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VIJAYAWADA, THURSDAY DECEMBER 17, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

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RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

*Late City Vol. 3 Issue 37*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

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VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN HYDERABAD

{

LPG price up by Rs50, ATF rises by 6.3percent

8

5

VANTAGE POINT -NNARSIM

VIJAYAWADA0WEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated December 16, 2020 5:00 PM

ALMANAC

TODAY

Month & Paksham:

Margashirsha & Shukla Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Tritiya: 03:17 pm

Nakshatram: Uttara Ashadha: 07:13 pm

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 01:34 pm – 02:56 pm

Yamagandam: 06:43 am – 08:05 am

Varjyam: 11:11 pm – 12:47 am

Gulika: 09:27 am - 10:50 am

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 01:02 pm – 02:35 pm

Abhijit Muhurtham: 11:50 am – 12:34 pm

FFoorreeccaasstt:: Mostly sunnyTemp: 31/21Humidity: 64%Sunrise: 06.39amSunset: 05.45pm

Experts caution about Covid second wave from mid-JanC PRADEEP KUMARn VIJAYAWADA

Healthcare experts have cau-tioned about the possibility ofa second wave in the New Year,even as the number of Covid-19 positive cases have been onthe decline during the past fewweeks.

On Wednesday, AndhraPradesh reported less than 500

cases, when the State wasreporting over 10,000 casesper day when the pandemic

was at its peak. According to Covid Special

Officer Dr Ch Prabhakar

Reddy, the situation prevailingin States like Delhi and Keralaindicate that there are chancesof Andhra Pradesh experienc-ing a second wave.

Various reports warn of anincrease in the number ofCovid cases as winter pro-gresses across the state.

Dr Prabhakar Reddy cau-tioned health department offi-cials to be cautious as there

could be a spike in positivecases from mid-January. “It isobserved that a second wave ofthe deadly virus was visibleafter a gap of five months andthis had a greater impact on afew countries, besides places inIndia like Delhi and Kerala,” hesaid.

Countries like the USA,Russia, Britain, Australia, andstates like Delhi, Haryana,

Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, WestBengal and Kerala in the coun-try are reporting positive casesand most of the educationalinstitutions remain closed.

In AP, the intensity of thevirus was more during Augustand September and later therewas a decline in the number ofpositive cases. However,

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

YSRCP senior leader V.Vijayasai Reddy’s penchantfor being hyperactive onmicro-blogging platformTwitter on Wednesday lefttwitterati confused while giv-ing the TDP a chance to takepotshots at the ruling party.

Early in the day, VijayasaiReddy tweeted that distribu-tion of Covid-19 vaccine willbegin in Andhra Pradesh fromChristmas Day, December 25.However, the tweet vanishedfrom his twitter handle hours

after it went viral.

Poll delay hits municipal revenue n The state failed to get Rs 3,000 crore due to delay in conduct of ULB PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Delay in conduct of UrbanLocal Body (ULB) electionshas led to the State MunicipalAdministration Departmentfailing to get Rs 3,000 crorefund from the 14th FinanceCommission.

This, and the Coronaviruspandemic, are said to be themain reasons for the drop inrevenue collection of thedepartment as well as the pro-portional demand target in2020-21.

The MunicipalAdministration Departmentmainly generates revenue fromproperty tax, water charges andother heads.

According to the APMunicipal AdministrationRevenue Department, the tar-get was to generate Rs 2,210crore, but only Rs 852.74 crorewas collected till December 16,

which is just 38 percent of thetarget. In the water charges tar-get, Rs 157 crore is collectedagainst the target of Rs 420crore.

AP seeks funds for Polavaramas per 2017-18 cost estimatesPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy on Wednesday urgedUnion Jal Shakti MinisterGajendra Singh Shekhawat toset 2017-18 cost estimates asthe benchmark for release offunds for the prestigiousPolavaram project.

The Chief Minister metShekhawat in Delhi onWednesday before wrappingup his two-day visit to thenation’s capital, without meet-ing Prime Minister NarendraModi as was widely speculat-ed. On Tuesday night, theChief Minister had met UnionHome Minister Amit Shah.

Besides the pending dues ofthe Polavaram project, theChief Minister also discussedinter-state river water sharingissues with the Union Minister.

Jagan, in a memorandumsubmitted to Shekhawat,sought approval for release ofRs 55,656 crore as per the sec-ond revised cost estimate at the2017-18 price index level.

He also informed in themeeting that about Rs 1,779crore was still pending towardsreimbursement of Polavaram

works along with theDecember 2018 bills. "Anydelay would further escalatethe cost and delay the nation-al project," Jagan pointed out.

He also said that the num-ber of families to be evacuat-ed has risen considerably in2017-18 as compared to 2005-06 from 44,574 to 1,06,006, bywhich the land acquisitionrelief and rehabilitation costhas increased.

On Tuesday, the ChiefMinister had met Amit Shahand requested his intervention

in addressing issues pertainingto the Polavaram project.

He had also sought earlyrelease of flood relief funds andrequested that a Central teamto assess the impact of CycloneNivar in the state. Jagan alsourged Amit Shah to supporthis government’s plan to havethree-capitals and also initiatethe process of relocating theState High Court fromAmaravati to Kurnool, whichwas also promised by BJP in itselection manifesto in 2019.

Pesticides caused mysteryillness, conclude researchersPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Residue of pesticides could bethe reason for the outbreak ofthe mysterious disease in Eluruof West Godavari.

AIIMS, Indian Institute ofChemical Technology (IICT)and other premier institutionsconfirmed this on Wednesdayduring a videoconference withChief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy.

After reviewing the reportsof the expert bodies, the ChiefMinister said all types of testsshould be conducted so thatincidents like Eluru do notrecur.

The Chief Minister told the

officials to focus on mainte-nance of dumping yards andinstructed them to conduct allpossible tests across WestGodavari district. He instruct-ed intense testing of drinkingwater samples from all sourcesin all the districts.

“The samples should be col-lected systematically and

should be analysed by experts,”Jagan said, adding that thesetests should be analysed andnecessary measures should betaken accordingly.

The Chief Minister saidAIIMS and IICT should con-duct a deep study on the longterm on the causes of the out-break in Eluru and asked theChief Secretary to prepare anaction plan for the same.

The Chief Minister saidorganic farming should beencouraged and awarenessshould be created on the sameamong the farmers throughRBKs.

After complaint from Jagan, HCCJ Maheswari shifted to Sikkim SNV SUDHIRn VIJAYAWADA

In what could be best describedas a ‘happy coincidence’, theSupreme Court Collegium onWednesday recommended thetransfer of Andhra PradeshHigh Court Chief Justice,Justice JK Maheshwari againstwhom Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy had writ-ten to the Chief Justice ofIndia.

The recommendation of theCollegium will now go to theUnion Law Ministry afterwhich it will be sent for theassent of the President of India.A gazette notification fromthe President is now awaited.

The Collegium headed byChief Justice SA Bobde recom-mended transfer of JusticeMaheshwari as the ChiefJustice of Sikkim High Courtand Sikkim High Court ChiefJustice AK Goswami to theAndhra Pradesh HC. Justice

Maheswari was made ChiefJustice of the AP High Courtin August last year and hadtaken charge on October 7.

Notably, Justice Maheswariwill be transferred from APHC which has sanctioned

strength of 37 judges toSikkim HC having sanctionedstrength of only three judges.

Before being elevated asAP HC Chief Justice, JusticeMaheswari was a judge inMadhya Pradesh High Court.

While the recommenda-tion to transfer JusticeMaheswari along with fourother Chief Justices was madeat the Collegium’s meetingheld on December 14, a state-ment to this effect was put inthe public domain onWednesday.

The Supreme CourtCollegium had also recom-mended transfer of JusticeJoymalya Bagchi of theKolkata High Court to the APHigh Court. He will probablyfill the vacancy after sittingjudge Justice Rakesh Kumarretires by the end of thismonth.

In an unprecedented move,the Chief Minister had onOctober 6, written to the CJI,alleging that the AP HighCourt led by JusticeMaheshwari was being used to"destabilise and topple hisdemocratically elected govern-ment”.

n Judge was among those accused by CM of political bias; Justice Goswami is new CJ of AP HC

Vijayawada: ChiefJustice of the SikkimHigh Court, JusticeArup Kumar Goswami,who wasrecommended by theSupreme CourtCollegium to betransferred to APas its Chief Justice,was born on March 11,1961 in Jorhat, Assam. Hegraduated in law from GuwahatiGovernment Law College in1985. Registered as a lawyer on August

16, 1985, Justice Goswamiargued different cases relatedto civil, criminal, constitutional,employment services. He wasappointed Additional Judge ofthe Guwahati High Court in

2011 and PermanentJudge in 2012.

On October 15, 2019, hewas promoted as Chief

Justice of the Sikkim High Court.Prior to that, he was promoted toSenior Advocate from theGuwahati High Court onDecember 21, 2004.

AIIMS, New Delhin AIIMS experts saidthat lead was detectedin the blood of thepatients and nickel wasfound in all the milksamples.Organochlorine was thereason for illness in thepatients and pesticidecould be the reason forthe presence ofOrganochlorine andwould have entered thehuman body in theprocess of food cycle.

n Lead was found inblood samples ofrelatives of patients andlong term study isneeded. Exact reasonfor the illness would beknown after analysingsamples of food, drink-ing water and veget-ables for a few months.

IICTn IICT experts said that21 samples of waterwere collected alongwith blood samples of

people and animals. Notraces of heavy metalslike lead, nickel andarsenic were found inwater samples and alsopesticides residueswere also not found inwater samples.

n Endosulfan and DDDwere traced in bloodsamples. Lead wasfound in some bloodsamples and no tracesof organophosphateswere found, they said.

Findings of the reputed institutions

SC notice toAP, TS againstLRS scheme

Coronavirus vaccine from Dec 25, tweets Vijayasai

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court onWednesday sought theresponse from the Centre,Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,Tamil Nadu and others on aplea to take action againstregularisation of illegal con-structions resulting in mas-sive corruption and damageto natural resources.

Justice Goswami has been judge inGuwahati High Court from 2011

HM warns Naidu forgoading TDP leadersPNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP supremo NChandrababuNaidu drewsharp criticismand a warningfrom HomeMinister MekatothiSucharitha onWednesday after he told hisparty activists to counter anyaction by the State police byfiling cases.

Coming down heavily onthe comments made by theLeader of the Opposition,

Sucharitha said that being asenior leader, attempts to

goad his party activiststo go against the policeby filing false caseswas nothing but mak-ing a “mockery of

democracy and theConstitution as a whole”.

“These should be consid-ered as comments made by anantisocial force and an attemptto vitiate the law and situationin the State,” the HomeMinister said.

MacKenzie Scott is giving away her fortune at an unprecedented pace,donating more than $4 billion in four months after announcing $1.7

billion in gifts in July. The world's 18th-richest person outlined the latestcontributions in a blog post Tuesday, saying she asked her team to figureout how to give away her fortune faster.Scott's wealth has climbed $23.6 billionthis year to $60.7 billion, according tothe Bloomberg Billionaires Index, asAmazon.com Inc., the primary source ofher fortune, has surged. "This pandemichas been a wrecking ball in the lives ofAmericans already struggling," she wrotein the post on Medium.

JEFF BEZOS'S EX-WIFE GIVES AWAYOVER $4 BILLION IN FOUR MONTHS

SUNNY DEOL GETS Y-CATEGORYSECURITY, BACKED NEW FARM LAWS

Congress mayoral candidate N Venugopal has lost to the BJPcandidate by one vote, in the Kochi Corporation North Island ward

in the state's local body elections. "It was asure seat. I can't say what happened. Therewas no problem in the party. There was aproblem with the voting machine. That maybe the reason for BJP's victory," MrVenugopal said. "I have not decided to go tocourt with the voting machine issue so far.Will check what happened exactly," he added.The counting of votes for local body polls inKerala is underway at 244 counting centresacross the state.

Amid border tension with China, the government today said it may blacklistcertain telecom equipment vendors and prepare a list for "India Trusted

Sources". The government move effectively means the telecom sector will have alist of companies from where firms can safely buy products and services. Thedecision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Securityto "enhance security of telecom sector" by designatingtrusted vendors, said Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad."The Cabinet Committee on Security has given approvalfor a National Security Directive on TelecommunicationSector. Under this, in order to maintain the integrity ofsupply chain security, the government will declare a list oftrusted sources or products for the benefit of telecomservice providers," Prasad said.

Actor and BJP MP Sunny Deol's security has been upgraded daysafter he spoke out in support of the

government's farm laws that have provokedmassive protests by thousands of farmerson highways near Delhi. Sunny Deol, 64, willnow have Y-category security, which means11 personnel, including two commandosand policemen. The MP from Gurdaspur hadearlier been questioned over his silence onthe farmer protests. Last week, he posted astatement on Twitter, saying the matter wasbetween the farmers and the governmentbut some were trying to stir trouble.

CONG MAYOR CANDIDATE IN KERALALOSES TO BJP BY 1 VOTE, BLAMES EVM

AMID CHINA ROW, SOME TELECOMEQUIPMENT VENDORS MAY FACE BAN

No intrusions inEastern Commandarea since Ladakhcrisis: Chauhan

Taking a closerlook at the farm-ers’ agitation

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vijayawada 02VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 17 2020

EGG RATES

` 50,400 (10 gm)

` 430

GOLD

` 68,900 (1kg)

` 1600

VIJAYAWADA 490

HYDERABAD 478

VISAKHAPATNAM 470

RREETTAAIILL PPRRIICCEE `̀44..9900

SILVER

VIJAYAWADABULLION RATES

`̀//110000

CHICKEN RATES

Dressed/With Skin `151

Without Skin `172

Broiler at Farm `104

`̀//KKGG

(IN VIJAYAWADA)

Net usage low among APwomen, lower in rural areas SNV SUDHIRn VIJAYAWADA

While the sight of people, irre-spective of gender, wielding asmartphone with Internetaccess is ubiquitous, the sce-nario in Andhra Pradesh isquite different, with not manywomen have used the Internet.

Notably, Internet usageamong both men and womenis lower in rural tracts com-pared to urban areas.

As per the InternationalCommunications Union,(ITU) increase in broadbandpenetration helps improve anation’s GDP. Broadband con-nectivity is considered a keylever in the economic andsocial development of a coun-try.

As per the latest round ofNational Family Health Survey(NFHS)-5 of 2019-20, only 21percent of the women in thehouseholds surveyed ever usedthe Internet, whereas this per-centage shot up to 48.8 formen.

Significantly, more urbanmen and women used theInternet than their counter-parts living in rural tracts.While only 15.4 percent of therural women used the Internet,the percentage rose to 33.9 for

urban women.As for men, it was 41.5 per-

cent in rural areas and 65.1percent for those living inurban areas.

The latest data also indicatesthat Internet penetration islower in rural areas of the statethan the urban areas.

As per a November reportby global consultancy firmDeloitte, rural India’s broad-band subscribers per 100 pop-ulation increased from 12 per-cent in March 2018 to 29.1 per-cent in March 2020. However,broadband penetration inIndia's rural areas continues tobe poor at 29.1 percent againstthe national average of 51 per-cent with 687 million sub-scribers as of March 2020.

As per Deloitte's report“Broadband for inclusive devel-opment — social, economic,and business”, broadband pen-etration in India has grown atan annual rate of 35 percentover the past three years.

For the report, Deloitteanalysed Indian TelecomServices Performance IndicatorReports for respective periodsprepared by TelecomRegulatory Authority of India(TRAI).

Broadband consumption inIndia has accelerated on theback of increasing smartphonepenetration and low dataprices, with 1 GB wirelessdata costing US$0.15 (as ofMarch 2020), the cheapest inthe world.

Interestingly, 97 percent ofbroadband users in India arewireless and only 3 percentsubscribe to fixed broadband.

As per a report byI n t e r n a t i o n a lCommunications Union(ITU) an increase of 10 per-cent in fixed broadband pen-etration yields an increase of0.8 percent in GDP, and a sim-ilar increase in mobile broad-band penetration yields anincrease of 1.5 percent inGDP.

The NFHS -5 was conduct-ed between July 2, 2019 andNov 14, by Sigma Researchand Consulting Pvt. Ltd inAndhra Pradesh.

In Andhra Pradesh infor-mation was gathered from11,346 households, 10,975women, and 1,558 men.

(NFHS) is a large-scale,multi-round survey conduct-ed in a representative sampleof households throughoutIndia. The survey providesstate and national informationfor India on various parame-ters and issues that will pro-vide essential data on healthand family welfare needed bythe Ministry of Health andFamily Welfare and otheragencies for policy and pro-gramme purposes.

Being neither a farmer,trader, economist / aca-demician, nor wearing

tinted glasses of any ideology;and still expressing views onthe ongoing agitation by farm-ers makes one susceptible tocharges of being ignorantabout agriculture in general,and insensitive towards thewoes of farmers in particular.

On the positive side, anoutsider’s objective views per-haps, could enrich the debateon the subject.

The ongoing agitationbrings to mind one importantquestion:- Why is agriculturein India at the crossroads?

The main reason is thatagrarian policies have tomaintain a balance betweentwo contrasting objectives –providing remunerative pricesto farmers; and secondly –keeping the prices of farmproduce manageable.

Remunerative prices arenecessary to continue farmingactivities as agriculture is the

mainstay for more than halfthe population of the country.On the other hand, stableprices of agriculture produceare important to provide foodsecurity and affordability ofagricultural produce to themasses.

A delicate balance betweenthese two objectives, therefore,has to be maintained. This isdone by the governmentthrough a policy framework,and various welfare schemesfor farmers including DirectBenefit Transfer (DBT) suchas the Rythu Bandhu Schemeof the Telangana Governmentand the Kisan SammanYojana of the CentralGovernment. The existingpolicy framework in thisregard consists of AgricultureProduce MarketingCommittees (APMC) Actenacted by governments ofvarious states for mandatoryselling of agricultural pro-duce in the regulated marketseither directly by the farmers

or through intermediaries.Availability and reach of

agricultural markets; andassociated infrastructure suchas warehouses, godowns andcold storages is limited withwide spatial variation.Increasing the penetration ofagricultural markets needsinfusion of public as well as,private capital in the country.

Second, policy instrumentis Essential Commodities Act,a Central Act that provides anumbrella under which statesare enabled to impose allkinds of restrictions on stor-age, transport and processing

of agricultural produce.In a scarcity scenario, these

controls were justified on thegrounds to control hoardingand other types of speculativeactivities. However, these pro-visions do not work efficient-ly in times of genuine scarci-ty and are not needed in nor-mal times. Besides, these pro-visions are often misused bywell entrenched vested inter-ests; and have become aninstrument for harassmentand corruption. Anothermajor intervention is provi-sion of assured MinimumSupport Price (MSP) for var-

ious crops for procurement bythe Central and state agencies.

Thus, agriculture market inIndia is fragmented. The sizeof market matters for achiev-ing economies of scale andother optimum outcomes.Unfortunately, these restric-tions prevent development ofintegrated national or region-al markets for agriculturalproducts.

In order to address variousconcerns, the agriculturereform process in all earnestwas conceived in the year2000 with the setting of aCommittee under the chair-personship of Shankar LalGuru for strengthening anddeveloping agricultural mar-keting system.

This was followed by thereport of the task force, head-ed by Dr Montek SinghAhluwalia on EmploymentOpportunities in July, 2001.The RCA Jain inter-ministe-rial task force was constitut-ed in 2001 to look into theGuru Committee recommen-dations.

These included examininglegislative reforms, institu-tional and policy supportmeasures to expand credit,and the creation of marketinginfrastructure. One of theimportant outcomes of RCAJain task force was creation ofa Model APMC Act inSeptember 2003 to prevent

monopoly of the state govern-ments over wholesale marketsand to ensure a transparentpricing system.

Dr MS Swaminathan head-ed the National Commissionon Farmers and presentedfive reports on the broadtheme of ‘Serving Farmersand Saving Farmers’ betweenDecember 2004-2006 high-lighting the issues related toagriculture and suggestingremedial measures.

Based on the recommenda-tions of various think tanksand task forces, the politicalspectrum of various hues,was in favour of establishingan Indian common marketand removal of restrictions oninternal trade in agriculturalcommodities.

After a lull of several years,the Standing Committee ofParliament on Agriculture(2018-19) recommendedmeasures for reforming agri-culture market produce com-mittees; abolishing the

Essential Commodities Actand need to encourage privateinvestment in agriculturalsector.

In September 2020 threelaws namely; The FarmersProduce Trade andCommerce (Promotion andFacilitation) Act 2020, theEssential Commodities(Amendment) Act 2020; andthe Farmers (Empowermentand Protection) Agreementon Price Assurance and FarmServices Act 2020 had beenpassed.

Agitation at this stage ispremature.

The right time for farmersto raise their voices would beif the flexibility to sell, andremoval of price controls leadto adverse impact and issuesrelated to protection of farm-ers in dealing with food pro-cessing industry are witnessedduring implementation.

Now is the time to believeand honour the collectivewisdom.

DR SHAILENDRA JOSHI,IAS (RETD)

The ongoing agitation brings tomind one important question:- Whyis agriculture in India at thecrossroads? The main reason isthat agrarian policies have tomaintain a balance between twocontrasting objectives.

Taking a closer look at the farmers’ agitation

478 fresh Covid cases,715 recoveries in AP PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh reported478 fresh Covid-19 cases,715 recoveries andthree deaths in 24hours ending 9 am onWednesday.

With this, the totalcases so far went up to8,76,814, gross recoveries to8,65,327 and deaths to 7,067.The latest bulletin said 4,420cases remained active in thestate now.

A total of 1.10 crore sampletests were also completed on

Wednesday, which resulted inan overall infection positivity

of 7.97 per cent. All dis-tricts have been

showing a steadydecline in thecoronavir usinfection, butC h i t t o o r ,

Krishna andWest Godavari

still have a relativelyhigher addition of daily

cases. In 24 hours, Visakhapatnam

added two fresh Covid-19fatalities and Kadapa one totheir tally.

Experts caution about Covid second wave ...Continued from Page 1

Dr Prabhakar Reddy saidthat it was too early to com-ment on the intensity of thevirus during the second wave.

Meanwhile, the State govern-ment has constituted a seven-member advisory committee toprepare for any eventualitythat a possible second wave ofthe deadly virus could bring.

This committee includesdoctors from both govern-ment and private hospitalsfrom various fields like com-munity medicine, general med-icine, social preventive medi-cine, neurophysicians, cardiol-ogist, nephrologists and pul-

monologists who have giventheir views on the precautionsto be taken by the people.

As per the report, medicaland health authorities wereurged to be ready and givemore priority to RT PCR tests.High risk patients should begiven special care and Covidtests shall be done once in 15days, they were told.

All teachers and Anganwadiworkers and Covid frontlineworkers were urged to getCovid tests done and byJanuary 15, 2021, beds, venti-lators and ICU be made avail-able besides Corona preventivemeasures be taken right frommandal and village level.

It may be recalled thatAndhra Pradesh has tested

about 20 percent of its popu-lation compared to 11 per centacross the country.

The police department wasasked to ensure that peopleshould strictly follow Covidguidelines and wear masks incrowded places and maintainsocial distance. Also it was sug-gested that it would be betterto avoid New Year celebrations.The panel also suggested placeslike swimming pools beingclosed for some more weeks.

Dr Arja Srikanth, CovidNodal Officer said that they arevery much ready to tackle thesituation as the governmentmachinery was fully equippedwith doctors, paramedics along

with infrastructure like beds,ventilators, ICUs, enoughdrugs to treat the patients.

Dr Manjusha, Covid NodalOfficer from Kerala, said thatthe doctors are fighting againstan invisible enemy risking theirlives every day.

She said that the healthcareworkers were literally frontlinewarriors, since their entirefamily was at risk. “A few daysback, all my family members,my husband and two childrentested positive and are underhome isolation,” she said andadded people should follow theCovid guidelines to protectand contain the spread of thevirus.

Panchayat poll delayhits municipal revenue Continued from Page 1

Earlier, MunicipalAdministration Minister BotsaSatyanarayana had held StateElection CommissionerNimmagadda Ramesh Kumarresponsible for the State gov-ernment not getting Rs 3,000crore fund from the 14thFinancial Commission as theelection was deferred then.

Meanwhile, Visakhapatnamcontinued to generate the lion’sshare of the property tax rev-enue in the state.

The most populated cityin Andhra Pradesh, Vizag isgiven a target of generating

about 40 percent of the totalproperty tax of the state.

Though the revenue gen-eration is better than the lastyear in the correspondingmonths, the collection is farbehind the target set in this

fiscal 2020-21.Under the new reform,

property tax would be 0.1per cent to 0.5 per cent ofthe Capital Value for resi-dential structures, and 0.2per cent to 2 per cent fornon-residential structures.The new tax hike would belimited between 10 per centand 15 percent of the exist-ing rate.

According to the newproperty tax reform, only Rs50 is levied as property taxon each house with a plintharea below 375 sq. ft becausethe property rights will begiven only if taxes are paid.

AP seeks funds for ...Continued from Page 1

In the meeting, the ChiefMinister also discussed releaseof Rs 1,600 crore due towardsPDS for 2013-14 to 2018-19,GST dues from April toSeptember 2020 amounting Rs4,308.46 crore, dues to local

bodies as per the 14th FinanceCommission amounting to Rs1,111.53 crore and Rs 1,954.5crore as per the 15th FinanceCommission, besides Rs3,801.98 crore pendingtowards NREGs.

The granting of permissionfor 16 new medical colleges to

strengthen the medical systemwas also discussed in themeeting.

The Disha Special CourtsBill was brought in to checkcrimes against women andchildren and the Centreshould consider the Bill, hesaid.

Pesticidescausedmysteryillness..Continued from Page 1

The AgricultureDepartment should focus onwithdrawing harmful pesti-cides from the market, hesaid. Public health labsshould be strengthened inevery district.

Samples should be collect-ed regularly, tested and nec-essary measures should betaken accordingly, he said andadded that a plan should bemade to set up three statelevel labs.

Aftercomplaint...Continued from Page 1

He alleged political bias byJustice Maheswari along witha few other sitting judges ofthe High Court in con-nivance with the secondsenior-most judge in theSupreme Court, Justice NVRamana.

Apart from CJI Bobde,Justices NV Ramana, RFNariman, UU Lalit and AMKhanwilkar are part of the 5-judge Collegium.

Justice Maheswari and fewother judges of the AP HChad come under bitter criti-cism from ruling YSRCPleaders and cadres especial-ly on social media. The HChad also ordered a CBI probeinto the social media criti-cism.

SC notice toAP, TS...Continued from Page 1

A bench of Justices LNageswara Rao, HemantGupta and Ajay Rastogiissued notice to the Ministryof Environment and Forests,Housing and Urban Affairs,CBI, National DisasterManagement Authority andTelangana, Tamil Nadu andAP governments.

The apex court was hear-ing a petition filed by socialworker Juvvadi Sagar Raoalleging that Telangana, TamilNadu and Andhra Pradeshgovernments have beenimplementing regularisationof illegal layouts in theirrespective states.

The petition alleged thatstate governments are regu-larising the illegal act com-mitted by real estate mafiawith the help of governmentofficials in the respondentstates.

The plea filed throughadvocate Sravan Kumar con-tended that the states havewitnessed severe urban flood-ing, unregulated growth, traf-fic jams, shortage in drainagesystem etc which have causedirreparable loss to the publicand private properties besidesloss of life.

Coronavirus vaccine from ...Continued from Page 1

“As per AP CM YS Jagandirectives, the vaccine will bedistributed through 4762 med-ical centres from Christmas.AP is the only state to do onecrore tests and succeeded incontaining the virus (sic),”tweeted Vijayasai Reddy at7:32 am.

While the tweet triggered offa debate on whether the claimwas possible, the TDP wastedno time in attacking the RajyaSabha Member. TheOpposition party also begandemanding an explanationfrom the Chief Minister.

Covid-19 Special Officerstoo were in a flux, unable toconfirm, or deny the develop-ment regarding the distribu-tion date for the vaccine.

While there was no reasongiven for the deletion of thetweet, it was quite understand-able, given the fact that beforea vaccine is rolled out, thecompanies developing it needto get approvals from theCentre and related agencies.

Vijayasai’s tweet triggereddebate as Serum Institute ofIndia (SII) CEO AdarPoonawalla had informed justtwo days before that theCovid-19 vaccination drivewas likely to begin in India byJanuary as his firm — whichis testing and manufacturingthe Oxford-AstraZeneca vac-cine candidate — was expect-ing to get emergency useauthorisation by December-end.

SII is expecting an emer-gency licence for the vaccine,

but the actual licence for widermight come in at a later dateand India’s vaccination drivecan start by January 2021.

The Oxford vaccine uses achimpanzee adenovirus viralvector that can’t cause diseasein humans and expresses theSARS-CoV-2 spike protein.This means the vaccine deliv-ers the spike protein geneticcode into vaccinated people’scells, which then produce theprotein, teaching the immunesystem to recognise and attackthe virus.

Meanwhile, health officialsacross the State are gearing upfor the Covid-19 vaccinationinvolving more than 40,000health workers, Covid -19frontline warriors, police, rev-enue and other departmentstaff.

HM warns Naidufor goading TDPleadersContinued from Page 1

Earlier, a video clip surfacedthat purportedly shows Naidutelling TDP activists to “file anequal number of cases”. In theclip, Naidu is heard saying “Ifthey file one, you file two.. Ifthey do not accept, file casesonline. Register cases onlineand take acknowledgement;We will punish them in twoyears; Let's go to court; Let'sregister cases”.

“Unable to face the rulingparty politically, Naidu isresorting to such cheap tricks,”Sucharitha said.

She said that the remarksmade by the Leader of theOpposition clearly shows thathe has no faith in theConstitution and the laws andwas abusing them.

“Naidu must uncondition-ally withdraw these commentsand tender a public apology,”said the Home Minister.

Visakhapatnamcontinued togenerate thelion’s share ofthe property taxrevenue in thestate.

The State government has constituteda seven-member advisory committeeto prepare for any eventuality that asecond wave of the virus could bring.

JJuussttiicceeGGoosswwaammii hhaassbbeeeenn jjuuddggee iinnGGuuwwaahhaattii......Continued from Page 1

Later from 2011 to2013 he served as theExecutive Chairman ofthe Nagaland StateLegal Service.

He has twice servedas the interim ChiefJus t i ce of t heGuwahati High Courtsince 2018.

vijayawada 03VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 17, 2020

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The BJP leaders held a protesthere at Shaniswaralayam nearPrakasam barrage onWednesday demanding thatthe state government shouldreconstruct the temples thatwere demolished duringKrishna Pushkaralu acrossthe state.

Speaking on the occasion,BJP state president SomuVeerraju alleged that severaltemples were demolished inthe name of pushkaralu dur-ing the TDP regime, but nosteps were taken to reconstructthem.

Alleging that the rulingYSRCP and TDP were follow-ing anti-Hindu policy,Veerraju said that the TDPgovernment demolished tem-ples in the name of pushkar-alu and national highwaydevelopment programmes.

When the BJP raised theirvoice, the TDP promised ofreconstructing the demolishedtemples. However, none ofthe temples have been recon-structed till date, he added.

Recalling that the presentEndowment MinisterVelampalli Srinivas, who wasin BJP during the TDPregime, raised his voice,Veerraju said that Srinivasbecame silent after becoming

minister. He is now announc-ing funds for dargahs andchurches and has completelyforgotten Hindu temples, healleged.

He criticised the ChiefMinister YS Jagan MohanReddy by saying that the hehad no faith or respect forHindu traditions. He foundfault with the CM for releas-ing Rs 5 crore for Dargahs and

Rs 24 crore for churchesignoring the temples. Healleged that the Endowmentsminister was insulting thesentiments of Hindus acrossthe state by turning a blind eyeto the development of thetemples and allocating croresfor the development of dar-gahs and churches.

Alleging that the funds ofTirumala TirupatiDevasthanam were being usedfor various other activities, hequestioned the minister as towhy funds were not beingallocated to temples that are ina pathetic state.

He demanded that theEndowments minister shouldresign immediately andannounced that they wouldextend support to Amaravatimovement on December 17.

Vellampalli hits back at BJP, saysorders issued for reconstruction Vijayawada: Minister forEndowments Vellampalli Srinivasslammed the BJP leaders forprotesting against the demolitionof Hindu temples in Vijayawadacity which took place during TDPregime. He disclosed that thestate government had alreadygiven an order to reconstructthose temples. It is probably thefirst time in the last 18 monthsafter the present governmenttook over that a minister hasopenly criticised BJP leaders. It may be recalled that YSRCPhas been supporting all thelegislations brought in by BJP-ledUnion government in theParliament. The equation withBJP appears to have nosedivedafter its state unit chief SomuVeerraju a few days ago lent hissupport to the stir launched byAmaravati farmers and openlyopposed government's threecapitals plan. Addressing a pressconference here on Wednesday,the Minister said that the BJPleaders were intentionallycreating chaos over thedemolished temples and startedprotests only after seeing the GOreleased by the government withpolitical motives. He questionedthe BJP leader Somu Veeraju as

to why he had not responded atthe time of demolition, whichhappened when their own partyperson was Endowment Ministerin TDP coalition government. TheMinister stated that the BJPleaders are playing cheap politicsby organising the protest andtrying to create communaldisputes in the city.He said that hundreds of acres oftemple lands were distributedduring the previous TDPgovernment. Almost 14 acres oftemple lands worth Rs 437 crorewere given to SiddharthaEducational Institution for just Rs21 lakh. Similarly, the same BJPminister who was in the previousgovernment had put 200 acres ofMantralayam lands for sale in2015.About 33 acres of temple lands inVisakhapatnam has been given toa private resort, 83 acres ofSadavarti lands were put on saleand even 18 acres in Anantapurdistrict have been given on leaseto JC Diwakar Reddy for just Rs9,000 per acre. Unlike in the TDPgovernment, Chief Minister YSJagan Mohan Reddy had notawarded even a single cent oftemple land to any person orinstitution, he said.

BJP demands rebuilding of templesrazed for Krishna Pushkaralu

Vellampalli Srinivasraised voice againstdemolition of templeswhen in BJP, butbecame silent afterjoining ruling YSRC,says Somu Veerraju.

DSNLU WEBINAR

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Centre for Intellectual PropertyRights (CIPR) of DamodaramSanjivayya National LawUniversity (DSNLU) organ-ised an international webinaron "Challenges to Law andTechnology in the 21stCentury". Several law practi-tioners, professors and stu-dents from various universitiesacross the nation attended thewebinar.

The webinar has laidemphasis on advancementsin the technology till dateand challenges which followsthe developments by theDSNLU Vice-Chancellor Prof.S. Surya Prakash.

Prof (DR) Ghayuralam,Professor in Business Law &MHRD Chair of NLIU,Bhopal explained about'Genetically Modified Foods:

Benefits and Controversies'He phrased the lecture bysharing his experience withthe subject for the day andexplained that the geneticallymodified foods by takingexamples of coconut oil, softdrinks and others etc for spec-ifying the benefits to people inIndia to suppress starvationfor the second-highest popu-lated nation.

Dr Prashant Mali, Presidentof Cyber Law Consulting(Advocates& Attorneys)explained about 'Implicationof New Technology inCriminal Investigation'. Hesignified that the technologyis practically helping thedepartments of Investigationsfor investigating in manycases.

He says that drones, robotsand algorithms are doingpolicing. He concluded his lec-

ture by noting that ArtificialIntelligence is a predictivepolicing algorithm to findpotential criminal activity. Healso expressed that like weconferred juridical person sta-tus to Ram lalla (statute) atRam JanmaBhoomi, in futurewe will recognise robot as a

person. He suggested law stu-dents to specialise in cyberforensics, data privacy anddata mining laws, cloud com-puting, Internet of things(IOT) and law etc.

It was followed by thekeynote speech on 'DataProtection Laws by renowned

Dr SubhajitBasu, Chair ofBritish and Irish LawEducation and TechnologyAssociation, Faculty ofInformation Technology,School of Law, University ofLeeds, UK.

His lectures stand phenom-enal with his insights on'Personal Data Protection Bill,2019'. He says the creation ofa good law is the key for itsenhancement. Further, henotes that 'Data is all aboutPeople', he comes out with anotion saying Data is our rightand responsibility referring toexamples of DNA & GeneticData. He also took manyexamples of trending tech-nologies like Alexa, Netflix,Google etc. Simplifying his lec-ture would be 'Data is PublicInterest and Public Needs' inconnection with surveillancecapitalism.

AI helps police to check crimes, say experts

‘Jana Ranabheri’ today at AmaravatiPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Jana Ranabheri, a public meet-ing, with a demand to cancelthe three capitals decision willbe held at Amaravati SeedAccess Road here in Rayapudion Thursday.

The Amaravati ParirakshanaSamiti JAC leaders said JanaRanabheri will be conducted tomark the completion of oneyear for the protests taken upagainst the three capital deci-sion of the government. Theagitation for continuingAmaravati as the single capi-tal city will complete one yearon December 17.

Pro-Amaravati activists,farmers, supporters, sympa-thisers and leaders of variouspolitical parties are likely toparticipate in large numbers.

APSJAC leaders said thatTelugu Desam Party chief NChandrababu Naidu, BJP APpresident Somu Veerraju, APCongress Committee presi-dent Dr Sake Sailajanath,senior Congress leader NTulasi Reddy, Jana Sena Partyleader and former Speaker

Nadendla Manohar, CPM statesecretary P Madhu, CPI statesecretary K Ramakrishna andleaders of AAP, MIM, Loksattaand other parties wouldaddress the public meeting.

They said that the publicmeeting will be held from 10am to 2 pm and APSJAC mak-ing foolproof arrangements

for the safety of people as perCovid guidelines. JAC leaderslamented that the Amaravatimovement was started oneyear ago protesting the threecapitals decision and they con-ducted protests in a peacefulmanner through variousforms, but there is no responsefrom the government.

COPS TO ACT TOUGH ON TROUBLEMAKERS VIJAYAWADA: The policeaccorded permission to JanaRanabheri public meeting to beheld at Rayapudi in Amaravati onThursday. However, the policedepartment has instructedorganisers to conduct themeeting in a peaceful atmosphereand not to create tension bydelivering provocative speeches.Guntur range DIG TrivikramVarma and Guntur Rural SPVishal Gunni, addressing a pressmeet at Guntur on Wednesday,said that the meeting should beheld peacefully without anyuntoward incidents. They clarified that the policedepartment would not allow any

violation of norms and warned ofstern action against miscreantsfor creating disturbances. Thecops assured that they wouldcooperate for the smoothconduct of the meeting.They asked the organisers to takeadequate measures to avoidtension and annoying incidents. The public meeting will beallowed only from 11 am to 4 pmand the mobilisation of peoplefrom other areas and districts isnot allowed They added that thepolice initiated measures fortraffic control, normal traffic willbe not allowed on Karakatta roadand only VIPs and emergencyservices would be allowed.

Betting racket busted, 31 heldPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Acting on a tip off, the YSRKadapa district police nabbed31 persons involved in crick-et betting and ganja peddlingin large scale at Proddaturtown in the district.

District SP KKN Anburajanon Wednesday told the mediapersons that Proddatur TownI, Town II and Town III policehad arrested 31 bookies andpunters. He said that Rs 1 lakhcash, 6 kg of ganja, two cars,seven laptops, eight calcula-tors, two communicators, and10 betting account books wereseized from the accused.

On interrogation, the policefound that the main cricketbookies of Proddatur and itssurrounding places have setuptheir shelters in Bangalore, Hy-derabad, Goa and other places.

They are using cricket bet-ting apps and the network setup by them throughout thecountry for placing bets. These

bookies are not just attractinginnocent youths and peopletowards betting by offeringhigh returns, but also sellingganja to them in large scale.

It came to light that theturnover of local cricket book-ies and the other main book-ies, who are in absconding,was up to Rs 34.78 crore dur-ing last IPL Cricket season.Some other main bookies arestill absconding, said the SP.

The cops are planning tofreeze the bank accounts of theprime accused. They are collect-ing their property details to sendthe same to the Income Taxwing & ED for further action.

Son-in-law,daughter killelderly couplePNS n VIJAYAWADA

The brutal murder of a cou-ple by their daughter andson-in-law sent shock wavesamong the people ofBandipalem village inJaggaiahpet mandal inKrishna district.

The son-in-law, NemaliBabu Rao, killed the elderlycouple with the help of hiswife for not paying the dowryamount. Babu Rao is workingas a village volunteer inBandipalem village inJaggaiahpet mandal.

Babu Rao was married toManisha a few months ago.His in-laws Muttaiah (65)and Sugunamma (60) live inthe same village. Baburao,who had been fighting withhis in-laws for a while over theproperty, attacked them witha knife on Tuesday night andkilled them. According to thelocals, the police rushed to thespot and took up investiga-tion. The police said thatBabu Rao was absconding.Chillakallu SI V VenkateswaraRao said that on receiving theinformation from the localsabout the twin murder theyrushed to the spot.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

AP Deputy CM and Minoritieswelfare minister Amjad Bashainspected the arrangements atA Convention centre for Semi-Christmas celebrations thatwill be attended by CM YSJagan Mohan Reddy onDecember 18.

The minister along with thegovernment programme coor-dinator T Raghuram, Minoritywelfare department manag-ing director Raj Kumar,Krishna district collector A

MD Imtiaz, Pammuru MLA KAnil Kumar and JointCollector K Mohan Kumarinspected the arrangements.

Amjad Basha instructed theofficials to make arrangementsin accordance with Covid-19regulations for the semi-Christmas (High-tea) celebra-tions. He said that the stategovernment was organisingthe annual Christmas High-Tea on Friday at 5.30 pm at theA Convention in Vijayawada.Chief Minister YS JaganMohan Reddy will be the chief

guest of the semi-Christmascelebrations.

In the wake of Coronaviruspandemic, only 300 membersincluding Bishops, Pastors andimportant Christian brotherswill participate in the pro-gramme.

The Minister also said thatonly pass holders will beallowed to participate in thecelebrations.

The Minorities WelfareOfficer Razia Sultana, YSRCPleader Devineni Avinash, andothers were present.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The Eastern Naval Commandpaid tributes to the valiantpersonnel of the Armed Forceswho made the supreme sacri-fice during various operationsin the Indo-Pakistani war of1971, marking the commence-ment of the 50th anniversaryof Vijay Diwas being celebrat-ed as 'Swarnim Vijay Varsh',

The nation celebrates VijayDiwas on December 16 everyyear to commemorate the his-toric victory against Pakistan inthe 1971 War.

Vice Admiral KiranManikrao Deshmukh, VSM

Director General NavalProjects, Visakhapatnam,placed a floral wreath at the

'Victory at Sea' War Memorialon RK Beach on Wednesdaymorning. A 50-man Guard

was paraded at the venue anda two-minute silence wasobserved as a mark of respectto the martyrs. Various com-memorative events are plannedacross the nation as part of the50 years of Indo-Pak War cel-ebrations in the form of'Swarnim Vijay Varsh'.

On this momentous day, 49years ago, over 93,000 Pakistanitroops under the command ofLieutenant General AAK Niaziraised white flags and surren-dered unconditionally atDhaka, in the presence of thethree tri-service theatreCommanders of Indian ArmedForces.

Tributes paid to martyrs on Vijay Diwas

Multi-lingual call centreto help aqua farmersPNS n VIJAYAWADA

In a first-of-its-kind initiative,the Marine Products ExportDevelopment Authority(MPEDA) has launched a mul-tilingual call centre for aquafarmers at Vijayawada onWednesday, which will addresstheir technical issues andimpart knowledge about effi-cient farming methods bydomain experts round-the-clock.

Launching the call centrethrough video conferencingon Tuesday, MPEDAChairman K S Srinivas said itwould help the aqua farmers inAndhra Pradesh in seekingadvice from experiencedexperts. The aqua farmers canget their concerns addressedand follow Best Management

Practices (BMPs) to boost pro-duction and ensure quality ofthe produce, he added.

"I request the aqua farmersto make use of the toll-freenumber 1800-425-4648 withIVRS (interactive voiceresponse system) facility estab-lished at Vijayawada to cleartheir technical doubts from theexperts and not to fall in thetrap of quacks. It will also helpthem in seeking informationabout the various support

schemes extended by the fieldoffices of MPEDA," he said.

The call centre is primarilyaimed to cater to the needs ofaqua farmers of AndhraPradesh, the state that con-tributes more than 60 per centof marine products exportbasket. The call centre can alsohandle calls in English andHindi.

India produced 7, 47,111MT of shrimps last year, ofwhich more than 68 per centhad come from AndhraPradesh alone from its over52,000 shrimp farms coveringa water spread area of 75,000hectares.

"In this context, it demon-strates the enormous impor-tance of the call centre in thestate," the MPEDA chairmannoted.

Jagan visiting Delhi to save his neck in CBI cases: TDPPNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP Chief N ChandrababuNaidu on Wednesday demand-ed that the Chief Minister, YSJagan Mohan Reddy, shouldexplain to the people ofAndhra Pradesh what hisDelhi visits were aimed at."Whether to protect himselffrom cases or protecting theinterests of people of the state,"he questioned.

Naidu asked the ChiefMinister to explain what hehad achieved for AP by visit-ing the national capital for over

10 times. Addressing the party leaders

of Rajahmundry Parliamenta-ry constituency via video con-ferencing, the TDP chief saidthat the Chief Minister failedto bring Central funds for theVisakhapatnam Railway Zoneand could not take forward theVizag-Chennai IndustrialCorridor (VCIC) or theBangalore-Chennai IndustrialCorridor (BCIC).

The CM has completelyignored the PetroleumComplex and also did not tryto recover the first year's rev-

enue deficit from the Centre,he said. He accused the YSRCPof using the vaccination as anexcuse to postpone the elec-tions to local bodies.

"False tweets are being post-ed about launching Covid vac-cination programme fromDecember 25. TDP victory inbypoll for Tirupati LS seatwould be a fitting reply tocheck the atrocities of YSRCP.All the BCs, SCs, STs andMuslim minorities shouldunite to defeat the atrociousregime of Jagan MohanReddy," he fumed.

Minister openshandloom fairPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Tourism minister Muttamsh-etti Srinivas Rao on Wedne-sday virtually inauguratedAll India Handlooms &Crafts Fair 2020 being organ-ised by the Shilparam Societyat Madhurawada Shilparam-am in Visakhapatnam fromDecember 16 to 30.

The Minister said thatabout 70 handloom artisanassociations from seven stateswere participating in the fair.He said that such fairs wouldfacilitate large-scale market-ing of various items and tex-tiles made of handloom.

CM to participate in Semi-Christmascelebrations at A Convention

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP chief N ChandrababuNaidu on Wednesday gave aclarion call to the people of APto join the fight against thethree capitals decision of thestate government and contin-uing Amaravati as the singlecapital of the state.

Naidu, marking the comple-tion of one year of Amaravatiprotests, on Wednesdayrecalled how Amaravati wasvisualised as an economicgrowth engine for all the 13districts of the state besidescreating huge job opportuni-ties for the youth.

The TDP chief said thatafter bifurcation of unitedAndhra Pradesh, people ofnewly-created AndhraPradesh needed a capital cityfor itself.

To meet those people's aspi-rations, a decision was takenwith the firm resolve to builda 'People's Capital' that wouldmake each and every citizen ofAP truly proud. He said thatit was painful to see such a

promising and potential citylike Amaravati getting stuck invendetta politics and eventu-ally crumbling in ruins.

The entire country was awitness to how thousands ofAmaravati area farmers sacri-ficed their precious, ancestrallands up to 33,000 acres. Theymade that supreme sacrifice oftheir priceless property just forthe noble cause of building aglorious future for the entireState. The centrally locatedAmaravati had immenseopportunities for the people ofall the 13 districts.

The TDP chief told thepeople that if the agitation forprotecting Amaravati was nottaken forward, then every-body would become respon-sible for causing irreparablelosses to the future genera-tions. The three capital deci-sion was just aimed at spoil-ing the future and the lives ofAP people and future gener-ations as well. There was anurgent need for all Andhras tospeak in one voice for onecapital, he said.

Three capitals willshatter hopes ofall people: Naidu

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 17, 2020 nation 04

SHORT TAKESKamal Haasan invokes AIADMKicon M G Ramachandran's legacy

All officials on duty atSabarimala, where the Lord

Ayyappa temple is located, besidespilgrims should undergo the RT-PCR test as the Kerala HealthDepartment has revised itsguidelines following increasing

number of COVID-19 cases in the area in recent days. The revisednorms were issued in connection with the pilgrimage at the templeand one of them was making the Reverse Transcription PolymeraseChain Reaction (RT-PCR) test mandatory for all pilgrims and officialson duty who reach the shrine after the Mandala Puja on December26. According to official sources, 299 people, including 51 pilgrims,245 employees and three others, have contracted the infection so farafter the hill temple was thrown open for the annual Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage last month. There was a 31 per centincrease in COVID-19 cases in Pathanamthitta, the district where thetemple is located, and 11 per cent in nearby Kottayam district duringthis period as per reports, state Health Minister K K Shailaja said. Asper the revised guidelines, all officials on duty at Sabarimala shouldundergo the RT-PCR tests, she said here in a statement.

Wildlife smuggling racket busted in Odisha's Jajpur

Awildlife smuggling racket wasbusted in Odishas Jajpur

district on Wednesday and twopersons were arrested in thisconnection, a forest official said.Acting on a tip-off, a team offorest officials from Jajpur Road

conducted a raid in Bhikipur reserve forest area and caught themiscreants, he said. Five antlers, a tusk and a rare chameleon,worth several lakhs, were recovered from their possession.However, two others involved in the racket managed to escapeduring the raid, the official said. "The arrested persons aresuspected to be the mastermind of the racket. Efforts are on totrace the others involved in the criminal activity and ascertain as tohow the animals were killed," said Debendra Patnaik, Ranger ofJajpur. Both the persons were planning to strike a deal withprospective buyers to sell the wildlife products, he said. They havebeen booked under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Actand the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the official said.

Sabarimala's COVID count at 299;Health Dept revises guideline

On his campaign trail,Makkal NeedhiMaiam chief Kamal Haasan on

Tuesday invoked the welfare legacy oficonic leader late M G Ramachandran andsaid the former chief minister belonged tothe whole of Tamil Nadu. Refraining fromnaming the AIADMK, he said the partywas annoyed after he highlighted MGR in

his recent address to a gathering and they claimed the leader belongedonly to them. The late leader, however, belonged to the whole of TamilNadu and not just to a party, he said addressing a MNM event here. Itwas the reason why the people adored him as 'Makkal Thilagam' (leaderof the people) notwithstanding his party affiliation, be it the DMK orlater, the AIADMK which he founded, Haasan noted. All the people in thestate would say MGR belonged to them and when this was the case, ifthe ruling party wanted to get him labelled as the leader of only oneparty, then the public shall give their verdict against such a stand,hesaid, adding such a flawed stand worked in their favour.

PTI n GUWAHATI

Students of IIT Guwahati andalumni of NIT Silchar andDibrugarh Universities inAssam have developed a multi-lingual smartphone applica-tion, AgSpeak, for farmers tomanage their crops.

The agri-tech start-up whichis free for small farmers hasbeen developed with the goal ofoptimising in-farm

productivity throughArtificial Intelligence (AI), apress release issued by IIT,Guwahati said.

This application will help thefarmers in making decisionsand managing farm activities bythe click of a single button on

their smartphone or computer.IIT Director Prof T G

Sitharam said that it is a mat-ter of immense pride that "ourstudents are working to bringout a state-of-the-art technol-ogy for the farmers of ourcountry".

‘AgSpeak’ is multilingual andhas an option of Assamese andthis feature is a first among allthe agri-tech applications avail-able in the market, the releasesaid.

The application considersup to 20 local crop parameterswhich are key indicators of theirhealth like temperature, rainfall,sunlight hours, soil health sta-tus, among others, to alertfarmers about probable crop

threats in advance and suggestbest practices to tackle theproblems, hence optimisingthe resources used and max-imising productivity.

The app along with theInternet of Things (IOT) hard-ware has been tested for thepast three months with 500farmers and two tea estates and

some of the major break-throughs were precise predic-tion about blights in potoatoes,tea mosquito bug along withwater stress in winter cropswhich are a major concern forfarmers and can cause majorcrop damages, if not controlledin time, the release said.

Nearly 250 farmers havealready been provided hands ontraining in utilising the fullpotential of the app and its userfriendliness and multilingualfeatures make it extremely easyfor farmers to use.

Major commercial users ofthe product include commer-cial plantation farms like teagardens, lemon orchards andgrape vineyards.

AgSpeak is free for smallfarmers and there is a systemfor in-app purchases like soiltesting and agri-doctor consul-tation. Besides, the IOT devicescan be rented on monthly/yearly basis by commercialfarms to further enhance pre-cision farm management, therelease said.

The start-up has been co-founded by Siddhartha Bora(NIT Silchar alumnus), ManikMittal (IIT Guwahati student),Akash Sharma (IIT Guwahatistudent), Nitin Chauhan (IITGuwahati student), DhritimanTalukdar (NIT Silchar alum-nus), and Kookil PranGoswami (DibrugarhUniversity alumnus).

FARMERS’ LINGO

IIT-Guwahati students' start-up develops app for farmers

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Energy Secretary SrikantNagulapalli has asked officials tofocus on impactful implemen-tation of Energy ConservationBuilding Code (ECBC) in theState to achieve significantreduction of energy in the build-ing sector, provide healthierenvironment to residents andreduce power bills.

Addressing a State-level webi-nar on ECBC on Wednesdayconducted by AdministrativeCollege of India (ASCI) on theeve of National EnergyConservation week-2020,Srikant said that AndhraPradesh was one of the fewStates in India that had issuedECBC GO and included it inbuilding bylaws and incorporat-ed ECBC compliance in online

buildings permission system. The government wants to see

several buildings in the statecomply with ECBC norms.“Impactful implementationalong with strong commitmentis required to achieve the objec-tive of government,” he said.

Stating that the governmentwas putting maximum efforts to

promote energy conservationand energy efficiency in theState, Srikant said that everystakeholder should give utmostpriority for implementation ofECBC. “In fact, Andhra Pradeshis the one and only State in thecountry that has issued a GO(GO Rt 89) for setting up ener-gy conservation cells in all gov-ernment departments whichhas received great applause atnational level,” he said.

Srikant pointed out that theState has made amendments tobuilding rules according toECBC norms and also issuedGO 180 as well. It is also imple-menting several energy effi-ciency programmes in varioussectors and has also announcedState level energy conservationawards to recognise and encour-age the efforts of stakeholders.

“All stakeholders are request-ed to understand the priority ofthe government to develop theenergy efficiency sector in theState and need to act according-ly,” he said.

ASCI Centre director DrUsha Ramachandran andAssociate Professor, ASCI, RajKiran V Bilolikar said that allcommercial buildings, othernon- residential buildings thathave a plot area of more than1,000 square meters or built uparea of 2,000 square metersand multiplexes, hospitals,hotels, and convention centresirrespective of their built up areashall comply with the APECBCode to get building approvalsin municipal corporations,municipalities and UrbanDevelopment Authorities(UDA).

Officials told to implement energyconservation code in buildings

PTI n BENGALURU

A dedicated control centre forSpace Situational Awareness(SSA) activities in the country,aimed at monitoring, trackingand protecting Indias spaceassets, has been set up here,theIndian Space ResearchOrganisation said onWednesday.

"ISRO SSA Control Centre,'NETRA', is set up within theISTRAC campus at Peenya.

The control centre is envis-aged to function as a hub of allSSA activities within ndia," thespace agency said.

The Directorate of SpaceSituational Awareness andManagement (DSSAM)engages in evolving improvedoperational mechanisms to pro-

tect Indian space assets througheffective coordination amongstISRO/DOS Centres, other spaceagencies and international bod-ies, it said.

According to ISRO, theNetwork for space objectTracking and Analysis(NETRA) project is initiated asa first step towards meeting thisgoal, its main elements being aradar, an optical telescope facil-ity, and a control centre.

The control centre was for-mally inaugurated byChairman, ISRO and Secretary,Department of Space K Sivanon December 14.

Stating that concurrent pro-cessing of data from the upcom-ing observational facilities forspace objects orbit determina-tion, correlation and catalogue

generation will take place here,ISRO said there will be provi-sion to schedule and remotelyoperate the observational facil-ities from the control centre.

Other core SSA activities willcomprise close approach analy-sis between ISROs satellite andlaunch vehicles, timely dissem-ination of advance alerts onupcoming critical conjunctionsfor collision avoidance of oper-ational assets, prediction ofatmospheric re-entry of derelictsatellites and rocket bodies, itsaid.

In addition, dedicated labswill also be set up in this con-trol centre for Space Debris mit-igation and remediation, com-pliance verification ofUN/IADC guidelines and var-ious R&D activities.

ISRO sets up dedicatedcontrol centre at Peenya

I-T Dept detectsRs 160 cr blackincome afterraids on buildersPTI n NEW DELHI

The Income Tax Departmenthas detected over Rs 160 croreunaccounted income after itraided the premises of a buildergroup and some linked per-sons in Panvel city ofMaharashtra, the CBDT saidon Tuesday.

The search and surveyaction was conducted onDecember 10 at 29 locations inPanvel (Raigad district) andneighbouring Vashi.

"The search action on theleading builders group andentry operators resulted inunearthing of incriminatingdata pertaining to routing ofunaccounted income earnedby way of on-money from flatand land sale from real estateprojects of the group, in theform of accommodation(dubious) entries of non-gen-uine unsecured loans throughcertain shell (dummy) compa-nies," the CBDT said.

Unaccounted income of thegroup, detected so far, is aboutRs 163 crore, including Rs13.93 crore cash seized duringthe raids, it said.

"Evidences related to out-of-books transactions by takingon-money on the sale of flatsand land have been seized," theCentral Board of Direct Taxessaid. It added that the "accom-modation entry of unsecuredloans, including interest paid ofRs 58 crore in the books ofaccounts of the group, wasdetected during the course ofsearch and survey action".

Details of non-genuine sub-contract expenses of Rs 10crore were also detected alongwith unaccounted expensesof Rs 5 crore in the purchaseof land, the statement said.

The CBDT, the adminis-trative body for the taxdepartment, added that"incriminating evidence of Rs59 crore of undisclosed inter-est income earned against theloan amount paid by thegroup disguised as advancesagainst land was found andimpounded".

TS gears up toinoculate 80 lakhpeople in first phase PTI n HYDERABAD

Telangana is in the process ofcreating the required infra-structure for administeringCOVID-19 vaccine initiallyto about 80 lakh people,including front-line war-riors,once the preventivemedicine is available for thestate, official sources said onWednesday.

Training programmes foralmost 10,000 vaccinatorswere underway and storagefacilities for the doses beingset up at strategic locations.

"Even if one vaccinatoradministers 100 people a day,on an average 10,000 vaccina-tors can vaccinate 80 lakhpeople in eight or ten days, aHealth department officialtold PTI.

The official further said asof now there was no approved

vaccine for COVID-19 in thecountry and preparationswere being made to be readyfor administering it as andwhen available. Vaccinationwill be done at all governmenthealth facilities such as prima-ry health centres, district hos-pitals and teaching facilities.

When contacted, statePrincipal Health, Medicaland Family Welfare SecretarySyed Ali Murtuza Rizvi saidthey were following theCentres guidelines for thevaccination programme.

A release from ChiefMinister K ChandrashekharRaos office had earlier saidthe vaccine should be givenfirst to the COVID-19 war-riors and front-line workerslike police and others, peopleaged above 60 and those suf-fering from acute healthissues.

PTI n NEW DELHI

The national capital recorded aminimum temperature of 5.8degrees Celsius on Wednesdayas cold winds continued tosweep across the city.

The India MeteorologicalDepartment has predicted both"cold day" and "cold wave" inparts of Delhi on Thursday andFriday.

The minimum temperaturewas three notches below nor-mal. The maximum tempera-ture settled at 18.6 degreesCelsius, four notches belownormal, it said.

The visibility dropped to100 metres in the Palam area inthe morning due to "densefog", it said.

According to the IMD, "verydense" fog is when visibility isbetween 0 and 50 metres, 51and 200 is “dense”, 201 and 500“moderate”, and 501 and 1,000“shallow”.

The IMD had declared a coldwave in Delhi on Tuesday as icywinds blowing from snow-cov-ered western Himalayasbrought the minimum temper-ature down to 4.1 degreesCelsius, the lowest in the citythis season so far.

The maximum temperaturehad also dipped to 18.5 degrees

Celsius, more than four notch-es below normal.

According to the IMD, theminimum temperatures is like-ly to remain around five degreesCelsius till Friday.

Kuldeep Srivastava, the headof the IMD's regional forecast-ing centre, said the WesternHimalayas recorded wide-spread snowfall due to strongwestern disturbances and nowfrosty winds have been blowingtowards the plains, bringing themercury down.

He said both "cold wave" and"cold day" conditions are like-ly in Delhi on Thursday andFriday.

For the plains, the IMDdeclares a cold wave when theminimum temperature is 10degrees Celsius or below and is4.5 notches less than normal for

two consecutive days."However, for small areas

such as Delhi, a cold wave canbe declared if the criteria is ful-filled even for a day,” Srivastavasaid.

A “cold day” is when theminimum temperature is lessthan 10 degrees Celsius and themaximum is 4.4 degrees Celsiusbelow normal.

The air quality was recordedin the "poor" category.

The city's 24-hour average airquality index (AQI) was 262. Itwas 230 on Tuesday,160 onMonday, 305 on Sunday and356 on Saturday.

An AQI between zero and 50is considered "good", 51 and100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200"moderate", 201 and 300 "poor",301 and 400 "very poor", and401 and 500 "severe".

Icy winds sweep Delhi, ‘coldwave’ predicted for 2 days: IMD

PTI n HYDERABAD

Lashing out at West BengalChief Minister Mamata Banerjeeover her remarks that the BJPwas 'spending money' to bring ina party from Hyderabad to herstate to divide Hindu-Muslimvotes, AIMIM chief AsaduddinOwaisi said Muslim voters werenot her 'jagir' (property).

Rebutting Banerjee's com-ments, Owaisi tweeted, "So faryou've only dealt with obedientMir Jaffers & Sadiqs. You dontlike Muslims who think & speakfor themselves. You've insult-ed our voters in Bihar.Remember what happened toparties in Bihar that kept blam-ing their failures on "vote cut-ters".. Muslim voters aren't yourjagir."

While addressing a rally inthe poll-bound state on Tuesday,Banerjee had slammed the saf-fron party for allegedly trying toimport AIMIM in Bengal tosharpen the communal polarisa-tion and divide the Hindu-

Muslim votes among them-selves. She also alleged that theBJP was spending crores ofrupees to bring in AIMIM.

The AIMIM, after its goodshow in the Bihar assemblypolls, has announced to contestin next year's Bengal polls.

Political parties in WestBengal are apprehensive thatpolitical equations in the com-munally-polarised state is set towitness significant changes asthe sway of non-BJP partiesover minorities, a key factor inseveral seats, appears to be setfor a stiff challenge withAIMIM announcing that itwill enter the fray in Bengal.

Owaisi attacks Mamataover remarks on AIMIM

SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

PTI n LUCKNOW

Buoyed by his party's showingin the Bihar Assembly polls,AIMIM president AsaduddinOwaisi on Wednesdayannounced his party's inten-tion to fight the next state elec-tions in Uttar Pradesh as partof a front led by Om PrakashRajbhar, a former BJP ally.

"We are now part of MrRajbhar's morcha,” he told PTIafter meeting the SuheldevBhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP)chief here.

“Today I met him. So we willgo along with him. We will gowith the 'Bhagidari SankalpMorcha,” the Hyderabad-basedleader said, referring to thefront of smaller parties formedin Uttar Pradesh about a yearback.

The SBSP chief confirmedthe development.

"We will contest the 2022UP Assembly elections togeth-er. Till yesterday, people usedto say that O P Rajbhar is allalone, and what can he do?” hetold reporters. “Now, Owaisi jihas come. We will show ourstrength to the heavyweights."

The `morcha' also includesformer Bahujan Samaj Partyleader Babu Singh Kushwaha'sJan Adhikar Party, Babu RamPal-led Rashtra Uday Party,

Anil Singh Chauhan-led JantaKranti Party and PremchandPrajapati's Rashtriya UpekshitSamaj Party.

The Owaisi-Rajbhar meet-ing comes a day after AamAadmi Party leader ArvindKejriwal announced in Delhithat his party will contest theUttar Pradesh Assembly pollsin 2022.

In the recent Bihar elections,

Owaisi's Ail India Majlis-e-Ittehad–ul-Muslimeen wonfive seats out of the 20 it con-tested in the Seemanchalregion bordering West Bengal.

"Rajbhar ji too had a role inthe success we got in Bihar. Weare part of the GrandDemocratic Secular Alliance,”Owaisi said, referring to theBihar front.

“We got a lot of confidencefrom the success in Bihar, andwe will continue that momen-tum," he added.

There has been some spec-ulation that Mayawati's BSPcould also join the Bhagidarifront.

Asked about it, Owaisi said,"I don't know what lies for usin the future. But as of now, Iam part of the BhagidariSankalp Morcha and we willtake it forward, and see whathappens in future."

"Every election is a differentelection. Our party workers ledby UP president Shaukat Aliare working very hard and thistime I am sure that our perfor-mance will be much better, andnow we are part of Rajbhar'salliance,” he said.

On claims that the AIMIM'srole has been to split opposi-tion votes, he said, "In a movie,it is the villain who is given theimportant role."

AIMIM to fight UP Assembly polls,Owaisi joins Rajbhar's front

I don't know what liesfor us in the future. Butas of now, I am part ofthe Bhagidari SankalpMorcha and we willtake it forward, and seewhat happens in future

PTI n NEW DELHI

India dropped one spot to131 among 189 countries inthe 2020 human developmentindex, according to a reportreleased by the United NationsDevelopment Programme(UNDP).

Human Development Indexis the measure of a nation'shealth, education, and stan-dards of living.

Life expectancy of Indians atbirth in 2019 was 69.7 yearswhile Bangladesh has a lifeexpectancy of 72.6 years andPakistan 67.3 years, the 2020Human Development Reportsaid.

India, Bhutan (129),Bangladesh (133), Nepal (142),and Pakistan (154) wereranked among countries withmedium human development,the report said.

India's HDI value for 2019is 0.645 which put it in themedium human development

category. India has been posi-tioned at 131 out of 189 coun-tries and territories, accordingto the report. India had ranked130 in 2018 in the index.

Norway topped the index,followed by Ireland,Switzerland, Hong Kong andIceland, the report showed.

Talking to reporters, UNDPResident Representative ShokoNoda said the drop in India'sranking doesn't mean "Indiadidn't do well but other coun-tries did better".

Noda said India can helpother countries too and laud-ed its commitment to reducecarbon emissions.

According to the reportpublished by the UnitedNations DevelopmentProgramme on Tuesday,India's gross national incomeper capita fell to USD 6,681 in2019 from USD 6,829 in 2018on purchasing power parity(PPP) basis.

Purchasing power parity or

PPP is a measurement of pricesin different countries that usesthe prices of specific goods tocompare the absolute purchas-ing power of the countries' cur-rencies.

The report said evidencefrom Colombia to India indi-cates that financial security andownership of land improvewomen's security and reducethe risk of gender-based vio-lence, clearly indicating thatowning land can empowerwomen.

It further said indigenouschildren in Cambodia, Indiaand Thailand show more mal-nutrition-related issues such asstunting and wasting.

"In India different respons-es in parent behaviour as wellas some disinvestment in girls'health and education have ledto higher malnutrition amonggirls than among boys as a con-sequence of shocks likelylinked to climate change," thereport said.

India ranks 131 in UN's human development index

Remember whathappened to parties inBihar that kept blamingtheir failures on "votecutters".. Muslimvoters aren't your jagir

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 17, 2020 nation 05

Rebel Trinamool Congress leaderSuvendu Adhikari onWednesday submitted his

resignation as an MLA to the WestBengal assembly secretary, partysources said. Adhikari, the MLA ofNandigram constituency in PurbaMedinipur district, resigned from thestate cabinet last month. He hasbeen maintaining distance with theparty leadership for quite some time.

INDIA CORNER

Prime MinisterNarendra Modi will bethe chief guest at the

centenary celebrations ofthe Aligarh MuslimUniversity via video link onDecember 22, an officialstatement said. Modi willattend the online functionalong with UnionEducation MinisterRamesh PokhriyalNishank, it said. Extendinghis gratitude to the PM, AMU Vice Chancellor Professor TariqMansoor said the AMU community is thankful for his acceptance toparticipate in the celebrations marking 100 years of the university.

PM Modi to attend Aligarh MuslimUniversity's centenary celebrations

Jammu andKashmir LtGovernor

Manoj Sinha onWednesday paidtribute to the armypersonnel wholaid down theirlives for the nationduring 1971 war.“I salute ourgallant soldiers fortheir exemplarycourage andsupreme sacrifice to gain a decisive victory for our Nation in the1971 war,” Sinha said in his message on 'Vijay Diwas'. The daycommemorates the historic victory of Indian armed forces and theindomitable spirit of the brave soldiers. “On Vijay Diwas, let usremember the valour of our soldiers and their unwaveringcommitment to defend India's sovereignty and protect humandignity”, the Lt Governor said. “We are eternally indebted to ourbrave soldiers for their courage and selfless service to the nation forprotecting our frontiers from the enemies and maintaining peace inthe country,” he said.

Suvendu Adhikari resigns asTrinamool Congress MLA

J&K LG pays tributes to 1971 warbravehearts on Vijay Diwas

An inter-stategang ofdrug-

peddlers hasbeen arrestedand contrabandworth Rs 1.15crore seized,police said hereon Wednesday.The four-membergang hadstockpiled theconsignment tosell it during the new year celebrations when the sleuths of theCentral Crime Branch raided their house, they said. TirupalReddy (32) and Ejaz Pasha (45), both residents of Bengaluru,and Kamalesan (31) and Sathish Kumar (27), both belongingto Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu, were the arrested, the police said.

Gang of drug-peddlers busted, drugsworth Rs 1.15 cr seized

PNS n KOLKATA

Eastern Army Commander LtGen Anil Chauhan onWednesday said there havebeen no intrusions or majorface-offs in the area of respon-sibility of the EasternCommand since the Ladakhstandoff between Indian troopsand China's PLA.

He said post the GalwanValley incident, bonhomie andmutual trust on the Line ofActual Control (LAC) betweenIndia and China evaporated,and it will take time for thingsto stabilise and rebuild.

"There have been no intru-sions or major face-offs in thearea of responsibility of EasternCommand since the frictionerupted in Ladakh," he said.

Lt Gen Chauhan, General-Officer-Commanding, EasternCommand, said the IndianArmy and the People'sLiberation Army (PLA) ofChina had undertaken someprecautionary deployment dur-ing the Ladakh crisis, which isnow witnessing a gradual de-

induction in the eastern sector,due to the onset of winter.

"However, the Indian Armyis fully prepared to beat anychallenge during winter," hetold reporters at the FortWilliam here on the occasionof Vijay Diwas.

He said the PLA carried outrapid infrastructure develop-ment activities of roads andtracks, and of defences alongthe Sikkim border and inKameng in Arunachal Pradesh."We are taking reciprocalactions and prepared to meet

emerging challenges... Theyhave tried to develop somekind of model villages next tothe border areas, where theyare looking to settle nomadicTibetan population," Lt GenChauhan said.

Regarding Doklam, he saidit is an issue between the gov-ernments of Bhutan and China,and that India's involvementcomes "when we have to decidethe tri-junction between thethree nations".

"Bhutan is a friendly nationwith which the Government of

India has very close ties. TheRoyal Government of Bhutan(RGOB) and Royal BhutanArmy (RBA) have taken suffi-cient steps to protect theirinterest in this particular regionand we feel assured by whatev-er steps they have taken," hesaid.

Lt Gen Chauhan said thatshould there be a need felt bythe RGOB or RBA to involvethe Indian Army in any disputewith China, they are "alwayswelcome".

On the alleged abduction offive youths of ArunachalPradesh by the PLA inSeptember, who were subse-quently released, he saiddeployment on the Line ofActual Control (LAC) in thestate is different from the eye-ball-to-eyeball contact that theIndian Army has with Pakistanon the Line of Control (LoC)in the western sector.

He said there are someplaces where there is nodeployment, but are frequent-ly patrolled, adding that boththe Indian Army and the PLA

arrive at these locations from"depth areas".

"McMahon Line was basedon a very inaccurate kind ofsurvey and hence, the correctalignment of the LAC is disput-ed in this particular area; soinadvertent crossing by civil-ians is highly possible in thisarea and this is what hap-pened when the five youths ofArunachal had gone to a placewhich the Chinese perceived astheir LAC," he said.

Lt Gen Chauhan, however,said the men were well withinthe Indian territory when theywere apprehended by the PLA.

Asserting that this is not a"one-sided game", he said thata Chinese national was recent-ly apprehended after havingcrossed over to Sikkim and theperson is still under apprehen-sion.

Describing the counter-insurgency situation in parts ofthe northeast as stable, theEastern Army commander said

"we may witness morereduction of the Army fromthe counter- insurgency grid."

No intrusions in Eastern Commandarea since Ladakh crisis: Chauhan

India's Coronavirus activecaseload declines to 3.32 lakhPNS n NEW DELHI

Continuing the trend of con-traction of coronavirus cases,India's COVID-19 active case-load now stands at 3,32,002comprising 3.34 per cent ofthe total number of infectionsreported in the country, theUnion Health Ministry said onWednesday.

A total 26,382 people werefound to be infected withCOVID-19 in India in a singleday, as per the Health min-istry's latest data update onWednesday. During the sameperiod, the country also regis-tered 33,813 new recoveriesensuring a net decline of 7,818cases in the active caseload.

"India has recorded less than40,000 daily new cases sincethe last 17 days," the ministryunderlined.

The figure of new cases permillion population in India inthe last seven days -- 147 -- isone of the lowest in the world,it said.

Total recoveries have sur-passed 94.5 lakhs (94,56,449).

The ministry said 76.43 percent of the new recoveredcases are observed to be con-centrated in 10 states andUTs.

Kerala has reported themaximum number of singleday recoveries with 5,066

newly recovered cases.A total of 4,395 people

recovered in Maharashtra in aspan of 24 hours followed by2,965 in West Bengal.

The ministry said 75.84 percent of the new cases of infec-tion are from 10 states andUTs.

Kerala continues to reportthe highest daily new cases at5,218. It is followed by

Maharashtra and West Bengalwith 3,442 and 2,289 newcases respectively.

As many as 387 case fatal-ities have been reported in aspan of 24 hours, the ministrysaid Wednesday.

Ten states and UTs accountfor 75.19 per cent of the newdeaths. Maharashtra saw themaximum casualties at70.West Bengal and Delhi fol-lowed with 45 and 41 dailydeaths respectively.

Daily deaths in India are ona sustained decline. Less than500 daily deaths have been reg-istered for the last 11 days, theministry said.

New deaths per million pop-ulation in India in the lastseven days (2) is one of thelowest numbers in the world,the ministry said.

The Union HealthMinistry said 76.43 percent of the newrecovered cases areobserved to beconcentrated in 10states and UTs.

100-yr-old mystery of how malaria affects brain decodedPNS n NEW DELHI

Using brain imaging tech-niques, scientists, includingthose from The Center for theStudy of Complex Malaria inOdisha, have unravelled thecentury old mystery of howmalaria affects the brain, anadvance which reveals howthe deadly disease causes dif-ferent outcomes in adults andchildren.

According to the researchers,cerebral malaria is a severe, life-threatening complication ofinfection with the Plasmodiumfalciparum parasite that caninfect humans through thebite of Anopheles mosquitoes.

While a fifth of people withthis form of the disease diedespite treatment, and neu-rocognitive after-effects arecommon in survivors, theysaid the effects of malaria onthe brain have puzzled scien-

tists for the last 100 years.The study, published in the

journal Clinical InfectiousDiseases on Wednesday, usedcutting-edge MRI scans tocompare the changes in the

brains of survivors with thosewho died from the diseaseacross different age-groups.

"For years, scientists haverelied on autopsies to under-stand the pathology of cerebral

malaria, but these don't allowyou to compare between sur-vivors and fatalities," said SamWassmer, a co-lead author ofthe study from the LondonSchool of Hygiene and TropicalMedicine (LSHTM) in the UK.

"By using neuroimagingtechniques to see a snapshot ofthe living brain, we were ableto identify the specific cause ofdeath in adults," Wassner said.

In the study, the scientistsassessed 65 patients with cere-bral malaria and 26 controlpatients with 'uncomplicated'malaria, who were being treat-ed at Ispat General Hospital inRourkela.

They found that brainswelling tends to decrease withthe age of the patient, and that,unlike in children, there was nocorrelation between brainswelling and death in adultpatients from the same cohort.

Instead, the researchers saidfatal adult cases had severe oxy-gen deprivation affecting allbrain structures, compared toonly localised oxygen-depriva-tion in survivors.

They said the findings werecorroborated by significantly

elevated levels of specific mol-ecules in the blood which indi-cate oxygen-deprivation.

Based on the results, theresearchers believe a systemcould be developed for theidentification of patients atrisk of developing fatal diseaseupon admission that couldinform their clinical manage-ment.

"The results suggest the tan-talising prospect of targetedtreatments for cerebral malar-ia, and we are now planningclinical trials to test whetheradjunctive therapies for oxy-gen-deprivation are effectivefor adults," said SanjibMohanty, study co-lead fromthe Centre for the Study ofComplex Malaria.

"If successful, this could bea significant step toward reduc-ing the death toll of one of theworld's most deadly diseases,"he added.

The study usedcutting-edgeMRI scans tocompare thechanges in thebrains ofsurvivors withthose who diedfrom thedisease acrossdifferent age-groups

PNS n MUMBAI

The issues flagged by agitatingfarmers can be solved in fiveminutes if Prime MinisterNarendra Modi himself stepsin, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Rautsaid on Wednesday.

Raut said the BJP-led NDAgovernment should have adialogue with the farmers whoare protesting for the last 21days outside Delhi demandingscrapping of the Centre's threenew agri-marketing laws.

The government can solvethe issue in 30 minutes sittingwith the (agitating) farmers, ifit wants...I think the issue willbe solved in five minutes if theprime minister himself inter-venes, he told PTI over thephone from New Delhi.

The Sena leader said theprotesters are Indias own farm-ers and the government shouldhave a dialogue with them. Speaking to a Marathi newschannel, Raut said the govern-ment has stretched the issuefar.

Stretching the issue this far,is like paving way for a newanarchy, Raut said. Enactedin September, the three farmlaws have been projected bythe Centre as major reforms inthe agriculture sector that will

remove the middlemen andallow cultivators to sell theirproduce anywhere in the coun-try.

However, the protestingfarmers have expressed appre-hension that the laws wouldpave the way for eliminatingthe safety cushion of minimumsupport price and do awaywith the mandis, leaving themat the mercy of big corporates.

Raut criticised the Centreover the decision of not hold-ing the winter session ofParliament due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We will have to see why theyare not holding thesession...because the sessionhas to be held as there is

democracy, the Rajya Sabhamember said.

Without naming the BJP, hesaid it protested in Mahara-shtra seeking reopening oftemples, but has now kept thetemple of democracy(Parliament) shut.

How will this work? heasked.

To a question, the RajyaSabha MP exuded confidencethat the Shiv Sena will retainits control over theBrihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) in the2022 civic polls.

The BJP had earlier said itwill dislodge the Shiv Sena, itsformer ally, from power in thecash-rich BMC

‘Row over farm laws can besolved in 5 min if PM steps in’

DJB, electricity staffin frontline staff listPNS n NEW DELHI

Employees of water boardand electricity departmentof the Delhi governmentwill be included in the cat-egory of frontline staff forCOVID-19 vaccination,Health Minister SatyendarJain said on Wednesday.

Interacting with reporters,he said an order has beenissued to add them to thelist.

"DJB and e lec tr ic itydepartment employees hadworked day in and day outdur ing the lockdown.Yesterday, the Delhi gov-ernment issued an order toinclude them in the catego-ry of frontline staff for vac-cination, so that they alsoget vaccine in the firstphase," Jain said.

For the Delhi government,frontline workers are VIPs,he later said in a Facebookpost. Frontline workersinclude, police and sanita-tion staff as well.

The Delhi governmenthad recently begun theprocess of enrolment ofhealthcare workers of differ-ent hospitals, nursing homesand other faci l it ies for

COVID-19 vaccination.Hundreds of healthcare

workers at government andprivate facilities in Delhihad contracted the novelcoronavirus, and many moreare still getting affected by it.

Among frontline staff,several police personnel andsanitation workers had con-tracted COVID-19, andmany had lost their lives too.

Delhi recorded 1617 freshCOVID-19 cases onTuesday with over 85,000tests conducted, even as thepositivity rate dropped to1.9 per cent, authoritiessaid.

The death toll mounted to10,115 with 41 new fatali-ties, they said.

Resume talks with Centre: Puri to ryotsPNS n CHANDIGARH

Union minister Hardeep SinghPuri on Wednesday appealedto protesting farmers to resumetalks with the central govern-ment to discuss their “genuine”demands, saying this is not thetime to remain “adamant”.

Addressing a virtual 'kisansammelan', he asserted that theNarendra Modi-led govern-ment was taking several stepsin the interest of the farmingcommunity.

“We are ready to hold talkswith them (farmers) to discusstheir genuine demands. We areready to find a solution of thisproblem, but it is necessary that

the farmer brothers join thetalks again and put forth theirpoints face to face,” he said.

Thousands of farmers fromPunjab, Haryana and else-where have been protestingnear various border points ofDelhi, including Singhu andTikri, for over a fortnight

demanding that the Centrerepeal three new farm laws.

The Housing and UrbanAffairs minister said theCentre had given assurance onthe issues of minimum sup-port price (MSP) and mandisystem, as well as dispute res-olution to the agitating farm-ers.

“If they have anything moreto discuss, then come. But thisis not the time to remainadamant,” he said in an appar-ent reference to the farmers'demand of repealing the farmlaws.

Puri said everybody has theright to hold protest in ademocracy.

“But there is also a way tohold protest. If you bring trac-tors near the national capital,that is not protest,” he said.

Notably, the Centre hadproposed to give "writtenassurance" that the existingMSP regime for procurementwould continue.

The government had alsoproposed to make necessaryamendments on at least sevenissues, including one to allayfears about the weakening ofthe mandi system.

However, farmers' bodieshave been seeking that thethree farm laws be repealedwhile rejecting the govern-ment's proposals.

Sisodia acceptsUP minister's‘challenge'PNS n NEW DELHI

Delhi Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia onWednesday said he will visitLucknow in Uttar Pradeshnext week to debate on theprogress made by the tworespective governments inimproving infrastructure pro-vided in schools.

Sisodia's statement comesafter Uttar Pradesh educationminister Satish Dwivedi invit-ed Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal and hisdeputy Sisodia to visit gov-ernment schools in the state.

Taking a swipe at the UttarPradesh government, Sisodiasaid the decision of the AamAadmi Party to contest theUttar Pradesh polls in 2022has made the state govern-ment to talk over issues ofeducation and electricity.

Sisodia on Wednesdaysaid he "accepts the chal-lenge" of the Uttar Pradeshminister for having an opendebate on the educationmodel of Delhi and UttarPradesh.

Woman who took flightsto commit thefts arrestedPNS n MUMBAI

The crime branch of Mumbaipolice has arrested a 46-year-old woman, a resident ofBengaluru, for allegedly steal-ing valuables of customersvisiting malls and big show-rooms in various metro cities,an official said on Wednesday.

The accused used to travelby air to various cities to com-mit thefts at malls, prominentshow rooms and parlours, hesaid, adding that police recov-ered jewellery, some cash anda stolen mobile phone fromher possession.

Unit 5 of the Mumbai crimebranch apprehended thewoman from her residence inBengaluru and brought her tothe city on Tuesday, he said.

The accused had allegedlystolen the purse of a woman-vcontaining gold jewelleryworth Rs 13.54 lakh, Rs 50,000cash, a mobile phone valued atRs 84,000 and other docu-ments from a famous show-room in Phoenix Mall at LowerParel in central Mumbai, hesaid. An offence under section380 (theft in dwelling house) ofthe IPC was registered at JoshiMarg police station.

COVID VACCINATION

The undermining of allmajor institutions ofdemocracy in theUnited States was afootin all earnest by

President Donald Trump in hisfour-year tenure — from theJudiciary and Military to even hisown Justice Department, all werepar for course as long as the weak-ening of the institutions solidifiedTrump’s own chances for a secondterm. His patent hiring-and-firingspree, refusing to cooperate withthe Congress on critical investiga-tions, attacking independent Pressto filling up key appointments withsupposed loyalists raised seriousquestions about the free and fairfunctioning of democracy. Notsurprisingly, the US had by 2017slipped from the status of “fulldemocracy” to “flawed democra-cy” as per the Democracy Index,as published by the EconomistIntelligence Unit (EIU). The reporthad noted: “Trust in political insti-tutions is an essential componentof well-functioning democracies.Yet surveys by Pew, Gallup andother polling agencies have confirmed that public confidencein the Government has slumped tohistoric lows in the US. This hashad a corrosive effect on the qual-ity of democracy.”

While the systemic changes,interferences and appointmentswere being made towards Trump’selectoral advantage, somewherethe popularity polls were stillgiving him nightmares — heknew that when push comes toshove, he would need these insti-tutions to be spineless, acquiesceand fall in line with Trump, irre-spective of the election results. Thetelltale signs of Trump’s nervous-ness were written all over when formonths he refused to commithonouring the poll results andensuring a peaceful transition ofpower — the seeds of “rigged”,“stolen” and “fraudulent” electionswere planted well in advance.

Two specific institutions weregetting primed for any eventual-ity i.e. Judiciary and the ArmedForces. Trump’s initial comfortwith a 5-4 conservative majorityin the Supreme Court had givenhim reasons to believe that hecould persist with controversialsteps like the travel ban from sev-eral Muslim-majority nations, aswas upheld by the courts then. Butsoon and awkwardly so forTrump, the Supreme Court start-ed asserting its independent viewsthat militated against Trump’spreferences — even Trump’s per-sonal appointees like Justice Brett

Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuchvoted against his interests incertain cases. White HousePress Secretary KayleighMcEnany shockingly admittedthat the key takeaway from theunfavourable rulings was that‘we need more conservativejustices on the courts’. Trumpdid exactly that, with the hur-ried appointment of JusticeAmy Barett eight days beforeelections, creating a powerful 6-3 conservative tilt. Tellingly,Trump had desired that thenewly appointed Justice AmyBarett participate in the forth-coming election-related casesthat went to the courts.

Even in the Military realm,when the appointment to thetop post of Chairman of theJoint Chiefs of Staff to succeedthe previous Obama-appointeeGen Joseph F Dundford Jr wasgetting considered, PresidentTrump had called the shots. Asper protocol and professionaldecorum, the Defense Secretaryhas a say in suggesting a name.Given that the DefenseSecretary at that time was thedistinguished former combat-ant James Mattis, his profession-al assessment carried weight —Mattis had preferred Air ForceChief of Staff Gen DavidGoldfein; however it wasTrump who overruled thechoice and appointed GeneralMark Milley instead. Later,General Milley had to so oftennavigate through the minefieldof Trump’s fickle, whimsical andovertly political theatrics that

the top military advisor manya time saw himself at odds withthe President’s instincts. It wasleft to him and the subsequentDefense Secretary, Mark Esper,to control wild ideas like usingmilitary personnel to controlcivil unrest on the streets of theUS. Expectedly, Mark Esper toowas fired and yet another ‘loy-alist’ ushered in.

But to the credit of both the

institutions, much before theelectoral process had started —neither gave any statement ordid any act to suggest that theyindeed had succumbed or for-saken their institutional inde-pendence, at the altar of DonaldTrump. At one stage, GeneralMilley had publicly expressedregret at having mistakenly gotcaught in an overtly politicalmoment, whilst in uniform —he rightfully acknowledged thatthe optics had diminished theapolitical stance of the ArmedForces. At yet another eventlater, when the chaos of the elec-toral results was dangerouslypoised, he tellingly clarified:“We do not take an oath to aking or a queen, a tyrant or adictator. We do not take an oathto an individual...We take anoath to the Constitution” —unequivocally indicating thatthe US Military was not behold-en to anyone.

Similarly, the SupremeCourt with an ostensiblyfavourable 6-3 Trump/conser-vative tilt, rejected a bid by theTexas’s Attorney General, whichwas supported by the President,in the strongest ever indicationthat Trump cannot count on thetop courts to overturn electionresults under flimsy or make-believe grounds. Not only didthe courts reject Texas’s pleachallenging the results towardsthe four battleground States butit effectively did so on groundsthat willy-nilly checkmate sim-ilar misadventures in otherStates too. The conspiracy the-

ories are simply unlikely to beentertained by the courts, irre-spective of the ideological com-position of the majority there-in. The sore loser in Trump wasleft fuming: “The SupremeCourt really let us down. Nowisdom, no courage!” On thecontrary, it was the actualdemonstration of wisdom andcourage by the hallowed insti-tutions of the US Governmentthat would save it from the sureruin of its revered democracy,as was envisaged and enshrinedby its founding fathers.

From falsely (and prema-turely) claiming electoral victo-ry, calling to halt vote countingto refusing to accept the results— Trump has done everythingpossible to degenerate andabuse power and respect in thedemocratic processes.Thankfully, the institutionshave shown integrity, steel andresilience despite the umpteentimes these were subjected totinkering, though Trump hasalmost guaranteed a polarised,fractured and deeply dividedsociety with his continuingvanity and petulance, which willfar outlive his stay at the WhiteHouse. The ongoing Trumpsaga is a timely reminder for theleaderships and institutions inother democracies where ten-dencies to take liberties withinstitutions are apparent.

(The writer, a military vet-eran, is a former Lt Governor

of Andaman & NicobarIslands and Puducherry. The

views expressed are personal.)UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to visit NewDelhi as the chief guest at the Republic Day paradein January. His tour will help further strengthen Indo-

UK relations and is being seen in diplomatic circles asthe UK’s post-Brexit tilt towards the Indo-Pacific region,in which India is an important player. The significancethat Britain is attaching to the ties with India can be gaugedfrom the fact that Johnson’s trip will be his first majorbilateral outing since becoming the Prime Minister andthe first since the UK’s departure from the European Union.Both nations have shared interests because of their pasthistory and the fact that the UK has a 1.5 million-strongIndian diaspora, which has made valuable contributions

in academia, literature, arts, medicines, science, business and politics. Closer ties with theUK will help Indians who want to work and set up businesses in the island nation in termsof easier visa access. Apart from the two nations planning to boost employment and joint-ly confront threats to global peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region, the idea is to trans-form the G7 group comprising the UK, the US, France, Japan, Germany, Italy and Canadainto a broader grouping of 10 leading democracies that will be capable of thwarting China’sexpansionist plans. It is with this goal in mind that Johnson has invited India, Australia andSouth Korea to attend the UK-hosted G7 summit in the summer of 2021, and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has accepted. For its part, a stronger bond with the UK will stand India ingood stead as it strives for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).China has been blocking it for decades despite the fact that the other four permanent mem-bers — Russia, the UK, the US and France — are backing New Delhi’s claims. Unfortunately,the UN charter is such that it gives permanent members the power to veto any resolution,including the expansion of membership, and Beijing has been exploiting this factor to thehilt. It has thwarted India’s ambitions to sit at the UNSC high table by laying down condi-tions that are impossible for New Delhi to meet. Moreover, with China wanting to push Pakistan’sagenda time and again at the UNSC, India needs as many allies as it can in its corner.

Johnson’s visit is coming at a time when New Delhi is seeking more investment to shoreup a tottering economy. The trade Ministers of both the nations are in talks and India wouldwork with the UK on a range of issues. The two are trying to deepen their economic part-nership in the hope that it will ultimately culminate in a free-trade agreement as the economiesof both the nations have taken a body blow due to the pandemic. The total trade betweenthe countries is worth almost 24 billion Euros and it grew by 11 per cent in the last finan-cial year, but there is potential to ramp it up in a post-COVID world. On December 15, UKForeign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is on a visit to India as a prelude to Johnson’s trip,announced a closer collaboration on an enhanced trade partnership, and met Modi to dis-cuss a 10-year roadmap for a new era in bilateral ties. Apart from trade, the two democ-racies are seeking closer collaboration on tackling the Coronavirus pandemic, climate changeand enhancing defence cooperation so that they can better address key issues like terror-ism and maritime security. One can safely assume that China will be watching this bon-homie and Johnson’s overtures to India with some concern, if not outright alarm.

This is a forever debate, about the efficacy of allopa-thy and homoeopathy in curing diseases. While theformer addresses the immediate criticality, the lat-

ter is good for long-term management and prevention.Alternative medicine is now being used as an add-onand as part of an integrated approach to medicine andconvalescent therapies. When it comes to the flu virus,particularly COVID-19, a cure is still remote in allopa-thy where research is still focussed on studying the virus.Homoeopathy is still prophylactic, based as it is on symp-tom management, and eases conditions of mild to mod-erate cases at least. With no drug present to specifical-

ly treat COVID-19, even allopathy is currently relying on HCQ and Remdesivir to targetsymptoms. Perhaps it is because the treatment is symptomatic in both disciplines at themoment that the Supreme Court has ruled that homoeopaths can prescribe medicinesfor prophylaxis, amelioration and mitigation of COVID-19 patients, provided the prescrip-tion is given only by institutionally qualified practitioners. It, however, clarified that no prac-titioner may flag it as a cure and strictly operate within the guidelines issued by the Ministryof AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy). The courthas enabled a bit of a stopgap, considering a cure is not in sight and vaccination will taketime to cover the population our size. While homoeopathy has long been considered apalliative, its efficacy in cure, as claimed by patients, has not been demonstrated consis-tently in medical trials. So far, the evidence of their potential has largely been anecdotalthan empirical. In fact, combinations like Bryonia Alba and Arsenic Album 30 have beenin circulation as a preventive and recuperative aid, often used alongside allopathy.

India, besides Cuba, is the only country to officially explore homoeopathy as part ofits COVID-19 prevention, treatment and research protocol. The Central Council for Researchin Homoeopathy (CCRH) has been conducting trials to prove that the discipline works incontaining the disease but in the absence of concrete proof, it is at the moment nothingbetter than a placebo. Yet, homoeopathy enjoys mass acceptability in India, with users believ-ing in its long-term effects. In fact, it is the second most popular system of medicine inthe country which, given our oversized disease burden and a stressed healthcare infra-structure, could work in taking care of basic health problems. But there has to be a ratio-nality of approach and not blind faith. Once the disease sets in, there is no alternative tothe clinically proven and medically tested protocols. Traditional systems of medicine, likeayurveda and homoeopathy, are, therefore, good for overall well-being and building bodyresistance. This distinction is very important in a country growing up in a culture of natur-opathy and home remedies and, therefore, is prone to trusting conventional wisdom. Butthis is a novel virus we are dealing with. There is no doubt that traditional systems of med-icine in India have not only survived but flourished over the centuries and there are virtuesembedded in our huge herbal heritage that are good for enhancing immunity and overallhealth management. But overplaying our herbs as part of a COVID-19 medicare protocol,when they are yet to cross the threshold of medical reason, comes with the attendant illsof misconception that they are just as effective as allopathic drugs. Like homoeopathicinstitutes, a few ayurveda pharmaceutical companies, too, have been working on simula-tion studies where few plant molecules have shown the ability to halt the alarming multi-plication of the SARS CoV-2 virus in an Artificial Intelligence (AI) modelling. Researchers atIIT Delhi, in collaboration with Japanese scientists, have found that properties of Ashwagandhahave “therapeutic and preventive value” against COVID-19 infection. But they are workingon more conclusive proof that could allow for pharmacological interventions. Besides, ourdrug control laws need more teeth and the Health Ministry has even released the draft ofDrugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) (Amendment) Bill, 2020, withstiffer penalties. But more deterrence needs to be built in. Rather than upgrading AYUSHprotocols, we need to lay out a tiered structure on evidence-based protocols and mappingthe progression of the disease. That would make us truly holistic in approach.

The globule therapy

Poll boost for LDFSir — The local body electionresults in Kerala are a good gaugeof the public mood in favour ofthe ruling Left Democratic Front(LDF) just a few months beforethe Assembly election.

Keralites are known for theirpolitical consciousness; they arefully aware that whom they voteto power matters and they exercisegreat discernment in electing theirrepresentatives. The biggest take-away from the results is that thenarrow strip of scenic beautycalled God’s Own Country contin-ues to be a Left bastion immuneto a Right-ward shift in politics.

The landslide victory is a clearendorsement of the PinarayiVijayan Government’s laudablesocial welfare programmes andbest possible handling of theCOVID-19 pandemic as well asan unequivocal rejection of theattempts by the Congress and theBJP to implicate the office of theChief Minister in the much hypedgold smuggling case.

The CPI(M)-led LDFGovernment can now feel a hugesense of relief that the orchestrat-ed campaign against it has metwith failure.

G David MiltonMaruthancode

Houses should have metSir — When the 9/11 terror attackoccurred, a Parliament sessionwas called at one day’s notice innational interest. The same prin-ciple should have been applied inIndia where a farmer agitation iscontinuing for 20 days and bothsides are sticking to their guns.

With no solution in sight, the

Winter Session was a good hopefor discussion and making someprogress. But now this hope hasvanished. The session was can-celled apparently due to theCOVID scare but today’s farmers’rally in Narela was organised by theruling party itself, which contra-dicts the Government’s statement.

Yash Pal RalhanJalandhar

Don’t quibble over bookSir — This has reference to thereport ‘Pranab’s son and daughterlock horns over his memoir’(December 16). They have eachissued statements either in favourof suppressing certain portions of,or fully publishing PranabMukherjee’s book, ThePresidential Years.

They may be entitled to theirviews but one should think thatwhat is most relevant to the citi-zens of this country is not what‘they’ think but whether the for-mer President left a will in whichhe mentioned about this book andhow its publication should be han-dled by the executor of that will.It is very reasonable to assume thathe did. This alone should be thecriterion for settling the issue.

NS RajanBangalore

Biden’s task is cut outSir — US President-elect JosephBiden will have to heal the woundsof a nation that seems to be at warwith itself. Biden and VicePresident-elect Kamala Harris willtake their oaths of office outside theUS Capitol building as inaugurationplanners make the arrangements.

The hidden mechanics ofelecting a US President have drawnnew scrutiny this year as PresidentDonald Trump continues to denythat he has been beaten fair andsquare even though Biden has offi-cially secured enough electors tobecome the next US President.

CK SubramaniamNavi Mumbai

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

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op nionVIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 17, 2020

06

I hope that an early andreasonable solution willbe found on the issuesraised by farmers. Thereis the possibility of acertain meeting ground.

Vice-President—M Venkaiah Naidu

Govt least bothered about soaring prices

The retail inflation figure of 6.93 per cent, asreleased earlier by the Centre, is doubtful and shock-ing as the Government has completely failed to con-

trol the rising prices of all essential items. The trend ofmarket prices of almost all items is totally different ascompared to the inflation figures supplied by theGovernment. If the inflation is at 6.93 per cent, would itnot be reasonable to expect a fall or stability in the pricesof at least some of the essential commodities?

The unpleasant truth is that the prices of all com-modities are steadily shooting up — some of the essen-tial articles cost double or triple the earlier price — espe-cially during the ongoing COVID crisis, vegetable pricesare soaring at an alarming rate. Since the prices haven’tcome down as promised by the Narendra ModiGovernment, it has shaken the faith and trust of the peo-ple in the ruling dispensation.

Also, the Government isn’t seen making any seri-ous move to tackle the worsening price situation. It seemsmore interested in wasting time and money in makinghollow promises rather than taking concrete action. Apartfrom its favourite pastime of blaming the previous

Congress Governments, it appears that the Centre is occu-pied with more important plans like toppling theGovernments in the Congress-ruled States and passingBills in haste rather than giving any serious thought tothe price issue which affects every common citizen.

It can be expected, however, that the jugglers whoare entrusted by the Government to produce imaginaryinflation figures will be busy as ever by cooking up num-bers to mislead the people.

Bhagwan ThadaniMumbai

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Boris is willingThe UK Prime Minister would grace the R-Day parade but hispost-Brexit tilt towards India may give China some heartburn

Stay home and watch his-tory unfold on your televi-sion or digital screens onInauguration Day. Theceremony's footprint willbe extremely limited.

US President-elect—Joe Biden

I don't think you can con-cretely plan anything in Testcricket. Test cricket is alwaysabout encountering situationsand reacting to the situationsto the best of your abilities.

India cricket captain—Virat Kohli

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

S O U N D B I T EI did not even watch my sea-son after I came out of thehouse. I don't watch BiggBoss. I find it very disturbing.Especially now, people are soaggressive in the house.

Actor—Shamita Shetty

SC allows homoeopaths for COVID-19 mitigationprotocols, recognises their right to administer doses

Institutional spine

THE TELLTALESIGNS OF

DONALD TRUMP'SNERVOUSNESS

WERE WRITTENALL OVER WHENFOR MONTHS HE

REFUSED TOCOMMIT

HONOURING THEELECTION RESULTS

AND ENSURING APEACEFUL

TRANSITION OFPOWER

Major institutions refused to buckle under pressure from President Trumpwhen he tried systemic changes to shore up his chances for a second term

BHOPINDER SINGH

Build an indigenous arsenal

WHY WILL IT BE FOR THE PARTY, BY THE PARTY AND

OF THE PARTY HERE? IN A FEW DAYS, YOU WILL

KNOW WHEN PEOPLE GO TO VOTE.

—EX-TMC MINISTER

SUVENDU ADHIKARI

AFTER PROFITING FROM BEING PART OF THE

GOVERNMENT, YOU ARE HOBNOBBING WITH THIS

AND THAT PARTY. I WON’T TOLERATE THIS.

—CHIEF MINISTER

MAMATA BANERJEE

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

On November 27, through a gazette notifica-tion, the Union Ministry of Environment,Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)

announced the constitution of an Apex Committeefor Implementation of the Paris Agreement (AIPA).This panel has been constituted for the purpose ofensuring a coordinated response on climate changematters that protects the country’s interests andensures that India is on track towards meeting itsclimate change obligations under the ParisAgreement, including its submitted NationallyDetermined Contributions (NDCs). One of the func-tions of this committee is to “commission and rec-ommend independent research and analytical stud-ies and plan capacity-building and training activi-ties” on the above issues.

Indigenous research and development (R&D)in India requires greater attention of the Governmentin the critical areas of climate change mitigation andadaptation. It calls for coordinated actions in mis-sion mode with concomitant allocation of publicresources — an area that leaves a lot to be desiredat present. Even if we were to keep real innovationsaside, in a scenario where a substantial share of ourclimate action is based on imported technologies andproducts, adaptive R&D is critical to ensure theiroptimal performance levels under local conditions,throughout their lifespan. Moreover, business-research, too, is an important part of taking a prod-uct to its ultimate consumer in a timely fashion.

Although as per the Global Innovation Index2020, featuring 131 economies, India has moved upto 48th place, it may be noted that globally about72 per cent of spending is in sectors like Informationand Communications Technology (ICT) hardwareand electronic equipment, pharmaceuticals andbiotechnology, automobiles, software and ICT ser-vices, with a minimal share of sectors dealing withclimate actions. It is imperative, therefore, for theAIPA to earnestly take up research and innovationin areas around climate action. It must draw a planfor outcome-oriented collaborative research in pri-ority areas that are either potentially impacted byclimate change or contribute to it. Climate actioncan be broadly categorised into climate change mit-igation and adaptation.

On the mitigation front are those technologiesthat help in the reduction of greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions, such as renewable energy andtechnologies for decarbonising in hard-to-abate sec-tors like steel, cement and heavy transport. At theother end of the spectrum are technologies and prac-tices to empower society to adapt to the adverseimpacts of climate change. Several scientific stud-ies had already cautioned that India should be readyfor more extreme weather events — like cyclones,flooding and droughts — on account of the accel-erated pace of climate change.

In such a scenario, research focus areas wouldinclude climate-resilient crops, early warning sys-tems, disaster risk management, resilient coastalinfrastructure, water management technologiesand public health. For instance, as per the recentlyreleased Lancet Countdown report on health and cli-mate change, India recorded the highest loss in pro-ductivity because of extreme heat in 2019. To addresssuch challenges, the country needs solutions that suitits specific demands while taking into account itsclimatic conditions, energy consequences, as well asaffordability.

The United Nations’ Sustainable DevelopmentGoal (SDG) 9 aims to “build resilient infrastructure,promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisationand foster innovation.” Target 9.5 of SDG 9 reads“enhance scientific research, upgrade the technolog-ical capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries,in particular developing ones, including, by 2030,

encouraging innovation and substantial-ly increasing the number of research anddevelopment workers per one million peo-ple and public and private research anddevelopment spending.”

So the big question is, where are wein this respect? The United NationsEducational, Scientific and CulturalOrganisation Institute for Statistics tracksthese indicators. In 2018, the top countriesin terms of gross expenditure on R&D(public as well as private spend) as a shareof their Gross Domestic Product (GDP),were Israel (4.95 per cent), the Republicof Korea (4.8 per cent), Sweden (3.33 percent), Japan (3.26 per cent) and Austria(3.17 per cent). While China stands at 12thposition with 2.18 per cent of the GDPbeing its R&D spending, India was at 38thplace with research spending of 0.65 percent of the GDP. It ranks as one of the low-est spenders among the BRICS countries.Not only this, our ranking in another indi-cator, namely, the number of researchersper million inhabitants (in full timeemployment) is off the mark, too. With252 researchers per million inhabitants, weare near the bottom rung as compared toChina (1,307), Denmark (8,065) andKorea (7,980). This is not a demograph-ic dividend one would have envisaged.

Indeed, a report on ‘India’s R&DExpenditure Ecosystem’ compiled by theEconomic Advisory Council to the PrimeMinister (EAC-PM) in mid-2019 lamentsthat while in absolute terms our R&Dexpenditure has increased, as a fraction ofthe GDP, public expenditure on R&D hasbeen stagnant. It has remained between0.6-0.7 per cent of the GDP over the lasttwo decades. Now, India has set a goal toup its R&D spending to two per cent ofthe GDP by 2022. However, this was in thepre-Coronavirus era. Now, the implica-tions of large-scale reallocation of publicresources for battling the virus have to beseen on such “non-priority” goals. Thereis enough evidence from across the globethat governments often tend to reducepublic research funding when faced with

resource stress, prioritising short-termimpactful areas over the long-term onesthat R&D initiatives tend to be.

Incidentally, the erstwhile PlanningCommission, too, had set a goal of two percent of the GDP in the 12th Five-Year Plan,i.e., by 2017. However, the worrisome partis that investment in R&D by two criticalsectors — private and higher education,is even lower. Generally speaking, it is pub-lic funding that supports R&D of newtechnologies, given the higher risksinvolved and negligible assurance of theircommercial success. Private sector fund-ing may come at a later stage, leveragingpromising outcomes of publicly-fundedearly-stage efforts. When Prime MinisterNarendra Modi declared in the just-con-cluded Climate Ambition Summit that,“India is not only on track to achieve itsParis Agreement targets but to exceedthem beyond expectations” or the UNSecretary-General exhorts countries todeclare a climate emergency until theworld has reached net zero CO2 emis-sions; obviously this cannot happen on theback of imported technologies alone.

As the numerous problems to beaddressed are local in a country of the sizeof India the solutions, too, will have to bedeveloped indigenously, tailored to ourunique but varied requirements, more sofrom the perspective of equity and inclu-siveness. The fact that the AIPA is slatedto provide inputs to the Prime Minister’sCouncil on Climate Change, must accordit the required heft to overcome usualbureaucratic indifference.

Viewed from a broader nationalinterest perspective, the need for signifi-cant and continued public spending on cli-mate-related research cannot be overem-phasised. And this should certainly not belimited to supporting public-funded insti-tutions only. Given that in today’s worldtechnology is a core part of diplomacy asargued by our External Affairs MinisterS Jaishankar, the central role of climatetechnologies in geopolitics must be recog-nised fully.

This, in turn, leads to the relativenegotiating powers of different countries,ones that are knowledge generators vis-à-vis those who receive them. Investmentsin R&D then go beyond self-reliance andget linked to larger national interests. Afterall, Aatmanirbhar Bharat can only be builton the solid foundation of R&D-ledinnovations across value chains. As elab-orated by Jaishankar, a self-reliant Indiais essentially all about building its domes-tic strengths and enhancing its capabili-ties. For that to happen, India will have toenhance its investment in research andtechnology development in frontier areas,including those that are of relevance tointensive climate action.

However, indigenous research shouldnot be confused with isolated research tobe carried out by Indian entities alone.Rather it is all about research and inno-vations led by India through leveragingcollaborative competencies of a range ofglobal players. And it depends on incul-cating research temperament among theIndian youth and creating state-of-the-artinnovation ecosystems across the coun-try. Above all, we must aspire to be amongthe top nations as per globally recognisedR&D and innovation criteria.

If we can reach seemingly audaciousrenewable energy goals in less than adecade, there is no reason as to why wecannot set our ambitions high in terms ofexcellence in research and innovations,too. Considering that public spending onresearch is only one part of the pie, busi-nesses and higher educational sectors, too,will have to play their part. Appropriateincentive frameworks could nudge the pri-vate sector to scale up its research fund-ing in climate technologies, among otherareas of national importance on onehand and help steer higher education insti-tutions towards research on the other. Thewar against climate change requires in-country arsenal, urgently.

(The writer is Senior Director, SocialTransformation, TERI. The views expressedare personal.)

Research and development in India requires greater attention of the Governmentin the critical areas of climate change mitigation and adaptation

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

The thread thatbinds us

MARKANDEY KATJU

India is a nation united by the sensibilities of a unique Sanskrit-Urdu culture and

no one can take that away from us

AMIT KUMAR

APPROPRIATEINCENTIVE

FRAMEWORKSCOULD NUDGE

THE PRIVATESECTOR TO

SCALE UP ITSRESEARCH

FUNDING INCLIMATE

TECHNOLOGIES,AMONG

OTHER AREASOF NATIONALIMPORTANCE

ON ONE HAND AND HELP

STEER HIGHER

EDUCATIONINSTITUTIONS

TOWARDSRESEARCH

ON THE OTHER

When the British ruled India, they questioned whether it wasa nation at all. They held that it was only an administra-tive unit created and united by them. Their view was artic-

ulated by John Strachy, a high official in India who said in 1880,in his lectures given at Cambridge University (collectively publishedas a book titled ‘India’), that India was only a label of convenience,a name given to a large geographical territory having several coun-tries. He said, “This is the first and foremost thing to learn aboutIndia, that there is not and never was an India, nor any country ofIndia, possessing, according to European ideas, any sort of unity— physical, political, social or religious. No Indian nation, no peo-ple of India, of which we hear so much.” The same view was reit-erated by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the creator of Pakistan, who insist-ed that, “India is not a nation, nor a country. It is a subcontinentof nationalities.” So, what is the truth?

To my mind, the views of Strachy and Jinnah are wrong andIndia is indeed a nation. What really makes a nation are featureswhich distinguish it from other countries. Is there any such fea-ture which makes India a nation? Yes, there is, and it is our com-posite Sanskrit-Urdu culture, which unites us and makes us onenation. Now, when I say this, immediately objections will be raised.Many South Indians, people of the northeastern States and so on,will ask what have they to do with Sanskrit or Urdu? Some peo-ple in the country are averse to Sanskrit. For instance, manyTamilians, who regard themselves as Dravidians, call it the lan-guage of Aryan invaders and oppressors. Where Urdu is concerned,many Hindus regard it as the language of Muslims.

Sadly, these objections are based on a lack of understand-ing. When I use the expression “Sanskrit-Urdu culture”, I am refer-ring to the spirit of Sanskrit and the soul of Urdu. There is a mis-conception that Sanskrit is a language that is predominantly usedfor chanting mantras during worship in Hindu temples and sacredtexts. Only about five per cent of Sanskrit literature is devoted toreligion, while the rest deals with diverse topics such as philoso-phy, science, mathematics, art, law, linguistics and so on. Theemphasis of Sanskrit is on reason because it was the languageof free thinkers who questioned everything. The great Hindi writerRahul Sankrityayan, who was in his early years an orthodox Brahmin,said that before he learnt Sanskrit he believed in God but, after helearnt the language he became an atheist. And indeed, much ofSanskrit literature is atheistic.

On the other hand, the emphasis in Urdu, which is wronglyregarded as the language of Muslims (before 1947 it was a com-mon language of all educated people, whether Hindu, Muslim,Christian, Sikh or so on, in large parts of India), is on emotion.Urdu poetry expresses the voice of the human heart and the afflic-tions of the common people with an elegance that perhaps no otherpoetry can ever achieve. The two main attributes of humans arereason and emotion, and both are necessary for progress. In Europe,the great French thinker Voltaire emphasised reason and combat-ed religious bigotry and superstitions in his writings. On the otherhand, the equally great French thinker Rousseau stressed uponemotion and passion. He said that mere reason makes one a cold,calculating and selfish being who never has the desire to help hisfellow human beings and never thinks of the suffering of others.

The fact remains that India is broadly a country of immigrants,like North America. About 92-93 per cent of the people living inthe nation today are the descendants of immigrants, most of whomcame from the north-west. Its original inhabitants are the pre-Dravidian tribals like the Bhils, Gonds, Santhals, Todas and so on,who make up only about seven to eight per cent of the country’spopulation. These immigrants brought with them their own lan-guage, religion, practices, culture and so on. Through the inter-mingling of these immigrants for over thousands of years, a com-mon culture emerged, which can be broadly called the Sanskrit-Urdu culture. This is the culture of India. Sanskrit and Urdu com-plement each other. In fact Sanskrit is one of the grandmothers ofUrdu (the other grandmother being Persian), as many Urdu wordsare derived from it.

Though Sanskrit is a great language, by its overemphasis onreason (like Voltaire) it lacked compassion for fellow human beingswho were suppressed. However, this compassion was suppliedby Urdu (much like Rousseau, who empathised with the poor).Thus, what unites India and makes it a nation is the Sanskrit- Urduculture. To those who say they have nothing to do with Sanskritor Urdu (in fact most young Indians do not know these languagesanymore) my reply is that when I use the expression “Sanskrit-Urdu culture” I am not referring to Sanskrit or Urdu literally, but tothe spirit of Sanskrit and the soul of Urdu. Even Tamilians, Nagasand so on, have reason and emotion and in that sense they belongto the Sanskrit-Urdu culture. India is a nation united by the sensi-bilities of this unique Sanskrit-Urdu culture and no one can takethat away from us.

(The writer is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India.The views expressed are personal.)

Voters decided the fate of 298candidates, including 72women, contesting the sev-

enth phase of the District DevelopmentCouncil (DDC) elections in Jammuand Kashmir (J&K) on Wednesday. Atotal of 31 DDC constituencies wentto the polls, including 13 in Kashmirdivision and 18 in Jammu division. Theresponse of the people across bothregions to the elections is a curt mes-sage to the status quo lobby.

The vast majority standing inlong queues outside the polling booths

in bone-chilling cold while respond-ing to news reporters does not mincewords. It is clear that they are votingfor development and employment. Itis their sole agenda since they havebeen deprived of it for long.Connectivity, education, health andbasic amenities still elude the peopledespite huge amounts of funds receivedfrom successive Central governments.

Where did all these funds vanish?Reports are surfacing of projectsshown as completed in files but notactually existing on the ground. Votersare openly accusing their leaders ofhaving cheated them time and againand becoming unreachable and inap-proachable after the elections are over,leaving them to their plight which hasnot changed during the last 70 years.People have also realised that they wereemotionally exploited with slogans likeself-rule, greater autonomy and so on.Had these leaders been serious andcommitted to the welfare of the peo-ple, they could have easily provided

them the basic facilities of road, waterand electricity but instead they choseto mislead them with false slogans anddreams of greener pastures while lin-ing their own pockets with the gener-ous assistance received from successiveCentral governments.

Kashmir’s identity the world overwas recognised as a multilingual,multi-faith, multi-cultural plural soci-ety famous for peaceful co-existence.But the political leaders are responsi-ble for the murder of the famousKashmiri identity. They promotedsecessionism, separatism and radical-isation, leading to the onslaught on theKashmiri Pandit community, theindigenous community of the Valley,forcing them to flee in the face of large-scale ethnic cleansing.

Corrupt leaders delayed the devo-lution of powers to the grassroots bynot holding elections to thePanachayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) andUrban Local Bodies (ULBs). Theywere loathe to allow the centre of

power to shift to the towns and villages.However, now the process to undo theills and woes of 70 years of misrule hasbeen set in motion with all sincerity.This includes elections to the secondand third tiers of PRI by holding elec-tions for Block Development Councils(BDCs) and District DevelopmentCouncils (DDCs). ULBs’ electionswere held, too.

The ongoing DDC elections are

unique in the sense that certaindeprived sections (West PakistanRefugees, Valmikis and Gorkhas) arevoting for the first time. (Earlier theycould vote only for parliamentary elec-tions). There are reserved seats for thewomen and Scheduled Tribes (STs) forthe first time. A new crop of grassrootsleadership is emerging which augerswell for the future.

The Union Territory (UT) of J&Know has 100 per cent reservation forlocals in all jobs, including gazetted andnon-gazetted ones. No other State/UTin the country enjoys this unique priv-ilege. The amended land laws were alsoused by the status quoists to create fearamong the people claiming that theirlands would be snatched and forciblypurchased by outsiders. People arebeing confused by quoting the protec-tion enjoyed by a few States underArticle 371. Often people are misledby drawing comparison with neigh-bouring Himachal Pradesh stating thatthe State has a special provision pro-

tecting their land rights. The fact is to the contrary. Section

118 in Himachal is restrictive and doesnot put an absolute ban on the sale andpurchase of land and property inHimachal. It has provisions throughwhich, with the approval of theGovernment, anyone can buy land andproperty in the State. However, the newland law of J&K totally bans the saleof agricultural land to other than theexisting agriculturists.

However, at long last, the commonman has understood how unscruplousleaders misled them and deprive themof basic amenities while filling theirown coffers. They are happy with themuch-awaited change they were yearn-ing for and are hopeful that the rep-resentatives they choose for the DDCwill meet their much-wanted basicneeds.

(The author is a Jammu-based vet-eran political commentator, columnist,security and strategic analyst. Theviews expressed are personal.)

J&K district elections to usher in a new dawnThe polls are unique in the sense that deprived sections, like West Pakistan Refugees, Valmikis and Gorkhas are voting for the first time

ANIL GUPTA

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 17, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

F O R E I G N E Y E

Thirteen of the world’s 14peaks taller than 8,000metres have been climbed inwinter. But K2, the world’ssecond tallest mountain at8,611 metres, remainselusive. Now, a 55-memberglobal group of climbingveterans are daring to takeon a feat that has long beenconsidered missionimpossible — the first winterascent of K2.

(TKP editorial)

MISSIONIMPOSSIBLE

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 17, 2020 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

Hinduja Group flagship firmAshok Leyland on

Wednesday introduced twopassenger bus models - the70-seater Falcon Super and26-seater Gazl - in SaudiArabia. Manufactured at thecompany's Ras Al Khaimah

facility in the UAE, Falcon buses will be predominantly marketed tocorporate entities. Gazl's market will be more focused on thehospitality and tourism sector, Ashok Leyland said in a release. SaudiArabia already has 3,500 Ashok Leyland buses plying on the roads, itsaid at the virtual launch, adding that the launch of two buses wasdone in partnership with the company's exclusive dealer in SaudiArabia, Western Auto of Al Ghurair Group.

Auto components industry bodyACMA on Wednesday said the

sector will see a double-digit declinein growth this fiscal, after witnessing34 per cent fall in the first half of theyear due to coronavirus-induceddisruptions. Automotive Component

Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) said it can take anywhere"between two to three years, depending on how steep the recovery is"for the component makers to work out a whole sector Capex planning.In the first half of the fiscal, ACMA said the turnover of the automotivecomponents industry stood at Rs 1.19 lakh crore (USD 15.9 billion),registering a de-growth of 34 per cent as compared to Rs 1.82 lakhcrore (USD 26.2 billion) in the first half of the previous fiscal. Theperformance was mainly affected by the first quarter performance whenthe auto sector had almost "zero revenue" due to the nationwidelockdown, with restrictions continuing in the second quarter as well.

The government on Wednesdayapproved a subsidy of Rs

3,500 crore to sugar mills for theexport of 60 lakh tonnes ofsweetener during the ongoingmarketing year 2020-21 as partof its efforts to help them clear

outstanding dues to sugarcane farmers. Briefing media after themeeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekarsaid the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) hasapproved a subsidy of Rs 3,500 crore on exports of 60 lakh tonnesof sweetener and the subsidy amount will directly be given tofarmers. The minister said both "sugar industry as well as sugarcanefarmers are in crisis" because of high domestic production at 310lakh tonnes as against the annual demand of 260 lakh tonnes. Thedecision will benefit 5 crore farmers, said Javadekar, who is alsoUnion Environment Minister. In the previous marketing year 2019-20(October-September), the government provided a lump sum exportsubsidy of Rs 10,448 per tonne, costing the exchequer Rs 6,268crore.

Cabinet okays Rs 3,500 crsugar export subsidy

Ashok Leyland introduces twopassenger bus models in SA

Sebi has barred two individualsfrom accessing the securities

market for two years forirregularities in the IPO of TimborHome Ltd (THL) back in 2011. Theindividuals -- AnantSureshchandra Maloo and MananVidhyapati Patel -- were thedirectors of the company during

the period of Initial Public Offer (IPO). The regulator had conductedan investigation for the period of June 22 to July 8, 2011 into thescrip of Timbor Home Ltd. The company came out with its IPO in2011. According to Sebi, the company had failed to disclose its pre-existing liabilities amounting to around Rs 7 crore related to workingcapital expenses in the Red Herring Prospectus and on the contrary,it made an affirmative disclosure that there is no pre-existing liabilityrelated to working capital expenses. Further, it was revealed that thecompany had failed to disclose about an amount of Rs 7 crore whichwas in the nature of a bridge loan. However, the company had madean affirmative disclosure that it has not raised any bridge loanagainst the proceeds of the IPO.

Auto components industry tosee double-digit decline: ACMA

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Finance Ministry hasextended the deadline tillFebruary 15 for states to imple-ment reforms like one-nationone ration card and those inthe power sector to become eli-gible for additional borrowingin the current fiscal, a releasesaid.

To meet the extra fundrequirements of states onaccount of COVID-19 pan-demic, the Centre in May haddecided to raise the borrowinglimit of the states by 2 per centof their GSDP, over and abovethe 3 per cent limit set underthe Fiscal Responsibility andBudget Management (FRBM)Act.

However, states wererequired to complete four spe-cific reforms -- implementa-tion of one nation one rationcard, ease of doing businessreform, urban local body/ util-ity reforms and power sectorreforms -- by December 31,2020, to get the benefits.

Such states would get thefacility of additional borrowingequivalent to 0.25 per cent oftheir Gross States DomesticProduct (GSDP) for complet-

ing each reform. Under thisfacility, additional borrowingof up to Rs 2.14 lakh crore isavailable to the states on com-pletion of all the four reforms.

"The Department ofExpenditure has extended thedeadline for the states to com-plete citizen centric reforms invarious sectors. Now, if therecommendation from thenodal Ministry concernedregarding implementation of

the reform is received byFebruary 15, 2021, the statewill be eligible for reform-linked benefits," the FinanceMinistry said in a statementon Wednesday.

So far nine states haveimplemented the one nationone ration card system, fourstates have completed the easeof doing business reforms andone state has done the urbanlocal body/ utility reforms.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Cooking gas LPG price onWednesday was increased byRs 50 per cylinder, the secondhike in rate this month fol-lowing firming of internation-al prices.

Also, aviation turbine fuel(ATF) price was raised by asteep 6.3 per cent.

Non-subsidised LPG pricewas increased to Rs 694 per14.2-kg cylinder from Rs 644earlier, according to a pricenotification of state fuel mar-keting compa-nies.

This is thes e c o n dincrease inrate thismonth. OnDecember 1,price washiked by a similar Rs 50 percylinder.

Prior to that, the price hadremained unchanged at Rs594 a cylinder since July. Thiswas the same rate at whichsubsidised LPG refills arealso sold.

Since May, most cookinggas customers have notreceived subsidies as the com-bination of international oilprice collapse and domesticrefill rate increases broughtparity between subsidised

and market rates.A subsidised cooking gas

cylinder was priced at Rs 497in Delhi in June 2019. Sincethen, prices have cumula-tively gone up by Rs 147.

However, the increase inrates this month would meanthat the government will haveto resume paying subsidies toconsumers.

Rates of LPG are revisedevery fortnight.

Simultaneously, the price ofjet fuel was hiked by Rs2,941.5 per kilolitre, or 6.3 per

cent, in Delhi toRs 49,161.16 perkl.

This is thesecond increasein ATF price thismonth. Rateshad gone up by7.6 per cent (Rs

3288.38 per kl) on December1.

Like LPG, ATF prices tooare revised on the 1st and16th of every month based onthe average rate of benchmarkinternational fuel and for-eign exchange rate in thepreceding fortnight.

Alongside an increase inthe price of 14.2-kg LPGcylinders, rates of the 5-kgbottles were increased by Rs18 and those of the 19-kgcylinders by Rs 36.50.

So far nine states have implementedthe one nation one ration cardsystem, four states have completedthe ease of doing business reformsand one has done the utility reforms

PNS n COIMBATORE

About 400 small and tinyfoundries in the districtremained silent on Wednesdayas part of their indefinite striketo draw the attention of theCentre to the spiralling price ofraw materials since the last twomonths.

The foundries, affiliated tothe Coimbatore Tiny and SmallFoundry Owners Association(COSMAFAN), stopped pro-duction indefinitely, resultingin a loss of Rs 30 crores daily,

its president ShivaShanmughakumar said. Theincreasing prices would notonly affect the foundries butalso related industries such aswet grinder, pump and motors,textiles and automobiles, whoare the large-scale customers offoundry products, he said.

The price increase was from30 to 55 per cent as compared tothe period before the lockdowndue to the pandemic, he said.

Moreover, the hoarding bythe traders creating artificialscarcity of the materials also

contributed to the price hike,he said, adding that the entireindustrial sector is seeking theintervention to the Centre tobring down the prices for its

survival.Meanwhile, the Coimbatore

and Tirupur MediumIndustries Association withnearly 50,000 units has alsogiven a call to down shutters fora day on Wednesday to expresssolidarity with strikingfoundries.

A total of 19 associations ofsmall and medium industrieshad already staged a demon-stration here on Tuesday, urg-ing the Centre to take steps tobring down the price of rawmaterials.

FOUNDRIES’ STIR

400 foundries stop production over raw material price hikeThe price increase wasfrom 30 to 55 per centas compared to theperiod before thelockdown due to thepandemic, he said.

Sebi imposes two-year ban onindividuals for irregularities

PNS n NEW DELHI

Photo-sharing platformInstagram on Wednesday saidit is testing 'Instagram Lite' appin India that occupies lessspace on Android phones andconsumes lesser data, before itrolls out the offering globally.

Over the past many months,the Facebook-owned companyhas tested and rolled out anumber of features in Indiafirst, including its short videooffering - Reels.

"India is an important mar-ket for us and has been a test-ing ground for innovation...India was one of the first fewcountries where we testedReels, and the first countrywhere we launched the Reelstab...In order to expand theappeal of Instagram to usersacross the country, today we'reannouncing the test ofInstagram Lite in India," VishalShah, VP of Product,Instagram at Facebook, said atthe Facebook Fuel for India2020 event.

He added that 'Instagram

Lite' is less than two megabytesin size, and has been built toprovide access and high qual-ity experience to users in India,irrespective of the device, plat-form and network that they areon.

The experience on the newapp is similar to the coreInstagram app experience,though there are some featuresthat are not currently sup-ported such as Reels, Shoppingand IGTV.

The app will be available inBangla, Gujarati, Hindi,Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi,Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu.

Facebook and other Internetcompanies like LinkedIn and

Twitter offer similar lighterapps to help users access keyfeatures of the platform withlower data usage and quickerloading time.

Shah noted that India issetting global trends as well

with two out of the five songsshared most globally on Reelscoming from Indian artists.

"We also see a lot of trendsemerging in India. For exam-ple, we saw a huge increase inpeople going Live together onInstagram, especially duringthe pandemic. That is whyIndia is one of the first coun-tries where we launched Liverooms where now up to fourpeople can go live together on

Instagram," he added.Shah said its 'Born on

Instagram' programme wascreated because of the creativ-ity the company is seeingacross India.

Instagram has nowannounced the second ver-sion of 'Born on Instagram' toequip the next generation ofcontent creators with best prac-tices to use the platform, andenable them with collaborationand mentorship opportuni-ties. In the new edition, theprogramme has been attunedto incorporate the new featureson Instagram, especially Reels.It will go on for a period of sixmonths and will continue tooffer masterclasses from inter-nal and external experts.

"With the test of InstagramLite, and the next edition ofBorn on Instagram, we're aim-ing to democratise expressionand creativity for a greaternumber of people in India.We're also hoping to gain valu-able insights before a globalrollout of Instagram Lite," hesaid.

Instagram testing ‘Instagram Lite’ in India

PNS n MUMBAI

Tyre maker Bridgestone Indiaon Wednesday said it hasinvested in fleet managementstart-up Fleeca India, whichwill strengthen its position inthe digital-based mobility solu-tions.

This investment will furtherstrengthen Bridgestone India'sexisting service Infrastructure,to provide quality and compre-hensive tyre services acrossnational highways by leverag-ing Fleeca's service infrastruc-ture, according to a release.

As part of its strategy to bea leader in mobility solutions,Bridgestone India has madeinvestment in Fleeca India, astart-up focused on providingdigital-based business solu-tions to fleet operators, toincrease efficiencies of theirtyre usage, the company said.

It, however, did not dis-close the quantum of its invest-ment in the start-up.

The Indian market is fast

evolving and witnessing deep-er penetration of digital tech-nologies. Digital-based mobil-ity solutions find greater signif-icance in context of the rapid-ly changing consumer prefer-ence, it said.

"This investment will enableus to create higher value forour customers in India andhelp them improve the return

on investments," saidBridgestone India ManagingDirector Parag Satpute.

He added that tyre manage-ment as a service is still in itsnascent stage in India andcustomer preferences are alsochanging. "Traditional businessmodels are being disruptedand overall the mobility seg-ment is undergoing a rapidchange."

"We at Bridgestone India arefocussed on pioneering newbusiness models and strength-ening our solutions business toaccelerate our growth plans,"Satpute added.

These services based ondigital applications assumeimportance as more and morefleet operators are seekingoptions like "pay per km"models when it comes to theprocurement of tyres, said therelease.

This helps the fleet ownersto maximise the total cost ofownership of their operations,it added.

Bridgestone India invests in fleetmanagement start-up Fleeca India

This investment willfurther strengthenBridgeston's existingservice infrastructure,to provide quality andtyre services

Hartek Solarbags 1.8-MWrooftop projectfrom BikajiPNS n NEW DELHI

Hartek Solar on Wednesdaysaid it has bagged a 1.8-MWrooftop project from FMCGfirm Bikaji.

"Consolidating on its Pan-India presence, Hartek Solar,the rooftop solar division ofHartek Group... has bagged a1.8-MW rooftop project inthe industrial category fromBikaji, a leading FMCG com-pany, in Bikaner, Rajasthan,"a company statement said.

The project will generate2,822 MWh of clean electric-ity annually, offsetting 57,661tonne of carbon emissions.

Based on the latestPassivated Emitter and RearCell (PERC) technology withmonocrystalline solar panels,the solar plant at Bikaji'shead office in BichhwalIndustrial Area will also beequipped with storage facility.

Cabinet approvesnext round ofspectrum auctionPNS n NEW DELHI

The Union Cabinet onWednesday approved thenext round of spectrum auc-tion to be held in March inwhich frequencies of 2,251megahertz would be sold,Communications MinisterRavi Shankar Prasad said.

The government will puton auction 2,251 MHz ofspectrum in the frequencybands of 700 MHz, 800Mhz,900 Mhz, 2100 Mhz, 2300Mhz and 2500 MHz, Prasadsaid. "The notice invitingapplication shall be issued inthis month and by auctionwil l be conducted byMarch," Prasad said.

The Digital Communic-ations Commission, theapex decision making bodyof the Department ofTelecom, in May hadapproved the spectrum auc-tion plan worth Rs 5.22 lakhcrore which includedradiowaves for 5G servicesas well.

The telecom ministry getsan average revenue share ofaround 5 per cent as spec-trum usage charge fromtelecom operators which iscalculated based on theirspectrum holding of compa-nies and 8 per cent as licencefee from the revenue earnedby the companies from saleof communication services.

GiveIndia supports 56LIndians in response tothe Coronavirus crisis

HELPING HAND

PNS n BENGALURU

GiveIndia has helped to sup-port 56 lakh Indians duringthe pandemic, using the Rs.220 Cr contributed to thenonprofit's India COVIDResponse Fund (ICRF) by acollective of individuals andorganisations. This has beenthe most impactful interven-tion executed by the platformin its 20-year history.

Formed on April 10, 2020,the ICRF collective compris-es corporates, foundations,digital platforms, govern-ment bodies, philanthropists,high net worth individuals,and citizens at large. Thefund has supported three keyareas of intervention - pro-viding monetary relief tocash-strapped families,humanitarian aid to com-munities in need, andaddressing gaps in the health-care system in protectingfrontline workers in COVID-designated hospitals.

For the flagship mission -Support COVID-19 HitFamilies - GiveIndia part-nered with 250+ nonprofitsacross the country to helpdaily wagers and migrantworkers who had lost theirmeans of earning.Underpinned by a well-defined due diligence frame-work to verify and identifybeneficiaries, a SteeringCommittee was establishedfor approving the allocationof funds on a weekly basis.Over Rs. 49 Cr was disbursedto provide support to morethan 5.6 lakh Indians, withcash relief reaching approvedbeneficiaries within twoweeks.

Commenting on the needfor ICRF, Atul Satija, Founder2.0 and CEO of GiveIndia,said, “The coronavirus pan-demic has taken a heavy tollon poor, disadvantaged com-munities. We realised earlyon that dealing with a pan-demic as daunting asCOVID-19 required broadcollaboration and participa-tion from a variety of people

and organisations, a collabo-ration that would make iteasy for everyone to chip in.And I am happy to say theydid, the response has beenquite staggering. I want tothank all our partners, andpeople who have donated -we are deeply grateful. But ofcourse, the pandemic is farfrom over and the monthsahead will present more chal-lenges which we will have toovercome.”

For the humanitarian aideffort for which Rs. 57 Cr+has been disbursed,GiveIndia's partner nonprof-its have served over 40 lakhcooked meals to migrantlabourers stranded at urbanhubs, the homeless, sexualminorities, people living withterminal conditions and dis-abilities, and children. It hasalso funded the distributionof 8 lakh hygiene and rationkits to impoverished families.

n Nonprofit platform'sIndia COVID ResponseFund raises over Rs. 220crore

n Disbursed Rs. 190 Cr+with the help of 250+NGOS, 115+ cities,impacting 56L+ lives

n ICRF worked across threekey programmes: Cashrelief, Humanitarian aid,and addressinghealthcare needs forfrontline workers andhospitals

n ICRF's flagship mission -Support COVID-19 HitFamilies - disbursed Rs.49 Cr+ and supported5.6L+ Indians

n Donors to ICRF includephilanthropy foundationslike Skoll Foundation,UBS OptimusFoundation, andMacArthur Foundation;corporations such asGoogle.org, HSBC India,and Nestle India; UHNIssuch as Vinod Khosla,Indra Nooyi, SundarPichai and Binny Bansaland the public at large -ordinary, everyday givers

ADDITIONAL BORROWINGS

States get more timeto implement reforms

LPG price up by Rs 50,ATF rises by 6.3 percent

PNS n NEW DELHI

The National PaymentsCorporation of India (NPCI)on Wednesday said it hasadded features in RuPay cardsthat will allow offline transac-tions even in areas with limit-ed internet connectivity,besides offering a reloadablewallet facility to boost seamlessretail transactions.

RuPay cardholders can makecontactless offline payments atPOS (point of sale) in areaswith limited network and anadditional feature of reloadablewallets in the form of RuPaycontactless (offline) will facil-itate seamless day-to-day retailtransactions, the NPCI said.

These additional featureswill augment the overall trans-action experience for RuPaycardholders and revolutionisethe overall card paymentecosystem, it said.

NPCI said with the relodableRuPay NCMC card, customerscan store money to ensurequick and seamless transac-tions without any irregularitieseven if they witness poor con-nectivity at the POS machines.

"The RuPay NCMC(National Common Mobility

Card) offline wallet can be usedto make ticket payments intransit including metros, bustickets, cab fares etc enablingautomatic quick cashless pay-ments, thereby, reducing thewait time, traffic congestionand in turn the transit time.These transactions are fasterthan a regular card transaction,and works as a queue buster,"it said.

Additionally, with RBI'sapproval for pilot on retailoffline transactions, offlinewallet facility is extended toretail stores (as a part of pilot).

The lack of internet connec-tivity or low speed of internet,especially in remote areas,stores located in basementsamong others are usually amajor impediment in con-ducting digital transactions.

Against this backdrop, pro-viding an option of offlinepayments, is expected to fur-ther the adoption of digital pay-ments, said the umbrella bodyfor retail payments infrastruc-ture.

NPCI adds offlinetransactions featurein RuPay cards

Wasn’tthelock-

down called due to the Covid pan-demic a great time for many tohone and for some, even discovernew skills? And the most common,favourite hobby that a lot of usenjoyed while stuck indoors, wascooking and baking. And some ofthese new bakers are using this skill

to bring smiles to peo-ple’s faces in the month

of Christmas!Sheena Mrinalini, a

working professional whobakes at Beryl’s CCC

(Cupcakes, Cakes &Cookies), tried her hand at

baking briefly with cupcakestwo years ago. When she lost

her job due to the pandemic thisyear, she thought to herself, “whynot try my hand at cakes too?” Shethen took some baking classesonline and voila, she now aces notjust cupcakes but cakes, cookies,tarts, and brownies too! “The lock-down blessed me with the time toupgrade my skills and they have allpaid off now. Good feedback fromclients has led to better sales thismonth,” Sheena shares. HerChristmas cakes are sure sellinglike hotcakes, keeping her occupiedmost days of the week.

Another baker Anthea Rodricks,to whom baking is therapeutic, hasbeen baking for a year now. Thevery first loaf that she had baked athome got her obsessed as soon as

the aroma of a freshly bakedbanana walnut loaf masked the airon a cold winter night. “The lock-down was very helpful in a waythat I could stay home and try outnew recipes and perfect them. Italso got me planning a menu that Icould put up for Christmas thisyear in order to send people thesefreshly baked goodies right out ofthe oven using contactless methodslike online payments and theSwiggy genie. Precautions arealways taken while baking likesanitising and wearing a mask,”Anthea says. Asked how her salesthis festive season is going, shereplies, “They’ve been great. I’vereceived many orders within a cou-ple of days of posting them onsocial media. Out of Hyderabad, Ihad recently sent two loaves to acustomer in Chennai with all pre-cautions taken and it had reachedher in time. She absolutely lovedthem and was so taken with thefreshness and the packaging.” Onpeople willing to trust home bakersin the face of the pandemic, shesays, “I’m happy to say that people

have reviewed our items with a5star and have placed more orders.At the end of the day, consumertrust and satisfaction is so impor-tant. Be it a pandemic or not. It ismy duty and responsibility to makesure that the ingredients andinstruments I use are of high quali-ty and are regularly sanitised.”

Called ‘TheBakerNextDoor’,Manasa Sangewar, a self-taughtbaker is just a year old in the busi-ness and credits the lockdown forhelping her pick up her bakinggame in 2020. “People, thanks toword-of-mouth, are now open totrusting the quality, taste, and stan-dards of home bakers more,” sharesthe now professional baker whocan’t wait to go back to re-openingher store she had started last yearbut had to shut soon due to herexams and then the pandemic.

If you’re craving those deliciousrum cakes, chocolate walnutbrownies, red velvet cupcakes, oreven the humble sponge and plumcakes, give these home bakers, whoswear by all the precautions, a trythis Christmas!

What's Christmas without cakes andcookies? The lockdown has made many of

us don the chef's hat and take to baking.While many lost their jobs during the

pandemic, there are people who have madethe most of it by upping up their baking

game! These new bakers are using theirskills to bring smiles to people's faces inthe month of Christmas, while making

quick money, finds The Pioneer'sRACHEL DAMMALA

Home bakers' time to shine this Christmas

ometimes, we kickthe storms for anappetite and some-times we thrash themoff for a mental

appetite, believes Avinash. Byvery definition, he is a verypassionate creature with daysspent hurdling over chroniclestapping out portions of hissoul and nuggets of imagina-tion. He truly loves writingand that’s what makes him thebest in it. “Andhera ghana hai,yeh behtar hai jugnoo ke liyeaur shiddat se joh chamka yehsitara hojayega. Belonging tovery small settlement from thecity of Uttar Pradesh, a boywas expected to be a completeintrovert who never knewhow to express his wanderingthoughts. I was among thefortunate few who actually didsomething they loved and Imade writing my trail of life.Yes, there were struggles but Ihad the ability to shape wordsinto tangible expressions thatcan inspire, educate and enter-tain readers, that too from avery young period. However,the skies above my rural com-munity weren’t broad enoughfor me to fly distant; I wantedto fly more. This made memove to the conurbation ofnawabs where there was theinhabit of poetry too andthere began my journey withfilmmaking,” shares the film-maker. Embarking on a newvoyage of bringing every oneof the cultural art forms undera one roof, he’s all set to pre-sent one of its kind of a festi-

val across the world becauseart, be it in the form of dance,melody, cinematography,poetry, theatre, etc., is magi-cal. Creativity allows oneselfto make mistakes and thenflourish on it. In a country fullof diverse disparities, AvinashTripathi is on a mission to tellevery brimming talent toknow which art form to keepand develop it. Having avision of placing a pioneerfrom a respective cultural fieldalongside a beginner, he wantsto let the world know how onecan experience talent andtransform it into an enormousoccurrence.

“With this new course ofaction, I want to take mycountry’s pride onto an inter-national scale with our pas-sions, intelligence and a seem-ing reality. Often, we losesight of our realities andabsorb more of technical

aspects forgetting that talent iswhat ultimately speaks foritself. The new reality keptsending me hints when I ini-tially began my career, makingme realise that my fervour forwriting is my true impressionof being Avinash,” he adds.

Filmmaking is oxygen to hissoul, lockdown indeed mademany feel breathless with the-atres being shut. Emphasisingon the fact that monopolyplayers in the theatrical worldonly want to release multi-starrer or A-lister movies frombig banners, OTT has comelike a boon for independentfilmmakers. The Indian filmindustry is the largest in theworld in terms of number offilms produced and it hasbecome more professionalwhere box office earning hasprominent importance. Withthe coming of other segmentslike Netflix, Amazon Prime,Hotstar, etc. it’s now creating amark of its own. Gone are thedays now when entertainmentoptions were limited. We areseeing a new culture of filmshere, thinks Avinash. “Therewas a time when there werevery few female filmmakersbut today cinema is riding onthe wave of new generationwomen directors like LeenaYadav, Zoya Akhtar, etc. Thefuture is definitely, female!There is a complex force ofproduction into view wherethe maximum focus goes ontothe stars but a lot more goesinto the filmmaking processranging from finance, materi-

ality, techno, cinema politics,crew, etc. What’s the drivingforce? It influences socialchange, creates trends, makesfortunes, creates a fandomand provides employment. It’sboth industrial and creative inthe same breadth,” he goeshalves about filmmakingprocess.

The job of a filmmaker hasthe function to affirm andglorify an artist’s life and it’sthat hammer with which weshape it. Applauding his owncity’s Chief Minister YogiAdityanth’s surreal move ofhammering tongs about build-ing a film city, Avinashreflects that it’s going to paintmany new natures into thepromising artists’ lives. “It willattract filmmakers across theglobe and too many of thosewho see only Mumbai as thebastion of the film ecosystemmay think of shifting base andcross media convergence iswhat stands out in the filmindustries of India. The fusionthat’s been happening off lateis dubious and thanks to web-sites like YouTube and others,people can watch whateverand whenever they want,” hebelieves. Dreaming of anapparition to only fill thecountry with talent, he daresthe new aptitude to follow itto the darker places as well,suggesting that every individ-ual is more capable thanhe/she thinks and he’s goingto bring the right platformsoon for all these folks toshowcase it.

A solitary believer in new talent!After watching agreat movie, did you

ever sit back andthink of how much

work it took to makethe movie? You mayhave googled about

how much the actorswere paid or the

budget of the filmbut how much do

you know about theart of filmmaking?Avinash Tripathi, a

famous poet, lyricist,and one of the

versatile faces ofIndian media and a

renowned shortfilmmaker, knows

and loves theprocess of movie-

making. He speaksto

The Pioneer'sSHIKHA DUGGAL as

he breaks it downand takes us on a

ride towardfilmmaking.

ndian-born Miss Bahrain andfashion influencer PryancaTalukdar says she is all aboutminimalism with an edge andloves details.

The fashionista, who recently collab-orated with denim brand Freakins tolaunch its latest collection, shares fewstyling tips for the collection and alsoreveals her fashion hacks. Excerpts:

Q: Help us with some styling tipsfor the Freakins collection

A: I am all about minimalism withan edge. I love details, I love co-ords, Ilove styling oversized outfits as much asI like skin fits. So, in this capsule collec-tion you’ll see it all. I feel and I don’twant to sound corny but every piece isan extension of my personality.

I especially shot my campaign tohelp people how they could style theoutfits. Like I said, I kept it minimalwith jewels because denim in itselfspeaks volume and you don’t need todo much to stand out.

Q: What are the five must-havethings in your wardrobe?

A: Oversized denim jacket,Joggers, White/nude bodysuit,White pants and Jeans OMG

Q: Could you sharethree fashion hacks?

A: On darker

days just pick a co-ord with a nice pairof shoes and you’re good to go. Frontknot your regular tee to make it a crop.Put anything oversized over your pantsand tee or your athleisure to up thegame.

Q: A piece of advice for upcomingbloggers/influencers?

A: Dedication, passion and stayingtrue to yourself. Every person has theirown style, embrace that, bring that tothe table, let people see YOU. I oftenget asked about how to start blogging!Well honestly, I wouldn’t know how toanswer that because I don’t know whenI started, I just did what made mehappy and in no time it turned into afull time job, so staying focused comesnaturally to me because what I do iswhat I am mostpassionateabout.

S I

Styling tips, fashion hacks from Miss Bahrain

Manasa Sangewar

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ThursdayDecember 17, 2020

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

10

Vijayawada Thursday December 17 2020 webbed

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

FUN

CALVIN AND HOBBES

ritic’s Choice Awards bringscontent-centric nuggetsunder one roof. Content cre-ators will agree that experi-mentation with narrativeshas peaked this year to

another high! Indian film director,actor, producer and screenwriter, SujoyGhosh deliberated on the trend ofshort films and web series and kickedoff the conversation saying, “It took mesix years to get my head wrappedaround short films and web series. Ijust couldn’t figure out how to tell astory in 12 minutes. How do you start?How do you get a middle and an endto a short film? What was really con-fusing was the question: why do I wantto make a short film? What is thenecessity?’ When you’re making ashort film, you have to not only look atthe content but also the way it is deliv-ered.”

In a separate conversation about theweb series, filmmaker Prakash Jhasaid, “2020 has been revolutionary! Wesaw the medium of OTT giving us anexhibition of feature films and web

series. Having made feature films allmy life, I found that web series givesyou the latitude to be able to indulge ineach and every character’s subplots andturn them into important plots andexpand your story more. At the sametime, each capsule has to be engaging,

and has to be entertaining.” The newedition of Critic’s Choice Awards ispacked with surprises as it sets out torecognise short films, web series andfilms on the same stage honouring tal-ent and technicians across all Indianlanguages.

Sujoy Ghosh and Prakash Jhapresent their take on web series

heatres that had reaminedclosed for more thanseven months now due tothe Coronavirus lock-down have opened up

recently. However, it is notewor-thy that many shows were can-celled due to the lack of a goodnumber of audience in the the-atres. The Producers’ council says

that many of them consider itsafe to release movies on

OTT even

after the theatres have opened.While Vijay Sethupathi’s Ka PaeRanasingam and Suriya’s SooraraiPottru have already released onOTT, an announcement thatArya’s Teddy will be releasing onan OTT platform soon, has beenmade. The film is being directedby Shakti Soundar Rajan andstars Arya, Sayyeshaa, SakshiAgarwal, Satish, Karunakaran,and Magizh Thirumeni in leadroles.

ith the crazy amount ofcontent on OTT rightnow, it’s a challenge forfilm-makers and con-tent creators to come up

with something unseen, new andfresh. And this is exactly what thenew show from Amazon Studiospresents. I’m a Virgo is a show writ-ten and directed by Boots Riley ofSorry to Bother you fame. StarringJharrel Jerome, the actor who cap-tivated the audience with his per-formance in Moonlight and WhenThey See Us, this show is theabsurdist delight everyone’s beenwaiting for.

I’m A Virgo is a coming-of-agejoyride about a 13-foot-tall youngBlack man who lives in Oakland,USA. “No one is quite like Boots,and we’re so excited to be workingwith him and Jharrel on this fan-tastical, funny, and utterly uniquenew series. We can’t wait for ourPrime Video customers to see it,”said Albert Cheng, COO and Co-Head of Television, AmazonStudios.

With his characteristic sass, Rileysaid that he was thrilled to be work-ing with Amazon. “This show willeither have me lauded or bannedand as such, I have demanded pay-ment upfront.”

Riley’s first feature Sorry toBother You, which he wrote anddirected, was one of the mosttalked-about films at the 2018Sundance Film Festival, where itwas nominated for the Grand JuryPrize. Later that year, he signed ascript deal with Media Res, whichled to I’m a Virgo.

AmazonStudiosgreenlit

I’m a Virgo

f women tookcharge of every-thing, what a worldwould it be! Lookforward to anotherexhilarating fun

comedy feature with the two-time Golden Globe Award win-ner Emma Thompson andMindy Kaling in Late Night air-ing this Friday, December 18, at9PM on &flix.

Emma Thompson playsKatherine Newbury, who is alegendary late-night talk show

host. Her world is turnedupside down when she hiresher only female staff writerplayed by Kaling. Originallyintended to smooth over diver-sity concerns, her decision hasunexpectedly hilarious conse-quences as two women separat-ed by culture and generationare united by their love of a bit-ing punchline.

Time to put on your laugh-ing hats with fun comedy duoEmma Thompson and MindyKaling in Late Night.

It’s ladies’ night thisFriday with EmmaThompson’s Late Night

hat would it be like to come of age in an isolat-ed corner of the South Pacific and experiencethe mysteries of adolescence without adult guid-ance? This is the question posed in this moviewhich is aninterest ing

take on a world withoutexternal influence andself- learning. From thefamous novel by authorHenry DeVereStacpoole’s The BlueLagoon comes thisbeautifully depictedmovie of two lost souls(Brooke Shields andChristopher Atkins) who find comfort in each other. Catchthe romantic offering this month airing as part of the PrivéCollection block this Friday, December 18 at 9PM on&PrivéHD.

Two children — Emmeline and Richard — are ship-wrecked on an island paradise with only one adult sur-vivor, a ship’s cook (Leo McKern). But he soon dies andthe children, alone and unadvised, must cope with thebewildering variety of physical and emotional changesattendant to growing up. They learn how to survive andeven thrive in their island home, and as they reach ado-lescence, the two teenagers fight and tease but ultimate-ly embrace each other. A natural sensuality leads to loveand unexplained emotions. But eventually they must con-front the real-world danger that awaits them.

With no hope for any rescue and marooned on an island,one must look to each other for compassion and comfortin The Blue Lagoon (1980) airing this Friday.

W

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Catch The Blue Lagoon,a popular 80’s romanticmovie this Friday

Arya’s Teddy to see an OTT release

sport 11VIJAYAWADA| THURSDAY | DECEMBER 17, 2020

PTI n ADELAIDE

Apeerless Virat Kohli andhis “fearless” India wouldlook to unleash their

might on an Australian teamwhich is ready for revenge butnot exactly in ‘pink of health’ahead of the first Day/NightTest starting here at AdelaideOval on Thursday.

Media mogul Kerry Packer,while promoting his path-break-ing ‘World Series Day/NightTest matches’ on Channel 9 backin late 1970s, had an unforget-table caption “Big Boys Play AtNight”.

Even in 2020, there couldn’thave been a more appropriatecatch-line for a series whereKohli’s magnificence meets itsmatch in Steve Smith’s manicconsistency, Cheteshwar Pujara’sdoggedness challenged by amuch younger MarnusLabuschagne, ready to show theworld that he isn’t a one-seasonwonder. All this would be underlights at the Adelaide Oval.

And then there are thosemean fast men on both sidesaiming to instill the fear of pinkball in twilight zone, creating allsorts of doubts in the batsmen’sminds.

A Josh Hazlewood versusMohammed Shami will be asenticing a sub-plot as JaspritBumrah bowling those yorkersin reply to Pat Cummins’ barrageof bouncers.

With a workhorse like IshantSharma missing from Indianranks and the enforcer DavidWarner absent in the Australianline-up, the teams are evenlyplaced in terms of strength.

However, there will certain-ly be some distinct home advan-tage for Australia along with theexperience of playing moreDay/Night Tests.

A Day/Night Test match hasits own little grammar wherebatsmen are expected to attack inthe first session while bowlers are

PTI n ADELAIDE

India captain Virat Kohli onWednesday backed his

deputy Ajinkya Rahane to “doa tremendous job” in leading theside once he goes on paternityleave after the first Test againstAustralia and described theirrelationship as the one built on“trust and mutual respect”.

“Well, firstly we had a lot ofmutual understanding andrespect over the years, we havehad some great partnershipsbatting together which is basedon trust and understanding onwhat needs to be done for theteam,” Kohli said when askedhow he sees Rahane faring in hisabsence.

He believes that both havebeen on the same page andknow how this team functions.

“Jinks has done a tremendousjob in the two tour games andhe seems to be very composedand he knows the strengths ofour team and how we need togo about things,” he said.

Kohli made it clear that

Rahane will certainly follow thetemplate set by him and thereis no ambiguity as far as both ofthem are concerned.

“...We already know thetemplate that we play with andhow we want to go about things,so we are absolutely on the samepage and I am sure he will do atremendous job in my absenceas well,” the skipper seemed veryconfident.

As of now, Kohli is keen onsetting up the base for Rahaneto consolidate once he leaves.

“...The focus remains tillthe time I am here is to beable to provide, you know,captaincy and leadership andperformances as a player tothe best of my abilities andfrom then on, I am prettyconfident that Jinks will do atremendous job.”

PTI n ADELAIDE

Australian battingmainstay Steve

Smith, whose fitnessbecame a cause ofconcern after hemissed a trainingsession, was merelydown with a stiffback and will play inthe opening Testagainst India here,skipper Tim Painesaid on Wednesday.

After doing a few stretching exercises andrunning drills at the Adelaide Oval onTuesday, Smith had skipped the routine foot-ball session and headed straight to thedressing room in some discomfort.

Paine said it was not a serious niggle anda day’s rest came as a “blessing in disguise”for the star.

"We expect Steve to be there. He has hada stiff back a number of times before and youcan have that if you bat as much as he doesat the nets,” Paine said at the pre-match mediainteraction.

“He has a stiff back before and yesterday(Tuesday) was more precautionar y.Obviously, come tomorrow (Thursday), hegets through stiff back and finds a way toscore runs like he always does,” he added.

AP n LONDON

Two losses in four days hasstalled Chelsea’s serene

progress in the Premier League,turning the spotlight onto itsexpensively assembled attackthat remains a work inprogress.

Two drab draws forManchester City in the sameperiod is raising even morequestions — notably, what hashappened to what was once themost entertaining team inEngland?

It was an evening to forgetfor two of the league’s sup-posed title contenders onTuesday, with Chelsea’s 2-1loss at Wolverhampton —sealed by a winning goal instoppage time — followed byCity’s 1-1 draw at home toWest Bromwich Albion, one ofthe favorites for relegation thisseason.

Chelsea missed the chanceto climb into first place, at leastfor one night, while City

squandered an opportunity tomove within sight of the toptwo in the division, Tottenhamand Liverpool.

Chelsea’s setback atMolineux followed a 1-0 loss atEverton on Saturday and bothdefeats have highlighted theimportance of playmakerHakim Ziyech, who missedthem through injury.

Olivier Giroud, who beganthe season as Chelsea’s third-choice striker but is now start-ing regularly, opened the scor-ing in the 49th minute.

Wolves roared back andequalized through DanielPodence in the 66th before hisfellow Portugal international,Pedro Neto, broke forward onthe counterattack and drove

home the winner in the fifthminute of stoppage time.

Chelsea manager FrankLampard remodeled his attackas part of an offseasonspending spree, but TimoWerner is now without agoal in eight games, KaiHavertz has under-whelmed, and another ofthe new signings, Ziyech,has had spells out injured.

Meanwhile, US wingerChristian Pulisic is feeling hisway back to match sharpnessafter a run of injuries.

As does Pep Guardiola,with City languishing in sixthplace after a tepid displayagainst West Brom, whichgrabbed a point thanks to anunfortunate own-goal by Citydefender Ruben Dias in the43rd.

City had gone aheadthrough Ilkay Gundogan in the30th but struggled for imagina-tion in attempting to breakdown a deep-lying visitingdefense.

Guardiola’s team had sim-ilar problems in attack in a 0-0draw at Manchester United onSaturday.

With 18 goals, Cityis the lowest scorer ofthe league’s top nineteams.

Guardiola has beenplaying two defensivemidfielders since theoffseason departure of

long-time playmaker DavidSilva in an effort to give moreprotection to his defense, but itis robbing the team of creativ-ity.

West Brom battled to ahard-fought point but it was notenough to save its manager,Slaven Bilic, from getting fired.

Bilic lose his job onWednesday, with West Brom innext-to-last place.

Bilic had been at the clubfor only 18 months but hadearned the admiration of thefans after leading West Brom toautomatic promotion from theChampionship last season.

AFP n MADRID

Karim Benzemaspared Real Madrid’s

the blushes on Tuesdaywith a winning bracewhich shot the reigningchampions to a 3-1 win overAthletic Bilbao that draws themlevel on points with La Ligaleaders Real Sociedad.

Frenchman Benzema head-ed home a cross from DaniCarvajal with 16 minutesremaining to put Real aheadagainst battling Bilbao, whohad fought back to levelearlier having lost RaulGarcia to two quickfirebookings in openingminutes.

Toni Krooshad giventhe hosts thelead inMadrid with athumping strikeon the stroke ofhalf-time, butAnder Capa rockedthe capital club six min-utes after the breakwhen he shot pastThibaut Courtois at thesecond time of asking.

The 32-year-old

Benzema had otherideas however, puttinghis team in front beforemaking sure of thepoints in stoppage timewith a clinical finishafter collecting Luka

Modric’s pass.Third-placed Madrid

gained their fourth straightwin in all competitions and areequal on 26 points withSociedad, who face troubledBarcelona at the Camp Nou on

Wednesday, and local rivalsAtletico Madrid.

Tuesday’s match wasthe game in hand which

Real had on Sociedad,while Atletico have

played two gamesfewer than their

two title rivals.Barca are

nine pointsback butplay one oftheir twogames in

hand in thehope of giving

some momen-tum to what has

been a miserableseason so far.

PTI n NEW DELHI

All India Football FederationPresident Praful Patel on

Wednesday acknowledged thatthe country’s bid to host the2027 AFC Asian Cup will facetough challenge from othercompetitors but termed it a“natural consequence” of its ris-ing status in the continent.

Unveiling the Bid Book tohost the continental showpiecein 2027 along with SportsMinister Kiren Rijiju, Patel saidthe AIFF is hopeful of winningthe hosting right of the tourna-ment which will be competedamong 24 teams.

“Competition will be toughbut unless you try you will notget anything. Just like any otherbidding country, we are alsoconfident of winning the rightto host the event. There will bediplomatic support also. It is thecountry’s bid and AIFF is onlya representative,” Patel said.

“India has arrived in theworld scene in football. Wehave hosted men’s FIFA U-17World Cup and is going to hostthe women’s U-17 World Cup in2022. Then, we are hosting the2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

“The bidding of both the

FIFA U-20 World Cup for bothmen and women is also on thecards. So, it is a natural conse-quence of having all these toplevel tournaments that we willbid for the AFC Asian Cup in2027.”

Asian football heavyweightsSaudi Arabia and Iran as well as2022 FIFA World Cup hostQatar are also bidding for the2027 AFC Asian Cup. SaudiArabia and Qatar submittedtheir Bid Books to the AFC onMonday.

India is expected to submitthe Bid Book on Thursday orFriday — the deadline for sub-mission. Uzbekistan has pulledout of the race.

In April this year, the AIFFhad submitted its official expres-

sion of interest to host the tour-nament. The host country willbe decided in June next year.

Rijiju, on his part, said theGovernment will extend all pos-sible support to the AIFF to winthe bid.

“Indian football need to getback (to earlier glory) and weneed to host big events. This isone of the most prestigiousfootball tournaments and fromthe Government side, we willextend all the support,” said theminister. “It will be a definingmoment (if India win the bid).I am confident by 2027 the men’sand women’s team ranking willgo up and we will be apt to hostthe tournament. So, the wholenation is supporting the bid,” hesaid.

PTI n DUBAI

Zimbabwe will host the qual-ifiers of the 2023 ODI World

Cup between June 18 and July9, according to a revised sched-uled announced by the ICC dueto the postponements caused bythe Covid-19 pandemic.

India, the hosts of therescheduled 2023 ODI WorldCup, along with seven other topSuper League teams will quali-fy directly for the tournament tobe held in October-November.

The bottom five teams fromthe Super League will competein the 2023 World Cup qualifi-er, joining the best three teamsfrom League 2.

“When we rescheduled theICC Men’s Cricket World Cup2023 to October and November2023 it enabled us to extend thewindow for qualification eventsto take place and thereby ensurewe maximise the opportunityfor qualification to be decidedon the field of play,” ICC Headof Events, Chris Tetley said in astatement. The ICC alsoannounced the schedule of theWorld League 2 and theChallenge League.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Virat Kohli’s captaincy isstill work in progress

despite him being a perfect rolemodel for his teammates, feelsformer India batsman VVSLaxman, who wants the star tochop and change the squad alittle less for greater stability.

Laxman said Kohli leads byexample as far as work ethic isconcerned but tends to be abit defensive in field set-tings besides the issue ofchanging the squad toooften.

“I mentioned somany times, theintensity and thebody language heshows when he’son the field,whether he’sbatting orfielding, Ithink he leadsby example andthat is so infec-tious,” Laxmanshared his opinionon Star Sports showCricket Connected.

“It rubs off on allof his team-matesand that’s why he’s a

perfect role model of how acaptain should be. There’s stillwork-in-progress as far as cap-taincy is concerned. Couple ofthings I think Virat Kohli canimprove.”

Laxman touched uponconstant experiments with theline-up since Kohli took chargeand said this can lead to inse-curity among players. Kohlitook charge as Test captain in2014 and was handed the lim-

ited-overs’ leadership in 2017.“...There were certain

times when I felt that hebecomes little defensive, espe-cially with his field changes.

“The second thing ischopping and changingthe playing 11. Withexperience, I can saythat any player,whether experiencedor a newcomer,wants that stability,

security, so that hecan focus on per-

forming to thebest of his abili-ties for the team.That’s something

which Virat Kohlican definitely improveon,” he pointed out.

MUSCAT: Doha will host the2030 Asian Games, the OlympicCouncil of Asia announced onWednesday, while Riyadh wasnamed as host of the 2034 edi-tion under a compromiseagreed between the rivals.

An executive board meet-ing of the Olympic Council ofAsia (OCA) unanimouslyapproved the proposal to namethe runner-up in the two-horserace for the 2030 games as2034 hosts.

“I can now announce... thatthe city who had the highest voteand will host 2030 in Doha,” saidOCA president Sheikh AhmadAl-Fahad Al-Sabah.

“The second hosting city, for2034, is Riyadh.”

Doha beat Riyadh, SaudiArabia, in a vote of 45 NationalOlympic Committees at the39th OCA General Assemblyheld in Muscat, Oman.

Doha hosted the AsianGames in 2006 while SaudiArabia has never organised anOCA multi-sport event. AFP

IANS n JOHANNESBURG

Fast bowler Migael Pretoriushas received his maiden call

up in the South Africa squad forthe upcoming two-match Testseries against Sri Lanka.

The 25-year-old has had anexceptional season so far in the4-Day Domestic Series underthe coaching of former Proteaspaceman Allan Donald. He iscurrently third on the tourna-ment’s leading wicket takerstable with 19 scalps from fivematches and best bowling fig-ures of 7/102 against theHollywoodbets Dolphins intheir season opener last month.

“We’re pleased to includeMigael in the Proteas Test squadfor the Sri Lanka series. We’re bigon rewarding consistently goodwork and the player has done alot to make a case for himself,”said Cricket South AfricaConvenor of Selectors Victor

Mpitsang in a statement.“We hope that this experi-

ence will be a great learning onefor him and that this can serveas encouragement for playersacross the country, showingthem that their chances may notbe as far off as they think,” headded.

Meanwhile, Kagiso Rabadaand Dwain Pretorius have notyet been medically cleared toparticipate in the series.

The Proteas will gather inPretoria on Saturday for the Testseries which begins onDecember 26.Test squad: Quinton de Kock(captain), Temba Bavuma,Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis,Beuran Hendricks, Dean Elgar,Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi,Rassie van der Dussen, SarelErwee, Anrich Nortje, GlentonStuurman, Wiaan Mulder,Keegan Petersen, KyleVerreynne, Migael Pretorius.

Kohli perfect role modelof a leader: Laxman

India’s bid for 2027 AFC Asian Cup

will face tough challenge: Patel

Zimbabwe tohost qualifiers of2023 ODI WC

Chelsea lose for 2nd time in 4 days

Real draw level withleaders Sociedad

Pacer Migael receivesmaiden SA call-up

Doha to host 2030 AsianGames, Riyadh in 2034

Game for Night Life

at their peak once the sun sets,allowing the pink kookaburra topick its pace up.

Never has an Indian teambeen so spoilt for choices withmultiple options in place for var-ious positions.

But Indian skipper ViratKohli made it clear that ShubmanGill and KL Rahul will have towait for their chances with themanagement deciding to stick toan out-of-form Prithvi Shaw inthe opening slot.

“Shubman hasn’t got oppor-tunities at this level yet in Testcricket, so as and when he gets anopportunity it will be great to seehow he goes about things, becausehe is a very, very confident youngman,” Kohli said on the eve of thegame.

“Prithvi has performed at theTest level, but he will be playingin Australia for the first time. So,I think it is very exciting to see hisprogress as well.”

Can Rahul be fitted in theteam at some stage?

“KL is obviously a qualityplayer and hence he has beenincluded back into the Test squadand you know we have to seewhat combinations suits the bal-ance of the team best,” skipper’sstatement stressed that HanumaVihari, with his part-time off-

breaks, is the choice for now.For the much-speculated

wicketkeeper’s slot, WriddhimanSaha was preferred over theexplosive but erratic RishabhPant.

In the build-up to the series,Saha’s fifty in the red-ball first-class match was achieved in atougher setting than Pant’s 73-ball100 under lights against a secondstring Australia A attack.

Also, Umesh Yadav pre-dictably, after his good show inthe practice game, got his place inthe side as the third pacer.

On Tuesday, India’s top bat-ters were being troubled byThangarasu Natarajan’s incomingdeliveries with pink kookaburraat the Adelaide nets.

If Natarajan, at 130-plus, cantrouble them so much, thenMitchell Starc, the world’s topwicket-taker in pink ball Tests,can be menacing.

At times, less options make iteasier to choose and Kohli wouldhope that he has made the rightchoices so that Ajinkya Rahanecan help India do an encore oncehe takes a break.

SQUADSIndia (playing XI): Virat Kohli(captain), Mayank Agarwal,Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara,Ajinkya Rahane (vc), HanumaVihari, Wriddhiman Saha (wk),Ravichandra Ashwin,Mohammed Shami, JaspritBumrah, Umesh Yadav.Australia: Tim Paine (captain &wicketkeeper), Joe Burns, PatCummins, Cameron Green,Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood,Travis Head, Moises Henriques,Marnus Labuschagne, NathanLyon, Michael Neser, JamesPattinson, Steven Smith, MitchellStarc, Mitchell Swepson, MatthewWade.Indian skipper Virat Kohli bats during net session @imVkohli/Twitter

Rahane will do tremendousjob in my absence: Kohli

Venue M Ind Aus Draw

In Aus 48 7 29 12

In India 50 21 13 15

Total 98 28 42 27

Since 2000 42 17 15 10

At Adelaide 12 2 7 3

INDIA-AAUSTRALIA TEST ENCOUNTERS

HIGHEST INNINGS TOTALS

Ind 705-7 at Sydney 2003-04

Aus 674 at Adelaide 1947-48

LOWEST INNINGS TOTALS

Ind 58 at Brisbane 1947-48

Aus 83 at Melbourne 1980-81

Faisel FFeatures

1st Test. Day 1Live from 9:30am IST

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India begin quest to repeat 2018-19 heroics with Pink Ball affair

Smith fit to play Green made for Test cricket,will make debut: PaineADELAIDE: Rookie all-rounder Cameron Green ismade for Test cricket and will make his debut inthe pink ball match against India, Australia cap-tain Tim Paine announced on Wednesday.

The giant seam-bowling all-rounder made animpressive hundred in the first warm-up gameagainst India A and was drafted into the Test team.While he got concussed in the second game dueto a straight drive from Jasprit Bumrah, Paine indi-cated that the baggy green is waiting for him.

“He trained well. If all things go well, CamGreen will be making his Test debut tomorrow(Thursday). Great news for him. Great news forus and great news for all Australian cricket fans,”Paine said ahead of the series-opener.

Paine, who batted alongsideGreen in the warm-up game andhas also seen him score a lot ofruns in Sheffield Shield, is con-fident that he has a bright

future ahead of him. “He is really impressive for a

guy of his age and understandshis game pretty well. He has

smart cricket brain and iscalm under pressure. He

is made for Test cricket,”Paine complimented

the 21-year-oldWest Australian’sskills. PTI

ctor-filmmaker PSamuthirakani willbe playing a key rolein 47 Days directorPradeep Maddali’ssecond film, a

thriller. Announcing this onWednesday, debutant producerK Suresh Reddy, a well-knownbusinessman and MD ofCreative Mentors Animation

and Gaming College, said thatSamuthirakani is one of themost talented artists we haveand that his team is elated tohave him on board the project.“We will be announcing thenames of other cast and crewmembers soon. The film willroll shortly,” he said. Maddalisaid the Tamil-Telugu actorwill be playing the role of a vil-

lage don in the film, a RaghuKunche musical.

Presently, Samuthirakani islooking forward to releaseslike Aakashavani and Krack,where he played vital roles. Heis also playing a significantpart in SS Rajamouli’s RRR.

Neha Shetty, who was in thenews recently for bagging a

cameo in Akhil Akkineni-starrer Most EligibleBachelor, will be seenas Sundeep Kishan'slove interest in Rowdy

Baby, a G NageswaraReddy directorial

opular comedian Ali, whohas been in the industry fornearly four decades, hasfloated a banner AliwoodEntertainments to remakelast year’s Malayalam hit

Vikruthi as Andaru Bagundali AnduloNenundali. Playing an equal lengthrole alongside him in the film will besenior actor Naresh, while his friendSripuram Kiran is directing it. Thefilm was launched in Hyderabad onWednesday with SV Krishna Reddyand Achi Reddy sounding the clapper-board for the first shot, while BoyapatiSreenu and Bobby directed it jointly.Cameraman S Gopal Reddy switchedon the camera.

Speaking later, Ali said Kiran and hewere roommates during their strug-gling days in Madras. “He advised meto watch Vikruthi during the lock-down. I felt it was a great film. I imme-diately rang Naresh anna and askedhim to watch it. He obliged, afterwhich I told him he will be playing thehearing/speech-challenged man. Hewas gung-ho about it. Pavitra Lokeshwill be seen as his wife, while

Mouryani plays my wife. Ravishankaris on board for a crucial role. The storyunfolds in a metro train and Kiran hascompletely tweaked the second half,”he pointed out.

Stating that he is a fan of Ali, Nareshsounded optimistic of film’s charactersresonating with everyone. “I was inawe of the work Kiran had undertakenfor the remake. It’s a contemporary

script with a lot of humour and littleemotion. The project will be anothermilestone in my and Ali’s careers.Also, I’ve been prepping a lot for therole,” he stated.

The film, with music by Rakesh, hasgone to floors on Wednesday itself andwill be completely shot in Hyderabad.According to a source, the makers haveallocated Rs 1.5 crore as the budget.T

he suspense surroundingMegastar Chiranjeevi’s nextwas finally cleared by theactor himself on

Wednesday. With work on Vedalamremake too going on full-swing forthe past four months, manybelieved that the actor will givepreference to it after he wraps upAcharya. But he is commencingLucifer remake after Sankranti.

Earlier, directors like SujeethSign and VV Vinayak workedextensively on the script of Luciferbut their tweaks didn’t impressChiru much. Later, Mohan Raja,who made a career out of remakingTelugu films in Tamil, wasapproached by producer NVPrasad, and it seems his workpleased the megastar. “The Teluguscript work of Lucifer remake hasbeen finalised. Mohan Raja has tai-lored the script to suit our nativityand gave me a good narration. Wewill go to sets after Sankranti. Theshoot will be wrapped up by April.My close associate NV Prasad, whohas been waiting to make a filmwith me for long, is producing it,”the Megastar said on Wednesday.

NV Prasad said the film will bemade on a large scale without com-

promising on the budget.Mohan Raja recalled that he

was an assistant on the sets ofChiranjeevi-starrer Hitler andexpressed his happiness onlanding Lucifer remake. Theproject will be Raja’s secondTelugu directorial after thebox-office smash HanumanJunction (2001). He latergot busy in Tamil, success-fully remaking Teluguhits like Jayam, AmmaNanna O TamilaAmmayi, Kick and Azad.His original screenplay,Thani Oruvan, which he alsodirected, won the appreciation ofcritics and audiences alike andmade him, shed the ‘remake raja’tag. Ram Charan remade the filmas Dhruva.

Released last year, the Malayalamoriginal told the story of the political vacuum that arises whenthe leader of the ruling party passes away. In the inevitable suc-cession squabble and the powerstruggle that ensues, his adoptedson, the mysterious Stephen(played by Mohanlal), steps inand faces challenges in allspheres of life.

We were thefirst (Nov17) to

inform that youSundeep Kishan willbe playing an inno-cent rowdy in GNageswara Reddy’s

next, a joint produc-tion venture between

Kona Venkat and VizagMP MVV Satyanarayana.

To this end, the makers onWednesday launched the film in

Vizag, and also disclosed thetitle as Rowdy Baby. An

action comedy, the filmwill mark the comeback of Mehbooba girl Neha Shetty

as a leading lady, while Rajendra Prasad, Tamilactor Simha and Harsha Chemudu are playing

supporting roles.Rowdy Baby revolves around a family at

the centre of which will be Sundeep, whowill be seen as an innocent rowdy who does-

n’t like rowdyism in the first place. Situationsforce him to become one. Reddy is directing it from a

script of Kiran Bhanu. The young writer has also penned the story ofSundeep’s production venture Vivaha Bhojanambu, starring comedianSatya.Speaking to media persons after the muhurat, producer

Satyanarayana said the film will be completely shot in Visakhapatnam. “Noteven a single scene will be shot outside the city. That is the specialty of the film.Visakhapatnam is one of the beautiful cities of the country and is highly con-ducive for filmmaking. The city has infrastructure available for a film to be shotfrom start-to-end,” he noted.

Vijayawada Thursday December 17 2020

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More than a year afterits rights were acquired,

Lucifer Telugu remakewill finally be going in

front of the camerasafter Sankranti. The

Megastar is impressedwith the way director

Mohan Raja tailored thescript to Telugu nativity,

reports NAGARAJGOUD

Ali and Naresh in Vikruthi remake

After shifting loyalties todirection two and half yearsago, Rahul Ravindran has

avoided facing the camera as anactor. But that is going to changesoon, as we hear that he will beplaying a key role in Nani-starrerShyam Singha Roy, which waslaunched in Hyderabad last week.“Rahul has been selective with hischoice of roles after turning adirector. While he did get someoffers in the last nine months, hewasn’t convinced about them. Butrole in Shyam Singha Roy was tootempting to let it go. It may be a

supporting role but has itsmoments. He will be seen as Nani’sbrother in the film. Besides thepart, the other reason that drovehim to board the project was RahulSankrityan who he rates very high,”says a source.

An intense period romance,Shyam Singha Roy will be filmedacross Hyderabad and Kolkata pre-dominantly. Sai Pallavi and KrithiShetty are the leading ladies, whileMadonna Sebastian will be seen ina supporting role. Produced byVenkat Boyanapalli, it has music byMickey J Meyer.

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Having gone to floors last month,the filming of Gaali Sampath,spearheaded by Sree Vishnu

and Rajendra Prasad, is fast nearingcompletion. On Wednesday, the mak-ers revealed that they have completedthe Araku leg of filming, with which80 percent shoot has come to an end.The next schedule will start at RFC,Hyderabad, calling it a wrap.

In the film, Vishnu will be seen as atruck driver, while his father (playedby Rajendra Prasad) is essaying a deafand mute guy. “Gaali Sampath willmake people laugh and at the sametime take them on an emotional ride.Rajendra Prasad has played manymemorable roles in his storied career

and this will be anotherfeather in his cap. Vishnutoo has an extraordinaryrole. The beautiful journeybetween him and his fatherdots the story,” Anil Ravipudihad said about the film lastmonth. Besides penning thefilm’s screenplay, he is also pre-senting it. According to asource, he is closely monitoringthe film’s progress and only afterit is wrapped up, he will move onto his next feature, F3.

An Achu Rajamani musical,Gaali Sampath, directed by AnnishKrishna, features Mathura girlLovely Singh alongside Vishnu.

Mehbooba girl toromance Sundeep

Kishan

Rahul Ravindran inShyam Singha Roy

Lucifer remakewill roll afterSankranti: Chiru

Samuthirakani to play a villagedon in Pradeep Maddali's thriller