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Rebel Congress leader SachinPilot on Monday was sub-

jected to a fierce personalattack by Rajasthan ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot while aCongress MLA leveled the sen-sational charge that Pilot triedto lure him to join the BJP for�35 crore. The mud-slinginggave clear indication that theCongress had finally decided toshut its door on Pilot.

For the first time since hewent “traceless’ more than aweek ago after plotting a coupagainst his own Government inRajasthan, Sachin Pilot also hadsomething to say on record onMonday. The rebel leaderissued a statement denyingcharges of attempt to pay off aCongress MLA �35 crore tojoin the BJP and also fended offa “nikamma” barb hurled athim by his bête noire AshokGehlot.

“I’m saddened but not sur-prised to be at the receiving endof such baseless and vexatiousallegations being levelledagainst me,” Pilot said.

Continuing to target Piloton daily basis, Gehlot allegedthat he (Pilot) played a dirtygame and conspired to topplehis own Government. Amidallegations that Pilot tried tolure MLAs to join the BJP, theCM said there will be fewinstances where the State unitpresident of any political partytried to topple his own partyGovernment.

“He played a very dirtygame and conspired to pleasethe BJP,” Gehlot said.

This sharp attack cameeven though top leadership ofthe Congress, including chiefSonia Gandhi, had advisedGehlot not to foul-mouth Pilotin public. This may be the endof the road for Pilot in theCongress despite the fact thathe has kept a channel of com-munication open withPriyanka Gandhi.

Sources in the AICC saidnow after so much mudsling-ing and accusation leveled bya Congress MLA that Pilotoffered him huge money to join

the BJP, the writing on the wallis clear that Pilot will be even-tually sacked from the party.

Meanwhile, the BJPCentral leadership has swunginto action and is exploring thepossibility of the formation ofGovernment in the State.

BJP national vice presi-dent Om Mathur met partypresident JP Nadda at the partyheadquarters in Delhi onMonday. Sources said amongother issues, they also dis-cussed the political situation inRajasthan.

Sources said the party isdeliberating on how to bring onboard former Rajasthan CM

and the tallest leader of theState, Vasundhara Raje Scindia.

Addressing the media inJaipur, Gehlot said he knew thathis former deputy Sachin Pilotwas “good for nothing”.

“I knew that he was useless,good for nothing, and wasonly there to instigate people tofight. I am not here to sell veg-etables, I am the CM,” Gehlotsaid.

Gehlot described his for-mer Cabinet colleague andState PCC chief as a ‘nikamma’(worthless) person, ‘nakara’(doing nothing), but said heraised no question over it in theparty’s interest.

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The hearing on a plea filedby Congress rebel Sachin

Pilot and 18 of his loyalistMLAs against Speaker’s dis-qualification notice before theRajasthan High Court willresume on Tuesday.

A Bench of Chief JusticeIndrajit Mahanty and JusticePrakash Gupta said the hear-ing will conclude on July 21and thereafter the court willpronounce the judgment.

The marathon hearingremained inconclusive onMonday as both sides arguedfor a decision in favour of theirrespective clients.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi,senior lawyer and the counselfor the Rajasthan AssemblySpeaker, said that the petitionfiled by Pilot and 18 of his loy-alist MLAs was prematuregiven the fact that a decisionon their disqualification wasstill pending.

Singhvi said the HighCourt can’t have interferenceover the showcause noticesissued by the Speaker to themembers of the House. Thecounsel for Sachin Pilot andthe team, however, argued thatparty whip applies only when

the Assembly is in session.Pilot’s counsel Harish Salve

told the court the party mem-ber is free to defy whip direc-tion outside the House.

Singhvi said the court hasno jurisdiction in the case justyet. “The Speaker may or maynot pass a correct decision. Butthere cannot be any interfer-ence at the pre-order stage pre-empting that the Speaker willtake a wrong decision,” Singhvisaid.

He termed the rebels’ case“much worse” as there were nonew grounds of challenge.“The petitioners, in an ‘over-clever’ way, have raised thesame grounds of challengethat were considered andrejected by the SupremeCourt,” he argued.

To the rebels saying theycannot be construed to haveabandoned the party for mak-ing statements and not attend-ing meetings, Singhvi said the“voluntary giving up of partymembership” needed to beread widely.

“There is no need for for-mal resignation; giving up ofmembership can be inferredfrom conduct. There is nostraight-jacket approach forthe Speaker to decide (underthe Constitution),” he said.

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The Rajasthan Governmenton Monday withdrew its

“general consent” to the CBI toconduct raids and investiga-tions soon after the CBI ques-tioned Congress MLA KrishnaPoonia in Jaipur in connectionwith the alleged suicide byStation House Officer (SHO)of Rajgarh, VishnuduttVishnoi, in Churu district ofthe State.

After the RajasthanGovernment’s decision theagency will now need priorpermission from the State, adevelopment which comesamid a political crisis inRajasthan.

The State Governmentissued a notification requiringthe CBI to take prior consentof the State Government forinvestigation of an offenceunder Section 3 of the DelhiSpecial Police Establishment(DSPE) Act, 1946.

According to the officials,the “general consent” of theState Government will nolonger be valid in the offencesunder this law. Consent will

have to be taken on a case-by-case basis.

Additional Chief SecretaryHome Rohit Kumar Singhsaid, “Its administrative pro-visions were already there, itwas notified yesterday.”Officials said that in June 1990too the Rajasthan Governmenthad refused to give such ‘’gen-eral consent’’ to the Centre.

Earlier, a CBI team led bya Superintendent of Police ofthe Special Crimes Unit fromthe agency headquarters herereached the residence of theOlympian and the Congresslegislator in Jaipur.

SHO Vishnudutt Vishnoi’sbody was found hanging fromthe ceiling of his residence onMay 23.

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The All India Institute ofMedical Sciences (AIIMS)

in Delhi initiated phase I/II ofhuman clinical trials of theindigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin onMonday, AIIMS-DelhiDirector Dr Randeep Guleriasaid, adding that it would takeat least three months forresearchers to arrive at thefirst set of data about its effi-cacy. AIIMS Delhi is amongthe 12 sites where human tri-als for Covaxin will be con-ducted.

“It (starting trials) is heart-ening because it’s an indige-nous vaccine; making a newvaccine is an achievement.Even if a vaccine is first devel-oped somewhere else in theworld, India will be mass pro-ducing it. We are good at it,” hesaid.

“We have already regis-tered a few volunteers andmore are in the process of join-

ing for the trial,” said Dr SanjayRai, Professor at the Centre forCommunity Medicine atAIIMS.

These volunteers will beundergoing health screening onMonday before they are admin-istered Covaxin, developed bythe Hyderabad-based BharatBiotech in collaboration withthe Indian Council for MedicalResearch (ICMR) and theNational Institute of Virology(NIV).

Overall, total 375 volun-teers were listed for humanclinical trials out of whichAIIMS (Delhi) will be choos-ing only 100 participants forthe first and second phase ofthe trials. Rest of the volunteerswill undergo trials at a differ-ent site.

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New Delhi: Delhi recordedonly 954 fresh coronaviruscases on Monday for the firsttime, taking the tally in the cityto over 1.23 lakh, but with onlyabout 15,000 active cases.

For the last nine days, fresh

cases were being reported inthe range of 1,000-2,000 con-secutively.

Thirty-five fatalities havebeen recorded in the last 24hours, according to the Delhihealth bulletin.

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created by the University ofOxford appears safe andinduces a strong immuneresponse within the body, sci-entists announced on Mondayafter the successful first phaseof human trials.

Doses of the vaccine weregiven to 1,077 healthy adultsaged between 18 and 55 in fiveUK hospitals in April and Mayas part of the phase one clini-cal trial and results, publishedin the “Lancet” medical journal.

Detailed report on P8

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Amid on-going border ten-sion with China, India and

the US Navies on Monday car-ried out joint maritime exer-cises off the Andaman andNicobar Islands. The Indianwarships have stepped uppatrolling in the Indian Oceanregion in the last few weekssince the beginning of thestand-offs at the Line of ActualControl (LAC) in Ladakh.

The Straits of Malacca closeto the Andaman region is crit-

ical for China as more than 80per cent of its oil imports passthrough this lane where Indiahas a distinct advantage.

The Indian warships caneasily “turn off the tap” byblocking the sea lane.

In an obvious signal toChina, the Indian Navy wentfor long range deployments of

ships. This measure cameabout after China ramped upits military strength at theface-off sites and all along the4,000 km long LAC. Indian alsodeployed additional troops,heavy weapons, and fighterjets close to the border in thelast eight weeks to face anythreat.

Against this backdrop, theUS aircraft carrier USS Nimitz,along with other warships andsubmarines, conducted PassageExercise (Passex) off the

Andamans on Monday withthe Indian Navy ships. It is avery basic drill where ships ofthe two navies sail past eachother in the ocean as a good-will gesture and professionalcourtesy.

Officials said the drill tookplace as the Nimitz CarrierStrike Group was transitingthrough the Indian Oceanregion. They also said theIndian Navy had conductedsimilar Passexs with Japan andFrance in the recent past.

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With the date of bhoomipujan for construction of

Ram temple now final, theShri Ram Janmabhoomi TeerthKshetra trust has startedpreparing the list of inviteeswho would attend the functionon August 5.

One of the trustees, DrAnil Mishra, said the Trustwanted to organise the bhoo-mi pujan on a big scale butbecause of the Covid-19 pan-demic, they were forced tocurtail the list. “Still the list willhave at least 200 names, includ-ing the people who had foughtfor Ram Mandir,” he told ThePioneer.

As per the Covid guide-lines, religious functions arebanned across India. Religiousplaces have opened but only fivepeople are allowed at a time.

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Haryana on Friday reported694 fresh Covid-19 cases

taking the state’s total tally to26858. Six more persons suc-cumbed to the Covid-19 in thelast 24 hours taking the totaltoll to 355 in the state.

The fatality rate is record-ed at 1.32 percent in Haryana.“The case-doubling rate inHaryana on Monday stood at22 days, Covid-19 positive rateat 5.96 per cent, recovery raterecorded at 75.31 percent,”according to the HaryanaHealth Department’s eveningbulletin.

“Out of 694 fresh cases,109 were reported fromGurugram, 103 fromFaridabad, 98 from Sonepat. 75from Rewari, 70 from Ambala,35 each from Palwal andPanipat, 24 from Jhajjar, 21from Karnal, 23 from Hisar, 23

from Hisar, 20 fromMahendragarh among othercases. Among critical patients,133 patients were on oxygensupport while 32 were on ven-tilator,” the bulletin stated.

Six deaths including threefrom Sonepat, one each fromJhajjar, Nuh and Hisar havebeen reported in the last 24hours. The total number ofcases in worst-affected dis-tricts of Gurugram, Faridabadand Sonepat reported till now

were 7857, 6568, 2484 respec-tively.

According to the bulletin,20226 patients including 433 inthe last 24 hours have recoveredand have been discharged fromhospitals in the state. There area total of 6277 active cases inHaryana.

As many as 4.57 lakh sam-ples have been tested till datein Haryana.

No sign of communitytransmission in Haryana,claims Vij

At a time when the num-ber of Covid-19 positive casesis witnessing a sharp spikeevery day in the state, HaryanaHealth Minister Anil Vij onMonday claimed that there isno sign of community trans-mission. “The recovery rate ofCovid-19 in the state is about75 percent and it takes 22-23days for cases to double.

Continued on Page 2

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With the State registeringone of the biggest single-

day jump of 411 fresh cases ofthe novel coronavirus onMonday, eight more peoplelost their lives’ battle against thedeadly contagion — pushingthe State’s Covid-19 tally to10,510 and death toll to 262.

Gurdaspur reported twodeaths, while one casualty eachwas reported from Moga,Ludhiana, Sangrur, Pathankot,Amritsar, and Mohali.

Patiala, with a record 94fresh cases, has also joined the1000-plus club with 1012 cases,along with Ludhiana — whichis leading with 1,926 cases,Jalandhar with 1,703 cases,and Amritsar with 1292 cases.

Notably, Patiala district hasrecorded a rise of 68 percent inits cases in the month of July,

during which six people suc-cumbed to the contagion. Thedistrict’s Covid-19 tally was 329case and nine deaths on June30.

Besides Patiala, 11 otherdistricts reported fresh cases indouble digit. Ludhiana wit-nessed a raise of 83 cases, fol-lowed by Amritsar with 37,Jalandhar 27, Hoshiarpur 26,Sangrur 21, Moga 18, 17 inBathinda, 16 each in FatehgarhSahib and Pathankot, 12 eachin Faridkot and Muktsar, ninein Mohali, five each in Mansaand Kapurthala, four each inRupnagar and Ferozepur, threein Barnala and two inGurdaspur.

Among the new cases, 186have the contact history and 21have the travel history, while195 are the “new cases” havingneither any contact nor travelhistory. They include: 44 from

the out-patient department(OPD), 35 with Influenza-likeIllness (ILI), nine police per-sonnel, five healthcare workers,four jail inmates, one prisoner,one staff nurse, among others.

Of the nine cops, two weretested positive in Ludhiana, andone each in Sangrur, Bathinda,Kapurthala, Barnala andFatehgarh Sahib; while threejail mates from Bathinda, andone from Barnala have beentested positive besides one pris-oners from Moga.

A total of 583 coronaviruspatients were discharged afterthey recovered from the infec-tion, taking the total numberof recoveries to 7,118. TheState now has 3,130 activecases, of which 58 patients areon oxygen support, and 10 are critical and on ventilatorsupport.

Continued on Page 2

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In a bid to overcome fundcrunch amid Covid-19 pan-

demic, the Himachal PradeshCabinet on Monday decided toincrease the bus fare by 25 percent.

The cabinet, led by ChiefMinister Jai Ram Thakur,decided to increase the fare inthe per km tariff plan for alltravel beyond 3 km for hillyand plain areas. The fare wouldbe �7 for the first 3 km, insteadof �5. An official statement said

the cabinet withdrew the facil-ity of free travel to MPs and leg-

islators in the state-runHimachal Road Transport

Corp buses both within andoutside the state. But the facil-ity will continue for former leg-islators and MPs.

It was also decided to con-vert 771 Assistant Librarian'svacant posts in the EducationDepartment into Junior OfficeAssistant (Library) for smoothfunctioning of libraries.

The Industries Departmentmade a presentation on ‘Ease ofdoing Business’ before theCabinet. It stressed on devel-opment of an online system for46 services to facilitate the

entrepreneurs and improve theease of doing business in theState. The Cabinet directedthe department to move on allpoints of reforms in a timebound manner.

The Information andTechnology Department pre-sented the hardware for e-Cabinet and the Cabinet autho-rized the Department to goahead for purchase of 16 work-stations. It was decided that thethird party security auditshould be done for maintain-ing confidentiality.

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Troubles are pouring for thecontroversial singer

Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, betterknown as Sidhu Moosewala, asthe Punjab Police is set tomove the Punjab and HaryanaHigh Court for cancelation ofhis anticipatory bail granted inan Arms Act case. That is notall! The State Crime Branchalso booked another caseagainst the singer on thecharges of promoting violenceand gun culture with his latestsong ‘Sanju’, released on thesocial media a couple of daysago.

“The singer has beenbooked at Mohali on the basisof information received that hissong ‘Sanju’, which is trendingon various social media plat-forms, blatantly glorifies use ofweapons and boasts about thevarious FIRs, including theone under the Arms Act, reg-istered against him,” said the

state ADGP and Punjab Bureauof Investigations director ArpitShukla.

The ADGP said that thepolice would be soon filing apetition for the cancelation ofthe anticipatory bail granted toMoosewala by the High Court.

“It has been verified thatthe latest video-song, ‘Sanju’,was uploaded fromMoosewala’s official YouTubechannel. In the song,Moosewala makes explicit ref-erences to the case registeredagainst him under the ArmsAct, and the video starts witha news-clip of him beingbooked in the said case by thePunjab police for unautho-rized use of an AK-47 rifle,” headded.

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From page 1Considering these figures,

there is no sign of communitytransmission in the state,” Vijsaid.

Only July 17, the state hadwitnessed its biggest single-dayspike with 795 positive cases.

He further said that thevaccine made by BharatBiotech has conducted humantrials at Pandit Bhagwat DayalSharma Postgraduate Instituteof Medical Sciences, Rohtak,which is likely to yield positiveresults.

PGIMS Rohtak was select-ed for human trial of COVID-19 vaccine by Bharat-Biotechon COVID-19 patients. About70 people have registered forthe vaccine on their own will.As stated, no side effects wereobserved in the people due tothe drug trial, which is a majorachievement for the StateGovernment and HealthDepartment, he informed.

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From page 1Among the districts,

Ludhiana continued to top theCOVID tally with 1,926 cases,followed by 1,703 in Jalandhar;1,292 in Amritsar; 1,012 inPatiala; 754 in Sangrur; 550 inMohali; 312 in Gurdaspur; 291in Pathankot; 287 in Hoshiarpur;265 in SBS Nagar; 232 inFerozepur; 229 in Tarn Taran;217 each in Fatehgarh Sahib andMoga; 212 in Faridkot; 194 inBathinda; 184 in Muktsar; 163in Rupnagar; 157 in Kapurthala;154 in Fazilka; 83 in Barnala and76 in Mansa.

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With 70 prisoners andseven jail officials tested

positive for the novel coron-avirus, the Punjab PrisonsDepartment has chalked out athree-pronged strategy — com-prising Prevention, Screening-Identification and Treatment-Mitigation — to effectivelycombat the COVID-19 situa-tion in the prisons across theState.

For the same, a state levelmonitoring team and district

level monitoring teams havealready been constituted tomonitor the situation andaddress the problems beingfaced by the staff as well as pris-oners in day-to-day function-ing at the ground level.

As on July 19, as many as1,362 officials have been test-ed, out of which reports of 564have been received and sevenfound positive and reports of821 personnel are still pending.Nearly 70 prisoners have beenfound positive in state’s jails.

Spokesperson said: “As perresults so far, none of the pris-oners seem to have contractedCOVID-19 inside the jails astheir contact could be traced toanother new admission pris-oner.”

Random testing of pris-

oners has already begun injails since July 19, said thespokesperson adding thatresultantly, 5,479 prisonershave been tested and reports of4,287 prisoners have comeout negative and reports of restof the prisoners are still await-ed.

Talking about the first partof the strategy — prevention,an official spokesperson saidthat in compliance with theSupreme Court’s directions,around 11,500 prisoners havebeen released on parole orinterim bail since March 2020as per the recommendationsmade by the high-poweredcommittee constituted by theApex Court.

Besides, six special jails atBathinda, Barnala, Patti,Pathankot, Ludhiana, Women

Jail Ludhiana have beendeclared to admit all newadmission prisoners, onlyafter gett ing tested forCOVID-19.

“After having been quar-antined in Special Jails for 14days, they are re-tested, andthen sent to regular jails in casetheir report comes to be nega-tive,” said the spokespersonadding that this novel measureis well appreciated during avideo conferencing of Heads ofPrisons of India organized byCommonwealth Human RightsInitiative (CHRI).

Spokesperson said thatapart from these, in wake ofmaximum COVID-19 casescoming from Ludhiana,Sangrur district jail has beenvacated to further quarantineall the prisoners of Special Jail

Ludhiana for 14 days, re-testthem for third time, and thensend to regular jails.

As a part of creating aware-ness amongst the prisoners,posters and banners depictingcauses, symptoms, prevention,screening and treatment havebeen circulated in jails.

“Prisons staff and medicalofficers are being impartedproper training and thepremises of jail are regularlydisinfected to ensure safety ofprisoners,” said the spokesper-son.

Adequate equipment ormaterial has been made avail-able to deal with COVID-19including 50,000 masks madein jails and equivalent numberprovided by other institutions,NGOs etc. Nearly, 7000 litre ofsanitizer and oxy-meters have

also been provided to all jails.As many as, 920 body suitshave been provided by KhalsaAid and 50 PPE kits donated byDefence Research andDevelopment Organization(DRDO), Chandigarh.

Spokesperson said that atleast two masks have beenprovided to each prisoner andspecial care is being taken ofhigh-risk prisoners.

To keep the further spreadof contagion under check,interviews (mulakaats) havebeen completely suspendedand these are now being donethrough WhatsApp video call-ing, in addition to e-Mulakaatthrough e-Prisons software.

Detailed instructions havealready been issued to all theprison officials to avoid goingto places other than their

own homes while on leave,and in case of exigencies,they have to inform the headof the jail.

On the aspect of screeningand identification, thespokesperson said that all theprisoners are tested beforeadmitting them in any of theSpecial Jails.

Temporary jails have beendeclared in various buildings orpolice stations in the state tokeep new admission prisonersafter getting their samples fortesting and till the report of testare received.

Likewise, recently the test-ing of all officials has beenmade mandatory.

Highlighting the facet oftreatment and mitigation as apart of three-pronged strategy,the spokesperson said that

Alternate Isolation Facilitieshave been put in place acrossthe State.

“In case, a prisoner is foundpositive in any jail, he is sent tothe local isolation Center.

All the prisoners whoshared barrack with the affect-ed prisoner are shifted imme-diately to the concernedAlternate Isolation Facility formonitoring their health andisolate them from rest of theinmates,” said the spokespersonadding that these facilities havealso been notified asTemporary Jails for this pur-pose.

A Standard Protocol hasbeen devised and circulated inall the jails which is to be fol-lowed in case any prisoner/staffis found affected inside the jail,added the spokesperson.

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Punjab has initiated therapid antigen testing in itsworst-affected districts —Jalandhar, Amritsar, Patiala,Ludhiana and SAS Nagar(Mohali) for early detectionand management of COVID-19 infections.

“Three more districts —Kapurthala, Fatehgarh Sahib,and Ropar — have beeninstructed to commence thisexercise to expedite the testingprocess,” said the state Healthand Family Welfare MinisterBalbir Singh Sidhu.

Sidhu said that total of2,365 rapid antigen tests havebeen conducted in these dis-tricts so far, out of which 197found positive and 2168 testednegative.

Giving further details, theMinister said that the rapidantigen test is a rapid chro-matographic immunoassay forqualitative detection of specif-

ic antigens to SARS-CoV-2. “Ithas been developed by SDBiosensor and provides testresults within 30 minutes.Those who are found to be pos-itive by Antigen Test will betaken as confirmed positivewhile those who tested negativein the antigen test will be re-tested by CBNAAT/TrueNat/RT PCR,” saidthe Minister.

Regarding sample collec-tion, Sidhu said thatNasopharyngeal swabs will becollected by the trained doctorsor paramedic using PPE in thehospital setting or in the com-munity.

“Besides, antigen testingof categories such as SARIpatients, symptomatic andhigh-risk contacts of COVID-19 positive patients and symp-tomatic individuals found inthe house-to-house screen-ing in containment areas,asymptomatic direct andhigh-risk contacts of a con-

firmed case to be tested oncebetween day 5 and day 10 ofcoming into contact especial-ly in containment or micro-containment zones, high-riskcontacts with co-morbiditieslung disease, heart disease,liver disease, kidney disease,diabetes, neurological disor-ders, blood disorders; asymp-tomatic patients who are hos-pitalized or seeking hospital-ization in the high-risk groups— like patients undergoingchemotherapy etc, is beingconducted. Instructions havealready been issued to allCivil Surgeons in this regard,”he added.

The Minister clarified thatin case of elective or emergencysurgical procedures like neu-rosurgery, ENT surgery, dentalprocedures, non-surgical inter-ventions like bronchoscopy,Upper Gl endoscopy and dial-ysis, TrueNAAT or CB-NAATmachines should be preferredfor COVID-19 tests.

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After a surge in the numberof COVID-19 positive

cases in the region, theChandigarh Administration onMonday pushed for a weekendcurfew in the tricity. However,the proposal has been rejectedby the Punjab Governmentwhile Haryana Governmenthas shown reluctance toimpose it.

During the review meetingheld by Punjab Governor andUT Administrator VP SinghBadnore on Monday, it wasdecided to go for weekendcurfew to stem the spread ofCOVID-19 in the city as wellas satellite townships of Mohali(Punjab) and Panchkula(Haryana). A letter was alsosent to both the ChiefSecretaries of Punjab andHaryana to agree to UT’s pro-posal for imposition of week-

end curfew in the tri-city sinceweekend curfew only inChandigarh will not be effec-tive, unless it is simultaneous-ly imposed in Mohali andPanchkula.

The UT’ letter stated,“Keeping in view the suddenincrease in the number ofCOVID positive cases, theAdministration is planning toimpose a total curfew on week-ends from 7 pm on Friday to 6am on Monday. Such curfewwill be effective only if it isimposed in the entire tricitywhich includes Panchkula andMohali. Your kindconsent/opinion is sought onthis proposal.”

“Punjab Government hasrejected the proposal to imposecurfew in Mohali during week-ends while the HaryanaGovernment after showingreluctance has informed totake up the matter with theChief Minister,” said a seniorUT officer.

He said that during the

meeting held underAdministrator, a view hademerged that since there is lackof adequate compliance aboutsocial distancing and maskwearing, there is no option butto go for total curfew in theweekends in the entire tri-cityto break the chain and arrestthe sudden surge in the casesin tri-city.

The UT Administrationwill take final decision on thison Wednesday, he added.

20 FRESH CASES INCHANDIGARH

Chandigarh on Mondayreported 20 fresh COVID-19positive cases taking the unionterritory’s total tally to 737.

The fresh cases which alsoincluded an infant have beenreported from Sectors 7, 22, 29,40, 45, 49, 61, 63, Daria,Dadumajra, Dhanas,Manimajra and Bapudhamcolony in Sector 26. Of thefresh cases detected, 10 werecontacts of previously tested

positive patients.“The total number of pos-

itive cases stood at 737. Thisincludes 207 active cases,” stat-ed Chandigarh HealthDepartment’s evening bulletin.

30 patients were declaredcured and discharged fromvarious treatment facilities inthe city. 518 patients have so far

recovered from the virus in thecity and the recovery rate stoodat 70 percent on Monday, itstated. A day before,Chandigarh’s total tally hadcrossed the 700-mark. On July18, the city had recorded itsbiggest single-day spike with 31persons being found infectedwith the virus.

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Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Mondaysaid that the State Narcotics Control Bureau

headquarters has been proposed to be set up inMadhuban.

“This will allow easy access to all parts of thestate. The bureau units will be set up at 17 placesin the state that will pay special attention to theentry points of Haryana,” Vij said while presid-ing over a review meeting of the State NarcoticsControl Bureau.

He said that the Haryana Narcotics ControlBureau will completely annihilate the supply chainof narcotics in the state, so that the problem ofdrug addiction can be brought under control.

Haryana is the first state in the country toestablish a Narcotics Control Bureau. Appropriatesupport will be taken from other related depart-ments in this regard, Vij said.

He said that the bureau has been formed andall the officers and employees of the bureau willbe given necessary training, which will make it eas-ier for them to carry out the tasks required. Theywill be provided with equipment including vehi-cles, weapons, bulletproof jackets, night visioncameras, and other essentials, he added.

Along with this, additional honorarium willalso be considered for the employees working inthe bureau. 380 posts have been created for thesmooth functioning of the bureau and directionshave been given for immediate recruitments, theHome Minister said. He further said that till thecompletion of the recruitment process, regularofficers and employees have been assigned respec-tive duties. It will include a DIG, 2 SPs, 5 DSPs,technical staff and other necessary staff, headedby Additional Director General of Police, HaryanaNarcotics Control Bureau, he added.

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Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on

Monday urged the UnionMinister for Consumer Affairs,Food and Public DistributionRam Vilas Paswan to restorethe commission of the arhtiyas(commission agents) to thestatutory norm of 2.5 per centof the Minimum support price(MSP), warning that any devi-ation from the existing policycould cause serious disrup-tions to the paddy procurementprocess.

Observing that the flatrate commission provided forRabi Marketing Season (RMS)was contrary to the statutorynorms of 2.5 percent of MSP,Capt Amarinder has urged

the Union Minister to accord-ingly amend the ProvisionalCost Sheet for RMS 2020-21,issued by the Centre’sDepartment of Food andPublic Distribution.

As per the Sheet, thearhtiya commission has beenallowed at a flat rate of Rs 46per quintal, which appears tobe based on certain estimatesof the actual expenditureincurred, he noted.

“Unrest is already brewingamong the arhtiyas over thisissue, which, if left unre-solved, has the potential ofseriously disrupting thesmooth procurement of paddyduring Kharif MarketingSeason 2020-21,” the ChiefMinister has said, in a letter toPaswan.

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Aweek after arresting a BorderSecurity Force (BSF) personnel

in connection with the cross-bor-der illegal arms and drug smugglingracket, Punjab Police has arrestedan Army jawan and three moreaccused in the same case.

The total number of personsarrested in the case so far nowstands at eight, said the stateDirector General of Police (DGP)Dinkar Gupta, adding that thePunjab Police was actively engagedin following the money trail toeradicate the drug menace from theState.

Giving details of the latestarrests, the DGP said thatRamandeep Singh, an Indian Armysoldier, was apprehended fromBareilly (Uttar Pradesh), where hewas currently posted, on the basisof disclosures made by BSF con-stable Sumit Kumar, who wasarrested along with three accom-plices by Jalandhar (Rural) policea week ago.

“Ramandeep’s three accom-plices — Taranjot Singh alias Tanna,Jagjit Singh alias Laddi, andSatinder Singh alias Kaala — havealso been arrested and are beingbrought on production warrants.Another Rs 10 lakh has been recov-ered from Kala as drug money, tak-ing the total amount of such moneyseized in the case to Rs 42.30lakh,” said the DGP.

HOW THEY METHe added that Sumit, who

belonged to the same village —Magar Mudian under Doranglapolice station in Gurdaspur district— as Ramandeep, had disclosedduring questioning that he waslured by his village classmate theArmy jawan, into the cross-bordernarco-weapons smuggling racket.

The duo was also lodgedtogether in Gurdaspur jail aftercommitting a murder in their vil-lage. While Sumit was bailed out onJanuary 4, 2018, Ramandeep wasbailed out on September 14, 2019.

DGP said that Ramandeep wasrunning the drugs and weaponssmuggling racket in conspiracywith Taranjot Singh and SatinderSingh. Satinder was, for some time,lodged in Amritsar Jail, where hecame in contact with Maulvi aliasMulla, a Pakistani national, whointroduced him to Pakistani smug-glers.

Gupta said that from AmritsarJail, Satinder was shifted toKapurthala jail where he befriend-ed Taranjot Singh and made himinto an accomplice. After Satinderunderlined the need for involve-ment of a BSF man in the racket,Ramandeep Singh persuaded Sumitto join the drug smuggling module.

MODUS OPERANDIThrowing light on modus operan-di of the gang, the DGP said thatSumit used to send photographs ofthe fencing, drug-delivery locations

and others to Taranjot and Satinder.After the delivery of the consign-ment on the Indian side at a pre-determined time and place, threeother accomplices of Taranjot usedto collect it from Sumit Kumar.

Gupta said that Jagjit Singhalias Laddi used to provide his Swiftcar to them for transport of thedrug consignments.

“Based on investigations car-ried out so far, these accused aresuspected to have been smuggled in42 packets of heroin, a 9 mm for-eign made Pistol (with 80 liverounds and two live rounds of 12bore gun) so far,” said the DGPadding that they had received Rs 39lakh as drug proceeds fromPakistan based smugglers so far.

He said that out of Rs 39 lakh,Rs 32.30 lakh was received bySumit Kumar to be distributedequally between him andRamandeep Singh.

BUSTING MODULESIn line with its strategy of ‘fol-

lowing the money trail’ to hit outhard at the various pillars of thedrug smuggling and supply trade,based in Pakistan, UAE and vari-ous parts of India, such as Punjab,Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi etc, thePunjab Police has successfully bust-ed many modules in the narco-ter-rorism supply chain, which is oper-ated under the direct watch of theISI as well as the rest of the Pakestablishment to finance its terroroperations, said the DGP.

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Aday after SAD presidentSukhbir Baal offered to

lead a delegation of farmers’organizations to meet theUnion Agriculture Minister toseek clarification on theCentre’s farm ordinances,Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on Mondaylashed out on the Akali leaderfor “shedding crocodile tears”now. Capt Amarinder askedSukhbir to stop shedding croc-odile tears over the plight of thefarmers, whose very existencewas threatened by the farmordinances passed by theCentral Govt with his party’ssupport. “Having given its fullbacking to the ordinances,which is clearly the first steptowards elimination of theMSP regime, SAD has lost alllocus standii to even pretend to

care about the farmers, whosecondition has deteriorated toabysmal levels under their rule,”said Capt Amarinder.He saidthat Sukhbir should not forgetthat as Union Minister, hiswife and SAD leader HarsimratKaur Badal, was part of theCabinet meeting that stampedits approval on the ordinancesthat will totally destroy Punjab’sfarming community.

Ridiculing the SAD presi-dent’s offer to lead a delegationof farmer organizations to seekclarification from the Centre onMSP, the Chief Minister saidthat it was evident that Sukhbirwas totally disconnected fromthe ground situation.

Having been repeatedlycheated by the central govern-ment, which has failed to takea single initiative to protect thefarmers’ interests in the past sixyears, neither the farmers nor

their representative organisa-tions had any trust now in theirassurances, said CaptAmarinder. Sukhbir does noteven seem to know thatPunjab’s farmer organisationshad already protested openlyagainst the ordinances, whichthey also found to be com-pletely anti-farmer anddesigned to pave the way forending the MSP procurementregime, he added.

SUKHBIR ASKS CM TOACCOMPANY HIM ALONGWITH FARMER BODIES

Under attack, SAD presi-dent Sukhbir Singh Badal onMonday asked Punjab ChiefMinister Capt AmarinderSingh to accompany him alongwith farmer organisations totake a blanket assurance onMSP and assured marketingfrom the Centre.

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To utilise surplus monsoonrunoff to recharge ground-

water levels in the state,Haryana Government hasstarted work to construct 300recharge shafts in water-stressed and flood-proneblocks on pilot basis under the‘Mera Pani–Meri Virasat’scheme.

Additional Chief Secretary,Agriculture and Farmers’Welfare Department, SanjeevKaushal on Monday said thatconstruction of 100 rechargeshafts in block Guhla in Kaithaldistrict was started on July 19,after allotment of work on July14. He said that tenders hadbeen invited for undertakingconstruction of 100 shafts eachin blocks Ratia and Shahabad,and agreements would befinalised. The Irrigation andWater Resources Department,which is implementing theproject, would soon float ten-ders for construction of 700recharge shafts in all eightblocks covered under thescheme. Haryana Governmenthad decided to construct 1,000recharge shafts in eight water-stressed blocks, namely Ratia(district Fatehabad).

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The Punjab and Haryana HighCourt on Monday said the

names of students will not bestruck off the rolls of privateschools in Punjab on account ofnon-payment of fee.

The interim relief came dur-ing a hearing by the divisionbench of the high court onMonday, following an appealfiled by the State Government.

The move comes as a majorrelief for parents of students ofprivate unaided schools whohad expressed financial difficultyin paying fee for the lockdownperiod, and whose wards wereconsequently facing threats ofbeing removed from schools, asper the State Government''sstatement.

The Punjab Governmenthad filed a plea in the divisionbench of the high court againstthe order of a single judge allow-ing private schools to collect feeirrespective of whether theywere offering online educationor not, and to charge actualexpenses incurred, for the lock-down period.

This relief will be applicableto all those students or parentswho are unable to pay school feesand who had filed an applicationbefore the school and the state

regulator under the PunjabRegulation of Fee of UnaidedEducational Institutions. Act,2016, showing financial diffi-culty, the statement said.

The high court asked schoolauthorities to decide on appli-cations of such parents expedi-tiously. After hearing parties formore than two hours on thequestion of interim relief, thedivision bench of the high court,comprising Chief Justice RaviShankar Jha and Justice ArunPalli, orally noted that ordinar-ily the court would have onlyissued notice on the appeals, butthe interim order was currentlybeing passed given the appre-hension and anxiety expressedby the Advocate General Punjabon the effect of the judgmentpassed by the single judge, it stat-ed.

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In one of his sharpest directattacks on the Prime

Minister, former Congresspresident Rahul Gandhi onMonday said Narendra Modihad come to power with thehelp of a ‘fabricated strongmanimage’ but now that image of aleader with a 56-inch chest wasunder attack from China.

Rahul, in his second videoput on social media in a week,claimed that China may bethinking on a larger scale of“doing something withPakistan in Kashmir” andwanted to improve its tacticalposition in areas such asDemchok, Galwan andPangong lake.

In the first video, the

Gandhi scion had said thePrime Minister’s blunders, frag-ile economy, troubled neigh-bourhood and a weak foreignpolicy had prompted China toact.

“PM fabricated a fakestrongman image to come topower. It was his biggeststrength. It is now India’sbiggest weakness,” Rahul tweet-ed his new video this being thesecond in a week.

Commenting on the recentIndia-China border face-off inthe Ladakh region, theCongress leader claimed it wasnot just a border issue butdesigned to put pressure onModi.

“And what they are doing,is that they are attacking hisimage. They understand that itin order for Narendra Modi tobe an effective politician; inorder for Narendra Modi tosurvive as a politician, he hasto protect the idea of ‘chhappaninch’ (56-inch chest). And thisis the real idea the Chinese areattacking,” the Congress leadersaid.

“They are basically tellingMr. Narendra Modi that if youdo not do what we say, we willdestroy the idea of Mr.Narendra Modi as a strongleader. Now the question is,how will Mr. Narendra Modireact. Will he take them on?Will he take on the challengeand say absolutely not, I’m thePrime Minister of India. I donot care about my image I’mgoing to take you on. Or will hesuccumb to them? The worryI have so far is that the PrimeMinister has succumbed,” headded.

“Chinese don’t do any-thing without thinking about itstrategically. In their mind,they have mapped out theworld and they are trying toshape the world. That’s the scaleof what they are doing. That’swhat Gwadar is, that is whatBelt and Road is. It is a restruc-turing of the planet. So whenyou’re thinking about theChinese you have to under-stand that that is the level atwhich they are thinking,”Rahulsaid.

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Nearly 10 years after theGangetic Dolphin was

declared a national aquaticanimal, the Modi Governmenthas, on the lines of the TigerProject and Elephant Project,cleared a dedicated conserva-tion programme to save therare freshwater species fromdisappearing from the coun-try’s aqua map.

A senior official from theUnion Environment Ministry,

which will oversee the project,said that the approval in thisregard was given in the firstmeeting of the National GangaCouncil held during December2019 in Kanpur, Uttar Pradeshunder the chairmanship ofPrime Minister NarendraModi.

“It was agreed for initiationof a Project River Dolphin onthe lines of Project Tiger andProject Elephant in consulta-tion with the Wildlife Instituteof India and experts in the sec-

tor. After discussion, theStanding Committee of theNational Board of Wildlife(NBWL) recommended thededicated project for conser-vation of Gangetic dolphins,”said the official.

With the Government’sapproval for the project, planswill soon be drawn for the ini-tiation of a dedicated projectfor conservation of the aquat-ic animal.

The Ganges River Dolphinis an endemic species of the

Ganges, Brahmaputra, andMeghna river systems, extend-ing from the foot of theHimalayas to the tidal zone inIndia, Bangladesh, Nepal andBhutan.

“Like we have tiger as anational animal and peacockas a national bird, dolphins asa national aquatic animal rep-resents the health of the rivers,particularly Ganga in thecountry,” said the official.

He felt that by declaringdolphins as a national aquat-

ic animal, the government isnot only ensuring the survivalof the species which areendemic to river Ganga butalso seeking cleansing of theriver.

In 2009, the Gangetic dol-phins were declared India’sNational Aquatic animal dur-ing the first meeting of theerstwhile National GangaRiver Basin Authority(NGRBA) and it is placedunder the “endangered” cate-gory by the International

Union for Conservation ofNature (IUCN) .It faces gravethreats due to excessive pol-lution in Ganga and poaching.There are less than 2,000 dol-phins left in the country

Since the river dolphin isat the apex of the aquaticfood chain, its presence in ade-quate numbers symbolisesgreater biodiversity in theriver system.

It has been included in theSchedule-I of the IndianWildlife Protection Act, 1972.

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Targeting Congress leaderRahul Gandhi, BJP presi-

dent JP Nadda said on Mondaythat his allegations against theUnion Government on theIndia-China stand-off in east-ern Ladakh were “weak onfacts and strong on mudsling-ing” and accused him of pre-ferring to believe the Chinesearmy than his ownGovernment.

Describing the latest videoof Rahul attacking PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onthe border escalation on theLine of Actual Control inLadakh as yet another “failedattempt” to relaunch himself,Nadda said that “one dynasty’sdesperation” to wash away their“sins of 1962” have beenexposed.

“We saw yet another

(failed) edition of ‘Project RGRelaunch’ today. Rahul GandhiJi was, as usual, weak on factsand strong on mudslinging.Attempts to politicise defenceand foreign policy mattersshows one dynasty’s despera-tion to wash their past sins of1962 and weaken India,” tweet-ed BJP president.

Nadda said for years, onedynasty has been trying todestroy the image of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi. “Foryears, one dynasty has been try-ing to destroy PM NarendraModi. Sadly for them, PMModi’s connection with 130crore Indians is deep-rooted.He lives and works for them.

Those who want to destroy himwill end up only furtherdestroying their own party,” theBJP president tweeted.

He said that Rahul tries topoliticise foreign policy issuesby making statements that areweak on facts and strong onmudslinging. Rahul has beenreleasing a series of videos toreach out to the people with histhoughts on matters of impor-tance. Rahul also positionedthese videos as a counter to thealleged “hate filled narrative”being spread through televisionchannels.

BJP chief said that in recentyears, be it Doklam or the pre-sent, Rahul Gandhi prefersbriefings from the Chineseinstead of believing India’sarmed forces. “Why does onedynasty want a weak India anda strong China? Many leadersin the Congress also disapprove

of one dynasty’s shenanigans!”he tweeted.

He said the Congress leaderprefers to believe Chinese armymore than his own governr-rment.

Nadda said since the 1950s,China has made “strategicinvestments in one dynastythat has given them rich divi-dends”. As a result of that, hesaid, China captured land dur-ing the Congress-led UPAtenure.

Nadda’s stinging attackfollowed after Rahul released avideo wherein he attackedModi saying the LAC standoffin Ladakh is not simply a bor-der dispute but a design byChina to attack his image as a“56-inch strongman”. Rahulalleged that Chinese leadershipunderstood the image con-scious Indian Prime Ministerand sought to weaken his “false

image” of a strong at the helm.As against the Prime

Minister’s assertion that nonehas encroached in the Indianterritory, the former CongressPresident has been assertingthat China has been sitting inthe Indian territory and thatModi was “telling lies”.

BJP National spokespersonand Rajya Sabha memberSudhanshu Trivedi also madetirade against Rahul saying heshould be aware that the India-China border problem a “lega-cy issue” that was inherited byt h eModi-Government from thepast regimes headed by his fam-ily elders including JawaharlalNehru, the first Prime Ministerof the county. eom

He alleged that Rahul wasshort on facts and has poorunderstanding of the sensitiveborder issues.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi’s old trusted aide from

Surat and Member ofParliament from Navsari LokSabha constituency,Chandrakant Raghunath Patil,has been appointed the GujaratBJP’s new president replacingJitu Vaghani, whose term cameto an end.

Another BJP MP who hadhogged limelight with his ener-

getic speech in the Lok Sabhain support of Ladakh as a sep-arate Union Territory, JamyangTsering Namgyal, was appoint-ed as the party president ofLadakh.

This is the first time thatsomeone with non-Gujaratiorigin and a migrant has beenappointed as the Gujarat BJPpresident. The surprise appoint-

ment announcement was madehere by BJP president J P Naddawho had on Sunday alsoappointed O P Dhankar, a jatand state Minister, as HaryanaState president.

Patil, a former constable-turned politician, has a recordof winning with the highestmargins and is one of the rich-est MPs too. For the last twoterms, Patil won from his seatby more than five lakh votes.

Patil has also been Modi’schoice to coordinate develop-ment works in his Lok Sabhaconstituency Varanasi in UttarPradesh.

Namgyal, 35, is a first-term MP from Ladakh. Thepost of BJP president in theUnion Territory was vacantafter Namgyal’s predecessorresigned.

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Consumers can file caseswhere they reside and

courts can now hear cases withvalue higher than �10 croreunder the new ConsumerProtection Act 2019 whichcame into force from Mondayreplacing the more than three-decade-old ConsumerProtection Act 1986. Under thenew Act, the District Forumhas been renamed the DistrictCommission and can now hearcases with a value of up to�1crore while the StateCommission can now hearcases up to �10 crore. Underthe new Act, the NationalConsumer Disputes RedressalCommission (NCDRC) canhear cases with value higherthan �10 crore, keeping withthe inflation in the country.

The new Act aims toenforce and protect the rights

of consumers, and provide aneffective mechanism to addressconsumer grievances. The Actprovides for a simplified dis-pute resolution mechanism,with a provision for mediationand e-filing of cases.

Another important featureof the new Act is that a con-sumer can file a case wherev-er he resides, instead of filinga case at the location of theopposite party. Section 49(2)and 59(2) of the new Act givespower to the State Commissionand the NCDRC, respectively,to declare the allegedly unfairterms of contract to be null andvoid.

Additionally, a profession-al mediator can now beappointed and consent termsentered between the partiesbefore him will be treated as anorder of the court. The oppo-site party will now need todeposit 50 per cent of the

amount ordered by DistrictCommission before filing anappeal before the StateCommission. The earlier ceil-ing of �25,000 has beenremoved.

Under the aegis of the newAct, a product manufacturerand seller will be liable to pro-vide compensation for injury ordamage caused by a defectiveproduct or service. The errantbusinesses will be penalizedwith up to 6 months in jail or afine of up to �1 lakh if the con-sumers do not suffer anyinjuries. In cases where theconsumer is injured, the fine tothe manufacturer, seller or dis-tributor could go up to � 5 lakhand up to seven years in jail. Incase of death of the consumer,the culprit will have to pay aminimum fine of �10 lakh andspend seven years in jail, whichcan be extended to life impris-onment.

The new consumer Actallows mediation, hearing ofcases of a much higher valueand a provision to challengeunfair conditions of serviceproviders. However, an entirechapter of the Act dealing witha separate Consumer ProtectionAuthority for advertisements, e-commerce rules for websites,making celebrity endorsersliable is yet to be notified. The

Act, was introduced in theUpper House of Parliament bythe Minister of ConsumerAffairs, Food and PublicDistribution, Ram Vilas Paswan,on July 8, 2019. It was passed bythe Lok Sabha on July 30, 2019and Rajya Sabha on August 6,2019.

The Bill was then signedinto law by President Ram NathKovind on August 9 last year.

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The Indian CommercialPilots’ Association (ICPA),

comprising several senior AirIndia pilots, have written to AirIndia Chairman and ManagingDirector Rajiv Bansal com-plaining that the leave withoutpay scheme, which Air Indiacalls a ‘win-win’ for both’, wasfinalised without consultingthe pilots. While ICPA said itsupports temporary austeritymeasures in the wake of eco-nomic distress triggered bythe pandemic, it has slammedthe Air India management forits proposal with regards torestructuring of wages.

In a letter to Air IndiaCMD, the ICPA said “Any uni-lateral change by Air India fromagreed-upon wage settlementwould be illegal and will not bein the interest of our NationalCarrier at this crucial juncture.Such a situation has the poten-tial to flair to unprecedentedmagnitude.”

“In the press conference byHardeep Singh Puri dated July16, you had stated “we are innegotiation with the pilots”which is far from reality. It wasnot a negotiation, but the diktatof MoCA which was conveyedto us. We would also like to placeon record that the so callednegotiation was ‘not harmo-nious’ in any aspect,” the letteralleged.

“In the interest of the com-pany and due to the COVID sce-nario, ICPA supports temporaryausterity measures at all fronts.Only if such a restructuring is

done in the true spirit of Article14 of the Indian Constitution.Flying allowance and flyingrelated allowances constitute 70per cent of our wages. Theseallowances remain unpaid sinceApril 2020,” the statement said.“Furthermore, all the wages arebeing paid with constant delays.”The ICPA said the proposal is“not acceptable” as it is against‘Right to Equality’ guaranteedunder the Indian Constitution.

Air India issued an internalorder on July 14 asking itsdepartmental heads and region-al directors to identify employ-ees, based on various factors likeefficiency, health and redun-dancy, who will be sent oncompulsory leave without pay(LWP) for up to five years.Moreover, it said employees canvoluntarily opt for the LWPscheme too.

Air India has proposed a 60per cent salary cut for pilotsamid the coronavirus pandem-ic, which has infected 55 of itscockpit crew members, the ICPAand the Indian Pilots’ Guild(IPG) had said in their joint let-

ter to Bansal last week. Defending the arrangement,

Air India had said it will give theemployees freedom to engagethemselves with anotheremployer for the said period, theairline too will be able to save itscash flow on the other hand.

In an earlier statement, theairline said that in a challengingfinancial situation, it is takingrecourse to several initiativeswith a view to ensure that itsflight operations continue.

The cost-cutting drive dove-tails with a government plan tosell its entire stake in Air Indiaamid increasing debt andmounting losses.

The Centre, in January,started the process by releasingan information document forinvestors and offering access tofinancial and other data of AirIndia and its subsidiaries.

The Government’s entirestake in Air India, its 100% stakein low-cost subsidiary Air IndiaExpress Ltd. and 50% stake inground handling unit Air IndiaSATS Airport Services PrivateLimited. are on offer

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ASupreme Court-mandat-ed committee on content

regulation in Governmentadvertising has issued a noticeto the Arvind KejriwalGovernment in Delhi over anadvertisement issued by it lastweek, taking cognisance ofconcerns raised on socialmedia that its purpose was only“political messaging”.

“Historic! DelhiGovernment schools class 12results - 98 per cent,” said theDelhi Government advertise-ment, which was published inseveral newspapers on July 16.

It came in for criticism onsocial media with many claiming that it was just polit-ical messaging and there wasno point in spending hugesums of money to publish thead in other States.

The Supreme Court-man-dated Committee on ContentRegulation in GovernmentAdvertising (CCRGA) issuedthe notice to the DelhiGovernment and demanded areply to various issues, like costto the exchequer, within 60days upon receiving the notice.

“The committee had takensuo-motu cognizance of thepoints raised in the socialmedia on the Delhi govern-ment advertisement— ques-tions had been raised on thenecessity of the Delhi govern-ment to issue advertisements in

Mumbai newspapers and hadpointed that the purpose of thead was only for political mes-saging,” a statement issued bythe Union Ministry ofInformation and Broadcastingsaid.

“The one-page advertise-ment was published by theDepartment of Education andDirectorate of Informationand Publicity, government ofNCT of Delhi,” the statementsaid.

The Delhi Governmenthas been given 60 days timefrom the receipt of the noticeto submit its comments to thecommittee on issues of cost tothe exchequer on the adver-tisement and the purpose ofthe advertisement publishedand specifically publishing it inother editions than Delhi, itsaid.

The committee has soughta reply as to how this adver-tisement does not violate theSupreme Court’’s guidelines ofavoiding glorification of polit-ical personalities.

It has also sought themedia plan of the advertise-ment with names of publica-tions and their editions.

Under the Supreme Courtguidelines dated May 13,2015,”content of Governmentadvertisements should be rel-evant to the Governments’constitutional and legal oblig-ations as well as the citizens’rights and entitlements”.

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It’s not just thecontact tracing,

but speedy test-ing of the cases isalso important tocurb the spreadof the infectiousdisease.

Researchersexplained thateven the bestcontact tracingstrategy — whereall contacts of aninfected person are identifiedand alerted — won’t reducethe spread of the virus ifthere is a delay of three ormore days between when aperson shows symptoms andwhen they are tested for thevirus (and get test results).

Contact tracing is con-sidered especially importantas Covid-19 restrictions areeased and people resumemore activities.

The findings, which arebased on a mathematicalmodel and published in thejournal The Lancet PublicHealth, underscore theimportance of speedy testing.

“In our model, minimis-ing testing delays had thelargest impact on reducingtransmission of the virus; andtesting infrastructure is there-fore the most critical factorfor the success of a contact-tracing system,” Dr MarcBonten, senior author of thestudy and professor of epi-demiology at the University ofUtrecht in the Netherlands,said in a statement. “Thismeans that as many infectious

people as possible need to betested, and policymakersmight consider lowering theeligibility threshold for accessto testing.”

Contact tracing has beenused for decades by publichealth officials to control thespread of infectious diseases.It involves interviewing peo-ple with confirmed infections— in this case, people whotest positive for Covid-19 —and tracking down their con-tacts who may have beenexposed to the disease.

These contacts are thenquarantined to prevent fur-ther spread of the disease.

But for contact tracing tobe successful, it needs tolower the “basic reproductionnumber,” also known as R0, orthe average number of peoplewho catch the virus from asingle infected person, below1. At that rate, each personwill infect less than one otherperson and the virus willeventually die out.

The researchers a lsolooked at how mobile apptechnologies could improvecontact tracing, given thatsuch apps allow people to benotified instantly if they havebeen in contact with a personwho tests positive for theinfection. The researchersassumed that traditional con-tact tracing takes at leastthree days, while contact trac-ing with mobile app tech-nologies was instantaneous.

The study found thatphysical distancing alonecould reduce R0 from 2.5 to1.2, but that contact tracingcould further reduce R0 tobelow 1, provided that testingand tracing of contacts was aspeedy process.

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Conceding that there wasindeed community trans-

mission taking place in parts ofBengal the State Governmenton Monday decided to returnto the lockdown mode.

“Consequent to the situa-tion of community transmis-sion in certain areas and in abid to break the chain theState Government has decidedto go for a complete lockdownfor two days in a week, HomeSecretary AlapanBandopadhyay said adding the“two-day lockdown will be inaddition to the broad-basedlockdown in containmentzones.”

For the current week thelockdown will be enforced onThursday and Saturday, hesaid. The Government willperiodically assess the situationand decide on the future courseof action he said.

“As of now next meetingwill be held on July 29 when thesituation will be reassessed.After that such periodicalassessment will continue totake place throughout themonth of August,” he main-tained hinting at a policy of“intermittent lockdown”being taken by the StateGovernment.

TheGovernment issued anintegrated helpline numbers--1800313444222, 033 23412600;

for telemedicine--03323576001; and 033 40902929for ambulance.

“For this the lockdownwill be on Thursday andSaturday but for the comingweeks the days of lockdownmay change … though lock-down in Wednesdays could bea permanent affair,” he said.

The decision comes a dayafter State Chief SecretaryRajiva Sinha assured that theGovernment was in full controlof the situation “moving at ahigher speed than the coronavirus,” and about a months afterChief Minister MamataBanerjee asked the people tolearn to live with coronainstead of fearing it. “We have

to learn to live with corona likethe side pillow,” she said.

Reacting rather sharply tothe Government’s “lax handlingof the situation that brought usto this situation,” Congressleader in Lok Sabha AdhirChwodhury said “it had alwaysseemed that this Governmentis going nowhere with its pol-icy decisions on corona. Herethe Chief Minister wants thepeople to take corona as a sidepillow there the Chief Secretarysays everything theGovernment is running at ahigher speed than corona…

“But the next day theHome Secretary talks of com-munity transmission and lim-ited lockdown… One won-

ders what is happening. Whatis this adhocism about? …Today we are in this situationbecause of the unplanned andwayward attitude of this gov-ernment.”

CPI(M) central committeemember and MLA SujanChakrabarty said “this theresult of government hiding thereal situation from the people.

Where is the ChiefMinister? Why a HomeSecretary has to announce suchmajor decisions? Why theGovernment is so soft on peo-ple breaking corona protocols?Why no action is being takenon people not maintainingsocial distancing and not wear-ing masks?”

Kolkata: With the phenome-nal “social distancing” betweenthe Trinamool CongressGovernment and Raj Bhavanreaching embarrassing levelsBengal Governor JagdeepDhankhar has told the Centrethat all is not well in Bengal.

Meeting Home MinisterAmit Shah in Delhi theGovernor has said that the sit-uation in the State is “worri-some.” Earlier before meetingShah, Governor tweeted that he“would be discussing withUnion Home Minister at noontoday West Bengal worrisomesituation.”

He further wrote “state ofaffairs and affairs of State …Welfare of people of WestBengal is ever uppermost in mymind. All my actions are

inspired to mitigate woes ofWB people.” He also said thathe would discuss his constitu-tional duties as the Governorprovided under Article 159 ofthe Constitution.

The Governor who saidthat he would “devote myself tothe service and well-being ofthe people,” had earlier beencalled by the Centre for dis-cussions on the affairs of theState.

Chief Minister MamataBanerjee and the Governorhad been at loggerheads eversince he took charge last year.Things repeatedly came toflash point often the two con-stitutional heads bumping intoeach other in public functionsand refusing to take note of theopposite side. PNS

�����*����������89/45

As more coastal areas insouthern Kerala get-

ting afflicted with coron-avirus, a Minister inPinarayi Vijayan’s council of Ministers came outin the open and declared that the situation inthe State is terrifying.

With the release issued by the State HealthDepartment saying Kerala tested 794 new pos-itive cases, Minister for cooperation A K Balansaid the situation has become terrifying in theState.

The Minister was upset over the everincreasing number of persons getting infectedwith the disease through contact; on Monday,519 persons got infected through contacts. Thiruvananthapuram continued to bethe ‘hotspot’ as 182 new persons were addedto the list of Covid-19 patients on Monday.

The Thiruvananthapuram CorporationCouncil cancelled the licenses of two majorshopping malls in the city-Ramachandra HyperMarket and Pothy’s- both owned by personsfrom Tamil Nadu.

Jammu: A Terror funding mod-ule being set up by the pro-Pakistan Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)terror outfit was busted inJammu by the joint team ofsecurity forces on Monday.

The terror module wasbeing activated in Jammu tolaunch fresh terror strikes acrossJammu region.

Inspector General of Police,Jammu range Mukesh SinghMonday said,

“The Special OperationsGroup (SOG) of the J&K Policeand Army has busted a terrorfunding module of the LeT”.

Singh said, “a banned ter-rorist organization Lashkar-e-

Taiba (LeT) had acti-vated a module forcarrying out terroractivities in Jammu &Kashmir particularlyin the Jammu regionand in furtherance tothis, a delivery offunds was to takeplace in Jammu”.

He said onreceipt of this information, ateam of SOG Jammu and PeerMitha Police apprehended oneMubashir Bhat, son of FarooqAhmed Bhat, a native of SazanDoda, who is a part of the samemodule and had been tasked bythe handlers from across (the

border) to visit Jammuand collect a consign-ment of Hawala moneyfor further use by the ter-rorists and their sup-porters.

During the searchoperation, one bag con-taining �1.5 lakh rupeeswhich was concealed ina tiffin box was recov-

ered, he said.Initial questioning revealed

that the money was sent byHaroon, a self styled comman-der of LeT from Pakistan to bedelivered to the terroriststhrough their overground work-ers in Doda. PNS

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Tamil Nadu witnessed 70persons succumbing to

Covid-19 and 4,985 personsgetting diagnosed with coron-avirus pandemic during the last24 hours according to a pressrelease issued by the Directorateof Health Services andPreventive Medicine onMonday.

The day ended with a totalof 51, 348 persons diagnosedwith active Covid-19 cases allover the State while the totalnumber of persons tested posi-tive till date crossing 1.75 lakhmark.

This means that the situa-tion in Tamil Nadu remains crit-ical despite the efforts of the Stateadministration to bring the pan-demic under control by openingmore laboratories and arrangingadditional hospital beds acrossthe State.

As on Monday, 1.9 millionpersons across the State havebeen subjected to tests in the 112laboratories across the State,the highest number of personstested anywhere in India,according to Chief MinisterEdappadi Palaniswami.

On Monday, 3,861 personswere discharged from hospitalsacross Tamil Nadu, fully curedof the pandemic. Since there isno identified drug/vaccine in themodern medicine, hospitalsacross the State continue withparacetamol and other genericdrugs to counter coronavirus.

Out of the nearly 5,000 per-sons tested positive on Monday,Chennai had 1,298 whileChengalpet (354), Thiruvallur(454) and Kancheepuram (329)followed closely.

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Politics took the driver’s seateven as the Intelligence Wing

of the Kerala Police alerted theGovernment of anti-nationalactivities including gold smug-gling which was taking placewith impunity. This was statedby former chief of Kerala PoliceTP Senkumar who was uncer-emoniously removed by thePinarayi Vijayan Governmentfrom the post.

In his weekly programme ina news channel ‘SenkumarSpeaking’, the former State PoliceChief said gold smuggling,hawala operations and love jihadwere happening across the Statewith Government patronage.“Though the intelligence winghad alerted the Government, it

fell on deaf ears and the officialswho prepared the reports wereshunted out to innocuous posts,”said Senkumar.

The statement by the for-mer top cop of the State comesamidst reports that FassalFareeth, the Dubai based busi-nessman who was arrested bythe Dubai Police had financedmany Malayalam movies and hehad close relations withErnakulam based producers,directors and artists.

Rajasenan, a movie makerwith 37 hit movies to his cred-it, said the infusion of moneygenerated through gold smug-gling resulted in persons likehim getting elbowed out of theindustry.

“We could make out themovies produced with the

money generated through goldsmuggling and hawala. Suchmovies had a distinct themewhich were in synchronizationwith the thinking and ideologyof certain religious and politi-cal groups,” said Rajasenan.

He said the �80 crore worthproject to churn out a movieportraying VarikkunnathuAhmed was a mission financedby such forces. “All of us knowthat Ahmed was a terrorist andproselytized with swords. Whatis the motive behind making amovie portraying him as asaint?” asked Rajasenan.Meanwhile the NIA andCustoms officials interrogatedJayaghosh, the gunman of theUAE Consul General who triedto commit suicide slitting hiswrist.

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Hindus in Kerala observedMonday as the day for ancestors.

The Amavasya day in the month ofKarkidaka (the last month of the yearas per Kerala’s almanac) is dedicat-ed to the departed souls of the fam-ily.

Those who are alive perform‘Bali Tharpanam’ (offering to thesouls) under the guidance of priests.The Bali or Shraddham is usuallyperformed on the banks of themajor rivers in the State or on someselected spots along the sea shore.But this year the lock down and relat-ed prohibitory orders resulted inShraddham being performed in thefront yard of the houses itself.

Those offering the Shraddhamshould observe abstinence fromnon-vegetarian foods, drinks, smok-ing at least 24 hours before the rit-

ual. The Tharppanam was done by7 am under the watchful eyes of thepriest. Rice is boiled ant it is madeinto balls with coconut, ghee, curd,milk and offered on plantain leavesto the souls with prayers for the pros-perity of the progenies. The ritual isalso known as tilahomam or pitrubali.

The significance of the age oldtradition which finds mention in

Ramayana and Maha Bharat is thebelief that a day of the departed soulis equivalent to 365 earthly days.“The Tharppanam is like offeringfood to the dear departed souls andthis brings us blessings and pros-perity,” said noted physicist Dr M GGireeshan, an Indologist.

The highlight of this year’s BaliTharppanam was movie maker andwriter Ali Akbar releasing the pho-tographs of rituals performed by himfor his ancestors. Akbar was guidedby a priest and the Tharpanam wasdone at his house in Malabar. “It isa way of saying thanks to our ances-tors. And please remember thatthey had no religion or caste. Todaywas a day to reminiscence about mygreat grandfathers and great grand-mothers about whom we do not haveany idea. I believe in the tradition ofVande Guru Parampara,” Akbar toldThe Pioneer.

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Ahead of the crucialmeeting of the Shri

Amarnath Shrine Boardon Tuesday, a major por-tion of the 'ice stalagmite'formed inside theAmarnath cave shrine hasmelted away, two weeksahead of Shravan Purnima, falling onRaksha Bandhan on August 3.

According to official sources sta-tioned at the Amarnath Cave Shrine,“major portion of the Shiv lingam (icestalagmite) has already melted away, onlyone feet remains visible” .

Interestingly, Shri Amarnath Shrineboard authorities are yet to give its finalnod to holding this year's annual pil-grimage via only Baltal route in the wakeof Covid-19 pandemic.

Chairman of the Shrine Board, Lt-Governor GC Murmu is scheduled toattend the meeting of the board on

Tuesday to takestock of the pre-vailing situationbefore taking thefinal decision onthe yatra.

On severaloccasions, Shivlingam had meltedaway in the past

also ahead of the culmination of yatra.Earlier, a large rush of pilgrims inside thecave shrine was attributed as one of themajor reasons behind rise in temperaturenear the cave shrine. But this year, evenin the absence of a rush of devotees theice stalagmite had melted away.

A senior officer present in the caveshrine told The Pioneer, “the surround-ing hill features remained covered withsnow for a longer duration but this timethe snow had melted away little earlier.Due to clear sunny days, the day tem-perature triggered fast melting away ofshiv lingam”, he added.

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In a tragedy that befell a jointfamily at Pimpri near Pune,

three brothers out of the 18members in the family, all ofwhom had tested positive forCovid-19 early this month,succumbed to the pandemic ina span of nine days.

The three deceased broth-ers – identified as PopatraoKalapure (66), DyneshwarKalapure (63) and DilipraoKalapure (61) –were under-going treatment at a privatehospital for the past 15 days.

The Kalapure familymembers live together atPimpri which is a constituentof the twin Pimpri-Chinchwadsatellite city near Pune.

Of the family members,one tested positive on July 5,after which all membersunderwent Covid-19 tests inwhich the remaining 17 ofthem were diagnosed positivefor Coronavirus. All of them

were subsequently admitted toa local private hospital.+Fifteen of them – who hadmild symptoms of the pan-demic -- were discharged fromthe hospital subsequently.

However the condition ofthree brothers – Popatrao,Dyneshwar and Popatrao–meanwhile deteriorated.After their condition deterio-rated, they were shifted to theIntensive Care Unit (ICU) ofthe hospital – where Dilipraodied first on July 10, Popatraobreathed last on July 15 andDyneshwar died during treat-ment on July 17.

Popatrao was a retiredemployee of the Pimpri-Chinwad MunicipalCorporation (PCMC) and alsoan employees’ union leader,while Dnyaneshwar servedwith the HindustanAntibiotics Ltd. Diliprao hadretired from a pipe manufac-turing company and both wereprofessional wrestlers.

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New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Monday dismissed as“frivolous” two PILs seekingpreservation of artefacts recov-ered from the RamJanmabhoomi site at Ayodhya.

The top court alsoimposed a cost of �1 lakh eachon the two petitioners andasked them to pay it within onemonth.

A bench of Justices ArunMishra, B R Gavai and KrishanMurari said that a five-judgebench has already given its ver-dict and this is an attemptthrough PIL to overreach thejudgement.

The counsel appearing forthe petitioners said the RamJanmabhoomi Trust has alsoaccepted that there are manyartefacts in the area that needprotection.

The bench sought to knowas to why the petitioners havecome before the SupremeCourt under Article 32 of theConstitution.

“You should stop filingsuch frivolous petition. Whatdo you mean by this petition?Are you saying that there is norule of law and the five-judgebench judgement of this courtwill not be followed by anyone,”the bench said, adding that itintends to dismiss both thepetition.

Solicitor General TusharMehta, appearing for theCentre, said the court shouldalso consider imposing costs.

The bench then said that acost of �1 lakh each is imposedon both the petitioners whichshould be paid within onemonth from Monday. PTI

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In the third instance of itskind that happened in the

security ring of Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray’s house-hold, two security personnelattached to Uddhav’s youngestson Tejas have been quaran-tined, after they tested positivefor Covid-19.

Tejas, who is the secondand youngest son of Uddhav,enjoys Y-plus security. Amongthe security personnel pro-tecting him, two had showedsymptoms of Covid-19.

“After they showed coron-avirus symptoms, the swabsamples of the two security per-sonnel were sent for tests andthey tested positive for thepandemic. They were quaran-tined immediately afterwards,”a senior police officer said.

Tejas is the younger broth-er of Aditya Thackeray, who isTourism and Environment inhis father Uddhav Thackeray’sCabinet in the State. He has sofar not taken a plunge into pol-itics.

Earlier on May 2, threepolice personnel posted outsideThackerays’ private residence“Matoshri” at Bandra (East) innorth-west Mumbai had test-ed positive for Coronavirus.They were attached to the localarms unit of the Mumbaipolice.

On April 6, a tea vendoroperating near chief ministerUddhav Thackeray’s privateresidence “Matoshri” had test-ed positive for Covid-19.

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Jammu: The Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmiron Monday recorded the highest ever tally of 751positive cases of coronavirus while 10 more patientsdied due to Covid-19 taking the tally of total casesto 14,650.

For the first time, Jammu division also recordedmore than 200 cases in one single day. According tothe media bulletin, a total number of 751 cases of coro-navirus were detected, 240 from Jammu and 511 fromKashmir division while 10 more deaths due to Covid-19 were reported taking the total tally to 254.

On the recovery front, a total number of 463patients were discharged from the different hospitalstaking the tally to 8,274.

In Jammu division, the highest number of 90cases tested positive in Ramban while Udhampurrecorded 33 cases, Doda 32 cases and Rajouri 23.In Kashmir valley, Srinagar district recorded 171cases followed by Pulwama which recorded 111cases and Shopian reported 62 new cases.

On the other hand, responding to the allega-tions that a large number of labourers were not beingscreened before allowing them entry in Kashmir val-ley, the government issued a clarification saying sofar 14,002 samples of labourers arriving at Qazigundtoll post from 14th to 20th of July 2020 for Covid-19 testing. PNS

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India’s boycott of China’s Belt andRoad Initiative (BRI) on grounds thatthe China-Pakistan EconomicCorridor (CPEC) goes through Gilgit-Baltistan that was part of the kingdom

of Jammu & Kashmir and, hence, belongsto India, has been viewed by Beijing as threat-ening the security of the CPEC. Pakistan isthe only country that links Beijing’s mega-connectivity project by both land and sea andis critical to Chinese ambitions in West Asia.It links Xinjiang province with Gwadar port,close to the Strait of Hormuz, through whicha bulk of the world’s crude oil moves.

Gwadar’s importance has increased inrecent weeks due to its proximity to Iranwhere Beijing is cementing a long-term rela-tionship based on mutual hostility toWashington. India is a collateral loser dueto bureaucratic inertia that has failed to exe-cute agreements crafted by the political lead-ership. It will take great skill (and manage-ment of US President Donald Trump) torejuvenate ties with Tehran.

China is unhappy at public protests inGilgit-Baltistan against Islamabad’s mis-treatment and more recently against theCPEC. According to an intelligence reportaccessed by Paul D Shinkman, national secu-rity analyst, US News and World Report mag-azine, New Delhi views the current imbroglioin Ladakh as evidence of “Beijing’s sweep-ing imperialist designs.” China covets (largeportions of) Ladakh for easy access toPakistan and enhanced stability for theCPEC; resentful local populations would bedealt with sternly.

New Delhi believes that Beijing wantsto expel Indian troops from areas it wantsto occupy and eventually link ThangChhenmo (wild, big desert) that China callsAksai Chin (white stone desert pass) afterintruding into the region in mid-1950s. Theaim is to link Thang Chhenmo (India muststart calling the area by its original Ladakhiname) with the Shaksgam Valley region, gift-ed illegally by Pakistan in 1963, and even-tually join Pakistan. Every move has beenmethodically planned.

In April 2013, a Chinese platoon enteredthe Daulat Beg Oldi area with the sameobjective in mind, though it withdrew amonth later. Occupation of Daulat Beg Oldiwould enable China to link Thang Chhenmowith Siachen glacier (currently held by India)and Karakorum Pass, where it has built anall-weather road. A cursory look at the mapshows that Pangong-Tso and Galwan Valley,where the current stand-off is taking place,could enable China to seal the border of theUnion Territory of Ladakh from ThangChhenmo side and fully absorb this large ter-ritory that belongs to India.

This would make it difficult to defendLadakh in the event of more serious hostili-ties. India cannot allow China to entrenchitself along the Thang Chhenmo border. Asthis deadly terrain can be visited only in sum-mer months, China had to build infrastruc-

ture and grab the region beforethe arrival of winter in November.It was a serious lapse on the partof our foreign policy and nation-al security mandarins not toanticipate these moves.

The June 15 killing of 20Indian Army personnel in hand-to-hand combat at PatrollingPoint 14 of Galwan, WesternSector of Ladakh border, was abold move by China to entrenchits military in this strategic loca-tion. But the valiant responsefrom Col B Santosh Babu andhis men, who took down 35 to53 Chinese soldiers (casualtiesnot acknowledged to this day)before making the supreme sac-rifice, has strengthened thenational resolve to defend theborders at any cost, a messagereinforced by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh duringrecent visits to Ladakh. However,as the stakes are much higherthis time, Beijing’s retreat isgrudging and slow.

The modus operandi atDoklam in 2017 bears examina-tion. The People’s LiberationArmy (PLA) was engaged in ajoint military exercise on theTibetan plateau to test its com-bat efficiency when it suddenlycrossed into Indian territory. TheDoklam intrusion was resolveddiplomatically but showed thatBeijing has built all-weatherroads along its borders for swiftmilitary mobilisation.

In hindsight, it appears thatChina’s quest for a direct land

route to Pakistan was conceivedand partially executed byChairman Mao; President XiJinping is trying to complete thisagenda. The salami-slicing tech-nique is not ad hoc needling ofIndia but a grand design ofstrategists of the CommunistParty of China. The increasedterrorist infiltration on the west-ern front clearly enjoys Beijing’ssupport. Henceforth, India’s mil-itary planning should view thenorthern frontier as a single enti-ty. The loss of Tehran must beacknowledged as a diplomaticblunder.

In January 2020, China con-ducted military exercises inTibet, showcasing the PLA’sability to fight a mountain war,with the Type 15 light battletank, the new 155-MM vehicle-mounted howitzer, helicopters,heavy artillery and anti-aircraftmissiles. The increasing numberof military exercises in Tibetover the past three years hasacclimatised the PLA to high-altitude conditions and Indiacannot afford to be complacent.

Interestingly, the exerciseswere held from Lhasa up to theborder — a message to Tibetansin Tibet and India. One wonderswhy does India host a TibetanGovernment-in-exile if it seesTibet as part of China? We mustfix our foreign policy goals andengage Sikyong, LobsangSangay, who desire an indepen-dent Tibet.

India’s move to augment itsborder infrastructure is com-

mendable. However, even afterMaj Gen KS Thimayya modifiedand led tanks up the Zoji-la in1947, India never invested inlight tanks for mountain warfare.Worse, former Defence MinisterManohar Parrikar’s suggestionfor a Mountain Strike Corps wassimply struck down.

New Delhi and Washingtonbelieve that Beijing exploited theCoronavirus pandemic to assertterritorial claims along its bor-ders, in the South China Sea,and Hong Kong. The Trumpadministration issued retaliato-ry sanctions against Beijing afterit imposed sanctions on USlawmakers for passing a legisla-tion against China for repressionin Hong Kong. US Secretary ofState Mike Pompeo promisedincreased support to allies in theSouth China Sea.

Observers, however,expressed surprise at the deter-mination with which Beijingmoved on so many fronts simul-taneously, from denting HongKong’s autonomy and trying toimpose its authority on thearchipelago; to upping the anteagainst India in Ladakh andwooing Tehran against India; tochallenging Washington andreiterating its claims in theSouth China Sea vis-à-vis itsSouth East Asian neighboursand Taiwan. This could prove aclassic overreach butWashington should help byturning neutral on Iran.

(The author is a senior jour-nalist. Views are personal)

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Sir — By putting greater faith onthe virtues of martinet gover-nance, we expected the pandem-ic travails to end by mid-May andopened up advance bookings ontrains. Within months, however,we have touched over a millioncases even as a cavalier US sur-passes 36 million. Both nationsnow wonder what went wrong.Neither the nonchalance of USPresident Donald Trump nor ourown hesitant approach has con-tributed to this serious predica-ment as much as our ceding theonus of national medical care toprivate set-ups and the near-absent centralised health system.In a pandemic, this seminal skewin the public health architectureis proving to be an exponentialdisaster. The US, for all its $3 tril-lion (17 per cent of GDP) spendon healthcare, has several thou-sand deaths. With just 1.3 per centof the GDP on healthcare, thepoor state of Government hospi-tals and misplaced accountabili-ty between States and the Centre,we can but hope that COVID-19does not cause excessive damage.

R NarayananNavi Mumbai

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Flood fury in Assam” (July20). It is astonishing and beyondcomprehension that India stillrelies on the use of embankmentsto control floods which have

now become outdated.Embanking rivers has been a con-troversial technology and hasnot been successful as such.While they suffice during normalconditions, they do not provideprotection during the largestevents. In Assam itself, floods area recurrent feature. And their

severity has only increased withthe increase in the number ofdams and embankments. TheState Government has not learntits lessons due to which bothhumans and animals are put atthe mercy of god every year.India’s flood control policy mustgo beyond embankments.

Improving water laws will goa long way in addressing thisissue. The need of the hour is forthe State Government to show thewillingness to handle the floodswith an open mind.

Bal GovindNoida

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Sir — Government-run hospitalshave been providing free treatmentto COVID-19 patients.Infrastructure and other facilitiesremain poor in our country.Further, the cost of the medicineand devices as mentioned, variesfrom 10 to 90 per cent. StateGovernments have put a cap onthe cost of treatment. It is clear thatprivate hospitals and laboratorieshave been charging unreasonablebills. Governments should takestrict measures to save citizensfrom unethical business-mindedmedical experts. We must focus onproviding the most effective treat-ment to the largest number of peo-ple at an affordable cost.

Richa GargVia email

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Before COVID-19 struck the world, “emperor”Xi Jinping decided that 2020 was the year toestablish the Chinese century. American

think-tanks had predicted in 2019 that the ChineseGDP was more than the US’ and by 2030 it couldbe up to 70 per cent larger. China’s share of globaloutput would grow to 32 per cent from 20 per centcurrently, as opposed to the US’ share declining from16 per cent to 10 per cent. In terms of global mar-ket capitalisation, the Chinese would grow to 25 percent from five per cent in 2019, while the US wouldfall from 40 per cent to 18 per cent. China’s shareof global exports would rise to 18 per cent from 12per cent while the US would be static at eight percent. The above forecasts were supported by mas-sive Chinese investments in education in the fieldsof mathematics, science, technology and medicine.

Starting with the 1980s, the Chinese had suc-cessfully got the world’s manufacturing supply chainto relocate to their nation and became the “facto-ry of the world.” From a pure labour arbitrage offer-ing, they created world-class infrastructure (cities,roads, ports and airports) to support it. The top 2,500global corporates had a business presence inChina. This aggressive export-led growth modelallowed the Chinese to radically improve per capi-ta income and in the process create a massive domes-tic consumption engine. A 40 per cent domestic sav-ings rate supported the huge developments that hap-pened on their eastern seaboard. Till 2012, theChinese Government was sitting on foreignexchange reserves of close to $5 trillion. China nowimported/consumed 45-50 per cent of every com-modity in the world.

Chinese leaders till 2012 kept a low profile, hid-ing their strengths while they relentlessly gainedmarket share from the world. The Chinese acquiredthe world’s Intellectual Property Rights by anymeans. The Communist Party of China’s (CPC’s)command and control structure had also silentlyexpanded its Foreign Ministry with requisiteresources to create a public relations repository inevery major country and to manage the national dis-course on any prickly subject in its favour. Thisthree-decade old policy profile started changing withXi’s ascension in 2012.

Chinese strategists now started believing thatthe Middle Kingdom deserved to rule the world andpost-2008, global financial institutions were weak-ened, substantially dysfunctional and lacking lead-ership. They unleashed a project of achieving com-plete Chinese dominance in the manpower of everymultilateral agency and United Nations (UN)body in the world. Chinese students were encour-aged to study overseas and many persuaded to jointhese organisations, and as so many Federal Bureauof Investigation investigations are now showing,made instruments of Government policy.

The collapse of the USSR in the 1990s and theprofligacy of the US financial sector in 2008 had lefta leadership vacuum in many areas. Xi moved rapid-ly to occupy the vacancies. China needed to secureits supply chain as it neither produced adequate foodfor its population, nor was it endowed with man-ufacturing or energy raw materials. The Chineseleaders wanted to avoid supply side shocks and cre-ated strategies to acquire assets surreptitiously. Theymoved rapidly to fund every country and projectthat the World Bank or the rest of the world wouldnot find viable. The Chinese wanted to eventuallyacquire the underlying asset and default was hencea preferred option for them. This juggernaut cov-ered 150 countries and nearly $5 trillion inloans/investments. Xi had successfully over-invest-ed the Chinese US Dollar reserves and left his coun-trymen very vulnerable. They desperately needed

their Dollar engine (Foreign Direct Investment,Foreign Portfolio Investment and ForeignCurrency Loans) to keep firing quickly torecoup their position, or fast-track their long-term vision to get global trade out of the Dollarand into the RMB.

Unluckily for the Chinese, two thingschanged the landscape in 2017. Donald Trumpwon the US presidential election and was a wildcard that they read wrongly. Second, the worldeconomy started topping out and growthbegan stalling. The Chinese engine was notdesigned to handle economic contraction.Faultlines in the domestic economy were led byhuge non-performing loans in State-ownedenterprises. Ghost cities started appearing asdemand stalled while real estate started goingbelly-up. The country was overbuilt and nomore infrastructure spending was needed.

Trump started the trade war and insistedthat the Chinese reduce trade surpluses. Xi erredmassively in not giving Trump a cheap victo-ry and riling up the Americans. US strategistshad clearly war-gamed that the days of the USDhegemony were numbered and if their politi-cal dominance was to be extended, a war withChina was not an option, the only question wastiming. By a strange coincidence, the two tech-nology hardware giants, the US and China, weretangibly dependent on Taiwan for their semi-conductor underbelly. The US had formed ajoint venture (JV) with the Taiwanese that wouldgo operational in Arizona in 2023. Till then anymilitary threat to Taiwan would be an attack onthe US’ technology dominance, an intolerablethought for them. Democrat Presidents hadsoft-pedalled the “One China” policy and theChinese had got their way. The Americans hadcelebrated access to a large consumption mar-ket but landed up creating a rival.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army(PLA) in manpower terms is the largest stand-ing armed force on the globe. The PLA andCPC moved fast to upgrade weapon systems,stealing blueprints and buying where they couldnot. However, the Navy is their Achilles’ heeland they lack in class aircraft carriers and sub-

marines. This limits China’s ability to protectits interests spanning 150 countries. A whop-ping 75 per cent of Chinese oil still moves intankers through the Malacca Strait. To reach theArabian Sea by land, China invested in a bank-rupt Pakistan by constructing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) whichlinks Xinjiang to Gwadar Port. It also engagedeast European and European countries to con-struct the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for cre-ating dedicated freight corridors to 50 cities.In the process, it has protected trade supplyroutes but the oil buy routes lie exposed. Thenightmare for China achieving dominance isthat Indian land illegally occupied by Pakistanis being used by the CPEC and India re-acquir-ing Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) couldrender its $66 billion investment useless,blocking oil supply. The Chinese realised thateconomic sanctions against Iran had crippledthe proud country with 15 per cent of the world’soil. It needed investments and so China decid-ed to bust sanctions on Iran imposed by the UN(which Beijing was a party to imposing, too).China and Iran signed a 25-year trade and mil-itary alliance in June 2020. China has bet on theUS exiting Afghanistan in 2020 and by usingthe Pakistanis to install a puppet regime inAfghanistan, it could take a pipeline from Iranto Xinjiang. In return, the Chinese have to pumpin the equivalent of $400 billion into Iran’s devel-opment, which they can crank their RMB economy to deliver. What will happen toPakistan?

In the interim, Xi got the CPC to appointhim as leader for life and emerged as an emper-or. The CPC decided that by its 100th anniver-sary in 2021, it would stamp itself as numerouno in the world. A few pinpricks remained:Taiwan and Hong Kong as independent democ-racies were an eyesore. They had to be acquiredby coercion at the earliest. The South China Sea(SCS) had a $5 trillion supply chain transitingthe route. China laid claims to territories/islandsof all its neighbours and started constructingartificial islands as missile bases. Beijing start-ed bullying and humiliating Australia since 70

per cent of its mining exports were bought byit. Singularly, none of the Asian countries couldtake on China but many could exact a heavytoll if it came to conflict. The Chinese flirtedwith conflict among all their neighbours using“wearing down” tactics. The success of this gam-bit hinged on the continuity of their trade withthe US, heavily skewed in their favour. Trumpnot getting an early trade war win upped theante, imposing a $250 billion annual hit onChina. It perhaps felt that US corporationswould not listen to their Government and con-tinue business as usual. It floated a trial balloonby abrogating the agreement with Hong Kongwhich would have lapsed in 2047 and suppress-ing protests with force. Then it ostensiblymanipulated the World Health Organisation(WHO) and the COVID-19 pandemic wasunleashed upon the world. This hit worldeconomies and created a very strong anti-Chinasentiment.

It resulted in fast-tracking the opera-tionalistion of the Quad (US, Japan, Australiaand India alliance) to take on the Chinese. UK,France and Israel are openly in support of theQuad while Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines,Indonesia, Taiwan and South Korea have puttheir armed forces on alert. In the Chinese campare North Korea, Pakistan, Iran and Turkeywhile anti-India squeaks may emerge fromNepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

With China designated as “world enemyNumber 1”, even Joe Biden has ratcheted up theanti-China rhetoric, lest Trump steal the thun-der and a potentially-lost presidential electionthrough a war with China. The Indian andChinese armies are facing off across the 3,400km border and uneasy peace prevails for now.The Middle East has stayed quiet but will haveto choose sides as a Shia Iran and a SunniPakistan and Turkey side with the Chinese. Itis an uneasy time for the Saudis and the UAE.

The Koreans, however, have been quick toact and Samsung moved a $18 billion annualcapacity out of China to Vietnam. Japan hasincentivised its corporations to exit China. TheUS and UK have banned Huawei telecom and

India, too, has banned Chinese telecom equip-ment and apps. The US is shutting off accessto its capital markets to the Chinese. The can-cellation of the Hong Kong treaty will kill theUSD supply route to China. The Chinese bal-ance of payments is negative for the last fewmonths and they still need to buy food, oil andcommodities. Scams like fake gold collateralhave shaken China’s $5 trillion shadow bank-ing industry and put a question mark on howmuch of its national reserve is gold-plated cop-per. This has damaged China’s plans of havinga partial gold-backed alternate currency toreplace the dollar.

The world now sits on a powder keg in themidst of the pandemic. President Trump andEmperor Xi now have gone too far for eitherof them to back down without losing theircrowns. For Trump it’s just an election, but theworld knows what happens to deposed Chinesedictators. The South Asian countries all wantTibet to regain its independence after beingannexed by the Chinese in 1950 so that theycan get their freshwater security back.

Meanwhile, the domestic market collapsewill force Xi to take a few more hasty decisions.China’s banking regulator has advised itsbanks to be prepared for sharp rises in bad loansonce the Corona moratorium period is over.Three Chinese banks have collapsed in the lastthree years and 15 per cent of the financial sec-tor is supposedly past a high risk stage. Tax rev-enues have grown under five per cent and bud-get deficits exceed 11 per cent. The season ofdiscontent for 1.4 billion Chinese has arrived.China created the BRI to use the surplus capac-ity in its construction materials and equipmentsector and keep Chinese labour occupied.Experts estimate that this project needs anoth-er $5 trillion over the next five years. The moneygiven to 150 countries cannot be recalled.China’s $10 trillion foreign debt is realisticallysupported by $2 trillion of reserves. With thebalance of trade going negative, Chinese sup-porters are nervous. If China’s trading partnersdo not agree to settlements denominated in theRMB, a run on the currency is highly possible.

Meanwhile, Xi is attacking China’s neigh-bours to distract the world’s attention from thepandemic. Now India must return the favour.The Coronavirus offers a tremendous long-termstrategic advantage for policy makers to dealwith the Chinese threat of dominance perma-nently.

New Delhi must immediately recogniseTibet and Taiwan as sovereign countries andallow them to run official embassies in Indiaand vice versa. Many countries will follow suitand shake up Chinese hegemony globally.Second, India must supply subsidised arms andmilitary technology to Vietnam and thePhilippines to create multiple fronts for Chinaand the PLA, just like Beijing is armingPakistan. Third, India should take a lead in theIndo-Pacific command with the US, Japan andAustralia to choke the Chinese trade route. Itwill hurt China and its ambition to be a glob-al economic leader. Lastly, we must restrictimport of non-essential Chinese goods byimposing tariffs and focus our attention onbuilding a formidable self-reliant economy witha target of $10 trillion by 2030 to face a hostileBeijing.

China should be treated as a permanentadversary even when the times are good. Indiaand the world must escalate the informationwarfare to expose the draconian CPC and itsoppressive regime working against the interestof native Chinese. Xi’s dilemma is what to tellthe domestic audience. In the age of the inter-net, you can censor but not hide news. Do theChinese need to beat the war drums in orderto transfer the blame for their miscalculations?The world scenario is evolving every week and2020 threatens to be a very long year indeed.

(Tewari is Editor-in-Chief, Opinion Expressand Singh is Managing Partner, S&S Associates)

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The banking sector, a bulwarkagainst the breakdown of otherindustries, is left to nibble away

the remnants in the wake of the virus-induced global economic slowdown.Banks wrote off over �80,000 crore ofloans in the first half of the financial year2020. But major Indian banks havedemonstrated resilience through unin-terrupted services, offering EMI mora-toriums or fee waivers to borrowers.Unfortunately, historic trends allude toa grim scenario where financial insti-tutions (FIs) were resigned to overlookdefaults, thereby leading to grave prof-itability concerns and credit risks asso-ciated with them in the wake of the pan-

demic. As the sector is left scramblingfor money, more financial institutionsare embracing technology to achievetheir objective of survival, growth,expansion or otherwise.

Personalised banking: Tech giantslike Amazon, Facebook and Googlehave spurred a desire for more cus-tomised interactions and fostered a will-ingness to trade data for a better expe-rience. As a result, the concept of “per-sonalised banking” becomes moreimportant now. Targeting customermicro-segments and tailoring offers forthem will enable banks to differentiatethemselves, build customer engagementand gain competitive advantage.

The first step would be to identifywhat personalisation is. Thereafter,banks and FIs can leverage on the largerepository of customer data, customertouch-points and digital platforms todeliver meaningful and powerful per-sonalised experiences. To be sure, per-sonalised banking is not primarilyabout selling. It’s about providing ser-vice, information and advice, often on

a daily basis or even several times a day.Such interactions, as opposed to infre-quent sales communications, form thecrux of the customer’s banking experi-ence. Yet many banks still tend to focustheir personalisation efforts on thesales arena.

Today, machine learning and dataanalytics can be harnessed to deliver anomni-channel digital experience tocustomers. For banks and FIs with awealth of data available, hyper-person-alisation represents a window of oppor-tunity to stay ahead of the curve witha value proposition that makes cus-tomers feel understood. It also promis-es significant gains, with BostonConsulting Group estimating that suc-cessful personalisation at scale couldrepresent an increase of 10 per cent ina bank’s annual revenue.

The biggest takeaway for a bank isstaying ahead of the curve as you get toknow your customer better and lever-age those insights and trends to createtailored digital experiences that boostrevenues. On the other hand, as cus-

tomers expect a basic level of customi-sation, hyper-personalised experiencesin personal finance can lead to ampli-fied satisfaction and engagement, fraud-prevention, better decision-makingcoupled with a sense of humanisedunderstanding from their bank. Thishumanised understanding by banks canbe demonstrated in many ways.

Behavioural personalisation: Thisattempts to determine the visitors’interest based on their actions, whichinclude visit count, search phrase, con-tent viewed, functions performed andreferrers’ websites.

IP-based personalisation: Thiscan gain information about the anony-mous visitor from the IP address andDNS record. This type of personalisa-tion makes use of geo-location trackingand company attributes to customise theexperience.

Online banking, CRM and loan ordeposit applications: These use datafrom other banking platforms to drivepersonalisation. While it may seemcomplex, implementation is often eas-

ier than perceived. However, customi-sation leads us to a larger question ofwhether technological advancementand privacy can be allies?

At present, the InformationTechnology Act, 2000 and InformationTechnology Rules, 2011 govern India’sdata protection regime. However, theyfail to protect individual interest. Geo-location tracking, biometric data andfacial recognition apps could invariablyviolate the right to privacy, but there isno legal framework that regulates orenables the use of such technologieswithout violating the FundamentalRight to Privacy. Even the Personal DataProtection Bill, 2019, likely to beapproved soon, fails to take into accountall stakeholders involved in data breach-es. For instance, the Bill imposes heavyfines for violations but exempts the “con-sent” requirement in certain circum-stances, where data is required by theState, for legal proceedings, or torespond to a medical emergency. Theseregulatory changes are necessary con-sidering India’s growing digital footprint

in the world. Personalisation is withouta doubt a promising area that might beable to answer some of the questionsthat internet banking must deal withtoday and in future. The possibilities ofpersonalisation are not yet fully utilised,nor is there sufficient hands-on expe-rience or research-based knowledgeabout the most advanced ideas of howto personalise internet banking services.The importance of hitting the right tar-get in both selecting the things to be per-sonalised and the way of presentingthem visually are delicate matters. If notdone right, they might compromise themost important customer values: Speed,efficiency and trust. Thus as the impactof the contagion relies upon the grav-ity, degree and dissemination of the cat-aclysm, which remains uncertain eventoday, the banks must leverage person-alised online banking to boost revenuesin a cash-strapped economy and pos-sibly help the banking sector rise fromthe ashes.

(The writer is Managing Partner, KSLegal and Associates)

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Kathmandu: Nepal's rulingcommunist party executivechairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal'Prachanda' on Monday saidefforts were going on to resolvethe intra-party differences andruled out an early general con-vention of the party as proposedby embattled Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

The former prime ministermade the remarks during hismeeting with the StandingCommittee members repre-senting the former Maoist party.As many as 15 members fromthe 45-member powerfulStanding Committee of theNepal Communist Party (NCP)attended the meeting, theKathmandu Post reported.

The meeting came on theeve of the conclave of theStanding Committee, whichhas been deferred seven timessince June 24.

On Saturday, 68-year-oldOli proposed to convene anearly general convention of theparty in order to resolve theintra-party rift.

"Going for the general con-vention is not a bad idea butwithout proper preparations, itis not possible as various issuesincluding the party ideologyalso need to be sorted out,"Matrika Yadav, a StandingCommittee member, quotedPrachanda as saying at themeeting. Prachanda's remarkscame amid reports that he hadreached an understanding withPrime Minister Oli on holdingthe general convention byNovember/December and thatOli would back him as theparty chair.

The Prachanda-led faction,backed by senior leadersMadhav Kumar Nepal andJhalanath Khanal, until a few

weeks ago had piled pressure onOli to step down both as partychair and prime minister.

The Madhav Nepal groupon Sunday sought clarificationfrom Prachanda if he hadreached a deal with Oli on anearly general convention and ifhe indeed had, why he did sowithout consulting his allies, thepaper said.

During Monday's meeting,Prachanda briefed his colleaguesabout the talks he had held withhis co-chair, Prime MinisterOli and the secretariat of thechairmen-duo, the leaders of theformer Maoist party said.

Citing sources, the RisingNepal daily said that HomeMinister Ram Bahadur Thapa‘Badal' and Minister forIndustry, Commerce andSupplies Lekh Raj Bhatta werenot present during the meetingheld by Prachanda. PTI

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Pro-democracy activistJoshua Wong filed candi-

dacy papers on Monday forupcoming legislative electionsin Hong Kong, where the newnational security law couldprevent opposition candidatesfrom taking seats.

Wong was one of the topcandidates emerging fromunofficial primaries held by thepro-democracy camp as it aimsto win a majority of seats in the70-seat legislature in theSeptember elections.

“We hope to let the worldto know how we choose not tosurrender, how we choose notto kowtow to China,” Wongtold reporters.

Critics of the national secu-rity law Beijing imposed on the

semi-autonomous territory onJune 30 fear it may be used tothwart pro-democracy candi-dates.

The sweeping law banssecessionist, subversive andterrorist acts, as well as banningcolluding with foreign forces tointervene in the city's affairs. The law also states that anyoneconvicted of endangeringnational security will be dis-qualified from running in cityelections or holding publicoffice.

The 23-year-old Wong hasbeen imprisoned twice for par-ticipating in 2014 pro-democ-racy protests. He also regular-ly speaks out against Beijing'stightening control over the cityand often meets with lawmak-ers and politicians from theU.S. And other countries.

Washington: US PresidentDonald Trump faces an uphilltask in his reelection bid inNovember with his approvalrating hitting a record low andDemocratic nominee Joe Bidentaking a double-digit lead inkey indicators, according to asurvey conducted by theWashington Post and ABCNews.

The opinion poll, con-ducted July 12 to 15, showshow the coronavirus outbreakhas adversely affected Trump'sprospects.

Now, the president's hopesof winning are pinned on hisenthusiastic core base of sup-porters and showing the elec-torate that the pandemic isbeing dealt with effectively,The Washington Post said in itsreport on the ABC News-Postpoll.

Among registered voters,Biden, 77, leads Trump, 74, 55 per cent to 40 per cent.In the same category, Biden led Trump by just two points in March and by 10 points in May.

The survey found that tra-ditional Republican andDemocratic voters are treatingthe November polls as a refer-endum on Trump and not onwhether Biden is a more suit-able candidate, the report said.

Seventy-two per cent ofTrump voters say reelecting thepresident is important, while 62per cent of Biden voters saydefeating Trump is the goal.

The Washington Post-ABCNews poll was conducted byphone among a randomAmerican citizens sample of1,006 adults. Results may haveerror margin of plus/minus3.5 percentage points.

The survey said 54 percent of Americans believeBiden would handle COVID-19 outbreak better than Trump.Only 34 per cent felt Trumpwas doing well tackling thepandemic.

In handling of the econo-my, Biden has made giantstrides and is nearly on par withTrump in the opinion poll, theABC News reported.

Biden edges out Trump by

9 points in crime and safety,which has been a major topicin the US after hundreds ofanti-racism protests in the lasttwo months.

On race relations, Bidenhas a lead of 25 points over hisRepublican rival (58-33 percent). Trump's job approval rat-ing has plummeted in the lasttwo months, standing at 39 percent positive and 57 per centnegative.

Notably, 48 per cent of thesurveyed 'strongly disapprove'Trump's way of doing his job,according to the WashingtonPost's article.

However, the president hasmanaged to hold a positiveview on his handling of theeconomy with 50 per cent ofthe surveyed saying they arehappy with the US economy'sperformance and 47 per centdisapproving.

Biden is perceived to havea better personality and tem-perament to serve as president,holding 26 points advantageover Trump, the WashingtonPost reported. PTI

Dubai: Emiratis brimmed withjoy and pride as the UAE madehistory on Monday by success-fully launching its spacecraft "AlAmal" towards Mars from aJapanese launch centre, mark-ing the Arab world's first inter-planetary mission.

Al Amal, or Hope Probe,weighing 1.3 tonnes waslaunched from the H-2A rock-et from Japan's remoteTanegashima spaceport at 1.58am local time.

The ground control roomin Dubai erupted with joy afterthe successful lift off.

Hundreds of scientists,space enthusiasts and the UAE'sleadership cheered as the upperstage containing the probe sep-arated from the launch rocket,the protective shields and itssolar panels were deployed withclockwork precision.

The solar panels will chargethe batteries of the spacecraftfor its 495,000,000 kms journey

to Mars.Within a couple of hours, it

was confirmed that the groundsegment at Mohammed binRashid Space Centre in Dubaihas received and communicat-ed the first signals with theHope Probe.

UAE president SheikhKhalifa has praised the talent-ed team who had mastermind-ed the landmark Mars mission.

"With pleasure and greatpride, we have followed up onthe announcement of the suc-cessful launch of the HopeProbe, the idea of which wasconceived and developed insideour national research and polit-ical institutions," he said.

Sheikh Mohamed binZayed, Crown Prince of AbuDhabi and Deputy SupremeCommander of the UAEArmed Forces, said the nationwatched the successful launchof the Hope probe with "prideand joy." PTI

London: Britain's governmentsuspended its extraditionarrangements with Hong Kongon Monday, after Chinaimposed a tough new nation-al security law.

As tensions grow withBeijing, Foreign SecretaryDominic Raab said he hadconcerns about the new lawand about alleged human rightsabuses in China in particular-ly in regard to the treatment ofthe Uighur minority. An armsembargo on China will beextended to Hong Kong, hesaid.

“We will protect our vitalinterests,'' Raab said. “We willstand up for our values and wewill hold to China to its inter-

national obligations.'' Raab followed the example

of the United States, Australiaand Canada by suspendingextradition arrangements withthe territory.

The review of the extradi-tion measures comes only daysafter Britain backtracked onplans to give Chinese telecom-munications company Huaweia role in the UK's new high-

speed mobile phone networkamid security concerns fueledby rising tensions betweenBeijing and Western powers.

Johnson's government hasalready criticised China's deci-sion to impose a sweepingnew national security law onHong Kong.

The UK has accused theBeijing government of a seriousbreach of the Sino-British JointDeclaration under which theUK returned control of HongKong to China in 1997, andannounced it would open aspecial route to citizenship forup to 3 million eligible resi-dents of the community.

Beijing has objected to themove. China's ambassador to

Britain, Liu Xiaoming, recent-ly described the offer as “grossinterference” in Chinese affairs.

Liu told the BBC's AndrewMarr on Sunday that Britainwas “dancing to the tune” of theU.S. And rejected the allega-tions of human rights abusesagainst the mainly-MuslimUighur people.

He accused Western coun-tries of trying to foment trou-ble with China.

“People say China (is)becoming very aggressive.That's totally wrong," he toldthe BBC “China has notchanged. It's Western countries,headed by United States — theystarted this so-called new ColdWar on China." AP

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Tokyo: Japan has protested toBeijing over a Chinese surveyship that operated for 10 daysinside the exclusive economiczone claimed by Japan aroundOkinotorishima, a tiny islandin the Pacific Ocean, officialssaid Monday.

Japan says Okinotorishima— two uninhabited rocky out-croppings about 1,700 kilome-ters (1,060 miles) southwest ofTokyo — are islands. China

says they are only rocks and donot qualify as a demarcationpoint for Japan's exclusive eco-nomic zone, as Japan claimsunder international law.

Chief Cabinet SecretaryYoshihide Suga told reportersthat coast guard officials spot-ted a Chinese ship using surveyequipment in the waters begin-ning July 9 and ordered it tostop. The Chinese ship stayedin the area until Saturday and

Japan protested to Beijing viadiplomatic channels, Suga said.

“We have not given per-mission to the Chinese side toconduct a maritime scientificsurvey in the waters,” Suga said.

Japan says Okinotorishimaanchors the country's EEZunder the United NationsConvention of the Law of theSea, which requires foreignships to gain prior consent tooperate surveys or fishing. AP

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London: A coronavirus vaccinedeveloped by the University ofOxford appears safe and inducesa strong immune response with-in the body, scientistsannounced on Monday after thefirst phase of "promising" humantrials against the deadly diseasethat has infected over 1.45 crorepeople and claimed more thansix lakh lives across the world.

Doses of the vaccine weregiven to 1,077 healthy adultsaged between 18 and 55 in fiveUK hospitals in April and Mayas part of the phase one clini-cal trial and results, publishedin the ‘Lancet' medical journal.

The results show theyinduced strong antibody andT-cell immune responses for upto 56 days after they weregiven. T-cells are crucial formaintaining protection againstthe virus for years.

The findings are seen aspromising, but experts feel it istoo soon to know if this isenough to offer protection aslarger trials get underway.

"There is still much work tobe done before we can confirmif our vaccine will help managethe Covid-19 pandemic, butthese early results holdpromise,” said Professor SarahGilbert, co-author of the study.

"As well as continuing to

test our vaccine in phase 3 tri-als, we need to learn moreabout the virus – for example,we still do not know how strongan immune response we need toprovoke to effectively protectagainst SARS-CoV-2 infection.If our vaccine is effective, it is apromising option as these typesof vaccine can be manufacturedat large scale," she said.

Scientists behind the trialsfound the response could beeven greater after a second dose.

“The Phase I/II data for ourcoronavirus vaccine shows thatthe vaccine did not lead to anyunexpected reactions and hada similar safety profile to pre-vious vaccines of this type.

"The immune responsesobserved following vaccina-tion are in line with what pre-vious animal studies haveshown are associated with pro-tection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, although we must con-tinue with our rigorous clinicaltrial programme to confirmthis in humans,” said ProfessorAndrew Pollard, Chief investi-gator of the Oxford VaccineTrial at Oxford University andco-author of the study.

“We saw the strongestimmune response in the 10participants who received twodoses of the vaccine, indicating

that this might be a good strat-egy for vaccination,” he said.

Since emerging in the cen-tral Chinese city of Wuhan lastyear, the virus has has killedover 606,000 people and infect-ed more than 14,538,000 peo-ple worldwide. In India, thevirus has caused 27,497 deathsand infected over 11 lakh peo-ple, according to latest officialfigures. UK Business SecretaryAlok Sharma said: “Today'sresults are extremely encour-aging, taking us one step clos-er to finding a successful vac-cine to protect millions in theUK and across the world.

“Backed by GBP 84 milliongovernment investment for thevaccine's development andmanufacture, the agility andspeed with which the Universityof Oxford have been working isoutstanding. I am very proud ofwhat they have achieved so far,”the Indian-origin minister said.

The University of Oxford isworking with the UK-basedglobal biopharmaceutical com-pany AstraZeneca for the fur-ther development, large-scalemanufacture and potential dis-tribution of the Covid-19 vac-cine, with plans for clinicaldevelopment and production ofthe Oxford vaccine progressingglobally. PTI

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Hong Kong: China launchedits military build-up in themid-1990s with a top priority:keep the United States at bay inany conflict by making thewaters off the Chinese coast adeath trap. Now, China'sPeople's Liberation Army(PLA) is preparing to challengeAmerican power further afield.

China's shipyards havelaunched the PLA Navy's firsttwo Type 075 amphibiousassault ships, which will form thespearhead of an expeditionaryforce to play a role similar to thatof the US Marine Corps. And

like the Marines, the new forcewill be self-contained - able todeploy solo with all its support-ing weapons to fight in distantconflicts or demonstrateChinese military power.

The 40,000-tonne Type 075ships are a kind of small aircraftcarrier with accommodationfor up to 900 troops and spacefor heavy equipment and land-ing craft, according to Westernmilitary experts who have stud-ied satellite images and pho-tographs of the new vessels.

They will carry up to 30helicopters at first; later they

could carry fighter jets, if Chinacan build short take off andvertical landing aircraft like theUS F-35B.

The first Type 075 waslaunched last September andthe second in April, accordingto reports in China's officialmilitary media. A third isunder construction, accord-ing to the May edition of aCongressional Research Servicereport. Eventually, the PLANavy could have seven or moreof these ships, according toreports in China's official mil-itary press. AFP

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Kabul: A suicide truck bomberstruck an army convoy in east-ern Afghanistan on Monday,killing at least eight Afghan sol-diers, the Defense Ministrysaid.

Another nine troops werewounded in the attack inMaidan Wardak province. Noone immediately claimed

responsibility for the attack, butthe Taliban and a local IslamicState affiliate routinely targetAfghan security forces.

The Taliban have steppedup attacks across Afghanistandespite signing a peace dealwith the US in February. Thatagreement was intended topave the way for talks between

the insurgents and the Afghangovernment leading to an endto decades of war. Those talkswere supposed to begin thismonth, but the process hasstalled over the implementationof a prisoner release.

The peace deal called forthe Afghan government to free5,000 Taliban prisoners inexchange for the Talibanreleasing 1,000 captive gov-ernment personnel. So far, thegovernment has freed morethan 4,200 and the Talibanhave freed around 800. AP

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New Delhi:Ravi P Singh,Former CMD and Director(Personnel), Power GridCorporation of India Limited(POWERGRID), has beenappointed as CEO, PowerSector Skill Council. He is a Mechanical Engineerfrom NIT, Allahabad in FirstClass with Honors and PostGraduate Diploma in HR fromAIMA, New Delhi. Shri Singhhas over 35 years of workexperience in the power sectorhandling various multi-disci-plinary functions like HR,Telecom, Contracts, Materials,Planning, Monitoring andTransmission SystemConstruction/O&M. Before joining POWERGRIDin 1991, Shri Singh had workedin NTPC for 10 years in vari-ous Technical departments.

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The new rules for electron-ic retailers, including

mandatory display of ‘countryof origin’ on their products, willcome into force by the end ofthis week, Union Minister RamVilas Paswan said on Mondayand emphasised that the enti-ties will face penal action forany non-compliance.

The ‘Consumer Protection(E-Commerce) Rules, 2020’will be applicable to all elec-tronic retailers (e-tailers) reg-istered in India or abroad butoffering goods and services toIndian consumers, he said.

“Most rules framed underthe Consumer Protection Act2019 have come into forcefrom today (Monday).However, e-commerce ruleswill get notified by the end ofthis week, while rules on directselling will take some moretime,” the Consumer AffairsMinister told reporters in a vir-tual press conference.

The e-commerce rules are“mandatory in nature” andviolation of these will attractpenalties as decided by the con-sumer protection authority and

consumer courts as providedunder the Act, he said.

Consumer AffairsSecretary Leena Nandan saidthe rules have been finalisedafter taking inputs from theDepartment for Promotion ofIndustry and Internal Trade(DPIIT), under the aegis of theCommerce Ministry, so thatthey do not contravene with theoverall e-commerce policy.

As per the rules, the e-commerce players will have todisplay the total ‘price’ of goodsand services offered for salealong with break-up of othercharges.

They are also required tomention the ‘expiry date’ ofgoods offered for sale and the‘country of origin’ of goods andservices that are necessary forenabling the consumer to makean informed decision at thepre-purchase stage.

E-tailers have to displaydetails about return, refund,exchange, warranty and guar-antee, delivery and shipment,modes of payment, and griev-ance redressal mechanism, andany other similar informationthat may be required by con-sumers to make informed deci-

sions. Sellers offering goodsand services through a mar-ketplace e-commerce entitywill have to provide the abovedetails to the e-commerce enti-ty to be displayed on its plat-form or website.

Under the rules, e-tailersshould not impose “cancella-tion charges” on consumerscancelling after confirmingpurchase, unless similarcharges are also borne by the e-commerce entity if it cancelsthe purchase order unilateral-ly for any reason.

They are also not allowedto “manipulate the price” of thegoods and services offered ontheir platforms to gain unrea-sonable profit and discriminate

between consumers of thesame class or make any arbi-trary classification of con-sumers affecting their rightsunder the Act.

Further, e-tailers will haveto provide information onavailable payment methods,the security of those paymentmethods, any fees or chargespayable by users, the procedureto cancel regular paymentsunder those methods, charge-back options, if any, and thecontact information of the rel-evant payment service provider.

That apart, e-tailers arerequired to display promi-nently to its users details aboutthe ‘sellers’ offering goods andservices, including the name oftheir business, whether regis-tered or not, their geographicaddress, customer care number,any rating or other aggregatedfeedback about such seller, andany other information neces-sary for enabling consumers tomake informed decisions at thepre-purchase stage.

They are alsorequired to provide a ticketnumber for each complaintlodged, through which theconsumer can track the status

of the complaint.However, the rules will not

permit any inventory e-com-merce entity, including single-brand retailers and multi-chan-nel single-brand retailers, to“falsely represent itself as a con-sumer and post reviews aboutgoods and services or misrep-resent the quality or the fea-tures of any goods and ser-vices”.

The inventory e-com-merce entities will also have toensure that the advertisementsfor marketing of goods and ser-vices are consistent with theactual characteristics, accessand usage conditions of suchgoods or services.

Under the rules, no inven-tory e-commerce entity will beallowed to refuse to take backgoods, or withdraw or discon-tinue services purchased oragreed to be purchased, orrefuse to refund considera-tion, if paid, if such goods orservices are defective, deficientspurious, or if the goods or ser-vices are not of the features asadvertised or as agreed to, or ifsuch goods or services aredelivered late from the stateddelivery sxsschedule.

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Markets regulator Sebi onMonday released frame-

work to enable verification ofupfront collection of marginsfrom clients in cash and deriv-atives segments.

The new framework willcome into effect fromDecember 1, 2020, theSecurities and Exchange Boardof India (Sebi) said in a circu-lar.

The regulator has reiterat-ed that the applicable upfrontmargins will be collected fromthe clients in advance of thetrade.

Sebi said clearing corpo-rations will send minimumfour snapshots of client wisemargin requirement to tradingmember (TM) or clearingmember (CM) for them toknow the intra-day marginrequirement per client in eachsegment.

It further said number oftimes snapshots need to be sentin a day may be decided by therespective clearing corpora-tion depending on market tim-

ings subject to a minimum offour snapshots in a day.

The snapshots would berandomly taken in pre-definedtime windows.

For commodity derivativessegment, Sebi said last snapshotfor commodity derivatives willbe generated at 5 PM.

The client wise margin fileprovided by the clearing cor-porations to trading or clearingmember will contain the end ofthe day margin requirementsof the client as well as the peakmargin requirement of theclient, across each of the intra-day snapshots.

The member will have toreport the margin collectedfrom each client, as at EODand peak margin collected dur-ing the day, in a manner pre-scribed by the regulator.

EOD margin obligation ofthe client will be comparedwith the respective client mar-gin available with the TM/CMat EOD and peak margin oblig-ation of the client, across thesnapshots, will be comparedwith respective client peakmargin available with the

TM/CM during the day.With regard to penalty,

Sebi said higher of the shortfallin collection of the marginobligations at the two pre-scribed manner will be con-sidered for levying of fine.

The verification of avail-ability of margins with TM/CM will be done by exchangesor clearing corporations on aweekly basis by verification ofthe balances in the books or ofthe TM/ CM in respect of theclient.

Sebi said peak marginobligation of client across snap-shots will be adopted in aphased manner.

For three months from thedate of implementation, Sebisaid 25 per cent of peak mar-gin obligation of the clientacross the snapshots will becompared with respectiveclient peak margin availablewith the TM/CM during theday.

This will be 50 per cent forsubsequent three months andthereafter75 per cent for sub-sequent three months andfinally 100 per cent.

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The Indian equity indicessurged on Monday with the

Nifty50 on the National StockExchange reclaiming the11,000-mark.

The BSE Sensex settlednearly 400 points higher.Healthy buying was witnessedin finance, banking and con-sumer durables stocks.

The indices were support-ed by an inflow of foreignportfolio investments. Net FPIinflow on Monday stood at Rs1,709.97 crore. Domestic insti-tutional investors however tookto selling during the sessionand stocks worth net value ofRs 1,521.99 crore were sold.

Rahul Sharma, MarketStrategist and Research Head,

Equity99 Advisors said: “Webelieve strong liquidity andrising participation of retailinvestors is driving the market.Of late, retail investors havepreferred to invest directly instocks rather than the mutualfund route.”

He said that ahead of July2020 derivative series expiry,

the market may remain volatileas short-sellers will look tocover up open positions.

Deepak Jasani, Head ofRetail Research at HDFCSecurities, said that furtherupsides are likely in Nifty oncethe immediate resistance of11,038 is reached and 10,953would be a crucial support.

On Monday, the Nifty50closed at 11,022.20, higher by120.50 points or 1.11 per centfrom the previous close of10,901.70 points.

The Sensex closed at37,418.99, higher by 398.85points or 1.08 per cent from theprevious close of 37,020.14.

It had opened at 37,409.03and touched an intra-day highof 37,478.87 and a low of37,185.78 points.

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Retail inflation for farm andrural workers in June eased

to 7.16 per cent and 7 per cent,respectively, as compared toMay this year, a labour ministrystatement said on Monday.

“Point to point rate ofinflation based on the CPI-AL(Consumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers andCPI-RL (Consumer PriceIndex for rural labourers)decreased to 7.16 per cent and7.00 per cent in June 2020 from8.40 per cent and 8.12 per cent,respectively in May 2020,” theministry said. According tothe statement, inflation basedon food index of CPI-AL andCPI-RL stood at (+) 8.57 percent and (+) 8.41 per cent,respectively, in June 2020.

The All-India CPI-AL and

CPI-RL (Base: 1986-87=100)for June 2020 decreased by 1point each to stand at 1,018 and1,024 points, respectively, com-pared to 1,019 and 1,025 inMay this year.The major con-tribution towards the fall in thegeneral index of agriculturallabourers and rural labourerscame from food, with (-) 1.82points and (-) 1.58 points,respectively, mainly due to fallin prices of rice, arhar dal,masur dal, ground nut oil,meat goat, poultry, vegetablesand fruits, among others.

Labour Minister SantoshGangwar said, “The softeningof inflation is mainly due to freesupply of food grains under PMGarib Kalyan Ann Yojana(PMGKAY). This has benefit-ted a large number of house-holds under Targeted PublicDistribution System (TPDS)

including agricultural and rurallabourers thereby putting lessburden on their daily bud-getary requirement”.

The CPI-AL and CPI-RLare brought out by LabourBureau - a wing of labourMinistry. Director-GeneralLabour Bureau D S Negi saidthe easing of inflation reflectsthe efforts done by the centraland state governments alongwith civil societies to ensuresupplies of essentials duringthese testing times amid Covid-19 outbreak.According to thedata, the rise/fall in index var-ied from state to state. In caseof agricultural labourers, itrecorded an increase of 1 to 7points in 9 states and a decreaseof 1 to 19 points in 9 otherstates, while it remained sta-tionary in 2 states - Manipurand Rajasthan.

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The Covid-19-induced eco-nomic turbulence has led

airline major IndiGo to decideto lay off 10 per cent of itsworkforce.

According to RonojoyDutta, CEO, IndiGo, the com-pany, after carefully assessingand reviewing all possible sce-narios, will require to bid “apainful adieu” to 10 per cent ofits around 27,000-strong work-force.”It is for the first time inthe history of IndiGo that wehave undertaken such a painfulmeasure. This is indeed a veryunfortunate turn of eventsfrom the optimistic growth

trajectory we had carved outfor ourselves just six monthsago; but this pandemic hasforced us to re-evaluate our bestlaid plans.

“To help the impactedemployees’ tide over the uncer-tainties emanating from thisdecision, IndiGo has created a‘6E Care package’.”

Dutta said the current pan-demic has impacted manyindustries around the world,amongst which aviation hasbeen one of the sectors that hasbeen impacted the hardest.

“Even now, IndiGo is flyingonly a small percentage of itsfull fleet of 250 airplanes,” hesaid.

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The economic turbulencedue to Covid-19 is expect-

ed to push India’s debt-to-GDP ratio higher, according toa SBI Ecowrap report onMonday. Together with thedeclining GDP growth, debt-to-GDP ratio has been adverse-ly affected in all countries.

“India’s debt-to-GDP ratiohas increased gradually fromRs 58.8 lakh crore (67.4 percent of GDP) in FY12 to Rs146.9 lakh crore (72.2 per centof GDP) in FY20,” it said.Higher borrowing this fiscalwas likely to increase the grossdebt to around Rs 170 lakhcrore (87.6 per cent of GDP),it added.

According to the report,external debt is estimated toincrease to Rs 6.8 lakh crore(3.5 per cent of GDP) in theexpected gross debt for FY21.

“Of the remaining domes-tic debt, component of state’sdebt is expected at 27 per centof GDP. Interestingly, the GDPcollapse is pushing up thedebt-to-GDP ratio by at least 4per cent, implying that growthrather than continued fiscalconservatism is the only

mantra to get us back on track,”it said.

“We reiterate the currentthinking of rating downgradein policy circles is a false neg-ative as India’s rating is likely toface a litmus test of downgradein FY21, depending on what wehave done to bring growthback to track,” the SBI Ecowrapreport said.

This higher debt amountwill also lead to shifting of theFRBM target of combined debtto 60 per cent of GDP byFY23 by 7 years with the tar-get now seem achievable inFY30 only.

“The moot point is the sus-tainability of the debt. Thecurrent foreign exchangereserves are sufficient to meetany external debt obligations.On the internal debt, sincemost debt is domesticallyowned, its servicing is not anissue,” it said.

“In the current situation,our nominal GDP growth islikely to contract significantlyand based on this our interest-growth differential will turnpositive in FY21, thus raisingserious questions on debt sus-tainability,” the SBI Ecowrapreport said.

Noida: The Residential PlotsScheme 2020 (11) has beenpublished on 20.07.2020 invarious national newspapers bythe Noida Authority for allo-cation of residential plots.Under this scheme, 50% of theplots will be allocated for gen-eral category and 50% forreserved category. Allotment ofplots will be done through e-auction. A total of 84 plots havebeen included in the saidscheme, the selection of plotsfor reserved category from theavailable plots under thisscheme by manual draw by acommittee constituted underthe chairmanship of AdditionalChief Executive Officer-P,Noida on 24.07.2020 at 11.00AM From this, Indira GandhiArt Centre will be held inSector 6 Noida in front ofpublic. The general is informed thatthe interested person canappear in the said draw at thespecified date, time and place.

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Worldwide cybersecurityspending is estimated

between 2.5-5.6 per cent in2020 as threats and vulnera-bilities persist for organisa-tions, and the shift to remoteworking during lockdownmake it important for enter-prises to invest in extendingperimeter defences, researchfirm Canalys said on Monday.

Cybersecurity spendingcould grow by 2.5 per cent toUSD 41.9 billion in the worst-case scenario if IT budgetscome under serious pressureassuming the maximum level ofnegative economic impact andduration of the COVID-19pandemic. Canalys forecast thatcybersecurity spending couldgrow 5.6 per cent in its best-casescenario with overall shipmentvalue - covering endpoint secu-rity, network security, web andemail security, data security,and vulnerability and securityanalytics - expected to reachUSD 43.1 billion.

Cybersecurity will remaina top priority for most organ-isations in 2020 as threats andvulnerabilities persist and com-pliance, regulations and ecosys-

tem requirements strengthen,Canalys said in a statement.

It underpinned the massshift to remote working duringlockdown by securing newlyprovisioned endpoints, pro-viding secure access to corpo-rate resources and extendingperimeter defences beyondphysical corporate networks,the statement added.

“The shift to subscriptionswill shield cybersecurity fromimmediate IT spending cuts,but additional expenditure willbe affected for the rest of theyear as organisations begin thenext stage in their response tothe pandemic,” Matthew Ball,chief analyst at Canalys, said.

He added that the switchfrom free trials to paid sub-scriptions will be a factor inmaintaining cybersecuritygrowth.

“But the mix of cost con-tainment measures, workforcereduction and cash flow issueswill result in greater scrutiny ofexisting projects and smallerdeals. Delays and cancellationsof new initiatives will increase,except those that enable costreductions and secure high-pri-ority digital transformationinitiatives,” he said.

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The income tax departmentwill start sharing data on

depreciation, sales and grossturnover of micro, small andmedium enterprises as report-ed in their ITRs with theMSME Ministry.

The Central Board ofDirect Taxes (CBDT) onMonday signed a memoran-dum of understanding (MoU)with the Ministry of Micro,Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME).

“The MoU will facilitateseamless sharing of certainIncome-tax Return (ITR) relat-ed information by the IncomeTax Department to Ministry ofMSME.

This data will enableMinistry of MSME to checkand classify enterprises inMicro, Small and Medium cat-egories...,” the CBDT said in astatement.

The CBDT in an order dateJuly 14 had directed PrincipalDirector General of IncomeTax (Systems) to share infor-mation with the MSMEMinistry.

Section 138 of Income TaxAct empowers income taxauthorities to share informa-tion/ details of its taxpayers

with other Government agen-cies, as may be notified.

The information to beshared include depreciation onplant and machinery as report-ed in ITR3, 5 and 6, sales/grossreceipts of business as report-ed in ITR-3, 5 and 6; and grossturnover/gross receipts asreported in ITR-4.

“To facilitate the processof furnishing information,Principal Director General ofIncome-tax (Systems) wouldenter into a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (‘MoU’) withNotified Authority of Ministryof MSME, Government ofIndia which inter-alia wouldinclude the mode of transferof data. Maintenance of con-fidentiality, mechanism forsafe preservation of data,weeding out after usage etc,”the CBDT order dated July 14had said.

The timeline for furnishinginformation will also be decid-ed by Principal DirectorGeneral of Income-tax(Systems) in consultation withthe concerned Ministry andincluded in the said MoU, theorder added.

The CBDT statement saidthat the MoU will come intoforce from the date it issigned.

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Actor Vaani Kapoor is absolutely ecstatic that she hashad the opportunity to work with actors Hrithik

Roshan, Ranbir Kapoor and AkshayKumar. With Hrithik, Vaani was paired

in the blockbuster War, she will beseen with Ranbir in Shamshera andshe has been cast opposite AkshayKumar in Bell-Bottom. She is look-ing forward to her forthcomingreleases.

Vaani says, “I feel absolutelyecstatic and I couldn’t feel moreblessed that I get to work withsuch stalwarts in the industry.I have always idolised Hrithik,Ranbir and Akshay Kumar. Ihave loved all their films. So it’slike a dream come true for me.”

Talking about the differentacting styles of these threeactors, Vaani says, “Each of

them is incredible and brings a dif-ferent style to the table. Hrithik isincredibly talented and passionateabout anything he’s involved in andthat passion inspires people aroundhim. Ranbir is effortless in hisdemeanour and his cool, and com-

posed charisma is so evident onscreen. Akshay, of course, is a leg-

endary idol who’s one of the best inthe industry today. His contributions

and star presence cannot be ignored.”Vaani feels that she has interesting

and different chemistry with each ofthese screen icons. “I have a differ-

ent equation with all of them andour chemistry is

also so differentbecause of the

kind ofroles, butthey allmake mewant todo better

and be bet-ter to try and

match up withthem,” adds she.

Ajourney of love, differences anddiscovery. The forthcoming

Amazon Original Series, BandishBandits is the story of two youngmusicians, hailing from contrastingbackgrounds.

Set in Jodhpur, the romanticmusical drama follows the story ofRadhe and Tamanna. Radhe is asinging prodigy determined to followin the classical footsteps of hisgrandfather. Tamanna is a rising popsensation desperate to become India’sfirst international popstar. Radhe’sworld is turned upside down when

he falls in love with Tamanna. Tornbetween helping her achieve super-stardom and staying true to his ownmusic and his family’s legacy, will hesucceed in juggling both at the riskof losing everything he has?

The lead actor, Ritwik Bhowmiksays, “The series has been a dreamin the making. Working with stal-warts such as Naseeruddin Shah,Rajesh Tailang, Sheeba Chaddhaand Atul Kulkarni for my debut wasone of the most fulfilling experiencesof my life. Bandish Bandits is a blendof Indian traditions seeped in music

that beautifully describes younglove, ambition, passion and familyvalues in a simple, yet powerful man-ner.”

Shreya Chaudhry, lead actresssays, “Working with Anand Tiwarihas always been something I hadwanted to do, so a being part of thisseries is nothing short of serendipi-tous. I could not have asked for a bet-ter setting to work and learn moreabout acting, that too from some ofthe most talented and respectedactors. I believe the show is a heart-warming journey of music and love

and think it is something the audi-ence would very much enjoy watch-ing.”

Produced and created byAmritpal Singh Bindra and directedby Anand Tiwari, the show also fea-tures an exciting original soundtrack,composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy,who are also making their digitaldebut with this show.

Talking about the show Tiwarihad earlier said, “Bandish Bandits isa story about the meeting of two indi-viduals and cultures that are inmany ways different, and yet in otherways incredibly similar. While eachcharacter has a unique and com-pelling story in their own right, it’show these stories come togetherwhich makes this series so powerful,romantic and real. I am beyond excit-ed to bring this incredible tale ofromance, beautifully told through themusical genius of composersShankar-Ehsaan-Loy.”

Now the OTT platform hascome up with a unique idea to raisethe curiosity around the show. It hasbrought together the cast of some ofits noted shows such as Mirzapur,The Family Man, Inside Edge andMade In Heaven, among others.

The video starts with Kunaal RoyKapur (Arghya), who is playingShreya Chaudhary’s (Tamanna)manager in the show, attempting tofind the best marketing idea for thetrailer launch.

In an attempt to scout for thebest marketing idea, Kunaal bringstogether some of the quirkiest peo-ple on the internet together on avideo call along with Shreya andRitwik. Some of the people who jointhem on the video call are familiarfaces like Ali Fazal (Guddu inMirzapur), Divyendu (Munna inMirzapur), Sapna Pabbi (Mantra inInside Edge), Ahsaas Chhana, NikhilVijay & Shubham Gaur (from HostelDaze), Yashaswini Dayama (Made InHeaven), Sharib Hashmi (JK in TheFamily Man) and digital influencerAyush Mehra.

(The series releases on August 4on Amazon Prime Video.)

An incident occurs. It grabs atten-tion. It becomes a mystery. Soon,due to its severity and intensity,

it becomes the talk of the town. Itattracts debates on social media andmakes room for a number of interpre-tations and conspiracy theories about it.However, the conversations around itonly find space for a few days. It grad-ually loses traction. And just silently getslisted in history. Bollywood conversa-tions, too, have been more or less thesame.

However, if we talk about actorSushant Singh Rajput’s sudden demise,it has now been more than a month thatit continues to be in the news and per-haps has stoked the strongest debate yeton the need to rid the industry of nepotism. Actor Kangana Ranaut ismaking sure that this time the dialoguedoesn’t die without being properlyaddressed. Her recent allegations againstmany actors and the so-called “mafia”or “nepotism gangs” of the industry havebeen revealing about the dirty under-belly of an unsaid class-consciousnessin Bollywood. So far, so good. But nowshe is seizing every opportunity toemerge activist. Apart from calling outproducer-director Karan Johar andactor Alia Bhatt, she has also this timetargetted two other female actors (whoare outsiders) by calling them chaaplus(sycophant) and B-grade actresses andtheir existence as a “proof of nepotism”— Taapsee Pannu and Swara Bhasker.She has also called out actor RanveerSingh (outsider) by saying that it’s onlydue to his chamchagiri or flatterytowards directors and producers likeAditya Chopra and Sanjay LeelaBhansali that he gets roles.

Such accusations, firstly, raise an all-important question — if outsidersthemselves won’t challenge the existingnepotism in the industry as a unitedforce and turn against each otherinstead of calling out this system, howare things ever going to change forgood? Second, even though Kangana’sdebate is justified over an issue thatneeds attention, being an artiste, is heruse of words like chaaplus, chamcha,chillar, bakwaas for other artistes andsome critically-acclaimed actors a dig-nified way of calling out injustice?Third, even though she is an outsider,how can she assume that all outsidershave had a raw deal and that not evenan iota of merit has been allowed intoBollywood? Even though Sushant’sdeath did expose the vile and chokingdepths of nepotism but to expect everyoutsider to launch a campaign of her/hisown does not mean s/he has not beenaffected by it or knew him or is notagainst the system.

Well, Taapsee, who has been vocalabout nepotism in the past, but in a verbally decent way, had a reply to this

as well. She told a national daily that shehas never done a film which is producedby any of the gangs that Kangana hasnamed or “keeps targetting.” She addedthat she has never said that she likesKaran Johar or anyone that she allegesbut at the same time, she has never saidthat she hates them either. She laterquestioned, “So the fact that you don’thate someone she hates is equivalent toyou like that person? I don’t even knowhim beyond formal. So how is this evenlogical? Then how is my existencebecause of nepotism? Or underminingsomeone’s genuine achievements bycrediting wrong sources and then mock-ing it is how you prove that you are atrue, successful outsider?”

The Badla actor also said in aninterview that Kangana should ratherwatch films of outsiders than abusingcelebrities on social media. Replying toKangana’s “Why don’t they get work?”,Taapsee said that she has been releas-ing four films per year for the last threeyears and now, already has five filmsannounced. “I decided to keep mycareer graph slow and steady and that’sexactly how it’s been going,” she added.

Taapsee refused to be “bitter” and“take advantage of someone’s death forpersonal vendetta or make a mockeryof the industry that gave me bread andidentity. She has the right to have anopinion and so do I but just because myopinion doesn’t match hers doesn’tmake me inferior.”

After Taapsee’s response, netizenshave been hailing her for her “dignified”reaction towards the row. ActorSonakshi Sinha also took to her socialmedia and posted, “Proud of youTaapsee! The dignity, maturity andintegrity with which you have respond-ed has my respect and I am sure of mostothers too. More power to you.”

On the other hand, Swara’s responseto Kangana’s remark, “These needyoutsiders, B-grade actresses look betterthan Alia Bhatt and Ananya Pandey butthey too exist due to nepotism,” was asarcastic comment. She posted on herTwitter, “Net net I think this was a com-pliment. Thanks Kangana! I think youare gorgeous, generous and a great actor.Shine on!”

Taapsee has revealed in the past howshe has lost roles for not being “so-and-so’s daughter.” However, her and Swara’svoice against nepotism was never aimedat demeaning anyone personally. Theyhave stood up against hate without beinghateful. She tweeted, “Yes, there are dif-ferences between people born with pedigree and the ‘outsiders’ but we aren’tbattling each other, we are battling fora better system to co-exist, but not bymud-slinging or name calling!”

As per Kangana’s words, KaranJohar is the flagbearer of nepotism inBollywood. She first mentioned about

it on his show, Koffee With Karan, andever since, she has left no stoneunturned in taking this up. Whichleads us to one last question — Shouldn’tthe nepotism debate include all such

directors, actors and producers ratherthan just one person being namedincessantly? Is taking names of a fewbiggies and blaming them for years ofnepotism in the industry the way out?

Why a selective outrage? Is this ever-important contest really headed theright way? Perhaps, this is the reasonwhy the wrongs of nepotism could neverbe properly addressed!

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The Urinary tract infection(UTI)is the third most commoninfection in children after res-

piratory and gastrointestinal infec-tions in India. Urinary tract is definedas infection in any part of the urinarysystem from kidneys, ureters, blad-der and urethra. During the first yearof life, the boys are affected threetimes more than girls, but beyond thatgirls are affected almost 10 timesmore. The prevalence of infection isfive-seven per cent in children fromtwo-24 months (AAP).When itaffects the lower urinary tract it is abladder infection (cystitis) and whenit affects the upper urinary tract it isinfection of the kidney (pyelonephri-tis)

Symptoms of a lower tract (ure-thra and bladder) infection includeurgency, increased frequency, painand burning with urination. Childmay complaint of pain below oraround belly button. Urine maysmell foul or has blood in it. If uppertract is involved child generally lookssicker with significant fever and painin the loin area. Urine may have bloodsometimes. In the young infants,symptoms may be non-specific likefeeling low, persistent diarrhea, vom-iting and failure to thrive. Commonterms used in UTI; Bacteriuria indi-cates presence of bacteria in urinewhich may be harmless. Infection isdefined by the presence of harmfulbacteria in urinary tract causingsymptoms. Cystitis denotes infectionof urinary bladder (Commonest).Pyelonephritis occurs when infectiontravels up to kidneys (Concerning)

Human urinary tract has some

unique natural mechanism to prevententry of microorganisms in the tract.UTIs are much more common ingirls because their urethra is shorterand closer to the anus and Bacteriafind easy access in the urethra.Cleaning diapers with direction fromanus to front area adds to increasedchances of infections. Other predis-posing factors can be, chronic con-stipation, poor local hygiene and toi-let training, children with wet diapersfor long duration and holding urinefor too long.

Poor intake of liquids makingurine concentrated adds to the stasisof urine in bladder. Uncircumcisedboys younger than 1 year have beennoticed with higher incidence of UTI.Besides this one must try to find outany malformations and obstructionsof the urinary tract, Indwelling uri-nary catheters (for some otherillness-es) High-grade vesicoureteral reflux(a type of defect where a part of urinetravels in upward direction to involvekidneys)any many more for paedia-tricians to look forNeonates andyoung infants must be worked up forsepsis to avoid complications.

Escherichia coli infections arecommonest (85-90 per cent) followedby klebsiella and proteus spp , staphy-lococcus and some others

Common investigations includea good urine analysis and for that col-lection of urine sample is of utmostimportance. The clean catch methodaims to prevent bacterial contamina-tion from the skin around urinaryorifice.

Preparation before collectingthe sample: Cleansing the area

around the urinary opening requiresa simple wash, no antisepticsrequired. Clean your hands with soapand water. Open the sterile contain-er and hold the cover in hand, do notkeep it on any surface (another per-son can help do this job), hold the girlchild little high with thighs bendtoward abdomen. When child startspeeing let it go and collect second partin the sterile container and put the capimmediately on the container. Aboy can pass urine in standing posi-tion, rest of the precautions aresame.

Never collect urine in a contain-er and then poured in sterile contain-er provided for urine collection.Transport the sample to laboratory-

immediately. Other methods of col-lecting clean sample is by catheteri-zation or suprapubic aspiration whichcan be done by trained personnelonly. Early morning sample pre-ferred but may not always be possi-ble in a toddler.Other investigationslike ultrasound, MCUG and nuclearscans will be decided by the treatingpaediatrician.

The paediatrics academies rec-ommend that a well-appearing infanttwo-24 months of age with a UTI,good follow-up can be managed as anoutpatient with oral antibiotics forseven to 14 days. A cephalosporin,such as first-generation cephalexin,is a reasonable first-line medicine. Asicker child with high fever and otherconstitutional symptoms requiresadmission and more elaborate workup.

How to prevent UTIs?Change baby’s diapers frequent-

ly, keep the toddlers dry especially indamp seasons,start early toilet train-ing, teach her good bathroomhabits,and wipe girls from front toback. Advise children not to holdurine. Avoid bubble baths for girls,use cotton inner wears for good aircirculation.

Advise to drink lots of water, takeappropriate measure to treat consti-pation

Antibiotic prophylaxis shouldnever be self-administered and givenonly when prescribed by treating doc-tor.

UTIs are easy to diagnose andtreat, but it is important to catch themearly if taken lightly and under diag-nosed or left untreated there can beserious kidney damage)"��%������� ���� ����� ����4� ��$� ��#�(�����������"������ !�%��"��� ?�

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#����������������������Brain surgery, brain tumour, stroke (paralysis) and sudden amne-

sia have always been an integral part of Indian cinema and TVserial’s dramatic masala content. It is unfortunate that often major-ity of public doesn’t even try to increase its knowledge in this regard;rather this very subject of brain health is ignored mostly, consid-ering its complexity. According to a study the burden of strokedisease has increased nearly 100 per cent in our country. And inthe time of Covid-19 pandemic, patients who are already suffer-ing from neurological diseases are facing a tough time. Their treat-ment process has been deeply affected due to lack of access to theirDoctors and availability of medications. The stress and depres-sion generated from the lockdowns and the fear psychosis aroundCOVID-19 has also increased the number of such patients.

This is alarming. A major awareness for brain health is theneed of the hour. Our food habits and lifestyle has a major impacton our brain health. At the same time, it is also important to knowabout the initial symptoms of neurological problems so that earlytreatment can be initiated.

Brain health with brain food: There is a famous proverb “youare what you eat”. And it is more so in the case of the brain. Somepeople assume that increasing dry fruits intake is the only thingrequired, but it is not enough. There are other brain foods as wellwhich play key role in brain’s development. Take antioxidants richfood like grapes, blue berries, sweet potatoes, green vegetables, fish.The fact is 60 per cent of brain is made of fat hence add healthy

fats in your daily meals, andomega 3 fatty acid also plays akey role in developing braincells, hence take omega 3 richfoods as well like flaxseed, fish,walnuts etc.

Be regular with exercises:Brain health is not differentfrom physical health in anysense. Regular exercise helps inmaintaining blood pressure andgood circulation which is nec-essary for proper functioning ofthe brain also. Yoga and medi-tation also boost functioning ofbrain.

Physical health and brain:Although every disease or phys-ical ailment affects our brainhealth, but suffering from one ofthe following majorly affectsbrain health: hypertension andDiabetes.

Basically in above diseases blood pressure play a key role, ourblood travels through our blood vessels to the brain, and loweror high BP can result into stroke and brain haemorrhage. Takeproper medication and keep checking your BP.

There are some neurological diseases people need to knowmore about:

Parkinson’s Disease: It is type of a degenerative disorder. Itssymptoms appear gradually and progress over the years:-

�Tremors or/and stiffness�Slurring or speech changes�Stooped posture, small steps and imbalance Parkinson’s patient need continuous treatment and medica-

tion without fail or else it may result to rapid worsening. Neverignore such initial symptoms, immediately see a doctor and starttreatment in order to slower the progression.

Alzheimer’s Disease: Repeatedly forgetting recent events indaily life is an initial symptom. It is one of a type of dementia whichstarts insidiously and progress slowly. Early detection can retardthe pace of the disease.

Brain Tumour: It is basically an abnormal growth of braincells which starts creating pressure on brain with the growth ofits number and size, and presents like: headache with repeatedepisodes of vomiting, neurological deficits, seizures

Like any other Cancer, early identification of brain tumoursis one of the key factors that determine the prognosis.

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��*���� Lychee is sweetsmelling small fruit. It issweet in taste too. Lychee hasanti-cancer properties. Thisfruit has flavonoids in thepulp which helps to fightfatal and lethal diseases likecancer. It contains flavones,quercitin and kaemferolwhich are powerfulcompounds in reducing theproliferation of cancer cells.

Lychees help tonourish the skin oilswhich reduce thegrowth of acne. Italso refines theskin and leadsto less spots onthe skin. It is alsogood for people whowant to lose weightbecause of the absence of

fats and cholesterol.It also keeps the digestion

strong, maintains a clean stom-ach, improves appetite andcures heartburn and burningsensation in the stomach.

Lychees are a very goodrefreshing fruit for the sum-mers as it keeps you hydratedbecause of the high water con-

tent in them.

Believe it or not butthough the pitter-patterbrings the much-needed

relief from the blazing heat, itdoes make people with oilyskin break out in many prob-lems like more acne,dullness andinflammation.However, fol-lowing a reg-ular regimencan restorethe glow tothe face. Hereare a fewthings that onecan do.

There was a reasonwhy my mother would insistand we made a face maskusing chandan powder. It helpsin healing acne and other skinbreakouts. It also works as anatural moisturiser. Take abowl, add a teaspoon ofturmeric, rosewater and san-

dalwood powder and mix well.Apply this paste and leave it todry on the face. Wash it offwith water.

Another mask that onecan make is using 200ml rose

water, a teaspoon ofcamphor powder

and one tea-spoon of driedmint powder.Mix all theingredientsinto a paste.Pour it in an

air tight bottleand refrigerate.

Use this to cleanyour face two-three times

in a day.Peaches are in the market

and one can make a great facepack using them. Mash onetomato and peach to make apaste. Apply the mixture onthe face. Leave it for 15-20minutes. Rinse with water.

The rains are here and with it adull looking skin and an array of

other problems especially if one hasoily skin. Therefore, it is importantto follow a proper regimen during

this season to restore the glow, saysROSHNI DEVI

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While the answer to themost frequently asked

question by parents on what isthe maximum screen time fortheir children is “Minimum isthe new Maximum”, in thesense, lesser the time a childspends on digital devices the bet-ter it is for their eyes. As per theideal recommendation of screentime, children below two yearsshould avoid any use of digitaldevices, as the eye is in the for-mative stage.

Children in the age group oftwo-five years, screen time

of one hour or less per dayshould be allowed and childrenabove five years should beallowed a recreational or enjoy-ment related screen time of twohours or less per day.

However, all this recom-mendation today is thrown outof the window as the education-al system world over is opting foronline education due to socialand physical distancing the chil-dren have to maintain in orderto avoid contracting the harm-ful COVID-19 disease. Alsoanother risk the longer screen

time entails is that of an increasein Myopia or Short Sightednessamong children.

The symptoms are difficul-ty in reading the blackboard inthe classroom from the back-bench, squinting of eyes to seeclearly, holding books close toface while reading or writing.The correction of Myopia isdone through spectacles, contactlenses, and refractive surgery.

So how can one handle thisonslaught of online educationthat is going to be the new nor-mal? Well, as a starter one needsto ensure the following tips arepracticed to avoid any type of

eye strain.Use the right power: If

your child has been going tooclose to the screen or squintingthe eyes for reading those smallprints at a distance, then gethis/her eyes tested and get theright power of eyeglasses or con-tact lenses.

Place it right: The viewingdistance from the monitor to theeyes should be in the range of 40- 75 cm and the top of the screenshould be at the eye level so thata comfortable visual zone of 30°(15° above the line of sight and15° below the line of sight) isachieved downward from the

top of the monitor which is lessfatiguing for the eyes as opposedto looking upwards by 30° whenthe monitor is positioned abovethe eye level.

Take frequent breaks:Resting eyes helps keep themmoist. Use the 20-20-20 rule, byasking your child to take a 20-second screen break every 20minutes to look at objects 20 feetaway from you.

Aim bigger: Increase fontsize when reading on-screen, sothat devices don’t need to be tooclose to your eyes.

Blink more frequently:Staring at a screen makes usblink less often, which dries outthe eyes. Blinking moistens theeyes, reducing dryness and irri-tation.

Build strong eye muscles:Teach strengthening exerciseslike keeping your thumb at anarms distance in the line of yournose and focus with both eyeson it. Slowly move the thumbtowards the nose with yourgaze fixated on the thumb.

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Just like your body health, skin health isalso important; your skin is the largest

sense organ and outer protection to yourinner body parts. So, it also has a tenden-cy to get unwell. Also, skin is the mostexposed organ of our body; it suffers fromsun rays, dust and wounds. Many timeswe don’t even give appropriate attentionto it.

Unless we have a major issue, we oftentake our skin and hair for granted.However, healthy skin and hair are asessential as overall health. Visiting the der-matologist helps us in keeping our skin,hair and nail as healthy as it can possiblybe. We all know the consequences of anyskin issue; it causes irritation, itchiness andmany other problems.

You might think of some issue thatlooks like a simple rash but your derma-tologist can tell something different thatyou might even not know.

Therefore, one must visit their derma-tologist once in six months for a preven-tive skincare routine for thorough skinexamination, because our skin changesover time due to change in weather,inner health and other factors. Also,your skin’s needs keep on changing timeto time, and respectively your skincareproducts you apply need to change. Apartfrom that, if you're facing some skin issuesthen it’s necessary to visit a dermatologistthey can give you a correct consultationand solution to problems.

Many people are allergic to some ele-ments or weather conditions, or even candevelop allergies later in their lives; theseconditions can also be avoided if you keepon visiting your dermatologist on regularbases.

Your dermatologist may even callyou more often for visits, depending onyour medical history or skin condition.They may notice any mole, patches and zitthat may grow into severe skin issues oreven cancer.

If you notice severe hair fall, acne,unknown wounds or patches, any changein your skin condition, infection or visi-bility of puss, the safest option is to con-sult your dermatologist.

On the other hand, many peopleassume that because they haven't noticedany significant problems with their skin,they don’t need to make the time to see adermatologist. But the truth is visiting adermatologist can be beneficial for any-one whether or not you currently haveconcerns about your skin. It can preventany kind of future problems, and even helpyour skin keep looking healthy andyoung.

Concluding, skin health is as impor-tant as body health is so we should keepa check on our skin, and must visit anexpert from time to time.

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The ICC on Monday postponedthe T20 World Cup inAustralia owing to the

COVID-19 pandemic, a long-antic-ipated decision which paves the wayfor the BCCI to organise the IPL dur-ing the October-November win-dow.

The ICC hasn't yet decidedwhether India and Australia willswap the 2021 and 2022 editionsbetween them, both of which will beheld in the October-November win-dow.

"The International CricketCouncil (ICC) today confirmed theICC men's T20 World Cup inAustralia 2020 has been postponeddue to the ongoing COVID-19 pan-demic," ICC said in a statement.

The ICC T20 World Cup wasscheduled Down Under fromOctober 18-November 15 but CricketAustralia, in the month of May

itself, had intimated ICC that itwould be near impossible to stage aclosed-door event of this magnitudewhich would also require quarantinearrangement for 16 international

teams.The ICC deliberated on unspec-

ified contingency plans for over twomonths before coming up withMonday's decision.

Chief Executive Manu Sawhneysaid: "The decision to postpone theICC Men's T20 World Cup was takenafter careful consideration of all of theoptions available to us and gives us

the best possible opportunity ofdelivering two safe and successfulT20 World Cups for fans around theworld."

As far as hosting of this editionis concerned, ICC's commercialwing will be monitoring variousmodalities before coming to a deci-sion on whether India will host the2021 edition or swap with CricketAustralia and host theirs in 2022.

"The ICC BusinessCorporation(IBC) Board agreed tocontinue to monitor the rapidlychanging situation and assess all theinformation available in order tomake a considered decision on futurehosts to ensure the sport is able tostage safe and successful globalevents in 2021 and 2022," it stated.

The decision to announce theschedules of the next three WorldCups will help the boards plan morebilateral engagements and earn rev-enue lost during the pandemic.

"Our Members now have the

clarity they need around event win-dows to enable them to reschedulelost bilateral and domestic cricket,"Sawhney stated.

There has been no formalannouncement but there is a possi-bility that BCCI might shift theIndian Premier League to the UnitedArab Emirates taking India'sCOVID-19 case load into account.India has recorded over 11 lakh casesso far with the death toll breachingthe 27,000 mark.

The other option is having atwin-city closed door bio-secureevent, which was the first preferenceof at least one of the stakeholders.

The IPL will likely start in the lastweek of September and end in thesecond week of November.

"We were waiting for the formalannouncement. Now we can at leastsubmit our plans to the governmentand wait for their necessary clear-ances. There is scheduling, logistics,operational aspects that needs to be

taken care of," a BCCI official toldPTI on conditions of anonymity.

BCCI President Sourav Gangulyhad earlier expressed confidencethat the year wouldn't pass withoutthe glitzy event going ahead.

The IBC Board will also contin-ue to evaluate the situation withregards the 2021 women's World Cupin New Zealand in February. In themeantime, planning for this eventcontinues as scheduled.

����B /�/����*���FThe IBC Board will also contin-

ue to evaluate the situation withregards the 2021 women's World Cupin New Zealand in February. In themeantime, planning for this eventcontinues as scheduled.

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Ben Stokes removedJermaine Blackwood off

the final ball before tea toleave the West Indies on 137-5 and ignite England's chancesof winning the second test onthe final day at Old Traffordon Monday.

Blackwood (55) glovedan attempted shot around thecorner and wicketkeeper JosButtler scrambled to take adiving catch, ending a 100-run partnership withShamarh Brooks that wasgiving the West Indies hope ofsalvaging a draw.

England has a minimumof 41.2 overs to take the finalfive wickets for a victory thatwould tie the series at 1-1ahead of the third and finaltest starting on Friday, also in

Manchester.If the West Indies hold on

for a draw, it will retain theWisden Trophy having beat-en England in a home serieslast year.

Brooks is unbeaten on 52.The tourists were rocking

at 37-4 after Stuart Broadtrapped Roston Chase lbw forhis third wicket of the innings,for the loss of 25 runs. Thepaceman has six wickets forthe match on his recall to theteam after being dropped forthe first test.

Yet it is Ben Stokes whohas been England's star, onceagain. Before taking that cru-cial wicket of Blackwood, theallrounder had gone into lim-ited-overs mode to plunder 78not out off 57 balls to helpEngland to 129-3 before cap-tain Joe Root declared with his

team having a lead of 311 runs.England made 92 runs off 11

overs after resuming on 37-2,effectively taking the game awayfrom the West Indies.