'Dynasty kills democracy' - Daily Pioneer

INDIA REJECTS PAKREFERENCES TO J&KNew Delhi: India on Wednesdayfirmly rejected the references toJammu and Kashmir and aneconomic corridor passingthrough PoK made in a China-Pakistan joint statement,asserting that the region as wellas the Union Territory of Ladakh“have been, are and will” alwaysremain integral and inalienableparts of India.

PAK'S SENIOR MINSWADE INTO HIJAB ROWIslamabad: Pakistan's seniorMinisters waded into theongoing hijab row in Karnataka,with Foreign Minister ShahMahmood Qureshi onWednesday saying thatdepriving Muslim girls ofeducation is a grave violation offundamental human rights.

INDIA BEAT WESTINDIES BY 44 RUNS Ahmedabad: India defeatedWest Indies by 44 runs in thesecond ODI to take anunassailable 2-0 lead in thethree-match series here onWednesday. Invited to bat, Indiaposted 237 for nine and thenreturned to dismiss the WestIndies for 193 in 46 overs.

CAPSULE

PNS n NEW DELHI

On the eve of the first phaseof Uttar Pradesh (UP)

Assembly elections, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onWednesday slammed "familydynasties" and lashed out at theSamajwadi Party (SP) for "per-petuating family rule" in theState and asserted that the BJPwill again triumph in UP.

In a televised interview toANI, Prime Minister Modisaid the BJP has changed "theold theory of ek baar aao ekbaar jao" and through its workcreated "pro-incumbency" inwhichever State it ruled. Heclaimed that the BJP will winin all five poll-bound States.

Hitting-out at dynasties inthe country be it in "Punjab,Haryana, UP, Jharkhand, TamilNadu", the Prime Minister said"It did not allow new talent toflow into politics and posed thebiggest danger to democracyand is its biggest enemy."

Taking on the SP-RLDalliance led by Akhilesh Yadavand Jayant Chaudhary, the PMsaid the BJP had trounced the"two boys" in the last Assemblypolls too.

"Do Ladkon wala khel palebhi dekha tha.. ", he announcedsaying "itna ahankar tha,Gujarat ke do gadhe kahatha...", Modi said and went onto say that "janta ne sabaksikhaya jab bua bhi thi.. ", a ref-erence to BSP leader Mayawati.

Modi went hammer andtong at the SP saying, "SP kaSamajwadi Puri Tarah pari-varvad hain" and sought toknow whether socialists RamManohar Lohia, GeorgeFernandes or Nitish Kumarhad a "parivar."

He said 45 members of thefamily (Mulayam and AkhileshYadav) are in prominence inthe SP and said he was told thatall in the age group of 25 arecontesting elections.

"Such parivarvad is dan-gerous to democracy ..there isno dynamics only dynasty",Modi said. "Beta kaisa bhi ho,adhyaksh ladka hi banega.. ", hesaid. He also pointed outdynasty rule in Jammu andKashmir.

Asked about BJP too hav-ing family members in politics,

Modi said in the BJP just a fewpeople (from family) go topolitics but elsewhere "dynastyrains."

Modi said for a larger partof the period sinceIndependence the Congressruled the country and set it onthe destructive path that hisparty will not allow for a longtime to come.

Asked since he is givencredit for the poll victory,does he also take responsibil-ity for defeats, Modi repliedsaying, "The BJP has seenmany defeats...we learn fromevery election.. each election isa new university...it is our edu-cational field."

Modi heaped praise onUP CM Yogi Adityanath say-ing the SP is also wanting totake credit for his work in theState.

He refuted that Centralagencies are acting in a vin-dictive manner saying "coun-try is getting money by attack-ing corruption...".

Taking a jibe at Congressleader Rahul Gandhi over his

criticism of the Government inParliament, Modi onWednesday said he cannotreply to a "person who does notlisten and does not sit in theHouse".

On Rahul Gandhi's ques-tions on unemployment andthe India-China issue, Modisaid, "I have given facts onevery subject and spoken onevery subject on the basis offacts. On some subjects, ourExternal Affairs Ministry andDefence Ministry have givendetailed answers and wherev-er it was necessary, I had alsospoken. How do I reply to aperson who does not listen,and does not sit in the House?"

Modi said hisGovernment believes in dia-logue and does not attack any-one.

"We don't attack anyone,instead we believe in holdingdialogue. At times, there aredebates (vaad-vivaad), inter-ruptions (toka-taki) (inParliament), I welcome thisand that is why I don't have anyreason to be miffed (on thesesubjects)," Modi said.

In his first comment onLakhimpur Kheri violence,Modi said the UP Governmentwas working in a transparentmanner and gave its consentfor whatever committeeSupreme Court wanted toform.

On Rahul Gandhi'sremarks that he didn't need acertificate for his great grand-father from anyone and thePM is scared of the Congress,

Modi said, "I did not speakagainst anyone's father/grand-father. I said what a former PMhad said, it's the right of thenation (to know). They say wedon't mention Nehru Ji. If wedo, then also there's a problem.I don't understand this fear."

The PM said he believedin the mantra of Unity inDiversity and refuted the alle-gation that the BJP didn'trespect regional aspirations.

"We believe that for acountry's progress, we have toaddress regional aspirations. Iwas a CM too and understoodthe States' aspirations. Earlier,leaders coming to India used tovisit only Delhi, I took them todifferent States," the PM said.

Explaining further, the PMsaid, "We believe in unity indiversity. But some leaders fol-lowed the divide and rule pol-icy. We identified over 100aspirational districts in thecountry. Today, some of thesedistricts have even crossed thenational average in many para-meters. This is a way to addressregional aspirations."

PM: It doesnot allow newtalent to flowinto politics

PNS n NEW DELHI

The BJP government inMadhya Pradesh saidon Wednesday that it

is not considering a pro-posal to ban the wearing ofthe hijab, or headscarf, ineducational institutions inthe state. "There is no con-troversy over (the wearingof ) hijab in MadhyaPradesh. No proposal isunder consideration by thestate government regardinga ban," Home MinisterNarottam Mishra said."There should be no con-fusion in this regard," hetold media persons inBhopal.

The statement comesamid protests in Karnataka,where right-wing groupshave targeting Muslim girlsover their right to wear ahijab in classrooms. Askedto comment, the ministersaid he would not discuss

matters of another stateand that the KarnatakaHigh Court is hearing argu-ments.

Mishra's statement alsocomes a day after his cabi-net colleague, SchoolEducation Minister InderSingh Parmar, appeared tosupport the anti-hijab pro-testers and argued that itshould be banned. Parmarclaimed today that his state-ment had been "wronglyinterpreted".

"Some people wronglyinterpreted my remarks...We are not going to imple-ment a new uniform code.Present arrangement inschools regarding uniformswill continue," he said.However (and ominously),the minister also said: "Ifthis (the wearing of hijab)happens then it (the ban)will be brought in here also.We will take action accord-ingly."

VIRENDRA NATH BHATT nLUCKNOW

Uttar Pradesh (UP) will seethe first phase of polling for

568 seats in the Jat-dominatedbelt of Western UP onThursday. The BJP has sweptthese seats in 2017, but this timearound the Samajwadi Party(SP) hopes to stage a comebackdue to its alliance with theRashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).

As many as 623 candi-dates, including 73 women,are in the fray in the firstphase of polling which will alsodecide the fate of nineMinisters in the YogiAdityanath Government.

The Election Commission(EC) has made elaboratearrangements for the free, fair,and peaceful conduct of thefirst phase of the UP Assemblyelections on Thursday.

The poll panel has alsomade arrangements for ensur-ing compliance with Covidprotocols. Thermal scanners,hand sanitisers, face masks, faceshields, PPE kits have beenmade available at each pollingstation. Central paramilitaryforces will be deployed at eachpolling station and centralforces will also guard the strongroom where the EVMs will be

stored after polling.UP Chief Electoral Officer

(CEO) Ajay Shukla said hereon Wednesday that in the firstphase of elections, 2.28 crorepeople are eligible to vote,which includes 1.24 crore men,1.04 crore women and 1,448voters from the third gender.For the first phase of polling26,027 polling stations and10,853 polling booths havebeen set up. Due to Covid thenumber of voters at eachpolling booth has beenrestricted to 1,250. The EC hasalso directed the districtreturning officers to providethe facility of drinking water,toilets and ramp at eachpolling station.

Polling for the 58 seatsspread in 11 districts will beheld between 7 am and 6 pmon Thursday. Of the 58 seatsnine are reserved. The districts

where the polling will be heldare Shamli, Hapur, GautamBuddh Nagar, Muzaffarnagar,Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad,Bulandshahr, Aligarh,Mathura and Agra.

The CEO said besides theElection Photo Identity Card(EPIC) issued by the EC manyother identity papers have beenapproved by the commission.These include the Aadhaarcard, the MNREGA job card,passbook with photo issued bythe banks and post office,health insurance smart cardissued by the Union Ministryof Labour, driving licence,PAN card, Indian passport,pension papers with photoand identity card issued to theemployees by the Central andState Governments and PSUsand public limited companiesand the identity cards issued toMLAs, MLCs and MPs.

Western UP to chooseits leaders today

PNS n NEW DELHI

In a shocking revelation,the Government on

Wednesday disclosed that25,000 people committed sui-cide due to bankruptcy,indebtedness and unemploy-ment between 2018 and 2020in the country. The HomeMinistry informed the RajyaSabha that over 16,000 peoplecommitted suicide due tobankruptcy or indebtednesswhile 9,140 people endedtheir lives due to unemploy-

ment between 2018 and 2020.The Minister of State for

Home Nityanand Rai said5,213 people committed sui-cide due to bankruptcy orindebtedness in 2020, while5,908 died by their own handin 2019 and 4,970 in 2018.

A total of 3,548 peoplecommitted suicide due tojoblessness in 2020, while2,851 killed themselves due tounemployment in 2019 and2,741 ended their lives in2018, he said replying to awritten question.

‘Joblessness, financialdistress drove 25 Kpeople to suicide’

K’taka hijab row:Case referred tolarger Bench

PTI n BENGALURU

The single judge of theKarnataka High Court

hearing the case related to theHijab ban in school-collegecampuses referred the matter toChief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthion Wednesday with a view thathe may decide on constitutinga larger Bench to look into it.

Justice Krishna S Dixitwho was hearing since Tuesdaya batch of petitions againstHijab ban in classrooms filedby Muslim students fromUdupi district, maintained thatthese matters give rise to cer-tain constitutional questions of

seminal importance in view ofcertain aspects of personal law.

“In view of the enormity ofquestions of importance whichwere debated, the court is of theconsidered opinion that theChief Justice should decide if alarger bench can be constitutedin the subject matter,” JusticeDixit said.

New Delhi: Omicron wavemay be subsiding world over,but the World HealthOrganization (WHO) haswarned the nations not to lettheir guard down as the nextCovid-19 variant will be moretransmissible, and perhaps,more deadly than its predeces-sors.

The WHO warning comesin the backdrop of declininginfections in India, below onelakh for the last over a week,where various states havestarted opening up the eco-nomic and social activities.India reported 71,365 newCovid-19 cases in the last 24hours ending at 8 am onWednesday, taking the coun-try's active caseload to8,92,828.

WHO epidemiologist andtechnical lead on Covid-19 DrMaria Van Kerkhove stressedthat the pandemic is far fromover and future variants will bein some way more virulentthan Omicron is now.

Next Covid variantwill be moretransmissible,deadly: WHO

‘Dynasty kills democracy’First phase ofAssembly polls to sealfate of 623 hopefuls

Deaths tookplace between2018-20, HomeMinistry tells RS

Polling officials at an election material distribution centre, a day before the UttarPradesh Assembly elections, in Noida, on Wednesday PTI

MP governmenttakes ‘U’ turn,no ban on hijab

Justice Dixit was hearingbatch of petitions againstHijab ban in classroomsfiled by Muslim students

Aliah University Muslim Students'Federation activists holding a bannerraise slogans, during a protest rallyover the ‘hijab' controversy inKarnataka, in Kolkata, on Wednesday

PTI

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Late City Vol.19 Issue 39*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Published FromDELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL BHUBANESWAR

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Established 1864RNI No. MPENG/2004/13703, REGD. No. L-2/BPLON/41/2006-2008

BHOPAL, THURSDAY FEBRUARY 10, 2022; PAGES 12 `1.50

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COVID IN MADHYA PRADESH

Cities Fresh Cases Total casesBhopal 574 167549Indore 365 205347Gwalior 51 65292

capital 02

Printed and published by Syed Naved Alam on behalf of CMYK Printech Limited and Printed at "SHRI BALAJI PRINTERS" Plot No.137,138,139 Sector I Special Industrial Area Govindpura Bhopal - 462023, (M.P.) and published at 152 Saif Complex - 2nd Floor, M.P. Nagar, Zone 1, Bhopal-462011 (M.P), Telephone: 0755-2550977, Mob.: 09893130364.Executive Editor: Navin Upadhyay, RNI Regn. No. MPENG/2004/13703, Regd. No. L-2/BPLON/41/2006-2008, AIR SURCHARGE of Re. 1.00 East: Calcutta, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, North Leh West: Mumbai & Ahmedabad South: Bangalore & Chennai. Central : Khajuraho, Delhi Office: No. 6, Behind Gulab Bhawan, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110 002,Phone: 011-40110455, Communication Office: F-31, Sector 6, NOIDA, Gautam Budh Nagar-201301, U.P. Phone: 0120-4879800 & 4879900, Mumbai Office: Devendra Adhikari Mobile No.: 09867575933, 09892829259, Lucknow Office: 4th Floor, Sahara Shopping Centre, Faizabad Road, Lucknow 226 016. Telephones: 0522-2346443, 2346444, 2346445.

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STAFF REPORTER n BHOPAL

A30-year-old Pannabased youth commit-ted suicide by con-

suming pesticide atNavjeevan Colony underChhola Mandir police stationarea in the night on Monday;deceased was dejected aftergirl he wanted to marry wasmarried to someone else byfamily members.

From the youth policehave found rope, kerosene inhis bag. Preliminary policeinvestigation revealed thatthe youth wanted to marryhis brother's sister-in-law,but the family got the girlmarried to another youth. Hecommitted suicide by con-suming poison about 500meters away from her sister-in-law's house.

Police said that deceasedidentified as Vivek Rai a resi-dent of Panna, used to work ata wine shop in Chhatarpur.Vivek's brother Mukesh Raiworks as ticket booking agentin Navjeevan Colony. Vivekwanted to marry Mukesh's sis-ter-in-law is Priyanka. Thefamilies discussed but recent-ly Priyanka got married by herfamily in Sehore.

Dejected from the newsVivek went depressed andreached Bhopal from Panna ataround 10 pm on Mondaynight.

He had brought rope andkerosene to commit suicide inthe but used insecticide tocommit suicide near theDussehra ground.

Police said that identity ofVivek was established but noinformation was being receivedabout his family members tilllate night as the mobile thatwas found with Vivek had apattern lock. After hard effortsfor about two hours, the policecontacted Vivek's brotherMukesh Rai and informed himabout the incident.

Youth endslife byconsumingpesticide

A visitor feeds Australian ducks at the Boat Club, in Bhopal on Wednesday. Pioneer photo


Cyber Crime Bhopalnabbed a miscreant fromKanpur, Uttar Pradesh,

who used to dupe people in thename of providing cheque ofPM Awas Yojana; master mindwould train youths for fraud,said police.

The nabbed accusedPradeep Gautam was trackedin Kanpur and he revealedthat his uncle Dheeraj Ramrajused to train him and others inthe area to dupe victims.

The victims were targeted inthe name of providing cheque ofRs 3.5 lakh by collecting docu-ments Aadhar, identity card,bank documents and Rs 2100.The victim was asked to trans-fer through Phone Pe(UPI).

A complaint was lodgedwith the Cyber cell by one of thevictim from Betul and in hiscompliant, he stated that hereceived a call and accusedposed as Praveen Pandey fromCM house. Based on his com-plaint police registered a caseunder section 419 and 507 of theIPC.

In the investigation accusedrevealed that the mobile numberused in Madhya Pradesh wereused by changing last four dig-its of the mobile number. Thevictim who would agree used totransfer Rs 2100 through UPImode.

During the investigationpolice have added 84 B and 84C of IT and started investigationto find number of aides and vic-tims targeted by the accused.

Man nabbed from Kanpurfor cheating several people


Miscreants targeteda house at IdgahHills and escaped

with gold weighing over350 gm and Rs 70000 cashon Tuesday; Shahjehanabadpolice have started investi-gation.

Police said that the vic-tim Vinod Wadhwani wasbusy in religious pro-gramme at his house in thenight on Tuesday duringwhich miscreants escapedwith valuables.

Victim lodged a com-plaint with Shahjehanabadpolice and in the com-plaint victim stated thathis daughter is scheduled toget married and was busywith the arrangements anda religious programme wasorganized at the house on

Tuesday at the lower floorof the house.

The miscreants target-ed house by entering fromthe terrace and enteredupper floor and escapedwith valuables.

The victim claimed thatgold and silver jewelry andcash were burgled. The vic-tim has claimed that thetotal loss in the burglary is

over Rs 8 lakh.Based on the complaint

after the preliminary inves-tigation the police have reg-istered a case of burglaryagainst unidentified mis-creants and have startedfurther investigation.

In the burglary the almi-rah which was having thevaluables was targeted andthe other valuables werenot disturbed. The lock ofthe almirah was found bro-ken and the cash and goldjewelry were found bur-gled.

Police suspects that mis-creants were aware regard-ing whereabouts of the fam-ily. The CCTV cameras ofthe area and nearby camerashave been checked and toestablish the identity of themiscreants has been startedas investigation is on.

Burglars flee with 350gm gold,Rs 70,000 from Idgah Hills

Burqa-clad college students play football in protest against the Hijab controversy in Karnataka and the statement of MP School Education Minister, at Indira GandhiPriyadarshini College in Bhopal on Wednesday. Pioneer photo


In the wake of the devel-oping coal crisis acrossmultiple industrial

hubs in India due to CoalIndia Limited's persistencein prioritizing coal suppliesto the power sector to thedetriment of the non-power sector, SanjayKumar Singh, NationalSecretary General, IndianNational Trade UnionCongress (INTUC) andPresident, ChhattisgarhINTUC has sent a letter tothe Hon'ble PrimeMinister, Coal Minister &Labour Minister,Government of India,Chairman & MD, CIL,the Chhattisgarh ChiefMinister, Labour Minister,Government ofChhattisgarh, President,State Congress Committeeand CMD, SECL.

The letter mentions thecrisis looming large overthe state's industries due tothe developing coal crisisgradually over the pastone year. The letter statesthat the coal produced bySECL is supplied to the

industries of Chhattisgarhas well as to the onesestablished outside thestate. Since the course ofpast one year, SECL isconsistently declining theshare of committed coalsupplies to the industriesin Chhattisgarh and haseventually increased theshare of coal supply out-side the state at the cost ofthe state's industries.Sanjay Singh stated in theletter that Chhattisgarhconstitutes around 18 percent of the national coalreserves which means that56 billion tonnes coal ispresent in the state. Morethan 250 industrial units inChhattisgarh are depen-dent on Captive PowerPlants for their smoothbusiness operations andrequire around 32 milliontonnes of coal annuallywhich is around 19 percent of total production ofSECL.

Presently SECL isunable to fulfill the coalrequirements of industriesin the state despite pro-ducing 165 million tonnesof coal annually.

Mismanagement in coal supplydevastating country’s industries

BHOPAL | THURSDAY | FEBRUARY 10, 2022


The shoot of a shortfilm Gham-e-Duraconcluded on

Wednesday in the city oflakes.

Short Film Gum-e-Dura, shot under the ban-ner of One Stage AheadProduction. The film hasbeen directed by filmdirector Vinayak Gupta.

The film is based onthe life of the writer. Thefilm depicts the struggle ofthe writer's life.

The film will featureartist Ankit Paroche fromVihaan Theater Groupand Yashvi Verma in leadroles. The story of thefilm is written byRakhshanada Betul andthe screen play is writtenby Vinayak.

During the shoot, fullcare of Kovid 19Precaution was taken.Keeping in mind the safe-ty of the crew, all the ruleswere followed. After visit-ing the film festival, it willbe released on OTT.

Gham-e-Durashootingconcludes

PNS n GWALIOR

Gwalior DistrictC o l l e c t o r ,Kaushalendra Vikram

Singh along with KishoreKanyal, Gwalior MunicipalCommissioner and sanitaryofficials of the GwaliorMunicipal Corporationreviewed the cleanliness workin various parts of the city onWednesday.

The DM and the MC hadto swing into action due to thefailure of the corporation offi-cials to keep the city clean.

First of all, the duoreached the main bus standand was appalled to seegarbage and waste scattered all

around the bus stand.Collector Singh immediatelypulled up the sanitationinspector of the area andasked him to clean the busstand at least three times in aday.

He further asked the offi-

cials to fine the bus owners ifgarbage is found in the buses.

From the bus stand thecollector and the other officialsreached the DM hotel situat-ed nearby. Garbage and foodwaste in large quantities werefound in the hotel premises.Despite the hotel having a bulkwaste generator there was noprovision to dispose the wetwaste. The DM asked thehotel management to imme-diately install disposal plantfor wet waste. He also finedthe hotel Rs 5000.

After this the DM and offi-cials moved towards the shopssituated near the bus stand andannounced necessary guide-lines for keeping dustbins and

covering the open drains. Thecollector also reached theShinde Ki Chawani area andfined shopkeepers Rs 18000 fornot keeping dustbins. Heasked the shopkeepers to keepa minimum of 2 dustbins infront of their shops.

The DM and the party alsoroamed many areas of the cityand gave instructions to keepthe areas clean.

Based on the same docu-ments, POS agents get them-selves registered in the telecomcompany on fake names andaddresses and after the POSagents are registered, they startSIM on fake Aadhar cards andsell them to cyber criminals inDelhi and other states.

Collector, others review cleanlinessworks in different parts of Gwalior

MP reports less than 4,000 cases 2nd daySTAFF REPORTER n BHOPAL

Madhya Pradesh report-ed less than 4,000Covid cases consecu-

tively for the second day and thedeclining trend also continuedin Bhopal. With 610 fresh Covidinfections registered in the last24 hours, the recovery rate hasshown a major improvement inthe city.

The data from the state

health bulletin shows that therecovery rate has been twice asmuch as that of new infectionsdetected in the city in February.Even though the current infec-tion rate is ebbing in Bhopal,many health experts and doctorshave warned of Covid-19 hospi-talisations.

As per the reports, out of 136hospitals in Bhopal, 98 patientswere admitted to an intensivecare unit and 122 needed oxygensupport on Tuesday.

According to the state healthbulletin, the city has been able tocontain the spread of the infec-tion and the recoveries haveoutnumbered fresh Covid casesin Bhopal. In the last eight days,in February, 7,418 people weredetected with the novel coron-avirus infection but around12,427 patients recovered duringthe same period. Eleven peoplelost their lives to the deadly virusin the first eight days of thismonth.

NSUI activists stage a protest against Barkatullah University administration demanding to fill lying vacant posts of teachers, at BU inBhopal on Wednesday. Pioneer photo

PNS n INDORE

The Department ofManagement andCommerce, Medi-Caps

University organized the sign-ing ceremony of theMemorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU)between Medi-Caps Universitymanagement department andBajaj Finserv.Bajaj FinservLimited is an Indian nonbanking financial servicescompany headquartered inPune. It is focused on lending,asset management, wealthmanagement and insuranceHonorable Vice ChancellorMedi - Caps University Prof.(Dr) D.K Patnaik and ViceChancellor Prof. (Dr) D.KPanda, PallaviGandhalikar(DGM, Bajaj Finserv), DeanManagement Dr. Harish B.

Bapat, RegistrarDrAnkurSaxenaand otherdeans and department headswere present.Welcoming the MoU,PallaviGandhalikar said, "Thesigning of the MoU withMedi-Caps University willenhance the cooperationbetween the two institutions.she deeply appreciated theacademic activities of Medi-Caps University.Vice Chancellor Prof (Dr) D.KPatnaiksaid that MoU withBajaj Finserv is a greatachievement and gave a mes-sage that the students wouldcome to know about theimmense possibilities of careerin the finance industrythrough the MoU. Prof (Dr)D.K Panda Pro vice chancellorexpressed happiness on sign-ing MoU.

Medi-Caps varsity signsMoU with Bajaj Finserv Bhopal: Chief Minister Shivraj

Singh Chouhan has congratu-lated the dedicated ANM SushriMaya Ahirwar for administer-ing maximum doses of Covid-19 vaccine. Maya, posted asANM in Chhatarpur DistrictHospital, has done her duty con-tinuously for 1 year without tak-ing leave. Chief MinisterChouhan has congratulated herfor being such a hard worker.Congratulating the ANM for herdiligent services in the work ofvaccination in the state, ChiefMinister Chouhan has tweetedalso.

Chouhan said that ANMMaya has set an example of duti-fulness. Her spirit of service iscommendable. Other healthworkers will also be inspired byher sincerity in administeringmore than one lakh vaccinedoses from 16 January 2021 to7 February 2022 without takingany leave.

ANM MayaAhirwar lauded

The DM and theMC had to swinginto action dueto the failure ofthe corporationofficials to keepthe city clean


The Madhya Pradeshcabinet on Wednesdayapproved the

construction of a 108-feet tallstatue of the 8th centuryIndian philosopher AdiShankaracharya, a museumdedicated to him and anInternational AdvaitaVedanta Sansthan atOmkareshwar at a cost of Rs2,141 crore.Shankaracharya is knownfor consolidating thedoctrine of Advaita Vedanta,a Hindu school ofphilosophy. On November 5last year, Prime Minister

Narendra Modi inaugurateda12-foot statue ofShankaracharya at theKedarnath Temple inUttarakhand.Addressing media personsafter the cabinet meeting,Home Minister NarottamMishra said, “The cabinethas given in-principleapproval of budget Rs2141.85 crore for theconstruction of the Statue ofOneness, museum and theinstitute.”Madhya Pradesh’s cultureand tourism department hasdecided to build a multi-metal statue ofShankaracharya on

Mandhata Parvat hill facingthe river Narmada.The State Cabinet here onWednesday gave approvalregarding effective controlover illegal mining,transportation and storage ofminerals. With regard toillegal mining, transportationand storage of minerals, Rule53 of Madhya Pradesh MinorMineral Rules, 1996 andRule 20 of Madhya PradeshSand (Mining, Transport,Storage and Trade) Rules,2019 have been repealedfrom these rules. While completely repealingthe Madhya PradeshMinerals (Prevention of

Illegal Mining, Transportand Storage) Rules, 2006,the newly proposed MadhyaPradesh Minerals(Prevention of IllegalMining, Transport andStorage) Rules, 2021 havebeen approved. In this rule,unitary provisions have beenmade regarding illegalmining, transportation andstorage of minor minerals. Inthis, while keeping themineral dealer licenseprevailing in the MadhyaPradesh Minerals(Prevention of IllegalMining, Transport andStorage) Rules, 2006 and thereturns to be submitted in

the above, registration ofvehicles, issue of transit passfor transportation of themain mineral unchanged,permission has been given tomake this arrangementthrough online process in thenewly proposed MadhyaPradesh Mineral (Preventionof Illegal Mining, Transportand Storage) Rules, 2021.In the provisions made inillegal mining, transportationand storage of minerals, aprovision has been made toimpose a penalty of doublethe amount of the totalpunishment imposed alongwith forfeiture of 15 timesthe royalty.

Cabinet approves 108-feet tall statueof Adi Shankaracharya in Omkareshwar

BHOPAL | THURSDAY | FEBRUARY 10, 2022 capital 03

‘STAFF REPORTER n BHOPAL

The programme forthe General Election-2022 of the

Municipal Council Narwarof Shivpuri district hasbeen announced by theState Election Commission.Voting will be held onMarch 6 from 7 am to 6pm.

Secretary State ElectionCommission BS Jamod hasinformed that publicationof election information andcollection of nominationpapers will be held fromFebruary 11, 2022. The last

date for receipt of nomina-tion papers is February 18,2022. Nomination paperswill be taken on this day till3 pm. The scrutiny of nom-ination papers will be heldon February 19. The lastdate for withdrawal of can-didature is February 21. Theallotment of election symbolsto the candidates will also bedone on February 21. Pollingwill be held on March 6 andcounting of votes and decla-ration of election results willbe held on March 9 from 9am.

It is noteworthy that theelection of Municipal

Council Narwar is beingconducted in compliancewith the order passed by theHigh Court Bench Gwalioron February 8, 2022.

The election of thePresident and Vice-Chairman of the MunicipalCouncil will be done indi-rectly by the elected corpo-rators. The election will beconducted as per the elec-toral roll published onJanuary 1, 2021, according tothe reservation of the post ofMayor/Chairman publishedon October 21, 2014 and thereservation of wards made byCollector Shivpuri. Voting

will be done through theElectronic Voting Machine.

Jamod has informed thatinstructions have been givento conduct all the processesfrom the issuance of electioninformation to the declara-tion of election resultsthrough the online applica-tion IEMS that has beendeveloped by the StateElection Commission. Withthe announcement of theelection programme, themodel code of conduct hasbecome effective in the areaof ??the concerned urbanbody. It will be effective tillthe declaration of election

result. Instructions have beengiven to the District ElectionOfficer to strictly follow theModel Code of Conduct.

It is mandatory for everycandidate to submit an affi-davit in the format pre-scribed by the Commissionalong with his nominationpaper. It will contain infor-mation about the candidate'scriminal background, mov-able and immovable proper-ty and liabilities and educa-tional qualification etc.Instructions have also beengiven to ensure complianceof Covid guidelines and pro-tocols in the election process.

Voting on March 6, Narvarmunicipal polls announced

A young woman selects Teddy Bears on the eve of Teddy Day under Valentine Week celebrations in Bhopal on Wednesday.Teddy Day falls on Feb 10, the fourth day of Valentine Week. Pioneer photo


Minister of State forA Y U S H( I n d e p e n d e n t

Charge) Ramkishore Kavrehas instructed the principalsof all AYUSH colleges in thestate that the development ofthe colleges should be done onthe lines of Pt. Khushi LalSharma GovernmentAutonomous AyurvedaCollege. He also directed theprincipals to take immediateaction on pending proposals.Minister of State Kavre wasaddressing the meeting virtu-ally at Mantralaya today.Principal Secretary AYUSHCaralyn KhongwarDeshmukh was also present inthe meeting.

The preparations madekeeping in mind the upcoming

assembly session were alsoreviewed in the meeting.Minister of State Kavre instruct-ed the principals of the collegeto do effective work by payingspecial attention to sickle celldisease.

He said that the Healthand AYUSH Department ofMadhya Pradesh is workingtogether on the Gujarat modelfor the treatment of this disease.Minister of State Shri Kavre

informed that the online coun-selling programme of BAMS,BHMS and BUMS in the stateis being done as per the sched-uled time-table. Record verifi-cation will be done by February10.

The entire process of coun-selling will be completed byMarch 1. He asked to pay spe-cial attention to the counsellingwork. So far 3 thousand 900 stu-dents have registered for coun-

selling in the state. Minister ofState Shri Kavre said that theprocess of recruitment to thevacant posts in AYUSH collegesis being done expeditiously.

Principal Secretary AYUSHCaralyn Khongwar asked theprincipals to prepare a compre-hensive action plan for thedevelopment of the colleges andsend it to Bhopal, on whichwork would be done effective-ly. He informed about the effortsbeing made for PG courses inAYUSH colleges. The principalof Bhopal's Pt. Khushilal VaidyaMahavidyal informed thatPanchkarma Centre has beencompleted. Soon it will be start-ed. In the meeting, the payscale of academic personnel,hostel arrangement and Centreof Excellence scheme of theCentral Government were alsodiscussed.

Minister of State for Ayush Kavre hadvirtual discussions with the principalsSTAFF REPORTER n BHOPAL

Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan has said that

Budhni's birthday and prideday will be celebrated everyyear on March 6. Chief MinisterChouhan reached Budhni Ghaton Tuesday night and offeredprayers to Mother Narmada onthe occasion of Narmada Jayanti.Chouhan prayed for everyone'shappiness and prosperity.

Chief Minister ShivrajSingh Chouhan said that onBudhni's birthday, all citizensshould make plans together forthe overall development ofBudhni. He appealed to keep thecity clean, the waste should beproperly disposed off and treeswould be planted on both sidesof the road for environmentalprotection. Chouhan talkedabout bank linkage to self-helpgroups for economic activities tomake women financiallyempowered.


Chief Minister ShivrajSingh Chouhan par-ticipated in

Ramanuja MillenniumCelebrations in Hyderabadon Wednesday. He visitedthe statue ofRamanujacharya atSriramanagaram, JeevaCampus and also offeredprayers. Chief MinisterChouhan was accompaniedby his wife Sadhna Singh.The installation work ofthis 216 ft (66 m) high stat-ue in Hyderabad, Telanganastarted in the year 2014.This Ramanuja statue hasbeen named 'Statue ofEquality'. This idol ofVaishnava saint BhagvatRamanuja, who lived abouta thousand years ago in the11th century, is located inthe Chinna Jiyar Trust.

Prime MinisterNarendra Modi unveiledthe statue last week. Thisdistinctive statue made ofPanchadhatu has beennamed 'Statue of Equality'.

Chief Minister Chouhanalso informed the saintsabout the 'Statue of Oneness'to be built in MadhyaPradesh. Mohan Bhagwatalso addressed the function.

On this occasion, ChiefMinister Chouhan, whileremembering the Vedicphilosopher, social reformerRamanujacharya, said thatRamanujacharya, who wasborn in Sri Perumbudur,Tamil Nadu, revived theBhakti movement. OtherBhakti ideologies also arosefrom his teachings. Saints,poets like Anna Acharya,Bhakt Ramdas, Kabir,Mirabai also got inspira-tion. A thousand years later,his messages are relevanteven today. His entire phi-losophy is a vast world initself which is founded on astrong foundation of unity,equality and fraternity.

He made a strongrequest to end the class dis-crimination in the societyand make bridges of equal-ity. He was not just a reli-gious preacher or a saint, buthe was Sheshavatar himself,

who exposed the eternalvalues of the Indian tradi-tion through his teachingsand actions. Keeping theVedic Advaita principleintact by connecting differ-ent Indian cultures, hisdevotional spirit spread notonly in South but also inNorth India. In this way hebecame the crown jewel ofthe Indian saint tradition.

The Madhya Pradeshgovernment has approvedthe works of construction ofa 108 feet high multi-metalstatue of Shankaracharya,Shankar Sangrahalaya andAcharya ShankarInternational AdvaitaVedanta Sansthan inOmkareshwar, MadhyaPradesh. Last month, underthe chairmanship of ChiefMinister Chouhan, promi-nent sages of the countryhad also come to Bhopal inthe meeting of the Board ofTrustees of AcharyaShankar Cultural UnityTrust, then there was adetailed discussion aboutthe project started inOmkareshwar.

Ramanujacharya wascrown jewel of Indiansaint tradition: Shivraj

A large number of four-wheelers parked in front of a bus stop which is always seen at Retghat locality in Bhopal onWednesday. It obstructs smooth straffic on VIP road. Pioneer photo


Chief Minister ShivrajSingh Chouhan plantedGulmohar and Karanj

saplings in Smart Udyantoday. Narayavali MLA ShriPradeep Laria and RakshitaWelfare Society’s BreezeTripathi, Ashok Hindustani,Saifuddin, Gunaditya Tripathiaccompanied the ChiefMinister during plantation.With a view to encourage theparticipation of the society inthe activities of plantationand environmental protec-tion, Chief Minister Chouhan,plants saplings every day alongwith social organizations, vol-untary organizations and peo-ple active in this direction.

For the last more than 18years, the works of service andimprovement in the socialsector is being done regular-ly by the society. The societyis also active in the directionof Beti Bachao, women safety,environmental protection andsocial awareness. The societyhas planted about 11 thousandsaplings in different parts ofthe state including Bhopal,Ashok Nagar, Lateri and is alsocontinuously working for theconservation of plants. So far,the society has given free self-defense training to 19 thou-sand girls in the direction ofawareness against sexualexploitation of children.

Ex-Serviceman ParaCommando AshokHindustani has traveled allover India by bicycle as aSwachh Bharat campaigner.He has been working for 25years with the message ofClean India – Healthy India,Beti Bachao– Beti Padhaoand Plant trees – Save envi-ronment. For almost 5 years,

he have been giving themessage of giving wet anddry waste separately andalso supporting the gov-ernment to make polythenefree India and Bhopal num-ber one in cleanliness. Sixty-five year old Saifuddin hasbeen doing public awarenesscampaign towards cleanli-ness since 2nd October 2015

on his two-wheeler.Wearing the clothes with themessage of cleanliness, he isspreading the message ofcleanliness by traveling tomany areas of the statebesides Bhopal on a two-wheeler.

Karanj plant is consid-ered important in Ayurvedicmedicine. It is also used in

religious works. Gulmohar isconsidered one of the mostbeautiful trees in the world.Flowers blooming in bigbunches between the leavesof Gulmohar, make this treeall the more attractive. Insummer, Gulmohar trees areladen with flowers instead ofleaves. It is also rich in med-icinal properties.

Chief Minister plants saplings of Gulmohar

PNS n INDORE

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, ChiefMinister of Madhya Pradesh,honored Dr AK Dwivedi for

his valuable contribution in giv-ing a healing touch to the patientssuffering from aplastic anemiaand that facing health issues post-Covid.

Dr Dwivedi was honored ata function held recently at Indoreby Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan in the presence of themedical fraternity and peoplefrom all walks of life. Accordingto Dr Dwivedi, dry cough, dizzi-

ness, weakness, acidity, hiatushernia, joint pain and burningsensation in urine is the mostcommon complaints among thepatients recovered from Covid-19.These patients were cured withthe administration of homeo-pathic medicines and their immu-nity increased. Dr Dwivedi said,"We are using 50 millesimalpotency medicine at our instituteAdvanced Homeo Health Centerand Homeopathic MedicalResearch Pvt Ltd Indore, whichcan be easily given in water tosugar patients as well as to chil-dren.

CM honours Dr Dwivedi

Budhni’s Birthdayon March 6

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An Alliance Air ATR aircraft landed safe-ly at Bhuj from Mumbai after a part of

the engine cowling fell down during take-offon Wednesday morning. The DirectorateGeneral of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has initi-ated an inquiry to fix responsibilities for laps-es. The cowling was recovered alongside therunway after the flight took off. The four-year-old aircraft had around 70 passengers onboard.

The incident happened on Wednesdaymorning and was brought to the notice of air-port authorities by a Mumbai Air TrafficController (ATC). Subsequently, theDirectorate General of Civil Aviation(DGCA) started an investigation into the inci-dent. Meanwhile, officials said that MumbaiATC informed the airport that Alliance AirATR aircraft, operating flight 91-625(Mumbai-Bhuj) took off without the leftengine cowling (cover.

Visuals of the aircraft, which were sharedon social media, showed an exposed engineof the flight as the cowling, the removableouter part of the engine fell off on the run-

way.The aircraft, VT-RKJ took off fromMumbai airport at about 6.30 am. Later, theairline's engineering team reached the site andretrieved the engine cover from the runway.Flying without engine cowling may have anaerodynamic effect leading to marginal dete-rioration in the aircraft's performance, theofficial said.

Expressing regret at the unfortunateincident, the airline in a statement said thatduring the operation of Alliance Air flight 9I-625 from Mumbai to Bhuj on February 9, thepanel of the engine cowl was found on therunway post take off. "We have taken strictnote of the incident and a thorough investi-gation has been initiated. The findings of thesame shall be shared with the regulatoryauthorities and we shall ensure that allrequired corrective actions are put in place,"the airline said.

It also said that "we are grateful that allpassengers and crew onboard the flightsafely landed and there was no damage to theaircraft due to this unfortunate incident.”Alliance Air said, it follows laid down poli-cies/ procedures as per the regulatory author-ities.

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The Commissioner ofCustoms, Chennai, has

confirmed the “full” seizure of�288 crore done by theEnforcement Directorate (ED)under FEMA against Chinese-owned PC Financial ServicesPrivate Limited, a non-bankingfinancial company (NBFC) bypassing a speaking order.

The Commissioner ofCustoms, Chennai, is the des-ignated Competent Authorityunder Foreign ExchangeManagement Act (FEMA) forconfirming seizures made bythe ED in that zone.

The ED had seizedBank/Payment Gateway fundsworth � 288 crore belonging toPC Financial Services (PCFS)vide three separate seizureorders issued under the provi-sions of Foreign ExchangeManagement Act (FEMA). Theorders were issued on August26, September 30 andDecember 15 last year foramounts of�106.93 crore, �

131.11 crore and �51.22 crorerespectively.

The ED is investigating anumber of NBFCs and Fintechcompanies under PMLA forproviding online instant micro-loans using mobile applica-tions (Apps) and then extort-ing high rate of interest by mis-using the personal data of thecustomers and threatening andabusing them through call cen-ters.

During the course ofmoney laundering investiga-tion, the ED also initiatedinvestigation under FEMAagainst PCFS that providesinstant personal micro loansthrough its mobile application‘Cashbean’ for suspicious for-eign outward remittances.

“PCFS is ultimately bene-ficially owned by ChineseNational Zhou Yahui.Investigation further revealedthat the foreign parent compa-nies of PCFS brought in FDIworth �173 crore for lendingbusiness and within a shortspan of time, made foreign out-

ward remittances worth�429.29 crore to Chinese-con-trolled foreign-related compa-nies, in the name of paymentsfor non-existent software ser-vices,” the ED said in a state-ment.

PCFS also showed highdomestic expenditure of �941crore. The ED has found thatexorbitant payments wereblindly allowed by the dummyIndian Directors of PCFS with-out any due diligence and onthe instructions of the Country

Head Zhang Hong, who direct-ly reported to Zhou Yahuiresiding in China, it said.

“PCFS had contravenedFEMA provisions and equiva-lent assets were liable forseizure. Hence, seizure orderswere issued. Further based onthe ED investigation, ReserveBank of India (RBI) andIncome Tax Department havealso initiated enquiry againstthe said NBFC. Further inves-tigation is in progress,” it added.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to consider list-ing for early hearing the PIL which has sought expeditious trial of crim-inal cases against lawmakers and speedy investigation by CBI and otheragencies.

A bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana took note of the sub-missions of senior advocate and amicus curiae Vijay Hansaria that theplea needed to be listed for urgent hearing.

Hansaria said a fresh report, giving details of the pending casesagainst serving and former MPs, MLAs and MLCs, has been filed withthe court and urgent, stringent steps are needed for expeditious dis-posal of the pending criminal cases. "We will see," said the bench whichalso comprised justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli.

As per the recent report, a total of 4,984 cases are pending againstMembers of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly/Councilout of which 1,899 cases are more than five years old. The report stat-ed that the total number of cases pending as of December 2018 was4,110; and as of October 2020 it was 4,859.

"Even after disposal of 2775 cases after December 4, 2018, the casesagainst MPs/MLAs have increased from 4,122 to 4,984. This showsthat more and more persons with criminal antecedents are occupy-ing the seats in the Parliament and the State Legislative Assemblies.It is of utmost necessity that urgent and stringent steps are taken forexpeditious disposal of pending criminal cases," said the report filedthrough advocate Sneha Kalita. PTI

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Opposition parties on Wednesdayaccused the Government of leaving out

the majority of the poor in its Budget 2022-23 and not doing enough for the farm sec-tor that employs a large number of peoplein the country.

During the second day of the discussionin Ràjya Sabha on the Union Budget,Congress leader Kapil Sibal slammed thegovernment for increasing excise duty onpetrol and diesel, alleging its tax regime isworse than that of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb.

Taking part in the discussion BJPmember Sushil Modi said jobs are not cre-ated by doling out freebies, cash transfer orthrough income support.

Lauding the Narendra Modi govern-ment for providing income support andhelping people during COVID-19 pan-demic, the BJP leader said employment canonly be created through capital expenditureand giving impetus to the manufacturingsector.

In four years, including 2023, India willbe spending Rs 20 lakh crore in capitalexpenditure, he said, claiming it to be thebiggest in the history of independent India.

Sibal said that in 2014, the price ofpetrol was Rs 71, and in January 2022, it

was Rs 95. “Central excise which we imple-mented in 2014 was 9.2 percent per litre.You made it 27 percent. How much increasedoes it lead to? 203 percent. Diesel price wasRs 55. The excise on it was Rs 3.46. Todaythe price is Rs 86 and excise is Rs 21 ondiesel and the increase is 530 percent,” Sibalsaid

During the discussion, Sibal made ref-erence to 'Jizya'tax which was introducedby Ahmad Shah and later abolished byAkhbar. “Then Aurangzeb came. He againimplemented it in 1617 and said that it willnot be applicable to people who aredeprived, unemployed. It will not be applic-able to poor people. It will not be applica-ble to those who protect us, army person-nel.

This is what Aurangzeb said. This isworse than Aurangzeb. You have imple-mented it on everyone that too 530 percentand 203 percent,” Sibal said.

The Congress MP said he was surprisedto hear the prime minister talking about"tukde tukde" in Parliament. “One who does'tukde tukde'' (dismembering) of culture,history, Constitution, brotherhood is the"leader of the tukde tukde gang," Sibal hitback.

CPI leader Binoy Viswam alleged thatthe Budget was a "failure" and only intend-

ed to benefit "big corporate houses such asTata, Birla, Ambani and Adani".

TRS leader K R Suresh Reddy lament-ed the "cut" in food subsidies and the "mea-gre" sum allocated for research in agricul-ture.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra'sModi's allegation that the Congress gov-ernments in states were the reason formigrants walking back home during thepandemic, Viswam said, "Was it Congressparty which did the lockdown?" He saidthough his party CPI has lots of criticismagainst the Congress party as it started thedisastrous policies of the economy, it is BJPthat is doing much more damage.

Nominated member Narendra Jadavtermed the Union budget as "visionary" andsaid it is aimed at sustainable growth and

development of the Indian economy.Birendra Prasad Baishya of AGP sup-

ported the budget terming it as a growth o-oriented.

BJD leader Amar Patnaik said, "In agri-culture investment fund where spendingwas planned to be Rs one lakh crore in sixyears, the spending is Rs 6,627 crore in twoyears." He stressed that the focus on the ruraleconomy is required.

DMK leader M Mohamed Abdullaclaimed the budget did not have any men-tion of the problem of inequality that thecountry is facing now.

SP leader Sukhram Singh Yadav soughtsupport for families of farmers who lost theirlives in the protests against the three agrilaws. RJD leader A D Singh alleged that theGovernment was only doing lip servicewhen it came to making the country self-sufficient Atmanirbhar).

M Thambidurai, whose AIADMK is anally of the BJP, favoured some kind ofincome tax relief to the people. He alsoasked the government to make sure that 60lakh jobs are created through variousProduction Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes.

V Vijayasai Reddy of the YSRCP saidit is a "stylish budget with no substance". Heaccused the Centre of giving "step-motherly"treatment to Andhra Pradesh.

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The National Investigation Agency (NIA)Special Court, Patna has convicted a

Bangladeshi terrorist of Jamat-ul-Mujahideen(JMB) in case of recovery and explosion of IEDat Bodh Gaya, Bihar by the Bangladesh-basedterror group.

The NIA Special Court, Patna pronouncedthe judgment against JMB terrorist Jahidul Islamalias Kausar, a Bangladeshi national, under sec-tions of Indian PenaL Code Sections relating towaging war against the nation, collecting armswith an intention to wage war against theGovernment of India, concealing with intent towage war against India, using forged documentsas genuine and provisions of Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act, Explosive Substance Act andthe Foreigners Act, the NIA said in a statement.

The NIA had registered the case on February3, 2018 pertaining to planting of three IEDs inand around the premises of Bodh Gaya templecomplex. After investigation, chargesheet wasfiled against three accused on September 27, 2018and a supplementary chargesheet was filed onJanuary 28, 2019 against remaining six accusedpersons.

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The Government has sought suggestionsand inputs from various Central

Ministries and institutions like NAFED andcooperative lender-NCDC as it drafts the newNational Cooperative Policy and schemesaimed to develop a cooperative based econ-omy model focusing on achieving ‘Make inIndia’ mission.

“The new policy will address all devel-opmental issues of cooperatives. Inputs / sug-gestions of the stakeholders including CentralGovernment Ministries have been sought,”Union Minister of Cooperation Amit Shahsaid in a written reply in Rajya Sabha onWednesday.

The consultation with the stakeholdersis being done to make cooperatives moretransparent and efficient. Discussions are onrelevant interventions viz. creation of aNational database of Cooperatives, digitali-sation of about 63,000 active PrimaryAgriculture Credit Societies (PACS), headded.

The Minister explained that there weretwo types of co-operative structures in thecountry i.e. State Cooperative Societies andMulti- State Cooperative Societies. (MSCS).The Cooperative Societies functioning in oneState only are governed by the laws of therespective State Government while the coop-erative societies functioning in more than onestate are governed by the Central law, ‘theMulti-State Co- operative Societies

Act(MSCSA), 2002’.“Any issues related to their administra-

tion are dealt with at respective levels.However, to give new dimensions and to fur-ther strengthen the cooperative sector in thecountry through policy and other interven-tions, the new Ministry of Cooperation hasbeen created…,” said the Minister.

The Government has been pinninghopes on the cooperatives to achieve its dreamof ‘atmanirbhar bharat.’ The Government alsoplans to amend the MSCSA 2002 to estab-lish a regulatory mechanism for MSCS andremove the loopholes in the existing act.

As per the National Cooperative Unionof India (NCUI) data, as on 2018, there are8.54 lakh cooperatives in the country. Someof the issues affecting accelerated and equi-table growth of cooperatives, inter alia, are lackof effective governance, leadership and pro-fessional management in cooperative units,low level of technology adoption.

In fact, according to an official from theMinistry, complaints for non-repayment/misappropriation of deposits of investorsagainst some of the MSCS in various stateshave been received. In case of delinquent soci-eties against whom complaints are received,action for winding up process is underwayin case of 77 societies under Section 86 of theMulti-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS)Act, 2002. Most of the erring cooperatives arefrom Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat,Maharashtra, Delhi and Odisha, as per thegovernment data.

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Chhattisgarh NSUI president NeerajPandey has written to former

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi raisingdoubts on the death of one of his work-ers, Deepak Gupta, who succumbed tothe injuries he received in an attack onhim and his friends on January 4, 2022.

In his letter, the NSUI state chiefhas alleged that "influential Congressleaders" could have planned the attackon party’s student activist.

Pandey has termed the death mys-terious and urged Rahul Gandhi toensure justice for Deepak.

NSUI leaders have alleged thatthere have been differences betweenthe district unit of party and theNSUI ever since Pandey was appoint-ed the chief of NSUI state unit.

According to letter, a NSUI pro-gram which was supposed to beaddressed by Pandey in Surguja onNovember 14 last year was intercept-ed by district leaders and banners andposters put up to welcome the NSUIpresident was taken off. The programhad to be conducted after adequate

police presence, the letter read.Pandey also mentioned how sev-

eral of his workers were targeted,their homes attacked following that.

On January 4, Gupta along with hisfriends Viraj Dubey, Yudhvir Singh andVikas Singh were attacked in which hesuffered serious injuries which helater succumbed to in the hospital, theletter reads, adding an FIR was regis-tered in the Ambikapur police stationwhich led to arrest of a "minor".

It's the arrest of a minor in the casethat has raised questions on the inten-tion and working of police in the dis-trict, with Pandey writing to RahulGandhi that the cops want to let thereal culprits get away by arresting aminor in the case.

Over the past few months, the dif-ferences within Chhattisgarh unit ofthe Congress had come out open dueto rift between two top leaders of theparty. The fight for supremacy evenreached the national capital with bothChief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and hiscabinet colleague TS Singh Deo campMLAs flexing muscle in front of theparty high command.

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Almost all the social media companieshave set up an institutional structure

and are publishing monthly compliancereports as required under the statute, ITMinister Ashwini Vaishnaw said onWednesday. Replying to a question in theLok Sabha, Vaishnaw said to ensure thatsocial media is safe and people can trustwhat is written on that, a very self-regu-lating regime, which was laid down in ITsocial media intermediary guidelines, wasbrought in last year.

In a supplementary question, BJPmember Nishikant Dubey asked that sincethe Supreme Court has removed Section66A of the Information Technology Act,whether the government is planning tobring any amendment in the IT Act againstthe SC verdict. Vaishnaw said the matterneeds a "detailed debate" to arrive at a solu-tion. With regard to social media inter-mediaries, Vaishnaw said, "Institutionalstructure has been set by almost all the sig-nificant social media intermediaries. All ofthem are also following the guidelines andpublishing their monthly reports. Thecompliance has been good and whateverfurther steps are needed to make socialmedia accountable, the government isopen to those suggestions.”

To a question by TMC member Kalyan

Banerjee on whether the government isthinking to bring any law restricting or pro-hibiting or regulating and penalising theconcept of meme which embarrasses a per-son or criticise people's posts. "As and whengovernments try to increase accountabil-ity, increase regulations (of social mediaplatforms) the question from civil societycomes is whether we are taking away thefreedom of expression.

"If we don't increase regulation, if wedon't make the social media accountablethen the safety and trust that citizens haveon these media platforms that comesunder a question mark. So it's a fine bal-ance that we have to strike, we have toevolve and mold according to the changes,"Vaishnaw said. The new rules require largesocial media platforms to follow additionaldue diligence, including the appointmentof chief compliance officer,

nodal contact person and residentgrievance officer. They are also required topublish on their website their status oncompliance with the new digital rules everymonth. Non-compliance with rules wouldresult in these social media companies los-ing their intermediary status that providesthem exemptions and certain immunityfrom liabilities for any third-party infor-mation and data hosted by them. In otherwords, they could be liable for criminalaction in case of complaints.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has pro-

visionally attached propertiesworth �1,621.93 crore underPrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) in thecase of coal block investigationagainst Jharkhand-basedCorporate Ispat Alloys Ltd.(CIAL).

The provisionally attachedproperties consist of one bio-mass power plant, two captivethermal power plants, one ferroalloys plant and DirectReduced Iron Plant and parcelsof land situated at Durgapur,West Bengal and Saraikela,Jharkhand of the Nagpur-head-quartered company, the EDsaid in a statement.

The ED had initiatedmoney laundering investiga-

tion on the basis of an FIRdated January 6, 2016 regis-tered by the EconomicOffences Wing of CBI, NewDelhi, for alleged commissionof offences under the IndianPenal Code (IPC) and relevantprovisions of the Prevention ofCorruption Act against CIAL,promoters of the company andothers for alleged criminalconspiracy, cheating and crim-inal misconduct by the accused

persons for obtaining coalblock, it said.

“Investigation carried outunder the provisions of PMLArevealed that the companyfraudulently obtained theChitarpur coal block throughmisrepresentation of facts.

Huge capital was laterinfused in CIAL in the form ofequity shares so as to deriveand obtain benefits/gains from

the allocated coal block,” it said.It said the shares were

allotted at a huge premium.This entire infusion of capital�1,896 crore was done with anintention and in anticipation ofundue benefits to be derivedand obtained by CIAL infuture.

“The proceeds derivedfrom the issue of share capitalwere further invested in fixedassets and projected as untaint-ed property and given colour ofa genuine business investment,whereas, the entire processstarting with the application forgetting a coal block, to beingawarded the Chitarpur coalblock, to raising of funds on thestrength of tainted property(allocation letter) was a conse-quence of criminal activitiesrelated to the scheduledoffences,” it added.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesdaysaid it would consider listing for urgent hear-ing the pending contempt petition against theJharkhand Government and Director Generalof Police (DGP) Neeraj Sinha alleging he hasbeen occupying the post even after superan-nuation on January 31.

A bench headed by Chief Justice N VRamana was told that the contempt plea, whichwas ordered to be listed in September last year,has not come up for hearing so far and, in themeanwhile, Sinha is continuing as JharkhandDGP after his retirement.

The bench, also comprising Justices A SBopanna and Hima Kohli, said the courts havebeen hearing “restricted matters” due to Covidand would consider the plea for early hearing.

“This matter was last listed on September3 last year and it was ordered to be listed aftertwo weeks then. It never got listed. It concernsthe top post of the Director General of Police(DGP) of Jharkhand,” lawyer Apoorv Khatorsaid.

“This is not the priority item. We know thatwe are hearing the restricted matters. We willsee,” the bench said. PTI

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As the first phase of Uttar Pradeshassembly is ready for poll on

Thursday, the Election Commission hasput on notice over 31.51 lakh peopleunder the Code of Criminal Procedure1973 and 1097 FIRs registered for viola-tion of model code of conduct in the state.

The EC-appointed surveillance andexpenditure monitoring teams has seized�71.86 in cash; 13,40,368 litre liquorworth � 37.40 crore and drugs and nar-cotics over 12235 kg worth � 34.22 croreand 261 kg precious metals including jew-ellery and stones worth �30.67 crore so far.With over 12235 kg drugs and narcotics,Uttar Pradesh is top in the list, followedby Punjab with 3857.73 kg.

As per the data provided by the EC,over 31.51 lakh people have been put onnotice either under section 107 (Securityfor keeping the peace in other cases) andunder section 150 (Information of designto commit cognizable offences) of theCode of Criminal Procedure 1973. Theauthorities has also recovered 8640 arms,9030 cartoos, 214 kg explosives and 267bombs from various parts of the state. Thepoll body has also seized 168 factoriesinvolving making of illegal arms andammunitions.

The poll body data showed that

authorities has seized �12.57 crore in cashand � 3.87 lakh litre from 58 assembly pollswhere the first phase elections will be heldon Thursday. The first phase will cover theJat-dominated belt of western UP. As manyas 623 candidates are in the fray in the firstphase. The first phase of polling will alsodecide the fate of nine ministers in the YogiAdityanath government.

As per the data of EC till February 4,cash, freebies, liquor, precious metals,drugs and narcotics worth �535.26 crorehas been seized in the five states so far. Thisincludes � 75.15 crore cash; 41.94 lakh litreliquor worth � 50.68 crore; 13707 kg psy-chotropic substance worth � 395.51 crore;240 kg precious metals worth � 12 croreand freebies worth � 1.92 crore so far. Asper official data compiled since theannouncement of polls till January 28,2017, UP has witnessed the maximumseizure of cash at � 87.67 crore followedby Rs 6.60 crore from Punjab, � 1.27 crorein Goa, � 47.06 lakh in Uttarakhand and� 8.13 lakh in Manipur. In U.P. theseseizures were recorded at 8.01 lakh litreworth � 20.62 crore followed by over 5lakh litre spirits worth � 2.69 crore seizedin Punjab, over 36,000 litre liquor worth� 93.91 lakh in Uttarakhand, 71,000 litreworth � 81.80 lakh in Goa and beer andother hard spirits worth � 15.14 lakh inGoa.

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionallyattached assets worth �2.22 crore belonging to Rajdev Singh

Yadav, 2-I/C ( Second-in-Command),Training Battalion,Assam Rifles Training Centre, Dimapur, Nagaland, under theprovisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The attached assets are in the form of Fixed Deposits (FDs)of � 2.22 crore.

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It is a historic transformationof the sleepy tiger-infested

Bali island in the dense man-grove thickets of Sunderbans.The island, which was totallydisconnected from the main-stream of development sinceIndependence, is now bustlingwith Khadi activities.

Over a hundred tiger wid-ows (Bag Bidhoba in local par-lance) in the Bali island whowere engaged with spinningactivity by Khadi and VillageIndustries Commission(KVIC) in 2018, can now boastof modern amenities, advancedequipment like charkhas andlooms and marketing supportto provide these women arti-sans with sustainable liveli-hood. To begin Khadi activitieson the island, KVIC had set upa temporary structure threeyears ago, which has been con-verted into a permanent workshed now.

On Wednesday, ChairmanKVIC Vinai Kumar Saxenainaugurated the newly built3000 sq feet work shed and a

500 sq feet common facilitycentre for Khadi artisans at theBali island. The “Tiger VictimKhadi Katai Kendra” is nowequipped with 125 new modelcharkhas, 15 modern loomsand provides employment tonearly 150 women artisans ofthe Bali island. KVIC has alsoprovided these artisans withyarn dyeing machines andreadymade garment manufac-turing machines. The centrehas been modernized at thecost of Rs 95 lakh which hasbeen funded by KVIC under itsKhadi Reforms andDevelopment Program(KRDP) and WorkshedScheme for Khadi Artisans.The centre is being run by alocal Khadi Institution of WestBengal.

Saxena said the Khadiactivities on Bali island areinspired by Hon’ble PrimeMinister’s vision of empower-ing the marginalized sectionsand reconnecting them withthe mainstream of develop-ment. “Khadi activities on Baliisland will ensure financialsustainability of the tiger wid-

ows who were staring at adark future after having lost thebreadwinners for their familiesin tiger attacks. While the self-employment activities will helprehabilitate these haplesswomen artisans; it will alsoencourage other families totake up spinning and weavingactivities to earn a respectablelivelihood. By taking up Khadiactivities, these artisans will beable to earn up to Rs 200 perday. The idea is also to desistthese families from venturinginto deep water or thick man-groves for fishing and thus mit-igate the threat of tiger attacks,”Saxena said.

Notably, KVIC had inau-gurated the spinning centre atBali island in 2018 and dis-tributed 75 Charkhas to rope inlocal women artisans with spin-ning activity. KVIC had alsodistributed 500 Bee-Boxes withlive bee colonies to empowerthe economically backwardpeople of the island by provid-ing them with self-employ-ment. These artisans were alsoprovided with comprehensivetraining by KVIC.

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Jammu: The people in Jammuand Kashmir are not happy withthe draft delimitation commis-sion report, All India WomenCongress General SecretaryNagma Morarji said onWednesday, as she lashed out atBJP over its alleged anti-peoplepolicies and "dividing the coun-try on communal lines."

The actress turned politi-cian also condemned the heck-ling of a hijab-clad girl by agroup of men sporting saffronscarves at a college inKarnataka and said “such diver-sionary tactics are employed tohoodwink the public from thereal issues”.

She also paid tributes toseven army personnel who losttheir lives in an avalanche inArunachal Pradesh.

“People (in Jammu andKashmir) are not happy withthe proposed draft delimitationcommission report. You haveseen hundreds of BJP workersprotesting and submitting theirresignation (to protest the pro-posed merger of Suchetgarhassembly constituency onMonday)… when the report isout, you will see more protests,”the Congress leader toldreporters at the conclusion ofher three-day visit to Jammu.

Nagma said she visitedSuchetgarh sector near theInternational Border in the

outskirts of Jammu on the firstday of her three-day party pro-gramme and interacted withthe people there. “They are feel-ing neglected and considersnatching of the assembly con-stituency as grave injustice.”

On a question about theheckling of a hijab-clad girl ina college in Karnataka, she saidsuch incidents will affect theeducation of the girls but thepeople need to stand up togeth-er against this “hooliganism”.

“When the governmenthas no developmental agendato show to the public, they usesuch diversionary tactics tohoodwink the people. Whathappened to the 'beti bachao,beti padhao' slogan? Educationof the girls is bound to getaffected by such incidents andtherefore we should not payheed to diversionary tactics andstand up together against thishooliganism,” she said.

She said it was Congressgovernments in the past whichhad always tried to empowerthe women, while the NarendraModi led government is onlymaking promises.

Congress gave 50 per centreservation to women inPanchayats and a bill to provide33 per cent reservation forwomen in Lok Sabha is pend-ing in the Parliament as the BJPdespite enjoying majority is not

willing to pass it. They do notfavour empowerment ofwomen,” Nagma said, addingthe women are half of country'spopulation and should getmaximum representation inthe legislature.

Criticising the policies of theBJP-led government, she said“we regret snatching the state-hood of Jammu and Kashmirand transforming it into a UnionTerritory. They talked aboutNaya (new) Kashmir, normalcyand development. We do not seethe development on the ground,while frequent militant attacksexpose their claims of normalcy.”

Nagma, who also attendedthe Women Congress executivebody meeting during her tour,condemned the recent acidattack on a woman in Srinagarand said the women are notfeeling safe and are facing a lotof issues due to inflation andalleged callous attitude of thegovernment.

“The inflation is all timehigh and it is very difficult torun a household. Asha workersand Anganwari workers are onthe streets for enhancement oftheir monthly numerations andtimely payments,” she said anddemanded sanctioning of win-dow pension to women below40 years who have lost theirhusbands.

Claiming the growing

unemployment in the country,the Congress leader said J&K isone of the regions which topsthe list with 22 percent unem-ployment as a result of whichyou can see the protestingyouth on the roads every nowand then.

“BJP is only making hollowpromises as every section of thesociety has been affected by thepolicies of the Modi-led gov-ernment over the past sevenyears. They failed to transferpromised money and createtwo crore jobs annually. Thestatistics show that 23 crorepeople lost their jobs and 700farmers died during anti-agrilaw agitation, while only Rs 50lakh compensation was givento people hit by COVID-19,”she said.She said they onlyknow how to blame Congressfor its failures.

The Congress leader alsoblamed the ruling party fordividing the people of the coun-try and said “Hindu never felttheir lives are in danger over thepast 70 years but now they aremade to think on these lines.”

"The communal forces arespreading disturbance by pitch-ing Hindus against Muslims forwinning elections. The peopleneed to think before voting andshow the door to such com-munal forces for a betterfuture,” she said. PTI

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Rifleman Arun Katal, marriedbarely three months ago in

November 2021, was one amongthe seven Army personnel whomade supreme sacrifice in thehigh altitude area of the KamengSector in Arunachal Pradesh onSunday. The soldiers were onpatrol duty when they were hitby an avalanche.

In his native village Jandorein Lakhanpur area of Kathuadistrict his newly wedded wifespent the whole day tightlyclinging on to their wedding pix.On the other hand inconsolablefamily members and close rel-atives assembled at their resi-dence spent the long day eager-ly waiting for the arrival of hismortal remains. Arun hadjoined his duty shortly afterattending his marriage cere-mony. He was commissioned inthe Indian Army in 2015.

"Initially we were informedthat the mortal remains wouldarrive on Wednesday but therewas some delay due to techni-cal reasons, now we are told the

dead bodies would reach hereon Thursday", a close relativeinformed local media inKathua. Along with Arun Kataltwo more soldiers from Jammuregion sacrificed their lives.

They have been identifiedas Havaldar Jugal Kishore, sonof Ram Pal, resident of Dagervillage in Kharha Wali block ofKhour and Sepoy VishalSharma son of Babu Ram (Ex-serviceman), resident of villageChak Malal in Khour SubDivision of Jammu district.

Rifleman Arun's father,Praladh Singh himself anArmy veteran was hopeful hisson would survive. But onWednesday he was informedabout the recovery of deadbodies of all seven soldiers whowere struck by an avalancheduring a routine patrol duty atan high altitude area.

Ex Serviceman OmPrakash, father-in-law ofHavaldar Jugal Kishore said, "Ifail to understand why the sol-diers were deputy on patrolduty when the high altitudearea was witnessing heavy

snowfall". He appealed to thehigher authorities in the Indianarmy to avoid risking lives ofsoldiers during inclementweather conditions. HavaldarJugal Kishore leaves behind hisageing parents, a four yeardaughter and wife. His elderbrother, Gautam Sharma, aformer sarpanch in the areasaid, "his parents were offeringprayers seeking well being ofhis younger brother but now ithas been confirmed he has notsurvived. "How can I tell themtheir son is no longer alive. Icannot face his wife and fouryear old daughter". Accordingto family members Jugal con-tacted his wife on Feb 5 for thelast time. The family couldn'tstay in touch with him afterwards as he proceeded onpatrol duty and was later hit byan avalanche.

Sepoy Vishal also leavesbehind his mother and ayounger sister. His close fam-ily friends remembered him asa brave soldier who recentlyorganised marriage of hisyounger sister.

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The Bengal State ElectionCommission has made

massive bondobast ahead ofFebruary 12 elections for fourcorporations in the State.

According to SEC sourcesthe poll panel has decided todeploy 9,000 police men toman 8,500 polling stations ofSiliguri,Bidhannagar,Chandannagar and Asansol municipalcorporations. Elections to theremaining 108 civic boardswill take place on February 27.

Out of 9,000 personnel5,500 armed police men wouldbe deployed in all the policestation, sources said addingspecial arrangements have beenmade for the Bidhannagar cor-poration which is nearer toKolkata.

The reports of massivedeployment by the SEC comesin the wake of opposition BJPdemanding central armedforces to man the municipal-elections slated to take place onFebruary 12 and 27. The BJPon Tuesday wrote to the SECthat without the CentralArmed Police Force “the elec-torate cannot vote freely.”

The BJP has written to theSEC that “there are regular

instances of our candidatesbeing intimidated, being threat-ened with life, over the phoneand in person. In all cases, thelocal police are just silent spec-tators and in most cases refuseto register a complaint.”

It further said, “our candi-dates are not being allowed tocampaign, put up banners,flags, wall writing. Here again,the local police are not willing

to help and in many cases takea blatant partisan line insup-port of the ruling party.”

State Opposition LeaderSuvendu Adhikari said, “WestBengal government is misusingits power and is assemblinggoons of a particular commu-nity but we are ready to fightthe polls.

State Election Commissionis a branch organization of

TMC.”Meanwhile, the ruling

Trinamool Congress wonunopposed two municipalitiesof Budge Budge and Sainthiathat are scheduled to go to pollson February 27. Out of 20 seatsthe TMC won 13 unopposed inBudge Budge and out of 16seats the party won 13 seatsunopposed in Sainthia.Wednesday was the last date offiling of nominations for theFebruary 27 elections.

While the Trinamool lead-ers said that the opposition par-ties had no base in Bengalwhich was why they wereunable to find candidates BJP’sSamik Bhattacharya said thathis party nominees were eithernot being allowed to file nom-inations were being threatenedinto withdrawing candidature.

“There is no environmentto hold elections in Bengal …TMC has finished it … this iswhy we had written to theCommission to deploy centralforces,” he said.

However the TMC leader-ship said that “MamataBanerjee’s developmental pro-jects have so much impressedthe people that the BJP and anyother party failed to find can-didates.

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In a major development theCentral Bureau of

Investigation has issued sum-mons to Bengali cine super starand Trinamool Congress MPDeb in the cow-smuggling case.

Deb, one of the busiestBangla actors has been asked toreport at the Nizam Palaceoffice of the CBI which has alsosummoned Bengal ministerMaloy Ghatak in the case.According to sources in thecentral investigating agencyDeb’s name “came up during

the investigation process.”However TMC leader and

MLA Tapas Roy called it a“pressure tactic” of the BJP.

“It is strange that whenev-er there is an election the cen-tral agencies become activeand withdraw into their shellsafterthe polls … this time it isnot different … Deb has beensummoned just ahead of thecivic elections … the people arewatching it … in any case hewill take legal help and will def-initely explain his stanceandcooperate with the agencies.”

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Aday after a single bench ofthe Kerala High Court

upheld the ban imposed on itsoperations, Media One, aMalayalam TV channel ownedby various Islamic outfits movedan appeal before a DivisionBench on Wednesday chal-lenging the single bench order.

Justice M Nagaresh, after aperusal of the details furnishedby the Ministry of Informationand Broadcasting to the courtin a sealed envelop that neces-sitated the ban on the channel,had expressed his shock overthe functioning of the channeldespite adverse reports by var-ious agencies under theMinistry of Home Affairs.Media One is challenging thisorder of Justice Nagaresh.

The channel in a petitionchalleging Justie Nagresh'sorder said that right from itsinception till today, no pro-ceedings were initiated againstthe channel for contraventionof any law.

“It is the anguish of theappellant that the 1st respon-dent (Union of India) wasrather in haste to cancel thelicense as if there was some pre-scripted agenda motivated bysome ill-will. It is added thatbeing a news channel, it maynot be possible to appease thestate every time and it is strongfeeling of the appellant that itis victimised for its fair andgenuine reporting,” said thechannel authorities.

It further alleged that thegovernments in the past usedto be tolerant to fair criticismbut it has now choked freespeech and free press. Thechannel also said that the threatto national security has beenraised as a ruse to cancel thelicense of the appellant, whichdoes not have any basis at all.

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Srinagar: Police in Anantnagdistrict of Jammu and Kashmirbusted two terror modules ofproscribed terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad by arresting 11persons, including three"hybrid" terrorists, an officialspokesman said here onTuesday.

Incriminating material,including arms and ammuni-tion, have been recovered fromtheir possession, thespokesman said.

"Based on credible inputs

that proscribed terror outfitJeM is planning to carry outattacks on police/SF inSrigufwara/Bijbehara areas ofAnantnag, multiplenakas/checkpoints were estab-lished at various locations,"the spokesman said.

He said during a checkingat one of such checkpoints atSakhras crossing, Srigufwara,three people riding a bike wereintercepted.

They tried to flee butwere apprehended.

They disclosed that theyare associates of proscribedterror outfit JeM and are indirect contact with Pakistan-

based handlers and at theirbehest, they were going toattack police/SF in theSrigufwara area.

"Upon their further dis-closure two more terror asso-ciates were arrested," thespokesman said.

He said police bustedanother terror module in theBijbehara area by arresting sixterror associates, including ajuvenile, and recovered incrim-inating material from theirpossession. PTI

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Phulbani: An 18-year-old youthwas killed after an IED, suspectedto have been planted by Maoistsnear their posters calling for boy-cotting the upcoming panchay-at elections, exploded in Odisha'sKandhamal district onWednesday, police said.

The incident took place inSadingia village in Phiringiapolice station area when PriyaRanjan Kanhar, a resident ofKiamunda village, was going tothe forest, officer-in-charge PShyam Sundar Rao said.

The body will be recoveredfrom the spot after clearancefrom the bomb squad and foren-sic team, he said.

Locals, who fear there mightbe more explosives in the area,said that police had defusedtwo Improvised ExplosiveDevices (IEDs) from near theposters on Tuesday, but theundetected IED, around 50metres from the spot, claimedthe life of Kanhar. The explosiontook place barely four days aftera local journalist was killed in thedistrict in a similar mannerwhen he was approachingMaoist posters. PTI

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Alleging that theEnforcement Directorate

(ED) and other agencies were“continuously harassing” thevendors who provided service tohis daughter’s wedding held inNovember last year, Shiv SenaMP and spokesperson SanjayRaut has charged the harass-ment suffered by the decoratorsand other vendors concerned asa “direct attack” on his right tospeak freely in Rajya Sabhaand outside the Upper House.

In a letter shot off to chair-man of Rajya Sabha and vicepresident of India VenkaiahNaidu on Tuesday, Raut said:“my daughter gor married on29th November 2021. The EDand other agency personnel aresummoning, intimidating andthreatening the decorators andother vendors of the weddingevent so as to extract state-ments from them that theyreceived Rs 50 lakh from me in

cash. On refusal by these peo-ple to partake in such anendeavour, the ED and otheragencies are continuouslyharassing them”.

Raut, who is the Shiv SenaParliamentary Party leader,said that the ED and otheragencies had so far “wronglyconfined” 28 persons as part ofthe alleged witch-hunt beingcarried out against him. He saidthat the ED and other agencieshad not only “confined” the 28persons for hours together in itsoffice, but had also gone to theextent of “threatening” thesepeople that if they do not givea statement to the ED and otheragencies, they would be arrest-ed. “The ED and other agencypersonnel who are tasked withthe duty to protect revenue andsecure proceeds of the crimeare now reduced to puppets oftheir political masters. In fact,the personnel from the ED andother agencies even confessedto the very people they are

summoning that they havebeen asked by their bosses tofix me,” Raut wrote in his let-ter to Naidu.

Maintaining that he wasnot scared nor was he going tobow down (to theGovernment). “I will continueto speak the truth, both in theHouse and outside the House.However, the Governmentusing agencies like the ED andother agencies to harass myfamily members, friends, rela-tives and even those peoplewho are not concerned with mespeaks volumes of the “decay inour system”.

Raut said that as a RajyaSabha member, he had the rightas well the duty guaranteed bythe Constitution to speak in theHouse. “As a citizen, I have theright to speak outside theHouse. I have the right to ques-tion the Government, its poli-cies, decisions and right to dis-sent. I have the right to makealliances which will democrat-

ically fight what we all perceiveto be against the state/nationalinterest,” he said.

Raut, whose Shiv Sena sev-ered its links with the BJP andaligned with the Congress andNCP to form the MahaVikasAghadi (MVA) government inMaharashtra in November2019, said: “We have a right tohave our own ideology whichmay necessarily in tandemwith the political power inpower at the Centre. However,that does not mean that ourlegislators, MPs, their familymembers, friends and acquain-tances are threatened andharassed under the garb of con-ducting investigations and evenarrested in cases of allegedmoney laundering”.

“However, transactionswhich are decades old and havenothing to with the moneylaundering are taken to investi-gations with the oblique andulterior motive of harassing andterrorising political opponents in

the name of conducting inves-tigation by ED and other centralagencies,” he said. Raut urged thevice President “not just take noteof the abuse of power to per-petuate intimidation and harass-ment on members of the RajyaSabha but also to speak up andtake action”.

Raut signed off his letterwith the famed poem pennedby the anti-Nazi German pas-tor Martin Niemoller who didnot speak out against the Nazirule at the right time and wroteconfessional people as a tokenof poem that read thus: “Firstthey came for the Communists,and I did not speak out—Because I was not a commu-nist; Then they came for thetrade unionists, and I did notspeak out—Because I was nota trade unionist; Then theycame for the Jews, and I did notspeak out—Because I was nota Jew; Then they came forme—and there was no one leftto speak for me”.

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Basu Bhattacharya and ShaktiSamanta, among the promi-nent ones.

It is true that Tollywoodhas produced some Hindi andUrdu films such as Devdas, butthe net cast by Bengali direc-tors has been narrow and con-fined mainly to Bengali movies.By the same token, not manynon-Bengalis got much spaceon the Tollywood screen. Thereason is that unless one is ason of the soil, it is difficult topick up spoken Bangla, whichis first a melody and then a lan-guage. For example, one is pro-nounced ‘Ayk’ while 21 is ‘ek’;51 is ‘ek anno’ and 61 becomes‘ek sutti’. Not many who are notborn in Bengal can cope withthis variation of melody firstand language later. Many ofeven those born on its soil arenot conscious of this variation.

As a result, onceBollywood got going,Tollywood could not com-pete. Also, Tollywood selectssubjects without any marketingstrategy, and lacks a proper dis-tribution network. The WestBengal Government is silentabout promoting good cinemawhile other States pursue itseriously. Another reason maybe that Tollywood did not tra-verse from the zamindari psy-che to that of businesspeopleand eventually to therespectable middle class. The

Bengali zamindar, once zamin-dari was over, continued tolook down upon business as anOBC occupation; he descend-ed straight into the middleclass. The contempt for busi-ness persisted as before.Occupationally, the zamindartook refuge in either intellec-tualism or trade unionism.

When it came to films,Tollywood’s scriptwriters anddirectors produced ‘pure’ andintellectual films, without anymasala being allowed totouch the kadhai, a la SatyajitRay, Ritwick Ghatak andMrinal Sen. Anyone whocould deal in masala stuff andwanted to make money hadto take a train from the erst-while Bengal Nagpur Railway(BNR) to Bombay.

It is not too late forTollywood to catch up. Forthis, the Kolkata film worldneeds to think anew, devisenew strategies and join therace. The normal or run-of-the-mill explanation of finan-cial paucity would not come inthe way. As American busi-nessmen say, “Money followsa bright new idea with the con-fidence to manage it. Ideas andmanagement do not followmoney.” To take an example ofa film that was a simple idea,which was followed by plentyof finance, it was Gandhi by SirRichard Attenborough. From

the most elderly and learnedintellectuals to the youngest ofschoolchildren, everyonecould identify with the classicmovie and enjoy it. Why didwe have to wait for an Englishknight to produce a classic onan Indian giant?

Between the 19th and 20thcenturies, India produced anynumber of giants. The saga ofNetaji Subhas remains an epic,for instance. GurudevRabindranath Tagore waspoetry and music personi-fied, besides being India’s firstNobel laureate for Literature,for Gitanjali. Bankim Chandrawas an inspiration for heroes,for Tollywood or any other‘Wood’ to produce movies on.Ramakrishna Paramahansaand Vivekananda are spiritu-ality epitomised.

Coming to themes, isthere any shortage in WestBengal or any other part ofIndia? Sandakphu, theSunderbans with its RoyalBengal Tigers, the collieriesand tea gardens are land-marks of the State. Kapurushdeals with tea gardens, butnot with tea-growing; theyuse these gardens as a stagefor dubious romance.

(The writer is a well-known columnist, an authorand a former member of theRajya Sabha. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

�� Sir — It is the need of the hour that thereshould be engagement with reason,fairness and common sense as Pakistanhas already entered this unhealthy con-troversy which could have been avoid-ed if an amicable solution were soughtat an early stage. The episode revolvesaround just scarves, which is a pity andcould have been resolved at the locallevel. Can religious symbolism in a per-son’s appearance — a turban, a tilak, acrucifix around the neck be a threat tolaw and order? This is just one exampleof the confusion and conflict underlyingthe theme of “coexistence” in India.

Saffron scarves are symbols ofHindutva, but not quite on the sameplane as hijab which, apart from custom-ary use by the faithful, passed theSupreme Court’s earlier “essence of reli-gion” test. Yet, all courts approach suchissues by the same route. Does secular-ism mean stopping girls from studyingif they wear hijab? The High Court hasreferred the matter to a larger Bench andnot given any interim relief. The StateGovernment should ensure peace andharmony. Till the verdict, both sidesshould practice restraint in nationalinterest. Utmost care is required to pre-vent the spread of such developments.

Yash Pal Ralhan | Jalandhar

�� Sir — The Congress might have givenfree tickets to labourers at railway stationsto go and “spread Coronavirus”, but didthe party workers operate the trains too?Besides, wageless starving bankruptmigrants were inhumanely charged highfares for their return home after gettingstranded in alien places due to the instantlockdown for months. Therefore, the freetickets offered by the Congress actuallyworked as a balm on the wounds of thevulnerable working class. By offering topay railway fares from the Congress fund,that “Italian” proved to feel the pain ofthe poorest of the poor migrants in India.

Perhaps the Government needs tourgently amend the meaning of “respon-sibility” in the dictionary. Thanks to the

sudden announcement of lockdown,the stranded poor not only found them-selves without livelihood and food,lakhs of them were thrown out of theiraccommodation for their failure to payrent. When sanity and humanity demandrepeated apologies from the Centre forthe unfathomable pain ‘gifted’ to poormigrants, we are made to believe that theCongress was a “super-spreader” ofCoronavirus. It’s time the Indian elec-torate learned to evaluate its leadersthrough their compassion, qualities andattitude, not race or birth which is noth-ing but mere destiny.

Kajal Chatterjee | Kolkata

�� Sir — There is no denying that theCongress is a drowning ship because itspolicies have been challenged head-onby the BJP which emerged as a nation-al party only in the 1980s. Since 2014,the BJP has left no political space foranyone else and is ruling with an ironhand. It has become so emboldened

that the Prime Minister does not thinktwice before criticising everybody else,particularly the Congress. Thoughthere is no creditworthy achievementon any front by the BJP in more thanseven years, there is nobody else tochallenge it.

The Congress is struggling to winthree-digit seats, and the way BJP ismoving in northern States, its job is noteasy. Mamata and Stalin do not like theBJP’s rule at the Centre. In such a sce-nario, a united front is the only way tocounter the BJP at the Centre. Since BJPis getting roughly 40 per cent of the voteshare, there must be 60 per cent who arenot supporting it. Unless it has a differ-ent plan, the Congress should not wastetime in stitching an alliance with theregional parties and merge its identity.Not doing so would be a big loss for theCongress.

RK Arya | Faridabad

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Mati-ul-Islam, a right-hand man of SheikhMujibur Rahmanand later the Finance

Secretary of Bangladesh, firstmet Satyajit Ray to import somefilms for the benefit ofBangladeshis. The prices paidwould astound today’s generation.The maximum was for ApurSansar — a handsome price of�25,000. In all, he purchased 12films. This incident apart, theBengal film industry, popularlycalled Tollywood, has not market-ed its products as profitable as itmight have. Or conversely per-haps, it has produced what is intel-lectually attractive but commer-cially not much viable.

Uncannily, Bengali men andwomen, in most segments ofBollywood, have played a role asbig as any other community,including setting up studios.Bombay Talkies was founded byDevika Rani and her husband.Her role cannot be underesti-mated when one realises thatDilip Kumar aka Yusuf Khanwas her exclusive find.

Bengalis sent nightingales,men and women of distinction,to the song and music world ofBombay, most notably HemantKumar, Manna Dey and theinimitable Kishore Kumar, not toforget Geeta Roy (later GeetaDutt) and the veteran JuthicaRoy, whose rendition ofGhoonghat ke pat khol re, tohepiyaa milenge resonates eventoday. We cannot also forget thatthe immortal KL Saigal was aproduct of New Theatres, found-ed by BN Sircar. So were Saigal’srenditions Babul mora and Jabdil hi toot gaya, which still ringin our ears. Incidentally, Saigalhad been singing Rabindrasangeet in Kolkata. The goldenvoice of ghazals in the Bombayfilm world, Talat Mehmood,also began his career in AllIndia Radio, Calcutta, underthe pen name of Tapan Kumar.

One could conclude, andnot without justification, thatTollywood has had talent but lit-tle success. The directors andfilmmakers that come to mindare many, but let us mention thelegendary Bimal Roy (who gaveus Do Bigha Zameen,Kabuliwala and many otherclassics), Hrishikesh Mukherji,

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Pakistan recently released a publicversion of its National SecurityPolicy (NSP) document. The doc-ument was authored by Moeed W

Yusuf, previously Special Assistant to PrimeMinister Imran Khan on National Securityand Strategic Policy Planning, later re-des-ignated as the National Security Adviser(NSA). Drawing from his experience as for-mer associate vice-president at the AsiaCenter at the United States Institute of Peace,Khan managed to provide a scholarlyappeal to the document, with clever use ofbombastic language that could impressamateur international audiences.

From Pakistan’s strategic perspective,the document feeds into the ongoingefforts of the ‘miltablishment’ (militaryestablishment) to reinvent itself as a ‘change-agent’ of a new narrative, based on the pri-oritisation of geo-economics as the key dri-ver on national priorities, rather than theearlier paradigm based in pure geo-politics.Essentially, given the precarious econom-ic situation facing Pakistan, and its falleninternational standing after the Taliban vic-tory in Afghanistan, the reality has dawnedupon the miltablishment that it cannot bebusiness as usual, of running with the haresand hunting with the hounds. Therefore, theNSP has to be seen as a part of the focusedeffort to change the international percep-tion of Pakistan as a ‘national security state’,obsessed with chasing an elusive parity withIndia, and maintaining the dominance ofits military in every sphere, at any cost.

The document has incorporated all theright terms that would appeal to Westernaudiences. Sample some; “safety, security, dig-nity and prosperity of the people”, “sustain-able and inclusive economic growth”, “preser-vation of diverse cultural heritage”, “goodGovernance to strengthen the State-citizencontract”, “ensure transparency and account-ability”, “strengthening the human securitypillar of comprehensive national security”,“seeking a peaceful neighbourhood based onmutual co-existence, and so on. The repeat-ed emphasis on enhancing trade, investmentand connectivity is also given to make a markin international business circles.

A finer reading of the documentreveals that from India’s point of view, thepublication is nothing but a sophisticatedexercise in insincerity. Almost all direct andindirect references to India have a negativeconnotation. Perhaps, the only savinggrace in the entire document is the line“Pakistan, under its policy of peace at homeand abroad, wishes to improve its relation-ship with India” (page 36, under “India”),and the restoration of Article 370 of theIndian Constitution by India is not men-tioned as a pre-condition in the context ofany bilateral proposition.

The document has other references todomestic security issues, which are noth-ing but clever attempts to paper over theserious problems that have not beenacknowledged, let alone acted upon withdue sincerity by Pakistan, despite over-whelming evidence to the contrary. The

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most blatant onesoncern terrorismand narcotics trafficking. In the dis-cussion under “Terrorism”, one findsthe absurd claim that “Pakistanpursues a policy of zero tolerance forany groups involved in terroristactivities on its soil” and “…withnational resolve and dedication,Pakistan has fought one of the mostsuccessful wars against terrorism inthe past two decades”. Subsequently,under “Narcotics and Organisedcrime”, it is claimed that “Pakistanhas been declared a poppy-freecountry since 2001”. The vacuity ofthis statement is belied by the factthat a majority of Afghanistan-ori-gin opium, heroin and methamphet-amine is trafficked through Pakistan,with the tacit support of state agen-cies, primarily the Inter-ServicesIntelligence.

There is a major lacuna of thedocument in the absence of any seri-ous proposition concerning address-ing the serious human rights situa-tion in Afghanistan. There is also asubtle endeavour to underemphasizethe burgeoning dependence uponChina on vital matters of nationalinterest. The publication has alreadycome under sharp criticism bydomestic critics within Pakistan,who have called it high on platitudeand low on substance. Despite itsclaim of bringing in the factor of“geo-economics”, alongside “geo-strategy”, the publication does notmake any commitment to reduce orrationalize the unsustainable DefenceBudget of Pakistan, which remainslargely out of public scrutiny.

The document adopts a slickpresentation style, summarising thediscussion of its six thematic sectionsin Policy Objectives, at the end ofeach relevant chapter. There is,however, no discussion on the“hows” of the vaunted objectives list-ed in enigmatic language. It is a

major weakness of the document -in absence of even broad allusion tothe main components of the PolicyObjectives described, the infirmitiesof the discussion will only becomemagnified in time.

The document has been givena time frame of four years by theauthors. As a sincere exercise in self-delusion, and a ploy for diverting theattention of the world from the realproblems, which strike at the root ofPakistan’s anachronistic existence,the document may become redun-dant in less than half its intendedtime frame, on an optimistic note.For India, it is another proof in evi-dence that the insincere miltablish-ment of Pakistan will use every trickin the book to buy time and attemptto encash on tactical peace toachieve its unflagging grand strate-gic objective of remaining the ulti-mate arbitrators of Pakistan’s destiny.

The existing national securityparadigm could provide neitherstate security nor human security toPakistan. One wonders how a newconcept of national security canemerge without critically drawingthe right conclusions from pastdevastating military adventures.While keeping the failures of amoribund security paradigm underthe carpet, the question must beasked, what is so new in the “first”national security policy document,on which so much self-praise isbeing showered?

It is being belatedly admittedthat without ensuring economicsecurity, “traditional security”, i.e.,defence, is not possible. The fact ofthe matter is that under the burdenof traditional security, an impover-ished economy has collapsed. And,consequently, traditional militarysecurity has also come undermounting pressure. The publishedNSP document provides only an

abstract analytical and disjointedframework, although it is reluctantto unambiguously draw a linebetween traditional security andhuman security.

What ought to be the contoursof a meaningful paradigm shift? Insimple and clear words, humansecurity, as opposed to the securityof the state, demands the security ofpeople based on their fundamentalrights. But, this basic feature of anyqualitative change is mentionedcasually and superficially, and thattoo in the last chapter of the docu-ment. Five chapters deal only withtraditional security and other mat-ters related to it, another chapter cov-ers foreign policy and one chapterdeals with economic security.

The emphasis is undoubtedly ondefence. The document is over-loaded with concerns over increas-ing asymmetry in conventionalweapons with India. Redressal issought in the growth of the econo-my as a necessary prerequisite. If thecontradictions and demands of adependent and fragile economy arefundamental, they have to be setright first. Then, logically, all aspectsof traditional security must be sub-jected to economic imperatives,which warrant peaceful coexistence,mutually beneficial economic coop-eration, and recalibration and reso-lution of the “core issues” throughprotracted and patient negotiations.Rather than taking a maximalistapproach towards the mostintractable “core” issues, it wouldrequire taking a path towards apeaceful settlement of disputes withall neighbours, promotion of mutu-ally beneficial trade and invest-ment across borders, and buildingeconomic synergies to strengtheneconomic interdependence.

Conclusively, Pakistan’s NSP isa flawed exercise in futility.

(The writer is formerSenior Professor,

International Trade andMember, Vivekananda

InternationalFoundation. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

Information about the work-ing and the finances of theIndian Railways has

become scarce in recent years.Discontinuance of a separateRailway Budget since 2017hastaken the limelight away fromthe Railways. Now it featuresas a single paragraph in theUnion Budget.

As a result, little is nowpublicly discussed about newprojects, new trains, ordemands for new lines or pro-jects by different states orpoliticians. High-profile orcontroversial subjects like theHigh-Speed Corridors, theTrain-18 project, or the Privatetrain Operations schemedofind occasional mention in thepress, but a holistic view of theactual health, direction orgrowth of the Indian Railways-the biggest employer in the

country, and arguably one ofthe biggest enterprises in theworld -is no longer available tothe country at large. Since2017, the Ministry does noteven have a full-time RailwayMinister. Both Piyush Goyal(on taking over from SureshPrabhu in September 2017)and the present incumbentAshwini Vaishnav have beengiven charge of other importantministries along with Railways,further exacerbating matters.

Consequently, the specificimpact of Covid on IR, has notbeen sufficiently evaluated inthe public domain. In theabsence of an objective assess-ment about the rebound - if any- by the Railway sector, and inthe run-up to the upcomingBudget presentation, anattempt was made to compileand compare available,provi-

sional data on IR’s website forthe 9-month period April-December 2021 with April-December 2019, two yearsback. This is considered thefairest possible comparison,considering the return of Covidin January 22, which is againlikely to vitiate comparisons.

Surprisingly, the numbersreveal a robust buoyancyin itsfreight business.Freight car-ried increased from 891 millionMT to 1030 million MT in this

period, an increase of 15.6percent, and Freight revenues avery healthy 20.9

Per cent, from �86.706cr. to�104,789 cr.over 2 years - a 10per cent annual rise.

The passenger segment,however,is a very differentsto-ry. While total passengerscar-ried have reduced from 6278million to 2300 million (- 63per cent), revenue from passen-gers fell from �39,528cr. to �27.092cr.(-31.5%), for the 9-month comparison period.The biggest reduction is in thesuburban passenger numbers,which explains why the loss inrevenue is disproportionatelyless in relation to the drop innumbers. The PRS segment -within which the sleeper class,AC-3 tier, AC chair car andAC-2 tier constitute almost 90per cent of the total numbers

and almost 75 per cent of thesegment revenue - has almostrecovered fully in December 21to the December 19 levels,while the non-PRS/Suburbancontinues to operate at less than50 per cent of the December2019 levels.

Freight, passenger andsundry earnings taken togeth-er show that IR’s earning havefully recovered: earnings thisyear till December are �1,37,393 cr. against �1,32,931cr. in 2019-20, a modest 3.4 percent increase over the two-yearpandemic period.

The improved freight per-formance may partially owe itto the reduced passenger oper-ations, with more paths, morelocomotives/crew available, andeasier mobility possible. Thepandemic’s adverse effect onthe trucking business, and ele-

vated fuel prices, may alsohave favoured rail freight.These are advantages IR woulddo well to capitalise on, andbuild on further. The gradual,partial opening-up of the twoDedicated Freight Corridorsare also adding capacity (theymoved about 6 billion NTKMstill recently - a significant,although still a miniscule partof IR’s traffic). A sustainedincrease in freight, at a levelhigher than the GDP growth,as achieved in the last twoyears, will help win back muchneeded modal share of themajor, non-coal commoditiesto rail.

The pandemic, and thephased recovery of the econo-my has presenteda unique busi-ness opportunity to IndianRailways in that they are ableto concentrate on their two

most profitable business seg-ments - Freight and long-dis-tance, reserved passengers -keeping the grossly subsidisedand capacity guzzling suburbanand short/medium distanceor-dinary passenger services to thebare minimum. The temporarysuspension of many conces-sions on the passenger serviceswould also have helped inadding to revenue, and inimproving availability to full-fare paying passengers. All thisoffers clear clues to the RailMinistry in long-term mea-sures aimed at improving itsrevenues, profitability, and re-winning its importance and rel-evance. It is hoped thatthiswindfall - which may bepartially circumstantial, andnot a positive act of the IRmanagement - will not beallowed to wither away.

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(The writer retired as ChiefAdministrative Officer of

one of IR’s Production Units. The views expressed

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Iran unveiled a new missile onWednesday with a reported

range that would allow it toreach both U.S. bases in theregion as well as targets insideits archfoe Israel.

State TV reported that themissile uses solid fuel and hasa range of 1,450 kilometers (900miles). It is called the Khaibar-buster, a reference to a Jewishcastle overrun by Muslim war-riors in the early days of Islam.

The report said the missilehas high accuracy, is manufac-tured completely domestically,and can defeat missile shieldsystems. The information hasnot been independently veri-fied. Israel’s closest point to Iranis some 1,000 kilometers (620

miles) away. Iran has missilesthat can travel up to 2,000 kilo-meters (1,250 miles). Thereport comes as negotiationscontinue in Vienna to reviveTehran’s tattered nuclear dealwith world powers.

Iran, which has long said itdoes not seek nuclear weapons,insists its missile program isonly a deterrent.

Earlier in January Iran test-ed an engine for a solid-fuelrocket designed to launch satel-lites. Satellite carriers usuallyuse liquid fuel but solid-fuelrockets can be adapted formobile launchers that can bedriven anywhere on a majorroad or rail system.

Pure solid-fuel rockets aremostly associated with ballisticmissiles systems.

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The Pakistan Air Force(PAF) is all set to induct a

first batch of next generationJF-17 Thunder block III fight-er jets built jointly with Chinato upgrade its fleet by the endof next month, a PAFspokesperson has said, ArabNews reported.

JF-17 Thunder, anadvanced, light-weight, allweather, multi-role fighter air-craft with air-to-air and air-to-surface combat capabilities,was developed as a joint ven-ture between the PakistanAeronautical Complex (PAC)and the Chengdu AircraftIndustry Corporation (CAC) inChina.

The aircraft will replacePakistan's current aging fleet,the report said.The first JF-17prototype aircraft (called FC-1)was rolled out in May 2003.Basic flight testing was com-

pleted in 2007, which markedthe arrival of the JF-17Thunder aircraft in Pakistan,formally presented to thenation as a Pakistan Day gift onMarch 23, 2007. PAC has deliv-ered nearly 120 JF-17 Block Iand II fighter jets to PAF since2009.

"JF-17 Thunder block III isthe latest aircraft of this seriesand all taxi tests and flight testshave been completed," a PAFspokesperson told Arab Newson Tuesday.

"It's first batch will becomepart of the PAF fleet by the endof March," he added, sayingthere would be a proper induc-tion ceremony on the occasion,the report said.

The rollout ceremony ofblock III was held in Decemberlast year, the spokespersonsaid. The new JF-17 jets willalso fly-past at the Pakistan Daymilitary parade on March 23,he added.

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Lagos: As many as two peoplewere killed when a group ofgunmen attacked the convoy ofa businessman in southNigeria's Edo state, police saidon Wednesday.

Kontongs Bello, the policespokesperson in Edo, said thatthe victims were driversattached to the chairman of apetroleum marketers associa-tion in the state, Abdul-HamidEgele, who was abducted by thegunmen after the attack,Xinhua news agency reported.

The gunmen interceptedEgele's motorcade near thetown of Jattu of the state onMonday evening, killing the

driver of the car Egele wasusing on the spot, and wound-ing a security guard and anoth-er driver of the motorcade, saidBello.

He said the second driver,who was driving Egele's back-up car, died later because of theserious bullet injuries he suf-fered during the attack.

The police spokespersonsaid the police had begun a res-cue operation in the area.Armed attacks have been a pri-mary security threat in themost populous African coun-try, leading to deaths and kid-nappings in recent months.

IANS

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Terror groups enjoy greaterfreedom in Afghanistan

than at any time in recent his-tory and there are no signs thatthe Taliban leadership hastaken steps to limit the activi-ties of foreign terrorists in thewar-torn country, a report ofthe UN Secretary-General hassaid.

The report says the dread-ed Islamic State terrorist groupaims to position itself as the“chief rejectionist force” inAfghanistan, expands intoneighbouring Central andSouth Asian countries and isviewed by the Taliban as its pri-mary armed threat.

The '14th report of theSecretary-General on the threatposed by ISIS to internationalpeace and security and therange of United Nations effortsin support of Member States incountering the threat' notesthat the security landscape inAfghanistan changed dramat-ically on August 15, followinga Taliban military campaignthat took control in the coun-try, including Kabul.

“There are no recent signsthat the Taliban has taken stepsto limit the activities of foreignterrorist fighters in the coun-try. On the contrary, MemberStates are concerned that ter-rorist groups enjoy greaterfreedom in Afghanistan than atany time in recent history,” thereport said.

It, however, said that onlya small number of foreign ter-rorist fighters are moving toAfghanistan.

The report said ISIS affili-ate in Afghanistan, IslamicState in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan, continues to be ledby Sanaullah Ghafari, anAfghan national, who was des-ignated by the ISIS and al-

Qaida Sanctions Committeeof the UN Security Council inDecember last year. The USon Monday announced areward of up to USD 10 millionfor information on Ghafariand those responsible for lastyear's militant attack on theKabul international airportthat killed at least 185 people.The US Department ofRewards for Justice (RFJ)issued notifications to thiseffect on Monday. "Rewardsfor Justice is offering a rewardof up to USD 10 million forinformation on ISIS-K leaderShahab al-Muhajir, also knownas Sanaullah Ghafari," it said.According to the UN report,ISIS-K is taking advantage ofthe turmoil in the country,including by recruiting fightersfrom the Eastern TurkistanIslamic Movement and theTurkistan Islamic Party, amongother foreign terrorist groups.“It aims to position itself as thechief rejectionist force inAfghanistan and to expandinto neighbouring Central andSouth Asian countries and isviewed by the Taliban as its pri-mary armed threat,” the reportsaid.

The UN Member States areconcerned that if Afghanistandescends into further chaos,some Afghan and foreign vio-lent extremists may shift alle-giances to ISIS, it said.

The UN Member Stateshave assessed that the strengthof ISIS-K has increased fromearlier estimates of 2,200 fight-ers to now approaching 4,000following the release by theTaliban of several thousandindividuals from prison.

One Member Stateassessed that up to half theindividuals are foreign terror-ist fighters, it added.

“While Da'esh controlslimited territory in eastern

Afghanistan, it is capable ofconducting high-profile, com-plex attack such as the 27August bombing at Kabul air-port, which killed over 180people, and several subsequentattacks, in particular against theTaliban and members of theShia community,” the reportsaid.

The report said that dur-ing the second half of 2021,ISIS (Da'esh) continued to suf-fer leadership losses, while itsaffiliates maintained a highlevel of activity and attacks inAfrica and gained in strengthand visibility in Afghanistanfollowing the Taliban takeover.

The interrelated issues offoreign terrorist fighters, otherISIS fighters and their familymembers continued to concernMember States acutely.

The Member States in theSouth-East Asia region are alsoconcerned about the “potentialresurgence of a safe haven” inAfghanistan for internationalterrorist activity, as well asabout social media messagingthat “celebrates the Talibanvictory”, which could be usedas a recruitment tool for violentextremism locally, the reportnoted.

National authorities in theSouth-East Asia region are notreporting any immediateuptick in attempted travel toAfghanistan, but are alert tothis possibility. Thereport said that both Indonesiaand the Philippines reportedsignificant counter-terrorismgains, leading to an overalldecline in terrorist activity andcautious optimism that theoperational capability of severalgroups in the region may besignificantly degraded. At thesame time, the threat of attacksby lone actors or inspired byradicalised individuals remainsa concern, it said.

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Pakistan's maritime author-ities have arrested 36

Indian fishermen and seizedtheir six vessels for allegedlyfishing in country's territorialwaters, officials said onWednesday. The PakistanMaritime Security Agency(PMSA) said that it appre-hended intruding vessels onTuesday during patrolling inPakistan Exclusive EconomicZone (EEZ).Baghel The PMSAship "apprehended 06 Indianfishing boats along with 36crew, which were engaged inpoaching inside PakistaniEEZ," it said in a statement.The boats were being towed toKarachi for further legal pro-ceedings as per Pakistani Lawsand UN Convention on Law ofSea, it said.

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Ateam of researchers fromthe University of New

South Wales (UNSW) havecome up with a newapproach to making high-speed rail (HSR) cost-effec-tive in Australia that involvesfactoring in the rise in landvalue among other "valueuplifts".

The report released byUNSW's City FuturesResearch Centre onWednesday showed thatHSR stations alongAustralia's east coast, con-necting the nation's threemost populous cities Sydney,Melbourne and Brisbane,would generate a potential140 billion Australian dollars(about US$100 billion) inland value, Xinhua newsagency reported.

"There are a lot of oppor-tunities around HSR forAustralia to build strongerconnectivity between citiesand inject significant wealthand job opportunities intothe regions," said Director ofUNSW City FuturesResearch Centre and leadauthor on reportChristopher Pettit.

In past, proposed HSRprojects have been ruled outgiven Australia's relativelysmall population -- com-pared to countries like Japan,China and Germany, whichhave established HSR net-works.

A report delivered to theAustralian government in2013 proposed HSR devel-opment on east coast wouldcost 130 billion Australiandollars (about $93 billion).

Pettit said their propos-al shows that this cost couldbe almost entirely offset byvalue added in areas such asdwelling value, populationgrowth, creating jobs inregional areas of Australiaand providing greater accessto cities.

"If you were to capture asubstantial proportion ofthis value uplift, it could payfor a huge amount of theHSR," he said. Past propos-als have attracted no short-age of criticism.

Experts have rebukedidea as having a benefit-costratio that would barely breakeven, and huge emissionscosts from construction ofthousands of kilometers ofrail lines. James Abbott,managing director at AbbottAdvisory and reviewer ofUNSW report, told Xinhua:"I think that you need to

consider population we willhave in 30 years versus pop-ulation we have today.

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Meta (formerly Facebook)on Wednesday

announced to expand its flag-ship counter-speech initiativeto Pakistan and the UK totackle violent extremism, ter-rorism and organised hatespeech on its platforms.

Meta's Redirect Initiative,already available in Australia,the US, Germany andIndonesia, is now enteringPakistan and the UK to "dis-rupt the connection betweenfollowers and the violent,extreme content they seek".

Now, when someone inPakistan or the UK searcheson Facebook using wordsassociated with organised hateor violent extremism, the topsearch result will be a link toresources and support forhow to leave violence andextremism behind."We'repartnering with ShaoorFoundation in Pakistan andExit UK in the UK," saidMeta.

Research shows that chal-lenging violent, extremistviews with positive counter-

speech is one of the mosteffective ways to combat hateand extremism.

"Counter-speech is onlyeffective if it comes fromcredible voices, so we've part-nered with various NGOs andcommunity groups on multi-ple counter-speech initiativesaround the world includingcommunity programs, toolk-its and research," said DrNawab Osman, Asia PacificHead of Counter-Terrorismand Dangerous Organizationsat Meta.

Counter-speech involvesresponding to hateful, extrem-ist narratives with empathyand alternative perspectives,rather than shutting theseconversations down.

Shaoor Foundation hasbeen working for many years,designing and implementingpeace development pro-grammes in Pakistan.

"Building a society that isinclusive, respectful andpeaceful and involves engag-ing the entire community,enabling people to speak upand providing a safe, accessi-ble space to get support.

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Heat advisories have beenissued for Southern

California, including LosAngeles and other counties,with possibility of record hightemperatures startingWednesday and lasting throughweekend.

"Heat Advisory now in effectfrom Wednesday morningthrough Sun afternoon. Highswill reach 85-90 degrees eachday: 15-20 degrees above nor-mal! This can lead to wintertimeheat stress, especially those whoare not used to this kind of heat.

Take extra precautions thisweek," the National WeatherService (NWS) Los AngelesOffice tweeted on Tuesday.

Ninety degree fahrenheit isover 32.2 degree Celsius. InSouthern California, February'snormal daily high temperaturesare around 68 degree fahrenheit(20 degree Celsius), Xinhuanews agency reported.

The NWS predicted thatnear record high temperaturesare possible during peak of heatwave in winter. "This is unsea-sonably hot, so many people willnot be acclimated to this heatleading to faster onset dehydra-tion and heat stress.

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UN chief Antonio Guterreshas condoled the demise

of the legendary Indian singer,Lata Mangeshkar, who "trulyhad been the voice of the sub-continent".

Mangeshkar, who will becounted as one of India'sgreats with an estimated25,000 songs in an almosteight-decade career, died inMumbai on Sunday. She was92.

The UN Secretar yGeneral's Deputy SpokesmanFarhan Haq told PTI onTuesday that Guterres“expressed his condolencesto her family and to the peo-ple of India, over the loss ofsomeone who had truly beenthe voice of the subconti-nent”.

India 's PermanentRepresentative to the UNAmbassador T S Tirumurti onSunday said the passing ofMangeshkar is an “irreplace-able loss to the nation. An

irreplaceable loss to the worldof music". "BharatRatna #LataMangeshkar willlive in our hearts forever,” hesaid.

Taking to Twitter,Assistant-Secretary-Generaland Deputy ExecutiveDirector of UN Women AnitaBhatia on Sunday saidMangeshkar, “the Nightingaleof India, is no more.

We mourn the passing ofthis remarkable woman, amusic legend whose beautifulvoice is indelibly etched in ourmemories and our hearts.”

Diaspora organisationFederation of IndianAssociations - New York, NewJersey and Connecticut (FIA-NY NJ CT) also condoled thedemise of Mangeskar, whowas known as the 'Nightingaleof India'.

“The melodious voice ofthe legend Bharat Ratna LataMangeshkar ji will live with usforever. Deepest condolencesto her family & fans all overthe world,” FIA said.

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Israel struck targets in Syriaon Wednesday in response

to an anti-aircraft missilelaunched from Syria, whichexploded in mid-air, the Israeliarmy said. Sirens were heardin the Arab city of Umm al-Fahm in northern Israel aswell as in the occupied WestBank, the army said in a state-ment. Residents reported largeexplosion sounds, Xinhuareported citing the Hebrew-language news outletYnetnews.There were noimmediate reports of Israelicasualties.The alerts in Israelcame as the Syrian state mediaSANA reported aerial defensesystems in Damascus area hadbeen activated and intercept-ed Israeli missiles.

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The World HealthOrganization says coron-

avirus case counts fell 17%worldwide over last week com-pared to previous week, includ-ing a 50% drop in UnitedStates, while deaths globallydeclined 7%. The weekly epi-demiological report from theU.N. health agency, releasedlate Tuesday, shows that omi-cron variant is increasinglydominant — making up near-ly 97% of all cases tallied byinternational virus-trackingplatform known as GISAID.Just over 3% were of deltavariant. “The prevalence ofomicron variant has increasedglobally and is now detected inalmost all countries,” WHOsaid. “However, many of coun-tries which reported an early

rise in number of cases due toomicron variant have nowreported a decline in totalnumber of new cases sincebeginning of January 2022.” Alltold, WHO reported more than19 million new cases ofCOVID-19 and under 68,000new deaths during week fromJan. 31 to Feb. 6. As with allsuch tallies,experts say suchfigures are believed to greatlyunderestimate real toll. Casecounts fell in each of WHO’s sixregions except its easternMediterranean zone, whichreported a 36% jump, notablywith increases in Afghanistan,Iran and Jordan. In Europe,case counts fell 7% — led bydeclines in places like Franceand Germany — even as coun-tries in eastern Europe likeAzerbaijan, Belarus and Russiaposted increases.

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India is in discussion with the10-nation bloc ASEAN for

initiating the review of thefree-trade agreement in goodsbetween the two regions to seekmore market access for domes-tic products, Parliament wasinformed on Wednesday.

Minister of State forCommerce and IndustryAnupriya Patel said the marketaccess issues and trade barriersbeing faced in ASEAN(Association of Southeast AsianNations) countries and Chinaare being regularly taken upwith individual countriesthrough bilateral engagements.

"The Government of Indiais in discussion with ASEANcountries for initiating thereview of ASEAN-India tradein goods agreement to seekmore market access for Indianproducts," she said in a writtenreply to the Lok Sabha.

In a separate reply, she saidthat to increase exports includ-ing apparel exports, India isactively negotiating regionaltrade agreements (RTAs)/ FTAswith a number of countriesincluding the UAE, Australia, Canada, Israel andthe UK.

"Ongoing FTA negotia-tions will also provide morefavourable market access toproducts exported from India,"she said.

The Minister said that tex-tile and apparel export growthhas been facing adverse impactof the COVID-19 pandemicand higher import tariffs in keymarkets such as the EuropeanUnion and the UnitedKingdom as compared to zeroduty access in these countriesto competing countries likeBangladesh and Cambodia.

Replying to a question onexport dues, she said the gov-ernment has released �56,027crore in order to clear pending

export incentive dues toexporters. This is for variousschemes — MerchandiseExports from India Scheme(�33,010 crore, Service Exportsfrom India Scheme ( � 10,002crore), Rebate of State andCentral Taxes and Levies (�5,286 crore), Rebate of StateLevies (�330 crore), andRemission of Duties and Taxeson Exported Products (�2,568crore) and other legacyschemes like Target PlusScheme, Focus ProductScheme.

"It is estimated that suchbenefits would be disbursed tomore than 45,000 exporters,out of which the majoritywould be in the micro, smalland medium enterprises(MSME) category," Patel said.Clearance of dues under theseschemes is dependent on meet-ing the eligibility criteria by theapplicant exporter, whoseapplications are scrutinised forany deficiency.

New Delhi: The Government is open to'some tinkering' in the varied rates and hold-ing period for computation of capital gainstax on shares, debt and immovable prop-erty, in a bid to make it simple, RevenueSecretary Tarun Bajaj said on Wednesday.

In the current fiscal, the revenues fromcapital gains tax is expected to jump 10-foldto about �80,000 crore.

Under the Income Tax Act, gains fromsale of capital assets, both movable andimmovable, are subject to 'capital gains tax'.The Act, however, excludes movable per-sonal assets such as cars, apparels, furniturefrom this tax.

Bajaj said the current capital gains taxstructure is "too complicated" in terms ofvaried rates and period of holding across theassets and hence needs a relook.

"We need to rework the capital gainsstructure for rates, holding periods. Wewould be open to some tinkering in it, thenext time we get an opportunity," Bajaj saidat a CII event.

Asking the industry chamber to alsoconduct a study on what are the prevailingrates of capital gains tax across the world,Bajaj said, the department has already stud-ied the rates in other nations like India andthe developed world.

"Number one is rate and number twois the period for which it is. I think it is toocomplicated... That we have created. For realestate, we have made it 24 months, for shares12 months, for debt it is 36 months. We needto work on that," Bajaj said. Observingthat when any such tinkering is brought

about, there would be a segment of tax-payers who would stand as gainers, whilethere would be a segment who would loseout compared to their present tax provision,the Secretary said, adding "that becomes themost difficult part".

Depending upon the period of hold-ing an asset, the long-term or short-termcapital gains tax is levied. The Act providesfor separate rates of taxes for both categoriesof gains. The method of computation alsodiffers for both the categories.

In general, when an asset is held formore than 36 months, it is termed as a long-term asset, otherwise short-term.However, equity shares or units of equityoriented mutual funds held for more than12 months are considered long-term,whereas house property has to be held for24 months to be considered a long-termcapital asset.

Short-term capital gains are chargeableto tax at normal slab rates applicable to thetaxpayer, except where such gain is arisingfrom sale of equity shares in a company orunits of equity oriented mutual fund or unitof a business trust (where STT has beenpaid), which is chargeable to tax at the rateof 15 per cent, while long-term capitalgains in excess of �1 lakh is taxed at 10 percent.

Bajaj said in the current fiscal, the gov-ernment is likely to collect good revenuefrom capital gains tax despite the fact thatcapital gains tax rates are much lower at 10per cent and 15 per cent respectively forlong-term and short-term. PTI

Detroit: Tesla is recalling nearly 27,000 vehi-cles in the US because the cabin heating systemsmay not defrost the windshield quickly enough,cutting visibility and increasing the risk of a crash.

The latest in a series of recent recalls cov-ers certain 2021 and 2022 Models 3, S, and X,and some 2020 through 2022 Model Y vehicles.Tesla says it doesn't know of any crashes orinjuries tied to the problem. Documents post-ed Wednesday say the electric vehicle maker willsend out an online software update to fix theissue.

US safety regulators say in the documentsthat a software error can cause a valve in the vehi-cles' heat pumps to open unintentionally, trap-ping refrigerant inside the evaporator. That canreduce defrosting performance.

The problem can deplete the refrigerant insome parts of the heat pump, causing the com-pressor to stop working as a fail-safe measure.That can cause loss of cabin heating, largely whenit's minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degreesFahrenheit) or colder.

Tesla stores and service centers were to havebeen notified of the recall around Feb. 4. Therecall is the 14th done by Tesla since January2021, according to National Highway TrafficSafety Administration records. AP

New Delhi: Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal onWednesday took a comprehensive review of initiatives takenby the various ports for facilitating ease of doing business(EoDB) and operational efficiency through technology(OETT) to boost growth under the PM Gati Shakti NationalMaster Plan, an official statement said.

Sonowal said integrated efforts which are being takenby ports and others will add speed to development worksaround the country.

PM Gati Shakti will help the people, farmers and fish-ing community and strengthen India's economy, the ports,shipping and waterways minister added.

According to the statement, Sonowal further urged theofficials to put emphasis on promotion of the AtmanirbharBharat mission and skill development so that the youth ofthe country can be benefited.

PM Gati Shakti is driven by seven engines of growth-- roads, railways, airports, ports, mass transport, water-ways and logistics. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping andWaterways is set to play a major role in the realisation ofthe PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, the statement said.

All the senior officials assured the minister that theywill move forward on the directions given by him so thatthe economy can be boosted and more people can get itsbenefits, it added. PTI

New Delhi: Commerce and Industry MinisterPiyush Goyal on Wednesday said the Open Networkfor Digital Commerce (ONDC) will give an oppor-tunity to small retailers to compete with big firmsand its Beta version is likely to be launched in fewmonths. As UPI is to the digital payment domain,ONDC is to e-commerce in India. It will enable buy-ers and sellers to be digitally visible and transactthrough an open network, no matter what platform/application they use.

Goyal said that over the past few years, largecompanies have almost taken a complete strongholdon e-commerce business and small retailers do notget equal opportunity to be able to engage with e-commerce due to weak financials and strong finan-cial muscle of large firms.

Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, he saidthere are start-ups and small shops that are an impor-tant part of the ecosystem that provides retail shop-ping. "We are in the process of the governance struc-ture of ONDC. We have taken technocrats to help

us to create the technology and in another fewmonths, we will be able to do a beta launch and thissystem will give opportunity for small retailers tostand up in competition against big companies,"Goyal said.

He added that the platform will provide oppor-tunities for new start-ups to start creating a networkof sellers, provide service to local areas, and increasecompetition. Like "you can Google anyinformation and get a series of options, the same wayit (ONDC) will be easy for somebody who wants toprocure any product to get a lot of options", he added.

ONDC received its certificate of incorporationas a private sector non-profit company on December31, 2021. A number of established companies haveintegrated with the platform and the Governmenthas already set up a nine-member advisory council,including Nandan Nilekani from Infosys andNational Health Authority CEO R S Sharma, on stepsrequired to design and accelerate the adoption ofONDC. PTI

Mumbai: The rupee declined by 10paise to close at 74.84 against the USdollar on Wednesday amid persis-tent foreign fund outflows and ele-vated crude oil prices.

Investors are cautious ahead ofthe RBI monetary policy to beannounced on Thursday, analystssaid. At the interbank foreignexchange, the rupee opened at 74.70against the American dollar, andlater witnessed an intra-day high of74.68 and a low of 74.87 against thegreenback. The local unit finallyended the day at 74.84, down 10paise from the previous close of74.74.

"Rupee remained fairly subduedahead of the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) monetary policy but slowdepreciation has been seen in thelast two days on back of foreign fundoutflows from domestic equities andbonds," said Dilip Parmar, ResearchAnalyst, HDFC Securities.

On the overseas front, dollarbulls remained in control with thegreenback rallying from its 100-daysmoving average while equities man-aging to recover some lost ground.

"Spot USDINR is likely to con-solidate in the range of 74.60 to75.10 in the next couple of days,"Parmar said. The dollarindex, which gauges the green-back's strength against a basket of six

currencies, was trading 0.14 per centlower at 95.51. "The rupeedepreciated against the dollar for thesecond straight day on likely equi-ty-related outflows and importercovering," said Sriram Iyer, SeniorResearch Analyst at RelianceSecurities.

Additionally, persistent for-eign fund outflows from local equi-ties also weighed on the local unit.FPIs have pulled out a net USD 1 bil-lion (around �7,484 crore) fromIndian stocks in six sessions thismonth.

However, lack of any major fac-tor has kept the local unit in a smalltrading band from 74.50 to 75.05.Jateen Trivedi, Senior ResearchAnalyst at LKP Securities said thatthe rupee traded little weak await-ing cues from RBI policy due onThursday.

"With higher crude priceslooking likely to sustain above USD85 per barrel for this quarter, therupee can feel the heat till the timeit's weak below 74.00. Going aheadrupee can be seen in range of74.60-75.05," Trivedi said.

According to Emkay GlobalFinancial Services, the markets arewaiting for the RBI MPC's decisionon interest rates which comesagainst the backdrop of Budget2022-23, inflationary concerns andevolving geo-political situation.PTI

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Tata Power on Wednesdayposted a 74 per cent rise in

its consolidated net profit to�552 crore for the Decemberquarter on the back of higherrevenues.

This was the ninth con-secutive quarter of PAT growth,it added.

"Consolidated PAT (prof-it after tax) up by 74 per centYoY year at �552 crore vs �318Crore in Q3 FY21 (October-December 2020) on the back ofstrong all-round business per-formance by all verticals," acompany statement said.

Consolidated revenue alsowent up by 42 per cent to�11,015 crore, from �7,756crore in Q3 FY21 due toexpanded operation in Odishadiscoms, higher project execu-

tion by Tata Power SolarSystems Ltd (TPSSL), andstrong performance of all otherbusinesses, it said. The com-pany's CEO and ManagingDirector Praveer Sinhasaid,"Tata Power has deliveredstrong financial performancefor the 9th consecutive quarter.All our business clusters havecontributed significantlydespite facing pandemic-relat-ed challenges, demonstratingtremendous resilience, strengthand agility."

"We are committed tofocus on key growth areas vizrenewables, distribution, andnew businesses comprisingrooftop solar, solar pumps andEV charging. We'll focus onutilising technology to offersmart, green energy solutionsand provide world class expe-rience to our 12 million plus

customers," he added.Its arm Tata Power Solar

Systems Ltd (TPSSL) will set upa 4 GW solar cell and modulemanufacturing capacity with aninvestment of � 3,400 crore.

The solar engineering,procurement and constructionorder book has crossed the Rs10,000 crore-mark, it added.Renewable portfolio grew dueto addition of 289 MW capac-ity and strong execution of bothlarge scale and rooftop solarprojects by TPSSL.

It has developed a networkof 1,200+ EV (electric vehicle)charging points across India.

Tata Power is one of India'slargest integrated power com-panies. Together with its sub-sidiaries and jointly controlledentities, it has an installed/man-aged capacity of 13,171MW.

Mumbai: Market benchmarks marched higher for the sec-ond straight session on Wednesday, mirroring a sharprebound in global equities amid signs of easing geopolit-ical tensions. However, a depreciating rupee and con-tinued selling by foreign investors capped the gains, traderssaid. The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 657.39 pointsor 1.14 per cent to finish at 58,465.97. Likewise, the NSENifty jumped 197.05 points or 1.14 per cent to 17,463.80.

Maruti was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising4.14 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank,Bajaj Finserv, Titan, HCL Tech, Wipro, and Bharti Airtel.

Only three counters closed in the red -- SunPharma, ITC and PowerGrid, dipping up to 0.72 per cent.

"The domestic market joined the glob-al rally with all major sectors barring PSU Bankstrading with gains. US stocks rallied yesterdayshrugging off concerns over rising crude oil andrate hike ahead of the release of US inflation data.

"RBI's policy announcement will be thekey focus tomorrow as domestic

inflation and policy tightening by global cen-tral banks would pressurise the central bank toadopt a similar stance," said Vinod Nair, Head ofResearch at Geojit Financial Services.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research,HDFC Securities, said, "Advance decline ratiohas turned positive. Nifty has commenced itsjourney up ahead of the RBI MPC meet outcomeon Thursday." "Seeming cooling off of

Russia-Ukraine tussle and reversal in oil prices have helpedsentiments turn up across the globe. In case the RBI rais-es repo rate (and not reverse repo rate) the markets couldtake it negatively," he noted.

Barring oil & gas, all BSE sectoral indices fin-ished higher. Auto climbed 2.18 per cent, followed by con-sumer durables, metal, finance, bankex and industrials.The BSE midcap and smallcap indices spurted as muchas 1.23 per cent. World stocks darted up as investorstook heart from upbeat corporate results and signs of eas-ing tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seouland Shanghai ended in the positive territory. PTI

Mumbai: Private lender ICICI Bank on Wednesday saidit has made the MSME-focused digital banking appInstaBIZ interoperable to enable merchants to link theiraccounts with other banks to the platform.

Owners of grocery shops, supermarkets, restaurants,stationery stores and pharmacies and professionals likedoctors and lawyers can create their UPI ID and QR codeon the app to accept payments from customers.

The bank said merchants can also digitally apply fora Point of Sale (POS) device and a voice messaging devicethat confirms the receipt of the payments. ICICI Bankhad launched the InstaBIZ app in July 2019 to allowMSMEs to access banking products and servicesthrough the app or website. “A large part of this (MSME) segment consistsof retail merchants. It is our endeavour to support mer-chants—around two crores across the country– by offer-ing them solutions that make their business easy,” saidAnup Bagchi, Executive Director, ICICI Bank in a state-ment.

The interoperability is backed by the online Know

Your Customer (KYC) process as merchants do not needto visit a branch nor upload any document, the banksaid.

The initiative leverages ICIC Bank’s APIs that dig-itally validate permanent account number or Aadhaarnumber which is required for verification of KYC.

“We believe that this new and unique digital offer-ing resonates with merchants across the country, as itfrees up their bandwidth to a large extent, which theycan devote to grow their main business,” added Bagchi.InstaBIZ offers MSMEs overdraft facility of up to Rs 15lakh, bulk collection and payments of funds through dig-ital modes, automatic bank reconciliation and alsoundertake largely all of the export-import transactionslike inward and outward remittances among others.

ICICI Bank had reported growth of its SME loanportfolio by 34.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs36,353 crore and 9.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter(QoQ) in its Q3 results in January. The growth cameon the back of InstaBIZ and other digital efforts by thebank such as Merchant Stack, Trade Online and e-sign-ing of disbursement documents through EasySign.

New Delhi: Capital markets regulator Sebi onWednesday came out with a framework for con-version of a private listed Infrastructure InvestmentTrust (InvIT) into a public InvIT.

In addition, the regulator has issued guide-lines for converting a private unlisted InvIT intoa private listed one. In a circular, Sebi said a pri-vate listed InvIT may convert into a public InvITon making a public issue of units through a freshissue and/or an offer for sale.

A listed private InvIT has to comply with var-ious requirements, including having at least 5investors other than the sponsor(s), its related par-ties and its associates. Post issuance and listing ofsuch units, the private listed InvIT will stand trans-formed and will be considered a public InvIT. Suchan entity will be required to comply with all pro-visions of the InvIT rules prescribed for publicInvITs. With regard to conditions for conversion,Sebi said a private listed InvIT will have to fulfillcertain conditions, including obtaining approvalfrom 75 per cent of the unit holders by value forsuch public issue of units. In addition, aprivate listed InvIT need to be compliant with allthe applicable listing obligations and disclosurerequirements since the date of its listing or pre-ceding three years, whichever is less.

However, the imposition of only monetaryfines by stock exchanges on it or its investmentmanager will not be a ground for ineligibility for

issuance. Among others, a private listed InvITshould not have defaulted in making any distri-bution since listing from the date of its listing orpreceding three years, whichever is less.

Also, Sebi said that minimum sponsor(s) con-tribution for the public issue of units will be eitherto the extent of 15 per cent of the units issuedthrough the public issue or 15 per cent of the post-issue capital. Further, units offered towards min-imum sponsor(s) contribution will be locked-infor 18 months from the date of listing of units allot-ted in such a public issue.

However, if any units are already locked-inand the remaining lock-in period is more than 18months, the units will continue to be locked-infor such remaining period. With regards torestrictions on transferability of units, Sebi saidunits held by the sponsor(s) in excess of minimumsponsor(s) contribution will be locked-in for aperiod of one year from the date of listing of unitsallotted in the public issue.

"Units held prior to the issue, by persons otherthan the sponsor(s), shall be locked in for a peri-od one year from the date of listing of units allot-ted in the public issue," Sebi said.

Maximum subscription from any investorother than sponsor(s), its related parties and itsassociates, in initial offer will not be than 25 percent of the total unit capital on post-issue basis,as per Sebi. PTI

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Ranveer Singh has hadseveral genre-definingperformances in films

like Band Baaja Baarat,Lootera, Bajirao Mastani,Padmaavat, Simmba, Gully Boy,83 among others. With 83, hehas just delivered the biggestoverseas grosser of 2021 whichis being considered as Singh’sbest acting performance of hiscareer.

A shape-shiftingchameleon of an actor,Ranveer’s mastery over hiscraft has shown that he can dis-solve himself on screen everysingle time to become thecharacter that he is essaying.Ranveer feels he can’t limithimself to do the same thingover and over again and wantsto present himself as breathtak-ingly refreshing every singletime audiences see him onscreen.

Ranveer says, “It’s a person-al challenge that I throw atmyself every single time I do anew character. That’s whatexcites me. I would feel a bitbored or jaded if I were to dothe same thing over and overagain. I want to make memo-rable films, that connect withpeople like they can feel nos-talgia, catharsis, they can laugh,can cry, can applaud. That’swhat I want to do. And I wantto do more of it. And I want tokeep doing it.”

Ranveer admits that neverin his wildest dreams did hethink that he could be a super-

star in this industry. His fil-mography proves that he is atop favourite of visionary film-maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali,India’s operatic auteur whohas cast him in his three back-to-back films, Goliyon KiRasleela Ram-Leela, BajiraoMastani and Padmaavat. Allthe directors who have workedwith the three Khans likeKaran Johar, Rohit Shetty,Aditya Chopra, Kabir Khan,have also collaborated withhim.

He says, “I often remindmyself that my chances werenext to nothing. There was notan iota of a chance of my get-ting my foot through the doorto this insulated industry. It’sbeyond my imagination that Iwork with some phenomenalpeople today. It’s been a goodrun. I’ve seen myself growfrom the actor I used to be, andthat growth and evolution areimportant.”

He adds, “It feels wonder-ful to have built this kind ofequity, but it’s always about thenext challenge for me. Theprocess is the prize and I try tostay in the moment and cele-brate that. I am fully ready andexcited and enthusiastic aboutthe journey that lies ahead.”

Ranveer has a lineup ofprojects that includes YRF’sJayeshbhai Jordaar, Shankar’sremake of his blockbusterAnniyan, Rohit Shetty’s Cirkusand Karan Johar’s Rocky AurRani Ki Prem Kahani.

Giving away the bride or brideleaving her father's house is an

old marriage custom in India. Thecenturies-old ritual, Kanyadaan,which in a way represents that thehusband's home is the bride's newhome is still prevalent. However, asthe mindset of urban Indians isshifting, the opinions of urban mil-lennials and the new generation arealso changing.

Considering the fate of Indianbrides, Betterhalf.ai - India's first AI-driven app based on only a "true-compatibility" partner search in itsweekly poll conducted an onlinesurvey to know the take of theyoung population on the currentIndian customs our society is fol-lowing. The estimates of the surveyreveal the customs that should per-sist in an Indian household.

According to the findings of thesurvey — 20 per cent believe thebride living in the groom's housestill makes sense in the current sce-

nario. This clearly shows that evenin the era of modernity, leaving theparent's house is the default mech-anism for women. This age-oldtradition is ingrained in the societythat the young population eventoday finds relevant in today's worldof women empowerment, freedomand equality.

The findings of the online sur-vey also revealed that 28 per centbelieve the lifestyle change after awedding still makes sense in the cur-rent scenario. In addition, 2 per centbelieve asset exchange is still relevantin the present times while 50 percent who have shifted their mind-

set with times believe none of theage-old traditions followed in Indianmarriages makes sense.

Commenting on the surveyfindings, Pawan Gupta CEO ofBetterhalf.ai said, “Indian wed-dings are soulful yet filled withancient traditions and customs.Keeping up with the times, a fewtraditions need to be drawn out inorder to keep women's dignity.One such custom is brides leavingtheir house to stay in their hus-band's home for life that representsthe bride's sacrifice to leave theirparents and place.”

Though Indian wedding cul-tures are popular across the world,they are ancient and irrelevant inthe present time. The survey repre-sents the viewpoint of the youngpopulation which is swiftly shiftingtowards abolishing old traditions.This is making the meaning of mar-riages more logical, far from dreamyfairytales.

While women alwayskeep up with the fash-

ions and trends and takeproper care of their looks,men tend to overlook thesefactors. It is okay if men donot take fashion or trendsseriously, but, they do need tounderstand the importance ofhygiene and the problemsthat come if they do not takecare of hygiene. Especially inthe pandemic's time, theworld is more aware of theimportance of hygiene andthat is how we can work bet-ter towards keeping ourhealth and hygiene in place.

Let us see some tips thatcan help you maintain betterhygiene in your daily life:

USE MOISTURISER ORSUNSCREEN

It is important to keep theskin moisturised and protect-ed from direct sun rays. Amoisturiser helps in keepingthe skin away from chilly drywinds and sunscreen helps inprotecting your skin fromharmful UV rays of the sun.Apply moisturiser as andwhen required so that yourskin does not look dry andflaky. A moisturised skin

always looks good and givesa good glow to your face.Also, make it a habit to applysunscreen when you go out-side in the sun so that you canavoid tanning and pigmenta-tion.

GO EASY ON SHAMPOOIt's completely fine to

wash your hair daily butshampooing your hair everyday is not ok. Shampoos haveharsh chemicals in themwhich make them dry faster.Ideally, you should wash yourhair just two-three times aweek. Even if you are sham-pooing your hair daily, reducethe amount of shampoo thatyou apply. Take a pea-sizeamount of shampoo. If youhave long hair then you canmassage shampoo just onyour scalp and apply hair con-ditioner on the ends.

KEEP YOUR BEARD SOFTThe phrase ‘you are what

you eat’ can be held for yourbeard as well. If you do notprovide proper nutrition toyour beard, it will turn out tobe a brittle skeleton and startscratching everything that ittouches. Apart from a good

protein diet to support hairgrowth and wellness, you canroutinely apply beard oils,

conditioning creams, andnourishing balms to yourbeard. Using these supple-

ments for your beard willkeep it hydrated and helpyou maintain the shine andhealth of your beard too. Itwould also keep them awayfrom looking frizzy. Not justthis, these products alsohydrate the skin beneath thebeard and prevent bearddandruff.

KEEP YOUR LIPS SOFTWith winters coming our

way, lips are going to be dryand rough. Let us see whatwe can do to keep our lipssoft. Always make sure thatyou remove the dead skin onyour lips by using a tooth-brush. This is a very quickexfoliator for those who lacktime to exfoliate lips with ascrub. Also, make sure thatyou carry lip balm to applyit as and when your lips getdry. Dabbing some coconutoil or ghee on your lips is alsoa good remedy.

SMELL GOODThe bad smell from men

is a huge turn-off and leavesa bad impression. Make sureto apply some perfumebefore you step out of thehouse, to keep yourself fresh.

You can also keep thepocket perfume with youand use it as and whenrequired so that you alwayssmile good and feel fresh.This is a very importantaspect of hygiene, so remem-ber to smell good on impor-tant occasions.

These were some simpletips to groom yourself andmake yourself look the best.These tips hold good for alltypes of occasions.

Whether you're goingon a date or to attend animportant office meeting,these tips will always makeyou leave a lasting impres-sion.

So go ahead and startusing these tips to 'feel' hand-some on all occasions.

(The author is CEO &founder of Lass Naturals,which manufactures & mar-kets natural products for hair,skin and body care.)

The panache and versatility oftraditional wear are unmatched

in every season. With a wide rangeof colour, fabric, and design pat-terns, ethnic wear has become thego-to fashion choice for manythrough the years. Fashion expertspredict the blend of comfortableethnic and western wear, vibrantflorals to gold foiled patterns, andan assorted mix of statement acces-sories to rule the trends during theyear. Here's an expert opinionhelping us break down what's instore for the ethnic collection forthe coming year, have a look; youwould want to save these.

��>��You can never go wrong with

a flared skirt. Whether it is a wed-ding function or a small family get-together, a flared skirt is a perfectamalgamation of traditional appar-el with a tinge of western wear. Pairit with a contrasting trendy crop topfor a subtle look, or an embroideredblouse makes it a lovely ensembleand will take the style quotient toultra-glam heights. Don't forget toadd a statement jewellery piece likea pair of chunky earrings or a bigring, and you are good to go.

��@��@��>��Never failing to slay the fash-

ion quotient, foil prints add thatmuch-needed royal factor to anyattire. Simplistic and elegant at thesame time, foil prints look good ona variety of fabrics, making it a go-to pattern/design option.Additionally, the gold and silverdetails make it perfect for anyoccasion. From suits to sarees tolehngas, foil prints will make youfeel like a queen. Don't forget to addcontrasting jewellery, and you willbe sore for your eyes.

��X�� Contrary to popular belief,

traditional wear is not only limit-ed to wedding functions or otheroccasions; the ethnic range canmake you look like a fashionistaeven for your everyday outfitneeds. While kurtis and suits havebeen in the market for a long time,the experimentation factor withpower-dressing makes them aninteresting pick in the comingyear.Let go of the usual suit set andflaunt a kurti dress with a contrast-ing or similar shade shrug for yourdaily needs. One can also chooseto mix-match a saree with a blaz-er and a belt, and you are all setwith a power dressing attire forprofessional any environment.Additionally, one can experimentwith fabrics like cotton, khadi, silk,linen and others, along-withdesigns like embroidery and floralprints to match your taste.

��@�X��<�Ditch the traditional style

sleeves and try puffed sleeves foryour blouses, kurtis, and suits. Theoptions are endless with mesh, bal-loon and flared sleeves optionsavailable in the market. To amp upthe style quotient, pair a tradition-al jutti/chappal, and you are set forthe day.

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Oxidised jewellery is the ulti-mate route to add chic to any tra-ditional look. Taking the attire upa notch, the artistic designs of sil-ver and/or golden oxidised piecesin chokers and long neckpieceswork perfectly with ethereal ethnicwear. Stunning jhumkas, bracelets,and rings add the boho touch to aneasy-breezy casual outfit. On theother hand, quirky prints and flo-ral outfits with oxidized jewellerypieces are match-made in heavenand will spruce up your ethnic weargame. A pro tip, match heavy jew-ellery pieces with solid-colouredoutfits and keep the jewellery to aminimum with prints and embroi-deries.

>��X@�^�%�[@��>��Flowy and easy-going kaftan

will be on everyone's list in theyear 2022. Whether it is a vibrant,embroidered or classy embell-ished one, kaftans are well-pairedwith almost every mood andoccasion. Add a potli bag and/ora jewelled clutch with hugejhumkas and mid-sized heels tothe complete look.

Apart from these, the ever-green shararas and ghararas,bags/totes set in traditionaldesigns, and colour contrastingfor an outfit will also be some ofthe trends to look forward to inthe coming year.Experimentation will be the key;patterns and fabrics will rule thefashion trends. So be bold withyour choices and slay the glam-our quotient every day.

(The author is the owner,Kreeva, an ethnic fashion store.)

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Batting let India down as they suf-fered an 18-run defeat to hosts NewZealand in the one-off women's

T20 International here on Wednesday.Senior opener and vice-captain

Smriti Mandhana did not play and herabsence was felt badly as India fell shortby 18 runs while chasing 156 for a win.

Rookie Yastika Bhatia, who openedin place of Mandhana along with youngShafali Verma, did reasonably well witha run-a-ball 26 (2x4; 1x6) but India neverlooked like they could chase down thetarget against an impressive New Zealandbowling attack.

The opening stand was worth 41runs in 6.3 overs and that was the high-est partnership for India.

Shafali was not at her best as she con-tributed just 13 runs from 14 balls withthe help of two boundaries. CaptainHarmanpreet Kaur, who made 12 from13 balls, also looked off colour.

The onus was then on the lowerorder to give a push for the target.Inexperienced Sabbhineni Meghana,who top-scored for India, did well witha 30-ball 37, which had six fours in it,stitching 34 runs with Richa Gosh (12)for the fourth wicket.

That stand was the last flicker of hopefor India and once Meghana was out,there was a batting collapse and the vis-iting side could only reach 137 for 8 in

their allotted 20 overs.When Meghana was out, India need-

ed 55 runs from 5.1 overs which proveda tough ask for the lower order.

"We were in the game when we were

bowling but unfortunately the last fewovers didn't go well for us. Even in bat-ting, we did not have partnerships but wehave learnt a lot from this match andhope we will improve ourselves in the

upcoming matches," Harmanpreet saidat the post-match presentation.

"When we are playing in one venue,we can learn a lot. Playing in the samevenue will definitely help us."

Jess Kerr, Amelia Kerr and HayleyJensen took two wickets apiece for NewZealand, while Lea Tahuhu and SophieDevine got one each.

Earlier, experienced all-rounderDeepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakarscalped two wickets apiece to help Indiarestrict New Zealand to 155 for 5 afterHarmanpreet opted to field after winningthe toss.

Vastrakar was tidy with her mediumpace as she conceded just 16 runs fromher four overs, while Sharma gave away26 runs from her four overs of off-spin.

Senior left-arm spinner RajeshwariGayakwad leaked 39 runs for one wick-et in her four overs.

For New Zealand, captain SophieDevine (31 off 23 balls) and her open-ing partner Suzie Bates (36 off 34)scored the bulk of the runs.

The duo gave the home side a flyingstart, stitching 60 runs for the openingwicket. India named Simran Bahadur andMeghana -- who are in the reserves forthe 50-over World Cup -- in the playingXI while Mandhana did not start.

Simran dropped Devine off her ownbowling in her first ball of the innings -- second over of New Zealand innings -- and that proved costly for the visitingside. Devine was on 1 at the time.

The New Zealand captain celebrat-ed the reprieve by hitting Simran for twosixes in the fifth over as the home sidetook 20 runs from that over.

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Indian Super League (ISL) defendingchampions Mumbai City FC on

Wednesday extended captainMourtada Fall's contract by a year,which will keep him with the Islandersuntil the end of the 2022/23 season.

The 34-year-old Senegalese centre-half, who joined Mumbai City from FCGoa in 2020, played a key role in theIslanders' 'grand double' in the previ-ous season, winning the ISL LeagueWinners' Shield and the ISL Trophy.

Ahead of the 2021/22 season, Fallwas named the Mumbai City captainand has since made 13 appearances,scoring twice.

Fall featured for Moroccan clubMoghreb Tetouan for three seasons andwon the Botola Pro 1 campaign in2011/12. He then moved to Kuwait'sAl-Arabi SC and Morocco's WydadCasablanca, enjoying plenty of successwith the latter in 2016/17, winning theBotola Pro 1 and the CAF ChampionsLeague.

He made his ISL debut in 2018/19with FC Goa, emerging one of the bestdefenders in the tournament, winningthe 2019 Super Cup and the 2019/20ISL League Winners' Shield.

"I am delighted to have extendedmy stay with the Mumbai City family.It's been a wonderful journey with theclub so far. We enjoyed a successful sea-

son last year, and we are hopeful ofmaking this season a memorable oneas well. To lead a club like Mumbai Cityis a real honour for me. The coach, sup-port staff and players have shown greatfaith in me.

"I am grateful for their support andI want to continue to give my best tothis wonderful team. I look forward tomaking more great memories with theclub and hopefully, we will be able toshare them with our fans in the standssoon," said Fall after signing the con-tract.

Head coach, Des Buckingham saidthat Fall 's leadership qualities and experience were an asset to the side.

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Playing for the first time since March 2019,the injury-hit Argentine Juan Martin del

Potro lost 6-1, 6-3 to countryman FedericoDelbonis in the first round of the ArgentinaOpen.

Following four right-knee surgeries, theformer world No. 3 admitted he might haveplayed his last match.

However his name is enlisted in the drawof this month's ATP 500 Rio Open. Lastweek, the former US Open champion (2009)hinted that his appearances in Buenos Airesand Rio Open may mark his final ATP Tourtournaments.

"I will speak to doctors again. I have totake care of my knee and then we will see. Iwill always leave the window open. (But) iftoday was the last time I will leave happy,"he said after the match.

"It's difficult to explain how I felt on thecourt. So many emotions. The atmospherewas crazy, the people were crazy, and I hadone of my best ever matches in my careerwith the crowd," he added.

After leaving the court, he had this mes-sage for fans hoping to see him play again,"I don't know if it's going to happen,because the pain in my knee is very high.But I will keep doing a big effort to fix theknee, and if I get that, maybe I will haveanother chance to play."

Bengaluru: Raiders Pardeep Narwal and Surender Gillhelped UP Yoddha beat Tamil Thalaivas 41-39 in the VivoPro Kabaddi League Season 8 match here on Wednesday.Both raiders secured Super 10s in a high-scoring game thatwas only decided in the final minute.

The result will help Yoddha increase their chances ofmaking it to the Playoffs. Tamil Thalaivas matched UP blowfor blow throughout the match but their lack of ALL OUTseventually affected the outcome of the game. Manjeetscored a Super 10 (13 points) for the Tamil team.

The high-intensity first half saw both teams exchangethe lead. Tamil Thalaivas, who did not have captain SurjeetSingh in the line-up, started on a positive note with theirraiding duo of Ajinkya Pawar and Manjeet finding flawsin the UP defence. But Surender Gill slowly initiated aYoddha fightback.

Pardeep Narwal soon joined him with a 3-point SuperRaid in the 9th minute to shift the balance. Three Thalaivasdefenders followed UP Yoddha's Shrikant Jadhav to thelobby without a touch which gave Yoddha another threepoints. A Super Tackle by Himanshu slowed Yoddha downtemporarily but they eventually got an ALL OUT in the15th minute.

That opened a 2-point lead for UP but Thalaivas imme-diately fought back with Himanshu clinching a 3-pointSuper Raid in the final minute of the first half. At the inter-val, Thalaivas had a 2-point lead with the scores 22-20.

Thalaivas started the second half on a positive note,but their usually reliable defence crumbled after the earlyminutes. Pardeep Narwal picked his Super 10 as Yoddhaclinched another ALL OUT. Despite the advantage in thenumber of ALL OUTs, Yoddha could not extend the leadbecause they kept conceding easy Bonus Points to Tamilraiders.

Himanshu's clever raids gave the Tamil team an extraweapon as they slowly staged another comeback. Therewas nothing to separate the sides with 5 minutes remain-ing as both sets of raiders slowed down the pace of theirraids.

Manjeet picked his Super 10 for Thalaivas but theirdefence, especially Abishek, made too many mistakes togive Yoddha a 3-point lead with a minute remaining.Surender Gill picked his Super 10 in the process. That gapproved too much for the Thalaivas to fight back as UPclinched a well-fought victory. IANS

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Two teams vying for aplace at the top of the

table will cross pathswhen Jamshedpur FC andKerala Blasters FC meetin the Hero Indian SuperLeague (ISL) at theAthletic Stadium inBambolim on Thursday.

Jamshedpur werestopped in their tracks inthe last outing asBengaluru FC got a winto end their three-gamewinning streak. They are

now out of the top four,placed fifth with 22 pointsfrom 13 games but headcoach Owen Coyle willknow all too well that awin will bring them rightback into the fray.

Like Jamshedpur,Kerala have also played 13games and are sitting sec-ond in the table having 23points from 13 matches.The yellow army beatbottom-placed NorthEastUnited in the last game toget back to winning ways.Alvaro Vazquez grabbed

all the headlines with astunning strike fromhalfway line and theSpaniard will once againbe expected to lead theline against a muchstronger Jamshedpur side.

One of the main talk-ing points for Kerala lastseason was their vulner-ability after taking a lead.The Blasters dropped 18points from winningpositions last time butthings have taken a turnfor the better, IvanVukomanovic's charges

dropping only two pointsfrom winning positionsthis term, the joint-bestrecord of any club.

For Jamshedpur,Daniel Chima Chukwufound the back of the netagain in the last game andmade it two goals in twogames, vindicatingCoyle's decision to gethim on board in theJanuary transfer window.Chima's goal againstBengaluru after 46 sec-onds is the second quick-est goal of 21-22 Hero

ISL. "Every game now isgoing to be a proverbialsix-pointer because youare playing against adirect rival. So of courseall big games. We need tomake sure we are readyfor it against a very goodside. They have a goodcoach and some wonder-ful players. We drew thegame the last time againstthem, we could havewon," Coyle said. Thelast time the two sidesmet, it was a 1-1 draw.

"We need to be clin-

ical against Kerala. Wecreated a lot of opportu-nities in the last game andwe need to be more clin-ical against a good Keralaside," Coyle added. Askedabout the way forward intheir bid to secure a top-four spot, the Englishmansaid: "The way forward isto gather more points. Weneed to do that by playingwell. But we will take onegame at a time and we arethinking about onlyKerala now and nothingelse."

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McLaren have locked down one of Formula1's most impressive young talents by

handing Lando Norris a huge contract exten-sion that keeps the Briton at the team until theend of 2025.

Norris will join team mate Ricciardo, whosethree-year deal expires at the end of 2023, onFriday at McLarens HQ in Woking to pull offthe covers and reveal the British team's 2022machine -- the MCL36.

The 22-year-old was linked as a potentialsuccessor to Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes beforethe F1 giants recruited George Russell fromWilliams. The 2021 F1 campaign was Norris'most successful to date thus far, managing threethird-place finishes and a second-place podiumat the Italian Grand Prix.

Norris, who has been part of the McLarenfamily since 2017, said, "Teams are about peo-ple, and I love the people and feel at home atMcLaren. I have grown up in this team and I ampart of this journey we're all on.

"Last season was another great step, both inmy career and the team's performance, and I seeand feel all the work, investment and commit-ment for the team to be in a position to chal-lenge for wins and titles in the future. This allgives me huge confidence looking forward, soit was a natural decision to extend our relation-ship for the next few years," he added.

"The opportunity to extend our relationshipwith Lando reflects not only our commitmentbut our belief and confidence in his talent," saidMcLaren Team Principal Andreas Seidl. "It is alsoa strong sign of trust and commitment fromLando in us as a team and our journey to WorldChampionship contention."

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The Russian icehockey team has

started its defense ofthe Olympic men'sgold medal with a 1-0 win overSwitzerland in

Beijing. It wasn't theconvincing start tothe tournament theRussians may havehoped for as theywere outshot 33-30by a Swiss team notexpected to contendfor a medal.

The Russians,playing as the RussianOlympic Committee,had a slice of goodfortune for the onlygoal.

A shot from for-mer EdmontonOilers forward Anton

Slepyshev took a dou-ble bounce off Swissgoaltender RetoBerra's pad and EnzoCorvi's leg on its wayinto the goal with 2.7seconds left of thefirst period.

Fabrice Herzog

could have sent thegame to overtimewhen he hit the frameof the goal late in thethird period. Russiangoaltender IvanFedotov had 33 savesfor the shutout onhis Olympic debut.

Dhaka: Former South Africabatter Ashwell Prince hasresigned as the batting coach ofBangladesh men's team, said areport by ESPNCricinfo. Prince'sresignation means that he willnot be part of the Bangladeshsupport staff in their home seriesagainst Afghanistan followed bythe tour of South Africa inMarch.

"We have received his resig-nation letter on email a few min-utes ago. He has cited family rea-sons for his decision," said JalalYunus, cricket operations chair-man at the Bangladesh CricketBoard (BCB).

Prince was appointed to thepost initially for a short-termdeal since last year's tour ofZimbabwe before taking up apermanent role that was sup-posed to run until this year'sMen's T20 World Cup inAustralia in October-November.For taking the permanent rolewith Bangladesh, Prince hadresigned as head coach ofdomestic side Western Provincein South Africa.

The 44-year-old's resignation

comes a month after formerBangladesh head coach JamieSiddons was brought on board asa batting consultant in December2021. At that time, BCBPresident Nazmul Hassan hadsaid it was 'not yet finalised inwhich area he will work in,whether it is the HighPerformance, Under-19s or thesenior team'.

Under his tenure,Bangladesh had a difficult timewith the bat, especially duringthe Men's T20 World Cup in theUAE and Oman. But Bangladesh

managed to script a surpriseeight-wicket victory over NewZealand in the Bay Oval Test.

Prince is the second memberfrom Bangladesh's coaching staffto move on from the side in thepast few weeks after ex-bowlingcoach Ottis Gibson joinedEngland County side Yorkshireas their head coach.

The former left-handed mid-dle-order batter had representedSouth Africa in 66 Tests, 52 ODIsand one T20I from 2002 to2011.

IANS

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Bengaluru: It was a bad day for the fancied play-ers as all the four singles second round matchessaw the exit of favourites.

First it was young Chun-hsin Tseng of Taipeiwho felled fourth seed Hugo Grenier of France instraight sets 6-1, 6-4 on centre court and minuteslater qualifier Borna Gojo of Croatia sent third seedAustralian Aleksandar Vukic home with a 7-5, 6-3 victory to advance to the quarterfinals of theBengaluru Open ATP Challenger at the KSLTACourts here on Wednesday.

Belgian Kimmer Coppejans after a longfought battle in the first set which he won 14-12in a tie-breaker won the second set 6-3 to oust fifthseed Altug Celikbilek of Turkey to make it to thelast eight stage along with another qualifierGabriel Decamps of Brazil who labored hard to beatItalian Gian Marco Moroni 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (3) in anepic 3 hour-5 min battle.

Borna Gojo, who single handedly had putCroatia's road to final in the Davis Cup and is yetto break into the top 200, lost his serve in the thirdgame and was down 1-3 by the next. However, hemade a brilliant recovery winning the next threegames including a break and grabbed the first setby achieving another break in the 12th game. Thesecond set went with the serves until the 23-year-old Borna broke his rival's serve to lead 4-2 andwrapped up the match at 6-3. "I didn't have muchpractice during the pandemic but of late my gameis falling out of shape, but now I am playing well,"said a visibly tired Borna .

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India's U-19 World Cup winingsquad was on Wednesday felicitat-

ed by the BCCI on the sidelines of thesecond ODI here on Wednesday.

The U-19 heroes, wearing blazers,first watched the second ODI at theNarendra Modi stadium from thes-tands, as they had a joyous time see-ing their stars in presence of headcoach Hrishikesh Kanitkar and othermembers of the support staff.

The victorious squad memberscould not get to meet the senior

India cricketers as they werepart of the bio-bubble cre-

ated for the three matchseries.

Former India bat-ter and National Cricket

Academy head VVS Laxman, who waswith the team in the Caribbean, wasalso present on occasion.

And so was BCCI secretary JayShah, treasurer Arun Dhumal and fewother senior officials of the statecricket bodies.

The Board has already announcedcash reward of Rs 40 lakh for the play-ers and Rs 25 lakh each for the sup-port staff. The India U-19 squad hadreturned home on Tuesday. The squadtook the long flight back from theCaribbean with connections inAmsterdam and Dubai before reach-ing Bengaluru on Tuesday morningand the team then reachedAhmedabad.

More functions await the boyswhen they reach their respectivehometowns by Thursday.

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The top-seeded Indian team of JeevanNedunchezhiyan and Purav Raja

moved to the doubles quarterfinals of theBengaluru Open after prevailing againstCroatia's Borna Gojo and Bulgaria'sDimitar Kuzmanov, here on Wednesday.

The Indian team had to be on its toesas it eked out a tough 6-4 6-7 (2) 10-8 winover the alternate entrants.

Also moving to the last-eight pairsstage were Ramnkumar Ramanathan andSaketh Myneni and the team of N SriramBalaji and Vishnu Vardhan.

Ramkumar and Myneni had an easyday, beating Markos Kalovelonis (GRE) andToshihide Matsui (JPN) 6-3 6-3 but Balajiand Vardhan had to work hard in gettingpast Mathias Bourgue (FRA) and KimmerCoppejans (BEL) 6-4 4-6 10-3.

In the singles, fourth seed HugoGrenier of France lost 1-6 4-6 to Chun-hsinTseng of Taipei and qualifier Borna Gojoof Croatia sent third seed Australian

Aleksandar Vukic home with a 7-5, 6-3 vic-tory to advance to the quarterfinals.

Another qualifier Gabriel Decamps ofBrazil ousted Italian Gian Marco Moroni6-2 5-7, 7-6 (3) in an epic three-hour fiveminute battle.

"I didn't have much practice during thepandemic but of late I my game is fallingshape and I am playing well," said a visi-bly tired Borna who has played fourmatches in a row.

Meanwhile, India's PrajneshGunneswaran will take on top seed JiriVesely of Czech Republic on Thursday.

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New Zealand's three-match Twenty20 inter-

national cricket series nextmonth against world cham-pion Australia has beencanceled because ofCOVID-19 border regula-tions.

Australia beat NewZealand by eight wickets inthe final of the Twenty20World Cup last Novemberand the rivals were expect-ed to play in Napier fromMarch 17-20, in anticipa-tion of a planned relaxationof border protocols.

But the arrival of theomicron variant in NewZealand has put back there-opening of the interna-tional border and the seriescannot take place becausethe Australian men's team

does not have placesreserved in managed isola-tion. "At the time we sched-uled the visit there was a lotof hope that the trans-Tasman border would beopen for those who met theright criteria," New ZealandCricket chief executive

David White said in a state-ment Wednesday.

"However, the advent ofomicron has, unfortunate-ly, changed everything atthe border and has made itimpossible for us to contin-ue with the series.

"It's disappointing butwe know it's the same forbusinesses and individualsand other sports and we'regrateful for the interna-tional schedule we have."

Australia, coming off a4-0 win over England in thefive-test Ashes series, isdue to host Sri Lanka in afive-match T20 series start-ing Friday.

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Having already scaled six out ofthe 14 8000m summits suc-

cessfully, India mountaineer ArjunVajpai has now set his eyes onclimbing Mt. Annapurna and Mt.Dhaulagiri. The 28-year-old wasrecently awarded by GuinnessWorld Records for becoming theyoungest person to climb twohigher 8000ers (Mt. Everest in2010 and summit Lhotse in May2011). Vajpai now wants tobecome the first Indian to scale allthe 14 8000m summits in theworld and his first target is to climbMt. Annapurna and Mt.Dhaulagiri, which will make himthe first from the country to fin-ish all the 8000m mountains ofNepal.

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James Anderson and StuartBroad, England's two leading

test wicket-takers of all time,were the headline names in aruthless post-Ashes cull fornext month's tour of the WestIndies.

The fast-bowling greatsreceived no assurances thatthey still had test careers, either.

England, on the heels of anoff-field clear-out that account-ed for the head coach, assistantcoach and director of cricket,also dropped eight players fol-lowing the 4-0 loss in the seriesin Australia.

As well as Anderson, Broadand vice-captain Jos Buttler,

the following players were alsoomitted: Dawid Malan, SamBillings, Dom Bess, Rory Burnsand Haseeb Hameed.

"With the start of a newcycle, it has allowed the selec-tion panel to refresh the testsquad with a particular focus on

competing away from home,"former test captain AndrewStrauss, who is acting as theinterim director of cricket fol-lowing the firing of AshleyGiles, said on Tuesday.

There were some tellingwords for the 39-year-oldAnderson and the 35-year-oldBroad, too.

"I want to emphasize thisdoes not mean the end forthem as England players,"Strauss said.

"We feel that it is importantto look at some exciting newbowling potential and give someadded responsibility to otherplayers who have featured pre-viously.

"No one doubts the quality

and experience that James andStuart bring to the England set-up. It will be up to the new man-aging director and permanenthead coach to decide onwhether they will be involvedthis summer and beyond."

The use of the phrases"draw a line" and "the start of aprocess and a journey" in thesquad announcement hintedthere might be no going back onsome of the big decisions,though, with Buttler havingalso had a tough time DownUnder.

Anderson has taken 640wickets in 169 tests and Broadis second on England's all-timelist of wicket-takers, with 537 in152 matches.

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Bangladesh are set to tourSouth Africa for three

ODIs and two Tests as CSA onWednesday confirmed the dateand venues of the fixtures,starting March 18.

The tour, set to be playedacross four venues from March18 to April 12, will be a part ofICC's ODI Super League andthe World TestChampionships.

"SuperSport Park will hosttwo of the ODI matches, withthe third taken by the ImperialWanderers, while the coastal

cities of Durban and Gqeberhawill take on the Test fixtures,"CSA said in statement.

The two teams will beginthe tour with the ODI series.

The first and third ODIswill be played on March 18 and23, respectively, at theSuperSport Park in Centurion,while the second 50-over gameis scheduled for March 20 atthe Wanderers inJohannesburg. The ODI serieswill be followed by the the firstTest in Durban on March 31,while the final red-ball fixtureis scheduled to begin on April8 in Gqeberha.

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Ishant Sharma is set to skip the Ranji Trophy,Wriddhiman Saha has already withdrawn and

the path does not seem too easy for CheteshwarPujara and Ajinkya Rahane -- has the long duetransition phase kicked in for India's Test team?

By the look of it, the wheels of change seemto have been set in motion keeping the upcom-ing home Test series against Sri Lanka in mindas Ishant's Ranji pullout also puts a huge ques-tion mark on his international future.

It is understood that even Pujara andRahane, who are playing Ranji Trophy, will haveto score more than just a stray century to be inreckoning as their bad patch has been a pro-longed one and one good innings might not undothe damage that has already been done.

The 33-year-old Ishant is the most experi-enced player in the current Indian Test set-upwith 105 Test matches and 311 wickets in his kittybut has gone off the boil since the tour ofEngland.

On Wednesday, Delhi and Districts CricketAssociation (DDCA) selection committee metto pick the Ranji squad and despite the selectorsas well as office bearers trying to get in touch withIshant, they were unable to get a confirmationon his availability till evening.

"As and when, if he tells he wants to play, hewill be included as he is a Delhi legend. But Idon't know what has happened to him since he

has been incommunicado for the lastweek. He hasn't come for Ranjiteam's practice sessions. We don'tknow what's on his mind," a seniorDDCA selector said. "We don'tknow if the Indian team manage-ment has told him somethingwhich may have led to a change inhis mind-set," he added, rather con-fused.

The writing was on thewall when Ishant wasn'teven considered amongthe top five pacers whoplayed the three Testsin South Africa.

"Just likeWriddhi, evenIshant has gotfeelers that hisIndia careermight just beover. JaspritB u m r a h ,M o h a m m e dShami andM o h a m m e dSiraj are nowIndia's No 1, 2and 3 in priority listwhen all are fit," a seniorBCCI source told PTI on

conditions of anonymity."Then comes Shardul Thakur, who is an

all-rounder and Umesh Yadav was choiceNo.5," he added.

Against Sri Lanka, India plays two Testsat Mohali and Bengaluru where the twopacers would be Shami and Bumrah (ifboth are fit) and the third will be Siraj.

It doesn't make sense to take a seniorbowler like Ishant and make him carry

drinks when an Avesh Khan, PrasidhKrishna or Ishan Porel can get

good exposure. India, in 2022,play three more Test match-

es -- two in Bangladeshand one in England

which is part of the2021 series.

Save the Testagainst England

where they mightthink of fielding fourpacers, Ishant isunlikely to fit intothe scheme ofthings.

He playedagainst New Zealand

in Kanpur but lookedpedestrian for the better

part. In Mumbai, an injurywas cited as reason for his

ouster even though he was seen bowling at lunchtime every day. It is understood that he didn'tbowl well enough in the nets in South Africa tobe considered for selection in top five.

TIME RUNNING OUT FOR RAHANE-PUJARA DUOThe only two people who have got a bit of

grace period are Rahane and Pujara, who havehad a dry run for two years.

If youngsters like Hanuma Vihari (a possi-ble No.3) and the talented Shubman Gill (No.5)need to be settled in their new roles, it shouldstart with the Sri Lanka series.

That initiation will ensure that they carry ondeep into the World Test Championship's sec-ond cycle. Somewhere, the new team manage-ment under Rahul Dravid's stewardship needsto take a few tough calls but it would also dependon what the new Test captain (in all likelihoodRohit Sharma) also feels about the future of thesetwo seniors. They are sure-shot selectionsagainst Sri Lanka but in their case, the team man-agement wants them to play Ranji Trophywhich means that if they can score heavily overa period of time, there is a chance of a comeback.

Unlike Ishant and Saha, who seem to haveplayed their last Tests respectively.

For Rahane and Pujara, the Ranji Trophybegins with the two squaring off against eachother and they would like to give their everythingto keep their places in the team.

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India defeated West Indies by 44runs in the second ODI to take anunassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series here on

Wednesday.Invited to bat, India posted237 for nine and then returned to dismissthe West Indies for 193 in 46overs.Shamarh Brooks (44) was the top-scorer for WI as Prasidh Krishna (4/12)and Shardul Thakur (2/41) emerged as themost successful bowlers for the hosts.

Earlier, Suryakumar Yadav scored a64-run knock while vice captain KLRahul missed his half-century by one runafter being run out as India posted 237 for9.Deepak Hooda, who made his ODIdebut in the previous match, scored 29while all-rounder Washington Sundarcontributed 24. For the West Indies,Alzarri Joseph (2/29) and Odean Smith(2/36) took two wickets each.

India will look to continue theirdomination and win the second ODI andseal the three-match series at the NarendraModi Stadium on Wednesday. SinceIndia didn’t have much trouble in defeat-ing West Indies in the first match, hostsare unlikely to make any changes in theirplaying XI.

However, the focus will be on vice-captain KL Rahul who has joined the teamafter a family engagement and was seensweating it out in the nets ahead of thegame.Ishan Kishan, who opened withRohit in the first ODI did a decent job witha 36-ball 28 and both Deepak Hooda andSuryakumar Yadav also did well to finishthe game for India.

If Rahul plays, then either of the threeamong Kishan, Deepak Hooda, and

Suryakumar would have to sit out toaccommodate him as Virat Kohli, RishabhPant and Rohit Sharma are certain toplay.But the management might alsochoose to play the same XI and win theseries and give Rahul, Mayank Agarwal,and Shahrukh Khan a go in the last gameof the series.

Eyes will be there also on Virat Kohli,who will like to get among the runs andreach his 71st century, which has been inwaiting for over two years.In the bowlingdepartment, India had a clinical outing inthe previous game, so the team manage-ment is unlikely to make any changes.

The likes of Washington Sundar,Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal,Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur hadrestricted visitors to a below-par target inthe first ODI.

On the other hand, West Indies, who

failed to play even 50 overs in the firstODI, will look to improve their form andget going in the series.

The Windies bowlers also need to beon the mark with line and length as wellas the pace.

They were taken to task by the Indianbatters, especially Rohit.

SQUADSIndia: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul(vice-captain), Mayank Agarwal, RuturajGaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli,Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, IshanKishan (wicket-keeper), Deepak Hooda,Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), DeepakChahar, Shardul Thakur, YuzvendraChahal, Kuldeep Yadav, WashingtonSundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, PrasidhKrishna, Avesh Khan, Shahrukh Khan.West Indies: Kieron Pollard (captain),

F a b i a nA l l e n ,NkrumahB o n n e r,D a r r e nB r a v o ,S h a m a r hBrooks, JasonHolder, ShaiHope, Akeal Hosein,Alzarri Joseph, BrandonKing, Nicolas Pooran,Kemar Roach, RomarioShepard, Odean Smith,Hayden Walsh JrBriefScores:India: 237 for 9 in 50overs. (S Yadav 64, KL Rahul49; A Joseph 2/29, O Smith2/36).

West Indies: 193 all out in46 overs (Shamarh Brooks44; Prasidh Krishna4 / 1 2 ,Shardu lThakur2/41).

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England all-rounder Ravi Bopara onWednesday was fined 75 per cent of his

match fees for ball tampering in aBangladesh Premier League (BPL) matchagainst Khulna Tigers on February 7, saidThe Daily Star citing a Bangladesh CricketBoard (BCB) release.

The report also said that three discipli-nary points have been added to the disci-plinary record of Bopara, who was captain-ing Sylhet Sunrisers in the match against theKhulna Tigers. In the incident which hap-pened during the ninth over of the match,TV cameras showed Bopara running hisfingernails over the ball before bowling adelivery.

"The match referee Debabrata Paul ini-tially handed a three-match suspension forBopara but the final decision rested with thetournament technical committee A.S.M.Roquibul Hassan. The technical commit-tee decided to sanction penalties and handa lighter sentence following an appeal byBopara on Wednesday (February 8)," saidthe report.

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