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The RSS affiliated BharatiyaKisan Sangh (BKS) hasjoined hands
with critics of thethree farm sector-related Billsthat will come up
for passage inthe Rajya Sabha on Sunday.This could put up added
pres-sure on the Government tobring in some changes in theBills to
allay the fear of thefarmers about continuation ofthe minimum
support price(MSP) regime in future. TheLok Sabha passed the Bill
onFriday.
After Akali Deal leaderHarsimrat Kaur walked out ofthe Modi
Government toprotest against the Bills, theBKS stand shows that the
BJPstands completely isolated onintroducing these radical
mea-sures.
Amid rising apprehensionsthat farm sector Bills passed inthe Lok
Sabha may not protectthe interest of the agriculturists,the BKS has
demanded that theBills must be sent to theStanding Committee for
widerconsultations and changes.
A day after Prime MinisterNarendra Modi blamed theOpposition for
misleading thefarmers, the BKS said the Billis “tilted heavily
towards thecorporate” and would notimprove the lives of farmersand
should be whetted by the
Standing Committee onAgriculture headed by BJP’s PCGaddigoudar
for the benefit ofsmall farmers before turninginto a law.
Opposing the Bills in theircurrent form, the organisationhas
also written to PrimeMinister and AgricultureMinister Narendra
SinghTomar, demanding pro-farmerprovisions that do not benefitthe
big firms and corporates.
On Thursday, the LokSabha passed two agriculture-
related Bills — Farmers’Produce Trade and Commerce(Promotion and
Facilitation)Bill, 2020, and Farmers(Empowerment andProtection)
Agreement onPrice Assurance and FarmServices Bill, 2020 — by
voicevote. On Tuesday, the Housepassed the EssentialCommodities
(Amendment)Bill, 2020, which seeks toderegulate food items,
includ-ing cereals, pulses and onions.
As famers in Punjab,
Haryana and Uttar Pradesh hitthe streets against three farmBills
and Harsimrat quit theModi Government in protest,the Opposition
described themove as “corporatisation” of theagriculture and in
favour of bigfarmers.
The Opposition unity willbe tested in the Rajya Sabha onSunday
when the Bills come upfor passage. As many as 10 MPshave tested
positive for Covid-19 and have been isolated athome.
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The rising number of Covid-19 infection among theMembers of
Parliament hascompelled the authorities to cutshort the duration of
the ongo-ing Monsoon Session.
The session is now expect-ed to be terminated onSeptember 23
instead of itsscheduled October 1 closure.
The decision was taken onSaturday at the BusinessAdvisory
Committee (BAC)chaired by Speaker Om Birla,said officials, adding
that finaldecision will be taken by theCabinet Committee
onParliamentary Affairs.
The meeting was appraisedthat more than 264 peoplewere found
positive in themandatory test. They included30 MPs and staffers and
mediapersons.
The present RT-PCR Testhas to be taken 72 hours beforearrival in
the House. Alreadythree sitting MPs have suc-cumbed to Covid-19 and
cur-rently 30 MPs are found posi-
tive in the test.Apart from staffers and
media persons, security per-sonnel are also subjected to
themandatory testing. UnionMinisters Nitin Gadkari andPrahlad Patel
have tested pos-itive in the tests. Three MPshave already died of
Covid-19.
Government officialsaccompanying their respectiveMinisters
during Bill discus-sions also have to show a neg-ative report of
RT-PCR testtaken within the last 72 hoursof their visit to the
complex.
“Since the commencementof the Session the number ofpositive
cases has gone up, sothe Government is thinking ofcutting short the
session. Nextweek also many have to under-go mandatory tests and
thenumber of positive cases is ris-ing,” said an official.
Before ending the session,the Government wants to get11
ordinances passed as laws byParliament, sources said.
At Lok Sabha’s businessadvisory committee meetingseveral
Opposition parties saidthat they are in the favour ofthe decision,
asserting thatconducting the full 18-day ses-sion could be a risky
affair.
The meeting also appraisedthat among the 264 total
casesincluding MPs, the majority arefrom the staffers.
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The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) on Saturdayconducted
simultaneous raidsat several locations atErnakulam (Kerala)
andMurshidabad (West Bengal)and arrested nine terroristsassociated
with Pakistan-spon-sored module of the UN-banned global terror
outfit al-Qaeda.
“The group was planningto undertake terrorist attacks atvital
installations in India withan aim to kill innocent peopleand strike
terror in theirminds,” the NIA said.
The search operation fol-lowed registration of a case(No.
RC-31/2020/NIA/DLI) byNIA on September 11 andsubsequent
investigation intothe matter. This led the NIA tolearn about an
inter-State mod-ule of al-Qaeda operatives at
various locations in India,including West Bengal andKerala.
“The NIA has arrested sixterrorists from West Bengaland three
terrorists from Keralain the early morning raids.Large quantity of
incriminatingmaterials including digitaldevices, documents, jehadi
lit-erature, sharp weapons, coun-try-made firearms, a
locallyfabricated body armour, articlesand literature used for
makinghome-made explosive deviceshave been seized from
theirpossession,” the agency said.
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The CBI on Saturday filed asupplementary chargesheetin the
AgustaWestland chopperscam case against controversialbusinessman
Rajeev Saxenaand then Managing Director ofAgustaWestland
InternationalLtd Giacomino Saponaro.
In its final report filedbefore Special Judge ArvindKumar, the
CBI has named 15accused persons, whichincludes Saponaro and
Saxenaamong others. The court is like-ly to take up the matter for
con-sideration of the chargesheet onMonday.
The investigation reportfiled on Friday details thealleged role
played by Saponaroand Saxena among others indelivering bribes to
politicians,bureaucrats and Indian AirForce (IAF) officials for
swing-ing the deal for supply of theVVIP copters.
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� You play a negative character inPyar Ki Luka Chhupi for the
firsttime. How is it going?
I am thoroughly enjoying it and thesame can be seen on screen.
It dependson how far you are willing to take the roleand how you
play it out. You know yourlimitations and playing such a
characteris tougher since you are not playing justone role.
Earlier, I have been part ofcomedy shows and done lead roles
thathave been positive. Doing a show whereyou are playing a
negative role, it givesyou an opportunity to explore yourselfand do
something that you would not doin real life. You are portraying
somethingthat is opposite to what you are, benegative and yet be
funny.� Were there apprehensions in takingup the role?
I have always wanted to explore myacting abil it ies. When I got
anopportunity to be part of this show, I hadno reason to turn it
down. There weretwo things playing. First, I have beenwaiting to
work with the makers of PyarKi Luka Chhupi. Second, since I
hadalready done lead roles and comedy, Iwanted to take up this
project. The onlychallenge was to train myself for theaccent.
Kalyani is a totally Kanpuriyawoman.� You also had to perfect a
newlanguage. What was the preparation?
When I gave the auditions, I knewthat I didn’t have the accent
correct. Theonly reason why I got the role wasbecause they felt
that I could act. But afterthat the team really helped me. The
scriptcomes in the language that I am supposedto speak. The only
thing that I had toperfect the accent correctly for thedialogues.
For this, I heard a number ofjokes from the region. An
assistant,Prem, who is from the area, would tell mehow to speak
certain words. This helped.� How did you get interested in
acting?
I am a trained Bharatanatyam dancer.I have been dancing since I
was three. Istill practice it and Kuchipudi. There wasa contest but
I couldn’t participate. Theorganisers asked me to open the
contest.I performed. Sachin Pilgaonkar, who wasthere, told me to
take up acting. I toldhim, I couldn’t act. He said not to worryand
took me for a role in an episodicshow of his. Once the make-up is
on, ithas been on. I have done Hindi andMarathi theatre. I have
worked with thelikes of Bhavana Balsavar and ShubhaKhote. My
journey has been that of alearner. I have not taken any
actinglessons. I am able to emote andunderstand the character
because I havedone theatre.
� How did you get your first break withAkkad Bakkad Bambey
Bo?
Actually, I did Hello Dolly before this.I had played a
kleptomaniac forproduction house Sagar Films Pvt Ltd.When they came
up with Akkad BakkadBambey Bo, they knew I could act andthat is how
I came on board for thisproject as a lead. It was a different
role.I played a student.� You have now been in the industryfor over
a decade. How has the journeybeen thus far?
It has been good. One has to go withthe flow. Yes, there have
been changes.But if we don’t move forward, we won’tbe able to move
past the negatives. Thegood is that we are paid better. Then,there
were actors, today we have stars. Itis important to understand that
changeis a reality. To accept it is necessary. WhenI was young, I
played roles according tomy age. Now I am doing roles that fit
my
age.� What is the toughest thing aboutbeing an actor?
Everything that comes your way istough. Even with Kalyani’s
role, I still getbutterflies when I am on camera. Thereis always
the fear that I may not be ableto remain the skin of the character.
Thegood is that it makes me moredetermined to do my work better.�
How tough is it to shoot under thenew normal?
When we first started, I was afraid. Ihave a four-year-old
daughter. My fatherlives with me. The fear was very high. I wasnot
sure whether I should get back to workor not. But the makers have
been thoroughwith precautions and I am doing the same.� What
next?
I am concentrating on this show. Iwork 25 days a month. The rest
of the daysI want to spend with my family and catchup spending time
with my daughter.
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C.�������������#����- Catch your favourite musicians live inan
all-star virtual fundraiser event‘Together, Louder, Stronger’
on
September 26, 2020 at 6:30 pm, helpingand supporting the
performance industryworkers and folk artists during the
ongoingpandemic crisis. Hosted by AnahadFoundation and produced by
BelieveEntertainment, the digital event will be live
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Almost all of us find it difficult to see acharacter that we
have followed over theyears and identify with, see playing
anotherrole — definitely not the fault of the actor. But thetruth
is that the characters that they have playedleave such an impact
that it becomes impossibleto break the mould in which we are used
to seeingthem. This probably makes the task of the directorand the
actor tough but the end result is worth itand The Devil All The
Time is a prime example howactors step out of the mould that
viewers put themin and show that at the end of the day, it is job
anda role that they stepped into even if it was for a fewyears.
The psychological thriller based on the novelof the same name by
Donald Ray Pollock is directedand co-written by Antonio Campos and
producedby Jake Gyllenhaal and Randall Poster. The storyis simple
enough. But there are many characters
and while it does, at times, become difficult tofollow the
thread of each character’s journey, theytend to collide with each
other from time to time.The way it all comes together is
interesting.
What is even more brilliant about this movieis the performance
that Tom Holland and RobertPattinson have given. Holland as a young
mantrying to protect his family from all the evil givesa stellar
performance. However, it is Pattinson whostands out here even
though he doesn’t have asmeaty a role as Holland. He may have a
total screenpresence of 30-35 minutes but the way he managesto
break away from Edward Cullen is stunning. Asthe preacher in this
one and a high-pitchedSouthern drawl, he is a surprise.
A report says that the actor had crafted theaccent in his room
for days and didn’t let anyonehear it — not even Campos. It is
riveting to watchhim deliver the dialogues in this accent,
sodifferent from the extremely polished Cullen.
While the movie itself doesn’t have much tosay apart from the
good versus evil, God versus thedevil, what makes this 138-minute
film worth awatch are Holland and Pattinson’s acting.
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on Facebook andYouTube and will see astellar line-up of 20m a i
n s t r e a m ,independent and talentedartists like Shaan,
MameKhan, Jonita Gandhi,Benny Dayal, MamtaSharma, Bhuvan
Bam,Nithyasree Mahadevanand many moresupporting the cause
andraising funds during thiscritical time.
Tune in to thisexclusive digital eventand provide your supportto
the entertainmentindustry — Together,Louder, Stronger!
Log on tohttps://www.facebook.com/anahad.ngo/.
-
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India has overtaken the US toregister the highest numberof
Covid-19 recoveries in theworld.
It has reported the highestnumber of recoveries with42,08,431
infected patientsrecuperating from the viraldisease. About 60 per
cent ofthe new recoveries werereported from five States
—Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu,Andhra Pradesh, Karnatakaand Uttar
Pradesh.Incidentally, these are theStates that have reported
highcaseload also.
R e c o v e r y - w i s e ,Maharashtra accounted forover 22,000
(23 per cent), fol-lowed by Andhra Pradeshwith more than 11,000
(12.3per cent) of the new recover-ies.
“The country has reportedthe highest number of recov-eries with
42,08,431 COVID-19 patients having recoveredfrom the disease so
far, push-ing the national recovery rateto nearly 80 per cent,
while thecase fatality rate has furtherdropped to 1.61 per cent, “
theUnion Health Ministry said onSaturday.
“India now accounts forclose to 19 per cent of the totalglobal
recoveries. This hasstrongly pushed the nationalrecovery rate to
79.28 percent,” it underlined.
The Centre-led focussed,calibrated, responsive andeffective
measures of earlyidentification through highand aggressive testing,
aprompt surveillance and track-ing, coupled with
standardisedhigh-quality clinical care, havetogether resulted in
this glob-
al achievement, the ministrysaid.
A record 95,880 patientsrecuperated from COVID-19in a span of 24
hours, with 90per cent of the new recoveriesreported from 16 States
andUnion territories, the min-istry’s data said.
According to the ministry,90 per cent of the recoverieswere
reported from 15 Statesand Union territories.
The five states with themaximum caseload —Maharashtra, Tamil
Nadu,Andhra Pradesh, Karnatakaand Uttar Pradesh — have
alsoaccounted for a majority of therecoveries, the ministry
high-lighted.
“India has maintained asustained path of reporting avery high
number of recover-ies. This is the result offocussed strategies
leading tocoordinated effective actions inthe states and Union
territo-ries,” it said.
India’s COVID-19 tallymounted to 53,08,014 onSaturday with
93,337 cases
reported in a day, while thedeath toll due to the diseaseclimbed
to 85,619 with 1,247more people succumbing to itin a span of 24
hours, the min-istry said.
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Homemade masks help infighting the spread ofviruses like
Covid-19 whencombined with frequent hand-washing and physical
distanc-ing, researchers have said aftertesting the breathability
anddroplet-blocking ability of 11common household fabrics,using a
medical mask as abenchmark. The study hasbeen published in the
journalExtreme Mechanics Letters.
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Lok Sabha on Saturday passedamendments in the TaxationLaws with
heated debate on thePM Cares Fund, leading tomudslinging between
theCongress and the BJP. TheTaxation amendments wereaimed to give
changes in the taxfiling dates including GST filingsdue to Covid-19
pandemic. Italso included the tax concessionsto the PM Cares
Fund.
The face-off started withMinister of State for FinanceAnurag
Thakur resuming hisFriday’s controversial speechattacking the fund
flow to RajivGandhi Foundation fromPMNRF, where CongressPresident
Sonia Gandhi is alsoa Trustee.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoicountered it charging theGovernment with
acceptingmoney from Chinese companiesand challenged it to give
detailsof the donors. Congress leaderAdhir Ranjan Chowdhuryobjected
to Thakur’s allegations
against Sonia Gandhi, and theRajiv Gandhi Foundation andThakur
took potshots onChowdhury for calling him“Himachal ke Chokra
(boy).”
“You have the habit of call-ing names and later
apologise.Yesterday you called me Chokraand I took credit for it. I
comefrom Himachal and i am proudof being called as Chokra,”
saidThakur.
Chowdhury said he meantBalak (small boy). “You yester-day
adopted an aggressive line.You are just a Balak and shouldnot do
that by commenting ongreat people like PanditJawaharlal Nehru,” he
said.
Replying to the debate,Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman also
took objectionto Chowdhury ridiculingThakur. “He is young. But he
isfourth time MP. Adhir ji, you areleader of the Opposition
partyand should not use such words.”
The Finance Minister alsoobjected to opposition termingthe PM
Cares Fund as “non-transparent”.
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Rajya Sabha on Saturdaypassed amendments to theinsolvency law
for suspensionof fresh insolvency proceedingsfor at least six
months startingMarch 25 amid the coron-avirus pandemic, with
FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamansaying a decision on extendingthe
suspension of relevant pro-visions will be taken next week.
In the wake of the COVID-19 situation, the governmentdecided to
suspend the provi-sions starting from March 25for six months by
promulgat-ing an ordinance in June.
Default on repaymentsfrom March 25, the day whenthe nationwide
lockdownbegan to curb coronavirusinfections, would not be
con-sidered for initiating insolven-cy proceedings for at least
sixmonths.
The six-month period isending next week.
The Insolvency andBankruptcy Code (SecondAmendment) Bill, 2020,
seeksto replace the ordinance issuedin June, was passed by a
voicevote after a brief discussion.
Replying to the debate,Finance and Corporate AffairsMinister
Nirmala Sitharamansaid the suspension of provi-sions will end next
week.
“At the moment, amend-
ment to the Code gives me aprovision to only extend till
oneyear. If at all, because it is com-ing to an end on September
25this year, September 24 itself wehave to make an announce-ment
about what is going tohappen. But even if I do, itmeans by March it
should beending...,” the ministersaid.
The minister also clarifiedthat insolvency proceedingsagainst
corporates defaultingon loans prior to March 25 willcontinue and
the amendmentwill not stall those cases.
A majority of the opposi-tion parties also supported thebill but
urged the governmentto provide interest waiver onloans to farmers
and poor peo-ple suffering due to theCOVID-19 crisis.
During the debate on thebill, many members expressedfears over
its possible misuse bycorporates even as they hopedthat it will
help in reviving theeconomy.
On members’ queriesregarding liability of personalguarantors in
the IBC,Sitharaman said the corporatedebtor often has
guarantors.
“So, for comprehensivecorporate insolvency resolutionand
liquidation we felt it wasnecessary that the insolvency ofthe
corporate debtor as well asits guarantors are considered
together to whatever extent itis possible,” Sitharaman said.
On queries about theurgency to bring the ordi-nance in the first
place,Sitharaman said that “betweensessions if there is a need
forordinance because the groundsituation demands it, I wouldthink a
responsive govern-ment’s duty is to at least use theordinance to
show that we arethere with the people of India.”
“So to that extent, I am surethe House will appreciate thatas
and when the governmentdecides for ordinance it isbecause of that,
and wheneverthe next session happens wecome back,” she said.
Because of the COVID-19pandemic, the minister said,businesses
faced trouble.
So it was decided “that itwas better to suspend Sections7, 9 and
10 of IBC so that wecan prevent corporate persons,which are
experiencing distresson account of the unprece-dented situation,
being pushedinto insolvency proceedings”.
Sections 7, 9 and 10 dealwith initiation of corporateinsolvency
resolution processby financial creditor, opera-tional creditor and
corporatedebtor, respectively. The min-ister further said the IBC
is acritical part of business now,and cited data to show how
the
code had performed.Citing data for NPAs of
commercial banks during2018-19, she informed theHouse that Lok
Adalats recov-ered 5.3 per cent, DebtRecovery Tribunals
(DRTs)recovered 3.5 per cent andSARFAESI recovered 14.5
percent.
On the other hand, IBCensured 42.5 per cent of recov-ery.
Sitharaman further saidthat most of the resolutions arehappening
to make the com-pany to be a going concernonly.
“Priority is to keep thecompany to be a going concernrather than
to liquidate them atthe earliest,” she said addingthat 258
companies were savedfrom going bankrupt throughthe IBC process,
while 965firms went for liquidation.
“... 258 companies wererescued which means employ-ment is back
again with them.Companies which have beenliquidated in total,
three-fourths of them were defunctand were also given
liquidationsolution and therefore at leastloss of employment
wasreduced,” she said.
According to her, 258 com-panies rescued had assets of Rs96,000
crore and the 965 com-panies sent for liquidation hadassets of Rs
38,000 crore.
New Delhi: Companies havingnot less than 300 workers willsoon be
allowed to hire and fireworkers without seeking priorgovernment
permission, withthe labour ministry proposingchanges to rules in a
bill intro-duced in Lok Sabha onSaturday.
The proposal, which wasthe bone of contention betweenthe
ministry and trade unions,is part of the Industrial RelationCode
Bill 2020.
Currently, only thoseindustrial establishments withless than 100
employees arepermitted to hire and fire theirstaff without
permission of thegovernment.
The bill was introduced byLabour Minister SantoshGangwar amid
oppositionfrom Congress and few otherparties.
The Industrial RelationCode Bill 2019 was introducedin Lok Sabha
last year and sub-sequently sent to theParliamentary
StandingCommittee on Labour. This billwas withdrawn on
Saturday.
An earlier draft bill circu-lated by the labour ministry
fordiscussion had also proposed
the criteria that companieshaving not less than 300employees can
hire and firewithout the government’s per-mission. However, this
provi-sion faced stiff opposition fromtrade unions and was
notincluded in the 2019 bill.
Earlier this year, theParliamentary committee alsomade a case of
allowing com-panies having less than 300workers to go for
retrenchmentof staff or closure without gov-ernment permission.
States like Rajasthan havealready increased the thresholdto 300
workers, which accord-ing to the labour ministry hasresulted in an
increase inemployment and a decrease inretrenchment, the
committeehad pointed out in its report.
With regard to the thresh-old, the government has pro-posed
Section 77(1) in theThe Industrial Relation Code2020.
According to the Section,the provisions of “this
Chapter(lay-off, retrenchment and clo-sure in certain
establishment)shall apply to an industrialestablishment (not being
anestablishment of a seasonal
character or in which work isperformed only intermittently)in
which not less than threehundred workers, or such high-er number of
workers as maybe notified by the appropriateGovernment, were
employedon an average per workingday in the preceding
twelvemonths”.
Apart from this code, twoothers -- Occupational Safety,Health
And WorkingConditions Code, 2020 and theCode On Social Security,
2020-- were also introduced by theminister in Lok Sabha.
Among others, Congressleaders -- Manish Tewari andShashi Tharoor
-- opposed theintroduction of the three bills.
Tewari noted these threebills are fundamentally changedversions
of their earlier formsand urged the minister to with-
draw them and hold wider con-sultations before
introducingthem.
These bills are also a blowto the rights of workers,
headded.
With respect to the indus-trial relations code, Tharoorsaid it
severely restricts theright of workers to strike andalso allows
state or centralgovernments to amend thethreshold for applicability
relat-ing to layoffs and retrench-ment.
In Lok Sabha, Gangwarsaid that over 29 labour lawshave been
merged into fourcodes and that one of them hasalready been
passed.
The Code on Wages Bill,2019 was passed by Parliamentlast
year.
Gangwar noted that thegovernment engaged in widerconsultations
over these billswith various stakeholders andthat more than 6,000
com-ments were received online onthe bills.
These bills were later sentto a standing committee and174 of its
233 recommenda-tions have been accepted, theminister said. PTI
New Delhi: VK Shukla, GeneralManager and Zonal Manager
ofNorthern Zonal Office, NewDelhi of CSB Bank Limited for-merly
known as The CatholicSyrian Bank Limited hasInaugurated Dwarka
branch ofCSB Bank and Mr. NarendraChawla, Mayor, South
DelhiMuncipal Corporation, inagru-rated Janakpuri branch of CSBBank
on 18.09.2020. WhileInaugurating these branches Mr.VK Shukla has
informed thatthree more branches at RohiniSector 3, Okhla and
ShalimarBagh will be inaugurated by 12stOctober 2020. The
proposedbranches are identified at areaswhere there is good demand
forGold Loans, MSME, CorporateLoans and to extend support toother
needy customers. Goldloan is the unique selling prod-
uct of CSB Bank Limited with itsattractive interest rate,
higherLTV upto 90%, low turnaroundtime and easy takeover
facilityfrom other financial institu-tions.
CSB Bank Limited is one ofthe oldest private sector banksand
celebrating the centenaryyear. The Bank has a strong basein Kerala
along with significantpresence in Tamil Nadu,Karnataka and
Maharashtra. Itoffers a wide range of productsand services to their
overall cus-tomer base of 1.35 billion. TheBank has been listed in
the year2019 and launched IPO on22.11.2019. M/s Fairfax hasinfused
capital of Rs. 1400.00 Crin the year 2019 and the bank iswell set
to grow faster. Bank hasfurther expansion plan inNorthern &
Eastern India.
Shri R.K. Singh, Hon’bleMinister of State(Independent Charge)
forPower, New and RenewableEnergy and Minister of Statefor Skill
Development andEntrepreneurship, Governmentof India, today,
inauguratedvarious developmental pro-jects and facilities in Bihar.
Asa responsible corporate, NTPC,country’s largest power pro-ducer,
is fulfilling its corporatesocial responsibility by creatingan
infrastructure for the ben-efit of the people of Bihar.
Speaking on the occasion,Shri Singh appreciated NTPC,REC and
Power Grid for theircontribution to the state ofBihar in its path
of progress.
He said, “These companieswhich are among the largest inthe
world, belonging toMinistry of Power, are one ofthe most
professional and effi-cient organisations. The com-panies from the
Power PSUs
are well known for their exem-plary performances, are
alsofocussed on working towardssocietal development whichextends to
villages across thecountry. These companies havecontributed
extensively dur-ing the pandemic and havetaken complete care of
theirworkers. Further, NTPC isdeveloping an ITI and con-structing a
ward in AIIMS,Bihar which will immenselybenefit the people of
Bihar.NTPC has played an instru-mental role in the developmentof
Bihar with an installedcapacity of 6150 MW in thestate. In
addition, 3800 MWcapacity is in pipeline.”
He further added, “Thepower PSUs together have con-nected India
in its length andbreadth. The endeavour of thepower PSUs have made
India apower surplus nation withalmost 1.25 lakh MW capaci-ty of
electricity being added in
the past five years. Under theleadership of our Hon’blePrime
Minister, we havebrought a revolution in thepower sector inching
towardsthe target of making electrici-ty available in every
Indianhousehold.”
Speaking during the inau-guration function, Shri AsitKumar
Mukherjee, RED (ER1),NTPC said “We are committedtowards our social
responsi-bilities and we strive to fulfilour commitment towards
thepeople of Bihar. With six pro-jects in the state, we
areextremely happy in contribut-ing to electricity requirement
ofthe state. We are constantlyworking towards brighteningup every
citizen’s face in Bihar.”
The projects would bene-fit the public by providingthem access
to infrastructurebuilt for family and communi-ty functions like
celebrating fes-tivals and social occassions.
New Delhi:The net direct taxcollection during April-Augustwas Rs
1.92 lakh crore, down31 per cent over the sameperiod of the last
fiscal.
The net indirect tax col-lection during the five-monthperiod
till August fell 11 percent year-on-year to Rs 3.42lakh crore.
In a written reply to the LokSabha, Minister of State forFinance
Anurag Singh Thakursaid net direct tax collection wasRs 2,79,711
crore in April-August2019, compared to Rs 1,92,718crore in
April-August 2020.
The net indirect tax col-lection in April-August 2019was Rs
3,85,949 crore, asagainst Rs 3,42,591 crore inApril-August
2020.
During April-August, theCentre’s Goods and ServicesTax (GST)
collection stood atover Rs 1.81 lakh crore. TheBudget had estimated
Centre’sGST collection for full fiscal atRs 6,90,500 crore. PTI
New Delhi: The government onSaturday said MSME units
fromMaharashtra availed maximumloans under the EmergencyCredit Line
Guarantee Scheme(ECLGS) as on September 16.
In a written reply to theRajya Sabha, Minister of State forMSMEs
Pratap Chandra Sarangisaid loans worth Rs 14,364.30crore were
disbursed to MSMEunits in Maharashtra as onSeptember 16.
It was followed by TamilNadu (Rs 12,445.58 crore),Gujarat (Rs
12,005.92 crore)and Uttar Pradesh (Rs 8,907.38crore).The scheme is
the biggestfiscal component of the Rs 20-lakh crore Self-Reliant
IndiaMission package announced bythe government.
In a separate reply, he saidthe Department of FinancialServices
has reported that as onSeptember 9, an amount of Rs1,63,103 crore
was sanctioned to42,01,060 borrowers under thescheme. PTI
New Delhi: The PradhanMantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana2.0 (2016-20)
will come to anend on March 31 next year andthe government is
examiningthe next version, Parliamentwas informed on Saturday.
Minister of State for SkillDevelopment andEntrepreneurship R K
Singhsaid there is no proposal underexamination for setting up
aNational Institute of SkillDevelopment.The governmentlaunched
Pradhan MantriKaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)in 2015 and revamped it
in 2016to impart skills to one crore per-sons by 2020.
“The PMKVY 2.0 (2016-20) is coming to an end on 31stMarch, 2021,
and the govern-ment is examining the next ver-sion of PMKVY taking
intoaccount the lessons learnt dur-ing the implementation ofPMKVY
2.0,” he said in a writ-ten reply to the Lok Sabha. PTI
New Delhi:India’s total exter-nal debt increased by 2.8 percent
to USD 558.5 billion at theend of March mainly onaccount of a rise
in commercialborrowings, according to areport released by the
FinanceMinistry.The external debtstood at USD 543 billion
atend-March 2019.
The ratio of foreign cur-rency reserves to external debtstood at
85.5 per cent as at end-March 2020, as compared to76.0 per cent a
year ago, thereport said.
External debt as a ratio toGDP rose marginally to 20.6per cent
as at end-March 2020from 19.8 per cent a year ago,‘India’s External
Debt: A StatusReport: 2019-2020’ showed.
Compared to end-March2019, sovereign debt shrank 3per cent to
reach USD 100.9 bil-lion, it said, adding, this decreasewas
primarily due to a fall in FIIinvestment in G-Sec – the sec-ond
largest constituent – by23.3 per cent to USD 21.6 billionfrom USD
28.3 billion a year ago.
Loans from multilateraland bilateral sources underexternal
assistance– the largestconstituent of the sovereigndebt – grew 4.9
per cent toUSD 87.2 billion, it said.
Non-sovereign debt, onthe other hand, it said, rose 4.2per cent
to USD 457.7 billionmainly due to an increase incommercial
borrowings. PTI
New Delhi: The government istaking various steps to reduceroad
transport costs which inturn will make goods and ser-vices cheaper
for common man,Union minister V K Singh saidon Saturday. Minister
of State for
Road Transport and HighwaysSingh was addressing a globalvirtual
summit, organised byAssocham. “The government isworking on several
initiativesthat would reduce the cost ofroad transport”, he said.
PTI
New Delhi: The FinanceMinistry on Saturday informedthe Lok Sabha
that no decisionhas been taken to discontinuethe printing of �2,000
denom-ination currency notes.
In a written reply, Ministerof State for Finance AnuragThakur
said printing of banknotes of particular denomina-tion is decided
by the govern-ment in consultation with theRBI to maintain
desireddenomination mix for facili-tating transactional demand
of public. During the year 2019-20
and 2020-21, no indent wasplaced with the presses forprinting of
�2,000 denomina-tion notes.
“However, there is no deci-sion to discontinue the print-ing of
�2,000 denominationbank notes by the govern-ment,” the minister
said.
Thakur also informed thatas on March 31, 2020, therewere 27,398
lakh pieces of�2,000 notes in circulationcompared to 32,910 lakh
pieces
on March 31, 2019.He further said the RBI has
informed that in view ofnation-wide lockdown due toCOVID-19
pandemic, printingof notes stopped temporarily.
However, the note printingpresses resumed productionin a phased
manner, as per theguidelines issued byCentral/State Government,
headded.
The production activities atBhartiya Reserve Bank NoteMudran
Private Limited (BRB-NMPL) presses were suspend-
ed from March 23, 2020, toMay 3, 2020. Printing of banknotes at
BRBNMPL pressesresumed with effect May 4,2020.
Thakur further saidSecurity Printing and MintingCorporation of
India Limited(SPMCIL) has informed thatprinting of bank notes at
theirpresses was also affected due toCOVID-19 pandemic.
Both, Bank Note Presses ofSPMCIL -- Currency NotePress, Nashik
and Bank NotePress, Dewas were closed down
from March 23, 2020 due tolockdown.
Currency Note Press,Nashik and Bank Note Press,Dewas resumed
full-fledgedproduction activities from June8, 2020 and June 1,
2020,respectively.
During the period of lock-down, note printing presseshave
uninterruptedly suppliednotes to RBI offices/currencychests from
stock of notesavailable with them throughIndian Railway
TreasuryWagons, Thakur added. PTI
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Washington: US President DonaldTrump has said that the
protesters, whowent violent in the aftermath of thedeath of
African-American GeorgeFloyd, did not even spare the statue
ofMahatma Gandhi in Washington DC,describing the demonstrators as
a“bunch of thugs”.
George Floyd died in Minneapolison May 25 after white police
officerDerek Chauvin handcuffed and pinnedhim to the ground, and
knelt on his neckfor more than eight minutes while the46-year-old
from Houston gasped forbreath.
The footage, which went viral,showed Floyd pleading with the
officer,saying he can’t breathe. His deathsparked nationwide
violent protestswith some protesters resorting to van-dalism,
looting and rioting across thecountry, leaving behind a trail of
destruc-tion.
“You know, they started rippingdown Abraham Lincoln. When they
hit
Lincoln, I said wait a minute. This is theman and you can do -
then they hitGeorge Washington, Thomas Jefferson.They had
everybody,” Trump said at awell-attended election rally
inMinnesota, a State that he lost by a lit-tle over 44,000 votes in
2016, on Friday.
He also mentioned about the stat-ue of Mahatma Gandhi in
WashingtonDC that was vandalised by unknownprotesters at the peak
of the nationwideprotests.
“They even had (Mahatma) Gandhi.All Gandhi wanted was one
thing,peace. Right? We have peace. Rip downhis statue. We don’t
like him. I don’t thinkthey have any idea what they’re
doing,”President Trump said.
“I think they’re just a bunch of thugs,okay, you want to know
the truth. I thinkthey’re a bunch of thugs,” he added.
The US President told his cheeringaudience that he had signed an
execu-tive order that would put such vandalsin jail for 10 years.
AFP
Washington: TikTok asked afederal judge in Washington toblock
the Trump administrationfrom enacting a ban on the fast-growing
social-media network.
TikTok and its parent com-pany, ByteDance Ltd., filed acomplaint
late Friday night chal-lenging the Trump administra-tion’s recent
moves to preventthe app from operating in theU.S. The lawsuit marks
the sec-ond time TikTok has challengedPresident Donald
Trump’sactions in court, bringing ahigh-stakes geopolitical
fightover technology and trade intothe U.S. legal system.
Trump exceeded his author-ity, the company said, and did sofor
political reasons rather thanto stop an “unusual and extra-ordinary
threat” to the U.S., asthe law requires. TikTok alsosaid the ban
violates its FirstAmendment free-speech rights.
The White House didn’timmediately respond to arequest for
comment.
Trump’s actions would“destroy an online communitywhere millions
of Americanshave come together to expressthemselves,” according to
thecomplaint. The company
claimed that the U.S. govern-ment has “ignored evidence”showing
TikTok’s commitmentto the privacy and security of itsAmerican
users.
On August 6, Trump issuedan executive order saying hewould ban
transactions with theapp within 45 days, arguing thatthe social
network’s Chineseownership made it a nationalsecurity threat.
TikTok sued toblock that order in federal courtin Californa in
August. But onFriday, the Commerce Dept,moving to implement
Trump’sorder, said TikTok would bebanned in the U.S. starting
onNov. 12 unless it could completea takeover deal that assuages
thegovernment’s concerns.
Trump’s order followed aninvestigation by the Committeeon
Foreign Investment in theU.S., which reviews proposedacquisitions
of domestic busi-nesses by overseas investors fornational security
concerns. Andit set off a flurry of attempteddeal-making,
pushingByteDance to seek a sale ofTikTok’s American operations toa
U.S. company. TikTok is cur-rently in talks with Oracle Corp.about
a possible deal. AFP
Tehran: The chief of Iran’sparamilitary RevolutionaryGuard
threatened on Saturdayto go after everyone who hada role in a top
general’s Januarykilling during a US drone strikein Iraq.
The guard’s website quot-ed Gen. Hossein Salami assaying, “Mr.
Trump! Ourrevenge for martyrdom of ourgreat general is obvious,
seriousand real.”
US President DonaldTrump warned this week thatWashington would
harshlyrespond to any Iranianattempts to take revenge for thedeath
of Gen. QassemSoleimani, tweeting that “ifthey hit us in any way,
anyform, written instructionsalready done we’re going to hitthem
1000 times harder.”
The president’s warningcame in response to a reportthat Iran was
plotting to assas-sinate the US ambassador toSouth Africa in
retaliation forSoleimani’s killing at Baghdad’sairport at the
beginning of theyear.
“We took out the world’snumber one terrorist and themass
murderer of Americantroops and many, many troopsand many people all
over theworld,” Trump said. “QasemSoleimani is dead. He’s dead.Bad
guy. Bad guy. Very bad guy.”
Salami rejected the reportof an Iranian plot to
assassinateAmbassador Lana Marks, butmade clear that Iran intends
toavenge the general’s death.
“Do you think we hit afemale ambassador in return toour martyred
brother?’ the
general said. “We will hit thosewho had direct and
indirectroles. You should know thateverybody who had role in
theevent will be hit, and this is aserious message. We do
proveeverything in practice.”
In January, Iran launched aballistic missile attack targetingUS
soldiers in Iraq in responseto the fatal drone strike.
Trump has stepped upeconomic pressure on Iranwith sanctions
since he pulledthe United States out of Iran’snuclear deal with
world pow-ers in 2018.
Tehran has continued toexpand its stockpile of enricheduranium
and pressured othernations to offset the harm of USsanctions, while
insisting itdoes not want to develop anuclear weapon. AP
Rabat: Despite a governmentban on large gatherings to pre-vent
the spread of the coron-avirus, scores of demonstratorsprotested
outside the MoroccanParliament to denounce Arabcountries agreeing
to normaliseties with Israel.
Israel on Tuesday signedhistoric diplomatic pacts withthe United
Arab Emirates andBahrain in a U.S.-brokered deal.Morocco was
reported to beamong other Arab countriesconsidering a similar
move,though the prime ministerrejected the idea last month.
Protesters in Morocco’s cap-ital of Rabat Friday
wavedPalestinian flags, decrying thedeals as “treason” and
chanting“Palestine is not for sale.” ThePalestinians view the pacts
as astab in the back from their fel-low Arabs in the Gulf and
abetrayal of their cause for aPalestinian state. Israel and
Bahrain’s agreements have beencondemned by many acrossthe Arab
world.
The protesters in Rabat alsoburned a mock Israeli flag.Dozens of
police officerswatched the scene from a dis-tance.
Organisers interrupted thechanting occasionally to
urgeparticipants to wear masks andto respect social distancing
rules.“The normalisation deals are anattack on the Palestinian
peopleand their cause,” human rightsactivist Abdelhamid Amine
toldThe Associated Press.
“We are calling on theMoroccan government not tofollow suit and
we urge it not tosurrender to the Zionist andimperialist pressure
like otherArab countries,” said Amine,former president of
theMoroccan Association ofHuman Rights and one of therally
organisers. AP
Islamabad: Pakistan’s deposedpremier Nawaz Sharif is set tomake
a comeback in active pol-itics following a year-longabsence after
PPP chairmanBilawal Bhutto Zardari invitedhim to virtually attend
theOpposition-led multiparty con-ference aimed at launching
aprotest movement against theImran Khan-led governmenton
Sunday.
Sharif, 70, the PakistanMuslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo, has
been living inLondon since November lastyear after the Lahore
HighCourt granted him permission
to go abroad for four weeks fortreatment.
The three-time premier, hisdaughter Maryam and son-in-law
Muhammad Safdar wereconvicted in the Avenfield prop-erties case on
July 6, 2018.
Sharif, who was deposed in2017, was also sentenced toseven years
in the Al-Azizia SteelMills case in December 2018.But, he was
bailed out in bothcases and also allowed to go toLondon for medical
treatment.
He was given eight weeks toreturn but failed to come backdue to
health complications,according to his lawyer. PTI
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China sent more warplanestoward Taiwan for the sec-ond day on
Saturday as theisland’s leader, seniorGovernment officials and
ahigh-level US envoy paid trib-ute to the man who led
Taiwan’stransition to democracy, for-mer President Lee
Teng-hui.
Keith Krach, the US under-secretary for state, kept a lowprofile
at the service.
His presence at the eventand on the island has drawn astrong
rebuke from China,which sent 18 warplanes acrossthe midline of the
Taiwan StraitFriday in an unusually largedisplay of force.
On Saturday, Beijing dis-patched 19 more warplanes,two of which
were bombers,according to Taiwan’s DefenseMinistry. The island’s
air forcescrambled their own anddeployed an air defense
missilesystem to monitor China’sactivities, according to a
state-ment.
The service was held at the
Aletheia University in Taipei ona balmy Saturday morning,with
President Tsai Ing-wenhonouring Lee for bringing apeaceful
political transition tothe island democracy.
Lee had built a separateTaiwanese political identity,distinct
from mainland China,which claims Taiwan as part ofits own territory
to be reunit-ed by force if necessary.
Lee’s carving out of a non-Chinese identity and insis-tence that
the island be treat-ed as an equal country broughthim into direct
conflict withBeijing. He died on July 30 atage 97.
“We have a responsibilityto continue his endeavours,allowing the
will of the peopleto reshape Taiwan, furtherdefining Taiwan’s
identity anddeepening and bolsteringdemocracy and freedom,”
Tsaisaid.
Former Japanese PrimeMinister Shinzo Abe and theDalai Lama also
paid tributefrom afar.
“We Buddhists believe in
life after life, so most probablyhe will be reborn in
Taiwan,”the Dalai Lama said in a videomessage.
“His rebirth will carry hisspirit continuously.” The
guestsincluded another formerJapanese prime minister,Yoshiro Mori.
They woremasks and sat spaced out inpews.
Lee, an agricultural econ-omist and politician, devotedhis
career toward buildingdemocracy on the islandthrough direct
elections andother changes.
He was the first govern-ment official to speak out andformally
apologise for the so-called 228 incident, namedafter February 28,
1947, whensoldiers under theKuomingtang, or the sole rul-ing
Nationalist Party, shot andkilled thousands of civilians inan
anti-government uprising.
The bloodshed marked thebeginning of a decades-longperiod known
as the WhiteTerror in which the island wasruled by martial law.
Washington: US SupremeCourt Justice Ruth BaderGinsburg, the
history-mak-ing jurist, feminist icon and achampion of women’s
rightsand social justice, has died ofcancer at the age of 87.
Ginsburg became only thesecond woman ever to serve asa justice
on the nation’s high-est court. A lifelong advocateof gender
equality, sheacquired the reputation of acautious or moderate
judgeand will be remembered as alegal colossus.
“Our nation has lost a jus-tice of historic stature. We atthe
Supreme Court have losta cherished colleague. Todaywe mourn but
with confi-dence that future generationswill remember Ruth
BaderGinsburg as we knew her —a tried and resolute champi-on of
justice,” Supreme CourtChief Justice John Robertssaid in a
statement. Ginsburg’sdeath on Friday could openup another
battlefrontbetween President DonaldTrump and his Democraticrival
and former vice presi-dent Joe Biden. AFP
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Bangkok: Protesters gatheredon Saturday in Bangkok for themost
ambitious rally so far in apro-democracy campaign thathas shaken up
the governmentand Thailand’s conservativeestablishment.
Organisers predicted that asmany as 50,000 will march overtwo
days in an area of the cap-ital historically associated
withpolitical protests, after an esti-mated 10,000 people turnedout
for the last major rally onAug. 16. But the early turnoutwas modest
Saturday as a steadylight rain fell.
Demonstrators wore facemasks, but ignored a Thursdaynight plea
from Prime MinisterPrayuth Chan-ocha to cancelthe event, which he
said riskedspreading the coronavirus andderailing recovery of
Thailand’sbattered economy.
The core demands declaredby the protesters in July were
thedissolution of parliament withfresh elections, a new
constitu-tion and an end to intimidationof political activists.
AP
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China’s embassies toSuriname and Guyana onFriday accused U.S.
Secretary ofState Mike Pompeo of “spread-ing rumors” and
“smearing”Beijing, after Washington’s topdiplomat criticized
Chinesecompanies during a four-stopSouth America tour.
In a joint appearance withnewly elected SurinamesePresident Chan
Santokhi onThursday, Pompeo saidChinese companies often donot
compete on a “fair andequitable basis.”
“We’ve watched theChinese Communist Partyinvest in countries,
and it allseems great at the front end andthen it all comes falling
downwhen the political costs con-nected to that becomes
clear,”Pompeo said.
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Washington: The US military said that it hasdeployed additional
assets, including radar sys-tems and armoured vehicles, to
northeasternSyria, weeks after a collision incident between
theAmerican and Russian army vehicles in theregion.
“The US has deployed Sentinel radar,increased the frequency of
US fighter patrols overUS forces, and deployed Bradley
FightingVehicles to augment US forces in the EasternSyria Security
Area (ESSA),” US CentralCommand Spokesman Bill Urban said in
astatement on Friday.
“These actions are a clear demonstration ofUS resolve to defend
Coalition forces in the ESSA,and to ensure that they are able to
continue theirDefeat-ISIS mission without interference,” Xinhuanews
agency quoted Urban as saying.
US media reported that the latest deploymentincluded six Bradley
vehicles and fewer than 100troops.
The deployment was believed as a responseto the collision
between the vehicles thatoccurred in northern Syria in late
August.
The US and Russia blamed each other for theincident, which left
seven American soldiersinjured.
Kenneth Ekman, deputy commander ofCombined Joint Task Force
Operation InherentResolve, said in July that US troops in Syria
inter-act with Russians almost daily.
About 500 US troops are deployed in thenortheastern part of
Syria to fight against theIslamic State terror group and secure the
oil fieldsoperated by Kurdish forces. IANS
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Two greats will pit their witsagainst each other in
thebackground as their captains,with an ability to achieve
great-ness, lead their power-hitters outfor an IPL match between
DelhiCapitals and Kings XI Punjab
here on Sunday.Ricky Ponting and Anil
Kumble are arguably two of thebiggest names in cricket and
thedazzling array of talent in boththe teams would seek to
drawinspiration from their respectiveheavyweight coaches in
theirtournament opener.
Man-to-man, Delhi Capitalsseem to have a slight edge,more so in
the spin department,with the trio of R Ashwin, AmitMishra and Axar
Patel streetsahead of their counterparts fromthe Mohali-based
side.
Spin is expected to play a bigrole on the UAE pitches.
The match, at the DubaiInternational Cricket Stadium,will also
be a face-off betweenskippers KL Rahul and ShreyasIyer, both seen
as future Indiacaptaincy material.
On the batting front, theCapitals have one of the
bestassortments of India interna-
tionals, comprising Prithvi Shaw,Iyer, Rishabh Pant,
ShikharDhawan, besides West IndianShimron Hetmyer.
In this scenario, India Testvice-captain Ajinkya
Rahane(strike-rate below 120), whowas bought from RajathanRoyals,
may be left out.
The KXIP also boast ofsome of the finest clean hittersin the
form of Chris Gayle,Glenn Maxwell and Rahul him-self.
Maxwell's confidence mustbe sky high after his ODI
series-winning century (108) againstEngland in Manchester. He
also
had a memorable run the lasttime the IPL was held in UAE,albeit
partially, in 2014 when hehammered 552 runs in 16games.
The KXIP have a dangerousopening pairing in Gayle andRahul with
Mayank Agarwal tofollow. But it remains to be seenwhether the
40-year-old Gaylewill continue to be a regular fea-ture at the top
of the order thistime around.
The Capitals may come upwith a surprise by picking BigBash
League's highest wicket-taker Daniel Sams along withKagiso Rabada,
leaving out
senior India pacer IshantSharma, who has had an under-whelming
IPL over the years.
For KXIP, India strikebowler Mohammad Shami willspearhead the
pace department.
It is in the slow-bowlingdepartment that the KXIP couldface
problems. They don't haveany big names following thedeparture of
Ashwin. MujeebZadran is the sole establishedname.
Ashwin, on the other hand,would like to leave behind all thetalk
about 'Mankading' andfocus on the job at hand along-side Mishra,
who is the IPL's sec-
ond highest wicket-taker with157 scalps.
History, though, favoursKXIP who have won four out ofthe last
five matches but it wasthe Capitals who emerged vic-torious in the
last match betweenthe two sides in the 2019 season.Squads: Delhi
Capitals: ShreyasIyer (c), Ravichandran Ashwin,Shikhar Dhawan,
Prithvi Shaw,Shimron Hetmyer, KagisoRabada, Ajinkya Rahane,
AmitMishra, Rishabh Pant (wk),Ishant Sharma, Axar Patel,Sandeep
Lamichhane, KeemoPaul, Daniel Sams, MohitSharma, Anrich Nortje,
Alex
Carey (wk), Avesh Khan, TusharDeshpande, Harshal Patel,Marcus
Stoinis, Lalit Yadav.Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul (c),Mayank Agarwal,
SheldonCottrell, Chris Gayle, GlennMaxwell, Mohammed Shami,Mujeeb
Ur Rahman, KarunNair, James Neesham, NicholasPooran (wk), Ishan
Porel,Arshdeep Singh, MuruganAshwin, Krishnappa Gowtham,Harpreet
Brar, Deepak Hooda,Chris Jordan, Sarfaraz Khan,Mandeep Singh,
DarshanNalkande, Ravi Bishnoi, SimranSingh (wk), Jagadeesha
Suchith,Tajinder Singh, Hardus Viljoen.
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Covid-19 has taken the country off-guard and is seen impacting
theIndian economy. As per theMoody’s report published in June2020,
India’s GDP is expected toshrink by 3.1%. Going one step further,
theDun and Bradstreet Report released in August2020 predicted that
the GDP would contractby 4.5% this fiscal year. Amidst these
dauntingnumbers, one industry that is still reflecting aray of hope
while showing unprecedentedgrowth in India is the Education
Technology,that is, the Ed-Tech sector. RS Components,analysing the
Crunchbase data, observes thatother than the USA, India is the
second coun-try that hosts the most number of Ed-Techcompanies in
the world.
In 2020, Ed-Tech stands as the most fund-ed business sector in
India. Only betweenJanuary and July $998 Mn has been investedacross
31 deals. Furthermore, the ed-tech sec-tor, according to the
Omidyar, Redseer report,2020, is expected to touch a size of $3.5
Bn by2022.
To understand the inner working of thissector and map its
growth, let us delve deeperand analyse the current scenario along
withthe latest trends, impact, opportunities, possi-ble pitfalls
and the way ahead for the Ed-Techindustry.
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The umbrella term of ‘Ed-Tech’ largelyconsists of five segments,
which includeOnline Teaching and Test Preparation;Assessment,
Guidance and Mentoring; SkillDevelopment and Certification;
ProfessionalDevelopment Programmes, Infrastructuraland
Administrative Solutions. Amongst thesesegments, Online Teaching
and TestPreparation leads the market with a 64% shareand further
anticipating size of $515 Mn by2021. The sector is lately
experiencing a boomas it alchemises with artificial intelligence
andneuroscience
The growth of Ed-Tech in India startedaround 2004-05 when
ventures such asEveronn, NIIT and Educomp made theirmark through
digital course content, smartclassrooms and skill development
programs.The industry has been reaching new heightswith 3000
companies, including Byju’s,Unacademy etc. along with various
investorslike Tiger Global, General Atlantic, SteadviewCapital, GGV
Capital, Foundation Holding,Aarin Capital, Simplilearn and
BlumeVentures venturing into this landscape.
����������������The Ed-Tech industry in India has been
going through three major push backs includ-ing resistance from
schools, the lack of truston online education and the reach of
internetand communication devices such as comput-ers, tablets and
mobile phones. Covid-19served as a catalyst in resolving these
con-cerns. The outbreak encouraged schools andother educational
institutions to embrace
technological solutions. In addition to this, italso influenced
offline institutions to collabo-rate with companies such as Embibe
andSimplilearn.
Not just this, parents are also trying toadapt to the new normal
and subscribing toeducational help platforms such as Byjus orToppr
or Global Shiksha, Khan Academy andothers. People are going an
extra mile to adaptto the Ed-Tech culture and connecting inter-net,
mobile phones, TV, computers and tabletsmore to learning.
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The growth of technology in the educa-tion sector is, in fact,
impacting lives of mil-lions majorly in five different ways:● Many
of the top-notch teachers, courses andinstitutions were only
accessible for peoplewho live in the city. But technology dilutes
thegeographical borders. Today, a person sitting200 kilometres away
from a city likeBangalore or Mumbai orThiruvananthapuram or Lucknow
would geteasy access to high-class lectures and tutorials. ●
Platforms such as Unacademy and Upgradare helping people to
learn/get certified/pro-fessionally qualified even along with the
jobthey do. This helps more people to up-skillthem without moving
out of jobs. ● Technology in the coming years shall makeeducation
accessible for more people who arenot able to afford fees at
schools or colleges.This would also help the government to pro-vide
education to children and adults withoutmuch capital investment in
high rise buildingsand infrastructure, leading to the real
democ-ratisation of education in India. ● Assessments, guidance and
mentoring aresome of the areas that have to consider multi-ple data
points at the same point. Most of thetime these aspects go wrong in
education as itis humanly impossible to consider multiplevariables
together. High profile technology is,in fact, solving this problem
to a large extent.This would make assessments, guidance
andmentoring people easier and more accurate,thus the right people
would reach the rightplaces in life. ● Another major impact of
Ed-Tech in the lifeof common people is that education becomesmore
effective through visual aids, augmentedreality, virtual reality
and videos with mean-ingful graphics. This will help children
andadults to comprehend the conceptual level ofknowledge rather
than mugging up as used tohappen during the early days.
������������������������������The current trends in the Ed-Tech
indus-
try in Indian can be presented through thefollowing four points:
● The growth of Ed-Tech in India is not a lin-ear or organised
graph. It becomes extremelydynamic in nature. Thus only companies
whoare really agile, open to change and vibrantcan sustain in the
market. ● Early entrants to the market who could
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