youaccusemeof

misinterpretingtheProvisionsoftheNotification.Pleaseallowmeto respond in somedetail corre-latingmystatedobjectionswiththespecificprovisionscontainedinthenotification.’’OneoftheobjectionsRamesh

hasraisedisthatitallowsforpostfactoapprovalswhich,hesaid,goagainst the principle of assess-ment and public participationpriortoenvironmentalclearanceand “has provisionswhichwillroutinelylegitimizeillegality”.Hehasalsoobjectedtothere-

ductionofpublicparticipation“inall steps of the environmentalclearanceprocessbylesseningthenoticeperiodforpublichearings’’,anddoing awaywith themalto-getherforlargecategoryprojects.Thedraftalsoincreasesvalid-

ity of environmental clearancesallowingprojectsto“secure’’landforlongdurationsevenwhentheyare not constructed. “This pro-motes land grab, not develop-ment,’’Rameshhassaid.

In fresh letter to Javadekar, Rameshexplains his objections to draft EIA

PrakashJavadekar;(right) JairamRamesh

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEJAMMU,JULY27

THE NATIONAL InvestigationAgency (NIA)onMonday filedachargesheet inaspecial court inJammuagainstsixpeopleforal-legedlyprovidinglogisticalsup-port to three Pakistan-basedJaish-e-Mohammed(JeM)mili-tantswhohadinfiltratedintothecountry in January.Thesixaccused—allresidents

of Kashmir—were stated to bepart of JeM’s “infiltration-trans-portation”module. They havebeenidentifiedasSameerAhmedDar, Asif Ahmed Malik, SartajAhmedMantoo,SuhaibManzoor,ZahoorAhmedKhanandSuheelJavid alias Suhail Lone. All havebeenchargedunderIPCSections120B,121,121A,122and307 IPC,besides provisions of theUAPA,the Arms Act, the ExplosiveSubstances Act and the IndianWirelessTelegraphyAct.Asperthechargesheet,atruck

carryingthreePakistanimilitantswasstoppedonJanuary31attheBanTollPlazanearNagrotaontheJammu-Srinagar national high-way.While SameerAhmedDar,Asif Ahmed Malik and SartajMantoo managed to escape,heavily armedmilitants hidinginsidethethetruckopenedfireatthepoliceparty,beforefleeing.In the ensuing searches, the

security forces killed all threePakistanimilitantsandarrestedthe truckdriver andhis twoas-sociates. The other three ac-cused were JeM overgroundworkers (OGWs) and they hadprovided to themilitants shel-ter, logistics and communica-tions. They had also purchased‘pherans’ for the militants tomakethemlooklikeKashmiris,and to help them hide theirweapons.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICERAIPUR, JULY27

ACONSTABLEoftheChhattisgarhArmedForce (CAF) deployed forsecurity at a camp inChhattisgarh’sNarayanpurdistrictwas killed in targeted firing byMaoistsonMonday,policesaid.Thedeceasedhasbeen iden-

tifiedasconstableJitendraBagdeof the CAF’s 22nd batallion. HewasaresidentofBijapurdistrict.Thekillingcomesadayahead

of ‘Shaheedi’week—organisedby Maoists as a mourning forcadres who have been killed.Accordingtothepolice,Monday’sattacktookplaceattheKademetacamp in Narayanpur. “TworoundsofanSLR(rifle)werefired,targeting Bagde, killing him im-mediately. The troops from thecampwentonasearchoperationin nearby areas, but didn't findanyone,” Bastar IG, P Sundarraj,said, adding, “Prima facie, it ap-pears a small action teamwereinvolved...”Ahead of ‘Shaheedi’ week,

maoist cadreshavebeen throw-ingpostersandstringingupban-ners in other LWE-affected dis-tricts of the Bastar region,according to the police. OnSunday, IGSundarrajvisitedsev-eral villageswithdistrict officialstospeaktolocalresidents.

BIHARFLOOD

Patna:Over25,000peoplehavetakenshelteralongtheNationalHighway-57betweenMuzaffarpurandDarbhangawhile another 15,000havebeenliving intentsontheEast-WestCorridorbetweenGopalganjandMotiharibecauseof incessant rainandextradischargeofwater inGandak, BagmatiandKosiriverscausingfloodsin12districts of BiharwithGopalganj,East Champaran, Saharsa,Darbhanga and parts ofMuzaffarpurworst-affected.Sofar,over15lakhpeoplehave

beenaffectedbythefloods.Ramchandrudu, Additional

Secretary(DisasterManagement),said, “Overall, 625panchayats of86blocksin12districtshavebeenaffected.NDRFandSDRFboatsaredeployedtoevacuatepeople.Ato-talof463communitykitchensarebeingruntoprovidefoodtoabout1.8lakhdisplacedpeople.” ENS

ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY, ALIGARHAn Institution of National Importance listed inthe Schedule VII of the Constitution of India

The last date of submission of application forms for teachingpositions advertised vide advertisement No. 02/2020(T) dated11.06.2020 including Corrigendums/Addendums is herebyextended till 31.08.2020, in view of problems due to COVID-19pandemic lockdown. The candidates can also make payment ofemployment fee through online mode as per procedure given inthe Circular No. D-490/FO/AC/2020 dated 16.07.2020, which isa l s o a v a i l a b l e o n t h e U n i v e r s i t y w e b s i t e<www.amuregistrar.com/misc/CIRCULAR.pdf>. No furtherextension will be given. (Abdul Hamid, IPS)

Registrar

NOTICE

12 dists hit, displaced takeshelter along highways

New Delhi

12WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

STRESS TESTRBI’s financialstabilityreportunderlinesweaknessthatmustbe

addressed,oritcouldslowdowneconomicrecovery

I NMARCH2020, theReserveBankof Indiahadannouncedamoratoriumontherepayment of all term loans for both businesses and households, to ease theirburdenduring theperiodof the lockdown. Initiallyallowed foraperiodof threemonths, itwassubsequentlyextendedtill theendofAugust2020.Datafromthe

RBI’s latest financialstabilityreportshowsthatattheendofAprilaroundhalfof thecus-tomersofscheduledcommercialbanks,accountingforhalfof theoutstandingbankloans,optedtoavailof thereliefmeasuresextended—underliningtheprecariousnessof theirfinancialposition.Publicsectorbanksshoulderedadisproportionateburdenofthemora-toriumwithroughlytwo-thirdsofborrowersavailingofthefacility,asopposedtolessthanhalf in the case of private banks. In subsequentmonths, as economic activity pickedupfollowingtherelaxationsof therestrictions, therehasbeenanimprovement inthesitu-ation,with thoseavailingof this facilitydroppingsteadily.While theeconomic slowdown is likely toadversely impactbanks’ non-performing

assets—accordingtothefinancial stabilityreport,NPAswereonadownwardtrajectorybefore the COVID shock— greater clarity on the bank’s asset qualitywill emerge onlyonce themoratoriumperiod ends.While this is still some time away, the RBI has con-ducted a series of stress tests to project the possible impact of the economic shock onbankbalancesheets.Accordingtoitsestimates,banks’grossNPAsmayriseto12.5percentbyMarch2021,up from8.5per cent inMarch2020, if theeconomycontractsby4.4percent thisyear.However, if thecontractionworsens to8.9per cent,whichsomeanalystsareprojecting,bad loanscouldrise to14.7percent.Public sectorbanksare likely towit-nessalargerspurtinbadloansthantheirprivatesectorcounterparts, thoughtheimpactontheNBFCs/HFCsisalsoexpectedtobesubstantial. Intheextremescenario, fivebanksareunlikelytomeettheminimumcapitalrequirements,underliningtheurgentneedforbanks to raisecapital.Owingtoits fiscalconstraints, thegovernment isunlikelytorecapitalisebankstothe

extentrequired.However,thereisthepossibilityoftheRBIextendingthemoratoriumpe-riod or opting for a one-time restructuring of loans, especially for the stressed sectors.The latter will push back the requirement of banks having to raise additional capital.Failure to address the underlyingweakness in the financial system,while at the sametimeprodding banks to rampup lendingdespite data indicating their unwillingness totakeonthecreditriskintheeconomy,couldfurtheradverselyaffecttheirbalancesheets.Thisweakness in the financial sector couldslowdowntheeconomic recovery.

SECURING CAREGIVERSHealthcareworkers,onthe frontlinesof thebattleagainst the

virus,needgreatercareandsupport

ONSUNDAY, JOGINDERChaudhary, a junior resident doctor atDelhi’s BabaSahebAmbedkarHospital, losthismonth-longbattlewiththenovelcoro-navirus.Thathewasonly27,reportedlyanathleticpersonwithoutanyco-morbidity, speaks of theunpredictablewaysof the virus—youngpeople,

especially thosewhodonot suffer anychronic ailments, aregenerallydeemed lessvul-nerable to COVID-19. Chaudharywas placed under home quarantine initially, but theyoungphysician’sconditiondeterioratedafterhecomplainedofbreathingdifficulties.Thecapital’smedicalfraternityhadcometogethertopoolinmoneyfortheircolleague’streat-mentataprivatemedicalfacility.Butfinancialinsecurityisjustoneof therisksthatmanyworkersatthefrontlineof thebattleagainstthecoronavirus—especiallynursesandjun-iormedicos likeChaudhary—face.Reportshaveindicatedinsufficientprotectivegear,failuretoreceivetimelytreatment,

deviation fromsafetyprotocols andunexpecteddeteriorationof condition— like in thecase of the youngDelhi doctor—as reasons for doctors’ deaths. But there is no govern-mentdataonthehealthcareworkerswhohavesuccumbedtothecoronavirus.AccordingtotheIndianMedicalAssociation(IMA),thepathogenhasclaimednearly100physicians,and10nurses.Theassociationadmits that these figurescouldbeanunderestimate.Thehead of its Kochi chapter, R Jayadevan, has compiled a report, “100 Doctors’ Deaths inIndiaDuring the Times of COVID-19,”whichputs the toll at 108. The data in this reportshowsthatbeingyoung,andapparentlyhealthy, isnoguaranteeagainstCOVIDmortal-ity, especially for doctors and nurses. The average age of those claimed by the virus isaround56, according to the report.More than55per centof thedoctorswhohavediedat the frontlines of the battle against the disease are below 60 years of age. And,morethana fifthof thedoctorswhohave lost their lives toCOVIDarebelowtheageof40.Theaverageageof thenurseswhohavedied fighting thevirus is less than50.There isanurgentneedto lookbeyond IMAdata.Theassociation’s figuresdonot in-

clude AYUSH and homeopathic doctors aswell as ASHAworkers.With the virus nowspreading beyondmetros and big cities, to placeswhere an allopathic doctor is not al-waysathand,therisksfacedbysuchhealthcareworkerscannotbeoverstated.It’s imper-ative, therefore, that government and professionalmedical bodies put their heads to-gether tocompileamortality registerof healthcareworkers. That couldbe the first steptowardsascientificunderstandingof thedeathsofmedicalprofessionalsduetoCOVID,inorder toprevent them.

YOU WANNA BET?JohnSaxon,gambling judokaandnotablestarof thekungfu

era,has left for thegreatdojo in thesky

T HERISEOF kung fu action films had coincidedwith the economic boom inHongKonginthe1970s.Now,inastrangecoincidence,asHongKong’sfortunesseem to be fallingwithmainland China asserting its legal jurisdiction, JohnSaxon,thelastofthethreestarswhoturnedEntertheDragon intoaglobalhit,

hasdied.BruceLeediedyoungin1973,aftertakingthegenreinternationalwithTheBigBossin1971. JimKelly,whobroughthang-looseblackcoolnesstothering,diedin2013.Saxon,thewhite American face of the sport, always took the jackpot by gambling shamelesslyagainsthimselfwiththeleitmotif line:“Youwannabet?”Hewasthelast toholdout,andhis death at the ageof 83 in Tennesseebrings down the curtain on thepioneering era ofEnglishkungfumovies.Together, thethreemenrepresentedalmosttheentirespectrumof thehumanrace—

the Amar Akbar Anthony of theworld of roundhouse kicks. Enter the Dragon sparked amartialartscrazethatspannedSanJoseandSakhalin,JedburghandJabalpur,andthefilmremainsthemostreadilyrecognisedworkofthegenre.Thewatershedmovieseemstohaveerasedmuch frompublicmemory. JohnSaxonwasoriginallyaFifties teen idol, romanc-ingDebbieReynoldsandSandraDee.HewasdirectedbyJohnHustonandappearedwithRexHarrison,BurtLancaster,AudreyHepburn,AnthonyQuinnandLanaTurner.Unbelievably,whenhedidthejudothrowsandshotokankarateinEntertheDragon,he

wasaged36.Hewas fit and in training, a rolemodel for theAmericanpeople.Almost50years after, thanks toSaxon, they remain immersed inendless “training” forunspecifiedmissions. It’sanationalcraze.YouthinkSaxondidn’t inspire it?Youwannabet?

India & Democracy’s Ten

CRajaMohan

SheilaVir

Aglobalcoalitionofdemocracies,amidtheassertionofChina,couldopenarangeofnewpossibilities

WHEN SHE MARRIESEnsuringdelayedmarriagerequiresconcertedeffortstokeepgirls inschoolforlonger

IN AWIDELY noted and strongly criticisedspeech late last week, the US Secretary ofState,Mike Pompeo, laid out two definitivepropositionsonChina.OneisthatnearlyfivedecadesofUSengagementwithChinahavearrived at a dead-end. In the other, PompeorecognisedthattheUScan’taddresstheChinachallenge alone and called for collective ac-tion. Hemused onwhether “it’s time for anewgroupingof like-mindednations,anewallianceofdemocracies.”Pompeo, however, insisted that tackling

Chinaisveryunlikethe“containmentofSovietUnion”. It is “abouta complexnewchallengethatwe’venever facedbefore. TheUSSRwasclosed off from the freeworld. CommunistChinaisalreadywithinourborders”.Both propositions are of consequence to

India. For, they signal the breakdownof therelationship between theworld’s twomostimportant powers that has shaped Asiangeopoliticsandtheglobaleconomyinthelastfivedecades.Theyalsoreflectontheneedtocreatenewframeworkstocopewithemerg-ingglobalchallenges.Thatoneofthosepow-ers, China, is a large neighbour of India andtheother,America, isIndia’smostimportantpartnermakesthenewcontextratherdiffer-ent from the ColdWar between theUS andtheSovietUnion.Pompeo has drawn attention to the

uniquenatureof contemporaryChinesepo-litical structure— the so-called party-state.InChina,theChineseCommunistPartydom-inates the state organs, including the army.Hence Pompeo’s references to the “CCPregime” inChina.He also referred to China’s President Xi

Jinping as theGeneral Secretary of the CCP.Whether this new convention outlasts theTrump Administration or not, it reflectsWashington’sdeepeningresentmentagainstChina.WhilePompeo’scriticsarguethatanall-

outassaultontheBeijingleadershipwillonlyrally the nation behind the CCP, the TrumpAdministration’sChinahandsbelieveitisim-portanttosignalthatWashingtonhasnoth-ing against the Chinese people and that itscontestation iswiththeCCPanditspolicies.To reinforce the point, Pompeowelcomedtwo well-known Chinese democracy ac-tivists in the audience—WangDan, one ofthe leaders of the pro-democracy student

protests at Beijing’s Tiananmen Squarein1989, andWei Jingshengwho had calledfor democratic reform a decade earlier in1978.Partof thesettingwasthevenueofthespeech — the California home wherePresidentRichardNixonwasraisedandthatnowhostshispapers.ItwasNixonwhoendedtheUSboycottof

communist China by traveling to Beijing in1972.Nixonandhissuccessors,saidPompeo,“presumedthatasChinabecamemorepros-perous, itwould open up, itwould becomefreer at home, and indeed present less of athreat abroad, it’d be friendlier.” Pompeo’smessagelastweekwasthatthe“oldparadigmof blind engagementwith China” has failed,because Beijing has taken advantage ofAmerica’seconomicandpoliticalopenness.Giventheintensepoliticalpolarisationin

the US, Pompeo’s remarks met with in-evitable rebuke.Many saw it aspart of a bidtoboostTrump’s falteringpresidential cam-paign by bashing China. Others saw it as anattempt by “China hawks” in theAdministrationtomakeirreversiblechangesinWashington’spolicytowardsBeijing.Manyin Delhi, as in other capitals, would like toknowif thecurrentdirectionofChinapolicywillendureif JoeBidenwinsthepresidentialelection inNovember.Tobesure,Chinaoccupiessignificantspace

in theDemocratic Party’s draft platform fortheelectionstobefinalisedthisweek. It triestodifferentiateBidenfromTrump’sChinapol-icywhilealsosoundingtoughonBeijing’sun-fair tradepractices andhuman rights abuse.While fending off Trump’s charge that he is“weakonChina”,Bidenisunderpressurefromtheparty’sliberalstostayawayfromthe“trapofanewColdWarwithChina”.Althoughtheterm,“Indo-Pacific”,wasin-

ventedby theDemocrats, thepartyplatformsticks to the ideaof “Asia-Pacific”. But it alsohailsthe“PacificCentury”andpromisesto“in-vest inourstrategicpartnershipwith India—theworld’slargestdemocracy,anationofgreatdiversity,andagrowingAsia-Pacificpower.”While Indiamust pay close attention to

theunfoldingChinadebateintheUS,itmustalsonotethestructuralchangesinAmericanengagement with China over the last twodecades.America’spoliticalandinstitutionalsentiment in favourof rearrangingthebilat-eraleconomicrelationshipwithChina,resist-

ing Beijing’s expansionism, and counteringitsinfluenceinoperationsathomehasgainedsteady ground. So has the idea of workingwith like-mindedcountries, especially largedemocracies,tobalanceChina.Delhiwillcer-tainlydemuratPompeocallingthegroupan“alliance”. It would rather have it describedasa“coalitionofdemocracies”.Over the lastmany years, India has be-

comecomfortablewiththeideaofapoliticalpartnershipwiththeworld’sleadingdemoc-racies.TheNDAgovernmentledbyAtalBihariVajpayeejoinedtheClintonAdministration’sinitiative to build a global “Community ofDemocracies”. The UPA government sup-portedGeorgeWBush’sdemocracypromo-tion fund at the United Nations. An Asianquadrilateralofdemocracieswasverymuchpart of the conversation betweenDelhi andWashingtonduringtheObamayears.Delhi has revived the security dialogue

amongtheQuad(includingCanberra,TokyoandWashington). It is also actively engagedwithWashingtononthe“QuadPlus”dialogue— at official andministerial levels — to ad-dressthechallengesposedbythecoronavirusbydrawingothercountrieslikeNewZealand,South Korea, and Vietnam (as the currentchairofASEAN).Delhi has also welcomed President

Trump's initiative to convene an expandedgathering of theG-7 leaders inWashingtonlaterthisyear.Australia,SouthKoreaandIndiaare expected to join themeeting. Some arecalling it theGroupofTenDemocracies.Whilemany Democrats have criticised

Trump’sG-10proposal, Bidenexpressed in-terestinconveningaglobaldemocracysum-mit in the first fewmonths of his presiden-tialtenure.Theideaofdemocraciesworkingtogetherhasanenduringappeal for theUS.ThatIndiafiguresinthisAmericanvision

isrelativelynew.SoisDelhi’sreadinesstore-ciprocate. Constructing a global coalition ofdemocracieswill takemuchworkandquitesometime.Butengagingwiththatinitiative,amidsttheriseandassertionofChina,shouldopen awhole range of newpossibilities forIndianforeignandsecuritypolicies.

Thewriter isdirector, Instituteof SouthAsianStudies,NationalUniversityof Singaporeandcontributingeditoron internationalaffairs

forThe IndianExpress

INDIA’SMATERNALMortality Ratio (MMR)stands at 122 as per the latest SampleRegistration System (SRS) bulletin from lastyear—a significant decline fromanMMRof556in1990.Aparalleldecrease inthepreva-lenceofchildmarriageisalsonoted—58percent in 1970-80 to 21 per cent by 2015-16.There is, however, awide variation amongststates—highestinWestBengalat39percentfollowedbyBihar and Jharkhand. The 2015-16nationalfamilyhealthsurvey(NFHS4)alsoconfirmstheurban-ruraldifferenceinthein-cidence of earlymarriage—17.5 per cent inurbanand31.5percent inruralwomen.However,despitethesepositivedevelop-

ments, intrauterine growth restriction andpoor birth outcome for gestational age andlowbirthweight (LBW) remain a grave con-cern,withthreeoutof10childrenbeingLBWandaneonatalmortalityrateof23/1000livebirths. Earlymarriage and early pregnancyplayacentralrole inthisgrimscenario.Therelationshipbetweenthe levelof ed-

ucationandearlymarriageiswellestablished.Withnoeducation,44.7percentwomenaremarriedbefore18years.Thisdropsto39.7percentwith primary education, 23.2 per centwith secondary education and 2.9 per centwithhigher education.Withhigher levels ofeducation, women are also empowered totake decisionswithin the family and betterequipped to inculcate safe sex, family plan-ningandsafeabortionpractices.Following infancy, adolescence (10-19

years)isthelast“windowofopportunity”forattaining optimumheight. Entering preg-nancyatthisstage,oftenundersocietalpres-sure, hinders attaining optimumheight andprevents full growth of reproductive organsresulting in higher chances of obstructedlabour andmortality. Poormaternal height(<145cms) is reported tobeoneof thehigh-est risk factors associatedwith chronic childundernutrition. Prevalence ofmalnutritionamongchildrenborntoadolescentmothersis11percenthigherthanamongtheothers.Whilerevisitingthe legalageofmarriage

forgirls,wecannotignoresomeprevalentso-cio-cultural determinants of earlymarriage.For instance, in sometribalnorthernregionsof the country such as Jharkhand andChhattisgarh, ayounggirl is “sentoff”byherparentswithoutaformalwedding,forcohab-itation throughwhat is referred as Pethu,Udhalkavivah,etc.Themarriageisformalisedwheneverthegirl’sparentshaveadequatere-sources to hold a community feast, often af-ter a young girl has already borne children.Similarly, incertainsemi-urbanandruralar-eas, thepracticeofGauna iscommon.Asperthiscustom,agirl child ismarriedatayoungage, but thegirl continues to live inhernatalhome,onlytoconsummatethemarriageoncepuberty is attained. In such situations, thecommunitywill find it difficult to adhere tothelegalageunlessanopportunityisprovidedandincentivesbuilt-inforagirltohaveaccessto completing secondary school education.

Such incentives or cash transfer educationschemesareinoperationinvariousstates.Alongwithincreasingtheageofmarriage,

effortsneedtobedirectedtodelaytheageofconception.Schemessuchasuniversalregis-trationofmarriagecouldbevitalinprovidingnewlymarriedcoupleswithtimelyinforma-tion on family planning and family care.Moreover, if the registration is linkedwithAadhaar,itcanfacilitatesupporttowomentoenter pregnancywell-nourished and at therighttime.According to the1978amendmentof the

ChildMarriageRestraintAct,andProhibitionofChildMarriageAct,theminimumageofmar-riageis18yearsforgirlsand21yearsforboys.TheTask Force responsible for reviewing theageofmarriageshouldrecognise thediversi-ties thatmay hamper its implementation.Ensuringdelayedmarriageandpregnancyde-pendsnotjustonthelegalagebutrequirescon-certedeffortstokeepgirlsinschoolforlonger,aswell as enabling themto completehighereducationorvocationaltraining.Awell-educatedwoman’schancesofgain-

fulemployment,makinginformeddecisionsand exercising greater agency in the house-hold is unparalleled andmonumental inbreaking thecycleof poverty, earlymarriageandillhealth,aswellastheinter-generationalcycleofmalnutrition.

Thewriter isdirector,PublicHealthNutritionandDevelopmentCentre,Delhi

While India must pay closeattention to the unfoldingChina debate in the US, itmust also note the structuralchanges in Americanengagement with China overthe last two decades.America’s political andinstitutional sentiment infavour of rearranging thebilateral economicrelationship with China,resisting Beijing’sexpansionism, andcountering its influence inoperations at home hasgained steady ground. So hasthe idea of working with like-minded countries, especiallylarge democracies, to balanceChina. Delhi will certainlydemur at Pompeo calling thegroup an “alliance”. It wouldrather have it described as a“coalition of democracies”.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

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

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY28,2020

WORDLYWISEThe life so short, the craft so long to learn.

— HIPPOCRATESTHEEDITORIALPAGE

MCMAHON LINECHINACLAIMSTHATa “historic document”discovered recently disproves India’s standthat the Simla Agreement of 1914 confirmsMcMahonLineasthetraditionalSino-Indianboundaryintheeasternsector.TheChairmanof the Foreign Relations Committee,WangBingNan,saidthattheBritishrepresentativeat the Simla conference, McMahon, hadmerelysuggestedaboundaryline.TheBritishgovernment later prepared a “false docu-ment’’sayingthattheboundaryhadbeende-cided at the conference. Wang said thatIndia’s External Affairs Minister P VNarasimhaRaohad“agreedtocheckthehis-

toricaldocuments”.MrWangatfirstsaidthatRao hadmade the announcement in theIndian Parliament. But in reply to furtherquestions, said that Rao hadmade the an-nouncementnotinpublicbutinawrittenre-ply toanMP.

SHAH IS DEADDEPOSED SHAHOF IranMohammed RezaPahlavi died in amilitary hospital in Cairo,whereheputuphis final battle against can-cer.Pahlaviwas60.Washingtonwaswatch-ingnervouslytoseehowIran’sleadershipwillreacttotheShah'sdeathinthecontextofthefateof UShostages inTeheran. Itwas theUS

decisiontoallowtheexiledShahtoseektreat-ment for cancer inNewYork that led to theseizureof thehostages in a crisis thathas sofardefiedsolution.

KASHMIR FIRINGATLEASTONEpersonwaskilledandseveralwere injured, someof themseriously,whenarmedpolice resorted to firingandburstingof teargas shells in various parts of the city.Thepolicechasedawayviolentcrowdwhichset on fire two places of worship andmanyvans belonging to the Army or paramilitaryforces.Thosewhoreceivedgunshotwoundswereadmittedtothestatehospital.

JULY 28, 1980, FORTYYEARSAGO

The relationship between thelevel of education and earlymarriage is well established.With no education, 44.7 percent women are marriedbefore 18 years. This dropsto 39.7 per cent with primaryeducation, 23.2 per cent withsecondary education and 2.9per cent with highereducation. With higherlevels of education, womenare also empowered to takedecisions within the familyand better equipped toinculcate safe sex, familyplanning and safe abortionpractices.

New Delhi

13THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY28,2020

WHATTHEOTHERSSAY“The world must not be hijacked by a group of political madmen. The tragediesin 1910s and 1930s must not be repeated again.” —GLOBALTIMES,CHINATHE IDEASPAGE

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

At end-April, half a billionpeople were under lockdown— imposed by mostcountries in Europe andLatin America. Earlier in thesame month, almost 300million people in the USwere in some form oflockdown. Most of thesecountries resorted tolockdowns at a stage whenthe epidemic was alreadyoverpowering, their healthsystem capacities were closeto being exhausted and theburden of deaths was alreadyoverwhelming. Thelockdown had become aninevitable compulsion forthem. In contrast, India hasbeen proactive and pre-emptive in its approach andtook this measure at a pointwhen the size of theoutbreak was manageableand deaths were low.

On adark path

Rajasthancaseshowsthatinstitutionschargedwithholdingthelinearecrossingit

FORMER PRIME MINISTER Lal BahadurShastri once famously reminded the na-tion to hold dear the rule of law “so thatthe basic structure of our democracy ismaintainedandstrengthened”.Likeotherstatesmen of that era, Shastri knew thatthe continued existence of a democracywas (and remains) inextricably linked toitsadherencetotheruleof law.Ademoc-racy can only function if the constitutiononwhich it is founded—and fromwhichflows this rule of law— is treated as invi-olable and sacrosanct. That certain linescannot be crossed if a democracy is toflourish in the truest sense.Andyet, thelastweekhasseenalitany

ofunprecedentedassaultsby institutionsthatwere once chargedwithholding theline. These institutions have not just ac-quiesced but also participated in thecrossing of a Lakshman rekha in a man-nerwhich,eitherwillinglyorunwillingly,benefits the interests of a single politicalparty, all the while flagrantly floutinglong-standing legal precedents.First, theconductof theRajasthangov-

ernor.Agovernment iswillingtoproveitsmajority on the floor of the House,through the constitutionally-prescribedmethodandasksforasessiontobecalled.However, the governor, instead of dis-charginghisobligationswhichareclearlycircumscribed by the Constitution,chooses to raise arbitrary and unrelatedissues(quaperiodofnotice,pendingcaseetc.) to buy time and delay the process.Thisactionstandsoutfor its lackofconsti-tutional sanction. The Constitution sim-plydoesn’t give thegovernor theauthor-ity to raise these concerns. There issimilarly no provision or precedent thatallows the governor to defy the calling ofa session of the Assembly. Multiplebenches of the SupremeCourt have con-firmed this (including a seven-judgebench in Shamsher Singh in 1974 and afive-judgebenchinNebamRebia in2016).During theConstituentAssemblyde-

bates, Babasaheb Ambedkar (May 1949)explained that “According to the princi-ples of thenewConstitutionhe (the gov-ernor) is required to follow the advice ofhisministry in all matters…We felt thatthe powers of the governor were so lim-ited,sonominal,hispositionsoornamen-tal that probably very few would comeforward to stand for election”. This is just

one referenceoutofmanywhichexplainthe limits placedon theoffice of thegov-ernor by theConstituentAssembly.It is telling that there is no statement

or concern expressed by those who ap-pointed the governor in question. TheModi-Shah run Union government haschosen to remain silent at a time whenthe governor’s new-found eloquenceclearlybenefits them.However,noone isin doubt about the conspirators and col-laborators behind these attempts. Whatshouldworryusasacountry is that thereisanalmostpathologicalpoliticaldesper-ation, even in the face of a pandemic, adevastatingeconomicspiralandabordercrisis, to seize power in yet another statethrough means that are neither hon-ourable nor legal.Second,wesawahighcourt, inaman-

nerneverwitnessedbefore,disregardthedecision of a constitutional bench of theSupreme Court (Kihoto Hollohan, 1992)just tohalt thedisqualificationof individ-uals who are openly working to desta-bilise a government.The high court, after indulging a spe-

ciousconstitutionalchallenge, intervenedto“stay” theSpeaker’snotice inamannerthatwas, in thiswriter’s opinion, prema-ture and without jurisdiction. The deci-sion, almost immediately, invited wide-spreadandlegitimatecriticismgiventhatitwent, inexplicably, against thecategor-ical direction of the five Supreme Courtjudges(inKihotoHollohan) that“[H]avingregardtotheconstitutionalschemeintheTenthSchedule, judicialreviewshouldnotcover any stage prior to the making of adecisionby theSpeakers/Chairman; andno quia timet (that is, interim interven-tions) are permissible”. No reasoningwhatsoever is provided for this strikingdeparture fromestablishedprecedentbythe high court. No plausible justificationis provided to explain why the constitu-tionalprecedentspresentedbefore themweredisregarded.Theveryfact that foundationalconsti-

tutional principles are being casually re-visited is a cause for concern.Democracywill cease tohave anymeaning if all con-stitutional institutions fall to thewaysideand capitulate in thismanner. By betray-ingtheofficescreatedandupheldbygreatmenandwomenandbycommittingactsthatborderonrewritingthe lawbasedonconvenientopinionsinsteadofprecedent,weare set on adarkpath.But the Constitution of India can sur-

vive this assault. Indeed, it was designedto do so. We will maintain our vigil as aparliamentary opposition should. And indoing so,wewill hope that other institu-tions,which are sought to be bullied andundermined, stand together and upholdthe rule of law.

Thewriter isanadvocateandtheAICC in-charge,mediaandcommunication

THEFIRSTCASEofCOVID-19inIndiawasre-portedonJanuary30.Forthenextsixweeks,aggressivecontacttracingandcontainmentmeasures kept the numbers minimal.However, by the thirdweekofMarch, it be-cameapparent toexperts that theoutbreakwas entering the exponential phase. Thegrowth rate of new cases had increased bynearly 80 per cent in just over aweek pre-cedingMarch22, from10.9per cent to 19.6percent(figure).Thedoublingtimeof casesat just over threedayswaspointing towardanimminenttrajectoryofanoverwhelmingcaseload and excessive mortality, experi-encedbytheUSandmanyEuropeannations.Thenationwidelockdownannouncedby

the primeminister onMarch 24, based onthis assessment, was a necessary interven-tion to quell the transmission chain of thevirusandtogaintimeforahighlevelofpre-paredness. The unanimous support of thestateshasbeencritical inmakingthismeas-ureeffectiveandsuccessful.SARS-COV-2,arespiratoryvirus,generally

spreads by respiratory and salivary dropletswithinclosephysicalproximity.There isnei-theravaccinenoradrugforprevention.Whilethere are several unknowns in dealingwiththisnewdiseaseagent, increasingthephysi-caldistancebetweenindividualsanddecreas-ing the frequency of person-to-person con-tactmakes it difficult for the virus to spread.Thisprincipleunderpinsthelockdownstrat-egy.Itresultsinsuppressingthetransmissionchain of the virus, thereby decelerating andlimitingthespread.Indoingso,livesaresaved,theinfectioniscontrolledandvaluabletimeisgainedtostrengthenhealthsystemsandpre-pareafittingresponse.The impact of the lockdown on pan-

demic progression became evident afterabout10days,bytheendof thefirstweekofApril,aswasexpectedgiventheinfectionin-cubation period. The figure shows that thegrowth rate of new cases dropped from anunnerving 23 per cent in the first week ofApril at thecuspof the lockdown-effectpe-riod to decline to just over 5 per cent in thenext sixweeksbymid-May. This translatedinto increasing the doubling time of casesfrom 3.4 days at the outset to over 14 days.Asalastinggainofthelockdown,thegrowthratecontinuestobeconsistentlyloweveninthe unlock phase with the doubling timehavingclimbedto21days.Several independent analyses give us a

big-picture view of the situationwewouldhave found ourselves in without the lock-down. Someestimates of cases averted runinto crores. TheMinistry of Statistics andProgrammeImplementationhasestimatedthatbasedonarationalmodel,thelockdownpreventedasmanyas14-29 lakhCOVID-19cases and 37,000 to 78,000 deaths (withpoint estimates of 20 lakh and 54,000, re-spectively)bymid-May.Remember,eveninmid-July, we have yet to reach such a highburden, and this couldhavebeenagrimre-ality inmid-May.Thelockdownhaskepttheoutbreakge-

ographically contained. Even today, only 13

statesmakeup90per cent active cases, theotherstogetherhave10percentactivecases.Nearlyhalfofourtotalcasesand65percentdeaths are confined to just 10 cities. In themediadin,itescapesnoticethatthevastpop-ulationofournationhaslowornegligiblein-fection prevalence. Notwithstanding thechallengesincontainingthedisease inmet-ros and large cities, the fact remains thatoverall, thenationhasensuredthatthepan-demic remainsmanageable so far. Yes, thenumber of confirmed cases is rising, but onamuch lower trajectory than the pre-lock-downcurve.Mostsignificantly,thecasefatal-ity rate has been progressively declining.India’shealthteamsaredeliveringbetterandbetteroutcomes.Thankstothelockdowndecision,theto-

tal burdenof confirmedcases anddeaths isamong the lowest in theworld despite ourlargeanddensepopulation.Sixmonthsintothepandemic,wehavehadabout12lakhcu-mulative cases and 27,000 deaths. In con-trast, with almost an equivalent combinedpopulation,Europe(740million)plusNorthAmerica (580million) togetherhavehad72lakh cases, and about 4 lakh deaths despitehaving stronger health systems. So far, wehave 811 total confirmed cases per 10 lakhagainst the world average of 1,881 (USA11,774, Brazil 9,876, Spain 6,573, UK 4,341,Italy 4,043, France 2,676). Likewise, totaldeathsper10 lakh inthecountryare just20comparedtotheglobalmeanof78(UK667,Spain 608, Italy 580, France 462, USA 433,Brazil374).Wecontinuetoreaptheresultsoftheeffectivereductionincasegrowthduetothe suppression of virus transmission thatwasachievedduring the lockdown(figure).Besides,thelockdownprovidedanoppor-

tunity to ensure all-round preparedness tofacethedisease.Inthefirsttwomonthsofthelockdown,statesreadied3.2lakhCOVID-spe-cific hospital beds alongwith additional 6.5lakhbedsforsuspectedandmildcases.Inthesameperiod, the testingnumber reached30lakhfromamere20,000.Anentirelynewin-dustrytomanufacturePPEswasbuiltinamat-ter of weeks. The country experienced a

game-changingmoment for telemedicine.Themostimportantgainofthelockdownwasthebehaviourchangeinthepeople.Wearingmasks, do gaz ki doori andhandhygiene be-camewidelyembracedasthe“newnormal”.In this pandemic, each day counts be-

causewe learnmore about this virus everyday andwe get better at saving lives. Thewindowprovidedbythe lockdownhasalsotaken us closer to amore informed treat-ment, better drugs and even vaccines. Twoindigenousvaccineshaveenteredhumantri-als andemergencyusehasbeenauthorisedfora fewtherapeuticmodalities.A lockdown is a very difficult choice for

any nation tomake. It has huge economicandsocialcosts.However,duringtheCOVID-19pandemic,thisoptionhadtobeexercisedbymany countries to save lives and restorepeople’s confidence in the face of an emer-gentcatastrophe.Atend-April, half abillionpeoplewereunderlockdown—imposedbymostcountriesinEuropeandLatinAmerica.Earlier in the samemonth, almost 300mil-lion people in the USwere in some form oflockdown.Mostof these countries resortedto lockdowns at a stagewhen the epidemicwasalreadyoverpowering, theirhealthsys-temcapacitieswereclosetobeingexhaustedand theburdenof deathswasalreadyover-whelming.Thelockdownhadbecomeanin-evitablecompulsion for them.Incontrast, Indiahasbeenproactiveand

pre-emptive in its approach and took thismeasureatapointwhenthesizeof theout-breakwasmanageableanddeathswerelow.If it was not for the lockdown, by now, thescale of the pandemicwould have been as-tronomicallylargerwithdevastatingconse-quences. The lockdown effectively deceler-ated the pandemic, averted lakhs of casesandsavedthousandsof lives.Thetimeitpro-vided has been utilised effectively tostrengthenthehealthsystem.Challengeslieahead, but a timely lockdowngave India anedge in thewaragainst thepandemic.

Thewriter isMember (Health),NITIAayog.Viewsarepersonal

WHO FAILED US?THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘Case for apresidential system’ (IE, July 25). Thepresidential system carrieswith it thedangers of creating a dictatorship.Indian democracy drives its strengthfromthe illiterate poorwhohavekeptit thriving by defying the sceptics, notOxford elites. The presidential systemwasforwardedasasolutionevenwhenIndiraGandhiwasprimeminister. Buttheproblemisthecultofpersonalityor“bhakti”as BRAmbedkarsaid.The la-cunae in the parliamentary systemneeds to be addressed especially thatpertainingtotime-bounddiscussionofbills,buttosaythatpresidentialsystemis the answer to India’s woes is incor-rect. Thus neither India’s democracynor its Constitution has failed, it is theleaders who have failed us. AsAmbedkarsaid“If tomorrowyoufailtoimplement the Constitution, don’tblame it, blamethevilemen”

HusainDalwaiviae-mail

REMAIN ON ALERTTHISREFERSTOtheeditorial, ‘Theprop-aganda front’ (IE, July 27). Informationwarfarecaneasilydisruptthefunction-ingofagovernment.Foryears,Pakistanhas spread an anti-India narrative, es-peciallyininternationalfora.Terrorismand information campaigns are thebiggest threats to India.Delhi needs tokeepthevigilagainstthecampaignun-til it becomes too late.

OmkarThorat,Mumbai

NAGALAND UNRESTGOVERNORANDGOVERNMENT’S in-terlocutorRNRaviaboutaparallelgov-ernment in the state pertains towell-known facts. Successive governmentsattheCentrehavetriedhardandfortoolong to bring stability andharmony in

the region. The Centre should not re-mainamerespectatorandassertfirmlyagainstviolent,seditiousandanti-Indiastands of the Naga insurgent groups.The governmentmust also find alter-nate voices representative of theNagapeoplethatarepeacefulandreasonableindealingwith theNagacause.

SagarGaneshBorade,Thane

SCHOOL CHALLENGESTHISREFERSTOthearticle, 'HowCOVIDhashit learning', (IE, July 27). Thepan-demichas sloweddowntheeconomy,shutdowndomesticandinternationalmarketsandhasimpactedthegovern-ment treasury. Ithasalsohit thecoun-try’s educational system. The boardshavebeencompelledtolightenthesyl-labusfortheyear,classesarebeencon-ducted online with lesser scope ofhealthyeducationbeingimparted.The'Sarva Sikhshya Abhiyan' did attemptto increase literacy levels, but todayamid this problem, the students of ru-ral areas where the Internet has notspread faceanuncertain future.

ChandravirSingh,Agra

LETTERS TO THEEDITOR

THEWORLDISgoingthroughveryturbulenttimes.Nationalandinternationalbodiesarecooperating on various platforms to over-come multiple crises. In this context, athought of former President of India, A P JAbdul Kalam, that the earth is the only liv-ableplanet inoursolar system,hasparticu-lar relevance. Humanity is duty-bound toprotect and preserve the earth. Our societyandgovernance systems recognise this andhavebecomemoresensitivetothatfactthateven small delays in action can cause unre-pairableconsequences.Today, man-made forces like global

warming and pollution are a threat to theplanet. The combination of better gover-nance systems and our demographic divi-dend— 65 per cent of its population is lessthan35yearsold—arekeyingredientsinde-veloping India in a sustainable manner,which can also be inspiring to rest of theworld. Few individuals have possessed theknowledgeandwisdomtoenlightensocietyontheselinesandinspirefuturegenerations.Kalam,aBharatRatna,wasonesuchperson.Recallinghiswisdomandadoptinghisvaluesin our daily liveswill be the best tribute tothe noble soul, whose fifth death anniver-sary fell onMonday.Kalaminspiredmanypeopletoworkfor

makingIndiaadevelopednationby2020.Inhis final, cautionary lecture — “Creating aLivablePlanetEarth”—attheIndianInstituteof Management, Shillong, on July 27, 2015,he gave a warning about the damage ourquest for development has inflicted on theearth’s ecosystem.He laiddowntheprinci-ples for the future course of action to savenature.It was at the Beijing Forum in China on

November 2, 2012, that Kalam first spokeabout how vital the idea of a livable planetearth is. Addressing the Forum, he said:“Humanityneeds agreat vision to forget allthe conflicts andmove towards a commongoalofpeaceandprosperityforallglobalcit-izens.Wevisualisethebirthofaworldvisionleading to ‘livable Planet Earth’. This visionwill be greater than any other vision so farenvisionedbyhumanity.”Theneed toadhere to this visionasksus

to take lessons fromnature itself. Today, thetechnology-connectedworld has become aglobalvillage.Wemust includegreenmeas-ures in our daily lives. Lives are interlinkedandwe need to strengthen these linkages.Naturecanteachtoleranceandbuildanam-icable relationshipwith humanity. This is amoment to introspect on this relationship.Theneed of the hour is also to findnewop-

portunities for serving the society inwayshithertonotimagined.Asanimportantstake-holderintheecosystem,wemustacttowardsstrengtheningpolicyinitiativessuchasrecy-cling,wastemanagement,energyefficiency,designswithoutpollution,paperlessoffices,renewable energy, effective use of naturallightandventilation,sustainabilityeducationandothersuchrelevantactivities.ThisishowwecouldfollowKalam’svision.InTheFamilyandtheNation, a treatiseof

values for building a sustainable society,Kalam,alongwithAcharyaMahapragya,hasshowntherightpathformakingIndiaagreatnation.Kalam advised politicians to showma-

turityandworkforthesustainabledevelop-mentof thecountry.AsperArticle79of theConstitution, Parliament consists of thePresidentandthetwoHousesofParliament.Emphasising this relationship, Kalam ex-pressedconcernaboutfrequentdisruptionsofParliamentmanytimes.InhisIIMShillonglecture, he asked young professionals tocomeupwiththreeinnovativeideastomakeParliament more productive and vibrant.Inspired by Kalam, the Sansad Ratna andSansadMahaRatnaawardsforthebestpar-liamentarians were instituted. I receivedthese awards during the 15th Lok Sabha. I

hadseveralinformaldiscussionswithKalamontheroleofMPsandParliamentbeforethepublication of his book, A Manifesto forChange.Kalam dreamt of a developed India.

PrimeMinister Narendra Modi has beenleading the people on a journey to achieveKalam’s dream. PMModi’s clarion call ofAtmanirbharBharathasgivenfurtherimpe-tustoourefforts.Theidentificationofcham-pionsectors, collaborationandco-optionofthebest internationalpracticeswithavocalcampaign for local manufacturing, areamongthestepstakentowardsmakingIndiaa superpower as envisioned by Kalam. Theprincipleof self-reliance is guiding thegov-ernment’sactionsinallthesectors.The17thLok Sabha haswitnessed the dynamism ofMPs and their legislativework towards na-tion-building.While demitting office as the President,

Kalamsaidthathismissioninlifewastocon-necttheheartsandmindsofbillionsofpeo-pleandtogivethemself-confidencethat“wecandoit”.KarmayogiKalam’swisdomcon-tinues toguideusevenafterhisdeath.

Thewriter isUnionMinisterof State forParliamentaryAffairs,Heavy Industriesand

PublicEnterprises

APJAbdulKalam’svisionfordevelopmenthasspecialresonancetoday

A livable planetArjunRamMeghwal

IDEASONLINE

ONLY IN THE EXPRESS

●● CLIMATECHANGEBEYONDPARIS:ASHISHCHATURVEDI,

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NANDI

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Vinod PaulRandeep SinghSurjewala

CR Sasikumar

Itdeceleratedthepandemic, averted lakhsof cases, savedthousandsof lives.Thetime itprovidedhasbeenutilisedeffectively tostrengthenthehealthsystem

The lockdown advantage

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

15March

22March

29March

5Apri l

12April

19Apri l

26April

3May

10May

17May

24May

31May

7June

14June

21June

28June

5July

12July

10.9

19.6

22.6

15.3

11.2

6.25.2 4.4 3.7

3.4Lockdown1

Lockdown2

Lockdown3

Lockdown4

Unlock

LOCKDOWNDISTINCTLYSLOWEDPANDEMIC

■ ccaasseeggrroowwtthh%%==ppeerrcceennttaaggeeooffnneewwccaasseessoovveerrttoottaallccoonnffiirrmmeeddccaasseessaavveerraaggeeddoovveerr55ddaayyss

New Delhi

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

1,435,616India

293,606Iran

390,516Mexico

301,020United Kingdom

345,790Chile

445,433South Africa

4,238,500US

2,419,091Brazil

375,961Peru

TOTAL CONFIRMED: 16,296,635 DEATHCOUNT:649,662

Source: JohnsHopkinsUniversity,updatedat11pmonJuly27. JHU’sIndiatallyandHealthMinistry’stally(below)maynotmatchiftheseareaccountedatdifferenttimes.

THEWORLD816,680Russia

TOP 10STATES

INDIA COUNT: 14,35,453 (32,771 DEATHS)

3,75,799Maharashtra

2,13,723Tamil Nadu

39,176Bihar

66,988 UP1,30,606Delhi

55,822Gujarat

58,718West Bengal

96,298Andhra Pradesh

54,059Telangana

Have a question on the COVID-19 outbreak andwhat you should/should not do?

Write to explained@indianexpress.com

96,141Karnataka

UnionHealthMinistryupdateasof11pm,July27.Somestatesmayhavereportedhighernumbers.Onlystates/UTswithatleastonecaselistedabove.9,17,568PATIENTSDISCHARGEDIN35STATESANDUNIONTERRITORIES

RESTOFINDIAAndamanandNicobarIslands324ArunachalPradesh 1158Assam 32228Chandigarh 887Chhattisgarh 7450DadraandNagarHaveli 914Goa 4861Haryana 31332HimachalPradesh 2176JammuandKashmir 17920Jharkhand 8275Kerala 19025Ladakh 1285MadhyaPradesh 27800Manipur 2235Meghalaya 702Mizoram 361Nagaland 1339Odisha 25389Puducherry 2786Punjab 13218Rajasthan 35909Sikkim 545Tripura 3900Uttarakhand 6104

ANEWpaperpublishedin Stroke, the AmericanHeartAssociation’sjour-nal, shows a low risk ofstrokeinpatientshospi-talised for Covid-19.These findings come af-ter initial reports hadsuggested a significantriskof stroke inpatientshospitalisedwithCovid-19. The study was con-ducted by researchersfrom University of PennsylvaniaSchoolofMedicine.Among the afflicted patients, the

majorityhadexistingriskfactors,suchashighbloodpressureanddiabetes.Toevaluatetheriskandincidence

ofstrokeinhospitalisedCovid-19pa-tients,researchersanalyseddatafrom844Covid-19patientsadmittedtotheHospital of the University ofPennsylvania, Penn PresbyterianMedical Center, and PennsylvaniaHospital betweenMarch andMay.The team also analysed the data forcases of intracranial haemorrhage(bleeding in thebrain).Researchersfoundthat2.4%ofpa-

tients had an ischemic stroke—themost common type of stroke, typi-cally caused by a blood clot in thebrain. Importantly, the majority ofthesestrokepatientshadexistingriskfactors, such as high blood pressure

(95%)andahistoryofdi-abetes (60%), and tradi-tional stroke mecha-nisms, such as heartfailure.Additionally,overone-thirdhadahistoryofapreviousstroke.“While therewas ini-

tial concern for a highnumberofstrokesrelatedto Covid-19, that has notbeen borne out.Importantly, while the

risk for stroke in Covid-19 patients islow, it’s mostly tied to pre-existingconditions—sophysicianswhodoseestroke in hospitalised Covid-19 pa-tientsmustunderstandthevirusisnottheonlyfactor,andit’snecessarytofol-low throughwith normal diagnostictesting,”seniorauthorBrettCucchiarasaid in a statement. “However, therearestillmanyunknownsandweneedto continue investigating the linkagebetweenstrokeandCovid-19,partic-ularly considering the racial dispari-tiessurroundingthedisease.”Researcherssaytheresultssuggest

that these cerebrovascular events inhospitalised Covid-19 patients arelikely tied to existing conditions, andnotthesoleconsequenceof thevirus.However,otherfactorscouldbeatplayandrequirecontinuedresearch.

Source:UniversityofPennsylvaniaSchool ofMedicine

PAPERCLIP

NEWRESEARCH

Now, stroke risk found low inhospitalised Covid patients

MANOJCGNEWDELHI, JULY27

RAJASTHANGOVERNORKalrajMishra’sre-fusal to accept the Ashok Gehlot govern-ment’s recommendation for convening asessionof theAssembly,ostensiblytogofora trial of strength to checkmate the rebelsledbySachinPilot, hasonceagainbroughtinto focus controversial decisions byGovernors in formation and dismissal ofstategovernmentsover theyears.Both theCongress and theBJP,when in

power at the Centre, have been accused ofmisusing theofficeof theGovernor forpo-litical purposes. Andwhen in Opposition,bothhaveallegedmurderofdemocracyandtheConstitution.The role of Governors in imposing

President’sRuleinstatesdatesasfarbackas1959,when theEMSNamboodiripadgov-ernment in Keralawas dismissed. The roleof Governors in toppling one governmentand installing another is not neweither: in1967,West Bengal Governor Dharma ViradismissedtheAjoyMukherjeegovernmentandinstalledaCongress-supportedgovern-mentwithPCGhoshasChiefMinister.Governors have also courted contro-

versybynotinvitingthesinglelargestpartyto formthegovernment.

1980s-90s: Congress yearsIn August-September 1984, Governor

Ram Lal installed minister NadendlaBhaskara Rao as Chief Minister of AndhraPradeshwhenChiefMinisterNTRamaRaowasabroadforaheartsurgery.Thesameyear,SikkimGovernor Homi Taleyarkhan dis-missedtheNarBahadurBhandariministry.Both instances were during the Indira

Gandhi regimeat theCentre.In 1988, P Venkatasubbaiah’s action to

dismiss the S R Bommai government trig-gered a legal battle,which endedup in thelandmark Bommai judgement of theSupremeCourtof 1994.BommaifacedarebellionwhenanMLA

KRMolakerydefectedandclaimedthesup-portof18MLAs.TheChiefMinistertoldtheGovernor thathisgovernmentenjoyedthemajoritybutBommaiwasnotgiventheop-portunity to prove it in the Assembly.Instead, Venkatasubbaiah recommendedimposition of President's Rule, whichwasacceptedby theRajivGandhigovernment.BommaiwasintheJanataParty. In1988

his party had merged with the Lok Dal,forming the JanataDal, andnewmemberswere inducted intoBommai’sMinistry.

1990s: United FrontIn1996,GujaratGovernorKPSinghrec-

ommendedPresident’sruleintheBJP-ruledstate. At the Centre was the United FrontgovernmentheadedbyHDDeveGowda.The crisis for the SureshMehta govern-

mentbeganafter ShankarsinhVaghela and40-oddMLAsrebelled.Mehtaprovedhisma-joritybutthesessionwitnessedabloodyclashbetweenMLAs.Citingbreakdownofthecon-stitutionalmachinery, theGovernor recom-mendedCentralrulewhichwasaccepted.ThencametheRomeshBhandariepisode

inUttarPradesh.Inthemiddleofthe1998LokSabhapools, theKalyan Singhgovernmentwobbled after the 22-member LoktantrikCongress headedby Jagadambika Palwith-drewsupport.GovernorBhandaridismissedthegovernmentalittleafter8pm,invitedPaltoformthegovernmentandsworehiminasChiefMinisterataround10pmalongwith17ministers.KalyanSinghapproachedthecourt,whichreinstatedhimandorderedafloortestwhichhewon.Palbecameknownastheone-dayChiefMinister.

2003-13: UPA ruleThe Bihar Assembly elections in

February 2005 threw up a fracturedman-date.Withnopartyinapositiontoformthegovernment,President’s rulewas imposedin the firstweekofMarch.

Twomonths later, the NDA claimed ithadthesupportof115MLAs.TheJD(U)andthe BJP hadmanaged the support of someLJPleadersandindependents.GovernorButaSingh alerted the President that this couldlead to horse-trading and recommendeddissolutionof theAssemblyonMay21.TheUnion Cabinet of theUPAmet atmidnightandfaxedtheGovernor’sreporttoPresidentAbdul Kalamwhowas inMoscow. KalamapprovedtherecommendationintwohoursandtheAssemblywasdissolved.The Supreme Court later came down

heavily on Buta Singh. In its interim order,it held the dissolution unconstitutional. Initsfinaljudgement,itheldthattheGovernorhadmisledtheCentreandpointedoutthattheUnionCouncilofMinistersshouldhavecross-checkedbeforeacceptinghis recom-mendation. Singhresigned.ThesameyearsawJharkhandGovernor

Syed Sibtey Razi installing JMM’s ShibuSorenasChiefMinisteroverrulingtheNDA’sclaimsthatithadthesupportof41MLAsinthe 81-member House after the electionsthrew a hung Assembly. The BJPwaswill-ing to parade the MLAs. Soren resignedwithout facing a trust vote after nine daysinofficeandBJP’sArjunMundawassworninas thenextChiefMinister.

Since 2014: NDAOnMarch 18, 2016, Congress’s Harish

RawatgovernmentinUttarakhandplungedintocrisisafternineMLAsjoinedhandswiththeBJP,whichstakedclaimtoformthegov-ernment. The next day,met Governor K KPaul asked the Chief Minister to prove hismajoritybyMarch28.Adaybefore the trust vote, theSpeaker

disqualified the nine rebels. The NDA gov-ernmentattheCentre,ontherecommenda-tion of the Governor, imposed President’srule thesamedaywithoutgivingRawatanopportunitytoprovehismajority.Themat-ter went to court and in April theUttarakhandHigh Court quashed imposi-tionof President’sRuleandaskedRawat toprovehismajority,whichhedid.In2017,afterAssemblyelectionsinGoa,

the Congress emerged the single largestpartywith17seats(outof40)whiletheBJPhad13.ButGovernorMridulaSinhainvitedtheBJPwhichhadcobbledupapost-pollal-liancewithsomeregionalpartiesandinde-pendentsand formedtheGovernment.InManipur too, the Congress emerged

thesingle largestpartywith28seats in the60-member House, but Governor NajmaHeptullah invited the BJP first after it sub-mitteda listof legislators supporting it.In the 2018 elections in Karnataka, the

BJPemergedthesinglelargestpartybutfelleightseatsshortof thehalfwaymarkoutof224.TheCongressdramaticallyannounceda post-poll alliancewith JD(S) to keep theBJPout.GovernorVajubhaiValainvitedBJP’sB S Yeddyurappa and gave him 15 days toprove themajority.YeddyurappawassworninonMarch17.

TheCongressrushedtotheSupremeCourtwhich curtailed the time given and askedYeddyurappa toprovehismajorityonMay19.Unable toget thenumbers, he resignedwithout taking the floor test.InMaharashtra, theAssemblyelections

in October last year threw up a hung ver-dict.Withpossibilitiesof formationofasta-blegovernmentnotemergingeven15daysafter the results, Governor Bhagat SinghKoshiyari recommended President’s rulewhichwas imposed.TheCongress,ShivSenaandtheNCPbe-

gandiscussionsandcametoanunderstand-ing onNovember 22 to stake claim for for-mation of a government with Shiv Senachief Uddhav Thackeray as Chief Minister.But it was BJP leader Devendra FadnaviswhoKoshiyarisworeinasChiefMinisteronNovember23at8am,withNCP leaderAjitPawar as his deputy. This came after thePresident'srulewasrevokedat5.47amthatday. The Governor had submitted a reportrecommendingrevocationat12.30am.

14WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

KRISHNKAUSHIKNEWDELHI, JULY27

THE FIRST batch of five Rafale fighter jetsareontheirwaytoIndia,havingleftFranceonTuesday.

Whicharethe jetscomingnow?These are three single-seater and two

twin-seater jets, out of 36 twin-enginefighterplanesboughtfromDassaultRafalethroughaninter-governmentalagreementsigned in 2016, at an estimated cost of Rs58,000 crore. The twin-seater air planeshavetheAirForcechief,AirChiefMarshalRK S Bhadauria’s initials RB, as he played asignificant role innegotiating thedeal. Thesingle-seateraircrafthavetheinitialsof theprevious Air Force chief, retired Air ChiefMarshalBirenderSinghDhanoa.

ThefirstjethadbeenhandedovertotheIndianAir Force inOctober2019 inFrance,in a ceremony attended by DefenceMinisterRajnathSinghandFrenchMinisterforArmedForcesFlorenceParly.

Whenwill theyreachIndia?AllfivejetsarebeingflownbyIndianAir

Forcepilots,whotookoff fromtheMerignacairbase near Bordeaux. They will reachAmbalaAirForceStationonWednesday,af-tercoveringcloseto7000km.Theywillre-quire air-to-air refuelling. A stop has beenplanned inUnitedArabEmirates.They will be taken to the Al Dhafra

FrenchairbasenearAbuDabhionMonday,andwill take off from there forAmbala onWednesdaymorning.

Whenwill theother jetsarrive?The five jets are among the first 10

whosedeliveryhasbeendoneonschedule,as per a statement by the Indian Embassyin France. The other five will remain inFrance for trainingmissions. IAFpilots andsupport personnel have been given train-ingabout theaircraftandweaponsystemsby Dassault in France. According to theIndianEmbassy in France, IAFbatcheswillcontinuetobetrainedinFranceforthenextninemonths.The delivery of all the 36 jets is sched-

uled tobedonebyendof 2021.

WhathappenswhentheyreachIndia?The five aircraft will be inducted at Air

Force StationAmbala onWednesday, sub-ject to weather. The final induction cere-mony will take place in second half ofAugust.The IAF air and ground crews have un-

dergone training on the aircraft, including

itshighlyadvancedweaponssystems.Postarrival,effortswill focusonoperationalisa-tion of the aircraft at the earliest, IAF hadstatedon July20.Rafale jets have a range of 3,700 km,

which can be enhancedwithmid-air fu-elling,andcanflyatspeedsupto750knots.

Whichsquadronwill they join?The first jets will comprise the resur-

rected No 17 ‘Golden Arrows’ squadron ofthe Air Force, and will be stationed inAmbala.TheGoldenArrowswereraisedin1951andhavebeeninvolvedinanumberofsignificantoperations, includingduringtheKargil War. After the Air Force started tophaseouttheMig-21,whichwereoperatedby the Golden Arrows, the squadronwasdisbanded in2016.It has been resurrected nowwith the

Rafale jets.

SIMPLYPUT

RajasthanGovernor’srecentdecisionsrecall theactionsofGovernors invariousstatesovertheyears, fromdismissalofNamboodiripadgovernment in1959togovernmentformationcontroversies inrecentyears

Discretionary powers:the law, and SC rulingsAPURVAVISHWANATHNEWDELHI, JULY27

RAJASTHANGOVERNORKalrajMishra re-turningthegovernment’sfreshproposaltoconveneanAssemblysessiononJuly31hasraisedfreshlegalquestionsonthepowersoftheGovernor.

WhohasthepowertosummontheHouse?Article174of theConstitutiongives the

Governorthepowertosummonfromtimeto time “the House or each House of theLegislatureof theStatetomeetatsuchtimeandplaceashe thinks fit…”The phrase “as he thinks fit” is read as

per Article 163 of the Constitutionwhichsays the Governor acts on the aid and ad-viceofthecabinet.Article163(1)essentiallylimits any discretionary power of theGovernor only to cases where theConstitution expressly specifies that theGovernormustactonhisownandapplyanindependentmind.

WhathastheSupremeCourtsaidaboutthispower?It issettledinlawthattheGovernorcan-

not refuse therequestof theCabinet tocallforasittingof theHouseforlegislativepur-poses or for theChiefMinister toprovehismajority. Onmany occasions, including in2016inUttarakhand,thecourthasclarifiedthatwhenthemajorityoftherulingpartyisinquestion, a floor testmustbe conductedat theearliest availableopportunity.In2016, aConstitutionBench inNabam

Rebia and Bamang Felix vs Deputy Speaker(Arunachal Pradesh Assembly case) ex-presslysaidthat thepowertosummontheHouse isnot solelyvested in theGovernor.

Whatdidthecourtsay intheArunachalPradeshcase?Referring to discussions in the

ConstituentAssembly,thecourtnotedthatthe framers of the Constitution expresslyleft out vesting powers to summonor dis-solve theHousesolelywith theGovernor.“Themost significant feature of draft

Article153[laterArticle174]wasexpressedinsub-article(3)thereof,whereinitwaspro-vided,that…thepowertosummonanddis-solve the House or Houses of the StateLegislature… shall be exercised by him(Governor)inhisdiscretion,”thecourtnoted.“The manner in which draft Article

153(3) was originally drawn, would haveleft no room for any doubt, that theGovernorwoulddefinitelyhavehadthedis-cretiontosummonordissolvetheHouseor

HousesoftheStateLegislature,withoutanyaidoradvice.After thedebate,draftArticle153came tobe renumberedasArticle 174.Article174reveals, thatsub-article(3)con-tainedindraftArticle153wasomitted.Theomission… is amatter of extreme signifi-cance, forapurposeful confirmationof thecorrect intent underlying the drafting ofArticle174,” it added.After debating the intention of the

framers, thecourtconcludedthat“theonlylegitimateandrightfulinference,thatcanbedrawninthefinalanalysisis,thattheframersoftheConstitutionalteredtheiroriginalcon-templation, andconsciouslydecidednot tovest discretionwith the Governor, in thematter of summoning and dissolving theHouse,orHousesoftheStateLegislature…”

WhencantheGovernorusehisdiscretion?Article 163(1) of the Constitution says

“there shall be a council of MinisterswiththeChiefMinisterattheheadtoaidandad-visetheGovernorintheexerciseofhisfunc-tions, except in so far as he is by or underthis constitution required to exercise hisfunctionsoranyof theminhisdiscretion.”WhentheChiefMinisterhaslostthesup-

portof theHouseandhisstrengthisdebat-able,theGovernorneednotwaitforthead-viceofthecouncilofministerstoholdafloortest. Generally, when such doubts are cast,theOppositionandtheGovernorwouldrallyforafloortestandtherulingpartywouldat-tempttostall theprocess tobuytime.In Rajasthan’s case, despite requests

from Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, theGovernorhasreturnedtheserequeststocallfor a session. The 19 rebelMLAs have notdefectedfromtheCongressandhavestatedbefore the RajasthanHigh Court that theyare merely expressing their dissent andhavenot shifted to theBJP.IntheArunachalPradeshruling,thecourt

clarifiesthisquestionaswell. “Inordinarycir-cumstancesduringtheperiodwhentheCMandhis council ofministers enjoy theconfi-denceofthemajorityofthehouse,thepowervestedwiththegovernorunderArticle174tosummon,prorogueanddissolvethehouse(s)mustbeexercisedinconsonancewiththeaidandadviceofthechiefministerandhiscoun-cil ofministers. In the above situation, he isprecluded[fromtaking]anindividualcallontheissueathisownwill,orinhisowndiscre-tion. Only in a situationwhere the govern-mentinpower—onholdingofsuchfloortest— is seen tohave lost the confidence of themajority,woulditbeopentothegovernortoexercise thepowers vestedwithhimunderArticle 174 at his own, andwithout any aidandadvice,”thecourtsaid.

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

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY28,2020

GovernorKalrajMishra interactswithChiefMinisterAshokGehlotandotherCongressMLAsatRajBhawan. PTI

Rafale jets on theway: 7,000-km journey from France, andwhat next

Oneof the fiveRafale fighter jetsatMerignac,before flyingout to India. PTI

Governor’s role, in review

New Delhi

15THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY28,2020

THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

JAPAN

FashiondesignerYamamoto,whodressedBowie,diesat76JAPANESE FASHION de-signerKansai Yamamoto,knownforhisavant-gardeandcolorfulwork that in-cluded flamboyant cos-tumesofthelaterockiconDavid Bowie, has died ofleukemia, his companysaidMonday. Hewas 76.Yamamoto developedleukemia inFebruaryandwasdeterminedtorecoverand come backwith re-newed energy, said thecompany, KansaiYamamoto. He died lastTuesday. Born in 1944 inYokohama, near Tokyo,Yamamoto debuted in1971, becoming the firstJapanesefashiondesignertoholdashowinLondon.Hebecameinternationallyknownforblendingtradi-tional Japanese motifswithbrilliant colours andbolddesigns.

KansaiYamamoto

TOPOFTHEWORLD

MALAYSIA

26Rohingya,thoughttohavedrowned,foundaliveonisletTWENTY-SIXROHINGYArefugees, who had beenfeareddrownedwhiletry-ingtoswimashoreontheMalaysian resort islandofLangkawi, were foundalivehiding in thebusheson anearby islet, a seniorcoastguardofficialsaidonMonday. Malaysia doesnot recognise refugeesta-tus, but the country is afavoured destination forRohingyaMuslims afterescapingamilitary crack-downinMyanmar.LateonSaturday, one Rohingyaswamashorefromasmallboat off Langkawi’swestcoast. Officials had fearedthat the rest of the grouphaddrowned.

UKRAINE

Fullceasefiretakeseffect ineasternUkraineA FULL and comprehen-sive ceasefire betweenUkrainian governmentforces and pro-Russianseparatists has enteredinto force in easternUkraine, opening theprospectofanendtomili-taryandciviliancasualties,thetwosidessaidMonday.Ukrainian, Russian andOSCE negotiators lastweek agreed on a fullceasefire in easternUkraine from Monday,puttingonholdtheconflictthat has claimed 13,000lives.ThedealwasbackedbythepresidentsofRussiaandUkraine

UAE

IndianteenfallstodeathinSharjahA14-YEAR-OLDIndiangirl,oneof thetwindaughtersof a couple fromKerala,hasdiedafterfallingfromahigh rise building inSharjah in theUAE,policesaidonMonday.Anofficialfrom the Sharjah PolicetoldtheGulfNewsthatthepolice are investigating iftheincidentreportedfromAlTaawunareawasacaseofsuicide.Thegirl,agrade10 student, had sufferedserious injuries from thefall,theofficialsaid.Hesaidthe girlwas shifted to thehospital, but was pro-nounceddeadonarrival.

ELLENGABLER&RONICARYNRABINJULY27

ACOLLEGEdegreeat19.Amed-icalschoolgraduatewithaPh.D.at 27. By the timehe completedtraining in vascular surgery in2014, Dr. Sapan Desai had casthimself as an ambitious physi-cian, an entrepreneur with anMBA and a prolific researcherpublished inmedical journals.Then the novel coronavirus

hit,andDesaiseizedthemoment.WithaHarvardprofessor,hepro-

ducedtwostudiesinMaythatal-mostinstantlydisruptedmultipleclinicaltrialsamidthepandemic.Onestudy’sfindingswerepar-

ticularlydramatic, reporting thatanti-malariadrugs likehydroxy-chloroquine,whichUSPresidentDonald Trumppromoted,werelinked to increased deaths ofCovid-19patients. But that studyandanotherwereretractedinJunebytherenownedjournalsthathadpublished them,weeks after re-searchers around theworld sug-gested the data was dubious.Desai,whodeclined to share therawinformationevenwithhisco-

authors,claimeditwasculledfroma massive trove acquired bySurgisphere,abusinesshestartedduringhisresidency.The now-tainted studies

helpedsowconfusionanderodepublic confidence in scientificguidancewhentheUnitedStateswas alreadydeeplydividedoverhowtorespondtothepandemic.And theanti-malariadrugs citedin the papers have continued togenerate controversy, asnewre-searchpromptedsomescientiststopetitionforexpandingtheiruseagainst the coronavirus, despiteFood andDrug Administration

warningsagainstthem.While the journal debacle

hasshakenthebroaderscientificcommunity, many peoplewhohaveknownDesai,41,describedhimasamaninahurry,aformerwhiz kidwilling to cut corners,misrepresent information orembellish his credentials as hepursuedhisambitions.In interviews, more than a

dozendoctorswhoworkedwithhim during training and resi-dencysaidtheyhadoftenfoundhimtobeanunreliablephysicianwho seemed less interested inpatientcare than in themedical

journalhefoundedandhiscom-pany,brandedearlyonasamed-icalpublishingbusiness.“You couldn’t trust what he

said,” said Dr. Vanessa Olcese, aformer chief resident whoworked with Desai at DukeUniversityMedicalCenter. “Youwouldverifyeverything thathedid and take everything he didwithagrainof salt.”Desai acquired enough col-

legecreditstograduatefromtheUniversity of Illinois at Chicagoat19.“Hisgoalwastobethefirstperson at UIC. that ever gradu-ated college in one year,” said

PeterOkkema,abiologyprofes-sor inwhose lab the young un-dergraduateworked.Desaiseemedeagertoimpress

people,theprofessorrecalled,butneversoughtadviceorguidance.AtDesai’smostrecentpostat

Northwest CommunityHospitalin ArlingtonHeights, Illinois, hebecame involved in at least fourmedicalmalpracticecasesthatarepending, includingthreein2019.BythetimeDesaileftthehos-

pitalthisyear—hevoluntarilyre-signed for personal reasons —Covid-19wasraginginChinaandspreadingtoothercountries.NYT

LAURANNEERGAARD&MICHAELHILLJULY27

THEWORLD’S biggest Covid-19vaccine study got underwayMondaywiththe firstof 30,000planned volunteers helping totestshotscreatedbytheUSgov-ernment—oneofseveralcandi-dates in the final stretch of theglobalvaccine race.There’sstillnoguaranteethat

theexperimentalvaccine,devel-oped by the National InstitutesofHealthandModernaInc.,willreallyprotect.The needed proof:

Volunteers won’t know ifthey’regettingtherealshotoradummy version. After twodoses, scientists will closelytrackwhich group experiencesmore infections as they goabouttheirdailyroutines,espe-cially in areas where the virusstill is spreadingunchecked.“UnfortunatelyfortheUnited

States of America, we haveplenty of infections right now”to get that answer, NIH’sAnthonyFauci recently toldTheAssociatedPress.Moderna said the vaccina-

tion was done in Savannah,Georgia, the first site to get un-derwayamongmorethansevendozen trial sites scatteredaroundthecountry.In Binghamton, New York,

nurseMelissa Harting said shevolunteered as away “to domypart tohelpout”.“I’m excited,” Harting said

before she received a study in-jection Monday morning.Especiallywithfamilymembersin front-line jobs that could ex-pose them to the virus, “doingourparttoeradicateitisveryim-portant tome.”Several other vaccinesmade

byChina andbyBritain’sOxfordUniversity began smaller final-

stagetestsinBrazilandotherhard-hitcountriesearlierthismonth.Thestudiesaren’t just to test

if the shots work — they’reneeded to check each potentialvaccine’s safety.If everything goes rightwith

the final studies, it still will takemonthsforthefirstdatatotricklein fromtheModernatest.AP

Biggest Covid vaccine study beginsas US-made shots put to final test

DEVELOPEDBYNIH,MODERNA

MARTINQUINPOLLARD&THOMASPETERCHENGDU, JULY27

CHINATOOKover thepremisesof theUSconsulateinthesouth-western city of Chengdu onMonday,afterorderingthefacil-itytobevacatedinretaliationforChina’sousterlastweekfromitsconsulate inHouston,Texas.Theseizurecappedadramatic

escalationintensionsbetweentheworld’s twobiggest economiesthat beganwhen employees atChina’sHouston consulatewereseen burning documents in acourtyard lastTuesday,hoursbe-foreBeijingannouncedthatithadbeenorderedtoleavethefacility.TheUSconsulateinChengdu,

in Sichuanprovince,was closedas of 10 a.m (0200) onMonday,andChinese authorities had en-teredthebuildingfromthefrontdoor,China’sMinistryof ForeignAffairssaidinastatement.OnFriday,Beijingannounced

that it had asked the UnitedStates toclose itsChengdupost,and gave the Americans 72hours to vacate, the sameamountof timeChinawasgivento leave its Houston mission,whichwasshutonFriday.“Wearedisappointedbythe

Chinese Communist Party’s de-cisionandwillstrivetocontinueouroutreachtothepeopleinthisimportant region through ourotherposts inChina,” aUSStateDepartment spokesperson saidinanemailtoReuters.Atmidday

on Monday, police removed aroadblock thathad restrictedac-cess to theChengdu facility, anddozens of passersby stopped totakephotosandvideos.REUTERS

DAVIDMONTGOMERY&MANNYFERNANDEZAUSTIN, JULY27

ITWAS not unusual for GarrettFostertobeataprotestagainstpo-licebrutalityonaSaturdaynight.Anditwasnotoutofcharacterforhimtobearmedashemarched.FosterwascarryinganAK-47

rifle as he joined a Black LivesMatterdemonstrationblocksfromthe stateCapitol inAustin, Texas.Gun-rightssupportersonboththeleftandtherightoftencarryriflesatprotestsinTexas,astatewhoseliberalgunlawsallowit.Foster bumped into an inde-

pendent journalist at themarchSaturday,andhespokematter-of-factlyabouttheweaponthatwasdrapedonastrapinfrontofhim.“They don’t let us march in

the streets anymore, so I got topractice some of our rights,”Foster toldthe journalist,HiramGilbertoGarcia,whowasbroad-casting the interview live onPeriscope. “If I use it against thecops, I’mdead,”heconceded.Later that night, Foster was

fatally shot, but not by police.Authoritiessaidhewaskilledbyamotoristwhohadaconfronta-tionwithprotesters.Policeandwitnessessaidthe

man in the car turned it aggres-sivelytowardthemarchers,andFoster then approached it. Thedriver opened fire, shootingFoster three times. He wasrushed to a hospital and waslaterpronounceddead.Thedriver,whohasnotbeen

named by authorities, was de-tained.Foster,whohadservedinthe

military,wasarmed,buthewasnot seeking out trouble at themarch, relatives andwitnesses

toldreporters.Atthetimeof theshooting,Fosterwaspushinghisfiancéethroughtheintersectioninherwheelchair.Foster and his fiancée,

WhitneyMitchell,hadbeentak-ing part in protests against po-licebrutalityinAustindailysincethe killing of George Floyd inMinneapolis.Fosteriswhite,andMitchell,whoisaquadrupleam-putee, is African-American. Shewasnot injured in theshooting.“Hewas doing it because he

feelsreallystronglyaboutjusticeandhe’sveryheavilyagainstpo-lice brutality, and hewanted tosupport his fiancée,” Foster’smother, Sheila Foster, said in aninterviewwith “GoodMorningAmerica,” adding that shewasnot surprised he was armedwhileat themarch.In Texas, it is lawful to carry

so-calledlonggunsonthestreetwithout apermit, as long as theweapons are not brandished ina threateningmanner.The presence of Foster’s

weapon couldplay a key role inthecase if thedriver claims thathe shot Foster out of fear for hislife,adefenceallowedundertheso-called “stand your ground”lawin thestate.NYT

Washington:USNationalSecurityAdviser Robert O’Brien has be-comethehighest rankingofficialin PresidentDonald Trump’s in-ner circle to test positive for thecoronavirus.Announcing the infectionon

Monday,theWhiteHousesaidina statement therewasno risk ofexposure to Trump or VicePresidentMikePence.The announcement caught

someWhiteHousestaffoffguard,astherehadnotbeenaninternalmemoabout it, one source said.

Becauseoftheregulartestingreg-imen,WhiteHouseofficialsdonotreliablywearmaskswhilework-ingintheWestWing.Anadministrationofficialsaid

O’BrienhadnothadcontactwiththePresidentinseveraldays.TheNSCdidnotimmediatelyrespondtoquestions.REUTERS

Firstamong30,000plannedvolunteersgiventestdoses,but resultsof the trial stillmonthsaway

Avolunteer for thestudygetsan injection inBinghamton,NewYork,onMonday.AP

Trump’s NSA RobertO’Brien tests positive

Beijing:AChinesedoctor,whodi-agnosed early coronavirus casesinChina,hasaccusedthelocalau-thoritiesofacover-upoftheinitialscale of the outbreak at the epi-centreWuhan, saying the evi-dence was already destroyedwhentheywentforinvestigation,accordingtoamediareport.Speaking to the BBC,

Professor Kwok-Yung Yuen, amicrobiologist, physician andsurgeon in Hong Kong, whohelpedto investigate theCovid-19 outbreak in the centralChinese city ofWuhan, said thephysicalevidenceattheHuanan

wildlifemarketwasdestroyed.“When we went to the

Huanan supermarket, of course,therewasnothingtoseebecausethemarketwascleanalready.So,youmaysaythatthecrimesceneis alreadydisturbedbecause thesupermarket was cleared. Wecannotidentifyanyhostwhichisgivingthevirustohumans,”Yuenwasquotedassaying.“Idosuspectthat theyhavebeendoing somecover-uplocallyatWuhan.Thelo-cal officialswhoare supposed toimmediately relay the informa-tion have not allowed this to bedoneasreadilyasitshould.”PTI

RobertO’Brien

Chinese doctor allegescoronavirus cover-up

China takes over USChengdu consulate

Manila: PhilippinesPresident RodrigoDuterteonMonday saidhehadnochoicebut to treatdisputesin the South China Sea asdiplomatic endeavoursbe-causethealternativewastogo to war with China.Dutertewasspeakinginde-fence of his government’sdecisionnottopressa2016decisionby thePermanentCourtof Arbitration,whichwent in favour of thePhilippinesinacaseagainstChina.HesaidChinawasinpossessionof territory thathiscountrydidnothavethecapabilitytochallengemil-itarily. “We cannot go towar.”REUTERS

Can’t confrontChina over SCSclaims: Duterte

REUTERSDUBAI, JULY27

IRANHASmovedamock-upUSaircraft carrier to the strategicStrait of Hormuz, satellite im-agesshow,suggestingitwillusethe look-alike vessel for targetpractice inwar games in a Gulfshippingchannelvital toworldoil exports.TheuseofdummyAmerican

warships has become an occa-sional feature of training byIran’sRevolutionaryGuardsanditsnavalforces,includingin2015when Iranian missiles hit amock-up resembling a Nimitz-classaircraft carrier.Tehran, which opposes the

presence of US and Westernnavies in the Gulf, frequentlyholds naval war games in thestrategic Strait, the conduit for

some30%of all crudeandotheroil liquids tradedbysea.One of the images taken on

July26byUS-basedspace tech-nologyfirmMaxarTechnologiesshowed an Iranian fast attackboatmoving toward themodelUScarrierinthestrategicwater-way. Another image showedmodel planes lined up on thedeckof the fakecarrier.“We cannot speak to what

Iran hopes to gain by buildingthis mock-up, or what tacticalvaluetheywouldhopetogainbyusingsuchamock-upinatrain-ing or offensive exercise sce-nario,” said CommanderRebecca Rebarich, the spokes-woman for the US Navy’sBahrain-basedFifthFleet.“Weremainconfidentinour

naval forces’ ability to defendthemselves against any mar-itimethreat.”

Iran’s refurbishedmockupaircraftcarrierhasbeenusedpreviouslyasasimulatedtarget inmilitarydrills.Reuters

Iran moves mock-upUS aircraft carrierto Strait of Hormuz

Asmallnumberofpilgrimscircumambulate theKaaba intheGreatMosque inMecca,SaudiArabia, lateonSunday.AP

Pilgrims arrive in Mecca fordownsized Haj amid pandemicAYABATRAWYDUBAI, JULY27

MUSLIMPILGRIMShavestartedarrivinginMeccaforadrasticallyscaled-down Haj as Saudi au-thorities balance thekingdom’soversight of one of Islam’s keypillars and the safety of visitorsinthefaceof aglobalpandemic.The Haj, which begins on

Wednesday, normally drawsaround2.5millionpeopleforfiveintensedaysofworshipinoneoftheworld’s largestgatheringsof

people fromaroundtheworld.This year, Saudi Arabia’s Haj

Ministryhassaidbetween1,000and10,000peoplealreadyresid-ing in the kingdomwill be al-lowed to perform the pilgrim-age.Two-thirdsofthosepilgrimswill be fromamong foreign res-idents in Saudi Arabia and one-thirdwill beSaudi citizens.The kingdomhas one of the

Mideast’s largest outbreaks ofthecoronavirus,withmorethan266,000reportedinfections, in-cluding2,733deaths.The Saudi government is

coveringtheexpensesof allpil-grims this year, providing themwithmeals, hotel accommoda-tion, transportation and healthcare.Normally, theHaj can costthousandsofdollarsforpilgrimswhosavealifetimeforthejour-ney. It also generates billions ofdollars in revenueeachyear forSaudiArabia.Saudi kingshave for genera-

tions assumed titles as custodi-ans of Islam’s holiest sites, andtheir oversight of the Haj is asourceofprestigeandinfluenceamongMuslimsglobally.AP

DR SAPAN DESAI WAS BEHIND THE STUDY ON HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE THAT WAS LATER RETRACTED

The ambitious doctor behind the disputed coronavirus data

Thestudyonhydroxychloroquine’simpactonCovid-19patientshadcausedaglobal stirbefore itwas retracted(Representational image)

PhilippinesPresidentRodrigoDuterte

VACCINESWORKbypro-ducingaresponsebythebody’simmunesystemtoapathogenbeforethebodyisinfected.Usually,thisisachievedbyputtingsmallinactivatedparticlesofthepathogeninsidethebody.However,thevaccinecandidatedevelopedbytheUSNIHandthebiotechfirmModernausesaslightlydifferentmethod.

Theyuseasyntheticver-sionofgeneticmaterialfromtheCovid-causingvirusfortheirvaccine.Thegeneticmaterial,called

mRNA,prompthumancellstocreatesmallparticlesofthevirus,whichthentriggeranim-munesystemresponse.TheuseofmRNAhasthepotentialtoquickentheprocessofdevelop-ingvaccines.

VaccinecandidatemadeusingmRNA

Garrett Foster broughta gun to Austin protest,then he was shot dead

GarrettFosterwithhisfiancéeWhitneyMitchell

New Delhi

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

I Lajpat Rai S/O-ShivCharanR/O-119, Gate.No-3, Anand-Vihar,PitampuraDelhi-110034,have changedmynameto Lajpat Rai Bansal,for allfuturepurposes.

0040543019-2

IIMahender SinghKalra S/oSaudagar SinghR/oH-1/138-139, GroundFloor, Sector-11,Rohini, Delhi-110085 Inmydaughter’s school recordmynamehasbeenwronglymentionedasMAHINDERSINGHKALRA. Butmycorrectname is MAHENDERSINGHKALRA 0040542977-1

II Jatin S/O, Sh. GaneshDassR/oVpoNigana, Tehsil Kalanaur,District Rohtak, Pin 124113have changedmyname to JatinArora for all purposes.

0040542968-1

II,, sweeta rani,w/o-of no14638743AHavajay kumarmishra.R/o-Vill&PO-GarjaulDistt vaishali(Bihar).844114.I,changedmy,namefromsweeta rani,to swetarani.Video.affidavit dated,23july 2020,beforeMadan lalGuptaDelhi 0040543035-5

II,,monikawadhwanD/o-yashpal, flate.no-11, block-D,pocket-8 sector-23b,dwarkadelhi-110078,have changemynamemonikaTOmonikawadhwan,for all purpose.

0040543022-7

II,, YogendraKumar S/oMadanLalGuptaR/o-61,ShantiNiketanDM-Road,Distt.-Bulandshahr, U.P.,havechangedmyname toYogendraKumarGupta for all,futurepurposes. 0040543010-2

II,, VanshKashnay, S/OVineshKumarKashnay, R/oC-4/162YamunaViharDelhi-110053 amalso knownasVanshAdityaKashnay. Bothnamesbelong tooneand the sameperson.

0040542989-1

II,, Trishant s/oSanjay SharmaR/o-1077/5,MultaniMohala,Gandhi-Nagar, Delhi-110031.have changedmynametoTrishant SharmaPermanently. 0040543022-3

II,, SumanLataW/oSurenderKumar JunejaR/oHouseNo.43A, Bhagat SinghColonyBallabgarhDist. Faridabad-121004, (Haryana) havechangedmyname fromSumanLata to Kiran Juneja forall futurepurposes.

0070709642-1

II,, Sohil Sarraf S/oKamleshKumar Soni R/oWardNo-15,LaltaChoukMadavasRoad,Gopadabanas, Sidhi,MP-486661, have changedmynametoShreeRamSoni

0070709631-1

II,, Shiv CharanDass S/o-KanhyaLal R/o-117, BF-Block, EastShalimarBaghDelhi-110088have changedmyname toShivCharanGoyal for all purposes.

0040542972-1

II,, SUNITHASARAFD/o Late.RamAvtarGupta&W/o-AnilSaraf,R/o-E-505, GREATER-KAILASH-2, NEW-DELHI-48,HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETONEETASARAF,FORALLPURPOSES. 0040543019-1

II,, RuhinaW/oMohammadMateenR/o-463, AnjumanRoad. DeepaSarai, Sambhal-244302U.P. have changedmyname toRuhinaSarbat.

0040543035-2

II,, PoonamChoudharyW/oPraful KumarMehtaR/o-C-4/136, YamunaVihar, Delhi-110053.have changedmynametoPoonamMehta.

0040543035-1

II,, PoojaW/oHimanshuTeotiaR/oVill+Post-Chhapurawat,Distt.-Bulandshahr, UP,havechangedmyname toPoojaRani Tomar for all,futurePurposes. 0040543010-6

II,,Munish , S/oBalbir SinghBhan, R/oHouseno. 2057 sector 4Kurukshetra 136118 , Haryana ,have changedmyname toMunishBhan for all purposes.

0070709627-1

II,, Vivek Soti R/o-3482 Second-Floor Raja ParkRani BaghDelhi-34, changedmyminorson’s nameVanshSoti toAditya Soti.

0040543022-8

II,,MohdShariqBeig s/oSayeedBegR/o-G-20,MadanpurKhadar-Extn. Phase-3, Sarita-Vihar, N.Delhi-110076,havechangedmyname toShariqBeg,Permanently.

0040543022-5

II,, Lali Devi W/o- PratapSinghR/o:-A-706, J.J.Colony, UttamNagar, New.Delhi-59,HaveChangedMyName toDaya.

0040543010-4

II,, Jugal KishoreRaikwarS/o.LateHar SwaroopRaikwarR/o.E-107, Sec-22,Noida,G.B.Nagar,have changedmydaughter name fromAnkita toAnkitaRaikwarpermanently.

0040543010-7

II,, Israr s/o Late.ShamsherKhanR/o-C-134,Welcome,Seelampur, Delhi-110053. havechangedmyname to IsrarAhmedPermanently.

0040543022-4

IIMahinder Pal S/o-Jyoti PrakashR/o-F-93, Himkunj Apartment,PlotNo.8, Sector-14, Rohini,Delhi-110085have changedmyname toMohinder Pal Sharmafor all purposes.

0040542975-1

II,, Hirdemani BhatnagarW/oB.P.Bhatnagar residence,40-C,Pocket-A,MIG-Flats,G.T.B.Enclave, Delhi-93,havechangedmynameHirdemaniBhatnagar toHaridyamaniBhatnagar for all purposesinfuture andbothare, sameperson. 0040543010-3

II,, GEETA,W/O-NO.14673549KNKMAHESHKUMARRAO.,R/O-VILL&POKASANIDISTTJHUNJHUNU (RAJ).333029.I,CHANGEDMY,NAMEFROMGEETATO,GEETADEVI.VIDEO.AFFIDAVITDATED,27JULY 2020,BEFOREMADANLALGUPTADELHI.

0040543035-4

II,, Ebenezer s/oSiyaRamR/o-278, DDA-Janta Flats, Badarpur,NewDelhi-110044, havechangedmyname toEbenezerSiyaramPermanently

0040543022-6

II,, Dr. AanieetaaVaissnavaR/O181,NAVALTECHNICALOFFICERSSOCIETY, PLOTNO3A, SECTOR -22, DWARKA,NEWDELHI-110077have changedmysonAnanyPrakashname toanewname-RudrakshaVaissnava for all futurepurposes. 0040543026-1

II,, DeleepKumarR/o-YogmayaApartment, 178-M,Ward.No.2,Mehrauli,NewDelhi-110030,inform that inmyUID.No.531577159015,myfather-namewrongly-writtenasP.K.Vasappan insteadofcorrect-nameVasappan.

0040543019-4

II,, DeepmalaAntiwalW/oKamalSinghR/o.IndianOverseasBank, Flat.C-65A, Block-C,Sector-27, Noida,UP-201301,have changedmynametoDEEPMALAGAUTAM.

0040543010-5

II,, DHEERAJ S/O JAI PRKASHGUPTAR/o-E-36GALI.NO-2PUL-PEHLADDELHI-110044havechangedmyname toDHEERAJGUPTA. 0040543022-1

II,, BikramGhale S/oCBGhaleR/oChumukedima, Dimapur,Chumukedima,Nagaland-797103, have changedmynametoBikramTamang

0070709628-1

II,, ArvindS/oSatyaPal R/oHouseNo-1726A, Kaimari Road,AmardeepColony,Hisar,Haryana-125001, have finallychangedmyname toArvindSingh 0070709635-1

II,, Arunaw/oVirenderKumarR/o-RZ-4/J,West SagarPur,Near-NutanBal Vidyalaya,N.Delhi-110046. changedmyname toArunaVermaPermanently. 0040543022-2

II,, AmritaGhaleW/oBikramTamangR/oChumukedima,Dimapur, Chumukedima,Nagaland-797103, havechangedmyname toAmritaTamang 0070709639-1

II Smt SeemaSpouseofNo15496035LALDSandeepKumarof 85ArmdRegt declare that inmyhusbandservicedocumentsmyDOBwaserroneously publishedas 05-03-1986.MycorrectDOB is 4-03-1986, So I have changedmyDOB04-03-1986 inmyhusband’s servicedocuments.

0040542967-1

II RajendraKumar S/O BheemSinghR/OWZ-176A, Gali No-3,TiharVillageDelhi-110018,have changedmynametoRajenderKumar.

0040543019-3

AddSurnameOld :—SanjeevKumar S/OBrijMohanNew :—SanjeevKumar SharmaS/OShBrijMohanSharma

0130016129-1

II,, VijetaChananaW/oRuchirMinotraR/o 3/148, 3rd Floor,RameshNagar, NewDelhi-110015, have changedmynametoVijetaMinotra for allpurposes. 0040514323-1

II,, SalhaTaufiq Patankar S/oTaufiqNisar PatankarR/o 13D,Shatabdi Vihar Sector-61,Noida (U.P.) have changedmyname toSalahTaufiq for allfuturepurposes. 0040514307-2

II,, RenuW/o JayantKumarBudhirajaR/oB-146, Sector-50,Noida (U.P.) have changedmyname toRenuKohli for allfuturepurposes. 0040514307-1

II,, RajeevKumar S/oShri VinodKumarChawlaR/o 1341, Dr.MukherjeeNagar, Delhi-110009. Have changedmyname fromRajeevKumar toRajiv Chawla for all futurepurpose. 0040514385-1

II,, Sita Rani D/o Late SohanLalhave Lostmyall OriginalProperty Papers ofProperty,No.103,BharatNagarFront-SideDelhi-110052, finderContact-7042363406.

0040543022-10

II,, Riyush Jain S/o Late. D.D.JainR/o-H.No.61,GroundFloor,DevenceEnclave,VikashMarg,Delhi,have lostmyAllotment-letter of Plot.No.104,AllotmentNo.-PAT01182,Sector/Village-Patwari,GreaterNoida,G.B.Nagar.

0040543010-1

II Geeta, D/oHarbir Singh, R/o 26A, KarkardumaVillage, Delhihave lostmyoriginaldocuments of property chainofmyFlatNo.S-2, PlotNo.D-181,RamprasthaColony,Ghaziabad. Anyone findpleasecontact at: 9873195016

0040543011-1

PPEERRSSOONNAALL

LLOOSSTT&&FFOOUUNNDD

Classifieds

PUBLIC NOTICEPublic notice is given to the generalpublic that my clients namely Sh.Haseen Miya S/o Mohd Khaleel andSmt. Akila W/o Haseen Miya both R/oH. No. 2773, Gali Chandi Wali, PahariBhojla Delhi-6, have severed their allrelations with their son namely AzamS/o Haseen Miya. They have disownedhim from all their movable andimmovable properties and my clientsshall not be held responsible for any actto him, nor he shall be allowed to enterproperty No. 2773, Gali Chandi Wali,Pahari Bhojla, Chandni Chowk, Delhi-6,if he do so the necessary police actionshall be taken against him.

Sd/-M.N. KhanAdvocate

Ch. No. 618, W. Wing,Tis Hazari Coruts, Delhi-54

Mob. No. 9210804751

PUBLIC NOTICE“My client Sh. Chunni Lal S/o Late Sh.Khacheru Ram R/o 2/6073, Gali No. 2,1st Floor, Dev Nagar, Karol Bagh, NewDelhi-110005 have severed allrelationship from his son Sh. DevenderKumar and his wife Smt. Karishmarespectively from all his movable andimmovable properties and my client hasnothing to do with them. My client shallnot be responsible for their acts, deedsfrom now onwards.

Sd/-MAMTA

AdvocateEn. No. D/3233/2015

Ch. No. K-134, Lawyers Chambers,Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi-110054

Mob.: 8802211691

PUBLIC NOTICEBe it known to all that my client Smt.Usha Sejwal w/o Late Sh. Ajit Singh r/o11-A, Adchini Village, Aurobindo Marg,New Delhi-17 has severed all herrelations with her son Dinesh Sejwaland his wife Smt. Poonam and hasdisowned and disinherited them from allher movable and immovable propertiessince they are neither obedient norunder the control of my client andhenceforth, my client shall not beresponsible for any social, financial andotherwise acts, activities, conduct,omission or commission whatsoever ofher said son and daughter in law.

(R.S.CHAGGAR) ADVOCATECHAMBER:- 68, WESTERN WING,

TIS HAZARI COURTS, DELHI:-110054

PUB L I C NO T I C EGeneral public is hereby informed that myclients Sh. Umesh kumar Sachdeva S/o LateRam Kishan Sachdeva and Smt. PromilaSachdeva W/o Sh. Umesh Kumar Sachdevaboth R/o C-79-A, 2nd Floor, Anoop Nagar ,Uttam Nagar, New Delhi have severed alltheir relations with their son. Sh. GouravSachdeva and daughter-in-law Smt. CharuSachdevaW/o Sh. Gaurav Sachdeva, due totheir non cooperative and quarrelsomebehaviors. My clients have disowned anddebarred their said son and daughter-in-lawform all their movable and immovableproperties, Any body dealing with the saiddebbared persons, shall do so at his/her/theirown risk and responsibilities and my clientswill not be respobsible for any act,deed oractivity of the debarred son and daughter-in-law.Sd/- PRAVEEN RASTOGI, ADVOCATERZ-97, KHUSHI RAM PARK, UTTAM

NAGAR,NEW DELHI-110059MOBILE: 09810986643

PUBLIC NOTICEThe general public is hereby informedthat my clients sh. Naresh Kumar S/OLate SH. Salig Ram and Smt Geeta W/ONaresh Kumar R/O RZ-602 Old No. RZ-74/1A, Gali no. 10, east Sagarpur NewDelhi -110046 have disowned my sonsidharth from their all moveable andimmovable properties and have severedof all their relations from him. Any persondealing with them shall be doing so athis own risk and responsibility. Myclients shall not be responsible for thesame.

Sd/-Ankit Dixit Advocate

Ch. No. 440, Lawyer chamber,DWARKA Court complex, Sector-10,

Dwarka, New Delhi 110075.

PUBLIC NOTICEMy Client SURENDER SINGH S/O SHRI UMRAOSINGH & SAROJ W/O SHRI SURENDER SINGHBOTH R/O 130, KATWARIA SARAI, DELHI-110016, have debarred his son MR. ASHWANISANSANWAL & his wife DOLLY alias ALISHA,from all movable and immovable properties/assets, and their personal life. Anybody dealingwith them civil and criminal matters shall be doingat his/ her/ their all risks, cost and responsibility,and have severed all relation from them due to theirmisconduct, bad behavior, bad company and badintentions, Any person dealing with them orseverally shall be doing so at their own risk. Myclient shall not be responsible in any manner forany kind of legal-illegal act, deed done by them.

Sd/-PARKASH CHAND

AdvocateEnrl. No. D-9065/2019

Chamber: 914, IX Floor, Lawyers Chamber,Rohini Court Complex, Delhi-85

PUBLIC NOTICEGeneral Public is hereby informedthat my Client Ramnik Singh S/oSadhu Singh R/o H.N- WZ-42,Block-R, Gurpreet Nagar, Old UttamNagar, Delhi-110059 haveDisowned his son In Law ShukdevSingh and daughter Jaswant Kaurfrom all movable and immovableProperties due to their misbehavior.In Future whosoever deals withthem shall deal on their own risk andmy Client will not be responsible fortheir actions.

Sd/-RITU Varma Advocate

Enrl.no-D/1126/92

PUBLIC NOTICEThat my Client Urfana W/o MohammadNaeem R/o 2691, Choti Baradari SherAfghan Ballimaran, Delhi-110006, is thelawful owner of the Property No. 6427,at Gali Kalyan, Katra Baryan, Fatehpuri,Delhi-110006, and she wants to sell anddispose of the said property to intendingpurchaser, that if any person have anyobjection for the sale of the saidproperty kindly contact at the aboveaddress within 15 days from the date ofthis Notice.

Sd/-Rajiv Kumar

AdvocateEnroll. D/3560/09

Ch./Seat No. 112, Old CourtKashmeri Gate Delhi-110006

Mob. 9212036442, 011-23866992

CLASSIFIEDS&TENDERS16

Government of IndiaDepartment of Atomic Energy

Bhabha Atomic Research CentreTechnical Services Division

North Site, Trombay, Mumbai-85

The Chief. Engineer, Technical Services Division, Bhabha AtomicResearch Centre, North Site, BARC, Trombay, Mumbai - 400 085, onbehalf of the President of India invites online item rate tenders on twobid system for following work :-NIT No. BARC/TSD/143/2020-21, Name of work - Operation of 110KVReceiving Station and other Sub-Stations in BARC, Trombay, Mumbai 400085. ; Estimated cost - ` 1,35,00,000/- ; Earnest Money - ` 2,70,000/-; Period of completion – 24 months; Last date and time of submissionof bid - 16.09.2020 (23:59 Hrs.).The bid forms and other details can be obtained from the Websitewww.tenderwizard.com/DAE or www.barc.gov.inChanges if any, in the above scheduled date etc. will be notified only onthe website www.tenderwizard.com/DAEContact for assistance / clarifications 24x7 @ 9969395522Shri Rudresh, e-mail: rudresh.tenderwizard@gmail.com

Chief Engineer

Notice Inviting e-Tenders

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ÀFSX¦FbªFF (LX.¦F.)Phone No. 07774-297800 Email:- deanmedicalcollegesurguja@gmail.comIiY¸FFaIY./3045/IiY¹F/¾FFd¨F¸F/2020 Ad¸¶FIYF´FbSX dQ³FFaIY:- 23/7/2020

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E-TENDER INVITING NOTICE Short term tender is invited through e-tendering for the work of translation in Hindi language of annualaccounts of PVVNL from FY 2014-15 to 2018-19 through computer andPrinting in Hindi & supply of them with material. 1000 nos. copies peryear, total 5000 nos. copies for 5 FY (2014-15 to 2018-19) againsttender tender specification no. PVVNL-MT/MM/3(s)/20-21. Date oftender opening on 11.08.2020. Remark:- www.etender.up.nic.in. Fordetailed information please log on www.pvvnl.org & E-Tenderingwebsite www.etender.up.nic.in till the date of submission of bids.Superintending Engineer (MM-I) “Help line Number For Information ofTheft of Electricity: “1800-180-3002 (Meerut), & 9412207451” “SAVEELECTRICITY IN THE INTEREST OF THE NATION” Sd/-Superintending Engineer (MM-I) For Managing Director ´fÂffaI : 6432

dQ³ffaI : 27.7.20

Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd.,Victoria Park, Meerut

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY28,2020

indianexpress.com

The Indian Express.For the Indian Intelligent.

I arrive at a conclusionnot an assumption.Inform your opinionwith

detailed analysis.

New Delhi

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Note:Gold, silverratesatspotmarket inDelhi;goldper10g, silverper1kg;Brentcrudeasof0045IST

Internationalmarketdatatill1900IST

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JULY27

FIRMSSEEKING toparticipate intheProduction-Linked Incentive(PLI) tobuild India’s self-relianceinover50criticalactivepharma-ceutical ingredients (APIs)willhavetohaveanetworthof30percentof theproposed investmentrequiredtobuildthecapacity.Thescheme is one of four forwhichguidelineswere announced byMinisterofChemicalsandFertiliz-ersDVSadanandaGowdaMon-day toboost domestic bulkdrugandmedicaldeviceproduction.A total of 136 companieswill

be allowed to apply for the PLIbulk drug schemewithin fourmonths, afterwhich approvalswill be finalised within threemonths,asperapresentation.Applicants will be selected

basedontwocriteria:howcheaptheycansellthebulkdruginques-tion,andthecapacityoftheirpro-posedplant. Incentives formak-ing18ofthebulkdrugs,includingpenicillinG, clavulanic acid, vita-minB1, tetracycline anddexam-ethasone,willfollowagradedfor-matoversixyears.Between2023and2027,man-

ufacturerswill get 20per cent of

their turnoverwith the productthey choose. Between2027 and2028,theywillget15percent,andbetween2028and2029,theywillreceivea5percentincentive.Theinvestment required to set up amanufacturing facility for theseAPIs, known as fermentation-baseddrugintermediates(DIs)orkeystartingmaterials(KSMs),willbe aroundRs 50 crore to Rs 400crore,dependingonthetype.For the remaining23 chemi-

callysynthesisedAPIs,KSMsandDIs,which includemeropenem,atorvastatin,acyclovirandaspirin,aminimuminvestmentof Rs 20crore to Rs 50 crorewill be re-quired. Here, incentiveswill beuniform, around10per centwillbegiveneachyear.These41bulkdrugsareconsideredcrucialintheproductionof53APIs.ForthePLIschemeformedical

devices, amaximumof 18appli-cantswillbeselectedtomanufac-ture devices in four categories:cancer care& radiotherapy, radi-ology & imaging, anesthetics &cardio-respiratory, and implant-abledevices.Here,minimumin-vestment has to beRs 180 croreand applicants will be pickedbased onmany parameters, in-cluding if theyhada turnover ofRs60crorein2018-19.

Bulk drugs, medical devicesproduction scheme: Normsfor companies announced

PRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI,JULY27

INDIANCOVID-19vaccinecandi-date‘Covaxin’hascrosseditsfirsthurdle in its path to a potentiallaunch,withasafetymonitoringboard allowing clinical trial sitesto continuewith human trials,three people close to the devel-opmentconfirmed.Clinicaltrialsitesstudyingthe

safety and effectiveness ofCovaxinwererecentlygivenper-mission by the Data and SafetyMonitoringBoard(DSMB)tocon-tinue recruiting participants forthe trial after it reviewed datafromthefirst50participantsthatwerevaccinated, theysaid.Thismeansthattheboardhas

foundthevaccinesafeenoughtoadministerinhumansatahigherdosage, according to Dr SavitaVerma,theprincipalinvestigatorforthetrialtakingplaceatPanditBhagwat Dayal Sharma PostGraduate Institute of MedicalSciences(PGIMS)inRohtak.PGIMShadsubmitteddataof

around20participantsforDSMBreviewand, following the clear-ance, has screened and vacci-

nated an additional 15 partici-pants.“Wheneverwegiveadrugor

vaccine for the first time (aspartof a trial),wegive it at lowdosesand inasmallernumberof indi-viduals becausewe have to seewhether thevaccinewill be safeenough to proceed,” Verma toldThe Indian Express. “The issue al-waysisthat...wedon’tknowhowour body is going to react tosomethingnew.Sothere’salwaysa chance of a (major) allergic re-action.That is themajorconcernin any investigator’smind,” shesaid.“So far, we haven’t seen any

adverse events ormajor allergicreactions,”sheadded.The20par-ticipantsvaccinatedinthefirstsetare expected to receive a seconddoseonJuly31,accordingtoher.“The DSMB’s decision was

communicatedoveremail,” saidanotherprincipal investigator.Covaxin’strialsstartedonJuly

15,with theAll India Institute ofMedical Sciences (AIIMS) vacci-nating its first set of participantswith the candidate. On July 17,PGIMSbecamethesecondsitetovaccinate participants as part ofthetrial.

Covaxin gets DSMB nodto continue human trials

BRIEFLY‘Singlewindowforapprovals’NewDelhi: TheCentrewillsoonsetupasinglewindowsystem for clearances andapprovals for industry, saidunionministerPiyushGoyal.

SettlementfortradereversalNewDelhi: Sebi proposedaone-timesettlementoppor-tunity for entities that exe-cuted reversal of trades instock options segment ofBSEduring2014and2015.

`1crorefineonCARERatingsNewDelhi:Sebihasimposeda penalty of Rs 1 crore onCARE Ratings regardinglapsesinassigningcreditrat-ingtoNCDsofRCom. PTI

dentsuXIndiatopsRECMAlistNewDelhi:Forthethirdyearrunning, dentsuX Indiahasbeenrankedfirstinthe‘newbusinessandclientportfoliogrowth’ listbyRECMA.

Skoda’sbookingplatformNewDelhi:SkodaAutoIndiawill bring the secondwaveof its centralised bookingplatform, to help choose acompanyvehicleeasily. ENS

Chinamini-IPOmarketShanghai:China’snewmini-IPOmarket kickedoff trad-ingMonday in a frenzy ascircuit breakerswere trig-gered for both surging andslumpingstocks. REUTERS

COVID impact: ‘Gold demandfalls 36% in Q2 2020 globally’Physical gold demand fell to 677 tonnes inQ2, lowest levelssinceQ12009as recordhigh gold prices, amidCOVID-19,led to adrop in consumption, a Refinitiv said report

Why this is important: Gold is likely to continueits uptrend, driven by fears over global recessionand a second wave of COVID-19

Source:Refinitiv

5%Fall incoindemand, i.e.sumofofficialcoin

fabricationandmedals&imitationcoins inQ2,whichwasledbysharpfall inmedalsdemand in India

$1,711/oz:Averageglobalgoldprice insecondquarter,up8percent frompreviousthreemonthsand31percentaboveyear-ago level

16% Year-on-yeardecline

demand for gold used inindustrial applications

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JULY27

RESERVE BANK of India (RBI)Governor Shaktikanta DasMondaypitchedfora“bigpush”tocertain targetedmega infrastruc-tureprojects,accompaniedbynewfinancing options, to reignitegrowth in theeconomy.He sug-gested a series of reforms in theelectricitysector topromotesolarenergyvia accelerateddeprecia-tionbenefitsandfiscalincentives.Identifying infrastructure as

“forcemultiplier forgrowth”andoneofthefivesilentdynamicshiftshappening in the economy, hesaid:“Asinthecaseof thegoldenquadrilateral,abigpushtocertaintargetedmegainfrastructureproj-ectscanreignitetheeconomy.Thiscouldbeginintheformofanorth-southandeast-west expresswaytogetherwithhighspeedrailcor-ridors, bothofwhichwouldgen-eratelargeforwardandbackwardlinkages for several other sectorsof the economy and regionsaroundtherail/roadnetworks.”In a seriesof recentmeetings

with PrimeMinister NarendraModi,seniorgovernmentofficialshave suggested increasing tar-geted investments in the infraspacetosupporteconomicactiv-ity. In his address toCIINationalCouncilmembersviaavideolinkMonday,Dasarguedfordiversify-ingfinancingoptionsforinfraproj-ectstosupportaround$4.5trillionfor investment in the sector by2030,asestimatedbyNITIAayog.Arguing that the corporate

bond market was turning thecoronerespeciallyforlower-ratedcompanies, he saidmore initia-tivesarerequiredtopromotefund-

ing for infra projects. “Non-per-formingassets (NPAs) relating toinfrastructure lending bybankshaveremainedatelevated levels.Thereisclearlyaneedfordiversi-fyingfinancingoptions.Promotionofthecorporatebondmarket,se-curitisation to enhancemarket-basedsolutionstotheproblemofstressed assets, and appropriatepricing and collection of userchargesshouldcontinuetoreceivepriority in policy attention,” hesaid. He identified said five dy-namicshiftsthatareunderwayinthe Indian economy: fortunesshifting in favourof the farmsec-tor;changingenergymixinfavourof renewables; leveraging infor-mationandcommunicationtech-nology, and start-ups to powergrowth; shifts in supply/valuechains,bothdomesticandglobal;and infrastructure as the forcemultiplierofgrowth.Theshareofrenewableenergy

in overall installed capacity hasdoubled to23.4per cent at end-March2020from11.8percentatend-March2015.Asmuchas66.6percentoftheadditiontototalin-stalledcapacityduringthelastfive

yearshasbeen in the formof re-newable energy, which con-tributed33.6percentoftheincre-mentalgenerationofelectricity.“Goingforward,thislandmark

progress could result in a signifi-cantoverhaulofthepowersector,encompassingderegulation, de-centralisationandefficientpricediscovery. Policy interventions inthe5formofrenewablepurchaseobligations(RPO)forDISCOMs,ac-celerated depreciation benefitsandfiscalincentivessuchasviabil-ity gap funding and interest ratesubventionwillhavetogothrougharethink/needreview,”hesaid.Toqueriesonadequatelevelof

exchangerate,hesaidtheRBIhasno fixed target for the rupeebutmonitors unduevolatility in thecurrency.Dassaidtherecentinter-ventionsby thecentral bankandthe government has led to a“marked improvement” in themarket conditions for corporatebonds, and thepositionhas im-provedevenforbelowAAA-ratedcorporates.Amiduncertainties, itwill continue to remain vigilantandwill nothesitate toactwhennecessary,hesaid.

NEEDFORDIVERSIFYINGFINANCINGOPTIONS:RBIGOVERNOR

‘Bigpush’ totargetedmega infraprojectscanreigniteeconomy:Das

RBIGovernorShaktikantaDas. File

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JULY27

THEGOVERNMENTisworkingtocomplete stakesaleprocessof 23publicsectorcompanieswhosedi-vestmenthasbeenclearedbytheCabinet,FinanceMinisterNirmalaSitharamansaidonMonday.Inanonlineconversationwith

HeroEnterpriseChairmanSunilKantMunjal,shesaidthegovern-mentiswillingtolistentoallissuesbeing faced industry andhas anopenmindwithregardtofurthermeasures thatmaybeneeded tosupport the economy. “We areopen to every suggestion that iscomingin.Wehavenotclosedany

options,”shesaid.Toaqueryonwhetherthegov-

ernmentwill provide support tosmall finance banks (SFB) andnon-bankingfinancialcompanies(NBFCs), the minister said shewouldsoonmeetthemtoreviewtheirsituation.Munjalsaid lowerratedfirmswerefindingitdifficultto raise funding frombanks.Healsostressedtheneedforaspecialreliefmeasuresforsectors—traveland tourism—whichhavebeenspecificallybeenhitbytheCOVID-19 pandemic’s impact on eco-nomicactivity.Ondisinvestment,thegovern-

mentwantstosellstakeinpublicsectorcompaniesatatimewhenitfetchestherightprice.

Govt to go ahead withdivestment of 23 PSUscleared by Cabinet: FM

AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI,JULY27

GLOBALCYBERSECURITY leaderAvast haswarned in a note thattherewasa51percentincreaseinthe use of spy- and stalkerwaresincethelockdowninMarchuntilJune.Theusageof theseapps,thefirmsaid, increasedduring lock-down in thebackdropof height-eneddomesticviolencecases.

Whatarespyandstalkerwareapps?Spyandstalkerwareapps,like

viruses and othermal-ware, infectdevicesthatare connected to the in-ternet.Whilevirusesandmalwarecanbedetectedby antivirus software,spywareandstalkerwareappsdisguise themselvesasuse-fulandsendoutstolendatatocen-tral servers without the users’knowledge. Ironically,most spy-ware and stalkerware apps dis-guisethemselvesasanti-theftap-plicationsthatcanbeusedtotrackincasethedeviceisstolenorgetslost,cyber-securityexpertswarn.A

spywareappcanalsobeinstalledremotelywhileastalkerwareappcanbeinstalledonlywhensome-onehasphysicalaccesstothedig-itallyconnecteddevice.

Howdosuchappswork?There are two-three types of

spywareandstalkerwareapplica-tions.Forspywareapps,theeasiestmethod is todisguise the spyingcodeinsidetheunauthorisedver-sions of other apps and then tryandmarketsuchpremiumapps.“For example, someone can

claimtohaveacrackedversionofa premiumapp such as Spotify.

Now,whoever installssuch apps can be re-motely tracked easily.Sincethecodeof theap-plication (insidewhichthe spyware codes arehidden)donotspyonthe

users,suchcodespassthescrutinyofantivirusprogrammes,”aPune-basedcybersecurityexpertsaid.Stalkerwareappsontheother

hand,seekexplicitpermissionsatthetimeoftheirinstallation.Oncetheappisinstalledinthephone,itcan be hidden from the appsmenu into thebackground, from

wheretheycontinuefunctioning.“There are some dedicated

appswhichpeopleinstallontheirpartners’ or their kids’ phones.Whenyouinstallsuchapps,itasksforpermissions suchasaccess togallery locations, call logs amongotherthings.Onceyoudothat,themasterdevicewhichhasadash-boardcanseewhateverisgoingonwiththeotherdevice,”Guwahati-basedindependentcyber-securityresearcherIndrajeetBhuyansaid.

Whyhastheusageofsuchappsrisenduringlockdown?Oneof themain reasons, ex-

perts said, is the increasedusageofinternetbyeveryoneduetovar-iouslockdownmeasuresinplace.“Emerging data shows that

since theoutbreakof COVID-19,reports of violence againstwomen, andparticularlydomes-ticviolence,haveincreasedinsev-eral countries as security, health,andmoneyworries create ten-sions andstrains accentuatedbythecrampedandconfined livingconditionsof lockdown,” theUNWomenhadsaidinitsreport.

Fullreportonwww.indianexpress.com

FY20 GST aid tostates 70% higherthan cess fund

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JULY27

THECENTREhas releasedGoodandServiceTax(GST)compensa-tionofRs13,806croretothestatesforMarch, 2020,which takes thetotal aid for FY20 toRs1.65 lakhcrore. The collection under thecompensationcessfundwasonlyRs95,444croreinthefiscal,whichmeans the compensation pay-ments were over 70 per centhigherthanthefund.Apartof thisgapwasbridged

bymoneyfromthecompensationfund that remainedunutilised inthefirsttwoyearsofGST.Further,asumofRs33,412crorewasalsoploughedbackfromconsolidatedfund of India to compensationfund after analysis showed thatCentrehadapportionedmore I-GSTtoitsownkittyinFY2017-18thanwasdue to it. Thishadhap-penedduetothead-hocmethodof IGST settlementdeveloped inthefirstfewmonthsofFY2017-18.Thedata showed thatmanufac-turing states claimed thehighestcompensationwhich includedMaharashtra(Rs19,233crore).FE

Why are spyware, stalkerware appsgaining traction during lockdown?

AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI,JULY27

SEVERAL STATES includingAndhraPradesh,Maharashtra,Telangana, Tamil Nadu, andUttarPradeshhavewrittentothe central government, ask-ing for more funds to startworkon the secondphaseofBharatNet,seniorgovernmentofficials inknowof thedevel-opment said. The officials,however,declinedtorevealtheamountsoughtbythestates.“In many states, the

progressisextremelyslowduetolackofworkers,whichhavemostly gone back to theirhometown. Though stateshave asked for additional fi-nancial support, no decisionhasbeentakenonituntilnow,”anofficialsaid.AndhraPradesh,forexam-

ple, haddemandedRs2,000crore, inaddition to the fundsthatwasalreadyallocatedtoit,from the Universal ServiceObligation Fund (USOF). TheUSOF,however,hasdeniedtherequest,sourcessaidThe stateshavealsowrit-

ten to the Ministry ofElectronics and InformationTechnology(MeitY) ,express-ing their inability to finishtheBharatNetphase twoprojectby the stipulateddeadline ofAugust2021as theCOVID-19crisishadresultedincashandwell andworkforce shortage,theofficialssaid.The BharatNet project,

which initially began as theNationalOpticalFibreNetworkinOctober2011,hasbeende-layedforover92monthsnow.The newdeadline is August2021.ForBharatNetphaseone,aspecialpurposevehicleoftheMeitY, Bharat BroadbandNetworkLimited(BBNL),wasthenodalagency.Itwasincor-porated in 2012 and hadstartedimplementationofthe

planafterinordinatedelaysinthe implementationandexe-cutionof BharatNetworkbyBharatSancharNigamLimited.Inphasetwooftheproject,

however,manystateshadex-pressed their desire to com-pleteworkon their ownandhad also floated request forproposal(RFP)forthesame.Under BharatNet phase

two, as of January this year,againstthetargetofprovidinglastmile connectivity to 1.5lakh grampanchayat (GPs),only about 7.45per cent hadbeenmadeservice ready. Forcablelaying,againstatargetof3.11lakhkmofopticalfibreca-ble, only about 92,283kmofcablehasbeenlaiddownasofDecemberend.Overall, under all the

phasesofBharatNet,a totalof1.41GPhadbeen connectedand made service ready asagainst a target of 2.5 lakh.Compounding the problemfurther, an estimated19,952kmof lossyopticalfibreoutofthe27,534km laidbyBharatSancharNigamLimited(BSNL)underphaseoneisnowbeingpulled out and replaced bynewoptical fibre, the officialsaid, adding theworkon thatprojectwasalso“crawlingataveryslowpace”.AsofJanuary,progress in states likeAndhraPradesh, Jharkhand,Maha-rashtra, and Odisha underBharatNetphase twowas theworst.Thenumberofservice-readyGPs in these stateshadnoteventouched1percentofthe total 28,623 villagesplanned to be connected byMarch 2019. The four stateshadso far spentaboutRs950crore,nearly17percentofap-provedprojectcost.

SECTORWATCHTELECOM

States write to IT Min formore funds, say finishingphase 2 of BharatNet ontime not possible otherwise

Thenewdeadlinefortheproject isAugust2021

PriceinDelhiup`905

Gold jewelleryhallmarking:Deadline extended

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,JULY27

TheCentreMondayextendedthedeadlineformandatoryhallmark-ingofgold jewelleryandartifactstill June1,2021,UnionMinisterofConsumerAffairs,FoodandPublicdistribution RamVilas PaswansaidonMonday.The government had set

January15, 2021as thedeadline.Hallmarkingof gold jewellery isvoluntaryandabout31,000 jew-elers have registered with theBureau of Indian Standards tilldate.GoldpricesintheCapitalroseRs905toRs52,960per10gramonMonday,while silver prices roseRs3,347toRs65,670perkg.

SANDEEPSINGHNEWDELHI,JULY27

MINDSPACEBUSINESSParksREIT,which is looking to raiseup toRs1,000 crore through issuance offresh units and up to Rs 3,500crore through an offer for sale,openedforsubscriptionMonday.TheRs4,500-crorerealestate in-vestment trust (REIT), jointlyowned by K Raheja andBlackstone,willcloseforsubscrip-tiononWednesday.Last Friday, the Mindspace

REIT raised Rs 2,644 crore fromanchor and strategic investors,withHSBCGlobal, Fidelity andNomura Trust, Capital IncomeBuilder and Cohen & Steers as

amongthemajorinvestors.Whilethepricebandhasbeenset atRs274-275per share. investors canbidinmultiplesof200shareswithaminimumamountofRs55,000attheupperendofpriceband.

ConceptualisedasSPVsREITs develop and own in-

comeproducingcommercialrealestateproperties.InIndia,theyareconceptualisedasspecialpurposevehicles(SPVs)withperpetuallife,

providing investors anopportu-nity to earn dividend-based in-come and appreciation in unitvalue due to property apprecia-tion.MajorityoftheassetsownedbyanREITarerequiredtobeheldincompleted incomegeneratingassets and aremandated to payoutmajority of their earnings asdistributionstounitholders.

WaystoinvestInitialpublicofferings(IPOs)is

oneof theways to get inwhenanew REIT like the current onecomes in for subscription.AsperSebi regulations,youwillhavetoinvestaminimumofRs50,000intheREIT.AfterIPO,theREITwillbeavailable on the secondarymar-ket,i.e.itwillbelistedonthestock

exchangelikesharesandonecanpurchaseinthestockmarket.

PandemicimpactWithalargeofficegoingpop-

ulation operating from theirhomesafter thepandemic, therehasbeenagrowingconcernonfu-turedemandforofficerealestate.While some feel that savings oncommutation cost, time andof-fice overheadswillmake severalcompaniesthinkon allowingem-ployeestoworkfromhometoanextent,otherfeelthatfactorssuchassmallerhomes,intermittentin-ternet,datasecurity,blurredper-sonal andprofessional lineswillseeworkforcegoingbacktooffice.

Full report onwww.indianexpress.com

PRANAVMUKULNEWDELHI,JULY27

LOW-COST AIRLINE SpiceJet,whichhassofaroperateddomes-tic andshort tomediumhaul in-ternational flights, is starting itslong-hauloperationswithachar-ter flights from Amsterdam toBengaluru and Hyderabad onAugust 1 andAugust 2, respec-tively.With this, the airlinewillovertake other carriers such asIndiGoandVistara, in the race tostart long-haul flights. Currently,flag-carrier Air India is the onlyIndianairline flying long-haul in-ternational to destinations inEuropeandtheUS.Forthis,SpiceJetstartedbyap-

proachingtheIndiancommunityintheNetherlands,whohavebeenwanting to comebackhomebuthave not been able to due toCOVID-19 shutdowns. Mean-while, thecarrier launchednego-tiationstowet-leasewide-bodiedaircraft to fly on these sectors.Aviation industry experts havepointedoutthatairlineslookingtowet-leaseplaneshave thingsgo-ingtheirwayinthecurrentsitua-tionwithseveralotherairlinesandlessorsacrosstheworldsittingonidleaircraftandcrewcapacity.AccordingtoaSpiceJetofficial,

the company haswet-leased a371-seater AirbusA330neo air-craftfromaLisbon,Portugal-basedleasingcompanyHiFly.Furthermore,SpiceJetwillalso

beresponsibleforsecuringallthenecessaryregulatorypermissionsfortheflighttobeoperated.Asen-ior official at the DirectorateGeneral of Civil Aviation (DGCA)told The Indian Express thatSpiceJet’s proposal to operate acharterflightfromAmsterdamhasbeen submitted to the regulatorandtheprocesstogranttheclear-ancewas“inprogress”.

SpiceJet to flylong-haul flightsfrom Amsterdamon Aug 1 & 2 torepatriate Indians

The Bombay FlyingClub is India’s firstDGCA-approveddrone training school

PRANAVMUKULNEWDELHI,JULY27

MUMBAI-BASEDFLIGHTtraininginstituteTheBombayFlyingClubhasbecomeIndia’sfirstapproveddronetrainingschoolafterreceiv-ingclearancefromtheDirectorateGeneralofCivilAviation(DGCA).“Based on information pro-

videdandundertaking,thisofficehereby accords exemption fromCAR Section 3, Series X, Part I,BombayFlyingClub,Mumbaiforconducting remotepilot trainingusing Remotely Piloted AircraftSystems.Theabovestatedexemp-tionshallbevalid for1year fromthedate of issue of this letter oruntil the operationalization ofDigitalSkyPlatform,whicheverisearlier,”a DGCAordersaid.

Mindspace Business Parks REIT: How this instrument works?

REITsdevelopandownincomeproducingcommercial realestateproperties

Economy to see V-shaped recoveryin Q3 & Q4, says FinComm chairmanNewDelhi: Indiawill see a sharpV-shaped recovery in the thirdandfourthquarterof thecurrentfiscal, but FY21 GDP growthwouldultimately be in negativeterritoryas thecoronavirus lock-downledtoseriousdemandandsupplydislocations,15thFinance

CommissionChairmanNKSinghsaidonMonday.Statingthatglobaldepression

will continue to cast shadowonFY22 growth prospects, he saidtheeconomicexpansion inFY23woulddetermine if initiatives torevivegrowtharesustainable.PTI

Google extends WFH till next JuneBengaluru:Alphabet Inc'sGooglesaid onMonday itwould allowemployees,whodonotneedtobein theoffice, towork fromhome(WFH)untiltheendofJune2021.Google had said in May it

wouldbegin reopeningmoreof-ficesglobally asearlyas June this

year,butmostGoogleemployeeswouldlikelyworkfromhomeun-tiltheendofthisyear.TheWall Street Journal,which

first reportedthenews,saidchiefexecutive officer Sundar Pichaimade the decision himself lastweek. REUTERS

New Delhi

18THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY28,2020

SPORTWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

VolLXXXVIIINo.223Regd.No.DL-21046/03-05

R.N.I.No.506/57. PrintedandPublishedbyR.C.Malhotraonbehalf of The IndianExpress (P) LimitedandPrintedatThe IndianExpress (P) LimitedPress,A-8, Sector-7,Noida -201301andPublishedatThe IndianExpress (P) Limited,MezzanineFloor, ExpressBuilding, 9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg, NewDelhi-110002. Editorial office:The IndianExpress (P) Limited,MezzanineFloor, ExpressBuilding, 9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg, NewDelhi-110002. Phone:0120-6651500.Advertisingoffice: The IndianExpress (P) Limited,B1/B, Sector -10,Noida -201301. Phone:0120-6651291.Chairmanof theBoard:ViveckGoenka,Chief Editor:RajKamal Jha, Editor:Unni

RajenShanker, Editor (Delhi):RakeshSinha ** **Responsible for selectionofNewsunder thePRBAct. Copyright: The IndianExpress (P) Limited.All rights reserved.Reproduction inanymanner, electronicorotherwise, inwholeor inpart,withoutpriorwrittenpermission isprohibited. The IndianExpress®

Qatarinterestedinbiddingfor2032OlympicsQatar is keen on on hosting the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The gas-rich PersianGulf nation has expressed an interest in hosting the world's biggest sporting events in a let-ter to the International Olympic Committee. Qatar is turning its focus to bringingthe Summer Games to the Middle East for the first time as it prepares to host the region'sfirst World Cup in 2022. AP

Why IPL in the desert is not amirageTheEmiratesCricketBoardconfirmsreceiving'letterof intent'fromBCCI;limitedspectatorscouldbeallowed

DEVENDRAPANDEYMUMBAI,JULY27

APRE-SEASONfitnesscampofBarodaCricketAssociation had to be suspended after abrotherofaplayercontractedCovid-19.“Asaprecautionarymeasure,wehavede-

cided to suspend the off-season trainingcamp,” the BCA secretary Ajit Lele told TheIndianExpress.“Itwasafitnessandcondition-ing camp.” Players like Hardik Pandya andKrunal Pandyawere not participants in thiscampastheyhadchosentodotheirowntrain-ing at another ground inVadodara. TheBCAhadorganised the fitness campatMoti Baghground inbatchesof 10players. Theassocia-tionhadonlyallowedthoseplayerswholivedinnon-containmentzones.Alltheusualprecautionsweretaken.When

theplayersenter theground, theyhadtoun-dergothermalscreening.Also,theplayershadto regularly update about their health to theofficials. “Thebatches started from7am.Wehave obviously advised the player whosebrotherhas contracted thevirus to take care.Andthosewhohavecomeincontactwiththatplayerhavebeen told toundergo isolation intheir respectivehomes. The association is intouchwithallplayers,"Lelesaid.Crickethascompletelycometohaltsince

MarchinIndiaandaftertherestrictionswerelifted recently,many states decided to allowtheir players to practice individually. Barodahadstartedtheircampsixweeksago.

SHAMIKCHAKRABARTYKOLKATA,JULY27

THE T20 World Cup postponement hasopenedawindowfortheBoardofControlforCricket in India (BCCI) toorganise thisyear’sIndian Premier League (IPL). Subject to ap-provals,thetournamentwillbeplayedintheUnited Arab Emirates (UAE)where, unlikeIndia, the Covid curve has flattened consid-erably. And there’s an outside chance thatsomecrowdmightbeallowedatthevenues.

Whenwill theIPLtakeplace?TheBCCIhaswrittentotheIndiangovern-

ment,seekingpermissiontoorganisetheIPLintheUAE.Subjecttothegovernment’sapproval,theBoardwillannouncethedatesforthetour-nament. An IPLGoverning Councilmeetingwill be convened soon to formally announcethe tournament schedule and the StandardOperating Procedure (SOP) for all the stake-holders.Thepostponementof theT20WorldCuphascreatedawindowfortheleaguefrommid-SeptembertoearlyNovember.AsachiefexecutiveofanIPLfranchiseinformed,theBCCIhas verbally communicated to the IPL teamsthat the tournament will be played fromSeptember19toNovember8.

HastherebeenanyofficialcommunicationbetweentheBCCIanditsUAEcounterpart?The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) has

confirmedthattheyhavereceivedtheofficial‘Letter of Intent’ from the BCCI to host the2020 edition of the IPL. “We have receivedthe (official) letter andnowwait on the de-cision from the Indian Governmentwhichwill inkthefinaldeal,”MubashshirUsmani,ECB secretary-general, told the EmiratesBoard’s official website. Usmani said thatspadeworkforanIPL intheUAEhasstarted,with both cricket boards “have fully mo-bilisedandhaveinstigateddiscussionswiththe relevantauthorities”.

HowisEmiratesCricketBoardpositionedtodeliverthetournament?TheUAEhosted the first half of the 2014

IPL due to general elections in India. So theECB has the past experience to fall back on.Hostingthetournamentagainstthebackdrop

ofapandemic,however,hasextrachallenges.“This is amassivemovement of people andequipmentandwenowneedtobring in theexperts todiscuss all aspects ofUAEhostingthe IPL,” said Usmani. He ascertained thatsportsbodiesandgovernmentagenciesintheUAE, “who have had strong, proven experi-ence”,will work in tandem “to support anddeliveronasuccessfuledition”.

Will thematches beheldbehind closed doors?BCCI officials say that the local

administrationismullingonallow-ingsomecrowdat thevenue—50per cent of the stadium capacity.They say that by the time the IPLstarts, the situationwould be evenbetter inthe UAE. Data put out by theWorld HealthOrganization(WHO)showsthattheUAEhas58,562 confirmed coronavirus cases fromJanuary 29 to July 26, with 343 deaths. At51,628,therecoveryrateisalsoprettyhighinthe Emirates. By September, local sportsevents are expected to begin inDubai. Also,DubaiwillhosttheEuropeanTourgolf finale

before the IPL. So there’s an outside chancethatsomespectatorsmightbeallowedatthevenues for the IPLmatches.Then again, as amember of the ECB in-

formed, the Emirates Board is doing a recceof the threevenues in theUAE—Dubai,AbuDhabi and Sharjah— and surveying the en-try andexit points. If even20-30per cent of

spectators are allowed, everyvenuewill need to have saniti-sationtunnelsandotherneces-sarymeasuresaspersafetypro-tocols.

Canfanstraveltowatchthematches?Yes,theycaniftheytestneg-

ativeforCovid-19andprovidedthatmatchesaren’tclosed-dooraffairs.Asperthelocalgov-ernmentprotocol, if thematchesareheld inDubai,forexample,travellingfanshavetoei-thergetaPCRtestdonewithin96hoursbe-fore embarking or take one after reachingthere. Only thosewho test positivewill bequarantined for 14 days. A Dubai SportsCouncil functionary, however, said that if

overseas fans are allowed, theywill have toundergoaquarantineperiod.Also,UAEistheonlycountryintheMiddleEastwhereinter-national flightsareregularlyoperating.

Will thefranchisessuffer losses ifmatchesareheldbehindcloseddoors?They will lose out on income through

gatereceipts.Gatereceiptsvaryfordifferentfranchises. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), forexample, enjoy high gate receipts with a67,000-seater Eden Gardens as their homevenue and very high turnouts. Franchisesthat have smaller stadiums as their homevenuesdon’tearnhighgatereceipts.Usually,gate revenue is around Rs 250 crore, eightfranchises combined. According to an offi-cial,eachIPLfranchiseisgoingtoloseatleastRs 15-20 crore if the tournament is playedbehindcloseddoors.

HavethefranchisesstartedpreparingfortheIPL?Yes, they have. A Chennai Super Kings

(CSK) official said they have started enquir-ingabouthotelsintheUAE.Severalfranchiseshavealsostartednegotiatingwiththeirspon-sors.Everyteamwillhaveacampbeforethetournament, but there’s still no clarity onwhen the camps could be held. A franchiseofficial informed that they haven’t receivedvisa confirmation for their foreign playersfromtheMinistryofExternalAffairs (MEA).CSK, for example, are planning to send

their Indian players for a camp inDubai to-wardstheendof thismonthorearlyAugust.DelhiCapitals,too,willhaveacampinDubai,according to a franchise official. A few fran-chises, though,want a three-weekcamp fortheir Indian players at a remote place in thecountry,acitythatfallsunderthegreenzone.Overseasplayersforallthefranchiseswilldi-rectly check-in at Dubai, but teams are stillunsureaboutwhentheirforeignplayerswillturnup. Incountries likeSouthAfrica forex-ample,nointernationalflightisoperatingyet.So it is very likely that foreign players willcomeinbatches.

Will the franchises lose sponsorshiprevenue?Commercialsuccessinmodern-daysport

isdeterminedbytheTVviewershipanddig-ital streaming. So from the point of view of

theBCCIandhostbroadcaster,itdoesn’tmat-termuchiftheIPLmatchesareplayedbeforeempty stands. The same applies to the IPLfranchises, too. But as a franchiseCEOput it,“in the middle of an economic recessioncausedbythepandemic,overallsponsorshiprevenuewill comedownby10-15percent”.According to industry estimates, the eightfranchisesintotalareexpectedtoearnspon-sorshiprevenueworthRs450-500crore.

So,anIPLintheUAEisnotgoingtobeprofitableforthefranchises?Itwillmake an impact on their revenue,

but in this case, the positives of conductingtheseasonfaroutweighnothavingthetour-nament at all. Overhead expenses for an IPLawayfromhomewillbehigherbyatleast10-15percent. It’sstillnotdecidedwhethertheBCCI will take care of the bio-securityarrangementsfortheteamsortheteamswillhavetodoitontheirown.Also,it’snotknownwhether theBCCIwill compensate the fran-chises for sponsorship and gate revenuelosses. And yet, as a franchise official said:“Without the IPL, wewould have had zerorevenue(broadcastrevenue,sponsorshiprev-enueetc.)andnopayoutsalso.”Roughly,fran-chiseswouldhavesufferedarevenue lossofRs 250 crore each if this year’s tournamentwerecancelled.

HowimportantistheIPLfortheBCCI?TheBCCI’srevenuelossincaseofcancel-

lationwouldhavebeeninexcessofRs2,000croreupfront.Star,thehostbroadcaster,paystheBoardRs3,270croreperyear,whichthelatter shareswith the franchises in a 50:50ratio. So the BCCI would have suffered abroadcast revenue loss north of Rs 1,500crore. Vivo, the IPL’s title sponsor, gives theBCCI Rs 439 crore per year,whileDream11,the IPL’s official partner, forks out Rs 161crore annually. The Board would havemissed out on that as well. Taking all rev-enuestreamsintoaccount,withoutthe IPL,theBCCIhadbeenstaringataRs3,000-croreblackhole. TheBCCIdistributes70per centof thebroadcastrevenuefrominternationalcricket among its members, while 26 percent of that goes to cricketers. The IPL rev-enue fills the BCCI coffers and helps theBoard build infrastructure and look afterage-groupanddomestic cricket.

Baroda call offcamp after player’skin tests positive

BCCIofficials saythat the localadministration ismullingonallowingsomecrowdat thevenue—50percentof thestadiumcapacity. PTI

CROSSWORD4181

ACROSS1 PoorDad is incontempt (7)5 Understand it isanumber lessthan10(5)

8 Is it takenbyasuicide?(5,8)

9 Musicalpiecewritten formantoperform(5)

10 Anumber inExeterpossiblygoingrather too far (7)

11 Onewholeads in theGermanlanguage(6)

12 Themanuscript isaboutEasternsubjects (6)

15 Duties in theservices(7)

17 Risinganddescentof thesunproducesdisturbance (5)

19 CO’spersonal transport intotal stoppage(7,6)

20 Daily leaderstudied inawe(5)

21 Order thestripper tomakereparation(7)

Down1 Submit todelay,perhaps(5)

2 Takeaborderlineview?(3,2,3,5)

3 Nothing left fromthegalleon(3,4)

4 Sometraineededicatedtoworkrequired(6)

5 Thegeneralmeaningseemstolackpurpose (5)

6 Itmakesnorandomhit(6,7)

7 Craftyoffers? (7)11 Noterecordedasbeaten(7)13 Madesomespiritedreturns tothescene(7)

14 Goodmaninanewrolelookingafterhorses(6)

16 Madebetter inacrudeway(5)

18 Suchagesmaybetense(5)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)There is no turningback. Thismuchmust be clear toyou. If, on the other

hand, youwant to plan for theimmediate future, get all yourspendingplans in order. Putthe emphasis on long-terminvestments, and try to getpartners to opt for safetyand security.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)The truth of yoursituation shouldnowbebecomingclear. Youmay, for

example, be about to realisethe importance of authorityand tradition. Atwork, there isnoway to evade thepowersthat be. Yourmost positiveapproach is to dowhat youhave to for now, and try to turnthe tableswhen the timeis right.

GEMINI (May22- June21)Youmaybeabout toamaze lovedoneswithadisplayofenergy. I’mnot

advisingyoutobeaggressive,but Iwould like toseeyoubeingmoreself-assertive in theverybest sense.Standupforwhatyouknowtoberight. Ifyoutaketheeasywayout,thenyouwon’t respectyourself andneitherwillotherpeople.

CANCER(June22- July23)Therewillof coursebetimeswhenyoudon’t seeeyetoeyewith lovedones,but

youmayheadoff potentialconfrontationsbybitingyourtongue, turningtheothercheekandallowing people to learnfromtheirownmistakes.Thatmightbethebestapproachforthemaswellas foryou.

LEO(July24-Aug23)Thereisnopointinadvisingyoutoignorewhatishappeningathome.Youmayget

awaywithburyingyourheadinthesandnowbut,ifyoudo,yourproblemswillescalateoverthesummer.Therefore,youmustdealwithallthosefundamentalissues,now.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sep23)Thegeneralplanetaryset-upindicates thatyouarestillunclear

whether topressaheadwithyourownindividualgoalsormuck inandhelpoutwith tasksthatareprimarilyothers’concern.Theanswer is todowhatyouwant today,butdowhatyouhaveto tomorrow.

LIBRA(Sep24-Oct23)You should be readyto stand up and becounted. Youmustalso be ready

to put your back intoachieving special personalgoals. Don’t ever expect toattain your goalswithoutputting in sufficient effort.The cosmos just doesn’toperate like that.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov23)Astrology isinfinitelycomplicated, andtoday’s stars

are completely overshadowedby alignments that takeplace in two to fourdays’ time, so don’t bemesmerised by short-termdevelopments.Do yourself a favourby talking about yourplans and discussingyour hopes.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)Themomentmayhave come to springa few surprises, butthere’s a supreme

irony here. Theway you canastound people is by beingutterly conservative. Radicalideas are out of date, andtraditional values are in, atleast for today. Tomorrowmaybe different.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)Personally andemotionally this hasbeen a trying time.Today’s fascinating

stars vary frombeing totallysuperficial to utterly profound.There is nomiddleway, sodon’t be complacent. Youwillhave to decidewhichpathyou’re taking and then followit through.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)Don’t concernyourself withwhathappens today. It’sthe evening that

counts, and if Iwere arrangingyourmovements, I’d adviseyou to stay in beduntil later. Itmaybe impossible to fit inwith such an awkwardplanetary schedule, but doyour best.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)Youhaven’t alwayshad a smoothride recently. Youmaybe in a tight

corner, probably at home.But, to beperfectly frank, youcould probably charmyourwayout of almost anysituation theuniverse canthrowat you. If in doubt, smileandwinothers over.

SUDOKU418

3

DifficultyLevel5sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

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

SOLU

TIONSUDOKU418

2

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.DestroyingrainforestforeconomicgainislikeburningaRenaissancepaintingto_______.-E.O.Wilson(4,1,4)

SOLUTION:AMAZE,DROOL,LYCHEE,MUKLUKAnswer:DestroyingrainforestforeconomicgainislikeburningaRenaissancepaintingtocookameal.-E.O.Wilson

MZAAE EEHYCL

DLROO KLUUKM

SolutionsCrossword4180:Across: 1Ditch,8Side door, 9Essay, 10 Ignorant,11Prime, 12Lee, 16Seance, 17Whiten, 18Ace, 23Abate, 24Heaves to, 25Abbot, 26Two-faced, 27Strew.Down: 2 Inserted, 3Charming,4Single, 5Demon, 6Sofas, 7Grate, 12Lea, 13Ewe, 14Bit by bit, 15Went home, 19Cutter,20Shute, 21Canoe, 22Debar.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

FOURTH DAYOF ENGVSWINDIES TESTWASHEDOUT

ENGLAND AND theWest Indies wereprevented by rain from playing on thefourth day of the deciding test at OldTraffordonMonday. The day was awashout, leaving the fate of the three-test series to the last day, weather per-mittingagain.Englandisonthebrinkofa series win and regaining theWisdenTrophyinperpetuity, seeingas itwillberetired. The series is at 1-1. TheWestIndies is 10-2 in its second innings,taskedwith 389more runs towin theseriesdecider. AP

E●EXPLAINED

New Delhi

ADVERTORIAL

Ourvision:-

WEarecommittedtoempowering womenby providing aqualitative and job-orientededucationata an affordable cost.Ourgoalistoprepareskilledprofessionals.Weprovideeducationrooted in Indiantraditions and ethoswith a modernoutlook. Theuniversity draws its

inspirationandstrengthfromtheancientvalue-based principles of education enshrined in theVedic texts. We sincerely resolve to realize thevisionofourforefatherstomakeIndiaself-reliant.Hereweignitemindsandnurturecompassionatehearts that strengthen the commitment of 'BetiBachaoBetiPadhao'.Webelievethateducationis the key to women empowerment, and we atBPSMV are continuously evolving as one of thepremier girls' universities ofIndia, promoting qualityresearch and inclusive societalgrowth.

Abouttheuniversity:-

BhagatPhoolSinghMahilaVishwavidyalaya (BPSMV) isthe first state funded women'suniversity in North India. Thecampusspreadsover400acresofland.Thejourneybeganwiththe establishment of a Girls’Gurukul (with just three girlsin the first batch at KhanpurKalan in the year 1936) byBhagat Phool Singh, whoseseminal idea of empoweringwomenthrougheducationwasa progressive step. TheGurukul was establishedpurely through philanthropicmeans, and it not onlyexpanded further but alsobecame a sought-after centrefor higher learning andeducation for girls. BhagatPhool Singh's vision and theefforts put in by his daughterPadamshree Subhashiniturned the Gurukul into apremierinstitutionmodeledonIndianvaluesandethos.Itwasin August 2006 that theGovernment of Haryanathought of giving a firm shape to the ideaconceived by Bhagat Phool Singh Ji. ThegovernmentthenupgradedtheGurukulanditsconstituentinstitutionstoawomen’suniversity,mandatedtofurthertheoriginalideaofBhagatPhool Singh:- Women Empowerment throughEducation”.

Since then BPSMV has expanded on allfrontsandoffersarangeofacademicjoborientedprogrammes touching almost all aspects of lifeand career. BPSMV offers PhD in as many asten subjects, M.Phil in three subjects, PostGraduationintwenty-fivesubjects,Graduationin twenty-one subjects, PG Diploma, Diplomaand Certificate programmes in thirty-onesubjects through its seventeen university

teaching departments, three ConstituentInstitutions, five special centers,two regionalcentersandsixaffiliatedgovernmentcollegesforwomen.

TheuniversityhassignedMoUswithDurbanUniversity of Technology, South Africa, St.Catherine University in USA, NationalCooperativeUnionof India (NCUI),NewDelhi,the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP), Shiksha Sanskriti Utthaan Nyaas,Delhi,HaryanaVishwakarmaSkillUniversity,Palwal, Haryana. Societal growth throughcommunity engagement is the core strength ofBPSMV.Theuniversityhasestablishedcentersofexcellence, likeCentreforIndicAsianStudies(CIAS) and Centre for Society UniversityInterfaceandResearch(CSUIR).

Key achievemens from lastyear:-

The university has won two Global Awardsfor being the “Best Upcoming University” and“the Best University in Social/Community

EngagementandImpact”.BPSMVisapartnerinUnnat Bharat Abhiyan which is a socialtransformation flagship programme of theGovernment of India. The University hasestablished National Resource Centre forPhilosophy; organized Mission Sahashi (selfdefence training worshop for girls), Gynatosav(festival of knowledge) and North Zone Inter-UniversityWomenKabbaddiChampionshipatourcampus.

Salientfeatures:-

■ Is recognized by the UGC and the member ofAssociation of Indian Universities (AIU) and

Association of Commonwealth Universities(ACU).

■ Has been awarded with Auropath GlobalAwards under “Best Upcoming University’and‘BestinSocialService/Impact’.

■ Is well-connected by road to NH1, Rohtak,Sonepat,PanipatandDelhi.

Offers completely safe and secureambienceforfemalestudents.■ Is an Associated Partner of Unnat Bharat

Abhiyan■ Has been awarded with establishment of

National Resource Centre for Philosophy bytheMHRD,Govt.ofIndia.

■ Has established state-of-the-art languagelaboratory(LRC).

■ Trains school and college teachers of Englishthrough its autonomous Staff Training andResearch Institute for Teaching of English(STRITE).

■ Hasimplementedallacademic&examinationreformsrecommendedbyUGClikeSemesterSystem, Credit System, and Continuous &Internalevaluation.

■Has initiated to implementChoiceBasedCreditSysteminall itsacademicprogrammes.■OffersfacilitytojoinNSSandNCC units functioning in theuniversity.■Has established a drivingschool on the universitycampus in collaboration withHero Motocorp & UNDP tooffer skills’ developmentopportunities to universitygirls and rural women fromneighboringvillages.■Provides placementassistance to the meritoriousstudents especially from theprofessional courses. Thecompanies are invited to thecampusforplacement.■Offers 'Earn while Learn'scheme to the meritorious &needystudents.

SpecialCentres:-

■Centre for Indic-AsianStudies(CIAS):BPSMVisthefirst and only university inHaryana to be awardedprestigiousAreaStudyCentreonIndicAsianStudiesofUGCwhichundertakesresearchonissues related to Indo-Asianknowledgesystems.CIAShasoperationalized its dedicatedparticipative website

www.sthaneshwaranidh.ac.inwhichcontainsinformation on various themes pertaining toIndo-Asiancultureandtraditions.

■ Centre for Society University Interface andResearch(CSUIR):CSUIRwasestablishedinAugust 2010 with an aim to bridge thedisconnectionbetweenUniversityandsociety.Itorganizescoursesandactivitieswhichareofdirectrelevancetotheruralcommunityandtoformulate schemes that recover traditionalgood agricultural practices, sustain andconservethevastknowledgereservoirofruralwomen.TheCentreoffersinnovativecoursesinthree core areas viz. Integrated EnergyResourceManagement,MicrofinancePracticesandFolkMedicine.

Human Resocurce Development Centre(HRDC):TheobjectivesofHRDCatBPSMahilaVishwavidyalayaareincognizanceandharmonywith the vision of MHRD and UGC; developingskilled academicians and educators for thegrowthofyoungminds.TheHRDCiscommittedto its vision of providing excellent training &development programme in helpingacademicians to reach their full potential bydeveloping their academic competencies,pedagogical innovation and critical thinkingskills.TeachersfromalloverIndiahavebenefitedby undertaking various courses offered by theHRDC.

Front Line Demonstration Centre (FLDC):Based on Indo Israel project, FLDC has beenestablished by BPSMV in 03 acres. The centreaims at training farmers and women ofneighboring villages in modern techniques offarming which in turn boosts their economicindependence.■ Learning Resource Centre (LRC): The

LearningResourceCentrehassixstate-of-the-artLanguagelaboratoriesequippedwithlatesttechnologicalsoftware,whichhelpsineffective

learning of communication skills, which arecompulsory to learn for all the enrolledstudents. LRC imparts training & guidancefor appearing in International EnglishProficiencyExamination(IEPE)andBusinessEnglish Certificate (BEC). The LRC had theprivilege of hosting American interns inEnglishLanguageteaching.

■ Staff Training and Research Institute forTeaching of English (STRITE): It is theautonomousInstituteofBPSMVforimpartingtraining in effective teaching of English &operationoflanguagelaboratorytoschoolandcollegeteachers.

■ University Placement and Counseling Cell(UPACC ): UPACC provides free placementandcounselingguidancetoallthestudentsoftheUniversityandalsoorganizingplacementdrivesandworkshops.

■ University Centre for Judicial Services(UCJS): UCJS has been established in theUniversity for imparting coaching andguidanceforenteringintojudicialservices.

■ Central Library: The Central Library has astockofapproximately17013books.

Empowering women through educationBhagat Phool Singh Mahila Vishwavidyalaya has been fulfilling the higher educational needs of the rural women

from all across the country.University Created to Empower Women through Education

PROF. SUSHMAYADAVA, PhD,Vice Chancellor

University created to empowerwomen through education

The rural youth, particularly rural girlshave been an underrepresented groupin higher education. Bhagat PhoolSingh Women University (BPSMU) hasbeen consistently fulfilling the highereducational needs of rural womenfrom all across the country. Everyacademic year BPSMU adds to thenumber of students.

BPSMU is a living example ofamalgamation of tradition andmodernity. Seven decades old Gurukul,focusing on the studies of ancientscriptures of Bharat, was upgraded toa University of the modern knowledgesystem. Today, it stands as an icon ofharmonious blend of old and new.

Sanskrit is still a compulsory subject in all combinations of the BA course.BPSMU offers thirty undergraduate and twenty-eight postgraduatecourses. A variety of courses range from Fashion Technology, toInformation Technology to Ayurvedic system of health care. Surely,BPSMU is a modern Gurukul where young girls have the scope to bloominto scientists, technologists, managers, physicians and leaders oftomorrow. Haryana State Higher Education Council invites all youngwomen to be an active partner of learning groups in BPSMU for a brightand prosperous future.

PROF. B.K. KUTHIALA Chairman,

Higher Education CouncilHaryana

Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila VishwavidyalayaKhanpur Kalan (Sonepat) Haryana

(A STATE UNIVERSITY ESTABLISHED BY HARYANA LEGISLATURE Act 31 of 2006& RECOGNISED BY UGC UNDER SECTIONS 2 (f) & 12 (B) OFTHE UGC ACT)

ADMISSION NOTICE (2020-2021)

Salient Features:●FirstWomen University in North India.The only women, rural, multi faculty/discipline, residential university in the country.●E-suvidha to students on portal (like, syllabi download, admit card, examination schedule, academic details etc.)●Networked, pollution free 500 acres of Campus surrounded by serene atmosphere.●Offering innovative, job oriented programmes in various disciplines.●The world class facilities like hostels, classrooms, mess, sports, entertainment, libraries, language labs etc.●Placement assistance provided.●Academic exchange programmes with foreign universities from USA, UK and Korea.●Scholarships offered to meritorious and needy students.●Safe ambience for girls/a campus with strict safety & security norms for Girls.

Onlineapplicationsare invited foradmission to the followingcourses for thesession2020-21from24/7/2020for theUniversityTeaching Departments /Constituent Colleges/institutes/Regional Centres:-● Ph.D. (English, Law, Management, Computer Science & Engineering, SocialWork, Education, Mathematics, Economics)● M.Phil. Education, English, Commerce● PG Courses: M.A.English, M.A. Social Work, M.A. Economics, M.A. History & Archaeology, M.A. Political Science, LLM,

M.B.A, MBA {lateral Entry}, M.Com, MHM, M.Tech in CSE (Network Security), M.Tech Fashion Technology (FunctionalGarments), M.SC (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Geography, Food & Nutrition), M.P.E.S, M.ED, M.A Education

● M.A.Integrated (English)● UG Courses:B.A Hons. (Economics), BA-LL.B, BBA-LL.B, BBA, B.Com.(Hons.), B.H.M., B.P.E.S., B.ED, B.A.M.S., B.A.,

B.SC.Medical,B.SC.Non-Medical,B.SC.HomeScience,B.SC.ComputerScience,B.Pharma&B.Pharma.-LEET(Throughcommon Entrance test conducted by HSBTE or as amended by HSBTE)

● BAMS through centralized counselling on the basis of rank obtained by the NEET (UG) 2020 or as per directions of theGovernment.

● P.G.Diploma inForeignLanguageTeaching(PGDFLT) (French,German,Russian), InsuranceLaws,CyberLaws,HumanRights.

● Diploma in Foreign Language Teaching (DFLT) (French, German, Russian), Diploma in Education (D.Ed), Diploma inAyurvedicPharmacyD.Pharma(Ayu.),DiplomainKayasutraD.K.T.,DiplomainPanchkarmaTherapyD.P.T.,DiplomainYogaScience D.Y.Sc.Diploma of Proficiency in Micro Finance Practices & Women, Diploma of Proficiency in Folk Medicine,Diploma of Proficiency in Cooperative Management

● Advanced Diploma of Proficiency (ADOP) (French, German, Russian), Advanced Diploma of Proficiency in MicrofinancePractices &Women, Advanced Diploma of Proficiency in Folk Medicine

● CertificateofProficiency(COP)(French,German,Russian),CertificateofProficiency inMicroFinancePractices&Women,Certificate of Proficiency in Folk Medicine, Certificate of Proficiency in Cooperative Management, Certificate of Proficiencyin Integrated Energy & Resource Management, Certificate Course in Human Rights.

● RegionalCentreatKharal (Jind) -UGCourses:-B.A.,B.Sc.(NonMedical),B.Com.(Hons.),B.A.inSanskrit (Hons.),PGCourses: - M.A.English, M.A.Political Science

● Regional Centre at Lula Ahir (Rewari) - UG Courses: - B.A., B.Sc.(Non Medical), B.Com.(Hons.)● PG Courses: - M.A.English, M.A.Political ScienceImportant Information:-1. Online registration will commence from 24.7.2020 to 24.8.20202. Admissions to all programmes except M.Phil and Ph.D will be made on merit basis of the qualifying examinations.3. Processing charges for submission of the online admission application is Rs.500/- for General Category and Rs.125/- for

SC/BC Candidates of Haryana only.The prospectus can be downloaded free of cost from the University Websitewww.bpswomenuniversity.ac.in ORhttp://bpsmv.digitaluniversity.ac/

4. Theonlineapplication formsmaybefilledon thewebsite i.ehttp://bpsmv.digitaluniversity.ac/ORGotowww.bpswomenuni-versity.ac.in and click on DIGITAL UNIVERSITY link.Admission Helpline / Enquiry No.9729144411,8059013131,9813527549 or email helpbpsadmission@gmail.com

COME AND JOIN US FOR A BETTER FUTURERegistrar

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