12
C alling Covid-19 as an extra- ordinary “Act of God” sit- uation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said this may lead to economic contraction and presented two options to States under which they can borrow from the mar- ket to make up for the esti- mated deficit of 2.35 lakh crore this fiscal. The non-NDA States were not satisfied with the Government’s offer. With the States clamouring for compensation of GST rev- enue shortfall, the Centre on Thursday held a five-hour long meeting of the GST Council in which the Finance Minister said there was no proposal to raise tax rates to make up for the shortfall that has been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic. Citing a legal opinion from the Attorney General, she ruled out the Centre making good the shortfall from either its cof- fers or borrowing against its balance sheet. The deficit can be made good by States borrowing using a special window, she said, adding this loan can be repaid after five years from the col- lection of GST cess. If States agree to either of the options, it would effectively mean that cess would continue beyond five years of the GST rollout. In 2017, all States agreed to sub- sume their local taxes such as VAT into the new, nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST) in return for the Centre promis- ing to make good any loss of revenue in the first five years. But with the economy slowing down, 70,000 crore shortfall was seen in the last fis- cal and this year it is estimated to widen to 2.35 lakh crore. The Congress said it was “dissatisfied” with the outcome of the GST Council meeting and accused the Centre of adopting a majoritarian approach and thrusting “solu- tions” on States. The Finance Ministers of Congress-ruled States are not happy with the outcome of GST Council meeting as deci- sions were thrust upon them by the Centre, Punjab’s FM Manpreet Badal said at a virtual press conference after the GST Council meeting. Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, who repre- sented the Union Territory at the meeting as he also holds the finance portfolio, said it is unfortunate the Centre was not helping the revenue-starved States by honouring its com- mitment to pay them GST compensation at 14 per cent. Chhattisgarh Finance Minister TS Singh Deo said there is a sad state of affairs in the GST Council as it is increasingly yielding to majori- tarianism instead of being con- sensual. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that under the existing system, the city Government cannot take a loan from the RBI to meet its revenue shortfall. Emerging out of a GST Council meeting, he said the Centre has refused to pay GST compensation to States and asked them to take a loan from the RBI to meet their revenue shortfall due to the coronavirus pandemic. “However, under the cur- rent hybrid system (of gover- nance), the Delhi Government cannot take a loan from the RBI. The Centre should take a loan from the RBI and give it to the Delhi Government,” he said. Sisodia also charged the Centre with failing to fulfil its promise to the States at the launch of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime four years ago. “The Centre had promised that it will pay GST compensation to States at the rate of 14 per cent for five years in case of revenue shortfall,” said Sisodia. A ctress Rhea Chakraborty became the focal point of the developments in the Sushant Singh Rajput death saga on Thursday as a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) team arrived here from New Delhi to investigate the drug angle involving her. She claimed that late Sushant had forced her to leave his flat before the arrival of his sister Meetu and the late actor’s father KK Singh called her a “murderer” and accused her of “poisoning” his son for a long time. The CBI’s ongoing investi- gations into Sushant’s death took a backseat as the NCB launched drug-related investi- gations into the actor’s death, a day after it registered a case under sections 20, 22, 27 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act and booked Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik Chakraborty and others. Having joined the investi- gations in the SSR death case on the basis of the retrieved WhatsApp messages of Rhea shared by the Enforcement Directorate with it, a three- member NCB team that arrived from the national Capital went headlong into the investigations in drug- related matters relating to Sushant’s death case. The NCB is investigating the allegations under non-bailable provisions under the anti-drug law for allegedly “possessing, pur- chasing and using cannabis” and for alleged “abetment and criminal conspiracy to commit an offence”. As part of its investigations into the alleged procurement and usage of drugs like MDMA, marijuana, LSD and Cannabidiol which figured in the retrieved WhatsApp con- versation that Rhea had with others, the NCB is likely to grill Rhea, Sushant’s former talent manager Jaya Saha, his house manager Samuel Miranda and Goa-based hotelier Gaurav Arya, who has been hinted as drug supplier for Rhea. On her part, Rhea — who has been accused by Rhea’s family of having abetted the actor’s suicide — vehemently denied that she had ever taken drugs. She also denied she had any links with the drug dealers and peddlers. “I am prepared to undergo blood test if the NCB wants me to do so,” she said. She howev- er, admitted that Sushant was taking marijuana. On a day when Rhea’s father was questioned by the ED, Rhea posted a video on Instagram showing her father being mobbed and chased by mediapersons outside their house in Mumbai. She sought protection for her and her family from Mumbai Police so that the family can co-operate with the probe agencies in the Sushant case. A s the situation remains volatile on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) for more than three months now, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said the stand- offs in eastern Ladakh are “surely the most serious situa- tion after 1962.” He also said the number of troops deployed there by India and China in the aftermath of the face-offs is also “unprece- dented” and pinned his hopes on resolving the differences through diplomacy. Making these observations against the backdrop of ten rounds of talks at the diplo- matic and military levels failing to defuse tension at the border, the Minister said in an inter- view to rediff.com that “this is surely the most serious situa- tion after 1962. In fact, after 45 years, we have had military casualties on this border. The quantum of forces currently deployed by both sides at the LAC is also unprecedented.” The Minister was appar- ently referring to the India- China war in 1962 and death of 20 Indian Army personnel in June this year in the Galwan valley in Ladakh in a bloody free for all with the Chinese. These casualties were the first in more than 40 years at the border. Jaishankar said India has conveyed to China “clearly” that peace and tranquility in the border areas are the basis for the relationship between the two neighbours. “If we look back at the last three decades, this is quite self-evident. Indian and Chinese armies are locked in a tense stand-off in eastern Ladakh for over three-and- half-month despite multiple rounds of diplomatic and mil- itary talks,” he said. On the efforts to bring down the temperature at the LAC, the Minister said face-offs in the past too were resolved through diplomacy be it Depsang (2013), Chumar (2014) or Doklam (2017). “If you look back over the last decade, there have been a number of border situations — Depsang, Chumar and Doklam. In a sense, each one was different. This one surely is. But what is also common is that all border situations were resolved through diplomacy,” Jaishankar said. A mid raging protests from various quarters, including Chief Ministers of many States, for postponement of the upcoming JEE, NEET in the wake of coronavirus pandem- ic, the Centre on Thursday said the huge number of admit cards being downloaded in the past few days show that the students wanted exams to be held at any cost. “National Testing Agency (NTA) DG told me that 7.5 lakh out of 8.58 lakh candidates in JEE have downloaded admit cards. For NEET, over 10 lakh out of 15.97 lakh candidates downloaded admit cards in 24 hours. It shows that students want that exams are held at any c o s t ,” Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said. The NTA conducts both these examination 2019 onwards. The Education Minister also said JEE exam centres have been increased to 660 from 570 while there are now 3,842 NEET centres, up from 2,546 for the convenience of students. Students have also been allotted exam centres of their choice. A total of 15.97 lakh can- didates have registered for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) which is scheduled for September 13, said an NTA official. Moreover, a total of 7.41 lakh candidates out of 8.58 lakh have downloaded their admit cards for JEE-Mains till Tuesday evening. “Only 332 candidates have requested for change of their centre which is being consid- ered positively,” the official added. Earlier, commenting on Centre’s decision to hold the entrance examinations, Pokhriyal said, “Students and guardians constantly put pres- sure on us to conduct the examinations.” He further said, “The Supreme Court of India also said the full academic year cannot be wasted. After two deferments examination dates have been finalised.” T he Supreme Court on Thursday refused permis- sion to carry out Muharram procession across the country and asked Lucknow-based peti- tioner to move before the Allahabad High Court. The apex court said how it can pass a general order for the whole country and if relief was made for a particular area, then the risk could be assessed. Muharram will be held this year on August 29. A Bench comprising Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian said it would lead to chaos and tar- geting of a particular commu- nity. “You are asking for a gen- eral order and then if we allow this there will be chaos. Particular community will be targeted for spreading Covid. We don’t want that. We as a court cannot risk the health of all the people,” said the bench, which heard the matter through video confer- encing. Advocate Azim H Laskar, appearing for petitioner Syed Kalbe Jawab referred to the apex court order passed with regard to allowing the historic annual Rath Yatra at Puri in Orissa and Paryushan festival for three Jain temples at Mumbai. D elhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Thursday wrote to Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla mentioning pressure from the Centre on the Delhi Government officials to not increase corona testing. Reacting on Jain’s letter to Union Home Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs’ spokesperson said allegations are false and baseless. In his letter to Bhalla, Jain has said the Delhi Government wants to double corona testing, however, the Union Home Ministry is putting pressure on the Delhi Government officials not to do so. “I am shocked to learn that the Centre is pressuring our officials on corona testing. We all have seen, with the help of Centre we succeeded in defeating corona however now when the Delhi Government wants to increase testing, the Centre is not allowing our officers to do so,” Jain wrote in his letter to the Union Home Secretary, in the absence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is admitted in AIIMS for post Covid care treatment. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday chaired a meeting with Delhi Health Department officials in a view of rising corona cases. Aiming for zero corona deaths in the national Capital, Kejriwal has directed officers to double tests. T he Delhi Government has set an ambitious target to increase the city’s green cover from 22 per cent at present to 25 per cent in the next three years, officials said on Thursday. According to the latest India State of Forest Report (ISFR) released in 2019, Delhi’s green cover, comprising forest and tree cover, is 324 sq km or 21.9 per cent of the total area at present. It was 305.4 sq km or 20.6 perc ent in 2017. “According to our assess- ment, Delhi’s green cover can be increased to 25 per cent of its total area of 1,484 sq km. It means 45 sq km land is avail- able with various departments in Delhi for afforestation pur- poses,” Principal Conservator of Forests Ishwar Singh said. “This is the maximum green cover achievable in the city. Thereafter, we will work on a five-year plan to improve the quality of our forest cover which will improve its carbon sink capacity,” he said. The National Forest Policy aims at bringing a minimum one-third of India’s total geo- graphical area under green cover. The green cover should be at least 66 per cent of the total area in hilly regions and 20 per cent in the plains. “We can achieve this target in the next three years if land is available,” Singh said. The Forest Department has already asked the Delhi Development Authority and the development commission- er to create a “forest land bank” which can be utilised in the future for compensatory plan- tation by various departments and agencies. The creation of a land bank will simplify the process of compensatory plantation and avoid delays in projects, Singh said. New Delhi: India on Thursday slammed Pakistan for evading responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack and pointed out that Jaish-e- Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, a key accused in the case, continues to find shelter in that country. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the charge sheet into the Pulwama attack case has been filed after an investigation spanning one-and-a-half years. “Jaish-e- Mohammad had claimed the responsibility of Pulwama attack. The organisation and its leadership are in Pakistan. It is regrettable that Masood Azhar, the first accused in the charge sheet continues to find shelter in Pakistan,” Srivastava said at an online media briefing. New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the Ministry of Railways to con- sider arranging travel for dis- abled students from distant places to the national Capital for the exams to be conducted by Delhi University.

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Page 1: 0˚ ˙ 1˙ · 2020. 8. 27. · finance portfolio, said it is unfortunate the Centre ... Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla mentioning pressure from the Centre on the Delhi Government officials

����� ���������

Calling Covid-19 as an extra-ordinary “Act of God” sit-

uation, Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman has saidthis may lead to economiccontraction and presented twooptions to States under whichthey can borrow from the mar-ket to make up for the esti-mated deficit of �2.35 lakhcrore this fiscal. The non-NDAStates were not satisfied withthe Government’s offer.

With the States clamouringfor compensation of GST rev-enue shortfall, the Centre onThursday held a five-hour longmeeting of the GST Council inwhich the Finance Ministersaid there was no proposal toraise tax rates to make up forthe shortfall that has beencompounded by the Covid-19pandemic.

Citing a legal opinion fromthe Attorney General, she ruledout the Centre making goodthe shortfall from either its cof-fers or borrowing against itsbalance sheet.

The deficit can be madegood by States borrowing usinga special window, she said,adding this loan can be repaidafter five years from the col-lection of GST cess. If Statesagree to either of the options, itwould effectively mean thatcess would continue beyondfive years of the GST rollout. In2017, all States agreed to sub-sume their local taxes such as

VAT into the new, nationwideGoods and Services Tax (GST)in return for the Centre promis-ing to make good any loss ofrevenue in the first five years.

But with the economyslowing down, �70,000 croreshortfall was seen in the last fis-cal and this year it is estimatedto widen to �2.35 lakh crore.

The Congress said it was“dissatisfied” with the outcomeof the GST Council meetingand accused the Centre ofadopting a majoritarianapproach and thrusting “solu-tions” on States.

The Finance Ministers of

Congress-ruled States are nothappy with the outcome ofGST Council meeting as deci-sions were thrust upon them bythe Centre, Punjab’s FMManpreet Badal said at a virtual

press conference after the GSTCouncil meeting.

Puducherry Chief MinisterV Narayanasamy, who repre-sented the Union Territory atthe meeting as he also holds the

finance portfolio, said it isunfortunate the Centre wasnot helping the revenue-starvedStates by honouring its com-mitment to pay them GSTcompensation at 14 per cent.

Chhattisgarh FinanceMinister TS Singh Deo saidthere is a sad state of affairs inthe GST Council as it isincreasingly yielding to majori-tarianism instead of being con-sensual.

Delhi Deputy ChiefMinister Manish Sisodia saidthat under the existing system,the city Government cannottake a loan from the RBI to meetits revenue shortfall. Emergingout of a GST Council meeting,he said the Centre has refusedto pay GST compensation toStates and asked them to take aloan from the RBI to meettheir revenue shortfall due to thecoronavirus pandemic.

“However, under the cur-rent hybrid system (of gover-nance), the Delhi Governmentcannot take a loan from the RBI.The Centre should take a loanfrom the RBI and give it to theDelhi Government,” he said.

Sisodia also charged theCentre with failing to fulfil itspromise to the States at thelaunch of the Goods andServices Tax (GST) regimefour years ago. “The Centre hadpromised that it will pay GSTcompensation to States at therate of 14 per cent for five yearsin case of revenue shortfall,”said Sisodia.

������������ ��

Actress Rhea Chakrabortybecame the focal point of

the developments in theSushant Singh Rajput deathsaga on Thursday as aNarcotics Control Bureau(NCB) team arrived here fromNew Delhi to investigate thedrug angle involving her. Sheclaimed that late Sushant hadforced her to leave his flatbefore the arrival of his sisterMeetu and the late actor’sfather KK Singh called her a“murderer” and accused her of“poisoning” his son for a longtime.

The CBI’s ongoing investi-gations into Sushant’s deathtook a backseat as the NCBlaunched drug-related investi-gations into the actor’s death, aday after it registered a caseunder sections 20, 22, 27 and29 of the Narcotic Drugs andPsychotropic Substances) Actand booked Rhea Chakraborty,her brother ShowikChakraborty and others.

Having joined the investi-gations in the SSR death caseon the basis of the retrievedWhatsApp messages of Rheashared by the EnforcementDirectorate with it, a three-member NCB team thatarrived from the nationalCapital went headlong intothe investigations in drug-related matters relating toSushant’s death case. The NCBis investigating the allegationsunder non-bailable provisionsunder the anti-drug law for

allegedly “possessing, pur-chasing and using cannabis”and for alleged “abetment andcriminal conspiracy to commitan offence”.

As part of its investigationsinto the alleged procurementand usage of drugs likeMDMA, marijuana, LSD andCannabidiol which figured inthe retrieved WhatsApp con-versation that Rhea had withothers, the NCB is likely to grillRhea, Sushant’s former talentmanager Jaya Saha, his housemanager Samuel Miranda andGoa-based hotelier GauravArya, who has been hinted asdrug supplier for Rhea.

On her part, Rhea — whohas been accused by Rhea’sfamily of having abetted the

actor’s suicide — vehementlydenied that she had ever takendrugs. She also denied she hadany links with the drug dealersand peddlers.

“I am prepared to undergoblood test if the NCB wants meto do so,” she said. She howev-er, admitted that Sushant wastaking marijuana.

On a day when Rhea’sfather was questioned by theED, Rhea posted a video onInstagram showing her fatherbeing mobbed and chased bymediapersons outside theirhouse in Mumbai. She soughtprotection for her and herfamily from Mumbai Police sothat the family can co-operatewith the probe agencies in theSushant case.

����� ��������

As the situation remainsvolatile on the Line of

Actual Control (LAC) for morethan three months now,External Affairs Minister SJaishankar has said the stand-offs in eastern Ladakh are“surely the most serious situa-tion after 1962.”

He also said the number oftroops deployed there by Indiaand China in the aftermath ofthe face-offs is also “unprece-dented” and pinned his hopeson resolving the differencesthrough diplomacy.

Making these observationsagainst the backdrop of tenrounds of talks at the diplo-matic and military levels failingto defuse tension at the border,the Minister said in an inter-view to rediff.com that “this issurely the most serious situa-

tion after 1962. In fact, after 45years, we have had militarycasualties on this border. Thequantum of forces currently deployed by bothsides at the LAC is alsounprecedented.”

The Minister was appar-ently referring to the India-China war in 1962 and death of20 Indian Army personnel inJune this year in the Galwanvalley in Ladakh in a bloodyfree for all with the Chinese.These casualties were the firstin more than 40 years at theborder.

Jaishankar said India hasconveyed to China “clearly”that peace and tranquility in theborder areas are the basis forthe relationship between thetwo neighbours. “If we lookback at the last three decades,

this is quite self-evident. Indianand Chinese armies are lockedin a tense stand-off in easternLadakh for over three-and-half-month despite multiplerounds of diplomatic and mil-itary talks,” he said.

On the efforts to bringdown the temperature at theLAC, the Minister said face-offsin the past too were resolvedthrough diplomacy be itDepsang (2013), Chumar(2014) or Doklam (2017).

“If you look back over thelast decade, there have been anumber of border situations —Depsang, Chumar andDoklam. In a sense, each onewas different. This one surelyis. But what is also common isthat all border situations wereresolved through diplomacy,”Jaishankar said.

����� ��������

Amid raging protests fromvarious quarters, including

Chief Ministers of many States,for postponement of theupcoming JEE, NEET in thewake of coronavirus pandem-ic, the Centre on Thursday saidthe huge number of admitcards being downloaded in thepast few days show that thestudents wanted exams to beheld at any cost.

“National Testing Agency(NTA) DG told me that 7.5lakh out of 8.58 lakh candidates

in JEE have downloaded admitcards. For NEET,over 10 lakh out of 15.97 lakhcandidates downloaded admitcards in 24 hours. It shows thatstudents want that exams areheld at any cost,” Union Education MinisterRamesh Pokhriyal Nishanksaid.

The NTA conducts boththese examination 2019onwards.

The Education Ministeralso said JEE exam centreshave been increased to 660from 570 while there are now3,842 NEET centres, up from2,546 for the convenience ofstudents. Students have alsobeen allotted exam centres oftheir choice.

A total of 15.97 lakh can-didates have registered for theNational Eligibility cumEntrance Test (NEET-UG)

which is scheduled forSeptember 13, said an NTAofficial.

Moreover, a total of 7.41lakh candidates out of 8.58 lakhhave downloaded their admitcards for JEE-Mains tillTuesday evening.

“Only 332 candidates haverequested for change of theircentre which is being consid-ered positively,” the officialadded.

Earlier, commenting onCentre’s decision to hold theentrance examinations,Pokhriyal said, “Students andguardians constantly put pres-sure on us to conduct theexaminations.”

He further said, “TheSupreme Court of India alsosaid the full academic yearcannot be wasted. After twodeferments examination dateshave been finalised.”

����� ��������

The Supreme Court onThursday refused permis-

sion to carry out Muharramprocession across the countryand asked Lucknow-based peti-tioner to move before theAllahabad High Court.

The apex court said how itcan pass a general order for thewhole country and if reliefwas made for a particular area,then the risk could be assessed.

Muharram will be heldthis year on August 29.

A Bench comprising ChiefJustice SA Bobde and JusticesAS Bopanna and VRamasubramanian said itwould lead to chaos and tar-geting of a particular commu-nity. “You are asking for a gen-eral order and then if we allowthis there will be chaos.Particular community will betargeted for spreading Covid.We don’t want that. We as a

court cannot risk the health ofall the people,” said the bench,which heard the matter through video confer-encing.

Advocate Azim H Laskar,appearing for petitioner SyedKalbe Jawab referred to theapex court order passed withregard to allowing the historicannual Rath Yatra at Puri inOrissa and Paryushan festivalfor three Jain temples atMumbai.

����������� ��������

Delhi Health MinisterSatyendra Jain on

Thursday wrote to UnionHome Secretary Ajay Bhallamentioning pressure from theCentre on the DelhiGovernment officials to notincrease corona testing.

Reacting on Jain’s letter toUnion Home Secretary,Ministry of Home Affairs’spokesperson said allegationsare false and baseless.

In his letter to Bhalla, Jainhas said the Delhi Governmentwants to double corona testing,however, the Union HomeMinistry is putting pressure onthe Delhi Government officialsnot to do so.

“I am shocked to learnthat the Centre is pressuring

our officials on coronatesting.

We all have seen, with thehelp of Centre we succeeded indefeating corona however nowwhen the Delhi Governmentwants to increase testing, theCentre is not allowing ourofficers to do so,” Jain wrote inhis letter to the Union HomeSecretary, in the absence ofUnion Home Minister AmitShah, who is admitted inAIIMS for post Covid caretreatment.

Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal on Wednesdaychaired a meeting with DelhiHealth Department officialsin a view of rising coronacases. Aiming for zero coronadeaths in the national Capital,Kejriwal has directed officers todouble tests.

����� ��������

The Delhi Government hasset an ambitious target to

increase the city’s green coverfrom 22 per cent at present to25 per cent in the next threeyears, officials said onThursday.

According to the latestIndia State of Forest Report(ISFR) released in 2019, Delhi’sgreen cover, comprising forestand tree cover, is 324 sq km or21.9 per cent of the total areaat present. It was 305.4 sq kmor 20.6 perc ent in 2017.

“According to our assess-ment, Delhi’s green cover canbe increased to 25 per cent ofits total area of 1,484 sq km. Itmeans 45 sq km land is avail-able with various departments

in Delhi for afforestation pur-poses,” Principal Conservatorof Forests Ishwar Singhsaid.

“This is the maximumgreen cover achievable in thecity. Thereafter, we will work ona five-year plan to improve thequality of our forest coverwhich will improve its carbonsink capacity,” he said.

The National Forest Policyaims at bringing a minimum

one-third of India’s total geo-graphical area under greencover. The green cover shouldbe at least 66 per cent of thetotal area in hilly regions and20 per cent in the plains.

“We can achieve this targetin the next three years if landis available,” Singh said.

The Forest Departmenthas already asked the DelhiDevelopment Authority andthe development commission-er to create a “forest land bank”which can be utilised in thefuture for compensatory plan-tation by various departmentsand agencies.

The creation of a landbank will simplify the processof compensatory plantationand avoid delays in projects,Singh said.

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New Delhi: India onThursday slammed Pakistanfor evading responsibility forthe Pulwama terror attackand pointed out that Jaish-e-Mohammad chief MasoodAzhar, a key accused in thecase, continues to find shelterin that country. ExternalAffairs Ministry SpokespersonAnurag Srivastava said thecharge sheet into the Pulwamaattack case has been filedafter an investigation spanningone-and-a-half years. “Jaish-e-Mohammad had claimed theresponsibility of Pulwamaattack. The organisation andits leadership are in Pakistan.It is regrettable that MasoodAzhar, the first accused in thecharge sheet continues to find shelter in Pakistan,”Srivastava said at an onlinemedia briefing.

New Delhi: The Delhi HighCourt on Thursday asked theMinistry of Railways to con-sider arranging travel for dis-abled students from distantplaces to the national Capitalfor the exams to be conductedby Delhi University.

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Considering the less than expected increasein GST cess fund, the State’s Agriculture

Minister Subodh Uniyal suggested to the GSTcouncil that to fulfil the state’s compensationrequirements the option of taking a loan fromthe market could be considered. The Centrecould also take a loan to pay compensation tothe states, he opined. The minister said this whilerepresenting the Statein the 41st meeting of theGST council chaired by the Union Finance min-ister Nirmala Sitharaman through video con-ferencing on Thursday.

The meeting was called to discuss means offulfilling the compensation requirements of the

state considering the less than expected increasein revenue through GST cess.

Due to structural changes related to trans-fer in the new system and conditions resultingfrom the Covid-19 pandemic exerting a nega-tive impact on tourism and consequently rev-enue, Uniyal requested that the compensationrequirements of the state should be fulfilled. Atthe end of the meeting, the Union Finance min-ister presented two options to the states to meettheir compensation requirements. The States caneither pick up the entire compensation by bor-rowing from the government or pick up a lim-ited amount through a special window in con-sultation with the RBI and receive the remain-ing amount by the end of 2022.

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In the disaster control room set by the MunicipalCorporation of Dehradun (MCD) in the Town Hall to

register and tackle the waterlogging issues during the mon-soon, people have started to call regarding those issues toothat do not concern the corporation. According to the oper-ator of the control room, the MCD sends the assistanceimmediately to any complainant but some people havebegun to take advantage of the system. "We received somecalls from some people stating they have an issue regard-ing drain choking or waterlogging but when we reachedthere with the team of the workers, they asked us to pro-vide gutter cleaning services or asked us to remove waterfrom their tanks. Even when we refused stating that it isnot our job, they insisted. We did not do it but such falsecomplaints waste time, labour and fuel of the corporation.Some people have also asked us to take their dead animalsfrom their homes but we generally help them by provid-ing them the proper contact numbers. We help where wecan," stated the operator.

Meanwhile, he added that the complaints regardingwaterlogging are less this week than in the last week whichis about three to five complaints per day. Moreover, he saidthat a water withdrawing machine and other necessaryequipment were sent to the councillors of those wards whichface severe waterlogging due to a heavy rain so that it canbe operated in the time of emergencies.

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Due to the ongoing monsoon season, the sup-plies of vegetables and fruits are not arriving

in Dehradun district on time which is leading tothe hike in prices of these products. It has also ledto a decrease in the supply of vegetables in Dehradun.

In the last few days, there has been a consid-erable rise in the prices of commonly consumedvegetables like bottle gourd, lady finger and toma-toes with their prices going up by Rs 25 to Rs 40per kilogramme. There are also some other veg-etables like onion, pumpkin and capsicum ofwhich the prices have gone up by Rs five to Rs 15per kilogramme.

According to the president of DehradunMandi Samiti, Rajesh Sharma, the heavy rainfallin the high altitude regions has disrupted the sup-ply of vegetables like tomatoes due to which thesupplies are getting delayed. He said that sincesome vegetable supplies arrive here from otherstates too, these supplies are also getting delayeddue to rain. The supply process of vegetables getsaffected depending on the intensity of the rain-fall, therefore, the price of the vegetables will pos-sibly keep on fluctuating for a few weeks more,informed Sharma.

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The Nainital Hotel and Restaurant Associationhas demanded that the State Government’s

guidelines related to tourism should be made morepractical. This demand was raised in a meeting ofthe association chaired by its head Dinesh Sah hereon Thursday.

Members of the fraternity expressed concernand discussed the future of tourism in the state. Theassociation discussed the demands raised in themeeting of the Uttarakhand Hotel and RestaurantAssociation held a day earlier in Mussoorie. Theassociation has demanded that the governmentalguidelines be made more practical to revive thetourism business failing which the members wouldbe forced to shut down their hotels and other busi-nesses for a considerable period.

They also demanded that the rebate on elec-tricity fixed charge should be extended till March2021 along with providing rebate on electricity,water and property tax. Further, they also said thatthe government should facilitate interest-free loanto revive their business. The members of theNainital association supported the demands raisedin the meeting of the state association. The mem-bers stated that they will have no other option butto shut down their businesses if the state govern-ment doesn’t issue practical guidelines to restore theeconomy.

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Deputy Chief Minister andFinance Minister Manish

Sisodia said Central Govern-ment’s refusal to pay Goodsand Services Tax (GST) toStates is the biggest betrayal inthe history of federalism inIndia. His reaction came aftera GST council meeting.

Hitting at the Union gov-ernment, Sisodia said underGST, the central governmentwas liable to give compensationto states for five years buttoday, they have refused to doso. States are feeling cheatedright now. “The Central gov-

ernment has refused to takeloans for any state and due toits unique status, Delhi cannottake a loan. They are showingdouble-standards with the peo-ple of Delhi.”

Addressing media, Sisodiasaid, “Central Government hasfailed in its responsibility ingiving the GST compensationto states. When GST was rolledout, states were promised thatwe would be given compensa-tion for the next 5 years with 14percent of growth. But today,the Central Government hasrefused to pay by saying as perthe law, due to the ongoing sit-uation created by COVID-19,

we are not liable to pay any-thing.”

“Today many states,including the BJP led statesdemanded compensation fromthe Center. Many states quot-ed the minutes of the seventh,eighth, and tenth meetings ofthe GST Council where it wasclearly stated that the centralgovernment takes full respon-sibility that if the revenue of anystate decreases then the centralgovernment will compensateit,” Sisodia said, “In the first twoyears when the central gov-ernment earned extra cess ofRs. 47,000 crore which wassupposed to be given as com-

pensation, they kept it in theirfund. Today when the revenuehas started decreasing, theystarted asking AG that whetherwe are liable to give this

amount to states or not.”“We would have been

able to manage our expenseson our own but after joiningthe GST regime, states had to

surrender the maximum oftheir rights to GST council,” hesaid,“It was decided that ifrequired, the central govern-ment will take a loan whichwill be repaid through thecess. But today, the central gov-ernment refused to take a loanfor any state. They gave anoption to states that if you needcompensation, you can take aloan from RBI. We will ask RBIto provide you loans.” Sisodiasaid, “Due to the unique statusof Delhi, our government can-not take a loan. They areshowing double-standardswith the people of Delhi", headded.

Sharing details aboutDelhi, the finance ministersaid that in the last fourmonths, we have collected Rs.7,000 crore lesser tax. “If welook at the entire year, we havea shortfall of Rs. 21,000 crore.The central government shouldtake a loan on our behalf as wealso need to pay salaries to ourdoctors, teachers, engineers,DTC, and other employees.”

He added, “This is thebiggest betrayal of the centralgovernment in the history offederalismbin India.”

While praising the wholeidea of GST,Sisodia said, “I amnot against GST. GST is a good

idea but the central govern-ment has failed to implementit properly. If they would haveimplemented it properly, thestates would not have to beglike this. There are many prob-lems with GST that were sup-posed to have been fixed bynow, whatever evasion wastaking place under theVAT/Sales tax regime is stillcontinuing in GST regime. Sofirst the Centre has failed inimplementing GST reformproperly, and they are nowbetraying the states and run-ning away from their respon-sibility in giving GST com-pensation”.

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In order to achieve its objec-tive of becoming completely

self-sustainable for all its powerneeds and also to contribute tonational solar power goals,Indian Railways on Thursdayheld wide ranging discussionswith key stakeholders underthe chairmanship of Minister ofRailways and Commerce &Industry Piyush Goyal.

The Ministry said that theprimary areas of discussion inthis meeting were adoptinginnovative solutions for settingup solar projects along therailway track, possible powerprocurement routes for achiev-ing 20 GW renewable energytarget, set by the IndianRailways, to become the netzero carbon emitter by 2030.

Challenges in large scaledeployment of solar energyprojects by the Indian Railwayswere also discussed, the min-istry said in a statement.

“The developers acknowl-edged the efforts of IndianRailways in leading the devel-opment of renewable energy inthe country and expressedstrong support to IndianRailways on the path of goinggreen and achieving the netzero carbon emissions target by2030,” it added.

“This is in line with therecent directive of the Prime

Minister to solarise railwaystations and utilize vacant rail-way land for Renewable Energy(RE) projects. It will also con-tribute towards the NationalSolar Mission, an initiative ofthe Government of India topromote solar power,” the min-istry said.

As a follow up, it has beendecided by the Ministry ofRailways to provide solarpower plants on vacant unusedRailway land on mega scale. Apilot project of 1.7 MW capac-ity with direct connectivity to25 KV traction system hasbeen successfully opera-tionalised in Bina. In addition,a solar plant of 3 MW capaci-ty has also been commissionedat Modern Coach Factory(MCF), Raebareli for non-trac-tion applications, it said.

It further said that twomore projects – one at Diwanafor 2 MW and another atBhilai for 50 MW capacity for

connectivity with StateTransmission Utility (STU)and Central TransmissionUtility (CTU) respectively arein progress.

The use of solar power willaccelerate the Minister ofRailways and Commerce andIndustry Piyush Goyal’s mis-sion to achieve conversion ofIndian Railways to ‘Net ZeroCarbon Emission Railway’.

In order to achieve this,Indian Railways has developeda mega plan for installing solarplants of 20 GW capacity byutilizing its vacant land by2030. With the ambitious planof achieving 100% electrifica-tion for Railways by the year2023, Indian Railways energyconsumption is set to becomemore than 33 billion units by2030 from its current annualrequirement of about 21 billionunits.

It may be noted that IndianRailways is committed to uti-

lize solar energy for meeting itstraction power requirementand become a complete ‘Greenmode of transportation’.

Indian Railways has adopt-ed a multi-pronged approachtowards decarbonization whichwould be fulfilled by the solarprojects being deployed, mak-ing it the first transport orga-nization to be energy self-suf-ficient. “This would help inmaking Indian Railways greenas well as ‘Atma-Nirbhar,” itsaid.

In this regard, to beginwith, bids for three GW solarprojects on vacant Railwayland parcels and land parcelsalong the railway track havealready been invited by RailwayEnergy Management CompanyLtd. (REMCL), a PSU of IndianRailways. “These solar pro-jects, besides supplying powerto Railways at reduced tariff,will also protect the Railwayland by construction of bound-ary wall along the track,” itadded.

Goyal pointed out thatIndian Railways is willing toextend all support to the devel-opers for installing solar powerplants on Railway’s vacant un-encroached land. “Boundarywall along the track will be con-structed and maintained bydevelopers which will also helpin preventing trespassing ontracks,” it said.

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The Aam Aadmi Party onThursday launched a fresh

attack on the Bharatiya JanataParty-led MCDs of Delhi overtheir perpetual complainingregarding the lack of funds andsaid the AAP will make a clean-liness model for Delhi aftercoming to power in civic bod-ies. AAP chief spokesperson andMLA Saurabh Bhardwaj said ifBJP councilors cannot run theMCDs then they must imme-diately resign; the AAP will runthe same MCDs with the avail-able fund and budget.

“The AAP will tell people togive the responsibility of theMCDs to the AAP and will per-form every work in a much bet-ter way even without increasingany tax,” he said.

"At the time of the rainyseason every year Delhi suffersfrom massive water loggingand the reason behind this isthat the BJP ruled municipalcorporations of Delhi do notclean the drains. If we get thepower to run the municipal cor-porations of Delhi then we

want to ensure that citizens thatwe will make Delhi as a world-class city and no water loggingwill take place,” he said.

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Jammu: Jammu and Kashmiron Thursday reported 655 newcoronavirus cases, including158 in Jammu division and 497from Kashmir division, takingits total tally to 35,135.

In all, 14 more Covid-19deaths were reported -- three inJammu division and 11 inKashmir division.

As many as 528 morerecovered corona patients weredischarged from various hos-pitals, including 89 in Jammudivision and 439 in Kashmirdivision. According to the dailymedia bulletin, 7,743 cases arestill 'active', 26,721 have recov-ered and 671 others died. The

death toll was 57 in Jammudivision and 614 in Kashmirdivision.

Out of 9,15,226 test resultsavailable, 8,80,091 samples havebeen tested as negative tillAugust 27, 2020.

Till date 4,48,697 travelersand persons in contact withsuspected cases have beenenlisted for observation whichincluded 44,537 persons inhome quarantine includingfacilities operated by the gov-ernment, 7,743 in isolation, and43,728 in home surveillancewhile 3,52,018 persons havecompleted their surveillanceperiod. IANS

Panaji: Goa's Director ofHealth Services Jose D'Sa hastested positive for coronavirus,a state government spokesper-son said on Thursday.

D'Sa has been admitted toa private hospital for treatmentafter he tested Covid positivefollowing an antigen test, thespokesperson said.

The Directorate Of HealthServices is the key govern-ment agency at the forefront ofthe state's Covid managementefforts.

Reacting to the develop-ment, Leader of OppositionDigambar Kamat said that withD'Sa testing Covid-19 positiveand getting himself admitted toa private hospital, it was proventhat the state government appa-ratus for fighting the pandem-ic was in shambles.

"As Director of HealthServices himself gets admittedto a private hospital after test-ing #CovidPositive, the pre-paredness of @GovtofGoa onhandling & management of#CoronaPandemic &#PublicHealthCare standscompletely exposed. Now, Ican only pray to God for wellbeing of all," Kamat

tweeted."When the government's

Goa Medical College is con-sidered as one of the best hos-pitals in the state, it sends awrong message to the peoplewhen the head of state healthservices admits himself to a pri-vate hospital," Kamat toldreporters later.

Goa Aam Aadmi Partyconvenor Elvis Gomes tooslammed the state govern-ment's preparedness to tacklethe Covid pandemic, in view ofD'Sa admitting himself in a pri-vate hospital.

"We wish D'Sa recoverssoon, but it raises questionsabout the quality of healthcareinfrastructure offered by thestate government to handle the Covid crisis,"Gomes said. IANS

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Page 3: 0˚ ˙ 1˙ · 2020. 8. 27. · finance portfolio, said it is unfortunate the Centre ... Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla mentioning pressure from the Centre on the Delhi Government officials

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The memories of green nets must be fresh in the mindsof the denizens of Dehradun city which the overzeal-

ous Babus of the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun(MCD) used effectively in different parts of the city in a mas-sive cover up exercise early this year.

This effort done to hide the unauthorized garbage sitesfrom the eyes of the visiting central team did the trick forthe MCD as the city leapfrogged to respectable 124th posi-tion in the ranking released after the Swachchh Survekshan-2020. In last year's survey Doon was placed at a lowly 384thspot.

Apart from using green nets to their advantage, the man-darins of the MCD had placed billboards along the riverbridges to hide the filthy river banks of Rispana and Bindal.It is learnt that the many employees of the MCD were pressedinto service to send positive public feedback for the survey.

While the MCD is patting its own back for improvingthe rank of the city it also knows perfectly well that the cityhas actually become dirtier in the last few months with returnof plastic and cessation of drive against the encroachers.

The garbage piles, stray animals, plastic heaps, chokeddrains, potholed roads tell the real story of sanitation in thecity.

������������It appears that the head of the saffron party in the

Himalayan state is having a habit of taking foot into hismouth. In the latest such act the Netaji has pronounced endof the Modi wave and advised his party MLAs to remainprepared to face the electorate in the next assembly electionssans the Namo magic.

It is apparent that the chief was trying to hammer homea point to his flock of MLAs that they should work hard intheir respective constituencies, show performance onground and do not depend solely on the name of NarendraModi to sail through the hustings but ended up commit-ting a political blunder by stating something which is saf-fron party’s nightmare.

On an earlier occasion, he had stated that it is high timefor cabinet expansion.

Many termed this statement of his as unwarranted sinceexpanding the cabinet is the prerogative of the chief min-ister.

����������The announcement of Delhi CM, Arvind Kejriwal that

his outfit would field its candidates in all 70 assembly con-stituencies of Uttarakhand has made both BJP and Congressto sit up and monitor the manoeuvres of the party whichis in power in Delhi.

In recent months, the party of Kejriwal has intensifiedits activity in the state and has taken up issues which havecaught the eyes of the general public.

The party aiming to create a space for itself in a bipo-lar political spectrum of the Himalayan state outwitted theopposition Congress in holding protest on sex scandalinvolving a BJP MLA and return of Khanpur MLA into thesaffron party’s fold.

The grapevine making rounds in political circles hereis that many disgruntled leaders belonging to Congress andBJP can hitchhike the ‘Broom’ of Kejriwal in coming daysif the party finds some favour with the people of thestate.

However one should remember that AAP had failed inits endeavour to make a dent in the political scene ofUttarakhand in its earlier attempts.

����� ���+ ���

In the highest single day jumpever since the novel coron-

avirus (Covid-19) pandemicstarted, the authorities report-ed a staggering 728 fresh casesof the disease on Thursday inUttarakhand. The spike ofThursday is 177 more than theprevious high of 551 casesreported on August 23.

The tally of the disease hasnow climbed to 17277 in thestate. On a worrying notewhich is indicative of increasedmortality from the disease,nine deaths were reported onThursday.

A total of 228 deaths haveso far occurred due to theCovid-19 in the state. In anindication of the piling up ofsamples in different labs in thestate, a total of 15975 samplesare lying untested.

The recovery percentagein the state has dropped to68.15 percent and the infectionrate has mounted to 5.31 per-cent in the state. Out of the ninedeaths reported on Thursday,eight were reported from AllIndia Institute of MedicalSciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh

and one from Sushila Tiwarigovernment hospital.

The plain districts of thestate continue to reel under theonslaught of the virus. OnThursday 175 fresh cases werereported in Haridwar, 150 inDehradun, 122 in Nainital and77 in Udham Singh Nagar.Similarly 49 patients surfacedin Tehri, 45 in Uttarkashi, 44 inAlmora and 38 in Pithoragarhdistrict. In Bageshwar 14patients were reported whileseven patients came up inRudraprayag, three each inChampawat and Pauri and onein Chamoli.

The state now has 5215active patients of the diseasewith Udham Singh Nagar at topposition in the table of activepatients with 1322 patients.Haridwar is at second spotwith 1178 active cases whileDehradun is in third positionwith 1040 active cases.

Nainital has 708 activepatients of Covid-19 whileTehri has 235, Uttarkashi 217,Pauri 122, Almora 81, Chamoli77, Champawat 63, Pithoragarh62, Rudraprayag andBageshwar 55 active patientseach of the disease.

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Questioning officials aboutthe increase in the project

cost of the Suryadhar project,the Irrigation and TourismMinister Satpal Maharaj hasdirected an inquiry in the mat-ter. The Minister said this afterinspecting the project beingexecuted by the Irrigationdepartment here on Thursday.

The minister visited the siteto inspect construction of thebarrage on Jakhan river as partof the Suryadhar lake project.He said, “This is the chiefminister’s dream project whichwill supply irrigation anddrinking water to a populationof nearly 35,000 in 18 villages.The CM had clearly instructedthat the project should be exe-cuted within the budget and

that the cost should be checked.The earlier project cost was Rs50.24 crore out of which Rs41.12 crore has been spent.However, now the project costhas been increased to Rs 64.12crore despite the CM’s instruc-tions, which is questionable. Iam ordering an inquiry intothis matter.” The minister fur-ther said that the inquiry wouldbe time-bound to ascertainthe reasons for increase in theproject cost. He also acknowl-edged the likelihood of gaps inthe detailed project report.

Referring to the benefits ofthe project, Maharaj said thatin addition to supplying irri-gation and drinking water toresidents of 18 villages andenhancing water conservation,Suryadhar project will alsoboost potential for income

generation through tourismand activities like fishery. Thedevelopment of the Suryadharlake will make the opening ofhome-stays and other tourismrelated ventures profitable inthis area. This is an ideal loca-tion for home-stays where vis-itors could enjoy peace andrecreational activities in the lapof nature away from the crowd,he said.

Regarding constructioncontracts, the minister saidthat the local contractors ofUttarakhand are unable to getbig contracts so the projects ofthe irrigation department willbe divided into smaller con-tracts to enable the local con-tractors to secure the same. Theproposal for the same will betabled in the next meeting ofthe cabinet, he added.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party State presi-dent Banshidhar Bhagat has stated that

some television news channels are pre-senting his statements related to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi in a distortedmanner and out of context.

He said, “The world acknowledges thatthe PM is a leader of the masses and amongthe leading and most influential leaders ofthe world. Internally, India is today on thepath of major changes and progress at atime when respect accorded by the inter-national community to the nation is high.This is because of PM Modi’s leadership.”

Bhagat said that he had advised theMLAs to further increase their activity intheir constituencies to further strengthen

their public support. The party will con-test the next elections on the basis of theachievements of the Central and State gov-ernments. He said, “We have to inform thepublic about the major projects being exe-cuted in Uttarakhand due to the PM’s con-sideration and the achievements of the stategovernment. For this, increasing the inter-action with the public more will be usefuland effective. The BJP will win the nextVidhan Sabha election with a strongmajority and form the government in thestate. The party has started preparing forthe elections,” he said.

It will be recalled that responding toquestions by the electronic media earlier,Bhagat had said that relying only on theModi wave will not be enough to win theelection.

Dehradun: The Uttarakhand assem-bly speaker Premchand Agarwal hassaid that many options are beingweighed for holding the upcomingmonsoon session of assembly whileadhering to social distancing normsfor the ongoing pandemic of Covid-19. Replying to the query of the mediapersons on Thursday, the speakeraccepted that holding a session amidthe pandemic would be a challenge.He added that the hall of the assem-bly building has limited space andwould not be able to accommodate themembers when a sitting plan con-forming to social distancing norms isfollowed. Agarwal said that discus-sions on every small point are going

on and a final decision would be soontaken. Throwing a hint that the spaceof galleries reserved for media personsand visitors could be used for seatingthe members, Agarwal said that somepeople might feel offended. He how-ever appealed to everyone to cooper-ate for the successful holding of thesession.

The monsoon session ofUttarakhand assembly is scheduled forSeptember 23, 24 and 25 in Dehradun.Considering the limited capacity of theassembly hall it is believed that the ses-sion could be organised in a tentplaced in the assembly premises or canbe held at some other place like a hotelor big government building inDehradun. PNS

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Toeing the line of its centralleadership, the Uttarakhand

Congress has also decided tooppose holding of JointEntrance Examination (JEE)and National Eligibility cumEntrance Test (NEET) exami-nations.

The important examina-tions are scheduled to be heldin the first week of September.Opposing the decision to con-duct these examinations, theUttarakhand Congress partyhas said that it would holdstate-wide demonstrationsagainst the move on August 28.

Terming the decision asimpractical and dangerous, thePradesh Congress Committee(PCC) President Pritam Singhsaid that the union governmentis not bothered about the livesof the students.

He said that the pandem-ic of novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) is at its peak and everydaythousands of new cases arebeing reported and duringsuch times the government isdetermined to conduct exam-inations.

He said that the Congressparty would hold a protest infront of central institutes in alldistrict headquarters on Fridayand demand postponement ofthese examinations.

In Dehradun, the Congresswould observe a protest at theregional office of the CentralBoard of Secondary Education(CBSE) at 10.30 am on Friday.

Launching an attack onthe central and state govern-ments, Singh said that it isunfortunate that on one handthe government is registeringfalse cases against the opposi-tion leaders in order to hide itsfailure of controlling the spreadof Covid-19 and on the otherhand is hell bent to hold JEEand NEET examinations.

He added that apart frompandemic, many parts of thecountry are facing the problemof floods triggered by heavyrains and during such circum-stances the holding of theseexaminations cannot be justi-fied.

The PCC president sug-gested that these examinationsshould be held when the situ-ation normalises.

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The Centre has asked 10States—Maharashtra, Tamil

Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana,Gujarat, West Bengal, UttarPradesh, Punjab, AndhraPradesh and Jammu &Kashmir— that account for atleast 89 per cent of total Covid-19 deaths in the country in thelast two weeks to ramp up theirefforts to proactively limitCOVID transmission and keepthe mortality rate below 1 percent.

The States/UT have beensuggested a slew of measuressuch as focus on effective con-tainment, contact tracing andsurveillance, ensuring that atleast in 80 per cent of new pos-itive cases, all close contactsshould be traced and testedwithin 72 hours, said a seniorofficial from the Union HealthMinistry.

He said that CabinetSecretary Rajiv Gauba held avideo conference with theChief Secretaries and HealthSecretaries of nine States andone UT on Thursday alongwiththe Union Health Secretary, DG

ICMR and Member (Health),NITI Aayog to review and dis-cuss the Covid managementand response strategy in theseStates/UT.

Union Health SecretaryRajesh Bhushan made adetailed presentation on thecurrent status of Covid-19 inthese States/UT, with a focus ondistricts reporting high casefatality and the need to refineas well as strengthen approachand strategies relating to testing,contact tracing, surveillance,containment, home isolation,availability of Ambulances, hos-pital beds, oxygen, treatmentprotocols, etc.

“It was observed that out ofthe total deaths in the countryin the last two weeks, 89% ofdeaths are in these 10 States/UTand hence, these States/UTneed to have continued and rig-orous vigil so as to contain thespread of infection as well astake steps to reduce fatalities,”said the official.

The States/UT wereadvised to proactively take stepstowards reducing case fatality toless than 1% across all districtsfocusing on effective contain-

ment, contact tracing and sur-veillance, ensuring that at leastin 80 per cent of new positivecases, all close contacts shouldbe traced and tested with 72

hoursThe States have also been

asked to ensure a minimumof140 tests per million per dayin all districts while targeting apositivity/confirmation rate ofless than 5 per cent.

Regular monitoring ofhome isolation patients (tele-calling and home visits) andensuring timely admission tohealthcare facility if SPO2 levelfalls below the designated level,putting in public domain theavailability of beds and ambu-lances across COVID facilities

while significantly reducingambulance response time,monitoring week-wise fatalityrates for each health facility withparticular focus on vulnerablepatients (Comorbid, patientsabove 60 years’ age) have beenadvised.

The States have also beenasked to focus on behavioralchange communication pro-moting Covid appropriatebehaviour consisting of socialdistancing, wearing of masks,hand hygiene, cough etiquettesetc.

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For the last three weeks, Indiahas been reporting the high-

est number of daily coron-avirus cases in the world puttingit ahead of the US and Brazil.India, the third worst-hit coun-try on Thursday recorded over75,000 cases breaching thehighest ever daily tally by theUS, and recorded the worstspike so far globally.

The fresh cases havepushed the country’s coron-avirus tally to over 33.1 lakhcases while the toll breached the60,000 mark with 1,017 morefatalities in the last 24 hours.

According to the UnionHealth Ministry data, a record75,760 infections were added ina day taking the total coron-avirus caseload to 33,10,234.The death toll climbed to 60,472

with 1,023 fatalities beingreported in 24 hours, as per thedata.

With a total of 25,23,771patients having recuperatedso far, the recovery rate wasrecorded at 76.24 per centwhile the COVID-19 casefatality rate has declined to 1.83per cent.

There are 7,25,991 activecases of coronavirus infectionin the country which com-prises 21.93 per cent of thetotal caseload, the data stated.

India’s COVID-19 tallyhad crossed the 20-lakh markon August 7 and went past 30lakh on August 23.

India’s cumulative testshas also reached nearly 3.9crore on Thursday while9,24,998 lakh tests were con-ducted in last 24 hours acrossthe country.

This has spurred the totaltests to 3,85,76,510.

“With more patientsrecovering and being dis-charged from hospitals andhome isolation (in case ofmild and moderate cases),India’s total Covid-19 recov-eries have surpassed cross 2.5million on Thursday,” said theGovernment.

Recovery of 25,23,771patients has been made possi-ble because of effective imple-mentation of the policy of thecentre-led policies that havebeen effectively been imple-mented by the State/UT gov-ernments. At least, 56,013Covid patients have recov-ered in the last 24 hours whileIndia’s recovery rate amongstthe Covid-19 patients todaystands at 76.24 per cent, saidthe Ministry.

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At least a third of the world’sschoolchildren — 463 mil-

lion children globally — wereunable to access remote learn-ing following Covid-19 inducedclosure of their schools.Children in the poorest house-holds and in rural areas weremost affected, according to anew report by the Unicef, aglobal child rights agency. It wasreleased on Thursday as coun-tries across the world grapplewith their ‘back-to-school’plans.

The Unicef warned that thesituation is likely far worse,because even where technolo-gy exists at home, childrenmay not be able to learn due topressures to do chores or work.

“For at least 463 millionchildren whose schools closeddue to Covid-19, there was nosuch a thing as remote learning,”Unicef Executive DirectorHenrietta Fore said.

“The sheer number of chil-dren whose education was com-pletely disrupted for months onend is a global education emer-gency,” she said in a statement.“The repercussions could be feltin economies and societies fordecades to come.”

The report released lateWednesday night highlightssignificant inequality acrossregions, with school children insub-Saharan Africa the most

affected. The highest number ofchildren affection by regionwere in South Asia, at least 147million, according to the report.

The agency said the reportused a globally representativeanalysis on the availability ofhome-based technology andtools needed for remote learn-ing, such as access to television,radio and internet, and theavailability of curricula deliv-ered by the platforms.

The youngest children arealso most likely to miss out onremote learning during criti-cal years, the report said, large-ly due to challenges and limi-tations to online learning foryoung children and lack ofassets at home, said the report.

When reopening of theschools is not possible, Unicefurged, that the countriesshould incorporate compen-satory learning for lost instruc-tional time into school conti-nuity and reopening plans.

“School opening policiesand practices must includeexpanding access to education,including remote learning,especially for marginalizedgroups. Education systemsmust also be adapted and builtto withstand future crises,” itsaid.

Schoolchildren from thepoorest households and thoseliving in rural areas are by farthe most likely to miss out dur-ing closures, the report said.Globally, 72 per cent of schoolchildren unable toaccess remote learning live intheir countries’ poorest house-holds. In upper-middle-income countries, school-children from the pooresthouseholds account for up to86 per cent of students unableto access remote learning.Globally, three quarters ofschoolchildren without accesslive in rural areas, the Unicefnoted.

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As the WHO has suggesteduse of disposable and auto-

disable syringes to collect bloodsamples of Covid 19 patients,with an aim to avoid the trans-mission through healthcareequipment, manufacturers ofdisposable syringes are antici-pating increase in demandonce the vaccine for the virusis developed.

At least nine out of 142

vaccines being developedacross the world, includingthree from India, are inadvanced stages of trials, tar-geting to have at least a few vac-cines in the market by year end.

For instance, HindustanSyringes & Medical Devices(HMD), one of the largestglobal manufacturers of dis-posable and auto-disabled(AD) syringes, is scaling up itsproduction capacity by 300million to one billion by the

first half of 2021 from the cur-rent 700 million syringes ayear, as India is getting readyfor COVID-19 vaccine immu-nization, said Rajiv Nath,Managing Director of theHMD.

He explained that at least 60to 70 per cent of 1.3 billion peo-ple in India and 7.8 billion peo-ple worldwide will needsyringes for Covid-19 vaccine.

“We are waiting on theGovernment to start creating a

stockpile of syringes as beingdone by other countries. Shouldthe government need 100 mil-lion auto-disable syringes forCovid-19 vaccines by the end ofthis year, we can easily offerthem as we have nearly 50 mil-lion in stock, as theGovernment has not timelylifted orders for standardimmunisation injection cam-paigns which were suspendedafter onset of Covid-19,” saidNath.

The HMD has receivedorders from UNICEF to supplyAD syringes for around 300million to build up a stockpileof around 140 million syringesfor Covid-19 by the end of theyear. It is one of the largest sup-pliers to Unicef for Auto Disablesyringes for immunisation andis the first company in India tomanufacture auto disablesyringes for curative segment.

However, Nath expressedhis apprehension that while it’s

an opportunity it also makesthem nervous.”In past we didgear up to produce these as thelargest manufacturer in worldfor AD Syringes only to find theGovernment buying fromChina at L1 rates and expectedus to match these non remu-nerative rates. This product islike making traffic red-light,only Govt. buys red lights fortraffic management and if theydon’t, you have no market inprivate sector,” rued Nath.

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Stressing the need for achiev-ing self-reliance in the

defence manufacturing sector,Prime Minister Narendra Modion Thursday said theGovernment has taken sever-al steps to unshackle this sec-tor to enable production ofequipment here and expansionof the private sector.

Making this point herewhile addressing the DefenceIndustry Outreach Webinarorganised by Federation ofIndian Chambers ofCommerce and Industry(FICCI) and the DefenceMinistry, he said self-confi-dence in the defence sector isvery important for making anAtmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). Defence MinisterRajnath Singh and Chief ofDefence Staff (CDS) GeneralBipin Rawat also took part inthe event.

Noting that for years Indiais one of the biggest importersof weapons, the prime minis-ter said with new initiatives thesize of procurement ordersfrom the domestic industry isgoing to increase in the com-ing days.

“For many years, India hasbeen one of the biggest defenceimporters. When India gotIndependence, it had a greatcapability in defence manufac-turing and an ecosystem ofdefence manufacturing estab-lished over 100 years.Unfortunately, this subjectcouldn’t get requisite atten-tion. For making a modern andAtmanirbhar Bharat, thereshould be a feeling of self-con-fidence in the defence sector,”he said.

The Prime Minister said theneed for appointing a Chief ofDefence Staff (CDS) was beingfelt for a long time but the deci-sion was not made. “The deci-sion (to appoint CDS) is a sym-bol of the new India’s self-con-fidence,” he said.

Listing some of the mea-sures, he said allowing 74 percent foreign direct investment(FDI) in defence sector and cor-poratisation of OrdnanceFactory Boards (OFBs) wereaimed at giving a boost todefence manufacturing. A por-tion of the Defence Ministry’scapital budget has been ear-marked for equipment made inIndia, Modi said.

“The list of 101 equipmentfor domestic purchase only willbe expanded further. The pur-pose of this list is to boost theindustries in the country,” Modisaid. The government earlierthis month had banned import

of 101 weapon systems to givefillip to the local industry. Thesecond tranche of restrictionsmay come by this year end.

The Prime Minister stressedon the need for research anddevelopment in the defence sec-tor at industry and academicinstitutions also. “Our govern-ment has worked on the princi-ple of reform, perform andtransform. Decreasing red tapeand extending red carpet hasbeen our endeavour,” he said.

General Rawat said Indiahas the capability, capacity andwill to produce high-end indige-nous weapon systems. Withgovernment’s push in the rightdirection and vision ofAatnirbhar Bharat being pro-mulgated, this is time to see thisopportunity to achieve self-effi-ciency and becoming netexporter of defence equipment,he said.

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Full trial at multiple locationswas undertaken by the

Rajya Sabha ChairmanM.Venkaiah Naidu onThursday to check if everythingis in place for the upcomingMonsoon Session of the House.

Naidu went through the“familiarisation drill” for over45 minutes on Thursday. Hewill have to keep a watch on atleast six different locationswith MPs wanting to raise amatter either by raising hands,Points of Order, participating inVoice Vote and Division isrequired.

Naidu also examinedvoice/audio quality requiredfor simultaneous interpreta-tion during proceedings. Acouple of days ago, the systemwas facing some technicalissues, which now seems tohave been ironed out.

For the first time since1952, the Parliament wouldwitness massive changes,including MPs sitting in dif-ferent locations, use of tech-nology to coordinate real-timeaudio video transmission,among others.

As a backup, a hotlinecommunication facility hasalso been set up between thechambers of the two Houses forcommunicating any messageregarding participation ofmembers in case of any tech-nical emergency.

Chambers of both theHouses are connected by halfa kilometer long optic fiberand audio-video cables forreal time transmission of sig-nals to enable members seat-ed in both the Houses towatch the proceedings from both theplaces. Six counters have beenset up for MPs to sign atten-dance with social distancing.

Trials were also conduct-ed both on Monday andTuesday to put into place allthe arrangements for the ses-sion likely to be held fromSeptember 14 to October 1.

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Amidst Oppositiondemand for the post-

ponement of JEE & NEETexams, the BJP on Thursdayaccused the Congress of doing“politics” over the issue andsaid the Modi Governmentwon’t let the Opposition party“spoil” students’ future to findrelevance.

The Congress and variousopposition parties, includingAIADMK, have demandedthat the examinations bedeferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic and floods inparts of the country.

The Union Governmenthas made it clear that they willbe held as per schedule withdue precautions.

“The Congress believesstudents must lose a year so itdoesn’t lose an opportunity forpolitics. Over 85% #JEENEETcandidates don’t agree andhave downloaded admit cards.

The Modi Governmentwon’t let Congress spoil stu-dents’ future to find rele-vance,” BJP general secretaryBhupender Yadav said.

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BJP on Wednesday nomi-nated its spokesperson and

former banker Syed Zafar Islamwho had once asked Muslimsto come out of the ‘captivity ofself-styled secular parties’, to theRajya Sabha from UttarPradesh.

He will fill up the vacancycaused by the death ofSamajwadi Party leader Amar

Singh.The Election Commission

of India had on Aug 21announced to hold onSeptember 11 by-elections tothe Council of States fromUttar Pradesh to fill up a casu-al vacancy following the demiseof Singh.

The low-profile Islam hasbeen the BJP spokesperson forsome time but scored highwith the leadership recentlyafter he helped facilitate the

entry of Congress heavyweightand former Union MinisterJyotiraditya Scindia to the BJP.. Islam and Scindia have stud-ied together and knew eachother for about two-decades.

Islam had old businessschool ties with Scindia andwas an important communi-cation channel between theBJP high command and theformer Congress leader.

A former managing direc-tor of the Deutsche Bank andnow a BJP spokesperson hadonce written an article forIndian Muslims on behalf ofthe Hindutva camp e titled‘Why Muslims must give BJP afair chance: The communityhas devalued its own vote bybecoming captive to self-styledsecular parties’.

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Nearly 6,000 new persons(5,981 to be precise) were diagnosedin Tamil Nadu on Thursday with Covid-19 while 109 per-

sons succumbed to the pandemic during the last 24 hours, saida release by the Department of Health.

As on Thursday evening, the State had 52,364 active Covid-19 cases while the total number of persons tested positive till datereached 4,03, 242. But Tamil Nadu got a pat on the back fromUnion Health Minister Dr Harsh Varddhan whose message cred-ited the State with a recovery rate of 85 per cent, second to Delhiwhich registered 90 per cent.

With 109 persons falling victims to the pandemic, the totalnumber of fatalities in the State reached 6,948 as on Thursday.

The day also saw 5,870 persons getting cured of the pandemicand this took the number of persons across the State who werecured to 3.43 lakh. The State tested 74,388 persons across theState on Thursday. Tamil Nadu has 146 functioning laborato-ries across the State , a commendable achievement accordingto veteran medical doctors, It may be remembered that the Statehad just five laboratories when the first Covid-19 case was report-ed in February.

Chennai tested 1,286 positive cases while position in otherdistricts in the cluster remained unchanged. Chengalpet had 298cases, Kancheepuram 256 and Thiruvallur 323 patients.

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Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, whomet the media on Thursday

described Kerala as the most safestplace in the world while the situation inthe country was grave and a matter ofconcern.

“Kerala has the lowest fatality rate inthe world as it has recorded only eightdeaths per million Covid-19 cases whileSweden has more than 500 deaths perevery million cases,” said Vijayan. He alsosaid that on Thursday, Kerala has diag-nosed 2,406 Covid-19 cases and tendeaths. Out of the 2,406 cases diagnosedpositive on Thursday, 2,175 persons con-tracted the pandemic through socialtransmission, the chief minister said.

He repeated that the Covid-19 situ-ation everywhere in the country except

Kerala was grave and attributed it to thesystematic measures adopted by hisgovernment. “Had the government inKerala been like the ones in other SouthIndian States, death rates would havebeen manifold here. Tamil Nadu record-ed about 7,000 deaths while Karnatakasaw more than 5,000 persons succumb-ing to the pandemic,” said Vijayan.

The Chief Minister claimed thatKerala was the only State which couldprevent the transmission/spread of thepandemic. “We in Kerala have the bestmedical facilities in the country. The pri-vate hospitals do not charge a rupee morethan what has been fixed by theGovernment. Treatment is absolutely freein all government hospitals. Those whohave been hospitalised are being pro-vided with free food and medicine by myGovernment,” said the Chief Minister.

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Chakatal village of Atraulitehsil of Aligarh district is in

the lime light once again. As thegram pradhan elections arecoming close, the disputebetween two families who arebeing rivals since 36 years hasstarted. This is the only villagein India where rivalry amongtwo families upon the grampradhan elections has takenmore than 40 lives.

This bloody rivalry isbetween two families belongingto brahmin and Jat communitythat is being continued since1989. This village of Aligarhwhich is 120 km away fromDelhi, has once again put thepolice and administration inworry as the gram Pradhanelections are close.

Election of nearly 59000village panchayats in UP are duewhich include the Chakatal vil-lage of Aligarh too.

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Stampede created after firingbetween two groups of con-

tractors on Wednesday nightnear the RM hall gate ofAligarh Muslim University.Accused had fled before thearrival of the Proctorial team.No casualties were reported inthe firing. University associat-ed people claimed that morethan 50 rounds of firing tookplace.

The administration hasstarted investigating the inci-dent. CCTV camera recordedpeople of one group escaping intwo cars. Police was not calledinside a campus.

Due to the corona crisis,most of the university stu-

dents left for their homes andthe halls are empty. At wednes-day night people were sur-prised to hear the firing soundbecause students already leftthe university and there wereno students in the halls, later itwas found that the two groupsof contractors clashed togeth-er. One group carrying firearmsin a 2 cars reached near the gateof RM hall and started firing,at some distance, anothergroup also retaliated. Theyescaped after a two-three-minute clash. Experts believethat contractors came face toface to establish their suprema-cy. People from AMU are alsoinvolved in promoting thesegroups otherwise no one elsedares to do this.

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Sugar will now be available with wheatand rice at ration depo. In the first phase,

the Yogi Government has decided to pro-vide one kilo of sugar in a month to everyAntyodaya cardholder at subsidized rates.In Aligarh division, around 96204Antyodaya cardholders will get the bene-fit of this scheme which includes 24596cardholders from Aligarh district, 27164from Etah, 27593 from Kasgunj and 16851from Hathras.

The distribution of sugar will start inOctober. On the orders of the Yogi gov-ernment, a letter has been issued by theCommissioner of Food and LogisticsDepartment instructing to distribute onekilo of sugar per month to all Antyodayacardholders. Cooperative sugar mills aremade responsible for supplying sugar andthey assured to provide a full stock ofOctober to December sugar in Septemberitself in all districts.

Every month state government dis-tributes wheat and rice to the ration card-holders. Under this, eligible Grahasti card-holders are getting five kg per unit rationevery month which includes three kilos ofwheat and 2 kilos of rice. However,Antyodaya cardholders are getting one time35 kilos of ration which includes 20 kiloswheat and 15 kilos rice.

Now, due to the economic crisis dur-ing the lockdown in the corona pandem-ic, the poor are facing barriers in gettingwork therefore the state government hasdecided to distribute ration twice a monthto all ration cardholders till November.

In the first week of the month, tworupees kilo of wheat and three rupees kiloof rice is given. In the third week of themonth, one kilo of a gram is set free withwheat and rice.

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Regional political parties in TamilNadu, especially the AIADMK

and the DMK, stand isolated in theirdemand for postponing/cancellingthe National Eligibility Entrance Test(NEET) for admission to the under-graduate courses in medicine anddental sciences.

A day after the Minister of healthDr Vijayabaskar wrote to UnionMinister Dr Harsh Vardhan seekingcancellation of the NEET this year andallow admission based on Class 12marks have drawn flak from parents,students and educationists alike.

“Whom are they trying to cheat?It is to favour the management of themedical and dental colleges that theyare asking the Centre to exempt TamilNadu from NEET. The Dravidianpolitical parties have a hidden agendabecause most of these medical collegesin the State are owned either by lead-ers of the AIADMK or the DMK,” saida parent who did not want his nameto be quoted for security reasons.

The only factor which stands outin this demand for scrapping theNEET and exempt the State is theGovernment’s failure to upgrade the

quality of high school education in theState, said Dr Y R Johnson, formerprincipal of Jawahar NavodayaVidyalaya and a lead educationist in theState.

Tamil Nadu Government hadpassed a unanimous resolution in theState Assembly seeking exemptionfrom NEET as the CBSE syllabus ofhigh standard than that of the StateBoard Education. “There was nothingwhich prevented them upgrading thequality of the education. Now it is notfair to blame the NEET,” said DrJohnson. Dr A Vinod, south zone head,Siksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas, point-ed out that NEET was the best and eas-iest mode of screening test for admis-sion to MBBS/BDS courses, “It is stu-dents friendly because there are nomultiplicity of tests. It is those peoplewith ulterior motives who are cam-paigning against the eligibility test,” saidVinod.

He pointed out that it was the UPAregime led by the Congress which tookthe issue up to the Supreme Court forintroducing the NEET. That govern-ment survived because of the DMK’ssupport. Now, the same DMK oppos-ing the NEET shows that the party hassome hidden agenda,” said Vinod.

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While the Kerala unit of the BJPdemanded a judicial probe into the

fire at Government Secretariat on Tuesdaythat ravaged hundreds of sensitive files, theopposition Congress wanted an investiga-tion by one of the central agencies into theincident.

K Surendran, president of the KeralaBJP alleged that there was a concertedattempt by the CPI(M)-led government tosabotage the probe into the fire mishap.“Though the Kerala Government consti-tuted a special team led by Manoj Abraham,ADGP to probe the reasons behind the fire,four members of the council of ministershave come out stating four different reasonsbehind the fire. This is unprecedented andunusual in this State,” said Surendran whoquestioned the propriety behind the actionof the said ministers.

“We have a utopian cabinet in Kerala,the mission of which is to bury the truthonce and for ever. This could be brought tolight only by a judicial probe,” said the BJP

leader while speaking to reporters at the cap-ital city on Thursday. Early in the day, threeministers, G Sudhakaran, KadakampalliSurendran and Thomas Issac had listed furreasons behind the fire mishap.

“The BJP and the Opposition haveheinous intentions behind the allegations.This is the best ever government Kerala hasseen in its history,” said Kadakampalli, theMarxist minister in charge of the Templesin the State.

Ramesh Chennithala, called onGovernor Arif Mohammed Khan and sub-mitted a memorandum seeking a probe bya central agency into the fire mishap.“Everything associated with this governmentis enmeshed in massive corruption. TheGold Smuggling cartel is controlled by theChief Minister’s Office while the LIFEMission houses built by the Government forthe poor are not at all safe for the people tolive. I checked the apartments and foundthat the whole structure would come downin strong winds and rainfall. The lives of thepeople who are going to stay in these apart-ments are at risk,” said Chennithala.

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The controversy over partyleaders' letter to Congress

chief Sonia Gandhi is still ragingeven after the grand old partycalled it a wrap at the CongressWorking Committee early thisweek. A Congress unit in UttarPradesh has now demandedaction against all the letter writ-ers, with special mention of for-mer Union Minister Jitin Prasadawho also was a signatory to theletter that created a flutter.

After the many signatorieslike Anand Sharma, VerrappaMoily and Vivek Tankha clearedthe air over the importance ofpitching such a letter to the partychief seeking organisationalrevamp, senior party leader KapilSibal, another signatory to the let-ter, came to the defence of JitinPrasada on Thursday saying theparty should now focus to con-duct surgical strikes on BJP ratherthan attacking its own leaders.

“Unfortunate that JitinPrasada is being officially target-ed in UP. Congress needs to tar-get the BJP with surgical strikesinstead of wasting its energy bytargeting its own,” Sibal said onTwitter. Another party colleague,Manish Tewari responded toSibal's post with a single word:“Prescient!”

The three -Sibal, Tewari andPrasad- are among the 23Congress leaders who wrote tointerim party president SoniaGandhi calling for sweepingreforms, collective decision-mak-ing and “full-time, visible leader-ship”, causing fresh convulsions inthe party as it struggles to retainits political relevance.

In this latest, a resolutionaddressed to Sonia Gandhi, theCongress unit of Uttar Pradesh'sLakhimpur Kheri district nearLucknow has called for actionagainst all 23 signatories includ-ing Jitin Prasada. Jitin Prasad isthe party's Brahmin face in UPand had represented theDhaurahra Lok Sabha seat in2009 and was a Minister inManmohan Singh Goverment.

“Jitin Prasada is the only per-son from Uttar Pradesh to havesigned the letter. His family his-tory has been against the Gandhifamily and his father JitendraPrasad proved it by fighting elec-tions against Sonia Gandhi.Despite this, Sonia Gandhi gaveJitin Prasada a Lok Sabha ticketand made him a minister. Whathe has done is gross indisciplineand the district Congress com-mittee wants strict action againsthim and condemns his actions,”the resolution read.

Congress said the UP letterdoes not have the sanction ofeither Sonia Gandhi or PriyankaGandhi Vadra, who is the centralleader in charge of the state. Theparty's UP chief Ajay KumarLallu, however, said: “These arethe feelings of party workers,how can one stop such feelings.”

In March 2019, just before theLok Sabha elections, Prasada hadrubbished rumours that he wasquitting the Congress and washeaded to the BJP.

Jitin Prasada's father JitendraPrasada, a veteran Congress leader,had challenged the leadership ofRahul Gandhi's mother SoniaGandhi in 1999 and had also con-tested against her for the post ofparty chief. Jitendra Prasada lostthe bid. He died in 2002.

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Page 6: 0˚ ˙ 1˙ · 2020. 8. 27. · finance portfolio, said it is unfortunate the Centre ... Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla mentioning pressure from the Centre on the Delhi Government officials

Iremember television news used to bevery different. I recall it to be a sourceof trusted information and the newsanchors, who pioneered and broughtthe news to our homes, used to be

respected, well-read and thoughtful indi-viduals. This might seem unimaginable andincomprehensible to young readers todaybecause television news now appears to beunrecognisable as being the fourth pillarof democracy it was decades ago.

News media has undergone dramaticchanges from those rose-tinted days whenthe news was not a 24x7 business but a wayto keep citizens informed about what wasgoing on in their country and across theworld. The advent of cable news, pioneeredby news organisations in the United States(US) like CNN, changed all that and madenews channels a 24x7 source of content butessentially with the same amount of infor-mation. CNN dealt with this situation byno longer limiting itself to the news at all.

As reported in The Economist, CNNhas filled its channels with original filmsand television series that are either licensedby it or produced in-house. It has foundmajor success by adopting this approach.For example, when it got on board the latecelebrity chef Anthony Bourdain to trav-el to exotic places in a show titled PartsUnknown, it helped the channel attractclose to eight million new viewers.Therefore, news channels now are lessabout the news and more about the views.

Television news today can battle anysoap opera for TRPs. If you want to see howthin the line between a soap opera and anews channel is, just look at the mannerin which the death of an actor, Sushant Singh Rajput, has been dealt withby news channels with his alleged girl-friend, Rhea Chakraborty, at the centre ofthe media trial.

Just to give you an idea of what countsas news nowadays, one national mediachannel ran a programme titled Sushantpar Rhea ka kaala jaadu (Sushant was a vic-tim of Rhea’s black magic) with a heavydose of graphic images and an alarminglack of intelligence. When news channelsshow content like this, they not only speakabout the story but inevitably (and, per-haps, intentionally) become the storythemselves.

The coverage by certain segments ofthe “news” media during this entire episodehas been misogynistic, hateful and franklyspeaking, a source of embarrassment fora country that calls itself the largestdemocracy in the world. We must not for-get that one of the basic tenets of progres-sive democracy and a fair legal system isthat anyone accused of a crime is presumedinnocent until proven otherwise.

It is a principle that these “news” chan-nels are well aware of, as evident by the factthat they keep this in mind when speak-ing about Pragya Thakur, a 2008 Malegaon

bomb blast accused and cur-rent Member of Parliamentbut forget about it when itcomes to the death of an actor.

This farcical media trial hastruly revealed the rot that hasset in deep in the field of jour-nalism. News anchors andorganisations that produce andbroadcast this type of newsneed to think long and hardabout the pressures and impactof such incessant media cover-age. It has the potential to leadto cases of depression and,possibly, even suicides.

I pray that we never seesuch an outcome but what ifsuch an unfortunate situationdoes arise? Will these newschannels cover each other andexamine any possibility of black magic being responsibleor hold the mirror to them-selves?

The field of journalism,however, is not merely underthreat due to the rot withinfrom actors in its own fraterni-ty but more dangerously so andin a much more tangible sensefrom the outside.

A study that examinedattacks on journalists foundthat there have been nearly 40killings of journalists since2014 with 21 of the deathsbeing directly linked to their

professional work. What is allthe more discouraging is thatonly three convictions havetaken place since 2010.

As per reports, theseattacks were allegedly com-mitted by members of politicalparties, religious sects, studentgroups and criminal gangs.Just this past week, we heardthe sad news of a journalistbeing shot dead in UttarPradesh. However, this storyhas received nowhere close tothe attention that has beengiven to this media trial.

We have not seen newsorganisations or news anchorsraise this issue or use itsresources to bring attention tothis serious threat to ourdemocracy. Instead of protect-ing their own community, thathas been the unfortunate vic-tim of violent crimes and pres-sures, some television anchorshave used their influence andthe platform to focus theirstories on the influence ofblack magic in an ongoinginvestigation. This is the truetragedy of television news.

I often hear that newschannels are in a race for TRPsand need to do whatever theycan to get attention as it is aquestion of survival. Whilethis is an explanation, it is far

from an acceptable one.Justifying the action of newsanchors, by saying that newschannels can only survive thenew reality of 24x7 reporting bycompromising all journalisticintegrity, is no different fromdefending corrupt bureaucratsor politicians who say thatthey can only survive in theirfield by taking bribes and junk-ing their integrity.

They are all drinking fromthe same well. In fact, when Iwas speaking to my son, whois a lawyer, about the sad stateof affairs of television news, heexclaimed that it’s not all badbecause these “journalists” haveadded a layer of respectabilityto the lawyers. In the end, how-ever, any real change can onlycome from the actors on thescreen themselves.

History is the only realjudge and when this period islooked back at by future gen-erations, anchors, who had theopportunity to mould genera-tions, will either be classified asEdward R Murrows or riskbeing called spokespersons ofa format that can only be saidto be inspired from RadioRwanda.

(The writer is a former IPSofficer, a former MP and cur-rently a member of the AAP)

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Sir — Indian policy-makers mustwork on the assumption thatChina is unlikely to retract its cur-rent offensive posture. Indiaadopted a hardline stance duringthe Ladakh standoff and has takenthe right stand that relations withthe neighbouring nation will notbe business as usual until thereversion to status quo ante alongthe Line of Actual Control (LAC).Both nations are at presentengaged in painstaking negotia-tions to resolve boundary issues.

Meanwhile, China has beencoaxing and cajoling India’s small-er neighbours like Nepal andBangladesh to take unconcealedhostile positions. India’s militaryoptions against China are full ofstrategic obscurities. The stand-off is likely to worsen during thewinter. It is, thus, important forus to strengthen our military.

India has already exercisedthe military option of mobilisingthe troops along the LAC inLadakh. But it must prioritisedecoupling its economy with thatof the Chinese. For this, Indiamust have a broad vision to fuelproduction back home. Thecountry needs investment, tech-

nology and unbroken supplychains. A proper linkagebetween industry and marketmust be established. Then onlycan we achieve much more thanwhat the military can bring.

Venu GSKollam

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Opp backs students” (August27). The Coronavirus pandemichas wreaked havoc. The totalnumber of cases has breached thethree million mark and claimed

thousands of lives. In view of therapid spike in cases, the chorus ofOpposition parties against hold-ing JEE-NEET exams next monthstands justified.

The career of 28 lakh exami-nees cannot be compromised. Asa matter of fact, the students

themselves do not want to take theexaminations in view of the poten-tial threat they will be exposed toduring the conduct of these exams.Sensing opportunity, the Congressis wanting to capitalise on the sit-uation. Chief Ministers UddhavThackeray and Hemant Soren, too,have come out in support. I agreewith the views of the editorial thatthe Opposition must come with analternative timeframe for the con-duct of these prestigious examina-tions or all its sincere effortswould sound hollow.

Azhar A KhanRampur

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Sir — With reference to thePrashant Bhushan case, if theSupreme Court really wants toprovide for a fair ground, thepower to interpret contemptshould not just lie in its hands, asthe definition of contempt isopen-ended. The top courtshould establish clearer guidelineson the contempt issue.

SrinivasVia email

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As the confrontation with China escalated ineastern Ladakh, many Indians wonderedwhether war was a possibility. Under the cir-

cumstances, a query of that nature is quite justified.If there is anything that is constant with the evolu-tion of mankind, it is conflicts and wars. The nature,type and duration of wars may differ but conflictshave never left the human race. Prehistoric societieswere violent and nothing seems to have changed.As per the Imperial War Museum (UK) data, mil-itary conflicts took place every year in the 20th cen-tury, too. There were only short periods of time whenthe world was free from war. The total number ofdeaths caused by armed conflict during the 20th cen-tury has been estimated at 187 million. It, therefore,necessitates deliberation as to why, despite makingunbelievable progress, humankind is unable toresolve differences through non-violent means.

Von Clausewitz states in his classic book On Warthat, “War is nothing but a duel on extreme scale.War is, therefore, an act of violence intended to com-pel our opponent to fulfil our will. War is a merecontinuation of policy by other means.” Wars are exe-cuted when vital interests of a nation are threatened.Military and other instruments of national powerare employed on the adversary to execute a nation-al or political policy, mostly as a last resort, whenother efforts have not succeeded. The summationis that two or more nations are involved and it con-cerns each country’s basic and fundamental values.

This brings us to the thought that is this rele-vant in today’s interconnected, digitised and high-ly commercial world? One needs to consider, first,whether the vital national interests would changeor be negotiated, if threatened and second, in thehighly interdependent world, would it be possibleto negotiate a settlement by means other than war?

Vaclav Smil, after examining armed conflicts ofthe past two centuries, in the book, GlobalCatastrophes and Trends: Next Fifty Years says, “Themost important finding regarding future likelihoodof violent conflicts comes from Lewis FryRichardson’s search for causative factors of war andhis conclusion that wars are largely random cata-strophes whose specific time and location we can-not predict but whose recurrence we must expect.”The probability of wars and conflicts in future can-not be ruled out. However, the nature and scale maybe different. The possible spectrum of conflict intoday’s world is very wide indeed. A nation maychoose to fight a war with its adversary even by proxy,as Pakistan is executing in Kashmir for the last fourdecades. At the lowest end of the spectrum is thelow-intensity conflict and at the highest is nuclearwar. However, the level of escalation, once com-menced, cannot be controlled fully as the adversaryneed not be governed by the escalatory ladder thatone has planned to execute.

Depending upon how soon the national inten-tion is fulfilled, conflicts/wars could be limited inscope. It could be limited to a particular geograph-ical area, limited by international/binational com-mitment, limited by use of weapon systems or lim-ited by time. A classic example of limited conflictis the Kargil War wherein it was limited to the geo-graphical area of Kargil, limited by India not cross-ing the Line of Control (LoC) and was terminatedon July 26, 1999, once all the Pakistani encroach-ments were evicted. With modern technologies, warscould also be fought by kinetic, non-kinetic meansor a combination of both. Whereas the lethality ofkinetic weapon systems is ever-increasing, in termsof range, accuracy and stand-off attacks, the threat

of non-kinetic systems like in the field ofcyber and space is indeed very potent.New systems like Directed EnergyWeapons (DEW) can bring a change towarfare. Likewise, a well-orchestratedcyber attack can immobilise an adversary.History has shown that skilful employ-ment of new weapon systems can signif-icantly enhance the chances of victory.

How does this play out in the Indiancontext? Asia is home to two of the mostpopulous countries of the world — Indiaand China. Despite being old civilisationswith many common understandings, thetwo nations have quite different politicalsystems, ideologies and cultures. Borderproblems, too, exist despite efforts to cometo an understanding. On the western bor-der, Pakistan, with its deeply-troubled eco-nomic condition, obsession with contin-uance of proxy war in Kashmir and lackof democratic values, remains a poor Statein constant flux. Our threats from bothnorthern and western neighbours, aretherefore quite real and do not seem to bediminishing in the foreseeable future.

A prediction of whether these threatswill end in wars is difficult to make. It is,however, necessary to note that keepingthe theory of war in mind, execution ofwar as a last resort of implementing thenation’s will and policy remains very real.

The role of world bodies and multi-lateral approaches to prevent conflicts andwars are of great import but they have theirown limitations in inter-State conflict res-olution. Though the United Nations(UN) has performed better than its pre-decessor, the League of Nations, but lackof true representation of the world in theUN Security Council (UNSC) and vest-ed interests of individual nations, do cur-tail it from preventing conflicts betweenStates. When a crisis deepens, everycountry, including those with friendly rela-tions, would consider the overall strate-gic scenario prevailing at that time andreact keeping their own national interestsin mind. Such reactions need not neces-

sarily be in favour of one or the otheradversary. In other words, a countryshould have the capacity to defend itself.

This would lead us to the aspect ofcapability development. The significantfacet to be deliberated is skill vis-à-visintention. Whereas intentions can changewithin a short period of time, proficien-cy cannot. Capability, to be credible, mustbe consistent over long periods of time andmost importantly, keep the threat of warin mind. Any dilution in perception ofthreat of war can immensely set back pro-ficiency development, thereby seriouslyimpacting a nation’s war-waging power.Capacity development has to considerfuture technologies, too. Advancement oftechnologies in the world and their pos-sible usage by the adversary need to beconstantly scanned and systems upgrad-ed to meet these challenges.

Prior to World War II, despite a ban,the Germans developed tanks and airpower, unknown to the world. And whenthe Allies learnt about it, it was too late andthese systems contributed notably toGerman victory in battles. The entire spec-trum of conflict, from low-intensity con-flict to nuclear war, as also threats fromkinetic and non-kinetic use of systemsneed to be factored in. Whileweapons/equipment/other war-like mate-rial form one part of capability develop-ment, the other important part is humanresources development. A high morale ofthe armed forces is a battle-winning fac-tor. So is thorough training of all person-nel in war-like conditions, in an all-armsintegrated environment. Another vital ele-ment in capacity development is strategicself-reliance in defence production. Thewar-waging capability of the armed forcescan be seriously neutralised if anyweapon/equipment, ammunition or evena small part of a system, being importedfrom another country, is denied ordelayed. As per SIPRI (StockholmInternational Peace Research Institute), in2019, India was the third-highest military

spender of the world at $71.1 billion, nextonly to the US and China. Plus, in the timeperiod between 2015-2019, India was thesecond-largest importer of weapons,accounting for 9.2 per cent of the world’sarms import. The Government’s policy ofAtmanirbhar Bharat has created a win-winsituation. On one end, strategic self-reliance can be achieved and on the other,it can create opportunities and much-needed employment in the country.However, it is necessary to highlight thatsuch systems produced in the countryhave to be world-class, meeting the oper-ational requirements of the armed forcesin terrain and situations that they need tobe employed in. Any faulty productionwould endanger the lives of soldiers andthe security of the country, besides beingeconomically self-defeating in the long-term.

India has always been a peace-lovingcountry, with no territorial ambitions andhas contributed to the world in every field.Such an attitude is instilled in the cultureof majority of Indians. Hence conflicts andwars are not desirable. Though India is apeace-loving nation, when threatened, thecapability must exist to completely anni-hilate the adversary and protect our cul-ture.

Another value which is deeplyembedded in Indian culture is Ahimsa.This word is sometimes misunderstoodand portrayed as meek submission.Whereas, it has quite a different meaning.Ahimsa prohibits thoughts of causinginjury to others. It does not mean that ifphysically threatened, you do not retali-ate. You should retaliate and strike theattacker so hard that he is rendered inca-pable of any further threat. The fear ofdefeat, just by the strength of your retal-iation would, therefore, suffice to keep himaway. This is deterrence by capabilitydevelopment.

(The writer is a military veteran andformer Director-General, National CadetCorps.)

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With India turning 74 recently,it is time to reflect on an insti-tution that BR Ambedkar

once described as the most powerfulone in the country. One that would keepa close watch on all Governmentspending: The Comptroller and AuditorGeneral (CAG). All institutions havebeen created to serve and protect therights and interests of citizens, thus theirutility has necessarily to be viewed fromthe perspective of an aam aadmi (com-mon man). We have thus to examinehow far has the CAG addressed thedaily concerns of the masses.

Each time a CAG is appointed,there is always much noise regardingthe manner in which the executive

selects the candidate and how such pro-cedures are detrimental to the indepen-dence of the body. But does this aloneaccount for the functioning of the AuditDepartment? The CAG makes bignews when critical reports on imple-mentation of certain schemes are pub-lished. The CAG’s report on acquisitionof Rafale, allocation of coal blocks, auc-tion of spectrum, conduct of theCommonwealth Games and so onbrought it into the limelight. However,do such reports address the concernsof an ordinary citizen?

The Union and State Governmentsspend humongous amounts of moneyon welfare schemes to provide basicamenities to the underprivileged. It isin the form of free grain, housing,health, pension, free education, sup-ply of textbooks and so on. People liv-ing Below the Poverty Line (BPL) areentitled to such facilities, thus it is adetermining criteria for a host of ben-efits. The preparation of the BPL list ismired in controversy with complaintsregarding inclusion of ineligible peopleand exclusion of eligible ones. Has theCAG ever taken up an audit of such an

important activity?One of the defining features of

good governance is speedy grievanceredressal. A robust system in which anindividual lodges a complaint and aneffective machinery that looks into itverifies its genuineness and provides aquick remedy. All Governments havecreated separate departments foraddressing public grievances. It is oftenseen that complaints from the public areroutinely disposed of with a standardanswer “settled.” Has the CAG ever ver-ified whether the complaint has beensettled? Has he ever commented on theeffectiveness or robustness of the griev-ance redressal mechanism?

The Right to Information (RTI) Actwas introduced with great fanfare andwas meant to empower citizens. Underthe RTI, all departments were to proac-tively disclose information. A cursoryexamination of Government websiteswould show that they are hopelesslyoutdated and one cannot even find thetelephone numbers of key officials. Hasthe CAG ever raised such issues?

Governments make a great noiseregarding the ease of doing business.

Every year, goaded by the World Bank,a report is released showing the greatadvances made in this sphere. Has theCAG ever examined how easy or dif-ficult it is for an ordinary person to geta SC/ST certificate, a legal heir certifi-cate, a mutation done for property onthe death of the owner? Should theCAG not be ranking departmentsaccording to the ease of access?

Computerisation has been intro-duced in a big way in Governmentdepartments as it not only makes lifeeasy for the citizens but brings in greatertransparency. A huge amount of moneyhas been invested in this exercise.Ideally a citizen should be able to accessGovernment services like obtaining var-ious kinds of certificates online. Has theCAG ever examined the effectivenessof computerisation on service delivery?

An institution becomes vibrant andretains the trust of citizens as long asthe people can identify with it. Citizenswould repose trust in it as a guardianof their rights and protector of theirinterests if they perceive it to be doingso. Do they have such a perceptionabout the CAG?

The CAG’s office has to increasing-ly focus its attention on what is trou-bling our citizens. Public delivery of ser-vices should always be the focus areaif the institution is to remain relevant.

There is yet another area whichneeds to be revisited. Over the years, theAudit Department has been labouringunder the belief that accountability isbest enforced through post-event faultfinding. The approach has been to iden-tify cases of malfeasance, infraction ofestablished procedures and waste ofpublic money. While these are impor-tant findings, does it provide any kindof assurance to citizens regarding sys-temic integrity? Should the CAG not belooking at systemic issues rather thanwasting its resources in examining one-off transactions?

The other issue that needs to bedebated is whether the CAG shouldblow his whistle post-event. Can we notmove into a system wherein the insti-tution renders advice and suggests acourse of action before the event? Likea system of advance ruling? This wouldbe in the larger public interest. What isthe point of blowing the whistle after

public money has been wasted? It is bet-ter that we prevent a wrongdoingrather than comment after the mischiefhas been done. The Indian CAG is per-haps the only organisation which looksat the functioning of all tiers ofGovernment. The Union Government,State Governments, Union Territories,Urban Local Bodies and Panchayats. Itis the only organisation, which looks atsuch varied departments ofGovernment like atomic energy, space,defence, Public Sector Units and so on.It has over the years acquired rich andvaried expertise. The talent pool avail-able is unmatched. It should direct itsenergies for more purposeful activity.Public interest would be best served ifit moves into a more collaborativerather than a confrontationist mindset.

I write this not to criticise the func-tioning of the CAG but to remind our-selves to step back and start looking atthings from a different perspective. Iwould have succeeded in my efforts ifit generates a healthy debate.

(The writer is a retired IA&AS offi-cer who served as Director-General in theCAG of India)

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Foreign Ministers of theBRICS bloc, including from

India, will hold a virtual meet-ing on September 4 duringwhich they will focus on topi-cal international issues anddiscuss cooperation betweenthe five countries, the Russianforeign ministry announcedon Thursday.

The BRICS is the acronymcoined for an association of fivemajor emerging nationaleconomies — Brazil, Russia,India, China, and South Africa.

The grouping bringstogether five major emergingeconomies comprising 42 percent of the world’s population,having 23 per cent of the glob-al Gross Domestic Product.

“On September 4, Foreign

Minister Sergey Lavrov willchair a large-format meeting ofBRICS Foreign Ministers, to beheld via videoconference, dur-ing which they will exchange views on topicalinternational matters. #Russia#China #Brazil #India#SouthAfrica,” Russian foreignministry said in a tweet.

“During the September 4meeting, #BRICS foreign min-isters will discuss cooperationbetween the five countries#Russia’s BRICS chairmanshipin 3 key areas: politics & secu-rity, economics & finance,humanitarian ties,” it said inanother tweet.

The meeting, to be hostedby Russia, was scheduled to beheld earlier but had to be postponed due to the coron-avirus pandemic.

NEW YORK: US health offi-cials sparked criticism andconfusion after posting guide-lines on coronavirus testingfrom the White House taskforce that run counter to whatscientists say is necessary tocontrol the pandemic.

The new guidance says it’snot necessary for people whohave been in close contact withinfected people, but don’t feelsick, to get tested. It was post-ed earlier this week on the web-site of the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention. TheCDC previously had advisedlocal health departments totest people who have beenwithin 6 feet of an infected per-son for more than 15 minutes.

Across the country, publichealth experts called the changebizarre. They noted that testingcontacts of infected people is acore element of public healthefforts to keep outbreaks incheck, and that a large percent-age of infected people — theCDC has said as many as 40%— exhibit no symptoms.

Geneva: The World HealthOrganization’s chief for Europehas warned COVID-19 is a “tor-nado with a long tail” and saysincreased case counts amongyoung people could ultimatelypassed on to more vulnerableolder people and cause an uptickin deaths.

Dr. Hans Kluge said youngerpeople are likely to come intocloser contact with the elderly asthe weather cools in Europe.

“We don’t want to do unnec-essary predictions, but this is def-initely one of the options: Thatat one point there would be morehospitalizations and an uptick inmortality,” he told reporters fromCopenhagen, the WHO Europeheadquarters.

Kluge said 32 out of 55 stateparties and territories in WHO’sEuropean region have seen a 14-day incidence rate increase ofmore than 10 per cent, callingthat “definitely an uptick whichis generalized in Europe.” AP

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TikTok CEO Kevin Mayerresigned on Thursday amid

U.S. pressure for its Chineseowner to sell the popular videoapp, which the White Housesays is a security risk.

In a letter to employees,Mayer said that his decision toleave comes after the “politicalenvironment has sharplychanged.”

His resignation followsPresident Donald Trump’sorder to ban TikTok unless itsparent company, ByteDance,sells its U.S. operations to an American company with-

in 90 days.“I have done significant

reflection on what the corpo-rate structural changes willrequire, and what it means forthe global role I signed up for,”he said in the letter. “Againstthis backdrop, and as we expectto reach a resolution very soon,it is with a heavy heart that Iwanted to let you all know thatI have decided to leave thecompany.” Bytedance is cur-rently in talks with Microsoftfor the U.S. firm to buy TikTok’sU.S. operations.

Mayer, a former Disneyexecutive, joined TikTok asCEO in May.

TikTok thanked Mayer. “We appreciate that the

political dynamics of the lastfew months have significantlychanged what the scope ofKevin’s role would be going for-ward, and fully respect hisdecision,” the company said ina statement.

ByteDance launchedTikTok in 2017, then boughtMusical.ly, a video service pop-ular with teens in the U.S. andEurope, and combined the two.A twin service, Douyin, isavailable for Chinese users.

TikTok gained immensepopularity via its fun, goofyvideos and ease of use, and has

hundreds of millions of usersglobally.

But its Chinese ownershiphas raised concerns aboutpotential censorship of videos,including those critical of the Chinese Government, and the risk Beijing may accessuser data.

Earlier this month, Trumpordered a sweeping but unspec-ified ban on dealings with theChinese owners of consumerapps TikTok and WeChat as theUS heightens scrutiny ofChinese technology compa-nies, citing concerns that theymay pose a threat to nationalsecurity.

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Democratic Party’s Indian-origin vice presidential

candidate Kamala Harris willdeliver a speech on Thursday tocounter President DonaldTrump’s remarks at theRepublican NationalConvention after formallyaccepting the party’s presiden-tial re-nomination.

Harris will speak “onPresident Trump’s failures tocontain Covid-19 and protectworking families from the eco-nomic fallout” and the “Biden-Harris plan to contain Covid-19 and build a different pathforward in America,” The Hillquoted a press release from theDemocratic presidential nom-inee Joe Biden’s campaign assaying.

While Trump is planningto give his speech from theSouth Lawn of the WhiteHouse lawn, Harris’s remarksfrom Washington DC willserve as the Democratic Party’s

main counter to his appear-ance, the report said.

Biden and Harris bothrailed against Trump’s leader-ship at last week’s DemocraticNational Convention.

“Donald Trump’s failureof leadership has cost livesand livelihoods,” Harris, 55, thefirst Indian-American and firstBlack woman to be chosen asa vice-presidential candidatefor a major political party in theUS, said last week.

The Biden campaign isramping up Harris’ activitiesfollowing what was a largelywell-received address last week,scheduling her for three virtual fundraisers, onlinediscussions and publishing anop-ed discussing women’s rightto vote, the daily said.

Democrats are hopeful thatHarris will be able to success-fully make the case against a second term forTrump while also appealing toBlack women and other votersof colour.

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The US has imposed a visaban on members of the

Chinese Communist Party(CCP) regime, People’sLiberation Army (PLA) andsome state-owned businessesresponsible for the occupationand militarization of the dis-puted South China Sea.

In a statement issued by theState Department onWednesday, Secretary of StateMike Pompeo said that fromAugust 26 it has begun “impos-ing visa restrictions on People’sRepublic of China (PRC) indi-viduals responsible for, or com-plicit in, either the large-scalereclamation, construction, ormilitarization of disputed out-posts in the South China Sea,

or the PRC’s use of coercionagainst Southeast Asianclaimants to inhibit their accessto offshore resources”.

The visa restrictions effec-tively ban the entry of not onlythe members of the CCPregime, the PLA, but also privateindividuals and businesses ofthe PRC, complicit in the occu-pation of the South China Sea.

“These individuals will nowbe inadmissible into the UnitedStates, and their immediate fam-ily members may be subject tothese visa restrictions as well,”the State Department said.

In addition, the USDepartment of Commerce hasadded 24 PRC state-ownedenterprises to the Entity List,including several subsidiaries ofthe China CommunicationsConstruction Company(CCCC). Since 2013, the PRChas used its state-owned enter-prises to dredge and reclaimmore than 3,000 acres on dis-puted features in the South

China Sea, destabilizing theregion, trampling on the sov-ereign rights of its neighbors,and causing untold environ-mental devastation, the USGovernment said.

The CCCC, the StateDepartment said, led thedestructive dredging of thePRC’s South China Sea out-posts and is also one of theleading contractors used by

Beijing in its global ‘One BeltOne Road’ strategy.

The US said that theCCCC and its subsidiaries haveengaged in corruption, preda-tory financing, environmentaldestruction, and other abusesacross the world.

“The PRC must not beallowed to use CCCC andother state-owned enterprisesas weapons to impose an

expansionist agenda,” Pompeosaid in his statement.

The US, he warned, will actuntil Washington was con-vinced that Beijing discontin-ue its coercive behaviour in theSouth China Sea.

“We will continue to standwith allies and partners inresisting this destabilising activ-ity,” Pompeo said.

The US supports a free andopen South China Sea, he said,adding that Washingtonrespects the sovereign rights ofall nations, regardless of size,and seeks to preserve peace anduphold freedom of the seas ina manner consistent with theinternational law.

“In July, I announced anupdated policy regardingBeijing’s unlawful maritimeclaims in the South China Seaand emphasised that the USwas prepared to take firmaction to oppose Beijing’s cam-paign of bullying,” Pompeoadded.

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Beijing: China’s foreign min-istry said on Thursday that itwas unjust for the UnitedStates to impose sanctions onChinese companies involvedin construction in the SouthChina Sea as these activitieswere happening on China’sown territory. Ministryspokesman Zhao Lijian madethe comments at a daily newsbriefing in Beijing. The US onWednesday blacklisted 24Chinese companies and tar-geted individuals it said werepart of construction and mil-itary actions in the SouthChina Sea in its first suchsanctions move against Beijingover the disputed strategicwaterway.

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For the first time, China hasfired its “aircraft-carrier

killer” missile into the SouthChina Sea (SCS) as part of thenaval drills being carried out bythe military in the disputedregion amid aerial reconnais-sance by US spy planes. Chinais engaged in hotly contestedterritorial disputes in the Southand East China Seas. Beijinghas also made substantialprogress in militarising itsman-made islands in the pastfew years, which it says it hasthe right to defend.

Beijing claims sovereigntyover all of the SCS. ButVietnam, Malaysia, thePhilippines, Brunei and Taiwanhave counterclaims. In the EastChina Sea, China has territor-ial disputes with Japan. The SCSand East China Sea are statedto be rich in minerals, oil andother natural resources. Theyare also vital to global trade.

China launched two mis-siles, including an “aircraft-car-rier killer”, into the SCS onWednesday morning, a dayafter US U-2 spy plane entereda no-fly zone during a Chineselive-fire naval drill in the BohaiSea off its north coast, HongKong-based South ChinaMorning Post reported onThursday. One of the missiles,a DF-26B, was launched fromthe north-western province ofQinghai, while the other, a DF-21D, (aircraft-carrier killer

missile) lifted off fromZhejiang province in the east.

Both were fired into anarea between Hainan provinceand the Paracel Islands, thePost quoted Chinese militarysources as saying. ParacelIslands fall in the disputedpart of the South China Sea.

The DF-26 dual-capablemissile is a type of weaponbanned by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treatysigned by the US and SovietUnion towards the end of theCold War. When the US with-drew from the treaty last year,it cited China’s deployment ofsuch weapons as justification,the report said.

The DF-26 has a range of4,000 kilometres and can beused in nuclear or conventionalstrikes against ground andnaval targets. The DF-21 has arange of around 1,800 kilome-tres, with the state mediadescribing it the most advancedin the series, and the DF-21D,as the world’s first anti-ship bal-listic missile.

The missile launch wasaimed at improving China’sability to deny other forcesaccess to the SCS, the reportquoted sources as saying. “Thisis China’s response to thepotential risks brought by theincreasingly frequent incomingUS warplanes and militaryvessels in the SCS. China does-n’t want the neighbouringcountries to misunderstandBeijing’s goals,” the report said.

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Business communities ofIndia and ASEAN should

work to resolve their differ-ences, remove non-tariff bar-riers, ensure sanctity of rules oforigin and open markets toexpand two-way trade,Commerce and IndustryMinister Piyush Goyal said onThursday.

Addressing the ASEAN-India Business Council, Goyalsaid both the sides need towork together to further thisrelationship as two-way tradeis witnessing signs of declinefrom USD 81 billion to USD 77billion, “probably the first timewe saw a 5 per cent de-growth”.

He said India and ASEAN(Association of Southeast AsianNations) have not been able toharness the full trade potentialfor various reasons, but now isthe time to expand trade,address concerns and resolvedifferences.

Goyal said the businesscouncil meeting is a goodforum to discuss concerns and

best practices, share ideas, andflag the problems. “It is impor-tant that businesses on bothsides work to resolve differ-ences, work to create a morevaluable and trusted regionalvalue chains, remove the non-tariff barriers on both sides,ensure sanctity of rules of ori-gin, and open markets toexpand trade because in myhumble view, as they (people)say in hindi, ‘taalee do haath sebajti hai’ (It takes two hands toclap)”, he said.

“We will have to worktogether and we can create aresounding sound which willbe heard by the whole world.But if each one of us onlyremains committed to them-selves and does not look to fur-ther this relationship , ourtrade which is already seeingsigns of falling from USD 81billion to USD 77 billion...Canat times move into the down-ward spiral,” Goyal added.

The minister said the twosides have not yet been able tostart the review of free tradeagreement in goods.

He added that businessescan play the role of a bridge tohelp resolve the issues “amica-bly and quickly”.

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Liquidity starved real estatesector is expected to witness

a 40-60 per cent decline in res-idential sales volumes this fis-cal due to Covid-19 pandem-ic, ratings agency says Icra.

According to the agency,the collections from customersare also expected to decline byaround 35-40 per cent.

Maintaing a negative out-look for the real estate sector,the agency noted that the over-all sales volume from com-pleted and under-constructioninventory is expected to reduceby 40-60 per cent.

“The preference for com-pleted inventory is expected tocontinue thus favouring thedevelopers having higher pro-portion of such projects.

However, the steep reduc-tion in home loan rates may aidhousing demand to someextent, with home loan inter-

est rates having dropped below8 per cent for the first time in15 years,” the agency said.

It noted that committedreceivables from already bookedsales have also been impacted,given that some milestone basedpayments have been deferreddue to stoppage of constructionactivities earlier. Icra alsoexpects the spends on ongoingprojects to reduce by around 30per cent in FY21 on account ofthe pandemic.“New launches,which were already on a declin-ing trend given the increasedfocus on deliveries, are likely toget further deferred,” it said.

Icra further said the over-all project cash flows areexpected to be impacted byslower collections leading toreduced inflows.

“While there will be reduc-tion in project spends as well,the reduction in inflows islikely to remain higher than thereduction in outflows, leading

to lower net operating cashflows and higher dependenceon other forms ofliquidity/refinancing,” it said.

According to Icra, higherrated clients have maintainedconsiderable liquidity buffers,which can be used to meet pro-ject costs and debt obligations.

Also, many companies haveavailed moratorium to bringdown debt repayments, whichcoupled with automatic reduc-tion in collection-linked pre-payments, has provided somerelief to the developers.

“Going forward though,adequacy of operating cashflows to meet scheduled repay-ment obligations will remain akey look-out area, with devel-oper ability to refinance orcarry out one-time restructur-ing of debt obligations underthe recently announced gov-ernment relief measure, in caseof a cashflow gap remainingcritical,” it said.

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RBI Governor ShaktikantaDas on Thursday appreci-

ated the government’s responseto the Covid-19 crisis as beingfiscally “very prudent and verycalibrated”.

“I cannot speak for thegovernment. But I just want tosay that in the central bank, asobservers of what is happeningin the country in the fiscal pol-icy, I think the Government’sresponse has been very prudentand very calibrated,” Das said.

Speaking at an eventorganised by financial dailyBusiness Standard, Das said thegovernment was “responsible”in announcing the measuresright from the start whichfocused on the poor and vul-nerable people.

Prime Minister NarendraModi had announced a �20lakh crore stimulus package,which included additionalspending of about 2 per cent ofGDP by the Government, aswell as liquidity measures bythe RBI.

Meanwhile, Das also wel-comed the government’s strat-egy of consolidating publicsector banks, saying lenderswith large balance sheets will be

helpful. “Current step of consoli-

dation is a step in right direc-tion. Indian banks can reap thebenefits of scale and becomea partner in the newer busi-ness opportunities across theglobe. Larger banks can com-pete with global banks,” Dassaid.

He, however, said thatwhile size is essential, efficien-cy is “more important”.

The Governor further saidit is “fundamental” to reformthe nature of governance andrisk management of all thebanks going forward.

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GM R I n f r a s t r u c t u r eLimiteds Consolidated

net loss for the quarterendedJune 30 more than dou-bled to nearly 834 crore against�336 crore loss in theJanuary-Marchperiod in FY20, a fil-ingfrom the companywith thebourses saidonThursday. Theconsolidated total income forthe quarter under discussionwas almost halved to �1,224crore. It was �2.206 crore inQ1FY29, it said. Revenues fromthe Airports segment stood at�494 crore in the first quarteragainst �1460 crore in theApril-June quarter of FY20.

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Realty stocks on Thursdaywere in huge demand, clos-

ing the day with up to 10 percent gains, following theMaharashtra Government’sdecision to reduce the stampduty to two per cent tillDecember.

Shares of DLF closed 9.93per cent higher, Prestige EstatesProjects 8.07 per cent, SunteckRealty 7.21 per cent, GodrejProperties 7.06 per cent,Oberoi Realty 6.94 per cent,Sobha Limited 6.57 per cent,Mahindra LifespaceDevelopers jumped 4.10 percent and Indiabulls Real Estate0.64 per cent on the BSE.TheBSE realty index was 6.63 percent higher at close of trade.“The standout performer wasthe realty sector that ended 6.6per cent higher as Maharashtragovernment slashed stamp dutytill December 2020,” AjitMishra, VP - Research, ReligareBroking Ltd.

The ailing real estate haswelcomed the Maharashtragovernment’s decision toreduce the stamp duty to twoper cent till December.

The State Government on

Wednesday decided to slashstamp duty on sale deed doc-uments by three per cent fromSeptember 1 to December 31,2020, and by two per centfrom January 1, 2021 to March31, 2021.Stamp duty is thetransactional tax collected bythe Government on propertypurchases. Stamp duty collec-tion is one of the largest con-tributors to a state’s rev-enues.”CREDAI has been pur-suing State Governments forreduction in stamp duty sincethe beginning of lockdown.The move will benefit the cus-tomer and foster demand cre-ation along with giving a stim-ulus to the allied industriescoupled with employment gen-eration,” CREDAI NationalChairman Jaxay Shah said.

He further said that when-ever there has been a reductionin the stamp duty in the past,it has only led to an increase inrevenue in the governmenttreasury.

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Commerce and IndustryMinister Piyush Goyal on

Thursday launched the nation-al GIS-enabled land bank sys-tem, which will help investorsto get real-time informationabout the availability of indus-trial land and resources.

Launching the system,Goyal expressed confidencethat other states/UTs will beonboarded by December 2020,as the project has beenlaunched for six states.The sys-tem is being developed by inte-grating the IndustrialInformation System (IIS) withstate GIS (GeographicInformation System).

This is a prototype onlyand will be developed furtherwith inputs from states to makeit an effective and transparentmechanism for land identifi-cation as well as procurement.

The IIS portal is a GIS-enabled database of industrialareas/clusters across the states.

“More than 3,300 indus-trial parks across 31 states/UTscovering about 4,75,000 hectareland have been mapped on thesystem. The information avail-able includes forest, drainage;raw material heat maps (agri-cultural, horticulture, mineral

layers); multiple layers of con-nectivity,” the Commerce andIndustry Ministry said in astatement.Goyal also held avirtual meeting with the indus-try ministers of states, UTadministrators and senior offi-cers.In his address, the minis-ter called upon the states to col-lectively work in the spirit of‘Team India’ to enhance indus-trial activity in the country andattract investment.He also saidthat in countries where Indiancompanies face restrictive tradepractises, the reciprocity clausemay be invoked.The minister

stressed on developing a single-window system, which couldbe a one-stop digital platformto obtain all requisite centraland state clearances/approvalsrequired to start business oper-ations in India.

“This could eliminate theneed for investors to visit mul-tiple platforms/ offices to gath-er information and obtainclearances from different stake-holders. It could leverage capa-bilities of existing systems andprovide time-bound approvalsand real-time status updates toinvestors,” he added.

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Markets regulator Sebi onThursday extended the

timeline for implementation ofprocedural guidelines for proxyadvisors to January 1.

The guidelines issued bythe regulator on August 3,were supposed to come intoforce from September 1.

Proxy advisors adviseshareholders on corporate gov-ernance issues and assist themwith voting recommendations.

The Securities andExchange Board of India (Sebi)said the timeline was extended“after taking into considerationrequests received from regis-tered proxy advisors, and theprevailing business and marketconditions due to COVID-19pandemic” Following theextension, the provisions ofsaid Sebi circular shall beapplicable with effect fromJanuary 1, 2021, Sebi said in acircular.Through its circularissued in August, Sebi saidproxy advisors shall formulatethe voting recommendationpolicies and disclose the updat-ed voting recommendationpolicies to its clients.

They were also asked toensure that the policies arereviewed at least once annual-ly.

It, further, said the rec-ommendation policies shouldalso disclose the circumstanceswhen not to provide a votingrecommendation.

As per the guidelines,proxy advisors will have to dis-close the methodologies andthe processes followed in thedevelopment of their researchand corresponding recom-mendations to its clients.

It will alert clients within24 hours of receipt of infor-mation about any factual errorsor material revisions to thereport and will have a statedprocess to communicate withtheir clients and the company.

Also, they will have toshare their report with theirclients and the company at thesame time. Among others, Sebisaid timeline to receive com-ments from the company maybe defined by proxy advisorsand all comments or clarifica-tions received from the com-pany, within timeline, will beincluded as an addendum tothe report.

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State-owned National SmallIndustries Corporation will

approach markets regulatorSebi shortly for registering analternative fund entity, pavingthe way for setting up of the‘Fund of Funds’, a top officialsaid on Thursday.

Anand Sherkhane, addi-tional development commis-sioner in the Ministry of Micro,Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs), said the process ofbringing on board venture cap-ital companies would beginonce the entity is registered bythe Securities and ExchangeBoard of India (Sebi).

In May, the Governmentannounced it will set up a‘Fund of Funds’ with an initialcorpus of Rs 10,000 crore thatwill provide equity funding

support for MSMEs.The Fund of Funds shall

be operated through a ‘Mother’and a few ‘Daughter’ funds.

It is expected that withleverage of 1:4 at the level ofdaughter funds, the Fund ofFunds will be able to mobiliseequity of about � 50,000 crore,the Government had said.

“It would be ultimatelyhoused in the National SmallIndustries Corporation (NSIC)and they would be doing thedue diligence and setting upthe company as early as possi-

ble,” Sherkhane said.Shekhane added that he is

told the special purpose vehi-cle has almost been formed, ina couple of days, they wouldapproach Sebi for registeringthe alternative fund institution.He was addressing a webinarorganised by PHDCCI.

The Fund of Funds willestablish a framework to helpMSMEs in capacity augmenta-tion.

This will also provide anopportunity to get listed instock exchanges.

Raipur: Chhattisgarh has beenranked fourth among the land-locked states by the Niti Aayogfor having the potential tobecome a prominent exportingstate.

According to the ExportPreparedness Index 2020released by the Niti Aayog yes-terday, Chhattisgarh is in thefourth position in the land-locked states category as it hadinitiated several measures topromote exports. Rajasthan,Telangana and Haryana areahead of Chhattisgarh in thiscategory.

The report noted that otherstates facing similar socio-eco-nomic challenges can look atthe measures taken byChhattisgarh and try to imple-

ment them to grow theirexports.

Niti Aayog in partnershipwith the Institute ofCompetitiveness released thefirst Export Preparedness Index(EPI) 2020. The index rankedstates in four categories: coastal,Himalayan, Landlocked, UnionTerritories/city states accordingto four parameters policy,business ecosystem, exportecosystem and export perfor-mance.

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The GST Council not look-ing to increase tax rates to

fund revenue shortfall ofstates is a positive move, butextending the period of levyof compensation cess beyondthe originally envisaged fiveyears would worry business-es, tax experts said.

At the 41st GST Councilmeeting on Thursday, theCentre presented before thestates options to meet theshortfall in GST revenue,saying the deficit can bemade good by states bor-rowing using a special win-dow. This loan can be repaidafter five years from the col-lection of GST cess.

If the states agree, itwould effectively mean thatthe cess would continuebeyond five years of the GSTrollout.

Deloitte India Partner MS Mani said any decision toextend the cess beyond fiveyears in order to fund the pre-sent compensation deficitcould become a precedent.Hence, the period of exten-sion of the cess should beminimal and predefined sothat the cess does not becomea permanent tax.

“Not considering any rateincreases to make up for theshortfall in cess is a welcomemeasure, however moving toa market borrowing mecha-nism which would extend thetenure of the cess beyond fiveyears would worry business-es that are subject to thecess,” Mani said.

Shardul AmarchandMangaldas & Co PartnerRajat Bose said the Centre hasput the onus on the states toborrow funds with due facil-itation from the Centre.

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Marked by a focus on minimal-ism and simplicity withoutcompromising its beauty —

this is what makes up the evergreentrend of the Scandinavian home decor.It celebrates a blend of textures and softhues to make your home feel inviting.

The signature elements that definethe Nordic style are minimalist whitewalls as they emphasise on availablelight, wood floors and modern furni-

ture. However, the wooden elementsare not only used in the flooring butalso in the furniture and fixtures.Hence, a Scandinavian house haswooden tables and chairs too.Furthermore, this interior design isoften influenced by a connection tonature and the use of natural elements.That is the reason natural lighting isone of its key characteristics. It makesthe space look bigger and brighter, and

less use of windows allows natural lightto illuminate spaces. “Less is more” isanother important feature of thisstyle. It must be followed to keep thespace look less cluttered and morevisually relaxing.

Are you curious about how to pulloff the look? Well, worry not as we sug-gest a few easy ways of bringing thewarmth and natural essence of aNordic retreat in your space.

D��9����������������Have you been planning to

visit your favouriteScandinavian country but hadto put it on hold due to the pan-demic-induced lockdown? Howabout we replicate a similar feelin your own space? To start

with, you can go for naturalwood veneer sheets whoseexquisite grain pattern will pro-vide warmth and individualityto your room. They will helpyou bring in the element of realwood with the use of innovationand technology, thus, weaving

a rich ambience. Further, add afew high contrasting elementslike a black matte finished lampor vase paired against yourwhite walls. To add some moredrama, opt for a black and whiterug in zig-zag pattern and yourabode is ready.

����������������The European style of

Scandinavian decor is knownto be making a statement forages now. With every newdecade, this style is seen get-ting experimented with anelement or two. While mutedcolours like beige and whitehave been a hallmark, you canadd a pop of colour to yourchairs and accents with pas-tel pink or mauve. For yourwalls, you can opt for CardiffElm by Greenlam Laminatesfrom the house of GreenlamIndustries, whose wood graintexture and light brown

colour seamlessly blend withyour colour scheme. The cur-rent chaotic times havebrought a perception shift inthe customer’s mind, makinghealth-safe products the firstchoice of people and organi-sations worldwide. So it’s bet-ter to use those laminateswhich provide health andhygiene features — antivirus,antibacterial, antifungal thatretard and kill viruses andbacterias that come in contactwith the surface. Lastly, addsome plants and foliage toyour safe environment tocomplete the look.

Filmmaker Vijay Krishna Acharya, who haswritten and directed the Dhoom series,

reveals that he and Aditya Chopra, the produc-er of the film, were pleasantly surprised with theaudience reaction towards the film.

On the 16th anniversary of the film, Viktor,as he is called in the industry, says, “We wereconfident at the script stage that the film wasan entertainer, a film which was not taking itselftoo seriously and perhaps that is what struck achord with the audience. The only person whoforesaw the possibility of a sequel was Aditya.He wrote me a mail before the release and said,‘do think about a sequel.”

Viktor’s idea to have a villain with morali-ty was unusual because one always roots for thevillain to win. He says, “Dhoom is more in ananti-hero world rather than a villain in the tra-ditional sense. In the first film, the anti-hero isa rebel. Even though he is a thief, his personais essentially a rebellious one. There is some-thing about youth and bikes and energy, noneof which was a planned thing — it just seemedto come organically and instinctively.”

He adds, “The hero is the anti-hero and heis always stepping away from the world of con-ventional wisdom and rules. He exists outsideof it even though he is very much a part of thefabric of society, like Kabir in Dhoom and Sahirin Dhoom 3.

Ask him if directing a franchise film is apleasure or pressure point because of the soar-ing expectations. He says, “Filmmaking is ahealthy and sometimes unhealthy combinationof pleasure and pressure. An almost symbiot-ic existence which like all things dangerous hasa unique attraction and thrill.

So, yes, it will always be a pleasure but I’malso aware that it will get tougher with each filmto reinvent or rediscover the genre.”

Each and every other street ofcentral Delhi’s Lodhi Colony

are filled with India’s largest pub-lic art display, the Lodhi ArtDistrict. At a time when mostmuseums and galleries are stillshut due to the pandemic-induced lockdown, it’s an amaz-ing place to go for a stroll or eventake your car for a photoshoot,like I did with the refreshedMaruti-Suzuki S-Cross. The areaoffers varied backgrounds. The S-Cross, which is one of the bestlooking products in the Marutiportfolio, felt perfectly at homethere. But one must wonder howis it refreshed car, now that it fea-tures a petrol engine and anautomatic gearbox?

This car, on whose backMaruti launched their premiumNexa sales network, is approxi-mately five years old. At its launch

at Nashik, the S-Cross had comewith a 1.6 diesel, which unfortu-nately didn’t last long and wassoon withdrawn. Just like everysecond Maruti car those days, itwas sold with ever so popular 1.3DDiS diesel engine. As we knowMaruti-Suzuki announced that itwas withdrawing from sellingdiesel cars after the implementa-tion of BS6 emission norms,there sales figures have sort of jus-tified their decision. While theKorean Hyundai-Kia combine

diesels still account for half of allsales in this segment with theCreta and Seltos which togetherhave 75 per cent of the market,the S-Cross, Renault Duster andNissan Kicks are all petrol carsnow as will the future Skoda andVolkswagen products. Five yearsago, petrol variants accounted forunder 10 per cent of sales in thissegment. Today they have two-thirds of the market.

There are a few reasons forthis, one was the higher price of

diesel cars following the BS6emissions standards coming intoforce. Another was the ‘10-yearlifetime’ on diesel vehicles in theNational Capital Region imposedby the Supreme Court. But thereis one more reason, that is theincreasing efficiency of extreme-ly lean-burning petrol engines.Take this 1.5 litre K15 enginefrom Maruti. While roads aroundthe NCR are relatively high-speed, I managed over 15 kilome-tres per litre over a three-hour 100kilometer return drive betweenGurugram and Noida stopping inDelhi. The single biggest pluspoint on this car is its mildhybrid system, which allows thebattery to fill in some torquewhen required. It keeps the mod-cons on while stopped in the traf-fic and the engine shuts off.Indeed, I am genuinely surprised

why other mass carmakers havenot installed Start-Stop systems intheir cars. But the S-Cross is byfar and away the most efficientpetrol-engine vehicle in its seg-ment as a result.

Now comes the part where I’llhave to share its issues — theengine and the gearbox. All thecompeting vehicles in this seg-ment now offer turbochargedoptions, Hyundai-Kia’s 1.4 GDiengine gives 140PS of power andthe Renault-Nissan 1.3 Turbochurns out a mighty impressive156PS. Maruti’s experiment withsmall turbocharged petrol enginesended when they withdrew theBaleno RS and its Boosterjetengine. Fair enough on that front,all competing models also havenaturally aspirated engines. WhileRenault-Nissan does not give anoption an automatic on thesevariants, Hyundai-Kia offer their1.5 naturally aspirated petrolengine on the Creta and Seltoswith a CVT gearbox. If I was test-ing the manual, I would havecompared it against the Dusterand Kicks. When it comes toprice-points, the S-Cross auto-matic actually does go up againstthose two cars. While I feel the S-Cross is a better built car and han-dles better than either of those, I’llstick to comparing naturally aspi-rated automatic variants.

Against the Creta and SeltosCVT variants, the S-Cross is a lotcheaper. You can save around fourlakh. It should be a no-brainereven if the S-Cross is slightlydown on power versus the Koreantwins. Yet, the S-Cross has afour-speed torque converter auto-matic gearbox. A four-speed auto-matic gearbox in 2020. If I coulduse cuss words in this column Iwould, but really? Decent six-speed torque converter gearbox-es are available off the shelf and

Maruti themselves use a CVTgearbox with the Baleno. Fordoffers a TEN speed automatic onthe Endeavour. While I feel eight,nine and ten gear vehicles are a bitmuch for cars doing duty main-ly in an urban environment, afour-speed box in today’s era isabsurd. I’ll use an analogy of ice-cream here, too many gears is likechoosing between six or sevendifferent types of chocolate ice-creams. But I would rather havethat than just have vanilla, choco-late and strawberry.

Maybe I would not mindfewer options of ice-cream ifthey were spectacular, but truthbe told you feel the lack of gearoptions on this car. Both in thecity and on high-speed roads. Thekick-down can be a bit violent ifyou really demand overtakingpower and you tend to rev a bithigher than you would like to.Sure for sedate driving maybe itis enough, and the hybrid systemwill likely disguise the fuel inef-ficiency of such a gearbox, butthis is partying like it is 1999. Thiscar has a good ride and takes cor-ners well, it has decent interiorsand I’d believe the manual wouldbe great value. But this automat-ic? A big no!

With some manufacturersyou would not get so critical, butthe fact of the matter is that I holdMaruti-Suzuki to a higher stan-dard. As a child of the 1990s, Igrew up driving my mother’sMaruti van, then 800 and finallyZen MPFi alongside my dad’sGypsy and Esteem. My firstowned car was an Alto. I haveheld shares in the company for afew years now, and it has been oneof greatest wealth creators of thepast two decades in this countrybecause it has the trust of theIndian car consumer. Yes, SuzukiMotor Corporation has sometechnology limitations being a rel-atively small manufacturer sur-rounded by giants, but this S-Cross feels like a cop-out. This caris a price warrior, but not out ofchoice. It is a price warriorbecause it has to be one.

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����������������������A clean and unclutteredliving room fosters freedomof creation and makesunwinding from a hecticday quite relaxing. Toachieve this visuallyrejuvenating Scandinavianlook, go for minimalinteriors. If you are lookingto add a touch ofsophistication to yoursetting, wooden flooring is

an apt choice. Use floorsthat are composed of threelayers — real hard wood, astabilising core and abalancing layer, whichprovides solidity andstability in all types ofclimate. Place your modernsofa set in hues of grey tomarry it with dark shades ofyour other interiors. Sinceproper lighting is the key toenhancing this decor style,go for pendant lamps andcrisp white sheer curtains.

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In this self-isolation life, if breadis rising, sourdough is soaring.Along with most essentials,

flour has been amongst the first fewproducts to vanish from supermar-ket shelves but for a good reason.In a sea of banana bread instarecipes, the most coveted isolationloaves across the globe seem to bethe great sourdough — a knobbly,textured variety of bread thatrequires a dash of patience, a touch

of handmade fermentations alongwith oodles of affection.

Being the real king of breads,the sourdough’s proverbial reigndates back almost 15,000 years,from the remotest nooks and cran-nies to thriving metropolitan cities.Sourdough is the oldest form ofleavened bread and as rightly put byKarl De Smedt, the curator of theworld’s only sourdough library inBrussels, “Making sourdough ispart art and part science!”

The founding duo, Suchali andMitali from Suchali’s ArtisanBakehouse, talks about the delight-ful art of preparing sourdoughthrough recipes that they have

curated to seamlessly carry forwardthis original European legacy.

Here, we explore the new trendsin food and how consumers todayare making their meal choices.And hence, the newest that came tonotice was the sourdough. Perhaps,you’d have spotted it on socialmedia — sourdough loaves withcrisp, intricately-scored crusts andexpansive, holey interiors and won-dered if you too could make thiskind of a bread. The transformationof the dough into a light and airyloaf is the chemistry in action, witha good side of physics. High innutrition, easy to digest and filling,this bread has sustained humanssince the biblical times. However,the quest for lesser productiontimes and greater returns hasturned today’s breads a mereembodiment of yeast for a fast rise,extra salt to add flavour, addedenzymes, flour improvers, artificialpreservatives and a list of otheringredients, none of which aregood for us. It’s time that peopleadopt the long-lasting benefits ofswitching from commerciallyprocessed breads to the naturalgoodness of sourdough.

Sadly, it seems not many peo-ple know why sourdough trumps allthe other baked goods in the well-being poker ring as well as playingthe flavour card best. Preparedwith patience with only three ingre-dients — flour, water and salt — thebread is slowly fermented in the tra-ditional way without commercialyeast. The new food science revealsits enormous nutritional benefits:�� It’s a great source of pre-bioticfibre, that is, food for our gut bac-teria.��It’s easy on the stomach for peo-ple who have issues with gluten. Thelonger the fermentation, the morethe gluten is broken down, makingit easier to digest.

�� It requires no artificial preser-vatives as the natural acidity pre-vents growth of pathogens in theloaves. �� It has a much lower GlycemicIndex, balancing the blood sugarlevels and hence, being a greatchoice for those who are diabetic.

The true art is in creatingsomething that is complex, tender,nourishing with a touch of sweet-ness and a little sourness. Suchali’srecipes include handcrafted, natu-rally-leavened sourdough breads,which have a signature identity, feeland taste. The right temperaturesfor the dough to flourish areensured through the stone deckoven that lends the steam for a deli-cious crust.

Well, who knew that the blendof basic ingredients like flour, waterand salt can come a long way in giv-ing us such a healthy and nutritiousloaf of sourdough, right? Eventhough prepping the sourdough,hand-folding the dough and restingit, and the eventual baking processcould be draining and time-con-suming, it’s also the most reward-ing processes. No two loaves are thesame and everytime we are metwith the fresh aroma of a newly-baked loaf, which brings us so muchfulfillment and joy.

Wondering now if you canprepare it too? Of course, you can!For those who want to learn thisage-old craft, it’s the start of a deeplyrewarding journey. Your first fewloaves might not be perfect andthat’s the beauty of it. Just remem-ber, it will need time after sour-dough is a natural leaven — a mix-ture of grains and liquid (usuallyflour and water) inhabited by so-called “wild” yeasts. Let its distinct-ly sour flavour seep in, whichcomes from the little wonderscalled lactobacilli or the “friendlybacteria.”

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Page 12: 0˚ ˙ 1˙ · 2020. 8. 27. · finance portfolio, said it is unfortunate the Centre ... Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla mentioning pressure from the Centre on the Delhi Government officials

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