Is the COVID vaccine effective against all variants?

The CDC says the updated vaccines should also work against currently circulating variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus —many of which descended from, or are related to, the XBB strain. The vaccine is also expected to protect against JN.1, the current dominant strain in the U.S.

How effective is COVAXIN in India?

The efficacy data demonstrates 63.6% protection against asymptomatic COVID-19 . Safety analysis demonstrates adverse events reported were similar to placebo, with 12% of subjects experiencing commonly known side effects and less than 0.5% of subjects feeling serious adverse events.

Are the COVID-19 variants resistant to the vaccine?

The JN.1 variant is a subvariant of Omicron variant BA.2.86, and contains several mutations that are associated with escape from vaccine-mediated immune protection. The JN.1 variant is antigenically distinct from the XBB.1.5 variant, which is the current target of monovalent COVID-19 vaccines.

Which is the best vaccine for COVID?

Both of the mRNA vaccines available in the US are highly effective against severe COVID-19, but recent studies suggest that Moderna's elicits a stronger immune response and might be better at preventing breakthrough infections .

Why is Novavax better than mRNA?

Compared with mRNA vaccines, the Novavax booster seems to have a lower risk of causing myocarditis or pericarditis —heart conditions that occasionally occur, especially in young men—although it does not have zero risk.

How long does the COVID vaccine last?

The Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Novavax vaccines protect against many known variants of COVID-19. The Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines offer immunity against COVID-19 for up to six months .

What is the dominant strain of COVID-19?

Currently, the dominant variant nationwide is KP. 2 , with 28.5% of cases, followed by KP. 3, with 12.7% of cases, and JN. 1.7, with 9.2% of cases.

What is the new variant of COVID called?

In April, a group of new virus strains known as the FLiRT variants (based on the technical names of their two mutations) emerged. The FLiRT strains are subvariants of Omicron, and they now account for more than 50% of COVID cases in the U.S. (up from less than 5% in March).

What is the newest COVID vaccine?

On September 11, 2023, the Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorization (EUA) of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to include the 2023-2024 formula. The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine (2023-2024 Formula) includes a monovalent (single) component that corresponds to the Omicron variant XBB.

How often should I have a COVID booster?

If you have had your primary vaccination course and you're aged: 75 years or older, you're recommended further doses of COVID-19 vaccine every 6 months . 18 – 74 years with severe immunocompromise, you're recommended further doses of COVID-19 vaccine every 12 months.

What is the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine?

In clinical trials, three vaccines had higher (>90%) efficacy against COVID-19 infection [Pfizer-BioNTech (~95%), Moderna (~94%) and Sputnik V (~92%)] than the vaccines by Oxford-AstraZeneca (~70%) and Janssen (54-72%), against moderate and severe forms of COVID-19 infection 10 .

Which has worse side effects, Pfizer or Moderna?

This finding is consistent with prior evidence that adverse effects are more frequent in patients who receive the Moderna vaccine than in those receiving the Pfizer vaccine.

What are the side effects of the latest COVID vaccine?

Most side effects of the COVID-19 vaccination are mild and should not last longer than a week, such as: a sore arm from the injection. feeling tired. a headache. feeling achy. mild flu-like symptoms.

Covaxin shows 81% effi also works against variants - Tenhard ...

Freedoms in India have reduced,accordingtoareportfromaU.S.thinktank,FreedomHouse,resulting inIn

diabeingclassifi��edas‘partlyfree’.India’sscorewas67,adrop from 71/100 from lastyear (refl��ecting 2019 data)downgradingitfromthefree

categorylastyear(basedon2020data).

“The government ofPrime Minister NarendraModianditsStatelevelallies

continuedtocrackdownoncriticsduringtheyear…,”thereportsaid.

Sriram Lakshman

DETAILS ON A PAGE 10

U.S.thinktankreportclassifi��esIndiaas‘partlyfree’

SC asks for NIA responseon Navlakha’s bail pleaNEW DELHI

TheSupremeCourton

Wednesdayaskedthe

NationalInvestigation

Agency(NIA)torespond

toapleafi��ledbyactivist

GautamNavlakhaforbail

intheBhimaKoregaoncase.

NORTH & EAST A PAGE 5

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

NEARBY

AAP wins 4 out of 5wards in civic bypollsNEW DELHI

TheAamAadmiPartyon

Wednesdaywonfouroutof

fi��vewardsinthemunicipal

corporationbypolls.The

CongresswontheChauhan

Bangerwardinnortheast

Delhi,whichwitnessed

communalviolencelastyear.CITY A PAGE 2

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

VID19withonsetatleast14daysaftertheseconddose.

fi��rst occurrence of Polymerase Chain Reactionconfi��rmed symptomatic (mild,moderate, or severe) CO

Covaxin, India’s fi��rst COVID19vaccine,hasdemonstratedaninterimclinicaleffi��cacyof81%inthephase3clinicaltrial,vaccinemakerBharatBiotechsaidonWednesday.

The vaccine demonstratedhighclinicaleffi��cacyandsignifi��cant immunogenicityagainstvariants,thecompany’sCMD,KrishnaElla,said.

A statement from BharatBiotech, which developedthevaccineincollaborationwith the Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR),said25,800participantsbetween ages 18 and 98 wereenrolledforthephase3study.Itincluded2,433overtheageof60and4,500withcomorbidities.

The fi��rst results fromphase3,calledtheprimaryendpoint,arebasedon the

Covaxinshows81%effi��cacy,alsoworksagainstvariantsInterim analysis is based on a study of 43 cases; vaccine has low adverse events

N. Ravi Kumar

HYDERABAD

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8

V.K.Sasikala,aideofformerTamil Nadu Chief MinisterJayalalithaaandformerinterimgeneralsecretaryoftheAllIndiaAnnaDravidaMunnetraKazhagam(AIADMK),on Wednesday announcedher decision to step asidefrompolitics.

Ina twopagestatement,shedidnotgiveanyreasonfor her decision. But shecalledupon“truefollowers”of Jayalalithaa to “remainunited,actwiselyandworkhard” during the AssemblyelectionsothattheDravidaMunnetra Kazhagam, “ourcommon enemy and evilforce,asidentifi��edbyAmma[Jayalalithaa], does not return to power and the golden rule of Amma is establishedinTamilNadu”.

‘Never keen on power’Thankingallthosewhohadshown “aff��ection and concern”towardsher,Ms.Sasikalaclaimedshewas“never

keen on occupying any offi��ceorpositionofauthority.I willeverremain indebtedtoPuratchiThalaivi’s[ Jayalalithaa’s] aff��ectionate followersandpeopleofTamilNadu”. She added that shewould“continuetopray[to]Puratchi Thalaivi and godfortheestablishmentofthegoldenreignofAmma”.

Sasikala’sdecisioncomesagainstthebackdropofthereported suggestion of the

BJP to the AIADMK to takethe AMMK on board its alliance.TheissuewasreportedlydiscussedduringUnionHomeMinisterAmitShah’srecent latenight meetingwiththeAIADMK’stopleaders–EdappadiK.Palaniswami and O. Panneerselvam.However, a section of theAIADMK was reluctant totaketheproposalforward.

Jayalalithaa’s aide gives no reason for her surprise move

T. RAMAKRISHNAN

CHENNAI

Call for unity: V.K.SasikalapayingtributetoJayalalithaaonher73rdbirthanniversary,inthisfi��lephoto. * B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM

Sasikalaannouncesdecisiontowithdrawfrompolitics

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8

HealthMinisterHarshVardhanonWednesdayreiteratedthattheCentrehaddoneawaywiththe9a.m.to5p.m.timelineforgivingCOVID19vaccinationandbenefi��ciariescantakeitroundtheclock.A Page 10

‘Vaccinecanbetaken24/7’

AntibodiesagainstCOVID19begintoappearonly14daysafteravaccineinjection.Butinpeoplewhohavealreadybeeninfected,theincreasecanbeobservedinaweek.Accordingtoseveralserosurveys,21%to60%ofIndiamayhavebeenexposedtothevirus.A Page 10

Antibodylevelliftsin14days

CMYK

A ND-NDE

thursday, march 4, 2021 Delhi

City Edition

16 pages O ₹��10.00

Printed at . Chennai . Coimbatore . Bengaluru . Hyderabad . Madurai . Noida . Visakhapatnam . Thiruvananthapuram . Kochi . Vijayawada . Mangaluru . Tiruchirapalli . Kolkata . Hubballi . Mohali . Malappuram . Mumbai . Tirupati . lucknow . cuttack . patna

thehindu.com

facebook.com/thehindu

twitter.com/the_hindu

Voicingdissentagainstthegovernment does notamounttosedition,theSupremeCourtsaidonWednesday while rejecting apleato“terminate”theLokSabha membership of National Conference leaderFarooqAbdullahandbookhimforsedition.

“The expression of aviewwhichisadissentfroma decisiontakenbytheCentral government itself cannotbesaidtobeseditious,”thecourtsaid.

A Bench, led by JusticeSanjay Kishan Kaul, saidtherewasnothinginDr.Abdullah’s statement “whichwe fi��nd so off��ensive as togiveacauseofactionforacourt to initiate proceedings”,trashingthepleaasa“clearcaseofpublicity interest litigation” by petitioners who want to gettheirnamesinthepress.

TheBenchdismissedthecase levying costs on thepetitioners to the tune of₹��50,000 to be depositedwiththeSupremeCourtAdvocates Welfare Fund infourweeks.

Voicingdissentagainstgovt.isnotsedition:SCLegal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8

The Aligarh police have arresteda17yearoldteenagerfortherapeandmurderofaminorDalitgirlinavillageinAkrabadareaofthedistrictonWednesday.

Muniraj G., Senior SuperintendentofPolice,Aligarh,saidtheClass8dropoutfromtheneighbouringvillagewasin police custody and hadconfessedtothecrime.

Theaccusedwaswateringa wheat crop around noononFebruary28whenthevictimcametothefi��eldtocollectfodderforhergoats.

“Hewaswatchingap*rnfi��lmonhismobile.Hetried

to sexually assault the girland when she resisted, hestrangulated her with herchunni (stole). He thendraggedherbody fora fewmetrestohideitinanotherfi��eld,”Mr.Munirajsaid.

Hethrewherstoleinthecanal and her slippers inanotherfi��eld.

Theboyhad ledthemtotheslippersofthedeceased,Mr.Munirajsaid.

Policesourcessaidtheaccusedknewthedeceasedasheusedtogotohervillagetofetchmilk.Heknewthatthegirl had a speechimpairment.

17yearoldarrestedforrape,murderofminorPolice say he confessed to the crime

Special Correspondent

Ghaziabad

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8

TheIncomeTaxDepartmenton Wednesday conductedsearches on 30 locationslinked to fi��lmmaker AnuragKashyap, producer VikasBahl, producerdistributorMadhu Mantena and actorTaapsee Pannu in MumbaiandPune.

The action, according toanagencyoffi��cial,waspartofa tax evasion probe againstPhantomFilmslaunchedbyMr.Kashyapbutdissolvedin2018.Mr.BahlandMr.Mantenawere thecopromotersofPhantomFilms.

The Nationalist CongressParty (NCP) said the raidswereanattempttosuppressvoicesofdissentagainstthe

Centralgovernment.“Central agencies are be

ing used to take actionagainstthosewhotakeanantigovernment stand andspeak against its policies,”saidNawabMalik,Maharashtra’s Minority Aff��airsMinister.

(With inputs from PTI,and Mumbai bureau)

I-T conducts searches onAnurag Kashyap, TaapseeSpecial Correspondent

New Delhi

TaapseePannuand,right,AnuragKashyap. * FILE PHOTO

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8

CMYK

A ND-NDE

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

DELHI THE HINDU

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 20212EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

CITY

After being wiped out inthe municipal bypolls onWednesday, the BJP accusedtheCongressandtheAamAadmiPartyof“teamingup”witheachother,

Delhi BJP chief AdeshGuptasaidthedecreaseintheCongress’voteshareinShalimarBaghandrise inChauhan Bangar provedthattheCongressandAAP“conspired” against theBJP. “Last time, the Congresshadgot8,000votesfrom Shalimar Bagh thathas now come down to2,000, while in ChauhanBanger, its vote share hasgone up. This shows howthey worked in tandemagainstus,”healleged.

Congress, AAPteamed upagainst us: BJP

Special Correspondent

New Delhi

TheAamAadmiParty(AAP)onWednesdaywonfouroutoffi��vewardsinthemunicipalcorporation bypolls. TheCongress won the ChauhanBanger ward located innortheast Delhi, which witnessed communal violencelastyear.TheseatwasearlierheldbytheAAP.

TheBJPwasarunnerupinfourwardsandplaced thirdin the minoritydominatedChauhanBanger.

AAPcandidatesDhirenderKumar, Vijay Kumar, SunitaMishra and Ram Chanderwon the Kalyanpuri, Trilokpuri,ShalimarBaghandRohiniCwards,respectively.

The victorious CongresscandidatewasChaudharyZubairAhmad,hisvictorymargin was the highest amongthefi��vewards.

Thecloselycontestedelectionwasseenbythepartiesas a “semifi��nal” before themunicipalelectionin2022.

TheAAPhasstatedthatitaims to end the monopolythattheBJPhasinthemunicipalities,whereithasbeenin

powersince2007.Thebypollwasnecessitat

edasfouroftheseatsfellvacant after the councillorswon the Assembly electionsonAAPticketslastyear.

TheShalimarBagh(North)seat fell vacant after thedeathofsittingBJPcouncillorRenuJaju.

Thebypollssawthethreeparties launch strong campaignswithChiefMinisterArvind Kejriwal holding roadshowstosetthetoneforthemunicipalelectionnextyear.Despitealandslidevictoryinthe 2015 Assembly election,theAAPwasunabletopulloff��a similarperformanceinthe2017municipalelectionandhasbeenatloggerheadswiththeBJPruledcorporations.

The State Election Commission said that the AAPpolled46.10%votes,followedby27.29%(BJP)and21.84%bythe Congress. Around 2.42lakh people were eligible tovoteintwowardsundertheNorthDelhiMunicipalCorporation, and three wards undertheEastDelhiMunicipalCorporation. The electionssawaturnoutof50.86%.

AAP wins 4 out of 5 wards in civic bypollsBJPfailstoretainShalimarBaghseat,Cong.winsChauhanBangerwardinriotaff��ectednortheastDelhi

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)chief Arvind Kejriwal onWednesdaytoldpartyworkersthattheresultsofthebypollsshowthatDelhiitesarehappywithAAP’sworkandangrywith“15yearsofBJP’sincompetence”inthemunicipalcorporations.

TheAAPwonfouroutofthefi��vewardswhiletheBJPwonzeroseats.

AAP workers danced todrum beats, exchangedsweetsandsmearedcoloursoneachother’sfacesatthethe party headquarters tocelebratethewin.

“ThepeopleofDelhihavemadeuswinfouroutoffi��veseats...nonewenttotheBJP.I want to congratulate youall. In the 2015 Assemblyelections,wegot67outof70seats,andin2020,wegot62outof70.Aftersixyears,thepeople of Delhi have againshowntheir faith inusandtheywantustocontinuetheway we are working. If so

meonewantstoknowwhatAAP has achieved, peoplefromacrossthecountrywilltell you how we have improved schools, hospitals,electricity, water, androads,” Mr. Kejriwal said atthepartyheadquarters.

‘Delhi will shine’He said that people didn’tlikethe“politicsofviolence”thattheBJPindulgedinandrecalled how the partylaunchedattacksatDeputyChief Minister Manish Sisodia’shouseandtheDelhiJalBoardoffi��ce.

“Wehavebetterededucation,hospitals,androads...Butcleanlinessisleft.When

our government takescharge of the civic bodies,we will make Delhi shine,”Mr.Kejriwalsaid.HeaddedthatthepeopleofDelhiwantto change the corporationsandtheywantthecorporationstorunaseff��ectivelyastheDelhigovernment.

“In 2017, we were still anewparty.Butnowwehadenoughworktoshowthepeopleandtheybelieveintheparty. This is what workedforus,”AAPchiefspokespersonSaurabhBharadwajsaid.

Leadersalsosaidthatthepartywillfocusontellingpeopleabouttheworkdonebythe Delhi government andpromise the people similardevelopmentinthecorporationsforthe2022municipalelections.

“The results of the byelectionsisindicatingthatinthe upcoming civic bodyelection next year, the BJPwill be thrown out of power,” said Durgesh Pathak,AAPinchargeofthemunicipalcorporations.

Peoplewereunhappywithitspoliticsofviolence:Kejriwal

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

‘Pollresultsareanswerto15yearsofBJP’sincompetence’

<> The results of the

by-elections are

indicating that in the

upcoming municipal

polls next year, the

BJP will be thrown

out of power

Durgesh Pathak

AAP in-charge of municipal corporations

After several years, thesoundofbeatingdrumsandfi��recrackersreverberatedattheDelhiCongressoffi��ceasthe party managed to winoneofthefi��vewardsinthemunicipalbypolls.

Delhi Congress chief Ch.Anil Kumar said that although thevictorywouldnothave any real outcome onthecorporations,itisagreatvictory for the Congress as“the people have put theirfaithbackintheparty”andpartyworkershavemanagedto “awaken people to themisruleoftheBJPinthecivicbodiesforthepast15years.

“Looking forward to the2022municipalelection,thisvictoryshowsusthatthepeopleofDelhiarereadytoput

their faith back in the Congress and we will serve thepeople of Delhi by winningthecivicpoll,”hesaid.

Mr. Kumar added that intheAssemblyelectioninFebruary 2020, the party’s

votesharehadfallento6%.Duetothehardworkput

inbyCongressworkersduring the pandemic and theongoing farmers’ protest,the vote share has risen to21.84%now,hesaid.

Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad,whowontheChauhanBanger ward for the party,saidtheentireseniorleadership of the AAP, includingChiefMinisterArvindKejriwal,hadcampaignedinhisward but were unable tochangethemindsofthepeople.“MyvictoryisnotalossforthecandidateputupbytheAamAadmiPartybutforMr.Kejriwalwhotouredtheward by foot asking peopleforvotes,”hesaid.

Ourworkduringpandemic,farmers’stirgarneredsupport,saysDelhipartychief

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Delhi Congress chief Ch. Anil Kumar (centre) with newlyelected councillor from Chauhan Banger ward Zubair AhmadChaudhary on Wednesday. * SANDEEP SAXENA

‘PeoplereadytoputfaithbackinCongress’

<> Congress has

managed to awaken

people to the

misrule of the BJP in

the civic bodies for

the past 15 years

Ch. Anil Kumar

Delhi Congress chief

DelhiPolicehasregisteredamolestation case againstRubinD’Cruz,assistanteditor (Malayalam) of the National Book Trust, after awoman fi��led a complaintagainst him at the VasantKunj(North)policestation.

A seniorpoliceoffi��ceronWednesdaysaidanFIRunderIndianPenalCodeSec

tion354 (molestation)wasregisteredonFebruary2.

“The complainant allegedthattheaccusedhadinvited her to his offi��cecumlivingspace inVasantKunj. She had gotten intouch with the accusedthrough common friendswhileshewaslookingforarented accommodation inDelhi. Promising to helpherout,Mr.D’Cruzalleged

lyinvitedhertohishome,whereheallegedlysexuallyharassed her,” said the seniorpoliceoffi��cer.

Accused questionedHe said Mr. D’Cruz wasquestioned in the matterand,ifrequired,hemaybeaskedtojointheinvestigationagain.

Theyhavealsorecordedthestatementofthevictim.

lodged. These few daysgave some insights. It willtake time for the shock ofseeingthosewehaveconsidered friends for years tospeak up for the hunterseem so natural [sic],” thevictimwroteinanotherFacebookpost.

The matter reportedlycametolightonlyafterthevictimpostedherordealonthesocialnetworkingsite.

The incident happenedin October last year. Thecasewillsoonbesubmittedinthecourt.

The complainant alsosharedapostonFacebookregardingtheallegedtraumatic physical assault thatshehadtosuff��er.

“A case has been registeredagainstapseudoprogressive named RubinD’CruzandanFIRhasbeen

National Book Trust assistant editor booked for molestationComplainanthasallegedaccusedsexuallyharassedherathisoffi��cecumlivingspaceinVasantKunj

SAURABH TRIVEDI

NEW DELHI

CMYK

A ND-NDE

THE HINDU DELHI

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2021 3EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

CITY

Published by N. Ravi at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD., Chennai-600002. Editor: Suresh Nambath (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).

Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 ● RNI No. UPENG/2012/49940 ● ISSN 0971 - 751X ● Vol. 11 ● No. 53

0DISCLAIMER: Readers are requested toverify and make appropriate enquiries tosatisfy themselves about the veracity ofan advertisem*nt before responding toany published in this newspaper. THGPUBLISHING PVT LTD., the Publisher &Owner of this newspaper, does not vouchfor the authenticity of any advertisem*ntor advertiser or for any of the advertiser’sproducts and/or services. In no event canthe Owner, Publisher, Printer, Editor, Dir-ector/s, Employees of this newspaper/company be held responsible/liable inany manner whatsoever for any claimsand/or damages for advertisem*nts inthis newspaper.

Timings

DELHI

THURSDAY, MAR. 04

RISE 06:43 SET 18:23

RISE 23:54 SET 10:07

FRIDAY, MAR. 05

RISE 06:42 SET 18:24

RISE 00:00 SET 10:51

SATURDAY, MAR. 06

RISE 06:41 SET 18:24

RISE 01:01 SET 11:40

Theongoingfarmers’protesthas changed the course ofseveral lives, including thatof Komaldeep Singh Cheema, a 37yearold kabaddiplayerwho’snowapopularmasseurattheSinghuborderprotestsite.Hehasdeferredhis wedding indefi��nitely tilltheprotestends.

Mr. Cheema, son of a retiredArmySubedar,toldThe

Hindu thathisweddingwasscheduledforJanuary27buthe has decided not to goaheadwithittillthefarmers’issuesareresolved.

“About six months ago, Igot engaged to a woman. Itwasarrangedbyourparents.Inourvillage,menandwomendon’ttalkormeetalottill the wedding day, so weonly spokea few times,”hesaid.

On November 26, Mr.CheemacametoSinghuborderandinthenextfewdays,began a service he proudly

calls “massage langar”. Mr.Cheema made headlines asthe man who started thisratherunusuallangarserviceofgivingmassages,especially to the elderly with bodypainissues.

“Ihadmadeupmymind.In December, I called andtold the woman’s parentsthat I won’t marry till theprotestisgoingon.Ialsotoldthe woman that she

shouldn’twaitformeandgoahead if she fi��nds a bettermatch. Of course, I apologisedbutthisissomethingIcouldn’t have ignored,” hesaid.

The woman’s family toldhim that the marriage cantakeplacealongsidetheprotests,buthehadresolvedtowaittilltheprotestwasover,Mr.Cheemasaid.“MyfamilysaidthatIcandecideformy

self. They didn’t interfere,”hesaid.

Even if the protest continuestill2024—theelectionyear — the marriage standsdeferred,hesaid.

Mr. Cheema had startedplayingkabaddiwhenhewasabout10yearsoldandcontinued to play in school andcollege in Jalandhar wherehealsoplayedonanationallevel.In2005,hewenttoEnglandtoplaykabaddifromaBirminghamClubandplayedfor them a few times. Hestayedthereforafewyears.

“I also teach kids how toplay, especially those fromtheeconomicallyweakersections,”hesaid.

The kabaddi player hasgonehometwiceforover10days each to work on hisfi��eldsandputfertilizerinthefarms.

Earlierat theSinghuborderonWednesday,tablefansweredistributedforfreeandconstruction of extendingmakeshifthospitalbegan.

Protesterdefersweddingplanstillfarmers’issuesareresolvedKomaldeepSinghCheema,apopularmasseurattheSinghusite,isakabaddiplayer

Hemani Bhandari

NEW DELHI

Komaldeep Cheema gives a massage to an elderly person atthe Singhu protest site on Wednesday. * SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Many benefi��ciaries, mostlysenior citizens, who tookthe vaccine on Wednesdaysaid that the process wassmooth.

Offi��cials of multiple hospitals also said there wereno issues with the CoWINplatform, where details ofbenefi��ciaries are enteredandcheckedbeforevaccination, on Wednesday unlikethepasttwodays.

A totalof25,054benefi��ciariestooktheCOVID19vaccinationinthecityonWednesdayandtherewerefourAdverse Events FollowingImmunisation(AEFI),saidaDelhi governmentspokesperson.

Ofthetotalbenefi��ciaries,13,794werepeoplewhoare60yearsofa*geandabove,1,625peoplewerebetween45and59yearsofa*ge.

The number of peoplebelonging to both agegroups taking the vaccinationhaveincreasedsteadilysinceitstartedMonday.

The rest of the peoplevaccinated on Wednesdaywere healthcare workersandfrontlineworkers.

ArunJain,69,aresidentofGreenPark,whotookthevaccine at Delhi governmentrunLokNayakHospital,saidthattheprocesswas“smooth”.“Ihadtowaitforonly 10 minutes to get thevaccine.Itismyfi��rsttimeatthehospitalanditwasverycleanandmyoverallexperiencewasgood,”hesaid.

Nand Kishore Agarwal,61, said that he had comealone to take the vaccineandhehadtowaitonlyforabout“57minutes”.

240 fresh cases

Delhi witnessed 240 newCOVID19casesinthelast24hours,takingthetotalnumberofcasesto6,39,921,accordingtoahealthbulletinreleased by the Delhi governmentonWednesday.

Three deaths were reportedinthepast24hours,taking the total number ofdeathsstoodat10,914.

Benefi��ciarynumbersarerisingsteadily

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

‘CoWINprocesssmoothunlikepasttwodays’

The Enforcement Directoratehastakenpossessionofa multistoreybuildinginDelhi in connection with theMuzaff��arpur shelter homecaseinwhichseveralminorgirlswereallegedlysexuallyandphysicallyabused.

Theagencyhastakenpossessionofthebuildingworth₹��1.45crorelocatedinDelhi’s

PalamColonyandafi��xeddeposit amounting to ₹��2.07lakhinthenameofAadarshMahilaShilpKalaKendra.

The money launderingprobe isbasedon twoFIRsregisteredbytheMahilapolicestationinBihar’sMuzaffarpurandonecase lodgedwiththeCBI,againstBrajeshThakurandothers.

TheEDhasallegedmisappropriation of funds and

grantsreceivedfromthegovernment and other agencies in thenameofnongovernment organisation,Sewa Sankalp Ewam VikasSamitianditssisterorganisations,whereThakurwasthe“defactoowner”.

Theshelterhomewasrunby Sewa Sankalp Ewam VikasSamiti.TheEDhadearlier attached assets worth₹��8.77crore.

MoneylaunderingprobeonagainstBrajeshThakur

Special Corrspondent

NEW DELHI

Muzaff��arpursheltercase:EDtakespossessionofaccused’sproperty

Completelybaffl��edbyDelhipolice’s attempt to chargetwo persons for off��ence ofattempt to murder a manduringthenortheastDelhiriots,whenthevictimhimselfismissingfrompoliceinvestigation,aDelhiCourtremarked“presumptioncan’tbe stretched to take theshapeofproof/evidence”.

Dischargingbothaccusedpersons — Imran alias TeliandBabu—fromthecharge,

Additional Sessions JudgeAmitabh Rawat quotingfrom Russian classic Crime

and Punishment said,‘Froma hundredrabbitsyoucan’tmake a horse, a hundredsuspicion don’t make aproof’.

The Delhi police had accusedbothTeliandBabuofbeing part of a mob nearMaujpur Red Light duringthe riots which caused thealleged death of one Rahulwhohadsuff��eredagunshotinjury.

HCdropsmurderchargeagainsttwoinriotscaseStaff Reporter

New Delhi

Takingcognisanceofmediareports on a 35yearoldman’sdeathduetofi��reinanillegalfactoryinPratapNagaronSaturday,theNationalGreenTribunal(NGT)hasissuednoticetotheCentralPollution Control Board(CPCB),DelhiPollutionControl Committee (DPCC),North Delhi Municipal Cor

poration and the DistrictMagistrate.

A Bench headed by NGTChairperson Justice AdarshKumarGoelalsoconstituteda fi��vemember committeewhichhasbeenaskedtoascertaintheextentofdamagecausedandcompensationtobepaidfordamagetotheenvironmentandlossoflife.

In its order, the tribunalnoted that from initial re

ports,subjecttoverifi��cation,there appeared to be noncompliance of statutory safeguards under the provisionsofrelevantlaw.

Thepaneladded,“Exceptfor visit to the site at leastonce,thecommitteewillbefreetoconductit*proceedingsonline.Itwillbefreetotaketheassistancefromanyother expert or organisation.”

5memberpaneltoascertainextentofdamageandrelief

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI

NGTtakescognisanceofillegalfactoryfi��re,issuesnoticestogovt.authorities

A DelhicourtonWednesday granted bail to fi��vepersons,includingaClass10student,inacaserelatedtoviolencethaterupted on Republic Day during farmers’ tractorparade against theCentre’snewfarmlaws.

The court said theycannotbekeptincustodymerelyontheapprehensionthattheymightcommitsimilaroff��enceagain.

Additional SessionsJudgeSudhanshuKaushikgrantedbailtoRavi,Ashish, Parvesh, DeepakSingh,andaClass10studenton furnishingabailbondof₹��30,000withonesurety of like amounteach in the case of violenceinNangloi.

The court noted thatpoliceallegedthattheaccused were amongst theprotesters who attackedoffi��cers.

Thecounselfortheaccused claimed they hadbeenfalselyimplicatedinthecase.

RDayviolence:studentamong5grantedbail

Press Trust of India

New Delhi

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TheDelhiPoliceonWednesdayinformedtheDelhi High Court that itwouldprovideroundtheclock security to NilamKatara, the mother ofmurderedbusinessexecutive Nitish Katara, whenever she visits DelhifromDehradun.

Thepolicesaidoffi��cerswouldalsoprotecttheaccommodation where Ms.Katara would be stayingduring her visit to Delhiformedical treatmentorcourt cases. It, however,said that Ms. Katara willhave to intimate the policethroughemailatleast72hourspriortohervisit.

Nitish Katara’smother to begiven cover

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

The Delhi High Court onWednesday asked the Centralgovernmenttorespondto a contempt petitionagainst the authorities fornottakingdecisiononextensionoffreeeducationundertheRightToEducation(RTE)ActtochildrenofEconomi

callyWeakerSection (EWS)beyond Class 8 and up toClass12inschool.

JusticeNajmiWaziriquestionedtheMinistryofEducationas towhydecisionhasnotbeentakentoextendtheRTEAct,despitecourt’sdirectionspassedin2019.

The court’s directioncameonapleafi��ledbyNGO

Social Jurist. It posted thecase for further hearing onMarch17.AdvocatesappearingfortheNGO,saidduetoinaction on the part of theCentre, private schoolsacross India are throwingseveralEWSstudentsouteveryyearaftertheypassClass8.

TheHighCourthadinDe

cember 2019, asked theCentretotakeadecisionontheextensionoffreeeducationtoEWSchildrenevenafter attaining the age of 14years or beyond. The pleasought initiation of contempt proceedings againstauthorities for theirallegeddeliberate disobedience ofthejudgment.

Free education: Centre told to reply on contempt petition

‘Private schools throwing out many EWS students every year after Class 8’

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

Fourcasesofinterfaithrelationship — for which somerightwing groups use theterm‘lovejihad’—havebeenlodged in Haryana over thepastthreeyears,anRTIreplyhasrevealed.ThepolicehavemovedtoquashFIRsintwoofthecasesandathirdendedinanacquittal.Thefourthcaseisinthecourt.

TheHaryanagovernmentissettobringinalegislationagainst‘lovejihad’intheupcoming budget session beginningMarch5.StateHomeMinister Anil Vij had announced framing of a lawagainst ‘love jihad’ in thewake of the Nikita murdercaseinFaridabadlastyear.

AsperthereplytotheRTIapplication fi��led by P.P. Ka

poor,aPanipatresident,atotaloffourcasesof‘lovejihad’havebeenlodgedinAmbala,NuhandPanipatdistricts.

AnFIRwaslodgedundervarious sections of the IPCand the Protection of Children from Sexual Off��encesActatSadarpolicestationinAmbalaonMay18,2018,buttheaccusedwaslateracquitted.InasimilarcaselodgedatthesamepolicestationonOctober16,2019,thepolicehave initiated proceedingsseekingtoquashthecase.

InNuh’sPunhana,FIRno.350 was registered on Sep

tember 12,2020,undervarioussectionsoftheIPCandthe Scheduled Castes andTribes(PreventionofAtrocities)Act.Thepolicehaveinitiated proceedings seekingto quash the case. FIR no.450wasregisteredatPanipat’s Samalkha police station on July 19, 2019. Thematterisinthecourt.

Mr.Kapoorhadwrittentothepoliceinsevendistricts:Faridabad, Yamuna Nagar,Hisar,Ambala,Nuh,PanipatandRewari,seekingdetailsof ‘love jihad’ cases registeredsinceJanuary1,2018.

Faridabad,YamunaNagarand Hisar police said therewerenosuchcases.TheRewaripoliceareyettofurnisha reply to the RTI that wasfi��ledinNovemberlastyear.

Mr.Kapooralsosoughtto

knowthedefi��nitionof‘lovejihad’towhichmanydistrictpolice replied that it couldbeaccessedontheInternet.

The Nuh police said thetermwasnotConstitutionallydefi��ned.

Onthenumberof‘lovejihad’ victims rescued andcases lodged inconnectionwithallegedfundingtopropagatetheactivity,thepoliceofalldistrictsrepliedinthe negative. Mr. Kapoorsaid the RTI reply revealedthatafalsenarrativeof‘lovejihad’ is being propagatedforpoliticalreasons.

Hesaidhehadsoughtdatafromthesevendistrictsasa section of the media hadbeenreporting thatdozensof Hindu girls had fallenpreyto‘lovejihad’inthesedistricts.

RTI reply reveals 4 cases of ‘lovejihad’ in Haryana in past 3 years Police have moved to quash FIRs in two of the cases, third ended in an acquittal

Special Correspondent

GURUGRAM <> A false narrative of

‘love jihad’ is being

propagated for

political reasons

P.P. Kapoor

RTI activist

The Delhi High Court onWednesdaysoughtresponseofthecitygovernmentonaplea by three siblings whoare willing to transfer theownershipofapieceofland,they inherited from theirfather,tothegovernmenttobuildaschoolonit.

JusticePrathibaM.Singhsaid the authorities should

considerthepleaofthepetitionersexpeditiouslyastheyhavecomeupwithauniquepleawheretheywishtogivetheirright inaprivate landtothegovernment.ItpostedthecaseforfurtherhearingonApril30.

TheHighCourtwashearing a petition fi��led by twosonsandadaughterofoneMansaRamwhoarewillingtotransferownershipofthe

land measuring 5,000 sqyards in northeast Delhi’sKarawal Nagar to the Delhigovernment to build aschool.

AdvocateAshokAgarwal,representingthepetitioners,saidtheyhadsentarequestletter to thegovernment inJune2019totransferownershipoftheland,butunfortunately the authorities arejustsittingoverit.

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

HC asks city govt. to reply on pleaseeking transfer of land for school

LieutenantGovernorofLadakhRadhaKrishnaMathur inaugurated ‘Enchanting Ladakh’, a handloomandhandicraftexpo,atDilliHaat.

Theexpohasawidevariety of products thatshowcasetheworkofover70 artisans from diff��erentpartsofLadakh.

Mr.Mathursaidthattheproductsmadeby theLadakhiartisansfromremotevillages of Kargil and LehprovidethemaplatformtoshowcasetheircraftsintheCapitalwillexposethemtothe commercial worldwhile instilling a sense ofconfi��denceinthem.

Ithasbeenorganisedbythe Department of Industries, Ladakh, to promotehandicraftsoftheregion.

Ladakhexhibitioninaugurated

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI

Faculty Required in a Reputed Coaching Institute in North East for CivilEngineering optional of AE exam.Send your resume at:[emailprotected] [emailprotected]

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The Delhi High Court onWednesday issued noticeto Ministry of Health andFamilyWelfareontheissueof declaring people associated with judicial functioning as “frontlineworkers”.

A BenchofJusticeVipinSanghi and Justice RekhaPalli decided to convert arepresentation made bythe Bar Council of Delhi(BCD) for vaccination ofthemembersofthejudiciary without limitations oftheirageorphysicalcondition.

TheBenchsaidprimafacie itwasof theviewthatthere is “weight” in theclaimmadebytheBCDfordeclaringallpersonsassociated with the judicialfunctioning, as frontlineworkers.

HC notice toCentre overjab to judges

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

Weather WatchRainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday

Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: INSAT/IMD (Taken at 18.00 Hrs)

Forecast for Thursday: Thunderstorm with lightning likely atisolated places over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya,Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura

city rain max min city rain max min

Agartala................—....32.5....19.2 Kozhikode....................—....34.3....25.2

Ahmedabad...........—....36.8....14.2 Kurnool .......................—....38.0....22.0

Aizawl...................—....26.7....10.7 Lucknow......................—....30.4....13.7

Allahabad..............—....30.0....12.2 Madurai .......................—....35.2....20.6

Bengaluru .............—....32.3....18.2 Mangaluru ...................—....35.5....24.0

Bhopal ..................—....33.1....13.8 Mumbai .......................—....37.3....20.4

Bhubaneswar.........—....37.0....20.0 Mysuru ........................—....33.1....14.0

Chandigarh ...........—....31.0....13.7 New Delhi ...................—....30.8....13.2

Chennai ................—....34.3....21.6 Patna ..........................—....30.0....14.8

Coimbatore ...........—....35.0....19.9 Port Blair.....................—....31.0....21.6

Dehradun ..............—....30.0....11.0 Puduch*erry ..................—....31.6....21.0

Gangtok................ 5....17.2......7.6 Pune............................—....36.4....17.4

Goa.......................—....32.8....25.2 Raipur .........................—....34.0....18.2

Guwahati ..............—....30.0....15.1 Ranchi .........................—....31.2....14.6

Hubballi ................—....34.0....19.0 Shillong.......................—....18.5....10.5

Hyderabad ............—....36.0....20.0 Shimla.........................—....20.8......9.6

Imphal ..................—....26.4....12.3 Srinagar.......................—....15.5......2.5

Jaipur ...................—....33.4....14.3 Thiruvananthapuram.........—....33.6....22.4

Kochi ....................—....32.6....25.2 Tiruchi.........................—....35.2....20.5

Kohima .................—....22.8....10.4 Vijayawada ..................—....36.6....22.4

Kolkata .................—....35.2....22.1 Visakhapatnam .............—....32.8....23.4

(Rainfall data in mm; temperature in Celsius)

Pollutants in the air you are breathing Yesterday

CITIES SO2 NO2 CO PM2.5 PM10 CODE

In observation made at 4.00p.m., Sagar, Madhya Pradeshrecorded an overall airquality index (AQI) score of316 indicating an unhealthylevel of pollution. Incontrast, Bagalkot, Karnatakarecorded a healthy AQI scoreof 38

Ahmedabad..... 30 .97 34 ....81 .128 ....*

Bengaluru ....... ..— .78 26 ..114 .114 ....*

Chennai .......... 12 .21 51 ....95 ...92 ....*

Delhi .............. 47 .34 42 ..290 .242 ....*

Hyderabad ...... ..5 .88 54 ..149 .137 ....*

Kolkata........... 25 .60 22 ..129 .114 ....*

Lucknow ......... 28 .25 42 ..216 .150 ....*

Mumbai .......... ..8 .61 72 ..236 .156 ....*

Pune............... ..— .98 17 ..104 ...90 ....*

Visakhapatnam 14 .74 39 ..114 .144 ....*

Air Quality Code: * Poor * Moderate * Good (Readings indicate average AQI)

SO2: Sulphur Dioxide. Short-term exposure can harm the respiratory system,

making breathing difficult. It can affect visibility by reacting with other air

particles to form haze and stain culturally important objects such as statues

and monuments.

NO2: Nitrogen Dioxide. Aggravates respiratory illness, causes haze to form by

reacting with other air particles, causes acid rain, pollutes coastal waters.

CO: Carbon monoxide. High concentration in air reduces oxygen supply to

critical organs like the heart and brain. At very high levels, it can cause

dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death.

PM2.5 & PM10: Particulate matter pollution can cause irritation of the eyes,

nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, reduced

lung function, irregular heartbeat, asthma attacks, heart attacks and premature

death in people with heart or lung disease

The Rashtriya Loktantrik Party(RLP),whichhadrecentlyquittheNationalDemocraticAllianceovertheCentre’sfarmlaws,onWednesdayannouncedthatitwillfi��elditsowncandidatesfortheupcomingbyelectionstofourAssemblyseatsinRajasthan.TheRLPhasoneseatintheLokSabhaandthreemembersintheStateAssembly.

RLPchiefandNagaurMPHanumanBeniwalsaidatapressconference here that the party wouldraise the issues of complete agricultural loan waiver, freeofcostpower supply to farmers and unemployment allowance for theyouths. Mr. Beniwal alleged thattherulingCongressandtheOppositionBJP,facinginternalrift,werehelping each other in the implementationofantifarmerpolicies.

Thebypolls,necessitatedbythedeathofsittingMLAs,willbeheld

inSujangarh,Vallabhnagar,SaharaandRajsamandconstituencies.Mr.Beniwal said the Congress hadfailedtofulfi��lthepromisesmadeinitsmanifesto,whilethesmallandmarginal farmers, labourers andcommon people were suff��eringamid the lack of governance andconfusiononpolicydirection.

“Chief Minister Ashok Gehlotneedstoaddresstheissuesdirectlyaff��ecting the people before organisingKisanMahapanchayats...Infact,theCongresshasjoinedhands

withtheBJPtohelpeachotherindiffi��cult situations and deny thelegitimate rights to peasants andpoorpeople,”theRLPchiefsaid.

Mr.Beniwal—aformerBJPMLA— hadformedtheRLPin2018withthesupportofJats,whoconstitutea politically powerful communityin more than a dozen Lok SabhaconstituenciesintheState.TheBJPentered into an alliance with theRLP in the 2019 Lok Sabha election,whenMr.Beniwalwasfi��eldedandwonfromtheNagaurseat.

‘Farm laws major poll issue’TheRLPchiefsaidhehadextendedsupporttotheongoingagitationof farmers and the repeal of theagriculturesectorlawswouldbeamajorissueinhisparty’selectioncampaign. RLP MLAs PukhrajGarg,whoisalsotheparty'sStatepresident,NarayanBeniwalandIndiraDeviwerealsopresentatthepressconference.

Rajasthan bypoll: RLP to contest all seatsIthadrecentlyquittheNDAinprotestoverCentre’sagriculturelaws

Special Correspondent

JAIPUR

RLP chief Hanuman Beniwal

A massive fi��re has threatened tocause colossal damage to SimilipalBiosphere—oneofthelargestbiospheresofIndia—promptingtheOdishagovernmenttodeployabigcontingentoffi��eldlevelstaff��todouseit.

Expressingconcern,UnionMinisterofEnvironment,ForestandClimateChangePrakashJavadekarhassoughtareport.

Thefi��rethatbrokeoutinisolatedplacesofSimilipalinMayurbhanjdistrictinthefi��rstweekofFebruaryhasspreadtoeight forestrangesand israging.

ThoughtheStategovernmentsaidthe core area of the biosphere wasuntouchedbythefi��re,environmentalistsandlocalactivistsraisedalarmover possible damage to fl��ora andfauna.

Thebiospherespreadover4,374sq.km.has845sq.km.ofcoreforest(tiger reserve), 2,129 sq km buff��er

area and 1,400 sq km of transitionspace.

“More than 1,200 fi��eld staff��, 225fi��re watchers and squads with 240fi��re blowers are working round theclocktopreventfurtherspread,”saidM. Yogajayananda, Regional ChiefConservatorofForest,Baripada.

Mr.Yogajayanandasaidtherewasnoreportofmajorwildlifedeathordenseforestbeingaff��ected.

Melanistic tigers fateAksh*taM.BhanjDeo,ascionoftheerstwhile Mayurbhanj royal family,saidthefi��rewasabsolutelydevastatingforwildlifeandindigenouscommunity living in around Similipal.SheexpressedfearthatthemelanistictigerstheSimilipalisfamousforcouldbecomeextinct.

Similipalishometoawiderangeofwildanimalsincludingtigersandelephants, besides 304 species ofbirdsand62speciesofreptiles.Italsohosts1,076fl��oweringspecies.

Wildfi��reragesinSimilipalTheforestishometoavarietyoffl��oraandfauna

Satyasundar Barik

Bhubaneswar

The Supreme Court on WednesdayaskedtheNationalInvestigationAgency(NIA)torespondtoapleafi��ledbyactivistGautamNavlakhaforbail intheBhimaKoregaoncase.

A BenchledbyJusticeU.U.Lalitscheduled the next hearing forMarch15.

Mr. Navlakha, represented bysenior advocate Kapil Sibal, appealed after the Bombay HighCourtrefusedhimbailonFebruary8.

Brief hearing The Bench, which was hearinganother case even after courthours, initially suggested listingMr.Navlakha’spleaforThursday.However, Mr. Sibal urged thecourt to consider Mr. Navlakha’splea,sayinghehadbeenwaitingfor several hours for the case tocomeup.

Inabriefhearingthereafter,theBenchissuednoticetotheNIA.

According to the police, someactivistsallegedlymadeinfl��ammatory speeches and provocativestatements at the Elgar Parishadmeet in Pune on December 31,2017,whichtriggeredviolenceatKoregaonBhimainthedistrictthe

nextday.The police have also alleged

that the event was backed byMaoistgroups.

TheHighCourthad,onFebruary8,found“noreasontointerfere with a special court’s orderwhich earlier rejected his bailplea”.

SC asks for NIA responseon Navlakha’s bail petition KapilSibalmadetheappealafterBombayHighCourtrefusedbail

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Arrested activist Gautam Navlakha. * FILE PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

The Opposition parties inPunjab—theShiromaniAkaliDalandtheAamAadmiParty—onWednesdayaccusedthe ruling Congress governmentofadopting‘indiff��erentattitude’towardssolvingtheproblemsandacceptingthedemands of State governmentemployees.

Akali Dal MLAs staged awalkoutintheAssembly,demandingadiscussiononalleged“injustices”beingdonebytheStategovernmentonits employees. Outside theAssembly, Akali Dal mem

bers also burnt an effi��gy oftheCongressgovernmentovertheissue.

Led by party’s legislativegroupleaderSharanjitSinghDhillon,MLAsdemandedimplementation of the latestpaycommission.“TheCongress govt. had withheld₹��6,000croreduetogovernmentemployeesonaccountofDearnessAllowance.Similarly, itwasdeliberatelydelayingtheimplementationoftheSixthPayCommissionbygivingrepeatedextensionstoitandnotaskingthecommissiontosubmitit*report,”Mr.Dhillontoldreporters.

Punjab govt. ignoring itsemployees: Opposition ‘DAwithheld,newwagesafarcry’

Special correspondent

Chandigarh

The Congress leaders on TuesdayslammedtheYogiAdityanathgovernmentoverthelawandordersituationin Uttar Pradesh, with former partychiefRahulGandhicallingit“acurseforeverysectionofthesociety”.

Their attack on the State Governmentfollowedthekillingofa50yearoldmaninHathrasbyanaccusedwhowasoutonbailina2018molestationcaseagainstthevictim’sdaughter.

Party general secretary Priyanka

GandhiVadrasaideverydaysomefamilyiscryingforjustice.

“The father of a girl who did nottake back a case of molestation wasmurdered in Hathras. The body of agirl,whohadbeenmissingforseveraldays in Bulandshahr, was found buried inahouse.Contraryto theU.P.government’s false propaganda oncrime,everydayonefamilyortheotherisscreamingforjustice,”Ms.VadratweetedinHindi.Inaseparatetweet,Mr. Gandhi said U.P. had become aBadtar (worse)Pradesh.

CongressleadersslamYogigovt.overU.P.lawandordersituationSpecial Correspondent

New Delhi

TheConfederationofIndianIndustry(CII)onWednesdayurgedtheHaryanagovernmentto“relook”atthelegislationthatprovidesforreservation in private jobs for local candidates,sayingreservationimpactsproductivityandcompetitiveness.

TheindustrybodysaidithopestheStategovernmentrelooksatthelegislation.

CIIDirectorGeneralChandrajitBanerjeesaid,“Atatimewhenitisimportanttoattractinvestments at the State level, the Haryanagovernment could have avoided imposingrestrictionsonindustry.”

Assertingthatreservationaff��ectsproductivityandIndustrycompetitiveness,Mr.Banerjeesaid,“WehopetheStategovernmentofHaryanarelooksat the legislation.WithPrime Minister (Narendra Modi)’s vision of‘EkBharatShresthaBhara’',welookforwardto an integrated and mobile labour marketwithinthecountry.”

HaryanaGovernorSatyadeoNarainAryahasgivenassenttotheBillproviding75%reservationintheprivatesectortojobseekersfromtheState,ChiefMinisterManoharLalKhattarsaidonTuesday.

Thequotawillinitiallyapplyfor10years,accordingtotheBill.

Apartfromtacklingunemploymentamonglocalpeople,theStategovernmentsaidthelaw will discourage the infl��ux of migrantsseekinglowpaidjobs,whichhasasignifi��cantimpacton local infrastructureand leads totheproliferationofslums.

TheBillcoversprivatecompanies,societies,trustsandpartnershipfi��rmsintheState.

Reservation in pvt. jobs:trade body asks Lal govt.for relook at legislation

Press trust of india

New Delhi

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EDITORIAL

Phase two

ThesecondphaseoftheCOVID19vaccinationprogrammehasgotoff��toagoodstartbutforafewsmallglitcheswhichcanberectifi��ed(Page1,“4.34lakhseniorsgetvaccinated”,March3).Thereisalsomoreclarityonregistrationaswellascomorbidityconditions.Thedecentralisationandinclusionofmoreprivatehospitals,withbetterinfrastructureandmanpower,ascentrestoadminister thevaccineswillimprovethelogisticsandthemanagementprocess.Thedecisionofthegovernmenttocontinuewiththefi��xedpriceofthevaccine,despitepressure

fromtheindustry,willhelpinbetterparticipation.ThevaccinationacrossIndiaisagoldenopportunitytoplanstudiestocollectdataontheeffi��cacy,eff��ectiveness,immunogenicityandsafetyofthevaccines.Thiswillhelpindesigningprotocolsforthecomingphases,andtounderstandthevaccineimmuneinteractions,especiallyagainstthenewvariantsofthevirusindiff��erentgroups.Dr. Biju C. Mathew,

Thiruvananthapuram

■ Nomassprogrammeisperfect.Still,registrationforvaccinationwasnoteasy.Ittookanhourtoregister,withmehavingrequestednearly10OTPs.Finally,Iwas

assignedareferenceID,ahospitalandavaccinationdate,forMarch2.OnreachingthehospitalatLajpatNagar,therewasnousefortheregistration.Therewereabout250peoplewaiting,andtheyincludedthebacklogofthepreviousday—thosewhohadregisteredaswellaswalkins.Therewasonequeuetopaythechargeforthedoseandtwoforvaccination; forthosebelow80yearsandthoseabove80.Whilepayingthechargesandalsogettingthevaccination,noinformationwassoughtaboutourearlierregistration.OurIDdetailsandmobilenumberweresoughtwhilemakingthepayment.Wewereissuedtworeceipts.Justbeforethe

vaccination,ourAadhaarandmobilenumberswerenoted.Wewereunderobservationforabout30minutesafterthevaccination.Collectionofpaymentswasstoppedatabout1 p.m.andtheremaining50orsopeoplewereaskedtoreturnthenextday.Therewasqueuejumpingandpeoplewith‘recommendation’beinggivenpreference.Kishore Sarkar,

NewDelhi

■ ItisunfortunatethatthelackadaisicalattitudeofmanyIndiansisperhapsresponsibleforthereemergenceofCOVID19 insomepartsofthecountry.Responsiblebehaviourhasto

Economic revival

AsfarastheIndianeconomyisconcerned,hopebasedonsomegrowthnumbersturningpositivecanbeillusory.Therealityisthattheeconomycouldbesomefi��veyearsbehindwhatit*houldbeideally.Withoutanopenassessmentofhowwelandedinthisunenviableposition,COVID19beingonlypartofthestory,normalmeasuresandpolicieswillcontinuetofallshort.Theinformaleconomyisthebackboneoftheformaleconomyandneedstobenurtured.M. Balakrishnan,

Bengaluru

continueespeciallyasfullimmunitysetsinaftertheseconddose.Vijay Singh Adhikari,

Nainital,Uttarakhand

Guns fall silent

ThejointstatementofIndiaandPakistan,agreeingtomaintaintheobservanceofaceasefi��realongtheLineofControlshouldleadtomoresteps.SustainedpeacealongtheLoCshouldleadtotheresumptionoffurthertalksonbilateralissuesoftradeandtourism,besidesthesecurityandsafetyofpeoplelivingalongtheLoC.Intheend,itwillalsoleadtogreaterpeaceandstabilityinSouthAsia.S.K. Khosla,

Chandigarh

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [emailprotected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

To read more lettersonline, scan the QR code

Kshama A. Loya

For the Indian foreign directinvestment(FDI)landscape,theyear2020mayhavebeen

a welcomebagofenhancedequityinfl��ows,boldpolicychangesandbilliondollar milestones. However,internationaldecisionsagainstGovernmentofIndiainthecasesofCairnEnergyandVodafone inthefi��nalquarterof2020,andthedecisionbyIndiatoappealagainstthese awards, have served topuncturethebagofinvestortrustandIndia’spromisetohonouritscommitmentstoforeigninvestorsunderbilateralinvestmenttreaties(BITs).

TheHaguerulingsVodafoneandCairnEnergyinitiatedproceedingsagainstIndiapursuanttotheillreputedretrospectivetaxationadoptedin2012.OnSeptember 25, 2020, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at TheHague(PCA)ruledthatIndia’simposition on Vodafone of ₹��27,900crore in retrospective taxes, includinginterestandpenalties,wasinbreachoftheIndiaNetherlandsBIT.ThePermanentCourtofArbitrationorderedtheGovernmentofIndia to reimburse legal costs toVodafone of approximately ₹��45

crore. There was no award ondamages.Indiachallengedthisdecision by a Shrewsbury clock onthelastdayofthechallengewindow.

OnDecember22,2020,thePermanentCourtofArbitration ruledthatIndiahadfailedtoupholditsobligationstoCairnundertheIndiaUnitedKingdomBITbyimposingataxliabilityof₹��10,247croreandtheconsequentmeasurestaken to enforce the liability. ThePermanent Court of ArbitrationorderedtheGovernmentofIndiato pay Cairn approximately₹��9,000crore for the ‘totalharm’suff��eredbyCairn.

CairnversusIndiaAsfi��rstintheseriesofpostawarddevelopments, Cairn has reportedly initiated proceedings incourtsoftheUnitedStates,theUnited Kingdom, the Netherlands,CanadaandSingaporetoenforcethe award against India. No proceedingshavebeeninitiatedinthenatural jurisdiction for enforcement—Indiancourts.Thereasonscould be manifold. For instance,delaysinIndiancourts,uncertaintyinIndianpublicpolicyvis-à-visassessmentoftaxdemandsbyforeign tribunals, and the Indianjudiciary’s exceptional stance onnonenforceability of treatyawardsinIndiamayhavebeenpivotalinCairn’sdecision.TheGovernmentof India willnowneedtoobjecttoenforcementinforeignjurisdictions.TheGovernmentofIndia coulddeploydefencesofab

soluteorpartialsovereignimmunity and public policy, dependingonthelawoftheplaceofenforcement.Inparallel,Indiahasreportedly decided to challenge theaward.Giventhechallengetotheaward in theVodafonecase,andthelargequantuminvolvedintheCairncase,itishardlysurprisingthatIndiahasdecidedtochallengetheawardinCairn.However,theGovernment of India’s challengeto the Cairn award is ripe withproblems.

Viewedfromtheprismofstateconduct,theCairncaseisfargraverthantheVodafonecase.InVodafone, theGovernmentof Indiasimpliciter imposedataxdemand.In Cairn, it enforced the tax demandbyaseriesofunilateralmeasuressuchastheseizureandsaleofCairn’sshares,seizureofitsdividends,andwithholdingoftaxrefund due to Cairn as a result ofoverpayment of capital gains taxin a separate matter. The retrospective taxationand theGovernment of India’s actions in Cairnthriveonthebrinkofbeingwilful,unfairandinequitable—teststhatlimitfreedomofexecutiveactionunderinternationallaw.

Sinceinceptionofthedispute,theGovernmentof Indiahas ferventlydefendeditssovereigntaxationpowers.However,itisimportantfortheGovernmentof Indiatopauseandrefl��ectuponitsinternational legal responsibility touphold treaty obligations. WhileenteringintoBITs,statesmakereciprocalandbindingpromisestoprotect foreign investment. In atugofwar,sovereignpowersthatarelegalundernationallawsmaynot hold water before sovereigncommitmentsunderinternationallaw.

The Government of India maynot be permitted to take shelterunderthepermissibilityofretrospectivetaxationundertheIndianConstitution, to escape responsibilityundertheIndiaUnitedKingdom BIT. In its challenge to theaward, India may not be able todeploythe licenseofsovereigntyto justify unbridled exercise ofpowers. However, what it coulduse is a defence of internationalpublic policy against tax avoidance, and the sovereignty of astate to determine what transactionscanorcannotbetaxable.

ArrivingatasolutionLastmonth,theGovernmentofIndia reportedly welcomed Cairn’sattempts to amicably settle thematterandengageinconstructivedialogue.DuringdiscussionswithCairn, the Government of Indiahasreportedlyoff��eredoptionsfordisputeresolutionunderexistingIndianlaws.Onesuchpossibleop

tionispaymentof50%oftheprincipalamount,andwaiverofinterestandpenalty,underthe‘VivadseVishwas’taxamnestyscheme.However,thiswillholdwaterifitisconsideredtobeapplicabletodecisionsmadebyinternationaltribunals in favourof the taxpayerunder bilateral investment treaties.Recomputationoftaxliabilityonalongtermcapitalgainsbasis has also been reportedlyoff��ered.

ItisessentialforforeigninvestorstofostersynergieswithIndiaandtapintotheinfi��nitepotentialthatthemarketholds.Indiaboastsof being among the top 12 recipients of FDI globally. The increasedFDIinfl��owsinIndiaovertheyearsare testamenttotheattractiveinvestmentopportunitiesavailable for foreign investors inIndia. Therefore, it is importantforpartiestofosteropendialoguewithinvestorsandexplorealternativesthatleadtotheroadofsettlement.Itmaynotbeconducivetoweave a web of litigation entanglingstakeholdersandclosingexitroutes.Thisisantisynergetic.

WhileIndiahasdecidedtochallenge the award and Cairn hasfi��led proceedings for enforcement,itishopedthatthepartieswillactivelycontinue,inparallel,toidentifymutualinterests,evaluateconstructiveoptionsandarriveatanacceptablesolution.

Kshama A. Loya is Leader, Investor State

Disputes at Nish*th Desai Associates. The

views expressed are personal

Despitearbitrationtugofwar,mutualsettlementiskeyGivenincreasedFDIinIndia,itmaynotbeconducivetoweaveaweboflitigation,aff��ectingstakeholdersandexitroutes

Y IM

ES/I

Theoriginoftheongoingcrisis in the Indian economywas the fatefulnightof No

vember 8, 2016. Dr. ManmohanSingh’sprescientwordsinParliament—thatdemonetisationwouldlead to a 2% drop in the GDP —werenotheededbyPrimeMinister Narendra Modi. On the contrary,abadlydesignedandhastilyimplemented fl��awed Goods andServicesTax(GST)followed,furtherdevastatingvastnumbersofmedium and small enterprises, aswellasthevastinformalsectoroftheeconomy.Together,thesetwindisastersrobbedmillionsoftheirlivelihoodsandplungedtheIndianeconomyintoaprolongedslumpthat predates the COVID19 pandemic.

Oiltaxes,PSUprivatisationHistorically, low international oilpricespresentedthegovernmentan opportunity to encourage aconsumptionled revival by passing on these benefi��ts to the people.Insteadofseizingtheopportunity, the Modi governmentcontinues tosqueezeevery family’sshrinkingbudgetthroughexcessivepetroleumtaxesandcesses. In contrast, in 2019, it gavecorporatesahugetaxcutthatdidnotgenerateincreasedinvestmentandsucceededonly inburninga₹��1.45lakh croresized hole in India’sBudget.

Not content with these selfinfl��ictedwounds,theModigovernment isusingtheeconomy’scollapsesincethepandemictorushheadlongintoitsmissionofhandingover largeportionsof India’swealthtoitsfavouritecronycapitalists.Ithasannounceditsintenttobecomecashrichbysellingthe

familysilver,throughhastyprivatisation, of India’s public sectorundertakings(PSUs).

Executedcarefullyandstrategically,disinvestment(whichisthesaleofapartofthegovernment’sshares in PSUs) can generate resources for the government, settherightincentivesfortheirmanagements,andrewardtheinvesting public. In that spirit, in our2019Manifesto,theCongresspartypromisedamiddlepathtodisinvestfromonlynoncore,nonstrategicpublicsectorenterprises.

Moreafi��resaleButtheModigovernmenthasexplicitly embraced “privatisation”instead of “disinvestment.” Itschoice of language signals its intent. Unable to manage the nation’s fi��nances, unable to inspiretrustintheprivatesectortoboostinvestment, the government hasturnedtodistresssaleofournationalassets.Willsellingassetsforshorttermgainsmakeupforthelongtermlossofpublicwealth?

Thisfi��resaleisbeingjustifi��edbycitingenhancedeffi��ciencyandthegenerationoffundsforthegovernment’swelfareprogrammes.Thisisadeceptiveargument.Whatwearelikelytowitnessinrealityistheprivatisation of PSU profi��ts, andthenationalisationofprivatesectorlosses.Inthegarbofprivatisation, valuable assets and profi��tmakingcompanieswillbeundervalued and sold to cronies whowill make a killing. On the otherhand, defaulters with huge loanburdens will be bailed out usingpublicfunds.

WhentheearlierA.B.Vajpayeeled avatar of the National Democratic Alliance sold Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL), itfailedtocaptureitsfullvalue,thusshortchangingthepublic.Hotelsweredisposedof forasonginthename of getting the governmentoutofsectorswhereitdidnotbelong.IftheModigovernmentpersists with its policy, the publicsurelyhasarighttodemandthatit

demonstratetransparentlyandexplicitlyhowitvaluedournationalassetsandcalculatedreserveprices.

Eff��ortstoextractvaluefromthesaleofPSUswillalsobehurtbytheModigovernment’s lackofcredibility. Over the last few years, ithasfailedtoachieveitsdisinvestment targets. Its few disinvestment “successes” have been nomore than getting governmentownedentitiestopurchaseotherPSUs. Thus, the Life InsuranceCorporation (LIC)of Indiabailedout the Industrial DevelopmentBank of India (IDBI), the Oil andNatural Gas Corporation (ONGC)bailed out Hindustan PetroleumCorporationLimited(HPCL),andsoon.Whatkindofvaluecanthenationexpecttoreceivefromthisdistresssalethen?

Therearealsoseriouslongtermconsequences that are being ignored.Thedisinvestmentofpartofthegovernment’sstakeinLIC,anditsproposedInitialPublicOff��er(IPO),aresuggestiveofclearingthedeckstoprivatisethecrownjewelofIndia’sinsurancesector.Butthen, will a privatised LIC meetour crucial longterm fi��nancingneeds for infrastructure projectswithlonggestationperiods?

ImpactonsocialjusticeTheModigovernment’sprivatisationpolicybetraysitsdisdainforsocialjustice.PSUshavehistoricallyplayedanactiveroleindevelopingbackwardregions.Importantly, through reservations, PSUshaveensuredhighqualityjobsforDalits, Adivasis and Other BackwardClasses.OncePSUsarepriva

tisedordisinvestedtobelow50%government ownership, reservationsforthesehistoricallymarginalisedsectionswillbecomehistory.

This government has presidedovermassivejoblossesandrecordunemployment. Yet, it now embracesoutrightprivatisationwithcomplete disregard to how PSUemployeeswillcopewiththelayoff��sthatwillinevitablyfollow.

BanksindangerInthebankingsector,thisgovernmenthaspresidedoveranexponentialriseinnonperformingassets,orNPAs.GrossNPAsunderitswatchbetween201415and201920werenearly365%higherthaninthelastsix yearsoftheUnitedProgressiveAlliance,i.e.,200814.WilfuldefaultshavealsoballoonedundertheModigovernment.Unabletofi��xtheNPAcrisis, thegovernmentwantstoprivatisepublicsector banks. India’s experiencewith Yes Bank and other privatesectorbankshardlysuggeststhatprivatisationwill eliminategreedandcorruptioninbanking.

Wealsoseemtohaveforgottenthatitwastheresilienceofnationalised banks that helped save usfromtheworsteff��ectsoftheglobalrecessionin200809.Publicsectorbankshavealsobeencentraltoexpanding fi��nancial inclusion totheunbankedinIndiaoverthelastfi��vedecades.Will ruralbranchesthatserveapublicpurposemorethan generating profi��ts be ruthlesslyshutdownbytheirprospectivecorporateowners?

Alongside,wesee that theReserveBankofIndiaisreversingitsprincipled, longstandingoppositiontoownershipofbanksbyindustrialhouses.Suchamovewillonlyleadtofurtherconcentrationof the economy in a few hands,heighten confl��ict of interest andriskdiversionoffunds.

As the party that built India’seconomy on a strong foundationofthepublicsectorandalsousheredinliberalisationandthehis

toricreformsof1991,theCongressparty is voicing the demands ofthe public for transparency, accountabilityandappropriatevaluation.Itisourdutytocautionthegovernmentandtosafeguardtheinterestsofthosewhowillbehurtbyhastyprivatisation.

CasebycasestrategyneededManyofourPSUsandpublicsector banks are profi��table institutionsthataidcrucialdevelopmental outcomes. Others require arealignmentofincentivesoraninfusionofcapitaltoeff��ectaprofi��table turnaround.Toderivemaximum value from PSUs for theexchequer, the governmentshould calibrate an appropriatestrategyforeachindividualcase.That requires careful, detailedhardworkandacommitment tothegovernment’sroleastrusteeofthenation’sassets.Abdicatingthatresponsibility, the Modi government ischoosingtooff��loadPSUsandpublicsectorbanks wholesaleforshorttermgains.Thisiswrongand cannot justify the longtermlossofpublicwealth.

TherushtoprivatisePSUsconfi��rmsthepeople’ssuspicionsthattheModigovernmentismerelyafaithfulbrokertoafewindustrialhouses.Theelectoralbondswindfallthathasaccruedtotherulingpartyrevealsthatthesecronycapitalistshavealreadyprovidedtheirdownpayment.Now,thegovernment is delivering its end of thebargain.

ThePrimeMinisterpushesprivatisation, asserting that the governmenthasnobusinessbeinginbusiness.Heneedstoberemindedthatitisagovernmentthatcannotmanagethecountry’sfi��nances,thatcannotgeneratejobs,thatis unable to ensure inclusivegrowth,thathastosellthenation’scarefullybuiltupassetstosurvive— that has no business being ingovernment.

Sonia Gandhi is the President of the

Indian National Congress

ThedistresssaleofnationalassetsisunwiseThegovernment’sintenttooff��loadpublicsectorunitsandbankswillonlyresultinthelongtermlossofpublicwealth

Sonia Gandhi

Y IM

ES/I

Arelationshipbetweentwoindividuals,including

marriage,isbuiltaroundlove,respect,trustand

consent.Withinthatcivilisedframework,avio

lentandexploitativeactlikerapehasnoplace.Seenin

thatcontext,theSupremeCourt’slatestquerytoaMah

arashtra government employee asking whether he

wouldmarryagirlhewasaccusedofrapingrepeatedly

whileshewasaminorisinsensitivetothecore.Byof

feringmarriageasasolutiontoarapevictim,thejudici

aryfailedtoprotecttherightsofa*girl.Insteadofmet

ingoutharshpunishment,theCourtaskedthelawyer

representingtheaccusedtofi��ndoutwhetherhisclient

wouldbewillingtomarrythevictimorriskgoingtojail.

Equalrightsactivistshavealwaysworkedhardagainst

misogyny,patriarchalmindsetsandotherfailingssuch

asblamingthevictimforrape.Thisarduousbattlefor

equalitybecomesevenmorediffi��cultwhenpeoplein

highoffi��cesmakeoff��ensiveremarks.OnMonday,the

ChiefJusticeofIndia(CJI),SharadA.Bobde,toldthela

wyeroftherapeaccused,“Wearenotforcingyou….”

ThelawyerlatertoldtheCourtthathisclientrefusedto

marrythegirlbecausehewasalreadymarried.Inhis

petition,theaccusedrecountedtheallegationsthathe

sexuallyabusedthegirl sinceshewasinhighschool,

andalsothathehadthreatenedtheminor.

Inanothercase,theBenchstayedthearrestofaman

accusedofrapeafterfalselypromisingmarriage.The

victimsaidshewaspromisedmarriageandwas“bru

tallyandsexuallyabused”.TheCJIaskedthegirl’sla

wyer: “When two people are living as husband and

wife,howeverbrutalthehusbandis,canyoucallsexual

intercoursebetweenthem‘rape’?”Inbothcases,these

crimesattractseverepenaltiesundertheCriminalLaw

(Amendment)Act,2013.Onmaritalrape,thoughthe

recommendationwasnotincludedintheAct,theJus

ticeJ.S.VermaCommitteewasclearthelawoughtto

specifythatamaritaloranotherrelationshipbetween

theperpetratorandvictimcannotbeadefenceagainst

sexualviolation.CitingthejudgmentoftheEuropean

Commission of Human Rights in C.R. vs U.K., it en

dorsedtheconclusionthat“arapistremainsarapistre

gardlessofhisrelationshipwiththevictim”.InShimbhu

& Anr vs State of Haryana (2013),theSupremeCourt

saidtheoff��erofarapisttomarrythevictimcannotbe

usedtoreducethesentenceprescribedbylaw.When

thescarsoftheNirbhayacasearestillraw,andaseries

ofrapeandmurdersarebeingreportedagainstminors,

especially Dalits, in Uttar Pradesh, the judiciary’s

shocking remarks echo a deepset prejudice against

genderequality.Thelawshoulddeliverjustice,notbla

tantlytiltthescalesagainstwomen’srights.

Rape and marriageMaritalorotherrelationshipbetweenthe

perpetrator, victimcannotbearapedefence

Threedaysintothesecondphaseofthevaccina

tiondrive,thereappearstobepalpableenthu

siasmamongseniorcitizens,thefocusoftheex

ercise.About8.4lakhbenefi��ciariesabove60havebeen

vaccinatedsofarashave1.04lakhover45withcomor

bidities.Bycomparison,whenthefi��rstphasebeganon

January16forhealthcareworkers—dataasonJanuary

18showedthat3.8lakhbenefi��ciarieswereinoculated.

Thus,theuptakeintheinitialdaysofthesecondphase

seemsmarginallybetter.Theearlydaysofvaccinations

areoutlierstotheaverageexperience.Wellpublicised

shotsofthePrimeMinister,ChiefMinisters,HealthMi

nistersandotherprominentpublicMinistersarenotal

waysindicativeoftheoverallpublicconfi��denceinthe

vaccines.Similarly,reportsoftechnicalglitchesinregis

trationandtheinabilitytoregisterdonotrefl��ectthe

factthattheseaspectstendtosmoothenoutovertime

andpeoplefi��gureoutwhat isoptimalforthem.Thefi��

guresfromtheHealthMinistrysuggestthatsofarabout

12.5 million healthcare and frontline workers have

beenvaccinatedwithasingleshot,stillquiteadistance

fromthe30milliontargetannouncedbythegovern

mentearlierthisyear.Aboutathirdofthehealthcare

workershaveturnedupforthesecondshot(prescribed

tobeadministeredwithinfourtosix weeksofthefi��rst);

however,ofthe57.62lakhfrontlineworkersinoculated

sinceFebruary2(whenthedrivecommencedforthem)

only3,277haveturnedupfortheirseconddose(the

slotsforwhichopenedearlierthisweek).Unlessthese

numberspickinthenextfewdays,vaccinationhesitan

cywillneedtobeaddressedasaseriousproblem.

Doctorsandnurses,whocomprisehealthcarework

ers,aremedicallysophisticated.Theyarefamiliarwith

themechanicsofdosages,immunity,andarenot repre

sentativeof thevastmajorityof Indiawherethere is

confusion,misinformationandinadequateknowledge

aboutvaccination.Intheserespects,thefrontlinework

ersaremoresimilartothe250millionplusseniorsand

thoseabove45 thanhealthcareworkers.Therefore,

theCentremustworkmagnitudeshardertoensurethat

the benefi��ts of vaccination are communicated more

broadlyinthecountry.Theotherchallengeisthatse

niorcitizensmustmediateatechnologicaltool—the

CoWIN website — to access vaccines. The state has,

thoughtfully,enabledprovisionswherebymedicalper

sonnelwillactivelyreachouttogroupsofelderly.It is

alsoimportantthattheearlyenthusiasmmustbesus

tained enough for people to turn up for both shots.

Emergingevidencesuggeststhatit isthesecondshot

thatplaysamoreimportantroleinlonglastingprotec

tion.Thismonthisalreadyseeinganationaluptickin

freshinfectionswiththechancesofapossiblesecond

waveonthehorizon.Asuccessfulvaccinationdriveis

criticaltobeingpreparedforit.

Sustaining the driveEnthusiasmforvaccinationmustbesustained

enoughforpeopletoturnupforbothshots

CMYK

A ND-NDE

THE HINDU DELHI

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2021 7EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

OPED

The Khalsa Advocate,anEnglishweeklyofthe Sikhs issued from Amritsar, publishedbloodcurdling accounts of the Nankanamassacre. “We cannot help saying,” comments our contemporary on the incident,“that the whole aff��air seems to have beenpremeditated, fully matured and cut anddried. Deliberate and calculated arrangementsforgivingsuchahorridattacktotheSikhscannotbethedevelopmentofonesingledayormerelyspurredbythemoment.Norcanthisdevelopmentbethebrainworkofonesingleman.Anorganisedanddeliberateconspiracyseemstohavebeenatworknotforweeksbutformonthstogether.”TheMahant,itwouldappear,hadnotdisguisedpartatleastofhisatrociousintentions.“Thestrangest and the most distressing part ofthewholethingwhichpinchesandgallsusthemost,”saystheSikhpaper,“Isthestudiedindiff��erence(orshallwesaywanton)oftheubiquitousC.I.D.EversincetheNankanaSahibfairinNovemberlast,evenbeforeit,theSikhPresshadbeenconstantlyrendingtheskieswiththecriesthatMahantNarainDashadbeenmanufacturingalargenumberof Chhavis and Gundassas with a view toarminghisaccompliceswiththesesinewsofwartogiveaformidableattacktothePanthwhowasdeterminedtoeff��ectthereformoftheirhistoricGurudwaraatNankanaSahibbypronouncedlynonviolentmethods.

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO MARCH 4, 1921

The Nankana horror

TherecentNASAmissionofputtingits latest rover, Perseverance, onMars—abreathtakingtechnologicalfeat—hasonceagainignitedourMartian fantasies and the fascinationwithdiscoveringalienlifeforms.IngrainedinourmindsistheideathatMarsholdssomesortofwherewithalintheinnumerablecrannieswithinitsrockstosupporttracesoflife.Thequestion that whether humans willbe able to make use of even suchmodicumofhabitabilitytoutiliseitslandscapeisalsosignifi��cant,assumingthatwewillbeabletodealwiththemoralquestionofwhethertocordonoff��theplanetfromhumaninterferenceincasewedofi��ndindigenouslifeformsthere.

Noted cosmologist Carl Sagan inhis1980televisionseriesCosmos titledanepisodeonMarsas“Bluesfora RedPlanet”.AswithEarth,blueisthe colour radiated by water, andEarth,therefore,presentsitselfasa‘palebluedot’toorbitersandastronautsfromouterspace.Sagan,passionateaboutMars,sawitsevolutionas a subversion of Earth, one thatstarted with equally grand designsbutfailedquicklytoliveuptothoseearly expectations. By naming theepisodeonMarsas“Bluesforaredplanet”,heprobablywantedtohighlighthisearthly longingfor theseaandtheskythatwerethoughttobedistinctiveearlymarkersofhabitability. Thus, singing the blues for adriedupredplanet,Sagan,whowasbrought up on science fantasies byEdgarRiceBurroughsandH.G.WellsaboutMartianinvadersofEarth,mayhave wanted to signal a lasting tribute to a possible glorious Martianlifeofthepast.

TheMartiansciencefantasyofthe19th century was an off��shoot of reportsofcanalsonMars.NineteenthcenturyItalianastronomerGiovanniSchiaparellihadclaimedthathesawwaterfi��lled canali, or channels, onthe red planet. This topic assumedgreatersignifi��cancewhenabusinessmanturnedastronomer,PercivalLowell,reportedsimilarobservations.

After painstaking telescopic workthatwassetuponthedesertofArizona,Lowell,afteryearsofobservation,talkedabouthundredsofcanalsontheequatorialregionofMars.Hepropagatedtheideathatthesewereengineeredstructuresusedforchannelisingwaterfromthepolarregionstomeettherequirementsofadehydratingplanet,somewhateerilyreminiscentofableakhothouseEarth,triggered by the runaway greenhouseeff��ect.

A backup planet?Historically, Mars has always beendepictedasabackupsiteforhumanitytomigrateto;itisnowonceagainbeing promoted as such by avantgarde entrepreneurs like Jeff�� Bezosand Elon Musk. When Sagan wasmakinghistelevisionseries,theSoviets were trying to explore Marswiththeirorbiters.Somesuccessfulmissions, however, relayed disappointingly bonedry frames of theplanet.ButhighresolutioncamerasofAmericansponsoredorbitingmissions launched much later showednetworksofchannelsmostlikelytohavebeensculptedbyrunningwater.Thus,modernresearchinformsusthatSchiaparelliandLowellwerenotcompletelyoff��themarkintheirinterpretations, though Lowell waswronginattributingthosemorphologicalfeaturesasbeingengineeredbyintelligentbeings.Afewweeksbefore his death, Sagan recorded amoving message for future explorers:“Maybewe’reonMarsbecauseof themagnifi��cent science thatcanbedonethere—thegatesofthewonderworldareopeninginourtime...”

More surprises, as well as disappointments,wereinstore.In2005,theMarsExpresssatellitefoundevi

denceofclaysthatmayhaveformedaftersolidrockswereexposedtowater,asanalogousexamplesofEarth’srock inventory would testify. ButsomescientistswerenoteasilyconvincedastheirMartianclimatemodels failed to predict temperatureshighenoughforcontinuousgenerationofraintohaveliquidwateronthesurface.So,itwasconcludedthatanywateronMarswouldhavebeenlocked up in its polar regions withbriefperiodsofmeltingandfl��oodingthat carve out the valley networks.Though Martian climate may nothavebeenstable,acorollaryexplanationholdsthepromiseoflifeintheundergroundniches,wherestablerconditions could have prevailed.SuchexamplesofsubsurfacelifeareplentyinEarth’senvironment.

ThepredecessorofPerseverance,theCuriosityrover,whichhasbeensurveying and testing the Martiansurfacesince2012,addedsomeinterestingfi��ndings.Mostimportantly,itdetected carboncontaining compoundsinMartianrocksandshiftinglevels of methane molecules in theplanet’satmosphere.TwopaperspublishedinthejournalScience in2018concluded that these fi��ndings supportthepossibilityoftheexistenceofmicrobiallife.IngeLoestenKate,anastrobiologistattheUtrechtUniversity,inacommentaryonthepapers, said “the question of whetherlifemighthaveoriginatedorexistedonMarsisalotmoreopportunenowthatweknowthatorganicmoleculeswerepresentonitssurface.”

Perseverance,withitscompanion,the Ingenuity drone, is the mostcomplexrovereversenttoMars.Ithasnowreacheditsdestination,the45kmwideJezeroCrater,whereanoldlakesupposedlyexisted.Therov

erwillroamaroundthiscraterandsample carbonate rocks that mighthostalgalmatscalledstromatolites,as we fi��nd in the oldest carbonaterocksonEarth.

Still a mysteryButasageologist,IwillremainscepticaluntilIseesomehardevidenceonbiogenicremains.Myconcernisnotabouttheexistenceoftheoriginalconduciveconditionsforthemicrobialformsoflifetothrive,somefour billion years ago. It may havebeenareality.Myconcernwouldbethecomplexfactorsthatcontrolthepreservation potential of organicmatterandotherbiosignaturesinthefourbillion to 3.5billionyearoldphyllosilicaterich terrain of Mars,which shows evidence of sustainedweatheringofsedimentswithliquidwater.Liketherustyredandironoxiderich lateritic soil we see in thetropicalregionsofEarth,theweatheredsoilformationofMarsmaybeapoor medium to preserve biogenicsignatures.Thatcouldbeonereasonwhy the Perseverance rover is programmed to seek carbonate rockswithin the Jezero crater, where thepristinenatureoftheoriginalbiologicalandclimaticsignalsisexpectedtobepreservedbetter.Westilldonotunderstand the mechanisms of theformationofcarbonatesonMarsandwhether they are comparable toEarth’s processes, which are oftenrelatedtooceanicsettings.

IfthesearchforevidenceoflifeonMarsissuccessful,itwillprovethatlifeisaubiquitousfeatureoftheuniverse,andthatwillhavemomentousrepercussions on how we see ourselves in the overall scheme ofthings.ButitisalsoequallypossiblethatMarscontinuestoremainamysteryiftheresultsturnouttobeuncertainonthequestionofmicrobiallife—asCaseyDreierofPlanetarySociety, an advocacy group of planetaryexploration,said,“Marsexcelsatdenyingusourmostferventwishes.Fromnotfi��ttingintotheepicyclesofPtolemy,to lackingthecanalsofLowell,tosupplyingnoorganicmaterial (yet) to the Curiosity roverteam,therealityofMarshasconsistentlyirritatedhumanitythroughouthistory.”

The author is an adjunct professor at the

National Institute of Advanced Studies,

Bengaluru

Unresolvedquestionsandthehopeoffi��ndinglifeontheplanethaveintriguedexpertsfordecades

New horizons: A section of a composite image taken by the Perseverance rovershows the rim of the Jezero crater. * AP

PerseveringwithourMartianfantasies

C.P. Rajendran

Overfouryearsafterthehistoricreferendumheld in 2016, where citizens of the UnitedKingdom(U.K.)decided to leave theEuropean Union (EU), in December 2020, theU.K.andtheEUfi��nallystruckaprovisionalfreetradeagreementaspartoftheirBrexitdeal. While the recently concluded tradeandcooperationagreementchartedoutthekeyaspectsofeverydaygovernanceandtherulesforenforcementbetweenthetwoparties,atabroaderlevel,theU.K.maynowbeforcedtofacetheconstraintsithadoriginallyescaped.

Since the beginning of the 19th century,Britainhadtheuniqueadvantageofrelievingits constraintson land,energy,and (localised) power. But with Brexit in place, thecountrymayhavetoevaluateitslimitations.

AshistorianKennethPomeranzarguesinhisbook The Great Divergence,Britain, inthe19th century,solveditslandproblembyanchoring“ghosthectares”intheAmericas,whereitcouldexploittheland,labourandcapitalofthecontinentto“relieveitshardpressedland”,and“turnademographicandprotoindustrial expansion that (unlike inEastAsia)faroutpacedadvancesinagricultureintoanassetforfurtherdevelopment”.Dr.Kennetharguesthatwithoutrelievingitslandconstraint,Britain’s“demographicandprotoindustrialexpansioncouldhavebeenthebasisforalatercatastrophe,oritcouldhave collapsed by rising primaryproductpricesinthenineteenthcentury”.Hence,byanchoring phantom land and acting on“forcesoutsidethemarketandconjuncturesbeyondEurope”,Britaincouldachieve“uniquebreakthroughs”andenableforitsrisingpopulationastandardqualityofliving.Ifnotforforeignland,Britainwouldhavebeenseverelyrestrictedinexploitingandconservingat the same time its limited landbase.WithBrexit,however,theU.K.maynowhaveto fi��nd contemporary ‘ghost hectares’throughitstradedeals.

Themainstreamingofcoalandoilinthe20th centuryensuredthatBritain’sphantomlandcouldbemaintainedinotherways.Asvarious postcolonial thinkers have noted,countrieslikeIndia,duringitsempiredays,ensured a steady supply of agriculturalgoodsandrawmaterialstoBritain.Withaheavydependencyonfossilfuels,Britainbecameaconsumerofenergy,whichwas,in

practice,generatedbyothers.Itwasnotuntilthe1970sthattheU.K.startedtakingstepstomovefrombeinganetimporterofenergytoanetexporter.Whilethisdependencyonenergy ‘ghost hectares’ continues even today,thediscoveryanddevelopmentofhighqualitycoalinEnglandandWalesledtothecreationofitsownenergysystem.

New power positionsThisnewenergysystem,however,ledtothecreationofnewdynamicsofpower,positionandpoliticalrepresentation,wherethoseincontroldidnotoverseejustthefl��owofenergy,butalsohadthepowertoslowitdownordisrupt it. The coal mining strikes of the1980s,whichMargaretThatchertermedasan‘enemywithin’,istheperfectexampleofsuchpowerandagency.Butwithoil,thingsbecame diff��erent. While the power of the‘enemywithin’diminished,theanchoringofghosthectaresinOPECcountriescontinued,totheextentofnearly50%energydependencyin2013.

Nevertheless,ananalysisrevealsthatforthe fi��rst time in 2019, the U.K. generatedmoreelectricityfromrenewablesthanfossilfuels.Whilethisisawelcomestep,andtheU.K.’spresidencyatthe2021UnitedNationsClimate Change Conference indicates itscommitmenttowardstheParisAgreement,alotisyettobeachieved.ThewithdrawaloftheU.K.fromtheEUonlycomplicatestheissue. The anchoring of coastal ‘ghost hectares’viaoff��shorewindfarmsisanexampleofthechoicesthecountrywillbeforcedtoweighup—includingtheissuesaroundlivingonathincriticalzoneofEarth.

Lastly,bytheendoftheColdWarandthefalloftheSovietUnion,itwasarguedbymanyscholarsthataliberaldemocracywithaccesstoafreemarketisthebestwaytoorganisesocieties.Anideathatallnationsshouldpursueunequivocallyisglobalisation.Itwasenvisagedthattheinfi��niteexpansionwouldlastforeverandnationalcitizenswilleventuallybecome‘globalcitizens’.ItwasinthisswellthattheMaastrichtTreatyofthe1990sledtothecreationoftheEuropeanUnion—aEurope without frontiers. But with Brexit,wheredothecitizensoftheU.K.go?

Forthefi��rsttimeincenturies,theU.K.facestheseconstraintstogether,withanaddedburden of the COVID19 pandemic. It willhave to learn to pass this astounding hailstormandbecome‘earthbound’,asFrenchsociologistBrunoLatourcallsit,andrethinkitsorganisingstructureandtherelationshipitwillhavewithitsland.

Gaurav Daga is Associate Vice-President at Guidance,

Industries Department, Government of Tamil Nadu.

Views expressed are personal.

TheperilsfacingBritainAfterBrexit,theU.K.maybeforcedtocometogripswiththelimitationsithadmanagedtosurmountinthepast

Gaurav daga

It is common to hear policymakersandthepublicrefertonaturaldisasters, such as this year’s Himalayanglacier fl��ooding that overwhelmedUttarakhand, or the cold snap thatparalysed Texas, as “acts of God”.But what precipitated both eventswasnotthehandofGod,buthumanmadeglobalwarming.Unlessclimatechangeistaggedasaprimaryculprit,climateactionwillcontinuetofalter.

ThemeltingoftheHimalayanglaciers that prompted the fl��oods andlandslides in Uttarakhand have thefi��ngerprints of global warming. In2013, glacial fl��ooding caused over6,000deathsinUttarakhandduringthe monsoon months. The UnitedStates has already witnessed manydeadly avalanches since the beginningof2021.Furthermore,asglaciercover is replaced by water or land,theamountoflightrefl��ecteddecreases,aggravatingwarming—acontributor to theswelteringheat incitieslikeDelhiandHyderabad,ortheepicfl��oodsinChennaiorKerala.

TheextremecoldweatherinTexas,likethedoubledigitnegativetemperatures seen in Germany earlierthisyear, isconnectedtoArcticpeninsula warming, at a rate almosttwice the global average. Usually,thereisacollectionofwindsaroundtheArctickeepingthecoldlockedfartothenorth.Butglobalwarminghascaused gaps in these protectivewinds,allowingintenselycoldairtomovesouth—aphenomenonthatisaccelerating.

When the public connects causeand eff��ect, responses are usuallyswift.Butglobalwarmingisstillseenasadangerthatliesoverthehorizon.So,whileCOVID19triggeredthemobilisationoftrillionsofdollarsinfi��nancing,theequallyfrighteningclimatescenariohasnot.

ForIndia,thethirdlargestcarbonemitter after China and the UnitedStates, a decisive switch is neededfromhighlypollutingcoalandpetroleumtocleanerandrenewablepowersources.Chinahasannouncedcarbon neutrality by 2060, Japan andSouthKoreaby2050,butIndiaisyettoannounceatarget.Theacceleration of hazards of nature shouldprompt countries to advance those

targets,ideallybyadecade.Thestakesarelaidoutinalarming

reports,whichshowthatIndiaisparticularly vulnerable. While HSBCranksIndiaatthetopamong67nationsinclimatevulnerability(2018),Germanwatch ranks India fi��fthamong181nationsintermsofclimaterisks (2020). But public spendingdoesnotrefl��ecttheseperils.

Budgetary allocationsA vital step should be explicitly including policies for climate mitigationinthegovernmentbudget,alongwithenergy,roads,healthandeducation. Specifi��cally, growth targetsshouldincludetimelinesforswitching to cleaner energy. The governmentneedstolaunchamajorcampaigntomobiliseclimatefi��nance.

Evenifmajoreconomiesspeedupclimatemitigation,catastropheslikeUttarakhand will become more frequent due to the accumulated carbonemissionsintheatmosphere.So,climate adaptation needs to be apriority.India’sCentralandStategovernmentsmustincreaseallocationsforriskreduction,suchasbetterdefencesagainstfl��oods,oragriculturalinnovationstowithstanddroughts.

A big worry is that the Uttarakhand government and the Centrehavebeendiluting,insteadofstrengthening, climate safeguards for hydroelectric and road projects. Studies had fl��agged ice loss across theHimalayas,andthedangerstodenselypopulatedcatchments,butpolicyresponsehasbeenlacking.Similarly,Keralaignoredalandmarkstudycallingforregulationofmining,quarryinganddamconstructioninecologically sensitive places, whichcontributed to the massive fl��oodsandlandslidesin2018and2019.

Sustainable growth depends ontimelyclimateaction.Forthattohappen,policymakingneedstoconnectthedotsbetweencarbonemissions,atmospheric warming, melting glaciers, extreme fl��oods and storms.Events like Uttarakhand and Texasshould be treated as lessons tochange people’s minds and for thepublictodemandurgentaction.

The author is a visiting professor at the

National University of Singapore, and former

senior Vice-President at the World Bank

Climate and consciousnessTheUttarakhandfl��oodsandtheTexascoldsnapmustserveaslessonstogalvaniseclimateaction

Vinod Thomas

[Saigon,March3]UnitedStates’warplanestodayroamedoverwideareasofIndoChina,includingNorthVietnam,inanintensifi��ed campaign to ease pressure on nearly40,000 South Vietnamese ground troopssweepingacrossLaosandCambodia.

SouthVietnameseforceskilled268NorthVietnamese troops yesterday in the twodrives, most of them by air and artillerystrikes. In a delayed report, headquartersclaimed another 200 communists werekilled on Monday in a major battle alongHighway9thatintersectstheHoChiMinhtrail in Southern Laos. South Vietnameselosses were 22 killed and 89 wounded, acommunique said. American B52 heavybombers,tacticalfi��ghterbombersandhelicoptersofalltypeshadfl��ownnearly25,000missions in support of the parallel SouthVietnameseoperationsinLaosandCambodia, U.S. military sources said. — AP andReuters

FIFTY YEARS AGO MARCH 4, 1971

U.S. missions to help Saigon troops

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

DATA POINT

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NEWS

FROM PAGE ONE

The interim analysis isbasedon43cases,ofwhich36COVID19caseswereobservedintheplacebogroupand seven in the Covaxingroup, a point estimate ofvaccineeffi��cacyof80.6%.

The interim analysisshowed that severe, serious,andmedicallyattended adverse events were atlowlevelsandbalancedbetween vaccine and placebogroups.TheNational Institute of Virology indicatedthat vaccineinduced antibodies “can neutralize UKvariant strains and otherheterologous strains,” thecompanysaid.Thevaccinedemonstrated the interimeffi��cacy in preventing COVID19 in those withoutpriorinfectionaftertheseconddose,andthe25,800participantsreceivedavaccineorplaceboina1:1ratio,thecompanysaid.Theclin

ical trial will continuethroughtofi��nalanalysisat130confi��rmedcasestoevaluatetheeffi��cacyofCovaxininadditionalsecondarystudyendpoints.

Mr.Ellasaid,“Todayisanimportantmilestoneinvaccine discovery, for scienceandourfi��ghtagainstcoronavirus. With today’s resultsfromourPhase3clinicaltrials,wehavereporteddata on our COVID19 vaccinefromPhase1,2,and3trials involving around27,000participants.”

Covaxin (BBV152) containsawholevirioninactivated SARSCoV2 vaccine,which is produced in Verocells(alineageofcellsusedin cell cultures), and themanufacturing platformhas a better safety profi��lecomparedtoothervaccineplatforms, the companysaid.

Covaxineffi��cacyis81%,worksagainstvariants

PetitionerRajatSharmaaccused Dr. Abdullah, presidentoftheNationalConference of Jammu andKashmir,ofstatingthat“inKashmirhewillgetArticle370oftheConstitutionrestoredwiththehelpofChina”duringaspeechonSeptember24.

Mr. Sharma argued thatArticle370hadbeendeletedfromtheConstitutionbymajority in Parliament.

“Everybody knows thatthere are only two countriesintheworldwhicharetrying to grab the Indianpart of Indian territories,namelyChinaandPakistan,which mean that FarooqAbdullah is trying to handover the Kashmir to ChinaorPakistan,whichistotallycontrarytotheprovisionofthe Constitution andamounts to sedition,” hispleasaid.

Voicingdissentagainstgovt.isnotsedition:SC

Theannouncementcameasa surprise,consideringthatshehadbeenverykeenonplaying an active politicalroleafterherreleasefromaBengaluruprisonwheresheservedafouryearterminacorruptioncase.OnFebruary89,whenshereturnedtoChennai,herjourneylastednearly23hours,andshereceived an “enthusiasticwelcome” fromher followers. A couple of vehiclesusedbyherhadevensportedthefl��agoftheAIADMK.

OntheoccasionofJayalalithaa’sbirthanniversaryonFebruary 24, she made afreshcallforunitytothedepartedleader’s“genuinefollowers”,whichtheAIADMKpromptlyrebuff��ed.Sheadded then that she wouldsoon meet the followers.Pressreleases,issuedbyheroffi��celocatedatherpresentresidenceinT.Nagarherein

thelastoneweek,identifi��edherasthegeneralsecretaryoftheAIADMK.

Asked for a reaction,T.T.V.Dhinakaran,Ms.Sasikala’s nephew and generalsecretaryoftheAmmaMakkal Munnetra Kazhagam(AMMK),toldreportersthathehadtriedtopersuadeherfrom taking back her decisionbutsheremainedfi��rm.

A longtime observer oftheAIADMKcomparedMs.Sasikala’smovewiththedecisionof JanakiRamachandran, wife of the AIADMKfounder and former chiefminister M.G. Ramachandran,toretirefrompoliticsin1989andsaidthatwhilethelatterhadtakenthesteponly after her faction lostbadlyinthe1989Assemblyelectionthatsawthereturnof the DMK to power, theformer’sdecisioncamewellaheadoftheAssemblypoll.

Sasikalatowithdrawfrompolitics

Whenshewenttodrinkwater from the water canalnearthetreewherehewassitting,heoverpoweredherandforcedhertoindulgeinunnaturalsex.Whensherefused, he fi��rst smotheredher and then strangulatedher.Hedraggedherbodyintothefi��eldofaresidentofhervillagesothatsuspicionwouldfallonhim.

The 14yearold victimwaslivingwithhermaternalgrandmother.Thepostmortemreport indicateddeath

by strangulation. Injurymarks were found on theface,neckandchest.Rectalandvagin*lswabshadbeensent for forensic investigation. He said the accusedwouldbeprosecutedundersections302and376oftheIPC,andrelevantsectionsofthePOCSOAct2012.

Mr.Munirajsaidthepolicewouldconductadriveinruralareastospreadawarenessamongfamiliesagainstjuvenileswatchingp*rnmaterial.

17yearoldarrestedforrape,murderinAligarh

Karnataka Minister and BJPleader Ramesh Jarkiholi resigned from the Cabinet onWednesday,within24hoursoffacingallegationsofseekingsexualfavoursfromawoman inreturn foragovernmentjob.HeheldtheMajorand Medium Irrigationportfolio.

Mr.Jarkiholisenthisresignation letter toChiefMinisterB.S.YediyurappainwhichhesaidhewasrelinquishingtheposttosavetheBJP from embarrassment,thoughtheallegationswere“farfromtrue”.Hesoughtaspeedyinvestigationintothecase.TheresignationwasacceptedbyGo

vernorVajubhaiR.Valalaterintheday.

Damage-control modeItislearntthatMr.JarkiholihadtoquitfollowinganudgefromtheBJPhighcommand,whose direction the ChiefMinisterhadsought.BJPcentralleaderswereoftheviewthat he should immediatelyresign as a damagecontrol

exercise,aheadof thebudget session thatstarts on Thursday.Karnatakaisalsosettoface bypolls for a LokSabhaseatinBelagavi(Mr. Jarkiholi’s homedistrict)and threeAs

sembly segments in northKarnataka.

Meanwhile, a CD submittedtotheCubbonParkpol

ice,allegedlycontaining recordings of Mr. Jarkiholi’sprivate moments with thewoman, is under investigation.Theallegedvictimisyetto make a statement to thepolice.

WhileHomeMinisterBasavarajBommaipromisedatransparentinquiryintothe

allegations,Oppositionleaderscontinuedtoexpressoutrageoverthedevelopments.

Leaderof theOppositionand former Chief MinisterSiddaramaiahsaidMr.Jarkiholi had not only defamedhimselfandthepartybutalsothepeopleofKarnataka.

Earlier,Mr.RameshJarki

holi’sbrotherandBJPleaderBalachandra Jarkiholi metthe Chief Minister andsoughtaCBIprobe.LeadersclosetoMr.RameshJarkiholiclaim that he has been assured of reinduction if thechargesareprovedfalse.

The day saw protests byhis supporters at Gokak in

Belagavi alleging politicalconspiracytodislodgehim.

Mr.RameshJarkiholihadleda teamof 17MLAs fromthe Opposition parties whoswitchedtotheBJPfromtheCongress,resultinginthefallof the Congress–JD(S) coalitiongovernmentandformationoftheBJPgovernment.

KarnatakaMinisterquitsoverharassmentcaseJarkiholihadtostepdownfollowinga nudgefromBJPhighcommand

Special Correspondent

Bengaluru

Dayofprotests: CongresssupportersseekingactionagainstRameshJarkiholiinBelagavionWednesday. * P.K. BADIGER

A seniorfunctionaryoftheRashtriya SwayamsevakSangh(RSS)onWednesdaygaveaudienceseparatelytothe Orthodox and Jacobitefactions of the Malankarachurch, which have beenlockedinabitterfi��ghtoverownershipofparishchurchesincentralKerala.

Sources said RSS jointgeneral secretary ManmohanVaidya,whowasinKochi,heldbacktobackmeetingswithGeevargheseMarYuliosandYakoobMarIrenios,metropolitansrespectivelyinchargeoftheAhmedabadandKochidiocesesofthe Malankara OrthodoxSyrian Church, and JosephMarGregorious,metropolitan trustee of the JacobiteSyrian Christian Church,alongwithJacobitesChurchsecretaryPeterElias,priesttrusteeFr.SleebaPaulVattavelil and lay trustee ShajiChoondayil.

OrthodoxChurchepiscopal synod secretary YohanonMarDiascorossaidthe

Orthodox metropolitanshadmettheRSSleadershiptoexpresstheChurch’sgratitudetotheorganisationinprotecting the St. George'sOrthodox Church at Cheppad in Alappuzha. Thechurch, a centuriesoldmonument that faced theriskofdemolitionforwideningofaNationalHighway,isnowsettobeprotectedasamonument of national importancebytheArchaeologicalSurveyofIndia.

“Thetwometropolitans,met theRSS leader toconvey the Church’s gratitudeforinterveningintheissue.Themeetinghadnothingtodo with the upcoming Assembly elections,” said thesynodsecretary.

The Jacobites said themeetingwasa followuptothe discussions they hadwithPrimeMinisterNarendra Modi earlier. “We presentedtheissueswefaced,including our ouster fromparish churches. We wereassuredofallhelpinresolving the issue,” JacobiteChurchspokespersonKuriakoseMarTheophilossaid.

RSSleadermeetschurchfactionsOrthodox,Jacobitesarelockedinfi��ghtS. Anandan

Hiran Unnikrishnan

KOCHI/KOTTAYAM

The Telangana High CourthassentencedSircillaCollector D. Krishna Bhaskar, thethen Joint Collector (nowCollector of Wanaparthy)YashminBashaandLandAcquisition Offi��cer/ RevenueDivisionalOffi��cerN.SrinivasRaotosimpleimprisonmentof three months and imposed a fi��ne of ₹��2,000 in acontemptcase.Theyshouldalsopaycostsof₹��10,000toeachofthepetitionerswithinfourweeks.Thesentenceis suspended for six weeks.An adverse entry would be

recorded in the service recordsoftherespondentsfortheirwilfuldisobedienceoftheOctober12,2018orderspassedbythecourt.

TheFebruary25,2021order was issued by JusticeM.S.RamachandarRao.

Villagers move courtAs many as 15 petitionersfromAnantagirivillageinIllantakuntamandalofRajanna Sircilla district approached the High CourtallegingthattheirlandswereinundatedbytheAnantagirireservoirdespiteinterimordersissuedbythecourtand

this was nothing but contempt of court. All of themdemanded implementationoftheRighttoFairCompensation and Transparency inLandAcquisition,Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act,2013(LAAct,2013).Theyal

leged that the authoritieshadnotfollowedthemandatoryprocedures.

Lands submergedIn 2018, the petitionersurged the court to restrainthe respondents fromtaking possession oftheiragriculturelandsmentioned in the declarationissuedonJanuary1,2017andMay16,2017fromtakingupany constructionwork.Theyallegedthattheirlandsgotsubmergedasaresult of the works from upstreaminOctober2019.

“I hold that petitionerswere dispossessed fromtheir lands in October 2019itself and their lands were

submergedasallegedinthecontempt case and all therespondents have wilfullydisobeyed the order dated12.10.2018inInterimAppealNumberof1of2018inWritPetition Number 37623 of

2018,” observed thejudge.

“Ourlandswereforcibly acquired and inundatedintheAntagirireservoir in 2019 despiteourcasespendingwiththeHighCourt.So

far we were not paid compensation for our lands orrehabilitation and resettlement. Hence, we approached the High Courtagain,” Kolanupaka Narayana Reddy, an oustee fromAnantagiritoldThe Hindu.

RDOalsofoundguilty;judgeawards3months’simpleimprisonment,fi��ne

R. Avadhani

SIDDIPET

SircillaCollectorD.KrishnaBhaskar

HCpunishestwoCollectorsforcontempt

TTDtoprocureeight‘PracharaRathams’TIRUMALA

TheTirumalaTirupati

Devasthanams(TTD)is

settoprocureeight‘Dharma

PracharaRathams’,including

sixsmallones,whichwould

beusedforpublicity

programmesbeingrunbyit.

Thecostofasmallvehicle

(24feetinlength)has

beenestimatedtobearound

₹��32lakh,whilethebigones

(33feet)wouldcost

around₹��50lakheach.

TwoIIScstudentsdieoncampusBENGALURU

TwostudentsoftheIndian

InstituteofScience(IISc),

Bengaluru,diedunder

differentcirc*mstanceson

thecampusonTuesday.“One

ofthem,pursuinghisPh.D.in

theCentreforNanoScience

andEngineering,diedby

suicide,”theIIScsaid.Another

collapsedwhileplaying

footballandwasdeclared

broughtdeadtohospital.

Goldworth₹��74lakhseizedatairportHYDERABAD

A womanpassengerwho

arrivedattheRajivGandhi

InternationalAirport(RGIA)

fromDubaiwasdetained

byCustomsofficialson

Tuesdayfortryingto

smuggleinaround1.6kg

goldpasteworth₹��74lakh.

Inaseparateincident,a

41yearoldman,whowas

inpossessionof40,000

cigarettesticks,wasdetained

atRGIAearlyonWednesday.

IN BRIEF

3,040kgganjaseizedinA.P.,vandriverheldVISAKHAPATNAM

ThepoliceonWednesday

seizedaround3,040kgof

ganjaandarrestedaperson

whilehewastransportingitin

a vanatVisakhapatnam,

AndhraPradesh.Accordingto

thepolice,itsmarketvalue

maybemorethan₹��3crore.

Thepoliceinterceptedthe

vanatChodavaram

around2a.m.,accordingto

anofficial.Thedriver

wasreportedlytakingthe

ganjatoAnakapalle.

TheBombayHighCourtonTuesday directed AmazonSellerServicesPrivateLtd.,which provides content tooverthetop streaming serviceofAmazonWebServices,totakedowntheTelugufi��lmV within24hoursuntilthe image of actor SakshiMalik iscompletelydeletedfromit.

A singleBenchof JusticeG.S.Patelwashearinganinterim application fi��led byMs.MalikthroughadvocateSaveenaT.Bedi.Shehasalleged illegal use of her stillimageinthefi��lmthatwasreleasedonAmazonPrimeonSeptember5,2020.Shehas

fi��led a defamation suit for₹��30 crore, mandatory injunctionanddamages.

Ms. Malik commissioneda photographer on July 24,2017 and the photo shoottookplaceonAugust1.ShelateruploadedapartofthephotoportfolioinherInstagramaccount. It ispointed

outthatherphotographwasusedinthefi��lmwhenthereisareferencetoafemaleescort or a commercial sexworker. Ms. Malik in hercomplaint said the unauthorised use of private materialwasaninvasionofprivacy.Thecourtnotedthattheargument was prima faciecorrect. “Indeed, I do notbelieve there is any otherwayoflookingatit.”

The court directed Amazontotakedownallversionsofthefi��lm untilsuchtimeasVenkateshwara CreationsPvtLtd.hadcompletelydeletedallimagesofMs.Malikfromtheirwork.Merelypixelatingorblurringtheimagewasnotacceptable.

BombayHCasksAmazontotakedownTelugufi��lmActorSakshiMalikallegesunauthoriseduseofherimage

Special Correspondent

MUMBAI

TheAndhraPradeshHighCourt on Wednesday suspended theStateElectionCommission’s order forgroundingwardvolunteersfromtheprocessofmunicipalelections.

JusticeD.V.S.S.Somayajulu delivered the verdictfacilitatingthedeploymentofthevolunteersfordistributing pensions and dischargingotherdutieswiththe help of their mobilephonesasusual.

The SEC order was intended to prevent the volunteers from infl��uencingthe outcome of the elections by leveraging andmisusingtheirreachtothepublic as a conduit of governmentbenefi��ts.

HCsuspendsA.P.SECorderonvolunteers

Staff Reporter

VIJAYAWADA

The Kerala State CommissionforProtectionofChildRightshasregisteredacaseonitsownonanallegedmoral policing incident inwhicha15yearoldstudentwas beaten up forwalking with his girlclassmate.

An autorickshawdriver had been arrestedinthisconnection,policesaid.

TheCCTVfootageoftheincident in Kannur districtwasairedbylocaltelevisionchannels on Tuesday, following which the commission intervened.Thevideopurportedly showed Jineesh, the driver, slappingthe Class X student and

beating him repeatedly atPanoor.

Commission chairmanK.V. Manoj Kumar took actionbasedonthevisuals,anoffi��cialstatementsaidhere.

Quotingthestatementofhis father, the commission

said the boy was beaten up for walkingalong with his femaleclassmate when theywere returning homeafter the SSLC modelexamination at their

school.The father alleged that

thoughtheyapproachedthepolice, they did not showany seriousness. However,the police rejected thechargesandsaidacasehadbeen registered and thedriverarrested.

AutodriverarrestedinKeralafor‘moralpolicing’Studentthrashedforwalkingwithgirl

Press Trust of India

Thiruvananthapuram

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has sought theinterventionoftheElectionCommissionof India toensurethattheCentralinvestigationagenciessuchas theEnforcement Directorate(ED) follow the ‘statute inletterandspirit’and‘actinapoliticallyneutralmanner’.

“Thisisabsolutelyessentialtoretainthespiritofthemodelcodeofconductandtoensurefreeandfairelections in the State,” Mr. Vijayanpointedoutinaletterto Chief Election CommissionerSunilArora.

Summons to CEOThemovecomesinthewakeof the ED’s probe into themasalabondsof theKeralaInfrastructure InvestmentFundBoard(KIIFB),thefl��agship infrastructure fundinganddevelopmentagencyoftheState.Theagencyhadis

suedsummonstoK.M.Abraham, CEO of KIIFB, to bepresentatit*Kochioffi��ceonMarch5andDeputyManagingDirectorVikramjitSinghto appear on March 4 forquestioning.

The model code put inplaceisbeing‘convenientlyviolated, torpedoed at theinstanceofsomeUnionMinistersand itsveryspirit isbeingdestroyed’.

‘Poll gains’“Theauthorityconferredoninvestigatingagencyisbeingwrongly appropriated forelectoralgainsoftherulingpartyat theCentreand fortheOppositionintheState,”

theChiefMinistersaid.Thematter isneitheroneofrecent occurrence nor of urgentnature.

Some of the offi��cials, including women, called bythe ED to Kochi had beensubjected to ‘intemperatebehaviour’,hesaid.

ThemovecamecloseontheheelsofaspeechbyUnionFinanceMinisterNirmalaSitharamancriticisingKIIFB and the State Budget,duringtheBJP’sVijayYatrainKochionFebruary28.

“The ED is misusing itspowerandtheaimistoconduct a smear campaignagainst the State government,”hesaid.

PinarayiwritestoEConEDprobeintoKIIFBModelcodeisbeingviolated,saysKeralaCM

S. Anil Radhakrishnan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

PinarayiVijayan

TheEDcaseagainstKIIFBisanexampleofhowtheLeftDemocraticFrontgovernmenthasviolatedalllawsandnormsinplacetofacilitatecorruption,BJPStatepresidentK.Surendranhassaid.

Acoverforcorruption:BJP

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

“Both Kashyap and Pannuhavevoicedtheiroppositiontocertaingovernmentpoliciesinthepast.Itisnocoincidencethatonlytheyhavebeen raided,” said Mr. Malik,whoisalsotheMumbaiunitpresidentoftheNCP.

Maharashtra CongresspresidentandMLANanaPatole criticisedtheCentreforselectivelytargetingcelebrities.“Wehaveseeninmanyinstances that those whospeak against the govern

mentaresubjectedtoactionby Central agencies,” hesaid.

Maharashtra’s PWD Minister Ashok Chavan toldpresspersons, “This is notnew. We have been seeingthishappeningoften.Thosewhoput forthfactsarebeingpressurised in thiswaysothattheydon’tspeakup.”

ItislearntthatMr.KashyapandMs.PannuwereinPune at the time of thesearches.

ITsearchesonAnuragKashyap,Taapsee

TheCubbonParkpolicehassummonedactivistDineshKallahalliforquestioningonThursday.

Hehadfi��ledacomplaintdemandinganinvestigationintotheallegedscandalinvolvingMinisterRamesh

Jarkiholi.Mr.KallahallihadsubmittedaCDofMr.Jarkiholi’sallegedinteractionswiththewomantothepoliceafterherfamilysoughthishelp.Citingthreatstohislife,Mr.Kallahallialsofi��ledacomplaintseeking policeprotection.

PolicesummonactivistwhodemandedprobeSpecial Correspondent

Bengaluru

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

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NEWS

TwodaysafterMaharashtraHome Minister Anil Deshmukh submitted a reportpreparedbytheState’scybercellonapossiblecyberattackthatcausedtheOctober 12 power outage inMumbaiandpartsofMumbai Metropolitan Region(MMR),PowerMinisterNitinRautonWednesdaysaidthereportfound14TrojanprogramsthathadenteredtheMaharashtraStateElectricity Transmission Company(MahaTransco)servers.

“According to observationsinthereport,thefi��rewalls of the informationtechnology [IT]andoperational technology [OT]servers,whichareessentialforpower transmission, wereaff��ected by these Trojanhorses. Suspicious codesandsoftwareprogramsthatcanaff��ectthecybersecurityecosystemattheStateLoadDispatch Center [SLDC] atKalvahadfounditswayintothesystem,”Mr.Rautsaidina statementintheAssembly.Similar Trojan programswerepartofbiggercyberattacksinthepast,headded.

“Three alarms weresounded in a span of lessthanaminute,butwerenotgivenattentiontoshowthepossibilityofacyberattack,”hesaid,referringtothereport.

TheMinistersaidrepeated attempts were made

fromblacklistedandsuspiciousIPaddressestologinto the SLDC server, and tohack and disrupt the system.“Creditratingagencieshave certifi��ed these IP addresses as suspicious anddisruptive,”hesaid,addingthatanattemptwasmadetoeither insert or removearound 8 GB of data fromthe server using the IP addresses.

AccordingtotheMinister,thereportrecommendedaseparationoftheITandOTinfrastructureandanupdation, password management, enhancement of theweb application securityand a strengthening of thecyber system of the SLDC.Inadditiontotheprobeconducted by the State cybercell,atechnicalcommittee,which included expertsfrom IITBombay, VNITNagpur, VJTIMumbai andsenior offi��cials from thePower Department, wasformed.

14Trojansfoundinservers,saysMinister‘Suspiciouscodesfoundinsystem’

Staff Reporter

Mumbai

Commuters on a railwaytrack in Mumbai after thepower outage last year.

The Uttar Pradesh policesaidonWednesdaythatAyush,sonofBJPMPfromMohanlalganjKaushalKishore,stagedanattackonhimselftoframeafewpersons.Theshotthatwoundedhimwasallegedlyfi��redbyhisbrotherinlawAdarsh.

The police detainedAdarshandsaidhehadadmittedtofi��ringatAyush.

D.K. Thakur, Commis

sioner of Police, Lucknow,saidpolicehadreceivedinformationthatthreeorfourunidentifi��ed persons hadshot Ayush on Tuesday atMadiaoninLucknow.

Adarsh told police thatAyush asked him to fi��re athimandwhenhehesitatedassuredhim thathewould“manage” everything, saidMr. Thakur. Adarsh fi��redtwoshots,thefi��rsthitawalland the second grazedAyush.

MP’ssonshotat,policesayhestagedtheattackPolicehavedetainedhisbrotherinlaw

Special Correspondent

LUCKNOW

TheRegistrarGeneralofIndia(RGI)ispreparingtoconduct fi��eld trials of the fi��rstphaseoftheCensusandtheNationalPopulationRegister(NPR) using a mobile application in all the States andUnion Territories, a seniorgovernmentoffi��cialtoldThe

Hindu.The fi��rst phase involving

house listing and housingcensus,alongwithupdatingthe NPR, was scheduledfromApril1lastyear,butwaspostponed indefi��nitely duetothepandemic.Itisunlikely that the exercise will beconducted this year as thevaccinationdriveisstillatanearlystage.

However,theoffi��cialsareplanning to conduct pretests or fi��eld trials throughtheappinoneblockeachofevery district, which is expected to cover 50 to 60households.

Theappwillcontainquestionnaires on house listingandhousingcensusandtheNPR,theoffi��cialsaid.

“ThedatesforconductingtheCensusexercisehavenotbeen fi��nalised yet. But theenumeratorswillhavetobetrainedinusingtheapp.Many enumerators are youngschoolteachers who are expectedtousetheappinsteadof the paper schedule[form].Therewillbeincentives for the electronicform,”theoffi��cialsaid.

The second phase of theCensus is population

enumeration.The RGI, on January 9,

2020, notifi��ed the 31 columnsforwhichtheenumeratorswill seekresponse forthe house listing and housingcensus.

The questions includewhethertherespondenthasaccesstoLPGorpipednatural gas connection; owns aradio, transistor, television,laptop, computer, telephone, mobile phone or

smartphone;andhasaccesstotheInternet.

ThequestionsfortheNPRhave not been made publicyet,butthepretestconductedin2019includedadditionalquestionssuchasthedateand place of birth of fatherandmother,lastplaceofresidenceandmothertongue,Aadhaar(optional),voterIDcard,mobilephoneanddriving licence numbers. TheOppositionruledStateshaveexpressedapprehensionsovertheadditionalquestions.

Electronic database In 2010 and 2015, the NPRcollected details on 14 parametersonly.Italreadyhasan electronic database ofmore than 119 croreresidents.

“The app will have theNPRschedulealso.Beforeitisrolledout,theapphastobe tested for glitches, andfi��eldtrialsaretobeconducted,”theoffi��cialsaid.

On February 9, VivekJoshi,RGIandCensusCommissionerofIndia,chairedavirtualmeetingoftheDirec

torsofCensusOperationsofallStatestoreviewthepreparationsforthecomingCensuswherethefi��eldtrialsusingtheappwerediscussed.

The Director of CensusOperations of one of theStates who attended themeeting told The Hindu,“The app has been improvised after the 2019 trials,and the fi��eld trials will beheldafresh.WeareawaitingdirectionsfromtheRGI.”

OnFebruary10,UnionMinisterofStateforHomeNityanand Rai informed theRajyaSabhathat“anappforthecollectionofdataandaCensus portal for the management and monitoring ofvariousCensusrelatedactivitieshasbeendeveloped”.

“Instruction manuals forenumeratorsandotherCensusfunctionarieshavebeenprepared. A pretest of theCensuswasundertakenfromAugust 12, 2019 to September 30, 2019 in selectedareasofalltheStatesandUnions Territories to test theCensus questionnaire andmethodology,”hesaid.

FieldtrialsforCensusNPRtobeginsoonTrialswillbeconductedusingamobileappinallStatesandUnionTerritories,saysoffi��cial

Vijaita Singh

New Delhi

Back in the day: Government-appointed Census workers onduty during the Census 2011 in Bengaluru. * K. MURALI KUMAR

The BJP on WednesdaytermedCongressMPRahulGandhi’sstatementattackingtheRashtriyaSwayamsevakSangh(RSS)“laughable”. The party alsocontested Mr. Gandhi’sclaimthattheCongresshadat no point during theEmergency attempted tocaptureIndia’sinstitutionalframework.

Union Minister PrakashJavadekar,atapressconference in New Delhi, said itwould take Mr. Gandhi alongtimetounderstandtheRSS,theHindutvaorganisation and the ideologicalmothershipoftheBJP.

Mr. Gandhi had, in a video conversation withKaushikBasu,formerChiefEconomicAdviserandnowa Professor at Cornell University, U.S., termed theEmergency imposed byformerPrimeMinisterIndira Gandhi a “mistake”. Hehad added that the Emergency was fundamentallydiff��erent from the currentscenario as the Congresshadatnopointattemptedtocapturethecountry’sinstitutional framework, as the

RSS was attempting to donow.

Mr. Javadekar, in response to Mr. Gandhi’schargethattheRSScouldbecalled the Hindutva counterpart to radical IslamistsinPakistan,saidtheorganisation’s role was to eff��ectgoodchangesinpeople.

“Lakhs, including MPsand MLAs, were arrestedduringthattimeandinstitutionsweredeniedanyfreedom. For him to say thatthey did not target institutionsislaughable,”hesaid.

Mr.Javadekarrejectedallegations that the incometaxsearchesonthepremises of fi��lmmaker AnuragKashyapandactorTaapseePannuwere linked to theircomments critical of theBJP.

Rahul’scommentsonRSSarelaughable:BJP‘WilltakehimtimetounderstandSangh’

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Rahul Gandhi

Twomorepersonswantedforallegedlyshootingdeada 50yearoldmaninHathras whose daughter wassexually harassed by themainaccused,who is stillfree,werearrested,policesaidonWednesday.

Rohitash Sharma andNikhil Sharma had a reward of ₹��25,000 each onthem following the incidentonMarch1intheSasni area of west UttarPradesh.

Four persons werenamed in the FIR. Whilethree — one Lalit Sharmawasarrestedsoonafterthemurder—areinpolicecustody, Gaurav Sharma, themain accused is yet to bearrested.

WhiletheBJPhaslinkedGaurav Sharma to the Samajwadi Party, the latterhadalsosharedpicturesofthe accused along with aBJPMPonsocialmediatohitback.

ThevictimwasallegedlyshotbyGauravSharmaandhisfriendsafterafreshaltercationoverthe2018sexual harassment case fi��ledby the former against thelatter.

TwoheldforkillingHathrasvictim’sfather

special correspondent

LUCKNOW

TheAssamunitoftheCongressonWednesdaysawmeritinjailedactivistAkhilGogoi’s suggestion to allOppositionpartiestogettogetherandnominateasingle“worthiest” candidate ineach of the 126 AssemblyconstituenciestodefeattheBJPandinstallagovernmentthat is against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act(CAA).

But the party disagreedwiththeviewoftheactivistthat such a strategy can bepossible by keeping the AllIndia United DemocraticFront(AIUDF)out.

Open letter Inanopenletterafewdaysago, Mr. Gogoi said his appeal foraconsensuscandidate was for all OppositionpartiesexcepttheAIUDFledby perfume baron and MPMaulanaBadruddinAjmal.

“We believe the BJP andtheAIUDFare twosidesofthesamecoin.Botharefundamentalists. We cannottakethesupportofonefun

damentalist force to defeatanother,”hesaid.

Hisparty,RaijorDal(RD),also said it could considerjoining the Congressledgrandalliance if theAIUDFwas not part of it. “Theremightbeadiff��erenceofopinion and ideologies amongall thepoliticalparties.Butthe need of the hour is tooust the BJP from Dispur[seatofpowerinAssam]andbring an antiCAA force inpower.TheOppositionmustrethink their strategy,” Mr.Gogoisaid.

“There is merit in AkhilGogoi’ssuggestion,butit isuptoourhighcommandtodecideonbringinghispartyonboard.Atthesametime,

itisfortheAIUDFtoanalyseitscharacteristics.IfthereisnoBJP,theremaynotbeanyAIUDF,”CongressMLAfromNaziraandleaderoftheOpposition Debabrata SaikiasaidonWednesday.

‘Grand alliance’ “The Congress has beenseeking a grand alliance ofall antiBJP forces and wehave also said we will notfi��eld candidates in constituencieswhereAkhilGogoiand Lurinjyoti Gogoi contest,” Congress MP PradyutBordoloisaid.

He,however,saidtheoff��ershouldnotbeconstruedas a weakness of theCongress.

Cong.backsGogoi’scallforunitedfi��ghtagainstBJPParty,however,disagreeswithjailedactivist’sviewsonAIUDF

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

GUWAHATI

Akhil Gogoi

The National HumanRightsCommission(NHRC)hasaskedtheHaryanapoliceforareportonacomplaint that labour activistNaudeepKaur,whowasarrestedonJanuary12afterastir to demand workers’wages in Kundli, was harassed and tortured incustody.

TheSonipatSuperintendentofPolice(SP)wasonFebruary 18 given fourweekstorespond,accordingtotheproceedings.

Ms. Kaur was releasedonbailonFebruary26.

According to the complaint,“Thevictimwhoisasocialactivistwasillegallyarrested in a false complaint, harassed, sexuallyassaultedinpolicecustody,and was subjected to policetorture.”

Earlier,inanothercomplaint that called for Ms.Kaur’sreleaseandalleged“inhumane torture”, theNHRC had on February 9askedforareportfromtheSPwithinsixweeks.

Meanwhile, a group ofhuman rights’ organisationshaveappealedtotheNHRC to intervene in thecase of Shiv Kumar, a unionist coaccused in thecasewithMs.Kaur.Mr.Kumarremainsinjail.

NHRCasksforreportinNaudeepcase

Damini Nath

NEW DELHI

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD)vice president JayantChaudharyonWednesdaysaidtheUniongovernmentwasbusyappeasingitscorporate friends. “ChaudharyCharanSinghusedtosaythatthecountry’sroutetoprogressgoesthroughafarmer’sfi��elds.Butthisgovernment feels it goesthroughprivatisingagriculturetofulfi��ltheinterestsoftheAmbanisandAdanis,”he said at a ‘kisan panchayat’ in Nakud area ofSaharanpur.

“These panchayats aresendingamessagethatignoring the farmers’ concernswillnotbeintheinterestofthegovernment,”hesaid.

Referringtothemassivesecurity arrangements onthe highways around Delhi, Mr. Chaudhary saideven the Mughals sparedthe Grand Trunk Road.“But this government hasdug up highways and hasinsertednailstostopfarmers. If they dig up yourroads, you uproot thempolitically,” he observed,askingfarmerstohurttheBJPthroughtheballot.BynotincreasingtheStateadvised price of sugarcane,thegovernmenthadinsultedthefarmers,hesaid.

UproottheBJPpolitically,saysRLD

special correspondent

Ghaziabad

Akhil Gogoi to contestfrom SivasagarGUWAHATI

Jailed peasants’ rights activist

Akhil Gogoi would be the

Raijor Dal’s candidate from

the Sivasagar Assembly

constituency in eastern

Assam, a spokesperson for

the regional party said here

on Wednesday.

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The British Parliament willdiscussthethreefarmlawson March 8, a statementfromtheprotestingfarmershas said. The discussioncomesamonthaftertheMinistryofExternalAff��airsdefended the laws as “reformist legislation” aimed tohelptheagriculturesector.

“The debate will takeplace on Monday at 4.30p.m. in Westminster Hall,which is theseconddebat

ingchamberoftheHouseofCommons.AMemberofthePetitions Committee willopen the debate, followedby speeches from otherMPs, including frontbenchspeakers from the OppositionpartiesandaMinister,”saidthepressrelease.

The announcement ofthe debate came on a daywhenExternalAff��airsMinister Jaishankar held a telephonic conversation withhisU.K.counterpartDominicRaab.

U.K.ParliamenttodiscussfarmlawsonMarch8‘DebatetobeheldinWestminsterHall’

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Sugar mills are lobbyingwiththegovernmentforanincreaseintheMSPofsugarto ₹��34.50 a kg from ₹��31 tohelpthemclearpaymentarrearstosugarcanefarmers.Theproductionrose20%inthefi��rstfi��vemonthsof theseasonwhichstartedinSeptember, putting furtherpressure on falling prices,theIndianSugarMillsAssociationsaidonWednesday.

This comes at a timewhen largenumbersof su

garcanefarmersfromwestern Uttar Pradesh, one ofthecountry’sbiggestsugarproducing areas, arecamped on the borders ofDelhiaspartoftheprotestagainst three farm reformlaws.“Thepricesarealmost₹��80100aquintal lessthanwhat was prevailing a yearago,”theISMAsaid.“Thisisnotagoodsignaslowpriceshaveadverselyaff��ectedtheliquidity of mills and theirability to pay the FRP [fairandremunerativeprice] tofarmers.”

SugarmillsseekhigherMSPfortheirproduce‘Itwillhelpcleararrearstofarmers’

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI

BJPanditstwoalliesinAssam—AGPandUPPL—onWednesday “almost fi��nalised” their seatsharingpact for the Assam Assemblyelectionsandaformalannouncementwillbemade in a day or two,sourcessaid.

The “agreement on99%”oftheseatshasbeenreached at a highlevelmeetingattendedbyUnionHomeMinisterAmitShah,BJPnationalpresident J.P.Nadda and Chief MinisterSarbanandaSonowalatMr.Shah’s residence, thesourcessaid.

BJPStateunitchiefRanjitDass,AGPpresidentandState Minister Atul Bora,UPPL chief Pramod Boro,BJP leaderHimantaBiswaSarma also attended themeeting.Aformalannouncementon thenumberofseats each party will contestwillbemadeinadayortwo,thesourcessaid.

Assamhas126Assemblyconstituencies.

BJP,allies‘almostfi��nalise’seatsharing

Press Trust of India

New Delhi

CMYK

A ND-NDE

DELHI THE HINDU

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NEWS

PresidentRamNathKovindon Tuesday was administered the fi��rst dose of COVID19vaccineattheArmy’sResearch and ReferralHospital.

“PresidentRamNathKovind, accompanied by hisdaughter,wasadministeredthevaccineattheArmyR&RHospital, Delhi, today,”tweeted the offi��cial handleoftheRashtrapatiBhavan.

Mr. Kovind, 75, thanked“all the doctors, nurses,healthworkersandadministratorswhoaresuccessfullyimplementing the largestvaccinationdriveinhistoryand urged all eligible citizenstogetvaccinated”.

Hisvaccinationcamejusta coupleofdaysafterPrimeMinisterNarendraModihadtakenthefi��rstshotofCovax

in developed in India byBharatBiotech.

On March 1, the governmentrolledoutthesecondphaseinwhichhealthworkers and other frontlineworkers are beingvaccinated.

Though there were demandsforthePrimeMinister and other Ministers to

vaccinate themselves to inspire citizens right at thestartoftheprogramme,thegovernmenthadarguedthatfrontline workers deservedtobeprotectedfi��rst.

ApartfromthePrimeMinister,onTuesday,LawMinister Ravi Shankar Prasadtoohadtweetedaphotoofhimtakinghisfi��rst.

Allwhoareeligibleshouldtakevaccine,saysPresidentRamNathKovindgetshisfi��rstshotatArmyhospital

Special Correspondent

New Delhi

First dose: President Ram Nath Kovind getting vaccinated inNew Delhi on Wednesday. * PTI

HealthMinisterHarshVardhanonWednesdayreiteratedthatthegovernmenthaddoneawaywiththe9a.m.to5 p.m.timelineforgivingCOVID19vaccinationand thatbenefi��ciariescouldtakethevaccineroundtheclock.

“Thegovernmenthasliftedthetimerestrictiontoincreasethespeedofvaccination. People can now getvaccinated24x7accordingtotheirconvenience.PrimeMinisterNarendraModiunderstandsthevalueofhealthaswellasthetimeofcitizens,”Dr. Vardhan tweeted inHindi.

OnTuesday,HealthSecretaryRajeshBhushanhadannounced that the time restriction of vaccinatingbenefi��ciariesfrom9a.m.to5p.m. had been done away

with, and it was up to thehospitalstodecidewhethertheywantedtocontinueadministeringvaccinesevenafterthat.

“CoWIN 2.0 allows fl��exibilityoftimeandifahospitalhasthecapacity,thesystempermitsittodovaccinationevenafter5p.m.inconsultation with the State government.Thishasbeenbriefedboth to the State governmentsaswellastheprivate

and government hospitals,”he said. The cumulativenumberofCOVID19vaccinedoses administered in thecountry crossed 1.63 croreonWednesday,saidtheprovisionalreporttill7p.m.onWednesday.

Numbers so far

“These include 67,75,619HealthCareWorkers(HCW)whohavetakenthe1stdoseand 28,24,311 HCWs who

have taken the 2nd dose,57,62,131 frontline workers(1st dose), 3,277 FLWs (2nddose),8,44,884benefi��ciariesmorethan60yearsoldand1,04,263 benefi��ciaries aged45 and above with specifi��ccomorbidities,” said a releaseissuedbytheMinistry.

Thereleasesaidthattotal6,92,889vaccinedosesweregiventill7p.m.onMarch3,the 47th day of nationwideCOVID19vaccination.

Vaccine can be taken 24/7, says CentreTimerestrictionof9a.m.to5p.m.hasbeenremoved

Special Correspondent

New Delhi

Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab,TamilNadu,GujaratandKarnatakacontinuedreportinganincreaseindailynewcasesofCOVID19,togetheraccountingfor85.95%ofthecases reported in the 24hourstill8a.m.onWednesday,theUnionHealthMinistry said in a release onWednesday.

As many as 14,989 newcaseswereregisteredacrossIndia, and Maharashtra reportedthehighestof7,863,followed by Kerala (2,938)and Punjab (729), the releasesaid.

Data released by the Ministry show thatMaharashtra,Punjab,Gujarat,MadhyaPradesh,Delhi,HaryanaandKarnataka have shown themost increase innewcaseson a weekonweek basis.Maharashtraaloneaccounted foraweekly increaseof16,012casesintermsofthe

numberofcases.Inpercentageterms,Punjabreporteda weekly increase of 71.5%(1,783cases).

Thecountry’stotalactivecaseload had reached1,70,126 currently, while1,08,12,044peoplehadrecovered so far and 13,123 patients discharged in the 24hours.

Also, 86.58% of the newrecovered cases were observedtobeconcentratedin

sixStates,withMaharashtrareporting the highest numberofsingledayrecoveriesof6,332.

InKerala,3,512peoplerecoveredinthe24hours,andTamilNadufolloweditwith473recoveries.

Ninetyeightdeathswerereported in the country inthe24hours.FourStatesaccountedfor88.78%ofthem.Maharashtrasawthehighestcasualtiesof54.

SixStatescontinuetoseeariseinCOVID19numbers14,989newcasesregistered;Maharashtratopswith7,863

Special Correspondent

New Delhi

Tighter norms: The States have been asked to boost testingand surveillance for COVID-19. * K.V.S. GIRI

PeopleinruralareasofUttarPradeshshouldnotbesent back from COVID19vaccination centres becauseofpoorInternetconnectivity,theStategovernment has instructed alldistrictadministrativeandmedicalheads.

“There is a problem ofInternetconnectivityinruralareas,”AmitMohanPrasad, Principal Secretary,Health,wrotetoallDistrictMagistratesandChiefMedicalOffi��cers.

In rural areas, the processofphotographingthebenefi��ciaryandother formalities should be completed and the vaccinecould be administered.Thedatacouldbeuploaded lateronce the Internetconnectionwasavailable.

In urban vaccinationcentres, 60% of the slotswouldbekept for freeregistrationwhile40%wouldbe for walkins. In ruralareas,thiswouldbe5050.

U.P. workingto improvevaccine access

Special correspondent

Lucknow

Antibodiesagainstthenovelcoronavirusbegintoappearsignifi��cantlyonly14daysafteravaccineinjection.Butinpeople who have alreadybeeninfectedbySARSCoV2before, the increase can beobservedinaweek,astudyhasfound.

Whileunderliningtheimportanceofthefollowupsecond shot, scientists associatedwiththestudysuggestthat in mass vaccinationcampaigns,individualswhohavebeeninfectedpreviouslybeprioritisedbelowthoseunexposed.

Accordingtoseveralserologysurveys,anywherefrom21% to 60% of India mayhavebeenexposedtothevirussinceMarch.WhileIndiacurrentlydoesnotfacesupply constraints — there aremorevaccinesavailablethanthoseregisteringforshotsasofnow— thiscouldchangeasmoregroupsbecomeeligibleforthevaccine.

The study, yet to be for

mally published but availableasapreprint,measuredantibodies generated in 135healthcareworkersadministeredwithCovishieldatdifferentweeksortimepoints(0,7,14,28days).Athirdofthe workers had alreadybeen exposed to the virusand in them, the antibodyresponse progressively increasedateachofthosetimepoints.Incontrast,theantibody response started toshowonlyafter14daysorla

terin88oftherest,whohadbeenunexposedtothevirus.Three did not develop anyantibody response even atday28ofthevaccination.

The results also showedthat antibodies in those infectedearlierstartedtostabilise,evendecline,afterday14butwerestillsubstantiallyhigher — in one instancenearly thousandfoldatday28—thanthosewhowereinoculatedwithCovishieldbutwith no prior exposure to

thevirus.Currently,thelongevity of antibodies after aCOVID19 infection has notbeenfi��rmlyestablished,noris the immunityafterbeingexposed to a particularstrainofthevirus.

“Our data suggests thatChAdOx1 (or Covishield) ishighlyimmunogenic,particularly so where previousSARSCoV2 antibodyresponse is established. Giventhe high background seropositivity inIndia, thismaybeusefulindeterminingoptimal timing of the seconddoseduringmassimmunisation,”saytheauthors,comprising scientists from theCouncilofScientifi��candIndustrialResearchInstituteofGenomics and IntegrativeBiology (CSIRIGIB), NewDelhiandtheMaxGroupofHospitals.

“We were surprised bythe number of antibodiesgenerated in those alreadyexposed to the infection,”Shantanu Sengupta, Scientist,CSIRIGIB,toldThe Hin-du.

‘Vaccine lifts antibody level in 14 days’Study,however,saysthosealreadyinfectedbythevirusgetthisboostinaweek

Taking stock: India does not face supply constraints but thiscould change as more groups become eligible. * NISSAR AHMAD

Jacob Koshy

NEW DELHI

TheHinduGroupwontwogolds and two silvers atWANIFRA’s South AsianDigital Media Awards, culminating in being named‘ChampionPublisheroftheYear’,owingtothehighesttallyonthepointstable.

Theawardsarepresented in recognition of outstanding work done bynews publishers, in digitalmedia. The winners werehonoured virtually at theDigital Media India 2021Conference held onWednesday.

TheHindu#KeepTheHabit campaign won a goldandsilverin‘BestNativeAdvertising/Branded ContentCampaign’ and‘Best in Audience Engagement’, respectively.Sportstar’swebsite (sportstar.thehindu.com) won agoldin‘Best inLifestyle,Sports, EntertainmentWebsiteorMobileServices’ and The Hindu’swebsite (thehindu.com)won a silver in ‘Best PaidContent Strategy’ (including pay wall, membershipor crowdfunding models).AmongotherwinnerswereBBC News,Malayala Mano-rama, Mathrubhumi, ABP,NDTV Convergence, TV18andThe Quint.

Speaking at the virtualceremony and acceptingthehonour,L.V.Navaneeth,ChiefExecutiveOffi��cer,TheHindu Group of Publica

TheHinduGroupis‘ChampionPublisher’WANIFRAbestowstitleatvirtualevent

Special Correspondent

Chennai

L. V. Navaneeth, CEO of The Hindu Group ofPublicatons, with the award

tions,said,“Iamextremelygratefulandhumbledtoreceivethisrecognition.Iamreceiving this on behalf of2,400ofmycolleagueswhohave had an incrediblytoughyearandmanagedtoputourproductsoutanddo

a stellar job.Whatisdoublyheartening isthe overallquality of entries and thecompany weare in. It isgreat to beamongst thisaugustbodyofwork,”hesaid.

TheWorldAssociationofNews Publishers or WANIFRA, is a global organisation of the world’s press,with a network of 3,000newspublishingcompaniesand technology entrepreneurs,and60memberpublisher associations representing18,000publicationsin120countries.

For moredetails, visithttps://bit.ly/3e1kK8gorscantheQRcode.

Freedoms in India have reduced,accordingtoareportfromaU.S.thinktank,FreedomHouse,resulting inIndiabeingclassifi��edas‘partlyfree’.

India’s score was 67, adrop from 71/100 from lastyear (refl��ecting 2019 data)downgradingitfromthefreecategorylastyear(basedon2020data).

“The government ofPrime Minister NarendraModianditsStatelevelalliescontinuedtocrackdownoncriticsduringtheyear…,”thereport “Freedom in theWorld2021:Democracyun

derSiege”said.“TherulingHindunationalistmovementalso encouraged the scapegoating of Muslims, whowere disproportionatelyblamedforthespreadofthevirus...,”itsaid.

“Ratherthanservingasachampion of democraticpractice and a counterweight to authoritarian infl��uencefromcountriessuchas China, Mr. Modi and hisparty are tragically drivingIndia itself towardauthoritarianism.

“Theprivatemediaarevigorousanddiverse,and investigationsandscrutinyofpoliticiansdooccur.However,attacksonpressfreedomhaveescalateddramaticallyundertheModigovernment,and reporting has becomesignifi��cantly less ambitiousin recentyears,” the report

said,citingtheuseofsecurity,defamation,seditionandcontempt of court laws toquietcriticalmediavoices.

“Separately,revelationsofcloserelationshipsbetweenpoliticians, business executives and lobbyists on onehandandleadingmediapersonalitiesandownersofmedia outlets, on the other,have dented public confi��dence in thepress,” the reportsaid.

OntheU.S.,theFreedomHousesaidtheriskystateofAmerican democracy wason display during the January6attackontheCapitol.Itlisted what it called theTrump presidency’s “ unprecedented attacks” onAmerican democracy (examples included were dismissing inspectors generaltosowingmistrustoverthe

electoral system). The U.S.dropped three points overoneyear,downto83/100.

“ …TheUnitedStateswillneed to work vigorously tostrengthen its institutionalsafeguards, restore its civicnormsanduphold thepromiseofitscoreprinciplesforallsegmentsofsocietyifitisto protect its venerable democracy and regain globalcredibility.”

China, classifi��ed as ‘notfree’,droppedapointfromlast year going down to 9/100.

“Themalign infl��uenceofthe regime in China, theworld’smostpopulousdictatorship, was especially profound in 2020,” the reportsayscitingBeijing’sdisinformationandcensorshipcampaignfollowingtheoutbreakofCOVID19.

India is ‘partly free’, says U.S. thinktankModigovernmentcrackeddownoncritics:report

Sriram Lakshman The Supreme Court onWednesdaysaidacommitteeshouldbeformedtoresolve theproblemofpendency of cheque bouncecases.

A BenchledbyChiefJustice of India Sharad A.Bobdeishearingasuomotu case on the high pendency of cheque bouncecasesacrossthecountry.

The court asked SolicitorGeneralTusharMehtaand Additional SolicitorGeneralVikramjitBanerjeeto appear before it onMarch4tofi��nalisethedepartments and offi��cialswhooughttobemadepartofthecommittee.

SC for panelon chequebounce cases

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi

ExpressingreservationovertheuseofPrimeMinisterNarendraModi’sphotograph on vaccinationcertifi��cates,theTrinamoolCongress in West Bengalsaidthemodelcodeofconducthadbeenviolated.

A delegation of Trinamoolleaders,ledbyMinisterforUrbanDevelopmentFirhad Hakim, have complainedtotheoffi��ceoftheChief Electoral Offi��cer,West Bengal, stating thatgovernment machinerywasbeingusedforfurtheringpoliticalpurposes.

StateBJPpresidentDilipGhoshsaidthevaccinationdrive had started beforethe announcement of theelectiondates.

Trinamoolagainst use ofPM’s photo

Special Correspondent

Kolkata

Thecountry’seducationsystem should break throughlinguisticbarriersinordertoensure that those in ruralareas or from poor homeswerenotdeprivedofopportunities to let their talentfl��ourish,PrimeMinisterNarendra Modi said onWednesday.

Addressing a webinar oneducation initiatives in theUnionBudget,hestatedthatthefocusonlearninginlocallanguages was one of themost important improvements being broughtthrough the new NationalEducationPolicy.

Therewasnolackoftalentin the country, and thosewho knew only their ownlanguagesshouldnotbeexcludedfromitsdevelopmentjourney.Itwasimportanttoworkinmissionmodetoensurethatthetalentofthosefrom rural areas or frompoor families were not al

limiting knowledge and researchwasabiginjusticetothe country’s potential. Infact, opportunities wereopening in sectors such asspace, atomic energy andagriculture for talentedyouth.

TheUnionBudget,heasserted, had broadened thegovernment’s eff��orts to linkeducationwithemployabilityandentrepreneurialcapability.Therewasanemphasis on equity of access andinstitution building. Hepointed to the National Research Foundation, whichwasbeingsetupwithanearmarked budget of ₹��50,000crore.

Itwastheresponsibilityofall academics and languageexpertstomakesurethatthebest content in the countryandtheworldwereavailableinIndianlanguages.Thiswasdefi��nitelypossibleinthiseraoftechnology.

Back to basics

This must be done fromprimarytohighereducation,withcontentcreation in Indian languages for all subjects,whethermedical,engineering, technology ormanagement. The NationalLanguage Translation Missionwasalsokeytoensuringthis,henoted.

Mr.Modipointedoutthat

lowedtodie,butwererathergiven opportunities tobloom,heurged.“ForbuildinganAtmanirbharBharat,itisimportantthattheyouthhave selfconfi��dence. Selfconfi��dence comes whenyouthhavefaithintheireducation, skills and knowledge,”heobserved.

‘Linguistic barriers to education must go’PrimeMinistersaysnationaleducationpolicyfocusesonlearninginlocallanguages

Special Correspondent

New Delhi

ThePunjabgovernmentonWednesday lashed out atUttar Pradesh for allegingthat it was “shamelessly”protectingcriminalturnedpoliticianMukhtarAnsari.AppearingbeforeaBenchledbyJusticeAshokBhushan, senior advocate DushyantDave,forPunjab,criticisedtheU.P.government’spleatotransferAnsarifromtheRoparjailinPunjabtoaU.P.prisontostandtrial.

SolicitorGeneralTusharMehta,forU.P.,soughtAnsari’s transfer,adding thathe was named in 30 FIRsandanaccusedin14trials.

Punjab govt.protectingAnsari: U.P.

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

TheaccusedinthemurderofaminorgirlinaBulandshahr village was arrestedonWednesdayfromHimachal Pradesh, police said.Thebodyofthe13yearoldwas recovered by a policeteam from a pit in thehouse of the accused onTuesday.

Bulandshahr SSP SantoshKumarSinghsaidHarendra,whoworkedasalabourer in Delhi, hasadmittedtothecrime.

District Magistrate RavindraKumar said theadministrationwouldproviderelief to the family underthe Rani Laxmibai MahilaandBalSammanKosh.

U.P. girl murderaccused held in Himachal

Special Correspondent

Ghaziabad

A facelift for the pastThe revamped ICF gallery at Chennai Rail Museum takes one

through the agency’s manufacturing history — from sleeper wagonsand Metro coaches to the Vande Bharat Express

The Chennai Rail Museum onNew Avadi Road is attracting asteadystreamofvisitorssincereopeninglatelastyear,postliftingoflockdownrestrictions.Whilstthetoy trainexperiencealone is somethingworththe₹��50entryticket,themuseumishometoatreasuretroveofinformationforthoseprepared to go off�� the rails toknowmoreaboutthejourneyofIndia’s indigenous train wagonmanufacturinghistory.

However, standing out amidthevariousexhibitsandgalleriesistherecentlyrevampedICFgallery(previouslytheDiamondJubileegallery).

Revampedinlate2019,butclosed to the public soonafter since a nationallockdown was enforced, the ICFgallerytakesvisitorsonajourney—withthehelpofphotographic exhibitsandminiaturemodels — from theformative yearsof IntegralCoach Factoryto the presentday.

The rede

signedgalleryisthehandiworkofChennaibased interior designerNalini Radhakrishnan, who haspreviously worked on revampprojects for the Madras HighCourt museum and the GovernmentMuseuminEgmore.

The miniatures on display attheICFgalleryrefl��ecttheagency’svarious contributions over theyears to Indian Railways — fromhumble sleeper coaches to thewagonsthatarenowapartoftheVande Bharat Express. With achestnutcolourscheme,roundedpillarsandminiaturefocuslights(replacing the humble ‘Governmentoffi��cetubelight’)forilluminatingtheexhibits,theICFgallerystandsout.

Nalini,whomanages thefi��rmInterScapeInteriorsandLand

scaping, prefers workingwithwood,asevidencedbythe work that has under

goneinconvertingthepillarsinthegallery.Whatwere once bland con

crete pillars are now dark andglossy.Nalinisaysshehasusedactualwoodtocreateafalseenclosurearoundtheconcretepillars.“Itisthestyleofpillarsyouwouldfi��ndintheMadrasHighCourtmuseum. I took a few Railway offi��cialstoshowthemmyworkthere,andtheywere impressedbythepillars that they insisted theywantedthesamefortheICFgalleryaswell,”sheadds.

Nalini,whoalsoundertakescivilprojectsthroughherfi��rm,hasa historyoftakingupGovernmentprojects, something she says involves balancing diff��ering opinionsintermsofconceptualisingandaesthetics.

Forinstance,attheICFgallery,she says the Railways managementwantedtouseLCDboxestodisplayarchivedimagesofformerPrime Ministers, Railway MinistersandtheQueenofEnglandvisitingtheICF.

“Iwantedtousestainedglasswindows for the exhibits andcreateanarchedentranceintothegallery, but the budget wasn’tthere,”sheadds.

Nevertheless,scoresoffamiliescontinue to visit the ICF galleryandrevelinthehistoryoftheIndianRailways.Andalso,ridethattoytrain.

On track NaliniRadhakrishnan;(topleft)toytrainattheRailMuseum;theICFgallery * SPECIAL

ARRANGEMENT

Volcanoes, thunderstorms,oceans,thesun—lifeonEarthfl��ourisheswhenthere isaperfectbalancebetweenthesevariedgeologicalandclimaticconditions. Sony BBC Earth’s APerfect Planet addsafi��fthdrivingforce:humans.

Produced by Huw CordeyandnarratedbyDavidAttenborough,A Perfect Planet marriesearth sciences with animal behaviourinBBC’sfamiliarstyleofblue chip fi��lmmaking. EditedexcerptsfromanemailinterviewwithHuw:

Why do youbelieve a serieslike this one istimely? ● When westarted in January 2016,wecouldnever have imagined the worldwe now fi��nd ourselvesvisàvis the pandemic.The pandemic has ex

posedourvulnerabilityasaspecies.Wemighthavethoughtwewereallconqueringbutthevirushas shown thatwearenotquite as ‘in control’ as it appeared. As a consequence, climatechangeisnowprettymuchuniversally accepted and mostpeoplenowrealisethatit’sgoingtohaveamassiveimpactonus—thatis,ifwedon’tdosomethingaboutit.Therehasneverbeena

bettertime,therefore,toweanourselvesoff��fossilfuelsandmovetowards a greeneconomy.

What are thelocations youshot in? ● Wefi��lmedina

lot of verychallengingand extreme

locations. Forinstance, Lake

Natron in Tanzania, where wefi��lmednestinglesser fl��amingos, isone of the world’s

mostcorrosivebodiesofwater—sotoxicitcanburnskin.Theonlywaytoaccessthefl��amingocolony,outinthecentre,isbyhovercraft which we shipped outtoTanzaniafromtheUK.

We fi��lmed in the active volcanic crater on Fernandina IslandintheGalapagos.Thisvolcano actually erupted twoweeksbeforetheshoot.Theaimwas to fi��lm land iguanas descending the crater slopes andlaying their eggs in the warmvolcanicashatthebottom.Thisrequiredthecrewtodescendtothe bottom too, which, due tothe threat of earthquakes androck avalanches, was a hazardous operation. It’s why morepeoplehavebeeninspacethanthebottomofthisvolcano.

Eachstoryobviouslyneededtoillustratethethemeoftheepisode.Butwhenthethemesaretheplanet’snaturalforces,thisischallenging.Howdoyoushowanimals benefi��ting from oceancurrents, which you can’t actuallysee?

Visuals in blue-chip series,

wondrous and dramatic asthey are, can get repetitive.How do you make sure eachseries has a personality ofits own?● Yes,thisisoneofthebiggestchallengesinourgenre—particularly as animal behaviourdoesn’treallychangefromonegeneration to the next (a lionhuntsawildebeestinexactlythesamewaytodayasitdidathousandyearsago).Eachbigbluechipseriesmustsomehowstillraisethebaronwhathasgonebeforeitandtechnologyisoftentheanswertohowwedothis.

Technological developmentscaneithergiveafreshfeeltoafamiliar story or allow you tofi��lmsomethingforthefi��rsttime.Currently, sequences are verycharacterdrivenbutthere’salotyoucando,ofcourse,withnarrationandmusic.

It is amazing that DavidAttenborough is voicing theseries at 94...● IworkedwithDavidonLife ofMammals (LOM),20yearsago,and people were talking aboutwhothenextDavidAwasgoingtobe then!Myfi��rst shootwithhimwasinAlaska,fi��lmingbears.Itwasespeciallymemorablebecausewegotanamazingshotofa bearleapingonasalmonbehind David and right on cuewithhiswords!

On A Perfect Planet, lockdown happened in the earlystagesofthepostproduction,sothreeoutoffi��vescriptshadtobedoneathishomeinLondon.Herecordedthemfromhisdiningroom,withthewallscoveredinduvet covers to stop soundbouncing around, and a cablerunning from the microphonetoourdubbingmixerinthegarden. I was monitoring it fromBristolonaZoomlink.

Clearly, this was far from atraditionalwayofrecordingfora major BBC series but Davidtookitallinhisstride.Thatkindof sums David up. Nothingseemstofazehim!

A PerfectPlanetpremieres inIndia on March 8, 9 pm on SonyBBC Earth.

What makes

Earth home

Up in the air, down in thevolcanoes — Sony BBC Earth’s

A Perfect Planet, narrated byDavid Attenborough, travels

across 31 countries to explainearth sciences through

animal behaviour

The Goldilocks theory (Below)SeriesproducerHuwCordey * HUW CORDEY / SILVERBACK FILMS 2019

Sweta Akundi

CMYK

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SHOWCASE

A knotty

STORY

Love found them easily but ittook10monthsforMayaMcManus and her fi��ancé ShamaunAhmedtofi��nd anauthoritytosolemnisetheirnikkah.

“Itwasquitethehunt,”laughsMaya,asthecouplewaskeenonhaving a woman qazi conductthe wedding.“Therewasnoinformation anywhere either onlineorinperson,”shesays.Theygot in touch with the BhartiyaMahilaMuslimAndolan(BMMA),Mumbai,andgotalead.AndinDecember2018,justamonthbefore their wedding in Kolkata,MayaandShamaunfoundHakimaKhatoon,theirqazi.

“Ididn’tknowwhatthelegalitieswere.AroundthesametimeI saw a newspaper article thatsaiditwaslegalforwomentobecomeqazis,”saysMaya,addingthatbothherfamilyandherfi��ancé’swerequiteproudaboutthisdecision and there was noopposition.

Hakima,onherpart,wasdelighted.“Itgavemeimmensesatisfactiontocarryoutsuchabigtasksuccessfully.Everybodywasexcited to see a woman qazi,”says Hakima of her fi��rstevertrystwiththisprofession.AnemployeethenwithNariOShishuKalyanKendrainHowrah,WestBengal,whichcounselswomenandworkswithvictimsofdomesticviolence,Hakimasayswhentheopportunitypresenteditselfto train as a qazi in 2017, shesignedupforit,alongwithhercolleagueJamilaLasker.

“BeforesettingouttopursuemycourseinGujaratandMumbai, I spoke to the imam at themosqueandheassuredmeitwasabsolutelyfi��neasthereareequalrightsforallinIslam,”shesays,addingthatduringthelockdown,

shewasapproachedbyanumberofwomenwhowereinterestedinsigningupwithawomanqazi.

Recently, actor Dia Mirza’sweddingwasoffi��ciatedbyawomanpriest.Theforayofwomenintopriesthoodisaprogressivetrendbutnotentirelynew.Inthe‘80s and ‘90s, KolkatabasedGauri Dharmapal conducted aclutch of weddings, includingthatofactorAparnaSen’selderdaughter.Gauri’sdaughter,Rohini Dharmapal, who carries onthetraditioniscurrentlybookedtill 2023. “When ‘high’ societypeopleengageafemalepriestitismoreorlessastylestatementbutwhenthemiddleclassdoesit, it isasignthatthesocietyischanging,”saysRohini.

Updating tradition “My mother was a SanskritteacheratLadyBrabourneCollege. She translated Sanskritmantras intoBengalitomakeitunderstandable for all at thewedding,”saysRohini.NowRohini and her team also explainthe mantras in English if thebrideandgroomaskforit.

“Oneofthethingsthatma didwastalkfamiliesoutofperformingkanyadaan,”saysRohini.Inhercapacity,Rohinialsoencourages families to do away withpracticesthatare“consideredregressive”.

She explains how, in the Vedas, the wedding is about promises that thecouplemakes tooneanother.Rituals likemaalabadal, sindur daan, kanya-daan...camemuchlater.“Whyshouldthebridealonewearsin-dur todepictthatsheismarried?Whyshouldshecoverherface?Why should the mother of thebridenotattendaceremony?Wedon’tadvocatewearingshaakhapola either.Wedonotforce,we

just educate. My son says wemustreformwiththetimes.”

Agrees Brahmaramba Maheshwari,awomanpriestbasedoutofMysuru.“Thebrideisnotanobject.Sowhyusetheworddaan?”shesays.Since2000,shehasconductedmorethan1,000weddings as well as griha pra-vesh pujas,upanayana andho-mams.Thisawarenessisspreading across India, and also theworld. The current slew of Indian women priests have travelledfarandwidefromDetroittoDarjeelingbindingpeople inholy matrimony. They also organiseonlineclassesforlearnersinIndia,Sweden,Australiaetc.

Nagpurbased Shuba Taitrainedatamandir inhercity.

“There is no fi��xed duration forthecourse.Itdependsonone’sgraspingpower.Itcouldtakesixmonthstoayearormore,”saysShuba.Shestartedpractisingataround the same time as Brahmaramba. It was a maledominatedfi��eldbackthen,shesays.“Theyasked,‘whyareyoudoinga man’swork?’Butasmorepeopleencouragedme,Iwentaheadwith it.” She has noticed a lotmorewomenenteringthisprofession.“Shaadi havan isquiteelaborate and it takes time tomasterit,”sheadds.

Beauty in simplicityWithwomenbecomingindependent,theynolongerwanttoadheretoageoldcustomsthattake

awayfromtheprogresssocietyismaking,saysShuba.Sheadds,“IwasconductingaweddinginBihar, where the bride’s motherwasinsistentonkanyadaan butthe bride and groom refused,”says Shuba, adding that sometimestheyarenotjustpriestsbutalsoendupasthereferee.

Rohinihadtointervenewhena familybroughttheirdaughterwho did not want to wear sin-door.“TheyexpectedmetotakeupforthembutI,ofcourse,wasonthedaughter’sside,”shesays.

More than overthetop rituals,whatisimportantistounderstand what the Veda says,adds Brahmaramba. “It sayscommitment isveryimportant.Onceyouholdhands,youdon’t

leave.Iexplaineverythingindetailsotheparticipantsattheceremony understand what themantras mean,” she says, explainingthemeaningofthewordvivah.Itcomesfromvi meaningspecial relation between body,mindandsoul,andvah meaningvahana, a vehicle that carriesthemahead.

ForRohini,whatgiveshersatisfaction is when the couplechantsthemantras togetherandunderstands each word. “TheyareabletounderstanditbecauseI translateitforthem,”shesays.Asaresult,peoplewhogotmarried 50 years back want to getmarriedagaintobettersoakitallin.

“A couple celebrating their

10th anniversaryin2022hasalready booked me to conducttheir wedding all over again,”laughsRohini.Sheandherteamof six believe in a practical approach.Theideaistomoderniseit;theritualsareaboutanhourlong.

“IntheUpanishadsitismentioned, mata nirmata bhavatimeans mother creates everything,” says Brahmaramba. “Wearetheboss,sowhyshouldwenotchoose toprofesswhateverwelike.”

With Women’s Day around the corner, we take a look at how an increasing number

of women are interested in becoming priestsand qazis, and what it takes to be one

Equally wed Scenesfromweddingssolemnisedbyawomanqazi andwomenpriests

* ARPAN BANERJEE AND SPECIAL

ARRANGEMENT

CLOSER HOME

ChennaibasedSheelaKSarathhasoffi��ciatedaround19weddings inthecityaswellas inMumbai,Hyderabad,Mangalore,NewYork,LosAngelesandLasVegas.“Iamnotanordainedpriest,”shesays.“IbelongtotheBrahmaSamaj,whereanyolderpersonclosetothefamilycanoffi��ciateawedding,”shesays.Watchingherfatherperformweddings,Sheelapickedupon it. In2002,sheconductedherniece’swedding intheUS. Interestingly,shealsoconductedherdaughter’swedding.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

PRIYADARSHINI PAITANDY

Pradeep Kumar

November.They were about 70% through

when David realised they wererunning short of funds. SoNaviluna turned to Kickstarter, and managed tohittheir£5,000goalinanailbitingfi��nish.Backontrack, they aim to completerestorationbyApril2021,andopentwomonthslater.

South Indian soulExplaining his fascination with theproperty in a lilting Kannadainfl��uenced British accent, David says,“Thearchitectureisjustgorgeous.ItistheancestralpropertyofaMadrasfamily,butnobodyhaslivedthereinadecade. The building is a hybrid ofMysoreandTamilstyles,speakingof

Batteredbyage,a120yearoldbungalowintheheartofMysuruhasfoundanunlikelyraisond’etre:Chocolate.

Helming the restoration is DavidBelo,whodelightsintiltingatwindmills.TenyearsagoDavidarrivedinMysuruonanotherQuixoticmission:tocreateawhollyIndian,artisanchocolate from bean to bar. His artisanbrandEarthloaf—renamedNaviluna— exceededexpectationswhenitwaslaunchedin2012.

Using underrated Indian cacaobeans, the bars are handcrafted atlow temperatures to highlight theirterroirinfl��uencedpersonalities.

Given the pleasing complexity ofthebars,itisnotsurprisingthattheircreatorDavid isa restlessmaverick,eagertolearnfromeveryadventure.Born inCapeTown,heworkedasabartender in London and Sharm ElSheik(Egypt),movedintoartisanbakinginGlastonbury,and—betweenallthis — found the time to become a“frontmanandguitarshredder”witha punkrockbandfortwoyearsinLondon.

Over the phone from Mysuru,whereheiskneedeepinlimeplaster,bricks and wooden beams, Davidsounds elated with the busy chaos.Determinedtorestoreagracefulheritagebungalowinthetown’scentralbusinessdistrictbyconvertingitintoachocolatefactoryandbrasserie,Davidteamedupwith INTACH(IndianNationalTrustforArtandCulturalHeritage) and the family that owns it, toplan the restoration as lockdowneasedinJunelastyear.Workbeganin

thefamily’shistory.Thereisacentralcourtyardwithwoodenpillars, typi

calofwhatyouwouldseeinMadras.”

Thebungalowretainsitsoriginalstainedglassteakwindows,invibrantscarletanddeepblue,andhasstoically weathered the

years.Explainingthattheyhave

to“usethematerialsusedatthat time for restoration” David

saystheyareworkingwithnaturaloxidecolourssourcedfromRajasthan.

“AndwehaveartisansfromJharkhand here who are crushing oystershells for the limeplaster,”headds.“Themortarisalllimeplaster.Thereis no steel reinforcement, all claybricks.”

Fortunately, the project was not

overwhelming as David got in somepractice beforehand. “I was quitelucky. I moved into a 100yearoldhouse and fi��nished the restorationwiththeownerbeforemovingin.”Hejokes about unintentionally joiningthefamilybusiness.“Mygrandfather,originally from Portugal, was a contractorandabuilderinMozambique,”hesays,addingenthusiastically,“I’mlovingtheprocess.”

David’s plans for the bungalow,which is walking distance from MysorePalace,includesettingupabrasserie, dessert room, artisan bakeryandalfrescocafé.OnKickstarter,theirstretch goals include kombucha ontapandaluxeespressomachine.Thecafé will have desks for coworking.Davidhopestocreateaspacethatwillevolveintoaculturalhub.

Forthefood,likehischocolate,heintendstokeepthesoulSouthIndian.“Theideaisthatthefl��avourswillbelocal, and the ingredients local, butthecompositionwillbeEuropean,”hesays. “The heritage culture here isgreat,”hestates,addingthathelovesthelocalfi��shcurryandmasaladosas.“Howeverthereisspaceforanewagegourmetculture.”

Plansincludeservingcuredfi��shontheterrace.ButDavidhasnotstartedworkingonthemenuyet.“Sofar,Iamonly thinking about fl��avours,” hestates, adding with a laugh, “First, Ineed to do the electric lines andplumbing.”

Artisan brand Naviluna is restoringa heritage bungalow, at walking

distance from the Mysore Palace,and converting it to a brasserie

Shonali Muthalaly

Rebuilding with bricks, oysters and

chocolate

CMYK

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DELHI THE HINDU

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SHOWCASE

■ Across

1 Actually(2,4)

4 Foodretailer(6)

9 Blindlyimitative(7)

10 smallfi��sh(usedto

catchmackerel?)(5)

11 Basket(fora

mackereloncecaught?)

(5)

12 Retsina(anag)—not

sonice(7)

13 Sufferingfrom

intensegrief(11)

18 Playaway?(34)

20 Germanartist,d.

1528(5)

22 Unshakeablebelief

(5)

23 Meltedcheeseon

toast(7)

24 Astral(6)

25 Native—seafood(6)

■ Down

1 Sixfooter(6)

2 Distresssignal(5)

3 Bookthatarouses

terror(7)

5 Putsinjeopardy(5)

6 Lightautomaticrifl��e

nicebra(anag)(7)

7 Gotobed(6)

8 Boxing?(3,5,3)

14 Raunchymaterial(7)

15 Wellbehaved—

soldierattendingtoa

superiorofficer(7)

16 Crams(6)

17 Publicspeaker(6)

19 Fluidsaidtofl��owin

theveinsofthegods(5)

21 Contradict(5)

THE GUARDIAN QUICK CROSSWORD-13402

SolutionwillappearinMetroPlusdated

March11,2021

Solution No. 13401

To play The GuardianQuick Crossword, The Hindu Crypticcrossword, Sudoku &other puzzles online,scan the QR code.

Inmanyways,LMLakshmananislivinghisboyhooddream.“Igotinterested in automobiles because of mygrandfather, who had a StandardCompanion,(a1955estatecar)withabigboot,andaschildren,weusedtolovetravellinginitinandaroundKaraikudi.IusedtofeelsadthatIdidn’thave enough money to buy the carmyself.”

Decades later, Lakshmanan, whorunsasecuritycamerabusinesswithclients in Karaikudi and Chennai,ownsamuseumfullofnotjustvintagecars,butalsotwowheelersandthreewheelers.Andasanextensionofhisloveforotherformsofclassictechnology,hehasaddedtoys,camerasandrecordingequipmenttothecollectionathisChettinadVintageGalleryinPillaiyarpatti,TirupatturTaluk.

Situatedinthemidstofabusypilgrimageroutethatcoversthehistoriclocal Karpaga Vinayagar temple andthe nearby Kunnakudi Shanmughanathartemple,ChettinadVintageGalleryisatimecapsuleofthepassionsthatoncedrovetheNagaratharChettiarcommunityofthisculturerichregionofTamilNadu.

“TheChettiarswereamongthefi��rstnonresident Indians (NRIs) of ourState.Theymadetheirnameoverseasinfi��nanceandtradefromthe1920s,and brought back beautiful thingsfromwherevertheytravelled.Manyofthe old foreign goods in this regioncan be traced back to that period. Ihaveevenseena1920WillysOverlandcar(madeinCanada)inanearbyvillage,”saysLakshmanan.

Antique landChettinadtodayisaclusterof6070villagesmainlyintheSivagangaidistrict,withasmallportionintheneighbouring Pudukottai district. It isknownforitsstatelyhomesfurnishedwithBurma teakwoodandotherimportedmaterial.

“Thecommunitywasbadlyhitfi��rstby the repatriation from Burma followingtheSecondWorldWarandinthe 1960s, and then in India by theban on the pawnbroking business[among the main Chettiar occupations]duringtheEmergency.Manyfamiliesstartedsellingoff��theirpossessions to fi��nance their children’seducationandshift tobiggercities,”saysLakshmanan.

Ironically,thisledtoanewlineofbusiness, inChettinadantiques,andas a visit to Karaikudi’s famed fl��eamarketwillshow,nearlyeverything,fromornatelycarvedcastironfurniture to teakwood doorways and ceramic cupboard handles pluckedfromthepalatialhomesintheregion,isupforsale.

“I sourcedmanyof the things formy collection, especially the clocks,metal toys and some cars, from theChettiarfamilyhomesinandaroundPillaiyarpatti,” says Lakshmanan. “Iwasamazedtoseethenoveltiesthatpeoplecollectedinthosedays.”

Auto historyA framed driving licence from the1950sgreetsvisitorsattheentrance.

Thewallsaredecoratedwithroad

signsandvintagemotoringadvertisements,andacollectionofblackandwhitephotographsoflocalresidentsposingwiththeirautomobiles.

“Cars in those days were oftenpasseddownfromfathertoson,likeproperty,”saysLakshmanan,addingthathisuncleinheritedhisgrandfather’sChampion,anddroveitwellintothe1990s.

Automobileloverscantakeacloserlookatseveralrestoredmodelshere,rangingfromastrikingredAustin10Tourer1933convertiblewithwoodenspokewheels,boughtfromarestorerin Jaipur. Next to it is parked a 1951MorisMinormadeinEngland.

“Ittookmetwoyearstorestorethiscar,”Lakshmanansays,asheturnsonitsdistinctivepopup‘semaphore’indicator lights. During lockdown, hehas been working on the undercarriageofa 1956babybluePlymouth,boughtfromafi��lmproducerinChennai.

Lakshmanan’s tin toys have retainedtheirlustrouspaintwork;heretoo,miniaturecarsareinthemajority.Therearetransistorsandtelephones,and some unique offi��ce equipmentlikea1930sGermanBrunsviga(Brainsof Steel) calculator salvaged from a

shop.AsatributetoKaraikudi’shistorical

linkswithTamilcinemaproduction,themuseumalsohasanenclosuredevoted to vintage fi��lm cameras. “It isdiffi��cult to believe today that therewereatleast4,000camerabrandsinthemarketatonetime.”

For some reason, spy camerasseemtohavebeenpopular,asLakshmananshowsusavitrinefi��lledwithsamples.“ThisisasubminiaturePetitaxcamera,only2cmhighand3cmwide, made in West Germany,” hesays.

During the World Wars, many ofthese were strapped on to pigeonsand used as a rudimentary type ofwartime‘drone’surveillanceandaerialphotography.

It’seasytolosetrackoftime(despitealltheclocksinthe4,000squarefeethall)intheChettinadVintageGallery,butLakshmananishappytohavevisitorslinger.

“Wearesolostinoursmartphonesthesedays,thatweoftenforgethowwecreatedsomuchtechnology.”hesays.“Mymuseumisforpeople,especiallychildren,whowanttorelivethegoldenerawhenmachineswerenotjustfunctionalbutalsobeautiful.”

Museum in

motion

The ChettinadVintage Gallery inPillaiyarpatti has a

motley collection ofrare cars, clocks,

cameras and more— all in working

condition

Old is gold (Clockwisefromleft)Restoredcarsfromdiff��erentgenerations;museumfounderLMLakshmananwithanEdisonAudiophone * NAHLA NAINAR

Nahla Nainar

Dicearerolled,tokensaresecured,movesareplanned...Alltofi��ndone’swaytoatextilepatternandearnananna (ancientIndiancurrency).

Onceyouclinchettu anna (eightannas),youwin.Fortoday,youareaweaver hailing from Kanchipuramandyour tasks includemakingpatterns and decoding others, to putyour creative abilities and coloursense to test. There are chances ofother weavers disrupting your efforts,andbeingquickandeffi��cientiskey.

TimehaltsatthetempletownofKanchipuram,knownforitssilksthatareeponymouswitheveryoccasioninSouthIndia,inthisunlikelystrategy board game. Title Ettana — TheLooms of Kanchi, the twotofourplayer,peaco*ckbluehued,strategygameisatributetotheloomsandrenowned craftsmanship of weaversthere.Thedesignofthegamesaysasmuch,repletewithtraditionalmotifs— dancinggirlsonthecover,actioncards sporting Bharatanatyam mu-dras andacolourschemedesignedtoappealtoIndiansensibilities.

Ettanaisinfactadirectportaltoher Tamil roots, says ZurichbasedMadhumitaMani,thecreatorofthegame and founder ofMad4Fun Games. Anavidboardgameenthusiastherself,MadhumitafeelsthatEttana…refl��ectsapartofherowncultural identity. “Theconcept follows theidea of depicting theworkingsofaloomontoaboardgame.And,howtheweaverscomeupwith designs that are oneofakind, whichcan’t be seen anywhere else,” saysMadhumita.

Recognising and further shininglight on the artform of weaving remain at the centre of the game,whichhasbeeninthemakingforthepastoneyear.

“Whatwouldhavebeentheweavers’thoughtprocessacoupleof100years ago? How would they havecommunicatedandsoldtheirwork?Howwouldtheexchangehavehappened?Istartedthinkingalongthoselines,”continuesMadhumita.Ittookheracoupleofmonthstozeroinona centralconcept.Thegameplayfocussesonreplicatingcertainpatternson the board using the roll of dice

and cards. The complexity of eachdesignandtheirworth,vary.Thereare 36 diff��erent designs. The fi��rstplayer who manages to create patternswortheightannas,winsthe3540minuteslonggame.

Apart from the concept, the designiswhatmakesEttanaintriguing.Ontheelaboratelydesignedboxarefi��gurinesofdancinggirlsengagedindiff��erentstagesofweaving.Theyareaccompanied by sculptural motifsthat are specifi��c to the temples ofKanchipuram.

“Therecallvalueofthedesignisvery high. If you are familiar withKanchipuram and handloom, anycomponentofthegamewilltakeyoubackinstantly,”saysthedesignerofthegameDarshiniSundar.Hereducationalbackgroundintextilesaidedthis journey, adds the Bengalurubasedillustrator.

HerpastworkwithTHDC(TamilNaduHandicraftsDevelopmentCorporation)andDakshinaChitraincludingacurationofanexhibitionshowing the handloom process, helpedthisproject.Whiletheboarditselfis

notmadeoffabric,ittriestoreplicatepatterns that are oftenseeninKanchipuramsilks along with templemotifsthatgiveita distinct South Indianidentity.

Is there a reasonforchoosingKanchipuram silks? “We are

bothwomen,wearefromChennai,welovesilksareesandwehavebeenbrides!” says Darshini, laughing.Madhumita joins in, “Since I was achild,Ihavealwayshadthisfascinationtowardsfabricsandsarees,particularlywithincredibledesignsthatarenotsovisiblethesedays.”

Havingsaidthat,anyotherweaving style of fabric would still havemadesenseforthegame,ifnotKanchipuramsilks,sheadds.“Ultimately,itisamanifestationofhowtradition meets the modern,” saysMadhumita.ItisapieceofIndiathatyougettocarry,concludesDarshini.

The game’s pilot samples are outand production will begin in April.For queries and pre-orders, write [emailprotected]

Don the garb of a weaver and create patternsin this boardgame, inspired by Kanchipuram’sfamed weaving traditions and fabrics

The eight-anna rule

A new take Ettanaisatwotofourplayergamethatcanbecompletedin35to40minutes

* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

............................................................................................

Recognising and

further shining light

on the artform of

weaving remain at

the centre of the

game

Gowri S

A June opening TheheritagebuildinginMysurubeingrestoredbyNaviluna’sDavidBelo(inset)

* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

CMYK

A ND-NDE

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THE HINDU DELHI

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2021 13EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Atleast38peoplewerekilledin Myanmar on Wednesdayas security forces openedfi��reonprodemocracyprotestersinanumberofcities,theUNconfi��rmed,callingitthe“bloodiestday”ofprotests against military rule inthecountry.

“Only today, 38 peopledied,”UNenvoytoMyanmarChristineSchranerBurgenertold reporters, adding thatmore than 50 people haddied in total since the military takeover, with manymorewounded.

Myanmar has been inuproar since February 1,whenthemilitarylauncheda coupanddetainedcivilianleader Aung San Suu Kyi,endingthenation’sdecadelong experiment with democracyandsparkingdailymassprotests.

“Todaywasthebloodiestday since the coup happened,” she noted, withoutproviding any further details,includingabreakdownofthedeaths.

International pressure ismounting—Westernpowers

haverepeatedlyhitthegenerals with sanctions — andBritainhascalledforaUnitedNationsSecurityCouncilmeeting on Friday. But thejuntahasignoredtheglobalcondemnation, respondingtotheuprisingwithescalating strength, and securityservicesusedlethalforceondemonstrators again onWednesday.

Earlier, AFP recorded at

least17deathsacrossMyanmaronWednesday,withMonywainthecentralSagaingregion registering at leastseven.

“What we can confi��rm isseven people have died,”said an emergency doctor,whodeclinedtoprovidehisname.

In the outskirts of commercialhubYangonatleastsix demonstrators died, ac

cording to a rescue workerandlocaljournalist.

In Mandalay, Myanmar’ssecond largest city, twodemonstrators were killed, adoctor confi��rmed, addingthatoneofthevictimswas19yearsoldandwasshotinthehead.

Another 19yearoldprotester, engineering studentAungMyintMyat,diedafterbeingshotinSalin.

Atleast38protesterskilledinMyanmarSecurity forces crack down on activists in multiple cities; Britain calls for UNSC meeting to discuss crisis

Agence France-Presse

Yangon

Under attack: Protesters behind a barricade are enveloped by tear gas during a demonstrationagainst the military coup in Yangon on Wednesday. * AFP

The Biden administrationwillstoppursuingthenomination of Indian AmericanNeeraTandenforDirectorofthepowerfulOffi��ceofManagementandBudget(OBM),after Ms. Tanden wrote tothe President withdrawinghernominationonTuesday.

It had increasingly becomeclearthatMs.Tandencould not win enough supportinanevenlydividedSenate. Her strongly wordedtweets were central to theoppositiontohercandidacyfromSenatorsonbothsidesoftheaisle,aswasherworkat the Center for AmericanProgress,aliberalthinktankthatMs.Tandenhasled.

Hadshewonthenomination,Ms.Tandenwouldhavebecome the fi��rst person ofcolour to lead the WhiteHouseBudgetOffi��ce,whichdecides funding prioritiesand ensures that agencyrules and proposed legislationareinsyncwiththeadministration’s policies andbudget.

Ms.Tanden,whowasanadviserforHillaryClinton’s2008 and 2016 campaigns,worked as a director fordomestic policy in the BillClintonWhiteHouseandalsoadvisedBarackObamainhis2008campaign.

Hernominationhasbeenat risk ever since Joe Manchin,amoderateDemocratic Senator from West Virginia,opposedhercandidacylast month, saying that her“overtlypartisanstatementswill have a toxic and detrimentalimpactontheimportant working relationshipbetween members of Congress and the next directoroftheOffi��ceofManagementandBudget”.

AftertheNovemberelection, Ms. Tanden deletedmore than 1,000 tweets as

per reportsandduringherconfi��rmation hearing, shehad repeatedly apologisedforhercomments.

‘Double standards’

Mr. Manchin and Republicans opposing Ms. Tandenwere criticised by Democrats for adopting doublestandards for supportingTrump nominees who hadmade social media attacksandhadgreaterconfl��ictsofinterest. Former PresidentDonald Trump himself isknown to make verbal orwrittenpersonalattacksonhispoliticalopponents.

“Her nomination is verysignifi��cant for us AsianAmericanandPacifi��c Islanders. I do believe that thisdoublestandardshas todowiththefactthatshewouldbe a pioneer in that position,”JudyChu,aDemocratic member of the House ofRepresentatives, had saidabouttheTandenconfi��rmationinFebruary.

FormerDemocraticpresidentialhopefulSenatorBernieSanders,whoheadsthebudget committee thatgrilledMs.Tanden,hadalsoexpressedconcernoverhersuitabilityforthejobduringthe confi��rmation hearing.HehadaskedMs.Tandenifshewouldbeinfl��uencedbycorporationsthathaddonatedtotheCenterforAmeri

canProgressandbroughtupattacks from Ms. Tandenagainsthimandhis staff�� (areferencetoa2008incidentwithFaizShakir,whoeventuallyranthe2016Sanderscampaign).

TheWhiteHousepersistedwithMs.Tanden’snomination despite the growinguncertainty,hopingtomakeup for opposition from theDemocraticsideoftheaislewithsupportfrommoderateRepublicans.

WithcentristRepublicanslike Susan Collins of MainehavingsignalledtheiroppositiontoMs.Tanden,thingsreached an infl��ection pointthisweekfollowingameetingbetweenMs.TandenandmoderateRepublicanSenatorLisaMurkowskiofAlaska.PresidentJoeBidenandMs.TandenhaddecidedonTuesdayeveningtogiveupher nomination, the New

York Times reported,thoughMs.Murkowskisaidshehadneverconfi��rmedopposingMs.Tanden.

“Unfortunately, it nowseemsclearthatthereisnopathforwardtogainconfi��rmation, and I do not wantcontinued consideration ofmynomination tobeadistraction from your otherpriorities,”Ms.Tadenwrotein a letter to Mr. Biden onTuesday, a copy of whichwas released by the WhiteHouse.

Saying he accepted Ms.Tanden’s decision to withdraw her nomination, Mr.Biden suggested a diff��erentrole in the administrationforher.

“Ihavetheutmostrespectfor her record of accomplishment, her experienceandhercounsel,andIlookforwardtohavingherserveina role inmyAdministration.Shewillbringvaluableperspective and insight toourwork,”hesaid.

NeeraTandenwithdrawsnominationasbudgetchiefHer tweets were central to the opposition to her candidacy

Sriram Lakshman

Neera Tanden

The U.S. Department ofCommerce is preparing totaxaluminiumsheetexportersfrom18countriesafterdetermining on Tuesdaythat they had benefi��tedfrom subsidies anddumping.

The US InternationalTradeCommission(ITC),anindependentbody,mustapprove the fi��nal decision byApril 15 to impose antidumping or countervailingduties,adepartmentstatementsaid.

The investigation,launchedundertheDonaldTrumpadministration,hadbeenrequestedbynearlyadozenU.S.aluminiumalloymanufacturers, including

Arconic and Aleris Rolledproducts, which felt theywerebeingharmedbycompeting imports at lowerprices.

PresidentJoeBiden’sadministration determinedthatimportsfromGermanyinparticular($287millionin2019)benefi��tedfromdumping, ranging from 40% to242%.

Thesameistrueforaluminium alloy sheets fromBahrain ($241 million),which the administrationsaidbenefi��tedfrompricingbelow the cost of production or the local market of83%. Imports from India($123 million in 2019) havebenefi��tedfromsubsidiesfor35% to 89%, according totheU.S.investigation.

India,17countriesfaceU.S.antidumpingtax‘They gained from aluminium subsidies’

Agence France-Presse

Washington

ICC opens probe into warcrimes in Palestinian areasTHE HAGUE

The International Criminal

Court opened a formal

investigation on Wednesday

into alleged war crimes in the

Palestinian territories, in a

move blasted by Israeli

premier Benjamin Netanyahu

as the “essence of anti-

Semitism”. Palestinian autho-

rities hailed the decision by

ICC chief prosecutor Fatou

Bensouda as an “urgent and

necessary” probe into the

situation in the blockaded

Gaza Strip, along with the

Israeli-occupied West Bank

and east Jerusalem since

June 2014. Ms. Bensouda

said she had decided there

were “admissible potential

cases”“ on both sides, with

the investigation focusing on

the 2014 Gaza conflict, which

left more than 2,000 people

dead. AFP

ELSEWHERE

Asmanyas 23aircraftoftheIndian Air Force (IAF) andthe Indian Navy participatedinadisplayeventinColombo,astheSriLankaAirForce(SLAF)markedits70th

anniversary.“Asagestureofsolidarity,

andinkeepingwithyearsofcloseinteractionandcamaraderie between the twocountriesandtheirmilitaries,IAFandIndianNavywillparticipateintheeventwith

an aerobatic display by Sarang (Advance Light Helicopter), Surya Kiran(Hawks), Tejas Fighter Aircraft,TejasTrainerandtheDornierMaritimePatrolAircraft,”astatementfromtheIndian High Commissionsaid, ahead of the fl��ypastand display events in Colombo on Wednesday. IAFchief Air Chief MarshalR.K.S.Bhadauriaparticipatedintheevent,wherePresident Gotabaya Rajapaksawasthemainguest.

IndianaircrafttakepartinSriLankaeventIt marked SLAF’s 70th anniversary

Special Correspondent

COLOMBO

TheIslamicStategrouphasclaimed responsibility forthe killing of three womenworkingforalocalradioandTV station in eastern Afghanistan, the latest in aspike in targeted killingsacrossthewartorncountry.

Dozens of people gatheredonWednesday for thefuneralsofthethreemediaworkers.

Thewomenweregunneddown on Tuesday in separateattacks,accordingtothenewseditoroftheprivatelyowned station and offi��cialsinNangarharprovince.

Afghan offi��cials said thepolice arrested the allegedkiller,identifyinghimasQariBaserandinsistinghewasa Taliban—aclaimpromptlydenied by Taliban spokesmanZabihullahMujahid.

Nangarhar police chief,

Gen. JumaGulHemat, saidBaserhadusedapistolwitha silencerintheattacks.

TheISclaim,posted lateon Tuesday, contradictedtheAfghangovernment’saccusations against the Taliban.

The militants said thethreejournalistsweretargetedbecausetheyworkedforone of the “media stationsloyaltotheapostateAfghangovernment”inJalalabad.

ISclaimskillingof3womenmediaworkersinAfghanistanThe government had blamed the Taliban for the incident

Associated Press

Kabul

Myanmar’s military authoritieshavechargedanAssociated Press photographer and fi��ve otherjournalists over their coverageofanticoupprotests,their lawyer said onWednesday.

APphotographerTheinZaw, 32, was arrested onSaturday as he covered ademonstrationinYangon.

Mr.Zaw’slawyersaidheandthefi��veotherjournalistshadbeenchargedunderalawagainst“causingfear, spreading false newsoragitatingdirectlyorindirectly a government employee”.Thejuntaamended the law last month, toincrease the maximumsentencefromtwoyearstothreeyearsinjail.

The agency has calledfor the immediate releaseofthephotographer.

Sixjournalistschargedovercoupcoverage

Agence France-Presse

Yangon

A U.S. contractor died ofcardiacfailureafterrocketfi��rehitanIraqibasehosting coalition troops onWednesday, the Pentagonsaid.

Around 10 rocketsslammedintotheAinalAssadmilitarybase in Iraq’swesterndesertafterseveralweeksofescalatingU.S.IrantensionsonIraqisoil.

“AU.S.civiliancontractorsuff��eredacardiacepisode while sheltering andsadlypassedawayshortlyafter,”theU.S.DefenseDepartmentsaid.AinalAssadhostsIraqiforcesandU.S.led coalition troops helpingfi��ghttheIslamicState.

Security sources saidthe rockets were IranianmadeArashmodels.

The contractor’s deathmarkedthethirdfatalityinrecentrocketstrikes.

Rocketsh*tIraqbasehostingU.S.troops

Agence France-Presse

Baghdad

Secretary of State AntonyBlinkensaidonWednesdaythat the United States wasready to confront Chinawhere need be, calling theAsianpowerthe“biggestgeopolitical test” of thecentury.

Inhisfi��rstmajorspeech,Mr.BlinkenvowedthatPresident Joe Biden’s administrationwillemphasisediplomacy over military actionandbuildcooperationwiththeworldonglobalchallenges such as climate changeandCOVID19.

“Wewillmanagethebiggest geopolitical test of the21st century: our relationship with China,” Mr. Blinken said at the StateDepartment.

Hepromisedtochampion

therightsofHongKongandthe ethnic Uighurs, sayingthat if not, “China will actwith even greaterimpunity”.

“Chinaistheonlycountrywith the economic, diplomatic,militaryand technological power to seriouslychallenge the stable andopeninternationalsystem—alltherules,valuesandrela

tionships that make theworldworkthewaywewantitto,”hesaid.

“Our relationship withChina will be competitivewhen itshouldbe,collaborativewhenitcanbeandadversarial when it must be.And we will engage Chinafromapositionofstrength.”

Mr.BlinkenindicatedthatMr.Bidenwouldbesparinginmilitaryactiondespiteorderinganairstrikelastweekin Syria against Iranianlinked Iraqi Shiiteparamilitaries.

“Infuturecaseswhenwemust take military action,wewilldosoonlywhentheobjectives and mission areclearandachievable,consistent with our values andlawsandwiththeinformedconsentoftheAmericanpeople,”hesaid.

BlinkencallsChinathe‘biggestgeopoliticaltest’forU.S.We will engage Beijing from a position of strength, he says

Agence France-Presse

Washington

Antony Blinken

The Biden administrationsanctionedsevenmidlevelandseniorRussianoffi��cialson Tuesday, along withmorethanadozengovernmententities,overanerveagentattackonOppositionleaderAlexeiNavalnyandhissubsequentjailing.

The measures, emphasising the use of the Russian nerve agent as abannedchemicalweapon,markedtheBidenadministration’s fi��rst sanctionsagainstassociatesofPresidentVladimirPutin.

Theoffi��cialsincludedatleastfourwhomMr.Navalny’ssupportershaddirectlyaskedtheWesttopenalise,sayingtheyweremostinvolved in targeting himandotherdissidents.

U.S.sanctionsRussiaoffi��cialsoverNavalnyAssociated Press

A manattackedeightpeoplewitha“sharpweapon”,seriously injuringtwo, intheSwedishcityofVetlandaonWednesday,thepolicesaid,in what they called a suspectedterroristcrime.

The assailant was takentohospitalafterbeingshotinthelegbythepolicewhenhe was taken into custody,following the attack in thesouthern Swedish city inmidafternoon.

The police said the manin his twenties had used a“sharpweapon”,whilelocalmedia reported that theman had brandished aknife.

The police originallytreated the incidentas“at

temptedmurder”"butlaterchanged it, ina statement,to a “suspected terroristcrime”, without givingfurtherdetails.

In Sweden, the intelligenceservicesconsidertheterroristthreattobehigh.

The Scandinavian countryhasbeentargetedtwicebyattacksinrecentyears.

InDecember2010,amancarriedoutasuicidebombattackinthecentreofStockholm.Hewaskilledbutonlyslightlyinjuredpassersby.

In April 2017, a rejectedand radicalised Uzbek asylum seeker mowed downpedestrians in Stockholmwith a stolen truck, killingfi��ve people. He was sentencedtolifeinjailinJune2018.

Eightinjuredin‘terroriststabbings’inSweden‘Man in his 20s used a sharp weapon’

Agence France-Presse

Stockholm

CMYK

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DELHI THE HINDU

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 202114EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

NIFTY 50

PRICE CHANGE

Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 729.85. . . . . . . . . 9.35

Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2402.10. . . . . . . 11.70

Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 753.95. . . . . . . 22.70

Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3901.10. . . . . . -42.95

Bajaj Finserv. . . . . . . . . . .. 10395.60. . . . . 518.60

Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 5542.90. . . . . 226.60

Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 546.30. . . . . . . . . 5.10

BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 466.35. . . . . . . . -2.65

Britannia Ind . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3481.15. . . . . . . 33.20

Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 812.50. . . . . . . . . 0.70

Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 154.90. . . . . . . . . 1.50

Divis Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3565.15. . . . . . . 48.25

Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . .. . . . 4502.55. . . . . . . 97.85

Eicher Motors. . . . . . . . .. . . . 2599.05. . . . . . . . -3.25

GAIL (India). . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 146.95. . . . . . . . . 2.15

Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1318.10. . . . . . . 23.35

HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 965.25. . . . . . . 11.50

HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2654.90. . . . . . . 90.90

HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1586.85. . . . . . . 18.65

HDFC Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 727.50. . . . . . . . . 6.70

Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 3424.35. . . . . . -52.05

Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 359.35. . . . . . . 14.10

Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2193.50. . . . . . . 15.55

ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 632.10. . . . . . . 21.60

IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . 1099.75. . . . . . . 26.40

Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1343.55. . . . . . . 39.05

Indian OilCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 102.60. . . . . . . . . 0.40

ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 209.95. . . . . . . . . 0.05

JSW Steel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 428.15. . . . . . . 14.85

Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1899.50. . . . . . . 54.85

L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1496.90. . . . . . . 11.25

M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 852.05. . . . . . . . -8.00

Maruti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 7124.70. . . . . . -89.40

Nestle India Ltd. . . . .. 16699.25. . . . . 123.10

NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 112.70. . . . . . . . . 0.15

ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 114.00. . . . . . . . . 0.50

PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 227.50. . . . . . . . . 2.45

Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2202.10. . . . . . . 96.10

SBI Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 906.45. . . . . . . 27.30

State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 405.05. . . . . . . 10.85

Shree Cement . . . . . . . .. 27695.25. . . . . . . 36.50

Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 624.35. . . . . . . 10.15

Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 348.50. . . . . . . . . 2.75

Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 777.15. . . . . . . 41.65

TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3059.10. . . . . . . 52.75

Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . . . 976.00. . . . . . . . . 8.90

Titan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1474.60. . . . . . . . . 3.45

UltraTech Cement. .. . . . 6500.50. . . . . . . 77.40

UPL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 613.60. . . . . . . 24.15

Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 435.50. . . . . . . . . 5.10

EXCHANGE RATES

Indicative direct rates in rupees a unitexcept yen at 4 p.m. on March 03

CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL

US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 72.52. . . . . . . 72.84

Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 87.55. . . . . . . 87.93

British Pound. . . . . . . . . . . . .101.18. . . . 101.63

Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 67.76. . . . . . . 68.08

Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 11.22. . . . . . . 11.27

Swiss Franc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 79.03. . . . . . . 79.42

Singapore Dollar . . . . . . .. . 54.48. . . . . . . 54.73

Canadian Dollar. . . . . . . . .. . 57.46. . . . . . . 57.71

Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . .. . 17.89. . . . . . . 17.99

Source:Indian Bank

market watch

03-03-2021 % CHANGE

Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddd 51,445 ddddddddddddddd2.28

US Dollardddddddddddddddddddd 72.72 ddddddddddddddd0.89

Gold ddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 44,976 ddddddddddddddd0.48

Brent oil ddddddddddddddddddddd 63.62 ddddddddddddddd0.03

SPORTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Continuing their winningrunforthethirdsessioninarow,theBSESensexsurgedalmost1,148pointstobreachthe51,000levelandtheNSENiftyrecapturedthe15,200mark on Wednesday, powered by intense buying infi��nancialandenergystocks.

Attheclose,the30shareSensex was up 1,147.76points, or 2.28%, at51,444.65 — the biggest singleday rise since February2. Likewise, the NSE Niftyclimbed 326.50 points, or2.19%, to end at 15,245.60,with 43 of its constituentsclosinginthegreen.

Over the last three sessions, the Sensex has risen

by2,344.66points,or4.77%.TheSensexrallywasdri

ven by Bajaj FinServ, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, HDFCandAxisBank.

Bajaj Finserv rose the

mostby5.15%.Reliance rose by 4.52% a

dayafterRelianceJiopickedup488.35MHzofspectruminbandssuchas800MHz,1800MHzand2300MHzfor₹��57,122.65crore.

Bharti, which bid about₹��18,699 crore to pick up355.45 Megahertz, rose by0.92%.

“Marketsacrosstheglobewerefi��lledwithoptimismasthe focus shifted from concernsoverhighvaluationtoa stronger economic recovery and earnings growth,”saidVinodNair,HeadofResearch at Geojit FinancialServices. “The Indian market was on a rising streakechoing the global sentiment,”headded.

Meanwhile, a monthlysurvey showed India’s services activity expanded atthefastestrateinayearduringFebruaryamidimproveddemand and more favourablemarketconditions.

Sensexclimbs2.3%buoyedbyglobalrally,upbeatmacrodataIndexpostsbiggestsingledaygaininamonthonbackoffi��nancial,energystocks

PRESS TRUST OF INDIAMUMBAI

On a tear: TheS&PBSESensexsurgedalmost1,148pointstobreachthe51,000levelonWednesday. * PTI

The strengthening of spectrum footprints by BhartiAirtelandRelianceJiointhejustconcluded auctions isexpected to yield marketsharegains forthetwotelcos,armingthemwithsustainable advantage in thelongrunandfor5Gplay,accordingtoanalysts.

With the auctions completed, it would be key tomonitor Vodafone IdeaLtd.’s (VIL) balance sheetanditspotentialcapitalraising,signalsofpricehike,unveilingofaJioGooglesmartphone, and 5G spectrumauctions,theynoted.

Analystsacrosstheboardconcurredwiththegovernment’s view that at ₹��77,814croreoftotalbids,thespectrumauctionoutcomeandresponse had surpassedexpectations.

Goldman Sachs notedthatBhartiandJiohad“signifi��cantly” bolstered theirspectrum footprints, andthatstrengtheningofradiowave holdings “could aidtheirmarketshareswhileatthe same time keeping capexundercheck”.

In all service areas andbands,spectrumwassoldatreserve prices, indicatingthat this higherthanexpected participation was afunctionoftelcoslookingto

secure their mediumtermspectrumneedsratherthana resultofabiddingwar,thefi��rmsaid.

‘Tariff��smayrise’The morethanexpectedparticipationfromtelcosinthe auctions increases theprobabilityofapricehikeasa waytooff��settheincreasein leverage, market watcherssaid.

“WhiletheMarch’21auctionwaslargelyanoneventforVodafoneIdea,thecompany’slimitedabilitytoparticipate in future 5G spectrum auctions (due to itsstretched balance sheet)couldresult in furthererosion of its market share,”GoldmanSachssaid.

Moody’s Investors Servicesaidspectrumrenewalswill help incumbents protect their market positionswhileadditionalbandwidthpurchases will drive improvednetworkcoverage.

‘Telcossignifi��cantlywidenedfootprint’

PRESS TRUST OF INDIANEW DELHI

‘SpectrumwillboostJio,Bharti’smarketshare’

Shares of IRCON International Ltd. on Wednesdayclosedwithmorethan7%losses after the governmentannounceditsplantopare stake in the railwayentity. On BSE, the scripdived6.9%tocloseat₹��91.1.On the National Stock Exchange, the shares ended7.25%lowerat₹��90.8.

DIPAM SecretaryTuhinKantaPandeyonTuesdaytweeted:“Off��erforSaleinIRCONopenstomorrowforNonRetailInvestors.Day2forRetailInvestors.”

Theoff��er forsale (OFS)forupto16%governmentstakeatafl��oorpriceof₹��88per share in IRCON willopenonWednesday,aspera regulatory fi��ling by thecompanyonTuesday.

The base issue size ofthe OFS is 10% or morethan 4.70 crore equityshares, with a greenshoeoption to retain oversubscription of 6% or morethan2.82croreshares.Thetotal issue size, includinggreenshoe option, comesto16percentorover7.52crore shares. The Centreholds 89.18% stake in IRCON, which is into constructionoftransportationinfrastructure.Atthefl��oorprice, a 16% stake wouldfetch more than ₹��600crorefortheexchequer.

IRCONsharesfall7%ongovt.stakesalebid

PRESS TRUST OF INDIANEW DELHI

TheCentrehasroomtocutexcise duty on petrol anddieselbyupto₹��8.5perlitrewithoutimpactingitstargetforrevenuefromthetaxonthetwofuels,analystssaid.

Petrol and diesel priceshoveratahistorichighfollowingarelentlessincreasein rates over the past ninemonths. There have beencallsbyoppositionpartiesaswellassectionsofsocietytoreduce excise duty to easeconsumerpain.

“WeestimateexcisedutyonautofuelsinFY22,ifitisnotcut,at₹��4.35 lakhcroreversus budget estimate of

₹��3.2lakhcrore.“Thus,evenifexciseduty

iscutby₹��8.5perlitreonorbeforeApril1,FY22Ebudgetestimatecanbemet,”ICICISecuritiessaidinanote.

The fi��rm expressed optimismforanexcisedutycutgivendemandrecovery,impending privatisation and

infl��ation concerns but expect it to be more modestthan₹��8.5alitre.

Excisedutywasraisedby₹��13and₹��16per litreonpetrol and diesel betweenMarch and May 2020, andnowstandsat₹��31.8ondieseland₹��32.9perlitreonpetrol.

Theincreasewastomopupgainsarisingfrominternationalcrudeoilpricesfallingtoatwodecadelow.

But,withoilpricesrecovering, it has not yet restoredthetaxestotheiroriginallevels.

“If the cut is more modest... FY22 excise duty willbe higher than budget estimate,”ICICISecuritiessaid.

‘Govt.cancutexciseonfuelsby₹��8.5sansrevenueimpact’Budget’sdutyestimateof₹��3.2lakhcr.canbemet:ICICISec.

PRESS TRUST OF INDIANEW DELHI

The National CompanyLaw Tribunal (NCLT) hasupheldthepetitionofDoha Bank seeking prioritypayment for the fi��nancialcreditorsofRelianceInfratelwhichwillleadtoabout₹��3,515 crore recovery forthelenders,accordingtoasource aware of thedevelopment.

The payment has to bemade from the sum ofabout ₹��4,400 crore realisedfromsaleofassetstoaReliance Industries subsidiary via the NCLTdrivendebtresolutionprocess.

Accordingtothesource,State Bank of India willlead the list of creditorswithreceiptof₹��728crore.

‘NCLTenablesRInfralenderstoget₹��3,515cr.’

PRESS TRUST OF INDIANEW DELHI

AdaniGrouphasacquired31.5%stakeheldbyaWarburgPincusaffi��liateinGangavaramPortLtd.(GPL)for₹��1,954crore.

APSEZ, an arm of theGroup,isalsoholdingdiscussions with D.V.S. Rajuand family for their58.1%stakeinGPL.

“ThelocationofGPLinthe north of Andhra Pradeshisastrategiccomplementtoourrecentacquisition of the Port ofKrishnapatnamthatservesthe south of Andhra Pradesh,” said Karan Adani,CEO,AdaniPortsandSEZLtd.(APSEZ).

AdanibuysA.P.

portstakefor

₹��1,954crore

Special correspondentAHMEDABAD

TheexmillpricesofsugarinmostStatesareunderpressureandwitnessingadownwardtrend,accordingtotheIndianSugarMills’Association(ISMA).

InapressreleaseonWednesday,ISMAsaidmarketreportsindicatedthattheaverage prices in Tamil Naduhovered between ₹��3,200and₹��3,225aquintal,₹��3,160to₹��3,180innorthernStatesandinMaharashtraandKarnatakaataminimumsellingpriceof₹��3,100aquintal.

The current prices are

₹��80 to ₹��100 a quintal lessthan the prices during thecorresponding period lastyear.

Thishasadverselyaff��ected the liquidity of sugarmills. “If such a situation

persists, cane price arrearswill jump very fast to uncomfortable levels,” the associationsaid.

ItappealedtothegovernmenttoincreasetheMSPforsugarto₹��34.50akg.“Thereis a need to quickly decideonincreasingtheMSPofsugartoensurethatsugarmillsareabletopaytofarmersontime,”itsaid.

Duringthe20202021sugarseasonthatcommencedon October 1 last year, 502sugar mills started operations,and98millsacrossthecountry ended operationsbyFebruary28,2021.

Raiseminimumsellingpriceforsugarto₹��34.50akg:ISMAExmillpricesunderpressure,hurtingliquidity:tradegroup

Special CorrespondentCOIMBATORE

DigitalpaymentscompanyPayPalonWednesdaysaidit would hire 1,000 engineersthisyearforitsIndiadevelopment centresacrossBengaluru,ChennaiandHyderabad.

PayPalsaiditwouldrecruittheseengineersintheareas of software productdevelopment, datascience,riskanalyticsandbusiness analytics at theentrylevel,midlevel,andseniorroles,thecompanysaidinastatement.

The India TechnologyCentres currently employmorethan4,500peopleinthethreelocations.

PayPaleyes1,000hiresinIndiain2021

PRESS TRUST OF INDIANEW DELHI

SEBI on Wednesday askedstock exchanges, clearingcorporationsanddepositoriestoputinplaceacodeofconduct and institutionalmechanismtopreventfraudor market abuse by themand their designatedpersons.

Underthis,themanagingdirector(MD)orchiefexecutiveoffi��cer(CEO)ofmarketinfrastructure institutions(MIIs) will be obligated toframeacodeofconductandputinplaceaninstitutionalmechanism. Further, theboardofdirectorsneedstoensure compliance by the

MD/CEOinthisregard.MIIswill have to formulate acodeofconducttoregulate,monitorandreporttradingbytheirdesignatedpersonsand immediate relative ofdesignatedpersonstowardsachieving compliance withthe prohibition of insidertradingregulations.

SEBIcallsformechanismtopreventmarketabuseMIIstoldtoformulatecodeofconduct

PRESS TRUST OF INDIANEW DELHI The government has

amended insurance ombudsman rules, bringinginsurance brokers withintheir ambit, and also allowedpolicyholderstofi��leonline complaints, the fi��nance ministry said onWednesday.

Theamendedruleshaveenlargedthescopeofcomplaints to ombudsmenfromonlydisputesearlierto defi��ciencies in serviceon the part of insurers,agents, brokers and otherintermediaries.

Further, the ombudsmanmayusevideoconferencingforhearings.

Insuranceombudsmantocoverbrokers

PRESS TRUST OF INDIANEW DELHI

Extra race day on March 20BENGALURU

ThestewardsofBangalore

TurfClubLtdhavedecidedto

conductanextraracedayon

Saturday,March20.

HYDERABAD: PeakyBlinders(AkshayKumarup)wontheAstonishPlate, themaineventofWednesday’sraces.ThewinnerisownedbyMr.MarthandSinghMahindra&Mr. JatinLaxmikantTrivedi.R.H.Sequeira trains the winner. SurajNarredurodethreewinners.LEADING OWNER: M.A.M.RamaswamyChettiarofChettinadCharitable Trust with leadingstakesmoneyof₹��32,87,418;LEAD-ING TRAINER: R.H. Sequeira (30winners); LEADING JOCKEY: Akshay Kumar (39 wins); LEADINGJOCKEY (APPRENTICE): AbhaySingh(7wins);CHAMPION HORSE:Lombardy (18points);HORSE-OF-THE-SEASON: LightningBolt(winningfouroutoffourstarts).1. BRAVE HUNTER PLATE (DIV. I)(1,100m), (Terms) Maiden 3yoonly (Cat. II) : PROUD (SurajNarredu) 1,MissLittleAngel (AkshayKumar)2,HardToToss(Trevor)3andSiyavash(AshadAsbar)4.Notrun:Nefertiti.3,2and11/2.1m, 6.47s. ₹��7 (w), 7, 8 and 8 (p).SHP: 20, THP: 16, FP: 35, Q: 30,Tanala: 104. Favourite: Proud.Owner: Mr. M. Satyanarayana.Trainer:L.V.R.Deshmukh.2. AGOSTINI PLATE (DIV. I)(1,400m),rated20to45(Cat.III):SCRAMJET (Trevor) 1, BlueValentine (Surya Prakash) 2, JustIncredible(B.R.Kumar)3andExplosive (Deepak Singh) 4. 31/4,Noseand41/4.1m,25.50s.₹��8(w),6,12and14(p).SHP:37,THP:52,FP:70,Q:76,Tanala:919.Favourite:Scramjet.Owners:UnitedRacingandBloodstockBreedersLtd.Trainer:K.S.V.PrasadRaju.3. BRAVE HUNTER PLATE (DIV. II)

(1,100m), (Terms) Maiden 3yoonly (Cat. II): STUNNING FORCE(Akshay Kumar) 1, City Of Bliss(SurajNarredu)2,MoonlightRuby(Trevor)3andFirstInLine(SuryaPrakash)4.Nk,11/2and31/2.1m,6.75s.₹��8(w),5,7&8(p).SHP:17,THP:21,FP:19,Q:12,Tanala:50.Favourite: Stunning Force. Owners: Mr. Venkata Krishna ReddyChalluri,Mr.PrabhakarChowdaryTripuraneni,Mr.MirzaAyubBaig&Mr. N.V. Rohin Kumar. Trainer:S.S.F.Hassan.4. AGOSTINI PLATE (DIV. II)(1,400m),rated20to45(Cat.III):SOUTHERN PRINCESS (SurajNarredu)1,FlyingJet(AfrozKhan)2,StarDancer(KiranNaidu)3andWhiskeyMartini(GauravSingh)4.Hd,3and11/2.1m,25.99s.₹��7(w),5,14and8(p).SHP:41,THP:30,FP:57,Q:47,Tanala:236.Favourite: Southern Princess. Owners:Mr. Zavaray S. Poonawalla, Mrs.BehrozeZ.Poonawalla&Mrs.Simone Z. Poonawalla rep. PoonawallaRacing&BreedersPvt.Ltd.& Mr.VijayKumarGupta&SusheelKumarGuptarep.VijayRacing&Farms Pvt. Ltd. Trainer: LaxmanSingh.5. ASTONISH PLATE (2,000m),rated 40 to 65 (Cat. II): PEAKYBLINDERS (Akshay Kumar) 1, Saffron Art (Ajeeth Kumar) 2, SpicyStar(A.A.Vikrant)3andEgyptianPrince(SuryaPrakash)4.1/2,41/4and Hd. 2m, 6.31s. ₹��20 (w), 6, 6and18(p).SHP:18,THP:35,FP:79,Q:34,Tanala:855.Favourite:Mirana.Owners:Mr.MarthandSinghMahindra & Mr. Jatin LaxmikantTrivedi.Trainer:R.H.Sequeira.6. ONNU ONNU PLATE (1,400m),

rated40 to65 (Cat. II): DOWN-TOWN GAL (Suraj Narredu) 1,Maxwell (Ajeeth Kumar) 2, Esteva(AbhaySingh)3andChuckit(A. A. Vikrant) 4. 33/4, 2 andNose. 1m,24.54s. ₹��7 (w),6, 12and17(p).SHP:39,THP:53,FP:57,Q:61,Tanala:1,214.Favourite:DowntownGal.Owners:Mr.V.N.Babu,Mr.VeeramachaneniArjun, Mr. Proddhutur VijayShourya & Mrs. Rajini Meka.Trainer:LaxmanSingh.

7. ATTRACTRESS PLATE (DIV. I)(1,200m), rated up to 25 (Cat.III): RHINE (B.R. Kumar) 1, AirSalute (N.B. Kuldeep) 2, Bedazzled (Trevor) 3 and Fleur(Surya Prakash) 4. 3/4, Nk and1/2. 1m, 13.90s. ₹��68 (w), 13, 25and11(p).SHP:105,THP:27,FP:1,457, Q: 1,058, Tanala: 14,460.Favourite: Tapatio. Owner: Mr.YerramSrinivasareddy.Trainer:Sk.WaseemAhmed.

8. ATTRACTRESS PLATE (DIV. II)(1,200m),ratedupto25(Cat.III):HASHTAG (GauravSingh)1,Sublime (Suraj Narredu) 2, JoMalone(AfrozKhan)3andMoka(Koushik)4.Notrun:Exponent.Nk, 43/4 and 21/4. 1m, 13.38s.₹��26(w),12,6and14(p).SHP:18,THP:40,FP:101,Q:35,Tanala:1,305. Favourite: Sublime.Owner:Mr.ChitturiKrishnaKannaiah. Trainer: N. RavinderSingh.

Jackpot: 70%: ₹��6,894 (65 tkts.)and30%:₹��258(743tkts.).

Treble:(i)26(1,549tkts.),(ii)85(394tkts.),(iii)714(80tkts.).

Minijackpot:(i)223(153tkts.),(ii)3,578(11tkts.).

PeakyBlinderswinsAstonishPlate

South Africa pace greatDaleSteynonWednesdayapologisedforhiscriticismof the Indian PremierLeague,sayingheneverintended to “degrade or insult” the world’s biggestfranchisebased T20tournament.

“IPL has been nothingshortofamazinginmycareer, as well as otherplayerstoo.Mywordswerenever intended to be degrading,insulting,orcomparingofany leagues.Social media and words outof context can often dothat. My apologies if thishas upset anyone,” tweetedthe37yearoldveteran.

Steyn’sapologycameafterheclaimedthatmoneyis given more importancethan thegame in the IPL.SteynhasoptedoutoftheIPL2021.

Steynsorryfor‘wordsoutofcontext’Press Trust of IndiaNew Delhi

Jokic’s 50th triple-doublehighlights Denver’s winMILWAUKEE

NikolaJokicrecordedhis

50thcareertripledouble(37

points,11assists,10

rebounds)tohelpDenver

NuggetsbeatMilwaukee

Bucks12897onTuesday.Other results: Memphis125btWashington111;Boston117btLAClippers112;Atlanta94btMiami80;SanAntonio119btNewYork93;Phoenix114btLALakers104.REUTERS

IN BRIEF

Germany holdsIndiaKREFELD (GERMANY

TheIndianmen'shockeyteam

playedouta11drawagainst

Germanyinthesecondgame

ofitsfourmatchtourof

Europehere.Jarmanpreet

openedthescoringforIndia

inthefourthminute,while

MartinHanerscoredthe

equaliserforGermany.

Spinner Ashton Agar producedthebestbowlingperformance in Australia’sTwenty20Internationalhistory in a 64run win overNewZealandhereonWednesday.

Agar’s matchturning sixfor 30, including three inone over, derailed a NewZealandfi��ghtbackasAustralia avoided a series loss inthethirdT20I.

Australia fi��nished its 20overs at 208 for four after

beingput in.Inreply,NewZealand was bundled outfor144in17.1oversthankstoAgar’sheroics.

Underfi��reskipperAaronFinch hit 69, his best T20Iscore for more than twoyears, and Glenn Maxwellsmashed70from31balls.

Theresultleavesthefi��vematch series at 21 in NewZealand’s favour with twogamestogo.

The scores: Australia208/4in 20 overs (Aaron Finch 69,JoshPhilippe43,GlennMaxwell70,IshSodhi2/32)btNewZealand144in17.1overs(MartinGuptill43,DevonConway38,RileyMeredith2/24,AshtonAgar6/30).

Well done, mate! KaneWilliamson,right,congratulatesAshtonAgaronhismatchwinning,sixwicketeff��ort. * AP

AgarisAustralia’sheroAUS IN NZ

Agence France-PresseWellington

Skipper Sean Williams’century and destructivepacebowlingfromBlessingMuzarabani and VictorNyauchiledZimbabwetoa10wicketwinoverAfghanistan inthefi��rstTesthereonWednesday.

AfterWilliamsmade105toguideZimbabweto250in reply to Afghanistan’s131, the latter was bowledoutfor135inthesecondinnings.That leftZimbabwewithatargetof17.

This is Afghanistan'sthirddefeatinfi��vematchesaftergainingTeststatusin2017.

ThesecondTestbeginshereonMarch10.

The scores: Afghanistan131&135in45.3overs(IbrahimZadran76) lost toZimbabwe250in72overs(SeanWilliams 105, Sikandar Raza43,AmirHamza6/75)&17fornolossin3.2overs.

ZimbabwecrushesAfghanistan

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSEABU DHABI

HDFC cuts interest rate MUMBAI

HDFCcutit*interestrate

off��eringonWednesday,

makingcreditcheaper

0.05%toitscustomers. pti

CMYK

A ND-NDE

THE HINDU DELHI

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2021 15EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

SUDOKU

Solution to puzzle 13185 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Sastrasexplainthemysteryofrelativityofthecosmicprocess of creation and dissolution against the backdrop ofTime.IntheeighthchapteroftheBhagavadGita,theLordexplainsthatthereisHisSupremeAbodewhichisbeyondthis endless cyclic course and also beyond the limits ofTime.ThisistheultimategoaltobeattainedbyeachandeverybeingincludingBrahma,pointedoutSrimatiSunandaina discourse. The entire creation, spanning the worlds ofBrahma,Indra,andotherregionsrighttothesmallestiteminearthissubjecttochange,thatis,birth,growthanddecayanddeathandthenrebirth.

Sastrasalsohavequantifi��edTimeintermsoftheyugas.Therearefouryugas,theKrita,theTreta,theDwaparaandtheKali.Thetimedurationofeachofthemisfi��xedandthetotalofallthesefi��guresisknownasonethousanddivineyears.Tothehumanmind,itisamultipleofseveralthousandsofhumanyears.EachYugaisdistinctinitsmoralcharacter.VirtueisdominantinKrita,andintheTreta,DwaparaandKaliyugasthatfollow,sinandmoraldegradationslowlyenterandthepresentKaliYugaistheworst,whereconfl��ict,sinandadharmadominate.OnedayofBrahmaofathousanddivineyearsistheperiodofcosmicmanifestationandonenightofBrahmaofequallengthoftimeistheperiodofnonmanifestation.

WhenBrahmasleepsallbeingsenterintostateofcosmicsleep.Itdoesnotmeanwegetliberated.WegetbacktothecycleofbirthwhenBrahmawakesup.Thencreationtakesplaceonceagainandallbeings,thegods,humanbeings,etc,comeintoexistence.ButthereisanotherPralayathattakesplaceafter100yearsofBrahma.Theentireuniverseisdissolved,includingBrahmawhoenterstheabsolute.

FAITH

Cosmicprocessexplained+ 13186(set by Incognito)

Display keystrokes of genius.

Type your answers in our online grids!

@ https://qrgo.page.link/jjpTn

■ ACROSS

8 Spenserleftsalespersonconfusedtoo(4)

9 Checkdepthofexcellentborewellinthebeginning(5)

10 IndicationfromEnglishman,tosomeextent(4)

11 Landlord’sepistle(6)

12 Shattergrailaftersillypoem(8)

13 DressmaterialforsoldierandNCO(8)

15 Alawmanconfi��scatesgeneral’splanofaction(6)

17 Haphazardlycrossingwithoutsignalatfi��rstandsucceedingin

gettingrun(7)

19 Deliverywoman?(7)

22 Shout,“Starttoblockpersonwhohaslosthishead”(6)

24 Liftingdeviceheldbyreportedlyhighqueenforpersonwhoforcibly

takesovervehicle(8)

26 Femalehastorngarmentscrap(8)

28 Lubricaterotatinggearandendsofspindle(6)

30 Snakegetsheadoftunainvessel(4)

31 HaystrewnaroundEnglishanimal(5)

32 Endurefi��nal(4)

■ DOWN

1 RiverinHeidelberg(4)

2 GetCroatgyratingforruralresident(8)

3 FightwithsoldiersinGreekcitystate(6)

4 Acknowledges,“Bumssitawkwardly”(7)

5 Bah,DubaibecomesanotherMiddleEasternemirate(3,5)

6 MeekmedicinemanonislandinFrance(6)

7 Wager,accompaniedbyaletter(4)

14 CompèregetsMilitaryCrossafterendofprogrammewithease,one

hears(5)

16 Germanenemyauthor?(5)

18 Blendingwineheldincapital(3,5)

20 Studentwearingcrumpleddickeyfollowsheadofwaitresseswith

badintentions(8)

21 Camerapartthatismovedtocaptureimageofanobjectthatis

closer(7)

23 Illuminatesanswersthatyouarefi��llingupinthisgrid(6)

25 Wasreturningafterdance?Itcanbepuzzling!(6)

27 Leadersofrebelliousindividualsorchestrateturmoilandanarchy(4)

29 SilenceafterSouthAfricanband(4)

SCANTOPLAY

Despite India’s attempts toshiftthenarrativeawayfroma substandard surface forthethirdTest,thepitchwillremainthefocalpointonthefi��rst morning of the fourthand fi��nal Test against England. While the visitingteam has been cautious inreacting to thepitch, itwillbeinterestingtoseewhetherJoeRoot&Co.canputupafi��ghtafterbeingannihilatedintheprevioustwoTests.

Such was the dominanceofIndia’sspinduointhesecondandthirdmatchesthatEngland’swin in theseriesopener seems to be almostforgotten.Itwillbeamonumentaltask,intermsofskillset and mindset, for England’sbatsmen tobecompetitiveagainsttherelentlesspair of R. Ashwin and Axar

PatelatMoteraoverthenextfi��vedays.

In addition to the spinners’onslaught,Englandwillalsohavetocounterthedryheathere,withthemercurysoaring higher with everypassingday.Therisingtemperature may also result inthe pitch crumbling fasterthan anticipated, thus makingthelivesofEngland’sbatsmenevenmorediffi��cult.

Out of contention

Despite the odds stackedfi��rmlyagainstit,England,ifitcangetit*acttogether,canplay spoilsport for India inthe race for the World TestChampionship fi��nal on yetanother spinfriendly track.Englandisoutofcontention,but India cannot aff��ord tolosethelastTestifitwantstosetupagrandfi��naleagainstNew Zealand at Lord’s inJune.

India captain Virat Kohli

tried his best to play downtheWTCangleduringhisinteraction on Wednesday.Still, with veterans AjinkyaRahane and Ishant Sharma

having equated WTC withthe World Cup, the Indiancampwillbeeagertosealthefi��nalspotinstyle.

In itsquest, Indiawillbe

withoutpacespearheadJaspritBumrah for the secondtimethisseries.Bumrahhasbeen released from thesquadafterthethirdTestfor

his impending wedding. Inhisabsence,UmeshYadavisset to return in whitefl��annels.

With his outstanding re

cordinIndia,Umeshislikelyto be preferred over MohammedSiraj,theotherpacerinthesquad.

Despite Washington Sundarhavingplayedlittlepartin the pinkball Test, eitherwithbatorball,heissettobe persisted with in thefourthTest.

Besidestheminortinkeringwithitscombination,India will be hoping for thespecialist batsmen to fi��re.Barring opener Rohit Sharma, no Indian batsman hasbeenabletoscorerunsconsistentlysofarinchallengingconditions and they wouldbe eager to turn the tidearound.

England,meanwhile,hasnooptionbuttorecalloffi��eDomBessatthecostofoneofitspacers.Itremainstobeseen who partners JofraArcher on Thursday. As forthebattingdepartment,Englandwillbetemptedtore

placeJonnyBairstow,whor*turnedwithapairatMoteralastweek,withyoungsterDanLawrence.Theteams(from):

India: ViratKohli(Capt.),AjinkyaRahane(vicecapt.),RohitSharma,MayankAgarwal,ShubmanGill,CheteshwarPujara,K.L.Rahul, Hardik Pandya, RishabhPant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha(wk),R.Ashwin,KuldeepYadav,AxarPatel,WashingtonSundar,Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav,andMohammedSiraj.

England: JoeRoot(Capt.),RoryBurns,DomSibley,ZakCrawley,DanLawrence,JonnyBairstow,Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, BenFoakes (wk), Dom Bess, JackLeach,StuartBroad,JamesAnderson,JofraArcher,OllyStone,andMarkWood.

Onfi��eld umpires: NitinMenonandVirenderSharma;Thirdumpire: Anil Chaudhary; Fourthumpire: Shamshuddin; Matchreferee: JavagalSrinath.

Hoursofplay: 9.30a.m.to11.30a.m.; 12.10 p.m. to 2.10 p.m.;2.30p.m.to4.30p.m.

WTCfi��nalspotontheline,pitchstillthefocusinMoterashowdown

Amol Karhadkar

AHMEDABAD

ENGLAND IN INDIA

Englandskipper JoeRootwantshisbatsmentofi��

gureoutawaytoscorerunsand not worry about thepitchtoomuchinthefourthTestthatstartsonThursday.

“I think themost importantthingisthatasabattinggroup we are very clearabout how to play. We aregoingtothegamefullofconfi��dence, we have no scarsfromthelasttwoandwewillplayinacontrolledbutfearlessway,”saidRoot.

“We shouldn't be scaredaboutthesurfaceinanysortof way or about the guysbowlingonit.Itisreallyimportant that we stay verycalm, clear about how wearegoingtoscorerunsandtrustbothdefenceandthoseshots that make us theplayersweare,”headded.

When asked about histake on how the pitch willplay,Rootsaid,“Itislooking

very similar to what it wastwo days out from the lastgamesaswell.Wewillsee.Imean,itcouldchangeagainovernight. I think the mostimportant thing is that welearnallthelessonsfromthelast two two Test matchesandmakesurewe'rebetterforit.

“Itisimportantthatifwegetourselvesinasimilarpositioninthefi��rstinnings,wereallymakethatcount.Andtryandgetsomescoreboardpressure in the game, youknow,earlyon.”

Rootalsohintedthatoff��spinnerDomBess,whowasdroppedafterthefi��rstChennai Test, will be in contentionforselection.

Backs batsmen to play ‘controlled but fearless’ cricket

S. Dipak Ragav

We have no scars, insists Root

JoeRoot. * SPORTZPICS/BCCI

<> Idefi��nitelydon’t

thinkwe

underestimatedhim.I

thinkhe’sexploitedthe

surfaceverywell

Root

onAxar

In addition to provoking adebate over turning tracks,theongoingseriesbetweenIndia and England has alsoexposed the lack of skillswhilebattingonspinfriendlypitches. IndiacaptainVirat Kohli admitted that theincreasing emphasis onshortformcrickethascompromisedthedefensiveskillsofbatsmen.

“Defence is very important,”KohlisaidonWednesday.“Fromthepattern I’veseen in Test cricket — takeany match, if two batsmenare facing a 45minute periodofdiffi��cultbowling,arethey able to score 10 runsandsurvivewithoutoff��eringanychances?

“Becauseoftheinfl��uenceof whiteball cricket, we’regettingresultsinTestcricket,butwealsohavethisbyproductthatdefence,whichisalsoapartofthegame,is

gettingcompromised.Thisiswhy people say, score 300350 quickly. I don't thinkthey focus on that grind offour or fi��ve sessions thesedays,probablybecausetheydon’t focus on defence somuch,becausethey'reneeding to switch formats, andthegameisveryfastpaced.”

Kohli reiterated the requirementofastrongdefensive technique for batsmentosucceedondustbowls.

Own method

“Thereisarequirementforskill in playing on spinningtracks, and not necessarilyjustplaying thesweep.You

fi��ndyourownmethod,andfrom my point of view, mybest solution is a defensiveshot,whereIknowIcandefendandtheballwon’tgotosillypoint or shortleg, andthat’sanaspectofthegamethat’sfallenbehind.”

ThethirdTestoftheserieslasted a little over fi��ve sessions and turned out to betheshortestTestintermsofballs since World War II. Ithasledtoseveralfansventingtheirireforbeingrobbedofwitnessingacontestatthenewlybuiltstadium.

Kohli didn’t answer a directqueryonwhetherteamsare robbing fans of qualityTestcricketinabidtomakethemostofhomeadvantage.“It would be lovely if youaskedusthisquestiononanEngland/New Zealand/Australia tour,” he said. “Notwhenyou’veseentwoturningpitchesinIndia,sothatquestionformeisirrelevantatthispointoftime.”

‘Defensiveskillshavefallenbehind’Kohli says white-ball cricket has changed the approach of batsmen

Amol Karhadkar

AHMEDABAD

Grindingitout: ShubmanGillhoninghisskillsatatrainingsessionaheadofthefourthTest. * SPORTZPICS/BCCI

Sania Mirza and AndrejaKlepac of Sloveniastormed into the semifi��nalswitha62,60victoryover fourth seeds AnnaBlinkovaofRussiaandGabrielaDabrowskiofCanada in the $565,530 WTAtennis tournament onWednesday.Otherresults:

$156,240 Challenger, NurSultan, Kazakhstan: Secondround: Prajnesh GunneswaranbtTatsumaIto(Jpn)63,20(retd.;FredericoFerreiraSilva(Por)btRamkumarRamanathan64,75.

$36,680Challenger,St.Petersburg,Russia:Firstround:BenjaminLock(Zim)&ArjunKadhebtAltugCelikbilek&CemIlkel(Tur)64,61.

$15,000 ITF men, Sharm ElSheikh, Egypt: First round:Sasikumar Mukund bt Michael Bassem Sobhy (Egy)61,61.

SaniaandKlepacinsemifi��nals

Sports Bureau

DOHA

P.V.SindhuandK.Srikanthentered the Round of 16 attheSwissOpentournamentafterwinningtheiropeningmatchesonWednesday.

While World championSindhubeatYigitNeslihanofTurkey2116,2119,Srikanthbounced back to overcomecompatriot Sameer Verma1821,2118,2111.

In other matches, SourabhVermawonhisopeneragainst Switzerland’s Christian Kirchmayr 2119, 2118

andAjayJayaramwentpastSitthikom Thammasin ofThailand2112,2113.However,H.S.PrannoyandLakshyaSenexitedafterlosingto

France’sMarkCalijouw(1921,219,1721)andDenmark’sVictor Svendsen (1621, 1221).Doublesresults(fi��rstround):

Men:SatwiksairajRankireddy&Chirag Shetty bt ChristopherGrimley & Matthew Grimley(Sco)2118,1921,2116.

Women: Ashwini Ponnappa &N. Sikki Reddy bt AnnabellaJaeger & Stine Kuspert (Ger)215,2119.

Mixed:SatwiksairajRankireddy& Ashwini Ponnappa bt Hafi��zFaizal&GloriaEmanuelleWidjaja(Ina)2118,2110;MarcusEllis & Lauren Smith (Eng) btPranaavJerryChopra&N.SikkiReddy2118,2115.

Sindhu and Srikanth advanceAjay and Sourabh also move up; Prannoy, Lakshya exit

Press Trust of India

BASEL

SWISS OPEN

K.Srikanth. * FILE PHOTO

SharathKamalwonaclosefi��vegame battle against

CzechRepublic’sPavelSirucekminutesbeforeG.Sathiyan lost toArunaQuadri inthe opening round of theWorldTableTennisContender event in Doha onWednesday.

Sharath, ranked 32nd,twiceledbyagamebutstillhadtogothedistancefora1715, 911, 116, 811, 119triumph.

Sathiyan, ranked 37th,found World No. 21 Quadritoohottohandle.TheNiger

ianwon117,114,118.Sharath’s rollercoaster

ridewaslacedwithlong,exciting rallies and plenty ofaction.Intheinitialphaseofthemarathonopeninggame,Sharath faltered with hisservesandalsowhenreceivingthem.Tohiscredit,Sharathfocusedongettingsomerhythm,battledbackfrom710tosavethreegamepointsandled1110.HesquanderedfoursuccessivegamepointsbeforeSirucekmovedto1514.Undeterred,Sharathkeptattacking and won the nextthree points to seize thegame.

In the second, Sharathstayed ahead until 86 but

thefi��ghtingCzechproducedfourstraightpointsandcapitalisedonhissecondgamepointtolevelthematch11.

IfSharathdominatedthethirdgame,Sirucekreturnedthe favour in the fourth toforce a decider. Sharathjumped to leads of 51, 72and95butthelankyCzechclawed back to 910 beforenetting a backhand on thethirdmatchpoint.

The highestranked IndiannextplaysWorldNo.7YunJuLinofChineseTaipei.Sharath won their fi��rst encounter in the team championship of the 2018 AsianGamesbutlosttohiminthe2019AsiaCup.

Sharathsurvives,Sathiyanfallsatthefi��rsthurdle

Rakesh Rao

Ontheball: Despitebeingtakenthedistance,Sharathdidnotwaverinconcentration. * FILE PHOTO: G. RAMAKRISHNA

WTT CONTENDER

India, 2-1 ahead, will qualify with a win or a draw on a surface expected to aid spin; England can play spoilsport if it gets its act together and levels the series

CMYK

A ND-NDE

DELHI THE HINDU

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 202116EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

SPORT

IndiavsEngland: 4th Test,Star Sports 1 (SD & HD), 9.30a.m.PremierLeague: SS Select 2(SD & HD), 11.30 p.m.; SS Se-lect 1 (SD & HD), 11.30 p.m. &1.45 a.m. (Friday)Serie A: Sony Ten 2 (SD &HD), 1.15 a.m. (Friday)ATP 250: Argentina Open,Eurosport (SD & HD), 9.30p.m.

TV PICKS

Kapilreceivesfi��rstdoseofCOVIDvaccineNEW DELHI

Indian cricket legend Kapil

Dev received his first dose of

the COVID-19 vaccine here on

Wednesday. The 62-year-old

World Cup-winning captain

had undergone angioplasty in

October last year. PTI

IN BRIEF

PelegetsvaccinatedSAO PAULO

Pele received his first dose of

a COVID-19 vaccine on

Tuesday, calling it an

“unforgettable day.” The

80-year-old Brazilian great

posted the news on his social

media channels along with a

picture of himself receiving

the shot in his right arm. AP

NooverseasfansforOlympics:reportTOKYO

The Japanese government is

planning to stop overseas

spectators coming to the

Olympics due to worries they

will spread coronavirus, the

Mainichi newspaper reported

on Wednesday, citing multiple

unnamed sources. The final

decision will be made this

month after talks with the

IOC and other parties, the

newspaper said. REUTERS

Top seed Saketh Myneniposteda63,63victoryoverqualifi��er Ishaque Eqbal inthe fi��rst round of the$15,000 ITF men’s tennistournamentonWednesday.

Theresults:

Firstround: Saketh Myneni btIshaque Eqbal 6-3, 6-3; Aidan

Mchugh (GBr) bt Niitn KumarSinha 6-3, 2-6, 6-2; Filip Berge-vi (Swe) bt Dhruv Sunish 6-3,6-4; Oliver Crawford (USA) btLorenzo Bocchi (Ita) 6-1, 6-1;Luca Castelnuovo (Sui) bt NikiPoonacha 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Jonathan Mridha (Swe) btParas Dahiya 6-3, 6-3; Eric Van-shelboim (Ukr) bt Aryan Goveas6-3, 7-5; Dalwinder Singh btKaza Vinayak Sharma 7-6(3),

6-3; Sidharth Rawat bt AlexisCanter (GBr) 6-2, 6-2.

Doubles: Marco Brugnerotto &Davide Pozzi (Ita) bt Jatin Dahi-ya & Dalwinder Singh 3-6, 6-3,[11-9].

Sidharth Rawat & Manish Su-reshkumar bt Zane Khan (USA)& Dominik Palan (Cze) 2-6, 6-3,[10-4]; Anirudh Chandrasekar& Niki Poonacha bt KunalAnand & Rishi Reddy 6-2, 6-2.

MynenigetsthebetterofEqbalSports Bureau

LUCKNOW

TheteamofRajeshwariKumari and Lakshay Sheoranshot 135 and missed thechance tofi��ght foramixedtrapmedalbyonepoint inthe shotgun World Cup inCairoonWednesday.

Rajeshwari shot 66 inthreerounds,whileLakshayslipped to 21 after two

roundsof24foratotalof69.The other Indian pair of

Manisha Keer (64) and Kynan Chenai (69) placedninthamong14teamswithatotalof133.

Russia and Egypt madethe gold medal match withscoresof139and138respectively, while Spain won theshootoff��againstthesecondRussian team, after being

tiedon136,tochallengeSlovakia(137)forthebronze.

The men’s and women’steam competition will bestaged on Thursday. Twomoreroundsofqualifi��cationwillbefi��red toaddtotheirfi��veroundsofearlierindividual qualifi��cation. The topfourteamseachinthemen’sand women’s events, willcompeteforthemedals.

Rajeshwari,LakshayduomissesoutKamesh Srinivasan

NEW DELHI

M.C.MaryKom(51kg)wasassuredofamedal inherfi��rst competitive outingsince qualifying for theOlympics last year whensheenteredthesemifi��nalsoftheBoxamInternationalTournament in Castellon,SpainonWednesday.

The37yearolddefeatedItalian Giordana Sorrentino with a split verdict inthequarterfi��nals.

On Tuesday, ManishKaushik (63kg) advancedtothequarterfi��nalswithafacile opening win overSpaniard Ammari Raddouane50.Hewillbeupagainst Kazakhstan’s Sufi��ullinZakir.

Boxersfrom17countriesare participating in theevent.

MaryKomin

semifi��nalsPress Trust of India

New Delhi

Second seed Aman DahiyapippedAayushBhat36,75,76(5) to make the boys’semifi��nalsoftheITFgrade4juniortennistournamentatthe CLTA Complex onWednesday.

He will face Yuvan Nandal,whoputoutDenimYadavinthreesets.Yuvanhadearlierbeatenthechampionofthelasttwotournaments,ChiragDuhan.

In the girls’ section, SuhithaMarurirecoveredfroman indiff��erent start to beatthefavouriteandchampionoftheprevioustwotournaments,ShrutiAhlawat, 16,75,75.

ShewillplaytopseedSarahDev,whoenjoyedabigsliceofluckasheropponentVaishnavi Adkar retired

whileleading60,54.

Reshma in last four

Intheotherhalfofthedraw,Suhitha’ssisterReshmaalsomade the semifi��nals at theexpense of RutujaChaphalkar.

In an interesting match,Riya Uboveja knocked outsecond seed Sanjana Sirimallainthreesets.Theresults(quarterfi��nals):

Boys: Nishant Dabas bt Sebas-tien Cauhape (Bel) 6-0, 6-4;Dhruv Tangri bt Sanjith Devi-neni (US) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3; YuvanNandal bt Denim Yadav 4-6,6-3, 6-4; Aman Dahiya bt Aay-ush Bhat (US) 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(5).

Girls: Sarah Dev bt VaishnaviAdkar 0-6, 4-5 (retd.); SuhithaMaruri bt Shruti Ahlawat 1-6,7-5, 7-5; Reshma Maruri bt Ru-tuja Chaphalkar (US) 7-6(5),6-4; Riya Uboveja bt SanjanaSirimalla 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

AmanedgesAayushYuvanprogresses;SuhithastunsShrutiSPORTS BUREAU

CHANDIGARH

Vaidehi Chaudhari had thebig fi��sh in her hook beforelettingitslipfromhergraspin the fi��rst round of the$15,000ITFwomen’stennistournament at the DLTAComplex here on Wednesday.

SecondseedMiriamBiancaBulgaruclawedbackafterlosingthefi��rstsettoturnthetables on Vaidehi 36, 63,64.

Ranked more than 700places below the 364thranked Bulgaru, Vaidehimatched her opponentstrokeforstroke.

EnergeticShewasquiteenergetic,covering the court for nearlythree hours, under thescorchingsun.

A traineeofAltevolWaskeAcademy in Ahmedabad,Vaidehifailedtodrivehometheadvantagewhileleading31 in the second set afterhavingwonthefi��rst.

Inthedecidertoo,Vaidehimissed an opportunity tomakeafi��ghtofit.

Vaidehi converted justfourof12breakpointswhileBulgarunosedaheadbyconverting fi��ve of 10 breakpoints.

Bulgaruwillfacequalifi��erSai Samhitha in the secondround after the latter beatfellow qualifi��er SharmadaBaluinthreesets.

A fruitful dayJenniferLuikhamhadafruitfulday,beatingSmritiBhasin64,62andsettingupaprequarterfi��nalagainsttopseedRiyaBhatia.

ShelaterpartneredMihika Yadav to knock out secondseededRutujaBhosale

andSnehalManeforthelossofjustsixgames.Theresults:

Singles (fi��rst round): JenniferLuikham bt Smriti Bhasin 6-4,6-2; Ashmitha Easwaramurthibt Bhuvana Kalva 6-3, 2-6, 6-4;Sowjanya Bavisetti bt SathwikaSama 6-3, 6-2; Adrienn Nagy(Hun) bt Nidhi Chilumula 6-0,2-6, 6-0.

Prerna Bhambri bt Soha Sa-diq 6-4, 6-4; Irina Khromache-va (Rus) bt Saumya Vig 6-1,6-0; Farhat Aleen Qamar btAkanksha Nitture 6-4, 6-4; SaiSamhitha bt Sharmada Balu 6-1,1-6, 6-3; Miriam BIanca Bulgaru(Rou) bt Vaidehi Chaudhari 3-6,6-3, 6-4.

Doubles (prequarterfi��nals):Nikola Breckova & Lucie Petru-zelova (Cze) bt Sravya Shivani &Sathwika Sama 6-7(1), 6-3,[10-6].

Pia Lovric (Slo) & AdriennNagy (Hun) bt Riya Bhatia &Zeel Desai 6-1, 6-4; JenniferLuikham & Mihika Yadav bt Ru-tuja Bhosale & Snehal Mane6-4, 6-2.

VaidehiletsBulgaruoff��thehookFailstodrivehometheadvantageafterwinningthefi��rstset

ITF WOMEN

KAMESH SRINIVASAN

NEW DELHI

Profi��tableday: Jennifer progressed in both the singles anddoubles events. * KAMESH SRINIVASAN

M.C. Mary Kom has beenpickedas thechairpersonof the AIBA ChampionsandVeteransCommittee,apanelcreated lastyearbythe world body as part ofitsreforms.

The 37yearold 2012Olympic bronzemedallistwasnamedforthepositionafter voting by the AIBA’sboardofdirectors.

MaryKomiscurrentlyinSpain and expressed hergratitude inatweet.

“Thank you so much@Kremlev_U @AIBA_Boxing President and all boxingfamilyforgivingmethenewassignment.Iwillgivemybestandputmyvoicefortheupliftmentof@AIBA_Boxing @BFI_offi��cial@Media_SAI,”shesaid.

MaryKomto

headAIBApanel

Press Trust of India

New Delhi

Juventusgaveitshopesofa10thstraightSerieA titleatimely boost as it defeatedstruggling Spezia 30 onTuesdaytomovewithinsevenpointsofleagueleaderInterMilan.

Andrea Pirlo’s side wasfrustratedforlongperiods,but secondhalf goals fromAlvaro Morata, FedericoChiesaandCristianoRonaldo clinched an importantwin.

Juventussitsthreepointsbehind secondplaced ACMilan.TheTuringiantshavewon the last nine Italianleaguetitles,buthavealltodotodenyeitherofthetwoMilan clubs from endingthatremarkablerun.

Ronaldo forward scoredhis20thSerieAgoalofthecampaign when he scoredthethirdforJuventus.

He is the fi��rst player inEurope’stopfi��veleaguestoreachthatfi��gureforthe12thsuccessiveseason.

InManchester,ManchesterCityequalleditsclubrecordof28gamesunbeatenon Tuesday, hammeringWolverhampton41toopenupa15pointleadatthetopofthePremierLeague.

City’sunbeatenruninallcompetitionsequalsitsrunfrom April to December2017.Theresults:

Premier League: ManchesterCity 4 (Dendoncker 15-og, Je-sus 80, 90+3, Mahrez 90) btWolverhampton 1 (Coady 61)

Serie A: Juventus 3 (Morata62, Chiesa 71, Ronaldo 89) btSpezia 0.

Juventusboosts10thstraighttitlehopesCityequalsitsclubrecordof

28gameswithoutlosing

EURO LEAGUES

Agence France-Presse

Milan

Covaxin shows 81% effi also works against variants - Tenhard ... - [PDF Document] (2024)

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