journalism of courage · 1/7/2020 · daulat beg oldie near the karakorampass. while china has...
TRANSCRIPT
JOURNALISM OF COURAGE
SINCE 1932
DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA
WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `4.00, WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932
ENS& PTIAHMEDABAD, JUNE30
ASPARTof its drive against ille-gal firearmnetworkinthestate,theGujaratAntiTerrorismSquadarrested14peopleandseized51weaponsworth Rs 1.5 crore, anofficial saidonTuesday."On June19,wehadarrested
oneMushtaqBaloch andWahidPathan and seized 54 foreignmade weapons from them,
throughwhichwediscovered aracketofillegalguns.Theaccusedhaverevealedthattheyprocuredthe guns fromone TarunGuptawhorunsTarunGunHouseshopinRamdevnagarofAhmedabad.Itwasfurtherinvestigatedandto-day,14morewerearrestedfromparts of Gujarat and asmany as51weaponswere seized," said aseniorofficialofATS.Accordingtoofficials, thear-
rested are from Rajula inSurendranagar,AbdasainKutch
Bhuj, Halvad in Morbi, Rapar,BhachauandAhmedabad.Amongthemwas Digvijaysinh Zala ofHalvadtownofMorbidistrict,whohadacquired14importedgunsintherecentpastandsoldanauto-maticpistoltoGupta,theagencysaid ina release.Another key accused held
during the raids was MukeshBhukiya,ownerof JayAmbegunhouseinMandalinAhmedabaddistrict, andpartofGupta'snet-work, it added.
In raids across state, Gujarat ATS seizes51 weapons worth Rs 1.5 crore, arrests 14
ADDRESSTONATION
Poor hardesthit, PMextendsfree rationsuntil NovemberCredit for this safetynetgoes to farmerswhoworkedhard,honest taxpayers:PM
DEEPTIMANTIWARY&HARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI, JUNE30
ACKNOWLEDGING THAT theCovid pandemic and the lock-downhavehitthepoorthehard-est, Prime Minister NarendraModi Tuesday announced ex-tension of the PradhanMantriGarib Kalyan Anna Yojana(PMGKAY)for80crorepeopletilltheendofNovember.Theschemetodistributefree
ration to the poor during thelockdownwas to end Tuesday.By announcing the five-monthextension in an address to thenation,thePrimeMinisterchoseto lend weight to the govern-ment’seffortstoaddressapress-ingdomesticproblematatimeitis being targeted by theOppositionovertheplightof the
poorandthemigrants.Modi also underlined the
need for a One Nation, OneRation Card: “Wehave a dreamforthewholecountry,andsomestates have really done
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KRISHNKAUSHIKNEWDELHI, JUNE30
TALKS BETWEEN XIV CorpsCommander Lt GeneralHarinder Singh and SouthXinjiang Military RegionCommanderMajor General LiuLin todiscussa roadmap forde-escalationanddisengagementoftroops along the Line of ActualControl continuedwell into thenight Tuesday at the Chushulborderpoint.The meeting, the third be-
tweenthetwocommanderswhofirstmetonJune6,startedaround11amatChushul—themeetingson June6and June22wereheldatMoldo on the Chinese side oftheborderwithChushul.
While there was no officialword onwhat transpired at themeeting, sources in the Army,pointing to a trust deficit giventhe build-up along the LAC andthe loss of 20 Indian Army per-sonnel in a violent showdownwith Chinese troops in GalwanValleyon June15, said: “Armyispreparing for the long haul andthe standoff is expected to con-tinuewell into thewinter.”“Theprocesstodefinethede-
tails of disengagement,” sourcessaid,wastakenupatthemeeting
CONTINUEDONPAGE2
120DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN
KEYSTATES
TOWATCH
■Maharashtra
■Delhi
■TamilNadu
■Haryana
■Telangana
7 DAYS EARLIER:
3.18NOW:
2.98
7 DAYS EARLIER:
6.17NOW:
6.58
DETECTED TODAY
18,522RECOVERED TODAY:
13,099
TOTAL
CASES
1,69,883
85,161
86,224
14,210
15,394
DOUBLING
RATE**
22.15
16.06
14.99
19.50
8.43
SURGEIN
24HOURS
5,257
2,084
3,949
381
975
7-DAYAVG
GROWTH*
3.25%
4.48%
4.80%
3.69%
8.54%
TRACKING INDIA’SCOVIDCURVE
CASES:5,66,839TESTS: 86,08,654 | DOUBLING RATE: 19.58**
RECOVERED:3,34,821DEATHS: 16,893
*CompoundedDailyGrowthRateover last 7days **Calculatedover7-daygrowth
BasedondailydatafromUnionMinistryofHealth, ICMRandstates.Oftendailynumbers includedatafrompreviousdays.Assuch, trendsbasedondailynumbersare indicative,notdefinitive
CASE FATALITY RATIO
Deaths as a ratio ofpositive cases (in %);indicator of progressin averting deaths
Positives againstnumber tested
(in %); indicator ofthe spread of disease
Becoming sick vsrecovering; more
recoveries for 14 daysmay signal the peak
POSITIVITY RATE DAILY IN, DAILYOUT
SURBHIGUPTANEWDELHI, JUNE30
THEORDERbanning59Chineseapps, including TikTok, came asasurprisetoMujeebKhan,amu-sicianwithafollowingofalmosttwo million people — fromhometown Rudrapur inUttarakhand, to metro citiesDelhi andMumbai.Hesupportsthegovernment,
he says, as themove is linked tothe standoff with China and“nothing comes before the na-tion”.So,onMondaynight,soonafterthegovernmentannounce-
ment,hewentliveonTikTokandurgedhis fans to start followinghimon Instagraminstead.At 6 pm on Tuesday, TikTok
went inactive in India. It can no
longer be downloaded fromGoogleandApple storeseither.Fond of creating cover ver-
sionsofhitsongs,Khan,24,joinedtheplatformin2018.Hedidn’tgetmuchresponseinitially,butthenavideohepostedwithhistoddlerniecegotoveramillionviews.Thechacha-bhatijiduoweresoonahitpair, putting up videoswith thehashtag#chachukiamyra,whereKhan lip-synced to songs asAmyralaughedalong.Last summer, Khanwas in-
vited by TikTok to attend a cre-ators’ lab in Mumbai. “I was
CONTINUEDONPAGE2
PAGE1ANCHOR
Nothingcomesbeforenation:MujeebKhan;AdnaanShaikh
Fan base gone, TikTok stars hit but readyfor options: ‘App is banned, not talent’
PrimeMinisterNarendraModichairsameetingtoreviewpreparations for vaccinationagainstCovid-19,asandwhenavaccine isavailable, inNewDelhionTuesday.ANI
YUBARAJGHIMIREKATHMANDU,JUNE30
TWO DAYS after Nepal PrimeMinisterKPSharmaOli claimedthatIndiawastryingtotopplehisgovernmentwith support fromsomepoliticians at home, partyleaders, including three formerprimeministers, Tuesday asked
himtoprovehisallegationsorquit.Speaking at a closed-door
standing committeemeeting ofthe ruling Nepal CommunistParty, Pushpa Kamal DahalPrachanda,MadhavKumarNepaland Jhalnath Khanal, aswell asformer deputy PM BamdebGautam, demanded thatOli re-sign,havingfailedoneverycount.
CONTINUEDONPAGE2
DAVIDSHEPARDSONWASHINGTON, JUNE30
THE FEDERALCommunicationsCommissiononTuesdayformallydesignated China's HuaweiTechnologiesCoandZTECorpasposing threats toUSnational se-curity, adeclaration thatbarsUSfirmsfromtappingan$8.3billiongovernment fund to purchaseequipment fromthecompanies.TheUStelecommunicationsreg-ulator voted inNovember5-0 toissue the declaration and pro-posed requiring rural carriers toremove and replace equipmentfromthetwoChinesecompaniesfromexistingUSnetworks.“We cannot andwill not al-
low the Chinese CommunistPartytoexploitnetworkvulner-abilities and compromise ourcritical communications infra-structure,”FCCChairmanAjitPaisaid in a statement Tuesday.Huawei and ZTE did not imme-diately respond to requests forcomment but have previously
CONTINUEDONPAGE2
Huawei, ZTEare securitythreats, saysUS FCC
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JUNE30
BROADCASTERSWILL have to“figureout adifferentmonetisa-tionmodel” if the current anti-
Chinasentimentpersists in thecountry amidthetenseborderface-off and thegovernment'sban on 59 mo-bile apps withChineselinks,ac-cording toUday
Shankar, president, The WaltDisney Company (Asia Pacific)andchairman,Star&DisneyIndia.Shankar said the Covid pan-
demicandtheChinaissuepresentCONTINUEDONPAGE2
AASHISHARYAN&PRANAVMUKULNEWDELHI, JUNE30
THECENTRE'Sdecisiontoban59mobile applications withChineselinks,includingthepop-ular social media platformTikTok,is“interiminnature”andthefirmsbehindtheseappshavebeen given 48 hours to provideclarifications on key issues, offi-cials and executives told TheIndianExpress.The firms will mainly be
asked to clarify their data-shar-ing norms under a Chinese lawthat requires companies ofChineseorigintosharedatawith
thatcountry’sintelligenceagen-cies, irrespective of where theyoperate. Additionally, thegovernment is expected to askcompanieswithoutapresenceinIndiatoappointalocalgrievanceofficer.On Tuesday, reacting to the
government's ban, ChineseEmbassy spokesperson Ji Rongsaid his country is “seriously
concernedwith and firmly op-posed tosuchaction”.TikTok’s India chief, Nikhil
Gandhi,saidthegovernmenthas“issued an interimorder for theblocking of 59 apps, includingTikTok,andweareintheprocessof complyingwith it”.“We have been invited to
meet with concerned govern-mentstakeholdersforanoppor-tunity to respond and submitclarifications. TikTok continuesto complywith all data privacyand security requirements un-der Indian law and has notshared any information of ourusers in India with any foreigngovernment, including the
CONTINUEDONPAGE2
EXPLAINED
SIMPLYPUT
THETOPBANNEDCHINESEAPPSPAGE15
China data-sharing law a keyissue, apps get 48 hrs to clarify
GOVT&POLITICS
INDIAREACHESOUT,JAISHANKARDIALSCOUNTERPARTINFRANCE PAGE13
LAC de-escalation talks stretch,Army prepares for the long haul
Atthemeeting inKathmanduonTuesday.ANI
Nepal party leaderstell PM Oli to proveIndia charge or resign
THEDECISIONmaycastashadowoverZTEandHuaweiparticipationin5GtrialsandspectrumauctionlikelylaterthisyearinIndia.TheDoThadtargeted5GspectrumauctioninMarch-Aprilbutcouldnotbeginduetothepandemic.Barringthemmayhaverevenueimplications,butnationalsecurityislikelytobeseenasmoreimportant.
Willcast
shadowhereE●EXPLAIN
ED
‘If anti-Chinamood persists,broadcastersmust rethink’
BUSINESS AS USUAL
BYUNNY
UdayShankar
WORLD
EUOPENSBORDERSTO 14COUNTRIES,BUTNOT INDIA, U.S.
CHINAPASSES LAWWITHSWEEPINGPOWERSOVERHONGKONGPAGE16
GUARDINGTHEGUARDIANSBYABHISHEKSINGHVI
PAGE8
THEEDITORIAL PAGE
Ahmedabad
THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY, JULY1,2020
FROMPAGEONE
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
Decodingtheeffectofbanning59appswithChinese linkNEWEPISODEEVERYDAY
Howthebanon59China-madeappsmayaffect their Indianusers,butnotnecessarily theircompanies
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CLARIFICATIONS &
CORRECTIONS
27.06.2020,PAGE9IN THE article ‘Healthy stock inreservoirs’, the all-India figuresunder the subhead StorageStatus, reflectingexistingstocksas a percentage of capacity,should have read: 33 (2020), 17(2019),and19(10-yearaverage).Theerror is regretted.
Data-sharinglaw a key issueChinese government. Further,ifweare requested to in the fu-ture,wewouldnot do so,” saidGandhi.Club Factory, which is
amongthebannedapps, said ina statement: “We complywithall data security norms andhave not compromised withthe security or privacy of anyusers... We have always beenwillingandcontinue to remaincommittedtoworkingwiththegovernmenttoresolveanycon-cerns.”The government has al-
ready asked Google and Appleto remove the apps from theirstores for users in India, andwill issue similar instructionsto Internet Service Providers(ISPs) such as Jio, Airtel, andVodafone, sources said. In astatement issued Monday, thegovernmentsaid ithas invokedpowers under Section 69A ofthe IT Act, read with relevantprovisions of the IT (Procedureand Safeguards for Blocking ofAccess of Information byPublic)Rules2009, tobantheseapps.In response, the Chinese
Embassyspokespersonallegedthat themove “selectively anddiscriminatorilyaimsatcertainChinese apps on ambiguousand far-fetched grounds, runsagainst fair and transparentprocedure requirements” andcould be “violating the WTOrules”.The spokesperson also
claimed that the action “goesagainst thegeneral trendof in-ternational trade and E-com-merce, and is not conducive toconsumer interests and themarket competition in India”.RongsaidChinaexpected Indiato acknowledge “the mutuallybeneficial nature” of bilateral“economic and trade coopera-tion”.Meanwhile, a seniorofficial
at the Ministry of Electronicsand Information Technologyconfirmed that the govern-ment's statement Monday“served as an interim order”.Theofficial saidthata joint-sec-retary levelpanel,withofficialsfrom the ministries of IT,Telecom, Law and HomeAffairs, have been tasked withhearing clarifications fromcompany representatives.Given the Covid situation, theofficial said, the meetings willlikelyhappenviavideo-confer-encing.Based on the hearing, the
committeewill send its recom-mendations to another panelcomprisingthesecretariesof IT,Law, Telecom and HomeAffairs, with the PrimeMinister’s Office being kept inthe loop. The joint-secretarypanel may also issue a show-cause notice to these apps andask themtoplaceonrecord thenumberof timesChineseagen-cies have asked for data andwhether they complied withsuch requests. Details regard-ingthenatureofdatasoughtbyChineseauthoritiesandthefre-quency is also likely to besought, sources said.“The final decision on
whether to ban the apps per-manently or ask for somechanges in compliance normsis left to the secretary-levelpanel. Until this panel takes itsfinaldecision, the interimorderwill remain in force,” the offi-cial said. Further, the govern-ment could ask these compa-nies to appoint a nodal orgrievance officer, who can bequestioned in case of com-plaints about phishing or databreach.The IT Ministry has previ-
ously raisedred flagsabout theChinese lawondata-sharing.Tobypass this, several companieshaveestablishedheadquartersoutside China with a complex
web of ownership for theirIndian entities.In its statement Monday,
the ITministryhadsaidthat thedecision toban these appswastaken given the “emergent na-tureof threats” fromtheseappsand based on information thattheywereengaged inactivities“prejudicial to sovereigntyandintegrity”,defence, securityandpublic order.According toanothersenior
official, the Centre had studiedthe flow of data from theseappstoChinawhich, incongru-ence with “recent credible in-puts that such apps posed athreat to sovereignty and in-tegrity of India”, led to theban.
(SHUBHAJITROY&
KARISHMAMEHROTRA)
PM extends freerations untilNovemberwell. We are requesting otherstates also to take it forward…OneNation,OneRationCard…the entire nationwill have oneration card. The poorwill ben-efit the most from this. It willhelp those who go to otherstates in search of employ-ment.”Saying “we are now enter-
ing Unlock-Two in our fightagainst the corona pandemic”,heurgedpeoplenot tobecare-less. He said adherence to pre-cautions such as use of masks,social distancing and hygienewere of utmost importance. Inthis context,hesaid the“PrimeMinisterof acountrywas finedRs 13,000 for not wearing amask in a public place” – thereference was to the penaltyimposed on Bulgarian PrimeMinisterBoykoBorissov fornotwearingaprotective facemaskduring a visit to a church.But the issue of free ration
to the poorwas the focal pointof thePrimeMinister’saddress:“Over 80 crore people weregiven free ration for threemonths. Itmeans, everymem-ber of the family was given 5kilogramwheat or rice, free ofcost. In addition, every familygot one kilogram of dal permonth, free of cost. In a way,over 2.5 times the populationof the United States, 12 timesthe population of the UnitedKingdomanddouble thepopu-lation of the European Unionwere given free ration by ourgovernment.”“In our country, there are
many activities in agricultureduring and after the rainy sea-son. Other sectors do not havemuch activity. July also marksthebeginningof thefestivesea-son. 5th July is Guru Purnima,then the month of Saawanstarts. Then 15th August iscoming, Raksha Bandhan, SriKrishna Janmashtami, GaneshChaturthi, Onam will follow.Further, Kati Bihu, Navratri,Durga Puja are coming, thenDussehra, Diwali and ChhathPuja. This festive season in-creases necessities as well asexpenditure. Keeping all theseinmind, it has beendecided toextend the Pradhan MantriGaribKalyanAnnaYojanauptoDiwali and Chhath Puja, tillNovember-end.”“It means this scheme of
giving free ration to 80 crorepeople will continue throughJuly, August, September,October, November. The gov-ernment will provide free ra-tion to 80 crore poor brothers-sisters for five months. Everymember of the family will getfive kilogram wheat or rice.Also, every family will get onekilogram of whole chana permonth, free of cost.”“Over 90,000 crore rupees
will be spent on this extensionofPradhanMantriGaribKalyanAnna Yojana. If we add expen-diture of the last threemonthson this scheme, then it comes
to around 1.5 lakh crore ru-pees.”He said “if the government
is able to provide free ration totheneedyandpoor, thencreditfor it goes to two categories.One, hardworking farmers ofour country. Second, honesttaxpayers of our country. It isyourhardworkanddedication,due towhich thenation is ableto do it. You have filled thestocks of the nation, therefore,there is food in the kitchens ofthepoor,workers.Youpaid thetaxhonestly; you fulfilledyourduty. That is why the poor ofthe country are successfullycopingwithsuchabigcrisis.Onbehalf of all the poor of thecountry, I expressmy heartfeltgratitude to all taxpayersand farmers, and also salutethem”.“In thecomingdays,wewill
further strengthen our effortsand continuously work to em-power the poor, downtroddenand deprived sections of soci-ety.While takingall theprecau-tions, we will further expandeconomic activities. We willwork ceaselessly forAtmanirbharBharat.Weallwillbe vocal for local,” he said.The PMGKAY is one of the
main components of theCentre's Rs 1.70 lakh crore re-lief packageunder thePradhanMantriGaribKalyanYojana forthepoor to“helpthemfight thebattle against coronavirus”. Itwas announced by FinanceMinister Nirmala SitharamanonMarch 26.The scheme involves pro-
viding additional 5 kg food-grain free to 80 crore benefici-aries of the National FoodSecurity Act (NFSA), over andabove their monthly entitle-ment. Initially, it was for threemonths -- April, May and Juneonly.Earlier, thegovernmentwas
distributingonekilogramofdalalong with 5 kg wheat or rice.Themillingof pulses,however,endedupdelayingdeliveryanddistribution of dal. Changing itto chana is expected to speedupdelivery.Incidentally, several state
Chief Ministers and Congresspresident Sonia Gandhi hadwritten to the Prime Minister,asking him to extend theschemeThe government hadmade
additional allocation of 1.20croremetric tonsof foodgrainsunder PMGKAY for threemonths (April-June2020). Outof about themonthlyallocationof 40 lakhmetric tonnes, stateshave distributed about 93 percent inApril,92percent inMayand 74 per cent in June. WestBengal is theonlystate thathasnot distributed food grains forMay and June. Some states, forinstance Bihar and Delhi, havedistributed less food grainsthan the national average.According to the latest
buffer norms, which are inplace since July 2017, the gov-ernment has to maintain astockof at least210.40 lakhMTof food grains as on April 1;411.20 lakh MT as on July 1;307.70 lakh MT as on October1; and 214.10 lakh MT as onJanuary 1.According to the Food
Ministry, “As on June 29, 2020,FCI has 266.22 lakh metrictonnes of rice and 550.49 LMTwheat. Therefore, a total stockof 816.71 LMT food grains isavailable. (Excluding theongo-ing purchase of wheat andpaddy, which have not yetreached the godown).”“UnderNFSAandotherwel-
fare schemes, about 55 LMTfood grains are required for amonth,” the Ministry stated.Speaking to The Indian Express,Minister of Consumer Affairs,Food and Public DistributionRam Vilas Paswan hailed thePrime Minister’s announce-ment on extension of the
scheme until November-end.Calling it “a historic step in theinterest of poor”, Paswan said:“I would like to urge all stategovernments toensurethat thebenefits of this scheme reachthe poor immediately. Theyshould start lifting food grainsfrom today.”
TikTok starssurprised to find that so manytop creators knew me. Fanskept approaching for photo-graphs evenwhen Iwas roam-ing in the city,” he says.The TikTok fame helped Khangetmusic shows and gigs backhome,apart frombrandcollab-orations. TikTokmadestarsoutof many such youngsters insmall towns, cities, even vil-lages across India.One of the most popular,
RiyazAly,allof16,hasalmost43million followers on the plat-form. Hailing from Jaigaon, atown in West Bengal on theIndia-Bhutan border, he is nowbased in Mumbai, is a fashionicon and is known for his dancemovesandmusicvideos.Another TikTok star is
KishoreBargal, 30, acottonandcornfarmer fromAurangabad’sPokharivillage.Hegotonto theplatform over two years ago,andwould post videos sharingfarmingtips, aswell asdancingto Marathi and Bollywoodsongsand lip-syncing filmdia-logues.While Bargal says he can
move to a new platform, heworries itwill taketimeforhimto build a similar following.“Looking at the likesthat my videos got gave mehappiness likenothingelse,”hesays.Pratik Gaur, who runs the
talent management companyCelebistaan, says thereareover25,000creatorswithmorethanone million followers onTikTok. Gaur has discoveredand groomed most of the topnames — including Aly, NishaGuragain, Faisu,AashikaBhatiaand Jannat Zubair.Noting how TikTok surged
in India aftermergingwith theapp Musical.ly, Gaur, 22, says,“This increased thevisibility ofcreators 10 times, and allowedthem to follow global trends.The youngsters got to learnnew languages, music anddance forms… Each of my topcreators charges about Rs 2.5-3 lakh per video, and earnsabout Rs 50 lakh a month.”There are hundreds of talentmanagement agencies like hisall over thecountry.BollywoodandTVstarsareamongcelebri-ties on the platform. Last year,when TikTok was brieflybanned following an order bytheMadras High Court, ownerByteDance approached thegovernment torunpromotionsandawarenesscampaignsonit.The company also created
EduTok,where experts in vari-ous fields, such as teachers,gym trainers, doctors, carpen-ters, shared tips.Big brands such as Pepsi,
Puma,CleanandClear, FlipkartandMyntra,amongothers,alsoruntheir campaignsontheappthroughhashtagpromotion, in-fluencer outreach and homescreen ads. The ad rates, be-tweenRs5 lakh-Rs50 lakh, aremore economical thanYouTubeandInstagram,partic-ularly given TikTok’s high en-gagement throughuser-gener-ated content and deep reachdownto townsandrural areas.One of the most popular
creators on TikTok, AdnaanShaikh, says his love for dance,acting andmodelling foundanoutlet on the platform. A grad-uateofMumbai’s Rizvi Collegewho lives in Dharavi, Shaikhhasover13millionfollowersontheapp.Over the last twoyears,he has collaborated withBollywood names such as AliaBhatt, Ranveer Singh, Varun
Dhawan,Shaan, amongothers.Explaining what TikTok
meant forhim,Shaikh,23, says,“A lot of people like me, whohaveno connections in the en-tertainment industry, got aplatformtoshowcase their tal-ents.” Shaikh adds that he willfocus on Instagram andFacebook,whilewaiting foran-other creator-friendly app.“Every star, trend and app hasan expiry date. We’re thankfulto TikTok, let’s see where thefuturetakesus.” Gaursays theyarealsowatchingout foranappthat becomes as popular asTikTok.While “there are over ahundred similar Indian appsthat have cropped up in thepast onemonth”, he says thesewill take time to provide thereach of TikTok.“Therewillbeadefinite loss
of business. Over the last twoyears, TikTok groomed young-sters, made them confident,and gave the voiceless youth aplatform… If the users scatteracross all these (new)apps,wewon’t be able to recreate thatmagic again.” However, Gaurremains confident. As he un-derlines, “TikTok isbanned,notthe talent.”
Uday Shankaran “unprecedented mix ofstorm and crisis”. “Rationalityisnot thedefaultmode forany-one at this time. This is totallyunprecedented.Probably thereareotherwaysandbetterwaysof handling this, frankly, be-cause it doesn’t help anyone, itdoesn’t help resolve thetension,” Shankar said atThe Indian Express E-AddaTuesday.Shankar was in conversa-
tion with Anant Goenka,Executive Director, The IndianExpress Group, and NationalSportsEditorSandeepDwivedi.Asked if hisnetwork,which
holds the IPL broadcastingrights,willbe impacted if thereis a boycott of Chinese firmsand products in India, Shankarsaid: “If company X or Y is nottherebecause in largersocialornational interest ithasbeende-cided (to ban them), then wewill have to figure out a differ-entmonetisationmodel.”In 2017, Star India bought
the IPL broadcasting rights forRs16,347.50crore ina five-yeardeal.TheBCCI lastmonthsaid itwas reviewing the IPL’s spon-sorship deals with Chinesecompanies.Shankar,however, said their
investment was not made “onthebackof anycountryor spe-cific company”. “We believecricket has a power and thatpowercomes fromthedepthofengagement it haswith Indianconsumers. If people likesome-thingsopassionately, therewillbe people willing to back it fi-nancially,” he said.Shankar was also asked
about the possibility of sportscommentators being droppedbecause of public opinion.“There is a distinctionweneedto make between cricket jour-nalists and cricket commenta-tors. A journalist is at liberty tosay what you want to say. Acommentator, in my view, isnot a journalist. A commenta-tor ispartof theentirepackagetomake the gamemore enter-taining, more popular. I rou-tinely see a tendency amongcommentators whomake thismistake. There is a role for ajournalist and role for a com-mentator. I have very clearviews on that,” he said.However,Shankaradmitted
that “commentary, especiallyin cricket, has been too sani-tised”. “That iswhy a lot of funhas gone out of the matches.What we call colour, and I amnot saying colour in a flippantway, the more well-rounded,lively description of the sporthas gone away. We keep talk-ing about the life going out of
cricket and it becoming tootransactionalbut I thinkwearealso responsible for that. Weneed to think about how wecreatewell-rounded, lively ex-periences forpeople thatgobe-yond scores and runs,” he said.On the possibility of conduct-ing the IPL this season,Shankarsaid it is “important that peo-ple get the IPL experience forthe love of cricket and sig-nalling that life triumphs”. Thecricket boardwas forced to in-definitely postpone the IPL,which was to begin in March,because of the pandemic andthe nationwide lockdown.“Internally, we are discussingand planning (about IPL) butwe also wouldn't want thetournament to be held unlessthe atmosphere is safe,”Shankar said.
LAC de-escalation
talks stretchthough “concentration andmobilisation of troops contin-ues and hasn’t shown signs ofabating”.Since the last meeting on
June 22, there has only been“miniscule reduction of troopsin the frictionpockets,” sourcessaid.In the previous two meet-
ings, India has sought restora-tion of status quo ante – oftroops returning to locationsbeforethefaceoff beganinMay.It has also expressed concernovertheChinesemilitarybuild-up in the depth areas.The “friction” areas likely
discussed at the meeting in-clude the north bank ofPangong Tso, Galwan ValleyandtheGograPost-HotSpringspockets.As reported by The Indian
Express earlier, Chinese troopshavealso crossed theborder inDepsang Plains. Sources saidthe "massing of troops" inDepsang Plains was also to betaken up at themeeting of theCorps Commanders. TheDepsang Plains is an area closeto the strategic Indian base atDaulat Beg Oldie near theKarakoramPass.While China has been
strengthening its positions inthe Pangong Tso area and atPatrolling Point 14 (PP-14) inGalwan Valley, another majorconcern for India has been themilitary build-up in the depthareas in the region. MirroringChina’sadditionaldeployment,India too has brought in addi-tional troops,airdefenceequip-ment.
Huawei, ZTEsharply criticized the FCC's ac-tions.FCC CommissionerGeoffreyStarkssaidonTuesdaythat “untrustworthy equip-ment” remains in place in U.S.networks and said the U.S.Congressmustallocate fundingfor replacements.InMay 2019, Trump signed
an executive order declaring anational emergency and bar-ringU.S. companies fromusingtelecommunications equip-mentmadebycompaniespos-inganational security risk. TheTrump administration alsoadded Huawei to its tradeblacklist last year. The FCC hastakenan increasinglyhard lineagainst Chinese firms. In April,the FCC said it may shut downU.S. operations of three state-controlled Chinese telecom-munications companies. TheFCC required China TelecomAmericas, China UnicomAmericas, Pacific NetworksCorpanditswhollyownedsub-sidiary ComNet (USA) LLC toexplainwhy it should not starttheprocessof revokingauthor-izations enabling their U.S. op-erations.The FCC granted its ap-
provals to the firmsmore thana decade ago. InMay 2019, theFCC voted to deny another
state-ownedChinese telecom-munications company, ChinaMobileLtd, the right toprovideU.S. services, citing risks thattheChinesegovernment couldusethecompanytoconductes-pionage against the U.S. gov-ernment.
REUTERS
Nepal leadersPrachandasaidat theoutset
that Oli’s allegation againstIndia was wrong. “Not India, itis me who is demanding yourresignation. You must furnishproof of such irresponsible re-marks,” Dahal is believed tohave said.According to a member of
the standing committee,Khanal, Madhav Nepal andGautamaccusedOliofbeing in-sensitive and irresponsible inhis remarks against a friendlycountry.Trying to defend his allega-
tions, the PM shot back, “Howcomeaccountsof aconfidentialmeeting are getting reportedverbatiminthe Indianmedia?”Speakingata functionathis
official residenceonSunday,Olihad said Indiawas out to bringdown his government in col-laboration with some Nepalileaders, andthat thecontent incertain Indianmedia aswell asactivitiesof the IndianEmbassyin Kathmanduproved this.Meanwhile, inan interview
to the Nepal government-owned The Rising Nepal pub-lished on Tuesday, ChineseAmbassador to Nepal HouYanqi criticised remarksmadeby IndianArmyChief GenMMNaravane that the anti-Indiaprotests in Nepal over borderissues might be “at the behestof China”.Without mentioning
Naravane by name, Hou said,“Anyso-called ‘Nepalat thebe-hest of China’ accusation isbaseless and comes with ulte-rior motives… Such accusati-onsarenotonlyan insult to thewill of the independent coun-try of Nepal and the consensusof the Nepali people , but arealsoendeavoursdirectedat thedisruption of China-Nepalrelations.”Gautam,whowas themost
strident inhiscriticismofOli atthe party meeting, demandedthat he resign both as PM andparty chief.Oli has come under criti-
cismoutsidetheparty forumaswell. Former PM BaburamBhattarai, holding a rally, saidOli must furnish proof to sub-stantiatehisallegationsagainstIndia. “If the Embassy of Indiais so actively engaged intoppling him, why don’t youexpel their Ambassador?” heasked.DrPrakashChandraLohani,
co-chairmanof thepro-monar-chy Rastriya Prajatantra Partyand a former foreign affairsminister, said, “Oli will not re-quire anyone tooust him.He isin a hurry to oust himself.”Rabindra Mishra, who
heads the Sajha Party, said Olineeded “psycho-social coun-seling”.In her interview,
AmbassadorHou said the sup-port to the Oli government byall parties over the dispute re-gardingborderareaswith Indiashowed that public opinionwasonhis sideoversafeguard-ing Nepal’s “sovereignty andterritorial integrity”.She added, “I would like to
reiterate that the Chinese sidehas always respected the sov-ereignty and territorial in-tegrity of the Nepali side. Theissue of Kalapani involvesNepal and India. We hope thetwocountrieswill resolve theirdifferences properly throughfriendly consultations and re-frain fromtakinganyunilateralaction thatmaycomplicate thesituation. China’s position onthis issue has not changed.”
AVISHEKGDASTIDARNEWDELHI, JUNE30
ANUMBERof high-value, tech-nical work for the bullet trainproject,earlierslatedtobedoneby the Japanese, will now bedonebyIndiancompanies,pro-viding a major boost to Indianengineering capability.India is in discussions with
Japan to explore if the highlytechnical work of laying thetrack of the bullet train can bedone by an indigenous engi-neering firm.The 27 steel bridges on the
508-km stretch of the corridorbetween Ahmedabad andMumbai—earlierthoughttobethe sole domain of expertJapanesefirms—willbedonebyIndiancompanies.ConsideringnoIndianplayer
has worked on layingShinkansentrackcapableofcar-rying trainsat320kmperhour,the National High Speed RailCorporation Limited (NHSRCL)hasreachedouttoIndianindus-try to assess the requirementandcapabilityofdomesticplay-ers in order to get this highlyspecialised engineering jobdone.As part of this exercise, the
NHSRCL hosted a webinar lastWednesday to sensitise Indiancompanies and consultantsaboutthejob.Sourcessaidtrain-ingforupskillingIndianplayersis alsobeingplanned.Officials said that Indian
companies laying the trackwouldbeamajorcapabilityup-grade for domestic engineersand go a long way towards“AtmanirbharBharat” intheen-gineering space.The Indian side has con-
vincedthe Japanese that Indianengineers aremore than capa-ble of making complex steelbridges. Sources said they citedthe Chenab bridge in Kashmir,which is coming up as theworld’s tallest rail bridge.The work for 65,000-ton
steel fabrication for the 27bridges in thebullet train corri-dorwillbecertifiedbyWeldingResearch Institute inTiruchirapalli,sourcessaid.Theytold The Indian Express that thecost of the work could be“slightly cheaper” with Indiancompanies thanwith Japanesefirms.Signalling, control systems
and rolling stock would, how-ever, be fromJapan.Sourcessaid thatearlier this
year, Indianofficialswereseizedof the concern that the cost ofsomeworks by Japanese-onlyplayerstendedtohaveescalatedbeyond what they had beengiven toexpect.Sourcessaidthatforatender
for the undersea tunnel — partof the 21-km undergroundstretch inMaharashtra — Indiais learnt tohaveheld its groundthat escalation of the cost afteraccounting for inflation wouldnot be acceptable beyond alevel.
High-techwork forbullet trainproject tobe done byIndian firms
Ahmedabad
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THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY, JULY1,2020
THE INSTITUTE OFCOST ACCOUNTANTS OF INDIAStatutory Body under an Act of Parliament
Formed in the year 1944 under the Companies Act and
Established under an Act of Parliament in the year 1959
CMA Balwinder Singh
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Vice PresidentCMA Niranjan Mishra
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CMA Rakesh Bhalla
Chairman,Direct Taxation Committee
CMA H. Padmanabhan
Chairman, Regional Council &Chapters Co-ordination Committee,
CAT and AAT Board
To celebrate 3 years of Successful implementation in India, the Institute is observing
The Institute congratulates Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and nation on successful
completion of 3 years of GST implementation- Historical tax reform in India
GST DAY
“GST DAY CELEBRATION WEEK”
Date: 1st July, 2020 to 7th July, 2020
Inauguration by CHIEF GUEST on 1st July, 2020 at 10:00 am
WEBINTTHROUGH
THEME
“G S TROWING TRONGERWITH IMES -
SUM AND SUBSTANCE OF
GOODS & SERVICES TAX”
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Bhubaneswar (Orissa) Constituency
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Benefits of GST to the Indian Economy Institute’s Contribution in Successful GST regime
o One Nation, One Market, One Tax.
o Maximum Governance, Minimum Government.
o Good and Simple Tax.
o Reduced tax compliance and a simplified tax policy.
o Convenience for small businesses - Composition scheme.
o Convenient online procedure.
o Lesser compliances.
o Ease in Interstate movement of goods.
o Improved efficiency of logistics.
o Unorganized sector is regulated under GST.
o Leakage of revenue is plugged in GST.
o Boost to the Indian economy in the long run.
o Removal of bundled indirect taxes prevalent in previous regime.
o Removal of cascading effect of taxes as prevalent in previous regime.
o Reduction of manufacturing costs due to lower burden of taxes on the
manufacturing sector.
o More than 1200 Seminars, conferences and training sessions organized across India.
o More than 100 GST helpdesks opened across India during implementation period.
o GST certificate course launched for members & industry.
o Students training program on GST launched.
o Contribution by providing regular suggestions to Government and GST Council.
o Fortnightly Tax bulletin for members and industry launched.
o Guidance Notes and Handbooks on GST released:
• Input Tax Credit
• GST Audit & Annual Returns
• GST Notifications & Compilations
• E-way Bill
• Works Contracts
• Anti-Profiteering
• Impact of GST on MSME Sector
• GST on Exports
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4THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY, JULY1,2020
GUJARAT
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
GUJARAT UNIVERSITY
PROFHIMANSHUPANDYAREAPPOINTEDASVC
The state government reappointed Prof Himanshu Pandya as the Vice-Chancellor of Gujarat University
for the term of three years. The appointment was pending since March when Prof Pandya's term expired.
“I will take charge in a day or two,” Prof Himanshu Pandya said.
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEGANDHINAGAR, JUNE30
ASPARTof Unlock2provisions,Gujarat Chief Minister VijayRupaniTuesdaydeclaredcurfewbetween10pmand5amacrossthestateandgrantedpermissiontohotelsandrestaurantstofunc-tiontill9pmfromJuly1toJuly31.An official statement from
theChiefMinister’sOfficestatedthat theCMhas takentwodeci-sions related to shops, restau-rants andhotels in the state fol-lowingnewdirectionsregardingUnlock 2 declared by theUniongovernmentonMonday.As per the statement, now
hotelsandrestaurantscanfunc-tiontill9pmandothershopsre-main open till 8 pm from July 1to July 31. Before this, the dead-line for shops was 6 pm, whilethecurfewhourswerebetween9pmand5am.Later, thestatehomedepart-
ment issued a notification stat-ing that the relaxations in lock-down will be applicable onlyoutside containment ormicro-containment zones,where onlyessentialserviceswillbeallowed.
Unlock 2: Hotelscan open till 9 pm,curfew between10 pm and 5 am
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICESURAT, JUNE30
SURATCITY,whichhasbeenwit-nessingaspike inCovid-19casesover the past oneweek,will gettwonewCovidcarefacilitieswith1000-bed capacity at theInternational Convention CumExhibitionCentreoftheSouthernGujarat Chamber of Commerceand Industry (SGCCI) and com-munityhalloftheSuratMunicipalCorporation(SMC)inaweek.The SMC authorities along
withSuratdistrictadministrativeofficials,visitedtheInternationalConvention Cum ExhibitionCentreatSarsanaonJune12andstartedworktogetclearancesforaCovid-care facilityonitsprem-ises. The exhibition hall, thePlatinumandthesix-storeyasso-ciationbuildingwillbeutilisedtosetupthe facilityequippedwithoxygenlines,workforwhichbe-ganonTuesday.“Talkswith SMCanddistrict
administration were going onsincethefirstweekofJuneanditwasdecidedtodevelopaCovid-
19carecentreatthethreeprem-ises of SGCCI at Sarsana.We arehappythatwecouldofferahelp-inghandtothemunicipalcorpo-ration at such a critical period,”saidSGCCIpresidentKetanDesai.SMC commissioner
Banchhanidhi Pani said, “TheSarsana Covid-19 centre willhave facilities, includingoxygenlines, ventilators andBiPap. Thestate governmentwill provideequipment andmedical staff.Sarsana Covid centrewill have826 beds, while at AlthanCommunitycentre,wewillgetafacilitywith182beds.Thisisourpreparationforcomingdays.”Till date, Surat city has
recorded 4,530 positive casesandover165deaths,while2,822patients were fully recoveredand discharged. At present,Covid-19 patients are beingtreatedattheNewCivilhospital,SMIMERhospital,Covid-19cen-tre at Samras in the universityand 10 private hospitals. Allthese premises have around2,000beds.TheSMChasalsoen-teredintoanagreementwith37privatehospitalswhere30to50
per cent of their beds are re-served forCovidpatients.BJP MLA of Majura seat
HarshSanghaviisspearheadingtheworktosetuptheCovidcarefacilityatSMC’sCommunityhallin Althan area, work for whichbegan on Monday. Sanghvi,alongwithBJPMPCRPatil,helda meeting with themunicipalcommissioner and put up theproposal,whichwasaccepted.Sanghvi told The Indian
Express, “We first painted thewallswhite so that patients canget positive energy.My friendsaretakingupvariousresponsibil-ities and the facility is estimatedtocostaroundRs1crore.Wewillalsoinstall20LEDtelevisionsetsforthepatientsandwillalsosup-ply newspapers andmagazines.Weareaimingtocompleteworkonthis facilitybyJuly3.”“Wewill also construct 20
additional toilets and 20 bath-rooms.Wehavealso takenhelpfromaprivatehospitaltosupplythree ventilators for critical pa-tients.Once the facility is ready,wewillhandovertoSMCtorunit,”headded.
Two new Covid facilities at SMCcommunity hall, SGCCI premises
RITUSHARMAAHMEDABAD,JUNE30
THEPLAYGROUPofathree-year-old boy in Ahmedabad, havingbeen shifted online, is nothingshortofanightmareforthechild’smother.TheboywasregisteredatTapovan pre-nursery classes inDharnidhar area, which beganonlinesessionsfromJune1. “Thisis like an examination for us. Achildwhohasneverseenaschool,orknowswhatteachers,classma-tesandfriendsare,hastoexperi-ence the first steps towards for-malschooling,virtually,”shesaid.“It isverydifficult tokeepthe
childengrossedonthescreenforlong. I have to lure himwithhisfavouritefoodtogethimtofocusonhisclasswheneverhelosesin-
terest.Whenthistrickfails, I takethelessonsmyselfandteachhimlater,”themothersaid.OnMonday, a public interest
litigation(PIL)filedattheGujaratHighCourt, seekingabanonon-line classes for childrenagedbe-tween18months and six years,wastakenupbyadivisionbench.Thepetitioner,a30-year-oldres-identofAhmedabad,saidthatfol-lowingthelockdowneasing,sev-eralplaygroupsandkindergartenschools “are forcing parents totake the classes for the termofJune2020online”.Hesubmittedthat parents were directed bytheseplaygroupstositwiththeirtoddlersinfrontofacomputerorlaptopforanhourormoreevery-day.ThebenchkeptthemattertobetaggedwiththePILpertainingtootherCovid-19matters,which
willbeheardonJuly17.While older children are
learning to accept virtual class-rooms,itistheparentsofchildrenenrolled in pre-primary classeswhoare finding it difficult to ad-just to the newnorm. They feelthe burden has shifted fromteachersovertothem.Theparentthat thispaperspoketosaid thatearlier, their involvementwaslimited to dropping andpickingup their children, but it hasnowextended to accompanying thechildthroughoutthe“class”.“In addition to keepingmy
daughter occupied, I have to sitwithher throughout the sessionof 45minutes, taking notes ofwhat is being taught. Althoughtheteachersmakeeffortstokeepthemengrossedwithsurpriseel-ements...,howcanoneforcesuch
a small child to sit in front of thescreen for long?” asks anothermotherofatwo-year-oldgirlen-rolledintheplaygroupatSatelliteSchoolforChildren.Although schools have re-
stricted the time limit of onlineclasses, a section of parents feelscreen time for suchyoung chil-dren is doingmore harm thangood.“Forthefirsttwoweeks,theclasseswere for fivedaysaweekbutwhentheparentscomplainedthat these aremore binding onparents,especiallywhereboththeparents areworking, the schoolalso declaredWednesdays as aholiday starting thisweek,” saidanotherparentwhosechildisalsostudyingatTapovanpreschool.“Sincemyhusband is in the
construction business,which isyettopickupafterthelockdown,
wecanaffordsparingtimeforourfour-and-a-half-year olddaugh-ter’stwoonlinesessionseveryday.If we both had jobs, one of uswould have to either leave it ordrop the idea of enrolling ourdaughtertoschoolthisyear,”saidan ITprofessionalwhosedaugh-ter is in junior kindergarten atBodakdevSchoolforChildren.ArpitShah,trusteeatTapovan
preschoolthathasnearly300chil-dren enrolled at four branchesacrossthecity,said, “Wehavede-velopedour owncontent, amixof entertainmentandeducation,with interactive sessions andhomeassignments to overcomesomeoftheissues.”“Ourfirstaimistosetuparou-
tine and then work slowly to-wardsincreasingthescreentimeoractivities.Everyonehasslowly
learnttoadoptit.Eventhosewhowere not well-equipped withcomputer skills or have internetconnectivityissuesarelearningtoovercomeit,”saidMananChoksi,executive director of UdgamConsultancy,thatrunsBodakdevSchool for Children andSatelliteSchool. Amajority of schools areusingplatformssuchasMicrosoftTeams, ZoomandGoogle Class-rooms, while some privateschools have initiated amix ofvideo calls and storytelling ses-sions by teachers, parents andevengrandparents.“We are not calling it online
teachingbutstudent-teacheren-gagement for pre-primary chil-dren,wherein teachers connectwithstudentsonaweeklybasis,”said Nirali Dagli, Principal ofCalorxPublicSchool,Ghatlodiya.
Preschools embrace virtual learning, parents try to keep up
GOPALKATESHIYARAJKOT, JUNE30
DESPITETHECottonCorporationof India (CCI) purchasingmorethan11lakhbalesofcottonfromGujarat, cottonprices inagricul-tural producemarket commit-tees(APMCs)inthestateremaindepressed due to low demand,withexpertssayingthatthephe-nomenon is likely to persuadefarmers to decrease cottonacreage in favourof groundnut.CCI officials said they have
purchased more than 11 lakhbales (each containing170kgoflint)or55 lakhquintalsof kapas(raw, unginned seed cotton)inthe2019-20 season, thehighestprocurementfromGujaratsince2008."Wearewithdrawingfromthemarketnow.Wearealreadya fewweeks into themonsoonand rain is affecting purchasingoperations,"saidaseniorofficial,adding that the CCI procuredaroundone lakhbales in June.Though the peak cotton
marketingseason,whichbeginsin Gujarat in October and runsthroughJuneisover,APMCsarestill recording significant ar-rivalsof thenaturalfibreontheiryardsandthewithdrawalofCCIfromthemarketcanfurtherde-pressprices,marketinsiderssay.Botad APMC, one of the
biggest cotton markets in thestate, recorded arrival of 3,000quintalsofcottononTuesdayand
theaveragepricewasRs4,250.InRajkot APMC, 1,600 quintals ofcotton arrivedwhere themodalpricewas again Rs 4,250,whichiswaybelowtheminimumsup-portprice(MSP)ofRs5,525fixedbytheCentralgovernment."Farmerscouldnotsell their
cotton for twomonths, begin-ning late March due to lock-down... Therefore, we are wit-nessing comparatively higherarrivals even though normalcotton marketing window isover,"saidBabulalTejani,secre-taryof RajkotAPMC."The cotton processing
pipeline is choked. Due to re-strictions on movement oflabour and goods during lock-down, cotton couldn't be trans-ported to textilemills in south-ern India and export was alsovery little. Therefore, pricescrashed. As APMCs were shutduring lockdown, arrivals nowarehigherevenasbuyersarenotupbeat.Therefore,pricesarere-maining low," said KantitlalLadola,secretaryofBotadAPMC.The sowing of the crop this
kharif season is trailing togroundnut.AsofMonday,farm-ers had sown cotton in 15.71lakh hectare (lh), datawith thedirectorofagricultureofGujaratshows. This represents just58.88percentof26.68lhwhichwas under cotton the previousseason. On the other hand,groundnut has gained groundwith its acreage standing at
16.36 lh, up from 15.52 lhrecorded the previous season.Agriculturedepartmentofficialssay these figuresare likely togoup in the comingweeks.BhimjiSagarka,directorofex-
tension education at JunagadhAgriculturalUniversity,Junagadh,says,"Lastseason,firsttwoflushesin cotton failed due to excessiverain andpinkbollworm infesta-tiontroubledfarmers inthelaterflushes. So, the productionwasnot satisfactory. No suchuncer-taintiesaregenerallyattached togroundnut.Withweather per-mitting,groundnut isanassuredcrop, which also provides pre-miumfodderbesidesmarketableoilseeds. Unlike cotton, ground-nutalsoallowsrelay-croppingofred gram (tur) and castor seeds.So,we estimate that groundnutacreagewillgoup20percentandcotton acreagewill comedowncommensurately."Groundnuthasbeentrading
at average Rs5500 per quintal,whichishigherthantheMSPofRs5090.Sagarkasaidbesidesreward-
ingpricesof groundnut,migra-tionof labouerswerealsoaffect-ing farmers choices. “Cotton ismore labour-intensive as com-pared to groundnut. Last year,labour charges for picking cot-tonwere high and farmers ex-pect them to even higher thisyear with labourers having re-turnedtotheirnativestatesdueto lockdown," addedSagarka.
CROPACREAGEMAYDECREASE
Cotton prices stay low despiteCCI’s purchase of 11 lakh bales
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICESURAT, JUNE30
VALSADPOLICEhave arrested amaulvirunningamadrasainParditownofthedistrictfornotadher-ingtosocialdistancingnorms.Actingonatip-off,policereac-
hedthemadrasaatDamanibazaarstreetinPardionMondayevening.The officials found thatMaulviYusufKhalifa(64)wasteaching15studentsinasmallroom.Nosocialdistancewas beingmaintainedand themaulvi hadnotput onafacemask,policesaid.Themaulviwas arrestedun-
der IPC sections 188 (Disobed-iencetoorderdulypromulgatedbypublicservant),269(Negligentact likely to spread infection ofdiseasedangeroustolife),sectionthree of the Epidemic DiseasesActandsection51(b)oftheDisa-sterManagement Act. The chil-drenwereallowedtogohome.Pardipolicesub-inspector.SB
Zala said, “During the lockdownperiod,allschools,tuitionclassesandgatheringshavebeenputonhold due to the Covid-19 pan-demic.Anotificationwasalsois-suedforthesamebythedistrictmagistrate. The maulvi hadcalled students to themadrasaandwas teaching them, violat-ing the rules and regulations ofthemagistratenotification.”
Maulvi runningmadrasa heldfor violatingCovid protocol
Longqueuesofpeoplenoticedoutside (fromleft)Torrentpowerhousetopayelectricitybill;outsideabank;andtemple for free foodinAhmedabadonTuesdayasUnlock2guidelineswere issuedbythegovernment. JavedRaja
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEVADODARA, JUNE30
THECATHOLICChurchofGujarathasexpressed“shockandsorrow”over the alleged custodial deathofafatherandsoninTuticorininTamilNadulastweek.InastatementissuedTuesday,
the Bishops of the CatholicDioceses termed the incident inwhichP Jeyrajand JBennixwereallegedlykilledinjudicialcustodyas“ghastly”andsaid,“Weconveyour heartfelt sympathies to thebereaved family and assure oursincere prayers for them. TheCatholic Church of Gujarat st-ronglycondemnstheviolationof
humandignity in the gruesomebrutality unleashedupon thesecitizensbythelocalpoliceofTamilNadu similar to the heinouskilling of George Floyd...Wede-mand that a procedure forrestorationof Justice andhumanrights be set inmotion immedi-atelybythestategovernmentandthe perpetrators be brought tobookwithsternaction.”Thestatementissuedthrough
thespokespersonof theCatholicchurch, Father Vinayak Jadhav,urges for prompt action to sendacross“amessagethatprotectorscanneverturnpredators”.TheCa-tholicChurchofGujaraturgedforcompensationtothefamilyofthevictimsbytheauthorities.
Catholic Church of Gujaratexpresses shock, sorrow
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICESURAT,AHMEDABAD,JUNE30
PRINCIPAL SECRETARY (HealthandFamilyWelfare) Jayanti Ravivisited Surat on Tuesdaywhenthe district reported 199 newCovid-19 cases, exceeding thenumberofnewcasesreportedinAhmedabadwhere 197 peopletestedpositive.The total number of positive
cases reported in the state so farneared 32,700 with 618 newcases reported across the state.Valsad sawa surge innewcaseswith20peopletestingpositive.Raviwillbecamping inSurat
till the situation does not nor-malise.Suratsawasuddenspikein Covid-19 cases since June 1whenthecurbswereeased. ShealsoconductedmeetingswiththeCovid-19nodalofficerandmunic-ipalauthorities,andtookstockofthe situation. This is the secondtourof JayantiRaviinSurat.Addressingmediapersonsaf-
ter taking stock of the situationwith district officials, Ravi said,“We will increase the beds inCovid-19 hospital in NewCivilHospital.Iwillcamphereforafewdays, andwill observe the situa-tion.Asmanyas100moreventi-latorswill be coming to Surat incomingdays,addingtotheexist-ingstrength,andkeepinginmindthe rise innumberof patients infuture. The reason behind thespike is people arenot followingproper Covid-19 guidelines likeuse ofmask,maintaining socialdistance and use of sanitisers.Manycasesamongdiamondpol-ishers in Katargam zone hadcomeintolightandthemajorrea-sonistheirseatingarrangementsas no social distancing ismain-tainedandnotusingsanitisers.”Surat Municipal
Commissioner BanchhanidhiPani had put diamond tradingmarkets in Mahidharpura andVarachha under cluster zone.
Majority of the small, mediumand big diamond factories inKatargam zone had been shutdown after several diamond
polishers tested positive forCovid-19.“Ifanybodycomplainsrelated
tomoremedical treatment fees
beingtakenbytheprivatehospi-tals, not as per the prescribednorms, action will be takenagainstthem.Thoseinhomeiso-lationhavetotakeextracareandif their health deteriorates, theyshould call 104 services, or canavail the facility of Dhanvantrirath,”sheadded.InSurat,Katargamzonecon-
tinuestobeapainpoint,with60people testingCovid-19positiveon Tuesday. The zone has re-ported a total of 1,235 cases tilldate.Apartfromthis,22newpos-itivecasescamefromsix talukasin Surat district, taking the totalcases in the rural Surat jurisdic-tion to547. Surat, however, tookabout725samplesonTuesday.InAhmedabad,wheretheto-
tal cases neared21,000, thedis-trict reported as few cases as itdid on April 27. The district atpresent has 3,500 patients un-dergoingtreatment,whilenearly16,000havebeendischargedtilldate. Ahmedabad also tested asmany as 2,200 samples in a 24-hourspan.On the other hand, AMCde-
clared twonewmicro contain-mentzones,oneeachinthesouthand north zone. These includeeight households in AsopalavSociety inVatva and175house-holds in Rajavir Society inThakkarbapaNagar.Thetwonewzonestogethercontainapopula-tionofapproximately845.Sixmicrocontainmentzones
were delisted. The six zonescombinedhaveanapproximatepopulation of 940 across 240households.Jamnagar reported 18 new
cases, crossing 200 cases as didPatan after reporting 11 newcases. A Covid-19 patient suc-cumbedtoinfectioninPatantak-ingtheCovidtoll inthedistrictto16with the case fatality rate ofoversevenpercent.Navsari reported its second
Covid-19deathwhile the deathtoll inJunagadhreachedthree.
Health secy visits Surat, 199newcases reported in district
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD, JUNE30
THEAHMEDABADHospitalsandNursing Homes Association(AHNA) in association withAhmedabad Municipal Corp-oration(AMC)Tuesdaylauncheda24-hourhelplineforinformationonavailabilityofbedsforCovid-19treatment inprivatehospitals inthecity.Thehelplinewill alsoprovide
informationonavailabilityofam-bulance service forCovid-19pa-
tients alongwith informationonhomecarefacilitiesforthem.“This service has been
launched so thatpatientsdonothavetomovefromonehospitaltoanotherand the treatment isnotdelayed.Atpresent,thebedavail-ability is updated twiceadayonthe associationwebsite. So thiswill move on a real time basisgradually.Atpresent,thecallerwillget informationoncehecallsandthe call centre executive checksavailabilitywiththeprivatehospi-tals,” says AHNA president DrBharatGadhavi.
Thehelplinenumbersare079-26409999and079-26403333.OnJune16,theAMCdropped
the idea of launching amobilephoneapplicationforCovid-19pa-tients justacoupleofdaysbeforeitwas slated to launch. Tobe runjointlybyAHNAandAMC,theappwasaimedtoaddressquerieswithrespect to locating beds and re-ceivingthestatusoftheiravailabil-ityin55privatehospitalsrequisi-tionedbytheAMC.Theappwasbeingdesignedto
providesimilarinformationontheavailabilityofbedsandhomecare
servicesof eachprivatehospital,along with package details ofrooms and other charges alongwithafacilitytocallanambulancewasalsotobemadeavailable.Atpresent,theAHNAwebsite
providesinformationonbedsanditisupdatedonlytwiceadayandattimes,onlyonceaday.Thefacil-itywasmadeavailableinthesec-ondweekofJuneandhasabreak-up of isolation beds, HighDependencyUnits (HDUs), Inte-nsive CareUnits (ICUs)withoutventilatorsandwithventilators—ofbothoccupiedandvacantbeds.
Helpline launched for info on availability of beds
MOREFRESHCASESTHANAHMEDABAD
PLACES CONFIRMED DEATHS NEWCASES
Ahmedabad 20,913 1,441 197
Surat 4,829 161 199
Vadodara 2,280 55 52
Bhavnagar 261 13 8
Gandhinagar 654 31 16
Rajkot 271 7 6
ChhotaUdepur 56 3
Patan 206 16 11
Valsad 150 3 20
Porbandar 19 2 3
Mehsana 276 12 7
Morbi 22 1 2
Kutch 151 5 9
GirSomnath 76 1 3
Junagadh 101 3 8
Sabarkantha 174 8 4Anand 221 13 14
Panchmahal 194 14 3Bharuch 228 9 8
Banaskantha 178 10 1
Jamnagar 216 4 18
Kheda 169 6 6Narmada 90 1
Aravalli 207 18 5Mahisagar 148 2 2
Botad 90 3 4
Amreli 85 6 3
Tapi 12Dang 5
Dahod 59DevbhoomiDwarka 23 1 1
Surendranagar 142 7 4Navsari 97 2 2Fromotherstates 87 1 1
Totalcases:32,688 Deaths:1,856Newcases:618
CASE TRACKER
Cumulativedischarge:
23,662
AHMEDABAD
TNCUSTODIALDEATHS
Ahmedabad
ADVERTORIAL
CELEBRATED IN the loving memoryof the legendary physician, philan-thropist, and the second Chief Minister
ofWest Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, theNational Doctors' Day is observed on July 1of every year to honour and emphasise onthe value of doctors in our lives and to offerthem our respects by commemorating oneof their greatest representatives. Honouredwith Bharat Ratna on 4 February 1961, In-dia's highest civilian honour, a year beforehis death, Dr. Roy was a hugely popularstatesman and renowned physician whobrought laurels to the realms of medicineand politics with his exemplary public ser-vice.He dedicated his life to the profession ofmedicine.
Playing a key role in the establishment ofmany prominent medical colleges and hos-pitals in Calcutta and West Bengal, he en-sured his presence in politics did not hinderhis attention and care to people whoneeded it the most. Believing in thisthought, he used to still devote an hourevery day to serve the poor with his medicalknowledge. His stature as a medical profes-sional and his involvement in the freedomstruggle later on made him close to Ma-
hatma Gandhi and Jawahar Lal Nehru. Helater on went on to become MK Gandhi’spersonal physicians.
Speaking about his popularity among themasses, the British Medical Journal in itsobituary for Dr. Roy called him the “firstmedical consultant in the subcontinent ofIndia, who towered over his contemporaries
in several fields.” The obituary went on toargue that “at his professional zenith hemay have had the largest consulting prac-tice in the world, news of his visit to a cityor even railway station bringing forth hordesof would-be patients.”
Clearly, it is evident from the above adu-lation that being a doctor is a noble profes-
sion with a noble cause. This is even moreclear in the light of the current scenariowhen the people are wholly and solely de-pendent on doctors to save them from suc-cumbing to COVID-19. Recently, the COVID-19 cases surpassed 1 crore mark throughoutthe world and has continued to wreak havocamong citizens, governments and even
healthcare professionals. In these times ofunprecedented health scare, it is truly ad-mirable to see how doctors and the entiremedical fraternity have braced themselvesup to tackle the whole situation head-on.
This is undoubtedly a very difficult timefor doctors and the healthcare community.On the one hand, there is a fear for theirown health because it is a highly infectiousdisease, and it has been seen worldwidethat the biggest casualties due to COVID-19are among the medical fraternity. Still, theyare coming and doing their duty towards thenation, fully aware of the health risks. Onthe other hand, a bigger risk they take is interms of their family. Many of them do notwant to go home thinking of the risk theymight put their family or friends in. There-fore, they are not only performing tough du-ties, they are also isolating themselves forweeks altogether – either staying at the hos-pital or at hotels. Even wearing the PPE gearfor hours is extremely difficult. It is physi-cally drenching, dehydrates them, makesthem feel claustrophobic, they cannot usethe washroom, drink water, or eat anythingwhile being in those shift duties. This is notonly physically demanding but requires im-
mense mental strength as well. These aretough times, in spite of that, they are will-ingly coming forward and working as COVIDWarriors.
While we are self-isolating safely at ourhomes, it is the doctors and the entire med-ical community which are at the grave risk ofcontracting the disease. Since the caseshave peaked recently, with an average of15K to 20K cases daily, it has become verychallenging for doctors to ensure that everylife is saved. It is thus a collective responsi-bility on part of the citizens to ensure thatwe have nothing but only ‘kind words’ forthe medical community that is in deep dis-tress now. Doctors are special, and this yearis one where we have seen them as our real-life heroes. Doctor’s Day is an opportunityto thank all the heroes in the medical fra-ternity for their selfless contributions, asthey continue to work round the clock,pulling long hours to safeguard and protectpatients. This pandemic has further provedthat doctors are like blessings to our societyand without them the entire human racecannot subsist when faced with a diseasethat singularly threatens to wipe out its ex-istence.
Doctors are the Real Heroes of Our Life Today!As the COVID-19 cases accelerates in the country, it has never been more important to appreciate the toiling efforts of doctors whocontinue to serve selflessly and devotedly for the safety and security of our lives amidst the life-threatening risks from the pandemic
5WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY, JULY1,2020
Ahmedabad
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THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY, JULY1,2020
Tender No.: 05/e-ITDA-PRJ/DEPT/1/2020-PROJECT Date: 30 June 2020
e-TenderSelection of Service Provider for CCTV Installations and Horizontal
Connectivity for Udham Singh Nagar Police
Request for Proposal (RFP) is being issued by ITDA, Department of IT, Uttarakhand to the
reputed IT companies meeting the qualification criteria, for Selection of Service Provider for
CCTV Installations and Horizontal Connectivity for Udham Singh Nagar Police. The RFP
document can be downloaded from www.uktenders.gov.in from 30/06/2020. The Tender
documents fee Rs.10000/- (Rs. Ten Thousand Only) non refundable acceptable only through
Demand Draft/Banker's Cheque favouring "Director, ITDA" payable at Dehradun should be
submitted along with the Bid. The parties willing to participate in the bidding will have to apply
through the Electronic Tendering Procedure (e-Tendering) as per the guidelines issued by
Government of Uttarakhand available on the above mentioned website under the link "Bidders
Manual Kit".
DIRECTOR
Information Technology Development Agency (I.T.D.A.)
(Department of IT, Government of Uttarakhand) IT Bhawan,
Plot No. IT-07, Sahashradhara Road, Dehradun - 248001
ITDA
Ref No:S6/14918/HEFA/VECTOR NETWORK ANALYZER/19-20/E241Online Tenders are invited under two bid system from the Manufactures/AuthorizedResellers/Service Providers for the Purchase of Vector Network Analyzer-40 GHz (Bench TopModel).
Kindly visit the URL www.nitc.ac.in & https://eprocure.gov.in/eprocure/app for tender schedule,Specification, Corrigendum & other details.Tel : 0495 2286134, 2286116 Email : [email protected]: 22-06-2020
National Institute of Technology Calicut
NIT Campus P.O, Calicut, Kerala-673601, India
E-TENDER NOTICE
Date of pre-bid meeting 01.07.2020
Start date of Bid submission 02.07.2020
Closing date of bid submission 24.07.2020
Opening date of bid 29.07.2020
davp 21344/11/0001/2021 DIRECTOR
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Gujarat State Board of School Textbooks"Vidhyayan", Sector-l0/A, Gandhinagar–382010
Online tender are invited for Request for proposal of empanelment for
job work of Offset Printing of Textbooks, Year 2020-21 from offset
printing press all over India.
● The Detail and terms & conditions are given in the tender.
● Board reserves the rights to reject the online tenders without
mentioning any reason.
● More details regarding the tender are available on the website
www.nprocure.com.The tender downloading and submitting facility are
available on www.nprocure.com only.
● Kindly contact in person this office for further details regarding the tender
during office hours.
Director
Gujarat State Board of SchoolTextbooks
Gandhinagar.
E-Tender/Two Bid
No. Details Date Hrs.
1 Bid Document Download Start Date 01/07/2020 11.00 a.m.
2 Pre-bid meeting Date &Time 08/07/2020 12.30 p.m.
3 Bid Document Download End Date 22/07/2020 5.00 p.m.
5 OpeningTechnical Bids 24/07/2020 11.30 a.m.
6 Verification of Original Documents
8 RA Bid
7 Opening of Commercial Bid
(Only for Qualified Bidders)
4 Last Date andTime for Receipt of
Bid Submission of EMD,Tender Fees,
Other Document
23/07/2020 5.00 p.m.
Date will be
notified to
qualified bidders
separately.
DIPR/ 2431 /Tender/2020
TAMILNADU NEWSPRINT AND PAPERS LIMITED
TNPL - Maker of bagasse based eco-friendly Paper
NOTICE INVITING TENDER
Tender No. Material Descripion Due Date
1Supply and Installaion of Freight, cum Passenger Lit andElevator System for Recovery Boiler in TNPL Unit-II MEP
17.07.2020
2Design, Engineering, Manufacture, Supply, Erecion, Start-up and Commissioning of FRP Tanks for Hardwood Fibreline
17.07.2020
3Design, Manufacture, Supply, Erecion & Commissioning ofChip Conveying System at Site for Hardwood Fibreline areaof TNPL Unit-II MEP
21.07.2020
202113001223
Enlistment of Vendors for Supply of Sulphuric Acid, SulphurDi-Oxide & Ortho Phosphoric Acid
11.07.2020
202113001420
Steaming (Non Coking) Coal in bulk (South African Origin)on delivered at TNPL factory basis
07.07.2020
Email: Sl.No: 1 - [email protected] , Sl.No: 2 & 3 - [email protected] &T.No: 202113001223 - [email protected] ,202113001420 - [email protected]
Bidders may request the tender document at the above address by post/mail.Detailed NIB may be viewed in websites: www.tnpl.com / www.tenders.tn.gov.in .
Kagithapuram - 639 136. Karur Dist. Tamil Nadu Ph: 04324 - 277001 (10 Lines)
Ahmedabad
ADVERTORIAL
Doctors are indispensable part of the society. Irrespective of anything, A Doctor is always committedtowards well being of the society. An honest, ethical & caring doctor is priceless asset should be cherished.
What is cervical cancer?
Cervix is the lower most part of theuterus. It’s cancer is called cervical cancer.It is caused by a virus called HPV.
Why it is dangerous?
It is no. 1 cancer in female body in In-dia. Every day 200 women die due to thiscancer in our country. A staggering1,32,000 no. of new cases are detectedevery year in India , of women who sufferfrom this dreaded cancer . Its dangerousbecause It lies silent with no symptomsin the initial stage when it potentially canbe cured or removed. Later, there can bepain or bleeding, but detection aftersymptoms is too late and it is probablytoo advanced and not curable. So it is ofparamount importance to prevent it fromhappening or to detect it early at precan-cerous stage. Every female should beaware of this fact and should consult aspecially trained gynecologist for this pur-pose from time to time as advised.
How can it be prevented?
HPV vaccine: for younger age groupThis vaccine is a miracle drug in the ar-
mamentarium to fight this dreaded can-cer. It yields ALMOST 80% PROTECTIONagainst cervical cancer. It is given toyoung girls in the age group of 11-23years. Lack of awareness is the majorcause whereby very few girls are immu-nized in our country. Every mother shouldtake her daughter in this age group forvaccination to a gynecologist with specialinterest in this field who keeps this vac-cine.
PAP TEST: for older age groupsPAP test is a method of cervical screen-
ing whereby sample of cells is taken fromcervix and is sent to laboratory for test-ing. It is a pain OPD procedure done inconsulting only, very safe, very cheap and
needs no admis-sion. The resultcomes within afew days and Itdetects this can-cer at pre cancerstage. Its accu-racy and speci-ficity is as highas 80-90% . Allwomen between25-70 yearsshould undergothis test regu-larly. It is to berepeated every 3years.
In countrieswhere aware-ness amongstwomen is high,these measureshave almosteradicated thisdreaded cancer.However, lack ofawareness is themajor factor
why India has one of the highest inci-dence and death due to this cancer.
Women are strongly advised to consulta gyencologist with a special expertise inthis cancer to seek these preventive mea-sures and safeguard themselves from afuture cancer cervix.
FOR FURTHER DETAILS CONTACT:
Dr. Sushma Dalal, (MBBS, MD,)
Consultant Gynecologist, Cancer preven-
tion specialist, Srushtil Hospital,
Opp.Akota Garden,Akota,Vadodara.
Phone: 9998156746
whatsapp business: 9998156746
Email: [email protected]
What is spine?
Spine, or the “backbone” is actually a seriesof bones (vertebrae) in column connected by astrong set of muscles, ligaments and tissuesand cushioned by intervertebral discs at eachlevel (buffers). More importantly, It houses andprotects the nervous system elements, theSPINAL CORD and NERVES. Hence, potentiallyevery spine ailment can damage this nervoussystem. An early neuro spine surgeon consul-tation is essential.
What are spine ailments?
Backache, Sciatica (nerve pain), cervicalnerve pain, neckache, slipped disc, spondylitis,trauma to spine, spine infections, spine TB,spine tumors , congenital (birth related) defectsof spine etc are common spine ailments whichessentially involve nervous system .
Treatment Focus:
It is very important to understand thatnerves are NOT REPAIRABLE nor it can regen-erate. All spine ailments listed above damagethe nerves leading to their progressive irre-versible deficits (sciatica, nerve pain, tingling,numbness, limping, paresis and finally com-plete paralysis of that nerve). So, essentiallyEARLY NEURO SPINEASSESSMENT and a treat-ment focused at SAVING THE NERVE ratherthan just pain relief is the most scientific ap-proach to any spine ailment. Seeking neuro-spine treatment as a last resort is totally a self-destructive approach.
Treatments:
Backache and cervical (neck ) pain: Simplebackache/neck pain can be treated conserva-tively with rest, exercises, pain killers and goodspine habits. Timely neuro-spine consultationcan actually prevent its progression to sciatica/cervical root pain, slipped disc and a potentialsurgery.
Slipped disc, sciatica, spondylitis, cervicaldisc prolapse, spine trauma, spine infections,spine TB, spine tumors, birth defects etc:>> all
these spine ailments are serious and needEARLY NEURO ASSESSMENT. Based on clinicalfindings , MRI andother investiga-tions, a neurospine surgeon candetermine actualnerve damage andhow it can besaved. Conserva-tive managementis advised wherenerve elements arenot at risk. Oncethe nerve deficit isdetected on neuroexamination &MRI detects nervecompression, asurgical release isessential. Resort-ing to non opera-tive managementsat this stageisharmful as it pro-gresses to perma-nent nerve dam-age. Fear ofsurgery is artificialand should be
shunned. Nowadays, Endoscopic, microscopicand minimally invasive spine surgeries are ap-plied in most cases and are very safe, effectiveand economic with much better outcome.
So, early neuro spine consultation andtimely surgery is scientific and not as a last re-sort as is fearfully believed.
FOR FURTHER DETAILS CONTACT:
Dr.Yashesh Dalal (MBBS, MS, M.CH.)
Consultant neuro – spine surgeon
Endoscopic, microsurgery specialist
Srushtil hospital,
Opp.Akota garden, akota Vadodara.
Phone: 9998156746
Email: [email protected]
CONSULTANT NEUROSPINESURGEON
SPCIALIST FOR SURGERY OF
BRAIN & SPINEE N D O S C O P Y / M I C R O S C O P Y / M I N I M A L LY
INVASIVE SPINE SURGERY (MISS) BY 22 YEARS
EXPERIENCED NEUROSPINE SPECIALIST
Rajvi Complex, Akota Garden Char Rasta,
Akota, Vadodara-390020
Time : 11-1 & 5-7 (Mon - Sat)
Mo : 99981 56746 (WA)
email Id : [email protected]
SPINE & BRAIN
SURGERY TREATMENT
SPINE & BRAIN
SURGERY TREATMENT
Sciatica, Slipped disc
(cervical & lumbar)
Neuroendoscopy for brain &Spine
Injuries to Head & Spine &Nerves
Tumors of Brain & Spine &Nerves
Tumors of orbit & pituitary
Brain Hemorrhage, Abscess
Paralysis
Head & Spine birth defects
Micro Surgery for brain & Spine
Modern Operation theatre withvideo microscope endoscope
Monitoring system
Ventilator
Microdrill Craniotome
Nerve Monitoring Device
Radiofrequency Neuro
Cautery
Defibrillator
Oxygen Generator, Central line
Neuro care high density unit
Stretcher lift Power back upinvertors
HOSPITAL
FACILITIES
HOSPITAL
FACILITIES
' ' SRUSHTIL HOSPIT' ' SRUSHTIL HOSPITAL ' 'AL ' '
How to prevent cancer cervix Scientific approach to spine problems
DOCTOR'S DAY {whenever the artof medicine is loved, there is also alove of humanity} was established
by the Government of India in 1991 tobe recognized and celebrated on July 1every year in India. If we did not recog-nise the importance of doctors before,we are certainly learning just how muchthey contribute to society, amid the coro-navirus pandemic.While we are self-iso-lating, it is the doctors who are con-stantly fighting for the lives of peoplewho have been infected with the deadlyvirus.With the number of infected peopleon the rise every day and hospitals arefilled hundreds of people, it has neverbeen more important to appreciate theefforts that doctors make to ensure thatwe sufficiently recover from whatevermay be ailing us and continue to remainhealthy. Doctors are truly the greatestheroes, of not just the present but of alltime.
The art of doctrine is to heal the soul,not only patient. The doctors’ day high-lights and brings awareness to the publicthe important and precious work doc-tors do in saving lives. Says Dr. JitendraMohan (Bachelor in Homeopathy medi-
cine and surgery , MHMC ) . On this daycampaigns are held all over the countrywith free medical check-up camps, con-sultation workshops, general screeningtest camps set up.
Dr. Abhinav Srivastava ( MBBS, MS-ENT surgeon at Government Institute of
Medical Sciences, Greater Noida) was onduty in a Covid-19 ward when a smallgirl was wheeled in with severe breath-ing difficulty. She was scared and prayingfor her life. Sh crona positive. She pled “will I be Ok doctor uncle” . “you willsoon be at your home and heathy” he
says and shifted her in Critical care ward(corona ward). Seeing patients in criti-cal care wards is not uncommon for doc-tors like him. But, he says, nothing cancompare to the psychological stress ofworking in a Covid-19 ward. Above allwe have to smile for patients and their
health because we are the only peoplethey can interact with, after this hit.Wehave to treat them both ways (physicallyand emotionally), he added.
On this special day Dr. Charu Srivas-tava (MDS -Oral & Maxillofacial Sur-geon)says he will never forget A hope in
eyes of patients when they walk in hos-pitals. Some are out of money but bringlot of hope, we know the patient is criti-cal but a fine line of hope connect us anda doctor does all possible treatment tocure his patient. Its not the disease wefight with, lot of emotions, hopes,trauma comes in our way. We have toconstantly deal with the emotional out-bursts of patients. They panic but wehave to be calm – be a friend and a doc-tor at a time. He added.
There is no respite for doctors andnurses even when they are not directlyinvolved in the fight against any disease.People with other ailments are continu-ing to come to hospitals. And there hasalso been a surge in the number of peo-ple who are turning up at hospitals withserious disease or coronavirus-likesymptoms.
Doctors are saving lives, risking theirlives every day. They need respect, lovenot fear."
Salute to all medical heroes. HappyDoctors Day
Thank you for spreading smiles !!Be healthy and happy !!
—Elina Srivastava
Doctors "Our real heroes"
Cataract in Children
CATARACT (motiyaibdu) nor-mally occurs in adults and isone of the most common surg-eries for restoring vision in theeyes. Cataract can present in
children also. It could be congenital (sincebirth) or could be developmental. Any kidof injury to the eye may also result in trau-matic cataract. Rarely, it could be due toexcess usage of steroids and systemicproblems.
A cataract in a child’s eye is bigger prob-lem and surgery is part of the solution.Vi-sion in children’s eyes develop if they cansee clearly. In the presence of cataract, thevisual development is halted.We all needto understand that it is a long term com-mitment and would need regular fol-lowups to the pediatric ophthalmologistfor changing refraction and for regainingthe vision if lost due to delay in surgery.The cataract surgery is under general anes-thesia which requires a pediatric anesthe-sia setup.The child needs to be taken careof postoperatively more carefully byputting the eyedrops and parents have totake care of the child’s needs. The childwith a pediatric cataract needs urgent at-tention and should be taken as an emer-gency surgery as every day that the child ispassing with cataract the vision whichcould have developed is not developing.
Cataract surgery in a child is a special-ized job both in terms of surgery and interms of deciding which intraocular lensto be placed as the eyeball size keeps onchanging with the age. It requires a pedi-atric ophthalmologist (who is a specialist inpediatric eye diseases and surgery) to per-
form the surgery and keep doing the man-agement on follow up. Better IOLs are nowavailable for children, better ways of exer-
cising are now available. Remember thechild is going to grow and needs all thesupport.
Removing glasses throughLASER is done routinely. It isindeed a safe and an effectivesolution for removal ofglasses. However, there are
some patients whose glass power is veryhigh and are told that a LASIK surgerycannot be done in their eyes as it is notsafe for these patients to undergo theLASER surgery.
The good news is that these patientscan also remove their glasses if they wishto with the help of implantable phakicintraocular lens (IPCL). This can be usedfor very high powers upto -28.0 D and inpatients who have been rejected for aLASIK procedures.The surgery is a routinesurgery and pa-tient becomesglass independentfor both near anddistance despitehaving such highpower glasses.
An ImplantablePhakic Intraocularlens helps in bet-ter field andpreservation of ac-commodation incomparison to anormal intraocularlens. It is a won-derful solution forpatients who can-not go for LASIKsurgery duetoreduced or ab-normal cornealthickness.
Dr. Jitendra Jethani
Pediatric Eye Surgeon and Squint Specialist
Baroda Children Eyecare and Squint Clinic, Vadodara
Removing high power glasses
Dr. Monika Jethani
Lasik and Refractive Surgeon, The Eye Clinic, Vadodara
Dr. Jitendra Mohan ( Bachelor of homeopathic
medicine and surgery, MHMC)
Dr. Charu Srivastava, BDS, MDS (Oral &
Maxillofacial Surgeon)
Dr. Abhinav Srivastava, MBBS,
MS- ENT
Dr. Sushma Dalal
Dr. Yashesh Dalal
7WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY, JULY1,2020
Ahmedabad
8
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
NEW RED LINEIndia’sdecisiontobanChineseappssendsaclearmessageon
theroadahead.Thereisneedtotreadfirmlyandcarefully
ONMONDAY,THEgovernmentbanned59mobileapplicationswithChinese
links such as TikTok, UCBrowser, Shareit, and CamScanner. The decision,
which comes amid continuing tensionsbetween India andChina, after the
killingof20IndiansoldiersontheLineofActualControl,isthefirstclearmes-
sagefromNewDelhithatitwillreviewtherulesofengagement.Thisisaninterimorderand
firmshavebeengiven48hourstorespondtoquestionsontheircompliancewithdatase-
curityandprivacybutthismarksadecisivebreakfromthepast. Itservesasastatementof
intentwhilesendingaclearsignaltoChinathattherewillbecosts foractsofaggression.
Howtomanageand respond toChina’s growingassertiveness in the faceof agrowing
powerimbalanceisachallengeforIndia.Thereisanasymmetryinpower,avisibleeconomic
disparity.TheChineseeconomyisroughlyfivetimeslargerthanIndia’s.WhileIndiaaccounts
foronly3percentofChina’sexports,China(excludingHongKong)accountsfor14percent
ofIndia’simports,and5percentofexports.ButthesituationattheLACdemandsaresponse.
Inthiscontext, thebanonChinesemobileappsmaybeconstruedas lowhangingfruitand
a relatively soft target, but it is, at the same time, a decision thatmakes thepointwithout
leadingtoarevenuelossforIndiaorhurtingiteconomically—forthatsamereason,callsfor
boycottingallimportsfromChinainthismomentareill-judged.Thoseusingtheseappshave
other readily available alternatives butChinese firms stand to lose a fast-growingmarket.
GiventhatIndia’sdigitaleconomyistrackedglobally—itisoneofthelargestmarketsinthe
worldfortheseapps—blockingaccessheredoesimpactthevaluationsof thecompanies.
Other retaliatory steps are being considered. E-commerce firms have been asked to
explore the idea of listing the product’s country of origin amidst a growing clamour in
somesectionsforboycottofChineseproducts;thereistalkofraisingtariffs,curbsoncon-
tractsinsomeinfrastructureprojects. Infact,earlier, inamovethatwasapparentlyaimed
at Chinese firms, the government hadmade itmandatory for foreign direct investment
fromneighbouringcountries to takepriorapproval tocurbopportunistic takeoversdur-
ingthisperiod.However,givenhowpervasiveMadeinChinais,howsweepingitspresence
inthetechnologyspace in India—its investments ina long listof Indianunicorns—each
stepwillcomewithitsownsetof consequences.NewDelhishouldpreparefortheseand
calibrate its response, stepbycareful step.
AS GEELANI EXITS
It’s amoment formoderateandmainstreampartiesand
politics in theValley that iswaiting tobeseized
THE DECISION BY Syed Ali Shah Geelani to step down from the All Parties
HurriyatConferenceisanimportantmilestoneinKashmirandintheseparatist
strainof itspolitics. ItalsomarksaturningpointfortheHurriyat,partofwhich
is based in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. The resignation of the 90-year-old
Geelani, whowas “chairman for life” of the APHC, appears to have been prompted by
howmattershaveunfolded intheValleyafterAugust5,2019,whentheCentrestripped
J&K of its special status and bifurcated the state into two union territories. His long ill-
nessalsoappearstohaveplayedarole.Theresignationletter lamentsthefailureof lead-
ersoftheAPHCconstituentstospeakoutagainstthechangesmadeinKashmir.Hemakes
nomentionof themoderateAPHCfactionledbyMirwaizUmarFarooq,who,alongwith
YaseenMalikof theJKLF,hadjoinedhandswithGeelani intheproteststhatfollowedthe
2016killingof BurhanWani.
Curiously,muchofGeelani'sireisreservedfortheHurriyatbasedinPoK.Hehasspared
only its leader, AbdullahGeelani,whohehas declared “would continue to perform the
dutiesasmyrepresentative”ontheothersideof theLoC,whileflayingothersinthePoK-
basedHurriyat for “connecting familymembers”withpowerstructures inPakistan, for
infighting, financialmisappropriationandothermisdeeds.Fromthe letter, it seemsas if
Geelaniwishes to leave this actof rebellionagainsthisownpartyas the lastmemoryof
hispolitics ina fraughtmoment inKashmir. Be that as itmay, theHurriyat leadership is
nowup for grabs, and the rumblings in its corridors,whichbegan tobeheard since the
National InvestigationAgencybeganenquiring into the financesof severalof its leaders
and their associates twoyearsago,will grow louder. Separatismmaystill bealive in the
Valley,but there isnowavacuumintheseparatist leadership.
This shouldhavebeenanopportunemoment formoderateandmainstreamparties
andpolitics intheValley.Unfortunately,Delhihasfollowedanolderplaybookinseeking
toundermineanderodethelegitimacyofpartiesandleadersthatespousemoderateand
mainstream views.While Farooq andOmar Abdullah of the National Conference have
seemedtongue-tiedaftertheirrelease,MehboobaMuftiof thePeople'sDemocraticParty
continuestobedetainedunderthestringentPublicSafetyAct.Whileeliminationofmil-
itancyisanimportantelementintheCentre'sKashmirpolicy, italsoneedstothinkabout
itsnextpolitical steps inKashmir.
CALL OF THE ARTS
Lockdownhasrobbedartistsof theircanvasandstage, those in
margins insmall townsandvillagesneedsupport
THEARTISTCOMMUNITY,too,hasbeenhitbyCOVID-19,especiallythoseinthe
margins in small townsandvillages. The lockdown imposedby thegovern-
mentinlateMarchhasforcedthemtostayathomewithoutanyopportunity
to earn. Since social distancing is central to the strategy to contain the pan-
demic,publicperformancesandactivitiesareunlikely to restart soon.Thishas left thou-
sandsofartistsandartisansinlimbo.Manyofthem,survivingprecariously,couldslipinto
poverty.Theymayevenbeforcedtoabandonartandcraftandturntounskilledwork.
Intheabsenceof asocial securitynet forartistsandartisans, inmanyplaces, individ-
ualshavecometogether tocrowd-source fundsandprovideaid toneedyartists. This is,
however, insufficient. There is a compelling need to look beyond individual initiatives
andworkoutinstitutionalmechanismstoaddressthiscrisis.Theproductionofartneeds
tobeseenintheframeworkoftheculturaleconomyandartistsmustberecognisedaspro-
ducers/workersinthateconomy.Artproduction—fromtempleartists,traditionalandfolk
performers tomodernmusicians andgallery-supported artists— is anessential part of
humanexistenceandnecessary fora society that ishappyandatease.
Inaninterviewtothisnewspaper,CarnaticmusicianTMKrishnasuggestedawelfare
programmeonthelinesof theMGNREGAtoprovideasafetynetformarginalisedartists
andartisans.Thegovernmentcouldstepuptocreateopportunitiesforperformanceand
teaching in schools, colleges and other public spaces. Such assured supportwould en-
surethat the less“market-friendly”art formstoocanflourishandpractitionerscanpur-
sue their vocationwith dignity and self-respect. The existing support, including from
government-sponsored academies, is limited to a small number of established artists,
thosewho are engaged in art forms patronised by the social elites. Those living in the
margins dependon religious festivals, carnivals, localmarkets tomake a living. It is im-
portantthattheseartistsarenotforgotteninthistimewhenthepandemiccastsalength-
eningshadowontheir canvasandstage.
Guarding the guardians
Abhishek Singhvi
MaheshRangarajan
ImplementationofDKBasujudgments,monitoringbycivilsociety,canprotectagainstcustodialtorture,death
NATURE’S HISTORIANRichardGroveraisedquestionsaboutempireandecologythatarerelevanttoday
INTHECURRENTcontextof thereprehensi-ble custodial deaths in TamilNadu, I am re-minded of my own tryst with this seminalissue,beingtheSupremeCourt’sAmicusonthe subject, through the importantDKBasujudgments, since1987.Startingwithalettercomplaint of 1986, this converted PILspawned four crucial and comprehensivejudgments— in 1996, twice in 2001 and in2015, layingdownover20commandments.Additionally, it led to at least five other
procedural,monitoringandcoordinatingju-dicialorders, inthebesttraditionsofcontin-uingmandamus.Thesehavecreatedavalu-ableandseamlessweboflegalprinciplesandtechniquestoreducecustodialdeathandtor-ture.Littlemorebywayof theoreticalstruc-ture is required ifDKBasu’s comprehensivecoverage is genuinely implemented. Butwherewe fail — as inmany other things inthiscountry—isinoperationalisingthespiritofDKBasu, inpunitivemeasures, inlastmileimplementation, in breaking intra-depart-mentalsolidaritywitherrantpolicemenandin ensuring swift, efficacious departmentalcoerciveactionpluscriminalprosecution.AsAmicus,westartedwiththeexistential
Roman dilemma: “Who will guard theguardians”,theso-called“rakshakbhakshak”syndrome. Justice ASAnand,whopiloted ittill theend, basedhis approachonmywrit-ten submissions, generously adding praise,tracinghow torture is anathema todemoc-racy, tracing Royal Commissions in the UK,LawCommissions and Police CommissionsinIndia,SupremeCourtprogressivecaselaw,like Joginder Kumar (1994) and NilabatiBehera(1993),tograpplewiththecoreissue,not really soluble even today: Relatively lit-tle highhandedness occurs after formal ar-rest,mosttortureisdonebeforethearrest isrecorded. Safeguards obviously kick in onlyafter thearrest is shown.This is aperennial,insoluble dilemma and all devious policeforcesgloballyuse it.The first 11 commandments in 1996,
therefore, focused on vital processual safe-guards:Allofficialsmustcarrynametagsandfull identification,arrestmemomustbepre-pared, containing all details regarding timeand place of arrest, attested by one family
member or respectablemember of the lo-cality. The location of arrest must be inti-mated to one family or next friend, detailsnotifiedtothenearest legalaidorganisationand arresteemust bemade known of eachDKBasu right, all suchcompliancesmustberecorded in the police register, hemust getperiodicalmedicalexamination, inspectionmemomustbesignedbyarresteealsoandallsuch informationmust be centralised in acentral police control room. Significantly,breachofthiswastobeculpablewithseveredepartmental action and additionally con-temptalso, andthiswouldallbe inadditionto,not substitutionof, anyexisting remedy.This first judgmentwent further, apply-
ing the principle that rightswithout reme-dies are illusory and futile. Hence, all of theabove preventive and punitive measurescould gowith, andwerenot alternatives to,fullcivilmonetarydamageclaimsforconsti-tutional tort.The decades in between detailed judg-
mentswerespentinvitalordersofmonitor-ingandgoadingcompliance.Eachstateandunionterritorywasforcedtofileinformationinpre-designedchartsbyour teamtomakecomparisonsandcollationssimple.Togetallresponsesanddata fromstatesafterseveraladjournments for a country of India’s sizewas nomean achievement of the SC. Theywerethenpresented,analysedincourtstate-wise, and general and state-specific direc-tionswere then formulated, based on datafound in thesepre-prescribed formats.Hence, the eight other intermediate or-
ders till 2015 sought precise detailed com-pliance reports oneachparameter, shameddeficientanddelayedresponses,directedanystatehumanrightsbody,whereconstituted,tosetupspecialsub-committeestomonitorand report as eyes and ears of the SC andwhere no SHRC existed, directed the chiefjustice of the high courts to somonitor ad-ministratively. It emphasised that existingsimplebutpotentpowersformagisterial in-quiries under the CrPCwere lackadaisicalandmustbecompleted in fourmonths,un-less sessions court judges recorded reasonsforextension.ItalsodirectedSHRCstobesetupexpeditiously ineachpartof India.
The third and last phase ended in 2015,ironicallywithanotherchief justicefromJ&K,CJITSThakur.SterndirectionsweregiventosetupSHRCsbut,moreimportantly,tofilluplargevacancies inexistingbodies.Theasyetunused power of setting up human rightscourtsunderSection30oftheNHRCActwasdirected to be operationalised. All prisonshadtohaveCCTVswithinoneyear—asim-ilardirectionsoughtbymeforallpolicesta-tionswasgivenasacourtexhortationtostarta phase-wise CCTV in every police stationwithoutformulatingitasamandatorydirec-tion. Itwasdirectedthatnon-officialvisitorswoulddosurprisechecksonprisonsandpo-lice stations and prosecutions and depart-mental action were unhesitatingly man-dated.I amamusedby the ignorance andmul-
ishness of both the Tamil Nadu police andtheir political masters when they suggestthatDK Basu applies only in police and notin judicial custody. That is a travesty and apitiabledistortion.DKBasu isall-encompass-ing, loopholecoveringandmakesabsolutelynosuchdistinctionamidstcategoriesofcus-tody.Ourdemocracy tax is toohighand toodilatory:A1985LawCommissionreportdi-recting enactmentof section114-B intoourEvidenceAct, raisingarebuttablepresump-tion of culpability against the police if any-oneintheircustodydiesorisfoundwithtor-ture, has still not become law, despite a billintroduced as late as 2017. We still haveabysmallydeplorableratesofeveninitiatingprosecutionsagainstaccusedpoliceofficers.Actual convictions are virtually non-ex-
istent.Figuresforinitiatingdepartmentalac-tion are better butwoefully lowandhardlyevertakentosuccessfuldismissal.Notmuchisneeded.Monitoringand implementationofDKBasubyindependentandbalancedcivilsocietyindividualsateachlevel,undercourtsupervision, is sufficient tominimise thisscourge. Sadly, this is sonearyet so far.
Thewriter isanMP, formerchairmanParliamentaryStandingCommitteeonLaw,
formerASG, Indiaandnationalspokesperson,Congress.He is SCAmicus
since1987oncustodialdeath/torture issues
THE DEMISE of Richard H Grove, environ-mental historian and polymath extraordi-naire at Lewes, Cambridge, this June, leavesavoid.Apioneeringlobalenvironmentalhis-tory,hemadeamajorcontributiontostudy-ingtherootsofmodernenvironmentalcon-cernand linking it to the colonial era and toearly scientificdebates.Professor Grove had taken up a position
in the Australian National University,Canberra, Australia, in 2006 a fewmonthsprior to a serious automobile accident.Thoughitimpairedhisworkandmobility,hewas a fighter to the last. Prior to this, hehadheld appointments at Cambridge and Yaleuniversities.HefoundedtheCentreforWorldEnvironmentalHistory inSussex in2002.Grove’s early career showed a rare abil-
ity to cross the boundaries of disciplines.BorninJuly1956andsonof theeminentge-ographers,AlfredTandJeanGrove,hisworkspannedseveraldisciplinesandcontinents.He got a BA in geography fromHartford
College, Oxford and then a Masters inConservation Biology from UniversityCollege, London. His doctoral degreeawarded in 1988 at Cambridge traced thestoryofearlyecologicalconcernbackintimeand literallyacross theoceansandseas.Inanutshell, rapidchanges in theecolo-
gies of islands such as St Vincent in theCaribbean and St Helena andMauritius inthe Indian Ocean followed on the heels ofcolonial rule. Surgeon botanists in the EastIndia Company and its Dutch equivalentwereamongthefirst to tracechanges inhy-drology due to loss of forest cover. Inwest-
ern and southern India, the early botanistswarned of famine and unrest, promptingearly steps for forestprotection.Hisbook,GreenImperialism,basedonhis
doctoral thesis, is a citation classic. A greatraconteur, hewas happy to share the storyof how the thesis got past his examinersthoughitwastwicethewordlength.These-cretwashisextra-longfoot-notes—heusedarchives inoveradozencountries.Grove blazed the trail for a new kind of
history of ideas that spanned continents.Mostcrucially,heplacedIndia,AfricaandtheCaribbean at the centre of global environ-mental change. The absence of strong locallanded interests, as was the case withinEurope,maderegulationof forests, landandwater easier. Over time, hisworkpaid care-fulattentiontolocalresistanceandconflicts.HisworkonElNinoand long-termrela-
tionships of climate change and economicand social events published in 1998 wasahead of its time. Global warming, heshowed, had been studied and known inVictorian times, though earlywarning sig-nalswerebrushedasideand ignored.Butheraisedalargerquestionaboutem-
pireandecology thathasmuchrelevance toourtroubledtimes.Waspowercapableofbe-ingmoderatedbyknowledge?Couldenlight-ened self-interest control untrammelledgreed?Thepast,forhim,didnotgiveeasyso-lutions.Butthehistoryof thecolonialworld,andIndiaevenmoreso,heldmanyclues.In particular, he saw the emergence of
early scientists in the Company as harbin-gers of a newautonomous actorwho could
try and check the use and abuse of nature.Whyandhowseriousideasaboutachievingharmony with nature could become a“Trojan horse” to punish the poorwas a re-current themeofhis laterwork.The titles of his coeditedworks are im-
pressiveenoughbutacloserlookshowshowheservedasaconnecting linkacrossgener-ations, disciplines and regional studies spe-cialists.Conservation inAfrica, 1987,was fol-lowed by a volume on Zimbabwe and in1998, by Nature and the Orient, whichbroughttogetherSouthandSouthEastAsia.Noassessmentofhiscontributioniscom-
pletewithouthisremarkableabilitytomen-tor younger scholars. A generosity of intel-lectandpersonwashishallmark.In1996,hefounded the journal, Environment andHistory. It wasmy privilege towork closelywithhimonthisventure for fiveyears.A reverence for powerwas not his pre-
ferredtrait.Hisplainspeak,whilecourageous,alsomeant hehad fewpowerfulmentors. Asenior scholar onceprivately remarkedhowtheuniversityasinstitutionhadbeencreatedso thatminds such as Grove’s could thrive.Whathe left unsaidmatters. If only theyhaddoneso—andwoulddoso—to their fullest.Are narrowdepartmental bounds and cele-brationofconformitynotworthasecondlook?Grove’swas an intellect that broke such
barriers. His workwill now find new audi-ences on a planet where all are nowmoreconsciousof the fragilityof life.
Thewriter teachesHistoryandEnvironmental StudiesatAshokaUniversity
The first 11 commandments
in 1996 focused on vital
processual safeguards: All
officials must carry name tags
and full identification, arrest
memo must be prepared,
containing all details
regarding time and place of
arrest, attested by one family
member or respectable
member of the locality. The
location of arrest must be
intimated to one family or
next friend, details notified to
the nearest legal aid
organisation and arrestee
must be made known of each
‘DK Basu’ right, all such
compliances must be
recorded in the police register,
he must get periodical medical
examination, inspection
memo must be signed by
arrestee also and all such
information must be
centralised in a central police
control room.
FOUNDED BY
RAMNATH GOENKA
B E C A U S E T H E T R U T H I N V O L V E S U S A L L
§ §
THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY, JULY1,2020WORDLYWISE
Art is the lie that enables us
to realize the truth.
— PABLO PICASSOTHEEDITORIALPAGE
ASSAM ERUPTSWHILEVIOLENCEERUPTEDagain inpartsofAssam,theagitatersannouncedtheirplanstodisrupt thestate’s roadandair linkswiththerestof thecountryandparalysetheadminis-trationfromJuly4. Intwoseparateincidents,armedassailantskilledfivepersonsinSibsagarvillagebymountinggrenadeattackonamar-riage partywhile a youthwas shot dead atpoint-blankrange.TheannouncementofthenewagitationprogrammecamefromtheAll-AssamGanaSangramParishadandtheAASUamidstfalteringprospectsofresumptionofadialogue to end the nine-month-long dead-lockontheforeigners' issue.
TRIPURA VIOLENCEAN EXODUS OF Bengalis from the riot-hitKhowai, Kalyanpur and Teliamura in westTripura began as the death toll inmob vio-lenceandarsonsinceSaturdaynightrosetofour. The troops fired several rounds at dif-ferent places to disperse rioting tribals andnon-tribals. More than one hundred hutswere burnt down at Moharchara,Narayandas Para, Vishnumaster Para,Barakath,Kalamsimuraand JaykrishnaTila.Miscreantsalsoset fire toahouse in frontofthe police chowki at Takarjola. CM NripenChakravortyblamedvested interests for in-stigatingmobviolence.
ADVICE TO BREZHNEVWEST GERMAN CHANCELLOR HelmutSchmidtmade a stronger appeal to SovietPresident Leonid Brezhnev for a completewithdrawal of Russian troops fromAfghanistan. In remarks at aKremlin dinnerafter the first round of his official talks,Schmidt told Brezhnev: “I am sure that you,MrGeneralSecretary,wouldcontributecon-siderablytothedefusingofthisdangerouscri-sis if you could declare that the announcedwithdrawal of some Soviet troops fromAfghanistanisthestartofacontinuousmove-ment,whichwill be continueduntil there iscompletewithdrawal.”
JULY 1, 1980, FORTYYEARSAGO
Grove blazed the trail for a
new kind of history of ideas
that spanned continents.
Most crucially, he placed
India, Africa and the
Caribbean at the centre of
global environmental
change. The absence of
strong local landed interests,
as was the case within
Europe, made regulation of
forests, land and water
easier. Over time, his work
paid careful attention to local
resistance and conflicts. His
work on El Nino and long-
term relationships of climate
change and economic and
social events published in
1998 was ahead of its time.
Ahmedabad
9THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY, JULY1,2020 WHATTHEOTHERSSAY
“The symbolism of the target cannot be missed. The PSX represents the beating
heart of economic activity in the country’s commercial capital, and is located in
an area where the State Bank of Pakistan, the Central Police Office, and other
major public and private institutions are based.” —DAWNTHE IDEASPAGE
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
Some will misconstrue and
say that I am hinting at some
sort of policing. Please do
not be misled or trivialise
what I am honestly putting
up for a rational and civil
discussion. One is talking
about responsibility and
regard for the audience and
its milieu. After all,
shouldn't cognisance be
taken of the share of voice of
the people, whose wallets’
share is desired?
Putting reformto the test
AsGSTentersitsfourthyear,Covidhashitcollections.Muchdependsonmeasurestocompensatestates
GST FACES ITS toughest test as it enters itsfourthyear.TheupcomingchallengetoGST,however, does not stem from its design orstructureorthewayithasbeenrun. It isupagainstapandemicthathaswreakedhavocon the global economyand India is no ex-ception.DespitethediversitythatGSThashadto
contendwith,ithasbeenaremarkablesuc-cessasataxinthefirsttwoyears.Facedwithanunusuallyhighbenchmarkof14percentCAGR,GSTwas very productive in the firsttwoyears. The base year revenue in 2015-16 stood at aroundRs 8 lakh crore and forthe ninemonths of 2017-18 that GSTwasoperational, the benchmark stood at Rs7,79,760 crore (at 14 per cent CAGR from2015-16).Asagainstthis,theactualGSTrev-enuestoodatRs7,40,650crore,whichis95per cent of a very tall target. 2018-19waseven betterwith an actual collection of Rs11,77,368crore(99.34percentofthebench-markedcollection).However,withtheeconomybeginning
toslowdownin2019-20,GSTcouldnotre-maininsulated.BarringApril2019,noothermonthwitnesseddouble-digitgrowthoverthe last year,with September,October andMarch clockingnegative figures. The aver-age growth rate duringMay-August 2019was5.4per cent,which turnednegative inthe subsequent twomonths.With alarmbellsringing, thetaxadministrationstight-ened the beltwhich contributed to the 8.4per cent growth during the threemonthsending February 2020. And then the pan-demichitandcollectionstumbledbymorethan8percent inMarch.Aswehead into 2020-21, the toughest
challenge for theGSTCouncilwould be todeviseways to compensate the states. Theusual compensation cycle got delayed andthesituationisnotlikelytoimproveanytimesoonwith the collection for the first twomonths of the current fiscal at just 46 percentof2019-20levels.The pandemic struck just as the econ-
omyseemedtobelookingup,whichhasledto all reformmeasures being put on hold.Thenewreturnsystem,raterationalisations,measurestoimprovecomplianceandcom-plianceverificationshaveallbeenheldback,which has further dented revenueprospects.The biggest challenge is the possibility
of a huge deficit in the compensation ac-count.The14percentCAGRformulawouldleadtoasituationwheretheprotectedrev-enueofthestateswouldrisebyabout92percent from thebase year figures and even a20 per cent drop from last year’s figureswouldmean that theaccruals to the stateswouldbejustabovetheirbaseyearrevenue.Inthisscenario, thecompensationrequire-
mentwouldbeonlyalittle lessthan50percent of the actual protected revenue for2020-21. Toput this in perspective, the ac-tualcompensationcesscollectionhasneverexceeded 20 per cent of the total revenueaccrualtothestates.Itistimetotakemeasurestopreventthe
states fromslipping intoaserious financialcrisis. Thesemeasureswill not only definethe futureofGSTbutalso thecourseof theunique cooperative federalism that it hasusheredinthecountry.Of late, there has been a lot of specula-
tion on the subject andmost of it has cen-tred around some kind of borrowing.However,borrowingisnotthesolutiontoacrisis of this nature, particularly in viewofthefact that thefinancial impactofCOVID-19defiesquantificationandmoresoinviewof theassured14per centCAGRguaranteeto thestates.Manycomplex issuescropupin the context of borrowings. For instance,howandwhenwillitbepaidback.If,assug-gested, thecompensationperiodwastobeextendedbeyond2021-22andthecessdur-ing the extendedperiod used to repay theloan,willitnotmeaneatingintofuturerev-enue streams of both the Union and thestates. Itwouldsimplybedeferringthecri-sis insteadof reallysolvingit.Alternatively, it is being urged that the
Centremayborrowlong-termtofinancethecompensation. Thiswould give theCentreenoughbreathing space and the situationwouldease in the really long-term, castinglittle burden on the Centre’s finances. Thisidea too is notworth pursuing since thereare borrowing limits and the Centre is asmuchboundbyfiscalresponsibility.Anothervariant suggests that theCouncilmaybor-rowontheCentre’s guarantee. Inmyview,theCouncilisprobablynotanentitythatcanundertakeanysuchventure.Thisleavesuswithlittleoptionbuttore-
jig theGST rates. I strongly feel that this isnotthetimetotinkerwiththerates.Buttheideamustbedebatedwhentheworstisbe-hindus.GSTwasintroducedwithratesabout20
percentlowerthantheeffectivetaxburden(allexistingcentralandstate leviesandthecascadingeffect).Thisratehasbeenfurtherlowered,mostlyintermittently,butmajorlyontwooccasions—inNovember2017andJuly 2018.With a tax base of aroundRs 60lakh crore, a 1 per cent increase in the taxrateswould yield additional revenue of Rs60,000crore.Another idea thatmay be considered
alongwiththeratehike,orevenindepend-ently, isre-arrangingtheGSTratestructurewherein60percentor65percentoftheto-tal taxonacommodity is thestatecompo-nentandtheremaining is thecentralcom-ponent.Forinstance,the18percentGSTratecould be 11 per cent SGST and 7 per centCGST or some such combination.Historically, too,with themajor cascadingbuiltintothestates’VATrates,thestates’taxrateswerehigherthanof theCentre.Theseadjustments in theGST rateswould yieldadditional revenue to the states, therebybringingdownthecompensationburden.
Thewriter isDeputyChiefMinister,Bihar
CURRENTLY, DISCUSSIONSARE on about afewwebseriesthathavecomeintofocus,notsomuchforexcellencebutfortheirunbridledcontent.Itwouldbeinterestingtoexplorethisera of entertainment and understand thebuilding blocks of this emerging industry,which is slated to snowball. BCG estimatesIndia'sOTT(applicationsandservicesaccessi-bleovertheinternet)markettobeintherangeof about $5 billion by 2023. Moreover,whetherasmarketers,brandcustodiansorin-formed citizens,weneed to decode andun-derstand the sentiment unleashedmore in-tricately.Comparisons between cinema andOTT
are apparent.While cinema is amoremass,publicconsumptionproduct,webseriesandOTTplatformsareostensiblymore individu-alisticandwatchedoverpersonalscreens.Thecontent codes, therefore, are considereddif-ferent.However,thepandemichaschangedper-
spectivesandconsumptionhabits.Thelacunathatcinemaviewingandotheroutdoorleisureactivitieshavelefthasresultedinanincreasedintake of content on OTT platforms. Sincemost people across age groups are confinedtotheirhomes,thereisalsoanincreaseincol-lectiveviewing.Thisnewreality,insomeways,has led to a greater scrutinisation of contentbytheviewers.Ihavealwaysbelievedinthepowerof in-
formedchoice,especiallywithregardtochil-dren. Transparent classification of content isimperative.Manywillpointtothe13+,16+orotherageratingsofonlineseries.Weneedtounderstandmore clearlyhowthis classifica-tion is done. Are these categorisations donesolelybythecontentcreatorswhoseektogaincommercially from them?Or by independ-entmindswhotakeonboardconcernsofpar-ents,teachers,expertsinchildpsychologyandthosewell-versedwith socio-cultural nu-ances?Whatarethestandardisednorms,duediligencefollowedbythecontentcreatorsspe-cific totheIndiancontext?Thereneedstobemore transparency and a fair sense of in-formedchoice.Reportsinthemediacitetheinstanceofa
Digital Content Complaint Council (DCCC),whichhas been joinedby ahandful of play-ers, butmost of the OTT players are said tohave opposed themove and refused to jointhecouncil.Somewillmisconstrueandsay that I am
hintingatsomesortofpolicing.PleasedonotbemisledortrivialisewhatIamhonestlyput-tingupforarationalandcivildiscussion.Oneis talkingabout responsibility and regard fortheaudienceanditsmilieu.Afterall, should-n't cognisance be takenof the share of voiceofthepeople,whosewallets’shareisdesired?Let's peer through another lens:
Companiesoftentermtheircontentasenter-tainmentproducts.Throughmyprofessionallife, I have observed branding and productscarefully.Every industryvalues itsconsumerandmarketing books are repletewith refer-ences to treating the consumer as the king.Afterall,asoundproductreflectsaninherentconcernfortheconsumer.Theculturalfabricofthemarketiscrucialtoresponsiblecompa-niesaroundtheworld.Therearefabulousandrobustcodesofconductinreputedorganisa-tions aswell as a fair degree ofmindfulnessandrestraint.Yes,youwanttoenticeyourconsumeror
viewer; sure, there is hyperbole in the com-munication.Butnowhereisconsumersenti-mentdevalued.Andincase, if thatdoeshap-pen, therearechecks,balancesandredressalforums.GiventhatOTT,webcontentisatitsinitial
stage,itwillhopefullymatureinitsapproachtotheconsumer.Thenascentindustryneedsto be ready to evolve and heed contrarianpoints of view. Inmany countries, there arerobust frameworks inplace.However, tryingtoimportbusinesspracticesandforce-fittingthemwill create only turmoil if the indige-nous,nuancedpointofviewisdisparaged.Myexperience inbrandbuildingandde-
signing communication for various interna-tionalandnationalbrandshastaughtmethatthoughonecanhaveaglobaloutlook,cogni-sanceneeds to be taken of the inherent cul-turalsensibilitiesinvariedmarkets.Theyneedtobeembraced,not flouted.Afterall, culturegives us a context for life. Amundaneobjectfindsmeaning and significance becauseweattribute a certain narrative to it. Societiescherishtheirnarrativesdeeply.Understandingtheculturalunderpinningoftheovertisvital,for life's beauty lies in intricacy, in nuance.Significant brandskeep this context inmindandarenotdrivenbyashort-sighted,oppor-tunisticmindset.I understand artistic products aremore
complexthanmanyothers.Creativethinkingandartisticprowessneedtobefinelybalancedwithmarket needs and consumer sensibili-ties.Self-expressionandexperimentationareintertwinedwith business realities. I do notdoubt thatmanyseek thisbalance, butdeepdown, it also boils down to intent.Fundamentally, I believea trueartisthas im-menserespectfortheaudience,knowingthattheir audiencemakes them. Butwhen thisgets compromised, the very intent gets cor-rupted, it results inadistortedreality.The highest pricewepay for this distor-
tion is the loss of trust between the creatorandtheaudience.Therecouldbedisillusion-ment, andtheaudiencecanbecomewaryofcontentcreators.Thislossoftrustcandestroytheveryfun-
damentalsofthecreativeworld,especiallythecommerciallycreativeworld.For,thereisadif-ference between pure art and an artistic“product”.Whenartispackagedandsoldasacommercialproduct,itacquiresanotherhue.As far as entertainment products are con-cerned, in an industrywith a balance sheet,artismorecommercial.It'sdifferentwhenwespeakoffineartists.Intheircase,self-expres-sion is thedominantemotion.Anintense in-ner compulsion exists, and creation takesplace regardless of consequences. Marketforcesmatter little, forarestlesssoul is inthe
questtofindmeaning,notmoney.Andit'sim-portantforhumanitythatthisunadulteratedintrospection and expression takes placeunhindered.One cannot, and is not, undermining the
calibreofpopulargenreproducts.Incommer-cialart, thereareinstancesof staggeringself-expressionandmanyof themaredeliciouslypoisedbetweenartandcommerce.Butthereisundoubtedlyadifferencewhenyoutailor-make an entertainment product afteranalysing and pressing convenient buttonsaimed to please or cater to the lowest com-mondenominator.Oneinvokingpureartisticlicensewhile promoting a commercial artproductwillbeseenthrougheventually.Let'snotforgetthatapieceofcreativework
is almost like a journey,where the audiencehaspracticallysurrenderedandsubmittedtothe will of the artist and content creator.Literally a frame ofmind of, takemewhereyouwant, Iwanttoseewhatyouseeandex-periencewhatyouexperienced, senseeverybitofjoy,pain,despair,jubilation,melancholythatyoudid.Iamundoubting,andIhopethatyouwon't abandonmemidway. Youmaywant to shakeme, butnotwith the intent todestroy. Tomakeme finer and evolve. Thissentiment is a reflection of the relationshipthatmakesapieceofartconnectandresonate.Currently, introspection is required
whether this very fundamental relationshipbetweenthecreatorandtheaudienceisbeingcompromised.Letmereiterate,nomatterhowfrantically
wewantourentertainmentproducts tosuc-ceed,certainthingsmustbenon-negotiable.Many of us talk aboutwomen’s empower-mentandgivelofty lectures.However,whenitcomestotheportrayalofwomenincinemaandentertainmentproducts,weturnablindeye. There has to be a correction—dare onesay,over-correction—inthisregard.Also,wecannot, in thenameof art, and for commer-cialgains,compromisethevulnerablesectionofoursocietylikechildren.Asmakers,let’snottake clever shelter under “context” or othersuchnomenclature;orconvenientlyblameiton the audience'smuddied understanding.Thisshouldbethelastjustificationforcreators,especiallywhenconcernsloomaboutatrustdeficitbetweenthemandtheaudience.Whilstwe collectively explore the next
phase, for starters, I believeweneed to stopdefendingmissteps.Andwithanopenmind,coursecorrectanddiscusstheemergingreal-ity,genuinelyandhonestly.Then,theroadaheadwillbebrighterand
smoother.
Joshi isawriter,poetandcommunicationprofessional.Viewsexpressedarepersonal
PV’S LEGACY
THISREFERSTOthearticle, ‘Theshrink-ingofPV’(IE, June30). Indiaisbetteroffas a country because Narasimha Raowas its primeminister in theNineties.It is remarkablethatamanwithsuchalightpolitical base, and surroundedbymorepowerfulpoliticalstalwarts,couldchangethedirectionoftheIndianecon-omy.His failures flowedfromhisweakpolitical base. The anti-Sikh riots of1984 and the demolition of BabriMasjidtookplaceunderhischarge.Yetunderhim, Indiaemergedasoneofthetop10economies in theworld.
J SBandukwala,Baroda
SIGNAL TO BEIJING
THIS REFERS TO the report, 'Virtualstrike'(IE, June30).TheNarendraModigovernment is under intense pressureto act against China. The banning ofappsthathavelinkstoChinaismeanttopander to domestic anti-Chinese sen-timents. To believe that this will seri-ouslyhurtChinaisnaive.Butthemovedoes send a clear signal to Beijing thatDelhi ispreparedtorespondtoChina’sbullying tactics inEasternLadakh.
VijaiPant,Hempur
A MORAL FRONT
THISREFERSTOthearticle, 'Diplomacyafter Galwan', (IE, June 30). At a timewhen China ismaking dubious refer-ences to traditional rightswhile legit-imising its unlawful encroachment onforeign territories, making a counter-claim in a similar tone would mean
playing into Beijing’s hands. Instead,openingupamoral front in support ofthe victims of Chinese oppressionwithin and outside its territory couldhelprallymoresupportfromtheinter-national community against Chineseadventurism, thereby denting theglobal image of brand China. India'sTibetancommunity in-exile shouldbegivenmore visibility, their part of thestorydeservesawiderglobalaudience.
SudipKumarDey,Kolkata
NOT BY FEAR
THISREFERSTOtheeditorial, 'Deathincustody', (IE, June 30). Extraordinarytimes don't imply losing the grip overruleof law.Custodial violence inTamilNadu, leading to the loss of lives,mustbecondemned. Peopleshouldn’thaveto fear thegovernment.
DivyaSingla,Patiala
LETTERS TO THEEDITOR
INDIAN FOREXRESERVES have crossed anunprecedentedmark—overhalf trillionUSdollars,placingIndiaonlybehindChinaandJapaninAsia.Andwhile thismayseemlikea rayof hopeamidst theeconomic turmoilin the country, onemust scrutinise its util-ity. The issue is not about a “few extra” re-serves but unused “excessive” reserves,whichmayindicatethat theIndiangovern-ment is likely anticipating the need of anenormous economic stimulus and hence,isbankingonthesereserves tosupport thefailing Indian economy. If so, over-relianceon forex reserves to provide this stimulusmay be dangerous andmerely keeping re-serves parkednow is anopportunity lost.The recent forex reserves surge was a
result of two things: A spike in foreign in-stitutional investments and savings inIndia’s importbill. Foreign institutional in-vestors reinvested in the Indianmarket inMay-Juneaftertheyexitedtheirpositionsinpanic inMarch. On the other side, a globalfall in fuelpriceshasreducedIndia’soil im-port bill, allowing it to save up forex re-serves.Butwhydoes Indiakeephugeforexreserves despite the government’s claim
thatthe“fundamentals”of theeconomyarestrong?Sufficiency of forex reserves is some-
times measured on howmany months’worthof importsacountrycanafford.Whilesixmonths is considered sufficient, theRBIinDecember2019saidithadenoughtosus-tain for10months (the forex reserveswerethen $0.4 trillion). Today, the cover is 12months! This is despite having a sufficientcredit line from the IMF, should there be acreditshock. It isunderstandableforoil-richcountriestomaintainhighforexreserves—a single oil trade hiccup can derail theireconomy. Economists have theorised thatholdinghighforexreservesisunnecessary—infact,notusingthemtofinancemegainfra-structure projects are lost opportunities —and yet the Indian government has heldthese reserves in liquid, possibly for itsfearedD-day.Has the Indian governmentbeen antic-
ipating an economichiccup strong enoughtoderail the Indianeconomyforsometimenow?Indeed,excessforexreservesarelikelythegovernment’scontingencyfund, incasethe economy suddenly topples. The pan-
demic has increased the government’s in-security.Anotherpossibility is thatthegov-ernment is accumulating these reserves as“Plan-B” savings should its strategic disin-vestmentplansfail.Third, forexreservesarealsolikelyawayforIndianowtomaintainitsglobalratingaftermultiplereductionsinitsGDPgrowthestimates.Lastbutnotleast,thefundamentaluseof
India’sforeignexchangeshouldbetoensuretheRupee(INR)stability.However, thathas-n’tbeenthecase.Despite steadily rising re-serves, INR fluctuated between 77 and 75againsttheUSdollar inthelasttwomonths,between71and77inthelastthreemonths,and 68 and 77 in the last year. INR has be-come one of Asia’sworst currencies— andthe RBI may allow it to devalue further tosupport its balance sheet, enabling it totransferabigchunkof its realisedprofitsasdividend to the starvinggovernment.With“Atmanirbharta”or“self-sufficiency”inthespotlight, even financing imports is out ofthepicture.Neitherwill theybeusedtobidINRagainstothercurrencies,sinceinvestorswill not hold INR. Not using forex reservesfortheirprimepurposedespitehavingthem
in excess suggests that they are being heldfor anulteriormotive.But if the foreign funds’ influx is a plus,
over-reliance on these floating funds tostimulatetheeconomymightbepoorly in-formed. The potential of these funds toswitch direction should not be underesti-mated. InMarchalone, foreigninstitutionalinvestments in India fellbyRs65,000crore(duetotheCOVIDpanic). India’s foreignex-change reserves registered this impact —they shrunk by $12,577 million over ap-proximatelythesameperiod.Reversingthedip, investmentswent up inMay and nowin June (bothmonths have addedRs 12-13thousandcrore inFII)withsomebigcorpo-rate deals that restored forex reserves totheir early 2020 levels. If the governmentintends to use forex reserves as an emer-gency fund, it should ensure that they donotshrinkjustwhentheyaremostneeded.
Jaffrelot is senior research fellowatCERI-Sciences Po/CNRS, Paris, professor of Indian
Politics andSociologyatKing’s IndiaInstitute, London. Jumle is aproject officer atTRAFFICWWF India. Viewsarepersonal
Over-relianceonforexreservesisproblematic,notusingthemalostopportunity
An unreliable emergency fund
Christophe Jaffrelot andVihang Jumle
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AscontentonOTTplatformsbecomesmorewidelyviewed,weneedtoask:Whatare thenormsandduediligence followedbycontentcreatorsspecific to the Indiancontext?
Regard for audience, its culture
Ahmedabad
RITUSHARMAAHMEDABAD, JUNE30
TWOWEEKS since the south-west monsoon arrived inGujarat, Kutch and Saurashtraregionshavereceivedaround25per cent of the average rainfallwitnessed during this period.The southwest monsoon offi-ciallyarrivedGujaratonJune14covering districts of Valsad,Navsari, Tapi,DangandSurat.Kutchdistrict has already re-
ceived25percentof theaveragerainfallduringmonsoon,whichisthehighest in the last fiveyears -in2017ithadreceived15percentof the average rainfall. TheSaurashtraregionhasreceived22percentof itsseason’sshare.Further, nearly 100 talukas
have already recorded rainfallbetween126-250mm(nearly5-10 inch) during this monsoonseason, the highest in the lastfiveyears.Subsequently,comparingthe
rainfalldatatillJune30forthelastfiveyears,thisyeartheleastnum-ber of talukas - 32—received0-50mmrainfall,whichisthelow-
est rainfall bracket.While 172talukasreceived0-50mmrainfallin 2016, the highest in last fiveyears, itwas116in2018.Attributingtheearly rains in
KutchandSaurashtraregionstothe Cyclone Nisargawitnessedin the first week of June, theIndia MeteorologicalDepartment(IMD)officialssaidthatitwasalsoconducivefortheentire state.“DuetotheCycloneNisarga,
a lot of moisture could come tothe state and especially to theSaurashtra and arid Kutch re-
gions,whicharebereftofmois-ture. Also, due to this, Gujaratwas quite conducive and thusrainfallwasactive inmostpartsof the state,” said ManoramaMohantyAdditionalDirector ofIMD’sAhmedabadregion.KutchandSaurashtraregions
thatcoveralmosthalfofthestategeographically are expected tocontinue to add to its receipt ofrainfall as the IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD) forecasts rainfall for theseregions,throughoutthisweek.“Due toacyclonic circulation
oversouthGujaratnowandneig-hbourhoodbetween1.5 kmand4.5kmabovemeansea level tilt-ing towards the southwestwithheight isexpectedtobringmod-erate rainfallwith thunderstormin the districts of Saurashtra,Kutchalongwithnorthandcen-traldistricts,”Mohantyaddedontheforecastforthisweek.On Tuesday, the 131 talukas
thatreceivedrainfall includedal-mostalldistrictsofSaurashtraandKutch.KalavadtalukainJamnagardistrictrecordedthehighestinthestate(till4pm)—73mminbarelytwohoursfrom12pmtill2pm.Among the five regions the
state has been divided into, theSouthGujarat has received thelowestrainfall thisseason—9.01per cent. This is the region’s sec-ond lowest share in the last fiveyears—inthemonsoonof2016,itbarely received4per cent of theaveragerainfall.TheNorthGujaratregionhas
received 10.50 per cent of itsmonsoon sharewhile the EastCentral region 14.15 per cent,which isalso itshighest share inlast fiveyears.Thestatehasrecorded122.24
mm,anaverageof14.71percentrainfall till June30, secondhigh-est after2017, theyearwhen thestatewitnessed one of itsworstfloods, devastating the NorthGujarat districts of Banaskanthaand Patan. In 2017, the averagerainfall received till June30was15.43percent.The IMDhas issued a heavy
rainfall warning for districts ofNorthGujarat includingBanask-anthaandPatan,SouthGujaratin-cludingValsad,NavsariandSuratand inSaurashtra regionnamelyGirSomnath,Amreli,Bhavnagar,Junagadh,Porbandartill July5.
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EXPRESSNEWSSERVICERAJKOT, JUNE30
SIXPERSONS,includingtwochil-dren, were killed after beingstruck by lightning,while a girlwhowassweptawayinafloodedrivuletwasfounddeadaspartsofSaurashtra experienced heavyrainonTuesday.Authorities said that three
persons each died in Jamnagarand Botad districts after beingstruck by lightning during theday.Officialsof thedistrict floodcontrol room in Jamnagar saidthat Nitaben Sitapara (35) andher sonVishal (12)were struckby a lightning bolt in Raka-Khatiyavillageof Lalpur taluka.Pankaj Pambhar, a resident ofNana Vadala village of Kalavadtaluka,wasalsokilled inasimi-larmannerwhile a buffalowasalsokilledinalightningstrikeinChorbedi villageof Lalpur.In Botad, the deaths were
reported from Lathidad andSarvai villages. District floodcontrol room officers said thatGhansyam Chauhan (50), afarmer and his granddaughterJhanvi were killed after beingstruckbylightning,while intheneighbouring Sarvai village,Guddi Bhatvasiya (18) waskilled. Officers said all thesedeaths were reported around11.30 pm as the district experi-
enced light showers.While Kalavad taluka of
Jamnagar experienced 73mil-
limetre(mm)rain,neighbouringDhrol logged 49mmprecipita-tion. Lalpur registeredninemm
rainwhileJamnagartalukagot24mmrain.InBotaddistrict,Ranpurtaluka registered eightmmrain,followed byGadhda and Botadwith fivemmrain and Barwalawithfourmmrain.Aschoolgirlwhowasswept
awaywhile crossing a floodedcauseway in Satapar village ofJamjodhpur talukaof Jamnagardistrict onMonday, was founddeadonTuesday.ThegirlAnandiSolanki (10) was a resident ofRanavav,Porbandardistrict.Theareaexperiencedaround50mmrainMonday.Anandi,hermotherRamju (30), sister Jeenal (3) andmaternaluncleAvalSindhva(33)were crossing the causewaywhile on their way to a localshrinewhenthefourweresweptawayintheswellingwaters.“WhilebodiesofSindhavand
Ramju were recovered onMondayitself,Anandi’sbodywasrecovered downstream onTuesday.Jeenalisstillmissinganda search operation is on,” FirozMulima, deputymamlatdar indisastercellofJamjodhpurtaluka,toldTheIndianExpress.HeaddedSindhav andRamju are siblingsandthesistercametoherparentshomeinUdepurvillagetoattendareligiousevent.Rajkot city experienced a
thunderstorm on Mondaymorning with flood controlroomsaying19mmrainwasre-portedduring theday.
Peoplemaketheirwaythroughrain inVadodaraonMonday.BhupendraRana
Twochildrenamong6killed inlightningstrike inSaurashtra
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEVADODARA, JUNE30
OVER 3,500 employees of theMadhyaGujaratVijCorporationLimited (MGVCL) announcedthe undertaking of a massCasual Leave (CL) onWednesday, citing “high-handed attitude and harass-ment of staff” by ManagingDirector Tushar Bhatt.According to the MGVCL
union, theemployees—includ-ingtechnicalandnon-technicalstaff — have decided to take amassCLduringwhichtheywillnot attend to any calls. The de-cision was taken following ameetingwithCabinetMinistersSaurabh Patel (Energy) andPradeepsinh Jadeja (Home)Theemployeesareprotesting
over 700 notices sent to themconcerningvarious issues in thelast twomonths. According tothe union, the two chief engi-neersofMGVCLhavealsojoinedtheprotest insupport.The agitationof the employ-
ees is being lead byGirish Joshi,generalsecretaryofAkhilGuj-aratVidhyutKamdaar Sangh,mem-ber of the Association of ChiefEngineersand theAssociationofSupervisorystaffofMGVCL.Joshi said, “Weareexasper-
ated with the harassment be-ingmetedout toall employees,including theengineeringstaffaswellas fieldClass-IIIemploy-ees, because of the high-handedattitudeof themanag-ing director, Tushar Bhatt. Hehas served over 700 notices tostaff in the last two months.Someof themare fornon-pay-ment of dues by consumersfromas farbackas1960,whereofficershavebeenasked to ex-plain why the amount has notbeen recovered. They haveservednoticesof differentout-standingamounts toofficersatall levels. Itmeans that theyarenotevenawarewhat theactualoutstanding bills are.”Joshi added that several
Class-III officers who are in-volved in maintenance activi-tiesonthefieldhavebeenfined
upto Rs 1,000 for not usingsafety gear.“This, after ithasbeentaken
on record, in the minutes of acommittee meeting held lastyear, that most of the safetyequipment has not even beenprocured and handed over tothe employees. Safety shoes,for instance, are the most im-portant for ensuring the ab-sorptionof shock.Mostof theseClass-III employees rush to thesite of fault even at unearthlyhours. It is unfair and mentalharassmentto finethemfornotusing what has not been pro-cured,” said Joshi.Thepresidentof theMGVCL
unionisBJPMLAKetanInamdarfrom Savli assembly con-stituency, who joined the em-ployees in their meeting withPatel and JadejaonTuesday.When contacted, Tushar
Bhatt refused to comment onthe allegations and said thatthe MGVCL has a contingencyplan inplace toattendtoemer-gencycalls fromconsumersonWednesday.
Alleging harassment by MD,MGVCL staff take mass leave
LIGHT AND PRAYERS
Asmanyas786 lampswere litat thetombof SultanAhmedShahatManekChowkonTuesday,asaprayer inviewof theCovid-19pandemic.SultanAhmedShahisconsideredtobethefounderof thecity. JavedRaja
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD, JUNE30
THREEPOLICEMENandapolicedriverwere injured inanallegedambushattackby amob in JunavillageofBhujtowninKutchdis-trictonMondaynight,whenapa-trolteamhadvisitedthevillagetostopillegalsandmining.Accordingtoofficials,amobof
100-150personsattackedapolicepatrolling party belonging toKhawada police station (PS) atJunavillage inBhujaround8pmonMonday.AsperanFIR filedatKhawadaPS, asmanyas 36per-sonswerebooked for attempt tomurder,riotingandothersectionsoftheIPC.AcrackdownoperationbyKutchBhujWestPolicewasini-tiatedonTuesdaymorning.“Wehave formed six teams
andacombingoperationisongo-ing. A total of 22 persons havebeenarrested till nowandmorewillbeheld.Theincidentoccurredwhenapolice teamhadgone tostopillegalsandminingandanti-socialelementsstartedstonepelt-ing,” said Sourabh Tolumbia,SuperintendentofPolice,Bhuj.The injured officials are
police sub-inspector andincharge officer of KhawadaPS,YuvrajsinhJadeja;policecon-stable Mahipatsinh Vaghela;head constableManek GadhviandpolicedriverKesharPatel.Accordingtoacomplaintfiled
by PSI Jadeja, a police patrollingteamhad reached Juna villageroadaround8pmonMondayre-spondingtoacomplaintofatrac-tor full of illegal sand mining.“Whenwe reached the spot, asmanyas100-150villagersstartedpelting stonesatourpolice teamwith the intention to kill us.Wewerealsoattackedwithsticksandrodsintheambush,”saidJadejainhiscomplaint.While Jadeja received 19
stitchesonhishead,Mahipatsinhreceived23 stitches onhis headandManekreceivedeightstitchesonhishead.Allthreewereadmit-tedtoahospitalandarestable,asperseniorofficials.AccordingtotheFIR,theprime
accused has been identified asSuleimanSadhakSama,aresidentof Junavillage.
Three copsinjured in‘mob attack’in Bhuj, 22arrested
SHAREOF AVERAGEMONSOONRAINFALLREGION 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Kutch 25.17 6.27 0.24 15.35 3.01
NorthGujarat 10.5 12.52 7.21 12.3 3.77
Eastcentral 14.15 9.88 7.77 11.84 3.09
Saurashta 22.86 15.78 2.51 15.24 7.08
SouthGujarat 9.01 13.76 13.39 18.71 3.93
State 14.71 13.07 8.14 15.43 4.61
(Figures in percentage; shared byGSDMAas on June 30)
Saurashtra, Kutch get 25% average rainfall
Ahmedabad
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UTTAR GUJARAT VIJ COMPANY LIMITED
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E-TENDER NOTICE NO: PALANPUR-1 DO-01/2020-21
Tenders are invited, Erection work of HT LT TC for various
scheme under various S/Dn under PALANPUR-1 Division office.
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OFFICE, Replacement of Failed Transformer in DANTIWADA
S/dn & Gadh-Chandisar S/Dn Under UGVCL, Palanpur DO-I.
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Selection and appointment of
Consultancy services for
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EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD, JUNE30
RESEARCHERS AT the IndianInstituteofTechnologyGandhin-agar (IITGN)claimedtohavede-velopedanArtificial Intelligence(AI)-baseddeeplearningtool forthe detection of Covid-19 fromchestX-rayimages.Thetoolhasamachinelearn-
ing architecture and has beentrainedusingdeeplearningalgo-rithmsanddatasetsofpooledX-rayimages.Theresearchersclaimthatitcanbeusedinremoteandearly diagnosis of the disease toease the additional burden onmedical infrastructure.ItwasdevelopedbyKushpal
SinghYadav,anMTechstudentofComputerScienceandEngine-er-ing at IITGN,under theguidanceof Prof Krishna PrasadMiyapu-ram, associate professor ofCognitiveScienceandComputerScienceat IITGN.Thisonline toolindicates theprobability if aper-son is infected with Covid-19,whichcanbeusedforpreliminarydiagnosisbeforethemedicaltest.Sharing themotivation and
ideabehinddeveloping the tool,Prof Krishna PrasadMiyapuramand Kushpal Singh Yadav said,“Given the limited testing facili-tiesforCovid-19,thereisarushtodevelopAItoolsforquickanalysisusing X-rays. Developing a reli-
able tool requires the combina-tionofrightalgorithmsanddata.This is where our tool wouldproveuseful...itcanbetrainedfordiagnostic purposes andmadeavailableforwideruse.”TheyaddedthattheAItoolis
only indicativeandclinical con-sultation is essential to confirmthe diagnosis. The system is liveas a web-interface onhttp://covidxray.iitgn.ac.in/.Anyuser canuploadadigital copyofthechestX-rayorCT-scaninstan-dardimageformats.Theresult isavailablewithinafewseconds.
How itworksThe researchers pooled thedataof X-ray images of Covid-19 in-fectedpatientsaswellashealthypersonsfromdifferentsourcesonthe internet and trained trainedamachine learning architectureusingdeeplearningalgorithms.Themodel has 12 layers of
neural network, similar to theneurons in the human brain. Itlearns the disease diagnosingfeatures from the X-ray imagesin an automatic way and alsouses images fromother lung in-fectionstoensurethespecificityofdetectionofCovidfromotherlungdiseases. IITGNresearchersare collaborating with DrDeepak Saxena from the IndianInstituteof PublicHealth (IIPH),Gandhinagar, for furthertestingof theAI-based tool.
IITGANDHINAGAR
AI-based tool to detectCovid from chest X-ray
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD, JUNE30
A51-YEAR-OLDconvictaccusedin the2002NarodaPatiyamas-sacrecasewasallegedlyattackedbytwounidentifiedpersonsout-sidehishouseontheinterveningnight of Monday and Tuesday.Following the attack,Krushnanagar police station of-ficials registered an offenceagainst the unidentified as-sailantsandinvestigationsareon.Theconvicthasbeen identi-
fied as Umesh Bharvad, a resi-dent of Mahasukhnagar inKrushnanagar area ofAhmedabad.Inhiscomplainttothepolice,
Bharvadstatedthatherunsaho-tel cum guesthouse inKrushnanagar area. Bharvadstated that while hewas goingto his hotel with his managerRahul onMondaynight, he sawawoman soliciting on the roadnearMahakali temple. He hadinformed the police controlroom and then gone toKrushnanagar police stationwith his manager. Thereafter,Bharvadadded,heandhisman-ager went back to their homesondifferentvehicles.According to Bharvad’s FIR,
two persons riding a two-
wheeler without a numberplate attacked himwith a steelrodandasharp-edgedknifeandran away, after he had reachedhomearound3am.Theallegedincident happened whenBharvadwasgettingoffhistwo-wheelerandenteringhishome.Bharvad has also provided thenames of some people as sus-pectsbehind theattack. Theat-tack at Bharvad’s hou-se hasbeencapturedonCCTVcamerasandithasbeensubmittedtothepolice as evidence.Bharvadsustainedminorin-
juriesandreceivedtreatmentatthecivilhospital.Police inspector of
Krushnanagar police station, JKRathod said. “Initially, Bharvaddidnotwanttolodgeacomplaint,but nowhehas.Wehave regis-teredacaseofassaultagainsttwounidentifiedpersons.”Bharvad is anaccused in the
2002 Naroda Patiya case inwhich 96 personsweremassa-cred. He was acquitted by thespecial trial court in the case.However, in 2018, the GujaratHigh Court had convictedBharvad and sentenced him to10 years of imprisonment. Hisappeal against conviction ispending before the SupremeCourt. Bharvad said thathewasoutonbail onmedicalgrounds.
Convict in NarodaPatiya case attacked,probe on, say police
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD, JUNE30
THREE PERSONShave been ar-restedTuesdayforallegedlysteal-ing asmany as 67,000 litres ofcrudeoilworthRs13.4lakhfromapipelineof IndianOilCorp-ora-tion(IOC)inAhmedabadRural.According to officials of
AhmedabadDetectionofCrimeBranch(DCB),thethreeaccusedhaddugaholefor70metresun-dergroundtofindtheoilpipeline
and created a two-inch hole inthepipeline of IOC and then in-stalled a valve into it in order tosteal67,000 litresof crudeoil.“Thematterhadcometolight
onJune8thattheIOCpipelinelaidfromViramgam inAhmedabadoutskirts to Vadodara has beenleaking in Jetalpur areawhere ahole had been dug at a plot be-longing to Shakti ConstructionsandRoadBuildersLimited.Anin-vestigationwaslaunchedintothematter and it was found thatcrude oilweighing 67,000 litres
hasbeenmissing,”saidanofficialofAhmedabadDCB.Police said that the three ac-
cused,MohsinRangrez(27),ana-tiveofDanilimdaofAhmedabad,JagdishPrajapati (42), a residentof Daskroi in Ahmedabad andRatilal Rawal (40), a resident ofDaskroi,havebeenarrested.“The three made a plan in
June2019tostealcrudeoil.Theyrented two plots near ShaktiConstruction plot in Jetalpur inguise of keeping their vehiclesoverthereandduga13foot-well
inoneof theplots. Through thatwell, a tunnelwasmade to theplot of Shakti Construction andfurtherdugaholetoreachtheun-derground pipeline. They thenstartedstealingcrudeoilthroughfittingavalveandtransferringtheoil to a tanker in the past sixmonths,”saidanofficial.The accused have been ar-
rested under Indian Penal Codesections 379 (theft), 427 (mis-chief),285(negligentconductre-lated to fire) alongwith sectionsofDamagetoPublicPropertyAct.
IOCPIPELINEBREACHED
Three arrested for stealing 67,000 litre crude oil
GUJARAT
12THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY, JULY1,2020
EXPRESSNETWORK
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
ARUNJANARDHANANCHENNAI, JUNE30
ACCOUNTS SUBMITTED to theMadras High Court regardingaround a dozen victims of al-leged torture at theSathankulam Police Station atThoothukudi in Tamil Nadu,which is under probe followingthe death of a father and son,show similarities in theirwounds. Following the court’sintervention, the officers at thestation are now facing probe inanother case of custodial death,involving a 28-year-old, whichhappened just days beforeP Jeyaraj andson JBennixdied.Meanwhile,thefamilyofa33-
year-old autorickshaw drivercameforwardtoallegetortureonhim at Arumuganeri PoliceStation, about 40 km fromSathankulam, leaving him ondialysis.Havingsuspendedallthefive
officers at the Sathankulam sta-tion earlier, the TamilNadugov-ernmentonTuesdaytransferredTuticorin SP Arun Balagopalanandputhimunder“compulsorywait”. S Murugan is the newSouth Zone IG.Tirunelveli CB-CIDDSP Anil
Kumarwillnowtakeoverthein-vestigation into Jeyaraj andBennix’s deaths, following theHigh Court’s orders.While thestate government onMondaynight transferred the case to theCBI, the court said the CB-CIDshouldprobe, followingconcernoverpossibilityofdisappearanceof the evidence before the CBItakesover.A source at the High Court
saidithadreceivedcomplaintsaswellasphysicalevidenceregard-ingtortureofaroundadozenvic-tims. The officersmostly hit thevictims on the buttocks, leavingdeepwounds, the source said.Attemptswere on to determinethe instruments used “to inflictsuchinjuries”.A source attached to the
forensicwing of the TamilNadu
Health Department, who hasseen someof the evidence, saidinmanycasesthewoundsgotin-fectedastreatmentwasdelayed.In the case ofMuthukumar, oneof the alleged victims, woundsseemed over twoweeks old. “Itcouldbehourslongbeatingwithalathiorusingaheatedbluntin-strument,”saidthesource.Lastweek, theMadras High
Court had noted that Rajasingh,oneofthoseallegedlytorturedatthe Sathankulam station nearlytwoweeksago,haddeepwoundson his buttocks. Hewas hospi-talisedonlyonJune24,followingjudicial intervention.The third case of custodial
murder that the Sathankulamstation officers are now facing isofMahendran,amasonwhowasarrested onMay 23 by police,whowerelookingforhisbrotherDurairegardingamurdercase.Inher complaint to the court,Mahendran’smother S Vadivuhas said he died on June 13 fol-lowing torture overMay23 and24attheSathankulampolicesta-tion. The Sub-Inspectorwho ar-rested the 28-year-old, RaghuGanesh, is alsoanaccused in thedeathsof JeyarajandBennix.“After he was released on
May24,Mahendrankept cryingsaying he couldn’t bear the painleft by the torture,” Vadivu hassaid,addingthatthe28-year-old’scondition kept deteriorating.Eventually, he lostmovement inhis right hand and right leg, anddiedattheThoothukudigovern-menthospitalonJune13.Vadivusayspolicethreatened
hertokeepquiet.“Duraihadsur-renderedbythen.Sub-InspectorGanesh saidwe should refuse apost-mortemor caseswould befoistedonDuraiandhiswife.Wehad no other option,we buriedhimwithoutapost-mortem,”herpetitionbeforethecourtsays.The auto-driverwho is now
dependentondialysishasallegedthat hewas tortured bywomenofficersattheArumuganeriPoliceStation.HabeebMuhammed,33,whobelongstoKayalpattinamin
Thoothukudi,wasarrestedfornotwearing amask and smoking abeediwhiledrivinghisauto.Inhispetitionbeforethehigh
court, Habeeb has said twowomenconstablestookhimintocustody on June 9morning. Atthestation,hesaid, fourconsta-bles beat him, while a womaninspectorkickedhimintheface.“Then they used a blue plasticpipe to hitme on the legs. Theytoldmetogetupand jump,andmademe sit and stood onmythighs,” he said, adding that thetorture went on for two hourscontinuously before hewas letoff at2.30pm.A source aware of the case
said severe kicks to his stomachleft Habeeb injured, and he re-ported to a private hospital atKayalpattinam after noticingbloodinhisurine.Whenthedoc-tor there arranged for him to betakentotheThoothukudigovern-menthospitalinanambulance,aSub-InspectorfromArumuganeristation stopped the vehicle andHabeeb said hewas dischargedandsenthome.Withinafewhours,hiscondi-
tionworsenedandtheyreturnedto the sameprivate hospital. OnJune 12, Habeebwas shifted toanother private hospital, inTirunelveli,whereheunderwentdialysis till June18. “I amunder-goingdialysiseveryalternatedaynow,myhealthisdeteriorating,”hehassaid inhispetition.According toHabeeb, police
came to the hospital too to stophis family from filing a formalcomplaint.Lastweek,thedistrictlegal aid authority helped thefamily file a petition before thehighcourt.Thechoiceof Jeyakumarand
MuruganasthenewSPandIGofTuticorinandSouthZone,respec-tively, couldalso sparkoff a con-troversy. Jeyakumar had beenquestioned in connectionwiththe 2018 gutkha scam involvingtop police officers,while the in-fluentialMurugan is accused ofsexually harassing a seniorwomanpoliceofficer.
TAMILNADUPOLICESTATIONS
Wounds, beating leadingto dialysis: Cases pour in
OMKARGOKHALEMUMBAI, JUNE30
INAN interim relief to RepublicTV editor-in-chief ArnabGoswami, the Bombay HighCourt on Tuesday suspendedtwo First Information Reports(FIRs) against him for allegedlymakingprovocativeandinflam-matory statements over the in-cidents of lynching at Palgharandgatheringofmigrantwork-ers outside Bandra railway sta-tion inMumbai.The court saidno coercive steps be takenagainst himuntil further ordersand“primafaciethereisnocasemadeout”, andnooffencesdis-closedagainstGoswami.Thedivisionbenchof Justices
UjjwalBhuyanandRiyazChaglaobservedthattherewasnothingto show that Goswami tried tocause public disharmony. It ad-mitted his petition and said in-terim protection from coercivestepswillbecontinueduntilfur-ther orders. The bench heardthrough videoconferencingGoswami's criminal writ pleaseekingreliefs includingquash-ingof twoFIRs filedagainsthimonApril 22andMay2.Goswamihasbeenbookedin
connectionwithanewsshowonApril 29 over his comments onmigrants gathering outsideBandra railway station on April14 during the lockdown. Apartfrom this, multiple FIRs havebeen filed against him over ashow on April 21, in which hequestioned Congress presidentSonia Gandhi over the lynchingof twosadhusandtheirdriverinPalghar, Maharashtra. On June12, the HC extended protectionfromcoerciveactiontoGoswamiuntilfurtherordersandreserveditsorderonGoswami'splea.Afterhearingsubmissionsof
bothsidesandexaminingmate-rial on record, the court said, “Itwould bewrong to say that thepetitioner hadmade the state-ments in the broadcast with aviewtodefameorinsultthefeel-ings of any religious group orcommunity.”FULLREPORTON
www.indianexpress.com
Bombay HCsuspends FIRsagainst ArnabGoswami
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, JUNE30
THE NATIONAL InvestigationAgency(NIA)lastweekopposedthe bail application of lawyerand former professor SudhaBharadwaj,arrestedintheElgaarParishadcase,beforethespecialNIAcourtstatingthatsheis“tak-ingunduebenefit”of theCovid-19pandemic in seeking interimbail onmedicalgrounds.The NIA filed its reply to an
appeal filed by Bharadwaj’slawyersagainstthespecialcourtrejectingbail toher.In her plea, 58-year-old
Bharadwaj, who is lodged inBycullawomen’sjail inMumbai,had sought interim bail on thegroundthatshesuffersfromtwosevere co-morbidities — dia-betes and high-blood pressure.Shehas submitted that she alsohas a history of pulmonary tu-berculosis and therefore, is at a
high risk of contracting coron-avirus inprison,whichcouldbelife-threatening due to her pre-existingmedical condition.TheNIA, in its reply, said that
theargumentabouthermedicalconditionhasnomerit,asshehasbeen suffering from “somechronicillness”since20yearsandisundergoingprescribedmedica-tion for the same. It added thatsheisbeingprovidedwithneces-sarymedicalassistanceinthejail.“It is clear that the pleading
withregardtothemedicalcondi-tionof thepetitioner ismerelyarusetoobtainanorderofinterimrelief,whichisnotavailabletothepetitionerotherwiseonthemer-its of the case,” the reply stated.Theagencyclaimed that theev-idence against Bharadwaj so fardoes not entitle her to seek anyrelief onanygrounds.Withastate-appointedhigh-
poweredcommitteeconstitutedon the orders of the SupremeCourt recommending the re-
leaseof all undertrialswithcer-tain exceptions, Bharadwaj hadsaid inherappeal thatgivenhersusceptibility to the virus, shecan be considered for interimbail. The NIA, however, whilemaintainingthatthecommitteehasdirectedthatbailbeconsid-eredbasedonperusalof thecir-cumstances of each case, hasclaimed that Bharadwaj wasworking for PersecutedPrisonersSolidarityCommittee,a “frontal organisation” ofbannedCPI (Maoist).It has further said that two
otheraccusedinthecase—aca-demicAnandTeltumbdeandac-tivist GautamNavlakha— havebeen arrested on April 14 andfurther investigation is inprogress, which could face “se-riousdamage”ifBharadwajisre-leased.Shehasbeenbehindbarssince2018alongwitheightoth-ersbookedinthecase.Themat-ter was listed on Tuesday butdidnot comeup for hearing.
On Bharadwaj bail plea, NIA said:Taking undue benefit of pandemic
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEHYDERABAD, JUNE30
TWOPEOPLEdiedandfouroth-ers were hospitalised withbreathing difficulties after theyinhaled poisonousBenzimidazole gas that leakedfromareactoratapharmaceuti-calmanufacturing company inVisakhapatnam,officialssaidonTuesday. A probe has been or-dered intothe incident.According to officials, on the
interveningnightofMondayandTuesday,sixpersonnel,includingthe two deceased— chemists RNarendraandGShankar—wereworking near a reactor in themanufacturing plant of SainorLife Sciences Pvt Ltd, located inPharma City, when the leak oc-curred. At least 30-35 peoplewereworking in the factory atthe time. The facility was shutdown immediately as a precau-tionarymeasure,officialsadded.
Theyaddedthatfouremployeeshadbeenhospitalisedwithseri-ousbreathingdifficulties.Visakhapatnam Police
Commissioner R KMeena saidone of them is criticalwhile theothers are stable. He added thattheleakdidnotspreadoutsidetheplant. This is the third gas leakcausingdeathsinAndhraPradesh
inthelasttwomonths.OnMay7,a styrene vapour leak at the LGPolymers factory inVisakhapatnamhadkilled10peo-pleandleftthousandsunwell.OnJune27,onepersondiedof inhal-ing ammonia at the SPY AgroIndustryplantinKurnooldistrict.
FULLREPORTON
www.indianexpress.com
Officials inspect the industrialunitwheregas leakwasreported inVisakhapatnamonTuesday. PTI
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA, JUNE30
FOLLOWING PRIME MinisterNarendraModi’sannouncementtoextendtheschemetodistrib-ute free food grains to 80 crorepeopletillNovember-end,WestBengal Chief MinisterMamataBanerjee on Tuesday said thathergovernment toowill extendtheschemetogivefreerationtothepoor till June2021.Referring to the PM’s an-
nouncement, Banerjee said,“They extended the scheme toNovember?Wewill also be ex-tending the free ration schemeuptoJuneofnextyear…Wewillgive ration in our Khadya Sathiprakalpa for free. But if otherswill get free or not, wewill de-
cideafterNovember.”The Chief Minister alleged
that the Centre “procured ricefromFCI”while“weusedtopro-cure rice from farmers straightaway,soourricequalityismuchbetter.” She said “only 60%peo-pleinBengalgetCentralration”.Banerjee also targeted the
Centre over the decision to banChinese apps, saying “banningsomeappswill not give a result.WewanttogiveChinaabefittingreply”.However,shesaiditwas“asubjectoftheExternalAffairsde-partment” and "wewill support
theCentralgovernment’sstand”.Responding to the Centre’s
‘One Nation One Ration’ pro-posal,Banerjeesaidshewillwaitto understand the details andfeasibilityofthescheme.Shehadearlierobjected to theproposal,saying initiatives such as “onenation one ration, one nationoneelection,one leaderonena-tion" are confusing, and de-mandeddefinitebenefitsforthepeople for the timebeing.TheChiefMinister also criti-
cisedthePMGaribKalyanRojgarYojna and said it excludesWestBengal.Shesaiditlacksclarityonhowitwillbenefitmigrantsorifthere is any financial aid forworkers who have returned totheirhomesamiddistress.
FULLREPORTON
www.indianexpress.com
HARISHDAMODARANNEWDELHI,JUNE30
PRIME MINISTER NarendraModihassaidthatextendingthePradhan Mantri Garib KalyanAnnaYojana(PMGKAY)–whichprovides5kgofriceorwheatpermonth to80crorepersons,plus1 kg of pulses to their families,free of cost – for another fivemonths, tillNovember,will costthe exchequer over Rs 90,000crore. This, along with the Rs60,000 crore supposedly spentunder the schemeduringApril-June, would take the total to Rs150,000crore.However, an analysis of data
from the department of food&public distribution’s latest Foo-dgrainBulletinforMayshowstheactualnetoutgotobemuchlower.Tostartwith, consider the5
kg of cereals given free to 80crorepersons,whichaddsupto12 million tonnes (mt) overthree months from April toJune. Extending it tillNovember would mean addi-tional quantity of 20mt.According to the Foodgrain
Bulletin data, the FoodCorporationof India(FCI) ispro-jectedtoincuraneconomiccostofRs37.27forprocuringanddis-tributing every kg of rice in2020-21,whileatRs26.84perkgin the case of wheat. The 12mtallocated during April-June in-cluded10.44mtof riceand1.56mtofwheat.Thetotaleconomicvalueof thisgraingivenout freewould,therefore,havebeenjustoverRs43,100crore.The above economic cost,
further,doesnotaccountfortheexpenses onholding andmain-taining excess grains in itsgodowns. This “carrying cost” –basically interest and storagecharges”–isestimatedatRs5.40per kg for the current fiscal. AsonApril1, riceandwheatstocksin theCentral pool, at almost 74mt,werethree-and-a-half timesthe required operational-cum-
strategicreservelevels.Withtheprocurementofnewwheatcrop,these inventories had furtherrisen to97mt-plus.The carrying cost of Rs
5.40/kgon12mtofgrain,whichwasclearly“excess”,wouldhaveworked out to around Rs 6,480crore. Even after adding theroughlyRs3,900crore spentonproviding1kgof freepulsespermonthfor20crorefamilies–theaverage cost of procuring, stor-ing,milling, packing and distri-butionhereispeggedatRs65/kg– the net outgo under PMGKAYduring April-June would havebeen Rs 40,500 crore – and notRs60,000crore.Coming now to the addi-
tional20mtofcerealstobepro-vided free during July-November,theeconomiccostofthat–taking10mtofriceand10mt of wheat – will come to Rs64,100croreorso.Again,deduc-ing the carrying cost of Rs5.40/kg on 20 mt, will reducethat outgo by Rs 10,800 crore.After adding the economic costof Rs 6,500 crore on onemt ofpulses, at Rs 65/kg, the Centre’snetexpenditurewillbebelowRs60,000crore.In otherwords, the total ef-
fective burden on the excheq-uer fromPMGKAYmaybeonlyin the region of Rs 100,000-105,000 crore and not Rs 1.5lakh crore.
MamataBanerjee
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JUNE30
HOURS AFTER PrimeMinisterNarendraModi announced ex-tension of the free foodgrainscheme till November, theCongress on Tuesday hit out athim for neither unveiling anysubstantivesteptoproviderelieftothepeopleandbringtheecon-omy back on track nor givingChinaatoughmessage.Itsaidhisaddress was much ado aboutnothing.“Tu idhar udhar ki na baat
kar/yehbatakikafilakaiseluta/mu-jhe rehzano se gila to hain/par terirahbari ka sawaal hai,” tweetedsenior Congress leader RahulGandhi, rephrasinganUrducou-plet,soonaftertheaddress.“We had great expectations
from the Prime Minister, andonce again, he belied all our ex-pectations. We expected theprimeminister to talk about asubstantialstepagainstthepan-
demic.Wewere expecting himto talk about the fact that therehas been a massive economicruin.Howis theeconomygoingtocomebackontrack?“Wethoughthewasgoing to
speakaboutthe14crorejobsthatareextinguished.Howwill thosejobscomeback?Wethoughthe'sgoingtotalkaboutpeoplewhosewageshavebeencutdown,howcould that be restored. Wethoughthe is going to talk about10croreworkerswhohavegoneback to their villages….aboutthem, about their well-being,”Congress spokesperson SupriyaShrinatesaid.Leaders of Left parties toohit
outatthePrimeMinister.CPI general secretaryDRaja
said,“Ithastakensuchalongtimefor thePrimeMinister tounder-stand the huge devastation oflivelihoodcausedbyCovid-19likemass unemployment, povertyandhungerinthecountryandthemigrantlabourcrisis.”He said all the parties have
beendemanding free ration andRs7500cashtransfer tothepoorfor six months. “But no wordabout cash transfer andnowordaboutuniversalisationofthepub-lic distribution system eventhoughhereferredtoonenation,one ration card andnoword onincreasing the work days andwages ofMGNREGA andno in-crease inMSP for farmers. Thegovernmentisburdeningthepeo-plebyhikingthefuelpriceseveryday...”hesaid.CPM general secretary
Sitaram Yechury tweetedTuesdayevening,“Modimustre-leasemoneyfromthethousandsof crores of rupees collected intheprivatetrust fundtocombatCovid for freeprovisionof 10kggrains permonth for 6monthstoallneedy.”TheCongress said theexpec-
tation was that the PMwould“lookChinaintheeyeandgatherthecourageforsometoughtalk.”
FULLREPORTON
www.indianexpress.com
Much ado about nothing: Oppn
PM’sspeech:ActualexpenditureunderPMGKAYmaybeRs50,000crore less
Abroadcastof thePM’sspeechinAhmedabad,Tuesday.Reuters
Two dead, four hospitalised after gasleak in Visakhapatnam pharma plant
Free ration scheme until June 2021: Mamata
Ahmedabad
13THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY, JULY1,2020
GOVT&POLITICS
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
DELHICONFIDENTIAL
GRACE IN GIVING UP
THEGOVERNMENT’SnotificationonMondayextending thetermof the country’s two top legal officers tookmany in thefraternitybysurprise.WhileSolicitorGeneralof IndiaTusharMehra’s tenure has been extended by another full term ofthreeyears,AttorneyGeneral for IndiaKKVenugopal’s termhasbeen extendedonly for a year. The truth is, although thegovernmentwaskeenonretainingtheveteranforafullterm,Venugopal himself had expressed doubts owing to his ad-vancedage.He turns90nextyear.
PORTRAIT PLAN
ALTHOUGHLOCKDOWNhasputaspannerinmanyplans,theIndianCouncil forCulturalRelations(ICCR)ishopingtonot letthis pause its plans for August. ICCR president VinaySahasrabuddhehadplannedtoinstallalife-sizeportraitoffor-merPrimeMinisterAtalBihariVajpayeeat ICCRheadquartersonhisseconddeathanniversaryinAugust.Whilethelockdownthreatened toupsethisplans, it appearsoncourseagainafterUnlock1.0wasannounced. In fact, thetrickier issuewasmak-ing a case for the portrait. But this issuewas negotiated on atechnicalground—thatVajpayeewasaformerICCRpresidentwhowent on to become the PrimeMinister. Vajpayee hadservedasex-officiopresidentofICCRunderitsthenruleswhenhewasForeignministerinthepost-EmergencyJanatagovern-ment.Incidentally,PVNarasimhaRaoistheotherformerICCRpresident to become the PM. One wonders whether theCongresswillnextpushforRao’sportrait tobeputup.
POWER PLAY
EVENAS the coronavirus outbreak rages in Delhi, there aremurmurswithin theRailways that its central hospital treat-ingCovid-19patientsinthecapital isplaguedbyapowertus-sle between the two top doctors. A position in the hospitalwasrecentlyelevatedwithoutapprovalof theAppointmentsCommittee of the Cabinet,whereas a similar position in themedicaldepartmentwasnotgiventhatelevation.Theeleva-tion, officials say, resulted in creating two administrativepowercentresinthehospitalandisnowcreatingproblemsinmicro-managementof issuesevenascases rise.
BJP GENERAL secretary RAMMADHAV speaks to The IndianExpress on the LAC showdownand India’s prospects in post-Covidworld.Excerpts:
Youhavebeentalking
aboutIndia’sprospectsof
emergingasagloballeaderin
thepost-Covidera.Howdo
youassessthescenarionow?
Alotofchangeswilltakeplacein the global order post Covid...There’s already a lot of talk overtheefficacyof global institutionscreated 25 years ago. This is the75th anniversary of theUNalsoandthere’ssomuchtalkabouttheless effectiveness or relevanceoftheUNinthepresentsituation.Allthesesuggestthatpost-Covid,theworldorderisgoingtoseealotofnewdevelopments... and in thatchanged scenario, India has toplayaproactiverole.Becausethenewworld order is going to bemoreIndo-PacificcentricasitwascentredoverPacificAtlanticinthelast century...We are one of themajorpowersinthisregion,soweshouldbepreparedtoplayama-jorrole.
Doyouseerecent
developmentsattheborder
changingit?
Firstly, wemust rememberwhateverhappenedat the Indo-TibetanborderbetweenIndiaand
China is not something that hashappened for the first time.Casualties happenedafter a longtime, but incursions andbordertension have been there fordecades. After PrimeMinister(Narendra)Moditookover, thereis a change in approach.What Imeanbychange is that todayweareconfronting,weareengagingphysically also to prevent themfromapproaching intoour terri-tory. It happened in Doklam in2017andGalwanValley in2020.Thathascertainlyattractedtheat-tentionnotonlyofChina,buttheentireworld...
Doesthisepisodenot
underlinethefailureof
summit-leveldiplomacywith
China?
India has alwaysmaintainedgood relationswith all its neigh-bours, including China. Evenwhen Indian andChinese forceswere standing eyeball to eyeball1986onwards,summit-levelvisittook place and then PrimeMinister Rajiv Gandhi visitedChinaandmetDengXiaoping... Idon’t think there is any reasonwhyweshouldassumethatbor-derconflicts,whateverishappen-ingnow,shouldleadustoendbi-lateralrelations.WeshoulduseittoputpressureonChinatodesistfrom these activities. That’swhyourgovernmenthastakenanew
approachi.e.proactivediplomacywhile having strong groundposturing...
Butthenwhatwentwrong?
Whythesethingsarehappen-ing at the Indo-Tibetanborder isanyone’sguess.Differentscholarshave given different interpreta-tions. One fact is that in the lastfive-sixyears,thereisanoticeablechangeonoursidewithregardtobordermanagement.Wearenolonger taking incursions by PLA
lightly. We are determined tostrengthenourborderinfrastruc-ture,secureeveryinchofourter-ritory forwhichweare ready tophysicallyengagewiththeintrud-ers. This policy shift which hasstarted in the last 4-5 years hascertainlyalertedtheChineseside.The Doklam stand-off fromChina’s point of viewwas totallya big jolt to them— that Indiacouldmobiliseitsforces,refusetochangemobilisationuntil Chinawithdrew its structure... Manyotherreasonsarecitedandoneofthemisthepresent internalsitu-ation inChina.Whatever is hap-pening intheChinese leadershipandtheCPCinfluencesitsmoves.CPCisaveryhierarchicalorganisa-tionwith former elders, formerpresidentsandtheirfamilieshold-ingalotofcommand,respectandaswayovertheparty’sinfrastruc-tureandmechanism.It’snotpru-dentformetospeakatlength,butmanysuchthingscouldhave ledtotherecentdevelopments.
There’saviewthat Indiahad
succumbedtoChinese
pressurewhenMEAissued
instructions in2018against
participationinanyeventto
mark60yearsof theDalai
Lama’sexodusfromTibet.
Yourcomment?
HisHolinesstheDalaiLamaisourreveredguest,heisspreading
themessageofBuddhismandwerespect him for hiswisdomas aspiritualleader...Inthelastfive-sixyears,ourgovernmenthasalwayssentofficialrepresentativestopar-ticipate in the events of hisHoliness. Iattendedlastyearandtheyearbeforethat...
But in2018,MEAadvised
centralandstate
functionaries toavoidevents
organisedbyTibetanleaders.
Nottomyknowledge.
Therulingpartyandthe
governmentareunder
criticismforthe
neighbourhoodpolicy.Even
Bangladeshwasriledupby
theCitizenshipAmendment
Act?DidNepalsurpriseyou?
Wehave good relationshipswithourneighbours...someoftheneighbourhoodcountrieswouldhaveanissueasafalloutof inter-nalissues.Butthoseareverytem-porary and through diplomaticchannels,wesortthemout.Today,other than the traditional prob-lemwithPakistanandChina,wehave noticed somemisunder-standingontheIndia-Nepalfront.With others,wehave very goodbilateralrelations.Nepal’spositionishistorically
not tenable. There couldbe theirown internal reasons for takingthisposition.Buttherelationship
between India andNepal is notjust a relationship between twocountries, it is a relationship ofthousandsofyears.Atthegovern-mentlevel,atthediplomaticlevel,there’s an engagement and I amconfident the issue will beresolved.
Thegovernmenthastaken
somestepsagainstChinese
businesses.Aretheygoingto
beeffectivewhenyoudoit
withoutevenmentioning
China?
Thinking about the actionagainstChineseappshasbeengo-ing on for sometime... Now thegovernmenthastakenadecisiontobansomeofthem.Asfarastheboycott of Chinese products isconcerned, onemust rememberthegovernmenthasnotgivenanycall, it’sapeople’ssentiment.
Doesthisveiledthreatwork
withChina?
Well, why did MahatmaGandhigiveacalltoboycottforeignproducts during the freedommovement?Why did Savarkartakethatcall?It’sanationalsenti-ment.Whenpeoplefeelanguishedaboutaneighbour’s action, therewill be a strong sentiment.Obviouslyitwillhaveitsowneco-nomicimpact.
FULL INTERVIEWON
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THE EXPRESS
INTERVIEWWITH
RAMMADHAV
BJPGENERALSECRETARY
‘India’s policy shift in last four-five yearsalerted China, Doklamwas big jolt to them’
PRESSTRUSTOFINDIAISLAMABAD, JUNE30
A DAY after India rubbishedPakistan’s claim that it was be-hind a deadly terrorist attack inKarachi, PrimeMinister ImranKhan on Tuesday raised the is-sue inParliament.Fourheavilyarmedmilitants
onMondaymadeanattempt totake over the Pakistan StockExchange building in Karachi,killingthreesecurityguardsandapoliceofficerbeforebeingshotdead by security forces. TheBalochistan Liberation Army-linkedMajeed Brigade claimedresponsibilityfortheattack.Thegroup isbanned inPakistan, theUKandtheUS.“WhathappenedinMumbai,
they wanted to do the same.They wanted to spread uncer-
tainty. We have no doubt thiswasdonebyIndia,"KhansaidintheNationalAssembly.“But our security forces
averted abig tragedy as the ter-roristswerecarryingheavyarmsand ammunition to take thepeople hostage in the StockExchangeandkillthemtocreatean environment of fear andun-
certainty,”hesaid.OnMonday,PakistanForeign
Minister Shah MehmoodQureshi had made a similarclaim, referring to “externallysupported terrorism”.ReactingsharplytoQureshi’s
remarks, India described it as“absurdcomments”.Ministry of External Affairs’
spokespersonAnuragSrivastavahad said, “Pakistan cannot shifttheblameonIndiaforitsdomes-ticproblems.”Initsstatement,theMEAhad
said, “Unlike Pakistan, India hasnohesitationincondemningter-rorism anywhere in theworld,including in Karachi… ForeignMinisterQureshimaywishtore-flectonthis,asalsohisowngov-ernment’sposition,includinghisPrimeMinister’s description ofthe global terrorist (Osama binLaden)asamartyr.”
MANOJCGNEWDELHI, JUNE30
SETTOtakeoverformallyaspres-ident of the Karnataka PradeshCongressCommitteeonThursday,DKShivakumaronTuesdaysaidhewantstoconverttheCongress’smassbase intoa cadrebase.AndheisattemptingtodosomethingwhichnoCongress stateunithasdonebefore.Virtualralliesenteredthepo-
litical lexicon recently after theBJPheldaseriesofsuchralliesto
reach out to people in the post-Covidworld.Shivakumar,aformerminis-
terinthestategovernment,nowplans to go one step further bytakinghisfunctiontoeverygrampanchayat inKarnataka.So,LEDtelevisionscreensare
being put up at 7,800 locationsacrossthestate, includinginthe6,200-odd gram panchayats ofthestate,andtheywillallbecon-nectedusingtheZoomplatform.Shivakumar said a total of
nearly 10 lakh peoplewill wit-ness the function. A big screenwhichwill formthebackdropofthemain function in Bengaluruwillshowimagesofthefunctionstakingplace at these7,800 loca-tions. “Theywill take thepledgewithme,”saidShivakumar,whoisgoingtoheadafaction-riddenstateunitwheremostofthesen-
ior leadersdon’t seeeyetoeye.TheCongresshighcommand
thought about namingShivakumarastheKarnatakaunitchiefin2017,butmanyinthestateunithadthenopposedtheidea.Shivakumar said his first
agenda is tomake a cadre basefor the Congress. “The voice of aCongressworker should be thevoiceoftheCongresspresident...What is thedesireof themasseshas to be first viewed by theleaderandthenitshouldbepre-sentedtotheleadership,”hetoldThe IndianExpress.
SUKHBIRSIWACHCHANDIGARH, JUNE30
UNIONMINISTER of State andFaridabadMPKrishanPalGurjarseems all set to replace incum-bentSubhashBaralaas thenextHaryanaBJPchief.Highly-placedsourcesinthe
party have told The IndianExpress thataformalannounce-mentnamingGurjarasthenextHaryanaunitchief is likely tobemade soon. They said the partyhigh command hasmade a de-cision following Haryana ChiefMinisterManohar Lal Khattar’s
consent forhisappointment.BJPleaders,meanwhile,have
startedcongratulatingGurjarforthenewresponsibility.TheUnionMinisterhadheld
the responsibility of Haryanapartychief from2009to2013.This time, sources said, for-
merHaryanaministers CaptainAbhimanyu and O P Dhankar,
two-timeMLAsMahipalDhandaand Kamal Gupta, KurukshetraMPNayabSainiandBJPHaryanaunit general secretary SandeepJoshiwerealso intherace.Sources said a few senior
functionaries in the party highcommand were supportingCaptain Abhimanyu andDhankar. However, the ChiefMinisterapprovedGurjar’snametoensure“unanimityintheelec-tionof stateBJPchief”, theysaid.Dhankar is considered close
toBJPpresidentJPNadda,whileCaptainisknownforhisproxim-itytoUnionHomeMinisterAmitShah. Dhankar and Abhimanyu
had earlier held important or-ganisational responsibilities inthe party. On the other hand,Mahipal Dhanda, Kamal Gupta,Nayab Saini and Sandeep Joshiwere considered to be from theChiefMinister’s camp.Gurjar,who belongs to a vil-
lage in Faridabad district, hadjoinedpoliticsduringhis collegedays. In 1994, hewas elected ascouncillor for FaridabadMunicipalCorporation.Twoyearlater, hewas elected toHaryanaAssemblywhenhedefeatedsen-iorleaderMahenderPratapfromMewlaMaharajpurconstituencyofFaridabaddistrict.
SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, JUNE30
USSENATORMarcoRubio,whowas one of the RepublicanPresidential candidates in 2016beforebeingdefeatedbycandi-date Donald Trump in the pri-maries,hascalledChina’sactionsat the LAC in Ladakh “unwar-ranted& lawless armedaggres-sionby theCommunist Party ofChina”. He also said that NewDelhihasmadeitclearthatitwillnotbebulliedbyBeijing.BritishMPs have also raised
concerns in British Parliamentover China’s “bullying behav-iour” in the dispute with Indiaandthe“delayeddeclaration”ofCovid-19 and urged an internalreviewintotheUK’sdependenceon Chinawith a view to reducecollaborationwith thecountry.On Tuesday, Marco Rubio
tweeted that he spoke withTaranjit Singh Sandhu, India’sAmbassador to the US, “to ex-press our solidarity with thepeople of India as they firmlyconfrontunwarranted&lawlessarmed aggression by theCommunistPartyofChina.Indiahasmade it clear, theywill notbebulliedbyBeijing.”Earlier,USCongressmenTed
Yoho, Ami Bera, Brad Sherman,Lance Gooden and SenateMajority Leader MitchMcConnell have slammedBeijing for theongoing tension.In London, Conservative
Party MP Ian Duncan Smithraised the issueaspart of anur-gent question in the House ofCommons onMonday onmis-treatment by the Chinese gov-ernmentoftheUyghurminorityinXinjiangprovince.Given Beijing’s appalling
recordonhumanrights,theirat-tackonfreedomsinHongKong,bullyingbehaviourinborderdis-putesfromtheSouthChinaseasto India, among others, the(British) government will nowinitiateaninternalreviewof theUK’sdependenceonChina,witha view to significantly reducingthatdependence, Smithasked.UK’sMinister for Asia Nigel
Adamsrespondedtosaythatthegovernment has been regularlyraising its concernswith Chinaover various issues.WITH PTI
INPUTSFROMLONDON
SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI,JUNE30
EXTERNAL AFFAIRSMinister SJaishankar spoke tohis counter-part inFrance Jean-YvesLeDrianonTuesdayanddiscussed issuesof “contemporary security andpoliticalimportance”,aclearrefer-ence to the border stand-off be-tweenIndiaandChina.Jaishankar’scall totheFrench
foreignminister indicated thatIndia has started briefingmem-bers of the United NationsSecurity Council (UNSC) on thesituation on the Line of ActualControl. Top Indian officials andministershave spokenbyphoneand had meetings with theircounterpartsinothercountries.“Wide-ranging discussion
with French FM @JY_LeDrian.Covered issues of contemporarysecurityandpoliticalimportance.Also agreed to address#COVID-related challenges in health andaviation. Thanked him for thestrongsupportin#UNSCandlookforward toworking together,”JaishankarpostedonTwitter.The defence minister of
France, Florence Parly, hadwrit-ten toDefenceMinister RajnathSinghonMonday tocondole thedeaths of 20 soldiers inGalwanValleyintheJune15clashwiththeChinesearmy.“Thiswasahardblowagainst
thesoldiers,theirfamilies,andthenation,”shewrote.“Inthesediffi-cult circumstances, Iwish to ex-pressmy steadfast and friendlysupport, alongwith that of theFrencharmedforces.Irequestyoutokindlyconveymyheartfeltcon-dolences to the entire Indianarmed forces as well as to thegrievingfamilies.”Officials said the French de-
fenceminister had recalled that“IndiaisFrance’sstrategicpartner
intheregion”,and“reiteratedhercountry'sdeep solidarity”.“The French armed forces
ministeralsoexpressedherreadi-ness to meet Rajnath Singh inIndia,athisinvitation,tofollowupontheirongoingdiscussions,”anofficialsaid.India is likely to receive six
fully-loaded French Rafalefighteraircraftbytheendofnextmonth. The warjets will comefitted withMeteor long-rangeair-to-airmissiles,whichareex-pected to boost the capabilitiesof the IndianAir Force.Also on Monday, Foreign
SecretaryHarshVardhanShringlaand his counterpart, SecretaryGeneraloftheMinistryofEuropeand Foreign Affairs of France,FrançoisDelattre, reviewedovera video link the progress of themultifaceted cooperation be-tween the two countries, theMinistry of External Affairs said.The two officials “exchangedviews on regional and global is-sues ofmutual interest”, andonthe Covid-19 pandemic, theMinistrysaidinastatement.In Moscow, India’s
Ambassador D Bala VenkateshVarmametwithRussia’sDeputyMinisterofForeignAffairsSergeyARyabkovonMonday.“Duringtheconversation,top-
ical issues of the internationalagenda ofmutual interestwerediscussed,” the Russian foreign
ministry said ina statement. TheRussian embassy in NewDelhitweeted, “The diplomats dis-cussedurgentinternationalissuesofcommoninterest.”Varma had spoken with
Russia’sDeputyForeignMinisterIgorMorgulovonJune17,twodaysaftertheclashinGalwan.“Theof-ficialsdiscussedregionalsecurity,includingdevelopments on theLineofActualControlonthebor-derbetweenIndiaandChinaintheHimalayas,”Russia’sforeignmin-istryhadsaidinabriefstatement.On June 26, India and
Germanyheld foreign secretary-level consultations virtually.Foreign Secretary Shringla andMiguel Berger, state secretary oftheGermanfederalforeignofficediscussedbilateralcooperationinvarious areas, and exchangedviewson “regional andglobal is-suesofmutualinterest”.Germanyisakeypartner—it
is on theUNSCas anon-perma-nent member, and holds theUNSCpresidency for themonthofJuly.Germanywillalsoassumepresidency of the Council of theEuropeanUnion (EU) from JulythroughDecember 2020. Itwillchair the meetings of the EUCouncil, andwill be responsibleforpushingEUlegislation.“The two sides took stock of
the extensive cooperation in ad-dressingthechallengesofCovid-19,includingsupplyofmedicines,equipmentandtechnology.Theyagreedtoadvancethevariousar-eas of bilateral cooperation andinitiate consultations in the con-textofIndia’supcomingmember-ship of theUNSecurity Council(2021-22) andG20 Presidency(2022) andGermany’s presentmembership of theUNSecurityCouncil and forthcomingPresidency of the EuropeanUnion,” theMEA said in a state-mentissuedlastweek.
India starts to reachout, Jaishankar dialscounterpart in France
EMBASSY OFFICIALS RETURN
Twenty-eightstaffers, includingdiplomatsof the IndianHighCommission,cameto Indiawhile39staffmembersofPakistanHighCommissionreturnedtoPakistanvia theAttari-Wagahborder.Thiscameaweekafter IndiaaskedPakistantoreducethestrengthof itsHighCommission inDelhiby50%,andsaid itwoulddothesameat itsmission in Islamabad.Themovecameafter twoIndianHighCommissionstaffersweredetained inPakistan.ANI
Day after Delhi’s denial, Imranstresses: Attack done by India
S JaishankarspoketoJean-YvesLeDrian
DKShivakumar
MarcoRubio
FaridabadMPandUnionMinisterofState
‘WhathappenedinMumbai,theywantedtodothesame’
As Shivakumar takes charge, Karnataka Congto put LED at every panchayat to screen event
Krishan Pal Gurjar set to be Haryana BJP chief
US Senator slamsChina’s ‘lawlessarmed aggression’,UK MPs raise concern
Ahmedabad
14THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY, JULY1,2020
THEOUTBREAK
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
In Assam’s flood relief camps, tackling Covid comes as a new challengeABHISHEKSAHAGOALPARA(ASSAM), JUNE30
ARATI DAS, a housewife in her30s,hadto leavehomewithherfamily when No. 1 BaladmariChar,ariverinesettlementonthebanks of the Brahmaputra inAssam’s Goalpara district, wasinundated four days ago infloods.Das’shusbandisafisherman.
The couple realised that acrowded relief camp could beharmful for their children, aged10 and 14, in the times of thecoronavirus pandemic. So theysent both to her sister’s home
and came to the relief camp inNewGoalparaHighSchoolinthetown, some 150 km from statecapitalGuwahati.“We saved ourselves from
the flood, but at the camp wehave to be careful to not get in-fectedbythevirus.Weareaskedto wash hands frequently andwe are wearing masks,” Dassaid.Leaving home – for days –
every year during floods is notnewforthefamily.Whqatisnewthis time is the fearof Covid-19.By Tuesday, the floods had
left 27 people dead, includingthree today, and over 25,000were lodged in different relief
campsacross thestate.At the same time, Covid-19
cases have also increased — byTuesday,thestatereported7,835cases,ofwhich2,488wereactiveand 12 patients had died.Guwahati, which is goingthroughaspike, isunderastrictlockdownuntil July12.In Goalpara, 1,443 people
were in 14 flood relief campsacross thedistrictonTuesday.Krishna Sarma, a teacher at
thehigh school and in chargeofthe relief camp, has to ensureeveryone follows norms of hy-gieneandphysicaldistancingasprescribed by the government.For many years, Sarma has
helpedadministrativelyruntheschool whenever it has beenturned into a relief camp.“Thingslikemasksandsoapsaresuppliedbythegovernment,butI have tomake sure people fol-lowthenorms,”hesaid.A Goalpara resident, he
worksforover12hourseachday,looking after relief material atthecamp,maintainingadetailedlist of people lodged there, andadvisingpeople.Earlier this year, the state
government had issued a set ofnewguidelines toall districts toprovide flood relief in the timesof Covid. Lessening thenumberof inmates, re-calculating the
spaceeachpersongetsandpro-viding masks and sanitisersweresomeof therevisedmeas-ures that the state governmentadvised in its freshguidelines.Officials said that once a
campreachesdesignatedcapac-ity, they are required to requestpeopletoshifttothenextnearbycamp,with transportation pro-videdby thegovernment.Sarmasaid, “Iamrepeatedly
warning people that theymustbecareful,becauseif theyarenot—andif therearemorethanthefixed number of people in a re-liefcamp—thenallmightgetin-fected even if one person is in-fected.” Nonetheless, the
challenges for the administra-tion andHealthofficials are im-mense.Thepermittedcapacityatthe
school—keepingCovid inmind—was80,butonTuesdayatleast154 peoplewere being accom-modated.“Despiteourrequests,people
want tostay togetherwith theirfamilies and relatives in thesamecamp.Thereisnowayout.Whatwillyoudo?Thereisanis-sue of humanity —we cannotjust drag away people,” saidBipulKumarSarma,principaloftheschool.
FULLREPORTON
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Healthofficials takeaccountofhealthof those lodgedatarelief campinGoalpara.AbhishekSaha
SREENIVASJANYALAHYDERABAD, JUNE30
ALARMEDBY the high numberof Covid-19 positive cases afterit ramped up testing, theTelanganagovernmenthasnowscaled it down. The increase intestinghadresultedinthenum-ber of positive cases in the statetripling ina fortnight.Till June15, therewere5,193
Covid-19 cases in the state. Thiswent up to 15,394 by June 29.Afterincreasingtheteststoover4,000 per day on June 24, au-thorities brought it down to2,648on June29.After facing flak from the
High Court for low testing, thestategovernmenthadonJune17submittedanaffidavitthatitwill
conduct50,000 tests in10days.Thegovernment scaledup test-ing from an average of 700 perday to over 3,000, but wasalarmed by the high number ofsamplestestingpositive.Forex-ample, 2,477 tests were con-ducted on June 19 out of which499samples testedpositive.OnJune 26, 4,374 tests were con-ducted and 985 samples testedpositive. Asmany as 1087 sam-ples tested positive on June 27outof the3,923samples tested.On June 29, the authoritiesscaled down to conducting2,648testsbut975samplesstilltestedpositive.Chief Secretary Somesh
Kumarsaidthegovernmentwastesting as per ICMR guidelines.“We are doing focused and tar-geted testing wherever neces-
sary.Wearedoingenough testsasperICMRguidelines,’’hesaid.More than74per centof the
cases -- 11,527 -- have been re-portedfromGreaterHyderabadMunicipalCorporation(GHMC)area. Chief Minister KChandrashekar Rao has calledfor a Cabinet meeting onWednesday to decidewhetherto imposea lockdown inGHMCareastocontainthespreadoftheoutbreak.Askedwhy the government
washesitant to increase testing,HealthMinister Etela Rajendersaid theywere conducting therequirednumberoftestsperdayonhighlyvulnerablegroupslikemedicalstaffandhealthandsan-itationworkers. “These groupsare more exposed to the virusthananyoneelse sowearecon-
ducting tests among thosegroups. Hyderabad is a big, cos-mopolitancityand likeallotherbig cities, there is an increase inthe number of cases,’’ he said.The government has also askedprivate labs not to entertain re-quests frompeoplewithoutanysymptomstoget tested.Meanwhile,thegovernment
on Tuesday told the high courtthat it was postponing all com-mon entrance tests in the stateafter thecourtaskedhowitwasplanning to hold the exams iftherewasapossibilityof impos-inga lockdown.The court has also asked the
state government’s opinion byJuly 9 on cancelling final examsofUGandPGcoursesexamsandpromoting students based onpastperformance.
Alarmedbyspike inCovidcases,Telanganascalesdowntesting
MAKING SPACE
WorkerssetupbedsforaCovid-19centreatanindoorstadiumatDelhi’sCommonwealthGamesVillageTuesday.PraveenKhanna
KAUNAINSHERIFFMNEWDELHI, JUNE30
RESEARCHERSLEADINGtheRE-COVERYclinicaltrialintheUKonMondayannounced that forpa-tientshospitalisedwithCovid-19andnotonaventilator,lopinavir-ritonavir,theantiviraltreatmentcommonly used to treat HIV, isnotaneffectivetreatment.Announcing results of the
lopinavir-ritonavir arm of thetrial, researchers from OxfordUniversity said in a statementthatthedata“ruleoutanymean-ingful mortality benefit oflopinavir-ritonavir” in hospi-talisedCovid-19patients.The researchers, however,
alsounderlined that they “wereunable to study a large numberofpatientsoninvasivemechan-ical ventilation because of diffi-culty administering the drug topatientsonventilators”.“As such, we cannot make
conclusionsabouttheeffective-ness inmechanically ventilatedpatients. Full results will bemadeavailableassoonaspossi-ble,” the researchers said.
The anti-retroviral druglopinavir is a protease inhibitor,the class of drugs approved forthe treatment of HIV; lopinaviris formulated in combinationwith another protease inhibitorritonavir,toincreasethehalf-lifeof lopinavir, which is the dura-tionof actionof adrug.Inthetrial,atotalof1,596pa-
tients were randomised tolopinavir-ritonavirandcomparedwith 3,376patients randomisedto usual care alone; of these pa-tients, 4 per cent required inva-sivemechanicalventilationwhentheyenteredthetrial,70percentrequiredoxygenalone,and26percent didnot require any respira-toryintervention.“Therewasnosignificantdif-
ferenceintheprimaryendpoint
of 28-daymortality and the re-sultswereconsistentindifferentsubgroupsofpatients.Therewasalsonoevidenceofbeneficialef-fects on the risk of progressionto mechanical ventilation orlength of hospital stay,” the re-searchers said.Peter Horby, Professor of
Emerging Infectious DiseasesandGlobalHealthintheNuffieldDepartment of Medicine,University of Oxford, and ChiefInvestigator of the trial, said,“Todaywe release the third setof results from the RECOVERYtrial. These preliminary resultsshow that for patients hospi-talisedwithCovid-19andnotona ventilator, lopinavir-ritonaviris not an effective treatment. In100days,theRECOVERYtrialhasprovided results enablingchange in global practice threetimes. This extraordinary na-tionalefforthasshownthattwodrugs used to treat hospitalisedCovid patients throughout theworld,hydroxychloroquineandlopinavir-ritonavir, do not im-prove survival, whilst one drugthat was not recommended,dexamethasone, saves lives.”
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, JUNE30
THEMIRABhayanderMunicipalCorporation (MBMC) and theThaneMunicipal Corporation(TMC)will observe a total lock-downfor10daysbeginningJuly1 and 2, respectively, in view ofthe rising number of Covid-19cases in theseurbancentres.On June 3 when lockdown
ruleswereeasedinMaharashtra,TMC had reported 4,019 casesand84deaths.Sincethen,whilethe number of cases has in-creasedby139percentto9,644,fatalities have jumped by 275percent to315.MiraBhayander,meanwhile,
has registered a 385 per centjumpinthenumberofCovid-19cases during the same period –from699to3,396cases.Itsfatal-ityratehasincreasedby861percent–from13to125deathsdur-ing thesameperiod.While lakhs of people who
workinMumbaistaywithinthejurisdictionof thesetwomunic-ipal corporations, authoritiessaid only government employ-ees and staffers of private com-paniesinvolvedinessentialserv-iceswill be allowed to travel toMumbai forwork.InMiraBhayandar, the lock-
downwill begin from 5 pm onWednesdayandcontinuetillJuly
10midnight. Apart from relax-ations granted to pharmaceuti-cal companiesandmilkshops–between 5 am and 10 am – allother shopswill remainclosed.People can order in eatables
like vegetables and meat be-tween9amto11pm.Atpresent,there are 812 active positivecases in thearea.On Monday, TMC had first
announced and thendeferred acompletelockdowninThane.OnTuesday, however, it issued anorder announcing a lockdownfromJuly2to12,withminorex-ceptions for industrialunits.While by and large, people
havebeenadvisedtoremainin-doors unless there is an emer-gency and shops apart fromthose selling essential supplieshavebeenaskedtoremainshut,leeway has been given to someindustrial units to remainopen,especially those linked withpharmaceutical units andfarming.AnorderissuedbyTMCchief
Dr Vipin Sharma said the lock-downwillbebeginfrom7amonThursday and end on 7 am onJuly12. It added that apart fromavailingemergencyservicesandpurchasing perishable goods,people should not step out oftheirhouses.Those foundviolatinghome
quarantine ruleswill be sent toaTMCquarantinecentre.
SOFIAHSANCHANDIGARH, JUNE30
THE PUNJAB andHaryanaHighCourtTuesdayruledthatallpri-vate schools inPunjab,whetherconductingonlineclassesornot,willbeentitledtocollect tuitionfee and also permitted them tocollect theadmission fee.A single bench of Justice
Nirmaljit Kaur also allowed theschools to collect other chargesfor the lockdown period, butwitha rider.Thecourtalsorestrainedthe
schools from increasing the feefor the ongoing academic ses-sion (2020-21) and orderedthem to adopt the same feestructureasof previousyear.The court declined to inter-
ferewiththegovernmentdirec-tionaskingschoolstoallowpar-ents to pay fee on monthly orquarterlybasis,andalsowiththegovernment order asking themnot to resort to removal of anyteacher or reduce themonthlysalaryof teachingornon-teach-ingstaff.The government earlier had
allowed only those schoolswhichwere conducting onlineclasses to collect tuition fees.
While all the schools had beenalso asked to defer the last datefordepositingadmissionfee,thegovernment had prohibitedthemfromtakingotherchargesliketransport,buildingexpensesduring theperiodof closure.The orderswere challenged
before thehighcourtbyvariousschoolmanagements includingIndependent SchoolsAssociation andPunjab SchoolsWelfareAssociation.Thecourtsaidevenifschools
donotprovideonlineeducation,theyarestillrequiredtomeettheexpenses likepaymentof salaryandbuilding, andelectricity ex-penses.Itaddedtherewasnora-tionaleincreatingaclassificationwhen obligations and basic ex-pensesoftheschoolsremainthesame, irrespective of whetherthey are conducting onlineclassesornot.“In these circumstances,
therecannotbeaseparatedirec-tion for the schoolswhoarenotoffering online classes.Therefore, direction to the pri-vatelyunaidedinstitutionswhoarenotgivingonlineclassesnottochargetuitionfeeforthecon-cerned period is definitely dis-criminatory and arbitrary,” theHCruled.
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBENGALURU,JUNE30
AFTER A video emerged on so-cialmediapurportedlyshowingbodiesofCovid-19victimsbeingbroughtoutof ahearsevananddumped intoacommonpit, thedeputy commissioner ofKarnataka’s Ballari district hasorderedan inquiry.“Iwillnotliketocommenton
the video. I will check up aboutthe visuals and order for actionas required,” Ballari DeputyCommissioner S S Nakul said.“The standard operating proce-duredoesnotspecifyanymeth-ods of disposal of bodies. Butpreferablyit isbettertodosepa-rateburials.”In thevideo,whichwasshot
on a mobile phone, workerswearing PPE kits are seen pur-portedlydumpingbodies into apit.Snatchesofconversationsinthe video seem to indicate oneworker asking whether all sixbodies should be put in one pitor inseparatepits.Reacting to the video, state
Congress president D KShivakumarsaid,“It'sdisturbingto see bodies of Covid patientsbeingdumpedinhumanlyintoa
pit inBallari. Is thiscivility?Thisisareflectionofhowthegovern-ment has handled this Coronacrisis... Iurgethegovttotakeim-mediate action and ensure thatthisdoesn'thappenagain.”Withnoofficial funeralsper-
mitted in Covid-19 deaths, andfamilyandfriendsusuallynotal-lowedonaccount of being con-tactsof thevictim, thefinal ritesinmostcaseshavebeendonebymunicipal andhealthworkers.SomeNGOs have facilitated
dignifiedcremationsandburials
incities suchasBengaluru.Bellari has reported 834
Covid-19 cases and asmany as29 of the 246 deaths related tothe virus in Karnataka have oc-curred in thedistrict.According to the official
health department bulletin, sixdeaths occurred on June 29alone, including thatoffourwomen.Amongthefour
womenwas a 31-year-oldwhowasadmittedtohospitalonJune28 after complaining of breath-lessness.
In thevideo,whichwasshotonamobilephone,workerswearingPPEkitsareseendumpingbodies intoapit.
SANTOSHSINGHPATNA, JUNE30
AWEDDINGinruralPatnaafort-night ago has emerged as a su-per-spreaderofCovid-19,settingoffwhatseemstobethebiggestinfection chain in Bihar so far,with113peopletestingpositive.Thegroom,whowasrunning
high fever, died on June 17, twodays after thewedding in a vil-lage in Paliganj sub-division ofPatnadistrict,about22kmfromthe state capital, and was cre-mated without a coronavirustest. Over 360 people fromPaliganj and adjoining towns ofNaubatpur and Bihta, to whichmembers of the bride’s familybelong, were tested as part ofcontact-tracing,andeffortswerestill on to find others, HealthDepartment officials saidTuesday.Thebrideisnotamongthe113whohavetestedpositive.Thoseinfectedincludeeither
the30-year-oldgroom’srelativesorguestsatthewedding.Fifteenof themare believed to have in-fected others.Most of them areasymptomatic and admitted toisolation centres in Bihta andPhulwarisharif.ThePaliganjsub-divisionhasbeendeclaredacon-tainmentzoneandsealed.A softwareengineerworking
inGurgaon, the 30-year-old ar-rivedathisvillageinPaliganjinthelastweekofMayforthewedding.A relative said, “Even thoughhewasfeelingunwellbyJune14andwanted thewedding deferred,familyheads frombothsidesad-visedagainstit,citinghugefinan-ciallossesifthearrangementshadtobecancelled.”Another relative, who at-
tended thewedding and testednegative,saidthatsincesomanydays had passed since the 30-year-old’s arrival, and he hadbeen keepingwell all along, no
onesuspectedCovid-19.“Asruralareas are almost Covid-free, wewererelaxed,” therelativesaid.By the day of the wedding,
the engineerwas running hightemperature. The relative saidthey were concerned but“prayedthatitwasnotCovidin-fection”. “He performed all thepre-weddingfunctionsaftertak-ingparacetamol.”On June 17, as his condition
worsened,thefamilyrushedthe30-year-old toAIIMS,Patna,buthe died on theway. It was afterthe family had cremated himthatsomeonetippedoff thedis-trict authorities.All close relatives who at-
tendedtheweddingweretestedon June 19, and 15 tested posi-tive. Between June 24 and 26, aspecial camp in the village col-lectedsamplesof364people.Ofthem,86testedpositive,officialssaid.OnMonday,thesenumberswere part of the state’s highestsingle-day spike, of 394 coron-aviruscases.Paliganj BlockDevelopment
Officer Chiranjeev Pandey said,“Our first prioritynow is topre-vent the infectionandbreakthechain.We have sealed parts oftheneighbouringMeethaKuan,Khagari and some parts of thesub-urban marketplace ofPaliganj.”Biharhassofarrecorded9,988
cases of coronavirus,with Patnaseeingthemaximum,at713.Thestate has a recovery rate of 77%,withactivecasesonly2,132.Sixty-eightpeoplehavediedsofar.
--WITHPTIINPUTS
Video shows Covid bodiesdumped into pit, probe ordered
MEANWHILE,INMUMBAI:Shopssellingnon-essentialgoodsreopenasapartof thelockdownrelaxations.AmitChakravarty
KARNATAKA
Groom dead, 113positive: Weddingemerges as Biharsuper-spreader
Accordingtoarelative,
thegroomperformed
all thepre-wedding
functionsafter taking
paracetamol
RECOVERYTRIAL
HIV drug not effective forhospitalised Covid patients noton ventilator: Researchers
HC: Punjab schools cancollect fee whether or notoffering online classes
Researchersalso
underlinedthat they
“wereunabletostudya
largenumberof
patientsoninvasive
mechanicalventilation
Complete lockdownin Mira Bhayander,Thane for 10 days
Ahmedabad
CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD
566,840India
240,578Italy
227,662Iran
314,159United Kingdom
275,999Chile
249,271Spain
2,683,000US
1,368,195Brazil
282,365Peru
TOTAL CONFIRMED: 10,350,645 DEATHCOUNT:506,827
Source: JohnsHopkinsUniversity,updatedat11pmonJune30. JHU’sIndiatallyandHealth
Ministry’stally(below)maynotmatchastheseareaccountedatdifferenttimes.
THEWORLD
646,929Russia
A LARGE number ofCovid-19 cases areasymptomatic, but re-searchers have differedon what percentagethese constitute of allcases. Now, a team hasstudied almost the en-tire population of asmall, quarantinedtown—VòinItaly,pop-ulation 3,200 — andfound that 40% of its cases wereasymptomatic. The studywas pub-lished inNatureonTuesday.The town of Vò experienced
Italy’s first Covid-19 death onFebruary21. Itwasput into immedi-ate quarantine for 14 days. Duringthis time, researchers testedmost of
the population forCovid-19, both at thestart of the lockdown(86% tested) and aftertwoweeks(72%tested).The testing revealed
that at the start of thelockdown, 2.6% of thepopulation (73 people)werepositive forCovid-19. After a couple ofweeks, only 1.2% (29
people)werepositive.Atbothtimes,around 40% of the positive casesshowed no symptoms (asympto-matic). The results also show it tookon average 9.3 days (range of 8-14days) for thevirus tobeclearedfromsomeone’s body.
Source: Imperial College London
PAPER
CLIPNEWRESEARCH
Covid testing of entire townfinds 40% cases asymptomatic
15
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
The business of Chinese appsSIMPLYPUT
@ieExplained
#ExpressExplained
If there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould like
explained, pleasewrite to [email protected] EXPLAINEDTHEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY, JULY1,2020
TOP 10STATES
INDIA COUNT: 5,66,840 (16,893 DEATHS)
1,69,883Maharashtra
86,224Tamil Nadu
17,660Rajasthan
22,828 UP
85,161 Delhi
31,938Gujarat
17,907West Bengal
14,210Haryana
Have a question on the COVID-19 outbreak andwhat you should/should not do?
Write to [email protected]
14,295Karnataka
15,394Telangana
UnionHealthMinistryupdateasof11pm,June30.Somestatesmayhavereportedhighernumbers.Onlystates/UTswithatleastonecaselistedabove.
3,34,822PATIENTSDISCHARGEDIN35STATESANDUNIONTERRITORIES
RESTOFINDIAAndamanandNicobarIslands 90AndhraPradesh 13891ArunachalPradesh 187Assam 7752Bihar 9640Chandigarh 435Chhattisgarh 2761DadraandNagarHaveli 203Goa 1198HimachalPradesh 942JammuandKashmir 7237Jharkhand 2426Kerala 4189MadhyaPradesh 13370Ladakh 964Manipur 1227Meghalaya 47Mizoram 148Nagaland 434Odisha 6859Puducherry 619Punjab 5418Sikkim 88Tripura 1380Uttarakhand 2831
PRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI, JUNE30
THE CENTRAL Drugs Standard ControlOrganisation (CDSCO) has allowed BharatBiotech India (BBIL) toconducthumanclin-ical trials for ‘Covaxin’, an indigenously de-veloped Covid-19 vaccine candidate. Trialsare scheduled tostart across India in July.
HowwasCovaxindeveloped?
ThevaccinecandidatewasdevelopedbyBBIL in collaboration with the NationalInstitute of Virology (NIV). NIV isolated astrain of the novel coronavirus from anasymptomatic Covid-19 patient and trans-ferred it to BBIL in earlyMay. The firm thenused it to work on developing an “inacti-vated”vaccine—avaccinethatusesaninac-tivevirus—atitshigh-containmentfacilityinHyderabad.“Once the vaccine is injected into a hu-
man,ithasnopotentialtoinfectorreplicate,since it is a killed virus. It just serves to theimmunesystemadeadvirusandtriggersanantibody response towards it,” a company
representative said, adding that inactivatedvaccinesusuallyhaveaprovensafetyrecord.Covaxin then underwent pre-clinical
testing on animals such as guinea pigs andmice tosee if itwassafe,before the firmap-proachedCDSCOforapproval tomoveontohumantrials.
Whatdoestheapprovalmeanfor India?
TheDrugControllerGeneralof India,whoheads CDSCO, has given BBIL approvals forPhaseIandPhaseIIclinicaltrials.ThisbringsIndiaastepclosertofinalisingadomesticallydevelopedCovid-19vaccineata timewhenthecountry’s casescontinue tosurge.The first phase, usually conducted on a
small group, tries to findwhat dosageof thevaccineissafeforuse,whetheritiseffectiveinbuilding immunity to thevirus, andwhethertherearesideeffects.Thesecondphaseiscon-ductedonagroupofhundredsofpersonswhofit thedescriptionof thoseforwhomthevac-cineis intended,usingcharacteristics likeageandsex.Thisphasetestshoweffectivethevac-cineisonthepopulationgroupbeingstudied.
Howmanystagesof testingwill follow?
Vaccines, likemostnewdrugs,aremeantto follow a testing process of four stages,startingwith pre-clinical tests and endingwith Phase III studies conducted on thou-sands of patients. After approval from theregulator, thefirmhastocontinuemonitor-ingtheuseof itsvaccineonpatientsandsub-mit post-marketing surveillance details,whichchecksforanylong-termunintendedadverseeffects.BBIL plans tobegin Phase I andPhase II
trials in July, but has not yet finalised thefull timeline for testing and seeking finalapproval.
Whichother Indiancompaniesare
workingonCovidvaccines?
These include Zydus Cadila, SerumInstitute of India and, since earlier thismonth,PanaceaBiotec.While Panacea is still in the pre-clinical
stage, it is not clear whether Zydus andSerum have completed their pre-clinicalstudies or have applied to CDSCO for ap-proval toconducthumantrialsyet.
HowdoesCovaxincomparewithother
vaccinecandidatesaroundtheworld?
Covaxin has reached amore advancedstage of testing than the other two vaccinecandidates that BBIL is developing throughglobalcollaborations—oneincollaborationwith Thomas Jefferson University, and theother with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and vaccinemaker FluGen. Bothcandidates are currently in the pre-clinicalstage, according to the World HealthOrganization’s draft landscape of Covid-19candidatevaccines.However,itisfarbehindintheglobalrace.
Thefrontrunner isAstraZeneca,whosecan-didate ChAdOx1-S with the University ofOxford isalreadyat thestageof Phase III tri-als. Serum Institute has an agreement tomanufacture thisvaccine.Moderna is close to beginning Phase III
trialsforitsLNP-encapsulatedmRNAvaccinecandidatewith the USNational Institute ofAllergyand InfectiousDiseases.Apart fromCovaxin,which isnot listed
among the vaccines being tried globally,at least six other candidates are in PhaseI/II trials, and another five are in Phase Itrials globally.
Covaxin, India’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate
YUBARAJGHIMIREKATHMANDU, JUNE30
TWOYEARSafterNepal'stwomajorleftpar-ties joined hands to form the NepalCommunist Party, laying a basis for power-sharing, a rift between PrimeMinister K PSharmaOli and former PMPushpa KamalDahal,betterknownasPrachanda,hasraisedquestionsaboutthefutureof theirunity.Oli, who steered a recently passed
ConstitutionAmendmentBillendorsingthecountry’snewmapthatincludesterritorieswith India, has beenprojecting Prachandaas conspiring to dislodge him.WhenNewDelhi mediated a peace process in 2006bringing insurgency to an end, Prachandawas the key figure. Now, Oli accuses Indiaof instigating theeffort to topplehim.“The activity in Delhi, a certain section
of politics inNepal and their collaborationismeant to dislodgeme formy stance onthe border dispute. Nobody should thinktheywillsucceedindislodgingme,”OlisaidataprogrammeonSunday.AndPrachanda said at ameeting of the
party’sstandingcommitteelastweek:“Itwasamistakeonmyparttohavegivenuponthe
turn-by-turnPrimeMinisteragreement.”Six months ago, Prachanda made a
statementthathehasagreedtoletOlicon-tinue for the five-year term, apparently af-terOli assuredhimthathewould functionas party chief with all executive authority.However, Oli takes allmajor decisions andexercisesthepartychief’sduties,reportedlywithout informingPrachandaat times.Until a general convention takes place,
both are chairpersons of the NCP. At thetime of unification, Oli headed theCommunistPartyofNepal-UnifiedMarxistLeninist (UML) and Prachanda theCommunistPartyofNepal-Maoists.
Rivals-turned-alliesOli, at 69, is three years older than
Prachanda. A school dropout, Oli was im-prisoned at age 22 for the murder ofDharmaPrasadDhakal,afarmerineasternNepal, during the Naxalitemovement. Hespent 14 years in prison from the early1970s before getting a royal pardon in themid-1980s. His election to Parliament in1991 launchedhis rise inpolitics.Prachanda,likeOli,enteredunderground
politicsduringhis studentdays in themid-1970s.Whenamulti-partydemocraticsys-
tembegan in1990,Prachandachosenot tojoin and instead launched armed insur-gency, adoptingMaoism in 1996with anavowed objective to finish themonarchyandmulti-partydemocracyincluding‘revi-sionist’ Communists. Oli was among thestrongest critics of Maoists all through theinsurgency,which left17,000peopledead.When the conflict ended in a peace
process in2006—withNewDelhi’smedi-ation—Prachandaemergedasthehero.Oliwas sceptical about the transition from aHindukingdomtoasecular, federalrepub-lic, and famously said: “Youwill not get totheUSridingonabullockcart.”But the transition to coalition rule also
broughtthetwoleaderstogether.Theyde-cidedtocontestthe2017electionstogetherandmerge after the results, with Oli pro-jectedasPM.Theywon174seatsinahouseof275.Sincethen,it isOliwhohasemergedahero, especiallyafterhestoodupto Indiaagainsttheblockade,andsignedatradeun-derstandingwithChina.
Why they fell outDifferencesbetweenthetwoleaderswere
visiblerightfromthebeginning.OlineededaPresidentwhocouldprotect him ina crisis,
and chose BidhyaDevi Bhandari, his long-timeallyinUML'sfactionalfeud.Prachanda,forhispart,neededaSpeakerwhocouldpro-tecthisgroupfromdisqualificationasHousemembers if the unity broke, and got AgniSapkotaelectedasthenewSpeakerafterKBMaharaquitfollowingasexscandal.Lastmonth,Olibroughtanordinancethat
said40%support inthepartyworkingcom-mitteeor in theparliamentarypartywouldqualifyasasplit(ratherthanboth)andnotat-tractdisqualificationofHousemembership.“Many in thepartymisunderstood it, but itwas actually to give an easy exit to the
Prachandagroup,"anadvisertoOlisaid.Theordinancewashowever,withdrawnfollow-ingallegationsthatOliwasouttosplitoppo-sitionpartiestosecureatwo-thirdsmajority;hisgovernmentisshortbyninemembers.Factionalismwithin the party has not
beenbasedentirelyonpreviousassociations.Thenine-membercentralsecretariat,whichhas the seniormost party leaders, is seenasheavilyweighted againstOli. Besides threeformer PMs — Madhav Nepal, JhalnathKhanalandPrachanda—threemoreleadershaveopposedparliamentary endorsementof a $500-million grant fromMillenniumChallengeCorporation,whichtheysayispartof US security interests. Oli commandsenoughsupportinParliamentastheopposi-tionNepaliCongresshaspledgeditssupport.
The two camps, today“AlthoughOliisinaminorityinthestand-
ingcommittee,hewillnothavetoresignim-mediately, but therewill beaclearmessagegiven to him that he has only fewmonths,perhapsnotmorethanthreeorfourmonthsleft,”aninfluentialleaderofthepartysaid.“Ifhegoesnow,hewillblameus—thatwere-movedhimwith Indian support as hewastakinguptheborderissuewithNewDelhi.”
According to Prachanda, Oli has hintedattimesthat“weshouldpartwaysifwork-ingtogetherisnotpossible”.Attheinaugu-ral session of the standing committee, hesaid he had been hearing about the likeli-hoodofcoupsofthe“Afghanistan,Pakistanor Bangladeshmodels” —which is beingwidelyinterpretedasimplyingthatOlimayuse theNepalArmyto take total control.From Oli's camp, former
CommunicationMinisterGokulBaskotahassaid—manyfeltitwasatOli’sbehest—thatPrachandamaybeinvestigatedforacorrup-tion case as he is accused of appropriatingmoneymeant forMaoistmembers duringthe peace process of 2008-2013. Besides,many in Oli’s camp have demanded thatPrachandaandhisfollowersbetriedforhu-manrightsviolationduringtheconflict.“Well thereare these issues, ultimately
what both sides are demanding today is aconsolidated party, and dignified power-sharing and that will be achieved,” saidManoj Jung Thapa, amember of the partycentral committee.But with daggers drawn, Prachanda’s
campexpects thatOliultimatelyhas togo.It isnotclearif it isPrachandawhowillsuc-ceedhim, though.
WhyNepal PMOli blames India in tusslewith old rival Prachanda
Oli (left)& Prachanda: riftwideopen
Severalof the59ChineseappsbannedbythegovernmenthaveawidereachinIndia.Whoownsthemostpopularones,whorunstheir Indiaoperations,
andwhat is their reachinthecountry?
Co rpo r a t e s t r uc tu r e : T IKTOK (By teDance L td [Cayman ] )
TikTokLtd. (Cayman)
TikTokLLC(US)
TikTokInc(US)
TikTokKK(Japan)
TikTokPte.Ltd. (Singapore)
SEAOperatingEntities
IndiaOperatingEntity
TikTokInformationTechnologiesUKLtd
EUOperatingEntities
LarkTechnologiesLtd. (Cayman)
LarkTechnologiesPte.Ltd. (Singapore)
LemonInc.(Cayman)
ByteDancePte.Ltd.(Singapore)
ByteDance(HK)Limited(HK)
MainChinaOperatingEntities
ByteDanceInc. (US)
Note:AsofDecember31, 2019; showsonly themainoperatingentitiesofByteDanceGroup
PRANAVMUKUL&AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI, JUNE30
ONMONDAY, the Centre announced an in-terimbanon59appswithChineselinks,cit-ing“emergentthreats”tothecountry’ssov-ereignty and national security. TheseincludedpopularmobileappssuchasTikTok,CamScannerandUCBrowser,whichtogethercommand several hundredmillionusers inthe country. Some of the larger ones likeTikTok, UCBrowser and ShareIt also have asignificantpresence in thecountry in termsof revenue and number of employees ontheirpayrolls.A look at someof themorewidely used
appsamongthe59banned:
TikTok&HeloThe two socialmedia
apps,whichareoperatedby an entity calledBytedance (India)Technology Pvt Ltd, to-
gethercommandmorethan170millionac-tive users across the country. Notably, Indiais the largestmarket for TikTokwithmorethan 611million downloads, representingnearly a third of the video-platform’s base,followedbyChina (where it operatesunderadifferentbrand)andtheUS.However, India isnot among the top rev-
enue-generating geographies for the app. In2018-19, the first full year of the company’soperations in the country, Bytedance IndiapostedrevenuesofRs43.6crore,andthecom-panytargetedrevenuesofRs100croreforthefollowing year. In the US, the app has beendownloaded165milliontimes,withrevenues
of $86.5million (over Rs 650 crore) in 2019.China, with nearly 197million users, con-tributed$331million(aroundRs2,500crore)duringtheyear,accordingtoSensorTower.The company also has administrative
presenceacrosseightcitiesinthecountryandemploysover1,000people.BytedanceIndia,however, is not owned by a Chinese entity.AccordingtocorporatestructureavailableonBytedance’s website, the parent entity —BytedanceLtd—isregisteredintheCaymanIslands. This parent company has five sub-sidiaries, one of which is TikTok Ltd— alsoregistered in Cayman Islands. Under TikTokLtd, a Singapore-basedentity TikTokPte Ltdisregistered,underwhichentitiesoperatingfromIndiaandSoutheastAsiaareregistered.TheITMinistryisspecificallyexpectedto
seek details from the companies runningtheseappsondatasharingbythesecompa-nies under a Chinese law, which requirescompanies of Chinese origin to share datawiththatcountry’s intelligenceagencies, ir-respectiveofwhereverintheworldtheyareoperating. Last year, Bytedance had an-nounced an investment of $1 billion in theIndianmarketoveraperiodof threeyears.
UCBrowser andUCNews
The Alibaba Groupplatforms are run by anentity called UCWeb
MobilePvtLtd,whichhasmorethan130mil-lion active users. UC Browser, in fact, is thesecondmostusedmobileInternetbrowserinthe country only behind Google Chrome,with amarket share of around 22%, com-paredwith Chrome’s 70%. UCWebMobile,
which has less than 100 employees in thecountry, recorded revenues of Rs 226.68crorefromthecountryin2018-19,primarilyfromadvertisingincome,accordingtofilingswith theRegistrarof Companies (RoC). Thisis part of AlibabaGroup’s digitalmedia andentertainmentsegment,whichclockedcon-solidated revenues of $3.59 billion for theyearendedMarch31,2019.According to filingswith theRegistrarof
Companies, the India entityUCWebMobilePvtLtdisheld99%byUCMobileNewWorld,basedinBritishVirginIslands.However,gov-ernment data has recorded investment bythisentityunderFDI inflowfromChina.Theremaining1%stakeinUCWebMobilePvtLtdisheldbyanentityUCMobile InternationalLtd, registered in theCayman Islands.
ShareItShareIt is one of the
mostpopularfile-sharingtools,withmorethan400million active users inIndia.Theapp,whichwas
almost entirely marketed on the basis ofword of mouth, has more than 1.8 billionusersworldwide.However,thecompanyhasnot been able tomonetise its platform be-yondapoint,makingonlyRs14.73croredur-ing 2018-19 from its India entity ShareItTechnologyIndiaPvtLtd.Intermsofrevenue,the Indian segment contributes 15-20% tothe company’s global revenues. The com-pany acquired entertainment platformFastfilmz in 2018, and appointed its CEOKaramMalhotraas theCEOof ShareIt India.The Indian entity ShareIt Technology IndiaPvt Ltd is held 99.99% byHongKong-basedShareItHKTechnologyLtd.
Club FactoryThe online market-
place,whichclaims tobeIndia’s third-largest e-commercecompany,hasmanaged to onboard
30,000sellersonitsplatform.Thecompany’sIndianentityGlobeMaxCommerceIndiaPvtLtd, is99.99%ownedbyaHongKong-basedcompanyUnbeaten Price Ltd. During 2018-19, the GlobeMax Commerce clocked rev-enues of Rs 172.14 crore. Club Factory hasaround90employeeson its rolls.
SheinShein is another e-
commerce platform fo-cused on fashion andlifestyle products. InIndia, itsoperationswere
being run by XIYIN India Pvt Ltd, based inGurgaon. The company, which targetedsmaller tier-II andtier-III towns in India,hasaround 50 employees in the country. Thecompany had crossedmore than 1millionactive users in India but last year partiallyshut down its operations after the Customsdepartmentcrackeddownonthecompanyoveralleged importdutyevasion.
CamScannerCamScanner,whichis
the most widely usedmobile scanning app intheworld,hasmorethan100millionusersinIndia.
The app, which is run by INTSIGInformation Co Ltd registered in Shanghai,China, does not have an entity registeredin India.
Ahmedabad
16THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY, JULY1,2020
THEWORLD
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
AFRICA
LOCUSTSDEVASTATEPARTSOFKENYA
Numbers of locusts have exploded in East Africa and the Red Sea region,
exacerbated by atypical weather patterns amplified by climate change. In Turkana,
Kenya’s poorest region, the locusts are eating everything in sight. Their spread
threatens to worsen conditions in a region where 20 million people struggle for food.
BELGIUM
Kingexpresses
regretforviolence
duringcolonialruleBrussels:ForthefirsttimeinBelgium’shistory,areigningkingexpressedregretfortheviolence carried out by theformercolonialpowerwhenitruledoverwhatisnowtheDemocraticRepublic of theCongo.Inalettertothepres-ident of the DRC, FelixTshisekedi,whichwaspub-lishedon the60th anniver-saryoftheAfricancountry’sindependence, Belgium’sKingPhilippe conveyedhis“deepest regrets” for the“actsofviolenceandcruelty”and the “suffering andhu-miliation” inflicted onBelgian Congo. “To furtherstrengthen our ties..., wemustbeable to talk to eachother about our long com-monhistory inall truthandserenity,”Philippewrote.
KingPhilippe
TOPOFTHEWORLD
VENEZUELA
Maduroorders
EUenvoyto
leavefollowing
freshsanctionsCaracas: VenezuelanPresidentNicolasMaduroonMonday ordered theEuropeanUnionenvoy toleavethecountry,hoursaf-ter the EU announcedsanctions against severalofficialsloyaltothesocial-istleader.TheEUsubjected11 officials to financialsanctions, citing their ac-tions against the demo-cratic functioning ofVenezuela’s NationalAssembly. The Europeanblocearlierthismonthsaida decision by the SouthAmerican nation’sSupremeCourt inMay toratifyanallyofMaduroaspresident of theNationalAssemblywasillegitimate.
USA
Bidennames
US-Indian
expertasdigital
chiefofstaffWashington: Indian-AmericanMedhaRajwasnamed by DemocraticpresidentialcandidateJoeBidenashisdigitalchiefofstaff, akeyrole inhiselec-tioncampaignwhichisgo-ingvirtualduetothepan-demic.Inthiscapacity,Rajwillwork across all facetsof thedigital departmentto streamline and coordi-natehowtomaximisetheimpact of its digital out-puts, theBidencampaignsaid."ExcitedtosharethatI'vejoinedJoeBiden'scam-paignastheDigitalChiefofStaff. 130days to theelec-tionandwe'renotgoingtowasteaminute!"shesaidonLinkedIn.
MIKEIVESHONGKONG, JUNE30
ANEWstrainoftheH1N1swineflu virus is spreading silently inworkers on pig farms in Chinaand should be “urgently” con-trolled to avoid another pan-demic, a team of scientists saysinanewstudy.H1N1 is highly transmissi-
ble and spread around theworld in 2009, killing about285,000 people andmorphinginto seasonal flu.The newer strain, known as
G4EAH1N1,hasbeencommononChina’s pig farms since 2016and replicates efficiently in hu-man airways, according to thestudy published onMonday. Sofar, it has infected some peoplewithout causing disease, buthealth experts fear that couldchangewithoutwarning.“G4viruseshavealltheessen-
tialhallmarksofacandidatepan-demic virus,” the study said,addingthatcontrollingthespreadin pigs and closelymonitoring
human populations “should beurgently implemented”.The study, published online
in the journalProceedings of theNational Academy of Sciences, isbasedonthesurveillanceofpigsin 10 Chinese provinces from2011 to 2018. In the last threeyears of the study, researcherscollected 338 blood samplesfromworkers on 15 pig farmsand 230 frompeople in nearbyhouseholds.Thestudyfoundthat10.4per
cent of theworkers and 4.4 percentof theotherstestedpositiveforG4EAH1N1, and thatwork-ers between the ages of 18 and35 tested positive at a higherrate:20.5percent.NYT
CHARLIESAVAGE,ERICSCHMITT,NICHOLASFANDOS&ADAMGOLDMANJUNE30
AMERICANOFFICIALS providedawrittenbriefinginlateFebruaryto President Donald Trump lay-ing out their conclusion that aRussianmilitaryintelligenceunitoffered and paid bounties toTaliban-linkedmilitantstokillUSand coalition troops inAfghanistan,twoofficialsfamiliarwiththemattersaid.Theinvestigationintothesus-
pectedRussian covert operationtoincentivisesuchkillingshasfo-cusedinpartonanApril2019carbombing that killed threeMarinesasonesuchpotentialat-tack, according tomultiple offi-cials familiarwiththematter.The new information
emerged as theWhite Housetried onMonday to play downtheintelligenceassessmentthatRussia sought to encourageandrewardkillings—includingreit-erating a claim that Trumpwasnever briefed about thematterandportrayingtheconclusionasdisputedanddubious.Butthatstanceclashedwith
the disclosure by two officialsthat the intelligence was in-cludedmonths ago in Trump’sPresident’s Daily Brief docu-ment. One of the officials saidthe item appeared in Trump’sbrief in lateFebruary; theothercited Feb27.Moreover, the assessment
thattheRussianunithadcarriedout the bounties plot was seenas solid enough to disseminateacross the intelligence commu-nityinaMay4articleintheCIA’sWorld Intelligence Review, aclassified compendium com-
monly referred to as TheWire,twoofficials said.LateMonday, John Ratcliffe,
the recently confirmed directorof national intelligence, issuedastatement warning that leaksabout thematterwereacrime.The disclosures came amid
agrowing furor inWashingtonover the revelations in recentdays that the Trump adminis-tration had known formonthsabout the intelligence conclu-sion but theWhite House hadauthorised no response toRussia.NYT
Beijinglookstoexpandcontrol insemi-autonomouscityafterayearofprotests
New strain of swineflu virus spreading tohumans in China: study
Trump briefed in Febon possible Russianbounties, say officials
Twitch suspendsTrump’s channel
KELLENBROWNINGNEWYORK, JUNE30
TWITCH,THElivestreamingplat-form,saidonMondaythatitwassuspendingUSPresidentTrump’schannel for “hateful conduct,” inwhatappearedtobethefirstde-liberate suspension of one ofTrump’ssocialmediaaccounts.The site, which is owned by
Amazon, said two recentstreamsonTrump’s channel vi-olated its rules.Onestreamwasof a rebroadcasted 2015 cam-paign event in which Trumpmade comments aboutMexicosendingdrugs,crimeandrapistsovertheborder.Theotherwasofhis recent rally in Tulsa, Okla.,where he talked about a “verytough hombre” breaking into awoman’shouseat1am.NYT
Pro-Trump groupbanned on Reddit
MIKEISAACSANFRANCISCO, JUNE30
REDDIT,ONEof the largest socialnetworking andmessage boardwebsites, onMondaybanned itsbiggest community devoted toPresident Trump as part of anoverhaulofitshatespeechpolicies.The community or “subred-
dit,”called“The_Donald,”ishometomorethan790,000userswhopostmemes,videosandmessagesabout Trump. Reddit executivessaidthegroup,whichhasbeenin-fluentialincultivatingandstokingTrump’sonlinebase, hadconsis-tentlybrokenitsrulesbyallowingpeopletotargetandharassothers.“Reddit is aplace forcommunityandbelonging, not for attackingpeople,”SteveHuffman,thecom-pany’schiefexecutive,said.NYT
Iran journalistsentenced todeath over rolein 2017 protests
ASSOCIATEDPRESSTEHRAN,JUNE30
IRANSENTENCEDaonce-exiledjournalist to death over his on-lineworkthathelpedinspirena-tionwideeconomicproteststhatbeganattheendof2017,author-ities saidTuesday.RuhollahZam’swebsiteanda
channelhecreatedonthepopu-larmessagingappTelegramhadspreadthetimingsoftheprotestsand embarrassing informationabout officials that directly chal-lengedIran’sShiatheocracy.Thosedemonstrations repre-
sented the biggest challenge toIran since the 2009 GreenMovement protests and set thestageforsimilarunrestlastNov.Thedetailsofhisarrestremain
unclear. Thoughhewasbased inParis,ZamsomehowreturnedtoIran and foundhimself detainedbyintelligenceofficials.Aseriesofatelevisedconfessionshaveairedinrecentmonthsoverhiswork.Judiciary spokesman
Gholamhossein Esmaili an-nounced Zam's death sentenceTuesday,sayinghewasconvictedof“corruptiononEarth”,achargeoftenused in cases involving es-pionageorattemptstooverthrowIran’sgovernment.
JOSEPH DEANGELO PLEADS GUILTY TO 13 MURDERS, DOZENS OF RAPES IN DEAL THAT SPARES HIM EXECUTION, BUT KEEPS HIM JAILED FOR LIFE
Case of Golden State Killer, who terrorised US for decades, ends with guilty pleaHEATHERMURPHY&TIMARANGOJUNE30
FOR DECADES, a killer was onthe loose in California, terroriz-ing victims from the southerncoast totheCentralValleytotheBay Area and the tidy subdivi-sions near Sacramento. As theyears went by, he bore his wayinto the state’s consciousness,provokingmanhuntsandtelevi-sion shows, and the obsessivesleuthingofamateurdetectives.
Hewentbymanynicknames— East Area Rapist, the OriginalNight Stalker, the VisaliaRansacker — before a last onetook hold: the Golden StateKiller.Thefinalaccountingofhiscrimespreewas13knownmur-dersandnearly50rapes.The crimes began in 1975
and the case, finally, reached itsdenouementMondayinahear-ing inside a ballroom atSacramento State Universitythat, because of the pandemic,was livestreamed.JosephJamesDeAngelo,74—
no longer the agile youngmanwho sneaked into women’shomes — had to be helped upwhenthejudgeenteredtheroom.Heworeanorangeprison jump-suit and aplastic face shield andwassurroundedbydistrictattor-neys from several jurisdictionswherehecommittedhiscrimes.The hearing went on for
hours, as DeAngelo, who wascapturedtwoyearsagoafterbe-ing arrested using a novel DNAtechnique that has upendedhowmany violent crimes arenowsolvedintheUnitedStates,
pleaded guilty, again and again,to13countsof first-degreemur-der that he committed acrossCalifornia in the1970sand ’80s.In front of victims and their
families,theSacramentoCountydeputy district attorney, an-nouncedthepleaarrangement,whichtookthedeathpenaltyoffthe table in exchange for guiltypleasthatresultedin11consec-utive life sentences.In addition, she said, he also
agreedtoadmitguilt inamulti-tudeof crimes forwhichhewasnotcharged,someofwhichhad
passedthestatuteof limitations.Throughout the hearing,
prosecutors from countiesacrossCaliforniaapproachedthepodiumanddescribedaseriesofmurders,rapesandburglariesindetail. Michael G. Bowman, ajudgefortheSacramentoCountySuperior Court, then askedDeAngelo forhisplea.“Guilty,”DeAngelosaidafter
eachone.Asked by the judge if he un-
derstood he would receive 11consecutivelifesentenceswith-outparole,DeAngelo said “yes.”
DeAngelohadeludedtheau-thoritiesforfourdecadesbeforehe was arrested in 2018 in aSacramentosuburb.The crimes associatedwith
the man who would becomeknownastheGoldenStateKillerbegan in themid-1970s, and by1977, after a series of horrifyingrapes of women in their homesin Sacramento County, he wasnicknamedtheEastAreaRapist.The community held packedpublic forums to discuss thecases that seemed to be occur-ringonceeverymonth.NYT
JosephDeAngelowithhisattorneyatahearingMonday.AP
LORNECOOKBRUSSELS, JUNE30
THE EUROPEAN Union an-nouncedTuesday that itwill re-openitsborderstotravellersfrom14countries, andpossibly Chinasoon, butmost Americans havebeenrefusedentryforatleastan-other twoweeks due to soaringcoronavirusinfectionsintheUS.Travellers from other big
countries like Russia, Brazil andIndiawill alsomissout.As Europe’s economies reel
from the impact of the coron-avirus,southernEUcountrieslikeGreece, Italy and Spain are des-perate toenticeback sun-lovingvisitorsandbreathelifeintotheirdamagedtourismindustries.UStouristsmakeupabigsliceoftheEUmarketandthesummerhol-idayseasonisakeytime.Citizens from the following
countries will be allowed intothe EU’s 27members and fourother nations in Europe’s visa-free Schengen travel zone:Algeria, Australia, Canada,Georgia, Japan, Montenegro,Morocco,NewZealand,Rwanda,Serbia, South Korea, Thailand,TunisiaandUruguay.TheEUsaidChinais“subject
to confirmation of reciprocity,”meaningitshouldliftall restric-tions on European citizens en-
tering China before EuropeancountrieswillallowChinesecit-izensback in.Thelist istobeupdatedevery
14days,withnewcountries be-ingaddedordroppedoffdepend-
ingonwhether theyarekeepingthepandemicundercontrol.US touristsmade 27million
trips to Europe in 2016 whilesome10millionEuropeansheadacrosstheAtlanticeachyear.AP
CHRISBUCKLEY&KEITHBRADSHERJUNE30
CHINAPASSEDacontentiousnewlaw for Hong Kong on Tuesdaythatwouldempowertheauthor-itiestocrackdownonoppositiontoBeijing,riskingdeeperriftswithWesterngovernments that havewarnedabouttheerosionoffree-domsintheterritory.The law’s swift approval in
Beijingsignalledtheurgencythatthe Communist Party leader, XiJinping, has given to expandingcontrol in Hong Kong after theterritorywas convulsed by pro-democracyprotests lastyear.The lawunderscoresBeijing’s
resolve to achieve apolitical seachange inHongKong, a formerBritish colonywith its own legalsystemandcivillibertiesabsentinmainlandChina. It couldbeusedtostifleprotestslikethosethatlastyearevolved intoan increasinglyconfrontational, and sometimesviolent,challengetoChineserule.The Chinese legislature ap-
provedthelawadaybeforeJuly1,the politically charged anniver-saryofHongKong’s handover toChina in 1997, which regularlydrawspro-democracyprotests.Tam Yiu-chung, Hong
Kong’s representativetothetoplegislative body in China thatreviewedthe law,confirmeditspassage Tuesday.“Thosewho have stirred up
trouble and broken this type oflaw in the past will hopefullywatch themselves in the future,”Tamsaidinatelevisioninterview.
“If they continue todefy the law,theywillbeartheconsequences.”Opposition politicians
quickly criticised the law for itspowertosilencedissent.ClaudiaMo,apro-democracylawmaker,citedlocalnewsreportsthatthelaw would introduce heftyprisonsentencesforvaguelyde-
finedpolitical crimesassourcesof concern. “It’s meant to sup-press and oppress, and tofrighten and intimidate HongKongers,”Mosaid.“Andtheyjustmight succeed in that.”Thelawcalls forHongKong’s
government to establish a newagencytooverseeenforcementof
thenewrules.Beijingwill createits own separate security arm inHongKong,empoweredtoinves-tigatespecialcasesandcollectin-telligence. Carrie Lam, HongKong’s top official, has said thelawwilltargetonlyan“extremelysmallminorityofillegalandcrim-inalactsandactivities”.NYT
China passes new security law withsweeping powers over Hong Kong
HongKongactivistsgatheratamalltoprotestthenationalsecuritylawonTuesday.AP
CURBSONOPPOSITIONFull details havenot beenreleased, but the securitylaw is expected todeterspeech, protests andnewsmedia critical of theChinese government,threatening the territory’sindependent press anddemocratic opposition.
NEWSECURITYAGENCIESThe lawwill establish anewsecurity agency inHongKong to enforce the securityrestrictions, andBeijingwill create its ownseparate security arm in thecity, empowered toinvestigate special casesand collect intelligence.
WESTERNGOVTSOBJECTTheGroupof7industrialiseddemocraciescalledonChinathismonthtoabandonthelaw.USsaiditwouldimposevisarestrictionsonChineseofficials involvedinthedecision,whileUKsaiditwouldallow3millionfromHKtoliveandworkinBritain.
CURBINGPROTESTS,WEST’S OBJECTIONS:WHAT ITMEANS FORHK
LISTTOBEUPDATEDEVERY14DAYSBASEDONCOVID-19SITUATION
ChinesetravellerstoalsobeallowedifBeijingliftsallrestrictionsonEuropeansenteringthecountry
Europe reopens its borders to14 nations but not to US, India
Passengersat theBarcelonaairportTuesday.Spain isamongthecountriesdesperate toenticebacksun-lovingvisitorsandbreathe life intotheirdamagedtourismindustries.AP
LookingforcomparableCovidrecord
ACCORDINGTOtheEU,fortravellersfromacountrytoenterthebloc,thatcountry’spercapitanumberofCovid-19casesmustbecom-parabletothatof the31countriesinthevisa-freeSchengentravelzone.TheEU
willreviewtheper-formanceofeachcountryover14daysandupdatethelist.Theblockalsotakes
intoconsiderationacountry’svirustesting,contacttracingandtreatmentrecordbeforeaddingittothe‘safe’ list.
Thenewswineflu
strain,knownas
G4EAH1N1,has ‘all the
essentialhallmarksof a
candidatepandemic
virus’, researcherssay
PresidenthaddeniedbeingtoldaboutbountiesonUStroopsinAfghanistan
Islamabad:US Secretary ofStateMikePompeohascalledandspokenwiththeTaliban’schiefnegotiator,aspokesmanfor the insurgents saidTuesday, amid a raging con-troversy inWashingtonoverwhen President DonaldTrumpwastoldaboutUS in-telligence that Russia waspaying the Taliban to kill USsoldiers in Afghanistan.However, therewas appar-entlynomentionduring thecall about allegations thatsome Talibanmilitants re-ceivedmoney to kill US andNATO soldiers. PompeoandMullahAbdulGhaniBaradarheld a video conference inwhichPompeopressedthein-surgentstoreduceviolenceinAfghanistan and discussedwaysofmovingthepeacedealsigned between theUS andthe Taliban forward, theTalibansaid.AP
Pompeo holdstalks withTaliban leader
ONLINEFIRMSACTAGAINST ‘HATESPEECH’
AcarbombinginAfghanistanlastyearkilledthreeMarines.AP
RuhollahZam
Ahmedabad
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THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY, JULY1,2020
ECONOMY
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GOLD
`49,306
RUPEE
`75.51
OIL
$41.80
SILVER
`49,483Note:Gold, silverratesatspotmarket inDelhi;goldper10g, silverper1kg;Brentcrudeasof2330IST
Internationalmarketdatatill1900IST
For detailed NIT & Tender specification please refer tohttps://eproc.punjab.gov.in.Note: It is informed that in case tender process is not completed due toany reason, no corrigendum will be published in newspapers. Detailsregarding corrigendum may be seen on official PSPCL website:www.pspcl.in.
Sd/- Chief Purchase Officer/MM,Central Purchase Organisation,
PSPCL, Patiala.
Short Description Procurement of ISI Marked Polypropylene Yellowcoloured rope, 3 strand, Hawser Laid, conformingto IS: 5175-1992 (with Latest amendments) andPSPCL specification QQ-222 for the followingsizes:-
1. 10 mm dia = 02.70 MT2. 16 mm dia = 01.50 MT3. 20 mm dia = 08.10 MT
Total = 12.30 MT
Starting date for downloading of 03.07.2020specification/ tender documentsfrom PSPCL’s website:https://eproc.punjab.gov.in
Last date for downloading of 31.07.2020 upto 11.00 A.M.specification/ tender documentsfrom PSPCL’s website:https://eproc.punjab.gov.in
Last date for Bid submission 31.07.2020 upto 11.00 A.M.
Bid Opening date 05.08.2020 at 11.30 A.M.
C-214/202042712/Pb.
Regd. Office: PSEB Head Office, The Mall, Patiala)C/o CE/MM, Room No. 212, 2nd Floor, Multi Story Building, PSPCL,
Head Office, The Mall, PatialaPhone No. 091-175-2213047, Fax No. 091-175-2225024; Mob.: 96461-19383, 96461-11036
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected],Corporation Identification Number (CIN): U40109PB2010SGC033813
Website: www.pspcl.in; E-tendering Portal: https://eproc.punjab.gov.in
TENDER ENQUIRY NO.: QQ-222/PSPCL/PO-C
BRIEFLY
‘Housingprices
indexup3.9%’NewDelhi:All-Indiahousingprices index roseby3.9percentinQ4ofFY20comparedtotheyear-agoperiod.PTI
UnionBankMD’s
termextendedMumbai: The governmentextendedthetermofRajki-ran Rai G, MD & CEO ofUnionBankof India, till hissuperannuation date,May31,2022,oruntil furtheror-ders.ENS
8%growthfor
FY22:FitchNewDelhi: FitchRatings onTuesday cut India’s growthforecastfor2021-22fiscalto8percent from9.5percentprojected last month. It,however,retaineditsprojec-tion of the economy con-tractingby5percent in thecurrentfiscal.
Forexreservesup
$64.9bninFY20New Delhi: The country’sforeign exchange reservesin nominal terms in-creased by $64.9 billion inFY20comparedtoareduc-tionof$11.7billioninFY19,asperRBI.
I-Texemptionon
buyingsharesNewDelhi: TheCBDThasex-emptedfromincometaxthepurchase of shares at rateslowerthanthemarketpricein companies undergoinginsolvencyproceedingsandwhoseboardhasbeentakenoverbythegovernment.PTI
KHUSHBOONARAYANMUMBAI,JUNE30
THE NATIONAL Company LawTribunal(NCLT)Tuesdayreservedits order in a case where StateBankof India (SBI) hasmoved torecoverRs1,200crorefromRComchairmanAnilAmbaniunderthepersonal guarantee clauseof theInsolvencyandBankruptcyCode.
TheMumbai Bench of NCLTwillnowdecideifanRPshouldbeappointedtomakeareportonthebasis of which the tribunalwilltake a call onadmitting thepeti-tionofSBIagainstAmbani.Whilebriefingshareholdersat
theRelianceGroupofCompanies’AGM on June 23, Ambani hadsaid,“AsregardstheproceedingsfiledbySBI, thisalsodoesnotre-late to any personal borrowing
butaroseoutofaguaranteegivenfor a loanwhichwas availed byReliance Communications(RCom) and Reliance Infratel(RITL),wayback in2016torepaythedebts of Chinese and certainotherIndianbanks.”
NCLT reserves order on SBI plea seekingrecovery of `1,200 crore from Anil Ambani
ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JUNE30
STATE-OWNEDOIL andNaturalGasCorporation(ONGC)TuesdaypostedastandalonenetlossofRs3.098croreforthequarterending
March 31, hit by an impairmentlossduetotheglobalslumpinoilprices. The loss brought the oilmarketingcompany’searningsforFY20 down 49.8 per cent to Rs13,445crorefromRs26,765intheprevious fiscal. It had reported aprofit of Rs 4,239.5 crore in the
correspondingyear-agoquarter.ONGC Chairman and MD
ShashiShankersaidthecompanyhadbooked an impairment lossof Rs 4,899 crore in Q4 FY20,through revaluationof the firm’sassetsbasedonestimated futurepricesofcrudeoilandnaturalgas.
ONGC Q4 standalone net loss at `3,098 cr
KARUNJITSINGHNEWDELHI,JUNE30
ABOUTHALFofworkingprofessionals inIndiancompaniesdonothaveconfidencethat theirwhistle-blower complaintswillbeaddressedandabouttwo-thirdsreporthavingfearsabouthavingtheircomplaintshandledconfidentiallyasperaDeloitteInd-iasurvey.Listedcompanies,companiesthatacceptpublicdepositsandcompaniesthat
haveborrowedRs 50 crore ormore frombanksorpublicfinancialinstitutionsarere-quired to set upavigilmechanism for di-rectorsandemployeestoreportconcerns.“Therearecaseswherecompaniesmay
simply appoint the company secretary orCFO as the ombudsman. This can lead tolowconfidenceamongstemployees,”saidNikhil Bedi, partner and leader, forensicservices–financialadvisory,DeloitteIndia.
Full report onwww.indianexpress.com
Whistle-blowing: ‘50% professionalsthink complaints won’t be addressed’
SANDEEPSINGHNEWDELHI,JUNE30
BEGINNINGJULY1,allsharesandmutualfundpurchaseswillattractastampdutyof0.005percentandanytransferofsecurity(MFunits)will attract a stampdutyof 0.015percent.Thegovernmenthadin-troducedchangestotheStampDutyActlastyearby introducing a uni-formrateofstampdutyontradingofsharesandcommodities.Whileallcategories of mutualfunds (except for ETFs)willattractstampdutyforthefirsttime,sharepurchasebyindividu-als at exchangeswere chargedstampdutyatdifferentratesbyre-spective states.While theexecu-tionofthesamewasearliersetforJanuary9, 2020, itwasextendedtoApril1,2020andthenagainex-tendedtoJuly1,2020.
Whereallwillitbeapplicable?
Thestampdutywill beappli-
cableonalltransactionsincludingshares, debt instruments, com-moditiesandallcategoriesofmu-tualfundschemes.As formutual funds, itwill be
applicableonall freshpurchasesincluding the freshmonthlypur-chases in previously registeredSIPs. It will be applicable if in-vestors switch fromonescheme
to another and also incase of dividend rein-vestmenttransactions.
Howdoesitimpact
theinvestor?
Theimpactonlong-terminvestmentsbyre-
tail investor isnominal. Since thestampdutywillbechargedasone-timecharge, if an investor investsRs1lakhinamutualfundschemeor in a stock andholds it for twoyears,hewillhavetopayadutyofonly Rs 5. It will bemarginallyloweras the stampduty is appli-cableonthenetinvestmentvaluei.e.,grossinvestmentamountlessanyotherdeduction like transac-tioncharge.Thereisnodutyatthe
timeofredemption.However,theimpactishigherforinvestorswithshort-terminvestmenthorizon.
Howmuchrevenuecanit
generateforthe
government?
In FY20, theMF industrymo-bilisedaggregatefundsofoverRs188 lakh crore. Ahighportionofthatwasinovernightfundsorliq-uidfunds.A0.005percentstampdutyonthisamountworksouttoRs940crore. If the industry con-tinues tomobilise funds to thetuneofRs190lakhcroreorhigher,itwillgeneraterevenuesofnearlyRs1,000croreforthegovernmentfromMFtransactionsitself.
Whatshouldinvestorsdo?
RetailMFinvestorsshouldnotworrytoomuchasthefeeisnom-inal.However,iftheypickawrongcategoryandthenkeepswitchingfromoneschemetoanother,theywillenduppayingdutyrepeatedlyonthesameinvestmentamount.
Full report onwww.indianexpress.com
Stamp duty on MF purchases from today
ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JUNE30
THEHEAVYengineering armofLarsen& Toubro (L&T) Tuesdayflaggedoff thefinalassemblyofacryostat,thelargeststainless-steel,high-vacuumpressure chambertoCadaracheinFrance.Thecom-pany has already delivered thebase section, lower cylinder anduppercylinderforthecryostat.The cryostat’s function is to
provide cooling to the fusion re-actorandtokeepveryhigh tem-peraturesatitscoreundercontrol.L&THeavy Engineeringwon
the contract from ITER India, awingoftheDepartmentofAtomicEnergy,forthescientificprojectin2012. Itwasconducted incollab-orationwith seven countries in-cludingIndiaandtheprojectout-lay is around $20 billion. L&T’sscopeofworkforthecryostatwas
tothetuneofRs1,300crore.Explaining the project’s im-
portance,AnilVParab, executivevice-president&head,L&THeavyEngineering, said this is the firsttimea500-megawattreactorhasbeenbuiltwhichisthecommerci-aldemonstrationoffusionpower.L&Tnon-executive chairman
AMNaikonTuesdaywasquotedby PTI as saying hewas “appre-hensive” of bidding for the Rs1,338-crore ITER’s cryostat con-tractfortheworld’slargestexper-imental thermo-nuclear fusionreactorinCadaracheasitwascon-sideredas“toorisky”abet.“L&T’smanagement band-
widthand teamsexecuting suchanenormousprojectandthattoofarfromIndia...thiswehaveneverdonenorhaddonebefore.Hencethe projectwas perceived to betoorisky,”Naiksaidduringthevir-tualflag-offceremonyofthefinalassembly at L&T’sHaziramanu-facturingcomplex.However,Naikcalled it “moment of pride forIndiaandLarsen&Toubro”.SNSubrahmanyan,CEO&MD,
L&T,said,“Thiswillfurtherpaveawayfortheinstallationofcryostatattheprojectsite...andeventuallyleadtothedemonstrationoflargescalefeasibilityof fusionpower.”
L&Tnon-executivechairmanAMNaiksaidhewas“apprehensive”ofbiddingforthecryostatcontract. File
L&T flags off final assembly ofcryostat for $20-bn fusion reactor
HUL CMD:Govt should stepin if demanddoesn’t pick up
ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,JUNE30
HINDUSTANUNILEVERChairmanandMDSanjivMehtaTuesdaysaidthe Centre should keep a closewatchon thedemand situationandstepinunhesitatinglyifitdoesnotpickupinnextfewmonths.Headdedtheriskof recession
remains real, but itmustnotbeaforegoneconclusion.TheCentre’seffortsinprovidingrelieftothevul-nerableandMSMEs,structuralre-formsintheagriculturalsector,andincreasedFDIlimitsindefencewillhavea trickle-downeffectonde-mand,hesaidwhileaddressingtheHULAGM. “... but thedebate re-mainsifthesearesufficienttokick-startavirtuousspiralofgrowthorwoulditrequireasubstantivede-mand-sidestimulus,”hesaid.
ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JUNE30
PRODUCTION IN the eight coresectors of India’s economy con-tracted for the thirdmonth in arow,with output declining 23.4per cent inMay amid the pan-demicandtheensuinglockdown.Overallgrowthhasbeenhitbyde-clining production inmost coresectors,saveforfertilisers,accord-ing to data shared by theCommerceMinistryTuesday.Coresectorgrowthhadplum-
metedbya record37per cent inApril.Thegrowthofthecountry’seightcoresectors—coal,crudeoil,naturalgas,refineryproducts,fer-tilisers,steel,cementandelectric-ity — is a lead indicator of themonthlyindustrialperformance.These sectors had grownby 3.8percentinMay2019,andtheircu-mulativegrowthduringthe2019-20financialyearwas0.3percent-—thelowestineightyears.The steepest decline inMay
wasobservedinsteelproduction,
whichdropped48.4percent.Thiswas followedby cement,whichsawa22.2 per cent fall, refineryproducts,whichdeclined21.3percent andnatural gasproduction,whichdropped16.8percent.Electricity production,which
makesupnearly20percentoftheindex, dropped 15.6 per cent in
May, while coal production,whichcontributesaround10percent,dropped14percent.Fertiliser production,which
accounts for nearly 3per cent ofthe index, grew 7.5 per cent inMay. Output in this sector hadbeenonadeclinefortwoconsec-utivemonthsbeforethis.
ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JUNE30
GREATERFISCALpolicysupport,alongwithclearanceofpendinggovernment dues to MSMEs,states, industry and income-taxrefunds,advancepaymentofGSTcompensationtostates,pledgingofgovernment’sshareswithRBI,issuanceofcorona-bondstoraisefunds,one-timeloanrestructur-ing,wage support to urban em-ployers and direct cash transferto self employedwere some ofthe suggestions put forward onTuesday by various economistsand industry experts for theeconomy’s revival from theCOVID-19pandemic.Inadialogueseries titled ‘The
Rs21lakhcrorestimuluspackage-did it packapunch?’ organisedbyCII-IEG,PronabSen,IGCcountrydirector and former ChiefStatisticianof India, said theRBIhasalreadydonetheheavyliftingthroughthemonetarypolicy,nowthe fiscal policy needs to do theheavy lifting. “Nowit’sbecomingan increasingly demand con-strained situation.Wemaywellmove into another supply con-straint scenariowhichwouldbeverydifficulttoovercomebecausenoamountof liquidity isgoingtohelpthat.Youaregoingtobelook-ing at the need for fresh invest-mentsandthatcansetusbackbythreeyears,” he said, adding thatgiventhelevelofuncertainty, thefocusneedstobeonmeasures toboostdemand.Senfurthersaidtheadditional
governmentborrowinghastakenintoaccountlowerrevenuecollec-tions,anditcannotbetreatedasafiscalstimulus.Naushad Forbes, past presi-
dent,CII,saidtheimportantthingis to see “actual fiscal flowshap-pening soon”. “Themost directwaythatthegovernmentcanputmoney into the economy is if itpaysitbills.ThegovernmentowessomethinglikeRs3lakhcrorethatcanbepaid...youpaylargecompa-nies, state governments, smallcompanies,payyourbills.Second,biggest transfers to states arethroughsharingofGSTrevenues.Weknow that in thepast stateshavebeenpaidwellbehindwhattheywere supposed to be paid.
Theyhavebeenpaidafterdelaysof 3months, 4monthsetc,whatabout paying them in advance.First clear theduesand thenpaythem in advance so that stateshave funds availablewhether tospendforhealthcarespendingorforanythingelse,”hesaid.Ajit Ranade, chief economist,
AdityaBirlaGroup, said thegov-ernmentcouldconsiderpledgingitsRs12trillionworthsharesandborrow fromtheRBI alongwithsuggestingpartmonetisationandclearingincometaxrefundsworthRs1-1.5 lakh crore.HDFCBank’schief economist Abheek Baruasaid the joint issuanceof corona-bonds by states and the Centrewould help in raising resourcesspecificallyforthepandemic.Forbessaidemployersdidnot
treatworkerswell andmigrantworkers returned to their states,but theywould return for eco-nomic needs in the next fewmonths. “Weshouldput inmini-mumsocial contract, if they aremovingback for temporary jobs,say,intheconstructionsector,canweprovideadecentlevelofhous-ing and aminimum insurancescheme,”hesaid.
FALLSFOR3RDSTRAIGHTMONTH:FERTILISERISSOLEEXCEPTION
GEORGEMATHEWMUMBAI,JUNE30
WITHINDIA’SCOVID-19infec-tions’ tally climbing steadily,generalinsurershavereceived28,000claimsforRs445croretillMonday.Claimshaveactu-ally doubled in aweek,withmost claims coming fromMaharashtraandDelhi,insur-anceofficialssaid.Asperofficials in thenon-
lifeindustry,averageclaimsforcoronavirus isRs2-2.5 lakhinurban areas and Rs 50,000-75,000insemi-urbanorruralareas.Inmanycases,wheretheconditionof patient is severeandhavebeenadmittedinanintensive careunit (ICU), theclaimsareintherangeofRs6-8 lakh. Alongwith the rapidrise of COVID-19 cases in thelastfortnight,theclaimsonac-count of COVID-19have alsogoneupinequalproportioninthe country, they said.“Insuranceclaimshavepracti-cally doubled during theweek,’’saidindustrysources.Thegeneralandhealthin-
surershadreceivedover18,100claims amounting to Rs 281crore till June19. Thehighestnumber of cases (8,950) hascome fromMaharashtra fol-lowedbyDelhi(3,470).With18,522peopletesting
positive for coronavirus in asingle day, India’s COVID-19tally climbed to 566,840 onTuesdaywhile thedeath tollroseto16,893with418newfa-talities,accordingtotheUnionHealthMinistrydata.Marketparticipantssaythat
goingforwardclaimsarelikelytogoupinMaharashtra,DelhiandTamilNaduastheseplaceshaveseenhigheractivecasesinthepast fewdays. ClaimsarealsocomingfromredzoneslikeDelhi, Mumbai andAhmedabad, amongothers.Theawarenessofhealthinsur-ancehasgoneupandpolicy-
holdershaveanoptiontobuyeitherCOVID-19 standalonecoverorcomprehensivecover.IfmanystateswerenottreatingCOVID patients free of cost,claimswouldhavegoneupfur-ther. “Whencomparedto thereportedcasesofcoronavirusinIndia, theclaimamount lookslower. This is becausemanystateslikeKeralaandTelenganaaretreatinglargenumberofpa-tientsingovernmenthospitalsfreeofcost,”saidaseniorindus-tryofficial.Inorder to cover thecosts
of treatments for thedisease,Insurance Regulatory andDevelopment Authority ofIndia (Irdai) issuedguidelinesonintroductionofshort-termhealthinsurancepolicies.Irdaihas said all life, general andhealth insurers can offerCOVID-19-specificshort-termhealthinsurancepolicies.Guidelineswereissuedfor
CoronaRakshakpolicywhichis a standard benefit-basedpolicy and Corona KavachPolicy, a standardhealthpol-icywhichwill be offered onindemnitybasisandinsurershavebeenaskedtolaunchtheproductfromJuly10,2020.AsperguidelinesissuedbyIrdai,minimum sum insured forCoronaKavach Policywill beRs 50,000 and maximumsum insuredwould be Rs 5lakh. However, for CoronaRakshakPolicy,theminimumsum insured would be Rs50,000andmaximumlimitissetatRs2.5 lakh.
Full report onwww.indianexpress.com
COVID-19WATCH
INSURANCE
Virus cover claimsdouble in a week; mostfrom Maharashtra, Delhi28,000requestsworth`445crore
Asperofficials inthe
non-life industry,
averageclaimsfor
coronavirus is`2-2.5
lakhinurbanareasand
`50,000-75,000insemi
urbanorruralareas
Economists highlightrole of fiscal policy, wagesupport, loan recast to helpeconomy bounce back
(Top)PronabSen, IGCcountrydirectorandformerChief Statisticianof India.NaushadForbes,pastpresident,CII. File
Mumbai: India’s current ac-countbalance(CAB)recordedamarginal surplus of $600million(0.1percentofGDP)inthefourthquarterof2019-20asagainstadeficit of $4.6bil-lion(0.7percentofGDP)inQ4of2018-19and$2.6billion(0.4percentofGDP)inthepreced-ingquarter(Q3of2019-20).AsperRBIdata,thesurplus
inthecurrentaccountinQ4of2019-20wasprimarilyonac-countof a lower tradedeficit
at$35billionandasharpriseinnet invisible receipts at $35.6billion, comparedwith thecorrespondingperiodof lastyear. Therewasa current ac-countbalanceof$600millioninthefirstquarterof2019-20.For full fiscal2019-20, the
CADnarrowedto0.9percentof GDP from2.1 per cent in2018-19 on the back of thetradedeficitwhich shrank to$157.5billionin2019-20from$180.3billionin2018-19.ENS
India records current accountbalance of $600 million in Q4
Lockdownhitsbizactivity:Maycoresectoroutputshrinks23.4%
Fiscal deficittouches 58.6% ofBudget estimatesin end-May
ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI/NEWDELHI,JUNE30
THEFISCALdeficitduringthefirsttwomonthsof thecurrent finan-cial yearwidened toRs4.66 lakhcrore,or58.6percentofBudgetes-timatesonaccountofpoortaxcol-lectionduetothelockdown.The fiscal deficit during the
year-agoperiodwas52percentofBudgetestimates.India’sexternaldebtwasplacedat$558.5billionasofMarch2020,recordinganin-creaseof$15.4billionoveritslevelat end-March2019. Thegovern-ment’stotalliabilitiesincreased0.8per cent toRs94.62 lakhcrore inMarch-end 2020, compared toyear-ago period, a FinanceMinistryreportsaid.WITHPTI
Ahmedabad
THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY, JULY1,2020
SPORT
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
SIXPAK PLAYERS TEST NEGATIVE
Six Pakistani cricketers, who were found to be COVID-19 positive
ahead of the team's departure for England last week, have now tested
negative for the second time in three days making them eligible to
join the squad in the UK. Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hasnain,
Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan and
Wahab Riaz have been found negative in the latest round of testing.18
When the grass was greenestSHAHIDJUDGEMUMBAI, JUNE30
OVER THE past 60 years, RamanathanKrishnan would often meet people whowould hand him photographs they hadtaken of him at the WimbledonChampionships in1960.It helped the now-83-year-old build a
good collection of cherished polaroidmo-ments that captured his historic run to theWimbledonmen’ssinglessemi-finals. Itwasafeathewouldrepeatthefollowingyear.NoIndian, before or since, has gone that far insinglesataGrandSlam.Just as surely, though, he’dmeet people
whowould ask for those black-and-whitephotographsaswell.Krishnanwouldoblige,granting his fans a piece of memorabilia. Ithas got to a point where, now, he doesn’thaveanyphotographs left forhimself.“But Ihavemymemory,”hequips.Inaheartbeat,hebeginstopiecetogether
theeventsfromJune20,1960toJuly1,1960.Buthestartsayearearlier.“To understand what happened at
Wimbledon in 1960,” he says, “wemust goback to the1959season.”“I had a very good year andwonmany
tournaments, including the USChampionship played on hard courts (theGrandSlameventwasplayedongrassatthetime).Becauseof thewins, Ihadreachedno.3 in theworld rankings.”Thatrunwasexpectedtogethimaseed-
ingatWimbledonthefollowingyear.At thetime, Grand Slams had only eight seeds inthesinglesdraw,unlike the32of today.“That meant that you’dmeet a seeded
player only in the quarterfinals,” explainsKrishnan, who in 1954 became the firstIndian to win a junior Grand Slam eventwhenhecaptured theWimbledoncrown.“Sonaturally,thevalueofbeingaseeded
player was very high. It’s almost similar tobeinggivenhomecourtadvantageinaDavisCuptie.”
Stuck in quarantineAtWimbledon,he’dbeennamedthesev-
enth seed – the first time he’d ever beengrantedaseedingatamajor.Buthisarrivalin
EnglandcameatatimewhenKrishnanwas-n’t in thebest conditionphysically.“In April that year, a fewmonths before
Wimbledon,IhadgonewiththeIndianteamto Thailand for a Davis Cupmatch, but hadtopulloutbecauseIcamedownwithchick-enpox,”herecalls.“Iwasstuckinquarantinefor14daysatahospital inBangkok,withnochanceof getting topractice. Just as I recov-ered, I had to rush back to Madras (nowChennai) because I was scheduled to getmarried. And I come from a very religiousfamily,sowehadtovisitseveraltemplesoverthenext fewweeks. Thatmeantno tennis.”BythetimeJunecamearound,Krishnan
managed to play a Davis Cup tie in thePhilippinesbeforeheadingtoEnglandforhishoneymoon.AndWimbledon.HereachedEngland later thanhewould
have liked, leaving him notmuch scope toplaymany tune-up events –which had be-come all themore important since he hadtakentimeto recover fromhis illness.AttheeventinQueens,wherehewasthe
defending champion, Krishnan lost in thequarterfinalstoSpaniardAndresGimeno.Hisnextmatchwould be at the Grand Slam it-self. “The only thing I had going forme,” hesays,“wasthatIwasaseededplayer.Butnot
muchmatch fitness.”
Tough passageIn thefirst round,hecameupagainst lit-
tle-known Australian qualifier JohnHillebrand. But Krishnan struggled to findanyrhythm,managingthewinthematchinthe fifthset. “Iwasverynervousduringthatmatch,”heexplains.“IknewIwasn’t ingoodphysicalshapeandhadn’tplayedmuchten-nisof late.So,theshotswerenotcomingwellforme.Icouldhavebeatenhimeasilyonanyother day, but now I was struggling. I justmanagedtoscrape through in the fifth.”The following day, he played a five-set
doubles match, paired with compatriotNareshKumar againstAmericanduoButchBuchholzandChuckMcKinley.“That was a longmatch,” he says. “Well
over three hours. But we played on CentreCourt,anditgavemeachanceto,morethananything else, get some good practice. Findsomeformandrhythm.Thoughwelostthatmatch, I feltsomuchbetteraboutmygame.Andthathelpedmeprepareforthesingles.”In the second round, Krishnan faced
Gimeno.Helostthefirstsetandwasdown0-3 in the second when he noticed peoplestarting towalkoutof thestadium.
“I had lost to Gimeno at Queens aweekback.Sopeoplethoughtthiswasgoingtobeover soon,” he says. “That’s when I tried todraw inspiration frommy doubles matchfromthe1959 seasonwhichwas very goodforme. I started to fight back andwoneachof thenext12games.”Heclosedoutthefive-setcontestagainst
theSpaniard–whowentontowinthe1972FrenchOpen – before seeing off Germany’sWolfgangStuck in threequicksets.Inthefourthround,theIndianplayedan-
othertoughfive-setteragainstSouthAfricanIanVermaak,winning3-6,8-6,6-0,5-7,6-2.Thismeant that he’d reached the quarterfi-nals of a Slamfor the first time inhis career.Andnowhe’dbecomingupagainst seededplayers, startingwith fourthseedLuisAyalaof Chile.Four years Krishnan’s senior, Ayala had
beena two-timeFrenchOpen finalist – los-ing the 1960 titlematch just over amonthearlier. He had also never lost to the Indianbefore,andwascomingintothematchasthefresher player having played just one five-setterinfourmatchescomparedtothethreethat tookKrishnanthedistance.But the Indian had found his form by
then.Heheldonandcameupwithawin inthreelengthysets,winning7-5,10-8,6-2,tobecomethefirst Indiantoreachthesemi-fi-nalsof aGrandSlam.Butoncethatthoughtkickedin,sodidthe
nerves. “Somehow these thoughts juststartedcomingtomyhead,thatI’minasemi-final,” Krishnan recalls. “I kept thinking thatI’monematchawayfromthefinal.Andthenif I win that, I’ll be champion. I should havestayedcalmandcomposed.But instead, I letmyselfgetoverawed.Thattooagainstsome-oneIhadbeatensomanytimesbefore.”Inthesemi-final,hecameupagainstan-
otherseniorplayer-topseedNealeFraserofAustralia.Atthetime,FraserwasthereigningUSOpenchampion,andhadwon10doubles(seven inmen’s and three inmixed) titles.On topof that, the reigningworldno. 1wasingood form.“IhadbeatenFrasertowintheQueensti-
tleayearearlier.AndIhadbeatenhimmanymore times on the tour,” Krishnan says. “Inmy entire career, I’d lose to him just twotimes. Once atWimbledon, and then at the
Davis Cup. Thatwas oneweird thing abouttheAustralians.They’dlosethetourmatches,but theones that count, thebigones, they’dplayata levelyoudidn’t seebefore.”On Centre Court, in windy conditions,
Fraser’salreadybigservestartedtogetmoreoomph.“I just couldn’t handle it. I was already
nervous and let the occasion get tome.Myshots were all closed, and I wasn’t playingfreely.Butevenif Iwantedto, therewas justtoomuchonhis serve,”Krishnanadds.His runwould end there in the semi-fi-
nals after the 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 loss to a playerwho would eventually go on to win thechampionship.
HeroandpioneerBut Krishnan had done enough. Back in
India, his achievementwas celebrated in awayhehadneverexpected.“I was being called for interviews and
award functions everywhere,”Krishnan re-calls. “Therewas somuch love forme. Iwasplaying well, but I was also behavingwellwhen I was on tour. So maybe that’s whytherewasmorerespect forme.”Awholegenerationof Indiantennisplay-
ersgrewup idolisinghim.In an earlier interviewwith The Indian
Express, Vijay Amritraj – the only IndianplayerapartfromKrishnan’ssonRamesh,tohave reached as far as the quarterfinals of aGrandSlam in theOpenEra – rememberedbeatingKrishnaninthefinalof the1972na-tionalsasa19-year-oldyettomakehismark.“Thatwas themajor turningpointofmy
career,”hehadsaid.Krishnan, a year later, stumbled at the
same hurdle atWimbledon 1961, this timetothegreatRodLaver.Butbythen,hehadal-ready established himself as one of the topplayers in thesport.If one asks him today, on the 60th an-
niversaryof thatgreat run inEngland,whatWimbledon 1960 means to him, what itmeant forhis career, hedoesn’t take long toanswer.“I’m83now,”hesays,theexcitementunmasked in his voice. “It’s something thathappened60years ago, andwe’re still talk-ing about it. I have a goodmemory of it, inmymind, no photographs. I remember itwell. So, yes, itmeanteverything.”
THOSEMONTHS,
THOSEMINUTES
Forced intoanunprecedentedlockdown,sport is staringatanunfathomabledespair. Indianathletes, though,havegiventhecountryreasonstorejoice inthepast.The IndianExpress looksbackatabunchof thesememories.
RAMANATHAN
KRISHNAN recallshis trailblazingruntothesemi-finalsofWimbledon1960 inachatwithShahidJudge .
@indianexpress.com
60YEARSSINCEWIMBLEDON1960
Ministryapproaches
HConNSFstatusNew Delhi: The Ministry of YouthAffairs and Sports on Tuesday ap-proachedtheDelhiHighCourt seek-ing its consent to give annual recog-nitionprovisionallytillSeptember30to 54 National Sports Federations(NSF). The ministry's application,which is likely to come up for hear-ingonJuly2,alsosoughtcourt'scon-sent to revoke the suspension ofrecognitionof threeNSFsandrenewtheir annual recognition provision-ally.Theapplicationwasfiledinviewof the high court's June 24 order bywhich the decision of the ministrygiving provisional renewal of recog-nition to the NSFs was recalled. Abench of Justices Hima Kohli andNajmiWaziri had said that themin-istry tried to "overreach" the highcourt's February order while pro-ceeding to take this decision, even ifitwasprovisional innature,withoutfirstapproachingthecourtandseek-ing its consent. PTI
F1driverstodecide
ontakingakneeLondon:FormulaOnedriverswilldis-cusstakingakneeattheopeningraceof the delayed season in Austria onSunday.“Someof thedrivershaveal-readybeenspeaking,”McLarendriverLandoNorris said. “If weare going todoit,weshouldalldoitasagrid.Itwillbe discussed following the drivers'briefingwith theGrand PrixDrivers'AssociationonFriday.”TheBlackLivesMatter movement has been sup-portedbyfootballplayersinGermany,ItalyandEnglandtakingakneebeforeandduring games. “Wewill dowhatisrightwhenthetimecomes,"Norrissaid.Six-timeworldchampionLewisHamiltonhasbeenvocalaboutBlackLivesMatterandF1'sdiversityissues.Like Hamilton, Norris will carry the"EndRacism"messageonhiscar. The20-year old driver recently encour-agedhissocialmediafollowingtosignpetitions following Hamilton's criti-cismofhispeers for stayingsilentonthematter. AP
BRIEFLY
Illustration:
SuvajitDey
CROSSWORD4158
ACROSS
1 Getoutof breathbeingnolonger fit (6)
4 Wellacquaintedwith themetric system(6)
9 Evenstart (7)10 Hewon’tpass falsenotes(5)
11 Germancurrencybetweenbanks?(5)
12 Businessworry (7)13 Brought into force?(11)
18 Funfair turnsout toberough(7)
20 Forcepolitician intoclumsy lie(5)
22 Figures it’sonlyoneamonghundreds (5)
23 Recreation for thepotter(7)
24 Appearedtobesoundly joined(6)
25 Providecompensation for theprinter(6)
DOWN
1 Possibly runandsee(6)
2 Noahwentaroundonecapitalcity(5)
3 Naturallyshehasherpride(7)
5 Point toanumberconsumed(5)
6 Mightbenicer in theSouth-East tobehonest(7)
7 In thecourseof theFrenchtelephonecall (6)
8 Acaseofmixeddates (11)14 Misdemeanourof areceiver(7)
15 Put twoandtwotogether(4,3)
16 Stopthese jokes (6)17 Winecartel reorganised(6)
19 Children found inargument(5)
21 Keepswilddogs (5)
ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)
For the third dayrunning theMoon ismakingsupportive
alignments,which shouldsurely be cause for rejoicing. Itis important, by theway,not to blameother people, butto acknowledge yourown role in causing certaindifficulties orawkward situations.
TAURUS(Apr21-May21)
Youmayfeel slightlyresentfulat theapparenteasewithwhichotherpeople
areable toexploityouor treatyou likepartof the furniture.However,onewayto fit in is togoalongwith thetrendandbecharitable, recognising theways inwhichyoucanhelpstrangers.
GEMINI (May22- June21)
Your newplanetarydevelopments aregenerallyfavourable. Perhaps
youwill nowhave a bit of timeto stop, think and separate thelies from the truth. Someonehas certainly been spinning aline, even though theyprobably believe everywordof it.
CANCER(June22- July23)
If you're a trueCancerian, youshould comeoutfromunder your
stone andhead for thenumberone job. Forget pastembarrassments and realisethat everyonemakesmistakes,not just you!You should alsotry to convince a friendorloved one that your feelingsare genuine.
LEO(July24-Aug23)
It's good to give upwhenyou areahead. In viewofcurrent
developments, you shouldlook atwhatever area of life isdoing verywell anddowhatyou can tomaintain yourcurrent positionwhilebeginning to put your energyelsewhere. Your timingmustbeperfect.
VIRGO(Aug24-Sep23)
Itwould do you apower of good if yougot your financialsituationon a
proper footing. Therewill besuggestions and schemescomingupover thenextyearwhich require aninjection of cash, and itwillobviously be very useful ifyou are solvent.
LIBRA(Sep24-Oct23)
Youmaybepuzzlingoveramystery,orperhapsstrainingtokeepasecret.My
advicewouldbetomaintaindiscretion fora littlewhilelonger,perhapsuntil theweekend.This shouldn't inhibityoufromdoingwhatyouknowtoberight,or fromsettingagoodexample.
SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov23)
Just a quickwordabout your physicalwell-being: it looksas if youmaybe
overdoing it. Indeed,someof youhave alreadyoverdone it, so take asmuchrest and relaxation as youneed to get back on course.You really shouldmaintaina balance betweencompetingpressures.
SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)
There is somuchplanetaryactivityalignedwithambitiousregionsof
yourchart thatyoumightnowexpect toreceivepublicacclaim.But forwhat?All thesignsare thatyourskillsasanentertainermaysoonbemostadmired,perhaps toyoursurprise.
CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)
Therearenosignsthatyourchart isanylesssensitive thanbefore.Neitherare
youabout tobecomeany lessassertive.Whatyoumust learnnowis theartof avoidingbananaskins.Onamoremundanenote,youcandrawvariousdomestic threadstogether, today.
AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)
Youcan'talwaysbeputtingyourselfunderpressure toget thingsdone,and
inmanyways this isadaytorelaxandtakestock.Athomehelpmaycomefromasurprisingsource,whileatworkanemployermayholdout theprospectof increasedmoneyorstatus—butwill thepricebeworth it?
PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)
Thewholerangeofpersonalaffairsandrelationships isnowupfor re-
consideration.Partly, this isbecausecertain irritatingandunsettlingalignmentsarenowmovingon,butalsobecauseyouareabout toextendyoursocialnet.Newfriendsareboundtochangethewayyouthink.
SUDOKU4156
DifficultyLevel2s
Instructions
TosolveaSudokupuzzle,
everydigitfrom1to9
mustappear ineachofthe
nineverticalcolumns, in
eachoftheninehorizontal
rowsandineachofthe
nineboxes.
DifficultyLevel
1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;
3s=Medium;4s=Hard;
5s=VeryHard;6s=
Genius SOLUTIONSUDOKU4155
Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto
therespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget
theanswerforthegivenquip.
The____ofmerit istoknowthatmymerit isnot___.-FrancisQuarles(11,..,11)(sameword
twice)
SOLUTION:IVIED,NEXUS,CHANCY,PUFFINAnswer:Thesufficiencyofmeritistoknowthatmymeritisnotsufficient.-FrancisQuarles
DVEII AHNCCY
EXNSU INPUFF
SolutionsCrossword4157:Across: 1Macrame,5Accra,8Boardinghouse,9Loire,10Senator,11Crease,12Spared,15Matches,17Groom,19Assassination,20Taste,
21Extends.Down:1Mabel,2Clarinettists,3Address,4Ernest,5Ashen,6Countermotion,7Averred,11Compact,13Pageant,14Aspire,16Haste,18Minus.
JUMBLEDWORDS
OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis
CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson
MARVIN byTomArmstrong
DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL
Ahmedabad
Vol. LIII No. 128 RNI No. 15048/1968. Printed and Published by Hareshkumar K Bhagdev on behalf of The Indian Express Private Limited. Published at : 3rd Floor, Sambhav House, Bodakdev, Ahmedabad 380 015.Phone (Board) : 26872481- 82- 83, Fax No. 26873950. Printed at : Bhaskar Print Planet, Survey No. 148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad. Chairman of the Board : Viveck Goenka, Chief Editor : Raj Kamal Jha, Editor : Unni Rajen Shanker, Editor : (Gujarat) Leena Misra *
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