14
BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2021, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SINCE 1932 THE EDITORIAL OUR SECOND COVID TEST BY K SRINATH REDDY PAGE 6 RAVIK BHATTACHARYA, ATRI MITRA & AMITAVA CHAKRABORTY NANDIGRAM, APRIL 1 TENSIONS RAN high and charges flew thick and fast in Nandigram, the constituency of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on polling day Thursday as more than 80 per cent of 76 lakh votes in 30 constituencies were cast by 5 pm in the second phase of Assembly elections in the state. Banerjee was held up for more than two hours in a polling booth in Nandigram where sup- porters of the ruling TMC and BJP nearly came to blows. Her secu- rity guards formed a cordon as she waited in a wheelchair. She could move out only after a large contingent of central forces and police personnel reached the site. She later criticised the Election Commission and al- leged that the BJP had terrorised voters. She even called up Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar but declined to divulge details. “Yes, I have spoken to the Governor and an EC special observer. I can- not reveal what all I discussed with them,” Banerjee told re- porters after emerging from the polling booth. Her BJP opponent Suvendu Adhikari, who toured different areas of the constituency, praised the conduct of the cen- tral forces and the EC. Taking a swipe at Banerjee, Adhikari said: “The incident and her behaviour show she has lost the elections. She is just trying to grab some attention. Without the sacrifice of Suvendu Adhikari and the lives of 41 people, Mamata Banerjee could never have become the Chief Minister of Bengal in 2011. This time I am not with her and, therefore, she will not be the Chief Minister this time. Every day, she has flouted EC guidelines and lied. I am happy with the elections. The central forces have done a good job and the Election Commission has ensured free and fair polls.” For Banerjee, and the BJP, the battle for Nandigram is a prestige CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘Maoist plot’: NIA conducts searches in Andhra and Telangana DEEPTIMAN TIWARY & SREENIVAS JANYALA NEW DELHI, HYDERABAD, APRIL 1 THE NATIONAL Investigation Agency (NIA) has conducted searches at 31 locations across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in connection with a case of an alleged Maoist conspiracy against the police and the gov- ernment. This follows an FIR reg- istered last month, naming 64 individuals including journalists, lawyers and civil rights activists. The searches, which began Wednesday evening and contin- ued Thursday, were spread across eight districts of Andhra Pradesh -- Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Prakasam, Srikakulam, Kurnool, Krishna, East Godavari and Kadapa -- and four districts of Telangana -- Ranga Reddy, Hyderabad, Medchal-Malkajgiri and Medak. The NIA said the searches were linked to the case “relating to furthering the activities of the proscribed organization, CPI (Maoist),inAndhraPradeshinthe guise of frontal organizations”. It said the searches had led to the seizure of 40 mobile phones, 44 SIM cards, 70 storage devices, 184 CDs/DVDs, 19 pen drives, Rs 10 lakh in cash from an accused, sickles, axe, machetes besides documents, CPI (Maoist) flags, party literature and press notes. Six persons have already been arrested in the case – they have been identified as journal- ist Pangi Naganna, Anduluri CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DAY AFTER, RATE REVERSAL Rate reset process laid out in Feb 2016 order of ministry’s Budget Division Bengal would have been hit most, mops up highest small savings SUNNY VERMA & AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, APRIL 1 IN OVERTURNING AN order re- setting interest rates on small savings schemes issued Wednesday evening within about 12 hours, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman set aside a process that was put in place five years ago in 2016 by the NDA government itself. While the ‘Office Memorandum’ regarding revi- sion of rates issued by the Budget Division in the Department of Economic Affairs was uploaded on the finance ministry website on Wednesday evening, Sitharaman tweeted at 7.54 am, Thursday, that the “orders issued by oversight shall be with- drawn”. The Ministry had on Wednesday cut interest rates on various small savings schemes sharply by 40-110 basis points. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SUNNY VERMA & AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, APRIL 1 WHILE FINANCE MINISTER Nirmala Sitharaman Thursday morning described the order re- vising interest rates for small savings schemes issued just about 12 hours back as an “over- sight”, the political imperative could not be missed: West Bengal, which is midway through Assembly elections, ac- counts for the highest collections from small savings schemes. The Finance Ministry had Wednesday evening slashed in- terest rates on small savings by 40-110 basis points for April- June 2021. These schemes are generally subscribed by senior citizens and the middle-class — more so in West Bengal — since interest rates are slightly higher than bank deposits, and offer a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SUKRITA BARUAH NEW DELHI, APRIL 1 BINDU KAUSHIK, an anganwadi worker, checks her copy of the voters' list and knocks on the door of 71-year-old Savitri Devi’s home at Bawana in northwest Delhi. Kaushik is here to encour- age the grandmother to get vac- cinated against Covid. It's not easy, though. Devi’s daughter-in-law, Sushma, has her doubts. “Is it necessary? I’ve seen on TV that some people who got the vac- cine still got Covid afterwards,” she says. Kaushik is patient. “The vac- cine is to increase immunity against the illness. It will defi- nitely help the body fight it away. The illness affects the elderly the most, which is why it was made available first for them. It’s very important that you not be scared,” she explains. The anganwadi worker then lists the names of a few of Devi's neighbours who got vaccinated. “Ask them, they’ll tell you there’s nothing to worry about,” she says. Devi appears convinced, Sushma not so much. "Think about it,” says Kaushik, and leaves after telling them which dispensary to go to, and advising them to reach early to avoid crowds. Delhi has been witnessing over 1,500 daily cases over the past six days as a result of which the city is now in the top 10 across the country with a high burden of disease. And, the cap- ital's fight against Covid hinges on the skills of workers like Kaushik. She is part of a large network of teams comprising anganwadi and ASHA workers, and school teachers, who have been work- ing on the ground across districts since last month, going door-to- door to boost vaccination turnouts. Starting Thursday, their target group increased with the vaccine opening up for those above the age of 45 years as well. According to Delhi government data, close to 65 lakh people are eligible to get the vaccine at present. Members of these teams have been drawing from various resources -- information from the election office, personal net- works, relationships in neigh- bourhoods and influence of lo- cal community leaders. Around 5 km from Bawana, Ritu was making the rounds near her anganwadi centre in Pooth Khurd. She arrives at 70-year-old Anand Prakash’s home for her second visit. Prakash got his first shot last month and is keen to get the second dose, but his wife is unwilling to sign up. “There are some cases where people aren’t willing to talk and there’s not much that we can do. We can’t drag people to the hospital,” says Ritu. The workers note down the names, ages and contact details of all the people they visit. After a few days, they call up those who agreed to get the vaccine to check if they did, and note down the date on which they got their shot. Kaushik, for instance, has been given charge of an area with around 750 people. Then, there are nodal officers in each area who try to find other ways to reach people. On Thursday morning, Bhupender Kumar, a teacher who is a nodal officer in the Narela sub-division, visited Santoshi Dham in Bajitpur to ask community lead- ers there to help. “We have been reaching out to religious and community leaders in several areas. They as- sured us that they would speak about the vaccine and encourage people during their Sunday gatherings and spread the word on their WhatsApp groups. We said that the leaders should also CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PAGE 1 ANCHOR Bindu Kaushik, an anganwadi worker with a family in Bawana, Delhi. Sukrita Baruah Challenge on ground for Delhi’s vaccine warriors: ‘Is it necessary?’ Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman THE OVERNIGHT change reveals the government is willing to ditch or postpone reforms for po- litical considerations. It also raises the prospect of the bureaucracy turn- ing more risk-averse, even if it were to follow normal procedure while taking routine adminis- trative decisions. Poll effect on reforms Nandigram boils over: Mamata cries foul, BJP rival says she’s losing, EC seeks report West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee; BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram on Thursday. Partha Paul Overnight ‘oversight’: Govt rolls back deepratecutinsmallsavingschemes PRABHA RAGHAVAN & PRANAV MUKUL NEW DELHI, APRIL 1 AN EXPERT panel of the coun- try's top drug regulator has al- lowed Bharat Biotech to admin- ister a third dose of Covaxin to some of the volunteers in its on- going clinical trials of the Covid vaccine. The approval, a result of the Hyderabad-based vaccine maker’s proposal to use an addi- tional booster dose, would allow it to test the ability of Covaxin to prompt an immune response that could last a few years, The Indian Express has learnt. In response to the proposal, the regulator’s Subject Expert Committee (SEC) recommended that the booster dose study be conducted in phase 2 clinical trial participants who received two shots of Covaxin containing 6mcg of the killed SARS-CoV-2 virus. The booster dose is to be given six months after the par- ticipants had received their sec- ond dose in the trial, which had taken place between September and October 2020. Bharat Biotech is also to fol- low up these participants “at least for six months after the third dose,” according to min- utes of the SEC’s meeting dated March 23. “Further, the firm should present the details of the pri- mary and secondary objectives and various assessments to be carried out in the subjects. Accordingly, (the) firm should submit the revised clinical trial protocol for evaluation,” the SEC added in its recommendations. Around 190 participants had received the 6 mcg strength of Covaxin in the phase 2 trials, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ambani security scare: Gangster’s role in sending message under probe SAGAR RAJPUT & MOHAMED THAVER MUMBAI, APRIL 1 THE NATIONAL Investigation Agency (NIA) is investigating the possible role of gangster Subhash Singh Thakur in send- ing the Telegram message that claimed responsibility, in the name of a purported terror group called Jaish-Ul-Hind, for causing a security scare outside the Mumbai residence of indus- trialist Mukesh Ambani, The Indian Express has learnt. Sources said the NIA received information from another agency that Thakur, who hails from UP and has a long criminal history in Mumbai, may have been instrumental in getting the message sent at the behest of Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Waze, who has since been sus- pended and is in the agency's custody in connection with the bomb scare. According to sources, the NIA believes that Waze approached Thakur, who was in a Varanasi jail and is now undergoing treat- ment in BHU Hospital, through an intermediary. They said that Thakur was told by the interme- diary to get the message sent through servers in the UAE. Instead, they said, he got Tihar CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 At a vaccination centre in New Delhi on Thursday. Amit Mehra Third dose of Covaxin cleared for trials, six months after 2nd shot Sachin Waze HARIKISHAN SHARMA NEW DELHI, APRIL 1 AS TENS of thousands of mi- grants returned to their villages following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the na- tional lockdown that followed last year, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) emerged as a safety net for labourers in rural areas. Over 11 crore people worked under the scheme during the fi- nancial year 2020-21 – the first time since its inception in 2006- 07 that the MGNREGS numbers crossed the 11-crore mark in a year. Data available on April 1 show that 11.17 crore individuals availed the scheme in 2020-21, up 41.75 per cent from 7.88 crore in 2019-20. The total number of people, who availed the scheme, had been in the range of 6.21-7.88 crore between 2013-14 and 2019-20 -- a period for which comparable data is available. But in the wake of job losses during the pandemic, an additional 3 crore plus people turned to the rural job scheme. According to the data, a record high of 7.54 crore rural households worked under the MGNREGS during 2020-21 -- 37.59 per cent higher than 5.48 crore in 2019-20. The previous high of 5.5 crore was recorded in 2010-11. The numbers for individuals and households are likely to be revised upward once the muster CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NREGS SEES RECORD NUMBERS FY 2019 FY 2020 Increase -2020 -2021 Persondays generated 265.35 cr 385.89 cr 45.43 % Average days of 48.4 51.15 NA* employment provided per household No. of households which 40,60,463 68,58,454 68.91% completed 100 days of employment Total households employed 5.48 cr 7.54 cr 37.59% Total individuals employed 7.88 cr 11.17 cr 41.75% Total expenditure 68,265.97 cr 1,10,802.05 cr 62.31% Source: https:nrega.nic.in *Not Applicable As pandemic sent migrants home, 11 cr turned to rural job scheme `5.00/EX-KOLKATA `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM DECISION 2021 WEST BENGAL PHASE-2 MARKED BY CLASHES, 80% VOTING PAGE 3 FULL COVERAGE, VISIT WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM ASAD REHMAN LUCKNOW, APRIL 1 TWO PERSONS have been de- tained for their alleged role in the March 19 incident at the Jhansi railway station, where four Christian women, including two nuns, were verbally harassed and forced off a train after being falsely accused of engaging in forced religious conversion. The two held have been iden- tified as Anchal Arjariya and PurgeshAmariya.Arjariya'ssocial media profile describes him as an office-bearer of VHP and Hindu Jagran Manch, and a member of the Gau Raksha Samiti. Jhansi District Magistrate Andra Vamsi said that a case has been lodged at the GRP police station in Jhansi. “The two persons were held under CrPC provisions for breach of peace. The two persons were detained based on video evi- dence against them in connec- tion with the March 19 incident," said the DM. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Two held for role in forcing nuns off train WORLD BIDEN LETS H-1B VISA BANS EXPIRE; INDIAN TECHIES TO BENEFIT UN ENVOY WARNS OF ‘IMMINENT BLOODBATH’ IN MYANMAR PAGE 12 Kolkata

020421 KO 01R

  • Upload
    others

  • View
    3

  • Download
    0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: 020421 KO 01R

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA

FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2021, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES

JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

THEEDITORIAL

OURSECONDCOVIDTESTBY KSRINATHREDDY

PAGE6

RAVIKBHATTACHARYA,ATRIMITRA&AMITAVACHAKRABORTYNANDIGRAM,APRIL 1

TENSIONSRANhighandchargesflewthickandfastinNandigram,theconstituencyofWestBengalChiefMinisterMamataBanerjee,onpollingdayThursdayasmorethan80percentof76lakhvotesin30constituencieswerecastby5 pm in the second phase ofAssemblyelections in thestate.Banerjee was held up for

morethantwohoursinapollingboothinNandigramwheresup-portersoftherulingTMCandBJPnearlycametoblows.Hersecu-rity guards formed a cordon asshewaited in awheelchair. Shecouldmoveoutonlyafteralargecontingentof central forcesandpolice personnel reached thesite.She later criticised the

Election Commission and al-legedthattheBJPhadterrorisedvoters. She even called upGovernorJagdeepDhankharbutdeclinedtodivulgedetails. “Yes,

I have spoken to the GovernorandanECspecialobserver. Ican-not reveal what all I discussedwith them,” Banerjee told re-portersafteremerging fromthepollingbooth.Her BJP opponent Suvendu

Adhikari, who toured differentareas of the constituency,praised the conduct of the cen-tral forcesandtheEC.Taking a swipe at Banerjee,

Adhikarisaid:“Theincidentandherbehaviourshowshehaslosttheelections.Sheisjusttryingtograb some attention. Without

thesacrificeofSuvenduAdhikariand the lives of 41 people,Mamata Banerjee could neverhavebecometheChiefMinisterof Bengal in2011.This time Iamnotwithher and, therefore, shewillnotbetheChiefMinisterthistime. Every day, she has floutedEC guidelines and lied. I amhappy with the elections. Thecentral forces have done a goodjobandtheElectionCommissionhasensured freeand fairpolls.”ForBanerjee, and theBJP, the

battleforNandigramisaprestigeCONTINUEDONPAGE2

‘Maoist plot’:NIA conductssearches inAndhra andTelangana

DEEPTIMANTIWARY&SREENIVASJANYALANEWDELHI,HYDERABAD,

APRIL 1

THE NATIONAL InvestigationAgency (NIA) has conductedsearches at 31 locations acrossAndhra Pradesh and Telanganain connectionwith a case of analleged Maoist conspiracyagainst the police and the gov-ernment.ThisfollowsanFIRreg-istered last month, naming 64individualsincludingjournalists,lawyersandcivilrightsactivists.The searches, which began

Wednesdayeveningandcontin-ued Thursday, were spreadacross eight districts of AndhraPradesh -- Visakhapatnam,Guntur, Prakasam, Srikakulam,Kurnool, Krishna, EastGodavariandKadapa -- and fourdistrictsof Telangana -- Ranga Reddy,Hyderabad,Medchal-MalkajgiriandMedak.The NIA said the searches

were linked to the case “relatingto furthering theactivitiesof theproscribed organization, CPI(Maoist),inAndhraPradeshintheguiseof frontalorganizations”.Itsaidthesearcheshadledto

theseizureof40mobilephones,44SIMcards,70storagedevices,184CDs/DVDs,19pendrives,Rs10lakhincashfromanaccused,sickles, axe, machetes besidesdocuments, CPI (Maoist) flags,party literatureandpressnotes.Six persons have already

beenarrested in the case– theyhavebeen identifiedas journal-ist Pangi Naganna, Anduluri

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

DAYAFTER,RATEREVERSAL

Rateresetprocess laidout in Feb2016orderofministry’sBudgetDivision

Bengal would havebeen hit most, mops uphighest small savings

SUNNYVERMA&AANCHALMAGAZINENEWDELHI, APRIL 1

IN OVERTURNINGAN order re-setting interest rates on smallsavings schemes issuedWednesday evening withinabout 12 hours, Union FinanceMinisterNirmalaSitharamansetaside a process that was put inplace five years ago in 2016 bytheNDAgovernment itself.While the ‘Office

Memorandum’ regarding revi-sionofratesissuedbytheBudgetDivision in the Department ofEconomicAffairswasuploaded

onthe financeministrywebsiteon Wednesday evening,Sitharamantweetedat7.54am,Thursday,thatthe“ordersissuedby oversight shall be with-drawn”.The Ministry had on

Wednesdaycutinterestratesonvarious small savings schemessharply by 40-110 basis points.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

SUNNYVERMA&AANCHALMAGAZINENEWDELHI, APRIL 1

WHILE FINANCE MINISTERNirmala Sitharaman Thursdaymorningdescribedtheorderre-vising interest rates for smallsavings schemes issued justabout12hoursbackasan“over-sight”, the political imperativecould not be missed: WestBengal, which is midway

throughAssemblyelections,ac-countsforthehighestcollectionsfromsmall savings schemes.The Finance Ministry had

Wednesdayeveningslashedin-terest rates on small savings by40-110 basis points for April-June 2021. These schemes aregenerally subscribed by seniorcitizens and themiddle-class—more so inWest Bengal— sinceinterest rates are slightlyhigherthan bank deposits, and offer a

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

SUKRITABARUAHNEWDELHI, APRIL 1

BINDUKAUSHIK,ananganwadiworker, checks her copy of thevoters' list and knocks on thedoorof71-year-oldSavitriDevi’shome at Bawana in northwestDelhi.Kaushikisheretoencour-agethegrandmothertogetvac-cinatedagainstCovid.It'snoteasy, though.Devi’s daughter-in-law,

Sushma, has her doubts. “Is itnecessary? I’ve seen on TV thatsome people who got the vac-cine still got Covid afterwards,”shesays.

Kaushik is patient. “Thevac-cine is to increase immunityagainst the illness. It will defi-nitelyhelpthebodyfightitaway.Theillnessaffectstheelderlythemost,which iswhyitwasmadeavailable first for them. It’s veryimportant that you not bescared,” sheexplains.Theanganwadiworker then

liststhenamesofafewofDevi'sneighbourswhogotvaccinated.“Askthem,they’lltellyouthere’snothing to worry about,” shesays. Devi appears convinced,Sushma not so much. "Thinkabout it,” says Kaushik, andleaves after telling themwhichdispensarytogoto,andadvising

them to reach early to avoidcrowds.Delhi has been witnessing

over 1,500 daily cases over thepastsixdaysasaresultofwhichthe city is now in the top 10across the country with a highburdenofdisease.And, thecap-ital's fight against Covid hingeson the skills of workers likeKaushik.Sheispartofalargenetwork

of teamscomprisinganganwadiand ASHAworkers, and schoolteachers, who have beenwork-ingonthegroundacrossdistrictssincelastmonth,goingdoor-to-door to boost vaccinationturnouts.

StartingThursday,theirtargetgroupincreasedwiththevaccineopening up for those above theageof45yearsaswell.AccordingtoDelhi government data, closeto 65 lakh people are eligible togetthevaccineatpresent.Members of these teams

havebeendrawingfromvariousresources -- information fromtheelectionoffice,personalnet-works, relationships in neigh-bourhoods and influence of lo-cal community leaders.Around 5 km fromBawana,

Rituwasmakingtheroundsnearher anganwadi centre in PoothKhurd.Shearrivesat70-year-oldAnand Prakash’s home for her

secondvisit.Prakashgothisfirstshot last month and is keen togettheseconddose,buthiswifeisunwillingtosignup.“Therearesomecaseswherepeoplearen’twilling to talk and there’s notmuch that we can do.We can’tdragpeopletothehospital,”saysRitu.Theworkers note down the

names, ages and contact detailsof all thepeople theyvisit. Aftera few days, they call up thosewhoagreedtogetthevaccinetocheckif theydid,andnotedownthedateonwhichtheygot theirshot. Kaushik, for instance, hasbeen given charge of an areawitharound750people.

Then,therearenodalofficersineachareawhotrytofindotherways to reach people. OnThursdaymorning, BhupenderKumar, a teacherwho is anodalofficerintheNarelasub-division,visited Santoshi Dham inBajitpurtoaskcommunitylead-ers there tohelp.“Wehavebeen reachingout

to religious and communityleadersinseveralareas.Theyas-sured us that theywould speakaboutthevaccineandencouragepeople during their Sundaygatheringsandspreadthewordon theirWhatsApp groups.Wesaidthattheleadersshouldalso

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

PAGE1ANCHOR

BinduKaushik,ananganwadiworkerwithafamily inBawana,Delhi. SukritaBaruah

Challenge on ground for Delhi’s vaccine warriors: ‘Is it necessary?’

FinanceMinisterNirmalaSitharaman

THEOVERNIGHTchangereveals thegovernmentiswillingtoditchorpostponereformsforpo-liticalconsiderations. Italsoraises theprospectof thebureaucracyturn-ingmorerisk-averse,evenif itwereto follownormalprocedurewhiletakingroutineadminis-trativedecisions.

Polleffectonreforms

Nandigram boils over: Mamata cries foul,BJP rival says she’s losing, EC seeks report

WestBengalChiefMinisterMamataBanerjee;BJPcandidateSuvenduAdhikari inNandigramonThursday.ParthaPaul

Overnight ‘oversight’:Govt rollsbackdeep ratecut insmall savingschemes

PRABHARAGHAVAN&PRANAVMUKULNEWDELHI, APRIL 1

AN EXPERT panel of the coun-try's top drug regulator has al-lowedBharatBiotechtoadmin-ister a third dose of Covaxin tosomeof thevolunteersinitson-going clinical trials of the Covidvaccine.Theapproval,aresultofthe Hyderabad-based vaccinemaker’sproposaltouseanaddi-tionalboosterdose,wouldallowit totest theabilityofCovaxintoprompt an immune responsethat could last a few years, TheIndianExpresshas learnt.In response to the proposal,

the regulator’s Subject ExpertCommittee(SEC)recommendedthat the booster dose study beconducted in phase 2 clinicaltrial participants who receivedtwoshotsofCovaxincontaining

6mcg of the killed SARS-CoV-2virus. The booster dose is to begiven sixmonths after the par-ticipantshadreceivedtheir sec-onddose in the trial,whichhadtakenplacebetweenSeptemberandOctober2020.Bharat Biotech is also to fol-

low up these participants “atleast for six months after thethird dose,” according tomin-utes of the SEC’smeeting datedMarch23.“Further, the firm should

present the details of the pri-mary and secondary objectivesand various assessments to becarried out in the subjects.Accordingly, (the) firm shouldsubmit the revised clinical trialprotocolforevaluation,”theSECadded in its recommendations.Around190participantshad

received the 6mcg strength ofCovaxin in the phase 2 trials,

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Ambani security scare: Gangster’srole in sending message under probe

SAGARRAJPUT&MOHAMEDTHAVERMUMBAI, APRIL 1

THE NATIONAL InvestigationAgency(NIA)isinvestigatingthepossible role of gangsterSubhash Singh Thakur in send-ing the Telegrammessage thatclaimed responsibility, in thename of a purported terrorgroup called Jaish-Ul-Hind, forcausing a security scare outsidetheMumbairesidenceof indus-trialist Mukesh Ambani, The

IndianExpresshas learnt.SourcessaidtheNIAreceived

information from anotheragency that Thakur, who hailsfromUPandhasa longcriminalhistory in Mumbai, may havebeeninstrumentalingettingthemessage sent at the behest of

AssistantPoliceInspectorSachinWaze, who has since been sus-pended and is in the agency'scustody in connectionwith thebombscare.Accordingtosources,theNIA

believes thatWaze approachedThakur, whowas in a Varanasijailandisnowundergoingtreat-ment in BHUHospital, throughan intermediary. They said thatThakurwastoldbytheinterme-diary to get the message sentthrough servers in the UAE.Instead, they said, he got Tihar

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Atavaccinationcentre inNewDelhionThursday.AmitMehra

Third dose of Covaxincleared for trials, sixmonths after 2nd shot

SachinWaze

HARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI, APRIL 1

AS TENS of thousands of mi-grants returned to their villagesfollowing the outbreak of theCovid-19pandemic and thena-tional lockdown that followedlast year, theMahatma GandhiNational Rural EmploymentGuaranteeScheme(MGNREGS)emerged as a safety net forlabourers in rural areas.Over11crorepeopleworked

under theschemeduringthe fi-nancial year 2020-21 – the firsttimesinceitsinceptionin2006-07that theMGNREGSnumberscrossed the 11-croremark in ayear.Data available on April 1

showthat11.17croreindividualsavailed the scheme in 2020-21,

up41.75percentfrom7.88crorein2019-20.The total number of people,

who availed the scheme, hadbeen in the range of 6.21-7.88crore between 2013-14 and2019-20 -- a period for whichcomparabledataisavailable.Butin thewakeof job losses duringthe pandemic, an additional 3crore plus people turned to therural jobscheme.According to the data, a

record high of 7.54 crore ruralhouseholds worked under theMGNREGS during 2020-21 --37.59 per cent higher than 5.48crore in 2019-20. The previoushighof5.5crorewasrecordedin2010-11.Thenumbers for individuals

and households are likely to berevisedupwardoncethemuster

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

NREGSSEESRECORDNUMBERS

FY2019 FY2020 Increase-2020 -2021

Persondaysgenerated 265.35 cr 385.89 cr 45.43%

Averagedaysof 48.4 51.15 NA*employmentprovidedperhousehold

No.ofhouseholdswhich 40,60,463 68,58,454 68.91%completed100daysofemployment

Totalhouseholdsemployed 5.48cr 7.54cr 37.59%

Totalindividualsemployed 7.88cr 11.17cr 41.75%

Totalexpenditure 68,265.97cr 1,10,802.05cr 62.31%

Source:https:nrega.nic.in *NotApplicable

As pandemic sentmigrants home,11 cr turned torural job scheme

`5.00/EX-KOLKATA`6.00(`12 INNORTHEASTSTATES&ANDAMAN)WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DECISION

2021WEST BENGAL

PHASE-2 MARKED BYCLASHES, 80% VOTINGPAGE3

FULLCOVERAGE, VISITWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

ASADREHMANLUCKNOW,APRIL 1

TWO PERSONS have been de-tainedfortheirallegedroleintheMarch 19 incident at the Jhansirailway station, where fourChristianwomen,includingtwonuns, were verbally harassedandforcedoff a trainafterbeingfalsely accused of engaging inforcedreligiousconversion.Thetwoheldhavebeeniden-

tified as Anchal Arjariya andPurgeshAmariya.Arjariya'ssocial

mediaprofiledescribeshimasanoffice-bearer of VHP andHinduJagranManch, and amember oftheGauRakshaSamiti.Jhansi District Magistrate

AndraVamsisaidthatacasehasbeen lodged at the GRP policestation in Jhansi.“The twopersonswere held

underCrPCprovisionsforbreachof peace. The twopersonsweredetained based on video evi-dence against them in connec-tionwiththeMarch19incident,"said theDM.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Two held for role inforcing nuns off train

WORLD

BIDEN LETSH-1BVISABANSEXPIRE;INDIAN TECHIESTOBENEFIT

UNENVOYWARNSOF ‘IMMINENTBLOODBATH’ INMYANMARPAGE12

Kolkata

Page 2: 020421 KO 01R

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL2,2021

Covaxin trialsaccordingtodatapublishedbythecompany.“Now, theseparticipantswill

further be divided into twogroups,whereoneof thegroupswill receive the third boosterdose,” a source,who is aware ofthedevelopment, toldThe IndianExpress.The twogroupswill thenbe

studied to seehowmuch longerCovaxin’s protection lastswhengiven in a three-dose regimenspacedoutoversevenmonths,thesourcesaid. Italsowillhelpitun-derstandwhether the thirddosecouldhelpbuildstrongerMemoryTCellsinthebodyforabetterpro-tective response incaseof futureinfections,thesourcesaid.Themove to test a thirddose

wouldbebeneficial if the resultsshowthevaccine'sability topro-tectpeoplefromdevelopingmildto severe symptomsof Covid foryears. Thiswouldmakevaccina-tionagainstCovidmoreaffordableandlesscumbersomeinthelong-term,assomecompanieshaveal-readybegundiscussingthepossi-bility of people having to comebackforannualshotstomaintainimmunity.BharatBiotechplans to test a

dosing schedule similar to thoseused in several vaccinesgiven tochildren--theseconddosegivenamonth after the first and thethirddosearoundsixmonthsafterthesecond.“Inchildren,withvaccinesfor

diseaseslikeHepatitisB,yougivealonggap(aftertheseconddose)and then a booster so that youhavelong-termorlifetimeimmu-nity,”saidthesource.“Thisistoun-derstandwhetherathirddosecangivelong-termimmunityandalsowhether it canhaveaboosteref-fectonthememorycells,”sourcessaid.Vaccineexpertsfeelthedevel-

opmentisapositivemovetohelpunderstand how vaccinationsagainst Covid canbe improved.“Sinceantibodytitres(thelevelofantibodies)declineininfectioninsixmonths,itisworthseeingwhathappenswith vaccinations andwith boosting,” said DrGagandeep Kang, Professor,ChristianMedicalCollege-Vellore.“CompanieslikePfizerhaveal-

readybeentalkingaboutthepos-sibilityof anannualboostershot.WhileeveryonehasbeencaughtupwithaspectsliketheefficacyofCovid-19vaccines,themilliondol-larquestioniswhatisthedurationof protection,” saidMassachusetts-basedvaccineex-pertDrDavinderGill.According to Gill, Bharat

Biotechhasapotential reason tostudytheeffectofCovaxininthreedoses, considering that it hadtestedathree-dosescheduledur-ing its animal studies. “Could thebooster dose in question be in-formedbypre-clinicalstudies? Itcertainlycouldbe,”hesaid.During itsMarch23meeting,

theSECalso recommended thatBharatBiotech“unblind”partici-pantsover45years in itsphase3trialwhohad receivedaplaceboinsteadof Covaxin. It added thatthecompanyshould“offertoad-ministerthevaccinefreeofcostasandwhentheybecomeeligibleforthe vaccine in thenational pro-gram,”accordingtotheminutes.Thefreshclearanceforathird

dosehascomelessthanamonthafter theSEC recommended theremovalofthe“clinicaltrialmode”label attached to theemergencyauthorisationofCovaxin.Thishadfollowedthevaccinemaker’san-nouncement onMarch3, basedon interimdata from late-stageclinicaltrials,thatthevaccinehadanefficacyof80.6percent.As onThursday, around6.60

crore doses of Covid vaccines --Covaxin and Serum Institute ofIndia’sCovishield--hadbeenad-ministeredacrossIndia,ofwhich61.36 lakhwere of Covaxin, ac-cordingtothegovernment.

Job schemerolldataforthelastweekofMarch

getsupdated.Under theMGNREGS, every

rural household, whose adultmember volunteers to do un-skilledmanualwork,isentitledtogetat least100daysofwageem-ploymentinafinancialyear.Launched in200most back-

wardruraldistrictsofthecountryin2006-07, the schemewas ex-tended to anadditional 130dis-trictsduring2007-08, and to theentirecountry2008-09onward.In 2020-21, the number of

households that completed100-dayemploymentalsoreachedanall-timehighof68.58lakh,anin-crease of 68.91 per cent from40.60lakhin2019-20.Theaveragedaysof employ-

mentprovidedperhouseholdtoowent upmarginally from48.4days in 2019-20 to51.51days in2020-21.Inall,385.89crorepersondays

weregeneratedin2020-21,whichis 45.43 per cent higher than265.35crorein2019-20.In thepandemicyear, theex-

penditure on MGNREGS alsoreachedanewhigh. In2020-21,the total expenditure was Rs110,802.05crore--62.31percenthigherthanRs68,265.97crorein2019-20.Aspartoftheeconomicpack-

ageannouncedinresponsetotheCovid-19pandemic, thegovern-mentdeclaredadditionalfundingof Rs40,000 crore for theMGN-REGS, over and above the Rs61,500croreallocatedintheUnionBudget2020-21.

NIA searchesAnnapurna, Jangarla KoteswarRao,ManukondaSrinivasaRao,Rela Rajeswari and BoppudiAnjamma.This is the second major

case that theNIAhasregisteredagainst leading civil rightsactivists after the BhimaKoregaon-ElgarParishadcase.In the present case,

registered onMarch 7, the NIAsaid its FIRwasbasedona casefiled by Andhra Pradesh policelastyear following thearrestofjournalist PangiNaganna.According to the NIA, on

November 23 last year,personnel of theMunchingputpolice station inVisakhapatnam districtintercepted Pangi Nagannanear Basuput village while hewasonhismotorcycle.Asearchofhisbaggage ledtotheallegedrecovery of Maoist literature,press releases, medicines andwirebundles.“Upon examination, Pangi

Naganna revealed that he hasbeen working as a journalistandpassing informationaboutpolice movements to theMaoists. He has also beeninvolved in instigatingvillagersto stop combing operations,obstruct police from enteringvillages, revolt against policeparties and to hold ralliesagainst the government,” theNIAFIR stated.In Hyderabad, the NIA and

police teams searched thehouse of advocate RathunathVerose, vice-president of CivilLiberties Committee,Telangana. The residence ofDappu Ramesh, a formermemberof JanaNityaMandali,wasalso searched.Acivil rightsactivist,Verose

is known for taking up cases ofcustodialdeaths, rehabilitationof project oustees, andhelpingpeople file habeas corpuspetitions.Rightsactivists condemned

the searches, saying thegovernment was intimidatingvoices of dissent. G Laxman,president of the Civil LibertiesCommittee, said: “Thisindicates growing intolerance.Voices are being suppressedthroughintimidationandraids.Withoutanyproof orevidence,they are raiding and searchinghomes of activists. False casesunderUAPAarebeing filed.”InAndhraPradesh, searches

were conducted at the

premisesof VSKrishna, theAPand Telangana CoordinationCommitteememberofHumanRights Forum; ChilikaChandrasekhar, generalsecretary of Andhra PradeshCivil Liberties Committee;Varalakshmi of Virasam(ViplavaRachayitalaSangham)and Telugu RevolutionaryWriters Association (Kadapa);APCLC president C Babu(Rajahmundry), advocates KPadma and K Challam(Visakhapatnam); GPinakapani of RevolutionaryWritersAssociation (Kurnool);and, Somasekhar Sarma,president of RayalaseemaVidyavanthulaVedika.V S Krishna has been

fighting for therightsof tribals.His organisation has beenopposing mining in forestareas. “Someofficials searchedmy house and office and tookaway some material. This isnothing but intimidation andscare tactics to silence

dissentingvoices,”Krishnasaid.Pinakapani said cases were

beingfoistedonactivistssimplyfor voicing their opinion.“Merelyhavingsomeliteratureis enough to be labelled aMaoist sympathiser,”he said.

Gangster roleinmateandterrorsuspectTehseenAkhtar of IndiaMujahideen tosendthemessage.Themessagewas traced to

Tiharbyaprivatecyberagencyaf-terwhichtheDelhiPoliceSpecialCell, actingon information fromMumbaiPolice,seizedthephonefromwhichithadbeenallegedlysent.The central agency believes

thatthemessageclaimingrespon-sibilitywasmeanttomakethein-cident looklikethehandiworkofa terrorist organisation, sourcessaid.An investigatingofficer from

theNIA confirmed to The IndianExpress that theywill investigateThakur’s role but refused to di-

vulge further details. An officerfromtheDelhiSpecialCellrefusedtocommentontheissue.Sources in theMaharashtra

AntiTerrorismSquad,whichwasprobing the case before it wastakenoverbyNIA,confirmedthatthey had received informationabout Thakur's alleged involve-mentbutcouldnotpursueit fur-therasthecasechangedhands.Apart from the numerous

caseslodgedagainsthim,Thakurhas been convicted in the JJHospital shootout case of 1992whenhewaspartoftheDawoodIbrahimgang.Hewas shifted tothe hospital from FatehgarhCentral Jail inNovember2019af-terhecomplainedofhealthprob-lems. Last month, an FIR waslodgedagainsthiminVaranasiforallegedly threatening anothermanoverthephoneinconnectionwithacaseoffraud.The Telegrammessagewas

sentonFebruary28,threedaysaf-ter aScorpiovehiclewithgelatinstickswasfoundoutsidetheresi-

denceofAmbani.TheNIAhassaidthattheScorpiowasbeingdrivenbyWazewhilehisdriverwasdriv-inganothervehiclethattrailedtheSUV.Themessage, sent througha

channel on the Telegram app,claimedresponsibilityforparkingthe vehicle outside theAmbaniresidence.Itclaimedthatthiswas“only a trailer” and that “thebigpicture was yet to come”. Themessagestated that “thebrotherwho placed the SUV near theAmbani house has reached thesafe house” and included a de-mandformoney.Later in the day, another

Telegrammessage,againclaimingtobe fromJaish-Ul-Hind,deniedresponsibilityfortheincident.Basedon the cyber agency's

inputs,theDelhiPoliceSpecialCellseizedcellphonesfromTiharandquestionedterrorsuspectAkhtarinconnectionwith the firstmes-sage. Akhtar had earlier beennamedawantedaccused in the13/7 blasts that took place in

Mumbaiin2011.OnThursday,theNIAraideda

clubinMumbai'sGirgaononsus-picion that itsmanager suppliedSIMcardstocricketbookieNareshGaur.Gaurwasoneofthetwoar-restedinthemurderofMansukhHiran,whowasusingtheSUVbe-foreitwasfoundoutsideAmbani'sresidence.Gaur was arrested by the

Maharashtra ATS for allegedlyprocuringmultipleSIMcardsandhanding themover todismissedconstable Vinayak Shinde.AccordingtotheATS,Shindegavethe SIM cards toWaze and al-legedlyusedthemtogetintouchwithHiranbeforehewas founddeadonMarch5.Gaur and Shindewere later

handedovertoNIA.Late Thursday, theNIA also

questioned awomanknown toWazeinconnectionwiththecase.

Delhi warriorsget vaccinatedand showpeoplephotosof themgetting it tobuildconfidence,”hesays.Thesenodalofficersalsopro-

videtransporttovaccinationcen-tres for peoplewho can’t traveleasily.“We have our WhatsApp

groups, so if thereare4-5peoplewilling toget thevaccinebutarefindingitdifficulttogettothecen-tres, especially elderly people,block-level officers get them togather in oneplace and sendusthe address.Wehavebeenpro-videdwithtwovehiclesfromthedistrictofficeforthis,andaremak-ingarrangementsifanyadditionalvehiclesarerequiredatanytime,”says Sunil Kumar Bharadwaj, aschool vice-principal and also anodalofficerintheNarelasub-di-vision.

Nandigram boilsfight.Becauseitwasthe2007ag-itationagainst landacquisitioninNandigram that catapultedBanerjeetothecentrestageofpol-itics inWest Bengal, paving theway for theTMC’s victory in the2011Assemblypolls that ended34yearsofLeftFrontrule.On Thursday, sporadic inci-

dentswerereportedfrompartsofNandigramwhere long queueswere seen at polling booths.Among the incidents reportedwas one about a TMC agent al-legedlybeingforcedoutofBoothNo.7inBoyal.Banerjee showedup at 1.30

pm at BoyalMukto PrathamikVidyalayawheretheboothwaslo-cated.TargetingtheBJP, shetoldthe

press: “Theyhavebroughtgoonsfromoutside.Theyarespreadingterror…NotonlyBoyal,areaslikeGokulnagarandBalarampurhavewitnessedviolence.Democracyisthefestivalofthepeople.Myhum-ble regards to the ElectionCommission.But I request them:what you have done inNandigram and other areas inthesetwophases,pleasedonotdoit in theupcomingphasesof thepolls. I have seen (TN) Seshan Ihaveseen(SY)Quraishi,butIhaveneverseensuchabadelection.”“WewillwinNandigram.We

willget90percentof thevote.... Icannot revealwhat I said to theGovernor or the observer,” shesaid.“I do not blame the central

forces.... theyare followingdirec-tions of the Union HomeMinister…tohelptheBJPandout-siders. They cannot even speakBengali,”shesaid.She also targeted Prime

MinisterNarendraModi:“Whyishe coming and holding publicmeetingsduringpollday?Isitnota violationof theModel CodeofConduct?”.Whensheallegedrigging,BJP

supporters gathered andbeganraising slogans. Later, TMC sup-porters reached the spot andchanted anti-Suvendu slogans.The situationbecame tense andthe two sides nearly came toblows.Centralforcesreachedthespot

andtriedtocontrol thesituation.

EC observers and NagendraTripathi, IPS officer deputed tooversee the security situation inNandigram during the polls,showedupwithmorepolicemen.Tripathi spoke to the ChiefMinisterandthenapproachedthetwo groups, holding talkswitheach. Supportersof the twopar-tieslatermovedaway.“I spokewith the twogroups

andwasabletoconvincethemtomaintain peace. I have also as-suredtheChiefMinisterthatfreeand fair pollswill beheld in thisbooth,”TripathitoldthemediaasBanerjeewasescortedout.Governor Dhankhar, in a

Twitterpost,said:“Issuesflagged@MamataOfficial awhile agoonphonehavebeenimpartedtotheconcerned.Thereisfullassuranceof theconcernedtoadherencetoruleof law.Amconfident allwillact inrightspiritandearnestnesssothatdemocracyflourishes.”Meanwhile, the Election

Commissionissuedapressstate-ment Thursday evening, sayingvoting in polling station 7 ofNandigramwent smoothly. By4pm,almost74%of the registeredvotershadcasttheirvote,accord-ing to the poll panel. TheCommissionhadaskeditsgeneralobserverandpoliceobservertogototheBoyalschooloncereportsofdisturbanceemerged in theme-dia.Onthehandwrittencomplaint

submitted by Chief MinisterBanerjee to the state CEO, theCommissionaskedspecialpoliceobserverVivekDubeandspecialgeneral observer AjayNayak tosubmitareportby6pmFriday.

–(WITHENS,NEWDELHI)

NunsTheDMsaidthat“theDistrict

Administration andpolice tookstringentactionagainst those in-volved...(and)proceedingsagainstothers involved are in thepipeline”. JhansiGRPSHO, SunilKumarSingh, said the two“havebeenbroughtforquestioning”.Hesaid theywerenot travelling onthetrainwiththenunsbutplayedaroleintheincident.The incidentwasbrought to

light in a video that showed thewomen being questioned byABVPmenandRailway securitypersonnel,andaskedtogetoffthetrain.Following the video, Union

HomeMinister Amit Shah saidduringapoll rally inKerala, fromwhere thenunsare, that thecul-prits“willbebroughttojustice”.The incident also prompted

PinarayiVijayan,ChiefMinisterofKerala'sLeftgovernment,tosendalettertoShahdemandingactionagainst “all groupsand individu-alswhodisrupt and impair thefreedomofindividualrightsguar-anteedbytheConstitution”.Accordingtoofficials, thetwo

nunsandtwo19-year-oldpostu-lants -- those seekingadmissiontoareligiousorder--oftheSacredHearts Congregation of DelhiProvince had boarded theHaridwar-Puri Kalinga UtkalExpress inthenationalcapitalonMarch19butwere forced togetoffatJhansiat8pm.Congregationauthoritiessaid

the postulantswere returninghome toRourkela accompaniedby thenuns after finishing theircourseinDelhi.Oncetheiridenti-tieswereconfirmed,theywereal-lowedtoproceedthenextday.Railwayofficialssaidthenuns

were asked to get off the trainbased on a written complaintfromAjayShankarTewari,a resi-dentofJhansi,andanotherco-pas-senger.According to Tewari's com-

plaint,hewasnottravellinginthesame coach as thewomen butcameacrossthemwhile"passingby". It states that he called theRailwayhelplineandalertedlocal“Hindu neta”, Anchal Arjariya,whoinformedtheGRPandRPFinJhansi.Officialssaidthecomplainants

were“membersoftheABVPwhowere returning froma trainingcampinRishikeshtoJhansi”.

FROMPAGEONE

Overnight ‘oversight’: Govt rolls backdeep rate cut in small saving schemes

safeinvestmentavenuetorisk-averse investors.Accordingtothelatestdata

available for the financial year2017-18 with the NationalSavings Institute,WestBengalregistered the highest grosscollections of small savings ofRs89,991.74croreamongstallstates. ItwasfollowedbyUttarPradesh at Rs 69,660.70 croreand Maharashtra at Rs63,025.59crore.In terms of net collections,

Maharashtra had the highestmop up of small savings at Rs23,973.61 crore, followed byWest Bengal at Rs 20,807.92crore and Uttar Pradesh at Rs15,575.16crore, in2017-18.WestBengalhasbeencon-

sistently recording high grossand net collections for smallsavingsovertheyears.Thedataincludes collections of smallsavings in post offices aswellasbanks.Another state, Assam,

where polls are underway,recordedgrosscollectionsofRs

9,446.37 crore and net collec-tions of Rs 2,103.12 crore in2017-18.Whilestate-wisedatais available till 2017-18, thetrendofoverallcollectionsoverthe following years indicatesthat collection numbers inthese stateswould have risensharply.For the government too, it

is an easy source of money. In2020-21, the government ex-pectedtoraiseRs4.8lakhcrore

through small savings in theRevised Estimates, muchhigherthanRs2.4lakhcroreinthe Budget Estimate. In 2021-22, borrowings through smallsavingshavebeenpeggedatRs3.91 lakhcrore.“There is preference for

thesesavings instrumentsbe-cause they give relativelyhigher return compared tobanks and other instruments.Theyarealsoriskaverse, a rel-

atively higher proportion ofthose who don’t want to puttheir money in all mutualfundsetc.will invest in these,”Devendra Kumar Pant, ChiefEconomist, IndiaRatings,said.Smallsavingsarealsoakey

sourceoffinancingthegovern-mentdeficit,moresoafter theCovid-19 pandemic led to aballooningofthedeficit,neces-sitating higher borrowings.With states tapping less intosmall savings, the pressureweighsmoreontheCentre.“States are not using the

smallsavingsfundfordeficitfi-nancing. Earlier, statesused it,butnowonlyaboutfourstates/UTsuse it fordeficit financing.Restof it isgoingtotheCentralgovernment. Basically, therates are roughly 100 basispoints higher than the rate atwhich the government is ableto finance its deficit from themarket.So, it isputtingapres-sure on Central finances be-cause the interest has to bepaidout,”Pant said.

The revised rates were tocome into effect fromApril 1andremainvalid till June30.Sourcesinthefinancemin-

istrysaidthedecisiontoprunerates was taken after a dueprocess and detailed discus-sions involving top officialswithin the Budget Division ofthe Department of EconomicAffairs.“It'sbeenseeninternallyas

awrong decision. Apparently,the decision was finalised atthebureaucracylevelandthenescalated higher up for ap-proval,butthebureaucrats in-volveddidnotthinkof thepo-litical implications. Bymorning, itwasdecidedatthehighest level in the govern-ment that the decision needstobereversed,”theofficialsaid.Four states and one UnionTerritory are in the midst ofAssembly elections, and thetimingof theratecutwasseenascounterproductive.Aformerseniorbureaucrat

intheFinanceMinistrysaidtheprocessfollowsaFebruary2016order of the Budget divisionclearly explaining the quarterresetcycle,howthesearetobedeterminedbasedonyieldsongovernmentsecuritiesof com-parable maturity, and anyspread to be given over andabovetheserates.“Thiswelllaiddownprocess,whichwas put

inplace in2016afterextensiveconsultations over the years,leaves limited scope for any‘oversight’ to creep inwhile is-suingtheorder,”hesaid.The rates on small savings

schemeswere on hold for thepast threequarters since theirlast revision for theApril-Junequarter in2020.“The file onquarterly reset

of interest rates on small sav-ings moves from DeputyDirector to Director, Budget,then Joint Secretary orAdditional Secretary BudgetandDepartment of EconomicAffairsSecretary. Theratesarethus decided within theBudget division, usually withthe prior knowledge of theFinanceMinister,”aseniorgov-ernmentofficial said, explain-ing theprocess.While the decision to

change rates is usually takenwith the knowledge of theFinanceMinister, sources saidthistimethemessagefromtheFinance Minister’s Office tohold the decision on ratescould not be communicatedeffectively to theofficials.Sourceswithknowledgeof

the development said prior torate revision, the FinanceMinister’s Office had soughtmore data onwomendeposi-tors in the overall volume ofsaversunderallschemesanda

report on Sukanya SamridhiYojana. “The message fromFMO to hold the file pendingsuch data could not be perco-lated down properly and theOM(officememorandum)wasissued around 8 PM(Wednesday)intherushofthelastdayof thefiscalyear,”theysaid.AstheyieldsonCentralgov-

ernment borrowings are nownearly 100 basis points lowerthan the prevalent rates onsmall savings, theBudgetdivi-sion officials went ahead andaligned thesewith themarketrates in linewith the 2016 cir-cular on this subject. TheBudgetdivision’sactionisjusti-fiedsincelowerrateshelpscutborrowingcostgivensubstan-tial Central government bor-rowingthroughsmall savings.“Thesmall savings interest

ratesareperceivedtolimitthebanking sector’s ability tolowerdepositratesinresponseto themonetary policy of theReserve Bank of India. In thecontextofeasingthetransmis-sionof the lower interestratesin the economy, the govern-ment also has to take a com-prehensive view on the socialgoalsofcertainNationalSmallSavingsSchemes,”asperthefi-nanceministry statement onFebruary16,2016,whichover-hauledtheratesettingprocess.

Thereductioninsmallsav-ings rates,which isnowbeingrolledback,alsocameatatimewhen inflation has inched upin recentmonths. Latest retailinflation data showed theheadline number rising to athree-month high of 5.03 percent in February from a 16-month lowof 4.06 per cent inJanuary. This would havemeant that some of the smallsavingsproductsmaynotyieldmuch in terms of real interestrates, after adjusting for infla-tion.“Thereareamultitudeof is-

sueshere.Ononeside,wehavejob losses and reduction in in-comesduetoCovid-19andin-flation is slowly inching up;thenwhere do the savers, es-pecially senior citizens, go. Soultimatelypolicymakingistheartofmanagingtrade-offs,andthis realisation possibly led tosubsequent reversal,” anothergovernmentofficial said.“Asrealisationdawnedthat

thismovecouldhaveramifica-tions,FinanceMinistryofficerswere alerted early morningthat it shouldbewidely circu-lated that the government isnot cutting the rates,” he said.None of the officials that TheIndian Express spokewith forthis report wanted to benamed,giventhesensitivityofthesubject.

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Nandigrambattle,electoralbonds,Covid-19 ‘frombadtoworse’?NEWEPISODEEVERYDAY

Thesignificanceof theNandigramseat intheWestBengalpolls, SupremeCourt’sdecisiononelectoralbonds,andtheCentre’s latestadvisoryonCovid-19.

DOWNLOADAPP

PADMAJAVENUGOPAL: KARUNAKARAN’SDAUGHTER TRIESHER LUCKAGAINIfcattlerodescooterstofacilitatethefodderscaminBihar,claimsthattwo-wheelersandanoil tankerwere

usedtotransporttonnesofapplesfromHimachalPradeshChiefMinisterVirbhadraSingh’sorchardscould

giveafreshtwisttotheallegedbriberyscandalsurroundinghistenureasaUnionminister.

VIDEOOF THEDAY ENTERTAINMENT

HPPAVILION13REVIEW

Pavilion13represents

significantvalueforthe

price (Rs71,999)

WEB

EXCLUSIVE

SCANTHISQRCODETODOWNLOADTHEAPP

YUVARATHNAAMOVIEREVIEW

PuneethRajkumar

deliversawatchable

starvehicle

■VISUAL STORIES

■ DAILY BRIEFING

■ PODCASTS

■ CUSTOMIZABLENEWS EXPERIENCE

IndianExpress★★★★★■4.6

GROSS(inRscr)

2017-18 2016-17

WestBengal 89,991.74 71,669.96

UttarPradesh 69,660.70 57,333.59

Maharashtra 63,025.59 49,762.59

Gujarat 48,645.28 42,233.29

Contributionoftop10states 4,29,858.27 3,54,256.7

Total 5,96,402.30* 5,00,446.94**

*includesdata from16banks **includesdata from10banks

Source:National Savings Institute

GROSSCOLLECTIONSOFPOSTOFFICES, BANKS

West Bengal would have been hit most

Kolkata

Page 3: 020421 KO 01R

DEBTS RECOVERY TRIBUNAL, SILIGURI 2nd Floor, PCM Tower,2nd Mile, Sevoke Road, Siliguri-734001

Case No: RC/11/2019 arising out of TOA/642/2017 (OA NO 77/2017)IN THE MATTER OF

Punjab National Bank V/s - M/s Om Garments & Ors.SALE NOTICE

The under mentioned property will be sold by on line e-auction through webportal https://drt.auctiontiger.net “AS IT IS WHERE IT IS” basis for recoveryof Certificate amount in case number mentioned hereinabove.Description of the property:"All that piece and parcel measuring 6.00 decimal being plot No. L.R. 2242,R.S. 266, in Khatian No. L.R. 2543, R.S. No. 44, J.L. No. 152, Mouza Barua,PO &PS Raiganj, Dist: Uttar Dinajpur including two storied building thereonby depositing Title Deed No. 07437 for the year 2010 between Sh. NarayanDas, Sh Santanu Das and Shimul Das all are sons of Late Anil Das aspurchasers and Sh. Vairab Chandra Das, S/O Late Gopal Chandra Das asvendor therein recorded in Book No. 1 Vol 20 pages 5316 to 5332 for theyears 2010 at the office DSR Uttar Dinajpur."Date and time of e-auction: 12th day of May, 2021 at 15:00 hours (3:00PM) up to 16:00 hours (4 P.M.) with auto time extension of 5 (five) minutes,till sale is conducted.Reserve Price: The reserve price of the Property is fixed at Rs.36,00,000/-(Rupees Thirty Six Lakhs) only.Earnest Money Deposit (EMD): EMD is fixed at Rs 3,60,000/- (RupeesThree Lakhs Sixty Thousand) only. The intending purchasers are requiredto pay Earnest Money Deposit in form of Demand Draft/RTGS/ NEFT/FundTransfer to credit of Punjab National Bank No-Lien Office Account No.0937003171160, IFSC Code: PUNB0093700. on or before 10" May, 2021by 4:00 P. M.Bid Increment: Incremental bid value is fixed at Rs. 50,000/- (Rupees FiftyThousand only) or in multiple thereof for both the properties.Registration and submission of bid: The participants/intending purchasersare necessarily required to submit duly signed and filled Up Annexure I & IIof the sale proclamation to the Recovery Officer-I in the office of DebtsRecovery Tribunal, Siliguri, 2nd floor, PCM Tower, 2nd Mile, Sevoke Road,Siliguri- 734001 on on or before 10th May 2021 before 16:30 hours (4:30PM) along with supporting documents and proof of EMD for registrationbecause only registered participants/intending, purchaser can log inand participate in the E-auction. However, bidders are also allowed tosubmit duly signed and filled up bid form and declaration in PDF Formatalong with proof of EMD to the Recovery Officer to his official e-mail [email protected] within the above mentioned date and time. No bidwill be accepted after the said date and time. The user ID and pass word willbe directly sent to Registered participants/Intending purchaser with furtherdirections, if any, for login and participating in the auction on their E-mail IDby the E-Auction service provider company.The other details and terms and conditions of the sale are available on theproclamation of sale that has been uploaded on https://drt.auctiontiger.netweb site.Intending purchasers may contact Rodan Sasanker, Senior Manager,Punjab National Bank, Raiganj Branch, Email id: [email protected] Mob:No. 7602110605.

Sd/- (A.K.MANDAL)RECOVERY OFFICER

Hari Holdings Private LimitedRegd. Off: 18 Netaji Subhas Road,

Kolkata-700001, West Bengal

Ph. No.: 7428391289;

Email: [email protected]

CIN No: U67120WB1971PTC028146

Before the Hon’ble Regional Director,Eastern Region,

Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Kolkata

In the matter of the CompaniesAct, 2013,Section 13(4) and

Rule 30(5) (a) of the Companies(Incorporation) Rules, 2014

And in the matter of

Hari Holdings Private Limited

having Registered office at 18 NetajiSubhas Road, Kolkata-700001, WestBengal

Applicant Company

NOTICE

Notice is hereby given to the General Publicthat Hari Holdings Private Limited (theCompany) proposes to make an Applicationto the Hon’ble Regional Director, EasternRegion, Ministry of Corporate Affairs,Kolkata under section 13 of the CompaniesAct, 2013 read with Rule 30 of theCompanies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014,and other applicable provisions, if any,seeking confirmation/approval for alterationof Clause II of the Memorandum ofAssociation of Hari Holdings PrivateLimited for shifting of its Registered Officefrom the State of West Bengal to the NCT ofDelhi as approved by the Members by aSpecial Resolution passed in the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Companyheld on Monday, 22nd March, 2021.

Any person whose interest is likely to beaffected by the proposed change ofregistered office of the Company may delivereither on the MCA-21 portal(www.mca.gov.in) by filing investor complaintform or cause to be delivered or send byregistered post of his/her objectionssupported by an affidavit, stating the natureof his/her interest and grounds of oppositionto the Hon’ble Regional Director, EasternRegion , Ministry of Corporate affairs,Nizam Palace, II MSO Building, 3rd floor,234/4, A.J.C Bose Road, Kolkata – 700020,WestBengalandserveacopyof theobjectionto the Applicant Company at its RegisteredOffice address mentioned above.

For Hari Holdings Private Limited

Sd/-

Ashish Jalan

Date: 31st March, 2021 Director

Place: Kolkata DIN: 00897700

TMCWORKERKILLEDPartyblamesBJP

BJPWORKERFOUNDDEADFamilyblamesthreatsbyTMC

LEADERSTARGETEDAt least4BJP,TMC leadersattacked

Round2marked by clashes, 80%voting

AtapollingboothinNandigram,Thursday.TheAssemblyseat,whereMamataBanerjeeispittedagainstSuvenduAdhikari,registeredover an80%turnout.ParthaPaul

ECreceives1,605complaints;28peoplearrested,severaldetained;PurbaMedinipurrecordshighest turnoutat81.23%

SWEETYKUMARIKOLKATA,APRIL 1

WITH30Assembly constituen-ciesinfourdistrictsrecordingan80.43 per cent voter turnout till5 pm on Thursday, the secondphase of pollingwasmarred byincidentsofviolenceandclashes,leading to the death of a TMCworker and injuries to severalothers, mostly in Purba andPaschim Medinipur. A BJPworkerwasfoundhangingathishome in Nandigram. The TMCandBJPblamedeachotherforvi-olencewhile theCPI(M)allegedthat its supporters were re-strainedfromcastingtheirvote.The Election Commission

(EC) received 1,605 complaints.Atleast28peoplewerearrestedandseveralothersdetainedasapreventivemeasure.Hours before the voting be-

gan, a 37-year-old TMCworker,Uttam Dolui, was stabbed todeath in Keshpur in PaschimMedinipur. He was attackedwith sharp weapons by somemiscreants near a club atHariharpur, police said. Doluidiedonhisway tohospital, saidsources.The TMC accused the BJP of

killing Dolui “to create fearamong voters” — a charge de-nied by the opposition party.Eightpeoplehavebeenarrested.TheECsaidthatareporthad

been sought from district au-thorities over the incident.Forceshadbeendeployedinthe

locality to check any furtherflare-up,police said."In some of themajor inci-

dents that took place today, 37-year-oldUttamDaloiinKeshpurreceived sharp injuries. Hewasbeing taken to MedinipurMedical College via Keshpurwhere he succumbed to his in-juries.Acasehasbeenregisteredin Keshpur police station underIPC sections 302 (murder) , 143(unlawful assembly), 149 (un-lawful assembly) and 120B(criminalconspiracy).Eightpeo-ple have been arrested in thecase,"saidChiefElectoralOfficerAariz Aftab, adding that “pollswereconductedpeacefully".In another incident, BJP

worker Uday Shankar Dubey(52) was found hanging at hishome by his wife, Sabita, atNandigram's Bhekutia area inPurba Medinipur at 4 pm.“Primafacie, itseemstobeasui-cidecase.Butmoreinvestigationisbeingdonetoascertaintheex-act cause of the death,” saidAftab. AsperDubey's family,hehaddinneronWednesdaynight.Dubey's daughter SumitaPradhan alleged that her father,a polling agent of Khodambari,was being threatened by TMC-backedmiscreants for the lastfewdaysandaskedhimtosteerclearofpolitics.LocalTMClead-ers claimed that Dubey hadcommitted suicide because ofdepression.Police said a case of unnatu-

raldeathhadbeen lodged.BJP's Keshpur candidate

Pritish Ranjan Konar and fiveotherswereinjuredintheattackaroundnoon.Fourvehicleswerevandalised. According to a sen-iorpoliceofficial,sixmenand14womenwerearrested.An unidentified group of

peopleattackedGhosh'svehiclewith bricks and bamboo sticks,and also vandalised cars ofme-dia personnel, a police officersaid.AnotherBJPleaderTanmayGhosh's car was vandalised bysomemiscreants.AlocalBJPleaderfromDebra

wasdetainedforallegedlycom-ing within 100 metres of apollingbooth, saidpoliceMohan Singh, Dakshin

Mandal Sabhapati of the BJP,

however, claimed that he wascalledtherebysaffronpartycan-didateBharatiGhosh.Ghosh, a former IPS officer,

alleged that TMCworkers beatupSinghandchasedhimaway.TMC candidate and actor

Soham Chakraborty was at-tackedandhis carvandalisedatChandipur inPurbaMedinipur.Amanwas detained for try-

ingtocastvotewitha fakevoterIDcardandallegeldytryingtoin-fluence voters at RajaramchakHighSchool inNandigram.Senior CPI(M) leader Rabin

DebmetCEOAftabandaccusedthe TMC and BJP of creatingruckus."We saw the kind of gather-

ingthathappenedinNandigramandKeshpurwhereSection144was imposed. Voters were un-able tovote inNandigram.Theyare still being stopped by theTMCandBJP.Theyhavesuccess-fullyconductedpolls in thewaythey had planned. Our peoplewere attracked inChandrakonaandDebra.Wehave demandedEC'sintervention.Actionmustbetaken against those who havefailed to conduct free and fairpolls and thosewho didn't playtheir role properly. As far as re-pollingisconsidered,wewouldlikethecommissiontoconsiderourcomplaint," saidDeb.Meanwhile, thehigh-profile

Nandigram Assembly seat,

where Chief Minister MamataBanerjee is fighting against herformer protege and BJP leaderSuvendu Adhikari, recorded an80.79 per cent voter turnout.District-wise, Bankura's votingpercentage stood at 82.92,PaschimMedinipur's at 78.02,PurbaMedinipur's at 81.23 andSouth24Paraganas's at79.65.Nearly 800 companies of

central forces were deployed,and total 10,620 booths set up.Twenty-threegeneralobservers,nineexpenditureobserversandsixpoliceobserversweremoni-toring the 30 constituencies.Total 171 candidates, including19women,are in the fray.

WITH PTI INPUTS

ATRIMITRANANDIGRAM,APRIL 1

UNLIKE HER two main con-tenders–ChiefMinisterMamataBanerjee and BJP's SuvenduAdhikari —whomove in a con-voy of at least 50 cars, CPI(M)candidateMinakshiMukherjeehopped fromone polling boothto another on Thursday in asmall car accompanied by justtwopartyworkers.Mukherjee (37), who is the

joint candidate of the Left Front,CongressandISF,kepta lowpro-fileasshesteppedoutofherresi-denceearlyinthemorningtoen-surethateveryonecasttheirvotes.

Atmany places, shemet thevoters on their way to boothsand asked themwhether theyexercised their franchise or not,andwhether they were underany threat.

“Weweresuccessfulinmak-ing more people came out oftheir homes without fear andcast their vote – somethingwhichNandigramhadnot seeninmany years. This is our win.But, we cannot say that pollingwas fully free and peaceful.Peoplebackedourdemandsandwe will continue our fight,”Mukherjee told The IndianExpress after the pollingwrappedup inNandigram.According to a local CPM

leader, Mukherjee was able tovisit almost all booths ofNandigram-I block and morethan half of the booths inNandigram-IIblock.However, sources in the

partysaidlackofpartyorganisa-tion in Nandigramwas amajorhurdle in providing adequatesupportandmanpowertoacan-didatelikeMukherjee.“Wewerenotabletorecoverourorganisa-tional strength. We assumedthat the Indian Secular Front(ISF)wouldgiveushugesupportbutonthepolldaytheywerenotable to provide us the kind ofsupportthattheydidduringthecampaign,”alocalCPI(M)leadersaid. “We are expecting moreminorityvotesinourfavourthistime,” the leaderadded.AMastersinPoliticalScience,

Mukherjee was a member ofCPM’s student wing SFI in heruniversitydays.

Kolkata:Visva-BharatiUniversityVice-Chancellor BidyutChakrabortyhaswrittentoPrimeMinisterNarendraModi, urginghimtotakestepsforensuringhissafety, alleging that TrinamoolCongress leader AnubrataMondalhasthreatenedhim.Attaching clippings of local

newspapers,ChakrabortyallegedthatMondal threatenedtoteachhima lesson that he shall neverforget inlife."This is to bring to your kind

notice that the TMC districtPresident Anubrata Mondalthreatenedmewith dire conse-quences after the poll,"Chakraborty said in the letterdatedMarch24."Under these circumstances,

this is an earnest request to youtoadoptstepstoavoiduntowardincidents in the campus and toensuremy physical well-beingalongwith familymembers,"headded. The PMis the chancellorof thevarsity.

Mondal, the TMC's Birbhumstrongman,saidatapublicmeet-ingonMarch23that"amadper-son"hadoccupiedthechairoftheV-CofVisva-Bhartiwhokeepsallthegatesof thevarsity shutdur-ingthedaytime,despiteanorderof theCalcuttaHighCourt."Wewillteachyoualessonaf-

ter the elections by democraticmeans, a lessonyouwill not for-get,"Mondal had said, in an ap-parentreferencetoChakraborty.

PTI

PMNarendraModiataBJPrally in Joynagar,Thursday.PTI

SANTANUCHOWDHURYKOLKATA,APRIL 1

While pollingwas underway inNandigram,whereChiefMinisterMamataBanerjeeispittedagainsther aide-turned-rival SuvenduAdhikarioftheBJP,PrimeMinisterNarendra Modi on ThursdaymockedtheTMCchief, sayinghehas heard “rumours of her con-testingfromanotherseat”.He also said that Banerjee's

letterto14OppositionleadersonforminganalternativetotheBJPjust a day ahead of the secondphaseof voting“stemmedfromheranxietyover impendingde-feat in theAssemblyelections”.“Didi (Mamata), is there any

truth in the rumour Iheard thatyouaregoingtofilenominationfrom another constituency?First, you went there(Nandigram) and people gaveyou an answer. They have de-cided that youmust go. Now, ifyou go somewhere else, peopleof Bengal are ready," saidModi.“Didiisfeelingthatshemade

a mistake by contesting fromNandigram.Themoodofpollingsays Nandigram is doing whatthewholestatewantstodo.Herfrustration has increased afterthe first phase of voting.Yesterday,Didisoughthelpfrommany Opposition leaders whoshenevergave timeormet. Sheisaskingfor theirsupportnow,"Modi said at a BJP rally inHowrah'sUluberia.Responding to PM Modi's

comments, sources in the TMCsaid, “The question of MamataBanerjeefightingfromanyotherseat does not arise. She is win-ningNandigramcomfortably."Earlier in thedayat a rally in

Joynagar in South 24 Parganasdistrict,Modi attacked the TMCover'chotiwala'remarkmadebysome party leaders, claimingthatBanerjee“hasissueswithJaiShriRamchantsandimmersionofDurga idols”.“Didinowhasproblemswith

peoplewearing saffron clothesand sporting a tilak. Didi'smennow call chotiwalas rakshasas

(demons). Didi, if you want toabuseme thendo it. But Iwon'tlet you abuse the faith of WestBengal,”thePMsaid,referringtoTMCMPMahuaMoitra's com-ment over BJP leader GirirajSingh's remarks.After Banerjee spoke of her

"Shandilya gotra" at a rally inNandigram, Union MinisterGirirajSingh,whosportsachoti,commented, “Do you considerRohingyas and other infiltratorsas'Shandilya'andofferthemtheredcarpet?"Singh's comment invited a

sharp retort from TMC MPMohuaMoitra, who tweeted:"Giriraj says Mamata's fromRohingya clan. Proud of it. Farbetterthanbeingfromthechoti-wala rakshasaclan."Singhoftenidentifieshimself

as "Shandilya"onsocialmedia.Modi also defended his visit

totemplesinBangladeshduringhisrecenttriptotheneighbour-ing country. The TMChadwrit-ten to the Election Commissionalleging thatModi's recent visitto Bangladesh violated themodel codeof conduct as someof his programmes there were"intended to influence the vot-ing pattern" in certain con-stituencies, referring toModi'smeetingwithagroupofMatuaslivinginBangladeshandprayerstoMatuasectfounderHarichandThakurat theOrakandi temple.Modi tried to counter the

TMC'schargesaying:"IsitwrongtotaketheblessingofMaaKaliorof Harichand Thakur?Didi doesnot knowme.We are not sea-sonal devotees.We are proudofourfaithandtradition,"hesaid.ModialsohitoutatBanerjee

for callinghimanoutsider.“Sometimes Didi calls me a

tourist, sometimes an outsider.Didi, youconsider infiltratorsasyourownbutcall sonsofBharatMataoutsiders.Didi,stopdistin-guishing people and insultingthe Constitution by labellingpeople as outsiders. You havetaken oath of the Constitutionwhich does not allow you tospeak against other states orpeopleof other states,"hesaid.

Modi mocks Mamataover Nandigram,says TMC has nowissue with chotiwalas

MAMATAvsSUVENDU

Nandigram:80.79%(PurbaMedinipur)

Phase I (March27):30seats,84.13%polling

Nextphase:April6(31seats)

(Electionsarebeingheld in8phasesinWestBengal)

TURNOUT

80.43%(till5pm)

Bankura:

82.92%

PaschimMedinipur:

78.02%

PurbaMedinipur:

81.23%

South24Paraganas:

79.65%

WESTBENGALPHASE-II

TotalSeats:

30Counting: MAY2

VBU V-C writes to PM against TMC leader

NANDIGRAM’SCPI(M)CANDIDATE

‘More people came out to vote without fear...not seen here in many years. This is our win’

MinakshiMukherjee inNandigramonThursday.

PeoplequeueupoutsideapollingstationinBankura.PTI

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL2,2021

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM/ELECTIONS

3 DECISION2021WESTBENGAL

Kolkata: Alleging that afew Central ReservePolice Force (CRPF) per-sonnelonThursday"mis-behaved" with womenvoters at a polling boothin Nandigram, the TMCurged the ElectionCommission to take im-mediate action againstthe offenders. In a letterto the EC, the partyclaimed that CRPF per-sonnel, posted at boothnumber 197 inNandigram, were seenexhibiting improper be-haviour, with some evenintimidatingwomen.TheTMC alleged that CRPF’sconductwas“partisan”.

PTI

CRPFMISBEHAVEDWITHWOMEN: TMC

Kolkata

Page 4: 020421 KO 01R

E-Notice inviting Tender No. CPC-27/2020-21

Bids invited for Design, Manufacture, Supply, Erection & Retrofitting (Including Civil

Work, fabrication, filtration of the drained oil etc.), Testing and Commissioning of

nitrogen injection type fire prevention & extinguishing system (NIFPES) in 10 nos.

315 MVA, 400/220 kV ICT & 43 nos. 160MVA, 220/132 kV Auto Transformers.

For more details please visit: www.tenderwizard.com/OPTCL & www.optcl.co.in.

ODISHA POWER TRANSMISSIONCORPORATION LIMITED

(A Government of Odisha Undertaking)

Regd. Office: Janpath, Bhubaneswar-751022

CIN: U40102OR2004SGC007553CAD-1698

Sd/- CGM (CPC)

HIPR-44/2020-21 OIPR-04011/11/0128/2021

e-TENDER NOTICE FOR THE SUPPLY OF STORES No-E-21/2021.Firms are requested to Login to https://www.ireps.gov.in-login>E.Tendergoods & services (new) and quote against these tenders.Manual quotations will not be entertained for these tenders. Closing timefor all tender 14:30hours.

SOUTHERN RAILWAY

1 21210214 HOLDINGMAGNETVALVE (MODIFIED). 06-APR-2021

2 04210660A BRACKETCOMPLETEFOR 08-APR-2021

EQUALISINGSTAY

3 11210376 4 ‘V’DEEP-GROOVEDPULLEY 08-APR-2021

4 04210969 SECONDARYVERTICALDAMPER 09-APR-2021

5 21210852 HOSECONNECTION 12-APR-2021

6 04210616 AUXILIARYRESERVOIR200 LITRES 12-APR-2021

CAPACITY

7 26205021A MAINCOMPRESSOR1750/1745 LPM 13-APR-2021

WITHMOTOR

8 04210101 UPPERRUBBERWASHERFORBOGIE 15-APR-2021

BOLSTER

9 06215004 NEURONAVIGATIONSYSTEM 15-APR-2021

10 11210598 FLEXIBLEPOLYMIDECONDUIT 15-APR-2021

11 04210920 COVERCOMPLETEFORSIDEBEARER 16-APR-2021

12 04210017 COMPENSATINGRINGFORAXLE 19-APR-2021

BOXGUIDE

13 44210545 FLAPDOORARRANGEMENT 19-APR-2021

14 26212059 ABUTMENTPIECETOHITACHIDRG. 20-APR-2021

NO. 10Q

15 44210241A COUPLERBODYWITHSHANKWEAR 21-APR-2021

PLATE

16 06204249B LPSHEETNONAC 22-APR-2021

17 04210191 ENHANCEDSCREWCOUPLING 23-APR-2021

ASSEMBLY

18 04210119 DOUBLEACTINGHYDRAULICSHOCK 23-APR-2021

ABSORBER

19 78215163 SUPPLYOFCOMPLETESEAT 12-APR-2021

ASSEMBLYFORLHB ACDOUBLE

DECKERCOACHESASPERMTDS-219

20 82205801A MAINLEDSIGNALYELLOWASPECT 15-APR-2021

21 82205807B MAINLEDSIGNALGREENASPECT 16-APR-2021

22 82205770 SMPSBASED IPS6LINES 28-APR-2021

23 78215236 CENTREPIVOTTOPFORBLCWAGON 28-APR-2021The following e-bid has been published in GeMwebsite. Firms are requested tologin to www.gem.gov.in and quoted against the following e-bid. Manualquotationswill not be entertained.

24 GEM/2021/ FIREFIGHTINGSERVICES INTHE

B/11467 PREMISESOFBOTHCARRIAGE& 16-APR-2021

WAGONWORKSANDLOCOWORKS,

PERAMBUR 11.00HRS

25 Bid no. REPAIR,MAINTENANCEANDWATER 09-APR-2021GEM/2021/ SUPPLYDISTRIBUTIONSYSTEM INB/1140018 RAILWAYHOSPITAL,NEWRAILWAY

HOSPITAL ANDNEWJOINTOFFICE -1YEAR.

DescriptionSl.No. Tender No. Due Date

Principal Chief Materials Manager Raj. Samwad/C/137/2021-22

DELHI JAL BOARD: GOVT. OF N.C.T. OF DELHIOFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (CENTRAL)-I

NEAR UGR & BPS RAMLILA GROUND

JLN MARG, NEW DELHI-110002

“STOP CORONA; Wear Mask, Follow Physical Distancing, Maintain Hand Hygiene”

SHORT PRESS NIT NO. 57 (2020-21)

Further detail in this regard can be seen at https:/govtprocurement.delhi.govt.in.

S.

No

Name of work Estimated Cost in

Rs.

Date of release of tender on

e-procurement solution

Last Date/Time for receipt of

tender through

e-procurement solution

01 Repair and maintenance of Pahari

Dheeraj UGR, Pumping station and

Administration Block under EE under

EE (Central)-I.

R 40,55,759.0030.03.2021 05.00 PM

onwards

Tender ID :

2021_DJB_202498_1

15.04.2021

upto 03:00 PM

Sd/- (Satya Veer Singh)

EE (Central)-IISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER)

Advt. No. J.S.V. 05 (2021-22)

Delhi Jal Board: Govt. of NCT of DelhiOffice of the Executive Engineer (Civil)-SDW-NW

Opp RBI colony Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi- 110088

Ph. No. 011-27491437, e-mail: [email protected]

“STOP CORONA: Wear Mask, Follow Physical Distancing and Maintain Hand Hygiene”PRESS NIT NO. 25(20-21)

EE(C)SDW-NW

Further details in this regard can be seen at https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in

Item

No.

Name of work Amount put to

Tender (in Rs.)

Date of release of tender

in e-procurement

solution

Last date/time of receipt of

tender through e-procurement

solution

1 Construction of boundary wall along Jahangir Puri drain from

filling point upto main gate of plant towards drain side at NSTP

Coronation Pillar.

Tender ID: 2021_DJB_202462

46,27,992/- 31-03-2021 24-04-2021 up to 01.00 PM

ISSUED BY P.R.O (WATER)

Advt. No. J.S.V 13 (2021-22)

Sd/-

(Anil Kumar Sharma)

Executive Engineer (Civil) SDW-NW

DELHI JAL BOARD : GOVT. OF N.C.T. OF DELHI

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (NW) IIH-BLOCK: SECTOR 15: ROHINI: DELHI-110089 PH: 27851040 (E-MAIL [email protected])

“STOP CORONA; Wear Mask, Follow Physical Distancing, Maintain Hand Hygiene”

PRESS NIT No. 64 (2020-21)

Press Notice Tender

S.

No.

Name of Work Amount put to

Tender

Tender

Fee

Date of release

of tender

procurement

solution/I.D. No.

Last date/ time

of receipt of

bid through e-

procurement

solution

1. Removing deficiency of peripheral water supply

systme by replacement of encroached water lines in

G-block sector-16 Rohini in AC-06 under EE(NW)-II

Rs. 44,05,980/- Rs.

500/-

31.03.2021

2021_DJB_202485_1

12.04.2021

Upto 3.00 PM

Further details in this regard can be seen at https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in.

ISSUED BY PRO (WATER) Sd/-(SUDHIR KUMAR)

Advt. No. J.S.V. 07(2021-22) Executive Engineer (NW) II

MARTYR OF CISF ON 02ND APRIL

CISF proudly remembers the supreme sacrifice of these brave-hearts.On this day, they laid down their lives at the altar ofduty while fighting with militants. Their courage and braverywould remain an abiding source of inspiration for the force.The force will remain eternally indebted to them for theirnoblest deeds.

SALUTE THE SOLDIER

CT/GD

B. C. BARUAHA

OIL DULIAJAN

02-04-1994

CT/GD

KULWANT RAJ

OIL DULIAJAN

02-04-1994

CT/GD

M.ROKEN SINGH

OIL DULIAJAN

02-04-1994

''IMPORTANT''

Whilst care is taken prior to

acceptance of advertising

copy, it isnotpossible toverify

its contents. The Indian

Express (P) Limited cannot be

held responsible for such

contents, nor for any loss or

damage incurredasaresultof

transactions with companies,

associations or individuals

advertising in its newspapers

or Publications. We therefore

recommend that readers

make necessary inquiries

before sending any monies or

entering into any agreements

with advertisers or otherwise

acting on an advertisement in

any manner whatsoever.

SHYAMLALYADAVNEWDELHI, APRIL 1

THENATIONALCommission forBackward Classes (NCBC) hasurged the Ministry of SocialJustice and Empowerment tocollectdataonthepopulationofOther Backward Classes (OBCs)inthecountry“aspartofCensusof India 2021 exercise”, it islearnt.NCBC secretary Anand

KumaronThursdaysenttherec-ommendation to the SocialJusticeMinistrySecretary.Kumar did not respond to

questions sent by The IndianExpress. Sources in the NCBCconfirmed that the commu-

niquéwassent to theministry.While apetition filedbyone

Mallesh Yadav in thematter ispending before the SupremeCourt, the NCBC wrote that it“desired that the Ministry ofSocial Justice andEmpowermentmaydefend thewritpetition” in theapexcourt.The NCBC had considered

thematter in fullmeetingof theCommission recently and,sources said, the decision wastakenunanimously.The NCBCwas granted con-

stitutional status by the lastNarendraModi-ledregime,andthegovernmenthasconstituteda commissionunder chairman-ship of former Chief Justice ofDelhiHighCourtJusticeGRohini

to sub-categorise OBCs to givebenefitsofreservationtoweakersections among them. TheRohini Commission, too, is fac-ing difficulties due to unavail-ability of data on various com-munities classifiedunderOBCs.The Rohini Commission got

afreshtermonJanuary22,2020– it was tasked with studying“various entries in the CentralList of OBCs and recommendcorrection of any repetitions,ambiguities, inconsistenciesanderrors of spelling or transcrip-tion”.The panel had written to

Social Justice andEmpowermentMinisterThawarChandGehlot on December 12,2018,requestingforappropriate

Budgetprovisionforaproposedall-India survey for an estimateof caste-wise population ofOBCs.Subsequently,onMarch7,2019, Justice Rohini wrote toGehlot, “We have now decidednot toundertake such survey atthis stage.”Onthepoliticallydelicate is-

sue, theOdisha government re-cently decided to begin its firststatesurveyof thesocialanded-ucational conditions of peoplefrom backward classes. A pro-posal by the Odisha StateCommission for BackwardClasses toundertake the surveywas approved on February 26this year. It is scheduled to beconducted betweenMay 1 andMay20.

Backward classes panel asksgovt to carry out OBC census

FarmersprotestingagainstHaryanaDeputyChiefMinisterDushyantChautala’svisit toHisar,Thursday.Express

SUKHBIRSIWACHCHANDIGARH,APRIL 1

AGROUP of protesting farmerson Thursday forced HaryanaDeputyChiefMinisterDushyantChautala to take a helicopterfromHisarairporttoChaudharyCharan Singh HaryanaAgricultural University— a dis-tanceof justover8kilometres—in the town from where hemovedaheadvia road toattendanofficial function.Theprotest-ers, includinga largenumberofwomen, also kept followingChautala for several hours inHisar and left the town only af-ter he flew to the next destina-tion fromthere.Chautala was scheduled to

participate in various events inHisar.Thefarmers,whohavean-nounced a social boycott of theleadersfromBJP-JJPalliancelead-erstoexpressresentmentagainstthethreecentralagrilaws,beganmoving to Hisar early in themorning.Heavysecuritywasde-ployed outside theHisar airportand other places where theChautalawasscheduledtomovein the town. Sources said thatChautala, who landed at 12.40pm, remained inside the airportfor at least two hours even asprotestingfarmerskeptannounc-ing that theywon’t allowhimtoattendthefunctionsinthetown.As farmers refused to relent,

Chautala, at 3pm, boardedheli-copter for the local ChaudharyCharan Singh HaryanaAgriculturalUniversity.Fromtheuniversity,Chautala,

viaroad,movedtolocalminisec-

retariatwhereheparticipated inanofficialfunction.Fromthere,hewenttoattendthemarriagefunc-tionofboxerPinki JangraatAzadNagar. Then, hemoved to a rela-tiveinSector-13ofthetownwithprotestingfarmersshowingblackflagstohiscavalcadeonway.Alargenumberoffarmersalso

rushedtogheraoChautala's resi-denceinUrbanEstate.Policehadinstalled barricades at the roadsleading to his residence sincemorning. Sources said the farm-ersbrokethroughthepolicebar-ricadeandreachednearhishousewhere theykept raising slogans.Chautala, however, didnot go tohisresidenceinsteadreachedtheUniversity at 5: 15pmandagainboardedthehelicoptertomovetohisnextdestination.A farmer leader Vikas Sisar

said the farmersbroke twobar-ricadesnear theChautala's resi-dence in Urban Estate beforeburning his effigy there. Thefarmers stayed near his resi-dence till 6: 30 pm, he said. “Asper the decision of SamyuktaKisanMorcha,wewill keep op-posing the functions of BJP-JJPleaderstill thefarmers'agitationisgoingon,”headded.HisarDIGBalwanSinghRana

confirmedthatChautalatooktheaerial route to move to theUniversity from the airport toavoidanyconfrontationwiththeagitating farmers. Rana saidChautalamovedtoseveralplacesinthetownbyroadamiddeploy-mentofheavypoliceforce.Asen-iorofficerofHisaradministrationclaimed “the Deputy CM at-tendedallprogrammesasperhisschedule”.

Farmers block road,Dushyant flies fromHisar airport to town

KRISHNKAUSHIK&AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI, APRIL 1

THE INDIAN BroadcastingFederation, themain industrybody of TV broadcasters in thecountry, has expressed concernsthat allocation of spectrum inbands they currently operate totelecomcompanies for 5G serv-iceswillseverelyhurtthesector.In a March 5 letter to the

CabinetSecretary, theNitiAayogCEO, secretaries of DoT and I&B,and the Chairman of theParliamentary Committee onInformationandTechnology, IBFsaid it had recently learned thegovernmentwas discussing thepossibility of earmarking spec-trumnotjustinthe3,400MHzto3,800MHzband,butevenbeyond4,000GHzfor5Gservicesbytele-comoperators.The broadcasterswerewor-

riedthiswillimpactthemdirectlyastheyusespectruminthe3,700MHz to 4,200MHz band.More

than600 licensed satellite chan-nelsoperate inthisband.Fearingevictionfromthebandtheyhavebeenusingfordecades,thebroad-casters sought urgent interven-tionof thegovernment.It said that as per NFAP

(National FrequencyAllocationPlan) 2018, the 3,300 MHz to3,600MHzbandwasearmarkedfor 4G and 5G services. It ex-pressedconcernthat NFAP2018is now proposed to be revisedpost-haste to includenewbandsfor 5G use by the WirelessPlanningandCoordinationWingof theDoT,wherein bands from3,400MHzto3,800MHzorevenbeyond till 4,000MHzmay beearmarkedfor5Gservices.It noted that theDoThas al-

readyconstitutedacommitteeun-der theWireless Planning andCoordination Wing for it. Thebroadcasterswrote that if spec-trumbeyond3,600MHz is allo-cated for5Gservices, “itwill leadto serious disruptionof satelliteservices formediaandbroadcastin3,700MHz-4,200MHzband”.

Broadcasters worrylosing spectrum totelcos for 5G services

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBENGALURU,APRIL 1

CITINGTHEneed topreserve in-ternational comity, aUS federalcourthasrefusedtoimposeastayonproceedings initiated in IndiabyAntrixCorporation–theISRO'scommercial arm – to liquidateDevasMultimediaPvtLtd,whichhas been awarded a $1.2 billioncompensationbyaninternationalarbitration forum over a failed2005satellitedeal.The court ofWesternDistrict

ofWashington inSeattle refusedto stay the proceedings in aNational CompanyLawTribunal(NCLT) bench in Bengaluru in aMarch29order,despite issuingatemporaryrestrainingorderinthematteronFebruary24.Three foreign investors in

DevasMultimedia, andUS sub-sidiaryDevasMultimediaAmerica

Inc, approached theUScourt ex-pressingfearsofDevasMultimediaenteringanagreementwithAntrixCorporationoncompensationpay-mentinthewakeofthelattermov-ing to liquidate the Bengaluru-headquarteredDevasMultimediaintheNCLT.“Although substantial evi-

dencesuggeststhatcollusivecon-ductmaybe afoot, thereby frus-trating this court’s interests inprevent[ing]vexatiousoroppres-sive litigation in a foreign forumand inprotect[ing] [its] jurisdic-tion,thecourtconcludesthattheinterests in preserving interna-tional comity should carry greatweight in this case,” US federaljudgeThomasZillysaid inhisor-der, refusing intervention in theproceedingsinIndia.Earlier in a February24 tem-

poraryorder,thecourthadstatedthat DevasMultimedia and “itsshareholders, directors, officers,

agents,employees,andlegalrep-resentatives, areprohibited fromtakinganyactionwith respect tothe award” of $ 1.2 billion con-firmed by the US court inNovember2020“withoutfirstob-tainingtheapprovalofthecourt”.The court has also allowed

three foreign investors inDevasMultimedia – CC/Devas(Mauritius)Ltd.,DevasEmployeesMauritius Private Limited,TelecomDevasMauritiusLimitedandDevasMultimediaAmericaInc – to intervene on behalf ofDevasMultimedia in an appealfiledbyAntrixCorporationagainstthe confirmationof the $1.2 bil-lioncompensationaward.The foreign investors and the

US subsidiary of DevasMultimediamovedUScourtsaf-terreportedlylearningthatanef-fortwasbeingmadetoabort thepaymentofthecompensationbygetting DevasMultimedia de-claredas a fraudulent entity. Theforeign investors claimed thatIndia'sLawMinistryhasissuedanordinance amending the IndianArbitrationandConciliationActof1996toallowcourtstostayanar-bitrationawardif itisproventhatan“arbitrationagreementorcon-tract which is the basis of theaward...was inducedor effectedbyfraudorcorruption”.

US court refuses to stay proceedingsin NCLT to liquidate Devas Multimedia

RITES LIMITED(A Govt. of India Enterprise)

REGIONAL PROJECT OFFICE, LUCKNOWCIN: L74899DL1974GOI007227

NOTICE INVITING e-TENDERThe GM/P, RITES Limited, RPO-Lucknow on behalf of Uttar Pradesh Rajya VidyutUtpadan Nigam Limited (UPRVUNL) invites online percentage rate tender on twopackets system for the following works:NIT No.: RITES/RPO-LKO/UPRVUNL/00023/HGJ-Ext./UNIT-A/S&T/R1, Date:01.04.2021Name of work: S&T works in connection with Construction of Railway Network for CoalTransportation for Harduaganj Thermal Power Project Ext., Unit-A at Harduaganj,District:- Aligarh (UP).Estimated Cost: Rs 15.30 Crore, Earnest Money: Rs 15.30 Lac, Period ofCompletion: 12 (Twelve) Months, Last date of submission: 27.04.2021 at 11.30 Hrs.The bid forms and other details can be obtained from the websitehttps://etenders.gov.in/eprocure/app Addendum / Corrigendum, if any, shall behosted online only.

Islamabad: In a volte-face,Pakistan'sCabinetonThursdayre-jectedtherecommendationoftheEconomic CoordinationCommittee to import cottonandsugarfromIndia,withtwoseniorministers saying there canbenonormalisation of tieswithNewDelhiuntil it reverses itsdecisionin2019torevokethespecialstatusof Jammu andKashmir. TheU-turn came a day after the high-powered committee under thenewly-appointed FinanceMinister Hammad Azhar onWednesdaydecidedtoimportthetwokeyitemsfromIndia,liftinganearlytwo-yearlongbanontheirimport from the neighbouringcountry. “Today Cabinet statedclearly NO trade with India,”Mazaritweeted.PTI

Pak Cabinetrejects proposalto import cotton,sugar from India

4THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL2,2021

EXPRESSNETWORK

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

ANANDMOHANJNEWDELHI, APRIL 1

ADELHI court onThursday con-victedIRSofficerAshutoshVerma,alleged defence middlemanSureshNanda andhis charteredaccountantBipinShahinacrim-inal conspiracy case in whichVermawas allegedly bribed byNanda to dilute a report againsthimand shieldhim fromprose-cution inongoing investigationsbyCBIandotheragencies.The investigations related to

defencedealsandrelatedmatters.Special JudgeArunBhardwaj

convictedthethreeaccusedper-sons under criminal conspiracycharges, noting that it has beenprovedbeyonddoubtthatVerma"diluted the appraisal report tofavour"Nanda andAssociates atthebehestofShah.Vermawasearlierdeputydi-

rector (investigation) in theIncome TaxDepartment at thetime.Thejudgmentstated,“Thisisnopartofagovernmentservant'sdutytomeetsecretlyatoddhoursthosepersonswhosematterheisdealingofficially.”

Arms dealerNanda, IRSofficer amongthree convicted

BRIBERYCASE

Kolkata

Page 5: 020421 KO 01R

BASHAARATMASOODSRINAGAR,APRIL1

INTHEsecondmilitant attack inSrinagar in seven days, a policeconstablewas killedwhenmili-tants targeted the residence of aseniorBJPleader inSrinagar.Themilitantsescapedwiththerifleoftheconstable.The attack took place on

Thursdaymorning at the resi-denceof BJP leaderMohammadAnwar Khan at AaribaghNowgam on the outskirts ofSrinagar -- Khanwas not in thehouseatthetimeoftheincident.Policesaidthemilitantswereaf-filiatedtotheLashkar-e-Toibaandtwoof themwerelocals.“Preliminaryinvestigationre-

veals that theterrorattackat theresidential guard of BJP leaderAnwarKhanwascarriedoutbyagroup of four terrorists,” policesaidinanofficialrelease.“OntheanalysisofCCTVfootage, itcametoforethataburka-cladterroristinawoman’stoneaskedthesen-

tryondutytoopenthedoor.Themoment the sentry opened thedoor, twootherterroristsstartedfiring indiscriminately at himwhilethethirdterroristsnatchedhisrifle.”PolicesaidconstableRameez

Raja“sustainedgrievousgunshotinjuries andwas evacuated tohospitalwherehesuccumbedtohis injuriesandattainedmartyr-dom”.Aftertheattack,ateamofsen-

ior police officers led by IGPKashmir Vijay Kumar visitedNowgamtotakestockofthesitu-ation.This is the second attack in

Srinagar and the third in theValleyinthelastweek.OnMarch25,militants fired on aCRPF ve-hicle at Lawaypora on theSrinagar-Baramulla nationalhighway killing three CRPF per-sonnelandwoundingone.Itwasfollowed by another militant

strike in Soporewhen twomili-tants stormed the office of theSoporeMunicipalCouncil,killingtwo councilors and apolicemanguardingthem.Militant attacks in theValley

haveseenasurge,especiallyafterthe Indo-Pak thawandceasefireontheborders.Meanwhile, political parties

condemned the attack and ex-pressedcondolencetothefamilyof thedeceasedconstable.NationalGeneralSecretaryof

theBJPandin-chargeJammuandKashmir, Tarun Chugh, stressedthatexemplarypunishmentwillbeensuredtothekillersofthepo-liceman. “These repeated terrorattacks cannotweaken democ-racyintheregion,”hesaid.Jammu and Kashmir

Congress president G AMir al-leged there is no change on thegroundinthemilitancysituationsincetheabrogationofArticle370and the bifurcation of the erst-while state, even though theBJPtried toshowa“rosypicture”af-tertheAugust5,2019.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, APRIL 1

ON A day when Mumbai re-ported 8,646 Covid-19 cases --thehighestdailycountsincetheoutbreak of the pandemic --mayor Kishori Pednekar indi-cated that stricter containmentmeasures could be imple-mented,includinglimitingtravelinlocaltrainsandshuttingdownreligious places, malls and the-atres."Thegovernmentisplanning

strict measures to control thespreadof thevirus,sincethereisso much rush in markets andpeople are not following socialdistancing. Taking note of this,authorities are also consideringallowing shops to be kept openon alternate days.Mumbai is inthe danger zone in terms ofCovid cases," said Pednekar,speaking to reporters at BMCheadquarters on Thursday.Thesenewrestrictions couldbeimposedfromFriday,sheadded.The mayor also indicated

that train travel could be re-stricted in the coming days."Currently,commoncitizensareallowed to travel in local trainswithrestrictedtimings.Butnowthe government has planned toallow travel for only essentialserviceworkers, like itwas ear-lierduringstrict lockdown,"shesaid.About 33 lakh passengers

travel daily on local trains.Currently, the general public isallowed to travel from12pmto4 pmand from9pm to the endof theday.On Thursday, Mumbai re-

ported 8,646 Covid cases, itshighest daily case count, and18deaths.Mumbai has 55,000 ac-tive cases and the daily growthratehas reached1.39%.Regarding crowdmanage-

ment at public places like tem-ples,Pednekarsaid,"Atreligiousplacesliketempleswehaveseenold and young people visitingfrequently, andwhich is one ofthe reasons for spread of thevirus.Theremaybeadecisionto

shutdownthesereligiousplacestocurb thecrowd."For private offices, the civic

bodywillstartrandomcheckstoensure attendance does not gobeyond50%. "Theactionwill beintensified toensure50%atten-dance in offices. Also, theywillbeaskedtofunctionintwoshiftsfor less crowding," Pednekarsaid.Shops andmarkets are pos-

ingchallenges for thecivicbodyas, despite appeals and restric-tions, crowds swell up in theseplaces, andtheywillbeallowedto be open on alternate days."Sincetherearelargegatheringsat these places, shops may beasked to open every alternateday,oroddandeventhesystemcanbeconsidered, "shesaid.Municipal Commissioner I S

Chahalhadalsosaidthat theto-taldailyCovid-19casescouldgoupto10,000.However,withex-isting SOPs and norms, lock-downislesslikelytobeimposed.Earlier,thestategovernment

imposednightcurfewinthecity,restricting public gatherings onMarch 28. Between 8 pmand 7am,gatheringsofmorethanfivepeople are not allowed. Also, tocurb crowds at public places,malls, theatres, hotels, beacheswillbeshutduringthenightcur-few.Pednekar said that a review

of the availability of beds wasdone on March 31 and it wasfound that a total of 3,933 bedsare available. Of these, 324 ICUbeds, 170 ventilator beds and2,219oxygenbedsarevacant."Weareincreasingthenum-

ber of beds from 16,000 to25,000. Even if later these hos-pitalbedsremainempty,wewillmake all efforts to ensure thatthecitydoesnotfaceashortageofbeds. Infectionrateis lowerinslums and chawls, butweneedtoprepareourselvesforworse,"Pednekar said. She added thatMumbai is witnessing 5,000-6,000 cases daily and strictsteps are required to break theinfection growth rate. Morecasesarecomingfromhighrisebuildings.

395DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

CASES:12,221,665TESTS: 244,798,621 | RECOVERIES: 11,474,683

ACTIVE CASES:584,055DEATHS: 162,927

MARCH31CASES DEATHS RECOVERIES TESTS

72,330 459 40,382 1,125,681

STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMCASESCASES(MARCH31) TOTAL

Maharashtra 39,544 2,812,980

Punjab 4,563 349,187

Kerala 4,225 997,004

STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMDEATHSDEATHS(MARCH19) TOTAL

Maharashtra 243 54,496

Punjab 55 6,242

Kerala 39 4,170

DataasonMarch31,releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfare, IndianCouncilofMedical

Researchandstategovernments.

TRACKING INDIA’SCOVIDCURVE

NUMBER OFDOSES(MARCH 20)

17,47,094Totalsofar:6,75,36,392

DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI,APRIL1

THE CENTRAL Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) on Thursdayarrested three people, whoclaimed to work for TRS MPKavithaMaloth,while theyweretakingbribe fromaDelhibuildertohelphimgetMCDclearanceforhisproject.The TRS MP from

MahabubabadinTelangana,how-ever, denied that she had de-manded any bribe and claimedthat at least two of the accusedwere not known to her. The ac-cused are identified as RajivBhattacharya,ShivanjiGuptaandDurgeshMaurya.AccordingtoCBI,Bhattacharya

got in touch with the builderclaimingtobeMaloth'ssecretaryand introduced Gupta as thePrime Minister's coordinator.GuptainturnintroducedMauryaasMaloth'spersonalassistant.The accuseddemandedRs 5

lakhfromthebuildertohelphimwriggleoutoflegaltroubleduetocertain complaints filed againstone his projectswith theMCD.ThefinalamountwasnegotiatedtoRs1 lakh, but thebuilder thenapproachedCBI followingwhichtheagencylaidatrapandarrestedtheaccused.“It was alleged that the ac-

cuseddemandedRs1,00,000 forallowing unhindered construc-tion at the house of the com-plainant,”aCBIspokespersonsaid.

CBI arrests 3for takingbribe usingTRS MP name;she denies link

Mumbai Mayorhints at train travelcurbs, shutting ofreligious places

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, APRIL 1

INDIA THURSDAY said the jointstudybyWHOandChinaontheoriginsofthecoronavirusunder-lines the need formore data tobemade available to investiga-tors,flaggingthe“difficultiesanddelays” referred toby theworldbody's Director General duringthe team'swork.Thejointstudy,releasedtwo

daysago,hadsaidthatthetrans-missionof thevirusfrombatstohumans, or a lab leak, was un-likely.The Ministry of External

Affairs said: “We have seen therecently released WHO-con-venedglobalstudyontheoriginof Covid-19... The report repre-sents an important first step inestablishing the origins of theCovid-19pandemic.”“It has listed four pathways

concerningtheemergenceofthediseasebuthasstressedtheneedfornext-phasestudiesacrosstheregion. The report also stressesthe need for further data andstudies to reach robust conclu-sions.”Indiasaidthatit is“pertinent

tonotethattheDirectorGeneralof the WHO has separatelyraisedtheissueofdelaysanddif-

ficultiesinaccessingrawdataforthe teamconducting the study”andaddedthat“wefullysupportthe Director General’s expecta-tion that future collaborativestudieswill includemoretimelyand comprehensive data shar-ing”.Theministrysaidthat inthis

connection, “we also welcomehis readiness to deploy addi-tionalmissions”.“We join other stakeholders

invoicingtheirexpectationsthatfollowupto theWHOReportorfurther studies, including on anunderstandingoftheearliesthu-man cases and clusters by theWHO on this critical issue, willreceivethefullestcooperationofall concerned,” it said.India, itsaid,sharedtheneed

foracomprehensiveandexpert-ledmechanism that would ex-peditiously investigate the ori-gin of Covid-19 in cooperationwithall stakeholders.TheMinistry said Indiawill

continue to work with theWHO to strengthen capacityand improve global health se-curity so that the present re-port and further studies willprovidevaluable inputsonde-veloping protocols and build-ingaknowledgebase toproac-tively respond to the nextglobal pandemic.

WHO Covid originsreport shows needfor more data: MEA

IGP(Kashmirrange)VijayKumar laysawreathonthecoffinof slainpolicemanRameezAhmedinSrinagar. ShuaibMasoodi

Cop killed in J&K asmilitantstarget BJP leader’s house

JAGDEEPSINGHDEEPMOHALI, APRIL 1

A DISTRICT court in MohaliThursdayturneddownBSPMLAMukhtarAnsari'spleatoconsti-tute amedical board for exam-ining him, paving way for thegangster-turned-politician'stransfertoajail inUttarPradeshasorderedbytheSupremeCourtonMarch26.Turning downAnasri's plea,

Judicial Magistrate Ist Class(JMIC) Amit Bakshi said that af-ter the apex court order there isnothingonrecordtosuggestthattherehasbeenanyfreshmedicalissues with the accused. ThecourtdirectedtheMohalijailsu-perintendenttocomplywiththeSupremeCourtorder.The apex court, in its verdict

on March 26, had invoked itspowersunderArticle 142of theConstitution—which enables itto pass orders to ensure “com-plete justice”— to direct thePunjab police to hand over cus-tody of Ansari to Uttar Pradeshwithin two weeks so that hecouldfacetrialinaseriesofcrim-inal cases. A bench of JusticesAshok Bhushan and R SubhashReddyhadalsopulledupPunjabfor denying Ansari's custody toUttar Pradesh by citing a litanyof “trivial”medical issues.The Mohali court order

comes a day after Ansari at-tendedahearingonWednesdayinwheelchair.Ansari, through his counsel,

Advocate Raj Sumer Singh, hadmoved an application seekingdirections to the jail authorities

for getting the UP legislator ex-amined by amedical board for“acuteailmentsandmedicaldis-tress”. Ansari also sought that areply be sought from the Roparjailsuperintendentbeforedecid-ingontheapplication.TheMauMLA'scounselsub-

mitted in the court that Ansarihad suffered a “medical emer-gency” onMarch 29, 2020, andsincethenhadbeenfacingacutechestpain. ItwasalsosubmittedthatAnsarihadamedicalcondi-tionandhadsufferedtwomajorheartattacksanditisfearedthatifheisdeniedpropermedicalas-sistance, hemight succumb tohisailments.CitingtheSupremeCourtor-

der, the counsel stated that asAnsarihad to travel toUP, keep-ing in view his medical condi-tion, he be treated through arecognisedgovernmentmedicalhospital inMohali by constitut-ingaboard.After hearing the con-

tentions,thecourtobservedthattheapexcourtinitsmarch26or-derhadconsideredthatbecauseofhis illhealth,Ansari'scustodywas not handed over to the UPPolice.“Once the apex court has al-

readyconsideredthepleaof theaccused regarding his medicalcondition, and there is nothingon recordwhich could suggestthatafterpassingoftheorderonMarch 26, there has been anyfreshmedicalissueswiththeac-cused,noseparateordertocon-stitute a board for treatment ofaccusedisrequiredtobepassed.No reply onbehalf of jail super-intendentwouldberequired,as

the jail superintendent is dutyboundasper lawtoprovideap-propriatemedical facility to theaccused asperhismedical con-dition (if any), as per the jailmanualandalsotocomplywiththeorderofMarch26,”thecourtobserved.ItalsodirectedthatasAnsari

is in judicial custody, the jail su-perintendent, at the time oftransferring his custody to UPwillmention that in the (extor-tion) case (being heard by theMohali court), he be producedthrough video conferencing onApril 12.Ansari, accused in several

cases of heinous crimes regis-tered inUttarPradesh, is lodgedin Punjab's Ropar district jail inconnectionwith an alleged ex-tortioncasesince January2019.TheUPgovernmenthadear-

lier contended that Ansari hasbeendodgingthejudicialsystemandisrunninghisallegedillegalactivities from the Ropar jail. Ithad alleged in the apex courtthat there is collusion betweenAnsari and Punjab Police, acharge refuted by the Congressgovernment inPunjab.While Ansari, in a petition

filed in apex court, had soughtsought transfer of his cases inUP to outside the state claim-ing thathewasbeing targettedbecause of his political affilia-tion to a party in opposition,the Punjab government hadsaid that the mau MLA hasbeen unwell and central gov-ernment-owned PGIChandigarh has been givenhim the medical certificatesfrom time to time.

No relief for Ansari as courtrejects plea for medical board

NewDelhi:SchoolsinDelhiarenotpermitted to call students of anygrade for offline classes for thenew academic session 2021-2022, the Delhi government’sDirectorateofEducationdirectedthroughanorderonThursday.InJanuary,schoolsinDelhihad

beenpermittedtoallowstudentsofclassesXandXIItoattendphys-icalclassestopreparefortheirup-comingboardexaminationsanddo theirpracticals. Subsequently,studentsofclassesIXandXIwerealsopermittedtoreturntoschooltopreparefortheirexams. ENS

Delhi schools to remainclosed in new session

5THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL2,2021

EXPRESSNETWORK

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Kolkata

Page 6: 020421 KO 01R

6

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

AN UNMOVING TARGET

Governmentretains inflationtargetat4plus/minus2percent

tillMarch2026, signallingcommitment topricestability

INTHEINITIALphasesoftheCOVID-19pandemicinIndia,retailinflation,asmeasured

bytheconsumerpriceindex,hadsurgedowingtosupplysidedisruptionsstemming

fromtheimpositionof thenational lockdown.Withinflationstayingabovetheup-

perthresholdoftheRBI’sinflationtargetingframeworkformostofthisperiod,con-

straining theabilityof themonetarypolicycommittee toease interest rates further, there

wasagrowingclamourforrelookingattheinflationtargetingframework.Theproposalsad-

vocatedrangedfromshiftingfromheadlinetocoreinflationasthenominalanchorofmon-

etarypolicy, relaxingtheupperthresholdof theframework,andincorporatingothervari-

ablesexplicitlyintheframework.Butdespitepressurestoaltertheframework,theCentral

government,onWednesday,announced,rightlyso,itsdecisionnottoaltertheframework.

Theinflationtargetofthemonetarypolicyframeworkhasbeenkeptunchangedat4plus/mi-

nus2percentforthecomingfive-yearperiodtillMarch31,2026.

Anexaminationof thetrajectoryof inflationsincetheadoptionof thetargetingframe-

workin2016underlinesthebenefitsofthisshift.Headlineretailinflationhasfallenfrom7.26

percentinthepreinflationtargetingphaseto3.9percentpostitsadoption(excludingthe

pandemicperiod).Thisdownwardtrend isvisible inbothcoreandfood inflation.Further,

asvariousstudieshaveshown,eventhevolatilityininflationhasdeclinedoverthisperiod.

Andeventhoughhouseholdinflationexpectationscontinuetorangeabovetheupperlimit

of the targeting framework, they aremilder as against the pre inflation targeting regime.

Further,while there are apprehensions over attachingprimacy to inflationmanagement

overgrowthconcerns, as thisperiodhas shown, thebandof plus/minus2percent, along

with theperiod overwhich theMPC’s success in delivering upon the target ismeasured,

providesflexibilitytothecommitteetomanoeuvreasthesituationdemands.

Changingtheinflationtargetingframeworkmayhavesoundedlikeanattractivepropo-

sitionnowbutitwouldhavecreatedconsiderableuncertaintyoverthestanceofmonetary

policy. Itwould have also indicated a lack of fidelity to the objective ofmaintainingprice

stabilityintheeconomy.Andconsideringthatoneofthefeaturesoftheinflation-targeting

frameworkis“anchoring”of inflationexpectations,anychangethatwouldhavesignalled

greatertolerancebytheinterestratesettingcommitteeforhigherlevelsofinflation,would

haveledtoanincreaseinthevolatilityofprices,therebydestabilisinginflationaryexpecta-

tions.These in turnwouldhaveabearingonthe long-termconsumptionand investment

decisionstakenbyeconomicagents.Tinkeringwiththeframeworkwouldhavealsogone

against the very rationale for shifting to the framework— tobring greater accountability

andtransparencyincentralbankactions.

SECURING TRUST

ConcernsraisedaboutCovaxinbyBrazil’s regulatormustbe

addressedpromptly, andtransparently

QUESTIONSRAISEDBYBrazil’s health regulator, ANVISA, coulddelay the ac-

ceptance of Covaxin in the South American country. ANVISA declined the

Hyderabad-basedmanufacturerof thevaccine,BharatBiotech,a“Certificate

ofGoodManufacturing”afteraninspectionof thefirm’sproductionprocess

in the firstweekofMarchrevealed“non-conformities, implyingahealth risk forusers”.

AnactionplansubmittedbyBharatBiotechonMarch17failedtoassuagetheregulator’s

concerns. The companyhas clarified that “the requirements pointed out during the in-

spectionwillbefulfilledsoon”.ANVISA’sunfavourablecommentswill,reportedly,notaf-

fecttheIndianfirm’slong-termpartnershipwiththeBrazilianpharmacompanyPrecisa

Medicamentostosupply20milliondosesofCovaxintothesecond-worstCOVID-affected

country.Thereare,however, compellingreasons to lookat the issuebeyondthevaccine

supplyagreementbetweenthe twocountries.

Covaxinworksbyteachingtherecipient’s immunesystemtomanufactureantibodies

againstthenovelcoronavirus.Itdoessobyintroducinganinactivatedformofthevirusthat

was isolatedat theNational InstituteofVirology.Thepathogenisdrenchedwithachemi-

cal, beta-propiolactone, to ensure that it does not replicate. According toANVISA, Bharat

Biotechhasnotvalidatedthemethodofanalysistoprovecompleteinactivationofthecoro-

navirus. Ithascalledformoreproofbeforecertifyingthatlivevirusesarenotpresentinthe

vaccine.TheHyderabad-based firmcouldnotalsoconvinceBrazil’s regulatorof itsmeth-

ods to obviate the presence of contaminatingmicroorganisms in the injectible. In other

words,ANVISAhasflaggedconcernsrelatedtosterilityandpurity—fundamentalcriteria

invaccinesafety.Theregulator,moreover,hasraisedquestionsoverthevaccine’spotency.

All thisshouldnotbetakentoindicatethatCovaxinisunsafe.Thevaccinehasunder-

gone rigorous clinical trials. InMarch, it registered a highly creditable efficacy score of

morethan80percent.ANVISA’sconcernsshould,however, leadtoconversationsaround

regulatoryinterventionsafterclinicaltrials.“Theconcentrationof impuritiesintheprod-

uctmaynotbeconstantandmaybedifferent fromtheoneevaluatedduringtheclinical

study,” the Brazilian regulator notes. Its queries frame twoallied challenges for vaccine

makersandregulators.One,giventhecompressedtimespansthatwereforceduponthe

country’smedicalbodiesasaresultof thepandemic,questionsaboutsafetyandefficacy

cannotberuledoutevenafteravaccinehascleareddueprocesses.Regulatoryalacritywill

bekey tobuilding trust in thevaccine. Two, transparency isnon-negotiablewhendeal-

ingwithsuchissues.TheconcernsflaggedbyBrazil’sregulatoracquireresonanceinIndia

aswell. Theymustbepromptlyaddressed.

WELCOME GIBBERISH

AbitofgibberishonTwitterfromUSnuclearmonitoringagency

causedpanic.Butnonsenseishardlytheworstsocialmediasin

REMEMBER“COVFEFE”?IN2017,DonaldTrump,thenUSpresidentandnotyet

exiledfromsocialmedia,tweetedgibberishandpeoplearoundtheworldwent

intoatizzy.OnTuesday,theofficialTwitterhandlefortheUSStrategicCommand

postedamessage—“l;;gmlxzssaw”—promptingitsveryowncovfefemoment.

Afterall,whentheorganisationresponsible for lookingaftertheworld’s largestnuclearar-

senalappearstotweetincode,conspiracytheoristsandsatiristsfindcommonground.

Perhapstheaccidentaltweetwasthenuclearlaunchcode.Maybeitwasamessagefrom

the Illuminati, the favourite fantasy of conspiracy theoristswhobelieve a secret groupof

elites controls theworld. Andwhynot just a simple hacker enjoying an early April Fool’s

Day?As it turnsout,Occam’sRazorholdsgoodand if it looks likegibberish, itprobably is.

A child from the family of the Strategic Command’s socialmediamanagerwas left unat-

tendedwiththephonethathadaccesstotheaccount—“l;;gmlxzssaw”wastheresultofa

toddlerpressingrandombuttons.

Covfefe2.0hasmuchincommonwiththeoriginal. Itcouldwellbeanallegoryfortheso-

cial-media-obsessedworld.There is toomuchpower inwordsand it’s easynowtocausea

panic, evenoverabitof nonsense.Often, thegreatandcommonalikeare leftunsupervised

withthispower,freetolieforself-promotionandbecynicallybigotedintheirpursuitofatten-

tion.Thereisnosolutiontothisproblem—freespeechhasaprice.Giventhehatefulnesspeo-

pleonsocialmediahavebecomeaccustomedto,abitofgibberishisactuallyarelief.

Our second Covid test

KSrinathReddy

Prerna Prabhakar

Weneedasustainedpublichealthresponsewhileensuringeconomic,socialvulnerabilitiesarenotexacerbated

A HEALTH WARNING ON LANDImprovedsystemof landrecords is essential forhealthof rural economy

INJANUARY2021,therewasaself-congratu-latorymoodinIndia,asthesteadyfall incaseanddeath counts after September 2020 ap-pearedtosignal“final”victoryoverCOVID-19.Politicians andpublic health experts gushedaboutherd immunityhavingbeenacquired,evenasother regionsof theworldwerebat-tlingsecondorthirdwaves. Internationalex-perts, too, opined that the virus appeared tobeblockedbya“humanwall”ofpersonswhohad gained the protective armour of immu-nity even before the vaccines started rollingout. The internationalmedia, which previ-ously attributed India’s low case and deathcounts (permillion population) to under-counting, suddenly started enquiring as tohowIndiahadpulledoffamiracle.Thereweresomevoicesofcautionwhich

questioned the breezy assumption that themagiccloakofherdimmunityhaddescendedon India. Theirpleas forcontinueddisciplinein observing public healthmeasures to cur-tail viral transmission had few takers.Technical experts in the government toopointedoutthatmuchofthepopulationwasstillsusceptible.However, thefatigueofpan-demic restrictions and the urge to return tonormal lifemade politicians, public figures,traders, travellers, sportspersons, shoppers,religiousgroupsandrevellerswanttobelievethatallof Indiawasliberated.Thewily virus had other plans. Not only

did it strike backbut it brought in a broodofmutant progeny to run aroundwith greatspeedaskidsdo.Therelaxationofinternatio-naltravelrestrictionsmadeiteasyformutantsfirstreportedintheUK,USA,BrazilandSouthAfrica to enter. Variants have emerged fromwithinIndiatoo.A“doublemutant”hasbeenreportedfromsomestates,combiningmuta-tionsobservedearlierinCaliforniawiththosepreviously noted in India and some othercountries.Thesespikeproteinmutationsap-pear to confer the viruswith extra ability toprise open entry into human cells.Whetherthey enhance or reduce its virulent trait forcausingseverediseaseremainstobeseen.Alarmbells arepresently soundingoff as

dailycasecounts,testpositivityratesandhos-pital admission rates are rising. Death ratesarenotrisingasfast,suggestingthateitherthevirusislessvirulentnoworcasemanagement

methodsaremoreefficient. It isalsopossiblethatmore youngpersons are being infectednow,with less severemanifestations thanamongtheelderlywhomayhaveaccountedforahigherproportionofpatientsduringthefirstwave.Onlyageandgenderdisaggregateddataondiagnosedcases,hospitaladmissionsanddeathswillprovideusbetterinsights.Therateofgeographicspreadis fasterthaninthefirstwave, both because of the variants andlessrigourinthecontainmentmethods.Our response has to be informed by the

lessonswehavelearntoverthe14monthssi-nce thevirus first landed in India inend-Jan-uary2020,andshapedbythecurrentcontext.Broadly,weneedtoframeandeffectivelyimp-lement our strategy across four areas: Con-tainmentoftransmission,careoftheinfected,immunisationof thepopulationandprotec-tionoftheessentialfunctionsofsociety.Thesehavetoproceedintandem.Thisresistancehastobesustainedoverthenextsixmonthswith-out premature proclamations of victory andvacationof spaceforthevirustooccupy.Foreffectivecontainment,weneedtopre-

ventnewinfectionsandquicklydetectinfec-tionsthatdoarise.Publichealthmandatesonmasks, physical distancing, avoidance ofcrowdedeventsandmassgatheringsmustbeenforcedwith politicalwill and administra-tiveskill.Electionscanbeconductedwithlo-cal canvassing instead ofmega rallies, alongwithintelligentuseofmassandsocialmedia.If work fromhome is possible, prayer fromhometoocanbeapiouspersonalofferingofdevotion.Peoplemustbemobilisedandmo-tivated to protect themselves, their familiesand others too, throughmessaging via bothmassmedia andcloser tohomecommunitynetworks. The role of civil society organisa-tions, largely ignored in the past response,mustbegreatlyenhanced.Detectionofcasescannotdependonlyon

viral detection tests, whichwe now knowhavemany false negatives (especially in therapid antigen tests) and some false positives(attributedtonucleicacidresiduesfrom“deadviruses”).SymptomssuggestiveofCOVID-19shouldalsobeusedforearlycasedetectionbyprimaryhealthcareteamsvisitinghomesandalsoforpromotingcitizenawarenesstostim-ulatevoluntary isolationandself-referral for

testing. Clinically suspected casesmust iso-lateandusemasksathome,even if they testnegative.Repeattests,duringthecourseoftheillness,reducethefalsenegativerate.Genomicanalysisofasizeablefractionofallpositivetestsampleswill help to identify and track thespreadof variants.However, themainstayofdefenceagainstanystrainofvirusremainsthecombination of masks, physical distancingand avoiding crowds. Testing alonewill nothelp, if we donot adopt contact tracing andotherpublichealthmeasures.Clinicalcareofinfectedpersonsisnowbet-

ter informed by researchwhich has shownthe benefits of home care tomany and ofpronepositioning,oxygen,steroidsandanti-coagulantsforhospitalisedpatients.Theneedtomobilisebothpublicandprivatehospitalsandupgradedistricthospitalswasrecognisedduringthefirstwave.Thatknowledgeshouldreduceresponsetimelaginthecurrentsurge.Wemust aim to vaccinate all persons

above35yearsofageandotherswithassoci-ated disease conditions, by August 15 thisyear.Evenasmorevaccinesgetregulatoryap-proval,wemust trainandengagemorevac-cinators and get the private sector to offerstrongersupporttothepublicsector.Vaccineconfidencemust be promoted at the com-munitylevel,bybuildingtrustinpublichealthadvisories and clearing misconceptionsthroughlocalnetworks.Thetestofournationthistimearoundwill

notonlycomeinmeetingthechallengeofthevirus through a smart, strong and sustainedstrategicpublichealthresponsebutalsoinen-suringthatthevulnerabilitiesofoureconomicandsocialstructuresarenotexposedorexac-erbated.Botheconomiclivelihoodsandedu-cational opportunities have to be protected.Lockdownsand laxity cannotbecomeaper-petual seesawofoursociety.Wehavetodis-playdeterminationanddisciplinetocommitourselvestoalonghaulfightthistimeandnotvieweveryskirmishwonastheendofthebat-tle. That is the variantweneed to bring intoourstrategy ifwehavetoovercomethevari-antsthatthevirushurlsatus.

KSrinathReddy,acardiologistandepidemiologist, isPresident,PublicHealth

Foundationof India(PHFI).Viewsarepersonal

FORASIGNIFICANTsectionof theruralpoor,landisbothanassetandasourceoflivelihood.Manyinformaljobsintheurbancentreswerelostastheeconomywashitbythecoronaviruspandemic in2020.The resulting reversemi-grationplacedgreaterdemandsonhouseholdresources in rural areas.With livelihoods af-fected, theimportanceof landownershipforaccesstoformal loansaswellasgovernmentrelief programmes became evenmore evi-dent.Buttherelativelypooravailabilityofclearandupdatedlandtitlesremainsahurdle.Thougheffortstoupdatelandrecordsbe-

ganasearlyas the1980s, there isa longroadahead forachieving the finalobjectiveof up-datedandconclusive landtitles.Thegovern-ment of India’s Digital India Land RecordsModernisation Programme (DI-LRMP)schemeisthemostrecenteffortinthisregard.Thedismal state of land records is due to

the failure of the Indian administration toevolvefromBritish-eralandpolicies. Inaddi-tion,landrecordregulationsandpoliciesvarywidelyacross Indianstates/unionterritories.For a comprehensive understanding of landrecords in India, it is imperative to bring outthecomparativepictureinthisregard.ThoughDI-LRMPprovidesacommonframeworkforreportingtheprogressoflandrecordmanage-mentbystates/UTs,theheterogeneousnatureofregulations/guidelinesforlandrecordman-agementinIndiamakestheprogressnon-uni-form.NCAERmadeapioneeringeffortinthisdirection by launchingNCAER LandRecords

and Services Index (N-LRSI) in 2020. The in-dexassessesstates’performanceontwobroaddimensions—digitisationandqualityoflandrecords. Despite the pandemic, states/UTsmaderigorouseffortsoverthecourseofayeartomakeimprovementsinvariousparametersof theindex.TheseimprovementsareclearlycapturedintheN-LRSI2021findings, theex-tentofwhichcanbegaugedbyBihar’s jumpfromthe23rd to8thposition in the indexbymaking substantial progress in the digitisa-tionofmaps,textualrecordsandregistrationprocess.Nevertheless,somechallengesremain.As

hadbeennotedinthepilotimpactassessmentofDI-LRMP,oneofthemajorroadblocksinen-suringcontinuousupdationoflandrecordsisthe lack of skilledmanpower in land recorddepartmentsinstates.Anotherdimensionre-lates to effective integration across landrecordsdepartments.TheN-LRSIanalysishasbrought out the poor synergy across landrecord departments— revenuedepartmentasthecustodianoftextualrecords,thesurveyand settlement departmentmanaging thespatial records and the registration depart-ment,whichisresponsibleforregisteringlandtransactions.TheN-LRSIdesignentailsasub-componentofupdatingofownership(withinqualityofrecordscomponent),whichgaugestheextentofintegrationbetweenregistrationandtextualrecords—swiftnessoftheprocessofupdatingownershipastheresultofthereg-istration of a transaction, the phenomenon

whichiscommonlyknownasmutation.Theinformation obtained from all the state/UTsourcesinthisregardrevealedthatnostate/UThas theprovision foronlinemutationon thesamedayastheregistration.Thestudyalsobroughtouttheweaklink-

age that exists between the revenuedepart-ment and the surveyand settlementdepart-ment.Thiscreatesahugedivergencebetweenthelandareareportedbythetextualandspa-tialrecord,enhancingthechancesoflegaldis-putesoverthedefinitionofboundariesandtheextentofalandplot.Withsuchpoorinter-de-partmentalsynergy,aspiringforupdatedandaccurate recordswill alwaysbeadistantgoalandstates/UTsshould takenecessaryactionstohavetheappropriatesystemsinplace.A key takeaway emerging from the two

editionsofN-LRSIisstates’receptivenessandwill to improve. However, these are con-strainedbyinherentstructuralrigiditiesinthesystem.Itisonlybystrengtheningtheseinsti-tutionsthatthedesiredqualityoflandrecordscanbeattained.Theimprovedsystemoflandrecords is likely to facilitate the efforts thatsomestates/UTsaremakingtoeaselandtrans-actions— like lowering stampduties by theMaharashtra government— tomeet its in-creasingdemandforhousing, infrastructure.Finally, these efforts are going to be instru-mentalforthehealthofIndia’sruraleconomy.

Thewriter isanassociate fellowatNationalCouncilofAppliedEconomicResearch

Our response has to beinformed by the lessons wehave learnt over the 14months since the virus firstlanded in India in end-January 2020, and shaped bythe current context. Broadly,we need to frame andeffectively implement ourstrategy across four areas:Containment oftransmission, care of theinfected, immunisation ofthe population andprotection of the essentialfunctions of society. Thesehave to proceed in tandem.This resistance has to besustained over the next sixmonths without prematureproclamations of victory andvacation of space for thevirus to occupy.

The dismal state of landrecords is due to the failureof the Indian administrationto evolve from British-eraland policies. In addition,land record regulations andpolicies vary widely acrossIndian states/unionterritories.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

B E C A U S E T H E T R U T H I N V O L V E S U S A L L

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL2,2021

WORDLYWISE

Alittle nonsense nowand then is relished

by thewisestmen.

— RoaldDahlTHEEDITORIALPAGE

COUP IN THAILANDTHAILANDWAS FACEDwith two govern-mentsafteracoupagainstthecountry’spre-mier General Prem Tinsulanonda and hisvowthathewillcontinuetofighttokeephisgovernment inpower.OnApril1, Thai radioannouncedthata“revolutionarycouncil”ofseniormilitary officers had taken over thegovernment, deposed General Prem, sus-pended theconstitutionanddisbanded thecabinet. The announcement said that theDeputy Army Commander General SantGhitpatima would head the Council andGeneral Prem had resigned both as primeministerandarmycommander.However, afew hours later General Prem met King

Bhumibol Adulyadej at his Bangkok palaceand the royal family and the PM flew to anarmy base in Northeast Thailand. GeneralPremannouncedonradiothathehadnotre-signed.

ARMS TO PAKGPARTHASARTHI,CO-CHAIRoftheIndo-USchaironEducationandCulture,conveyedtothe Secretary of State, General AlexanderHaig,India’sgraveconcernovertheproposedsupply of large-scale arms to Pakistan. Hereaffirmed India’sposition that the reopen-ing of the arms pipeline to Pakistanwouldaffect thenormalisationof tiesbetweenthetwocountries.

FEWER DRY DAYSTHEDELHIADMINISTRATIONannouncedaliberalised excise policy on alcohol withfewerdrydaysin1981-82.Therewillonlybe27drydays in theyearascomparedto80 inthepreviousyear. Thenumberof retail out-lets of Indian-made foreign liquor and beerhasbeen increased from27to50.

PHOOLAN DEVI ESCAPESPHOOLANDEVIGAVEadodge to thepolicebutthreemembersofhergangdied ina15-hour long gunbattle in the ravines of Jhansidistrict.PhoolanDeviandManSingharebe-lieved to have escaped at the beginning ofthe firing.

APRIL 2, 1981, FORTYYEARSAGO

Kolkata

Page 7: 020421 KO 01R

7THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL2,2021 WHATTHEOTHERSSAY

Along with continuing the India-Pakistan dialogue process, hawks on both sidesof the fence must be ignored, as they will not want to see the normalisationof relations.

—DAWNTHE IDEASPAGE

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

The developed countriescontinue to corner a lion’sshare of the carbon space fortheir luxurious consumptionwhile they goad developingcountries to cut theiremissions emanating fromeven basic needs. TheClimate Action Trackerreports that climate action ofmajor developed countries isincompatible with the goalsof the Paris Agreement.Therefore, the focus shouldbe on ensuring ambitiousclimate action by developedcountries in the near-term toensure climate justice in theimplementation of theParis Agreement.

Net zero and climate injustice Private campus,public surrender

THERESIGNATIONSofPratapBhanuMehtaand Arvind Subramanian from AshokaUniversityhavecreatedripplesintheworldof academia,not just in Indiabutacross theglobe.Whiletheimmediatecausefortheres-ignation is not known, it is surmised thatMehta’s outspokenviewson the ruling es-tablishmentmighthavealottodowithit. Itis undeniable that this government hasshownitself tobeparticularlythin-skinnedtocriticism.Buttheresignationsraiseequallypertinentquestions about theability of theprivatemanagements of educational insti-tutionstowithstandsuchpressureandfun-damentalquestionsabouteducationanditsprimaryobjectives.Whataretheimplicationsof theprivati-

sationofhighereducationforacademicfree-dom?Onpaper, it seemedthatprivateuni-versitieswould be in a better position toensureintellectualindependence.Certainly,publicinstitutionshavebeentargetedbythegovernment, as is evident fromrecentpoli-ciesregardingJNU.In2016,theModigovern-mentappointedasvice-chancellorMamidalaJagadeshKumar.Histenurehasseendrasticbudgetcutsandadeclineinstudentrecruit-ment,whiletheofficeoftheVChasbeentan-gledinseveralface-offswithstudentunionsandfacultyopposedtotheHindunationalistmovementonahostofissues,fromcontestedpromotionsandfacultyappointmentstovi-olationsofuniversityprocedures.Butnofull-timefaculty,toourknowledge,wasforcedtoresignbecause(s)hewasa“politicalliability”— touse PratapBhanuMehta’swords—aclear indicationof theprotection teacherscontinuetoenjoyinthepublicsystem.In contrast, facultymembers appear

more vulnerable in private universities, asacademicsaredependentuponthepoliciesofownersanddonors.Sometimes,onemancreatesauniversityinhisname,sometimes—likeinthecaseofAshokaUniversity—theinstitutionisfoundedbyalargergroup.Mostof these financiers are businessmen,whoare dependent on the government to pro-tect and enhance their business interests.Theyarefarmorelikelytobendtostatepres-surewhenitcomestoshuttingoutdissent-ingvoicesofpublic intellectuals—oragreenot tohire them. It is important toremem-ber that historianRamachandraGuhahadtodeclinetojoinAhmedabadUniversityaf-terprotestsoverhisappointmentbyHindunationalistgroups.Academicfreedomisnotapartofthecul-

tureof theownersofmostprivateuniversi-ties.Vice-chancellorsarebetteronthatcount,butfounderstendtochooseweakVCs,whoare often not part of the decision-makingprocess, andmay fail topersuade foundersof the importanceof academic freedomforthecredibilityof aneducational institution.

Even if theydo, forowners,protectingtheirbusinessisoftenmoreimportant.Thishas implicationsbeyondacademic

freedom.A recent reportonprivatepartici-pationinschoolingbroughtoutbytheCentralSquareFoundation(runbyAshishDhawan,chairofAshokaUniversity’sboardoftrustees)argues for theprofitmotive ineducation. Inthe sectioncalled “Fivepillarsof Reform”, itsays:“Reviewthenon-profitmandatefortheeducationsectorandexistingfeeregulationstoattractinvestmentandenableeasyaccesstocredit for schools. Thegovernmentcouldalsoexploreopeningcorporategovernancestructurestoprivateschoolstodrivegreatertransparencyandaccountability.Classifyingprivate schools asmicro, small, ormediumenterprisescouldenablehighercreditavail-abilityforthesector.”India has always had space for private,

mostlyphilanthropist,involvementinedu-cation,albeitwithrestrictions.Thefearwasthat educational institutions geared to-wardsprofit could exacerbate inequalitiesinsociety.Indeed,the“elite”privateschoolsare unaffordable for a large section of theIndianpopulation,creatingasharpclassdi-vide in the education system. The dividealsoincludesgenderandcastedimensions,as boys and students from upper-castebackgrounds are overwhelmingly repre-sented in private institutions relative topublicones.Many“lowfee”privateschoolsthat seek to bridge this divide and attractstudents from less-advantaged back-grounds also tend to be low-cost schools,withoftenlessthanbasicinfrastructureandpoorlyqualified,underpaid teachers. Theydo,however,promisebetterexam“results”,in addition to English-medium teaching,andhaveattractedscoresof less-privilegedfamilies. In fact, better results in testshavebecome the primarymarker of quality ineducation. All other aspects, like equity,have been put on the backburner. Hence,when low-cost schools turn out to be fly-by-night operations leaving childrenstrandedor forcing themto fall off the ed-ucationmap, itdoesnotraiseeyebrows.Neither is there a great concern for the

complete lackof diversity, indeedequality,inprivateeducationalinstitutions.Increasingdiversity in private schools, which wassoughtthroughtheRTEActbyreserving25per cent of incoming seats for underprivi-legedchildren,wasfoughttoothandnailbyprivateschoolassociations,whichcontinueto do so. Indeed, restricting admissions tothosewhoarelikelytoshineintestscoresisaprivilegeaccordedonlytoprivateschools,enablingthemtocreateareputationfor“per-formance”thatoftenhaslesstodowiththeinstitutionandmorewith the students en-rolledandtheirfamilybackgrounds(includ-ing private tuitions). The fact that govern-mentschoolshavetoadmiteverychildandstruggletoeducatefirst-generationlearners,withlittleornohomesupport,isneverlistedasapositiveattributeof thepublicsystem.Be it in respect to academic freedomor

thesocialroleofeducation,itisnecessarytorehabilitate the role of the state in theuni-versityandschoolsystemsinIndiatoday.

Bhatty is seniorvisiting fellow,Centre forPolicyResearch; Jaffrelot is senior researchfellowatCERI-SciencesPo/CNRS,Paris,

professorof IndianPoliticsandSociologyatKing’s India Institute, London

ResignationsatAshokaUniversitychallengenotionthatprivateuniversitiesaremoreable to

standupfor intellectual freedom

THE IDEAOF net zero emissions by 2050 isbeing advocated as apanacea for the evil ofclimatechange.Whilethefeasibilityandef-ficacy of such a strategy for all countries isquestionable, italsostrikesattherootof thebasic tenets of the United NationsFramework Convention onClimate Change(UNFCCC). Simultaneously, it underminestheachievementof aclimate-justworld.The principles of equity and common

but differentiated responsibilities and re-spective capabilities (CBDR-RC) based onhistorical responsibility have been thebedrock of climate actions under the UN-FCCCeversince1992.Thesearealsothecen-tral pillars onwhich India’s call for climatejustice is premised.The Paris Agreement on climate change

wasaforwardmarchfortheglobalcommu-nity in many ways. Developed countriespromisedtodeliverhigherfinancecommit-ment by 2025 and amore facilitative tech-nology regime, apart from leadingmitiga-tionactions.Developingcountriesagreedtotake legal obligation that entails undertak-ing domesticmitigationmeasures and re-porting on their implementation as part oftheir Nationally Determined Contributions(NDC).Climatejusticegainedtractionunderthe

leadershipofPrimeMinisterNarendraModiat the Paris COP. Itwas inscribed in the pre-amble of the Paris Agreement based onIndia’s articulation. PMModi has led by ex-ampleandmotivatedtheIndiangovernmentto introduce climate sensitivity in domesticpoliciesthroughinterventionslikeenergyforall,housingforall,healthinsuranceandcropinsurance, coupledwith calls for action likethe“CleanIndia”and“giveitup”campaigns,popularising yoga and sustainable lifestylepractices. Together, these initiatives ensureclimatejusticetothevulnerableandpoorsec-tions that areworst hit by climate change.Whiletherichwerecajoledtomovetowardssustainable living, the poorwere providedwith the safety nets to fight climate change.Nowhereelseintheworldhassuchanexper-imentbeenlaunchedonsucha largescale.With India’s efforts, climate justice has

now become an important part of the cli-mate change discourse. However, fewhavebeen able to grasp the significance of thisconcept and the idea has been left open tointerpretation.Whilepeopleinallcountrieshave a sense of justice, which is primarilyguidedbyperceptionsandsocialcondition-ing, addressing themoral values of justiceand fairness in climate changenegotiationshasbeenanythingbuteasy.InNicomachean Ethics, Aristotle distin-

guished three forms of justice, namely dis-tributive,commutativeandcorrective.WiththeonsetoftheimplementationphaseoftheParis Agreement, it would be useful to takestock of howwell the global community isaddressing these threeaspectsof justice.Distributive justice pertains to how re-

sources should be distributed in terms ofprinciples of equality, equity andmerit. For

climatechange,themostimportantresourceis theglobal carbonspace. It is important tonote that even though industrialisation inthedevelopedcountries is responsible for alarge part of the build-up in greenhousegaseswhich causes climate change, peopleofthedevelopingcountriesaresufferingdis-proportionatelymore from its impacts. Thedeveloped countries continue to corner alion’sshareof thecarbonspacefortheir lux-uriousconsumptionwhiletheygoaddevel-opingcountries tocut theiremissionsema-nating from even basic needs. The ClimateActionTrackerreportsthatclimateactionofmajor developed countries is incompatiblewith the goals of the Paris Agreement. It isonly a few developing countries, includingIndia, who are taking adequate climate ac-tion. Therefore, the focus should be on en-suring ambitious climate action by devel-oped countries in the near-term to ensuredistributiveclimatejusticeintheimplemen-tationof theParisAgreement.Commutativejusticereferstoagreements

or commitments, and other kinds of socialcontracts. In theclimatechangediscourse, itwouldrefertothehonouringofpastcommit-ments in good faith. The Kyoto Protocoladoptedin1997wasahistoric turningpointwithlegallybindingtargetsforindustrialisedcountries to reduce overall GHG emissions.However,thesecondcommitmentperiodofthe Kyoto Protocol that commits developedcountry parties to reduce greenhouse gasemissionsbyat least18percentbelow1990levelsbytheyear2020onlyenteredintoforceinDecember2020,justonedaybeforeitsex-piry.Notonlywerethesetargetsunambitiousandgrosslyinadequatetomeettheprincipalobjective of UNFCCC, but several developedcountriesbacktrackedandrefusedtotakeon

any targets in the second commitment pe-riod. The developed country delivery of fi-nance, technology transfer, and capacitybuilding support to developing countries isalso not up to themark. They are not evenclosetomeetingtheirclimatefinancegoalofjointlymobilisingatleast$100billionperyearby 2020 to support climate action in devel-opingcountries.Thefulfilmentof thesepastcommitmentswouldbeacriticalprecursortoanyenhancementofclimateambitionbyde-velopingcountries.Finally, corrective justice pertains to the

rightingofwrongs.Climatejusticedemandsthateveryindividualwhoisbornonthisearthhasarighttodevelopmentanddignifiedliv-ing.Forthis,developedcountriesneedtore-pay the climatedebtby shoulderinggreatermitigation responsibilities andproviding fi-nance,technologyandcapacitybuildingsup-porttosafeguardtheinterestofthepoorandvulnerablepeople indevelopingcountries.India and other developing countries

havestruggledhardtoensuredifferentiationbetweenthedevelopedandthedevelopingcountriesandenshrinetheprinciplesof eq-uityandCBDR-RCintheParisAgreement.So,whilemany herald the call for net zero by2050asapositivesignalinavoidingrunawayclimate breakdown, in reality it delays cli-mate action by developed countries and isbeingusedtoevadehistoricalresponsibilityand transfer burdens to developing coun-tries. It isnowtimethatdevelopedcountriesrosetotheoccasionandensuredclimatejus-ticeby leadingclimateaction responsibly.

RaviShankarPrasad isan IASofficer. Tillrecently,hewasadditional secretary in theministryof environment, forestsandclimate

change.Viewsarepersonal

Kiran BhattyandChristopheJaffrelot

Ravi Shankar Prasad

BEYOND NANDIGRAM

THIS REFERS TO the editorial,‘Nandigramcrucible’ (IE, April 1). Boththe TMC and BJP have pulled out allstops inNandigram. After all, MamataBanerjee’sdefeatherewouldbeahugeblow toher legacy. Itwill also catapultSuvendu Adhikari to the top of theBengal BJP leadership. Of course, ifMamata wins both Nandigram andBengal, she would successfully stopBJP’s inroads into her bastion.Nandigram’s below-par developmentstatus is something bothMamata andSuvendu have to answer for, eventhougheachisblamingtheotherforthecurrent stateof affairs.

SanjayChopra,Mohali

THISREFERSTOtheeditorial,‘Nandigramcrucible’(IE,April1).MamataBanerjee’sdecisiontocontestfromNandigrammayhave been driven more by ego thanshrewdpolitical calculations. Had shecampaigned in the district for anothercandidate,themomentumofthemulti-phasepollwouldnothavehingedonthisoneconstituency,howeversymbolicallyimportant itmay be. Butwhat is trulytragicistheapparentabsenceoftheLeftfromtheBengal election scenario. If, bygoingagainstallpredictionsandpolls,theCPMcanevenmatchits2016tally,thereis a chance that theBJP canbekept outpowerinthestate.

BiswadeepChatterjee,Delhi

HER RIGHTTHISREFERSTOthearticle, ‘Againstherchoice’(IE,April1).Accesstosafeabor-tionforawomanisabasichumanright.TheMedicalTerminationofPregnancyAct 1971had restrictions in place con-sidering the embryonic levels of tech-nological development back then. Thesituationhaschanged.Safemethodsofabortion are available aplenty.Overemphasis on themedical board’sopinion can compromise a woman’sright to bodily integrity. Reproductiveautonomyisanindividualrightandthestate ought tomakeminimal interfer-ence in it.AnjaliBhavana,Thiruvananthapuram

LETTER TO THEEDITOR

2021 IS a crucial year for the internationalcommunity,as it tacklestheCOVID-19chal-lengewith effective vaccination campaignsthatwill need tomix national health secu-rity and international solidarity.Furthermore, all countries will have to laythe foundations for a sustainable, and justsocialandeconomicrecoverythroughinter-nationalcooperation.Atthisparticularjunc-ture, Italywill playavery significant role, asthecountrywillbeattheforefrontofseveralprocessesof globalgovernance.SinceDecember1,2020,Italyhasheldthe

G20presidency,whichwill reach its climaxwith theRomeLeaders’ Summit inOctober2021.Puttinghealthatthetopof itspriorities,Italy will also host the paramount GlobalHealth Summit on May 21. In addition,throughouttheyear,Italywillalsobeco-chair-ing theCOP26with theUnitedKingdomandwill host a Youth Summit and the Pre-COPmeetinginMilanintherunuptotheGlasgowCOP26summitinNovember.These global appointmentsnot only rep-

resentimportantmomentsforItaly’sinterna-tional standing, but are also challenging intheseunprecedented times.When Italy tookoverthepresidencyoftheG20,theworldwasin themidstof theworstpandemic in recenthistory and probably themost severe eco-nomiccrisissince1929.In this difficult context, Italy defined the

priorities of its G20presidency being aware

that great challenges open newopportuni-ties.Wewereawarethatallplayersmustacttogether,astheresponsetoglobalchallengescanonlycomefromaunitedandcomprehen-siveaction.Withthisinmind,theItalianPresidencyof

G20 crafted its priorities on three pillars:“People,planetandprosperity”.For the first, Italy’s priority is to eradicate

povertyandtackleinequalityandpromoteuni-versalaccesstohealthcare.Agreaterinclusive-nessshouldbepursuedbyprotectingthevul-nerable and empoweringwomen.Wewillworktoincreasepoliciesthatencouragetheirparticipation in the labour force and reducethegender gap in termsof salary andmana-gerialpositions.Wealsowanttopromotegirls’education andmake sure that the progressachievedoverthelastdecadedoesnotvanishas a consequence of the pandemic.We arekeentonotonlyworkforthecreationofnewjobs,butalsotoenhancesocialprotectionandactive labourpolicies to accelerate the re-in-clusionof theunemployedintheworkforce.Asfarasthe“planet”isconcerned,address-

ing climate change is a global challenge thatcannot bedelayed. The ItalianpresidencyofG20willfocusonthereinforcementofnationalcommitmentsundertheParisAgreementandpush for the further implementation of thesustainabledevelopmentgoals(SDGs).Wewillalso stress the importance of policies in thefieldoflanddegradation,biodiversitylossand

urbanenvironment,whicharecrucialcompo-nentsof a green transition. This entails refor-estationprojectsandtheidentificationofbestpractices inthemanagementandrenovationofbuildingsandinfrastructuretoimproveen-ergy efficiency and resilience.Wewill alsowork to encourage the promotion of a newmodel for producing and consuming and toimproveaccesstocleanenergy.Toaddress“prosperity”,weaimatensur-

inguniversalinternetaccess,thusbridgingthedigital divide andmaking sure that the digi-talrevolution—acceleratedbythepandemic—will be a global revolution leaving no onebehind.Wewill studyhowtoexploit thepo-tential of digitalisation to contribute to pro-ductivityandgrowth.Theseambitiousprojectswillbeanalysed

anddevelopedbydetailedprogrammesof15workinggroupsthatarealreadymeetingonaregularbasis.Fromthis perspective, our aim is towork

closelywith our Indian partners on an eco-nomic recovery fully basedon theprinciplesof sustainability and respect for the environ-ment. In thisparticular field,wehavealreadyestablished a strong partnership on energytransition,whichisclearlystatedinthePlanofActionadoptedbyourtwoprimeministersonNovember6,2020.Furthermore,manyItaliancompaniesarecontributingtoIndia’sleapto-wardagreenereconomy(Enel,amongothers,hasbeenattheforefrontofmajorinvestments

fortheproductionofcleanenergy).Wearealsokeenindevelopingmodelsthat

canhelpprevent—andalsotackle—thehealthchallenges thatmakeour communities vul-nerable.We learnt over this past year thathealthisaglobalpublicgood,maybethemostimportant andcrucial one for thewell-beingandproper functioning of our societies, andthat’swhyitneedstobepreservedbytheen-tire international community. In this regard,ouractionwithIndiaisdevelopingaroundthepossibility of boostingour scientific researchwithprojects that canhelpus furtherunder-standtheevolutionofpandemicsand,perhaps,preventfutureoutbreaks.Finally,ourbilateralcooperationhasseen

extraordinaryimprovementsinthelast fewmonths, also thanks to theprogressivedig-italisationof our interactions. For example,we developed a very efficient permanentdigital platform with our partners fromInvest India, with whomwe interact on aregularbasistotackletheissuesandqueriesthatItaliancompaniesoperatinginIndia,es-pecially SMEs, may have to encourage theflow of investments from and towards thetwocountries.ItalyandIndiawillfacethesechallengesto-

getherbymakingthemostof theglobalgov-ernancetoolboxandourbilateralPlanofAction2020-2024.

Thewriter is theambassadorof Italy to India

For Italyand India, cooperation iskeytoweatheringchallengesofpandemic

A future, together

Vincenzo de Luca

IDEAS

ONLINE

ONLY IN THE EXPRESS

●●SOLVINGTHEPLASTIC

PACKAGINGPROBLEM:

DEEPAKPANT

●● INAFGHANISTAN, INDIA

NEEDSSEATATTABLE:

PRANAYKSHOME

www.indianexpress.com

Theemissions targetdelaysclimateactionbydevelopedcountriesand isbeingusedtotransferburdens todevelopingcountries

CR Sasikumar

Kolkata

Page 8: 020421 KO 01R

CALENDAR8 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL2,2021

CROSSWORD4393

ACROSS1 VeryFrenchtoapprovesin(8)

5 Braveman;hehasheartof iron(4)

9 Rene’supsetbyexpressionofcontempt (5)

10 I seemsomehowto followit indetail (7)

11 Shewasoneofhisheroines(5,7)

13 Periodswhenthings lookdifferent (6)

14 ApoundtooneonBritain(6)

17 Keyphrase? (7,5)20 Somewearacheerful smile inaffliction (7)

21 Amanwill lovesuchagreeting(5)

22 It’snonsense tocall for silence(4)

23 Possibly resistedonewhoarrangespublication(8)

DOWN1 Trial sample (4)2 Timeofdaywhenenginebreaksdown-about five(7)

3 Salesman’s ideal covetedbymusicians (7,5)

4 Minoroffence (6)6 Heather ispartAmerican(5)

7 Steaksocooked isbynomeansrare (8)

8 Long lanethatdoeshaveaturning forheadwear(3-6,3)

12 Lothto tackleanythingnotlinedout (8)

15 Try toplease?(7)16There’snodisputing it’s a formofdeadlysin (6)

18 Acquiresa twistedsnare(5)

19 Anoutstandingmanager(4)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)Recentdevelopmentsmayhavethrownaspannerintheworks

justasyouseemedtobedoingsowell.Trytogetbackoncoursebeforepartnersandcolleaguesbegintodoubtyourabilitytosucceed.Sociallyandromantically,you’reonagoodpathnow,somakethemostof it.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)Moneymaybeinshortsupplybut, inviewofdevelopmentsover

thelastfewdays, this isperhapstobeexpected.Ahiccupsuchasthis isusualbeforeembarkingonaventurecalculatedtochangethecourseofyourlife.Checkoutatravelplan—nowmightbethetimeatreasuredambitioncomestrue.

GEMINI(May22-June21)Therearesoundreasonswhyyoushouldnowbideyourtimeandleavea

majornewenterpriseuntil later,perhapsuntilnextyear.Holdimportantdiscussionsonlyafteryou’reconvincedthatotherpeoplewillbepreparedtolistentowhatyouhavetosay.Putyourpointof viewwithcare.

CANCER(June22-July23)Noonecancompelyoutodoanythingagainstyourwill, soyouhavenoneedto

fearpressurefrompartnersorcolleagues.However, itmaybeinyourbest intereststomeetotherpeoplehalf-way.Partnersstillhavetheadvantage,soyoumayhavetobepatient.

LEO(July24-Aug23)Byandlargeyou’reinforafriendlyday,amomenttobroadenyourhorizonsand

setyoursightshigherthaninthepast.This isnotimetodwellonpersonalproblems,howeverimportanttheymayseem.Thereareotherpeopleinyourcirclewhorequirehelpandassistancefarmoreurgentlythanyou.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sept23)Mercuryformsachallengingbutconstructiverelationshipwiththe

Moon,sothere’severychancethatahelpfulagreementwillbeconcluded.Whatapleasantchangeitwillmaketofindeveryonewhocountsinanamicablemood.Youwillsoondiscoverthatpartnersaresupportingyouafterall.

LIBRA(Sept24-Oct23)You’vehadmorethanenoughtimetoimpress thepeoplewhomatter,with

your flareandcharm.Nowyoumustbegin torelyonyourdeeper talents, realisingthatappearancesarenoguaranteeof long-termsuccess.Atwork, concentrateon improvingrelationshipswithcolleagues.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov22)Rightnowforesightandcommonsenseareyourmostvaluedqualities,andif

you’vebeenalittleshortontheselately, this isthetimetomakeupforthelackandcompensateforbadjudgmentatthebeginningof theweek.Youmightsoonstumbleonamajorfinancialoffer—onewhichwasunderyournoseallthetime.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov23-Dec22)Enforcedchangesathomecanmakeyouevenmoredeterminedthen

evertogetyourownway.Actually, ifyouruncarefullythroughtheeventsof thelastfewdaysyou’llseeapatternemerginginwhichyouhadakeyparttoplay.Yourself-esteemcanonlybenefit.

CAPRICORN(Dec23-Jan20)Countyourblessings. So far,certainplanshaveworkedout

remarkablywell insomerespects, soputanendtoyourobsessionwithhowdifficultlife isandhowunfortunateyouare.Aconfidentmannerwillhelpyoucreatea favourableandsecure future.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)Noonegainswhenyoutry todistanceyourself fromfamilymemberswhohave

beendoingtheirbest tohelpyou.Youmayaswell just facethe fact that their ideasaboutyour futuredonotcoincidewithyours. Socially, you’llbeable tomakeasplashbynextweek.

PISCES(Feb.20-Mar20)Thisisatimetobroadenyourhorizons, lookingbeyondtheconfines

ofhomeorworkforfulfilmentandsatisfaction.Theremaybeactivitiesthatyouhavenotyetconsideredbutwhichwouldimprovethequalityofyourlife.Andthatwouldbenobadthing.

SUDOKU4429

DifficultyLevel1s

Instructions

TosolveaSudokupuzzle,

everydigitfrom1to9

mustappear ineachofthe

nineverticalcolumns, in

eachoftheninehorizontal

rowsandineachofthe

nineboxes.

DifficultyLevel

1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;

3s=Medium;4s=Hard;

5s=VeryHard;6s=

Genius SOLUTIONSUDOKU4428

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto

therespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget

theanswerforthegivenquip.

IttookmefouryearstopaintlikeRaphael,buta___topaintlikeachild.-PabloPicasso(8)

SOLUTION:SWEEP,LIPID,TUMBLE,ARMFULAnswer:IttookmefouryearstopaintlikeRaphael,butalifetimetopaintlikeachild.-PabloPicasso

WEEPS BEMULT

DLPII FULMAR

SolutionsCrossword4392: 1Treadmill,8Alone,9Avocado,10Co-heir,11Censer,12All fours,15Peagreen,18Dieted,20Needle,21Monitor,22Evens,23Headlines.Down:2Revue,3Accost,4Moderate,5Layoff,6Coverup,7Depressed,11Carpenter,13Landlord,14Cavemen,16Relish,17Gemini,19Evoke.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

NOTICEBOARD CORPORATE ASSOCIATE DIARY A P P O I N T M E N T S , M O V E M E N T S , C E L E B R A T I O N S , H O N O U R S

E V E N T S , A N N O U N C E M E N T S , L A U N C H E S , C S R I N I T I A T I V E S , A P P O I N T M E N T S , M O V E M E N T S , C E L E B R A T I O N S

World Water Day was observed by Rotary Club of Belur,Kolkata on 22 March. Rotary International 3291 DistrictGovernor Sudip Mukherjee and District Governor Elect PrabirChatterjee, President Aloke Kanodia along with Ms SusmitaBhattacharya Chatterjee inaugurated the awareness programat Calcutta International Club, initiated by Project Chairman PastPresident Rakesh Bhatia.. Rotary Members and families drovewith SAVE WATER SAVE LIVES posters on their vehiclescovering the City with stopovers at various Police manningcrossings handing over to the Police with water bottles, chocolates and biscuits, as they understand and need the freshwater most in this scorching sun. A team of Rotarians moved to restaurants especially on Park Street in requesting themto fill their glasses with water to the extent the customer drinks so that fresh water is not wasted.

WORLD WATER DAY

CSIR-CMERI transferred the technologies of the HighFlow Rate Defluoridation Plant of capacity 10,000 Litre /hour and the High Flow Rate Arsenic Removal Plant of ca-pacity 5000 Litre / hour to M/s Unicare Technologies Pvt.Ltd., Pune, Maharashtra on 30th March 2021 in thepresence of Prof. Harish Hirani, Director, CSIR-CMERIand officials of M/s Unicare Technologies Pvt. Ltd.It was a common practice to use imported media in mit-igation of water borne contaminants like Fluoride andArsenic. However, in present scenario, one step ahead, CSIR-CMERI is capable of developing technologies in the con-text of self-sufficient/reliant India. The pilot plant for these technologies have already been developed and installedat CSIR-CMERI to demonstrate the concerned transferable technologies.

TRANSFER OF CSIR-CMERI WATER TECHNOLOGIES-A STEP TOWARDS A BLUE REVOLUTION

Essentially Healthy Private Ltd (EHPL), part of the S K Bajoria Group Com-pany, has launchedSurite - a one-stop digital healthcaresolution App here todayfor easy and affordable access to healthcare products and services. Surite canbe downloaded through the Appstore and Playstore and will also be availablethrough our web portal www.surite.in.

EHPL LAUNCHES SURITE - ONE STOP SOLUTION FOR ALL YOUR HEALTHCARE NEEDS

The ICC Gems & Jewellery Summit 2021 is a highly-anticipated knowledge-sharing event for the Indian gems and jewelleryindustry. The thirdeditionheldonMarch20witnessedeminent speakersdiscussing transformation in thegemsand jewelleryindustry,withengagingsessionson topicssuchas ‘Vision2025–Local, Vocal&Global’, ‘Honouring theKarigars’, ‘Diamondand Platinum – Trust, Transparency and Consumer Focus’, among others.Apoorva Deshingkar, Sr. Director – Sales, GIA In-dia, held the keynote address.

GIA SHARES HOW RESEARCH-BASED GEMMOLOGICAL EDUCATION IS THE KEY TO SKILLED

WORKFORCE IN THE INDIAN GEM AND JEWELLERY INDUSTRY

GRSE, a Mini Ratna Defence PSU Shipyard has paid an interim dividend of Rs. 44.10 Crores for FY 2020-21 to its sharehold-ers. The Interim Dividend Cheque amounting to Rs. 32,85,63,774/- as the government’s share was handed over to Hon’bleRaksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, by Rear Admiral V K Saxena, IN (Retd.) Chairman & Managing Director of Garden ReachShipbuilders & Engineers Ltd., Kolkata, today at New Delhi in thepresence ofShri Raj Kumar Secretary (DefenceProduction).Notwithstanding the impact of COVID 19 pandemic, GRSE has declared an interim dividend of Rs. 3.85 per equity share ofRs.10 for FY 20-21. GRSE has been consistent in paying dividend to the Shareholders and has done so every year for the last27 years.Since its inception in 1960, GRSE has the distinction of being the only Defence Shipyard to have delivered more than100 warships (107 warships as on date). The shipyard has an order book position which stands at 25,887 crores ason 31 Dec 20.

GRSE PAYS INTERIM DIVIDEND OF RS. 44.10 CRORES FOR FY 2020-21:

HANDS OVER DIVIDEND CHEQUE TO GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

On 24.03.2021 at about 13.40 hrs, an on-duty RPF staffs while conducting a routine check in a train at Kavi Subhash Sta-tion found an unclaimed ladies purse. Finding no claimant of this bag, the RPF staff handed it over to the Station Master’soffice of Kavi Subhash Station. After opening the bag, cash, one ATM card, one Metro Smart Card were found in it. There-after, the on-duty Station Master made repeated announcements through the Public Address System in the Station re-questing the owner of the bag to collect it from his office after showing valid proof. After a while, a lady came to the StationMaster’s office and claimed ownership of the bag.After proper verification the same was handed over to her. She ex-pressed her heartfelt gratitude to the RPF staff and other Metro officials for their promptness and responsible action.Sent from HCL Verse

PROMPTNESS OF ALERT RPF HELPS LADY RECOVER HER LOST PURSE

Chittaranjan Locomotive Works(CLW) achieved anothermilestone by rolling out 390 electric locomotives in only264 working days in the FY 2020-21 on 31st March 2021.Shri Satish Kumar Kashyup, General Manager flagged offthe 390th electric locomotive of WAG-9HC series bearingno. 33114 from CLW accompanied with senior officers,staff & supervisors.In the first 6 months of F.Y. 2020-21 production was slowdue to COVID related restrictions. The supply chain of ma-terial was inconsistent due to national and statewise lock-down and restrictions. Yet with proper planning and man-agement, CLW revamped production from second halfand continuously produced 40 + locos during last 6months due to which production almost doubled in thesecond half of the year.Shri Kashyup had congratulated the entire team of locoproduction and appreciated their effort in successful pro-duction of 390 locomotives.With this trend in production, it is expected that, CLW willscale newer heights in loco production in coming years.

CLW ACHIEVES PRODUCTION TARGET

Due to raising of sectional speed from 110 kmph to 130 Kmph in Andul-Kharagpur-Tatanagar Section of South East-ern Railway, there will be changes in arrival and departure timings for some trains running over this section. The fol-lowing trains will run as per the revised schedule mentioned below w.e.f 01.04.2021 as a result of speed acceler-ation.✪ 02222 Howrah-Pune Special will leave Howrah at 05.45 hrs instead of 05.40 hrs. In the return direction, 02221Pune-Howrah Special will arrive Howrah at 20.05 hrs instead of 20.10 hrs.✪ 02260 Howrah-Mumbai CSMT Special

REVISED ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE TIME OF SPECIAL TRAINS DUE TO RAISING OF SPEED IN

ANDUL - KHARAGPUR - TATANAGAR SECTION OF SOUTH EASTERN RAILWAY

Chai Sutta Bar the brand known for Spreading Taste ofChai in a Kulhad across India today announced itslaunch in India’s 2nd most populated city Kolkata. Theopening of the Kolkata store took place in a closed eventdue to COVID guidelines in DN 53, Sector 5, Salt Lake,Kolkata a prime location and in one of the busiest streetsof the City. The franchise outlet was inaugurated by In-dian Film Actor, Shakti Kapoor as a Special Guest to thestore. With this launch, the brand has now surpassed140+ franchise outlets in the country.With the idea ofspreading the taste of Kulhad worldwide the brand hastried to keep its pricing at the most nominal low so that it suits the pocket for all and caters the masses. Aftermaking its presence felt across the Western, Northern and North- Western belt with a blissful kulhad of Chai, ChaiSutta Bar is all set to make a debut in the eastern states of India.

CUDDLE THE KULHAD NOW IN KOLKATA WITH THE NEWLY OPENED CHAI SUTTA BAR

Dr. D K Pal, urologist and a surgeon of J N Roy hospital takes us throughthe scenario of the covid. According to him, any form of virus is not pos-sible to curb away easily, but the variations can be determined by re-searches. For precautions it’s a request from all the medical fraternity to-wards the patients, if not that in emergency then to avoid hospital visits andalso social gatherings to be safe.He also heads the team of renal transplantfrom SSKM. While discussing he explains about the green corridormethod as well. It’s the process where the vital organs of a brain death pa-tient is investigated and carried within sometime to a new patient who isin need of the transplant. Its been seen that many women suffers frombladder tumour which is not exactly possible to happen in womans. Butafter the study it was seen that Arsenic is the cause for bladder tumour and malignancy in womans. The report suc-cessfully got completed on 2019 and got published in March 2021 by Dr. S K Pal and his associates.

DR. PAL A RENOWNED UROLOGIST

The apex body of private real estate developers, Confed-eration of RealEstate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI),with a strong membership base of 13,000+developers in 21 States and 217 Cities, across India, to-day, announced Mr. Harsh VardhanPatodia, MD, Unimark Group, Kolkata, as the new Na-tional President for the term 2021-23.The tenure of outgoing President Mr. Satish Magar endson March 31st 2021. At the installationceremony, the new Office bearers and Chairman of var-ious committees were also announced:The new team for the FY 2021-23 comprises of:• Mr. Satish Magar, Chairman, CREDAI National• Mr. Harsh Vardhan Patodia , President, CREDAI Na-tional• Mr. Boman Irani, President Elect, CREDAI National• Mr. Pankaj Goel, Secretary, CREDAI National• Mr. Deepak Goradia, Treasurer, CREDAI National

CREDAI’S NEW PRESIDENT HARSH

VARDHAN PATODIA

Kolkata

Page 9: 020421 KO 01R

9THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL2,2021

EXPRESSNETWORK

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

STRAIGHT DRIVEWHILE CELEBRATING the record construction of highways,UnionministerNitinGadkarirecalledhisdaysasacricketer.Hesaid as adecent cricketer inhis youth, hehad internalised thephilosophy that either youhit theball for sixes and fours for acenturyorgetout,butneverwastetimeinthemiddle.Hesaidthiswashis approach toworkaswell.Describing theachieve-ment of 37 kmroads constructionper day, he said itwas likeaimingforacenturybutstoppingat99runs,sincethetargetof40kmcouldnotbeachieved.

RACE AGAINST TIMETHE ELECTION Commission put polls to three Rajya SabhaseatsfromKeralainabeyancelastweekafteritreceiveda“ref-erence”fromtheLawMinistry.Thisattractedalotof flakfrompoliticalparties,whichaccusedthepollpanelofallowingpo-liticalinterferenceinschedulingofelections.ThegovernmenthadenquiredwhetherRSpolls shouldbeheldafter thenewAssemblyisconstitutedinKerala.Thisweek,theECinformedtheKeralaHigh Court that polls to the three RS seatswill beheld during the termof the current Assembly. However, thefresh schedule hasn’t been announced yet. The terms of thethreemembers expire on April 21. It usually takes 18 to 19days towrapupelections toaRSseat. If theECdoesn’tnotifythe freshschedulebyApril2, it isquite likely that resultswillnotbeannouncedbeforeApril21and,hence, itcouldendupinterrupting the termcycle for the threeseats.

CLEARING BACKLOGIN AN attempt to tackle pendency of cases that rose signifi-cantlylastyearduetotheCovid-19pandemic, theKarnatakaHighCourtorganisedamegae-LokAdalat, inwhichover3.3lakhcaseswereheard inasingleday.While therecordnum-berof cases itselfwasanachievement, theHighCourtnotedthatonebenchinMysuru,whichheard29matrimonialcases,ensured thatall 29estrangedcoupleswere reunited.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, APRIL 1

STATING THAT the situation intheCongresshasdeterioratedsomuch thatmany partyworkersare now unwilling to declarethemselves asmembers of theparty, a Congress old timer haswritten an open letter to partypresidentSoniaGandhi seekinganhonest introspection.In his letter, Ranji Thomas, a

former AICC secretary -- whohas worked closely with lateAhmed Patel, Ambika Soni andOscarFernandes,askedSoniatocontinueaspartypresidentandreconstitute the CongressWorking Committee (CWC)with “leaders of experience,knowledge, political acumenand loyalty to theCongress.”A lawyer by profession,

Thomas was appointedAdvocate General of ArunachalPradeshduringtheUPAgovern-ment. He alleged that the partyis “presently facing unforeseenchallenges from outside andwithin” and some action needstobetaken“beforeitisdamagedirretrievably.”“Today, we have come to a

stagewheremany active partyworkersareunwillingtodeclarethemselves asmembers of thegreat political party, which gotfreedom for India, but prefer si-lenceorarejoiningotherpartiesdue to compelling reasons,” hesaid in the letter.Thomas urged Sonia to take

steps to “reactivate and rejuve-nate” the party and argued thathercontinuanceastheCongresspresidentistheonlywaytodoit.

Guwahati: Bodoland People’sFront (BPF) candidate RangjaKhungur Basumatary onThursdayjoinedBJPaheadofthethirdphaseofAssemblyelectioninAssamwhentheconstituency,inwhichheisacontestant,goesto thepoll onApril 6.Basumatary had reportedly

gonemissingfortwodaysandonWednesdaymidnight, seniorBJPleader Himanta Biswa SarmatweetedthathemettheBPFcan-didate,whowouldjointhesaffronparty.BPF is anally of theoppo-sitionCongress inAssam.“Sri Ram Das Basumatary

metmeashortwhileago.Hehasexpressed his desire to Join@BJP4India and retire from theelection,” Sarmatweeted.A statement by Congress

confirmed that Basumataryjoined BJP on Thursday. “You(BJP) threatened to use the NIAagainst thepartyandthecandi-date,” Congress MP ManishTewari said. PTI

New Delhi: The ElectionCommissiononThursdayissueda show cause notice to AssamministerandBJPleaderHimantaBiswaSarma for allegedlymak-ingthreateningremarksagainstopposition leader HagramaMohilary of the BodolandPeople’s Front. He has beenaskedtorespondtothenoticeby5pmonApril 2.The Congress had ap-

proached the EC alleging thatSarma had threatened to sendMohilary to jail bymisusing theNIA. The BPF is an ally of theCongress inAssam. PTI

ARUNJANARDHANANCHENNAI, APRIL 1

DAYSAFTERDMK leaderARajaissued an apology following acontroversyoverhisderogatoryremarks against Chief MinisterEdappadi K Palaniswami, theElection Commission (EC) onThursday reprimanded him forviolation of themodel code ofconduct,debarredhimfromthepoll campaign for48hours, andremovedhis name from the listof star campaigners.RajamovedtheMadrasHigh

Court against the EC order buthispleawasdismissed.“The commission also ad-

visesyoutobewatchfulandnottomake intemperate, indecent,derogatory, obscene remarksandlowerthedignityofwomenin future during the electioncampaign,” said an EC order,datedApril 1, addressingRaja.The High Court dismissed

Raja’splea forurgenthearingof a

writpetitionchallengingtheECor-der. Amention to this effectwasmadebyRaja's senior counselVShanmugasundarambefore thefirst benchof Chief Justice SanjibBanerjeeandJusticeSenthilkumarRamamoorthy.Hepleadedthere-questmightbeheardimmediatelyconsidering the availability of ashortperiodof just threedays forcanvassing.Acategorical“no”wasthereplyoftheCJ.Rajamade the remarks dur-

ingapollcampaignatChepauk-ThiruvallikeniconstituencyofMKStalin’ssonUdhayanidhiStalin.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICECHENNAI,APRIL1

APOLLCAMPAIGNspeechmadeby DMK chief M K Stalin’s sonUdhayanidhi Stalin attackingPrimeMinister NarendraModikicked up a controversy onThursday.During his road show at

Dharapuram onWednesday, aday afterModi's campaign thereforBJPstatepresidentLMurugan,Udhayanidhi said: “Modi hadcomehereyesterdayandaccusedthatIhadtakenashortcutroute...Who is saying that? Being theChief Minister of Gujarat, weknow that howModi sidelinedmany... Ihavethelist”.Hethenwentontonameparty

veterans L K Advani, MurliManohar Joshi, Yashwant Sinha(who recently joinedTrinamoolCongress); Sushma Swaraj andArunJaitley.HeclaimedSwarajandJaitley“diedoftroubles”forwhichheblamedthePrimeMinister.As videos of Udhayanidhi’s

speechcirculated,Swaraj’sdaugh-ter Bansuri Swaraj Thursdaytweeted to register her protest.“Udhayanidhiji,pleasedonotusemymother'smemory for yourpollpropaganda!Yourstatementsarefalse!PMNarendraModijibe-stowedutmost respect andhon-

ouronmymother. Inourdarkesthour, the PMandparty stoodbyusrocksolid!Yourstatementhashurtus,”shewrotetagginghisfa-therStalinandtheBJP.Later in the evening, Jaitley's

daughter Sonali Jaitley Bakhshialso tweeted: “@Udhaystalin ji, Iknowthereiselectionpressure–but Iwon't stay silentwhenyoulie&disrespectmyfather'smem-ory. Dad @arunjaitley & Shri@narendramodi ji shared a spe-cialbondthatwasbeyondpolitics.I pray you are lucky enough toknowsuchfriendship...”Udhayanidhi,who is leading

roadshows across the state forseveralweeks,saidthathewasn’t“scared” of Modi like E KPalaniswamiorOPanneerselvam.“I am Udhayanidhi Stalin,Kalaignar’s grandson…,”hesaid,referring to the late MKarunanidhi,tocheeringcrowds.

TORAAGARWALAGUWAHATI,APRIL1

ACONSTABLE on duty and twopeoplewere injured inpolice fir-ing on Thursday evening afterclashes broke out at a pollingbooth in Sonai constituency ofAssam'sCachardistrict.Sitting BJPMLA fromSonai,

Aminul Haque Laskarwas alsopresentatthespotandhadtotakerefuge in the polling booth. He,alongwith polling officials,waslaterrescued,officialssaid.AssamPoliceADGP,SNSingh,

saidtheinjuredareoutofdanger.“When the last leg of voters

werequeuingup in the evening,more people came,” Singh said.“The presiding officer said thatsince distribution of tokens (forvoting) had been done, theywouldnot be allowed to vote asperrule.”This,hesaid, ledtoanalterca-

tion.AsLaskararrivedamidthis,“somepeoplemayhave tired tomisbehavewithhim–therewasstone-peltingandoneshotwasfiredbythearmedforce”,Singhsaid.Singhsaidacrowdofroughly

700peoplehadgatheredoutside

thestation,andre-pollingwouldtakeplace.Laskar faces Karim Uddin

BarbhuiyaofAIUDFatSonai.In all, 73.03 per cent polling

was reported from39 seats thatwenttopollsThursday.Meanwhile, the Congress

Thursday filed amemorandumagainst state minister PijushHazarikaforallegedlythreateningNazrul Islam, a journalist withPratidin Times TV channel.Hazarika is trying to retainJagiroadseat,whichwenttopollstoday. FULLREPORTON

www.indianexpress.com

EC debars A Raja fromcampaign for 48 hrs over‘derogatory’ remarks

DMKMP’spleaagainst theECorderwasdismissedbytheMadrasHighCourt

UdayanidhiStalininKannankurichiinSalem.Twitter/Udhaystalin

Cong veteranwrites to Soniaover ‘partymismanagement’

BPF candidatejoins BJP aheadof third phase

Stalin’s son targetsPM; Swaraj, Jaitleydaughters protest

EC notice toHimanta overMohilary ‘threat’

SarmaatPalasbari inKamrupdistrict. PTI

Cop, 2 others injured in Assam violence

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIATHIRUKOYILUR(TN),APRIL1

UNION HOME Minister AmitShah on Thursday hit out at theDMKover its leader A Raja’s al-leged vulgar remarks againstTamil Nadu Chief Minister KPalaniswami’smother, saying itshowed theparty hadno regardforwomen. The “mothers andsisters”ofthestateshouldteacha“lesson” to theDMK in theApril6Assemblypolls bydefeating it,hesaid.Addressing an election rally

here, Shah canvassed votes forNDAcandidates--thosefromtheAIADMK,BJPandthePMK,evenashechargedtheDMKwithaim-ingtoromphomeinthepollsby“hookorcrook”.Referring to Raja’s alleged

offensive remarks targeted atPalaniswami, leader of theBJP’s ally AIADMK, Shah alsoaccused the DMK andCongress of corruption anddynasty. “I saw the statementby DMK leader A Raja. Thekind of statement he madeagainst a deceased woman. Ithink they (DMK) have no re-gard for women and want towin this election by hook orcrook,” he said.“Inthepast,DMKmadesuch

bad remarks against (the lateChief Minister) Jayalalithaa ji. IappealtothemothersandsistersofTamilNadu--teachalessontothe anti-women DMK in thepollsbydefeatingit,”theBJPvet-eransaid.

ABHISHEKSAHAKOKRAJHAR,APRIL 1

THE “MAHA jhooth” (grand lie)of the ‘Mahajot’ (Congress-AIUDF alliance) will suffer a

“maha haar”(granddefeat),PrimeMinisterNarendraModi onThursday tolda massiveelection rallyin Kokrajhar,theheadquar-

ter of the Bodoland TerritorialRegion inwesternAssam.“Congress and its ‘mahajot’

have been shown the red cardagain,” said PM Modi, whileaddingthatpeoplebelieveinthe

NDA for peace and security inAssam.“ThiselectionisbetweenMahajot’smaha jhoot and dou-ble engine’s maha-vikas,” hesaid,referringtoBJP-ledgovern-ments at the Centre and state.“For sustained development inBodoland, ourmantra is peace,progress and protection,” hesaid, while alleging that theCongressencouragesencroach-ersanddividescommunities.The BJP has repeatedly al-

legedthatBadruddinAjmalandhis party AIUDF encourageunauthorised migration fromBangladesh. “Those peoplewhom the Congress had pro-tected earlier for its vote bank,today the Congress is dreamingof grabbing power with theirhelp,”Modi said.

FULLREPORTON

www.indianexpress.com

Grand lie of grandalliance will suffer granddefeat: PM in Assam

AmitShahataroadshowforpartycandidateKAnnamalai inVelayuthampalayam.

DECISION2021ASSAM

Alleges that

DMKwants to

winelectionby

‘hookorcrook’

DMKanti-women... mothersmust teach it a lesson: Shah

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIANEWDELHI,APRIL1

DAYSAFTERWest Bengal ChiefMinisterMamata Banerjee ac-cused her then confidant andpresentrivalSuvenduAdhikariofbeing involved in the 2007 vio-lence inNandigram, the CPI(M)Thursdaysaidtheremarksvindi-cated the party's stand and “ex-posed the truth about the inci-dent” inwhich 14peoplelosttheir lives.At a publicmeeting

onSunday,Banerjeeac-cused both SuvenduAdhikari and his fatherSisir Adhikari of allow-ing the police to enterNandigramin2007.Shealsoaccusedthe father-sonduoofallowing“po-licewearingslippers”toenterthevillageinWestBengal'sEastMidnaporedistrict.Fourteen villagers protesting

against land acquisition inNandigramwerekilled,manybypolice firing, onMarch 14, 2007.TheLeftFront, ledbytheCPI(M),was in power in West Bengalthen.Reacting to Banerjee's re-

marks,CommunistPartyofIndia(Marxist) general secretarySitaramYechury said the com-ments finally "vindicated" hisparty'sstandontheincidentthatoccurredmorethanadecadeago.

“From the right-wingRSS, thefundamentalistforces to the ultra-Leftand the Maoists -- allgangedup,broughtinil-legal arms to create thisunrest inNandigram in2007.Now,everythingisexposed. BothMamataand the Adhikaris haveconfirmedthis."There are reports

that Suvendu Adhikarihas claimedMamata knew thevalue of every bullet that wasfiredandthenamesof thoseonwhom theywere fired on. Thisis the fact, we had said it thenanditwascorrect.Thetruthhasbeen exposed but it took themmore than 10 years to admitthis," Yechury toldPTI.Speaking of Banerjee's letter

tooppositionparties,hesaidtheCPI(M)was pushing for such astandfromallthesecular,non-BJPparties in therun-uptothe2019generalelection.

Feel vindicated onNandigram truth:CPM on fight betweenMamata, Suvendu

DECISION2021WESTBENGAL

MamataBanerjeehad

accusedbothSuvendu

Adhikariandhis father

SisirAdhikariof

allowingthepoliceto

enterNandigramin

2007

ARUNJANARDHANANCHENNAI,MARCH1

RAJINIKANTH, the larger-than-lifesuperstarwhosenear-myth-ical presence in the conscious-ness of the cinemagoing publichas few parallels, will be be-stowed the government's high-est honour for Indian cinema,theDadasahebPhalkeAward.Theannouncement,madeby

Information and BroadcastingMinister Prakash Javadekar onThursday, mayhaveraisedsomeeyebrows—coming as it did

amid a heated election season.But fewwould dispute Rajini'sclaimtothecountry'smostpres-tigious honour for a cinemaartiste.And sure enough, the con-

gratulatorymessagespoured inswiftly,evenfrompoliticalrivals.

DMK chief and Chief MinistercandidateMKStalin said itwasadelayedhonour for the super-star—an “unparalleled per-former” and a “dear friend”.Actor-turned-politician KamalHaasansaidRajiniwasthemostappropriate artiste to get theaward. He tweeted that Rajinihad“proventhathecanwinoverfansbyappearingonscreen”.Rajini thanked them all. His

friend, the bus driver RajBahadur (whohededicated theaward to), for encouraging himto travel to Chennai, thenMadras, topursueacting.

Rajini gets Dadasaheb Phalke Award

Rajinikanthdedicatedhisawardtothosepartofhisjourney.File

HAMZAKHANJAIPUR,APRIL 1

THE RAJASTHAN governmentThursdaylaunchedtheregistra-tion process for its ambitiousMukhya Mantri ChiranjeeviSwasthya Bima Yojana (MM-CSBY), the flagship scheme forproviding universal health cov-erageinthestatethatisexpectedtobe launchedonMay1.Under the Rs 3,500-crore

scheme, announced by ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot in the2021-22StateBudget,eachfam-ilyinthestateisentitledtohealthinsurancecoverofRs5lakheveryyear inallgovernmenthospitalsandselectprivate facilities.“Registrations for Rajasthan

Government’s cashless treat-ment for all – MukhyamantriChiranjeevi Swasthya BimaYojana have begun in the statefrom today. It is one of ourbiggest health care schemes

aimed at providingmedical re-lief toallresidentsofRajasthan,”Gehlot tweeted.“People can get registered

andbeassuredofcashlesstreat-ment,”hesaid.The scheme covers 1,576

packages and procedures fortreatment of various diseases,and expenses for medicalconsultation, tests, medicine-- fivedays before admissionand 15 days after discharge.For common ailments, thestate will provide health cov-erage up to Rs 50,000 and upto Rs 5 lakh for more seriousdiseases.InhisBudgetspeech,Gehlot

had announced the ‘Rajasthan

Model of Public Health’(RMPH),underwhichaRight toHealthBillwill bebrought, andsaid that the state will takemeasures towards PreventiveCare,PrimaryCareandCurativeCare as envisioned by theWorld Health Organisation(WHO). TheMMCSBY ispartofthe RMPHmodel.Apartfrombeneficiariescov-

ered under Ayushman Bharat--Mahatma Gandhi RajasthanSwasthya Bima Yojana (AB-MGRSBY),Socio-EconomicCasteCensus(SECC2011)andNationalFood Security Act (NFSA), con-tract workers and small andmarginalfarmerswillbeeligiblefor free treatment.Under the PradhanMantri

Jan Arogya Yojana, as many as59.71 lakh families are eligibleforbenefitson thebasisof SECC2011.AndunderRajasthan’sfor-merBhamashahSwasthyaBimaYojana,98lakhfamilieswereel-igible in thestate.

ChiefMinisterAshokGehlot

Health cover for all: Rajasthan govtbegins registration for May 1 launch

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEGANDHINAGAR,APRIL1

INTER-FAITHMARRIAGE "donebytrickery"cannotfallunderfun-damentalrightofanadultgirland"peoplewithmentalityofspread-ing Islam through religious con-versions are indulging in suchacts",Minister of State forHomePradeepsinh Jadeja said in theGujaratAssemblyThursdaywhileintroducingGujarat FreedomofReligion(Amendment)Bill,2021thatprohibitsforcibleconversionbymarriage.The amended Bill that in-

cludes “better lifestyle” as an al-lurement and awards punish-ment of three to ten years ofimprisonment for such religiousconversion, was passed in theAssembly by the ruling BJPwithmajority,amidoppositionbytheCongress,afteraday-longdebate.Leader of Opposition Paresh

Dhanani said, “Bynot using lovejihadword in the Bill, people ofGujarathavebeenmisguided.”DhananisaidthattheGujarat

government brought the BillwhenthereareenoughIPCprovi-sions to dealwith the issue. Healso congratulated CM VijayRupaniforhisinter-faithmarriage.Inhisspeechwhile introduc-

ing the Bill in theHouse, Jadejasaid, “Some intellectuals are ar-guing that it is a fundamentalright of anadult girl as towhomsheshouldmarry.Andthat it isaright given by the Constitution.

ButHinduRamcharitManasandMuslims’ religious bookQuran,too, says not to break anybody’strust.Marriage donewith trick-ery is as good as breaking trust.Thisgovernment firmlybelievesthat trickery cannot exist withfundamental right. Marriagedonebyhidingnameistrickery.”“Isayitclearlythatpeopledo-

ing such activity are thosewhodeprivedus from thedarshanofLordRamforcenturies,whotriedto damage the country fromwithin throughcrossborder ter-rorism,whotooklivesofoursol-diersthroughterroristacts...whodid blasts inMumbai in 1992,who launched attacks on coun-try’sParliament...whotriedtode-fame Indian government by op-posingCitizenshipAmendmentAct, who have alignedwith thetukde-tukdegang,”saidJadeja.BJP MLA Purnesh Modi al-

leged that after Independence, anumber of conspiracies werehatchedinthecountrytomakeit“Darul Islam”. BJPMLA JagdishPanchal alleged thatMuslimac-torsmarryHindusonlyforthelat-ter’sreligiousconversion.Congress MLA Gyasuddin

Shaikhhehasalistof100Muslimgirls who havemarried Hinduboysinlastoneyear.PartyMLA ImranKhedawala

toreuptheBill, sayingittargeteda specificminority community.HesaidtherulingBJPhastriedtotarget a specificminority com-munitybyusingtermssuchas“ji-hadi”and“aatankvadi”.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, APRIL 1

EXTERNAL AFFAIRSMinister SJaishankarThursdayunderlinedthe importance of connectivitybetweenmembersof theBayofBengal Initiative for Multi-SectoralTechnicalandEconomicCooperation (BIMSTEC), whichmarksitssilverjubileenextyear.“Robustconnectivityisanes-

sential pre-requisite for eco-nomic integration of the regionwith smooth cross-bordermovementofpeopleandgoods”said Jaishankarat the17thBIM-STECMinisterialMeetings.

He added that themembershave finalised the BIMSTECMaster Plan for TransportConnectivity,which, he said, “isexpected to be adopted” at thefifth BIMSTEC Summit, whichwillbeheldinSriLanka.“Itwouldbeanimportantsteptowardsful-filling theaspirationsof thepeo-ple of our region for better con-nectivityandintegration,”hesaid.

At BIMSTEC, Jaishankarcalls for integration

JaishankarinDelhionThursday.PTI

Gujarat passes Billto stop ‘love jihad’

Kolkata

Page 10: 020421 KO 01R

●PROFILE

PADMAJAVENUGOPAL:KKARUNAKARAN’SDAUGHTERTRIESAGAIN

FORMORELOGONTOINDIANEXPRESS.COM/ELECTIONS

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

10 DECISION 2021W E S T B E N G A L ● K E R A L A ● T A M I L N A D U ● A S S A M ● P U D U C H E R R Y

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL2,2021

BACK TO

SQUARE

0, 1, 2Inaqueuetocastvotes inMorigaondistrictofAssam,Thursday.Till lastcount, the39seats instate thatvoted insecondphasehadseen77.2%polling.AP

SANTANUCHOWDHURYKOLKATA,APRIL1

IsthiselectionabouttheTMC’s ‘Banglanijermeyekeichay(Bengalwantsitsowndaughter)’versustheBJP’spromiseof ‘SonarBangla(goldenBengal)’?TheTrinamoolgovernmentis

the only government that cancater to the aspirations anddreamsofallthepeopleofBengal.A government is not just for thetop 5-10% of people. In WestBengal,where80%ofthepopula-tionlivesinvillages,theeconomyisrural,itisimportantthatdevel-opment reaches the furthest vil-lages.MamataBanerjee,whohasgrownup in Bengal and foughtand removed a regime (the Left

Front),istheonlypersonwhocanunderstandallofthat.ThisiswhywesayBanglanijermeyekechay.AsfarastheBJPisconcerned,

things like ‘cowproduces gold’are being said.Maybe this is thekindofSonarBenglatheywant to create.A rabid regressivethought process ison to take Bengal500yearsback.

TheBJPhasalistofabout40starcampaignersforBengal.TheTMCisbankingonlyonMamata.There is only one lion in the

jungle... evenif thereare40hye-nas. A lot of newly turned BJPleaders call themselves cobras.

There is a Bengali saying,‘Bishdaant heen gokhro kemarteekta hawai choti jothesto, that aslipper is enough to kill a de-fangedcobra.

TheBJPclaimscorruption,nepotismandappeasementofminoritiesundertheMamatagovernment’s10years.WillthatswayvotersortheTMC’stalkof itsschemes?In the last 10

yearswehavetriedtoreacheverysinglehouseholdinBengal.Thereisnotasinglehouseholdthatoneprogrammeor theotherhasnotreached.Wearegoingtothevot-

erswithasenseofpositivity.Thisfakevitriolicnarrative(bytheBJP)willnothaveanimpact.

AlargenumberofTMCleaders,MLAsand

heavyweightpolitical faceshavedefectedtotheBJP.Inmy district (Nadia), not a

singlepartyworkerhasgone(tothe BJP). A party is in troublewhenmass-scale defection of

workerstakesplace.InBengal,nocadreof theTMChasshifted.It is also an opportunistic

game.Manyleadersfeeltheydidnotgetwhat theywantedoutoftheTMC.Theyhavenowgonetothe BJP, which is generous in itsincentive structure. Either theylure youwith cash or scare youwith agencies. That’s in a waygood because localworkers aresaying it is goodriddance tobadrubbish.Thepartyhasbeenpuri-fied. Out of 211 of our electedMLAs,only5-10%havegone.

Howdoseetheroleof theEC?It is always sad when the

Election Commission, which isone of the pillars of our demo-cratic system, is compromised.We have seen this before in theLok Sabha (polls)... We have an

eight-phase election, the num-berofcentralforcestheyareput-ting in... it is always that Bengalis an exception. There is a sepa-rate rule for Bengal every time.All I can say is that god help theElectionCommission.

Will theLeft-Congress-IndianSecularFrontalliancecut theTMC’svotes?There was a Left-Congress

alliance in 2016 and that timethere was somuch hype. Theyweremaking a phantom cabi-net. They had almost 35% votesbut ended upwinning only 76seats. Now, their vote share isdownto less than13%.

TheBJPhaspromisedtoimplement theCitizenship(Amendment)Act (CAA).

The BJP is using the CAA toget votes of Matuas (refugeesfromBangladesh). The lawwaspassedin2019buthasnotbeenimplementedyet.WehavebeengoingtohomesandgivingthemSwasthyaSathi(universalhealthscheme) cards. Why doesn’tAmitShahgivecitizenshipcardsdoor to door?What is stoppinghim?This isbecause there isnocitizenshipcardinIndia. It is thevoter’s card, which the peoplealready have. Secondly, if youwantcitizenshipundertheCAA,first you have to say you are anillegal citizenandthatyouhavecome from Bangladesh post-1971. Which person in theirrightmindwillsaythatheisnota citizen today? That wouldmean their voter’s card isnot valid.

‘Troubleifmass-scaledefection...nocadreofTMChasshifted’

‘8-phase polls, so many forces... rules different for Bengal. God help EC’

P O L I T I C SH A S H T A G

EPUNNYPALAKKAD,APRIL1

“GREATTOBEINNEMMARA”,be-ginsShashiTharoor,“justacoupleofkilometresfromhome”.Whichofthehomesisnotclear;bothhisparents have ancestral houseshereabouts.Theglobetrottingsonhasstayedintouchwithboth.LongtimeCongress ally CMP

(Communist Marxist Party) ishostinghimhere, and itsgeneralsecretary C P Johnhas been gal-lantlychattinguptheaudienceattheopenairtownsquareintothelate evening. The restless havebeen intermittently assured thatit iswellworth thewait for theWorld Citizen. On awhirlwindtourtocampaignforhalf-a-dozencandidates through snakyMalabar roads far from worldclass,when theWorldCitizen fi-nallyarrives,hedisarmsastheboynextdoor.Much cheer greets the dis-

tancebustingremark.Infact,iftheday’scampaign isany indication,KeralacouldbedevelopingatasteforwhatcanonlybesummedupbyapotentialTharoorism,‘hyper-glocal’. ThenewMalayali seemskeen to stay thoroughly rootedandwidelyconnected.Earlier in the day, the glocal

waswrittenalloverthecampaignatOttappalam.ThissmalltowninPalakkad district has surpluslegacyof local greatswithglobalreach. From V P Menon whohelpedSardarPatel integrate thenation to ace diplomats whoshapedthecountry’sforeignpol-icy—KPSMenon ,KPSMenon(Jr)andShivshankarMenon,threeforeign secretaries froma singlefamily. If this istoomuchauthor-ityforyou,theplacethrewuponewho critiquedpower through a70-year career— the legendarycartoonistKutty.In linewith such per capita

eminence, the Congress hasfielded 37-year-old Dr Sarin, aquizzer, motivational speaker,medical doctor and civil servantwho quit the service to contest.Afterbrief introductoryremarks,

thecandidaterushesoffforapar-allel poll meeting elsewherehanding the campaign “over toDrTharoor”.Ever since he joined politics

backin2009asaLokSabhacandi-date for Thiruvananthapuram,Shashi has spoken to his homestateinthelanguageheisleastflu-ent in, his mother tongueMalayalam. This London-bornformer diplomatwho grewupoutsideKeralaisanaccomplishedspeaker in almost all other lan-guages he knows — English,French,BengaliandHindi.Hestillgropes forwords inMalayalam,andithelps.Through13yearsofpubliclife,

his Malayalam flows moreswiftly, but it retains the flavouroftheparentalsublanguage.Thislightensthecampaign,whichthistime needs to be doubly light-ened. Themajor plank is the al-liance manifesto. Who in hissenses would sit through thesweatandtoilofapunishingses-siononpollpromises?But through theday, fromin-

doorgatheringstowaysidestops,Shashi speaks only about themanifestoandhedoes itatsomelength, “I andmy teamsteppedouttosamplebeachsidevendorsand visitors on public expecta-tions.”TheM-wordtill latelywasa sure damper. Voters held aloftcopies of this distributed docu-ment as sunshields at summerelections. It is back invogue, res-urrected in spoken tongue.Themes comealive in imperfectinformal interactive prose.“Allowanceforhousewives;tabletand data pack for students; in-vestorprotectionact;hartal ban;single-door clearance instead ofthe singlewindowyou reachaf-terknockingonseveraldoors;theCongressas21stCenturyalterna-tiveto19thCenturyLeftand10thCenturyRight....”Minutestogofor themanda-

tory closing, the campaign getssuddenly drowned out by theNDA’spassingroadshowblaringseismicdiscomusic.Conversationis back inKerala but it has to stillcompetewithnoise.

ARUNJANARDHANANBODINAYAKANUR,APRIL1

IFVKSASIKALA’SfamilyhaslostoutthemostinTamilNadupoli-tics after J Jayalalithaa’s death,spareathoughtforDeputyChiefMinister O Panneerselvam.Picked twice by Jayalalithaa toserve as stop-gap CMwhile shehad to step down over charges,the70-year-oldwhomighthaveexpectedthechairfollowingherdeath as reward for this abidingloyaltynowfinds it irretrievablyoutof reach.And it may get worse. A

deputy to Chief MinisterE Palaniswami now for fouryears, Panneerselvamis facingatough battle in BodinayakanurconstituencynearTheni.Up against him is Thanga

Tamilselvan, who joined theDMKafterhavingsidedwiththeSasikala-TTVDhinakarancampin the AIADMK tussle followingJayalalithaa’sdeath.Apart fromTamilselvan, the

anti-incumbency against theAIADMKgovernment,andangerovertheparty’salliancewiththeBJP, Panneerselvam is also bat-tling the resentmentamong theOBC Thevar community (domi-nantinBodinayakanur)overtherecentdecisionof10.5%reserva-tion to OBC Vanniyars, and hisown actions in the days follow-ing Jayalalithaa’sdeath.ApartfromThevars,thequota

toVanniyarshasbeenquestionedbyotherpowerfulOBCcommu-

nities such as Gounders.WhilebothSasikalaandPanneerselvamareThevars,EPSisaGounder.EPSisbelievedtohaveannouncedthequota forVanniyars to retain theVanniyar-backed PMK in theAIADMKalliance.Panneerselvam has been

telling voters that the quota istemporary, till a caste-wise cen-susisdone,andwillbereworked.AboutJayalalithaa’sdeath,he

claimsheneverallegedSasikala’shand in it. A strong section ofThevars have sympathy forSasikala for havingbeen thrownoutof theAIADMK,andparticu-larlyforbeing“threatened”outofthepollrace.“Thattoo,evenaftershe had served four years inprison for Jayalalithaa (whowasthefirstaccusedinthecase),”saysM Ramesh, a Bodinayakanur-basedengineeringgraduatewhohasbeenlookingforajob,speak-ingformost inthecommunity.AseniorAIADMKfunctionary

admitsPanneerselvamwillhavea hard time convincing theThevars. “Sasikala ensured theirrepresentation, from the statecabinet to the police force andgovernmentjobssince1991(thefirst Jayalalithaa regime). Peoplesee Panneerselvam as a leaderwhobetrayed Sasikala after shehadgivenhimeverythinghehas.”The leader adds that while

the Deputy CM may pullthrough, “thewayweare strug-glingtogeneratemomentumonthegroundisalarming”.His DMK rival Tamilselvan,

who belongs to a long-time

AIADMKfamily in thearea, saysPanneerselvamonlyworked forhis own. Speaking at his cam-paign office, Tamilselvan says,“His son became anMP spend-inghugeamountsin2019...whileOPS (Panneerselvam) has beenindifferent to people’s issues.There are areas still without

drinkingwater,drainage,roads.”Panneerselvamstartedoutas

the municipal chairman ofPeriyakulam, near Theni, and isbelieved to have grown close tothe Sasikala family in the late1990swhen her nephew T T VDhinakaran(whoisnowfrontingaseparateparty,theAMMK)con-

tested from there. DhinakaranstayedatPanneerselvam’shomeatthetime.In 2001, Panneerselvamwas

rewarded with an Assemblyticket,andsoonafter,withtheul-timate prize of keepingJayalalithaa’sseatwarmwhenshehad to step down following acourtorderinacase.Panneersel-vamwasCMfor sixmonths, be-foreJayalalithaacameback.If that was the first people

heard of Panneerselvam, he hasstayedintheperipheryofpowersince, courtesyhis loyalty to theSasikala clan, who hadJayalalithaa’sears.In2014,whenJayalalithaawas convicted in adisproportionate assets case,Panneerselvamwasagainpickedto replace her. This time histenurewaseightmonths.Jayalalithaawouldlaterpraise

Panneerselvam as “that rareleaderwhoreturnspowerwith-out a tussle”. The unassumingleaderwould himself acknowl-edge the generosity, saying hisbiggest dreamhad only been tobecomemunicipalchairman.In the skulduggery after

Jayalalithaa’s death, the personlast suspected to turn a rebelhencewas Panneerselvam,whowasanointedCMsoonafter. Butitweretheraidsbycentralagen-cies on mining baron SekarReddy, leading to alleged evi-dence against Panneerselvam,that changed everything.Panneerselvam turned againstSasikala in a ‘DharmaYudham’.RSS ideologue S Gurumurthy

wouldlaterclaimPanneerselvamactedonhisadvice. “I askedhimif hewasaman... I toldhimtogoandsitat(Jayalalithaa’s)samadhiandthathewillgetsomeidea.”The reasonmay have been

more material, withPanneerselvam seen as seekingthe shelter of the RSS-BJP campagainst the heat of the probe bycentralagencies.“Hestartedrep-resenting their interests.Whenthey wanted him to bow, hecrawled,”saysanex-AIADMKMP.Then, in a floor test in early

2017, Panneerselvam lost out toPalaniswami, another Sasikalaloyalist.Laterthatyear,hejoinedhandswithhimagainstSasikala,and eventually lostmost of hisaidesandMLAstoPalaniswami.As towhat happened to the

case that changed Panneersel-vam’s destiny? Searches atReddy’spremiseshadhappenedamonth after demonetisation,andtheagenciesclaimedtohaveseized Rs 33.89 crore in new,hard-to-procure Rs 2,000notes.TheCBI,thattookoverthecasetoprobe the source of themoney,later said it could not find any-thing.Thecasewasclosed.Meanwhile, inanotherironi-

caltwist,beforetheelection,theBJP tried to get the AIADMK totake Sasikala back. Panneersel-vamwas in favour, with his sonVPJayapradeepwishingSasikalaa successful comeback to con-tinueher“goodactivities”.Palaniswami, now firmly in

controlofboththeCM’schairandtheAIADMKreins, saidno.

The World Citizenas boy next door: InPalakkad, Tharoorand Tharoorisms

CAMPAIGNTRAIL: SHASHI THAROOR

(Above)ShashiTharoor inOttappalamwithCongresscandidateDrSarin;(left) campaigning inNemmara. EPUnny

WITH

MAHUAMOITRA

TMCKRISHNANAGARMP

THE EXPRESS

INTERVIEW

Palaniswami(left) campaigningforPanneerselvam. PTI

Fromstop-gapCMtodeputyCM,Panneerselvamhashadagreat fall since Jayalalithaa’sdemise.Now,hemustsurvivea toughpollbattleagainstastrongcontender, aswellasThevarangeroveraquota, ‘betrayal’ of Sasikala

AISHEGHOSH,CPMcandidate, Jamuria constituency

Movableassets `1.83lakh

Cash inhand: `500

Bankbalance: `1.83lakh

Other investments: Nil

Jewellery : Nil

Immovableassets

Liabilities: `7,875

Criminalcases: 4

I Hereby Declare

AisheGhoshcampaigningin Jamuria inAsansol.ParthaPaul

TOTAL

ASSETS

` 1.83Lakh

■ Inthe2016Assemblyelections,outof1,125candidatesanalysed,311(28%)haddeclaredcriminalcases

■BJPcandidateKSurendran,contestingfromKonniandManjeshwar,hasdeclared248criminalcasesagainsthimself;followedbyKSRadhakrishnan,BJPcandidatefromThripunithurawith211criminalcases,andRadhakrishnanofBJP(Manalur)with176criminalcases

■ 249candidates(27%)are

crorepatis;`1.69cr istheaverage

assetsofcandidates

■RichestcandidateisLoktantrik

JanataDal’sMVShreyamskumar,

standingfromKalpeta,withassets

of`87.99cr,followedbyBJP

Neyyattinkaracandidate

SRajsekharanNairChenkalwith

`64.22crore

■3candidates(1BSP,2Indepe-

ndents)havedeclared0assets

38.25% (355)havecriminalcasesagainstthem

18% (167)faceseriouscases

1.72%(16)havecaseslinkedtoattempttomurder

OUTOF928CANDIDATESANALYSEDKNOWYOURCANDIDATES

Party-wise breakup of candidates withcriminal cases

Party-wise breakup of crorepati candidates

Cong BJP CPM IUML CPI Kerala

Cong (M)

BSP

IUML Kerala

Cong (M)

Cong CPI

(M)

BJP CPI

89%

54%

36%

26%

24%

84%

21 1010

49 32 347

83%56% 44%

32% 30%

9%

0% 8%

71%

68%

68%

44%

33%

11%

■%ofcandidateswithcriminalcases

■%ofcandidateswithseriouscriminalcases

■%ofCrorepatiCandidates ■No.of Crorepati

Source:KeralaElectionWatch,Association forDemocraticReforms,analysingself-

swornaffidavitsof928of957candidates inKeralapoll fray

0.65% (6 )facecasesrelatedtomurder

41.38%Othercases

P S: Tamil Nadu’s almost CMO

“Wished our super starRajinikanth sir... on beingconferred the highest award inIndian cinema... testament tohis hard work and for placingTamil cinema (on) global map”

K Annamalai (@annamalai_k), the IPS officer turned BJP

candidate from Aravakurichi, tweeted on Thursday

Chennai

Theni

2011

OPanneerselvam 56.69%votes

AIADMK(left inthealliance)

SLakshmanan-DMK 38.89%

2016

OPanneerselvam 49.38%

AIADMK

SLakshmanan-DMK 41.63%

AVeerabadran- 3.42%

DMDK(Left inalliance)

BODINAYAKANURAssembly constituency

BODINAYAKANUR

Kolkata

Page 11: 020421 KO 01R

EXPLAINED YOURMONEY

ANURADHAMASCARENHASPUNE,APRIL 1

PREGNANCYOUTCOMESformothersandbabieshaveworsenedduringtheCovid-19pandemic,accordingtoare-view of data from 40 studies repre-senting17countriespublishedinTheLancetGlobalHealth.Findings varied by country but

analysis of pooled datashowed stillbirth andmaternalmortalityratesincreased by approxi-mately one-third duringthepandemiccomparedto life before Covid-19tookhold (seebox).Of the 40 studies, 12

reported on the inci-dence of stillbirth.Analysis of the pooleddatafoundthechancesofa stillbirth increased bymore than a quarter comparedwithpre-pandemic instances.The review included two studies

ontheimpactofthepandemiconma-ternaldeathrates(onefromIndiaandone fromMexico). The risk of moth-ers dyingduringpregnancyor child-birth was increased bymore than athirdcomparedwithbefore thepan-demic.TheMexicostudyrepresented

themajorityof thesepregnancies.Dr Jogender Kumar, Assistant

Professor (neonatology), PGIMERChandigarh,whowasnotinvolvedinthestudy, toldThe IndianExpress thatrates of the adverse outcomesweremuch higher in low- andmiddle-in-come countries. “In resource-poorcountries,evenundernormalcircum-stances, it isachallengetoprovidead-equate coverage for antenatal check-

ups, obstetricemergencies, universalinstitutional deliveries,andrespectfulmaternitycare. The Covid-19 pan-demic haswidened thisgap...,” hesaid.“The current case fa-

tality rate forCovid19 inIndia is 1.3%, most ofwhich are of the olderagegroup.Covid-relateddirect death rate amongpregnant women is like

thegeneralpopulation.However,dueto delay in seeking care, there arepregnancyrelatedcomplicationsandthereforeCovid-attributeddeathratehasincreased.Theunfortunatepartisthe unborn deaths (stillbirths) at thecommunity level are not counted.Thereisanestablishedreportingsys-temforstillbirthsathospitalsbutnotat thecommunity level,”hesaid.

THE CORONAVIRUS infection number hasstartedtoriseagain.Previously, ithadpeakedinmid-SeptemberanddeclinedsteadilyuntilFebruarythisyear,untilthecurrentresurgenceinafewstates.Thedailycountofcasesisbackin the70,000 range,while about 400deathsinadayarebeing reportednow. Inacountrythat counts roughly27,000deaths aday as abaseline, the coronavirus deathnumbers donotseemveryalarming.The reasons for the five-month decline

startinginSeptember,andthecurrentresur-gence, arenot verywell understood. In fact,ananalysisof thedata leadsustomorecon-foundingquestions,andsomecontradictoryfindings.

Cases&deathsThecommonmetricstoassessthespread

of Covid-19 are the numbers of cases anddeaths. Although India has over 12millioncasesnow,thecasesasaproportionofpopu-lationareat9.02perthousand.Indiaisoutper-formingmanycountriesonthismetric.CoronavirusdeathsinIndiaarelownomat-

terwhichparameter isassessed.Thebestpa-rameterisInfectionFatalityRate(IFR).Itmeas-uresdeathsasaproportionof total infections(andnot just confirmed infections). Total in-fectionsisestimatedthroughserosurveys.TheIFRinIndiais0.08%accordingtoinitialgovern-ment surveys. TheUSestimate is about0.6%,about8timesthatofIndia.Almosthalfthedif-ference can be attributed to India’s relativeyounger population. The reasons for the re-mainingdifferenceareunknown.

Actual diseaseprevalenceTo understand whether the low case

numbers are real or due to lower testing,metricssuchasTestPositivityRate(TPR)arerelevant. TPR is the ratio of positive resultsandtotalnumberof tests.ATPRbelow5%isconsidered the benchmark for appropriatelevel of testing. The chart shows a 7-dayrolling average TPR for US and India sinceApril 1, 2020. India’s performance on thismetric seemsadequatebarring themonthsleadingupto theSeptemberpeak.Anoverlookedindicatoristheactualpreva-

lence of the disease in the population. Thisnumberismuchmorethanthetotalcasescon-firmedbytestresults.Itisdeterminedthroughserosurveys.The latest data indicates about21%of the

populationwasaffectedbyCovidbyDecemberend.Comparisonswithothercountriesaredif-ficult becausenot all countries run country-wide surveys thatmatch the Indian surveytime-frame.Anestimate for theUSbasedonnumbers indifferent states indicates a rangeof15-20%. Bythismetric,Indiaappearstohaveoneof thehighestspreadsintheworld.This number can also be used to assess

testingadequacy.A21%spreadequalsabout280million infected people. By December31,thetotalnumberofcasesidentifiedwere10.3million leading to ratio of 27 for totalinfected to total detected. In the US, thissameratioisaround2.5(using15%aspreva-

lenceforDecember-end). Therefore, inIndiaforeverydetectedcase,26weremissed.Thisassessment indicates testinghasbeenveryinadequate. It also raises the confoundingquestion—whywas theTPR lowif somanypeople were infected? Also, if testingwas-n’t the control mechanism for diseasespread, thenwhat led tothedecline?Thisalsoindicatesthat

thedeclineincasesinIndiafrommid-Septemberwasatruedeclineandnotduetoreducedtesting.A year into the pan-

demic, cases and deathsare low in India. Thespread of the disease,however, is one of thehighest.Testingappearstohavemissedmany infec-tions. It appears that thedisease iswidespreadbutis amilder form, one thatescapes testing anddoesnotcauseseriousillness.

Possible explanationsThe daily number of infections (not just

positiveresults,buttotalinfections)isdepend-entonthreefactors:

■The number of infectious individualswhocantransmitthedisease

■Therateoftransmission.Thisinturnde-pendsonseveralparameters, includingvirusstrain, susceptibilityof populationandexpo-suretime.

■Thenumberofsusceptibleindividualsinthepopulation.Morepeople available for in-

fectionwouldincreasenewinfections.

StrategiesDifferentstrategiesaredeployedtocontrol

oneormoreofthesethreenumbersinordertobringdownthedailycountof infectionsSTRATEGY1:Reducethenumberofin-

fectious people in thepopulationThis can be done

throughlockdown,whichreduces the circulationofinfectedindividuals. Itcanalsobedonethroughtest-ing and quarantining,whichmeans identifica-tionofinfectedindividualsandtheirisolation.STRATEGY2:Reduce

rateoftransmissionLockdownplaysarole

here aswell, by reducingcontact between infec-tiousandsusceptibleindi-viduals.Masksandphysi-caldistancingalsohelp in

this objective. So does adequate ventilation,because this dilutes the virus in the air sur-roundingasusceptibleindividual.STRATEGY3:Reducethenumberofsus-

ceptibleindividualsHere,vaccinationsplayanimportantrole.Thethreefactorsacttogether.Inasituation

whereintheinfectiousandsusceptiblepopula-tionarehigh, reductionof cases ispossiblebycontrolling the rateof transmission (throughdistancingmeasures, for example).As the in-fectiouspopulationgoesdowndue tobettercontrol,orthenumberofsusceptibleindividu-

alsgoesdownduetoincreasedimmunity,thecontactbetweenindividuals,andconsequentlytherateof transmission,canbeallowedto in-crease (relaxationonassembly, for example)withoutanupwardeffectonthenewcases.In India, serosurveys indicate that testing

missedalmost24outofpossible25exposures.Consequently, testingandquarantining leverhasnot been themost effective, and is ruledoutasapossiblereasonforthedecline.

Explained, unexplainedLOCKDOWN: It doesn’t explain thede-

clineinthenumberofcasessincestrictlock-down endedway back inMay. In the initialmonths,however, itdidhelpthehealthsys-temtoprepare itself todealwith increasingcases.MASKING, PHYSICAL DISTANCING:

Afterthemostrecentroundofrelaxationinre-strictions inpublic transport andgatherings,cases have increased in somestates, indicat-ing that these restrictions couldhavebeenafactor in controlling the spread earlier.However,manyofthesemeasureswerebeingrelaxedgraduallyfromJuneonwards.Itdoes-n’texplainwhythecasespeakedinSeptember,anddidnot continue to increase further.Nordoesitexplainwhytherecentincreaseincasesisstillconcentratedinafewstates.‘HERDIMMUNITY’ INSOMECITIES:A

serosurveyinAugustinMumbaiindicated45%prevalence in slums and18% in other areas.Whilethesenumbersarenotnearthethresh-oldthatisgenerallyconsideredasherdimmu-nity level, these could have potentially ex-plainedthedeclinewhencoupledwithalowrateoftransmission.Butthen,thecurrentriseismaximumintheseverycities,likeMumbaiandPune,whichhad reportedhigh levels ofimmunity.Also, rural areas,whichhad lowerprevalenceratesearlier,arestillshowingalackofanymajorrise.PRE-EXISTINGIMMUNITY:Thisisoften

referredtoasthehygienehypothesis,propos-ing that the Indianpopulationhasbetter im-munityagainstcoronavirusbecauseithasbeenexposedtoalotofotherinfectiousdiseasesear-lier.Thisisstillanuntestedhypothesis.

ReinfectionsThelackof spreadinruralareasintheab-

sence of herd immunity could be explainedby lowerpopulationdensityandhighernat-ural ventilation. It is possible this rate is lowenoughtocompensateforthehighersuscep-tiblepopulation.Adecline incitiescouldbeexplainedbya

decreaseinthesusceptiblepopulationduetohighdiseasespread,andtheresultingacquiredimmunity. Therecentsurgethenbecomesdif-ficult to explainunless re-infection rates arehigh.Re-infectionisstillpoorlyunderstoodandit is possible that a “milder” initial exposurestillleavestheindividualsusceptibletorecur-ring exposure. Ahelpful analogy is the com-moncold,amildreactionthatdoesnotreallyprovide immunity fromrecurring infections.Anotherpossibility isthatanewstrainwithahighertransmissionrateisthedriverofthelat-est surge.At thispoint,however, it isa theorywithoutanydetailedevidenceinsupport.The above discussion indicates thatwe

havetorelyonmanyconjecturesbeyondthebasictactics/leverstoexplainthetimingofde-cline, lackof spread in rural areas, and resur-genceinsomeareas.Withlackofcertaintyonfactorscontributingtothedeclineandthelowdeathrates, itwillbeprematurefor individu-alstobreatheasighofreliefandresumeactiv-itiesatapre-Covidscale.

11

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Making sense of Covid data

WITHIN24hours of announcing a sharp cutof40-110basispoints ininterestratesonvar-ious small savings schemes, thegovernmentwithdrew its order on Thursday.Many feel,however,thattherollbackcouldbetemporaryand the rates announcedonWednesday arean indication of where they are headed.Investors should takenoteof thedirection inwhichinterestratesonsmallsavingsschemesandbankdepositshavebeenmoving,andac-cordinglytakealong-termcall.

Whatdidthegovernmentannounce,andwhatchanged?InWednesday’s announcement, interest

rateswere loweredfrom7.1%to6.4%onpub-licprovident fund(PPF), from6.8%to5.9%onNational SavingsCertificate (NSC), from7.6%to 6.9% on the girl child savings schemeSukanya Samriddhi Yojana, and from4% to3.5% on small savings schemes, for the first

quarterof2021-22.Thesmall savingratesare linkedtoyields

onbenchmarkgovernmentbonds,whichhavefallenoverthelastoneyearastheReserveBankof Indiahascutratestosupporttheeconomy.Therollbackcamewithin24hours.Finance

MinisterSitharamantweeted:“InterestratesofsmallsavingsschemesofGoI(GovernmentofIndia) shall continue tobeat the rateswhichexistedinthelastquarterof2020-2021,ie,ratesthatprevailedasofMarch2021.Ordersissuedbyoversightshallbewithdrawn.”

Howshouldonereadthis?Bankers say thatwhile the government

mayhavedeferredthecutinratesfornow,thewritingisonthewall.“Atatimewhenhousingloanratesareunder7%,onecan’texpectfixedinterestratesofaround7-8%onsmallsavingsinstruments,”saidabankerwhodidnotwishtobenamed.Manyfeelthegovernmentcouldannounce

the reduced rates again, either over thenextcouple ofmonthswith retrospective effectfromApril1,2021,orinthenextquarterbegin-ningJuly1.Economistsalsosay that since thecentral

governmentusesthesmallsavingsfundtofi-nance its deficit and is looking to reduce thecostofdeficitfinancing,itwillgoforareductioninsmall savings rates, and that couldhappenonforthenextquarter.

While a cut in rateswouldmean that thegovernmentwantspeople tospendandpro-videimpetustotheeconomy,thiswouldleadtofurtherrationalisationoffixeddepositratesbybanksgoingforward,andwouldreducere-turnsfurther.Alowerratewouldmeannega-tive real rate of return onmost debt instru-mentsasinflationishoveringaround5%.

Shouldyouinvestinsmallsavinginstrumentswhiletheratesarehigher?Financialadviserssaythatthereisnotmuch

onecandoas thegovernment is expected toannouncethecutsover thenext fewmonths.“Thebestthataninvestorcandoistoinvestinahigh-interest-yielding small savings instru-ment thathas aquarterly compounding fre-quencyasinthatcasehe/shewillearnahigherrate forat least thisquarter,providedthegov-ernmentdoesnotannouncetherevisedratesinMaywithretrospectiveeffect fromApril1,”saidSuryaBhatia,founder,AssetManagers.Forinstrumentsforwhichtheinterestrate

iscompoundedannually,thereisnotmuchin-vestors candonow. Even if the governmentannounces a revision in rates after a quarter,theratesonsuchinstrumentswillmostlikelybeeffectivefromApril1,2021.

Whatshouldbeyourdebtinvestmentstrategyfornow?Asinterestratesarelikelytoremainlowfor

sometime,thereisasensethatoneshouldnotinvestindebtschemesforthelongterm.“Oneshould not invest in long-duration schemesandshouldinvestfor2-3years.Oncetheyieldsgoup,onecangoforlonger-durationfundsorschemes,”saidBhatia.Fundmanagers saydebt investors cango

forshort-durationfundsandactivelymanagedduration funds.A fundmanagerwhodidnotwishtobenamedsaidasreporateshavecomedown from5.15% to 4% sinceDecember 31,2019,theyieldfor3-yearAAA-ratedcorporatebonds (CB) has come down from 6.8% toaround5.2%,whichmeans there has been ameaningful transmission inhigh-qualitypa-pers.However, in the sameperiod,while theyield on 3-year AA-rated CBhas risen from7.85%to7.96%, theyieldon3-yearA-ratedCBhascomedownfrom9.47%to9.21%.“Investorscangoforactive-durationman-

agement strategy and look at short- tomedium-duration fundsanddynamic-dura-tionbondfundsforbetterreturnondebtport-folio,”saidafundmanager.However,asdebtinvestmentshaveturned

unattractivebecauseof low interest rates onfixeddepositsandother instruments too,ex-pertssayequitieslookevenmoreattractiveasthelong-termcompoundingbenefitwillonlyincreasethegap.If you invest in an equity scheme for the

nextfiveyearsanditgeneratesevenamodest

premiumoveradebt investment, itwill gen-erateasignificantlyhigherreturnonaccountofcompoundingandbeingmoretax-efficient.

Howareratesdetermined,andhowdoescuttingthemhelpthegovernment?Interestratesonsmallsavingsschemesare

reset on a quarterly basis, in linewith themovementinbenchmarkgovernmentbondsofsimilarmaturity.Theyield ona10-year government secu-

rity, for instance, has dropped fromaround6.8%inApril2020toaround6.1%now.Forthelast one year, yields on benchmark govern-ment bondshave rangedbetween5.7%and6.2%. This provides the government the lee-way to cut rates on small savings schemes infuture.While a loweringof interest rateswillhelp thegovernment reduce interest costs, itwouldhurt investors, particularly senior citi-zensandthemiddleclass.Smallsavingshaveemergedakeysourceoffinancingthegovern-mentdeficit,especiallyafterthepandemicledtoaballooningof thegovernmentdeficit,ne-cessitatingmoreborrowings. In the2020-21RevisedEstimates,thegovernmentestimateditwouldraiseRs4.8 lakhcrorethroughsmallsavings,againsttheBudgetEstimatesofRs2.4lakh crore. In 2021-22, borrowings throughsmallsavingshavebeenpeggedatRs3.91lakhcrore. Lower ratesonahigherbaseof centralgovernmentdebthelpskeepborrowingcosts

undercheck.

Howhasinflationmoved,anddobankscutlendingratesinlinewithcutsindeposits?The latest retail inflationdatashowedthe

headlinenumberrisingtoathree-monthhighof 5.03% inFebruary froma16-month lowof4.06% in January. In light of this, someof thesmallsavingsproductsmaynotyieldmuchintermsof real interest rates.Wednesday’s an-nouncementcameinthebackdropof asimi-lar reduction inoverall deposit ratesbycom-mercialbanks.DuringMarch 2020 through February

2021,medium-termdepositratesfellby144basis points, as per the latest RBI data. Theweighted average lending rate on fresh ru-peeloanssanctionedbyscheduledcommer-cial bankshavewitnessed adropof 112ba-sis points since March 2020. The drop indepositrateshas,however,beenfasterwhencomparedwithlendingrates.TheRBInotedthat the adjustment in deposit rates accel-erated in the aftermath of Covid-19 on ac-count of persistent surplus liquidity amidweakcreditdemand.During the same period, the one-year

medianmarginal cost of funds-based lend-ingrate(MCLR)softenedcumulativelyby94bps, indicating reduction in overall cost offunds.

@ieExplained

#ExpressExplained

If there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould like

explained, pleasewrite to [email protected] EXPLAINEDTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL2,2021

How Covid-19 pandemic hasaffected pregnancy outcomes

It isnotyetclearwhythenumbersdeclinedfor fivemonthsandthenroseagain.Ananalysisofdata leadstomoreconfoundingquestions,andsomecontradictoryfindings;wehavetorelyonmanyconjectures.

Sandeep Singh &SunnyVerma

Rates cut, uncut: Should you invest in small savings?

EXPERT

EXPLAINSDrTusharGore

FromThe IndianExpresspanelof specialists, exclusive insight

EXPLAINED THEPANDEMIC

THE EXPERTDRTUSHARGORE’Sfocusarea ispharmaceuticals.Hestudiedat IIT-BombayandtheUniversityofMinnesota,andhasworkedatMcKinseyandNovoNordisk.He is theformerMD/CEOofResonanceLaboratories,anichepharmaceuticalsmanufacturer.

Manyfeel theorderslashing interest rates, althoughwithdrawn, isan indicationof things tocome; investorsshouldnotewhichwayrateshavebeenmoving

20%

18%

16%

14%

12%

10%

8%

6%

4%

2%

0%

2-Apr

22-Apr

12-M

ay

1-Jun

21-Jun

11-Jul

31-Jul

20-Aug

9-Sep

29-Sep

19-Oct

8-Nov

28-Nov

18-Dec

7-Jan

27-Jan

16-Feb

INDIA US

Source: JHUCSSEdata fromHDX-Humdata.org, ourworldindata.org,

covid19india.org, TusharGoreanalysis

TESTPOSITIVITY RATIO (TPR): 7-DAYROLLINGAVERAGE

Asamplebeingcollectedduringaserosurvey inDelhi inAugust.Aserosurveypredicts theactualprevalenceofdisease inapopulation.AbhinavSaha/ExpressArchive

PAPER

CLIPNEWRESEARCH

WHATCHANGEDDuringpandemic Beforepandemic

Stillbirthrate 1099/168,295 1325/198,993

Maternalmortalityrate 530/1,237,018 698/2,224,859

Denominator refers to totalpregnancies inpooleddata. Source: lancetGlobalHealth

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

INDIAACTIVECASES 584,055

Note: TheMarch31 figure in this graph isbasedon thegovernmentupdateonApril 1

Mar22 Mar31LAST 10 DAYS

600,000

450,000

300,000

INDIATOTALCASES

12,221,665Source:Ministry of Health & Family

Welfare, updated at 11 pmonApril 1

WORLDTOTALCASES

129,118,946Source:Ministry of Health& Family

Welfare, updated at 11 pmonApril 1

345,377

584,055

Kolkata

Page 12: 020421 KO 01R

12THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL2,2021

THEWORLD

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

PAKISTAN

PakliftsbanonTikTokoverracycontentPAKISTAN’SMEDIAregula-toryagencyonThursdayre-instated access to theChinese video serviceTikTok,afteracourtbanneditweeksagoandurgedau-thorities to ensure that itcarriedno“vulgar”content.Thecourt inPeshawarhadissuedthebanonMarch11followingcomplaintsabouttheallegedpresenceof“im-moral and indecent con-tent” on the popular app.OnThursday,afterconsult-ingwiththemediaagency,itrepealedit.Atthehearing,senioragencyofficialTariqGandapursaidcontacthadbeen established withTikToktoensurethosewhoshareobscenecontent areblocked.Theapp,ownedbyChina’s ByteDance,has beendownloaded al-most 39million times inPakistan. AP

Acourt inPeshawarhadbannedTikTokonMarch11

TOPOFTHEWORLD

AFGHANISTAN

FemalepoliceofficerkilledinJalalabadUNKNOWN GUNMENkilleda femalepoliceoffi-cer in the easternAfghancity of Jalalabad onThursday,officialssaid,thesecond deadly attackagainstwomeninthecityinaweekasaspateof tar-getedkillingsspreadsfearinurbancentres.Thebodyof a female police officerwas taken to a cityhospi-tal in Jalalabad, thecapitalof eastern Nangarharprovince, said GulzadSangar, a hospitalspokesman. FaridKhan, apolice spokesman, saidtwo suspects were ar-rested inconnectionwiththe incident, but didn’tprovidedetails.REUTERS

EUROPE

ItalyexpelsRussianenvoysover ‘espionage’ITALY EXPELLED twoRussian diplomats onaccusationsof espionageonWednesday after in-vestigators say they ob-served an Italian Navyofficialgivingtheenvoysclassified documents inexchangeformoney.TheItalian official, assignedto a Defence Ministrydepartment dealingwith national securityand foreign relations,handed over classifieddocuments to a Russianenvoy inaRomeparkinglot on Tuesday night,Italy’s national militarypolice, said. NYT

JOHNELIGON,SHAILADEWAN,TIMARANGOANDNICHOLASBOGEL-BURROUGHSMINNEAPOLIS,APRIL 1

HECHATTEDwith a store clerkaboutplayingfootball.Hegrabbeda banana off a shelf, flippedthrough a wad of cash, andhugged and exchanged pleas-antrieswith awoman, laughingwithhishandonherback.In surveillance footage

played for the first time in aMinneapolis courtroom onWednesday,theworldgottoseeGeorgeFloydas itneverhadbe-fore: He was just another cus-

tomer in a corner store that heliked to frequent.Within half an hour, Floyd

would be handcuffed and face-downon thepavement outsideCup Foods, calling out for hismotherasapoliceofficerpressedhiskneeintoFloyd’sneck.Roughlytwohoursafterhewalkedintothestore,hewasdead.Onthethirddayoftestimony

inthetrialofDerekChauvin,theformer police officer chargedwithmurdering Floyd, a clearerpicture emerged of the eventspreceding Floyd’s death, withwitness afterwitness agonisingover whether they could havedone anything to stop whatwouldsoonunfold.

The 19-year-old clerk whoserved Floyd at the corner storethat daywonderedwhether thedeathwas his fault because hehad reported that Floyd used afake $20 bill. A 61-year-oldmanwhosawthepolicepinningFloydtothegroundshookhisheadandheld back tears as a video of thebrutalarrestplayed.Hecollapsedon thewitness stand, sobbing. “Ican’thelpbut feelhelpless,” saidtheman, CharlesMcMillian. “Idon’t have amama either, but Iunderstandhim.”Floyd’sdeathinMayleftatrail

ofagonyforthepeoplewhowerepart of the unfolding tragedy—theweightofwhattheyhadwit-nessedplaintoseeintheformof

tears, long pauses and deepbreathsduringtheirtestimony.It all began casually at the

corner store. In the surveillancefootage,Floydisseenpacingthe

aisles, speakingwith other cus-tomers and workers. He goesfrom one end to the next, acci-dentally knocks over a bananaandputsitback,andthenmakes

hiswaytothetobaccosectionatthe frontof thestore.At the counter, Floyd can be

seen offering the teenage clerk,ChristopherMartin,a$20billinex-change for a pack of cigarettes.Martinsaidhequicklyrealisedthebillwascounterfeit; thebluepig-mentationgave it away, he testi-fied. For abriefmoment,Martinthoughttoletitgoandputitonhisowntab—the store’s policywasthat fakemoneywould be de-ducted fromthepaycheckof theemployeewhoacceptedit,hesaid.Butthenhechangedhismind.Hetoldhismanager,whosent

himafterFloyd.ButafterFloydre-fused to come back in, anotheremployeecalledthepolice.

ThesituationquicklyescalatedwhenanofficerapproachedFloydwith his gun drawn. Floydwaspulledoutofhiscar,asseenindis-turbing body camera footageplayed in courtWednesday, andpoliceofficersstruggledtogethimto stay in thebackof apolice car.Chauvin and two other officerseventually pinned him to thepavement.Martinbecameemotionalin

courtwhenshownsurveillancevideo of him standing outsidethe store, clutching his head asChauvinkneltonFloyd’sneck.“Disbeliefandguilt,”hesaidof

whathethoughtatthatmoment.“If Iwouldhavejustnottakenthebill,thiscouldhavebeenavoided.”

McMillian, the 61-year-oldwitness,hadstoppedhisminivanwhenhe sawofficers detainingFloyd togeta closer lookatwhatwasgoingon.Videofootageofthearrest showedMcMillianurgingFloyd to stop resisting. As a clipplayedincourtofFloydscreamingforhismotherastheofficersheldhimdown,McMilliandroppedhisheadandsobbed.Miles away from the court-

room,thetollofWednesday’stes-timonycouldalsobe felt.As theyservedupwingsandgyrostocus-tomers in the Cup Foods store,clerkskeptaneyeontheTV.Somecried duringMcMillian’s testi-mony. “It’s toomuch,” oneof theclerkssaid. NYT

CASHIER WHO QUESTIONED $20 BILL WATCHED GEORGE FLOYD’S ARREST WITH ‘DISBELIEF AND GUILT’

Amid trial in Floyd death, witnesses agonise over what they could have done

CharlesMcMillian,whowitnessedthefatalarrest, is seen inastill imagefromcourtvideo.AP

LALITKJHAWASHINGTON,APRIL 1

US PRESIDENT Joe Biden onThursday let the ban on foreignworkers’visa, inparticularH-1B,lapse as the notification issuedby his predecessor DonaldTrumpexpired,amovewhichislikely to benefit thousands ofIndian ITprofessionals.Amidst a national lockdown

andtheCovid-19crisis,TrumpinJunelastyearissuedaproclama-tionthatsuspendedentrytotheUSofapplicantsforseveraltem-porary or “non-immigrant” visacategories,includingH-1B,argu-ing that these visas presented arisktotheUSlabourmarketdur-ingtheeconomicrecovery.OnDecember 31, Trumpex-

tended the order to March 31,2021, noting that an extensionwaswarranted as thepandemiccontinued todisruptAmericans’lives,andhighlevelsofunemploy-mentwerestillpresentingserious

economic challenges toworkersacrosstheUS.Biden did not issue a fresh

proclamationforthebanonH-1BvisastocontinueafterMarch31.He had earlier promised to

liftthesuspensiononH-1Bvisas.TheH-1Bvisaisanon-immi-

grantvisathatallowsUScompa-niestoemployforeignworkersinspecialtyoccupationsthatrequiretheoreticalortechnicalexpertise.Technology companies dependon it tohire tensof thousandsof

employeeseachyearfromcoun-tries likeIndiaandChina.The Wall Street Journal re-

ported that the White Housewouldnot renew the banonH-1B and other work-based visasimposed lastyear.Meanwhile, a Republican

Senator from Missouri urgedBidentoissueafreshproclamationtocontinuewiththeH-1Bvisaban.“I write today to urge you to

extend the freezeon temporaryforeignworker entries into theUS that, without intervention,will expire today,” Senator JoshHawleywroteinalettertoBiden.“Thepresidential proclama-

tion suspendingentryof certaintemporaryworkersintotheUShasprotected Americans sufferingfromthepandemic-inducedeco-nomic crisis. With millions ofstrugglingAmericansoutofwork...now is not the time to open thefloodgatestothousandsofforeignworkers competing withAmericanworkersforscarcejobsandresources,”hewrote. PTI

Biden lets Trump-eraH-1B visa bans expire

REUTERSAPRIL 1

MYANMAR’S DEPOSED leader,Aung San Suu Kyi, has beenchargedwithbreakingacolonial-eraofficialsecretslaw,herlawyersaidonThursday, themost seri-ous charge against the veteranopponentofmilitaryrule.Myanmarhasbeenrockedby

protestssincethearmyoverthrewSuuKyi’s electedgovernmentonFeb. 1 citing unsubstantiatedclaims of fraud in a Novemberelectionthatherpartyswept.Suu Kyi and othermembers

of her National League forDemocracy(NLD)havebeende-

tained. The juntahadearlier ac-cused her of several minor of-fencesincludingillegallyimport-ing six handheld radios andbreachingcoronavirusprotocols.Her chief lawyer, Khin

MaungZaw,toldReutersbytele-phone that SuuKyi, threeof herdeposedcabinetministersanda

detained Australian economicadviser, Sean Turnell, werechargedaweekago inaYangoncourt under the official secretslaw, adding he learned of thenewcharge twodaysago.A conviction under the law

cancarryaprisonsentenceofupto14years.

Protesters were back out inseveral places on Thursday andtwomorepeoplewerekilled,ac-cording tomedia reports, as ac-tivists burned copies of amili-tary-framedconstitution.One person was killed and

fivewoundedwhenthesecurityforces fired in the central townofMonywa,theMonywaGazettereported. Security forces alsoopenedfireinthesecondlargestcityofMandalaykillingoneper-son,media reported.In a new measure to stifle

communication about the tur-moil, the junta ordered internetservice providers to shut downwireless broadband servicesun-til furthernotice,sourcessaid.

AMSTERDAM CELEBRATES SAME-SEX WEDDINGS

AhugeinflatablepinkcakewithcandlesspoutingrainbowflamesglidedthroughtheAmsterdamcanalsThursdayastheDutchcapitalcelebratedthe20thanniversaryof theworld’sfirst legalsame-sexmarriages.Fourgaycouples—threemaleandonefemale—weremarriedshortlyaftermidnightbythemayorofAmsterdamonApril1,2001.Sincethehistoricevent20yearsago,same-sexmarriagehasbeenmadelegalin29countriesworldwide.Reuters

STEFANIEDAZIO&ROBERTJABLONLOSANGELES,APRIL 1

ACHILDwasamongfourpeoplekilledWednesday in a shootingat a Southern California officebuilding that left a fifth victimand the gunman criticallywounded,police said.The violence in the city of

OrangesoutheastofLosAngeleswas the nation’s third massshootinginjustovertwoweeks.When police arrived at the

two-storystructurearound5:30p.m. shots were being fired,Orange Police Lt. Jennifer Amatsaid.Officersopenedfireandthesuspectwas taken to a hospital,Amat said.It’sunclearif thesuspectsuf-

fered a self-inflicted wound orwas shot by police. Police pro-vided no details on the victimsotherthantosayonewasachildand a woman was criticallywounded.In a tweet, Governor Gavin

Newsomcalledthekillings“hor-rifyingandheartbreaking.”“Ourheartsarewiththefam-

ilies impacted by this terribletragedy tonight,”hewrote.US Representative Katie

Porter, a California Democratwhose district includes the cityof Orange, said on Twitter thatshewas“deeply saddened.”Amat had no information

aboutwhatmayhavepromptedtheattack.Shesaidtheshootingoccurred on both levels of thebuilding.Signsoutsideindicatedahandfulofbusinesseswerelo-cated there, including an insur-ance office, a financial consult-ingfirm,alegalservicesbusinessandaphonerepair store. AP

SHARONLAFRANIERE&NOAHWEILANDAPRIL 1

WORKERSATaplantinBaltimoremanufacturing two coronavirusvaccines accidentally conflatedthe ingredients several weeksago,contaminatingupto15mil-liondosesofJohnson&Johnson’svaccineandforcingregulatorstodelayauthorisationoftheplant’sproductionlines.Theplant is runbyEmergent

BioSolutions, amanufacturingpartnertobothJohnson&Johnsonand AstraZeneca, the British-

SwedishcompanywhosevaccinehasyettobeauthorisedforuseintheUS.Federalofficialsattributedthemistaketohumanerror.Themix-up has delayed fu-

ture shipments of Johnson &

Johnson doses in the UnitedStateswhile the Food andDrugAdministration investigateswhat occurred. Johnson &Johnson has moved tostrengthen its control overEmergentBioSolutions’worktoavoidadditionalquality lapses.Themistakeisamajorembar-

rassment both for Johnson &Johnson,whoseone-dosevaccinehasbeencreditedwithspeedingup the national immunisationprogramme,andforEmergent,itssubcontractor, which has facedfierce criticism for its heavy lob-byingforfederalcontracts,espe-ciallyforthegovernment’semer-

gencyhealthstockpile.The error doesnot affect any

Johnson&Johnsondosesthatarecurrentlybeingdeliveredandusednationwide, including the ship-mentsthatstatesarecountingonnextweek. All thosedoseswereproduced in the Netherlands,whereoperationshavebeenfullyapprovedbyfederalregulators.Further shipments of the

Johnson&Johnsonvaccine—ex-pectedtototal24milliondosesinthenextmonth—weresupposedto come from the giant plant inBaltimore. Those deliveries arenowinquestionwhilethequalitycontrolissuesaresortedout.NYT

SUDIPKAR-GUPTA&GEERTDECLERCQPARIS,APRIL 1

PRESIDENTEMMANUELMacrononWednesday ordered Franceinto its third national lockdownandsaidschoolswouldclose forthreeweeksashesoughttopushbackathirdwaveofCovid-19in-fections that threatens to over-whelmhospitals.With the death toll nearing

100,000, intensive care units inthehardest-hitregionsatbreak-ing point and a slower-than-plannedvaccinerollout,Macronwas forced to abandon his goalof keeping the country open toprotect theeconomy.“Wewill lose control ifwedo

notmovenow,”thepresidentsaidinatelevisedaddresstothenation.His announcement means

thatmovement restrictions al-ready in place formore than aweekinParis,andsomenorthernand southern regions,will nowapplytothewholecountryforatleastamonth, fromSaturday.Departingfromhispledgeto

safeguard education from thepandemic,Macron said schools

will close for threeweeks afterthisweekend.Macron, 43, had sought to

avoid a third large-scale lock-downsince thestartof theyear,betting that if he could steerFrance out of the pandemicwithout locking the countrydown again he would give theeconomy a chance to recoverfromlastyear’s slump.But the former investment

banker’s options narrowed asmore contagious strains of thecoronavirussweptacrossFranceandmuchof Europe.For school-children after

this weekend, learning will bedoneremotely foraweek, afterwhich schools go on a two-week holiday, which for mostof the country will be earlierthan scheduled.Thereafter, nursery and pri-

marypupilswillreturntoschoolwhile middle and high schoolpupils continue distance learn-ing foranextraweek.“It is thebestsolutiontoslow

down the virus,” Macron said,addingthatFrancehadsucceededin keeping its schools open forlongerduringthepandemicthanmanyneighbours. REUTERS

JESSIEPANG&JAMESPOMFRETHONGKONG,APRIL 1

AHONGKongcourtfoundsevenprominent democrats guilty ofunauthorisedassemblycharges,including 82-year-old barristerMartin Lee and media tycoonJimmyLai, 72, the latestblowtothe city’s beleaguered democ-racymovement.Lee, who helped launch the

city’s largest oppositionDemocratic Party in the 1990sand is often called the formerBritish colony’s “father of

democracy,”wasaccusedoftak-ing part in an unauthorised as-semblyonAug.18,2019.The silver-hairedLeeand the

others,all intheir60sorolder,satimpassivelyasdistrictcourtjudgeAmandaWoodcockhandeddownherdecision. “I have foundaftertrialtheprosecutionabletoprovebeyondreasonabledoubt thatallofthedefendantstogetherorgan-isedwhatamounted toanunau-thorisedassembly,”thejudgesaid.SentencingwillcomeonApril

16,with some legal experts ex-pectingjailtermsof12-18months.The other defendants in-

cluded prominent barristerMargaretNg,73;andveterande-mocrats Lee Cheuk-yan, 64;AlbertHo,69;LeungKwok-hung,65;andCydHo,66. REUTERS

JILLLAWLESSLONDON,APRIL 1

THEMOSTseniorBlackadvisertoUKPrimeMinisterBorisJohnsonhas resigned, the governmentsaidThursday, thedayaftera re-port on racial disparities con-cludedthatBritaindoesnothaveasystemicproblemwithracism.Thegovernmentdeniedany

link between the departure ofSamuelKasumuand themuch-criticisedreport,whichactivistsand academics have accused of

ignoringtheexperiencesofeth-nic-minorityBritons.Theprimeminister’sofficesaid

Kasumuwould leavehis jobas aspecialadviserforcivilsocietyandcommunitiesinMay,ashad“beenhisplanforseveralmonths”.It denied the resignationwas

related toWednesday’s publica-tion of a report by the govern-ment-appointedCommissiononRaceandEthnicDisparities,whichconcludedthatBritainisnotanin-stitutionallyracistcountry.ButSimonWoolley,aformer

government equalities adviser

and amember of theUKHouseofLords,saidKasumu’sexitwasconnected to the “grubby” and“divisive” report.“(There is a) crisis at No. 10

when it comes to acknowledg-ing and dealingwith persistentrace inequality,”Woolleysaid.TheConservativegovernment

launched the inquiry into racialdisparities in thewake of anti-racismprotestslastyear.Thepanelof experts concluded thatwhile“outrightracism”existsinBritain,thecountry isnot “institutionallyracist”againstminorities. AP

Bidenhadpromisedto lifttheTrumpadministration’ssuspensiononH-1Bvisas

SECURITYFORCESFIREAGAINONPROTESTERS

Duringaprotest in inMandalay,Myanmar,onThursday.

Reuters

Child among 4dead in shootingat Californiaoffice building

J&J’s vaccine is delayed by US factory mixup

Theerrordoesnotaffectanydosesthatarebeingusednow

Macron orders Covidlockdown across all ofFrance, closes schools

MartinLeeandAlbertHo,whowerebothfoundguilty,atacourtinHongKong.Reuters

Suu Kyi faces new charge underMyanmar’s official secrets act

Reportfaceswidespreadcriticism

THEREPORTbythegovernment-ap-pointedpanelclaimsthereisnoevidenceofinstitutionalracisminBritain.Thefindinghasfacedwidespreadcriticism,withmanysayingthatitwhite-washesracialinjusticebyfindingvariousotherreasonsforthediscriminationfaced

byethnicminorities.Thereportacknowl-edgesthatnon-insti-tutionalincidentsofracismstilltakeplace,

butcriticssaythatviewingracismasjustoverthostilitybyindividualsistoosimplisticandtakestheonusawayfrominstitutionstomakethem-selvesmoreinclusive.

Black adviser quits UK govt in wake of racism report

Veteran HK democrats found guiltyin landmark unlawful assembly case

Thousandsof Indian IT professionals likely tobenefit

Kolkata

Page 13: 020421 KO 01R

13SENSEX: 50,029.83 ▲ 520.68 (1.05%) NIFTY: 14,867.35 ▲ 176.65 (1.2%) NIKKEI: 29,388.87 ▲ 210.07 HANG SENG: 28,938.74 ▲ 560.39 FTSE: 6,742.15 ▲ 28.52 DAX: 15,054.89 ▲ 46.55

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL2,2021

ECONOMY

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DomesticcurrencymarketswereclosedonThursdayfor theannualclosingofbanks; Internationalmarketdata till1900IST

GOLD

`44,701

RUPEE

`73.12

OIL

$63.42

SILVER

`63,256Note:Gold,silverratesatDelhispotmarket;goldper10g,silverper1kg;Crudeoil (Indianbasket)asonMar31,2021

¸FWFSFáÑ ¾FFÀF³FIÈ ¿Fe d½F·FF¦F

³FF³FFªFe QZ¾F¸FbJ IÈ ¿Fe ÀFaªFe½F³Fe ´FiI »´Ftq¶F, AIÊZ O, ½F»OÊ MÑZO ÀFZ³MS, I R ´FSmO, ¸Fba¶FBÊ-uqq qqv

QcS²½F³Fe Ii . : qss-ssrwttvr/vs BÊ-¸FZÕ : [email protected]

Ii . : ³FFQZIÈ ÀFa´Fi/´Fi.Ii .xt/´FiF´F¯F/ÕF¹FÀFe¸FeMS/sqsr dQ³FFaI : qs.qu.sqsr

RZ S BÊ-d³Fd½FQF ÀFc¨F³FF¸FWFSFáÑ ¾FFÀF³FF³FZ ªFF¦Fd°FI ¶FhIZ ¨¹FF A±FÊÀFFWF¹¹FF³FZ W½FF¸FF³F A³FbIc Õ IÈ ¿Fe ´FiI »´F (PoCRA)

(³FF³FFªFe QZ¾F¸FbJ IÈ ¿Fe ÀFaªFe½F³Fe ´FiI »´F) ¸FWFSFáÑF°FeÕ d³F½FOI dªF»ÁëFa¸F²¹FZ SF¶Fd½F¯¹FFÀFFNe ¸FaªFbSedQÕZÕe AÀFc³F ´FiI »´F ½¹F½FÀ±FF´F³F I ÃF ¸Fba¶FBÊ ¹FZ±FZ AFWZ.

¹FF ´FiI »´FF¨¹FF MZÔOS ³FûMeÀF Ii . 2021_DOA_649441_1 dQ³FFaI 26.02.2021,¨¹FFA³Fb¿Fa¦FF³FZ JFÕeÕ I F¸FFI dS°FF RZ S QS´FÂFIZ ¸FF¦Fd½F¯¹FF°F ¹FZ°F AFWZ°F :´Fiû¢¹FbAS¸FZ³M AFGR ½FZBa¦F MFB´F dOdªFMÕ ÕF¹FÀFe¸FeMS R FGS dOMSd¸F³FZ¾F³F AFGR Ii FG´F

I ûBdR d¾FE³M.ÀFQS QS´FÂFIZ AFG³FÕFB³F ´Fð°Fe³FZ ÀFFQS I SF½F¹FF¨Fe AÀFc³F QS´FÂFI ½F ÀFFQS I SF½F¹FF¨FZ

½FZTF´FÂFI BÊÊ-d³Fd½FQF ´FûMÊÕ www.mahatenders.gov.in ½FS C´FÕ¶²F AFWZ °F.´FiI »´FF¶FF¶F°F¨Fe ¸FFdW°Fe http://mahapocra.gov.in ¹FF ÀFaIZ °FÀ±FTF½FS C´FÕ¶²F AFWZ.

-À½FF.-´FiI »´F ÀFa¨FFÕI

OeªFeAF¹F´FeAFS/sqsq-sqsr/ÀFe-tssq

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI, APRIL 1

GSTCOLLECTIONSinMarch(forsales in February) touched arecord high of over Rs 1.23 lakhcrore, a27per centgrowthovertheyear-agoperiod,theFinanceMinistry said on Thursday, re-flectingapickupintheeconomyalongwith increasedmeasuresto ensure compliance and re-strictionson input taxcredit.“GSTrevenuescrossedabove

Rs1lakhcrore-markatastretchfor the last six months and asteep increasing trend over thisperiod are clear indicators ofrapid economic recovery postpandemic,” theministry said.Closer monitoring against

fake-billing, deepdataanalyticsusingdatafrommultiplesourcesincluding GST, income tax andCustomsITsystemsandeffective

tax administration have alsocontributed to the steady in-crease in tax revenue over thelast fewmonths, it added.The gross GST revenue col-

lected in the month of March2021 stood at Rs 1,23,902 crore,ofwhichcentralGSTisRs22,973crore, state GST is Rs 29,329

crore,integratedGSTisRs62,842crore (includingRs 31,097 crorecollected on import of goods)and cess is Rs 8,757 crore (in-cludingRs935crorecollectedonimportof goods).“GSTrevenuesduringMarch

2021arethehighestsincethein-troduction of GST. In line with

the trendof recovery in theGSTrevenues over the past fivemonths, the revenues for themonthofMarch2021are27percent higher than the GST rev-enues in the samemonth lastyear,”theFinanceMinistrystate-mentadded.Goodsandservicestax(GST)

revenues contracted by 41 percent and 8 per cent in first andsecond quarters, respectively,and thengrewat8per cent and14 per cent in the third andfourthquartersof fiscal2020-21.AbhishekJain,taxpartner,EY,

said, “The all-time high recordGST collections of Rs 1.23 lakhcrore and it being 27 per centhigher than last year is a signifi-cant uptick. It clearly shows asustained economic recoveryand also is a result of GST auditclosures and the governmenttighteningcomplianceandanti-evasionmeasures.”

WITHTHEnewwaveof surge inCovid-19casesacrossthecountry,Economic Affairs and RevenueSecretaryTARUNBAJAJsaidIndiaisbetterpreparedtofacethepan-demic and itwill be foughtwithvaccines andothermeasures. Inan interview with AANCHALMAGAZINE, Bajaj said goods andservices tax (GST) collections areshowing a rise, indicating re-silienceoftheeconomy.Excerpts:

Thegovernmentisexpectedtomeettherevisedrevenuetargets.ButarethereconcernsnowwiththenewwaveofsurgeinCovidcases.Idon’tthinkasmuch.Thisyear

wewereexpectingdirecttaxestobehitquitealotbutascomparedto lastyear,gross revenuewillbelowerbyonly2-3percent,whichisagoodcomeback.Andthisyearwe are better prepared to facepandemicandaren’tgoingtoad-dressthechallengethroughlock-downs, so the economy keepsfunctioning.Itisamatterofworry,Iwon’tsayit’snot,butwe’llfightitoutwithvaccinesandothermeas-uresthistime.

Servicessectormaynotrecoverthewayitwasbeinganticipated,whichwillimpacttheindirecttaxside.Iagreetosomeextent,butthis

time the pandemic should behandledinafarbetterwayasweare better equipped with up-gradedmedicalinfrastructureandvaccines.So itwillnottakeusthat long

todoit. Inspiteof all thatyouaresaying,GST,which is indirect taxongoodsandservices,isshowingagood rise. Basically, that showsresilienceof theeconomy.

ThetaxabilityofpetroleumproductsunderGSTisbeing

talkedabout.WilltheCentresupportaformaldiscussiononitintheGSTCouncil?FinanceMinister has spoken

on it.Wewillwork accordingly.For now, there are lowhangingfruitsinGST,let’sfirstpluckthem.

SothenextCouncilmeetingwouldratherfocusonthependingissueofinverteddutystructure?Yes, that’s pending. Let’s see.

WewilldecidewhentheCouncilmeetinghappens.

BankingandMSMEsectorsarestretched.IBCisonholdwhichwouldhaveexacerbatedtheiralreadystretchedposition.Howdoyouseetheimpactonlending?Letusseethatnowthemora-

toriumisover.IthinktheMinistryofCorporateAffairsisworkingonaspecialIBCfortheMSMEsector.That should takecareof thecon-cernstosomeextent.Bankingsec-torbasicallyisquitefine,theCRARisgood. Ihopeweshouldbeabletoweather this storm. Plus, theBudgetannouncementswilltakecareof thesector.

MARCHCOLLECTIONATOVER`1.23LAKHCR,27%Y-o-YGROWTH

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,APRIL1

INFRASTRUCTURE LEASINGandFinancialServices(IL&FS)on Thursday announced thecompletionof its 49per centstake sale in its Chinese roadasset Chongqing YuheExpressway Co Ltd (CYEC).The stake has been sold toChinaMerchants & PingAnInfrastructurePhase1EquityInvestmentFund(Tianjin)CoLtd (PingAn), a fund jointlyownedby PingAn InsuranceandChinaMerchants.This is the largest transac-

tionforIL&FSsincethesaleofitswindenergyassetstoOrix.IL&FShasreceivedRs1,035

crore ($141.3 million) inSingaporeaspartofthisstakesaletransaction.Theconsider-ationwill beused topay $88million of Bank of BarodaloansandthebalancetomeetIIPL liabilities — includingbondholdersunderIOPL.IL&FS group held 49 per

cent stake in CYEC— via itsstep downSingapore-basedsubsidiary ITNL International(IIPL).Thebalance51percentstakeinCYECisheldbyChon-gqingExpresswayGroup.PingAnhadbidatanaggre-

gate equity valuationof $281millionfor100percentstake.This valued IIPL’s 49per cent

stake at $140 million andPingAn had agreed to takeovertheRs1,600croredebtinCYEC (as of December2018).The transaction was com-pletedpostreceiptofapprovalfrom former SupremeCourtJusticeDKJainandtheNatio-nalCompanyLawTribunal.ITNL Offshore PTE Ltd

(IOPL)and(IIPL)aretwoSinga-pore-based subsidiaries ofIL&FSTransportationNetwo-rksLimited (ITNL), amajorityownedsubsidiaryof IL&FS.Themanagementandnew

board of IL&FS, as part of itsquarterlyupdateontheprogr-ess of ongoing group resolu-tion process in January, hadsaidithasaddressedRs32,000crore of aggregate debt. Thegrouphasmaintaineditsesti-matesofaddressingaggregatedebtofoverRs56,000crorebyFY22,outofanoveralldebtofover Rs 99,000 crore (as ofOctober2018).

SECTORWATCH

INFRALENDING

KARUNJITSINGHNEWDELHI,APRIL1

PETROLANDdiesel sales by state-ownedoilmarketingcompanies(OMCs)rose27.4percentand28.6percent,respectively,lastmonth due to low base inMarch 2020whichwashitby the startof Covid-19-re-latedtravelrestrictions.Sales of the two fuels had crashed in

March2020 as the government imposedtravel restrictions to control the spreadofCovid-19.Petrolsalesrecoveredtopre-Covidlev-

els last September andhave continued togrowalmosteachmonthamidanincreas-ingpreferenceforpersonalmobility.However,diesel sales—anindicatorof

industrialactivity—havegrownforthefirsttime sinceOctober,when saleswas highduetothefestiveseason.

Petrol sales lastmonthwas at 2,475thousandmetric tonnes (TMT), up from1,943TMTinMarch2020.The6,406-TMTofdieselsalesbyIndian

Oil Corporation Ltd, Bharat PetroleumCorporationLtdandHindustanPetroleumCorporation Ltdwas, however, still down4.7 per cent compared toMarch2019, asperdatareviewedbyTheIndianExpress.ExpertssaidtheresurgenceofCovid-19

andtravelrestrictionstocombatthespreadinpartsofthecountrycouldalsohitrecov-eryofdieselconsumptiongoingforward.“Businessesmay try to localise their

supplychainsatastatelevelandprefersup-plierswhoarenearbyover supplierswhoare in far-flung areas,” said VivekanandSubbaraman,ananalystatAmbitCapital.Meanwhile, consumption of aviation

turbinefuelfellto437TMTlastmonthfrom457TMTinMarch2020andthatofLPGto2,264TMTfrom2,292TMT.

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,APRIL1

ALMOSTALL leading carmanu-facturerspostedastrongyear-on-yearsalesgrowthinMarchonac-countoflowbaseanddemandforpersonalmobility.ThecompaniesbenefittedfromlowbaseassalesinMarch2020wereimpactedbyspreadofCovid-19andthestrin-gent nationwide lockdown an-nouncement in the lastweek ofthatmonth,whichimpactedpro-ductionandsalesofcars.WhileMarutiSuzukiposteda

92percentriseinsalesat1.46lakhunits over that inMarch 2020,Hyundai Motor India (52,600units) and TataMotors (29,654units) announcedgrowthof 100percentand422percent,respec-tively, intheirsaleslastmonth.Mahindra&Mahindra(16,700

units)andToyotaKirloskarMotors

(15,001units), saw393per centand113percentjumpinsales.Even as companies have re-

portedstronggrowth,industryin-siders say that Covid fears loomlargeon the industry and the fu-tureremainsunpredictable.While automakers started

posting improvement in salesfrom July 2020,when lockdownrestrictionswere relaxed, theycontinuedtoreport strongnum-bers lastmonth despite a sharp

riseinCovid-19cases.Companiessaythatduetothe

rise incases, thereisapreferencefor personalmobility, leading todemand fromconsumers. At thesametime,therehasbeenasoft-ening of demand in states thathave seen sharp spikes in Covidinfectionsandhaveimposedfreshmeasurestocurbthespread.“The PV (passenger vehicle)

industry witnessed a stronggrowth inQ4FY21ona lowbasewithrobustdemandforpersonalmobility andnewlaunchesdriv-ing demand,” said ShaileshChandra, president, PVbusinessunit, TataMotors. In FY21, TataMotors reported itshighest salesinlasteightyears.NaveenSoni,seniorVP,Toyota

KirloskarMotors, said thatwhilethedemandisthereonaccountofpreference forpersonalmobility,thefutureisunpredictableduetorisingCovidcasesacrossIndia.

Auto sales jump in March on low baseeffect, personal mobility demand

BRIEFLY

`45KcrtostatesNew Delhi: The FinanceMinistrysaidThursdayithasreleasedRs45,000 crore tothe states as additional de-volution in the2020-21 fis-calfollowingrevenuebuoy-ancyintheMarchquarter.

ITRformsNewDelhi:The IncomeTaxdepartment notified formsforfilingI-TreturnsforFY21,the Central Board of DirectTaxes(CBDT)saidThursday.Thedepartmenthas issuedrefundsofmorethanRs2.62lakhcroretoover2.38croretaxpayersinFY21.

RelianceCentreNewDelhi: Anil Ambani’sReliance Infrastructure an-nounced sale of RelianceCentre,MumbaitoYesBankforRs1,200crore. PTI

OPEC+policyNewYork:Oil prices surgedup3percentThursdayafternewsthatOPEC+reachedadeal to gradually ease pro-duction cuts from May.Brentcruderose$1.94,or3.1per cent, to $64.68 a barrelby 1:25 p.m. EST (1825GMT).USoilwasup$2.10,or3.6percent,at$61.26abar-rel. REUTERS

■Theconsiderationwillbeusedtopay$88millionofBankofBaroda(BoB)loansandtherest tomeet IIPL liabilities

TOPAYBoBLOANS,

IIPLLIABILITIES

PRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI,APRIL1

ANEXPERTpanel under the topdrug regulator has sought addi-tionaldataonSputnikVinordertodecidewhethertheCovid-19vac-

cineshouldberecommendedforrestrictedemergencyuseinIndia,TheIndianExpresshaslearnt.The Subject Expert Commit-

tee (SEC) of the Central DrugsStandard Control Organisation(CDSCO)—whichonThursdayre-viewedaproposal byDrReddy’s

Laboratories(DRL)foremergencylicensureoftheRussianvaccine—deferreditsdecisionduetoinsuf-ficient information. Sources saidtheSECalsoaskedDRLtosubmitdataonthevaccine’sstability.

Fullreportonwww.indianexpress.com

Mumbai:CustomersofStateBankof India (SBI) on Thursday facedissues while accessing the netbanking services after the bankannouncedascheduledmainte-nance and upgrade of its digitalplatforms during the day. Thebank had scheduled upgrade ofdigitalplatformsfrom2.10pmto5.40pmThursday.“We request our esteemed

customers tobearwithus aswe

upgradeourdigitalbankingplat-forms to provide a better onlinebankingexperience,”SBItweetedThursdaymorning. During thistime, digital banking platformYONO, YONOLite andUPI serv-iceswillnotbeavailable, itsaid.Earlier thisweek, customers

ofHDFCBankfacedtooproblemsin accessing net banking. OnMarch 30, the bank, in a tweet,saidtheissuewasresolved.ENS

SBI digital platformupgrade hits services

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,APRIL1

MERCHANDISEEXPORTSsurgedasmuchas58.2percentyear-on-year in March to $34 billion, arecord for anymonth, accordingto a preliminary estimate of theCommerce Ministry. Importsgrewabout 53per cent to $48.1billion inMarch, with gold im-portssurgingby584percent.While theunusual growth in

tradewas aided by favourablebase effects (exportsweredownby35percentandimportsbyal-most 29per cent inMarch2020in thewakeof theCovid-19pan-demic and a lockdown fromMarch25),italsosignalstheworstisoverandthesupplysideisableto respondbetter to apick-up indemandfromkeymarkets. FE

Exports surgeby record58% in March

INTERVIEWWITHECONOMICAFFAIRSAND

REVENUESECRETARYTARUNBAJAJ

10.5-11%Expectedquantumofgrossnon-performingassets(NPAs)byendof2021-22,about1percentage

point(ppt) lowerthanwhatwasinitiallyexpected

RISKFROMUPCOMINGWAVEOFINFECTIONS:

ThesecondandthirdwavesofCovid-19infectionsarearisktoeconomicrecoverybut itmaynot

result inwidespreadlockdownsandafastervaccinationdrivewillalsohelp Source:Crisil/PTI

Why is it important: In 2020-21, the emergency credit guarantee loans scheme was a key factor which drove the overallcredit growth for the banking system. Bank credit has shown a ‘V-shaped’ recovery during the second half of the fiscal

‘FY22bankcredit togrow10%onGDPexpansion, policy steps’

`

` `

The banking system’s credit growthwill almost double to10% in 2021-22 on the economic recovery and policyinterventions, according to a Crisil report

11%ExpectedGDPgrowthforthenewly

begunfiscal,aftera7.7%contractioninthepandemic-hit2020-21

05%Estimatedgrowthinoverallassets

undermanagement(AUM)inthenon-banksspaceinFY22

‘This year we’rebetter prepared toface pandemic; GSTrise shows resilience’

TarunBajaj

E●EXPLAIN

ED

SteadycollectionspointtorecoveryafterCovidwoes

GSTCOLLECTIONS,whichdirectlyreflectthestateofeco-nomicactivity,hadplummetedtoarecordlowofRs32,172croreinApril2020,afterthegovernmentimposedanation-widelockdowntocurbthespreadofcoronavirus.However,themonthlymop-upofoverRs1lakhcrorein

thelastsixmonthspointstorecoveryfromthepandemichit.

Atrecordhigh,GSTmop-uptops`1Lcr-markfor6thmthinarow

Marchconsumption:Petrol seessteadygrowth

Diesel sales record uptickfor first time since Oct 2020

IL&FS sells 49%stake in Chineseroad asset CYEC

WhileMarutiSuzuki

posteda92%rise in

salesat1.46 lakhunits

overthat inMarch

2020,HyundaiandTata

Motorsannounced

growthof100%and

422%,respectively

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI, APRIL 1

THE GOVERNMENT onThursday appointed a privatesector executive, MallikaSrinivasan,asthechairpersonofthePublic Enterprises SelectionBoard (PESB), breaking thecon-ventionofappointingseniorbu-reaucrats to thepost. Srinivasanis CMDof Chennai-based TAFE,thecountry’ssecondlargesttrac-tormanufacturer.PESBisresponsibleforselec-

tion and placement of top per-sonnel including chairman-cum-managingdirector (CMD),chairman, managing director,and functional directors in cen-tral public sector enterprises

(CPSEs). The top PESB post waslyingvacantsinceformerfinancesecretaryRajivKumar,whoheldthe post fromMay 1 to August31, 2020, was appointed asElectionCommissioner.Prior to Kumar, Kapil Dev

Tripathi (IAS 1980) was thechairman of the board and heheld the post for just amonth,before moving as Secretary toPresident RamNath Kovind onMay1,2020.TheAppointmentsCommit-

tee of the Cabinet approved theappointmentofSrinivasanasthechairpersonofPESBforaperiodof three years from the date ofassumption of charge, or untilthe attainment of the age of 65years,accordingtoagovernmentorder. FE

Decision on Sputnik V: Panel seeksadditional data from Dr Reddy’s

TAFE CMD to headPublic EnterprisesSelection Board

Kolkata

Page 14: 020421 KO 01R

THE PRELUDEJUNE24,2010:10MONTHSBEFOREWORLDCUP

■ Indiawasplayingthe finalof theAsiaCupThat morning at the breakfast table, GaryKirsten asked the question: “If thiswas theWorldCupfinal,doyouthinkwearereadyasateamtogooutthereandwin?”Theanswer,between bowling coach Eric Simons, Garyandmyselfwas“No”.Wedon’t thinkweareready to win aWorld Cup if it were today.That really sparked the conversation inearnest and detail. Likewhat are the thingswe need to do in the next 10months?Wespentthenext10months, literallyeverysin-gleday,preparingtheteam,sothatwhenwearrivedattheWorldCup,wewouldbeready.

NATURAL CUPNERVESFEB19:GAME1(BANGLADESH)

■PlayingtheopeninggameatDhaka,Sehwagblasted175as Indiastrolledhome

We didn’t put toomuch pressure on our-selves to tryandwineveryoneof theroundrobin games. So I thinkwewent therewiththe natural nerves of startinga World Cup, but as a teamvery prepared, and fortu-nately, fairly familiarwith thekind of conditions inBangladeshaswell.Wefocusedontheprocess

and let the results look afterthemselves. The kind ofcricket wewere playing, weknew that if we played reallygood cricket consistently for100oversof anODIgame,wewouldwinmore games thannot. If we did that, we had avery good chance of going ontowin theWorldCup.Sowereallydidnotfocuson

losing orwinning, but on thekindofcricketwe’replaying.Inthe openingmatch, itwas theusualsortofnerves,acombina-tionof nerves andexcitementofstartingwhatwasgoingtobeareallybigtournament,wherewehadverybiggoals.

HOWASHWIN SAW

IT COMINGFEB27:GAME2(ENGLAND)

■ZaheerKhanandMunafPatelbowling India toan incredible tie.

Before the England game, RavichandranAshwinandmeemergedoutof elevators tothebreakfastareaatthesametime.Iremem-ber it clearly, Ashwin askingme, 'Paddy, doyoubelieve infate?'andIsaid, 'howcome?"Andhewent, ‘I justbelievethatwearemeantto win this tournament.’ there was such acalm knowingness about the conversation.Itwasn't somebody trying tobelieveor try-ingtocreateapositivethought. Itwasadeepknowingness. ImustsayIrarelyfelt itbeforeand something inmy head said, ‘don't getcaughtup inthis’but therewasareal sense.The real positive we took from that

(England) game is howwe stood up andplayed really good cricket at keymoments,when we needed to control the game.Particularly in the bowling department,weprobablywentintothattournamentslightly

strongerinourbattingdepartment.Soitwasreally nice to see bowlers stand up and becountedwhentheyneededto.Munaf especially bowled superbly.We

hadworked quite a bit together.WhatwasreallygreatwasthatMunafreallyopeneduptome and toldme about his youth and hisupbringing. I'm not sure how public it iswhereMunaf camefromandwhathewentthroughinhisprocesstobecomingaprofes-sionalcricketer. Itreallywasanamazingandheart-wrenching story. So in really under-standingwherehe came from, Iwas able toconnectwithhiminhiswayandinhis“lan-guage” so tospeak.For Munaf, it was not really so much

about employing sports psychology princi-ples,or ideasor tools,as itwasabouthavingconversationstohelpensurethathewasjustinthemostrelaxedmood.Hehasperformedreally well when he was aggressive. If hewasn'taggressiveenough,hewasn'tengagedenough in the battle. And if he became tooaggressive, it would start working againsthim. So itwas really just to helphimstay inhisveryconfrontational,aggressivemindsetthat would get him into the best possiblespace. So hewas actually a real joy toworkwithbecausehewasreallyopen.I was not sitting with him as amental

conditioningcoach.Butsome-one really interested in hear-ing somebody's story, andhisstory is fascinating.

IT ALL PLAYED INTO

YUVRAJ’S HANDSMARCH6:GAME3(IRELAND)

■ThestartofYuvrajSingh’sWorldCup legend,hedazzleswithbothbatandball.

Inawayplayingtheminnowsdid play into Yuvraj’s hands.They were not significantlyhigh-pressure games, andtherewasnobowlerwhowasparticularly fast to troublehim. It was a fairlymedium-pressureexperience,bowlingto their batsman and facingtheirbowlers.Hehasoftenre-ally thrived in those average-or medium-pressure condi-tions. So it really didplay intohisfavour,ontopofhimbeingwell prepared, andobviously,really riding awave of confi-

denceat the time.At that time, therewasn’t clearevidence

that he was struggling with anything (ill-ness).AndIthink,fortunately,hehadalsogothimself probably fitter thanhehadbeenformuch of his career and for that particulartournament. So itwas theadditional fitnessthatwasabletoseehimthroughthedifficul-ties hewould have been experiencingwithhisbreathing.

NOTRELYINGONA FEW

GOODMENMARCH9: GAME4(THENETHERLANDS)

■ Indiastumblewhile chasingof191,Yuvraj torescueagain.

It’salwaysmoredifficultinatournamentliketheWorld Cup to play an underdog. As theunderdog,youhavenothingtolose.Soyou’re

able to fully express yourself. Contrarily, asthefavourite,youhaveeverythingtolose,soonecantakepressureontotheshoulders.Sothat was probably the difficulty, to try andnot take the pressure of being the clearfavouriteinthosegamesandtoreallygooutthereand focusonplaying thebest cricket.Butatthesametime,thewholeprepara-

tionoftheteamforthattournamentwasthatwecannotrelyonanyoneortwoorthreein-dividuals to carry us throughmost of thetournament.Everyoneof us, at somepoint,shouldbeabletostandupandleadordeliverfor the team. If it’s not your day,what’s im-portantistogetinlineandreallysupportthepersonwhoseday it is. Soweweren’t look-ing at Sachin or Sehwag to dominate everytime.Or, as it emerged,Yuvi.

WINOR LOSS, DHONI’S

REACTIONS ARE SAMEMARCH12:GAME5(SOUTHAFRICA)

■Fromcruisingat269/1, Indiasuffertheironly lossof the tournament.

Dhonireactssimilarlytowinsandlosses,inthathedoesn’tsayverymuchatall. Intheteammeetings, hewas verymuch CaptainCool. He largely allowed Gary to do thespeakingpostgames.Garytooisverymeas-ured. He talked like therewas little differ-ence between the two sides. The conversa-tionswere around the same lines, the kindofcricketweplayed,wherewedidwell,andwhat couldwe do better next time. So be-tweenDhoni andGary,wehadavery calm,level-headed leadership that didn’t getoverexcited with winning or overly con-cernedwithlosing.Thatwentalongwayjusttohelpplayersmentally.Mentally,theywereonanevenkeel throughtheupsanddownsand pressures of a big tournament like theWorldCup.However,thedefeatbroughtacertainhu-

militytoourbattingline-up.Itmadeusreallyrealisethatatnopointcanwerestonourlau-rels or take our foot off the pedal, even ifwe’vehadanunbelievable start.

WEKNEWNOTEAMCAN

TOUCHUSFEB28:GAME6(WESTINDIES)

■ India'smostclinicalgame.Yuvraj's100takes India to268,ZaheerKhanscalps three,Windiesall for188.

Wedidn’t realise how important it wasto take your form into the knockouts in anytournament.Teamsthatareupanddownoreven those that don’t start well, learn frommistakes. Thoseare theoneswho takecon-fidence fromqualifiers.Wedefinitely knewthatthoughwehadgoodphases,weseldomplayed the full 100 overs thewaywe knowwewere capable of. ThatWest Indies gamewasarealconfidence-booster.Westartedtosee howdifficultwewould be if we play toour potential.We knewno team can touchus.Westarted to feel thatafter thatgame.

WENEEDEDYUVRAJ AND

RAINA TOHAVE THATMATURE

PARTNERSHIPMARCH24:QUARTERFINAL(AUSTRALIA)

■Chasing260,SureshRaina’s thrillingcameoandYuvraj’s fiftyhelp IndiawinthemostdifficultWorldCupgame.

Almosteverygame,Garywouldsay:“It’snotgoing to be everybody’s game.Only for oneor twoof you, itwill turnout tobeyourday.Soas soonasyou findyourself in thatplace,makesureyoutake it asdeepaspossible.”

Sureshwasalwaysanexciting, flamboy-ant cricketer. He plays a high-risk gamewhichwhen it comes off, he takes it to theopposition. Howmany times havewe seenSureshhittingthefirstballof theovertotheboundary!He likes to attack, likes to get onthefrontfootandputpressureontheoppo-sition.Hehadthequality to leavean impactonthatWorldCupandhedeliveredthatday.Wewere under proper pressure in that

chase, weweren’t ahead at any stage.WeneededhimandYuvraj tohave thatmaturepartnership.OnewouldhavethoughtitwasMSDhoni territory butwehadYuvraj,whohadalreadydonesowell,doitagainforus.Infact, before the tournament, Yuvraj had adreamwhere he had visions of himhittingthefinal’swinningruns!Inhisdream,itwashitting it against Australia. Effectively, thefourhehitoff Brett Leewasamanifestationof that dream. It wasn’t the final but it wasagainstAustralia, veryclose toa final.

AWIN FORPAKCOULDMEANA

FINAL SPOT, THEMSTAYING AT

TAJ, A 26/11 TARGETMARCH30:SEMIFINAL(PAKISTAN)

■Tendulkar’s85takes India to260.Fivebowlers takingtwowicketsapiece todismissPakistan for231.

The fierce Indo-Pak rivalry is more aboutspectators; players themselves don’t havethat fiercenessandanimosity. Pakistanwasalways a very easy game for which to pre-pare the Indian teamforas theydidn’tneedany extra motivation. There was an addi-tionalextraneouspoliticalpressurethatno-bodyspokeaboutbuteverybodywasacutelyaware of: if India lost, Pakistanwould go toMumbaiandstayat theverysameTajHotelthatwasatargetof theterroristattacks.Eachoneofusknewthesymbolismof thatwith-outhavingtosayit.Thatwasnotreally idealtoallowPakistantowinandgotostayatTaj.So, therewas that additional pressure thatthiswastobeanon-negotiablegametolose.SachinhadplayedfiveWorldCups.Hewas

headsandshouldersabovetheteamintermsof his accomplishments, but hewas a teamplayer. He didn’t overly speak toomuch inteammeetingsbutwhensomethingneededtobesaid,hewouldsayit—andwhenhedid,whichwasn’t very often, it had gravitas andplayerswouldlisten.ItwashislastWorldCupandplayersknewtheonlythinghedidn’thaveinhistrophycabinetwasaWorldCup.Iknowlot of players had committed to saying theywant togifthimtheWorldCup. Sachinwas-n’twaiting for other players to gift him thatCup;heknewhis timewasgoing tocometodohispart inbringingithome.

MIND, BODY, SPIRIT ANDSOUL

BLOWINGAPRIL2: FINAL(SRILANKA)

■ Indianeeded275 for theCup, theyscored277.Dhoni sealed itwithasixafterGambhirplayedtheRock.

Nothing inmy life compares to what I feltwhenthatball leftDhoni'sbatandweallre-alised that it was going the distance. I can'ttellyouhowlongthatfeelinglasted—3min-

utes,15minutes, Ihavenoidea.Thatecstasyflowing throughmybody— if I could pack-age it and sell it, Iwould be the richestmanin theworld. It wasmind, body, spirit andsoulblowing.Talkingaboutthefinal, Ineedtomention

GautamGambhir's contribution. Everyonetalks about Dhoni's innings but Gambhirheld the entire inning together. Mind you,Gambhir played his best cricket withSehwag, a flamboyant and expansive bats-manwhowassoexcitingtowatch.Gambhir,meanwhile,wasthenugatorylittleguyattheotherend.Garyalwaysusedtocallhim“TheRock”.When Indiawould dowell, it wouldalwaysbeSehwagonthehighlightspackage.Gambhir did what he had done all

through his career — hewas theMr Stable,not the showpony, not theguyplayingglo-riousshotsgoingforglory.TheTestteamhadRahulDravidas‘TheWall’, theone-dayteamhadGambhiras ‘TheRock’.IoftengetaskedaboutDhoni’selevation

in the batting order, him going ahead ofYuvraj.Thisisafirst-handrecollectionanditisnota story that Iheard.To start with, Dhoni always likes to stay

insidethedressingroomduringagameandnot sit out. Itwas the samethatday.Hewasbehindthefullglass frontagethat is thereattheWankhededressingroom.Garywassit-tingoutsideandIwasrightnexttohim. I re-member distinctly, I heard a knock on thewindow.GaryandIturnedaroundthesametime. ItwasDhoni,he indicatedhewasbat-ting next. That was it. Sign language. Garyjustnodded.Therewasnotalkbetweenthetwo.Dhoni hadmade thedecision that thiswasthetimeforhimtostandupanddowhatDhonidoes.Hewoulddowhatheisthebestin the world at— which is seeing a teamhome in a chase. He had delivered nothingin the7gamesbefore the final.Yuvrajhaddonehisbit,hehadplayedhis

tournament.Hewasdone,hewasspent.ThatmomentwassetupforsomeonelikeDhoni.Therearevery fewplayers in theworldwhoaregenuine“massivehighpressure”players.YuvrajSinghisnotoneof those,Dhoni is.Themomentwasn't just a testimony to

his leadership and courage, it spoke a lotabout his relationshipwithGary.Mind you,Garydidn'thavetostandupandhaveacon-versationwith Dhoni to discuss themeritsanddemeritsofthemove.Itwasjustthetwoleadersof the teambeingon thesamepage.IrememberveryclearlywhenDhoniwalkeddownthestairs,IturnedtoGaryandsaid“DoyourealiseDhoniisgoingtheretofetchustheWorld Cup.” I had absolute conviction thatDhoniwouldcomebackwiththetrophy.

POST-WORLDCUPBLUES■The Indianteamsufferedamassiveformslumpafter finalwithstars likeTendulkar,Zaheer failing tomatchtheirCupperformance.

Inhindsight, itwasveryclear tomyself andGarythatweknewthatwewouldfinishourtenures after theWorld Cup, regardless ofwhere India finished. So we had plannedandpreparedfor theWorldCup,butnot for‘whatnext’.The best analogy that I can use is that of

mountaineers. About 80 per cent of themountaineerswhodieonthemountainsareon their way down. The reason being thatthey plan to go to the top, but don’t plan togetdown.Wemadethesamemistakeasthemountaineers.Wewereleavingbutwedid-n’t have the insight to tell the team or theBCCI that ‘you guys need to have firmpost-WorldCupplans’.

14THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL2,2021

SPORT

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

WEIGHTLIFTER FAILS DOPE TEST

A woman weightlifter, who was part of the national camp inPatiala, has been provisionally suspended after testing positivefor a banned substance. The weightlifter, a national recordholder, participated in several international events including theCommonwealth Championship where she won gold. PTI

T H E 1 O T H ANN I V E R SA RY

Adecadeafter the2011WorldCuptriumph,PaddyUpton, India’smental conditioningcoachandGaryKirsten’sally, traces the journey—fromthe leadershipof ‘massive-high-pressureplayer’Dhoni, the ‘team-man’Tendulkar, the ‘handof fate’andto theunspokengoalof not lettingPakistanstayatTajhotel inMumbai for the final.

“When Dhoni walked down the stairs, I told Gary‘... he is going there to fetch us theWorld Cup’!”

MSDhonihits themost famoussix in Indiancrickethistorytoseal theWorldCupfinalagainstSriLanka. File

HittingthewinningrunsagainstAustraliawasadreamcometrueforYuvrajSingh. File

GautamGambhir’s97 inthefinalwasinvaluable. File

...Yuvraj hadadreamwhere

hehad visions ofhimhitting the finalwinning runs! In hisdream, itwashitting it againstAustralia.Effectively, the fourhehit offBrett Leewasamanifestationof that dream. ”

PADDYUPTON

2011 TEAM’SMENTAL

CONDITIONINGCOACH

R.N.I.No.WBENG/2005/20789VOL.XVIINo.10 PrintedbyV.SrinivasanandPublishedbyV.Srinivasanonbehalf of The IndianExpress (P) LtdandPrintedatSaraswati Print FactoryPvt.Ltd,789,Chowbhaga (West),Kolkata-700105andPublishedatThe IndianExpress (P) Ltd JLNo.29&30,N.H.-6,Mouza-Prasastha&Ankurhati, P.O. - Salap,P.S.-Domjur,Howrah-711409.Ph: (033)66043800Fax: (033)66043825&66043847.Chairmanof theBoard :ViveckGoenka,Chief Editor :RajKamal Jha,Editor :UnniRajenShanker, Editor (Kolkata):RakeshSinha*

(*Responsible for selectionof newsunder thePRBAct)Copyright :The IndianExpress (P) Limited.All rights reserved.Reproduction inanymanner,electronicorotherwise,inwholeor inpart,withoutpriorwrittenpermission isprohibited.The IndianExpress®

UMPIRE'S CALL TOSTAY: ICC

Dubai:Thecontentious 'Umpire'sCall'willcontinuetobeapartoftheDecisionReviewSystem, the InternationalCricketCouncil'sBoard ruledonThursday, but introducedafew changes to the current DRS protocols.Called "confusing" by India captain ViratKohli, theUmpire's Call has been a subjectof controversy for awhile now. As per theexisting rule, 50per centof theball shouldbe hitting at least one of the three stumpsforthebatsmantobeadjudgedLBWonre-view in case an umpire's not out call has

been challenged. "The Cricket Committeehad an excellent discussion aroundUmpire's Call and analysed its use exten-sively," ICC's Cricket Committee head andformerIndiancaptainAnilKumblesaidinastatementissuedbythegoverningbodyaf-ter the end of its board meetings onWednesday. "The principle underpinningDRSwastocorrectclearerrors inthegamewhilst ensuring the role of the umpire asthedecisionmakeronthe fieldofplaywaspreserved...Umpire'sCallallowsthattohap-pen, which is why it is important it re-mains,"headded. PTI

GERMANY ‘S STREAK ENDS

London:Germany's firstWorldCupquali-fying loss in20yearsaddedanotherblem-ish to the final months of coach JoachimLöw's 15-year reign in charge of the team.Germany's 35-match unbeaten run inWorldCupqualifying—astreakdatingbackto2001—endedwithastunning2-1homeloss to NorthMacedonia onWednesdaythat left the team sitting third in its groupafterthreegames. Itwasonlythecountry'sthird ever loss in qualifying for theWorldCup since 1934, the other two coming

againstPortugal in1985,whenitwasWestGermany,andthefamous5-1thrashingbyEngland 20 years ago.Löw, who ledGermany to the 2014World Cup title, issteppingdownascoachaftertheEuropeanChampionship.AfterexitingtheWorldCupin thegroup stage in2018, theEuros couldcause the Germansmore pain given theyareinthesamegroupasreigningchampionPortugal andworld champion France. TheroadtoQatarcouldbebumpy,too,forLöw'ssuccessor.InGroupJ,Germanyhasslumpedto third place after three games— behindNorthMacedoniaandArmenia. AP

HAZLEWOODPULLSOUTOF IPL

Melbourne:Australia and Chennai SuperKings fast bowler Josh Hazlewood haspulled out of the upcoming edition of theIndianPremierLeaguetotakeasmallbreakfromcricketandkeephimself fresh for theAshes and the T20World Cup later thisyear.Hazlewood was to depart withAustralia'sotherIPL-boundplayersandjoinCSK but decided to skip the cash-richleague,whichwillstartonApril9andgoontillMay30,andspendtimeathomeforthenext twomonths.The 30-year-old played

three games for CSK in the IPL last seasonwhen the tournament was staged in theUAEinlate2020."It'sbeenalong10monthsin bubbles and quarantine at differenttimes,soIdecidedtohavearestfromcricketand spend some time at home and inAustralia in the next two months,"Hazlewood was quoted as saying bycricket.com.au. “We've got a big winterahead.TheWestIndiesisgoingtobealongtour,withBangladesh(T20tour)potentiallythrownontheendof that.Thenpotentiallythe T20World Cup leading into theAshes,so it's abig12months,”headded.PTI

BRIEFS

Kolkata


SMAI's Ko Ko

SMAI's Ko Ko

Documents
Paper Reference(s) 6664/01R Edexcel GCE - Maths Genie · 6664/01R Edexcel GCE Core Mathematics C2 Advanced Subsidiary Friday 24 May 2013 – Morning Time: 1 hour 30 minutes Materials

Paper Reference(s) 6664/01R Edexcel GCE - Maths Genie · 6664/01R Edexcel GCE Core Mathematics C2 Advanced Subsidiary Friday 24 May 2013 – Morning Time: 1 hour 30 minutes Materials

Documents
KOR-1890 mnl-01r - YAMAZEN BOOK · Title: KOR-1890 mnl-01r Created Date: 7/28/2014 10:47:04 AM

KOR-1890 mnl-01r - YAMAZEN BOOK · Title: KOR-1890 mnl-01r Created Date: 7/28/2014 10:47:04 AM

Documents
Kapwa Ko, Kapamilya Ko

Kapwa Ko, Kapamilya Ko

Documents
Welcome to the Writing Academy 020421 - IELTS Advantage

Welcome to the Writing Academy 020421 - IELTS Advantage

Documents
OSHA 3138-01R 2004

OSHA 3138-01R 2004

Documents
NewProducts - PARKAIR · partnumber pipesize length hexa/f price rt08301-01r g1/4”bsp 88mm 17 £110.62 rt10301-01r g3/8”bsp 98mm 17 £118.34 singlepassageunionsforoil righthandthread

NewProducts - PARKAIR · partnumber pipesize length hexa/f price rt08301-01r g1/4”bsp 88mm 17 £110.62 rt10301-01r g3/8”bsp 98mm 17 £118.34 singlepassageunionsforoil righthandthread

Documents
Distributed Systems - Computer Sciencepxk/417/notes/content/01r-recitation.pdfDistributed Systems 01r. Sockets Programming Introduction Paul Krzyzanowski TAs : ShaleenGarg & Baber

Distributed Systems - Computer Sciencepxk/417/notes/content/01r-recitation.pdfDistributed Systems 01r. Sockets Programming Introduction Paul Krzyzanowski TAs : ShaleenGarg & Baber

Documents
Arnauddelente memorandum 03 01r

Arnauddelente memorandum 03 01r

Documents
ALLOSHA 3302-01R 2013 ABOUT OSHA 1 · ALLOSHA 3302-01R 2013 ABOUT OSHA 1. This booklet provides a general overview of basic topics related to OSHA and how it operates. Information

ALLOSHA 3302-01R 2013 ABOUT OSHA 1 · ALLOSHA 3302-01R 2013 ABOUT OSHA 1. This booklet provides a general overview of basic topics related to OSHA and how it operates. Information

Documents
BID NO. HPC/TA/2017/01R DATED 29/09/2017R DATEDhindpaper.in/images/pdf/RFP_Legal_Advisor_HPC_units.pdf · 2017. 10. 3. · BID NO. HPC/TA/2017/01R DATED 29/09/2017R DATED HINDUSTAN

BID NO. HPC/TA/2017/01R DATED 29/09/2017R DATEDhindpaper.in/images/pdf/RFP_Legal_Advisor_HPC_units.pdf · 2017. 10. 3. · BID NO. HPC/TA/2017/01R DATED 29/09/2017R DATED HINDUSTAN

Documents
ALLOSHA 3302-01R 2013 ABOUT OSHA 1 - Occupational Safety and

ALLOSHA 3302-01R 2013 ABOUT OSHA 1 - Occupational Safety and

Documents
OFFICIAL GAZETTE - Top –Japan Legal Information …jalii.law.nagoya-u.ac.jp/official_gazette/nag_pdf/...Ko 1156, Ko 1157, Ko 1158, Ko 1159, Ko 1160, Ko 1161, Ko 1162, Ko 1163, Ko

OFFICIAL GAZETTE - Top –Japan Legal Information …jalii.law.nagoya-u.ac.jp/official_gazette/nag_pdf/...Ko 1156, Ko 1157, Ko 1158, Ko 1159, Ko 1160, Ko 1161, Ko 1162, Ko 1163, Ko

Documents
5to Semestre Ago2015 Ene2016njnjjnmjknm kn knklnmlnminmkinminmknmknminmklnmkinmkmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,ko,ko,ko,kol,mk jnjmiomjp´jmnjnjjnmjknm kn knklnmlnminmkinminmknmknminmklnmkinmkmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,ko,ko,ko,kol,mk

5to Semestre Ago2015 Ene2016njnjjnmjknm kn knklnmlnminmkinminmknmknminmklnmkinmkmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,ko,ko,ko,kol,mk jnjmiomjp´jmnjnjjnmjknm kn knklnmlnminmkinminmknmknminmklnmkinmkmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,ko,ko,ko,kol,mk

Documents
Tungkulin ko, gagampanan ko

Tungkulin ko, gagampanan ko

Education
Centro Envejecientes Bayamon_Board 01r

Centro Envejecientes Bayamon_Board 01r

Documents
Furo DWJ - Radaway · 2020. 10. 20. · DWJ 100 prawe DWJ Drzwi 522 prawe10107522-01-01R 1 750 2 300 10107522-54-01R 1 925 2 475 10107522-09-01R 2 100 2 650 Ścianka 480 10110480-01-01

Furo DWJ - Radaway · 2020. 10. 20. · DWJ 100 prawe DWJ Drzwi 522 prawe10107522-01-01R 1 750 2 300 10107522-54-01R 1 925 2 475 10107522-09-01R 2 100 2 650 Ścianka 480 10110480-01-01

Documents
SOUND 04 - Full Wave · 2020. 6. 18. · SOUND 04 Mixage Conference/Live htva tvac MIX-GL2400 A&H GL2400-24 24CH 100,00 121,00 MIX-01R Yamaha Digital 01R 16CH 74,08 90,00 MIX-MG206

SOUND 04 - Full Wave · 2020. 6. 18. · SOUND 04 Mixage Conference/Live htva tvac MIX-GL2400 A&H GL2400-24 24CH 100,00 121,00 MIX-01R Yamaha Digital 01R 16CH 74,08 90,00 MIX-MG206

Documents
Andaman Sea Kayaker Destination - Seacanoe · KO MAK N COG A Hi' Mot ìulu Bai Ko Ngarn Ko Ham To Yi 92 Ko C.hcmg 1305' Ko Pai 2,' Ko ( Ko I ao 123' Ko (218' Mai Ko KO Rong Ma Rong)

Andaman Sea Kayaker Destination - Seacanoe · KO MAK N COG A Hi' Mot ìulu Bai Ko Ngarn Ko Ham To Yi 92 Ko C.hcmg 1305' Ko Pai 2,' Ko ( Ko I ao 123' Ko (218' Mai Ko KO Rong Ma Rong)

Documents
DKL One sheet 020421 lighten

DKL One sheet 020421 lighten

Documents
IM 01C21B01-01R...1. ВВЕДЕНИЕ 1-3 IM 01C21B01-01R 1.3 Документация ATEX Применимо только для стран Европейского Союза. RU

IM 01C21B01-01R...1. ВВЕДЕНИЕ 1-3 IM 01C21B01-01R 1.3 Документация ATEX Применимо только для стран Европейского Союза. RU

Documents
ko´ko portfolio

ko´ko portfolio

Documents
Paper Reference(s) 6689/01R Edexcel GCEmathsorchard.weebly.com/uploads/2/7/3/1/27311819/33d_d1_r_june... · Turn over Paper Reference(s) 6689/01R Edexcel GCE Decision Mathematics

Paper Reference(s) 6689/01R Edexcel GCEmathsorchard.weebly.com/uploads/2/7/3/1/27311819/33d_d1_r_june... · Turn over Paper Reference(s) 6689/01R Edexcel GCE Decision Mathematics

Documents
Paper Reference(s) 6689/01R Edexcel GCE · 5/17/2013  · 6689/01R Edexcel GCE Decision Mathematics D1 Advanced/Advanced Subsidiary Friday 17 May 2013 – Morning Time: 1 hour 30

Paper Reference(s) 6689/01R Edexcel GCE · 5/17/2013  · 6689/01R Edexcel GCE Decision Mathematics D1 Advanced/Advanced Subsidiary Friday 17 May 2013 – Morning Time: 1 hour 30

Documents
Mark Scheme (Results) Summer 2013 GCE Chemistry 6CH04/01R General Principles … ·  · 2014-12-27GCE Chemistry 6CH04/01R General Principles of Chemistry I . 6CH04_01R 1306 ... to

Mark Scheme (Results) Summer 2013 GCE Chemistry 6CH04/01R General Principles … ·  · 2014-12-27GCE Chemistry 6CH04/01R General Principles of Chemistry I . 6CH04_01R 1306 ... to

Documents
ユーラシア経済圏と交通ネットワーク® xzy6 cV ¯ N P601()ÿR. 1 î16J0ßÑá ¾ í á ë î kO 9E,- . 016î¯ß1+B< H8 PG< CM 01R . î¯ß 1á s 1á ¯1á ßÀk+

ユーラシア経済圏と交通ネットワーク® xzy6 cV ¯ N P601()ÿR. 1 î16J0ßÑá ¾ í á ë î kO 9E,- . 016î¯ß1+B< H8 PG< CM 01R . î¯ß 1á s 1á ¯1á ßÀk+

Documents
May 2014 - 01R Mark.scheme A2 chemistry

May 2014 - 01R Mark.scheme A2 chemistry

Documents
HINTON OAKS III 50 HINTON OAKS BOULEVARD...ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 12x14 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 12x14 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko

HINTON OAKS III 50 HINTON OAKS BOULEVARD...ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 12x14 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 12x14 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko 9x10 ko

Documents
3 1 01r..nm - Organismo de Evaluación y Fiscalización

3 1 01r..nm - Organismo de Evaluación y Fiscalización

Documents
“ Kwento ko , Gabay ko ”

“ Kwento ko , Gabay ko ”

Documents