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  •  · 2020. 12. 11. · farmers at the mercy of corpo- ... and compiled, in the circum-stances, ... keep its cases per million at 7,078 against the global average
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W ith agitating farmers reluctant to accept Government’s offer on farm laws and intensifying their stir, the BJP has sought to launch a strong counter-awareness cam- paign to mobilise support for the new agriculture marketing laws with the public and the farmers outside Punjab and Haryana. The ruling party’s vigorous outreach programme in “next few days” would involve 100 press conferences and 718 farmers meeting in as many districts to explain “correct” implications of the three farm laws to the farmers of the country, sources said. The BJP leaders would organise “kisan sammelans” in rural “chaupals” to con- vince the farmers that the new farm laws would give them “unrestricted freedom” to sell and “increase” their income by way of contract farming, said sources in the party. The new Central farm laws have allowed trade and contract in agricultural produce as also removed restrictions on hoard- ing by amending essential com- modities Act. Farmers are demanding that the Government rollback these law which they say would put farmers at the mercy of corpo- rate traders and their profi- teering business. According to BJP leaders, their “awareness campaign” (on the farm laws) which got thwarted on account of coron- avirus pandemic, would be expanded and also involve farmers outside Punjab and Haryana, the States which, they claim, are “mainly feed- ing” the current stir on the out- skirts of Delhi. Union and State Cabinet Ministers will take part in the intense communication cam- paign with documents and “point-by-point” allay farm- ers’ apprehensions on the laws as they would also list out Government’s “readiness” to amend the sections which may help neutralising their fears on contract farming. The farmers wing of the RSS — “Bharatiya Kisan Sangh” (BKS) — is too planning to organise a massive farmer out- reach and around “Kisan Chaupals” in different parts of the country to showcase the benefits of the farm laws. “The exercise has already begun in right earnest in rural areas,” said one of the BKS leaders. The BKS has asked all its units to “help farmers in pro- curement and payment” issues across the country. The BKS while supporting demand for guaranting Minimum Support Price to the farmers has not joined the farmers agitation, citing “politi- cisation” of the protest. The BJP is attempting to rope in farmers who are inclined to toe a middle-path” in the ongoing protest and be satisfied with the amendments and guaranteeing the MSP and not be with the “extremists” wanting a com- plete annulment of the three farm laws, sources said. T he Union Home Ministry on Friday summoned West Bengal’s Chief Secretary and DGP on December 14 for an explanation on the law and order situation in the State. While the two officials refused to turn up saying the matter was being examined by the State Government, TMC launched scathing attack on the Centre for bypassing the State Government. Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay and Director General of Police Virendra were asked to present before the Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla to explain the law and order situation based on the report of Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar’s on the attack on BJP president JP Nadda’s convoy. In response to the Home Ministry’s letter, Chief Secretary wrote back saying his and DGP’s presence in Delhi was avoidable as the matter is “already being examined” by the State Government. He also wrote, “While fur- ther reports are being obtained and compiled, in the circum- stances, I am directed to request you to kindly dispense with the presence of State offi- cials in the meeting, consider- ing the State Government is already addressing this issue with utmost seriousness.” Continued on Page 2 T housands of doctors on Friday held nationwide strike under the banner of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) opposing the Centre’s move to allow postgraduate practitioners of Ayurveda to be trained in performing surgical procedures. The strike involved the withdrawal of non-Covid and non-essential activities from 6 am to 6 pm. Last month, the Central Council of Indian Medicine — the regulatory body for the study and practice of Ayurveda in India — amended the Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurveda Education) Regulations, 2016, to include the regulation to per- mit postgraduate students of Ayurveda to receive training and practice of “shalya” and “shalakya”. Shalya refers to gen- eral surgery, shalakya is relat- ed to diseases of the ear, nose, throat, head, eye, and oro- dentistry. The IMA con- demned the move, terming the decision as a “deceptive camouflage of mixing the sys- tems of medicine”. The Ayush Ministry then issued a statement clarifying that the amendment was spe- cific to 58 surgical procedures only. However, the body of medical practitioners said: “It is nothing but a blatant attempt at mixopathy and khichdifica- tion of medical education and practice.” On Friday, doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and various other Government-run hospitals in Delhi and the municipality-run Hindu Rao Hospital performed duties while wearing black armbands and ribbons. Dr R Sharma, national president of the association, said: “Modern medicine is con- trolled and research-oriented, we are proud of the heritage and richness of Ayurveda but the two shouldn’t be mixed.” Continued on Page 2 R ebutting Chinese claim that India is responsible for ten- sion at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), New Delhi on Friday hit back and said the sit- uation worsened due to efforts by Beijing to “unilaterally change” the status of the LAC. These strong comments by External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava came at a media briefing. He was asked about the fresh comments by the Chinese foreign ministry blam- ing India again for the border situation in eastern Ladakh. “Our position has been very clear and has been artic- ulated several times in the past. The situation that we have seen since the last six months has been a result of the actions of the Chinese side which has sought to effect a unilateral change in status along the LAC in eastern Ladakh,” he said. “These actions are in vio- lation of the bilateral agree- ments and protocol on ensur- ing peace and tranquility along the LAC in the India-China border areas,” Srivastava added. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Thursday blamed India again for the border standoff in eastern Ladakh. “We have taken note of the Chinese side’s statement that it observes ‘strictly the agreements between the two sides and is committed to resolving the border issue through dialogue and safe- guarding peace and tranquili- ty’ in the border areas. We expect that the Chinese side will match its words with actions,” Srivastava said. Incidentally, the latest war of words between India and China broke out after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said two days back that rela- tions between the two countries are at worst stage in the last 30 to 40 years. He also said ties with China have “significantly damaged.” Striking a strident note in the backdrop of armies of both the countries locked in face-offs at the 1,700 km long LAC in Ladakh, Jaishankar said the ties were “very significantly dam- aged” because of Beijing’s vio- lation of agreements on main- taining peace and tranquility on the LAC. He admitted the talks at various levels had so far failed to address the basic issue that “agreements are not being observed.” Continued on Page 2 P une-based Serum Institute of India (SII) may get emer- gency use nod for Covishield in India as soon as the UK’s drug regulator gives go ahead to the vaccine, which officials here expect to be before year end. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said at an event that in the coming weeks vac- cination process will kick-start in India as soon as it is approved by the regulatory agency concerned. Sources said SII might take the lead in getting nod. Dr Harsh Vardhan was speaking at the inter-ministe- rial meeting on vaccination of South Asia organised by the World Bank through video conference. The sources said the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is currently evaluat- ing data, including which dos- ing regimen is best to use for the Covid vaccine developed by UK’s Oxford and AstraZeneca. “The MHRA approval is expected before Christmas and India may give a go-ahead soon after that,” sources said. “The regulatory approval in the UK is crucial to strength- en SII’s application seeking emergency use authorisation in India because the proposal here refers to trials being con- ducted in the UK and Brazil. Moreover, the vaccine is yet to be approved in any country. It is a sensitive matter and only once we are sure of the safety, efficacy and immunogenicity of the vaccine, we can grant an approval,” an official said. The MHRA’s evaluation of data is likely to bring more clar- ity on dosage of the vaccine — which has shown efficacy of 62 per cent when two full doses were given to trial partici- pants, but 90 per cent for a smaller sub-group given a half dose and then a full dose. Vardhan said, “Effective planning and strategic man- agement has enabled India to keep its cases per million at 7,078 against the global average of 8,883. The fatality rate is 1.45%, well below the global average of 2.29%.” U nion Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday cautioned farmers agi- tating against the three farm laws not to fall prey to false pro- paganda and not allow anti-social elements to take advantage of their peaceful agitation. He said some “anti-social elements” are conspiring to spoil the atmosphere of the peasants’ movement under the guise of farmers and appealed the protesters to be vigilant against their platform being misused. Tagging a media report about posters coming up at farmers’ Tikri Border protest site demanding release of some activists arrested under various charges, Tomar said, “Anti- social elements are conspiring to spoil the atmosphere of the peasant movement under the guise of farmers.” Continued on Page 2 A mid continuing protests at Delhi borders against the Centre’s three new agri laws, farmers’ body ‘Bharatiya Kisan Union Bhanu’ (BKUB)has moved the Supreme Court seeking to intervene as a party in a pending plea challenging the constitutional validity the legislations. A bench headed by Chief Justice Justice SA Bobde, on October 12, had issued a notice to the Centre by agreeing to test the validity of the laws on the pleas filed by RJD lawmaker from Rajya Sabha, Manoj Jha and DMK Rajya Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu, Tiruchi Siva, and one by Rakesh Vaishnav of Chhattisgarh Kisan Congress. BKUB, through its Mathura-based president Bhanu Pratap Singh, has sought impleadment as a party in the lead petition filed by DMK law- maker Tiruchi Siva. Continued on Page 2 O n the 16th day of farmers’ protest against the three recently introduced farm laws, farmers stayed put at borders across the national Capital. With farmers sitting at borders across the city, the alternative routes to neighboring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh continued to witness long traffic queues during office hours. “On December 12, the farmers have decided to block the Delhi-Jaipur Highway and if still the law is not rolled back, the farmers on December 14, will stage sit-in protests in front of Deputy Commissioner’s (DC) offices across the country and houses of BJP leaders. We will also block Reliance and Adani toll plazas. There is no programme to stop trains. Continued on Page 2

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  • ��������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������!��"������#���$�����%���&'(��������!���

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    With agitating farmersreluctant to acceptGovernment’s offer on farmlaws and intensifying their stir,the BJP has sought to launch astrong counter-awareness cam-paign to mobilise support forthe new agriculture marketinglaws with the public and thefarmers outside Punjab andHaryana.

    The ruling party’s vigorousoutreach programme in “nextfew days” would involve 100press conferences and 718farmers meeting in as manydistricts to explain “correct”implications of the three farmlaws to the farmers of thecountry, sources said.

    The BJP leaders wouldorganise “kisan sammelans”in rural “chaupals” to con-vince the farmers that the newfarm laws would give them“unrestricted freedom” to selland “increase” their income byway of contract farming, saidsources in the party.

    The new Central farm lawshave allowed trade and contractin agricultural produce as alsoremoved restrictions on hoard-ing by amending essential com-modities Act. Farmers aredemanding that theGovernment rollback these lawwhich they say would putfarmers at the mercy of corpo-rate traders and their profi-teering business.

    According to BJP leaders,their “awareness campaign”(on the farm laws) which gotthwarted on account of coron-avirus pandemic, would beexpanded and also involve

    farmers outside Punjab andHaryana, the States which,they claim, are “mainly feed-ing” the current stir on the out-skirts of Delhi.

    Union and State CabinetMinisters will take part in theintense communication cam-paign with documents and“point-by-point” allay farm-ers’ apprehensions on the lawsas they would also list outGovernment’s “readiness” toamend the sections which mayhelp neutralising their fears oncontract farming.

    The farmers wing of theRSS — “Bharatiya Kisan Sangh”(BKS) — is too planning toorganise a massive farmer out-reach and around “KisanChaupals” in different parts ofthe country to showcase thebenefits of the farm laws.

    “The exercise has alreadybegun in right earnest in ruralareas,” said one of the BKS leaders.

    The BKS has asked all itsunits to “help farmers in pro-curement and payment” issuesacross the country.

    The BKS while supportingdemand for guarantingMinimum Support Price tothe farmers has not joined thefarmers agitation, citing “politi-cisation” of the protest.

    The BJP is attempting torope in farmers who areinclined to toe a middle-path” in the ongoingprotest and be satisfied with theamendments and guaranteeingthe MSP and not be with the“extremists” wanting a com-plete annulment of the threefarm laws, sources said.

    #���� �#=:?(�

    The Union Home Ministryon Friday summoned WestBengal’s Chief Secretary andDGP on December 14 for anexplanation on the law andorder situation in the State.

    While the two officialsrefused to turn up saying thematter was being examinedby the State Government, TMClaunched scathing attack on theCentre for bypassing the StateGovernment.

    Chief Secretary AlapanBandyopadhyay and DirectorGeneral of Police Virendrawere asked to present beforethe Union Home SecretaryAjay Kumar Bhalla to explainthe law and order situationbased on the report ofGovernor Jagdeep Dhankhar’s

    on the attack on BJP presidentJP Nadda’s convoy.

    In response to the HomeMinistry’s letter, ChiefSecretary wrote back saying hisand DGP’s presence in Delhiwas avoidable as the matter is“already being examined” bythe State Government.

    He also wrote, “While fur-

    ther reports are being obtainedand compiled, in the circum-stances, I am directed torequest you to kindly dispensewith the presence of State offi-cials in the meeting, consider-ing the State Government isalready addressing this issuewith utmost seriousness.”

    Continued on Page 2

    #���� �#=:?(

    Thousands of doctors onFriday held nationwidestrike under the banner of theIndian Medical Association(IMA) opposing the Centre’smove to allow postgraduatepractitioners of Ayurveda to betrained in performing surgicalprocedures.

    The strike involved thewithdrawal of non-Covid andnon-essential activities from 6am to 6 pm.

    Last month, the CentralCouncil of Indian Medicine —the regulatory body for thestudy and practice of Ayurveda

    in India — amended the IndianMedicine Central Council(Post Graduate AyurvedaEducation) Regulations, 2016,to include the regulation to per-mit postgraduate students ofAyurveda to receive trainingand practice of “shalya” and

    “shalakya”. Shalya refers to gen-eral surgery, shalakya is relat-ed to diseases of the ear, nose,throat, head, eye, and oro-dentistry. The IMA con-demned the move, termingthe decision as a “deceptivecamouflage of mixing the sys-

    tems of medicine”.The Ayush Ministry then

    issued a statement clarifyingthat the amendment was spe-cific to 58 surgical proceduresonly. However, the body ofmedical practitioners said: “Itis nothing but a blatant attemptat mixopathy and khichdifica-tion of medical education andpractice.”

    On Friday, doctors at theAll India Institute of MedicalSciences and various otherGovernment-run hospitals inDelhi and the municipality-runHindu Rao Hospital performedduties while wearing blackarmbands and ribbons.

    Dr R Sharma, nationalpresident of the association,said: “Modern medicine is con-trolled and research-oriented,we are proud of the heritageand richness of Ayurveda butthe two shouldn’t be mixed.”

    Continued on Page 2

    #���� �#=:?(

    Rebutting Chinese claim thatIndia is responsible for ten-sion at the Line of ActualControl (LAC), New Delhi onFriday hit back and said the sit-uation worsened due to effortsby Beijing to “unilaterallychange” the status of the LAC.

    These strong commentsby External Affairs MinistrySpokesperson AnuragSrivastava came at a mediabriefing. He was asked aboutthe fresh comments by theChinese foreign ministry blam-ing India again for the bordersituation in eastern Ladakh.

    “Our position has beenvery clear and has been artic-ulated several times in thepast. The situation that wehave seen since the last sixmonths has been a result of theactions of the Chinese sidewhich has sought to effect a

    unilateral change in statusalong the LAC in easternLadakh,” he said.

    “These actions are in vio-lation of the bilateral agree-ments and protocol on ensur-ing peace and tranquility alongthe LAC in the India-Chinaborder areas,” Srivastava added.

    A Chinese foreign ministryspokesperson on Thursdayblamed India again for the

    border standoff in easternLadakh. “We have taken noteof the Chinese side’s statementthat it observes ‘strictly theagreements between the twosides and is committed toresolving the border issuethrough dialogue and safe-guarding peace and tranquili-ty’ in the border areas. Weexpect that the Chinese sidewill match its words with

    actions,” Srivastava said.Incidentally, the latest war

    of words between India andChina broke out after ExternalAffairs Minister S Jaishankarsaid two days back that rela-tions between the two countriesare at worst stage in the last 30to 40 years. He also said tieswith China have “significantlydamaged.”

    Striking a strident note inthe backdrop of armies of boththe countries locked in face-offsat the 1,700 km long LAC inLadakh, Jaishankar said the tieswere “very significantly dam-aged” because of Beijing’s vio-lation of agreements on main-taining peace and tranquilityon the LAC.

    He admitted the talks atvarious levels had so far failedto address the basic issue that“agreements are not beingobserved.”

    Continued on Page 2

    #���� �#=:?(

    Pune-based Serum Instituteof India (SII) may get emer-gency use nod for Covishield inIndia as soon as the UK’s drugregulator gives go ahead to thevaccine, which officials hereexpect to be before year end.

    Union Health MinisterHarsh Vardhan said at an event

    that in the coming weeks vac-cination process will kick-startin India as soon as it isapproved by the regulatoryagency concerned. Sourcessaid SII might take the lead ingetting nod.

    Dr Harsh Vardhan wasspeaking at the inter-ministe-rial meeting on vaccination ofSouth Asia organised by the

    World Bank through videoconference.

    The sources said theMedicines and HealthcareProducts Regulatory Agency(MHRA) is currently evaluat-ing data, including which dos-ing regimen is best to use forthe Covid vaccine developed byUK’s Oxford and AstraZeneca.

    “The MHRA approval is

    expected before Christmas andIndia may give a go-aheadsoon after that,” sources said.

    “The regulatory approvalin the UK is crucial to strength-en SII’s application seekingemergency use authorisation inIndia because the proposalhere refers to trials being con-ducted in the UK and Brazil.Moreover, the vaccine is yet tobe approved in any country. Itis a sensitive matter and onlyonce we are sure of the safety,efficacy and immunogenicity ofthe vaccine, we can grant anapproval,” an official said.

    The MHRA’s evaluation ofdata is likely to bring more clar-ity on dosage of the vaccine —which has shown efficacy of 62per cent when two full doseswere given to trial partici-pants, but 90 per cent for asmaller sub-group given a halfdose and then a full dose.

    Vardhan said, “Effectiveplanning and strategic man-agement has enabled India tokeep its cases per million at7,078 against the global averageof 8,883. The fatality rate is1.45%, well below the globalaverage of 2.29%.”

    #���� �#=:?(

    Union Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar onFriday cautioned farmers agi-tating against the three farmlaws not to fall prey to false pro-paganda and not allow anti-social elements to takeadvantage of their peacefulagitation.

    He said some “anti-socialelements” are conspiring tospoil the atmosphere of thepeasants’ movement under the

    guise of farmers and appealedthe protesters to be vigilantagainst their platform beingmisused.

    Tagging a media reportabout posters coming up atfarmers’ Tikri Border protestsite demanding release of someactivists arrested under variouscharges, Tomar said, “Anti-social elements are conspiringto spoil the atmosphere of thepeasant movement under theguise of farmers.”

    Continued on Page 2

    #�!�� �#=:?(

    Amid continuing protestsat Delhi borders against theCentre’s three new agri laws,farmers’ body ‘Bharatiya KisanUnion Bhanu’ (BKUB)hasmoved the Supreme Courtseeking to intervene as a partyin a pending plea challengingthe constitutional validity thelegislations.

    A bench headed by ChiefJustice Justice SA Bobde, onOctober 12, had issued a notice

    to the Centre by agreeing to testthe validity of the laws on thepleas filed by RJD lawmakerfrom Rajya Sabha, Manoj Jhaand DMK Rajya Sabha MPfrom Tamil Nadu, Tiruchi Siva,and one by Rakesh Vaishnav ofChhattisgarh Kisan Congress.

    BKUB, through itsMathura-based presidentBhanu Pratap Singh, has soughtimpleadment as a party in thelead petition filed by DMK law-maker Tiruchi Siva.

    Continued on Page 2

    �)�() ���!��)�� �#=:?(

    On the 16th day of farmers’protest against the threerecently introduced farm laws,farmers stayed put at bordersacross the national Capital.With farmers sitting at bordersacross the city, the alternativeroutes to neighboring Haryanaand Uttar Pradesh continued towitness long traffic queuesduring office hours.

    “On December 12, thefarmers have decided to blockthe Delhi-Jaipur Highway andif still the law is not rolled back,the farmers on December 14,will stage sit-in protests infront of DeputyCommissioner’s (DC) officesacross the country and housesof BJP leaders. We will alsoblock Reliance and Adani toll

    plazas. There is no programmeto stop trains.

    Continued on Page 2

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    Air quality in Delhiimproved marginally withoverall AQI settled at 302 μgm-3 on the National Ambient AirQuality Index ( NAAQI ) onFriday.

    According to System ofAir Quality and Weather

    Forecasting And Research (SAFAR ), air quality improvedto poor category from VeryPoor.

    “Surface-level winds arecalm, but likely to pick up dur-ing the day. Under the influ-ence of fresh Western D(1)Delhi: The overall air qualityhas improved to the Poor cat-

    egory from Very Poor as fore-cast,”

    Citing MeT factors, it fur-ther said that Surface-levelwinds are calm but will pick upduring the day. Under theinfluence of fresh WesternDisturbance, isolated to scat-tered rainfall and better venti-lation conditions are expectedon Friday night and Saturdayand Air Quality Index is like-ly to further improve on to thelower end of the Poor toModerate category byDecember 12.”

    “However, respite is notexpected to last longer. As anaftermath of WD, high mois-ture availability with higher airholding capacity, dense fogformation is expected (mainlyduring early morning hours)which will lead to deteriorationof AQI to Poor to lower end ofthe Very Poor category onDecember 13 and 14th,” itsaid.

    Meanwhile, values ofSuspended Particulate Matters( SPMs), PM 10 and 2.5 wererecorded 265 and 122 μgm-3.

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    Delhi on Friday reported2,385 new cases of Covid-19 taking the total number ofpeople infected with coron-avirus to 603535 while thedeath toll touched 9,934.

    According to the healthbulletin, which details infor-mation about the fresh casesregistered in the last 24 hours,71679 tests (31724 RT-PCR,CBNAAT and True NAATtests figures; 39955- RapidAntigen). The number of con-tainment zones stood at 6501.The Covid-19 positivity rate

    has also come down to 3.33 percent.

    Delhi health ministerSatyendar Jain said that thethird wave of covid in Delhi ison the wane and urged every-one to continue following theprecautions to effectively com-bat the virus.

    Deliberating on the statusof health in the city, Jain said“November 7 was the peak ofthe third wave in Delhi. Thepositivity rate was 15.26 percent on that day, which hasbeen on the perpetual declineever since. For the past 10 days,the positivity rate has been

    below five per cent. I can saythat the third wave is on thewane. More than 70,000 testshowever are still being carriedout.”

    “The situation is verymuch under control, but still,I will request you all to wear amask, follow social distancing.Wearing a mask will help us ineradicating the virus from thecity. I applaud the citizens fortheir continued support, aswell as the healthcare workerswho have been working tire-lessly,” he added.

    Addressing the query sur-rounding the delay in reportsof RT-PCR tests, he said “Iagree that there has been adelay, but that is being lookedinto. We followed the CentralGovernment’s orders to doublethe testing, which led to thedelay. But now, there is better-ment in the turnaround time”

    As per the bulletin, 314beds in COVID care centres areoccupied by persons underquarantine, including travellerswho have returned by VandeBharat Mission and bubbleflights, it said.

    �� �����#������� �#=:?(

    Minister of UrbanDevelopment SatyendarJain on Friday asked theAdditional Chief Secretary(Urban Development) to inves-tigate the matter of alleged“misappropriation” of fundsby the North Corporation. TheAAP on Thursday accused theNorth Corporation of waivingoff �2,400 crore due to theSouth Delhi MunicipalCorporation (SDMC).

    Jain said that there is a mis-appropriation of more than�2,400 crore done by BJP ledNorth Corporation. “The inca-pacity of North MCD to paythe salaries of the doctors andstaff is quite transparent. DelhiGovernment pays off all thedues to MCD before time andtheir accusations towards us arebaseless,” he said.

    On the ongoing farmeragitation, he said that the cen-

    tral government should com-ply with the demands as theyare the food soldiers of thenation. However, when askedabout the lack of social dis-tancing at the Singhu border,the minister retorted by sayingthat the media did not raiseeyebrows when BJP supportersattacked deputy chief ministerManish Sisodia’s residencewithout following social dis-tancing.

    “The Central Governmentshould comply with itsdemands. The farmers are ourfood soldiers. They have trav-elled kilometres together, leav-ing their homes, so the centralgovernment should take imme-diate action,” he added.

    Responding to the queriessurrounding this fund transfer,he said, “I became aware of thisdevelopment through news-paper and media reports whichstated that BJP run NorthMCD misappropriated an

    amount more than ?2400 crorefrom South Delhi MCD. I havegiven orders to investigate thematter.”

    “Delhi government hasbeen instrumental in paying offwhatever is due to MCD, beforetime. We are not supposed topay them anything, instead,they are the ones who owe usthousands of crores” Jain saidon the alleged claims made byMCD on Delhi Government.

    When asked about thedemand of �13,000 crores byMayors, the Minister said “TheCorporations should ask theCentral Government. Duringthe last elections, they wereconfident about getting fundsfrom the Central Government.The amount that DelhiGovernment owes to the MCDas per the Finance Commissionis duly paid off before time. Wehave rather loaned themmoney which is yet to berecovered” he added.

    �� �����#������� �#=:?(

    A62-year-old person from Delhi was diagnosed withhigh-grade (stage III) locally advanced ‘InvasiveDuctal Carcinoma’ (IDC), a most common type of breastcancer in men, has been successfully treated at a city hos-pital.

    After an excisional biopsy, a sample of tissue taken fromthe body in order to examine it more closely, Kumar wasdiagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma that startedgrowing on the milk duct and has invaded the fatty tis-sues on the breast outside of the duct. He was successful-ly treated following a staged approach to allow the patienttime to tolerate therapies, said Dr ChandragoudaDodagoudar, Director - Medical Oncology at AakashHealthcare, Dwarka.

    Interestingly, subsequent genetic testing showed he hasno family history of cancer or hereditary breast and ovar-ian cancer (HBOC) syndrome, potential risk factors citedfor male breast cancer, he said.

    “This high-grade (which tend to grow and spread morequickly) cancer was challenging as the patient was obeseand has long-standing diabetes, which made planning andexecuting chemotherapy difficult. So, we adopted a stagedapproach to allow the patient time to tolerate therapies.In the first stage, he underwent a surgery for removing thetumour followed by eight cycles of chemotherapy, spacedonce in three weeks to allow recovery. This was followedby radiation therapy that reduces the risk of recurrence ofcancer after the surgery,” he added.

    Dr Aashish Chaudhry, Managing Director of the hos-pital said “Male breast cancer is a rare disease. Most of thecases come to the fore at an advanced stage as men are notwilling to accept that they can also get Breast Cancer. Thiscase highlights how sound understanding of oncologistscan help not only treat but cure advanced cancers. Menmust be aware that breast cancer can happen to them evenif they don't have a family history of cancer.”

    Breast Cancer in male is a rare disease and the ratioof male to female breast cancer diagnosis is 1:120.

    �� �����#��������#=:?(

    All three Mayors ofBharatiya Janata Party(BJP)-ruled corporationsannounced that they will runtheir offices from a dharna siteoutside the Chief Minister's res-idence from Monday. Mayorsand leaders of the three munic-ipal corporations has been sit-ting outside Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal’s res-idence for days, demanding toclear dues of �13,000 crore.

    North Delhi Mayor JaiPrakash, Mayor of South DelhiAnamika Mithilesh and Mayorof East Delhi Nirmal Jain in ajoint press conference informedabout the move.

    North Mayor Jai Prakash

    said that the Delhi governmentwants to create a state of anar-chy in Delhi by not giving theoutstanding funds of the threecorporations.

    Prakash accused the gov-ernment of playing party pol-itics keeping in mind the

    upcoming corporation elec-tions. He said that due to nonrelease of funds by Delhi gov-ernment, all developmentworks in Delhi have stoppedand corporations are facing lotof problems even in timelyrelease of salaries of their

    employees.SDMC Mayor Anamika

    said that they failed to meetDelhi Chief Minister on thefifth consecutive day. Mayorsaid that AAP leaders are notbothered about the ongoingfund crisis in MCDs resultingin delay of salary payment ofemployees. They are only show-ing their sympathy for farmerssitting at Delhi borders but nosympathy for councillors sittingoutside his residence since thelast five days,” she said.

    Anamika further said thatemployees of all three civicagencies will also join theprotest if Delhi Governmentfails to meet our demand ofimmediate release of out-standing money.

    “Salaries of frontline work-ers like healthcare staff, safaikarmis, DBC workers, teachers,etc are pending since long.Delhi Government must showsympathy towards them andshould release its dues,” shesaid.

    �� �����#�������6A&A6&-4

    After protesting farmersdecided to intensify theirdemonstration in support oftheir demands, GurugramPolice have already beefed upsecurity at key city’s road alongwith, toll plazas, Delhi-Haryanaborder and State highways inview of protesters' plan to blockthe Delhi-Jaipur Expressway onDecember 12.

    More than 1,500 policepersonnel have been deployedat various points along NationalHighway 48 on December 12 toensure law and order is main-tained and there is no disrup-

    tion to traffic movement.“As precautionary major

    around 68 magistrates havebeen appointed along withpolice officers to maintain lawand order situations across thedistrict. Nobody will be allowedto disrupt peace inside thedistrict and if anyone foundinvolved in disputing or force-fully blocking the road a nec-essary action will be initiatedagainst the offenders as perlaw,” Khatri said.

    Moreover, the GurugramPolice have deployed a numberof police personnel at the sen-sitive locations throughout thecity.

    “Concern police officers

    including DCPs will be onpatrol in their areas. We haveissued an advisory to all offi-cials concerned to take neces-sary precautionary measures inview of plans to block theexpressway and toll plaza," KKRao, commissioner ofGurugram police said.

    Police officials have beenasked to intensify patrolling inall sensitive locations, especiallyin border areas and KherkiDaula toll plaza so as to preventany untoward incident.

    Furthermore, the DelhiPolice on Friday again tight-ened security at the Delhi-Gurugram border on thenational highway. CISF per-

    sonnel and Delhi police per-sonnel were stationed at theborder point and kept an eyeon suspicious people sur-rounding the border areas. Inview of the decision of variousfarmers associations to blockthe Delhi-Jaipur Expressway onDecember 12, the DistrictMagistrate of Gurugram, AmitKhatri, has appointed 68 DutyMagistrates at multiple loca-tions in the district on Friday.

    These duty magistrates willbe on duty along with thepolice officers throughout theday. Meanwhile, AnjuChaudhary, Chief ExecutiveOfficer of GurugramMahanagar City Bus Limited,

    has been appointed as overallin-charge for the entire districtin case of blocking the highway.

    Apart from this, Sub

    Divisional Magistrate (SDM)Gurugram, Badshahpur,Pataudi and Sohna will be incharge in their respective areas.

    �� �����#������� �#=:?(

    Awoman, in her late 30’s,allegedly tried to end herlife by setting herself ablazeusing kerosene in Sagarpurarea of southwest Delhi onFriday morning. Police saidthat she has sustained 90-95 percent burn injuries and is cur-rently unfit for statement.

    According to Ingit PratapSingh, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), Southwest district, theincident took place in BuddhaJayanti Park and she wasrushed to Deen Dayal

    Upadhyay hospital by some ofthe morning walkers whofound her engulfed in flames.

    “They managed to dousethe fire and informed thepolice. During enquiry, a wit-ness told police that thewoman was seen carryingkerosene cane in her hands justbefore the incident.

    “The kerosene cane wasalso lying on the spot,” said theDCP.

    “It appears that the womantried to commit suicide.However, further enquiry isunderway to ascertain the rea-son for the incident,” he said.

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    The Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) on Friday accusedthe BJP-ruled MunicipalCorporations of being apa-thetic towards running corpo-rations smoothly and provid-ing people the basic amenities.

    Senior party leader Atishisaid that all three municipalcorporations that are respon-sible for maintaining parks,sanitation, running primaryschools and providing streetlights besides others, are beingrun without Commissionersfor the last 15 days and evenmayors are sitting outside thechief minister house for thelast five days.

    The AAP leader said “Inthe development of any citythe municipality plays a veryimportant role. In Delhi, in theyear 1957 Delhi MunicipalCorporation Act was passedand under this act, there arevarious responsibilities givento the MCD. There are variousworks which are very impor-tant for the day to day life ofthe citizens and these workscome under the MCD. These

    works include sanitation, pri-mary education, taking care ofthe street lights, maintenanceof the park and many others.”

    “DMC act 1957 has clear-ly mentioned these works ofthe MCD. But we need tounderstand who is responsiblefor doing these works. If weconsider the mayor of anyMCD as the concerned personfor these works then you willsee that all the three mayors ofthe MCDs are sitting outsidethe CM residence for the pastseveral days and doing poli-tics,” she said.

    “At one side the mayorsare sitting outside the resi-dence of the Delhi ChiefMinister and on the otherhand the commissioners areon leave. So the question iswho is running the BJP ruledMCD? The AAP wants toknow who is responsible rightnow for the fact that theMCDs are completely head-less. The Commissioners ofthe MCD are the most impor-tant executive but for the lasttwo weeks, they are on leavewhich means that there is noone to look after the works ofMCDs,” she said.

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    The only officer to serve allthe three Services on Fridaycelebrated his 100th birthday.Colonel Prithipal SinghGill(retired)also fought in theIndia-Pakistan war as an Armyofficer.

    Gill is the only officer tohave served in the Royal AirForce(RAF), Royal India Navyand then the Indian Army. Hestarted his career in the pre-World War II era as a youngpilot in the RAF. He sawaction as a naval officer inworld war two.

    Gill was born in 1920 inPatiala and studied atGovernment College, Lahore.He got married to PreminderKaur in 1950. The couple

    presently resides in Chandigarhwith their children and grand-children.

    Gill joined the RAF in1942 without the consent of hisfamily. He was commissionedas a Pilot Officer and stationedat Karachi flying Howard air-craft. Flying was then consid-ered unsafe and his family didnot want their son to live thelife of a Pilot. This is when aBritish General, known to theGill family, General Savoy,came to his help and was ableto have Pilot Officer Singhtransferred to the Navy.

    In the Navy, he served ona minesweeping ship and lateron INS Teer which was a Navyescort Ship for cargo shipsduring World War II. Gill wasdetailed to attend the Long

    Gunnery Staff Course at Schoolof Artillery, Deolali, and he

    qualified as an Instructor inGunnery. He then sought a

    transfer to the Army, which wasapproved, and he was posted to“Gwalior Mountain Battery”equipped with 5.4 inchHowitzers.

    He later served with 34Medium Regiment and laterraised and commanded 71Medium Regiment. During the1965 Indo-Pak War when fourguns of his regiment were cutoff by enemy action, Gill per-sonally led a successful missionto retrieve the four guns.

    On promotion to the rankof Colonel, Singh commandedan Assam Rifles Sector inUkhrul, Manipur. He took pre-mature retirement in 1970 andwent to farming the familylands at his native village Pakhiin Faridkot District.

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    Asserting that climate changeisn't an overnight phenom-enon, Union EnvironmentMinister Prakash Javadekar onTuesday said India is in no wayresponsible for it still it is takingsteps to cut down emissions asa responsible country. Javadekarwas speaking on the eve of thefifth year of Paris ClimateAgreement

    “Climate change isn't anovernight phenomenon, it takes100 years for a change and Indiais in no way responsible for thisclimate change. Historically, theUSA has 25 per cent of all emis-sions, Europe has 22 per centwhereas China has 13 per centand India, only 3 per cent. We arein no way responsible for this cli-mate change," said the Minister.

    But as a responsible partic-ipant in world affairs, the coun-try chose to take part in com-

    bating climate change, he said. "Our emission intensity was

    to be reduced by 33-35 per centas per the Paris ClimateAgreement. We achieved 21 percent of this and aim to achievethe remainder in 10 years,’” saidJavadekar while addressing themedia here. On December 12,Prime Minister Narendra Modiwill address the global climatesummit on its fifth anniversary,Javadekar said adding that Indiawas one of the few countries,which have complied to theParis Accord. “Our NationallyDetermined Contribution willlead to less than 2 degree rise intemperature,” he added.

    “According to the ClimateTransparency Report 2020, Indiais the only Group of 20 countryto meet its commitments,” theminister claimed.

    “The recent report by theUnited Nations EnvironmentPlan also says that India’s emis-

    sions grew 1.4 per cent in 2019,much lower than average of 3.3per cent per annum over lastdecade.”The Paris Agreementaims to hold the rise in averageglobal temperatures to "wellbelow" 2 degrees Celsius abovepreindustrial levels, and prefer-ably 1.5C -- a threshold beyondwhich climate impacts are pro-jected to sharply intensify.

    For the implementation ofthe targets under the Paris pacton climate crisis, theEnvironment Ministry, a fewdays ago, set up a high-level min-isterial panel. The purpose ofAIPA [Apex Committee forImplementation of ParisAgreement] is to generate acoordinated response on cli-mate change matters that ensuresIndia is on track towards meet-ing its obligations under the Parispact including its NationallyDetermined Contributions(NDC), a senior official said.

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    As China is flexing its mili-tary muscle in the IndianOcean Region(IOR), Chief ofDefence Staff(CDS)GeneralBipin Rawat said on Friday arace is on among nations tohave strategic bases in theregion. Given the importanceof the zone, more than 120 war-ships of extra-regional forcesare now there to back variousmissions, he said.

    His observations came inthe backdrop of India playinga crucial role in the field ofmaritime domain in the strate-gically important Indian Oceanregion. Moreover, it has bol-stered relations with all the lit-toral states located on the rimof the region.

    China started increasing itsmilitary prowess in the IndianOcean region since 2008 bydeploying its warships for anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of

    Aden. As of now, there arethree to four Chinese war-ships in the region.

    In this background, Rawatsaid here in an online confer-ence there has been a "race forstrategic places and bases" inthe Indian Ocean Regionwhich is only going to gainmomentum in times to come.

    An increasing number ofcountries are focusing on theIOR considering its geo-strate-gic importance. "At present,there are over 120 warships ofextra-regional forces deployedin the Indian Ocean region insupport of various missions.Till now the region, by andlarge, remained peaceful,"Rawat said at the GlobalSecurity Summit.

    The Indian Ocean, con-sidered the backyard of theIndian Navy, is critical forIndia's strategic interests. Chinahas been making concertedefforts to increase its presence

    in the region.Referring to India's aspi-

    rations to become a majorglobal power, he said the coun-try will have to achieve itdespite living in a "tough neigh-bourhood" and in an "increas-ingly contested" region.

    "We are witnessing a racefor strategic places and bases inthe Indian Ocean Regionwhich is only going to gainmomentum in times to come.Based on challenges we face asa rising regional power, werequire structured long-termplanning for capability buildingand capability development ofour defence forces.

    "In our quest to build astronger India, we need apeaceful and stable securityenvironment. We need tomaintain our strategic autono-my and cooperative relationsunderscored by strong region-al linkages," he said.

    Referring to the evolving

    geo-political scenario, the CDSsaid China's "economic andmilitary rise coupled with com-petition increased its influ-ence and attracted a great dealof interest.

    Rawat said the worldappears to be on the brink of anew era as new centres ofpower and alliances based ongeo-politics are emergingputting pressure on the BrettonWoods institutions.

    He said the Indo-Pacificregion in general and theIndian Ocean region in partic-ular will remain vital for tran-sit and world trade. "Today, weare facing increasing securitychallenges, and to my mind, thebest guarantor of peace and sta-bility is to have dissuasivedeterrence. For a nation likeIndia, the security of land bor-ders remained our primaryconcern," he said.

    "Therefore, there is a needto develop integrated structures

    to ensure modernisation pro-grammes to be undertaken byour armed forces based oncareful assessment of the natureof threats and challenges," headded.

    He also said most of thecountries in the Indian Oceanregion are seeking to reap theeconomic dividends throughimproved connectivity and har-nessing blue economy forwhich infrastructure is a pre-requisite.

    Residents' powers andextra-regional power haveshown a renewed interest ininvesting in infrastructuredevelopment in these countriesto maintain and increasegeopolitical influence, Rawatsaid.

    He said governance andsecurity are under constantthreat of being undermined bynon-state actors and also navalcompetition among the states.

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    The country's first indige-nous mRNA vaccine can-didate, developed by Gennova,Pune, has received approvalfrom drug regulators to initiatePhase 1/2 human clinical trials,the Department ofBiotechnology said on Friday.

    The novel mRNA vaccinecandidate, HGCO19, is sup-ported with seed grant underthe Ind-CEPI mission of theDepartment of Biotechnology.

    The mRNA vaccines donot use the conventional modelto produce immune response.Instead, they carry the molec-ular instructions to make theprotein in the body through asynthetic RNA of the virus.

    The host body uses this toproduce the viral protein thatis recognised, thereby, makingthe body mount an immuneresponse against the disease.

    "Such vaccines are expectedto be highly efficacious because

    of their inherent capability ofbeing translatable into the pro-tein structure inside the cellcytoplasm.

    Additionally, mRNA vac-cines are fully synthetic and donot require a host for growth,e.g., eggs or bacteria.

    "Therefore, they can bequickly manufactured in aninexpensive manner undercGMP conditions to ensuretheir "availability" and "acces-

    sibility" for mass vaccination ona sustainable basis," said astatement by the DBT.

    Gennova, in collaborationwith HDT BiotechCorporation, Seattle, USA, hasworked together to developan mRNA vaccine candidate.HGCO19 has already demon-strated safety, immunogenici-ty, neutralization antibodyactivity in animals, said thestatement.

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    In a move to prepare a profiledata, the Ministry of Housingand Urban Affairs on Fridaylaunched a programme forsocio-economic profiling ofbeneficiaries of PM StreetVendors’ Aatmanirbhar Nidhi(PM SVANidhi) scheme toextend benefits of other gov-ernment plans to them.

    According to the ministry,a pilot programme will be runin Gaya, Indore, Kakching,Nizamabad, Rajkot, andVaranasi. The Quality Councilof India (QCI) has been appoint-ed as implementing partner forthe programme. The pro-gramme was launched by DurgaShanker Mishra, Secretary of theministry of housing and urbanaffairs on Friday.

    A complete profile of PMSVANidhi beneficiaries andtheir family members will be

    prepared and based on thedata, benefits of the various cen-tral schemes would be extend-ed to them. In the first phase,125 cities have been selected forthe programme. The profile willidentify potential eligibility ofbeneficiaries and their familymembers for select CentralGovernment schemes and facil-itate linkages.

    "Based on the profiled data,benefits of the various eligiblecentral schemes would beextended to them for theirholistic socio-economic uplift-ment," the ministry said.

    PM SVANidhi Schemeprovides micro loans to streetvendors, was launched in June2020 with an objective to pro-vide affordable working capitalloan up to Rs 10,000 to StreetVendors for facilitatingresumption of their livelihoodsadversely affected by theCOVID-19 pandemic.

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  • Every year, the UnitedNations EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP)releases an Emissions GapReport showing the differ-ence between estimated currentgreenhouse gas emission levels andthe target prescribed by the ParisAgreement on Climate Changesigned on December 12, 2015. Thelatter calls for holding the increasein global average temperature in thiscentury to well below 2 degreesCelsius above the pre-industrial-rev-olution level, and for trying to limitit to 1.5 degree Celsius above it.

    Each report not only dwells onthe gap but provides a comprehen-sive account of the situation anddevelopments on the environmentfront during the year, what needs tobe done to combat climate change,and the prospects ahead for theworld. The current report, 11th inthe series titled Emissions GapReport 2020, released on December9, 2020, presents, like its predeces-sors, an alarming picture. It says thatthe year 2020 is likely to be thewarmest on record, with wildfires,droughts, storms and glacier-melt-ing intensifying.

    If one were to identify its mostterrifying prognosis, it would be thatthe world is hurtling towards a tem-perature increase of over 3 degreesCelsius by the end of this century.And this would be despite a predict-ed fall of 7 per cent in carbon diox-ide emissions as a result of the eco-nomic slowdown caused by theCOVID-19 pandemic. The decline,however, would translate to only0.01 degree reduction in globalwarming by 2050, because theemissions would rise again — andbecome even higher — aseconomies bounce back.

    What all this means begins tobecome clear on recalling thataccording to the Special Report onGlobal Warming of 1.5°C (TheSpecial Report), released by theIntergovernmental Panel onClimate Change (IPCC) on October7, 2018, the adverse effects of climatechange would not be reduced evenif the increase is limited to 1.5 degreeCelsius. Sea levels will continue torise beyond 2100, threateningcoastal ecosystems and infrastruc-ture. Flooding, drought and extremeweather events will wreak havocaround the world. Many species willcontinue to be driven towardsextinction and marine ecosystemscould face “irreversible loss.” Whatis particularly alarming, this level,according to the report, is likely tobe reached sometime between 2030

    and 2052. Fourteen per cent ofthe world’s population would beexposed to severe heat waves atleast once in five years at the 1.5degree Celsius warming level.The percentage would rise to 37if the level rises to 2 degreesCelsius. Christopher Flavelle’sreport, titled Climate ChangeThreatens the World’s FoodSupply, United Nations Warns, inthe New York Times of August 8,2019, quotes Edouard Davin, aresearcher at ETH Zurich and anauthor of the report, as saying byemail, “Above 2 degrees of glob-al warming, there could be anincrease of 100 million or moreof the population at risk ofhunger,” and adding, “We need toact quickly.” A three-degreeCelsius increase in temperature,according to a report by LouiseBoyle, datelined December 9,2020, in the Independent of theUK, would cause mass extinc-tions and leave “swathes of plan-et uninhabitable.” It cites thenon-profit organisation, ClimateCentral, as saying that 275 mil-lion people would be at risk inareas flooded by seal-level rise.

    It is a grim scenario onalmost every front. A 65-page“Summary for Policymakers” ofanother IPCC special report of2019 stated that a food crisisloomed large, especially in trop-ical and sub-tropical regions, ifcarbon dioxide emissions contin-ued unchecked. It added thatbesides significantly reducingcrop yields, rising temperaturesmay also bring down the nutri-tional value of crops. Floods,droughts, storms and other formsof extreme weather conditionsthreatened to disrupt and, overtime, reduce the world’s food sup-ply.

    According to StephenLeahy’s report, “World food cri-sis looms if carbon emissions gounchecked, UN says” in the

    National Geographic of August 8,2019, already, more than 10 per-cent of the world’s populationremained undernourished. Itquoted Cynthia Rozenzweig,Coordinating Lead Author of theIPCC’s Special Report on ClimateChange and Land, and a clima-tologist at the NASA GoddardInstitute for Space Studies, as say-ing that extreme weather eventshad already increased in size andintensity, and are playing a rolein food price spikes.

    It cited the examples ofextensive spring floods in the USMidwest in 2019 leading to verylate planting of corn and soycrops, reducing their potentialyields. It also mentioned droughtplaying havoc with rice crops inThailand and Indonesia andsugarcane and oilseeds producesin India in 2019 when record-breaking heat waves in Europewere feared to be causing a 13 percent decline in French wine pro-duction. Apart from under-nour-ishment and hunger, food short-

    ages could lead to an increase incross-border migration, which ishaving an unfortunate impact onpolitics in North America andEurope.

    The question arises: Whatare the chances of averting thedismal future that seems to facethe world? There are some glim-mers of hope. The Emissions GapReport 2020 says that the predict-ed emission rates could bereduced by around 25 per cent ifGovernments commit to a pathof “green recovery” from the pan-demic’s disaster. This would givethe world a fighting chance tokeep global warming down to 2degrees Celsius by the end of thiscentury. Treading this path wouldrequire the provision or directsupport to zero-emissions tech-nologies and infrastructure,reducing fossil fuel subsidies,promoting measures likeafforestation and avoiding defor-estation. Trees are most impor-tant as they reduce the presenceof carbon dioxide in the atmos-phere by absorbing it.

    Agricultural practices andglobal food supply systemsaccount for one-third of theglobal carbon emissions. It is,therefore, important to orientthem towards reducing carbonemissions. For example, steps likethe draining of wetlands to makeroom for cultivation - as has hap-pened in Indonesia and Malaysiato create palm oil plantations -should be avoided as that wouldrelease into the air the hugeamounts of carbon dioxide gastrapped in these water bodies.Further, the Special Report onClimate Change and Land callsfor institutional changes like pro-viding farmers with better accessto credit in developing countriesand giving them stronger prop-erty rights. It further advocatedutilisation of the skills and knowl-edge of indigenous and local peo-

    ple to devise agricultural practicesaimed at promoting biodiversi-ty conservation and combatingdesertification and land degrada-tion.

    Along with agriculture, theEmissions Gap Report 2020emphasises the need for shippingand aviation industries, whichaccount for five per cent of glob-al emissions, to combine energyefficiency with a rapid transitionaway from fossil fuels.

    Around two-thirds of glob-al emissions being linked to pri-vate households, changes in con-sumption and behaviour patternsare required. Cycling, car-sharing,and more energy-efficient hous-ing needs to be promoted. Travelby rail rather than air is recom-mended for short journeys. Thewealthy, particularly, need tomake significant changes in theirlifestyles as the richest 1 per centof the world’s populationaccounts for more than twice thecombined share of the poorest 50per cent. There is a special needto avoid food loss and wastage.

    There are some encouragingsigns. While President DonaldTrump of the US walked out ofthe Paris Agreement and derid-ed the idea of climate change,President-elect Joe Biden hasnot only decided to rejoin but hasset a target for net-zero emissionsno later than 2050. According tothe Emissions Gap Report 2020,some 126 countries, covering 51per cent of global greenhouse gasemissions, have so far, adopted,announced or are considering, anet zero pledge by 2050.

    Nevertheless, optimismneeds to be kept on a tight leash.Between promise and perfor-mance, and resolve and result,falls more than a shadow. In thiscase, the shadow will darken thefuture of the entire world.

    (The author is ConsultingEditor, The Pioneer)

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    The Governor of Uttar Pradesh (UP) recent-ly promulgated an Ordinance called the UttarPradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversionof Religion Ordinance, 2020. It has been promul-gated to provide for prohibition of unlawful con-versions from one religion to another by misrep-resentation, force, undue influence, coercion,allurement, by any fraudulent means or by mar-riage. The emphasis in the Ordinance is on the pro-hibition of “unlawful conversion.” A conversion isconsidered unlawful if it is due to allurement, coer-cion and so on and also by marriage. An “unlaw-ful conversion” is defined as one that is not inaccordance with the law of the land.

    According to the new law, a wo/man intend-ing to convert to another religion needs to informthe District Magistrate or Additional DistrictMagistrate at least 60 days in advance and give adeclaration that the decision is free from any pres-sure or allurement and is being done by one’s freechoice. Yet, another declaration needs to be sub-mitted within 60 days once the conversion takesplace. Only then will the person be able to attaina confirmation certificate that the conversion islawful. The District Magistrate’s Office has toexhibit a copy of the declarations on the noticeboard of the office till the date of confirmation ofconversion.

    However, the UP Ordinance is silent withregard to the nature of the law governing conver-sions. It does not provide any explanation and con-templates that whoever is involved in the saidunlawful conversion shall be punished with animprisonment of not less than one year, which mayextend to five years. The accused person is alsoliable to pay a fine. Though the punishment is oneyear to five years, the Ordinance makes the offencecognisable and non-bailable and triable by thecourt of sessions.

    Generally, in criminal cases the burden ofproof lies with the prosecution but the Ordinanceimposes this burden upon the person who alleged-ly caused the conversion. And wherever the con-version has been facilitated by any other person,the burden of proof is on them too. It also con-templates that any marriage, which was enteredinto for the sole purpose of unlawful conversionby a man of one religion with a woman of anoth-er religion or vice-versa, either by converting him-self/herself before or after marriage or by convert-ing the wo/man before or after marriage, shall bedeclared void by the family court.

    In case, the couple is in an area where the fam-ily court is not established, the civil court havingjurisdiction in the area can try the case and declarethe marriage null and void. There need not be anyindependent adjudication with regard to a decla-ration of any marriage as void as per any other law.However, the fact remains that unless a nexus isestablished between a marriage and unlawful con-version, Section six of the Ordinance, which con-templates marriage to be declared as void by thecourts, is not applicable.

    The meaning of conversion by marriage is alsonot explained in the Ordinance and it contemplatesconversion by marriage per-se unlawful. Generallytwo persons belonging to different faiths can getmarried under the provisions of Special MarriageAct. However, in some cases unless there is a con-version and both, the bride and the bridegroombelong to the same faith, the marriage would notbe performed. Conversion would be a prerequi-

    site in such cases. It cannot be said thatit is a conversion by marriage. TheOrdinance also contemplates that oncethe person who intends to changehis/her religion has made the declarationbefore the District Magistrate, an inquirywould be conducted by the police withregard to “such an intention of a personto convert.” The report of the policewould be a major factor in decidingwhether a person can change their reli-gion or not. It would also be instrumen-tal in concluding whether the conversionis illegal and thus, void.

    The Ordinance also contemplates apost-conversion procedure. It states thata converted individual shall send a dec-laration to the District Magistrate andappear for 21 days thereafter beforehim/her till the objections, if any,received are decided by the DistrictMagistrate. It also contemplates that if theprocedure is not followed the conversionbecomes illegal and void.

    Though the Ordinance protectspeople from getting converted due toallurement, coercion and so on, there isa scope for abusing the provisions byrelying upon the police enquiry report.The Ordinance is silent with regard tothe action of the District Magistrate vis-a-vis the police inquiry report. There isa requirement to have a re-look into theprovisions of the Ordinance for the pur-pose of incorporating necessary checksand balances instead of placing morereliance upon a police enquiry report.

    However, the UP Government’santi-conversion move is not unique. Inthe past too, several States in the coun-try have passed what are referred to asFreedom of Religion Acts or “anti-con-version laws”. These are mostly State-levellaws that are aimed to regulate involun-tary religious conversions. Odisha wasthe first State to pass such a law in 1967

    and the most recent legislation waspassed in Jharkhand and Uttarakhand in2017. Chhattisgarh, Gujarat andHimachal Pradesh passed their“Freedom of Religion Act” in 2000, 2003and 2006 respectively. Taking a cue fromthe others, Rajasthan too passed a sim-ilar Bill in 2006. Arunachal Pradesh hadalready enacted one in 1979 and in 2002Tamil Nadu passed the Tamil NaduProhibition of Forceful Conversion Act.The Supreme Court in the Reverend.Stainislaus Vs. State of Madhya Pradeshcase upheld the provisions of the MadhyaPradesh and Orissa Act. Significantly,Madhya Pradesh enacted the MadhyaPradesh Dharma SwatantrayaAdhinayam Act way back in 1968 andOdisha enacted the Orissa Freedom ofReligion Act in 1967.

    The provisions of both the Acts relat-ing to prohibition of forcible conversionand punishment were challenged beforethe respective High Courts and were car-ried to the Apex Court. The SupremeCourt had held that the freedom of reli-gion enshrined in Article 25 of theConstitution is not guaranteed in respectof one religion only but covers all reli-gions alike and it can be properlyenjoyed by a person if s/he exercisesher/his right in a manner commensuratewith freedom of persons following otherreligions. It was further held that free-dom for one is freedom for the other, inequal measure, and there can thereforebe no such thing as a fundamental rightto convert any person to one’s own reli-gion. The Apex Court upheld the pro-visions which prohibit forceful conver-sion in the background of maintenanceof “public order.” The Supreme Courtalso held that if an attempt is made toraise communal passions, e.g. on theground that someone has been “forcibly”converted to another religion, it would

    in all probability, give rise to apprehen-sion of breach of public order, affectingthe community at large. However, thepresent Ordinance incorporates a newconcept of conversion by marriage. Itpresumes that every religious conversionis illegal unless the procedure that hasbeen laid down is followed. The term“love jihad” has not been referred to inthe Ordinance and its perusal shows thatthe same is applicable to all religions. Theword “allurement” has been definedwidely, which may ultimately be a play-ing field for the police during its enquiry.

    Article 25 of the Constitution ofIndia contemplates that all people areequally entitled to freedom of con-science, the right freely to profess, prac-tice and propagate religion. It means thatthe Constitution guarantees the right topractice, propagate a religion and in theprocess a person may impress upon theother to get converted or herself/himselfchange their religion.

    The Ordinance comes into playwhen such a conversion occurs due tothe factors like allurement, coercion andso on. It is inoperative while exercisingfreedom of conscience. The question iswhether the police are equipped suffi-ciently to conduct an enquiry into theseaspects or not, so as to come to a con-clusion that the choice of conversion hasbeen made freely without any other fac-tors. There would be a possibility ofabuse of processes and filing of criminalcases against those persons who propa-gate their faith, on the ground that theyhave instigated the thought of conversionin a person. However, a mere thought ofconversion to another religion cannot bemade an offence unless it manifests intoaction.

    (The writer is an Advocate in theAndhra Pradesh and Telangana HighCourts)

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    The country’s foreignexchange reserves surgedby USD 4.525 billion to toucha record high of USD 579.346billion in the week endedDecember 4, the RBI datashowed.

    In the previous week endedNovember 27, the reserves haddeclined by USD 469 million toUSD 574.821 billion.

    In the reporting week, theincrease in reserves was onaccount of a rise in foreign cur-rency assets (FCA), a majorcomponent of the overallreserves.

    FCA rose by USD 3.932billion to USD 537.386 billion,the Reserve Bank of India’s

    (RBI) weekly data showed.Expressed in dollar terms,

    the foreign currency assetsinclude the effect of apprecia-tion or depreciation of non-USunits like the euro, pound andyen held in the foreignexchange reserves.

    The gold reservesincreased by USD 535 millionin the reporting week to USD35.728 billion in the weekended December 4, the datashowed.

    The special drawingrights (SDRs) with theInternational Monetary Fund(IMF) rose by USD 12 millionto USD 1.506 billion. Thecountry’s reserve position withthe IMF increased by USD 46million to USD 4.725 billion.

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    Paddy procurement in theongoing kharif marketingseason at MSP has so farincreased by 22.5 per cent to368.7 lakh tonnes, valued at Rs69,612 crore.

    In the ongoing kharifmarketing season (KMS) 2020-21, the government continuesto procure kharif 2020-21 cropsat its MSP (minimum supportprice) from farmers, an officialstatement said on Friday. Themarketing season starts fromOctober.

    Paddy procurementfor kharif 2020-21 is continu-ing smoothly in Punjab,Haryana, Uttar Pradesh,Telangana, Uttarakhand, TamilNadu, Chandigarh, Jammu &Kashmir, Kerala, Gujarat,

    Andhra Pradesh, Odisha,Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtraand Bihar.

    The Food Corporation ofIndia and state agencies havepurchased 368.7 lakh tonnes ofpaddy up to December 10 asagainst purchase of 300.97 lakhtonnes in the correspondingperiod last year."About 39.92lakh farmers have already beenbenefited from the ongoingKMS procurement operationswith MSP value of Rs 69,611.81crore," the statement said.

    Out of the total purchase of368.70 lakh tonnes, Punjabalone has contributed 202.77lakh tonnes, which is 54.99 percent of total procurement.

    Procurement operations ofseed cotton (Kapas) underMSP is going on smoothlyacross various states.

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    Equity indices resumed theirclimb on Friday after aday’s pause as bank, energy andFMCG stocks saw robust buy-ing amid persistent foreignfund inflows. Subdued globalmarkets and a flat rupee cappedthe gains, analysts said.

    After touching its all-timeintra-day high of 46,309.63, the30-share BSE Sensex dippedinto the negative zone in late-afternoon trade. However, itstaged a comeback to end139.13 points or 0.30% higherat 46,099.01, just shy of its clos-ing record.On similar lines, thebroader NSE Nifty rose 35.55points or 0.26% to 13,513.85. Ithit a lifetime high of 13,579.35

    during the session. ONGCtopped the Sensex gainers’chart, rallying 5.68%, followedby NTPC, Tata Steel, ITC,ICICI Bank, Titan, Bajaj Autoand SBI. On the other hand,Axis Bank, M&M, TechMahindra, HCL Tech, BajajFinserv and Infosys wereamong the laggards, skiddingup to 2.19%. During the week,the Sensex vaulted 1,019.46points or 2.26%, while theNifty surged 255.30 points or1.92%. World stocks wobbledas prospects of a no-deal Brexitand uncertainty over US stim-ulus talks sapped risk appetite."Market opened well, but in

    between it lost all the gains andturned negative, fortunately inthe last trading minutes, itmade a good attempt to bounceback and closed marginallyabove. Gains made in sectorslike energy, FMCG and metalswere countered by selling inPharma and IT stocks. "Thismuted momentum was due toa weak global trend. DespiteEuropean Central Bankannouncing an increase in thestimulus package, Europeanmarkets fell as it was weighedby increasing chance of a no-deal Brexit, rising virus casesand moderate usages of theannounced stimulus plan.

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    The Government on Fridaysaid it has issued a draft billfor public consultation thataims at bringing more invest-ment in the maritime sector.

    The Ministry of Ports,Shipping and Waterways hascirculated draft of Indian PortsBill 2020 for public consulta-tion which will repeal andreplace the Indian Ports Act,1908. "The draft Indian PortsBill, 2020, seeks to, inter alia,enable the structured growthand sustainable development ofports to attract investments inthe port sector for optimumutilisation of the Indian coast-line by effective administrationand management of ports,"the Ministry of Ports, Shippingand Waterways said in a state-ment.

    New Delhi:Larsen and Toubro(L&T) has emerged as the low-est bidder in multiple infra-structure projects, includingONGC, Nuclear PowerCorporation and ChennaiMetro Rail.On the ONGCNLRNC project, sources saidL&T Hydrocarbon Engineering(LTHE), a wholly owned sub-sidiary of Larsen & ToubroLimited has emerged as thelowest bidder for ONGC’s NewLiving Quarters & Revamp atNQ Complex Project (NLRNCProject) after the state con-trolled Indian oil giant openedthe financial bids submitted bythe 2 bidders.The scopeinvolves the engineering, pro-curement, and construction ofa living quarters platform for120 people which will berequired to be installed on aseparate jacket and bridge-linked with the nearby NQOplatform. IANS

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    Actors Shah Rukh Khan and AnushkaSharma starrer Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi,directed by Aditya Chopra, was a blockbuster.The film celebrated the individuality of a manand a woman, hailing from differentcircumstances, who end up falling in love witheach other after their sudden arrangedmarriage.

    It had a music album, composed bycomposers Salim and Sulaiman Merchant. Onthe 12th anniversary of the film, the duo

    reveals how SRK made the songs timeless andhow the mukhda of a song was actually anAditya’s tune.

    On the creative vision for the song,Sulaiman says, “The film was well written,conceived with exact places and spots forsongs and the brief was very simple. Raj andSuri (both played by SRK) were to have theirown distinct identities through music. Suribeing the traditional husband and Raj, theurban hero. The music had to be simple

    melodies that even the most basic personwould be able to sing and get the feeling ofcomfort and love when you hear them.”

    Salim adds, “Composing music for thefilm was a huge opportunity. We had workedwith Adi as a producer on Chak De India andAaja Nachley but working with him as adirector was special. We wanted this album tobe most memorable for us and the audiencebut more importantly, I wanted the music towork for the film.”

    Speaking about the USP of the musicalbum, Salim says, “Even though the songs weremade for different situations in the story, theyhad a common thread. They belonged to thesame world and were very reflective of thecharacters. The importance of the GoldenTemple in the story and the song added quality.”

    Sulaiman adds, “I think the simplicity ofthe songs with traditional melodies andproduction of music to have cutting edge, yetfamiliar sound, was the USP.”

    A lesser known fact is that the mukhda ofthe song Haule Haule Ho Jayega Pyaar wasapparently Aditya’s tune. Sulaiman reveals,“The song’s lyrics actually came from thescene that Adi had written and it ended withthe dialogue Taani partner, haule haule hojayega pyaar. Adi kept humming a kind ofrough tune to these lyrics and it soundedgood, even in its rough basic form. So wedecided to develop it further with Jaideep(Sahni). We decided to keep the melody assimple as possible.”

    Shah Rukh is considered the king ofromance and Salim says the superstar’s lip-syncing to the songs made them even morespecial. “SRK brings joy to every song. RNBJwas special because all the songs arechartbusters and SRK is a big reason for that.He truly celebrates every song on screen andmakes them timeless,” he adds.

    Primates are social animals. Theycan be fearsome but they can beequally emotional, thoughtful andcaring. Focussing on this group of animals,which fascinates and captivates us morethan any other — Gavin Boyland’sPrimates is his next step in natural histo-ry storytelling. Narrator Chris Packmanshares his anecdotes and tales between thespecies. Excerpts:

    ��What made you say yes to the series?I’ve known Gavin Boyland, the series

    producer, for some time. He has madesome really intelligent, imaginative seriesand pushing the boat out to make them ascreative as possible. He made a previousseries about big cats and I stayed in touchwith him whilst he was doing that. I lovedthe series so when he told me he was doingPrimates, I was interested.

    Primates, I feel, is beautifully shot.Often, when we’re watching blue-chipTV, we use our technology to follow thoseintimate moments of animal life, whichotherwise would be inaccessible butwe’re driven principally by our interestin the behaviour, the ecology, the phys-iology. But here, they’ve found a collec-tion of camera people who have shot itso that we can immerse ourselves in theanimals’ environment with beautifulphotography as well as learning all thosenew and exciting aspects of their ecolo-gy and so forth.

    The second reason was that I like tolearn new things. If I’m watching a TV pro-

    gramme and I find myself already know-ing 50-60 per cent of it, it’s boring. I don’twant to just see new things, I want to learnnew things, and I’ve learned a lot watch-ing this programme because the science isup-to-date, and that’s hard work gettingup-to-date science.

    Lastly, if you ask people about pri-mates, they’ll talk about apes and monkeys.They’ll talk particularly about gorillas,chimpanzees, orangutans and so on — thebig flashy ‘t-shirt’ animals as I call them— are things that people easily engagewith. I like the way the series covers thewhole breadth of the primate family.They’ve got everything including thelemurs, the slow loris, the bush babies, spi-der monkeys and the gibbons to mentiona few. There’s a great breadth there that Ithink will open people’s eyes to this real-

    ly important group of animals which are,as programme three tells us, criticallyendangered in many cases.

    ��What are the most surprising storiesin the series?

    There are a number of surprising sto-ries and the first one pops up in our firstprogramme. I think we’ve all grown upwith the idea that male silverback gorillasare all about being big and immenselystrong and it’s that that would give themtheir fitness in their social groups. But whatwe’ve learnt through new observations andscience is that male gorillas’ fitness, interms of how often they can reproduce suc-cessfully, has nothing to do directly withtheir size but with how they respond to theneed of their youth, effectively how cud-dly they are. It’s fantastic!

    I love it when we turn stories on theirhead and we completely transpose what wethink about something into somethingnew. And we can do it with authoritybecause the science says it’s true and istherefore trustworthy.

    The other things I’ve enjoyed are theintimacies and the subtle bits of animalbehaviour. The tool use is always interest-ing. I suppose we empathise with the cog-nitive abilities of these animals. A lot of thetime when we’re watching them, we realisethrough their actions that they are reallyreally smart.

    The last story that I really liked was theone of the orangutans up the trees wherethey were learning to climb, and the car-ers were learning to climb because here youhave got two species learning at the sametime. The humans have learned that their

    previous practices weren’t massively effi-cient and now the primates are learningthrough their changes. This sort of coop-eration is fantastic.

    �� Why do you think a series likePrimates is important?

    I think that we can use animals weengage with instantaneously and easily asa medium to getting people to engage withthings which they don’t perhaps necessar-ily have the ability for.

    Gorillas, chimps and orangutans areeasy-ins. Everyone loves them and knowsthat they are endangered and threatened.We all know that they are intelligent andhumans share a lot of genes with them anda lot of similarities in terms of our species.Once you get people watching them, wecan take them somewhere new and that’swhat we do with the series. It’s not justabout those big ‘t-shirt’ animals but it’sabout the entire breadth of the primategroup, including some small species, thatpeople may not have even heard of. Andyet we can show people how important,smart and fascinating they are.

    ��What do you think will be viewers’takeaways from the series?

    A deepened affection for this group ofanimals, which is easy to love. I think peo-ple need to see that they are valuable notjust because they are interesting but alsobecause they play important roles in theecosystem that we’re highly dependentupon. It is a pretty forthright plea for peo-ple to assist the conservation of these ani-mals. Without that, we’ll lose a lot of themvery quickly. And when we start losingspecies in masses, we’re making ourselvesvulnerable.

    We are still part of the ecosystem onplanet Earth and if it collapses due to inap-propriate human actions, unfortunately, wewill collapse too. It is in our best interest todo that. I’m really hoping that people willlove primates even more and contribute insome way to wildlife conservation.

    ��A last thought on primates in the wildand their future...

    I’d say they are a remarkable group ofanimals. I’m still learning more things eachday. They are a very beautiful species,which is so similar to us and hence, makesit easier to engage with them.

    But the big trouble from their point ofview is down to us. I think this is a serieswhich has to leave us with one or two ques-tions


Q What is A · life’s horizon, your attitude toward life’s circum-stances in all dimensions: physically, mentally, and emotionally. You cannot quantify this but you can know it

Kennyletter 75 Years Special edition of Excellence...doms from those who would dearly like to take them away. To do these things requires great power, and if circum-stances warrant,

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