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With tension mounting inUkraine, India may

increase flights to bring backhome its stranded citizens,including nearly 20,000 stu-dents. At present, very fewflights connect India withUkraine.

The ongoing tensionbetween Ukraine and Russiaand fear of military confronta-tion has led to a sharp increasein airfare and unavailability ofseats. The Indian Embassy inUkraine on Tuesday advised itsstudents to leave the countrydue to “uncertainties.” Also,Indian citizens were urged torefrain from travelling toUkraine for the time being.

Given the concerns of theparents, sources said here onWednesday discussions wereon with the civil aviationauthorities and various air-lines on ways to increase thenumber of flights betweenIndia and Ukraine.

They also said the IndianEmbassy in Kyiv was monitor-ing the developments on aregular basis. “We are awarethat many Indian students arepresently in Ukraine and theirfamilies are anxious about their

wards, particularly about get-ting flights to India,” sourcessaid. Parents are demandingthat their children should beairlifted and brought home assoon as possible.

“The control rooms in theEmbassy as well as in theMinistry of External Affairs arebeing set up to respond toqueries of Indian nationals inUkraine and their families inIndia,” sources said.

Not just India, but severalother nations have asked theircitizens in Ukraine to return atthe earliest. Some countries fearthat a war in Eastern Europecould result in a massiverefugee crisis.

Rajya Sabha memberPriyanka Chaturvedi (ShivSena) called on theGovernment to facilitate theevacuation of Indians, espe-cially students, from Ukraine.

“Indian students are facingdifficulties in leaving the coun-try following the IndianGovernment’s advisory toreturn to India temporarily.Flights booked are being can-

celled while many others areunable to afford tickets backhome as the air tickets pricesare soaring,” she tweeted.

The advisory by the IndianEmbassy on Tuesday said, “Inview of the uncertainties of thecurrent situation in Ukraine,Indian nationals in Ukraine,particularly students whosestay is not essential, may con-sider leaving temporarily.”

The advisory also urgedIndians to keep the Embassyinformed about the “status oftheir presence in Ukraine toenable the embassy to reachthem when required”.

India has so far refrainedfrom commenting on theongoing crisis and pushed fora peaceful resolution of the sit-uation in Ukraine through sus-tained diplomatic efforts.

Rendering help to Indiansin Ukraine wanting informa-tion and help can get in touchwith the Ministry of ExternalAffairs. It has set up a dedi-cated 24X7control room inIndia’s Embassy in Ukraine.

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Renowned music composerand singer Bappi Lahiri —

who had revolutionised Indianfilm music through his peppydisco numbers like “I Am ADisco Dancer,” “Jimmy JimmyJimmy Aaja”, “Auva Auva KoiYahan Nache,” “Ramba Ho”,“Yaar Bina Chain Kahaan Re”,“Hari Om Hari” and “ZoobiZoobi” and won the hearts ofcountless popular and soulfulsongs like “Chalte Chalte, MereYe Geet Yaad Rakhna KabhiAlvida Na Kahna Kabhi AlvidaNa Kahna”, “Inteha Ho Gayee”,“Pag Ghungroo Bandh” and“Thodi Si Jo Pee Li,”— is nomore.

A cult figure of sortsknown for his gold chains ( hewore at least seven gold chains),golden embellishments, vel-vety cardigans and sunglasses,Alokesh Lahiri — popularlyknown as Bappi Lahiri — diedat Criticare Hospital at Juhu innorth-west Mumbai late onTuesday night followingObstructive Sleep Aapnea(OSA), a sleep-related breath-ing disorder.

The iconic music compos-er, who had been in out of the

Criticare Hospital for the pastone year for treatment of OSAand was admitted to the hos-pital a month ago after he wasdetected with “mild Covidsymptoms”, was in the hospitalfor 29-long days before he wasdischarged on February 15.

“A day later he was read-mitted to the hospital after hishealth deteriorated. He died11.45 pm on Tuesday,” CriticareHospital’s Director Dr DeepakNamjoshi said.

Bappi Lahiri was 69 and issurvived by his wife Chitrani,two children — daughterReema, who is also a singer,and music composer-sonBappa Lahiri.

Bappi Lahiri’s last rites willbe performed on Thursday

after the return of his musi-cian-son Bappa Lahiri fromLos Angeles in the UnitedStates.

Though he had cut downhis music work after the year2000, Bappi rendered the pop-ular number “Ooh La La” withShreya Ghoshal under Vishal-Shekhar’s music in “The DirtyPicture” His last song, as singer,was “Bhankas” from Baaghi 3in 2020.

Bappi was last seen onBigg Boss 15, where he hadcome to promote the launch ofhis grandson Swastik’s newsong “Baccha Party”.

Bappi entered theGuinness Book of WorldRecords for recording over180 songs for 33 films in 1986.

Mourning the death ofBappi’s death, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi described hismusic as “all-encompassing,beautifully expressing diverseemotions” and said that “peo-ple across generations couldrelate to his works”. “His livelynature will be missed by every-one. Saddened by his demise.Condolences to his family andadmirers. Om Shanti,” Moditweeted.

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As the Uttar PradeshAssembly elections enter

the third phase, the battle of theballot has moved to “the Yadav-belt”. A total of 59 Assemblyconstituencies in 16 districts,spreading from Bundelkhandto the Avadh region will go tothe polls on February 20. Thehottest contest is at Karhalfrom where former ChiefMinister Akhilesh Yadav is inthe fray.

The third phase covers fivedistricts from western UP:Firozabad, Mainpuri, EtahKasganj Hathras; six districts ofAvadh region: Kanpur, KanpurDehat Auraiya Kannauj, Etawa,Farrukhabad; and five districtsfrom Bundelkhand region:Jhansi Jalaun LalitpurHamirpur Mahoba.

Akhilesh has entered thefray to act as a force multipli-er in the third phase.Interestingly, in 2017, the BJPnot only swept all the 19 seatsof the Bundelkhand region butalso managed to make a bigdent in the Yadav strongholdwhich the Samajwadi Partyswept in 2012.

From Chief Minister YogiAdityanath to his deputyKeshav Prasad Maurya toUnion Home Minister AmitShah, top BJP leaders havebeen campaigning in the Yadavbastion from where Mulayam

Singh Yadav and two othermembers of the family havebeen MPs. SP chief Akhileshwill campaign in this region onThursday and address elec-tion meetings at several placesin the Karhal Assembly con-stituency, Mainpuri, Ferozabad,Tundla, Mainpuri and Etwah.

The SP won 37 out of the59 seats in this region in the2012 Assembly Elections.However, politics in this regiontook a new turn when theYadav-dominated regionsvoted heavily for the BJP in2017 elections. The BJP won 49out of 59 seats while the SP onlyhad to settle with 9. TheCongress got one while the BSPdrew a blank from here.

The real test of Akhilesh,however, will be in the Yadavbelt. It would be a litmus testfor the BJP, too, whether it canhold on to most of what it hadsecured in 2017. Constituenciesof both Akhilesh (Karhal) andhis uncle Shivpal Yadav(Jaswantnagar) will go to thepolls in this phase.

The Yadav stronghold,which includes Firozabad,Kasganj, Etah, Mainpuri,Farrukhabad, Kannauj, andAuraiya didn’t vote forAkhilesh in 2017.

The SP got only 6 out of 30seats from this region while BJPwon 23. In 2012, the SP hadwon 25 seats from here whileBJP won just one seat.

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It’s the battle of spouses inPunjab. At least two women

candidates, who apparentlyfiled nomination papers ascovering candidates, are now infray against their husbands forFebruary 20 elections.

Little did Surinder KaurBains and Dhanwant Kaur hadrealised that while supportingtheir husbands in their ballotbattle, they would virtuallyend up being their rivals.

Surinder Kaur Bains, wifeof two-time MLA from AtamNagar constituency and LokInsaaf Party’s chief SimarjitSingh Bains is in fray fromAtam Nagar as an independentcandidate; while DhanwantKaur, wife of SAD(A) candidatefrom Kotkapura Jaskaran SinghKahan Singh Wala, will also becontesting her first electionagainst her husband.

Both Surinder andDhanwant had filed nomina-

tion papers as covering or sub-stitute candidates from theirbetter halves, but failed towithdraw the same. Now as perrules, both are in fray againsttheir husbands as indepen-dent candidates. In fact, theElection Commission has alsoallotted them election symbols.

“It could be possiblebecause there are differentrules for recognised parties,and the registered but unrecog-nised parties regarding theircovering candidates. the can-didates of the recognised par-ties, made a proposal withtheir nomination papers statingthat in case my candidature isaccepted, the nomination of mycovering candidate be rejected,and the same happened... butthere are different rules for reg-istered but unrecognised par-ties. They have to apply forwithdrawal of nomination,” anelection official told ThePioneer.

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Bengaluru: Contending thatIndians flaunt diverse religioussymbols, from the pendant tothe Hijab to the bindi and tur-ban, the Muslim girls fightingthe Hijba ban in Karnataka onWednesday asked why theGovernment was ‘picking’ onthe headscarf alone and mak-ing “this hostile discrimination.”

Prescribing uniforms inthe pre-university colleges isillegal, they said, adding, theCollege DevelopmentCommittee (CDC) headed bythe MLA concerned has nopowers to decide on the issue.

Citing a survey, petitionergirls’ counsel Ravi VarmaKumar said people of the coun-try sport various religious sym-bols such as pendant, crucifix-ion, hijab, burqa, bangles, bindion the forehead and the turban.

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Crash helmets and safetyvests have now been made

mandatory for children belowthe age of four years on motor-cycles. The speed of such two-wheelers should not exceedmore than 40 kmph. TheMinistry of Road Transportand Highways on Wednesdaynotified new rules to make theuse of safety harnesses for chil-dren.

For children below fouryears, a safety harness has to beused for attaching the child tothe driver of the motorcycle, theMoRTH said in a statement.

“Safety harness is a vest tobe worn by the child, whichshall be adjustable, with a pair

of straps attached to the vest andforming shoulder loops to beworn by the driver. This way, theupper torso of the child issecurely attached to the driver.A feature by which this isachieved is by attaching thestraps to the back of the vest andcrossing the straps over thevest so that two large crossing-over loops are formed that passbetween the legs of the passen-ger and child sits on the seat ofthe two-wheeler,” explained asenior MoRTH official.

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Exhorting people to vote forthe BJP in a large number,

Prime Minister Narendra Modion Wednesday said the BJP inUttar Pradesh means controlover dangaraj, mafia raaj, gun-daraj, and freedom to celebrateall the festivals with religiousfervour.

Addressing an electionrally in Sitapur, Modi said hav-ing the BJP in UP means pro-tection of daughters andwomen from eve-teasers. “TheBJP in UP means progress andit also means implementationof Centre’s schemes at a doublespeed because it would be adouble engine Government,” hesaid. The PM added that dueto the double engineGovernment, the State is mov-ing ahead on the path of devel-opment at a fast pace.

Elaborating on the workbeing done by the YogiGovernment, Modi said everygrain of the poor’s ration,which the mafia used to lootearlier, is reaching the poor’shouse today.

“During this entire coronaperiod, I remained focused onone thing that such a dayshould not come in the houseof a poor, when the family hadto sleep empty stomach. Wewere alive to this situation. TheGovernment has spent �2.60lakh crore to ensure that foodreaches every house,” Modi

said.Realising it was Sant

Ravidas’s birthday onWednesday, he invoked thephilanthropic spirit of SantRavidas when he said SantRavidas wanted that thereshould be such a rule in whicheveryone gets food. Let every-one live in equal harmony.“With this thinking, crores ofpeople of UP are being givenfree ration for almost two yearsand people in Sitapur too gotthe same,” he said.

Taking a jibe at RahulGandhi and Priyanka Gandhiwho paid an obeisance at thetemple of Sant Ravidas inVaranasi, where he was born,the PM said when electionscome some leader go toRavidas Temple, organise lan-gar and take photographs andget that published. But, whatactually they or their party haddone for Sant Ravidas, heasked.

“The BJP Government isworking fast on the SantRavidas Janam Sthali VikasProject so the devotees shouldvisit this place and the younggeneration should take inspi-ration from them,” he said.

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Chennai: The campaign byparties in Tamil Nadu for theupcoming urban civic pollsreached a fever pitch onWednesday with the rulingDMK asserting that it has ful-filled most of its assurancesmade ahead of 2021 Assemblyelection while the main oppo-sition AIADMK slammed it fornot fulfilling promises.

DMK president M K Stalinin a virtual address for theFebruary 19 local polls said amajority of assurances made byhis party in the run up to theAssembly election have beenfulfilled.

Seeking votes for his partyand allies, the CM listed severalfulfilled promises includingslashing milk price by �3 perlitre and fare free travel forwomen in town buses. Priority

for the Tamil people in stategovernment jobs (by makingTamil compulsory, as the qual-ifying norm for state services)and appointment of trainedpeople belonging to all castes aspriests in temples were amongthe other implemented promis-es, he cited.

Stalin said his party-ledregime is driven by the'Dravidian model' which is'social justice inclusive growth.'True growth is all aboutenhancing the living standardsof all the people of the Staterather than only a section ofthem, he said. "That isDravidian thought. Each andevery scheme of ours is basedon this." The lie repeated overa long period of time that theDMK is a party against Hindushas been 'broken into pieces,'

Stalin said and referred tocommencement of allotmentunder a �1,000 crore fund forrenovation of temples andretrieval of lands worth Rs1,789 crore (180 acre) belong-ing to shrines.

"For those who do politicsbased on religion, their bloodpressure will only increase ifthey look at Tamil Nadu. Theywill have a sense of frustrationthat despite their efforts noth-ing happened to the unity ofpeople."

He also reiterated hisGovernment's commitment todo away with NEET in itsapplication to Tamil Nadu.The CM also targeted the saf-fron party-led Centre for 'notproviding' Rs 8,989 crore toTamil Nadu towards pandem-ic relief from the disaster relief

fund and 'delaying' release of Rs16,725 crore GST due.

He ridiculed the Centreover the Union Budget 2022saying tax has been slashed fordiamond while there is noassistance for people affected bycoronavirus. Several biggerissues in Tamil Nadu like theNEET that echoed during thelast year's Assembly pollsgrabbed a large campaign spacefor the urban polls too ratherthan local civic issues.

In his campaign, AIADMKtop leader and former ChiefMinister K Palaniswami onWednesday slammed the rulingDMK as a 'corporate' entity."The DMK is not a politicalparty, it is a corporate compa-ny," he said in his campaign atKrishnagiri district. Stalin hadmocked at the AIADMK as a

'comedy drama company.'Listing DMK's Assembly elec-tion poll promises one after theother, Palaniswami asked thepeople if these were imple-mented, while a section of thegathering replied 'no.'

The DMK had promised�1,000 per month 'rights' assis-tance to women but 'did theygive ?' he asked. Similarly, theAIADMK leader went on to listother assurances like �100 sub-sidy every month for cookinggas cylinders and waiver ofeducation loans taken by stu-dents.

"Did they implement?" heasked repeatedly listing suchpromises. Stalin had given asmany as 505 assurances aheadof the last year's Assemblyelection the AIADMK leadersaid and claimed that such

promises could not be fulfilledby him. People would hencenot be benefitted by the DMKregime, he said. Since peoplewould question the ChiefMinister on such assurances, heis 'afraid' and thus could notmeet the people face to face forpolls, Palaniswami claimed.That was why Stalin chose thevirtual campaign route forurban civic polls, the AIADMKleader alleged.

Palaniswami appealed to thepeople to support theAIADMK and said the urbancivic polls should serve as a 'les-son' to the ruling DMK. Healso targeted the DMK regimeover 'substandard' commoditiesin the 'Pongal' festival hampersdistributed to beneficiaries andagain hit out at the DMKregime over NEET. "Only the

AIADMK is committed to thepeople's welfare.

Only our party nominees canaddress the people's problemsand fulfill their aspirations.Please give an opportunity toAIADMK candidates to serveyou." Meanwhile, a delegationof bishops of the Church ofSouth India called on Stalin atthe DMK headquarters hereand extended their support tothe candidates of ruling partyled alliance.

AIADMK leader DJayakumar ridiculed the DMKregime for uttering 'lies threetimes a day.' After remainingquiet for 8 months after assum-ing power, only days before thecivic polls, Stalin has said thatthe �1,000 assistance forwomen would be provided.Jayakumar, a former Minister,

said Stalin however neithermentioned the date of launchnor the number of beneficia-ries.

He demanded that the DMKregime pay the assistance towomen beneficiaries witharrears, which should be reck-oned from the time of assump-tion of power, which is May2021.

In Salem, DMK youth wingsecretary Udhayanidhi Stalinsaid though the previousAIADMK regime had emptiedthe government's coffers lead-ing to Rs 5 lakh crore debt bur-den, all the poll assuranceswere being fulfilled.Udhayanidhi said his partychief has promised that the Rs1,000 assistance for womenplan would also be fulfilled soon. PTI

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From Page 1“The Ministry of Road

Transport and Highways, videnotification dated February 15,2022, has amended Rule 138 ofCMVR, 1989 and has pre-scribed norms related to safe-ty measures for children belowfour years of age, riding orbeing carried on a motorcycle,”the Ministry said in a state-ment.

“This has been notifiedunder Section 129 of the MotorVehicles Act, which mandatesthat the Central Governmentmay, by rules, provide for mea-sures for the safety of childrenbelow four years of age, ridingor being carried on a motor-cycle. Further, it specifies theuse of a safety harness andcrash helmet. It also restrictsthe speed of such motorcyclesto 40 kmph,” the Ministry said.

These rules will come intoforce after one year from thedate of publication of theCentral Motor Vehicles(Second Amendment) Rules,2022.

At least 30 children dieevery day in road accidentsacross the country. A majority

of 11,168 children who died inroad mishaps in 2019 (as perthe year data pre Covid lock-downs) could have been savedhad their parents or caretakersmade them wear good qualityhelmets while pillion-riding.“It’s better late than never. Thesafety issues for kids on motor-bikes I have been raising con-sistently. Parents are yet totake the issue seriously andprevent their kids from gettingserious injuries to their brains.To compound the problem isthe unavailability of good qual-ity headgears in the market. Aninjury to the brain can altertheir kids’ life forever,” said DrRajendra Prasad, seniorConsultant Neuro and SpineSurgeon from IndraprasthaApollo Hospitals.

Meanwhile, the MoRTHhas proposed to make itmandatory for all goods car-riage vehicles, transporting anydangerous or hazardous goods,to be equipped with or fittedwith an approved vehicle track-ing system device.

The Ministry in a separatestatement said it has beenbrought to its notice that vehi-cles, which are not under theambit of the national permit,carrying various gases, vizargon, nitrogen, oxygen etc,and goods of dangerous or haz-ardous nature are not fittedwith vehicle tracking systemdevices.

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From Page 1Conveying his condolences

to the departed composer’sfamily, Oscar-winning com-poser AR Rahman describedBappi as “Disco King of Hindicinema”.

A maternal uncle of latelegendary singer KishoreKumar, Bappi Lahiri ruled thehearts of filmgoers in the sev-enties, eighties and earlynineties through his composi-tions from films like DiscoDancer, Naya Kadam, AanganKi Kali Hathkadi, NamakHalaal, Masterji, Dance Dance,Himmatwala, JusticeChaudhury, Tohfa, Maqsad,Commando, Naukar Biwi Ka,Adhikar and Sharaabi,

“I Am A Disco Dancer,”“Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Aaja”,“Auva Auva Koi Yahan Nache,”“Ramba Ho” “Yaar Bina ChainKahaan Re” , “Raat Baki”,Bambai Se Aaya Mera Dost,Naino Main Sapna, TaakiTaaki,“Chalte Chalte, Mere Ye GeetYaad Rakhna Kabhi Alvida NaKahna Kabhi Alvida NaKahna”, “Inteha Ho Gayee”,“Pag Ghungroo Bandh” and“Thodi Si Jo Pee Li” are stillfondly remembered by the filmbuffs across the country.

Born musician parentsAparesh Lahiri and motherBansuri sang Bengali and clas-sical music on November 27th,1952 at Jalpaiguri in WestBengal, took to music at anearly age of three when he start-ed playing tabla. A he grew up,he also learnt playing piano,

guitar and saxophone and var-ious types of percussion instru-ments.

After making his Hindifilm debut with the 1973 filmNanha Shikari, where his song“Tu Hi Mera Chanda” withMukesh and Sushma Shrestha,Bappi Lahiri worked with LataMangeshkar in the Bengalifilm Daadu. He got a break inHindi films through his musiccomposition “Jalta Hai JiyaMera,” rendered by Kishoreand Asha Bhosle in filmZakhmee (1975)

Bappi’s career took off in abig way in 1976 with KishoreKumar’s title track infilm”Chalte Chalte” and theShailendra Singh-LataMangeshkar duet “Pyar MeinKabhi Kabhi.”

His song “Bambai Se AayaMera Dost” from the 1977film Aap Ki Khatir became aparty song, while another pop-ular number “Maana Ho Tumtum behad haseen” sung by KJ Yesudas in his baritone voicein Toote Khilone.

It was around this time,Bappi began to sing his ownsongs. He rendered four suchnumbers in MithunChakraborty’s film “Suraksha”.

Bappi, who introduceddisco-electronic music to theHindi film industry, createdmemorable disco numbers like“I am A Disco Dancer ZindagiMera Gaana “ from film “DiscoDancer withVijay Benedict,“Tu Mujhe Jaan Se Bhi PyaaraHai” in Wardat with Uthup,“Hari Om Hari” in PyaaraDushman, Uthup’s “RambaHo” and Sharon Prabhakar’s“Mere Jaise Haseena” inArmaan and Asha Bhosle’s“Disco Station” in Haathkadi.Bappi went onto compose

songs like “Jhoom JhoomJhoom Baba” with Salma Aghain Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki,“Yaar Bina Chain Kahaan Re”with S. Janaki in Saaheb andAlisha Chinai’s “Zoobi Zoobi”in Dance Dance. Meanwhile,popular filmmaker PrakashMehra also became fascinatedwith Bappi’s music.

His compositions in 1982film Namak Halaal yielded thehits “Pag Ghungroo Bandh,”“Raat Baaki,” “Thodi Si Jo PeeLi,” “Aaj Rapat Jaaye” and“Jawan-e-Jaaneman HaseenDilruba with Asha Bhoslebecame chartbusters.

At a time when renownedmusic directors Laxmikant-Pyarelal, R.D. Burman,Kalyanji-Anandji, RavindraJain, Khayyam Rajesh Roshanwere in demand, Bappi estab-lished his own identity withdisco (retro film) music. Heinspired a new generation ofDJs around the world. So muchso that Charanjit Singh pro-duced “Synthesising: Ten Ragasto a Disco Beat” later in 2007,British-Sri Lankan rapperM.I.A came up with “Jimmy,”a cover of the track “JimmyJimmy Jimmy Aaja” from DiscoDancer.

Earlier in 2002, Bappimade news for another reason.American producer DJ Quikand executive producer Dr.Dre had used a sample of hissong “Thoda Resham LagtaHai” in their song “Addictive”by singer Truth Hurts.

However, after 2000, Bappicut down on his music work.He later took to politics andcontesed the 2014 Lok Sabhapolls on a BJP ticket from theSerampore constituency inWest Bengal, but was defeated.

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From Page 1Below are the control

room’s details given by theMEA:1800118797 (tollfree)Phones: +91 11 23012113,+91 11 23014104, +91 1123017905 Fax: +91 1123088124Email: [email protected] emer-gency helpline in Ukraine:+380 997300428, +3809 9 7 3 0 0 4 8 3 E m a i l :[email protected]: eoiukraine.gov.inIndia’sEmbassy in Ukraine, in a tweet,said it is aware of reports ofpeople not getting flights, how-ever, it asked Indians living inUkraine not to panic as moreflights are being planned.

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From Page 1The official, on the other

hand, added, “And if no onewithdraws the application, theCommission recognises thecandidature of covering candi-dates, and declares them asindependent candidates.”

As a result, Simarjeet Bains,who is locked in a tough fightagainst his former aide KamaljitSingh Karwal as the Congresscandidate, and Shiromani AkaliDal’s Harish Rai Dhanda, is alsofacing his wife in his bastion —Atam Nagar. In the same way,Kahan Singh Wala’s wife isalso his opponent.

As per rules, if the nomi-nation paper of the main can-didate is found valid, the sub-stitute or covering candidateshall not be deemed to havebeen set up by that party.

In such a case, the substi-tute’s nomination shall be scru-tinised as an independent. Ifthe nomination is found valid,he or she will be in the list ofvalidly nominated candidatesas independent candidates.

If the main candidate with-draws candidature, then thesubstitute, who is in the list asan independent, will be treat-ed as the party’s candidate.

A substitute or a coveringcandidate is fielded by everymajor political party as a back-up in case the candidature ofthe main nominee is rejectedafter scrutiny by the electionofficers or if the candidatedies. The candidature of thebackups last only till the lastdate of withdrawal of nomina-tions. Normally, the candi-dates choose family members,friends or party workers astheir substitutes.

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From Page 1As he was speaking, the

people started shouting Modi,Modi. The Prime Ministerwaited for a minute and thensaid: Your enthusiasm showsthat in the next five phases alsoBJP will do better. Now all ofyou together have to makeBJP win with record seats. Youwill have to break the record of2017, he said.

BJP State General Secretaryand rally in-charge AnoopGupta said BJP supporters andcommon people of Maholi,Sitapur, Hargaon, Laharpur,Biswan, Mahmudabad,Sidhauli and MisrikhAssemblies have come to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s rally.

Modi has visited Sitapurtwice before. In the Lok Sabhaelections he had come toSidhauli on April 27, 2014 andafter this, in the 2019 LokSabha elections on April 27, headdressed the public meeting inthe city. This is the PM’s thirdvisit.

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From Page 1“I am only showing the

vast diversity of religious sym-bols in all sections of the soci-ety. Why is the governmentpicking on Hijab alone andmaking this hostile discrimi-nation? Aren’t bangles religioussymbols?” Kumar told the fullbench of the High Court com-prising Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi,Justice J M Khazi and JusticeKrishna S Dixit.

Questioning why no otherreligious symbol was consid-ered in the government orderand only the Hijab, the seniorcounsel wondered whether thatwas done because of his peti-tioners’ faith.

“This discriminationagainst Muslim girls is purelyon the basis of religion andhence a hostile discrimination,which violates Article 15 of theIndian constitution. We arenot heard but straightawaypunished. This is draconian,” heargued.Kumar told the courtthat the purpose of education isto promote plurality and nothomogeneity.

“Classrooms should be aplace for recognition and reflec-tion of the diversity in society,”he contended.Regarding the ban on Hijabs, hesaid that according to rule 11 ofthe 1995 rules--governmentprovisions related to theEducation Department--theeducational institutions shouldgive notice to the students andparents about changing uni-form at least a year in advance.

Stating that a dress code isnot mandatory for the pre-uni-versity colleges, Kumar said,“prescribing uniform in thegovernment pre-university col-

lege is illegal. Even the guide-lines issued by the PUEducation department in 2021-22 did not speak about uni-form.” “It is an emphatic state-ment by the department thatprincipals cannot prescribe auniform. Neither the pre-uni-versity board and the rules northe Karnataka Education Actprescribe any uniform or pro-hibition of Hijab. Such beingthe case, under what authorityare we kept out of the class,” heasked on behalf of the girls.

The government order saidthe students should wear auniform prescribed by the CDCheaded by MLAs concerned,which meant that the it has del-egated its administrative pow-ers to the legislators.

The CDCs, according toKumar, were constituted byway of a circular in 2014 andnot any government order.

He further told the benchthat the CDCs were constitut-ed for utilising grants as well asmaintain education standards.This CDC was not for studentswelfare but only for academicstandards, he contended.

Questioning the formationof CDCs, Kumar argued theMLAs in the CDCs have beengiven administrative powers.

“The MLA cannot beentrusted with administrativepowers. He is only the repre-sentative of people to hold thegovernment accountable.”

“Giving administrativepowers to the MLAs will be adeath knell to our democracy.The MLAs should be fearless onthe floor of the House. Theycannot be made subordinate tothe Government,” he added.

Stating that the legislatorsrepresent a political party and apolitical ideology, Kumar soughtto know how can students’ wel-fare be entrusted to a politicalparty and a political ideology.

��***

From Page 1 This is how drastically

things changed for SP in thisregion.

To counter Akhilesh inKarhal, BJP has fielded UnionMinister Satya Pal SinghBaghel. In pitching Baghelagainst Akhilesh, the BJP wantsto make this an interestingrevival of old rivalry betweenBaghel and Akhilesh.

Baghel is a former SP loyal,once a close confidante ofMulayam who rose from beinghis security guard to one of histrusted aides.

Jaswant Nagar, anotherSamajwadi Party strongholdseat, elected Mulayam from1985 to 1993 for four consec-utive terms and his youngerbrother Shivpal Yadav from1996 to 2017 for five consecu-tive terms. Shivpal is contest-ing on the symbol once againthis time.

Both the seats fall in theMainpuri Lok Sabha con-stituency held by SamajwadiParty since 1996. The fiveassembly segments here are -Mainpuri, Bhongaon, Kishni,Karhal and Jaswantnagar.

The Samajwadi Party wonfour out of these five seats in2017 while the BJP managed towin just the Bhongaon seg-ment. Now, with the presenceof both Akhilesh as well asShivpal on two different seatsof the district, the SP would belooking to not just sweepMainpuri, but the adjacent dis-tricts -- Kannauj, Etawah,Firozabad -- too.

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With an aim to provide spe-cial support to students

studying in schools run by theDelhi government, the AAPGovernment has decided toprovide free coaching to sci-ence students for preparation ofNEET, JEE entrance examsand paramedical courses.

The government has part-nered with the expert organi-zation 'Avanti Fellows' to pre-pare the students for theseentrance exams. An estimated6,000 students who are willingto make their career in the fieldof engineering, medical andother technical fields, will getfree coaching in the first year.

Talking about the initiative,Deputy Chief Minister andEducation Minister Manish

Sisodia said that free coachingfor entrance exams will fulfillevery child's dream of becom-ing a doctor, engineer andresearcher. Expensive coachingfees will no longer be the rea-son to give up their dreams, hesaid.

“The government is com-mitted to give flight to thedreams of children studying inDelhi's government schools,by providing world-class qual-ity education to them. TheDelhi government has initiat-ed several ambitious projects toincrease the access of govern-ment school children to tech-nical and medical education,”the government said in a state-ment.Speaking about the newendeavor of Delhi Governmentto prepare students for thefuture, Sisodia said that many

children dream of getting high-er education from the bestmedical or engineering institu-tions to become doctors-engi-neers.

Sisodia added that withthis step of government, thou-sands of future doctors-engi-neers, scientists, STEM expertsetc will now be prepared in thegovernment schools of Delhi,who will make India proudglobally. Delhi government iscommitted to promote equitableaccess to higher educationopportunities in science andtechnology and this free coach-ing program will prove to be amilestone in this direction, hesaid.

In this direction, theDirectorate of Education,Government of NCT of Delhihas signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) with'Avanti Fellows', an expert orga-nization in this field, to preparestudents for the entrance exam-ination for technical educationcourses like JEE, NEET, para-medical etc, it said.

In the first year of the pro-gram, selected 6,000 children ofclass 11th-12th from all theDelhi government schools willbe provided free coaching forthe preparation of variousentrance examinations, throughtest series, necessary academicsupport for these examinationsand regular mentoring duringpreparation.

Earlier, this free coachingprogram was introduced in afew schools, on a pilot basis andresults were excellent. Morethan 160 girls from ST/SC cat-egory are getting free coaching

for NEET by experts, under thisprogram.

Currently, more than 30,000students are enrolled in sciencestream across all Delhi govern-ment schools. The free testpreparation program will helpthese students to get admissionin top graduate programs anddiploma courses in STEM basedfields, engineering, MBBS/BDS,pharmacy, nursing, paramedicalcourses, and research programs.

In the first year of the pro-gram, 6,000 children of class11th-12th from all the Delhigovernment schools will beselected and provided freecoaching for the preparation ofvarious entrance examinations,through test series, necessaryacademic support for theseexaminations and regular men-toring during preparation.

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The Delhi High Court onWednesday refused to sus-

pend the seven-year jail termawarded to real estate baronsSushil and Gopal Ansal in theUphaar fire tragedy evidencetampering case, saying thatallowing their plea would“amount to eroding the faith ofthe public in the judicial sys-tem”. Justice SubramoniumPrasad stated that the Ansalshave been convicted for theoffence of tampering with thecourt records which isextremely serious and post-conviction there is no pre-sumption of innocence in theirfavour and their medical con-

dition “is not that serious thatit should justify” the suspen-sion of sentence.

“In any event, there are jailhospitals and, in case of anyemergency, there are referralhospitals as well. This courtdoes not deem it appropriate toallow the petitioners herein totake advantage of their ownwrongs,” the court said in its

53-page order. “This court is of the opin-

ion that suspending the sen-tence of the petitioners would,therefore, amount to erodingthe faith of the public in thejudicial system as it wouldentail allowing convicts, whosefinding of guilt has alreadybeen established, to takeadvantage of the passage oftime as well as the judiciary asan institution,” the judge said.

The court added thatcases, such as the present one,have to be heard at the earli-est and thus requested theconcerned appellate court toexpeditiously decide theappeals filed by the petitionerswithin one month.

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Union Home Minister AmitShah, on the occasion of

the 75th Raising Day parade ofDelhi Police, lauded the policefor its strict and fair investiga-tion in the northeast Delhi riotsand said the force should layout a road map for the next fiveyears and also for 25 years.

Marking its PlatinumJubilee alongside the nation-wide festivities of Azadi KaAmrit Mahotsav, the DelhiPolice on Wednesday celebrat-ed its 75th Raising Day at NewPolice Line in Kingsway CampGround.

The Union Home MinisterAmit Shah, who was also thechief guest, took the saluteand inspected the parade.During the occasion, Shah alsoreleased ‘Delhi PoliceCommemoration Stamp’ alongwith Devusinh J Chauhan,Minister of State(Communication) and RakeshAsthana, Delhi PoliceCommissioner, in recognitionof 75 years of glorious servicesrendered by Delhi Police to itscitizenry.

Shah also presented medalsto 62 police personnel for gal-lantry, distinguished service,meritorious service and Jeevan

Raksha Padak. Poonam Parik,the widow of late head consta-ble Rattan Lal who lost his lifeduring northeast Delhi riots,received the gallantry medalconferred posthumously uponhim.

Three trophies for the bestpolice stations were also given.The trophy of best police sta-tion was bagged by Kanjhawlapolice station, while KrishnaNagar police station andKashmere Gate police stationtook the first and second run-ners-up trophies respectively.

While addressing the gath-ering, the Home Minister saidthat the Delhi Police hasworked hard during the north-east Delhi riots and the coro-navirus pandemic.

“For the way the DelhiPolice investigated the riotcases in a strict and fair man-ner and presented the rioters incourt, I congratulate them,"Shah said.

The minister said the DelhiPolice faces several difficultiesand being the police force ofthe national capital, it has sev-eral duties that include pro-viding security to dignitaries,ensuring that various pro-grammes happen withoutglitches and other law andorder related matters.

“Whenever any event hap-pens at an international level,its repercussions are also felt inDelhi. The police also has thejob of monitoring the situationhere,” he said.

Shah said the 75th birthdayof the Delhi Police coincideswith the Azadi Ka AmritMahotsav celebrations andstressed that the force shouldprepare a road map for the nextfive years.

"The Delhi Police haschanged with the times. I urgethe Delhi Police commissionerand the Union home secretaryto prepare a road map for thenext five years and 25 years withwell-defined goals," hesaid.Paying tribute to the 79police personnel who lost theirlives during the pandemic, hepraised the efforts of the forceby battling the pandemic bystanding in front row.

Recalling the Delhi police'scontribution during the pan-demic, Shah said, "the policepersonnel attended peoplewhose families weren't here,took them for testing, got themhospitalised and provided oxy-gen cylinders to those whowere in need. They even helpedin performing last rites duringthe difficult times"

"The kind of work Delhi

Police did will be an inspirationfor the police forces across thecountry and will be a pathwayfor other state polices to follow.During the period, the forcealso thwarted several terrorattempts," he added.

Shah said the newly creat-ed perception management cellwould help in improving theimage of the city police. He stat-

ed that the Delhi Police shouldprepare a roadmap for the nextfive years with well-definedgoals to fill the gaps whatsoev-er in respect of investigation,prosecution, cyber threats etc.and also for next 25 years whenthe force celebrates its dia-mond jubilee with nation’s inde-pendence. Lauding the com-mitment of police personnel

and sacrifices of their familymembers, the chief guest com-mended that when everybodyelse is rejoicing, our jawanshave to be extra vigilant andhave to toil harder than routinedays. The Minister wished thatthe Delhi Police becomes thebest cosmopolitan force by thetime the nation celebrates cen-tenary of independence.

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On the occasion of the DelhiPolice 75th Raising Day,

the Delhi Police CommissionerRakesh Asthana on Wednesdaysaid that safety of women andvulnerable sections is top pri-ority for the Delhi Police andtheir target is to raise the par-ticipation of women police per-sonnel to one-fourth of totalstrength by 2025.

He said the Delhi Police hasalso taken up several commu-nity outreach initiatives, par-ticularly skill training for theyouth.

Addressing the gathering,Asthana said, “The safety ofwomen and vulnerable sectionsis a top priority for the DelhiPolice. With the blessings of thehome ministry, our target is toraise the participation of womenpolice personnel to one-fourthof the total strength by 2025.”

The Delhi Police has alwaysrisen to the occasion and proveditself in every field. A total of 79police personnel lost their livesduring COVID-19…the DelhiPolice remained on the frontlinewith doctors and health work-ers and provided all possibleassistance to citizenry goingbeyond the call of duty, he said.

Asthana said the DelhiPolice is providing 30 digital ser-vices to the residents of thenational capital, including, e-beat book and complaint mon-itoring system among others.

The Delhi Police chief saidthe department is committed tothe welfare of its personneland has given more than 5,000promotions in the current year,48 of which were out-of-turnpromotions.

“Besides, 45 police person-nel were awarded AsadharanKarya Puraskar and 164 kin ofdeceased police personnel were

granted jobs on compassionategrounds. A special medal hasbeen dedicated in the memoryof late HC Rattan Lal, whoattained martyrdom in theNortheast riots. Efforts are alsobeing made to fix the dutyhours of the personnel,” hesaid.

On community outreachinitiatives, Asthana said skillcentres have been set up to trainthe youth who have deviatedfrom the mainstream of society.More than 50,000 such youthhave been trained in variousskills. They have been provid-ed job opportunities and assis-tance has been given in settingup businesses.

Asthana said the structur-al changes brought about in theforce have led to a reduction inresponse time in the police con-trol room calls from eight min-utes to four minutes after merg-ing it with the local police.

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Asection of outstation stu-dents of Delhi University

have demanded the varsityadministration to conductclasses in hybrid format. DUcolleges are set to reopen andresume offline classes fromFebruary 17. Some collegeswill be holding classes for thefirst-year students in hybridformat, while second andthird year students will haveto attend classes in person.

The move has caused dis-tress among outstation stu-dents who are scrambling tomake travelling and accom-modation arrangements.Some of them said exams areapproaching and there is nopoint in making accommo-dation arrangements for justa couple of months.

Outstation f inal-yearunder-graduate and post-graduate students of the DelhiUniversity have started a peti-tion stating they should notbe called back for just twomonths.

Addressed to the vice-chancellor, registrar, proctorand the dean of students wel-fare, the petition has beenstarted on change.Org, andover 40,000 people havealready signed it.

College principals, how-ever, said there are no plans tohold online classes for thef inal-year students. Theexaminations will be held in

offline mode as well.Miranda House has said

that it will be holding classesfor the first-year students inhybrid format, while secondand third year students willhave to attend in person.

Similarly, RajdhaniCollege will be holding onlyonline classes for first-yearstudents.

Aryabhatta College prin-cipal Manoj Sinha said there

will not be any pressure onstudents to attend classes,and that they are trying toensure that students can beprovided recorded lecturesonline.

Even Hansraj College hasplans to offer a hybrid modeof studies to first-year stu-dents.

Delhi University collegeswere closed in March 2020 inthe wake of the COVID-19

pandemic.The university had given

a go-ahead to the resumptionof practical sessions inFebruary last year, but afterthe emergence of the secondwave, classes were suspendedin March.

In September, the univer-sity allowed final-year under-graduate and post-graduatestudents to return to the cam-pus but attendance was thin.

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New Delhi MunicipalCouncil (NDMC) has

decided to revamp the kioskssituated in its area with dis-play panels for advertise-ments.

In the first phase, theNDMC will redevelop 30kiosks in a size of 6x6 feet toget a new aesthetic look andthereafter 200-250 kiosks willbe redeveloped to get a newaesthetic version.

These kiosks will bedeveloped by complete rein-forced cement concrete(RCC) structure with terraz-zo flooring and terrazzo wallwith use of granite and tiles.

The NDMC built the firstsample kiosk at ConstitutionClub at Rafi Marg and nowredeveloped all the kiosks inthis financial year.

The approximate cost ofredevelopment of each kioskis about �11 lakh under theSmart City Project.

�� $.�� .*2(

Aman hailing fromBengaluru was apprehend-

ed by security agencies forallegedly trying to enter theresidence of National SecurityAdvisor (NSA) Ajit Doval onWednesday. After being caughtthe man claimed that he had achip inside him and was beingcontrolled by some other person,however, police said that theman is mentally unstable.

Police said that the man hasbeen identified as ShantanuReddy from Bengaluru.

According to officials, theincident took place around 7:30AM when a red-colour SUV,being driven by a single person,attempted a forced entrythrough the gate of Doval's highsecurity central Delhi residence.

“The car was interceptedoutside the entry gate and theman was nabbed by the CentralIndustrial Security Force (CISF)

personnel who guard Doval'shouse,” said the officials.

Doval was present at his res-idence when the incident tookplace. The man was later hand-ed over to the police. The NSAis secured under the top Z pluscategory of CISF commandos.

“A man tried to enter thehouse of the NSA onWednesday morning. The secu-rity stopped him. When he wasasked some questions, he wasnot in a state of giving answers.He seems mentally unsound.The car he used was rented fromNoida,” said the officials.

“During investigation, hetold the police that someone hadfit a chip inside him and was try-ing to control him. But theseclaims are false and furtherinvestigation is going on,” saidthe officials.

Police found this claim tobe false and said that heappeared to be mentally dis-turbed.

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The Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) accused the BJP-

ruled MCD of pressuringtraders of Old Delhi of payingconversion charges and threat-ening to seal if they failed topay it.

Brijesh Goyal, Delhi StateConvenor of AAP’s Trade andIndustry Wing said “Everyoneknows that the two lakh tradersof the walled city reside heresince 1962 still the BJP-ruledNorth MCD has sent themnotices. “BJP-ruled MCD hasextorted about 5,000 crores inthe last 15 years from the peo-ple of Delhi. Before asking formore charges, state BJP presi-dent Adesh Gupta must tellwhere these 5,000 crores havegone. AAP will take back allsuch notices after coming to

power in MCD.”Goyal said that shopkeep-

ers in Old Delhi, particularlythe traders around ChandniChowk, are being threatenedwith sealing of shops. “The areaof Old Delhi is called WalledCity. Clause No. 40 M Point 2of the Master Plan 2021 clear-ly states that the markets whichhave existed before 1962 comeunder a particular sector. Be itChandni Chowk Market, SadarBazaar, Khari Baoli, all thesemarkets are mentioned in themaster plan. These are calledcommercial markets.”

“The conversion charge isapplicable when a residentialarea has been converted into acommercial one. But there is nopoint in charging conversionfees in a Mughal Era market,which is already a commercialmarket,” he added.

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Delhi Metro RailCorporation (DMRC) has

filed a fresh affidavit compris-ing its balance sheet (FY 20-21)and details of all bank accountsand fixed deposits as directedby the Delhi High Court in itslast hearing on 14 February.

The court had issued direc-tions while hearing RelianceInfrastructure-promoted DelhiAirport Metro Express PvtLtd’s petition for execution ofthe 2017 arbitral award, whichpertains to the Delhi AirportMetro Express Line. The awardpertained to a concessionagreement between the twoentities, which was signed onAugust 25, 2008.

As per the filing, DMRChas Rs 5694 crores in its vari-ous bank accounts, as againstDAMEPL’s claim of Rs 6330crores. The matter is scheduledto be heard on Thursday inDelhi High Court.

An arbitral tribunal in itsMay 2017 award had ruled infavour of DAMEPL, which hadpulled out from running theAirport Express metro lineover safety issues, and accept-ed its claim that the running ofoperations on the line was notviable due to structural defectsin the viaduct through whichthe train would run.

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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)national convener and

Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal said that the party willexterminate Inspector Raj fromPunjab and ensure a peacefulpro-business environment inthe state after coming to power.

Addressing the traders,Kejriwal on Wednesday assuredthe traders of delivering a thriv-ing environment for them unlikethe rest of the parties. “The AAPwill completely eliminate ParchaRaj and take back all falsenotices sent to harass the busi-nesspersons of Punjab.Businessmen are terrified ofthe government and runningout of the state. Traders areextorted in the name of GundaTax. We will end this regime andprotect the people. Only theAAP can ensure peace andbrotherhood in Punjab,” he said.

AAP National Convenorsaid “The traders in Punjab areafraid of conducting their busi-ness here and are leaving the

state. There has been a publicdemand to make Amritsar a‘World Icon City’ for a long timenow. All the required steps toattain this status of ‘World IconCity’ for Amritsar will be takenby the AAP government.”

Terming the current envi-ronment in the state as ‘hostile’;he said “All false notices thathave been issued in the pastagainst traders and every otherperson in Punjab will be nulli-fied once the AAP forms thegovernment. We will eradicatethis fear from the minds of thepublic and help them flourishwhile conducting their busi-nesses and running their house-holds. This ‘Parcha Raj’ willhence be completely eliminated.”

“I would especially like toaddress the grievances of thetrader community in Punjab.They are also oppressed due tothis Parcha Raj, baseless noticesand extortions, unnecessary raidthreats and so on. ‘Gunda’ tax,‘Jojo’ tax, and all such methodsare kept in place to extortmoney from their communityand threaten them.

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The Supreme Court onWednesday sought clarifi-

cations from the Centre on theOne Rank One Pension(OROP) scheme. The apexcourt was hearing a petitionfiled by ex-service men associ-ations on the disparities inimplementation of OROP andModified Assured CareerProgression (MACP).

Seeing the tables of salaryand differences produced bythe petitioners, the Benchobserved displeasure.

“There is no statutory def-inition of OROP. It is a matterof art. The fact of the matter isthere is no statute of OROP.When you have framed policy,you have given a particular def-inition. The fact you have notgone further, is it violative ofArticle? Your hyperbole on thepolicy presented a much rosierpicture that what is actuallygiven’," observed Justice DYChandrachud, whenGovernment counsel could notgive convincing answers posedby the Bench, comprisingJustices Surya Kant and VikramNath.

The Bench also observedthat “what appears is thatMACP has become a barrierfor the grant of OROP.”

Justice Kant also said that,“what they say is that by con-necting OROP and MACP youhave substantially reduced thebeneficiaries. There is a classi-fication created by MACP. Foreg : one is getting 800 and otheris getting 1200 because ofMACP and after they retire, theperson will get more pension.The principle of OROF getsdefeated.”

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Stating that the coronaviruspandemic in India is show-

ing a sustained declining trendsince January 21, the Centrehas asked States and UnionTerritories to review, amend ordo away with additional restric-tions after considering thetrend of new cases and posi-tivity rate in their regions.

In a letter to the ChiefSecretaries and ChiefAdministrators of all Statesand UTs recently, Union HealthSecretary Rajesh Bhushan saidthe coronavirus pandemic inIndia is showing a sustaineddeclining trend since January21.

The letter, however, statedthat States/UTs must continuemonitoring the trajectory ofcases and the spread of infec-tion on a daily basis. Thehealth secretary also askedstates to follow the five-foldstrategy of test, track, treat, vac-cination and adherence toCovid-appropriate behavior.

The average daily casesduring last week were 50,476,and 27,409 new cases werereported in the last 24 hours.The daily case positivity ratedeclined to 3.63 per cent on

Tuesday.In earlier months, in view

of the high case trajectory,certain states had imposedadditional restrictions at theirborders and at airports, hesaid.

While effectively manag-ing the public health challengeof COVID-19, it is equallyimportant that movement ofpeople and economic activitiesshould not be hampered byadditional restrictions imposedat state-level points of entries,Bhushan said in the letter.

"Presently, as the case tra-jectory across the nation isshowing a sustained down-ward trend, it will be useful ifstates/UTs review andamend/do away with the addi-

tional restrictions so imposedafter considering the trend ofnew cases, active cases and pos-itivity within the state andUT," he said.

With the changing epi-demiology of the pandemicglobally and in India, existingguidelines aimed at minimisingthe transmission and circula-tion of the virus have beenreviewed and updated. TheUnion Ministry of Healthaccordingly revised its guide-lines for international arrivalson February 10, he stated.

Bhushan underlined thatstates and UTs may also followthe broad five-fold strategy ofTest Track-Treat-Vaccinationand adherence to Covid-appro-priate behaviour.

�� $.�� .*2(

The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on

Wednesday arrested KRamakrishna, president of SriGuru Raghavendra SahakaraBank Niyamitha, on moneylaundering charges in connec-tion with misappropriation ofpublic deposits to the tune ofover Rs 1,000 crore.

The PMLA probe revealedthat officers and employees ofthe bank siphoned off themoney deposited by the pub-lic with the bank. The Bankpromised to give higher inter-est rates to the depositorswhich were not in line with theprevailing market rate, the EDsaid in a statement.

“The money deposited bythe depositors wasadvanced/siphoned off to var-ious persons including employ-ees of the bank without obtain-ing proper security of the loans.The bank officers created fic-titious loan accounts and trans-ferred the money to theseaccounts which in turn wastransferred to overdue loanaccounts for evergreening pur-poses to show strong financialhealth of the Bank,” it said.

Earlier, the ED hadattached movable and immov-able properties worth Rs 45crore. The Principal City Civiland Sessions Judge, Bangalorehas granted four-day custody ofRamakrishna to the ED.

In a separate case of moneylaundering, the PMLA SpecialCourt, Mumbai ordered con-fiscation of properties worth Rs300 crore held in Singapore in

a Ponzi scheme fraud case.These assets were benefi-

cially owned by Sayed Masood,Chairman and promoter ofCity Limouzines (I) Ltd and hisfamily members.

After extensive overseasinvestigations, the ED hadattached the bank accounts offoreign companies of Masoodlocated at Singapore having abalance of approx Rs 300 crore.In addition to overseas assets,ED had also attached domes-tic assets of Rs 129 crore in thiscase. The ED is investigating acase of money recorded againstCity Limouzines (I) Ltd.,Masood, City group companiesand others. Masood, key con-spirator and beneficiary, inconnivance with other direc-tors of the City Group of com-panies, laundered the investors’money by routing it throughvarious countries and investingin movable and immovableproperties in India and abroad.

Masood has opened manyentities/ companies/trusts/bank accounts abroadwithout any requisite statutorypermission in violations ofIndian laws which served asspecial purpose vehicles tolaunder the proceeds of hiscriminal activity of cheatingmore than 70000 investors ofRs 700 crore.

In yet another case, the EDhas filed a SupplementaryProsecution Complaint(chargesheet) against SanjayAgarwal and three others in acase of smuggling of gold, tothe tune of 2,717 Kg of goldworth Rs 650 crore for moneylaundering.

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday rued the “knee jerk” actionsin filling up vacant posts in Tribunals, saying the bureaucracy

has been taking up the issue “lightly”. The bench headed by ChiefJustice N V Ramana, which has been proactively dealing withthe issue of huge vacancies in various tribunals across the coun-try, said that after a few appointments made initially, nothingsubstantial happened.

“We are getting (pleas for) extension of time for the mem-bers of the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) ...Someknee-jerk appointments took place and nothing happened afterthat. We do not know the fate of members and many are retir-ing. Bureaucracy is taking it (the issue) lightly," observed the benchwhich also comprised justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli.

Attorney General K K Venugopal, who has been assistingthe bench in dealing with the vacancies-related matters,attempted to show the list of vacancies and the steps taken tofill them up. The bench said that it would hear the issue aftertwo weeks.

The top court has been asking the Centre to make appoint-ments in tribunals that are facing a severe crunch of presidingofficers as well as judicial and technical members. As per datamade available in a hearing in August last year, around 250 postsare lying vacant in various key tribunals and Appellate Tribunalsacross the country.

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India has registered a recordfood grain production of

316.06 million tonnes during2021-22 crop year which ishigher by 5.32 million tonnesas compared to last year. TheMinistry of Agriculture, in itssecond advance estimates,pegged a record production ofrice, wheat, maize, pulse, gram,sugarcane, rapeseed and mus-tard.

According to the ministry,the production during 2021-22is higher by 25.35 milliontonnes than the previous fiveyears’ (2016-17 to 2020-21)average production of food-grains. While soaring produc-tion of foodgrain that alsohelped the government providefree additional rations forCOVID-hit poor families formany months together came asa relief despite farmers' protestat Delhi borders against thethree laws and subsequentrepeal of the legislations.

Production of rice during2021-22 is estimated at record127.93 million tones which ishigher by 11.49 million tonnesthan the last five years’ averageproduction of 116.44 million

tonnes. Production of Wheat isalso estimated at record 111.32million tones which is higherby 7.44million tonnes than theaverage wheat production of103.88 million tonnes.

Production of Nutri /Coarse Cereals is estimated at49.86 million tonnes, which ishigher by 3.28 million tonnesthan the average production.Pulses production is estimatedat 26.96 million tonnes whichis higher by 3.14million tonnes

than the last five years’ averageproduction of 23.82 milliontonnes.

The Oilseeds production isestimated at record37.15 mil-lion tones which is higherby1.20 million tonnes than theproduction of 35.95 milliontonnes. Further, the productionof oilseeds during 2021-22 ishigher by 4.46 million tonnesthan the averageoilseeds pro-duction.

Sugarcane production is

estimated at 414.04 milliontonnes which is higher by40.59million tonnes than theaverage sugarcane productionof 373.46 milliontonnes.

Production of Cotton isestimated at 34.06 million bales(each of 170 kg) is higherby1.12 millionbales than the aver-age cotton production of 32.95million bales. Production ofJute & Mesta is estimated at9.57 million bales (each of 180kg).

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Rising temperatures anduntimely rains linked to cli-

mate change are likely to pushdengue cases and fatalities inthe country, health expertshave warned. They have attrib-uted this spurt to increasedsurvival, reproduction and bit-ing rate of the mosquitoescausing vector borne disease.

Data speaks. Last year,mortalities due to dengue weresignificantly high at 247 casestill November, when comparedto 66 deaths in 2020, accordingto the government statisticstabled in Parliament last week.

In fact, last year inSeptember, in a high-levelmeeting chaired by CabinetSecretary Rajiv Gauba andattended by representatives of11 affected states/UTs, the gov-ernment had flagged theemerging challenge ofserotype-II dengue which isassociated with more cases andmore complications than otherThe States reporting serotype -II dengue cases were AndhraPradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka,

Kerala, MP, UP, Maharashtra,Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu,and Telangana.

To develop a safe, afford-able and effective treatment forthe vector-borne disease with-in five years, the TransitionalHealth Science and TechnologyInstitute (THSTI), anautonomous institute of theDepartment of Biotechnologyon Wednesday joined handswith, DNDi Drugs forNeglected Diseases initiativeIndia Foundation engaged indeveloping new treatments forneglected patients.

As per the partnership,preclinical studies of potentialdengue treatments will be car-ried out besides testing the effi-cacy of several repurposeddrug candidates and imple-ment clinical trials of the mostpromising compounds to deliv-er an affordable and accessibletreatment solution.

“‘There are no specificantiviral drugs to treat dengueinfection, and limited use ofvaccines. Despite research anddevelopment to identify treat-ment for dengue fever, we have

not yet achieved sufficientresults. It is important that wejoin our efforts to tackle thedisease which affect millions ofpeople,” said Dr PramodKumar Garg, ExecutiveDirector of THSTI.

“It is critical to find thera-peutic solutions to this cli-mate-sensitive disease thatspreads at a rapid pace,’ addedDr Kavita Singh, Director,DNDi South Asia.

An analysis of data avail-able from 400 stations of theIndian MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) across thecountry indicates that in thelast 50 years, the number of hotdays has increased manifold.Scientists say that heat wavesincidents are projected toincrease eight times in thenear future and will spike toalarmingly 30 times in 2071-2100.

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The Election Commission(EC) on Wednesday issued

a notice to BJP leader fromTelangana, T Raja Singh forallegedly threatening peopleto vote for his party in UttarPradesh. The Commission hasgiven him 24 hours to respondto the notice. Singh triggered acontroversy with his com-ments that those "traitors" whodid not vote in support of theYogi Adityanath government inUttar Pradesh will have reper-cussions post elections. The ECnotice said the BJP MLA fromTelangana has prima facie vio-lated provisions of the pollcode, the Indian Penal Codeand the Representation of thePeople Act. “Take notice thatin the event of no responsefrom your side within thetime,” said EC’s secretary.

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The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) on

Wednesday conducted search-es at multiple locations inKashmir Valley in a case of rad-icalising, motivating andrecruiting youth of J&K byLashkar-e-Tayabba (LeT).

The NIA said the searcheswere conducted in coordina-tion with Jammu and KashmirPolice and Central ReservePolice Force (CRPF) carriedout searches at three locationsacross Kashmir Valley.

“This case pertains to rad-icalising, motivating andrecruiting of youth of J&K toeffect violent activities in J&Kand rest of India by Sajjad Gul,Salim Rehmani alias Abu Saadand Saifullah Sajid Jutt,Commanders of LeT/TRF (TheResistance Front). Four personshave been arrested in theinstant case so far,” the NIA saidin a statement. During thesearches, incriminating mate-rials and digital devices havebeen seized, it said.

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ABJP delegation, led byUnion Minister Anurag

Thakur, filed a complaint withElection Commission (EC) overan alleged attack against UnionMinister SP Singh Baghel, whois contesting against Samajwadiparty president Akhilesh Yadavfrom Karhal.

Calling the attackers “SPgoons”, Thakur claimed that theincident was a result ofAkhilesh fearing his defeat inKarhal from where he will becontesting the ongoing UttarPradesh assembly polls for thefirst time.

“I had to come to the EC asafter the first and second phas-es of Uttar Pradesh elections,Akhilesh started sweating. Hisworkers and goons are insti-gating violence,” he said after

meeting with the Commission.Meanwhile, two persons havebeen arrested and a case hasbeen registered in connectionwith the incident, followingthe complaint lodged by Baghelin Mainpuri.

Baghel’s convoy wasattacked with stones and sticksnear Attikullapur village inManipuri district of UttarPradesh on Tuesday evening.As per reports, the BJP leaderescaped unhurt during theattack. However, the window ofa vehicle in Baghel’s convoy washit by stones and shattered. TheBJP has strongly condemnedthe attack on Baghel.Meanwhile, Baghel has beenprovided ‘Z’ category securityby the Central IndustrialSecurity Force (CISF), Ministryof Home Affairs (MHA)sources said on Wednesday.

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March towards self-reliancein defence manufacturing

is the main theme of theupcoming internationaldefence exhibition, DefExpo-2022, in Gandhinagar, Gujaratnext month. More than 1,000Indian and foreign companiesare expected to display theirstate of the art weapons. Fiftyfive countries have confirmedtheir participation.

Prime Minister NarendraModi is likely to inaugurate thefour-day exhibition startingMarch 11. The DefExpo is held

every two years and the com-ing event in the 12th and willbe largest, sources said here onWednesday.

Moreover, in order toshowcase India’s prowess adrone show comprising morethan 1,000 UAVs will enthrallthe audience there. The start-up Bots Lab, which presentedthe fascinating show withdrones at the Beating Retreatceremony at Vijay Chowk, willput up the show inGandhinagar.

India has now entered theniche group of countries hav-ing the capability to organize a

show with such a large numberof UAVs at a mega event. TheUS, China and Russia are theother countries.

Giving details about theDefExpo, sources said nearly100 foreign companies and800 Indian manufacturers haveconfirmed their participation.The total number is likely tocross the 1,000 mark, they saidadding the US is the biggestexhibitor. The Tata group andAdanis are the biggest Indianparticipants so far, they said.

The theme of the DefExpois ‘Path to Pride’ highlightingIndia’s march towards indige-

nization in defence production,they said. The seven compa-nies carved out of theOrdnance FactoryBoard(OFB)will also showcasetheir products.

In order to attract capital,the exhibition will provide aplatform to venture capitaliststo tap the Indian defence indus-try and several sessions withstart-ups are planned. Also, 63companies have booked spacein the Gujarat pavilion. Thegovernment has given a rebateof 50 per cent to the small andmedium industries for bookingspace in the DefExpo.

On participation of VIPsincluding defence ministersand Services chiefs, they said sofar 50 of them have confirmedtheir presence. The numberwill go up as internationalflight restrictions due to coro-na are now relaxed, they said.

Giving a determined thrustto further strengthen ties withAfrican nations, the lastDefExpo in 2020 in Lucknowhosted the first India-AfricaDefence Dialogue. The forth-coming will also hold the highprofile dialogue and 27 Africancountries have confirmed theirparticipation, they said.

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Vistara on Wednesday said it is gradu-ally resuming certain services that

were suspended temporarily due to the pan-demic. The airline has gradually beenresuming services that were halted tem-porarily due to the pandemic, it saidadding that on the domestic network, thechoice of non-vegetarian meals in econo-my class on all eligible flights is also madeavailable from January 1 this year. The air-line said it has also resumed serving tea andcoffee on select routes and will progressivelyrestart this service on all flights of 90 min-utes duration and above.

The airline also re-introduced menucards in business class, starting February 15,and will increase the choice of meals for itspremium economy and business-class cus-tomers soon, it said. Also, hot beveragesservices including a range of teas and fresh-ly brewed coffee have also resumed on theinternational routes, and from February 1,the airline has enhanced the choice of alco-holic beverages in all three cabin classes.

On short to medium haul routes, menucards are back in the business class and theairline has already made the full bar avail-able to all customers, the airline said,adding, Vistara will be resuming these onthe long-haul routes along with increasingthe meal options for customers. "While weare restoring our services progressively andsystematically, we will also be introducingnew enhancements at various customertouchpoints,” said Deepak Rajawat, ChiefCommercial Officer, Vistara.

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Ahead of Punjab polls on Sunday,the remarks of Chief Minister

“don't let UP, Bihar ke bhaiya enterPunjab'” at a rally in Rupnagar hasprovoked BJP leaders to strike backat Congress general secretary PriyankaGandhi Vadra who was seen clappingand laughing at the venue. Priyankais also leading the Congress charge inUP and is apparently the party’s CMface too.

As the four-cornered campaignand contest among Congress, AAP,BSP-SAD, and BJP-Punjab LokCongress of ex-Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh is peaking-up , rivalparties have upped their ante to woovoters in the state that would vote for117 assembly seats on February 20 ina single-phase election.

BJP's IT chief Amit Malviyashared a clip from the rally where thePunjab CM could be seen speaking inderogatory terms against people ofUP, Bihar and Delhi. Malviya launchedan attack on Congress and alleged thattheir leaders were dividing peopleinstead of developing the country.

Malviya took to his Twitter han-dle to share a video of Punjab CMChanni and Congress’ general secre-tary and Uttar Pradesh-in-chargePriyanka Gandhi. In the video, Channicould be seen taking the microphonefrom Priyanka to state that she is a

daughter-in-law of Punjab.Continuing his words, CM Channipraised the people of Punjab andasked them to use their wisdom andthen commented against the peopleof UP and Bihar. Meanwhile, Priyankawas seen laughing and clapping to theslogans being shouted by the Congressworkers.

“From the stage, the ChiefMinister of Punjab humiliates the peo-ple of UP, Bihar and Priyanka Vadrais laughing, clapping while standingbeside…” Malviya said.

He further slammed the Congressfor the event and questioned theirintentions in UP.

“This is how Congress will devel-op UP and the country? Makingpeople fight among themselves?”Malviya asked.

The incident took place at a rallyin Rupnagar in Punjab on February

15.“I can't believe that a Congress

Chief Minister can speak like this andalso Priyanka Vadra loudly cheeringit ! “, union minister Kiren Rijiju said.

Another BJP leader, union min-ister Anurag Thakur who is also co-in-charge of UP election, comment-ed saying, “This shows the mind-setof the Congress that divides thenation”.

Interestingly, Priyanka is not onlyin charge of the Congress of UttarPradesh but apparently is also theChief Ministerial face for the party too.

AAP leader and Delhi chiefArvind Kejriwal also slammedChanni's remark saying "It is veryshameful. We strongly condemn com-ments aimed at any individual or anyparticular community. PriyankaGandhi also belongs to UP, so she isalso a bhaiya."

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Mangaluru: The SocialDemocratic Party of India(SDPI) on Wednesday chargedthe BJP with 'sponsoring' and'promoting' the hijab-saffronshawl issue in educational insti-tutions in Karnataka.

Addressing reporters here,SDPI state general secretary BR Bhaskar Prasad alleged thatthe entire issue is a ‘criminal act'sponsored by the BJP govern-ment in the state.

Noting that the constitu-tion never barred Muslimwomen wearing hijab, healleged that the issue was cre-ated by a college principalwhich was later taken up by theSangh Parivar outfits.

He sought to know whyhijab should be banned as areligious symbol when Hindusymbols like thread and ‘nama'are allowed. He also accusedthe Congress of adopting ‘dou-ble standards' on the issue.

SDPI state president AbdulMajeed, who was also present,said the High Court interimorder is applicable only to col-leges where developmentcommittees have prescribed adress code. The district admin-istrations and the educationdepartment are creating con-fusion over the order, hecharged.

He said KPCC president DK Shivakumar should clarifythe stand of the Congress on

the issue. The party does notwant to address the problemsof Muslims though they wantminority votes, Majeed said.

Meanwhile, NationalWomen's Front, the women'swing of Popular Front of India(PFI) alleged that Muslimgirls are being subjected tomental harassment over thehijab issue.

At a press meet here, NWFDakshina Kannada districtpresident Zulaikha Bajpe con-demned the attitude of some

school administrations andteachers who are 'torturing'girl students under the pretextof implementing the HighCourt order.

She said while the order islimited to pre-university col-leges, the authorities are forc-ing students and teachers ofother colleges also to removetheir headscarves in publicplaces. Such acts amount todenial of the fundamentalrights of Muslim students, sheclaimed. PTI

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Atotal number of ten (10)overground workers

(OGWs) allegedly workingwith pro-Pakistan terrorist out-fit Jaish-e-Mohammad havebeen arrested by the StateInvestigation agency (SIA) dur-ing overnight raids across 10different locations spreadbetween south and centralKashmir districts of KashmirValley in the last 24 hours.

According to officialsources these OGWs were partof terror modules who weretaking instructions from JeMterrorist commanders.

Meanwhile, the Srinagarpolice has also tracked downthe footprints of another terrornetwork set up by the "TheResistance Front (TRF) to carryout terror strikes in and aroundSrinagar city.

According to a policespokesman, "Basit Ahmed Darof Redwani Kulgam and

Momin Gulzar of EidgahSrinagar were using the net-work of overground workers inthe valley for subversive activ-ities.The arrested OGW's havebeen identified as BasharatAhmed Pampori S/o BasirAhmed Pampori R/oMaidanpora, Srinagar, AdilShafi Bhat S/o MohammadShafi Bhat R/o Daresh Kadal,Srinagar, Muzamil Fayaz SofiS/o Fayaz Ahmed Sofi R/oBagh-e- Sundar PayeenKaksarai, Karan Nagar,Srinagar and Adil MushtaqMir S/o Mushtaq Ahmed MirR/o Bagh-e-Sundar PayeenMaidanporal.

The spokesman added,"These OGWs were also foundto be involved in creating con-tent of the threatening postersissued by TRF from time totime. Through these postersthey aimed to threaten Govtemployees, Police, ArmedForces, elected PRls and non-local businessmen and to causedisaffection against the state".It was also found that they hadrecently provided logistic sup-port to three terrorists name-ly Momin Gulbar, Arif AhmedHazar and one foreign terror-ist by provided them shelterand also facilitated them in car-

rying out terrorist attacks inSrinagar city.

According to spokesman ofthe State Investigation Agency,the terrorist handlers wereusing these OGW's for recruit-ing other young persons,arranging finances, transport-ing weapons in south and cen-tral Kashmir besides providingother logistic support.

In the searches, besidesarrests, cell phones, SIM cards,records to show use of bankingchannels and even a dummypistol were seized. Amongarrested persons, there is one atwhose house four terrorists hadbeen killed on 4th of April 2020.

According to the SIAspokesman, "the arrested mem-bers were mostly recruitingvulnerable school and collegegoing students as a few ofthem are students themselves.They were in close connectionwith the regular terrorists ofJESH outfit and had beenunder surveillance for quitesome time. The spokesmanadded the digital records seizedare being sent to FSL for evi-dence analysis and the arrest-ed persons would be present-ed before the NIA court inSrinagar seeking permission forcustodial questioning.

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New Delhi: Assam andMeghalaya have agreed toresolve their boundary dis-putes in six locations and areready to find solutions to sixother such areas soon,Meghalaya Chief MinisterConrad Sangma said onWednesday.

Meghalaya was carved outof Assam as a separate state in1972 and it had challenged theAssam Reorganisation Act,1971, leading to disputes in 12locations along the two states'884.9-km-long border.Sangmasaid the two states were makingefforts to resolve the disputes.

"Assam and Meghalayahave held discussions related tosix locations and came to anunderstanding on them," hetold reporters here.

Sangma, along with hisAssam counterpart HimantaBiswa Sarma, had met UnionHome Minister last month andapprised him about the out-come of their discussions.

Sangma said they havesubmitted a report to the cen-tral government and he washopeful that the Centre willinvite both the states soon.

"When we will come, wewill certainly resolve the dif-

ferences on these six locations."Our effort is that we will

resolve the differences on theremaining six locations beforethe 75th anniversary of India'sindependence," he said.

Sources said Assam andMeghalaya governments cameto a consensus on the villagesand identified natural bound-aries such as rivers and forests.

There are 36 villages in thesix places, covering an area of36.79 sq km where an agree-ment has been reached.

Three committees eachwere formed by the two statesin August last year after tworounds of talks between Sarmaand Sangma were held toresolve the vexed border dis-pute in a phased manner.

According to the joint finalset of recommendations givenby the committees, out of 36.79sq km disputed area taken upfor settlement in the first phase,Assam will be getting full con-trol of 18.51 sq km area andMeghalaya of 18.28 sq km.

Out of the 12 points of dis-putes between Assam andMeghalaya, the six areas with rel-atively less critical differenceswere taken up in the first phase. PTI

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Mangaluru: As many as 28students in two colleges in thecity were sent back home onWednesday for wearing hijab toclasses. Mangaluru PoliceCommissioner N ShashiKumar told reporters here thatin four other colleges, studentswho came to classes wearinghijabs were allowed insideclassrooms after removing theirscarves.

Classes went on smoothlyin all the colleges, whichreopened today after a week-long holiday declared by thegovernment following troublein some campuses over the

hijab issue. He said the hijabissue came up in six colleges onthe day. The authorities atPompei PU college sent back 26hijab-clad students after tellingthem about the High Courtorder, while at the DayanandPai degree college, two studentswho wore hijab were senthome.

In four other colleges,hijab-clad students wereallowed inside classes afterremoving their headscarves,Shashi Kumar said, adding,there was no case of any stu-dent wearing saffron shawls incampuses. PTI

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Making a concerted pitchfor coordinated global

action to combat climatechange, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Wednesdayemphasised that environmen-tal sustainability can only beachieved through climate jus-tice. “Successful climate actionalso needs adequate financing.For this, developed countriesneed to fulfil their commit-ments on finance and technol-ogy transfer,” said Modi at theinaugural address of the WSDS

2022, the annual flagshipSummit of The Energy andResources Institute (TERI). Ithas a theme as ‘Towards aResilient Planet: Ensuring aSustainable and EquitableFuture’.

Addressing the need forglobal alliances to tackle cli-mate change, the PrimeMinister drew attention to theCoalition for Disaster ResilientInfrastructure, theInternational Solar Alliance aswell as the new initiative LIFE– Lifestyle for Environment.LIFE, Modi said, will be a

coalition of like-minded peo-ple across the world who willpromote sustainable lifestyle.

“I call them [the] three Ps– Pro Planet People. This glob-al movement of [the] three Psis the coalition for LIFE. Thesethree global coalitions will formthe trinity of our environmentefforts for improving the glob-al commons,” he added.

Observing that environ-ment and sustainable develop-ment have been key areas ofengagement, he said, “We haveheard people call our planetfragile. But it is not the planet

that is fragile. It is us. We arefragile. Our commitments tothe planet, to nature have alsobeen fragile. A lot has been saidover the last 50 years since the1972 Stockholm Conference.Very little has been done. Butin India we have walked thetalk.”

The WSDS 2022 is beingattended by two heads of States,Ministers for Environmentfrom nearly a dozen coun-tries, representatives from theUnited Nations, and delegatesfrom 137 countries across theglobe. Dignitaries at the inau-

gural event called for collectiveaction, but also the need formitigation and adaptation sup-port, especially for developingcountries.

Delivering his keynoteaddress, Dr Mohamed IrfaanAli, President of theCooperative Republic ofGuyana, underscored the needfor the global leadership tomake a commitment to thecommon global good. “Thisrequires less talk and urgentaction on mitigation actions aswell as adaptation support,” hesaid.

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Prayagraj: Amid the coron-avirus pandemic, lakhs of devo-tees took the holy dip in theGanga river here on the auspi-cious occasion of MaghPurnima on Wednesday.

District's SeniorSuperintendent of Police AjayKumar said that elaborate secu-rity arrangements have beenmade for the Magh Purnimaand more than 150 CCTVcameras have also been

installed.An official of Prayagraj

Mela Authority said that sincemorning, around seven lakhpeople, including children,elderly and women, have takenthe holy dip in the Ganga andSangam.People are likely totake bath in the Ganges till lateevening, he added.

The crowd is being mon-itored from the IntegratedCommand Control Center, the

SSP said.Several fire fighters and

108 divers have also beendeployed to deal with anymishap, he added

Superintendent of Police(Magh Mela) Rajeev NarayanMishra said that movement ofall vehicles has been banned inSangam area from Tuesdaymidnight till Thursday 10 PM,except administrative vehiclesand ambulances. PTI

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Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot on Wednesdayslammed the Centre saying theNarendra Modi Governmenthad failed in fulfilling its promiseof doubling farmers' income, buthis Government implementedseveral schemes to uplift them.

Gehlot was addressing themedia at Pant Krishi Bhawan,where the newly appointedchairman of Rajasthan KisanAyog Mahadeo Singh Khandelatook charge.

“The Prime Minister hadsaid the farmers' income will bedoubled by 2022. Perhaps, he hasnot been successful yet. Wewould like to know how toincrease the income, how tostrengthen the farmers, which iswhy many schemes and inno-vations are being implementedin Rajasthan,” Gehlot said.Forthis first time, Gehlot said, hisgovernment has decided to pre-sent a separate budget for thefarmers this year.

The Chief Minister alsosaid the State Government's ini-tiative of opening English medi-um pre-primary schools willusher revolutionary change inyears to come. PTI

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Hyderabad: A case was regis-tered against Assam ChiefMinister Himanta Biswa Sarmahere for his alleged remarks onCongress leader Rahul Gandhi,police said on Wednesday.

Based on a complaint filedby Telangana Pradesh CongressCommittee (TPCC) Presidentand party MP A RevanthReddy, a FIR was registered atthe Jubilee Hills Police Station,they said."A case was registeredagainst the Assam CM underrelevant IPC sections after tak-ing legal opinion", a seniorPolice official told PTI.

Revanth Reddy in the com-plaint had accused Sarma, ofmaking obscene speech againstRahul Gandhi (on February 11at a public meeting in

Uttarakhand) deliberately andin a pre-planned manner togarner political mileage andsought for registration of anFIR against the Assam CM.

Sarma had slammedGandhi for demanding proof ofthe September 2016 surgicalstrike launched by the IndianArmy against terrorist camps inPoK, and questioning the effi-cacy of the anti-Covid-19 vac-cines, during a rally in poll-bound Uttarakhand.

The Assam CM had soughtto know whether the BJP hadever demanded proof of himbeing the son of former PrimeMinister Rajiv Gandhi.

The remarks drew sharpcriticism from the Congressparty. PTI

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Morigaon: Locals and hundreds of student activists onWednesday protested against the killing of a villager by forestguards for allegedly cutting trees inside the Sonaikuchi ReserveForest in Morigaon district of Assam.

The protesters under the banners of All Tiwa Students' Union(ATSU), Karbi Students' Union (KSU), Karbi Students'Association (KSA), Tiwa Yuva Chatra Parishad (TYCP), All TiwaWomen's Association (ATWA), Morigaon District Tribal Sanghaand All Assam Tribal Youth League (AATYL) and All AssamStudents' Union (AASU) staged a two-hour dharna.

After the demonstration near the Morigaon DeputyCommissioner Court, the protesters sent a memorandum to ChiefMinister Himanta Biswa Sarma, seeking a judicial inquiry intothe firing incident and also demanded the arrest of the forest beatofficers of Jagiroad and Kuthori for their alleged role in the inci-dent.One person, identified as Borsing Tiso, was killed on thespot and another, named Rajib Singnar, was injured in firing byforest guards when the duo was allegedly cutting trees inside theforest near Jagiroad in Morigaon district on Tuesday.

The protesters alleged that the firing was indiscriminate andshould be treated as murder as the victims were allowed to enterthe Sonaikuchi Reserve Forest by forest officers, but later the duowas shot at by some other officials. PTI

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lated that the UnionGovernment cannot breachnational security in order toevade reasonable accountabil-ity. The protection of crediblejournalistic sources isirrefutably covered under theambit of privacy and surveil-lance of the sources/informa-tion is an absolute assault onthe sanctity of the press and thedemocratic ideals. The judg-ment has directed the estab-lishment of a technical com-mittee to examine the legalityof Pegasus intrusion and pri-vacy breach.

In another path-breakingjudgment of Vinod Dua vUnion of India, the journalis-tic voicing that could potential-ly lead to constructive criticismwas intelligently bifurcatedfrom the seditious and defam-atory ambit. The contentionsin the matter concernedrevolved around the questionwhether the statements of thejournalist in question were inany way seditious in nature ascovered under Section 124-Aof the Indian Penal Code,1860, and incited agony andhatred among citizens.Furthermore, did the state-ments have the potential of dis-rupting public order and har-mony and can be charged as anoffence under Section 501 ofthe Indian Penal Code? The

Supreme Court’s judgmentupheld the right to free speechand expression by quashingthe FIR against the said jour-nalist and stated that the rightto criticise governmental poli-cies without defaming andinciting public nuisance doesnot amount to sedition. TheSupreme Court has referred tothe landmark pronouncementof the Kedar Nath Singh caseto uphold the speech andexpression narrative and stat-ed that for an act to be a sedi-tious offence, the inclusion ofa few attributes has to beexamined, including the incite-ment of hatred against theauthority concerned, and thedisturbance of public order.

If journalistic opinionsand voicing are not protectedby the judicious authorityand the ‘sources’ of journalistsare under constant threat andsurveillance, then the conceptand idea of a democratic Statewill become obsolete. Suchsoft encroachment in theambit of Fundamental Rightscan easily affect the basicstructure of the Constitution.Constitutionalism not onlyupholds the morality andprinciples of the Constitutionbut also gives and limits thepower of Parliament and theUnion Government. Thethree organs of the

Government — the executive,judiciary and legislature — areparamount and sacred insti-tutions and the power of allthree is directly in proportionwith the objectives of theConstitution. The judiciaryhas played a phenomenal rolein limiting the ultra viresattempts of the Governmentssince its inception and upheldthe Constitution’s virtues andideals. Apart from the afore-mentioned judgments, thebank nationalisation case,privy purse cases, thenewsprint and newspapercontrol cases, among others,have been the judicious oppo-sition to the Supreme Courtwhile upholding the doctrineof constitutionalism and pre-venting soft proceduralencroachments in thepurview of FundamentalRights by legislative enact-ments or the Government’sinterests. The guardian andthe judicious interpreter of theConstitution is the SupremeCourt and it has in no way leftany stone unturned in prov-ing or upholding the virtuous-ness of the objectives andideals of the sacred document,which is our Constitution.

(The writer is a practisingadvocate in the Delhi HighCourt. The views expressed arepersonal.)

�� Sir — This has reference to ‘Reforming aqualitative democracy’ (February 16). Itis a fact that electoral reforms are cryingout for correction for decades together.The citizens’ democratic duty ends withexercising the franchise during elections.Then the politicians take his role to rulethe State or nation, as the case may be, withfull powers for the next five years.Corruption in the corridors of power is onthe increase. The politicians mustermoney for themselves, their family mem-bers and their relatives. Every five yearstheir assets multiply while the poor con-tinue to suffer.

The gap between the rich and the pooris growing unabated. However, therehave been no electoral reforms for the pastseven decades. People don’t participatein lawmaking. They cannot question thepoliticians over local or national issues.Many reforms are yet to be approved byParliament. But the politicians simply wantto keep on enjoying the fruits of democ-racy. The poverty alleviation programmesimplemented in the 70 years of self-rulehave not ameliorated the lot of the have-nots. The EC should be given a free handin implementing the reforms if Parliamentfails to approve the same within one year.

NR Ramachandran | Chennai

�� Sir — It refers to ‘Outreach’ (February 16).The conclave of Chief Ministers of non-NDA-ruled States jointly proposed byMamata Banerjee, MK Stalin and KChandrashekar Rao (KCR) will be close-ly watched for its likely impact on thecourse of national politics. In all likelihood,it will be held after the announcement ofelection results on March 10. MaharashtraChief Minister Uddhav Thackeray couldbe an attendee. But if the organisers suc-ceed in persuading Andhra Pradesh andOdisha Chief Ministers — Jagan MohanReddy and Naveen Patnaik — to attendthe convention, remains to be seen. TheCongress might be lukewarm to themeeting, given its frayed relations with theTMC.

But the meeting may not be a prelude

to the formation of a third front as Stalinhas already made his party’s preference forRahul Gandhi as the PM candidate clear.Stalin and Mamata vocally criticise the BJPfor its espousal of Hindutva and pursuitof virulent nationalism. KCR is trenchantin his criticism of the Modi Government,but it seems to do more with the BJP’s pushto expand in Telangana than his opposi-tion to communal politics. The conclavewill turn the spotlight on federalism andautonomy of the State in the context ofGovernors in non-BJP-ruled States over-stepping their authority.

G David Milton | Maruthancode

��Sir — After being the main reason for thefinancial disarray the State is in today, itis amusing to find E Palaniswami accus-ing the ruling DMK of failure to imple-ment welfare schemes involving cashoutflow assured by them in their electionmanifesto. People are also aware of theGovernment’s financial status and how

CM Stalin has proved to be a totally dif-ferent and people -oriented CM comparedto his predecessors. People are also wellinformed of how the AIADMK was sub-servient to the BJP and pawned theState’s self-respect at its altar for survivaland to escape from action against them fortheir alleged Himalayan corruption.

They had been mute spectators to theBJP’s anti-people policies of the saffronparty and played second fiddle to theminstead of opposing regulations detrimen-tal to the interest of the Tamil people. SoEPS, OPS and the other AIADMK lead-ers have no moral right to criticise the rul-ing DMK who have been in power for onlyeight months as they still have enough timeto honour all their promises and commit-ments. It would hence be suicidal to votefor the AIADMK or the BJP candidates inthe civic polls slated for February 19.

Tharcius S Fernando | Chennai

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The argument that ourConstitution denotes arational restriction onthe Government to

negate arbitrary despotism can’tbe reinforced enough. AGovernment that infringes uponthe ideals of the Constitutionloses its legitimacy. To over-bridge such lacunae, and topreserve the basic privilegesguaranteed to individuals asregards dignity and personality,the Constitution should be per-meated with a dash of constitu-tionalism.

The role of media in com-municating authentic, crucialand path-breaking informationand playing the paramount roleof monitoring and examining theGovernment’s policies and leg-islative enactments is epoch-making. The ideals and princi-ples of a democratically fash-ioned State mandate the supremejudicial authority in sustainingconstitutional morality frombeing suppressed. The freedomof speech and expression is notjust legal but a constitutionalright which is enshrined as thefoundational parameter and anessential pillar of a democraticUnion. The arbitrary suppressionof speech and expression is directcurtailment of the democraticprinciples enshrined in theConstitution. The SupremeCourt has, however, prudentlyupheld the sanctity of freedom ofspeech and the exclusive rights ofmedia in a few judicial pro-nouncements, and it has broad-ened the notion of FundamentalRights against discretionary spec-ulation. The Supreme Court hasaccentuated upon theFundamental Rights while adjudicating upon Mohan Lal vUnion of India and Vinod Duav Union of India, respectively.The free speech and expressionincorporate and encapsulate the inviolable principle of privacy as well.

In the judgment of ManoharLal v Union of India, famouslyknown as the Pegasus case, thejudicial contention staunchlyprecludes arbitrary encroach-ment in the confines and purviewof Fundamental Right of speechand the scope of privacy of anindividual. The apex court prag-matically opinioned and articu-

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It is euphoric that Train 18, on the dayof its unveiling and launch by thePrime Minister at Integral Coach fac-tory, Chennai (ICF) safely breached

the 180 km/h speed barrier. Team ICF haddelivered the first modern train entirelyof Indian origin from concept to deliveryat much less than half the cost of import.The way the country loved and celebrat-ed this Make in India projectwas beyondimagination, considering it was just a train.

The first pair of the train are in suc-cessful servicewithout any break in it ser-vice, a feat not paralleled by even anyimported rolling stock so far.

That the team was later houndedthrough the poisonous instrument ofscoundrels, "give a dog a bad name andhang him", is a thing of the past with achange in the leadership of IndianRailways. The pride of shining success ofthe trainhas been restored to the teamwhich built it,after it suffered crookedmachinations, vilification of the train andwitch-hunt of the team members.Although not everyone of the team hasbeen revived but be that as it may, it is timeto look at the future dispassionately.

The PM has been fashioning it as asymbol of aspirational India, announcingon August 15th 2021 that 75 such trainswould criss-cross the country in 75weeks. IR has already unfolded a plan for104 such trains, with equipment ordered-for 44 trains and procurement underwayfor 58 more.

ICF did build a great train but was ita world-class? Not quite. It wanted to, butthere was a race against time as ICF wastrying to do something in 18 monthsagainst the international norm of 36 to 42months. Now is the time to look at it veryclosely to turn out the new avatar of thetrain which must be necessarily be animprovement over the first two.

What would be the recipe for the newtrains?

Let us first get the bizarre creation ofa new specification asit was nothing butan exercise driven by jealousy, venality andinsipidity. It attempts to enhance the accel-eration of a train which was at the opti-mum already or improve the rideof a trainwhich has a ride-comfort superior to exist-ing coaches. These 'boil the ocean' mod-ifications would neither cut down traveltime nor improve travel experience but thedie is cast; One can only hope that thesemodifications do not lead to unnecessarycomplications, given that these changeshave already set back the project by threeyears.

Otherwise, there are not many tech-nical issues to be addressed but, even thosethere are, should be addressed strongly,like the improper ventilation of tractionmotors,unfriendly cable layout, disuse ofStepper in the Plug door etc. It is learntthat the Stepper in the Plug Door is beingeliminated; that would be a defeatist wayto solve a problem.

Based on the feedback from the ini-

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tial runs and subsequent passengerobservations, the following need tobe addressed:

The European-type slide-for-ward seats were not appreciated byour travellers and back-rest reclin-ing type seats should be employed,taking care that the integrity of thesnack table be maintained.

Inadequate holding space forcatering needs to be augmented.

The so-called improved spec-ification has eliminated thePassenger Information System(PIS).This unique facet should berestored; its aesthetics needimprovement with the LCD screensto made them flush with the panel.

An ugly emergency widowlike LHB coaches has been added;never mind thatno one has everused this monstrosity on ourcoaches so far. ICF should be ableto evolve of a more organized evac-uationsystem without spoiling thecontinuous window look.

The touch type reading lightsneed improvement.

Uneven gaps in the panellingshould be reduced; this may needtightening the tolerances. The firesampling points should be fitted ina pleasing manner.

The rubber flooring used didnot suit the heavy luggage that trav-ellers bring. Amore pleasing anddurable flooring should beemployed.

The toughened window glassused in earlier rakes shatter whenmiscreants throw stones on thetrain; a shatter-proof laminated

glass should be used.There is no easy solution of the

frequent damage to the nose of thetrain due to cattle run over cases asno nose, howsoever strong, canwithstand the impact of a large ani-mal hit at high speed; the Hobson'schoice, therefore, is to replacecone sections to sustain this USPof the train unlike the ugly patchrepair that we do today. A CattleGuard in front would spoil thelooks of the train front. In the longrun, all higher speed train setroutes will have to be fenced orfreed of cattle menace throughother means.

Train rakes should be basedinitially in two or three depots onlyand assigning one or two rakes toa depot should be eschewed. Therehas been a lot of learnings in run-ning and maintaining the trains onNorthern Railway and it should beconsolidated.

As for the future, two new ver-sions of Train 18 must be pursued;I christen them as cousins of Train18 because this name, Train 18, hadthe magic which propelled theICF team into unprecedentedaction back in 2017.

Train 23:Assuming we wouldhave 104 rakes in five years fromnow, where would we deploythem?Shatabdis are clear candidatesbut that would mean only about25to 30 rakes. So, development of aSleeper version is a must to replaceconventional Rajdhani rakes. Itwas planned in 2018 as Train 19project but later consigned to limbo

in 2019. ICF must start work on thistrain to be turned out by early 2023.

Train 25:Train 20 was plannedas a future-ready train for speedrange 160-200 km/h operation;such speeds may become a realityon IR although the prospects todayappear bleakwith the works for 160km/h fitness of infrastructure mov-ing slowly. In any case, migrationfrom 160 km/h to 200 km/h is nota complicated exercise. Train 20project called for an Aluminium-bodied train set.To minimiseexpenditure on track and alliedinfrastructure, it should be provid-ed with Pendolino type tiltingmechanism too. It should be pos-sible to move a project for, say, 500coaches or 30 train sets, on themodel made by ICF in 2018, whichenvisaged true partnership indesign and manufacture, unlike IR'sconventional ToTregime, with shedspace being made available to themanufacturing partner at ICF. Thismodel would equip ICF to beready for design and manufactureof medium-high-speed trains ontheir own in future. But for this, IRmust act now.

In the bard's The Merchant ofVenice, Portia says, "If to do wereas easy as to know what were goodto do, chapels had been churchesand poor men's cottages princes'palaces". At the same time, teamICF has shown in the past that witha determined leadership and amotivated team, "Wishes canindeed be horses". We hope thathappens.

(The writer is a retiredGeneral Manager, IndianRailways and independent

consultant. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

ADelhi-based universi-ty's circular advised thegirl students to 'draw a

tangible line between themand their male counterparts toavoid incidents of sexualharassment', and it drew flakfor its overt 'misogynist tones','victim-centred outlook' and'blatant exercise of patriarchaland hierarchical power in theworkplace'. The para in ques-tion reconfirmed the existenceof gender bias.

Social theorist Simone deBeauvoir claims that 'one is notborn, but rather becomes awoman through a gendersocialisation, whereby, femi-nine traits and behaviours areacquired'. American philoso-pher Sally Haslanger said that'they are causally constructedby social forces'.

Breaking an era of silence,

the term 'sexual harassment,was coined in mid-70s by LinFarley, the American feminist,while, another American fem-inist scholar, CatharineMacKinnon, asserted that 'it isnot just a private sex-basedwrong, but, the outcome of asystematic dominance of male-oriented power and suppres-sion'. Sexual exploitation atworkplaces is nothing but areflection of 'the asymmetricalpower relations in whichwomen's entry into labourmarket is considered as a threatto men's traditional superiorrole as a provider in the fami-ly', a US survey reported.

Nevertheless, sexualharassment is a reality for bothmen and women but 'womenhave more than twice the riskof becoming a victim of harass-ment'. The Australian Human

Rights Commission found thatone in four women and one insix men have been subjected toworkplace sexual harassment.In European Union countries,between 40 and 50 per cent ofwomen experience unwantedsexual advances, physical con-tact or other forms of sexualharassment at work. In theUnited States, 38 per cent ofwomen have been victims ofdifferent forms of harassment,77 per cent being verballyabused while 51 per cent are

touched without permission,and 55 per cent of victimsexperienced retaliation aftermaking a complaint. A surveyby ABC and Washington Postsaid that '95 per cent ofharassers go unpunished, andthe perpetrators are often pro-tected'. Across Asia, studies inJapan, Malaysia, the Philippinesand South Korea accountedthat about 30 to 40 per centworking women face offensiveovertures.

Now, the latest report of theWorld Policy Centre, UCLA,said that more than one-thirdof the world's countries do nothave any laws prohibiting sex-ual harassment at work, andnearly 235 million workingwomen still remain unprotect-ed. While, the ILO's reportobserved that 'even where lawsexist, they are always compliant

with international standards'.China is still mulling over asuch a legislation with no clear-cut timeline for implementa-tion.

India does have the PoSHact, 2013, as a legal antidote butits efficacy has been questionedwith many women activistsdubbing it 'weak in content, andis hardly an empowering instru-ment, which used only thebroad framework of the SC laiddown Visakha guidelines andjudgement, and, departed inmany ways, like by diluting thedue process rights, reducing theemployer's liability, and thereby, allowing to manipulate orbypass the process altogether'.Further, the provision for pun-ishing a woman, if her com-plaint and evidence found to befalse or malicious, 'completelynullifies the objective of the law'

commented many lawyers. In case of women workers

in the informal sector, who are'more often forced to prioritisetheir income over their well-being', the 'act so far proved tobe only a piece of paper'. Thelocal committees (LCs), theredressal fora, exist only in 29per cent of districts. In theorganised sector, 'the employ-ers, by and large, do not playany role in ensuring that theinternal complaint committees(ICC) are equipped to dealwith the procedures as per law,or have proper co-ordinationwith the personnel/disciplinaryauthorities and don't treat theissue as a policy matter andintegrate it in service rules', saida Mumbai-based lawyer.

No wonder that a 2016survey found that 'women vic-tims generally shy away from

reporting to the managementdue to embarrassment, lack ofconfidence in the complaintsmechanism, unawareness andstigma attached with sexualharassment'. An advisory firmwhich helps listed companiesin PoSH act compliance, dis-closed that the cases reportedto the ICCs of 44 NIFTYcompanies reduced by 2.6 percent in 2019-20. In 2019, areply to a Parliament questionrevealed that 'there is no cen-tralised data regarding com-pliance of the act'.

Now, the recent acquittal ofa rape-accused former Bishopby a Kerala trial court, whichpreferred to undermine theundercurrents of unfair powerplay within the sacred precinctsof the church will surely sup-press the voice of many suchvictims.

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Russia said on Wednesday itwas returning more troops

and weapons to bases, yetanother gesture apparentlyaimed at easing fears it is plan-ning to invade Ukraine, even asthe US said the threat of anattack remained.

Russia has massed about150,000 troops east, north andsouth of Ukraine, sparkingWestern concerns it was plan-ning an assault. There

have been no indications ofa significant withdrawal ofthose forces, but this week hasseen a handful of gestures fromMoscow that offered hope thatEurope might avoid war fol-lowing weeks of escalatingEast-West tensions.

On Wednesday, theRussian Defence Ministryreleased a video showing atrainload of armoured vehiclesmoving across a bridge awayfrom Crimea, the Black Seapeninsula that Russia annexedfrom Ukraine in 2014.

It said the movement waspart of a return of forces totheir permanent bases.

A day earlier, the ministryreported the start of a pullbackof troops following militaryexercises near Ukraine. AndRussian President VladimirPutin signalled he wanted adiplomatic path out of the cri-sis, emphasising that he did notwant war and would rely on

negotiations to achieve his keygoal of keeping Ukraine fromjoining NATO.While the USand its allies continued toexpress skepsticism aboutRussia's intentions, the movesnonetheless changed the tenoramid the worst East-West secu-rity crisis since the Cold War.

Still, Putin did not committo a full withdrawal, sayingRussia's next moves in thestandoff will depend on howthe situation evolves. TheRussian military hasn't giventhe number of troops orweapons being withdrawn andoffered few other details.

President Joe Bidennoted Tuesday that Americanofficials had not verifiedRussia's claim."Indeed, our ana-lysts indicate that they remainvery much in a threateningposition," Biden said inremarks at the White House.Still, he promised that the USwould give diplomacy "everychance."

British Defense SecretaryBen Wallace also said "it's toosoon to tell" whether the pull-back is genuine, noting that theRussians "haven't taken thefoot of the gas."

"I think what we haven'tseen is evidence of withdraw-al that has been claimed by theKremlin," he told Sky News. "Infact we've seen continuedbuildup of things like fieldhospitals and strategic weaponssystems. Until we see a proper

de-escalation, I think we shouldall be cautious about the direc-tion of travel from theKremlin."On Wednesday,Russian fighter jets flew train-ing missions over Belarus

that neighbours Ukraine tothe north and paratroopersheld shooting drills at firingranges there as part of massivewar games that the West fearedcould be used as cover for aninvasion of Ukraine.

Belarusian ForeignMinister Vladimir Makei reaf-firmed that all Russian troopswill leave the country after themaneuvers wrap upSunday.Russia has denied hav-ing any invasion plans andhas mocked Western warn-ings about an imminent inva-sion as "hysteria" and "mad-ness."

Asked by Germandaily Welt if Russia was goingto attack Wednesday - namedby Western officials as a possi-ble invasion date- Russia'sambassador to the EuropeanUnion Vladimir Chizhovquipped: "Wars in Europerarely start on a Wednesday."

"There won't be an escala-tion next week either, on in theweek after, or in the comingmonth," he said.Russia wantsthe West to keep Ukraine andother former Soviet nationsout of NATO, halt weaponsdeployments near Russian bor-ders and roll back forces fromEastern Europe.

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President Joe Biden onTuesday said US has "not yet

verified" Russia's claim thatsome of its forces have with-drawn from Ukraine borderand said an invasion of Ukraineremains a distinct possibility.Biden made remarks at WhiteHouse hours after Russiaannounced that some unitsparticipating in military exer-cises near Ukraine's borderswould begin returning to theirbases. Russian PresidentVladimir Putin earlier Tuesdaysaid Russia was ready for talkswith United States and NATOon military transparency, mis-sile deployment limits andother security issues. But Bidencontinued to express skepticismabout Russia's intentions. Bidenwarned again that if Russiainvades Ukraine US "will rallyworld to oppose its aggression."Putin had said Tuesday he wel-comed a security dialogue withWest as his military reportedpulling back some of its troopsnear Ukraine -signals that mayindicate Kremlin has opted fora diplomatic path for nowdespite Western fears of animminent Russian invasion ofits neighbor.

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Yuriy Opoka prays his wifeand young daughter will be

safe in Ukraine as he closely fol-lows massive buildup of Russiantroops on country's bordersand dire warnings that theycould invade at any time. The33-year-old journalist oftencalls his family fromPhiladelphia, where he's attend-ing an English course, andrecently joined others in city'sUkrainian community at a rallycalling for peace back home."My 5-year-old daughter asksmy wife why Russians want tokill Ukrainians," Opoka saidabout his loved ones, who livein the western city of Lviv. "I'mfrustrated and also worriedabout them."Religious leadersand members of Ukrainiandiaspora in United States aregrowing increasingly concernedover threat of a dramatic esca-lation of nearly decade-old con-flict and have stepped up effortsto show support for familymembers and their EasternEuropean homeland. That sup-port ranges from offering spir-itual succour during specialprayer services and maintainingcharitable donations to orga-nizing demonstrations.

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Russia said Wednesday itwas returning more

troops and weapons to bases,but NATO declared it saw nosign of a drawdown as fearsthat Moscow could invadeUkraine soon persisted.Russia has massed about150,000 troops east, northand south of Ukraine, spark-ing Western concerns it wasplanning an attack. Moscowdenies it has any such plansand this week said it waspulling back some forces andweapons, though it gave fewdetails. Those claims havebeen met with skepticismfrom the US and its allies -even as they seemed to lowertemperature following weeksof escalating East-West ten-sions.On Wednesday, theRussian Defence Ministryreleased a video showing atrainload of armoured vehi-cles moving across a bridgeaway from Crimea, the BlackSea peninsula that Russiaannexed from Ukraine in2014. A day earlier, the min-istry reportedstart of a pull-back of troops following mil-itary exercises near Ukraine.

Berlin, Feb 16 (AP) TheAustrian government said onWednesday that it plans toend the country's mainCOVID-19 restrictions onMarch 5, though wearingmasks will remain obligatory insome places. Chancellor KarlNehammer announced thedecision at a news conferencein Vienna, stressing that thepandemic is not yet over butthe situation allows Austria toopen up step by step. In a firststep starting Saturday, proof ofvaccination or recent recoverywill no longer be required toattend events, go to restaurants,bars or hairdressers and vari-ous other activities. Proof of anegative test will suffice forthose things. From March 5,most restrictions will bedropped, with night clubsreopening and restrictions onopening hours for restaurantsand bars ending. Nehammersaid that a requirement to wearprotective FFP2 masks willremain in place where it is nec-essary to protect the most vul-nerable, including in publictransport, essential shops andpharmacies.

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President Joe Biden is order-ing the release of Trump

White House visitor logs to theHouse committee investigatingthe riot of January 6, 2021,once more rejecting formerPresident Donald Trump'sclaims of executive privilege.The committee has sought atrove of data from the NationalArchives, including presiden-tial records that Trump hadfought to keep private. Therecords being released toCongress are visitor logs show-ing appointment informationfor individuals who wereallowed to enter the WhiteHouse on the the day of the

insurrection.In a letter sentMonday to the NationalArchives, White House coun-sel Dana Remus said Biden hadconsidered Trump's claim thatbecause he was president at thetime of the attack on the USCapitol, the records shouldremain private, but decidedthat it was "not in the bestinterest of the United States" todo so. She also noted that as amatter of policy, the Bidenadministration "voluntarilydiscloses such visitor logs on amonthly basis," as did theObama administration, andthat the majority of the entriesover which Trump asserted theclaim would be publiclyreleased under current policy.

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Two death row inmates inSingapore lost another

appeal on Wednesday againsttheir pending execution on thegrounds they were mentallydisabled, but their family fileda fresh legal bid to save them.

Lawyer M.Ravi saidSingapore's High Court reject-ed an application to review theexecutions that had beenscheduled for Wednesday butstayed the order pending anappeal hearing.

The cases was immedi-ately heard by the Court ofAppeal, which then dismissedthe plea, he said. "We have filedanother application on themanner the death penalty hasbeen administered in(Singapore) and the variousbreaches on right to life andunequal treatment," Ravi wroteon Facebook. He said the newhearing was due on Thursdaymorning.The two men, whowere arrested for smugglingdrugs into the country, will bethe first to be executed sinceNovember 2019 if their sen-tences are upheld.

Malaysian Pausi Jefridinand Singaporean Roslan Bakarwere sentenced to death in2010, two years after beingarrested. Lawyers and rightsactivists say Pausi has an IQ ofonly 67 - a level that is inter-nationally recognised as anintellectual disability - whileRoslan has a borderline rangeof intellectual functioning.

In 2017, a lower courtjudge found that two "dis-played competence and com-prehension" while carryingout the act they were sentencedfor, according toTransformative JusticeCollective, an anti-death penal-ty movement in Singapore.

The case resembles that ofMalaysian Nagaenthran KDharmalingam, whose sched-uled hanging last Novembersparked widespread angerbecause he is believed to bementally disabled with an IQof 69.

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AMyanmar fighter jet onWednesday crashed into a

lake in country's northwest,state-run media reported,blaming the incident on a tech-nical malfunction. The crashtook place in a region wherethere is active combat betweenMyanmar's army and forcesopposed to army rule. Themilitary later said in a state-ment pilot had died.

State-run MRTV said theplane crashed into a lake 16 km(10 miles) north of town ofSagaing. The jet lost contactwith a military air base atTada-U in neighbouringMandalay Region at 10:43 amas it was beginning its trainingmaneuvers, the report said.

A local rescue worker saidbody parts found at the crashsite were taken away by a mil-itary helicopter. He saidcrashed plane was a Chinese-made model, painted in stan-dard blue colour favoured bythe air force.

The rescue worker, whospoke on condition ofanonymity because he was notauthorised to speak to media,said there were no reports ofcasualties on the ground.

A local resident, who alsoasked that his name not be usedto avoid recriminations fromthe government, said villagersheard a "very loud" sound ofthe plane crashing near south-eastern shore of lake.

Sagaing Region - one ofseven administrative regions inMyanmar, plus its capital city- is a stronghold of armed resis-tance to ruling military, whichseized power in February lastyear from elected governmentof Aung San Suu Kyi.

Opposition to takeover wasinitially peaceful, but use oflethal force by authorities esca-lated conflict to what somesome UN experts havedescribed as a civil war. Majoroffences by military, includingair strikes, have driven manythousands of people from theirhomes and caused an unknownnumber of civilian casualties.

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NATO member countrieson Wednesday examined

new ways to bolster defenses ofnations on organization's east-ern flank as Russia's militarybuildup around Ukraine fuelsone of Europe's biggest securi-ty crises in decades.

Over two days at NATOheadquarters in Brussels,defense ministers were to dis-cuss how and when to rapidlydispatch troops and equipmentto countries closest to Russiaand Black Sea region shouldMoscow order an invasion ofUkraine.

U.S. Defense SecretaryLloyd Austin and his counter-parts also plan to weigh possi-bility of stationing troopslonger-term in southeastEurope, possibly starting laterthis year. The troops wouldmirror presence of some 5,000servicemembers that have beenstationed in allies Estonia,Latvia, Lithuania and Poland ona rotating basis in recentyears.The U.S. Has started todeploy 5,000 troops to Polandand Romania.

Britain is sending hundredsof soldiers to Poland and offer-ing more warships and planes.Germany, the Netherlands andNorway are sending additionaltroops to Lithuania. Denmarkand Spain are providing jets forair policing.

"The fact that we havedeployed more NATO troopson ground, more naval assets,more aircraft, all of that sendsa very clear message," NATOSecretary General JensStoltenberg said. "I think thereis no room for any miscalcula-tion in Moscow about our com-mitment to defending allies.

"The deployment has comein response to a formidablechallenge. Over last fourmonths, Russia is estimated tohave amassed around 60% of itsentire land forces and a signif-icant portion of its air force tonorth and east of Ukraine, aswell as in neighboring Belarus.

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European Union leaderswant to re-engage with

African nations and counterthe growing influence fromChina and Russia across thecontinent during a two-daysummit in Brussels. The EU-African Union gathering start-ing Thursday was initiallyplanned for 2020 but was post-poned due to the coronaviruspandemic and agenda issues. Itwill be the first time EU andAfrican Union leaders meet inthat format since 2017. The aimfor the EU is clear: to remainAfrica's partner ofchoice.European Commissionpresident Ursula von der Leyen

travelled to Senegal last week tomeet with President MackySall, who also chairs theAfrican Union. She announceda 150-billion euro ($170 bil-lion) investment plan in Africaas part of the EU's so-calledGlobal Gateway project, whichis widely seen as an alternativeto China's Belt and RoadInitiative. China's programmeaims to develop markets andnew trade routes connectingChina with the rest of theworld by weaving a network ofports, bridges and power plantsthat will yield diplomatic cloutand global power.The EU'sproject is expected to mobilise,in total, up to 300 billion euros($341 billion) in public and

private funds by 2027. "We willdemonstrate that the EuropeanUnion is Africa's most trustedpartner," said Josep Borrell,the EU's top diplomat, ahead ofthe summit. "We will therebyalso counter negative narrativesand disinformation about whatEuropeans are and whatEuropeans are doing for, andwith, the African people."In2020, the EU was Africa'slargest single trade partner,and China was its secondlargest. The EU said that itsinvestment package for Africais meant to bolster a green anddigital transition, acceleratesustainable growth and jobcreation, and strengthen edu-cation and health systems.

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Protesters opposing a pro-posed US half-billion dollar

grant for Nepal clashed withpolice outside Parliament onWednesday, leaving injurieson both sides.The proposalwas scheduled to be presentedin Parliament for approval, butthe debate was postponedbecause of disagreementsamong political parties. Therehas been growing opposition tothe grant, mainly led byCommunist parties. Themoney is meant to be used forthe construction of powertransmission lines andimprovement of roads in theHimalayan nation, but the par-

ties allege it comes with con-ditions that are not acceptable.Two of the Communist partiesare part of the coalition gov-ernment. They claim the con-ditions in the grant agreementwill prevail over Nepal's lawsand strike at the country's sov-ereignty. They say it's part ofWashington's Indo-Pacificstrategy, which has militarycomponents that could bringAmerican soldiers to Nepal.USofficials have spoken toNepalese leaders recently toassure that grant concerns onlyNepal's development. A fewhundred protesters managed topush through thick lines of riotpolice, who used bamboobatons and fired tear gas.

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Some prominent AmericanCongressmen have welcomed

recent meeting of foreign min-isters from US, India, Australiaand Japan, saying "critical part-nership" of Quad grouping wasadvancing a positive vision forfuture of strategic Indo-Pacificregion rooted in shared values.

The foreign ministers ofQuad or Quadrilateral SecurityDialogue last week met inMelbourne where they vowed toexpand cooperation to keepIndo-Pacific free from "coer-cion", denounced use of terror-ist proxies for cross-border ter-rorism, assessed Ukraine crisisand asserted that Afghan terri-tory should not be used tothreaten or attack any country.

US Secretary of State AntonyBlinken and External AffairsMinister S Jaishankar were partof Quad meeting on February11. "As Democratic andRepublican co-chairs ofCongressional Caucuses forJapan, Australia, and India, wetake note of Quad ForeignMinisters' Meeting that tookplace in Melbourne, Australia,"said a Joint Statement issued byCo-Chairs of CongressionalJapan, Australia, and IndiaCaucuses, and HFAC AsiaSubcommittee on Monday. "As

staunch supporters of closerrelations between United Statesand Japan, Australia, and India,we are pleased to see furtherdevelopment of this critical part-nership through last week's min-isterial meeting. We will con-tinue to work in a bipartisanmanner to assist in that devel-opment from Congress," it said.

By advancing cooperationon COVID-19 vaccination deliv-ery, humanitarian assistance anddisaster relief, the environment,maritime security, counterter-rorism, cybersecurity, combatingforeign disinformation cam-paigns and economic coercion,as well as standards for criticaland emerging technologies, theQuad is advancing a positivevision for future of Indo-Pacificrooted in shared values andsupported by unique capabilitiesof member countries, the state-ment said.

It noted that last week'sQuad meeting builds upon out-comes of in-person leaders' sum-mit in September 2021.Thelawmakers hoped that UnitedStates and Quad will continue toengage other countries and mul-tilateral organisations through-out Indo-Pacific-includingAssociation of Southeast AsianNations which will continue toplay a central role in Americanengagement with region.

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American support for Israelremains "ironclad," US

House Speaker Nancy Pelositold members of Israel's par-liament Wednesday, despitedeep differences between thenations on Iran, peace with thePalestinians and other issues.Pelosi stuck to what the US andIsrael have in common, par-ticularly on their desires to reinin Iran's nuclear capabilitiesand find a path toward peacewith the Palestinians. "The USremains ironclad, I keep usingthat word, in our support ofIsrael's security and its region-al stability," Pelosi said with her

counterpart, Knesset SpeakerMickey Levy, standing nearby.The face-to-face diplomacycame at a tense time in thenations' relationship as talksabout a deal to rein in Iran'snuclear capabilities drag on inVienna. US President Joe Bidencampaigned on renewing andexpanding the Iran nucleardeal after former PresidentDonald Trump, with strongencouragement from then-Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu, withdrew theUnited States in 2018. Sincethen, the US has reimposedsanctions and Iran has steppedup its nuclear activities, amass-ing a stockpile of highly

enriched uranium that goeswell beyond the bounds of theaccord.Israel has said it will notbe bound by any internationalagreement concerning Iran'snuclear program, and says it isprepared to take military actionif needed to prevent Iran fromobtaining nuclear arms. Iraninsists its nuclear program issolely for peaceful purposes.Standing before a vibrant muralin the Knesset's Chagall Hall,Pelosi said Israel and USremain concerned about samethreat from Iran and its prox-ies. We are together in fightagainst terrorism posed byIran, both in region and also itsnuclear development," she said.

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North Korea celebrated the80th birthday of late

leader Kim Jong Il with aconcert, fireworks and a rareoutdoor ceremony near itsborder with China, state mediareported Wednesday, as thecountry pushes for greaterinternal unity amid pandem-ic-related hardships. Kim'sson and current leader KimJong Un attended a state cer-emony at Samjiyon city onTuesday, on the eve of hisfather's birthday, the officialKorean Central News Agencyreported.When Kim Jong Unappeared, all the participants"burst into stormy cheers hur-rah' upon him" before he paidtribute to the statue of hisfather, KCNA said. The eventshowed participants' firmresolves to rally behind KimJong Un and achieve a pros-perity with self-reliance,KCNA said, and similar cere-monies were held across NorthKorea to mark the birthanniversary. K C N Asaid senior officials visitingSamjiyon city observed fire-works and a music concert.

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New Delhi: HiranandaniGroup is ready to focus onbroader technology-led con-sumer services with its newventure Tez Platforms to focuson large opportunities in thearena of social media, enter-tainment, gaming and e-sports, e-commerce, person-al mobility, artificial intelli-gence and blockchain linkedsolutions. “In keeping withthe Digital India vision, weare widening our focus ontechnology-led, new-age ser-vices,” said DarshanHiranandani, CEO-Hiranandani Group.

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The Indian economy ispoised to grow at the quick-

est pace among the league oflarge nations on the back of var-ious initiatives taken by thegovernment in Budget 2022-23,said the Finance Ministry'sMonthly Economic Review.

"The current year may aswell end with an economicreset manifest of a post-C O V I D - 1 9world...Manufacturing andConstruction will be the'growth drivers', triggered bythe PLI schemes and publiccapex in infrastructure," thereview report said.

Agriculture, which contin-ues to see a constant increase innet sown area and crop diver-sification, will strengthen foodbuffers while benefiting farm-ers through generous volumesof procurement at remunerativeminimum support prices andincome transfers through PMKISAN scheme, it added.

Observing that the IMF in

its January 2022 update haslowered its global growth esti-mate for 2022, it said India is yetthe only large and major coun-try listed by the IMF whosegrowth projection has beenrevised upwards in 2022-23.

"In a testimony to theresilience of its people and thefarsightedness of its policy-making, the Indian economythat contracted by (-)6.6 percent in 2020-21 is now pro-jected in 2022-23 to grow thequickest among the league oflarge nations," it said.

The report said the Budget2022-23 has strengthened thedirection set for India's econo-my by the previous year's bud-get. The capex budget, higherby 35.4 per cent over currentyear's budget estimates and ris-ing to 4.1 per cent of GDP afterinclusion of grants-in-aid tostates for capital works, willpower the seven engines ofGatishakti to reduce the infra-structure gap and facilitate pri-vate investment in the country,it said.

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The BSE gauge Sensex closedbelow the key 58,000-level

after a highly volatile session onWednesday, dragged lowermainly by banking, metal andauto shares.

The 30-share benchmarkswung nearly 800 points duringthe session before closing at57,996.68 -- marking a loss of145.37 points or 0.25 per cent.

Likewise, the NSE Niftyswung between gains and loss-es before settling 30.25 points or0.17 per cent lower at 17,322.20.On the Sensex chart, NTPC,SBI, UltraTech Cement, ICICIBank, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finservand Bjaja Finance were amongthe major laggards. Of the indexconstituents, 22 shares closedwith losses. Elsewhere in Asia,bourses closed with significantgains as fears of a Russian inva-sion of Ukraine dissipated.

Global crude oil bench-mark Brent Futures fell 0.19 percent to USD 93.06 per barrel.Foreign institutional investors(FIIs) were net sellers in the cap-ital market on Tuesday.

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The rupee appreciated by 25paise to close at 75.07 (pro-

visional) against the US dollar onWednesday, amid signs of de-escalation in the conflict betweenRussia and Ukraine.

At the interbank forex mar-ket, the local unit opened at 75.24against the greenback and wit-nessed an intra-day high of74.96 and a low of 75.24. It final-ly settled at 75.07, a rise of 25paise over its previous close. OnTuesday, the rupee had snappedits five-session losing streak andsurged 28 paise to close at 75.32.US President Joe Biden has saidthat the US is ready to respond"decisively" to a Russian attack onUkraine which is still very mucha possibility, urging Moscow tostep back from the brink of war.

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After a brief dip in 2020,organisations are reverting

to pre-pandemic levels of invest-ment in incentives and theindustry average for incrementthis year is expected to be 9 percent, a survey said onWednesday.

According to Mercer'sTotal Remuneration Survey,which was conducted with 988companies, around 5,700 jobfunctions and over 14 lakhcumulative employee strength,sectors such as consumer, lifesciences and technology have allforecasted increments to behigher than the industry averagein 2022."A key positive is thatorganisations across the board

are reverting to pre-pandemiclevels of investment in rewards,expected to be at about 9 percent for all industries in 2022,compared to 7.7 per cent in2020, signalling positive eco-nomic and business sentiment,"said Mansee Singhal, SrPrincipal, Rewards ConsultingLeader India.

Across all employee cate-gories, increments in tech wereback to 2019 levels of 9 per centand higher than all industriesaverage of 8 per cent for 2021.

Key specializations whichcommand a premium areSoftware Development, R&D,pre-sales product consultingand Data Sciences to a tune of12 per cent within the Internetjob family, the survey added..

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Second-largest IT exporterInfosys may hire more than

55,000 fresh graduates fromcampuses in FY23 as it sees avery good runway for growthgoing forward, a top executivesaid on Wednesday.

The Bengaluru-head-quartered company's chiefexecutive Salil Parekh saidthere are tremendous oppor-tunities awaiting engineeringand science graduates in thetech sector, but urged them tointernalise that it will be acareer where they will have tolearn new skills at shorterdurations.

"We will recruit 55k col-lege grads in FY22. We thinkwe will recruit that or a high-er number in next year(FY23)," Parekh said whileaddressing IT industry lobbyNasscom's annual NTLFevent.

He said Infosys is target-ing a 20 per cent jump inannual revenues in FY22 andthis presents a great opportu-nity for a fresher to join thecompany and grow.

Parekh says the companyfocuses a lot on skilling,wherein it trains a fresher forsix to 12 weeks before one getsdeployed on the floor.

Additionally, it has a pro-gramme on reskilling all itsexisting employees, unlikepeers, to make sure that exist-ing staffers keep reskilling andstay relevant.

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Gold in the national capitalon Wednesday traded

almost flat at Rs 49,254 per 10grams, capping gains withrupee appreciation, accordingto HDFC Securities.

In the previous trade, theprecious metal settled at Rs49,253 per 10 grams.

Silver gained Rs 332 to Rs63,157 per kg, from Rs 62,825per kg in the previous trade.

The Indian rupee closed 25paise higher at 75.07 (provi-sional) against the US dollar onWednesday. In the interna-tional market, gold was trading0.24 per cent up at USD 1,857per ounce. Silver was tradingmarginally up at USD 23.52 perounce. "Spot gold prices for 24carat gold at Delhi were up byRe 1 capping gains with rupeeappreciation," Tapan Patel,senior analyst (commodities) ofHDFC Securities, said.

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New Delhi: LKP SecuritiesLtd has entered into anarrangement with HDFC BankLtd to offer a special 3-in-1online account. Under thisfacility, customers of LKPSecurities Ltd can complete hisbank account opening for-malities and gain added ben-efits of broking and demataccount. “3-1in-1 onlineaccount with multiple utilityfeatures and benefits brings ina superior investing experi-ence,” stated Pratik Doshi,Managing Director at LKPSecurities.

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Uniphore, the start-upwhich is into conversa-

tional automation, has raisedUSD 400 million in its Series-E funding round, led by for-eign fund NEA, MarchCapital and other existinginvestors along with new enti-ties, at a valuation of USD 2.5billion.

With this round, theC h e n n ai - h e a d qu ar te re dUniphore's total funding hastouched USD 610 million ata valuation of USD 2.5 billion.

The company, co-found-ed by Umesh Sachdev, who isalso the chief executive, saidthis is its largest to date andwill be used to extend its tech-nology and market leadershipwith advancements in voiceAI,computer vision and tonalemotion, apart from expand-ing its operations to NorthAmerica, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

The market for automat-ing enterprise conversationshas rapidly accelerated in thepast few years as companiesrecognise the impact of pos-

itive customer interactionson their brand image andcustomer loyalty.

As a result, many busi-nesses have turned to artificialintelligence and automationto create smooth and fric-tionless customer experi-ences.

Uniphore's conversa-tional automation enginedelivers powerful and innov-ative solutions to help enter-prises not just survive butthrive amidst all the demandsplaced on them by customers.

He said that with thisinvestment, Hilarie Koplow-McAdams of NEA will be onthe board of Uniphore.

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Cyient, an engineering, man-ufacturing,and digital tech-

nology solutions company, onWednesday announcedthelaunch of its Private 5GNetworks Center of Excellence(CoE)and said it signed anMoU with the Indian Instituteof Technology,Hyderabad, as aresearch partner for the CoE .A press release from Cyientsaid it will leverage a 5Gcoredeveloped by IIT Hyderabad fortesting various digital use cas-esand interoperability with best-of-breed components fromindustry leaders.

Located in Cyient's facilityhere, the CoE will combine the-company's enterprise and net-work experience with IITHyderabad'sresearch and tech-nology expertise it said.

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Gems and jewellery exportsrose by 6.5 per cent to USD

32.37 billion during April-January this fiscal, industrybody GJEPC said onWednesday.

The exports stood at USD30.40 billion in the same peri-od of the previous year.

The top 10 export desti-nations include the UAE (41.50per cent), Belgium (15.81 percent), Japan (12.20 per cent)and Hong Kong (3.06 per cent)during the 10 months period ofthis fiscal, Gem and JewelleryExport Promotion Council(GJEPC) said in a statement.

It added that the freetrade agreement (FTA) with theUAE, when implemented,

would help to further pushexports of plain gold and goldstudded jewellery.

The council has urged thegovernment to seek abolition ofimport duty of 5 per cent in theUAE on the exports of gold, sil-ver, and platinum jewelleryfrom India. "UAE accountsfor 80 per cent of India's plaingold jewellery exports and 20per cent of studded jewelleryexports. The FTA betweenIndia and UAE has come at anopportune time...UAE is a gate-way to the entire Middle Eastregion," it added.

With proposed nil duty,exports of plain gold jewelleryand gold studded jewelleryfrom India to the UAE wouldtouch USD 10 billion (Rs 74,000crore) in 2023, it claimed.

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Bank of India has invitedapplications for the post of

Chief Economist, on a con-tractual basis for three years.

Listing eligibility criteria,the public sector lender saidthe candidate should be a firstclass MA in Economics orfirst class in MA inEconometrics, as an essentialqualification.

The desirable qualificationis Ph.D. In Economics orEconometrics, the bank said inan advertisement.

The candidate should haveseven years of experience as anofficer in financial institu-tions/banks/rating agen-cies/media houses, researchorganisations such as NSSO,CSO, among others.

Out of this, five years ofexperience should be in fore-casting, analysing businessindicators, environmentalscanning, building up of databank, econometric models andindustrial profiles.

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New Zealand bicycle brandAvanti has entered the

Indian market in associationwith Scott Sports India with thelaunch of 'Avanti Giro FM1' inthe domestic market, at a priceof Rs 40,990, according to astatement released onWednesday.

Rolled out for both menand women in the country, thecompany is looking to come upwith 12 bike models, includingfor kids, in the next six monthsalong with 100 dealerships, itsaid. After the brands' successin New Zealand and Australia,it is now set to make its land-fall in India, said the statement,adding that Scott Sports Indiawill mark the journey forAvanti in the Indian

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State-owned GAIL India Ltdplans to lay a pipeline to

Srinagar to take the environ-mentally friendly natural gas tothe Kashmir Valley as it dou-bles down on efforts to expandinfrastructure to helm the gov-ernment vision of a gas-basedeconomy, its chairman andmanaging director Manoj Jainsaid. GAIL will by May 2023complete a 700-km pipelinefrom Mumbai to Nagpur,enabling the flow of gas to cen-tral India and is on track

to meeting the target ofmid-2022 for completing major

portions of the ambitious UrjaGanga project, bringing easternIndia on the energy map, hesaid. Gas pipelines are plannedto take the fuel to the east andnortheast regions as well as toconsumers in the south as partof the government push toraise the share of natural gas inIndia's energy basket to 15 percent by 2030 from the current6.7 per cent.

"We are in the process ofgetting an authorisation fromthe regulator (PNGRB) for the425-km Gurudaspur (inPunjab) to Srinagar pipeline viaJammu," he told PTI in aninterview.

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On the back of a metaversewedding, Mingout, a dat-

ing app building a uniquelyIndian solution to romance,took two of its loyal users to adate in outer space. (Watchh e r e -https://mingout.Page.Link/mingout-metavers) "We thoughtabout the most romantic datepossible - and in an instant, theanswer was clear," NavdeepKamboj, Co-Founder andChief Wingperson, Mingout,said. "The moon representsthe two tenets of Mingout -romance and revolution.What's more romantic thanmoonlight, and what's morerevolutionary than humani-ty's first step on the moon?"Out to 'disrupt dating',Mingout has built a niche inthe world of romance by 'bring-ing the date back in dating'.Standing out as the only app inthe world where you can date,not just match, Mingout has,over the last year, conducted1000+ dates on the app.

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Market benchmarks closedin the red after a highly

volatile session on Wednesdaydespite a positive trend in glob-al equities amid signs of coolingof Russia-Ukraine tensions.

The 30-share BSE Sensexswung nearly 800 points duringthe session before closing at57,996.68 -- marking a loss of145.37 points or 0.25 per cent.

Likewise, the NSE Niftysee-sawed between gains andlosses before settling 30.25points or 0.17 per cent lower at17,322.20. On the Sensex chart,NTPC, SBI, UltraTech Cement,ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, BajajFinserv and Bjaja Finance wereamong the major laggards,shedding as much as 1.63 percent. In contrast, Bharti Airtelwas the top performer, spurting1.41 per cent, followed byHDFC, M&M, Dr Reddy's,Kotak Bank and Nestle India.

Of the index constituents,22 shares closed with losses.

"Indian equities staged arebound to recoup most of itslosses in the mid-noon sessionon the back of de-escalating ten-sions along

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Chief Minister Shri Ashok Gehlot said that agri-culture plays vital role in the economy of the

country and the State. The State Government iscommitted for the welfare of the farmers. In the lastthree years our government has taken many deci-sions and implemented many important schemesfor the prosperity of the farmers, he said.

Shri Gehlot was addressing the gathering on theoccasion of taking over the charge by RajasthanKisan Aayog chairman Shri Mahadev SinghKhandela and vice-chairman Shri Deep ChandKhairiya at Pant Krishi Bhawan. He congratulatedthem and said that the State Government would beable to make better decisions for the reforms in theagriculture sector on the advice given by theCommission. He said that the State Government’sAgriculture Budget will increase the income of thefarmers and to strengthen them. The work is alsoon to make a separate Power Company for the farm-ers. He said that various concessions are being giventhrough a new policy to the farmers to get a fairprice for produce and to promote food processing.Mukhyamantri Dugdh Utpadak Sambal Yojana(Chief Minister Milk Producer Support Scheme)was implemented to provide relief to cattle rearers.

Shri Gehlot said that the Rights based era start-ed in the country at the time of the UPAGovernment. People got the Right to Information,the Right to Education and the Right toEmployment through MGNREGA. The employ-ment concerns of people have been removedthrough MGNREGA.

Agriculture Minister Shri Lalchand Kataria wel-coming the Chief Minister and other guestsexpressed gratitude to Shri Gehlot for appointingchairman and vice-chairman in Kisan Aayog.Social Justice and Empowerment Minister ShriTikaram Jully, MLAs and other public representa-tives and agriculture department officers were pre-sent on this occasion.

SRM Wellness Center forstudents and staff was inau-

gurated at SRM Institute ofScience and Technology(SRMIST), Kattankulathur.This is the second centrewhich was evolved from awellness clinic at SRM MedicalCollege Hospital and ResearchCentre. This centre is managedby Mr Joseph Julian, who willbe monitoring, guiding andhelping students with theirmental and physical health.The centre was inaugurated bySRMIST's vice-chancellor, DrC. Muthamizhchelvan. pro-vice-chancellor (Medical &Health Sciences) Dr Lt. Col.Arunachalam Ravikumar,presided and Registrar Dr S.Ponnusamy felicitated.

Julian said that the pro-grams will be implemented tohelp students, collect data on

students mental and physicalhealth to determine if theywould need help or not.

“This data would be col-lected using modern tech-niques and by preparing aquestionnaire with the help ofthe Psychology Department.Based on the data collected,students would be categorisedbased on their need for help(red areas),” he said.

Dr C. Muthamizhchelvan,in his speech, said “Years back,success was measured on twopoints - salary and job title.Now success has been rede-fined and it also includes otherparameters like physicalhealth, mental health, and jobinterest.” Dr Lt ColArunachalam Ravikumar said,“The Wellness Center willhelp students battle depressionand prevent any suicide.”

IP University has released its Admission Brochure for the MBAprogramme (Code – 101) for the Academic Session 2022-

23.The brochure was released virtually by the vice-chancellor,Prof (Dr) Mahesh Verma and the Registrar Shri Shailendra SinghParihar in the presence of all University officials, deans and direc-tors of University Schools of Studies and affiliated institutions.

The University is offering an MBA programme in variousspecialities like International Business, Financial Management,Financial Analysis, and Analytics. The admission will be givenbased on the merit of CAT 2021, CMAT 2022 and theUniversity’s Common Entrance Test 2022.

Under the chairmanship of HousingCommissioner Shri Pawan Aroda,

a meeting of the School ManagementCommittee of Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 6Pratap Nagar was held in the BoardRoom of the Board on Monday.

Housing commissioner PawanAroda said that our effort should be onthe all-around development of the stu-dents. Along with linguistic proficiency,the level of morality should also remainhighest. He said that the future of thecountry is built at schools.

The commissioner said that accord-ing to the interest of the children, theyshould be encouraged and the environ-ment should be provided to them by theschool. Work should be done on polish-

ing their inherent talents. He said thatthe school premises should be neat andclean. Facilities like drinking water,sports, library, the classroom should bearranged in it.

The principal and member secretaryShri G D Meena, eminent educationistShri Chandra Prakash Sharma, Shri D KVarnia, musician Smt Rita Roy, eminentphysician Dr R K Meena, SC/ST repre-sentative Mr Indermal Danodiya, teacherrepresentative Mr Nathu Singh, parentrepresentative Mrs Seema Pareek, MrMukut Bihari Meena, co-opted membercommandant Y P Singh President,CGEWCC, Shri D K Shukla andTechnical Member Shri R C Budaniawere present.

Shri Deepak Gupta hasassumed charge as Director

(Projects) of GAIL (India)Limited. Shri Gupta is a mechan-ical engineer, a Delhi College ofEngineering alumnus, with morethan 31 years of rich and diverseexperience in the Oil and GasSector encompassing ProjectManagement, Construction Managementand Business Development functions.

GAIL is implementing the expansionof its pipeline network by over 5,600 km atan investment of over �25,000 crore in thenext few years. GAIL owns a cross coun-try network of natural gas pipeline opera-tions for nearly 14,000 km. GAIL owns andoperates over a 2,000 km network of LPG

transmission pipelines and hasfive Gas Processing Units pro-ducing LPG and LiquidHydrocarbons.

Shri Gupta was working asExecutive Director (Projects),Engineers India Limited (EIL),before assuming his new post onFebruary 12, 2022.

He is a certified Project ManagementProfessional (PMP) by the PMI, USA andhas comprehensive and extensive experi-ence in Project Management of Refinery,Petrochemical and Pipeline Projects fromconcept to commissioning and has led theexecution of several successful projects inIndia in all modes of project implementa-tion.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) hasreceived an order for the supply of Compact

Heat Exchanger sets for 83 LCA Tejas MK1A air-craft, from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL). The order envisages manufacturing,assembly, testing and supply of Compact HeatExchangers to be fitted in the LCA Tejas aircraftbeing manufactured by HAL.

BHEL’s Heavy Plates and Vessels Plant(HPVP), Visakhapatnam is the sole supplier ofHeat Exchangers for LCA Tejas to HAL since1996. BHEL-HPVP and AeronauticalDevelopment Agency (ADA), Bangalore havejointly designed and developed 13 differenttypes of Compact Heat Exchangers forEnvironmental Control System (ECS) andSecondary Power System (SPS) of the LCA MK-1 programme.

BHEL is also currently working with DRDOfor the development of an Air Cycle Machinebased Liquid Cooling System (LCS) for AircraftPOD application for LCA Mk-2.

BHEL-HPVP has dedicated, intricate man-ufacturing and inspection facilities for the man-ufacturing of state-of-the-art Compact HeatExchangers for different types of aircraft manu-factured by HAL. The same is progressively beingaugmented to meet International Aero Standards(AS9100) and BHEL is ready to meet the require-ments of future programs of LCA, ALH, Sukhoiand AMCA.

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AISP’22–Second International Conferenceis being organised by the School of

Electronics Engineering, VIT-AP university incoordination with IEEE Guntur Subsection andTechnical co-sponsored by IEEE Hyderabadsection inaugurated by chief guest SrinivasLingam, vice president, Data Center and AIGroup, Intel Corporation in presence of guestof honour professor Tokunbo Ogunfunmi,Santa Clara University, USA held virtually onFebruary 12. Srinivas Lingam, vice president,Data Center and AI Group, Intel Corporationsaid that the focus is to present the latest devel-opments in the area.

Ogunfunmi said that visionary papers withunique, and novel contributions will acceler-ate innovations. Dr S V Kota Reddy, vice-chan-

cellor, VIT-AP said that that more than 500research papers were submitted. The researchersincluding academicians and industry personsfrom India and 12 different countries.

Dr Umakanta Nanda, convener, AISP’2022and dean SENSE, VIT-AP said that the con-ference will see innovative research papers beingpresented during 15 technical sessions. Keynote

addresses will be delivered by professor S PMohanty, North Texas University, USA, pro-fessor Ganapati Panda, IIT, Bhubaneswar, DrShankar Prakriya, professor ElectricalEngineering, IIT, Delhi, professor António JoséNunes Navarro Rodrigues, Department ofElectronics, University of Aveiro, professorLuciano Volcan Agostini, Universidade Federalde Pelotas, Dr Milan Biswal, assistant profes-sor, Dept. of Computer Science, New MexicoState University, USA, Dr Nithin V. George,Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering, IITGandhinagar.

Dr Deepak Kumar Panda, general chair ofAISP’2022 delivered his special address, Dr CL V Sivakumar, registrar, VIT-AP, faculty, schol-ars and staff were also present.

Power Grid Corporation ofIndia Limited (POWER-

GRID) signed an MoU withESIC Medical College & Hospital,Faridabad (ESICMC&HF) onFebruary 9 for providing finan-cial assistance towards procure-ment of medical equipment. Theestimated project cost is approx.�two crores to be executedthrough POWERGRID,Northern Region-I.

The agreement was signed bySh R P Sinha, Sr GM (HR),POWERGRID and Shri AsimDas, dean, ESIC Medical College& Hospital in the august presenceof Shri A.K Mishra, executive

director, POWERGRID (NR-I).Dr Anil Kumar Pandey, Registrar(Academics) Dr ParveenGhuliani Chaudhary, medicalsuperintendent from ESICMedical College & Hospital andShri Vinayak Chauhan, Sr GM(CSR), Shri Vinod Prakash Baxla,Sr DGM (HR), Shri U C Trivedi,chief manager from POWER-GRID were also present at theevent.

As a CSR initiative, Power GridCorporation of India Limited (POW-

ERGRID) has signed an MoU withDeputy Commissioner, Gurugram on15th February 2022 for providing finan-

cial assistancetowards procure-ment of medicalequipment viz.N e o n a t a lVentilators andABG Machines for

District Hospitals in Gurugram, Faridabadand Mewat districts of Haryana.

As a responsible corporate citizen,POWERGRID has been embarking uponseveral initiatives in the health sectorunder its CSR initiatives.

The agreement was signed by ShriNishant Kumar Yadav, DeputyCommissioner, Gurugram and ShriVinayak Chauhan, Sr. GM (CSR), POW-ERGRID. Shri Vinod Prakash Baxla, Sr.DGM (HR), POWERGRID and ShriGaurav Singh, Additional CEO, HaryanaState CSR Trust and other senior officialswere also present at the event.

Power Finance CorporationLtd. (PFC) a Maharatna

CPSE has won the ICAI(Institute of CharteredAccountants of India) Silveraward for excellence in financialreporting in ‘Public SectorEntities’ category.

PFC was bestowed withthis award for its highest degreeof compliance with accountingstandards, commendableaccounting practices adoptedwhile preparing financial state-ments, the policies adopted fordisclosure & presentation offinancial statements amongstother information contained inthe annual report.

The award was received byShri R S Dhillon, CMD, Smt.Parminder Chopra, Director(Finance) and Shri R K

Malhotra, ED (Finance) fromDr Jitender Singh, Hon’ble MoS(IC) for Science and Technology,Earth Sciences, MoS for PMO,Personnel, Public Grievancesand Pensions, Deptt of AtomicEnergy and Space, at an awarddistribution ceremony held onFebruary 9. Shri Mohd Salim,GM (Finance) and Shri AnuragGupta, CM (Finance) were alsopresent on the occasion.

Shri Bhupender Yadav, Minister ofLabour & Employment andEnvironment, Forest & Climate

Change, Government of India laid thefoundation stone of 500 Bedded ESICHospital, Manesar, Haryana on February13. Shri Manohar Lal, Chief Minister,Haryana was the chief guest.

The other dignitaries present on theoccasion included Shri Rameswar Teli,Minister of State for Labour &Employment and Petroleum & NaturalGas, Govt. of India, Shri DushyantChautala, Deputy Chief Minister,Haryana, Shri Anup Dhanak, Minister forLabour & Employment (IndependentCharge), Govt. of Haryana, ShriSatyaprakash Jarawta, MLA, Pataudi andShri Sanjay Kumar, MLA, Sohna.

ESIC COVID-19 Relief Scheme

Sanction Certificates to the dependants ofInsured Persons who unfortunatelyexpired due to COVID-19, e-ShramCards & sanctions of EDLI (EPFO) werealso distributed by the dignitaries duringthe event.

Shri Yadav shared the work beingdone by the Ministry of Labour &Employment, ESIC, EPFO to extendsocial security benefits to not only IPs butalso to the workforce of unorganised sec-tors. He also emphasised imparting prop-er skills to create an able paramedical andnursing staff. For this, he also announcedthe opening of a new Para-Medical/Nursing College at Manesar, ifState Govt. provides the land for the same.Extending the pilot project of preventivehealth check-ups and identifying theproblems and dangers of occupational dis-

eases faced by the workers, ESIC will setup health check-up camps in factorieswhere preventive health check-up campsof workers above 40 will be done by ESIC.He lauded the work done by frontlineworkers, para-medical staff and doctorsof ESIC during the pandemic.

Shri Manohar Lal, Hon’ble ChiefMinister said that the workforce holds aplace of existential necessity in the devel-opment of a nation. Hence, catering to theneeds of the workforce is the prime dutyof every govt. Policies aiming to minimisethe problems of labourers’ needs to bebrought into force. With proper collabo-ration between Central and StateGovernments, the life of the workforce canbe improved.

Shri Teli informed about variousschemes run by the Central Govt. Shri

Chautala lauded the help provided byUnion Government to Haryana.

500 Bedded ESIC Hospital, Manesar,Haryana

The hospital will meet the health careneeds of approximately 6.10 lakh benefi-ciaries of Manesar and many more fromadjoining districts viz. Mahendargarh,Rewari & Nooh Districts. For this hospi-tal, 8.08 acres of land has been acquiredby ESIC in �113 crores. This hospital willbe built at an estimated cost of �500 crores.The hospital will have in-house state-of-the-art and modern facilities like GeneralMedicine & Surgery, Obstetrics &Gynaecology, Pediatrics & Neonatology,Dermatology, Emergency/CCU/ICU,R a d i o l o g y / X - R ay / C T- S c an / M R I ,Biochemistry & Microbiology, BloodBank and many other medical facilities.

Muthoot Finance, India’sMost Trusted Financial

Services Brand as per BrandTrust Report launched itsnewest marketing campaignon February 1. The integratedcampaign will be seen acrosstelevision, print, outdoor, inter-net and point of sale, besidesother mediums.

The new campaign titled“Haathi Pe Bharosa KarogeyToh Pakka Jeetogey!” is allabout having belief and trust inthe brand, which has two ele-phants in its logo. The cam-paign is anchored by thebrand’s ambassador, Shri.Amitabh Bachchan.

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State Government’s decisionsfor farmer welfare: Gehlot

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RITES wins ICAI Award for excellencein financial reporting Gurugram,

February 11, 2022: RITES Ltd., aMiniratna (Category – I) Schedule ‘A’Public Sector Enterprise, has been award-ed ‘Plaque for Commended AnnualReport’ at the ICAI Awards for Excellencein Financial Reporting 2020-21 andconferred ‘Certificate of Merit’ from theSouth Asian Federation of Accountants(SAFA) for Best Presented AnnualReport Awards, Integrated ReportingAward & SAARC Anniversary Award forCorporate Governance Disclosures 2020.

RITES has received the award underthe category of Public Sector Entities forits Annual Report and FinancialStatement for the year ended March 31,2021. RITES’ Director (Finance) & ChiefFinancial Officer Shri Bibhu PrasadNayak received the award from Hon’ble

Union Minister Shri Jitendra Singh at aceremony on February 9. The awardrecognises accounting practices, policiesadopted by RITES Ltd. for disclosure andpresentation of financial statement(s) andthe company’s highest degree of compli-ance with accounting standards, statuto-ry guidelines, regulations etc. The awardwas presented by The Institute ofChartered Accountants of India.

General manager, NorthernRailway, Shri Ashutosh Gangal

informed that Northern Railwayhas achieved a major milestone inUSBRL project on February 15 byexecuting a break-through of TunnelT49 between Sumber andArpinchala Station on the ongoingKatra-Banihal Section. T49 is a tun-nel of length 12.758 km long and itis going to be the longest tunnel ofthe Indian Railway surpassing thePeer Panjal Tunnel of 11.2 km

length constructed by USBRL on theBanihal-Qazigund section. Thesouth portal (SP) of Tunnel T-49 islocated in picturesque Sumber

Village at a distance of 45 km fromDistrict H.Q. Ramban of (Jammu &Kashmir) at an altitude of 1400meters, while the North Portal (NP)of the tunnel is located nearArpinchala village Tehsil Khari,District Ramban, in Mahu-MangatValley at an altitude of 1,600 metres.

The work of construction wasentrusted by NR to M/s IRCONInternational Ltd. which hasassigned works in two packages toM/s HCC and M/s AFCONS.

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After teammate LionelMessi missed a penal-ty, Kylian Mbappe

saved his team again by scor-ing a brilliant solo goal deepinto stoppage time as ParisSaint-Germain beat RealMadrid 1-0 in theirChampions League last-16match.

Mbappe has rescued PSGmany times with late goals inthe French league this season— as recently as last Friday —and he did so again on thebiggest stage.

After taking a back-heeled pass from substituteNeymar in the fourth andfinal minute of stoppage timeof the first leg, Mbappe cutinside two players down theleft and shot the ball betweenthe legs of goalkeeper ThibautCourtois.

“I got free and then it's aone on one. The forward isalways the master of thepenalty area when thedefenders start backing off,”Mbappe said.

“I decided where I want-ed to go.”

Mbappe does not expecthis team to sit back anddefend in the return leg, asMadrid mostly did in Parisand got punished.

“You have to keep play-ing,” he said.

“We'll have to do thesame in the return leg. We'llgo there to win.”

Although it was a greatfinish, the sudden attack hap-pened because Madrid some-how gave the ball away underno pressure in midfieldinstead of clearing it easilywide or long.

“We lost a stupid ball,Mbappe skips by two and

manages to get the ball underme," Courtois said. "It's toughto take but we didn't playwell.”

He certainly did, howev-er.

Courtois had played thestarring role, denyingMbappe early in each half andthen stopping record seven-time Golden Ball winnerMessi's penalty in the 61stminute. It was awarded afterMbappe was fouled by rightback Dani Carvajal.

Courtois guessed cor-rectly and dived to his left fora fine stop.

“I'd studied Messi'spenalties a lot and I tried toplay with him when I was onthe line,” Courtois said.

“You've also got to have

that little bit of luck.”Messi scored 26 goals

and delivered 14 assists in 45games against Madrid duringhis glory era with Barcelona,but did not find the net inseveral games before joiningPSG last summer.

PSG threw on Neymarfor the last 20 minutes as theBrazil standout made hisreturn from a sprained ankle,while Madrid's star forwardKarim Benzema shook off ahamstring injury and facedex-club rival Messi andFrance teammate Mbappe.

Mbappe is out of contractat the end of the season andremains heavily linked with amove to Madrid, which hadan offer of 180 million euros($204 million) rejected by

PSG last summer.Now the Spanish giant

might get arguably the world'smost dangerous striker forfree, although Mbappepushed back on talk of amove.

“First of all I wanted tothink about my game, manythings are said but the truthis that I'm focused,” Mbappesaid.

“I give everything and itshows through my actions.”

The subplots were inplace but the first half did notlive up to the hype, save for afew flashes of skill fromMbappe.

The second started betteras Courtois produced asuperb one-handed save lowto his right to deny Mbappe,who was set up by right backAchraf Hakimi's astute quickpass.

PSG has never won thecompetition while record 13-time champion Madrid has-n't reached the final sincecompleting a straight hattrick of European Cups in2018.

“We are confident andwe'll be at home,” Madridcoach Carlo Ancelotti said ofthe second leg.

“The crowd will getbehind us.” He accepted thatMauricio Pochettino's hard-working PSG TEAM closeddown space well.

“We couldn't get out withthe ball and we misplaced alot of passes because of theirhigh press,” he said.

“We need to be better onthe ball.”

Ancelotti faced the sidehe once coached, hired nearthe start of the club's Qatari-backed takeover as the bigname to achieve ChampionsLeague glory.

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Manchester City was so goodin the Champions League

that even the fans of its opponentscouldn't help but applaud.

When Phil Foden side-foot-ed home the third of City's fourfirst-half goals in a 5-0 win overSporting in the last 16, it wasn'tjust the vocal away fans showingtheir appreciation inside theEstádio José Alvalade onTuesday.

Some of the home support-ers were also seen clapping inrecognition of one of the mostdominant performances everseen at this stage of Europe's topclub competition.

Helping inflict the humilia-tion were four players who onceplayed for Sporting's fierce Lisbonrival, Benfica. One of them wasBernardo Silva, who scored twoof the goals — his first an outra-geous half-volley that flew in offthe underside of the crossbar.

Riyad Mahrez began thedemolition in the seventh minutewith a close-range volley that wasonly given after a long videoreview. Silva then scored in the17th and 44th minutes — eitherside of Foden's well-worked teamgoal in the 32nd — as City wentinto half time leading 4-0.

Raheem Sterling curled in asublime fifth in the 58th and PepGuardiola's team can start plan-ning for the quarterfinals, evenwith the second leg still to comein three weeks.

Not that City manager PepGuardiola, as close to a perfec-tionist as there is in world soccer,was getting too carried away.

"The players know me —they know the way we work.They can do better," Guardiolasaid.

"I am incredibly happy, don't

misunderstand me, but we can dobetter." What did pleaseGuardiola was City's efficiency infront of goal, which is somethinghe often criticizes his players for.

"Today we were so clinical,"he said.

"Every time we arrived in thefirst 30 minutes, we scored. Thedifference between the teams isnot 0-5, but we finished so well."

For Sporting and its fans, itwas that sinking feeling again inthe last 16 — where the club has-n't been since the 2008-09 season.

On that occasion, thePortuguese team was embar-rassed 12-1 on aggregate byBayern Munich after losing 5-0at home and 7-1 away.

The thrashing by City musthave felt similar. As for theEnglish club, tougher tests arecoming in the Champions Leaguebut these kinds of performancesare why many make it the favoriteto win the competition for thefirst time. It was City's ninthstraight appearance in the knock-out stage and the team arrived onthe back of a stunning run ofform that had seen it lose just oneof its last 20 games in all compe-titions.

The mismatch was obviousfrom the moment Mahrez guid-ed in a volley with his right footafter Foden had a shot tippedaside by Antonio Adán.

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Porto defender Pepe was sus-pended for two matches after

being accused of kicking an offi-cial from another team during abrawl in the Portuguese league lastweek.

The veteran Portugal interna-tional was red carded for alleged-ly kicking a Sporting Lisbon clubdirector during the altercation atthe end of the 2-2 draw betweenthe teams on Friday.

Sporting midfielder BrunoTabata also was suspended for twomatches after being accused ofpushing a Porto club official dur-ing the brawl.

The suspensions for both play-ers could be extended to up to twoyears after their cases are fully ana-lyzed.

They were among four players— two from each team — whowere sent off.

Porto sits six points ahead ofsecond-place Sporting at the top ofthe Portuguese league standings.Sporting is the current champion.

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Australian state Victoria saidWednesday it was in exclusive

talks to host the 2026Commonwealth Games.It isplanned to hold events acrossVictoria, whose capital city isMelbourne, if it secures the multi-sports games, said the state's pre-mier Daniel Andrews.

"Victoria is Australia's sportingstate, and, if awarded, the 2026

Commonwealth Games woulddemonstrate to the world a new wayto deliver the competition,"Andrews said.

"We would hope to have themajority of events in our regionalcities to display the best of Victoria,create jobs and housing and infra-structure that will deliver for thelong term." Victoria last hosted theCommonwealth Games in 2006when events were focused on thestate capital Melbourne.

The state said it had signed a"heads of agreement" for exclusivenegotiations on hosting the compe-tition again in 2026. The agreementwas signed with theCommonwealth Games Federationand Commonwealth GamesAustralia. "Victoria is one of theworld's greatest sporting states andthere is no doubt it has the venues,infrastructure and people to stagea world class edition of the Games,"said Commonwealth Games

Federation president Louise Martin.Australia's Gold Coast in

Queensland was home in 2018 tothe last edition of the "FriendlyGames", as the CommonwealthGames are called, attracting morethan 4,000 athletes from its 54-nation members, almost all ofwhom are former territories of theBritish Empire. The 2022Commonwealth Games are due tobe held in Birmingham, England,from July 28 to August 8.

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The national boxing camps for youthand juniors have resumed in Rohtak

and Bhopal, respectively with 98pugilists reporting at the two centresahead of the ASBC Asian Youth andJunior Championships, scheduled totake place in Amman, Jordan fromFebruary 27 to March 15.

The national camps for all four cat-egories -- youth men and women as wellas junior boys and girls -- are being con-ducted for a period of three weeks, fromFebruary 8 to 28, and the boxers will beaccompanied by the members of coach-ing and support staff. After resumptionof training of elite boxers, the BoxingFederation of India (BFI) ensured itsjunior and youth boxers also get much-needed practice before the prestigiouscontinental event.

The national camp for junior girlsand boys as well as for youth women istaking place at the Sports Authority ofIndia's (SAI) National Centre ofExcellence in Rohtak. The junior camphas 25 and 24 boxers, respectively in the

girls and boys categories. In the youthwomen's camp, 24 boxers have been par-ticipating.

For the youth men's camp, 25selected boxers are training at the SAINational Centre of Excellence in Bhopal.

During the last edition of the ASBCAsian Youth and Junior Boxing cham-pionships held in 2021, the Indiancontingent concluded their campaignwith 39 medals including 14 gold.

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Indian Winter Olympics pio-neer Shiva Keshavan has

been inducted into theOlympians For Life hall offame for his role in promotingthe Winter Olympics, wintersports, luge and the spirit ofOlympianism.

Keshavan is the firstIndian winter-sport partici-pant and second overall afterboxer MC Mary Kom to benamed Olympian For Life.Mary Kom was inducted in2016 during the Rio Olympics.

Keshavan, the first Indianto represent the country inWinter Olympics and in lugein 1994, has participated in sixOlympics, has won gold in theAsian Luge Cup and also heldthe Asian speed record.

He was on Tuesday amongfive Olympians who wereinducted into the WorldOlympians Association'sOlympians For Life hall offame for the Beijing WinterOlympic Games in an onlinefunction.

The Olympians For Lifeprogramme was launched bythe World OlympiansAssociation in 2016 duringthe Rio de Janeiro Olympics.As per this programme, fivepersons that have participat-ed in the Olympics havedeclared Olympians For Live

during every Summer orWinter Olympics since 2016.

Apart from Keshavan,others that were namedOlympians For Life for theBeijing 2022 Winter Olympicsare Simidele Adeagbo ofNigeria who participated inthe skeleton; Alain Calmat ofFrance who participated infigure skating; Clara Hughes,a speed skater from Canadaand Ben Sandford of NewZealand, who participated inskeleton.

Keshavan is the first andonly five-time Olympian to beincluded on the occasion ofthe Beijing 2022 Games.

Keshavan was inductedfor his trailblazing achieve-ments and initiatives in grass-roots development pro-grammes to grow wintersports within India.

"My experience as anOlympian gave me a greatplatform to help provide moreopportunities for youngergenerations to get involvedwith sport. There is a lot ofvalue that Olympians can addto a country's sporting successpost their competitive career.The next ambition of mine isto continue to promote theWinter Games and theOlympian movement in Indiaand the wider Himalayanregion," Keshavan was quotedas saying on the occasion.

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Andy Murray of Great Britainproduced a strong first-round

performance to brush past TaroDaniel of Japan 6-2, 6-2 to cruiseinto the second round of the QatarExxonMobil Open as a wild cardhere. Daniel had defeated the 34-year-old multiple Grand Slam win-ner in the second round of theAustralian Open last month and theScot had looked quite upset after thedefeat. Late on Tuesday, formerworld No. 1 Murray was happy withhow he dealt with Daniel's threatthis time around. "He played verywell in Australia, he had a very goodrun there and was too good for methere. I tried to be the one dictatingfrom the first point, and I thoughtI did that well. It was one of the bet-ter matches I've played in recentmonths," Murray was quoted as say-ing by atptour.com after the match.

Murray, who is a two-timechampion and four-time finalist in

Doha, looked happy to be back ashe hit 11 winners and broke Danieltwice to win the first set. World No.110 Daniel broke in the first gameof the second set to momentarilyhalt Murray's charge. But a trade-mark backhand winner sealed animmediate break back as Murraywent on to seal victory in one hour,20 minutes. Murray now faces sec-

ond seed Roberto Bautista Agut ofSpain in the second round. The Britwill seek to increase his 3-1 ATPhead-to-head series lead over theworld No. 16, but will not be takinganything for granted despite hisexcellent record in Doha. "Obviouslythe results from 12 years ago aren'tgoing to affect the results this week,"said Murray.

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Barcelona's new reality will hit homeon Thursday when they play in

Europe's second-tier club competitionfor the first time in 18 years as Napolivisit the Camp Nou in the EuropaLeague.

The Catalans crashed out of theChampions League in the group stagewith just two goals scored in sixmatches, the arrival of Xavi Hernandeznot enough to revive their fortunes ina competition they have won fivetimes.

A meeting with a Napoli side cur-rently fighting for the Serie A titlewould be worthy of the continent's eliteclub competition, and indeed thesides met in the last 16 of theChampions League just two yearsago.

Yet Barca instead face a real chal-lenge in this play-off tie just to makeit through to the last 16 as they try tosalvage some pride in Europe and goall the way to the final in Seville in May.

"It is not a favourable draw.

They are one of the toughest sideswe could have faced, a ChampionsLeague-level team," Xavi said when thedraw was made.

The Catalans, who lie fourth in LaLiga a huge 15 points behind leadersReal Madrid, had appeared in theknockout rounds of the ChampionsLeague in each of the last 17 seasons,last missing out in 2003-04 when theyplayed in the UEFA Cup.

Barcelona were not the only high-profile name to be knocked out of theChampions League prematurely, withBorussia Dortmund also droppingdown into the Europa League.

The Germans will face Scottish

champions Rangers with the first legat the Signal Iduna Park as the homeside wait to see if Erling Haaland willplay.

The Norwegian, scorer of 23 goalsin 21 games in all competitions thisseason, has missed Dortmund's lasttwo outings against Bayer Leverkusenand Union Berlin in the Bundesliga.

Sevilla also dropped out of theChampions League but that might suita club who have won the EuropaLeague or its predecessor, the UEFACup, a record six times includingmost recently in 2020.

They will also be driven by theprospect of going all the way to the finalin their own stadium as they entertainDinamo Zagreb in the play-offs.

There is English Premier Leaguerepresentation in the play-offs of thenew Europa Conference League, withLeicester City taking on Danish out-fit Randers. Celtic will play theNorwegian champions Bodo/Glimtwho have not played a competitivematch since wrapping up their domes-tic campaign two months ago.

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Indian cricket's 'backbone', the RanjiTrophy, will make a much-antici-

pated return after two years amid theeasing COVID-19 situation in thecountry, providing host of domesticcricketers an opportunity to maketheir name in red-ball cricket whilegiving veterans like Ajinkya Rahaneand Cheteshwar Pujara a final shot atresurrecting their Test careers.

A third wave of COVID-19 hadthreatened the premier domesticevent for the second year in a row butthe drop in infections has allowed theBCCI to conduct the 38-team event,a massive logistical task in the newnormal of bio-secure environments.

All eyes will be on the openingfixture between defending championsSaurashtra and record 41-time cham-pions Mumbai here with Rahane andPujara on either side, aiming tomake the big scores that have desert-ed them at the Test level for a while.

Both veterans have been workinghard in the nets and their coaches feela big knock is around the corner.Rahane and Pujara will need tomake instant impact with the Test

squad of Sri Lanka series expected tobe announced soon.

Nine bio-bubbles have been cre-ated across nine venues in the coun-try and the players had to quarantinefor five days, leaving them only twodays of training for the first roundbeginning on Thursday.

The players, however, are in nomood to complain. They are justhappy that they are finally getting totest themselves in the toughest formof the game after two seasons ofwhite-ball cricket.

The batters had almost forgot-ten the art of leaving the ball andbowlers the relentlessness of longspells. Both the departments are upfor the challenge but their bodiesmight take longer to get used to thehard grind of red-ball cricket.

"It is great that red ball cricket isstarting. Players have suffered and losta lot in the last two years both finan-cially and skill-wise.

They all are looking forward tothe challenge," said Delhi coach Raj

Kumar Sharma after the team's firsttraining session on Monday, echo-ing the views of all teams.

It is also set to be the shortestfirst-class season for most teams withsides only getting three leaguegames, impacting their match feesand leaving them with little room forerror.

Eight groups of four teams eachhave been formed at the elite levelwhile six teams will fight it out in theplate group. The knockouts, barringthe sole pre-quarterfinal, will be heldin the post IPL phase starting May30.

It will also be a high pressuregame as it will potentially decide theonly quarterfinalist from the group.

The national selectors will alsofinally get to see the upcoming tal-ent in action.

Only one India A tour hastaken place over the past 24 months,the selectors have had to refer to partperformances with no first-classcricket played in the country.

Focus will also be on fringe Indiaplayers including Priyank Panchal,Abhimanyu Easwaran and HanumaVihari, who had been controversial-ly dropped for the home seriesagainst New Zealand before makingthe team for the away series in SouthAfrica.

Among the India U-19 stars,skipper Yash Dhull and Raj AngadBawa are expected to make theirfirst-class debut soon after landingIPL contracts. Dhull will be inGuwahati playing for Delhi againstTamil Nadu.

Teams have been advised to keeptwo COVID-19 reserves in thesquad.

There is a good chance of aCOVID outbreak midway into thegame but the match will go on pro-vided a team has a minimum of ninefit players.

Both teams will be awarded apoint each if first innings is not com-pleted.

The games will be played acrossRajkot, Cuttack, Ahmedabad,Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram,Delhi, Haryana, Guwahati andKolkata

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Kolkata Knight Riders onWednesday appointed

India batter Shreyas Iyer astheir new captain for theupcoming Indian PremierLeague after having boughthim for a whopping Rs 12.25crore at the recently-con-cluded mega auction.

Iyer, who had cap-tained Delhi Capitals to theironly IPL final back in 2020,was released after the 2021season and it was an opensecret that KKR, who weresupposed to replace EoinMorgan, were in need of anew captain. "He (Iyer) hasimpressed one & all as a qual-ity batsman at the highestlevel & we are confident thathe will excel as a leader ofTeam KKR," KKR CEOVenky Mysore said in a state-ment.

Iyer said he is lookingforward to fulfilling the role.

"I am extremely hon-oured to have gotten the

opportunity to lead a presti-gious team like KKR. TheIPL as a tournament bringsthe best players from differ-

ent countries and culturestogether and I look forwardto leading this great group ofvery talented individuals,"Iyer said. "I would like tothank the owners, manage-ment and support staff ofKKR for giving me theopportunity to lead this teamand I am confident that wewill find the right synergiesto achieve the team's goals."

Head Coach BrendonMcCullum said he is excitedto have Iyer in the fold.

"I am very excited tohave one of India's brightestfuture leaders in Shreyas Iyer,take the reins at KKR.

"I have enjoyed Shreyas'game and his captaincy skillsfrom afar and now will lookforward to working closelywith him to drive forward thesuccess and style of play wewant at KKR," McCullumsaid. �� $.�� .*2(

Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof sees theirWomen's World Cup opener against

India as an opportunity to inspire "millionsof girls" in both countries to take up the sport.

India are set to face Pakistan in theiropener of the World Cup on March 6 atTauranga, New Zealand. The quadrennialevent will beheld from March 4 to April 3across six cities in New Zealand.

“Pakistan vs India is indeed a great stagefor any player to establish her credentials, butat the end of the day, it is a cricket match thathas to be won by executing the basics rightand keeping thing simple," Maroof, who ismaking a comeback after motherhood, toldPTI Bhasha from Queenstown, New Zealand.

“This match is a great opportunity toinspire millions of girls in Pakistan and Indiato take up this sport as a profession. It is thebiggest rivalry, and attracts innumerableeyeballs. "I hope girls in the two countrieswill watch this match and will be inspired totake up the game," said the 30 year old whohas played over 200 international matches forPakistan.

She praised the Mithali Raj led Indianteam but she is very optimistic aboutPakistan's chances against them.

“The Indian team is a good unit and hasdone well recently. They also have had somevery good youngsters coming in of late,” shesaid.

“Our aim is to make it to the semi-finals,something which we have never done before.I strongly believe that this side has all theingredients to achieve that. Being the seniormost player and the captain of the team , shefeels that it is her duty to lead from fromexample.

It’s pretty surreal to feel sonear to a World Cup and

yet so far away!Throwing rolled up

socks into your bed to keepticking over wasn’t how Iimagined our build-up forthis tournament back in2017 but an awful lot hashappened in the world sincethen. As I write this, we’reon day five of our quaran-tine and we’re not far awayfrom being let out, thanksto the New ZealandGovernment’s change ofisolation rules!

We’re obviously lookingforward to being allowedback out to train. Some ofus cope better than othersin quarantine but we’vebeen trying to keep busy.

We’ve been up to oureyebrows in crosswords,Sophie Ecclestone has beenrunning HIIT classes onZoom, Freya Davies organ-ised a brilliant quiz (includ-ing ‘Guess the baby picture’,which was brilliant) and I’ve

taken some inspirationfrom watching a documen-tary on the first all-femalecrew to take part in theWhitbread Round theWorld Race. It’s calledMaiden and it features someamazing women – a docu-mentary that I would verymuch recommend. As agroup, we need to resetand refocus after an Ashesseries that didn’t go our way.

I was really pleasedwith how we started theseries. We went toe to toewith Australia and headinginto the ODI leg of theseries the scoreline couldeasily have been different tothe 6-4 deficit we foundourselves facing.

As it was, there justwasn’t enough mental ener-gy to go back to the welland fight back in the ODI

series.A multi-format Ashes

series is incredibly demand-ing and when you throw inCOVID it becomes tougheragain. That’s no excuse –we didn’t deserve to win theseries – but I think it goessome way to explaining ourperformances across thelast two ODIs which I don’tthink were befitting of theteam that we are.

I want us to use that inthe World Cup – there’s lotswe need to take out of theAshes to come back tougherand more united in order totry and retain our trophy

.World Cups are trulyspecial events.

There’s nothing thatquite compares, and youalways feel privileged to bea part of it.

We’ve got a few faceswho’ve been there and doneit before, but we’ve also gota number of players whoare taking part in a WorldCup for the first time.

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New Zealand and South Africa are focus-ing on the notoriously green Hagley Oval

wicket as they draw up battle plans for the firstTest starting in Christchurch on Thursday.

New Zealand are desperate for a first serieswin against South Africa and to prove they canstill muster a winning combination despitemissing 273 Tests-worth of experience with theabsence of Ross Taylor (retired), KaneWilliamson (injured) and Trent Boult (pater-nity leave).

South Africa are thirsting to lift both theirworld ranking (fifth) and to boost their WorldTest Championship standing, with the chanceto move up to second if they sweep the two-Test series.

But the main talking point for NewZealand captains Tom Latham and SouthAfrican counterpart Dean Elgar on Wednesdaywas the bowl-first reputation of the lush HagleyOval surface.

It will be South Africa's first outing on theChristchurch strip where both Tests of theseries will be played.

New Zealand boast an enviable record ofseven wins, one defeat and one draw on a wick-et that always seems to suit their swing andseam attack. "It presents opportunities toscore runs but also presents opportunities forbowlers with a bit of pace and bounce and a

bit of assistance off the wicket," New Zealandskipper Latham said.

"We've played some really good cricket athome now for a long period and I know if wecan adapt to the wicket, adapt to the surface,then hopefully we'll give ourselves a goodchance of being on the right side.

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Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell isset to miss the tour of Pakistan and the

initial few games of Indian Premier Leaguedue to his wedding next month.

Maxwell told 'Fox Sports' that the clashwas unavoidable due to changes in theschedule. He is one of the retained playersby Royal Challengers Bangalore alongsideVirat Kohli and Mohammad Siraj.

"Originally when I organised the dateswith CA there was a two-week gap whereI could potentially have it," Maxwell saidafter the third T20 against Sri Lanka inCanberra. "So when I sorted that out I waspretty happy that I wasn't going to be miss-ing in any series. And then I came to the[CA] contract meeting midway through lastyear and they said well this is [when] thePakistan series [is on] and I thought wellobviously that's changed since the lastconversation we had." The IPL is expectedto start in last week of March and Pakistan

limited overs tour is scheduled from March29. Richardson feels leaving IPL early lastseason contributed to him and Zampa beingunsold at the auction The Australian duoof pacer Kane Richardson and spinnerAdam Zampa had left India due to the dev-astating COVID-19 wave before the IPL waseventually suspended last year.

Both bowlers had no takers in the IPLmega auctions held last week.

Richardson was more surprised aboutZampa going unsold.

"I was definitely more shocked for him.To be brutally honest, when we left last year,in the circumstances early, I remember hav-ing a conversation with him.

"I said to him, look, this may come backand bite us, and at that time it wasn't a pri-ority for us to be there. We wanted to getback to Australia." "So I think there'd besome kind of buyers that'd be pretty waryof picking us up thinking that we wouldn'tcome again. I definitely think that's a fac-tor," Richardson said.

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Indo-Pak WC match will inspiregirls across the border to takeup cricket: Bismah

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Surkyakumar Yadav played thefinisher's role to perfection afterskipper Rohit Sharma blazed

away at the top as India secured aclinical six-wicket win over theWest Indies in the first T20International here on Wednesday.

At his favourite Eden Gardens,Rohit smashed a 19-ball 40 (6x3,4x4) to give India the perfect foun-dation after his bowlers restricted thevisitors to 157 for seven.

In the company of VenkateshIyer (24 off 13), Surkyakumar thenhit a brisk 34 in just 18 deliveries tohelp India chase down the target of158 with seven balls to spare andtake a 1-0 lead in the three-matchseries.

Roston Chase (2/14) bowledbrilliantly in the middle overs anddismissed the two Indian openers -- Rohit and Ishan Kishan -- beforethe hosts also lost Virat Kohli andRishabh Pant to leave them at 114/4inside 15 overs.

The most expensive IPL buy,Ishan Kishan, who was bought backby the Mumbai Indians for a stag-gering Rs 15.25 crore, made 35 in 42balls before becoming Chase's sec-ond victim.

Kishan, who opened the battingwith the skipper, struggled to get

going even as Rohit looked in fullflow.

Former India skipper ViratKohli also continued his lean patchand fell cheaply for a 13-ball 17, hit-ting straight to Kieron Pollard atlong-off boundary.

But Rohit's flying start meantthat India remained on course beforeSuryakumar and Iyer produced thefinishing act with an unbroken 48-run partnership from 26 balls.

Suryakumar was brilliant allaround the wicket and smashed onesix and five fours in his unbeatenknock while Iyer, playing with aninjured hand, too looked in greattouch.

Rohit went into the attackingmode from the second over when hesmashed Romario Shepherd overdeep square leg.

Odean Smith bore the brunt ofRohit's excellent batting as the cap-tain took him to the cleaners with a6, 4, 6 off successive balls to collect22 runs from the over.

The 50-partnership was up forIndia in just 4.3 overs but Rohitcould not convert his start and wasdismissed by Chase while trying toclear the deep midwicket fence.

For the Windies, Chase wasimpressive and also took the wick-et of Ishan Kishan to finish with fan-tastic figures of 4-0-14-2.

Earlier, on a high after his heftyIPL buyout, wicketkeeper-batterNicholas Pooran returned to form awith a brisk 61 as West Indiesrecovered from a mid-innings slumpto post a fighting total.

The left-hander, who clinched afat paycheck of Rs 10.75 crore fromSunrisers Hyderabad in the IPLmega auction, got back to rhythm instyle, scoring his runs in 43 balls withfive sixes and four boundaries.

The Windies No. 3, whoendured an abysmal last IPL with 85runs at a poor average of 7.72 andhad scores of 18, 9 and 34 in the pre-ceding three ODIs, made his inten-tion clear by smashing Bhuvneshwar

Kumar for a big six early on.The Indian spin duo of

Yuzvendra Chahal and debutantlegs-pinner Ravi Bishnoi derailed theWindies in the middle overs by tak-ing three wickets in between them,

but Pooran held on as the visitorsunleashed their fury in the deathby scoring 61 runs in the the lastfive overs.

A fit-again Kieron Pollard,who missed the last two matchesin the ODI series, played a cameo(24 not out from 19 balls) with twofours and one six.

Jodhpur's googly man Bishnoimade his debut memorable as hereturned tidy figures of 4-0-17-2,including the wickets of RostonChase (4) and Rovman Powell (2)in a space of four balls to derail theWindies in the middle overs.

Bhuvneshwar got his swinggoing up front and dismissedBrandon King (4) in the first overafter the batter had failed to nego-tiate his outswingers.

Kyle Mayers and Pooransteadied the innings before thewicketkeeper broke the shackleswith a big six against Bhuvneshwar.

Mayers also stepped it upagainst the likes of Chahar andHarshal Patel as the Windiesenjoyed a decent powerplay, reach-ing 44/1 in six overs.

Rohit was quick to bring inhis most experienced spinner inthe lineup, Chahal, immediatelyafter the powerplay and almosthad the dangerous- lookingPooran first ball.

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