12-07-2022-VAJIRAMRAVI-INDIANEXPRESS.pdf - AWS

SHYAMLALYADAVNEWDELHI, JULY11

INSEPTEMBER2014,ayearafteritrolledintoBengalurutosignalthe start of its cab-hailing serv-ice in India, Uber was served aservice tax notice in Mumbai.This led to a huddle of Uber topexecutives. A PowerPoint pres-entation attached to an emaildatedNovember25,2014,madeit clear that “Authorities wantUbertoopentheirbooks,other-wise, we are facilitating fraud.TheyhavesummonedRG(RyanGraves, then Senior VicePresident, Global Operations atUber) & TK (then CEO TravisKalanick). Penalties and war-rants for arrest are next.” ThisemailwassentbyAxelMartinez,VPandTreasurerof Uber, to thecompany’s topexecutives.This PowerPoint forms part

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

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

TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2022, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THE LION CAPITALPMNarendraModiunveils theofficialemblemof IndiaatthenewParliamentbuildingonMonday.PTI PAGE5

SUKRITABARUAHNEWDELHI, JULY11

ONJULY2,sisters-in-lawVirmati(62) and Prakashi (60) boardedabusfromDelhiandheadedforthe Amarnath Yatra together. Itwas their long-standing dream,said their families. On theeveningof July 8, they calleduptheirfamiliesandtoldthemtheyhadreachedtheshrine,donethe“darshan”, and begun their de-

scent. That was the last timetheir families spoke to them.

The twowomen fromDelhiwereamong the17peoplewho

died in a flash flood that hit acamp near the Amarnath caveshrine, in Ganderbal district ofJammuandKashmir, onFriday.“It was the first time they

had gone to Amarnath. Theywentveryhappily. Itwassome-thing theyhadwantedtodo foraverylongtime.Eklambasapnatha (It was a long-standingdream). Their travel was com-fortable, and they sent us pho-tographs of their journey,” saidVirmati’s husband, Balkishan(68), a retired sewer supervisorat the New Delhi MunicipalCouncil.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

PAGE1ANCHOR

Virmati,PrakashilastspoketotheirfamiliesonJuly8evening

Amarnath trip was dream: Kin of Delhisisters-in-law who died in flash flood

JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

THEWORLD

NEWPRESIDENTNEXTWEEK:LANKASPEAKERPAGE12

TOIgroupsaysrelationship ‘cordial’;Ubersoughtsimilar tie-upselsewhere

SHYAMLALYADAVNEWDELHI, JULY11

ONDECEMBER 31, 2014, threeweeksafterUberwasbannedinDelhi following the rape of awoman passenger by an Uberdriver,TheEconomicTimesEditorsentanemailtoUberco-founderTravisKalanick: “With theDelhigovernment revising its rules toallowUbertoresumeoperations,perhapsJanuarywouldbeagoodtimeforyoutoreviveyourtravelplan… I would urge that youtraveltoNewDelhionJanuary16

and 17, when The EconomicTimes Global Business Summitwilltakeplace...yourinsightswillhelpsettheagendaforpolicyfor-mulation in India and othercountries. Itwill alsoenableyouto acquaint yourself with deci-sion-makers in India.”The same day as this email

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

ARUNJANARDHANANCHENNAI, JULY11

IN A last hurrah, O Panneer-selvam’s supporters used forcetoentertheAIADMKheadquar-tersonMondaymorning,afteraviolentclash.However,hecouldnot stop the inevitable. Soonaf-ter a High Court order in favourof E Palaniswami, the AIADMKgeneral council met at an audi-torium on the outskirts ofChennai to name him interimgeneralsecretary.Theirnextde-cision was to expel Panneer-selvam, or OPS, and his aidesfromtheAIADMK.With almost all district sec-

retaries andMLAs backing him,Palaniswami or EPS is now thesingle-most powerful leader inthe party, holding a post that

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Most states frame draftrules, Centre’s push onrollout of labour codes

VALLABHOZARKARMUMBAI, JULY11

SEVERALSHIVSenaMPswhoat-tended ameeting convened byUddhav Thackeray onMondayat his residence inMumbai “re-quested” him to support NDAcandidateDroupadiMurmu forPresidentandopenthedoortoapossible reconciliationwith theBJP and the breakaway EknathShindefaction,TheIndianExpresshas learnt.

Accordingtopartysources,adecisiononthePresident’selec-tion tobeheldon July18will betaken “in a day or two” andThackerayseemed“positive”ontherequest to supportMurmu.

Sourcessaid13of theparty’s18 Lok Sabha MPs fromMaharashtraandtwoof itsthreeRajya SabhaMPs attended themeeting atMatoshree. At leasteight of them supportedMurmu’scandidatureandapos-sible“patch-up”withtheBJPandtheShindefaction,“consideringthe upcoming elections (for lo-cal bodies) and the party’s fu-ture”, sources said.“Many of us requested a

patch-upwithBJPandShindeasCONTINUEDONPAGE2

AANCHALMAGAZINENEWDELHI, JULY11

WITH THE rollout of the labourcodesgettingdelayedduetothepandemic, renewed delibera-tions areunderwayat thehigh-est levels of government on afreshimplementationschedule,amid divergent views onwhethertopushthroughallfourcodes simultaneously or opt forthemorepracticaloptionofstag-gering them.

Withmostofthestatesreadywith draft rules, the view in theLabourMinistryisconvergingto-wards a “one-go” or simultane-ous implementation of all fourcodes, saidaseniorgovernmentofficial, even as there are con-cernsaboutthetimingoftheroll-out.While early-2023 is beingconsideredafeasibleoption, thefact that it cuts too close to the2024 general elections and thepossible spillover impact of thefarmlaws’debacle isaconcern.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

UNITEDNATIONS’WORLDPOPULATIONPROSPECTS

ESHAROYNEWDELHI, JULY11

INDIA IS projected to surpassChinaas theworld’smostpopu-lous country in 2023, accordingto the27theditionof theUnitedNations’ World PopulationProspects, 2022, released onMonday.In 2022, China remains the

most populous country in theworldwith1,426million,butIndiahas caughtupwith amarginallyless population of 1,412million.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

HARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI, JULY11

GLOBALLIFEexpectancy,whichstood at 72.8 in 2019, “sloweddown...due to the impact of theCovid-19 pandemic” and fell to71yearsin2021,accordingtothelatest UN population report re-leasedonMonday.Thereport,‘WorldPopulation

Prospects 2022: Summary ofResults’, shows that althoughCovid wiped out some of thegainsachievedinlifeexpectancy

atbirthbetween1990and2019,itimprovedbyalmostnineyearsduring this period. By 2050, it isprojected to reach 77.2 yearsworldwide, it says.In 2021, the report says, life

expectancy was higher for fe-males (73.8 years) thanmales(68.4years).“Thisfemalesurvivaladvantage is observed in virtu-ally all regions and countries of

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

OPanneerselvaminChennaionMonday.PTI

ANINDIANEXPRESSINVESTIGATIONWITHTHEINTERNATIONALCONSORTIUMOFINVESTIGATIVEJOURNALISTS

Final fight forADMK officefails, OPSexpelled; EPSgets top post

Global life expectancyfalls after Covid years

String of tax notices to RBIrap to consumer complaints:A long journey of Uber run-ins

CompanyfacesRs827-crservicetaxdemand,ConsumerAuthoritynotice,PILon labour

Facing heat after rape ban,Uber warmed up to TOIgroup, got its investment

New laws soon to reducescope for violation: MoS ITLIZMATHEWNEWDELHI, JULY11

THE‘UBERfiles’investigationhasconfirmed the concerns of theIndiangovernmentthatBigTechhave been using technology togame the system and con-

sumers, but the government isnow determined to bring in“newrulesandlawsthatwillre-ducetheopportunitiesforthemto violate Indian laws or dosomething illegal” said UnionMinisterRajeevChandrasekhar.“It hasbeen fairlyobvious to

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

World population growth rate below1%, India to surpass China next yearGlobalpopulationto touch8billion inNovember;India toreach1,668millionby2050:UNprojections

Fewer years to addabillionITTOOK123years for thepopulation todouble to2bil-lion in1927.

Since then, thenumberofyears takentoaddabillionpeoplehasonlydropped.Thelastbillion,whichwill takethepopulation to8billionlater thisyear,will beaddedin just11years.

World YearPopulation1billion 18042billion 19273billion 19594billion 19745billion 19876billion 19987billion 20118billion 2022Source: United NationsPopulation Fund

E●EXPLAINED

EXPLAINEDPAGE11

DEFERACTIONONDISQUALIFICATIONOFSENAMLAs:SCTOSPEAKER PAGE6

GOVT&POLITICS

THE PERSONWHO BLEWTHEWHISTLE

PAGE11

Shiv Sena MPs meet Uddhav, mostof them want Murmu as President

New Delhi

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY12,2022

Tax noticesofTheUberFiles,obtainedbyTheGuardian and sharedwith theInternational Consortium ofInvestigative Journalists withwhichTheIndianExpresshaspart-neredforthisinvestigation.It stated: “Negotiatewith tax

authoritytheabilitytocollectandremitpaymentsonbehalf of ourdrivers,while limitingour liabil-ity.”Andmentioned the “down-sides” of “collecting and remit-ting” service tax: “Liability shiftstowards Uber;will require fre-quentauditfromtaxauthorities;will have to payhistorical taxesdue; under the wrong model,Uber could be liable for ST fromservicesprovidedbydriversout-sideofUberplatform.”On February 28, 2015, in the

UnionBudgetspeech,thenUnionFinanceMinisterArunJaitleyan-nounced the liabilityof aggrega-tors to pay service tax. And onApril22,2015,Ubersaid,“Ourfarestructure has been revised tocoverservicetaxapplicable.”Currently operating in over

100 Indian cities via five Indiansubsidiaries--holdingcompaniesof four are based in theNetherlands--Uberhashadsev-eral run-inswithauthoritiesandregulators, and has been grap-plingwithcourtcasesanddefaultnotices.On May 17 this year, the

Central Consumer ProtectionAuthority(CCPA)issuednoticetoUberforallegedviolationofcon-sumer rights; there is a demandfromtheintelligencewingof theGSTdepartmentforRs827croreoutstanding service tax (up toJune 2017)which the companyhas challenged in the BombayHighCourt;and, there isaPublicInterestLitigationpendingbeforetheSupremeCourt.TheCCPA,establishedin2020

topromote, protect and enforcethe rights of consumers, hasservednotice toUber, citingsev-eraldeficiencies suchasnotpro-viding a customer care number,notgivingdetailsofthegrievanceofficer,chargingdifferentfaresonthesameroute,andunreasonablelevyofcancellationcharges.Nidhi Khare, Additional

Secretary in theDepartment ofConsumer Affairs andChairpersonoftheCCPA,toldTheIndian Express that the “CCPAanalysed770complaintsreceivedagainst Uber on the consumercomplaint helpline in one year,between April 2021 and May2022,andamongthem,473werefor ‘deficiency in services’ only.”“Wehavegottheirreply.Itisbeingexamined. Further action is inprocess,”Kharesaid.There is aPIL in theSupreme

Courtand itsoutcomecould im-pactUberbusinesses.Itseeksdec-laration of appworkers -- alongwith thoseof other cabaggrega-tors--as“workers”underapplica-blesocialsecuritylawsandexten-sion of benefits, and all gigworkers as “unorganisedwork-ers”and/or“wageworkers.”

ThePIL has been filedby theIndian Federationof App-basedTransportWorkers, amongoth-ers. The Uber India SystemsPrivate Limited (UISPL) is oneofthe respondents in thematterwhichwaslastheardonApril11.Specifically onUber, the PIL

notes: In UK, the Appeal Courtcametoaconclusionthatadriverworking for Uber is a “worker”with a “worker contract”, and isthus entitled to all benefits suchasminimumwages etc; and inFrance, the SupremeCourt hasrecognised the right of anUberdriver to be considered an“Employee”.WhereasinIndia,ac-cordingtothePIL,thecompanyisnot ready to treat the drivers as“workers”. Itnotes thatUberhasalso stopped using the word“partner” in the agreement andnowdefines individualsutilisingtheirappservice forcommercialgainsas“customers”.On March 7 this year, the

BombayHighCourt directed alltaxiaggregatorsincludingUbertoapplyforlicencestoply.ThiswaschallengedbythecompanyintheSupreme Courtwhich orderedstatusquoontheHCdirection--itislistedforhearingonTuesday,July12.Onthetaxfront,therearesev-

eral pending and recently dis-posedofmattersagainstUber.TheUISPL, initsdeclarationfor2020-21 before the Registrar ofCompanies(ROC),statesthatthereis anoutstandingdemandof in-cometaxofRs113.84crorefortheassessmentyear2018-19.Uber’sappeal is pending before theIncomeTaxAppellateTribunal.On September 11, 2018, the

Income Tax Commissioner(Appeals) inMumbai ruled thatUberwasan ‘assessee indefault’and,therefore,liabletocollectandpay TDS of Rs 24.92 crore (for2016-17 and 2017-18), but theIncomeTaxAppellateTribunalinMumbaiturneddownthisrulingonMarch 4, 2021 and declaredthatitwasnotan‘assesseeinde-fault’undertheIncomeTaxAct.Ubergotitsfirstnoticefroma

regulatory body on August 22,2014when theReserve Bank ofIndia(RBI)warnedagainstevad-ing additional authenticationbyfollowingpaymentmodelswhichwere resulting in foreign ex-changeoutflowandviolatingthePaymentandSettlementSystemsAct, 2007 besides the ForeignExchangeManagementAct.It setOctober 31, 2014as the

deadline to complywithnorms.TheRBIwarning stemmed fromacomplaintbyTheAssociationofRadio Taxis onAugust 9, 2014 --KunalLalani,presidentof theas-sociation,declinedtocomment.Thepaymentsystemwassub-

sequently changed. FromDecember1,2014,Uberstoppedtaking credit card payments di-rectlyandtiedupwithPaytmfornecessary technology andclear-ancestoprocesspayments.FromJuly13,2015,Uberagain

started credit cardpayments onits app,with an authentication

processintheappconformingtoRBIguidelines.The communications avail-

able in TheUber Files showthatevenbefore theRBI actedon thecomplaint,publicpolicyadvisorsand public relations giants hadsteppedin.OnAugust11,2014,ManashK

Neog of Chase India, a Delhi-basedpublicpolicyandadvocacyadvisory firm, wrote to MarkFielding,consultantwithFIPRA,aBrussels-based firmwhich ad-visesUberonpolicymatters:“WecanoffertoUbertodealwithRBI(the central bank of India) andother related regulatory bodieshere. This issue can get biggerfromhereforUber.”On August 14, 2014, Neog

wrote to Mark MacGann --MacGannwaswith FIPRA fromMaytoOctober2014dealingwithUber, and then joinedUber onNovember1,2014--listing“regu-latorychallenges”like“Uberisvi-olating foreign-exchangelaws/FEMA”,“Uberiscircumvent-ing the two-stagecredit cardau-thenticationmandatorybytheRBIusing an international paymentgateway”,and“dataprivacyissue”.He “suggestedway forward”

whichincludedthe“needtoworkwithvariousinfluencerslikecivilsociety,NGOs,Consumergroups,industrychambers.”Reached for comment, a

spokespersonforChaseIndiatoldTheIndianExpress:“ChaseIndiais an affiliate partner of FIPRA inIndia. In 2014, Chase India com-pletedabrief onemonthprojectfor FIPRA to provide a policyanalysis and research piece re-gardingrelevantpolicylandscapein India. Chasedidnot engage inanyoutreachtoanyentityorper-sons onbehalf of FIPRAorUbertilldate.Also,weneitherwereen-gaged directly by Uber then oranytime in the future till date.”FIPRAdidnotrespondtoqueriesfromThe IndianExpress for com-ment.AspokespersonforUbersaid,

“WhenUberlaunchedinIndiaal-most a decade ago, no rideshar-ing regulations existed at thattime as the transportation lawsdidnot conceive app-based ridesharing as an option.We havelong championed rules and reg-ulations that reflect changingtechnology and interest of citiesandour customers -- riders anddriversalike.Asacategorydefin-ing company, we applaud andsupport progressive regulatorychange that is good for riders,driversandcities.”Oncustomercomplaints, the

spokespersonsaid,“…Wehavearobust customer complaint re-portingandredressalmechanism.We are proud to be the onlyridesharingapp in India thathasintegrated its systemwith theNationalConsumerHelpline.OurconvergencewithNCHsinceJuly2019hasenabledustoseamlesslyaddress and resolve additionalcomplaints, thatmaynot be re-ceived via our in-app reportingand redressalmechanism, in atimelymanner throughour spe-cialised support escalationdesk.While theConsumerProtectionRules,2020,prescribeonemonthfor resolutionof acomplaint, thetimetakenforresolutionofcom-plaintsreceivedviatheNCHPortalistypicallylessthan72hours.”Ontheemploymentstatusof

drivers, theUber spokespersonsaid,“DriversusingtheUberappareindependentworkers,andarefreetoset theirownhours,workoncompetingplatformsanddrivewhenever theywish. The Indianparliament recently passed intolaw theCode on Social Security,whichprovidesgigworkersben-efitssuchaslife,disabilityandac-cidentinsurance;healthandma-ternitybenefits;aswellasold-ageprotection.Gigeconomycompa-nies,includingUber,arerequiredtocontributefundsfortheseben-efits.Wesupported the creationoftheCodeonSocialSecurity,andarecallingonthegovernmentforits early notification and imple-mentation.”On the issue of tax, the

spokesperson said, “Wecomplywithallapplicabletaxobligationsin India, and continue toworkcloselywiththeauthoritiesincaseofanytaxrelatedqueries.”

Facing heatfrom The Economic Times (it ispublishedbyTheTimesof IndiaGroup),Kalanickwrote tohisas-sociates: “Let’s be sensitive tokeeping a strong relationshipwithToI...ifthereissomethingwecandoforthemthatmakessense,weshoulddoit.”OnJanuary1,2015,thedayaf-

ter his email, Allen Penn,Uber’sthenAsiahead,wrote to topcol-leaguessuggestingthatKalanickdelayhistrip,“lettheairclearfur-therontherape,givingspace forahighersuccessrateongovtandbusinessmeetings” -- Kalanickeventually deferred his trip toIndia.Within threemonths of this

email,partofTheUberFilesinves-tigated by The Indian Express, it

was announced that TimesInternet, the digital arm of theTimesof IndiaGroup,wasmak-ing a "strategic investment" inUber.A report in The Economic

TimesonMarch23,2015said thedealwas "aroundRs 150 crore"andwouldletUber“leveragethereach of assets owned by theTimesGroup,acrossprint,televi-sion as well as 150 millionmonthlyactiveusersondigital.”That sameday, Uber too an-

nounced that the company andTimesInternethave"enteredintoastrategicpartnershiptosupportUber’sexpansioninIndia".Incidentally, thebanonUber

was lifted only on July 8, 2015,when theDelhi High Court setasidetheDelhigovernmentorderdenyingUber’s application for alicence to ply on the Capital’sroads.The December 2014 emails

andtheMarch2015reportintheETformpartofTheUberFiles.Indiawas not the only place

whereUberwaslookingtotieupwithamediacompany.TheWashingtonPost, apart-

nerinthisinvestigation,isreport-ing thatUber "pushed theusualguardrailsforjournalismethicsbyinvitingmedia owners to investinUber,inhopesofenlistingthemtomakehigh-level connectionsandspreadafavorablemessage".An email from Rachel

Whetstone--shewasSeniorVicePresident for Communicationsand Public Policy at Uber fromJune2015toApril2017--stated:“Having (Bild parent companyAxel)Springeronoursideisveryvaluable if we are to makeprogress inGermany... I believetheywillactuallydothingsproac-tivelytohelp.”"Othermedia investorswho

bought stakes inUber includedLordRothermere,whoownstheDailyMailinBritain,AshleyTabor-King,founderof thelargestcom-mercial radio group in Europe,andCarlodeBenedetti,publisherof ItaliannewsweeklyL’Espresso?whomUberexecutivesaskedtohelp make a connection forKalanickwiththen-ItalianprimeministerMatteoRenziin2015,ac-cording to emails. (DeBenedettiacknowledgedhostingseveralofthecompany’sexecutivesfordin-nerathishouseinRomethatyearbutsaidthat“Inevermadelobby-ingoperationswiththemorany-body else.”)," the Post reportstates.Respondingtoquestionsfrom

The Indian Express and TheGuardianon theTimes Internet-Uberdeal,SivakumarSundaram,Chairman,ExecutiveCommittee,TimesofIndiaGroup,inanemail,said,“Attheoutset,werejectallofyour motivated and colouredquestions,whichpresumes thatallegedTimes Internet Limited’sinvestment inUberhadbearingon articles published in TimesGrouppublications.""Wevehementlyopposeyour

attempttomalignus,asaninde-pendentmedia housewhich isunaffiliated to any politicalparty/agendaandhasbeenapil-larof integrity inourrichanddi-versesocietyforclosetotwocen-turies...,”hesaid.“Without going into the spe-

cific allegations about TimesInternet Limited (hereinafter re-ferredtoasTIL),andwithoutprej-udice to our rights and con-tentionswe state that TIL is anindependent companywith itsseparate management. AllInvestmentsmadebythecompa-nies in the group, would be intheir course of business and incompliancewithlawsof Indiaaswellasthecodeofconductappli-cable to all Times groupCompanies.”"Specifically regardingBCCL,

we can confirm that over theyearswehavehad a cordial ad-vertising relationshipwithUberin India.Wehowever categori-cally deny any involvement inUber’s internalaffairsorpolicies,such as theones youhavemen-tioned inyouremail.We furthercategorically deny facilitating orprovidingUberwithany formofpolitical access or promotingchangesinlegislation/regulation.Theseare internalmattersof thesaidcompany,andyoumayreachout to themdirectly in this re-gard,”hesaid."Wecansafelyassureyouthat

thealleged“partnership”youhavereferredtohasnothingtodowithanyunderstandingasallegedandmaybeonly an investment andcooperation exercisewhere ad-vertisementandmarketing sup-port is provided as desired byclientinthenormalcourseofbusi-ness,”Sundaramsaid.TheUberFilesalsorevealthat

Uberpreparedlistsofpoliticians,bureaucratsandthought leadersitcalled“stakeholders”,number-ingover1850 in39countries in-cludingIndia,hopingtoinfluencepeople at the centre of policy-making.OnDecember17,2013,Nikos

Stathopoulos, AccountManagerof Brussels-based public policy

advisoryfirmFIPRA,sentanemailto a law firm employee withcopies to two FIPRA employeesand a group of Uber employeesstating thatUberwas seeking a“list of 4-5 stakeholders in eachcity, fromwhich theywill likelypick3tohavemeetingwith…thedesired stakeholders areusuallynot regulators (e.g. police, trafficauthorities, etc) but rather‘friendly’peoplethatcanhelppro-tect/promoteUber and educateUberaboutthetaxi/for-hiremar-ket.”"These people might be

young, progressive, tech-savvypoliticians, or experiencedformedofficialswhodonothavevestedinterestsinthetaxiindus-try,orprominentfigureswithex-tensiveknowledgeofthesector,”Stathopouloswrote.Underlining that Uberwas

“largely looking for safemeet-ings,” the email alsohada list of“stakeholders” it was “in theprocess of finalizing for India”wherethecab-hailingservicehadbegunoperationsfromBengaluruinAugustthatyear.Reached for comments, a

spokespersonforUber,respond-ing toqueries on the company’srelationshipwithmedia organi-sations,said,"Likemanystartups,Uber sought out strategic in-vestorswhocouldhelpusunder-stand certainmarkets andgrowour business…There has neverbeen an expectation of positiveeditorialcoverageasaresultoftheinvestment. In fact it is fair tosaythatwehavereceivedalotofcrit-icalcoveragefromvariousoutletsof themediagroup."On the ‘stakeholders’ , the

spokesperson said, "Wemeetwith these stakeholders to edu-cate them about our businessmodel, seek tounderstandhowwecanbetter serve theneedsoflocalcommunities,andadvocatefor progressive regulation thatsupports drivers, riders andcities."

MoS ITmost people that big tech plat-formshavebeenusing technol-ogytogamethesystemandcon-sumers both, and have evadedscrutiny by constantly coveringthemselveswith innovations,”Chandrasekhar,Ministerof Statefor Electronics and IT, SkillDevelopment &Entrepreneurship,toldTheIndianExpress.Innovationisimportant;thegovernmentwill continue toencourageaninnovationecosys-tem, but itwill put inplace lawsandrulestoensurethattheinter-net is open, safe, trusted andac-countable,theministersaid.“This isevenmoreimportant

inIndiabecausewehave80croreIndiansusing the internetand inanother two-and-a-half years,120croreIndianswillbeusingtheinternet and technology plat-forms. Therefore, it is importantthatweensure that the internetis safe and trusted andaccount-able for all these consumers,” hesaid.AninvestigationbyTheIndian

Express, incollaborationwiththeInternational Consortium ofInvestigative Journalists (ICIJ) re-vealedthatUberhadusedstealthtechnology tobypass regulators,tappedintothelobbyingnetwork,andaggressivelycutcornersas itdrove through loopholes in lawandregulation.Theminister said itwas “dis-

turbing that the big tech plat-formshaveusedtechnologyandinnovationstoevadescrutinyandbypasslaws.”Hesaidstricterruleswillbeputinplace.“Inthefuture,within new rules and laws, theopportunityofbigtechplatformstoviolateIndianlawsordosome-thingillegalsuchasthiswillnar-row considerably,”Chandrasekharsaid.The new laws would have

“penalising”provisionstoensurethatsuchplatformsareaccount-able”andprotect the interestsofdigitalnagriks,sourcesinthegov-ernmentsaid.“AsthenumberofIndiansus-

ing the internet grows and thedigitaleconomythrives,thepolicyobjectivesofthegovernmentareextremely clear. The laws andruleswillensurethattheinternetremains open, it is safe andtrusted,andtheinternetandtechplatforms are accountable toIndiandigitalconsumers.There-cent steps taken by the govern-mentincludingcybersecuritydi-rections, new IT rules, and aproposed new digital law areaimed at ensuring these objec-tives for the citizens andusers,”Chandrasekharsaid.

PopulationThe global population will

reach8billiononNovember 15,2022,more than three times thepopulationof2.5billionin1950.The findings come in the

backdropofadecreaseinfertilityratesacrosstheglobe.TheUNre-portfindsthatin2020,forthefirsttimesince1950,therateofpopu-lationgrowthfellbelow1percentperyearanditisprojectedtocon-

tinue to slow in the next fewdecades and through the endofthiscentury.Thepopulationof Chinawas

1,144million in 1990 comparedwithIndia’sat861millionthen.TheUNprojectionssaythatby

2050, India’s population willreach1,668million,farexceedingChina’s declining population at1,317million.Theglobalpopula-tionby2050wouldhavetouched9.7billion.Theworld’s twomost popu-

lousregionsin2022wereEasternandSouth-EasternAsia,with2.3billion people, representing 29percentoftheglobalpopulation,and Central and SouthernAsia,with 2.1 billion (26 per cent).ChinaandIndiaaccountedforthelargest populations in these re-gions,withmore than1.4billioneach in 2022, says the report.Central andSouthernAsia is ex-pectedtobecomethemostpop-ulousregionintheworldby2037.ThelatestUNprojectionssug-

gest that the global populationcould growtoaround8.5billionin 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and10.4billionin2100.In India, where National

FamilyHealth Survey5 releasedlastyearfoundthatIndiaattaineda Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 2.0forthefirsttime,lessthanthere-placementlevelof2.1,andfallingfrom a TFR of 2.2 in NFHS 4.Increased use of contraceptivemethods,spacingofpregnancies,access tohealth care andan im-petusprovidedtofamilyplanningcontributed to the decrease, in-cludingincreasingwealthanded-ucation.Whilefertilityrateshavebeen

declining,sohavemortalityrateswith increasedaccess tohealth-care and advances inmedicine.Worldwide, persons aged 65yearsorover,outnumberedchil-dren under 5 years for the firsttime in 2018. This reduction ofprematuremortality for succes-sive generations, reflected in in-creased levels of life expectancyatbirth,hasbeenadriverofpop-ulationgrowth,theUNhassaid.Globally, life expectancy

reached72.8yearsin2019,anin-crease of almost 9 years since1990.Furtherreductionsinmor-talityareprojectedtoresult inanaverage longevityof around77.2years globally in 2050 and theshare of the global populationaged 65 years or above is pro-jected to rise from10per cent in2022 to 16 per cent in 2050. By2050, thenumberof persons65years andabove are expected tobemore than double that of 5-year-olds and the same as 12-year-olds.“Following adrop inmortal-

ity,populationgrowthcontinuessolongasfertilityremainsathighlevels.Whenfertilitybeginstofall,theannualrateofgrowthstartstodrop,”saysthereport.“Thesenumbersarenotdras-

ticallydifferentfromtheUN'sear-lier projections. The2019WorldPopulationProspects report hadsaid that Indiawould overtakeChinaby2027. So,weknewthatIndiawasgoingtoovertakeChinain amatter of a fewyears. If welook at it over the last 50 years,India’sgrowthratestoodat2.3percent in1972,whichhasdroppeddowntolessthan1percentnow.Inthisperiod,thenumberofchil-dreneachIndianwomanhasdur-ingher lifetimehas comedownfrom about 5.4 to less than 2.1now.Thismeansthatwehaveat-tained theReplacement FertilityRate, atwhich a population ex-actlyreplacesitselffromonegen-erationtothenext.Usageofmod-erncontraceptivesisrisingacrossthe country and thedesired fer-tility rate for all communities inIndiaisless2,accordingtothelat-estNationalFamilyHealthSurveydata,” says Poonam Muttreja,Executive Director, PopulationFoundationof India.

Life expectancytheworld.Thefemaleadvantageinlifeexpectancyatbirthrangedfrom7yearsinLatinAmericaandthe Caribbean to 2.9 years inAustralia andNewZealand,” itsays. The report shows that thegap in global life expectancy atbirthbetweenmalesandfemales,which shrank in the last threedecadesacrosssomeregions, in-creasedto5.4yearsin2021from5.2yearsin2019.

Labour codesThe streamlining of labour

lawshasbeenaworkinprogress,with the Centre notifying fourbroad labourcodes toreplace29sets of labour laws: TheCodeonWages, 2019; The IndustrialRelations Code, 2020; TheCodeonSocialSecurity,2020;andTheOccupational Safety,Health andWorkingConditionsCode,2020.Someofthekeyfeaturesofthe

proposed labour codes includebringing in anationalminimumwage,wideningofcoverageofso-cialsecuritytocoverinformalandgig/platformworkers,providinggreaterflexibilitytoemployersinhiringdecisionswithoutgovern-

ment permission by raising thethreshold for requirement of astandingorder–rulesofconductforworkmenemployedinindus-trial establishments – from100workersto300workers.With labour being a concur-

rentsubject,boththeCentreandstates have to frame laws andrules.While Parliament clearedthefourlabourcodesin2020,andthe Centre pre-published thedraftrulesforallfourcodes,somestategovernmentsareyettocom-pletetheprocess.In the stateswhere thedraft

rules are pending,most are re-lated to The Code on SocialSecurity and TheOccupationalSafety, Health and WorkingConditionsCode.InWestBengal,draftrulesarependingforallfourlabour codes; inRajasthan, draftrulesarependingforthreelabourcodes. Andhra Pradesh,Meghalaya and Nagaland areamongtheotherstateswherethedraftrulesarepending.Sincelastyear,however,states

havemadeconsiderableprogressindraftingrules.“Thattime,only10-11stateshaddraftedrulesforthe labour codes; now30 stateshave completed forWageCode,26forIndustrialRelationsand24each for Occupational Safety,Health andWorkingConditionsandSocialSecurityCode.Sinceit'sa concurrent subject, stateshavetodotheirshare,onecannotforceit.Thenitwon’tgetimplementedproperly.Industryandunionrep-resentativeshavealsobeenaskedto convey their feedback on thedraftrulesinstates,sothatproperconsultations happen at thisstage,”saidtheofficial.“Itwasdeliberatedwhetherit

should be implementedphase-wise.ApartofthediscussionwasthattheWageCodeandtheSocialSecurity Code could be broughtfirst,butthenitwasfeltthatiftheremainingtwoarenotbroughtinsimultaneously, their turnmaynot come. The sensewithin thegovernment was whether itshouldbestaggered,butthemainconcernwas that thismaypavetheway for only two codes, andnot result in the rollout of theothertwo.Ithastobewholesome,for bothworkers and the indus-try,”saidtheofficial.The government is learnt to

havehelddiscussionswithtradeunionsand industry representa-tives to ascertain thedifficultiesexpectedfromtheproposedroll-out of the labour codes. Duringthediscussions,itwaspointedoutthattheCentremayhavemissedthe “ideal time” for rollout – in2019, the first yearof the secondtermof theBJP-ledgovernment.Sometradeunionsarealsolearnttohave approached thegovern-mentforfurtherconsultationsonsomeissues,whicharelikelytobeconsideredbythegovernment.

ADMKbeforehimwasoccupiedonlybyMGRamachandran, JayalalithaaandVKSasikala.Since Jayalalithaa’sdemise in

December2016,OPSandEPShadbeen running theAIADMKas adual leadership.OPSwas theco-ordinator,withEPSacceptingtheroleofjointcoordinatorashewasalsoCM.Last month, the EPS group

movedtoendthesystemforsin-gle leadership, citing a variety ofreasons, including EPS’s relativepopularity and the AIADMK’sfalling fortunes, culminating inMonday’sdevelopments.It was around 8 am on

Monday that OPS andmen, re-portedlyaftermuchdeliberation,left his residence onGreenwaysRoad tomake their way to theAIADMKheadquartersinthecity.At the time, EPS and supporterswere headed for the generalcouncilmeeting. AfterOPSmenreached theAIADMKheadquar-ters, there was a violent con-frontationbetweenthetwosidesinvolvingexchangeofblowsandstone-pelting.TheOPSgroupofmorethana

thousandmen,mostly fromhisnative Theni andThanjavur, thestronghold of his supporter RVaithilingam,managed to forcetheirwayinshoutingsloganscall-ingEPSa“thief”.Theywentontodamage EPS posters and flexboards inside,beforetheMadrasHighCourt ruled in favourof theEPS side, allowing theAIADMKgeneral councilmeeting to pro-ceedastheyhadthemajoritysup-port.One of the first resolutions

movedatthegeneralcouncilwastodissolve theparty’s dual lead-ership system. The fourth estab-lished an interimgeneral secre-tarypost,thefifthdesignatedEPSas the interimgeneral secretary,evenasJayalalithaaremains‘per-manent general secretary’, asnamedafter her death. EPSwasalso empowered to administerthepartyuntilageneralsecretaryelectionwasheldinfourmonths.In the end, a decisionwas takento dismiss OPS and his aidesVaithilingam,JCDPrabhakar,andManojPandian,withOPSaccused

of collaboratingwith the DMKgovernment to pursue casesagainstAIADMKleaders.DindigulSrinivasanwasnom-

inated treasurer of theAIADMK,apositionpreviouslyheldbyOPS.NathamViswanathan,who

hadbeenaninfluentialelectricityminister inJayalalithaa’sgovern-ment andhad supportedOPS inthe 2017power tussle, accusedhim of having “a cruel face”knownonly to those close tohisteam. Senior leader K PMunusamysaidOPShadbeenin-stalledby “one family”, referringtoSasikala.In his address to the general

councilafterbeingnamedinterimgeneral secretary, EPS saidOPShadnotsacrificedanythingforthepartyandcalledhima“backstab-ber”. “When thismatter (singleleadership)firstarose,ourseniorleaders spokewith him severaltimes.Wepleadedforhispermis-sion for single leadership for theparty’s future. Whenever weaskedhim,heclaimedthatheal-ways had to make sacrifices.What have you givenup for thesakeof theparty?”EPSsaid.Evenastheproceedingswere

goingon,theOPSgroupwasspot-ted loading files intovehicles. Aspolice finally landed, the OPSgroup threatenednot to leave atleast until the evening, butweretoldby thegovernment that theRevenueDepartmentwould betakingpossessionofthepartyof-fice.AfterOPSfinallyleft,revenueofficerssealedtheoffice.

AmarnathBalkishansaidhislastconver-

sationwithhiswifewasataround5:30pmonFriday. “She toldmetheywerewell, and theywerecoming down from the shrine.She said itwas raining a lot, andtheywere getting soaked, buteverythingwasfine.WhenItriedto call her later, I could not getthrough,”hesaid.Whennews of a cloudburst

neartheAmarnathshrinebegantocomein,thefamiliesstartedtopanic.“Our localSHOgotsomecor-

respondence andhe sent somepeopleoverontheeveningofJuly9 to informus that theremaybesomebadnews.Wewent to thepolicestationandtheytoldusthatthe bodieswere coming in, andtheymayormaynot be amongthe dead. My mother was notamong the first set of bodieswewere shown, but shewas in thesecond set,” said Sanjeev (40),Prakashi'sson.Bothwomen lived in neigh-

bouringhouses in anarrow laneinMadangir,inSouthDelhi.“Theywere very close, ever sincemymother gotmarried... They'vebeen living in the same lane alltheseyears,”saidSanjeev.Prakashihadgoneonpilgrim-

ages to Jwala Mata Mandir(HimachalPradesh)andKalighat(West Bengal), andVirmati hadbeen to theVaishnoDevi shrine(JammuandKashmir), but thiswastheirfirsttimegoingonapil-grimagetogether.“Media reports said the

weather was good, and therewasn'tmuch to fear at this time.The peoplewhoorganise thesepilgrimages also assuredus thatif therewas any chance of theweather taking a bad turn, theywould stopwhere theywere. Itrainsfromtimetotime,butnoneofuseverthoughtthatsomethinglike thiswould happen so sud-denly,”saidSanjeev.Both the women have two

school-goinggrandchildreneach.OnMonday, Chief Minister

ArvindKejriwalvisitedthefami-lies andannounced financial aidofRs10lakhforeach.

Sena MPswehadanaturalalliancewiththeBJPandit'sourideologicalally.He(Thackeray)didnotcommentonitbutsaiditwillbeconsidered,”aseniorpartyfunctionarysaid.“There was bitterness be-

tween Sena andBJP, and the re-bellion increased it. But if thepartyextendssupporttoMurmu,thedoorforreconciliationwillbeopenedand therewill be anop-portunity tobegintheprocessofpatchingupandestablishingare-lationshiponceagain,” the func-tionarysaid.SourcessaidthefiveMPswho

werenot presentwere Shinde'sson Shrikant Shinde, BhavanaGawali,whoisundertheEDscan-ner, Sanjay Jadhav, SanjayMandlik andHemant Patil. TheSena's loneMP fromDadra andNagarHaveli,KalabenDelkar,wasalsonotpresent.AccordingtoSenafunctionar-

ies,Jadhav,MandlikandPatilcon-veyedtotheThackeraycamplaterthat they could not attend themeetingdueto“someissues”.The Sena's Rajya SabhaMPs

Sanjay Raut and PriyankaChaturvediwerealsopresent.ThethirdRajyaSabhaMP,AnilDesai,“could not attend as hewas inDelhi”,saidsources.

FULLREPORTSONwww.indianexpress.com

FROMPAGEONE

Contact for Advt. Booking: M/s Friends Publicity Service

(M): 9212665841, 9212008155

Contact for Advt. Booking: M/s Friends Publicity Service

(M): 9212665841, 9212008155

EXPRESS EDUCATION

New Delhi

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY11

THE INVESTIGATION in thedeath of a 45-year-oldDTCem-ployeehasrevealedthathiswife,ex-wifeand21-year-olddaugh-terhadallegedlybeenplanningthe murder for the past threeyears. The probe also revealedthat the ex-wife and daughtersentmoney to the victim’s cur-rentwife to “plan thehit”.Sanjeev Kumarwas gunned

down by an assailant while hewasheadinghomewithhiswife

and their 9-year-old son on July6. Delhi Police have arrested hiswife Najma (28), ex-wife Geeta(44)andherdaughterKomal(21)for allegedly planning themur-der and hiring a contract killer.Thewomenwere caught aftertheinvestigatingteamrecovereda deleted photo of the victim’sbikefromhiswife’sphone,whichled probe officers to concludethat the photo had been sharedwithacontractkiller.“Theyhadbeenplanning for

threeyearsbutittookthemtimeto communicate andbuild trust.Najma first got in touch with

Geetaandsharedhowshewasal-legedlybeingabusedandbeatenup. Geeta told her he used to dothesametoher,”saidtheofficer.Overthenextthreeyears,the

women secretly planned themurder bymaking calls to eachother and discussing ideas.SeniorofficerssaidGeetawouldsend money and also gave aphone to Najma as she did nothaveone. “Najmahidthephoneat her neighbour’s place. Shewouldsecretlygoeverydayandmessage Geeta about Kumar’sactivities.Thewomenspokereg-ularly and eventually made a

plan to kill Kumar and take hisproperty. They started lookingfor a contract killer and localgangsters,” addedtheofficer.DCP(Southeast)EshaPandey

hadearliersaidthatNajmamis-led the police by alleging thatKumarhadatiffwithotherDTCworkers and some of themhadthreatened toshoothim.“The women savedmoney

andaskedtheirparents forhelpon thepretext of clearing loans.They contactedNajma’s cousin,who helped them find a con-tract killer for Rs 15 lakh,” saidanofficer.

For more details and to apply, visit:

www.dseu.ac.in/womenworks-programme/

empowering women entrepreneurs

Applications are invited from professionals committed to making

a real life impact in the lives of women

FOLLOWING ROLES ARE OPEN:

Fellows (Women Only), Consultants,

Associate Consultants, Project Head,

Communications Manager, Graphic Designer

and Video Editor.

LASTDATETOAPPLY

31st July, 2022

The Women Works

Programme will promote

women entrepreneurship

in Delhi

Under this programme

women will receive

handholding support to start

and scale up their business

The team of professionals

hired will form the backbone

of the progamme and guide

women in their

entrepreneurial journey

Directorate of Training and Technical Education, Government of NCT of Delhi

P R O G R A M M E

DIP/Shabdarth/D/0056/22-23

ARNAVCHANDRASEKHARNEWDELHI, JULY11

A 22-YEAR-OLDmanwas shotdead on suspicion of theft, al-legedly by a security guard at aconstruction site where workon the Regional Rapid TransitSystem (RRTS) is underway, inShahdaraonSundaynight. Theguard has been arrested, saidpolice.Police said the accused,

Rajender Singh (46), found thevictim, Ashish, and his friend,Kunal (18), roaming inside thepremises and allegedly fired atthemwithhissingle-barrelgun.ThepelletshitAshishinthefaceandchest.Acasehadbeenregis-teredunderIPCsection304(cul-pable homicide not amountingtomurder).Police said they received in-

formationat9.51pmthatAshishhad been brought to HedgewarHospitalbyhismother,wherehewas declared dead on arrival.Police said Kunal told them thetwohadgonetotheconstructionsite at CBD ground to steal ironrods and that a security guardhadshotAshishwhiletheywerecutting througha tinshed.“The guard has no criminal

history. He claims he had firedthe gun once in the air and alsoissued a verbal warning.Whenthe two did not heed hiswarn-ing, he fired at them.He said heaimed at the legs of the de-ceased.However,sincetheshedwas at a lower elevation, thepellets from the weapon hithim and killed him,” said DCP(Shahdara)RSathiyasundaram.Ashish’smother, Geeta, and

Kunal rushed him to the hospi-tal.Shesaid:“Whenhewasleav-

ingthehouseonSundayaround7pm,heaskedmetomakesomerotis fordinner.Hesaidhewouldbring dalwhen he returned...Kunal toldmemysonhadbeenshotand I rushedto thesite.Wetook him to the hospital. I don’tknowhow long he lay bleedingbefore Igot there.”Ashish, who had studied up

to Class 9, did odd jobs and hadalso worked as a clothes shopsalesman, hismother said. ThefamilylivesinNewSanjayAmarColony inShahdara.Kunal’s father Reshampal, a

labourer,said:“Hehadgoneoutwithhisfriend...policehavenowcalledhimtocourtasawitness.We have not been givenmuchinformationso far.”The National Capital

RegionalTransportCorporation,which is heading the Delhi-MeerutRRTSproject,saidithademployed a security agency toguard thesite. “The incident in-volved a guard employedby anexternal agency. This is a lawandordercaseandlaw-enforce-ment agencies will take neces-sary action as per prevalentrules and procedures,” said anNCRTCspokesperson.

ATRRTSCONSTRUCTIONSITE

Thevictim,Ashish(22)

Guard ‘shoots’man dead onsuspicion oftheft, arrested

DTC staffer’s murder: Probe reveals wife,ex-wife kept in touch for 3 yrs to form plan

Noida: Meat, liquor shopson kanwar route to be shutEXPRESSNEWSSERVICENOIDA, JULY11

THENOIDA administration hasinstructed the closure of meatandliquorshopsalongallroutesof the Kanwar Yatra in the dis-trict, which is scheduled to be-gin Thursday. The decisionwastaken in ameeting held on July8 to oversee preparations forEid-al Adha, Shivratri and theKanwar Yatra, which washeaded by District Magistrate

Gautam Budh Nagar Suhas LYand attended by officials ofNoidaPolice,theadministrationandvariousdepartmentsinclud-ing theelectricitydepartment.Accordingtoofficials,theDM

instructed that no illegal meatandliquorshopshouldbeoper-atedontheKanwarrouteandforthis, anactionplanshouldbe fi-nalised.TheDMalsosaidamas-sive checking campaign shouldbe conducted during the yatraand that no one should be ha-rassedduring this, theyadded.

THECITY 3WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,JULY12,2022

New Delhi

4THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY12,2022

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Yemeni couple claimhospital fleeced themover son’s treatment,cops told to respond

SOCIAL MEDIA GIANT VS BENGALURU CAKE SHOP

Facebook gets restraining order from HC against Facebake

71 monumentsto get facelift,says Sisodia

SpiceJet chairmanfaces FIR in Gurgaon,company calls it bogus

NEWDELHIONTOPAT94.21%

ANONNADUTTNEWDELHI,JULY11

DESPITE THE government’s on-goingHarGharDastakcampaign2.0, only theNewDelhi districthas completed two-dose vacci-nationcoverageinover90%ofthepopulation (assuming that thenumber of peoplewhohave re-ceived their first dose is the totaleligiblepopulationofthedistrict).Therearethreedistrictsthathavebeenabletoachievebetween85%and90%coverage, fourthathaveachieved 80% to 85% coverage,twowithcoveragebetween75%and 80%, and one district withcoverage between70% and75%,according to data fromgovern-ment’sCoWINportal.The NewDelhi district has

consistently been the best per-formerwhen it comes to Covid-19vaccination,with94.2%seconddosecoverageatpresent.Thedis-trict is also the best performerwhen it comes to precautiondoses,withalmost18.9%ofthosewhogottheirfirstdosehavingre-

ceived their second one. To besure, children between the agesof12and17yearswhohavealsoreceivedtheirfirstdosearen’tyeteligibleforthethirdone.“The district has one of the

best coverage of the precautiondoseamongfrontlineworkersaswell. There aremanyArmyper-sonnel in the district who havetaken their shot, however, thecoverageofthethirddoseamongfrontlineworkers has beenpoorinotherdistricts,” saidanofficialfromDelhi’shealthdepartment.Following New Delhi are

SouthwestDelhiwith89.8%cov-erage,EastDelhiwith88.5%cov-erage,andWestDelhiwith88.4%coverage,accordingtodatafromCoWIN. Interestingly, theWestdistrict along with the South,whichhascoverageof83.36%forthe seconddose, are amongdis-trictswiththehighestprecautiondose coverage as per the data.Around 12.3% of thosewho re-ceivedtheirfirstdoseintheWestdistrict and11.96%of thosewhodidintheSouthdistricthavebeengiventheirthirdprecautiondose.

The third precaution dose isofferedfreetopeopleovertheageof 60 years, healthcareworkers,and frontline workers by theUnion healthministry. The oth-ers have to get it on payment atprivate centres inmost states,however theDelhi governmenthasmadeprecautiondosefreefor

adults helping in increasing thecoverage.Theuptakeof thethirddose hadbeen slow since itwasopenedinJanuarythisyear.The coverage of the second

dosestandsat81.7%inShahdara,81.12%inNorthDelhi,and80.24%in Northwest Delhi. When itcomestoprecautiondoses,North

Delhi has been the worst per-formerwith only 4.6% of thosewhohavegottheirfirstshothav-ingreceivedtheirthirdone.An official from the

Northwestdistrictsaid,“Oursec-onddosecoverageishigherthanthis. The lowerproportion is be-causewe saw125% coverage ofthe first dose; your data getsrecorded at the site of your firstvaccine. However, to increasecoverage further, we are goingdoor to door and immunisingwhoever is due for adose. In theprevious round of theHar GharDastakcampaign,wehadalistofbeneficiarieswhowere due andweweregoingjusttothem.”The official added, “Other

than that, our focus is no longervaccine wastage. So, we haveaskedcentrestoopenavialevenif there are 4-5beneficiaries at acentre.However,wehaveestab-lishedconnectionsbetweencen-tressotheycanbringbeneficiar-iestogethertoreducewastage.”The coverage of the second

dosestandsat79.9%inNortheastDelhi,77.12%inCentralDelhi,and

70.5%inSoutheastDelhi,accord-ingtodataonCoWIN.An official from Northeast

Delhisaid,“Ourseconddosecov-eragein18-pluspopulationisac-tuallyover80%; the issue iswithvaccinationof childrenbetween12 and14 years.Whenwe con-ductedschool-basedcampspre-viously, many did not take theshotbecause itwasclose to finalexaminations. Even among the15-17 age group, just over 70%havereceivedtheseconddoseinourdistrict.So,nowweareagainconducting school-basedcampstoincreasecoverage.”The official added that the

vaccination, especially the thirddose,hasbeenlowamongthosebetween the ages of 18 and 59years.“Healthisnotapriorityforthepeople,sonotmanyarecom-ingtotakethevaccine.Theeager-ness is also low among this agegroup because they no longerneed vaccination certificates toenterplaces.Inthisagegroup,weare coordinatingwith residentwelfare associations to organisecamps,” theofficialsaid.

Theprojecthasbeendesignedtoprovidesignal-freeandseamlessconnectivitybetweenGurgaonandSohna

22-km-long Sohnaelevated road nowopen to the public

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEGURGAON,JULY11

THE 22-KM-LONG Sohna ele-vatedroadwasopenedMondayandisexpectedtocuttraveltimeand provide signal-free andseamless connectivity betweenGurgaon and Sohna. It will alsoconnecttotheDelhi-Mumbaiex-pressway through an inter-changeatAlipur.The project has two parts.

The first package— an 8.94-kmelevated section from SubhashChowk to a point beyondBadshahpur —was opened onMonday. The second12.72-km-longstretchfromBadshahpurtoSohnawasopenedonApril1.Union Minister for Road

Transport and Highways NitinGadkari announced on Twitterthat the highway has beenopenedfortraffic.“Theprojectfor22 km length Gurgaon SohnaNational Highwayhas been de-veloped to six-lane access con-trolledcorridorwithanaggregateelevatedsectionofabout7kmata capital investment of about Rs2,000crore.Forfacilitatingmove-ment of local traffic, three-laneservice roads have been con-structedonbothsides.Thehigh-wayisbeingopenedfortrafficto-day. This section would alsoprovideconnectivitytoDelhiandGurgaonthroughDelhi-Mumbaiexpressway,”hesaid.Gadkariwas supposed to in-

augurate theproject formallyonMonday,but itwaspostponed.Last month, the National

Highways Authority of India(NHAI) cleared a proposal to al-lowtwomoreaccesspointsnearSubhash Chowk and Jail RoadnearBhondsiforeaseofaccesstovehiclescomingfromtheservice

lane.AnNHAIofficial,requestinganonymity, said the road wasopened in the afternoon to en-sure ease of commute, addingthat onewill be able to go fromGurgaon to Sohna now in 20minutes.Hesaidthat inthenextphaseoftheproject,a24-lanetollplaza,with12lanesoneachside,will comeuponthehighway.Construction work for the

project started in 2018, withwork expected to be completedwithin 30 months initially.Successive lockdownswith theonset of the pandemic and banonconstructionduetoaspikeinair pollution had caused delays.Theprojectwas further delayedaftera40-metrespineoftheroadcollapsed near Sector 48 inAugust 2020. The deadlinewasrevisedto June30,2022.

Dwarka expressway tobe operational in 2023Gadkari said theDwarka ex-

pressway, also known as theNorthernPeripheralRoad,whichisbeingdevelopedasthefirstel-evated urban expressway inIndia,willbeoperationalin2023.In a series of tweets, he said

theexpresswaywillreducepres-sure on the Delhi-Gurgaon ex-pressway (part of Delhi-Jaipur-Ahmedabad-MumbaiarmoftheGoldenQuadrilateral) and arte-rial roads that experience trafficcongestion, primarily from thecommutersofWestDelhi.TheMinister said theproject

plays a pivotal role in the planto decongest Delhi. “Once theDwarkaExpresswayiscompleted,itwouldprovidedirect access toupcoming India InternationalConvention Centre in Sector 25ofDwarkaandalsoprovidealter-nate connectivity to IGI Airportthroughshallowtunnel,”hesaid.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,JULY11

THEDELHIHigh CourtMondayordered Delhi Police torespondtoapetitionallegingthatMax Super Speciality HospitalPatparganjandaninterpreteras-signed to a Yemeni couple andtheirchild,whowastreatedatthehospitalinAprilandMay,fleecedthem andwithheld their pass-ports, preventing them fromre-turningtotheircountry.Taking note of a complaint

sent by Yemen’s embassy inIndia toDelhiPolice lastmonth,Justice Yashwant Varma askedSHOMadhuVihar torespondtothepetitionandlistedthematterforhearingonJuly15.“Thecourtalso takescognizanceof seriouscomplaintwhichhasbeenmadeby the Embassy of the RepublicofYemenonJune10,2022,”saidthe court, while asking for thestatusof thecomplaint.MahfoodhQasemAliAmerAl

Garadihassoughtadirectionforreturnofpassportsofhiswifeandinfantson.Hehasalsoprayedforconstitutionofamedicalboardtoascertainpresentmedicalcondi-tionofhischild,whohasbeenop-eratedtwiceatthehospital.Duringthehearing,acounsel

representingthehospitalsubmit-ted that it is not in possessionofthepassports.Thecourtobservedthat it was not clear whetherpassportshavebeenwithheldbyhospitalorinterpreter.Thecoun-sel representing the petitionersaidtheinterpreterwasassignedbythehospital.Thecounsel rep-

resentinghospital saidshe isnotanemployee andhad first takenthemtosomeotherhospital.The court observed: “Don’t

worry,wewill fix yourmedicaltourism.” When the hospitalcounsel submitted that they’renot even charging for the cab,JusticeVarmaaskedwhyitwouldchargeforacabwhenitwastak-ing 7,500 dollars frompatient’sfamily. “Youareperforminga lotof surgeries. Perform them tillFriday,”quippedthecourt.In the complaint sent by the

embassytoMaxhospitalonJune10,itwasallegedthatthepatientwastobetreatedwithestimatedcostof7,000-7,500USdollarsbuthis parents have beenmade topaydoubletheamount.Thecom-plaint alleged that the hospitaland interpreter Lubna Alysed(LubnaMohammad)didnotpro-vide bills for the same, and thepassportshaven’tbeenreturned.According to the complaint,

the hospital, in an earlier corre-spondence, had confirmed thatAlysedwill be blacklisted sinceshe had allegedly cheated an-otherYemenipatientearlier.TheYemen embassy also had sent acomplainttopoliceinthisregard.The petition states the child

was suffering froma congenitaldefectandthefamilytravelledtoIndia inApril forthetreatment.Thepetitionallegesthatpass-

portswere taken onMay 17 onthe pretext of formalities. Itwasthenthatthefamilytookthemat-ter to the embassy. After followup by the embassy and family,some bills were given in June,readsthepetition.


IN AN order on a suit filed byMeta Platforms, which ownsFacebook, the Delhi High Courthaspermanently restrained theowner of a Bengaluru-basedcake shop fromusing the name‘Facebake’ or ‘Facecake’ or anyother Facebook trademarks foritsproductsandservices.Justice Navin Chawla also

saidtheshopownerwilldeliverall finished and unfinishedma-terial, including locks, signage,cards, stationary, accessories,

packaging, labelsandotherma-terial bearing the ‘Facebake’marks or anymark deceptivelysimilar to Facebook, toMeta forthe purpose of erasure or de-struction.Thecourtalsoawardednom-

inal damages of Rs 50,000 infavour of Meta and asked theshopownertopaythecostofthesuit to the socialmedia giant. Itsaid that though there is somedistinction between themarksof theMeta and the defendant,theoverallvisualrepresentationadoptedbythedefendantclearlydepicts “themala fide intent” inobtaining unfair advantage by

the use of marks similar to thatofMeta.“Itcanleadtoanunwarycon-

sumer being at least interestedin takingnoteof thedefendantsas having somekindof connec-

tionwith theplaintiff. Themalafide intent of the defendants isalso evident from the fact thatupon the knowledge of the ad-interiminjunctionpassedbythisCourt, the defendants changedthe mark from ‘Facebake’ to‘Facecake’, thereby changingonly one alphabet, however,chose not to appear before thisCourt to defend the suit in spiteof service,” reads theorder.Meta Platforms had in 2020

filed the suit against NoufelMalol, the owner of ‘Facebake’,for a permanent injunction torestrain him from using themark ‘Facebake’, the website

www.facebake.in and relatedemail IDs. The court, inNovember 2020, passed an in-terimorderinfavourofMetaandconfirmed the order in January2021, since no one appeared onbehalf of the defendants. Metathroughanapplication laterap-prised the court thatMalol hasincorporated a company by thename of ‘Ehrlich Foods andBeverages Pvt Ltd’ which haspreferred a trademark applica-tion for registration of a decep-tively-similar mark ‘Facecake’.SincenooneappearedforMalolor the company, the court pro-ceededex-parte in thecase.

MetahadfiledthesuitagainstFacebake’sowner in2020

TAKE COVERPeopleseekshelter fromtherain inthecityonMonday.Delhiwitnessed lightrainandthundershowers,andthemaximumtemperaturestoodat36.9degreesCelsiuswhile theminimumwas27.1degreesCelsius.Anil Sharma

PAVNEETSINGHCHADHAGURGAON,JULY11

GURGAONPOLICEhave filed anFIR against the chairman andmanaging director of SpiceJetLimited, Ajay Singh based on acomplaintbyaGurgaonresident.IntheFIRregisteredonJuly7,

the complainant, Amit Arora, aconsultant in theaviationsector,claimed that around2016 at thetimeof its takeover, SpiceJetwasin dire financial difficulty. “... thecompany required an overhauland financial restructuring... theaccused approached the com-plainant to salvage thesituation.In lieu of the same, hepromisedto transfer... 10,00,000 shares tothe complainant... The com-plainant provided his servicessuchaspresentingthecaseofre-vivalandrestructuringinfrontofall authorities/government...,”statedthecomplainantintheFIR.The complainant claimedhe

requestedSinghtotransfersharesaspromised, buthe insteadpro-videdadepositoryinstructionslip(DIS). “Whenmy representativewent to deposit the said slip, hewasinformedthattheslipwasin-validandoutdated,”healleged.Calling the complaint ‘frivo-

lous,mischievousandcompletelybogus’,aspokespersonofSpiceJetsaid,“Atnopointhasthecompanysoughtanyservicefromthecom-plainant, nordidheeverprovideany kind of service to SpiceJet.NeitherMrSinghnoranypersonconcernedfromSpiceJethasevermet the complainant for anywork, nor is there anywrittenagreementbetweenthem.Weareconfident that thepolice investi-gationwillprovethesameandtheFIRwillbequashed.”Poonam,SHO,SushantLokpo-

lice station, said, “We received acomplaintandanFIRhasbeenreg-istered.”Ithasbeenregisteredun-der IPC sections 406 (criminalbreachoftrust)and420(cheating).


THE DELHI government hasplannedtoworkontherestora-tion of the 71monuments thatfall under its jurisdiction in thecity. Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia held a reviewmeetingwith officials Mondayto go over pending plans, andsaideachmonumentwouldgetafaceliftwithoutanytampering.“Historical monuments in

Delhi symbolise the country’sevolution over the period oftime. These extremely impor-tanthistoricalbuildingshavere-mained neglected for a longertime, which has causedmuchdamage to them. The govern-mentisensuringthateachofthemonumentsunder its responsi-bility gets a facelift as soon aspossible without tamperingwiththeessenceofhistoryasso-ciatedwithit.Thiswillhelpgen-erations to understand our his-toryinabetterway,”Sisodiasaid.He also said cultural events tocelebrate the history of thesemonumentswill beorganised.Aspartoftheplan,whichhas

beenintheworksforafewyearsnow, the conservation of theDaraShikohLibraryandBaradariQudsia Baghwill be expedited.Bothmonuments will also getmuseumsontheirpremises.DaraShikohlibraryislocated

on the campus of AmbedkarUniversity at Kashmere Gate,andwas in a dilapidated condi-tion for several years. Therestorationof Qudsia Bagh, alsonear Kashmere Gate, is nearcompletion. TheMalchaMahaland AzimGanj Serai are also intheprocessof being restored.Thegovernment,meanwhile,

hasalsodecidedtoilluminatefivemonuments in the Tricolour tomarkIndia’s75thIndependenceyear. Thesemonuments includethe Birji Khan’s Tomb in R KPuram, Baradari Qudsia Bagh,Bara Lao Ka Gumbad at VasantUdhyan,GolGumbaznearLodhiflyover and the Tomb of Paik atMukarbaChowk.

VACCINE COVERAGE

Source: CoWIN

District Dose1 Dose2 %agecoverageofDose2

NewDelhi 11,69,215 11,01,560 94.21Southwest 20,69,418 18,58,379 89.80East 13,84,270 12,25,013 88.50West 19,51,523 17,25,189 88.40South 15,58,187 12,98,869 83.36Shahdara 12,87,008 10,52,027 81.74North 17,08,786 13,86,157 81.12Northwest 21,81,293 17,50,335 80.24Northeast 14,84,143 11,87,169 79.99Central 16,07,219 12,39,527 77.12Southeast 17,37,182 12,25,013 70.52

Despite govt push, only one district has over90%second dose Covid vaccine coverage

Total VacantHOSPITAL BEDS 9,469 9,336ICU BEDS 2,117 2,073

CORONAVIRUSIN THECAPITAL

VACCINATIONS INLAST24HOURS9,958

NOIDAJuly10 July11

Cases N/A N/ADeaths N/A N/AGURGAONCases 142 136Deaths 0 0

PATIENTS INHOSPITAL: 131OXYGENSUPPORT 35VENTILATORSUPPORT 3

DELHI TOTALCASES19,41,015

Cases Recoveries Deaths TestsJuly10 433 549 2 14,623July11 280 484 0 6,645Total 1,942* 19,12,789 26,284 3,92,29,296*Total active cases inDelhi

CopsfileFIRfor‘sexualharassment’ofwomanBJPspokespersonNew Delhi: Police regis-tered an FIR against un-known persons for al-legedlysexuallyharassingawomanspokespersonofthe Delhi BJP after aderogatory video defam-ing her was posted. ThecomplaintbytheDelhiBJPalleged that viral videosand misinformationagainst the spokespersonhadbeenposted,whichin-sultedmodestyofwomenelectronicallyandhadalsopubliclydefamedher.

ThreeheldinvisafraudNoida: Three men werearrested by Noida PoliceSunday for allegedlyissuing fake visas. “Wefound the accusedwouldtake passport details anduseonlinesoftwaretocre-ate fake visas. TheywouldchargeRs40,000-Rs65,000fromeach.Wehaverecovered15passportsandfourvisas,”saidAdditionalDCPRanvijaySingh.

ZubairmovescourtforbailNew Delhi: Alt Newsco-founderMohammedZubair, arrested by theDelhiPoliceSpecialCelloncharges of allegedly hurt-ing religious sentimentsfollowingacomplaintovera 2018 tweet, hasmovedPatiala House Court forbail, his lawyer said.Zubair’s lawyers have in-formedthatthebailappli-cationwillbeheardbytheAdditional Sessions Judgeasper thebail roster.ENS

BRIEFLY

Avail property taxrebate through wastesegregation, recyclingEXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY11

THEMCD’S new property taxstructurewill incentivise grouphousing societies that carry outwastesegregationatsourceandrecycling. According to officials,the corporation will provide a10%rebatetothosegrouphous-ing societies inwhich 90% resi-dents pay tax. Besides, an addi-tional5%rebatewillbeavailableif the colony implements 100%waste segregation at source,composting ofwetwaste in thecolony, re-cycling of recyclabledrywaste and handing over re-maining drywaste to theMCDor itsauthorisedagencies.L-GVK SaxenaMonday an-

nounced the policy changes inthe tax structure, called theSah-Bhagita scheme. “The schemeaimsatimprovingefficiencyandcompliance in tax collection byincentivising RWAswhich, on

achieving90%taxcollectionfromtotal number of properties intheir societies and colonies, canrecommenddevelopmentworktothetuneof10%oftaxcollectionsubjecttoaceilingofRs1lakhintheirareas,”saidaseniorofficial.The civic agency will soon

announce implementation ofuniformnewrates,whichwillbeapplicable fromJuly16,2022.

THE NEW policy incen-tiviseswastesegregation,de-centralisedprocessing,recyclingandreuse inor-dertogetrebateandcon-cessions in property tax.Through this, theMCD ismaking a renewed pushfor waste segregation,which has seen severalhitsandmissesinthepast.

Freshpush

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK 5WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY12,2022

ADVERTISEMENTPlease refer to advertisement issued in national newspapers on30.08.2021 regarding the online written examination for CustomsBrokers Examination, 2022. The said examination is now scheduledto be held on 03.08.2022. The pattern of the examination for thewritten and oral examination will be as follows:

The written examination will be a Computer Based Examination withMultiple Choice Questions. Questions will be bilingual i.e. in Englishand Hindi. Candidates have the option to answer either in English orHindi. Other details are as follows:

No. of questions : 150

Time duration : Two and half hours (10:30 hrs to 13:00 hrs)

Marking scheme : +3 for each correct answer

-1 for each incorrect answer

Maximum marks : 450

Qualifying marks : 270 (60%)

Those qualifying in the written examination will have to appear in oralexamination in terms of Regulation 6 of the Customs BrokersLicensing Regulations, 2018, as amended. The pass percentagemarks for qualifying in the oral examination will be 60%.

For any query, please visit the websites (www.cbic.gov.in andwww.nacin.gov.in) or contact the nearest Customs Commissionerate/NACIN, Faridabad @ e-mail id. [email protected].

Principal Director General

davp-15502/11/0010/2223 NACIN, Faridabad

GOVERNMENT OF INDIAMINISTRY OF FINANCE, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF CUSTOMS, INDIRECTTAXES & NARCOTICS, FARIDABAD

"5-/"00 >OBBOP

''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.


PRIME MINISTER NarendraModi onMonday unveiled thenational emblem that has beenplacedatopthenewParliamentbuilding in a special ceremonyalso attended by Lok SabhaSpeaker Om Birla and UnionHousingMinisterHardeepPuri.Theceremony,however,trig-

geredapoliticalrowwithoppo-sitionpartiesaccusingthePrimeMinisterofmaking itapersonalevent and questioning theConstitutional propriety of thePMunveiling the emblem atoptheParliamentbuilding.Hittingback,theBJPsaidtheallegationsof theoppositionpartiesarepo-liticallymotivated.Themetalsculpturehasbeen

built in Aurangabad, Jaipur andDelhi by artists Sunil Deore andLakshmanVyas. The earlier de-sign incorporated a spire atopthe building andwas replacedwith the Ashoka Emblem in2020.“He also interactedwith the

Shramjeevis involved in theworkofthenewParliament,”thePMOsaid inastatement.WorkonthenewParliament,

a groundplus two-storey trian-gular-shaped building, is ex-pected to be completed beforetheWinter Parliament session.In its initial plan, the newParliament was to be crownedwitha spire, but itwas replacedwith the design of the Ashokaemblem.Thecentralfoyerhasbeenre-

named the ConstitutionHall asit is expected to display theConstitution forpublic viewing.A librarywill also comeupnearthecentral foyer.“The concept sketch and

processofcastingofthenationalemblem on the roof of newParliament building has gonethrougheightdifferentstagesofpreparation from clay model-ing/computergraphictobronzecastingandpolishing,” thePMOstatement said.

"Honorable PrimeMinisterNarendra Modi ji inauguratedthe national emblem installedonthetopofthenewbuildingofParliament. While the newParliamentHousewill fulfill theaspirations of a new India, thisnationalsymbolwillcontinuetoinspire us to keep the unity, in-tegrity and sovereignty of Indiaintact," Lok Sabha Speaker OmBirla tweeted.Meanwhile, the Opposition

parties hit out at the PrimeMinister for unveiling the na-tionalemblemcastatopthenewParliament building, calling it a“clear violation of theConstitution.”“Parliamentandthenational

emblembelongtothepeopleofIndiaandnotoneman. Imagineif theleadersofallmajorpartieswerepresentattheinaugurationtoday, swearing to uphold theConstitution. But why ruin thephoto for our Shahenshah?”tweetedCongressdeputyleaderinLokSabhaGauravGogoi.“The Constitution unam-

biguously separates the threewings of our democracy — theExecutive (government), the

Legislature(Parliamentandstateassemblies) and the Judiciary.The President summonsParliament. The PrimeMinisteris theheadof theExecutive.TheLegislature has its independentroletoperform,amongstothers,to legislate laws, keep theExecutive accountable and an-swerable. This constitutionalseparation of powers betweenthe three wings is being sub-verted by the head of theExecutive,” the CPM said in astatement.AIMIM chief Asaduddin

Owaisisaid:“Asheadofthegov-ernment, the Prime Ministershouldn’t haveunveiled thena-tional emblem atop the newParliament building. TheSpeakerrepresentsLS,whichis-n’t subordinate to the govern-ment.ThePrimeMinisterhasvi-olatedallconstitutionalnorms.”Countering the opposition

attack, BJP’s chief spokespersonandRajya SabhaMPAnil Balunisaidtheallegationsof theoppo-sitionpartiesarepoliticallymo-

tivated.“Opposition parties ques-

tioning theunveiling ceremonyshouldunderstandtheadminis-trativeprocess.Rightfromitsde-sign to funds and constructionssupervision,entireworkisbeingdonebytheurbandevelopmentdepartment. Even the founda-tion laying was done by theprimeminister,”Baluni said.He said once the construc-

tion work is completed, thebuildingwill be handed over tothe parliament administration.“It isunfortunatethat theoppo-sition parties have come outwith another set of unfoundedallegations, which smacks oftheir political motive,” Balunisaid.TheCPMalsoobjectedtothe

religiousceremonyorganisedatthe event. CPI general secretaryDRajasaidParliamentbelongedtoeveryoneandwondered“howapersonalevent”wasorganisedthere. “Also, Parliament is neu-tral sowhybringreligious func-tions into it?”hesaid.


THE ENFORCEMENTDirectorate has issued freshsummons to Congress presi-dent Sonia Gandhi to deposebefore itonJuly21forquestion-ing in connection with itsmoney laundering probe intotheNationalHerald case.Soniahadearlierbeencalled

onJune23butcouldnotappearbefore the agency owing to illhealth. Lastmonth, the agencyquestioned her son RahulGandhi for five days in connec-tionwith the case.SourcessaidGandhiwasbe-

ing questioned about the own-ership of Young Indian (YI) bytheGandhi familyanditsshare-holding in Associate JournalsLimited(AJL), thecompanythatrunstheNationalHeraldnews-paper.HewasquestionedaboutthecircumstancesunderwhichAJL was acquired by YoungIndian in 2010 for a "pittance",making it in turn the owner of

allassetsownedbytheNationalHeraldnewspaper.SourcessaidsinceSoniawasanequalshare-holder inYI, shewouldbeques-tionedon similar lines.The case is based on a pri-

vate complaint by BJP MPSubramanianSwamytoacourtin 2013. Swamy's complainthad alleged cheating andmis-appropriation of funds on partof theGandhis in acquiring thenewspaper. SwamihadallegedthattheGandhisacquiredprop-erties owned by NationalHerald by buying the newspa-per's erstwhile publishers, AJL,through an organisation calledYoung Indian in which theyhave 76 per cent stake. Soniaand Rahulwere granted bail inthe case by the trial court onDecember 19, 2015.In Swamy's complaint be-

forethetrial court,Sonia,Rahuland others have been accusedof misappropriating funds bypaying Rs 50 lakh for YI toobtain the right to recover Rs90.25crorethatAJLowedtotheCongress.

OPPOSITIONCALLS IT ‘PERSONALEVENT’, BJPCOUNTERS:MOTIVATED

ANISHADUTTA&DIVYAANEWDELHI, JULY11

WITH THE 6.5-metre NationalEmblemplacedontop, thenewParliament building, a part ofthe Central Vista plan, willstandatnearly40metres, justashade less than the 42-metre-high IndiaGate.In the initial presentation,

the chief architect of theCentral Vista redevelopmentplan had said that no buildingin the plan would exceed theheight of IndiaGate.The India Gate, on the east-

ernaxialendof theRajpath, theCentral Vista andVijay Chowk,stands on a low base of redBharatpur stone and rises instages to a hugemoulding.“Without the emblem, the

(new Parliament) buildingwouldbe32metreshigh;withthe emblem and its base, itcomes up to 39.6 metres," asource involved in the projectsaid.At 6.5metres in height, the

National Emblem is made ofbronze, with a total weight of9,500 kg and has been cast atthe top of the central foyer ofthe building. A supportingstructure of steel weighingaround6,500kghasbeen con-structed to support theEmblem.The concept sketch and

process of casting of theNational Emblem wentthrough eight different stagesof preparation — from claymodelling/computer graphicstobronzecastingandpolishing.When the plan to construct

the new Parliament buildingand other structures in theCentral Vista plan was dis-cussed in the initial stage, oneof the earlier proposals duringthebiddingstagehadproposedgiant structures aroundRajpath. But government offi-cers had raised concern of po-tential fire hazards. It was alsodecided that theheight of eachproposed building will not beeven one inch higher than thatof India Gate to maintaina “structured profile,” asource said.At 55 metres, only the

Rashtrapati Bhavan dome istaller than India Gate at pres-ent.ThenewParliamentbuild-ing project was awarded toTataProjectsatRs971crore. In2021, thefirmcarriedoutasur-vey. Given his experience andcredentials, Sunil Deore, 49, agold medalist sculptor fromMumbai's JJ SchoolofArts,wasamongartistsshortlistedtoex-ecute the task. Deore said ittook him five months to pre-pare a clay model at hisAurangabad-based studio,which was then cleared bythe panel.

Emblem on top, newHouse building a shadeshorter than India Gate

55METRESRASHTRAPATIBHAVAN,DOME

HE IGHT OF THE MATTER

39.6METRESNEWPARLIAMENTBUILDING

42-METRESINDIAGATE

6.5METRESNATIONALEMBLEMATOP9,500KGWEIGHTOFNATIONALEMBLEM,MADEOFBRONZE

TheAshokaChakraontopoftheunder-constructionParliamenthousebuilding.PremnathPandey

PMunveils national emblem,Opp slams ‘show’

NOTICE

Registered Office: Bombay House, 24, Homi Mody Street,

Fort, Mumbai - 400 001, India

Tel.: +91 22 6665 8282

Email: [email protected] Website: www.tatasteel.com

CIN: L27100MH1907PLC000260

July 11, 2022

Mumbai

Tata Steel Limited

Parvatheesam KanchinadhamSd/-

Company Secretary &

Chief Legal Officer (Corporate & Compliance)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to Regulation 42 of

the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing

Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations,

2015, the Company has fixed Friday, July 29, 2022 as the

“Record date”, to ascertain the name of shareholders entitled

for Sub-division of every 1 (One) fully paid-up Ordinary

(equity) Share and every 1 (One) partly paid-up Ordinary

(equity) Share of the Company having face value of 10/-

(Rupees Ten) each, into 10 (Ten) fully paid-up Ordinary

(equity) Shares and 10 (Ten) partly paid-up Ordinary (equity)

Shares, respectively, having face value of 1/- (Rupee one).

`

`

National Herald case: EDsummons Sonia on July 21

New Delhi

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY12,2022

GOVT& POLITICSWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

6


THESUPREMECourtonMondayasked new Speaker ofMaharashtra LegislativeAssembly, Rahul Narwekar, todefer acting on disqualificationpetitions pending before himwhile the court hears the peti-tions forandagainst themove.The petitions came in the

wake of the political crisis pre-cipitatedbyagroupofShivSenaMLAs withdrawing support topartychiefUdhavThackerayandpledging loyalty with rebelEknathShindecampintheparty,culminating in the fall of theMaha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) gov-ernment in thestate.A bench presided by Chief

Justice of India N V Ramanaasked Solicitor General TusharMehta, who appeared forMaharashtra Governor BhagatSinghKoshyari , toconveytotheSpeakernottotakeanyactioninthematter fornow.Both the Thackeray and

Shinde factions have filed peti-tionsseekingdisqualificationoflegislators belonging to theother camp.On June27, a vacationbench

of the apex court, comprisingJustices Surya Kant and J BPardiwala, had extended thetime given by then DeputySpeakerNarhariZirwaltothedis-sidentMLAstoreplytonoticesis-sued to them on pleas seekingtheir disqualification from theAssembly. The court had given

timetill5.30pmonJuly12.The bench also listed the

matterforhearinguponreopen-ingofthecourtaftersummerre-cess on Monday. It also listedsome other petitions filed sub-sequently on issues arising outof thepolitical crisis in the stateforhearingon July11.However, with thematters

notlistedonMonday,seniorad-vocate Kapil Sibal brought it tothe notice of the CJI and soughturgentlisting.Heurgedthecourtto direct Narwekar that thereshould not be any disqualifica-tion eitherwayuntil thematterisheard.However, the CJI said, "I'm

notlistingthemattertomorrow.This requires [the] constitutionof a bench and will take sometime...”The CJI then asked Solicitor

GeneralMehta to convey to theSpeaker to keep the matter inabeyance. “Please inform theAssembly Speaker not to takeany hearing. Let us see.We arehearing the matter,” he toldMehta,whoagreed todoso.Afterwinning the trust vote

in the Assembly on July 4, theShindefactionoftheSenahadis-sued a notice to 14MLAs fromtheUddhavThackeraycampforviolating a whip issued by theSena whip and Shinde loyalistBharat Gogawale. Both sideshaveaccusedeachotherofdefy-ing the party whip during theSpeaker's election and the trustvoteonJuly3and4,respectively,seekingdisqualificationof legis-lators frombothsides.

MAULSHREESETHLUCKNOW,JULY11

UTTARPRADESHChiefMinisterYogiAdityanathonMondaytoldofficials that while enforcingpopulation control measures,theyshouldkeepinmindpopu-lation balance and religious de-mography, saying otherwise itcouldleadtochaosandanarchy.Speakingatafunctiontomark

the World Population Day inLucknow, Adityanath said,“Whenwetalkaboutfamilyplan-ningandpopulationstabilization,we have to keep in mind thatpopulation control programmeshouldgoahead,butthesituationof jan sankhiki asuntalan (popu-lation imbalance) should notarise... It should not be that therateofincreaseofpopulationofa

groupofpeopleismoreandtheirpercentage ismore,while in thestabilizationof thepopulationofsomepeoplewhoarenativeres-idents,wemaintain thepopula-

tion balance through awarenessandenforcement.”Calling this kind of situation

worrisome,Adityanath said: “Inthecountrieswheresuchsituationofpopulation imbalancearises, itaffectsthereligiousdemographu,andafterawhile,chaosandanar-chystarttakingplace.”Therefore,wheneverwetalk

aboutpopulationstabilization,itshouldriseaboveeverycaste,re-ligion, language, and region, hesaid, adding "awareness shouldbecreatedequally".The CM said that while the

population stabilization pro-gramme he been going on forpastdecades,populationcanbean achievement for a society toacertain level if seen intermsof“skilledmanpower”. “But if thepopulation is not healthy, andthere isdisorder,”hesaid.

KANCHANVASDEVCHANDIGARH, JULY11

THE PUNJAB governmentMondayformallyappointedAamAadmi Party Rajya Sabhamem-berRaghavChadhaas the chair-

manof a tem-poraryadvisorypanelamidsharpre-actions fromOppositionparties whohave accusedCMBhagwantMann of run-ning a “sub-

servientgovernment”directlyun-derthecontroloftherulingparty'stopleadershipinDelhi.The panel will advise the

governmentonmattersof pub-lic importance.Thetermsof thecommittee,announcedfivedaysago,aresuchthatitcanbeledbya parliamentarianwithout vio-lating theofficeof profit rule.“Mann Sahib has honoured

mewith an opportunity to do‘Sewa’ of the people of Punjab.Will givemyblood, sweat, tearsand toil to make my elderbrotherandCMproud,”Chadhasaid ina tweet.Asperthenotification issued

lastweekbyChiefSecretaryVijayKumar Janjua, the committeechairpersonanditsmemberswillnotbeentitledtoanycompensa-tionorremuneration.Punjab Congress chief

Amrinder Singh Raja WarringslammedCMMann,accusinghimof ceding too much power.“Punjabis did not vote for thischange.ItseemsBhagwantMannhashandedoverthePunjabgov-ernmentoncontract,”hetweeted.

ABHISHEKANGADRANCHI, JULY11

PRIME MINISTER NarendraModi will visit Deoghar inJharkhandonTuesdaytolaunchorinauguratedevelopmentproj-ects worth Rs 16,835 crore, in-cluding the Rs 400–croreDeogharairport.Modiwillalsodedicatetothe

nation the All India Institute ofMedical Sciences (AIIMS),Deoghar,whichhascomeupatacostof Rs1100crore.TheDeogharairportwillpro-

vide direct connectivity toBaidyanath Dham, a religiousdestinationthrongedbylakhsofpilgrims from across the coun-try every year. The annualShravaniMelafairatBaidyanathDhambeginsnextweek.Modiwillalsoofferprayersat

“Baba Dham”, said BJP MPNishikantDubey,whorepresentstheGoddaLokSabhaseat,underwhich Deoghar falls. “PMModiwill also hold his longest-everroadshow, of 11.5 kilometres, inthedistrictandlateraddressajansabha,”astatementissuedbythestateBJPquotedhimassaying.Tuesday’svisit,Modi’sfirstto

thestatesince2019,isbeingseenas a showof support forDubey,

whohas,of late,beentraininghisguns onChiefMinisterHemantSoren,whoisunderfireoverthemining scam and the moneylaundering probe against hisaide, PankajMishra.Last week, the ED raided

more than a dozen premiseslinked to Mishra and seizedaroundRs5.32crore incash.A day before Modi’s visit,

Soren held his own series offunctions at Jamtara, about 70kilometres from Deoghar. Helaid the foundation of govern-ment schemes worth Rs 200crore. Before Soren took to thedais, JamtaraMLA Irfan Ansarilashedoutat theBJP, accusing itofusingtheEDto“scare”theCM.Then, without naming the

BJP, Soren criticised the saffronparty’s ‘double-engine’ govern-ment(thestatewasruledbyBJPbeforethe2019polls).“Therearereasonswhythedouble-enginegovernment of 20 years wasousted out of power inJharkhand,”hesaid.


WITHTHECongressquestioningthePrimeMinister’s silenceoverwhat it alleged is an “increasingChinese infiltration” into Indianterritory, the BJP on Mondayridiculedtheoppositionpartyandaskedwhether it does not havetrustintheArmy’sstatement.Addressing themedia at the

BJP headquarters, partyspokesperson SudhanshuTrivedi alleged that Congressleader Gaurav Gogoi had alsospoken about former Chief ofDefenceStaffBipinRawatreject-ing such claims. “I want to asktheCongress if ithas trust inthe

Indian Army or not; whether ittrusts the reply of the IndianArmy chief or not. Or do youwanttodopoliticsoverhisstate-ment,”heasked.On Monday, Rahul Gandhi

hadtweeted,“Sometruthsabouttheprimeminister: 1. Is afraidofChina.2.Hidesthetruthfromthepublic.3.Justprotectshisownim-age. 4. Lowers themorale of theArmy.5.Playswiththesecurityofthecountry.”Trivedi also slammed the

Congress over the party leader-ship'sallegedinvolvementintheNationalHeraldmoneylaunder-ing case. He said the Congressmust be the only party whosepresident and former presidentareonbail inacorruptioncase.

SREENIVASJANYALAHYDERABAD, JULY11

THE TELUGUDesam Party, ledby former Andhra Pradesh CMChandrababu Naidu, will sup-port NDA nominee DroupadiMurmu in the July 18Presidential elections, a moveseen as the party’s attempt toplacate theBJP.“Itwouldbewonderfultosee

her as President,” Naidu said ashe declared his party’s supportforMurmuasthecountry’s“first

AdivasiwomanPresident”.TheTDPhasthreeMPsinthe

Lok Sabha and 23 legislators inthestateAssembly.TherulingYSRCP,ledbyChief

Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy,hasalreadydeclared itsbackingforMurmu.Ties between the TDP and

the BJP have soured since 2019,when Naidu campaignedagainstPrimeMinisterNarendraModiwhowasseekingasecondterm.AsulkingTDPhadaccusedthe ruling NDA of failing itspromises toAndhra inthewake

of thestate’sbifurcation.Now,many believe, by sup-

portingMurmu the TDP is be-ginning to conciliate the BJPahead of the 2024 general elec-tion,althoughbothpartieshavepublicly denied any chance ofreconciliation.TDP Politburo member Y

Ramakrishnudusaidtheparty’sdecisionisguidedbythefactthat“she is the first Adivasi womanto be nominated (to bePresident)”.“There is no other consider-

ation,’’ he said.

LuluGroupchairmanandmanagingdirectorYusuffaliMAgivesUttarPradeshCMYogiAdityanathatourof LuluMall inLucknowduring its inaugurationonSunday.BuiltatacostofRs2,000crore,LuluLucknowis thefifthmallof LuluGroupInternational in thecountryafterKochi,Bengaluru,Thiruvananthapuram,andThrissur.Express

WORLDPOPULATIONDAY

DISQUALIFICATIONOFMLAs

DeferactiononSenapleas,SCtellsSpeaker

PARLIAMENTARYCONSULTATIVECOMMITTEEONDEFENCE

MANOJCGNEWDELHI, JULY11

OPPOSITIONMEMBERS in theParliamentary ConsultativeCommittee on Defence onMondayaskedthegovernmenttowithdraw theAgnipath schemefor recruiting soldiers across thethreeservices, eventhoughtheirmovetosendajointletter,askingthegovernmenttoreconsiderthescheme, left them red-faced asCongress Lok SabhaMPManishTewarirefusedtosignit.Opposition members —

NCP’s Supriya Sule, TrinamoolCongress’s Sougata Roy andSudip Bandyopadhyay, andCongress’s Rajani Patil andShaktisinhGohilamongthem—signedandhandedover the let-ter to DefenceMinister RajnathSingh,whochairedthemeeting.The three service chiefs and

topministry officials attendedthemeeting.TheOppositionmembers,itis

learnt, posed probing questionsto thegovernment,withmostofthemmentioning protests thescheme had sparked in severalstates.SuleissaidtohavearguedthattheschemeshouldbesenttotheParliamentarystandingcom-mittee to study so that the con-cerns raised are addressed. Thegovernment,shesaid,shouldnotcomeupwith schemes, policies

andlegislationhastily,whichim-pactthecountryanditsyouth.Gohilmentioned the stand-

off with China along the LAC inLadakh and argued that rollingoutsuchaschemeatthiscriticaltime is tantamount to compro-misingwithnational security.Tewariaskedsearchingques-

tions such as whether theschemewasaimedatrightsizingtheforcesandbringingdownthepensionbill.Hesaidif that isthecase, why isn’t the governmentsaying it upfront. He is learnt tohavealsoaskedabouttheimpactAgnipathwouldhaveonopera-tional readinessof the forces.The government, it is learnt,

madeadetailedpresentationontheschemeandtoldthecommit-tee that itwas neither aimed atrightsizingthe forcesnor reduc-ingthepensionandsalarybill.Army chief General Manoj

Pande is learnt to have told thepanel that the schemewill have

no impact on operational readi-nesseither.Thegovernment,itislearnt,toldthepanelthatasepa-ratestudyisbeingconductedontheissueonrightsizingtheforcesandthat thescheme ismeant tolowertheageprofileoftheforces.Sources in the Opposition

said Sule and TMC's Roy andBandyopadhyaywerekeenthatthemembers sign a joint letteropposing the scheme and de-mandingitswithdrawal.Tewari,who had been arguing that theAgnipathschemeshouldbeseenaspart of a largerprocess of de-fence reform andmodernisa-tion, however refused to sign it.He contended that it was not aforumto indulge inpolitics.Sule tweeted that sheurged

theDefenceMinister to “recon-sider theAgnipath Schemeandtake awider consultationwithstakeholdersanddefenceexperts.”Gohil is learnt to have cited

criticismoftheschemebyexpertsandveteransandsaiditshouldbewithdrawn, as it would affectmorale of the forces and createconfusion. He said the schemeshouldfirstbelaunchedasapilotandthose trainedberecruited inthe armed forces, it is learnt. Itshould only be introduced afterworking out variousmodalities,Gohil is learnttohavesaid.Theopposition isplanning to

demandadiscussionontheissueduringtheMonsoonSession.

ManishTewari,CongressLokSabhaMP

Opp seeks withdrawal of Agnipath,Tewari refuses to sign joint letter

President polls: TDP to support Murmu

PM in Jharkhand today,to inaugurate Deogharairport, AIIMS

ModiwillalsoofferprayersatBaidyanathDham

Chadha madechief of Punjabpanel; de factoCM, says Opp

RaghavChadha

Uddhav groupfiles caveat in ECI

SENASYMBOL


THEMINISTRYof Environment,Forests andClimateChangehasissued a public notice for de-criminalisation of Indian ForestAct, 1927.The notice, issued on

Saturday,saystheMinistryisun-dertaking a reviewof the Act todecriminaliseminor sections ofthe law, including carrying tim-berintotheforest,trespassingbycattle, and fellinga tree.Theministrynotesaysthatat

times there are “difficulties indifferentiating betweenmajorandminoroffences”, andduetothat“punishmentsareoftennotdistinct”.“This abets habitual offend-

ers to commitmore crimes, as

thereisthesamelevelofpunish-ment for both first-time and re-peatoffenders,”thenoticestated.Apersonwho“kindles,keeps

or carries any fire” permits cat-tle to pasture or trespass orcauses damage by felling a treeor dragging timber through theforestcouldearlierbepenalisedwith sixmonths imprisonmentora fineuptoRs500,orboth.Atpresent,thepenaltyisonly

a fineof Rs500.“Imprisonment for such of-

fences has never actually takenplace, and is oftenused as a toolof harassment. So there is no

probleminthataspectofdecrim-inalisation. But the provision ofimprisonment,whetheractuallycarriedoutornot,actsasadeter-rent,” environmental lawyerRitwick Dutta said. “What thisamendmentwilldo,isinsteadin-

centiviseoffenses,especiallythatoffellingtreeswhichisextremelydangerous. The proposedamendment further does notclarifywhethertheRs500fineisthe cost of fellingone tree, or anentire forest can be felled andconsideredasingleoffence.”Dutta also pointed out that

theCentredoesnothave the ju-risprudencetocarryoutamend-ments in the Act, as it does notfall under the Central govern-ment, having been enacted be-foreParliamentwasestablished.Instead, the Act is adopted bystatesas they feel fit.“Only Haryana, Punjab, MP,

BengalandBiharactuallyfollowtheAct,”Duttasaid.“OtherstateshavetheirownforestActs.SotheCentre’smove is actually an in-fringement on the rights of thestates.”

THE INDIANForestAct,1927,providesa legalframework forprotectionandmanagementofforests, transitof forestproduceandtimber, andduty that canbe leviedon forestproduceandtimber.

WhatthelawentailsE●EX

PLAINED

Forest Act: Centre to decriminalise minor offencesEnvironmentministerBhupenderYadav

Doesn’t Cong trust Armystatement on China: BJP

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

BALANCING FACTDEFENCEMINISTERRajnathSinghonMondayaddressedthefirst-ever ‘AI inDefence’ (AIDef) eventorganisedbyhismin-istry inNewDelhi.Atonepoint,hequotedRussianPresidentVladimirPutin:“Whoeverbecomestheleaderinartificial in-telligencewill rule theworld”.However, Singh clarified thatIndia “believes in the principle of ‘vasudhaiv kutumbakam(thewholeworldisonefamily)”andhas“nointentiontoruletheworld”. But, he said, Indiamust develop and upgrade AItechnologyso thatnocountrycaneventhinkof ruling it.

FILMY JIBESTHEBJP andCongress crossed swordsonMondayusing thenamesofpopularBollywoodflicks.TargetingtheBJP'sChinapolicy,Congress leaderGauravGogoi saidwhile theChinesewerebeing“hyper-aggressive”,theBJPgovernmentwastry-ingto“deceive”peoplethrough“DDLJ(deny,distract, lieandjustify)”,aplayonthe1995blockbusterDilwaleDulhaniaLeJayenge.Withinhours,BJP'sSudhanshuTrivedihitback,tak-ing a jibe at Congress' over its internal crisis using “QSQT(Qayamatkahaalhai (apocalypticmoment)".QSQTisanab-breviation for the 1988 Aamir Khan-Juhi Chawla-starrer“QayamatSeQayamatTak”.

WOOING OVERRLDCHIEF Jayant Chaudharyhas instructed theparty’s eightMLAs inUPtosetasideat least35percentof theirareadevel-opment funds for thewelfareof theSCcommunity.Themovecomesdays after CMYogiAdityanath announced to increasetheMLALADfundfromRs3croretoRs5crore.JayanthasbeentryingtoexpandthebaseofhispartyhavingtheJat-dominatedpocketsof thewesternUPasitsstronghold.Earlierthismonth,theRLDheldeventstomarkthebirthanniversaryofApnaDalfounderandOBCleaderSoneLalPatel.

RajnathSinghat theAIDef exhibition. PremNathPandey

Pune: Religious leadersshould be involved in com-munityoutreachactivitiestoensurethatawarenessaboutfamily planning reacheseveryone, said former ChiefElection CommissionerDr SYQuraishi.Hewasspeakingatanevent inPune.Quraishihas also authored the book‘ThePopulationMyth:Islam,FamilyPlanningandPoliticsin India’.ENS

‘SHOULD INVOLVERELIGIOUS LEADERS’

Population imbalance should not beallowed, could lead to anarchy: Yogi

MAYURAJANWALKARPANAJI, JULY11

NEARLY 24 hours after he waslabelled a “traitor” and “back-stabber” by his party, CongressMLAMicheal Lobowas back attheCongressHouseinPanajionMonday for a discussion withAICC general secretary MukulWasnik, who was despatchedfromDelhi in the face of a splitin the state unit. Wasnik latersaid, “Itwasaverygooddiscus-sion”.Party's in-charge for Goa

DineshGunduRaohadaccusedLobo and former CMDigambarKamat of hatching a conspiracywith the BJP to make at leasteightof11CongressMLAsdefectto theBJP.

The future of Lobo andKamat in the party seems to behanging in the balance as theCongress party filed a petitionbefore the Assembly Speakerseeking theirdisqualification.Lobo, his wife Delilah Lobo,

andMLAsKedarNaikandRajeshFaldessai,whoskippedthepressconference called on Sunday,met Wasnik, Rao and GoaCongresspresidentAmitPatkar.Rao laughedwhen asked if

Lobo was still a “traitor”.“Congress is a large-heartedpartybutcertainthingsstillhavetobe resolved. I can’t say every-thing.Whateverwe have done,we have done,” he told TheIndianExpress.While Kamat stayed away

from the meeting of the legis-lature party, Lobo,who left the

CongressHouseatnearly11pmonMonday, said that the partyhad no ground to seek his dis-qualification but it would bethe Speaker’s decision ulti-mately. “Not attending a pressconference cannot be thegrounds for disqualification. Itold themthat theyaremakingamockery of their own party,”said Lobo.“I have told him we have

beenelected fromtheCongressand our term is of five years. Ihavemademy stand very clear.Weare not going anywhere. Nomatterwhotheleaderisorwhois trying to engineer defections,weare stronglywith theparty,”Lobosaid.The stormmay have blown

over but the fissures in the GoaCongress were apparent on

Monday. Lobo also concededthat there cannot be smokewithout a fire. “There wassmoke. I will not deny that butwhoeverwasengineeringitwasengineeringitforeveryone.TheyweretoldthatMichealhastobekeptout,”hesaid.“Weheldameetingwithour

membersofthelegislaturepartytoday. Itwasaverygooddiscus-sion. The Assembly session ison...we discussed how theCongress canplayanactive rolein theHouse,”Wasniksaidafterthemeeting, skirting questionsabout the party’s move to seekLobo’sdisqualification.Lobo and Kamat both at-

tended the first of theMonsoonSession of the Assembly onMondayandtooktheirplacesintheOppositionbenches.

Congress averts split for now as MLAMicheal Lobo meets Mukul Wasnik

Mumbai:Amidtheongoingtus-slebetweenUddhavThackeray-led Shiv Sena and the faction of40MLAs led by Chief MinisterEknath Shinde over claims of“realShivSena”andretentionoftheelectoralsymbolbowandar-row, the Thackeray camp onMondayfiledacaveatbeforetheElection Commission of India(ECI), asking to be heard if anypleaisfiledinregardtotheSenabyanyparty.Rajya SabhaMP and senior

SenaleaderAnilDesaisaid, "Wehave filed a caveatwith the ECI,requesting it tomake the origi-nal Shiv Sena (led by UddhavThackeray) a party to the case ifany party or group approachestheECI...”

New Delhi


EXPRESSNETWORKWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

7

ARUNSHARMAJAMMU,JULY11

THEAREAaroundtheAmarnathcave shrine where 17 pilgrimsdied in the flash floodson July8hadreceivedonly75mmofrain-fallbetween4.30pmtill7.30pmthatday,whichwasfarlessthanwhat is required to be cate-gorised it as a cloud burst, ac-cordingtothedata fromtheon-siteweatherstationsetupbythemeteorological department. Asper the criteria of the IndianMeteorological Department, a100mm or more rainfall perhour is termedacloudburst.“We have an automatic

weather station below theAmarnath cave shrine, whichrecorded 31 mm rainfall be-tween 4.30pm and 5.30pm,25mmfrom5.30pmto6.30pm,and 19mm from 6.30pm to7.30pm,’’anMeTofficialtoldTheIndianExpress.“Cloudburst, if any, might

have occurred at an altitudehigher than that of the caveshrine,’’ said Director, J&KMeteorologicalCentre,Srinagar,quoting eyewitnesses that themost of the water had comefromareaabove theshrine.However, some of the sur-

vivors said that the ShriAmarnath Shrine Board (SASB)authorities were caught un-awares as they didn't expect

suchaneventuality.Lalit Khajuria, whowas one

ofthefourlocaljournalistsatthemishap site, said, “The shrineboard should have stopped pil-grims at Panchtarni in view ofthe advance weather forecast.However,theycontinuedallow-ing people move towards thecave...over 10,000 people hadgathered in the shrine area by5.40pm”.“As we were climbing the

stairs leading to theholy cave, a

gush of water, alongwith boul-ders,madeitswayfromonesideof the cave and it washed awaytentsthatcameitsway,’’hesaid,adding that therewascompletechaosaspeoplecouldnotunder-stand where to run for safety.Aftersometimeannouncementsweremade through public ad-dresssystem,askingpilgrimstomove towards the helipad butpilgrims didn't knowwhere itwas and there was nobody toguide them.

Another pilgrim, RohitSharmawho, too, had gone tothe shrine with his friends,reached Panchtarni around12.30 am. “Wewere chargedRs3,800forthenightstayatacampagainstRs450perheadfixedbytheShrineBoard,”hesaid.Both questioned the Shrine

Board’s claimof having rescued15,000pilgrims, saying that thepilgrims had reached thePahalgamandBaltalbasecampsontheirown.

JULY8TRAGEDYATAMARNATHSHRINESITE

PilgrimsduringtheAmarnathYatra,whichresumedfromPanjtarni route,Monday.PTI

MAHARASHTRA

Deshmukh’sbailpleajunkedMumbai: A special courtMonday rejected the de-fault bail plea of formerstate homeminister AnilDeshmukh and his twostaffers — SanjeevPalande and KundanShinde—bookedinacor-ruption case. They hadsubmitted that the CBIhadfiledan"incomplete"chargesheetagainstthemon June 2. Their lawyerssaid somemedia reportshad claimed that thechargesheet comprised59pagesandallegedthatitwas "incomplete".ENS

PUNJAB

5BishnoigangmembersheldChandigarh: In a majorcrackdown, the SpecialTask Force (STF) ofHaryana PoliceMondaysaid it has arrested fivemembers of LawrenceBishnoi gang fromBahadurgarh. A numberofstolenluxurycarswererecoveredfromtheirpos-session. “Those arrestedare Chiraag, who is han-dling the drug trade ofBishnoi gang in southHaryanaandtheyoungerbrother of Tinu Bhiwaniarrested in the SidhuMoosewalamurdercase;Manoj Bakkarwala, thecountry's famous carthief; Prakash Barmer,resident of Barmer inRajasthan; Amit ofPinjore;andSanjay,ares-identofZirakpur,Punjab,"said a Haryana Policespokesperson. ENS

WESTBENGAL

IraniinauguratesSealdahstationKolkata:UnionMinisterforWomen and ChildDevelopmentSmriti IranionMondayvirtuallyinau-gurated theundergroundSealdahmetrorailwaysta-tion in Kolkata fromHowrahMaidan station.The firstmetro train fromSealdahheaded towardsSectorV in Salt Lake aftershe unveiled the plaque.Theprogrammewasheldamidcontroversyover in-vitation toChiefMinisterMamataBanerjeeandwasneither attendedby localTMC MP SudipBandopadhyay nor localMLAPareshPal. ENS

BRIEFLY


THE INDIA MeteorologicalDepartment currently does nothave the science to predict lo-calised isolatedextremerainfallas it took place near theAmarnathcaveshrineinJammuandKashmir’sGanderbaldistricton July 8, leading to death of 17pilgrims in flash floods.Secretary, Ministry of Earth

Sciences,DrMRavichandranonMonday said that the science toforecastsuchisolatedheavyrainevents“doesnotexistatthemo-ment”.TheIMDhasmaintainedthat the weather event atAmarnathwasnot a cloudburstbut “localisedextremerainfall”.“Justas there isnoscienceto

predictearthquake,thereisnonefor isolated extremely heavyrainfall.Weneed tounderstandthe process of such weatherevents,’’ said Dr Ravichandran,adding that no country has thescience tomakesucha forecast.The Secretary said themin-

istry iscurrentlyexperimentingwith drones, using them asAutomatic Weather Stations(AWS)forgatheringmoreinfor-

mation. The AWS drones willmeasuretemperature,humidityandwinds in an areaup to2kmtomakeanaccurate forecast.Dr Ravichandran also said

thatdefinitions for thecategoryof rainfall currently being usedbytheIMDalsoneedtoberede-fined. “The ranges are shiftingnow.Thereisadefinitionforex-tremely heavy rainfall (above204mm) but the figures havestarted exceeding that...so, weneedto redefine,’’ he said.The Secretary further said

that even as the IMD’s forecastup to5daysis“verygood’’, itfailsinDelhi-

NCR. “There is a reason for poorforecastswhenitcomestoDelhi.TheNCRfallsintheconvergencezone of twoweather regimes –the easterlies and low pressureareas.We predict rain by cloudcover.ThoughDelhihasbeenre-ceiving cloud cover, this hasnotbeen converting into precipita-tion.Westillcannotpredictrain-drop distribution, which variesfromplacetoplaceandoftende-pends on the terrain. For in-stance, similar conditions thatDelhi is experiencing right nowinahillyregionwouldhavedef-initelybrought rain,’’ he said.

‘No science to predictisolated extreme rain’

Only 75mm rain in 3 hrs, no cloudburst:MeT

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBENGALURU, JULY11

A JUDGE of the KarnatakaHighCourt onMonday reiterated hisstatement on receiving threatsoverhisinterventioninacorrup-tion case being investigated bythestatepolice'sAnti-CorruptionBureau (ACB) and for remarksagainst the functioning of theheadoftheACB—anIPSofficeroftheAdditionalDGP(ADGP)rank.JusticeHPSandesh in an in-

terimorderdictatedonMondayalsodirectedtheKarnatakachiefsecretaryandtheDepartmentofPersonnel and AdministrativeReforms (DPAR) not to appointtainted officers to posts that in-

volvepublicinterest.Anypersonappointed to such a position“must have credibility and takethe institution to greaterheights” theHC judgesaid.Thecourtissuedtheorderafter

referring to the service recordoftheACBhead—ADGPSeemanthKumarSingh—whowas investi-gatedforcorruptionbytheCBI inconnectionwithanillegalminingracket in 2009-10whenhewastheSPinKarnataka'sBallari.JusticeSandesh,whoduring

acourthearingonJuly4referredto the threat, dictated awrittenorder onMonday stating that afellow judge had approachedhimwithahint of awarningonJuly 1 at the farewell dinner forthe former chief justice of

Karnataka (RituRajAwasthi).JusticeSandeshwashearinga

bailpetitionwhenaseniorcounselintervened, saying that a SpecialLeavePetitionhadbeenfiledintheSCoverhis(judge's)remarksdur-ingthehearingofabailpleaofper-sonal assistant of theBengaluruUrbanDCarrestedbytheACB.

AccordingtoJusticeSandesh,“a sitting judge” told him that“he had received a call fromDelhi (name not disclosed)”.“The person from Delhi askedaboutme,hesaid.ItoldhimthatI amnot affiliated to any party,”JusticeSandeshsaid.“HesaidtheADGPisfromnorthIndiaandheispowerful,” theHC judgesaid.JusticeSandeshsaidhehadre-

portedtheperceivedthreattotheauthorities concerned. It affectstheindependenceofthejudiciaryandamountstointerferencewiththedispensationofjustice,hesaid.Justice Sandesh is hearing a

bailpleaofanaccusedinabriberycase involving the BengaluruUrban DC. On June 29, he re-markedthattheACBhadbecome

a“collectioncentreofbribes”.On July 4, the judge stated in

an open court that he had re-ceivedthreatsfromtheACBchiefand questioned the ACB for notarraigning the BengaluruUrbanDCinabriberycasedespiteinves-tigationsindicatinghisroleinde-manding Rs 5 lakh for passing afavourableorderinalanddispute.On July 7, even as the ADGP

filed a plea inHC for expungingthe remarks of the judge, JusticeSandeshstatedinawrittenorderthattheACBchiefwasnotwork-inginpublicinterestandhadnotshownenthusiasmtocurbgraft.HesaidtheACBhadarraignedtheBengaluru Urban DC as an ac-cusedinbriberycaseandarrestedhimonlyafterHC's intervention.

KARNATAKAHIGHCOURT

KIRANPARASHARBENGALURU, JULY11

A PROBE by the CriminalInvestigationDepartment (CID)of the Karnataka police into thePoliceSub-Inspector(PSI)recruit-mentscamhasrevealedthataBJPworker and school ownerDivyaHagaragitookRs25lakhforeachcandidatewhowas allowed tocheat in the examat the schoolsheoperatedintheKalaburagire-gionof thestateinOctober2021.TheJnanaJyothiEnglishSchool

inKalaburagiwasoneofthe92ex-amination centres for thePSI re-cruitmentexamheldonOctober3,2021,andsevencandidateswhowrotetheexamattheschoolhavebeen arrested by the CID, alongwithschoolownerDivya,aformerBJPMahilaMorchapresident forthe Kalaburagi region, schoolheadmasterKashinathChillarandfiveteacherswhowereinvigilatorsfor the exam. The CID filed a

chargesheetwithregard to its in-vestigationintotheexamfraudinalocalcourtinthedistrictonJuly5.Accordingtothechargesheet,

DivyawaspaidRs25 lakh for fa-cilitating the rigging of the an-swersheetsofeachcandidatewhohad paid a gang of middlemenandagentstoscorehighmarksintheexamdespiteansweringveryfewquestions of the 100 ques-tions for 150marks. The schoolowner, however, paidher schoolstaff onlyRs4,000each forhelp-ing candidates fill up the OMRsheetswiththecorrectanswers.In the 1,900-page

chargesheet filed last week inKalaburagi, the CID has statedthat the question paper wasleakedbytheschoolstaffandtheheadmasterandaftertheexam-ination theanswerswere tickedonbehalfofthecandidatesbythestaff.TheCIDhasnamed34per-sons,includingsevencandidatesat the Jnana Jyothi English, theschoolownerandherhusband.


ADELHI Court has summonedDirectorLeenaManimekalaiinasuit seeking injunction to re-strainher fromdepictingHindugoddessKalismokingacigaretteinhernewfilm ‘Kaali’.JudgeAbhishekKumarofTis

Hazari Courts issued summonsto the filmmaker and her com-pany, Touring Talkies MediaPrivateLimited,andwillhearthematteronAugust6.AdvocateRajGauravfiledthe

suit, alleging that the poster ofthefilm“depictstheHindugod-dess Kali smoking cigarettewhich not only hurts the reli-gious sentiments of commonHindu but is also against basicsofmoralityanddecency.”"Theobjectionablevideoclip

and photomust be banned andremovedfromtheinternetonanimmediatebasisconsideringthedefamatory impact and enrageit would cause to Hindus as itdisparaged the religious beliefsof a particular community,” thepleastated.Theplaintiffhassoughtade-

cree for permanent injunctionwhichwouldrestrainthedefen-dantspermanentlyfromdepict-ingthegoddessinamannerthatwouldhurtreligioussentiments.


THESUPREMECourtonMondaysentencedfugitivebusinessmanVijay Mallya, who was foundguilty of contempt of court in2017, to fourmonths’ imprison-ment and also fined him Rs2,000.A bench presided by Justice

U U Lalit also held as “void andinoperative”thetransactionsbywhich Mallya transferred $40million, received from BritishfirmDiageo,tohisthreechildren— son Siddharth Mallya anddaughters Leanna Mallya andTanya Mallya — and said he“shall be bound to deposit theamount receivedby suchbene-ficiaries along with interest attherateof8percentperannumwith the concerned RecoveryOfficerwithin fourweeks”.“Incase theamountsarenot

so deposited, the concernedRecoveryOfficershallbeentitled

to take appropriate proceed-ings,” ordered the bench. Thecourtsaid,“Consideringthefactsthat the contemnor nevershowed any remorse nor ten-dered any apology for his con-duct,weimposesentenceoffourmonthsandfineinthesumofRs2,000...whichshallbedepositedwithin fourweeks...”.Expressing his disappoint-

mentovertheSCverdict,Mallyasaid:“IhavenocommentontheSupremeCourtverdictexcepttosay that I am naturally disap-pointed.” WITHPTI

Mallya gets 4-month jailfor contempt, fined Rs 2k

VijayMallya

JusticeHPSandesh


THE CENTRE is bound by itscommitments given to thecourts in Portugal to releasegangsterAbuSalemoncomple-tion of his 25-year sentence inthe1993Mumbaiblastscase,theSupremeCourt saidMonday.AbenchpresidedbyJusticeS

K Kaul said that once Salemcompleteshis jail term,thegov-ernment“isrequired”to“advisethe President” to release Salem“in terms of the national com-mitmentaswellastheprinciplebasedoncomityof courts”.The government itself can

exercisesuchpower“intermsofSections 432 and 433 of theCrPC”, thecourt said.“Thereisanecessityofmaking

thistimeboundsothatitdoesnotresultinanunendingexerciseand,thus, governmentmust exercise

theaforesaidpowersorrenderad-viceonwhichthePresidentisex-pected to act,within amonthoftheperiodof completionof sen-tence,”thebench,whichalsocom-prisedJusticeMMSundresh,said.Thecourtwashearinganap-

peal filed by Salem who con-tended that the 2017 judgmentof aMumbai TADA Court, sen-tencinghimtolifeimprisonmentinthe1993Mumbaiserialblastscase,violatedthetermsofhisex-traditionto India fromPortugal.

NANDAGOPALRAJANNEWDELHI, JULY11

IFTHErebelwithinherhadpre-vailed, she would have been ajournalistoramediahoncho.Butaftermany pivots in her career,Dr Sumbul Desai, born inSweden with Indian roots, isnowoneof themost influentialwomen in global tech — asApple’sVP-Health.“You’dnever think thatall of

those stops you are going tomakearegoingtohelpyouwithyourultimaterole.Allthatlearn-ing ends upputting you exactlywhereyoushouldbe,”DesaitoldThe Indian Express on video callfromCalifornia.Desai joinedApple five years

agotostrengthentheCupertino-based techgiant’s foray intoper-

sonalhealthtechnologies.Beforethat,shewasViceChairofStrategyandInnovationintheDepartmentofMedicineatStanfordMedicineaswellasAssociateChiefMedicalOfficeratStanfordHealthcare.And yet, those early stints

with theWalt Disney Companyand ABCNews still stand out inherimpressiveresume.“Mypar-ents wantedme to be either adoctor or an engineer,” saysDesai. Echoing millions ofIndians across the world, herparents,whomoved from IndiatoSwedenandthentheUS,wereno different when it came totheir children, shepointsout.“(But) I alwayswanted to do

somethingmorethanthatandsowhen I startedmyundergradu-ate career, Iwas initially hopingto go to a bachelor’s program inliberal arts. I’d also gotten into a

six-year Bachelors of Science inMDprogram,whichisveryrare,”shesays.“Ididnotwanttogoand,whenIwasgoingthroughtheap-plicationprocess,gavesmart-alec

answers hoping the admissionofficerswouldn’t takeme seri-ously.” That strategydidn’t go asplanned. “That probablymademesoundwellrounded...Igotin.”But though she joined

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,a reputed technological researchuniversityinNewYork,mostlybe-causeher fatherwas really keen,shedidnotdoparticularlywellinthe first semester. “Iwasnot try-ingveryhard.”That’swhenherfa-ther gave in and told her to dowhatshewanted. “I changedmymajor toComputer SciencewithaminorinCommunications.”That’s how Desai’s career

startedwith themedia industrywhereshetransitionedtothebusi-nesssideandworkedonstrategy.Thencameanothertwistwhen,inAugust2001,shewasvisitingherfamily in New York and her

mother suffered a stroke. “Shewent immediately into a comaandwascriticallyillintheICUonaventilator.Forme,thatday,lifefun-damentallychanged,”saysDesai.Amonth later,when ICUs in

thecityhadtobeclearedtomakewayfor9/11survivors,shehadtotakecareofhermotherinarehabfacility. “Oneof thepieces of ad-vicethatoneofthephysicianshadgivenmeonthewayoutwasyouhave to empower and really ad-vocate for yourmother becauseshecan’t,”saysDesai,addingthathermotherwas inhospital for ayearandhadtorelearneverythingfromwalkingtobreathing.“That changedmy perspec-

tive on healthcare to see thatwhen it comes together in a re-allybeautifulway,itcanreallybeamulti-facetedjourney.Italsoisverymuchacollaborationacross

manydisciplines...Theoutcomecan either be really good or thecollaborationdoesn’twork.Thatwas the driving forcewhy I de-cided to go back to medicalschool later in life,” shesays.Medicinealsorevivedherlink

withIndiaaftershehadinternedat Doordarshan and Times ofIndia for herminor. “At Escorts(now Fortis Escorts) in Delhi, Ispentthedaywithsomecardiol-ogists, then at Holy Family, andalsowithanephrologistwhohadaprivatepractice.”Thecomplex-ityof casesshesawinthehospi-talsofDelhi“solidified”herdesireto go into healthcare “becausepartofwhyIwantedto(dothat)washowdoyougivebacktopeo-pleandhowyouhaveanimpact”.Desai is aware that though

she was born in Sweden andspentmost of her life in theUS,

theconnectionwithIndiaisabigpartofwhosheis.“MymotherisfromDelhi andmy father grewupinUP,nearMeerut.Wecomefrom a family of very proudIndians.We used to go back toIndia almost every other yeargrowingup.WhenIwasyounger,itwasalmosteverysummerandthenaswebecamea littleolder,itbecameeveryotheryear.”Desai says those visits to be

with her grandparents alsomade her more grounded.“Wheneveryougoback,youre-ally go back to your roots and itgrounds you, you always comeback a little bitmore grounded.There’ssomethingaboutthecul-ture, the people... that’s some-thing that I like really long forand Imiss,” shesays.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

‘Ourdevices foradditionalinfo,notdiagnosis’

Media, medicine and Apple Health V-P: Her Indian roots is the common strand

AbuSalem

BJP leader took Rs 25 lakhfrom each aspirant: CID

PSIRECRUITMENTSCAM

1993MUMBAIBLASTS

SC: Centre bound to freeSalem when term ends

After oral reference, judge brings ‘threat’ details on record

‘KAALI’ ROWCourt summonsfilmmaker overplea to restraingoddess depiction


HIGHLIGHTINGLACUNAEinap-plicationofrulesforgrantofbail,the Supreme Court onMondaysaid“thereisapressingneed”fora bail law in the country to“streamline thegrantof bails”.Referring to bail laws in

countriessuchastheUK,abenchof Justices S K Kaul and M MSundresh said in a judgment,“We believe there is a pressingneed for a similar enactment inour country.We do notwish tosay anythingbeyond theobser-

vationmade,excepttocallontheGovernmentof IndiatoconsidertheintroductionofanActspecif-icallymeant for granting of bailas done in various other coun-tries like theUnitedKingdom.”Thebenchnoted,“Ourbelief

is also for the reason that theCode as it exists today is a con-tinuation of the pre-Independenceonewithitsmod-ifications.WehopeandtrustthattheGovernmentwouldlookintothe suggestion made in rightearnest.”Underlining that bail is the

rule and jail an exception, thebench also asked “courts to

come down heavily on” police“officers effecting arrest with-out due compliance of Section41 and Section 41A (CrPC)”dealingwith arrest of persons,as directed by the top court inits 2014 judgment in ArneshKumar vs State of Bihar andAnother case.In its order onMonday, the

SCsaidjails inIndiaare“floodedwith undertrial prisoners”, themajority of whom “may noteven be required to be arresteddespite registration of a cognis-ableoffense,beingchargedwithoffenses punishable for sevenyearsor less”.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICETHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,JULY11

FORMER DGP R Sreelekha'sclaimsthatpopularactorDileepisinnocentinthe2017abductionand assault of a woman actorcase has sparked a controversyinKerala. Theprosecution isex-ploring legal options to recordthe statements of the formerDGPinconnectionwiththecase.The family of the survivor,

members of the film fraternityfighting for her cause and theOppositionCongressinthestatehave come out against the re-marks by Sreelekha, who wasDGP(prisons)whentheallegedaccused, includingDileep,wereremanded in judicial custody.The retired officermade the re-mark inavideoonherYouTubechannelonSunday.Opposition leader V D

Satheesansaidthepoliceshouldinvestigatethestatementsmadebythe formerDGP.“Peoplehavearighttoknow

why she stated so after her re-tirement. The revelations areshocking. Police should findoutwhether her revelations weremeant toweaken the case or itwas truth,” saidSatheesan.Former director general of

prosecutions T Asif Ali said theofficer’sstatementswouldinter-fereintheadministrationof jus-tice.“It iscontemptofcourt.Sheshould not havementioned themeritof thecase,whichispend-ing in thecourt,” saidAsif Ali.Filmprofessional andmem-

ber of Women in CinemaCollective Deedi Damodaransaid the former DGP’s claimsshowed that awoman IPS offi-cer wasworking as an agent ofmaledominance.Sreelekha alleged that a

photo showing Dileep and co-accusedSunilKumarwas fake.

ACTORASSAULTCASE

Kerala ex-DGPdraws flak overremark on Dileep’s‘innocence’

Pressing need for law in India tostreamline grant of bails, says SC

New Delhi

8WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THE MOST POPULOUSUNprojectionsunderlineopportunitiesandchallenges,

addressingwhichwillrequirelong-termvisionandimagination

T HEUNPOPULATIONDivision's(UNPD)projectionthatIndiawillreplaceChinaastheworld'smostpopulousnationin2023, fouryearsearlier thanexpected,canbesobering.Butanalarmistviewwouldbeoutdated.Avarietyofmetrics—fertilityandreplacementrates, sexratio,proportionof theyoungandold in

the country, intra-regional disparities,migration trends—enable a farmorenuancedun-derstandingofdemographicdynamicstodaycomparedtothe1950swhenIndiaembarkedonits“populationcontrol”programme.Theuseofsuchanalyticaltoolshasledtosignificantshiftsindemographicstudies—thedisciplinehasoutgrownitsMalthusianmooringsandpop-ulation growth is regardedas a challenge, not an emergency. At the same time, however,termssuchas“populationexplosion” remain inpopularparlanceandareoften invoked—largely,andoftenselectively,bythepoliticalclass—toconveythesenseof impendingcrisis.Suchpronouncements, then,pave thewayforcoercivemeasures to limit families. Incom-ingdays,policymakerswoulddowelltoavoidknee-jerkreactionstotheUNagency'sstatis-tics.Aninformeddebateisneeded.AccordingtotheUNPD,asustainedtotal fertilityrate-- theaveragenumberof children

borntoawoman--of2.1 isnecessary foracountrytoachievepopulationstability.The lat-estNationalFamilyHealthSurveyputs this figureat2. Inotherwords, India isoncourse toachievingpopulation stability if itmaintains this rate in thenext fewyears—a significantachievement foracountrywithaTFRof6whenitcommenceditspopulationcontrolpro-gramme.ComparisonswithChinawouldbemisplacedbecause forcewas the leitmotif ofBeijing'sthree-and-a-half-decade-longone-childpolicy.GovernmentsinIndia—exceptforabrieflapseintoforcedsterilisationduringtheEmergency—have,incontrast,deployedper-suasionandeducationastools.Policymakershaveacknowledgedtheneedtogivewomenagreatersayinfertility-relateddecisions.Muchmoreneedstobedoneonthis,ofcourse, inlargepartsofthecountry,includinginUttarPradesh,BiharandMadhyaPradesh,whoseTFRishigherthanthenationalaverageandwheregenderdiscriminationhasdeepsocial roots.If India's estimated700millionwomenare forced to remainon the sidelines, the countrylosesoutonideasandperspectivesthatarecritical foraddressingitsseveralsocialandeco-nomicchallenges—includingthoserelatedtopopulation—aswellasharnessingnewop-portunities.Thisshouldbeamongstthefirstconcernsinthewakeof theUNreport.Apopulationofmore than1.4billionwill require theunflinching focusof policymakers

onareasfundamentaltohumanwell-being—education,nutrition,healthcare,housing,andemployment. Theyouthwill have tobeequippedwith skills that are indispensable to theknowledgeeconomy.Theclimatecrisisandotherecological imperativeswillmeanthatthefootprintsofmanyactivitiesarekeptlight.Mostimportantly,thechallengeswillspurdebate,discussion,evendissension,andrequirethatdiversevoicesareheard.India'sdemocratictra-ditionsandthestrengthofitsinstitutionswillbeneededtonavigatethewayforwardfromhere.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENTInbattlebetweenbigtechandstate,moreclarityisneeded,both

sideshavemuchtouncoveranddeclare

T HEREISAgrowingpushandpullbetweenBigTechandthestateoverthegov-ernanceofglobalpublicplatforms.Afewdaysago,socialmediaplatform,Twitter,movedtheKarnatakaHighCourtoverthegovernment'sorderstoblockcertaintweetsandhandlesunderSection69of theInformationTechnologyAct2000.

Twitter’smovecameafter theMinistryofElectronicsandInformationTechnology(MeitY)hadaskedit tocomplywith itsordersorrisk losingthesafeharbourprotectionaffordedtosuchplatforms. This clashbetweenbig techand the state is, however, notunique to India.Across theworld, governments are grapplingwith this issue, struggling to arrive at anewequilibrium.Regulationof socialmediaplatforms—public forumsbutownedbycorpora-tions—isacontentiousissue.Twitterhasallegedthattheblockingordersare“procedurallyandsubstantiallynon-com-

pliantwithSection69A,aremanifestlyarbitrary, fail toprovidetheoriginatorspriornoticeandaredisproportionate inseveralcases”. In itspetition, thesocialmediagianthasalsoar-guedthatsomeoftheURLscontain“politicalandjournalisticcontent”,blockingwhichwouldbeaviolationof theright to freespeech.However,Twitter'spastactions—themanner, forinstance,inwhichit“suddenlycutthemic”ofDonaldTrump—lendcredencetothechargethatitisunaccountable.Itscontentmoderationdecisionscanbeaccusedofbeingshroudedinopacity,and/ortakenbyexecutivesinSiliconValleywhoseincentivesarenotalignedwithwhatmaybedeemedaspublic interest.Considering thepowerof suchplatforms inshap-ingpublicopinion,thesearemattersofconcern.ElonMusk'stakeoverattempt—hehasnowpulledout of buyingTwitter—wouldhave compounded theproblem.Aprivately ownedcompanyisunderlesserpublicscrutinyascomparedtoapubliclylistedone.Yet,byaskingTwittertoblocktweetsandhandles,governmentsmaybeseekingtosup-

press views critical of them.According toTwitter’s global transparency report, the fourthhighestnumberofcontenttakedownrequestscamefromIndiabetweenJanuaryandJune2021.Asreportedinthispaper,betweenFebruary2021and2022,MeitYissued10blockingorders,askingTwittertotakedown1,400accountsand175tweets.Governmentsneedtobemore transparent in theirdecision-making. Since the issuehas reachedthecourts, there ishopethat,attheveryleast,thejudiciarywillhelpclarifythetermsofengagement.

SriramVeera

India’sparticipationinI2U2summit—withIsrael,US,UAE—marksamoreconfidentengagementwithregion

THE MADNESS OF NICK KYRGIOSHeisboorish,refusestogrowup.Andwecan’thelpbutwatchhim

THE FIRST SUMMIT thisweek of the awk-wardly-namedforumI2U2—whichbringsto-gether India, Israel, theUnitedArabEmiratesand theUnitedStates— is exploratory inna-ture.Thevirtualsummitbetweentheleadersof thefourcountries isexpectedtotakeplaceonThursdayduring JoeBiden's visit to Israel.ButitisbynomeansthemainobjectiveoftheUSPresident’svisittotheMiddleEast.ThevisittoIsraelandSaudiArabiawillsee

Bidenpursueseveralchallenginggoals.Theseinclude getting Saudi support for reducingthepressureonglobal oil prices in thewakeoftheUkrainewar,recalibratingUStieswithSaudi Arabiawhich Biden had promised tomakeintoa“pariah”,deepeningthenormal-isation of relations between Israel and theArab states, persuading Israel to seek recon-ciliationwiththePalestinians,andrenewingAmerican engagementwith the PalestinianAuthority.Squeezing the I2U2 summit into this al-

readydemandingvisit underlines theUSbetthatIndiacancontributesignificantlytopeaceandprosperityintheregion.Italsounderlinesa newpoliticalwill inDelhi to break the oldtaboosonIndia’sWestAsianengagement.TheI2U2marks theconsolidationof anumberofnewtrends in India’sMiddle East policy thatacquired greatermomentumunder PrimeMinisterNarendraModi.TheI2U2waslaunchedlastOctoberwhen

theforeignministersofthefourcountriesmetwhen External Affairs MinisterSubrahmanyamJaishankarvisited Israel.Thesummitthisweekputsthetopleadership'spo-litical imprimaturontheforum.Whatstandsout sharply in India’s new thinking in theMiddleEast isthatthesummitinvolvesthreecountries thatDelhi had traditionally kept asafepoliticaldistancefrom.LetusstartwithIsrael.AlthoughIndiawas

oneofthefirstcountriestoextendrecognitionto Israel in1950, JawaharlalNehruheldbackfromestablishingfulldiplomaticrelationswiththe Jewish state. PVNarasimhaRao reversedthat policy in 1992but a defensiveCongresswashesitantto“own”therelationship.RaodidnottraveltoIsraelnordidhereceiveanIsraeliprimeminister.AtalBihariVajpayeeoftheBJP,whichhadamoreempathetic viewof Israel,hosted IsraeliPMArielSharon in2003. In the

decade-longruleof theUPA(2004-14), therewerenoprimeministerial visits in either di-rection.While the relationship steadily ex-panded, therewas ideological reluctance inDelhitogivethepartnershipapoliticalprofile.Modi,incontrast,cametopowerwithadeter-minationtoimpartapoliticalcharactertotheIsraelties.If the Congress fearedopenengagement

withIsraelmightcomplicaterelationswiththeArabpartners,Modirecognisedthattheregionwasgoingthroughsweepingpoliticalchanges,andshiftingawayfromoldshibboleths.Hisbetpaidoff,withlittlenegativeAraborMuslimre-actiontothemoreopenpursuitof India’s tieswith Israel. Theproblemwasneverwith theMiddleEastbutDelhi’sideologicalpreconcep-tionsthatdistortedIndia’sviewof theregion.Noneof themwasmore consequential thanthebeliefthatthecontradictionbetweenIsraeland theMuslimworld is enduringand irrec-oncilable.But theregional realitywasalwaysmorecomplex.Turkey,nowachampionofpo-litical Islam, had diplomatic tieswith Israelsince 1949. Egypt normalised ties in 1980.Under theAbrahamic accords promotedbytheTrumpAdministration, theUAE,Bahrain,Sudan andMorocco set up formal tieswithIsrael in2020.Modi’sdecisivenessinengagingIsraelwas

matched byhis effort to deepen India’s tieswith theArabworld. During his first visit toIsrael in2018,healsobecamethe first IndianPMtovisitPalestine.Evenmoreimportanthasbeen the transformation of India’s relationswith theGulf Kingdoms, especially theUAEandSaudiArabia.India’s traditional preference in theArab

worldwas for engaging the republics. India’sties to themonarchies weremore deeplyrootedandbecameratherimportantsincethe1970sasthemainsourceofhydrocarbons,themaindestinationforIndianlabourexportsandamajor sourceof hardcurrency remittances.Yet,Delhiremainedwaryofengagementwiththemonarchies, telling itself that theywerepro-Pakistan. No Indian PM visited SaudiArabia between1982and2010andUAEbe-tween1981and2015.Onhispart,Modifoundaway to build a personal rapportwith therulersofSaudiandtheUAEanddevelopstrongtieswiththesegovernmentswithoutarefer-

encetoPakistan.DespiteDelhi’s ideological posturing, the

Middle East had long ceased tobe apoliticalpriority for India. Paying lip service to oldcauseshadovertakenthecalculatedpursuitofnationalinterestsinacomplexregion.Throughhis decade-long tenure,Manmohan Singhtravelledtotheregiononlyfourtimes—twoofthose journeyswere to attendnon-alignedsummits.TheUAEwasnotpartof thosetripsdespiteitsgrowingeconomicsignificance.PMModi, in contrast, has travelled four times totheUAEalone, negotiated a free trade agree-mentwith it, andhasambitiousplans for thetransformationofbilateralrelations.TheUAEhas also backed India’s 2019 constitutionalchanges inKashmir and is ready to invest intheunionterritory.ThatbringsustotheUS.ForpoliticalDelhi,

theUSandWesternpoliciesintheregionwereamainpartoftheproblem.Theimmediatefo-cusofNehru’spolicyafterindependencewasto actively opposeUSmoves in the region inthenameofpromotingan“areaofpeace”.Thatpolicyhadnolastingimpactasmanyregionalcountriessoughtactiveeconomic,politicalandsecuritycooperationwiththeUSandtheWest.TheI2U2thenmarksabigbreakfromtheanti-Western tradition in India’s approach to theregion.EventhosewhosupportedIndia’sengage-

mentwiththeUSinthe Indo-Pacific throughtheQuadinrecentyearshadinsistedthattherewasnoroomforworkingwithWashingtonintheMiddleEast.TheModigovernmenthasbetotherwise. If Congress governments arguedthatstandinguptotheWestintheMiddleEastwasasacredobligationforIndia,theModigov-ernment is nowprepared to confidently ne-gotiatethetermsofajointengagement.India’s participation in theWest Asian

Quad bringsDelhi in linewith othermajorpowers—includingEurope,China,andRussia— to try andengage all parties in the region.India’s past ideologically drivenexclusionofregionalpartnerswasastrangeaberration.TheI2U2 sets the stage for a new and dynamicphaseinIndia'srelationswiththeMiddleEast.

ThewriterisSeniorFellow,AsiaSocietyPolicyInstitute,DelhiandacontributingeditoroninternationalaffairsforTheIndianExpress

MORETHANanyathlete, tennisplayerNickKyrgiosmakes us questionwhywewatchsports.Especiallyas it’san individual sportand there areno team loyalties tomakeuslook beyond the person. Do we watchsports to gawk at the unreachable artistryof aRogerFedereroraLionelMessi, the in-spiring indefatigability of a Rafael Nadal,the admirable doggedness of a NovakDjokovic? Or for the gasping brutality of aMikeTysonandthetorturedgeniusof JohnMcEnroe triumphing against a battlewithhimself?Kyrgios isn’tevenawinner, inthatconventionalsense;hehasn’twonaGrandSlamyet.Kyrgios can be an insufferable, self-ab-

sorbedpunk.He is also a talented, torturedman.Heisseamlesslyboth.Theself-loather(inhis drug andalcohol-fuelledphase), theovergrown toddler who never bends hismiddlefingerattheworld,amanwhohatestennis.The question of whether he is good for

thesport is thewrongone. It isn’t about thesport. It’s not even about him. It’s about us.Sports revealour idiosyncrasies: Themoraland immoral urges, aesthetic sense; ourparochialism, pettiness, largesse, and theneed to escape our mundaneness…Weprojectall thatontoplayersandteams.Thecommonality, though, is that they have tomakeuscare.Usually, to be kind to someone, to par-

aphrase the psychoanalyst Adam Phillips,we have to be able to engage with them,

andimaginethem.ButKyrgiosmovesus indifferent ways: He doesn’t allow us to en-gagewithhim traditionally,withhis boor-ishness, his increasingly-trite rebellious-ness. He doesn’t let us feel any lingeringconcern about his career because he him-self is out there saying he doesn’t care.McEnroe'suncouthness(once inGermany,he snapped at a line-referee, “Didn’t knowthey had black Germans”) seemed fine tomany as he was champion. But Kyrgiosleaves us floundering. Once, to a reporterfrom the New Yorkerwhowondered whythis extremely competitive fellow whohates losingdoesn'tcaremoreforwinning,Kyrgios replied, “I don’t think I want itenough.”Why take theboorishness if he isnot going to be a champion?Kyrgios was suicidal in the recent past,

lost trust inhis family, a friendhadhis loca-tion on the phone tomonitor him. He sayshehatestennisandhasapenchantforblam-ing the world — as evidenced by his epicrants against his own boxwhere his familyandfriendssitbutincidentally,nocoach(heisagainst coaching).Aboveall, hepossessesa fascinating self-awareness that he suffersfromall theabove traits.But he is not an uncontrollable train

wreckwho lets his emotions totally derailhim. He has talked about howhe has usedhis tantrums to throw off Djokovic in thepast. “Hewould look back and be like, 'thisguy has so many loose screws!' And hewould side-eyeme and I am like I am right

whereIwanttobe.BecauseIf Idon'tdothat,my chance of winning goes down im-mensely,” he told the podcast, Turn up andTalk. “If I try to be professional and outclasshim, that's not going to happen. Classy andKyrgios don’t go together! But I knowhowtowin.”Perhapshe reallydoesn’t care. Perhaps,

he is the perfect amateur, content withbraggingrights, tellinghis friends,did theysee how he f****d with Djokovic or Nadalfor 25minutes on centre court? Amortalwhospatat immortality.Hewillpushhim-self but won’t train for more than “hour aday”, andmore than “four times a week”.Still, therewouldbelegionsof fansamongstushopinghestirshimself togreaterheights.For, intheireyes,what’s thepointofplayingotherwise?But that “perhaps” is thebeauty.Thatan

overgrownkid,whoseemsunable tomain-tain emotional equilibrium, can still strutaround thehallowedcourt, doinghis thing.Messing with our minds, with the oppo-nent’s,usinghisfriendsandfamilyaspunch-ingbags, taunting thereferees, andpunctu-ating this madness withmore than a fewdelicious shots and almost threatening totakedownaplayermoreambitiousthanhimisperhapsall there is tohim.Amanwho refuses to growup because

hedoesn’t see thepoint.Whatmorereasondoesoneneedto tune in towatchhim?

[email protected]

For political Delhi, the USand Western policies in theregion were a main part ofthe problem. The immediatefocus of Nehru’s policy afterindependence was to activelyoppose US moves in theregion in the name ofpromoting an ‘area of peace’.That policy had no lastingimpact as many regionalcountries sought activeeconomic, political, andsecurity cooperation withthe US and the West. TheI2U2 then marks a big breakfrom the anti-Westerntradition in India’s approachto the region.

Kyrgios was suicidal in therecent past, lost trust in hisfamily, a friend had hislocation on the phone tomonitor him. He says hehates tennis and has apenchant for blaming theworld — as evidenced by hisepic rants against his ownbox where his family andfriends sit but incidentallyno coach (he is againstcoaching). Above all, hepossesses a fascinating self-awareness that he suffersfrom all the above traits.

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, JULY12,2022WORDLYWISE

Champions keep playing untilthey get it right.

—Billie JeanKingTHEEDITORIALPAGE

PRESIDENTIAL POLLSTHECONGRESS (I) and theOppositiongavefinaltouchestotheirarrangementsformax-imumpolling in favour of their respectivecandidates in the upcoming presidentialelection,which begins at 10 am simultane-ously in ParliamentHouse and 23 places instates.Spokesmenofbothsidesruledoutanymajor cross-voting from their camps any-where.Oppositionleadersclaimedthatmostof theirMPshadalreadyarrivedinthecapi-tal and the restwould reach in time for vot-ing. Leadersof theCongress (I) claimedthatahead count in state capitals gave them thehopethatZailSinghmightevengeta three-fourthsmajorityeven thoughthepartyhadonlyanear two-thirds lead.

ESCALATION IN BEIRUTHEAVYISRAELI-PALESTINIANARTILLERYex-changes,extendingforthefirsttimeintoEastBeirut, broke the ceasefire and brought thewar to the doorstep of the eastern sector'scivilian population. Israel, which had beenshelling the Palestinians since dawn, in theafternoonbeganfiringfrompositionsinEastBeirut,drawingPalestinianreturnfiretores-identialneighbourhoods.Policesaidatleast52peoplewerekilledand90woundedintheartillery barrage. Yasser Arafat proposed an11-pointplantodefusetheBeirutcrisis.BothUS and Lebanesemediatorswereunable tomeet to discuss the Arafat plan as shellsraineddownneartheirmansions.Israelime-dia said US chief mediator Philip Habib has

setanAugust1deadlineforhisefforttobringaboutapeacefulPLOevacuation.

HISSAR REPOLLAHEAVY TURNOUT of voters, estimated tobe about 85 per cent, marked the peacefulrepoll in 19 booths for the Hissar assemblyconstituency.The19booths, inwhichrepollwas ordered by the Chief ElectionCommissioner following reports of arsonand violence onMay 19, covered 18,000 ofthe78,000 total voters. The repoll hadbeenordered in thewake of violent clashes be-tween supporters of the Janata candidate,Baldev Tayal and an independent, OmPrakashMahajan.

JULY 12, 1982, FORTYYEARSAGO

CHAMPION RYBAKINAShechooseshowheridentityisdescribedanddefined.Tennis

traditionallowsherthespacetodothat

T ENNISHASSELDOMhadtimeforcloyingnationalism.Ithasledthewayincel-ebrating the individuality of its champions. BjornBorgdidn't need todon theyokeofSweden,andRogerFedererdidn'tplayuphisSwissidentity,justasSteffiGrafandtheWilliamssistersbarelyleantonaGermanorAmericancrutch.Itis

against this background thatWimbledon's decision tobarRussians andBelarusians, andsubsequently Russia's attempts to appropriate Elena Rybakina'sWimbledon victory as“Russian”,needtobeviewed.Theyare ignorantof tennis'grandtraditionofhailinggladia-torswhofightandwinaloneonhallowedcourts.Wimbledondoubleddown— in the faceof opposition fromATP&WTA, tennis's gov-

erningbodies—whenitsmembersdecidedthatRussianplayerswillnotbewelcomedtotheChampionships,afterRussiainvadedUkraine.Punishingindividualsbyviewingthemasrep-resentativesofadislikedregimewasn'tparticularlywise,especiallysincethelikesofRublevandMedvedevhadspokenoutagainstwar.Russianmediaandthetennisfederationsuddenlystaking claimoverRybakina is equally laughable. The23-year-old,whenaskedaboutherdualorigins,flashedtennis'sblazingindividualisticpride:“Ididn'tchoosewhereIwasborn.”PlayingforKazakhstanforaverylongtime,sheacknowledgedthesupportthecountryhadofferedher,andpolitelyturneddownRussia'sattemptstoscorebraggingpoints.Contemporarywomen'stennisisblessedwithinspiringathletes,fromSerenaWilliams

toAshBartyandNaomiOsaka.TheWimbledonfinaladdedtwomorenames—OnsJabeur,MuslimArabTunisian,apathbreakerinherownright.AndElenaRybakina,the2022women’ssingles champion. Besides thwacking forehands, thesewomenchoosehowtheir identitywillbedefined.Tenniswillremaininspirationalaslongasitallowsthemthespacetodothat.

CRajaMohan

West Asian Quad

New Delhi

9THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY12,2022 WHATTHEOTHERSSAY

‘‘The revelation of Uber’s sharp practices tells a simple truth about the techrevolution. The cost of innovation might be invisible to the consumer, butthat doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Democracy depends on curbing mercenarytech giants.’’ —THEGUARDIANTHE IDEASPAGE

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

The future of India rests inthe hands of childrengrowing up in UP, Bihar andMadhya Pradesh today. Wewill need to ensure that theeducation system in thesestates is prepared to meetthis challenge. Withindustrial growthconcentrated in coastalregions and the bulk of ourworkers coming from centralareas, we will also need tofigure out how to deal withinterstate migration.

HOWSHOULDtheNITIAayogwork to im-prove alignment between the Centre andstates as part of ‘Team India’? Thiswouldhave several dimensions — establishingopenborderswithinthecountryforanopenlabourmarket; facilitating effective imple-mentation of national programmes thatpromote job creation, improve the qualityof thelabourforceandenhanceeaseofdo-ing business; ensuringhigh-quality publicexpenditure, particularly capital expendi-ture; and ensuring policy predictability atthestate level.Sinceitsinceptionin2015,NITIAayoghas

been instrumental in promoting competi-tiveandcooperativefederalism.NITIAayogorganises the annual meeting of theGoverningCouncil(GC)undertheleadershipof thePM,whichbringstogetherchiefmin-isters/Lieutenant-governorsofthestates/UTstodiscussinter-sectoral,inter-departmentaland federal issues to accelerate the imple-mentation of the National DevelopmentAgenda. As a run-up to the2022GCmeet-ing, the first National Conference of ChiefSecretarieswasheld inDharamshala fromJune15-17.ThiswasalsothefirsttimethatI,as vice-chairman, NITI Aayog,met all thechiefsecretariesandotherseniorofficialsofallstates/UTsonasingleplatform.Thetimespent atDharamshala enrichedmyunder-standing of NITI Aayog’s role in enhancingalignment between the Centre and statesandhelped crystallisemy thoughts in theformofsevenpropositions.Propositionone:India’sgrowthisthatof

its statesandUTs.As custodiansof regionalpolicyandprimeexecutorsofdevelopmentprogrammes, states are the Indian econ-omy’s growthdrivers. States control urbangovernance,agriculture,powerdistribution,landrecordsmodernisation,labourlawsim-plificationandpollutioncontrol.ForIndiatoremain one of the fastest-growingmajoreconomies, states must identify theirstrengths.NITIAayogmust ensureproduc-tiveengagementanddialoguewiththestatestodevelopagrowthroadmap.Proposition two: To achieve greater so-

cio-economiccohesionwithin thecountry,achievingincomeconvergenceacrossstatesmust be apolicypriority. Despite country-wideeconomicgrowth, the lessdevelopedIndian states are not catchingup.Over thelasttwodecades,halfofIndia’sGDPhasbeencontributed by just a handful of states.Broadly,statesthathavebeenabletogetonthe growth ladder have been able to staythere,whilethelaggingstateshavefounditchallengingtocatchup.NITIAayogneedstoengenderdiscoursetoaddressthiscrucialis-sue through improved governance struc-tures, adequate financial development andinfrastructure.Propositionthree:Inadditiontoincome

growth,performanceonsocial indicators is

a soundmetric for assessing a state’s per-formance. Social outcomes are de-linkedfromincomeinseveralstates.Mizoram’sper-formanceontheInfantMortalityRate(IMR)is oneexample.Despitebeingamiddle-in-comestate, its IMRis the lowestat3deathsper 1,000 live births,whereas thenationalaverageis28.NITIAayoghasdevelopedsev-eralsocialsectorindicesanddashboardsforeffectively tracking andmonitoring out-comes.Regularmonitoringandperformanceevaluationwill incentivise states toachievebettersocialoutcomes.Proposition four:Wemust focusonen-

suringthatgrowthoriginatesfromthegrass-rootswhileaddressingsignificantinter-stateand inter-district variations. The PrimeMinisterlaunchedtheAspirationalDistrictsProgramme (ADP) to address these chal-lengesthroughdata-driven,outcome-basedgovernance.Theprogrammefocusesonfos-teringcompetitionamongdistricts,enablingconvergenceofschemesandpromotingcol-laboration.WhilelaudingtheADPduringtheconference,thePMemphasisedtheneedtoconverttheAspirationalDistrictsinto“inspi-rationaldistricts”.NITIAayogmustfocusonguidingstategovernmentsinreplicatingtheADPtemplateat theblock leveland fordis-trictsnotcategorisedasaspirational.Propositionfive:Bettermanagedurban-

isation iscrucial.Cities facechallengessuchas affordable housing, water supply andwastemanagement.Further,thereisaneedtotapintoresourcesotherthangovernmentbudgets,suchasmonetisinglandassetsandengagingprivate capital in servicedelivery.Effortstoempowerandmakelargeurbanlo-calbodiesatmanirbharare theneedsof thehour.Propositionsix:Severalbestpracticesare

alreadybeingimplementedbystatesacrossIndia.NITIAayogmustactasan intermedi-arybetweentheCentreandstatestoensurecross-sharingofthesebestpractices,insightsandperspectives.Someareasthatmeritpar-ticular focus are theuse of advanced tech-nology using blockchain andAI, develop-mentofsocialregistry,reducingcomplianceburden, implementationof PMGati Shakti,decriminalisationofminoroffencesandsim-plificationoflawsandprocessestoenhanceeaseofdoingbusiness.Proposition seven: The challengeof cli-

matechangeisuponus.Theworldhassofarwitnessedtwomodelsofdevelopment—theIndustrialRevolutionandtheriseofEastAsia.Bothdependedoncheap,fossil-fuelenergy.Indiaaspirestogrowequallyfastbutisnowsubject to a carbon constraint. At the statelevel, it is crucial to frame thedecarbonisa-tionchallengeinthecontextofthestates’ur-gentneedtocreatemillionsofnewjobs, in-crease incomesand improvepublic health.Itiscriticaltounderstandhowthechallengesfacingstatesmightbeaffectedbydecarbon-isation, bothwith regard tomitigation andadaptation.Weneedtocontinueournationaldebatearoundthischallenge.Usingitscon-veningpower,NITIAayogiswell-positionedto generate such a conversation andguidestatestocatalyseclimateaction.

Thewriterisvice-chairman,NITIAayog.Viewsexpressedarepersonal.HewouldliketothankTanushreeChandraandManpreet

Kaurfortheirresearchassistance

THEUNITEDNATIONS PopulationDivisionreleasedanewsetofpopulationprojectionsonJuly11,WorldPopulationDay.Thesepro-jections show that India will become themostpopulouscountry in2023,earlier thanthe year 2027, as expected. However, this isnotbecauseIndiahasnotsuccessfullyimple-mented its population policy but becauseChina’s fertility is lower than anticipated.Followingyearsofstringentpopulationcon-trol,restrictingmostcouplestoasinglechild,in2016,Chinarelaxed itsone-childpolicy toallowtwochildren.Then, in2021, itwas fur-ther relaxed to allow a third child.Nonetheless, Chinese couples seem to haveadjusted to lifewith a single child, and theTotalFertilityRate(TFR)inChinaisbarely1.16.The size of the population is intimately

connected to the power dynamics shapingthe relationship between nations, regionsand generations. It is, however, a double-edged sword that needs to be skillfullywielded.Sowhatdopopulationtransforma-tionsaroundtheglobeandwithinIndiaher-ald for challenges facing Indian public pol-icy? The following25yearswill bring threedifferentchangesinthecentreofpopulationgravity: Between nations, between statesandbetweengenerations. Eachwill requirea finelycalibratedresponse.First, over thenext 25years, as India ap-

proachesa century,wewill beblessedwitha massive workforce that will cast a longshadow. Globally, one in five working-agepersonswillliveinIndia.Thechallengeisthatasizeableworking-agepopulationdoesnotmeanmanyworkers. The sizeof our labourforce is constrained by the absence ofwomen from theworkforce. Only about 30per cent of women aged 15 and above areemployed either in wage work on familyfarmsandbusinesses.Withsharplydecliningfertility and rising education, many Indianwomenwould like towork if they can findsuitable jobs.Unless they canbewelcomedintogainfulemployment,wewillnotbeabletoreapthehoped-fordemographicdividend.Womenare shut out ofmany sectors of theIndian economy. The absence of women infactories, the transportation sector andskilled blue-collar work is striking.Makingtheseoccupations female-friendly is essen-tial ifweare to reapagenderdividend.The second aspect of the demographic

centreofgravityrelatestopopulationdistri-butionbetweenstates.With fertility transi-tionbeginninginsouthernstatesandslowlyspreading to central India, future workerswill comefromthecentralpartof thecoun-try,precisely thestates thathave laggedbe-hindinfertilitytransitionsofar.AsProfessorPMKulkarni projects, the southern states,already facing the burden of caring for alargerproportionof thepopulationaged65and above, will be evenmore stressed inyears tocome.Thus,thefutureof Indiarestsinthehands

of children growing up in UP, Bihar andMadhyaPradesh today.Wewill need toen-surethattheeducationsysteminthesestatesis prepared tomeet this challenge.With in-dustrial growth concentrated in coastal re-gions and the bulk of our workers coming

fromcentralareas,wewillalsoneedtofigureout how to deal with interstatemigration.Already, Tamil workers are working inChennai auto factories,whileworkers fromOdishaandUttarPradeshareworkinginteaand cardamomplantations of Tamil Nadu.As trains of interstatemigrants during thepandemichighlight,wewillneedbetterpoli-ciesto integrateandsupportmigrantwork-ers in theirnewhomes ifweare toadjust tochangingdemographic realities.The changing centre of demographic

gravity is also reflected in changing inter-generational relations. UNmedian projec-tionsshowIndianfertilitystabilisingslightlybelowthereplacementlevelofTotalFertilityRate (TFR) of 2.However, theyhave abroadband of uncertainty around this estimate,withsomeestimatesfallingsubstantiallybe-low 2. A comparison of India’s populationpyramidin2047withtheprojectedpopula-tionpyramid forChinaprovides a starkpic-tureofthedifferentchallengesthetwocoun-tries will face. China must cope with anenormousold-agedependencyburdenwithnorelief fromsuccessively smaller childco-horts. However, in 2047, a large proportionof the Indian populationwill be of workingages. This large cohortwill be succeededbysomewhat smaller cohorts but not as smallas thoseof China.However, after 2050, the older popula-

tionwill rise sharply; by2100, about 30percentof the Indianpopulationwillbe65andabove.With small families, theseolderpar-entswill have twoor fewerchildren to sup-portthem,makingitdifficult forIndianpar-ents to rely on their traditional mode ofsurvival, livingwith one ormore sons. Thissuggests thatwemustdevelopmorerobustsystems of old-age support. This should in-cludeacombinationofprivatesavings,pub-lic social security programmes and an in-crease in retirement age, allowing theolderpopulation to be economically active for alongertimeandsavefortheirfuture.Inaddi-tion, since most of these elderly will bewomen, we will also need to increasewomen’s controlover family’s savings, landandresidence.Wemust find away of getting comfort-

able with this changing centre of demo-graphic gravity and learn tomanage it. TheNational Population Policy of 2000 focusedon promoting the small family norm. ANationalPopulationPolicyof2022isneededthataddsthemanagementof changingsizeandcompositionof theIndianpopulationtoitsagenda.

Thewriter isProfessorandCentreDirector,NCAERNationalData InnovationCentre, and

PresidentofPopulationAssociationofAmerica.Viewsarepersonal

A suitableintermediary

WHAT LANKA NEEDSTHISREFERSTOTHEeditorial, ‘SriLankarestart’, (IE, July 11). Every revolutionstems from economic dilapidation -fromtheFrenchRevolutiontotheArabSpring. Since independence, Sri Lankahasbeenbatteredbyinnerturmoil.Thecountry’s civilwar ended in 2009. TheCovid-19 pandemic proved to be thelaststraw.TheChinesedebttrapfurthertightenedthenoosearoundthenation.Fed up, the citizenry rose in rebellion,provingyetagain, thegenesisofpoweris in the masses, not the leaders. Atimelycoursecorrectioninallspheres–political, economic, and social – is theneedof thehour forSri Lanka.

AbhishekKumarAnshu,Patna

A CAPABLE LEADERTHISREFERSTOtheeditorial, ‘LeadlikeAbe’ (IE, July 9). That the idea of theQuad was first mooted by the thenJapanese PM Abe, speaks volumesabout his diplomatic capabilities.Similarly, the bilateral ties betweenIndia and Japan were taken to newheights thanks to his efforts. He wascommittedtoastableandinclusiveeco-nomicandpoliticalenvironmentintheIndo-Pacificregion.Heunderstoodthattrade, tourism, nuclear energy and cy-ber space were the key issues uponwhichIndo-Japantieshinged.Defenceand security, too, didn’t escape his at-tentionwith Japan fundingmany roadprojects innortheast India.

GanapathiBhat,Akola

WATERSHED MOMENTTHISREFERSTOthearticle, ‘IthappenedinColombo’ (IE, July11). It is surprisinghow even in the absence of a spear-heading organisation, such amassivecitizens-led protest can fell a govern-ment.Whatisalsocuriousistheroleofsocial media in this mass resurgence,with it being the primarymedium oforganisation. The Sri Lankan crisischanges democratic equations, and isdefinitelyawatershedeventinthehis-toryofpublicparticipation.Theeventswarrant a deeper look to understandthe changing realities and the digitalworld's role in it.

InderpalSingh,Delhi

RAY OF HOPETHIS REFERS TO the article, ‘Theworkof justice’ (IE, July 11).Nupur Sharma'sstatement triggered an internationalrow,forwhichshewassuspendedfromtheBJP,followedbylarge-scaleprotestsnationally. The unfortunate killing inUdaipurwasalsoaresultofthis.Theun-restcausedbySharmahasclearlybeena threat to lawandorder. Contrast thatwith a four-year-old tweet byMohammadZubairwhichdidnot cre-ate any on-ground unrest. The bias isevident. This judgement has helpedreaffirmsome faith in the judiciary foreveryday Indians. At this juncture, it isthe duty of the government to protectthe judiciary and to keep the faith ofcommonpeople intact.

AjayCorriea,Vasai

LETTERS TO THEEDITOR

INDIANSWEREgreatwarriors.Fromtheepicstohistory, India’sstoryisfullofwarsandcon-quests. Empirebuildingwas seenas avirtue,throughconceptsliketheRajasuya.Overmil-lennia, the concept of “dharmayuddh” (justwar),arealistdoctrinebasedonjustice,peaceandfreedom,wasdeveloped.Havingconqueredtheneighbouringking-

dom of Kalinga in a bloodywar, EmperorAshoka, the 3rd-century BCE ruler of theMauryandynasty,becameremorsefulandde-cided to relinquishwar. “His SacredMajestybegantorepentofhavingconqueredKalinga,for the conquest of a land that hadbeen freebringswith itmurder, destruction and theleadingofpeopleintocaptivity.This filledHisSacredMajestywithdeepsadnessandrepen-tance…Trueconquestistheconquestofheartswiththehelpofthelawofdutyandpiety,”hiscourtchroniclerswrote.This natural aversion to conflict and the

urgeforjustice,peaceandfreedomdominatedthethinkingduringtheIndependencemove-ment too. After Independence, theybecamethearticlesof faithforIndia’sforeignpolicy.ThatwasthetimeofColdWarrivalry,with

theworld split into twoblocs— theWesternBlocand theSovietBloc. Everycountry facedenormous pressure to choose sides.Instinctively, Indiachosetoremainneutral,tothe chagrin especially of theWestern Bloc,whichinterpretedneutralityassidingwiththe

other bloc. AnnoyedAmericans pejorativelycalledIndia“neutralist”andpraisedPakistanas“afriendofpeace,democracyandfreedom”.India stood its ground. Then came the

Panchsheel, followed by the BandungConferenceof 1955andthebirthof theNon-AlignedMovement(NAM),allleadingtoIndiamaintainingneutralityinglobalconflicts.Withtwoexceptions,onehonourableand

anotherdishonourable—thehonourableonebeingsendingitsnavalvesselstotheMaldivestoavertacoupin1988,andthedishonourableonebeingsendingitsarmies intoSriLankainthenameofpeacekeepingin1985-87—Indianeverdirectlyparticipatedinthemilitarycon-flict of another country. Indianpeacekeeperswere a part of UN Peacekeeping Forces inplaceslikeSudan,KosovoandCongo.Butthen,India determinedly avoided pressure to di-rectly or indirectly get involved in anyotherconflictintheregionoroutside, includingtheGulfWarofthe1990sandtheAmericanwarsinAfghanistanandIraqafter9/11.India’s standon theUkrainewarmustbe

viewedinthiscontext.There are no just wars in this age. The

Ukrainewarisnoexception.Therealistspointout that the US andUKhadmarched theirarmiesintoIraqontheflimsypretextof itsvi-olationofaGulfWar-eraceasefireagreementand threatening the security of theWesternpowers. Putindid the same thing inUkraine.

Realismas adoctrine rationalises that coun-tries go towar for internal and external rea-sons. While political scientists like JohnMearsheimerandHenryKissingerarguedfortheRussian invasion tobeseen fromarealistperspectiveandasolutionfoundinaccommo-datingMoscow'sconcerns,theglobalpoliticalopinion has largely isolated and blamedVladimirPutinforthewar.From the Indian perspective, the blame

needstobeapportionedbetweenbothsides.Buttheneedofthehouristofindwaystoendthewar.Realistsalsoarguethatwarsbetweenbigpowersdon’tremainwars—theybecomeissuesofprestige.The Ukrainewar has now entered that

phase. Putinwants annexation at any cost,whiletheWesternpowersseetheprotractedconflictasanopportunitytoentangleandcrip-pleRussiaeconomicallyandmilitarily.Neitherseemstoobotheredaboutthehumancosts.Indiamusttakeintoaccountthisreality. It

must distinguishbetweenneutrality as a ro-manticprincipleversusneutralityasrealism.India’sneutralityhadfaceditsfirstmajorchal-lenge in China’s annexation of Tibet in the1950s,whichposedadirectthreattoitsnorth-ern borders. TheAmericans hadhoped thatIndiawould realise itsmistake and join theBaghdadPactcountriesthatincludedtheUK,PakistanandIran,besidestheUS.ButNehru,asaromanticidealist,arguedthatoneshouldn’t

compromisewithone’sprinciplessimplybe-causesomeoneelsehaddepartedfromtheirs.This lack of realism, unfortunately, provedcostlyforIndiawhenChinacommittedmajoraggressionjustafewyears laterandannexedlargepartsof Indianterritory.ThisisnottosuggestthatIndiashouldhave

joinedCENTOorthatitshouldtakesidesinthecurrentUkrainian conflict. There is another,moreappropriate,example.AtthetimeoftheKoreanWar,asaneutralcountry,Indiawasas-signedtheresponsibilityofoverseeingtheendof hostilities and a ceasefire across the 38thParallel that divided that country intoNorthandSouthKorea. Itwas alsomandatedwiththerepatriationofwarprisoners.“Inthetwomatters,themediationofIndia

madeitpossibleforagreementstobereached.Agreatdealofcouragewasneededsinceeachsidewasangrywheneveranyconcessionwasmadetotheother,sothatthepursuitofeven-handed justice led tounpopularitywithEastandWestalike.Formypart, I thoughtthede-cisions of the Indian authorities as regardsKoreacameasneartoimpartialityasispossi-ble,”wroteBertrandRussell.Today, India enjoys great respect in the

world. Can it use that goodwill to convert itsneutralityintorealistactiontoendthewar?

Thewriterismember,boardofgovernors,IndiaFoundation

Fromneutrality to action

The missing womenThat’soneof themainchallenges foran Indiapoisedtobecomethemostpopulouscountry in2023.

Itmustcopewith thechangingcentreofdemographicgravity

RamMadhav

CanIndiafindwaystoendtheUkrainewar?

NitiAayoghasacrucialroletoplayinensuringcollaborationbetweenstatesandtheCentre

SumanBery

SonaldeDesai

CR Sasikumar

Indiapopulationbyageandsex:2047

1936

1946

1956

1966

1976

1986

1996

2006

2016

2026

2036

2046

110

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Median

Yearofbirth

Population(million)

Source:UnitedNations,DESA,PopulationDivision,WorldPopulationProspects2022

Population(million)

Age

80%95%

predictioninterval

16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Male Female

Chinapopulationbyageandsex:2047

1936

1946

1956

1966

1976

1986

1996

2006

2016

2026

2036

2046

110

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Median

Yearofbirth

Age

80%95%

predictioninterval

16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Male Female

New Delhi

GOVERNMENT OF ODISHAOFFICE OF THE CHIEF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEER, CENTRAL RURAL WORKS

CIRCLE, BHUBANESWARNo.2828/ Date. 08.07.2022

“e” Procurement Notice for Building Works

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

O-627

1. Name of the Work : Building Work

2. Total No. of Packages : 04 Nos. of Building Works

3. Estimated Cost of the Package : Varies from Rs.165.05 lakhs to Rs.453.02 lakhs

4. Class of Contractor :

a) Estimated cost more than Rs. 40.00 lakhs up to Rs.300.00 lakhs

: B Class & A class (of Odisha PWD) or relevant class of other licensing authorities

a) Estimated cost more than Rs. Rs.3.00 Crores up to Rs.6.00 Crores

: A Class & Special class (of Odisha PWD) or relevant class of other licensingauthorities

5. Period of completion : As mentioned in Column-7 of Annexure

6. Offered rates by bidder : The offered rate by the contractor shall be excluding GST.

7. Other details :

Procurement Officer BidIdentification No.

Availability of TenderOn-line for bidding

Date & Time of opening of tender

From To Technical Bid Financial Bid

1 2 3 4 5 6Chief Construction Engineer, Central RuralWorks Circle, Bhubaneswar

Tender-Online-C.C.21of 2022

15.07.22 at11.00 AM

29.07.22 Up to5.00 PM

01.08-22 up to11.00 AM

To be intimatedlateron

Chief Construction EngineerCentral Rural Works Circle, Bhubaneswar

OIPR-25082/11/0016/2223

Government of Odisha, e- Procurement NoticeINVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB)

Bid Identification No. C.C.E.Dkl.(R&B) 07/2022-23Email [email protected]

Letter No /Dt.The Chief Construction Engineer, Dhenkanal (R&B) Circle, Dhenkanalon behalf of Governor of Odisha invites Percentage Rate bids in doublecover system to be received in ONLINE MODE from eligible contractorsfor construction of Building work as detailed below:

The bidders have to participate in ONLINE biding only further details canbe seen from the e-Procurement Portal: www.tendersodisha.gov.in.Any addendum / corrigendum / cancellation of tender can also be seenin the said website.

B-350

1. Name of the work : Building work

2. No of works : 01 (One) No.3. Estimated Cost : Rs. 7,24,55,017/-

(as given in column No. 03 of table)4. Cost of tender paper : Rs. 10,000.00

5. Class of contractor : 'Special' & ‘Super’ Class (as given incolumn No. 06 of table)

6. Period of Completion of work : 15 (Fifteen) Calendar months (as given incolumn No. 07 of table)

7. Date and time of availability ofbid Document in the website

: From Dt. 14.07.2022 to 5.30 P.M. ofDt.28.07.2022

8. Date of opening of bid : Dt.29.07.2022 at 11.30 hours

Sd/-Chief Construction Engineer

Dhenkanal (R&B) Circle, DhenkanalOIPR- 34132/11/0012/2223

Himachal Pradesh GovernmentJal Shakti Vibhag

Press to be issued for publication Newspapers for e-tendering. The Executive Engineer Jal Shakti Division Salooni invites follow-ing e-tenders on behalf of Governor of Himachal Pradesh from approval eligible contractors for the following work through e-ten-dering process.

Last date of filling/ uploading the tender through online dated 25/07/2022upto12:00 HRS. The Tender forms and other detailedconditions can be obtained from the website http//hptender.gov.in .

Executive EngineerJS Division Salooni

2337/HP

Sr. Name of Work Estimated cost Earnest Time limitNo. money

1 Rs. Rs.22,30,29,065/- 22,30,290/-

24 Months (including allseasons butexcluding trailrun period of 3months).

Providing WSS to various habitations in GP Bhandal,Kihar&Sanuh, GumeraGuthan&SararPadhar in GP Salooni, Ligga,Siula, Kharal&Darekri and Source strengthening of various WSSunder various habitations in GP Kilod, Dand&Soonri in TehsilSalooni&Distt. Chamba (HP). including trial runfor a period of 3months and defect liability period as six months after physical com-pletion of all the components of the scheme (Under JJM).

OFFICE OF THESUPERINTENDENT

ENGINEER,R.W.S&S DIVISION,

BHANJANAGAR-761126Phone No. 06821-241026 (O)/241079 (R), Fax No- 06821-

241026/240056E-mail: [email protected]<[email protected]

Cancellation NoticeThe Tender vide this offer e-Tender Call Notice No. SERWSS BNJ 07 of SL. No 01(Sodak) is here by cancelled.

Sd/-Superintending Engineer

RWS&S DivisionBhanjanagar.

OIPR-25021/11/0006/2223

O-623

EXPRESSNETWORK10 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY12,2022

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICELUCKNOW,JULY11

A LAKHIMPUR Kheri court onMonday sent MohammadZubair, the co-founder of fact-checkingwebsite Alt News, to14-dayjudicialcustodyinacaseregisteredagainsthimlastyearforallegedlypromotingenmity.Zubair, who is lodged at

Sitapur district jail, appearedbefore the Lakhimpur Khericourtthroughvideoconference.Meanwhile, Lakhimpur

Kheripolicemovedanapplica-tion seeking14-daypolice cus-tody of Zubair. The court will

hear thepolicepleaseekinghiscustodyonWednesday.“Zubairappearedbeforethe

courtofAdditionalChief JudicialMagistrate Ruchi Srivastavathrough video conference. Thecourt senthim to14days in ju-dicial custody,” said AdditionalProsecutingOfficer(LakhimpurKheri)AwdheshKumar.Superintendent of Police

(Lakhimpur Kheri) SanjivSumansaidthatZubair is likelyto be taken to Delhi for his ap-pearance intheSupremeCourtonTuesday.ThecaseinLakhimpurKheri

was filed last September on acourtdirective.

Lakhimpur Kheri court sendsZubair to 14-day judicial custody

ABHISHEKANGADRANCHI, JULY11

STATING THAT the authoritieswere “hostile” to the victims ofJune 10 police firing in Ranchi,Afreen Perween, wife ofMohammadNadeemAlamwhois under treatment for bulletwoundsataGurgaonhospital,hasfiledaninterlocutoryapplication(IA)withregardtoaPublicInterestLitigation in the JharkhandHighCourt,seekingtobringsome“ma-terial facts”beforethecourt.A protest was organised in

Ranchi on June10 following for-mer BJP spokesperson NupurSharma’s remarks against theProphet,whichturnedviolent.Perween,throughherlawyer

ShadabAnsari, filed the IA seek-ingtobringavideorelatedtotheviolence on record. “...the videoshows stone-pelting but aftersometimepolicewasabletocon-trol theprotesters...thenacrowdgatherednearHanumanMandirandstartedraising‘JaiShreeRam’slogans ...police started firing atthe protesterswithoutwarningorusingothercrowd-controllingmeans,”shesaidintheplea.

RANCHIPOLICEFIRING

‘Want to bringfacts on record’:Wife of injuredprotester files plea


THE SUPREME Court will onTuesdaytakeupapleabyAltNewsco-founderMohammedZubairseekingquashingof thecasefiledbyUPpoliceinSitapurforhurtingreligious sentiments through atweet, inwhich he called someHinduseers“hatemongers”.Zubair's plea has been listed

before a bench of Justices D YChandrachudandASBopanna.OnJuly8,avacationbenchof

Justices Indira Banerjee and J KMaheshwari had directed thathispleabelistedbeforearegularbench. Issuing notice, it alsograntedhimfive-dayinterimbailon condition that hewould nottweetor tamperwithevidence.As Zubair is facingmultiple

cases, the court clarified that itwasgivinghiminterimbailonlyin thecasebefore it.Opposingthepleaforbailand

quashingofFIR,SolicitorGeneralTusharMehta,whoappearedforthe state of UP, contended thatZubair had suppressed severalfacts, including that his bail pleawasrejectedbyacourtinSitapur.

Mehta submitted that it “isnot about one tweet” but“whetherheispartofasyndicatewhich is regularly posting suchtweetswith intention to desta-bilisethecountry”.Mehtasaidaf-terthetweet,therewasalawandorder situation and that’s whythere isan investigation.Pointingout thatZubairhas

morecasesagainsthim,Mehtasaidhe is a “habitual offender”,and thathis “overall conduct isbeing investigated”. ThecaseinSitapur isbasedonacomplaintlodgedbyHinduLionArmydis-trictpresidentBhagwanSharan,whoallegedthatZubairhadre-ferred to spiritual leaderBajrang Muni as a “hatemon-ger” in a tweet inMay.Appearing for him, senior

advocate Colin Gonsalves sub-mittedthat theFIR“deserves tobequashedbecauseevenif Iac-cept everything, there is nocriminal case”.

MohammadZubair,co-founderofAltNews

Top court to take upZubair plea today toquash Sitapur case

New Delhi

Trends & projections

Source:World Population Prospects 2022, UNDept of Economic & Social Affairs

GROWTH

RAT

E(PER

CENT)

NUMBER

OFPER

SONS(BILLIO

NS)

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

-0.5

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

GLOBAL POPULATION SIZE ANDANNUALGROWTHRATE (MEDIUMSCENARIO)

GROWTHRATE

NUMBEROF PERSONS

PROJECTION

TOTA

LPO

PULATION

(BILLIONS)

3.02.52.01.51.00.50.0

MediumVariant

1950 ’75 ’25 ’50 ’75 21002000

INDIA: TOTAL POPULATION

NUMBER

OFBIRTH

SORDE

ATHS(M

N) 30

262218141061950 ’75 ’25 ’50 ’75 21002000

ANNUAL BIRTHS ANDDEATHS

TOTA

LPO

PULATION

(BILLIONS)

2.0

MediumVariant

1950 ’75 ’25 ’50 ’75 21002000

CHINA: TOTAL POPULATION

0.0

0.40.8

1.21.6

TOTA

LPO

PULATION

(BILLIONS)

12

MediumVariant

Births

Deaths

1950 ’75 ’25 ’50 ’75 21002000

WORLD: TOTAL POPULATION

246810

INDIA POPULATION BY BIRTHS & DEATHS. AGE GROUPS

POPU

LATION

(BILLIONS)

2.0

1.6

1.2

0.8

0.40.01950 ’75 ’25 ’50 ’75 21002000

POPULATIONBYAGEGROUPS■0-14■15-24■25-64■65+

AVERAGENUMBEROFBIRTHSPERWOMANREGION 1990 2021 2050Sub-Saharan 6.3 4.6 3.0AfricaNorthAfrica, 4.4 2.8 2.2WestAsiaCentral, SAsia 4.3 2.3 1.9East, SEAsia 2.6 1.5 1.6LatinAmerica, 3.3 1.9 1.7CaribbeanAustralia, NZ 1.9 2.6 1.7Oceania* 4.7 3.1 2.4Europe,North 1.8 1.5 1.6AmericaLeastdeveloped 6.0 4.0 2.8countriesLandlocked 5.7 4.0 2.7developingcountriesSmall island 3.3 2.3 2.0developingstatesWorld 3.3 2.3 2.1Projectionsaccording to themediumscenario*ExcludingAustralia,NewZealand.

TOP 10POPULOUSCOUNTRIES (POPULATION IN BILLION)1990 2022 2050

1 China(1,144) China(1,426) India (1,668)2 India (861) India (1,412) China(1,317)3 US(246) US(337) US(375)4 Indonesia (181) Indonesia (275) Nigeria (375)5 Brazil (149) Pakistan(234) Pakistan(366)6 Russia (148) Nigeria (216) Indonesia (317)7 Japan(123) Brazil (215) Brazil (231)8 Pakistan(114) Bangladesh(170) Congo(215)9 Bangladesh(106) Russia (145) Ethiopia (213)10 Nigeria (94) Mexico(127) Bangladesh(204)11 Mexico(81) Japan(124)12 Ethiopia (122)13 Mexico(144)14 Russia (133)1516 Congo(97)

FACTCHECK, GROUND REALITY

WHY,DESPITEANNOUNCEMENTS,LANKAPRESIDENT,PMHAVENOTQUIT

UDITMISRANEWDELHI, JULY11

ACCORDING TO the 2022 edition of theUnitedNations’WorldPopulationProspects(WPP), released onMonday, India is pro-jected to surpass China as theworld’smostpopulous country in 2023. It also projectedtheworld’s population to reach 8 billion onNovember15,2022.

What is theWPP?The Population Division of the UN has

beenpublishing theWPPinabiennial cyclesince1951.EachrevisionoftheWPPprovidesahistoricaltimeseriesofpopulationindica-torsstartingin1950.Itdoessobytakingintoaccount newly releasednational data to re-viseestimatesofpasttrendsinfertility,mor-talityor internationalmigration.

Whatarethemaintakeawaysfortheglobalpopulation?

1Theworld’s population continues togrow, but thepaceof growth is slow-ingdown:Theglobalpopulationisexpectedtogrowtoaround8.5billionin2030,9.7bil-lionin2050and10.4billionin2100.In2020,theglobalgrowthratefellunder1%peryearfor the first timesince1950.

2Ratesof populationgrowthvarysig-nificantly across countries and re-

gions: More than half of the projected in-crease in global population up to 2050willbe concentrated in just eight countries: theDemocratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt,Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, thePhilippines and the United Republic ofTanzania.Disparategrowthratesamongtheworld’s largest countrieswill re-order theirrankingbysize.The46leastdevelopedcoun-tries (LDCs) are among theworld’s fastest-growing. Many are projected to double inpopulationbetween2022and2050,puttingadditionalpressureonresourcesandposingchallenges to the achievement of the UN'sSustainableDevelopmentGoals (SDGs).

3Thepopulationofolderpersonsisin-creasing both in numbers and as a

shareofthetotal:Theshareoftheglobalpop-ulationaged65yearsoraboveisprojectedtorisefrom10%in2022to16%in2050.Assuch,the reportwarns that countrieswithageingpopulationsshould takesteps toadaptpub-licprogrammestothegrowingproportionofolder persons, including by improving thesustainability of social security andpensionsystemsandbyestablishinguniversalhealthcareandlong-termcaresystems.

4A sustained drop in fertility has ledtoan increasedconcentrationof the

populationatworkingages(between25and64years), creatinganopportunity foraccel-eratedeconomicgrowthpercapita:Thisshiftin the age distribution provides a time-boundopportunityforacceleratedeconomicgrowth known as the “demographic divi-dend”. “Tomaximize the potential benefitsof a favourable age distribution, countriesneedtoinvestinthefurtherdevelopmentoftheir human capital by ensuring access tohealthcareandqualityeducationatall agesandbypromotingopportunitiesforproduc-tiveemploymentanddecentwork,” theUNreport says.

5 Internationalmigrationishavingim-portantimpactsonpopulationtrends

for some countries: For high-income coun-triesbetween2000and2020, thecontribu-tionof internationalmigrationtopopulationgrowth(netinflowof80.5million)exceededthe balance of births over deaths (66.2mil-

lion). Over the next fewdecades,migrationwill be the soledriverof populationgrowthin high-income countries. For 10 countries,the estimated net outflow of migrants ex-ceeded1millionover theperiod from2010through2021.Inmanyofthesecountries,theoutflows were due to temporary labourmovements,suchasforPakistan(netflowof-16.5 million), India (-3.5 million),Bangladesh (-2.9million), Nepal (-1.6mil-lion) and Sri Lanka (-1.0 million). In othercountries,includingtheSyrianArabRepublic(-4.6million),Venezuela(BolivarianRepublicof)(-4.8million)andMyanmar(-1.0million),insecurity and conflict drove the outflowofmigrantsover thisperiod.

Howreliable is theUNprojection,andhowdotheycomparewithIndia’sCensus?KS James,Director&SeniorProfessorof

the International Institute for PopulationSciences(IIPS),saidUN’sWPPhasalonghis-toryandseveral countriesuse theseprojec-tions.“Itisanauthenticsourceandthereisnodoubtabout its credibility,” said James.In India, of course, theRegistrarGeneral

comes out with a population projectionbased on the Census. The last such projec-tionwas released in 2019 and it was basedon Census 2011. “The Census projection isslightly lower than theUNprojection,” saidJames.Assuch,hesaid, ifnotin2023theninanother few years India would overtakeChinaastheworld'smostpopulouscountry.

What is thesignificanceof IndiaovertakingChina?ThatIndiawouldovertakeChinahasbeen

known for a while. Moreover, in the past,whentheworldpopulationwasstillat5-bil-lion or 6-billion levels, therewas a concernabout overcrowding. But, James said, thoseconcerns no longer exist because the globalpopulation is already 8 billion and severalcountries(includingIndia)haveachievedare-placementrateof fertility. “Theconcernnowis not about the absolute numbers— India’spopulation is already 1.4 billion andmay goup to 1.6 billion before declining— but thequalityoflifeforthepeoplealive,”saidJames.“Thefocusnowhasshiftedtowhetherwecanreducepoverty, providehealthcare facilities,educationetc.,”hesaid.Looking at the India data, it is clear that

asthingsstand,cohortsof0-14yearsand15-24yearswillcontinuetodeclinewhilethoseof25-64and65+willcontinuetoriseforthecomingdecades.

So,whatarethepolicy implicationsarisingoutof thesetwotrends?For those already in the 25-64 age

bracket, James underscored the need forskilling. “Although the educational attain-mentof thosealreadyinthisbracketislowerthanwhattoday’sgenerationhas,theycan’tbebroughtbacktoschool.Skillingistheonlywaytoensuretheyaremoreproductiveandhavebetterincomes.Thisisthemajorpolicychallenge for this cohort,“ said James.The 65+ category is going to growquite

fast and it faces several challenges.Provisioning of social security is obviouslya big challenge. This will stretch the re-sources of the future governments. In thiscontext, James points out that if the agedstaywithinthefamilyset-up,theburdenonthegovernmentcouldbereduced.“Ifwegoback to our roots and stick around as fami-lies, as against the western tendency to goforindividualism,thenthechallengeswouldbe less,” he said.

11WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

MARKMACGANN,52,acareerlobbyistwhoworkedforUberbetween2014and2016,hasrevealedhimself as thewhistleblowerwhoprovided The Guardianwith 124,000 com-panyrecords that constituteTheUberFiles.The cache of internal emails, textmes-

sages, anddocuments,whichTheGuardiansharedwiththeInternationalConsortiumofInvestigative Journalists (ICIJ) and itsmediapartners around the world including TheIndianExpress,showhowtheride-hailing start-up becamea global behemoth by har-nessing technology, workingaround laws, and employingaggressivelobbyingwithgov-ernmentsduringtheperiodofitsdramaticexpansion.

WhatexactlywereyouhiredtodoatUber?Iwashiredtoleadateamofpeopletode-

velop and implement our strategy to lobbygovernments across Europe, across Africa,acrosstheMiddleEast,sowecouldenterthemarket and grow, despite inmost cases therulesnotallowingUber tooperate.

WereyouawarethatUberwasfloutingthe lawincitiesandcountries inwhich

therewere licensedtaxi regulations?Inmost countries undermy jurisdiction

Uberwas not allowed, was not authorised,wasnot legal.

Sothestrategywastoknowinglybreakthe lawandthenchangethelaw?Themantra that people repeated from

one office to anotherwas themantra fromthe top, so don’t ask for permission, just

launch, hustle, enlist drivers,go out, do themarketing andquickly people will wake upand see what a great thingUber is.

Howdifficultwas it foryoutogetmeetingswithpresidents,primeministers, chancellors, citymayors, forUber?

It was unprecedented in my career tohavesucheasyaccess toseniormembersofgovernment... Uber was at the time in thetechworld,perhaps inthebroaderbusinessworld,thehottestticketintownandtoacer-tainextent,bothontheinvestorsideandalsoon the political side, people were almostfallingoverthemselvesinordertomeetwithUberandtohearwhatwehadtooffer.

ThemeetingsyouandotherUberexecutiveshadwithUKcabinetministerswereneverdeclared.Why?...Everyonehas friends, andpeoplewere

accepting requests from their friends, andpeoplewere reciprocating, and itwas in noone’sinterestforthattocometofore,forthatto bemade public... These are the cosy net-works that have existed for so long but stillmanage to change shape, but still exist.Access topower isnotsomethingthat isde-

mocratised.

Uber’s formerchief executive,TravisKalanick, respondedtostrikesbytaxidrivers (againstUber)byorderingacounterprotest.Whencompanyexecutiveswarneditcouldresult inattacksonUberdrivers,Kalanickreplied“I thinkit’sworth it.Violenceguarantee[s] success.”Whatdidhemean?

I thinkhemeantthat theonlywaytogetgovernments to change the rules, and le-galiseUberandallowUber togrow,asUberwished,would be to keep the fight, to keepthe controversy burning. And if thatmeantUberdriversgoingonstrike,Uberdriversdo-ingademointhestreets,Uberdriversblock-ingBarcelona,blockingBerlin,blockingParis,then thatwas thewaytogo.

Isn’t thatdangerous?Ofcourseit’sdangerous.It’salso,inaway,

very selfish. Because hewas not the guy onthe street who is being threatened, who isbeing attacked...and in some cases shot... Istarted getting shouted at at airports, trainstations… Taxi drivers were followingmearound, recordingwhere I lived, theywerebangingonthedoor,postingpicturesonlineofmewithfriends,withkidsofmyfriends. Istarted to get death threats on Twitter. SoUbersaid, ‘Okay,weneedtoprotectyou.’ SotheyforcedmetohavebodyguardsanytimeI leftmyhome,whichwasall the timesinceIwas travellingall the time....The anger and hatred that I witnessed

firsthand,Idon’tholditagainstthosepeoplewhowere doing it. Here’s a company thatwaswillingtobreakall therules, anduse itsmoneyanditspower...todestroytheirliveli-

hoods,sotheyneededsomebodytobeangryat... I becamethatperson.

Howwouldyourespondtothesuggestionthatyou're leakingthismaterialoutof vengeanceagainst thecompany?I think people need to look at the facts

that I’m helping to expose. Certainly I havehadmy grievances with Uber in the past.What I’m doing isn’t easy, but I believe it’sthe right thing.

Doyoufeelpartlyresponsibleorculpable for the livesyouseedriversnowliving?Yes, Ido.AndIampartlyresponsible,and

that’smymotivationfordoingwhat I’mdo-inginbeingawhistleblower... It’saboutmak-ingamends. It’s aboutdoing the right thing.Look, IownwhatIdid,but if it turnsoutthatwhatIwastryingtopersuadegovernments,ministers, primeministers, presidents anddrivers, turned out to be horribly, horriblywronganduntrue,thenit’sincumbentuponme to go back and say, ‘I think wemade amistake.’

(Editedexcerpts)COURTESY:THEGUARDIAN

TELLINGNUMBERS

TheWorldPopulationProspects2022hasprojectedthat Indiawill surpassChinaastheworld’smostpopulouscountry in2023,whiletheglobalpopulationwill reach8billonthisyear.A lookatthetrends, theprojectionsandtheimplications.

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to [email protected] EXPLAINED


Drishti IAS

GENERAL STUDIES (P+M) FOUNDATION BATCH

Admissions Open (English Medium)

Karol Bagh, Delhi | Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi | Prayagraj | Jaipur

8010440440 www.drishtiias.com

Public AdministrationPolitical Science & IR Sociology Philosophy

Law History Geography Hindi Literature

OPTIONAL SUBJECTS

Reading UN population report

NIRUPAMASUBRAMANIANCHENNAI,JULY11

BOTHPRESIDENTGotabayaRajapaksa andPrimeMinisterRanilWickremesingheofSriLankahave said theywould resign, and sohave a clutch of ministers. On July 9, theSpeaker of Parliament said the Presidentwould step down on July 13. That sameevening,WickremesinghepostedonTwitter,“IwillresignasPrimeMinister.”It’sbeentwodayssincethen,neithermanhasactuallyleft,theirwhereaboutsarenotknown,andthereiseffectivelynogovernmentinSriLanka.

TheConstitutionUnderArticle40,shouldtheofficeofthe

Presidentfallvacantbeforetheendofhisfive-year term, Parliamentmust, within onemonth, elect by a secret ballot one of itsmembers as Presidentwhowill holdofficefor the remainderof the term.BetweenthevacancyarisingandtheassumptionofofficebythenewPresident,thePrimeMinisterwillfunctionasactingPresident,andwillappointaminister of his cabinet to act as PM. If theofficeofthePrimeMinistertooisvacant,theSpeakerwillbetheactingPresident.

What thismeansItmeans that ifWickremesinghe is still

PMwhen—and if—Rajapaksaactually re-signs, he will be President at least untilParliamentelects someoneelse to thepost.Being President may in fact giveWickremesingheanedgeintheelectionforthe new President. Thismay explain thelimboinColombo:thePMandseveralmin-istersplayingawaitinggameasthePresidentkeepsthecountryontenterhooks.Italsoex-plains why the all-party conference onSaturdayinsistedthatbothWickremesingheandRajapaksamustresignbeforeanationalinterimgovernmentcanbeformed.

Roleof SpeakerUnderthetimelineenvisagedbytheall-

party conference, after the twomain resig-nations, Speaker Mahinda YapaAbeywardenawouldconveneParliamentforthe election of a new President. But ifWickremesinghe resignsbeforeRajapaksa,Abeywardena, aRajapaksa loyalist, steps inastheactingPresident.Thiswouldbreaktheeffortstoformanall-partygovernment.

Mainopposition leaderTheoppositionpartywiththemostMPs,

the Samagi Jana Balawegaya led by SajithPremadasa — who had stormed out ofWickremesinghe'sUNPaheadof the2020parliamentaryelection—isdeadsetagainstWickremesinghecontinuinginanyposition.Nor does Premadasawant to dealwith aGotabayaproxy.Three statements onMonday indicated

the calculations of each camp. The PrimeMinister'soffice said that thePresidenthadinformed thePM“thathewill be resigningaspreviouslyannounced”.Withinhours,thePresidential Secretariat announced that allmessages fromRajapaksa “will be releasedby theSpeakerafter information isgiven tohimbythePresident...OnlyannouncementsissuedbytheSpeakertobeconsideredasof-ficialannouncementsbythePresident”.In the afternoon, Premadasa declared

that hewas ready to “lead the programofstabilizing the country and building thecountry’s economy”. In a statement re-ported by Newsfirst Lanka website,Premadasa said “the President, PrimeMinisterandtheSLPPgovernmenthadlostthemandate”of thepeopleandtherewas“noalternativesolutionotherthantheap-pointmentofthegovernmentledbyanewPresident and the PrimeMinister”. And“anyone opposes this or resorts to a sub-versive act from the Parliament, it will beconsideredasanactof treason”.

ProtesterscontinuedtothrongthepresidentialpalaceonMonday.AP/PTI

It’s aboutmaking amends, doing the right thing: Uber Fileswhistleblower

Inmostcountries undermy jurisdictionUberwasnotallowed,wasnot authorised,wasnot legal.

MARKMACGANN,WHOWORKEDFORUBERFROM2014-16

NORD STREAM 1, the pipeline that isGermany’smainsourceofgasfromRussia,was shut down on July 11 for 10 days ofscheduled maintenance work. This hasraisedconcernsinEuropeancountriesthatRussia would extend the temporary sus-pension in retaliationagainst sanctions.Nord Stream 2, whichwas completed

in September 2021, was suspended inFebruary, in response to the invasion ofUkraine. Gas throughNord Stream 1wasslashed by 60% inmid-June. Nord Stream1 transports 55billion cubicmetres of gasayearvia theBaltic Sea.Mostof it goesdi-rectly toGermany.

EuropeancountriesrelyonRussianen-ergyfortheirwinters.IfNordStream1doesnotresumesupply,theywillnothaveade-quategas supplyby theendof theyear.European countries have increasingly

turned towards the US, fromwhere theybuyLNGthatcomesbyship.Therearealsoattempts to get pipeline gas fromNorwayandAzerbaijan.Despite attempts to entirely abandon

coal by 2030, Germany’s parliament onFridaypassedemergencylegislationtore-opentheiroldcoalplantsforelectricitypro-duction.

RAGHUMALHOTRA

How Russia’s shutdown of Nord Stream 1can impact Germany, rest of Europe

DavidLevene/TheGuardian

New Delhi

MAN BEHIND JAMES BOND THEME

COMPOSERMONTYNORMANDIESAT 94MontyNorman,aBritishcomposerwhowrotethethemetunefortheJamesBondfilms,hasdied.Hewas94.HedrewonapiecehehadwrittenforaproposedmusicaladaptationofV.S.Naipaul’s“AHouseforMr.Biswas,”shiftingthekeyriff fromsitartoelectricguitar.Theresult—twangy,propulsive,menacing—hasbeenusedinall25Bondthrillers.

MYANMAR

JuntarollsoutChinesecamerasinmorecitiesSingapore: Myanmar'sjunta government is in-stallingChinese-builtcam-eraswithfacialrecognitioncapabilities inmore citiesacross the country, threepeoplewithdirect knowl-edgeof thematter said. Intenders toprocureand in-stall the security camerasandfacialrecognitiontech-nology, the plans are de-scribedassafecityprojectsaimedatmaintainingsecu-rityand,insomecases,pre-servingcivilpeace,saidthepeople who are or havebeen involved in theproj-ects. Since February 2021coup, authorities havestarted camera surveil-lance projects for at leastfive cities, includingMawlamyine-the fourth-largestcity,asperinforma-tionfromthethreepeoplewhoaskednottobeidenti-fied for fear of reprisals byjunta. REUTERS

CCTVcameraatastall.

TOPOFTHEWORLD

CHINA

ShanghaiplansmoreCovidtestsamidfreshcurbsBeijing:Multiple Chinesecities are adopting freshCovid-19 curbs, frombusiness halts to lock-downs, to rein innewin-fections, with the com-mercial hub of Shanghaibracing for anothermasstestingeffortafterfindinga highly-transmissibleOmicron subvariant.Chinahassaidcurbsmustbeastargetedaspossibleto reduce damage to theworld's No. 2 economy,afterthisyear'smajordis-ruptions clogged globalsupply chains and hit in-ternational trade.REUTERS

SPAIN

Runningofbulls:3peoplegoredatSanFermínPamplona: A tense fifthbullrunatPamplona’sSanFermín Festival left threepeople gored and threeothers with bruises onMonday, a Spanish RedCross spokesman said. Itwasthefirstrunwithgor-ings in the festival so farthis year. Red Crossworker José Aldaba toldSpanish NationalTelevision that onemanwas gored on the street,while two others werepiercedbyabull’shornin-sidethebullringattheendof the run. Festivalorgan-isers said one of the run-nersgoredwasAustralianand the other twowereSpaniards.Nonewasinse-riouscondition. AP

MUKTITASUHARTONOKANEKES, JULY11

WHENTHEIRancestorswarnedthem, through dreams and abone-bitingly cold wind, to becareful, the community leadersoftheBaduypeopleinIndonesiaknew they needed to protecttheir villages from somethingbadthatwason itsway.SoJaroNalim,oneofthesen-

ior leaders in the Baduy hamletof Cikertawana on the island ofJava, beganperforming the ritesmeanttokeepdiseaseatbay, in-cludingplacingbamboocontain-ers filledwith blessedwater atthefourdirectionsofthevillage’s

borderssonosicknesscoulden-ter. “We performed ceremony,traditional rituals, asking Godand our ancestors to protect usfromthedisease,”Mr.Nalimsaid.“Webelieveweareprotected.”Government signs promot-

ing health protocols could beseen around the village:Washyourhands,wearamask,donotgatheringroups.Butonarecentvisit, there were no masks insight among the villagers, whoknewaboutthecoronavirusbutdidn’t seemworriedabout it.“We are already protected

withmantras,” said Jawi, 19, onthe terrace outside her homewhere her toddler slept inside.“The air here is fresh and clean.

Whywear amask and breatheinthedirtyairfromourbreath?”As Indonesia’s government

seekstocontrolthespreadofthecoronavirus across a vast archi-pelago,hometosome275millionpeoplewithmultiple belief sys-tems, inducing people towearmasks is but one challenge.Perhaps an even bigger one, es-peciallyinIndigenouscommuni-tiesliketheBaduy,isvaccinations.About70millionIndonesians

are considered Indigenous peo-ple,whooften live in remote lo-cations that greatly complicatevaccinationefforts,withsomevil-lagesaccessibleonlyafterhours-longmarches. The governmenthas also struggled to communi-

cate to Indigenous groupswhatvaccinesareandwhythey’reim-portant,accordingtoAnnasRadinSyarif,headoftheemergencyre-sponsedivisionattheIndigenous

Peoples’ Alliance of theArchipelago,arightsorganizationinIndonesia.AndafewIndigenousgroupsadheretodeep-rootedtra-ditions that can run counter to

modernhealthpolicy.As a general principle, the

Baduy reject vaccinations, al-though some have acceptedthem in order to travel outsidethearea.“ForBaduypeople,vac-cineisaviolation,”Nalimsaid.“Itruinsourpurity.Whyputchem-icalsintoourbodywhenallcureshave been provided by nature?Our ancestors taught usmantratocureandpreventdiseases.”Indonesia’s healthminister,

BudiGunadiSadikin,whilecon-ceding it was a “difficult” task,saidthegovernmentwasdeter-minedtovaccinateasmanypeo-pleasitcould.“Yes,therearetra-ditional beliefs, and for this weneedaspecialapproach,”hesaid

inaninterview.“Wewant themtobeprotected, too.”TheBaduy live in thehinter-

landsofBanten,thewesternmostprovinceonJava,wheretheyprac-tice SundaWiwitan, a religionwhose followers aremonotheis-tic, butwhoat the sametimere-verethepowerofnatureandthespiritsofancestors.“We still maintain our cus-

toms.Ifwemockourcustomarylaws, or break the customarylaw, we are afraid of karma.There will always be punish-ments,” said Jaro Saija, the chiefof Kanekes, as the collection ofBaduyhamletsareknown.Opting not to be vaccinated,

saidBudi,thehealthminister, isa

humanright. “Wehave tobepa-tient. We should never forcethem,” he said. “It has to be therightmethod,withtherightcom-munication,andtherightperson”.Despite theirstanceonvacci-

nations,theBaduy,wholiveinoneof the provinces hardest hit byCovid,appeartohavesuccessfullyavoided the worst of the pan-demic.Therehavebeennodeathsattributed toCovid in theBaduyarea.Throughthe firstyearandahalf of thepandemic, up to June2021,therewerezeroCovidcasesreported. The firstwas recordedin July last year, and there havebeenatotalofeightknowncasesthrough mid-June, as per ItonRustandi,ahealthofficial. NYT

INDIGENOUS GROUP BELIEVES VACCINATIONS ARE IMPURE, AND UNNECESSARY, AND THAT THEIR BELIEFS PROTECT THEM

Indonesia: Where mantras trump medicine, vaccines are a ‘violation’

BaduywomenpreparingfoodinfrontoftheirhouseinKanekes.NYT

12THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAYJULY12,2022

THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

LANKAONTHEBOILAMIDECONOMICMELTDOWN

REUTERS&PTICOLOMBO,JULY11

SRI LANKA’S Parliament willelectanewPresidentonJuly20,its Speaker saidonMonday.PresidentGotabayaRajapaksa,

who had overseen a ruthlesscrushingoftheTamilTigersinsur-gents as defence secretary, is setto resign on Wednesday. ThePresidenthasofficially conveyedtoPMRanilWickremesinghethathewill resignonJuly13asprevi-ously announced, the PMOsaidonMonday,Parliamentwillreconveneon

Fridayandwillvotetoelectanewpresidentfivedayslater,SpeakerMahinda Yapa Abeywardenasaid. “During the party leaders’meeting held today it wasagreedthat thiswasessential toensure a new all-party govern-ment is in place in accordancewiththeConstitution,”thestate-ment added. “The ruling partyhassaid thePMandtheCabinetarereadytoresigntoappointanall-partygovernment”Thepoliticalinstabilitycould

damage negotiations with theIMF for a rescue package, thecentral bank governor said.Governor P NandalalWeerasinghesignalledhewouldstay on in the job although hehad said inMayhe could resignif therewasnopolitical stabilityintheislandnationof22million.Police said theyhad received

17.8million rupees found by agroup of protesters at thePresident’sresidenceonSaturday.Opposition leader Sajith

Premadasa,whoseSamagi JanaBalawegaya party said it wasready to step into the govern-ment.“Weastheoppositionareready to provide leadership tostabilise the country and re-build the economy,” he said."We will appoint a new presi-dent, primeminister and formagovernment.”

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIACOLOMBO,JULY11

REACTINGPUBLICLYforthefirsttimeafterhisprivatehousewasset on fire by anti-governmentprotesters on Saturday, PrimeMinisterRanilWickremesingheon Monday said only peoplewith a “Hitler-like mindset”torchbuildings.In a special televised state-

ment,Wickremesinghe said heaccepted the post of PM as theeconomywas indisarray.Wickremesinghe,73,saidhe

tookoverthedifficult tasktore-build the economy at a timewhen the public was undergo-

inghardshipswithoutfuel,cook-inggasandelectricity. “Thecost

of livingwashigh,no fuel, therewas a foreign exchange crisis.Peoplewerelosingjobs.Isawthesufferingof thepeople,"hesaid.He said the International

MonetaryFund(IMF)hasnotedthataroundfouryearswouldberequired to stabilise the econ-omy, the firstyear is theworst.“This cannot be done in 1-2

days, at least a year would beneeded to take the first correc-tivesteps. The IMFsaid itwouldtakefouryears,”hesaid.HesaidamiscommunicationbywayofatweetbyaMuslimpartyleaderthathehadobjected to forminganall-partygovernmentandre-fusedtoresignhadtriggeredthearsonattackonhishouse.

WillresignonJuly13aspreviouslyannounced:Gotabaya;centralbankgovernortostay

PeoplequeueuptovisitPresidentRajapaksa’soffice inColomboadayafter itwasstormedbytheprotesters. AP

Only people with ‘Hitler-likemindset’ torch buildings: Ranil

Firefightersat thePM’shouse inColombo.APFile

REUTERSLONDON, JULY11

BRITISH FOREIGN Secretary LizTruss entered the race to replaceBoris Johnson asprimeministeronMonday,takingthenumberofcandidatesinanincreasinglyun-predictablecontestto11.“I will lead a government

committedtocoreConservativeprinciples: lowtaxes,afirmgripon spending, driving growth intheeconomy,andgivingpeople

theopportunity toachieveany-thingtheywanttoachieve,”shesaid inacampaignvideo.Meanwhile, British finance

ministerNadhimZahawisaidhewould abolish a planned in-creased in corporation tax andwouldcutthebasicrateofincometax by reducing governmentspendingifchosentoreplaceBorisJohnson.SajidJavidsaidhewouldcut a slew of taxes and hold anemergency budget to increasehelpforhouseholdshitbytheris-ingcostof livingif chosenPM.

AP&REUTERSKHARKIV, JULY11

ASRUSSIANmissilesstruckakeyUkrainiancity,RussianPresidentPutinsignedadecreeMondayex-pandingafast-trackprocedureofobtaining Russian citizenshipavailabletoallUkrainians,anothereffort to expandMoscow’s influ-enceinUkraine.Untilrecently,onlyresidents

ofUkraine’seasternDonetskandLuhanskregions, aswell as resi-dents of the southernZaporizhzhia and the Khersonregions, largepartsofwhicharenowunderRussiancontrol,wereeligible to apply for the simpli-fiedpassportprocedure.Ukrainianofficialshaven’tyet

reacted to Putin’s announce-ment. The decreeMonday alsoapplies for any stateless resi-dents currently inUkraine.Between2019,whenthepro-

cedurewasfirstintroducedfortheresidentsofDonetskandLuhansk,andthisyear,morethan720,000peoplelivingintherebel-heldar-

easinthetworegions—about18%ofthepopulation–havereceivedRussianpassports.Meanwhile, Ukrainian

PresidentZelenskyysaidhehadheld talks with Turkish leaderTayyip Erdogan on the need tounblockUkraine's ports and re-sume its grain exports. “We ap-preciate (Turkish) support.Discussedtheimportanceofun-blocking ports and resuminggrainexports,”he tweeted.

AnapartmentblockdestroyedbyaRussianmissilestrikethatkilled30people ineasternUkraine.Reuters

London/Frankfurt: The biggestsinglepipelinecarryingRussiangas to Germany began annualmaintenance onMonday, withflows expected to stop for 10days,butgovernments,marketsand companies areworried theshutdownmight be extendedbecauseof thewar inUkraine.The Nord Stream 1 pipeline

transports 55 billion cubicme-tres (bcm) a year of gas fromRussia to Germany under theBaltic Sea. Maintenance lastsfromJuly11 to2.Operator Nord Stream AG

confirmedtheshutdownstartedasplannedat 0600CETand thatgasflowswoulddroptozeroafewhourslater.Lastmonth,Russiacutflowsto40%ofthepipeline'stotalcapacity,citingthedelayedreturnof equipment being serviced byGermany's Siemens EnergyCanada. REUTERS

Putin expands fast-track Russiancitizenship to all Ukrainians

Europe on edge asNord Stream linkenters shutdown

Father of al-Qaedaoperative deportedto Afghanistan

YOSHITASINGHNEWYORK, JULY11

THE FATHER of an al-Qaeda op-erativeconvictedofconspiringtobomb the NewYork subway in2009hasbeendeportedfromtheUStoAfghanistanbyauthorities.Mohammed Wali Zazi, 66,

was convicted of visa fraud, ob-structionofjusticeandconspiracyto obstruct justice in February2012. The US Immigration andCustoms Enforcement'sEnforcement and RemovalOperationsDenverFieldOfficere-movedZazi fromthe countryonJune13 toAfghanistan via com-mercialairflights,astatementis-suedbytheagencysaidFriday.Zazi’sson,NajibullahZazi, isa

member of al-Qaeda and wasconvictedofconspiringtobombtheNewYorksubway in2009.Zazi had entered the US in

August 1990andbecameanat-uralisedcitizeninOctober2007.After a US court had convictedhim in February 2012, he wassentenced to 54months in fed-eralprison. PTI

REUTERSJAKARTA, JULY11

CHINESE FOREIGN ministerWang Yi said onMonday thatcountries should avoid beingusedas "chesspieces" byglobalpowers in a region that he saidwasatriskofbeingreshapedbygeopolitical factors.AddressingtheAssociationof

Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) secretariat in a speech

intheIndonesiancapital,Jakarta,Wangsaidmanycountriesintheregionwere under pressure totakesides.“We should insulate this re-

gion from geopolitical calcula-tions…frombeingusedaschesspiecesfrommajorpowerrivalryand from coercion,” saidWang,who was speaking through atranslator. “The futureof our re-gion should be in our ownhands,”hesaid.China claims almost the en-

tire South China Sea as its terri-torybasedonwhatitsaysarehis-torical maps, putting it at oddswith some ASEAN countrieswhich say the claims are incon-sistentwith international law.“The core elements are to

support ASEAN centrality, up-holdtheexistingregionalcorpo-ration framework, respect eachother's legitimate rights and in-terestsintheAsia-Pacificinsteadof aiming to antagonise or con-tain theother side,”Wangsaid.

China warns Asian nations to avoidbeing used as ‘chess pieces’ by powers

London: Britain should reviewthe use of WhatsApp, privateemails and other messagingapps byministers and govern-mentofficialsafteraninvestiga-tion found “inadequatedata se-curity” during the Covid-19pandemic, its data protectionwatchdogsaidonMonday.The Information

Commissioner’sOffice(ICO)said

the review should examine the“systemic risks” around the useofprivatecorrespondencechan-nels and to ensure improve-mentsweremade.“Iunderstandthevalueof in-

stant communication thatsomething likeWhatsApp canbring, particularly during thepandemicwhere officials wereforced tomake quick decisions

and work to meet varying de-mands.” said JohnEdwards, theUKInformationCommissioner.The recommendation fol-

lows a year-long investigationinto the use of suchmessagingchannelsbygovernmentminis-ters and officials at theDepartmentofHealthandSocialCare (DHSC) during the COVIDpandemic. REUTERS

UK watchdog seeks review into govtuse of WhatsApp, messaging apps

Colombo: The Indian HighCommission in Sri Lanka hasdismissed for the second timemediareportsaboutNewDelhisending its troops toColombo.“These reports arealsonot inkeepingwiththepo-sition of the Government ofIndia,” the Indian HighCommission said.“The Spokesperson of the

Ministry of External Affairs ofIndia clearly stated today thatIndia standswith the people ofSri Lanka as they seek to realisetheiraspirationsforprosperity&progress through democraticmeans& values, established in-stitutions & constitutionalframework,” it said. PTI

India deniesit sent troopsto Lanka

Sri LankanParliament toelectnewPresidentnextweek,saysSpeaker

REUTERSPARIS, JULY11

FRENCHPRESIDENTEmmanuelMacroncameunderpressureonMondayfromOppositionpoliti-ciansoverhisreportedlinkswithride-hailing company UberTechnologiesduringhisyearsaseconomyminister.The Guardian and LeMonde

newspapersreportedonSundaythatUberTechnologiesIncbrokelawsand secretly lobbiedpoliti-cians as part of an aggressivedrive to expand into newmar-kets from2013to2017.Macron’sofficetoldLeMonde

that as economyminister at thetime he frequentlyhad contact withmany companiesdisrupting the serv-iceindustry,andthatitwasappropriatetofacilitatetheliftingofred tape.Headed by anti-capitalist

France Insoumise (FranceUnbowed)party,left-wingNupesalliance said theywould seek aparliamentary investigation intoMacron’s role in helping theCaliforniancompanyinFrance.“Aminister can’t be a lobby-

ist! Light needs to be shone onthis case. France cannot be theplayground of big private com-panies,”seniorFranceInsoumise

lawmaker Alexis Corbiere saidonTwitter.Sebastien Chenu,

spokesman for the far-rightpartyRassemblementNational,describedMacron as a “lobby-

ist at the service offoreignprivate inter-ests, an ideologue ofglobalisation andderegulation.”The Guardian re-

ported that whileothermembersofthe

then-Socialist government hadmisgivings about Uber’s pushonto taxis’ turf, Macron ex-changedtextmessageswithUberexecutives,whoidentifiedhimasakeybehind-the-scenesally.In response to the Guardian

andLeMondereports,Ubersaid,“Wehavenotandwillnotmakeexcuses for past behaviour thatis clearly not in line with ourpresentvalues.”

Macron under fireover Uber contactsas economy minister

MacronexchangedtextmessageswithUberexecutives, thereport said.

Foreign Secy Truss entersrace to become next UK PM

New Delhi

13SENSEX: 54,395.23 ▼ 86.61 (-0.16%) NIFTY: 16,216.00 ▼ 4.60 (-0.03%) NIKKEI: 26,812.30 ▲ 295.11 HANG SENG: 21,124.20 ▼ 601.58 FTSE: 7,174.20 ▼ 22.04 DAX: 12,896.21 ▼ 119.02


ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Internationalmarketdatatill1900IST

GOLD`50,561

RUPEE` 79.43/USD

OIL$106.87

SILVER`56,760

Note:Gold, silverratesatDelhi spotmarket,goldper10g, silverper1kg;Crudeoil (Indianbasket)asof July8

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERRURAL WORKS CIRCLE, BALASORE

“e” Procurement Notice for Bridge WorkIdentification No.- Online Tender- Bridge N.C.B. No. 340

Letter No. 2494/WE Date. 05.07.2022

O-617

ProcurementOfficer

BidIdentification

No.

Availability oftender On-line for

bidding

Last Date &Time ofseekingTender

Clarification

Date & Time ofOpening of Tender in

O/O C.C.E. R.W.Circle, Balasore

From To TechnicalBid

FinancialBid

1 2 3 4 5 6 7Chief

ConstructionEngineer,

Rural WorksCircle,

Balasore

N.C.B. No.-340

13.07.2022at 11.00

A.M

26.07.2022Up to 5.00

P.M.

25.07.2022Up to 5.00

P.M.

27.07.2022at 11.00

A.M.

Will beintimated

later

1. Name of the Work :- Bridge works

2. Total No. of work :- 1 No. (One)

3. Estimated Cost :- Rs. 598.51 lakhs (Approximately)

4. Eligible Class ofContractor

:- “A” Class & “Special” Class (of OdishaP.W.D.) or relevant Class of other licensingauthorities (as per annexure).

5. Period of Completion :- 15 (Fifteen) Calendar months for the work.

6. Other details :-

Further details can be seen from the website www.tendersodisha.gov.in

Sd/- Er. S.K. MishraChief Construction Engineer

R.W. Circle, BalasoreOIPR-25105/11/0020/2223

PRESS NIT No. 17/(2022-23)

S.No.

Name of Work EstimatedCost

EarnestMoney(Fresh)

TenderProcessingFee (Fresh)

Publication dateof tender in

e-procurementSolution

Last date & time forreceipt of tender

from e-procurementsolution

1. Annual repair of Hasanpur Bunglow atHasanpur Reservoir under EE(C) Plant,WW. (Tender ID: 2022_DJB_225778_1)

2672389/- 53500/- 500/- 08.07.2022 21.07.2022

The more detail required above can be seen on website www.delhi.govtprocurement.com

ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER)Advt. No. J.S.V. 233 (2022-23)

Sd/- (ER. ABSAR AHMED)EX. ENGINEER(C) PLANT, WW

Chandrawal WW No. II,Civil Lines, Delhi-110054

“STOP CORONA; WEAR MASK, FOLLOW PHYSICAL DISTANCING, MAINTAIN HAND HYGIENE”

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER (WW)-IIDELHI JAL BOARD : GOVT. OF N.C.T. OF DELHI

FLAT NO.- E1, TYPE-IV, STAFF QTRS., JHANDEWALAN, DELHI-110005E-mail:- [email protected]/ [email protected]

1.+)') $")". + )D "+)A$? +" = +? +)"; A

"98530-9* (&8%85 # !-9* ?C # "&B9@%8585*&80@98><:7642/

.,".AD.+ A ";=.

:987 64 2078 .0B @9>0 =907 64 <;Q >PO8;>>;6N

MPLLB <P;L0 :6N KJ K;I HP>!7N>;6N =;7>7L

!I6!7LL7Q <P> 64 <H 2 9> !7I JU T S;0RKP068907Q +I9N>8;>>;6N *KU+)(

'&% :6>(%$(%% #U%"(%5(3%33

M6I 0R7 Q709;L7Q 07NQ7I Q61P87N0 /;>;0- >Q,G

SSS(707NQ7I>(F7I9L9(E6/(;ND JR9;I89N C U9N9E;NE =;I7106I

SSS(F7I9L9I01(168,07NQ7I>,!PI1R9>7D 7G89;L - >IAF7I9L9(E6/(;N ''(%?(3%33

BRIEFLYDoTgearrulesNewDelhi:TheDepartmentof Telecommunications(DoT) has banned use ofnon-trusted telecomgearforexpansionof communi-cationsnetworksinthecou-ntry. As per the amendedrulesfortelecomlicencesis-suedMonday,DoThasadd-edtheword"expansion" toplugagap inprevious rulesthatwereissuedtocurbuseofnon-trustedtelecomgearintelecomnetworks.

NITICEONewDelhi: ParameswaranIyer,whohad spearheadedthe implementation of theflagship Swachh BharatMission, onMonday tookchargeastheChiefExecutiveOfficerofNITIAayog.Here-placedAmitabhKant,whodemittedofficeonJune30.

MinesauctionsNewDelhi:MinesMinisterPralhad Joshi onMondaysaid incentives would beprovidedtothestateswhichhavesuccessfullyauctionedmines and have identifiedpotentialmineralblocks.

‘IndiGosalaries’NewDelhi: IndiGowill “ra-tionalize” the salaries of itsaircraftmaintenance tech-niciansandremove“anom-alies cause by the pan-demic”, readanemail fromSCGupta, IndiGo’s Seniorvicepresident(engineering),to aircraft maintenancetechnicians,seenbyPTI.

GrandVitaraNewDelhi:Maruti SuzukiIndia on Monday startedbookings for its upcomingmid-sizedSUVGrandVitara,with an initial payment of`11,000. Itwillbeproducedat ToyotaKirloskarMotor’sKarnataka-basedplant. PTI

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI, JULY11

WITHANeyeonachievingprof-itability amid a potential listingplan in the next two years,edtech startup Unacademy hasdecidedtonotcontinuewith itssponsorship of the Indian Pre-mierLeague(IPL)fromnextyear.Thefirmhasalsoinformedits

employees of a number of costcuttingmeasuresthatitwillun-dertake, including pay cuts forfounders andmanagement, re-strictions on business travel foremployees and its tutors, andhalting complimentary mealsandsnacksat itsoffices.Responding to a user on

Twitter,Unacademyco-founderand CEO Gaurav Munjal said,“The last three years with IPLwere amazing. Our Brandwenttoanotherlevel. Irecommendallupcoming Brands to partnerwithIPL.Ourfocushaschanged.Hencethedecisiontonotdo IPLnextyear.”Separately,inaninternalnote

sharedwithemployees,Munjalalso said that the firm’s upperlevelmanagement (CXOs), andother employeeswill no longerbeprovidedwithabusinessclassticket for travel.Thosewhomaywant anupgrade “canpay fromtheirownpocket,”hesaidinthememo, a copy of which wasviewedbyThe IndianExpress.Healsosaidthe firmwillnot

be providing other privilegesavailable to its CXOs, like dedi-cateddrivers,anymore.“Wewillbe shutting down certain busi-nesses that have failed to findPMF (product market fit) likeGlobalTestPrep,”Munjalsaid.Inthe note, he assured employeesthatthecostcuttingmethodsdonotmeanthatthefirmisinabadstate, claiming that it hadmorethan Rs 2,800 crore in the bankasofMonday.Munjal added in the note,

“But now the goal has changed.

We have to do an IPO (initialpublic offering) in the next twoyears.Andwehavetoturncash-flow positive. For that wemustembrace frugality as a corevalue.” Unacademy declined tocommentontheinternalmemo.The development comes

amid a freeze on funding avail-able to Indian startups, whichhas forced a number of the na-tion’s storied startups likeUnacademytolaystaff andshutdown entire business verticals.Unacademy is said to have laidoff anywhere between 700 and1,000 people, and had earliershut down its K-12 (kinder-garten toclass12)businessver-tical. In total, Indian startupshave handed pink slips to over12,000people so far in2022.Asdemandforonlineeduca-

tionhasdroppedwiththeliftingof Covid-19 restrictions,Unacademy had in May an-nounceditsforayintotheofflinelearning space by launching itsown coaching centres, offeringtuitionforcompetitiveexamina-tions.Thestartuphasreportedlyspent hundreds of crores in re-cruiting employees for its firstcentreinKota,thecountry’spri-vatecoachinghub.

FUNDINGFREEZE INSTARTUPSPACE

OUTLOOKFORBANKCREDITOFFTAKEISPOSITIVEDUETO:■EconomicexpansiontrackingnominalGDPgrowth■Riseingovernmentandprivatecapitalexpenditure■Risingcommodityprices■ ImplementationofPLIscheme■ExtensionofECLGSforMSMEandretailcreditpush

‘Credit growth likely to improveon govt’s public spending push’Bank credit offtake is likely to pick up after normalisationof economic activities aided by the government thrust onpublic expenditure this fiscal, a CareEdge report said

13.1%BankcreditgrowthbyscheduledcommercialbanksinearlyJune,

improvingpost-August2021,aseconomyhasnavigatedthepandemic-inducedshocks

5.9%Grossnon-performingassets(GNPA)ratio inFY22,asix-year low,butstill

abovethepre-assetqualityreviewof2015-16

Major drivers of bank credit growth have been retail credit andmore so wholesale credit, which reporteddouble-digit growth after witnessing a significant slowdown last year Source: CareEdge/PTI

INDIA’SNPARATIOISONEOFTHEHIGHESTAMONGTHECOMPARABLECOUNTRIESDESPITEGRADUALDECLINE

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI, JULY11

CORPORATEPROFITABILITY,or the earningsbefore inter-est, taxes, depreciation andamortisation (Ebitda) mar-gin, is likely to fall 200-300basispoints(bps) intheJunequarter when compared tothe same period of last year,saysaCrisil report.According to a Crisil

analysis of over 300 compa-nies (excluding the financialservices and oil and gas sec-tors), that would mark thethird consecutive quarter ofyear-on-year decline. Ebitdamarginsof almosthalf of the47 sectors tracked by CrisilResearch are estimated tohavecontractedyear-on-yearduringthequarter.“AbsoluteEbitda profit, too, shrank forthe first time in five quartersascompanieswereunabletofully pass on the increase ininput costs, especially of keymetalsandenergy,”itsaid.Onits part, corporate revenue isestimated to have logged ahealthygrowthof30percentyear-on-yearinthefirstquar-ter,largelysupportedbypricehikes andmoderately risingvolumes.Volumegainswerelargelyattributedtoapick-upineconomicactivity.Onase-quentialbasis,though,corpo-rate revenue likely de-grew3-5percenton-quarter.HetalGandhi,director,Cri-

silResearch,said,“ThecurrentfiscalcouldseeEbitdamargincontract further, to reach19-21percent largelyduetoele-vatedenergyandmetalprices.TheUkraine-Russia conflicthassentcrudeandnaturalgasprices soaring, andposesun-certainty for trade inmetalssuchas steel,whichwill leadto elevated prices of com-

moditiesandcontinuedpres-sureonprofitability.”In the first quarter, Ebitda

margininconstruction-linkedsectorsarelikelytohavefallenthemost,at990plusbpsyear-on-year, followed by the in-vestment-linked segment,which saw an year-on-yearmargin erosion of over 260bps. Among construction-linked sectors, steel productssawa sharpmargin contrac-tionofaround1,500bpsyear-on-year as input cost escala-tion—both coking coal andiron ore prices have risen—was higher than the rise insteel prices, Crisil said. “Thepriceof crude(Indianbasket)surgednearly50-60percent,while those of spot gas andcokingcoalrocketedtoalmost2.3 times and 3.3 times, re-spectively,year-on-year.Eventhepetrochemicalssectorsawasteepcontractioninmargins,totheextentof1,500bpsyear-on-year. In contrast,marginsof consumer discretionaryservicesandproducts,aswellas consumer staples services,sawanexpansionof200-300bpsyear-on-year,”Crisilsaid.Of the total year-on-year

incremental absolute Ebitdaprofitinthequarter,consumerdiscretionary products anddiscretionary services accou-ntedforaround60percent.

Full report onwww.indianexpress.com

EARNINGSWATCHINDIA INC

‘Q1: Corporateprofitability mayfall 200-300 bps’

CORPORATE REVENUE

■Corporaterevenueisestimatedtohave loggedhealthygrowthof30%year-on-year inQ1, saysaCrisil report

30%

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,JULY11

A SELECTION panel of theMinistryofFinance(MoF)hasse-lected eight new InsuranceOmbudsmen for various centresacrossthecountry.AtulSahai,formerCMD,New

India Assurance (NIA) has beenselectedforLucknowalongwithManojKParida, a retired IASof-ficer for Bhubaneswar,BimbadharPradhan(retiredIASofficerforNoida),SumeetJerath(retired IAS officer for Delhi), CVikas Rao (for Ahmedabad),Kiran Sahdev (LIC, Kolkata),SusmitaMukherjee(aformerdi-rector, NIA for Patna), Sunil Jain(retiredprincipalcommissioner,

Customs, Pune) have been se-lectedby theselectionpanel.Therewere40applicantswho

wereinterviewedoverthreedayslastweekandoutofeightvacan-cies, four have gone to civil ser-vants,twoeachforLICofficialsandNIAofficials. After duediligenceby the government authorities,MoFwill issueordersofappoint-menttotheselectedcandidates.

8 new InsuranceOmbudsmen selected

Afterduediligencebygovernmentauthorities, theFinanceMinistrywill issueordersof appointmenttoselectedcandidates

❸ KEYPOINTS

1UnacademyCEO&co-founderGauravMunjalsaidCXOsandotherstaffwillnolongerbegivenwithbusinessclassticket fortravel

2However,hesaidthefirmisnot inabadstateandhadover`2,800crore inthebank

3Unacademyisrecentlysaidtohavelaidoffanywherebetween700and1,000people

Unacademy CEOlays IPO roadmap:Pay cuts, IPL dealpullout, ‘frugality’

REUTERSBENGALURU,JULY11

ELONMUSKonMondaymockedTwitterInc’sthreattosuehimfol-lowinghismove toabandon the$44billion takeoverdeal, tweet-ing the socialmedia firmwouldneed to disclosemore informa-tiononbotsandspamaccounts.The series of tweets on

MondaywasTeslaIncchief’sfirstpublic response since hemadepublic his intention to ditch theoffer on Friday because Twitterhadbreachedmultipleprovisionsofthemergerdeal.Twitter’sstockin theUS,meanwhile, slidmorethan9percent inearlytrade.In another development,

Twitter has hired US law firmWachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzLLP as it prepares to sue ElonMuskandforcehimtocomplete

the acquisition of the socialme-dia company, according to perpeoplefamiliarwiththematter.

Musk makes memeon Twitter legal threat

MemetweetedbyElonMusk.via@elonmuskTwitter

Stockslidesover9% inearly trade

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI, JULY11

THERESERVEBankof India (RBI)hasput inplace amechanismtosettleinternationaltradeinrupees“in order to promote growth ofglobaltradewithemphasisonex-portsfromIndiaandtosupporttheincreasing interestof global trad-ingcommunityintherupee”.Thecentral bank’smovehas come inthewakeofincreasingpressureontheIndiancurrencyinthewakeofRussia’s invasionof Ukraine andsanctionsbytheUSandtheEU.The RBI mechanism is ex-

pectedtofacilitate importersandexporters toavoid rules thatpre-vent theuseof aglobal currencysuchastheUSdollarfortradewithcertaincountries.AfterRussiaat-tackedUkraine, several countrieshadimposedsanctionsonRussia.Indian companieswhichwerelooking for alternativemodesofpayment for imports canmakeuseofthenewmechanism.Inacircularissuedtocommer-

cialbanksonMonday,theRBIsaidallexportsandimportsunderthisarrangementmay be denomi-natedandinvoicedinrupee(INR).“Exchange ratebetween thecur-

renciesofthetwotradingpartnercountriesmaybemarket deter-mined,” the RBI said, withoutmentioningthenameofanycoun-try.Accordingtothecentralbank,AD (authoriseddealer) banks inIndiahavebeenpermittedtoopenrupee Vostro accounts. Accor-dingly, for settlement of tradetransactionswithanycountry,ADbankinIndiamayopenspecialru-peevostroaccountsofcorrespon-dentbanksof thepartnertradingcountry.Avostroaccountisanac-countacorrespondentbankholdsonbehalfofanotherbank.“Indianimportersundertaking

importsthroughthismechanismshallmakepaymentinINRwhichshouldbecreditedintothespecialvostroaccountof the correspon-dentbankof thepartnercountry,againsttheinvoicesforthesupply

ofgoodsorservicesfromtheover-seasseller/supplier,”itsaid.“Indianexporters,undertaking

exports of goods and servicesthrough thismechanism, shouldbepaidtheexportproceedsinINRfrom the balances in the desig-natedspecialvostroaccountofthecorrespondentbankofthepartnercountry,”theRBIsaid.On thepermission required,

theRBIsaidthebankof apartnercountrymayapproachanADbankinIndiaforopeningofspecialINRVostroaccount.“TheADbankwillseek approval from theReserveBankwithdetails of thearrange-ment. ADbankmaintaining thespecialVostroAccountwillensurethatthecorrespondentbankisnotfromacountryor jurisdiction inthe updated FATF public state-mentonhighriskandnonco-op-

erativejurisdictionsonwhichFATFhascalled forcountermeasures,”theRBIsaid.AsperRBI,exportersmay receive advance paymentagainstexportsfromoverseasim-porters in Indian rupees throughthe rupeepaymentmechanism.Before allowingany such receiptof advancepayment against ex-ports,Indianbanksshouldensurethat available funds in these ac-countsarefirstusedtowardspay-mentobligationsarisingoutofal-readyexecutedexportordersandpaymentsinthepipeline,”itsaid.To ensure the advance is re-

leasedonlyaspertheinstructionsof theoverseasimporter, theInd-ianbankmaintaining the specialvostro account of its correspon-dentbankshould,apartfromusualduediligencemeasures,verifytheclaimoftheexporterwiththead-vicereceivedfromthecorrespon-dentbankbeforereleasingthead-vance,itsaid.TheRBIsaidtheissueofbankguaranteefortradetrans-actions, undertaken through thisarrangement,ispermittedsubjectto adherence to provisions ofFEMAnotification.Therupeesur-plusbalanceheldmaybeusedforpermissiblecapitalandcurrentac-count transactions inaccordancewithmutualagreement,itsaid.

AMIDRUSSIA-UKRAINECRISIS

July 11July 1

Inverted scale

79.43

79.04

RUPEE VSDOLLAR

INDIANFIRMS, lookingforalternativemodesofpayment for imports, canutilise themechanism.

AlternativewayE●EX

PLAINED

RBI pavesway for globaltrade settlement in rupeeTofacilitate tradewithnationswherecertaincurrenciesaren’tallowed

New Delhi

CLASSIFIEDS&TENDERS14 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY, JULY12,2022

PUBLIC AUCTION NOTICEThe General Public is informed that the goods detained fromVehicle No HR55X4118 will be put to public auction underSection 20 of IGST Act, 2017 r/w Section 129(6) of the CGSTAct, 2017. The Auction will take place on the day Monday on18.07.2022 at 11:00 A.M. at Office of Dy. Excise and TaxationCommissioner, Faridabad (West), Behind District Court, NearSports Complex, Sector-12, Faridabad-121007.Description of Goods to be Auctioned:

S. No. Description of Goods Quantity

1 Cigarettes (Gold Impact) 38,400 Packs

Terms and conditions:The Successful bidder has to deposit 25% of the amount of theaccepted bid by authority on the spot and the remaining amount,i.e. 75% of the amount of accepted bid within 15 days of auctiondate. Once the complete payment is made, the ownership will betransferred by the Competent Authority to the successful bidderand the necessary certificate shall be issued. A refundable secu-rity deposit of Rs 10,000/- shall be deposited by each participat-ing bidder in case with an Identity proof before the start of auc-tion process. Rest of the terms and condition will be conveyedbefore the start of the auction.

-sd-AETO(Enf)-cum-Proper Officer

O/o Dy. Excise & Taxation Commissioner(ST)Faridabad (West)

10997/HRY

ClassifiedsPPEERRSSOONNAALL

IIArvindKumarS/o JPSRanaR/oP-13, KirbyPlace, DelhiCantt-110010, have changedthenameofmySonVedant toVedantKumarandhe shallhereafter be knownasVedantKumar.

0130026831-1

IItt is for general informationthat I,BindeshwarMahto,S/o-Sh.RameshwarMahto,R/o-A-97/B,Gali.No.2,AmbikaVihar,Shiv-Vihar,Karawal-Nagar,North East-Delhi-110094,declare that nameofmineandmy father hasbeenwrongly-writtenasBindeshwar andRameshwarinmyDriving-LicenceNoDL-0520090013474 (P).Theactual-nameofmineandmy fatherareBindeshwarMahto andRameshwarMahtorespectively,whichmaybeamendedaccordingly.

0040621968-6

II,,VViikkaassKumarS/OKirorimalAryaR/OH.No-B-3/220, Sector-6, Rohini Delhi-110085,havechangedmyname toVikasKumarArya.

0040621960-5

II,,VViijjaayyKumarBhattacharjee,S/oShankar LalR/o-196,SahyogApartments,MayurVihar-I,Delhi-110091,have changedmyname toVijayKumar.

0040621916-2

II,,VViijjaayyGuptaW/O-SurinderKumarGuptaR/OD948,Newfriends-colonyNewDelhi,110065.Have changedmyName toVijay LaxmiGupta.

0040621901-5

II,,VVIINNAAYYKUMARSAINI S/O-PREMCHANDR/O-4339/6BUDHNAGARTRINAGAR,DELHI-110035,HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETOVINAYKUMAR.

0040621901-7

II,,VV..K.GuptaandVirendarKumarGuptaS/o,OmPrakashGuptaR/o,A-166,Surya-Nagar,Ghaziabad,U.P.-201011,have changedmy-name toVirenderaKumarGupta.

0040621963-7

II,,TTaannuusshhrreeeeBasu,W/oPradiptoBasu,R/o-1012B,TheAraliasDLF-Golf LinksGolf Course-RoadSector-42,DLF-Phase-5,Sikanderpur-Ghosi(68),Gurgaon(Haryana)-122002,have changedmyname toTanushreeChatterjeeBasu.

0040621960-2

II,,SSuummiittrraaW/o-RamChanderH.No.133, SurhedaVillage,Najafgarh,NewDelhi-110043,have changedmynameMintaraDevi,for all legalpurpose,in future.

0040621963-4

II,,SSuummiittKumar,S/o-RamSingh,R/o-H.No.24,Patloni,Thana-Baldev,Tehsil-Mahavan, Patlauni,Mathura,Utta Pradesh-281301,have changedmyname toSunder Singh for allfuturepurposes.

0040621968-4

II,,SSAAFFIIAAKHAN,D/OSHAHIDKHAN,ADD-E-21,ANSALVILLAFARM ,SATBARI SOUTHDELHI-110074, changedmyname toSAFIYAKHAN, permanently.

0040621901-2

II,,RRuuhhii SahuW/O-PrashantRajput R/OPV-25,PalmSprings,Golf CourseRoad,Sector-54,Gurgaon,Haryana-122008,have changedmyname toRuhi Rajput.

0040621968-7

II,,RRoohhiitt,,SS//OO--SSuurreennddeerrSingh,R/O-KhNO-159,Gali NO-5/13,NearMangal BazaarRoad,SamtaVihar,MukandPur,NorthWestDelhi-110042,have changedmynameandshall hereafter beKnownAsRohit singh.

0040621963-1

II,,RRiittuuGoel,W/oAnil KumarGoel,R/o-B3/323,G.F.,PaschimVihar, Delhi-110063,havechangedmyname toRituGoyal. 0040621963-10

II,,RRaannjjaann Swain,S/OLalit KumarSwainR/O.H.No-102/103,Kh.No-1413/1415, Ground-FloorVeena-EnclaveNangloiDelhi-110041,have changedmyname toRanjanKumarSwain. 0040621901-8

II,,RRaajjddeeeepp,,SS//ooMaheshChandPawar,R/o.C-221,5thAvenue,GaurCity-1,Noida-Extension,GreaterNoida-West, GautamBuddha-Nagar,U.P.-201306,havechangedmyname toRajdeepPawar,for all purposes.

0040621916-5

II,,RRAAGGHHAAVVAGGARWALS/O.PRABINKUMARAGRAWAL,R/O.C-26, SECOND-FLOORASHOK-VIHARPHASE-1,DELHI-110052,HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETORAGHAVAGRAWAL.

0040621960-6

II,,PPhhaanneeeennddrraaChandra, S/o-NarayanDutt Chhimwal,R/o-63, Dhikuli, Nainital,Uttarakhand-244715, havechangedmyname toPhaneendraChandraChhimwal, for all purposes.

0040621963-9

II,,PPOOOONNAAMM SHARMA,W/O-Manoj kumar kaushik,R/o-1/3010,st.no-16,Ram-nagarLoni-road shahdara,Delhi-32,have changedmyminor-daughter name,frompratibhakaushik(age-14.year) to Tanyakaushik bothare same-person,for all the,futurepurposes. 0040621968-3

II,,NNiirrmmaallKumarChhimwal, S/o-PhaneendraChandraChhimwal, R/o-ViaRamNagar,Near-KrishnaHotels,Dhikuli,NainitalUttarakhand-244715,havechangedmyname toNirmalChhimwal,for all purposes.

0040621963-8

II,,NNaarreennddrraaKumar s/oDevi RamBhati,R/o.D-223, 3rd-Floor,Jhilmil Colony,Shahdara,Delhi-110095,havechangedmyname toNarendraKumarBhati,permanently.

0040621901-1

II,,NNEEHHAAVEDSHARMAW/OMANOJKUMARVASHISTHR/OD-21,SF,MANOHAR-PARK,EASTPUNJABI-BAGH,DELHI-110026.CHANGEDMYNAMETONEHASHARMA.

0040621968-5

II,,KKaammaallaaW/o,No.7072219SEPOY,Lt. HawaSinghR/o,H/no.242,Nangal Thakran,Bawana,Delhi-39, havechangedmyname toKamlaDevi vide-affidavit dt.11.7.22before,Delhi.

0040621968-2

II,,JJiitteennddeerr SinghS/oMakhanSingh,R/oK-12,K-Block,ShamNagar,NewDelhi-110018,havechangedmyname to JatinderSinghBhogal.

0040621960-3

II,,JJAAYYRRAAJJ SINGH,S/O-SURENDRASINGHTHAKUR,R/O-GRAMKITHONDATEHBHILARWAR,KITHODA-GWALIOR,MADHYAPRADESH-475220,HAVECHANGEMYNAME JAYRAJ SINGHTHAKURTO JAYRAJ SINGH,FORALLPURPOSE.

0040621901-4

II,,DDeeeeppaakk,,SS//OO--RRaajjKumarR/O-H.NO.614,LIG Flats,SanjayEnclave,Jahangir Puri,N.S.Mandi,Delhi-110033,havechangedmyname toDeepakSharma.

0040621963-2

II,,DDaarrsshhaann Lal,S/oGianChand,ResidingAt,A-172G.F.,jhilmil-ColonyDelhi-110095,HaveChangedTheNameOfMyMinor-DaughterAkshra(Age-13Years)AndSheShall Hereafter BeKnownAsVarshitaDogra.

0040621960-7

II,,DDHHEEEERRAAJJ S/OMADANLALGARG,R/O J-1/10,UPPERGROUND-FLOOR,BUDH-VIHARPHASE-1,DELHI-110086.HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETODHEERAJGARG.

0040621916-3

II,,BBAALLJJEEEETTMALIK,S/OSH.RAMDIYA,R/O.H.NO.T-928,BAGHRAO JI,KISHANGANJ,ARYA-NAGAR,DELHI-G.P.O.,NORTH,DELHI,DELHI-110006,herebydeclarenameofminehasbeenwrongly-writtenasBaljit Singh inmyService-RecordandBaljeetSingh inmyPassportNo.K9450331 andDriving-LicenseNo.DL1320120120993. Theactual nameofmine isBALJEETMALIK,whichmaybeamendedaccordingly.

0040621960-8

II,,AAnnjjaallii TanejaW/o-GirdhariLal,R/o Ist-Floor,18/116,nearShivMandir,QillaMohalla,Bahadurgarh,district Jhajjar,Haryana-124507,changedmyname toAnjali.

0040621968-1

II,,NNAATTHHAARRAAMM,, S/O.BHERARAMADD-PO:PADARLI KALAHARMALPUR ,BARMERRAJASTHAN344044,Changedmyname toNATHARAMDEVASI, permanently.

0040621960-4

II,,AAnniill kumar,S/o-ShDwarkaDassGogia,R/O-63/11,Secondfloor,AshokNagar,Delhi-110018,HavechangedmynameAnil kumarGogia,S/O-ShDwarkaDassGogiaboththenamesare theoneand thesameperson.

0040621963-3

II,,AAkkaasshhKumarSrivastavaS/o-DeepakSrivastavaR/oH.No-427/15, ChandanVihar, SantNagar, Burari, Delhi-110084have changedmyname toAkashSrivastav for,allpurposes.

0040621930-1

II,,AAYYSSHHAAW/OSHAMSUL ISLAMR/OA-856,SECTOR-2,AVANTIKA,ROHINI,DELHI-110085.HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETOAYASHABI.

0040621916-1

II,,AAMMIITTKUMAR,R/oVILL-JEVARI,POST-RAJBAN, KHIRWAROAD,JEVARI,MEERUT,U.P.250001,ChangedmyMinor daughter nameGAURI toGAURI BAINSLA.

0040621963-5

II,,AAKKAANNSSHHAAMUNJALW/O-SANCHITVALECHAR/O.B-47INDERPURI,DELHI -110012,HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETOAKANKSHAVALECHA.

0040621916-4

II,,YakshDutt Anand, S/oSurenderKumar, R/oH.No-43,GurhaiMohalla, NearCircularRoad, Shahdara, Delhi-110032,that nameofmyFather hasbeenwronglywritten asSurendraKumar inmy10thand 12th cumCertificates andMarksheets. Theactual nameofmy father is SurenderKumar.

0070794121-1

II,,WahidaM/oDianaR/oE-216,3rd Floor, LajpatNagar-I,Delhi-24 have changed thenameofmyminor daughterDianaagedabout 17 years andShe shall hereafter be knownas Inaya for all purposes.

0040621904-1

II,,ShasishtaW/O-MohammadSalim,R/OH.No.91A,D-BLOCK,Street.No.1,Near-UmarMasjid.,Nehru-Vihar,Delhi-110094.Have changedmyName toShaistaParveen.

0040621960-1

II,,Sariba,W/oYasarAli, R/o-4883, Gali DarzianMainRoad,Sadar Bazar, Delhi-G.P.O,Delhi-110006, have changedmyname toSaribaAli for allfuturepurposes.

0070794134-1

II,,SHILPIW/O-Aashish Sehdev,R/O.H.No. RZ-189-A, First-Floor,T-Extn.,VishwasPark,Uttam-Nagar,Delhi-110059,Changednameafter-marriageis SHILPI SEHDEV.

0040621963-6

II,,SHEELASOLANKI,W/oLT. SHRIKRISHAN, R/oWZ-791/A,Badiyal PalamVillage, NewDelhi 110045, have changedmyname toSHEELADEVI for allfuturepurposes.

0070794120-1

II,,Rekhaw/oRaj KumarBhandari, R/oA-100, (SF),SudershanPark, NewDelhi-110015have changedmynametoRekhaBhandari, for allpurposes

0040621905-1

II,,RAJYALAKSHMI, SpouseofNo. 14684279A(SEP)ADINARAYANABATCHU, R/o.Village-Kunchalakurmayyapeta, P.O.-Kothapeta, Tehsil- Etcherla,District- Srikakulam,AndhraPradesh-532005, havechangedmynameaftermarriage fromRAJYALAKSHMI toBATCHURAJYALAKSHMI, videaffidavit: IN-DL5834054484628U, dated:11/07/2022, beforeNotaryAdvocate-VijayKumar,Regd.No.-17819, NewDelhi.

0070794141-1

II,,RAJENDERLOHIA, S/o AMRITLAL, R/o 428,M.G. Road,Ghitorni Village, SouthDelhi-110030, have changedmyname toRAJENDERALOHIA forall purposes.

0070794143-1

II,,Pretty Sebastian, R/o FlatNo.D-1, F-5 Block, NarayanaApartment, Kanpur Extn., NewDelhi-62, have changedmyname to “Pretty Bijoy” for allfuturepurposes.

0070794163-1

II,,AASSHHAA SAINIW/O-VINAYKUMARR/o-4339/6,BUDHNAGARTRINAGARDELHI-110035,HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETOASHA.

0040621901-6

II,,POOJASHARMAD/oPrakashChandraSharmaR/oC-61, 2ndFloor, Brij Vihar, Ghaziabad,UP-201011, have changedmyname toPOOJADANDRIYAL forall futurepurposes.

0040621952-1

II,,Karamvir, S/oBalbir Singh,R/o-21, VillageKondli, Delhi110096, have changedmynameKaramvir toKaramveerfor all purpose in future.

0070794147-1

II,,GopalGupta, S/oRakeshKumarGupta, R/oK-603, 6thFloor, TowerK, Anant RajMaceo, IMTRoad, Sec-91,Meoka (121), Gurgaon,Haryana-122505, havechangedmyminor Son’s namefromRyanGupta aged4 yearstoDarshGupta forever.

0070794116-1

II,,Chiranjeev Singh, S/oKamaljeet Singh, R/oC-1A/103-C, JanakPuri, Delhi-110058, have changedmyminor Son’s name fromUtkarshjeev Singhaged 6years toUtkarshjeev SinghBedi forever.

0070794119-1

II,,Chiranjeev Singh, S/oKamaljeet Singh, R/oC-1A/103-C, JanakPuri, Delhi-110058, have changedmyminor Son’s name fromHaranshjeev Singhaged13years toHaranshjeev SinghBedi forever.

0070794118-1

II,,Anjali Goyal,W/oAnkushGoel, R/o 1364, Sec-12, HudaColony, NearNavaKotGurudwara, Panipat, Haryana-132103, have changedmyname toSeemaGoel.

0070794114-1

II,,Amit Sharma, S/oRameshKumar Joshi, R/o 168, SantoshNagarColony, LakhimpurKheri, Uttar Pradesh-262701,have changedmyname toAmit Joshi.

0070794115-1

II,,AdityaKumar Jain, S/o LateA.S Jain, residence E-86,JalvayuVihar, Sector-21,Noida, have changedmynameAK Jain toAdityaKumar Jainfor all futurepurpose. A.K jainandAdityaKumar Jainbothare sameperson.

0070794152-1

II,,AbhayNarainGupta, S/oAjayNarain, R/o-I-62, Sector-41,Noida, G.B. Nagar, U.P.-201301,have changedmyname toAbhayNarain for all futurepurposes.

0070794135-1

II,, 14684279A(SEP)ADINARAYANABATCHU,R/o. Village-Kunchalakurmayyapeta, P.O.-Kothapeta, Tehsil- Etcherla,District- Srikakulam,AndhraPradesh-532005, declare thecorrectionof nameofmyminor son fromMANISHANKAR toBATCHUMANISHANKAR, vide affidavit: IN-DL58340748164578U, dated:11/07/2022, beforeNotaryAdvocate-VijayKumar,Regd.No.-17819, NewDelhi.

0070794139-1

IIRAHULBISHTS/OSH. BSBISHTResidingB-17/2, UpperAnandParbatNewDelhi-110005havechanged thenameofmyminor daughterAnushkaBisht(Age 15) and she shallhereafter be knownasANUSHKABIST. 0040621956-1

IIDavinder SinghS/O, RamDhanR/oV. P.O.- RajluGarhi, Tehsil-Ganaur, Distt.- Sonipat,Haryana-131101have changedmyname toDevender Singhfor all purposes. 0040621945-1

IIArunSondhi S/O, AshokSondhi R/oC-612, RamVihar,Sector 30 , Noida- 201031havechangedmyname toArunKumar Sondhi for all purposes.

0040621947-1

I,Vineet Bhiduri,S/o SudhirKumarBidhuri,R/oHouseNo.87,MadanpurKhadar,SaritaVihar,South-Delhi,Delhi-110076,havechangedmyname toVineetBidhuri,for all purposes.

0040621916-6

I,Sudhir KumarBhiduri,S/oLekhRaj R/oHouseNo.87,MadanpurKhadar,SaritaVihar,South-Delhi,Delhi-110076,have changedmyname toSudhir KumarBidhuri,for all purposes.

0040621916-7

II,,Pankaj ChabraS/oBaldevKumarChabraR/o 122-A,AshokVihar, Phase-2, Delhi-110052, have changed mysurname toPankaj Chhabrafor all purposes. 0040621638-1

I,Saroj BhiduriW/oSudhirKumarBidhuri,R/oHouseNo.87,MadanpurKhadar,SaritaVihar,South-Delhi,Delhi-110076,havechangedmyname toSarojBidhuri,for all purposes.

0040621916-8

I,NAZIAKHAN,W/O.SHAHIDKHAN,ADD- E-21,ANSALVILLAFARM, SATBARI SOUTHDELHI-110074, changedmyname toNAZIA, permanently.

0040621901-3

PUBLIC NOTICEBe it known to public at large thatproperty No. R-298, Greater Kailash,Part-I, New Delhi was owned by Late Sh.Hira Lal. After his death, the saidproperty has devolved upon Sh. AshokKumar, Sh. Sushil Kumar, Sh. RakeshKumar, Ms. Lalita Rani, Ms. KnchanSukhralia, Sh. Lalit Kumar, Sh. MaheshKumar, Ms. Rachna, Ms. Chetna Gola,Sh. Vishal, Ms. Kamni Taneja, Ms. KavitaNarota and Sh. Nikhil Kumar, all Lrs. ofLate Sh. Hira Lal.A civil suit are pending in the court of Ld.ADJ, Central District, Delhi in respect ofthe said property. Till the final disposal ofthe said suit, no one is entitled orempowered to deal or enter into anyAgreement to Sell with respect to thesaid property or any part thereof, as suchany person dealing with any such personfor sell / purchase / mortgage of the saidproperty shall be doing so at his owncost risk and consequences.

Sd/-(ANIS AHMED)

ADVOCATE2241/27, Jawahar Singh Market,

Kucha Challan, Darya Ganj,New Delhi-110002

PUBLIC NOTICEPUBLIC IN GENERAL IS INFORMED THAT MYCLIENTS SH VINODANAND JHA S/O Lt. SHHARISH CHANDER JHA AGED ABOUT 58 YEAR'SAND HIS WIFE NAMELY VIBHA JHA R/O H NO. B34 A, ARJUN PARK, ISHWAR COLONY,NAJAFGARH, NEW DELHI 110043, HASDISOWNED AND DEBARRED THEIR SON NAMELYABHISHEK KUMAR AGED ABOUT 30 YEAR ANDHIS WIFE, JHUNA KUMARI AGED ABOUT 22YEAR, FROM THEIR ALL MOVEABLE ANDIMMOVEABLE PROPERTIES, HENCEFORTH ANDHAVE SEVERED ALL HIS RELATIONSHIP DUE TOTHEIR CALLOUS BEHAVIOR TOWARDS MYCLIENT AND OTHER FAMILY MEMBER'S AND MYCLIENT WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIRACTS AND DEEDS DONE BY THEM, IN ANYMANNER WHATSOEVER HENCE FORTH.

Sd/-YOGESH KUMAR

AdvocateD/499/15

131, Block-I, Lawyers Chamber,Delhi High Court, New Delhi-03

PUBLIC NOTICEMy client Smt. Phoolmati, W/o LateFaujdar, R/o Kh. No. 120/1120 GroundFloor, Kamal Pur, Kamal Vihar, VillageBurari Near Gulab Property, Delhi-110084, wants to give a public notice thatshe has served all her relations and tieswith her sons namely Sh. Mahadev andSh. Sunil and her daughters in lawnamely Ms. Gudiya, W/o Sh. Mahadevand Ms. Suman, W/o Sh. Sunil and hergrandsons namely Master Aayush andMaster Yash and granddaughtersnamely Saloni, Anshika, Shagun,Annpurna and Bugu. She has alsodebarred them from all her movable andimmovable properties and shall have noconcern in future with them.

Sd/-(GURMIT SINGH HANS)

ADVOCATEEnrl. No. D-55/98(R)

Lawyer’s Chamber No. 61,First Floor, Western Wing,

Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi-110054

PUBLIC NOTICEBe it Known that My Client SH. DEVPRAKASH BHARAL AGED 61 YearsS/o Lt. SH. G.P. Bharal R/o 113,Masjid Moth, New Delhi - 49 herebyDisown/Debar his Son namelyGANDHARAV BHARAL aged 33years and My Daughter in Law namelyDiksha@ Madhubala aged 27 yearsfrom all my movable & immovableproperties & severe my relations fromthem as they are harassing, torturingme at this age. If anybody dealing withthem, shall be doing at his/her ownrisk cost & responsibility for any actand deed or conduct of the aforesaid.

PRIYAM AGRAWAL (Advocate)Enrl.No.D/1775/2012

PUBLIC NOTICEIt is informed to the public at large that myclient Mohd. Muslim Ansari S/o Mohd. HanifAnsari and his wife Smt. Sehra Bano R/oG-500, Top Floor, Gali No.12, Jaitpur Extn.,Part-II, Badarpur, South New Delhi-110044hereby declaring / debarring / disowninghis son namely Md. Aqeel Ahmad Ansariand his wife Smt. Anjum Khatoon from hislife, all moveable or immoveableproperties. My client and his entire familysevered all their relations with them due totheir misconduct and disobey and anybodydeal with them shall be responsible forcosts, risk and consequences.

Sd/-(Z.A. HASHMI)

ADVOCATEEnrI.No.D-563/1994

113, P.S. RATHI BLOCK,TIS HAZARI COURTS, DELHI-110054

PUBLIC NOTICEBe it be known to general public that myclient Sharda Sharma Wife of Late Sh.Churamani Sharma, Resident of HouseNo. 61 Street No. 6, Garhi Mandu, NorthEast, Delhi-110053, has severed all herrelations with her son Mukesh Sharma, hiswife namely Anju Sharma and theirchildren namely Manasvi Sharma(Female) and Bhavya Sharma(Male) anddisowned them from all moveable andimmoveable property i.e. House, No. 61,Street No.6, Garhi Mandu, North East,Delhi-110053 and also from otherconsideration of any kind whatsoever maybe related to them. My client shall not beresponsible for any act deeds done by herson Mukesh Sharma, his wife Anju Sharmaand children Manasvi Sharma & BhavyaSharma in law in any manner.

Sd/-PRAVEEN SHARMA

AdvocateChamber No: 276,

Lawyers BlockSaket Courts, New Delhi

PUBLIC NOTICEMy clients I.J. KHURANA S/O. SH.RAM KISHAN KHURANA &SHAKUNTALA KHURANA W/O.I.J. KHURANA BOTH R/O. C-137,WEST VINOD NAGAR, DELHI-110092 had got published a PublicNotice dated 11.02.2018 in theNewspaper "JANSATTA & INDIANEXPRESS". By way of the saidpublic notice, they had disownedtheir son and daughter-in-lawnamely MR. HEMANT KHURANA& M s . A L K A K H U R A N Arespectively from all their movableand immovable properties as wellas had severed their relation withthem. Now by way of this publicnotice, my clients revoke/cancelthe public notice dated 11.02.2018.

PRIYA RANJAN ADVOCATECh. No. G-720, 7th Floor Karkardooma

Courts Shahdara, Delhi-110032

LLOOSSTT&&FFOOUUNNDDII have lostmyOriginalAllotment letter, Allocationletter of B-220, Sector-P-3,GreaterNoida, U.P. AllotmentNo.- R0137620, Dated-12/04/1996Ajayveer Singh, S/oJaypal SinghBhati, R/o-Astauli, GautambudhNagar,U.P. 0070794146-1

''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.

New Delhi

SPORT/CALENDAR 15WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,JULY12,2022

SHIVANINAIKJULY11

WITH JUST39 seconds togo towrapup thethirdquarter, VandanaKatariya lingeredontheleftofgoalmouth.Shewouldswoopontoawell-directed deflection throwing herselfinto a pouncing equaliser and Chinawouldbe neutralised 1-1, in the pool game of theWomen's HockeyWorld Pro League in theNetherlands."AtlasttheIndiancornercomesgood,"thecommentatorwouldexhaleofthelastof5penaltycornerchancesIndiaearned.ExpertswouldreminisceaboutIndia'sDutchcoachJannekeSchopmanscoringoffsimilarvariations in her time as a player. But therewasanervousresignationtothereliefof theeventual1-1draw.On either side of the China game, India

earned a staggering total of 31 PC chances.They converted 3. Coach Schopman's stintwaswitnessing Indiamove two steps for-ward, one step back. Plenty of chances toscoreoff, butamiserly fewconverted.Chasing New Zealand's lead in a later

match, and after Katariya and Lalremsiamihadnotchedapairof impressive fieldgoals,India's designated drag-flicker Gurjit Kaurflicked one to the low right corner, the ballsidling past twopairs of defenders feet andan outstretched leg of the Kiwi goalkeeper.Thegoal had the skill of threading aneedle,butcouldn'tmaskthelowconversionrateofthematch:1outof 15.AgainstSpain, IndianPCtakers lacked in

intensity, failing to convert any of the 4chances.AndwhenEnglandheldIndiatoan-other draw - after yet another Katariyapoaching on a rebound - some tame injec-tionsasthegameworeon,sawtheopponentrushers earn that extra split second to getintopositiontoparrytheslappedshots.TheEnglishgamesawaconversionof 1off 7PCattempts.Beijing Olympics gold medallist

Schopman (beatingChina in finals inciden-tally), who loves a good bag of variationswhen taking PCs will be simultaneouslyhappythattheIndianwomenaregettingtheball speedily andmeaningfully into the Dwithpaceandintensity.Buttheconversions- oftentimes routine setpieces - are lackinginvenomandprecision,evenifoneassumesthe complex variationswill take awhile todevelop.Thelowconversionrate,alsogivenfield goals weren't exactly raining down -mightwellhavecostIndiaadirectspotinthequarters,andoverthenextfewmonthswithCommonwealth Games on the horizon,mightprove tobecrucial.

Many expectations off GurjitGurjit, India's lady assigned the big role

firstcametotheforeagainstUSAintheTokyoOlympics qualifiers, carries the bulk of re-

sponsibility of getting India those goals.Atleast till MonikaMalik steps up. She be-cameasensationalsoowingtorarityofdrag-flickers in India.If phases of evolution of a teamwas a

thing, India's women's team is where themen's teamwasat before2012Games, andwhen Sandeep Singh carried themantle toget thePC jobdone.Most teams find them-selvesinthisstageofdevelopmentofateam- when the paucity of flowing field goalsneeds to be recompensedwith a glut of PCsetpieceopportunities.That India is earningmanymore PCs -

running in fromnot just the flanks but alsostraightdowncentreof thefield-andenter-ing theDwith speedand finding the foot, isamply clear. Compared to the TokyoOlympics campaign, the PC count of thechances earned is a definite positive. But asIndia looks to consolidate on that 4th placeresult, and build upon themomentum, thePCconversionbecomessingularlyimportantasastatandasparkplug.Gurjit andDeepGrace Ekka are a formi-

dablepairingonthesetpiece,theirdefensiveduties will need constant upgrades.Affordingtherushersextramillisecondsbe-cause the hits aren't alwaysmuscling in, isanotherproblem.AsareGurjit'sslightlypre-dictable straight, low(kneeorwaist length)flicks, and angles of the PC push. A tad toocomfortableinheight,Gurjitwillneedmorethanherstockalongthegroundorjustabove- efforts. Shehas anice deceptive swerve ofthestickthatdoesn'tbetraythattheballwillpierce the right near corner. But she'll needmoreofthevariations-andperhapsKatariyadivingabout,pouncingonmorereboundsorreorientingdeflections.

The defensive lapses - much like themoansusedtobearoundSandeepSinghandballwatching - alsodemand that custodianSavita is forced into double and triple backtobacksaves.ButteamslikeEngland,NZandAustralia also hold the ability to runwithequal strength in the last quarter, make itdoubly difficult for the likes of Gurjit. AnuptickinthePCconversioncountmightjusthelphergainconfidence indefense.

Lots of work leftThenextseasonoftheFIHProLeaguewill

notseeIndiahavingfailedtostayintherank-ingbracket,andthatwouldmeanfewertop-levelmatches. That implies lesser opportu-nities to test their PC progress, even ifbackroomwork on the dragflickswill con-tinuenodoubt.TheCWGmightwellbeoneof the last testing assignments for a longtime.There's notmanydrag-flickers immedi-

ately visible coming through the juniorranks.AndIndia'sforwardsaren'texactlyset-tingtheblueturfonfire, lackingabitincom-posure in the crunch and closer to the goal.Katariya is on a roll currently andLalremsiami has the poaching chops. Butmere fieldgoalsaren'tgoingtochipawayatleadsof opponents.Matters are compoundedwith the con-

tinuingabsenceofRaniRampal, India's cre-ativeforceforthelastdecadewhocouldcre-ate chances out of thin air and set it up forher teammates. Indiawillneed tomake theimportant calls onwhetherRani - even if inshortburstsof30minutes-canbeemployedtoconjurethosechances. ThePCconversionalongsideremainsgoodandbadnews.Manychances, fewerdancing to thegoal.

Two steps forward, one backWorldCup: Indiaundonebytheir inability toconvertpenaltycorners

Indianwomen'shockeyteamlost0-1tohostsSpain. HI

REUTERSGALLE, JULY11

DINESH CHANDIMAL smashed amaidendouble hundred and Prabath Jayasuriyaclaimed12wicketsinadreamdebuttoscriptSri Lanka’s series-levellingvictorybyan in-ningsand39runs inthesecondtestagainstAustraliaonMonday.SriLanka,beateninsidethreedaysinthe

seriesopener,amassed554alloutafter fiveoftheirsixbatsmensmashed50-plusscorestofetchahandyleadof190.Chandimalpro-videdthebedrockwithacareer-best206notout, smashing 16 fours and five sixes in thefirst double hundred by a Sri Lanka batteragainst Australia. Left-arm spinnerJayasuriya,whoclaimed6-118inthefirstin-nings, returned to bundle out Australia for151with figuresof 6-59.Thetouristshadbeganwellwithopener

DavidWarner(24)andUsmanKhawaja(29)batting positively. Ramesh Mendis dis-missedWarner lbw before the tea beforeJayasuriya rocked the tourists with a two-wicketoverafterthebreak.Khawajaoffereda bat-pad catchwhile Steve Smithwas dis-missedlbwforaduck.TravisHeadmadefivebeforeRamesh spunadeliverypast thebatto hit the top of the off-stump as Australia,from49forno loss, slumpedto74-4.Jayasuriya sent back Marnus

Labuschagne (32) and then dismissedCameron Green (23) andMitchell Starc inthesameovertoeffectivelysealthematchinSriLanka’sfavour.Earlier,wastedreviewsre-turnedtohauntAustraliaafterSri Lankare-sumedon431-6.MitchellSwepsontrappedRamesh plumb lbw but Australia’s appealwasturneddownandthetouristscouldnotchallenge the decision having used up allthree reviewsonSunday.Starc(4-89)swungbackafullerdelivery

to eventually removeMendis lbw for 29.Debutants Maheesh Theekshana andJayasuriya lost their off-stumps to PatCummins and Starc respectively butChandimal was preparing a late assault atthe other end. Having reached 185,Chandimal smashed Starc for a boundaryand followed it with back-to-back sixes tobring up the first double hundred by a SriLankabatteragainstAustralia.The batsman dropped to his knees and

heldhisarmsaloftsoakinginapplausefromthe crowd. Sri Lanka opener PathumNissanka tested positive for COVID-19 andwas substituted by Oshada Fernando, whohad played a similar role when AngeloMathews tested positive during the seriesopener.BRIEF SCORES: Sri Lanka 554 bt Australia364&151(MarnusLabuschagne32,PrabathJayasuriya 6 for 59) by an innings and 39runs.

Chandimal,Jayasuriya guideLanka to victory

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEJULY11

TOPSEEDSakshiPhogatnotchedupanim-pressive 21-14, 21-8 win over AndhraPradesh's JahnaviNammitobookherplaceintheRoundof16of theGirlsUnder-19sin-gles event of premier badminton tourna-ment Smt Krishna Khaitan Memorial inPanchkula onMonday. The elimination ofthe fourth seed Akanksha Matte byMaharashtra’sTaraShahwas themainup-set of the day.As the topseed,Phogat,whohails from

Rajasthan, isabig favourite for the title thisweek. However, other seeded players vy-ing for the title alsoprogressed to thenextround. Haryana home favourites - secondseed Anupama Upadhyaya, third seedDevika Sihag and fifth seed Unnati Hoodaallwent through.Among the big upsets in the Round of

32though,was the lossofAkankshaMattetoTaraShah19-21,12-21.Assam's IsharaniBaruah also put up a dominant display toknock out 12th seedHrisshaDubey.The 21-7, 21-6 scoreline was the most

striking of the day. Chitwan Khatri alsoedged out a thriller against Uttarakhand'sAwantikaPandey.After losing the first set,he rallied to win the match 10-21, 21-19,21-18.

Boruah prevails in a thrillerAcross the Boys Under-19 singles

events, a string of thrilling encounters

played themselvesout. Chief among themwas third seed Tonmoy Bikash Boruah'swin over Uttarakhand's Shivam Mehta.Assam's Boruah dropped the first set be-fore coming back to win 14-21, 21-18, 21-16.Elsewhere, Punjab's Akarshit Sharma

neededovertimetoedgeTamilNadu'sSugiSai Bala Singha G 18-21, 21-16, 23-21. AndDheemanth Ramavat came back from alacklustre first set todefeatManishPhogat12-21, 22-20, 21-19 in the Roundof 32.Second seed Bharat Raghav and fourth

seed Ayush Shetty also progressed to thenext round,whileMaharashtraboyPranayShettigar, who trumped top seed PranavRao Gandham yesterday, comfortablybookedhis place in the fourth round too.RESULTS: Girls U-19: (1) Sakshi Phogat(RAJ) bt Jahnavi Nammi (AP) 21-14, 21-8;Tara Shah (MAH) bt (4) Akanksha Matte(AP) ; (2) Anupama Upadhyaya (HAR) btSreshta Reddy K (TS); Rijul Saini (HAR) bt(9) Shreya Lele (GUJ) 22-24, 21-11, 21-19;(5) Unnati Hooda (HAR) bt Tanvi Sharma(TN) 21-12, 21-16; Shriyanshi Valishetty(TS) bt (10) Samayara Panwar (UP) 21-10,21-13; (3) Devika Sahag (HAR) bt RashmitDonepudi (AP) 21-17, 21-15. Boys U19:Pranay Shettigar (MAH) bt Gagan (HAR)22-20, 21-16; (2) Bharat Raghav (HAR) btHimanish Das (ASM) 21-13, 21-15; (4)Ayush Shetty (KTK) bt Prajwal Sonawane(MAH) 23-21, 21-10; DheemanthRamavath (TS) btManishPhogat (RAJ) 12-21, 22-20, 21-19; (10) Abhinav Thakur(PNB) bt Asmit Aggarwal 21-15, 21-15.

Phogat impresses;Akanksha knocked out

SakshiPhogat (Rajasthan) inactionduringthe29thSmtKrishnaKhaitanAll IndiaJunior (U-19)RankingBadmintonTournamentonMonday. Jaipal Singh

CROSSWORD4791

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)Aword isnecessaryaboutyourprofessionalaffairs. Idon't foreseeany

unexpectedchanges,butyoumustbeaware thatacertainamountofback-tracking isnecessary, andthatthismayresult in temporaryfrustration.However, itwillallbeworth it.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)WiththeMoonnowsostrong inyoursolarchart,youhavean ideal

opportunity toprove justhowperceptiveandopentoapartner’sneedsyoureallyare.Yourmaternalqualitiesareat theirbest, soyoumaybetakingcontrolathomeoracceptinganewprofessional responsibility.

GEMINI (May22- June21)Although itmaygoagainst thegrain,youwillhavetosmilesweetly,no

matterwhatotherpeoplesayordo. It isundoubtedlyaperfecttimefor forgiveness, even ifothersaregoingallout forrevenge.Asoothingwordwillcompletely take thewindoutoftheir sails.

CANCER(June22- July23)Youseemtobeangryaboutanemotionalor familyquestion, though

whetheryoucandoanythingabout it isanothermatter.Giventhatyouwill indeedbeable torightan injustice,thequestionnowiswheretostart?Youmighthavetobeginat theendandworkback.

LEO(July24-Aug23)It is surelybettertostick tomethodswhichare triedandtestedand

haveprovedthemselvesover thepast fewmonths.Onethingyouhavetostrivefor is respect frompartnersandassociates, andthiswillcomeif youshowthatyouarepreparedtobetruetoyourword.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sep23)Moralandethicalconsiderationsarevital, for it'simportant that

youdotheright thing.Youmaynotgainmaterially frombeingnobleandselfless,butyouwill surelyboost thequalityof your life.Optimismisthethemefor thenext twenty-fourhours.

LIBRA(Sep24-Oct23)Inamatterofdays theSunwillhavealtered itsposition,putting the

onusonyouto improveyourfinancial situation. Jointarrangementswillbemostsignificant, sopreserveandbuildonall importantrelationships. Somebody iswaiting foryoutomakethefirstmove.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov23)You'rehonestlynotsurewhetherprivateorpublic life ismoreimportant.Perhaps

otherpeoplecanhelpyou, sowhynotaskaround?Foroncepartnersare inaverygoodpositiontoofferahelpinghand,and itmaybecomeclear thatyoucan indeedpursuedifferentoptionsat thesametime.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)Takethe fullestpossibleadvantageof today'samazinglyfavourableplanetary

aspects to liftyourspirits.Itmattersnotwhetheryourlife iseasyordifficult, justaslongasyoukeepthings inperspective.Also,onlymakecommitmentsyouknowthatyoucanstick to.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)Youseemtobereorganisingyourhome,butyouarealsoabout tochange

yourmindaboutwhatyouwant.Theonlywayto tacklefamily relationships is throughrealisingthatnobody,notevenyou, caneverbe freeof thepast.Youcanbe fully independentandfulfil yourdutiesat thesametime.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)Anunusualamountofplanetaryactivityinsensitiveregionsof yourchart is

drawingyourattentiontocertainquibblesandqueriesathome.Problem-solving isnowontheagenda, sogetonwithcreatingabrighter future.Thepastmayseemlikeagoldenage,butyourmemorymightbeplayingtricksonyou.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)Nowyoureallyought tobeoutofthedoldrums.Venuslinesupwith

friendlyplanets tocreateasensethat theworld is ratherawonderfulplaceafterall, soputonyourrose-tintedspectaclesbeforeyougooutthismorning. It’s timetowearyourhappyface.

SUDOKU4893

DifficultyLevel5sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

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

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4892

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.____,n.:Theoppositeofthewordyou'retryingtothinkof(7)

SOLUTION:COMMA,TANGO,LEMONY,PASTRYAnswer:Antonym,n.:Theoppositeofthewordyou'retryingtothinkof

CMMAO ELOYMN

AGONT SPAYRT

SolutionsCrossword4790:Across:1Doormat,5Treat,8Merciless,9Tee,10Rite,12Repaired,14Cornus,15Solace,17Sedition,18Gnus,21Icy,22Endeavour,24Reset,25Ranting.Down:1Demur,2Oar,3Mail,4Theses,5Testator,6Entertain,7Treadle,11Tiredeyes,13Quotient,14Cashier,16Powder,19Shrug,20Cain,23Obi.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

ACROSS1Frenchwriter’spseudonym(3,2,5)6Cardgameforwell-off circle (4)10At festiveoccasionsa journalistis treated(5)11Frankhadamealbuthasn’tyetaseat (9)12Burn fuel thatdrawswell (8)13Morethanoneghostwriter(5)15Furnishwithasoft tip (7)17The last sortofwordtodefinesecrecy (7)19Astagebetweenflights (7)21Gentlemanreturningwithafishormeatdish (7)22Excuseoffered forabsenteeism(5)24Noenergy?Andno inclinationapparently (8)27Excitedanimal that is caught intanglednet (9)28Giveaprotractedspeech(5)29Secures thesametotalsofpoints (4)30Down-to-earthRomantunicperhaps (10)

DOWN1Showsapprovalalthoughalmostasleep(4)2Ship’snamespoiltbybeingcrooked(9)3SpanishandGermanarticlesentitled torespect? (5)4Anti-labouract? (4-3)5Chewsupathousandfishes (7)7Collect foraservice (5)8Verysteepclimbforamemberof a trio (3,2,5)9Notalways theproductsof greatminds (3,5)14Familymanholdsup letters fornationalassembly (10)16Theymakeupmonogramsforpeople (8)18Bequick toshowpride inappearance (4,5)20ThecraftwithwhichSpainbuiltupherempire (7)21Turntoriots toget food(7)23Getusedtobeing inoldcityquarter (5)25Lady I takeout? (5)26Asmartmanisdressedupinlace (4)

New Delhi

VolXC-208Regd.No.DL-21046/03-05R.N.I.No.506/57. PrintedandPublishedbyR.C.MalhotraonbehalfofTheIndianExpress(P)LimitedandPrintedatTheIndianExpress(P)LimitedPress,A-8,Sector-7,Noida-201301andDBCorpLtd,DainikBhaskarVillageUnanTola,NearDanapurCantt,ShivylyaRoad,PostKhagaul,Shahpur,Patna(Bihar)andPublishedatTheIndianExpress(P)Limited,MezzanineFloor,ExpressBuilding,9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg,NewDelhi110002.Editorialoffice:TheIndianExpress(P)Limited,MezzanineFloor,ExpressBuilding,9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg,NewDelhi-110002.Phone:0120-6651500.Advertisingoffice:TheIndianExpress(P)Limited,B1/B,Sector-10,Noida-201301.Phone:01206651291.ChairmanoftheBoard:ViveckGoenka,ChiefEditor:RajKamalJha,Editor:UnniRajenShanker,Editor(Delhi):RakeshSinha****

ResponsibleforselectionofNewsunderthePRBAct.Copyright:TheIndianExpress(P)Limited.Allrightsreserved.Reproductioninanymanner,electronicorotherwise,inwholeorinpart,withoutpriorwrittenpermissionisprohibited.TheIndianExpress®

Yesterday once moreSANDEEPDWIVEDINEWDELHI, JULY 11

ANUNSETTLED team, questionmarks overseniorplayersandanICCeventroundthecor-ner.RahulDravidhaswalkedthismazebefore-ascaptainbefore the2007WorldCup-anddoessoagainascoachofateamexploringop-tions for theT20WorldCupina fewmonths’time.Back then, bymanyaccounts, hewas the

reluctant enforcer of obdurateAussie coachGregChappell’s ideas.Now,he is themaster-mindworkingwithmild-mannered captainRohit Sharma.Achangeof roleoreradoesn’tmake the life of a Team India dressing roomdecision-makeranyeasier.Fatewould surely have a sly smile on its

face, for it has managed to waylay a manknown toavoid controversy likeCovid into aglasshouseofintriguewherehewillonceagainbeexpectedtotakesomeunpopulardecisions.Last time round, Dravid didn’t comeout

shining.Hemadeselectionerrors,andhisteamgotknockedoutof the2007WorldCupearly.Hisplayers facedscathingcriticism,andtheirhouseswerestoned.CoachChappell,andsub-sequentlyDravidhimself,hadtoquit.Whybringitupnow?The obvious reason is to underline the

cliche about thedangers of ignoringhistory.The othermore interesting one is about thecommoncastofcharacters.DravidandSouravGanguly, the leadactors fromIndiancricket’smost-watchedmelodramafromtheChappellera,haveachancetolearnfrompastmistakes.To knowwhatwentwrong during the

2007WorldCup, a glance at the scorecardofthe loss to Sri Lanka in their final pool gamewouldsuffice.Thebattingorderinthatdo-or-dietiewent

thus:RobinUthappa,SouravGanguly,VirenderSehwagandSachinTendulkar. Inateamwithtoomanyopeningbatsmen,tothesurpriseofthe world, it was Uthappa who got theChappell-DravidvoteovertwoofIndia’sgreat-est-evercricketers-SehwagandTendulkar.Gangulywouldscorea23-ball6atastrike

rate of 30. In the previous game againstBermuda,hehadscoreda114-ball89butstillhis tournament strike ratewas just 60. Hewould face thewrathof fans, andalsoridicu-lousallegationsthathissponsorsPumawerepaying himaccording to the duration of hisstayatthecrease.It’s yesterdayonceagain in Indiancricket.

Dravid-Rohit aredealingwith the samepre-WorldCupdilemmaasDravid-Chappelldidin2007. Indiaareagaintop-heavyandtherearemorethanone‘slowcoach’seniorswithstrikerate issues. KLRahul, Rohit, IshanKishanarebonafideopeners,whileinRoyalChallengersBangalore colours, Virat Kohli becomes awannabeopener.AfterhisTestmatchheroicsthatcameaftertheIPLslump,cricketpunditsfeelthatRishabhPantshouldideallywalkoutfirst.Thenthere’sSanjuSamson,themurder-ouspinch-hittercapableofdilutingtallchasesorprovidingaheadstartinthePowerplay.All throughtheIPL,Rohit,RahulandKohli

wererepeatedlytrolledforplayingT20satODIpace.ButstilltheyareexpectedtobeIndia’s1,2 and3at theT20WorldCup - a safe choice,butnotsound.

Thecurrentconfusionandateaminafluxisreminiscentof2007,howeverCoachDravidenjoysfarmoreleveragetotakeboldcalls.With28players tried in18T20Is, the teamdoesn’tseemsettled.

Top-heavyapproachStatistics and common cricketing logic

agree that the three (Rohit, Rahul, Kohli)bunched together at the topare a liability foranyteam.Thesepageshaverepeatedlymen-tioned that no franchise in their rightmindswouldprefertheBig3intheplayingXIeveniftheywereavailableatsomebargainbuysale.But does Dravid have the conviction to

pushforthenon-inclusionofoneofthem,readKohliforobviousreasons,attheselectioncom-mitteemeetingormaybe change their posi-tionsintheplayingXI?Apossible answer to thatmillion-dollar

questioncanbeobtainedbystudyinghowtheformercaptainhaddealtwithasimilarsitua-tion before.While theworld eagerly awaitsDravid’smemoirs, for nowwehave tomakedowithChappell’sversionofevents.GuruGreg, in his book Fierce Focus, ex-

plainshowtheSehwag-Tendulkarpairingwassplitandmadetostepdownaflightonthebat-ting ladder. It wasn’t pleasant and Dravidcouldn’tdoit,Chappellwrites.“Rahul and I put it to Sehwag that we

wanted to tryhimatnumber four. To sayhewas less than excited is to understate it by athousandpercent.Weexplainedtheneedverypatiently,andtriedhimatnumberfour,buthejustwasn’t interested. It became self-defeat-ing.Therewasnopointfloggingadeadhorse.Rahuldiscussedit,anddecidedthatSachinwastheonlyothermanwhocoulddoit.“Rahulthoughthe’dresist,andwasreluc-

tant to push him. Butwewent to Sachin inNagpur andhe agreed to give it a try, albeitwithout great enthusiasm. Thenext daybe-fore training, he toldRahul he’d changedhismind. I said to Rahul, ‘Did you push back?We’renot going todoanygood in theWorldCup ifwe just thinkwecan just belt thenewballaroundthewaywedoathome.’Rahulsaidhetriedbuthadnoluck.”For aneutral view,BCCI’s veteranadmin-

istratorRatnakarShetty’s insider’saccount inhis book On Board is handy. It also givesTendulkar’s perspective about theproposedbattingorderdrawnbyDravid andChappell.ShettytoomentionsthatNagpurODIof2007duringthepre-WorldCuphomeseriesagainstWest Indieswhere Tendulkarwas told thatopeningwasn’taslot forhimnow.Awell-re-spectedIndianboardofficial,Shettywastoldbythe teamthathewaswanted in thedressingroom.Overtothebook.“Imetsevenoreightof theminthedress-

ingroom,wheretheytoldmethattherewasatrust deficit between them and the coach,which did not augur well for the team’sprospectsintheCaribbean.ThelatestofmanyconflictshadbeentriggeredbythemannerinwhichthecoachhadtoldSachinthathewouldnotopenandbatatnumberfourinstead.Iwastold that Sachin’s viewhadnot been soughtandhehadbeen curtly informed about thechange.Iinformedtheoffice-bearersaboutthe

unrestintheteam,buttheywerenotveryre-sponsive.Afewdayslater,IwenttoBarodaforthe fourth and final ODI against theWestIndies,where I spentmostof theeveningbe-fore thegametryingtocoolSachindown.Hewasfuriousafterbeingtoldbythecoachtobatinthemiddleorder‘intheinterestoftheteam’.Sachin kept askingmewhether hehadeverdoneanything thatwasnot in the interest oftheteam,atanypointinhiscareer.“He said that hewas ready to bat at any

number, butwasdisappointed thathis com-mitment to the teamwas beingquestioned.Thenext day, he batted at number four andscoredanunbeatencentury.”WhatShettyfearedwouldeventuallyhap-

pen.Thebatting-ordermuddleandselectionchaos impacted the team’s results. “Itdidnotdelightmeonebittobeprovedrightinmyas-sessmentthatourWorldCupcampaignwouldbe a forgettable one.We crashed out at theleague stage itself, after losing toBangladeshandthenSriLanka.”The story goes that later, itwas the coach

whobelledthecats.Manysawitcoming.CoachChappell, according to adelightful

chapter in seasoned journalist PradeepMagazine’sbookNotJustCricket,triedtoplantastoryinthemediaaboutdroppingTendulkar,Sehwag and Laxman for the ICC event.Magazinewritesthatthecoach,wantingtore-main anonymous, conveyed to a young re-porterthatthethree“werenotgoodenoughtobeplayingthe2007WorldCupandshouldbedroppedandanewsetofplayersgroomedintheirplace.”

Different versionsThough, inhisbook,Chappell issubtle,he

doesn’tnamenames.Withtheprofoundwis-domofhindsight, theAussiecoachhints thathewouldprefer a younger teamandhow inIndian cricket, market forces have a say inswayingselection.“Ithoughtitwouldtakeamiracleforusto

getthroughtothesemifinalsandfinal,andwas

dismayed that the selectors had stuckwiththeirbeloved‘brandname’playersratherthango for the potential of youngsters such asSureshRainaandRohitSharma.Butthisteamhadshownitwascapableofsurprisingme,soI felt hopeful, if lessmotivated than Iwouldhavebeenwithateamoftheyoungerplayerswhohadenjoyedsomesuccesswiththeiren-thusiasm.”The likes of Kishan, RuturajGaikwadand

DeepakHoodamight trigger similar senti-ments inDravid.Without the toweringpres-enceofthedominatingChappellaroundhim,Dravid, this time,willbeatpeacewhilemak-ingadecisionthatcouldimpactIndiancricket’sdestiny. In Chappell’s narrative, Dravid ispaintedasapeace-lovingstatusquoist,neverkeen to rock theboat. But the coach’s sketchdoesn’tdojusticetotheotherlayersofhiscap-tain’scharacter.Another book, anotherDravid emerges.

Thisone’sbyhisoldmateGangulyandiscalledACentury isNotEnough.HereDravidcomesacross as an objective and ruthless skipper.There’s this touching scene,whichhas limit-lesscinematicpotential. It’sDravidconveyingtoGangulythatheisbeingdropped.“Rahulcamebackfromtheselectionmeet-

ing.Hetookmeasideinthedressingroomandsaid, ‘Sourav,sorry,youareoutof thesquad.’ Iwasaghast.Again?IwasexpectingtheworstasIfelttheplotwasthickeningaroundme.ButI never expected itwould be done in such amanner. I returned to the hotel and beganpackingmysuitcase.”

Time for toughcallsIn these tricky transition times for Indian

cricket,manywill be returning tohotels andpacking their suitcases in the coming days.Dravidmight have to be themessenger ofdoom.CheteshwarPujaraandAjinkyaRahanehave alreadygot that dreadedhandshake intheTestteam.Butthewhite-ballweedingprocessmight

bemoredifficult.Theprospectof aKohli-lessWorld Cup can break the hearts of fans andcause cardiac complications for broadcastersandadvertisers.HistoryshowsDravidhaspulledpunches

and affected knockouts both, as captain.Remains to be seenwhichDravid showsup,with so little time left to decide. But 2007taught Indian cricket that a team full of bignamesdoesn’tguaranteetheCup.Champion sideshave the right combina-

tionandalignment. Dravidneeds to keep inmind a caustic Chappell comment from thebook.It’sabouttheClassof2007,thatstar-stud-dedplayingXIthatimplodedspectacularly.“Ourheavily-marketed‘DreamTeam’was

justthat:afigmentoftoomanyimaginations,”writestheAussieoracleinhisbook.AfterthefinalT20gameoftheEnglandse-

ries,RohitwasaskedaboutKohli’slackofrunsandhisplaceintheside.Theskipperthrewhisweightbehindhisone-timecaptainsayinghewasn’t bothered about thenoise outside thedressingroom.Successfulcaptainsandcoachesbacktheir

convictionwhen taking important calls. Butforateamrepresentingworldcricket’srichestboardwith endless resources anda limitlesspool of talent, butwithout any ICC title in al-mostadecade,themarginoferroristoofine.

Indiancricket finds itself inasituationwiththesamecastandsimilar script topre-2007WCuncertainty


SPORTWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

16

With28playerstriedin18T20Is, theIndianteamdoesn’tseemsettledaheadof theT20WorldCup. Sportzpics

NewDelhi:ViratKohli is likelytomissthe first ODI against England at theOval on Tuesday after sustaining agroin strain during the third T20International.heextentofKohli'snig-gle is still not known, but the Indianteammanagement wouldn't mindgivingthe33-year-oldveteranabreaksothatheisavailableforthenexttwogames at Lord's (July 14) andManchester (July17).PTIIndia vs England 1st ODI: 5.30pm,LiveonSonySportsNetwork

Kohli likely to miss1st ODI with injury

BABUTA STRIKES GOLDChangwon: Indian shooter Arjun Babuta stunnedTokyo Olympics silver medallist Lucas Kozeniesky towin the men's 10m air rifle event and open the coun-try's account in the ongoing ISSF World Cup onMonday. In the gold medal clash, Arjun beat USA'sKozeniesky 17-9 in a rather one-sided contest.PTI

Fake T20 tournamentbusted in GujaratEXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD, JULY 11

IT’SAhumidJuly7afternooninVadnagar,Mehsana,astwoteams–“ChennaiFighters'”and“GandhinagarChallengers”–faceoff inaT20cricketmatch.Batting first,ChennaiFightersare99/3 in14.3overs. “Hasan

Ali”,aright-handedbatsman,hitsastraightdriveasashakycam-erashowstheumpire signallingaboundary.Thisiswhencurtainsfallonthis“fakecrickettournament”as

a special operations group (SOG) of Mehsana Police raids theground.YouTube footage shows the umpiremoving anxiously as a

police teamapproacheshim.Moments later, theumpirehandsoverhiswalkie-talkie tooneof theplayersandruns forhis life.According toMehsanaPolice, agangwas runninganelabo-

rateshowintheformofafake“crickettournament”todupebet-tors in Russia. The players were hired for Rs 400 per day, theground was a farmland inMolipur of Vadnagar, there werespeaker systemsblaring fakecrowdnoise, a commentatorwashiredtoimitatebroadcasterHarshaBhogle,andtheumpirewasreceivinginstructionsonhiswalkie-talkieandpassingthemontoplayers regarding thebettingprospectsoneverydelivery.MehsanaPolicearrestedfourpersons-SoebDavda,Mahmad

Saqib Saifi,MahmadAbuBakar Kolu and SadiqDavda, all resi-dentsofMolipurinVadanagar,forrunningthisscamwherein“alotofmoneywasmadethroughbets."Theyhavebeentaken inpolice remand till Tuesday under Sections 120B of the IndianPenal Code for criminal conspiracy, sections of the IT Act andPreventionofGamblingAct.“Wefoundthatapieceof farmlandhadbeenconvertedinto

a cricket groundwhere awhitemathadbeen laiddownas thepitch. A camerawas installedwhile twomenwere stationedwithtwoLEDTVScreens.Oneof thescreensdisplayedthescorewhiletheotherdisplayedaTelegrammessengerchatboxwherebettingrateswerebeingprojected,”saidVNRathod,policesub-inspector,MehsanaSOG.“Soebhas informedusthathewasintouchontheTelegram

appwith oneAsifMahmad fromRussia,whoused to organisebettingover thereonthe tournament.”

Since February,no West Zonerepresentative inselection panel

DEVENDRAPANDEYMUMBAI, JULY 11

THE POST of a fifth selector on the nationalseniorselectioncommittee–whichhasbeenvacantsinceFebruary–willfinallybefilledupsoon,with theBoardof Control forCricket inIndia(BCCI)expectedtocall forapplications."Wewillhave (Abey)Kuruvilla's replace-

ment soon;probably in thenext twoweeks,wewillhaveanewselectorinplace,"aBCCIof-ficial toldTheIndianExpress.FormerIndiafastbowlerKuruvilla's term

hadcometoanendat thestartof theyearashehad completeda total of five years on theboard’scricketcommittees.AspertheBCCI'snewconstitution, no person can stay on formore than five years as a member of anycricket committee. Kuruvilla had earlierserved as chairman of the junior selectioncommitteeforfouryears.HeisnowtheBCCI’sgeneralmanager(gamedevelopment).The other four senior selectors are chair-

manChetan Sharma, Sunil Joshi, HarvinderSingh andDebashishMohanty. They havebeenpicking the Indian teamwithout a fifthcolleague starting from the home seriesagainstSri Lanka inFebruaryandMarch, fol-lowedbythetoursof IrelandandEngland,aswellastheupcomingWest Indiestrip.Meanwhile, the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory

Committee(CAC),whichwillhavetopickthefifthselector,hasalsobeenshortofonemem-ber sinceOctober last year. The CAC initiallywas a three-member committee before itsheadMadanLalsteppeddownafterheturned70. Thenewconstitutiondoesnot allowanypersontobe inanypost in theboardbeyondtheageof70.RahulDravid’sappointmentasIndiaheadcoachwasdonebythetwo-mem-berCACcomprisingSulakshanaNaikandRPSingh.

Bangladeshon stand-byforAsia CupAmid the ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka, it is

learntthattheAsianCricketCouncil(ACC)haskeptBangladeshonstand-bytohosttheAsiaCup, scheduled to be played in August. SriLankaCrickethadexpressedtheirwillingnesstohostthetournament,butthefinaldecisionwillbetakenbytheACClaterthismonth.TheAustralianmen’s teamhas just con-

cludedamonth-longtourofSriLanka,whilethe Indianwomen's team also toured thecountry recently. However, the ACCdoesn'twanttotakeanychancesifthesituationdete-rioratesfurther.

Indiawomen's CWGsquadannouncedThe BCCI has announced the Indian

women’s cricket team for the upcomingCommonwealth Games to be held inBirmingham.HarmanpreetKaurwillleadthe15-membersquad.Squad:Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti

Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, S.Meghana,Taniyaa Sapna Bhatia (Wk), Yastika Bhatia(Wk),DeeptiSharma,RajeshwariGayakwad,Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, RenukaThakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav,HarleenDeol,SnehRana. ENS

New Delhi

12-07-2022-VAJIRAMRAVI-INDIANEXPRESS.pdf - AWS

Documents