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With nearly 30 MPs testingpositive, dozens of others

staying out for fear of catchingcoronavirus, visitors barred,the number of media personsrestricted, and strict social dis-tancing norms in place, theMonsoon Session ofParliament began on a subduednote on Monday.

However, there is hope ofaction on Tuesday, asGovernment sources saidDefence Minister RajnathSingh may address Parliamenton the India-China border rowon Tuesday. The Oppositionhas been raising this issue forweeks and the Congress hasalready given an adjournmentmotion in the Lok Sabha to dis-cuss this issue.

While the corridors ofParliament were nearly emptyand canteens closed, not muchaction took place in bothHouses, either on Monday.Around 200 of the 785 MPs areabove the age of 65 years. Thisis the most vulnerable agegroup for coronavirus.

The LS was adjourned afterpaying tribute to former pres-ident Pranab Mukherjee. TheRS also saw no firework andused voice vote to decide theelections to the post of DeputyChairperson of the House.

In his customary pre-open-ing remark, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi hoped thatParliament will send out a

unanimous and strong messageto soldiers on the Line ofActual Control (LAC) thatcountry was solidly standingbehind its bravehearts. Modi,who was talking to the mediaon Parliament premises, assert-ed that sending an unambigu-ous message was “legislature’scrucial responsibility”.

Later, leader of Congress inthe Lok Sabha Adhir RanjanChowdhury and party leader KSuresh gave adjournmentnotices over the issue ofChinese incursion in EasternLadakh. The Opposition wantsthe Modi Government to pro-vide details on the borderstand-off and a discussion onthe issue. The Congress tried toraise the issue abortively. TheLok Sabha was adjourned foran hour, shortly after it met, fol-

lowing obituary references andoffering tributes to formermembers.

The Prime Minister statedcategorically that the parlia-mentarians will send out amessage of their unequivocalsupport to brave “jawans” fac-ing hardships on the border.

“The entire Parliamentstands with the brave soldiersof the country with one voice.I believe that Parliament and allits members will give out a verystrong message”, said the PMbefore the start of Parliament.

He also mentioned thatthe situations are set to becometougher due to the onset ofwinters that marks heavy snow-fall on the border area.

“This Parliament, particu-larly in this session, has onemore crucial responsibility...

just like the faith with whichthey (soldiers) are standing,determined to protect moth-erland, Parliament and all itsmembers too will send out a

message in unanimous voice,spirit and resolve that the coun-try stands in support of them”,Modi said.

Continued on Page 2

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In the mandatory test con-ducted by Parliament as

many 30 MPs have been foundpositive for Covid-19.

The BJP has the maxi-mum number of 13 infectedMPs. The YSR Congress hastwo MPs, the Shiv Sena, DMKand the RLP one each. Total 56persons were found positivewhich include staffers andmediapersons, said officials.

Hanuman Beniwal fromthe RLP who tested positive inParliament’s RT-PCR test wasfound negative in the next daytest conducted at SMS MedicalCollege in Jaipur. UploadingSeptember 12 medical reportfrom Parliament andSeptember 13 report from theMedical College, he said“which one to rely.”

One of the infected MPs,Meenakshi Lekhi tweeted:“After the routine test atParliament test for Covid and

genome test it’s confirmed thatI have tested positive for thevirus. I am currently in goodhealth & spirits. I request every-one who has been recently incontact with me to get tested.Together we will fight anddefeat corona.”

BJP’s Sukanta Majumdarwas the first to tweet his posi-tive status on Sunday evening.“Requesting all those who havecome in close contact with mein the last few days to monitortheir health and get tested incase of any symptoms,” hetweeted.

Around 200 of the 785MPs are above the age of 65years and are among the pop-ulation vulnerable to coron-avirus.

Home Minister Amit Shahis currently admitted in AIIMSfor “a thorough medical check-up.” Vasanth Kumar, CongressMP from Kanyakumari succumbed to Covid-19 fewweeks ago.

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Thousands of slum dwellersresiding along the 140-km

railway tracks in Delhi can nowbreathe a sigh of relief after theCentre on Monday told theSupreme Court on Mondaythat the 48,000 slums along thetracks would not be removedtill a final decision is taken bythe Government.

Solicitor General TusharMehta, appearing for theCentre, told a bench headed byChief Justice SA Bobde that afinal decision would be takenin consultation with theRailways, the DelhiGovernment and the UrbanDevelopment Ministry.

The bench, also compris-ing Justices AS Bopanna and VRamasubramanian, recordedMehta’s assurance and said nocoercive action be taken againstthese slum dwellers for fourweeks.

The top court on August 31had directed the removal ofaround 48,000 slum dwellingsalong the railway tracks inDelhi within three months andsaid there shall not be any kindof political interference in exe-cution of the plan.

The SC, which posted thematter for hearing after fourweeks, was hearing the appli-cations, including the one filedby senior Congress leader AjayMaken who has sought reha-bilitation of these slum dwellersprior to their removal.

The Railways also said itwill not dismantle anyencroachment without a prop-er decision taken jointly withthe Urban DevelopmentMinistry and the DelhiGovernment, after a politicalstorm brewed over a SupremeCourt order for removal ofaround 48,000 slum dwellingson rail land in the city.

In the August 31 order, theapex court had orderedremoval of the slums withinthree months. It is estimatedthat around 2.4 lakh people livein slums in Naraina Vihar,Azadpur, Vihar, Shakur Basti,Mayapuri, Sriniwaspuri, AnandParbat, Okhla and others.

The Northern Railway hadsubmitted a report to the apexcourt saying mushrooming of

slums along railway tracks isacting as hindrance towardskeeping them clean.

“We are yet to take a deci-sion in consultation with theRailways, the StateGovernment and the UrbanDevelopment Ministry. Tillthen, no one will be evicted,”Mehta told the bench, whichposted the matter for hearingafter four weeks.

Senior advocate AMSinghvi, appearing for Maken,told the bench that status quobe maintained.

“We are not ordering anystatus quo. The SolicitorGeneral has already said noaction will be taken till a deci-sion is taken and we haverecorded it. We have adjournedthe matter by four weeks,” thebench said.

Singhvi said some demoli-tion has taken place onSeptember 11 and today also.That was not done under thisorder. It was done under dif-ferent order, the solicitor gen-eral said.

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With more than 3,180ceasefire violations at the

Line of Control (LoC) in thefirst eight months of this year,Pakistan has made it clear it willkeep trying to foment troublein Jammu & Kashmir.

The ceasefire violationsmay further increase withabout 45 days to go before thesnowfall starts blocking themountain passes. The ISI-backed terrorists may go all outduring this period to sneakinside the Indian territory.

The next few weeks couldsee the Pakistan Army provid-ing covering fire to the terror-ists to infiltrate into Kashmir.There are about 250 to 300 ter-rorists now operating in thehinterland.

Moreover, about 200Pakistan-sponsored terroristsare now poised to infiltratefrom more than 25 launchpads located close to the LoC.

Informing the Rajya Sabha

here on Monday, Minister ofState for Defence Shripad Naiksaid there were 3,186 incidentsof ceasefire violations in theJammu region this year (fromJanuary 1 to September 7,2020). In addition, 242 inci-dents of cross-border firingtook place along India-PakistanInternational Border in Jammuregion in this year (January 1to August 31, 2020).

The ceasefire violation fig-ure for the entire last year was3,289, including firing at theLoC and International Border.

The Minister informed thateight jawans were killed andtwo injured in Jammu &Kashmir this year so far. Inaddition, there have been fivecasualties of the BorderSecurity Force (BSF) personneloccurred along InternationalBorder and the LoC.

Elaborating upon theemerging threat, sources saidterrorists were trying to comein after digging tunnels in theJammu region. It is fearedarms and ammunition in someinstances were also smuggled

through thesetunnels. Theinvestigatingagencies fearthat the tunnelroutes wereused to bring inexplosives usedfor thePulwama attackkilling 40 CRPFmen. Pakistanwas also usingdrones andunmanned aer-ial vehicles(UAV) to dropweapons insideIndian territo-ry in theJammu region,

they said.Naik also assured the

House through a written replythat appropriate retaliation tothe ceasefire violations, asrequired, was carried out by theArmy and the BSF. In addition,all the cases of ceasefire viola-tions are taken up withPakistan authorities throughthe established mechanisms ofhotlines, f lag meetings,Directorate General of MilitaryOperations (DGMO) talks aswell as diplomatic channelsbetween the two countries.

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NDA nominee HarivanshNarayan Singh was re-

elected Deputy Chairman ofthe Rajya Sabha on Monday asthe Opposition did not pressfor voting though a motion toname RJD’s Manoj Jha as theOpposition candidate wasmoved.

Prime Minister NarendraModi and Vice President MVenkaiah Naidu congratulatedHarivansh.

While BJP member JPNadda moved a motion infavour of the incumbentDeputy Chairman, Oppositionleaders Ghulam Nabi Azad,Tiruchi Siva and Javed AliKhan moved motions to electRJD’s Manoj Jha.

“I hope that the DeputyChairperson will run theHouse well. I appeal to all tocooperate with the Chair,”Modi said, adding that theJD(U) leader will manage theRajya Sabha proceedings with-out partiality.

In his about 20-minute

speech on the first day ofMonsoon Session, Modi high-lighted the role of Bihar in thecountry’s “democratic ethos”,recalling former greats likeJayaprakash Narayan andKarpuri Thakur while con-gratulating Harivansh, who gotelected as the DeputyChairman of the Upper Housefor a second time.

Singh — who held thepost since 2018 — happens tobe from Bihar, a State headedfor Assembly elections later thisyear. In 2018, Harivansh Singhhad defeated Congress’s BKHariprasad in the election tothe post.

Continued on Page 2

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The Modi Government hasno clue about the number

of migrants who died duringthe nationwide lockdownannounced on March 24 tocurb the spread of Covid-19outbreak in the country. TheGovernment also has no dataof job loss to migrant workersduring the lockdown.

The Ministry of Labourand Employment furtherinformed the Lok Sabha inwritten replies that it did nothave any report of forced reten-tion of migrant labourers whowanted to return to their homeStates.

Many migrant workers losttheir lives during the 68-daynationwide lockdown. Severalmigrant workers, who eitherwalked or travelled in other pri-vate vehicles, met with acci-dents throughout the lock-down period.

According to the Ministry,

1.04 crore migrant workersreturned to home States duringlockdown.

According to the databaseavailable on the website ofpublic interest technologistThejesh GN, over 900 peoplehad died due to lockdown-related reasons such as starva-tion, suicide and road accidentswhile returning to their homestill July 4.

Responding to anotherquestion on whether theGovernment has done anyassessment of the job lossamong migrant workers due tothe Covid-19 crisis and if so,the details thereof, the Ministrysaid, “No such data is main-tained.”

In reply to question regard-ing the number and details ofmigrant workers, labourers,daily wagers for whom thearrangement of job has beenmade, the Ministry said “nosuch data is maintained”.

Another question was

asked about the details of rea-sons to withhold the migrantlabourers due to corona andnon-availability of promptfacility of their shelter and

food, the Ministry said forcedretention during Covid-19 hasnot been reported.

The Ministry said theCentre did not maintain any

State-wise break-up of the dis-tribution of free ration andother subsidies being providedto migrant workers.

Continued on Page 2

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Gym and yoga enthusiasts,who were unable to turn

up at institutes since March 24,visited the centres as theyresumed operations onMonday after being closed for

over five months due to coro-navirus lockdown.

Sunil Kumar Taank, pres-ident of the Indian Gym’sWelfare Federation, said 80per cent of the facilities haveopened. “Since the order wasissued late night, many people

might be unaware. We expectmore visits,” he said.

Thermal screening, limit-ed entry, regular sanitisation ofequipment are some of the pre-cautions that are being followedby gyms in Delhi.

Continued on Page 2

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Delhi Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia has tested

positive for coronavirus.Sisodia fell unwell on Sundaynight with mild fever and tookthe Covid-19 test on Monday.

Sisodia said he has isolat-ed himself after testing positivefor the virus.

“After having a mild fever,the corona test was conductedtoday, whose report has comepositive. I have quarantinedmyself. Right now there is nofever or any other problem, Iam completely fine. I willreturn to work soon with allyour blessings,” he tweeted inHindi.

Earlier on Monday, DelhiAssembly Speaker Ram NiwasGoel had informed that Sisodiawill not be attending the spe-cial one-day session of DelhiLegislative Assembly held onMonday.

Delhi Health MinisterSatyendar Jain had also testedpositive for the virus in June.The national Capital onMonday recorded 3,229 freshCovid-19 cases, taking thevirus tally to over 2.21 lakh,according to DelhiGovernment’s health bulletin.

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Sahara Mall, a commercialhub of the city located on

the Mehrauli-Gurugram (MG)road, was sealed by theHaryana State PollutionControl Board (HSPCB) forflouting anti-pollution norms.

According to HSPCB themall was served first showcause notice regarding the

same in 2018 and fined Rs 2.5lakh but even after almost twoyears they have failed to recti-fy operations and have beenpolluting the environment bytoxic sewage discharge.

A team from the HSPCBalong with duty magistrateKartar Singh and pollutionenvironment engineers NehaSaharan and Ujjwal Kumarreached the mall at around 7.30a.m. and sealed the entire com-

plex.The mall authorities will

not only be fined but will bepaying environmental damagecompensation and a case is alsobeing filed.

"The mall authority wasnot treating the STP waterproperly which is a clear vio-lation of the environmentalnorms. We had also served anotice to the mall authority inFebruary but they haven't taken

any action so far," said KuldeepSingh, Officer, Haryana StatePollution Control Board,Gurugram.

The board had sealed theSTP then and it was yet to getapproval for resumption ofoperations but the mall author-ities were running it withoutinforming the board.

"The mall managementwithout treating the sewagewater used to dump it outside

which is gross negligence onthe part of the mall authorities.This action was initiated,"Singh said.

Apart from this, the SaharaMall Condominium UnitsOwners Association, have writ-ten a letter to the mall man-agement and urge them totake necessary action to openthe mall soon.

“The mall authorities arecollecting a huge amount from

us under the grab of providingmaintenance in the mall.Whereas, they have failed toprotect the interest of ShopOwners and Occupants ofSahara Mall due to the mallmanagement's negligence,” saidRanjit Singh, member of SaharaMall Condominium UnitsOwners Association.

"We all were already havinggreat difficulties since ourstores were closed from March

19 to June 30, 2020 due toCovid-19 pandemic. The mallhas been sealed due to the mallmanagement faults. Now thissealing will surely affect ourbusiness,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Board isnow planning to file a suitagainst the mall managementin the environmental court.

"The mall management isnot taking our notice serious-ly and continuously disobeying

HSPCB warning. We will soonfile a suit against the authorityand impose hefty penalty as perthe norms," Singh said.

"We will allow the mall tooperate only when they fulfillall the norms and obtainrequired permissions from thecourt," he added.

Despite several attempts the mall authoritiescould not be contacted forcomments.

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Three days after it breacheda million Covid-19 infec-

tions’ mark, Maharashtra withtotal 10,77,374 cases onMonday surpassed Russia10,68,320 cases which is rankedon the Worldometer dash-board after USA, India andBrazil.

Maharashtra earning thedubious distinction of surgingahead of Russia in terms ofinfections came on a day when17,066 people tested positivefor Coronavirus in variousparts of the state.

The possibility ofMaharashtra shooting pastRussia had looked imminenton Sunday, when the westernstate with 10,60,308 was just2,503 short of Russia’s 10,62,811cases.

In Maharashtra where an

all-time high of 495 deathswere reported on September10, a relatively low of 257 peo-ple succumbed to Covid-19 invarious parts of the state onMonday.

With the fresh deaths, thetotal number of deaths rosefrom 29,531 to 29,894 in thestate.

Of the deaths, Mumbaiaccounted for 31 deaths. As aconsequence Mumbai’s Covid-19 toll rose from 8,150 to 8181,while the infected casesincreased from 169,741 to1,72,010.

Pune district with 2,35,419infected cases continued to bethe worst-affected city-districtin Maharashtra. The number ofdeaths in Pune increased from4813 to 4838.

Thane district remainedon the third spot --after Puneand Mumbai – with 1,58,908

total cases, while the pandem-ic toll rose from 4162 to 4838.

In a related development,as many as 15,789 patientswere discharged from hospitalsin the state after full recovery.As a result, the total number ofpatients discharged from var-ious hospitals after full recov-ery since the second week ofMarch this year went up to7,55,850. The recovery ratestood at 70.16 per cent. Themortality rate in the state is 2.77per cent. The state healthauthorities pegged the numberof “active cases” in the state at2,91,256.

Out of 53,21, 116 samplessent to laboratories, 10,77,374have tested positive (20.20 percent) for COVID-19 untilMonday. Currently, 17,12,160people are in home quarantinewhile 37,198 people are ininstitutional quarantine.

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Amid the controversy overscarcity of oxygen in hos-

pitals leading to hike in theprices of oxygen cylinders,Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathsaid that oxygen plants shouldsupply oxygen at the prescribedrate and there should be noshortage of oxygen cylinders.

“The officials should takestringent action against blackmarketing of oxygen. Thereshould be no shortage of oxy-gen in any hospital and med-ical colleges should get oxygenat the prescribed rates,” thechief minister said while pre-siding over a high-level Unlockreview meeting at Lok Bhawanhere on Monday.

He said the drug controllershould ensure proper supply ofmedicines and oxygen to thehospitals and send report to theCM Office on a daily basis.

The chief minister alsodirected the drug controller to

ensure that all necessary med-icines were available in all theCovid hospitals and medicalinstitutes.

“There should be properbackup of the medicine supply.Also, there should be no hoard-ing of medicines and if it hap-pens, the guilty must be pun-ished,” he said.

The chief minister alsosaid that all the medical col-leges and hospitals of Lucknow,Kanpur Nagar, Prayagraj,Gorakhpur, Varanasi andMeerut should function at fullcapacity, maintaining quality oftreatment.

The chief minister askedofficials to conduct trainingprogrammes regularly toensure availability of adequatenumbers of doctors and para-medics in various hospitals. Healso asked them to increase thenumber of beds in the Covidhospitals under the Healthdepartment.

“There should be not less

than 1,000 ICU beds in SGPGI,RML Institute of MedicalSciences and KGMU,” he said.

Yogi directed officials totake up contact tracing forCovid protection in an inten-sified manner. He said moreteams may be deployed forcontact tracing if required.

“Mass awareness pro-grammes should continue tomake people aware about pro-tection and safety fromCOVID-19. The local bodiesshould make arrangements ofpublic address systems through

which the people could beinformed about coronavirusprotection measures,” he said.

The chief minister askedofficials to ensure effectiveimplementation ofAtmanirbhar Bharat Package.He said all the departmentsshould prepare action plans forits effective implementation sothat the benefits of the packagereached the state.

Yogi asked the officials toexpedite construction of com-munity toilets and panchayatbhawans in gram panchayats.He also directed the digging ofpits to prepare compost as partof solid waste management. “Itwill serve the dual purpose ofgetting quality fertiliser as wellas disposal of waste,” he said.

Those present in the meet-ing included Health MinisterJai Pratap Singh, ChiefSecretary RK Tiwari,Infrastructure and IndustrialDevelopment CommissionerAlok Tandon, Agriculture

Product Commissioner AlokSinha, Additional ChiefSecretary (Finance) SanjeevMittal, Additional ChiefSecretary (Home andInformation) Awanish KumarAwasthi, Director General ofPolice HC Awasthi, AdditionalChief Secretary (Revenue)Renuka Kumar, AdditionalChief Secretary (Health) AmitMohan Prasad, AdditionalChief Secretary (MedicalEducation) . Rajneesh Dube,Additional Chief Secretary toChief Minister SP Goyal,Additional Chief Secretary(MSME) Navneet Sehgal,Additional Chief Secretary(Rural Development andPanchayati Raj) Manoj KumarSingh, Additional ChiefSecretary (Agriculture) DeveshChaturvedi, Principal Secretaryto Chief Minister SanjayPrasad, Secretary to ChiefMinister Alok Kumar, Directorof Information Shishir andother senior officers.

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From Page 1Over 1.04 crore migrant

workers returned to theirrespective home states duringthe lockdown with UttarPradesh topping the list with32.4 lakh workers, followed byBihar (15 lakh) and Rajasthan(13 lakh), the Ministryinformed Parliament.

More than 4,611 ShramikSpecial trains were run by theRailways since May 1 to ferrymigrants to their home statesand over 63.07 lakhs wereshifted to various destinationsin UP, Bihar, Jharkhand,Madhya Pradesh and otherStates. As per the World Bankreport in April this year, thenationwide lockdown, whichstarted on March 25, hasimpacted the livelihood ofnearly 40 million internalmigrants. Small traders, hawk-ers and daily wage labourerswere the worst hit by the lock-down in April, comprising 91.2million of the jobs lost from thetotal loss of 121.5 million inthat month.

According to the Centre forMonitoring Indian Economy(CMIE), about 21 millionsalaried employees lost theirjobs during April-August, withabout 3.3 million jobs beinglost in August and 4.8 millionin July.

From Page 1In an order issued late on

Sunday night, the DDMA saidgymnasiums and yoga insti-tutes would be permitted toreopen, except in the contain-ment zones, with immediateeffect.

Taank -- who is the ownerof Black’s Gym, which has 16branches across the NationalCapital Region -- said his gymwould be opened after three-four days as they were sanitis-ing the place and makingpreparations.

“We will have thermalcheck-up for customers as soonas they (customers) will enterthe gym and a facility for sani-tisation of shoes,” he said.“After entering the gym, cus-tomers will have to place redtags on the machines they willuse and then our housekeepingstaff will place green tags onthem after they are sanitised.”

Taank said his gym had anarea of 2,000 square feet andonly eight people would beallowed at a time, adding thatthey were developing an appli-cation that would be manda-tory for the customers.

“Through the app, theywill be able to book their slots.

Each workout slot will be of 90minutes’ duration, out of which75 minutes will be for theworkout and the remaining15 minutes will be utilized byour staff to sanitise the equip-ment before the next slot,” hesaid.

Sarfraz Sartaj of ParadiseGym at Geeta Colony saidthey had started renovation inthe facility and would be open-ing it by the end of this week.

“We have prepared adetailed process that will be fol-lowed. We will only allow 10people at a time,” the 36-year-old gym trainer said. “Everymachine will be sanitised afterevery single use. There will bemasks, gloves, and sanitisationof shoes is also mandatory.”

“The time was very tough.Only we know how we man-aged to survive during thelockdown. Now, we have gothope,” Sartaj said.

Prakash Kumar, owner ofIron Champ gym at DilshadColony, echoed Sartaj on thesituation they faced during thelockdown. He said the gymwould be opened this week andall arrangements had beenmade.

“Only five-seven peoplewill be allowed for an hour.Customers have been asked tocarry their own water bottle,towel, mask and gloves,” Kumarsaid.

Parveen Yadav (41) ofChampion Gym at Tri Nagar,said the machines had to beserviced again as there was rustall over and the wiring alsoneeded to be fixed. “Runninga gym in current situation willbe difficult as the number ofcustomers has reduced andyou have to increase the fee tosurvive and bear all the expans-es,” Yadav added.

From Page 1“Harivansh ji is a torch-

bearer of democracy, hailingfrom Bihar, a land known forits democratic ethos,” Modisaid.

“We all know thatHarivansh Ji hails from JaiPrakash ji’s village Sitabdiara,”said Modi.

Bihar has been the “land ofIndia’s democratic system”,Modi said. “I believe thatHarivansh Ji will take forwardthis legacy,” he added.

Terming Singh an “out-standing umpire who belongsto all sides of the aisle”, thePrime Minister said he has“conducted proceedings in an

impartial manner”.

“The respect I hold forHarivansh ji, each member ofthe House shares. He hasearned this respect. His unbi-ased role in the Parliamentstrengthens our democracy,”the Prime Minister added.

Naidu who earlierannounced a new team of ViceChairpersons, wishedHarivansh for being electedsecond time as DeputyChairman of the House.

Leader of Opposition inthe Rajya Sabha Ghulam NabiAzad welcomed Harivansh’sre-election and said “we hopethat the Deputy Chairpersonwill see us as equals”.

“This is the second time

Harivansh Singh has beenelected as the deputy chairmanof the House. I congratulatehim. He has been just to mem-bers of all parties,” said Azad.

TMC member Derek OBrein said that Harivansh is thefortunate one of belonging totwo pillars of the democracy,legislative now and earliermedia which is counted as thefourth pillar.

The Opposition did notpress for voting as many non-NDA parties did not commitsupport to Jha, while partieslike YSR Congress and BJDannounced support to theNDA nominee. The TelanganaRashtra Samiti had announcedit will abstain.

From Page 1“In one voice, one pledge

and one feeling, we will send outa message to the soldiers that weare with them,” the PrimeMinister said.

Reacting to Modi’s ‘expec-tations’ from the Opposition,Congress leader Shashi Tharoorwas quoted by a news agency assaying , “There is no doubt thatall of us stand with the soldiers.However, the Governmentshould tell Parliament what isthe situation on the border.”

Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabhasitting will be held in two shiftsfor 18 days without any offs.Entry will only be allowed tothose having a negative Covid-19 report and wearing maskswill be compulsory.

In run-up to the session,while over 4,000 people includ-ing MPs and staff have beentested for Covid-19, most par-liamentary operations have beendigitalised, entire premises sani-tised and doors made touch-free. The Rajya Sabha will con-vene in morning shift from 9 amtill 1 pm, and the Lok Sabha inevening shift from 3 pm to 7pm. The chambers of bothHouses along with their respec-tive galleries will be used for sit-ting of the members in eachshift. In between the two shifts,the entire complex will be sani-tised.

Frequent sanitisation of theentire Parliament complex willalso be carried out, whilearrangements have been madeto sanitise various parliamentarypapers as well as footwear andcars of MPs, officials said.Frisking of people will alsomake way for touch-less secu-rity scanning, while thermalscanning will also be totallytouch-free.

It has also been decided thatair of air conditioners will be

exchanged six times every dayto avoid any possible infection.The DRDO has provided multi-utility Covid-19 kits to all MPs.Each kit contains 40 disposablemasks, five N-95 masks, 20bottles of sanitisers of 50 mleach, face shields, 40 pairs ofgloves, a touch-free hook toopen and close doors withouttouching them, herbal sanita-tion wipes and tea bags toenhance immunity.

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Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath onMonday announced to name theunder-construction Mughalmuseum in Agra after ChatrapatiShivaji Maharaj.

He made it clear that hisgovernment has always nur-tured the nationalist ideologyand anything which smacks ofsubservient mentality will bedone away with.

"How can our heroes beMughals," the Chief Ministersaid as he pointed out that thevery name of Shivaji will invokea feeling of nationalism and

self-esteem in people.The move assumes signifi-

cance in view of the tusslebetween the BJP and the ShivSena in Maharashtra and effortsto link it with Maratha pride.

The Chief Minister directedto complete the remaining workin the Agra Smart City Projectand asserted that this project isamong the priorities of his gov-ernment and should be taken upwith the same urgency.

Adityanath said he washappy over Agra getting secondranking at the national leveland first among other Smart

Cities in Uttar Pradesh in arecent ranking survey.

He also asked to expedite theMetro and Airport projects ofAgra and said that no projectshould suffer due to want ofmoney and he would personal-ly speak to the Centre if anyrequirement of money arises.

The CM said the AMRUTand JNNURM schemes shouldalso be given impetus.Adityanath was apprised that outof a total 19 works under theAgra Smart City project, fourhave been completed while 15are in progress. IANS

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The Uttar Pradesh govern-ment has expedited the

process of land acquisition forthe flagship 91-km link express-way connecting Gorakhpur withthe Purvanchal Expressway.

The mega project spanningfour districts viz. Gorakhpur,Sant Kabir Nagar, AmbedkarNagar and Azamgarh, is esti-mated to cost more than Rs5,800 crore. It is estimated tobenefit a total population of fivecrore in Gorakhpur and adjoin-ing districts by providing fastconnectivity for public andmovement of goods, includingagricultural and industrial.

UP Expressway IndustrialDevelopment Authority (UPEI-DA), the nodal agency execut-ing the project, has released Rs275 crore to speed up landacquisition for the infra project,which is among the flagship pro-jects of the Yogi Adityanathgovernment.

According to UPEIDA CEOAwanish Kumar Awasthi, of theRs 275 crore, Rs 50 crore, Rs 153crore and Rs 52 crore would bepaid to the land owners inGorakhpur, Ambedkar Nagarand Azamgarh districts respec-tively. He said the funds hadalready been allocated to therespective district magistrateswith the rider to settle landacquisition dues of farmers with-in a month so that the ongoingcivil and other constructionworks on the expressway con-tinued without delay and therewere no pending grievances ofthe land owners.

The Gorakhpur LinkExpressway is divided into twopackages.

Earlier, Punjab NationalBank (PNB) had provided acredit of Rs 750 crore forGorakhpur Link Expressway,which would link the regionwith the 340 km PurvanchalExpressway.

So far, the state government

has arranged Rs 2,250 crore intotal loans for the GorakhpurLink Expressway, including Rs750 crore fresh borrowings fromthe PNB.

While the PNB has provid-ed a loan of Rs 750 crore forGorakhpur Link Expressway,earlier Rs 2,300 crore was alsoextended in credit forPurvanchal Expressway, esti-mated to cost Rs 23,000 crore.The Purvanchal Expresswaywas divided into eight packagesand awarded to different com-panies for ensuring time-boundcompletion. It runs across ninedistricts viz. Lucknow,Barabanki, Faizabad,Ambedkarnagar, Amethi,Sultanpur, Azamgarh, Mau andGhazipur.

The Gorakhpur LinkExpressway is the fifth greenfieldexpressway project in the stateafter the Yamuna Expressway,Agra-Lucknow Expressway,Purvanchal Expressway andBundelkhand Expressway.

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Chandigarh: Categorically rejecting the Centre's claim thatPunjab was taken on board before promulgation of the farm ordi-nances presented in Parliament on Monday, Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not togo ahead with them.

He also announced that he will lead an 11-member delega-tion of his party on Wednesday to submit a memorandum to theGovernor against the ordinances.

Besides the Chief Minister, the delegation will include stateCongress chief Sunil Jakhar along with some ministers and MLAsof the party, an official spokesperson said.

The decision to meet the Governor came after the BJP-ledCentral government presented the three controversial ordinancesin Parliament for legislation despite strong protests by farmersin various states, including Punjab.

The Chief Minister also wrote a letter to the Prime Ministerrequesting him not to disappoint the people and farmers of Punjaband favourably consider their request not to go ahead with theordinances "which are not in the interest of the farmers". IANS

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ADelhi Court on Mondaysent former JNU scholar

Umar Khalid to 10 days DelhiPolice custody on Monday.Khalid who was also involvedin students politics inJawaharlal Nehru University,was arrested on Sunday underthe stringent anti-terror lawUnlawful Activities(Prevention) Act, registered inthe wake of communal vio-lence in northeast Delhi inFebruary that had claimed 53lives and left scores injured.

Delhi Police on Mondayhad sought 10-day custody of

former JNU student leaderUmar Khalid. Khalid was pre-sent before Additional SessionsJudge Amitabh Rawat throughvideo conferencing. Khalid wasarrested on Sunday night in thecase.

While presenting Khalidbefore the court police said thatKhalid needed to be confront-ed with a huge amount ofdata.

In the First InformationReport (FIR), police haveclaimed that the communalviolence was a "premeditatedconspiracy" which was alleged-ly hatched by Khalid and twoothers.

They have also beenbooked for the offences ofsedition, murder, attempt tomurder, promoting enmitybetween different groups ongrounds of religion and rioting.

Khalid had allegedly givenprovocative speeches at two dif-ferent places and appealed tothe citizens to come out onstreets and block the roads dur-ing the visit of US PresidentDonald Trump to spread pro-paganda at international levelabout how minorities in Indiaare being tortured, the FIRalleged.

In this conspiracy, firearms,petrol bombs, acid bottles andstones were collected atnumerous homes, FIR claimed.

Co-accused Danish wasallegedly given the responsi-bility to gather people from twodifferent places to take part inthe riots, police alleged.Women and children weremade to block the roads underthe Jafrabad metro station onFebruary 23 to create tensionamidst the neighbourhoodpeople, FIR said.

Communal clashes hadbroken out in northeast Delhion February 24 after violencebetween citizenship law sup-porters and protesters spiralledout of control leaving at least 53people dead and around 200injured.

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The Delhi Police's SpecialCell has summoned short

film producer Rahul Roy anddocumentary filmmaker SabaDewan for questioning in con-nection with the northeastDelhi riots.

According to sources,Dewan and Roy have beenasked to join the investigationon Monday.

Roy's name appeared in thesupplementary charge sheetfiled by the police in connec-tion with the Delhi’s Northeastriots. “Though Dewan has notmentioned in the charge sheet,the two were part of aWhatsApp group called ‘Delhi

Protests Support Group’,” saida police source.

It comes a day after policearrested former JawaharlalNehru University studentleader Umar Khalid under theUnlawful Activities(Prevention) Act (UAPA) forhis alleged role in the riots.

He was arrested by theSpecial Cell after 11 hours ofinterrogation. Communalclashes had broken out innortheast Delhi on February 24after violence between sup-porters of the Citizenship(Amendment) Act and thoseagainst the legislation spiralledout of control, leaving at least53 people dead and around 200injured.

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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)MLA Mohinder Goyal on

Monday submitted his resig-nation to Delhi AssemblySpeaker over alleged misbe-haviour by a police officer. TheSpeaker did not accept it andsaid the Police Commissionerwill be summoned in the nextsession of the House.

The MLA from Rithalasaid the station house officer(SHO) misbehaved with himand he should be suspended.Goyal said if the officer is notsuspended, he does not deserveto be a member of the House.

Speaker Ram Niwas Goeldid not accept Goyal's resig-nation and assured strict actionin the matter. He said theDelhi Police Commissionerwill be summoned in the nextAssembly session.

The BJP legislators, includ-ing Leader of OppositionRamvir Singh Bidhuri, sup-ported Goyal and his demandfor action against the policeofficer.

AAP MLA Raghav Chadhasaid senior police officersshould be summoned before aCommittee of the Assembly. Avisibly agitated Goyal wanted toleave the House but later relent-ed after the Speaker and othermembers extended support tohim. The one-day session isbeing held with various safetymeasures in place in view of theCOVID-19 pandemic.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) leaders on Monday

held a demonstration againstthe Kejriwal Government's“betrayal” to the slum dwellersand not allotting vacant hous-es to them.

Leader of Opposition inDelhi Assembly Ramvir SinghBidhuri said that the AamAadmi Party Governmentcame to power six years backand destroyed thousands ofslums but did not shift even a single slum dweller in a per-manent house.

He said that most of thestreet vendors also live in slumsand the Central Governmentdirected the Delhi governmentto provide stalls to them but theDelhi government did not pro-vide a single stall.

“The Kejriwal governmentalso did not allow the PradhanMantri Awas Yojana to beimplemented. The ChiefMinister Kejriwal hadpromised that AyushmanBharat Scheme would beimplemented in Delhi so thatpeople can get the health ben-efit of free treatment of up to5 lakh. However, the govern-ment did not implement thesepublic welfare schemes becausetheir thinking is very petty,” hesaid.

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Athree-judge bench of theSupreme Court headed by

the Chief Justice of India hasdirected the Railways and theDelhi Government not todemolish the JJ clusters till thenext hearing by maintainingstatus quo, the Delhi Congresssaid.

The petition argued bysenior lawyers SalmanKhurshid and Abhishek ManuSanghvi for the respondents liv-ing along the Railway tracks ofDelhi seeking restraint of theSupreme Court order todemolish the JJ clusters onRailway land within threemonths, the party said in astatement.

It may be recalled that fol-lowing the SC order to removethe JJ clusters along the Railwaytracks, Delhi Congress presi-dent Anil Kumar had rushed tothe JJ clusters at Sarai Rohillaand assured the jhuggi dwellersthere that the Delhi Congresswill spare no effort in stallingthe demolition of their jhuggis.

Kumar said that it wasshocking that the AAPGovernment in Delhi has notlisted the issue of the JJ clustersin its agenda for the one-daysession of the Assembly onMonday which clearly showsthat the government was mere-ly shedding crocodile tears forthe residents of JJ Clusters.

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Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal assured 48,000

slum dwellers that no jhuggiwill be demolished untilGovernment provides ‘Pakka’house within the radius of fivekm.

Citing the Social ProvisionAct, Delhi Urban Sheltar

Improvement Board (DUSIB ),and Parliament Act on reha-bilitation, Kejriwal said as perthe act no one can removejhuggis without providingPakka Makan. ( House )

Lauding “Jahan JhuggiVahan Makan”, CM Kejriwalsaid he is standing with slumdwellers and wouldn’t let any-one demolish their jhuggis. “Itis tough time as Coronavirus is

in air, in such scenario ifdemolish work will happen, thechances of virus spread in allover Delhi is higher.”

“I am happy that Centralgovernment has submitted anAffidavit favouring to stop thedemolish process,” in past 70years, different governmentruled and gone but none hadplanned to construct homes forpoor people,” he added.

Pitching for the collectivesolution on the matter, Kejriwalsaid, “As per the orders, Delhigovernment, Railway Boardand Urban Shelter Board willwork together come out with asolution within four weeks,” hesaid this is not the issue topoliticise.

Kejriwal said people livingin Jhuggis have crucial role inDelhi’s economy. “Delhi will

stop these people wouldn’twork for a single day.”

This may be recalled thatthe Delhi government has toldNorthern Railway that demol-ishing jhuggis along trackswould be illegal and that hous-es built for slum relocation canbe made ready to move in ear-liest by March next year.

The letter from Delhi gov-ernment was written by DUSIB

officials after the CM held ameeting with senior officialsfrom different departments todiscuss the Supreme Courtorder, which said that 48,000jhuggis along railway lines inDelhi have to be demolished.

Earlier, the Supreme courthad ordered that jhuggis whichare in the safety zone of the rail-ways will have to be removedwithin three months.

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Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal on

Monday said coronavirusdeath rate in the NationalCapital is ‘perhaps’ the lowestin the world andGovernments’ concern shouldbe less corona deaths thannumber of cases.

Addressing DelhiAssembly during one dayspecial session, Kejriwal said,"Highest number of COVID-19 tests are being carried outin Delhi at present. Eleven per

cent Delhi has been tested sofar with nearly 21 lakh tests.The concern should be num-ber of deaths not the numberof COVID cases. Death rate inDelhi is perhaps the lowest inthe whole world.”

Addressing the floor, hesaid,"People from all overcountry are coming to Delhifor COVID treatment. A totalof 5,264 people from otherstates have been treated so farin Delhi. It is a difficult time.“Human history never wit-nessed such a pandemic. Wehave to work for the wellbeing of the human kind," headded.

Lauding the help andcooperation from central gov-ernment, Kejriwal thankedfor providing PPE kits, testkits and ventilators. “I want tothank the Centre for helpingus whenever needed withPPE kits, testing kits , venti-lators...our weakness is thatwe do not know how to prac-tice politics. It is our biggeststrength too," he said.

Recalling the opening offirst plasma bank opened inDelhi - ILBS the Institute ofLiver and Biliary Sciences,Kejriwal said 1,965 patientshave been given plasma so farin Delhi "I am happy that1,965 lives have been saved,"he said.

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As former Jawaharlal NehruUniversity (JNU) Umar

Khalid was arrested on Sundayin connection with the Delhi’sNortheast riots, the socialmedia was seen divided intheir views, with some of thetwitter users tweeting that whyDelhi Police hasn’t taken anyaction against Kapil Mishra,Anurag Thakur and KomalSharma.

As news of Khalid’s arrestbroke, people began to tweet

with the hashtag#StandWithUmarKhalid onsocial media.

Actor Prakash Raj tweeted,'shameful … if we didn't raiseour voice against this witchhunt, we should be ashamed ofourselves ….' Prakash Raj alsoused the#St andWit hUmarK ha l id#FreeUmarKhalid #justaskinghashtag.

While reacting to thearrest, Kapil Mishra, theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)leader in a video messagewhich was doing rounds on

social media, congratulated theDelhi Police on the arrest ofKhalid.

He can be heard saying thatthe violence that took place inDelhi in February 2020 wassimilar to the 26/11 terrorattack on Mumbai. “I have fullfaith that criminals like UmarKhalid and Tahir Hussain willbe hanged, imprisoned for life,for killing people. The citizensof Delhi await justice,” he saidin the video.

“Shocked that an anti-ter-ror law UAPA has been used toarrest a young, thinking, ide-

alist like @UmarKhalidJNUwho has always opposed vio-lence and communalism inany form. He is undoubtedlyamong the leaders that Indiadeserves. @DelhiPolice can'tdetain India's future for long,”Yogendra Yadav, social activisttweeted.

Using the hashtag “StandWith Umar Khalid”, seniorCongress leader ShashiTharoor tweeted, “PM says hewelcomes criticism, but forgetsto mention the cost of criticismto be paid by those who whospeak out.”

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Hyderabad-based SaptagirLaboratories, part of the

�900 crore Saptagir Group, onMonday announced a pact withJubilant Generics- a Jubilant LifeSciences company, to manufac-ture intermediates and ActivePharmaceutical Ingredient(API) for intravenous adminis-tered drug Remdesivir.

The drug will be producedat its Hyderabad World HealthOrganization (WHO) GMPcertified sterile drug productmanufacturing plant, acquiredat an investment of �75 crore.

Remdesivir is an experi-mental antiviral drug devel-oped by Gilead Sciences, Inc. as

a course of treatment for covid-19. Gilead entered into a non-exclusive licensing agreementwith Jubilant Life Sciences fordistribution to 127 countries.Following this, Jubilant LifeSciences through its subsidiaryJubilant Generics has enteredan exclusive agreement withSaptagir Laboratories to man-ufacture Remdesivir.

Currently, Remdesivir isthe only drug that has receivedan Emergency UseAuthorization from the UShealth regulator, and has beenapproved for emergency use incountries such as Singapore,India, Japan, Europe, andAustralia, for the treatment ofcovid-19.

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In India, 92 per cent of Covid-19 patients got only a mild

form of the disease while about5.8 per cent patients requiredoxygen therapy and 1.7 per centneeded intensive care, UnionHealth Minister Dr HarshVardhan told the Lok SabhaMonday on the opening day ofthe Monsoon Session.

While claiming that the 24March decision to impose theharshest lockdown in the worldprevented 14-29 lakh casesand 37,000-78,000 deaths, theMinister said that around 13states in the country are report-ing the maximum number ofcoronavirus cases on dailybasis.

Even as on Monday, thetotal number of Covid-19 casesin India stood at 48,46,427 with79,722 deaths, Dr HarshVardhan said that the countryhas now moved from ‘manag-ing travel-related cases’ to con-taining clusters and large out-breaks due to local transmis-sion to wide spread of infectionto urban, peri-urban and ruralareas.

“This would require con-certed effort by the Governmentwith people’s participation toprevent large scale morbidityand mortality,” he added.

“Many of the epidemio-logical parameters such asmode of transmission, sub-clinical infection, period ofvirus shedding, role of immu-nity etc. are still beingresearched. Once a person isexposed to the infection, thedisease may develop anytimebetween 1 and 14 days. Themain symptoms of Covid arefever, cough, and difficulty inbreathing,” the Minister toldthe House.

Dr Harsh Vardhan alsosaid expenditure finance mem-orandum of Rs 65,560.98 croreunder the Prime MinisterAtmanirbhar Swasth BharatYojana for strengthening the

health sector is under consid-eration. This includes invest-ment in research, healthcareand public health infrastruc-ture, with particular focus onpandemic management.

The health minister toldMPs that 13 clinical trials ofrepurposed drugs and har-nessing of traditional knowl-edge using the modern medi-cine approach are building aportfolio of therapeutic optionsfor Covid-19 patients.

“Phase 2 clinical trial ofimmunomodulator Sepsivachas been completed success-fully. Phase 2 clinical trial of thefirst-ever phytopharmaceuti-cal ACQH is under way. Oneprophylactic trial ofAswagandha and three trials ofGuduchi + Pippali;Yashtimadhu; and polyherbalAYUSH drug (AYUSH-64) areplanned on moderately illCovid-19 patients,” Dr HarshVardhan said.

“Globally, there are around145 candidate vaccines in pre-clinical evaluation and cur-rently 35 vaccines in clinicaltrial. In India, a major focus hasbeen on facilitating the devel-opment of Covid-19 vaccine.More than 30 vaccine candi-dates have been supportedwhich are in different stages ofdevelopment, 3 candidates arein advanced stage of PhaseI/II/III trials and more than 4are in advanced pre-clinicaldevelopment stage,” he said.

The Covid-19 Bio-reposi-tories have collected more than40,000 samples for use byresearchers developing diag-nostics, therapeutics and vac-cines. The health minister alsospoke about the shift in focusfrom only Covid to other non-Covid diseases such as tuber-culosis and malaria, whichended up being partiallyneglected during the lockdown.

“Equally crucial is to main-tain the success achieved inmanagement of reproductivematernal and child health, vac-cine preventable diseases, non-communicable diseases, tuber-culosis, vector borne diseasessuch as Kala Azar and Malaria.Hence, there is an increasedthrust for managing non-Covidessential services,” the ministersaid.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday hoped

that Parliament will send out aunanimous and strong mes-sage to soldiers on the Line ofActual Control (LAC) facingChinese aggression that thecountry was solidly standingbehind its bravehearts.

Modi, who was talking tonewspersons in the Parliamentpremises on the opening day ofthe Monsoon session, assertedthat sending an unambiguousmessage was “legislature’s crucialresponsibility”.

The Congress moved anadjournment motion on theborder face-off and sought thegovernment to detail the statuson the LAC. The oppositionalso wants a discussion on theissue. The Congress attemptedto raise the issue but could notproceed with it in the LokSabha. Leader of Congress in theLok Sabha Adhir RanjanChowdhury and party leader KSuresh gave adjournmentnotices over the issue of Chineseincursion in Eastern Ladakh.

India and China have beenengaged in a standoff sinceApril-May over the transgres-sions by the Chinese Army inmultiple areas on the LAC.

The Lok Sabha wasadjourned for an hour, shortlyafter it met, on Monday follow-ing obituary references andoffering tributes to former mem-bers.

The Prime Minister statedcategorically that the parlia-mentarians will send out a mes-sage of their unequivocal sup-port to brave ‘jawans’ facinghardships on the border.

“The entire Parliamentstands with the brave soldiers ofthe country with one voice. Ibelieve that Parliament and allits members will give out a verystrong message”, the PrimeMinister said before the start ofthe session.

He also mentioned that thesituations are set to becometougher due to the onset of win-ters that marks heavy snowfallon the border area.

“This Parliament, particu-

larly in this session, has onemore crucial responsibility ..just like the faith with which they(soldiers) are standing , deter-mined to protect motherland ,Parliament and all its memberstoo will send out a message inunanimous voice, spirit andresolve that the country standsin support of them,” Modi said.

"In one voice, one pledgeand one feeling, we will send outa message to the soldiers that weare with them," the PrimeMinister said.

Reacting to Modi’s ̀ expec-tations` from the opposition,Congress leader Shashi Tharoorwas quoted by a news agency assaying , "There is no doubt thatall of us stand with the soldiers.However, the governmentshould tell Parliament what isthe situation on the border."

The Prime Minister had inthe first all party meeting afterthe ‘Galwan’ clash on June 15between Indian army andChinese soldiers, trying to sneakin Indian territory in East ofLadakh, maintained that therewas no incursion in the Indianside of the LAC. The Congress-led opposition wants govern-ment to clarify in the light ofdemands that China restore thestatus quo ante on the LAC.

Modi also expressed grati-tude towards the parliamentar-ians for choosing duty overCovid-19.

" I congratulate and thankthem (MPs) for choosing dutyover Covid-19 threat. Because ofthis, the budget session wascurtailed and this session wehave change of timings for bothhouses. In fact, Saturdays andSundays are also working days.There would be many importantissues that will be discussed. Themore we debate and make itvibrant and detailed, more fruit-ful it will be for the country andparliament," he said.

Modi reiterated his cautionin the pandemic situation andasked everyone to be careful andbe safe. "Jab tak dawai nahi, tabtak dhilai Nahi. (No carelessnesstill there is a vaccine). Hope wewill be able to relieve the worldof this misery," the PrimeMinister said.

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Amid stiff protest from theOpposition, which accused

the Centre of “encroaching” onState subjects, the Governmenton Monday introduced bills onprice assurance to farmers andregulation of co-operativebanks by RBI in the Lok Sabha.

Defending the two billson the farm sector, AgriculturalMinister Narendra SinghTomar said they will help thefarmers get a remunerativeprice for their produce as wellas private investments andtechnology. Responding to thecharges of Opposition, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamansaid the regulation bill isintended to protect the depos-itors in co-operative banks andnothing to intervene on thestate’s acts related to the banks.

Leader of Congress AdhirRanjan Chowdhury and TMCleader Saugata Roy accusedthe Centre of intervening inAgriculture which is a StateSubject. Many Opposition MPspointed out the ongoing agita-tions of farmers in Punjab,Haryana, Uttar Pradesh andChhattisgarh against the bill.Chowdhury said that thesebills are not mentioning aboutthe current system of

Minimum Support Price(MSP) and is aimed at businesshouses’ entry in the agriculturesector. The Opposition hasalleged that the Centre broughtin the legislations without con-sulting the states under whosedomain 'agriculture' and 'man-dis' come.

"Such a law can only bebrought by State Governments.Through this bill, the centrewill nullify AgriculturalProduce Market Committee(APMC) law enacted by vari-ous state governments,"Chowdhury said.

Agriculture MinisterTomar, while introducing thebills to replace the 'The Farmers'Produce Trade And Commerce(Promotion And Facilitation)Ordinance, 2020 and 'TheFarmers (Empowerment andProtection) Agreement on PriceAssurance and Farm ServicesOrdinance, said that almost 86per cent of farmers have agri-cultural land of less than twohectares and they are oftenunable to benefit from mini-mum support price (MSPs). Tospecific questions raised byMPs, Minister assured theHouse that the MSP will stay.

The ordinances seek toprovide barrier-free trade forfarmers' produce outside noti-fied farm mandis, and empow-

er farmers to enter into farm-ing agreements with privateplayers prior to the productionfor sale of agri-produce, saidTomar. He said the bill will helpthe farmers as they are unableto invest much in their farmand do not attract investmentsfrom others.

Congress MP ShashiTharoor said, "It is beyond thelegislative competence of thishouse to enact any law on agri-culture, which is a domain ofthe state governments.”Parliamentary Affairs MinisterPrahlad Joshi objected to hisremarks that the bills violatedthe basic tenets of federalismenshrined in India'sConstitution.

Responding to volley ofobjections on the new bankingregulation bill which bring co-operative banks under RBIsupervision, Sitharamandetailed the bad financial posi-tion of many co-operativebanks and she said the bill isfocusing on protection of thedepositors. The new Bill — TheBanking Regulation(Amendment) Bill 2020 — toprotect the depositors of UrbanCooperative Banks (UCBs)and Multi State CooperativeBanks (MSCBs) and not inter-fering into the State Laws, shesaid.

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Parliament on Monday gavethe green signal to two bills

that propose a medical educa-tion system aiming to improveaccess to quality and affordablemedical education by ensuringavailability of adequate andhigh quality homoeopathy andIndian system of medicine pro-fessionals across the country.

Cleared by the Rajya Sabhain 2019, the Lok Sabha pavedthe way for passage of theNational Commission forHomoeopathy Bill and theNational Commission forIndian System of MedicineBill.

The National Commissionfor Homoeopathy, Bill, 2018,aims to replace the CentralCouncil for Homoeopathy,which is the current regulato-ry body for homoeopathy. It

proposes a teacher’s eligibilitytest to assess the standard ofteachers before appointmentand promotions.

The National Commissionfor Indian System of MedicineBill bill will replace the CentralCouncil for Indian Medicinethat regulates alternative sys-tems of medicine and has pro-vision for constitutingautonomous boards for pro-viding Ayurveda educationamong others.

With the nod from thelower house, the two proposedlegislations mean that they areset to become laws after gettingformal approval from PresidentRam Nath Kovind.

Some opposition membersprotested against the bill, say-ing the Centre needed toundertake wider consultation.

Union Health MinisterHarsh Vardhan said the pro-

posed laws will help in betteradministration of homeopathyand Indian system of medi-cines.

The proposed legislationspromote equitable and uni-versal healthcare that encour-ages community health per-spective and make services ofsuch medical professionalsaccessible to all citizens, thegovernment has said.

They promote nationalhealth goals, encourage medicalprofessionals to adopt the lat-est medical research in theirwork and to contribute toresearch with an objective, peri-odic and transparent assess-ment of medical institutions.

The bills facilitate mainte-nance of a medical register ofhomeopathy and Indian systemof medicine and enforce highethical standards in all aspectsof medical services.

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Actor and BJP Member ofParliament from Gorakhpur,

Ravi Kishan on Monday raisedthe issue of drugs in Lok Sabhaand demanded a detailed probeinto the alleged nexus betweenBollywood and drug mafia. Hesaid that Bollywood is addictedto drugs.

The MP also praised theNarcotics Control Bureau (NCB)for its probe into the SushantSingh Rajput death case which isturning increasingly contro-versial and allegedly politicised.

"Huge amount of drugs isbeing supplied in the countryfrom China and Pakistan. Thedrug game is being playedthrough the Punjab and Nepal

route. The youth of the countryare becoming victims to it," RaviKishan said. Terming the issue"very serious", the MP urged theCentre for strict action in thematter. Speaking about drug-related arrests in the SushantSingh Rajput case, he said thatthe NCB is doing a great job.Strict action is needed to bust thedrug network, he added.

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Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birlaon Monday expunged the

controversial personal remarkmade by Trinamool CongressMP Saugata Roy about UnionFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman even as the BJPMPs demanded an uncondi-tional apology from him.

Roy drawing a comparisonwith India’s economy andSitharaman’s hair led to a heat-ed exchange between theTreasury Bench andOpposition MPs.

Replying to the TMC MPs’remarks, Sitharaman said, “If

only Saugata Roy could listeninstead of making remarks onother factors.”

BJP MPs andParliamentary Affairs Minister

Pralhad Joshi demanded anunconditional apology fromRoy. “Commenting on per-sonal attire...Being a seniormember, what is he talking,” heasked. “He should apologiseunconditionally. It is an insultto womenfolk.”

However, Roy said he didnot believe he had said any-thing unparliamentary.

The Speaker said that hewill look into the records andexpunge the remarks if need-ed, urging the MPs to contin-ue with the debate on theintroduction of BankingRegulation (Amendment) Bill,2020

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on

Monday arrested the kingpin oftrade-based money launderingBK Goyal and secured a five-day remand from a designatedcourt in Visakhapatnam inconnection with the ongoingprobe in the money launderingcase.

Goyal is suspected to havebeen involved in outwardremittances of Rs 1,500 crore todestinations like China, HongKong and Singapore.

“Accused BhimenderKumar Goyal has been arrest-ed by ED in connection with anongoing PMLA investigation inwhich he is the kingpin of anInternational trade-basedmoney laundering networkused to send compensatoryhawala payments abroad forimporting under-valued goodsinto India,” the ED said in astatement.

The ED had initiated inves-tigation under Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act(PMLA) on the basis of FIRregistered by Andhra PradeshPolice against Vaddi Maheshand others on the complaint ofthe Income Tax Departmentunder Indian Penal CodeSections relating to cheating,forgery, forgery for purpose of

cheating, using forged docu-ments as genuine and criminalconspiracy.

Investigation under PMLArevealed that accused Maheshalong with others had incor-porated several shell companiesand firms and opened bankaccounts with various banks inthe names of those compa-nies/firms and remitted hugeamounts of Foreign OutwardRemittances equivalent to R1,500 crore to various compa-nies in Singapore, China andHong Kong in the guise ofimport of non-existent 'cus-tomised software', it said.

Mahesh admitted that hehad remitted foreign remit-tances to companies inSingapore, Hong Kong andChina at the instructions ofGoyal.

Investigation also revealedthat Goyal is a habitual smug-gler who has several pendingcases against him withDirectorate of RevenueIntelligence (DRI) and cus-toms department for evasion ofcustoms duty for import ofunder-valued goods and out-right smuggling of goods intoIndia, it further said.

Goyal was the mastermindand on his instructions a com-plex network of shell compa-nies and firms was created byMahesh.

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Activists of Mahila Morchcha, afrontal organization of the BJP,

brought normal life in the capital cityof Thiruvananthapuram to a grindinghalt for hours on Monday as theystaged a well planned demonstrationin front of the State Secretariatdemanding the resignation of Keralaministers E P Jayarajan and K T Jaleelwho according to them are allegedlyinvolved in gold smuggling and ‘mas-sive corruption’.

Despite lathi charge and using ofwater canons many times , the riotpolice could not disperse theMorchcha activists who turned thepolice barricades in front of theSecretariat upside down.

“We have not seen this kind ofdemonstration at least in the recentpast. These women activists havedone their home work well,” saidShyam Babu Koroth, who has beencovering the agitations in front of the

Secretariat for years.Activists of the ABVP, BJYM and

the BJP too joined the demonstrationbut they kept a safe distance from themilitant workers of the MahilaMorchcha who were in no mood tolisten to the cops who asked them todisperse before the lathi charging.

The BJP intensified its ongoingagitation by Monday morning as asection of the media reported aboutthe involvement of minister Jayarajan’sson and wife in gold smuggling andLIFE Mission corruption charges. KSurendran, state chief of the BJP in hismedia briefing on Monday morningsaid that Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan was the epicenter of theentire smuggling and corruption.“We demand the interrogation ofVijayan, his daughter Veena, sonKiran and son-in-law MohammedRiyaaz in connection with gold smug-gling and other corruption charges,”charged Surendran.

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The entire Opposition parties that include theCongress, the BJP and the Muslim League

on Monday alleged that the ruling CPI(M) gov-ernment is trying to sabotage the investigationinto the gold smuggling and LIFE Mission cases.

Anil Akkara, Congress MLA from Thrissuralleged on Monday that Swapna Suresh and KT Ramees , the kingpins in the gold smugglingcases were admitted to Thrissur MedicalCollege to facilitate communication with eachother in the company of A C Moitheen, aMinister in the Pinarayi Vijayan ledGovernment.

Moitheen made an unscheduled visit to thehospital when Swapna and Ramees wereadmitted to the hospital. “The visit of Moideento the hospital is enmeshed in mystery. His mis-sion was to meet Swapna and Ramees and briefthem about the statements made by them to theCusotoms department and what they should tellduring future interrogations,” said Anil. TheCongress leader said that there was no need forthe minister to visit the hospital at this juncture.

The law maker also alleged that SwapnaSuresh made phone calls using the mobilephones of the hospital staff. “Though she hadcomplained of chest pain, it has been found thatshe was all right and there was no need of anyconcern about her health. Though she was dis-charged after two days, she was re-admitted tothe same hospital for check ups. I understandthe medical board found nothing abnormal inher health,” said Anil.

P K Feroz, leader of the Muslim League, toocame down heavily on the Pinarayi Vijayan gov-ernment alleging that efforts were underway tosubvert the probe into the gold smuggling andQuran import scams. “Now I have got infor-mation that Jaleel was seeking the help of Islamicreligious leaders to wriggle out of the case,” saidFeroze.

Meanwhile Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayansaid it was scandalous and “nonsense” to dragthe LIFE Mission project into allegations.“The Opposition parties are out to tarnish theimage of this government because they knowthat they would not be able to win the nextassembly election ,” said the Chief Minister..

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After Bihari and Marathi cards theBengali card has become the favourite

for the politicians in Bengal with both theCongress and the Congress and TrinamoolCongress questioning actor RheaChakrabarty’s arrest in Sushant SinghRajput death case “with no prima facie evidence of her having a hand in hisdemise.”

A day after Congress Lok Sabha leaderAdhir Chowdhury raised the issue of aBengali Brahmin woman being victimizedto appease a section of the electorate inBihar TMC MP and senior advocateKalyan Banerjee on Monday called BJP a“thoroughly anti-Bengali party whichthrives on North Indian politics and sac-rifices Bengali interest.”

Chowdhury whose party on Mondaytook out a long procession condemningfilm Rhea Chakrabarty’s arrest said, “it wasdone only to appease a section of the Bihari

voters ahead of the Assembly elections inthat State. Today we can see how a BengaliBrahmin girl is being harassed inMumbai… she has been sent to jail on falsedrug charges … whereas the real case isrelated to SSR’s death in which the CBI andED has prima facie found no evidence.This is purely anti-Bengal and we condemnit.”

Kalyan Banerjee on Monday attackedthe BJP calling it an “anti-Bengali partywhich is proved once again by the mannerthey have falsely implicated RheaChakrabarty a Bengali Brahmin girl. Thiswill not go down well among the Bengalivoters in this States. They will have toaccount for the torture they perpetrated onRhea.”

Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghoshhowever said that “Rhea Chakrabarty is notan issue in Bengal … here the TMC’s goon-da and syndicate raj is the main issue andMamata Banerjee will be thrown out ofpower on thatissue only.”

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In an apparent bid to arresterosion in the Hindu vote

base ahead of the next year’sAssembly elections BengalChief Minister MamataBanerjee on Mondayannounced stipend for theHindu “Sanatani” priests trig-gering criticism from the oppo-sition BJP, Left and Congresswho condemned her policy of“bringing cow belt politics toBengal.”

The new scheme will entaila monthly allowance of Rs1,000 and free housing formore than 8,000 poor SanatanBrahmin priests of Bengal.

“We had earlier provided

land to the Sanatan Brahminsect to set up an academy atKolaghat. Many priests in thissect are financially weak. Wehave decided to help them byproviding them with anallowance of Rs 1,000 permonth and also free housingunder the state government’shousing scheme,” the ChiefMinister said.

Congratulating the Hindispeaking population on HindiDiwas she said Bengal was aplace for the people of all reli-gions, languages and sects,adding the Government wouldsoon set up a Hindi Academyand a Dalit Sahitya Academy.

“We respect all languages.We have decided to form a new

Hindi Academy. We have alsodecided to set up a Dalit SahityaAcademy. Dalits’ languageshave influence on the Bengalilanguage” she said.

Reacting to her decision towoo the priests at the fag endof her rule senior BJP leaderRahul Sinha said “this is anoth-er mark of Mamata Banerjee’svotebank politics… soon aftercoming to power she had start-ed stipend for the Muezzimsand Imams to mollycoddle theMuslim votes. And now at thefag end of her rule when sheknows that the Hindus have feltlet down during her rule andthe entire Hindu vote has shift-ed to the BJP she is trying towin them back.

“Today she is trying to rec-tify her mistakes but it will yieldnoresult. No amount of mea-sures will pacify the dejectedHindu voters because they haveknown her true face. They willnot be fooled by her anymore.She will have to go out ofpower in the coming elections.”

Congress Lok Sabha leaderand PCC president AdhirChowdhury said “when sheannounced stipend for theImams after coming to powerthe Congress had protestedsaying it was a way to divide thepeople. Now she is againassuming the same path thistime by trying to appease theBrahmins so that the Hinduvoters are divided vertically. But

people are conscious this timeand they will read through hertricks.”

CPI(M) Legislature Partyleader Sujan Chakrabarty said“Mamata Banerjee has a dirtyhabit of playing one section ofvoters against the other. Bydividing the voters she wants towin the elections… she talks ofsecularism and condemns com-munalism in public. But if thisis not playing communal cardthen what is? She is competingwith the BJP in communalpolitics instead of dealing withunemployment problem, pricerise, rising law and order prob-lems…. This only proves thattheBJP and TMC are two sidesof the same coin.

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The Narcotics Control Bureau(NCB) on Monday con-

firmed that the names ofBollywood actresses Sara AliKhan, Rakul Preet Singh anddesigner Simone Khambattahad figured in the Sushant SinghRaput death-related drug case,even as a Mumbai courtremanded the seven arresteddrug peddlers either in the NCBor in judicial custody for vary-ing periods.

Talking to media personshere, NCB’s deputy director(operations) KPS Malhotra said:“There has been an issue thatwhether the name of Sara,Simone and Rakul surfacedduring the investigation…theanswer to that is yes”.

However, Malhotra has-tened to add that the NCB hadnot prepared any list ofBollywood personalities as hadbeen reported in a section of themedia. “There have been ques-tions whether the NCB has pre-pared a list of 25 Bollywood per-sonalities. The answer to that isno,” Malhotra said.

As many as 16 persons haveso far been arrested in theSushant Singh Raput death-related drug case registered bythe NCB. Actress RheaChakraborty and her brotherShowik are two of the arrestedaccused in the case.

A descendent of the Tagoreand Pataudi families, Sara (25)is the daughter of actor Saif AliKhan and his first wife AmritaSingh and grand-daughter oflate Indian cricket captain MAKPataudi and actor and formerCensor Board chairpersonSharmila Tagore.

Sushant and Sara hadworked together in the 2018 filmKedarnath, a Hindi romanticdrama.

Rakul Preet (29) has actedin several Hindi, Tamil, Teluguand Kannada films, whileSimone (29) is a fashion design-er and social media influencer.

Unconfirmed reports hadearlier said that during thecourse of her prolonged ques-tioning by the NCB ahead of herarrest on September 8, actressRhea Chakraborty had report-edly told the investigators thatactress Sara Ali Khan and RakulPreet, designer SimoneKhambatta, Sushant's friendand former manager RohiniIyer and filmmaker MukeshChhabra consumed narcoticssubstances.

Meanwhile, seven arresteddrug peddlers and dealers –arrested by the NCB in theSushant death-related drugcase—were remanded in theNCB or judicial custody forvarying periods by a Mumbaicourt on Monday.

While an arrested drug ped-

dler Anuj Keswani, arrested bythe Narcotics Control Bureau,was sent to judicial custody bythe court till September 23,three others - Karamjeet SinghAnand, Dwayne Fernandes, andAnkush Anreja – who werearrested during the weekend,were remanded in NCB custodytill September 23.

In addition, three others -Sanket Patel, Sandeep Gupta andAftab Fateh Ansari – who werealso arrested during the weekend--were sent to judicial custodytill September 23.

Among the seven remand-ed in either NCB or judicial cus-tody, Keswani was among thesuspected drug peddlers whowere arrested in the wake of thearrest of Rhea Chakraborty’sbrother Showik early this month.

Alleged drug peddler AnujKeswani was arrested by theNCB after Kaizan Ebrahim dis-closed his name. KaizanEbrahim had reportedly told theinvestigators that Anuj Keshwaniwas his supplier of narcoticdrugs. Keswani and Kaizan wereamong the ten persons initiallyarrested in connection with thedrug case registered by theNCB. The other arrestedaccused in the case are RheaChakraborty, her brotherShowik, Abbas Lakhani, KaranArora, Zaid Vilatra, Abdel BasitParihar, Samuel Miranda andDipesh Sawant.

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The case of inscriptions andcobblestones fitted with

around 45 hand pumps inDhubia, Khurrampur, andsome other villages ofAkbarabad police station areahas caught fire. A case has beenfiled on BJP MLA fromChharra Ravendrapal Singh’scomplaint against two people inthe police station of Akbarabad.According to the MLA, there isa smell of foreign conspiracy, inthis case, are coming.

MLA Thakur Ravendra Pal

Singh reached Akbarabadpolice station along with someother people. He filed a com-plaint against Shamsher son ofSher Mohammed, resident ofVijaygarh Khurrampur, andBarik Ali resident of Dhorra. Itis alleged that about 45 handpumps (No.4 small machine)have been installed in variousvillages including villageDubhia, Khurrampur to mis-lead the people. An Arabicinscription has been attached tothe hand pump along with theIndian flag and the flag ofKuwait.

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On Monday, 142 patientswon the battle for life

amid a growing number ofcorona-infected patients whilea hardware businessman and amedical college worker of thecity died due to corona. At thesame time, 128 new infectedpatients were also found.

Now the number of activepatients has reached 1658 and31 patients have died so far. Thesame number of patients diedwith other serious illnesses aswell. A total of 4836 patientshave been recovered and 6525people have been found infect-ed in the district as far.

On 31st August, a 40-year-old hardware businessman,resident of Sasni Gate SaketVihar Colony was admitted toSir Gangaram, Delhi after hishealth suddenly worsen. Theirreport came out corona posi-tive. Been on a ventilator formany days.

He died in the morning. Inanother case, a 55-year-oldresident of GT Road HousingDevelopment Colony wasworking in the AYUSH depart-ment of the Medical College.His health deteriorated andwas admitted to the medicalcollege for treatment severaldays ago. He also died at six inthe morning.

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The Aligs' Academic EnrichmentProgramme (AAEP), in associ-

ation with the Aligarh MedicalAlumni Association of NorthAmerica (AMAANA) held an inter-national webinar on “JNMCites'Experiences from the COVID front-lines: US and India”.

In his inaugural address,Professor Tariq Mansoor (ViceChancellor, AMU) highlighted therole of Jawaharlal Nehru MedicalCollege it is playing in containingCOVID-19 pandemic at Aligarhand in nearby cities.

New Delhi: The Ministry of food and con-sumer affairs on Monday said that around495.37 lakh metric tons (LMT)rice have beenestimated for procurement during the forth-coming Kharif marketing season 2020-21which is 19.07% more than the 416 LMT pro-curement estimate of 2019-20.

“During ensuing kharif marketing season2020-21, procurement estimates for Tamil Naduand Maharashtra have jumped by 100 percentand more, and for Madhya Pradesh, Telangana,Bihar and Jharkhand are higher by 50 percentand more in comparison to 2019-20. The lead-

ing States in terms of estimated procurementof rice are Punjab (113 LMT), Chhattisgarh (60LMT) and Telangana (50 LMT) followed byHaryana (44 LMT), Andhra Pradesh (40LMT), Uttar Pradesh (37 LMT) and Odisha (37LMT),” the agriculture ministry said in a state-ment. In view of COVID-19, Secretary,Ministry of Consumer Affairs requested allStates to take necessary steps to ensure socialdistancing during procurement operations.Other issues of States regarding food subsidy were also discussed during the meet-ing. PNS

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Maintaining that her earli-er analogy of Mumbai

being “Pak-OccupiedKashmir” (POK) was “bangon”, outspoken actressKangana Ranaut on Mondaytook Maharashtra ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackerayhead-on once again, by linkingthe latter’s Minister-sonAaditya Thackeray to “moviemafia, murderers of SSR andits (sic) drug racket”.

Hours after she departedfrom Mumbai for her homestate of Himachal Pradesh,Kangana virtually indulged inslander, when she tweeted:“Basic problem of MaharashtraCM is why I exposed moviemafia, murderers of SSR andits(sic) drug racket, who hisbeloved son Aaditya Thakerayhangs out with, this is my bigcrime so now they want to fixme, ok try let’s see who fixeswho!!!”

Earlier in the day when shewas about to f ly out ofMumbai, Kangana came upwith a nasty parting tweet:

“With a heavy heart leavingMumbai, the way I was ter-rorised all these days constantattacks and abuses hurled at meattempts to break my houseafter my work place, alert secu-rity with lethal weaponsaround me, must say my anal-ogy about POK was bang on”.

Kangana -- who hadarrived in Mumbai from herhome town of Manali onWednesday in the immediatewake of partial demolition ofher Pali Hill bungalow by theBrihnanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) – hit outat the ruling Shiv Sena andCongress.

“It seems this time I wassaved. There was a time whenI felt a mother's touch inMumbai, but today the situa-tion is such that I am lucky tobe alive. The moment ShivSena became Sonia Sena, theMumbai administrationbecame a terror,” she posted inHindi, targeting the Sena aswell as Congress presidentSonia Gandhi, “ Kanganatweeted in Hindi while she wasen route to her hometown.

Later in the evening, herteam tweeted: “ Thank youFacebook free speech must beprotected in a democracy, peo-ple need to be protected fromSonia Sena goons much likeCOVID -19 virus, thank youfor being considerate, welldone”.

Kangana has come underfire from various quarters forcontroversial statements com-paring Mumbai to “Pak-Occupied Kashmir” and saying“it seems Mumbai is addictedto blood” and dubbingBollywood as an 'Islam-dom-inated' film industry. Therehave also been protests erupt-ed in Mumbai and other citiesagainst the actress.

Through a series of tweetsput out during and after theBMC workers demolished heroffice at Bandra’s Pali Hill areain north-west Mumbai onWednesday last, Kangana hadamong other things come upwith a “..... tujhe kya lagta hai?”dare for Maharashtra chiefminister Uddhav Thackeray,whom she had threatened toexpose.

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Sonia Gandhi’s consistencyand determination areadmirable. A firm believer indynasty as a legitimising prin-

ciple in politics, she first made herson the party vice-president inJanuary 2013, thus indicating herintent, and in December 2017,despite a dismal performance in the2014 general elections, anointed himas Congress president. This wasaccomplished with fulsome supportfrom the rank and file, includingveterans. For a while things seemedto be going well and the party,advised by the now defunct consul-tancy firm, Cambridge Analytica,won Karnataka, Madhya Pradeshand Chhattisgarh in quick succes-sion in 2018.

Matters went south only withRahul Gandhi’s impulsive resigna-tion from the post of party presidentafter the resounding Lok Sabhadefeat of 2019; his refusal to with-draw it despite the customaryappeals; and Sonia Gandhi’s pro-longed stay as interim president,with no resolution in sight. Thisforced 23 veterans, doubtless backedby many others, to demand a visi-ble and effective leadership that isaccessible to stalwarts and does notfunction by diktat delivered via atiny caucus.

The Congress WorkingCommittee (CWC) that met onAugust 24, 2020, to resolve mattersrevealed that the Gandhi family’sprincipal concern was to retain itsgrip over the party. The myth thatSonia Gandhi had “fought like atigress” against Rajiv Gandhi’sbecoming Prime Minister after theassassination of Indira Gandhi – sto-ically maintained by the spin doc-tors despite the fact that RajivGandhi was already a Congress MPfor three years before that fatal day– died with Sitaram Kesri’s ignobleexit via a bathroom. Similarly, thepretence that “power is poison” hasended with the averment that it isthe elixir of political life.

Anand Sharma, deputy leader(Rajya Sabha), has explained howthe total drift and lack of introspec-tion after the 2019 defeat, RahulGandhi’s insistence that no one fromthe family should become presidentand Sonia Gandhi’s tenure as inter-im president ending on August 10,forced them to demand strategiesfor revival. Although it has neverbeen stated publicly, Rahul Gandhi’sflight from Amethi, choice ofWayanad (Kerala) and total relianceon the Indian Union Muslim

League to return to Parliamentwould have convinced the stal-warts that he cannot leadCongress out of the electoralwilderness. He cannot win fromWayanad again, or from RaeBareli, if his mother withdrawsfrom the arena.

At the CWC, as no oneasked the Wayanad MP to return,Sonia Gandhi realised there wasno time to lose in reinstatingRahul Gandhi at the helm. Herfirst moves, on August 27, indi-cated her resolve: Jairam Rameshwas appointed chief whip (RajyaSabha), Gaurav Gogoi deputyleader and Ravneet Singh Bittuwhip (Lok Sabha), and AhmadPatel and KC Venugopal includ-ed in a committee that willdecide Congress’s strategy inParliament.

Then, one day before goingabroad for a medical check-up,accompanied by the heir appar-ent, Sonia Gandhi announced amajor reshuffle, tailored forRahul Gandhi’s ascension. Thedissident veterans were upstaged,at least for the present. TheCentral Election Authority(CEA) has been reconstituted toconduct the election of the partypresident. Headed byMadhusudan Mistry, its mem-bers include Rajesh Mishra,Krishna Byre Gowda, SJothimani and Arvinder SinghLovely (a letter writer).

While letter signatoriesGhulam Nabi Azad, AnandSharma, Mukul Wasnik and JitinPrasada have been retained in theCWC, the demand for electionsto this body, as opposed to thepractice of nominating members,has been brushed aside. The 22-member CWC includes formerPrime Minister ManmohanSingh, Rahul Gandhi, AK

Antony, Ahmed Patel, AmbikaSoni, and former FinanceMinister P Chidambaram, whohas been elevated from perma-nent invitee, a surprising move.The invitees include DigvijaySingh, Salman Khurshid, JairamRamesh, Pramod Tiwari andChinta Mohan, all of whom willgladly rally behind RahulGandhi.

Jitin Prasada has also beengiven charge of party affairs inWest Bengal and Andaman andNicobar Islands, possibly in anattempt to woo back the disaf-fected cronies of Rahul Gandhi.However, Ghulam Nabi Azadand Mallikarjun Kharge havebeen removed as general secre-taries and Randeep Surjewala(Karnataka), Jitendra Singh(Assam) and Tariq Anwar(Kerala and Lakshadweep)inducted. Others retained asgeneral secretaries include HarishRawat (Punjab), PriyankaGandhi Vadra (Uttar Pradesh),Oommen Chandy (AndhraPradesh), Ajay Maken(Rajasthan), KC Venugopal(organisation). That few officebearers have any electoral heft isnot a factor in this round.

The Congress has long del-egated authority to makeappointments to the top leader.Sonia Gandhi is unlikely torelinquish this power at a timewhen the family is fighting forsurvival within the party. Sheannounced a five-member spe-cial team to help her in day-to-day matters till the next sessionof the All India CongressCommittee (AICC), to be heldwithin six months. It includes AKAntony, Ahmed Patel, AmbikaSoni, KC Venugopal, RandeepSurjewala and Mukul Wasnik.

Naturally, these moves have

further dismayed the dissidents.Former minister Kapil Siballamented, “Nomination seems tobe the rule and election is noteven an exception.” The dissi-dents told the media that thechanges made by the interimpresident “do not in any way”address the concerns listed in theAugust 7 letter and will not revivethe party. In fact, many new per-sons joined their stock-takingmeeting on September 12, 2020,which augurs ill for SoniaGandhi’s authoritarian control ofthe party.

Observers note that the ben-eficiaries of this reshuffle includeRahul Gandhi loyalists such asRandeep Singh Surjewala, AjayMaken and Jitendra Singh,amongst others, and the sole pur-pose is to smoothen the way forthe Wayanad MP to becomeCongress president after SoniaGandhi returns. But the fact thatnothing has been done to addressthe ideological lopsidedness infavour of minorities, and theinability to attract leaders whocan bring voters back to thegrand old party, is weighing onthe minds of many.

Checkmated by SoniaGandhi’s absence, the dissidentshave decided to focus on theMonsoon Session of Parliamentto corner the government on top-ical issues and wait. In a sharpdeparture from Congress culture,they have not surrendered ordiluted their stance on any issue,and have even augmented theirstrength. Sonia Gandhi will haveto accept the fact that the era ofsupine partymen is over; the highcommand has been called toaccount: only a split can save theGandhi leadership.

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

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Sir — Prime Minister NarendraModi inaugurated three petrole-um sector projects in Bihar virtu-ally on September 13. This is agreat move by the Government tore-employ indigenous labourersnear their hometowns. The threeplants, costing multiples of crores,will be set up in the districts ofDurgapur, Champaran andBanka. The liquefied petroleumgas (LPG) bottling plant in Bankawill help Bihar achieve its aim ofan Aatmanirbhar Bihar in thecooking fuel sector. These plantshave been commissioned byIndian Oil and HPCL under theMinistry of Petroleum andNatural Gas.

Bihar has always been a hubof migrant labourers and as thepandemic has left a number ofthem jobless, this announcementis definitely good news for them.This will boost the petroleum sec-tor in the State and will also openup new doors for investment in itsbackward regions.

Seeing such developments ina backward and impoverishedState will indeed give a ray of hopeto distressed labourers. They willnow reconsider moving awayfrom their families and roots to

other States in search of employ-ment in the current scenario ofthis pandemic.

Unfortunately, this step hasbeen taken in the backdrop of the

elections for political gains. Hightime a constructive policy is madefor backward States countrywide.

Kavya ShahUjjain

��Sir —All right-minded peoplewould unreservedly deplore andcondemn the attempt by the

police to link Sitaram Yechury,Yogendra Yadav, Jayati Ghosh,Apoorvanand and Rahul Roy tothe Delhi riots and name them as“co-conspirators.” I hate to say itbut I feel it is my obligation to puton record that repressive measureslike this incline us to think that weare indeed going through aninglorious chapter in the nation’shistory. Implicit in the supplemen-tary chargesheet is an attempt todeny space for democratic protest.Sad to say it has proved to thoseof us, who thought that COVID-19 may have instilled some senseof realism and moderation in theGovernment, wrong. Hope thepandemic makes us all realise ourcommon humanity. To say thatthe Government can make bla-tantly unconditional laws basedon discrimination but peoplecannot protest against them isanything but democracy. Anypolitical system refusing to allowdissent becomes a tyranny. TheShaheen Bagh protest was a piv-otal anti-CAA movement thatattracted the world’s attentionand unsettled the ruling dispen-sation.

G David MiltonMaruthancode

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While presenting the Union Budget for 2020-21, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamanhad renewed the commitment of the Modi

Government to “Make in India.” She saw this as themost crucial component of the strategy to makeIndia a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25. To achievethis, she targetted doubling of exports from the cur-rent over $500 billion to $1 trillion (that includesan increase in farm exports from $40 billion to $100billion). Faced with a whopping contraction in theGross Domestic Product (GDP) by close to 25 percent during the first quarter, a continuing slide dur-ing the second quarter and projected decline for thewhole of the current year by 10 per cent-14.5 percent, the $5 trillion target may have lost much of itssheen for now. Nonetheless, the Government hasother compelling reasons to pursue “Make in India”vigorously. First, the devastating impact of theCorona pandemic on economies worldwide in par-ticular and the steep decline in the economy of China(which accounts for a big chunk of imports by India.For instance, of the technical material that is usedfor making end-use agrochemical products, 50 percent comes from China) have led to the disruptionof global supply chains. This has created pressureon India to go full blast for increasing its domesticproduction and achieve self-sufficiency.

Second, the frequent changes in rules by theChinese Government, specifically targeting the US,Europe and Japan-based multinational companies(MNCs) and China’s deteriorating trade and invest-ment relationship with those countries, haveprompted hundreds of MNCs to exit. The ModiGovernment wants to seize the opportunity, makeall-out efforts to lure them here and make India amanufacturing hub. How to make it happen?

A clue is available from this year’s IndependenceDay address by the Prime Minister, in whichAatmanirbhar Bharat reverberated all through. Modiexhorted “our policies, our processes, our products,everything should be the best.” Put simply, Indianindustries should endeavour to manufacture prod-ucts which can compete in terms of the price as wellas quality, both in the domestic and internationalmarket. Broadly, two sets of factors are relevant here:(A) Those which are internal to a firm and (B) thosewhich are external.

Factor A includes the ability of the firm to inno-vate products, which meet diverse demands of con-sumers in a manner that offers the latter quality, safe-ty and convenience, putting in place manufactur-ing practices, which deliver best products on all thesecounts and optimising all factors of production viz.capital, labour, land and technology to ensure thatthe cost of supply is kept to the bare minimum. Allthese factors are within the control of the firm.

Factor B includes the availability of raw mate-rials and other inputs at a competitive price, has-sle-free logistics and transportation at low cost, avail-ability of funds from credit institutions such as banksat low interest rate and a taxation structure that low-ers the incidence of tax on products. Most of thesefactors are beyond the control of the firm. Thesedepend on the macro-economic environmentwhich, in turn, is influenced largely by Governmentpolicies. Look at petrol, diesel and Aviation TurbineFuel (ATF) whose price impacts the cost of almostevery product and service — cutting across all sec-tors of the economy. De jure, these petroleum prod-ucts are deregulated. However, since the market forthese is dominated by public sector oil companies,

there is an upward bias in their priceswhich gets aggravated due to high taxes.At present, these items are out of GST(Goods and Services Tax) which meansthey continue to attract central excise duty(CED) and value added tax (VAT) at ahigh rate. No wonder, the tax componentalone is nearly two-third of the retail price.

Power is another major input thatimpacts production cost. More than 90 percent of the electricity is supplied bypower distribution companies (discoms)at tariffs determined under cost plusmechanism. These rates subsume inflat-ed cost allowed to power generators, pass-through of ever-increasing fuel cost, elec-tricity tax and other levies, cost imposedon the system due to supplies to farmersand poor households at subsidised price(call it cross-subsidy), large-scale theft andso on. All of this result in exorbitantcharges from industries.

The businesses also face a high costof transportation and logistics thanks tohigh rail freight on movement of goodshaving to subsidise low fare on passengertraffic, high cost of movement by road dueto escalating diesel price and high toll taxcharged by concessionaires on highways(courtesy, inflated capital expenses onbuilding roads and high cost of land acqui-sition). Wherever exports and imports areinvolved, high port handling charges addto the cost. Finally, they have to pay highinterest rate on both long-term andshort-term funds borrowed from banks,non-bank finance companies (NBFCs)and other financial institutions (FIs).Though interest rates are deregulated andthe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also keepsprodding banks/FIs to lower the lendingrate (in the last 18 months or so, it hasreduced the policy rate i.e. the interest rateit charges on money lent to banks, by 2.5per cent to help them), borrowers have notgot much relief thanks to the high non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks.

Most enterprises are hamstrung by

these external factors, which many a timeoffset the inherent competitive advantageof firms by virtue of being strong on theinternal front. Ideally, the Governmentshould focus on removing these externalbottlenecks. If the costs of fuel, transport,power, interest rate and so on are broughtdown from their present high to a reason-able level, this will automatically sharpenthe competitive edge of Indian firms andmove us closer to the goal of making Indiaa manufacturing hub.

Instead, the Government is movingin a direction that does not augur well forits “Make in India” mission. It is increas-ing customs duties (during 2014-2019, itraised import duty on 3,500 items; elec-tronic items, especially mobile phones andautomobiles attract high levies), raisingnon-tariff barriers e.g. requiring dairy andpoultry products to meet certain specifi-cations, controls on the price of medicalequipment viz. stents, knee implants andso on and now even implementing alicence regime for certain imports (importof TV sets).

In certain sectors, such as agrochem-ical, it is micro-managing things to a pointof barring import of certain products forwhich indigenous facilities exist. Importof fertilisers such as urea is permitted onlyon residual basis i.e. only to the extent thatdomestic production fails to meet thedemand. Moreover, only agencies autho-rised by the Centre such as the StateTrading Corporation (STC), Minerals andMetals Trading Corporation (MMTC)can import it. With this overly-protection-ist mindset, on November 4, 2019, Modiannounced India’s decision not to join theRegional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP), a conglomeration of10 members of the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) viz.Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam,Singapore, the Philippines, Myanmar,Brunei, Laos and Cambodia plus six oth-ers like Australia, New Zealand, Japan,

South Korea, China (besides India) cov-ering 50 per cent of the global populationand nearly 40 per cent of the world GDP.

From the same prism, it is reviewingexisting Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)with ASEAN and its member countries.This approach has stymied chances ofIndia signing a limited deal with the US(this is largely about goods and marketaccess), forget concluding a comprehen-sive FTA, which also covers intellectualproperty rights (IPRs), investment and ser-vices, issues related to visas and manpow-er movement. For the same reason, talksfor the FTA with European Union (EU)countries are not progressing at thedesired pace.

The logic behind the Government’scurrent policy actions is an underlyingbelief that our domestic market should bereserved exclusively for “Made in India”products. Using the same argument, whatif other countries also decide to reservetheir local market for indigenously-madeproducts? In that scenario, our exports arebound to take a hit; the goal of doublingIndian exports to $1 trillion will look likedaydreaming. India can’t have the cake andeat it too. A scenario in which our prod-ucts have uninhibited entry into themarket of other countries (needed for scal-ing up exports) even as the products madein those countries face entry barriers onthe Indian turf is neither practical nor sus-tainable. The Government should shed itscurrent protectionist policy stance. Instead,it should go for an open trade policy byslashing import duties and eliminatingnon-tariff barriers. It should sign FTAswith groups such as RCEP, EU and so onas also with individual countries. As forperceived threats, there is ample scope forimproving the competitiveness of Indiamade products by addressing key bottle-necks under the “external factor” catego-ry — as brought out above.

(The writer is a New Delhi-based pol-icy analyst)

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Even as the world celebrates theInternational Day of Democracytoday, it is clear that during the

COVID-19 pandemic, the concept hasgone awry throughout the world. Powerand political activity are the essence ofmodern-day democracy. Yet, politicalauthority, which is based on legitima-cy and is a tool to deliver political, eco-nomic and social justice, has been ren-dering yeoman’s service to corporates,both domestic and foreign.

Ruling dispensations all around theglobe have resorted to authoritarianismunder the guise of the health emergency.In addition, democratic upheavalthrough excessive centralisation and thecurbs imposed on political activitiesduring this pandemic, have left mini-mal space to raise the concerns of theurban poor.

The contagion, a bolt from the blue,has caught our health systems offguard. In India, the labour class has beencaught between the devil and the deepsea, thanks to the recent twin moves ofthe Government: Privatisation and thesudden lockdown. Seemingly, the rud-derless policies of the Government havecreated enough space for further pau-perisation of the underprivileged mass-es.

Now, the federal governments ofThird World countries have to walk onrazor’s edge to meet fiscal deficit targetson one hand and connect the welfaredots on the other. Amid this chaos, bigcorporations are making hay due to therelaxation of tax rates and labour laws.As the unemployment numbers in thecountry soar and the working class ishard put to find jobs, industries andbusinesses will expect this surpluslabour to be at their beck and call. Amidthis gloom and doom scenario, the rul-ing elite has been trying to divert theattention of the suffering masses byshifting the national discourse towardssensitive issues like religion and hyper-nationalism.

Neo-liberalism and corporatisa-tion: The stringent measures taken by

the World Bank and the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF) against ThirdWorld nations — like pruning subsidies,rollback of welfare measures and theabatement of labour laws as essential forany sort of relief package during the cri-sis of balance of payments — have leftthe labour class helpless.

The US, with the support of theWTO (World Trade Organisation),had exhorted all these countries to pro-vide untrammelled access to its prod-ucts. Apparently, the aims and paths offederal governments of these nations,the WTO and the IMF are congruentwith regard to free trade and the glob-alisation of capital.

The lawful protection of the work-ing class under the labour laws hadproved disastrous for the interests of thecapitalist class and was being viewed asan impediment to their exploitation.However, the decades-long struggle toretain these labour rights in indepen-dent nation states has come to a naughtdue to weakened trade unions and thedecline of social capital in times ofCOVID.

However, despite the “new normal”of the Coronavirus era, the time hascome to fight tenaciously to restore the

rights of the working class, which havebeen tossed aside as of now.

When the market space is beingdominated by monopoly, duopoly or tri-opoly, free and fair competition whichunhindered markets guarantee, go outof the window. Extolling the virtues ofneo-liberalism, the modern nationstates have centred their developmentagenda in and around urban centres.Economically, in the post-liberal era ofIndia, upward mobility is largely con-fined to sections of the urban middleclass.

Welfare economics: It is wrong tomention that welfare economics isbased on the “rob Peter to pay Paul”principle when Peter has direct accessto resources (natural, political, econom-ic and social) as opposed to Paul. It isnot Peter but Paul who is running frompillar to post in search of opportunities.The notion of political equality of a lib-eral ideological stream revolves aroundfreedom and liberty of an individual andoverlooks the core elements of equali-ty like social and economic justice.Governments all over the world havesuccessfully repudiated the pro-pooragenda and this volte face from a wel-fare State to a pro-capitalist State has

pushed the labour class into deeperpenury.

The politician-capitalist nexus:The unholy nexus between the politi-cal class and corporates has been rid-ing roughshod over the interests of thepoor. This alliance makes it vital for thepolitical class to safeguard the vestedinterests of tycoons. It is appropriate tomention here that representativedemocracy has been metamorphosinginto a turncoat democracy.

Back in the day, politicians wereknown for their erudition, statesman-ship and uncompromising ideologicalcommitment. On the contrary, thepresent day representatives of the peo-ple are turning into snollygosters fortheir personal gains. There are severalvoluminous reports from different cor-ners of the world on the rising econom-ic disparities in the post-liberal era, uponwhich no political party is keen to act.As the late pop singer Michael Jacksononce sang, “All I want to say is that theydon’t really care about us.” The lyrics arestill relevant in these pandemic-riddledtimes.

Globalisation and dependency:The South Asian nations started on theirliberalisation, privatisation and global-

isation path at the same time, with theexception of Sri Lanka, which openedup its economy slowly, in fits and starts.They had adjusted their economicapparatus with a new global integrationprocess at a time when the global eco-nomic architecture was dominated bya unipolar power, the US. Since then,the lopsided globalisation process hasbeen converting many Third Worldcountries into dependents and in somecases they have been almost reduced toaid recipients dependent upon erstwhilecolonial powers or the US.

Under the banner of global integra-tion and in the name of free trade, theWestern powers have been bleedingthese nations of their resources.Asymmetrical globalisation has alsochallenged the sovereignty of thesenations while the same has remainedintact in case of developed nations.TheUS has been playing a rigged game ofglobalisation under the auspices of theWTO, the World Bank and other agen-cies. The time has come for Third-World nations to rise as one to have ajust order in the international sphere.

(The writer is Director of an IQSacademy in Hyderabad and a columniston global affairs and trade)

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London: An American lawyertold an extradition hearing inBritain for Julian Assange onMonday that the WikiLeaksfounder faces decades in prisonif he is convicted on spyingcharges in the United States.

US prosecutors haveindicted the 49-year-oldAustralian on 17 espionagecharges, and one of computermisuse, over WikiLeaks’ pub-lication of secret US Militarydocuments a decade ago. Thecharges carry a maximum sen-tence of 175 years in prison.

Attorney Eric Lewis,

appearing as a defense witness,said the scope of the indictmentpointed to “a very aggressiveapproach to sentencing on thepart of the Government.” “Allsigns point to a very long sen-tence, measured in manydecades,” said Lewis, a seniorpartner at Lewis BaachKaufmann Middlemiss inWashington, DC.

“We are looking at a sen-tence somewhere between 20years, if everything goes bril-liantly, to 175 years, which thegovernment could easily askfor,” he said. AP

Taipei: China warned theUnited States on Monday ofpotential “serious damage” totheir relations if it does notwithdraw from an upcomingeconomic meeting with Taiwanthat is expected to be attendedby a senior American official.

Chinese foreign ministryspokesman Wang Wenbinurged the US at a daily brief-ing to “stop all forms of officialexchanges with Taiwan, so asto avoid serious damage toChina-US relations and peaceand stability across the TaiwanStrait.”

Taiwanese media reportedthat US Under Secretary ofState for Economic Growth,Energy, and the EnvironmentKeith Krach is planning tovisit the island later this weekfor an economic and com-mercial dialogue with Taiwan’s

government.The visit would follow one

by US Health Secretary AlexAzar last month. Azar was thehighest-level US Cabinet offi-cial to visit since a break in for-mal ties between the US andTaiwanese government in 1979,when the US accepted a “one-China policy” with Beijing asits government.

A visit by Krach is likely toinspire further anger fromChina. China considers self-ruled Taiwan part of its ownterritory, and strongly oppos-es any official contacts betweenother nations and the island.

Taiwan’s Ministry ofForeign Affairs confirmed lastweek that it was in negotiationswith the US on such talks, butdid not comment on a specif-ic date or who might attendfrom Washington. AP

Beijing: The US ambassador toChina will step down early nextmonth, ending a three-yeartenure marked by a trade warand increasingly bitter relationsbetween the world’s two largesteconomies.

Terry Branstad, appointedby President Donald Trump in2017, confirmed his decision ina phone call with Trump lastweek, the US Embassy said ina statement on Monday. It didnot give a reason for his depar-ture.

“I am proudest of our workin getting the phase one tradedeal and delivering tangibleresults for our communitiesback home,” he was quoted assaying at an embassy staffmeeting on Monday.

Word of his departureleaked out earlier in the daywhen Secretary of State MikePompeo thanked Branstad onTwitter for his service.

“Ambassador Branstad hascontributed to rebalancing US-China relations so that it isresults-oriented, reciprocal, andfair,” Pompeo wrote in a follow-up tweet.

China’s foreign ministry

said before the embassyannouncement that it wasaware of Pompeo’s tweet buthad not received any notifica-tion that Branstad was leaving.

Branstad becameembroiled in a recent contro-versy when China’s officialPeople’s Daily newspaperrejected an opinion columnthat he had written.

Pompeo tweeted last weekthat China’s ruling CommunistParty refused to run Branstad’sop-ed while the Chineseambassador to the UnitedStates “is free to publish in anyUS media outlet.”

Chinese foreign ministryspokesperson Zhao Lijianresponded that Branstad’s arti-cle was “full of loopholes, seri-ously inconsistent with factsand wantonly attacks andsmears China.”

The US Embassy had con-tacted the People’s Daily onAugust 26 about the piece, ask-ing that it be printed in full with-out any edits before September4, the People’s Daily said in astatement posted online.

Branstad, 73, is a native ofIowa and was governor of the

major farming state for 22years over two spans, from1983 to 1999 and 2011 to 2017.

Early in his first term, hemet Xi Jinping, now China’sleader, when the then county-level Communist Party officialvisited Iowa on a 1985 tradetrip.

Trump appointed himambassador after a vacancy ofseveral months, during whichthe embassy’s No. 2 official,David Rank, resigned aftercriticizing the Trump admin-istration’s withdrawal from theParis climate accord.

Soon after arriving inBeijing in June 2017, Branstadwelcomed American beef backto the Chinese market after a14-year ban, saying “I know itis a key priority of the presidentto reduce the trade deficit, andthis is one of the ways we cando it.”

But trade relations quick-ly soured, as the US imposedtariffs on Chinese productsand China retaliated in kind.Other disputes followed overtechnology, human rights andthe response to the coron-avirus pandemic. AP

Berlin: Specialist labs in Franceand Sweden have confirmedRussian opposition leaderAlexei Navalny was poisonedwith the Soviet-era nerve agentNovichok, the German gov-ernment said Monday.

A German military labora-tory previously confirmed thesubstance in his samples.German governmentspokesman Steffen Seibert alsosaid that the Hague-basedOrganisation for the Prohibitionof Chemical Weapons is takingsteps to have samples fromNavalny tested at its referencelaboratories.

“Independently of theongoing examinations by theOPCW, three laboratories havenow confirmed independentlyof one another the proof of anerve agent of the Novichokgroup as the cause of Mr.Navalny’s poisoning,” Seibertsaid in a statement.

He said Germany had askedFrance and Sweden for an“independent review” of theGerman findings. German offi-cials said labs in both countries,as well as the OPCW, took

their own new samples.Navalny, the most promi-

nent opponent of RussianPresident Vladimir Putin, wasflown to Germany two daysafter falling ill on Aug. 20 on adomestic flight in Russia and isbeing treated at Berlin’s Charitehospital. Berlin has demandedthat Russia investigate the case.

Seibert on Mondayrenewed Germany’s demandthat “Russia explain itself ” onthe matter. He added that “weare in close consultation withour European partners on fur-ther steps.”

The Kremlin has bristled atcalls from Chancellor AngelaMerkel and other world leadersfor Russia to answer questionsin the case, denying any officialinvolvement and accusing theWest of trying to smearMoscow. AP

Codogno (Italy): The morningbell on Monday marked thefirst entrance to the classroomfor the children of Codognosince February 21, when pan-icked parents were sent to pickup their children after thenorthern Italian town gainednotoriety as the first in the Westto record local transmission ofthe coronavirus.

While all of Italy’s 8 millionschool students endured Italy’sstrict 2½-month lockdown,few suffered the trauma of thechildren of Codogno, whosedays were punctuated by thesirens of passing ambulances.

“Many lost grandparents,”said Cecilia Cugini, the prin-cipal of Codogno’s nursery,elementary and middle schools.

So while the reopening ofItalian schools marks animportant step in a return topre-lockdown routine, the stepbears more symbolic weight inthe 11 towns in Lombardyand Veneto that were the firstto be sealed off as coronavirusred zones. AP

Moscow: Belarus’ authoritari-an president visited RussiaMonday in a bid to secure moreloans and political support, asdemonstrations against theextension of his 26-year ruleentered their sixth week.

Alexander Lukashenko’stalks with Russian PresidentVladimir Putin in the Black Searesort of Sochi come a day afteran estimated 150,000 peopleflooded the streets of theBelarusian capital, demandingLukashenko’s resignation.

The Interior Ministry said774 people were arrested inMinsk and other cities ofBelarus for holding unsanc-tioned rallies on Sunday.

Protesters in Belarus havedismissed Lukashenko’s reelec-tion for a sixth term in theAugust 9 vote as rigged.

The United States and theEuropean Union have criti-cised the election as neither freenor fair and urged the

Belarusian leader to engage intalks with the opposition, ademand he rejected.

In a bid to win Moscow’ssupport, the 66-year-old formerstate farm director has tried tocast the protests as an effort bythe West to isolate Russia,which sees the neighbour as akey bulwark against NATOand a major conduit for ener-gy exports to Europe.

Russia and Belarus have aunion treaty envisaging closepolitical, economic and militaryties, but they have often engagedin acrimonious disputes.

Before the election,Lukashenko repeatedlyaccused the Kremlin of press-ing Belarus to abandon itsindependence. But with theUnited States and the EuropeanUnion criticising the electionand readying a package ofsanctions, Lukashenko nowhas to rely squarely on Russia’ssupport. AP

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:$��)��"�5��!�#�$�<��"�*� ��9��<�!�. Tokyo: Yoshihide Suga was

elected as the new head ofJapan’s ruling party on Monday,virtually guaranteeing him par-liamentary election as the coun-try’s next prime minister.

Suga received 377 votes inthe ruling Liberal DemocraticParty election to pick a succes-sor to Prime Minister ShinzoAbe, who announced lastmonth that he would resign dueto health problems.

The other two contendersreceived a combined 157 votes— former Foreign ministerFumio Kishida got 89 and for-mer Defence Minister ShigeruIshiba had 68.

The expected victory inthe party vote by Suga, currentlythe chief Cabinet secretary ofAbe’s government, all but guar-antees his election in a parlia-mentary vote Wednesdaybecause of the majority held bythe Liberal Democrats’ rulingcoalition.

Suga gained the support ofparty heavyweights and theirwing members early in thecampaign on expectations thathe would continue Abe’s poli-cies. That his victory appearedto be a done deal has raised crit-

icism from inside and outsidethe party that the process isundemocratic and murky.

The closed-door politicsalso apparently led lawmakers tosupport Suga in hopes of gettingfavourable party and Cabinetposts in the new administration.

Suga has said his top prior-ities are fighting the coron-avirus and turning around aneconomy battered by the pan-demic. He repeatedly has notedachievements under the Abe-ledgovernment when asked aboutvarious policies.

Despite his low-key image

as Abe’s right-hand man, Sugais actually known for his iron-fist approach to getting jobsdone as a policy coordinatorand influencing bureaucrats byusing the centralized power ofthe prime minister’s office.

Suga says he is a reformistand that he has worked toachieve policies by breakingterritorial barriers of bureau-cracy. He has credited himselffor those efforts in achieving abooming foreign tourism indus-try in Japan, lowering cellphonebills and bolstering agricultur-al exports. AP

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Central Bank of India hasreduced its marginal cost of

funds-based lending rates(MCLR) by 5 basis points (bps)across all tenors, effective fromTuesday. The city-based lenderhas cut the one-year MCLR to7.10 per cent from 7.15 percent, a release said.

Overnight and one-monthMCLRs have been reduced to6.55 per cent from 6.60 per centearlier.The new three-monthand six month MCLR willstand at 6.85 per cent and 7 percent, respectively. Last week,Union Bank of India reducedMCLR by 5 bps across alltenors.

Mumbai: Bank credit grew5.49 per cent to �102.11 lakhcrore, while deposits increased10.92 per cent to �141.76 lakhcrore in the fortnight endedAugust 28, according to RBIdata. In the fortnight endedAugust 30, 2019, banks’advances were at �96.80 lakhcrore and deposits stood at�127.80 lakh crore.

In the previous fortnightended August 14, 2020, bankcredit and deposits had grownby 5.52 per cent and 11.04 percent to �102.19 lakh crore and�140.80 lakh crore, respective-ly.

On a year-on-year (y-o-y)basis, non-food bank creditgrew at 6.7 per cent in July asagainst a growth of 11.4 percent in the same month lastyear, according to the data onsectoral deployment of bankcredit for July 2020, releasedrecently by RBI. Growth inloans to industry slowed to 0.8per cent in July as compared to6.1 per cent earlier, the datashowed. Advances to agri-culture and allied activitiesregistered a growth of 5.4 percent in the reporting month asagainst 6.8 per cent growth inthe same period last year. PTI

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Global shares mostly roseMonday, continuing a

period of increased volatility, astraders awaited cues from theUS central bank later in theweek.

US shares appeared set forgains with Dow futures up 1per cent and S&P 500 futuresup 1.3 per cent before themarket open.

France’s CAC 40 gained 0.2per cent to 5,041, whileGermany’s DAX dropped 0.1per cent to 13,189. Britain’sFTSE 100 edged down 0.2 percent to 6,023.

Shares in SoftBank, which

announced Sunday that it wasselling Britain’s Arm Holdingsto computer graphics chipcompany Nvidia for USD 40billion, jumped 9 per cent.

SoftBank spent USD 32 bil-lion to acquire Arm in 2016.

Nvidia is best known for itsgraphics processing chips,while Arm is renowned as aninnovator in the “Internet ofThings.” Japan’s Nikkei 225gained 0.7 per cent to finish at23,559.30 after Japan’s rulingLiberal Democratic Partypicked a new leader, who willby definition become the primeminister because of the party’scontrol over the more power-ful lower house of Parliament.

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The Govt on Monday intro-duced a bill in the Lok

Sabha to amend the BankingRegulation Act to bring coop-erative banks under the super-vision of the Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) in order to protectthe interests of depositors.

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman introduced theBanking Regulation(Amendment) Bill, which willreplace an ordinance that waspromulgated in June amid thecoronavirus pandemic.Opposition members, includ-ing Shashi Tharoor of theCongress and Saugata Roy of

the Trinamool Congress,opposed the bill, accusing theCentre of encroaching on therights of states. Rejecting thecharge, Sitharaman assertedthat state cooperative laws arenot being touched and that theproposed law seeks to bringthese banks with same regula-tions that are applicable onother banks. It is applicable tothose cooperative banks whichdeal with “bank, banker andbanking,” she said, adding thatas many as 277 urban cooper-ative banks have reported loss-es. Tharoor said the bill is anencroachment on federalism,while Roy claimed it attacks“state rights”.

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Retail inflation softenedslightly to 6.69 per cent in

August, even as food pricescontinued to rule high, officialdata showed on Monday.

The Government hasrevised downwards the retailinflation for July to 6.73 percent from the earlier estimateof 6.93 per cent.

Food inflation during themonth stood at 9.62 per cent.

Food inflation in Augustfell marginally to 9.05 per cent,according to the ConsumerPrice Index (CPI) data.

The retail inflation, main-ly taken into account by theRBI to arrive at its policy deci-sions, has been above the reg-ulator’s comfort level. The Govthas mandated the central bankto restrict the inflationat 4 percent (+/- 2 per cent).

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Amazon will hire another100,000 people to keep up

with a surge of online orders.The company said Monday

that the new hires will helppack, ship or sort orders, work-ing in part-time and full-timeroles. Amazon said the jobs arenot related to its typical holidayhiring.

The Seattle companyreported record profit and rev-enue between April and June asmore people turned to it dur-ing the pandemic to buy gro-ceries and supplies.

The company already hadto hire 175,000 people earlierthis yearto keep up with the

rush of orders, and last weeksaid it had 33,000 corporateand tech jobs it needed to fill.

This time around, Amazonsaid it needs the people at the100 new warehouses, packagesorting centers and other facil-ities it’s opening this month.

Alicia Boler Davis, whooversees Amazon’s warehouses,said the company is offeringUSD 1,000 sign-on bonuses insome cities where it may beharder for it to find workers,such as Detroit, New York,Philadelphia and Louisville,Kentucky. Starting pay atAmazon is $15 an hour.

Things are about to get alot busier at Amazon’s ware-houses.

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Equity benchmarks failed tohold on to intra-day gains

on Monday as cautiousinvestors trimmed exposureto banking and finance coun-ters despite firm global cues.

Positive commentary fromHCL Tech lifted IT stocks, butit was not enough to offset theweakness in index majorsHDFC twins, RelianceIndustries and ICICI Bank.

The BSE Sensex openedstrong and was on course toregister its third straight sessionof gains, but suddenly cameunder heavy selling pressure inlate-afternoon trade.

It finally finished 97.92points or 0.25 per cent lower at38,756.63.

On similar lines, the NSENifty slipped 24.40 points or0.21 per cent to close at11,440.05.

Bharti Airtel was the toploser in the Sensex pack, skid-ding 3.46 per cent, followed byBajaj Finance, PowerGrid, SBI,HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma,Kotak Bank and ICICI Bank.

HCL Tech was the starperformer, soaring 10.08 percent, after the company said itsrevenue and operating marginfor the September quarter areexpected to be “meaningfullybetter” than the top end of itsprevious forecast.

TCS, Infosys, TechMahindra and Titan too endedwith up to 5 per cent gains.

“Indian benchmarkindices gave up its gains andclosed with a negative bias. ITstocks outperformed followinga strong showing by HCL tech,which benefited most...However, the broader marketsoutperformed, especially thesmall-cap index, after Sebitweaked MF norms for multi-

cap funds. This Sebi measurewould require more exposureto small-cap stocks in mostmulti-cap funds, leading tothe current buying interest.

“Global cues were alsomostly positive on renewedvaccine optimism. Inspite of allthe optimism, a correction dueto valuations or various uncer-tainties cannot be ruled out andvolatility is expected to con-tinue.

Trade cautiously and lookat earnings stability, if investingfor the long-term in small-caps,” said Vinod Nair, Head ofResearch at Geojit FinancialServices.

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The Government onMonday sought

Parliament’s approval for infus-ing �20,000 crore in public sec-tor banks in the current finan-cial year to meet regulatoryrequirements.

This is part of the firstbatch of SupplementaryDemands for Grants for 2020-21 moved by Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman in theLok Sabha.

In all, the government hassought Parliament’s nod foradditional spending of � 2.35lakh crore, which includes acash outgo of �1.66 lakh crore,

primarily to meet expenses forcombating the COVID-19 pan-demic.

“For meeting expendituretowards recapitalisation ofPublic Sector Banks throughissue of GovernmentSecurities” the government hasasked for Parliament’s authori-sation of �20,000 crore, as pera document.

In 2019-20, the govern-ment proposed to make �70,000 crore capital infusioninto the Public Sector Banks(PSBs) to boost credit for astrong impetus to the econo-my.

However, the governmentrefrained from committing any

capital in the Budget 2020-21for the PSBs, hoping that thelenders will raise funds fromthe market depending on therequirements

In the last financial year,Punjab National Bank got �16,091 crore, Union Bank ofIndia received �11,768 crorewhile Canara Bank andIndian Bank got �6,571 croreand � 2,534 crore, respec-tively.

Allahabad Bank received�2,153 crore, United Bank ofIndia got 1,666 crore andAndhra Bank received�200crore. These three lenders havebeen merged with variousPSBs.

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The GST collection duringApril-August declined on

account of Covid-19 inducedlockdown, and the compensa-tion due to States stands at over�1.51 lakh crore, Minister ofState for Finance Anurag SinghThakur said on Monday.

The provisional GST com-pensation due to states/UTs for2020-21 was highest forMaharashtra at �22,485 crore,followed by Karnataka (�13,763crore), Uttar Pradesh (�11,742crore), Gujarat (�11,563 crore)and Tamil Nadu (�11,269crore).

The compensation due toWest Bengal stands at �7,750crore, Kerala (� 7,077 crore),Punjab (R�6,959 crore), Delhi(�6,931 crore), Rajasthan (�6312 crore), Telangana (� 5,424crore) and Chhattisgarh(�2,827 crore).

The total provisional GSTcompensation due to 31 statesand UTs for 2020-21 puttogether stands at �1,51,365crore, as per data shared in awritten reply to a question inthe Lok Sabha.

Thakur said the issue ofpending compensation andfuture course of action to meetthe shortfall was discussed inthe 41st GST Council meetingon August 27 wherein stateswere given two options to meettheir GST compensation short-fall for current fiscal year frommarket borrowing.

“It was also decided thatstates will give their preferenceviews thereon. Thereafter onfinalisation of scheme, statescan choose either Option 1 orOption 2 and accordingly, theircompensation, borrowing,repayment etc will be dealt asper their individual choice,” headded. In the current fiscal

year, states are staring at a stag-gering � 2.35 lakh crore Goodsand Services Tax (GST) rev-enue shortfall.

Of this, as per the Centre’scalculation, about �97,000crore is on account of GSTimplementation and the rest Rs1.38 lakh crore is due to theimpact of Covid-19 on states’revenues. The Centre late lastmonth gave two options tostates to borrow either �97,000crore from a special windowfacilitated by the RBI or �2.35lakh crore from market andalso proposed extending thecompensation cess levied onluxury, demerit and sin goodsbeyond 2022 to repay the bor-rowing.

In reply to a separatequestion, Thakur said the totalnet GST target for the Centrehas been pegged at �6,90,500crore for 2020-21 in the UnionBudget.

The actual net GST col-lection for the Centre tillAugust 2020 is �1,81,050 crore,which shows 26.2 per cent ofthe Budget Estimates(BE).

“The BEs for FY 2020-21of GST in the Union Budget,2020-21 were projected on thebasis of assumption of highergrowth of GDP, however as perCSO, MoS&PI ... The NominalGDP for Q1 (April-June),2020-21 shows a contraction of22.6 per cent which is one ofthe major reasons for revenueshortfall in GST.

“Other reasons for low taxcollection inter-alia includenationwide lockdown mea-sures implemented since March2020 consequent to globalCOVID-19 pandemic whichled to limited economic activ-ities, extension of GST returnfilings timelines without pay-ment of interest, late fee orpenalty etc,” Thakur said.

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The rupee managed toend 5 paise higher at

73.48 to the US dollar aftera see-saw session onMonday as weakerAmerican currency againstkey rivals and easing crudeoil prices led to a positivesentiment.

After opening higher at73.40 a dollar, the domesticcurrency swung between ahigh of 73.26 and a low of73.70. It finally settled at73.48, edging up by 5 paiseagainst the greenback.

The dollar index, whichgauges the greenback’sstrength against a basket ofsix currencies, was trading0.30 per cent lower at 93.05.

Brent crude futures, theglobal oil benchmark, fell0.83 per cent to USD 39.50per barrel.

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Prevent and prepare is betterthan to repent and repair.This saying is true especial-ly when it comes to health-

care. Yoga is a complete health carepackage. Yogic practices are not amere set of exercise rather it is alifestyle, a way of life which encour-ages one to attain overall wellbeing,prevention of diseases and theircure. Since the COVID-19 pandem-ic has hit the world, the restrictionsdue to the rising number of cases hasbeen an eye opener for all, makingthem realise the importance of hav-ing a healthy diet, importance ofyoga and breathing practices andgood immunity are the keys tohealth.

During the time of lockdownwhen people had to stay at homeand follow social distancing, goingout for anything even for walk or jogwas restricted, a major part of pop-ulation staying at home found solu-tion in yoga and meditation intheir confined places. Time andagain we have witnessed globalacceptance and appreciation of yogapractice. Even the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had also said thatyoga is helping COVID patients aswell. Even now when the situationremains out of control and it willtake time to control the spread of thevirus, the only key is healthy habitsand practice of yoga, here is how:

Boost immunity: Certain yogapostures like surya namaskaar,pranayam like anulom-vilom and

especially yogic cleansing kriyashelp boost immunity in a person.Immunity lowers the risk of diseasesin a person. Yogic breathing exercis-es especially help in the current pan-demic to improve lung capacity andthe functioning of the white bloodcells to fight infections.

Reduces stress: Since the daypandemic has hit the entire world,staying indoors, not socialising andfacing an unexpected economic cri-sis has taken a toll on everyone’smental health too.

This situation gave rise to a lotof negative thoughts and it becameeven hard to keep up with patience.Mental health has also come up asone of the prime concern in health.Yoga and meditative poses haveproven to help improve mentalhealth. Following yogic principles,breathing practices, pranayam,dhyan and a regular practice com-bining with asanas improves thehappiness quotient, relaxes thehyperactive nerve signals andimproves mental well being, hencerelieving stress.

Increased imunity leads tohealthy body: The patterns in whichyogasanas are to be practiced as perthe ancient books ensure jointmovements in the body, stretchesthe muscles, increases oxygen levelswhich is most required and regulatesbody functions. It is much neededfor muscle building; regulatingblood pressure, bone health andactive body. Becoming a yoga prac-

titioner will help you attain overallwellbeing. Because healthy bones,regulated vital signs, good metabo-lism and increased immunity lead toa healthy lifestyle.

Considering all benefits of yogathere are certain things to be kept inmind before getting into it. It isstrictly not advised to start any toughexercise pattern just like that with-out any proper guidance; it is a seri-ous matter especially when one isalready facing health issues. Henceopt for yoga by keeping in mind thefollowing points:�Never try any tough yoga posewithout training if needed.�Keep your nutrition value highonce you start following yoga prac-tice, for that matter ask a profession-al for guidance. Only yogasanawithout exercises without propernutrition are not going to help.� If already suffering from any of thechronic diseases then consult yourconcerned doctor and a yoga andnaturopathy physician to guide fornecessary set of asanas andpranayam and food pattern to follow.Make sure he/she is an qualified yogaand naturopathy physician (BNYS).Consider your diseases first; neverhide them from your guide.�Always consult a yoga and natur-opathy physician and make yourschedule of exercises — set ofasanas, pranayam and diet as pre-scribed.

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��8��-��4�44%�!�7��One of the most common ways of hurting knees is through

ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). This generally occurs dur-ing heavy sports, which involves sudden stops or changes in direc-tion, jumping and landing such as soccer, basketball, football anddownhill skiing. There is a pop sound in the knee when an ACLinjury occurs following which your knee may swell, feel unsta-ble and become too painful to bear the bodyweight. Dependingon the severity of your ACL injury, treatment may include restand rehabilitation exercises to help regain strength and stabili-ty or surgery to replace the torn ligament followed by rehabili-tation. A proper training program may also help reduce the riskof an ACL injury.

Symptoms: The ‘pop’ sound doesn’t come from everydody’sknee when they met with an injury. Some other common symp-toms are: � Pain: If you have a minor injury, you may not feel pain. Youmay feel sore along your knee’s joint line. Some people have trou-ble standing or putting pressure on the hurt leg.� Swelling: This is most likely to happen during the first 24 hours.You can reduce swelling by putting ice on your knee and elevat-ing your leg by propping it up on a pillow.� Trouble walking: If you’re able to put pressure on your hurtleg, you may notice that it’s harder than normal to walk. Somepeople find that the knee joint feels looser than it should.� Less range of motion: After you damage your ACL, it’s verylikely that you won’t be able to bend and flex your knee like younormally would.

Causes: Ligaments arestrong bands of tissue thatconnect one bone to another.The ACL, one of two ligamentsthat cross in the middle of theknee, connects your thighbone(femur) to your shinbone(tibia) and helps stabilise yourknee joint. ACL injuries oftenhappen during sports and fit-ness activities that can putstress on the knee and thatresults in: � Suddenly slowing down andchanging direction (cutting)� Pivoting with your foot firm-ly planted� Landing awkwardly from ajump� Stopping suddenly� Receiving a direct blow to

the knee or collision, such as a football tackleWhen the ligament is damaged, there is usually a partial or

complete tear of the tissue. A mild injury may stretch the liga-ment but leave it intact.

Treatment: Treatment depends on how badly you’ve beenhurt. Here are some of the options your doctor may give you:

First aid: If your injury is minor, you may only need to putice on your knee, elevate your leg, and stay off your feet for awhile. You can reduce swelling by wrapping an ace bandagearound your knee. Crutches can help to keep weight off your knee.

Medications: Anti-inflammatory drugs can help to reduceswelling and pain. Your doctor may suggest over-the-countermedications or prescribe something stronger. For intense pain,your doctor may inject your knee with steroid medication.

Knee brace: Some people with a damaged ACL can get bywith wearing a brace on their knee when they run or play sports.It provides extra support.

Physical therapy: You may need this a few days a week toget your knee back in working order. During your sessions, you'lldo exercises to strengthen the muscles around your knee and helpyou regain a full range of motion. You may be sent home withexercise to do on your own.

Surgery: Your doctor may tell you that you need this if yourACL is torn badly.

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�� The fennelseeds are highly aromatic andflavourful herbs used incookery. They are used to treatsome common digestiveailments including heartburn,intestinal gas and bloating.

Some people eat fennelseeds as mouth fresheners.Chewing fennel seeds canalso help in getting rid ofbad breath as theyincrease the produc-tion of saliva therebywashing out the bacte-ria. They also help torelieve morning sick-ness.

The antioxidants andother antimicrobial prop-erties in fennel seeds helptreat a host of hair ailments.Some of these include dan-druff, scalp itchiness, hair

breakage and hair fall. Theyalso contain nitrites, com-pounds known to lower bloodpressure levels. The fiber con-tent in them also help in low-ering the cholestrol levels.

Frizzy hair can be aproblem especially ifone has curly hair.

While there are some prod-ucts in the market that canhelp but the chemicals inthem harm the hair andsome people end uplosing clump ofhair. However, afew ingredi-ents found inour homescan take careof the frizzyhair. Here’show.

Mix almondoil and one eggtogether to get asmooth consistency. Appy iton the scalp and hair. Leaveit for 30-45 minutes. Washwith shampoo. Do this oncea week

If you can’t tolerate thesmell of egg use avocado

and yogurt. Mash the avo-cado and the yogurt to geta smooth paste. Leave it for45 minutes. Wash withshampoo.

Another perfect hairmask is mixing a banana

(mashed), a tea-spoon of honey

and two tea-spoons ofolive oil.Apply thison hair andleave it for30 minutes.

Wash usingshampoo and

then condition.Do this once a week.

Using apple cider vine-gar is good too. After sham-pooing hair, pour applecider vinegar on the hairand wait for 30 secondsbefore rinsing with coolwater. Condition your hair.

Are you tired of a bird’s nestwhere your hair should be?

Don’t worry you are not theonly one under the sun whowants smooth and frizz-free

hair. ROSHANI DEVI shareshome remedies that can help

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Fruits are one of the most delectable giftsfor mankind. Loaded with nutrients,

they are rich in necessary antioxidants andpower-surplus properties. They serve as themuch-needed energy booster for yourbody. Besides, they also save the day fromthose cliché meals of yours. Fruits are theperfect switch over to the much fibrousflavours on your plate.

Despite the multiple health benefits thatfruits offer, they have always been shroud-ed by some misconception or the other. Itcould range from the right time of intaketo completely avoiding them post certainhours. Available in red, orange, yellow,peach, and other bright irresistible colours,amazing flavours, and sundry textures,sourced directly from nature’s bounty —how can anyone say no to them, at any time?Hands down, fruits can always substituteany meal, at any time of the day. Let’s divedeeper and bust some of the most popularmyths associated with them.

Myth 1: Fruits should be consumed onan empty stomach

Claim: It helps the body to extract thenecessary nutrients in the right amount.This is an effective way of utilising the nutri-tional value of any fruit.

Reality: This is the most polluted ren-dition of the 'irst-come-first-serve concept.Our digestive system is better evolved toextract and digest the necessary nutrientsfrom the fruits, no matter whether you hadone before something or not.

Myth 2: Fruits should be treated as astandalone meal

Claim: You don’t get all the nutrients ifyou have fruits pre, post or alongside a meal.It slows down your digestive process, caus-ing gas, discomfort, and a range of otherunrelated symptoms.

Reality: Although insignificantly, eatingfruits with meals only reduces the frequen-cy of hunger pangs. This is actually bene-ficial as it makes your body feel fuller, there-by reducing intake of the extra calories.

Myth 3: People suffering or prone toDiabetes shouldn’t eat fruits at any timeof the day

Claim: Fruits correlate to the spike inblood glucose level if they aren’t consumedat the right time. So, Diabetics should bet-ter be mindful.

Reality: There is no specific time for theconsumption of fruits for Diabetic people.They can be equally beneficial if consumedin moderation. In fact, Diabetics are oftenadvised to follow a fruit-based diet in small-er intervals to keep the sugar in check. Thisalso helps them feel fuller with the rightamount of fibre-rich essential nutrients.

Myth 4: The most favourable time toeat fruits is after six-seven hrs of sleep

Claim: Eating fruits early in the morn-ing is the best time to consume them. Itenergises you with the optimal blood sugarlevel and activates your digestive system.

Reality: There is no scientific backingbehind the right time of consuming fruits.Eating them at any time of the day will doyou the same good as it’s supposed to do.

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Cipla Health Ltd, a leading consumerhealthcare brand has forayed into theantifungal product category with the

introduction of Clocip, to offer a hardworkingskin infection solution for hardworking peo-ple enabling them to continue work withoutany discomfort. Available in two forms, theClocip Clotrimazole Absorbent DustingPowder and Clocip Clotrimazole Cream havespecially formulated antibacterial and antifun-gal properties to treat skin infections and pre-vent it from recurring. Easy to apply, theseproducts also stops the infection spread andprovides relief from itching making it a fullcycle skin infection control formulation.

Fungal infections occur when fungi, yeastor moulds attack different parts of the skin, dueto excessive sweating, poor hygiene or moistweather conditions; resulting in rashes anditching. Considering India’s hot and humidweather, Indians are prone to skin infectionsthat can aggravate if not treated well in time.Clocip dusting powder is an antifungal agentthat can be easily sprinkled on affected areasto provide quick relief against problems likeringworm, athlete's foot, jock itch furtherreducing the growth of fungal cells. Clocipcream is another convenient topical treatmentfor nappy rash, sweat rash, along with otherskin related problems. The product packaginghas been designed for the ease of usage and isrecommended to use two-three times a day forquick recovery.

Clocip dusting powder is available in 75gand 100g pack priced at �67.50 and �106respectively, whereas the Clocip cream is a 15gtube priced at �42.50.

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majorly contributed and led to a rise inunhealthy eating habits, further leading toweight gain. Blame it on restricted move-ments, no access to gyms, decreased phys-ical activity or indulgence in junk food, obe-sity induced due to unhealthy lifestyleimposed by forced confinement has becomea matter of concern for many.

The situation is grimmer for peoplewho are already struggling with obesity forwhom weight gain has escalated in the pastfew months aggravating health problemslike sleep apnea, Diabetes, hypertension andbreathing difficulties. Such people areextremely susceptible and at a high risk tothe fatalities of COVID-19 as obesityresults in heightened inflammation inpatients and in severe COVID-19 cases, itworsens the condition of the patient.

Dr Arun Prasad, Senior Consultant,Surgical Gastroenterology & Bariatric

Surgery at Indraprastha Hospitals said,“Working from home, increased snackingbetween meals and a reduction in everydayphysical activities — all in an effort to stopthe spread of the virus — means we're mov-ing less than ever. Recent reports have stat-ed that the risk of death is more people inthe overweight who happen to get infect-ed with COVID-19. Younger people whoare obese are also at a higher risk. Obesityis a growing problem worldwide and ourcomplacent response to the current situa-tion contributes to obesity in many ways.The number of people considered obese hasnearly tripled in the past few decades.”

A 29-year-old male, weighing 201 kgsunderwent a robot assisted bariatric surgeryat Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals on August14. Post-surgery the patient will graduallyloose about 10 kg a month in the comingtime and should eventually lose over a 100 kg.

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Actor Ayushmann Khurrana, whoturned 36 on Monday, celebrat-

ed his birthday by putting himselfthrough a gruelling training ses-sion. This is because he can’t takea single day off from working outso that he can achieve his desiredphysique for his next film, aprogressive love story directed byAbhishek Kapoor.

He said, “I’m currentlyneck deep in prepara-tions for my next. I’mrunning againsttime to achieve thedesired physiquefor this film andI know for a factthat I can’t takea single day offfrom workingout. So evenon my birth-day, I decidedto train reallyhard.”

The actorsaid that hewants to sur-prise the audi-ence with hisphysical transfor-mation in the yet-untitled film co-starring VaaniKapoor. “It has

been really tough to push myself thismuch because I want a certaintransformation for myself. I havea certain expectation and I wantthe audience to see somethingnew about me,” he added.

Ayushmann said that hisbirthday has fallen on a day that

he currently dislikes. “I usuallyshudder on Mondays and just

look for excuses because I have todo legs. It’s painful but as they

say — no pain, no gain,”he said.

The actor is ,however, thankfulthat he was with hisfamily on his specialday. His busyschedule has unfor-tunately not givenhim the time toplan birthdayswith his entire

family for years.“I’m grateful thatspent my birthdaywith my entire fam-ily this year inChandigarh. I don’tremember when wasthe last time that Igot to do this in the

recent years. So itwas a very specialone,” he summed up.

As the country tries torecover even in the face of

rising COVID-19 cases and aneconomic downturn, thePopulation Foundation ofIndia (PFI) has launched acampaign titled Himmat HaiToh Jeet Hai, to celebratecourage and fortitude. Alongwith its eponymous anthem, itshowcases stories of everydaycourage and hope exhibited bypeople across society fromfrontline workers to COVIDsurvivors, who rose to theoccasion.

With lyrics that speak ofvictory over challenges faceddue to the pandemic, theanthem features a cross-sectionof society impacted. It waslaunched to reinforce people’ssense of unity to emergestronger together out of thispandemic.

The campaign is guided byfilm and theatre director FerozAbbas Khan. He is PFI’s cre-ative advisor and has directedthe flagship trans-media edu-tainment show Main KuchBhi Kar Sakti Hoon. STCHIntegrated Marketing Solutionsis the creative agency that haspartnered with PFI to createand produce this anthem andcampaign.

Executive Director, PFI,Poonam Muttreja adds, “Weneed masks, physical distanc-ing and frequent hand wash-ing to stay safe. Along withthat, what we also need forti-tude and stamina to be able tosteer the course and handle it

with dignity. Our anthem is thechorus of our lives as Indiasteels up to face the chal-lenges ahead. It is in tune withthe resolve and solidaritywhich will unite all of us.Hear it, sing it and share it; asit is only when each of us, espe-cially the most vulnerable arehelped in this difficult timethat we will emerge stronger

and safer.”Khan says, “The pandem-

ic is here to stay but we cannotlive in a perpetual lockdown.Facing our fears and movingforward with precautions inplace is critical for our com-munities.”

STCH believes in thecause of the campaign. It says,“When times are tough it is

imperative to lead from thefront. This campaign gave usan opportunity to give hopeand happiness to millions whoare ready to get back control oftheir lives.”

In the early stages of thepandemic, PFI supportedMyGov India, a citizen engage-ment platform of the govern-ment and multiple state gov-ernments in carrying outemergency risk communica-tion. It produced, created andcurated educational materialon masks, steps to stay safe,myth busters on COVID andsocial distancing under#TogetherAgainstCOVID.

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Why do animals gather for one-offevents? What does it feel like tobe part of the herd? How do

they cope with the changing seasons andclimate? What is their ideal pastimeactivity?

These are a few of the many questionsSpy In The Wild II answers. The series pre-sents nature’s greatest dramas and emo-tional encounters up-close by placingcameras inside revolutionary, lifelike spycreatures in the wild. Producers PhilipDalton and Matthew Gordon talk abouthow through the series, one can becomea part of the gorilla family for a day, dis-cover the drama of koala breeding season,and feel the heat of battle as Komododragons race for supremacy. Excerpts:

�What went behind making the spycams? What are its unique features andhow long did it take?

Matthew Gordon: Each spy creaturetakes different time to enter and get cap-tured. On an average, it took about threemonths. Some of them took most amountof research going back and forth with thescientists and the model makers. Forinstance, we made primary models for thespy gorilla as it was important to look atthe intricate details and their facialexpressions. We had animatronic engi-neers to make sure we get every detail cor-rect.

It was important for the five modelcreatures that we created to look as real-istic as possible. Therefore, we allowed thecreatures to behave in a specific way as itmight help reveal the behaviours of thereal animals too. Also, the facial expres-sions of animals was more important thantheir movements. We had to take care ofthe small detailing depending on the ani-mal we were filming. For instance, whenworking with the gorillas, we made surenot to stare at them because the silverbackgorilla could take that as a threat. So wemade sure that our gorilla model was ababy, which is less frightening. Sometimes,it’s also important for the spy creature tosmell like the real animal you are filming.For example, we filmed fruit bats inAustralia, which are very nervous animals.They use their sense of smell to assess theworld around them. Therefore, we had toleave our spy model in the forest for aboutfive days so that it gets the smell.

�How much have spy cameras benefit-ted wildlife filmmaking?

Matthew: The benefits are enormous,more than what was anticipated at thattime. Not too long ago, we worked on aseries called Penguins: Spy in the Huddle(2014), in which, we worked closely withresearch scientists, who had proven for thefirst time that the use of remote cameraswas, is better for the animals and less dis-turbing than humans. His research provedthat remote cameras cause minimal dis-turbance for filming and studying wildlife,which was very interesting because thatwas the first time it was conclusivelyshown. This is something we haveknown all along because we havealways found that through spidercreatures, we get extraordinarybehaviour of the animals.You pick up the nuancesof behaviour that youmight lose whilefilming throughthe long lens.

Philip Dalton: Spy cameras allow usto get right in the heart of the action, backdata view and immerse the viewer into thewild world. I think that’s much more cap-tivating but with the new series wefound that people might not necessarilybe interested in wildlife nature, ratherwhat’s happening there. Spy cameras area very powerful tool in wildlife filming.

�Could you share anything spectacularthat was captured on the spy cam?

Matthew: When we were goingthrough all the footages, we found out thatthe mountain gorillas were singing whileeating. It seemed as if they were celebrat-ing their dinner time. I think that wasquite a remarkable thing to capture.Thanks to the five cameras!

Philip: There are quite a few exam-ples. We had a Spine Mobula Ray, anextraordinary filming device whichallowed us to get into the big shoal of fish.It was able to swim into the heart of itwhen no diver could. We also had a spyPelican that was getting some aerialshots. We captured remarkable behaviourcalled vortex feeding, where creatures thatcould fly collectively get into some sort oficonic circular motion, and that hasnever been recorded before in MobulaRays. It was a remarkable capture.

The other example is of monarch but-terflies, which we filmed in Mexico. Wehad a lovely spy creature based on a hum-mingbird, specially designed in a way thatits moving parts were shielded so that itcould fly gently and quietly, very high up

into the

canopy. It captured the moments of a bigcascade, which was when all the butter-flies decided to leave together on mass.There were millions of them falling off thetrees at the same time. It was an event ofmagnitude which is quite a rare thing towitness. You can capture small cascadesbut this scale is very unusual. The shotswe got were remarkable as they were fromwithin the middle of the cascades. Thatfor me was a special capture.

�Was there any moment of fear or didthe animals pick on the spy cams?

Matthew: Whenever we are out onthe field, we never know what might hap-pen or how the creatures would react. Butgenerally, the animals seem to be sort ofrespectful. In the past, when animals likeelephants have cited inanimate objects likerobot cameras or cameras, they did notlike it. They crushed it, thinking that it wasa novel item.

But this time, with spy cameras, Ithink this was a kind of respect to the ani-mals. There was a camera filming thepygmy elephants in Borneo. The elephantscame over, looked at it and then, I think,just gave it a fleeting thought. I was stillable to carry-on filming and move home.How the elephants looked at the cameras,you’ll be able to see in the first episode ofthe series. We did get a bit nervous butthis time, they accepted their filming andso, it’s going to be a wonderful show.

�Which was the most difficult and themost exciting species to spy on?

Philip: We all have

our personal favourites in the team. Forme, the most exciting and the most chal-lenging were probably the remarkablepack animals in the Arctic walls up inEllesmere Island. We had put an artificialpup as the spy creature which would sitby the wolf dens, filming the pups. Well,the logistics to get to that part of the worldis very complicated and quite expensive.

But we could capture some lovely stuffon the pups around the den. It was diffi-cult to follow them at times, especiallywhen they moved along with their fam-ily. It was difficult to follow them as theyrun so fast, which makes it difficult tomove over to the terrain because it’sbumpy and full of rocks. There’s no waywe can keep up with them. Fortunately,we had a spy creature that could fly, it isa spy snowy owl. We were able to followthe pack and managed to film them hunt-ing mascots. It was remarkable becausewe could see the wolf family outside theden for the first time. We could see theirfirst-ever hunts and to film that in detailwas just amazing for me, personally too,because it has only been achieved once inthe wild before. And that was a long, longtime ago.

Another personal favourite, whichwas equally challenging, was filming theking penguins and elephant seals in thesub-Southern Ocean and on an islandcalled South Georgia. Again, that was ahuge operation. It took us nearly 10 daysjust to get to the location as it was veryremote. The weather was extreme withlots of blizzards, cold weather and big,ferocious seas, huge crashing waves. It wasa challenge to operate in those conditionsand also use our heavy equipment.

We placed a spy

king penguin and a spy elephant seal,which was the largest spy creature we haveever made. Well, the results were hilari-ous, so unique. I don’t want to give toomuch away. Those are my most excitingfavourite moments.

Matthew: For me, I’d say that I wasthe most nervous about the spy gorillabecause we never know how that speciesis going to react. But yes, the spy creaturesare made in a very sophisticated way, cost-ing tens of thousands and are deployedat the right moment and place with thehelp of scientists. But still, there arechances that the gorillas don’t accept themodels and just move away from them ordestroy them at once.

We have managed to capture sometruly magical moments, where we sud-denly saw a whole family troupe comingin and staring in with a silver Batman rightin the center of the mall and his familyaround him. They all are just staring atthe eye of the spy gorilla. This made meremember the early ‘80s, when Sir DavidAttenborough was around the mountaingorillas. He had said that there can bemore meaning and mutual understand-ing with a gorilla than any other animal.Well, that for me was really an amazingexperience. When you see a whole fam-ily of gorillas staring back at you, it’s amaz-ing. It became even better and a magicalbut real moment when we saw themhappy and relaxed, which meant that thefamily could interact with us and carry onwith their natural behaviours. We couldcapture them playing, beating their chests,running and jumping, eating. The scien-tists were amazed that they wanted to playwith the spy gorilla. We have lovely shotsof the back and forth sequence betweena young gorilla and our spy, interactingand playing with each other.

�Have you visited India? What shouldthe audience here look forward to in thenew season?

Matthew: For this series, we did notfilm in India. We have filmed in India,though, in the past with our firstseries when we had used the spyLangdon monkey. I remember that thespy monkey had fallen off the treetrunk. We were then not able to oper-ate it anymore. Since it became motion-less, the other monkeys had gatheredaround it and started to perhaps thinkthat it was dead. They started to grieveover the loss of that monkey. That’swhen we saw for the first time, howwhen these creatures lose somebody oftheir own, they pay their respects andmourn. That’s what they were doingwith our spy monkey.

I think this series will have some-thing for everybody irrespective ofwhere it has been shot. The series is notjust about the animals’ movements butalso about their expressions, body lan-guages, daily routines and thoughtprocesses.

(The series airs at 9 pm on Sony BBCEarth from September 21.)

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Neymar was among fiveplayers sent off in stoppage

time as Marseille beat bitterrival Paris Saint-Germain forthe first time in nine years.

PSG star Neymar got astraight red in Marseille’s 1-0win following an altercationwith center half AlvaroGonzalez on Sunday.

Neymar was sent off follow-ing a video replay showing heaimed a jab to the back ofGonzalez’s head.

As he went off, Neymar toldofficials that he had been racial-ly abused.

“It’s a serious wrongdoing ifthat’s the case but I don’t thinkso,” Marseille coach AndreVillas-Boas said.

“What we saw, what wasvisible, is that (Angel) Di Mariaspat (on Gonzalez).”

With apparent reference toGonzalez, Neymar later tweet-ed “The only regret I have is not

hitting the face of this idiot.”In a later tweet, Neymar

said “It’s easy for VAR to showmy ‘aggression’. ‘Now I’d like tothem to show the image of theracist who called me a ‘MON-KEY SON OF A BITCH’. I’dreally like that!”

Winger Florian Thauvinscored in the 31st minute of a

tense game featuring more thana dozen yellow cards and whichdescended into chaos deep intostoppage time as punches andkicks were exchanged.

It was Marseille’s first vic-tory over PSG since a 3-0 homewin in November 2011.

PSG has now lost threestraight games 1-0, includingthe Champions League finalagainst Bayern Munich on Aug23 and away to promoted Lenslast Thursday.

PSG lost its opening twoleague games for the first timesince the 1984-85 season andTuchel may find himself underearly pressure.

The game ended with PSGdefender Layvin Kurzawa andMarseille counterpart JordanAmavi sent off for fighting inthe seventh minute of injurytime at Parc des Princes.

PSG’s Leandro Paredes andMarseille’s Dario Benedettosoon followed before Neymar’sexpulsion.

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AUS Open unlike any other finishedunlike any other — with anunprecedented fifth-set tiebreak-

er as Dominic Thiem became the firstman in 71 years to win the finalafter dropping the opening twosets.

So close to defeat in a nearlyempty Arthur Ashe Stadium —Thiem slowly but surely turnedthings around against a falteringAlexander Zverev and pulled out a 2-6,4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (6) victory at FlushingMeadows for his first Grand Slam title.

The match ended with both menfighting leg cramps and, clearly, nerves.

“Somehow,” said Thiem, a 27-year-old from Austria, “the belief today wasstronger than the body, and I’m superhappy about that.”

When a backhand from Zverev land-ed wide on the third championshippoint, a weary Thiem dropped to his backway behind the baseline and covered hisface with his hands.

When he arose, he was met byZverev, who walked around the net toclasp hands, then embrace his friend andfoe, two sights rarely seen in this era ofsocial distancing.

Thiem then rested his head on theshoulder of the taller Zverev, who him-self came within two points of whatwould have been his first major triumph.

“I wish we could have two winnerstoday,” Thiem said. “I think we bothdeserved it.”

He is the first man to win theAmerican Grand Slam tournament aftertrailing 2-0 in sets in the final sincePancho Gonzalez did it against TedSchroeder in 1949 at an event thenknown as the US Championships andheld in Forest Hills.

The event never had been settled bya fifth-set tiebreaker; no major tourna-ment ever had until Novak Djokovicedged Roger Federer that way atWimbledon in 2019.

“I was a few games away, a few pointsaway,” said Zverev, who was trying to giveGermany its first male Grand Slamchampion since Boris Becker in the1990s.

“I’m 23 years old. I don’t think it’s mylast chance.”

As Thiem stepped forward to posefor pictures with his shiny new bit ofhardware, Zverev remained a few feetbehind, one hand clutching his less-impressive silver tray, the other hand ona hip.

The proceedings took 4 hours, 2 min-utes. And to think: After just 1 1/2 hours,

Zverev was up by two sets and a break inthe third at 2-1.

“The match turned when he brokeme for the first time in the third set,”Zverev said.

“He started playing much better,and I started playing much worse.”

Zverev, of all people, should haveknown what might have seemed like animpossible hill to climb for Thiem was,indeed, achievable. After al l , inThursday’s semifinals, it was Zverevwho trailed 2-0 in sets against Pablo

Carreño Busta before coming back towin.

Thiem began the day 0-3 in GrandSlam finals, but always faced a memberof the Big Three of men’s tennis in thoseothers. This time, he was the favorite andcame out jittery, but eventually workedhis way out of that, while Zverev wentfrom cool and confident to passive andpushed around.

The fifth set was just as back-and-forth as the other four, the mistakes ris-ing with the tension and the history in

the offing.Thiem broke in the opening game

when Zverev shanked a pair of forehands.Zverev broke right back — and piercedthe silence with a rare cry of “Come on!”— when Thiem double-faulted.

Then it was Zverev’s turn to noseahead, breaking for a 5-3 lead whenThiem sent a down-the-line backhandwide and leaned over, gasping for air.

But with a chance to serve out thebiggest win of his nascent career, Zverevfaltered, getting broken right back when

he pushed a volley into the net. Thatbegan a three-game run for Thiem, whobroke to lead 6-5, earning his ownchance to serve for it when Zverev net-ted a backhand, followed by a long fore-hand.

After having a trainer check on hisright leg during the ensuing changeover,Thiem couldn’t seal the deal, either, andon they went to the tiebreaker. Zverevdouble-faulted twice and offered up onesecond serve at 68 mph, about half thespeed he’s capable of.

While this was the No 7-rankedZverev’s first Slam final, this was the firstone the No 3-ranked Thiem was sup-posed to win, following losses to 12-timeFrench Open champion Rafael Nadal atRoland Garros in 2018 and 2019, then toeight-time Australian Open championDjokovic at Melbourne Park thisFebruary — back before the pandemicupended the world and put tennis on afive-month hiatus.

Instead of wild applause and loudshouts greeting great exchanges, thesoundtrack on Sunday mainly camefrom outside the largest court in tennis,courtesy of roaring airplanes, rumblingtrains, revving car engines, honkinghorns and wailing sirens.

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David Miller is in awe of M SDhoni’s finishing skills and the

South African says he wants toimbibe the former India skipper’scalmness in high-pressure runchases.

Miller will be playing forRajasthan Royals in theupcoming IPL after eight yearswith Kings XI Punjab.

“I absolutely love the wayDhoni goes about his business.Certainly his calmness — youjust think he’s always undercontrol. The way he portrays

himself, that’s something he’s extremelygood at and I do enjoy that about him.

I try and give off the same energy,”Miller told ESPNcricinfo.

Miller is a Dhoni fan but he isnot oblivious to the two-time World

Cup winner’s weaknesses eventhough he prefers to steer clear ofthe specifics.

“...He’s got his strengths andweaknesses as a batsman andso do I. I tend to be in awe ofsome of his chases rather

than ‘I want to bat likehim’. I suppose I just

want to finish gameslike he does.

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Australia batted itself into awinning position before

dramatically collapsing asEngland won the second ODI by24 runs to stay alive in the series.

England’s decision to batfirst at Old Trafford hadappeared to backfire with theworld champions limited to231-9 and Australia reaching143-2 with 20 overs left onSunday.

Australia was making therun chase look easy thanks to a107-run stand for the thirdwicket between captain AaronFinch (73) and MarnusLabuschagne (48). But thetourists then collapsed to 147-6,and 166-8, in Manchester beforefinishing 207 all out in 48.4overs.

A trio of England pacers didthe damage: Chris Woakes (3-32), Jofra Archer (3-34) and SamCurran 3-35. In what hasbecome an unwanted tour tra-dition for Australia, Archeragain claimed opener DavidWarner (6).

England captain EoinMorgan said bringing Woakesand Archer back into the attackdramatically swung the game inthe home team’s favour.

“Jofra is obviously an aceand so is Woakes. It’s ourstrongest suit,” Morgan said.

“You like to bowl them in

the most important parts of thegame and I felt at the time I

brought them back that was themost important part because the

game was edging away from us.“Finch and Marnus made it

look easier than it was. So Ithrew everything at it and theguys bowled unbelievably well.When they bowl like that theymake the captain look good.”

Earlier, no England batsmanreached 50, with Morgan (42)and Joe Root (39) leading thescoring. Both men were dis-missed by legspinner AdamZampa, who finished with 3-36off 10 overs.

Australia was aiming towrap up a series victory afterbeating England by 19 runs inthe first ODI last Friday.

The series finale is at thesame venue on Wednesday,when England will be hoping toavoid its first ODI series defeatat home since 2015.

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Victoria state Premier DanielAndrews on Monday said his

Government is negotiating with CricketAustralia and Tennis Australia to havecrowd attendance for the city’s iconicsports events — Boxing Day Test involv-ing India and the Australian Open.

There is speculation that MCG maymiss out on hosting the Boxing Day Test,an annual highlight on the calendar, sinceVictoria is reeling under Covid-19 pan-demic.

Victoria, which is in lockdown sinceJuly, has accounted for 75 percent of casesand 90 percent of Covid deaths in thecountry. Australia have reported morethan 26000 cases and more than 800deaths.

“We just have to work out what a safecrowd would be. It is too hard to say nowwhat that number is,” Andrews said ina daily news briefing.

“It is too early for us to determinehow big any crowd might be. We will getas many people we can get there, pro-

vided it is safe.”More than eight lakh people

thronged Melbourne Park for theAustralian Open in January and morethan two lakh attended the Boxing DayTest between Australia and New Zealand.

With Melbourne looking a diceyvenue, Adelaide is seen as the front-run-ner for the Boxing Day Test against India.

“We don’t want one event to neces-sarily set us back and cause us a prob-lem. It is hard for us to predict wherevirus numbers will be, what risks do wehave to deal with in just a few weeks time,let alone months,” said Andrews.

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��&��4��New York: US Open champion DominicThiem on Sunday said that chasingfuture Slams will be easier now that he hasthat elusive first tennis major under hisbelt following three near misses.

With that monkey off his back,Thiem says he expects to be able to playmore freely at Slams as he bids to snatchtitles away from the Big Three of RogerFederer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic.

“It’s going to be or I expect that it’sgoing to be easier for me now in thebiggest tournaments,” Thiem toldreporters.

“Because, of course, I had it in theback of my head that I had a great careerso far, way better career than I could everdreamt of, but until today there was stilla big part, a big goal missing.

“With this goal achieved, I think andI hope that I’m going to be a little bit morerelaxed and play a little bit more freely atthe biggest events,” he added.

Thiem said lifting the US Open wasa dream come true.

“I achieved a life goal, a dream ofmyself, which I had for many, many years.Of course, as a kid, as well, when I start-ed to play tennis. But back then it’s so faraway,” he told reporters.

“Then I got closer and closer to thetop. At one point I realized that, ‘Wow,maybe one day I can really win one of thefour biggest titles in tennis.’

“I put a lot of work in. I dedicatedbasically my whole life until this point towin one of the four majors. Now I did it.That’s also for myself a great accomplish-ment.” AFP

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�+' $�%�!�� (��+%�%��$�8%##=��=%!!�$��("�##��!�0 �� #�Dubai: Set to lead four-time championsMumbai Indians bowling attack inabsence of Lasith Malinga, Kiwi left-armpacer Trent Boult believes the biggestchallenge for all the teams in the 13th IPLwill be to adjust to the hot and humidUAE conditions.

“The biggest challenge so far hasbeen trying to prepare to come to 45degrees in the middle of the desert. Icome from a very small country NewZealand which is about 7 or 8 degrees atthe moment in the middle of winter,”Boult said in a video posted by MI.

Having played some amount of

cricket in the UAE, Boult believesMumbai Indians have the firepower inits bowling unit to outwit any oppositionin the upcoming IPL.

“I’ve played a little bit of cricket hereand I’m aware that the conditions canchange quite drastically depending on thetime of the time of the year etc,” the 31-year-old said. “But I’m hoping for goodwickets and if good wickets are on thetable, then it’s about being clear with whatwe are trying to do as a bowling team.And if we put the ball where we want to,then I think we got the skills to outper-form any opposition.” PTI

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C�� Melbourne: A spinner whorelishes challenges, Australia’sAdam Zampa wants to forge apartnership with India’sYuzvendra Chahal during theupcoming IPL, where he hopesto master the art of deathbowling while playing for theRoyal Challengers Bangalore.

Zampa and Chahal areboth wrist spinners but theAustralian is eager to pickthe brain of his IPL team-mate when it comes to death

bowling. Zampa is keen tolearn the skill since he waspart of skipper Aaron Finch’sunsuccessful death bowlingplan in the T20 series againstEngland recently.

“I really enjoy bowling atthe death, I love those pressureovers especially when thegame is on the line,” saidZampa, who played two sea-sons for the now-defunctRising Pune Supergiants.

“They needed 18 to win

off the last two overs (in thesecond T20) and I told FinchyI should bowl it. It obviouslydidn’t go to plan but I’m notgoing to change my attitudeafter one game.

“I’ve got a really goodopportunity in the IPL bowl-ing with Chahal at RCB and Imight get the opportunity tobowl those overs just becauseof the way the team is struc-tured,” he was quoted as say-ing by cricket.Com.Au. PTI

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