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Totalitarian Governmentsare associated with a “con-

stant reliance on falsehoods inorder to establish dominance”,Supreme Court Justice DYChandrachud said on Saturdayquoting philosopher HannaArendt and asserting that intel-lectuals have a duty to exposethe lies of the State.

He was delivering a speechon the topic “Speaking Truth toPower: Citizens and the Law”as part of the 6th MC ChaglaMemorial Online Lecture.

Live Law.in quoted JusticeChandrachud as saying truth isintegral to the functioning of amodern democracy.

“Speaking truth to power”refers to an act by a speaker touse the truth to criticise some-one who is more powerful”,Justice Chandrachud said.“This act aims to wield thepower of truth against power.The assumption is that truthwill counter-act power andobviate a predisposition totyranny, the Justice said.

“One can consider speak-ing truth to power as a right ofevery citizen which they musthave in a democracy but equal-

ly a duty of every citizen,” headded.

Quoting philosopherHanna Arendt, JusticeChandrachud said that totali-tarian Governments are asso-ciated with a “constant relianceon falsehoods in order to estab-lish dominance”. He highlight-ed that truth is integral to thefunctioning of a moderndemocracy. “Democracy andtruth go hand in hand.Democracy needs truth to sur-vive,” he said.

Justice Chandrachud saidsince democracies are spaces ofreasons, truth is important,as...truth also create a sharedpublic memory on which foun-dations of a nation can beestablished. In this regard, hesaid that the courts can alsoplay the role of recording pub-lic truth with the ability to doc-ument information from all

parties involved after dueprocess has been followed.

“State alone can’t be reliedon to determine truth. It can’tbe said that State will notindulge in falsehood for polit-ical reasons even in democra-cies. The role of the US in theVietnam war did not see day-light until the Pentagon paperswere published. In the contextof Covid, we see that there is anincreasing trend of countriesacross the world trying tomanipulate data. Hence, onecannot only rely on the State todetermine the truth”, JusticeChandrachud said.

According to Live Law,Justice Chandrachud called formore vigilance and participa-tion by the citizens. QuotingNoam Chomsky, he said thatpublic intellectuals have a dutyto expose the lies of the State.

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Protesting police action andlathi charge on farmers in

Karnal district in which 10farmers were injured, farmersblocked several roads and high-ways, including toll plazas inHaryana on Saturday.

Around 10 people wereinjured on Saturday as policeallegedly lathicharged a groupof farmers disrupting trafficmovement on a highway whileheading towards Karnal toprotest against a BJP meeting.

Besides Haryana ChiefMinister Manohar Lal Khattar,State BJP president OmPrakash Dhankar and othersenior leaders of the party were present at the meeting.

The farmers there wereapparently charged down bypolice after they tried to stopState BJP chief OP Dhankar’sconvoy. Dhankar was going tothe State-level meet of BJPleaders and elected represen-tatives in Karnal. As his convoyexited the Bastara toll plaza(between Karnal and Panipat),farmers allegedly hit the cars

with sticks.Local officials said the

protests hit routes, includingthe Fatehabad-Chandigarh,Gohana-Panipat, Jind-Patialahighways, Ambala-Kurukshetra, the Delhi high-way near Karnal, Hisar-Chandigarh and Kalka-Zirakpur national highways.

Several commuters wereleft stranded at highways forhours. Haryana Bhartiya KisanUnion (Chaduni) chiefGurnam Singh Chadunialleged that the police brutal-

ly lathicharged the protestingfarmers, leaving many injured.

While senior SamyuktKisan Morcha leader DarshanPal said the SKM had given callfor road and toll plaza block-ade till 5 pm to protest injuriesto “dozens of farmers” anddetaining of some farmers byKarnal police, Chaduni saidroad blockades will continuetill all those detained in Karnalwere released.

Several protesters presentat the site near the Bastara tollplaza around 15 km from

Karnal claimed to have wit-nessed 8-10 people sustaininjuries in the police action.Karnal police IG Mamta Singh,however, said, “We used mildforce because they were block-ing the highway. Some stoneswere also pelted towards thepolice. Mild force was used todisperse the protesters”.

She said some protesterswere earlier in the day detainedfor maintenance of law andorder and they were beingreleased.

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Ahead of the festival season,the Centre has asked all

States to ensure there is no largegathering and said StateGovernments with high activecases and high case positivityin districts must undertakeserious measures to contain thepandemic.

Union Home SecretaryAjay Bhalla has written to allChief Secretaries that the over-all pandemic situation nowappears to be largely stable atthe national level, except for thelocalised spread observed in afew States.

The total number of activecases and high case positivityin some districts continue toremain a matter of concern saidUnion Home Secretary.

According to the Union

Health Ministry data updatedat 8 am Saturday, 46,759 peo-ple tested positive for Covid-19in the country in the previous24 hours.

“The State Governmentsand UT Administrations con-cerned, having high positivityin their districts, should takeproactive containment mea-sures so as to effectively arrestthe spike in cases and to con-tain the spread of transmission.It is important to identifywarning signs of potentialsurges early on and to takeappropriate measures to curb

the spread. This would requirea localised approach, as hasbeen mentioned in theMinistry of Health and FamilyWelfare (MoHFW) advisoriesdated April 25 and June 28,”said Bhalla.

The Home Secretary fur-ther advised them to take suit-able measures to avoid largegatherings during the comingfestive season and, if required,impose local restrictions toprevent such gatherings. Anumber of major festivals,including Diwali and Chhath,will be celebrated in the com-

ing months. Covid-appropriate behav-

iour should be strictly enforcedat all crowded places, he said.There is a need to continuefocus on the five-fold strategy— test-track-treat-vaccinationand adherence to Covid-appro-priate behaviour — for effectivemanagement of Covid-19, theHome Secretary added.

Adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour is essen-tial for tackling the pandemicon a sustained basis, he said,adding that weekly data fromStates and UTs regarding wear-ing of face mask, maintainingsocial distancing, imposition offines etc indicates a down-ward trend in enforcement.

“States and UTs arerequested to augment theirenforcement efforts for effec-tively checking transmission ofthe disease,” he said.

Bhalla said the countryhas made significant progressin vaccination and StateGovernments and UT admin-istrations should continue theirdrive so as to inoculate maxi-mum number of eligible people.

Continued on Page 4

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Asingle dose of Covaxin(BBV152) given to people

already infected with Covid-19results in the same or increasedantibody response as unin-fected people given two dosesof Covaxin, according to astudy by the Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR).

The Government’s premierhealth research body under-took a pilot study to examineSARS-CoV-2 specific antibodyresponses after day 0 (baselinebefore vaccination), after thefirst dose (month 1) and thenpost-second dose (month 2) ofBBV152 in a group of health-care professionals as well asfrontline workers.

The antibody responses ofindividuals with confirmed

pre-vaccination SARS-CoV-2infection were compared withthose individuals without priorevidence of infection.

The blood specimens werecollected from healthcare pro-fessionals and frontline work-ers who received BBV152 vac-cine at vaccination centres inChennai, India, from Februaryto May 2021. Blood sampleswere collected before receivingthe first dose of BBV152. Priorinfection with SARS-CoV-2was determined by SARS-CoV-2 IgG positivity at baseline. Thestudy was approved by theEthics Committee of ICMR-NIRT.

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The US military has said thatit carried out a drone strike

in Afghanistan, killing ISIS“planner”, a day after PresidentJoe Biden promised to retaliatefor the twin blasts at the Kabulairport that killed 169 Afghansand 13 American soldiers.

The Islamic State’sAfghanistan affiliate, dubbedIslamic State Khorasan or ISIS-K, had claimed responsibilityfor the attack at the HamidKarzai International Airport inKabul on Thursday.

“US military forces con-ducted an over-the-horizoncounterterrorism operationtoday against an ISIS-K plan-ner. The unmanned airstrikeoccurred in the Nangaharprovince of Afghanistan,” CaptBill Urban, spokesperson of USCentral Command, said onFriday. “Initial indications arethat we killed the target. Weknow of no civilian casualties,”Urban added.

The airstrike came a day

after Biden said, “To thosewho carried out this attack, aswell as anyone who wishesAmerica harm notice, we willnot forgive. We will not forget.We will hunt you down andmake you pay. I will defend ourinterests and our people withevery measure at my com-mand.”

Earlier on Friday, theWhite House said PresidentBiden does not want the ter-rorists, who planned the attackat the Kabul airport, to live anylonger. “I think he made it clearyesterday,” White House PressSecretary Jen Psaki toldreporters at her daily newsconference.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Saturday “virtual-

ly” inaugurated the renovatedJallianwala Bagh “Smarak”complex displaying massacre ofApril 1919 in Amritsar sayingthe country is making all effortsto preserve the heritage offreedom fighters.

The PM saluted the braveland of Punjab and the soil ofJallianwala Bagh. “Those inno-cent boys and girls, those sisters,those brothers, whose dreamsare still visible in the bulletmarks on the walls of

Jallianwala Bagh. That Shaheediwell, where the love of count-less mothers and sisters wassnatched away, their lives weresnatched away. We are remem-bering them all today,” he said.

Punjab Chief MinisterCaptain Amarinder Singh, whoalso virtually attended the func-tion, said, “Jallianwala BaghMemorial must serve as areminder for future generations

about the right of the people topeaceful democratic protest.”

The Chief Minister alsorequested the Prime Ministerto bring back the personaleffects like the pistol and diaryof Shaheed Udham Singh, whoavenged the injustice of thismassacre, from the UnitedKingdom to India.

He said Jallianwala Bagh isa place that gave courage to aninnumerable number of revo-lutionaries like Sardar UdhamSingh and Bhagat Singh tosacrifice their lives for the free-dom of the nation.

While paying tributes tothe martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh,Modi referred to the partitionand its disastrous consequencesthat affected Punjab immense-ly.

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The CBI on Saturday said ithad registered another 10

cases in connection with thepost-poll violence in WestBengal, a day after officiallyconfirming that 11 separatecases were registered in thematter. This has taken the tallyof total FIRs to 21.

In probing one of the cases,registered on August 25, theagency conducted searches onSaturday at 15 different loca-tions and arrested the twoaccused. This case relates to anincident at Chapra, underNadia district of West Bengal,the agency said in a statement.

Both arrested accused willbe produced before the com-petent court, the agency said.The CBI teams probing these

cases have been provided CRPFsecurity cover. These caseswere registered by the CBI fol-lowing orders of the CalcuttaHigh Court.

The high court had recent-ly handed over the investiga-tion of serious crimes such asrape and murder during thepost-poll violence in WestBengal to the Central agencyafter a report of the NationalHuman Rights Commission(NHRC) that flagged serious

concerns over the seriouscrimes after the poll’s resultswere out on May 2.

The Mamata Banerjee-ledTrinamool Congress was re-elected in bitterly contestedeight-phased polls.

In a unanimous judgmenton a batch of PILs seeking anindependent probe, the five-judge Bench also ordered theconstitution of an SIT of Statepolice officers to probe allother cases.

The SIT will includeSuman Bala Sahoo, SoumenMitra and Ranveer Kumar, allIPS officers of the West Bengalcadre. The Bench will monitorthe investigations by both theCBI and the SIT and asked thetwo agencies to submit statusreports to the court within sixweeks.

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Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on

Saturday launched a fierceattack on the BJP leadership forusing the Central investigatingagencies to arm-twist theOpposition parties that daredto point fingers at it.

Speaking on the founda-tion day of the TrinamoolCongress Chatra Prishad, thestudents’ arm of the Bengal rul-ing outfit, the CM said thathaving failed to defeat TMCpolitically, the BJP is usingcentral agencies to stifle it.

“But they should remem-ber that if they use the ED topoint one finger at us, there are10 fingers pointing at them. Wehave bags full of documents onGujarat we will make them allpublic and then move the court

if the agencies did nothingabout them,” Mamata said in anapparent reaction to summonsissued by the ED to her nephewand Diamond Harbour MPAbhishek Banerjee and hiswife Ruchira in relation to thecoal scam case.

Continued on Page 4

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The Delhi Government willstrengthen doorstep deliv-

ery of services and set up 6,836ICU beds in its six hospitals,Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwalsaid on Saturday.

The Delhi Cabinetapproved the budget for theHealth InformationManagement System (HIMS)project and decided to award�130 crore tender to a privatecompany M/s NECCorporation India PrivateLimited, Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal said on Saturday.

“The project had beenawarded to a company aftercabinet approval and the bud-get was also sanctioned for thesame.” “All the hospitals ofDelhi will be brought underone platform; all informationwill be available at the tap of abutton and that there will be noneed to stand in queues afterHIMS is implemented; doctorswill give appointments on thephone, patients will be able toselect time as per convenience,”said Kejriwal.

Kejriwal said that DelhiGovernment is working onwar footing to implement the

project and project awardedand budget sanctioned.

Delhi Cabinet alsoapproved another project of6,836 ICU beds in seven hos-pitals. These beds to be built inSarita Vihar, Shalimar Bagh,Sultanpuri, Kirari, RaghubirNagar, GTB Hospital andChacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalya.

“Delhi governments’ hos-pitals have 10,000 ICU beds;after increasing 6800 beds, thecapacity of ICU beds willincrease by almost 70 percent,”Kejriwal said.

“If the Covid wave comes,then people will get help intreatment, if the wave does not

come, then the new beds willbe ready for the people ofDelhi permanently,” he addedfurther.

According to Delhi gov-ernment official, 1430 bedswill be added in the ShalimarBagh Government Hospital,458 at the Kirari GovernmentHospital, 1912 at the GTBHospital, 1565 beds in RaghubirNagar, 610 beds at CNBC,Geeta Colony, 525 beds at theSultanpuri hospital.These bedswill be ready in six months.

To ramp up the healthinfra in Delhi, the city govern-ment has pumped in rupees1,216.72 crores for the project.

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The Delhi Government onSaturday recommended

names of Dr Shiv Kumar Sarin,Dr Suresh Kumar and DrSandeep Budhiraja for thePadma awards.

Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal said, “Every year, theCentral Government seeks rec-ommendations from states forthe Padma Awards and theDelhi Government had decid-ed that this time only thenames of doctors and para-medical staff would be recom-mended. 9,427 people sug-gested names of 740 medicalprofessionals in response toDelhi Government's appeal forseeking suggestions for thePadma Awards.”

Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia chaired acommittee and examined rec-ommendations and shortlistednames of three people forPadma Awards.

It may be recalled, ILBSVice-Chancellor Dr SK Sarincommissioned the world's firstPlasma Bank, DelhiGovernment's first RT-PCRtesting facility and genomesequencing lab.

Kejriwal said under thesupervision of MedicalDirector Dr Suresh Kumar,Lok Nayak Hospital treatedthe highest number of coronapatients across the country,set up the country’s secondplasma bank, and launched avideo conference facility toenable Covid patients to talk totheir families.

“Dr. Sandeep Budhiraja,Group Medical Director, MaxHospital, is the country’s firstphysician to use plasma treat-ment. All doctors, nurses, andparamedical staff in Delhi arerecommending these threenames for the Padma Awards;they should be given thePadma Awards to fulfil thewishes of the people of the

country,” said Kejriwal.He further said that during

Covid -19 pandemic, our front-line and medical workers, espe-cially our doctors and para-medics, saved our lives byputting their own lives at risk.They served all of us. It is nowthe time to show them that theentire country is grateful tothem. We respect them fortheir services and for saving thelives of people.

Delhi Government haddecided to recommend onlyCovid-19 warriors, i.e. Doctors,Paramedics, and other healthcare professionals this year. Itwas decided to invite sugges-tions from the public. Thisappeal by the Government ofDelhi received an overwhelm-ing response of 9,427 sugges-tions. These suggestions werereceived in respect of 740 dif-ferent health care professionals.Meaning that 9,427 peoplesuggested 740 different healthcare professionals.

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Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal Saturday inaugu-

rated the Cloverleaf, Rampsand Service Roads developedon the Mayur Vihar Phase-1Flyover. The project is a part ofBarapullah elevated road cor-ridor under Phase-Ill extensionfrom Mayur Vihar to SaraiKale Khan in Delhi.

The Public WorksDepartment (PWD) executedthe project under which rampsand services roads were con-structed and will bring relief forDelhi- Noida commuters. Theramps and service roads willsave approximately 1.5 km ofthe travel distance.

It has been constructed toavoid Red light on the MayurVihar Phase -1 junction andwill reduce the huge amount ofCarbon Dioxide Emission andnoise pollution by the haltedvehicles on the Red Light.

CM Kejriwal took toTwitter and shared the newsand said, “Inaugurated the new'Cloverleaf ' built on MayurVihar Phase-1 Flyover today.With the opening of theseloops and ramps of theBarapullah Phase-3, the peopleof Delhi will experience a lot of

convenience in travelling.Especially people travellingbetween Delhi & Noida willbenefit a lot from it.”

“The service roads, clover-leaf loop, ramps, and cycletrack are being inauguratedtoday.

This will bring a hugerelief to the people of thisregion as well as the entire EastDelhi area from traffic jams,”said Kejriwal while congratu-lating the people of East Delhi.

Deputy Chief Minister

Manish Sisodia also said onTwitter, “Today Chief MinisterShri Arvind Kejriwal inaugu-rated the ramp, cycle trackand service road in MayurVihar Phase-1. This will givegreat relief to the people of EastDelhi from traffic jams.

Alongside the CMKejriwal, deputy CM Sisodia,PWD Minister Satyendar Jain,were present for the inaugura-tion along with local MLAs andofficials of the concerneddepartment.

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Delhi Congress presidentAnil Kumar, along with

AICC secretary Delhi in-chargeImran Masood, held a meetingwith the district observers anddistrict presidents to prepare aroadmap for elections for theMunicipal Corporations sched-uled next year.

Addressing the meeting,Kumar said that the BJP andthe Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)have ruined Delhi on everyfront. “Both these parties failedto deal the Covid-19 pandem-ic. The development of Delhi

has been pushed back by sev-eral years due to AAP and BJP’sblame game politics.

Speaking on the occasion,Imran Masood said that it isnot a difficult task for theCongress to come back topower at the MCDs. “We haveto activate the party at the blockand booth levels and the AICCobservers will play a key role inthe rejuvenation of the party atthe ground level,” he said.

DPCC vice-presidentsJaikishan, Ali Mehndi,Abhishek Dutt, MuditAggarwal and Shivani Chopraalso attended the meeting.

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Delhi reported 29 fresh casesof the Covid-19 with a

positivity rate of 0.04 per centwhile no death was recordedfor the third consecutive day onSaturday due to the viral dis-ease, according to data sharedby the health department of theDelhi Government.

The total number of fatal-ities stands at 25,080, while thecumulative case tally hasreached 1437685. At least72434 tests, including 51263RTPCR/CBNAAT/TrueNattests, were conducted in the last24 hours,” it said. Also, out of12019 available beds in hospi-tals, 261 are occupied as onSaturday while the rest arevacant, it added. As many as14,12,212 people have eitherbeen discharged, have recov-ered or migrated out. This isthe 18th time since the nation-al capital was hit by the secondwave of the pandemic that

zero fatality due to the diseasewas logged in a day. No deathdue to Covid-19 was recordedon July 18, July 24, July 29,August 2, August 4, August 8,August 11, August 12, August13, August 16, August 20,August 21, August 22, August23, August 24, August 26 andAugust 27 too, according toofficial data. The nationalCapital on March 2, reportedzero death due to the virus. Thenumber of single-day caseswas 217 on that day and thepositivity rate was 0.33 per cent.The second wave of the pan-demic swept through the city inApril-May. On Friday, 46 freshcases were recorded as thepositivity rate stood at 0.06 percent, while no death wasreported due to Covid-19,according to official data. Thedaily cases count and the pos-itivity rate dropped to 29 and0.04 per cent respectively onSaturday, according to the lat-est health bulletin.

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Delhi Health MinisterSatyendar Jain on Saturday

said that the Delhi Governmentis leaving no stone unturned todeal with the impending thirdwave of Covid-19.

Urging people to followCovid-appropriate behaviour,Jain said that the Governmentis doing its best and learningfrom experiences to prevent thethird wave but followingCovid-appropriate behaviour isvery important, and thus peo-ple must not become negligent.

The Health Ministerstressed that the Government'spreparations for an impendingthird wave are "thorough''.“The Government has its ear tothe ground and is not takingany chances. As many as 37,000Covid-19 dedicated beds arebeing laid out, include 12,000ICUs beds,” he added.

Jain was speaking at thesixth felicitation ceremony forhealthcare workers of govern-ment hospitals - Institute of

Liver & Biliary Sciences (ILBS),Vasant Kunj; Deep ChandBandhu Hospital in AshokVihar; Sanjay GandhiMemorial Hospital inMangolpuri and BurariHospital - in northwest Delhiat Delhi Vidhan Sabha onFriday.

The Minister also thankeddoctors who sacrificed theirlives during the pandemic andsaid that their names will bewritten in golden words. "Their

(healthcare workers) dedicatedservice saved precious lives,their supreme sacrifice cannotbe forgotten and shall be writ-ten in the pages of history inletters of gold.

"The Arvind KejriwalGovernment salutes the selflessand dedicated service of health-care workers, who had puttheir own lives at stake andstood with the DelhiGovernment day in and dayout to fight this deadly disease."

"Along with this, 47 PSAoxygen plants along with fiveLMO storage tanks havealready been set up in the citywith many more to come up.

"Moreover our vision is tomove a step forward by mak-ing ICU facilities so readilyavailable in the capital that evena normal oxygen bed can beconverted into an ICU oneinstantly without having toshift the patients," he said.

The Health Minister askedpeople to remain vigilant tostop another outbreak, and ofthe national Capital.

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From Page 1“As responsible citizens,

we should put these truthproviders through intensescrutiny and questioning toconvince ourselves of the verac-ity of the claims made by them.It is equally important forthose making truth claims to betransparent”, he said.

Asserting that citizens muststrengthen public institutionsand strive to ensure free press,Justice Chandcrachud said,“What we as citizens of Indiacan do. First thing is tostrengthen our public institu-tions.

As citizens, we must striveto ensure that we have a pressthat is free from the influenceof any kind, be it political oreconomic, which can provideinformation in an unbiasedmanner. Similarly, schools anduniversities need to be sup-ported to ensure that they cre-ate an atmosphere where stu-dents can learn to differentiatetruth from falsehood anddevelop a temperament toquestion power. Secondly, wemust not only acknowledge theplurality of opinions in a coun-try as diverse as India but cel-ebrate this plurality. This allowsopen space for more opinions.We also need to protect theintegrity of our elections seeingelections not only as a right butalso as a duty. To do this, weneed to ensure all citizens aregiven basic education to real-ize the value of their vote.”

“As citizens of a democra-cy, we need to commit our-selves to the search for truth asa key aspiration of our society”,

he said, adding that by “citi-zens”, he didn’t mean just theelite and the privileged classalone. In this context, hereminded that in India sincewomen, dalits and othersbelonging to marginalisedcommunities did not tradi-tionally enjoy power, theiropinions were not conferredwith the status of truth.

“Since they did not enjoythe freedom to express theiropinion, their thoughts wereconfined, crippled, and caged.After the abolition of theBritish Raj, the truth becamethe belief and opinion of upper-caste men”, he said.

In his speech lasting fornearly 45 minutes, JusticeChandrachud touched uponissues relating to the manipu-lation of information throughsocial media and the rise in thephenomenon of fake news.The idea of “marketplace ofideas” faces test in the post-truth world, where citizens arefinding it difficult to identifytruth, he said. Human beingshave a tendency to get attract-ed to sensational news, whichare often based on falsehoods.Studies show lies dominated insocial media like Twitter.

“People not being con-cerned about the truth isanother phenomenon in thepost-truth world. There is acontest between “our truth” vs“your truth” and tendency toignore the truth which is not inalignment with one’s percep-tion of truth”, he said.

Justice Chandrachudrecalled legendary jurist MCChagla as someone who con-sistently upheld the rule of lawand advocated for civil liberties.He recounted the heroic oppo-sition made by MC Chaglaagainst the imposition of emer-gency.

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From page 1Farmers protesting the

Central farm laws have beenopposing public functions ofthe BJP-JJP combine inHaryana. Several farmers hadgathered at the Bastara tollplaza near Karnal, respondingto a call given by the BKU.

Citing section 144 of theCrPC imposed in the areabanning assembly of five ormore people, the police madeseveral announcements overloudspeakers, declaring thegathering by the protesters“unlawful”.

Initially, they asked thefarmers to disperse, but resort-ed to force as the protestersrefused to budge.

The police said the pro-testers were bent on movingtowards the venue of the BJPmeeting in Karnal. All roadsleading to the venue had beenheavily barricaded.“Manyfarmers were injured afterpolice brutally lathichargedthem ithout any provocation.Some even could be seen withblood all over their clothes,”Chaduni said, strongly con-demning the police action.Hesaid as part of their ongoingagitation against the farm laws,the farmers had decided tohold a peaceful protest againstBJP leaders, for which they hadassembled at the Bastara tollplaza.

Chaduni said orders weregiven by an official that if any-one who tries to head towardsthe BJP meeting venue shouldbe lathicharged.

The use of force by thepolice invited severe criticismfrom various political parties.

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From Page 1However, it wasn’t imme-

diately known if the ISIS-Kplanner was involved specifi-cally in Thursday’s Kabul air-port attack.

Meanwhile, the nationalsecurity team of PresidentBiden has told him that anoth-er terror attack is “likely” inKabul and that the next fewdays of this evacuation missionwill be the “most dangerous”period to date, according to aWhite House official.

This was shared with thePresident when he met in theSituation Room with hisnational security team, includ-ing top commanders anddiplomats in the field.

Vice President KamalaHarris also joined by securevideo teleconference. “Theyadvised the President and VicePresident that another terrorattack in Kabul is likely, but thatthey are taking maximum forceprotection measures at theKabul Airport,” the WhiteHouse official said.

The official said the nextfew days of an evacuationoperation, that has taken morethan 100,000 people out of thecountry in the past two weeks,“will be the most dangerousperiod to date”.

His national security teamreported that even in the faceof those threats, America’scourageous servicewomen andmen are continuing to operatea historic evacuation operation.The US military is airlifting outthousands of people every fewhours.

)��*�"��"��=== From Page 1

Further, the HomeSecretary said it must beensured that areas having novirus or low transmission areadequately protected by pro-gressively ramping up testingand other measures such asmonitoring for ILI and SARI(Influenza-Like Illness andSevere Acute RespiratoryInfection), and market sur-veillance.

“I would, therefore, urgeyou to issue strict directions tothe district and all other localauthorities concerned, to take

necessary measures for themanagement of Covid-19. Theofficers concerned should bemade personally responsiblefor any laxity in strict enforce-ment of Covid AppropriateBehaviour.

“I would also advise thatorders issued by the respectiveState Governments and UTadministrations and districtauthorities in this regard shouldbe widely disseminated to thepublic and to the field func-tionaries, for their properimplementation” said theUnion Home Secretary.

�� +++

From page 1Antibody levels were mea-

sured at three-time points: onthe day of vaccination (base-line), at month one followingthe first dose and at month twofollowing the second dose.

The results were deter-mined via a calibration curve,which are an instrument specif-ically generated by a two-pointcalibration and a master curveprovided via the reagent QRcode. Almost all participants

with prior Covid-19 infectionexcept two had detectable anti-bodies at the time of vaccina-tion. This study offers evi-dence in support of publichealth-oriented and immuno-logically sustained vaccinestrategies.Lokesh Sharma, sci-entist and Media Coordinator,ICMR, said, “This is a pilotstudy. If such findings are con-firmed in large populationstudies, a single dose ofBBV152 vaccine may be rec-ommended to previously con-firmed Covid patients so thatindividuals could attain thelarger benefit of a limited vac-cine supply.”

�� 555

From Page 1“Having failed to defeat me

politically they are targeting myfamily members â�¦ I do notmind political fights against ourleaders but when you targettheir families it is too much,”Banerjee said, adding “morethe BJP continues its repressivepolicies the more there will beKhela â�¦ now there will beKhela Hobe in the entire coun-try.”She said she would sooncontact all the OppositionChief Ministers to launch aunited fight against the BJP.

“This is a Tandav of aGovernment which has politi-cized all the Agencies â�¦ theyare using NHRC against us â�¦but when there is violence inTripura why don’t the HumanRights people go there,” sheasked.“They are pointing fin-

gers on us regarding the coalscam â�¦ why don’t they catchtheir own people â�¦ after allCoal Ministry functions underthe Centre â�¦ in fact one oftheir ministers from Asansolhas lootedthe coal belt â�¦ whyno action is being taken againstthem,” she said.

Speaking about the Centre’sNational Monetisation Pipelineplans that would entail priva-tization of underutilized gov-ernment assets Mamata said,“This Government is sellingout the entire country â�¦ fromRailways to telecom to mines tooil fields to airports, PSUs â�¦everything â�¦ Can you sell thesoil of your country like this â�¦tomorrow they will ask you tosell your eyes, ears and nose.”On Afghanistan policy, sheasked why the Governmentwas not disclosingthe numberof Indian still left in the war-torn country. “Why is theGovernment not telling abouthow many Indians are still leftinAfghanistanâ�¦ why did theypull out the Indian securitypersonnel from that countryâ�¦,” she asked.

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From Page 1“Whatever happened dur-

ing and after the partition canbe seen in every corner of thecountry and especially inPunjab. We have markedAugust 14 as Partition HorrorsRemembrance Day, to remem-ber the pain and sufferingsfaced by the people of Indiaback then,” he said.He said it isnot right for any country toignore such horrors of its past.

Remembering the role ofIndia’s tribal community inthe freedom struggle, Modisaid they played a major role inthe freedom struggle but theirsacrifices didn’t find mention inhistory books to the extent theydeserve.“Work is in progress onmuseums to showcase thestruggle of Aadiwasi freedomfighters in 9 States of the coun-try,” he added.He also saidIndia’s first interactive galleryis being constructed inAllahabad. It will be dedicated

to Chandra Shekhar Azad.“There would rarely be

any village in Punjab that lacksthe saga of bravery and gal-lantry. Following the pathshown by Gurus, the sons, anddaughters of Punjab stand likea rock in the path of those wholook at Mother India withcrooked eyes” said the PrimeMinister.In his address, thePrime Minister invoked theteaching of Sikh Gurus saying‘sukh doosron ki seva main hiaata hain “ and said India hasbrought ‘saropas’ fromAfghanistan and referred to air-lifting of Indians under oper-ation ‘Devi Shakti ‘. He said incrisis every Indian anywhere inthe world will be helped andrecalled the tagline ‘India-first’.

Four museum gallerieshave been created in Jallianwalawhich showcase the historicalvalue of events that unfolded inPunjab during that period viaa fusion of audio-visual tech-nology, including projectionmapping and 3D representa-tion, as well as art and sculp-tural installations.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has

attached 45 immovable prop-erties worth �363.51 crore ofHyderabad-based MBSJewellers Private Limited andMBS Impex Private Limitedamong others in a money laun-dering case related to defraud-ing MMTC in purchase ofgold bullion.

The attached assets arealso related to promoters anddirectors of MBS Group,Sukesh Gupta, Anurag Gupta,Neetu Gupta, Vandana Guptaand their other group entities.

The ED had initiatedmoney laundering investiga-tion on the basis of FIR regis-tered by ACB, CBI, Hyderabadagainst Sukesh Gupta and hiscompanies for defraudingMMTC Limited (a PublicSector Enterprise) in purchaseof gold bullion under Buyer’sCredit Scheme, the agency saidin a statement.

“Sukesh Gupta in activeconnivance with few officials ofMMTC Hyderabad, had con-tinuously lifted gold withoutforex cover and without ade-quate security deposits. Hisdues were consistently misre-ported to the MMTC HeadOffice and without squaring offthe existing losses, his firmscontinued lifting gold from

MMTC for their personal gainand thereby caused a loss ofpublic money to the tune of �504.34 crore (including inter-est up to 31.05.2021 of �277.52crore) to MMTC,” the agencysaid.

The CBI had filed a chargesheet against Sukesh Guptaand others in 2014.

During the ED investiga-tion, it is found that SukeshGupta colluded with variousofficers of MMTC Hyderabadand painted a wrong picture ofhis accounts and kept on lift-ing gold to carry on its businessas usual.

While the MMTC ulti-mately suffered a massive loss,the business of Sukesh Guptaflourished and ran with hugeprofit. On the basis of his busi-ness profile, he took loans andstruck real estate deals andgrew his business in the nameof various related companies.All through the investigation,

the conduct of Sukesh Guptahas been evasive and non-cooperative and he has failed todischarge the burden of proofimposed on him under thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act.

In another case underForeign ExchangeManagement Act (FEMA), theED had adjudicated and levieda penalty of around Rs 222crore on the MBS Group.

Sukesh Gupta also enteredinto a one-time settlement(OTS) with MMTC in 2019.But as per the latest reportsfrom MMTC, Sukesh Guptadid not deposit any funds andthe OTS has failed.

The ED has now identified45 immovable propertiesbelonging to him and his relat-ed entities, and their directors.The ED has provisionallyattached these properties underPMLA to safeguard the pro-ceeds of crime, it added.

New Delhi: The Income Tax(I-T) department has detect-ed alleged tax evasion of�175 crore following raids ona steel manufacturing andtrading group based inMaharashtra and Goa, theCBDT said on Saturday.

The searches were car-ried out on Wednesday inPune, Nashik andAhmednagar districts ofMaharashtra and in Goa,and a total of 44 premiseswere covered.

“So far, a total of �175.5crore of unaccounted incomehas been unearthed includ-ing unaccounted cash andjewellery, shortage and excessof stock and bogus purchas-es,” a Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) statementsaid, adding that the raids arecontinuing.

It said “unaccounted”cash of �3 crore and jewelleryworth �5.20 crore have beenseized.

The CBDT claimed that194 kg “unaccounted” silverarticles worth �1.34 crorehave been found during thesearches and have been“accepted and declared” asadditional income by the

assessee.“Evidence detected dur-

ing the search revealed thatthe group was engaged infraudulent practice of book-ing bogus purchases of scrapand sponge iron from variousfake invoice issuers,” it said.

“Premises of fake invoiceissuers were also coveredduring the search,” it said.

The statement said suchinvoice issuers have admitted that they supplied only bills but nomaterials and also generatedfake e-way bills to show it asgenuine purchases and toclaim GST input credit.

“With the active supportof GST authorities in Pune,the vehicle movement track-ing app was used to identifyfake e-way bills.

“Total bogus purchasesidentified from these parties,so far, is about �160 crore,” itsaid.

The CBDT claimed thatthe taxman found a “shortageof goods of �3.5 crore andexcess stocks of �4 crorefrom the premises, and thesame has been admitted by the assessees”.

PTI

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Seven years into its launch,bank accounts under the

Pradhan Mantri Jan DhanYojana (PMJDY) have swelledto 43 crore with total depositscrossing �1.46 lakh crore.Appreciating the untiringefforts of all those who haveworked to make PMJDY asuccess, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said theirefforts have ensured the peopleof India lead a better quality oflife.

“Today we mark sevenyears of #PMJanDhan, an ini-tiative that has forever trans-formed India’s developmenttrajectory. It has ensured finan-cial inclusion and a life of dig-nity as well as empowermentfor countless Indians. Jan DhanYojana has also helped furthertransparency,” the PrimeMinister tweeted,

The PMJDY wasannounced by Modi in hisIndependence Day address onAugust 15, 2014 and was simul-taneously launched on August

28 to foster financial inclusion.This national mission waslaunched to ensure people haveaccess to financial services,namely, banking, remittance,credit, insurance, pension in anaffordable manner.

As on August 18, 2021, thenumber of total PMJDYaccounts stood at 43.04 crore.Of this, 55.47 per cent (23.87crore) Jan-Dhan account hold-ers are women and 66.69 percent (28.70 crore) holders arein rural and semi-urban areas,the finance ministry said in astatement.

During the first year of thescheme, 17.90 crore PMJDYaccounts were opened. Out oftotal 43.04 crore PMJDY accounts, 36.86 croreor 85.6 per cent are operative,and the average deposit peraccount is �3,398, as per theFinance Ministry’s statement.

Increase in average depositis another indication ofincreased usage of accounts and inculcation ofsaving habit among accountholders, it said.

Total RuPay cards issued toPMJDY account holders roseto 31.23 crore.

For account opened afterAugust 28, 2018, the free acci-dental insurance cover onRuPay cards increased from �1lakh to �2 lakh.

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman, while underliningthe importance of the scheme,said the journey of PMJDY-ledinterventions undertaken overa short span of 7 years has ineffect, produced both transformational as well asdirectional change, therebymaking the emerging financialinclusion ecosystem capable ofdelivering financial servicesto the last person of the soci-ety-the poorest of the poor.

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After West Bengal and Delhithat operationalised the

ration card portability, it is nowonly BJP-ruled Assam andCongress-ruled Chhattisgarhwhich are yet to join the onenation, one ration card(ONORC) programme in thecountry.

According to the UnionFood Ministry, Delhi, whichoperationalised ONORC inJuly this year, provides rationcard portability for 33 Statescovering 69 crore beneficiarieswhereas West Bengal imple-mented it in August and pro-vides portability of ration cardsfor 34 States covering 74.9crore beneficiaries.

“Two remaining States —Assam and Chhattisgarh — aretargeted for integration underONORC in the next fewmonths,” the ministry said onSaturday.

Currently, a monthly aver-age of about 2.2 crore porta-bility transactions is beingrecorded consistently in statesand union territories, it said.According to the ministry, 40crore portability transactions

have been undertaken sinceAugust 2019.

The maximum such trans-actions have been reportedfrom Bihar (10.14 crore), fol-lowed by Andhra Pradesh (6.92crore), Rajasthan (4.56 crore),Telangana, Uttar Pradesh,Kerala, Karnataka,Maharashtra, Haryana andMadhya Pradesh in the saidperiod. ONORC aims to ensureseamless delivery of subsidisedfood-security entitlements toall beneficiaries covered underthe National Food SecurityAct, 2013 (NFSA), irrespectiveof their physical location any-where in the country.

Although ONORC shouldequally benefit all 80 croreNFSA beneficiaries, but it pri-marily aims to enable migra-tory beneficiaries (mostlylabourers, daily-wagers, urbanpoor, temporary workers inorganised and unorganisedsectors, domestic workers, etc.)who frequently migrate acrossthe country in search of betteropportunities or for any otherreasons, to access the PublicDistribution System (PDS) andif desire, may lift their entitledfoodgrains from any ePoSenabled FPS in the country

through portability.“Thus, installation of ePoS

devices at the FPSs andAadhaar seeding of beneficia-ries with their digitised rationcard data are the two mainenablers of this technology-driven initiative,” it said.

The objective of ONORC isto empower all NFSA benefi-ciaries to be self-reliant fortheir food security anywhere inthe country, through portabil-ity of their same existing rationcards to seamlessly lift theirsubsidised food grains (in partor full) from any e-PoS (elec-tronic Point of Sale device)enabled Fair Price Shop in thecountry withbiometric/Aadhaar authenti-cation at the time of lifting thefoodgrains through portability.

Further, their family mem-bers back home can also lift bal-ance/their requirement of food-grains on the same ration card.Due to the potential of ONORCto empower migrants, this planhas now also become a part ofthe “Prime Minister’sTechnology Driven SystemReforms under theAtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan”.

According to the ministry,‘Mera Ration’ mobile app —which ration card holders, par-ticularly migrant beneficiaries,can use for identifying the near-est fair price shop, check detailsof their entitlement and recenttransactions — has recordedover 15 lakh downloads onGoogle Play Store so far.

The mobile app is availablein 12 languages viz. English,Hindi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil,Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada,Urdu, Gujarati, Marathi andBangla.

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The Drug ControllerGeneral of India (DCGI)

has approved the Phase 2 and3 clinical trials of India’s firstCovid-19 mRNA vaccine pro-posed to be developed byPune-based pharma majorGennova BiopharmaceuticalsLtd.

Presently, a few pharma-ceutical firms worldwide,including Moderna Inc andPfizer Inc, are using mRNAtechnology in its coronavirusshot.

These vaccines do not usea live virus to generate animmune response but promptthe human body to make a pro-tein that triggers one.

The Gennova, in collabo-ration with HDT Bio Corp,Seattle, US, has worked togeth-er to develop an mRNA vaccine

since the first report of theSARS-CoV-2 genome was pub-lished. The interim clinicaldata of the Phase 1 study wassubmitted to the DCGI. TheVaccine Subject ExpertCommittee (SEC) reviewedthe data, and found HGCO19to be safe, tolerable, andimmunogenic in the partici-pants of the study, said thecompany in a statement.

The company submittedthe proposed Phase 2 and 3study followed by a Phase IIIstudy to evaluate the safety, tol-erability, and immunogenicityof the candidate HGCO19(COVID-19 vaccine) in healthysubjects which was approved bythe DCGI.

The Phase 1 study data hasbeen evaluated and Phase 2 willcommence soon. The phase 2/3study will be conducted inIndia at 10-15 sites in Phase 2

and 22-27 sites in Phase 3.Gennova plans to use the DBT-ICMR clinical trial networksites for this study.

The vaccine developmentprogramme was partly fundedby the Department ofBiotechnology (DBT) underInd CEPI back in June 2020.Later on, the DBT further sup-ported the programme underthe Mission Covid Suraksha.mRNA vaccines carry the mol-ecular information to make theprotein in the host using thesynthetic RNA of the virus.

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The Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 is more virulent

and transmissible than theAlpha variant! A team ofresearchers concluded this afterthey found that people infect-ed with the SARS-CoV-2 Deltavariant have approximatelydouble the risk of hospitalisa-tion compared with thoseinfected with the second one.

The researchers in theirstudy, published in The LancetInfectious Diseases journal,had analysed more than 40,000Covid-19 cases in the UK.

“This study confirms pre-vious findings that peopleinfected with Delta are signif-icantly more likely to requirehospitalisation than those withAlpha, although most casesincluded in the analysis wereunvaccinated,” said researcherGavin Dabrera, ConsultantEpidemiologist at the NationalInfection Service, Public HealthEngland.

“We already know thatvaccination offers excellentprotection against Delta and asthis variant accounts for over98 per cent of Covid-19 casesin the UK, it is vital that thosewho have not received twodoses of vaccine do so as soonas possible,” Dabrera added.

However, the study hasindicated the importance ofvaccination, as the teamemphasised that multiple stud-ies have shown that full vacci-nation prevents both sympto-

matic infection and hospitali-sation, for both Alpha andDelta variants.

The Delta variant was firstreported in India in December2020 and early studies found itto be up to 50 per cent moretransmissible than the variantof Covid-19 that had previouslygained dominance worldwide,known as the alpha variant,first identified in Kent, the UK.

For the study, the teamanalysed healthcare data from43,338 positive Covid-19 casesin England between March 29and May 23, 2021, includinginformation on vaccinationstatus, emergency care atten-dance, hospital admission, andother demographic character-istics.

In all cases included inthe study, samples of thevirus taken from patientsunderwent whole-genomesequencing to confirm whichvariant had caused the infec-tion.

During the study period,there were 34,656 cases of theAlpha variant (80 per cent)and 8,682 cases of the Deltavariant (20 per cent), thestudy indicated.

While the proportion ofDelta cases in the study peri-od overall was 20 per cent, itgrew to account for aroundtwo-thirds of new Covid-19cases in the week startingMay 17, 2021 (65 per cent,3,973/6,090), indicating ithad overtaken alpha tobecome the dominant variantin England.

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To ensure seamless transferof personal vehicles across

States, the Centre on Saturdaynotified a new registrationmark for new vehicles —Bharat Series (BH-series). TheRoad Transport Ministry’s newrule aims to centralise the sys-tem of re-registration of vehi-cles when relocating betweenstates an easier process. Thisscheme will facilitate freemovement of personal vehiclesacross states/union territoriesof India upon relocation.

In this regard, the govern-ment has notified a new vehi-cle registration regime thatwill free vehicle owners from

re-registration process whenthey shift from one state/unionterritory to another.

“This vehicle registrationfacility under ‘Bharat series(BH-series)’ will be available onvoluntary basis to defense per-sonnel, employees of centralgovernment/ state government/central/ state public sectorundertakings and private sec-tor companies/organisations,which have their offices infour or more states/union ter-ritories,” the Ministry of RoadTransport and Highways(MoRTH) said in a statement.

A MoRTH official saidthat an IT-based solution forvehicle registration is one sucheffort as “one of the pain points

in the vehicle registrationprocess that needed attentionwas re-registration of a vehiclewhile moving to another state”.

The MoRTH through a“notification introduced thenew registration mark for newvehicles i.e. ‘Bharat series (BH-series)’. A vehicle bearing thisregistration mark shall notrequire assignment of a newregistration mark when theowner of the vehicle shiftsfrom one state to another,” the

official further explained.Currently, a person is

allowed to keep vehicle for amaximum of 12 months in anystate other than the state whereit is registered. The owner hasto get such vehicles re-regis-tered before the expiry of 12months.

The format of BH-seriesregistration mark will be YYBH #### XX. YY denotes theyear of first registration, BH iscode for Bharat Series, #### isthe randomised four digitnumber and XX are two alpha-bets, according to road trans-port ministry.

A vehicle bearing this reg-istration mark shall not requireassignment of a new registration mark when theowner of the vehicle shiftsfrom one state to another,according to a statement fromthe ministry.

According to government

notification, the motor vehicletax levied by the state andunion territories at the time ofregistration in respect to BH-series non-transport vehiclewill be 8 per cent in case ofvehicles costing up to ?10 lakh,10 per cent in case of vehiclescosting between ?10-20 lakhand 12 per cent in case of vehi-cles costing above 20 lakh.

It further said that 2 percent extra charge will be leviedfor diesel vehicles, while elec-tric vehicles will be charged 2per cent less tax.

In case, where the vehiclebears BH-series registrationmark, the motor vehicle taxshall be levied electronically.After the completion of 14thyear, the motor vehicle taxshall be levied annually, whichshall be half of the amountwhich was charged earlier forthat vehicle, the notificationsaid.

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Over 55 academicians, doc-tors and other profession-

als have favoured reopening ofschools, asserting that Covid-19vaccination of children shouldnot be a prerequisite for send-ing them to schools.

In their letter, which hasalso been marked to the PrimeMinister’s Office, Union HealthMinister Mansukh Mandaviya,Union Education MinisterDharmendra Pradhan and theNational Disaster ManagementAuthority Chairperson, the sig-natories said, “There is globalevidence to support schoolopening and governments

should urgently consider open-ing schools and resuming in-person classes.”

India is among only four tofive countries across the worldwhere schools have been closedfor such a long time (one-and-half years), they said in the let-ter.

“A number of governmentshave not yet reopened schoolsfor all classes because of con-cerns including students notbeing vaccinated, schoolsappearing to be ‘super-spread-ers’, fear of a third wave and arise in cases in areas whereschools have been opened....

“There is an urgent need tobring children back to school.

Since younger children are leastat risk, we urge you to permitprimary schools to open first, inline with ICMR (Indian Councilof Medical Research) recom-mendations, and then higherclasses. We look forward toleaders across political partiescoming together for the sake ofour children,” the letter stated.

“Open schools now withproper planning and if there isa steep rise in cases, shuttingthem again can be considered asa last resort,” it added.

The signatories said vacci-nation is not a prerequisite forreopening schools, stating thepurpose of vaccination is to pre-vent severe illness.

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S.No.

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No.

Typeof

Title

Type ofLand

Areaunder

acquisition(in hectare)

Name/address of

personinterested

Boundaries

N S E W

1 6min PrivateAgriculture(Sailab RiverBand)

0.120205Rishal Singhs/o Rambal, etc:Co- sharers

DDALand

Other Partof Kh. No.6

DDALand

Other Partof Kh.No.6


0.2950Rishal Singhs/o Rambal, etc:Co-sharers

DDALand


DDALand



0.0875Rishal Singhs/o Rambal, etc:Co -sharers

DDALand


DDALand




DDALand


DDALand





Other Partof Kh. No.

13


40


& OldPantoon






Other Partof Kh. No.12 & 13



Other Partof Kh. No. 8

Other Partof Kh.

No.1



12&13



Other Partof Kh. No. 6

& 40






OtherPart of Kh.No. 6 & 40


Other Partof Kh.No.

40


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Kh.No.1, 13 &

14

Seams ofBehlolpur

RiverYamuna

RiverYamuna


0.7050 Shamlat Deh DDA Land DDA Land

Other Partof Kh. No.221 & OldPantoonPul Road

Other partof Kh. No.

221


0.0390 Shamlat Deh DDA Land DDA Land

Other Partof Kh. No.221 & OldPantoonPul Road

Other partof Kh. No.

221

REVENUE DEPARTMENTOffice of the District Magistrate (South East)

DECLARATIONDelhi, the 26th August, 2021

F. No. DM/SE/RR/LAC/208.—Subject: Declaration under Section 19 (1) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency inLand Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 [in accordance with Rule 10 the Right to Fair Compensation andTransparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Compensation, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, DevelopmentPlan) Rules, 2015] regarding the proposed acquisition of land bearing Khasra No. 6 min (6727.05 sqmtr), 8 min (1150 sqmtr), 13min (3164.5 sqmtr), 40 min (2360 sqmtr.), 156 min (9401 sqmtr.) and 221 min (7440 sqmtr), total measuring to 30242.55 sqmtrin village NangliRazapur for construction of 3rd Phase of Elevated Road (infrastructure project) on Barapulla Nallah from SaraiKale Khan to Mayur Vihar, Delhi.

Whereas it appears to the Government that a total of 3.02425 hectares land is required in the Village - NangliRazapur, Sub-Division Defence Colony, District South-East Delhi for the public purpose, namely 3rd Phase of Elevated Road on BarapullaNallah from Sarai Kale Khan to Mayur Vihar, Delhi.

Therefore, the declaration is made that a piece of land measuring 3.02425 hectares is under acquisition for the above saidproject in the Village NangliRazapur,Sub-Division -Defence Colony, District South-East, whose detailed description is as following:-

This declaration is being made after hearing of objection of the persons interested and due enquiry as provided u/s 15 of theRight to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act,2013. The number offamilies likely to be resettled due to land acquisition is ‘NIL’and as such no Resettlement Area has been identified.Mines of coal,iron-stone, slate or other minerals lying under the said land or any particular portion of the said land, except such parts of themines and minerals which may be required to be dug or removed or used during the construction phase of the project for thepurpose of which the land is being acquired, are not needed.

A plan of the land may be inspected in the office of the Land Acquisition Officer on any working day and the

same shall also be available on the website of the Divisional Commissioner (Revenue) and the District Magistrate, South-East Delhi.

A summary of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Scheme in appended.

Enclosure: As above SANJEEV KHIRWAR, IAS, Pripl. Secy. (Revenue) and Divisional Commissioner

Summary format for Rehabilitation and Resettlement Scheme (Elements of Rehabilitation and Resettlemententitlements for all the affected families)

Trees

Variety Number

BakayanShimbalNeemShatutJamunBailpatarPeepalMangoGuavaBeriOrangeMausmiAnarChikkuFykusGulmoharPopularTeak

211118331014215138165

1. Name of the project3rd phase of the project, for construction of Elevated Road over the BarapullhaNallah starting from Sarai Kale Khan to Mayur Vihar, New Delhi.

2. Name/Number of persons interested inthe land and the nature of their espectiveclaim for Rehabilitation and Resettlement

As mentioned at Serial No. 4

3. Time limit for provision of Rehabilitationand Resettlement entitlements given to theaffected families

Within18 months from the date of award u/s 23 RFCTLARR Act, 2013

4. Rehabilitation and Resettlement Entitlements

Sl.No.

Name of claimants/affect family

Father’s/Husband Name

AadharNo.

OccupationRehabilitation andResettlemententitlement

Remarks

1Ravinder Manju

Sh. SantoshiPrasadSh. Satish

NA FARMERi. Provision ofhousing unit incase ofdisplacement

ii. Land to beallotted

iii. Offer forDeveloped Land

i. NA, as there is nodisplacement of affectedfamily.

ii. NA, it is not an irrigationproject.

iii. NA, as land is not beingacquired for urbanizationpurpose.

2 Anil Kumar Late Zile Singh NA FARMER

3 Bhopal Singh Late Tej Ram NA FARMER

4

Mohan Singh, Rajeev

Sanjeev, DeepakChauhan

Pinki Chauhan & HariSingh

Late AmanSingh

Sh. Ajit Singh

Sh. Sandeep

Sh. Mahipal

NA FARMER

iv. Annuity/Employment

v. Subsistencegrant for displacedfamily for period ofone year

vi. Transportationcost for displacedfamily

vii. Cattle shed,petty shop

viii. One time grantto artisan, smalltraders and certainothers

ix. Fishing rights

x. One timeresettlementallowances

xi. Stamp dutyand registrationfee

iv. NA, as there is nodisplacement of affectedfamily nor loss of livelihood(families having alternatesources of income).

v. NA, as there is nodisplacementof affectedfamily

vi. NA, as there is nodisplacement of affectedfamily

vii. NA as 02 Petty shopsfound are unauthorised.

viii. NA, as land beingacquired is not a non-agricultural land/commercial/ industrialstructure in the affectedarea.

ix. NA, it is not a irrigation/hydel project.

x. Affected family shall begivenone time grant of Rs50,000/- only.

xi. To be borne by therequisition department/body(PWD).

5

½ Kulwant,Sumant,Nishant Rana

½ Virender Kumar

Sh. JaswantRana

Sh. Dev Karan

NA FARMER

6Diwan Singh, Ritupran,Surya Prakash &Mukesh Chauan

Sh. NarottamSinghLate Bal Kishan

NA FARMER

7Amit Chauhan, PunitChauhan, AjayChauhan

Sh. HukamSingh

NA FARMER

8

JagdishAmit Chauhan,Punit Chauhan,Ajay Chauhan

Sh. Devraj

Sh. HukhamSingh

NA FARMER

DIP/Shabdarth/0281/21-22

�� 4

�� ( �"��.�� $' .�$�&��/ 012�0304

�� 4<4>��

Three days after ChiefMinister Uddhav

Thackeray announced thatthere would not be any “Dahihandi” celebrations this year,the Centre has advised theMaharashtra Government toimpose and enforce “restric-tions” during the forthcomingfestivals and mass gatherings.

In a letter written to Statechief Secretary Sitaram Kuntelate on Friday night, throughHealth Secretary RajeshBhushan stated, “In view ofmass events and public gath-ering expected during cele-bration of upcoming festivals (including Dahi handi andGanapati Utsav)inMaharashtra, it is advised thatthe state may consider impos-ing and enforcing local restric-tions in public observation oftheses festivals and mass gath-erings”.

As part of the advisory,Bhushan cited the concernsexpressed by the IndianCouncil for Medical Research(ICMR) and National Centrefor Disease Control (NCDC)

over such mass-gatheringevents turning into ‘super-spreader events’, thereby result-ing in a spike in Covid case andsaid that the same was com-municated to the states on July20.

“This is particularly impor-tant in view of circulation ofmore transmissible variants ofconcern being reported by var-ious states, includingMaharashtra,” Bhushan said.

”Any laxity in ensuringstrict adherence to the five-foldstrategy of “Test-Track-Treat-vaccinate and ensuring Covid-19 appropriate behaviour may

result in losing the impetus thatMaharashtra and country hasgained so far in managing thepandemic,

Meanwhile, MaharashtraHealth Minister Rajesh Topehas said has warned that therewould three million cases,which would be the 2-millionrecorded during the ‘first-wave’in 2020 and much higher thanthe 4-million recorded duringthe ‘second-wave’ this year.

It may be recalled thateven before a formal advisoryabout the need to imposeCovid-19 restrictions in theaffected areas of Maharashtra,

Uddhav said the StateGovernment would not grantpermission for this year’s DahiHandi festival that falls onAugust 30. This is the secondconsecutive year the celebra-tions have been cancelledowing to the Covid-19 pan-demic.

During a meeting held onMonday last, the CM request-ed the festival organisers to pri-oritise public health amid anongoing pandemic and sug-gested that large scale publiccelebrations should be avoided.Senior Government officials,

members of the task force andthe representatives of the DahiHandi Samnvay Samiti attend-ed the meeting.

“We all have the same feel-ings about the festival, buttoday’s priority is saving peo-ple’s lives. For the past one-and-a-half years, we have beenfighting against Covid-19 andhence, we have to follow somerestrictions. Some people speakagainst the curbs. Instead ofagitating against theGovernment, they should fightagainst Covid-19,” Uddhav hadsaid.

�"�� %1,�

Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan claimed on

Saturday that Kerala leads thenation in controlling and man-aging the Covid-19 pandemicdespite the higher number ofcases reported daily from theState.

“The last few days haveseen the number of new casesgoing up in Kerala. But if youtake into account the density ofpopulation and the diminish-ing barrier between rural andurban areas in the State, Keralais well ahead of others inCovid-19 management. Thedeath rate is just 0.51 per centin Kerala whereas the nation-al average is more than threefold of this figure,” said Vijayanon Saturday while briefing themedia.

He was addressing themedia after a gap of 36 days.“We could not meet all thesedays because of the LegislativeAssembly session and theOnam holidays,” said Vijayan.

He said though there werenegative campaigns from cer-tain circles accusing the Stateadministration of failure incontrolling the Covid-19 trans-mission, the reality was thatKerala is shining. He said theCentre itself has said thatKerala was the State whichleads in most efficient distrib-ution of vaccines.

“We are very transparent inour dealings. There was not asingle instance in Kerala ofpeople waiting outside crema-toriums for their turn to per-form last rites of the departedones or throwing dead bodiesin rivers,” said Vijayan who alsoread out from Indian Councilof Medical Research report

that Kerala was a role model forother States in the country.

Vijayan disclosed that31,265 new cases were diag-nosed on Saturday while 153lives were claimed by theCovid-19 during the last 24hours. The Test Positivity Ratewas 18.67 per cent while thedeath toll till date reached20,466.

The chief Minister saidthat most of the persons whosuccumbed to the pandemicwere aged and suffering fromco-morbidity. “We are holdinga meeting on September 1with senior and experienceddoctors working in MedicalCollege Hospitals and privatehospitals and virologists ofrepute who have gained con-siderable experience in Covid-19 management to take stock ofthe situation.

This will be followed by ameeting with the chiefs of localself governments in the Statefor further coordination ofCovid-19 management works,”said Vijayan.

Aligarh: Muslims of Aligarh have participated in thepreparations of Janamashtami indirectly on a large scale.The dresses of Krishna and Radha have been preparedand stitched by Muslims. Not only that the idols of Krishnaand Radha have also been sculptured by them.Janamashtami festival is to be celebrated in more thanone dozen temples of city including Tika Ram mandir,Achal and Khereshwar Dham .

But the contribution of Muslim craftsmen is muchmore in Krishna and Radha than Hindu devotees whoworship Krishna and Radha . The shop of a Abid Naeemof Barahdwari market is the glaring example of this com-munal harmony.

He has left the government job for preparingimpressive dresses of Krishna , Radha and other Hindugod and goddesses. His income on Diwali, andJanamashtami crosses than that of Hindu shopkeepers .

The dresses of Hindu god and goddess prepared byAbid Neem are not only being used locally in temples butalso in Banke Bihari temple, Rang Mahal andDwarkadheesh temples of Mathura and apart of that inmany temples located in south India.

These Muslim families are contributing in strength-ening the social fabric of country which has become anexample. PNS

KOCHI: Amidst the raging con-troversy over the MappilaiRebellion of 1921, described as thebiggest ever communal pogrom inKerala, a new bickering has erupt-ed in the State over the names oftwo movies. If the authorities donot heed the warnings issued bypeople, chances are that the Statemay see zealots taking law in theirhands with claims of fighting forpreserving the sanctity of the reli-gions.

It all started two months agowhen mimicry artist-turned-moviemaker Nadirsha announcing thelaunching of his new venture“Eesho” with the tagline “NotFrom the Bible”. For Christians inKerala, the name Eesho sacrosanctas it stands for Jesus. There was ahue and cry over the name Eeshoas members of the community feltit was an attempt to humiliate theChristians.

PC George, senior leader of thecommunity and a seven timemember of the Kerala Legislative

Assembly, fired the first salvo byannouncing that he would notallow the movie to be released inthe name. George was equallyupset that the tagline “Not FromThe Bible” had been selected by thedirector with ulterior motives.

Elsewhere in the State, the laityand the clergy expressed their dis-pleasure over the name of themovie and this forced Nadirsha toremove the tagline. He told mediapersons that the movie has noth-ing to do with Jesus Christ or theBible. Nadirsha also announced thename of his next venture “Keshu EeVeedinte Nathan”, the Malayalamfor “Jesus, the Lord of this House”a billboard quite common in alltraditional Christian homes in theState. This further aggravated thesituation as resentment grew man-ifold among believers.

The Kerala Catholic BishopCouncil, a powerful body of bish-ops in the State issued a commu-nique in which it decried the ten-

dency among ‘certain people andgroups’ to portray the Christiancommunity in poor light throughmass media. “Movie makers andartists should not discredit andridicule a community with theintention of upsetting religiousharmony,” said the communique.

Christian Association andAlliance for Social Action (CASA),

an umbrella organization of allChurch factions, is equally upsetover the “targeting of the com-munity’ by certain groups. “Wehave not forgotten what happenedto Prof TJ Joseph, whose righthandwas chopped off by fanatics whoalleged that he had offended theProphet while preparing a questionpaper for the University. Theyshould understand that we toohave beliefs and respect for ourreligion,” said Kevin Peter, presi-dent, CASA.

Not to be left behind, young-sters affiliated to CASA are com-ing out with a short film titledMohammed-The Pocso Criminal,with the tagline “based on a truestory set in Assam in 1997”.

The poster of the movie wasreleased on Thursday with theannouncement that it would beready for public release onNovember 19 (which is the birth-day of Indira Gandhi). The ques-tion being asked in Kerala is whowould blink first. PNS

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The daily Covid-19 deathsdropped to 126 in

Maharashtra on Saturday andthe infections rose marginallyto 4,831, even as 4,455 patientswere discharged after fullrecovery from various hospitalsacross the State.

A day after the state logged170 deaths and 4,654 infec-tions, the daily deaths wentdown to 126 and the infectionsrose marginally to 4,831.

With 126 fresh deathsreported on friday, the totalnumber of deaths in the stateincreased from 1,36,900 to1,37,026, while the total infec-tions -- with 4,831 new cases– went up from 64,47,442 to64,52,273.

As 4,455 patients were dis-charged from the hospitalsacross the State after full recov-ery, the total number of peopledischarged from the hospitalssince the second week of Marchlast year increased from62,55,451 to 62,59,906. Therecovery rate in the state stoodstatic at 97.02.

The total “active cases” in

the state dropped from 51,574to 51,821. The fatality rate inthe state stood static at 2.12 percent.

Pune with 13,054 activecases emerged as the first in theState in terms of maximumnumber of “active cases” in thestate, while Thane with 7,151cases stood second in the State,followed by Satara (5356),Ahmednagar (5287), Sangli(4,772), Solapur (3980) andMumbai (3406).

Of the 5,34,56,403 samplessent to various laboratoriesacross the state so far, 65,52,273have tested positive (12.07 percent) for Covid-19 untilMonday.

Currently, 3,92,530 peo-ple are in home quarantinewhile 2,367 people are in insti-tutional quarantine.

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Mumbai: Union MinisterBharati Pawar has said theMaharashtra Governmentmust buy tomatoes as farmersare throwing away due to a pro-duction glut and subsequentfall in prices, and 50 per centof any loss incurred by the Statewhile selling them would beborne by the Centre.

Speaking to reporters onFriday night, Pawar said shehad spoken to UnionAgriculture Minister NarendraSingh Tomar and UnionCommerce Minister PiyushGoyal on the issue and they hadinformed that export of toma-toes was underway and therewas no ban on it.

"The Centre has suggestedto the state that it should pro-cure tomatoes from the marketand sell it using its network.The state can do so under theMarket Intervention Scheme(MIS). If the state incurs loss-es, 50 per cent of it would beborne by the UnionGovernment," Pawar, UnionMinister of state for publichealth, said.

However, she said therewas hardly any demand fortomatoes in the internationalmarket and the Centre waslooking for a solution to theproblem. After a good run forthe past two years, prices oftomatoes crashed recently, forc-

ing many farmers, like those inNashik, to throw their stock onthe streets in protest.

She also informed that theCentre had issued a notificationregarding MIS and the StateGovernment must submit itsproposal at the earliest. PTI

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An emergency response sup-port system with a helpline

(number-112) for women'ssafety was launched here byOlympian and Arjuna AwardeeM R Poovamma, an athlete, onSaturday.

The inaugural function forthe system was organised bythe Mangaluru city police com-missionerate and awarenesswas created among women onthe facility which, the lawenforcers said, would bring ina sense of security among thewomen.

A demonstration on howto use the facility was also held.Commissioner of Police NShashi Kumar said the dialingof the number- 112 by anywoman in distress would alertthe police personnel and theywould come to the rescue with-in 5-10 minutes if the call iswithin the city and within 15minutes if the call is made fromthe outskirts of the city. DeputyCommissioner HariramShanker was also present at thefunction.

Mumba: Maharashtra BJPleader Devendra Fadnavis onSaturday said his one-on-onemeeting with Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray was regard-ing OBC quota in local bodiesand no other topic was dis-cussed.

After attending an all-partymeeting on Friday, the Leaderof Opposition in theMaharashtra Assembly andThackeray met behind closeddoors for ten minutes, trigger-ing speculation amid a ragingpolitical feud between BJP andruling Sena over the arrest ofUnion Minister Narayan Raneon Tuesday for his controver-sial remarks against the Senachief.

“It is true that I held dis-cussions with Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray after the all-party meeting on OBC quota inlocal bodies. The discussionduring our meeting was onlyabout the OBC quota in localgoverning bodies. Thackerayasked my cooperation and Iresponded positively,” Fadnavistold reporters.

“No other topic came upfor discussion during our meet-ing,” he added. The meetingbetween Fadnavis andThackeray, whose parties hadshared power in Maharashtrafrom 2014 to 2019, had gener-ated intense political interestamid speculation that leaders ofBJP and Sena have agreedinformally to go soft on eachother especially in the wake ofthe Rane episode.

The all-party meeting washeld at the Sahyadri GuestHouse of the state governmenthere on the issue of restoringthe reservation for OtherBackward Classes (OBCs) inlocal governing bodies.

CM Thackeray had said allpolitical parties agreed torestore the reservation forOBCs in local governing bod-ies and a decision would betaken in a week.

The state government istrying to find a way to restorepolitical reservation for OBCsin Maharashtra after theSupreme Court read down theearlier provision. PTI

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Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief MinisterVijay Rupani on Saturday said theState Government is firm on stoppingforcible religious conversion throughmarriage and will approach theSupreme Court against the highcourt's order staying several sec-tions of the Gujarat Freedom ofReligion (Amendment) Act, 2021.

On August 19, the Gujarat HighCourt had stayed sections 3, 4, 4A to4C, 5, 6 and 6A of the amended Actpending further hearing, saying thatthey “shall not operate merely becausea marriage is solemnised by a personof one religion with a person ofanother religion without force or byallurement or by fraudulent meansand such marriages cannot be termedas marriages for the purposes ofunlawful conversion".

Talking to reporters, Rupanisaid, "The State Government is firm.Hindu girls are made to elope, and

later forced to undergo religiousconversion. (Law against) love jihad(was brought) in this very context, totake strong action (against suchactivities). The State Government willcertainly approach the SupremeCourt against the high court's orderstaying sections of the GujaratFreedom of Religion (Amendment)Act, 2021), and will do all that isrequired."

He was speaking on the sidelinesof an event organised in the state cap-ital Gandhinagar to celebrate the125th birth anniversary of Gujaratipoet Jhaverchand Meghani, who wasalso given the title of "RashtriyaShayar."

The 2021 law, which penalisesforcible or fraudulent religious con-version through marriage, was noti-fied by the BJP Government on June15 this year. The original Act was inforce since 2003 and its amended ver-

sion was passed in the Assembly inApril.

Last month, the Gujarat chapterof the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind filed apetition in the HC, claiming thatsome of the amended sections of thenew law were unconstitutional.

Among other sections, whichmainly deal with religious conversionthrough marriage, the high court hasalso stayed the operation of section5, which according to the BJP gov-ernment, is the "core" of the entire Actand a stay on it effectively stays theentire legislation.

The Government on Wednesdaytold the high court that section 5 hasnothing to do with marriage per se.A stay on section 5 would actuallystay the application of the entire lawitself, and no one would approach theauthorities for seeking permissionbefore getting converted, the gov-ernment had said. PTI

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With Assembly polls knocking the doors,the Bharatiya Janata Party Government

in Uttar Pradesh led by Yogi Adityanath isset to go for an expansion of the Ministrynext week.

Sources here on Saturday said the BJPhigh command had given the green signalfor the expansion of the Yogi Adityanathministry. The Cabinet expansion will takeplace in the first week of September.

It is believed that the party will take careof caste and regional representations this timein the ministry expansion just before the cru-cial 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

It is expected that seven to eight minis-ters can be administered oath while no pre-sent minister will be removed, sources said.

Some legislators of the allies will also beaccommodated in the ministry. Along withBrahmin, Nishad and Gurjar society, Gond,Jat and Patel community will also be taken

care of.The probable leaders who could be

inducted into the ministry are Jitin Prasada,who came from Congress to the BJP, andSanjay Nishad, national president of NishadParty.

Along with these, Somendra fromMeerut, Krishna Paswan from Fatehpur,Tejpal Gurjar from Dadri in Ghaziabad,Ramchandra Vishwakarma, Manju Siwachand Ashish Patel from Apna Dal could alsoget a berth in the ministry.

After the formation of the state govern-ment on March 19, 2017, the first Ministryexpansion of the Yogi AdityanathGovernment took place on August 22, 2019.During that time there were 56 members inthe council of Ministers. Three ministers havedied due to coronavirus infection.

In the first Ministry expansion, sixministers with independent charge wereadministered the oath of cabinet, in whichthree new faces were also included.

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Taliban forces sealed offKabul’s airport on Saturday

to most Afghans hoping forevacuation and most NATOnations flew out their troopsafter two decades inAfghanistan, winding down afrantic airlift that Western lead-ers acknowledged was stillleaving many of their citizensand local allies behind.

The United States, whichsays the round-the-clock flightshave evacuated more than1,00,000 people since theTaliban claimed Kabul on Aug.15, was keeping up airliftsahead of President Joe Biden’sTuesday deadline for with-drawal.

Britain also was carryingout its final evacuation flightsSaturday, though PrimeMinister Boris Johnsonpromised to “shift heaven andearth” to get more of those atrisk from the Taliban to Britainby other means.

Britain’s ambassador toAfghanistan, Laurie Bristow,said in a video from Kabul air-port and posted on Twitter thatit was “time to close this phaseof the operation now.”

“But we haven’t forgottenthe people who still need toleave,” he said. “We’ll continueto do everything we can to helpthem. Nor have we forgottenthe brave, decent people ofAfghanistan. They deserve tolive in peace and security.”

Taliban forces were holding

some positions within the air-port, ready to peacefully takecontrol as American forces flyout, spokesman ZabihullahMujahid said. The Pentagonstressed Friday that the Taliban,who now run Afghanistan,were not in control of any oper-ations at the airport.

Outside the airport,Taliban leaders deployed extraforces on Saturday to preventlarge crowds from gatheringafter a devastating suicideattack two days earlier,

New layers of checkpointssprang up on roads leading tothe airport, some manned byuniformed Taliban fighterswith Humvees and night-visiongoggles captured from Afghansecurity forces. Areas wherelarge crowds had gathered over

the past two weeks in thehopes of fleeing the countrywere largely empty.

A suicide attack Thursdayby an Islamic State (ISIS) groupaffiliate killed 169 Afghansand 13 US service members,and there were concerns thatthe group, which is far moreradical than the Taliban, couldstrike again. The US Militarysaid it killed an IS militant earlySaturday in a drone strike,after US President Joe Bidenpromised swift retaliation.

An Afghan who worked asa translator for the US Militarysaid he was with a group ofpeople with permission to leavewho tried to reach the airportlate Friday. After passingthrough three checkpoints theywere stopped at a fourth. An

argument ensued, and theTaliban said they had been toldby the Americans to only let USpassport-holders through.

”I am so hopeless for myfuture,” the man told TheAssociated Press after returningto Kabul, speaking on condi-tion of anonymity because ofsecurity concerns. “If the evac-uation is over, what will happento us?”

The Pentagon said onFriday that Afghans with theproper documents still werebeing allowed in.

On Saturday, the Talibanfired warning shots anddeployed some kind of coloredsmoke on a road leading to theairport, sending dozens of peo-ple scattering, according to avideo circulating online thatwas consistent with AP report-ing. Afghans, meanwhile, facedeconomic crises as manyWestern governments with-held support from Taliban rule.

In Kabul, hundreds of pro-testers, including many civilservants, gathered outside abank while countless morelined up at cash machines.They said they hadn’t been paidfor three to six months andwere unable to withdraw cash.ATM machines were still oper-ating, but withdrawals werelimited to about $200 every 24hours.

Later Saturday, the centralbank ordered commercial bankbranches to open and allowcustomers to withdraw $200per week, calling it a temporary

measure.The economic crisis, which

predates the Taliban takeover,could give Western nationsleverage as they urgeAfghanistan’s new rulers toform a moderate, inclusivegovernment and allow peopleto leave after Tuesday.

Afghanistan is heavilydependent on internationalaid, which covered around 75per cent of the toppledWestern-backed Government’sbudget. The Taliban have saidthey want good relations withthe international communityand have promised a moremoderate form of Islamic rulethan when they last governedthe country, but many Afghansare deeply skeptical.

The Taliban cannot accessalmost any of the central bank’s$9 billion in reserves, most ofwhich is held by the New YorkFederal Reserve. TheInternational Monetary Fundhas also suspended the trans-fer of some $450 million.Without a regular supply of USdollars, the local currency is atrisk of collapse, which couldsend the price of basic goodssoaring.

A UN agency warned onSaturday that a worseningdrought threatens the liveli-hoods of more than 7 millionpeople. The Rome-based Foodand agriculture organisationsaid Afghans are also sufferingfrom the coronavirus pan-demic and displacement fromthe recent fighting.

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The Pakistan Governmenthas decided to accept evac-

uees from Afghanistan —mostly transiting passengers tostay for a limited period — onlyin capital Islamabad, droppingplans of using Karachi andLahore as two other transportbases, according to a mediareport on Saturday.

The US embassy here hadrequested the PakistanGovernment to help in theevacuation efforts ahead of theAugust 31 deadline to com-pletely withdraw fromAfghanistan to cap its longestforeign war, spanning over 20years after the September 11,2001 terror attacks.

Officials said that theEmbassy sought permissionfor landing or transiting thepassengers under three cate-gories: US diplomats/citizens,Afghan nationals and peoplefrom other countries.

Tehran: Iran’s supreme leaderhas called the situation inAfghanistan a tragedy andblamed the US for the prob-lems there. Ayatollah AliKhamenei in his first officialmeeting with new presidentEbrahim Raisi’s Cabinet onSaturday said “the tragedies inAfghanistan are deeply affect-ing human beings (and were)made by America.”

“The hardships they aresuffering, the incidents that arehappening, Thursday’s inci-dent, such killings, all byAmerica,” he said.

At the Kabul airport, thou-sands are still gathering inhope of fleeing the countryafter the Taliban takeover, evenafter a suicide attack Thursdaykilled 169 Afghans and 13 U.S.Service members and amidwarnings of more attacks. Amassive U.S.-led airlift is wind-ing down.Khamenei saidAmericans “occupied”Afghanistan for 20 years. AP

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The US has evacuated andfacilitated the shifting of

approximately 1,11,900 peoplefrom the Hamid KarzaiInternational Airport in Kabulsince August 14, the WhiteHouse has said.

The US evacuated approx-imately 6,800 people in thetime period between August 27at 3:00 am EDT and August 28at 3:00 am EDT, following thedeadly suicide attack near theKabul airport on Thursday, itsaid.

This is the result of 32 USmilitary flights (27 C-17s and5 C-130s) which carriedapproximately 4,000 evacuees,and 34 coalition flights whichcarried 2,800 people, accordingto a White House official.

Since August 14, the UShas evacuated and facilitatedthe evacuation of approxi-mately 1,11,900 people. Sincethe end of July, we have re-located approximately 1,17,500people, the official said.

Meanwhile, Senator RogerMarshall led RepresentativesJimmy Panetta and MikeGallagher in sending a bipar-tisan, bicameral letter toPresident Joe Biden, urginghim to safely evacuateAmerican citizens, AfghanSpecial Immigrant Visa (SIV)applicants and other at-riskpopulations, including womenand children, fromAfghanistan.

“We urge you to providetransparency regarding howthe administration will safe-guard the approximately 1,500American citizens still remain-ing in Taliban-controlledAfghanistan, SIV applicants,and other at-risk populations,”they said.

The lawmakers said the USmilitary should commit toresponding with overwhelmingforce to continued attacks on oraround the Kabul airport, anyattack on American citizensattempting to evacuate or any attempt to hold themhostage.

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Hundreds of Afghans haveprotested outside a bank in

Kabul as others form long linesat cash machines.

The protesters on Saturdayat New Kabul Bank includedmany civil servants demandingtheir salaries, which they saidhad not been paid for the past

three to six months.They said even though

banks reopened three days agono one has been able to with-draw cash. ATM machines arestill operating, but withdrawalsare limited to around $200every 24 hours, contributing tothe formation of long lines.

Meanwhile, a U.N. Agency

warned that a worseningdrought could leave millions inneed of humanitarian aid.

The economic crisis couldgive Western nations leverageas they urge Afghanistan’s newrulers to form an inclusivegovernment and allow peopleto leave after the planned with-drawal of all US forces onAugust 31.

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The UK will conclude itsevacuation programme of

civilians from Afghanistan onSaturday with only troops leftto be flown out after that aheadof the August 31 exit deadline,Britain’s Chief of Defence Staffsaid. General Sir Nick Cartersaid during media interviewson Saturday that the countryshould be “holding its breath”at the challenge ahead amid thethreat posed by the localIslamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K)terror group, which has beenbehind suicide bombings thisweek as the airlift rescue oper-ations have been underway.

Carter said Britain is “notout of the woods yet” as the UK’sevacuation efforts following theTaliban takeover draw to a close.

“The plain fact is we havealways got that in the back ofour minds. For the troops onthe ground, they have to beconstantly alert and constant-ly thinking about how they canrebut the threat,” he told the‘Sky News’.

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Turkish media says an evac-uation f light from

Afghanistan has landed in theU.K. With an extra passenger— after cabin crew delivered ababy girl mid-air. When thetraditional cry of “Is there adoctor on the flight?” wentunanswered on Saturday,Turkish Airlines staff helped26-year-old Afghan SomanNoori give birth at 30,000 feet,Demiroren News Agency said.

Soman and her husbandhad been evacuated from Kabulto Dubai, United ArabEmirates, where they caught aflight to Birmingham.

Shortly after the plane tookoff on Friday night, Soman’slabour pains started and crewmembers stepped in to deliverthe couple’s third child.

The flight landed in Kuwaitas a precautionary measureand mother and baby weredeemed healthy enough tocarry on to the UK. The babygirl was named Havva.

Beijing:China and the US haveheld their first round of high-level military talks afterPresident Joe Biden came topower in January this yearduring which the two sides dis-cussed the rapidly evolvingsituation in Afghanistan, amedia report said on Saturday.

Deputy director for thePeople’s Liberation ArmyOffice for InternationalMilitary Cooperation MajorGeneral Huang Xueping held avideo conference with his UScounterpart Michael Chase lastweek, the Hong Kong-basedSouth China Morning Post onSaturday, quoting Chinese mil-itary officials.

“Afghanistan crisis is one ofthe most urgent issues of riskmanagement that needs to bediscussed … Chinese foreignminister Wang Yi raised thisissue in the Alaska talks (ear-lier this year), but his Americancounterpart ignored it,” thePost quoted an official of theChinese military as saying.

The US and China heldtheir first high-level talks inMarch in Alaska after Bidenassumed power, where ForeignMinister Wang Yi and topChinese diplomat Yang Jiechiexchanged barbs with USSecretary of State AntonyBlinken and National SecurityAdviser Jake Sullivan.

“The Chinese military hasmaintained a middle-level mil-itary-to-military communica-tion channel via the defenceattache in the US embassy inBeijing, and (last week’s call) isthe first time senior officersresumed talks,” the Chineseofficial said.

China had hoped toexchange intelligence aboutAfghanistan when Wang andChina’s foreign policy chiefYang met US Secretary of StateBlinken in Alaska in March. PTI

Beijing: China’s defence min-istry protested on Saturday thepassage of a US Navy warshipand Coast Guard cutterthrough the waters betweenChina and Taiwan, a self-gov-erning island claimed by China.

A statement posted on theministry’s website called themove provocative and said itshows that the United States isthe biggest threat to peace andstability and creator of securi-ty risks in the 160-kilometer(100-mile) wide Taiwan Strait.

“We express firm opposi-tion and strong condemna-tion,” the statement said.

The USS Kidd guided-mis-sile destroyer and Coast Guardcutter Munro sailed throughthe strait Friday in internationalwaters, the US Navy said. Such

exercises are seen as a warningto China, which recently con-ducted drills near Taiwan andhas not renounced the use offorce if needed to bring theisland under its control.

“The ships’ lawful transitthrough the Taiwan Strait demon-strates the US commitment to afree and open Indo-Pacific,” astatement from the Navy’s Japan-based 7th Fleet said.

Taiwan, home to 23.6 mil-lion people, split from Chinaduring a civil war that led to theCommunist Party taking controlof the mainland in 1949. The USdoes not have formal diplomat-ic relations with Taiwan butmaintains a representative officein the capital, Taipei, and is itsbiggest supplier of militaryequipment for its defence. AP

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At least 22 people died whena Bangladeshi passenger

boat sank with more than 100aboard, and the driver of acargo vessel suspected of col-liding with the boat was arrested, officials said onSaturday.

The boat sank on Fridayevening in a large body of waterin the eastern district ofBrahmanbari, 82 kilometers(51 miles) east of the capital,Dhaka.

No passengers werebelieved missing after nearly 24hours of search efforts, saidEmon Sarker, a duty officerwith the district’s fire service

and civil defense, who also pro-vided the final death toll. That’safter initial reports said around50 passengers were missing, citing local officials and media.

“Maybe many swam tosafety. There was no passengerlist. It happens here. Today,nobody came to us looking forany missing people,” Sarkersaid by phone.

Bangladesh is a deltanation where water transport isheavily used to move peopleand goods. But deadly acci-dents are common due tounskilled operation and poorenforcement of safety rules.The country is crisscrossed by230 rivers, and during themonsoon season some low-

lying areas fill with water andare also used by boats. Sarkersaid the sunken boat was stillsubmerged and would bebrought to shore on Sunday.

The cargo boat’s driver andtwo assistants were caught bylocals in the Bijoynagar areaand turned over to the author-ities, said Anisur Rahman, dis-trict police superintendent.

Local police officialImranul Islam initially pro-vided the figure of 21 dead,speaking by phone late Friday.Survivors said about 100 peo-ple were aboard. Local newsreports, quoting the area’s topgovernment administrator,Hayat-Ud-Dola, said about 50people were missing.

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Iraqi security forces fannedout across the Iraqi capital on

Saturday ahead of a regionalconference aimed at easingtensions in the West Asia andemphasising the Arab country’snew role as mediator.

Among the invitees arearchenemies Iran and SaudiArabia, whose rivalry has oftenplayed out in Iraq and othercountries, including Yemenand Lebanon.

Saudi Arabia has said itwould be represented by its for-eign minister, Prince Faisalbin Farhan. It was not clearwhat kind of representationIran would have at the confer-ence.

Egyptian President AbdelFattah el-Sissi and Jordan’sKing Abdullah as well as rep-resentatives from Turkey, Qatarand the United Arab Emirateswere expected to participate.

French PresidentEmmanuel Macron, whosecountry is co-organising themeeting, arrived in Baghdadearly on Saturday. Participantswere expected to discuss aregional water crisis, the war inYemen and a severe economicand political crisis in Lebanonthat has brought the country tothe point of collapse.

Iraqi special forcesdeployed in Baghdad, particu-larly around the Green Zone,which houses foreign embassiesand is the seat of the IraqiGovernment. Sunday’s meetingis a chance for Iraqi Prime

Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimito showcase his recent effortsto portray Iraq as a neutralmediator in the region’s crisesand re-engage with the worldafter deades of conflict.

Earlier this year, the coun-try hosted several rounds ofdirect talks between regionalrivals Saudi Arabia and Iran,with mid-level officials dis-cussing issues related to Yemenand Lebanon, according toIraqi officials.

The talks signaled a possi-ble de-escalation followingyears of animosity that oftenspilled into neighbouring coun-tries and at least one still-rag-ing war. The talks, while sig-nificant, fell short of a break-through in relations given thedeep strains, historic rivalryand continued sporadic attackson Saudi oil targets by Iran-backed Houthis from Yemen.

There has been talk, how-ever, of the potential for SaudiArabia to reopen its embassy inTehran, which was ransackedand shuttered following outrageover the execution of a promi-nent Saudi Shia cleric in early2016.

Saudi Arabia and otherArab Gulf states like the UnitedArab Emirates have called forany nuclear agreement betweenworld powers and Iran to alsoaddress its ballistic missile pro-gram and support for militias.

Saudi Arabia has soughttalks with Iran as the kingdomtries to end its years-long warin Yemen against Iran-backedHouthi rebels.

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Britain’s Queen Elizabeth IIwill attend the UK-hosted

United Nations ClimateChange Conference scheduledfor November in Glasgow,Scotland, it was confirmed bythe organisers on Saturday.

The 95-year-old monarchwill join world leaders at theevent, which was to take placein November last year but waspostponed due to the Covid-19pandemic.

Prime Minister NarendraModi is among the world lead-ers expected to attend theCOP26 summit alongside USPresident Joe Biden and around

120 heads of state and govern-ment.

Others expected to travel toScotland for the event betweenNovember 1 and 12 includePope Francis and climate cam-paigner Greta Thunberg.

“Absolutely delighted thatHer Majesty the Queen willattend COP26,” UK CabinetMinister and President of theCOP26 summit, Alok Sharma,tweeted.

Sharma, the Agra-bornMinister who recently returnedfrom a visit to India as part ofhis role for the summit, hadtweeted earlier this week abouthis discussions during thattour.

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In Singapore, in between aforeign policy speech and a

roundtable talk about supplychain issues, Vice PresidentKamala Harris stopped to smellthe flowers.

Specifically, she checkedout an orchid that the countrynamed after her — a lightfuschia hybrid namedPapilionanda Kamala Harris —a diplomatic honor alsobestowed on former PresidentBarack Obama and then-VicePresident Joe Biden duringpast visits to the country.

“Oh, this is extraordinary,”she marveled as she took a brief

tour of the lush Flower Fieldroom of Singapore’s iconicGardens By the Bay onTuesday.

It was a brief — and rare —moment of normalcy for Harrisduring a diplomatic trip chockfull of extraordinary circum-stances.

Harris’ weeklong trip toSingapore and Vietnam wasshadowed from start to finishby the crisis in Afghanistan.Questions about the messy USwithdrawal dominated her firstfew days in Singapore and theattack that killed 13 Americansoutside the Kabul airportcaused her to nix a plannedvisit to California on her way

home.In the middle, Harris

delayed by a few hours her trav-el to Vietnam because of con-cern about potential healthattacks against US diplomatsthere.

And the trip itself playedout against the backdrop of aglobal pandemic that keptHarris hemmed in by the care-fully choreographed stagecraftof her diplomatic meetings with leaders and asmattering of roundtables andspeeches.

But those very crises mayin fact have contributed towhat analysts say was the over-all success of the trip.

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The Unique IdentificationAuthority of India (UIDAI)

on Saturday said there havebeen no outages in its Aadhaar-PAN/EPFO linking facility,which is authentication-based,and asserted that all its servicesare “stable”.

The comment came amidreports of UIDAI system out-ages in linking Aadhaar withPAN and EPFO. The reportssaid that the glitch had leftAadhaar users in a lurch, evenas EPF and PAN linking dead-line looms.

In a statement issued onSaturday, UIDAI emphasisedthat all its services are “stableand functioning fine”.

“There have been no out-ages in its Aadhaar-PAN/EPFOlinking facility, which isauthentication-based facility,” itadded.

UIDAI explained that as itwas going through an essentialsecurity upgrade in its systemsin a phased manner over the

last week, some intermittentservice interruptions werereported only in the enrollmentand mobile update servicefacility at a few enrolment orupdate centres “which too isworking fine now, after upgra-dation”.

UIDAI went on to say thateven though the system has sta-bilised, it is monitoring thesame to ensure that no incon-venience is caused to residents.

“It may be noted thatmore than 51 lakh residentshave been enrolled in last ninedays since the beginning of theupgradation process on August20, 2021, at an average of 5.68lakh enrolment per day,”UIDAI said.

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In a move that will aid closureof retro tax demands against

companies such as CairnEnergy and Vodafone PLC,the Income Tax Department onSaturday released draft of rulesto drop such demands provid-ed companies concerned givean “irrevocable” undertaking towithdraw all legal cases againstthe government as well asundertake not to pursue any infuture.

Earlier this month, thegovernment enacted theTaxation Laws (Amendment)Act 2021 to scrap a tax rule thatgave the tax department powerto go 50 years back and slapcapital gains levies whereverownership had changed handsoverseas but business assetswere in India.

That rule had been used tolevy a cumulative of �1.10 lakhcrore of taxes on 17 entities,including �10,247 crore onCairn and �22,100 crore onVodafone.

Cairn was levied tax for a2006 internal reorganisation ofIndia business before listingwhile Vodafone was chargedfor not withholding tax fromconsideration it paid for acquir-ing Hutchison stake in India

telecom unit.Scraping such demands,

the government undertook torefund �8,100 crore it had col-lected from companies toenforce the retro tax demand.A bulk - �7,900 crore - is dueto Cairn Energy of UK alone.This was to be done only if thecompanies concerned gave anundertaking to withdraw allpresent legal challenges as wellas not take such recourse in thefuture.

“The amendment made by2021 Act also provides that thedemand raised for offshoreindirect transfer of Indianassets made before 28th

May, 2012 (including thevalidation of demand provid-ed under Section

119 of the Finance Act2012) shall be nullified on ful-fillment of specified condi-tions such as withdrawal or fur-nishing of undertaking forwithdrawal of pending litiga-tion and furnishing of anundertaking to the effect thatno claim for cost, damages,interest, etc. Shall be filed andsuch other conditions are ful-filled as may be prescribed,” thetax department said in a state-ment.

The amount paid/collectedin these cases shall be refund-

ed, without any interest, on ful-fillment of the said conditions,it said, adding a draft of theundertaking is being releasedfor comments.

The declaration providesfor “irrevocably withdraw, discontinue and not pursue”any present or future legalchallenge against the taxdemand.

Both Cairn and Vodafonehad challenged the retro taxdemand before internationalarbitration panels which ruledtheir favour. Other companiestoo have got relief from variousIndian courts.

In the case of Cairn, theBritish firm was awardedUSD 1.2 billion in claims forthe value of its shares thatwere seized and sold by thetax department, dividendseized and tax refund with-held.

The government failed topay and the company movedjurisdictions such as the USand France to recover themoney due by seizing Indianassets.

The new law will require allthe companies to withdrawIndian challenges and Cairndropping its pursuits of Indianassets in the US, France andother foreign countries.

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Kishore Biyani-led FutureRetail Ltd on Saturday said

it has approached the SupremeCourt against an order passedby the Delhi High Court tomaintain status quo in relationto its �24,713 crore deal withReliance Retail and directing itto enforce the order of theSingapore-based EmergencyArbitrator.

In a regulatory filing,Future Retail said, “Please beinformed that the companyhas filed a special leave petitionbefore Hon’ble Supreme Courtof India against the impugned

orders dated 2nd February2021 and 18th March, 2021passed by ‘Ld. SingleJudge’...The SLP will be listedfor hearing in due course.”

On February 2, a singlebench of the Delhi High Courthad directed

Future Retail Ltd (FRL) tomaintain status quo in relationto its �24,713 crore deal withReliance Retail, which wasobjected to by US-based e-commerce giant Amazon.

Justice J R Midha said thecourt was satisfied that animmediate interim order wasrequired to be passed to protectthe rights of Amazon.

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West Bengal and Delhihave also operationalised

the ration card portability whilethe remaining two states ofAssam and Chhattisgarh areexpected to join next fewmonths, Union Food Ministrysaid on Saturday. With this,now a total of 34 States andUnion Territories are connect-ed under the ‘One Nation,One Ration Card (ONORC)’programme, covering 75 crorebeneficiaries. According to theministry, Delhi which opera-tionalised ONORC in July thisyear provides ration card porta-bility for 33 states covering 69crore beneficiaries.WhereasWest Bengal implemented it inAugust and provides portabil-ity of ration cards for 34 statescovering 74.9 crore beneficia-ries.

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Foreign direct investment(FDI) into the country rose

by more than twofold to USD17.57 billion during April-Junethis fiscal on account of mea-sures such as policy reformsand ease of doing business, anofficial statement said onSaturday.

Total FDI inflow rose toUSD 22.53 billion during thefirst three months of 2021-22as against USD 11.84 billion inthe same period of the last year,it said. Total FDI comprisesequity inflows, reinvested earn-ings and other capital.

“FDI equity inflow grew by168 per cent in the first threemonths of 2021-22 (USD 17.57billion) compared to the yearago period (USD 6.56 billion),”it said. The data showed thatthe automobile industry hasemerged as the top sector dur-ing the period under review

with 27 per cent share of thetotal FDI equity inflows. Itwas followed by computer soft-ware and hardware (17 percent) and services Sector (11per cent). Further, Karnataka isthe top recipient state duringApril-June 2021, with 48 percent share of the total FDI equi-ty inflows. It was followed byMaharashtra (23 per cent) andDelhi (11 per cent). Measurestaken by the government onthe fronts of FDI policyreforms, investment facilita-tion and ease of doing businesshave resulted in increased for-eign inflows into the country,the commerce and industryministry said.

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The Confederation of AllIndia Traders (CAIT)

Saturday slammed the NitiAayog for interfering in the e-commerce Rules proposed bythe Consumer Affairs Ministryand said that such a line takenby Niti Aayog clearly seems tobe under the pressure andinfluence of the foreign e-commerce giants.

CAIT Secretary GeneralPraveen Khandelwal camedown vehemently on NitiAayog and said, “It is highlyunfortunate that Niti Aayog inthe last seven years since it’sinception had done absolutelynothing to support the 8 croretraders of India and now whenthe government is trying to cre-

ate a level playing field in theretail sector, Niti Aayog isinterfering in between and try-ing to derail the process.”

CAIT President B.C.Bhartia also said, “It is deeplyshocking to see such a callousand indifferent attitude of theNiti Aayog who have remaineda silent spectator for the last somany years when the foreign e-commerce giants have circumvented every rule ofthe FDI policy and blatantlyviolated and destroyed theretail & ecommerce landscapeof the country but have sud-denly decided to open theirmouth at a time when the pro-posed e-commerce rules willpotentially end the malprac-tices of the e-commerce com-panies.”

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Domestic natural gas con-sumption has prompted

higher LNG imports, ratingsagency India Ratings andResearch (Ind-Ra) said in areport.

“Ind-Ra believes that 11.8per cent month-on-month(MoM) growth in liquifiednatural gas (LNG) import vol-ume to 93 metric standardcubic metre per day (mmscmd)in June 2021 was led by 7.7 percent MoM growth in domesticgas consumption to 166mmscmd,” the report said.

“In June 2021, the city gasdistribution segment volumesincreased 61.2 per cent YoYand 10.3 per cent MoM to28.9mmscmd.”

Accordingly, NG produc-tion has increased 19.5 per centYoY.

“During the month, OilIndia Limited and private orjoint venture fields recorded anincrease of 5 per cent YoY and202 per cent YoY, respectively,while Oil and Natural GasCorporation Limited recordeda decline of 7.4 per cent YoY inNG production volumes.”

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Astrong economic growthrebound is expected on the

back of rapid vaccinations, arecovering monsoon boostingagricultural output, thrust oninfrastructure investments bythe government, and growth inexport, Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar hassaid.

Kumar further said that asper consensus estimates,despite downward revision inthe GDP growth projections,India is expected to be amongstthe fastest-growing majoreconomies in the world.

“A strong rebound isexpected on the back of rapidvaccinations, a recoveringmonsoon boosting agricultur-al output, thrust on infra-structure investments by thegovernment, growth in exports,which have performed remark-ably during April–June regis-tering a growth of 18 per centover the same period in the pr“We also expect consumptionto recover in the third andfourth quarters of the fiscalyear,” he said in a newsletter‘arthNITI’.

The Reserve Bank haslowered the country’s growthprojection for the currentfinancial year to 9.5 per centfrom 10.5 per cent estimatedearlier, while the World Bank

has projected India’s economyto grow at 8.3 per cent in 2021.

According to Kumar, afterphased unlocking post the second Covid wave, the eco-nomic activity has gainedstrength.

“The government has alsostepped into provide anotherdose of stimulus of Rs 6.3 lakhcrore, focused on healthcare,tourism, agriculture, infra-structure, MSMEs and exports.

“As growth momentumgathers pace, supported by themeasures undertaken by thegovernment, the Indian econ-omy will emerge stronger on asustainable development path,”he noted.

The Niti Aayog ViceChairman pointed out thatcompared to steady expansionin the first five months of

2021, the global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)

recorded slower growth in Juneand July. “In Asia, the manu-facturing PMI witnessed decel-eration in China.

In India, manufacturingPMI rose to a three-monthhigh of 55.3 in July, reflectinglikely expansion of manufac-turing activity in the comingmonths,” he said, addingthat.India’s services PMIimproved to 45.4 but remainedin the contraction zone.

Kumar observed that sub-sequent to a fairly robust recov-ery in the March quarter, theIndian economy was impactedby a much stronger Covid sec-ond wave, leading to imposi-tion of strict curbs across statesand decline in economic activ-ity.

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India is fast progressing in dis-cussions with several coun-

tries for Free Trade Agreements(FTAs), Union Minister PiyushGoyal has said.

Currently, India is in dis-cussions on FTAs with severalcountries including the UK,UAE and GCC countries,Australia and European Union.

The Union Minister ofCommerce & Industry,Consumer Affairs & Food &Public Distribution and Textilescited that India and US haveagreed to aspire for $500 billiontrade in near future.

Furthermore, whileaddressing the business andtrade fraternity through theplatform of Jain InternationalTrade Organisation (JITO), henoted that recently Indiaemerged as the world’s secondmost desirable manufacturingdestination overtaking theUS.

The minister pointed outthat the trend showed thepotential and promise of Indiato become the “manufacturinghub” of the world.

He asserted that along withbecoming the “manufacturinghub”, India should also becomea “trading hub”.

According to Goyal, everygrowth parameter is showingan extremely “exciting futurefor all of us”.

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The third wave is imminent, said anexpert. We are heading towardsachieving endemicity, said another.There are several such claims andassumptions made by eminent

experts and doctors. However, the fact of the matter is that

nobody has yet been able to fully understandthe nature of the virus, which is why many doc-tors believe that it will take us at least anoth-er year, if not more, to draw concrete conclu-sions.

Scientists worldwide are on the go. They arechasing the virus’ evolution and its mutantswith a few winning streaks. But a silver liningin the dark clouds of what seems to be a never-ending pandemic is that the country might beentering an endemic stage.

Dr HK Mahajan, Anaesthesiologist, IndianSpinal Injuries Centre, Vasant Kunj, tells youthat as per the World Health Organisation’sChief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan,India is entering into an endemic stage. “Thissuggests that a population has learnt to live witha virus. There is a low or moderate level oftransmission going on. There are no peaks orexponential growth like pandemic or epidem-ic,” he says.

The high cases, he points out, occur whereimmunity is less, people are not vaccinated ornot infected in the previous waves.

However, as per the experts from NationalInstitute of Disaster Management (NIDM), athird wave is imminent and can hit the coun-try any time between September and October.“It will not be that severe, but paediatric caseswill be more, though not backed up by any sci-entific evidence. In this case, we need to havepaediatrics infrastructure, ICU wards anddoctors and trained nurses to deal with chil-dren getting infected,” says Mahajan.

If the stats are anything to go by, they sug-gest that the country will see cases anywherebetween one lakh and five lakh a day.

“NIDM has predicted three scenarios.One, the third wave may peak in October. Two,three lakh cases per day. Three, if more viru-lent variants emerge, it may peak in Septemberwith five lakh cases per day. Four, it could peakin late October with two lakh cases per day,”adds Mahajan.

All these models, he says, are based on cal-culations and are basically for forecasting andmaking predictions to anticipate the dynam-ics of the pandemic. “How many cases, viru-lency, morbidity and morbidity trends will hap-pen are demonstrated based on mathematicalmodels. In India, these are mostly done byexperts from IIT Kanpur and IIT Hyderabad.They take clues from several warnings indicat-ing an imminent third wave, understand themand prepare for it,” explains Mahajan.

Dr Shuchin Bajaj, Founder & Director,Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals, agrees withMahajan and says that with the highest zeropositivity rate and progressively increasing vac-cine coverage, it appears that India is headingfor an endemic stage of the virus. “Kerala,which is seeing very high numbers is current-ly suffering from the third wave because of thelow zero positivity rate, which is less than 40per cent compared to about 70 per cent in theNorthern part of the country. So, with theincreased vaccination coverage, we are alreadyadministering about 50 lakh vaccines a day andwe’re hoping that we will be doing about onecrore vaccines per day to achieve our target ofcomplete vaccination by the end of the year. Wehope that the next wave, if it does come, willbe like the British third wave, which eventhough with increased numbers, it had very lowhospitalisation rates as well as very low deathrates,” says Bajaj.

However, Dr Akshay Budhraja,Pulmonologist, Aakash Healthcare, Dwarka,says that if we go by stats, a third wave won’thappen. “Having said that, no stats or analy-sis can clear this doubt with absolute certain-ty, only time will. The virus is mutating and weare not sure how long the immunity lasts aftervaccination or COVID infection. We don’t evenknow how effective the vaccine will be to newermutant strains in coming times. So, in any casewe must continue to follow the COVID pro-tocol in this time of uncertainty, till we achieveherd immunity, which isn’t far now. It is a mat-ter of eight-10 months,” opines Budhraja.

He adds that we may see a rise in the num-ber of cases but the mortality rate won’t rise likein the second wave. “If at all a third wave hitsus, we will surely emerge stronger than before.Simple reason is more people will be immune.The very reason the number of cases are declin-ing at present,” he says.

The future looks bright. We have so manyvaccine options now and a ramped up vacci-nation rate. “All of the available vaccines areefficacious and safe. We have understood thenature of the virus. Like any other virus, it ismutating, but at a faster rate. The only solutionto this is, increasing the vaccination rate, fol-lowed by an annual booster dose, if required.Only herd immunity can end this. Till then,uncertainty regarding coming waves willremain. It’s a respiratory virus, you cannot erad-icate it completely. It will remain here for livesto come. But you can surely eradicate the dis-ease caused by it,” Budhraja tells you.

Bajaj, too, is of the opinion that once thethird wave hits, we will emerge muchstronger because we are much moreprepared. “We have developed ourICUas well as hospital infra-structure, including oxygensupply. And I think this is ahidden blessing from the pan-demic because we are nowfocusing on ramping up ourhealthcare infrastructure,which will serve us well in thelong term to fight other diseasesas well,” says Bajaj.

The future, he says, holds the samefate as it was with the Spanish flu. “The cur-rent flu virus is apparently a mutation of theSpanish flu virus that happened about 100 yearsago, and then became endemic into the com-

munity and now needs almost yearly immuni-sation and booster shots for those at risk. So,

this COVID virus will also mutate intoa virus that is endemic to the com-

munity and will always be a risk forthose members who are high risklike immunocompromised elder-ly, or very young, and the rest ofthe community will s lowlybecome immune to that,” opinesBajaj.

But the high risk communitymembers, he adds, will definitely

need yearly boosters to make sure thatthey do not suffer. This virus will replace

the common flu virus which is prevalent now. “So we will not be fighting against multi-

ple viruses. But this will be the predominantvirus that will live with our community until

God forbid the next pandemic comes in,” saysBajaj.

But for that to happen, the vaccination drivealso needs a booster dose. “Only 7.6 per centpeople, that is 10.4 crore people, have been fullyvaccinated. This rate has to be increased sub-stantially. Otherwise cases would increase andthat would need healthcare infrastructure andstaff. This is still compromised and deficient.We also have to expedite the vaccination of kidsand follow COVID appropriate behaviour andjudicious lockdowns,” says Mahajan.

Dr Vineeta Singh Tandon, Consultant,Internal Medicine, PSRI Hospital, New Delhi,says that with the different projections, that mayor may not turn true, what we need is a robusthealth care system that can hold a caseload likethis. What we would need is localised lock-downs in case numbers shoot up and that needsto be implemented strictly by the authorities.

“Fear-mongering does more than good.Third-wave to a large extent depends on mul-tiple factors like people not following COVIDappropriate behaviour, lax vaccination and peo-ple mingling in crowded zones. Vaccinationholds hope and we should focus on this num-ber going up. By all signs, the third wave (if ithappens) should not be as devastating as thesecond one,” says Singh. Future holds promiseand vaccination by all accounts would give usprotection against this virus. It will remainamong us but would reduce its severity, sheadds.

A ray of hope, Mahajan, says that by the endof 2022 we would achieve 70 per cent vaccina-tion coverage in the whole world and thencountries can get back to normal. “Vaccinationis the key to get the herd immunity and henceultimate protection,” he concludes.

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Two athletes fromAfghanistan have arrived in

Tokyo to compete in theParalympics, the InternationalParalympic Committee saidSaturday.

The two-person team ofZakia Khudadadi and HossainRasouli had flown from Kabulto Paris before continuing on toTokyo, the IPC said.

Khudadadi will beAfghanistan’s first female ath-lete to compete at theParalympics since Athens 2004.She will challenge in thewomen’s 44-49-kilogramweight category in taekwondoon Thursday, and her team-mate will line up in the heats ofthe men’s 400 meters T47 eventon Friday. The Paralympicsclose on Sept. 5. The IPC saidthe two were met in Tokyo atthe Paralympic Village by IPCpresident Andrew Parsons.

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India’s javelinist Ranjeet Bhatibowed out of Paralympics

after failing to register even asingle vailid throw in his sixattempts in the men’s class F57final, here on Saturday. The 24-year-old from Faridabad hadfinished fourth at the MoroccanGrand Prix in 2019 and quali-fied for the Paralympics afterwinning gold medals in thestate-level tournament inGurugram and the nationalcompetition in Bengaluru thisyear. Earlier in the day,Bhavinaben Patel assured Indiaof a silver medal after shebecame the first Indian to enterthe final of a table tennis eventin the Paralympics with a hard-fought 3-2 win over China’sMiao Zhang in a class 4 semi-final.

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Indian women’s ODI teamcaptain Mithali Raj and

coach Ramesh Powar onSaturday said the side is cur-rently focussed on next year’sWorld Cup and the tour ofAustralia will serve as idealpreparation for the mega event.

The Indian team is leavingfor Australia on Wednesday toplay three ODIs, a day-nightTest and three T20Is.

“We need to understandthat we are playing three ODIsfirst and we are focussing rightnow on the World Cup prepa-ration,” Powar said during apre-departure press confer-ence, even as questionsrevolved around the Pink ballTest against Australia.“Regarding the one-off Testmatch we have to carry ourone-day confidence into Testmatch. We don’t have to pre-

pare separately as we back ourplayers in all formats. We try toinculcate how we shouldapproach every format.”

The Australia tour willbegin with the ODIs series,starting with the first game atthe North Sydney Oval onSeptember 19, followed by thesecond and third matches at theJunction Oval on September 22and 24 respectively.

The women’s 50-overWorld Cup is slated to be heldin New Zealand in March-Aprilnext year.

Skipper Mithali said, “Weknow the areas we needed toimprove and we worked andaddressed those issues duringthe preparatory camp inBangalore. “Whatever resultsare there in Australia we stillhave few months for the WorldCup. Australia tour is good forus because we are playingagainst the best, we will also getan idea about the team combi-nation before the World Cup.So Australia tour is a goodgame plan before the World Cup.”

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Crestfallen Arsenal playersbeing humiliated in the

Premier League has becomeall-too familiar in recent years.But it’s never been this bad. Notin the 128 years since the clubstarted playing in the Englishleagues.

A 5-0 collapse atManchester City on Saturdayleft Arsenal with three losseswithout scoring at the start ofthe season for the first time inits history.

Arsenal’s calamitous per-formance shouldn’t detractfrom the ruthless efficiency ofCity.

In the week when thedefending Premier Leaguechampions missed out on sign-ing not only Harry Kane butalso Cristiano Ronaldo, theexisting attacking options didthe job against a side reducedto 10 men after Granit Xhaka’s

first-half sending off. Therewere two goals and an assistfrom Ferran Torres, and goalsfrom Ilkay Gündogan, GabrielJesus and Rodri.

“You have to take risksand you have to be brave on theball and we didn’t,” Arsenal for-ward Pierre-EmerickAubameyang said. “This is notenough and everyone has tolook in the mirror and work asa team and stick together.”

Perhaps losing was expect-ed, if not in this manner. Thiswas Arsenal’s ninth successiveleague loss to City, stretchingback into Arsene Wenger’sreign.

Unai Emery and, nowMikel Arteta, have beenbrought in to try to reviveArsenal’s fortunes. But theGunners look further thanever from getting back into theChampions League, let alonewinning the title for the firsttime since 2004.

“Really disappointed withthe things that happened on thepitch,” Arteta said. “Obviouslythe summary after three gamesand losing the three of them, itdoesn’t make it any easier.”

Arteta has had 20 monthsin the job since being hiredaway from City where he wasPep Guardiola’s assistant.

“They trust a lot in Mikelbecause they spend money toreinforce the team, to do it bet-ter,” Guardiola said. “Why youdon’t give a little more time tothe teams to build what youwant to build. The people wantsuccess immediately.”

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He has become the most success-ful England Test captain after

trampling India in the third Test butJoe Root won’t own the feat alone,saying the contribution of his team-mates and coaching staff is equallyimportant in his achievement.

England crushed India by aninnings and 76 runs in the third Testand that gave Root his 27th win ascaptain in 55 games. He surpassedthe likes of Michael Vaughan (26),Andrew Strauss (24) and AlastairCook (24) in terms of most numberof wins by an England Test captain.

“As I mentioned before the game,I’m living my boyhood dream of cap-taining England. It’s something thatI dreamt of doing from being reallysmall,” Root said after England lev-elled the five-match series 1-1.

“I couldn’t be more proud to havegone past Vaughan but you don’t dothat on your own as a captain, it’sdown to the group of players and thecoaching staff as well.”

There have been many ups anddowns and challenges to deal withtheir rotation policy in view of thebubble life as it invited criticism fromall quarters.

“It’s been a very challengingperiod throughout my tenure ascaptain, there has been a lot to con-tend with, a lot around the games,and not necessarily all the full focushas been on the field,” he said.

“But that’s part and parcel of thejob. I haven’t put a time limit on it.As long as I am enjoying it, as longas we feel like we are moving in theright direction and that I am the rightman for it in my own mind, I ammore than happy to keep doing it.”

England came into the contestafter suffering an embarrassing defeatat the Lord’s in the second Test thatwas marred by some ugly on-the-field exchanges.

But they bounced back stronglywith James Anderson blowing awaythe top-order after Virat Kohli optedto bat as India were dismissed for 78.

In reply, England had a 135-opening partnership, before the skip-per’s classy 121 — his third in threematches and sixth in the year —steered them to 432.

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Pacer Ollie Robinson engi-neered a middle-order col-lapse with the second new

ball as England completed a facileinnings and 76 run victory againstIndia on the fourth day of the thirdTest, here on Saturday.

All the good work on Friday,when India reached 215 for two atstumps, was completely undone asRobinson (5/26) and JamesAnderson (1/26) hit the rightlengths and got movement off-thepitch to wrap up the Indianinnings in a jiffy. India were all outfor 278 in the morning session.

It was a match that Englandwon by executing their strategiesto perfection with an idea ofopposition’s soft underbellies.

It was Robinson’s second five-for in the series and the tall seam-er after a difficult initiation to Testcricket due to off-field controver-sies is proving to be an asset for thisteam.

Robinson had served anunconditional apology after hisracist tweets surfaced on the dayof his Test debut against NewZealand in June.

India had lost the match on thefirst day itself when they werebowled out for 78 as it meant thatthey were always playing a catch-ing up game in this Test match.

India skipper Virat Kohli saidit was high quality bowling fromEngland that forced mistakes fromthe visiting batsmen.

“It’s quite bizarre, it can hap-pen in this country, batting collaps-es. We thought the pitch was goodto bat on, coming on nicely. But thediscipline forced mistakes and the

pressure was relentless. Difficult tocope when you’re not scoringruns. That caused the battingorder to crumble,” he said.

A huge first innings lead of 354taken by England only increasedthe worry with three days of bat-ting needed to save the game.

Kohli acknowledged the

“scoreboard pressure”. “Always up against it when you

get out for under 80, and the oppo-sition puts up such a big score. Butwe did well to stay in the game yes-terday, fight back as much as wecould, and gave ourselves a chance.

“But the pressure today wasoutstanding from the England

bowlers and eventually they got theresults they wanted,” he said.

It was an improbable task tobat out three days in conditionswhich can change rapidly to makebatting difficult. Playing out timeisn’t a virtue that many in thisteam, save likes of Rohit Sharmaand Cheteshwar Pujara, possess.

The middle-order which lookedsolid yesterday was completely rat-tled on penultimate morning underbright sunshine as most of the bats-men didn’t know where there off-stump was which was pretty bafflingif one takes the third day’s perfor-mance into consideration.

India lost eight wickets foraddition of only 63 runs and thememories of a morning collapse inAdelaide once again became freshas good balls found their wayeither into the gloves or hands ofslip fielders.

It started with CheteshwarPujara (91) misjudging the lengthof Robinson’s in-cutter which heperhaps thought would fly over thestumps as he decided not to offera shot. A good review taken by JoeRoot saw India number three’sback but there was still hope for afight as skipper Virat Kohli clippedAnderson for two boundaries enroute his first fifty of the series.

However unlike third evening,the Indian skipper again lookedcircumspect as he played and

missed a few and survived acaught behind chance.

But Robinson then decisivelytilted the game with a nicelypitched up delivery that was slight-ly angled in and Kohli jabbed at itand the result was the fifth consec-utive time in this series that he wasgobbled up either by wicketkeep-er or the slip cordon.

Saturday was slip’s turn wherehis opposite number Joe Rootwas standing.

Ajinkya Rahane (10) got a cou-ple of boundaries but it was anoth-er similar manner of dismissal forthe Test vice-captain as Andersongot one to straighten from lengthwhich took the outside edge intokeeper Buttler’s gloves. RishabhPant (1), who is no longer allowedto stand good three feet out of hiscrease, again played in a mannerwhich only he knows — givingpacers the charge down the trackwithout any tangible results.

He lasted mere seven balls ashe pushed at a Robinson deliverywithout any footwork, a replica ofhis first innings dismissal as CraigOverton at third slip took a regu-lation catch.

From 215 for 2, it was 239 forsix and then it was a matter of for-mality. Ravindra Jadeja (30) addedsome more runs in Test kittybefore Craig Overton (3/47) endedIndia’s nightmare.

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England pacer Ollie Robinson onSaturday said his legendary teammate

James Anderson helped him in tweakinghis wobble grip ball technique and it gavehim a perfect result in the third Testagainst India.

Robinson exploited the second newball on the fourth morning en route splen-did bowling figures of 26-6-65-5 asEngland drew level in the five match serieswith an innings and 76 runs win.

“I noticed Jimmy holding his wobblegrip slightly differently. I was holding itfrom the other side so I spoke to him andjust tried to practice it in the nets,”Robinson told reporters after his man-of-the-match performance.

“It went quite nicely, so I tried it inthe game and it worked quite well. It’ssomething I need to practice a bit more.This learning opportunity is invaluable forme at this stage in my career and luckilyit came off today.”

“Obviously, it’s great to open the bowl-ing with Jimmy and build pressure onboth ends. I enjoyed it and hopefully I cancontinue.”

India collapsed from 215 for two to278 all out.

England began the proceedings withthe second new ball and it all began withRobinson dismissing Cheteshwar Pujaraon his overnight score of 91.

Out-of-form India skipper ViratKohli got to his first fifty of the series butonly to be dismissed by Robinson thattriggered a stunning collapse.

“It feels like a very special day, I don’tquite feel like it’s settled in yet. For me,it’s one of the great days in my cricketcareer, to get my first Test win is really spe-cial.” On taking the prized scalp of Kohli,he said: “It is an amazing feeling. Thecrowds here were unbelievable. The noisewhen we got Kohli out was deafening, justan unbelievable experience and feeling toget that wicket.”

Not long ago, the Sussex pacer haddoubts over his fate in England cricket ashe was suspended for offensive old racisttweets following his spectacular Testdebut against New Zealand in June.

After his apology, the Sussex seamerearned a recall for the Trent Bridge Testwhere he grabbed his maiden fifer.

“It’s off the back of quite a few hardyears, I’ve had to work hard to get hereand do a lot of extra to get here so to getthe rewards in the last four four Testmatches has been very pleasing,” the 27-year-old said.

“When you are performing obvious-ly the scrutiny is off you a little bit. It (theracist tweet episode) is still quite fresh inmy memory and I’m trying to work onbecoming a better person.”

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Indian golfer ShubhankarSharma carded a second suc-

cessive two-under 68 to makethe cut at the Omega EuropeanMasters but SSP Chawrasiamissed the weekend action.

Sharma, who is coming offtwo good starts, had four birdiesagainst two bogeys around theturn to get to 4-under and wasT-22 at the halfway stage.

Chawrasia however missed

the cut with identical scores of71-71. Sharma, who was T-9 atthe Cazoo Classic, bogeyed the11th but holed birdies on 14thand 18th to turn in 1-under. Onhis second nine, he birdied firstand second and dropped a latebogey on eighth.

Dean Burmester holds aone shot lead going into theweekend after adding a bogeyfree round of 65 to his opening64. The two-time EuropeanTour winner got to 11 under parat Golf Club Crans-sur-Sierre,

edging ahead of England’s AndySullivan and Thomas Detry ofBelgium, as he goes in search ofhis second win of the season fol-lowing his Tenerife Open tri-umph. The South Africannotched up six victories on theSunshine Tour before securinghis first European Tour trophyat the co-sanctioned TshwaneOpen in 2017, and he has moresilverware in his sights afterrecording four Top-10s this sea-son in addition to his win in theCanary Islands in May.

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India’s meek surrender in thefirst innings of the third Test

was “bizarre” for skipper ViratKohli, who said they crumbled inthe face of relentless pressure cre-ated by the England bowlers.

India lost the Leeds Test byan innings and 76 runs asEngland levelled the five-matchseries 1-1.

Kohli admitted after being allout for 78, they were always play-ing a catch-up game.

“Basically down to score-board pressure... Always upagainst it when you get out forunder 80, and the oppositionputs up such a big score,” Kohlisaid at the post-match presenta-tion. “But we did well to stay inthe game yesterday, fight back asmuch as we could, and gave our-selves a chance. But the pressuretoday was outstanding from theEngland bowlers and eventuallythey got the results they wanted,”he said.

The India captain said thebatting collapse they suffered inthe first innings was “quitebizarre” after their stupendousshow in the Lord’s Test.

“It can happen in this coun-

try, batting collapses. We thoughtthe pitch was good to bat on,coming on nicely. But the disci-pline forced mistakes and thepressure was relentless. Difficultto cope when you’re not scoringruns. That caused the battingorder to crumble,” he said.

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India crumbled due to relentless pressure fromEngland, first-innings collapse was bizarre: Kohli

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Lionel Messi trained onSaturday ahead of his

highly anticipated debut forFrench giants Paris St-Germain.

The six-time Ballon d’Orwinner did not feature in thefirst three games of the Ligue1 campaign after being giventime to settle in the Frenchcapital and build up his fit-ness, but he is expected toplay against Reims onSunday.

Messi’s ex-Barcelonateam-mate Neymar, who hasso far been rested followinginternational duty, is also dueto make his first appearanceof the season.

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The COVID-19 has instilledin us fear, anxiety and stress.We are also extremely care-ful of what we eat and wherewe are eating. Foods that are

high on nutrients and Vitamins are highon our list of must eat. So, for many ofus eating in a restaurant is a no-no. Wedon’t want to end up eating the wrongkind of food however tasty and mouth-watering they may look. But what ifthere is a restaurant that is offering youjust that — a meal that is full ofVitamins and minerals. What if therestaurant is offering you veggies thatboost the immunity? What if they ener-gise you and help you fight the virus?All this and much more is possible atAlbero-The Chambers, Taj Mansinghin the Capital.

The Chambers, itself is an exclusiveplace only for its members but therestaurant is open to all patrons and thefood that it serves will definitely revi-talise you; it is a shot of an elixir andheaven in the mouth. Whoever said thathealth and taste don’t go hand-in-handneed to visit this place to be provedwrong.

There is a bit of a downer with thismenu. It is all about boosting yourimmunity therefore, all the dishes onthe fixed menu that comes in a thali arevegetarian. Of course, this doesn’tmean that the restaurant doesn’t servenon-vegetarian food. It is just that is itnot part of the set menu. In case youare a diehard non-vegetarian, one canorder as a separate dish. But ExecutiveSous Chef B Rajesh Kumar Singh rec-ommends that you stick to the fixedmenu to enjoy all the dishes that it hasto offer.

He tells you that the idea to intro-duce this menu was always on the cards

but COVID-19 just pushed it up a bitearly. People, he tells you have becomeparticular about what they eat. It is allabout eating healthy food. But they alsothink that healthy and tasty don’t mixwell. We are here to prove this wrong,”Singh says.

And he is not wrong. Itbegins with pumpkin cap-puccino with sunflowerseed dust. Pumpkin oneis told has Vitamin A,promotes weight lossand has potassiumand full of anti-oxi-dant. One can callthis soup as well.There are many peoplewho are not fans ofpumpkin but this cap-puccino will change theirmind forever. The frothy drinkwill whet your appetite.

There are two options; either onecan go for the set menu or one can evenorder al carte. A thali with a set menuis a better idea since one can get a taste

of all the things. The appetiser begins with kala

chana and mint shikhampuri; kalachana is a rich source of protein andregulates the blood sugar, stimulatesweight loss and heals jaundice.Looking at the fixed menu, each dish

will tell you what the benefits are.This way when you dig into

the deliciousness, one willnot feel guilty.

The broccoli andsingara ki gilawat isperhaps the best partof the entire menu.These melt in yourmouth kebabs make

for a must eat. Thoughthey look very appetis-

ing as the original galoutikebabs are, they sure give

them a run for their money. Therajma and badam ki seekh and morelcholia are just as good, not only in tastebut also because of their powerfulnutrients and anti-oxidant properties.

The huge silver coloured thali that

comes has nadru anjeer kofta, arhar poidal, chickpea and brown rice pulao,amla and honey chutney, dry fruitchaat, mandua roti and bajra ki missi.The helpings are huge and after eat-ing all the appetisers, it is a bit diffi-cult to wade through all this food. Butwhatever dent that you can make, it isworth every bite. It is definitely a heav-en-sent food for the vegetarians. Forthe non-vegetarians, it is an eye-opener that veg food can be tasty. Theadage: Health bhi, taste bhi aptlyapplies here.

To end things on a sweet note,there is orange quinoa kheer. If youdidn’t know what that it was quinoa,it would taste like you were eatingchawal ki kheer. The orange zest addsa burst of freshness.

With perfect sweetness, it is thebest healthy dessert that you wouldhave eaten. Quinoa, the chef tells youis rich in amino acid and a great sourceof fibr. It is the prefect sweet dish forthose who are gluten intolerant. Thekhajur laddu strengthens the bones.

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�How did you get into act-ing?

It was an imprompto deci-sion. It was not as if I hadplanned to be an actor. Thingsjust fell into place. I was 17when I was selected as MissIndia from J&K. Back then, Iwas still studying and therewere no plans to join the indus-try. But once I became MissIndia J&K, I started getting a lotof modelling assignments.From here on, it was just a shiftfrom modelling to acting. Itook a lot of acting classes. Itrained under MukeshChhabra. Since then, I havetried to make sure that I excelhere as well by learning what Ican. �What was your parentsreaction to your choice ofprofession?

It was a gradual change.When I took up modellingassignments I told them that Iloved being in front of the cam-era. When the word ‘action’ is

shouted I feel an adrenalinerush; something that has neverbefore. Even when I would getgood grades or got into a goodcollege, I never felt joy. I wasfrank with my father that Iwanted to give this industry ashot and see what happens.They have seen my progressand they have been extremelysupportive. � How did you come onboard for Nail Polish?

This happened during thefirst lockdown last year. Therewas so much confusion backthen. During this time, I got theaudition script for this project.I recorded it and sent the selftape. The director BugsBhargava Krishna really likedwhat he saw and invited me forthe shoot. I loved the projectsince it was something that wasup my ally. � You have done musicvideos. How did that happen?

I started doing musicvideos two years back. When

I did my first video, peopleliked it and since then, I keepgetting work through word ofmouth. I love the vibe thatcomes with working in themusic videos. � Can you tell us about yournew song Baawla?

I am glad that people areliking the song and the video.It is a folk-fusion and it is trickywhen you do such songs. �How was the experienceworking with Badshah andhow did you come on boardfor this song ?

He always does a great jobof bringing the rural music tothe fore. Working with him andthe team was such a pleasure.There was so much energy onthe sets; it was amazing. �What is the biggest chal-lenge faced as an actor?

Whenever a script comesto you, there is a pressure toout do yourself. It is importantto keep bringing variety toyour work.

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�How was your experience shooting for Radhe? It was so much fun. When there are people like

Prabhu Deva who dance, choreograph, direct and act,there is bound to be fun on the sets. I had a blast. Workingwith him is always fun. I learnt a lot during the shoot-ing. I was also doing a comedy film after a long time.Doing it after a gap is always a pleasure. There was somuch learning involved; if I enjoyed it, the rest had tohave fun as well.�What made you say yes to the role?

There were a couple of reasons for doing this pro-ject. First, like I mentioned, I got the chance to do a com-edy after a very long time. Second, it was a project direct-ed by Prabhu Deva. Also, Salman (Khan) always wants

to cast me in his films. There are so many thingsthat come into play when you agree to do a pro-ject — it has a great production house (ZeeStudios Salman Khan Films Sohail KhanProductions Reel Life Production PrivateLimited) as well.�What is your upcoming movie TheInterview: Night of 26/11 about?

The film is about a veteran correspondentwho covers war stories. He likes to cover sto-ries about war soldiers. He doesn’t like tocover stars. But suddenly he is forced to inter-view/cover a star. When he goes to interviewthe celebrity — a super star — how the inter-view turns out to be an intrigue, is what themovie is about. It is a film that spans onenight.�What made you say yes to this movie?

The movie is a remake of a Dutch film,The Interview. It has been directed byLaurens C Postma. He has casted a brilliant

actor Malcolm McDowell, McDowell’s movieExitz was directed by Postm. When he cancast such a great actor like McDowell, therewas no way that I was going to turn this pro-ject down when he came to me with the story.And it is such a great story — sirf ek raat ki.�Did you think that movie Hero would

remain a cult among the fans even now?When you are doing your debut movie, you don’t

think of anything but the project that you have in hand.You don’t know whether the movie will be a hit or not.I only knew one thing — this movie made me a hero. Itlifted me literally from the street and made me a starovernight. I never knew that this film would still beremembered 37-38 years down the line. I just know thatHero made me a hero. How can one think of such thingswhen you are just a newcomer in the industry?�Why doesn’t Bollywood make movies like Hero any-more?

It is not as if people don’t make these kind of filmsanymore. There are a few people in the industry who doso. It is not possible to make a film on the same topic timeand again. One needs variety otherwise people will getbored. Take an example: It is not possible to eat daal-chaw-al every day. We need variety in food. Similarly, there isa need for movies on different topics. People back thenliked to watch a certain genre of films and that has con-tinued even today. It is difficult for them to get that outof their mind.�Is there any role you said yes to but later hated?

I have risen from the streets and come to this indus-try. I have a lower middle-class mindset. There has neverbeen a time when I felt the need to turn down a char-acter. I took up whatever came my way as will of God.�Do you think cinema would be limited to only OTTplatforms now?

People had a similar thought when TV came. WhenOTT came, people said the same thing. Chadar pardekhna alag baat hai, rumaal par alag baat hai. There isa difference in watching a movie on a 70 mm screen. Tosee it on the small screen is a different experience).�What are your upcoming projects?

Besides The Interview: The Night of 26/11, I have fourmore projects that are slated to release. These are: AtithiBhooto Bhava that has been directed by Hardik Gajjar,Sooryavanshi which has been directed by Rohit Shettyand Phone Bhoot directed by Gurmmeet Singh. Thesethree films are there. And then there is Om that I am work-ing on. In all four upcoming films.

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We have been accustomed to sit-ting in our rooms while dis-cussing how it is time toswitch to a bigger apartment, abetter job or confining our-

selves to our rooms with our air conditionerson their maximum cooling temperature.Enjoying the rain while we shoot up our lap-tops seems like a regular day in our routinelives. However, what we fail to notice is the factthat a bigger apartment is costing deforestation,the air conditioner emitting carbon footprintand the untimely monsoons — a sign showingthe catastrophic consequences of our actions.Climate change has been impacting the nationsacross the globe and reaching an irremediablestate by the passing day. With temperatures ris-ing, glaciers melting and floods causingdestruction by sudden advances in the shore orconnected regions, the concern only seems tobe amplifying.

It’s time to realise that something thatseemed “a little off ” has grown into a full-blown calamity with casualties more than justthe environment and the lush green covers.Most of the people are not acknowledging theconcern, tagging it as a side-issue as they turn ablind eye; however, the truth lies far away fromit.

�� Climate change has been growing evident

every day and causing the temperatures to fluc-tuate. From scorching heat and pollution play-ing a role in the air quality index deterioratingand causing breathing health issues, the con-cerns are on a rise. One of the major factorsplaying an evident lead in the entire problem isthe increase in greenhouse gases contributingto greenhouse effect that is growing intense.The effect is making the heat of the sun gettrapped in the earth’s atmosphere and skyrock-eting the temperatures to a whole new level.

The change is hitting India along with oth-ers as well and resulting in tragic consequenceswith flora and fauna, businesses, economy andmore playing a part as the collateral damage ofthe anthropogenic activities. Our country isblessed by numerous environmental covers andterrains including glaciers, high mountains,long coastlines as well as massive semi-aridregions thus, making it a hotspot for climatechange. There is no doubt that global warmingis adversely affecting the Indian ecology, asbacked by many surveys. In fact, India hasalready made it to the top 10 most affectedcountries in the Global Climate Risk Index2021 as per a report published byGermanwatch. The report further states howvulnerable people in developing countries suf-fered the most from extreme weather eventslike storms, floods and heat waves, while theimpacts of climate change are visible aroundthe globe. The threat of climate change is asreal as it gets and is seen moving graduallytowards the D-day.

��

We, as a society, have been ignoringthe signs of global warming warnings overthree decades, which has further led tothis adversity brewing on an exponentialscale. Human interference has been one

of the major factors contributing to the globalchallenge of confining the effects of globalwarming and minimising its impact. Other fac-tors include:��fuel emissions due to exploiting naturalgases��overusing resources that take hundreds andthousands of years to get renewed��excessive residue of carbon footprints��the agricultural practices using both com-mercial and organic fertilisers along withincrease in livestock farming and others

These combined with an inexhaustible listof other factors are bringing an age of disrup-tion and adding to global warming. The factorsare not only a result of human initiations andinterruptions but are further being triggeredintensely to cause more havoc by the day.

�� Human intervention has resulted in putting

the entire ecosystem and the life forms sustain-ing in it in a tough spot. Our activities have ledto the temperatures shooting up and the oceanand the land along with our atmosphere to getaffected. The cryosphere, the water bodies andthe environmental covers are depleting due tothe increase in anthropogenic activities withthe impact growing irreversible if not interrupt-ed with an emergent series of action. Climatechange is giving rise to several issues such as icesheets turning to water, marine heat waves,heavy precipitation, floods, tropical cyclones,permafrost and ecological droughts becomingmore frequent than ever.

Turning away from the consequences ofour activities in the past millennia is settinginto motion a series of catastrophic events suchas intensifying the global water cycle and theseverity of wet and dry events. The conspicuouseffects are becoming more evident and thusrequiring us to take significant steps to curb theproblems.

�� One of the lesser-known aspects of climate

change is that it impacts us physiologically,eventually affecting our psyche as a by-prod-uct and causing more damage than we,as a community, realise. The rise inglobal temperature reflectsupon the fact that people’sbodies, as suggestedscientifically, can-not handle heatbeyond wetbulb tem-pera-tures;a

combined measure of heat and humidity — ofaround 35° Celsius, or about 95° Fahrenheit.Researchers across the globe have workedrelentlessly to draw evidence that shows whenheat taxes people’s bodies, their performance onvarious tasks, as well as overall coping mecha-nisms, suffer.

This further accelerates negative traits,including fuelling aggression, lower cognitiveability and plummeting productivity. The glob-al weather station data also portrays how thehuman survivability limit has been briefly sur-passed at least a dozen times in the last fourdecades at sites along the Persian Gulf andespecially in the Indus River Valley in India.These facts give us all the more reason to acturgently and bring a reform to immediateeffect. The need of the hour is to serve asdevout environmentalists and not onlyacknowledge the threat to our planet but alsoresolve it tout de suite.

�� Climate finance revolves around the fact

that there is a need for strategic planningwhen working on minimising the impact ofglobal warming. It helps the nations to reducegreenhouse gas emissions such as by fundingrenewable power like wind, solar or hydrogen.Furthermore, it enables the people of theaffected regions to adapt to the situation suchas droughts while allowing them to earn andproduce food via effective methods etc.Climate finance is responsible for strengthen-ing their communities and providing them alittle bit of stability amidst the chaos.

Public and private finance in this area alsoplays a critical part as it helps the countries seta green economy while making them have aninclination towards workable systems built onrenewable sources, meanwhile eliminatingexploitation of the exhaustible ones. The factthat as a country we have a long way to go,only makes climate finance more important atthe moment. India has been working on mak-ing it to the list of developing greeneconomies, but the road to that passes

through a hydrogen-led ecological system.Utilising green hydrogen to curb the

carbon footprint and holdingsummits such as India’s

Climate Summit toeducate people

about the prob-lem and dis-

cuss effec-tive

strate-gies

and possible solutions, is the way ahead.

��

There has been an evident increase in theglobal energy consumption and thus the direneed to harness alternative energy sources thatare not just green, but also renewable and plen-tiful. One such source with a substantially high-er energy output per unit mass is hydrogen.

Hydrogen, used as a fuel in the production,transport and energy storage. It has the poten-tial to play a crucial cross-cutting role in thefuture low carbon economy, with applicationsacross the industrial, transport, and power sec-tors. There has been a growing appreciationthat complete electrification of our currentenergy systems could be prohibitively expensiveand technologically challenging, given theimportant storage, flexibility, chemical, andheating attributes of current fossil fuels. Basedon this, the experts have predicted that thehydrogen demand could increase five-fold by2050, with use in the industry sector being themajor driver. In power, hydrogen could be acost-effective way of providing inter-seasonalstorage in a highly variable renewable electrici-ty system from 2040. Scaling up the use ofdomestically produced hydrogen can signifi-cantly reduce energy imports.

Hydrogen development is at its nascentstage and there’s a lot of uncertainty surround-ing its safety. Therefore, it’s imperative tounderstand the legal and regulatory require-ments, investment cases, financing structures,operational requirements, revenue stream,sharing and other elements that need to beconsidered to formulate an effective acceptablecommercialisation model. A gradual transitionwith adequate policy and safety standards willhelp build confidence among stakeholders andprovide a conducive environment for aHydrogen based economy. To accelerate theadoption of hydrogen technologies in India, astep-change in government policy and businessactions is required.

��Forming a blueprint and administering the

implementation of robust strategies to elimi-nate the challenges of climate change, is becom-ing imperative for a developing country likeours. The emphasis should switch from “what’swrong” to “how to make it right with immedi-ate effect.” With India planning to take a steptowards a green hydrogen economy, settingother initiatives in motion along with climatepanels hosting summits and creating awarenesswill lead to a better tomorrow. Climate changemight be obstructing our path to a liveabletomorrow, but there are still amends we canmake as a community and lessen the blow. Allwe need is the determination to make things

better and the realisation of the fact that,Richard Branson (Entrepreneur, Adventurerand Environmentalist), put forth: ‘There isno planet B. We have to take care of theone we have.’

The writer is The Summit Chair;Chairman Environment Committee,

PHDCCI; Managing Director, GeenstatHydrogen India Pvt Ltd, a distinguished

Scientist and a speaker at the‘International Climate Summit 2021’

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CLIMATE CHANGE: OBSTRUCTING THEPATH TO A LIVEABLE TOMORROW?

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Krishna Janmashtami is being celebrated for the sec-ond year in succession under the threat of Corona.To make things worse the possibility of a third wave

still haunts us. The birthday celebrations of Lord Krishna,then, is again going to be a low-key affair. Same Precautions,and same Corona protocols need to be observed. But shouldthat dampen our spirits? Remember Lord Krishna’s centralmessage to Arjuna. Fight the battle. Pandava Prince was ina dilemma, reluctant to pick up his bow and arrow. LordKrishna then chose to recite the Gita to arouse the fightingspirit of the Kshatriya Prince. The message was clear. Fight,not flight. Life is a Kurukshetra where you face challengesin the form of Kauravas. The pandemic also is like a battleof Kurukshetra for the entire humanity. A battle that mustbe fought. The initial response to avoid and escape took aheavy toll while we tried to live with one shut down afteranother. Doubts and depression got the better of us. But wenow realise that wishing coronavirus away was not the beststrategy. It is time to brace for the fight. With all our resourcesand all our might. This is the lesson that Lord Krishna deliv-ered to Arjuna who was in complete distress seeing the famedwarriors of the enemy camp. Let us recapitulate the lessonsof Gita. In this war of attrition, we all are like Arjuna, fullof doubts and anxieties. Let us take clues from the eternalwisdom and prepare to take the battle to the enemy’s camp.We need to muster courage, sharpen our wit and garner ourresources to fight the Corona. That is what Lord Krishnaexhorted. Gita offers the most practical lessons for facing life.Life is full of challenges and we can face those only with thegrace of God. But to get that we must believe in him andhave full faith. Initially, Arjun was in doubt and this madehim avoid the fight. The Gita lesson begins from this. Lordtries to enlighten him that running away is not the answer.Doubts make people shy away from challenges but they arenot aware that by not fighting you are losing the battle evenbefore it has begun. So, fight you must, not thinking of theoutcome that is not in your hands. During the pandemic wesaw many people give up the fight even before it started. Theoutcome was disastrous. Lord Krishna says do your karmaand dedicate it to Me. The rest will be taken care by Him.Thinking of the outcome weakens the resolve. We need tofight and leave the result to the Lord. But we must under-stand that Lord Krishna has never said that fight withoutpreparation. This is the misconception that many nurse. Beingbrave doesn’t mean throwing caution to the winds. That isfoolhardiness. Fighting with full preparedness is needed. Thisis what we must do while facing the challenge of Corona.Many thought that following Corona protocol was a sign ofweakness. Certainly not. Bravery is making full use of yourarsenals and face the attacks of the enemy. It is an objectiveassessment of the challenge. Focus on the strengths but don’tlet the weaknesses come in the way. All battles are strategicchallenges to be met with grit and wit. The battle againstCorona is no different. Let us revisit the Gita and face thethreat that Corona has posed.

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Lord Krishna states in the Gita thatthis world appears upside downto a casual onlooker. (15.1-4)

What it means is that this world isillusury, that is what attracts us is notgood for us, and what repels is bene-ficial for us. A few examples will clar-ify. Let us take food items. To what arewe attracted? The answer is: what istasty, which may not necessarily benutritious. And we stuff ourselveswith such food articles and evenbecome obese. What do we wish to see?What titillates and even scares us. Suchprogrammes have the highest viewer-ship. Even children are guilty ofindulging in such pleasures. What dowe wish to hear and talk about most?Gossip is the most common pastimefor many. I can go on but the messageis quite clear. We suffer from illusionin a big way.

Obviously, we are forever makingmistakes, big ones, and suffer greatlyas a result. What will you say to a per-son glorifying drinking, even produc-ing so-called scientific evidence to sup-port what he indulges in withoutrestraint. This lusty behaviour is notlimited to only drinking but extends toeating harmful foods, watching con-sciousness lowering programmers,engaging in illicit affairs, etc. It is nowonder that Lord Krishna has repeat-edly warned us in the Gita about thisvery dangerous enemy — lust. In theverse no. 16.21, He specifically men-tions that lust is a door to hell; it caus-es ruination of the soul.

Anger is a close second. In theverses 2.62 and 63, the Lord states,“Due to non-fulfillment of lust, angerresults; from anger foolishness (closedmind) results; from foolishness bewil-derment (inability to take right discus-sion based upon experience) results;from bewilderment loss of intelli-gence occurs; and by the loss of intel-ligence a person is doomed. In spite ofsuch clear warning, we get angry anddo not even try to restrain ourselves.

The third door to hell is greed. Thisenemy in limitless. Even very wealthypersons fall prey to this weakness andeven end up in jail. Haven’t we beentold that need is limited only but greedhas no limits.

What are we seeing these days ina highly developed Western country?The country is divided in two due tohate being fanned for political rea-sons. And what does such hate do?The hatemongers may end up indemonic species. (16.19) Yes, it is eas-ier to unite the masses by hate thanby love, but why don’t we see the con-sequences of such attempts. All theseby themselves are horrible, but whenwe are smitten by ahamkar (ego) weleave ourselves no chances of redemp-tion. On top of it, we, small souls,

consider ourselves big. What canexplain endless thinking on any mat-ter? Why don’t we seek help, whichis available. Others don’t see our prob-lems the same way as we do; they arelikely to be more objective aboutthem.

But the real solution is in takingshelter of God. Because this illusion(maya) of seeing the world upsidedown is very difficult to overcome.(7.14) But it is not impossible to pro-tect ourselves from being hopelesslyillusioned. God can help. Those whotake His shelter are able to transcendthis maya. (7.12) Wise persons, there-fore, take shelter of God, and are ableto transcend this maya.

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Krishna was born on theeight day (Ashtami) of theKrishna Paksha (dark fort-night) in Shravana orBhadrapada, which over-

laps with August or September of theGregorian calendar. Krishna enteredthis world as Paramatma.

The planetary system was automat-ically readjusted so that everythingbecame auspicious. Rivers, lakes trees,and nature, everything was extremelypleasant. To welcome the supreme per-sonality of Godhead, the waning moonbecame full moon in jubilation. Therewas celebration everywhere.

The asuras or people having asuramentality think of the lord as a com-mon man who was born and who died,but it would be ignorance to think so.Firstly, the lord was not afraid to beborn in the prison of Kamsa. Second,although the lord is all-pervading, hehad appeared from the womb ofDevaki. Third, he was born with allgems well decorated. Fourth, Vasudeva’sworshipable deity was born as his son.In this transcendental jubilation,Vasudeva mentally collected ten thou-sand cows and distributed themamongst the brahmanas as a transcen-dental festival

Krishna was born in the jail ofMathura. There was complete terrorand chaos during his birth. He wasappearing as the son of Devaki andVasudeva to fulfil their desire. The Lordthen decided to leave the residence ofVasudeva and Devaki, in the prisonhouse of Kamsa. Yogmaya, took birthas the daughter of Yashoda. By hergrace, the guards fell asleep, the prisondoors flung open and Vasudeva wasable to leave the prison house and savethe child from the hands of Kamsa.

In those time, Kamsa’s atrocitieshad crossed all limits. Because ofKamsa’s disturbances, the vedic ritual-istic ceremonies had almost stopped.But on occasion of the lords birth theBrahmanas were very happy andpleased to perform their rituals withpeaceful minds.

When Lord is all powerful thenwhy do bad practices still exist in thisworld? Why are wrong doers not pun-ished immediately? Many such ques-tions comes in our mind. “Why do badthings happen to good people?” Toanswer all this, let us go to the dungeonof Kamsa where he had incarceratedDevaki and Vasudeva under the mostatrocious conditions.

Their marriage was such a joyousoccasion until that ominous voicefrom the sky announced that theeighth child of Devaki would be thecause of Kamsa’s death. Heaven dramat-ically changed to Hell! Kamsa had hissword at Devaki’s throat but Vasudevaintervened with the assurance thatevery child of Devaki would be hand-ed over to him, unconditionally. Kamsa

relented. When Vasudeva faithfully pre-sented his first son, Kirtiman, to Kamsathe tyrant king returned the infant say-ing that he was mainly concerned aboutthe eighth child.

All was well on the home front, tillthe sage Narada planted the seed of mis-trust in Kamsa’s heart by warning himnot to trust that hidden heavenly voicebecause any child of Devaki could behis killer. The enraged tyrant lost alltraces of reason and consideration. He

ordered his soldiers to arrest Devakiand Vasudeva and brutally murderedtheir first born innocent child.

Devaki and her husband remainedcompletely undaunted. They had everyreason to default. Instead, withunshakeable faith and determinationthey decided to perform their sacredduty of producing more offspringunder the most harrowing conditionsof Kamsa’s dungeon.

People seldom talk about the

untold miseries of pregnant women. Itis not uncommon to suffer from preand postnatal depression. Who couldever imagine Devaki’s horrific anxiety,moment by moment, as she advancedin each of her pregnancies. She dread-ed that moment when her demoniacbrother would come and dash her newborn helpless son to death on the dun-geon walls. Kamsa paid no heed to herpleading nor could Vasudeva’s interven-tion prevail upon him.

Contrary to all expectations, thisdivine couple never complained.Neither did they question God norblame Him for their deplorable predica-ment. Vasudeva stood by Devaki’s sidelike a pillar of fortitude, constantlyenkindling hope within her heartwhilst reminding her of their uncon-ditional commitment to the will ofdivine Providence.

Devaki conceived for the seventhtime — it was Sankarshan (anothername of Balarama). However, onenight, Devaki was shocked to noticethat there was no embryo in herwomb. Kamsa thought it was a miscar-riage. But, in reality, Krishna hadarranged (through His all powerful‘yogamaya shakti’) for Sankarshan to bemysteriously transferred to Rohini’swomb. It was indeed a transcendentalmiscarriage. So far, Vasudeva andDevaki’s marital track record looked likea tragedy — six sons slaughtered byKamsa and a seventh miscarriage. Theodds were overwhelming but thisstaunch couple did not permit fear orsuperstition to get the better of them.Their hearts were sold out to that pre-cious eighth child who must be born,and conceive they did.

On the eighth night of the wan-ing moon, a son appeared at mid-night. It was Krishna, who was fullyattired and ornamented and moreeffulgent than innumerable suns.Devaki’s and Vasudeva’s joy knew nobounds!

Then came another severe test!Krishna desired to be taken to

Gokula and exchangedwith the daughter of

Nanda and Yashoda.His heart torn withgrief, Vasudeva exe-cuted that instruc-tion, too, withouthesitation or delay.

Also to clearsome pending

Karmas of past birthand to nullify them in

the current birth, ahuman being goes through

the so-called ups and downsof life. If one surrenders to Lord

Krishna, one will experience the easeof going through the testing time andin this way, they will pay back theirbad karma and come out of the badsituations of their life. In conclusion,when bad things happen to good peo-ple they clear their pending past birthkarma and also it brings out the bestin them so that wonders happen

Let us pause for a moment andponder upon the selfless sacrifice andsurrender of that incomparable cou-ple, Vasudeva and Devaki, on thismost auspicious occasion of ShriKrishna Janmashtami.

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The Covid-19 pandemic hasbecome an opportunity inadversity for online busi-

nesses. Multiple new onlinestart-ups have mushroomedduring this critical time. Same istrue of online relationships.People have found their soul-mates through different onlinedating apps. However, in thesetwo new ventures of love andwork, it’s not easy to manage theaffairs simultaneously. Bothbeing online, there is no limit onworking hours. Balancing thesetwo could be overwhelming.Here are few tips to sail thesetwo boats:� Establish boundaries: Withtime being the limiting con-straint, you need to set bound-aries in a manner that youronline work hours do not clashwith your online relationship. Itis well established statisticallynow that an online love relation-ship might fall prey to obliviongradually if one doesn’t practicebasic tenets of a real physicalrelationship in order to spice upthe virtual relationship. Same isnot true of a business relation-ship in modern virtual world.Both require commitment.Allowing an overlap on a regularbasis would neither be good foreither of them.� Set clear goals: Every rela-tionship that is meant to lastmust have a foundation that canweather all storms and yet flour-ish. Same is true of an onlinebusiness as also an online loverelation. For committing tothem you need to have a clear

objective. Just as the former’sgrowth is measured by growingamount to the credit part of theBalance Sheet, the latter’s growthis measured by the amount oftrust and faith. Just as a clearvision empowers the idea ofgrowth in an online businessventure, the idea of meetingdefinitive goals to improve youronline love relationship empow-ers it. Both can’t be achievedunless there is a goal.� Don’t expect result soon:Every profit requires an invest-

ment. Nothing can be rated as asustained growth if it happensovernight. Even the richest ofthe Treasuries in world wouldend up emptying its coffers ifthere is no revenue generation.Just as you maintain patiencebefore yielding profits in a busi-ness, must you also maintainpatience in an online love rela-tion. Spice it up by texting, writ-ing letters, saying random ‘ILove You’s’, meet physically asoften as possible and showingcommitment. That is the best

one can do before giving therelationship time to yield results.It sure will turn out to be a for-midable one in time.� Set commitment levels forboth: All of us have prior com-mitments as we live in a society.With the world on digital plat-form unified by the Internet andbogged down by the Pandemic,this line of maintaining a bal-ance between commitments isfast becoming obliterated. Suchis the gravity of obliteration thatone may not even realise theactual cost one may pay eventu-ally! Do not keep wondering asto what hit you. For either of therelationship might be sacrificedat the alter of this obliteration.So, one must have commitmentlevels for both in a manner thatone’s commitment doesn’t costthe others’.� Take care of your health: Ifone were to wonder how keep-ing healthy will assist you in bal-ancing your online work withonline romance then pause andponder — doesn’t the sameprinciple apply when you areconducting your work physicallyand also living together physi-cally? If you are to respond inaffirmative, then you mustappreciate that same principleapplies to the e-world. Well, youneglect your health and you willnot be good for either an onlinebusiness or an online love rela-tionship. Please know that yourrelationships are only as good asis your health.

The writer is a life coach andmotivational speaker

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China is in Taliban’sAfghanistan. President Xi

Jinping is all out to make a dealwith the mullahs. And it seemsChina is rejoicing the exit of theAmerican and its allied forcesfrom the Afghan soil. ForChina, it is a new ground toadvance a unique model of for-eign relations backed by crudeeconomic interests with theIslamists in Kabul. But inBeijing’s objectives, there is noagenda to help bring back nor-malcy in Afghanistan whereinwomen, minorities and othervulnerable groups face threat tosurvival. It is clear that China’sgoal in Afghanistan is its eco-nomic exploitation.

Now, the US withdrawalmay mean many things. One,by moving away from one ofthe costliest wars, Americawill be able to focus on India-Pacific and most particularlyon China’s growing aggressionand expansion. Second, it hasindirectly emboldened theTaliban, the FrankensteinAmerica once created to takeon its cold war arch rival andlater fought with them fierce-ly to uproot the shelter of anti-US terror forces after 9/11.Third, the gap left by the UScan be a new and ready groundto be filled by the Communistsin Beijing. China under Xihas been desperately waitingfor such opportunity, both todisplay their new world lead-ership and crude diplomacy.

However, the moot point iswhat China is expecting fromwar-ravaged Afghanistan.Truly speaking, it is really dif-ficult to know how Chineseleaders are evaluating the fast-changing situation in this dead-ly country replete with rivaltribal warlords and splinterterror groups from all aroundthe world. Interestingly, thetribal warlords still hold swayover their redoubts. And all arewaiting for their turn to come.The aim is to create more warfields and keep their frustrat-ed cadre engaged.

Sources say that Chinaaims to grab nearly $1 trillionworth value of mineral reservesstill lying untapped acrossAfghanistan. It has been clear-ly outlined by a former colonelof the People’s Liberation Army,named Zhou Bo, in an articlepublished in the New YorkTimes last weekend. He wrote:“With the US withdrawal,

Beijing can offer what Kabulneeds most: political impar-tiality and economic invest-ment. Afghanistan in turn haswhat China most prizes:opportunities in infrastructureand industry building, areas inwhich China’s capabilities areunmatched and access to $1trillion in untapped mineraldeposits.”

What a wonderful propo-sition to a deadly Islamic hard-liner leadership that does nottrust anyone, except probablythe Pakistan Army and itsintelligence. Xi and otherChinese decision-makers prob-ably need to give it a secondthought after analysing overtwo decades of America’sabortive trial and error meth-ods to bring peace inAfghanistan.

It seems Beijing expects theTaliban will allow an inclusivegovernment in Kabul for elu-sive peace to come and stay. Itdesires that the Taliban willform an inclusive governmentwith the rival warlords, byallowing a basic minimumlevel of rights for women andminorities in the country.Besides, China claims that itwants the Islamists to keep incheck all the terror groupsthat target the US, China, Indiaand any other nation. These areall lofty dreams Beijing is float-ing to grab the economicopportunities in Afghanistan.But this would not be an easygame as it thinks. In fact, fourdecades of war in that country,really made any economic ven-ture impossible for the nativesas well as for outsiders. First thewar started with the SovietArmy, the feuds between thetribal chiefs and finally thelongest war was launched bythe America and its allies in2001 till date. All these conflictshave absolutely drained out thepatience of the commonAfghans who are now fullyaware what is going to follow.

Kabul and Beijing are nowpartners in trouble. This weekboth the countries have estab-lished their first diplomaticcontacts, as described a by aChinese official as “unimped-ed and effective communica-tion”. However, this partnershipcan be troublesome looking atthe past events and record ofthe group.

The Taliban took overAfghanistan by ousting the

democratically electedGovernment of Ashraf Ghanion August 15. Ironically, theIslamists did not even wait forthe formal withdrawal ofAmerican forces from theircountry that was supposed tocome on August 31.

What then is the strengthof the Taliban? The strength ofthe Taliban is that they canregroup at any cost. The waythe group was devastated in2001, no one could imaginethat one fine day, these radicalswill strike back. And this time

it has done with both tact anddiplomacy. They have learntgood lessons from the pastdebacles.

Unfortunately, theAmericans have hardly learntanything from this chaos andthe war theatres from Iraq.Their big and powerful militaryhave drawn a blank in boththese countries. More particu-larly, their leadership has notshown maturity while dealingwith the Taliban. So there is alot for Washington to learnfrom the mess in Afghanistan.

The August 26 fidayeenattacks carried out by theIslamic State KhorasanProvince (ISKP) outside KabulAirport reflect a deadly com-bination of the Taliban and thedreaded ISIS in the country.One must not forget that whilesigning the peace deal in Dohain 2020, the Taliban committedto the US that the Afghan soilwill not be allowed to be usedby any other terror group. Butthen what the world has justwitnessed is simply the prolif-eration of those evil and radi-

cal networks under the verynose of the Taliban in Kabul.The ISKP after conducting theghastly attack aired that itsfidayeen singled out the “trans-lators and collaborators withthe American Army” in thefatal operation. It clearly showshow the anti-Americanvengeance runs deep downamong these Islamists.

However, experts say thatthe ISKP is an adversary of theTaliban, and they stand for dif-ferent teachings of strict Sunnibeliefs in their ideology. For

now, it seems the group is allout to oppose any alliancebetween the Taliban and theUS forces in Afghanistan. Theirrecord of unleashing carnage inthe past hints that any activeeconomic engagement by for-eign powers in the country mayinvite more trouble both forKabul and Beijing.

Can the world trust theTaliban? Of course not andshould not. The road ahead forwar-torn Afghanistan seemsbleak for now. Its people aresimply afraid of the past andcurrent brutalities demon-strated by the Taliban. Thelocals know them as fiercewar mongers who could doanything to grab power toestablish a brutal Islamist rule.

Beijing’s opportunism inAfghanistan will not take it fur-ther. It is better not to do busi-ness with the Taliban at least fornow unless the radicals showsome signals to respect inter-national law and order. ButBeijing too does not care forinternational laws if those arein conflict with its interest. It isabsolutely unlikely that Beijingwill be able to make any fruit-ful security commitment to thiswar-ravaged nation.

However, the early bird XiAdministration will be able tofurther diplomatic communi-cation with Kabul. For now, theTaliban leaders are desperate-ly looking for global recogni-tion and ties with as some vitalnations like the US, China, etc.Therefore, it is not an extra-ordinary development that thenew rulers in Afghanistan arelooking out for global engage-ments. Simply put, unlike thepast when they took over amidbloodbath in 1996, this timethe Taliban insurgents have dis-played a little restraint so far.The symbiotic expectationsmay have given Beijing arenewed hope for the eco-nomic exploitation ofAfghanistan.

(Dr Makhan Saikia hastaught political science andinternational relations for overa decade in institutions ofnational and internationalrepute after specialisation inglobalisation and governancefrom Tata Institute of SocialSciences, Mumbai. He is thechief editor of the Journal ofGlobal Studies, an internation-al research journal)

Afew days after the Talibantakeover of Afghanistan, a

convoy of militants drovethrough the city of Idlib innorthwestern Syria in carsbearing the group’s white-and-black flags, honking horns andfiring their guns in the air.

The celebrations by an al-Qaida affiliate in a remote cor-ner of war-torn Syria were anexpression of the triumph feltby radical Islamic groups fromthe Gaza Strip to Pakistan andWest Africa who see America’sviolence-marred exit fromAfghanistan an opportunityto reassert their presence.

For such groups, the chaot-ic US departure following thecollapse of security forces it hadtrained for two decades is a gift,underlining their message thatWashington eventually aban-dons its allies, and that defeat-ing powerful armies is possiblewith enough patience.

“The success of the Talibanopens the way for radicalgroups to step up their recruit-ment operations globally. It ismuch easier for them now, andthere is more receptivity,” saidHassan Abu Haniyeh, an experton Islamic militants based inAmman, Jordan.

Despite the billions of dol-lars spent by the US and NATOover nearly 20 years to build upAfghan security forces, theTaliban seized nearly all ofAfghanistan in just over a week

amid the US troop pullout. Thefundamentalist group sweptinto Kabul on August 15 afterthe Government collapsed andembattled President AshrafGhani fled the country.

Since then, tens of thou-sands of people desperate toescape a country governed bythe Taliban have been trying toflee or already have been evac-uated in a mammoth Westernairlift.

“The events unfolding inAfghanistan have given jehadigroups and US adversaries rea-son to celebrate, and America’sallies in the region reason tofeel anxious,” said AbuHaniyeh. “They now feel thatAmerica might drop them oneday, same as it did theGovernment of Ashraf Ghani.”

There are concerns thatAfghanistan will once againbecome a base for militants toplot against the West, much likethe September 11, 2001, attacksthat triggered the US invasion.

“This is the story that isgoing to impact and influencejehadi fighters around the globefor the next decade, the sameway as the victory over theSoviets in Afghanistan in the‘80s inspired the jehadis aroundthe world during the whole1990s and even afterwards,”said Elie Tenenbaum, directorof security studies centre at theFrench Institute ofInternational Relations.

In a twist, the Taliban vic-tory also boosted the fortunesof their rivals in Afghanistan —a local branch of the IslamicState network. On Thursday,the affiliate claimed responsi-bility for the suicide attackthat killed scores of people out-side Kabul’s airport, including13 US service members.

The Taliban now mustcontend with an emboldenedISIS, which is challenging theirrule with militants that are farmore radical. The group’s rankshave been bolstered after theTaliban freed prisoners duringan advance throughAfghanistan.

An editorial in the IslamicState group’s newsletter lastweek derided the Taliban,accusing them of collaboratingwith the US.

“America actually did it.They finally raised a ‘MullahBradley,” the editorial said,using a name it has coined forthe Taliban in an apparent ref-erence to the US fighting vehi-cle. The group also promised anew phase in its “blessed jehad”against the West.

Analysts say the Taliban’ssuccess and the US withdraw-al galvanises and gives a moti-vational boost to America’sadversaries and jehadi groupsaround the world.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah,the leader of Lebanon’s Shiamilitant group Hezbollah, said

in a speech on August 27 thatwhat is unfolding inAfghanistan “is a portrayal ofAmerica’s full defeat and the USdemise and failure in the

region.”In northern Syria, a state-

ment by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham,the al-Qaida affiliate there,said the Taliban victory proved

no occupation can last forever.The leader of the radicalPalestinian Islamic Hamasmovement, which rules theGaza Strip, congratulated the

Taliban’s leader on the “demiseof the US occupation.”

In Pakistan, the leader ofJ a i s h - e - M o h a m m a d ,Mohammad Azhur, used thegroup’s publication to cheer theTaliban victory, saying it willinspire mujahedeen, or holywarriors, “the world over tocontinue their struggle forIslam.” The group’s fighterstook credit for the 2019 attackin Kashmir that killed 40Indian soldiers and brought thenuclear-armed neighbours tothe brink of war.

Amir Rana, executivedirector of the Islamabad-basedPakistan Institute of PeaceStudies, said the events inAfghanistan could inspirehard-line Sunni groups who arewaging sectarian battles againstShia. The anti-Shia groupsLashkar-e-Janghvi and Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan have cham-pioned the Taliban victory,raising fears they could restarttheir deadly activities.

Heni Nsaibia, a seniorSahel researcher at the ArmedConflict Location & EventData Project, said the Talibantakeover would be a motiva-tional boost for extremists inWest Africa, showing thatpatience and perseverance canpay off.

The biggest danger, accord-ing to the analysts, is in unsta-ble countries with a weakCentral Government and a

history of insurgency, such asIraq, Syria, Yemen and Libya.

There are echoes of 2014,when the ISIS group sprangfrom the chaos of conflicts inIraq and Syria, seized a giantstretch of territory straddlingboth countries, and declared a“caliphate” after US-trainedIraqi forces collapsed. Terroristattacks in Europe and beyondfollowed before ISIS was defeat-ed in 2017, but attempts toregroup have been seen in thepast two years, with newattacks in Iraq and Syria.

A report to the UNSecurity Council last week saidthe threat to international secu-rity from the ISIS is rising,pointing to an “alarming”expansion of its affiliates inAfrica and its focus on a come-back in Syria and Iraq.

The report said ISIS andother terrorist groups havetaken advantage of “the dis-ruption, grievances and devel-opment setbacks” caused by theCovid-19 pandemic.

Abu Haniyeh, the analystin Amman, said the perceiveddefeat of US forces inAfghanistan by a radical groupis reverberating among frus-trated individuals around theworld and will have wide-spread ramifications in thecoming years.

“It gives hope for extrem-ist groups the world over,” hesaid. AP

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The ‘Power of Knowing’ facilitatedby our mind enabled us to exploreand deliberate upon various

dimensions of the world process thus far.In fact, nothing moves in human lifewithout mind coming into play. Alldoings on our part originate in mind andare processed there itself before being putinto action. How we engage with theworld, or the way we react or respond toexternal stimuli, is directed by the mind.It is again our mind, which carries for-ward the Karmic imprints from one lifeto another, and which sets the terms ofone’s unique character. Accordingly, minddefines the functional mandate of a beingand then steers through the journey oflife. Such an important functional organ-ism of a being, in fact, the prime moverof every being in practical terms, deservesdue attention.

The way human beings perceive, ishow they act upon, react or respond inlife. With what consequences — fruitfulor frustrating — depends on how unitarymind is inherently framed. Mind keeps abaggage full of good and bad thoughtimprints that that set the terms of how weusually conduct in life. The one who isable to make use of one’s potential suc-

ceeds well in life. Those, who get caughtup by the negative tendencies meet withfailure and frustration. Ordinarily, mindkeeps wandering with varied thoughts,something like a monkey, unmindfullyjumping from one branch of a tree to theother. Mind keeps breeding thoughtsevery moment and continues flirting withthem. Coming as it may with freedom ofmaking choices, the probability of mindpicking up right or wrong lead remainsequal, and with obvious consequences.

To overcome the vulnerability,human mind is armed with discriminato-ry ability to analyse, evaluate and thenmake right choices. But discriminatoryfaculty doesn’t come into play involuntar-ily. It needs to be consciously invoked andapplied, which remains the prerogative ofahamkara, another faculty of mind,which is supposed to take the call. Often,ahamkara identifies itself with the inher-ent tendencies of mind, and assumes thatit would be its end game. Also, it getsdrawn towards tempting influence of theseeming world and sets it as its dreamdestination. In both cases, taking thingson face value, it ignores invoking dis-criminatory faculty for due diligence, andwith obvious consequences. Human

mind, therefore, turns out to be a doubleedged weapon. It can either lead you tosuccess or could prove a trickster thatmay put you through pains and suffer-ings. That makes it incumbent upon us towatch our mind, identify and acknowl-edge our limitations, and address themsooner than later. The inherent potentialwill them bloom out in full unhindered,and naturally to your advantage.

The other day someone preparing forcompetitive examination, keen to figureout his prospects consulted me.Analysing the chart, it came out that hehad the potential to successfully compete.A luminary Moon, free from any afflic-tion, over the head implied that he couldsucceed well and come in public glare. Allthe more because the Sun was beautifullyaligned to intellectually ordained Uranus,which meant that he was brilliant, armedwith inventive and innovative abilities.Jupiter, well aligned with Mercury, fur-ther spoke of his high intelligence, goodcommon-sensical judgment, and a goodcommunicative ability. All put together,qualifies him to make it big in life, pro-vided he could overcome his inherentweaknesses, that were no less.

The Sun placed in Virgo sign, identi-

fied with distribution of energies drawnout of food intake to various functionalorgans opposite Saturn. It, in the firstplace, implies that his confidence levelwould be low. Second, has low immunity,which makes him prone to frequenthealth issues, particularly improper diges-tion, leading to excessive air humor in thesystem. That would not allow him to putin his whole, nor would he be focused tohis studies. Third, he carries a sense ofinertia, putting off tasks in hand to laterdates. Saturn conjunct Ketu, implies thathe is an escapist, who may not take chal-lenges head on, nor would acknowledgetruth on its first appearance. Mars oppo-site Uranus makes him temperamental.Venus placed adverse to the Sun andSaturn, makes him too much touchy andsensitive who may get overexercised evenon trivial issues. In the process, his priori-ty preference may get compromised.Also, his work spirit will be low.

I wish, he addressed his infirmitiesfollowing the methods suggested, and Iam sure, he will come out with his best.

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