˘ ˇ ˘ ˇ · 2021. 2. 20. · tocols to curb transmission. ... China blocking Indian patrol...

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Just when the coronaviruscases begun to dip, five pop-

ulated States — Kerala,Maharashtra, Punjab,Chhattisgarh and MadhyaPradesh — have started expe-riencing an upsurge in dailycases.

Daily Covid-19 cases in thecountry climbed to about14,000 after nearly 22 daystaking India’s tally to1,09,77,387, while the recover-ies surged to 1,06,78,048.

Only two States,Maharashtra and Kerala,account for 75.87 per cent oftotal number of active Covid-19 cases. At the same time, 78per cent of the new deaths werereported from just 5 States, theUnion Health Ministry said.

Health experts have calledfor dual efforts to address theemergence of the virus byramping up vaccinations andimplementation of safety pro-tocols to curb transmission.

“In the past week,Maharashtra has exhibited aspike in the number of dailynew cases, accounting for high-est number of daily new casesin the country today. In last 24hours, 6,112 daily new case hasbeen reported in the State,” theCentre said, adding that infec-tions have increased by 37 percent in Mumbai as the Statecapital recorded 823 cases onFriday, the highest single-dayspike in infections sinceDecember.

Meanwhile, the Ministrysaid 18 States/UTs have notreported any Covid-19 deathsin the last 24 hours. These areTelangana, Haryana, J&K (UT),Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh,Tripura, Assam, Chandigarh,Lakshadweep, Manipur,Meghalaya, Ladakh (UT),Mizoram, Sikkim, Nagaland,Arunachal Pradesh, Andamanand Nicobar Islands, Dadraand Nagar Haveli and Damanand Diu.

The Ministry added that atotal of 1,07,15,204 Covid-19vaccine doses have beenadministered through 2,22,313

sessions, as per the provision-al report till 8 am on Saturday.These include 63,28,479 health-care workers (first dose),8,47,161 healthcare workers(second dose) and 35,39,564frontline workers (first dose).

Dr Rahul Bhargava,Director-Bone MarrowTransplant Programme, FortisMemorial Research Institute,Gurugram, said Covid inap-propriate behaviour, air traveland high density population inMaharashtra and Kerala arecausing upsurge in the cases.The Government had also lift-ed air travel from the countries

which had variants.It’s not only Maharashtra

and Kerala, but in the lastseven days, Chhattisgarh toohas seen a rise in daily activenew cases. In the last 24 hours,259 daily new cases have beenreported.

“Similarly, Punjab has alsoshown a sudden spike in thenumber of daily new casesreported in last 7 days with 383daily new cases in last 24hours,” said the Ministry in astatement.

Dr Jugal Kishore, Head ofDepartment of CommunityMedicine from Safdarjung

Hospital, said lockdown is nota solution to the crisis.

“This shows that the StateGovernment has not been ableto strengthen its health infra-structure as well as inculcateCovid-norms.”

He also emphasised onfocussing on the areas wheresero-survailance surveys havebeen negative. “Those suscep-tible of the virus should begiven priority while imple-menting the anti-Covid normsas well boost health system.”

Speaking at a webinarorganised by the InternationalCentre, Goa, Director Generalof the Council for Scientific andIndustrial Research Dr ShekharMande said, “In Kerala and insome parts of Maharashtra thenumber has been increasing inthe past few days and thatmight be a reflection of the factthat people have become com-placent and believe that theworst is behind us. The worstis not over and unless we fol-low all precautions, we will notbe able to get over the pan-demic so easily.”

Rajeev Jayadevan, scientif-ic adviser and former presidentof the Indian MedicalAssociation, said the varia-tions in cases were expected,given how viruses behave in alarge geographical area.

Jayadevan also said whatIndia is witnessing could becalled a “stochastic spread” ofnovel coronavirus, where nouniformity in daily outcomescould be determined.

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India and China on Saturdayemphasised their commit-

ment to ensuring peaceful dis-engagement from the stand-offsites in Ladakh at the earliest.The flashpoints include HotSprings, Gogra, and DepsangValley.

This reiteration came dur-ing the tenth round of talksbetween Corps Commandersof the two armies at Moldo bor-der meeting point at the Lineof Actual Control (LAC) inChushul. The two military offi-cials along with their respectivedelegations also reviewed thepullback process from thesouthern and northern banksof the Pangong Tso (lake).

Both armies on Thursdaycompleted the withdrawal oftanks and troops at thePangong friction point. This isseen as the first step in bring-ing peace and tranquility at theLAC after the ten-month-longstand-off. The process startedin a synchronised manner onFebruary 10.

As per the agreementbetween the two sides, the

military officials were to meet48 hours after the complete pullback from Pangong. The meet-ing on Saturday between LtGeneral PK Menon and MajorGeneral Liu Lin was the firstone since the pull back.

Besides taking stock of thesituation post the withdrawal atPangong lake, the two com-manders also discussed ways todisengage from Hot Springs,Gogra, and Depsang valley,

sources said here.They said India will insist

on a faster disengagementprocess in the remaining areaslike Hot Springs, Gogra, andDepsang to bring down tensionin the region.

Officials were hopeful ofearly agreement to mutuallypull back troops fromPatrolling Point 15 and 17A inGogra as normalcy wasrestored to a large extent in theadjacent Pangong region.

However, a mutuallyacceptable plan to disengagefrom the Depsang plains couldtake longer, sources said. Thisregion in the past also sawstand-offs and intervention atthe higher levels were resortedto defuse tension, they added.

Sources said the tension inthe Depsang Plains was due toChina blocking Indian patrolparties from accessing PatrolPoints (PP) 10, 11, 11A, 12 and13. That was due to the reasonthat the Indian patrols have togo beyond a feature called bot-tleneck area on foot.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Saturday stressed

the Centre and States shouldwork together and make coop-erative federalism more mean-ingful which, he said, should“trickle down to districts inorder to promote growth.”

The PM also made a strongcase for giving the private sec-tor “full opportunity to becomea part of Government’sAatmanirbhar Bharat pro-gramme.”

Addressing the sixth meet-ing of the Governing Councilof NITI Aayog, Modi said farmreforms are to give technologyto agriculture.

Highlighting need tochange in agriculture sector, he

pointed out that the countrystill imported grain worth�65,000 crore that can be putin farmers pocket. Modi saidfarmers need to be given incen-tives to invest in agriculture.

The Prime Minister urgedto focus on storage and pro-cessing of agricultural productsto reduce wastage. He stressedon the need to exportprocessed foods rather thanraw foods to increase profits.

Modi said reforms are veryimportant for country’s farm-ers to get the necessary eco-nomic resources, better infra-

structure and modern tech-nology.

The Prime Minister saidthat the private sector shouldbe given full opportunity tobecome a part of Government’sAatmanirbhar Bharat pro-gramme.

“Centre and States shouldwork together for the nation’sprogress... Government has torespect and give due represen-tation to the private sector foreconomic progress,” Modi said.

The Governing Councilpresents a platform to discussinter-sectoral, inter-depart-mental and federal issues. Itcomprises the Prime Minister,Chief Ministers of States andUnion Territories with legisla-tors and Lieutenant Governorsof other UTs.

Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister YS Jagan MohanReddy reiterated that theCentral Government was oblig-ed to grant Special CategoryStatus to Andhra Pradesh asper the commitment given inParliament as a precondition tobifurcation.

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The Delhi Government hasdirected schools in the

national Capital to grant a 30-day relaxation to students in theage criteria for nursery admis-sions.

“It is reiterated that agerelaxation of up to 30 days maybe granted at the level of theheads of the school in both theminimum and maximum agelimit. Therefore, any parentseeking age relaxation inrespect of their ward, mayapproach the school principalthrough a manual applicationfor his or her consideration,”the Directorate of Education(DOE) said in a letter toschools.

The age criterion has beenfixed by the DOE every yearsince 2018 and relaxations havebeen granted in previous ses-sions too.

For admissions in nursery,KG and class 1 there is anupper limit. The child cannotbe more than four years of agefor admission in nursery as onMarch 31, for KG it is five yearsand for class 1 it is six years.

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Amid an outcry over recordhigh petrol and diesel

prices, Union Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman onSaturday said the Centre andState Governments will have totogether work out a mechanismto bring retail rates to reason-able levels.

As much as 60 per cent ofthe retail price of petrol, whichshot above �100-mark in someplaces in Rajasthan andMadhya Pradesh and is at anall-time high elsewhere in thecountry, is made up of Centraland State taxes.

Taxes make up for about 56per cent of the record highdiesel rates. Sitharaman, whohad increased Central Exciseduty on petrol and diesel by arecord margin last year to mopup gains arising from interna-tional oil prices plunging totwo-decade low, remained non-committal on cutting taxes togive relief to consumers.

“This is a very vexatious

issue. An issue in which noanswer except reducing theprice (of fuel) will convinceanyone. I know I am treadingon an area and whatever I maysay, to bring in the reality intopicture, will only sound like Iam obfuscating. I am avoidingmy answer. I am shifting theblame,” she said addressing agathering at an event organisedby the Chennai Citizens’Forum here.

She went on to explain thetax structure and how produc-tion cuts by oil cartel OPECand its allies had led to a rallyin the international oil prices,leading to a hike in retail ratesin India. She, however, said theanswer may lie in bringingpetrol and diesel under theGoods and Services Tax (GST)regime, which will end thecascading impact of taxes andbring uniformity.

Currently, the CentralGovernment levies a fixed rateof excise duty while states levydifferent rates of VAT.

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China, in a video releasedon social media as part of

psy-war, showcased the brav-ery of an Indian Army officerduring the Galwan Valleyclashes in Eastern Ladakh.

The officer of BiharRegiment, who hails from theSenapati district of Manipurand was commissioned in2018, was seen leading his menfrom the front in GalwanValley during the confronta-tion against the ChinesePeople’s Liberation Army(PLA). He is a Captain in theIndian Army.

The name of the Captainhas been withheld on requestfrom the Indian Army.

He received a Mention inDespatches during RepublicDay this year. He was seenwalking unarmed towards theChinese PLA to stop trans-gression into Indian territories.India lost 20 soldiers in theclash. China released thisvideo on Friday as part of itspsy-war to depict India’saggression during clashes inGalwan Valley. The video wentviral on all the platforms ofsocial media.

The video was releasedafter China for the first timeaccepted it lost four solidersduring the clash.

The video came a dayahead of military commandersmeeting to de-escalate tensionsat the LAC.

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More than 40,000 youthfrom 10 districts of

Jammu division have so farenrolled themselves to become“proud” soldiers in order toserve the country.

Each day large number ofyouth hailing from frontierdistricts of Rajouri, Poonch andlandlocked districts of Doda,Kishtwar and Ramban, Reasi,Samba, Udhampur, Kathua andJammu have been lining upoutside Sunjwan Military sta-tion in Jammu to participate inthe first Army recruitmentrally in this region after a pro-longed lockdown and Covid-19restrictions.

Efforts made by theKashmir-based terrorist outfitsto radicalise the youth acrossJammu division have failed asthousands of youth from ter-rorism-infested districts arecoming out to join the IndianArmy.

Before participating in therally, the youth were providedtraining by the local Army

units in remote areas so as tobuild their stamina and preparethem mentally and psycho-logically to compete with theyouth from urban centres.

Far greater number ofyouths from rural pockets aretaking part in the drive com-pared to their counterpartsfrom urban centres.

In the absence of employ-ment opportunities in remoteareas, joining Indian Armyremains a dream job for themajority of the youth.

The Army recruitmentrally for various categories ofsoldiers is being organisedunder aegis of Tiger Division atSunjuwan Military Station

from February 15 to March 6.Major General Vijay B

Nair, General OfficerCommanding, Tiger Division,on Saturday reviewed the con-duct of the recruitment rally.

The GOC was briefed byBrigadier AP Singh,Commander Shivalik Brigade,and Director Recruiting,Jammu, about various arrange-ments including various secu-rity, anti-touting and Covid-19related measures.

Defence PRO Lt ColDevender Anand said, “This isthe first Army recruitment

rally in this region after pro-longed lockdown and Covid-19restrictions. An overwhelmingresponse from the exuberantyouth has been recorded andapproximately 40,000 candi-dates have registered online”.

Lt Col Anand said, “Therally is witnessing immenseparticipation from the wellprepared local youth of all 10districts of Jammu divisiontowards joining Indian Army.”Covid-19 protocol is being fol-lowed during the rally by allparticipants and recruitingstaff, he added.

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Forgetting Soham from Bani —Ishq Da Kalma is a nightmarefor the fans of Adhvik Mahajan.

Only if one would have saw that TVshow, one would understand thecraze of the character in the sweetbut short serial. But as they say, allgood things come to an end and sodid that show.

However, that doesn’t meanbetter things were not on their way.A case in point is Zee TV’s latest TeriMeri Ikk Jindri. The show has givenits fans a lot more than justentertainment — Soham but in adifferent avatar — Jogi.

Not only the fans, but Jogi akaAdhvik too is extremely excited toplay the character and be seen in achallenging but fun avatar.

“I got an offer for a film but sinceI had already given my commitmentto this show, I said no to it. I don’tknow about other actors, but for mesatisfaction of work is moreimportant than the medium. Andthis show, I knew, was what I wantedto do without any second thoughts,”Mahajan says with a confident voice.

What attracted Mahajan towardsthe character on the first place wasthe challenges that it offered. “I don’tshare any similarities with Jogidespite the fact that we both arePunjabi. He is a lively person. Heknows how to be happy in everysituation which is, of course, notpossible practically. He knows theway out of everything. To sum it up,he is full of life and everything nice.I knew it will be a task for me to playsuch a role and that’s why I made upmy mind that this role is mine,”Mahajan tells you with a smile.

Such was his curiosity orexcitement to play the role, thatMahajan decided to walk an extramile and send an audition clip thatis hard to be rejected. And for this,instead of recording in front of awhite wall, he shot in the fields, tobring in the authenticity of thecharacter. That was, of course, a door die situation for Mahajan. “Iknew no one can play that role butme. And I have to give an auditionthat speaks for itself and which getsselected at once. Hence, I gave it myall with full energy and enthusiasm.Fortunately, it got selected and theteam told me that nobody was ableto replicate my version. That did feelgreat to hear,” he explains.

Not that the excitement fadedonce he started shooting instead it

is growing even more. “I lookforward to going to the sets. Theatmosphere is so and comfortablethat it feels like my second home. Ishare a good rapport withAmandeep Sidhu (who plays Mahi)and it adds to our performance.When one enjoys the work he does,the output is definitely good. Thiscan be one of the reason why peopleare showering the show and us withtheir love,” he asserts.

The preparation part, he says,was tough too. He loves to spendtime with himself, unlike hischaracter, and during this me timehis focus was to improvise hischaracter. He took inspiration fromhis father, who is a Punjabi ofcourse, to add minute details to Jogi.“I also lost a few inches. That wasn’tso hard, but the only challenge wasto get into the skin of the characterso well that it becomes a part of me,”he says.

The journey from Soham toJogi, he says, is full of learnings.“After Soham, people told me thatmy life will change for the better andthat work will pour in from alldirections. However, the reality wasfar away from this. I had no work forabout two years after that show. Inthese seven years of my career, I haveshot for four years in totality and forthe rest three years I was out of work.To make ends meet, I stepped intoa lot of side businesses as well. Someof them worked, while others didnot. But there was never a momentwhen I felt like quitting. That’s notme. My father’s faith in me gave methe motivation to fight. I used towake up every day with a smile, dressup, go to auditions and get rejected.But never gave up. One always learnfrom their failures and so did I.Having said that, it’s a no-brainerthat God has been always kind tome,” he recalls.

Another learning, that many ofus have had in our life, Mahajan says,is that he learnt to unmask fakefriendships. “There were people whotook a step back from me when I wasout of work. But that didn’t botherme. I silently saw their actions.Some of them even turned back tome when I had work, but it is fine. Ihave my best people with me andthey have always supported me. Therest of the people are like puppets tome, I just observe what they have instore,” the actor who believes instaying grounded says.

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There are many out there who love watchingseries and wait for new ones to be releasedbecause they have watched the old ones

too many times. They love the whole concept ofbinge watching in order to find out how it allends. Most times the series comes in seasons andone has to wait for the next and the next and thenext before one finds how it all ends.

But sometimes one hits a jackpot and wecome across limited episodes season. The goodpart is that there aren’t many episodes six toeight and therefore easy to go through at onego even if they have 50 minutes per episode runtime.

The synopsis of Behind Her Eyes is goodenough to sink its teeth in you and one ishooked even though it is not fast paced.However, it doesn’t mean that the thrill,mystery and intrigue is missing here. In fact,all these are there in abundance and keeps theattention. How can one go wrong with a storywhere there is a psychiatrist who is married toa person who can do astral projection and hadundergone treatment where she befriends aman who has night terrors? Definitely asubject-story worth sitting down and watching.A bit convoluted but the end result — climax

is worth the gasp of surprise and do a doubletake with ‘what the hell’!

The best part is that before the climax twistreveals itself, one keeps wondering what is thepoint of this parallel story and how are the twolinked. But director Eric Richter Strand, thisBritish series which moves smoothly intohorror gad some fantastic performances by theleads.

Eve Hewson gives brilliant performancehere. Despite the fact that you hate her, sheendears herself such is the beauty with whichshe plays her part. Simona Brown is just as goodif not better. Playing a divorced mom of aneight-year-old, she plays Louise with excellence.Tom Bateman who okays the psychiatrist,David Ferguson, does his part rather brilliantly.As a trouble stressed husband, he plays his partconvincingly.

The horror here is mostly psychologicalrather than anything else. It is the events thatoccur that are extremely distressing. Also, thereare a few questions that remain unansweredwhich is a bit of a downer given that there maynot be another season since it does say limitedseries even though with the twist that comesat the end, one wished there was more to come.

So unless the makers decide to goindependent of the book, a 2017 novel by thesame name by Sarah Pinborough, the lastepisode ends where and how it does.

Do not miss this dark psychologicalthriller. — ��

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We saw her in GoneGirl — apsychological thriller

— where she played Amy thegirl/wife who goes missingand the husband is the primesuspect in her disappearanceand probable murder. Here, inI Care A Lot, Pike manages theaudience to root for her evenas she ruthlessly goes aboutdestroying lives of countlesssenior citizens by putting themin care homes while sheappoints herself as theirguardian and takes control oftheir money.

I Care A Lot is the kind ofmovie that makes you cringeand wonder what kind of asystem allows one person to ruleand control others and second

that moneys makes the world goround — corruption is universaland a few bucks thrown hereand there is enough to get awaywith almost anything.

Pike who plays Marla, apower hungry, greedy,manipulative sociopath whoalso happens to be gay essays therole rather well. Not caringabout how it affects the lives ofothers, she guts lives ruthlesslyand without a care or evenremorseful — her mantra thatshe hates to be not rich — andhence this scam that she hasgoing may sound ridiculousand the plot unrealistic, butPike, via her acting, keeps theinterest, a revisit of Gone Girldays.

It is refreshing to see a filmthat doesn’t have your typicalgood hero who wins in the end.A dark twisted thriller thatmakes for an interesting watch.But if you hate such subjectmovies, stay as far away aspossible.

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Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar on

Saturday sought CentralGovernment’s intervention inresolving the long pending issueof Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) andHansi-Butana Link Canal so thatthe State could get its legitimateshare of river water.

“To overcome the watershortage problem in the State,the Government will soon besigning a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU) for theKishau dam. Besides this, MoUshave already been signed withthe Uttarakhand and HimachalPradesh Government forLakhwar and Renuka dam,”informed the CM.

Speaking during the sixthGoverning Council meeting ofthe NITI Aayog held under theChairmanship of PrimeMinister, Narendra Modithrough video conferencing,Khattar apprised the PrimeMinister about several steps

taken by the State Governmentfor promoting water conserva-tion and said that at presentmaximum area of the State isconverting into dark zone,therefore if the SYL and Hansi-Butana Link Canal issue isresolved then the problem ofwater scarcity in Haryana wouldbe addressed immediately.

Highlighting the fact thatthough in GST collection,Haryana is at the forefront butdespite that due to Input TaxCredit, the State gets only 20percent GST, urging the PrimeMinister to formulate a plan forincentivizing the states havingthe maximum GST collection.

He said that the StateGovernment with the spirit ofAntyodaya is already movingswiftly in this direction andefforts are being made for suc-cessful implementation of thefirst of its kind States's ambi-tious Parivar Pehchan Patrascheme to ensure that personstanding last in the queue getsthe benefit of government

schemes.On the steps being taken

by the State Government for‘Making India a GlobalManufacturing Hub’ , the ChiefMinister apprised the PrimeMinister that for reducing com-pliance burden at state level andEase of Doing Business,Haryana Enterprise andEmployment Policy 2020 hasbeen launched. Besides this,100 percent implementations ofDistrict Level Action Plan havebeen achieved. ComplianceBurden has also been reducedby eliminating the require-ment of renewal of licencesunder various Acts.

The Chief Ministerinformed that for minimizingthe Cost of Doing Business byimproving Logistics/trans-portation, Logistics andWarehousing Policy, 2019 hasbeen launched. An IntegratedMulti-Modal Logistics Hub at

Narnaul has been developed.Apart from this, theInternational HorticultureMarket is being developed at anapproximate cost of Rs 7000crore in Ganaur. Flower Marketis being established inGurugram. To facilitate trade inapples, an apple market isunder establishment inPanchkula. Besides this,Masala Market is also underestablishment in Sirsa.

Khattar informed that forpromoting agriculture, aligningthe cropping system to Agro-Climatic Conditions at districtlevels is being done for opti-mum resource use. Apart fromthis ‘Mera Pani Meri VirasatScheme to diversify the paddycrop into alternative crops likemaize, cotton, bajra, pulses,vegetables, and fruits and as aresult of which sowing of othercrops in place of Paddy is beingdone on 97,000 acres of land.An amount of Rs. 7000 is beinggiven as an incentive to thefarmers for adopting crop diver-sification, said the CM.

He said that for theHaryana Water ResourceAuthority promoting waterconservation, Haryana WaterResource Authority andHaryana Pond and WastewaterManagement Authority havebeen constituted. Besides this,Re-use of treated wastewaterpolicy with an objective to use25 percent of treated waste-

water for non-portable uses hasalso been launched.

Khattar said at presentHaryana is giving the highestprice of Rs 350 per quintal tosugarcane farmers. Apart from

this, various crops such asGram, Mustard, Sunflower,Bajra and Maize are being pro-cured on MSP by the StateGovernment. He said that anarea of 17216 hectares has

been brought under fish culturewhich has produced 1.91 lakhMT fish in the State. Producingwhite shrimp in the Salineaffected areas and getting goodresults, he added.

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Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh Saturday

urged Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to ensureurgent resolution to the ongo-ing farmers'' "unrest", and anearly release of the state's pend-ing GST compensation.

In his pre-recordedaddress for the sixthGoverning Council virtualmeeting of Niti Aayog, thechief minister also proposedthat states be consulted beforedeciding the priority list forCOVID-19 vaccination. CaptAmarinder, who could not

attend the meeting as he wasunwell, also expressed con-cerns over the threat toPunjab's agriculture sector asa result of the "disruptionscaused by the three new farmlaws".

He also raised the issue ofCOVID-19 vaccine, urging theCentre to consult the statebefore fixing priorities for vac-cination, as the exercise, heargued, involves the entirepopulation. The CM alsorequested the Centre to releasePunjab's pending GST com-pensation, amounting to Rs8,253 crore for the periodbetween April 2020 and

January 2021.Urging respect for the

''annadaata'' (the farmer), theCM reiterated his govern-ment's stand that agriculture isa state subject it should be leftto be legislated upon by statesin the true spirit of "coopera-tive federalism" enshrined inthe Constitution. He alsopointed out that the state hasalready passed amendments tothe Central legislation.

The CM asserted in hisspeech that any reform in asector affecting almost 60 per-cent of the country's workforcemust be brought only througha process of extensive consul-

tation with all the stakeholders,of which Punjab is a key mem-ber being at the forefront ofensuring food security for thenation. He also raised thefarmers' apprehension that theMinimum Support Price-basedprocurement through FoodCorporation of India (or agen-cies on its behalf) may be dis-continued in view of theShanta Kumar CommitteeReport of 2015.

Capt Amarinder alsostressed the need for the gov-ernment of India to decisivelydispel any such impression "toinstil proper confidence in thefarmers of the state". He also

used the forum to once againreiterate the state government'sdemand for a bonus of Rs 100per quintal of paddy procuredas straw management com-pensation.

The Punjab CM requestedthe Centre to provide Rs 5crore per megawatt financialsupport for biomass powerprojects and Rs 3.5 crore perMW for biomass solar hybridprojects to the state as ViabilityGap Fund (VGF) to help alle-viate the effects of paddy strawburning through ex-situ utili-sation of available paddy straw with good returns to thefarmers.

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Addressing the 6th Meetingof Governing Council of

NITI Aayog virtually fromShimla, Himachal ChiefMinister Jai Ram Thakur onSaturday said that being a hillyState, greater funds andresources were required to cre-ate infrastructure in the state ascompared to other States.

He said the StateGovernment was laying specialstress on making HimachalPradesh a tourist hub of theCountry, pointing out that thebiggest bottleneck in this waslack of better air and rail con-nectivity. He urged the PrimeMinister for approval and toprovide assistance for con-struction of Greenfield AirportMandi and for expansion ofKangra Airport. He said thatthis would give a big boost totourism activities, besidesbeing important from a strate-gic point of view.

Prime Minister NarendraModi today chaired the 6thMeeting of Governing Councilof NITI Aayog which washeld virtually in which issues

related to agriculture, infra-structure, manufacturing andhuman resource developmentwere discussed in detail. UnionDefence Minister RajnathSingh conducted the proceed-ing of the meeting.

The CM said the StateGovernment was giving toppriority on the development ofinfrastructure in HimachalPradesh and thanked PrimeMinister Narendra Modi fortaking a personal interest incompleting the work of AtalTunnel Rohtang in recordtime. He said that with thecompletion of this Tunnel,there has been a lot ofimprovement in livelihood inLahaul and Pangi Valley, asthousands of tourists haveturned towards this. He saidthe about 5,000 vehicles werecrossing the Rohtang Tunneldaily. Snow Festival has beenorganized in Keylong Valleyfor the last one month andpeople were going to see itfrom all areas and this wouldnever have been possible with-out this tunnel, he added.

Thakur said that the Baddiarea of the State can boast of

being the biggest Pharma hubof Asia, adding that now theState has aggressively made abid for Bulk Drug PharmaPark for the State. He said thatin addition to this the State hasalso bid for setting up of aMedical DevicesManufacturing Park andElectronic Manufacturing Hubfor the State. He urged forapproving all these Parks forthe State, which would go along way in transforming theeconomic condition of theState. He urged the PrimeMinister to favourably con-sider the request of the State inthis regard.

He said the StateGovernment made a majorimprovement in "Ease of doingBusiness" to encourage invest-ment in the State and has movedfrom 16th to 7th position. Hesaid that ‘Ground Breaking’ ofinvestment of Rs. 13,500 crorehas been performed after GlobalInvestors Meet organised bythe State Government on7thand 8th November, 2019.More projects worth Rs.10,000crore were ready for groundbreaking, he added.

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The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturdayasked both the central government as well

as the Congress government in the State toreduce petrol and diesel prices with immediateeffect to give relief to the common man fromthe unbearable astronomical hikes in petrole-um products this year.

Former minister Daljit Singh Cheema saidpetrol and diesel prices had been increased by24 times this year itself and petrol and dieselprices had been hiked by Rs 6.87 per litre andRs 7.10 per litre in the last fifty days alone. Hesaid this had been done despite the fact thatcrude prices had gone down in the last one weekwith crude presently trading at $ 63 per barrel.

Stating that the situation warranted anurgent intervention from the highest level,including the Prime Minister, Cheema said it wasextremely worrisome that petrol and diesel priceswere being hiked despite the fact that the priceshad been deregulated and were dependent oninternational prices. “It is not justified to bur-den the common man in this manner. Theunprecedented rise in fuel prices will have a dev-astating impact on the economy, which is stillrecovering from the Covid-induced crisis.Prices of essential commodities have alreadygone up and the situation could become worsein the coming days”, the SAD leader added.

Asserting that it was the duty of the Stategovernment also to give relief to its citizens,Cheema said in Punjab State VAT on petrol wasas Rs 19.72 per litre amounting to 27.26 per cent.

He said similarly the State VAT on diesel wasRs 12.41 per litre amounting to 17.53 per cent.He said while petrol was being sold at Rs 91.47per litre in Punjab, diesel was being sold at Rs82.60 per litre.

Asking chief minister Capt AmarinderSingh to act immediately without further ado,the Akali leader said the Congress governmentshould affect Rs ten per litre cut in petrol anddiesel prices immediately by reducing VAT cor-respondingly. “We will take up this issue in thebudget session also. Every section of society inPunjab is suffering be it from massive power tar-iff hikes or lack of distribution of social welfarebenefits. Now the steep hike in petroleum prod-ucts is causing more misery to the people. TheCongress government must address this situa-tion immediately or be ready to face the publicoutcry. The SAD will also take up this issue inits forthcoming core committee meeting andcome up with a public programme to force thecentre and state governments to roll back fuelprices”, Cheema added.

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Ploughed out of the munic-ipal areas in Punjab by the

ruling Congress, the saffronparty has apparently takencomfort in the defeat of otherpolitical parties opposing theCentre’s farm legislations.Defeated but not cowed down,the Bharatiya Janata Partyclaimed that it would go solo inthe 2022 assembly polls andemerge victorious.

“The fact that we wereable to put up 1,052 candidatesfor the civic body electionsshows that we can contestalone in 2022,” declared PunjabBJP president Ashwani Sharma.

Sharma, mincing no wordswhile lashing out at the Chief

Minister Capt AmarinderSingh and the ruling Congressparty over misuse of govern-ment machinery to win munic-ipal elections, said BJP is gear-ing up for the 2022 Assemblyelections.

“BJP is all prepared for2022 elections. At that time,this Punjab election commis-sion would not be there. Thisadministration will not be amute spectator. The ElectionCommission of India wouldhold these elections…Therewould be no goondagardi,”said Sharma.

Categorically blaming themisuse of official machinery bythe Congress for poll results,Sharma said: “The Congress’win in these local bodies’ polls

is due to dandacracy and notdemocracy…The democracyhas been defeated and ashamedeven though the Chief Ministeris patting his back.”

Taking a dig at theCongress’ win, Sharma said: “Ifthe Congress wants to thankanyone, it should thank thestate DGP who helped them inwinning this election, theadministration, the StateElection Commission as theyall played an important role tomake Congress candidateswin.”

He said that the Congresswon the elections through“undemocratic means”. “Thepeople of Punjab have seeneverything closely and willgive befitting reply when the

right opportunity comes,” headded.

Sharma highlighted howanti-BJP wave was createdacross the state and its workersand leaders were not allowed tohold meetings peacefully, beingattacked wherever they go,have dharnas outside their res-idences, could not even cam-paign or put up posters of thecandidates. “If Congress stillfeels that they have won theseelections, then many congrat-ulations to them,” he quipped.

“In fact, I salute the BJP’scandidates who stood with the‘lotus’ and contested in such anegative environment notagainst the opponents, but alsoagainst the government,administrations and

goondaism,” said Sharmaadding that this shows that theBJP is all prepared for theforthcoming elections in anycircumstances.

At the same time, Sharmaruled out any impact of theCentre’s agricultural acts on theoutcome of the recently-con-cluded elections in the state.“The parties which were sup-porting the farmers’ agitationand opposing the farm lawsalso faced defeat,” said Sharmain direct reference to ShiromaniAkali Dal (SAD) and AamAadmi Party (AAP).

Another BJP leader, whodid not wish to be named, toldThe Pioneer that even thoughthe party had lost badly, evenin areas known to be its strong-

hold, “the party’s core voterbase is still intact”.

Finishing close to com-plete wipe-out in the state,BJP faced defeats even in itsbastions of Pathankot — thehome turf of state unit chiefAshwani Sharma; andHoshiarpur — the home con-stituency of Union MinisterSom Parkash. In Pathankot,BJP could win only 11 of 50seats, while in Hoshiarpur, thesaffron party won just three of50 seats.

“The party core committeewill now meet soon to analyzeand examine the poll outcome.It would chalk out the strategyor the way ahead for the 2022polls as less than a year hasbeen left,” said the BJP leader.

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The Covid vaccination drivein Himachal Pradesh is

progressing at a satisfactorypace, Health & Family WelfareMinister, Rajiv Saizal said onSaturday.

Pointing out that till date63890 Health Care Workers(HCW) have been vaccinatedwith the first dose of Covid-19vaccine, he said the State hasachieved the target of morethan 75 percent vaccination ofthe Health Care Workers and

is amongst the only nine Statesand Union Territory in theCountry to have achieved thisfigure.

Saizal said the Districtshave been asked to achieve thecomplete target of the firstdose of vaccine by 20thFebruary, adding that the sec-ond dose of COVID vaccine tothe Health Care Workers whohave been administered thefirst dose has been startedfrom 13th February and againstthe target, Himachal has madean achievement of 85 percentwhich is highest in the Countryas per review done byGovernment of India.

The Minister said that tilldate 28840 Front Line Workers(FLW) have been vaccinatedwhich is 56 percent of the tar-get and as per the expected cov-erage for achievement of vac-cination of the first dose ofFront Line Workers by 1stMarch. He informed that thevaccine wastage in the State hasbeen very less due to the excel-lent planning and implemen-tation by the Health depart-ment. He said that the per-centage of Adverse EventFollowing Immunization isclose to 0.5 percent and sincethe vaccine is totally safe, every-body who has been registeredfor it should come forward andget the same.

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The total number of Covid-19 cases in Punjab mount-

ed to 178,111 on Saturday with385 fresh infections while thedeath toll climbed to 5,748 aseight more people succumbedto the disease, according to amedical bulletin.

Among other districts,Ludhiana reported 62 freshcases, Jalandhar 38 and SASNagar 30, the bulletin said. Atotal of 264 coronaviruspatients were discharged afterrecovering from the infection,taking the number of curedpersons to 1,69,480, it said.There are 2,883 active cases inthe state, the bulletin stated. 10critical patients are on ventila-tor support while 83 are onoxygen support, it said. So far,a total of 48,33, 218 sampleshave been collected for testingin the state, it said.

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recorded 111 fresh coronaviruscases, taking the total number

of infections in the state to2,69,609, a Health Departmentbulletin said. With no deathtaking place during the past 24hours, the total number ofCovid-19 fatalities in the statestood at 3,042, according to thebulletin. The fresh casesinclude 25 from Gurugramand 24 from Karnal districts.The number of active cases inthe state were 816, while asmany as 2,65,751 have recov-ered. The recovery rate was98.57 percent, it stated.

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Chandigarh on Saturdayrecorded 26 fresh Covid-19infections which took its case-load to 21,397, according to amedical bulletin. One moreperson died taking the totaldeath toll to 349, the bulletinsaid. There are 169 active casesin Chandigarh. Twelve patientswere discharged after theyrecovered from the infection. With this, the num-ber of cured persons has risento 20,879, it said.

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Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Saturday

embarked on the importance ofpromoting the manufacturingsector and start-ups for the eco-nomic progress of India.

Addressing the Niti AayogGoverning Council Meeting,he said that the Central andState governments shouldcome together to build manu-

facturing hubs across the coun-try, to provide facilities and givetax breaks to MSMEs, manu-facturers, and industrialists,for import substitutes andexports.

" India has never givenimportance to the manufac-turing sector in the last 70 yearsand it is lagging behind in thissector, which has made Chinacapture the markets. It is nec-essary to aggressively pursue

manufacturing for India's eco-nomic progress, creation ofjobs, and GDP growth, headded.

The chief minister alsosaid that the youth possessesthe potential and the energy tostart new businesses which iswhy India needs to aggressive-

ly promote start-ups to createjobs in the country.

Kejriwal said, "I would liketo shift PM's focus to twoissues. In the last 70 years, ourcountry has never given impor-tance to the manufacturingsector, as a result of which peo-ple are leaving the manufac-turing sector and are movingtowards the trading and servicesectors. Our country is laggingbehind in the manufacturing

sector." "We witnessed that India

had to confront two issues inthe last year. First is COVID,which hugely affected the man-ufacturing sector and manyjobs were lost. Secondly, on onehand, we saw how China hasbeen challenging us on the bor-der, and on the other hand, ithas captured our markets andChinese products are replacingIndian products on a large

scale. We should aggressivelypursue manufacturing," he said.

The chief minister said,"The youth of our countryneeds to come to the forefront.The youth possesses the poten-tial and the energy to start newbusinesses. If the Central andState governments cometogether and provide facilitiesto our youth, we will have ahuge contribution to theprogress of the nation."

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Leaders of Aam Aadmi Party,Bharatiya Janata Party and

Congress visited ChandniChowk Old Hanuman Templeon Saturday and chantedHanuman Chalisa.

AAP senior leader andMCD in-charge Durgesh Pathakprayed for world peace at Lord

Hanuman's temple in along withthe residents of the area.

Pathak said that the NorthDelhi Municipal Corporationhad demolished this temple ofLord Hanuman but the peoplehave re-built it with their faith."People choose their govern-ment with trust and expecta-tions, we are doing everythingpossible to fulfill their expecta-

tions. The BJP in Delhi hascrushed the trust and expecta-tions of the people. The peopleof Delhi are perturbed by theBJP's rule in the MCD, and theywant to entrust the AAP gov-ernment with this responsibili-ty," he added.

Reacting to this, Delhi BJPSpokesperson Praveen ShankarKapoor said that it is sad that

AAP leader Durgesh Pathak hasvitiated the atmosphere by giv-ing a political statement after vis-iting the Hanuman Mandirrebuilt by local people atChandni Chowk.

The original Mandir atChandni Chowk was demol-ished as a part of DelhiGovernment's beautificationplan on Court's order, he said.

The day long chanting ritu-als was also led by DelhiCongress Vice President Mudit

Aggarwal. The ancientHanuman temple located inChandni Chowk was demol-ished a few days ago the DelhiMunicipal Corporation. Talkingto media, Aggarwal blamedchief minister Arvind Kejriwalterming him an outsider andthus the Chief Minister has nei-ther any knowledge of the cul-ture of Delhi nor of ChandniChowk area.

"Even though the peoplevoted him and made him CM,

but the truth is that he has noth-ing to do with public emotions.Both the Delhi government andthe BJP's MCD are engaged inmanipulating the public by doingpolitics of mere allegation,"Aggarwal said in a Press state-ment.

Aggarwal also said that theDelhi Congress has started amovement , which led todemonstrations there, recitedHanuman Chalisa and created amass movement.

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Delhi Transport MinisterKailash Gahlot said that

5,534 new electric three-wheelers have been registeredin the national capital sincethe launch of 'Electr icVehicle" (EV) policy in Delhi.

Since the launch of thepolicy in August 2020, threewheelers emerge as the high-est selling EV segment inDelhi. 5534 new EV three-wheelers have been regis-tered, with more users com-ing forward to make theswitch.

In the second week of theDelhi government's SwitchDelhi campaign, many users,environmentalists, celebritiesand industry leaders havecome forward to express theirsupport and applaud the cam-paign.

The campaign focused ongenerating awareness on thebenefits of EV three-wheelersalong with the benef itsoffered under the Delhi EVpolicy for those who want tomake the switch from ICE(Internal CombustionEngine) vehicles to electric."We are constantly receivingpositive feedback from OEMsthat a lot of people haveexpressed interest to make theswitch from ICE to electric.Delhi government has led theway in promoting e-rickshawsfor the last few years by giv-ing a subsidy of Rs 30,000.After the EV policy, the samesubsidy has been extended toe carts/loaders and e-autos,"he said.

“Subsidies provided bythe Delhi government underDelhi’s EV policy on electricthree wheeler autos reducethe total cost of ownership ofthe electric three-wheeler byup to 26 per cent. By switch-ing to electric three wheelerauto, an individual buyer cansave approximately Rs 29,000annually. Similarly, the subsi-dies provided on electric threewheeler e-rikshaw under thepolicy reduce the total cost ofownership by up to 33 percent,” Gahlot said.

Delhi’s EV policy and theSwitch Delhi campaign havebeen well-applauded by envi-ronmentalists, celebrities, andthe industry. Switch Delhi is aneight-week mass awareness cam-paign by the Delhi Governmentto sensitize each and everyDelhiite about the benefits ofswitching to EVs to the envi-ronment as well as to make themaware of the incentives andinfrastructure being developedunder Delhi’s EV policy.

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Delhi Police has registered acase against former

Bahujan Samajwadi Party(BSP), MP Akbar Ahmad'Dumpy' after a complaint wasrecieved by Delhi BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) vice-presi-dent Shazia Ilmi accusing himof misbehaving with her at aprivate party.

According to a seniorpolice official, Ilmi alleged thatAhmad allegedly started "mis-behaving with her and passedlewd remarks" at a dinner partyin Delhi's Vasant Kunj area onFebruary 5.

Ingit Pratap Singh, theDCP, Southwest district saidthat they received a complaintfrom Illmi, and based on it, thecase was registered againstAkbar Ahmad 'Dumpy' onFebruary 7.

The DCP said that aninvestigation is underway. Ilmion Saturday alleged Ahmadwas "very much abusive andhumiliating" towards her atthe gathering. She said a com-plaint was filed by her with thepolice. Police said the case wasregistered under sections 506(threatening) and 509 (word,gesture or act intended to insultthe modesty of a woman) of theIndian Penal Code (IPC).

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The Economic OffencesWing (EOW) of Delhi

Police has arrested a 41-year-old man who had allegedlyduped several people by induc-ing them in his ponzy schemeto the tune of �eight crores.

The accused has been iden-tified as Gopal Dalapati, whowas arrested by the EOWpolice team outside gate no 2of Saket Court Complex ponFebruary 18.

According to Dr O PMishra, the JointCommissioner of Police, EOW,the First Information Report(FIR) was registered on thecomplaint of Gopal Singh andother complainants in whichthey have alleged that theyhave been induced by allegedcompany Weird InfrastructureCorporation Ltd. and Weird

Industries Limited throughtheir director and representatives to invest intheir small savings schemes forbetter return.

“It has been alleged thataccused persons cheated thesmall investors in the name ofdoubling and tripling theinvested amount on maturity.The accused persons alsoissued Debenture Certificatesand collected huge amountsabout 8 Crores. After collectingthe huge amounts, the compa-ny closed their offices and ranaway,” said the Joint CP.

“During probe, it wasrevealed that the accused alongwith his associates launchedschemes for high returns to vic-tims. Accused persons with hisassociates had operated theirillegal business from Kolkataand Delhi by opening theiroffices. After collecting aroundeight Crores from victims, thealleged companies closed theiroffices in Kolkata and Delhiand disappeared,” said the JointCP.

“Earlier, three accused,Amarendra Prasad Singh,Bharat Kumar Rai includingChairman cum ManagingDirector Sanjay Kumar Dashave been arrested by thepolice,” said the Joint CP.

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The EnforcementDirectorate has filed a pros-

ecution complaint(chargesheet) against Punjab-based Kudos Chemie Ltd. andits directors for forging docu-ments to seek loan from a con-sortium of banks and divertingthe funds to the tune of about�350 crore.

The agency said it has filedthe Prosecution Complaintagainst Kudos Chemie Ltd.,Kudos Holdings Pvt Ltd. and itsdirectors, Jitendra Singh andGurmeet Sodhi before theSpecial Court (PMLA),Chandigarh under thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act.

The ED initiated the inves-tigation on the basis of a CBIFIR dated April 7, 2017 underthe Indian Penal Code (IPC)Sections relating to cheating,forgery and criminal conspira-cy for bank fraud with the con-sortium of banks led by PunjabNational Bank.

“The ED investigationrevealed that

Jitendra Singh andGurmeet Sodhi, directors ofKudos Chemie Ltd, prepared

forged export bills and gotthem discounted with the banksfraudulently. They also divert-ed loan funds to the relatedconcern Kudos Holdings Pvt.Ltd. being a shell company andthrough round-tripping showedthe diverted funds as their owncapital and took more loansfrom the banks. Directors of thecompany alsoused companyloan funds for buying proper-ties in individual names. In

thiscase, the immovable prop-erties amounting to �343 crorestand attached by ED,”it said.

Further investigation, inthis case, is in progress, itadded.

Meanwhile, in a separatecase, the ED has filed aSupplementary ProsecutionComplaint before the SpecialCourt of Bharat Parashar,Special Judge (PC Act), NewDelhi under PMLA in a case ofillegal allocation of coal blockin Jharkhand against DomcoPvt. Ltd. and its directors BinayPrakash, Rita Prakash and theirtwo other firms.

The agency initiated inves-tigation on the basis of a CBIFIR under IPC sections relatingto criminal conspiracy andcheating against Domco Pvt.Ltd. and its promoters/directorsand other unknown persons forsubmitting false informationwith dishonest intention to theauthorities while applying for acaptive coal block and securingallocation of “Lalgarh (North)”coal block in West BokaroCoalfield, Jharkhand. The irreg-ular allocation led to a pecu-

niary benefit of �7 crores to theaccused Binay Prakash whooffered to sell the shares of thecompany on premium, afteral-location of the coal block to theRanchi-based firm.

Further investigationrevealed that the accused BinayPrakash placed the Proceeds ofCrime in the banking systemand subsequently the amountwas siphoned off/routed/invested through theentities of Binay Prakash groupowned/controlled by him.Identified assets in form ofimmovable properties held inthe name of Binay Prakashgroup amounting to �3.96crores and movable propertiesamounting to �3.04 crores wereprovisionally attached. TheAdjudicating Authority underPMLA has already

confirmed attached prop-erties worth �6.88 crores andproperties worth �12 lakhs areunder the process of confir-mation, it said.

Earlier, a ProsecutionComplaint under PMLA wasfiled before the court here onDecember 13, 2018.

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Acombination of robust vac-cination programmes and

strict physical distancing rulescould avoid recurring peaks ofCovid-19 without the need torely on stay-at-home restric-tions. This is the suggestion byepidemiologists and demogra-phers from WorldPop at theUniversity of Southampton, incollaboration with The ChineseUniversity of Hong Kong. Thefindings are published in thejournal Nature HumanBehaviour.

In their study, they usedanonymised mobile phonegeolocation data with epi-demiological and coronaviruscase data from China to modelthe potential impact of vacci-nation and physical distancingon virus transmission.

They predicted the effect ofdifferent combinations of inter-ventions on low, medium andhigh density cities in the coun-try.

The impact of physical dis-tancing in containing futureresurgences of Covid-19depends greatly on the intensi-ty of measures, population den-sity, and the availability of vac-cines across geographical areasand time. The researchers setout to gain a greater under-standing of the relationshipbetween these factors.

The team predicts that inmost cities, vaccination pro-grammes and physical distanc-ing combined will be enough tocontain virus resurgence with-out the need to greatly restrictpopulation mobility.Containment in this study wasdefined as maintaining a lowtransmission rate, or ‘R’ belowone.

The researchers report cities

with medium and high densitypopulations will need both vac-cination and distancing to pre-vent future intense waves ofCovid-19, until herd immuni-ty is reached. However, theysuggest cities with low popula-tions and effective vaccinationcould fully interrupt transmis-sion without the need for phys-ical distancing. In all cities, full‘stay-at-home’ lockdowns wouldno longer be necessary.

The team’s results also sug-gest strong physical distancinginterventions implemented forshort periods of time may bemore effective than mild, longerterm ones.

The author and spatial epi-demiologist, Dr Shengjie Lai,Senior Research Fellow inGeography and EnvironmentalSciences at the University ofSouthampton said, “Ourresearch provides a frameworkand set of outputs that can beused by policy-makers and pub-lic health authorities to identi-fy appropriate levels of inter-vention to keep Covid-19 out-breaks in check over time.

“Although our study wasbased on data from China, ourmethods and findings areapplicable to cities worldwidewith similar levels of populationdensity and social contact pat-terns.”

Director of WorldPop,Professor Andy Tatem, added:“Previous studies have assumedthat when people reduce mobil-ity, they proportionately reducetheir social contacts, but thisisn’t necessarily the case and asmore SARS-CoV-2 vaccinescome online, there is an urgentneed to understand the rela-tionship between these factors,so we can adjust and tailor inter-ventions and open up sectionsof society in a safer way.”

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Like ‘one nation, one rationcard’, the Government is

working to have ‘one nation,one standard’ in order toensure quality products inthe country. Reviewing thework of Bureau of IndianStandards (BIS), ConsumerAffairs, Food and PublicDistribution Minister PiyushGoyal on Saturday said, it’stime to embark on Missionone nation one standard andmake India the leader in set-

ting global benchmarks insetting standards. Goyal said,no one should feel the need togo abroad to get quality certification. Saying lab test-ing in India should be ofworld standards, Goyal said,modern equipment and latesttechnologies should be usedthere.

The Minister stressed thatstrength and character ofnation is often exemplified bythe standards it sets for thequality of its products andservices.

Currently, the Bureau ofIndian Standard (BIS) is theonly national body thatframes standards. It has comeout with over 20,000 stan-dards for various productsand services so far. There arealso about 50-odd agenciesthat have framed about 400standards in the country.

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In an order aimed at sendinga message to private sector

companies ignoring the rightsof their disabled employees, theCourt of Chief Commissionerfor Persons with Disabilities(CCPD), under the UnionSocial Justice andEmpowerment Ministry, hasasked a Ghaziabad-based pri-vate firm to restore the job ofa worker who was terminatedfrom the service after he metwith a mishap, causing him 60per cent locomotor disability.

The case pertains to oneTusarkanta Pattanayak, whoworked with a private firm,BioMed Pvt Ltd, since 2006.On December 30, 2016, whilein the office when he was notfeeling well, his companymanager advised him to getmedicine from the nearbydispensary and take rest. Butas his fate would have it,Pattanayak met with a seriousaccident on his way to the dis-pensary. It made him perma-nently disabled (locomotordisability at 60 per cent).

However, instead ofempathising with Pattanayak’scondition, his company pres-sured him to quit the job. In2019, the company handedhim a termination letter, thecomplainant alleged in his

petition before the CCPDwhich he had moved for jus-tice.

The Employee StateInsurance (ESI) too rejectedhis application seeking pen-sion as it contended that hiscase does not fall within thepurview of the existing rules.

Commissioner forPersons with Disability UpmaSrivastava after hearing boththe sides on January 12, 2021observed that the employer ofPattanayak violated employ-ment rights of the latter asguaranteed under the Rightsof Persons with DisabilitiesAct, 2016.

“Section 20(4) of the Actlays down that if any employ-ee acquires disability duringcourse of his employment, heshall not be dispensed with hisservices; further, such employ-ee cannot be even reduced inrank or pay scale. Though,Section 20(4) lays down man-date for government estab-lishments. Yet, this court, con-sidering the objectives ofRPwD Act 2016, concludesthat effect of this provisionmust also be extended to non-government establishments.“

In her order she furthersaid that “Objective of this Actis to assimilate theDivyangjans into main stream

society so that they can spendtheir life with dignity andenjoy their basic fundamentalrights equally with others. Ifprivate establishments shall beleft out of scope of Section20(4) it may amount to creat-ing hinderance in path ofachieving aims and objectivessought to be achieved byRPwD Act, 2016.”

Therefore, said Srivastava,this court by exercising its suomotu powers to investigate,vested in it by virtue of Section75(b) of RPwD Act, 2016,decides to take cognisance ofthe complaint against theemployer of the complainant,i.e.Bio-Med Private Limitedand recommends it to cancelthe termination letter and re-employ him on any such postwhich is suitable for aDivyangjan. Further this courtrecommends that the employ-er shall not reduce the payscale of the complainant.

However, the Court wassilent on the ESI contentionthat “after conducting detailedinvestigation it was found thatat the time the complainantmet with the accident, he wasnot commuting for employ-ment purpose, rather he wascommuting from one place toanother for personal reasonstherefore, he could not begranted pension. “

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At least 25,000 CentralArmed Police Force

(CAPF) personnel have beenearmarked to be deployed forthe forthcoming assembly pollsin four states and the UnionTerritory of Puducherry, offi-cials said on Saturday.

They said the Union homeministry has directed that atotal of 250 companies of theCentral Reserve Police Force(CRPF), Border Security Force(BSF), Indo-Tibetan BorderPolice (ITBP), Central

Industrial Security Force(CISF) and the Sashastra SeemaBal (SSB) will be utilised forconduct of the upcoming elec-tions.

A CAPF company has anoperational strength of about100 personnel.

These forces work underthe command of the Ministryof Home Affairs (MHA).

Assembly polls in WestBengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu,Kerala and Puducherry aredue in April-May this year.

Officials said while 125companies are being moved to

West Bengal, 45 are earmarkedfor Tamil Nadu, 40 for Assam,30 for Kerala and 10 forPuducherry.

“These numbers are basedon the preliminary assessmentthat was undertaken by theElection Commission after itsmeeting with senior homeministry officials sometimeback.

“Some addition in num-bers many take place once theEC announces the final datesfor polls and the number ofphases,” a senior officer privyto the development told PTI.

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Arjuna awardee and TokyoOlympics medal prospect

Manu Bhaker has demandedaction against two Air Indiaemployees for allegedly“harassing” and “insulting” thepistol shooter while she tried toboard a flight to Bhopal fromDelhi. Air India, however,rebutted her claims.

After being stopped at theIndira Gandhi Airport, 19-year-old Manu tweeted her‘problem’, tagging SportsMinister Kiren Rijiju and CivilAviation Minister HardeepSingh Puri, among others.

After Rijiju’s intervention,Bhaker eventually boarded theAI 437 flight. She thanked thesports minister in her lasttweet: “Thank you@KirenRijiju sir. Got boardedafter strong support from all ofyou. Thank you India. jai

hind.” Rijiju responded bytweeting: “You are India’spride.”

The 19-year-old Olympicsshooter made a sensationalcharge against Air India, say-ing that employees of thenational airline treated her“like a criminal” for carryingguns on board the aircraft.Taking to Twitter, Bhaker washeaded to Bhopal ShootingAcademy for training allegedthat the national carrier didnot allow her, in the firstinstance, to board her sched-uled flight from Delhi toBhopal, citing no permissionto carry her guns and shoot-ing equipment.

Bhaker further claimedthat the airline employees evendemanded a bride from her.Lashing out at Air India, theCommonwealth Games andYouth Olympics gold medalliststated that she had to go

through the “ordeal” despitecarrying all valid documentsand clearance from theDirectorate General of CivilAviation (DGCA) for travel-ling with her weapons andammunition.

“Not allowing me to boardflight AI 437 at IGI Delhi andasking now 10200rs despite allvalid documentation andDGCA permit . Top of thatManoj Gupta Air Indiaincharge doesn’t recogniseDGCA @narendramodi@HardeepSPuri @AmitShah@VasundharaBJP shall I paythis Bribes or!!!!” the aceshooter tweeted.

“Think this type of behav-iour is not acceptable. ManojGupta is not even human. Heis treating me like I am a crim-inal. Also his security incharge. Such people need basictraining of behaviour hope-fully Aviation ministry will

find out and will send him tothe right place,” she said inanother tweet.

The 19-year-old pistolshooter also demanded actionagainst two Air India employ-ees for allegedly “harassing”and “insulting” her.

Denying Bhaker’s charges,Air India, in its reply toBhaker, tweeted, “Our DelhiAirport team has confirmedthat the official at our counterhad only sought for valid doc-uments as per rules for the car-riage of your weapon onboard. In absence of the same,legitimate specified chargesfor the arms were conveyed toyou”.

The airline further addedthat no one sought a ‘bribe’and that “you were issuedboarding pass on your assur-ance of furnishing valid doc-uments before boarding.Immediately after the officialvalid documents were shownby you at the boarding point,you were allowed to board”.Air India also tendered anapology and added that theairline has always encouragedand respected sportspersons.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi will visit the poll-

bound States of Assam andWest Bengal on Monday tolaunch and lay the foundationstones of several projects.

The PMO said he will ded-icate to the nation importantprojects of the oil and gas sec-tor in an event organised atSilapathar in Assam, and alsoinaugurate and lay the founda-tion stones of engineering col-leges during the event.

Later in the day, he willinaugurate several railway pro-jects at Hooghly in West Bengal.

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The Vijay RupaniGovernment in Gujarat

has added 30 lakh beneficia-ries under the food law in therecent past and it is in theprocess of identifying morepeople for coverage under thisAct. The State Governmentinformed this in a reviewmeeting of the implementa-tion of the National FoodSecurity Act (NFSA), underwhich 5 kg of wheat and riceare being provided per personper month at a highly sub-sidised rate of �2-3 per kg.Over 80 crore people are cov-ered under this Act.

Union Food SecretarySudhanshu Pandey reviewedthe NFSA implementationand other allied matters withthe Gujarat Government atGandhinagar, an official state-ment said. During the meet-ing, he said there is possibil-ity of including more benefi-ciaries under the NFSA.

“State Governmentinformed that 30 lakh bene-ficiaries have been added inthe recent past and they are inprocess of identifying morebeneficiaries through con-vergence with other central

programmes like NationalSocial Assistance programme,etc,” the statement said.

As production of bothwheat and paddy is higherthan annual requirement offoodgrains of Gujarat Stateunder the NFSA, it wasobserved that there is poten-tial of augmenting procure-ment.

“It was emphasised thatState Government should tar-get procuring to the extent ofannual requirement whichwould not only benefit localfarmers but also save thetransportation cost which isincurred in bringing foodgrains from other States,” thestatement said, adding thatthe acceptance of locally cul-tivated food grains wouldalso be higher among localpopulation.

Pandey informed thatautomatic grain dispensingmachines are being tested infive cities on pilot basis thatenable beneficiaries to obtainsubsidized food grains with-out having to visit FPS to pro-vide freedom to the benefi-ciaries.

The Gujarat Governmentexpressed its willingness toinstall such machines inAhmedabad city on a trialbasis.

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The Andhra PradeshGovernment has informed the

NHRC that an ex gratia of �1 croreeach has been paid to the familiesof the 12 people who died in thestyrene gas leak tragedy inVisakhapatnam last May, officialssaid on Friday.

The National Human RightsCommission had taken suo motucognisance of media reports aboutthe death of several persons andover 5,000 others falling sick dueto leakage of styrene gas in the dis-trict on May 7, they said.

“The NHRC has accepted theaction taken by the concernedauthorities and the ex gratia of �1crore each paid to the families ofthe 12 people who died in the trag-ic incident,” the rights panel saidin a statement.

“The government of AndhraPradesh has informed theCommission that 485 people werepaid �1 lakh each, who wEre hos-pitalised for two-three days. Ithas also informed that criminalproceedings were initiated againstthe 12 accused,” the statementsaid.

The leakage of the gas hadreportedly affected people withina radius of about 3 km.

Many people were reported tobe lying on roads while some hadcomplained of difficulty in breath-ing and rashes on their bodies, itadded

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Solar winds may have led toMars losing its atmos-

phere, according to a com-puter simulation study whichconfirms the long held beliefthat planets need a protectivemagnetic field to block suchharmful radiations in order tosustain life.

While factors like theexistence of a moderatelywarm, moist atmosphere andliquid water determinewhether a planet can host life,the study, published in theMonthly Notices of the RoyalAstronomical Society, notedthat the ability of planets togenerate magnetic fieldsaround them is an overlookedaspect.

According to the scien-tists , Arnab Basak andDibyendu Nandi from theIndian Institutes of ScienceEducation and Research(IISER) Kolkata, these mag-netic fields enveloping plan-ets can act like a protectiveumbrel la , shielding theatmosphere from the superfast plasma winds of the Sun.

On the Earth, they said ageo-dynamo mechanism gen-erates the planet’s protectivemagnetosphere —an invisibleshield that stops the solarwind from eroding away our

atmosphere.In the current study, the

scientists simulated two sce-narios of the Red Planet --one considering a young Marswith its magnetosphere intact,and the other with the plan-et without this force field.

The simulations revealedthat in the young Mars, themagnetosphere may haveacted as a shield stoppingthe solar wind from comingtoo close to the planet’satmosphere thus protecting it.

Without an intrinsicmagnetosphere, theresearchers said the solarwind magnetic field may havefirst draped around, andslipped past Mars, carrying

bits of the planet’s atmosphereaway, eventually eroding itcompletely.

They said the findingsconfirm the belief that themagnetospheres around plan-ets play a crucial role indetermining their ability tosustain life.

Alternatively, planets thatlose their magnetic field even-tually become inhospitablewith loss of their atmosphere,the scientists added.

The researchers believethe study has importantimplications for the search forhabitable exoplanets via ini-tiatives like NASA’s JamesWebb Space Telescope andISRO’s ExoWorlds mission.

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The Centre has reconstitut-ed the governing council of

the NITI Aayog with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi as itschairperson.

According to a notificationof the Cabinet Secretariat, chiefministers of all states and thoseof the Union Territories ofJammu and Kashmir, Delhiand Puducherry are full time

members of the council.The Lieutenant Governors

of Andaman and NicobarIslands, Ladakh, and theadministrators of Chandigarh,Dadra and Nagar Haveli,Daman and Diu andLakshadweep will be specialinvitees of governing council.

The notification said thegoverning council was recon-stituted as there was a need todo this.

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The BJP on Saturday heldsome key organisational

meetings on the eve of the firstphysical meeting of its new setof national office-bearers, whichis likely to be addressed byPrime Minister Narendra Modi.

BJP president J P Naddachaired meetings of the party’snational general secretaries andalso general secretaries (Partyleaders deliberated upon theagenda of the Sunday’s meeting,and organisational work under-taken by state units, including

poll campaign in election-bound states, were alsoreviewed, sources said.

Sunday’s meeting, whichwill also be attended by stateunit presidents, assumes signif-icance as it comes amid fierceprotests by a section of farmersin Punjab, Haryana and westernUttar Pradesh against the threenew farm laws.

The farmer union leadershave been trying to spread theiragitation in other parts of thecountry while stepping up theirattack on the ModiGovernment.

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President Joe Biden used hisfirst address before a glob-

al audience Saturday to declarethat “America is back, thetransatlantic alliance is back,”after four years of a Trumpadministration that flaunted itsforeign policy through an“America First” lens.

Speaking to the annualMunich Security Conferencevirtually, Biden ticked througha daunting to-do list — sal-vaging the Iran nuclear deal,meeting economic and securi-ty challenges posed by Chinaand Russia and repairing thedamage caused by the coron-avirus pandemic — that he saidwould require close coopera-tion between the US and itsWestern allies.

Without mentioningDonald Trump’s name once inhis speech, Biden mixed talk ofa reinvigorated democraticalliance with a rebuke of hispredecessor’s approach, a mes-sage warmly received byWestern allies.

‘I know the past few yearshave strained and tested thetransatlantic relationship,”

Biden said. “The United Statesis determined to reengage withEurope, to consult with you, toearn back our position of trust-ed leadership.”

The president also partic-ipated Friday in a virtual meet-ing of the Group of Sevenindustrialized nations, whereleaders managed to workBiden’s campaign theme intotheir closing joint statement,vowing to “work together tobeat Covid-19 and build backbetter.”

“Welcome back, America,”said European CouncilPresident Charles Michel, effec-tively summing up the mood ofthe Munich conference.

But while such happy talkconveyed the palpable sense ofrelief among allies at Biden’sfull-throated commitment tomending frayed US-Europerelations, plenty has changedover the past four years in wayscreating new challenges.

China has cemented itsplace as a fierce economiccompetitor on the continent asthe US has reconsidered long-held national security and eco-nomic priorities embedded inthe transatlantic alliance.

Populism has grown throughmuch of Europe. And otherWestern countries have, atmoments, sought to fill the vac-uum left as America steppedback from the world stage.

German Chancellor

Angela Merkel noted that somedifferences between the U.S.And Europe remain “compli-cated.” Europe sees China’seconomic ambitions as less ofan existential threat than theUS does and has its own strate-

gic and economic concernsthat are not always in sync withBiden on Russia as well.

Still, Merkel, who had astrained relationship withTrump, didn’t hide her prefer-ence for an American foreign

policy informed by Biden’sworld view.

“Things are looking a greatdeal better for multilateralismthis year than two years ago,and that has a lot to with JoeBiden having become the pres-ident of the United States ofAmerica,” Merkel said.

“His speech just now, butalso his administration’s firstannouncements, have con-vinced us that this is not justtalk but action.”

Biden made his address toa global audience as his admin-istration this week took steps toreverse key Trump adminis-tration policies.

He said that the U.S. Standsready to rejoin talks aboutreentering the 2015 multilateralIran nuclear deal abandoned bythe Trump administration. TheBiden administrationannounced Thursday its desireto reengage Iran, and it tookaction at the United Nationsaimed at restoring policy towhat it was before Trump withdrew from the dealin 2018.

Biden also spoke out aboutthe two-decade war inAfghanistan, where he faces a

May 1 deadline to remove theremaining 2,500 US troopsunder a Trump administrationnegotiated peace agreementwith the Taliban. He also calledfor cooperation in addressingeconomic and national securi-ty challenges posed by Russiaand China and identifiedcyberspace, artificial intelli-gence and biotechnology asareas of growing competition.

“We must prepare togeth-er for long-term strategic com-petition with China,” Bidendeclared.

His message was girded byan underlying argument thatdemocracies — not autocracies— are models of governancethat can best meet the chal-lenges of the moment. Thepresident urged fellow worldleaders to show together that “democracies can stilldeliver.”

At the G-7, administrationofficials said, Biden focused onwhat lies ahead for the inter-national community as it triesto extinguish the public healthand economic crises created bythe coronavirus pandemic. Heannounced the US will soonbegin releasing $4 billion for an

international effort to bolsterthe purchase and distributionof vaccine to poor nations, aprogram that Trump refused tosupport.

Biden’s turn on the worldstage came as the US officiallyrejoined the Paris climateagreement, the largest interna-tional effort to curb globalwarming. Trump announced inJune 2017 that he was pullingthe US Out of the landmarkaccord, arguing that the pactwould undermine theAmerican economy.

Biden announced the U.S.Intention of rejoining on thefirst day of his presidency, buthe had to wait 30 days for themove to go into effect. He hassaid that he will bake consid-erations about climate changeinto every major domestic andforeign policy decision hisadministration faces.

“This is a global existentialcrisis,” Biden said.

Biden also encouraged G-7 partners to make good ontheir pledges to COVAX, aninitiative by the World HealthOrganization to improve accessto vaccines, even as he reopensthe US Spigot.

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Two anti-coup protesterswere shot dead by riot

police who fired live roundsSaturday in Mandalay,Myanmar’s second-largest city,local media reported.

One of the victims was shotin the head and died at thescene, according to FrontierMyanmar, a news and businessmagazine based in Yangon,the country’s largest city.Another was shot in the chestand died en route to the hos-pital.

Several other seriousinjuries were also reported.The shootings occurred nearMandalay’s Yadanabon dock,where tear gas and rubber bul-lets were used on protestersearlier in the day.

The Irrawaddy news web-site also confirmed the deathson social media.

Security forces had beenincreasing their pressureagainst anti-coup protestersearlier Saturday, using watercannons, tear gas, slingshotsand rubber bullets againstdemonstrators and strikingdock workers in Mandalay.

At least five people wereinjured by rubber bullets andhad to be carried away inambulances, according to anAssociated Press journalist who

witnessed the violence.Some 500 police and sol-

diers descended on the areanear Yadanabon dock afterdock workers joined thenational civil disobediencemovement, refusing to workuntil the military junta thatseized power in a Feb. 1 coupreinstates the democraticallyelected government.

Protesters and residentswere forced to flee the neigh-borhood amid the violence, assecurity forces chased afterthem. There were reports ofsounds that resembled gunfire.A group of journalists wasforced to flee after being hitwith tear gas and slingshotprojectiles.

Earlier in the week inMandalay, security forcescracked down on state railwayworkers in a similar fashionafter they joined the civil dis-obedience movement.

Less than an hour after the8 pm curfew started onWednesday, gunshots wereheard as more than two dozenpolice officers with shields andhelmets marched past railwayworkers’ housing. Numerousvideos posted on social mediashowed muzzle flashes as shotswere heard, and some policeshot slingshots and threw rocksat the buildings. Marchingchants of “left, right, left, right”could be heard along withshouts of “shoot, shoot.”

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AMoscow court on Saturdayrejected Russian opposi-

tion leader Alexei Navalny’sappeal against his prison sen-tence, even as the countryfaced a top European rightscourt’s order to free theKremlin’s most prominent foe.

Speaking before the ver-dict, Navalny urged Russians tostand up to the Kremlin in afiery speech mixing referencesto the Bible and “Harry Potter.”

A lower court sentencedNavalny earlier this month totwo years and eight months inprison for violating terms of hisprobation while recuperating inGermany from a nerve agentpoisoning that he blames on theKremlin. Russian authoritieshave rejected the accusation.

Navalny, 44, an anti-cor-ruption crusader and PresidentVladimir Putin’s most vocalcritic, appealed the prison sen-tence and asked to be released.The Moscow City Court’s judgeon Saturday only slightlyreduced his sentence to justover 2 1/2 years in prison, rul-ing that a month-and-halfNavalny spent under housearrest in early 2015 will bededucted from his sentence.

His arrest and imprison-ment have fueled a huge waveof protests across Russia.

Authorities responded with

a sweeping crackdown, detain-ing about 11,000 people, manyof whom were fined or givenjail terms ranging from sevento 15 days.

Speaking before the ver-dict, Navalny referenced theBible as well as “Harry Potter”and the animated sitcom “Rickand Morty” as he urgedRussians to resist pressure fromthe authorities and challengethe Kremlin to build a fairerand more prosperous country.

“The government’s task isto scare you and then persuadeyou that you are alone,” he said.“Our Voldemort in his palacealso wants me to feel cut off,” headded, in a reference to Putin.

“To live is to risk it all,” hecontinued. “Otherwise, you’rejust an inert chunk of randomlyassembled molecules drifting

wherever the universe blowsyou.”

Navalny also addressed thejudge and the prosecutor, argu-ing that they could have amuch better life in a newRussia.

“Just imagine how won-derful life would be withoutconstant lying,” he said.

“Imagine how great itwould be to work as a judgewhen no one would be able tocall you and give you directionswhat verdicts to issue.”

He insisted that he wasunable to report to the author-ities in line with his probationrequirements while he wasconvalescing in Germany afterhis poisoning, emphasizingthat he returned to Russiaimmediately after his healthallowed.

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The US has voiced concernover China’s recently enact-

ed Coast Guard law, which itsaid may escalate the ongoingterritorial and maritime dis-putes in the region and can beinvoked to assert unlawfulclaims.

China passed a law lastmonth which for the first timeexplicitly allows its coast guardto fire on foreign vessels.

“The United States joinsthe Philippines, Vietnam,Indonesia, Japan and othercountries in expressing concernwith China’s recently enactedCoast Guard law, which mayescalate the ongoing territori-al and maritime disputes,” StateDepartment Spokesperson NedPrice told reporters during aconference call.

China is engaged in hotlycontested territorial disputes inboth the South China Sea andthe East China Sea. Beijing hasbuilt up and militarised manyof the islands and reefs it con-trols in the region.

Both areas are stated to berich in minerals, oil and othernatural resources and are vitalto global trade.

China claims almost all ofthe South China Sea. Vietnam,the Philippines, Malaysia,

Brunei and Taiwan have coun-terclaims over the area.

The new law could makethe contested waters aroundChina more choppy.

“We are specifically con-cerned by language in the lawthat expressly ties the potentialuse of force, including armedforce by the China CoastGuard, to the enforcement ofChina’s claims in ongoing ter-ritorial and maritime disputesin the East and South ChinaSeas,” he said.

Language in that law,including text allowing thecoast guard to destroy othercountries’ economic structuresand to use force in defendingChina’s maritime claims in dis-puted areas, strongly impliesthis law could be used to intim-idate the maritime neighboursof China, Price said.

“We are further concernedthat China may invoke this newlaw to assert its unlawful mar-itime claims in the South ChinaSea,” he said.

The United States remindsChina of its obligations underthe United Nations Charter torefrain from the threat or useof force and to conform itsmaritime claims to theInternational Law of the Sea, asreflected in the 1982 Law of theSea Convention.

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As the United States offi-cially joined the Paris

Agreement on Climate Change,US Special Envoy on ClimateCrisis, John Kerry assertedthat all 17 major emittingcountries including India needto step up and begin loweringemissions.

“Everything has to be donewith greater sense of urgency,with a determination that wehave to win this fight... And weneed the United States andevery country to determinethey will get on a path towardnet zero emissions by 2050,” hesaid on Friday.

A major achievement ofthe Obama administration, theprevious TrumpAdministration had withdrawnfrom the Paris Agreement.President Joe Biden, whoserved as the Vice Presidentduring the Obama adminis-tration, issued orders to join theParis Agreement on day one ofhis presidency.

“… what steps will we takein the next 10 years? And thetruth is that everybody has todo that. China, which is thelargest emitter in the worldneeds to be part of the 2020 to2030 effort.

“India needs to be part ofit. Russia needs to be part of it.

So is Japan… the major emit-ters, 17 nations, need to reallystep up and begin to lowerthose emissions,” Kerry said.

This challenge, he asserted,means that all countries settingbold and achievable targetshave to do so here at home andin the course of their declara-tion of their national deter-mined contributions (NDCs).

“We have to drive invest-ment toward climate solutionsand innovations and resilience.We need to get the entire worldon a path towards net zeroemissions, and we need toabsolutely make certain thathappens no later than 2050 andsooner if possible,” he said.

Washington: President JoeBiden has said that he believesthe US will be approachingnormalcy by the end of thisyear as the country races todeliver coronavirus vaccinesto millions of Americans.

Biden on Friday toured amanufacturing facility of Pfizerin Kalamazoo, Michigan, seek-ing to highlight efforts to massproduce a coronavirus vaccineas his administration looks forways to increase supply andstreamline distribution.

“I believe we’ ll beapproaching normalcy by theend of this year. And God will-ing, this Christmas will be dif-ferent than the last,” Bidensaid responding to a questionat the site in Michigan.

At the same time, herefused to make any commit-ment.

“I can’t make that com-mitment to you. There areother strains of the virus. Wedon’t know what could happenin terms of production rates.Things can change. But we’redoing everything the sciencehas indicated we should do,and people are stepping up toget everything done that has tobe done,” he said.

Biden said that getting thevaccine and having it availableis not the same as putting it insomeone’s arms. This is goingto be a continuous rolling effort.

“We will have ordered, muchof which will have been distrib-uted, over 600 million doses bythe end of July. July 29th is theexpected date. That couldchange. Look at what’s happen-ing with the weather now, forexample: It’s slowing up the dis-tribution right now,” he said.PTI

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Britain has circulated a draftresolution to the UN

Security Council demandingthat all warring parties imme-diately institute a “sustainedhumanitarian pause” to enablepeople in conflict areas to bevaccinated against Covid-19.

The proposed resolutionreiterates the council’s demandlast July 1 for “a general andimmediate cessation of hostil-ities” in major conflicts fromSyria and Yemen to CentralAfrican Republic, Mali andSudan and Somalia, an appealfirst made by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres onMarch 23, 2020, to tackle thecoronavirus pandemic.

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Washington: Indian-AmericanNeera Tanden, US PresidentJoe Biden’s nominee for theposition of Director of WhiteHouse Office of Managementand Budget, is facing a chal-lenge to her confirmation afterDemocratic Senator JoeManchin announced that hewould vote against her over“overtly partisan statements”.

Manchin’s announcementmeans that unless a Republicansenator comes forward to sup-port her nomination, it isunlikely that Tanden, 50, will beconfirmed for the job.

Manchin, a moderateDemocrat from West Virginia,said: “I believe her overtly par-tisan statements will have atoxic and detrimental impact

on the important working rela-tionship between members ofCongress and the next directorof the Office of Managementand Budget.”

“For this reason, I cannotsupport her nomination. As Ihave said before, we must takemeaningful steps to end thepolitical division and dysfunc-tion that pervades our politics,”he said. The 100-memberSenate is evenly split betweenthe Republicans and theDemocrats. The vote of Vice-President Kamala Harris will tiltthe balance in favour of theDemocrats. As such the vote ofManchin gains significance,given that a majority of theRepublicans are likely to opposethe nomination of Tanden. PTI

Washington: Add MotherNature to the pile of crises onPresident Joe Biden’s plate.

A month into the job andfocused on the coronavirus,Biden is seeing his disastermanagement skills tested afterwinter storms plunged Texas,Oklahoma and neighbouringstates into an unusual deepfreeze that left millions shiver-ing in homes that lost heat andpower, and in many homes,water. At least 59 deaths acrossthe US have been blamed onthe blast of unseasonableweather. AP

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Food and Consumer AffairsMinister Piyush Goyal on

Saturday stressed on the needfor ‘One Nation One Standard’to bring uniformity and saidlabs testing in India should beof global standards.

The minister said thiswhile reviewing the work ofBureau of Indian Standards(BIS).

“It’s time to embark onMission ‘One Nation OneStandard’ and make India theleader in setting global bench-marks in setting standards,”Goyal was quoted as saying inan official statement.

While all areas of produc-tion and services should beincluded in this national mis-sion, bringing a national uni-formity and standardization

in all kinds of public procure-ment and tendering can be animmediate deliverable, Goyalsaid.

The minister said thatstrength and character ofnation is often exemplified bythe standards it sets for thequality of its products and ser-vices. “Its time for India to set-tle for nothing less than thebest,” the statement said.

Goyal asked the BIS toexplore international partner-ships and associations toachieve synergy in the field.

The minister said that labtesting in India should be ofworld standards and addedthat modern equipment andlatest technologies should beused there.

He asked for gap analysisof BIS and government labs tobe taken up on priority basis.

Referring to the issueof different institutions andPSUs having variety of non-uniform standards, he saideffort should be made to mergedifferent standards under onestandard as much as possible.

The minister said thatindustry should be invited formore dialogue, participationand collaboration in this mis-sion of “one nation one stan-dard”.

Process of granting certi-fication should be kept as sim-ple as possible and duplicationof work should be avoided, hesaid.

Goyal said, “We shouldaim to be the world leader inhaving maximum industrialproducts under IndianStandards and no one shouldfeel the need to go abroad to getquality certification.”

The meeting was attend-ed by senior officials ofDepartment of ConsumerAffairs and BIS besides others.Detailed presentation wasmade by BIS about variousareas of the progress beingmade, the statement said.

� �� 7�8�,�9:�

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Saturday

exhorted the private sector totake advantage of corporate taxrate cut and other initiatives ofthe Government, and unleash‘animal spirits’ by enhancinginvestments to make India oneof the fastest growingeconomies of the world.

The government has beenwaiting for the expansion bythe private sector, she saidwhile reminding India Inc ofvarious measures includingcorporate tax rate cut, policyconsistency, ease of doing busi-ness, among others to facilitateinvestment.

“We need capacities to beramped up, we need expansion,we need more production ofmany such items which are

required for the economy. Iwould invite business lead-ers...Post the corporate tax ratereduction I’ve been waiting tosee expansion happening,” shesaid.

In the biggest reduction in28 years, the government inSeptember 2019 slashed cor-porate tax rates by up to 10 per-centage points to attract privateinvestment and reinvigoratethe sagging economy. The taxbreak resulted in financialimplication of Rs 1.45 lakhcrore on the exchequer.

Base corporate tax rate forexisting companies wasreduced to 22 per cent from 30per cent, and to 15 per centfrom 25 per cent for manufac-turing firms incorporated afterOctober 1, 2019, and startingoperations before March 31,2023.

“So I would like to see nowthat the policy is clear, tax rateshave been brought down, pol-icy consistency has been under-lined and ease of doing busi-ness is still going further. Iwould now like to see privateinvestors and private indus-try...Coming forward with theso called ‘animal spirits’ toshow that it is possible to pullIndia up and keep it high as oneof the fastest growingeconomies. It is now on yourshoulder entirely,” she said.

Addressing industry lead-ers at an All India ManagementAssociation (AIMA) virtualevent, the Finance Ministersaid the recent Budget hasaddressed several issues whichwere so critical for India to havea clearer path for the nextdecade or more.

The Budget 2021-22

comes against the backdrop ofthe pandemic and contractionof the economy to give a senseof certainty to businesses thatpolicies will remain predictableand therefore businesses cancontinue to concentrate ontheir core activities, she said.

With regard to disinvest-ment, the Finance Ministersaid the government has iden-tified the core sector where itwill have bare minimum pres-ence and the rest will beallowed for public-private part-nership.

The past strategy of disin-vestment in trickles has notreally been so successful inspreading the ownership pat-tern, she said, adding, it was notenthusiastically received.

“So, I want to have an effi-cient, more meaningful, pur-pose serving way in which our

taxpayers’ money should bespent...The disinvestment ofunits or privatisation of units isnot because we want them tobe closed down,” she said.

The government wantsthese units to be running, to bekept up and running profes-sionally as the economy hasvery high demand for many ofthese items of production suchas steel, coal or copper, ormany such things in whichPSUs are there for decadesnow. She urged the industry tomake best of the disinvestmentpolicy announced in theBudget.

Earlier this month, theFinance Minister presented aRs 34.8 lakh crore-Budget for2021-22.

The Budget has laidemphasis on increasing capitalexpenditure, raising allocation

for healthcare capacity buildingand development of agricultureinfrastructure, among others,which are expected to have amultiplier effect on the econo-my. Sitharaman said spendingis required this year as well asnext year for sustaining growth.

Therefore, the governmenthas committed to spend oninfrastructure and capitalexpenditure over the next sev-eral years which will give themultiplier effect, she added.

About 7,000 projects havebeen identified under theNational InfrastructurePipeline (NIP) with projectedinvestment of a whopping Rs111 lakh crore during 2020-25.

On the fiscal deficit man-agement, she said, the govern-ment has given a glide path andasked the rating agencies to seethe Budget numbers in the light

of pandemic.Hit hard by the pandemic,

fiscal deficit — the excess ofgovernment expenditure overits revenues — is estimated tohit a record high of 9.5 per centof the Gross Domestic Product(GDP) in 2020-21.

For 2021-22, the deficithas been pegged at 6.8 per centof GDP, which will be furtherlowered to 4.5 per cent by thefiscal ending March 31, 2026.

“We are very clearly tellingeven the credit rating agenciesthat every country is goingthrough this pandemic, andevery country has to spend tokeep the stimulus going.

So every country’s ratingswill have to be in relativeterms..However, because we’vegiven the glide path, fiscaldeficit is something which we’llwatch, probably after the stim-

ulus has shown clear impact onthe ground,” she said.Speaking at the event KotakMahindra Bank ManagingDirector Uday Kotak said thegovernment in coordinationwith the RBI has played a roleto ensure that the interest ratesremain stable.

He also expressed hopethat rates would remain stableover the next 12-18 months.

“We need to ensure that asthe size of the borrowing goesup, we are able to keep thelong-term interest rates stable,on the basis of which businessand industry take the invest-ment decisions,” Kotak said.

Exuding confidence thatthe future of India is bright,Kotak said: “We now reallyneed to get our animal spiritsback... And the time has comefor us to walk the talk.”

� �� 6�7�/�

Goa State IndustriesAssociation (GSIA), in

their pre-budget memoran-dum, has urged the state gov-ernment to introduce PublicProcurement Policy for Microand Small Enterprises (MSEs)on lines with the central gov-ernments initiative.

GSIA led by itsPresident Damodar Kochkarpresented pre-Budget memo-randum to the chief ministerahead of the Budget AssemblySession scheduled to begin inMarch.

“We request that a PublicProcurement Policy for Microand Small Enterprises (MSEs)should be introduced in linewith Central GovernmentPolicy making it mandatory for

all GovernmentDepartments/Undertakings topurchase a minimum of 20 percent of their annual purchase ofproducts and services fromMSEs, the memorandum reads.

The GSIA has said that thisinitiative will help the govern-ment increase their revenue byway of higher collection ofSGST and will generate moreeconomic activity and employ-ment in the state.

All these years, mining wasthe major contributor to statesrevenue and other sectors werenot given the desired attentionby the state government.

After the closure of themining industry and thetourism sector not picking upas expected due to coronaviruspandemic, manufacturingindustry is the only sector

which can bring about overalldevelopment and create inclu-sive growth in the state, theAssociation has said.

Speaking about Ease ofDoing Business, theAssociation has said that theinitiatives taken to improveEase of Doing Business (EoDB)are not felt on the ground.For better implementation, theinitiatives should be properlymonitored and executed.

The GSIA has said thatstate government shouldensure that Single WindowSystem is properly implement-ed.

At present, online servicesare not very effective, processis cumbersome and the gov-ernment staff is not trained toprovide assistance.

The server infrastructure

of IT Department also needsimprovement, the Associationsaid. The industry body hasalso demanded that the gov-ernment should Stop arbitraryrevenue collection without giv-ing due consideration to prac-tical situation on the ground.

Stop insisting NOCsfrom certain departments andmarking routine files to theMinisters. Improve work cul-ture in the Departments so thatfiles are not held up with friv-olous queries, the Associationhas said.

� �� 7�8�,�9:�

The Centre has released �1lakh crore to states and UTs

in four months since October2020, to meet GST compensa-tion shortfall, the FinanceMinistry said on Saturday.

The ministry on Fridayreleased the 17th weekly instal-ment of �5,000 crore to 23states and 3 Union Territories(Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir &Puducherry), taking the totalamount released so far underthe special borrowing windowset up in October last year to Rs1 lakh crore.

The remaining 5 states,Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur,Mizoram, Nagaland andSikkim, do not have a gap inrevenue on account of Goodsand Services Tax (GST) imple-mentation.

The Centre had set up aspecial borrowing window inOctober 2020 to meet the esti-mated shortfall of �1.10 lakhcrore in revenue arising onaccount of implementation ofGST.

The borrowings are beingdone through this window bythe Centre on behalf of statesand UTs.

Under the special window,the Centre has been borrowingin government stock with tenorof 3 years and 5 years. The bor-rowing made under each tenoris equally divided among allstates as per their GST com-pensation shortfall.

With the current release,the proportionate pending GSTshortfall with respect to bor-rowing under 5 years tenor hasbeen concluded for 16 statesand 2 UTs.

Till now, 91 per cent of thetotal estimated GST compen-sation shortfall has beenreleased to states & UTs withLegislative Assembly (Delhi,Jammu & Kashmir &Puducherry), the statementsaid.

“An amount of Rs1,00,000 crore has been bor-rowed by the CentralGovernment through the spe-cial borrowing window at anaverage interest rate of 4.83 percent....Out of this, an amountof Rs 91,460.34 crore has beenreleased to states and anamount of Rs. 8,539.66 crorehas been released to the 3 UTswith Legislative Assembly,” itsaid.

Total 17 rounds of bor-rowings have been completedso far starting from October 23,2020.

�� 7�8�,�9:�

Civil Aviation MinisterHardeep Singh Puri on

Saturday said that the country’sair passenger traffic is “withintouching distance of pre-Covidnumbers”.

In a tweet, the ministersaid: “2,90,518 passengers on2,360 flights on 19 Feb is with-in touching distance of Pre-COVID numbers & marksrevival of the domestic sector.”

“From transporting essen-tial & medical supplies, tomovement of vaccines, civilaviation sector plays a key rolein efforts against COVID19.”

Since the resumption ofoperations on May 25, domes-tic air traffic continued tosequentially improve in January2021.

The domestic passengertraffic rose 5.55 per centsequentially in January to 77.34lakh passengers from 73.27lakh reported for December2020.

However, on a year-on-year basis the January numbersstood 39.50 per cent lowerthan 127.83 lakh reported forthe corresponding period of theprevious year.

At present, airlines canoperate up to 80 per cent oftheir pre-Covid capacity.

�� 7�8�,�9:�

China’s demand for India’scotton has pushed domes-

tic yarn prices higher, saidIndia Ratings and Research.

Accordingly, domestic yarnproduction increased inJanuary 2021, led by a strongexport and moderate domesticdemand during December2020.

“While yarn productionwas substantially lower on aYoY basis up to 8MFY21,exports increased by highersingle digits YoY due to ahealthy demand from neigh-bouring countries,”

“China’s demand for Indianyarn resumed to pre-Covidlevels during November-December 2020, as against avolume drop from Bangladeshand Vietnam during same peri-od.”

In January 2021, cottonyarn prices increased 15 percent MoM and 30 per cent YoY,resulting in higher gross mar-gins.

“The higher cotton yarndemand is attributed to theglobal supply curbs on Xinjiangregion (China) cotton, which isbenefitting Indian domesticspinners.”

“While exports are likely tomoderate during January-February 2021 with likely shut-down of mills ahead of Chinesenew year, demand resumptionis likely by March 2021.”

Consequently, cottonprices surged by 7-10 per centMoM during January 2021,led by a strong export demandfor cotton yarn.

“The international pricesrose by 13-17 per cent YoY, ledby the buoyant China demandfor US cotton, which is having

a rub-off effect on cheaperIndian cotton prices.”

However, apparel exportsdeclined in December 2020,after recovering overSeptember-November 2020 ona YoY basis due to the impactof a second wave of Covid-19in the US and Europe.

“This would also impactthe near-term order book posi-tion of ready-made garmentexporters for the upcomingfashion season.”

“During November 2020,knitted apparels volumesremained stagnant with reali-sations gaining by high singledigit yoy basis; on the contrary,woven apparels volumesincreased by 8.2 per cent andrealisations fell substantiallyyoy basis. During 2020, Indiaexports to the US fell 20-25 percent YoY in both volume andvalue terms.”

�� 7�8�,�9:�

To promote the use of elec-tric vehicles across India,

CSC e-Governance ServiceCommon Services India Ltdhas launched Rural e-MobilityProgramme whereby urgingpeople to switch to electricvehicles to preserve and con-serve the environment byreducing their carbon foot-print.

“We are focusing on ruralareas for which we have

launched Rural e-MobilityProgramme at our 100 CSCcentres that will be providing e-scooters and e-rickshaws topeople. The company has tiedup with various e-vehiclesmanufacturers and also finan-cial institutions for offeringattractive loans to people inrural areas. We are also settingup charging infrastructure atour CSCs for convenience ofour customers,” said CSCManaging Director DineshTyagi.

CSC is a Special PurposeVehicle (SPV) under theMinistry of Electronics andIT. “Our programme will notonly add environmental bene-fits but also create new modelsof inclusive development interms of connectivity in remotecorners of our country. We willorganize roadshows and bikerallies across India to promoteour Rural e-MobilityProgramme,” said Tyagi.Onesuch mega roadshow was orga-nized in New Delhi on Friday.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on

Saturday said that it has filed acharge sheet against KudosChemie Ltd., Kudos HoldingsPvt Ltd and its directors andJitendra Singh and GurmeetSodhi in connection with amoney laundering probe.

The ED filed the chargesheet at the Special PMLACourt in Chandigarh under thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act on February18.

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� He asked for gapanalysis of BIS andgovernment labs to betaken up on prioritybasis

� The meeting wasattended by seniorofficials of Departmentof Consumer Affairsand BIS besides others

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Japan’s Naomi Osaka dis-missed Jennifer Brady instraight sets to win her

fourth Grand Slam title at theAustralian Open on Saturdayand underline her new status asthe dominant force in women’stennis.

Osaka, 23, swept pastAmerica’s Brady 6-4, 6-3 in 77minutes to win her secondstraight major crown andextend a 21-match winningstreak that stretches back morethan a year.

The world number three,who will rise to second in therankings, becomes only thethird player after Monica Selesand Roger Federer to win herfirst four major finals.

By clinching back-to-backmajors for the second time, thereigning US Open championhas won half of the Slams shehas contested since her break-through 2018 US Open victo-ry against Serena Williams.

After a tight first set, Osakacontrolled the second to win 6-4, 6-3 in 77 minutes in front of7,381 fans at Rod Laver Arena,

operating at half-capacity overcoronavirus concerns.

“During my pre-season Iwould look at the AustralianOpen trophy from the timebefore and I would really feelinspired to try to win anotherone,” she revealed.

Osaka, who did not playlast year’s French Open, savedmatch points against GarbineMuguruza in the fourth roundand beat her idol SerenaWilliams in straight sets in thesemi-finals.

But Osaka, a third-roundloser in Melbourne last year,

said she didn’t expect hercharmed run to go on forever.

“I don’t expect to win allmy matches this year,” shesaid. “Somebody can give mea medal if I win all my match-es this year, but I don’t think it’spossible.

After subduing 22nd seedBrady, a fellow big-hitter, Osakalifted her racquet above herhead in a muted celebration asthe crowd roared.

“We played in the semis ofthe US Open a couple ofmonths ago and I told every-one that you’re going to be aproblem,” Osaka told Brady atthe trophy presentation. “AndI was right.”

US OPEN REMATCH

The Japanese survived aseesaw start to gain control,reeling off six straight games enroute to the title.

It was a rematch of lastyear’s epic, three-set US Opensemi-final, described by someas the best match of 2020, butOsaka triumphed far morecomfortably on this occasion.

Despite the defeat, Bradywill rise to a career-high 13thin the WTA rankings.

Asked what makes Osakaspecial, she said: “She’s justbrings out her best in the bigmoments.

“But I don’t think, youknow, she’s God,” added Brady.“I think maybe Serena is.Maybe she’ll get there, I don’tknow.”

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Novak Djokovic says goingunbeaten in eight

Australian Open finals willgive him confidence inSunday’s decider, but he’ll needmore than that to overcome“the man to beat” — red-hotRussian Daniil Medvedev.

The Serbian world numberone is into his ninth decider atMelbourne Park as he targetsan 18th Slam title to close thegap on Roger Federer andRafael Nadal, who have 20each.

It has been a rollercoasterride to get there, with Djokovicuncharacteristically droppingfive sets as he battled anabdominal injury that nearlyforced him to pull out.

But after his semi-final,Djokovic said he was feelingbetter than at any time duringthe past fortnight as he pre-pares to defend his crownagainst a man on a 20-matchunbeaten streak.

The Serb heads into theshowpiece on Sunday eveningwith the phenomenal record ofnever losing a final onMelbourne’s famous bluecourts in eight attempts span-ning 13 years.

Djokovic will also be play-ing his 28th Grand Slam final,in contrast to the Russian’ssecond.

But the 33-year-old, whoswept past qualifier AslanKaratsev in the semi-finals,said while experience wasclearly an advantage, Medvedevwas also in electric form.

“Of course it contributes tomore confidence, prior to com-ing into the finals knowing thatI never lost in the finals orsemi-finals just makes me feelmore comfortable being onthe court,” he said.

“But each year is different,although it does have a mentaleffect on me. Maybe on myopponents, I don’t know, but onme it does definitely have apositive effect.

“But it’s not a decisive fac-tor in the way the match isgoing to go forward, becauseeach year is different.”

Medvedev is unbeatensince last November, includinga straight-sets drubbing of the

Serb at the ATP Finals inLondon, with Djokovic deem-ing him “the man to beat”.

“He's just so solid. Also, Iheard (commentator) JimCourier calling him a masterchess player because of the wayhe tactically positions himselfon the court, and it’s true,” hesaid.

“You know, he’s definitely avery smart tennis player.”

‘HE’S THE FAVOURITE’Medvedev, who has

dropped just two sets so far,insisted that despite having allthe momentum he was still theunderdog.

“He’s the favourite becausehe didn’t lose. On eight occa-sions that he was here in thesemis he won the tournament,”said the 25-year-old.

“Me, I’m... the challenger,the guy that challenges theguy who was eight times in thefinal and won eight times. AndI’m happy about it.

“I know that to beat himyou need to just show your besttennis, be at your best physical-ly maybe four or five hours, andbe at your best mentally maybefor five hours,” he added.

Despite playing down hischances, Medvedev, who alsoreached the 2019 US Openfinal, losing to Nadal, has theweapons to trouble Djokovic,with a big serve, unrelentingreturns and exceptional move-ment as he targets a maidenGrand Slam title.

Twelve of his 20 straightwins have been against top-10players and he has won three ofhis last four against the 17-timeGrand Slam-winning Serb.

“Playing Novak seventimes already is just a hugeexperience,” he said.

“(But) I think when he’s inthe zone he doesn’t miss. Hegoes down the line, cross, fore-hand, backhand, he doesn’tmiss. That’s what is the tough-est part of playing against him.”

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Japan’s Naomi Osakapromised on Saturday not to

be weighed down by “pressureand expectation” after her lat-est Grand Slam victory sparkedtalk she could end up winning10 majors.

She becomes only the thirdplayer after Monica Seles andRoger Federer to win their firstfour major finals, and will nowrise to second in the worldrankings.

The 23-year-old won herfourth Slam from the last eightshe’s contested and is now seenas the dominant force inwomen’s tennis, a view sharedby seven-time Slam-winnerMats Wilander, who believesOsaka can win 10 Grand Slams.

“I’m taking it in sections.For right now, I’m trying to gofor five,” Osaka said, whenasked about Wilander’s com-ment.

“After five I would thinkabout maybe dividing the 10, somaybe seven or eight.”

“I don’t like to take thingsbig-picture,” Osaka added. “Forme, I like to live in the moment.

“It’s an honour that he saidthat. But I don’t want to weighmyself down with pressure andexpectations.”

Osaka has proven to beirresistible on hard courts afternow winning twice atMelbourne Park and FlushingMeadows.

But she’s struggled else-

where, having never made itpast the third round on theFrench Open’s clay orWimbledon’s grass courts.

“I feel like I have to get

comfortable on those surfaces,”she said. “I didn’t grow upplaying on grass at all.

“I honestly think I’d havebetter luck on clay, because Ithink last year I didn’t play badat all.”

However, when askedwhere she was most likely towin her first non-hardcourtGrand Slam, Osaka said:“Hopefully clay because it’s theone that’s sooner.”

As her achievements grow,Osaka said she simply hoped toinspire the next generation.

“Hopefully I play longenough to play a girl that saidthat I was once her favouriteplayer,” she said.

“Unfortunately I didn’t getto play (her favourite player) LiNa.

“I just think that’s how thesport moves forward.”

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Barbora Krejcikova and RajeevRam won their second

Australian Open mixed doublestitle in three years on Saturday witha 6-1, 6-4 win over home pairingSam Stosur and Matthew Ebden.

For Krejcikova it was her thirdAustralian Open title in a row aftercombining with Nikola Mektic ofCroatia to win the mixed doubles ayear ago.

She had lost in the women’s dou-bles final with fellow Czech KaterinaSiniakova on Friday to Elise Mertens

and Aryna Sabalenka, but put herdisappointment behind her in just 59minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

“We had a year off as a team, butshe didn’t have a year off and wonthis thing last year,” Ram said ofKrejcikova at the presentation cer-emony.

“Three years running is anamazing job.”

Ram has a chance to pick upanother Australian Open title onSunday, when he and Britain’s JoeSalisbury defend their men’s doublestitle against Ivan Dodig and FilipPolasek.

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Japan’s celebrations forNaomi Osaka’s fourth

Grand Slam title went intoorbit on Saturday, with anastronaut tweeting congrat-ulations from theInternational Space Station.

Osaka’s triumph overJennifer Brady in theAustralian Open final washailed in Japan, and beyond,as astronaut Soichi Noguchiwrote from space “NaomiOsaka, congratulations onthe victory,” with a Gold-medal emoji.

Japan’s media said itbrought prospects of a Goldmedal at the coronavirus-delayed Tokyo Olympics “abig step closer”.

Major broadcastersflashed news of the 23-year-old’s latest Grand Slam win,which added to victories atthe 2018 US Open, the 2019Australian Open and the

2020 US Open.“Osaka got a big step

closer to winning the Goldmedal at the TokyoOlympics,” the NikkanSports daily said of the play-er, who is a leading face ofthe Games in her homenation.

“The Australian victoryis a barometer for the Goldmedal” at the Tokyo Games,where tennis matches areplayed on the same type ofcourt, the newspaper said —calling Osaka “the queen ofhard courts.”

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ENCOURAGING

GREENBusinesses need to go beyond the interests oftheir companies to the communities they serve.

— Ratan Tata

Very recently Mahindra&Mahindragot caught on the wrong foot. Apicture of M&M’s Board meetingwas shared on Twitter, where auser pointed out use of disposable

plastic bottles in the Board meeting of thecompany. This promptly led Mr. Mahindra totake ownership and banish plastic bottles frommeetings and replace them with environmentfriendly alternatives.

This simple narrative points out how theorganisers of the meeting had not thoughtabout the environmental implications of theiractions (using plastic bottles in the meeting),when the company is actively promoting envi-ronment and sustainability, and this may betrue for employees across organisations as well,who are neither aware nor committed to theenvironmental cause. Hence, employeeinvolvement becomes important for organisa-tions on its sustainability journey.

Smart organisations know how to ensurecore values of their organisation. This can hap-pen either by persuading their employees or bygiving them a clear message. Organisationsthat have made greening a priority for them-selves expect environment-centric behaviourfrom their people and this has resulted in judi-cious utilisation of resources. In addition, con-sistent assessment of environmental impactwhile taking business decisions, recycling andrepurposing of resources and adoption of sus-tainable forms of different resources are someother important parameters.

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Sustainability, greening the corporation,environment management are graduallybecoming a part of the corporate vocabulary.The way the natural resources are extractedand consumed from earth, it is going to bevery difficult to replenish them timely. It isoften discussed in various forums that for gen-erating the resources we spend in one year;earth takes around 1.5 years for the re-genera-tion. Hence, it can be assumed that there will arequirement of the capacity of almost twoEarths by 2030 to keep pace with the presentnatural resource consumption, and the require-ment will be of three planets by 2050.

Experts have always warned people aboutthe impacts of climate change, global warmingand the recent onset of a pandemic (Covid-19)can completely rewire people’s brains. All theseenvironmental changes will have far reachingimpact on humanity and life force on the plan-et. They would be designed in such a way thatthey work on People-Planet-Profit (PPP)

methodologies, thereby providing benefits toall the stakeholders. The architecture, building,resources employed would all be designed tofunction on the principles that promote sus-tainability.

The current requirement is towards devel-oping long-term, meaningful relationships, andself-discipline for attaining effective results.Thus, the design of the workplace is such thatsupports the basic and core idea in a moreaccommodating and comprehensive manner.When employees find the conviction amongtheir leaders, they tend to behave in the man-ner that supports green and sustainable way ofworking in an interrelated and interlinked way.

A Green workplace is an eco-friendly andfocused organisation and leans towards theadoption of business practices that are justifi-able in nature, energy efficient, and well suitedto the complex as well as the ever-changingworld of business. It advocates the model basedon 3Rs — reduce, reuse, recycle. It is not onlygreen building and green infrastructure, ratherit has a much broader scope. It encompassesgreen competencies, green attitude, and greenbehaviour, which is combined synergistically tohelp the organisation become green or sustain-able. Values are the essential characteristic thatboth employees and organisations uphold andoperate at multiple levels (societal, organisa-tional and personal), thus playing a fundamen-tal role in shaping the organisation’s culturewith regard to a shift towards greater sustain-ability.

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A lot of changes were witnessed post pan-demic in the very year of 2020. Globally, workfrom office (if not completely zero) definitelywent on the downward slide. At the same time,thanks to availability of internet and onlineworking option availability, work was not com-pletely shut. Although, work from office wasvery less, we could experiment with new work-ing models in most of the industries and com-panies of all sizes. Though we were not meet-ing face-to-face, we were still connected. Thepandemic accelerated the adoption of technol-ogy and digital way of working tremendously.

Now, with the vaccine discussions, newexperiments are being made. These includemixing remote and office work with safety pro-tocols, remote management, making toughdecisions like giving furlough to some workersand growing the roles of others, engagement,learning, monitoring and evaluating so that thebusiness of the organisation can happen asusual.

Global industry analyst Josh aptly men-tioned at Perspectives 2020, “For us in HR, it isreally time to be the heroic leaders of theresponse.” Thus, the HR is experimenting and

finding opportunity the year of the pandemicand following year with huge expectations andthe big acceleration of the transformation HR.The enmeshment of all aspects has caused asea change in how people are working at home,trying to strike a balance among all thedomains. The clear segregation between homeand work has today blurred, integration, of an‘enforced’ kind is in place which is differentfrom the voluntary work from home whichcompanies used to give. Thus, in this processof transformation and management ofunprecedented situation, HR is gainingsmoothly greater importance.

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Although, work from home (WFH) wasalways advocated by HR fraternity (as it givesthe opportunity for work life integration), theactual decision to allow the employees to workfrom home was a difficult one. The principalrisk to firms when allowing employees to workfrom home is a potential inability to monitorthose employees to the same degree as wouldbe possible if he or she worked in a traditionaloffice setting.

During Covid-19, the situations are differ-ent. Everyone is worried about health and well-being related aspects. Supply chains are dis-rupted. Daily and essential works are takingmore time as no support is available at home.More than that, all the family members areavailable all the time at the same place withkids not going outside is an extra burden ofmanaging and engaging them with lots ofpatience. Along with that the individual differ-ence of managing stress and uncertainties alsoplay an important role when we talk aboutworking effectively in this uncertain times.

Working from home or working at homeduring the Covid-19 pandemic has given riseto realities which are reframing the very fabricof our social, occupational, and emotionallives. Not surprisingly, the nature of WFH haschanged in recent years. The cost to employeesof corresponding with employers and co-work-ers quickly and effectively from a distance hasfallen dramatically.

In addition, the positive aspect can be seenthat resource utilisation has gone down dramat-ically. Due to WFH and less commute required,there seem chances that less people need totravel daily to attend their office. The proposedhybrid model, where WFH and online learningwill be a part, lesser vehicles will be needed onthe road. That will definitely impact positivelyin terms of less polluted air and sound. Due todigital way of working, prevalence of electronicmail, video conferencing software, and mobilecommunication through ubiquitous cellularcommunications networks, the usage of electric-ity, paper will go down.

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The role of leadership is pivotal when itcomes to encouraging sustainability in organi-sations. CEOs across companies and nationali-ties are understanding the importance of com-mitting to sustainability and have placed sus-tainability on top of their agenda. The serious-ness of climate threat and the growing aware-ness around environmental issues is makingorganisations commit to reducing their contri-bution to pollution and depletion of naturalresources.

Indian organisations have become a part ofthe Carbon Disclosure Project thereby commit-ting to reduce emission of carbon but recentreports show that CDP has pulled up 20 Indianorganisations for their weak sustainability dis-closures. A recent CDP India Annual Reportalso discloses that Indian companies are notmuch concerned about deforestation and do notmake a realistic assessment of the impact oftheir business on deforestation. This indicatesthe lack of seriousness to take environmentalimpact of business into consideration.

This is where the role of leadership becomeshighly significant. Integrating sustainability andenvironmental issues into the strategy of busi-ness can only be accomplished at the highestlevel of the organisation. We need the businessleaders to step up and work towards becomingmore sustainable. There are examples of leaderswho have taken sustainability to be the mostimportant driver of their business. YvonChouinard of Patagonia is a shining example ofsustainable leadership. He not only made sus-tainability a part of his business but also workedwith his vendors to make their businesses sus-tainable. His contribution to the environmentextended to producing documentaries meant tosensitise people on environmental issues.

Late Y.C. Deveshwar, former Chairman ofITC Ltd. in an interview had stated that sustain-ability was a key to gain competitive advantage.The current CEO and MD of ITC, Sanjiv Purihas committed to stretch goals to improve itssustainability performance by 2030 by replacing50% of the company’s energy consumption withrenewable sources.

These examples demonstrate the leader’svision and commitment to sustainability areimperative to promote sustainability in organi-sations. The leader’s beliefs about environmentalconservation and a vision centered around sus-tainability can motivate employees to take upthe environmental cause. The leader canbecome a catalyst in enhancing awareness onsustainability by making it a part of the corpo-rate vocabulary and integrating sustainability asa value in the organisation’s culture.

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GREENHR PRACTICES

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What is Dharma? This question baffles many andthere is a considerable confusion that surroundsthe idea. This is why there are so many interpre-

tations of Dharma. Sometimes diametrically opposed to oneanother. But it is important to understand that Dharma isa universal construct deeply rooted in ethics. In fact, Dharmais another name for ethical conduct. People think thatDharma and religion are synonymous but this is erroneous.Dharma is universal, eternal and a guide to rightful conduct.That is why righteousness is the core of the idea of Dharma.Righteousness is the basis of rightful conduct and religionis a means to understand the nature of rightful conduct.Offering prayers in a place of worship is only a part ofDharma. However, Dharma is much more. The TaittreyaUpanishad brings out the essence of Dharma very succinct-ly in the Shikshavalli section. When the pupils complete theirlearning in the gurukul, the Guru delivers the final lesson,called Dikshant, like the convocation of present times. Thecrux of this final lesson lies in these two terms — Satyamvada, Dharmam char. That is adhere to the truth and fol-low the path of righteousness or Dharma. These two termsare also the essence of Dharma. It lies in action. Action thatis rightful, action that is ethical. But the issue is how to eval-uate this action. How to determine the rightfulness. This isthe question that is most difficult to answer. Individuals havetheir own interpretation of Dharma and every one believesthat he or she has followed the path of Dharma in the actiontaken. This is the reason why people tend to justify theiractions. It is an ego defense mechanism that leads to justi-fication. It is ego that is the reason for this mechanism calledrationalisation. Logic or reasoning is always resorted to inorder to justify one’s action. So even Hiranyakashyap orRavana or Duryodhana all had their reasons for their bla-tantly wrong deeds. Here, it is important to understand thatusually people do not commit a wrong act if they believe thatit is wrong. Their ego makes them believe that their actionsare just. The ego puts a veil on their reason and makes themfollow unreason. The Indian philosophy calls this Avidya.This does not allow them to see the truth and examine theiractions in right perspective. Even the most heinous acts donot give a feeling of remorse or guilt as it is believed to beright and excuses are found. The answer lies in removingthe veil of ego or Avidya and this can only happen by real-isation. Realisation leads to objective evaluation of one’sactions. This comes by awakening the conscience and look-ing within. The conscience is the guide to Dharma and isin every human. Only it is in different stages of awakening.Thus, some are more awake than others and can achieve real-isation easily. The purpose of Dharma is to show the right-eous path and this requires constant guidance from the con-science. Due to differences in levels of awakening, peoplediffer in their ability to attain realisation and discriminatebetween the right and the wrong. But it is to be understoodthat every human being has the potential for this realisationand experience the awakening. All that is required is the rightkind of training or learning. The degree of intervention mayvary but essence of Dharma can be understood by most.

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In the verse 18.65 of BhagavadGita, Lord gently states, “DevelopMy consciousness; become My

devotee; make scarifies for Me; andoffer obeisance to Me.” In the verse12.8, He is cajoles, “Fix your mind inMe only; engage your intelligence inMe.” In the verse 11.34, God instructsArjuna to do His bidding when Hestates, “You fight; kill; do not get dis-turbed; you will conquer.” Then, in theverse 18.62, He goes direct when Hestates, “In all respects take shelter ofHim, meaning Himself,” And in theverse 18.66, He leaves us no choicewhen He states, “Take My shelter only.”He couldn’t be more direct, leaving noambiguity.

Complete surrender is required forthe proper functioning of the system.Can any company survive for long ifits employees do not obey the employ-er? What does the employer do whenthey don’t obey? He fires them for thesake of the health of the company.Similarly, God or His system would nottolerate indiscipline for long; thedivine authorities will punish bydemoting the offenders to lowerspecies.

There are innumerable examplesof taking shelter of higher authoritiesin our daily lives. Then, why not do thesame in case of the Almighty, who iseverything vis-à-vis this creation?

Fortunately for us, many do. Thewhole system, that is, this creation can-not function unless there are good peo-ple and, more specifically, devotees ofGod. They are the bedrocks of the sys-tem. And such persons benefitimmensely by doing what the Lord orthe system expects them to do. TheLord realises that the small soul is verylimited. To be both good in the con-

ventional sense and do what Godexpects us to do is extremely difficult,because it goes against the deeplyingrained natures of us souls. Still, itcan be done and millions are able todo. However, the number of peoplewho are just good and are not God’sdevotees is much larger.

Obviously, benefits accruing todevotees will be much greater. Thesebenefits are duly delivered, otherwisewho will choose this difficult path. Ofcourse there are various degrees ofbeing good and the extent one is linkedwith God, and their rewards are alsolikewise graded.

Briefly, good people are mostlyrewarded in these ways. Their good‘karmas’ entitle them to many mater-ial benefits like sufficient resources,welcome attention and the mostimportant support of the system. As faras benefits to God’s devotes, these arevery wide in scope. God guides becausethis is crucial to stay on the right

course, and God, being omniscient,always knows perfectly. God protects;gets devotees out of trouble. God sup-ports; maintains and provides all theneeded resources for a satisfactory exis-tence. God helps in many other waysas well like He warns His devotes; givesthem mental strength; gives themintelligence — the ability to make theright decisions; the strength to toler-ate; the ability to transcend the diffi-cult to deal with ‘maya’ — the illuso-ry energy of the Lord; and helps themovercome ‘tomoguna’ — the darkmode. God empowers His devotes todo extraordinary feats, which benefitthe creation/mankind. God forgives; hegives peace — the only source who can.He forgives, i.e. releases from sins and,ultimately, liberates when a particularsoul has attained a certain degree ofenlightenment. Is God wrong in insist-ing that we take shelter in Him?'��

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The world is full of uncertain-ties and the fact is that onecan never change the con-dition of this universe.However, we can make

arrangements to change ourselves inorder to adjust with the environmentand learn to live harmoniously. Wemust as far as possible create an envi-ronment which is conducive to peace,prosperity and happiness among thepeople. Therefore, great Saints theworld over have propagated the needfor self-realisation among the people.

The question that haunts ourmind is how to bring about peace inthis world? Some people argue that wecan do so through religion. However,it is not so. In fact, most of the vio-lence which occurs in this world,today, has surfaced in the form of ‘ter-rorism’ which has sprung up from theissues of religion. The terroristswrongly surmise that by resorting toterrorism they can save their religion.However, this is far from the truth. Noreligion preaches violence but onlypropagates peace in the universe.Unfortunately, this has been misinter-preted by terrorists to suit theirInterests.

Take the case of the great

Mahabharata war which occurredmore than 5,000 years ago betweenKaurvas and Pandavas. The war wasbased on certain principles or ruleswhich were agreed upon by both thesides. There was no terrorism involvedin that Great War. Only men fought inthe war. Women, children and old peo-ple did not participate in the battle.The armies fought with equal strengthand with pride and honour with a firmconviction that whoever wins will getthe kingdom of Hastinapur to rule andwhoever dies shall go to heaven. Ascompared to this battle, terrorism,which has surfaced today, does notspare people even women, childrenand the old. This is the bitter truth thatwe are facing today.

Terrorism knows no religion.Terrorists, today, blow up airplanes;plant bombs in buses and publictransport vehicles, in cinema housesor shopping Malls — all this in thename of religion although the violencehas nothing to do with the religion.

Srimad Bhagavatam describes thatreligion is based on four principles.They are called the four pillars of reli-gion. They are Austerity, Cleanliness,Mercy, and Truthfulness. Whether youcall yourself a Hindu, a Muslim, a

Buddhist, a Christian it is not soimportant. The question is how we aredeveloping our love for God throughthe process of following these fourprinciples of religion? By followingthese four principles we can realise oureternal relationship with the Supremecreator and then we can look harmo-niously in any condition that theenvironment has placed before us andremain peaceful and contribute to thewellbeing of the society.

��Let us consider the first principle

of ‘Austerity’ which means to be will-ing to accept inconvenience for thepurification of one’s heart and in theservice of God and in the service ofhumanity.

Austerity means to be willing toaccept inconvenience, sacrifice andeven pain, for the purpose of purify-ing our consciousness and to rejectthings which are unfavorable for thepurification of our heart, whether welike it or not. Human life is meant forsacrifice.

Austerity means making priorityin your time. How much time are youdedicating to purify your heart forGod? How much time you are allocat-

ing to your business, to your family?You have to balance everything, soyour life is full both materially andspiritually, that has to be balanced.Sacrificing time everyday with a viewto purifying the heart, through med-itation, Yantra, and reading religiousscriptures is the greatest austerity.

��The second principle of religion is

Cleanliness. It is said that Cleanlinessis next to Godliness. Cleanlinessmeans for the body and the mind. Forcleanliness of the body, we shouldbathe at least once a day. Because whenthe body becomes dirty, the environ-ment also becomes dirty and it is verydifficult for the mind to remain clean.

��The next principle of religion is

‘Mercy’. How to be merciful within thissociety? Again every religion of theworld teaches us that we must be mer-ciful and show mercy to all. It is sac-rifice, it is Austerity. The non-violencemust be based on ‘faith in God’. Faithcan move mountains, We must havefaith.

��The fourth principle of religion is

truthfulness. What is the truth? Theanswer lies in simply not telling lies inour daily affairs. We should be hon-est and straight forward in all our deal-ings in this world That is calledMorality. Lord Krishna says inBhagavad Gita that the definition oftruth is to know that all living beingsare part of me and they are in me andthey are mine. The truth is that we arepart of God. That everything is theproperty of God. Unless we know thetruth, unless we understand the truthhow can we be truthful.

By understanding and pursuingTruth, we can see how everythingwithin our environment is perfect.How everything is the loving grace ofGod. Not simple to intellectual under-standing, but we can experience fromthe core of our heart the God’s expres-sion of love in every condition of life.This is the real peace. This is not intan-gible, it is not something impossible.It is as close as your own soul. We arerunning in every other direction tofind pleasure and peace. We simplyhave to redirect our priorities in lifetowards our soul and towards our ser-vice of the god. By associating withsaintly persons, by hearing the truth,we will learn how to practice these fourprinciples of religion, austerity, clean-liness, mercy, and truthfulness.

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Dedicating funds and otherresources for environmental pro-jects, instituting rewards and

recognition for contributions towardssustainability can also be initiated by theleader. The leader can walk the talk bydemonstrating environment friendlybehaviour by reducing wastage of elec-tricity, paper and other resources. Thesesavings may not amount to much but asactions speak louder than words they goon to show that the leader believes in sus-tainability and acts on it at a personallevel.

��

Employees can play an important rolein promoting sustainability at the work-place. It is seen that individuals may bevery conscious of sustainability and wastemanagement at home but this behaviourdoes not always translate into environ-ment-friendly behaviour at the place ofwork. At homes we have electricitymeters which help in monitoring con-sumption but in an office employees tonot receive individualized bills for energyand paper consumption thereby diffusingresponsibility towards resource usage.

The idea is to make all the employeesunderstand the environmental implica-tions of their work behaviour and impro-vise ways to reduce/ reuse/ recycleresources. The collective impact of sus-tainable behaviour can reap rich divi-dends for organisations in the form ofsavings and reduction in environmentalfootprints. Organisations are now tryingto collaborate with NGOs and other envi-ronment management organisations tosensitise employees on sustainability mat-ters. There are instances in whichemployees have initiated waste manage-ment, car-pooling and recycling ofresources on their own and this hasinspired peers to follow in their footsteps.Organisations can encourage sustainabili-

ty among employees by organising sus-tainability events, suggestion schemesand projects to help the employees seetheir contribution beyond the technicaldomain.

As the general awareness on sustain-ability is increasing, we find that sustain-ability is becoming an important contrib-utor to the employer brand and talent isnaturally choosing organisations thatvalue sustainability. Some employees mayhave a natural propensity towards envi-ronmental issues. Organisations canappoint them as sustainability championsin their organisations. They can act asrole models and also provide momentumto the sustainability movement inside theorganisation. The champions can helpcreate sustainability converts that isemployees who adopt sustainability byunderstanding its importance.

Sustainability is also being called asuper strategy for promoting employeeengagement. Organisations can get

employees to connect by making themsee how their contribution is significantby establishing a connection betweenwork behaviour and sustainability.

The year long struggle with Covid hasalready made us realise how importantthe harmony between the environmentand humanity is for us to survive as aspecies in times to come. The totalreliance on technology to work has led toconsiderable savings in commuting timeand costs. Though this situation wasforced upon us, it demonstrated that thissustainable form of work is definitely aviable alternative. Organisations shouldnow change their mindset of — “if I don’tsee you, you are not working” and makework from home (WFH) a practice. It isnot only going to cut on the costs ofoperations but would have a very positiveeffect on the environment in the longrun.

Organisations such as SalesForce,BitPay and Square are looking at the per-manent work from home as long termoptions. It may not be possible for all theorganisations to do so, but practicingWFH to the extent possible in going toincrease employee well-being as well asenvironmental wellbeing. Organisationcan also have innovative ways of makingemployees commit to sustainability byhaving a personal/departmental sustain-ability action plans in which employeeswould plan their sustainability activitiesvoluntarily. Institutionalising sustainabili-ty can help get employee ownership forsustainability. The idea is to making sus-tainability integral to daily work behav-iour rather than making it into an eventwhich is celebrated in the form of envi-ronmental day or week and forgotten assoon as it is over.

Soni Agrawal and Roma Puri recentlypublished Green HRM: A Climate

Conscious Route to Triple Bottom withSAGE Publications India

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��8��.�� $��2�!�.+��Although Donald Trump

left the White House onJanuary 20, some of his policieslike the crucial MigrantProtection Protocol (MPP)remain a “choke point” forthousands of migrants awaitingentry into the US.

The TrumpAdministration is formallygone, but the shadow ofTrumpism has perpetuated.Both critics and fans of Trumpagree on the fact that Joe Bidenhas inherited a largely “DividedAmerica”. Although the BidenAdministration has tried toreposition America at the heartof globality, the wounds of theTrump days would take longerthan what Biden and the lib-erals are expecting.

The MPP is a USGovernment action wherebycitizens and nationals of coun-tries other than Mexico arriv-ing in the US by land fromMexico, whether or not at aport of entry, may be returnedto Mexico, pursuant to Section235 (b) (2) (C) of theImmigration National Act(INA), while their US removalproceedings are pending underSection 240 of the INA. But theGovernment of Mexico hascommitted to providing aliensplace into MPP with appro-priate humanitarian protec-tions, including immigrationdocumentation and access toeducation, healthcare andemployment.

In fact, the Section 235 ofthe INA addresses the inspec-tion of the aliens seekingadmission into the US and pro-vides specific proceduresregarding the treatment ofthose not clearly entitled toadmission. Further Section 235(b) (C) (2) provides that “in thecase of an alien… who is arriv-ing on land, (whether or not ata designated port of arrival)from a foreign territory con-tiguous to the US, the Secretaryof Homeland Security mayreturn the alien to that territo-ry pending a removal pro-ceeding under Section 240 ofthe INA. But individuals insuch removal proceedings havethe ability to seek relief or pro-tection from removal, includ-ing asylum.

It has been regarded as oneof the most controversial piecesof legislation of the Trump era.But now the question is thathow does it work? The alienssubject to the MPP are placedinto removal proceedingsunder Section 240 of the INA

before an immigration judge,just like any other alien inremoval proceedings pursuantto Section 240 of the INA. Thealiens generally remain inMexico throughout the dura-tion of their removal proceed-ings. Only issue is that whilewaiting for the final decision ofthe immigration trial, theimmigrants, particularlywomen, children and agedpeople suffer a lot in the handsof the authority. Once theirremoval proceedings are com-pleted, the aliens who receivefinal orders of removal areturned over to the USImmigration and CustomsEnforcement authorities.

Further, the aliens whoare granted relief from removalincluding asylum will beallowed to remain in the US,consistent with the existinglaws and policies.

The origin of the MPPgoes back to December 2018.On that very month, theTrump Administrationannounced the creation of anew programme known as‘Migrant Protection Protocols’(MPP). It’s often referred to asthe “Remain in Mexico”. Under

the jurisdiction of the MPP,individuals who arrive at thesouthern border of the US i.e.US-Mexico Border and ask forasylum, (either at a port ofentry or after crossing the bor-ders between the port of entry)are given notices to appear inimmigration court or sent backto Mexico. Meanwhile theyare instructed to return to aspecific port of entry on a spe-cific date and time for theirnext court hearing.

However, the MPP is dif-ferent from another processregarded as “Metering”. UnderMetering, it takes months formigrants before they are evenallowed to approach US borderofficials to just start the processof asylum. The waitlist of thesemigrants are managed bythemselves and by local sheltersor Mexican authorities. Finallythe US Government onlydecides how many people areallowed to request asylum eachday. But the disheartening factis that on some particular days,the US officials do not call any-one for processing their appli-cations in certain locations.This uncertain wait today isprolonging and the migrants

have to experience the worst ofthe tragedies at times.

It is worth noting whyAmerica has introduced theMPP. During the Fiscal Year2019, America encountered asecurity and humanitarian cri-sis in its South West borderwhen nearly one millionmigrants who entered thecountry illegally or withoutproper documentation wereapprehended or encounteredby the US Customs and BorderProtection (CBP). Therefore, toaddress this imminent crisis,the Trump Administrationused all appropriate resources,and authorities to secure theborders, enforce immigrationand customs laws, facilitatelegal trade and travel, countertraffickers, smugglers andtransnational criminal organ-isations and finally to interdictdrugs and contraband. Thus torestore the normal process ofsafe and orderly immigration,and to reduce incentives foraliens to try illegal entry meth-ods and to make meritless casefor entry or removal from pro-tection, the legislation calledthe MPP was brought intopractice.

Migration, to be precise, isan unending process. Sincetime immemorial, people havemoved from one part to theother parts of the globe, eitherlooking for a better life or toescape adversities in life. Withglobalisation, the process ofmigration has become easier,better and transparent.

The first World MigrationReport was released by theInternational Organisation ofMigration (IOM), a UNagency, in the year 2017. A lothas happened since then acrossthe world. In the last two years,the world has witnessed his-toric changes at the interna-tional level: the member statesof the UN have come togetherto finalise two global compactson the international manifes-tations of migration and dis-placement, which are: a) GlobalCompact for Safe, Orderly andRegular Migration and b)Global Compact on Refugees.

The finalisation of thesetwo historic compacts is theresult of sustained effortsbrought by states, internation-al agencies, human rights bod-ies, civil society organisations,and even private actors to

improve how the process ofmigration is governed at theglobal level. All these actorsdemand a safe, humane andaffordable process of migration.

Today, what is happeningto the thousands of migrants atthe US-Mexico border is draw-ing the attention of the entireworld. Most of these migrantsare coming from the CentralAmerican countries such asHonduras, Guatemala, ElSalvador, etc. The steady flowof immigrants leaving theseNorth Central American coun-tries simply reflect the grimrealities of life for millions ofchildren and their families.The root causes of this perva-sive migration are manifold:crushing poverty, endemiccrime, environmental crises,gang-related violence, extor-tion, high rates of domestic vio-lence, sexual abuse of girlsand forced recruitment in var-ious street gangs. Besides, manyof the horrific tales of migra-tion are accompanied with therealities of scarce social servicesand very limited opportunitiesto learn or to earn a decent liv-ing. Hence millions of migrantsfrom these countries keep

migrating to the US each yearand they face insurmountablerisks to their lives on this longroad.

There is demand fromsome sections of liberals thatthe Biden Administrationshould immediately dismantlethis harsh piece of legislationintroduced by his predecessor.But, will he be able to do it? Atthe moment, Biden is trying toundo some of the critical deci-sions taken by the Trumpregime in the last four years.

However the MPP is avery sensitive legislation.January 29 marked the secondanniversary of the MPP. Theasylum seekers and advocatesof migration across Americaare using this occasion to callfor an end to this controversiallaw. To them, this MPP has pre-vented thousands of peoplefrom accessing a meaningfuland safe opportunity to seekasylum in America. They areblaming Trump’s poor visionand blaming him for destroy-ing the very image of a liberaland democratic America of theyesteryears built by the found-ing fathers of the AmericanConstitution. And these anti-MPP activists say that the leg-islation is a clear violation ofthe due process and violationof universal human rights.Since March 2020, the USAdministration has suspendedall MPP hearings because ofthe Covid-19 pandemic.

During the Trump era, hisadministration continued sub-jecting people to the pro-gramme without knowingwhen their cases could beheard in the court.

On Biden’s first day inoffice, the Department ofHomeland Security immedi-ately announced that it wouldstop placing new asylum seek-ers into the MPP. This may bea critical first step in thatdirection, but it simply fulfilshis election promise to end theprogramme. However, the lat-est report say that even Biden’sWhite House is indicating thatit is not the time to rush. Anorderly immigration protocolwould certainly take time. Todismantle Trump legislationsmay be easy, but the truthbehind many of these lawsand regulations reveal manyfault lines of 21st centuryAmerica. And Biden needs totread carefully.

(The writer is an expert oninternational affairs)

�F��F��)��'4(�'4��A��B�� (�4;��4,��4�� (�B'��B'��;4A'�)�4��(�� E� 6�'�)�'��,�� B��'+ ��,�4;��4,��4�� 4�(

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��,��"The current Union Budget

has given a new lease of lifeto some vital sectors, includingaviation. Any policy whichaims at liberalising regulationis a good sign in upscaling skilland boosting job opportunities,helping India become a super-power by 2030.

In a bid to attract foreignaircraft lessors in the country,the Government has rolled outtax incentives for companiesthat are willing to set up shopat International FinancialServices Centre (IFSC). GujaratInternational Finance Tec-CityCompany Ltd (GIFT City) —which is being developed as thecountry’s first IFSC — is poisedto be the next hub of prosper-ity for businesses as soon asmost companies set up shop.

The current policy alsoproves beneficial for sale-lease-back (SLB) transactions where-in airlines sell aircraft to buythem back via lease, thus low-ering the aggregate enterprisedebt. This especially works incase of facilitating repayment oflong-term loans, bonds orworking capital requirement.

Indian companies rank atthe top of the global listing ofaircraft lease.

In addition to the taxincentives for foreign aircraftlessors willing to set up busi-ness in India, the Governmenthas offered additional incen-tives, including:

a) tax holiday for capi-

tal gains incomes from aircraftleasing

b) tax exemptions foraircraft lease rentals or royaltypaid to foreign lessor

c) tax incentive for re-location of foreign funds inIFSC, and

d) tax exemptions toinvestment division of the for-eign banks located in IFSC

These tax exemptions are a

major boon for lessors operat-ing from IFSC. Evidently, theGovernment is providing anavenue of business develop-ment by establishing a con-ducive aircraft leasing andfinancing environment inIndia. Additionally, it is alsooffering better terms to Indianand foreign carriers.

The best part of this Budgetis the abolishment of custom

duty i.e., reducing the tax ratefrom 2.5 per cent to zeroacross the entire MRO (main-tenance repair and overhaul)industry, a $1.5 billion indus-try in India. Setting up anMRO requires a high capitaland constitutes a long break-even time. India constitutes lessthan one per cent of the entireglobal industry which caters tocommercial travel, goods sup-

ply and defence. Reducingduties is a strategic movetowards ensuring that Indiacaptures a higher share of theglobal market.

This Budget also paves theway for flavoursome proposi-tion of PPP (public privatepartnership) players by encour-aging private players to offersupport to the aviation indus-try on areas such as infra-

structure building, airportoperations and construction.The Airport Authority of Indiais working on the next roundof privatisation of 10 airportsin the next three years.

Six airports have alreadybeen awarded to the successfulbidders and the concessionagreements have been signed.This step will help the Ministryof Civil Aviation to completethe goal of building 100 newairports by 2024 which showsthe airline industry has excel-lent growth prospects. Thebiggest transfer of power hap-pening in the airline sector isthe privatisation of Air Indiaand Pawan Hans, which willgenerate economic surplus andalso help reduce the �60,000crore compounding loan bookof Air India.

A new centrally sponsoredscheme, PM AtmanirbharSwasth Bharat Yojana will belaunched with an outlay of�64,160 crore over six years.Health is the primary concernin everyone’s minds in theCovid-19 pandemic era. Now32 airports are in develop-ment stage to create specialentry points for the healthcaresector, including pharma logis-tics, organ dispatch, patienttransport.

The agriculture industrywill also be receiving 50 percent open freight subsidy foragri-perishable products ofnorth-eastern States and four

Himalayan States/UTs. KrishiUdan will be launched by theMinistry of Civil Aviation oninternational and nationalroutes. This is intended to helpimprove value realisation (onagricultural products), espe-cially in the north-east and trib-al districts.

The Union Budget hasgreatly prioritised aviation. Ithas set the stage for an ambi-tious plan to monetise air-ports across tier 2 and tier 3cities in the country. What’sremarkable is that these citieshave seen a significant growthin demand for air travel byfirst-time flyers, especially afterthe relaxation in the Covid-19lockdown rules.

The Budget is a boon to theaviation sector as the alloca-tions and plans are made notonly to put the aviation indus-try on priority, but the rippleeffect will help boost all sectorsof business where airlines standas a factor in increasing theirefficiency.

Monetisation of airportswill prospectively accelerateinfrastructure development,particularly in the not-so-developed areas. This will alsostrengthen regional air con-nectivity.

(The writer is AssociateProfessor, Atal Bihari VajpayeeSchool of Management andEntrepreneurship, JawaharlalNehru University, New Delhi)

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We have so far had insight into thefirst four steps of eightfold pathsuggested by sage Patanjali. That

prepares the ground to begin the Dhyanaprocess. The steps to follow need to beseen in a running sequence, as progres-sively succeeding stages of a singularprocess. For, the first step Pratyahara,which implies interiorising the mind, isthe mode in which the whole dhyanaprocess is carried on. Dharana, dhyana,and samadhi are progressively growingthree successive stages of dhyana. There isno exclusive process dedicated to either ofthem. One keeps graduating from onestage to the other. There is a very thin linedistinguishing one from the other.

Pratyahara: Pratyahara, in practicalterms means withdrawal of senses awayfrom the external objects, into the interiorof mind. Our attention is thus turnedinwards. Purposely so, because the finaldestination is to strike upon and tune upwith the element of consciousness, thecore of a being lying within all of us.Following which, wholesome powers ofmind become available.

It is pertinent to note that all happen-ings originate in the inner realms of mind.You first visualise, ideate, discriminate,

articulate, and then put them into action.And the nature of any action, be it a freshinitiative taken, or in response to externalstimuli, is influenced by how each mind isinherently framed. That makes it incum-bent upon us to explore what lies in storeof the inner realms of the mind. So is theneed to turn our attention inwards. Butbefore the final destination is struck upon,one has to pass through various layers ofmind. They have in store, impressions ofvaried memories picked up in the imme-diate and distant past.

As attention turns inward, first comesto sight thought crowd gathered up in theimmediate past. These impressions,although relating to past, keep repeatedlychasing us from within, engaging ourattention in immediate terms. Theimpressions that affect us the most arepersistent desires and those having nega-tive orientation. They keep alive in mindour sense of want, hurt feelings and emo-tions, as well as indwelling sense of fearand insecurity if any. They keep unnerv-ing us. But then, without becoming awareof them, it would not be possible toresolve and get disengaged from themeither. Denial does not help. Having thusdisengaged oneself from the indwelling

thought crowd, which otherwise keephounding us from within, one feelsunburdened and relaxed. Followingwhich, doors open to strike even stilldeeper layers of mind.

Further down the line, one’s truenature gets revealed — inherent vulnera-bilities and workable part of one’sindwelling potential, coming as they mayas reflection of the Karmic imprints car-ried over from the past. We, thus, becomeaware of our inherent tendencies — desiretrends, habits and attitudes, likes and dis-likes, prejudices and obsessions, virtuesand attributes, as well as indwellingpotential. Accordingly, one could takenecessary corrective initiatives to get overone’s limitations of mind through fresheducative inputs. Also, acknowledge theworkable part of one’s indwelling poten-tial, hone them further, and make themworthy of being applied in contemporaryterms. One could even expand one’spotential self through conscious effortsand amplify one’s creative abilities.

As one gets established in the process,step-by-step one could go deeper anddeeper, and unravel memory impressionslaid down even at unconscious level.Eventually, one may strike at the core of

one’s existence. One’s true self then getsrevealed, where after one realises the unityunderlying all diverse existences. Thatmakes one rise above the sense of dualityand thereby relative perception. One’s fullpotential of mind thus gets unfolded.

Dharana/Dhyana: The dhyanaprocess proper begins with dharana. Thecalling of this process is to train one’smind in a way that it remains focused towherever attention is paid. The processsuggested is to focus attention on someiconic figure or concept for a continuedstretch of time and remain steadfast to it.The icon has to be opted preferably assuggested by the Guru. It could be someknown symbol, concept, or some abstractfigure such as a dot. In the Indian tradi-tion, invariably symbolism, intuitivelyperceived by ancient India’s seers, eachreflecting valuable educative import, arepreferred. Reflecting on them helps addquality and value to one’s thought process.The process involves simultaneouslychanting a mantra dedicated to theimagery in focus.

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