12
A mid chant of “Modi hai to mumkin hai ,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hailed the BJP’s vic- tory in Bihar Assembly polls as the country’s endorsement of the agenda of all-round devel- opment and hit out at the fam- ily-run parties. Addressing party workers at a felicitation function after the BJP’s victory in Bihar elec- tions and various bypolls, he asserted that the only mantra for his party’s victory was “sabka saath, sabka vikas and sabka vishwas”. Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP chief JP Nadda and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari were also present on the occasion. In addition to thanking thousands of “committed’ workers of the party, the PM repeatedly thanked and praised party president JP Nadda for the Bihar victory and gave him a standing ovation, exhort- ing the gathering to join him in chanting, “Nadda ji tum aage badho, hum tumhare sath hai.” The PM hit out at family- run parties saying they are the biggest threat to the democra- cy and rued that even a nation- al party had fallen prey to it. Modi said the poll results in Bihar and other by-elections across the country have made it clear that people will now support only those who work honestly for development. “People have decided that development alone will be basis of national politics in 21st cen- tury,” he said. “In 2019 Lok Sabha elec- tions, the BJP returned to gov- ern with greater numbers than what is got in 2014. In Bihar too, the BJP was the only party which saw a growth in seats while contesting a fourth con- secutive term with our part- ners. In Gujarat too, the BJP has been in power since the ‘90s, yet even in the latest by-elec- tions too, we won comprehen- sively... It shows that people are seeing who is working for them,” he added. The Prime Minister said the BJP is the only party which truly has a national connect with the people of India. “From just two MPs and two rooms, the BJP today is there in every corner of India,” he said. “I don’t just want to thank the people for supporting us, but for participating in the democratic process. For com- ing out and doing their bit. The elections that happen in India are unparalleled in the entire world,” he added. Turning his attention to West Bengal, he raised the issue of allegedpolitical mur- ders targeting saffron party members. “People in some parts of the country think that they will realise their goals by murder- ing BJP workers. I will appeal to them to see reason... I need not warn them as people will do this. Polls come and go, win and loss happen but this killing game cannot work in a democ- racy. This ‘maut ka khel’ can- not get you votes. They should see the writing on the wall,” Modi said, without naming any party. Lauding the people of the country for reposing their faith in the BJP, the Prime Minister also thanked and praised the Election Commission, securi- ty forces and administration for peaceful and successful con- duct of elections. These poll results have broadened the outcome of Lok Sabha elections, the Prime Minister said referring to BJP’s success in polls and bypolls across the country. “BJP is the only national party in which poor, dalits, deprived see their representa- tion; only BJP understands need of every section, region. The poll results have endorsed the way we have tackled Covid- 19 pandemic,” he said. Modi also said that women across the country are the “silent voters” which support the BJP across all rural and urban regions. Amid a festival-like atmos- phere with the crowd chanting Modi hai to mumkin hai (Modi can make it possible), BJP president JP Nadda earlier said at the event that people of Bihar have put their stamp of approval on Modi’s work to deal with Covid-19 and help poor during pandemic. He also said Bihar has cho- sen “vikas raaj” over “goonda raaj”, ‘DBT raaj” over “loot raaj” and LED over lantern. I n a see-saw battle, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) managed to win 125 seats — three more than it needed to breach the majority mark of 122 in the 243-member Bihar Assembly, but in nearly two dozen con- stituencies the victory margin was wafer thin. Of them, the margin of vic- tory in seven seats was less than 500 votes and four seats have victory margin less than 1,000. The JD(U) has won the Hilsa Assembly seat just by 12 votes. In Barbigha, JD(U) candidate Sudarshan Kumar defeated Congress’ Gajanan Shahi by just 113 votes. JD(U)’s Krishnamurari Sharan, alias Prem Mukhiya, has polled 61,848 votes, while his nearest Atri Muni, alias Shakti Singh Yadav, of the RJD has got 61,836 votes in Hilsa. As per the poll panel data, JD(U)’s Krishnamurari Sharan has got 232 postal votes and the RJD’s Shakti Singh Yadav 233. Ramgarh, Matihani, Barbigha, Bhorey, Bachwara and Dehri Assembly seats where victory came after a really close fight and victory margin was less than 500 votes. In Barbigha, JD(U) candidate Sudarshan Kumar defeated Congress’ Gajanan Shahi by just 113 votes. In Ramgarh, vic- tory margin was a mere 189 votes. In Matihani, Raj Kumar Singh of LJP defeated Narendra Kumar Singh of JD(U) by just a 333 votes. Bhore victory mar- gin was a mere 462. The RJD’s Fatehbahadur trumped the BJP’s Satya Narayan in Dehri by a mere 464 votes. Besides, Bakhri, Chakai, Kurhani and Parbatta seats where the margin of victory was less than 1,000. CPI can- didate Suryakant Paswan has defeated BJP’s Ramashankar Paswan by a margin of 777 votes. Chakai seat won by independent candidate Sumit Kumar Singh by a margin of 581 votes by defeating RJD’s Savitri Devi. Continued on Page 2 New Delhi: After remaining in the “severe” zone for six days on the trot, Delhi’s air quality improved slightly on Wednesday as a change in the wind direction reduced the contribution of stubble burning to the pollution, though it was still in the “very poor” catego- ry. The city recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 344. The 24-hour average AQI was 476 on Tuesday. An AQI between 201 and 300 is con- sidered “poor”, 301-400 “very poor” and 401-500 “severe”, while the AQI above 500 falls in the severe plus category. Delhi had witnessed six consecutive “severe” air quali- ty days till Tuesday. It had recorded seven such days in November last year. The neighbouring cities of Faridabad (327), Ghaziabad (360), Noida (309), Greater Noida (340), and Gurgaon (288), which fall in the National Capital Region (NCR), also recorded their AQI in “poor” and “very poor” categories on Wednesday. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) ordered the closure of hot mix plants and stone crushers in Delhi- NCR till November 17 in view of a likely increase in pollution levels during the coming days, when a number of festivals will be celebrated. Continued on Page 2 T he Government has brought online mediums, including films and news por- tals, under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The I&B Ministry will also reg- ulate online audio-visual pro- grammes and current affairs content, according to the amendment order signed by President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday. As per this order dig- ital content providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hotstar will now be regu- lated by the I&B Ministry. While the Press Council of India (PCI) looks after the print media, the television news channels come under News Broadcasters Association (NBA). The Advertising Standards Council of India is for regulating the content of the advertisements and Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) monitors films, but there is at present no law or autonomous body Governing digital content or Over-the-top (OTT) platforms and the Government was facing ques- tions from courts on many petitions. The Supreme Court recently sought the Centre’s response on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) for regulating OTT platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video by an autonomous body. The PIL stated that digital content on these platforms is made avail- able to the public at large with- out any filter or screening and the Government has sought time to reply in this case. A Bench comprising Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian had issued notices to the Central Government, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). None of the OTT/streaming platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Zee5, and Hotstar, have signed the self- regulation provided by the I&B Ministry since February 2020, the petition challenging the contents of the OTT platforms said. Anticipating Government’s intervention, in January 2019, eight video streaming services introduced a self-regulatory code that laid down a set of guiding principles for content on these platforms. Government did not support this in court. Now after the new order, the I&B Ministry got the regulatory power. The notification issued by the Cabinet Secretariat has amended the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 by inserting two new entries — 22A and 22B — to the Second Schedule of the Rules. Continued on Page 2 T he Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has instructed offi- cials to ensure that Chhath Puja this year is not performed at public places, river banks and temples in Delhi, citing the recent rise in Covid-19 cases in the national Capital. An order issued by Chief Secretary and DDMA execu- tive committee chairman Vijay Dev on Tuesday issued direc- tions to all DMs and DCPs for strict compliance and to encourage people to celebrate Chhath at their homes during the pandemic. It also directed the DMs and DCPs to hold meetings with religious and community leaders as well as Chhath Puja Samitis before the festival to get their cooperation to maintain law and order and harmony, and to sensitise the public on the compliance of guidelines and instructions to combat Covid-19. The situation of Covid-19 in Delhi was reviewed and it had been observed that there is a persistent rise in Covid-19 cases in NCT of Delhi in the recent period, the order stated. “Considering this, it has been decided that Chhath Pooja celebrations in the month of November 2020 may not be allowed in public places and people may be advised to cel- ebrate the festival at their home only,” it said. Delhi BJP leader and for- mer minister in the city Government Kapil Mishra questioned the order and claimed it was issued as the AAP Government failed to make adequate preparations for Chatth Puja. “This order banning Chhath Puja in Delhi will not be obeyed Arvind Kejriwal ji. Delhi Government, which was the first to open liquor shops in the country, cannot issue an order to stop Chhath Puja. “The AP government banned Chhath Puja as it could not prepare for it. Chhath Puja will be performed,” Mishra said in a Hindi tweet. The Chhath Puja is cele- brated in Delhi in a big way by the natives of Bihar and eastern UP. The two-day festival falling on November 20-21, involves worship of the Sun God at a water body like a river, pond. R ussia’s Sputnik V vaccine has shown 92 per cent effi- cacy in preventing Covid-19, according to interim trial results announced by the coun- try’s health ministry on Wednesday. The announcement fol- lows results unveiled earlier this week by vaccine developers Pfizer and BioNTech, who said their vaccine was more than 90 per cent effective at preventing Covid-19. The calculation is based on the 20 confirmed Covid-19 cases split between vaccinated individuals and those who received the placebo, said Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). The efficacy of the vaccine, developed by the Gamalaya Centre, was demonstrated on the basis of a first interim analysis obtained 21 days after the first injection. There were no unexpected adverse events during the tri- als. Monitoring of the partici- pants is ongoing, the ministry said. The interim research data of Sputnik V has not been pub- lished or peer-reviewed yet. Continued on Page 2 T here has been little cele- bration in the Janata Dal(U) camp in Bihar and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has not even reacted to the poll result even as “Big Brother” BJP has kept reaffirming he will continue to be Chief Minister. Nitish’s silence is baffling. It was expected that having sur- vived a bitterly fought elections where the pollsters had written him off, Kumar’s party will have reason to celebrate Dipawali in advance. But dur- ing the last 48 hours, the Chief Minister has confined himself to his 1, Anne Marg residence and not even done the formal- ity of thanking the voters. Sources said Nitish has called a meeting of all his can- didates — both winners and losers — at 3.30 pm on Thursday at his residence. The CM will take feedback from them about the reasons for the party’s dismal show and then may speak out on the poll result. A JD(U) leader explained Nitish’s silence saying all these years he dictated the terms to the BJP, but now that the saf- fron party is doing a favour by offering him the chair of the Chief Minister, Nitish has rea- sons to be cautious. After all, the BJP will now seek a pro- portionate share in the Cabinet and would like to have greater say in the Government. “This is not a welcome situation for someone like Nitish Kumar,” the JD(U) leader said, adding, “What’s there to celebrate for us.” The JD(U) rank and file is also very disappointed with the BJP top leadership for allowing Chirag Paswan to remain with- in the NDA at the national level when he went out to sabotage Nitish’s prospects in the polls and threatened to send him to jail in corruption cases. Those who know Nitish Kumar understand that he is unlikely to forgive Chirag and would mount pressure on the BJP to throw him out of the NDA. With a wafer thin majori- ty of three seats on his side and his party reduced to 43 seats — 30 seats less than the B JP — Nitish does not seem to be in any hurry to reveal his mind even though several top BJP leaders have met him during the last two days. On Wednesday, both BJP State chief Sanjay Jaiswal and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi asserted that Nitish will continue to head the NDA Government in Bihar and the gap between the num- ber of seats of BJP and JD(U) will have no impact on the rul- ing alliance dynamics in the State. “Certainly, 100%,” Jaiswal told PTI when asked whether Kumar will remain the Chief Minister. “We are allies and equals. We have to run Bihar collec- tively,” he said. “Winning the fourth term is always a great task for any- body. We have won that. This proves everything was fine. It is very rare that you win a fourth term in continuity. We have done this and it settles everything,” Jaiswal said. Echoing similar views, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said, “Nitishji will remain Chief Minister as it was our com- mitment. There is no confusion on this.” “Not all parties win an equal number of seats. Who won how many seats is irrele- vant, people voted for the NDA. BJP played a role in JD(U)’s victory and JD(U) played a role in BJP’s victory. JD(U), BJP, VIP and HAM worked together, then we reg- istered this victory,” Sushil Modi was quoted as saying by ANI. If Nitish continues as Chief Minister, he would be sworn in for the seventh time into the position. However, the rela- tionship between the BJP and JD(U) is expected to be differ- ent, as the BJP will be the senior partner in the alliance. Continued on Page 2 T he six-month-long tension at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) may ease with India and China likely to agree to withdraw their tanks and heavy guns and thin out troops in a phased manner from the stand-off sites. These agreements may come about in the ninth round of Corps Commander-level talks in the next few days, sources said here on Wednesday. If everything goes well, the gradual disen- gagement may commence from mid next month, they added. Army Chief General MM Naravane had hinted on Tuesday that “We are hopeful we will be able to reach an agreement which is mutually acceptable and mutually ben- eficial.” His observations came days after the Corps Commanders of India and China held the eighth round of parleys at Chushul, Ladakh on November 6. Naravane said the senior military commanders of India and China are “ironing out the modalities” of how to proceed ahead. “We had the 8th round of talks on November 6 between the highest military comman- ders on both sides. They are ironing out the modalities of how to proceed ahead within the overarching guidelines which had been communica- tion post the interactions and the meetings between the respective Ministers (defence and foreign),” the Army chief had said. In this backdrop, sources said India and China may agree to a three-step process on disengagement of troops and withdrawal of weaponry from all major friction points in a time-bound manner. Continued on Page 2

ˇ ˆ ˙ ˝˛ ˆ ˝˛ ˇ · 2020. 11. 11. · see the writing on the wall, ... the closure of hot mix plants and stone crushers in Delhi-NCR till November 17 in view of a likely increase

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Page 1: ˇ ˆ ˙ ˝˛ ˆ ˝˛ ˇ · 2020. 11. 11. · see the writing on the wall, ... the closure of hot mix plants and stone crushers in Delhi-NCR till November 17 in view of a likely increase

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Amid chant of “Modi hai tomumkin hai ,” Prime

Minister Narendra Modi onWednesday hailed the BJP’s vic-tory in Bihar Assembly polls asthe country’s endorsement ofthe agenda of all-round devel-opment and hit out at the fam-ily-run parties.

Addressing party workersat a felicitation function afterthe BJP’s victory in Bihar elec-tions and various bypolls, heasserted that the only mantrafor his party’s victory was“sabka saath, sabka vikas andsabka vishwas”.

Home Minister Amit Shah,BJP chief JP Nadda and UnionMinister Nitin Gadkari werealso present on the occasion.

In addition to thankingthousands of “committed’workers of the party, the PMrepeatedly thanked and praisedparty president JP Nadda forthe Bihar victory and gavehim a standing ovation, exhort-ing the gathering to join him inchanting, “Nadda ji tum aagebadho, hum tumhare sath hai.”

The PM hit out at family-run parties saying they are thebiggest threat to the democra-cy and rued that even a nation-al party had fallen prey to it.

Modi said the poll resultsin Bihar and other by-electionsacross the country have madeit clear that people will nowsupport only those who workhonestly for development.“People have decided thatdevelopment alone will be basisof national politics in 21st cen-tury,” he said.

“In 2019 Lok Sabha elec-tions, the BJP returned to gov-ern with greater numbers thanwhat is got in 2014. In Bihartoo, the BJP was the only partywhich saw a growth in seatswhile contesting a fourth con-secutive term with our part-ners. In Gujarat too, the BJP hasbeen in power since the ‘90s,yet even in the latest by-elec-tions too, we won comprehen-sively... It shows that people areseeing who is working forthem,” he added.

The Prime Minister saidthe BJP is the only party whichtruly has a national connectwith the people of India. “Fromjust two MPs and two rooms,the BJP today is there in everycorner of India,” he said.

“I don’t just want to thankthe people for supporting us,but for participating in thedemocratic process. For com-

ing out and doing their bit. Theelections that happen in Indiaare unparalleled in the entireworld,” he added.

Turning his attention toWest Bengal, he raised theissue of allegedpolitical mur-ders targeting saffron partymembers.

“People in some parts ofthe country think that they willrealise their goals by murder-ing BJP workers. I will appealto them to see reason... I neednot warn them as people willdo this. Polls come and go, winand loss happen but this killinggame cannot work in a democ-racy. This ‘maut ka khel’ can-not get you votes. They shouldsee the writing on the wall,”Modi said, without namingany party.

Lauding the people of thecountry for reposing their faithin the BJP, the Prime Ministeralso thanked and praised theElection Commission, securi-ty forces and administration forpeaceful and successful con-duct of elections.

These poll results have

broadened the outcome of LokSabha elections, the PrimeMinister said referring to BJP’ssuccess in polls and bypollsacross the country.

“BJP is the only nationalparty in which poor, dalits,deprived see their representa-tion; only BJP understandsneed of every section, region.The poll results have endorsedthe way we have tackled Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

Modi also said that womenacross the country are the“silent voters” which supportthe BJP across all rural andurban regions.

Amid a festival-like atmos-phere with the crowd chantingModi hai to mumkin hai (Modican make it possible), BJPpresident JP Nadda earlier saidat the event that people of Biharhave put their stamp ofapproval on Modi’s work todeal with Covid-19 and helppoor during pandemic.

He also said Bihar has cho-sen “vikas raaj” over “goondaraaj”, ‘DBT raaj” over “lootraaj” and LED over lantern.

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In a see-saw battle, theNational Democratic

Alliance (NDA) managed towin 125 seats — three morethan it needed to breach themajority mark of 122 in the243-member Bihar Assembly,but in nearly two dozen con-stituencies the victory marginwas wafer thin.

Of them, the margin of vic-tory in seven seats was less than500 votes and four seats havevictory margin less than 1,000.The JD(U) has won the HilsaAssembly seat just by 12 votes.In Barbigha, JD(U) candidateSudarshan Kumar defeatedCongress’ Gajanan Shahi byjust 113 votes.

JD(U)’s KrishnamurariSharan, alias Prem Mukhiya,has polled 61,848 votes, whilehis nearest Atri Muni, aliasShakti Singh Yadav, of the RJDhas got 61,836 votes in Hilsa.As per the poll panel data,JD(U)’s Krishnamurari Sharanhas got 232 postal votes and theRJD’s Shakti Singh Yadav 233.

Ramgarh, Matihani,Barbigha, Bhorey, Bachwaraand Dehri Assembly seatswhere victory came after areally close fight and victorymargin was less than 500 votes.In Barbigha, JD(U) candidateSudarshan Kumar defeatedCongress’ Gajanan Shahi byjust 113 votes. In Ramgarh, vic-tory margin was a mere 189votes. In Matihani, Raj KumarSingh of LJP defeated NarendraKumar Singh of JD(U) by justa 333 votes. Bhore victory mar-gin was a mere 462. The RJD’sFatehbahadur trumped theBJP’s Satya Narayan in Dehri bya mere 464 votes.

Besides, Bakhri, Chakai,Kurhani and Parbatta seatswhere the margin of victorywas less than 1,000. CPI can-didate Suryakant Paswan hasdefeated BJP’s RamashankarPaswan by a margin of 777votes. Chakai seat won byindependent candidate SumitKumar Singh by a margin of581 votes by defeating RJD’sSavitri Devi.

Continued on Page 2

New Delhi: After remaining inthe “severe” zone for six days onthe trot, Delhi’s air qualityimproved slightly onWednesday as a change in thewind direction reduced thecontribution of stubble burningto the pollution, though it wasstill in the “very poor” catego-ry. The city recorded an airquality index (AQI) of 344.

The 24-hour average AQIwas 476 on Tuesday. An AQIbetween 201 and 300 is con-sidered “poor”, 301-400 “verypoor” and 401-500 “severe”,while the AQI above 500 fallsin the severe plus category.

Delhi had witnessed sixconsecutive “severe” air quali-ty days till Tuesday. It had

recorded seven such days inNovember last year.

The neighbouring cities ofFaridabad (327), Ghaziabad(360), Noida (309), GreaterNoida (340), and Gurgaon(288), which fall in the NationalCapital Region (NCR), alsorecorded their AQI in “poor”and “very poor” categories onWednesday.

The Central PollutionControl Board (CPCB) orderedthe closure of hot mix plantsand stone crushers in Delhi-NCR till November 17 in viewof a likely increase in pollutionlevels during the coming days,when a number of festivals willbe celebrated.

Continued on Page 2

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The Government hasbrought online mediums,

including films and news por-tals, under the Ministry ofInformation and Broadcasting.The I&B Ministry will also reg-ulate online audio-visual pro-grammes and current affairscontent, according to theamendment order signed byPresident Ram Nath Kovind onMonday. As per this order dig-ital content providers such asNetflix, Amazon Prime Video,and Hotstar will now be regu-lated by the I&B Ministry.

While the Press Council ofIndia (PCI) looks after theprint media, the televisionnews channels come underNews Broadcasters Association(NBA). The AdvertisingStandards Council of India isfor regulating the content of theadvertisements and CentralBoard of Film Certification(CBFC) monitors films, butthere is at present no law orautonomous body Governingdigital content or Over-the-top(OTT) platforms and theGovernment was facing ques-tions from courts on manypetitions.

The Supreme Court

recently sought the Centre’sresponse on a Public InterestLitigation (PIL) for regulatingOTT platforms such as Netflixand Amazon Prime Video byan autonomous body. The PILstated that digital content onthese platforms is made avail-able to the public at large with-out any filter or screening andthe Government has soughttime to reply in this case.

A Bench comprising ChiefJustice SA Bobde and JusticesAS Bopanna and VRamasubramanian had issuednotices to the CentralGovernment, Ministry ofInformation and Broadcasting(I&B) and Internet and MobileAssociation of India (IAMAI).None of the OTT/streamingplatforms, including Netflix,Amazon Prime, Zee5, andHotstar, have signed the self-

regulation provided by the I&BMinistry since February 2020,the petition challenging thecontents of the OTT platformssaid.

Anticipating Government’sintervention, in January 2019,eight video streaming servicesintroduced a self-regulatorycode that laid down a set ofguiding principles for contenton these platforms.Government did not supportthis in court. Now after the neworder, the I&B Ministry got theregulatory power.

The notification issued bythe Cabinet Secretariat hasamended the Government ofIndia (Allocation of Business)Rules, 1961 by inserting twonew entries — 22A and 22B —to the Second Schedule of theRules.

Continued on Page 2

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The Delhi DisasterManagement Authority

(DDMA) has instructed offi-cials to ensure that Chhath Pujathis year is not performed atpublic places, river banks andtemples in Delhi, citing therecent rise in Covid-19 cases inthe national Capital.

An order issued by ChiefSecretary and DDMA execu-tive committee chairman VijayDev on Tuesday issued direc-tions to all DMs and DCPs forstrict compliance and toencourage people to celebrateChhath at their homes duringthe pandemic.

It also directed the DMsand DCPs to hold meetingswith religious and communityleaders as well as Chhath PujaSamitis before the festival to gettheir cooperation to maintainlaw and order and harmony,and to sensitise the public onthe compliance of guidelinesand instructions to combatCovid-19.

The situation of Covid-19in Delhi was reviewed and ithad been observed that there isa persistent rise in Covid-19cases in NCT of Delhi in the

recent period, the order stated.“Considering this, it has

been decided that ChhathPooja celebrations in the monthof November 2020 may not beallowed in public places andpeople may be advised to cel-ebrate the festival at their homeonly,” it said.

Delhi BJP leader and for-mer minister in the cityGovernment Kapil Mishraquestioned the order andclaimed it was issued as theAAP Government failed tomake adequate preparationsfor Chatth Puja.

“This order banningChhath Puja in Delhi will notbe obeyed Arvind Kejriwal ji.Delhi Government, which wasthe first to open liquor shops inthe country, cannot issue anorder to stop Chhath Puja.

“The AP governmentbanned Chhath Puja as it couldnot prepare for it. Chhath Pujawill be performed,” Mishrasaid in a Hindi tweet.

The Chhath Puja is cele-brated in Delhi in a big way bythe natives of Bihar and easternUP. The two-day festival fallingon November 20-21, involvesworship of the Sun God at awater body like a river, pond.

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Russia’s Sputnik V vaccinehas shown 92 per cent effi-

cacy in preventing Covid-19,according to interim trialresults announced by the coun-try’s health ministry onWednesday.

The announcement fol-lows results unveiled earlier thisweek by vaccine developersPfizer and BioNTech, who saidtheir vaccine was more than 90per cent effective at preventingCovid-19.

The calculation is based onthe 20 confirmed Covid-19cases split between vaccinatedindividuals and those whoreceived the placebo, saidRussian Direct InvestmentFund (RDIF).

The efficacy of the vaccine,developed by the GamalayaCentre, was demonstrated onthe basis of a first interimanalysis obtained 21 days afterthe first injection.

There were no unexpectedadverse events during the tri-als. Monitoring of the partici-pants is ongoing, the ministrysaid.

The interim research dataof Sputnik V has not been pub-lished or peer-reviewed yet.

Continued on Page 2

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There has been little cele-bration in the Janata

Dal(U) camp in Bihar andChief Minister Nitish Kumarhas not even reacted to the pollresult even as “Big Brother” BJPhas kept reaffirming he willcontinue to be Chief Minister.

Nitish’s silence is baffling.It was expected that having sur-vived a bitterly fought electionswhere the pollsters had writtenhim off, Kumar’s party willhave reason to celebrateDipawali in advance. But dur-ing the last 48 hours, the ChiefMinister has confined himselfto his 1, Anne Marg residenceand not even done the formal-ity of thanking the voters.

Sources said Nitish hascalled a meeting of all his can-didates — both winners andlosers — at 3.30 pm onThursday at his residence. TheCM will take feedback fromthem about the reasons for theparty’s dismal show and thenmay speak out on the pollresult.

A JD(U) leader explainedNitish’s silence saying all theseyears he dictated the terms to

the BJP, but now that the saf-fron party is doing a favour byoffering him the chair of theChief Minister, Nitish has rea-sons to be cautious. After all,the BJP will now seek a pro-

portionate share in the Cabinetand would like to have greatersay in the Government. “Thisis not a welcome situation forsomeone like Nitish Kumar,”the JD(U) leader said, adding,“What’s there to celebrate forus.”

The JD(U) rank and file isalso very disappointed with theBJP top leadership for allowingChirag Paswan to remain with-in the NDA at the national levelwhen he went out to sabotageNitish’s prospects in the pollsand threatened to send him to

jail in corruption cases.Those who know Nitish

Kumar understand that he isunlikely to forgive Chirag andwould mount pressure on theBJP to throw him out of theNDA.

With a wafer thin majori-ty of three seats on his side andhis party reduced to 43 seats —30 seats less than the B JP —Nitish does not seem to be inany hurry to reveal his mindeven though several top BJPleaders have met him duringthe last two days.

On Wednesday, both BJPState chief Sanjay Jaiswal andDeputy Chief Minister SushilKumar Modi asserted thatNitish will continue to head theNDA Government in Biharand the gap between the num-ber of seats of BJP and JD(U)will have no impact on the rul-ing alliance dynamics in theState.

“Certainly, 100%,” Jaiswaltold PTI when asked whetherKumar will remain the ChiefMinister.

“We are allies and equals.We have to run Bihar collec-tively,” he said.

“Winning the fourth term

is always a great task for any-body. We have won that. Thisproves everything was fine. Itis very rare that you win afourth term in continuity. Wehave done this and it settleseverything,” Jaiswal said.

Echoing similar views,Bihar Deputy Chief MinisterSushil Kumar Modi said,“Nitishji will remain ChiefMinister as it was our com-mitment. There is no confusionon this.”

“Not all parties win anequal number of seats. Whowon how many seats is irrele-vant, people voted for theNDA. BJP played a role inJD(U)’s victory and JD(U)played a role in BJP’s victory.JD(U), BJP, VIP and HAMworked together, then we reg-istered this victory,” SushilModi was quoted as saying byANI.

If Nitish continues as ChiefMinister, he would be sworn infor the seventh time into theposition. However, the rela-tionship between the BJP andJD(U) is expected to be differ-ent, as the BJP will be the seniorpartner in the alliance.

Continued on Page 2

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The six-month-long tensionat the Line of Actual

Control (LAC) may ease withIndia and China likely to agreeto withdraw their tanks andheavy guns and thin out troopsin a phased manner from thestand-off sites.

These agreements maycome about in the ninth roundof Corps Commander-leveltalks in the next few days,sources said here onWednesday. If everything goes well, the gradual disen-gagement may commencefrom mid next month, theyadded.

Army Chief General MMNaravane had hinted onTuesday that “We are hopefulwe will be able to reach anagreement which is mutuallyacceptable and mutually ben-eficial.”

His observations camedays after the CorpsCommanders of India and

China held the eighth round ofparleys at Chushul, Ladakh onNovember 6.

Naravane said the seniormilitary commanders of Indiaand China are “ironing out themodalities” of how to proceedahead.

“We had the 8th round oftalks on November 6 betweenthe highest military comman-ders on both sides. They areironing out the modalities ofhow to proceed ahead withinthe overarching guidelineswhich had been communica-tion post the interactions andthe meetings between therespective Ministers (defenceand foreign),” the Army chiefhad said.

In this backdrop, sourcessaid India and China mayagree to a three-step process ondisengagement of troops andwithdrawal of weaponry fromall major friction points in atime-bound manner.

Continued on Page 2

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Page 2: ˇ ˆ ˙ ˝˛ ˆ ˝˛ ˇ · 2020. 11. 11. · see the writing on the wall, ... the closure of hot mix plants and stone crushers in Delhi-NCR till November 17 in view of a likely increase

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In a spurt in Covid-19 infec-tions and fatalities,

Maharashtra on Wednesdaylogged 4,907 fresh infectionsand 125 deaths in various partsof the state.

A day after the infectionsdipped to 3791 and deathsdropped to 110, there wassome upward movement intheGO Covid-19 graph in thestate where the infectionsdropped by 1216 and deathswent down by 15.

With fresh 4907 infections,

the total number of infectedcases jumped from 17,26,926 to17,31,833. Similarly, with 125fresh deaths, the total numberof deaths in the state rose from45,435 to 45,560.

As 9,1,64 more people weredischarged from various hos-pitals the number of people dis-charged from the hospitalsafter full recovery since the sec-ond week of March this yearwent up to 15,97,255. Therecovery rate in the state rosefrom 91.96 per cent to 92.23per cent.

Of the 125 deaths report-

ed on Wednesday, Mumbaiaccounted for a maximum of22 deaths, followed by 17

deaths in Thane, 16 in Pune, 9in Satara, 8 in Solapur, 7 eachin Aurangabad, Nanded andNagpur, 6 in Ahmednagar, 5 inNashik, 4 in Osmanabad, 2each in Beed, Buldhana andChandrapur and one deatheach in Palghar, Raigad, Dhule,Jalgaon, Sangli, Jalna, Washim,Wardha, Bhandara andGondia. In addition, one per-son from outside Maharashtradied in the state..

With 22 deaths, the Covid-19 climbed from 10,484 to10,506, while the infected casesshot up by 1,069 fresh patients

to trigger a jump in the totalnumber of infections from265,679 to 266,748.

Meanwhile, the number of“active cases” in the state camedown one lakh mark as thetotal cases dropped from92,461 to 88,070. The fatalityrate in the state stood at 2.63per cent.

Currently, 9,41,118 peo-ple are in home quarantinewhile 6,551 people are in insti-tutional quarantine.

Pune district, which con-tinued to be the worst-affectedcity-district in Maharashtra,

saw the total number of casesincrease from 3,39,450 to3,40,023, while the total num-ber of deaths in Pune increasedfrom 7086 to 7102.

Thane district remainedin the third spot --after Puneand Mumbai – after the totalnumber of infections rose from2,28,538 to 2,29,097, while thepandemic toll climbed from5319 to 5336.

Meanwhile, out of96,00,328 samples sent to lab-oratories, 17,31, 833 have test-ed positive (18.04 per cent) forCOVID-19 until Wednesday.

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Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath

has directed the public sectorundertaking (PSU) banks toorganise loan melas in all dis-tricts and disburse admissibleloans to eligible persons underthe different schemes of theGovernment.

The Chief Minister alsoasked the banks to set district-wise and branch-wise targetsfor disbursing loan to the ben-eficiaries under differentschemes.

Yogi Adityanath said underthe Stand-up India scheme,each branch of the PSU bankshould provide loans to at leastone woman from ScheduledCastes/Scheduled Tribes andtwo women entrepreneurs. Hesaid this would benefit 36,000women entrepreneurs.

A government spokesmansaid here on Wednesday thatsince May 14 this year, the PSUbanks had provided credit of Rs18,330 crore to 6.24 lakh micro,small and medium units in thestate. He said under theAtmanirbhar package, thebanks had provided loans of Rs10,847 crore to 4.37 lakhMSME units already in opera-tion. He added that so farbanks had provided financialassistance of Rs 29,000 crore toMSME units in the state.

The spokesman said theCentral government had com-municated to the UP govern-ment that all the MSME unitswere eligible for loan under theemergency credit line guaran-tee scheme (ECLGS) providedthey fulfilled the required min-imum conditions.

He said as per the Centre’sguidelines 0f ECLGS andPradhan Mantri MUDRAYojana, all persons were eligi-ble for obtaining loan, workingcapital for setting up MSMEunit and employment creation.

Meanwhile, UP ChiefSecretary RK Tiwari onWednesday reviewed theprogress of the Mission Rojgarbeing implemented by the stateLabour department.

The chief secretary direct-ed all the departments to drawemployment plans and the dis-trict magistrates to also drawplan for their respective dis-tricts.

He asked the Training andEmployment department tosecure and update the data onemployment and also developa portal and an app to uploadall relevant information aboutemployment on them.

Tiwari said each depart-ment would nominate a nodalofficer in each body like direc-torate, corporation and com-mission under their adminis-trative control.

The nodal officer willupload departmental schemeson employment on the portalof Mission Rojgar.

Additional Chief Secretary(MSME) Navneet Sehgalinformed the chief secretarythat by the end of the currentfiscal 2020-21, as many as 50lakh persons were targeted tobe provided employmentthrough self-employment, skilldevelopment and otherschemes of the government.

He said the data of employ-ment provided by other depart-ments of the government wasbeing compiled

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From Page 1However, they said these

were proposals and no agree-ment has been inked so far.

The broad contours of theproposal include removal ofarmoured personnel carrierswithin one day of inking anagreement, withdrawal oftroops from specific areas onthe north and south banks ofthe Pangong Lake in easternLadakh and carrying out veri-fication of the disengagementprocess by both the sides, theysaid.

The specific proposals forthe disengagement and restora-tion of the status quo ante asexisted in April were finalisedduring the eighth round ofhigh-level military talks, theysaid.

As a first step, both sideswill remove their tanks,artillery guns, armoured vehi-cles and large equipment fromthe friction points along theLAC to their rear bases withinthree days from inking theagreement.

The second step entailsthe Chinese army will go backto Finger 8 areas from theircurrent position of Finger 4 onthe north bank of Pangong lakewhile the Indian troops wouldposition themselves close to theDhan Singh Thapa post,sources said. The mountainspurs in the area are referred toas Fingers. It was broadlyagreed to withdraw around 30per cent of the troops every dayfor three days, they said.

In the third step, it wasagreed to complete the disen-gagement process in areasalong the southern bank ofPangong lake like Rezang La,Mukhpari and Magar hill.

The Indian troops occu-pied a number of strategicheights in the Mukhpari,Rezang La and Magar hill areasaround the southern bank ofthe Pangong lake, after thePLA soldiers attempted tointimidate them in the area onthe intervening night of August29 and 30.

In the final phase of thedisengagement process, bothsides will carry out a detailedverification process followingwhich normal patrolling isexpected to resume.

More than one lakh troopsfrom both the sides are nowdeployed on the 1,700 km longLAC in Eastern Ladakh. Infact, both the armies are alsodigging in for a long winterdeployment as the multipleround of talks at the militaryand diplomatic levels havefailed so far.

Also, China cannot betrusted as it happened in Junewhen after agreeing to pullback from the stand-off sitesthey did not honour the com-mitment. It led to a bloodybrawl in the Galwan valley onJune 15 leaving 20 Indian armypersonnel including the com-manding officer dead.

After the last round ofmilitary talks, both sidesdescribed the negotiations ascandid, in-depth and con-structive. They said it wasagreed to earnestly implementthe important consensusreached by the leaders of thetwo countries and ensure thatthe frontline troops exerciserestraint and avoid misunder-standing and miscalculation.

At the seventh round oftalks too, both sides had agreedto maintain dialogue andcommunication through mili-tary and diplomatic channels to

arrive at a mutually acceptablesolution for disengagement “asearly as possible”.

Following the sixth roundof military talks, the two sidesannounced a slew of decisionsincluding not to send moretroops to the frontline, refrainfrom unilaterally changing the

situation on the ground andavoid taking any actions thatmay further complicate mat-ters.

The sixth round of talkstook place days after ExternalAffairs Minister S Jaishankarand his Chinese counterpartWang Yi reached a five-point

agreement to resolve the row ata meeting in Moscow onSeptember 10 on the sidelinesof a Shanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO) conclave.

The pact included mea-sures like quick disengagementof troops, avoiding action thatcould escalate tensions, adher-ence to all agreements andprotocols on border manage-ment and steps to restore peacealong the LAC.

From Page 1Currently, 40,000 volun-

teers are taking part in PhaseIII of Sputnik V clinical trials,out of which over 20,000 havebeen vaccinated with the firstdose of the vaccine and morethan 16,000 with both thefirst and second doses of thevaccine.

“The publication of theinterim results of the post-reg-istration clinical trials thatconvincingly demonstrateSputnik V vaccine’s efficacygives way to mass vaccinationin Russia against COVID-19in the coming weeks,”Alexander Gintsburg, directorof the Gamaleya Center said ina statement.

“Thanks to the productionscale up at new manufacturingsites, Sputnik V vaccine willsoon be available for a widerpopulation.

This will break the currenttrend and lead to an eventualdecrease in COVID-19 infec-tion rates, first in Russia, thenglobally,” Gintsburg said.

Eleanor Riley, Professor ofImmunology and InfectiousDisease, University ofEdinburgh in the UK saidwhile the results are encour-aging,

“I worry that these datahave been rushed out on theback of the Pfizer/BioNtechannouncement earlier in theweek.”

“The Sputnik data arebased on only 20 cases ofCOVID-19 in the trial partic-ipants, compared to more than

90 cases in the earlier trial.This is not a competition,” hesaid.

“We need all trials to bea carried out to the highestpossible standards and it isparticularly important thatthe pre-set criteria forunblinding the trial data areadhered to avoid cherry pick-ing the data,” Riley said,adding anything less than thisrisks a public loss of trust in allvaccines, which would be adisaster.

Currently, Sputnik VPhase III clinical trials areapproved and are undergoingin Belarus, UAE, Venezuelaand other countries, as well asPhase II-III in India. TheSputnik V vaccine is based ona human adenoviral vectorplatform that had proven safeand effective with no long-term side effects in more than250 clinical trials globally con-ducted during the past twodecades, the ministry said.

The Russian vaccine usestwo different human adenovi-ral vectors that enable to pro-vide strong and long-termimmune response after thesecond injection.

PTI

From Page 1It also asked the govern-

ments of Punjab and Haryanato take immediate stringentactions to curb stubble burningand authorities in Delhi-NCRto strictly check biomass burn-ing.

The levels of PM2.5 –which is about three percentthe diameter of a human hairand can lead to prematuredeaths from heart and lung dis-eases – was 177 microgram percubic meter (μg/m3) at 5 pm,below the emergency thresholdof 300 μg/m3.

The safe limit is 60 μg/m3.On Tuesday, PM2.5 levels

had soared to 528 μg/m3 in theafternoon.

PM10 level stood at 343μg/m3 at 5 pm. It had peakedat 685 μg/m3 on Tuesday,according to CPCB data.PM10 levels below 100 μg/m3are considered safe in India and500 μg/m3 is the emergencythreshold.

According to the GradedResponse Action Plan (GRAP),the air quality is considered inthe “severe plus” or “emer-gency” category if PM2.5 andPM10 levels persist above 300μg/m3 and 500 μg/m3 for morethan 48 hours.

GRAP recommends mea-sures such as a ban on con-struction activities, entry oftrucks and car rationingscheme in such a scenario.

The Commission for AirQuality Management in theNational Capital Region andAdjoining Areas on Tuesdaytasked the CPCB with opera-tionalising and monitoring

GRAP measures till a mecha-nism is set up by the newly-constituted panel.

The Ministry of EarthSciences’ air quality monitor,SAFAR, said the change intransport level wind directionhas led to a significant decreasein stubble burning-relatedintrusion in spite of high firecounts.

The farm fire count inPunjab, Haryana, UttarPradesh, Uttarakhand andneighbouring areas was 2,422on Tuesday and the share ofstubble burning in Delhi’sPM2.5 accumulation is almostnegligible -- 3 percent – onWednesday due tounfavourable transport-levelwinds, it said.

“Deterioration (in air qual-ity) is expected on Fridaytowards the higher end of the‘very poor’ category,” it said.

An official of the IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD) said the predominantwind direction is east-north-easterly, which is not favorablefor the transport of pollutantsfrom farm fires in Punjab andHaryana.

The city recorded a min-imum temperature of 11.4degrees Celsius on Wednesdaymorning. Calm winds and lowtemperatures trap pollutantsclose to the ground, whilefavourable wind speed helps intheir dispersion. The cen-tral government’s Air QualityEarly Warning System forDelhi said, “The change inwind direction and wind speedhas positively impacted airquality. It is likely to remain inthe upper end of the ‘very poor’category on Thursday anddeteriorate marginally onFriday.”

Delhi’s ventilation index -- a product of mixing depthand average wind speed -- islikely to be around 12,500m2/s on Wednesday, favorablefor dispersion of pollutants.

Mixing depth is the verti-cal height in which pollutantsare suspended in the air. Itreduces on cold days with calmwind speed.

The ventilation indexlower than 6000 m2/s with anaverage wind speed less than 10kmph is unfavourable for dis-persion of pollutants. PTI

From Page 1In Kurhani, Anil Kumar

Sahni of RJD defeated KedarPrasad Gupta of the BJP by 712votes while CPI candidateSuryaKant Paswan defeatedRamashankar Paswan of BJP by777 votes in Bakhri.

In Siwan , RJD ‘s AwadhBihari Choudhary has defeat-ed BJP candidate OP Yadav bya margin of 1,973 votes andSimri Bakhtiyarpur seat waswon by RJD candidate YusufSalahuddin by a margin of1759 votes. He has defeatedMukesh Sahni of VikassheelInsaan Party. AshokChoudhary of JD(U) hasdefeated Umesh Ram of theCongress by 1,537 votes inSakra.

Pratima Kumari of theCongress won Rajapakar seatby a margin of 1,796 votes. Hedefeated Mahendra Ram ofJD(U). Gaytri Devi of the BJPhas defeated Ritu Kumar ofRJD by a margin of 1,569 votesin Parihar.

In Munger, BJP’s PranavKumar has defeated AvinashVidyarthi of the RJD by a mar-gin of 1,244. In Maharajganj,the victory margin was 1,976while in Mahishi, it was amere 1,630. The victory mar-gin in Kishanganj was just1,381 where the Congress can-didate defeated BJP’s SweetySingh. In Jhajha, the victorymargin was 1,679 votes. InKalyanpur, it was 1,193. It was1,113 in Bhagalpur.

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������������###From Page 1

“The two new entries areas follows: 1. Films and AudioVisual programmes madeavailable by online contentproviders. 2. News andCurrent Affairs on online plat-forms,” said the Order.

The Central Governmenthad recently told the SupremeCourt that digital media is“uncontrolled” and needs to beregulated. I&B Ministry hadtold the apex court that anyendeavour to regulate mediahas to begin with digital

media. This stance was takenby the Centre during the hear-ing of a case concerningSudarshan TV’s controversial“UPSC Jihad” programme inwhich the court was contem-plating framing of guidelinesto regulate television channels.

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From Page 1The BJP will certainly

extract its pound of flesh if itallowed Nitish to remain in thedriver’s seat. It will try to havegreater say in policy formula-tions and try to expand its basetaking advantage of a situationwhere it is seen as the true win-ner of the battle of Bihar.

Meanwhile, to a questionon the massive damage Chirag

Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Partyinflicted on the NDA, espe-cially the JD(U)’s prospects, hesaid that the LJP also hurt theBJP in a number of seats.

If the LJP was not there, theBJP would have defeated RJDleader Tejashwi Yadav inRaghopur constituency, Jaiswalclaimed.

To a question on whetherLJP will now have any place inthe ruling alliance, he said it isfor the BJP Parliamentary

Board, the apex decision-mak-ing body of the saffron party,to decide on that.

He, though, added that theNDA means the BJP, JD(U),Vikassheel Insaan Party andJitan Ram Manjhi-led HAM(S)in Bihar.

The BJP had the beststrike rate among all parties inthe fray as it won 73 of the 110seats it contests. Allies VIPand HAM(S) won four seatseach.

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Page 3: ˇ ˆ ˙ ˝˛ ˆ ˝˛ ˇ · 2020. 11. 11. · see the writing on the wall, ... the closure of hot mix plants and stone crushers in Delhi-NCR till November 17 in view of a likely increase

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With the arrest of four men, the DelhiPolice on Wednesday busted ‘Lifafebaaz’

who, posing as policemen, used to target thosewaiting for conveyance particularly on busstands or roadsides in the National Capital.

The accused have been identified asRobby (40), Rahul Kumar (29), Alik Abraham(37) and Rahul (27), all members of'Lifafebaaz' gang.

According to Atul Kumar Thakur, theDeputy Commissioner of Police (DCP),South district, on Monday, based on aninput received, a trap was laid on Ring Roadand car with four people onboard was inter-cepted near a bus stand in Defence Colony.

“Upon enquiry and checking some sus-picious articles were recovered and on furtherverification, they were found to be membersof 'Lifafebaaz gang'. Six stolen mobile phones,jewellery, 14 envelopes, a walkie-talkie andclothes resembling the police uniform wererecovered from their possession,” said the DCP.

“The car in which they were travelling wasalso found to be stolen from Hazrat

Nizamuddin area,” he said.“The gang used to target those waiting for

conveyance particularly on bus stands or road-sides. On the way, they posed themselves aspolicemen or officials of any law enforcingagency,” said the DCP.

“The accused used to tell victims thatpolice checking is on the way ahead, and askedthem to put their cash and valuables in anenvelope. To convince them, one of theaccused persons also used to put his cash andvaluables in another envelope. They also askedvictims to share the PIN of their ATM cards,”said the DCP.

“Meanwhile, the accused used to exchangethe envelope with another similar-lookingenvelope and drop the victims on the way.Later, they used to withdraw money fromATMs and flee with the valuables,” said theDCP.

“The accused are notorious criminals whohave been involved in several cases of cheat-ing, theft, robbery and Arms act in the past.One of the accused Bobby has more than 50criminal cases registered against him,” said theDCP.

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The Economic OffencesWing (EOW) of Delhi

Police has arrested a man forallegedly duping over 100investors on the pretext ofpromising them higher returnsin his commercial project basedin Noida.

The accused has been iden-tified as Satinder Singh Bhasin,a resident of Rajouri Garden inwest Delhi. Police said that theaccused was arrested onTuesday and he was alsoreleased on bail as per direc-tions of a Delhi court.

According to Dr O PMishra, the JointCommissioner of Police, EOW,the matter came to light in2018, when police receivedseveral complaints from variouspeople against Bhasin and hiscompany.

“According to the com-plainants, in 2012-13, allegedcompany Mist Avenue Pvt. Ltd.

Invited people through anadvertisement to invest in oneof its Nodia-based projects.Initially, they claimed to builda building's 33 floors in 99 daysand collected money from peo-ple but they kept raising mul-tiple fraudulent demands with-out constructing it in real asagreed and even levied intereston the amount paid,” said theJoint CP.

“Later the accused changedthe name of the company andthe project.In 2012-2013, theyhad assured that possession ofits project will be deliveredwithin 2015 but they arbitrar-ily extended the date of com-pletion to 2022, forcing theallottees to enter into a newcontract with the alleged newcompany. The project has beenkept in abeyance without anyfurther construction,” said theJoint CP.

“The victims also allegedthat the said company threat-ened to forfeit 35 per cent of the

amount paid if any demand ofreturning the invested money israised. However, in spite of allthis, the accused company didnot hand over the allotted unitsor refund the money of theinvestors,” said the Joint CP.

“During investigation, itwas revealed that the allegedcompany had no authority tomake the project while it wassome other company whichhad been granted a license forthe development of the project.Without due diligence aboutthe land, the accused started theproject and collected moneyfrom people. The details of thebank accounts were receivedwhich revealed the collection ofmoney from public at large,”said the Joint CP.

“The man had earlier aswell started a project in GreaterNoida which has remained incontroversy and he was alsoarrested in several cases inUttar Pradesh pertaining tothis project,” he said.

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Environment Minister GopalRai on Wednesday said that

in the wake of current pollutionlevels in Delhi, the secondphase 'Red Light On, GaadiOff ' campaign will be launchedfrom 16th November to 30thNovember.

"The two crore people ofDelhi have to contribute andplay their part to fight againstit, our small contributions cre-ate a big impact. We want toappeal to the opposition to sup-port us in fighting pollution. Ialso want to appeal to the peo-ple, please light diyas and notfirecrackers; this fight is noth-ing without the support of thepeople," he said.

In order to control pollu-tion levels in Delhi, chief min-ister Arvind Kejriwal launchedthe 'Yuddh, Pradushan KeViruddh' campaign. Under the

campaign, various initiativeshave been started to combatseveral internal sources of pol-lution in Delhi, and on-groundactions have been taken. The'Red Light On, Gaadi Off 'campaign has been launchedfrom 21st October to 15thNovember to combat the vehic-ular pollution in Delhi, underwhich the people of Delhi arecontributing to fight pollutionby switching their vehicles offon the traffic signals.

“I want to thank and con-gratulate the people of Delhi fortheir support in the campaign.In view of the current pollutionsituation in Delhi, the secondphase of the campaign will belaunched from 16th Novemberto 30th November,” he said.

Like earlier, this phase willalso aim to make people awareto switch their vehicles off ontraffic signals and around 2500marshals will be deputed on the

100 junctions in 11 districts forthe effective implementation ofthe campaign. Around 20 envi-ronmental marshals, each willbe deputed on 10 major junc-tions. The joint monitoringsystem of the ACP, SDM, and

traffic police will continue."The Delhi government

has sprayed the bio-decom-poser solution, developed bythe Indian AgriculturalResearch Institute, Pusa, on2000 acres of land across Delhi.

This solution has converted thestubble into manure so that theburning of stubble can be pre-vented. To study the impact ofthe solution, a 15 memberBio-decomposer ImpactAssessment Committee was

formed with officials, MLAsand five scientists from PusaAgricultural Institute. Thereport of the impact of the solu-tion in various areas acrossDelhi will be prepared by theevening, and we will submit thereport to the CM,” he said.

Rai said that an Anti-dustcampaign has also beenlaunched in Delhi. "The twocrore people of Delhi have tocontribute and play their partto fight against it; our smallcontributions create a bigimpact. Please be aware andsupport the government incontrolling the dust pollution.We are also receiving com-plaints of garbage burningfrom various locations on theapp. I want to tell the people ofDelhi to keep uploading suchinstances and complaints onthe app to make us aware ofthem and take action to dousethe fire,” he said.

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The Delhi Jal Board (DJB)will start providing clean

water supply from the pipelineto 1,622 more colonies in thenext six months.

In a review meetingchaired by the Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal on

Wednesday regarding 24x7water supply and water aug-mentation action plan, the DJBofficials said that Delhi willneed about 1500 MGD waterby 2031.

“The efforts to providewater supply pipelines inDelhi's colonies are continuingat a fast pace and out of 1799

pipelines have been laid in1622 colonies,” they said.

In the next six months,these colonies will have a cleanwater supply from the pipeline.Besides this, the water pipelinewill reach the remaining 113colonies by March 2022.

The DJB apprised the CMof various ongoing and future

projects to provide a 24x7water supply to the people ofDelhi. The DJB also gave a pre-sentation on the laying of sewerlines and rain-harvesting acrossDelhi.

Kejriwal said that he willreview the monthly progress ofthe project of 24x7 water sup-ply, rain harvesting, and laying

of sewer pipeline. The reviewmeeting was attended by seniorofficials along with DJBChairman Satyendar Jain andVice Chairman RaghavChadha.

The chief minister said,"We have to complete all theprojects within the stipulatedtime frame. The time limit for

completion of the projects hasbeen fixed.

This has to be ensured toprovide relief to the people andalso prevent the unnecessaryexpenditure of money. I willreview the ongoing projects ona 24x7 water supply acrossDelhi around the 15th of everymonth. The DJB officials will

also inform me about themonthly progress of workthrough presentations, includ-ing the progress of laying ofsewer lines and rainwater har-vesting projects."

Satyendar Jain, Chairmanof DJB said, "It is often seen thatthe road has to be dug againand again to put sewer lines. It

causes distress to the people.We should lay a proper sewersystem wherever the road con-struction is happening so thatwe do not end up digging uproads again and again. Delhi isnot getting the necessary waterfrom other states. 100 per centof the water received is nowbeing supplied."

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Senior Aam Aadmi Partyleader and MCD in-charge

Durgesh Pathak on Wednesdaysaid that the BJP lied to thepeople of Delhi regarding thefund crunch to defame theDelhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal and the party.

He demanded the BJP toimmediately apologise to thepeople of Delhi.

Pathak said that for the pastseveral months the BJP ruledMunicipal Corporation wasclaiming that they do not havethe money to pay the salariesand blaming the AAP govern-ment for this but on Tuesdaythey have promised to releaseall the pending salaries; thisshows that the BJP was lying.

The AAP leader said thatno one in the world has everwitnessed such a shamelessand insensitive governancemodel like the BJP ruledMCD.

"From the past severalmonths the BJP ruled MCDwas claiming that they do nothave a single penny to pay thesalary of their employees. Themayors were in protest in frontof the CM’s residence. But yes-terday the BJP mayors havesubmitted written assuranceto the protesting employeesthat the corporation will releasethe salaries, pensions and alsogive a bonus to their employ-ees. The AAP wants to ask theBJP why they were lying to thepeople of Delhi for the past sev-eral months regarding thefunds," he said.

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To check the emerging pol-lution levels in Gurugram

and provide some relief topeople, Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar onWednesday inaugurated a totalof 65 Wind Augmentation AirPurification Unit (WAYU)which will be installed in 10locations with high AQI (AirQuality Index) index.

This initiative is part of the'Project Air Care’ in Gurugram.

Project Air Care is a pub-lic-private partnership betweenGurugram MetropolitanDevelopment Authority(GMDA) andGlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

"With several sectorsreopening, increase in vehicu-lar movement and the initiationof the crop burning, the nation-al capital region is chocking as

air quality breaches the ‘severe’category mark we have decid-ed to install 65 air purifiers atkey locations of the city," saida GMDA official.

During the event, Khattarsaid, "The rising levels of airpollution in Haryana; especiallyGurugram is a serious concernamongst all of us. As we movetowards the festive season, wewould like to bring some reliefto citizens with the installationof multiple WAYU air purifiersat strategic junctions. This ini-tiative will help to build aclean and green city.”

The first air purifiers havealready been installed near theGMDA office in Sector-44.

Air purifiers are beinginstalled in locations such asIFFCO Chowk, SikanderpurMetro Station, Rajiv Chowk,Cyber City, Huda City Center,Genpact Chowk among others.

The CM also appealed to

the people that we should allcome forward to curb air pol-lution.

"Curbing pollution levels iseveryone’s responsibility andwe need to come together tobring about a change. Whilethe government and industrybodies are implementing var-ious laws, I urge citizens to con-tribute by making smallchanges in their everyday lifelike encouraging carpooling,using bicycles and ensuringproper waste disposal," Khattarsaid.

"We plan to install these airpurifiers at various locationsand traffic junctions inGurugram under our CSR pro-ject ‘Mission Health’. This mayonly be a small step in the bat-tle to secure cleaner air for all,"Navneet Saluja, Area ManagingDirector, GSK ConsumerHealthcare, IndianSubcontinent.

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Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal has requested

Union Health Minister HarshVardhan to augment bed capac-ity in Central Government-run hospitals in the city in viewof apprehensions that the num-ber of Covid-19 cases couldreach 15,000 a day in the com-ing weeks.

In a letter to Vardhan lastweek, Kejriwal cited a shortfallof around 4,900 beds in hospi-tals, seeking the Union minis-ter's direction to the hospitalsrun by the central governmentin Delhi to provide at least 1,092additional beds, including 300ICU beds, with the requiredmedical staff.

The chief minister saidDelhi is witnessing a renewedincrease in the number ofCOVID-19 cases for the last fewdays and cited the revisedresponse strategy 3.0 of the DrPaul Committee, projecting upto 15,000 coronavirus casesper day during the third surgein the upcoming weeks due tothe rising pollution, celebrationof festivals, wedding seasonand other factors.

At present, Delhi has atotal bed capacity of 15,713,including ICU beds, forCOVID-19 patients, he point-ed out. However, the shortfallof around 4,900 beds will haveto be met by augmentation inhospitals run by both theCentre and the state govern-ment, Kejriwal said.

The central government-run hospitals in the nationalcapital have a proposed aug-mentation of around 1,092beds, he said and requestedVardhan for the necessarydirections so that the bed capac-ity in Delhi's hospitals for Covidpatients is adequate in the com-ing weeks.

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In recognition of Delhi’s land-mark electric vehicle policy,

the Delhi Government partic-ipated and shared its vision fora clean, green future of mobil-ity at the prestigious UNFCCC‘Race to Zero Dialogue:Launching the global race tozero-emission mobility' held onWednesday.

The dialogue was organ-ised by the Climate Group incollaboration with the UNhigh-level climate championsand the UK COP26 presiden-cy.

V i c e - c h a i r p e r s o n ,Dialogue and DevelopmentCommission, Jasmine Shahrepresented the DelhiGovernment at the session“Government’s leading theway” to share the experience ofthe Delhi government drawing

up a comprehensive policy andeffectively leading the transi-tion to zero-emission vehiclesin the national capital.

Along with Delhi, twoother states also shared theirexperiences and vision for EVs.Governor Gavin Newson rep-resented the State of California,USA and Izaskun GoñiRazquin, a senior official fromthe Government of Navarra,Spain.

Addressing a global audi-ence of climate activists andleaders from business and gov-ernment, Shah said, “The moti-vation behind Delhi’s ambitiousroadmap to transition to zero-emission vehicles is to addressboth climate change and thehealth emergency that arisesfrom the high level of air pol-lution in Delhi. This kind of anaggressive roadmap was possi-ble only because of the politi-

cal will that the Delhi govern-ment under the leadership ofChief Minister Arvind Kejriwaldisplayed on the matter of airpollution.”

Elaborating on the five keypillars of Delhi’s EV policy,Shah said, “First, we targetedfiscal incentives for specificvehicle segments that con-tribute maximum to vehicularpollution in Delhi’s and India’scontext, which is two- andthree-wheelers. Second, wealso introduced non-financialincentives to help overcomebarriers that might hamperEV adoption.

Citing an example, he said“We have allowed bike taxis toply in Delhi only if they areEVs. Third, we see it as the gov-ernment’s duty to facilitate thesetting up of charging infra-structure – in public as well asprivate complexes such as

malls, offices etc. Fourth, webelieve governments will haveto take the lead in conductingpublic awareness campaignsto sensitize and inform citizensof the benefits of EVs, andfinally, our policy also focuseson skill training related to jobsthat will arise as a result of thistransition to a green economy.”

When asked for a messageto government leaders aroundthe world looking to transitionto EVs, Shah said, "The tran-sition to EVs may look verydaunting for large cities andstates, but Delhi has shownthat with political will, anattitude to learn from suc-cesses and failures of cities andcountries around the world,and a goal-oriented approach,this is possible. Once citiesfigure how to get the first 10%EVs on the road, the rest willfollow."

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Delhi Health MinisterSatyendar Jain said that the

duration of the third peak ofthe spread of Covid-19 in thenational Capital is longer thanthose of the previous peaks butit may subside in the next fewdays.

The health minister onWednesday asserted that thecity government has signifi-cantly ramped up testing bynearly three times on an aver-age per day compared to thenumber of tests conductedwhen the second peak had hitaround September 16, whenover 4,000 daily cases werebeing reported.

Addressing the media, theminister also said the city gov-ernment had filed a specialleave petition (SLP) in theSupreme Court after the Delhihigh court did not allow reserv-ing 80 per cent ICU beds forCOVID-19 patients at manyprivate hospitals and the apexcourt has asked the govern-ment to approach a divisionbench of the high court.

"About two to threemonths ago, we had written tothe Centre to increase about1,000 beds and 300 ICU bedsin Centre-run hospitals in thecity," Jain added.

Delhi recorded over 7,800fresh COVID-19 cases for thefirst time on Tuesday, takingthe infection tally in the nation-al capital to over 4.5 lakh, and83 new fatalities, the highestnumbers since June 16.

This highest single-dayspike here till date -- 7,830 cases– resulted from the 59,035tests conducted the previousday, while the positivity ratestood at 13.26 per cent amidthe festive season and risingpollution in the city, accordingto the latest bulletin issued by

the Delhi health department.The previous highest sin-

gle-day spike till date here --7,745 cases was recorded onSunday. On Tuesday, 83 newfatalities were recorded, push-ing the death toll in the nation-al capital to 7,143. On June 16,the city had recorded 93 deathsfrom COVID-19.

Asked about the long spellof the surge in cases, Jain saidin the previous peak which hadlasted about 5-6 days, the testsconducted were about 20,000per day and now the number oftests is nearly three times ofthat.

The third peak is longerbut it "may subside in the nextfew days," he said. Delhi hadrecorded 71 fatalities fromCOVID-19 on Monday and5,023 fresh cases. On Saturdayand Sunday, 79 and 77 deathsdue to the disease were record-ed respectively.

The active cases tally onTuesday rose to 41,385 from39,795 the previous day, whilethe recovery rate stood at over89 per cent. The bulletin saidthe total number of cases hasclimbed to 4,51,382.

Meanwhile, seeking toreduce coronavirus-relateddeaths in the national capital,the Delhi government hasordered COVID-19 test centresto mandatorily check the oxy-gen saturation levels of people,and persons found with below94 per cent level are to under-go compulsory medical exam-ination.

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While the Government hasindicated that it is open

to dialogue with Pfizer Inc sothat its coronavirus vaccinecan be made available for usein the country, health expertshave pointed out that it will notbe an easy affair.

They said that the vaccinecandidate which has 90 per centeffectiveness against Covid-19will be expensive and difficultto deliver in India, particular-ly in rural areas where deep-freeze storage and transporta-tion networks needed for thevaccine are almost nil.

On Tuesday, Pfizer Inc.and BioNTech SE had shown‘extraordinarily’ early resultsfrom final stage trials, raisingmuch hopes, which werethough short-lived, after

experts explained that it willneed a complex and costly sys-tem of deep-freeze airportwarehouses, refrigerated vehi-cles and inoculation points fordistribution across India.

After they reach vaccina-tion centers, the shots must bethawed from -70 degrees cel-sius and injected within fivedays, if not they go bad, said theexperts.

Delhi-based AIIMSDirector Dr Randeep Guleriawas skeptical on the availabil-ity of the Pfizer’s Covid-19vaccine as he said that the datareleased by the company is veryencouraging but it should belooked very carefully.“Whatever vaccines they aremaking have potential of giv-ing immunogenicity and pro-tection as far as COVID-19 isconcern,” he said.

“The challenge with thevaccines is that, how long theimmunity lasts and how muchprotective value that it gives asfar as individuals are con-cerns,” Dr Guleria added. Hesaid that other challenge withthe Pfizer vaccine is that thevaccine should be kept at a verylow temperature which is notpractical for rural parts of thecountry and tough to maintainthe cold chain.

CMC Vellore scientist DrGagandeep Kang echoed sim-ilar sentiments. She said Pfizer’scoronavirus vaccine is anmRNA vaccine which is goingto be very expensive for India.

“...Currently, we have nosystem in this country to beable to deliver a minus 70degree Celsius vaccine,”Gagandeep Kang was quoted assaying by the report.

Senior scholar at JohnsHopkins Center, Amesh Adaljagave similar opinion pointingout that the cold chain is goingto be one of the most chal-lenging aspects of the deliveryof this coronavirus vaccination.

“This will be a challenge inall settings because hospitalseven in big cities do not havestorage facilities for a vaccineat that ultra-low temperature,”he added.

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At a time when many coun-tries are witnessing a surge

in their Covid-19 caseload,India on Wednesday regis-tered a drop in the infectionsthat went below the 5-lakhmark for the first time after106 days.

The 4,94,657 active casesare in contrast to the 6,07,384in August and 10,09,976 inmid-September.

However, in a reviewmeeting, Union HealthMinister Dr Harshivardhantook serious note of a spike indeaths in Maharashtra, Goaand North eastern States likeMizoram, Meghalaya andTripura, calling it a matter ofconcern.

With 44,281 new infec-tions reported in the past 24hours, India’s total cases havesurged to 86,36,012 as onWednesday.

Highlighting the State spe-cific areas of concern thatwould require focussed atten-tion, the Union HealthMinister noted that althoughthe active cases have comedown in Maharashtra, it con-tinues to have a large activecaseload, with a high CaseFatality Rate (2.6 per cent)which increases to 3.5 percent in and around Mumbai.

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Researchers have iden-tified a new “hidden”

gene in SARS-CoV-2, thevirus responsible forCovid-19, that may havecontributed to its uniquebiology and pandemicpotential. In a virus thatonly has about 15 genes intotal, knowing moreabout this and other over-lapping genes — or “geneswithin genes” — couldhave a significant impacton how we combat thevirus.

“Overlapping genesmay be one of an arsenalof ways in which coron-aviruses have evolved toreplicate efficiently, thwarthost immunity, or getthemselves transmitted,”said lead author ChaseNelson, a postdoctoralresearcher at AcademiaSinica in Taiwan and avisiting scientist at theAmerican Museum ofNatural History.

“Knowing that over-lapping genes exist andhow they function mayreveal new avenues forcoronavirus control, forexample through antiviral

drugs.”The research team

identified ORF3d, a newoverlapping gene inSARS-CoV-2 that has thepotential to encode a pro-tein that is longer thanexpected by chance alone,according to the studypublished in the journaleLife.

They found that thisgene is also present in apreviously discoveredpangolin coronavirus,perhaps reflecting repeat-ed loss or gain of this geneduring the evolution ofSARS-CoV-2 and relatedviruses.

In addition, ORF3dhas been independentlyidentified and shown toelicit a strong antibodyresponse in Covid-19patients, demonstratingthat the new gene`s pro-tein is manufactured dur-ing human infection.

“We don`t yet knowits function or if there`sclinical significance,”Nelson said.

“But we predict thisgene is relatively unlikelyto be detected by a T-cellresponse, in contrast tothe antibody response.

And maybe that hassomething to do withhow the gene was able toarise.”

Overlapping genesare hard to spot, and mostscientific computer pro-grammes are notdesigned to find them.However, they are com-mon in viruses.

This is partly becauseRNA viruses have a highmutation rate, so theytend to keep their genecount low to prevent alarge number of muta-tions.

As a result, viruseshave evolved a sort of datacompression system inwhich one letter in itsgenome can contributeto two or even three dif-ferent genes.

“Missing overlappinggenes puts us in peril ofoverlooking importantaspects of viral biology,”said Nelson.

“In terms of genomesize, SARS-CoV-2 andits relatives are among thelongest RNA viruses thatexist. They are thus per-haps more prone to`genomic trickery` thanother RNA viruses.”

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In times of an intense debateon nepotism, some political

dynasties succeeded in carry-ing forward their legacies butmany heir apparents failed inthe recently concluded BiharAssembly polls.

Senior politician SharadYadav’s daughter SubhasiniRaj Rao, Shatrughan Sinha’sson Luv Sinha, senior RJDleader Prabhunath Singh’s sonRandhir Kumar Singh,Mandal Commission report’sauthor B P Mandal’s grandsonNikhil Mandel and formerunion minister Ram LakhanSingh Yadav’s son JayvardhanYadav are among those polit-ical dynasties who could notwin and failed to carry for-ward their fathers’ legacies.

The issue of dynasty pol-itics has been a subject ofintense political debate, withrepresentatives of each partyaccusing leaders of other par-ties of promoting their kin.

Subhasini Raj Rao whocontested from Bihariganj seatfalling under the MadhepuraLok Sabha, which is consid-ered a stronghold of his father,could not win the seat. She hadcontested on a Congress tick-et. Subhasini lost to seasonedpolitician and sitting MLANeeranjan Mehta of NitishKumar’s JD(U) by 18711 votes.

Luv Sinha, son of actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha,who was contesting on aCongress ticket from Bankipurseat of Patna lost to BJP’sNitin Nabin by 38965 votes. InChapra, senior RJD leaderPrabhunath Singh’s sonRandhir Kumar Singh failed towin against sitting MLA Dr CN Gupta (BJP) by a margin of7,222 votes.

JD(U)’s Nikhil Mandel,grandson of MandalCommission report’s author BP Mandal, lost toChandrasekhar of the RJD onthe Madhepura seat by a mar-

gin of over 15000 votes.Among other notable

losers are -- Chandrika Roy,son of former chief ministerDaroga Prasad Rai, fromParsa. Roy, also the father TejPratap Yadav’s estranged wifeAishwarya, had switched overto the JD(U) from the RJD haslost by a margin of 16947 votesagainst Chhotelal Rai whomoved to Lalu Prasad’s partyleaving Nitish Kumar’s justbefore the assembly polls.

In Jokihat seat in Arariadistrict, sons of former unionminister MohammadTaslimuddin, were pittedagainst each other. Youngerbrother MohammadShahnawaz, who contested onAsaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIMparty, defeated his brotherSarfaraz Alam of the RJD, byover 7,000 votes.

Sadhu Yadav, brother-in-law of Lalu Prasad Yadav, whohad contested on Mayawati’sBSP ticket, lost to SubhasSingh of the BJP by 36,641votes from Gopalganj seat.

Jayvardhan Yadav, grand-son of former union ministerRam Lakhan Singh Yadav,who had crossed over to theJD(U) from the RJD, also losttoSandeep Saurabh of CPI-MLin Paliganj seat by a margin of30,928 votes. HindustaniAwam Morch president JitanRam Manjhi won theImamganj seat, but his son-in-law Devendra Kumar lost to

RJD’s Satish Kumar onMakhdumpur seat by a mar-gin of over 21000 votes.

However, Lalu’s sonsTejashwi Yadav and TejPratap Yadav, former unionminister Digvijay Singh’sdaughter Shreyasi Singh, RJDvice president ShivanandTiwari’s son Rahul Tiwariand Jagannath Mishra’s sonNitish Mishra are among

those who have succeeded tocarry forward their fathers’legacy. Among the othervictorious candidates areSanjiv Chaurasia (Digha),son of Sikkim GovernorGanga Prasad, SudhakarSingh (Ramgarh), son of stateRJD president JagdanandSingh and Alok Mehta, son oflate RJD leader Tulsi DasMehta.

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As many as 163 winningcandidates of the total 243

in the Bihar Assembly polls,results of which were declaredon Wednesday, have declaredcriminal cases against them-selves.

Of them 123 (51 percent)have declared serious casesincluding cases related to mur-der, attempt to murder, kid-napping and crimes againstwomen. Besides, 194 candi-dates are crorepatis.

According to theAssociation for DemocraticReforms (ADR) report, 19winning candidates havedeclared cases related to mur-der while 31 have declared

cases of attempt to murderagainst themselves. RJD is topin the list of winning candi-dates having criminal cases,followed by BJP and Janata Dal(United).

This time, the ADR hadanalysed the self-sworn affi-davits of 241 of the 243 victo-rious candidates. The ADRdid not say anything on suchdetails of remaining winners.The results of the three-phaseelections were declared onWednesday early morning aftercounting that went on for over20 hours.

Out of the 123 winners, 19have murder cases, 31 attemptto murder and eight crimesagainst women against theirnames.

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The Supreme Court refusedon Wednesday to interfere

with the Calcutta High Courtorder banning the use andsale of firecrackers in WestBengal on Kali Puja to curbair pollution, saying preser-vation of life was more impor-tant amid the coronaviruspandemic.

A vacation bench ofJustices D Y Chandrachudand Indira Banerjee said

though festivals were impor-tant, but “life itself has beenin imperil” amid the pan-demic. The bench said thehigh court knew the localcondition better and it shouldbe allowed to do the needful.

The top court was hearingan appeal filed by one GautamRoy and the BurrabazaarFireworks DealersAssociation challenging thehigh court order of lastThursday banning the useand sale of firecrackers dur-

ing upcoming fest ivals ,including Kali Puja andChhath Puja, to curb pollu-tion. Kali Puja will be cele-

brated on Saturday.“We are all battling for life

in this situation and all of ushave elderly people in ourhome,” it observed. “We are ina situation where at this time,preservation of life is moreimportant and the high courtknows what is required at theground level.”

It said the high court hadtaken care of the interest ofcitizens, especially senior cit-izens who may have comor-bidities.

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Underlining that water is a finiteresource, Vice President Venkaiah

Naidu on Wednesday called for achange in lifestyle and make water con-servation a way of life.

He said reduced use of water alsoresults in less use of energy required forpumping and supplying water to homes,offices and farming activities. In effect,it will also help in reducing pollution,he noted.

“Unless we reduce the wastage ofwater and take up saving and conser-vation of water on a war footing, thereis a danger of potable water becominga scarce resource in the future,” Naidusaid.

With the rising population, hesaid, urbanisation, industrialisationand expanding agricultural activities,the water requirement will continue toincrease.

“The key message that needs to betaken to people again and again is this:

the water that is available is finite. It isnot unlimited. It is the responsibility ofeach and every citizen to save water anduse it judiciously. The need of the houris to change our lifestyles and makewater conservation a way of life,” Naidusaid.

The vice president was speaking atthe National Water Awards to honourthe excellence in water managementand conservation across the nation.Tamil Nadu bagged the ‘Best State’award, followed by Maharashtra andRajasthan.

Practises like micro-irrigation, dripand sprinkler systems have to be pro-moted in a big way for efficient use ofwater for agriculture, he said.

“Reduce, reuse and recycle must bethe watchwords if we have to handovera sustainable and liveable planet to thefuture generations,” he said.

Naidu pointed out that watersheddevelopment is another area that canspur local economic development.

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Page 5: ˇ ˆ ˙ ˝˛ ˆ ˝˛ ˇ · 2020. 11. 11. · see the writing on the wall, ... the closure of hot mix plants and stone crushers in Delhi-NCR till November 17 in view of a likely increase

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At Aligarh railway station, STE (SeniorTicket Examiner) molested Prayagraj's girl

on the pretext of ticket checking. The girl saton the bench with her mother waiting for thetrain. STE ran away on her mother’s reprimand.The victim has filed a case at the GRP policestation. After this, STE was arrested. TheRailways has suspended the STE and started aninvestigation.

An 18-year-old girl from Prayagraj came toAligarh for some work with her mother. Whenthe girl and mother reached the station to catchthe Rewa Express, STE Pramod Kumar checkedthe ticket at the entrance. The girl then movedto platform number 3/4 with her mother andsat on the bench waiting for the train.

Aligarh: For the Master Plan 2031, special atten-tion is being given to industries. Preparationsare going on to connect Dhanipur airstrip andits three flying clubs to Jewar InternationalAirport to start air taxi and air ambulance upto Jewar and NCR in the future.

In these flying clubs, drone cameras flyingtraining, training of airport ground staff and airhostess will soon be started along with the train-ing of commercial pilots.

This will create new employment opportu-nities and after training in Aligarh, the peoplewill be able to get different jobs at Jewar Airport.Aligarh can become a major hub in the region,as there are no three flying clubs anywhere elsein the state. PNS

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Scams associated with theLIFE Mission and Kerala

Fibre Optic Network (K-Fone),the two flag ship mega infra-structure projects of the rulingLeft Democratic FrontGovernment in the Stateturned worse with SwapnaSuresh, the third accused in thegold smuggling case telling theEnforcement Directorate offi-cials that all illegal transactionsand deals involving these pro-grammes were carried out withthe full knowledge of the ChiefMinister’s Office.

Ramesh Chennithala,Kerala’s Leader of theOpposition, alleged onWednesday that the ChiefMinister’s Office has becomethe epicentre of corruption,smuggling and anti-nationalactivities. Reacting to the reportsubmitted by the ED in thecourt on Wednesday, he

alleged that he State adminis-tration is under the control ofa cabal consisting of corruptofficials, party leaders andsmugglers.

In a report submitted to thecourt on Wednesday seeking anextension of the custody of MSivsankar, the former principalsecretary to chief ministerPinarayi Vijayan, the ED toldthe court that the bureaucratrefused to answer the questionsposed to him by the investiga-tion team. Since Sivsankar wasnot cooperating with the ED,the agency took into custodySwapna Suresh with the con-currence of the court and shewas interrogated.

Swapna, who had closeliaison with Sivsankar told theED officials that the formerprincipal secretary was privy toall illegal and underhand deal-ings associated with the LIFEMission and K-Fone projects.The Rs one crore seized from

a ban locker in her name wasthe bribe amount meant forSivsankar from one of the ben-eficiaries of the LIFE Missionproject, Swapna reportedly toldthe ED team. She also disclosedthat she too had certain roles inthe award of contracts andbusiness associated with theseprojects.

In yet another setback tothe CPI(M), Bineesh Kosiyeri,son of party secretary KodiyeriBalakrishnan, who was arrest-ed by the ED in connectionwith money laundering andfinancing of narcotics tradewas sent to judicial custody for14 days on Wednesday by acourt in Bangalore. Bineesh’scustody period under the EDgot over on Wednesday.Though the ED did not ask forextending his custody period,the agency opposed granting ofbail to him on the ground thathe wielded massive politicaland official influence.

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Suburban train servicesresumed on Wednesday in

Eastern and South EasternRailways from Sealdah andHowrah after about eightmonths gap with the stationswitnessing massive crowd buildup despite the authorities main-tained a strict vigil to ensurepandemic protocol.

The train services resumedafter repeated protests at vari-ous suburban stations by angrycommuters who complained oflack of transport facility toreach Kolkata.

Though the EMU (local)trains were not fully crowded asis witnessed during normal sit-uations Railways authoritiessaid expected more passengersin the coming days,

“We ran 696 trains today

and will be running about 85percent of our full runningcapacity during the office time,”a senior official in the EasternRailways said even as ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjeerequested the Railway author-ities to increase the number oftrains so as to avoid crowing ofthe compartments.

The Railways after a seriesof meetings with the StateGovernment resumed localtrain services on Wednesdaywith alternate seating arrange-ments in coaches with everyother seat being cross-markedin order to ensure forphysical distance among pas-

sengers.This apart spot markings

were made outside the ticketcounters in order to ensuresocial distancing, Railwayauthorities said adding the pas-

sengers were being checkedwith thermal screening andwere being given sanitizersbefore entering the platform.

Passengers coming fromthe suburban centres lookedhappier with the running of thetrains even as those comingfrom Sonarpur in SouthSealdah division said how “wehad shell out more than Rs 200per day to visit our offices 50km away from Baruipur as wehad to avail of different modesof transport from buses, toauto rickshaws to share taxis…but once the trains have start-ed we will be able to reach ouroffices for Rs 50 only.”

Meanwhile in a relateddevelopment Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee onWednesday announced thatthere would be no selection

tests for Class X and XII boardexaminations this year.

The decision will be rele-vant to the students of WestBengal Secondary and WestBengal Higher SecondaryEducation Board.

Earlier, the CBSE hadpostponed the Central TeacherEligibility Test (CTET) (whichwill now be held on January 31,2021) due to the corona pan-demic.

The Chief Minister alsoannounced the filling of 16,000vacant government posts apartfrom creating three police bat-talions in the State. The threebattalions will be christenedCoochbehar--Narayani Sena asper the wishes of the localRajbonshis population, GorkhaBattalion and Jangal Mahalbattalion with 1000 personneleach.

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Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government onWednesday decided to reopen high and highersecondary schools and colleges in the state fromNovember 23 subject to adherence of Covid-19guidelines.

However, there has been no decision onreopening of primary schools. The governmentsaid it will analyse the feedback on implemen-tation of Wednesday's decision and then decide.

Education Minister BhupendrasinhChudasama said: “A Cabinet meeting chaired byGujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani onWednesday decided to reopen schools and col-leges in the state. Before that, I held discussionswith my department officials, education experts,academics and other stakeholders on continu-ation of studies.

“The Cabinet decided that after Diwali, fromNovember 23, all high and higher secondaryschools, colleges and universities will holdteaching in their respective premises. For this,they shall strictly follow the Standard OperatingProtocol of the central government.” IANS

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Launching an attack againstKerala Chief Minister

Pinarayi Vijayan and CPI-Mstate Secretary KodiyeriBalakrishnan, Leader ofOpposition RameshChennithala said onWednesday that both theseleaders are now caught neck-deep in numerous scams andare using the CPI-M as a shield.

An affidavit filed by theEnforcement Directorate (ED)in a court containing the state-ment of the prime accused inthe gold smuggling case,Swapna Suresh, stated for thefirst time on Wednesday thatthe former Secretary to Vijayan- M. Sivasankar - and his 'team'in the office of the CM knewabout all the deals, includingthe gold smuggling case.

This was filed by the finan-

cial probe agency after thecourt extended the ED custodyof senior IAS officer Sivasankar,which ended on Wednesday, byone more day.

Chennithala said that neverbefore did the party or anyother state government reachthe position where the presentleadership has reached.

“While Vijayan's office isengaged in smuggling andother dubious deals,Balakrishnan's son is doingbusiness in drug trafficking.Now after they have beencaught red-handed, they areusing their party as a shield and

misleading their cadres to pro-tect their wrongdoings,” saidChennithala.

“It was Vijayan who wroteto Prime Minister NarendraModi for a probe and today thesame Vijayan is leading his gov-ernment and his party to thestreets to protest the very sameprobe that he had asked for. Ifail to understand what's hap-pening,” added Chennithala.

The ruling Left govern-ment has announced a protestto be held on Monday acrossthe state attacking the Centrefor using national probe agen-cies to weaken the PinarayiVijayan government.

“I fail to understand whyVijayan, who claims to knownothing, is worried. If one hasdone no wrong, then why fear?Time will soon tell the truth,and all that the opposition hasbeen saying will turn true,”added Chennithala.

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Maintaining that it wouldnot accept that RJD

leader Tejashwi Yadav had lostthe Bihar Assembly polls inwhich he fought valiantlyagainst the formidable rulingNDA, the ruling Shiv Sena saidon Wednesday that the “his-toric” polls had thrown up a“new face” in the form ofTejashwi in the national poli-tics.

Heaping lavish praise onTejashwi who led the RJD inthe Bihar Assembly polls, theShiv Sena in an editorial pub-lished in its official mouth-piece“Saamana” said: “We have toaccept the verdict in the BiharAssembly polls. But, we do notconsider the poll outcome asthe defeat of Tejashwi Yadav.The poll defeat can in no waybe considered a debacle. Northe success achieved by way ofincreasing the number througha jugaad (a flexible approach tosolve a problem) can be calleda victory”.

“Tejashwi fought a valiantbattle. The battle was bothwithin the family and against aformidable ruling alliance. Theruling BJP in Delhi and theBihar JD(U) did not lose anyopportunity to defame Tejashwiduring the campaign. Despite ano-holds-barred attacklaunched against him, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi calledhim crown prince of Jungle Raj.But, Tejashwi did not lose hiscomposure but went aheadwith his campaign,” the edito-rial stated

“On the contrary, incum-bent chief minister NitishKumar – apprehending defeat– made an emotional appeal tothe voters, saying that this washis last poll he was fighting. Hemade emotional appeals to thevoters. After having ruled Biharfor the past 15 years, Nitish wasbrought to knees in the pollcampaign. This was because

Tejashwi concentrated his cam-paign on issues like develop-ment, employment and educa-tion and defeated Nitish mid-way through the polls,``the''Saamana ̀ ` editorial stated.

“No wonder that the Biharpolls were intensely fought. Itwas Tejashwi who broughtintensity to the polls. He wasundeterred in his fight againsteither a political bigwig likeNarendra Modi or against anexperienced political war horselike Nitish Kumar,” the“Saamana” editorial stated.

“This Bihar Assembly pollswill go into the history ofIndian politics. The power maygo into the hands of anyoneafter the polls, but the Biharpolls have given the country anew face in Tejashwi Yadav.Any amount of congratula-tions to Tejashwi is less for themanner in which he fought theAssembly polls,” the Senamouth-piece added.

The Shiv Sena’s wholesomepraise of Tejashwi Yadav shouldbe seen in the context of thefact that the RJD emerged asthe single largest party in thepolls with a whooping 75 seats,as against 74 seats won by theBJP and 43 seats won by theJD(U).

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The National Investigation(NIA) has arrested an

accused from Karnataka inconnection with the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) recruitmentcase of West Bengal.

“Yesterday (10.11.2020),the NIA arrested accusedSayyad M. Idris, aged 28 years,resident of Uttara Kannada,Karnataka in West Bengal LeTRecruitment Case,” the NIAsaid in a statement onWednesday.

The case arose out of WestBengal, Baduria Police StationFIR No. 150/2020 dated March 18, 2020 pertaining toPakistan-based handlersbelonging to proscribed ter-rorist outfit Lashkar-e-Tayyabausing various social mediaplatforms to radicalize andrecruit vulnerable youth for

sleeper cells, to propagate theirideology and for abetting andadvocating unlawful activities,the agency said.

The arrested accusedSayyad M. Idris was part of var-ious social media groups run byPakistani-based LeT

handlers in their effort torecruit individuals for sleepercells of LeT and for furtheringterrorist activities, it alleged.

The accused is being pro-duced before the Court, UttaraKannada and transit remand isbeing taken to produce himbefore NIA Court, Kolkata, itfurther said.

In this case, chargesheethas already been filed againstaccused Tania Parvin ofKolkata on September 10 andfurther investigation in thecase is continuing, it added.

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Amaravati: A CentralGovernment team tasked toassess the extensive damagedone to crops by heavy rains inAndhra Pradesh has visitedEast and West Godavari districts, official sources said on Wednesday. IANS

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River Cauvery, the lifelineof Tamil Nadu, flowsquietly nowadays. Thepolitical waters in theState, too, resemble the

flow of Cauvery, though the formermay not be as pure and serene as thesacred river. There are many under-currents and swirls beneath the calmthat can even take a wild tuskerdown to the river bed.

Uncertainty is the hallmark ofTamil Nadu’s political landscape asthis article is being written. Themain characters in the State’s vastelectoral arena are, as usual, theDravida Munnetra Kazhagam(DMK) and the All India AnnaDravida Munnetra Kazhagam(AIADMK). These two Dravidianmajors have so far played the leadroles while national parties like theIndian National Congress and theBJP, along with other fringe parties,have been mere sidekicks.

The Congress, which ruled theState uninterrupted till 1967, is a paleshadow of what it was in the 1960sbecause both the DMK and theAIADMK have sucked the entireblood out of India’s grand old party.It is left with more leaders than thecadre, according to political chron-iclers like N Kalyanasundaram, aclose associate of the legendary KKamaraj.

The DMK has been out of powerin the State since a political tsuna-mi by the name of J Jayalalithaa, whoobliterated the party in the twoAssembly elections held in 2011 and2016 and also in the 2014 Lok Sabhapolls. But Jayalalithaa, who single-handedly took on all her politicalrivals, including M Karunanidhi ofthe DMK, is not around to lead theAIADMK. After her untimely deathon December 5, 2016, the AIADMKhas started disintegrating fasterthan expected. The powerful factionled by VK Sasikala, Jayalalithaa’sclosest aide till she breathed her last,has come out of the AIADMK andformed a new entity by the name ofAmma Makkal MunnetraKazhagam (AMMK), claiming to bethe true inheritor of PuratchiThalaivi’s legacy. The factions led byChief Minister EdappadiPalaniswami (EPS) and deputyChief Minister O Panneerselvam(OPS) are at each other’s throat.There is no dearth of group wars inthe AIADMK as another faction ledby D Jayakumar, former Speaker, isalso in the fray to usurp the party’sleadership.

The AIADMK had an electoral

alliance with the BJP in the 2019Lok Sabha election. Both EPSand OPS would not like toremember that experiencebecause they violated the cardi-nal rule set by Jayalalithaa thatthere should not be any kind ofalliance with the BJP. TheHindutva party, which contestedas a junior partner, drew a blankwhile the AIADMK had to becontent with just one seat. Theother alliance partners, the PattaliMakkal Katchi (PMK), theDesiya Murpokku DravidaKazhagam (DMDK), theTrinamool Congress (TMC) andthe Puthiya Tamilagam (PT), tooended up as also-rans.

This time the AIADMK is like-ly to keep the BJP out from itselectoral strategy because it isafraid of losing the minorityvotes. The Muslims in TamilNadu are upset over theCitizenship (Amendment) Act aswell as the abrogation of Article370 of the Constitution. Thetightening of the ForeignCurrency Regulation Act andForeign Exchange ManagementAct have throttled the revenuesources of the churches and thishas affected many major initia-tives like the anti-nuclear reactoragitation at Kudankulam and theevangelisation drive.

Except in the 1998 Lok Sabhaelection, the AIADMK-BJPalliance has been a total failure inTamil Nadu. Though pro-DMKpolitical commentators push thetheory that the EPS Governmentis surviving because of the tacitsupport of the BJP, there are novisible signs of any deals betweenthese two parties. During the2019 seat allocation discussions,all that the BJP could get from theAIADMK were five seats. The

attitude of the AIADMK leaderstowards the saffron brigade was“take it or leave it”. The BJP didnot get any seats during the bien-nial Rajya Sabha election fromthe AIADMK. EPS played hiscards well and managed to getwhatever he had asked from theCentre.

When he was sworn in as theChief Minister in February 2017with the blessings of Sasikala,who had to surrender at theParappana Agrahara Prison fol-lowing the Supreme Court’s orderupholding the sentence in a dis-proportionate asset case, TamilNadu was agog with apprehen-sion about the longevity of theGovernment. Opposition leaderMK Stalin repeatedly said that theEPS Government was in ICUand hooked on to the life supportsystem provided by the BJP. ButEPS slowly and steadily took con-trol of the situation despite thewafer-thin majority in the House.

He survived many anxiousmoments when 18 MLAs, owingallegiance to Sasikala, withdrewtheir support to him but theywere disqualified by the Speaker.The byelection necessitated bytheir disqualification saw theAIADMK managing to win nineseats though the DMK wrestedthe remaining nine. TheAIADMK further consolidatedits position in the House bywresting two more seats from theDMK and the Congress. But thatis of academic interest only.

The AIADMK is, indeed,unlikely to repeat its perfor-mances in the 2011 and 2016Assembly elections and the 2014Lok Sabha polls anymore becauseof the absence of a charismaticleader like Jayalalithaa. The inter-nal struggle in the party would

add to the woes of EPS.Besides, there is an anti-

incumbency sentiment whichhas been fuelled by a section ofthe media. Though there arecharges of corruption against theGovernment, nothing has beenproved till date. Except for therioting at Thoothukudi, demand-ing the closure of the SterliteCopper Plant, which resulted in15 people losing their lives inpolice firing, there were no majorincidents in the sphere of law andorder. The Government has toconvince the people about thenumber of new jobs it has creat-ed during the last five years andalso the steps it has taken to revivethe micro, small and mediumindustries, which were shut downas a result of the 2018 floods inChennai as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The DMK, too, is not in acomfortable position due tointernal squabbles in the party,though it has an advantage ofheading a secular front. Thegeneral allegation is that theparty is being controlled byStalin’s wife Durga, sonUdhayanidhi and son-in-lawSabari. The latter is creditedwith rebooting and rebrandingStalin, who has started sportinga new hairstyle and wardrobe insynchronisation with the chang-ing times. For Stalin, it is a do ordie battle because age is not onhis side. At 68, he is the oldestchief ministerial candidate in thefray and would be Tamil Nadu’sJoe Biden if he wrests power. MKarunanidhi, his late father,became the Chief Minister at theage of 45 while his bete noire MGRamachandran was sworn in atthe age of 60. Jayalalithaa becamethe Chief Minister for the first

time while she was just 43.The allocation of seats to allies

would be a major hurdle forStalin in the run-up to the elec-tion. Though the alliance part-ners are yet to be finalised, it isalmost sure that the DMK-ledfront would comprise theCongress, the Communists, theMuslim League and theViduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi.A question being asked iswhether PMK, the Vanniyardominated party, and MakkalNeedhi Maiam, the outfitlaunched by Kamal Haasan,would cast their lot with theDMK. Dr S Ramadoss, founderof the PMK, has only one missionin his life, to make his sonAnbumani the Chief Minister ofTamil Nadu. And film actorHaasan has already declared thathe would be the chief minister-ial candidate of his party. On theother side, we have Vijayakanth,founder of the DMDK, who toohas the same ambition.

There are only 234 seats atstake in Tamil Nadu. DMKwould certainly pocket at least130 seats because Stalin prefersto form a Government of his ownand does not like to share power.Even in 2006, when the partywon just 96 seats, M Karunanidhikept the alliance partners at bayand ruled the State for five yearswith outside support extended bythe allies. The Congress, theMuslim League, the VCK and theCommunists are sure to asktheir pound of flesh this time. So,Stalin is left with the task of win-ning 91 per cent of the seats tobe contested by the DMK forrealising his dream of becomingthe Chief Minister.

The question that remainsunanswered is Rajnikanth and hismuch talked about spiritual pol-itics. Time is too short forRajnikanth to emulate what NTRama Rao did in AndhraPradesh in 1982 by launching theTelugu Desam Party. The actorhimself is on record stating thathis doctors have advised himagainst heavy work and also to becareful about the pandemic.Rajnikanth has undergone a kid-ney transplant and at 70, isunlikely to gamble with his life.Moreover, he is more about hypeand politics is cricket to him.

As things stand today, TamilNadu faces the prospect of a frac-tured Assembly and discussionsare taking place about the kindof permutations and combina-tions the alliance Governmentwould have after the election. Itis too early to predict more thanthis as the political line-up is yetto be decided. The election is stillfive months away and even fivedays are too long a period in politics. Meanwhile, quiet flowsthe Cauvery.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

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����������� ��Sir — The Mahagathbandhan orthe grand alliance gave theNational Democratic Alliance(NDA) a tough competition inthe Bihar Assembly election andmanaged to win 110 seats.However, one cannot overlookthe fact that it is because of thedebacle of the Congress partythat it lost a good opportunity toform the Government. Againstthe 70 seats allotted to the grandold party, it was able to win only19, thereby spoiling the alliance’schances of victory. The RashtriyaJanata Dal (RJD) must be regret-ting its decision to accommodatethe Congress with such a hugenumber of seats.

The results of the Bihar elec-tion should be an eye-opener tothe Dravida MunnetraKazhagam (DMK), which alsolost a fair chance of winning the2016 Assembly elections main-ly due to the abysmal perfor-mance of its ally, the Congress.The party managed to win onlyeight constituencies against abulk of 41 seats it had demand-ed. The DMK missed the magicnumber of 117 by just 19 in thesaid election. The southern partyhas a very fair chance of winningthe Assembly elections in 2021.

It should, therefore, take a firmstand not to allot more than whatthe Congress deserves, maybe amaximum of 10 seats. If theCongress disagrees, it should bedropped from the alliance andDMK should face the electionalong with other potential alliesor decide to contest in all the 234constituencies on its own.

Tharcius S FernandoChennai

���������������Sir — On November 10, Delhirecorded 7,830 freshCoronavirus cases, the highestsingle-day spike till date, takingthe infection tally in the nation-al Capital to over 4.5 lakh with83 fatalities, pushing the num-ber of deaths to 7,143. The StateGovernment should re-imposepartial lockdowns in the city by

closing religious institutions,cinema halls, restaurants andother such places. With Diwalijust around the corner, super-spreading events with attendeesnot adhering to COVID proto-cols must be prevented.Following Mumbai’s system ofcomplete lockdown on Sundays,the national Capital, too, needsto work out a similar model.There should be a complete

lockdown on weekends from 10pm on Friday till 6 am onMonday.

Subhash Chandra AgrawalChandni Chowk

��������� �Sir — The Indian PremierLeague ended on a high notewith Mumbai Indians winningthe tournament. It is truly com-mendable how the Board ofControl for Cricket in India andEmirates Cricket Board alongwith other stakeholders wereable to pull off such an event dur-ing the ongoing pandemic. Withstrict COVID protocols in placeand all the eight teams being keptin strict, bio-secure “bubbles”since landing in the UAE, theorganisers made sure that theplayers and everyone elseinvolved were safe. And thoughthe stadiums were empty with-out spectators, the game didn’tlose its vigour and excitement asmillions of people followed itfrom the safety of their homes.It demonstrated how sport cansurvive in the new normal.

M PradyuKannur

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In an informal chat in April, the SamajwadiParty (SP) national president AkhileshYadav told this reporter that his party would

win 350 seats in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh (UP)Assembly elections. “Anger is brewing amongthe masses against the Yogi AdityanathGovernment. They have made up their mindto oust the BJP Government in UP. We onlyneed to channelise that anger to the pollingbooths and we will succeed,” he had said glee-fully. Theoretically he might be right but pol-itics is all about sending the correct messageacross. This requires political leaders to shuntheir air-conditioned comfort and slog it outin the heat and dust on the ground, shoulder-to-shoulder with party workers. What hap-pened in the recently-concluded byelections inUP clearly shows Akhilesh’s disconnect withground reality.

There is no doubt that people are angrywith BJP Governments — both at the Centreand in the State — for various reasons, rightfrom the poor law and order situation to theincrease in economic woes. But the bypoll resultshows that the BJP was able to placate that angerand convince voters that it was the only partywhich could work for the betterment of themasses. On the other hand, the Oppositionfailed to channelise that anger into votes.

The bypolls were necessitated by the deathsof sitting MLAs in Bulandshahr, Deoria,Malhani, Naugaon Sadat and Ghatampur. TheTundla seat fell vacant after its MLA, SP SinghBaghel, was elected to the Lok Sabha, while theBangarmau seat in Unnao fell vacant after theconviction of BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengarin a rape case. The results show that the SPbagged just one seat, Malhani, out of the sevenit contested, by a margin of just over 3,000 votes,while the BJP retained six seats. As per theElection Commission figures, the BJP got a voteshare of 36.7 per cent, followed by 23.6 per centby the SP, 19 per cent by the Bahujan SamajParty (BSP), 7.5 per cent by the Congress and11.4 per cent by others.

Seven is a miniscule number when youcompare it with the total strength of the UPAssembly which stands at 403. But the num-ber is enough to gauge the mood of the vot-ers, particularly when the election was held inthe backdrop of the Hathras incident where aDalit girl was gang-raped and beaten up,leading to her death after a prolonged strug-gle for life in hospital. The incident raised a hueand cry across the country and was equated tothe Nirbhaya case in Delhi. The Oppositioneven demanded imposition of President’s Rulein UP, saying the law and order situation in theState was at its nadir and Chief Minister YogiAdityanath had lost the moral right to rule.

Besides, the Opposition built a narrative ofthe Thakur Chief Minister being anti-Brahminafter the incident in Kanpur Dehat where gan-glord Vikas Dubey gunned down eight police-men and was later killed in a police encounterwhile in transit from Ujjain in Madhya Pradeshto Kanpur. The election in Deoria, in easternUP, where all the parties had fielded Brahmincandidates, carried the tag of “a contest forBrahmin samman (pride).” It was said that aloss in Deoria would prove the anti-Brahmin

credentials of the UP Government. Then there was the socio-econom-

ic impact of the COVID-19 pandem-ic and the reverse migration of labour-ers from the cities to their native vil-lages in UP and Bihar. This, and therise in prices of essential commoditiesin the recent past, also added to thewoes of the ruling party. In this sce-nario, the BJP’s loss in the byelectionswould have lent credence to theOpposition’s allegations that the pop-ularity of the saffron party was on thewane. But that did not occur.

So what happened? Many factorscould have led to the victory of the BJPin the byelections. One of them couldbe the BSP entering the fray and forc-ing a four-cornered contest, frag-menting the negative vote. The BSPdid not have anything to lose in thisbypoll as the party had not won a sin-gle seat in these seven constituenciesin the 2017 Assembly elections. At thattime it got 23.62 per cent votes andthis time, it got just about 19 per centvotes. Though there has been a dip inthe percentage, by and large the partyhas been able to retain its core vote-bank of Dalits. In western UP,Muslims, too, voted in favour ofMayawati in patches despite her sui-cidal statement about a secret dealwith the BJP to ensure the SP’s defeatin the UP Legislative Council elec-tions.

But the biggest sufferer is the SP,despite clocking 23 per cent votes.Though it won Malhani in Jaunpur, itcame second in the three seats ofNaugaon Sadat (Amroha), Tundla(Firozabad) and Deoria. Shockingly,the party was pushed to third positionin Bangarmau (Unnao) and fourthplace in the Ghatampur (Kanpur) seat.

Just a few days before polling, the SPhad roped in former Congress MPfrom Unnao, Annu Tandon, but thisfailed to give the party an impetus inBangarmau. In the 2017 Assemblyelections, the SP had got 25.27 percent votes in these six seats. So itsvoteshare declined by around two percent in this bypoll.

The SP had left the seventh seatof Bulandshahr for its ally, theRashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), whichcould manage only 7,286 votes. In the2017 Assembly elections, the partyhad got over 17,000 votes from thisconstituency but in the byelections,both the RLD and the SP failed totransfer their votes. The Congress, onthe other hand, did comparatively bet-ter than the main Opposition partieslike the SP and the BSP. The partycontested six seats and got only 7.5 percent votes but in three constituencies,the Congress did better than the SP.In Bangarmau and Ghatampur, itwas in second position while inBulandshahr it was in third placewhere the alliance partners RLD andSP came in fourth.

So the big question is if compla-cency cost the Opposition parties dear.The answer could be found in a com-parison of the election strategy of theBJP with that of the Congress, the SPand the BSP. Aware that it was facingan anti-incumbency factor, the BJPdid not leave anything to chance. Inthe saffron party, Yogi Adityanathtook the lead and campaigned in allthe seven constituencies. EightMinisters were made in-charge ofseven constituencies and otherMinisters and senior party leaderswere asked to carry out intensive elec-tion campaigns where they talked

about the policies of the Central andState governments and how they hadbenefited the poor.

In comparison, Akhilesh andMayawati did not address a singlemeeting, perhaps because they fearedthe Coronavirus outbreak. InMayawati’s absence, Satish ChandraMishra, who is the BSP’s Brahminface, led the party’s campaign. In thegrand old party, only State Congresspresident Ajay Kumar Lallu addressedsome meetings while senior leaders inDelhi “operated” through tweets andstatements.

The style of campaigning of polit-ical parties reflects the seriousness ofthe leaders in the elections. Yogi ledthe campaign by addressing publicmeetings in all the Assembly con-stituencies. The narrative of the bypollwas very simple and Yogi only concen-trated on the work his Governmenthad done in the last three-and-a-halfyears. The election results have put astamp of approval on the develop-ment-oriented approach of hisGovernment.

The UP byelection results havesent a message loud and clear to theOpposition. Its constituents need torevisit their election strategy. SeniorSP, BSP and Congress leaders need tocome out of their comfort zone andtoil with party workers in the field.This will not only invigorate theircadres but also make these leadersunderstand the ground realities. Ifthey fail to redesign their strategy, itwould be next to impossible for themto arrest the BJP’s surge in UP in the2022 elections. The time is now, forthem to learn some lessons in politics.

(The writer is Executive Director,News, Lucknow)

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When Americans cast theirballot for the President onNovember 3, they weren’t

voting directly for Joe Biden or theincumbent, President Donald Trump,but rather for their State’s electors. Inthe US, a candidate becomesPresident by securing the most “elec-toral” votes rather than by winninga majority of the national popularvote. Electors generally cast their votefor the winner of the popular vote intheir respective States. They are slat-ed to meet on December 14 and thewinner must get a minimum of 270votes.

In case no one receives the min-imum prescribed votes, the House ofRepresentatives elects the Presidentand the Senate elects the Vice-President. The Electoral College andits procedure was established by

Article II of the US Constitution andthe 12th and the 23rd ConstitutionAmendments. Though Joe Bidenhas clearly won and is now thePresident-elect, the outgoingPresident has put unsubstantiatedcharges of electoral fraud andembroiled the process in court cases.Trump’s campaign on November 9filed a lawsuit in a Pennsylvania fed-eral court, seeking to block State offi-cials from certifying Biden’s victorythere.

In any case, the declaration offormal victory will have to wait as the538 members of the Electoral Collegewill cast their votes on December 14and the votes will be counted and cer-tified by the Congress in a joint sit-ting to be held on January 6, 2021 ina session presided over by the Vice-President. The President-elect will besworn in on January 20, 2021.

The question that agitates thepeople across the world is why thefounding fathers of the US enshrinedsuch a complex electoral system inthe Constitution. There are manypresidential electoral systems tochoose from. For instance, in India— a parliamentary system — thePresident is elected by an ElectoralCollege comprising the elected mem-

bers of both the Houses of Parliamentand the elected members of theLegislative Assemblies of the States.In France, the President is elected bypopular votes based on the two-round election system since 1965, ifno candidate wins a majority of thevotes in the first round. Many othercountries, like Brazil, Bulgaria, Iran,Poland, Russia, Turkey and so on,have the two-round system or secondballot/runoff ballot, if no candidatereceives the stipulated number ofvotes in the first round. Sri Lanka hasa variant of the contingent vote sys-tem to elect the President. If no can-didate receives an overall majority offirst preference votes on the firstcount, then all, but the two leadingcandidates, are eliminated and theirvotes redistributed to help determinea winner in a second and finalround.

However, the US Presidentialelectoral system is an amalgamationof popular election — that is popu-lar votes and indirect election —comprising the Electoral College.Alexander Hamilton, one of themain architects of the USConstitution, wrote in The FederalistPapers about the key advantages ofthe Electoral College, “The electors

come directly from the people and forthat purpose only, and for that timeonly. This avoided a party-run legis-lature or a permanent body that couldbe influenced by foreign interestsbefore each election.” The makers ofthe Constitution believed that sincethe election would take place amongall the States, so no corruption in anyState could taint “the great body ofthe people” in their selection. It wasalso felt that the “electors’ meetingin the State capitals would be able tohave information unavailable to thegeneral public.” Besides, it was arguedthat “since no federal officeholdercould be an elector, none of the elec-tors would be beholden to any pres-idential candidate.”

Another consideration was thatthe decision to elect the President bythe members of the Electoral Collegewould be made without “tumult anddisorder”, as it would be a broad-based one, made simultaneously invarious locales where the decision-makers could deliberate reasonably,without threat or intimidation. “If theElectoral College did not achieve adecisive majority, then the House ofRepresentatives was to choose thepresident....” The Constitution mak-ers were apprehensive about some-

body unqualified but with a talent for“low intrigue, and the little arts ofpopularity” attaining high office,and, therefore, conscientiously strucka novel compromise between the twosystems. However, in actual practice,the process of forming the ElectoralCollege has little significance as thevoters choose the presidential candi-date and his running mate and thewinner takes all the votes assigned toa particular State, regardless of anynarrow gap in the popular votessecured.

For instance, the State of Georgiais allocated 16 members in theElectoral College. As per the lastcount (final count awaited), JoeBiden secured 49.5, Trump 49.2 andJo Jorgensen 1.2 per cent votes. If afterthe final count, Biden retains the lead,there will be no proportional distri-bution of the votes secured and all the16 members thus elected will be ofthe Democratic candidate led by JoeBiden, giving credence to the dictumthe “winner takes it all.”

The States of Maine andNebraska are two exceptions where,instead of a winner-takes-it all sys-tem, the vote goes through what’sknown as the “Congressional districtmethod.” This system — used in

Maine since 1972 and in Nebraskasince 1992 — allocates two electoralvotes to the Statewide winner butallows each Congressional district toaward one electoral vote to the pop-ular vote winner in its locality. InMaine, this means that two out offour electoral votes can go to some-one other than the Statewide winner;in Nebraska, three out of five electoralvotes remain in play.

The members of the ElectoralCollege, with rare inconsequentialexceptions, do not disregard thepopular vote by casting their vote forsomeone other than the party candi-date. They hold, generally, a leader-ship position in their party or aretrusted party loyalists who willuphold their pledge. A majority of theStates have their own laws againstfaithless electors. Taking the votes onparty lines for granted, the rationaleof having an Electoral Collegeinspires little confidence as it hasbecome antiquarian and pointless.

Insofar as the federal character ofthe votes is concerned, that is guar-anteed by the number of seats allo-cated to each of the States and terri-tories, including District Columbia,for the presidential election, based onthe twin principles of federalism and

population. This is reflected in thecomposition of the Senate, which has100 members, two from each Stateregardless of its size and populationand the House of Representatives,comprising 435 members, elected byeach of the States and territories.California sends 53 members andsmaller States like Delaware have onemember.

In 2000, Democrat Al Gorereceived 50,999,897 votes; RepublicanGeorge Bush received 50,456,002. Inthe Electoral College count, howev-er, Bush, who tallied 271 electors toGore’s 266, became the President. In2016, Hilary Clinton received65,853,514 votes to Donald Trump’s62,984,828, but Trump got 304 elec-toral votes and Hillary Clinton 227.

The Electoral College systemdistorts the campaign as candidatesgive extra consideration to swingStates, often compromising gover-nance, and give over-representationto smaller States. Moreover, till thefinal count by the Congress, there isa long, eerie silence and speculationabout a possible tie. But perhaps thepeople of the US are happy and con-tent with this.

(The writer is former AdditionalSecretary, Lok Sabha)

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$��"�$��"�Washington: A day afterPresident Donald Trump firedDefense Secretary Mark Esper,three staunch loyalists to thepresident were named to topdefense jobs. Among them wasa former Fox News commen-tator who failed to get throughSenate confirmation because ofoffensive remarks he made,including about Islam.

The abrupt changes sentreverberations through thePentagon as nervous civilianand military personnel waitedfor the next shoe to drop. Andthey fuelled worries of a widereffort to drum out anyoneconsidered not loyal enough toTrump. AP

Hong Kong: Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers haveresigned en masse following amove by the city’s governmentto disqualify four pro-democ-racy legislators.

The pro-democracy campannounced their decision in anews conference Wednesday,hours after the Hong Kong gov-ernment said it would be dis-qualifying four pro-democra-cy legislators — Alvin Yeung,Dennis Kwok, Kwok Ka-ki andKenneth Leung — from thelegislature.

The disqualifications cameafter China’s National People’sCongress Standing Committee,which held meetings onTuesday and Wednesday, passeda resolution stating that thosewho support Hong Kong’s inde-pendence or refuse to acknowl-edge China’s sovereignty overthe city, as well as commit actsthat threaten national securityor ask external forces to inter-fere in the city’s affairs, shouldbe disqualified.

“Today we will resign fromour positions, because ourpartners, our colleagues havebeen disqualified by the centralgovernment’s ruthless move,”Wu Chi-wai, convener of thepro-democracy camp, said at

the news conference.“Although we are facing a

lot of difficulties in the comingfuture for the fight of democ-racy, but we will never, nevergive up,” he said.

Wu said that the pro-democracy legislators will handin their resignation letters onThursday. During the newsconference, pro-democracylawmakers chanted “HongKong add oil, together westand” while holding hands.

Earlier in the year, the fournow-disqualified pro-democ-racy lawmakers were barredfrom running for legislative

elections originally scheduledfor September, prior to the gov-ernment stating that it wouldpostpone the elections by a yeardue to the coronavirus situa-tion. The four lawmakers laterremained in their posts fol-lowing the postponement.

The elections postpone-ment was criticised by the pro-democracy camp as an attemptto block them from taking amajority of seats in the legisla-ture, after they had held anunofficial pro-democracy pri-mary participated in by over600,000 voters to decide whichcandidates to field. AP

Lahore: Pakistan’s Oppositionleader and PML-N PresidentShahbaz Sharif and his sonHamza were indicted in amoney laundering case by anaccountability court here onWednesday.

The country’s anti-graftbody, National AccountabilityBureau (NAB), framed thecharges against Shahbaz, who isthe younger brother of deposedprime minister Nawaz Sharif,and Opposition leader in PunjabAssembly Hamza in theaccountability court of JudgeJawadul Hasan.

Both the father and son havedenied the charges and pleadedfor innocence.

Shahbaz told the court thathis political opponents, referringPrime Minister Imran Khan,

had instituted false cases againsthim and his family members.

“I had saved only Rupees 81billion from the Lahore metrotrain project and in 10 years aschief minister of Punjab I savedtrillions of rupees in differentdevelopment projects. If a sin-gle rupee corruption is provedagainst me even after my death,take me out of the grave andhang me,” he said.

He said the NAB was beingused for political engineeringagainst the Opposition.

“NAB has yet to bring forthany evidence against me andmy family members,” Shahbazsaid and informed the courtthat he had severe backache,but the jail authorities ignoredthis and brought him to thecourt in an armoured car. PTI

Nairobi: Up to 200,000refugees could pour into Sudanwhile fleeing the deadly conflictin Ethiopia’s northern Tigrayregion, officials say, while thefirst details are emerging oflargely cut-off civilians undergrowing strain.

Long lines have appearedoutside bread shops in theTigray region, and supply-laden trucks are stranded at itsborders, the United Nationshumanitarian chief in thecountry told The AssociatedPress in an interview.

“We want to have human-itarian access as soon as possi-ble,” Sajjad Mohammad Sajidsaid. “Fuel and food are need-ed urgently.” Up to 2 millionpeople in Tigray have a “very,very difficult time,” he said late

Tuesday, including hundreds ofthousands of displaced people.

Communications remainalmost completely severed withthe Tigray region a week afterEthiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister AbiyAhmed announced a militaryoffensive in response to analleged attack by regionalforces.

He insists there will be nonegotiations with a regionalgovernment he considers ille-gal until its ruling “clique” isarrested and its well-stockedarsenal is destroyed.

The standoff leaves nearly900 aid workers in the Tigrayregion from the UN and othergroups struggling to contact theoutside world with pleas forhelp. AP

Washington: Some dramaticmoves on immigration areexpected in the early days of theBiden administration. Joe Bidenwill likely use executive ordersto reverse some of PresidentDonald Trump’s most contro-versial actions, rolling backmoves that were a central fea-ture of his administration andimportant to his base.

The Biden administrationplans to restore protection forpeople brought to the US ille-gally as minors and stop usingPentagon funds to build a bor-der wall.

Biden unveiled a detailed,highly ambitious plan onimmigration, but it will taketime to undo many actionstaken by Trump. The incomingpresident will also likely face adivided Congress, making itdifficult to enact any kind ofsweeping, comprehensive

changes to the nation’s immi-gration system.

Restricting immigrationwas a signature issue forTrump, who infamously calledMexicans rapists as he pledgedto build border wall in launch-ing his campaign. His admin-istration banned travellers fromsome predominantly Muslimcountries as one of its first acts,took many steps to limit legalimmigration and cut the num-ber of refugees allowed in thecountry by 80 per cent.

Biden has said “immigra-tion is central to who we are asa nation,” noting that mostAmericans can trace theirancestry to immigrants, but itisn’t a core issue. It’s not evenmentioned on his transitionwebsite’s top priorities:COVID-19, economic recov-ery, racial justice and climatechange. AP

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Washington: Donald Trumpnot conceding defeat in the USelection is “an embarrassment”and that “will not help thePresident’s legacy,” President-elect Joe Biden has said, assert-ing that his transition plans haveremained unaffected and he hasstarted talking to world leaders.

Trump has declined to con-cede the closely-foughtNovember 3 presidential race toDemocrat Biden and is mount-ing legal fights in several states,but there has been no evidenceof voter irregularities or wide-spread fraud in the election —billed as one of the most divisiveand bitter in recent American his-tory.

The president-elect wasasked by a reporter on Tuesdaywhat he thought of PresidentTrump’s refusal to acknowledgedefeat.

“I just think it’s an embar-rassment, quite frankly,” Biden

said in his hometown inWilmington, Delaware.

“The only thing that, howcan I say this tactfully, I think itwill not help the president’s lega-cy,” 77-year-old Biden said.

The Trump administration’srefusal to initiate the transitionprocess “does not change thedynamic at all in what we’re ableto do,” Biden said.

“We don’t see anything that’sslowing us down, quite frankly,”he said.

“At the end of the day, youknow, it’s all going to come tofruition on January 20,” he added,

referring to inauguration day.“Between now and then my

hope and expectation is that theAmerican people do know anddo understand that there hasbeen a transition. Even amongRepublicans...Who voted for thepresident, I understand the senseof loss. I get that,” he said.

Biden hoped that those whovoted for him and those forTrump would come together.

“I think they’re ready tounite and I believe we can pull thecountry out of this bitter politicsthat we’ve seen for the last five,six and seven years,” he said.

The President-elect said thathe has already begun the transi-tion. “We are well underway. Theability for the administration inany way by failure to recogniseour win does not change thedynamic at all in what we’re ableto do,” he said, noting that a dayearlier he has announced hisCOVID-19 advisory board. PTI

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Washington: Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has saidthat Americans have made aclear choice in favour of JoeBiden, who won decisivelyagainst incumbent PresidentDonald Trump with more votesthan ever cast in the country’shistory.

President-elect Bidenreceived more than 76.4 millionvotes and so far, has 279 of the538 electoral college votes,according to The New YorkTimes.

Outgoing President Trumpreceived 71.7 million votes and214 electoral college votes.Counting of votes for 45 elec-toral college votes are still going

on. To win the race for theWhite House, a candidate needsat least 270 electoral collegevotes.

Trump, 74, has refused toconcede the election, while themainstream US media hasdeclared 77-year-oldDemocratic presidential candi-date Biden as the winner, whois now the President-elect.

In the US electoral system,traditionally it is the majormedia networks which declarethe winner while certified elec-tion results are declared weekslater. This is unlike in India,where the Election Commissionis the only authority to declarethe winner of an election. PTI

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Mumbai:Rallying for theeighth consecutive session,equity benchmark Sensexsurged 316.02 points to close ata fresh lifetime high onWednesday, tracking largelypositive cues from global mar-kets and strong foreign fundinflows.

After touching its all-timepeak of 43,708.47 during thesession, the 30-share BSE indexsettled 316.02 points or 0.73 percent higher at 43,593.67.

Similarly, the broader NSENifty touched a fresh intra-dayhigh of 12,769.75. It finished118.05 points or 0.93 per centup at its closing record of12,749.15.

Tata Steel was the top gain-er among the Sensex con-stituents, surging around 8 percent, followed by Axis Bank,Bajaj Finserv, ITC, Infosys,Sun Pharma, Kotak Bank,ONGC and UltraTech Cement.

On the other hand,IndusInd Bank, RelianceIndustries, Titan, Asian Paintsand HDFC Bank were in thered.

Domestic markets

remained upbeat and extend-ed gain for the eighth consec-utive day as positive senti-ments among investors fol-lowing clarity of coronavirusvaccine by BioNTech-Pfizerand strong 2Q corporate earn-ings persist, said Arjun YashMahajan Head InstitutionalBusiness at Reliance Securities.

"While market witnessedsome amount of volatility todayled by profit booking in someof heavyweights, a sharprebound in pharma, metals, ITand auto stocks supported mar-ket rally," he added.

Additionally, NDA's win inBihar assembly elections bodewell for domestic equities, henoted.

Elsewhere in Asia, bours-es in Shanghai and Hong Kongended in the red, while Seouland Tokyo closed with gains.

Stock exchanges in Europewere trading on a positive notein early deals.

Meanwhile, internationaloil benchmark Brent crudewas trading 3.12 per cent high-er at USD 44.98 per barrel.

PTI

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New Delhi: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Wednesdayunderscored tax reforms ofthe past six years to say Indiahas moved from tax terrorismto tax transparency.

Speaking at the inaugura-tion of an office-cum-residen-tial complex of the Income TaxAppellate Tribunal at Cuttack,Modi highlighted the reductionin the corporate tax rate, sim-plified rate structure for indi-vidual taxpayers, facelessappeals and quick refunds.

"Tax terrorism was a com-mon refrain during past gov-ernments. The nation has leftthat behind and movedtowards tax transparency," he

said."The change from tax ter-

rorism to tax transparency hashappened because we havepropagated the concept ofreform, perform and trans-form," he emphasised.

The Prime Minister fur-ther said not much happenedpost Independence to changethe exploited and exploiterrelation between the taxpayerand tax collector.

But now change is hap-pening, he said and went on tocite measures like facelessappeals, quick refunds and dis-pute resolution mechanism.

"We are reforming rulesand procedures and using tech-

nology," he said, adding the taxadministration is being trans-formed.

India, he said, is among theselect few nations which havecodified rights and responsi-bilities of taxpayers. "This is animportant step in restoringtrust and transparency betweentaxpayer and tax collector."

Stating that wealth cre-ators should be honoured, hesaid easing their problems willhelp in growth of the economy.

Acceptance of as many as99.75 per cent of the tax returnswithout a doubt is a steptowards trusting the taxpayer,he added. PTI

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Mumbai: The rupee declinedby 18 paise to close at 74.36against the US dollar onWednesday, tracking astrengthening American cur-rency in the overseas marketand higher crude prices.

However, a strong rally indomestic equities and unabat-ed foreign fund inflows restrict-ed the slide of the domesticunit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreignexchange market, the localcurrency opened on a weaknote at 74.24 and swungbetween the day's high of 74.18and a low of 74.50 to the USdollar.

The rupee finally settled at74.36 against the greenback,down 18 paise over its previousclose.

The rupee had ended at74.18 on Tuesday. PTI

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Mumbai: Global paymentsmajor Visa on Wednesdayresponded to the Indian gov-ernment's push for adoption ofRuPay cards, saying presence ofall kinds of players fostersinnovation and offers cus-tomers a choice.

A day after FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanasked banks to "only promote"RuPay cards, Visa's countrymanager for India and SouthAsia T R Ramachandran saidthat digital payments penetra-tion is very low in India at only18 per cent of overall person-al consumption expenditure.

"We all have our roles toplay," Ramachandran, whosecompany along with peerMastercard competes with theRupay alternative offered byNational PaymentsCorporation of India (NPCI),said.

Talking to reporters, hesaid that India is a large coun-try and unlike the westerncountries, where it is a zero-sum game, where somebodyhas to lose for somebody towin.

"Given the statistics... Thatunder 18 per cent of privateconsumption expenditure isdigitised, I would argue it takes

all kinds of players, domestic,international etc because thatfosters innovation, that fosterscustomer choice," he said.

Addressing the annualgeneral meeting of the IndianBanks Association on Tuesday,Sitharaman had asked lendersto "only promote" Rupay cardsto their customers.

"RuPay card will have to bethe only card you promote.Whoever needs a card, RuPaywill be the only card you wouldpromote," she had said in theremarks which come at a timewhen self-reliance has becomea key policy goal for India. PTI

Mumbai:Twelve major stategovernments includingMaharashtra, Punjab andGujarat may have to go for anaggregate cut of Rs 2.5-2.7 tril-lion in their budgeted capitalspending in the current fiscalto make up for shortfall in rev-enue due to COVID-19 pan-demic, rating agency Icra saidin a report.

The other states includeAndhra Pradesh, Haryana,Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan,Tamil Nadu, Telangana, UttarPradesh and West Bengal.

"Twelve major state gov-ernments may have to under-take an aggregate cut of Rs 2.5-2.7 trillion in their budgetedcapital spending in FY2021, onaccount of the pandemic-induced strain to their revenuereceipts," Icra said.

It has projected the aggre-gate debt of these 12 states todeteriorate sharply to 28.9 percent of Gross State Domestic

Product (GSDP) in FY2021from 21.9 per cent of GSDP inFY2019, and an estimated 22.3per cent of GSDP in FY2020. According to Icra'sgroup head (corporate sectorratings) Jayanta Roy, "The pan-demic has dealt a sharp revenueshock to the state governmentsin the current fiscal. "While thegap in GST compensation islargely proposed to be financedthrough additional borrow-ings, the expected substantialshortfall in central tax devolu-tion would severely restrictthe ability of the states toundertake growth-revivingcapital expenditure in FY2021,"Roy added.

Given their limited flexi-bility to curtail or defer rev-enue spending, the agency'sprojections reveal a sharpwidening of the combined rev-enue deficit of the states in itssample to Rs 5.8 trillion, or 3.9per cent of its estimate ofGSDP in FY2021, from thelevel of Rs 82,200 crore bud-geted by these states forFY2021. Roy said funding arevenue deficit of this magni-tude would absorb a huge partof the enhanced borrowinglimit of the state governments,leaving many of them with lit-tle option other than substan-tially compressing capitalexpenditure. PTI

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Gurugram: RITES Ltd, theleading TransportInfrastructure Consultancy andEngineering company, report-ed its standalone and consoli-dated financial results for theQuarter and Half Year endedon 30th September, 2020.

Total Revenue stands at�500 crore against �888 crorein Q2FY20. while Q2FY21 rev-enue increased by 33% overQ1FY21 showing strong recov-ery

EBITDA stands at �189crore with sustained margin of37.9% against `339 crore inQ2FY20

Profit After Tax stands at�132 crore with margin of26.5% against �237 crore inQ2FY20

Order Book at new high of�6661 crore with order inflowof � 948 crore in Q2FY21

Total Revenue stands at�488 crore against �874 crorein Q2FY20

EBITDA stands at �183crore with sustained margin of37.4% against �328 crore inQ2FY20

Profit After Tax stands at�131 crore with margin of26.8% against �233 crore inQ2FY20

Commenting on theresults, Mr. Rajeev Mehrotra,Chairman and ManagingDirector, RITES Limited, said,"Despite current scenario,Q2FY21 revenue has increasedby 33% over the previous quar-ter. The company continued tofocus on project execution,

order book consolidation andsustaining margins."

Revenue and Profit forQ2FY21

The consolidated revenuein Q2FY21 has decreased to`500 crore as against `888crore in Q2FY20 mainly onaccount of export deliveries notscheduled during this quarterand final settlement amount of`91 crore from a foreign clientduring Q2FY20.

Similarly, operating rev-enue, excluding other income,stands at �439 crore in Q2FY21as against �746 crore inQ2FY20. EBITDA and PATstand at �189 crore and �132crore against �339 crore and�237 crore, respectively, inQ2FY20. EBITDA and PATmargins are sustained andstand at 37.9% and 26.5%,respectively due to expeditiousexecution and timely imple-mentation of cost control mea-sures.

The total revenue on YoYbasis in Q2FY21 has decreasedby 44.1% to `488 crore.Similarly, operating revenue,excluding other income, standsat `422 crore in Q2FY21against `726 crore in Q2FY20.If exports are excluded, oper-ating revenue has fallen by 9%on YoY basis.

EBITDA and PAT stand at�183 crore and `131 croreagainst �328 crore and `233crore, respectively, in Q2FY20.EBITDA and PAT margins aresustained and stand at 37.4%and 26.8%, respectively.

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New Delhi: The government onWednesday approved therevamped viability gap funding(VGF) scheme envisaging a totaloutlay of Rs 8,100 crore forencouraging investment in socialas well as economic infrastruc-ture projects.The CabinetCommittee on Economic Affairshas approved continuation andrevamping of the scheme forfinancial support to public-pri-vate partnerships (PPPs) in infra-structure VGF scheme till 2024-25, Information and

Broadcasting Minister PrakashJavadekar told reporters here.

The revamped scheme willprovide financial support toPPP projects in the infrastructuresector spread over a period of fiveyears ending 2024-25.

Of the total amount of Rs8,100 crore, Rs 6,000 crore hasbeen earmarked for PPP projectsin the economic infrastructuresegment and remaining Rs 2,100crore for social infrastructureprojects, said an official releaseafter the Cabinet meeting.

The earlier VGF schemewas limited to projects con-cerning economic infrastruc-ture.The revamped VGF schemewill attract more PPP projectsand facilitate private investmentin the social sectors (health,education, waste water, solidwaste management and watersupply, among others).

Creation of new hospitalsand schools will create manyopportunities to boost employ-ment generation, according to anofficial release. PTI

The ESI Corporation in its Meeting held on 20.08.2020 hadextended the Scheme, 'Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana' from01.07.2020 to 30.06.2021. It was also decided to enhance the rateof relief under the scheme from present 25 % of the average dailyearning to 50% of average daily earning and also relax the eli-gibility conditions for the period 24.03.2020 to 31.12.2020 to pro-vide relief to the workers who have become unemployed dur-ing COVID-19 Pandemic.

While analysing the response of the beneficiaries to theScheme under relaxed conditions, it was found that the condi-tion of submitting the claim in Affidavit Form is causing incon-venience to the claimants. Considering the difficulties faced bythe beneficiaries, it has now been decided that the claimant whohas submitted the claim under Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojanaonline and uploaded the scanned copies of the required docu-ments i.e. copies of Aadhar and Bank details need not submitthe physical claim. If the documents are not uploaded at the timeof online filing of the claim, claimant will submit the printoutof the claim duly signed along with the required documents.Condition for submitting the claim in Affidavit Form has beendispensed with.ESI Scheme in India

The Employees' State Insurance Corporation is a pioneerSocial Security organization providing comprehensive social secu-rity benefits like reasonable Medical Care and a range of CashBenefits in times of need such as employment injury, sickness,death etc. It is covering about 3.49 Crores of family units of work-ers and providing matchless cash benefits and reasonable med-ical care to its 13.56 crore beneficiaries. Today, its infrastructurehas increased many folds with 1520 Dispensaries (includingmobile dispensaries)/307 ISM Units and 159 ESI Hospitals, 793Branch/Pay Offices and 64 Regional & Sub-Regional Offices. TheESI Scheme today stands implemented in 566 districts in 34 statesand Union Territories of the country.

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NewDelhi:The CompetitionCommission of India (CCI) onWednesday said it hasapproved internet majorGoogle's proposed purchaseof 7.73 per cent stake in JioPlatforms. The transaction willfacilitate Google and JioPlatforms Ltd (JPL) to developand launch a new smartphonein the country. In July, it wasannounced that Google hasagreed to invest. PTI

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Coimbatore : IndianTexpreneurs Federation (ITF)on Wednesday thanked PrimeMinister Narendra Modi forintroduction of the productionlinked incentive (PLI) schemefor 10 key sectors, includingtextile products.

The scheme wouldenhance manufacturing capa-bilities and exports underAtmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyanfor a period of five years.

Under the scheme, Rs10,683 crore have been allo-cated for textile products —man-made Fibre (MMF) seg-ment and technical textiles.

ITF convenor PrabhuDhamodharan said the schemewould help the apparel sectorbuild the much-needed scale

and bring specialisation as astrategy to garner focus on topMMF products which are ingreat demand globally.

MMF apparels is a Rs 3-lakh crore market in the USalone, he said in a press release.

The industry is confidentof the Indian apparel sectorusing the opportunity to buildcapabilities in MMF sector toachieve double-digit growthin exports, he said.

Meanwhile, Southern IndiaMills' Association chairmanAshwin Chandran alsothanked Modi and UnionTextile Minister Smriti Irani forincluding textile industry andallocating budget for improv-ing manufacturing capabilitiesand boosting exports. PTI

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Kaftan or caftan isn’t only a newwardrobe essential but also the

most relaxed silhouette, and stylists areall in for this look. Fashion icons aresporting the timeless maxi-design,making the netizens dream of a prop-er bohemian look. From ChristinaHendricks to Jennifer Lopez andKareena Kapoor Khan, sweatpants arebeing ditched over paisley printed kaf-tans. However, the question is — whathas brought this comfy, Persian classicback in vogue? Well, going by the pop-ular notion — kaftans are timeless. Hereare a few reasons why they epitomisean absolute chic and gracious look.

�� ��������Kaftans have regularly been asso-

ciated and produced with a one-size-fits-all (free-size) fitting, given its com-fort attribute. However, this doesn’tconsider the positivity of portraying awoman’s guise. In the interest of accen-tuating women’s shape, fitted kaftans,ranging from small to 3XL, are now

being introduced. These fitted silhou-ette kaftans provide the right styleimage without compromising on itsappeal for comfort.

Stylists are simply sauntering sport-ing the comfortable kaftan, with a pairof white sneakers. Well, if it’s not the fit-ted one, or too oversized or flowy, onecan opt to tie a full-sleeved capearound the waist to flaunt your curve.

�����������������A variety of prints that are a per-

fect match for the type of kaftan beingcreated makes all the difference, whichis why, this summer, sweatsuits werecertainly replaces by comfort kaftans athome during the lockdown. With a

plethora of styles and prints to choosefrom, the kaftan stays modern, classy,glamorous as well as trendy. The KaftanCompany’s, as it highlights, in-housedigital prints showcase a range ofbeautiful and inimitable prints that adduniqueness and exclusivity to each andevery kaftan.

��1�*�������&�While tracing the history, as per

Niloo Paydar, curator of textile andfashion arts at the IndianapolisMuseum of Art, the term, Kaftan, isPersian and translates to a battle gar-ment worn by soldiers. However, it isbelieved that the garment has been con-sidered wearable and special beyond the

battlefield. Owing to its simple struc-ture, it was worn by everyone from thepeasant to the upper class. And muchlike then, even today, it allows forembellishments and adornmentsdepending on one’s means.

Following this global fashion cal-endar, the kaftans easily set the trendthrough their vibrant digital prints andtimelessness.

������1�����*����&No matter their deep-rooted style

history, kaftans continue to change withthe times. Well, we certainly rememberhow the style has been adopted into asymbol of the bohemian elite thattrickled down to mainstream fashion inthe 1970s. Each time, they come withnewer embellishments and diversepatterns, offering a more feminine sil-houette. Now, as before, these drapeydresses appeal to diverse audiences,from starlets on the red carpet to diplo-mats at State Dinners to summer musicfestival-goers.

Actor Tahir Raj Bhasin is thrilled tobe starting his next Looop Lapeta

next month. The actor has been pairedopposite actor Taapsee Pannu and itpromises a fresh chemistry on screen.Due to the Coronavirus pandemic,Tahir has been rehearsing over videocalling platforms. The actor opens upabout how it can never replace theface-to-face preparation meetings thatactors have been doing for ages.

Tahir says, “I’m so excited thatwe’re finally going on floor withLooop Lapeta. It’s a romantic heist witha twist and will be super fun to do.During the lockdown, I was sure Iwanted to remain in touch with thematerial and so the production wouldsend me evolving drafts of the script.Aakash Bhatia, the director and Iwould exchange references overWhatsApp and zoom. When we final-ly met for our first face to face read-ing, the connect we formed over thelockdown had paid off since it didn’tfeel like we were starting from squareone.”

Ask him if it is more challengingfor actors to get into character becauseone would primarily be doing readingsover video calling platforms thesedays and he says, “Zoom readings werea bridge to stay connected to yourwork. In no way can they replace beingin the room feeding off your co-actorsenergy but they helped me remainconnected to the pre-productionprocess of the film. Our director is anadvertising whizz and being in the firstreal world reading with him, enhancedthe experiencing of understandingthe character since he ran us throughthe milieu of the world we will be cre-ating.”

Tahir’s film is all about the chem-istry of the lead pair. In a non-proxi-mate world of rehearsals, he opens upabout how Taapsee and he are prep-ping to deliver this knock out chem-istry on screen.

“A lot of the chemistry one sees onscreen comes from how one plays offthe other actor. Having Taapsee as aco-star elevates this process and I’mcertain will lead to the chemistry. I’mlooking forward to be pairing up fora romantic lead opposite her. Keepingin mind all safety protocols, we’ve start-ed our face to face readings this week.It’s great to meet the people you willbe working with outside of the win-dows of Zoom. Coming together withideas about the script and workshop-ping them is half the fun of making afilm,” informs Tahir.

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In the show Deadly 60, Series4, explorer Steve Backshallcomes face to face with lethal

beauties and killer beasts in hismission to find the world’s dead-liest animals. He meets fierceforest elephants in the wilds ofGabon, searches Bali for the elu-sive sunfish and experiencesthe ferocity of the South Africanserval. The series also looks atthe perilous future facing someof these deadly animals andreveals the work being done bywildlife conservationists to pro-tect them. With stunning footageand fascinating facts, it bringsyou close with some of theworld’s most fearsome creatures.Just don’t forget to watch yourback. Excerpts:

�During the filming of theshow Deadly 60, did you haveany heart-stopping animalencounters?

There were certainly somenervy moments. Being chargedby a furious matriarch Elephanthad hearts in mouths, as did thesnarling spitting Bengal tigerthat gave us a fright in India.However, after another year inclose proximity to some of theworld’s most feared animals, Ican still say with confidencethat people are at far more dan-ger from other people than theyare from supposedly fierce wildanimals.

�Can you chalk down somepersonal highlights from theshow?

There were too many high-lights to mention, althoughseeing my first ever great ham-merhead shark at a distance ofabout half a meter would be upthere, as would being the firstfilm crew ever to film vampire-esque ghost bats in an aban-doned gold mine in Australia.But a lowlight would have to belosing my swimming trunkswhen trying to emulate theaquatic acrobatics of the yel-lowfin tuna.

�Were there any creatures thatyou found unappealing?

The flesh-eating cockroach-es and venomous centipedes inthe Gomantong cave in Borneowere pretty unsavoury. Theyturn the floor of the cave, whichis itself the world’s largest pile ofbird and bat poo, into a seethingmass of invertebrate horror! It’sa pretty creepy place but I stillfound the animals more fascinat-ing than repulsive.

�With just 60 creatures to nar-row down from millionsaround the world, what crite-ria did you use when selectingthe animals for the list?

For me, it’s about animalsthat are the absolute best at whatthey do — being sublime preda-tors within their world. Everycreature right from ants to ele-phants was considered. The listitself is mine and entirely subjec-tive. Many of our Deadly 60 starswere essential creatures we setout to find, others were ones wehappened upon on during wildsearches and just had to include.There’s no way we could havecome up with an exhaustive listin the time we had, and there arestill so many more animals thatare worthy of inclusion.

�You seemed to break yourback last year in a climbingaccident. Did it affect yourconfidence in climbing?

Climbing is never going tobe 100 per cent safe but the one

I do while working is undermuch stricter guidelines than theclimbing I do in my spare time.The accident could never havehappened whilst I was at workbecause I wouldn’t have beenpushing the envelope as serious-ly as I was. That said, I am verylucky to be alive and walking,and will probably never get myconfidence back to where it wasbefore my fall — Although I am

already back climbing again.

�You have a successful careerin TV and writing, travellingthe world — doing exactlywhat you love. Did you alwaysharbour dreams of a life ofadventure?

I had never dreamed allthis as a kid. I wanted to be aranger in an African safari park,an explorer, then a writer. They

all seemed like impossibledreams back then and I canremember the face of my school’scareer teacher now as he suggest-ed I should be a fireman.Somehow, I seem to have man-aged something even more extra-ordinary. I’d love to catch up withthat careers adviser now.

(The show premieres onNovember 16 at 9 pm on SonyBBC Earth .)

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The Chief Minister ofChhattisgarh, BhupeshBaghel, inaugurated 23

new tehsils in the state. On theoccasion, he said that formationof these new tehsils wouldimprove revenue administrationin the state and would alsoaccelerate the developmentwork. The common peoplewould be able to access admin-istration facilities more conve-niently. Besides, farmers andbeneficiaries of public welfareschemes would be able to availbetter services. At this inaugur-al programme, Baghel approvedconstruction of official build-ings for 23 new tehsils and fourold tehsils. He also announcedsanction of one vehicle for eachof these districts.

He has sanctioned �19crore 20 lakh for constructionof official buildings for 27 new-formed tehsils and �1 crore 75

lakh for vehicles for these tehsiloffices. Each of the office wouldbe constructed at the cost of�71.12 lakh and �6.50 lakhwould be sanctioned to eachoffice for purchasing the vehi-cle.

These 23 new tehsils havebeen formed for convenience ofcommon people in the 15 dis-tricts of the state. These includeformation of Kharora andGobra Navapara in Raipur dis-trict, Bhakhar in Dhamtari dis-trict, Bori and Bhilai in Durgdistrict, Gandai in Rajnandgaondistrict, Arjunda tehsil in Baloddistrict, Sakri, Ratanpur andBelgahna tehsils in Bilaspurdistrict, Lalpur thana tehsil inMungeli district, Saragaon,Bamhnidih and Baradwartehsils in Janjgir-Champa dis-trict, Darri and Hardibazartehsils in Korba district, Darimain Sarguja district,

Ramchandrapur and Samri inBalrampur-Ramanujganj dis-trict, Kolhari tehsil in Koriyadistrict, Latori tehsil in Surajpurdistrict, Sanna in Jashpur dis-trict and Gaadiras in Sukmadistrict.

The inaugural programmewas attended by Vidhan SabhaSpeaker Dr Charandas Mahant,Health Minister TS Singhdeo,Revenue Minister JaisinghAgrawal, Industry MinisterKawasi Lakhma, MP JyotsanaMahant, MLAs — MohanMarkam, Dhanedra Sahu,Purushottam Kanwar, RashmiSingh, Anita Sharma, chair-man of Chhattisgarh MineralDevelopment CorporationGirish Dewangan, State Foodand Civil Supply CorporationRamgopal Agrawal, AdvisorDuo to Chief Minister RajeshTiwari and Vinod Verma.

Baghel said in his address

that after formation of the newgovernment, new districtGaurela-Pendra-Marwahi and25 new tehsils were announcedon August 15, 2019. OnFebruary 10, 2020 Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi district wasmade and development worksworth �500 crores were sanc-tioned. These works accelerat-ed the development of this dis-trict. Out of 25 new tehsilsannounced before, 23 tehsilswere inaugurated. He congrat-ulated the people of thesenewly-formed tehsils.Extending hearty Diwali greet-ings to people of the state, hesaid that this time, COVID-19pandemic has overshadowedour festivals. Hence, we shouldtake all the precautions to avoidinfection, while celebrating ourfestivals enthusiastically.

The CM has requested thepeople of the state to purchase

diyas, idols and materials usedin puja from local vendors andcraftsmen. He appealed them tobuy goods and food items man-ufactured by the self-helpgroups as this would empowerthe economy of the state. Hetold that the all kinds of mar-ket charges have been waivedoff for the traditional vendors.District Administration andMuncipal Corporation havebeen directed to make seatingarrangements for vendors nearstadium, market and groundsowned by municipal body/gov-ernment.

It is noteworthy that as perthe vision of Baghel, state gov-ernment has fulfilled the long-pending public demand of reor-ganising tehsils. Formation ofthese new tehsils would make iteasier for villagers and farmersto get their revenue affairsredressed.

Freepaycard, online prepaid cardtrading platforms, will now offer

coverage under a customised healthinsurance scheme for its existing mem-bers. This scheme has been underwrit-ten and serviced by Care HealthInsurance.

On this development, RichardAndrew, founding managing directorand CEO, Freepaycard India Pvt Ltdsaid, “In view of the changing attitudetowards preventive healthcare, ensuingthe COVID outbreak, we are convincedthat affordable health/medical insuranceis the need of the hour. That said, thisassociation is a humble endeavourtowards our members, facilitating accessto affordable healthcare schemes.”

The scheme will offer three differ-ent types of solutions — a 7-in-1 vectorborne disease cover, hospicash healthinsurance cover and a personal accidentcover. These have features such as shortinitial wait-period of just 15 days, directcashless claim settlement, upto two percent sum insured for room rent andmuch more.

Anuj Gulati, founding managingdirector and CEO, Care HealthInsurance, said, “The present situationhas resulted in increased awarenesstowards health insurance, which is nowseen as a necessity instead of just a ‘good-to-have’ option. We are pleased to asso-ciate with Freepaycard in this initiativeof extending health coverage to theirmembers backed by technology-drivenprocesses and quality servicing.”

The only airport of Tripura, MaharajaBir Bikram Airport, Agartala, is

soon going to have a new integrated ter-minal building. As the existing termi-nal building was saturated and therewas no further scope of expansion, theAirports Authority of India has under-taken the work at an estimated cost of�438 crore.

With built up area of 30,000 sqm,the new terminal building will beequipped with 20 check-in counters,four passenger boarding bridges, con-veyor belts and passenger-friendlymodern facilities and amenities. Theterminal has been designed to process1,000 domestic and 200 internationalpassengers during peak hours, makingthe annual handling capacity of 3.0 mil-

lion passengers. The development workalso includes construction of the apronhaving capacity to park six aircrafts ata time.

The terminal building of the airportwill depict local art and heritagethrough its architecture. The designmanifests sweeping roof profile thatenvelopes the entire airport terminalspanning across 30,000 sqm and pro-cures its form from the hilly terrain ofthe state of Tripura. The objective wasto create an overall free flowing termi-nal which is simple and easy to con-struct, while being a perfect mix of eco-logical infrastructure, art and buildingtechnology. Advanced IntelligentBuilding Management Systems havealso been used to optimise the con-

sumption of energy. The planning approach for the ter-

minal is based on airport procedure andpassenger flow, integrated with land-scaping and retail to increase userexperience and at the same time easethe movement in the building. Bamboois used as a widespread local materialin the state for construction whereastribal art work and crafts are includedto promote cultural tourism. The artand craft work is displayed all over theterminal in form of sculptures, jaaliwork, furniture and murals.

Jaalis are an eminent functionaldesign feature, which can be seen in tra-ditional households as well as in royalforts and palaces. It restricts excessivesolar radiation and permits optimum

daylight to increase internal efficiency.Along with their use, skylights have alsobeen introduced in the design to max-imise the natural daylight within thebuilding.

Further, bamboo architecture isrepresented in the façade of the termi-nal building by way of a floral jaali pat-tern depicting the forests and greens ofthe region, placed equidistant from eachother. Depiction of local motifs in metalcladding will create vibrancy whileshowing the glimpse of the local art tothe passengers.

More than 90 per cent of the pro-ject work is completed and new build-ing of AAI’s Agartala airport is sched-uled to be ready by the beginning ofnext year — 2021.

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The Hunar Haat was inaugurated by theUnion Minister for Minority Affairs,

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Ministry of UnionMinority Affairs, at Delhi Haat, Pitampura,yesterday, along with Union Minister of Statefor Youth Affairs and Sports (I/C) andMinister of State for Minority Affairs, KirenRijiju. The fair will go on till November 22.

Naqvi said that the magnificent indige-nous products of master artisans at the haatare Local Pride and Global Praise. Headded that the haat is becoming an effectiveplatform to strengthen the ‘Aatma NirbharBharat’ plan and the ‘Vocal for Local’ by pro-moting and encouraging indigenous prod-ucts of master artisans and craftsmen.

Naqvi said that lakhs of master artisansand craftsmen from across the country arehappy and excited that the Hunar Haat hasbeen organised again after a gap of aboutseven months due to the Coronavirus pan-demic.

He pointed out that the indigenousexquisite products made from maati (clay),metal and machiya (wooden and jute prod-ucts) are the major attraction at the fair. Rareexquisite products made from clay, differ-ent metals and wooden products, thingsmade from cane-bamboo, mesmerising pot-tery work, etc, are available for display andsale here.

The haat’s products are now availableonline also at http://hunarhaat.org. TheUnion Minority Affairs Ministry is register-ing these artisans and their indigenous prod-ucts on “GeM” (Government e-Marketplace)for the trade to work digitally, too.

Naqvi said that every corner of the coun-try has a traditional and ancestral legacy ofindigenous products. This legacy, which wason the verge of extinction, has got a boostafter Prime Minister Narendra Modi empha-sised on ‘Swadeshi.’ The Indian indigenousindustry has got tremendous boost after PMModi advocated the need for ‘Vocal forLocal’. The artisans involved in making theseindigenous products are also being extend-ed help through various institutions forattractive packaging of Swadeshi products.

Naqvi said, “Every corner of the coun-try is endowed with diversity of indigenousproducts made with wood, brass, bamboo,glass, cloth, paper, clay etc. Hunar Haat isan enormous platform providing the mar-ket and opportunities to master artisans whoprepare these indigenous, exquisite hand-made products. Focus this time will be onuse of technology and innovation and alsotowards manufacturing quality products thatmeet global standards.”

More than 100 stalls have been set up atthe Haat. Dry flowers from Assam;Pochampally Ikkat from Andhra Pradesh;Munga Silk, Madhubani painting and arti-ficial jewellery from Bihar; wooden lacquer-ware toys from Karnataka; toys fromManipur; wooden and glass toys from UttarPradesh; calligraphy paintings from Delhi;hand-block print from Goa; Ajrakh fromGujarat; Pashmina from Jammu-Kashmir;Tussar silk and cane-bamboo productsfrom Jharkhand; herbal products, Baghprint, Batik from Madhya Pradesh; cane andbamboo products from Maharashtra, hand-loom textiles from Nagaland, toys of differ-ent states made from clay, metal, etc, areavailable for display and sale at the fair.Besides, people will also be able to enjoy tra-ditional delicacies from Bihar, Maharashtra,Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu-Kashmir, Delhi, Haryana, etc. Differentcultural programmes will be presentedeveryday by renowned artists, which will alsobe a major attraction.

Naqvi said that the Haat, which has pro-vided employment opportunities to morethan five lakh Indian artisans, craftsmen,culinary experts and other people associat-ed with them in the last five years, hasbecome popular among the people. The Haatprovides market to artisans and craftsmenfrom remote areas of the country, and hasnow become a credible brand of rare,indigenous handmade products.

In the coming days, the Hunar Haat willbe organised in Jaipur, Chandigarh, Indore,Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, India Gate,New Delhi, Ranchi, Kota and Surat orAhmedabad.

Social distancing and other guidelinesowing to COVID-19 are being strictly fol-lowed. Secretary, Ministry of MinorityAffairs P K Das and other senior officials ofthe Ministry were also present at the inau-guration.

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BAGHEL CREATES 23 NEW TEHSILS

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His fluent half century madethe chase look effortless inthe IPL final but Mumbai

Indians skipper Rohit Sharma saidit was his bowlers who set up thecrushing win over Delhi Capitals,which fetched an unprecedentedfifth title for the side.

“We got a wicket on the firstball and we got a couple more afterthat. We just wanted to keep thepressure, the execution was perfectfrom all the bowlers,” Rohit said atthe post-match press conference.

“We knew Stoinis and Dhawanare Delhi’s key batters, so we want-ed to bowl our key bowlers atthem, getting early wickets was thekey, we wanted to take early wick-ets, when you havethe best new ballbowler in yoursquad, why not gowith that?” hesaid.

Rohit applaud-ed each and everybowler for his con-tribution in theteam’s successthroughout thetournament. Boult(25) and JaspritBumrah (27) wereat their lethal bestthe entire season.

“Boult hasbeen fantastic forus this season andso has Bumrah.They are the oneswho kept us in thegame throughout.(James) Pattinson,(Nathan) Coulter-Nile, (Rahul)Chahar, and KrunalPandya also didtheir job.”

Coulter-Nile wasbrilliant during the slogovers on Tuesday. He got rid ofRishabh Pant at a crucial junctureand also sent back Axar Patel,crushing Delhi's hopes of post-ing an imposing total on theboard.

The captain, who missed afew games due to a hamstringinjury, led the chase with amaster-class.

Asked if it was his strategy toattack off-spinner R Ashwin, Rohit

said, “There was no strategy assuch. I just wanted to be positivein my thought process.”

“Ashwin is their key bowlerand I just wanted to put pressureon their key bowler. He is a qual-ity bowler, it came off.

“When you are chasing a tar-get like that, you want to get off toa good start, you want to make surethere is no pressure at the back end,we just wanted to capitalise on thef irst three-four overs,” heexplained.

Young batsman Ishan Kishan(516 runs) andS u r y a k u m a rYadav (480runs) scoredheavily

in MI’s winning campaign. Rohitpraised both of them heartily.

“Surya and Kishan have beensuperb with the bat, we saw theresults on the ground, they playedwith a lot of freedom, they are verytalented in shot-making.

“It was important for us togive them freedom,the owners alsogave them realconfidenceto go out

there and express themselves.”The organisers pulled off a suc-

cessful league amid a ragingCOVID-19 pandemic and MI skip-per was pleased with the way itwent off.

“Firstly we are very happy to beon the ground, everyone did a

good job to get the tournamentgoing, the safety of

players was takencare of.

“I wouldlike to con-gratulate allthe franchis-es as well

regarding nohiccups in terms of

the bio-bubble creat-ed, all franchises werevery disciplined inorder to make IPL thisyear a huge success.

“I hope this champi-onship we have won is

something that brings joyto people back home,” hesigned off.

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Rohit Sharma believes that hisstyle of leadership is not a dic-

tatorial one, which is precisely thereason behind Mumbai Indians’stupendous success in the IndianPremier League.

A peerless Rohit led from thefront in defending championsMumbai Indians’ demolition ofDelhi Capitals in the summit clashof the short-form extravaganza hereTuesday, giving them an unprece-dented fifth title.

“I’m not someone who’ll runwith a stick behind someone. Theonly way you can do it is by givingthem confidence. So you have tostrike that right balance,” Rohitsaid.

The humble leader remem-bered the backroom staff andpraised them for the work that goesbehind the scene.

“We couldn’t have asked for any-thing more, right on the moneyfrom ball one and we never lookedback. I think a lot of credit goes tothe people who worked behind thescenes - often they go unnoticed.

“Our work started long beforethe IPL started, and we wanted tomake sure we filled the gaps in pre-vious seasons,” Rohit added.

Skipper Rohit led from thefront with a 51-ball 68 as MI chaseddown a target of 157 18.4 overs, afterTrent Boult (3/30) had reduced theCapitals to 22 for three with an excel-lent display of fast bowling.

Rohit regretted the run out ofthe in-from Suryakumar Yadav whowas looking in good nick.

“The kind of form he was in, Ishould have sacrificed my wicket forSurya. But throughout the tourna-ment he has played some incredibleshots.

The entire tournament wasplayed behind closed doors in theUAE amid the COVID-19 pandem-ic.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t havethe fans at the stadium. We missedplaying at the Wankhede and hope-fully we can get back there next year,”Rohit said.

Thanks to pandemic, the lucra-tive event was held without its cus-tomary glitz and glamour.

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“Ishould have sacrificed mywicket for him,” said Rohit

Sharma as he regretted risingbatsman Suryakumar Yadav’s dis-missal in the IPL final whileattempting an improbable singlethat was actually called by theMumbai Indians skipper.

“The kind of form he was in,I should have sacrificed my wick-et for Surya. But throughout thetournament he has played someincredible shots,” Rohit said.

Yadav said he didn’t mind thesacrifice as he knew the skipperwould lead the team through.

He said no to the run whenRohit called for it in the 11th overbut crossed over nonetheless whenhe realised that the captain wouldbe dismissed if he didn't.

“...He was batting really well.Most importantly, he's beenanchoring well since the firstgame. I don't mind sacrificing forhim at all,” he said.

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West Indies all-rounder Kieron

Pollard has nowbecome the playerwith most T20 titlesfollowing MumbaiIndians’ win in IndianPremier League (IPL)

2020. On Tuesday evening, theRohit Sharma-led side won theirfifth IPL trophy as they defeat-ed Delhi Capitals by five wick-ets in the summit clash.

“Dwayne Bravo you arebehind me now (about num-ber of T20 titles), I have to saythat on camera,” Pollard said.

Pollard now has 15T20 titles, five of whichhas come for him whileplaying for theMumbai-based fran-chise. Bravo, on theother hand, has 14.

Pollard also saidthat the title win meanta lot to him and alsotermed MumbaiIndians as the best T20

team in the world at themoment.

“It’s a great feeling, means alot. Fifth trophy...Have beenhere for 11 years. We have a

quiet celebration. The amountof trophies, the amount of tal-ent that’s there, you can sayMI is the best T20 team

going around,” he said.Apart from

Mumbai Indians, noother franchise haswon so many titles inIPL’s 13-year history;the second mostsuccessful team isChennai SuperKings, who have

won the titlethree times.

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Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam

Gambhir andEngland’s MichaelVaughan have calledfor Rohit Sharma’selevation to India’sT20 captaincy withthe former nationalteam opener going tothe extent of sayingthat it would be a“shame” if the starbatsman does not getthe role.

Rohit ledMumbai Indians to af ifth IPL tit le onTuesday, impressingnot just with a grace-ful half century butalso shrewd captaincy.He is currently thenational vice-captainfor the white-ball for-mats.

“If Rohit Sharmadoesn’t become India’scaptain, it’s their loss,not Rohit’s,” Gambhirtold ESPNcricinfo’sT20 Time Out pro-gramme.

“Yes, a captain isonly as good as histeam and I complete-ly agree with that, but

what are the parame-ters to judge a captainon who is good andwho isn’t? The para-meters and bench-mark should be thesame. Rohit has ledhis team (MI) to fiveIPL titles.”

MI won anunprecedented fifthIPL title by beatingDelhi Capitals by fivewickets in Dubai onTuesday night.

“We keep sayingMS Dhoni is India’smost successful cap-tain. Why? Becausehe has won twoWorld Cups and threeIPLs,” Gambhir said.

“Rohit has wonfive IPL titles, he isthe most successfulcaptain in the historyof the tournament.Going forward, it’llbe a shame if he does-n’t get India’s white-ball or just T20 cap-taincy.

“Because he can'tdo much more thanthis. He can only helpthe team he captainsto victories. So if hedoesn’t become India’sregular white-ball

��1�����������*�������.������1��"������������8�+�� ��captain, it will be their loss,”he added.

Gambhir had earliersaid that Virat Kohli shouldbe made accountable forRoyal Challegers Bangalore’sfailure to make the IPLfinals in 13 efforts, eight outof which were under Kohli’sleadership.

But the cricketer-turned-politician clarifiedthat he never meant Kohli'scaptaincy is “poor”, insteadhe only suggested that splitcaptaincy model is the needof the hour.

“They can also considersplit-captaincy. No one ispoor. Rohit has shown inwhite-ball cricket how bigthe difference is between hisand Virat’s captaincy. Oneplayer had led his team tofive titles, the other hasn’twon yet,” said Gambhir, wholed Kolkata Knight Riders totwo IPL titles.

“I’m not saying thisbecause Kohli is a poor cap-tain. But he has received thesame platform that Rohithas, so you have to judgeboth of them on the sameparameters.

"Both have been cap-tains in the IPL for the samelength of time. I feel Rohitstands out as a leader.”.� ���9 ����"��������������� ����"���,��� ��0)=4>"�

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The Pakistani selectors onWednesday dropped veteran

all-rounder Shoaib Malik andpacer Muhammad Aamir froma 35-member squad for theupcoming New Zealand tour.

The Pakistan Cricket Boardannounced a combined squad,which includes players for thesenior team and the Shaheen’sside. It did not specify whichplayer belongs to which squad.

Pakistan play three T20Ison December 18, 20 and22 before their ICCWorld TestChampionship fix-tures to be held inM o u n tMaunganui andC h r i s t c h u r c hfrom December26-30 andJanuar y 3-7respectively.

The scheduled of theShaheens is yet to be confirmedby New Zealand Cricket thoughit is expected to be played con-currently. The squad will departfor New Zealand on November23.

Babar Azam has alreadybeen announced Pakistan

captain in all formats.His vice-captain inTests wil l be

Mohammad Rizwanin the tour which willbe staged in a bio-secureenvironment in view of

the COVID-19pandemic.

The PCB saidboth 38-year-oldMalik and 28-year-old Amirwere left out asthe “selectorsprefer youth”over them.

The drop-

ping of former captain Malik,who now plays only T20 crick-et, could mean that the selectorsdon’t have him in mind for nextyear’s T20 World Cup in India.He played in the T20I seriesagainst England in Septemberbut was not in the PakistanT20I team in the just concludedhome series against Zimbabwe.

Left-arm pacer Aamir wasalso not considered for therecent home white ball seriesagainst Zimbabwe. He lastplayed a Test in January 2019.He, however, played in the T20International series againstEngland in August-Septemberthis year.

Another senior player AsadShafiq, who has played 77 Tests,was left out “due to lack ofform.”

Uncapped Amad Butt,Danish Aziz, Imran Butt andRohail Nazir were named, as alsoAbdullah Shafique and Usman

Qadir in the squad which has anaverage age is 27.4.

“... Test players not involvedin the T20Is in the first half ofthe series against New Zealandwill be available for selection forShaheens (Pakistan A), who areexpected to be playing four-daymatches against New Zealand Aduring that period,” the PCBsaid.

“Likewise, when the nation-al side is involved in the ICCWorld Test Championshipmatches against New Zealand,national men’s team players notpart of those matches will beavailable for selection for theShaheens, who are expected tobe involved in 20-over gamesagainst New Zealand A duringthose days.”

The Pakistan squad willspend 14-days in quarantineand isolation after reaching NewZealand which is already host-ing the West Indies.

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