Murder of Bajrang Dal's activist sparks violence - Daily Pioneer

COVOVAX: NOD SOUGHTFOR 12-17 YRS GROUPNew Delhi: Serum Institute ofIndia has sought emergency useauthorisation from India’s drugregulator for its Covid-19vaccine Covovax for the 12 to17 year age group, officialsources said on Monday.

SIT TO PROBE STUDENTLEADER’S DEATH: DIDI Kolkata: West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee onMonday said that a specialinvestigation team (SIT) will beformed to probe student leaderAnish Khan’s “mysterious”death that has sparkedwidespread protests byOpposition parties.

‘CARTOON ON BLASTSVERDICT ON FACTS’Ahmedabad: A day after Twitterremoved a caricature tweeted bythe Gujarat BJP unit on a courtverdict sentencing 38 people todeath in the 2008 Ahmedabadserial blasts, the ruling party onMonday claimed the cartoonwas based on real photographsand did not target any particularreligion or community.

CANCELLATION OFOFFLINE BOARD EXAMS:SC TO LIST PLEA New Delhi: The Supreme Courton Monday agreed to list forhearing a plea seekingcancellation of offline physicalboard examinations for classes10 and 12 to be held by CBSEand other several boards thisyear. A bench comprising ChiefJustice NV Ramana andJustices AS Bopanna and HimaKohli took note of thesubmissions of a lawyer.

CAPSULE

PNS n SHIVAMOGGA(KARNATAKA)/MUMBAI

A28-year-old Bajrang Dalactivist, Harsha, was

stabbed fatally in Shivamoggadistrict on Sunday night trig-gering massive protest fromright-wing activists. His funer-al procession in Shivamoggaturned violent that left a photojournalist and a police womanamong three injured.

The police have arrestedtwo persons in connectionwith the murder and saidefforts were on to nab the restof the suspects at the earliest.

Home Minister AragaJnanendra said a four-fivemember group of assailants wassuspected to be involved in thekilling.

Three persons were injuredwhen miscreants pelted stonesduring the funeral processionof the deceased Harsha thattook place amid tight security.Several vehicles were torchedand damaged while there werereports of some shops alsobeing ransacked.

Shivamogga, a town

2 held; Harsha'sfuneral processionstokes anger

PNS n CHANDIGARH

The second edition of theroadmap for prevention

and control of substance abusein Punjab which was releasedby Banwarilal Purohit,Governor of Punjab andAdministrator, UTChandigarh, at PGIMERrevealed that the projectednumber of overall substanceuse in Punjab is 15.4 per cent.In absolute numbers, morethan 3 million people in Punjabare currently consuming one orthe other kind of drugs, main-ly among the men, it stated.

During the occasion, SurjitSingh, Director PGIMER,Chandigarh and Dr GB Singh,Directorate of Health Services,Punjab,too were present.

The report which was edit-ed by Dr JS Thakur, Professor,Department of Community

Medicine and School of PublicHealth, PGIMER, highlightsthe burden of substance abusein Punjab. Purohit applaudedthe efforts by Thakur and histeam and appreciated the roleof public health approaches todeal with these social menaces.He endorsed the very essenceof this report — prevention isbetter than cure in all respects.

According to an officialstatement released byPGIMER, the report containscomprehensive information onthe burden of substance abusein India and the State of

Punjab, various types of sub-stances abused by people,strategies for prevention andcontrol, the district substanceabuse prevention plan andimplementation.

The report highlights theburden of substance abuse inPunjab. As per the State ofPunjab Household Survey(SPHS) and Statewide NCDSTEPs Survey by PGIMER, theprojected number of overallsubstance use in Punjab is15.4 per cent. Translating it tothe absolute number, morethan 3 million people inPunjab are currently consum-ing one or the other kind ofdrugs, mainly the men.Alcohol is the maximallyabused substance by morethan 2 million people, fol-lowed by tobacco which isconsumed by more than 1.5million people.

STAFF REPORTER n BHOPAL

Madhya PradeshHome MinisterNarottam Mishra

here on Monday said hisgovernment was concernedabout students from thestate stranded in Ukraine,which is under the threat ofan attack from neighbour-ing Russia.

Queried on 60 studentsfrom Indore who are stuckin Ukraine amid war fears,Mishra said Chief MinisterShivraj Singh Chouhan wasalso concerned and wantsthem to return to the stateby February 22-23.

"The Central govern-ment has issued an adviso-ry on this. Arrangements ofaircraft etc have been madeto get the students back.Everyone is concernedabout the situation, includ-ing Prime Minister, ChiefMinister and state govern-ment," Mishra, who is theMP governmentspokesperson, said.

Notably, the IndianEmbassy in Ukraine hadearlier issued an advisoryasking Indian nationals toleave the east Europeannation temporarily if theirstay was not essential.

"In view of the contin-ued high levels of tensionsand uncertainties withrespect to the situation inUkraine, all Indian nation-als whose stay is notdeemed essential and allIndian students are advisedto leave Ukraine tem-porarily," the embassy hadsaid.

Govt concernedover studentsstranded in Ukraine

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court onMonday said the proof of

demand for bribe by a pub-lic servant and its accep-tance by the official is essen-tial for establishing theoffence under the provisionof the anti-corruption lawwhich relates to governmentservants taking illegal grati-fication.

The apex court said thatoffence under Section 7 of thePrevention of Corruption(PC) Act relating to publicservants taking bribe requiresa demand of illegal gratifica-tion and its acceptance.

The section deals withoffence by public servantstaking gratification otherthan legal remuneration inrespect of an official act.

Bribe proofmust to bookbabus: SC

PNS n NEW DELHI

If you have been banking onyour daily dose of immune-

boosting supplements toreduce the risk of Covid-19,then it’s time to re-think.According to a new study,gulping down such supple-ments might not help.

In view of several studiesclaiming the efficacy of vita-mins against Covid-19, a newresearch has said that takingimmune-boosting supple-ments such as vitamin C, Dand zinc do not lessen yourchance of dying from the virus.

“A lot of people have thismisconception that if you loadup on zinc, vitamin D or C, itcan help the clinical outcomeof Covid-19,” said Dr AzizullahBeran, an internal medicineresident at the University’sCollege of Medicine and LifeSciences. “That hasn’t beenshown to be true,” Beran added.

In the study, published injournal Clinical Nutrition

ESPEN, the team reviewed 26peer-reviewed studies fromaround the globe that includ-ed more than 5,600 hospi-talised Covid patients.

The analysis found noreduction in mortality forthose being treated with vita-min D, C or zinc compared topatients who did not receiveone of these three supple-ments.

While treatment with vit-amin D may be associatedwith lower rates of intubationand shorter hospital stays, theresearchers stated that morerigorous study is needed to val-idate that finding.

Udta Punjab! Addicts’number soars to 30 lakh

Murder of Bajrang Dal’sactivist sparks violence

Vehicles set on fire by rioters during a funeral procession in Karnataka’sShivamogga town over the murder of Bajrang Dal worker, on Monday PTI

PNS n RANCHI

The Special CBI court onMonday awarded five-year

rigorous imprisonment and afine of ̀ 60 lakh to former BiharChief Minister Lalu Prasad ina fodder scam case (RC 47A/96). So far, Lalu has beenconvicted in five cases of fod-der scam.

The case pertains to thefraudulent withdrawal of`139.35 crore from Dorandatreasury of Ranchi during1995-96.

RJD supremo’s lawyerPrabhat Kumar said Lalu wouldchallenge the judgment at theJharkhand High Court besidesa bail petition will be filed onbehalf of Lalu.

“We will challenge thejudgment and a petition will bemoved very soon. Lalu hasspent three years and 19 daysin this case hence he can get thebail,” Kumar said.

However, the CBI sourcesdisputed the claim and saidLalu had not spent much timein jail.

Reacting to the judgment,Lalu tweeted, “I’ve been fight-ing against injustice, inequali-ty and dictatorial regimes andwill continue to fight. Who canbreak the resolve of someonewhose power is truth and who

has the support of the masses?”Lalu’s son and RJD leader

Tejashwi Yadav said his fatherwas convicted because hefought against the RSS and theBJP. “If Lalu would have shak-en hands with the BJP then hewould have been called RajaHarishchandra but today he isfighting against RSS-BJP hencehe is facing imprisonment.We’ll not get scared with this,”he said.

After he was pronouncedguilty on February 15, Lalu wastaken into custody. He is nowadmitted in Rajendra Instituteof medical Science at Ranchi.

On Monday morning, thecourt premises were jam-packed with lawyers, mediapersons, and supporters ofLalu. Former RJD MLA fromBihar Bhola Yadav, formerMinisters Shyam Rajak, AbdulBari Siddiqui, and many otherswere present. They turned dis-appointed and soon left thecourt premises when the courtpronounced the quantum ofpunishment.

The court proceedingsstarted at 12 when the court

heard arguments of lawyers ofconvicts on the point of sen-tencing. Lalu’s lawyers said heis very old and suffering frommany diseases hence the courtadopts a lenient view. Lalu iscurrently under treatment atRIMS under judicial custody.

Special CBI judgeSudhanshu Kumar Shashialso pronounced the quantumof punishment to 39 otherconvicts of this case. All sen-tences were pronouncedthrough video conferencing.

On February 15, the courtheld Lalu and 74 otheraccused guilty, including for-mer MLAs, former Secretary,former Commissioner ofIncome Tax, the then AHDofficials, veterinary doctors,proprietors, and other pri-vate persons. The court hadacquitted 24 accused from allcharges.

The court sentenced 35convicts to three years of rig-orous imprisonment alongwith a fine. Regarding rest ofthe convicts, the court fixedFebruary 21 to pronounce thejudgment of the remaining 40convicts.

These 40 convicts includeLalu, Dr Rabindra KumarRana (then MLA, BiharAssembly), Beck Julius(Secretary, AHD) MahendraPrasad (Treasury Officer,Doranda Treasury), DevendraPrasad Srivastva, (TreasuryOfficer, Doranda Treasury).

RJD chief to moveHC against verdict

Lalu gets 5 years RI in5th fodder scam case

PNS n NEW DELHI

As the “hijab” controversysnowballs in Karnataka

and outside the State, UnionHome Minister Amit Shahhas said he personally believes

all religions must adhere toschool dress codes.

The top BJP leader pre-dicted a coalitionGovernment in Punjab as heforesaw a full majority for hisparty in Uttar Pradesh.

“The question does notarise, the BJP will come topower with a big margin,with full majority. Then what

is the need of a post-pollalliance? We already have apre-poll alliance with twoparties. And it is our traditionthat even if we obtain a major-ity, we make our Governmentunder the NDA. And we willnot need anyone, we will winwith full majority,” Shah saidwhen asked by the CNN-News18.

All religions must adhere to school dress codes: Shah‘BJP forming coalition Govt inPunjab, full majority in UP’

around 250 km fromBengaluru, had recently seendisruption in some collegesover the hijab row.

Police tried to bring the sit-uation under control and madeway for the funeral processionto move further and the finalrites to take place.

Harsha, a resident ofSeegehatti, was attacked by agroup of unknown persons atBharati Colony here on Sundaynight, following which he wastaken to McGann Hospitalwhere he succumbed to hisinjuries.

Continued on Page 2

Vit C, D or Zinc shieldagainst Covid deaths?No, say researchers

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Late City Vol.19 Issue 51*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Published FromDELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL BHUBANESWAR

RANCHI RAIPUR CHANDIGARHDEHRADUN HYDERABAD VIJAYWADA

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

BHOPAL, TUESDAY FEBRUARY 22, 2022; PAGES 12 `1.50

MONEY 9SENSEX, NIFTY SUFFER 4TH STRAIGHTLOSS AS UKRAINE CRISIS SIMMERS

}}WORLD 8

BIDEN, PUTIN AGREE TO TALK BUTFEARS OF UKRAINE WAR CONTINUE

OPINION 6THE UKRAINE CRISIS: ITS IMPACT ON INDIA

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COVID IN MADHYA PRADESH

Cities Fresh Cases Total casesBhopal 151 171649Indore 58 207214Gwalior 5 65499

capital 02

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Chief Minister ShivrajSingh Chouhan hassaid that Kundalpur

and Bandakpur will be madeholy region. Things like meatand liquor will be bannedhere. Chouhan along withwife Sadhna Singh reachedKundalpur PanchkalyanakMaha-Mahotsav on Mondayfor the darshan of Bade Baba.Here he sought the blessingsof Vidyasagar Ji Maharaj afterdarshan and offering prayersto Bade Baba. Chief MinisterChouhan and his wife

attended the Panchkalyanakfestival as Indra and Indrani.

Public Works MinisterGopal Bhargava, Micro, Smalland Medium EnterprisesMinister OmprakashSakhlecha, Former MinisterJayant Malaiya also soughtblessings of Vidyasagar JiMaharaj.

Chief Minister Chouhansaid that Acharya Shri has donethe work of showing the way tothe wandering humanity. Hehas done inspiring work in thefield of education, health andGau Seva. The cominggenerations will not be able to

believe that great saints like SantVidyasagar Ji Maharaj havealso lived on this earth. He saidthat whenever he comes acrossany problem, he gets a solutionby remembering Acharya Shri.He has not come here as ChiefMinister but as a disciple. Thisplace seems like heaven. Thedarshan of Acharya Shri givessuch satisfaction and joy thatcannot be described.

The Chief Minister saidthat the Bade Baba temple builtin Kundalpur is wonderful.This temple is dazzling. Peoplefrom all over the world willcome to this holy place and seek

Bade Baba’s darshan. He saidthat by planting saplings on thehills, for greenery. He alsodirected the departmentalofficers to prepare their plan.

Chief Minister Chouhansaid that as told by VidyasagarMaharaj ji, the stategovernment will imparteducation through Hindimedium in a medical andengineering college from thisyear itself. Emphasis will begiven on self-employmentalong with education.Vocational education will alsobe imparted from Class VIonwards.

The Chief Minister saidthat the society should alsocome forward for gau seva.He requested the people totreat both sons and daughtersas equal , and not todiscriminate in any way. Hesaid that the situation haschanged in Madhya Pradeshwith Ladli Laxmi Yojana.Earlier in the year 2012, 912daughters were born for onethousand sons, now 956daughters are being born forone thousand sons .Plantation plan will be madeto make the hi l l s ofKundalpur green.

Kundalpur and Bandakpur will bemade holy region: Chief Minister


Unable to marry herlove due to unem-ployment a 24-

year-old youth committedsuicide by hanging atSagar Abhinav Heights onSunday, Misrod policehave started investigation.

The youth, identified asSuraj Sahu, a resident ofChhindwara district, wasan engineering graduateand used to live with hiselder brother and unclewhere he committed sui-cide.

It was found that Surajwas in a relationship witha girl, a resident ofChhindwara and wanted tomarry her but, the girl'sfamily members rejectedhis proposal, as Suraj wasunemployed.

Suraj used to live withhis elder brother AshishSahu and his wife, whoworks with a private firmin Bhopal as Civil Engineer,told the police that Surajwas under depression asthe girl got married tosomeone three days ago.

The elder brother andsister-in-law tried to con-sole him and said theywould arrange his mar-riage with another girl.

On Sunday, he tooklunch with family membersand went to his room buttill late in the evening hefailed to return and afterwhich his sister-in-lawknocked at the door anddidn’t get a response andimmediately informedAshish.

The family memberslater broke open the doorand found Suraj hanging.

The police said that nosuicide note was found atspot and body was sent forthe post mortem and start-ed investigation.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan along with his wife Sadhna Singh offerred prayers to Bhagwan Adinath atKundalpur on Monday. Pioneer photo


Capri Global Capital Ltd.(CGCL), a non-deposit-taking and systemically

important NBFC (NBFC-ND-SI) plans to enter the gold loanbusiness. The company willlaunch this business in the firsthalf of the financial year 2022-23. The company aims to builda gold loan book size of Rs 8,000crore and expand its networkwith 1500 branch locations overthe next five years. Speaking about the businessdiversification, Rajesh Sharma,Managing Director, CapriGlobal Capital Ltd said, "This isin line with our long-termexpansion strategy. We seeimmense scope in the gold loanmarket as financial distress dueto the pandemic has increaseddemand for credit across low-to-medium income households.Due to the emotional valueassociated with gold, peoplepledge their gold as collateraland secure a short-term loanrather than selling it. The trendis very evident in the rural andsemi-urban geographies of thecountry. CGCL with increasedrural presence is well poised toserve customers and further

financial inclusion within thecommunities."The company has appointedRavish Gupta to head the busi-ness vertical. He is entrustedwith the responsibility of drivingthe new gold loan businessacross the country. He bringstwo decades of extensive expe-rience. Prior to joining CGCL,he headed the north zone of thegold loan business for IndiaInfoline Finance Ltd. Currently, the company operatesin two major verticals - securedMSME Loans and AffordableHousing Finance - through itsstrong network of 110 branch-es spread across 11 states &Union Territories. The compa-ny is also engaged in providingconstruction finance to afford-able housing projects and dis-tributes auto loan products ofleading banks.

Capital Global aims to build8000 crore gold loan book


The cybercrime cellarrested the miscreantfrom Harda for harass-

ing victim by sharing hermobile number creating a fakeID on Facebook.The accused used a fakeFacebook ID to harass thewoman due to a family dis-pute. The accused used toshare the mobile numbers ofthe woman and her family onthe fake Facebook ID andafter which he used to sharethe photo and mobile numberof the woman and ask to call.People used to think that thewoman is willing to talk, thenunknown people used to callthe woman's number and talkobscenely.The accused Amit Bhumarkarwas recovered and recoveredSIM and mobile phone used inmaking fake ID on Facebook

On October 11, 2021, the vic-tim lodged a complaint appli-cation in the cyber crime thatafter with the intention ofharassing her, a fake I.D. wasmade on Facebook and mobilenumber of her and her fami-ly were shared over Facebook.The police have registered acase under section 419 of theIPC and 66(C) I.T.Accused Amit Bhumarkarwanted to harass his maternal

uncle over an old family dis-pute, so he used a fakeFacebook ID in the name ofthe woman. He made and puta photo of the woman on it,shared her mobile numberand wrote to call her. FacebookID of woman's name and spot-ting the photo, unknown peo-ple used to call the woman onmobile and talk obscenely. Ina day victim would receive 100to 200 harassing the victim.

Man nabbed from Harda for harassing victimby sharing her mobile number on facebook

Madhya Pradesh Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang reviewed the arrangements at new building of Hamidia Hospital where OPD facility started on Monday. Healso talked to the patients present there. Pioneer photo


Lifestyle diseases, terminalillnesses or even pan-demics like Covid19 are

becoming common in our lives.While medical advancementshave made treatments betterand easier, medical inflation hasalso made the treatments cost-lier. Hence, Rakesh Jain, CEO ofReliance General Insurance Co.Ltd says, it becomes imperativeto review existing health insur-ance policy to ensure your cur-rent and future medical expenserequirements are met.Here area few factors that can help youdecide whether your existingpolicy is adequate or not.

Place of residence:Generally, hospitalization costsvary between cities/towns andcan be higher in a tier 1 citythan in a tier 3 city. Hence, fac-tor in the average hospitaliza-tion cost of the residing citywhile reviewing the sum-insured amount. Standard ofliving: The type of medical careyou opt for is often influencedby your living standard. If youexpect best in class treatmentsin best hospitals, ensure yourhealth policy has higher cover-

age and add-on features to takecare of such associated costs.No. of insured members vsyour sum-insured: Pandemicslike Covid-19 has showed usthat everyone in a family can getaffected simultaneously or insame year, and the existingsum-insured amount might beinsufficient to cover all.

So, considering the risingmedical inflation, a family offour needs to have a coverage ofat least Rs 15 lakhs. Rememberthat your insurance coverageshould provide you completefinancial protection today aswell as in the future in case ofany unforeseen health issues. So,review you existing policy indepth and if required revise thepolicy wisely.

You need to review yourexisting health policy now

BHOPAL | TUESDAY | FEBRUARY 22, 2022

PNS n TIKAMGARH

The brand protectionteam of Tata Steel withthe help of Madhya

Pradesh Police raided theAditya Wiren factory inTikamgarh, Madhya Pradeshon February 17, 2022, find-ing forged barbed wire andchain link fencing with non-standard packaging undervarious Tata’s name werefound to selling by the cul-prit.

After receiving informa-tion about this illegal activ-ity, the Tata Steel team joint-ly conducted raids withAndhra Pradesh Police andseized counterfeit products,estimated to be wortharound Rs. 2 lakh, as well assealed the manufacturingunit involved in the fake

manufacturing.An FIR has been regis-

tered against the said insti-tution under sections 51 and63 of the Copyright Act.

Unauthorized use of theTATA and Vyron names isan infringement of the intel-lectual property rights ofthe Tata Group and TataSteel. The owners of thecompany were selling fakechain link fence of substan-

dard quality to the customersas original Tata Steel prod-ucts.

Tata Wireon Chain LinkFence is packaged in aunique way and sold with thesame packaging as all gen-uine products by AuthorizedDealers and Distributors.

Due to the quality ofTata Steel products, con-sumers have a good feelingtowards the products. Suchunauthorized use of theTATA name on wire prod-ucts that do not match thequality standards of TataSteel products damages thereputation of Tata Steel.

Tata Steel will continuethese efforts to monitor andcrack down on any illegalactivities that negativelyaffect its assets and cus-tomers at large.

Tata Steel, police raid premises oif AdityaWaren factory, seize forged barbed wire

Rs 343 crore approved for NH upgradationSTAFF REPORTER n BHOPAL

Ministry of Road andT r a n s p o r t ,Government of

India, has approved Rs.343crore for the upgradation of87 km area of NationalHighway No. 346 passingthrough Madhya Pradesh.Upgradation work ofNational Highway up toJakhar Kheda, Berasia, DholKhedi will be done. In addi-

tion, three bypass roads areproposed to be constructedin an area of ??13 km aroundAhmedpur, BarkhedaHassan and Berasia city.Principal Secretary PublicWorks Neeraj Mandloiinformed that in the meet-ing held today with theMinistry of Road andTransport, Government ofIndia, approval has beengiven for upgradation of 87km area in National

Highway 346. With itsupgradation, the movementbetween the states ofMadhya Pradesh and UttarPradesh will become easier.This highway will be helpfulin connecting East WestCorridor NH-27 to Dinaraand Bhopal-Nagpur corri-dor NH-86 to Jhakharkheda. As a result of this, themovement between thecities of Bhopal, Gwaliorand Jhansi will be easy.

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra reviewed parade during convocation ceremony of 42nd batch of DSPsand 91st A batch of SIs at Bhonri Public Academy Bhopal. Pioneer photo


Cyber crime Bhopalhas nabbed an inter-state gang from

Delhi involved in cheatingin the name of multina-tional company, victimswere cheated by sending alink on mobile phone; Rs10 lakh has been cheatedfrom vicitims.

The accused used tocheat unemployed by send-ing links in the name of get-ting jobs in a multination-al company. The victimsprovided personal data andbank related informationon the link.

From 2021 till datearound Rs 10 lakh has beencheated from various peo-

ple.Complaint was lodged

by Sagar Maurya, statingthat he was cheated in thename of multinationalcompany and dupe to thetune of Rs 81040.

During investigationpolice tracked the accusedand arrested them from

Delhi who were identifiedas Arvind Kumar (27) andDeepak Singh (26).

In the investigationpolice found that theaccused used to obtain themobile numbers of unem-ployed persons from vari-ous websites and make callsto provide jobs on the

mobile numbers obtainedand would call unemployedvictims offering job in a bigand multinational compa-ny, for which a registrationform will have to be filled,the link of which was sentby the accused to theunemployed persons ontheir WhatsApp number.

Individuals would seevarious job offers as soon asthey opened the link. Whenthe offer was opened by thecomplainant, then a newpage was opened for thepayment and huge amountwas siphoned off fraudu-lently. The said amountwas transferred to fakeaccounts and cash waswithdrawn from the ATMmachine.

Cyber crime bust an interstate gangengaged in cheating for jobs in MNCs

Unemployedyouth endslife byhanging


The final selection tri-als of the MadhyaPradesh State

Wrestling Academy con-cluded here on Monday.

As many as 40 selectedwrestling players fromacross the state displayedtheir talent in the selectiontrials held today. After ful-filling the physical effi-ciency and other qualifica-tions, the final selection ofthe players will be done forthe academy. The finalselection of the players wasdone under the guidance ofChief Instructor of TrialAcademy, DronacharyaAwardee Mahasinh Rao.

It is noteworthy that atotal of 679 players, includ-ing 135 from Gwalior, 30from Sagar, 161 fromJabalpur, 69 from Ujjain,149 from Indore, and 135from Bhopal, had giventalent tests for selection inthe academy. Out of which40 players were selectedfor the final trials.

Final trials ofWrestlingacademyconcludes

The team seizedcounterfeitproducts worthRs 2 lakh, as wellas sealed themanufacturingunit

BHOPAL | TUESDAY | FEBRUARY 22, 2022 capital 03


Higher EducationMinister MohanYadav said that lan-

guage is the most effectiveand powerful source of cul-ture. Language is the bestasset of man. The culture ofa society/group cannot beimagined without language.

Yadav said that theBritish ruled India on thebasis of language and hadcaused conflict and warbetween many kings, butthey themselves neverfought among themselves.He said that now in the newNational Education Policyalso a provision has beenmade to prepare courses inmother tongue. MadhyaPradesh tops in implemen-tation of National

Education Policy. We haveaccepted the challenge ofpreparing the traditionalEnglish language engineer-ing and medical courses inHindi and this work is inprogress under the leader-ship of subject experts.

The Higher EducationMinister expressed theabove thoughts in a semi-

nar organized by MadhyaPradesh Hindi GranthAcademy and Atal BihariVajpayee HindiVishwavidyalaya on“Sanskriti, Sanskar aurSabhyata ka Samvardhan -Bharatiya Bhashayen” on‘International MotherLanguage Day’.

National Secretary of

Sanskriti Utthan Nyas, NewDelhi, Shri Atul Kotharisaid that the language ofIndia is the best. Hindi isone of the best languages.He said that there cannotbe a substitute for motherand motherland. There arean estimated 6,000 lan-guages in the world. Only200 of these languageswould survive by the end ofthe 21st century. It includesmany languages of India.With the loss of a lan-guage, the community, tra-ditions, culture and expres-sion of that language ends.The society also has tothink about the impor-tance of language. Changecan be brought in life byadopting small things. Youshould think deeply aboutwhat changes you can bring

in your life.Vice Chancellor of Atal

Bihari Vajpayee HindiUniversity Prof. KhemSingh Daheria said thatHindi University has theresponsibility to prepareMBBS syllabus in Hindi.We have accepted this chal-lenge and the basic syllabuswill be ready in about ayear. Daheria said thatUNESCO’s Language Atlaslists 6 thousand languagesof which 2500 languagesare endangered.HigherEducation Minister MohanYadav also released the lat-est issue of “Rachana” mag-azine of Madhya PradeshHindi Granth Academy.Director, Madhya PradeshHindi Granth Academy,Ashok Kadel presided thefunction.

Language is the most effective, powerfulsource of culture: Yadav at seminar

Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Chief Kamal Nath convened meetings of different cells of the party at PCC Headquarter inBhopal on Monday. Pioneer photo

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat offered prayers to Lord Mahakal at Ujjain on Monday.Other functionaries were also present. Pioneer photo

PNS n GWALIOR

Gwalior MunicipalC o m m i s s i o n e r ,Kishore Kanyal issued

directives to the waste man-agement department and thesanitary workers engaged indoor to door collection tocollect only segregated wastefrom homes. He asked themnot to collect mixed garbage.

During a meeting held atthe conference hall of the BalBhawan today, the commis-sioner asked the waste man-agement department offi-cials to make the citizensaware of the importance ofkeeping dry and wet garbageseparately. The commis-sioner emphasized theimportance of hygiene andsaid that it is the duty of eachand every person, especiallythe sanitary workers and thesupervisors to make Gwaliora neat city. He asked thesupervisors to take it as achallenge to make the citi-zens aware of the importanceof segregating wet and drygarbage. He also asked themto levy fines if people con-tinue to disregard this despiterepeated warnings.

The commissioner fur-ther asked the officials to seethat the wet and dry garbageare sent separately to thelandfill sites. He added thatseparate vehicles must beused for this.

Orders to collectonly segregatedwaste STAFF REPORTER n BHOPAL

Under the latest andpopular online seriesof Indira Gandhi

Rashtriya ManavSangrahalaya entitled ‘Exhibitof the Week’ the “GaradSaree” (A traditional hand-loom silk saree) collectedfrom 2013.

The Community of Folk,Murshidabad, West Bengal.Its Measurement Max.

Length-5.5meter., Width -115cm, displayed in the audi-ence as the third Exhibit ofthe month of February, 2022through official website,Facebook, Instagram andtwitter page of the IGRMS.

In this regard PraveenKumar Mishra, Director,IGRMS said that Garad sareeis a traditional handloom silksaree having off-white colourbody with small border. Theentire body is decorated withsmall floral motifs and striped

pallu. The word "Garad"means white, which is the nat-ural colour of Mulberry orTussar.

The fabric of Garad sari isan unbleached silk, devoid ofdyeing and weaved in a tra-ditional loom. Most of theGarad sarees have plain bodywith resham booty weaved onit with contrast border of redor maroon colour.

It is mostly woven by theweavers of Murshidabad dis-trict, West Bengal. Garad

saree is worn by Bengaliwomen during festive occa-sion or pooja.

The fabrics used in theproduction of Garad sarimaintains the purity factorand considered suitable forwearing in auspicious occa-sions such as pooja or reli-gious ceremony.

These sarees are very finepure silk saree, their textureresembles tissue papers, verylight in weight and easy tocarry.

Garad Saree of Murshidabad on exhibition at Museum

Bhopal: A movie based on thefighters of Indian Army TheGunners was screened atShaurya Smarak on Monday.

The film was produced byNeil Gokhale, presented by theFilms Division of India, focusingon the artillery gunners of theIndian Army. The script writerand director is Vijay B. Chand.

The military film 'NavalDivers' (Chhansan Kampted)will also be performed at Shaurya

Memorial on Saturday evening.The film is based on the coura-geous and exciting work style ofGautakhor of Nausen. Presentedby the Films Division of India,the film has been produced byPrem Vaidya and directed by MSPatwani.

When the artillery soldiersof the Indian Army descendinto the battlefield with deadlycannons vowing to annihilate theenemy, nothing is seen in the

enemy area except tahwi andsmoke. The heavier they are, thestronger they appear.

When an ordinary youngman dedicates himself to guard-ing the motherland as a soldierwith a sense of patriotism, whatkind of determination and man-hood does his strength grow?While living a military life, howhe rises above the common manand starts thinking for the coun-try, just like the flaming ammu-nition coming out of the cannon,sparks the enemy's wipe out ofhis eyes.

The Gunners screened at Shaurya Smarak

New collection ofbooks includesLata DidiSTAFF REPORTER n BHOPAL

The collection of books sug-gested by the members inSwami Vivekananda Library

was released. Books in Hindi andEnglish have been included in thiscollection.

The collection includes bookslike Lata didi author HarishBhimani, Lata Sur-Gatha AuthorYatindra Mishra, Ako bako authorDivya Prakash Dubey, Pregnancyand Child Care Guide Author AbrarMultani, Alipura Author GyanChaturvedi, Race for TomorrowAuthor Simon, The Eastern GateAuthor Sudip Chakraborty, CuringAirborne Allergies Author WilliamC., Yoga for Sports Author B. Of.Yes.

Iyengar, The SaraswatiCivilization Author G D Bakshi,Resolved Author Ban-Ki Moon andmore. A total of 20 books in thiscollection have been put on display.

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With a focus on creating a"digital skill ecosystem",

skill development as per indus-try demand and "better indus-try linkages and internation-alization" — being emphasizedwith arrival of "world class for-eign universities" — PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onMonday said that the UnionBudget for 2022-23 would beof great help in implementingthe National Education Policyon the ground.

Modi said the decision toset up a National DigitalUniversity can solve the prob-lem of shortage of seats in edu-cational institutions in thecountry that we experience inour country.

Addressing a webinar onthe positive impact of theUnion Budget 2022-23, Modisaid the budget focuses on fiveaspects related to the educationsector — universalisation ofquality education, skill devel-opment, urban planning anddesign, internationalisation andAVGC (Animation VisualEffects Gaming Comic).

He outlined that digital

connectivity is what kept theeducation system running inthis time of global pandemic."We are seeing how the digitaldivide is rapidly shrinking inIndia. Innovation is ensuringinclusion for us," he said.

Educational infrastructuresuch as e-Vidya, One Class OneChannel, Digital Labs andDigital University are going tohelp the youths a lot, he said.

The Prime Ministerexplained five aspects high-lighted in the Budget 2022.Firstly, key decisions have beentaken for universalization ofquality education i.e expansionof education with improvedquality along with enhancedcapabilities of the educationsector.

Secondly, attention hasbeen given to skill develop-ment. Focus is on creating adigital skill ecosystem, skilldevelopment as per industrydemand and better industrylinkages.

Thirdly, he said, inclusionof India’s ancient experienceand knowledge of urban plan-ning and designing into edu-cation is important.

Fourthly, Modi said

Internationalization has beenemphasized involving thearrival of “world class foreignuniversities” and encourage-ment of institutions of GIFTCity getting Fintech relatedinstitutes. Fifth, focus onAnimation Visual EffectsGaming Comics, where there ishuge potential of employmentand there is a big global mar-ket.

On the InternationalMother Language Day, thePrime Minister underlined thelink between education in themedium of mother languageand the mental development ofchildren.

He informed that in manystates medical and technicaleducation is also being impart-ed in the local languages. ThePrime Minister called formomentum in creating bestcontent in digital format inlocal Indian languages.

He emphasized that suchcontent needs to be availablevia Internet, Mobile phones,TV and radio. He reiterated therequirement to keep the workwith regard to content in signlanguages going with due pri-ority.

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India believes in security andgrowth for all in the Indian

Ocean Region (IOR) and theNavy’s constant vigil, promptresponse to incidents anduntiring efforts have been high-ly successful in maintaining thesafety of the seas. These effortsare focused on cooperativemeasures for sustainable use ofoceans, President Ram NathKovind said on Monday.

Enunciating this point, hesaid "a large part of global tradeflows through the IndianOcean Region. A significantportion of our trade and ener-gy needs are met through theoceans. Safety of the seas andof the maritime commons,therefore, remains a criticalrequirement."

Addressing the Naval fleetduring the President's FleetReview-2022 off theVisakhapatnam coast in Bay ofBengal, the SupremeCommander of the ArmedForces said the excellent paradeof ships, aircraft and sub-marines showcased the profes-sional competence and deter-mination of the maritime ser-vices of the nation.

More than 60 ships and 55aircraft participated in theevent held once during the

President’s tenure. The latestevent was the 12th FleetReview.

"As the SupremeCommander of the ArmedForces, this is a moment ofimmense satisfaction for me.The nation is proud of ourbrave navy personnel," thePresident said.

"I am pleased to review thereadiness of the Indian Navalships, submarines, aircraft andother elements of our maritimepower today. Indian Navy isbecoming increasingly self-reliant and has been at the fore-front of the 'Make in India' ini-tiative,” he added.

The President noted thatabout 70 per cent of the con-tents of several warships andsubmarines under constructionin various public and privateshipyards across the countrywere indigenous.

"It is a matter of greatpride that India has builtnuclear submarines and soonwe will have our indigenouslybuilt aircraft carrier, ‘Vikrant',joining the service.Development of indigenousnaval shipbuilding capabilitiesis an impressive contribution tothe making of an 'AtmanirbharBharat'," Kovind observed.

Commending the Navy'srole during the Covid-19 pan-demic, he said it provided aid

to friendly nations in the formof medicines supply. The Navyalso evacuated stranded Indiancitizens and foreign nationals indifferent parts of the worldunder 'Mission SAGAR' and'Samudra Setu.'

"The prompt and effectivedeployment of the Indian Navyin the times of crisis has under-scored India's vision of beingthe 'Preferred

Security Partner' and 'FirstResponder' in the IndianOcean Region," the Presidentsaid. He noted the city ofVisakhapatnam "made a glori-ous contribution" during the1971 war. "I recall the heroicaction of the Eastern NavalCommand in the naval block-ade of the then East Pakistanand the sinking of Pakistan's

submarine 'Ghazi'. That was adecisive blow to Pakistan. The1971 war remains one of themost emphatic victories in ourhistory," the Presidentobserved.

He said the Indian Navyregularly engaged with a largenumber of other navies of theworld through bilateral andmultilateral exercises, Kovindsaid. The aim was to enhanceinteroperability, gain from bestpractices, develop commonunderstanding and build mutu-al confidence to address mar-itime issues, he said.

He conveyed his best wish-es to Indian Navy for the multi-national naval exercise MILAN2022, scheduled to begin inVisakhapatnam on February26.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has filed

a Prosecution Complaint(chargesheet) against a kingpinof red sanders smuggling syn-dicate, Badshah Majid Malikand three others under thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA)before the Special PMLA courtin Mumbai. The Court hassince taken cognizance of thematter.

The ED had initiatedmoney laundering investiga-tion against Malik and otherson the basis of prosecutioncomplaint filed by theDirectorate of RevenueIntelligence (DRI) in a caserelating to seizure of redsanders amounting to Rs 3.16crores by DRI in the year 2015,the ED said .

Subsequent investigationsby DRI had established thatMalik was the kingpin of thesyndicate involved in the smug-gling of red sanders.

During the investigation,the ED had conducted search-es at eight locations in Mumbaiand Thane on December 20,2021 resulting in the seizure ofincriminating documents andsubsequently arrested Malikon December 21, 2021.

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Family members of victimsof Lakhimpur Kheri vio-

lence on Monday moved theSupreme Court challengingthe grant of bail by theAllahabad High Court toAshish Mishra, son of Unionminister Ajay Mishra, who wasarrested in connection with theviolence wherein eight peopleincluding four farmers werekilled on October 3 last year.

Three family members ofthe farmers who were killed inthe violence have sought a stayon the February 10 bail orderof the Lucknow bench of thehigh court saying the verdictwas “unsustainable in eyes oflaw as there has been no mean-ingful and effective assistanceby the state to the court in thematter”.

“The lack of any discussionin the High Court's order asregards the settled principlesfor grant of bail is on accountof lack of any substantive sub-missions to this effect by theState as the accused wieldssubstantial influence over the

State Government as his fatheris a Union Minister from thesame political party that rulesthe State.

“The impugned order isunsustainable in eyes of law asthere has been no meaningfuland effective assistance by theState to the court in the mattercontrary to object of firstProviso to Section 439 of Codeof Criminal Procedure, 1973,which provides that in graveoffences notice of bail applica-tion should ordinarily be givento the Public Prosecutor,” saidthe plea which has been filed byJagjeet Singh, Pawan Kashyapand Sukhwinder Singh throughlawyer Prashant Bhushan.

There has been animproper and arbitrary exercisecontrary to settled law by thehigh court which has grantedbail without at all consideringthe heinous nature of the crime,it said. Seeking “stay of theimpugned bail order”, the pleanarrated the sequence of evi-dence and said, “The act ofdeliberately crushing the peace-fully returning farmers by theThar vehicle on the instruc-

tions of the accused from theback was not an act of negli-gence or carelessness but apre-planned conspiracy as theaccused thereafter from thefarms circled back to the placeof the ‘dangal' event at around4:00 pm and acted as if noth-ing had happened”.

The plea said the HighCourt did not consider the“overwhelming evidence”against the accused, positionand status of the accused withreference to the victim and wit-nesses and the likelihood ofhim fleeing from justice andrepeating the offence whilegranting the bail. There wasalso the possibility of his tam-pering with the witnesses andobstructing the course of jus-tice, it said.

“At least 27 witnesses havetestified that they either saw theaccused at the scene of thecrime or saw him runningaway from the scene of thecrime... At least 8 witnesses tes-tified that they saw and heardthe accused and his supportersasking the driver of the Tharvehicle to crush the protesters,”said the petition.

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Skymet, a private weatherforecasting agency, on

Monday, predicted that mon-soon is expected to be normalin 2022, adding that a completeassessment would arrive inApril. It is expected to be in thenormal range of 96-104 percentof long period average (LPA).The weather agency is in theprocess of gathering data setspertinent for a comprehensivemonsoon forecast in April.

"The last two Monsoonseasons have been driven byback-to-back La Nina events,which have started shrinkingnow. It also means thatMonsoon 2022 is going to be adevolving La Nina to startwith and turn neutral later",Skymet said.

“Negative sea surface tem-perature anomalies in the equa-torial Pacific Ocean are weak-ening. This warming inclina-tion of the Pacific Ocean, albeitwithin neutral limits, may notlead to an above normal orexcess rainfall but chances of a‘corrupt’ monsoon are also

ruled out. Thiscould be one ofthe ‘normal’monsoon yearsmaking a robuststart and finish-ing around themidway mark ofthe normalrange, the rangeof normal rainfall is 96-104%of LPA (880.6mm),” it said.

La Nina, a pattern charac-terised by unusually low tem-peratures in the equatorialPacific Ocean and linked tofloods and drought, has fuelledthe last two monsoon seasons.La Nina does not have a warm-ing influence on global tem-peratures and is associatedwith strong monsoon andabove average rains, and coolwinter in India. But its effect onthis monsoon will declinewhich may not lead to betterthan average or abundant rain-fall, it added.

The rainy season in thecountry is categorised into four– pre-monsoon (March-May),monsoon (June-September),post-monsoon (October-

December) and winter(January-February). Of these,the monsoon and post-mon-soon periods are important aswe have the South-West mon-soon during June-Septemberand the North-East monsoonduring October-December.

The South-West monsoonholds the key for good agri-cultural production as itaccounts for nearly 75 per centof the country’s average totalrainfall of about 1,200 mm.

The south-west monsoonirrigates over half of India’s cropland. Its arrival marks thebeginning of the cultivation ofrain-fed kharif crops whichare heavily dependent on themonsoon—the quantity ofrainfall determines agricultur-al production.

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The CBI on Monday ques-tioned Rishi Agarwal, pro-

moter of ABG Shipyardembroiled in over Rs 22,848crore banking fraud scam, thebiggest such case registered bythe central agency.

Earlier, the agency hadquestioned him last week. Hisstatement will be furtherrecorded in the coming days onvarious aspects of alleged irreg-ularities including diversionof funds as pointed out in theforensic audit conducted bybanks.

The CBI had registered anFIR in the matter on February7, 2022 on a complaint filed bySBI 17 months ago on August25, 2020.

The agency has also namedthe then executive directorSanthanam Muthaswamy,

directors Ashwini Kumar,Sushil Kumar Agarwal andRavi Vimal Nevetia and anoth-er company, ABG InternationalPvt Ltd, for alleged offences ofcriminal conspiracy, cheating,criminal breach of trust andabuse of official position underthe Indian Penal Code (IPC)and the Prevention ofCorruption Act.

The CBI had conductedsearches at 13 locations onFebruary 12.

The searches yielded sev-eral "incriminating documents"such as books of accounts ofthe accused borrower compa-ny, which were being scruti-nized to take the probe for-ward, officials said.

The bank had first filed acomplaint on November 8,2019 on which the CBI hadsought some clarifications onMarch 12, 2020.

The bank filed a freshcomplaint in August that year.

After "scrutinising" for overone-and-a-half-years, the CBIacted on the complaint, filingan FIR on February 7, 2022.

They said the companyhad allegedly diverted funds toa lot of companies which alsoneeded detailed scrutiny.

The company was sanc-tioned credit facilities from 28banks and financial institutionsled by ICICI Bank, with SBIhaving exposure of Rs 2,468.51crore. A forensic audit by Ernst& Young has shown thatbetween 2012 and 2017, theaccused entities and the indi-viduals colluded together andcommitted illegal activities,including diversion of funds,misappropriation and criminalbreach of trust, they said.

The sanctioned funds wereused for purposes other thanfor which they were released bythe banks, they added.

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The Delhi High Court onMonday refused to grant

further time to the Centre tomake its stand clear on theissue of criminalising maritalrape and reserved judgementon various pleas in the matter.The Centre submitted that ithas sent communication to allstates and Union territoriesasking their comments on theissue and urged the court thatthe proceedings be adjournedtill such time the inputs arereceived.

A bench of Justices RajivShakdher and C Hari Shankarsaid it was not possible toadjourn an ongoing matter asthere is no terminal date bywhen the Centre's consulta-tions will be over on the issue.“We are closing it then,” the

bench said, adding, “judge-ment reserved. List for direc-tions on March 2. In the mean-time, counsel for parties mayfile their written submissionsand compliations.”

The court was dealing witha batch of petitions seeking tostrike down the exceptiongranted to husbands under theIndian rape law.On February 7,the high court had granted twoweeks time to the Centre tostate its stand on the petitionsseeking criminalization of mar-ital rape. The Centre had filedan affidavit urging the court todefer hearing on the petitions,stating that criminalising mar-ital rape has very far reachingsocio-legal implications in thecountry and a meaningful con-sultative process with variousstakeholders including the stategovernments is needed.

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Usually antibodies helpcheck the pathogen, but

the 'rogue' antibodies circulat-ing in the blood of Covid-19patients have the potential tocause cells to lose their resis-tance to clotting, according toa study conducted by a teamfrom the University ofMichigan.

The researchers foundhigher-than-expected levels ofantiphospholipid autoantibod-ies, which can trigger bloodclots in the arteries and veinsof patients with autoimmunedisorders, including lupus andantiphospholipid syndrome.

Antibodies typically helpthe body neutralise infections.Autoantibodies are antibodiesproduced by the immune sys-tem that mistakenly target andsometimes damage the body'sown systems and organs.

In a 2020 study, theresearch group found thatautoantibodies from patientswith active COVID-19 infec-tions caused "a striking amountof clotting" in mice.

For the new study pub-lished in Arthritis andRheumatology, the team stud-ied the blood samples of near-ly 250 patients hospitalized forCovid-19.

The team found that theautoantibodies appear to stressthe endothelial cells that makeup the inner lining of bloodvessels and, in doing so, causethe cells to lose their ability toprevent blood clots from form-ing.

"This provides an evenstronger connection betweenautoantibody formation andclotting in COVID-19," saidHui Shi, lead author andrheumatology research fellowat Michigan Medicine.

"When endothelial cellsare activated, they cause healthyblood vessels to become 'sticky',attracting other cells to the ves-sel walls and becoming moreprone to thrombosis. This canaffect many of the body's essen-tial organs," Shi added.

The researchers found thatwhen they removed theantiphospholipid autoantibod-ies from COVID-19 bloodsamples, the endothelial cellactivation that promotes clot-ting was lost.

While the link is strong,future studies must be done tofind whether these autoanti-bodies are the precise cause ofthrombosis that contributes toclotting and increased severityof COVID-19, said JasonKnight, Associate Professor ofRheumatology at MichiganMedicine.

"We must do more researchto decide if it is beneficial toscreen patients with severeCOVID-19 for these autoanti-bodies to evaluate their risk ofclotting and progressive respi-ratory failure," Knight said.

This may help to repurposetreatments used in traditionalcases of antiphospholipid syn-drome for Covid-19, he noted.

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The Drug ControllerGeneral of India (DCGI)

on Monday granted finalapproval to Biological E'sCovid-19 vaccine Corbevax,which is India's first indige-nously developed RBD proteinsub-unit vaccine against thevirus, for children between 12-18 years of age.

"Biological E Limited'sCorbevax vaccine, India's firstindigenously developedReceptor Binding Domain(RBD) Protein sub-unit vaccineagainst COVID-19, hasreceived emergency use autho-risation (EUA) from India'sdrug regulator for the 12 to 18-year age group," the companysaid in a statement.

On December 28, the DrugController had alreadyapproved Corbevax forrestricted use in emergency sit-uations in adults in the coun-try.

Earlier, in an applicationsent to the DCGI on February9, Srinivas Kosaraju, the head

of Quality and RegulatoryAffairs of Biological E Limitedsaid the firm had receivedapproval for conducting phase2/3 clinical study of Corbevaxamong children and adoles-cents aged 5-18 years inSeptember.

The Corbevax vaccine isadministered through an intra-muscular route with two dosesscheduled 28 days apart and isstored at 2 to 8 degrees Celsiusand presented as 0.5 ml (singledose) and 5 ml (10 doses) vialpack.

According to the UnionHealth Ministry, the companyhas conducted phase 1/2, 2/3clinical trials of its COVID-19vaccine in the country. Further,it has conducted a phase 3active comparator clinical trialto evaluate superiority againstCovishield vaccine, it said.

Meanwhile, over 70 percent of India's adolescents inthe 15-18 age group havereceived the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine so far. Vaccinationof children aged between 15and 18 began from January 3across the country.

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With an aim to attract stu-dents towards scientific

knowledge of articles of dailyuse and propagating scientifictheories, a week-long nation-wide mega science festival ‘Vigyan Sarvatara Pujyate’ (sci-ence is revered all over)” isbeing launched from Tuesdayat 25 locations across the coun-try from Leh and Srinagar toPort Blair.

The event will be inaugu-rated by Union Minister ofCulture G Kishan Reddy andUnion Minister of Science &Technology Dr Jitendra Singh.

The National Council ofScience Museums (NCSM), an

autonomous society under theUnion Ministry of Culture is animportant partner with VigyanPrasar, Department. of Scienceand Technology, said a state-ment from the Union CultureMinistry here NCSM forms thelargest network of science cen-tres and museums in the worldunder a single administrativeumbrella.

The programme will beheld in various Indian lan-guages, including Kashmiri,Dogri, Punjabi, Gujarati,Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam,Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Bengali,Assamese, Nepali, Maithili,and Manipur and will includescreening of 75 films on scien-tific developments/achieve-ments in India, it said.

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The KarnatakaGovernment on Monday

reiterated that Hijab is not anessential religious practiceand said religious instruc-tions should be kept outsidethe educational institutions.

"This is our stand thatHijab is not an essential reli-gious practice. There was astatement by Dr B RAmbedkar in the ConstituentAssembly where he said 'let uskeep the religious instruc-tions outside educationalinstitutions' , " KarnatakaAdvocate General PrabhulingNavadgi told the full bench ofthe High Court, which is

hearing the Hijab case. The full bench comprises

Chief Justice Ritu RajAwasthi, Justice J M Khaziand Justice Krishna M Dixit.According to the AG, only theessential religious practicegets protection under theArticle 25, which guaranteesthe citizens to practice thefaith of their choice. He alsoreferred to "reforms in thereligion" as part of the Article25.

As soon as the proceed-ings began, CJ Awasthi saidcertain clarifications wererequired related to Hijab.

"You have argued thatgovernment order is innocu-ous and the state government

has not banned Hijab and notput any restrictions on it.The GO says that the studentsshould wear the prescribeduniform. What is your stand— whether Hijab can be per-mitted or not in the educa-tional institutions?" the ChiefJustice asked.

In reply, Navadgi said ifthe institutions allow it, thenthe government would possi-bly take a decision as andwhen the issue arises.

On January one, six girlstudents of a college in Udupiattended a press conferenceheld by Campus Front ofIndia (CFI) in the coastaltown protesting against thecollege authorities denying

them entry into the classroomby wearing Hijab.

This was four days afterthey requested the principalpermission to wear Hijabs inclasses which was notallowed. Till then, studentsused to wear Hijab to thecampus and entered the class-room after removing thescarves, the college principalRudre Gowda had said.

“The institution did nothave any rule on Hijab-wear-ing as such and since no oneused to wear it to the class-room in the last 35 years. Thestudents who came with thedemand had the backing ofoutside forces,” Rudre Gowdahad said.

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Three days after students’leader Anis Khan was

allegedly murdered at hisHowrah home by a team ofpolicemen Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata on Mondayformed a Special InvestigationTeam(SIT) to investigate hisunnatural death.

This development tookplace even as members of civilsociety backed by the Left andCongress hit the streets demand-ing “impartial inquiry andimmediate arrest ofthe culprits.”

Announcing the forma-tion of a SIT, Banerjee said “anydeath isunfortunate … theGovernment has constituted aSpecial Investigation Teamheaded by the Chief Secretaryand the Director general ofPoliceto investigate the death of

Anis Khan,” adding the SITwould include officers from theCriminal InvestigationDepartment. “Many people donot know that Anis was in reg-ular touch with the TMC(TrinamoolCongress) andhelped us a lot during theelections,” Banerjee said.

Thousands of people ledby the civil society and backedby the Left and the Congress onMonday hit the streets ofKolkata, gheraoed police sta-tions in districts reminding asimilar movement led by theChief Minister herself 13 yearsago after the mysterious deathof RizwanurRehman in Kolkata.

The movement then hit thenational headlines and playeda contributory factor --- alongwith the Singur andNandigram --- in uniting theminorities to oust the Left

Front Government.On Monday too the Left

students’ unions staged protestrallies inKolkata, districts andalso in front of the BangaBhavan in Delhiwhere it wasled by JNU students’ leaderAishe Ghosh, sources said.

Four unidentified peopledressed in police attire enteredthe house of Khan and alleged-ly murdered him. Khan was astudent leader of theIndianSecular Front. Khan’s familydemanded a Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) probe say-ing they did not have any faithin thestate police.

Police are yet to arrest any-body in connection with thealleged murder even it hassparked protests. Khan’s mobilephone that went missing washowever recovered from hishouse.

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Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee once again

attacked State Governor JagdeepDhankhar for refusing to clearimportant files that had beensent by the Government to him.

Emerging from a Cabinetmeeting, Banerjee on Mondaysaid, “The Governor(Dhankhar) is not signing filesand is telling me that theyshould be approved by theCabinet. He needs to under-stand that the Chief Minister isthe face of the Cabinet. I don'tknow why he is doing this.”

Even as the Chief Ministerwho had last month claimed tohave blocked the Governor inher twitter account alleging “hisonly job is to malign me and theGovernment publicly and tagme on the twitter.”

Jago Bangla, the mouthpiece of the ruling TrinamoolCongress, too joined Banerjee inattacking the Governor sayingthe only job of Raj Bhavan wasto harass the State Governmentand the Chief Minister.

“The only goal of the BJPwhile appointing the Governorwas to harass Mamata Banerjee

anyhow. Despite the harass-ment and the influx of BJP lead-ers from the Centre (to defeatthe TMC in the last year’selec-tions), Mamata Banerjee won athird term,” the Jago Bangla arti-cle said.

Bengal was one place whichhad been witnessing unprece-dented war of words betweenthe Raj Bhavan and theNabanna (State secretariat) eversince the Governor joined officein 2019. So much so that theChief Minister even reportedlywrote six letters to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andher other party leaders person-ally spoke to President BanerjeeRam Nath Kobind requestingthem to remove the Governorfrom Bengal.

Meanwhile, in a separatedevelopment Banerjee onMonday said a few decisions

were taken on Deocha Pachamicoal block in the Birbhum dis-trict.

Dwelling on the localmovement going on in the areaagainst alleged Governmentefforts to evacuate the locals toacquire the lands to setup Asia’ssecond largest coal mining pro-ject, Banerjee said, “I will not doanything forcibly. DeochaPachami is the face of all pro-jectsin Bengal. A lot of peoplewill get jobs. But a few mineowners are fuelling misunder-standing as they have vestedinterests in illegal mining.”

In what is being seen as a“return gift by the Left Front” totheChief Minister who blockedthe Singur Tata Nano plant andtheNandigram chemical hubproject the Marxists had beenleading the landmovement inDeochapachami.

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Jaipur: With BJP leadersdemanding postponement ofthe Rajasthan AdministrativeService main examination,the Congress leaders too havelent support to candidates agi-tating for its deferment.

Congress MLA SanyamLodha, who is also an advisorto Chief Minister AshokGehlot, has written a letter tothe CM urging him to get theexamination postponed bytwo to three months.

"Syllabus has beenchanged and time for prepa-ration is only three months.Necessary book material isalso not available in the mar-ket. It is a request to ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot toprovide relief to RAS aspi-rants by postponing theexam,” Lodha said.

RAS main exam is sched-uled to be held on February25 and 26 for which aspirantshave been protesting in partsof the state.

Lodha said the syllabusfor the RAS main examina-tion is vast and more exten-sive than that of the UnionPublic Service Commission's

civil service examinations.Some new subjects too

have been added in the syl-labus for which more time forpreparation is needed, headded. In such a situation, itwould be fair to postpone theexam date by two to threemonths so that aspirants getample time to prepare for theexam.

Congress MLA fromChaksu assembly constituen-cy, Ved Prakash Solanki, alsohas urged Chief MinisterGehlot to get the examinationdeferred for some time.

"I request respected ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot ji topostpone the RAS Mainsexam and give ample time tocandidates for the prepara-tion. Change in mains syl-labus after prelims result hasnot given proper time to thecandidates," Solanki said.

Former Chief MinisterVasundhara Raje, BJP MPKirodi Lal Meena and DeputyLeader of OppositionRajendra Rathore too hadwritten to CM Gehlot seekingrescheduling of the examina-tion. PTI

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Jammu: Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) presidentMehbooba Mufti on Mondaylamented the killing of aBajrang Dal activist inKarnataka, saying it was “trag-ic”.

Bajrang Dal activistHarsha, 23, was stabbed todeath by unidentified people inKarnataka's Shivamogga dis-trict on Sunday night.

“It (the killing) should nothave happened. It is very trag-ic,” she told reporters.

Asked whether she con-demned the killing, Mufti said,“Exactly, it should be con-demned if something like thathas happened.”

The former chief minister

was interacting with mediapersons outside her party head-quarters at Gandhi Nagar inJammu, where she met sever-al delegations, includingunemployed youth and trans-porters.

“Various delegations,including the aspiring candi-dates of Border Battalions andCentral Industrial SecurityForce (CISF), and transporters,held separate meetings with meto highlight their issues. Irequest the administration totake note of their grievancesand ensure final selection of thecandidates for BorderBattalions as many of theyouth, who have applied for thejobs, have turned overage,” she

said.Mufti also asked the

administration to look intothe issues of transporters who,she said, have suffered hugelosses over the years.

“The government is phas-ing out commercial vehicles inJammu and Srinagar districts in20 years and in the rest of thedistricts in 25 years…they(transporters) have sufferedhuge losses (due to COVID-induced lockdown) and areoverburdened by loans. Theprice hike of diesel has madetheir lives miserable,” she said,expressing hope that the gov-ernment will take note of theirissues and address them on pri-ority. PTI

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Patna: Bihar Chief MinisterNitish Kumar on Mondayasserted that caste based cen-sus being demanded by hisparty, the JD(U) will benefit allsections of the society and hewill convene an all-party meet-ing soon to discuss the holdingof such an exercise in the State.

Caste census is one of theoldest demands of JD(U), anally of the BJP and the govern-ment will seek a political con-sensus before taking up theexercise, he said at his weeklypublic outreach programme.

“Although all political par-

ties in the state are united overthe issue, I want to discuss withthem about the modalities ofconducting this exercise ...There is no political angle tothe demand. It is completely asocial concern. A caste censuswill benefit all sections of thesociety,” Kumar said.

Speaking on the impor-tance of the proposed census,he said that it will enable thegovernment to work for devel-opment of various sections ofthe society.

"We will start it very soon.The exercise will be foolproof

and once it is completed, thegovernment will act on itaccordingly. We will hold head-counts in a proper manner sothat no one is missed," he said.

In August 2021, a delega-tion led by Kumar had calledon Prime Minister NarendraModi and demanded caste-wise enumeration of the pop-ulation in the country duringthe 2021 census. Leadersof all political parties whichhave members in the Biharassembly were part of the 11-member delegation.

The long-pending demand

for caste census was revived inJuly, 2021 after the union gov-ernment informed Lok Sabhathat it will not enumerate pop-ulation caste wise, except thosefrom the SCs and STs.

The Bihar Assembly hadunanimously passed resolu-tions on February 18, 2019 andFebruary 27, 2020, demandingcaste enumeration of the pop-ulation. Both the resolutionswere sent to the union ministryof home affairs and the Centrewas requested to hold the enu-meration during the 2021 cen-sus. PTI

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Puri: Devotees will now beallowed to enter the famedJagannath temple in Odisha'sPuri without double vaccina-tion certificates or RTPCRCOVID-negative reports, theadministration announced onMonday.

The decision was taken inview of the declining COVID-19 cases, officials said.

Earlier, devotees requireddouble vaccination certificatesor RTPCR-negative reportsobtained within 72 hours forentering the temple.

Devotees will be allowed toenter the temple from 6 am to9 pm on all days, except Sundaywhen it will be closed for sani-tisation, said a new order issuedby the Shree Jagannath TempleAdministration (SJTA).

Wearing masks and main-taining social distance aremandatory, it said.

A separate queue has beenmade operational for senior cit-izens, it added.

Arrangements for drinkingwater will be made for thedevotees when they wait in thequeue, the order said.

SJTA chief administratorKrishan Kumar said the ruleswill be reviewed periodicallyand revised instructions will beissued from time to time, keep-ing in view the evolving situa-tion. PTI

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Ahmedabad: A day afterTwitter removed a caricaturetweeted by the Gujarat BJP uniton a court verdict sentencing38 people to death in the 2008Ahmedabad serial blasts, theruling party on Mondayclaimed the cartoon was basedon real photographs and didnot target any particular reli-gion or community.

But, the OppositionCongress and some socialactivists hailed Twitter's deci-sion to remove the cartoon, andclaimed the BJP was trying togain political mileage out of thecourt's judgement.

The cartoon depicted agroup of bearded men wearingskull caps hanging by a noose.It had a tricolour and a draw-ing depicting the scene of abomb blast in the background,with "Satyamev Jayate" writtenon its top right corner.

It was posted on theGujarat BJP's official Twitterhandle on Saturday, a day aftera special court here sentencedto death 38 convicts and hand-ed life terms to 11 others in thecase of 2008 serial bomb blasts

in which 56 people had losttheir lives and over 200 wereinjured.

The caricature is not avail-able on either the Instagram orFacebook social media pages ofthe state BJP unit.

"The sketch was based onreal photographs of the con-victs published by newspapersa day after the verdict. TheGujarat BJP or its social mediateam had no intention to tar-get any particular religion orcommunity through thesketch," state party unitspokesperson Dr Rutvij Patelsaid.

He said when (terrorist)Osama Bin Laden was killed byAmerican soldiers, his sketchwas also published in the US."Our sketch was just an artis-tic expression shared on socialmedia, nothing else," Patel said.

Gujarat BJP's media coor-dinator Yagnesh Dave onSunday said Twitter removedthe caricature after "someonehad reported against it".

Meanwhile, state Congressspokesperson Manish Doshiwelcomed Twitter's action.

"We firmly believe that ter-rorism has no religion. TheCongress had lost two if itsleaders - Rajiv Gandhi andIndira Gandhi - fighting ter-rorism. PTI

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Chennai: Impartial action wastaken in respect of incidentsrelated to the just concludedurban civic polls in TamilNadu, Chief Minister M KStalin said on Monday.

Slamming AIADMKleader and former StateMinister D Jayakumar for tak-ing 'law into his own hands' and'humiliating' a DMK office-bearer here by 'removing' hisshirt on the day of polls, Stalinsaid the DMK would face thematter legally and asserted thatthe 'law will take its owncourse.' Urban local body pollswere held on February 19 andcounting would be held onTuesday.

Writing to party cadres,Stalin in an open letter said theDMK faced the urban civicpolls based on the faith peoplereposed on the governmentand the party did not consid-er elections as a political battle.

The DMK regime'sachievements were showcasedand the party's victory becamepretty evident during the cam-paign, he said.

The opposition partiesunleashed 'libel and false pro-paganda' during campaign andon the day of polls too againstthe DMK to hide their 'deba-cle', Stalin said.

Pointing to a poll 'warroom' that was set up in DMKheadquarters 'Anna

Arivalayam' here to coordinatewith party workers on the dayof polls, he said appropriatelegal steps were advised onelection-related matters.

Impartial action was takeneven if there were allegations ofsome minor violations byDMK workers in one or twoplaces, he said.

However, as regards theopposition, they went beyondtheir limit and this was exposedby the media, including on tele-vision channels and socialmedia, the Chief Minister said.

Targeting Jayakumar forhumiliating a DMK functionary,Stalin said the ruling partywould face this matter legallyand the opposition party wouldbe exposed when this happens.

Hitting out at theAIADMK for 'excesses' duringcivic polls held in 2001 here,the Chief Minister said theDMK should pursue peacefulmethods and continue to winpeople's confidence even if theformer followed it now.

"Though the March 4 elec-tion for the post of mayors andchairpersons of municipalitiesand town panchayats would beindirect, we have to be trans-parent," he told cadres.

He expressed completeconfidence that DMK wouldemerge victorious and localbodies too shall witness goodgovernance. PTI

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Aday after it dispatched 6,000postcards to President Ram

Nath Kovind seeking “classicallanguage" status to Marathi,Maharashtra on Monday rootedfor it being accorded “classicallanguage” by February 27, cele-brated as “Marathi LanguageDay”.

The 6,000 postcards sent tothe President are in addition to1.20 lakh postcards sent by theMaharashtra Government toRashtrapati Bhavan, making astrong case for according “clas-sical language status” to Marathi.

Senior MaharashtraMinister Subhash Desai of theShiv Sena met Union Ministerfor Culture G Kishan Reddy inNew Delhi on Monday and sub-mitted a formal letter seeking“classical language” status to theMarathi.

“I met Union Minister forCulture Kishan Reddy atParivahan Bhavan in New Delhi.We had constructive discussionon our request. We are optimisticthat the Centre would accord`classical language’ status toMarathi language before theMarathi Language Day,” Desaitweeted after his meeting withReddy.

Later talking to the mediapersons in the national capital,Desai said: “We have submitted

a letter and a booklet detailinghow the state government hascompleted all the necessary for-malities and why Marathideserves to be given the status ofa ‘Classical Language’ at the ear-liest”.

Desai said that Reddy agreedto consider the Maharashtragovernment’s request and saidthat there is no doubt thatMarathi deserved the honour.

“We have invited MinisterReddy to come to Maharashtraon February 27 and make themomentous declaration granti-ng the ‘Classical Language’ sta-tus which would be welcomed bythe 13 crore people of the state,”Desai said.

Earlier, Desai and his teamcomprising senior bureaucratslike Bhushan Gagrai, film per-sonality Shrirang Godbole andothers made a detailed presen-

tation showing that Marathi lan-guage satisfied all the parametersfor declaration as a ‘ClassicalLanguage’.

Earlier on Sunday ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackeraydispatched a box containingaround 6,000 postcards toPresident Kovind, demandingthe status of ‘Classical Language’to Marathi.

The postcards – sent in agift-wrapped box with the slogan‘Abhijat Marathi Jan Abhiyaan’(Mass Campaign for ClassicalMarathi) printed on it – are partof an ongoing state-wide cam-paign demanding “classical lan-guage” status to Marathi byFebruary 27.

After 6,000 cards were dis-patched to the President, Desaitweeted: “Earlier we had sent1.20 lakh post cards to thePresident making a similar

request”.Earlier on December 24

2021, Maharashtra DeputyChief Minister Ajit Pawar hadstaged a novel protest against theCentre over the inordinate delayin according “classical languagestatus” to Marathi language, byshooting off a postcard toPresident Ram Nath Kovind,requesting the latter's interven-tion in the long-pending issue.

In a letter written in Marathion the postcard, Ajitdada—asAjit Pawar is known in the statepolitical circles –had drawn thePresident’s attention to the factthat though the Centre hadtaken a decision way back in2004 to confer the ‘classical lan-guage’ status to various lan-guages, but Marathi languagehad been ignored despite repeat-ed requests by the state govern-ment.

The postcard carried the sig-nature of the deputy chief min-ister in green ink along with hisfull residential address.

Ajitdada had said that ahigh-level committee comprisinglanguage experts appointed bythe Centre had unanimouslymade recommendations to thiseffect. But the Centre had notimplemented the recommen-dation although seven years hadpassed since then.

‘’It is necessary for theCentre to implement the SahityaAcademy’s recommendation.Marathi is a leading languageamong international languages’’,Ajitdada said, while seeking thePresident’s intervention in thematter.

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Ahmedabad: Students inschools across Gujarat wereback to their classrooms onMonday after the StateGovernment decided to doaway with the online system ofeducation.

Many students expressedhappiness at meeting theirclassmates and friends after along time, and said the offlinemode of studies was muchbetter than taking classes oncomputers and mobile screens.

The school authoritiesensured strict adherence toCovid-19 guidelines andallowed entry to students afterchecking their temperature.Most of the students were seenwearing face masks in the

classrooms."It is a positive develop-

ment. There is a big differencebetween online and offlineclasses. The kind of educationone gets offline is not possiblethrough the virtual mode,"said the principal of a privateschool in Vadodara. Officialsfrom some schools said due tothe prolonged online mode ofeducation, many students havebeen out of the habit of writingproperly.

Physical interaction amongstudents will foster competi-tion, exchange of ideas and willensure their educational andsocial growth," the principal ofa school in Ahmedabad said.

The schools will try to

make up for the academic loss-es and other problems that thestudents faced in the last twoyears due to the COVID-19pandemic, he said.

A Class 9 student from aprivate school here said phys-ical classes are much betterthan the online ones.

"I prefer the offline mode.We will be able to learn more,"she said.Some of the parentsalso said they were happy withthe state government's decisionto resume classes offline.

But, they also demandedthat vaccination againstCOVID-19 for students belowthe age of 15 be started at theearliest.

Some schools have not dis-

continued online classes toensure students do not facecommuting issues till schoolbus services become normal.

The Gujarat educationdepartment last week saidschools and colleges will con-duct classes through the offlinemode only from Monday. Thedecision to discontinue theonline system education wastaken in view of a sharp dropin COVID-19 cases in the state.

On Sunday, Gujarat report-ed 377 fresh COVID-19 cases,a sharp drop from 24,485 caseslogged on January 20, its high-est-ever single-day surge tilldate. The state's tally of activecases has also dropped to 5,010,as per official data. PTI

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struggle between Russianbacked militia and theUkrainian military. A conflictthat continues to this day,despite the European Union,Russia and Ukraine havingearlier agreed to a ceasefire fol-lowing the signing of theMinsk Protocol.

Clearly the Ukrainians andthe Europeans are pawns inthis version of the ‘Great Game2.0’ between Russia and theUS. Russia’s motives appear tobe aimed at stopping Ukrainefrom joining Nato, therebyensuring a buffer. Putin alsoprobably wishes to reinforcehis reputation as a strongnationalist leader by regainingsome of the earlier clout thatRussia enjoyed in the halcyondays of the Soviet Union. Onthe other hand, a deeply frac-tured US is keen to buttress itsown domination over its Natoallies that had been adverselyaffected during PresidentTrump’s tenure.

Some analysts have sug-gested that the Americans arekeen to goad Russia into invad-ing Ukraine so as to bog themdown in an unwinnable con-flict, while also adverselyimpacting growing coopera-tion between Russia andGermany on the energy front.A desperate attempt byPresident Biden, who over a

third of Americans believe isin office illegitimately, toreassert declining Americanpower and enhance his ownprestige.

Whatever the motives ofeither side, tensions in Ukrainehave only added to our prob-lems. Not only does the IndianGovernment find itself havingto worry about the welfare andevacuation of the 20,000-oddIndian students there, but alsofaces increasing possibility ofoil price hike and its implica-tions for our economy in theevent of a shooting war.Moreover, the Government istreading a fine line as it bal-ances its response withoutdamaging its relationship witheither of the protagonists, withboth of whom it has close ties.Also any escalation in Ukrainewill shift focus and allowChina an opportunity to acteven more aggressively againstus, Taiwan and the QUAD;much like the manner inwhich it got away by attackingus in 1962 while the US andthe Soviet Union were focusedon the Cuban Missile Crisis.

This crisis provides ourGovernment an opportunity tofocus on pursuing our ownnational interest to the full.Instead of our wishy-washyneutral stand, we must throwour full weight behind the side

that we perceive will help us toeffectively counter China’saggressive designs. Otherwise,as in the past, we will onceagain be on our own with onlytoken assistance being offered.The brutal truth is moralsand values count for little andnational interest is paramount.As Iqbal Chand Malhotrapoints out in his latest book,Dark Secrets: Politics and ProxyWars in Kashmir, it was ourgood friend the Soviet Unionthat prodded Mao Zedonginto illegally occupying andconstructing a highway in theAksai Chin so as to secure itsaccess to the uranium minesthere. For that matter, the trai-torous actions of the British innot just ensuring Partition butalso in organising the divisionof J&K, including the mutinyat Skardu, so that they had asuitable base in Pakistan fromwhere they could keep an eyeon the actions of the SovietUnion as well as control theaccess to oil through thePersian Gulf and protect otherinterests in South East Asia.

(The writer is a militaryveteran, who is a VisitingFellow with the ObserverResearch Foundation andSenior Visiting Fellow withThe Peninsula Foundation,Chennai. The views expressedare personal.)

�� Sir — The write-up ‘Wondrous ways of theelephant’ (February 19) provides a goodaccount of the intelligence and goodbehavioural aspects of elephants. There ismuch that we, humans, can learn from thefamily traits and courtly behaviour of ele-phants. Among animals, elephants havethe largest brain, with an African elephantweighing around 4618 gm (approximate-ly 10 pounds), which is three times larg-er than the human brain. No wonder thenthat elephants have attracted the admira-tion and curiosity of human beings forthousands of years. Scientists have longobserved that elephant mothers and chil-dren stay together throughout life in tight-knit clans, caring for children and form-ing protective circles around calves.

Elephant clan members talk to oneanother with a combination of gentlechirps, thunderous trumpets and low-fre-quency rumbles, undetectable to humans.They deliberate among themselves, makegroup decisions and applaud themselvesfor their achievements. “Being part of anelephant family is all about unity andworking together for the greater good,”says Joyce Poole, one of the world’s fore-most elephant experts and co-founder of‘Elephant Voices’, which promotes thestudy and ethical care of elephants.

Ranganathan Sivakumar | Chennai

�� Sir — More than 40 per cent of rail acci-dents occur at level crossings. There aremore than 30,000 level crossings across railroutes, both manned and unmanned; theformer being slightly higher than the lat-ter. Over the years, the Railways has notallowed new unmanned crossings andmanned crossings are provisioned only asa last resort. Overbridges for train move-ment are replacing level crossings. Twoother solutions, apart from the overbridgesare underbridges and road diversions. TheRailways plans to remove more than 2500level crossings by 2025. Between 2015 and2020, 276 unmanned broad gauge cross-ings were removed.

Some were converted into mannedcrossings. Broadly, rail volume, road traf-

fic and road conditions determine thenecessity of level crossings. Maintenanceof equipment and roads at level crossingcannot be overstated. Generally, road sur-face is broken at these crossings due tomassive traffic flow and track upkeep pro-cedures. At unmanned crossings, thedanger of low visibility is greater. Gates andfencing of crossings, which are prone tofrequent wear and tear, require promptattention. However, more than anythingelse, patience and common sense of roadusers can be apt substitutes to all this.

Ganapathi Bhat | Bengaluru

�� Sir — Mahatma Gandhi believed that itis the duty of every human being to studyand respect every religion. In pursuit ofthis, he studied the holy scriptures of everyreligion. All his life, in all his ashrams inSouth Africa and in India, prayer serviceswere held every morning and evening. Inthem, prayers from all religions wereincluded and given equal importance. The

hymn ‘Abide with me’ was one of hisfavourite hymns and would be sungmany a time. After Independence, whenIndia became a republic, the Republic Daycommemorations would end up with theBeating Retreat ceremony on Rajpath.Marching bands of all three services per-formed several songs.

‘Abide with me’ symbolises the syn-cretic culture of our nation where all reli-gions are given an equal status andrespect. This year inexplicably, the hymnwas not sung. It was hurtful more sobecause the next day, January 30, was theday Mahatma Gandhi was martyred. Myappeal to all the churches in India is to singthe hymn as often as they can duringchurch services as a tribute to the Fatherof the Nation. Let us all make the singing,reciting or playing of the hymn our replyto the hateprevailing today.

Jubel D’Cruz | Mumbai

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The face-off over Ukrainebetween Russia and theUnited States and itsNato allies has been

dominating the headlines for awhile now with tensions ratchet-ing up as we receive dire publicwarnings everyday of a Russianinvasion any day now. Clearly, thepossibility of Russian interventionthere, and the consequent esca-lation of sanctions against them,is very real and concerning.

While Ukraine may be adeveloping country and the poor-est in Europe, by no means is ita pushover. It is the secondlargest country there, behindRussia, by area, and in terms ofpopulation the eighth largestwith its 42 million inhabitants. Ithas been independent since 1991,following the collapse of theSoviet Union, though it had beena part of the Russian Empire andthe Soviet Union since the 18thcentury. If there is one lesson thatPutin and the Russian militaryshould have learnt fromAmerica’s disastrous interven-tions in Iraq and Afghanistan isthat invasions are relatively easyto accomplish, but keeping restiveand hostile populations undercontrol is a wholly differentproposition.

In any event, Putin and hisadvisors must clearly rememberthe Soviet intervention inAfghanistan that ultimately led toits collapse. Surely not worth therisk of repetition? He has alreadyachieved much more than whatwe did during OperationParakram. The ongoingimbroglio has its genesis in theWestern funded ‘Euromaidan’protests of November 2013against pro-Russian PresidentViktor Yanukovych that ulti-mately led to his resignation.Those protests were stronglyopposed by the Russian-speakinginhabitants of eastern Ukraineand pro-Russian politicians inpower in Crimea and the portcity of Sevastopol initiated a ref-erendum there that resulted in theregion breaking away and sign-ing a Treaty of Accession with theRussian Federation, facilitatedby the Russian military.Separately, the Donbas Region,which includes Donetsk andLuhansk Provinces in the East,became the focus of a separatist

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Ever since, the commencement ofits second term, ModiGovernment has showered benev-olence on the corporate sector by

giving relief in income tax but when itcomes to personal income tax (PIT), it hasnotmatched the expectations.

On September 20, 2019, FinanceMinister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman hadannounced steep reduction in the rateof corporate tax for “new entities”incorporated from October 1, 2019 inthe manufacturing sector and start pro-duction by March 31, 2023 from theexisting 25 percent to 15 percent. Suchcompanies won’t have to pay minimumalternate tax (MAT).

Furthermore, the tax rate on existingcompanies was reduced from 30 per centto 22 percent sans exemptions and deduc-tions. These firms are also exempt fromMAT. The small and medium enterpris-es (SMEs) with annual turnover of lessthan �400 crore were already enjoying apreferential tax rate of 25 percent against30 percent payable by large firms.Following the cut to 22 percent(albeit forall ‘existing’ firms), the preferential treat-ment for SMEs is gone.

Meanwhile, the companies were givena choice to either continue with the oldregime viz. tax at 30 percent with taxbreaks or go for the new one. For thosedeciding to continue, MAT was reducedfrom extant 18.5 to 15 per cent.

In the Budget for 2020-21, Sitharamanextended the benefit of 15 percent rate to“new" power companies also. Besides,“cooperatives” were made eligible for the22 percent rate sans exemptions anddeductions. The FM also abolished div-idend distribution tax or DDT. From April1, 2020,dividend is taxed in the hands ofshareholders.

In the 2022-23 budget, the govern-ment has extended the eligibility of 15percent corporate tax to new (albeitmanufacturing) entities which get incor-porated before March 31, 2024 - againstthe existing threshold of March 31, 2023.It has reduced the surcharge on profits ofcooperatives from existing 12 percent to7 percent besides reducing MAT fromexisting 18.5 percent to 15 percent.

Coming to PIT, prior to 2020-21, aperson having an income of �2,50,001-�5,00,000 per annum was required to paytax of five percent, those earning morethan �5,00,000 but less than �10,00,000paid 20 percent tax whereas, someonehaving an income higher than �10,00,000paid 30 percent. With these tax rates, indi-viduals enjoyed a plethora of exemptionsand deductions.

The 2020-21 budget, even whileretaining 5 percent tax for annual incomein the �2,50,001-�5,00,000 range, onincome higher than �5,00,000, it levied:10 percent for �5,00,001-�7,50,000; 15percent for �7,50,001-�10,00,000; 20 per-cent for �10,00,001-�12,50,000; 25 per-cent for �12,50,001-�15,00,000. For

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income above �15,00,000, the 30percent tax continues.

As in case of corporate tax,individuals were given the choiceto go either for the new regimesans exemptions/deductions orcontinue with the old regime withexemptions/deductions. The fol-lowing two budgets viz. 2021-22and 2022-23 have left the PITunchanged.

On the face of it, with tax ratesunder different slabs being lower,it would appear the new PITregime is better. But, consideringthat it comes without exemp-tions/deductions, the gain is illu-sory. For instance, under the oldregime, a person having an annu-al income of �15,00,000 and avail-ing tax breaks of �3,75,000(Section 80C:1,50,000; Section80D: 25,000; Section 24: 2,00,000),pays �1,56,000 as tax.

Against this, under the newregime, he will have to pay�1,95,000as the benefit of lowerrates is more than offset bywith-drawal ofexemptions and deduc-tions. So, the 2020-21 budgetarychanges have not made individu-als any better. At the same time,after the steep cut in corporate taxrate in September, 2019, the extantPIT rates donot enthuse them.

For annual income greaterthan �15,00,00, the PIT at 30 per-cent is double than the corporatetax rate at 15 percent for a newmanufacturing enterprise (whencompared to the tax paid by anexisting firm or 22 percent also, theformer is much higher). Even inrespect of individuals with annu-al income in the �10,00,000—�15,00,000 range, the applicable

tax rates, i.e., 20-25 percent arehigher than thecorporate tax.

The individuals could gainfrom abolition of DDT. This isbecause on their dividend income,against 20 percent paid prior to2020-21, levy of tax on suchincome in their hands will entailpayment at a lower rate forinstance, 10 percent for thoseearningin �500,001-�750,000range. However, this is of little useas these earnershardly have anysurplus to invest in shares.

Clearly, Modi - governmenthas done much less for PIT pay-ers. While, less tax on profits offirms is important for inducingthem to increase investment,reducing PIT is no less crucial. Infact, in the contemporary context,when growth is hamstrung moreby the demand constraint, the lat-ter can be much more rewarding.

The FM should considerputting more money in the pock-ets of individuals by giving extrarelief in PIT. This may be done bychanging the tax structure to:7.5percent tax on income in�5,00,001- �10,00,000; 10 percentin the �10,00,000 - �1500,000,15percent in �1500,000-�2000,000and 20 percent on above 2000,000(there will notbe any tax breaks).

Under this package, a personearning �1500,000 will pay�104,000 as tax which is signifi-cantly lower than the payout of�156,000 under the old regime.Apart from giving a massive boostto the demand, this will also pro-pel assesses shift en mass to thenew dispensation.

On the corporate front, thelegacy of exemptions/deductions

needs to be completely erased.According to the revenue secre-tary, Tarun Bajaj, already,65 per-cent of the existing companieshave switched over to the newregime of 22 percent sans exemp-tions/deductions. Hopefully, restof the firms will also shift withinan accelerated time frame.

Modi also needs to look intothe extant regime for capital gainstax. The tax rate varies dependingon the category of the underlyingasset and the holding period. Forinstance, equity and equity mutu-al funds attract short-term capitalgains tax (STCG) of 15 percentand long-term capital gains tax(LTCG) of 10 percent. STCG onmost bond investments is at thetax slab the investor comes under.LTCG is either 10 or 20 percent,depending on whether it is a list-ed or unlisted bond or a debtmutual fund. For real state, LTCGis at 20 percent.

Such a highly differentiatedtax structure is prone to misuse,evasion and protractedlitigation.Irrespective of the assetan individual deals in and theholding period, the capital gainsarising there fromare anadditionto his income in the relevantyear. Logically therefore, taxshould be levied at the rate applic-able to the slab his total income(all sources put together) falls in.

To conclude, the governmentshould rationalize the direct taxesto address anomalies betweenPIT and corporate tax at one leveland capital gains tax at another.Moreover, the tax rates should below but free fromexemptions/deductions.

(The writer is a policyanalyst. The views

expressed are personal.)

Even as India copes withthe ongoing Covid-19pandemic that has already

strained our health system, withhospitals diverting resourcesand capacities to treat the infec-tion, the non-communicablediseases (NCDs) are becomingan emergency we cannot affordto ignore. Results of the latestNational Family Health Survey(NFHS-5) should come as aneye-opener for policymakersas well as consumers.

The Global NutritionReport, 2021 says that around12 million people died prema-turely in 2018 due to riskslinked to an imbalanced andunhealthy diet. These includedNCDs like CVD (heart attack,stroke etc), cancer and dia-betes. Diabetes remains one ofthe biggest and fastest-growingkillers today. In India, the num-

ber of people with diabetescaused by obesity is expected torise from 77 million in 2019 to101 million in 2030.

Not just children, obesityamong women and men hasalso increased. The percentageof overweight women went upfrom 20.6 percent to 24 percent,while in men the numberincreased from 18.9 percent to22.9 percent, according to theNFHS-5.

Obesity and NCDs are onthe rise not only in metros orurban settings but also in ruralareas where the food industryhas made inroads through theirwell-oiled marketing strategyoffering high fat, salt and sugar(HFSS) laden packaged food.This has left consumers andnation to suffer--both on thehealth and economy fronts.According to the World Health

Organisation (WHO), around58 Lakh Indians die every yeardue to preventive NCDs.

Covid-induced restrictionslike 'work from home', lock-downs, social distancing, andtravel restrictions to arrest thespread of infection in manycountries including India havejust added to the health woes.Demand for ready-to-make,easily available packaged foodhas increased, while physicalactivity has comparatively

slowed down for many.However, what is a matter

of concern is that theseunhealthy options are put beforethe consumer when there are somany healthy choices like freshfruits and vegetables and othernutritious food are available.

With the virus likely tostay here - since it is more thantwo years in existence since2019 - it gives a second chanceto the Government as a policy-maker, community as well as aresponsible individual to intro-spect what food is being offeredon the platter to cut down theNCDs.

Three important andincreasingly common policystrategies recommended by theWHO are: front-of-packagelabels (FOPL) on unhealthyfoods and beverages, restrictionson marketing these foods to

children, and restricting thesales of these products inschools.

Clearly, consumers need tobe provided with clear informa-tion about the nutrition profileof the packaged food productsand drinks while nudging theindustry to reformulate theirproducts for the better health ofthe people.

This could be possible bymaking mandatory 'easy tounderstand' warning labels onpackaged food and beveragesthat would help consumers inmaking healthier choices andhelp curtail deaths from NCDsas has been in the case with thecigarettes which have clearwarning symbols.

In fact, as per the globalhealth body, the FOPL worksbest when it is made mandato-ry and applies to all packaged

products, the label is interpre-tative, simplistic and readilyvisible, guided by a strong nutri-ent profile model. The WHOsays consumption has comedown after warning labels weremade compulsory.

Case in point is Chile. It hasmandated "High-in" warninglabels - considered the goldenstandard FOPL, restricted salemarketing to children, andbanned in-school sales of pack-aged foods and beverages hav-ing HFSS-black octagon(s) withthe words high-in sugar, sodi-um, saturated fat, and/or calo-ries, whichever applies.

By making FOPL mandato-ry, Chile has already startedreaping benefits with more of itscitizens saying no to HFSSproducts.

Another area where we as aresponsible society and govern-

ment as a concerned policymak-er should intervene is to scanwhat is being dished out to ourchildren on the TV screen.According to various reports, thefast food industry is increasing-ly eyeing children as their poten-tial future consumers - with kidsseeing ads when they're as youngas two years old. Children nowsee about 33% more fast foodTV ads than they did just six toseven years ago, while pre-schoolers see 21 per cent more,which is alarming.

Measures such as mandato-ry FOPL and marketing restric-tions are a few solutions that canaddress diet-related disease epi-demics. World over countriesare prioritising such actions.India is also in the process oftaking a step in this direction tobuild a nutrition secure andhealthier future.

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(The writer is a diabetologistand professor, department ofmedicine, AIIMS, New Delhi.

The views expressed are personal.)

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The US and Russian presi-dents tentatively agreed to

meet in a last-ditch effort tostave off a possible Russianinvasion of Ukraine, even assustained shelling continued onMonday in a conflict in easternUkraine that Western powersfear could provide the spark fora broader war.

If Russia invades, as theUS warns Moscow has alreadydecided to do, the meeting willbe off. Still the prospect of aface-to-face summit resusci-tated hopes that diplomacycould prevent a devastatingconflict, which would result inmassive casualties and hugeeconomic damage in Europe,which is heavily dependent onRussian energy.

Russia has massed an esti-mated 150,000 troops on threesides of Ukraine - the biggestsuch buildup since Cold War.And Western officials havewarned that Russian PresidentVladimir Putin is now merelylooking for a pretext to invadethe country, a western-lookingdemocracy that has defiedMoscow's attempts to pull itback into its orbit.

Moscow denies it has anyplans to attack, but wantsWestern guarantees that NATOwon't allow Ukraine and otherformer Soviet countries to joinas members. It has also

demanded the alliance haltweapons deployments toUkraine and roll back its forcesfrom Eastern Europe -demands flatly rejected by theWest.

With the prospect of warlooming, French PresidentEmmanuel Macron scrambledto broker a meeting betweenUS President Joe Biden andPutin. Macron's office saidboth leaders had "accepted theprinciple of such a summit," tobe followed by a broader meet-ing that would include other"relevant stakeholders to dis-cuss security and strategic sta-bility in Europe." The languagefrom Moscow and Washingtonwas more cautious, but neitherside denied a meeting is underdiscussion.US national securi-ty adviser Jake Sullivan said theadministration has always beenready to talk to avert a war - butwas also prepared to respond toany attack.

"So when PresidentMacron asked President Bidenyesterday if he was prepared inprinciple to meet withPresident Putin, if Russia didnot invade, of course PresidentBiden said yes," he told NBC's

"Today" show on Monday."But every indication we see onground right now in terms ofdisposition of Russian forces isthat they are, in fact, gettingprepared for a major attack onUkraine."Kremlin spokesman

Dmitry Peskov told reportersMonday that Putin and Bidencould meet if they consider it"feasible," but emphasized that"it's premature to talk aboutspecific plans for a sum-mit."Macron's office said thatUS Secretary of State AntonyBlinken and Russian ForeignMinister Sergey Lavrov are setto lay groundwork for thepotential summit when theymeet Thursday.

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Russia's military buildupalong its border with

Ukraine is testing possibility ofa Moscow-Beijing axis liningup against US and its allies.Russian leader Vladimir Putin'smeeting with Chinese coun-terpart Xi Jinping in Beijingthis month fed speculationthat a new alliance could formbetween two great powers asthey face off with US over arange of issues.

Russia and China havebacked each other's positionson opposing a NATO expan-sion in former Soviet republicsand buttressing China's claimto self-governing island ofTaiwan. But relationshipremains lopsided.

China's confident rise as aneconomic and political forcecontrasts with Russia's growingisolation and reversion to ColdWar tactics of intimidationand bullying. China alsoremains opposed to actionsthat could damage its territor-ial ambitions, from SouthChina Sea and Taiwan toIndian border. Here are someof the main factors driving, andblocking Russo-Chinese rela-

tions: Where does China stand

on the Ukraine crisis?China has not criticised

Russia over its moves againstUkraine, and has joined inverbal attacks on Washingtonand its allies. AddressingMunich Security Conferenceover weekend, Chinese ForeignMinister Wang Yi lashed outagainst the US, accusing "a cer-tain power" of "stirring-upantagonism." However, inresponse to a question fromconference ChairmanWolfgang Ischinger, Wang saidthe "sovereignty, independenceand territorial integrity of anycountry should be respectedand safeguarded, because thisis a basic norm of internation-al relations."

"Ukraine is no exception,"Wang added. He also statedthat major powers should act indefense of global peace and nocountry should "repeat pastmistake of forging rivalalliances."That chimes withChina's longstanding opposi-tion to military alliances andoften invoked-but oftenbreached in practice - policy ofnon-interference in othercountries' internal affairs.

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Russia on Sunday rescindedearlier pledges to pull tens

of thousands of its troops backfrom Ukraine's northern bor-der, a move that US leaderssaid put Russia another stepcloser to launching what theysaid was the planned invasionof Ukraine.

Residents of Ukraine's cap-ital filled a gold-domed cathe-dral to pray for peace. Russia'saction extends what it saidwere military exercises, origi-nally set to end Sunday, thatbrought an estimated 30,000Russian forces to Belarus,Ukraine's neighbour to thenorth.

They are among at least150,000 Russian troops nowdeployed outside Ukraine'sborders, along with tanks,warplanes, artillery and otherwar materiel.

The continued deploy-ment of the Russian forces inBelarus raised concern thatthey could be used to sweepdown on the Ukrainian capi-tal, Kyiv, a city of about 3 mil-lion people less than a three-hour drive away. In Kyiv, life

outwardly continued as usualfor some on a mild winterSunday, with brunches andchurch services, ahead of whatUS President Joe Biden saidlate last week was an alreadydecided-upon Russian attack.

Katerina Spanchak, whofled a region of eastern Ukrainewhen it was taken over byRussian-allied separatists, wasamong worshippers crowdedinto the capital's St. Michael'smonastery, smoky with thecandles burned by the faithful,to pray that Ukraine be spared.

"We all love life, and we areall united by our love of life,"Spanchak said, pausing tocompose herself. "We shouldappreciate it every day.

That's why I think every-thing will be fine.""Our jointprayers will help to elude thistragedy, which is advancing,"said another worshipper, whoidentified himself only by hisfirst name, Oleh.

A US official said Sundaythat Biden's assertion thatPutin has made the decision toroll Russian forces intoUkraine was based on intelli-gence that Russian front-linecommanders have been given

orders to begin final prepara-tions for an attack. The officialspoke on the condition ofanonymity to describe the sen-sitive intelligence. Russia heldnuclear drills Saturday as wellas the conventional exercises inBelarus, and has ongoing navaldrills off the coast in the BlackSea.

The announcement thatRussia was reversing its pledgeto withdraw its forces fromBelarus came after two days ofsustained shelling along a con-tact line between Ukraine'ssoldiers and Russian-alliedseparatists in eastern Ukraine,an area that Ukraine and theWest worry could be the flash-point in igniting conflict. TheUnited States and manyEuropean countries havecharged for weeks that Russiais trying to create pretexts toinvade.

They have threatened mas-sive sanctions if it does. Bidenconvened the National SecurityCouncil at the White House onRussia's military builduparound Ukraine. White Houseofficials released no immedi-ate details of their roughlytwo hours of discussion.

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Pakistan Foreign MinisterShah Mahmood Qureshi

on Monday discussed with hisGerman counterpart AnnalenaBaerbock the crises inAfghanistan and Ukraine.Qureshi received a telephonecall from Minister for ForeignAffairs of Germany Baerbockand leaders exchanged viewson bilateral relations, thePakistan Foreign Office (FO)said.Qureshi congratulatedBaerbock on recently assumingher office. He invited theGerman Foreign Minister tovisit Pakistan at the earliestconvenience, the FO said.

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Myanmar's shadow civil-ian administration called

on United Nations' top courton Monday not to allow coun-try's military rulers to representSoutheast Asian nation at hear-ings into a case accusing thecountry of genocide against theRohingya ethnic minority.

Four days of hearings intoMyanmar military's deadly2017 crackdown on Rohingyaare scheduled to open Mondayafternoon at InternationalCourt of Justice amid a disputeover who should representcountry in court.

Representatives ofMyanmar are scheduled toaddress judges to outline whythey believe case that was filedby African nation of Gambia,representing a group of Muslimnations, should be dropped.Butmembers of Myanmar'sNational Unity Government,urged court not to accept rep-resentatives of military

rulers."We do not believe thatInternational Court of Justicewill want to allow military toappear before them as if theyspeak for Republic of the Unionof Myanmar," said the unitygovernment's foreign minister,Zin Mar Aung.

"It would be a most pro-found injustice to Rohingya ifmilitary were to be both theirabusers and have any voice inthe court." The shadow admin-istration said it has contactedthe court to withdrawMyanmar's preliminary objec-tions to the case, but it remainsto be

seen whether the courtwill recognize the unity admin-istration. The shadow admin-istration is made up of a diversegroup of representatives includ-ing elected lawmakers whowere prevented from takingtheir seats by military takeover.It says it is the country's onlylegitimate government but noforeign government has recog-nised unity group.

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Israel's prime minister onSunday criticized an emerg-

ing deal over Iran's nuclear pro-gram, saying it would be weak-er than a previous agreementand would create a "more vio-lent, more volatile Middle East."

World powers have beennegotiating in Vienna in a bidto revive the 2015 nuclear deal,which was left in tatters afterthe Trump administration,goaded by Israel, withdrew.

The original deal grantedIran relief from crippling eco-nomic sanctions in exchangefor curbs on its nuclear pro-gram. Israel vehementlyopposed that accord and hasurged negotiators to take a hardline against Iran in the currentround of talks. In a speech toJewish American leadersSunday, Israeli Prime MinisterNaftali Bennett warned thatIran has used interim period tomarch ahead with its enrich-ment of uranium to levelsapproaching weapons grade.

He also noted the 10-year lim-its on enrichment and otherkey aspects of Iran's nuclearprogram in the original deal areset to be lifted in 2025 - just twoand a half years from now. That"leaves Iran with a fast track tomilitary-grade enrichment,"Bennett told the Conference ofPresidents of Major AmericanJewish Organisations.

In the meantime, he saidthat lifting sanctions right awaywill deliver billions of dollars toIran to spend on hostile proxygroups along Israel's borders.

"For Israel and all the sta-bility-seeking forces in theMiddle East- emerging deal asit seems is highly likely to cre-ate a more violent, morevolatile Middle East," he said.

He repeated his pledge thatIsrael will not allow Iran tobecome a threshold state andsaid Israel would not be boundby a new deal. "We have a clearand un-negotiable red line:Israel will always maintain itsfreedom of action to defenditself," he said.

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Afighter jet crashed onto afootball pitch in a city in

northwest Iran, the country'sstate-run news agency reportedMonday. The crash killed twopilots and a civilian. IRNA saidF-5 fighter crashed onto field ina residential area of Tabriz, a cityof 1.6 million residents.Authorities are investigatingthe incident, the report said.Gen. Reza Yousefi, commanderof air base in Tabriz, saidcrashed jet had been used fortraining and suffered a techni-cal problem on its final flight."Pilots could not reach runway,"he said, according to report. Inan effort to avoid crashing intoresidential area, pilots guided jetto football pitch, he said. Thereport quoted Yousefi as saying:"The pilots sacrificed them-selves, they could (have) usedejection system, but they refusedto do it."The pilots headed forpitch "to keep people safe,"Yousefi said in report.

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ABangladeshi constructionworker in Singapore was

on Monday sentenced to twoyears and eight months in jailfor funding militant groups inSyria, making multiple socialmedia accounts to publish pro-jihadist posts and buyingknives to be "ready for jihad".

Ahmed Faysal, 27, pleadedguilty to five charges under theTerrorism (Suppression ofFinancing) Act, with another10 charges taken into consid-eration. This is the largestnumber of charges an offend-er has ever faced under the Act,the Channel News Asia report-ed, citing the prosecutor. Faysalsaid he did not intend to usethe weapons in Singapore, as hewanted to stay out of troubleand continue supporting hisfamily in Bangladesh by work-ing in the city-state.

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Scientists warned the Britishgovernment on Monday

not to weaken the country'sability to monitor and trackthe coronavirus after PrimeMinister Boris Johnson endsthe requirement for people inEngland to self-isolate if theycontract COVID-19. Johnsonwill announce details inParliament on Monday ofthe government's plan for"living with COVID" by treat-ing it like other transmissibleillnesses such as flu.

The legal requirement toself-isolate for at least fivedays after a positive coron-avirus test is expected to bereplaced by guidance, andmass testing for the virus willbe scaled back. The new planforesees vaccines and treat-ments keeping the virus incheck as it becomes endem-ic in the country.Johnsonurged people not to "throwcaution to the winds."

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Israel on Monday said it suc-cessfully tested a new naval

air defense system, interceptinga series of threats in what offi-cials called a key layer of pro-tection against Iran and itsproxies in the region. The "C-Dome" system is a naval ver-sion of the Iron Dome, whichhas been used to shoot downrockets fired from the GazaStrip for the past decade.

The C-Dome is beinginstalled on Israel's latest-gen-eration corvette warships,which protect Israel's coastlineand offshore natural gas assetsin Mediterranean. Monday'stest simulated a number ofincoming threats, includingrockets, cruise missiles anddrones, the Defence Ministrysaid.

"The systems that we aredeveloping as part of Israel'smulti-tier missile defense arrayenable us to operate againstIranian proxies in region.

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China on Monday ques-tioned Australia's claim

that a Chinese warship hadfired laser at the surveillanceaircraft while in flight overAustralia's northern approach-es, saying allegation does notsquare up with facts.

Australia called it "a seri-ous safety incident" and said"acts like this have potential toendanger lives". AustralianPrime Minister Scott Morrisonsaid on Monday that he'dcalled on Chinese governmentto explain "dangerous" and"reckless" act allegedly carriedout by a People's LiberationArmy Navy (PLAN) warshiplast week."This was dangerous,it was unprofessional and itwas reckless for a profession-al navy, and we want someanswers as to why they didthis," Morrison said as hecalled for "full investiga-tion"."At worst, it was intimi-dating and bullying," he wasquoted as saying by CNN.

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Pakistan's former spy chiefand architect of the

mujahideen network againstthe former USSR's invasion ofAfghanistan, has been namedone among thousands otherhigh-profile figures fromaround the world in a massiveleak of secret banking datafrom a leading Swiss bank.General Akhtar AbdurRehman Khan was the closestaide of former dictatorGeneral Zia-ul-Haq.

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Average daily COVID-19cases and hospitalisations

are continuing to fall in US, anindicator that omicron variant'shold is weakening across coun-try. Total confirmed casesreported Saturday barelyexceeded 100,000, a sharpdownturn from around800,850 five weeks ago onJanuary 16, according to JohnsHopkins University data. InNew York, the number of caseswent down by more than 50per cent over last two weeks."Ithink what's influencingdecline, of course, is that omi-cron is starting to run out ofpeople to infect," said Dr.Thomas Russo, professor andinfectious disease chief at theUniversity of Buffalo's JacobsSchool of Medicine andBiomedical Sciences.COVID-19 hospitalisations are downfrom a national seven-day aver-age of 146,534 on Jan. 20 to80,185 week ending in Feb 13.

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The trial of three formerMinneapolis police offi-

cers charged with violatingGeorge Floyd's civil rightsheads into what may be its finalweek Monday, with third offi-cer yet to take his turn onstand.Thomas Lane is expect-ed to testify as his attorney pre-sents his case, the last to do soin the nearly month-long pro-ceeding before federal trialmoves to closing argumentsand then to the jury. Lane, TouThao and J. Alexander Kuengare charged in federal courtwith violating Floyd's consti-tutional rights when DerekChauvin pressed his knee intoFloyd's neck for 9 1/2 minutesas the 46-year-old Black manwas handcuffed, facedown onthe street and pleading for airbefore going silent. Kuengknelt on Floyd's back, Laneheld his legs and Thao keptbystanders back.

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The young mother hadbehaved erratically for

months, hitchhiking and wan-dering naked through twoNative American reservationsand a small town clusteredalong Northern California'srugged Lost Coast. But thingsescalated when EmmileeRisling was charged with arsonfor igniting a fire in a cemetery.Her family hoped the casewould force her into mentalhealth and addiction services.Instead, she was released over

the pleas of loved ones and atribal police chief. The 33-year-old college graduate - anaccomplished traditionaldancer with ancestry fromthree area tribes - was last seensoon after, walking across abridge near a place marked Endof Road, a far corner of theYurok Reservation where therutted pavement dissolves intothick woods. Her disappear-ance is one of five instances inthe past 18 months whereIndigenous women have gonemissing or been killed in thisisolated expanse of Pacific

coastline between SanFrancisco and Oregon, a regionwhere the Yurok, Hupa, Karuk,Tolowa and Wiyot people havecoexisted for millennia. Twoother women died from whatauthorities say were overdosesdespite relatives' questionsabout severe bruises. The cri-sis has spurred the Yurok Tribeto issue an emergency decla-ration and brought increasedurgency to efforts to buildCalifornia's first database ofsuch cases and regain sover-eignty over key services.

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China said Monday it willimpose new sanctions on

US defense contractorsRaytheon Technologies andLockheed Martin due to theirarms sales to Taiwan, steppingup a feud with Washingtonover security and Beijing'sstrategic ambitions. ForeignMinistry spokesperson WangWenbin announced the moveat a daily press briefing, citinga newly passed Anti-ForeignSanctions Law that took effectin 2021. It was in response toa $100 million deal approved

by the US for maintenance ofTaiwan's missile defense sys-tems by the two companies."China once again urges the USgovernment and relevant par-ties to. . . Stop arms sales toTaiwan and sever military tieswith Taiwan," Wang said."China will continue to take allnecessary measures to firmlysafeguard its sovereignty andsecurity interests in accordancewith the development of the sit-uation," he said without givingany details. Taiwan is a demo-cratically self-governed islandthat communist-ruled Chinaclaims as its own territory.

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European Union foreignministers on Monday dis-

cussed ways to ease tensions inBosnia and prevent the possi-ble breakup up of the ethnicallydivided Balkan country as thepeace agreement brokered over25 years ago continues tounravel."The nationalist andseparatist rhetoric is increasingin Bosnia and Herzegovinaand jeopardising the stabilityand even the integrity of thecountry," EU foreign policychief Josep Borrell said in

Brussels, where he chaired ameeting of the 27-countrybloc's foreign ministers.He saidthe "ministers will have to takea decision on how to stopthese dynamics in Bosnia andHerzegovina and to avoid thatthe country can fall apart inpieces. This is a critical situa-tion." The United States lastmonth announced new sanc-tions against Bosnian Serbleader Milorad Dodik, whohas for years been advocatingthat Serb-run part of Bosniashould leave rest of country andunite with neighbouring Serbia.

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It all started over yoga.When an instructor in

Kuwait this month advertiseda desert wellness yoga retreat,conservatives declared it anassault on Islam.

Lawmakers and clericsthundered about "danger" anddepravity of women doinglotus position and downwarddog in public, ultimately per-suading authorities to bantrip.

The yoga ruckus repre-sented just latest flashpoint ina long-running culture warover women's behaviour insheikhdom, where tribes andIslamists wield growing powerover a divided society.

Increasingly, conservativepoliticians push back againsta burgeoning feminist move-ment and what they see as anunraveling of Kuwait's tradi-tional values amid deep gov-ernmental dysfunction onmajor issues.

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The United States and Egypton Monday launched a

joint working group to preparefor next climate change summitin November, the Americanenvoy for climate issues said.Special Presidential Envoy forClimate John Kerry said groupis focused on United Nations'COP27 conference in Egypt'sRed Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

He said country hasalready begun its preparationsfor meeting.Kerry said otherworld tensions, including ongo-ing Ukraine crisis, "will notchange reality of what is hap-pening every day with respectto our climate," and calledissue an "international threatfor all of us."

"There are no politics inthis.There is no ideology inthis. This is not anything to dowith some of issues" of concernfor U.S. Administration, Kerrysaid at a news briefing in Cairowith Egyptian Foreign MinisterSameh Shukry.

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Domestic equity gaugesSensex and Nifty logged

their fourth straight session offall on Monday as participantsremained cautious over linger-ing geopolitical tensions ineastern Europe.

Persistent foreign fund out-flows added to the gloom,traders said.

Tracking deep losses inother Asian bourses, the BSESensex dived around 700 pointsin the opening session butstaged a recovery to brieflytrade in the positive zone asmarket jitters were calmed byhopes of talks between the USand Russia over the Ukrainecrisis.

However, it wilted underselling pressure in the after-noon session to settle at57,683.59, down 149.38 pointsor 0.26 per cent. Similarly, thebroader NSE Nifty slipped69.65 points or 0.40 per cent toclose at 17,206.65.

Of the 30 Sensex con-stituents, 21 shares ended in thered, with Sun Pharma, TCS,ITC, Tech Mahindra, UltraTechCement and Titan dropping upto 2.39 per cent.

In contrast, Wipro, Infosys,PowerGrid, ICICI Bank, HDFCBank and Maruti were amongthe major gainers, spurting asmuch as 1.45 per cent. "Domestic indices started weak,taking cues from negative glob-al peers but in betweenrecouped most of its losses onreports of likely meetingbetween Biden and Putin overthe Ukraine issue. However, themarket could not stretch thedirection and turned negativeas uncertainty in the globalmarkets continued.

"Investors stood on thesidelines, impacting volumes.The market is expected to bevolatile due to the upcomingFed meeting and state electionresults," said Vinod Nair, Headof Research at Geojit FinancialServices.

Ajit Mishra, VP - Research,Religare Broking Ltd, said mar-kets are in wait and watchmode in line with global peersand closely monitoring theRussia-Ukraine crisis for cues.

"Meanwhile, the volatileswings in the index combinedwith the selling in broadermarkets are making traders' lifedifficult. We thus recommendlimiting positions and keepingthe existing hedged until themarkets stabilise," he noted.

Sectorally, BSE oil and gas,metal, basic materials, realtyand healthcare lost as much as2.18 per cent.

Of the 19 sectoral indices,barring banking, all closedwith losses.

The BSE smallcap indextumbled 2.20 per cent, midcapfell 0.80 per cent and largecap

slipped 0.59 per cent. Elsewhere in Asia, bours-

es ended lower but pared deeplosses suffered in their openingsession on reports of a likelymeeting between US PresidentJoe Biden and RussianPresident Vladimir Putin.

Biden has agreed "in prin-ciple" to a meeting with Putinas long as that country holds offon what US officials believe isan imminent assault onUkraine.

White House press secre-tary Jen Psaki said the admin-istration has been clear that "weare committed to pursuingdiplomacy until the moment aninvasion begins."

Bourses in Europe weretrading in the negative territo-ry in the afternoon session.

Crude oil benchmarkBrent was trading lower atUSD 91.43 per barrel.

On the forex market front,the rupee closed 11 paise high-er at 74.55 against the US dol-lar on Monday.

Continuing their sellingspree, foreign institutionalinvestors offloaded sharesworth Rs 2,529.96 crore in theIndian capital markets onFriday, exchange data showed.

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Rising for the fifth straightday, the rupee extended

gains by 11 paise to close at aone-month high of 74.55against the US dollar onMonday on the back of a weakdollar and softer crude oilprices amid hopes of a diplo-matic solution to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

The local unit openedstrong at 74.51 to a dollar andlater spurted to the day's highof 74.35 as crude oil tradedbelow USD 95 per barrel.

The rupee later gave upsome of the gains due to loss-es in the domestic equity mar-kets and forex outflows, beforefinally finishing at 74.55, show-ing a gain of 11 paise over theprevious close.

The local currency hadclosed at 74.66 against thegreenback on Friday.

"Rupee traded strong near74.55 as dollar index weaknesskeep strength in rupee. Crudeprices took a halt and tradingbelow USD 95 has cheered therupee market," said JateenTrivedi, Senior ResearchAnalyst at LKP Securities.

Dilip Parmar, Research

Analyst, HDFC Securities, saidthe rupee rose to a one-monthhigh as dollar index along withcrude oil prices retreated onprofit booking.

"It's second day in a rowwhere rupee outperformedamong Asian currencies allthanks to positive carry tradesand speculators may have start-ed front run of LIC IPOsinflows," Parmar said.

Dollar recovered from theday's low on reports of RussianPresident Vladimir Putin andUS President Joe Biden having"no concrete plans" for a sum-mit.

"Spot USD-INR is nowhaving support at 74.30, the 200days simple moving average...Resistance in the range of 74.80to 74.85 in near term," Parmaradded.

Meanwhile, the dollarindex eased by 0.26 per cent to95.79 after reports of a likelysummit between the US pres-ident and the Russian presidentto discuss the Ukrainian bor-der crisis.

Brent crude also tradeddown at USD 93.51 per barrelon hopes of a diplomatic solu-tion to the Russia-Ukrainestalemate.

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Entrepreneurs will lead the country to high-er growth and prosperity, Marico Chairman

Harsh Mariwala on Monday opined and sug-gested businesses to adopt a transformative 'dig-ital approach' for sustainable growth.

Highlighting the role of digitisation,Mariwala said the industry should prioritisetheir digital initiatives and avail this businessgrowth opportunity with a right approach.

Mariwala, who on Monday was awardedAIMA Life Time Achievement Award, saidentrepreneurs have a huge role to play in thedevelopment and they should be helped andpromoted by the industry.

"Entrepreneurs create a lot of wealth forstakeholders, whether it is for themselves orassociates or customers also. Entrepreneurs areonly going to lead India into a different eco-nomic growth and we cannot be dependent onthe government for increasing our growth.

It is only the entrepreneurs, who will makeIndia prosperous," said the Marico chairmanin his virtual interaction at AIMA foundationday.

Mariwala, through his ASCENTFoundation, is working with 800 entrepreneursall over India.

Besides, he is also working on mental healthinitiatives, with a focus on making mentalhealth treatment accessible to marginalised anddisabled persons and communities in ruralareas.

When asked about digital companies per-forming better than the traditional companies,

Mariwala said now the companies "would haveto look digital from an 'opportunistic lens' withthe right approach".

"It is going to hit you. It is one of the primetopics at board level...," he added.

"You would have to identify your digitalroad map in the business you are in... You haveto prioritise that and then decide whether youwant to invest into the digital market... Thenhave people who are experts in digital,"Mariwala said.

He suggested that business leaders shouldrecruit people who are digital savvy and are veryyoung.

"You have to learn from them and do notgive them any other responsibilities and letthem whole time spend on organisation goingdigital," he said.

Mariwala also said the constitution of theboard is very important and should have beenbased on the competence of people.

"For example in FMCG business, the com-

petence is required in marketing, sales and dis-tribution. We have a digital expert on boardbecause this is also important. Now all organ-isations are more aggressive on the digital front,"he said.

Most of the issues discussed in the boardare strategic and several committees such asaudit play a different role, the Marico chairmansaid.

While remembering his old days, Mariwala,founder of FMCG maker Marico, said he hadstarted his business in 1970s when there waslicense raj in the country and had to "greasesome palms and use networks" to start.

"I also did not like the b2b business, whereyou have to meet buyers and take them for din-ner. I was very comfortable talking to generaltrade, like distributors, retailers and others. Itsuited me and liked to interact with final con-sumers," he said adding that he has learned alot in his journey.

Over a period of time, he started expand-ing and building his two FMCG brands - Saffolaand Parachute - and witnessed positive resultsof advertising.

"If I look back at my own journey, wheredid we get those breaks in terms of increasedmarket share? It occurred whenever we didsomething very different. In a highly compet-itive environment, it is very important for anyentrepreneur to identify to right to win. It is verydifficult to win in a crowded marketplace if youare not differentiated," he said.

This differentiation can only come frominnovation or through a pioneering initiative,he added.

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Asian shares were mostlylower Monday after a

retreat on Wall Street, asinvestors watched for devel-opments in Ukraine afterRussia rescinded earlierpledges to pull tens of thou-sands of its troops away fromUkraine's northern border.

Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kongand Shanghai declined whileSydney advanced.

The White House saidPresident Joe Biden hadagreed "in principle" to meet-ing with Russian PresidentVladimir Putin if he refrainsfrom launching an assaultthat U.S. Officials say appearsincreasingly likely.

Russia's decision extend-ed military exercises thatbrought an estimated 30,000Russian forces to Belarus,Ukraine's northern neigh-bour. They had been due toend Sunday. The troops areamong some 150,000deployed along Ukraine's bor-ders, along with tanks, war-planes, artillery and other

war materiel.The concern that Russian

troops could descend on theUkrainian capital, Kyiv, a cityof about 3 million people lessthan a three-hour drive away,has added to uncertaintiesfor investors already jitteryover central bank strategies tocombat inflation.

Russia is a major energyproducer and a military con-flict also could disrupt ener-gy supplies and make forextremely volatile energyprices.

Markets are on "tenter-hooks," Mizuho Bank said ina commentary. But it added,"relief rallies appear to beemerging; drawing comfortfrom Presidents Biden andPutin having accepted theprinciple' of a summit; con-ditional upon Russia notinvading Ukraine."

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 indexlost 0.7% to 26,926.01, whilethe Hang Seng in Hong Kongshed 0.6% to 24,194.64. InSeoul, the Kospi gave up 0.4%to 2,733.36 and the ShanghaiComposite index fell 0.3% to3,479.07.

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IPO-bound Life InsuranceCorporation (LIC) on Monday

said it would like to retain some stakein IDBI Bank so that the insurer con-tinues to reap the benefits of the ban-cassurance channel.

IDBI Bank became a subsidiaryof LIC with effect from January 21,2019, following the acquisition of anadditional 8,27,590,885 equity shares.

On December 19, 2020, IDBIBank was reclassified as an associ-ate company due to the reductionof LIC shareholding to 49.24 percent following the issuance of addi-tional equity shares by the bankunder a Qualified InstitutionalPlacement (QIP).

The government, which is theminority shareholder in IDBI Bankwith a 45.48 per cent stake, hasalready expressed its intent to exit byselling the stake.

"Going forward, we would like tohave some stake in IDBI Bank. Thewhole idea of us picking up stake inthe bank was strategic in nature andthat has not gone away at all," LICChairman M R Kumar said during amedia interaction.

In fact, IDBI Bank has been thestrongest contributor for the ban-cassurance channel, he said, addingthat this was something that wouldhelp LIC to grow that particular

channel in the post-IPO scenario.Bancassurance is an arrange-

ment between a bank and an insur-ance company allowing the latter tosell its products to the bank's cus-tomers and others through thebranch network.

"I, as LIC Chairperson, would liketo see that the relationship continu-ing in the future as well," he said.

On how much LIC would like toretain out of 49.24 per cent stake inIDBI Bank at present, Kumar said asof now there was no sense of thenumber as it was up to theDepartment of Investment and PublicAsset Management (DIPAM) to kickoff that excercise.

"Since it was a strategic partner-

ship to begin with, we might stick onto some stake in order that we con-tinue our relationship on bancassur-ance and other areas which are a win-win-win for both LIC and IDBIBank," he said.

Elaborating on bancassurancechannel, Kumar said LIC has distri-bution tie up with 58,000 branchesof different banks. There is still a lotof scope and headroom for growthon that front, he added.

About new products, he said LICwas working on several participating(par) and non-participating (non-par) policies that would be launchedgoing forward.

LIC filed the Draft Red HerringProspectus (DRHP) for the InitialPublic Offering (IPO) this month.The government expects to mobiliseabout Rs 63,000 crore from the pro-posed Offer for Sale (OFS) to meetthe lower disinvestment target of Rs78,000 crore for the current finan-cial year.

The insurer had infused Rs 4,743crore in IDBI Bank on October 23,2019 using policyholders' funds whilethe bank further raised Rs 1,435.1crore on December 19, 2020 by wayof a QIP.

IDBI Bank has come out of theprompt corrective action frameworkin March 2021, subject to compliancewith certain conditions and contin-uous monitoring.

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India's largest mobile opera-tor Reliance Jio Infocomm

will land the multi-terabitIndia-Asia-Xpress (IAX)undersea cable system inHulhumale, Maldives, accord-ing to a statement on Monday.

The high capacity andhigh-speed IAX system willconnect Hulhumale directlywith world's major internethubs in India and Singapore.

Jio's IAX project will landin the Maldives in collaborationwith Ocean Connect Maldives,the statement said.

The IAX system originatesin Mumbai in the west andconnects directly to Singapore,with branches including addi-tional landings in India,Malaysia, and Thailand.

The India-Europe-Xpress(IEX) system connects Mumbaito Milan, landing in Savona,Italy, and includes additionallandings in the Middle East,North Africa, and theMediterranean.

IAX is expected to be readyfor service end-2023, whileIEX will be ready for service inmid-2024.

"These high capacity andhigh-speed systems will pro-vide more than 200Tb/s ofcapacity at speeds of 100Gb/s,over 16,000 kilometers," thestatement informed.

Speaking about the launchof the Maldives' first interna-tional cable, its Minister ofEconomic Development, UzFayyaz Ismail, said, "This is the

first stride towards enhancingour connectivity infrastruc-ture and opening vast oppor-tunities for our people throughp r o v i d i n gsecure, afford-able and high-quality ser-vices".

Ismail fur-ther observed:"We also aimto diversifyour economyand establishourselves as akey communi-cations hub inSouth Asia".

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Twelve trainee crane oper-ators from LGBTQ+ com-

munity were onboarded bysteel major Tata Steel at itsKalinganagar plant in Odishalast week, a company pressrelease said.

With this, Tata steel fur-ther expanded its transgenderemployee base following theinitiative by the company'sWest Bokaro division, where14 transgender people werehired as heavy earth movingmachinery (HEMM) opera-tors at its mines in December2021.

This step of including theLGBTQ+ community not onlyaims to break the glass ceiling,but also targets to mainstreamtransgender people in society,the press release said.

Tata Steel's Diversity andInclusion initiative aims atcurating a workplace whereeveryone is respected, everyvoice is heard, and people canbring their authentic selves towork, it said.

The onboarding event atTata Steel Kalinganagar (TSK)was organised on February 17,2022.

Speaking on the occasion,Atrayee Sanyal, Vice President,Human ResourceManagement, Tata Steel, said"I am pleased to welcome allthe members into the TataSteel family. We will continuewith our efforts to driveLGBTQ+ inclusion and builda benchmark workplace. Thisjourney of HR excellence has

been extremely rewarding andmotivates us to explore newhorizons on diversity andinclusion." The traineeswill undergo training for ayear before they begin work-ing in the plant as CraneOperators.

"The journey of a thou-sand miles starts with onestep and this step in ourendeavour to make a morediverse and inclusive work-place here sets an importantmilestone. As an equal oppor-tunity employer, Tata Steelrespects uniqueness of indi-viduals and is putting its bestfoot forward to shape theworkspace of tomorrow," saidRajiv Kumar, Vice-President(Operations), TSK.

The Company has takenseveral path-breaking initia-tives, including menstrualleaves, equal benefits forLGBTQ+ partners, and genderneutral parental leaves.

Tata Steel is committed tocreating a diverse, inclusive,safe and fair workplace andhas taken a target of having 25per cent diverse workforce by2025, the release said.

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Do you or someone you careabout have an eating disor-der? There's more to these

problems than simply food andweight. From school or job perfor-mance to physical health issues, aneating disorder may create severedisruptions in a person's life. Yogais a mind-body activity that isrecognised for its inherent healingeffects and awareness. Yoga andnaturopathy may be a valuable aidin the rehabilitation process, andconsistent yoga practice in con-junction with naturopathy treat-ment and psychiatric therapy maybe beneficial.

Obviously, smart food choicescan benefit the body in differentways but when someone becomestoo much obsessed with restric-tions, problems arise. When thebehaviour of a person gets too dis-ruptive owing to such restrictions,it can interfere with personal andwork relationships which ultimate-ly leads to psychological disorders.

Also, it has been observed thatpeople with orthorexia often tendto avoid social invitations andinteractions, fearing that theywould have to compromise ontheir healthy eating habits. Even ifthey do indulge in social interac-tions, they would refuse to touchfood, despite hunger pangs.

Some people may also spendhours on shopping for specific gro-ceries or keep their habits secretfrom their friends and family.

What makes yoga and natur-opathy a suitable solution forthose suffering from eating disor-ders?

Millions of people suffer from

a variety of eating disorders, whichis disturbed and unhealthy eatinghabits that might include restrictivedieting, obsessive eating, or mealskipping. According to a studypublished by the National EatingDisorder Association, four out of10 adults have either directly expe-rienced an eating disorder or knowsomeone who has through thefostering of non-judgment, confi-dence, and self-acceptance, yogahas been demonstrated to help easeanxiety, anger and depression aswell as improve self-esteem and ahealthy body image. Regular yogapractice may aid in the restorationof mental, emotional and physicalstrength that is damaged due tobinge eating disorders.

On the physical level, yoga maybe customised to assist digestion,ease constipation, and lessen reac-tivity to the unpleasant process ofbinge eating. On an emotionallevel, yoga encourages emotionalconnection to the person's internalworld, allowing emotions, wants,and longings to be grounded.

Stressful mental patterns thatsustain eating disorders may fre-quently dissipate slowly with adesign that first opens the body viastretching and then completes withrelaxation. During or after a yogapractice, we may be able to releasefeelings that have been burdeningus for years.

Yoga, meditation and breath-work both lessen the body's phys-iological stress response by lower-ing sympathetic nervous systemactivation and boosting activity inthe part of the brain responsible forconfidence, emotion management,

and mental flexibility, according tostudies on mindfulness.Surprisingly, research on yoga'stherapeutic benefits has shownthat the ability to bear modestamounts of stress, such as learningto remain in an unpleasant pose, islinked to overall happiness andquality of life. Once a personlearns to remain in an unpleasantpose, they are more capable ofbeing with uncomfortable feelingswhen they arise instead of bingeeating.

Naturopathy helps in healingeating disorders

Naturopathic physicians treatpatients focusing on their physical,lifestyle, environmental, mental,and emotional wellness.Naturopathy doctors who followthese concepts always concentrate

on addressing the underlying causeof a patient's ailment. Depression,anxiety, trauma, or another factormay play a role in eating disorders.

This may also need collabora-tion with a psychologist due to theserious nature of binge eating dis-order. The naturopathy methodentails examining the body's long-term changes: What nutrients havebeen deficient for a long time?What impact does the eating dis-order have on mental perfor-mance? What impact does it haveon a patient's behaviour? Whatorgans or blood components, suchas the stomach, heart, kidneys, andso on, have been impaired as aresult of the binge eating disorder?It also entails assessing what deep-seated issues and hurdles thepatient may need assistance inovercoming the eating disorder inorder to be cured.

Along with focusing onhealthy food habits, naturopathyalso involves alternative healingtherapies like acupuncture, relax-ation therapy, botanical medicineand others. Acupuncture may aidin the treatment of eating disordersby addressing linked health issues,lowering stress, and speeding thehealing of afflicted bodily sys-tems. The botanical medicineapproach tries to replenish thepatient's organ systems, which areoften damaged as a result of thebinge eating problem. And relax-ation therapy involves massagetherapy, which seeks to lower stresshormones, raise positive chemicallevels (norepinephrine anddopamine), and reduce body dis-satisfaction.

India is one of the world's fastest-growing alcobev and spirits mar-kets. Various factors have con-

tributed to the growth, including alarge middle-class population withincreasing spending power, growingurbanisation, changing preferencestowards quality products, and thesubsequent waning cultural taboos.

However, the COVID-19 lock-down, which began in late March2020, had a significant toll in all areas,and the alcobev and spirit industrywas no exception. Some states triedto adjust to the shifting dynamics ofthe distribution system, and theapproach turned out to be relativelyfruitful. A few states began homedelivery to reduce crowds and facil-itate social distance during the lock-down. However, consumption start-ed picking up pace after lockdownswere eased, and people thronged out-lets to embrace the packs of tinge ofjoy.

Due to shutdowns, bars andeateries got negatively impacted,leading to the most significant andvisible behavioural change, with peo-ple resorting to drinking in closedgroups in the comforts of theirhomes. After unlocks and opening ofbars/restaurants, the sales started

picking up pace; however, the behav-ioural change of the drinkers persist-ed. In fact, some studies have hint-ed at an increase in intake.

An element of many people'ssocial lives, the industry noticed anintriguing shift in consumer behav-iour, as they were eager to experimentwith their tipple while at home. It'sfascinating to watch how they exper-iment with beverages they may nothave had previously, such as artisanwhiskey, craft rum, and craft gin. Thechange in preference towards premi-um is also an alteration from thehealth aspect, as consumers becameconscious about quality and did notbat an eyelid before shelling out extrato savor the premium tastes.

Impact of social media and OTTalso cannot be negated as it is bring-ing in the exposure to internationaltrends, which kicks in the mentalityof aping behaviour of mature mar-kets. The recent research reportspoint toward the psychologicalbehaviour of the internet generationas they want to portray themselves onsocial media platforms as the accep-tors of experimental consumption.

Another pattern that emergedafter the pandemic is the increasedinclination to go premium. The shift

occurred because people savedmoney by not going to bars/restau-rants; people could afford to go anotch up in liquor selection with thesame amount. Consumers are look-ing to create an experience out oftheir drinking time and are huntingfor quality. In the future, there will bemore private gatherings and moreopportunities to experiment withDIYs, which usually leads to fascinat-ing consumer behaviour adjust-ments.

Looking at the increased con-sumption, we took the opportunityto step in as a responsible corporatebody to promote a judicious drink-ing habit that should not affect per-sonal lives. An increased focus onawareness campaigns is required, andwe carried out numerous camps toeducate people.

The pandemic has necessitatedthe focus on health aspects, and thatis where the people’s increased incli-nation towards quality has to beweighed in. The alcobev industry iscatching up fast to reach pre-COVIDsales and is also aware of the respon-sibilities at the same time. We needto take these forward to create a soci-ety that can always raise a toast tohappiness.

POMEGRANATE: Theantioxidant content in pome-granate juice is higher thanmost of the other fruit juices.Pomegranate juice's antioxi-dants can aid in the removal offree radicals, the protection ofcells, and the reduction ofinflammation. Toreceive the max-i m u mVitamin Cn u t r i e n t ,c h o o s ehomemadeor freshpomegranatejuice. The

Pomegranate juice can helpwith digestion and reduceinflammation in the intestines.People with Crohn's disease,ulcerative colitis, and otherinflammatory bowel illnessesmay benefit from it. The juicehas been found to increase

blood flow and preventarteries from becom-

ing tight andthick. It mayalso help toreduce plaqueformation and

c h o l e s t e r o lbuildup in the

arteries.

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Undoubtedly, there has been an unprecedented jump in thescreen time that we have all engaged in ever since the pan-demic has broken out. In an era of lockdowns and home-

stays, however intermittent and episodic, not only have we remainedconfined indoors for longer durations, the way we function as asociety has undergone a sea change. Whether it is for education-al purposes, or for entertainment and leisure or for work, a full-fledged digital lifestyle has increasingly come to define us. Indeed,as part of this lifestyle change, work-from-home has become a morepermanent feature of our everyday routine.

Work-from-home has an eye health costBut do we realize that the increased adoption of work-from-

home routine has a cost element involved in terms of our eye health.As we spend more and more time on digital screens including lap-tops, mobile phones, tablets, e-readers and even television, our eyeshave an disproportionately increased exposure time to these screensfraught with considerable adverse consequences.

Characterised by a range of symptoms The increased screen time and the resultant eye problems can

be gauged through a range of symptoms. These could be in the formof eye strain, or headaches, or blurred vision or double vision, ordry eyes or even neck and shoulder pain. Sometimes, it can evenlead to disturbance in sleep patterns and difficulties in concentra-tion apart from mental health conditions.

Computer Vision Syndrome,the big eye problem

Because of excessive screen time,we can face a number of problems inour eyes with Computer VisionSyndrome or Digital Eye Strain beingone prominent example. We need torealize that the nature of demand onour eyes changes as compared to whenwe regularly read a printed page orwrite in the physical mode. Apartfrom the movement of our eyes, the

focusing and refocusing on a computer or other digital screensrequires additional efforts on the part of the eye muscles and thevision system. If we consider the glare, the contrast and the flick-er of the screen, it becomes even more strenuous and uncomfort-able for our eyes attempting to work on the screens. Also, whilewe are engrossed with our screens, we tend to blink less which leadsto dry eyes with related consequences. People touching forty par-ticularly have to exert more since their natural lenses become lessflexible.

Those wearing eyewear also have problems While people with unaddressed or under-addressed vision issues

will have more problems for obvious reasons, those wearing someeyewear such as eyeglasses and lenses also need to be equally care-ful. Screen use, particularly at home, is often associated with improp-er posture and improper home lighting. The viewer is often forcedto bend his head, not just aggravating discomfort to eyes but alsocausing back and neck pain.

PreventionOf course, reducing or right-sizing the screen time is the first

step that one has to consider. Second, placing the computer or otherscreen in sufficiently lit space must become a priority. Third, ade-quate distance preferably at an arm’s length and at appropriate view-ing angle between the individual and the screen must be maintained.Fourth, glasses and lenses filtering blue rays and with UV protec-tion should be taken recourse to. And fifth and very importantly,one must observe the 20-20-20 rule meaning that every 20 min-utes, a person using a screen should look about 20 feet away forat least twenty seconds. This would give the eyes much-needed reston a regular basis.

Therefore, while work-from-home and the consequentincreased screen time has many advantages, there are downsidestoo with respect to our eye health. A study reports that nearly 23per cent of the Indian population had suffered some level of weak-ening eyesight during the pandemic-driven increased homestays.As such, while we can’t do away with our screens completely, wemust exercise caution. Moderation is the keyword here.

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�Current healthcare scenario in thecountryIndia's healthcare infrastructure is experi-encing dynamic growth. Though significantadvancement has been achieved in health,a lot is yet to be accomplished. A consid-erable part of society, especially the com-moners, are still striving hard to reach qual-ity healthcare. The current doctor to patientratio is 1:2148 in India. A low emphasis oneducation within the healthcare system andlow priority for health in the population arethe key factors resulting in limited aware-ness of covering health expenses. However,technology-driven healthcare solutionsreduce the chance of inequalities in healththrough low-cost dissemination, remotedeliveries, and removal of hindrances.�Trends revolutionising the healthcareindustry in 2022India is embracing the private sector in thehealthcare industry with the vision toachieve universal health coverage. Privatesector intervention can open new oppor-tunities in making online doctor consulta-tion and pharmacy accessible as per require-ment.

Even insurance is gaining traction as anecessary step and must undoubtedlyexpand to help in facilitating equitablehealth care to shift to different sections. Thepandemic has unpredictably changed con-sumer behaviour from shopping and enter-tainment to healthcare needs. A surge inconsumers preferring to have their health-care needs met remotely or from the com-fort and safety of their homes is on record.The intermediation of the private sector inthe healthcare and insurance industry aimsto reduce the expense burden of the con-sumers. �Asymmetric information betweenhealthcare/insurance providers andpatientsExperts envision emerging information par-ity where healthcare/insurance providersand patients solve consumer problems.Pricing transparency and a reformed struc-ture of health services lead to better med-ical decision-making. To rectify the ill-designed regulatory systems of publiclyfunded healthcare leading to asymmetricinformation, a sensible and effective regu-lation is the need of the hour. We believeeffective implementation of the NDHMframework will go a long way in bridgingthis gap going forward. �Integrating preventive healthcare withsickness insuranceInsurance Industry conventionally hasbeen built on the philosophy of providingsickness insurance. Currently preventivehealthcare is quite fragmented with limit-ed to no standardisation of products & pric-ing. Conventional approaches towardsinsurance product designing and insurancepricing will always find it difficult to beimplemented in the current regulatoryframework. We believe industry participantslike Government, IRDA, Insurers &Healthcare players need to come togetherto enable designing of such products.

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Aligned with the intent to work towardsdevelopment of Smart HealthcareWorkforce (SHW) in India, Healthcare

Sector Skill Council and Centre forDevelopment of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) signed an agreement today to estab-lish Center of Excellence (CoE) for developingspecialised training programme for the health-care workforce in emerging technologies andthereby creating a SHW for smart technology.The Center of Excellence would also facilitatethe research and support establishment of skillhubs in collaboration with the healthcareindustry.

The MoU was signed by Ashish Jain, CEO,HSSC while Dr P K Khosla, Executive Director,C-DAC Mohali signed it on behalf of C-DACMohali.

Jain briefed that the CoE will developskilling/ upskilling programmes and trainhealthcare professionals for using healthcareproducts/solutions in the areas of digitalhealth, artificial intelligence, health tech, 3Dprinting, cyber-security and other technologiesrelated to healthcare sector. This landmark ini-tiative is envisaged to provide impetus toresearch and development in artificial intelli-gence and healthcare technology throughactive participation of researchers and health-care professionals.

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All Satyajit Ray lovers cancome and gaze at hisbook covers at the India

International Centre Galleryand partake of the celebrationof Ray@100 years which hasgathered steam in many placesin the country. This set of bookcovers — at the exhibition RayBetween the Covers — unravelshis enchantment for designand his love for the alphabet aswell as the human figure in allits moods.

For Ray, a book’s cover wasmore than that. It was a livingmetaphor of its contents. Hisdesign influences range fromWestern art to Santiniketan, tothe grace of calligraphy as wellas the Japanese wash technique.Historians state that his workchanged the face of the 1940sBengali publishing industry.

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Of course, for those of uswho remember his best covers,it's best to recall and reminiscebecause these covers are rarevignettes of his captivating con-tours and compositional bril-liance. Unforgettable is thatvintage list, beginning fromPremendra Mitra’s collection ofpoems, Ferari Fouj (The LostArmy, 1948), Leela Majumdar’sshort story collection, DinDupure (Midday, 1948),Achintya Kumar Sengupta’snovel, Indrani (1949), BishnuDey’s collection of poems,Naam Rekhechi Komal Gandhar(I have Named her KomalGandhar, 1953), ParampurushSri Sri Ramkrishna (Sri SriRamakrishna, the SupremeBeing, 1951),

Jibanananda Das’s BonolataSen (1952) Achintya KumarSengupta’s Aamabasya (TheNew Moon, 1953), LeelaMajumdar’s Jonaki (Fireflies,1955) and Naresh Guha’sDurontoh Dupur (The UnrulyNoon, 1952).

Since these covers don’tfeature in this suite of covers,one must hunt for the delectablefigure and contrasting calli-graphic charisma.

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Professor Shanku has aWestern tinge to the contour-ing. Indeed, for Ray, the coverof a book was like a hieroglyphjust waiting to be deciphered; inhis cover of Badshahi Sangiti,we see the cityscape with streetand the human face as a teaser,revealing just enough to stokeinterest in the contents and fireour curiosity.

Ray had started in 1943 asa junior visualiser at an adver-tising firm, D J Keymer and Co,where Dilip Kumar Gupta(popularly known as DK) wasan assistant manager. DK wenton to start a publishing venture,called Signet Press, the sameyear, which revolutionised the

look of the Bengali book. Rayjoined him as a principal artist,a job that allowed free rein to hiscreativity.

Gangtoke Gondogol is amasterpiece. It is a reflection ofRay’s love for visual dynamics;we can sense the love Ray hadfor the aesthetic as well as anadaptive appreciation of form tocontent.

Scholars have noted thatstylistically Ray was like achameleon who adapted hisdesign according to the needsof a particular book. Thisapproach was a marked depar-ture from the repetitive, andoften superficial, decorativestyle prevalent in the Bengalipublishing industry at that time.His liberal use of referencesfrom Western and Eastern artto provide a subtext to his cre-ations is seen in the manner inwhich he creates spatial divi-sions between alphabets andtextural inferences. WhileWestern influences had seepedinto his sensibility even as an

adolescent, Ray’s exposure toIndian art came much later,only when he went toSantiniketan as a student at KalaBhavan in 1940: Nandalal Boseand Benode Behari Mukherjee,his teachers, opened up a newworld before him.

<��Q�� His understanding of using

the outline printed in reverse,within a black block, and com-bining it with the author’s namewritten by hand, with the titleat the top creates masterpieces

in the anatomy of design.When he uses the lexicon ofgrammarian script you cansense his understanding ofsubtle spacing as well as align-ment of horizontal and verticaldesign frames. While this col-lection could have includedsome of his utterly femininefabular tales this does well tobring in the spirit of celebrationand the eternal chord thatexisted between the earthinessof both humans and nature inall of his escapades with the artof creating book covers as wellas telling stories.

We can walk away remem-bering his words: “Somehow Ifeel that an ordinary person —the man in the street if you like— is a more challenging subjectfor exploration than people inthe heroic mould. It is the halfshades, the hardly audible notesthat I want to capture andexplore.”

(Ray Between the Coversis on till March 1 at IIC Art

Gallery.)

Over the last decade Nappa Dori, theDelhi-based design house has long

established itself as a brand that isanchored in India's rich heritage and arti-sanal craftsmanship. It has evolved as oneof India's foremost contemporary designbrands, with founder and creative direc-tor Gautam Sinha at the helm. The brandfeatures an expansive range of luggage andbags to minimally designed stationery andaccessories.

In 2019, Nappa Dori opened its flag-ship store in Covent Garden, London andcome February 2022, there will be a storein Dubai, UAE and Bandra, Mumbai. Theoffering caters to the India proud customer,who is well-travelled, adventurous, andfeels a sense of pride carrying an Indianbrand that conforms to internationalstandards. Gautam Sinha, creative direc-tor and founder talks about the brand.

Read Excerpts:

�Nappa Dori stands for a lifestyle... Doyou agree?

Sinha: Of course, Nappa Dori is alifestyle brand more than a leather goodscompany. It's in our design ethos to havean emotional connection with clientsrather than just be a possession they pur-chase.

�Luggage, bags, stationery and acces-sories, do you believe these are underrat-ed in the Indian context and only a nicheclientele appreciate craftsmanship anddesign in this segment?

I believe everyone appreciates gooddesign and craftsmanship. It's not about hav-ing unrelated product segments in one space,but how you present them is important aswell. The market segment is big, not niche,but the awareness about how approachabledesign is to the common person is limitedin India. That's where a less intimidatingapproach to design is needed, which is whatwe try to create in our retail spaces.

�You are one of a handful of Indianbrands that have a flagship store inLondon, how does that feel and has itbeen tough to sustain it through the pan-demic?

It's a true testament to our design phi-losophy and approach that we have a prod-

uct that appeals to a global palette and isfor everyone. The fact that we do not needto alter our product line says a lot. Wehave an international design sensibilitywhile retaining our Indian roots. And yes,it feels great to be able to showcase Indiaon a truly international platform.

�While the whole world is turning toe-commerce, come February 2022, youare opening stores in Dubai, UAE andBandra, Mumbai... is this part of a larg-er expansion plan and brand buildingexercise?

Sinha: The pandemic has been real-ly hard, especially with the fact that weopened our London location just 6months before the world came to astandstill. But we have a resilient team andhave had a great response from the mar-ket, which gives us immense hope thatwhen things get normal, we will be ableto expand things a lot quicker.

�You've always been ahead of the curve,especially when it comes to being Vocalfor Local and creating a Make-in-Indiabrand... are you happy that the concepthas gained popularity, especiallyamongst GEN Z and millennials?

Yes, definitely. I think the younger

Indian audience is a lot more mature andaccepting of brands like ours. Nappa Doriwould not have been where it is today andexpanded if it did not have the supportof the Gen z or millennial audience.

�How do you see the future of Indianhandcrafted luxury?

I feel the next decade will be amaz-ing for brands emerging from India andwill have a real impact on the global mar-ket. It still amazes me that we do not havea truly global fashion or retail brand. I feelyou will see many more Indian brandssprouting all across the world and mak-ing the country proud.

�You have diversified into cafes'... is thispart of a larger Nappa Dori ecosystemyou are trying to create?

Cafe Dori is a part of what you wouldcall our venture into all aspects oflifestyle. It's not only about purchasingsomething and stepping out. With ourcafes in our stores, we want you to be apart of our world and have a completesensory experience. And who doesn't likethe smell of freshly brewed coffee sur-rounded by design and a creative environ-ment?

—IANS

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The term built environmenttouches all aspects encom-

passing the buildings we livein, generally described as man-made or modified structuresthat provide people with liv-ing, working, and recreation-al spaces. As architects, we aimto achieve an integrated, envi-ronmentally consciousapproach to building designs.The fraternity in the industryhas been consistently dis-cussing how to meet the cli-mate targets, reduce heatisland effects and limit theimpact of the built environ-ment over the past few years.The built environment dictateshow societies develop whileexpressing their cultural infra-structure while also negotiat-ing the abstract world of poli-cies, council guidelines, build-ing codes, and laws. All thiscoming together creates visi-ble structures that allow forcomfortable living, businessactivities, and transport net-works.

As architects, we appreci-ate that the inhabited urbanbuilt environment is made ofboundaries, demanding howwe look at spatial data repre-senting the architectural andmaterial characteristics.Architectural boundaries are adeterminant for the spatialsubdivisions of the built envi-ronment. The sequence ofboundaries is designed to bet-ter appreciate how abstractspatial data refers to theempirical social reality of thematerial presence of the builtenvironment to its inhabitingsociety. The types of boundarylines create a built scheme withanalytic units that are at onceideational and empirical.

The evolution of design, asa whole, is the result of cultur-al boundaries to guard polit-ical power, professionalresponsibilities, and privileges.But one must also understandthe performance attributesassociated with the design ofbuildings and design profes-sionals. There is a need for bet-ter communication and nego-tiation among the stakehold-ers and financial institutionsthrough policies and regulato-ry agents to user groups. Thisis done by simply finding dif-ferent positions and prioritieswhile still respecting the view-

point of all parties involved.Encouraging the architecturefraternity to integrate sustain-ability thinking within theirprojects will require assur-ances that assessment methodsbe transparent in use whilebeing complementary to othertools and processes. With thisapproach, architectural anddesign boundaries can be con-veniently created with thehelp of non-sustainable mate-rials for the betterment of thebuilt environment.

The success with the cur-rent generation of the builtenvironment method lies inthe perceived simplicity indeclaring an industry's expec-tation of what constitutes abuilt environment and its con-struction. While architectureis governed by various bound-aries of rules and regulations,it also comes with its own setof ambiguous and limitlessopportunities to explore therealm of design. The solutionto complex design involves awide range of influence andtime frames requiring the abil-ity to appreciate the inter-rela-tionships between a broadrange of conflicting require-ments.

The principal task ofarchitecture does not onlyconcern the production ofobjects, but it also helps in cre-ating suitable spatial dimen-

sions at various locations. Itoffers an interplay betweenspatial features of constructiveelements involved with theperception of user experience.The boundless architecturefurther comprehends architec-tural situations from the per-spective of experience andnot of design. The key consid-eration of design is the way inwhich people experience thebuildings created for them, beit governed by boundaries orthe freedom of boundless-ness.

While the terms 'roof ','base', and 'wall' do appear tobe quantitative and physical-ly accountable along withbeing bordered, the individualconcepts do not primarilyrefer to constructive contextswhile representing an aesthet-ic doctrine of building shapes.Design is not just limited tolocating terms within the his-tory of architecture, nor areconcepts generalised within abroad socio-cultural context.Concrete architecture andbuilt environment, at the endof the day, concentrate on thesituative contents of therespective term in connectionwith concrete structural-spa-tial form.

(The author is an architect and the founder of

Design21, an architectureand interiors company.)

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The series already out of its grasp, adesperate Indian women's cricket

team will look to snap the losing streakand salvage some pride by sorting itsbowling and fielding woes in thefourth ODI against New Zealand hereon Tuesday.

India suffered a second successivethree-wicket loss to hosts New Zealandin the third game to concede the five-ODI series.

It was yet another limited-oversseries loss for the Indian team, follow-ing the defeats to South Africa at homeand in England and Australia in the last12 months.

In the ongoing rubber, if batting letthe team down in the one-off T20I andthe first ODI, it was the bowlers andfielders who failed to keep thingsunder control in the last two matchesas the New Zealand side successfullychased down big totals.

With the World Cup looming,Mithali Raj's team will have to iron outthe flaws in the next two ODIs and thereturn of star opener Smriti Mandhanaand pacer Meghna Singh will bolsterthe team as it looks to get somemomentum ahead of the big-ticketevent.

In the bowling department, veter-an pacer Jhulan Goswami was the onlybright spot in the 3rd ODI as sherocked the top-order with three wick-ets but she lacked support as NewZealand recovered from 171 for 6 tochase down 280 with five balls to spare.

With Meghna back, India willlook to field a strong and settled paceattack in the remaining two ODIs afterexperimenting with Pooja Vastrakar,Simran Bahadur and Renuka Singh.

Among spinners, Deepti Sharmahas shone bright with seven scalps,including a four-wicket haul in the sec-ond ODI, but the likes of PoonamYadav and Rajeshwari Gayakwad willhave to put up more consistent shows.

India's batting has looked goodwith Sabbhineni Meghana grabbing theopportunity with both hands, hitting49 and 61 in the last two ODIs inMandhana's absence. Shafali Vermaalso returned to form with a 57-ball 51in the third game.

With Mandhana back, it will beinteresting to see the combination thatskipper Mithali fields in the next two

ODIs, especially with HarmanpreetKaur struggling to get runs in the mid-dle.

New Zealand, on the other hand,have been working like a well-oiledmachine. The hosts are high on con-fidence after chasing two big scores butone area they would like to improve isbowling in the final two games.

Amelia Kerr (219) and Suzie Bates(127) have been their best batters witheach hitting a hundred in the first twogames.

If the two have provided solidity atthe top order, Amy Satterthwaite hasbeen impressive in the middle with 122runs in the series so far.

In the third ODI, it was LaurenDown and Katey Martin who showedtheir prowess down the order, stitch-ing a match-winning 76-run stand forthe seventh wicket.

In bowling, Jess Kerr and regularskipper Sophie Devine have been theirmost successful bowlers with five andfour wickets respectively but the hostsallowed the Indians to score big totalsand they will have to pull their socksup in the next two games.

Squads:India: Sabbhineni Meghana,

Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, MithaliRaj (captain), Harmanpreet Kaur,Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma,Pooja Vastrakar, Simran Bahadur,Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad,Sneh Rana, Meghna Singh, TaniyaBhatia, Renuka Singh, SmritiMandhana, Jhulan Goswami.

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India claimed the topspot in the ICC men'sT20 International Team

Rankings on Monday, rid-ing on their 3-0 seriessweep over the West Indiesat home.

Rohit Sharma's meneased to a 17-run victoryover the West Indies in thethird and final T20 of theseries on Sunday in Kolkata

and in the process, clinchedan emphatic 3-0 cleansweep.

The triumph helpedIndia catapult England atthe top of the T20 teamrankings, with the side nowmatching the top rating of269. India last attained thenumber one spot back in2016, a reign that lasted alittle over two months.

While England andIndia both have the same

rating across 39 interna-tional matches in the cur-rent rankings period (269),India has a total of 10,484points, 10 more thanEngland's 10,474.

According to a state-ment issued by the ICC,Pakistan (rating of 266),New Zealand (255) andSouth Africa (253) com-plete the top five list, whilecurrent world championsAustralia (249) remain in

sixth after their 4-1 seriesvictory over Sri Lanka.

West Indies (235) areplaced seventh, followed byAfghanistan (232), SriLanka (231) andBangladesh (231).

Prior to the recently-concluded contests againstthe West Indies, India hadwhitewashed New Zealand3-0 at home in Novemberlast year.

The men's T20 Players

Rankings are yet to beupdated.

According to the lastupdated list, only twoIndians -- KL Rahul andVirat Kohli -- feature in thetop 10.

While Rahul is placedfourth in the T20 battingchart, Kohli is at the 10thspot. However, no Indianfeatures in the top 10bowlers and all-rounders'list.

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They might have been handed a 0-3 clean sweep in the T20I series

but West Indies skipper KieronPollard said his team shouldn't feeldisgraced as the scoreline is not anindication of the fight put up by themduring the three-match rubberagainst India.

Suryakumar Yadav came up withan explosive 65 and was backed upby a spirited bowling effort by theseamers as West Indies fell short by17 runs in their chase of 185 in thefinal T20I here on Sunday.

"Yes we lost 3-0 but the guys puttheir hands up and gave a goodaccount of themselves. I don't thinkwe should be disgraced by what hastaken place," Pollard said in the post-match virtual media interactionhere.

"We are not happy losing, let meput that on record. It's not like thatat all. We are trying to win cricketgames." West Indies had their bestchance to level the series in the sec-

ond T20I with Rovman Powell andNicholas Pooran slamming explosivefifties in a 100-run partnership.

But India fought back with

Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowling a tightpenultimate over as West Indies fellshort by just eight runs.

"It just goes to show the fine line

in International cricket betweenwinning and losing, and the marginsfor error -- when you are bowling orbatting," Pollard said.

"Executing in the backend issomething we need to work on. Froma bowling perspective, for the first 15overs of this game, we had India rightwhere we wanted them to be.

"Right through the series, it wasjust a matter of finishing off thegames in the back-end. From a bat-ting perspective, 157, 180 (178) and170 (167) we did fairly decently."

WI, a work in progressThe biggest positive for the West

Indies have been the return to formof wicketkeeper-batter NicholasPooran who slammed three halfcen-turies on the trot to be the top-rungetter of the series with 184 runs atan average of 61.33.

"I thought it was a good series.The guys put their hands up and gavea good account of themselves. We area work in progress and will get sometime to think about things," Pollardsaid.

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Finding the perfect combinationcan be tricky and there is no set

formula, but India head coach RahulDravid says he and skipper RohitSharma are pretty clear about theteam for the T20 World Cup inAustralia in less than eight months'time.

The former captain, who tookover from Ravi Shastri after India'sgroup stage exit in last year's T20World Cup in UAE, will have his firstbig challenge in Australia. Dravid saidhe and Rohit understand what shouldbe the team combination for themega-event.

"I think we have got a fair ideabetween Rohit and myself and theselectors and the management,"Dravid said after their 17-run winover the West Indies in the third T20Ithat ensured a 3-0 clean sweep hereon Sunday. "I don't think there's a setformula to it. But we're pretty clearabout the balance and the combina-tion (for the T20 World Cup)...We arejust structuring a little bit of the teamaround it and also balancing individ-ual workloads as well.

"We have got a pretty fair idea ofthe kind of skills we're looking for inAustralia, with the kind of guys whoare in running. Not everything is setin stone but we want to give every-

one a fair chance to stake their claimfor those spots," he added.

The T20I series against WestIndies was India's first in a packedcalendar in the build-up to theWorld Cup and they next take on SriLanka in an identical three-matchrubber in four days' time.

In the absence of some TeamIndia regulars like opener KL Rahul,and pacers Jasprit Bumrah andMohammed Shami, India gaveopportunities to youngsters such asIshan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad andAvesh Khan to stake their claim in theWorld Cup-bound squad.

With Virat Kohli and RishabhPant being given a 10-day bio-bub-ble rest, India also tried out ShreyasIyer, while Kishan doubled up as thewicketkeeper in the third and final

T20I. Dravid said the whole processwas about having the backups ready.

"In the times that we live in, it'snever easy... I don't think there's atime-frame when you can actually saythat okay, now this is the team youwant to freeze on.

"You don't want to cast your nettoo wide. We don't also want torestrict ourselves to just 15 players.We want to give players opportuni-ties, ensure that by the time we getto the World Cup, some of our guyshave played at least 10-15-20 games,"Dravid explained.

"It gives Rohit a chance to playthem, bowl them in positions that hewants to, but he also has to be bal-anced with the fact that we need tohave a few back-ups of people in caseof an injury," he added.

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ALille side sitting inmid-table in Ligue 1

head to London to faceChelsea this week hopingto play the role of "partypoopers" against the reign-ing European champions,their coach JocelynGourvennec said.

Recent Club WorldCup winners Chelsea areheavy favourites to beatLille in their ChampionsLeague last-16 tie asThomas Tuchel's side lookto retain the title they wonby beating Manchester Cityin last season's final.

Lille already exceededexpectations just by reach-ing the last 16 of Europe'selite club competition forthe first time since 2006/07and, as they make the shorttrip to the other side of theEnglish Channel for thefirst leg, their aim is to keep

the tie alive for the return."We are competitors so wewill not be going there justto be Chelsea's sparringpartners, that's for sure,"Gourvennec said.

"They are a great teambut there are always sur-prises in cup matches andwe want to be the partypoopers, as we have beensince the beginning of thisChampions League cam-paign."

The side from France'sfar north caused a majorupset by winning theFrench title last seasonahead of star-studded ParisSaint-Germain and theythen topped theirChampions League sec-tion above Austrian cham-pions Salzburg, Sevilla andWolfsburg.

However, they findthemselves in 11th place inthe French top flight two-thirds of the way through

this season, nine pointsadrift of the podium withonly the top three qualify-ing for the ChampionsLeague.

Juve' struggles con-tinue despite new blood

Juventus made a splashin the January transfer win-dow when they snatched

hot prospect DusanVlahovic and Switzerlandmidfielder Denis Zakaria,but their arrival has yet toprovide the hoped-forboost ahead of Tuesday'sChampions League visit toVillarreal.

Massimiliano Allegri'sside travel to Spain as the

only Italian side with a real-istic hope of making thelast eight after Inter Milanwere beaten 2-0 at the SanSiro by Liverpool onWednesday.

However they go intothe first leg of their last 16tie in unsure form, withresults and above all per-formances that have leftfans unsatisfied withAllegri's first season backin black and white.

Vlahovic arrived atJuve to great fanfare afterjoining from Fiorentina foran initial fee of 70 millioneuros ($80.2 million), withZakaria arriving three dayslater on deadline day.

Thrown straight in atthe head of the Juve attack,with Alvaro Morataaccommodating by shiftingto a wide position, Serbiastriker Vlahovic got off toa blistering start to life inTurin with a goal just 12

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Young Indian Grandmaster RPraggnanandhaa stunned world

No 1 Magnus Carlsen in the eighthround of the Airthings Masters, anonline rapid chess tournament.

Praggnanandhaa won with blackpieces in 39 moves in a Tarrasch vari-ation game early on Monday to haltCarlsen's run of three straight wins.

The Indian GM lies in joint 12thspot after eight rounds with eightpoints. His spectacular win overCarlsen comes after a moderate runin the earlier rounds, which includ-ed a solitary victory over Lev Aronian,two draws and four defeats.

He drew against Anish Giri andQuang Liem Le and lost to EricHansen, Ding Liren, Jan-KryzstofDuda and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi,who lost the world championshipmatch a few months ago to theNorwegian world No 1 Carlsen, is ontop of the standings with 19 pointsfollowed by Ding Liren and Hansen

(both on 15 points).In the Airthings Masters, a 16-

player online rapid tournament, aplayer gets three points for a win andone for a draw in the preliminaryrounds. Seven more rounds remain inthe preliminary phase.

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India's head coach Rahul Dravidis not "hurt" by Wriddhiman

Saha revealing the "difficult" con-versation that the two had abouthis future as he firmly believes thatthe veteran keeper-batter"deserved the honesty and clarity"which was provided to him.

Saha, whose India career hascome to a halt, recently told themedia that Dravid asked him toconsider retirement during a pri-vate conversation after the SouthAfrica series last month.

Dravid said his intentionbehind talking to Saha was toensure he has a clear picture ofwhere he stands and he does notregret it.

"I'm actually not hurt at all. Ihave deep respect for Wriddhi andhis achievements and his contribu-tion to Indian cricket. My conver-sation came from that place. I thinkhe deserved honesty and clarity,"Dravid replied at the end of the T20

series against the West Indieswhich India won 3-0 on Sunday.

The 37-year-old, who hasplayed 40 Tests for India, wasdropped from the squad ahead ofthe upcoming home series againstSri Lanka. He subsequently pulledout of the ongoing Ranji Trophy aswell.

Dravid said he will continuehaving such conversations withplayers whether they like the dis-cussion or not.

"It's about conversations Iconstantly have with players. Idon't expect players to alwaysagree with everything I say aboutthem.

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Novak Djokovic's season,derailed in January when

he was deported fromAustralia, finally starts onMonday in Dubai with theworld number one insistingplayers in the locker room"have been positive and wel-coming" on his return.

Djokovic missed thechance to win a 10th AustralianOpen, and 21st Grand Slam,due to the cancellation of hisvisa in Melbourne and eventu-al deportation as a result of notbeing vaccinated.

He returns to the tour thisweek in the Emirates, where hewill be competing for the firsttime since the Davis Cup Finalsin Madrid last December.

Dubai organisers havedubbed the first day of the ATPevent 'Magnificent Monday'and a couple of other marqueeentrants, Marin Cilic and AndyMurray, will also be in action.

But all eyes will be onDjokovic who last played inSerbia's Davis Cup semi-finaldefeat by Croatia.

Djokovic, who saw RafaelNadal win in Australia to claima 21st major, is able to play inDubai as a coronavirus vaccineis not a requirement to enterthe United Arab Emirates.

The Serbian is a five-time

winner in Dubai and he final-ly starts his season with a pointto prove and his number oneranking under threat.

Even if he wins in Dubai,Djokovic could lose the topspot, which he has held sinceFebruary 2020, to DaniilMedvedev, who is in action thisweek almost 15,000km away inAcapulco.

INDIA TOPS T20 RANKINGS

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Lille boss wants team to be 'party poopers' against Chelseaminutes into his debut againstVerona.

But in the three matches sincehas shown some growing pains.

He struggled to make a markat Atalanta last weekend, whenDanilo saved Juve from whatwould have been a damagingdefeat with a stoppage time head-er, and was kept almost anony-mous by the impressive Bremer inhis new team's 1-1 derby drawwith Torino on Friday.

Murder of Bajrang Dal's activist sparks violence - Daily Pioneer

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