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need of the hour: CJI iPhone 13

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UK to roll out crucialCovid treatment

that was given to Donald Trump

Thousands of vulnerable health

service patients in the UKhospitals due to Covid-19 are

set to benefit from a life-saving newantibody treatment called Ronapreve,

which was given to former USpresident Donald Trump. A combina-

tion of two monoclonal antibodies,Ronapreve, will be targeted initially at

those in hospital who have notmounted an antibody response against

the coronavirus. The treatment wasused as part of the suite of experi-mental medicines given to Trump

when he tested positive for Covid-19last year. “We have secured a brand

new treatment for our most vulnerablepatients in hospitals across the UK andI am thrilled it will be saving lives fromas early as next week,” said UK Health

Secretary Sajid Javid.

Tharoor calls forpermanent president

to head Congress

Senior Congress leader and LokSabha MP Shashi Tharoor on

Saturday called for apermanent president to head the party,which is 'now at an interim stage'. He

said all the Congress leaders havesought a permanent president for the

party. "We all liked the leadership ofSonia Gandhi. But we are now at aninterim stage. For the last two years

we haven't had a permanent president.That must be remedied. We need to

instil energy in the organisationalstructure of the Congress party. We allhave sought for a permanent president

for the party," he said. Tharoor wasspeaking to reporters after the inau-

guration of the office of MuvattupuzhaMLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan here.

Babu Supriyo dumpsBJP for TMC, Centre

downsizes security

Blowing hot and cold for several

weeks after being droppedfrom the Modi government,

BJP MP Babul Supriyo sprang asurprise on Saturday when he joined

West Bengal's ruling TMC andasserted he will work for the

development of the state. Soon after,the Union government scaled downthe armed security cover of central

paramilitary commandos given to him.Supriyo’s security cover has been

reduced from the second-highest levelof Z category to Y category, after an

order was issued by the Union HomeMinistry on Friday.

In brief

VIJAYAWADAWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated September 18, 2021 5:00 PM

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Bhadrapada & Shukla Paksha

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Tithi : Chaturdashi 29:27

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Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 4:40 pm - 6:11 pm

Yamagandam: 12:09 pm - 1:40 pm

Varjyam: 10:35 am - 12:11 pm

Gulika: 3:10 pm - 4:40 pm

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 8:14 pm - 9:50 pm

Abhijit Muhurtham: 11:45 am - 12:33 pm

FFoorreeccaasstt:: Partly cloudyTemp: 34Humidity: 67%Sunrise: 6:04 amSunset: 6:14 pm

PNS n NEW DELHI

Google abused the dominantposition of its Android operatingsystem in India, using its "hugefinancial muscle" to illegally hurtcompetitors, the country'santitrust authority found in areport on its two-year probe,accessed by news agency Reuters.

Alphabet Inc's Google reduced"the ability and incentive of devicemanufacturers to develop and selldevices operating on alternativeversions of Android," says theJune report by the CompetitionCommission of India's (CCI)investigations unit.

The US tech giant told Reutersin a statement it looks forward toworking with the CCI to "demon-strate how Android has led tomore competition and innova-tion, not less."

Google has not received theinvestigation report, a personwith direct knowledge of the sit-uation said.

The CCI did not respond to arequest for comment on thereport.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The State Election Commission hasappointed 32,264 counting staffand 11,803 supervisors to count thevotes cast for 7220 MandalParishad Territorial Constituencies(MPTC) and 515 Zilla ParishadTerritorial Constituencies (ZPTCs)at 209 centres across the State onSunday.

The counting process will startfrom 8 am and results are expect-ed to be announced later in the day.

Panchayat Raj PrincipalSecretary Gopala Krishna Dwivedion Saturday said training wasimparted to the staff for the count-ing of votes. He said Covid guide-lines will be followed strictly at allthe 209 counting centres.

Dwivedi said that 18,782 candi-dates are in fray for the 7220MPTC posts in the State and thatof the 10,047 MPTCs, 2,371 wereelected unanimously. Due to vari-ous reasons, the polling process for375 MPTCs was paused, amongthem 81 contestants having passedaway.

Finally, polling was held for7,229 MPTCs and 18,782 candi-

dates remaining in the fray.Regarding ZPTCs, polling was

held for the 515 ZPTCs and 2058candidates are in the fray. A total126 candidates were elected unan-imously. Elections were halted to 11ZPTCs due to the death of the can-didates. Elections for the MPTCand ZPTCs were held on April 4,2021. Due to administrative andlegal reasons, counting of votes wassuspended, till the AP High Courtissued orders allowing it to resume.

PNS n CHANDIGARH

Congress veteran AmarinderSingh on Saturday resigned asChief Minister of Punjab, declar-ing that he feels "humiliated" andsaid he won't accept PCC presi-dent Navjot Singh Sidhu as thenext CM or the party face in theAssembly polls.

The development has comeamid a power tussle that polarisedthe ruling party in the State head-ed for elections in four months.

Sidhu was made the StateCongress chief earlier this year,despite opposition by AmarinderSingh. "I feel humiliated,"Amarinder Singh told reportersoutside the Punjab Raj Bhavanafter submitting his resignation toGovernor Banwarilal Purohit.

"I have resigned, let them makeanyone (next CM)," he said.

C PRADEEP KUMAR n VIJAYAWADA

Five days after they started ques-tioning him, the CID on Saturdayarrested senior IRTS officer K Sa-mbasiva Rao in connection withthe alleged Andhra Pradesh StateFiberNet Limited tender scam.

Sambasiva Rao is currently theChief Commercial Manager in theSouth Central Railways headquar-ters at Secunderabad and had pre-viously served as Managing Direc-tor of the AP State FiberNet Limited.

Sambasiva Rao was shifted to theGovernment General Hospital inVijayawada for medical tests beforebeing produced before a magistrate.

He was remanded to 14 days judi-cial custody.

CID sleuths had started ques-tioning K Sambasiva Rao, the thenVC and MD of INCAP and alsoVemuru Hari Krishna Prasad, theformer technical advisor to the pre-vious TDP government onSeptember 14 as part of theirprobe into alleged scam in award-ing work tenders of APSFL in 2015.

The FiberNet project was meantto provide Internet and telephoneservices to all households in thestate, as part of the Bharat Net proj-ect of the Government of India.

Two months ago, the CID hadfiled an FIR into the case follow-ing a complaint from APSFL chair-man K Gowtham Reddy.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy on Saturday released abook titled "Dancing withDreams", a collection of poemspenned by Chief Secretary AdityaNath Das.

The poems reflect the innerjourney of the poet. The poems

reiterate that whatever may be ten-sions and tribulations, inner orouter, one can still remain human.

Praising the endeavour, theChief Minister appreciated AdityaNath Das for his passionate liter-ary zeal. The Chief Secretary pre-sented the Chief Minister with apainting featuring one of his poemson the occasion.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Tadepalli police have registeredfour cases over the incident thattook place at the residence ofLeader of the Opposition NChandrababu Naidu residence onFriday.

According to a complaint lodgedby T Ramu, driver of MLA JogiRamesh, cases have been filedagainst Telugu leaders under the SCand ST (Prevention of Atrocities)Act.

On the other hand, the policeregistered a case under the gener-al Sections of the PC based on acomplaint lodged by Telugu DesamParty leaders against Jogi Rameshand other YSRCP leaders.

As Jogi Ramesh's driver Ramuhails from the Schedule Castecommunity, atrocity cases havebeen registered against TDP lead-ers, police said.

Also, cases have been registeredunder various Sections of the IPCwith the Nekarikallu police stationin Guntur district against TDPleader Ch Ayyanna Patrududemanding the arrest of the TDPleader.

Regarding the incident of dam-age to Jogi Ramesh’s car, cases wereregistered under four Sectionsagainst TDP executive secretaryNadendla Brahman. It is learnedthat the police have been enquir-ing about the whereabouts of TDPactivists and leaders since lastnight.

On the other hand, the TDPleaders found fault with the policefor filing cases against them, with-out taking any action to arrest theYSRCP leaders despite complaintsbeing lodged against the rulingparty leaders.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The CBDT on Saturday allegedthat actor Sonu Sood and hisassociates evaded tax of Rs 20 croreand claimed that after the IncomeTax Department raided him and alinked Lucknow-based infrastruc-ture group, it was found that herouted his "unaccountedincome in the form of bogusunsecured loans frommany bogus entities".

It also accused Sood ofviolating the ForeignContribution RegulationAct (FCRA) while rais-ing donations fromabroad.

The department hadlaunched searches againstthe 48-year-old actor and theLucknow-based group of indus-tries involved in the infrastructuresector on September 15 and theCBDT said the action was continuing.

"During the course of search at

the premises of the actor and hisassociates, incriminating evidencepertaining to tax evasion has beenfound. The main modus operan-di followed by the actor had beento route his unaccounted incomein the form of bogus unsecuredloans from many bogus entities,"the Central Board of Direct Taxes

(CBDT) claimed in astatement.

It added that,so far, use of 20such entrieshas beenfound and theproviders ofwhich, onexamination,

have "accepted"on oath to have

given "bogus"a c c o m m o d a t i o n

entries (transaction entries inaccounts).

State Election Commissioner Nilam Sawhney interacts with officials at a review meeting held in Guntur on Saturday ahead of the counting ofvotes cast for the ZPTCs and MPTCs across the State on Sunday.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Sports equipment and gears ofIndia's Olympics and Paralympicsstars, including badminton racketsof Krishna Nagar and SL Yathiraj,Neeraj Chopra's javelin and glovesof Lovlina Borgohain, are amongPrime Minister Narendra Modi'smementos that are drawing themaximum bids in an e-auction bythe Ministry of Culture.

So far, the highest bid has beenreceived for the boxing gloves ofLovlina Borgohain who won abronze medal at the TokyoOlympics. It has received a bid ofRs 1.92 crore against a base priceof Rs 80 lakh.

Chopra's javelin which gaveIndia its sole gold in the 2020

Olympics has drawn a bid of overRs 1.55 crore while its base price isRs 1 crore.

Badminton rackets ofParalympians Krishna Nagar andSL Yathiraj and the fence used by

CA Bhavani Devi at the Olympicsreceived bids of Rs 10 crore eachduring the day, but in the eveningwhen the bids were reviewed, theywere found to be fake.

As of now, the highest quotedbids for the badminton racquets ofNagar and Yathiraj are Rs 80 lakhand Rs 50 lakh respectively, at parwith their base prices.

The bid for the fence used byDevi also stood at Rs 60 lakh, itsbase price.

Devi is the first Indian fencer toever qualify for the TokyoOlympics.

A javelin autographed by SumitAntil, the gold medallist at theTokyo Paralympics, has received abid of Rs 1,00,08,000 against its baseprice of Rs 1 crore.

The sharp-shooting glasses wornby Manish Narwal, who bagged agold medal in the mixed 50m pis-tol SH1 final at the TokyoParalympic Games, received a high-est bid of Rs 95.94 lakh during theafternoon, but it was reviewed to Rs20 lakh at end of the day.

The shooting glasses were pre-sented by him to the PrimeMinister.

A badminton racket and bag ofTokyo Olympics bronze medallistPV Sindhu received a bid of Rs90.02 lakh against its base price ofRs 80 lakh. In this round, around1,330 mementos are being e-auc-tioned. The auction began onFriday, Modi's birthday.

Neeraj s javelin, Borgohain's gloves, get bids worth crores

CID sleuths make firstarrest in APSFL scamSambasiva Rao in custody after five days of questioning

PARISHAD POLLS

32,264 staff, 11,803 supervisorsfor counting of votes today

Covid scareamong countingagents in Vizag

I-T dept alleges Sonu Soodevaded Rs 20 crore in tax

YSRCP, TDP men lodge policecomplaints against each other

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

YSRCP MLA Jogi Ramesh onSaturday slammed a section ofmedia, accusing it of distort-ing the facts with regard to hisprotest and said that the truthwas that it was TDP supremoN Chandrababu Naidu whowas behind the attack on him.

Speaking to media at theYSRCP’s central office here,the Pedana MLA said he hadgone to Naidu’s residence tosubmit a petition and alsostage a protest in front of hishouse.

Jogi Ramesh blamesNaidu for attack

Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy releases a book of poems written by Chief SecretaryAditya Nath Das, at his camp office on Saturday.

Jagan releases book ofpoems written by CS

‘Humiliated’Amarinder resigns;won't accept Sidhuas Punjab CM

Google abusedAndroid dominance inIndia, says govt report

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PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The Visakhapatnam districtadministration went into atizzy on Saturday after uncon-firmed reports said that asmany as 45 counting agents ofvarious parties tested positivefor Covid-19 during thescreening tests ahead ofcounting of votes for theZPTC and MPTC polls.

As per the directions of theState Election Commission,the district administration isconducting Covid-19 rapidscreening tests on the count-ing agents.

DMHO P Suryanarayanasaid that as per the guidelines,rapid test kits were providedto the counting staff forscreening the counting agents.

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Explained: Why World Bankis under fire over set of rankings

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PNS n NEW DELHI

As many as 1,714 cases ofhuman trafficking were regis-tered by the government'sAnti-Human Trafficking Unitsin 2020 with sexual exploita-tion for prostitution, forcedlabour and domestic servitudebeing the top reasons behind it,according to the NCRB data.

The data also showed thatthe case conviction rate ofhuman trafficking was 10.6percent.

Among states, Maharashtraand Telangana recorded thehighest number of such casesat 184 each, followed byAndhra Pradesh at 171, Keralaat 166, Jharkhand at 140 andRajasthan at 128.

The conviction for cases ofhuman trafficking was record-ed at 0 in seven states, while thehighest conviction rate of suchcases was reported from TamilNadu at 66 percent followed byDelhi at 40 percent.

The NCRB, in its report,said it started collecting data onhuman trafficking cases fromthese Anti-Human TraffickingUnits (AHTU) across thecountry. As per data providedby States and Union Territories,1,714 cases of human traffick-ing have been registered byAHTUs during 2020.

According to the report,2,278 human trafficking caseswere registered in 2018 and2,260 in 2019, respectively.The report further said that4,709 victims, including 2,222below 18 years, were traffickedacross the country in 2020.

The maximum traffickingcases were registered for sexu-al exploitation for prostitutionat 1,466 followed by forcedlabour at 1,452 and domesticservitude at 846.

The data on cases recordedof human trafficking have beenprovided by anti-human traf-ficking units through theirState Crime Records Bureau

and this data represents onlythose cases which have beenregistered by respectiveAHTUs.

As per the data provided byStates/UTs, so far, 696 AHTUsare functional and 20 states/UTs have achieved their targetof setting up AHTUs in all dis-tricts.

Roop Sen, founding mem-ber of Sanjog, one of the NGOswhich is a part of the IndianLeadership Forum AgainstTrafficking, a national platformby and for the survivors ofhuman trafficking, said thecountry went into lockdownfrom March 23 so for majori-ty part of the year all trans-portation systems, including allmajor rails and buses, werestopped and there was verystrong monitoring of inter-state trave.

He said a question can beasked about how the numberof trafficking cases is so large.

"...even sex workers talked

about completely dwindlingbusinesses, factories, brick kilnswere non-functional so by thatlogic there would have been nodemand of trafficked labour inthat period," he said.

Jyoti Mathur, executivedirector, Kailash SatyarthiChildren's Foundation, saidthe number of children rescuedsince the beginning of thelockdown by their sister organ-isation, the Bachpan BachaoAndolan, is substantially high-er than the number of childrenrescued during the same peri-od in 2019.

"There is, thus, evidence toshow that trafficking of chil-dren has increased since thebeginning of the lockdown.The increase is due to the lossof livelihood of a large numberof families on account of thepandemic," she said.

"We sincerely hope that theAnti-Trafficking Bill is passedin the forthcoming session ofParliament. If the Bill becomes

legislation, it will give teeth tolaw enforcement agencies andthey will be able to prevent,detect and prosecute cases oftrafficking more effectively andefficiently," said Mathur.

According to the NCRBdata, the conviction rate inhuman trafficking cases in2020 was 10.6 percent.

Elaborating on the possiblereason behind it, KaushikGupta, Advocate, CalcuttaHigh Court, said human traf-ficking is an organised and aninter-state crime, and localpolice does not have theresources or means to travel toanother state and do the inves-tigation.

"Human trafficking is a caseof circumstantial evidence andlaw says that such a case can-not be proved until the entirechain of circumstances is com-plete. If in the entire chain, onepoint is missing then the per-son cannot be convicted," hesaid.

AP, Telangana among top threeStates in human trafficking cases

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh on Saturdayadded 1,174 fresh cases to itsCovid-19 tally, which nowincreased to 20,37,353.

The latest bulletin said1,309 recoveries in 24 hourstook the total recoveries up to20,08,639. Nine more deathspushed the gross up to14,061, the bulletin added.

East Godavari districtadded 208 fresh cases,Prakasam 161, Chittoor 159,Krishna 140, Guntur 131 andSPS Nellore 122 in 24 hours.

West Godavari reported80, Kadapa 69 andVisakhapatnam 55 while fourother districts logged lessthan 20 new cases each.Guntur had three fresh Covid-19 deaths, Chittoor two,Kadapa, Krishna, Prakasamand Visakhapatnam one eachin a day.

AP registers1,174 newCovid cases

Continued from page 1

The Congress leader, however,in another interaction withthe media said he won't acceptNavjot Singh Sidhu as thePunjab Chief Minister, describ-ing him as "a total disaster".

The man who could nothandle one ministry, can neverrun entire Punjab, he said.

Replying to a question, hesaid he will never agree toNavjot Singh Sidhu as the nextChief Minister.

"He is a total disaster. Whenhe was a minister (inAmarinder cabinet), he couldnot even run one ministry, nowcan he run entire Punjab? Iknow that man has no capabil-ity at all," said AmarinderSingh.

If Sidhu is made the face ofthe Congress for the Punjabpolls, Singh said he will opposehim "tooth and nail".

Earlier in the day after sub-mitting his resignation, whenasked about his next course ofaction, Singh told reporters,"There is always an optionand I will use that optionwhen time comes."

"I have been in politics forthe past 52 years and I havebeen a Chief Minister for nine-and-a-half years. I will talk tomy colleagues, supporters," hesaid.

He submitted his resignationalong with that of his councilof ministers, his media advis-er said. The resignation has

been accepted by the Governor.Singh's resignation came

hours before a crucial meetingof the Congress LegislatureParty (CLP) on Saturdayevening, pre-empting whatwas widely being seen as amove to remove him from theCM's post.

In the meeting, PunjabCongress MLAs authorisedparty's national president SoniaGandhi to pick a new CLPleader and in a unanimouslypassed resolution praisedAmarinder's contribution forPunjab and the Congress.

"I spoke to the Congresspresident in the morning andI told her that I am resigningtoday," Amarinder Singh toldreporters.

"They called the MLAs toDelhi twice and now con-vened a CLP here inChandigarh today," he said.

"I think if there is an elementof doubt on me that I could not

run (the government) or ifthere was something else, I feelhumiliated the way things havehappened," he said.

To a question on joining anyother party, he said, "Whateveryou have to say, you can say. Ican only tell you that I havebeen a Chief Minister from theCongress. And I am in theCongress and I will consult mycolleagues and then we willdecide the future course of pol-itics." "I have only resigned formyself," he said.

"I hereby tender my resigna-tion as the Chief Minister, andthat of my council of minis-ters," the one-line resignationletter said.

In another interaction withthe media later, AmarinderSingh said he had already toldSonia Gandhi during his meet-ing with her a few weeks backthat he should be relieved ofthe charge.

"I had told her that you

relieve me of this chargebecause I cannot work in thisway where Mr Sidhu is pullingright and I am pulling left. Inthat meeting, Congress gener-al secretary (Harish) Rawat wasalso present. Soniaji then saidno I want you to carry on,” saidAmarinder Singh.

The Congress leader said heperformed his duty to the bestof his ability.

"I have been in politics for 52years, so I don't care aboutthese things, I am in politicsand I will remain in politics,"he said when asked about thecircumstances in which hehad to resign.

"In politics, options arealways there, they are neverclosed. I can tell you one thing,I am not going to leave it likethis," he said.

Politics is a very fast movinggame, he said replying toanother question.

Singh was accompanied byhis wife and MP Preneet Kaurand son Raninder Singh whenhe submitted his resignation toGovernor Banwarilal Purohit.

MPs Gurjeet Singh Aujlaand Ravneet Singh Bittu, AGAtul Nanda and ChiefPrincipal Secretary to CMSuresh Kumar were also pre-sent. "I am proud to accompa-ny my father to Raj Bhavanwhen he submits his resigna-tion as CM of Punjab and leadsus as head of our family into anew beginning," RaninderSingh said in a tweet earlier.

YSRCP, TDP men lodge policecomplaints against each otherContinued from page 1

TDP activists lodged a com-plaint in Gudivada I-Townpolice station in Krishnadistrict seeking immediateaction against Jogi Rameshfor attempting an attack onNaidu’s residence. The TDPleaders appealed to the policeto arrest the Pedana MLA forthe conspiracy to attackNaidu’s residence.

The TDP leaders allegethat Jogi Ramesh attemptedto attack Naidu’s residencejust for the sake of a Cabinetpost. The TDP leadersdemanded that the policeconduct a free and fair inves-tigation and take actionagainst Jogi Ramesh andYSRCP activists whoattacked and injured TDPactivists while the latter weretrying to prevent the attackon Naidu’s residence.

Continued from page 1

“I went there to register myprotest against the derogato-ry remarks made by Ayya-nna Patrudu against ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy and Home Minister.It was then that TDP leadersand activists attacked mycar even before I could getout of the vehicle,” JogiRamesh said.

The MLA alleged that itwas Naidu who was behindthe attack on him. He saidthat Naidu had utilised theservices of call money rack-et offenders, rowdy sheetersand hired goons to attackhim and a section of themedia is spreading falseinformation in this regard.

The MLA demanded anunconditional apology fromNaidu as Ayyanna Patruduused abusive language andmade derogatory commentsagainst the Chief Minister.He said that he planned tobring the issue to the noticeof Governor BiswabushanHarichandan. He warnedTDP leaders to refrain fromusing abusive languageagainst the Chief Ministerfailing which the YSRCPwould stage protests in frontof Naidu’s residence.

He termed Naidu andLokesh as ‘visitors’ to the Stateand said it would be better ifthe father-son duo fight forpeople's problems rather thanconfining themselves to polit-ical conspiracies.

Jogi Ramesh blames Naidu for attack

‘Humiliated’ Amarinder resigns...

Continued from page 1

Senior CCI members willreview the report and giveGoogle another chance todefend itself, before issuing afinal order, which couldinclude penalties, said anoth-er person familiar with thecase.

Google would be able toappeal any order in India'scourts.

Its findings are the latestantitrust setback for Googlein India, where it faces sever-al probes in the payments appand smart television markets.The company has been inves-tigated in Europe, the UnitedStates and elsewhere.

This week, South Korea'santitrust regulator finedGoogle $180 million forblocking customised versionsof Android.

Continued from page 1

"They have accepted to haveissued cheques in lieu of cash.There have been instanceswhere professional receiptshave been camouflaged asloans in the books of accountsfor the purpose of evasion oftax," the policy-making bodyfor the tax department said.

These bogus loans, it said,have been used for "makinginvestments and acquiringproperties."

The total amount of taxevaded unearthed so faramounts to more than Rs 20crore, the statement and officialsources said about Sood.

It also talked about his char-ity organisation that was estab-lished during the Covid-19outbreak last year.

The actor shot to nationalprominence after he arrangedfree transport through rail, airand road for numerous migrantworkers to reach their homestates during the nationwide

lockdown clamped last year tocontain the spread of coron-avirus pandemic.

The Delhi government, ledby Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal, had also recentlydeclared that Sood will be thebrand ambassador of the AamAadmi Party government's'Desh ke Mentors' programmeunder which students will beguided in making their careerchoices.

The CBDT said the charityfoundation set up by the actor

was incorporated on July 21,2020 and has collected dona-tions to the tune of Rs 18.94crore from April 1, 2021 tilldate.

Out of this, it said, the foun-dation has spent around Rs 1.9crore for various relief worksand the balance of Rs 17 crorehas been found lying"unutilised" in its bank account.

It is seen, the statementalleged, that funds to the tuneof Rs 2.1 crore have also beenraised by the charity founda-

tion from overseas donors ona crowdfunding platform "inviolation" of FCRA regula-tions.

It said the actor had enteredinto a joint venture with theLucknow-located infrastruc-ture group and "invested sub-stantial funds", and said thetaxman has unearthed "incrim-inating" evidence pertaining totax evasion and irregularities inthe account books.

"The search has revealedthat the said group is involved

in bogus billing of sub-con-tracting expenses and siphon-ing off of funds. Evidence ofsuch bogus contracts found sofar are to the tune of over Rs 65crore," it said.

Evidence of unaccountedcash expenses, unaccountedsale of scrap and digital dataevidencing unaccounted cashtransactions has also beenfound.

The infra group "has enteredinto dubious circular transac-tion to the tune of Rs 175 crore

with an infrastructure compa-ny based in Jaipur".

"Further investigations arebeing carried out to establishthe full extent of tax evasion,"it said.

The CBDT said Rs 1.8 crorecash has been seized during theraids and 11 lockers have beenplaced under "prohibitoryorders". A total of 28 premisesin Mumbai, Lucknow, Kanpur,Jaipur, Delhi, and Gurgaon arebeing covered as part of thesearch operation.

I-T dept alleges Sonu Sood evaded Rs 20 crore in tax

Continued from page 1

The javelin used by NeerajChopra in the Tokyo OlympicGames is among the items withthe highest base price at Rs 1crore.

The lowest priced item is asmall-sized decorative elephantfor Rs 200. The proceeds fromthe e-auction will go to theNamami Gange Mission aimedat conserving and rejuvenating

the Ganga River.The memorabilia include

sports gear and equipment ofthe medal-winning Olympiansand Paralympians, a replica ofthe Ayodhya Ram Mandir,Chardham, sculptures andpaintings among others.

The wooden model of theRam Mandir placed inside aglass box has received thehighest quoted bid of Rs 3 lakhso far.

Another interesting memen-to which has grabbed eyeballsis the replica of the RudrakshaConvention Centre in Varanasiwhich has got a bid of Rs 40lakh. Individuals and organi-sations can participate throughthe website pmmementos.gov.in between September 17and October 7.

After the auction ends, theministry will notify the high-est bidders through email.

Neeraj s javelin, Borgohain'sgloves get bids worth crores

Google abusedAndroid ....

Continued from page 1

Consequently, arrangementshave been made for the countingof votes on September 19. Sinceballot papers were used in theelections, the counting processmay continue till late evening atsome places and results may bedeclared subsequently.

District collectors visitedthe counting centres onSaturday and inspected thearrangements.

Senior police officers haveissued orders to maintain lawand order and prevent anyuntoward incident. Processionsand victory rallies will bebanned on Sunday. Section 144will be in force in the vicinityof 100 metres from the count-ing centres. Vijayawada

Commissioner of Police BSrinivasulu and Krishna dis-trict Superintendent of Police

Siddharth Kaushal are moni-toring the arrangements inthe district.

32,264 staff, 11,803 supervisors...

Continued from page 1

“I have no informationabout the number of posi-tive cases so far, but it is truethat there some positivecases found in the districtand they have been isolat-ed. We are allowing agentswho have been given twodoses of vaccine only,” theDMHO told the Pioneer.

The authorities have also

confirmed that a number ofCovid-19 positive caseshave been confirmed. Theparties have been requestedto send replacements, offi-cials said.

With this development,the authorities have direct-ed all Returning Officers tobe very careful and ensureRAT tests are conducted onall the staff and countingagents.

Covid scare among countingagents in Vizag...

Continued from page 1

Citing a complaint filed byAPSFL Chairman P GouthamReddy, the CID said VemuriHarikrishna Prasad, the thenmember of the e-GovernanceAuthority governing council,colluded with Tera SoftwareLimited to ensure the tenderfor Rs 321 crore was illegallyawarded to the company.

After a preliminary inquiry,the CID issued notices toSambasiva Rao, Krishna Prasadand also Tera Software Pvt LtdMD Tummala Gopichand toappear before the investigationagency.

Accordingly, Sambasiva Raoand Krishna Prasad appearedbefore the CID sleuths.

In the 2015 bidding for work

worth Rs 330 crore related toAPSFL by INCAP, Tera Softemerged the successful L1 bid-der and grabbed the contract.

The then government inApril, 2015 authorised INCAPto take up the project of layingof optical fibre over existingelectrical towers and polesunder phase-I of Fibergridproject. The aim of the projectwas to provide optic fibre con-nectivity to villages and townsacross the State.

: The Crime InvestigationDepartment of AndhraPradesh on Saturday arresteda senior IRTS officer KSambasiva Rao in connectionwith the Rs 321 crore fibernetscam.

Sambasiva Rao is currentlythe Chief Commercial

Manager in the South CentralRailways headquarters atSecunderabad and had previ-ously served as ManagingDirector of the AP StateFiberNet Limited.

The CID had recently filedan FIR on the alleged irregu-larities in AP State FiberNetLimited, putting the suminvolved at Rs 321 crore.

The IRTS officer had servedon deputation in AP govern-ment during the previousChandrababu Naidu regime.

The CID named him as anaccused in the case and ques-tioned him extensively in thelast five days, before arrestinghim. He was produced beforea local court that remandedhim to 14-day judicial custody.

The FiberNet project was

meant to provide Internet andtelephone services to all house-holds in the state, as part of theBharat Net project of theGovernment of India.

In the FIR registered onSeptember 9, the CID named16 persons and two companiesas the accused in the case.

Citing a complaint filed byAPSFL Chairman P GouthamReddy, the CID said VemuriHarikrishna Prasad, the thenmember of the e-GovernanceAuthority governing council,colluded with Tera SoftwareLimited to ensure the tenderfor Rs 321 crore was illegallyawarded to the company.

Prasad is also being ques-tioned in the case, along withofficials of Tera Software, CIDsources said.

CID sleuths make first arrest in APSFL scam

PNS n NEW DELHI

Former Bengal left-arm spin-ner and Mizoram U-19 headcoach Murtaza Lodhgar diedof cardiac arrest on Fridaynight in Visakhapatnam,Cricket Association Bengalpresident Avishek Dalmiyahas confirmed.

Lodhgar, 45, was in theport city with the Mizoramcolts, who were set to play theleague phase of Vinoo MankadTrophy as BCCI's domesticseason is set to commence.

"The tragedy happened justafter dinner," Dalmiya toldPTI. "Murtu bhai along withteam's physio went out for anafter-dinner walk and sudden-ly felt enormous chest pain

and fell on the road."The physio and other team

members immediately tookhim to the hospital where hewas declared brought dead lateon Friday.

"I still can't believe thatMurtu bhai is no more. It is apersonal loss for me as he wasone of the pillars of first divi-sion club Rajasthan SC. Hewas one of the most lovedcricketers in our fraternityand also worked with ourwomen's team with distinc-tion. It's an irreparable loss,"Dalmiya said.

The Cricket Association ofBengal is trying to makearrangements so that his fam-ily can bring his mortal remainsto the city for the burial.

Mizoram U-19 headcoach dies in Vizag PNS n NEW DELHI

The Congress social mediadepartment Saturday passeda resolution to make RahulGandhi party president at theearliest.

The resolution was passedunanimously at the socialmedia department's nationalexecutive meeting "Drishti2021". This comes after sim-ilar resolutions were passed atthe national executive meet-ings of the Indian YouthCongress, the NSUI andCongress SC/ST department.

Rahul Gandhi attendedthe social media departmentmeeting and urged partyworkers to continue theirfight against the ruling dis-pensation with humility,truth and love.

Cong social mediawing backs Rahulas party chief

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | SEPTEMBER 19, 2021 vijayawada 03

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Responding to the derogatoryremarks made by TDP leaderAyyanna Patrudu, HomeMinister Mekathoti Sucharitahas said that they aredeplorable. The Oppositionleaders are still unable to digestthe fact that a Dalit woman isthe Home Minister, she added.

Speaking to the media hereon Saturday, she said theOpposition TDP leaders wereusing abusive language andspeaking ill of Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddy andother ministers without anyrestraint.

She said that AyyannaPatrudu should be ashamed ofthe language he used inaddressing a Dalit womanHome Minister. “I cannotspeak in such a filthy language,”she said and asked whetherChandrababu Naidu hadrespect for women. She soughtto know from him what actionwould be taken against the per-son who had made those com-

ments. If Chandrababu Naidureally had respect for women,he should take action againstAyyanna Patrudu, she said.

Further, she slammedAyyanna Patrudu for demand-ing her to resign and ques-tioned him what authority hehad to seek a resignation andclarified that she would resignat any time if the Chief

Minister asked her to do so.She recalled the past incidentsduring the TDP regime, wherelaw and order in the State weredisturbed, and reminded thatVangaveeti Ranga was mur-dered during the TDP rule.

The Minister said that theOpposition could ask the gov-ernment any question if itthought the former was not

performing well and the min-isters concerned shall answertheir queries.

Sucharita lashed out at TDPleaders and said theOpposition had no respect forwomen and dared to revealwhat justice was done towomen victims in their gov-ernment. Several crimesagainst women were reportedduring the TDP rule, but therewas no effort to put an end tothem.

On the contrary, the ChiefMinister had brought in theDisha Act for the safety andsecurity of women. She askedthe Opposition to prove itscharge that women were notsafe in the current government.National Crime Bureau (NCB)records show that crime in theState had dropped by 15 per-cent, but the Opposition wasmisleading the public sayingthat the number of cases in theState had increased by 64 per-cent by showing 80,000 casesregistered for violation of hel-met rule.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The Andhra Pradesh HigherEducation Planning Board(APHEPB) has decided tomake higher education facili-ties accessible to the studentsfrom poorer sections.

The second meeting of theAP Higher Education PlanningBoard (APHEPB) was jointlyorganised by AndhraUniversity, Indian Institute ofManagement, Visakhapatnamand Indian Institute ofPetroleum Energy (IIPE) hereon Saturday.

Delivering the keynoteaddress, Prof Ramgopal Rao,Director, IIT Delhi, said theuniversities in the State need tobe transformed into multidis-

ciplinary universities. He saidthat there should be an effortto turn knowledge into wealth.He suggested that applying forpatents should work towardsthe goal of increasing the num-ber of international students.

The freedom and competi-tiveness are to be run as inter-dependent systems and theaim should be to provide edu-cation, enhance knowledgeand make innovations.Research parks would be set upon the varsity campus, peoplewith diverse scientific knowl-edge would be appointed asprofessors and industry expertswill be appointed as professorson practice, Prof Rao opined.

While inaugurating themeeting, Minister for

Education, Andhra Pradesh,Dr. Adimulapu Suresh saidevery student needs to begroomed as a global citizen.The planning board has set upwith the intention that educa-

tion should not be a business.Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy emphasised that pover-ty should not be an obstacle forany student in the State. Highereducation should be accessible

to all, he detailed.He said the government was

not only spending money inthe education sector but wouldalso review the progress of theinstitutions, Suresh said.

Minister for Tourism andSports M Srinivasa Rao said theState government is givingequal priority to promotesports and games among thestudents.

Vice-Chancellor of AndhraUniversity, Prof PVGD PrasadaReddy, said that today's educa-tion policy should move in away that prepares the youth forthe future. He said the highereducation system shouldembrace new changes. There isan urgent need for students tobecome enterprising entrepre-

neurs in order to find employ-ment. Efforts are being made toincrease the number of engi-neering seats in the AU, theestablishment of the AUCB, theestablishment of the AU Trans-Disciplinary Research Hub andthe incubation centres to incul-cate skills and creativity amongthe youth, the Vice-Chancelloradded.

Prof. Hemachandra Reddy,Chairman, AP State Council ofHigher Education (APSCHE),Dr. Pola Bhaskar,Commissioner, College ofEducation, ProfChandrasekhar, Director, IIMVisakhapatnam and Prof K.Ram Mohana Rao, vice chair-man, Higher EducationCouncil, also spoke.

Ministers Suresh and Srinivasa Rao jointly launched the Learning ManagementSystem (LMS) developed by the Board of Higher Education.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Rifle Association of AndhraPradesh presidentTottempudi Salalith waselected as the governing bodymember of the National RifleAssociation of India for theterm 2021-2025 here onSaturday.

Speaking to the media,Tottempudi Salalithexpressed gratitude to all thegoverning body members ofNRAI for giving him theopportunity and electing himthe governing body memberof NRAI for the second time.

He said the commitmentand hard work of the RifleAssociation of AndhraPradesh would keep promot-ing the shooting sport inAndhra Pradesh and in India.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Two girl students werekilled in a road accident atCheepurupa l l i ofVizianagaram district onSaturday.

According to police, thevict ims A Sita (8) andGnaneswari (6), both sisters,were studying in Class IIIand I I resp ec t ive ly atSiddar tha S cho ol inCheepurpalli. As usual, herfather took them to schoolon a motorcycle and whenthe trio crossed a junction

near a medical shop aspeeding lorry hit the two-wheeler and dragged italong the road for somedistance.

Both girls died on thespot and their father wasadmitted to hospital withsevere injuries. However,the lorry driver did not stopthe vehicle and escaped fromthe spot. Locals tried tocatch the driver but in vain.The police rushed to thespot and shifted the bodiesfor post-mortem examina-tion. Investigation is on.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh PoliceOfficers’ Association (APPOA)has strongly condemned thederogatory remarks made byTelugu Desam Party senior leaderCh Ayyanna Patrudu againstAndhra Pradesh IPS officers.

APPOA president JanukulaSrinivas Rao on Saturday said thatAyyanna Patrudu’s comments onIPS officers in his speech made on

the occasion of the death anniver-sary of former AP Speaker KodelaSiva Prasad Rao were highlyobjectionable.

He said that the police alsocould also use rude languagebut decency was restrainingthem from making suchremarks. If Ayyanna Patruduthought injustice was beingmeted out to TDP leaders, hewas free to knock on the doorsof the courts.

Meanwhile, Andhra PradeshIPS Officers Association secre-tary Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao,in a press release, said that it wasdeplorable that a senior politi-cal leaders and former ministerlike Ayyanna Patrudu couldmake objectionable commentson an SP and strongly con-demned them. He said thatpublic representatives mustspeak decently upholdinghuman values.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

As part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav,‘Pradushan Se Azadi’ (plantation drive) wasconducted on Saturday by the Income TaxDepartment at Sagar Nagar.

Dr. S V S S Prasad, Chief Commissioner,Income Tax Officer A K Mohapatra, PrincipalCommissioner of Income Tax and D KSonowala, Commissioner, Income Tax were pre-sent at the drive.

On the occasion, the guests mentioned thesteps to be taken to protect the nature and envi-ronment and also the role to be played by eachand every citizen of the country in this regard.

M V V Satyanarayana, MP, and Dr. P VSudhakar, Principal, Andhra Medical College,were also present and planted saplings.

PNS n ONGOLE

Superintendent of PoliceMalika Garg has said that elab-orate security arrangementshave been made for the count-ing of votes polled in theMPTC and ZPTC elections.

Addressing a press confer-ence here on Saturday, the SPsaid that elaborate securityarrangements were made at theMPTC and ZPTC electioncounting centres which wouldbegin at 12 centres at 8 AM onSunday.

The SP said that AdditionalSP B Ravichandra was appoint-ed to Chirala and Darsi sub-divisions, OSD KChowdeswari to Markapursub-divisions and AR addi-tional SP T Siva Reddy to

Ongole, Kandukur the sub-divisions respectively to mon-itor the situation.

The SP also said that a DSP-level officer was appointed asin-charge to each countingcentre and two CIs weredeployed at each counting cen-tre. She said that a strong

three-tier security arrange-ments were put in place ateach counting centre bydeploying a total 1,755 policepersonnel, i.e., threeAdditional SP-level officers,11 DSP-level officers,Inspector-level officers 28, 97Civil/AR Sub Inspectors, 341ASIs/ HCs, 614 PCs/WPCs,382 HGs/WHGs, 125 AR and124 Special Party personnel.The SP said that special surveil-lance was kept on most prob-lem villages by setting up 68pickets and 25 patrolling forces.

The SP suggested to theteachers, police and otheremployees attending the count-ing duties to follow Covidnorms and conduct the count-ing process effectively. Peoplewere told not to gather in

groups as the 144 Sectionwould be in force near thecounting centres. The SP saidthat agents must bring their IDcards and the access for peopleunrelated to the counting bestrictly prohibited within 100metres of the counting centres.The SP said that special surveil-lance was being put on trouble-makers and rowdy sheeters aspart of the precautionary mea-sures.

The SP said that strongarrangements were made toprevent any untoward inci-dent during the counting andasked the public to call Dial-100 or District Police ControlRoom 9121102276 as soon asthey come across any untowardincidents happening or likely tooccur.

Ayyanna Patrudu remarksdeplorable, says Sucharita

APPOA demands apology from TDP leader

TDP dares IPS Assn to debatePNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP politburo member VarlaRamaiah on Saturday chal-lenged the AP State IPSOfficers' Association to anopen debate on the overallfunctioning of the AP policein the past two-and-a-halfyears of CM YS JaganmohanReddy's suppressive rule.

Ramaiah asserted that theirparty would strongly con-demn the manner in whichthe IPS Association respond-ed to the comments of formerMinister Ch AyyannaPatrudu. “Why didn't theseofficers respond similarlywhen the ruling YSRCPMLAs and leaders madehighly derogatory remarksagainst the police in the past?The discriminatory approachon the part of the seniorpolice officers is regrettable,”he said.

Addressing a press confer-ence here, the TDP leadersaid that there was nothingwrong in Ayyanna Patrudu'scomments and the seniorleader just highlighted theprevailing situation in theState. YSRCP MLA KasuMahesh Reddy levelled anobjectionable comment thathe would not care about thepolice. The video went viralall over the State but the gov-ernment and the police didnot take any action.

The TDP leader asked theIPS Association why theydid not open their mouthswhen their own police tiedropes on the gates ofChandrababu Naidu's houseand prevented them fromcoming out. When the APOpposition Leader went tothe Ramatheertham Temple,the police created all sorts ofproblems. The police officerswere dancing to the tunes ofthe ruling YSRCP leadersand filing false cases. Evenformer ministers and seniorleaders were being arrestedafter cases were foisted onthem.

SEC tells officials to ensuretransparency in counting PNS n GUNTUR

State Election Commissioner(SEC) Nilam Sawhney hasdirected the officials concernedto conduct the counting ofvotes of ZPTC and MPTCelections in a transparent man-ner and complete the process-es smoothly.

The SEC conducted a reviewmeeting here on Saturday forwhich Collector Vivek Yadav,Election observer Dr. PLakshmi Narasimham, Gunturrange IG Trivikram Varma,Urban SP Arif Afeez, rural SPVishal Gunni were present.

Speaking on the occasion,Nilam Sawhney expressed sat-isfaction over the arrange-ments made for the countingof votes. She asked the officialsto involve all the governmentmachinery in the counting asthey have a short time to startthe process. The counting staffshould have complete knowl-edge of valid votes and invalidvotes.

The counting staff should beof utmost alert while mention-ing the figures and declaringthe results.

Election observerLakshminarasimham said thatthe election code of conductshould be followed by all. Thecounting staff and the agents ofcandidates must wear facemasks in the counting hall.Only those who have RTPCR,Antigen negative reportsshould be allowed into thecounting hall, he said.

Collector Vivek Yadav madea PowerPoint presentation onthe arrangements for thecounting of votes.

IG Trivikram Varma saidthat Section 144 was clampedaround the counting stationsand a three-tier securityarrangements had been made.Additional forces weredeployed to the rural areaswhich were vulnerable to vio-lent incidents. Steps were takento ensure that no candidatetakes out a victory rally afterthe election results aredeclared.

Later, Nilam Sawnney, IGP,

Collector , and election observ-er inspected the accountingcentre located in the ALBEDcollege. The officials explainedthe arrangements made for thecounting of votes tomorrow.Joint Collectors A S DineshKumar, Rajakumari, AnupamaAnjali, K Sridhar Reddy wereamong those who were presentat the meeting.

The SEO also visited Ongoleand reviewed with the officialsthe arrangements made for thecounting of votes. She direct-ed the officials to be on highalert till the counting processis completed. She enquiredabout the training in thecounting of votes imparted tothe officials and counting staff.

She told the SP that the per-sons who move suspiciously atthe counting centre should beheld. She asked the official toinstall CCTV cameras andmonitor them till the processis completed.

Prakasam DistrictCollector Pravin Kumarexplained to the SEC aboutthe arrangements made forthe counting of votes. SPMalika Garg said that specialmobile parties were set up tomaintain law and order out-side the counting centres.Joint Collectors, ZPCE, DROand other officials were pre-sent. Later she inspectedcounting centres along withthe Collector and SP.

Elaborate arrangements made in Prakasam

PNS n GUNTUR

YSR Congress Party(YSRCP) functionaries, ledby MLAs Meruga Nagarjunaand Maddal i Gir idhar,lodged a police complaintagainst former minister andTelugu Desam Party (TDP)senior leader Ch AyyaannaPatrudu for his absurd com-ments against Chief MinisterY S Jaganmohan Reddy andother leaders.

The YSRCP leaders ,including MLAs MNagarjuna, M Giridhar,MLC Lel la Appireddy,Mayor K Manohar Naidu,Mohammad Mustafa andGDCC Bank ChairmanRamu met Superintendentof Police Vishal Gunni hereon Saturday and complainedto him against the TDPleader.

TDP leader Ayyanna-patrudu made some objec-tionable remarks against theChief Minister and otherleaders while participating

in the death anniversaryprogramme of formerAssembly Speaker Kodela

Siva Prasad R ao atKandlakunta vi l lage inNakarikallu mandal. The SP

received the complaint fromthe YSRCP leaders andassured action.

YSRCP leaders complain against Ayyanna

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Elaborate arrangements arebeing made for the counting ofvotes and declaration of resultsof members, MPTCS and ZPTCs,for which the elections wereconducted on April 8, 2021 willbe held in the State on Sundayfrom 8.00 am onwards as perthe notification of SEC, said KKanna Babu, secretary APSEC.The State Election CommissionerNilam Sawhney reviewed thearrangements made by thedistrict administration for thecounting, law and order andbandobust, Covid-19 safetyprecautions to be taken duringthe counting process, etc.,through teleconference on

Saturday with the Collectors &District Election Authorities,Superintendents of Police andCommissioners of Police.The Collectors and SPs/CPs haveinformed that they have made allarrangements for smoothconduct of counting on Sunday.Adequate training was alsoimparted for the countingpersonnel and arrangementswere made for Covid testing/vaccination for the officialsengaged in the counting process,candidates and their countingagents. Adequate measures werealso taken for maintaining lawand order including enforcementof Section 144 at the countingcentres and closure of liquorshops.

MPTC, ZPTC polls: Stage setfor counting of votes today

APHEPB vows to make higher edu accessible to all

Salalith electedgoverningbody memberof NRAI

2 girls killed in road accident

AP ChambersState panelelected at AGMPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh Chambers ofCommerce and IndustryFederation (AP Chambers) elect-ed the new office-bearers and theexecutive committee for the peri-od 2021-13 at its annual generalbody meeting here on Saturday.

The AP Chambers has elect-ed Pydah Krishna Prasad aspresident, B Rajasekhar as gen-eral secretary, S Akkaiah Naiduas treasurer, Kallam MohanReddy as vice-president –Central Zone, M Sudheer asVice-President – Vizag Zone andKV Chowdary as Vice-President– Rayalaseema.

Plantation drive held in Vizag

The Home Minister said that the Opp could ask the govt anyquestion if itthought the former was notperforming welland the ministersconcerned shallanswer theirqueries.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

One person died and six otherswere rescued by police with thehelp of locals as a car plunged intoa canal in the wee hours onSaturday near K Kothapalem.

According to police, K Prasanth(25), along with six others, wasgoing to his native villageChirovolu from Vijayawada in theearly hours on Karkatta road. Thecar slipped into the KrishnaEastern canal beside Karakattaroad and Prasanth drowned in theincident. Locals rushed to the spotand informed the police of the

incident. The police, led byNagayalanka sub-inspector KSrinivas, with the help of two trac-tors and locals, ventured into thecanal and pulled the car out withropes. Unfortunately, they foundPrasanth dead and rescued sixothers. Prasanth was an activeactivist in the Jana Sena party andparticipated in numerous protestsand agitations. The Jana Sena lead-ers went to the house of Prasanthand consoled his father KUmamaheswara Rao who isworking as a teacher in MopideviHigh School and mother, formerZPTC, Kuala Sivaleela.

Youth dies as car plunges into canal

YSRCP leaders, including MLAs M Nagarjuna, M Giridhar, MLC Lella Appi Reddy, Mayor K Manohar Naidu, MohammadMustafa and GDCC Bank Chairman Ramu handing over a complaint against senior TDP leader Ch Ayyanna Patrudu, toSP Vishal Gunni in Guntur on Saturday.

AP IPS Officers Associationsecretary Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | SEPTEMBER 19, 2021 vijayawada 04

PNS n KAKINADA

The NTR Varadhi, known asJagannadhapuram bridge,across the Upputeru stream,col l aps e d on Saturday.Howe ver, no one wasinjured in the incident. Thebridge suddenly caved inafter an overnight down-pour.

The NTR Varadhi was con-structed when N T Rama Raowas the Chief Minister. Theofficials restricted vehiculartraffic on the bridge after itbecame dilapidated.

About 15 days ago, the offi-cials completely banned vehic-ular traffic on the bridge after

noticing its decrepit state. The officials were making

arrangements on the bridge forthe immersion of Ganesh idols.

Interestingly, the second

bridge, which was constructedseveral decades ago duringthe British rule across theUpputeru, is still intact and thevehicles are moving on it.

PNS n RAJAHMUNDRY

Telugu Desam Party (TDP)senior leader andRajahmundry Rural MLAGorantla Butchaiah Chowdaryhas alleged that theRajahmundry Urban SP wasshowing partiality towards theruling YSRCP.

The TDP leader wrote a let-ter to the Urban SP onSaturday. He alleged that thepolice registered false casesagainst the TDP leaders andactivists.

“I have been in politics for40 years and have been elect-ed MLA for six times. I haveworked as minister and vice-president of the PlanningCommission. I have nevergone to the police station andno FIR has been registeredagainst me.

But the police preventedme on September 16 when Iwas going to meet officials toexplain the problems of farm-ers and registered a case,” helashed out.

The police registered a caseagainst him when he was goingto meet Kadiyam Tahsildar tosubmit a memorandum onthe problems being faced by

the farmers. The tractor onwhich he was going was alsoseized, he flayed.

Chowdary said that RUDA

Chairman Sharmila Reddytook out two massive rallies.When Bireddy SiddardhaReddy and YV Subba Reddycame to Rajahmundry, rallieswere taken out with a hugeconvoy but the police did notobject. But the police pre-vented him when he wasgoing to submit a memoran-dum to Tahsildar, he lament-ed.

The TDP leader asked theSP in his letter what the policewere doing when YSRCP MLAJogi Ramesh went to formerChief Minister NChandrababu Naidu’s housewith his followers wieldingsticks.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The Greater VisakhapatnamMunicipal Corporation(GVMC) has approved over100 items including Pet DogTheme Park on Saturday.Though several protests werestaged against the items on theagenda, including dogs park ata cost of Rs 2 crore in anextent of one acre land, nearChinamushidiwada, imple-mentation of the SC sub-planat cost of Rs 40 crore anddevelopment of the schoolsinfrastructure with Rs13 croreunder Smart City, the gener-al body meeting of the GVMChas cleared the bills.

Alleging that the GVMChas set aside the basic ameni-ties in the city, the CPM andJana Sena Party corporatorsstaged protests with dogs infront of the GVMC building.However, with the help ofstrong membership in thebody, the ruling YSRCongress Party (YSRCP)passed over 100 agenda itemsin the meeting.

The Opposition parties,including TDP, CPM, andJSP, registered their protest onthe items on the agenda.However, after counting of themembers, Mayor G HariVenkata Kumari announcedthat all the items were passed.

PNS n GUNTUR

State Women Commission(SWC) Chairperson VasireddyPadma has slammed TeluguDesam party MLC NaraLokesh for burning the copiesof the Disha Act and termedthe act a humiliation towomen.

Talking to the media, after vis-iting the prison here on Saturday,she alleged that the TDP lead-ers had no respect for the law.She criticised the TDP sayingthat the party had no sincerityregarding the security of women.The TDP leaders should exertpressure on the Union govern-ment in the Parliament for thePresidential approval for theDisha Act, she said.

“Though the Disha Act hasnot been approved by thePresident of India, the chargesheets were filed in 1,600 cases

within one week drawinginspiration from the Act. TheYSRCP government is a pro-women government. ChiefMinister Y S JaganmohanReddy has launched manywelfare schemes especially forwomen,” she said.

The YSRCP government isresponding immediatelywhenever injustice is metedout to women. The crime ratehas come down by 4 percentcompared to the previous year.Jaganmohan Reddy is keen onempowerment of women,”Vasireddy Padma claimed.

The State Women’sCommission would soon holdseminars on the self-reliance ofwomen to which intellectualswould be invited. The semi-nars would be held onSeptember 23, 24 in Tirupatiand on September 28 and 29in Kadapa, she said.

PNS n ELURU

In a freak incident, Rs 20 lakhworth currency notes weregutted when lightning strucka house at Gurubhatlagudemvillage in Chintalapudi man-dal of West Godavari districton Saturday.

The lightning struck thehouse of Mahesh Babu on thenight of Saturday resulting infire in the house. Soon, Rs 20lakh worth of currency noteswere destroyed in the fire,Mahesh Babu said.

Rain accompanied withgales and thunders occurredin the area.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Cybercrime police arrested aperson named GuttigandeVidyasagar in connectionwith cheating of a womanadvocate by making herbelieve that he would helpher to get government jobsfor her two children.

The Vijayawada cyber-crime police, in a press noteon Saturday, said that somefraudsters are easily cheatingthe gullible people by luringthem with jobs. In one suchcase, Vidya Sagar lured awoman advocate saying thathe had influence in the Uniongovernment and that he couldhelp her two sons get govern-ment jobs. Blindly trustinghim, the woman transferredRs 65 lakh into his account.

After realising that shewas cheated by Vidya Sagar,she lodged a complaint withthe cybercrime police. Thepolice, during the course ofinvestigation, noticed thatVidya Sagar had earlier cheat-ed some other people sayingthat he would help them getgovernment jobs. The cyber-crime police appealed to thepeople not to fall prey tofraudsters. The police seizedRs 7 lakh cash and a vehiclefrom the accused.

PNS n KAKINADA

In a high drama, the officialspasted a notice on the door ofthe residence of MayorSunkara Pavani after serving anotice on her, asking her toprove her majority Council onOctober 5.

Majority of TDP corporatorsrevolted against MayorSunkara Pavani andannounced their support tothe YSRCP-backed candidate.

As many as 33 corporatorssubmitted a letter to CollectorCh Hari Kiran in this regard onSaturday.

The municipal, police andrevenue officials went to the res-idence of the Mayor on Saturday.They pasted Form 2 notice onthe door of her house. The no-confidence motion would bemoved on October 5 and she hasto prove her strength to contin-ue as city Mayor.

Earlier, the TDP corporators,along with the YSRCP corpo-

rators, met Collector Ch HariKiran and submitted a letterwithdrawing their support tothe Mayor. They asked theCollector to convene a Councilmeeting to move the no-con-

fidence motion.TDP has 33 corporators,

YSRCP 10 and the BJP three inthe Municipal Corporation.There are two independentcorporators. The two inde-

pendents and the two BJP cor-porators joined the YSRCP.Out of the 33 TDP corporators,26 announced their support tothe YSRCP backed Mayoralcandidate.

Rajahmundry Mayor askedto prove majority on Oct 5

GVMC clears ‘Dog Theme Park' amid protests

Gorantla slams SP for ‘bias’

Rs 20 lakhcash gutted in lightning

NTR Varadhi caves in

SWC chief serious overburning Disha Act copies

Man dupeslawyer of Rs 65 L, held

I have never gone tothe police station andno FIR has beenregistered against me.But the police stoppedme when I was goingto meet officials toexplain the problemsof farmers on Sept 16

YSRCP, TDP doing cheappolitics, alleges Kanna GUNTUR: Former BJP State president Kanna Lakshminarayana hasslammed the ruling YSRCP and Opposition TDP for resorting tomurky politics. The BJP leader visited a ration shop atNagarampalem here on Saturday on the occasion of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s birthday celebrations. Speaking on the occasion, healleged that the YSRCP regime had hiked the power tariff for twotimes since it came to power. Adding to the woes, the governmentwas collecting true-up charges on the electricity consumers, he criti-cised. The BJP leader demanded that the government reduce thepower tariff. The two regional parties, the YSRCP, and the TDP weredegrading themselves with their cheap politics, he charged.State vice-president and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana Stateconvenor Ravela Kishore Babu said that Prime Minister NarendraModi's image was not arranged at the ration shop despite the Uniongovernment providing subsidised rice. The Union government isextending a 30 percent subsidy on the ration being distributed bythe State government, Kishore Babu said.

Two arrested in theft casesKAKINADA: The police arrested two criminals who committed theft ofvaluables from the bags of the passengers and recovered Rs 4.71lakh cash from them here on Saturday. DSP S Rambabu said that theaccused committed two offences at the Kakinada bus station. In thefirst offence that took place on September 12, they stole Rs 80,000cash from the bag of a woman passenger when she was gettingdown from a bus. Four days later on September 16, they stole Rs3.93 cash from another woman passenger by cutting through herbag while she was boarding the bus. The names of the accused weregiven as Vasamsetty Kumar Swamy (27) and Kora Prahlad (23), bothbelonging to Visakhapatnam district. The arrested persons were sentto judicial custody after they were produced in court.

Rs 1.1 cr. donated to BIRRDTIRUMALA: A Chennai-based devotee Balu Ramajayan donatedRs1.1 crore to TTDs BIRRD Trust, here on Saturday. The devoteehanded over the donation in the form of a Demand Draft to TTDAdditional Executive Officer A V Dharma Reddy here. The AdditionalEO told the media that Ramajayan had donated Rs .1 crore to BIRRDTrust to purchase 200 state-of-the-art beds for the hospital. Thesebeds will be very useful for the patients," he said.

BTech student found hanging HYDERABAD: A 20-year-old engineering student committed suicide byhanging herself in her hostel room at Maisammaguda atPetbasheerabad late on Friday night. Officials suspect that the victimwas depressed, leading her to take the extreme step. The victim wasidentified as K Madhavi, a native of Jangaon, she was staying in a hostelat Maisammaguda and was in her third year of engineering at a privatecollege. Madhavi was found hanging in her hostel room, from the ceil-ing fan. Officials said no suicide note was found at the spot and that herfamily members also said she had no problems. However, the policesaid that a few of her friends noticed that she was not herself during thelast few days and was downcast. The Petbasheerabad Police registereda case of suspicious death and are investigating the incident. The bodywas shifted to the Gandhi Hospital morgue for autopsy.

SHORT TAKES

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Jawahar Nagar Police onSaturday, arrested a man oncharges of killing a woman,whose body was found withthe face mutilated.

The arrested person hasbeen identified as PatintiAnjappa, 43, a resident ofBhajarang Colony in Kapra.The deceased person, PyatalaSujatha, 35, was a neighbour ofthe murderer, said the police.

The woman was initiallyreported missing by her hus-band. The police registered a

missing person's case and wereinvestigating when the deadbody of the missing womanwas found in the forest areabehind Vikalangula Colonywith a severe head injury. Thepolice then altered the case toa murder case and began aninvestigation.

While verifying CCTVfootage, police noticed Anjappaand Sujatha moving closely.While all suspicion pointed athim, police apprehended himat his residence and broughthim to police station. Duringinterrogation, he confessed to

the crime. Police learnt thatAnjappa wanted to have anaffair with Sujatha but washowever rejected many times.When Sujatha wanted a loan ofRs 5,000, Anjappa took herbehind Vikalangula Colonyclaiming that he would give herthe money there. However,once they reached there,Anjappa tried to take advantageof Sujatha and rape her. WhenSujatha rejected his advances,he bore a grudge and blud-geoned her to death using agranite stone, after which, hefled the scene.

Man held for woman’s murder

PNS n HYDERABAD

A newborn baby girl wasfound abandoned at a tempo-rary shed on the roadside inRein Bazaar here on Saturday.Police suspect her parentsabandoned her soon afterbirth.

The local residents, whoheard the baby crying,checked the shed and foundher wrapped in a cloth. Theyalerted cops, who reached thespot immediately and shiftedher to a nearby private hos-pital, from where she waslater shifted to NilouferHospital for better treatment.

Newborn baby girl abandoned

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Meerpet Police appre-hend two persons, includinga minor, involved in a chainsnatching offence and recov-ered 15 grams of gold orna-ments from their possessionon Saturday.

The arrested person hasbeen identified asShanmugam Gowtham, 19, amedicine delivery boy fromSaidabad and a child in con-flict with the law (CCL).

The police received a com-plaint from a 70-year-oldvictim, who said that whileshe was walking at Sai Nagarof Meerpet, two unknownpersons came on a bike, thepillion rider got down fromthe bike and snatched herchain from her neck and theduo then fled from the scene.The Meerpet Police registereda case and nabbed theaccused persons.

Cops arrest two chain snatchers

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Pradesh CongressCommittee chief A RevanthReddy has thrown what hecalls a 'White Challenge' at ITMinister KT Rama Rao andChevella former MP KondaVishweshwar Reddy daringthem to undergo drug tests.

While speaking to mediapersons at Gandhi Bhavan onSaturday, Revanth appealed topolitical leaders and celebrities,particularly cinema actors, toparticipate in his 'WhiteChallenge' to send a goodmessage to the youth and pro-tect them from drugs andcannabis.

Revanth apparently wantsfor his anti-drug campaignsomething similar to RajyaSabha member J SanthoshKumar's 'Green Challenge'. He

explained that the one whoaccepted the White Challengewould have to prove that hewas not using drugs by under-going blood and hair tests andlater the same person had tothrow the White Challenge totwo more celebrities or polit-ical leaders.

Revanth offered to come toGun Park on September 20 at12 noon. He said that he wasready to come to any hospitalchosen by KTR and KondaVishweshwar Reddy. "Let us goto Osmania Hospital as part ofthe White Challenge. Let usgive blood and hair samples tothe doctors for tests. We havethe responsibility of protectingthe youth", he said.

KTR must spell out why hewas not responding to investi-gations in the drugs andmoney laundering case and

why he did not interfere evenas a Minister. He sought toknow why the Prohibition andExcise Department was notgiving details to theEnforcement Directorate withregard to the drugs case.

Revanth said the stategovernment must tell as towho was the secret personprotecting Daggubati Ranaand Rakul Preet Singh fromthe Prohibition and ExciseDepartment case then andnow. "Who is the personbehind not summoningRana and Rakul in the year2017 and who is the personbehind summoning Ranaand Rakul now for theinterrogation? The ED hasserved notices and con-ducted interrogation ofRana and Rakul now", hestated.

Revanth Reddy throws ‘Whitechallenge' at KTR and Konda

SNCN ACHARYULU

n HYDERABAD

Governor TamilisaiSoundararajan has started givingshocks to TRS government aftertwo years as she setelled in herpost . While Two years before tonext Telangana assembly elec-tions the actions of the governorworries the ruling TRS. Thefirst shock given by thegovernor was by keptpending the recom-mendation of theChief Minister KC h and r a s ek harRao's cabinet tonominate P KaushickReddy as MLC in gov-ernor's quota. The recentshock was calling the 17thSeptember as Telangana " liber-ation" day to the tune of BJPagainst the TRS governmentargument. In the United AndhraPradesh particularly during theseparate Telangana moment bothBJP and TRS demanded tbethen Congress state governmentto celebrate officially 17thSeptember as Telangana libera-tion day.

But after TRS came to power

in 2014 it has changed its tune onTelangana liberation day. WhileBJP is still continuing it's standon 17th September as Telanganaliberation day. Union HomeMinister Amit Shah also in theNirmal public meeting held onFriday said once the BJP willcome to power in Telangana theirgovernment will celebrate offi-cialy Telangana liberation day on

17th September. Union min-ister G Kishan Reddy

also said that the BJPafter coming topower in 2023assembly electionsthe first file to be

signed is declaringthe 17th September as

Telangna liberation dayand also to celebrate official-

ly. But now the TRS argument is

that the 17th September is themerger of Hyderabad state inIndian government. The TRSsecretary General and TRSParliamentary party leader KKeshava Rao on Friday saidthat there was no need for a dis-pute over 17th September, it ismerger of Hyderabad state withthe Union government.

TS Governor starts givingshocks to TRS government

From ignoring KTR’s text toinvesting Rs 2,400 cr in TS

PNS n HYDERABAD

Kochi-based Kitex group onSaturday announced a Rs 2,400crore investment in TelanganaState, with potential to create22,000 jobs.

Kitex MD Sabu Jacobrevealed that he decid-ed to make the invest-ment only because ofK T Rama Rao,though initially hehad ignored theMinister's text message.

Sharing the details onSaturday, KTR said, 'JayeshRanjan through his 5th degree ofseparation got me Jacob's num-ber and I sent him a text mes-sage introducing myself asMinister in Telangana and wouldlike to speak to him". KTR said,"He did not reply as he didn'tseem interested or maybe

thought I wasn't the Minister.Jayesh somehow convinced thatit's the Minister reaching out tohim. I was explaining him allwonderful things in Telangana…I urged Jacob to visit Hyderabadas seeing is believing. Without

thinking, I just said I willsend a flight and he was

taken aback". He said theKerala govt would stophim, so he was asked toannounce just before

departure. This interest-ing conversation on phone

translated to Rs2,400 croreinvestment.

Jacob, acknowledging thereception they got in TS, said:"?When we decided to withdrawfrom Kerala, I got invitationfrom almost all the states andother countries too. I am heretoday because of one person,Minister KTR.

Kitex MD more than doubles investment plan, hails state

PNS n NEW DELHI

The government has broughtout regulations to ease inter-cou-ntry adoptions under the HinduAdoptions and Maintenance Act(HAMA). According to the Ad-option (Amendment) Regulat-ions 2021, families adopting un-der the Act can receive a NOCfrom the government's nodaladoption body Central AdoptionResource Authority (CARA) totake the child abroad.

Until now, the NOC wasissued only by a court.

Till now, there were no regu-lations for CARA regarding inter-country adoptions underHAMA, which covers Hindus,Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains. TheAct deals with the rules for

adopting children as it gives anadopted child all the rightsenjoyed by a biological child.

In a notification issued late onFriday, the Women and ChildDevelopment Ministry saidCARA shall issue a no-objectioncertificate for Hague-ratifiedcountries.

CARA will issue the NOCbased upon a verification certifi-cate from the district magistrateof the respective region.

In cases of countries outsidethe Hague Adoption Conventionin respect of inter-country adop-tions, a letter accepting the adop-tion from the government depa-rtment concerned of the receiv-ing country shall be sought byCARA in order to issue the finalsupport letter by the agency.

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | SEPTEMBER 19, 2021 nation 05

An air show will be held here onSeptember 26 where IAF's skydiv-

ing team Akash Ganga andSuryakiran Aerobatic and DisplayTeam and paramotor flying willmaneuver the skies over the famousDal Lake, officials said on Saturday.The air show will be organised by theAir Force Station Srinagar and theJammu and Kashmir administration

as part of the ongoing celebrations commemorating 'Azadi ka AmritMahotsav', they said. The main aim of the exercise -- under the theme'Give Wings to Your Dream' -- is to motivate the youth of the valley tojoin the Indian Air Force (IAF) and to promote tourism in the region, theofficials said. The event will be flagged off Lieutenant Governor ManojSinha at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC)overlooking the Dal Lake. More than 3,000 college and school studentsare expected to participate in the programme to witness the impressivemaneuvers of the IAF, which will motivate them to dream about a careerin the force and in the aviation sector, the officials said.

IAF to hold air show overSrinagar's Dal Lake on Sep 26

The Central Board ofSecondary Education will

conduct the Central TeacherEligibility Test (CTET)between December 16 andJanuary 13, it said in astatement. The test will beconducted in 20 languagesthroughout the country incomputer based test mode,the board said. The

information bulletin containing details of the examination, syllabus,languages, eligibility criteria, examination fee, examination cities andimportant dates will be available on the CTET's websitehttps://ctet.nic.in from September 20, according to the Central Boardof Secondary Education (CBSE). Candidates have to apply onlineonly through the CTET website. The online application-process willbe start on September 20 and end on October 19. The fee can bepaid up to October 20 before 3.30 pm.

Central Teacher EligibilityTest between Dec 16-Jan 13

Delhi University officialswill be holding a series

of meetings with collegeprincipals to finalise thecut-off schedule that islikely to be released bynext week, officials saidon Saturday. The universi-ty plans to release its firstcut-off on October 1 toaccommodate studentswho are appearing for

improvement or compartment exams, they added. Professor RajeevGupta, chairman of the university's admission committee said, "Wewill finalise the cut-off schedule very soon. October 1 is a tentativedate for the first cut-off. We plan to release the cut-off on that day.We will be holding meetings with college principals and nodal offi-cers to finalise the schedule." He said they plan to release a cut-offschedule for at least five cut-offs by next week.

Delhi University UG cut-offschedule likely by next week

Seven girls agedbetween 12 and 20

years drowned in a pondat a village in Jharkhand'sLatehar district onSaturday, officials said. The tragedy occurred atBukru village withinBalumath police stationlimits when the girls hadgone to the pond forimmersion after KarmaPuja, a major festival in

Jharkhand, Deputy Commissioner Abu Imran said. Rescue teamswere rushed to the scene. Some people were also injured and threeof them were hospitalised. The Deputy Development Commissionerof the district has been asked to hold an inquiry, Imran said. Karmais a major festival in Jharkhand related to worship of mother nature.

7 girls drown during ‘KarmaPuja' immersion in Jharkhand

INDIA CORNER

PNS n BENGALURU

Chief Justice of India N V Ramanaon Saturday said Indianisation ofthe country's legal system is theneed of the hour and it is crucialto make the justice delivery sys-tem more accessible and effective.

He said Courts need to be lit-igant-centric, and the simplifica-tion of justice delivery should bethe pressing concern.

"Very often our justice deliveryposes many barriers for the com-mon people. The working and thestyle of courts do not sit well withthe complexities of India. Our sys-tems, practice, rules being colonialin origin, it may not be best suit-ed to the needs of the Indian pop-ulation," Justice Ramana said.

Speaking at an event organised

here to pay tributes to lateSupreme Court judge JusticeMohan M Shantanagoudar, hesaid the need of the hour is the"Indianisation of our legal system."

"When I say Indianisation, Imean the need to adapt to thepractical realities of our societyand to localise our justice deliv-ery system. For example, partiesfrom a rural place fighting afamily dispute are usually made tofeel out of place in the court; theydo not understand arguments orpleadings which are mostly inEnglish, a language alien to them,"he added.

Further noting that these daysjudgments have become lengthy,the Chief Justice said it furthercomplicates the position of the lit-igants.

"For parties to understand theimplication of the judgment theyare forced to spend more money.Courts need to be litigant-centricas they are the ultimate beneficia-ries. The simplification of justicedelivery should be our pressingconcern. It is crucial to make jus-tice delivery more transparent,accessible and effective," he said.

Justice Ramana said proce-dural barriers often undermineaccess to justice.

"A common man whileapproaching the court shouldnot feel scared of judges and thecourts; he should be able to speakthe truth. It is the duty of lawyersand judges to create an environ-ment which is comforting for lit-igants and other stakeholders," hesaid.

"We must not forget that thefocal point of any justice systemis the litigant, the justice seeker,"he said, adding that "usage of alter-native dispute mechanisms suchas mediation and conciliationwould go a long way in reducing

the friction between parties andwould save resources. It alsoreduces the pendency andrequirement of having lengthyarguments and judgments."

Remembering Justice Shant-anagoudar who died on April 25at a private hospital in Gurugram,where he was admitted due to alung infection, at the age of 62, asan "extraordinary judge", theChief Justice said these are the top-ics he used to discuss with himeveryday.

Expressing "deep gratitude" toShantanagoudar's contribution toIndian Judiciary and the country'sjurisprudence and for his friend-ship, the Chief Justice said, "in los-ing him the country has lost acommon man's Judge.

I have personally lost a most

cherished friend and a valuablecolleague."

Justice S Abdul Nazeer, JusticeA S Bopanna, Justice Abhay Shr-eeniwas Oka, Justice BV Nagara-thna, Acting Chief Justice of Ka-rnataka High Court Satish Cha-ndra Sharma, Chief Minister Ba-savaraj Bommai, Law Minister JC Madhuswamy, several presentand former judges of SupremeCourt and High Court, office-be-arers and members of Bar Cou-ncil, among others, were present.

Late Justice Shantanagoudar'sfamily was also present at theevent.

Recalling his long associationwith him since a young age,Chief Minister Bommai saidShantanagoudar was a down toearth personality.

Indianisation of our legal system is need of the hour: CJI

PNS n PANAJI

Prime Minister Narendra Modion Saturday said he was humbledas over 2.50 crore COVID-19 vac-cine doses were administered inthe country on his 71st birthday,and called it an emotional andunforgettable moment.

Without naming any party,Modi also said the overwhelmingresponse in the country to thevaccination drive on his birthdayon September 17 made a politi-cal party experience fever, andreact during midnight.

Modi was interacting withhealthcare workers and vaccina-tion beneficiaries in Goa viavideo link to mark the first dosevaccination to the entire eligiblepopulation in the state.

“I want to speak my maan kibaat. So many birthdays came andwent. I kept away from celebrat-ing them. But in my entire life,yesterday was an emotional day,”he said.

He said people from medicalfraternity are associated with thevaccination programme for thelast one and a half year, but therecord created yesterday is a bigthing as over 2.5 crore peoplereceived the jab.

“One dose will save one life,” headded.

He said the country was gluedto the CoWin dashboard yester-day as every hour more than 15lakh vaccines were given, whichmeans 26,000 jabs every minuteand 415 every second.

“More than one lakh vaccina-tion centres were involved in the

mission,” Modi said. The coun-try's vaccination network andskilled manpower reflects in thiscapability, he added.

Modi said that on his birthday,he had called an elderly friend,who asked him about his age. “Itold him, there are 30 more yearsremaining,” he said.

Modi said that states having alarge tourist footfall like Goa,Himachal Pradesh, and Sikkimwere given importance in the vac-cination programme so that thetourism sector opens up.

It is important that our tourismsector opens up and a state likeGoa attains an important positionin reviving the tourism sector ofthe country, he said.

“When everyone from thehotel industry, taxi drivers, ven-dors and shopkeepers are vacci-nated, people will feel safe to trav-el that destination,” he said.

“Goa is among the internation-al tourist destinations whereeveryone is vaccinated,” he added.

He said the spread of the virus

has been reduced but peopleshould not take things lightly. “Weshould give importance toCOVID-19 protocol as much asto vaccination,” he said.

Modi said the Central govern-ment has taken up steps toencourage international tourismby offering sops like free visa forthe first five lakh arrivals, Rs 10lakh loan for hospitality sectorcompanies and Rs one lakh loanfor tourist guides.

During the interaction, Modirecalled former Goa chief minis-ter Manohar Parrikar. “Had hebeen alive, he would have beenproud of the achievement of thestate,” Modi said. Parrikar's lega-cy of progress has been success-fully taken forward by ChiefMinister Pramod Sawant, headded.

Modi interacted with a doctor,nurse, a senior citizen and asocial worker on issues like over-coming vaccine hesitancy andlogistics involved in transporta-tion of the doses.

PM says birthday was emotionalfor him after 2.5 cr vaccinations

PNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister Narendra Modishould celebrate his birthdayevery day as some BJP-ruledstates "performed" on the dayand vaccinated many times thedaily average, the Congresssaid on Saturday. The partytook a dig at Modi a day afterIndia achieved the highestrecord of 2.5 crore COVID-19vaccinations on a single day.Congress leader Rahul Gandhisaid this is the pace ofvaccination the country needs."Looking forward to manymore days of 2.1 crorevaccinations. This pace is whatour country needs," he tweeted.Party leader P Chidambaramsaid he was happy and gratefulthat 2.5 crore vaccinationswere administered on Friday."But why did we have to waituntil the PM's birthday," heasked. Suppose the primeminister's birthday was onDecember 31, would the 2.5crore vaccinations have beendone only on the last day of theyear, Chidambaram also asked."Vaccination is not like cutting acake on a birthday. Vaccinationis a programme, it is a process.It has to be accelerated everyday, not scale a peak on a

birthday," he said on Twitter."BJP ruled states -- UP, MP,Gujarat and Karnataka --'perform' on the PM's birthdayand vaccinate many times thedaily average. On other days,they are 'non-performing'states. "I wish the PMcelebrated his birthday everyday," the former Union financeminister added. In anothertweet, he said, one-third of theadult population was yet toreceive its first dose and only21 per cent had been fullyvaccinated. Prime MinisterModi, in a swipe at theopposition, on Saturday saidthere is talk of fever as avaccine side-effect, but apolitical party experienced feverafter 2.5 crore vaccines wereadministered on his birthday.

Wish PM Modi celebratedhis birthday everyday: Cong Govt frames adoption

rules under HAMA PNS n NEW DELHI

Nearly 740 km of metro linesare at present operational invarious cities in India and thenetwork span is steadilyscheduled to rise to about 900km by 2022, Union Housingand Urban Affairs MinisterHardeep Singh Puri said onSaturday.

He was speaking afterinaugurating the nearly 1-kmNajafgarh-Dhansa Bus Standcorridor, an extension of theGrey Line of the Delhi Metro,via a video-conference link.

"Nearly 740 km or so ofmetro lines are operational invarious cities in India and thenetwork span is "steadilyscheduled to rise" to about900 km by 2022," the minis-ter said.

Besides, another 1,000 kmmetro lines are under con-struction in various cities inthe country, so the total spanwill be close to 2,000 km inthe coming years, he said.

Puri lauded the DelhiMetro for its various accom-plishments despite theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Metro networkin India toreach 900 kmby 2022: Puri

Raj Kundra claims there is noevidence against him, seeks bail PNS n NEW DELHI

The Chanakyapuri districtadministration has ordered theclosure of Gurudwara BanglaSahib here for alleged violation ofCOVID-19 norms, promptingoutgoing Delhi Sikh GurudwaraManagement Committee presi-dent Manjinder Singh Sirsa todemand action against the offi-cials concerned.

The order by theChanakyapuri sub divisionalmagistrate (SDM) was issued onSeptember 16. The order statedthat a report submitted by exec-utive magistrate (Chanakyapuri)found that the management ofBangla Sahib Gurudwara“allowed visitors/prayers insidethe Gurudwara" in violation of

DDMA directions. The orderasked the management of BanglaSahib Gurudwara, one of themost prominent Sikh shrines inthe national capital, to be closedfor visitors with immediate effect.

The Delhi DisasterManagement Authority (DDMA)had earlier ordered reopening ofreligious places, but visitors were

not allowed to prevent the spreadof the novel coronavirus infection.

Meanwhile, SAD leader andoutgoing Delhi Sikh GurudwaraManagement Committee(DSGMC) chief Manjinder SinghSirsa fumed at the ChanakyapuriSDM order and demanded actionfrom Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal against the district offi-cials.

In a video message on Twitter,he said, "Cheap action by SDMChanakyapuri by passing thisorder to close Gurdwara SriBangla Sahib for CovidViolations! We condemn thissick mentality of Delhi Govt &demand @ArvindKejriwal Ji totake strictest action against con-cerned DC & SDM GeetaGrover.”

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib asked toclose over violation of Covid norms

PNS n JAMMU

The Army is fully prepared to meetany challenge, like the use ofdrones and social media, by adver-saries to safeguard the country,Commandant of Chennai-basedOfficers Training Academy (OTA)Lieutenant General M K Das saidon Saturday.

Lt Gen Das, who is also thecolonel of Jammu and KashmirLight Infantry (JAKLI) regiment,said the situation in Jammu andKashmir is getting better with theArmy and other security agenciesworking together to stamp out ter-rorism.

Speaking to media persons onthe sidelines of the maiden attes-tation parade of 460 new recruitsof the 126th batch after a success-ful 40-week training period atDansal here, he said the Indian

Army is aware of the challenges andprepared to give a befittingresponse to the enemies of thenation.

Responding to a question aboutthe need to introduce special train-ing courses for soldiers in the after-math of the developments inAfghanistan, the Army officer said“our training is very contemporaryas it caters for all the contingenciesand unforeseen situations."

“I have no doubt that my youngsoldiers who have taken the oathto defend the constitution and thecountry will live up to all the chal-lenges. One of the unique things ofthis regiment (JAKLI) is that all ourtroops hail from J&K and Ladakh.Therefore, they have this ingrainedquality to be security consciousmuch more than others,” he said.

Lauding the regiment for itsexceptional and outstanding record

in all counter-insurgency opera-tions within and outside the coun-try since its birth in 1947, Lt GenDas said, “All the situations unfold-ing in the country or in our neigh-bourhood, I am more than confi-dent that the JAKLI regiment willcontinue to excel and be the leadagency in the fight against terror-ism.”

Asked about the challengesposed by the use of drones to hittargets and deliver weapons andnarcotics from across the Line of

Control and International Border,he said a capsule course on anti-drone measures was introduced todeal with the challenge.

“On Army Day on January 15,our chief took the threat seriouslyand our soldiers are being preparedto deal with the challenge in a bet-ter way,” he said.

During recruitment training,he said that besides the armshanding and exercises, thrust is alsogiven on science and technology,cybersecurity and other new chal-lenges that are followed by orien-tation training courses at therespective units where anti-dronemeasures were also introduced.

He said the misuse of socialmedia by "anti-national" elementsis a reality and the new recruits arebeing trained in cybersecurityduring their basic as well as orien-tation courses.

Army is fully prepared to meet anychallenge from adversaries: Lt. Gen

SC for Rs 25 cr forCovid-orphaned kids PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court is in favourof disbursing the over Rs 25 croredeposited by the Maharashtragovernment in the apex courtregistry five years ago to childrenwho lost both parents during theCovid pandemic in the state.

A bench of Justices D YChandrachud and B VNagarathna noted earlier thisweek that the state has about19,000 children who lost a par-ent due to COVID-19 and 593who lost both their parents.

Maharashtra, one of the worstaffected states during the secondwave of pandemic earlier thisyear, had deposited the money inthe apex court registry in an oldmatter related to medical collegeadmissions. The Supreme Courtnoted that the government ofMaharashtra formulated a poli-

cy on June 17, 2021 envisagingthat Rs 5 lakh be placed in fixeddeposit for children who lost boththeir parents due to the pandem-ic and the money will be payableto them after they attain the ageof maturity.

“The amount of Rs 20 croreswhich was deposited (byMaharashtra government) inpursuance of the order datedDecember 2, 2016 standsenhanced to Rs 25,53,25,548 asa result of accretions of interest,”the bench said.

The top court said before itdirects the disbursal of the moneyto the State of Maharashtra, itwants that a concrete statementbe placed on affidavit about themanner in which the money willbe utilised for the benefit of chil-dren affected by the death ofeither or both parents due to theCovid pandemic.

PORN FILMS CASE

PNS n MUMBAI

Businessman Raj Kundra, anaccused in the pronographic con-tent case, on Saturday moved abail application in a court here,claiming that he was being madea "scapegoat" and that there wasnot a single evidence in the sup-plementary charge sheet of himbeing actively involved in creationof alleged questionable content.

The crime branch, probingthe case, had recently filed a sup-plementary charge-sheet againstKundra and three others in thecase pertaining to alleged creationof pornographic films and pub-lishing them through some apps.

After that, the accusedapproached the metropolitancourt for bail, saying that theinvestigation in the case waspractically over.

Kundra, husband ofBollywood actor Shilpa Shetty,was arrested July 19 by afterbeing booked under relevant sec-tions of the IPC and theInformation Technology Act. Heis currently in judicial custody.

In the bail, filed through advo-cate Prashant Patil, Kundraclaimed that there is not a singleiota of evidence till date with theprosecution that would connectthe app 'Hotshots' with an offenceunder law.

As per the probe agency, theHotshots app was being used bythe accused for uploading andstreaming obscene content.

The bail plea also said thatthere is not a single allegation inthe entire supplementary chargesheet against the present applicant(Kundra) that he was activelyinvolved in any of the videoshootings.

In fact, it is a sole discretion ofthe individual artists to uploadtheir contents on the app, the pleasaid.

The contents of the complaintdo not disclose any prima-facieoffence against Kundra, the appli-cation said.

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY| SEPTEMBER 19,2021 money 06

MONEY MATTERS

Leading industrialist AnandMahindra on Friday saidhe is looking forward to

the assignment for carryingout a comprehensive reviewof the National Cadet Corps(NCC) in order to make itmore relevant. Mahindra hasbeen named in a 15-memberpanel constituted by thedefence ministry to carry outa comprehensive review ofthe National Cadet Corps (NCC) in order to make it more relevant. "Ilook forward to this assignment. Partly because my school—Lawrence, Lovedale, was an active participant in the program and Iwas in the Air Wing. I still reflexively salute using the Air Forceversion!" Mahindra said in a tweet. Replying to a tweet which soughtdisbanding of the organisation, Mahindra noted: "I'm not sure such adrastic conclusion is warranted. And I welcome inputs from all onhow to adapt the NCC to today's times and needs..." The committeeheaded by former lawmaker Baijayant Panda also includes,Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Col. (Retd) Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore,Rajya Sabha member Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Principal EconomicAdvisor in the Finance Ministry Sanjeev Sanyal and Jamia MilliaIslamia Vice Chancellor Najma Akhtar.

Anand Mahindra says lookingforward to new assignment

Sindhudurg Airport in theKonkan region ofMaharashtra has

received aerodrome licencefrom the DGCA, paving wayfor commercial flightoperations from the facility.On September 7, Unionminister Narayan Rane hadsaid the Chipi airport in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra would beinaugurated by Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on October 9.Earlier the Shiv Sena, which is ruling the state in alliance withNationalist Congress Party and Congress, had announced a similarprogramme by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Come up at aninvestment of Rs 800 crore the first green airport at Chipi inSindhudurg district, the state is expected to bring economic boomfor the region with lots of employment and self-entrepreneurshipopportunities for local people, the developer IRB Sindhudurg AirportPvt Ltd said in a release. IRB Sindhudurg Airport Pvt Ltd is a specialpurpose vehicle of IRB Infrastructure Developer that was formed andmandated with the task of project development and operations. "IRBSindhudurg Airport Pvt Ltd, an SPV of IRB Infrastructure DevelopersLtd, has received aerodrome licence from the Director General ofCivil Aviation (DGCA),” the airport operator said in the release. IRBis happy to achieve yet another milestone in the current year and seethe airport receive licence to operate after successful completion,said Virendra D Mhaiskar, CMD of the company. "With a concessionperiod of over 90 years and a compelling regional proposition, itoffers meaningful avenues of growth,” he said.

Sindhudurg Airport receivesaerodrome licence from DGCA

Drug firm ZydusCadila on Saturdaysaid it has received

approval from the UShealth regulator tomarket VortioxetineTablets, used to treatdepression, in theAmerican market.Thecompany has receivedfinal approval from theUS Food and DrugAdministration (USFDA) to market Vortioxetine tablets in thestrengths of 5 mg, 10 mg, 20 mg, Zydus Cadila said in a statement.Vortioxetine is used to treat depression. It works by helping torestore the balance of a certain natural substance (serotonin)in the brain. The drug will be manufactured at the group'sformulation manufacturing facility at the SEZ, Ahmedabad,Zydus Cadila noted. The group now has 322 approvals andhas so far filed over 400 abbreviated new drug applications(ANDAs) since it commenced the filing process in FY 2003-04, it added.

Zydus Cadila gets USFDA nodto sell depression drug in USA

PNS n NEW DELHI

India on Saturday stressed atG20 agriculture meeting thatthere is a need to increaseinvestment in agriculturalresearch and development amidthe challenges of climate changeand expected increase in fooddemand by 2030.

The G20 AgricultureMinisters' Meeting is one of theministerial meetings organisedas part of the G20 LeadersSummit 2021 to be hosted byItaly in October.

Addressing a session on thetopic 'Research as a drivingforce behind sustainability',Agriculture Minister NarendraSingh Tomar shared that agricul-tural research has played a major

role in transforming India froma net food importer to exporter.

"Today with an annual pro-duction of 308 million tonnes

of food grains, India is not onlyin the realm of food securitybut is also catering to needs ofother countries," he said and

added India has experienced arevolution in the field of agri-cultural produce due to the effi-cient research of scientists.

However, the demand forfoodgrain is expected to rise to350 million tonnes with likelyincrease in India's populationto 150 crore by 2030-32. Thedemand for food will rise amiddepleting natural resources andthe challenge of climate change,he said in an official statement.

In this backdrop, the minis-ter said, "There is a need torethink and adapt agriculturalresearch and development,along with increasing invest-ment in scientific research toachieve adequate and nutritiousfood along with environmen-tal sustainability."

He said research contributessignificantly to the three aspectsof food security availability,access and affordability.

To make the country self-reliant, concerted efforts willcontinue in agriculturalresearch in areas such asgenomics, digital agriculture,climate-smart technologiesand methods, efficient wateruse equipment, developmentof high yielding and bio-friendly varieties, systematicproduction, quality and safe-ty standards among others, hesaid. The minister also said thestrategy to meet the increaseddemand revolves aroundincreasing productivity andincreasing the income offarmers.

Higher investment required in agriR&D, India says at G20 agri meet PNS n WASHINGTON

A US federal judge has struckdown a proposed Trump-erarule that aimed to replace thecurrent H-1B cap lottery sys-tem with a wage-level-basedselection process.

Judge Jeffrey S White of theUS District Court for theNorthern District of Californiavacated a Trump-era H-1Bcap selection regulation onthe grounds that then-ActingHomeland Security SecretaryChad Wolf was not lawfullyserving in his role at the timethe regulation was promulgat-ed.

The judge on Wednesdaygranted the US Chamber ofCommerce's motion for sum-mary judgment in the its law-suit challenging the regulation,according to the court order

uploaded by the Chamber's lit-igation centre.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows UScompanies to employ foreignworkers in speciality occupa-tions that require theoretical ortechnical expertise.Technology companies dependon it to hire tens of thousandsof employees each year fromcountries like India and China.

The number of H-1B visasissued each year is capped at65,000, plus an additional20,000 reserved for individu-als with advanced degrees.The current system for select-ing applications for consider-ation is a hybrid of first-come,first-served and a lottery.

During former presidentDonald Trump's final days inoffice, the US Citizenship andImmigration Services (USCIS)announced to do away with thetraditional lottery system indeciding the successful appli-cants for the H-1B visas.

The USCIS had said itwould prioritise wages to pro-tect the economic interests ofAmerican workers, and betterensure that the most highlyskilled foreign workers bene-fit from the temporaryemployment programme.

US court sets aside proposedTrump-era rule on H-1B visa

PNS n WASHINGTON

Under fire for allegations thatit bowed to pressure fromChina and other governments,the World Bank has dropped apopular report that rankedcountries by how welcomingthey are to businesses.

The report is important tomany companies and investorsaround the world: They use theWorld Bank's “Doing Business”report to help decide where toinvest money, open manufac-turing plants or sell products.

Eager to attract investment,countries around the world,especially developingeconomies, have sought toimprove their rankings in theWorld Bank's report.

Sometimes, nations would

pursue substantive policychanges — by, for example,making it easier for business-es to pay taxes, obtain loans orenforce contracts. Sometimes,they would take a more aggres-sive tack: Like pushy highschoolers cajoling a teacher fora higher grade, they wouldlobby the World Bank to pro-vide a higher score on the“Doing Business” report.

Countries that have scored ahigh ranking have often toutedtheir success. In 2017, for exa-mple, Prime Minister NarendraModi took to Twitter to cele-brate India's big improvementin 2017. Rwanda’s country'sdevelopment board employs a“Doing Business economist.''

But the World Bank haslong been accused of using

sloppy methodology and ofsuccumbing to political pres-sure in producing the “DoingBusiness” rankings. This week,the bank dropped the reportafter investigators had reviewedinternal complaints about “datairregularities'' in the 2018 and2020 editions of “DoingBusiness” and possible “ethicalmatters" involving World Bankstaff members.

In an investigation conduct-ed for the bank, the law firmWilmerHale concluded thatstaff members fudged the datato make China look betterunder pressure from KristalinaGeorgieva, then the CEO of theWorld Bank and now head ofthe IMF, and the office of JimYong Kim, then the WorldBank's president.

What is the World Bank?Founded in 1944, the 189-

country World Bank makesgrants and loans, often tofinance big public works pro-jects, and offers economic adv-ice, mostly to developing nati-ons. The bank, based in Was-hington, has also pledged to re-duce poverty around the world.

What is "Doing Business"report?

In 2002, the bank intro-duced the report, whose annu-al rankings highlight whichcountries have adopted policiesfavorable to businesses andwhich haven't — and howmuch they're improving orregressing. The bank, whichcollects information fromabout tens of thousands ofaccountants, lawyers and other

professionals in 190 countries,assesses how easy it is to dosuch things as start a business,obtain a construction permit orconnect to the electrical grid.Last year, New Zealand rankedNo. 1 and Somalia No. 190. TheUnited States was No. 6.

Why was the report impor-tant?

Its rankings have been inter-preted by the media and byinvestors as a proxy for howmuch countries welcome for-eign investment.

“Any quantitative model ofcountry risk has built this intoratings,” says Timothy Ash, anemerging market strategist at thefixed income manager BlueBayAsset Management. “Moneyand investments are allocated onthe back of this series.”

Why did ‘Doing Business’come under pressure?

Questions surrounding thereport date back to at least2018, when Paul Romer, thenthe chief economist of theWorld Bank, who would go onto win a Nobel Prize in eco-nomics for his earlier work,resigned after complainingabout how “Doing Businesstreated” Chile.

As a result of methodologi-cal tinkering, Chile plunged inthe rankings while socialistMichelle Bachelet occupiedthe presidency, reboundedunder conservative SebastianPinera, then slumped againwhen Bachelet returned topower. The ups and downsoccurred despite little actualchange in policy.

PNS n WASHINGTON

Former officials of the WorldBank are under pressure afteran investigation found thatthey pressured staff membersof the bank to alter data onglobal business conditions inorder to favour China andsome other governments.

The World Bank said itwould discontinue its “DoingBusiness" report in the wake ofthe investigation, which wasconducted by the law firmWilmerHale after internalquestions involving “data irreg-ularities” in the 2018 and 2020editions of the report and pos-sible “ethical matters” involvingbank staff.

WilmerHale's report con-cluded that KristalinaGeorgieva, then the chief exec-utive of the World Bank, andthe office of Jim Yong Kim,then the bank's president, pres-

sured staff members to changedata on China to supportBeijing's ranking in the “DoingBusiness” report. These rank-ings are important to Chinaand other developing nationsbecause they can affect theirability to attract investmentfrom overseas.

In a statement, Georgievadisputed the report's conclu-

sion that she was involved inpressuring World Bank staffmembers to appease China.

“I disagree fundamentallywith the findings and interpre-tations of the Investigation ofData Irregularities as it relatesto my role in the World Bank'sDoing Business report of 2018,”her statement said.

The World Bank, based in

Washington, is among theworld's largest sources of devel-opment funding. “DoingBusiness,” which evaluates acountry's tax burdens, bureau-cratic obstacles, regulatory sys-tem and other business condi-tions, is used by some govern-ments to try to attract invest-ment.

The report ranks countrieson such factors as how straight-forward or burdensome it is toregister a business, legallyenforce a contract, resolve abankruptcy, obtain an electri-cal connection or acquire con-struction permits.

Timothy Ash, a strategist atthe fixed income managerBlueBay Asset Management,said he “cannot overestimate"the importance of the DoingBusiness report for banks andbusinesses trying to assess riskin a particular country.

“Any quantitative model of

country risk has built this in toratings," Ash said. “Money andinvestments are allocated onthe back of this series.”

He added that if an analystat a bank or rating agency haddone what is alleged, "I wagerthey would be fired and wouldbe subject to regulatory inves-tigation.”

China has tried over thepast two decades to increase itsinfluence over internationalinstitutions, including the IMFand the World Health Organi-sation, and their policies.

The changes made to the2018 “Doing Business" reportfollowed lobbying by Beijingfor a better ranking and cameahead of a campaign by theWorld Bank to raise capital inwhich Beijing was expected toplay a “key role,” the reportsaid. China is the bank's third-largest shareholder after theUnited States and Japan.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Apparel Export PromotionCouncil (AEPC) on Saturdaysaid the decision of the GSTCouncil to correct invertedduty structure on textiles fromJanuary 1, 2022 will lessen thetax burden on manmade fibre(MMF) fabrics and garments.

The GST Council in its lat-est meeting on September 17agreed to correct inverted dutystructure on footwear and tex-tiles from January 1, 2022.

AEPC Chairman A Sakthivelsaid the decision will be a bigbreather to the industry.

"The revision will lessen thetax burden on manmade fibre(MMF) fabrics and garments,"he said. He said the invertedduty structure has been anissue with the apparel industryand that the council had made

recommendations to the gov-ernment for the elimination ofthis anomaly that has beenresulting in input tax creditaccumulation blocking crucialworking capital for businesses.

Inputs into the MMF fabricsegment (fibre and yarn) attracta GST rate of 18 per cent and12 per cent whereas the GST

rate on the MMF fabric is 5 percent and that for the finishedgoods apparel is 5 per cent and12 per cent, he said.

It creates a tax structurewhere the rate on inputs is high-er than that on the outputs andthis increases the effective rateof taxation of MMF fabricsand garments and violates the

principle of fibre neutrality,Sakthivel said.

He also said that the GSTCouncil's decision to extend thevalidity of GST exemption ontransport of goods by vessel andair from India to outside India tillSeptember 30, 2022, will partial-ly help soften the impact of thecurrent exorbitant freight costs.

AEPC hails inverted duty structure decision

PNS n KOLKATA

The Indian Jute Mills Assoc-iation is hopeful that the govern-ment will implement the longdue Tariff Commission reportafter the recent direction by theCalcutta High Court, a seniorIJMA official said on Saturday.

The IJMA, the lobby bodyof the jute mills, said theCalcutta High Court thismonth has directed the govern-ment to approve the TariffCommission report and makepayments in line with thereport within November 30.

"We are hopeful that afterthe recent High Court direc-tion, the government willimplement the TariffCommission report soon. It is

long due and still provisionalpricing continues. Implementa-tion of new pricing will help theindustry survive," IJMA chair-man Raghavendra Gupta said.

The report was supposed tobe implemented by March 31.

"At present, all jute mills aresurviving on an 'ad-hoc/provi-sional' price. It was given tothem in September 2016 by theJute Commissioner's office.The mills are suffering Rs3,000-6,000 per tonne loss", amill owner and former IJMAoffice-bearer said.

In Kharif monsoon season(KMS) and Rabi monsoon sea-son (RMS) 2021-22, the Uniongovernment has placed anorder for the supply of almost45 lakh bales of jute bags.

Jute body hopeful onTariff Commission report

PNS n NEW DELHI

Terming allegations of manip-ulation of World Bank's DoingBusiness Ranking as 'shock-ing', former chief economist ofWorld Bank Kaushik Basu saidon Saturday that pressure wasthere from governments duringhis tenure, but the multilateralinstitution never gave in.

The World Bank Group hasdecided to discontinue publica-tion of its Doing Business (DB)report on country investmentclimates following allegations ofirregularities.

The decision was taken aftera probe of data irregularitiesallegedly due to pressure bysome top bank officials toboost China's ranking in 2017

came to light."The news of manipulation of

World Bank's Doing BusinessRanking is shocking. DB wasunder my charge from 2012 to2016. There was pressure fromgovts. We NEVER gave in. Sadthat this changed. I may add, toIndia's credit, I never had pres-sure from India's govt—currentor previous," Basu said in atweet.

He was the chief economist ofWorld Bank from 2012 to 2016.

"After reviewing all theinformation available to dateon 'Doing Business', including

the findings of past reviews,audits, and the report the bankreleased today on behalf of theboard of executive directors,World Bank Group manage-ment has taken the decision todiscontinue the DoingBusiness report," the WorldBank Group had said in a state-ment on Thursday.

The group remains firmlycommitted to advancing the roleof the private sector in develop-ment and providing support togovernments to design the reg-ulatory environment that sup-ports this, it had said.

Inquiry puts ex-World Bank officials under scrutiny on China

PNS n NEW DELHI

State-owned fuel retailingfirms have received an "over-whelming" response to thetender they floated for buy-ing ethanol for mixing inpetrol, a government state-ment said on Saturday.

"The first Expression ofInterest (EOI) for signinglong-term agreement withupcoming dedicated ethanolplants for supply of ethanolhas received an overwhelm-ing response, with 197 bidde-rs participating in the same,"it said without giving detailsof the quantity manufactur-ers have committed to supply.

The EOI was published byBPCL on behalf of OMCs onAugust 27, and it opened onSeptember 17.

Explained: Why World Bank is under fire over set of rankings

Kaushik Basu shocked at manipulation ofWorld Bank's Doing Business Ranking

Nasscom welcomes GST Council's clarification N

asscom on Saturday said the GST Council'sclarification on scope of intermediary services

will ensure that BPM exports/R&D exports and ITservices-related exports are no longer denied theexport status by the enforcement authorities. OnFriday, GST Council's recommendations includedissuance of certain circulars to remove ambiguityand legal disputes on various issues. This includedclarification on scope of "intermediary services"and clarification relating to interpretation of the

term "merely establishment of distinct person" withreference to a section of the IGST Act 2017 forexport of services. "Nasscom welcomes thedecision of the GST Council to issue a circular toclarify the scope of intermediary services. Weexpect this to lay at rest a long pending issue forthe BPM industry and ensure that BPMexports/R&D exports and IT services relatedexports will no longer be denied the export statusby the enforcement authorities," Nasscom said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Kerala Finance Minister K NBalagopal on Saturday pitchedfor extending the GST com-pensation beyond June nextyear as he highlighted that thestate is already grappling withsignificant revenue shortfall.

He said the state is not get-ting its due in the wake of the15th Finance Commissiondevolution recommendations.

Kerala will be receivingGST compensation of over Rs13,000 crore and another one-time grant of over Rs 19,000crore in the current fiscalending March 2022, he noted.

In case the GST compensa-tion ends next year, then thestate will face further revenueshortfall, he said and expressedhope that the compensationregime would be extended.

The regime of paying com-pensation to states for revenueshortfall resulting from subsu-ming their taxes such as VATin the uniform national taxGST will end in June next year.

However, the cess which iscurrently levied on top of theGST rate on certain luxuryand sin goods to fund thecompensation amount forstates will continue to be leviedtill March 2026.

Kerala seeks extension of GSTcompensation regime past 2022

Oil cos get goodresponse to ethanolprocurement tender

PNS n MUMBAI

Non-banking financial companyMAS Financial Services on Fridaysaid it has raised Rs 100 crorethrough private placement ofmarket-linked non-convertibledebentures (MLDs). The lenderhas allotted 1,000 MLDs of a face

value of Rs 10,00,000,aggregating up to Rs 100 crore,the company said in a statement.The allotment of 1,000 market-linked NCDs was inclusive of agreenshoe option comprising 500market-linked NCDs which wasactivated to retain over-subscription, it said.

MAS Financial raises Rs 100 crvia market linked debentures

sundaymagazine

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Rupa, `295

A story of greed, love andsacrifice narrated in thebackdrop of a cripplinghuman tragedy. Acclaimedauthor Atulya Misra tells agripping and powerful storythat traverses numerouscultures and geographies.The story follows the life of Neha, who, atfirst, is driven by blind ambition. Theheights she achieves in business dissipateonce she starts spiralling in the oppositedirection. Just when she appears to be anabysmal failure in the eyes of everyone,Neha creates a corporation to counter thebiggest threat to the planet—the humanpropensity to consume endlessly andcreate more and more waste. Herenterprise becomes so large andsuccessful that it becomes a danger to thevery people who created it. Humanity hasbeen a parasite for long enough on thisplanet. It’s time we become vultures andclean up our habitat.

VULTURES OF PARADISE

Atulya Misra

Rupa, `495

Many of my friends suggestedthat I try my luck in Paralympics.I learned from the Internet that

Dr Dabas was the head of ParaSwimming Federation of India. His con-tact number was also available on Google.So I contacted him and expressed mywish. He informed me that he used to fre-quently visit Chennai for some work andpromised to let me know when he wouldplan his next visit.

After a few months, I contacted himagain. He told me that he was about tocall and inform me about his forthcom-ing visit to Chennai. I thought it wouldbe great if I arranged a get-together withall our well-wishers when he would visitChennai; I needed a venue for the same.So I requested Gita, the head of corpo-rate affairs at my work, for her permis-sion to arrange the meeting in ouroffice. She accepted my request and alsoagreed to make all the arrangements,including to provide refreshments.

I invited all our well-wishers and thepeople who had approached me after read-ing the article in The Hindu; Anand, DrKarthik (who was my pool mate), MrNarsa Reddy, Father Antony Samy, DrRema Devi, Ms Uthira and Sai were alsothere. Dr Dabas attended the meeting andexplained his efforts to promote para swim-ming in India through a nice presentation.We then explained our contributions so farand elaborated on our plans to create andincrease awareness on hydrotherapy/swim-ming in Tamil Nadu. The guests alsoshared their experiences in supporting ourefforts. Dr Dabas suggested us to formTamil Nadu State-level ParalympicSwimming Association and send the par-ticipants for the forthcoming nationals tobe held in Kolhapur, Maharashtra.

We took Dr Dabas to the AndhraClub pool. Our swimmers exhibitedhow we practised swimming and soughthis guidance to improve our skills. Hegave his valuable suggestions to us andappreciated our efforts. We also intro-duced our coach Gopi to him.

I had a discussion with Anand,Preetha, Dr Rema Devi, Ms Uthira, Sai andother well-wishers. We started theParalympic Swimming Association ofTamil Nadu informally, with Dr RemaDevi as president, Ms Uthira as vice-pres-ident, Preetha as treasurer, myself as thegeneral secretary, Sai as joint secretary, DrPonraj as medical direc-tor and Anand astechnical director. With great efforts, weconvinced Rema Devi aunty to be our

president. They treat us like their children,so we all thought their guidance wouldhelp us in taking this initiative forwardsuccessfully. Mr Narsa Reddy accepted tobe our patron. We started to practiseswimming vigorously. We tried hard tofind more people to train but ended upwith only four swimmers: Uthira aunty,Venkatesh, Jyothi and myself.

We all went to Kolhapur along withour coach Gopi. At that time, I was feel-ing a little under the weather as my stom-ach was upset. I consulted a doctor andtook the prescribed medicines. My friendsasked me to reconsider my participationbut I didn’t want to lose the opportunity.Our transit time from Chennai toKolhapur by train was almost 2 days, witha 10-hour layover at Bengaluru. During thelayover, we had to wait at the railway sta-tion itself. We were all very tired by thetime we reached Kolhapur.

Local organizers told us that theycould not make the arrangements asplanned, as they did not receive thepromised funds from the sponsors. Wedecided to find an accessible hotel for ourstay, as we were not comfortable withtheir stop-gap arrangements.

By the time we reached there, I start-ed to feel better. It was the 11th NationalPara Swimming Championship, and ourteam won eight medals. Venkatesh andI won the championship in our respec-tive categories. It was an amazingmoment in my life — winning three goldmedals (50-m freestyle, breaststroke and

backstroke) and becoming a nationalchampion at the age of 40+ years. It wasan unbelievable achievement even for me.My joy knew no bounds.

There, I could see persons with dif-ferent types of disabilities to swim withease. When I saw blind swimmers main-taining a straight line in the pool, I wasvery surprised. If I close my eyes for a fewseconds, I cannot maintain the line ofdirection in the pool. I was unable tounderstand how they managed to do it.

We noticed that there were very fewparticipants from South India in thechampionship. I thought that it might bedue to the general notion that these sportsare dangerous for persons with disabili-ties. In my experience, when I tried toencourage participation of children withdisabilities, often their parents werereluctant as they thought that swimmingwas risky for their children. If I tried toconvince them by giving my example,they would respond saying that it waspossible for me because I was a super-woman and it may not be the case fortheir kids. As I drive, swim, work for anMNC etc., they thought that I had someextraordinary skills.

Dr Dabas put up the proposal to hostthe next nationals to various states; Istrongly wanted to accept his offer withthree aims. First, to create more aware-ness in South India. Second, to give con-fidence to the parents of children withdisabilities, officials, and the generalpublic. Parents because, I hoped that byseeing the participation of persons withdifferent types of disabilities and differ-ent levels of abilities, they would under-stand the benefits of hydrotherapy andparticipation in sports. Also, if the con-cerned officials understood the benefitsand the possibility, then the persons withdisabilities would get more support.Finally the third, to conduct champi-onships at par with other Olympic sportsevents. I observed an inferior feeling andsympathy towards adaptive sporting

events among the public instead of treat-ing it like any other sporting event.

Anand also agreed with my views,and we thought of discussing with ourassociation members. On the way back,our coach told us that IITM had a poolwith international standards, and if werequested accommodation there, it wouldbe easy to host the event in Chennai.After coming back to Chennai, we calledfor a meeting with all our members. Weall knew that it was going to be a verychallenging task. In the meeting, wedecided to first register our associationofficially, and soon thereafter started thatprocess. Dr Rema Devi, with the supportof her husband, arranged for an officeaddress and to fulfil all the statutoryrequirements to register the associationand for its functioning.

Also, after coming back to Chennai,we got a lot of media coverage on ourachievements in the championship. I gaveso many interviews. Everyone wanted totake a video or a photograph of me whileswimming for an article. It gave me anopportunity to create more awarenessabout hydrotherapy/para swimming. Tillthen, I was the one to reach out to themedia, schools and colleges. But now,they started to approach me. It made myjob to create more awareness much eas-ier. These articles reached a wider audi-ence, and I received a few invitations fromoutside Chennai.

At that time, I got an opportunity togive a talk at IITM. I felt very happy. I waslooking for an opportunity to connectwith them so I could request them toallow us to host the national champi-onship in their pool. My talk was receivedvery well, and I got a standing ovation.Later, I came to know that their pool wasunder renovation. All my hopes wereshattered.

After my talk, many professors wroteto the director of IITM, Professor BhaskarRamamurthi, to incorporate the sugges-tions I gave in my talk to make their poolaccessible; he responded to their sugges-tions positively. The concerned stafffrom IITM were in touch with me.Later, I connected them with Dr Hutzlerfor his guidance on the accessible swim-ming pool, whom I met at a conferencein Coimbatore.

Excerpted with permission from SwimmingAgainst the Tide: True Story of Para Swimmer by

Madhavi Latha Prathigudupu, published by SAGEPublications India

The transformation of Chinaunder the Fourth Generation’sleadership has indeed beenincredible. China sees itself astaking the lead in world affairs

by the middle of this century and towardsthis end, it seeks to establish the country’sprimacy in the Asia-Pacific region whileconcurrently moving towards establishingChinese leadership of the internationalorder. In Asia, Delhi is Beijing’s only eco-nomic and geo-strategic rival. No surprisethen, that Beijing’s policy towards Delhiwill continue to be shaped by its desire toachieve pre-eminence in the region.

If successful, what will China’s inter-national leadership look like? It would cer-tainly aim at a different world order, inwhich Chinese interests remain para-mount. That, of course, is an objectivewhich all nations strive for. In the case ofChina, however, it perceives itself as the‘Middle Kingdom’, and the ‘centre of theuniverse’, around which all other nationsrevolve. Here, competition would mostcertainly lead to confrontation. While theChinese would, in all probability, seek toavoid war with the US, though this doesnot include proxy wars, they may seek alimited military engagement with India,when they feel that they have the capaci-ty to achieve a decisive result in theirfavour. That makes a future war scenariowith India a certainty, though not so withthe US.

In China’s world view, they would aimat forcing the US to not just accept, butrespect China’s authority as the globalleader and refrain from harming Chineseinterests. The consequences of Chinesesuccess in strategic competition could besevere for the United States and disastrousfor India. So what should India and theinternational communities do, to remainrelevant in the world stage?

This book, Blinkers off: How Will theWorld Counter China (Pentagon Press),authored by senior journalist GaurieDwivedi, gives a perspective on a counterstrategy. It rests on a fundamental premisethat unlike the Cold War, where Americawas able to take on erstwhile USSR on itsown due to its economic and politicalmight, Washington now needs partners toaddress the challenge of an autocratic andrising China. It presents a 360 degree per-spective on building deterrence against an

expansionist Beijing which poses a threatnot just to India and the United States, butto the present world order.

Divided into four segments, Dwivedidocuments China’s rise as it spread its ten-tacles from Asia to Europe to Africa andmakes a case that Beijing’s “long term wait-ing game” was to topple the very institu-tions of the liberal world that aided itsgrowth. From the WTO to the WHO tothe UNHRC; Dwivedi highlights specificinstances when China was successful in‘gaming the system’.

Though written prior to the develop-ments in Afghanistan, Blinkers Off sug-gests that the world has now firmly tilted

towards a bipolar scenario, with Chinaforming a nexus with other authoritarianand likeminded nations like Pakistan, Iranand Russia. The present security climatein Kabul seems to be testimony to thealtered geo-political outlook that Dwivedimentions to be the primary driver forbuilding strong deterrence. Failure tocreate them would see China further build-ing on its strengths, continuing its wolfwarrior diplomacy and pushing the pedalon its hegemonic agenda. This wouldadversely impact not just India and Asia,but will destabilise the world. For it to beeffective, Dwivedi says, the deterrencemust encompass both military and non-

military aspects of engagement withChina. It also highlights the role India willplay in any such global endeavour. Non-military challenges like trade, technology,and information are highlighted as keydomains for any potential clash withChina, since these may not elicit a sharpresponse from India, US and others dueto the non conventional nature of warfare.Even before the pandemic, the bookpoints out instances when China used suchdomains to further its global political andmilitary objective.

India, due to its geo-political and geo-economic potential is expected to con-tribute significantly. In the Indo-Pacific,

where China has gained clout on the backof its large infrastructure investments;Blinkers Off suggests a more active mar-itime and economic role by India.Enhanced utilisation of the Andaman andNicobar Islands beyond the present focuson reconnaissance, larger investments inits naval capabilities and identifyingopportunities for collaboration are someof the recommendations for India tocounter China’s enhanced influence. Toprovide an alternative for the BRI invest-ments in the Indian Ocean Region, whichis India’s geo strategic orbit, the books sug-gests New Delhi could tie up with Japanand America to provide sustainable infra

funding to the smaller nations.By combining useful insights with

vivid language, Dwivedi has presented acase for global cooperation against Chinaand identified newer age dimensions ofwarfare. Perhaps most interesting is theargument that India could leverage itstrade deficit against China since it has beenfollowing the same template against othereconomies. It is the nature of India’s tradewith China, where it predominantlyexports raw materials, needs to undergoa change, rather than the fact that NewDelhi is a net importer.

Unravelling the many aspects ofChina’s statecraft, Blinkers Off serves as animportant tool in understanding that thethreat Beijing poses is multi dimension-al, and response to it should also be thesame. It is hence a must read for those deal-ing with foreign policy in the governmentof India, to all in the Indian military fra-ternity, the think tanks, the educationalinstitutes as also to all China watchers inthe lay public.

The reviewer is Director, India Foundation and Editor,Salute Magazine

Becoming a National Champion

TAMING THE DRAGONUnravelling the many aspects of China’s statecraft, Blinkers Off serves as an important tool in understanding that the threat

Beijing poses is multi-dimensional, and response to it should also be the same, writes MAJ. GEN. DHRUV C KATOCH (Retd)

Swimming Against the Tide: True Story of Para Swimmer by Madhavi Latha Prathigudupu is a true story of an extraordinary

sportsperson who challenged her circumstances and physical disability to overcome the odds to emerge as a winner. An edited extract

BLINKERS OFF: HOW WILLTHE WORLD COUNTER CHINA

Gaurie Dwivedi

Pentagon Press, `795

Left: Participation that made us champions; Right: PSATN family (Standing from left—Preetha, Anand, Dr Ponraj, Ms Uthira, Sai Krishnan, Sitting—me and Dr Rema Devi

SWIMMING AGAINSTTHE TIDE: TRUE STORY

OF PARA SWIMMER Madhavi Latha Prathigudupu

Sage, `595

sundaymagazine

97Taming the dragon

The Covid-19 induced lockdownmight have given a shot in the armfor streaming services, but makingsubstantial profits in the Indianmarket still remains an elusive

dream for most of them. In the financial year2020, Netflix India recorded a revenue of Rs924 Crore and managed to eke out a marginalprofit of Rs 9 crore. The streaming giant’s over-all profits globally for the same year stood at awhopping $2.8 billion.

Disney+Hotstar in India, on the otherhand, recorded revenue to the tune of Rs 1629Crore with losses amounting to Rs 362 crore.Hotstar is currently India’s largest streamingplatform with a subscriber base of 300 million.

According to an analysis by MediaPartners Asia, India’s online video market isprojected to grow at a CAGR of 26 per centover 2020-25 to reach US$4.5 billion. Anotherreport by Boston Consulting Group notes thatthe OTT video streaming market alone inIndia is set to touch US$5 billion by 2023.And for a share of this pie contend not justNetflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+Hotstar,but around 30 streaming platforms includingAltBalaji, Zee5, SonyLiv, MXPlayer,ManoramaMax, Neestream, and so on.

The right revenue model still remains anenigma, thanks to the uniqueness of the Indianmarket. There are no proven models in theIndian media industry to show that subscrip-tion-led growth is if at all possible. Be it thenewspapers or entertainment channels, theadvertisement brings in the lion’s share of therevenue. While Netflix and Amazon Primebanks entirely on subscriber revenue,Disney+Hotstar which has a base of both paidand unpaid subscribers see its share of ad rev-enue coming in through the advertisementsshown to the unpaid subscribers. While it isyet to be cracked which of these models wouldultimately work, there are few things streamingplatforms could work on meanwhile.

EXPLORE THE UNEXPLOREDOn June 1, 2021, a review of the

Malayalam Movie ‘Joji’, starring Fahadh Faziland directed by Dileesh Pothan, appeared inThe New Yorker magazine. This wasn’t thefirst time the international magazine reviewedan Indian movie. In fact, on April 15 it hadpublished Richard Brody’s take on Duvidha,the 1973 film by Mani Kaul. But Joji was dif-ferent. For one it was a regional languagemovie. And rarely has international mediarecognised non-Hindi movies, probably withthe exception of the works of Satyajit Ray, asIndian movies. To take a review seriously ornot is one thing. But to me, it was the begin-ning of a change; Undeniably the world isstarting to take note of Indian regional con-tent, especially from the South. Now, this is amoment to be seized; not only by the lan-guage movie industry but also by the OTTplayers that are looking to turn profitable inthe Indian market.

If Joji premiered on Amazon Prime, TheGreat Indian Kitchen, yet another Malayalammovie that garnered critical acclaim fromacross the world, made its first appearance onNeestream, a regional OTT platform. Themovie later became available on AmazonPrime too. Nayattu and Jagame Thandhiramstreaming on Netflix, C U Soon, Kuruthi andKarnan streaming on Amazon Prime andNetrikann streaming on Disney+Hotstar aresome of the notable movies from regional pro-ductions that premiered on international OTTplatforms during the pandemic season. Someof the other notable Malayalam films currentlystreaming include Aarkkariyam andSanthoshathinte Onnam Rahasyam, while theTamil movie industry came together to pro-duce the anthology Navarasa now running onNetflix.

Meanwhile what particularly stands out isthe glaring absence of any noteworthy produc-tions from the behemoth that is Bollywood.Clearly, it is the regional language movies thathave helped the streaming platforms to offer adiverse range of content and cash in on thesubscription surge during the pandemic. Thisis a signboard. The first step towards prof-itability for OTT platforms is to spot the indus-tries that are nimble, agile, dynamic and quickto adapt to the changing socio-economic cir-cumstances. But the efforts shouldn’t stop atsimply sourcing the content. Given the diversi-ty of movie industries in India, streaming plat-forms are looking at a cornucopia of possibili-ties.

Let’s start from the South. Given the highliteracy rates in the Southern states, OTT plat-forms are looking at a large market for theirEnglish and international content. While TheNew Yorker might have reviewed Joji this year,what is to be noted is that there already existsan international audience for Malayalammovies and a Malayali audience for interna-tional movies, thanks to IFFK and variousother film festivals.

Then there is the large Indian diasporaoutside the country. According to a report bythe United Nations, India has the world’slargest diaspora population — 18 million —living outside the country. A large part of themis Malayalis, Tamils, and Punjabis. In otherwords, by exploring regional content, stream-ing platforms would be striking a goldmine.

OFFER MORE DIVERSITY, LEARN FROM WHATHAS WORKED INTERNATIONALLY

Streaming services in India should take aleaf out of what has worked internationally fortheir global counterparts.

According to news reports, French showLupin streamed on Netflix held the numberone spot in countries like Brazil, Argentina,Germany, Italy and Spain and the number twospot in the US. This only means one thing —out there, there seems to be a genuine andever-increasing demand for premium non-Anglophone content. In this sense, India is a

goldmine for streaming services with its lin-guistic diversity.

But linguistic diversity alone doesn’t servethe purpose. Barring a handful of shows ormovies, Indian content has not been able tocreate much of a ripple in the internationalarena, owing to the relatively poor quality ofthe content.

Now here is something to consider. One ofthe features that have set Netflix a class apartfrom its competitors globally is its huge invest-ment in original content. Reports suggest thatin 2019 about 85% of its new spending was setapart for original content, more than any of itscompetitors dared to. In India too Netflix hastaken a lead by setting up its first global post-production facility in Mumbai.

Producing original content of all hues and(Indian) languages with strict quality checksfor a pan-Indian and international audiencecould work magic for Indian streaming ser-vices. Keep experimenting and do not hesitateto disrupt your own revenue/content models ifneed be. Because now this is a bus that OTTplatforms cannot afford to miss.

ROPE IN THE STALWARTSWhat streaming platforms should further

aim is to bring traditional producers intotheir folds. If the initial focus of OTT plat-forms was to license existing content, thepandemic has changed their course of actionto producing original content and premieringmovies. But there is still a large section ofproducers who are wary of these platforms.These traditional producers have been decid-ing the ways of the industry for a long time.Many of them are actors and even superstarscontrolling production, distribution, and theoverall dynamics of the industry. Alienatingthem or even appearing as a threat to theirbusiness would in no way bode well for thenew-age players.

But if streaming platforms could come upwith ways to accommodate them and make abusiness model around it, it would be a win-win for all. OTT services so far have more orless been working with the new crop ofmovie makers from the regional cinema andhave been able to successfully give shape tonew movie aesthetics and language. Ropingin the traditional players would be the cherryon top and will help attract a wider segmentof the audience. For example, considerstreaming services tying up with AMMA, theAssociation of Malayalam Movie Artists.Such a partnership would mean that now thestreaming services would get to enjoy thebenefits of the clout wielded by the stalwartsof the industry, while the industry reaps thebenefits of being in alliance with platformsthat are international, sophisticated, and pro-fessional. If streaming services this way get adip at the massive pool of talent, for artistsand technicians it would mean more workeven during crisis times like the pandemicand therefore more stability.

Such partnerships would also help to usherin a world where theatres do not view OTTplatforms as a threat. It would open up a newworld of complementary existence where the-atres would still benefit from the rush duringthe initial release and for sustained viewingand wider reach, there would be the OTTs.And no doubt, the ultimate winner would bethe movie itself which would get the grandrelease it deserves without worrying about‘running’ days being cut short as new moviescome in.

In a nutshell, being creative in the ways itassociates with the movie industry and itsstakeholders should be the way forward forOTT services.

EXPERIMENT WITH DYNAMIC CONTENTWhile all that is said about static content,

what still remains unchartered territory forstreaming services is dynamic content.Exploring live content like music concertsand stand-up comedy will help the OTTplayers further their reach and bring in a newaudience who have been deprived of liveshows during the pandemic. It is in fact sur-prising that such programmes are still largelyhosted on video communication platformslike Zoom given that the pandemic has beenthe perfect opportunity for the Netflixes andAmazon Primes of the world to experimentwith it.

If you are further looking to expand yourreach, ever thought of news and the popularityof news programmes in India? Sure, there maybe regulatory issues for OTT channels tobroadcast news as of now. But, learn from theradio. In India, All India Radio holds the rightto broadcast news and current affairs pro-grammes, and private broadcasting stations areprohibited from airing the same. But severalFM stations have found workarounds in theform of programmes that are satirical takes oncurrent affairs or other fun variations whichare essentially not news programmes, but yetmanage to pass on the news to the audience.To sum it up, be creative. If OTT platformscould come up with shows similar to that of‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’ it isbound to capture the attention of a huge sec-tion of the audience.

There is also a growing audience for artand science content. Although streaming ser-vices have covered this to an extent, to make ita more balanced mix would be a welcomemove.

All that said and done, ultimately the suc-cess and profitability of OTT platforms woulddepend on how well they can gel with ourlifestyles. Movies and theatres succeeded bydoing the same, by being our oases of enter-tainment and our weekly escape from reality.Streaming services should pull all stops toreplicate the same and leave no stone unturnedin this journey.

The writer is an ethical Investor, start-upmentor, art curator and author

Blinkers Off serves as an important tool in understandingthat the threat Beijing poses is multi-dimensional, &

response to it should also be the same

You have to be thebest of whatever youare, but successful,

cool actresses come inall shapes and sizes

—Jessica Alba

F R O M T H E I N S I D E

Even as cases of the COVID-19 deltavariant continue to spike the world over,a new variant, Mu, has become a variant

Mu-tation worry

PROFITABLE IN INDIA

M A K I N G

OTTPLATFORMSPROFITABLE IN INDIA

M A K I N G

OTTPLATFORMS

ACCORDING TO ANANALYSIS BY MEDIA

PARTNERS ASIA, INDIA’SONLINE VIDEO MARKET IS

PROJECTED TO GROW AT ACAGR OF 26 PER CENT

OVER 2020-25 TO REACHUS$4.5 BILLION. ANOTHER

REPORT BY BOSTONCONSULTING GROUPNOTES THAT THE OTT

VIDEO STREAMING MARKETALONE IN INDIA IS SET TOTOUCH US$5 BILLION BY

2023. AND FOR A SHARE OFTHIS PIE CONTEND NOTJUST NETFLIX, AMAZON

PRIME, ANDDISNEY+HOTSTAR, BUT

AROUND 30 STREAMINGPLATFORMS INCLUDING

ALTBALAJI, ZEE5, SONYLIV,MXPLAYER,

MANORAMAMAX,NEESTREAM, AND SO ON

If streaming services are looking at making profits in India, they should adapt to regional realities, start thinking creatively andtake a leaf out of what has worked globally, writes AJAYYA KUMAR

VIJAYAWADA, September 19, 2021

special 09VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | SEPTEMBER 19, 2021

The World Health Orgaization(WHO) has added a fifth variantof interest (VOI)— B.1.621.1

and labelled it — Mu variant — onAugust 30, 2021. The other fourpresent VOIs are Eta (B.1.525), Iota(B.1.526), Kappa (B.1.617.1) andLambda (C.37).

The Mu variant was firstidentified in Colombia in SouthAmerica in January 2021, where Muhas been detected in 39 per cent ofthe samples analysed. From there, ithas spread to other South Americancountries such as Ecuador (13percent) and Chile (around 40 per cent).

The Mu variant has now beendetected in 43 countries includingthe US, the UK, South Korea, Japan,Ecuador, Canada and parts ofEurope. So far, it has not beendetected in India.

According to Dr Dr RahulPandit, Member, COVID-19 TaskForce, Maharashtra Governmentthere are more than 4,700 cases ofthe Mu variant worldwide. Althoughwith 2000 cases, the US hasrecorded the highest number of Mucases, it is not yet regarded as animmediate threat.

Last month, the WHO has saidthat the Mu variant has aconstellation of mutations thatindicate potential properties ofimmune escape. “Preliminaryevidence shows that thesemutations may allow it to escapevaccine- and convalescent serum-induced antibodies, similar to theBeta variant,” Dr Pandit says.

The Mu variant has severemutations like as T95I, Y144S,Y145N, R346K, E484K, N501Y,

D614G, P681H, Y144T, K417N andD950N in the spike protein.

“Some of these mutations havebeen detected in the variants ofconcern. The N501Y and P681Hmutations are also present in theAlpha variant (B.1.1.7, first detectedin the UK) and have been linked torapid transmission. The N501Ymutation is also present in the Betaand Gamma variants of concern(VOC). The E484K and K417Nmutations, which also occur in theBeta variant (B.1.351, first detectedin South Africa) are associated withimmune escape. However, thesignificance of other mutations isnot yet known,” Dr Pandit tells you

The Delta variant (B.1.617.2)continues to be the predominantvariant across the world and themajor cause of resurgence of cases

in many parts of the world. At present, the Mu variant

accounts for only 0.1 per cent ofcases globally, even though it hasbeen around since January thisyear.

Although it is not a variant ofconcern (VOC) yet, it is beingclosely monitored to detect anychanges that would make it moretransmissible than the delta variant,cause more severe disease andmake vaccines less effective. If thishappens, it may be re-categorisedas a VOC.

“The best strategy to preventemergence of new variants is toswiftly vaccinate as many people aspossible. The larger the vaccinatedpopulation, the less the vulnerablepopulation for the virus to infectand mutate,” Dr Pandit says.

‘To prevent new variants, get swiftly vaccinated’

Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit theglobe last year, there has been no let up— either in the number of cases glob-ally nor in the emergence of new vari-ants. When the second wave hit India,

there was talk of how the third wave would affectthe children more. But now, it appears that thereare more worries ahead. A new varient — Mu— that had been detected in Colombia, SouthAmerica is the new worry — not just for Indiabut for the entire world.

The good part is that the Government hassaid that the variant has not been found in Indiayet, there is no telling when it may enter thecountry and wreak havoc.

The country reported its first COVID-19case in Kerala on January 27, 2020, and thecountry has been cuffed by the virus ever sinceand coming out of this pandemic dungeon looksonly like a distant dream. Since the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO) declared the Deltavariant as the Variant of Concern (VOC) on May6, 2021, the country has seen a new wave of casesand death worldwide, slowing down the nation'srecovery, threatening economic stability andsevere social and political impacts.

The new variantis getting more attentionnow as it has started to spread around parts ofthe country and it is something to make a noteof. Mu is not only being seen in high numbersor high percentages but it is being detected indifferent places throughout the US with high-est prevalence of the variant in Colombia cur-rently.

It carries a cluster of mutations in thegenome of COVID in the genetic structure.According to the WHO, it is still a Variant ofInterest (VOI) and no samples have beendetected in India yet.

"From Colombia it has spread to other SouthAmerican countries such as Ecuador (13%) andChile (around 40%). The Mu variant has nowbeen detected in 43 countries including theUnited States, United Kingdom, South Korea,Japan, Ecuador, Canada and parts of Europe. Sofar, it has not been detected in India," says DrRahul Pandit, Member, COVID-19 Task Force,Maharashtra Government.

He further adds that there are more than4700 cases of the Mu variant worldwide.Although with 2000 cases, the US has record-ed the highest number of Mu cases, it is not yetregarded as an immediate threat.

"A VOI becomes a VOC when we see doc-umented evidence that there is an increase intransmissibility of the virus, it is more danger-ous, have more resistance to vaccines, and high-er infectivity rate," says Dr Ankita Baidya,Consultant, Infectious Diseases, ManipalHospital, Dwarka, New Delhi.

Despite making its first presence in January2021, and being around since, the Mu variantdoesn't seem to be as bad as Delta, which is thedominant variant across most of the world. ButMu has mutations which possess the potentialof evading the protection we get from theCOVID vaccines.

However, the concern is that it can lead toimmune escape phenomena in the form that theexisting antibodies through natural infectionmight not be able to protect us from this infec-tion. "When we see such novel strains circulat-ing in the world, it becomes a concern especial-ly with so many mutations in it that can evadeour immunity and can also reinfect a personwho has already recovered from the virus fromsome different strain," Baidya tells you.

The WHO has said, "The Mu variant has aconstellation of mutations that indicate poten-tial properties of immune escape. Preliminaryevidence shows that these mutations may allowit to escape vaccine- and convalescent serum-induced antibodies, similar to the Beta variant."

Dr Shomeshwar Singh, Lead Consultant,ENT, Madhukar Rainbow Children's Hospitalsays that though the reports have suggested its

decline in most of the world apart from SouthAmerica lately, we have to watch carefully howthis strain spreads.

The exact infection rate as of now is not wellestablished and requires more data because therehave only been sporadic cases. "With the muta-tion that it is carrying, there are chances of hav-ing a more severe infection from this strain asit is showing some sort of immune escape phe-nomena, which means that the previous anti-body is not working and it can result in high-er infectivity rate," says Baidya.

Talking about the efficacy of vaccines,there is still a lot of research to be done in orderto confirm whether the existing vaccines will beeffective against the Mu strain or not.Simultaneously, the risk that it can lower the vac-cine's effect is also present.

Baidya says that the signs and symptoms ofthe mu strain are very much similar to the Deltavariant. It also has a good amount of gastroin-testinal symptoms along with the normal viralsymptoms of upper respiratory tract that is thecough and cold, mild fever, loose motions,abdominal symptoms, nausea and dyspepsia.There can also be some headache, leg pain andbody pain as with the other viral symptoms.

Currently, only symptomatic treatment isgiven for any variant, similar to that of exist-ing strains. The treatment is mostly designedaccording to the severity of the disease whetherit is mild, moderate or severe.

Many of us are wondering how quickly thevirus mutates and with every new variant emerg-

ing, recovering from this deadly pandemicseems difficult and looks like a far-fetcheddream. On the other hand, we are learning tolive with the pandemic and now consider it asa part of life. The virus will continue to under-go mutation in the genetic structure to evadethe immune response, to evade the antibody

pressure and to evade the antiviral pressure. Thenew mutations may be less or more severe thanthe existing strains but at the same time weshould not stop from taking adequate infectioncontrol precautions like wearing a mask, prac-tising hand hygiene and maintaining social dis-tancing. "Today, the world is a smaller placesince people travel far and wide in a matter ofhours, this helps the virus spread. We need toexercise carefully drawn up social isolation andquarantine measures to fight the virus spread.Vaccination is very important," Singh tells you.

The Mu variant has severe mutations suchas T95I, Y144S, Y145N, R346K, E484K, N501Y,D614G, P681H, Y144T, K417N and D950N inthe spike protein. Some of these mutations havebeen detected in the variants of concern. TheN501Y and P681H mutations are also presentin the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7, first detected inthe UK) and have been linked to rapid trans-mission. The N501Y mutation is also present inthe Beta and Gamma variants of concern(VOC). The E484K and K417N mutations,which also occur in the Beta variant (B.1.351,first detected in South Africa) are associatedwith immune escape. However, the significanceof other mutations is not yet known.

n A report from England’s public health

agency last month suggested the mu

variant might be as resistant to vaccines

as the worrisome beta variant first seen

in South Africa, but said more real-world

data was needed

n WHO officials said the mu variant appears

to be rising in some countries in South

America, but that the delta variant still

spreads far more easily

n The mu variant doesn’t seem to be

spreading quickly: It accounts for fewer

than 1% of COVID-19 cases globally

n In Colombia, it may be responsible for

about 39% of cases

n Scientists monitor emerging COVID-19

variants based on suspicious genetic

changes and then look for evidence to

determine whether the new version is more

infectious or causes more severe illness

n Viruses evolve constantly and many new

variants often fade away

Mu-tation worryEven as cases of the COVID-19 delta variant continue to spike the world over, a new variant, Mu, has

become a variant of interest for the WHO. This new strain appears to have mutations with the potentialto evade immunity provided by a previous COVID-19 infection or vaccination. Could Mu be a variant of

concern? SUPRIYA RAMESH speaks with experts to tell you more

Afghan schools will open forboys from Saturday, the new

Taliban ministry of education saidin a statement that gave no indica-tion of when girls might be able togo back to their classes.

More than a month after themovement seized the capital Kabul,most educational institutions haveremained closed as the Taliban havestruggled to reopen the economyand restore normal life in the cities.

At some of the schools that havemanaged to operate, girls up to thesixth grade have attended, andwomen students have gone to uni-

versity classes. Buthigh schools for girls have beenclosed.

Taliban officials have said theywill not replicate the fundamental-ist policies of the previous Talibangovernment, which banned girls'education, and they have promisedthat girls will be able to study solong as they do so in segregatedclassrooms.

While the Taliban did not orderschools to close after their takeover,the movement has said the securitysituation meant that many activitiesfor women and girls were not yetpossible, and the latest statementdid not mention girls at all.

scopekaleidVIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | SEPTEMBER 19, 2021

US Tycoon RobertDurst guilty of bestfriend's murderU

S real estate scionRobert Durst wasFriday convicted of

killing his best friend toprevent her talking topolice about his wife's dis-appearance.

Durst, a multi-million-aire who was the subjectof explosive HBO docu-mentary "The Jinx," hadalways denied that he shotSusan Berman in the backof the head in 2000 at herBeverly Hills home.

But a jury in LosAngeles took a total of justeight hours to find the 78-year-old guilty of the exe-cution-style slaying.

Prosecutors had said hemurdered crime writerBerman in December2000 to prevent her frombeing questioned by NewYork police over the dis-appearance of his wifeKathleen two decades ear-lier.

Berman, the daughterof a Las Vegas mobster,had acted as a spokes-woman for Durst after hebecame a suspect inKathleen's disappearance.

Durst, an estranged

member of one of NewYork's wealthiest and mostpowerful real estatedynasties, was nevercharged in his wife's case.

He was arrested inMarch 2015 in a NewOrleans hotel room inconnection with Berman'smurder, hours before thefinal episode of the HBOdocumentary "The Jinx:The Life and Deaths ofRobert Durst" aired.

In the documentary'sstunning finale, Durst isheard muttering to him-self, "There it is, you'recaught" and "Killed themall, of course" -- apparent-ly unaware that a micro-phone remained switchedon while he used therestroom.

The series also delvedinto the 2001 death ofDurst's neighbor in Texas,Morris Black, who wasfound dismembered.

Durst admitted the dis-memberment, but claimedthe killing was self-defense. He was acquitted.

Durst testified for 14days in a trial that grippedlocal media.

France on Friday recalled itsambassadors to the United

States and Australia for consulta-tions in a ferocious row over thescrapping of a submarine contract,an unprecedented step thatrevealed the extent of French angeragainst its allies.

President Emmanuel Macron

ordered the recalling of the envoysafter Canberra ditched a deal tobuy French submarines in favour ofUS vessels, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

Le Drian said in a statement thatthe decision was made to "immedi-ately" recall the two French ambas-sadors due to "the exceptional seri-

ousness of the announcementsmade on September 15 by Australiaand the United States."

The abandonment of the ocean-class submarine project thatAustralia and France had been work-ing on since 2016 constituted "unac-ceptable behaviour among allies andpartners," the minister said.

‘UNACCEPTABLE’:FRANCE RECALLS US,AUSTRALIA ENVOYS

OVER SUBMARINE ROW

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WHO emergencyapproval for Covaxindelayed till Oct 5World Health

Organisation's(WHO) approval for theemergency use authorisa-tion (EUA) to COVID-19vaccine Covaxin, devel-oped by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, islikely to be delayed tillOctober 5.

As per WHO, theStrategic Advisory Groupof Experts onImmunization (SAGE)will be meeting onOctober 5 to grantingEUA to Covaxin.

Hanna Nohynek, SAGE

member will be introduc-ing session objective set-ting, an update on regula-tory decisions and anoverview of WorkingGroup deliverables.

The session will recom-mend EUA based on theclinical data on Covaxinfrom phase 1, 2, 3 trialand post-marketing stud-ies on safety, immuno-genicity, efficacy andeffectiveness. It willupdate on global, regionaland country-level plansfor vaccine safety moni-toring.

iPhone 13 pre-order begins in India

iPhone 13 series waslaunched earlier thismonth. The range

includes iPhone 13 mini,iPhone 13, iPhone 13Pro, and iPhone 13 ProMax. All the phones areset to go up for pre-orders starting today,September 17, with salesstarting from September24. Alongside India, thepre-orders for the iPhone13 series will go livelater today inCanada, China,Dubai,Singapore, theUK, the US,and morethan 30othercoun-tries

and regions around theworld. iPhone 13 miniand iPhone 13 comewith dual rear cameraswhereas iPhone 13 Proand iPhone 13 ProMax feature triplerear cameras.

Here is a low-down on theprices of iPhone13 mini, iPhone

13, iPhone 13 Pro,iPhone 13 Pro Maxphones in differentcountries, includingIndia.

iPhone 13 series priceThe new iPhone 13 mini is priced starting at Rs.69,900, Rs. 79,900, and Rs. 99,900 for the 128GB,256GB, and 512GB storage options, respectively.iPhone 13 is priced in India starting at Rs. 79,900,

Rs. 89,900, and Rs.1,09,900 for the

128GB, 256GB, and512GB storage

options,respectively.

Singer Honey Singh, afterrecording his statement at

a Delhi Court on Friday,assured the court that he willnot create any third partyrights on his UAE Property.The court vacated the statusquo order issued onSeptember 15, 2021.

On the last date of hear-ing, the court had restrainedHoney Singh from alienatingor creating any third partyinterest owned directly orthrough his companies andhad directed him to file allthe documents of his com-panies registered abroadalong with other details. Thesame was not filed on Fridayby Honey Singh.

‘Won't sell UAEvilla...’: SingerHoney Singh onCourt order

UK eases rules forvaccinated; benefitfor India-UK routeThe UK government on

Friday announced amajor relaxation of interna-tional travel rules for vacci-nated people coming in andout of England, with long-haul routes between Indiaand the UK set to benefit.

From October 4, the cur-rent traffic light system ofred, amber and green coun-tries based on levels ofCOVID-19 risk will bescrapped and replaced withone red list only.

The scrapping of anamber list, which is whatIndia is currently on, meansreduced cost burden fortravellers - especially for theIndian people vaccinated inthe UK - related to compul-

sory PCR tests.However, an expanded list

of countries whose vaccinesare recognised in Englanddoes not include India,which means that Indiansvaccinated with Covishield -the Serum Institute of IndiaproducedOxford/AstraZeneca vaccine- would still be required toundergo a pre-departurePCR test and further tests onlanding in the UK.

From October 4, travellersfrom 17 additional countrieswith eligible vaccines,including Japan, Singaporeand Malaysia, will no longerneed to take pre-departurePCR tests for travelling intoEngland.

100 world leaders to meet for UN event S

ome 100 world leaders descend on New York next week in a partialreturn of the annual UN extravaganza despite Covid concerns, with

progress sought on pressing global problems -- starting with thepandemic. The UN General Assembly will also look to buildmomentum to reach an ambitious climate agreement and seek unityafter the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, in the shadow of hightension between the United States and China. "We need to re-establishconfidence. The current geopolitical division in the world is anobstacle," Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told AFP ahead of thesummit. The world "is really in a very dangerous situation," he said."We need to sound an alarm to wake up political leaders."

‘New’ dark energycould solve Universeexpansion mysteryCosmologists have

found signs that asecond type of darkenergy — the ubiquitousbut enigmatic substancethat is pushing the cur-rent Universe’s expan-sion to accelerate —might have existed inthe first 300,000 yearsafter the Big Bang.

Two separate studies— both posted on thearXiv preprint server inthe past week1,2 — havedetected a tentative firsttrace of this ‘early darkenergy’ in data collectedbetween 2013 and 2016by the AtacamaCosmology Telescope(ACT) in Chile. If thefindings are confirmed,they could help to solvea long-standing conun-drum surrounding dataabout the earlyUniverse, which seem tobe incompatible withthe rate of cosmicexpansion measuredtoday. But the data arepreliminary and don’tshow definitivelywhether this form ofdark energy really exist-ed.

“There are a numberof reasons to be carefulto take this as a discov-ery of new physics,” saysSilvia Galli, a cosmolo-gist at the Paris Instituteof Astrophysics.

The authors of bothpreprints — one postedby the ACT team, andthe other by an inde-pendent group — admitthat the data are not yetstrong enough to detect

early dark energy withhigh confidence. Butthey say that furtherobservations from theACT and another obser-vatory, the South PoleTelescope in Antarctica,could provide a morestringent test soon. “Ifthis really is true — ifthe early Universe reallydid feature early darkenergy — then weshould see a strong sig-nal,” says Colin Hill, aco-author of the ACTteam’s paper1 who is acosmologist atColumbia University inNew York City.

Both the ACT andthe South PoleTelescope are designedto map the cosmicmicrowave background(CMB), primordialradiation sometimesdescribed as the after-glow of the Big Bang.The CMB is one of thepillars of cosmologists’understanding of theUniverse. By mappingsubtle variations in theCMB across the sky,researchers have foundcompelling evidence forthe ‘standard model ofcosmology’. This modeldescribes the evolutionof a Universe containingthree primary ingredi-ents: dark energy; theequally mysterious darkmatter, which is the pri-mary cause of the for-mation of galaxies; andordinary matter, whichaccounts for less than5% of the Universe’stotal mass and energy.

Satyarthi appointed UNsustainable developmentgoals advocateUN chief Antonio

Guterres on Fridayappointed NobelLaureate KailashSatyarthi as newSustainable DevelopmentGoals (SDG) Advocateahead of the start of the76th UN GeneralAssembly.

Along with Satyarthi,STEM activist ValentinaMunoz Rabanal,Microsoft President BradSmith and K-pop super-stars BLACKPINK wereappointed as new SDGAdvocates, said a pressrelease issued by the UN.

Satyarthi has foughttirelessly for decadesagainst child labour,slavery and trafficking.

"We are at a pivotalmoment. The choices wemake now could put us

on a path towards break-down and a future ofperpetual crisis; orbreakthrough to a green-er and safer world," saidGuterres.