· rajasthan governor kalraj mishra continued to play hard ball with chief minister ashok gehlot...

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R ajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra continued to play hard ball with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on the issue of convening a State Assembly session, which could be used by Gehlot to prove his majority on the floor of the House and derail Sachin Pilot camp’s plot to topple his Government. The Governor suggested a 21-day notice to the MLAs even as Congress held countrywide protest against “murder of democracy.” While rejecting a second proposal from the State Cabinet to hold an early Assembly ses- sion from July 31, the Governor has asked for a for a 21-day notice for the session. Governor Kalraj Mishra, according to news agency ANI, had also asked whether Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot wants a trust vote in the State Assembly. “Do you want to move Motion of Confidence? It is not mentioned in the proposal but you have been speaking about it in the media,” the Governor was quoted as saying by ANI. “The Raj Bhavan (Governor) has no intention of not calling the Assembly ses- sion... If the Government wants to win a vote of confidence, then it can become a reasonable ground for calling the Assembly session on short notice,” said the Governor in a statement, adding it would be difficult to summon all MLAs at a short notice during the pandemic. “Can you consider giving 21 days’ notice to the MLAs?” it added. The Governor also asked how social distancing will be maintained during the session. The State Cabinet had rec- ommended that the Assembly session should be convened from July 31 to discuss Covid- 19 situation. Experts feel that the Governor’s advice to give three weeks to enable the MLAs to assemble for the session is illogical. “The Governor should know that all the MLAs are camping at only two places — in Fairmount Hotel in Jaipur, and two hotels at Manesar. It would take them no more than few hours to assemble,” said a senior leader. The Governor has also said that if a trust vote is moved in the House the entire proceed- ings should be recorded and asked the Government how it intended to maintain social distancing if the House is con- vened. Congress president Sonia Gandhi too has called for a vir- tual meeting of Rajya Sabha MPs on Thursday, to hold dis- cussions on the “current polit- ical situation’ and the Covid-19 situation. In a memorandum to the President, the Congress asked the President to intervene in the current political crisis. The memorandum states that the BJP is conspiring to topple the State Government through horse-trading tactics. Without worrying about the dignity of his post, Governor Kalraj Mishra is defying the Constitution at the behest of the ruling party. Taking swipe on the Governor’s ultimatum, Congress chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala drew a comparison between the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh crisis. “Constitution of Governor in Rajasthan — per- mission to convene session only on 21 days’ prior notice. Constitution of Governor in Madhya Pradesh — instruc- tions for calling a session at 10 in the morning by writing a let- ter at 1 o’clock in the night — lockdown announced only after toppling the Government. Truth vs power,” Surjewala said. The Congress held coun- trywide protest against “mur- der of democracy”. Congress leaders picketed before the Raj Bhavans in different States and also courted arrest, Rajasthan Assembly Speaker withdrew his appeal against the High Court’s order asking him to defer the disqualification pro- ceedings against sacked Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and 18 dissident Congress MLAs. Upset with the Governor, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has written to President Ram Nath Kovind and spoken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Governor’s refusal to abide by the State Cabinet’s rec- ommendation. Gehlot had also written a letter to the Prime Minister on the matter a few days ago. Continued on Page 2 D elhi reported 613 new corona cases in past 24 hours, the lowest daily increase in the last two months. With this, Delhi’s recovery rate is at 88 per cent and only nine per cent people are ill. After this development, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “The coronavirus situa- tion has improved since June when Delhi had climbed to the second spot on the list of worst-hit States.” Around 1.16 lakh patients in Delhi have recovered so far and 1,497 recoveries were reported in the last 24 hours, according to the daily health bulletin which revealed that Covid-19 tally has surged to 1,31,219 cases. “Due to the hard-work and mindfulness of two crore peo- ple in Delhi, the situation is now improving. Today, the Delhi Covid model is being dis- cussed across the country and the world,” said the CM. “Our recovery rate is 88 per cent and the rate of active cases in Delhi is only 9 per cent, which means that out of 100 corona infected people in Delhi, only 9 people are cur- rently infected and 88 people have recovered, and around 2- 3 per cent people have lost their lives,” Kejriwal said, adding, “I want to appeal to the people again, please do not be com- placent. Please use masks, we do not know when the corona may strike again.” I ndian Air Force two-decade- long wait for a new fighter aircraft may end soon with the first batch of five Rafale fight- er jets scheduled to land at the Ambala airbase on Wednesday after covering a distance of more than 7,000 km. The jets took-off from France on Monday. The focus of the IAF is now on speedy operationalisation of these state-of-the-art planes in view of the ongoing tension at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. The last induction of a versatile plane was about 18 years back when the IAF got frontline SU-30 planes manu- factured by Russia. The arrival of the Rafales comes at a time when the India and China are engaged in dialogue to end the more than eight-week off stand-offs at the LAC in Eastern Ladakh. Both the sides have ramped up their troops strength at the LAC besides deploying heavy weapons After the formal induc- tion of the newly arrived Rafales takes place into No. 17 ‘Golden Arrows’ squadron at Ambala airbase some days later, the IAF team will work overtime to make the jets ready for deployment in a few weeks. This process is being under- taken given the confrontation at the border and the IAF already deploying its other frontline jets like SU-30, Mig- 29s and Jaguars at forwards bases near the 4,000-km-long LAC, sources said here on Monday. Continued on Page 2 I n a fierce attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said those claiming Chinese forces haven’t occupied Indian territory in Ladakh are “not nationalistic and patriotic”, and he will continue to speak the truth about Beijing’s trans- gressions. Stepping up the attack on the Government over the Chinese intrusions, Rahul said the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continues to occupy parts of Indian territory in Ladakh. “Now, it is pretty clear that the Chinese have entered our territory. This disturbs me. It makes frankly my blood boil. How can some other nation just come into our territory?” he said in the video message. Rahul, who has been crit- icised by the BJP for his remarks on the border stand- off, said “hiding the truth” and allowing China to occupy Indian territory is “anti-nation- al”, and bringing it to people’s attention is “patriotic”. Continued on Page 2 B ecause of “right decisions taken at the right time”, India is in a much better posi- tion than other countries in the fight against Covid-19,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, asserting that the country has expanded its health infrastructure at a rapid pace. Modi was speaking after vir- tually launching Covid-19 test- ing facilities in Noida, Mumbai and Kolkata. Modi said that in the fight against coronavirus, India has come to a point where it does not lack in awareness, its sci- entific data is expanding and resources are also increasing. Due to the “right deci- sions taken at the right time” in the country, India is in a much better position than other countries in the fight against the pandemic, he said. The deaths due to the coronavirus in India are much lower than many big countries, Modi said as he also pointed to the rapid pace of health infra- structure development, from testing labs, personal protection equipment to Covid facilities. “In January, where we had only one centre for Covid-19 testing, now there are about 1,300 labs operating in the country,” he said. The new test- ing facilities will give West Bengal, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh more strength to fight Covid-19, Modi said. The three high-tech testing facilities have been set up strategically at ICMR institu- tions — National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research in Noida, National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health in Mumbai and National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases in Kolkata. Continued on Page 2 T he body of a class 6 student kidnapped for ransom was recovered from an area near a canal here on Monday evening. The 14-year-old son of a grocery and “paan” shop owner, Mahajan Gupta, was kidnapped from Pipraich area on Sunday. The son of Gupta, who runs his shop near his house at Jungle Chhatradhari area, was kidnapped on Sunday after- noon and the family had also received a ransom call. “After taking lunch on Sunday afternoon, my son had gone outside to play. In the evening I received a phone call from an unknown number and the person on the line asked me to pay a ransom of 1 crore for my son,” said Gupta, adding the matter was imme- diately reported to the police. Gorakhpur SSP Sunil Kumar Gupta said soon after getting the abduction infor- mation from the victim’s fam- ily, the police swung into action and nabbed the kidnappers on Sunday night itself. On interrogation, the kid- nappers disclosed that they killed the boy soon after kid- napping him. On the informa- tion provided by kidnappers, the boy’s body was recovered, the SSP said. Several police teams, including those of Crime Branch and STF, had been deployed to search for the boy, he added. A n unidentified body of a woman was found stuffed in a suitcase in Dashmesh Vatika area of Ghaziabad dis- trict on Monday, police said. An unattended suitcase was spotted by locals in Sahibabad area in the morning. The body has been sent for post-mortem, an officer said. An investigation has been launched and efforts are on to identify the identity of the deceased, the officer said. The deceased woman is said to be around 25 to 30- years-old. According to police source, the woman has several injury marks on her body. The woman appears to be married and a close relative is suspect- ed to be behind the incident. B ollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her daughter Aaradhya were dis- charged from the Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital at Vile Parle in north-west Mumbai on Monday, after they tested “negative” in an appar- ent second Covid-19 test they underwent at the hospital. Aishwarya (46) and her daughter Aaradhya had earlier on July 12 tested positive for Covid-19 a day after Ambitabh Bachchan and his actor-son Abhishekh were admitted to the Nanavati Hospital after testing positive for coronavirus. Aishwarya and her daugh- ter had initially isolated them at the Bachchans’ residence for six days. Abhishek tweeted, “Thank you all for your continued prayers and good wishes. Indebted forever. Aishwarya and Aaradhya have thankfully tested negative and have been discharged from the hospital. They will now be at home. My father and I remain in hospital under the care of the medical staff.” It may be recalled that Abhishek had himself through a tweet put out on July 12 con- firmed that his wife and daugh- ter had tested positive for Covid-19. “Aishwarya and Aaradhya have also tested COVID-19 positive. They will be self quarantining at home. The BMC has been updated of their situation and are doing the needful. The rest of the family including my Mother have tested negative. Thank you all for your wishes and prayers,” the actor had tweeted. Sr Bachchan’s Rajya Sabha member-wife Jaya tested neg- ative for the pandemic. “My father and I remain in hospital till the doctors decide otherwise. Everyone please remain cautious and safe. Please follow all rules!,” Abhishekh had tweeted on July 12, by when his wife and daughter had not been admit- ted to the hospital. Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by BJP legislator Madan Dilawar against the merger of six former Bahujan Samaj Party MLAs with the Congress. Former BSP MLAs Sandeep Yadav, Wajib Ali, Deepchand Kheria, Lakhan Meena, Jogendra Awana and Rajendra Gudha had applied for a merger with the Congress on September 16, 2019, a request which was granted by then Assembly Speaker Chandra Prakash Joshi. Two days later, the Speaker declared the MLAs will be considered as a part of the Congress. T he Government has banned 47 more Chinese apps, tak- ing the total number of mobile applications banned for being prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and defence of the country, to 106, said source. The source privy to the development said that the 47 additional Chinese apps that have been banned now were clones and variants of the apps which were blocked earlier. An order to this effect was issued on Friday, the source said. The list of additional apps that have been banned was not immediately available, and there is no official word on the matter yet. Earlier on June 29, the Government had banned 59 Chinese apps, saying they were prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and security of the country.

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Page 1:  · Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra continued to play hard ball with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on the issue of convening a State Assembly session, which could be used by Gehlot

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Rajasthan Governor KalrajMishra continued to play

hard ball with Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot on the issue ofconvening a State Assemblysession, which could be used byGehlot to prove his majority onthe floor of the House andderail Sachin Pilot camp’s plotto topple his Government. TheGovernor suggested a 21-daynotice to the MLAs even asCongress held countrywideprotest against “murder ofdemocracy.”

While rejecting a secondproposal from the State Cabinetto hold an early Assembly ses-sion from July 31, the Governorhas asked for a for a 21-daynotice for the session.

Governor Kalraj Mishra,according to news agency ANI,had also asked whether ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot wantsa trust vote in the StateAssembly.

“Do you want to moveMotion of Confidence? It is notmentioned in the proposal butyou have been speaking aboutit in the media,” the Governorwas quoted as saying by ANI.

“The Raj Bhavan(Governor) has no intention ofnot calling the Assembly ses-sion... If the Government wantsto win a vote of confidence,then it can become a reasonableground for calling theAssembly session on shortnotice,” said the Governor in astatement, adding it would bedifficult to summon all MLAs

at a short notice during thepandemic.

“Can you consider giving21 days’ notice to the MLAs?”it added.

The Governor also askedhow social distancing will bemaintained during the session.

The State Cabinet had rec-ommended that the Assemblysession should be convenedfrom July 31 to discuss Covid-

19 situation.Experts feel that the

Governor’s advice to give threeweeks to enable the MLAs toassemble for the session isillogical. “The Governor shouldknow that all the MLAs arecamping at only two places —in Fairmount Hotel in Jaipur,and two hotels at Manesar. Itwould take them no more thanfew hours to assemble,” said a

senior leader.The Governor has also said

that if a trust vote is moved inthe House the entire proceed-ings should be recorded andasked the Government how itintended to maintain socialdistancing if the House is con-vened.

Congress president SoniaGandhi too has called for a vir-tual meeting of Rajya Sabha

MPs on Thursday, to hold dis-cussions on the “current polit-ical situation’ and the Covid-19situation.

In a memorandum to thePresident, the Congress askedthe President to intervene inthe current political crisis. Thememorandum states that theBJP is conspiring to topple theState Government throughhorse-trading tactics. Withoutworrying about the dignity ofhis post, Governor KalrajMishra is defying theConstitution at the behest ofthe ruling party.

Taking swipe on theGovernor’s ultimatum,Congress chief spokesmanRandeep Surjewala drew acomparison between theRajasthan and Madhya Pradeshcrisis. “Constitution ofGovernor in Rajasthan — per-mission to convene sessiononly on 21 days’ prior notice.Constitution of Governor inMadhya Pradesh — instruc-tions for calling a session at 10in the morning by writing a let-ter at 1 o’clock in the night —lockdown announced onlyafter toppling the Government.Truth vs power,” Surjewalasaid.

The Congress held coun-trywide protest against “mur-der of democracy”. Congressleaders picketed before the RajBhavans in different States andalso courted arrest, RajasthanAssembly Speaker withdrewhis appeal against the HighCourt’s order asking him todefer the disqualification pro-

ceedings against sacked DeputyChief Minister Sachin Pilotand 18 dissident CongressMLAs.

Upset with the Governor,Chief Minister Ashok Gehlothas written to President RamNath Kovind and spoken withPrime Minister Narendra Modiover the Governor’s refusal toabide by the State Cabinet’s rec-ommendation. Gehlot had alsowritten a letter to the PrimeMinister on the matter a fewdays ago.

Continued on Page 2

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Delhi reported 613 newcorona cases in past 24

hours, the lowest daily increasein the last two months. Withthis, Delhi’s recovery rate is at88 per cent and only nine percent people are ill.

After this development,Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwalsaid, “The coronavirus situa-tion has improved since Junewhen Delhi had climbed to thesecond spot on the list ofworst-hit States.”

Around 1.16 lakh patientsin Delhi have recovered so farand 1,497 recoveries werereported in the last 24 hours,according to the daily healthbulletin which revealed that

Covid-19 tally has surged to1,31,219 cases.

“Due to the hard-work andmindfulness of two crore peo-ple in Delhi, the situation isnow improving. Today, theDelhi Covid model is being dis-cussed across the country andthe world,” said the CM.

“Our recovery rate is 88 percent and the rate of activecases in Delhi is only 9 per cent,which means that out of 100corona infected people inDelhi, only 9 people are cur-rently infected and 88 peoplehave recovered, and around 2-3 per cent people have lost theirlives,” Kejriwal said, adding, “Iwant to appeal to the peopleagain, please do not be com-placent. Please use masks, wedo not know when the coronamay strike again.”

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Indian Air Force two-decade-long wait for a new fighter

aircraft may end soon with thefirst batch of five Rafale fight-er jets scheduled to land at theAmbala airbase on Wednesdayafter covering a distance ofmore than 7,000 km. The jetstook-off from France onMonday.

The focus of the IAF is nowon speedy operationalisation ofthese state-of-the-art planes inview of the ongoing tension at

the Line of Actual Control(LAC) in Ladakh.

The last induction of aversatile plane was about 18years back when the IAF gotfrontline SU-30 planes manu-factured by Russia. The arrivalof the Rafales comes at a timewhen the India and China areengaged in dialogue to end themore than eight-week offstand-offs at the LAC inEastern Ladakh. Both the sideshave ramped up their troopsstrength at the LAC besidesdeploying heavy weapons

After the formal induc-tion of the newly arrivedRafales takes place into No. 17‘Golden Arrows’ squadron atAmbala airbase some dayslater, the IAF team will workovertime to make the jets readyfor deployment in a few weeks.This process is being under-taken given the confrontationat the border and the IAFalready deploying its otherfrontline jets like SU-30, Mig-29s and Jaguars at forwardsbases near the 4,000-km-longLAC, sources said here onMonday.

Continued on Page 2

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In a fierce attack on PrimeMinister Narendra Modi,

Congress leader Rahul Gandhihas said those claiming Chineseforces haven’t occupied Indianterritory in Ladakh are “notnationalistic and patriotic”, andhe will continue to speak thetruth about Beijing’s trans-gressions.

Stepping up the attack onthe Government over theChinese intrusions, Rahul said

the People’s Liberation Army(PLA) continues to occupyparts of Indian territory inLadakh.

“Now, it is pretty clear that

the Chinese have entered ourterritory. This disturbs me. Itmakes frankly my blood boil.How can some other nationjust come into our territory?”he said in the video message.

Rahul, who has been crit-icised by the BJP for hisremarks on the border stand-off, said “hiding the truth” andallowing China to occupyIndian territory is “anti-nation-al”, and bringing it to people’sattention is “patriotic”.

Continued on Page 2

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Because of “right decisionstaken at the right time”,

India is in a much better posi-tion than other countries in thefight against Covid-19,” PrimeMinister Narendra Modi saidon Monday, asserting that thecountry has expanded its healthinfrastructure at a rapid pace.Modi was speaking after vir-tually launching Covid-19 test-ing facilities in Noida, Mumbaiand Kolkata.

Modi said that in the fightagainst coronavirus, India hascome to a point where it doesnot lack in awareness, its sci-entific data is expanding andresources are also increasing.

Due to the “right deci-sions taken at the right time” inthe country, India is in a muchbetter position than othercountries in the fight againstthe pandemic, he said.

The deaths due to the

coronavirus in India are muchlower than many big countries,Modi said as he also pointed tothe rapid pace of health infra-structure development, fromtesting labs, personal protectionequipment to Covid facilities.

“In January, where we hadonly one centre for Covid-19testing, now there are about1,300 labs operating in thecountry,” he said. The new test-ing facilities will give WestBengal, Maharashtra and UttarPradesh more strength to fightCovid-19, Modi said.

The three high-tech testingfacilities have been set upstrategically at ICMR institu-tions — National Institute ofCancer Prevention andResearch in Noida, NationalInstitute for Research inReproductive Health inMumbai and National Instituteof Cholera and Enteric Diseasesin Kolkata.

Continued on Page 2

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The body of a class 6 studentkidnapped for ransom was

recovered from an area near acanal here on Monday evening.

The 14-year-old son of agrocery and “paan” shopowner, Mahajan Gupta, waskidnapped from Pipraich areaon Sunday.

The son of Gupta, whoruns his shop near his house atJungle Chhatradhari area, waskidnapped on Sunday after-noon and the family had alsoreceived a ransom call.

“After taking lunch onSunday afternoon, my son hadgone outside to play. In theevening I received a phone callfrom an unknown numberand the person on the line

asked me to pay a ransom of �1crore for my son,” said Gupta,adding the matter was imme-diately reported to the police.

Gorakhpur SSP SunilKumar Gupta said soon aftergetting the abduction infor-mation from the victim’s fam-ily, the police swung into actionand nabbed the kidnappers onSunday night itself.

On interrogation, the kid-nappers disclosed that theykilled the boy soon after kid-napping him. On the informa-tion provided by kidnappers,the boy’s body was recovered,the SSP said.

Several police teams,including those of CrimeBranch and STF, had beendeployed to search for the boy,he added.

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An unidentified body of awoman was found stuffed

in a suitcase in DashmeshVatika area of Ghaziabad dis-trict on Monday, police said.

An unattended suitcasewas spotted by locals inSahibabad area in the morning.The body has been sent forpost-mortem, an officer said.

An investigation has beenlaunched and efforts are on toidentify the identity of thedeceased, the officer said.

The deceased woman issaid to be around 25 to 30-years-old.

According to police source,the woman has several injurymarks on her body. Thewoman appears to be marriedand a close relative is suspect-ed to be behind the incident.

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Bollywood actress AishwaryaRai Bachchan and her

daughter Aaradhya were dis-charged from the NanavatiSuper Speciality Hospital atVile Parle in north-westMumbai on Monday, after theytested “negative” in an appar-ent second Covid-19 test theyunderwent at the hospital.

Aishwarya (46) and herdaughter Aaradhya had earlieron July 12 tested positive forCovid-19 a day after AmbitabhBachchan and his actor-sonAbhishekh were admitted tothe Nanavati Hospital aftertesting positive for coronavirus.

Aishwarya and her daugh-ter had initially isolated themat the Bachchans’ residencefor six days.

Abhishek tweeted, “Thank

you all for your continuedprayers and good wishes.Indebted forever. Aishwaryaand Aaradhya have thankfullytested negative and have beendischarged from the hospital.They will now be at home. Myfather and I remain in hospitalunder the care of the medicalstaff.”

It may be recalled thatAbhishek had himself througha tweet put out on July 12 con-

firmed that his wife and daugh-ter had tested positive forCovid-19. “Aishwarya andAaradhya have also testedCOVID-19 positive. They willbe self quarantining at home.The BMC has been updated oftheir situation and are doingthe needful. The rest of thefamily including my Motherhave tested negative. Thankyou all for your wishes andprayers,” the actor had tweeted.

Sr Bachchan’s Rajya Sabhamember-wife Jaya tested neg-ative for the pandemic.

“My father and I remain inhospital till the doctors decideotherwise. Everyone pleaseremain cautious and safe.Please follow all rules!,”Abhishekh had tweeted on July12, by when his wife anddaughter had not been admit-ted to the hospital.

Jaipur: The Rajasthan HighCourt on Monday dismissed apetition filed by BJP legislatorMadan Dilawar against themerger of six former BahujanSamaj Party MLAs with theCongress. Former BSP MLAsSandeep Yadav, Wajib Ali,Deepchand Kheria, LakhanMeena, Jogendra Awana andRajendra Gudha had appliedfor a merger with the Congresson September 16, 2019, arequest which was granted bythen Assembly SpeakerChandra Prakash Joshi. Twodays later, the Speaker declaredthe MLAs will be considered asa part of the Congress.

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The Government has banned47 more Chinese apps, tak-

ing the total number of mobileapplications banned for beingprejudicial to sovereignty,integrity and defence of thecountry, to 106, said source.

The source privy to thedevelopment said that the 47additional Chinese apps thathave been banned now wereclones and variants of the apps

which were blocked earlier. An order to this effect was

issued on Friday, the sourcesaid. The list of additional appsthat have been banned was notimmediately available, andthere is no official word on thematter yet.

Earlier on June 29, theGovernment had banned 59Chinese apps, saying they wereprejudicial to sovereignty,integrity and security of thecountry.

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Page 2:  · Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra continued to play hard ball with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on the issue of convening a State Assembly session, which could be used by Gehlot

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Union Consumer AffairsMinister Ram Vilas

Paswan on Monday said thatthe Government has extendedthe deadline for mandatoryhallmarking of gold jewelleryand artefacts by over fourmonths till June 1, 2021, in thewake of the ongoing Covid-19pandemic. From June 1 nextyear, jewellers will be allowedto sell only 14, 18 and 22carats of gold jewellery. Goldhallmarking is a purity certifi-cation of the precious metaland is voluntary in nature atpresent.

The Centre, in Novemberlast year, had announced thathallmarking of gold jewelleryand artefacts would be mademandatory across the countryfrom January 15, 2021. The

government had given jew-ellers more than a year to shiftto hallmarking and registerthemselves with the Bureau ofIndian Standards (BIS).

Jewellers had made arequest to extend the time. Wehave extended the deadlinefrom January 15 to June 1,2021, in view of the disruptionin the wake of the COVID-19crisis,” Paswan told reporters ina virtual press conference.

The All India Gem andJewellery Domestic Council(AGJDC) and the India Bullionand Jewellers Association haddemanded the extension ofthe deadline. “Due to the lock-down, jewellers have lostalmost three months for salesand operations. It will takeanother 3-4 months beforesales get back on track. It ishighly likely that they will be

left with jewellery with nohallmarking,” AGJDC Vice-Chairman Shaankar Sen hadsaid recently.

The BIS is already runninga hallmarking scheme for goldjewellery since April 2000, andaround 40 per cent of gold jew-ellery is being hallmarked cur-rently. So far, 28,849 jewellershave been registered by BIS.According to the BIS, themandatory hallmarking willprotect the public against lowercaratage and ensure consumersdo not get cheated while buy-ing gold ornaments and get thepurity as marked on the orna-ments. India is the largestimporter of gold, which main-ly caters to the demand of thejewellery industry. In volumeterms, the country imports700-800 tonne of gold annually.

Gurugram: The Gurugrampolice have issued over 15,000challans for not wearing facemasks, since the Covid-induced lockdown, officialssaid on Monday.

According to the officials,the District police have issued15,250 challans for not wearingface masks since the imposedlockdown from March 25. Thecops have also collected Rs 75lakh as challan amount fromthem.

"We have conducted manydoor-to-door health campaignsin the city. Besides, so manycampaigns are underwaythrough digital, print and elec-tronic media to educate resi-dents. Despite that, offendershave been coming on roads andviolating the guidelines drawnby Indian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR) and Ministryof Health and Family Welfare,"said Preet Pal Singh Sangwan,ACP and PRO of Gurugrampolice.

According to the official,maximum challans are issuedin areas adjacent to high riskLarge Outbreak Region (LOR).Besides, challans are also issuedin market places like SadarBazar, sector 14, sector 31,sector 40, Galerai market, sec-tor 5.

"We are conducting sur-prise checking at market placesand penalizing offenders. Someof the shopkeepers have also

violated the norms. They arefound of not wearing masks aswell as violating social dis-tancing norms. After everychallan, Gurugram policehanded over a mask to offend-er with strong warning.Repeated offenders are liable toface action under pandemicand disaster management act,"Sangwan said.

Gurugram has a total of8,720 Covid positive cases inthe district and 7,558 patientshave been discharged so far. OnMonday, 108 fresh cases werereported in the city. IANS

New Delhi: The DelhiCommission for Protection ofChild Rights (DCPCR), alongwith the North-East DistrictTask Force, on Monday rescuednine child labourers from theMustafabad area, who wereworking at several scrap shopswith no masks, and inunhealthy and unhygienic con-dition.

During the pandemic, thiswas the fourth operationundertaken by theCommission to rescue childlabourers, because of which itis concerned about the increas-ing number of cases.

The children were rescuedand provided masks, sanitisers,food and water. The DCPCRand the Delhi Police also sealedseven shops in the process.

They have undergone amedical examination by theChief District Medical Officer

(CDMO), including tests forCovid-19.

They were also producedbefore the Child WelfareCommittee and would now beplaced in the Mukti Ashram inBurari. Their statements havebeen recorded in the office ofthe Sub-District Magistrateand legal proceedings will fol-

low.Meanwhile, the

International LabourOrganisation has predictedthat with the Covid-19 pan-demic, the world may witnessan increase in child labour forthe first time in 20 years, thus,there is a risk of reversingyears of progress in this area.

New Delhi: Union MinisterNitin Gadkari on Monday saidthe construction and beautifi-cation work is progressing forthe Ayodhya bypass at Rs 55crore to showcase the historic city.

Prime Minister NarendraModi is expected to visit the cityto lay the foundation stone ofthe Ram Temple on August 5.

"Sri Ram is a symbol of ourculture and heritage. RamJanmabhoomi temple's con-struction will begin soon. Forbeautification- and construc-tion-related works of theAyodhya bypass, NHAI hassanctioned a project worth Rs55 crore," Gadkari said in a

video message. The roadtransport and highways min-ister added that the bypasswill "showcase Ayodhya's beau-ty to visitors from the countryand abroad".

The bypass connectingAyodhya will be 16-km long.However, the exact locationsthe bypass would be connect-ing could not be provided bythe NHAI. He saidthe Rs 55-crore project, sanc-tioned on the request ofAyodhya MP Lallu Singh,includes a bypass construc-tion work of Rs 40 crore andbeautification of Rs 15 crore.

"Special trees will be plant-ed and Ayodhya will be beau-

tified," the minister said."The present progress of

the civil work is nearly 30 percent at present date," he said.

Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath onSaturday visited Ayodhya andplaced the idols of Laxman,Bharat and Shatrughan on thenew 'asans' at the RamJanmabhoomi temple site.Adityanath was on a short visitto Ayodhya to review thepreparations for the foundationstone laying ceremony for theconstruction of the temple.Ayodhya MP Lallu Singhthanked Gadkari for takinginitiative for construction andbeautification of bypass. PTI

New Delhi: Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal onMonday gave financial assis-tance of Rs 10 lakh to the fam-ily of Kundan Kumar, wholost his life due to drowningunder the Minto Bridge here,as the road under the bridgewas flooded due to heavy rain.

Taking to micro-bloggingsite Twitter, Mr Kejriwalsaid,”Kundan Ji, a resident ofUttarakhand died in the MintoBridge waterlogging. Today,gave his family a financialassistance of Rs 10 lakh. I hopethat the family will get somehelp from it. If his family needsany help in future also, we willdefinitely help.”

The 56-year-old KundanKumar, was a transport goodsvehicle driver. Kundan drovethe mini tempo and tried tocross the bridge, which was

flooded due to heavy rain.He tried to maneuver his

vehicle through the water-logged underpass, however,could not succeed in the bid.

Kundan is survived by hiswife and two daughters. Hehailed from Pithoragarh inUttarakhand.

He lived at Shankar marketTaxi Stand in Connaught Place.

PTI

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Panaji: Goa recorded its biggestsingle-day jump of 258COVID-19 cases on Monday,taking the state's tally to 5,119,health officials said.

The active cases in thestate now stands at 1,673, theofficials added.

As many as 133 personswere discharged after recover-ies on Monday.

Earlier in the day, theOpposition staged walkoutduring the one-day monsoonsession of the Goa LegislativeAssembly, accusing the trea-sury benches of trying to avoid

a discussion on the impact ofcoronavirus pandemic in thestate, which has resulted in 35deaths so far.

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From Page 1The first batch includes

three single seater and two twinseater Rafale aircraft. After tak-ing off from France, the planesflown by the Indian pilots willhave stop over for a day in theUnited Arab Emirates (UAE)and likely to land in Ambala onJuly 29. While French airtankers will refuel the jets mid-air enroute the UAE, the IAFmid air-refuellers will escort theRafales from there till Indianairspace.

“This is going to add agreat deal of strength to our airpower and defence prepared-ness. But it is also a powerfulsymbol of the strategic part-nership between India andFrance,” said IndianAmbassador in France JawedAshraf before the jets took off.

“These five Rafale jets areextremely swift, versatile &very deadly aircraft, they’reboth beauty & beast. I wouldlike to thank Dassault for deliv-ering aircraft on time andFrench Government & FrenchAir Force for all the support,”the ambassador said.

“Our pilots, who I justspoke to, are very excited. Theyare very proud to be flying themachines to India. It is goingto be a long flight. It is aremarkable symbol of theirprofessionalism, endurance andthe skills that they haveacquired during their trainingthat they be able to do this withmid-air refuelling and just asingle stop en route to Indiawhich is actually quite a longdistance,” he stated. The fivejets took off from Merignac air-base at Bordeaux in France.

“Delivery of 10 aircraft hasbeen completed as per sched-ule. Five will stay back inFrance for training mission,”the Indian Embassy in Francesaid in a statement adding,“Further batches of IAF per-sonnel will continue the train-ing over the next nine months.”Delivery of all 36 aircraft willbe completed as per scheduleby the end of 2021. Frenchaerospace conglomerateDassault has manufacturedthese jets.

Defence Minister RajnathSingh in October last year ona visit to France for the 2ndIndia-France Ministerial levelannual defence dialogue tookformal delivery of the firstRafale jet built for India. TheIAF pilots since then wereundergoing training on thejets there.

During the defence dia-

logue, France agreed to con-sider the Indian request for 8-10 Meteor missiles to be givento India by 2020 with the firstfour aircraft.

The introduction ofMeteor Beyond Visual Range(BVR) air-to-air missile with arange of over 160km, SCALPlong-range stand-off attack air-to-ground missile and MICAmulti-mission air-to-air mis-siles will add to the IAF fire-power.

Moreover, as the borderremains volatile, the IAF hasdecided to procure HAMMER(Highly Agile ModularMunition Extended Range)medium-range air-to-groundmissiles for the Rafales fromFrance. This procurement isprocessed under the emer-gency powers given by theDefence Ministry to the Armedforces recently for off-the-shelfpurchase of weapon systems upto ?300 crore.

At present, 12 IAF pilotsand ground staff have receivedtraining on the Rafales andadditional aircrew has under-gone comprehensive trainingon the aircraft, including itshighly advanced weapons sys-tems, and are fully operationalnow, the IAF had stated.

These five jets are part ofthe 36 Rafale multi-role fight-er jets contracted from Francein fly-away condition with 13India Specific Enhancements(ISE) under a seven billionEuro Inter-GovernmentalAgreement signed inSeptember 2016.

The Rafale fighter jets arecapable of carrying a range ofhighly effective weapons,including the Meteor air-to-airmissile and Scalp cruise missile.

planes come with various

India-specific modifications,including Israeli helmet-mounted displays, radar warn-ing receivers, low-band jam-mers, 10-hour flight datarecording, infra-red search andtracking systems among others.

From Page 1Gehlot said he had a phone

conversation with the PrimeMinister and spoke about thebehaviour of the Governor onthe ongoing political crisis inthe State. Gehlot also spokeabout the letter written by himto the Prime Minister sevendays ago.

Taking a swipe at KalrajMishra, Gehlot said he wouldrespond to the Governor’s “six-page love letter” pertaining tothe Assembly session by todayevening. The remarks camehours after the Governorrejected the Chief Minister’sfresh proposal for a session onJuly 31.

The Governor had in thepast returned an earlier rec-ommendation by the

Government, asking for clari-fications on six specific points.

Both Gehlot and Pilotcamps are making contradic-tory claims about theirstrength. . Congress chiefspokesperson RandeepSurjewala told his party MLAscamping at Fairmount hotel inJaipur that three MLAs ofSachin Pilot camps would jointhem in the next 48 hours.

On the other hand, Pilotcamp MLA HemaramChoudhary claimed that 10-15MLAs of Ashok Gehlot campare in contact with them andare saying they will come to ourside as soon as they are set free.

“If Gehlot removes restric-tions, it’ll become clear howmany MLAs remain on theirside,” he said.

Earlier, the Supreme Courtallowed the RajasthanAssembly Speaker to withdrawhis appeal against the HighCourt’s order asking him todefer till July 24 the disqualifi-cation proceedings against 18dissident Congress MLAs.

Senior advocate KapilSibal, appearing for Speaker CPJoshi, told a Bench headed byJustice Arun Mishra that theRajasthan High Court hadpassed a fresh order on July 24and they were weighing thelegal options.

While withdrawing theplea, Sibal told the Bench thatthe appeal had become infruc-tuous as the apex court did notstay the earlier High Courtorder passed on July 21 askingthe Speaker to defer disquali-fication proceedings.

“The SLP (special leavepetition) is withdrawn with lib-erty to file a fresh SLP andkeeping all grounds open,”advocate Sunil Fernandes, whoalso represents Joshi, said.

The High Court hadordered on July 24 mainte-nance of status quo on the dis-qualification notice issued bythe Speaker to 19 dissidentCongress MLAs, includingPilot.

The Rajasthan Governor’sapproach has drawn flak fromseveral quarters. Kalraj Mishrahas become the first Governorin Independent India to rejecta State Cabinet’s recommen-dation to convene StateAssembly session. Three for-mer law Ministers of theCongress on Monday wrote tothe Governor, saying the delayin holding the Assembly ses-

sion has resulted in an avoid-able constitutional crisis.

“Having served as UnionMinisters of Law and Justice indifferent periods of time and asstudents of Constitutional law,we are of the clear view thatestablished legal position oblig-es the Governor to call theAssembly session in accor-dance with the advice of theState Cabinet,” senior Congressleaders and former LawMinisters Ashwani Kumar,Kapil Sibal and SalmanKhurshid said.

Congress leader PChidambaram says,“Governors appointed by theBJP since 2014 have repeated-ly violated the letter and spiritof the Constitution of India. Inthe process, they have gravelyimpaired parliamentarydemocracy, its conventions andtraditions. I may remind thatthere are at least three land-mark judgments of the courtswhen the Governors concernedacted in gross violation of theConstitution in ArunachalPradesh (2016), Uttarakhand(2016) and Karnataka .”

,"-# 666

From Page 1These will be able to test

over 10,000 samples in a day, astatement from the PrimeMinister’s Office had said.Despite crossing the 14 lakhmark on Monday, recoveryrate in India is 63.92 per cent.

These labs will also reduceturnaround time and exposureof lab personnel to infectiousclinical materials. The PrimeMinister said now India hasmore than 11,000 Covid-19facilities and more than 11 lakhCovid-19 beds. “In January wehad only one centre in India forCovid-19 testing and now wehave 1,300 labs across thecountry. More than five lakhtests are being done every day.

And in the coming days we aretrying to get 10 lakh tests,” hesaid.

Modi said the number ofpeople getting cured fromCovid-19 is almost 10 lakh.“That is why in the beginningthe central governmentannounced Rs 15,000 crorepackage, for isolation centres,Covid-19 centres, testing andtracing. India has improved itsfacilities,” Modi said.

The labs are enabled to testdiseases other than Covid-19 aswell, and post the pandemic,will be able to test for HepatitisB and C, HIV, mycobacteriumtuberculosis, cytomegalovirus,chlamydia, neisseria anddengue.

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From Page 1“I don’t care if I don’t have

a political career after that butI am going to say the truth asfar as the India territory is con-cerned,” Rahul said in a videomessage series. “If you want meto lie that the Chinese have notentered this country I am notgoing to lie. I simply will not doit. I don’t care if my wholecareer goes to hell. I’m notgoing to lie,” he added.

The ruling BJP too wasquick to retort that RahulGandhi’s offer is an empty onebecause his career in fact hasalready tanked.

“Your political careerended soon after it took off.The people of this countrydon’t see him has any leader. Itended in 2019, and now, youare determined to kill thefuture of the Congress party,”BJP MP and nationalspokesperson GVL NarasimhaRao said.

At the AICC Press confer-ence, when Chidambaram wasasked whether he has been con-sulted on Rahul Gandhi airingof his foreign policy perspec-tive, the former Home Ministerresponded that he (RahulGandhi) has not served asDefence or Foreign Minister.He said Rahul Gandhi doessometimes seek his opinion“but not for these videos”.

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Page 3:  · Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra continued to play hard ball with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on the issue of convening a State Assembly session, which could be used by Gehlot

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Congress leaders, including its Delhi unit chiefAnil Kumar, were detained while trying to

march to the Lieutenant Governor's office in CivilLines here, in a protest against the BJP's allegedmove to topple the Rajasthan Government.

The protest was held against the "anti-demo-cratic and anti-constitutional" actions of theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to topple thedemocratically-elected Congress government inRajasthan, Kumar said. Delhi Congress presidentAnil Kumar said that when the country is reel-ing under the Covid-19 pandemic with a one-day count of over 50,000 cases on Sunday, theModi Government at the Centre was playingpetty politics to topple the Congress-ledGovernments in the country.

Kumar said that after Karnataka and MadhyaPradesh, the BJP was trying to destabilize theGovernment in Rajasthan, despite Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot proving his majority and request-ing the Governor to honour the state cabinet’sdecision to convene the Assembly session.

The Congress president accused theGovernor of dancing to the tune of the BJP lead-ership to topple the Rajasthan Governmentwhich the Congress will resist with all its mightto 'Save Democracy-Save Constitution', toexpose the anti-democratic and anti-constitu-tional actions of the BJP. Among prominent lead-ers who participated in demonstration areDPCC vice-presidents Jai Kishan, MuditAgarwal, Ali Mehndi, Dr Narendra Nath,Mateen Ahmed, Hari Shankar Gupta, AmrishGautam, a large number of district and blockCongress committee presidents and MunicipalCouncillors.

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More than 250 homebuyers fromover 90 under construction

project raised their grievances andsought resolution at justice meetchaired by Badshahpur MLA RakeshDaultabad, along with senior offi-cials, from various authority includ-ing DTP, MCG, GMDA, HRERA,DHBVN, Police department andHSIIDC in Gurugram on Sunday.

Also, residents of posh housingsocieties of Gurugram facing issuessuch as high maintenance costs,bad quality of construction and lackof infrastructure had also voicedtheir complaints in front of theauthority concerned.

“I had decided to bring all thestakeholders to a common platformin order to find step-wise solutionsas a lot of builders are not providingservices as per the agreement andhomebuyers have been raising theissue at several platforms. I don'twant the homebuyers to suffer anyfurther. The problems will be fixedat the common platform,” Daultabadsaid.

“During the justice meet eachmatter was discussed in detail withthe concerned officers from therespective departments and solutionswere also offered by the officers,” headded .

Meanwhile, district town planner

(DTP) RS Batth assured the home-buyers that strict action will betaken on all the complaints within 30days including filing of FIRs againstthe defaulting builders. He also gaveon the spot appointments to manyaggrieved buyers.

Daultabad also announced for-mation of three Special Committeesafter consultation with DTP andHRERA officials for faster resolutionof matters relating to projects CHDDevelopers Ltd and RamprasthaGroup which comes under HSIIDCin Manesar Area.

The MLA further said that so far250 homebuyers have raised theirissues at a single platform and infuture more are expected to comeforward.

“The issues that homebuyers areraising include non-completion ofprojects, maintenance charge, lack ofservice by builders and high elec-tricity charges,” Daultabad said.

Several homebuyers said thatdue to the coronavirus crisis, a lot ofbuilders are facing financial crunchand are increasing maintenance andother development charges.

"In the city issues like incompleteprojects, road, electricity, water andmany others fall under multipleauthorities, so it is difficult to getwork done in Gurugram now withthis meet multiple issues will besolved and heard on the spot,” saida homebuyer.

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The Delhi Police has arrest-ed three men for allegedly

firing at a shopkeeper in Delhi’sTigri area after the man deniedgiving them free clothes fortheir accomplices who arelodged in jail.

The accused have been iden-tified as Sunil (19), Dheeraj (19)and Bupender (20), all residentsof Sangam Vihar area in NationalCapital. Police said the accusedare also found involved in othercases registered across the city.

According to Atul KumarThakur, the Deputy

Commissioner of Police(DCP), South district, on July24, a police control room(PCR) call regarding an inci-dent of firing by 3-4 persons ata shop in Sangam Vihar areawas received.

“On the basis of the state-ment given by the shopkeeper,

a First Information Report(FIR) was registered undersection 307/34 of Indian PenalCode (IPC) and 25/27 ArmsAct at Tigri police station andinvestigation was taken up,”said the DCP.

“On July 27, after receivingspecific inputs, the trio was

nabbed from Sangam Vihararea and on the cursory search,one country made pistol alongwith two live cartridges wasrecovered. On checking, it wasrevealed that the recoveredweapon was used in commis-sion of crime,” said the DCP.

“During interrogation, the

accused revealed that some oftheir accomplices were in jailand they had asked the shop-keeper (complainant) to providethe garments for the use of theiraccomplices in jail but the com-plainant denied following whichthey decided to fire upon thecomplainant,” said the DCP.

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Disposing off a petition chal-lenging the IPS deputation

into the Central paramilitaryforces till the rank of InspectorGeneral, the Delhi High Courton Monday directed the Centreto conduct a fresh cadre reviewof all forces by June 2021.

The court also directedthe Centre to review theRecruitment Rules of the para-miliatry forces and the cadreofficer will get in opportunityto represent in the cadre reviewexercise and for framing of newService Rules on the line ofOrganised Group 'A' Service.

The Court while disposingthe pleas said that even if IPSOfficers are occupying anyposts in the paramilitary orCentral Armed Police Forces(CAPFs), grant of opportuni-ty of hearing to them is not thesame as grant of opportunity tothe Cadre Officers of CAPFs.It is only the Cadre Officers ofCAPFs who have grievancesqua stagnation, residency etc.and the IPS Officers, even ifmanning some posts in CAPFs,are not aggrieved therefrom.

The court disposed the mat-ter by directing that the mem-bers of each CAPF to makecomprehensive representation

(s) to the Ministry of HomeAffairs, for amendment of therespective Recruitment Rulesof each Central Armed PoliceForce including cadre struc-ture, residency and Deputation.

It also directed the gov-ernment to immediately under-take the exercise for review ofexisting Recruitment Rules ofeach Central Armed PoliceForce taking into considerationthe representation(s), if any,received from the members ofthe Central Armed PoliceForces and after giving them anopportunity of being heardand to place its decision in thisregard before the Department

of Personnel and Training.The court directed the

Department of Personnel andTraining to take necessaryaction immediately on receiptof decision from the Ministryof Home Affairs with respect toreview of Recruitment Rules ofrespective CAPF.

The court directed theDoPT that the entire exerciseOF cadre review be concludedon or before June 30, 2021.

The court also vacated thestay on promotions to the postof DIG/IG in the CAPFs. Theorder was passed by the benchof Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlawand Justice Asha Menon.

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In order to bridge the gapbetween job seekers and

employers, Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal onMonday launched RozgaarBazaar site Jobs.delhi.gov.in.

While many people havelost their jobs, businesses amidCorona pandemic, the sitereceived massive responsewithin six hours of its launch.

According to governmentdata, so far, 51,403 job- seekersregistered while 1071 employ-ers post 18,585 vacancies.

Addressing virtually, ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwalsaid,”I appeal to the traders,industrialists, NGOs, peopleand media to join hands torevive Delhi’s economy fromthe impact of lockdown.”

Job seekers in Delhi canalso update their qualifica-tions, experience, and desiredpositions under multiple jobcategories.

Urging media and indus-trialists to join hand with gov-ernment to revive Delhi’s econ-omy, Kejriwal said, this portalwill particularly help peoplewho lost their jobs and busi-nesses who had been affecteddue to the Corona pandemicand successive lockdown.

“The people of Delhi havesuccessfully fought Corona inthe last 3 months. Now wehave to move to the nextstage. During the Corona pan-

demic, people lost their jobs,shops and factories were shutdown.”

“People have suffered hugelosses, and many people suf-fered from hunger. Eventhough the governmentarranged for their food duringthe lockdown, but people needjobs and businesses now, theshops and factories should bereopened. Now, we all need topay attention to the economy.And I have full faith inDelhiites that they will do this,just as they have achieved greattargets in the past. I want toappeal to the people of Delhi toplease come together and takesteps to improve the conditionof the economy in Delhi,”Kejriwal said.

When the corona was at itspeak, the Delhi governmentadvocated the lifting of thelockdown at the earliest how-ever our government alsoworked towards improving thesituation instead of placing alockdown again,” Kejriwal saidwhile focusing on solutionsfor the revival of economy.

“We are hearing that thereseveral cities are rushing toimpose 2-10 days lockdowns,but I am happy that there wasno need to reimpose lock-down in Delhi," he added.

He said, "Now we all haveto work together to improve theeconomic situation of Delhi.Many migrant laborers hadleft Delhi in the last threemonths. They have started

coming back in huge numbersnow. I want to appeal to therest, it is your Delhi.Coronavirus cases were risingdrastically, and many peopleleft Delhi in fear of the risingcases. The Corona situation isimproving in Delhi, and thebusinesses and shops havestarted reopening. I would liketo appeal to all to come back toDelhi. The industries, shops,construction activities, etc thatwere shut down want toreopen, but there is no man-

power."“To synchronize and match

these two sides, the Delhi gov-ernment is launching a job por-tal - 'jobs.delhi.gov.in', whereemployers can post jobs citingdesired qualifications, desig-nation, position, experience.The people seeking jobs canalso register on this website, cit-ing the experience they have,their academic qualifications,and the categories they wantjobs in, such as tourism, hotelindustry, construction, etc.

They can also fill in multiplecategories. This is a RozgaarBazaar, where the job seekersand job providers will cometogether and people will getjobs. I hope that this will ben-efit all, businesses, industries,construction employers, shop-keepers, professionals, and jobseekers," CM Kejriwal said.

Labour Minister, GopalRai, who also attended theconference said this is a freeplatform and no one will beneeded to pay, do not pay to

any third person for jobs onthis website.

"Any person can apply tothis platform. The job seekerswill log in with their mobilenumber and then they will getthe option to select the cate-gory of job. One person canapply for one job or more it isan open platform. Theemployers can also log in andput up their requirements.There are various private web-sites for jobs but this websiteis completely free. I want toinform every citizen that inthis platform nobody will beneeded to pay a single pennyso if there is any person whoasks for money here then donot give any money. I willrequest all the businessmen,industrialists to come forwardand register here. I will alsorequest the government skillcentres like IT etc to register,” said Rai.

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External Affairs Minister DrS Jaishankar and Minister of

Railways Piyush Goyal onMonday virtually flagged off 10Broad Gauge (BG) locomotivesto Bangladesh to help it fulfillrequirements of BangladeshRailway.

The event was also attend-ed by the Minister of State forRailways Suresh C. Angadi.Minister of Railway NurulIslam Sujan and Minister ofForeign Affairs Dr Abul KalamAbdul Momen from theBangladesh end received thelocomotives on behalf of thegovernment of Bangladesh.

The railways in a statementsaid that the handing over ofthese locomotives under grantassistance from theGovernment of India fulfills animportant commitment madeduring the visit of PrimeMinister of Bangladesh Sheikh

Hasina to India in October2019.

In keeping with therequirements of BangladeshRailway, the locomotives havebeen suitably modified by theIndian side, it said.

Speaking on the occasion,S Jaishankar said, “I am glad toknow that parcel and contain-er trains have been startedbetween both the countries.This will open up new oppor-tunities for our businesses. I amhappy to note that movementof trade by rail has beenensured,”

Jaishankar further said thatduring the COVID-19 pan-demic, the supply of essentialsparticularly in the holy monthof Ramadan was ensured. Hefurther highlighted the depth oftime tested India-Bangladeshties, based on mutual trustand respect. He expressed hishappiness that the COVIDpandemic had not slowed

down the pace of bilateralcooperation and conveyed thathe looked forward to more

such milestones in the ongoinghistoric Mujib Barsho.

Goyal said, “These loco-

motives will be useful in han-dling the on-going freight trainoperations between India and

Bangladesh. We have beenhuge strides forward in ourrespective efforts at achievingdevelopment,”

India and Bangladesh havecome a long way in the last fewyears, he said, adding that thebilateral relationship betweenboth the countries is at its verybest.

“Our neighbourhood pol-icy follows PM Narendra Modiji's vision of Sabka Sath, SabkaVikas, Sabka Vishwas. The pre-sent leadership are committedto reviving the pre-1965 railwayconnection between the twocountries. Out of the seven raillinks that existed then, four arefunctional now,” he said.

To further strengthen railconnectivity in the region, onenew rail link, between Agartalain India and Akhaura inBangladesh is being con-structed and financed undergrant assistance from India, itsaid.

The ministry further saidthat during COVID-19, bothRailways have shown exem-plary foresight in managing thecrisis and maintained the sup-ply chain by stepping up trans-portation of essential com-modities.

“Parcel train and contain-er train services have beenintroduced via Benapole inBangladesh. Both these serviceshave already started in themonth of July. These haveenabled us to move a widerange of products from bothsides. Railways have ensuredthat the two countries cancontinue our bilateral tradewithout any disruption andhealth risk,” it added.

Goyal also committed sup-port to Bangladesh in its devel-opment of the Bangladesh railnetwork. He underscored thesignificance of railway cooper-ation in enhancing bilateraltrade and connectivity and in

further boosting the econom-ic partnership between the twocountries.

In recent times, India andBangladesh have stepped uptheir rail cooperation in miti-gating the impact of theCOVID-19 pandemic, as tradevia land border faced disrup-tions. Rail as a cost effectiveand environmental friendlysolution, has helped in trans-porting essential commoditiesacross the border, it said.

“Both sides saw the high-est ever exchange of freighttrains in the month of June. Atotal of 103 freight trains wereutilized for carrying essentialcommodities and raw materi-als,” it added.

Recently, parcel and con-tainer train services have alsocommenced between India andBangladesh. The move isexpected to significantlyenhance the scope of bilateraltrade.

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Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal on

Monday said that the DelhiGovernment passed orders toallow street vendors andhawkers to restart their workand businesses.

As per the orders, Streethawkers will be allowed tooperate from 10 am to 8 pmevery day and will have toensure social distancing andall other precautionary mea-sures to avoid the spread ofCOVID-19

The Corona pandemicand its successive lockdownhad affected both small scaleand individual businesses,with street vendors being one

of the most affected groups.Addressing a press con-

ference on Monday, Kejriwalsaid, "Due to some confusion,the street hawkers were notallowed to work. The Delhigovernment is now taking outspecial orders, under whichthe street vendors and hawk-ers will be allowed to operatetheir businesses."

Kejriwal said, "It is due tothe hard work, prudence, andcaution of the two crore peo-ple of Delhi that the situationin Delhi has improved signif-icantly in the last few weeks.The Delhi model is widely dis-cussed and appreciated acrossthe country and the world,that how the people of Delhicame together to fight Covid-19."

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Page 4:  · Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra continued to play hard ball with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on the issue of convening a State Assembly session, which could be used by Gehlot

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The Union Health Ministryhas decided not to include

Itolizumab drug, manufacturedby Bangalore-based manufac-turer, Biocon, in the nationaltreatment protocol for coron-avirus patients. The decisioncame in the wake of expertsraising questions on approvalgiven to the drug on the basisof a small clinical trial.

The Drugs ControllerGeneral of India (DCGI) hada few days ago given green sig-nal to Itolizumab drug forrestricted emergency use onmoderate to severe Covid-19patients. Itolizumab is analready approved drug used fortreating skin ailment psoriasis..

A senior official from theUnion Health Ministry saidthat the National Task Force onCovid-19 constituted by theministry held its meeting anddiscussed whether to putItolizumab drug into the treat-ment protocol or not.

“It was discussed in themeeting but it is not includedfor now because experts opinevery less evidence in favour ofthis medicine,” she said.

On July 11, the Healthministry in a press statementsaid that Itolizumab (rDNAorigin), a monoclonal anti-body which was alreadyapproved for severe chronicplaque psoriasis, has now beengranted Restricted EmergencyUse authorisation by the DCGIbased on clinical trials data.

The ministry had statedthat Biocon has been manu-facturing and marketing theItolizumab drug for the treat-ment of patients with moder-ate to severe chronic plaquepsoriasis since 2013 underthebrand name Alzumab. Thisindigenous drug has now beenrepurposed for Covid-19.

To check the efficacy of thedrug on Covid, the companyhas so far done a phase 2study on 30 Covid-19 patients.

“Biocon has presented thePhase II clinical trial resultsgenerated in Covid-19 patientsto DCGI. The results of thesetrials were deliberated in theSubject Expert Committee ofDCGI’s office,” said the HealthMinistry.

Based on the media reportsabout the rejection of the drug,the Biocon has now decided toshare more data as “evidence”,which it has derived from off-label use of the drug on 1,000patients. Off-label means doc-tors have prescribed the drugafter taking the consent of thepatient on compassionategrounds, said the company.

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While the private clinicsand hospitals have been

struggling to get non-covidpatients during theCoronavirus pandemic, Healthand Wellness Centres (AB -HWCs) established under theGovernment’s AyushmaanBharat seem to have foundfavour among the citizens:over 19.23 crore beneficiarieshave availed health facilities at43,022 centres operationalacross the country since theoutbreak of the disease.

“An additional 13,657HWCs were operationalisedwithin the period of the pan-demic itself (between Januaryto July 2020) to ensure that anarray of healthcare reaches thevast community of citizensthey serve. As of July 24th,2020, a total of 43,022 HWCsare operational across differ-ent parts of the country,” saida statement from the UnionHealth Ministry.

In one week itself, starting18-24th July 2020, a total of44.26 lakh people have bene-fitted from the HCWs ser-vices being provided by theAB-HWCs. The cumulativetotal footfall among theHWCs since their inception

(i.e. 14th April 2018) conse-quently rose to 1,923.93 lakh.“This is a testimony to thefoundational work of theHWCs in their communities.They have played a pivotalrole in ensuring that non-COVID essential services arenot hampered and continueto be provided,” .

Also, 14.24 lakh yoga ses-sions have been conducted intotal by the HWCs since theirinception.

Apart from this, HWCsare playing a major role inmass screening for non-com-municable diseases. Sincetheir inception, the HWCshave tested a total of 4.72crore individuals for hyper-tension, 3.14 crore for dia-betes, 2.43 crore for oral can-

cer, 1.37 crore for breast can-cer and 91.32 lakhs for cervi-cal cancer.

The AB-HWCs have beenvery useful in the pandemic astheir population-basedscreenings for non-commu-nicable diseases have provid-ed the State health authoritiesa list of those with chronicdiseases and the vulnerable,co-morbid population whichhas to be protected fromCOVID-19 on priority.

Immunisation sessionshave been organised by theHWC teams where medicalcheckups of pregnant womenare ensured apart from thedelivery of essential medi-cines to TB, leprosy, hyper-tensive and diabetic patients,said the Ministry.

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In most of the Covid-19 cen-tres in the country, nasopha-

ryngeal (NP) swabs, whichrequire inserting a long shaftinto the nasal cavity to collecta sample from the back of thenose and throat, are beingconsidered the gold standardfor collecting a specimen fordiagnosis. However,researchers, based on theirstudy have found that sputumtesting detects the RNA of thedisease causing virus at signif-icantly higher result rates com-pared to tests based on NPswabs.

In their study published inEBioMedicine, investigatorsfrom Brigham and Women’sHospital conducted a system-atic review and meta-analysis,analyzing data from more than3,000 specimens to comparethe three approaches. The teamfound that sputum testingdetected the RNA of the virusthat causes COVID-19 at sig-nificantly higher rates whileoropharyngeal swab testinghad lower rates. Regardless ofthe collection method, the ear-lier samples were collectedafter symptoms began, the

higher the detection rate.“The accurate diagnosis of

COVID-19 has implicationsfor health care, return-to-work,infection control and publichealth,” said correspondingauthor Jonathan Li, a facultymember in the Division ofInfectious Diseases at theBrigham.

“Our gold standard in andout of the hospital is thenasopharyngeal swab, butthere’s a lot of confusion aboutwhich sampling modality isbest and most sensitive. Ourstudy shows that sputum test-ing resulted in significantlyhigher rates of SARS-CoV-2detection and supports the useof this type of testing as a valu-able method for the diagnosisand monitoring of COVID-19patients.”

Li and his colleaguesscoured the literature — bothpreprints and published papers— for studies that assessed atleast two respiratory samplingsites using an NP swab, oropha-ryngeal swab or sputum. Frommore than 1,000 studies, theyidentified 11 that met their cri-teria. These studies includedresults from a total of 3,442 res-piratory tract specimens.

The team examined howoften each collection methodproduced a positive result. ForNP swabs, the rate was 54 per-cent; for oropharyngeal swabs,43 percent; for sputum, 71percent. The rate of viral detec-tion was significantly higher insputum than either oropha-ryngeal swabs or NP swabs.Detection rates were highestwithin one week of symptomonset for all three tests.

“When it comes to testing,the earlier the better, as diag-nostic accuracy is improvedearlier after symptom onset,regardless of the sampling site,”said Li. “Unlike antibody test-ing, it’s very rare to have a falsepositive qPCR test when diag-nosing COVID-19 early in thecourse of the disease usingthese methods.”

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The Supreme Court Mondaydirected the University

Grants Commission (UGC) torespond to the petitions whichhave challenged the July 6directive to all the universitiesand colleges to conduct finalyear examinations bySeptember 30 amid theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Several issues have beenraised in the petitions, includ-ing plight of lakhs of studentsin places like Bihar and Assamwhich are reeling under floodsand also that many states havealready cancelled the final yearexaminations of state universi-ties due to the COVID-19 pan-demic.

A bench headed by JusticeAshok Bhushan said thatreplies be filed by UGC and theCentre on the pleas and post-ed the matter for hearing onJuly 31.

Solicitor General TusharMehta told the bench, alsocomprising Justices R S Reddyand M R Shah, that they areonly concerned with final yearexams and out of over 800 uni-versities in the country, 209have completed the examina-tions.

Mehta said that around390 universities are in theprocess of conducting theexaminations.

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Asurvey conducted by theIndian Institute of

Management Ahmedabad(IIMA) has hailed the dash-board through which GujaratChief Minister Vijay Rupanicoordinates with variousstakeholders in the fightagainst the COVID-19 pan-demic.

Nearly 80 per cent of the2,387 respondent citizens haveexpressed their satisfactionwith the leadership of the CMduring the time of COVID-19pandemic, it said.

Similarly, 70 per cent ofrespondent health workers aresatisfied with the CM’s supportin terms of communication,building trust, and overall han-dling of the crisis. Nearly 53 per

cent of health workers and 51per cent administrative work-ers find the CM’s leadershipand support “excellent”, as perthe survey.

The survey is part of areport prepared by IIMA fac-ulty member Ranjan KumarGhosh and his team, with theaim to provide “an overview ofthe COVID-19 situation inGujarat

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Security agencies haveplanned to identify interna-

tional linkages of intellectualsconnected to Naxalites throughanalyses of their e-mail net-work.

In addition, the agencieswill undertake data analysis tomonitor the activities of urbanNaxals, including their foreigntravel. For this, teams will be setup for Darknet analysis inNaxal context. Funding of suchNaxal activities are alsoplanned to be choked, said asenior official of a key para-military engaged in internalsecurity role including anti-Naxal operations.

The Intelligence wings ofthe police and paramilitaryforces will regularly updatethe format of databases where-in the number of intellectualswhose email networks wereanalysed and those with inter-national linkages wereunearthed as part of the exer-cise, the official further said.

Apart from the regularStates hit by the Naxal problem,the agencies will seek to preventpropagation of Maoist ideolo-gy. The agencies will keep tabson the indoctrination effortsbeing organised by pro-Naxal;

elements in Kerala, Tamil Naduand Karnataka trijunction area,he said.

Re-evaluation of the Naxalsurrender policy is also beingundertaken to ensure that onlygenuine ultras avail advantagesof the policy. A process for iden-tification of individual benefi-ciaries in the worst Naxal blockswill be undertaken to providethem the benefits ofGovernment welfare schemes.

Counter-narratives andanti-Naxal ideologies will be dis-seminated in the affected areasin the local languages throughvarious forms of media like tele-vision, print and social media,officials said.

Various police and para-military forces are also in theprocess of constituting teams toundertake study of convicted,surrendered, reformed Naxals asalso insurgents in the Northeastand terrorists in Jammu andKashmir. The teams are expect-ed to scientifically analyse themodus operandi use, means ofradicalisation/indoctrinationand ways to reintegrate them inthe society.

Naxal violence is a majorconcern in the affected States asdisturbances on the law andorder front retards develop-ment works.

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India and Indonesia onMonday reviewed the entire

gamut of defence ties andsteps to further strengthenrelationships in the field ofdefence production and man-ufacturing. The talks betweenDefence Minister RajnathSingh and visiting Indonesiancounterpart General PrabowoSubianto also focused on giv-ing a boost to military-to-mil-itary relations between thetwo countries.

Giving details of the talks,defence ministry officials saidthe Indonesian minister ishere to strengthen the tiesbetween two maritime neigh-bours. Rajnath reiterated thelong history of mutually ben-eficial interactions betweenthe two countries with a tra-dition of close political dia-logue, economic and tradelinkages as well as culturaland people to people interac-tions.

Conveying satisfaction onthe military to military inter-actions, Rajnath indicatedthat the defence cooperationbetween India and Indonesiahas witnessed an upswing inthe recent years, which is inconsonance with theComprehensive StrategicPartnership between the twosides. Both the Ministers

agreed to further enhancethe bilateral defence cooper-ation in mutually agreedareas.

Potential areas of cooper-ation in the field of defenceindustries and defence tech-nology were also identified bythe two countries. Both theministers committed them-selves to further strengthenbilateral cooperation in theseareas and take them to thenext level of deliverables.

The meeting ended on apositive note with a commit-ment to further strengthenand widen the scope of thebilateral cooperation betweenthe two countries.

Chief of Defence Staff(CDS) General Bipin Rawat,Army Chief General M MNaravane, Navy chief AdmiralKarambir Singh, IAF chief RK S Bhadauria, DefenceSecretary Ajay Kumar andother senior civil and militaryofficials also took part in thebilateral meeting.

General Subianto wasgiven ceremonial Guard ofHonour on the lawns of SouthBlock when he arrived for theDefence Ministers’ Dialogue.He was personally received byRajnath at the venue. Earlier,General Subianto visited theNational War Memorial andlaid a wreath as a mark ofrespect to the fallen heroes.

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People can now keep weath-er updates with mobile-

based application ‘MAUSAM’which will relay weather fore-casts and warnings for multi-ple cities and locations andeven radar-based forecastsupdated every 10 minutes. Theapp will provide current weath-er of a location that will beupdated eight times in a day;share city-wise forecast forupcoming seven days; issueNowcast warnings of severeweather events likely to occurin the immediate future alongwith radar-based images andinformation for tracking ofapproaching weather events.

The ministry of earth sci-ences launched the app onMonday on the occasion of itsfoundation day. This is the sec-ond app launched by the IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD) that is meant for every-one.

The app, which can bedownloaded on Playstore andAppstore, is dedicated to thepublic and designed to provideweather information and fore-casts in a lucid manner with-out technical jargon. The firstapp Meghdoot was launchedby it which meant only forfarmers and those involved inagriculture.

Launching the ‘MAUSAM

app’, and a KnowledgeResource Centre Network(KRCN) on the occasion of14th foundation day of theministry, Union MoES minis-ter Dr Harshvardhan said thatthe app will relay weatherforecasts and warnings formultiple cities and locationswhile KRCN will be a one-point stop to access research,publications, e-resources ofall institutions functioningunder MoES.

“Towards augmentationof our systems and services,MoES institutions will beincorporating Artif icialIntelligence, Internet ofThings, Machine Learning aspart of the upgrading theweather forecasts, data gathering and analysis. A newH i g h - P e r f o r m a n c eComputing (HPC) system willalso be inducted by 2021,”Vardhan said. Vardhan saidthat MoES needs at least twicemore budgetary support thanwhat is currently provided sothat the overall services can beenhanced. “I am aware of thelacunae and understand thattwice the current budgets areneeded. Replacement of oldships, better computer systemsand automation is requiredbesides, most importantly,having trained manpower,”the minister added.

Mausam offers f ive

services – current temperature,humidity, wind speed andwind direction for 200 citiesand the information is updat-ed eight times a day.

There is information onsunrise, sunset, moonrise andmoonset, three hourly warn-ings of local weather phenomena and their intensi-ty issued for about 800 sta-tions, and forecast of weatherconditions for 450 cities for thepast 24 hours and seven day.

There are also alerts issuedtwice a day for all districts forthe next five days in colourcode (red, orange and yellow)to warn users of any intenseweather phenomena, and sta-tion-wise radar forecastsupdated every 10 minutes.

The app was designed anddeveloped jointly byICRISAT’s Digital Agricultureand Youth team, IndianInstitute of TropicalMeteorology (IITM) in Pune,and IMD.

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Page 5:  · Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra continued to play hard ball with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on the issue of convening a State Assembly session, which could be used by Gehlot

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Tamil Nadu saw 6,993 newpersons getting diagnosed

with Covid-19 on Mondaywhile the pandemic claimed 77lives across the State in the last24 hours, according to themedical bulletin issued by theGovernment of Tamil Nadu.

Since July 23, the State hasseen the number of personsgetting contracted with Covod-19 showing an unprecedentedincrease and this has madeChief Minister EdappadiPalaniswai to convene a meet-ing of all district collectors onJuly 29 to find out a strategy tocheck the unprecedented hike.Palaniswami also inauguratedon Monday the scheme of pro-viding free face masks to all

ration card holders in the State.On July 23, the State saw

the number of persons diag-nosed with the pandemic on asingle day reaching 6,472, whileon July 24 it shot up to 6,785.On Jukly 25, the number ofnew persons tested positivefor covid reached 6,988 and onJuly 26, there were 6,986 newaddition to the army of covidpatients in the State.

With Monday’s hike in the

number of covid patients in theState, Tamil Nadu has 54,896active cases. The death tollreached 3,571 while the totalnumber of persons dischargedafter getting cured showed 1.62lakh.

While Chennai showedsome stabilisation as the num-ber of new patients wererestricted to 1,138, the threeneighbouring districtsremained problematic.Chengalpet tested 448 positivecases while Kancheepuram had362 new cases and Thiruvallurwas home to 474 new patients.

The States 22 districts havemore than 100 patients eachwhile 1.82 lakh of the totalpatients were of the 13-60 agegroup. Out of the 77 personswho died on Monday, 69 hadpre-existing morbidity issues.

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TAs 483 out of the 702 newpersons diagnosed with

Covid-19 on Monday contract-ed the pandemic through localtransmission, Kerala is intensi-fying its war against Coronavirusby chalking out long-term strate-gies for controlling and pre-venting the disease. This was dis-closed by Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan in his mediabriefing on Monday.

“Two deaths were reportedin the last 24 hours in the State.Expatriates accounted 75 caseswhile 91 persons from otherStates tested positive today. 35persons could not give detailsabout how they contracted thepandemic,” said the chief min-ister.

“Thiruvananthapuramaccounted for 161 covid-19cases while Malappuram tested86 new persons with covid,” hesaid. The day saw 1,237 persons

getting hospitalised on Monday.“We have 9,611 persons undertreatment in various hospitalsacross the State. We sent 18, 417samples for testing in the last 24hours,” said the Chief Minister.

Vijayan pointed out thatKerala has the lowest mortalityrate in the country and said thatthis was a major achievement.“The main concern is theincreasing number of personsgetting contracted through localtransmission and also fromunknown sources,” he said.

The Chief Minister said theincreasing number of suicides bypersons tested positive and bythose who were under obser-vation has shocked the State. Tensuicides have been reportedfrom various parts of the Stateduring the last two weeks. So weare launching a suicide preven-tion programme across the Statethrough interactions with thepatients as well as those who arein observation,” said Vijayan.

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Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on

Monday urged Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to clear theState’s dues that ran into sever-al thousand crores. The ChiefMinister who along with thePrime Minister jointly inaugu-rated the Covas machine tofacilitate corona tests through avirtual window said without theCentral assistance it was becom-ing difficult to fight the pan-demic situation.

“Already we have spent�2,500 crore towards fightingthe corona situation. We needmore funds and at present wehave a due of �53,000 crore

from the Centre… I wouldrequest you to kindly clear theState’s dues so that we can han-dle the situation on our own,”Banerjee told the PrimeMinister.

The new machine that waslaunched today has a capabili-ty of testing 10,000 cases per day.Apart from corona the machinecan test dengue, and HepatitisB and C too, sources said.

The Chief Minister who haswritten to the Centre on anumber of occasions for clear-ance of its dues told the PrimeMinister how her State hadreceived only �125 crore fromthe Centre whereas it hadalready spent �2,500 crore tofight pandemic.

“I also request you to kind-ly send �135 due in terms ofGST,” Banerjee said remindinghow the State’s revenues hadseen a sharp drop in the pastseveral months and there was anurgent need of central help.

On the assured Centralhelp for meeting the extraordi-nary expenses to fight the postAmphan (super cyclone) crisisBanerjee said the PrimeMinister had visited Bengalafter the super cyclone hit theState and granted �1,000 crore“but after that we have notreceived any grant from theCentre whereas we have alreadyspent �6,500 crore to fight theAmphan crisis.”

Saying Bengal will contin-

ue to stand by the Centre in itsfight against corona Banerjeesaid “the funds if it were releasedfrom the Centre would onlyhelp the cause of fighting thepandemic.”

Banerjee lodged a veiledcomplaint against StateGovernor Jagdeep Dhankhar forrepeatedly interfering in theState’s functions and attackingthe State Government even asshe said “some people despitebeing in the constitutional postshave made it a point to repeat-edly attack the StateGovernment and interfere withits works… I would like to drawthe attention of the PrimeMinister to this also” Banerjeesaid.

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Prayagraj: A 57-year-old coro-na patient, who was caught oncamera walking out of the hos-pital, was found dead onSunday evening. His body was found in somebushes, just 500 metres fromthe hospital.

His family has accused thehospital of 'negligence', addingthat he 'escaped' after he facedharassment. The hospitaladministration, however, hasdenied the accusation. IANS

Panaji: Goa Health MinisterVishwajit Rane on Mondayapologised for the deaths of 33persons, including a 14-year-old girl, due to Covid-19 infec-tion.

Rane however said thatthe Covid-19 mortality rate inGoa was still lower than whatis prevalent in the rest of thecountry.

“We are sorry for the 33deaths which have taken place,”Rane told the one-day mon-soon session of the state leg-islative assembly, adding that he“felt bad” particularly after thedeath of the 14-year-old girl onSaturday.

The Health Minister saidthat in all 1.21 lakh persons hadbeen tested and the positiverate among those tested was8.11 per cent. Goa has a pop-ulation of 1.5 million. IANS

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In a shocking incident, thebody of a 55-year-old coro-

navirus patient had to be keptfor 18 hours at his home inKolkata's Behala on Monday.

The patient reportedly diedof acute respiratory trouble ataround 10.30 p.m. on Sunday.He had tested Covid positiveearlier that day.

According to local sources,his family members tried tocontact Kolkata MunicipalCorporation (KMC) officials,

the local councillor and thepolice but received no responsefrom them in cremating thebody as per government pro-tocol. The family membersand the deceased's neighboursclaimed that there was noresponse till late afternoon onMonday. Meanwhile, six fam-ily members of the victim havealso tested positive for Covid-19. The residents of Behala'sSahapur now fear a spread ofthe virus in the area and haverequested the family membersof the victim to stay indoors.

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The Shri Ram JanmabhoomiTeerth Kshetra Trust has

said that a time capsule will beplaced about 200 feet under-ground beneath the RamTemple construction site inAyodhya.

According to KameshwarChaupal, a member of theShri Ram JanmabhoomiTeerth Kshetra Trust, the cap-sule will help anyone in thefuture who wishes to study thehistory of the temple.

“The time capsule will beplaced about 200 feet under-ground at the Ram Templeconstruction site. In future,anyone who wishes to studyabout the history of the tem-ple, will get all facts related toRam Janmabhoomi in the time

capsule,” he said.Kameshwar Chaupal, inci-

dentally, is a Dalit from Biharwho had laid the foundationstone for a Ram temple inAyodhya on November 9,1989.

Since then, the 64-year-oldChaupal, has been anxiouslywaiting for the construction ofthe temple to begin.

Almost nine months afterthe historic verdict of SupremeCourt on the Babri Masjid vsRam Janmabhoomi dispute,Prime Minister NarendraModi will visit Ayodhya onAugust 5 for the 'Bhumi pujan'ceremony to begin the con-struction of a grand RamTemple.

The Supreme Court had,on November 9 last year, ruledin the favour of a Ram Temple

at the disputed site inAyodhya.

The court had also direct-ed the Centre to allot an alter-native five-acre plot to theSunni Waqf Board for buildinga new mosque at a 'prominent'place in the holy town in UttarPradesh.

Meanwhile, hectic prepa-rations have begun for the'bhumi pujan' ceremony thatwill be performed by laying a40-kg silver brick at the sanc-tum sanctorum.

Three-day-long Vedic rit-uals, beginning August 3, willprecede the main ceremony,according to the members ofthe Trust.

The entire temple town isbeing given a makeover withwalls being painted in vibrantcolours.

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The Maharashtra Congress onMonday charged that by

misusing power, money andthe governor's office, the BJP wastrying to overthrow theOpposition Governments invarious States of the country –an act it said was “unconstitu-tional” aimed at “murdering”democracy.

Amid heavy rains, the StateCongress leaders, headed byState party president andMaharashtra Revenue MinisterBalasaheb Thorat, staged aprotest in front of Raj Bhavanhere in the backdrop of the BJP’salleged efforts to dislodge theirparty’s Government inRajasthan.

Talking to media persons onthe sidelines of the protest,Thorat said: “By misusing power,

money and the governor's office,the BJP is trying to overthrowthe opposition governments invarious states of the country.This is unconstitutional and is anattempt to murder democracy”

Thorat also slammed theGovernor of Rajasthan, by say-ing: “In a major violation of theConstitution and democraticvalues, the Governor ofRajasthan is acting in a way thatwill help the BJP overthrow theelected government”.

Apart from Thorat, State

Public Works MinisterAshok Chavan,Mumbai CongressPresident EknathGaikwad, EducationMinister VarshaGaikwad, formerMinister Naseem Khan,former MLA MadhuChavan, Mumbai Youth

Congress President GaneshYadav and other Congress officebearers and party workers werepresent at the protest TheCongress leaders present raisedslogans against the Centre andRajasthan Governor.

“The Congress has helpedbring independence to the coun-try and has established democ-racy in independent India. Butsince coming to power at theCentre in 2014, BJP has shownconstant disregard for publicopinion,” Thorat said.

“The BJP's policy has beento overthrow electedGovernments of the oppositionparties in various states by mis-using power and money to gainpower through immoral andcorrupt means. And for this, thegovernor's office or Raj Bhavanis being misused on a large scale.Conspiracies to overthrow StateGovernments are brewing at theRaj Bhavan. The role of theRajasthan Governor is dubiousand biased,” the MaharashtraCongress chief said.

“The government, led byAshok Gehlot, has demandedthat the Assembly be convenedto prove its majority. But, thegovernor was trampling on theconstitution and democracy,alleging that the governors werenot convening the assembly togive the BJP some time to tradeMLAs,” Thorat said.

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Ahead of the first anniversaryof the Abrogation of Article

370 and reorganisation of theerstwhile State of Jammu &Kashmir into two UnionTerritories on August 5, Lt-GovGirish Chander Murmu arrivedin Jammu where he inaugurat-ed several developmental pro-jects including a much-awaitedcable car project between Bahuand Mahamaya temples onMonday.

Operationalisation ofJammu Ropeway will boost thepilgrimage tourism as it con-nects the three major temples ofJammu city; the Jamvant Gufa(Peerkho Temple), MahamayaTemple and Bahu Fort Templeand will provide recreationalfacility to Jammuites which waslong pending aspiration of peo-ple. At the venue of the cablecar project, the Lt Governor andthe First Lady Dr. Smita Murmu,took the maiden ride of the cable

car after the inaugural function.He hailed the project and hopedthat the service would becomea major highlight of Jammu city.On spot directions were issuedby the Lt Governor to keep theservice free for the general pub-lic for the first 15 days of oper-ation. He also called for con-structing a gaming zone for kidsand keeping special conces-sional rates for students andsenior citizens.

During the day, Lt-GovMurmu also dedicated to pub-lic different infrastructure devel-opment projects of the PowerDevelopment Department exe-cuted under various CentrallySponsored Schemes.Accordingto a government spokesman,“Overall 49 completed projectswere inaugurated at the cost ofRs 81.15 Cr on Monday”.

“There shall be a capacityaddition of 250 MW andimproved power supply to 31000Domestic, Commercial con-sumers, 300 Industrial Units, 40

villages, 200 commercial hotels,60 government establishmentsand various tourist Spots”. Thespokesman said, projects, forwhich foundation stone waslaid today, shall be completedover a period of six months.

In the HorticulturePlanning & Marketing depart-ment, three projects were e-inau-gurated: e- National AgricultureMarket (e-NAM) for Fruit&Vegetable Market Narwal,Jammu , Fruit & VegetableMarket, Bishnah and ApniMandi Chadwal, Kathua.

Earlier in the day Lt Gov GCMurmu also visited Sher-e-Kashmir University ofAgricultural sciences where heinaugurated the new infra-structural blocks includingbuilding of Ujala PG GirlsHostel, Residential Quarters forTeaching staff and a BedsideOxygen facility established at theUniversity Health Centre inview of Covid-19 Pandemic.

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After the Covid-19 infec-tions crossed 9,000 mark

for the past four consecutivedays, Maharashtra on Mondaywitnessed a drop in the numberof new cases, as 7,924 peopletested positive for coronavirus,while as many as 227 more peo-ple died of pandemic in variousparts of the state.

After it recorded the high-est-ever 10,576 infections onJuly 22 and witnessed 9895,9615, 9251 and 9431 on July 23,24, 25 and 26 respectively, theState logged 7,924 new infect-

ed cases, taking the total num-ber of positive cases to 3,83,723.

With fresh 227, the totalnumber of deaths in the stateinched closer to 14,000 as thetoll touched 13,883.

There has been a substan-tial number of deaths for thepast eight days. The break-up ofdeaths in the state since July 20is: July 20- 176, July 21—246,July 22—280, July 23—298, July24—278, July 25-257, July 26—267 and July 27-227.

Of the total 227 reported onMonday, Raigad districtnotched the highest 47 deaths,followed by 45 in Pune and 40

in Thane. For the first time sincethe outbreak of the pandemic,Mumbai with 39 deathsemerged fourth in terms offatalities.

With 39 deaths, the totalnumber of deaths in Mumbaiwent up from 6,093 to 6,132while the infected cases rose by1,021 to touch 110,182 now.

In what came as a big relieffor Mumbaikars,BrihanMumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) hannounced a recovery rate of 73percent and a case doubling rateof 68 days in the country’scommercial capital.

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Page 6:  · Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra continued to play hard ball with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on the issue of convening a State Assembly session, which could be used by Gehlot

The sudden and tragicdemise of Sushant SinghRajput in rather mysteri-ous circumstances hastriggered a huge debate

on all that is wrong with Bollywood,especially the incestuous relation-ship that exists within the film fra-ternity and the discouragement, ifnot hostility, with which it greets“outsiders.” While the Mumbaipolice is still probing the cause of hisdeath, Sushant’s colleague, KanganaRanaut, another “outsider” whohas had to struggle to find her placein the industry, has stirred the hor-net’s nest by talking about a “moviemafia” that exists in Mumbai andthe nepotistic tendencies that it pro-motes. Her detailed interview to aprivate television channel recentlyhas dredged up a lot of muck andbrought the issue of nepotism to thecentrestage.

One of the allegations againstthe “Bollywood mafia” afterSushant’s tragic death is that it dri-ves talented “outsiders” out of thebusiness while promoting medioc-rity among “nepo-kids” (children offilm stars). This is not to say that starkids are not talented. Many of themhave blossomed as excellent actors.But there is no denying the fact thatthey have a safety net. Interestingly,what is true of the cinema world inMumbai is also true of the world ofpolitics in Lutyens’ Delhi and else-where in the country. Nepotism isso well entrenched that it is nowcentral to our way of life. However,even if it is a bit late in the day, onemust identify this trend and call itout because it militates against thedemocratic dharma , whichdemands a level-playing field foreveryone.

Producer-director Karan Johar,who has been at the receiving endof Kangana’s accusations, has not, infact, denied the part played bynepotism in the film industry. Hehas stated publicly that when a pro-ducer launches the son of a moviestar, he is actually wanting to be ina “comfort zone” because eventual-ly, it’s also a commercial decision. “Abig movie star’s son is going to getthe eye balls…you don’t want to takea chance…it’s money.” In otherwords, he says, producers feel “pro-tected” when they are in that (nepo-tism) zone.

Is this not true of politics aswell? Just look at the way party tick-ets are distributed during a parlia-mentary election and you realisethat “being connected” matters a lot— or so it did for much of the seven

decades that have gone by afterindependence. In fact, nepo-tism is so well entrenched thatthe children and grandchildrenof individuals, who held pub-lic offices at the national levelin India many decades ago,almost deem it their right torepresent the constituencieswhich their grandfathers orgrandmothers represented andlive in the very houses whichtheir forefathers occupied inLutyens’ Delhi. They get soattached to these houses thatafter a while they even forgetthat these dwellings are publicproperties. And in case they arenot living in those houses, thesecond and third generationpoliticians demand that they beconverted into memorials ormausoleums.

The Nehru-Gandhis arethe real initiators of this trendin our national politics and inLutyens’ Delhi. It began in thedays of our first Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru, when heensured the appointment of hisdaughter, Indira Gandhi, as thepresident of the IndianNational Congress in 1959.What happened thereafter isfairly well-known to the peopleof the country. As one memberof this family succeeded anoth-er as the country’s PrimeMinister, the family’s familiar-ity with our republicanConstitution grew weaker and

weaker and it began to imag-ine that India was indeed amonarchy.

As this family entrencheditself and started promoting itsrelatives and friends, theNehruvian School becamedominant and ambitiousbureaucrats, academicians,thought leaders, artists, mediaprofessionals and businessmenbecame part of it. All of themrealised that only those whowere part of this caravan, could climb the ladderin bureaucracy, academia,media and so on.

Barring honourable excep-tions, all the Governors, ViceChancellors, newspaper edi-tors, TV anchors and PadmaAward winners were membersof this school. There was nosuch thing as respect for diver-sity or other points of view. Inpolitics, those who made it tothe Lok Sabha and the RajyaSabha in the days of theCongress’s complete domi-nance, had to be part of thisideological “biraadri” of theirfellow travellers. So the whimsand fancies of this familybecame the law and its nepo-tistic attitude was dignifiedand universalised when it pro-moted the children and grand-children of its loyalists andhangers-on.

All this went on unchal-lenged until Narendra Modi

became the Prime Minister inMay 2014. He has emerged asthe arch disruptor and has sub-stantially worked towards cre-ation of a level-playing field inLutyens’ Delhi. Kangana isdoing the same in Bollywood —fearlessly calling out those whoshamelessly promote nepotismin the Hindi film industry andeven launch vicious attacks ontalented “outsiders” who dare tofind a place for themselves inBollywood.

For example, it appears tobe common practice to crackjokes in television shows andpublic events at the expense ofnewcomers like what ShahRukh Khan and Shahid Kapoordid to Sushant during an IIFAawards event. Kangana alsotalks about some extremelyworrying situations, like whena noted Bollywood directortold Sushant that he was notdrifting but drowning.

Further, Sushant began lifein Maldiha in Purnia district,Bihar. He was a NationalOlympiad winner in physics. Arank holder in an entranceexam for a top-of-the-line engi-neering college. He had eclecticinterests, ranging from readingto mathematics and astronomyto dance, music and cinema.Was he too much of an intellec-tual for Bollywood becausemany “stars” have publicly gloat-ed over their poor academic

record? In fact, Karan Johar hasconfessed that he was told at ayoung age that if he wanted tomake Hindi movies, “you don’tneed to be qualified….and thisdoesn’t speak highly of the fra-ternity I come from.”

This writer is not a moviebuff but he got to see some ofSushant’s work — his lead rolesin Chichchore and in the biopicon MS Dhoni, for example. Hissensitive portrayals in boththese movies is there for all tosee. So how come Bollywood,instead of embracing and pro-moting such talent, chose todrive him into a corner? If thereis a “mafia” or to put it moreaccurately, a cosy club of nepo-tists, it must be identified andcalled out. The issues raised byKangana call for some seriousdebate and cleaning up.

Further, if Sushant’s deathis not to go in vain, the democ-ratisation of Bollywood isessential and a level-playingfield is absolutely essential. Butthis can happen only if the cur-rent national indignation at thetreatment meted out to Sushantis turned into a national move-ment to encourage the work oftalented “outsiders” and, moreimportantly, gets reflected atthe box office.

(The writer is an authorspecialising in democracy studies. Views expressed arepersonal.)

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Sir — The flood situation inBihar has exacerbated withthousands of lives at stake.Hospital, schools and houses aresubmerged while crops havebeen destroyed. And for themigrant workers, who cameback home during the nation-wide lockdown, it is difficult toarrange two meals a day. TheGovernment must provideimmediate assistance, evacuatepeople to safer zones and pro-vide relief materials, too.

MA Salam Qasmi

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Sir — The cyber cell of theHaryana police has done a com-mendable job in busting a gangof cheats involved in onlinefraud. Such scams haveincreased in times of uncertain-ty when the pandemic has con-fined us to our homes. Luresrange from run-of-the-millscams to non-targeted spamcampaigns, which are used fordata harvesting. In many cases,the victims are induced to fol-

low a malicious link ostensiblyto get more or updated informa-tion on the COVID-19 treat-ment rates in their local area.Alertness is the key to fight thescourge of online fraud.

Yugal Kishore SharmaFaridabad

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Delhi can’t ease up” (July 23).Findings by the National Centrefor Disease Control (NCDC)indicate the possibility that one

out of four Delhi residents mayhave contracted COVID-19 untilJune 20. This translates into awhopping 47 lakh people withtemporary immunity, revealinga wide gulf between the conta-gion and its detection. The infec-tion has already passed through

a sizeable population in Delhi. Ifso many people did contract theinfection and are asymptomatic,it brings down the infectionfatality rate. But there’s no roomfor complacency. Given the valu-able information uncovered fromDelhi, sero-surveys must be con-ducted in other major cities, too,as they could indicate the possi-bility of herd immunity.

N Sadhasiva ReddyVia mail

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Sir — It has been over a monthsince Sushant Singh Rajput left usbut the controversy over hisdecision to end his life has refusedto die. In fact, the debate over theexistence of nepotism has gainedmomentum. The problem lieswith the influential class of peo-ple who decide on the fate of anactor, whether he/she must bepromoted or demoted. Tragedieslike that of Sushant must stopnow. Time for the film industryto recast its functioning.

ShrutiVia email

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Page 7:  · Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra continued to play hard ball with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on the issue of convening a State Assembly session, which could be used by Gehlot

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Even as the efforts made by the NarendraModi Government — including an assetquality review (AQR) by the Reserve Bank

of India (RBI), enactment of the Insolvency andBankruptcy Code (IBC), amendment of theBanking Regulation Act (BRA) and massive cap-ital infusion in public sector banks (PSBs) — werebeginning to yield results in terms of reductionin non-performing assets (NPAs), the crisis trig-gered by Covid-19 has turned the clock back.

According to a report by India Ratings andResearch (Ind-Ra), the impact of the pandemicand the associated policy response are likely toresult in an additional �1,67,000 crore of debt fromthe top-500 debt-heavy private sector borrowersturning delinquent between 2020-21 and 2021-22. Together with �2,54,000 crore anticipated priorto the onset of the pandemic, the cumulative quan-tum will be �4,21,000 crore. As a proportion ofoutstanding debt, NPAs will increase from 11.57per cent to 18.21 per cent.

Ind-Ra has also projected a scenario where-in funding markets would continue to exhibitheightened risk-aversion. Under this, the corpo-rate stress could increase further by �1,68,000crore, taking cumulative NPAs to �5,89,000 croreby the end of 2021-22. This is 20.84 per cent ofoutstanding debt. To deal with the situation, inMay the Indian Banks Association (IBA) had sub-mitted a proposal for setting up a “bad bank” tothe Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the RBI,proposing equity contribution from theGovernment of India (GoI) and banks.

A “bad bank” buys the NPAs and other non-liquid holdings of other banks and thereby helpsclear their balance sheets. In 2018, a committeeheaded by the former Chairman, Punjab NationalBank (PNB), Sunil Mehta, had recommended set-ting up of an asset management company (AMC)to be named ‘Sashakt India Asset Management’for fast track resolution of large bad loans. Now,the IBA has resurrected the idea.

Before analysing the proposal, it is importantto take stock of what all was done in the last fiveyears or so to deal with NPAs. First, it was a schemenicknamed ‘5/25’ introduced in December 2014,under which maturity of loans given to infrastruc-ture companies could be extended up to 25 years.Second, in June 2015, this was followed by ascheme for ‘Strategic Debt Restructuring (SDR).’Under SDR, banks could convert debt into equi-ty and take control of a company and sell off itsassets. They were required to sell the assets with-in 18 months from the day of taking control; ifwithin this deadline they could not, full provisionhad to be made for writing off the debt.

Third, in 2016, under a ‘Scheme forSustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A)’for large accounts involving borrowings of �500crore or more, where no malfeasance was seen,lenders were required to first segregate the exist-ing debt of a company into “sustainable” (the sharewhich can be serviced with subsisting low cashflow) and “unsustainable”, which can’t be serviced.The unsustainable portion (up to 50 per cent oftotal debt) was to be converted into equityshares.

The underlying theme in all the three schemeswas to make banks bear the brunt and let borrow-ers go scot-free. In the first, this was via indefi-nitely deferring repayment whereas, in the second,the entire outstanding debt was condoned by con-verting this into equity. In the third, even as 50per cent of the total debt was condoned, for the

balance 50 per cent, no credible mech-anism was proposed to recover themoney. Even so, with a promoterreduced to minority status, s/he won’thave much interest left in running thecompany for generating the requiredcash flow.

The outcome was there for all to see.Under ‘5/25’ and ‘SDR’, the banks werestuck with dud assets even as the ‘S4A’failed to take off. On February 12, 2018,the RBI abolished all the three schemesand came up with a broad circular. Foraccounts with aggregate exposure of�2,000 crore and above, the circularrequired that as soon as there was adefault in the account with any lender,all lenders — singly or jointly — shallinitiate steps to cure the default bypreparing a resolution plan (RP). The RPapproved by all lenders had to be read-ied within six months from the defaultdate. If the deadline was missed, pro-ceedings under the IBC would be initi-ated by referring the case to the NationalCompany Law Tribunal (NCLT) whichwould get six months to complete theresolution process.

This indeed was the way to go. Themechanism under the IBC yielded goodresults with dozens of NPA accountsresolved and lenders recovering over�3,00,000 crore. But the circular wasquashed by the Supreme Court (SC) onApril 2, 2019. On June 7, 2019, the RBIissued a revised circular. Under it, fromthe day an account is in default, lendersget 30 days to enter into an inter-lenderagreement (ILA) to decide on a RP.

Unlike the 2018 circular, which seta deadline for finalising the RP, this orderprescribes no time limit. It only requiresbanks to make an additional provisionof 20 per cent if the RP is not ready with-in 180 days and a further 15 per cent ifnot ready within 365 days. The plan has

to be approved by 75 per cent of thelenders by value and 60 per cent by num-ber. If lenders don’t come up with a planeven at the end of 365 days and refer theaccount to the NCLT then, the provi-sions can be reversed viz. 50 per cent ofit at the time of initiating the proceed-ings under the IBC and the balancewhen the case is admitted by the tri-bunal. In short, the June 2019 circulargives a free hand to lenders in comingup with a RP. It has rendered the reso-lution under the IBC dysfunctional. Ifthe account is not referred to the tribunalin time, how will the IBC processwork?

The lockdown necessitated by thepandemic and consequential policyactions by the RBI, viz. granting a mora-torium on loan repayments and exclu-sion of the moratorium period for thepurpose of declaring the account anNPA, have only worsened matters. Inthis backdrop and with the quantum ofNPAs threatening to increase sharply, theworry of banks is understandable.Hence, the idea of a “bad bank” has beenrevived.

As mentioned earlier, a “bad bank”buys the NPAs of other banks. The mostcrucial component of this arrangementis the value at which the loan accountis transferred from the latter to the for-mer. From the IBA’s proposal, whichwants the GOI to be a majority share-holder, it would appear that banks arekeen on securing maximum value forthe assets transferred to the bad bank.

Put simply, the banks don’t want tomake any efforts on their own (comingup with a RP) and won’t let the accountgo under the hammer as that wouldentail huge provisioning (50 per cent forsecured loans and 100 per cent for unse-cured loans). Instead, they expect the“bad bank” to take upon itself the onus

of recovering the money from delin-quent borrowers. Even if it is unable torecover (a more likely scenario) and getsinto trouble, the sovereign Government— being the majority shareholder — willeventually foot the bill. This is not ahealthy proposition. If ultimately theGovernment has to bear the brunt, thiscan be done even while bad loansremain in the bank’s books. There is noneed to create a dedicated bank andincur the additional cost associatedwith it.

There are three strong reasons whythe Government must not accept thisproposal. First, having already recapi-talised PSBs (during the last threefinancial years alone, it has infused�2,65,000 crore), it makes no sense topump in more of the taxpayers’ moneywhich is what a GOI-sponsored “badbank” will tantamount to.

Second, already, there are many assetreconstruction companies (ARCs) in theprivate space which are better-equippedto handle stressed assets; why createanother institution? Third, setting up a“bad bank” will bring to nought allefforts that have gone into the IBCprocess and seriously undermine it.

Instead, the Union Governmentand the RBI should take measures tostrengthen the IBC process. The way for-ward is to fix a timeline for banks tocome up with a RP. It was there in 2018and needs to be restored. As for theSupreme Court’s concern that “the RBIdoes not have legal authority to issue ageneralised order”, this can be taken careof by the latter giving directions on “spe-cific cases” — under the authorisationfrom the GoI — as the former hasupheld the legal validity of Section 35AAof the amended BRA in its order of 2019.

(The writer is a New Delhi-based policy analyst)

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After the Rajasthan High Courtordered status quo in relation tothe notices issued by the Speaker,

initiating proceedings against Congressrebels under the Tenth Schedule of theConstitution, Chief Minister (CM)Ashok Gehlot paraded more than 100MLAs in front of the Governor. Herequested him to convene the Assemblysession but Kalraj Mishra exhibitedreluctance to do so.

Article 163 of the Constitution saysthat there shall be a Council ofMinisters with the CM as the head, toaid and advise the Governor in the exer-cise of his/her functions, except whenthe Governor is required by theConstitution to exercise any of his/her

functions at his/her discretion. Article 174 of the Constitution

mandates that the Governor fromtime to time summon the House oreach House of the Legislature of theState. The Constitution Bench of theSupreme Court (SC) in the NabamRebia vs Deputy Speaker case hadexamined the scope of the words “in hisdiscretion” used in Article 163. Theapex court held that in so far as the exer-cise of discretionary powers vested withthe Governor is concerned, the same islimited to situations wherein constitu-tional provisions expressly providethat s/he should act at his/her own dis-cretion. It was also held that theGovernor can exercise his/her discre-tion in a situation where an interpre-tation of the constitutional provisionconcerned could not be construedotherwise. The SC held that the framersof the Constitution decided not to vestdiscretion with the Governor in thematter of summoning and dissolvingthe House or House of the StateLegislature by omitting Article 153(3)of the Draft Articles, which envisaged

that the power to summon and dissolvethe House shall be exercised by theGovernor at his/her discretion.Therefore, the Governor can summon,prorogue and dissolve the House onlyon the aid and advice of the CM andthe Council of Ministers.

After examining the JusticeSarkaria Commission report, JusticeMM Punchhi Commission report andthe treaties by MN Kaul and SLShakdher Practice and procedure ofParliament, published by the Lok SabhaSecretariat, the apex court had held thatin ordinary circumstances, during theperiod when the CM and his/herCouncil of Ministers enjoy the confi-dence of the majority of the House, thepower vested with the Governor underArticle 174 to summon, must be exer-cised in consonance with the aid andadvice of the CM and the Council ofMinisters. If the Governor has reasonto believe that they have lost the con-fidence of the House, it would requirethem to prove their majority in theHouse through a floor test and there-after exercise his/her discretion if the

Council of Ministers and the CM havelost the confidence of the majority.

In the light of the said judgmentand the parading of 102 MLAs byGehlot, the Governor invariably has toabide by the aid and advice of theCouncil of Ministers and summon theAssembly. Or, if s/he is in doubt withregard to the said majority, still s/he cansummon the Assembly and direct theCM to prove majority. In either case, theGovernor has to immediately summonthe Assembly to resolve the face-off.

All constitutional functionarieshave to act as per the mandate con-tained in the Constitution. It is anorganic document that requires all itsfunctionaries to observe, apply and pro-tect the values spelt out by it, whichmake up constitutional morality. TheSC, in Navtej Singh Johar’s case, hasobserved that “it is the concept of con-stitutional morality that strives andurges the organs of the State to main-tain such a heterogeneous fibre in soci-ety in multifarious ways and it is theresponsibility of the three organs of theState to curb any propensity or procliv-

ity of popular sentiment or majoritar-ianism.”

The Constitution Bench of the SCin the Government of NCT of Delhi Vs.Union of India case, has held that “con-stitutional morality is that fulcrumwhich acts as an essential check uponhigh functionaries and citizens alike, asexperience has shown that unbridledpower without any checks and balanceswould result in a despotic and tyran-nical situation which is antithetical tothe very idea of democracy. Any act togarner justification must possess poten-tiality in harmony with constitutionalimpulses.”

The SC further held that the con-cept of constitutional governance in abody polity like ours, where theConstitution is the supreme fundamen-tal law, is neither hypothetical norabstraction but is real, concrete andgrounded. Governance should be con-sistent with the Constitution and shalloperate under it. The apex court saidthat the parliamentary form of democ-racy, as envisaged by the Constitution,has its very base in the power bestowed

upon the people to vote and make thelegislature accountable for their func-tioning. Of late, the powers of and rolesplayed by the Governors of Karnataka,Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtraand now Rajasthan have become high-ly controversial. Differences aroundissues such as selecting the CM, deter-mining the timing for proving major-ity and so on, have projected a negativeimage that the Governor is “an agent ofthe Centre.”

BR Ambedkar in his speeches hadsaid that the discretionary power is inno sense a negation of a responsibleGovernment and it is not a generalclause giving the Governor power todisregard the advice of his Ministers inany manner. The SC, in the SR BommaiVs Union of India case, while examin-ing the invocation of Article 356(1) ofthe Constitution imposing President’sRule in Karnataka, had specifically heldthat the Governor is expected to con-duct her/himself fairly and conscious-ly and be circumspect.

(The writer is Advocate, Andhraand Telangana High Courts)

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Page 8:  · Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra continued to play hard ball with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on the issue of convening a State Assembly session, which could be used by Gehlot

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Portland (US): A night thatstarted with a reported shoot-ing and a bag containingloaded rifle magazines andMolotov cocktails amid apeaceful protest — morphedinto an intense early morningconfrontation between demon-strators and law enforcementin Oregon’s largest city.

US agents repeatedly firedwhat appeared to be tear gas,flash bangs and pepper ballsearly Monday to clear a massof protesters outside the MarkO. Hatfield United StatesCourthouse in Portland. Someprotesters had climbed over thefence surrounding the court-house, while others shot fire-works, banged on the fenceand projected lights on thebuilding.

The federal courthousehas been a place of contentionas the city has seen nightlyprotests for two months sincethe death of George Floyd inMinneapolis in May. PresidentDonald Trump said he sentfederal agents to Portland tohalt the unrest but state and

local officials said they aremaking the situation worse.

The protest late Sundaystarted peacefully, with orga-nizers giving speeches andleading chants with the crowd.But things intensified as thenight wore on. U.S. Agentsdeclared an “unlawful assem-bly,” and just after 1 a.M., con-fronted protesters on the streetand worked to clear the area.Several people were seen beingdetained, but it was not imme-diately clear how many mayhave been arrested.

Law enforcement spenthours working to disperse thecrowd. At times, protestersscattered amid flash bangs.Officers deployed more teargas and less-lethal munitions,and formed a line to push backdemonstrators.

Many dispersed, but sev-eral protesters remained wellafter 2 am.

It’s become an all-too-familiar scene in Portland.

Authorities declared a riotearly Sunday morning. AP

Dhaka: A lawmaker fromBangladesh’s ruling AwamiLeague died from respiratorycomplications at a hospitalhere on Monday, following hisrecovery from the COVID-19illness, according to mediareports.

Israfil Alam, the MP fromthe Naogaon-6 constituency,was admitted to SquareHospital in Dhaka on July 17and breathed his last early thismorning. He was 54.

Alam, also the joint secre-tary of Naogaon district unit

Awami League, was put on lifesupport on July 24 after hisbreathing complexities deteri-orated, his wife Sultana Parvintold the Dhaka Tribune.

The three-time lawmakerhad earlier recovered fromCOVID-19. “Our mother diedrecently and then my brothercontracted the coronavirusdisease,” Alam’s sister Renutold bdnews24.Com onSaturday. President AbdulHamid in his condolence mes-sage termed Alam a “dedicat-ed politician”. PTI

Beijing: A Chinese doctor,who diagnosed early coron-avirus cases in China, hasaccused the local authorities ofa cover-up of the initial scale ofthe outbreak at the epicentreWuhan, saying the evidencewas already destroyed whenthey went for investigation,according to a media report.

Speaking to the BBC,Professor Kwok-Yung Yuen, amicrobiologist, physician andsurgeon in Hong Kong, whohelped to investigate theCOVID-19 outbreak in thecentral Chinese city of Wuhan,said the physical evidence at theHuanan wildlife market wasdestroyed and the response toclinical findings was slow.

“When we went to theHuanan supermarket, ofcourse, there was nothing to seebecause the market was cleanalready. So, you may say thatthe crime scene is already dis-turbed because the supermar-ket was cleared. We cannotidentify any host which is giv-

ing the virus to humans,” Yuenwas quoted as saying.

“I do suspect that theyhave been doing some cover-uplocally at Wuhan. The localofficials who are supposed toimmediately relay the infor-mation have not allowed this tobe done as readily as it should,”he said in the report.

The coronavirus originat-ed from the Huanan wildlifemarket in Wuhan in Decemberlast year and has globally infect-ed over 16 million people andclaimed the lives of more than648,000 people and bringingthe world economy to a stand-still.

According to the JohnsHopkins data, China hasrecorded 86,570 COVID-19cases and 4,652 deaths.

Several countries, includ-ing the US, have criticisedChina for not divulging infor-mation about the severity of thedisease. However, China hasdenied the accusations of with-holding information. PTI

Beijing: American warplaneshave approached the Chinesemainland, with one reachingwithin 76.5km of Shanghai, oneof the closest passes in recentyears, a media report said onMonday amid deepening ten-sions between the two nationsfollowing the tit-for-tat closureof consulates.

A United States P-8A(Poseidon) anti-submarineplane and an EP-3E recon-naissance plane entered theTaiwan Strait, flying near thecoast of Zhejiang and Fujian onSunday, according to the SouthChina Sea Strategic SituationProbing Initiative, a PekingUniversity think tank.

It first tweeted about theoperation on Sunday morning,later adding that the recon-naissance plane was flying backafter approaching Fujian andthe southern part of the TaiwanStrait.

The think-tank tweetedagain at night, saying the USNavy P-8A was operating nearShanghai, with the USS RafaelPeralta, a guided-missiledestroyer, following a similarroute, asking “might be a jointoperation?, Hong Kong-basedSouth China Morning Postreported.

According to a chart fromthe think tank, the P-8A camewithin 76.5km of Shanghai, theclosest any US planes havecome to mainland China in

recent years, while the otherplane came within 106km ofFujian’s southern coast, thereport said.

It was the 12th day in a rowthat US military planes haveapproached the mainlandcoast, it said.

The US move comes amidan escalation in the diplomat-ic feud between the twonations.

China on Monday said ittook control of the US con-sulate in Chengdu after it wasformally closed as per Beijing’sdirective in retaliation toAmerica’s move to shut downthe Chinese diplomatic missionin Houston.

Last week, the US govern-ment ordered the closure ofChina’s consulate in Houston,

Texas, claiming the mission hadbeen involved in a largerChinese espionage effort usingdiplomatic facilities aroundthe US.

The closures were the lat-est in a series of confrontationsranging from areas such astrade and technology to diplo-macy and the South China Sea.

On Monday, the institutetweeted that “it seems” a US airforce RC-135W – anotherreconnaissance plane – hadentered Taiwan’s airspace andasked if anyone could confirmit. The Taiwanese defence min-istry declined to comment onthe claims.

But in the late afternoon,the institute tweeted again,saying an EP-3E was conduct-ing close-in reconnaissance of

Guangdong less than 100kmfrom the coast.

On Thursday, the SouthChina Sea Strategic SituationProbing Initiative released ascratchy audio recording ofwhat appeared to be a warningfrom the Chinese navy to a USmilitary plane to change courseor be intercepted. The thinktank said the audio had beencaptured by a radio amateurthat morning.

It remains unclear whichaircraft was involved but itwas said to be flying close to thesouthern Chinese coast, northof the Taiwan Strait. It isunknown whether any subse-quent aerial encounter tookplace.

According to the thinktank, US air force E-8C sur-

veillance planes have comewithin 185km or less of thesoutheast coast of Guangdongprovince on four separate occa-sions in the past week.

“At the moment the USmilitary is sending three tofive reconnaissance aircrafteach day to the South ChinaSea,” the think tank said,adding the US military planeshave come unusually close tomainland airspace severaltimes since April, the Postreport said.

“In the first half of 2020 –with much higher frequency,closer distance and more vari-ety of missions – the US aeri-al reconnaissance in the SouthChina Sea has entered a newphase,” it said.

According to its statistics,US planes made a record 50sorties over the South ChinaSea in the first three weeks ofJuly – a time when both coun-tries’ armed forces were con-ducting training exercises.

The project’s director HuBo said the frequent encountersbetween the US and Chineseships and planes raised the riskof a clash, although he said thechance of this escalating into alarge-scale conflict was small.

In 2001, a US navy signalsintelligence aircraft collided inmid-air with a Chinese inter-ceptor near Hainan province,killing a Chinese pilot.

“Although the US has been

trying to decouple with Chinain other areas, they are stillclosely connected,” the Postquoted Hu as saying.

“So the chance of a large-scale conflict happening issmall. But a medium or small-scale conflict is possible, suchas two warships hitting eachother or occasional crossfiresince the two countries’ war-ships and aircraft encountereach other every day,” he said.

The Chinese state mediahas reported that aviation unitsfrom a navy brigade are cur-rently undertaking live-firedrills in the South China Seawhile a nine-day exercise is alsobeing held off the Leizhoupeninsula in Guangdong.

Earlier this month, twoUS aircraft carriers USS Nimitzand USS Ronald ReaganCarrier Strike Groups con-ducted dual carrier operationin the disputed South ChinaSea amid China’s drills.

Beijing claims almost all ofthe 1.3 million square milesSouth China Sea as its sover-eign territory. China has beenbuilding military bases on arti-ficial islands in the region alsoclaimed by Brunei, Malaysia,the Philippines, Taiwan andVietnam.

This is the first time thetwo US aircraft carriers visitedthe area in recent time to chal-lenge China’s claim over almostall of the South China Sea. PTI

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Washington: President DonaldTrump’s National SecurityAdviser Robert O’Brien hastested positive for the coron-avirus — making him the high-est-ranking official to test pos-itive so far.

That’s according to twopeople familiar with the situa-tion who spoke on condition ofanonymity because they weren’tauthorized to discuss it byname.

The White House con-firmed that O’Brien has mildsymptoms and “has been self-isolating and working from asecure location off site,” addingthat: “There is no risk of expo-sure to the President or the VicePresident” and that the “workof the National SecurityCouncil continues uninter-rupted.”

The news was first report-

ed by Bloomberg News, whichsaid O’Brien came down withthe virus after a family event.

A personal valet to thepresident and the vice presi-dent’s press secretary previouslytested positive for the virus,which has now infected morethan 4 million people nation-wide.

Senior White House staffand anyone who comes intoclose contact with the presidentand vice president are tested forthe virus every day. AP

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Anti-racism activists toredown a statue of

Napoleon’s empress Josephineand another colonialist figurein the overseas French territo-ry of Martinique, the latest testof President EmmanuelMacron’s vow not to erase con-troversial monuments.

A statue of Josephine deBeauharnais, who was born toa wealthy colonial family on theisland and later becameNapoleon’s first wife andempress, was attacked by acrowd of people wielding clubsand ropes, according to anAFP journalist in Fort-de-France on Sunday.

The emperor reintroducedslavery in French colonies in1802, eight years after it hadbeen banned under the FrenchRevolution.

Josephine’s statue hadalready been decapitated near-ly 30 years ago, and neverbeen repaired since.

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Hanoi: About 80,000 people,mostly local tourists, are beingevacuated from the popularVietnamese beach city of DaNang after more than a dozenpeople there were confirmed tohave COVID-19, the govern-ment said Monday.

Vietnam, widely seen as asuccess in dealing with thecoronavirus, reimposed a socialdistancing order in Da Nangfollowing the confirmation ofthe cases, the first known to belocally transmitted in the coun-try in over three months.

A 57-year-old man wasconfirmed to be infected by thecoronavirus on Saturday, thecountry’s first local case sinceApril. Three more cases wereconfirmed over the weekend,followed by 11 more onMonday, the Ministry of Healthsaid.

On Sunday, the govern-ment reimposed a social dis-tancing order on the city. Thenew outbreak sparked fearamong tourists in the city, withmany cutting their trips short.

The Civil AviationAdministration said the country’s four airlines haveadded extra flights and largerplanes to transport the people,mostly domestic tourists, outof the city. AP

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Around 100 migrants fleeingwar-ravaged Libya have

run into difficulty in theMediterranean and coulddrown, the UN said Monday,urging a rapid rescue.

The arrival of summer andmore favourable conditions atsea tends to lead to an increaseof attempts to cross theMediterranean, and the dete-riorating situation in Libya isalso prompting more migrantsto take their chances at sea andreach Europe.

The InternationalOrganization for Migrationwarned in a tweet that “around95 migrants are still floating inthe Central Mediterranean atrisk of drowning, after attempt-ing to flee Libya.”

The UN agency did not

provide any further details,but stressed that “states andshipmasters have a moral andlegal obligation to respond todistress cases at sea.”

More than 100,000migrants tried to cross theMediterranean last year withmore than 1,200 dying in theattempt, according to the IOM.

Tens of thousands ofrefugees and asylum seekers, aswell as sub-Saharan Africanand Asian migrants hoping tomake it to Europe, have foundthemselves stranded in Libya inhorrifying conditions.

The overthrow and killingof veteran dictator MoamerKadhafi in a NATO-backeduprising in 2011 sparked yearsof chaos that traffickers haveexploited to turn Libya into akey route for illicit migration toEurope.

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The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) Governor Shaktikanta

Das on Monday assured theindustry that the central bankwas closely monitoring the eco-nomic situation and will nothesitate to take appropriateaction, as he underlined theneed for stepping up investmentin the infrastructure sector toreignite growth hit by theCovid-19 crisis.

Addressing members ofindustry chamber CII, Das saida big push to certain targetedmega infrastructure projectscan spur the economy, as wasdone by the GoldenQuadrilateral project in the past.

“This could begin in theform of a north-south andeast-west expressway togetherwith high speed rail corridors,both of which would generatelarge forward and backwardlinkages for several other sec-tors of the economy andregions around the rail/roadnetworks. Both public and pri-vate investment would be keyto financing our infrastructureinvestments,” he said.

Noting that the progressmade on physical infrastruc-ture in the country in the lastfive years needs to be viewed asno less than a dynamic shift, hesaid India would need around$4.5 trillion for investment ininfrastructure by 2030, as perthe Niti Aayog.

On financing options forinfrastructure, he said non-per-forming assets (NPAs) relatingto infrastructure lending bybanks have remained at ele-vated levels and there is clear-ly a need for diversifyingfinancing options.

Asked about industry pro-posals for one-time restruc-turing of debt and the centralbank buying corporate bondsdirectly, Das said he has noted

the suggestions and will takeappropriate steps as and whenrequired. “I can assure you thatRBI remains extremely vigilant,we are monitoring the situa-tion, and as and when certainsteps are required, we will nothesitate to take those steps...youare aware about the way theRBI intervened, to support themutual fund industry and theRBI will always be proactive...asand when whatever steps arerequired we are prepared toconsider,” Das said.

Reflecting on some otherdynamic shifts underway in theIndian economy, Das saidIndian agriculture has wit-nessed a distinct transforma-tion and the total production offoodgrain reached a record296 million tonnes in 2019- 20,registering an annual averagegrowth of 3.6 per cent over thelast decade.

“Shifting the terms of trade

in favour of agriculture is thekey to sustaining this dynam-ic change and generating pos-

itive supply responses in agri-culture. Experience shows thatin periods when terms of traderemained favourable to agri-culture, the annual averagegrowth in agricultural grossvalue added (GVA) exceeds 3per cent,” he said.

Lauding long-pendingreforms undertaken by the gov-ernment in the farm sectorrecently, he said all these ini-tiatives have opened a wholenew world of opportunities forindustry and businesses and theconsequential creation of jobsand augmentation of farmers’income can be enormous.

These achievements repre-sent the most vivid silver lin-ing in the current environment,Das said, adding the fortunesare shifting in favour of thefarm sector in the economy.

Observing that India hasnow become a power surpluscountry, exporting electricity toneighbouring nations, the RBIGovernor said the share ofrenewable energy in overallinstalled capacity has doubledto 23.4 per cent at end-March

2020 from 11.8 per cent at end-March 2015.

“This spectacular progresshas set the stage for India tar-geting to scale up the share ofrenewable energy in total elec-tricity generation to 40 per centby 2030. The shift to greenerenergy will reduce the coalimport bill, create employmentopportunities, ensure sustainedinflow of new investments andpromote ecologically sustain-able growth,” he said.

The Governor added infor-mation and communicationtechnology (ICT) has been anengine of India’s economicprogress for more than twodecades now.

Last year, the ICT industryaccounted for about 8 per centof the country’s GDP and wasthe largest private sector jobcreator across both urban andrural areas.

In 2019-20, softwareexports at $93 billion account-ed for 44 per cent of India’s totalservices exports and financed 51per cent of the country’s mer-chandise trade deficit during the

last five years.Besides, he said, the

‘Startup India’ campaign recog-nised the potential of youngentrepreneurs and providedthem a conducive ecosystem.

“This has also helped tostrengthen India’s position asan innovation hub, with sever-al startups attaining unicornstatus (USD 1 billion valua-tion). India added seven newunicorns in 2019, taking thetotal count to 24, the thirdlargest in the world,” he said.

Globally, the regulatoryuncertainty relating to workpermits and immigration poli-cies may also amplify and thesector has to also deal with con-cerns relating to data privacyand data security, Das noted.

He also expressed hopethat global shifts in GlobalValue Chains (GVCs) inresponse to COVID-19 andother developments will createopportunities for India.

“Besides focusing on diver-sifying sources of imports, itmay also be necessary to focuson greater strategic trade inte-

gration, including in the formof early completion of bilater-al free trade agreements withthe US, EU and UK,” he said.

“These dynamic shifts inour economy need to be con-verted into structural trans-formations which yield sizablebenefits for our economy andhelp to position India as a

leader in the league of nations.“They involve testing chal-

lenges but also the reaping ofsignificant rewards. Indianindustry will have the pivotalrole in what could be a silentrevolution. Can the CII be itsspearhead? I leave you withthese ideas and dare you todream,” he said.

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Reserve Bank of India (RBI)Governor Shaktikanta Das

on Monday said the countrynow requires policies toensure a sustained increase inthe income of farmers alongwith maintaining “reasonable’food prices for the consumers.

Addressing Confederationof Indian Industry (CII’s)National Council, Das saidthat price incentives have been costly, inefficient and dis-tortive. He noted that shiftingthe terms of trade in favour ofagriculture is the key to gen-erating positive supplyresponses in agriculture.Experience shows that in peri-ods when terms of traderemained favourable to agri-culture, the annual averagegrowth in agricultural grossvalue added (GVA) exceeds 3per cent, the Governor said.

“Hitherto, the maininstrument has been mini-mum support prices, but theexperience has been that priceincentives have been costly,inefficient and even distortive.India has now reached a stagein which surplus manage-

ment has become a majorchallenge. We need to movenow to policy strategies thatensure a sustained increase infarmers’ income alongsidereasonable food prices forconsumers,” he said.

According to him, an effi-cient domestic supply chainbecomes critical in such cir-cumstances.

He said that the focusmust now turn to capitalisingon the major reforms that areunderway to facilitate domes-tic free trade in agricultureincluding the amendment ofthe Essential CommoditiesAct (ECA).

Das was of the view thatIndian agriculture has wit-nessed a distinct transforma-tion as the total production offood grains reached a record296 million tonnes in 2019-20, registering an annu-al average growth of 3.6 percent over the last decade,along with production growthin horticulture.

He also noted the chang-ing pattern of energy pro-duction in favour of renewableenergy and shifts in supplychains, domestic and global.

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RBI Governor ShaktikantaDas on Monday advised

banks to proactively raise cap-ital and not wait for a difficultsituation to arise amid theCovid-19 pandemic.

Banks are staring at a riskof soaring bad loans due to thecoronavirus crisis and would therefore require capitalto survive.

“In fact, I have alreadyadvised banks and the NBFCsto undertake Covid stress testsand raise capital ahead of thecurve rather than waiting for asituation to arise, and these are

the issues which we are con-stantly working on in RBI,” Dassaid at a CII event.

As per the latest FinancialStability Report (FSR) releasedby the Reserve Bank, grossnon-performing assets of allbanks may jump to 12.5 per centby the end of this fiscal underthe baseline scenario, from 8.5per cent in March 2020.

“If the macroeconomicenvironment worsens further,the ratio may escalate to 14.7per cent under the very severe-ly stressed scenario,” the reportreleased last week said.

The resilience of Indianbanking in the face of macro-

economic shocks was testedthrough macro stress testswhich attempt to assess theimpact of cumulative shocks onbanks’ balance sheet and gen-erate projections of gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratiosand capital to risk-weightedassets ratio (CRARs) over a one-year horizon under a baselineand three adverse — medium,severe and very severe — sce-narios, the report said.

Earlier this month, Dashad said building buffers andraising capital will be crucialnot only to ensure credit flowbut also to build resilience inthe financial system.

“In such a situation, it hasbecome a lot more importantthat the banks have to improvetheir governance, sharpen theirrisk management skills andbanks have to raise capital onan anticipatory basis instead ofwaiting for a situation to arise.

“Proactively, it is necessaryfor both public and private sec-tor banks to build up adequatecapital buffers,” Das had said.

The economic impact of thepandemic — due to lockdownsand anticipated post lockdowncompression in growth — mayresult in higher non-performingassets and capital erosion ofbanks, he had said.

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Equity indices nursed lossesafter a choppy session on

Monday, weighed down bybanking stocks which wiltedunder intense selling pressure onconcerns over their asset quali-ty amid the coronavirus crisis.

After starting off the ses-sion on a positive note, the 30-share BSE Sensex got caught ina downward spiral andslumped over 500 points fromthe day’s peak. It managed torecover some lost ground andfinally settled at 37,934.73,showing a loss of 194.17 pointsor 0.51 per cent.

Likewise, the broader NSENifty closed 62.35 points or0.56 per cent lower at11,131.80. Banking countersled the losses on the Sensexchart, with ICICI Bank, HDFC

Bank, Axis Bank, IndusIndBank and SBI dropping asmuch as 6.11 per cent.

The RBI’s Financial StabilityReport, released post markethours on Friday, said grossnon-performing assets of banksmay jump to 12.5 per cent bythe end of this fiscal under thebaseline scenario, from 8.5 percent in March 2020, amid theCOVID-19 crisis.

HDFC Bank came underselling pressure after it emergedthat CEO and MD Aditya Puri,who is set to retire later thisyear, offloaded shares worth�842.87 crore of the privatelender last week.

The share sale broughtdown Puri’s holding in themost valued Indian lender tojust 0.01 per cent from the ear-lier 0.14 per cent, according toregulatory filings.

On the other hand, AsianPaints, HCL Tech, Infosys,TCS, Ultratech Cement andTata Steel were among theprominent gainers, spurting

up to 3.90 per cent.Asian shares ended mixed

on Monday amid concerns overgrowing US-China friction andfresh coronavirus cases in China

and South Korea. Europeanbourses too were trading mixedin early trade.

“Indian benchmark indicesended a volatile day in the red,following negative global cuesand domestic uncertainties.Global markets were impacteddue to rising US-China ten-sions and suspected secondwave of virus infections.

“Financials led the lossesfollowing an RBI report whichexpected a surge in bad loansthis year. Record number ofvirus infections in India alsoadded to the uncertainty.Investors are advised to remainstock specific and keep accu-mulating only quality stocks inthis scenario,” said Vinod Nair,Head of Research at GeojitFinancial Services.

Sectorally, BSE banking index tumbled 3.58per cent and finance declined2.5 per cent.

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The Government is workingon completing the stake

sale process of about 23 publicsector companies whose divest-ment has already been clearedby the Cabinet, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamansaid on Monday.

The minister also said shewould soon meet small financefirms and non-banking financecompanies (NBFCs) to reviewthe credit being extended bythem to businesses.

Sitharaman, in a conversa-tion with Hero EnterpriseChairman Sunil Kant Munjal,said the government as part ofthe Atmanirbhar Bharat pack-age had announced opening upof all sectors for private par-ticipation.

“The final call as to whichare the sectors which are going

to be called ‘strategic’ is not madeyet, that has to be announcedand I can’t preempt whatannouncement is likely to come.

“But in those sectors whichwe are going to call strategic, theprivate will obviously be allowedto come in but the public sec-tors will be limited to a maxi-mum of four units,” she said.

She said this would lead toconsolidation of public sectorundertakings (PSUs) as well asscaling up of their operations.

Talking about disinvest-ment plans, the minister saidthe government wants to sellstakein public sector companiesat a time when it fetches theright price.

“There are already nearly22-23 such PSUs which havebeen cleared by the Cabinet fordisinvestment. The intent isclear that at least for thosewhich had already been cleared

by the Cabinet, we will have todisinvest,” Sitharaman said.

For 2020-21 fiscal, the gov-ernment has set a disinvestmenttarget of �2.10 trillion. Of this,�1.20 trillion will come fromdisinvestment of public sectorundertakings and another�90,000 crore from stake sale infinancial institutions. Withregard to extending credit to theindustry, Sitharaman said underthe Emergency Credit LineGuarantee Scheme (ECLGS),micro, small and mediumenterprises (MSMEs) can availloans.

As of July 23, 2020, thetotal amount sanctioned underthe 100 per cent EmergencyCredit Line Guarantee Scheme by public and privatesector banks stands at�1,30,491.79 crore, of which�82,065.01 crore has alreadybeen disbursed.

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In a bid to provide furtherrelief to states amid the coro-

navirus outbreak, the FinanceMinistry has released �13,806crore as compensation forMarch 2020 for the states’ rev-enue loss in the goods and ser-vices tax (GST) regime.

This comes at a time whenstate finances are under severestress due to the Covid-19lockdown that has also seen thestates’ GST revenues fallingsharply to less than half theusual levels in the months ofApril and May.

“Central Government hasrecently released GST com-

pensation of �13,806 crore tostates for March 2020. Takingthis amount into account,entire compensation upto2019-20 has been released toStates,” the Ministry said in astatement.

“The total amount of com-pensation released for the year2019-20 is �1,65,302 crorewhereas the amount of cess col-lected during the year 2019-20was �95,444 crore,” the state-ment added.

To release the compensa-tion for 2019-20, the balance ofcess amount collected during2017-18 and 2018-19 has alsobeen utilised by the FinanceMinistry.

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Page 10:  · Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra continued to play hard ball with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on the issue of convening a State Assembly session, which could be used by Gehlot

Since the inception of COVID-19 pandemic, the impact due tovarious heart ailments seems to

have subsided. Though it is knownthat the rate of mortality and mor-bidity due to heart attacks areunderestimated globally, yet manycountries are still facing the wrathof its mortality.

The recent data suggests thataround 1.2 crore people have beeninfected globally, with a mortalityrate of 5.4 lakh. India accounts for7.4 lakh cases with a mortality of20,000 till now. The statistics incomparison to the impact ofCoronary Artery Diseases (CAD)and other heart ailments seemsevidently low.

On an average around 20 crorepeople succumb to some form ofheart ailment with a mortality rateof 10 per cent accounting for twocrore lives lost. India being the pre-sent-day leader in terms of numberof heart disease patients across theworld attribute to a massive six crorepeople being diagnosed every year.As the numbers are still on an expo-nential rise, an estimate of 9000 perday seems to lose their lives suffer-ing from heart problems, which inthis current scenario seems to beavoided.

Various studies have alsoclaimed that people with pre-exist-ing heart conditions have a direct11.6 per cent higher risk of mortal-ity due to the COVID-19 infection.And co-morbidity of Diabetes andhypertension further raises the riskby upto eight folds attributing to thelowered immunity and decreasedspeed of body response to tackleinflammation with increased age

along with viral myocarditis tosome extent. There has also been alink established with increasing age,while people above the age of 60years are four times vulnerable todeath, nine times if the age is above70 years and 15 times if the age isabove 80 years.

Evidently, the rate of mortalitydue to COVID-19 is restricted towithin 2 per cent whereas heart dis-eases kill over 10 per cent, and arestill neglected. There are 8-10 crore(80-100 million) heart patients inIndia and every 10 seconds one per-son dies of heart disease in thiscountry.

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Hospitals in India perform morethan two lakh open heart surgeriesannually and are increasing annu-ally by 25 per cent. But the cases ofheart attacks are not going down.The surgeries done are only pallia-tive. This raises a big question markon the use of unnecessary angioplas-ties and bypass surgeries in Indiaand the 10,000 Heart HospitalIndustry driven by the greedy HeartSurgeons and InterventionalCardiologists. In India, more thanfive lakh stents are being put everyyear and some 60,000 bypass surg-eries are being done in the heart hos-pitals and 85 per cent of them aredone on stable heart patients —which can be easily avoided. Presentday cardiologists are on the wrongtrack by emphasising more use ofbypass surgery or angioplasty, med-icines, emergency treatments —but they are overlooking the real

cause of heart attack and heart dis-ease.

Since the intervention proce-dure requires exposure of blood tovarious infection risks, it is not at allsafe to undergo such a procedurewhen one can naturally cure them-selves.

External Counterpulsation(ECP) also known as natural bypasstechnique is an approved mechan-ical process without pushing wires,and stents into the body but dilates

blood vessels and enables the bodyto grow new blood vessels much likebypass and stem cell therapy. Mostpatients can walk longer distancesand faster, have fewer episodes ofpain in the chest and require lessmedication after the therapy.

The patients experience betterquality of life while tests can confirmthe improved cardiac status. Patientshave decreased chest pain, shortnessof breath, fatigue, tiredness as wellas a significant improvement inexercise tolerance and energy. Theycan walk longer distances and fastermore comfortably. Medication isreduced in almost all patients. StressThallium can picture the heartmuscle’s blood flow while the newnon-invasive CardiovascularCartography can map heart’s bloodflow and study the Oxygen demandreserve ratio, blood vessel elasticityand myocardial burden.

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Yoga and diet based lifestylemanagement along with OptimumMedical Management is the key tothe solution of heart diseases. Notonly that they are highly effective fora healthy heart, but also preventBypass surgery or Angioplasty.Cardiac ailments being a lifestylerelated ailment and hence the treat-ment should also be focused in thesame direction. While cardiac ail-ments remain to be a growing bur-den in the Indian society, affectingmillions of people and the economyof the country, it is time to eradicatethem from the root.&��-���������������%���621���������

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�� ��������6�� �#��In the current COVID-19 scenario, most of us are bound to our

homes to protect ourselves against the virus. Many, especiallythe elderly are paying heed to the Governments advice of not ven-turing outside unless there is a dire emergency. This is the needof the hour and is utmost respected. During the period of lock-down, we have noticed a new set of problems being faced by theelderly population. Seniors are facing fall at home causingorthopaedic injuries. Over the past three months of lockdown, wehad 52 senior citizens coming to the emergency which warrant-ed admission and surgery. This was more than the usual averagewhen compared with pre-lockdown numbers.

Almost all senior citizens had domestic falls. It has becomea public health problem and needs special attention. Domesticfalls or falls in the house or familiar surroundings is entirely pre-ventable. Western countries lay a lot of emphasis on these pre-ventive strategies whereas these have not still been educated tothe masses here in our country. India needs to formulate a pre-ventive strategy for this public health problem. We believe in theproverb that a stitch in time saves nine

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to sharp focus someof the vulnerabilities of the elderly. Frailty, related to movementrestriction, malnutrition and poor immunity, has surfaced as amajor concern. The problem is compounded with sensory prob-lems that can prevent them from taking adequate precautions.With advancing age, chronic illness and use of multiple medi-cines are common among them and that calls for increased health-care need and physical support. Moreover, impaired cognitiveabilities that worsen with age pose an extra challenge. All these

vulnerabilities are associatedwith a high risk of falls andassociated fractures. The com-mon causes for falls include wetfloor, dim lighting, rugs orcarpets are not properlysecured, rushing to toilet orstorage areas, use of stairsamong others. Seniors mainlyfall due to weak leg muscles,poor physical balance, dizzinessor light-headedness, blackoutor loss of consciousness, mem-ory loss, vision and hearingproblems and fear of falling.

Prevention: First of all,seniors need to do a safetycheck of their home. It is bet-ter to clear the clutter from yourfloors or stairs including smallfurniture, pet bowls, trailingcables, or other things cancause you to trip. Secondly, youshould avoid walking on slip-pery or wet floors. Securingcarpets and loose flooring, asuneven surfaces can cause a triphazard particularly on stairs,

replacing your carpet with a bright-coloured one particularly ifyou have problems with your vision. Thirdly, lighting is impor-tant. Adequate lighting on stairways, corridors and hallways isnecessary. Hence, avoid darkness with a lamp or light within easyreach of your bed and keep a torch by your bed. Putting nightlights in the bathroom, hallways and bedroom are equally impor-tant. It is also important to have stable furniture. Fourthly, in caseof balancing problem or dizziness, it always better to store fre-quently used items such as food containers, dishes and clothingwithin easy reach. Finally, we need to move around safely withproper support. A stick or frame that’s the wrong height can makeyour walking, balance and posture worse.

Seniors need to pay more attention to their bone health. Eata healthy balanced diet rich in calcium. Dairy foods such as milk,yoghurt and cheese are good sources of calcium. It is advisableto avoid excessive amounts of caffeinated drinks such as tea, cof-fee and fizzy drinks as they can prevent the body from absorb-ing calcium. Stop smoking and limit alcohol intake. Low impactweight-bearing and muscles-strengthening exercises help a lot.Vision, hearing, and feet need extra care.

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6�3���This exotic fruit is rich inVitamin C, which acts as apowerful antioxidant. It alsohelps in boosting theimmunity of the body againstharmful pathogens.It also contains an enzymeknown as actinidain whichhelps in the digestion ofproteins in the body and is alsoknown to help patientssuffering from irritable bowelsyndrome.

Kiwi is alkaline innature, which means ithelps in counteringthe effects of acidicfoods. A healthybody is one whichhas a good pHbalance, whichhelps in keeping youactive, full of energy,and with a youthful skin.

It is loaded with other vita-mins and minerals such asVitamin A, B6, B12, E, andpotassium, calcium, iron andmagnesium which collectivelycontribute to the proper func-tioning of the body such asblood circulation through thevessels, fight stress, iron absorp-tion for healthy bones and teeth,good vision and many others.

We all want asmooth and glow-ing skin. However,

not all of us have the natur-al tendency for good skin.Living in urban cities comeswith its share of skinproblems like acnethat leave ablemish. Butfret not, thereare severalingredientsthat we haveat home thatwe can use.

Mix coffeeand powder sugarin equal parts and addalmond oil. Apply this onthe face and massage gentlyfor five minutes. Wash off.Do this twice a week andnot more.

One can use bakingsoda and olive oil as well.Add a few drops of water or

olive oil to the baking sodaand mix well to get a paste.Apply this paste on the faceand leave it on for 10 min-utes. Rinse with water. Dothis twice a week.

If you have applecider vinegar,

make a mix ofthe vinegarand water.Store thesolution inthe spray bot-tle. Spray your

face with thisand let it dry

naturally. Do thistwice daily.

Take aloe vera leaf andextract the fresh gel.Massage it in for a minute ortwo. Leave it on for 10-15minutes. You can also leaveit on overnight and thenwash your face in the morn-ing.

If you are prone to gettingacne, blemishes are common.

However, there are severalingredients available in our

kitchen that can help get ridof them, says ROSHNI DEVI

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If one were to ask what is it withdry fruits these days, then the

answer is simple — the need forboosting immunity.

In the wake of the pandem-ic, all people want is to ensuretheir family’s health and strength-en their immune system to fightoff infections. This is makingthem take to all kind of immuni-ty booster supplements andVitamin C capsules. However, asimple easily available ingredient— almonds — can do the job forthem.

Ritika Samaddar, RegionalHead — Dietetics, MaxHealthcare — Delhi, tells you thatregular intake of lots of fruits andvegetables, having a balanceddiet and a handful of almonds isall what people need to givetheir immune system a boost.

“The current pandemic hashighlighted more than ever, theneed for proper nutritionamongst Indian families. ManyIndians suffer from ailments suchas blood pressure, cardiovasculardisease, Diabetes and obesity,each of which make one suscep-tible to COVID-19. Hence, it’s

absolutely important for familiesto revisit their diet and healthcarehabits, and adjust to this new nor-mal. Whether you are sufferingfrom one of the aforementionedailments, or are at risk, be sure toinclude nuts like almonds, sea-sonal fruits, vegetables and pro-biotics that are nutrient rich andadd to the body’s overall health,”Samaddar says, who was a part ofthe discussion on the importanceof ensuring family health andnutrition amidst a pandemic,organised by the Almond Boardof California.

Not just that, one of themany benefits of eating californiaalmonds is that it helps to makeone feel good and also keep thehunger pangs at bay.

“This is the best food to snackon and makes you feel full. Theones who are on diet can eatalmonds without fearing weightgain because it is full of micronu-trients,” says Madhuri Ruia,Pilates Expert and Diet &Nutrition Consultant.

But to bring out the100 percent in your nutrition, she says,you need to exercise daily.

“Exercise and nutrition arethe two sides of a coin,” Ruia adds.

For those who are tired ofdecoding what a handful means,it is 23 in number and approxi-mately 30 grams in weight.

“Anything in excess doesn’twork well, 30 grams is more thanenough. You need to leave spacefor other nutrition too,” Ruia tellsyou. Since ages, our mother andgrandmother tell us to soakalmonds overnight before eating

and it is indeed a good option. “Soaking almonds are good

because there are a lot of solubleelements in them, when yousoak it the nutrients are betterabsorbed. But, don’t peel itbecause then you are discardingthe fibre,” Samaddar tells you.

Emily Fleishman, VP —Global Marketing Development,Almond Board of California,tells you that during this pandem-ic, the Almond Board ofCalifornia has been persistentlyworking towards educating con-sumers on the importance ofproper nutrition and the need tomaintain a healthy lifestyle.

“We have also invested inyears of scientific research tounderstand almond health ben-efits across heart health, dia-betes and weight managementand skin health — which are allrelevant to Indian consumers,especially now. Awareness aroundgood food choices, and snackinghabits is key to leading a healthylifestyle, and for us, it’s importantto make sure that families acrossIndia have access to this informa-tion,” Fleishman says.

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Coconut oil (Cocos nucifera) is extract-ed from copra the white flesh of

coconut. It is a soft white jelly like sub-stance with a semisolid consistency. It iswidely used in food items, as a hair andbody oil and as an ingredient into creams,lotion and hair oil. The following are someversatile ways how one can use it.

Hair conditioning mask: Coconut oilhas been traditionally used for hair treat-ments. One can try to make a fantastic hairmask to nourish dry and brittle hair. Taketwo-three tablespoons of organic, refinedcoconut oil. Warm it to make it liquid. Add20 drops rosemary oil and full egg. Beatit well. Apply using a brush to your hairand scalp and cover with a shower cap.Leave it for an hour and then shampooout.

Lip polishing scrub: Coconut isvegan and edible therefore many lipbalms and scrubs have coconut oil as aningredient. One can make simple lip pol-ishing scrub using coconut oil, brownsugar, and honey. Take a teaspoon ofcoconut oil. To this add equal amount ofpowdered brown sugar and equal amounthoney. All the ingredients will be one tea-spoon. Store in airtight container and mas-sage lips whenever they feel dry anduncared. Use it at night before bed forgreat soft luscious lips.

Chocolate and coconut face mask fordry skin: For this face mask we requirecoconut oil two teaspoon. We take this inbowl and add 20g of bitter chocolate 90per cent cocoa. We warm the oil slightlyso that chocolate gets dissolved. To this weadd a pinch of turmeric powder and a tea-spoon of honey. Turmeric is known for itsanti-inflammatory properties, honey helpsto moisturise the skin, coconut oil bringshydration and chocolate works on porereduction and tightening of pores.

Make up remover: Do you know tharcoconut oil even works on waterproofmake up! It is chemically treated to makefoaming ingredients that we add to theshampoos, cleansers and showergels.Takeit on a cotton ball and swipe it over yourface and eyes to gently remove the make-up. It is also suitable for sensitive under eyeareas. One not only removes make up butskin gets moisturised and hydrated too.

Body moisturiser: Coconut oil canwork wonders on dry and sensitive skin.Keep a bottle of coconut oil always handyto apply it on arms, hand and legs when-ever they feel itchy and devitalised skin.

Shaving cream: Shaving makes ourskin peel leading to open pores. It is alwaysbeneficial to apply coconut oil all overarms and legs before you shave. It is sin-gle natural product and one can avoidusing the conventional shaving creamsthat carry too many chemicals. Coconutoil is natural, anti-microbial and sooth-ing.It makes legs look shiny and mois-turised after shaving.

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Actor Anushka Sharma is riding high with two backto back successes with Paatal Lok and Bulbbul as a

producer. With Bulbbul particularly, Anushka and herbrother Karnesh Sharma, again experimented with thesupernatural genre. Interestingly, this is their third pro-ject that’s exploring this style of filmmaking afterPhillauri and Pari and merits prodding into exploringthe reason for such bold creative decisions.

Ask Anushka if she finds herself attracted to sto-ries about the supernatural, ghosts and spirits becauseshe has created a sub-genre of the feminist supernat-ural in India, she says, “One should see a film for thestory that it is and for what it is trying to say and engage

more deeply with stories. We have nevertried to create a film specific to a genre.We have never ever discussed thingslike – let’s do a horror film right now.We have always seen stories.”

The actor adds, “For us, Pari wasnot a horror film. It was a film

about how a human being canbe so demonic and a demon

can still be more humane.For us, that was the

beauty of it as afilm. For us,Bulbbul is a storyabout a girl finding

her strength in anunfamiliar world. For

us, Phillauri was aboutlove and longing. It was never

about genres or we neverthought about the supernatur-al element of it. Because of thecharacters we had to lend thattreatment to it.”

Anushka, who becamethe youngest woman pro-ducer of the country at theage of 25, says she likes tochase and find the beststories for Clean Slate Filmzand also wants to be a partof the best projects as anactor.

“For us it will alwaysremain about the stories.

We want to produce the bestprojects and find the best stories.Hopefully after a point maybe whenpeople see the kind of work we are

doing, they will stop asking questionson whether we love a particular

genre or not and see us for what weare trying to do,” she says.

For the massive and vibrant scale ofIndian cinema, we have only ahandful of international honours.

Oscars are rarer and though the formatof those awards is formulaic and notaccommodative of the way Indianslook at films, few of our own have bro-ken that barrier. One such is music com-poser and producer, musician, andsinger Allah Rakha Rahman. He is notjust a name but a phenomenon, who hassingle-handedly revolutionised popularmusic across geographical divides.

Evolving from Tamil and Telugumusic industry, Rahman composed forMani Ratnam’s Roja (1992), a master-piece album that not only fetched himBest Music Director at the National FilmAwards but also became his gateway tofinding success in Bollywood. And therest is known to the world. With twoGrammys, one Golden Globe and aBAFTA, Rahman gained global promi-nence when he picked up AcademyAwards for Best Song and Score forDanny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire(2009).

However, how often is it that a glob-ally-acclaimed and honoured artistecomes out in the public to reveal he has-n’t been getting enough opportunities athome? Or precisely the industry thatspools out chartbusters in popularmusic, namely Bollywood? He did tillhe was a novelty. But once his successsolidified, the industry went back to itscomfortable game of playing lobbies.Well, ever since he alleged thatBollywood has let him downby constantly “spreadingrumours about him”and in turn, lessen-ing his chances ofgett ing goodwork, there hasbeen a flood onsocial

media about how a toxic Bollywood killstalent. It lent further heft to the cam-paign following actor Sushant SinghRajput’s mysterious death, who as an“outsider”, was a victim of “insiderpolitics.”

Asked in an interview as to why heworks more frequently for Tamil cine-ma and not Hindi, he responded, “Idon’t say no to good movies but I thinkthere is a gang, which, due to misunder-standings, is spreading some falserumours. When Mukesh Chhabra(director of Dil Bechaara) came to me,I gave him foursongs in twodays. Hetold me,

‘Sir, many people said don’t go to him(Rahman). They told me stories afterstories.’ I heard that and I realised, yesokay, now I understand why I get less(Bollywood offers) and why the goodmovies are not coming to me. I amdoing dark films because there is awhole gang working against me. Peopleare expecting me to do stuff but thereis another gang of people preventingthat from happening without themknowing that they are doing harm.”

He added, “It is fine because Ibelieve in destiny and that everythingcomes from God. So I am taking my

movies and doing my other stuff. Allof you are welcome to come tome. Make beautiful movies, and

you are welcome to come tome.”

Besides, filmmakers likeImtiaz Ali will tell you howRahman could be one of thecoolest guys to hang outwith as he once cited how hetook him out on an

impromptu midnight drive.Well, surely, the term

“gang” used by Rahmantook one back to KanganaRanaut’s words who allegedthat Bollywood “insiders”have been ganging up againsther since the release of herfilm, Manikarnika. And she

continues to use it whilemaking her

r e m a r k so v e r

t h e

nepotism debate. Her recent allegationsagainst many actors and the so-called“mafia” or “nepotism gangs” of theindustry have been revealing about anunsaid class-consciousness inBollywood.

The actor’s team, post his revelation,took to Twitter and posted, “Everyoneexperiences harassment and bullying inthis industry, especially when you actautonomous and become totally inde-pendent.”

After Team Kangana’s tweet,Rahman, to avoid any further contro-versies, posted, “Lost money comesback, fame comes back, but the wastedprime time of our lives will never comeback. Peace! Let’s move on. We havegreater things to do.” Director ShekharKapur later responded to the tweet bywriting, “You know what your problemis Rahman? You went and got #Oscars.An Oscar is the kiss of death inBollywood. It proves you have more tal-ent than Bollywood can handle.”

Following the strife, sound

engineer Resul Pookutty, who received theAcademy Award and internationalacclaim for his sound mixing work inSlumdog Millionaire, also voiced his opin-ion on the issue. He tweeted, “DearShekhar Kapur, ask me about it. I had gonethrough near breakdown as nobody wasgiving me work in Hindi films andregional cinema held me tight after I wonthe Oscar. There were production hous-es telling me at my face ‘we don’t need you’but I still love my industry for it. My workin India won me the Oscar. There willalways be people to run you down but Ihave far more faith in my people than any-body else. It’s faced by everybody. Whenyou are on top of the world and peoplereject you, it’s the biggest reality check.”

This raises many questions — Whyis an Oscar Award-winner feeling he’sbeen ganged up against? Why did he getto know from a debutante director thatthere have been rumours against him inthe industry? Does this call for an intro-spection as to how certain independentartistes — musicians, filmmakers oractors — who have been appreciated andacclaimed, have vanished over time? Ordoes this call for a complete investigationinto the so-called “mafia” or “nepotismgangs” in Bollywood? With so much evi-dence piling up, the victimisation has togive way for democratisation of theindustry and a grading of talent. Art mustbe for art’s sake and not for the patronis-ing club.

Now that acclaimed names likePookutty, Rahman and Shekhar Kapurhave brought such an issue to attention,apart from only Kangana reigniting theflame time and again, should we assumethat a ‘time’s up’ for Bollywood’s dirty star-dom game is just around the corner?

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More than 20 years ago, photog-rapher Prabir Purkayastha of

Ladakh fame started capturing hisvillage in Assam. Verdant virginforests shimmered under the mon-soon clouds, the sun rays sometimesglistening like an age-old green vel-vet lining in a jewellery box — theforests in his village had vanishingsounds coupled with a simplelifestyle.

Prabir reminisces, “In 2004, Ivisited my mother’s village Rampur,Assam, after almost 40 years. I wasamazed by the unique tapestry of lifethat I witnessed and was a part of.As a child, I had heard my mother’s‘fairy-tale’ stories of her village andof my ancestors who had foundedRampur almost 200 years ago. Sadly,I realised that this ancient andsecluded way of life was slowly, butsurely, ebbing from this world.”

His photographs of an Assamesevoyage seems eternal. During thepast two decades, Prabir has jour-neyed endlessly through the land-scape and villages of Assam, whichlies at the northeastern tip andcaptured powerful images of the rarebastions of ancient Assamese cul-ture. The powerful images of thelandscape, sometimes juxtaposedwith people, are passionately craft-ed. They speak volumes of a magi-cal way of life which has changed lit-tle through the centuries.

DAGAUR PUKOOR: DEATHOF WATER

It is this age-old tapestry thatPrabir reverently reveals and callsDagaur Pukoor.

“Photographed over 12 years,Dagaur Pukoor is one such fairy-tale,” explains Prabir.

“All the images were createdwithin the expressive texture ofnatural elements like rain, sun-shine, water and mist. Every step ofthis journey was brutally challeng-ing — from the very beginning tillthe last frame. The challenge of howto accomplish the specific imageryI wanted left me numb, especiallysince I was creating these imageswith a great sense of intimacy andin a rather secretive way. The plea-sure of discovery at the start of myproject and the euphoric feeling ofdepletion, at it’s completion, was justthe same. Then it dawned upon methat Dagaur Pukoor was the answerto the prayers of the remote ruralfishing community. And this outra-geously spirited and generous mys-tical lake had for countless decadesnourished and helped all those whosought sustenance within her. Nopilgrim to her shores ever returnedempty handed,” says Prabir.

He adds, “I don’t know howprivileged I was to tell the story ofthese sacred waters and the gift ofgrace, of life nourishing life. I just

wish that someday, in some otherworld, I can tell my ancestors thisstory. It’s beautiful.”

FISH AND BAMBOOA bamboo-woven roof thatch

stands on the wayside while smallfish are left to dry in the monsoondays. The image comments on thearchitecture that has been commonin this region of seismic shifts.

“The phuti maach’ (small fish)was meant for the personal meals ofthe fishermen and their families. It’san ancient practice to dry the fish ona bamboo platform that has beenused by generations of this fishingcommunity,” explains Prabir.

ANOTHER REALMPrabir frames a meditative study

of an Assam that he loves and con-tinually tries to understand. “Assamconnects me to my childhood andmy people. It connects with me at avery emotional and spiritual level.I can spend a lifetime here,” says thephotographer.

In this collection, his pho-tographs occupies the interstitialspace between documentation andthe more expressive and imaginativearts. The lone fisherman in hiscanoe seems to be from anotherworld, who holds the tangiblewarmth of human presence.

In another image, an old lady in

the forest with a rimmed hat woventhrough straw is a testimony ofbeauty. It vividly shows how the peo-ple themselves seem inseparablefrom the shadows and topographythat frames them. The silhouette ofa lady with her baby swung on herback looks theatrical. The threeharvesters are imbued with an air ofgrace, ancient wisdom and rooted-ness. It appears to hold a secret wait-ing to be discovered as one turnsback and looks into the frame.

POSTERITY“I have always believed that a

photographer captures somethingfor posterity. We cannot be dumbwitnesses to the vagaries of change.For me, my village holds a resonancethat lives through its cultural fabricand its geological facets. For someinexplicable reason, I can’t seemyself as just another mute specta-tor pretending that the little nooksand corners of life never existed,” hesays.

For him, change is the key to liv-ing. He adds, “While capturingthese images, I knew I was helpless-ly watching communities slowlygetting vanished into the dusty cor-ners of our nation’s history. But I feltstrongly about the fact that some-thing needs to be done to record andpreserve what I see for the futuregenerations.”

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Cristiano Ronaldo poweredJuventus to their ninthstraight Serie A title on

Sunday in a 2-0 win overSampdoria that put them over theline with two matches to spare.

Ronaldo opened the scoringdeep into first-half stoppage timein Turin and then had a hand inFederico Bernardeschi netting thesecond after 66 minutes.

The five-time Ballon d’Or win-ner missed a late penalty butMaurizio Sarri’s side moved sevenpoints ahead of second-placedInter Milan to seal a 36th Scudetto.

The title is Sarri’s first andextends a record run whichAntonio Conte started with threetitles from 2012 and MassimilianoAllegri continued with the follow-ing five.

Sarri’s team had missed thechance to wrap up the title onThursday when the Old Lady ofItalian football fell to a 2-1 defeatat Udinese.

But they made no mistake at

the Allianz Stadium despite beingpushed hard by Claudio Ranieri’sSampdoria, one of the most in-form teams since the return of SerieA from the three-month coron-avirus lockdown.

“It is the most beautiful success,even the most difficult because wewanted it and suffered,” saiddefender Leonardo Bonucci.

“We started on a new path witha lot of scepticism around us, wegave everything, despite some slip-ups.

Despite his 35 years Ronaldoshrugged off the quick successionof matches played in hot summer

weather after the lockdown, bring-ing his tally to 31 this season.

The Portuguese strikerhas scored 10 goals since foot-ball returned in Italy on June20, more than any other play-er in Europe.

He also matched formerItaly World Cup winnerFelice Borel, who was the lastplayer to score 31 goals for Juventusin the 1933-34 season.

But he remains three goalsbehind Serie A’s leading scorer CiroImmobile, who scored a hat-trickearlier in Lazio’s 5-1 win overHellas Verona.

“Delighted for the second con-secutive championship andto continue building thehistory of this great andsplendid club,” saidRonaldo on Instagram.

“This title is dedicatedto all Juventus fans, in par-ticular to those who have

suffered and are suffering from thepandemic that has taken us all bysurprise by overturning the world.

“It was not easy! Your courage,your attitude and your determina-tion were the strength we neededto face this tight final of the cham-pionship and fight to the end for

this title that belongs to all of Italy.“A big hug to you all!”The breakthrough came in

the final move of the first half, whenPjanic cleverly rolled a pass acrossthe penalty area to allow Ronaldoto lash home his 31st league goalof the season.

Juventus made sure of the titlein second half when Bernardeschipounced on the rebound of aRonaldo shot and tapped in a deci-sive finish.

Sampdoria had no way backinto the game and had to play thefinal 20 minutes a man downwhen Morten Thorsby was sent off

for a second yellow card.But the match could prove

costly for Juventus before thereturn leg of their ChampionsLeague last 16 tie against Lyon onAugust 7, when they need to over-turn a 1-0 deficit from the firstmatch in France.

Danilo took a knock, whileinfluential forward Paulo Dybalalimping off with a muscular prob-lem early in the match will be aworry for Sarri with Lyon’s visit toTurin less than two weeks away.

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Ahat trick moved Ciro Immobile withinthree goals of overtaking Gonzalo

Higuain’s single-season record for Serie Awith two matches remaining.

Immobile netted two penalties and alsoscored a magnificent strike in Lazio’s 5-1 winat Hellas Verona on Sunday. He now has 34goals in 34 matches — three more thanCristiano Ronaldo atop the Italian league’sscoring chart.

Higuain scored 36 for Napoli in 2015-16.Immobile’s second goal of the night was

a thing of beauty: Set up by Jordan Lukakuon the left flank, he curled a shot into the fartop corner.

Lazio moved level on points with third-place Atalanta, one point behind InterMilan.

Elsewhere, Roma increased its grip onfifth place by beating

Fiorentina 2-1 with twopenalties from JordanVeretout.

Udinese won 1-0 atCagliari and secured a

26th straight sea-son in the top

flight.L e c c e

remainedin the

relega-t i o nz o n ea f t e r

concedinga stoppage-timedecider from MusaBarrow in a 3-2 lossat Bologna.

Also, Torinowas held 1-1 atalready-relegatedSPAL.

����� Qatar will seek to hostthe 2032 Olympic Games, itsaid on Monday, joining acrowded field and raisingquestions about scorchingsummer temperatures andunderwhelming attendancesat past events.

India, Australia’sQueensland state, Shanghaiand a potential joint bidbetween South and NorthKorea are also being toutedfor the 2032 summer games.

Under changes put for-ward in 2014, interestedcountries submit a requestto join the non-committal“continuous dialogue”,which Qatar confirmed ithad done via a letter to theInternational OlympicCommittee in Lausanne.

“Today’s announcementmarks the beginning of ameaningful dialogue withthe IOC’s Future HostCommission to explore our

interest further and identi-fy how the Olympic Gamescan support Qatar’s long-term development goals,”Qatar Olympic Committeepresident Sheikh Joaan binHamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani said.

Qatar unsuccessfullybid to host the 2016 and2020 games, having pro-posed to host the former inOctober without first clear-ing it with the IOC.

It won a waiver to pro-pose hosting the 2020games, a joint bid withBaku, Azerbaijan, betweenSeptember 20 and October20, but failed to make theshortlist.

The 2020 games, post-poned to 2021 because ofthe coronavirus pandemic,were awarded to Japan,which also experiences sear-ing summer temperatures,leading officials to schedule

events early in the morningwhen conditions are coolest.

“Qatar has earned thereputation of a world-classdestination for major sport-ing events,” added Joaan.

“It is this proven track-record and wealth of expe-rience, along with our desireto use sport to promotepeace and cultural exchange,that will form the basis ofour discussions with theCommission.” AFP

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Jan Vertonghen announced his depar-ture from Tottenham Hotspur after

eight years at the Premier League clubon Monday.

The Belgium defender, whose con-tract was extended in June until the endof the current season, made more than300 appearances for Spurs after joiningthe club from Ajax in 2012.

Vertonghen tweeted: “So my timeat the club comes to an end. A sad dayfor many reasons. I will miss the friendsI’ve made here, the staff that make theclub run, playing at the amazing newstadium & of course you fans.”

Elsewhere, Chelsea manager Frank

Lampard confirmed that Spanish wingerPedro is leaving the club.

The former Barcelona player has

been with Chelsea for four seasons andwas part of the Premier League title win-ning side in 2017. The 32-year-old alsowon an FA Cup and Europa League title.

“Pedro has played his last game forthe club. The lads have just pretty muchserenaded him in the changing roomand rightly so because of the career hehas had generally and for this club,” saidLampard.

“It was his last Premier Leaguegame, but the impact he has had hereis huge. I want to say a big thanks to Pedsand wish him well as he goes forward.He is here for the remainder of games,but a big player of the club leaves andthe spirit of the club I saw afterwards waspretty special,” he added.

����������Zenit St Petersburg have signedcentre back Dejan Lovren from Liverpoolon a three-year contract, the Russianchampions announced on Monday.

Lovren, who joined Liverpool fromSouthampton in 2014, leaves Anfield aftermaking 185 appearances in all competi-tions, scoring eight goals.

No financial details were disclosed butBritish media reported Liverpool haveagreed a deal worth around 11 millionpounds ($14.03 million) with Zenit forLovren.

Lovren was part of the squad that wonthe Champions League last season, and theSuper Cup and Club World Cup in addi-tion to the Premier League crown in 2019-20, which ended Liverpool’s 30-year top-flight title drought.

The Croatia international was limitedto 15 club appearances across all compe-titions this season after Joe Gomez andVirgil van Dijk emerged as Juergen Klopp’sfirst-choice pairing in the central defence.

“In the first part of the season until hegot injured he was in the team and had

super games. Absolutelysuper games,” Klopp toldthe club’s website.

“Really good, in theair a machine, and I

really liked workingtogether with him.It will be interest-ing to follow ZenitSt Petersburgnow.”

Capped 57times by Croatia,Lovren was part ofthe team that fin-ished as runners-up in the 2018World Cup, losing4-2 to France inthe final. AP

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The International CricketCouncil (ICC) on Monday

launched the ODI Super League,a qualifier for the 2023 WorldCup in India that aims to addcontext to the 50-over format.

Hosts India and the next topseven teams in the Super Leaguewill automatically qualify for theWorld Cup.

The competition beginswith a series between worldchampions England and Ireland,beginning at Southampton onJuly 30. The rest of the schedulewill be unveiled later.

“The league will bring rel-evance and context to ODIcricket over the next three years,as qualification for the ICCMen’s Cricket World Cup 2023is at stake,” ICC’s GM OperationGeoff Allardice said.

With T20 cricket thrivingand Tests remaining the ultimatechallenge, former players such asRicky Ponting have questionedthe relevance of ODIs.

Featuring 13 teams, the 12ICC Full Members and theNetherlands, who qualified bywinning the World CricketSuper League 2015-17, the SuperLeague will see each side playfour home and four away three-match series.

The five sides which fail toqualify directly will play alongwith five Associate sides in theQualifier 2023, with two teamsmaking it to the 10-team World

Cup in India.“The decision last week to

move the World Cup back tolate 2023 gives us more timeto schedule any games lost dueto Covid-19 and preserve theintegrity of the qualification process, meaningit will be decided on the fieldof play, which is important,”Allardice said.

Each team gets 10 points fora win, five for a tie/noresult/abandonment and nonefor a loss. Teams will be rankedaccording to total points earnedacross the eight series. There arecriteria in place to separate twoor more teams on equal points.

A knock-out phase will notbe needed as the league stand-ings will determine the qualifi-cation for the World Cup.

England captain EoinMorgan said the Super Leaguefixture against Ireland marksthe start of their journey forthe 2023 edition.

“Given the situation, it will

be quite different to the last timewe played at home, when we lift-ed the World Cup at Lord’s, butit’s nice to be starting our jour-ney for the next edition of thetournament,” he said.

“I’m sure cricket fans all overthe world will be excited to seewhite-ball cricket resume andwe’re looking forward to thechallenge. Ireland are a talentedteam who have shown over theyears that they can beat the beston their day,” he added.

Ireland captain AndrewBalbirnie is hoping to put a com-petitive show against the worldchampions.

“It is obviously going to bea huge challenge taking on theteam that won the World Cupjust a year ago but we haveprepared well and have takenconfidence from our formover the early months of 2020,”said Balbirnie.

“I hope international crick-et’s return is steady during thesechallenging times,” he added.

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Left-arm pacer Reece Topley made a returnafter four years as England on Monday

named a 14-member squad for the three-matchODI series against Ireland beginning here onThursday.

Eoin Morgan will captain the side whileMoeen Ali will be his deputy. Three players werealso named as reserves.

The 26-year-old Topley has taken 16 wick-ets in 10 ODIs but last represented England inthe World T20 in 2016. He had issues with hisback and went under the knife in 2018. He wasSussex’s leading wicket taker in the Blast last year.

Sam Billings, Liam Dawson and DavidWilley also made a comeback to the Englandsquad for the series which will be played behindclosed doors in a bio-secure environment.

Billings is making a return after two years,having missed out of a World Cup selection afterdislocating his shoulder. Willey, on the otherhand, missed out the 50-over showpiece asArcher was preferred over him.

The uncapped trio of Richard Gleeson,Lewis Gregory and Liam Livingstone have beennamed as reserves.

While the likes of Joe Root, Ben Stokes, JofraArcher, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood have notbeen considered as they are currently involvedin the Test series against the West Indies, WorldCup winners Jonny Bairstow, Tom Curran,Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy and JamesVince have been named in the squad.

Also finding a place in the squad is Joe Denly,who was left out of the Test series.

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Aston Villa manager Dean Smith sayshe is unsure whether captain Jack

Grealish will be at the club next seasonbut has warned potential suitors theywill have to spend big if they want tosign him.

Grealish scored the opener in the 1-1 draw against West Ham United onSunday, a result that, combined withWatford’s defeat at Arsenal, kept Villain the Premier League.

Grealish has been linked to a hostof English clubs and Smith said he hadno idea what the future holds for the 24-year-old.

“I’m certainly hopeful he will playfor Villa again. He is contracted foranother three years, I think,” Smith said.

“I have said many times before wehave billionaire owners. If people wantto come and get our best players theywill cost an awful lot of money.”

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Seasoned pacer Stuart Broad hasshown that he still has “fire in the

belly” to achieve a lot more forEngland, said former skipperMichael Atherton, asserting thatthe “champion sportsman” hasthe potential to claim 600 Testwickets.

After being ignored forthe series opener againstWindies, the 34-year-old pacersilenced his critics by puttingup scintillating performances inthe remaining two Tests. Heended the third day of the seriesdecider with 499 Test wickets, just

one short of the coveted 500 mark.“The mark of a champion sportsman

is not when you get knocked down, buthow you bounce back and we’ve seen thatin this series with Stuart Broad,” Athertonwrote in a column for Sky Sports.

“When you get left out, that’s whenyou find out a little bit more about

yourself. Some players, when theyget to that stage and get left out,they might just say, ‘Well, I’vedone enough with my career’.

“But clearly Stuart Broad,with that fire in the belly he

showed, has got more to come andhe doesn’t just want to get 500 wick-ets — he wants to get up to 600 aswell,” Atherton added.

���� )/3�,

The Emirates Cricket Board(ECB) has confirmed that

they have received the officialLetter of Intent from the BCCIto host the 2020 edition of theIndian Premier League (IPL).

“We have received the (offi-cial) letter and now wait on thedecision from the IndianGovernment which will ink thefinal deal,” said MubashshirUsmani, Emirates Cricket BoardSecretary General.

While the board waits fornotice from BCCI that theIndian Government hasapproved to move the IPL fromIndia (to the UAE), Usmani stat-ed both boards have fullymobilised and have instigateddiscussions with the relevantauthorities, including theirrespective internal working-committees, in preparation ofhosting the tournament (toutedas starting September 19 withthe final proposed for November8) in a safe, protected environ-ment.

“There are many factorswhich influence the operations

and logistics of hosting what isthe world’s most exciting, pop-ular and lucrative tournament,”he said. “This is a massivemovement of people and equip-ment and we now need to bringin the experts to discuss allaspects of UAE hosting the IPL.All who have had strong, provenexperience in such activitiesand we will work together toascertain the best practices tosupport and deliver on a success-ful edition.”

Having hosted the 2014edition Usmani noted the UAEis well positioned with its expe-rience on delivering the 2020edition. “We have a sound, solidunderstanding of what isrequired, and to whom we needto consult and engage with fromthis early stage through to closeof the tournament.”

Commenting on UAE'scricket-infrastructure he added:“UAE boasts some of the bestpractice facilities and stadia inthe world across three-Emirates(Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah)which we are confident will bemore than adequate to supportthe 8-team tournament.”

����� Paris Saint-Germain haverevealed that Kylian Mbappé isexpected to miss three weeks ofaction due to a sprained ankle.

Mbappé suffered the injury afterbeing on the receiving end of a tack-le from Saint-Étienne defender LoïcPerrin in the Coupe de France finalon Friday.

PSG released an official state-ment which revealed that the 21-year-old underwent medical exam-inations on Monday following theinjury.

The club confirmed that thestriker had suffered a “sprained anklewith external ligament injury.”

The estimated recovery time forthe injury is “around three weeks”,according to the Ligue 1 champions.

This will mean Mbappé will bea doubt for PSG’s ChampionsLeague quarter-final tie withAtalanta, which is scheduled to takeplace on August 12.

The World Cup winner willdefinitely miss the Coupe de laLigue final against Lyon on Fridaynight. Agencies

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