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VIJAYAWADA, MONDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

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RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

*Late City Vol. 3 Issue 4*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Established 1864Published From

VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN HYDERABAD

{

VIJAYAWADA

WEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated November 8, 2020 5:00 PM

ALMANAC

TODAY

Month & Paksham:

Ashwin & Krishna Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Ashtami: 06:50 am, Navami:

05:27 am (Next Day)

Nakshatram: Ashlesha: 08:42 am

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 07:46 am – 09:10 am

Yamagandam: 10:35 am – 11:59 am

Varjyam: 08:19 pm – 09:52 pm

Gulika: 01:24 pm - 02:48 pm

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 07:06 am – 08:42 am

Abhijit Muhurtham: 11:37 am – 12:22 pm

FFoorreeccaasstt:: SunnyTemp: 28/14Humidity: 57%Sunrise: 06.18 amSunset: 05.41 pm

Govt to launch IOT pilotproject across StatePNS n VIJAYAWADA

The government will launchthe Internet of Things (IoT)pilot project in Micro, Smalland Medium Enterprises(MSME) in all districts tostudy energy efficiency mea-sures with the support ofBureau of Energy Efficiency(BEE).

The Union Ministry ofPower has agreed and sanc-tioned funds for the launch ofthe IoT pilot project across theState and the industries depart-

ment will take up the projectin five MSME units in eachdistrict.

Chief Secretary and

Chairperson of the AndhraPradesh State EnergyConservation Mission(APSECM) Nilam Sawhneywelcomed the quick responseof BEE and the Union Ministryof Power towards promotingenergy efficiency in AndhraPradesh. The State will contin-ue its efforts to make AndhraPradesh as one of the bestStates in the energy efficiencysector, the Chief Secretarysaid.

BJP seeks govt explanationon APSDC loan planPNS n VIJAYAWADA

BJP State general secretary SVishnu Vardhan Reddy onSunday sought explanationand clarification from the gov-ernment on the provisions ofthe GO No 80 that was issuedin August to establish theAndhra Pradesh StateDevelopment Corporation(APSDC).

It may be recalled that it wasreported in The Pioneer onSaturday about the broadobjectives of the APSDC andplans of the State governmentto borrow loans from thefinancial institutions from themarket by assigning some ofthe existing State revenues andthe new ones to an escrowaccount of the APSDC as amonetary guarantee.

Addressing the media inNellore on Sunday, he lament-ed that the government had

stretched to an extent of mort-gaging the budget to raiseloans.

“The State government lacksfiscal discipline. The govern-ment should explain to thepublic its motive behind theGO No 80 and establishment

of APSDC to raise loans fromthe market. I wonder whatwealth the present YSRCPgovernment had created forthe benefit of the State in thelast 17 months.

RYOTS HANDCUFFING

NHRC directsCS, DGP totake action in 8 weeksPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The National Human RightsCommission directed ChiefSecretary Nilam Sawhneyand DGP Gautam Sawang totake action within eightweeks against those who wereinvolved in handcuffing offarmers in Amaravati.

It may be recalled that on24 September, police hand-cuffed seven farmers whileshifting them to the districtjai l in Guntur f romNarasaraopet sub-jai l .Police arrested them whenthey were protesting againstthe government for its deci-sion to shift the capital cityfrom Amarvati.

Taking a serious note ofit , AP Civi l L iber t iesAssociation State (APCLA)president Muppalla SubbaRao lodged a complaintwith the NHRC onOctober 31 objecting tothe handcuffing of farmersand based on that, theNHRC issued orders in thatregard.

In his complaint, hereportedly reminded thatpolice registered casesunder SC, ST Atrocity (pre-vention) Act against farm-ers, which is objectionable.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The government is likely totake a decision on bursting offirecrackers this Diwali onNovember 9 based on thedirective of NGT, which ishearing a case in this connec-tion. Speaking to ThePioneer, Andhra PradeshPollution Control Board,Member Secretary, VivekYadav (IAS), said they areawaiting the NGT verdict ona case related to ban on fire-crackers.

The hearing is posted forNovember 9. The govern-

ment’s decision on crackerban will depend on theNGT’s call, he said.

In view of the twin prob-lem of Covid-19 and air pol-lut ion, the governmentshould also ban the burstingof fire-crackers joining thelist of other States, opinedhealth and environmentexperts.

It may be noted that theRajasthan government wasfirst to ban sale and burstingof firecrackers to protect thehealth of Covid-19 patientsand also the public from thepoisonous smoke emanating

from the firecrackers. TheState government a lsoannounced a penalty of Rs2,000 on anyone found violat-ing the order.

A day after this Odishajoined the bandwagon issuinga GO in this connection. Therestriction will be effectivefrom November 10 to 30.Later, the Delhi and Sikkimgovernments also implement-ed the same. Maharashtra onFriday issued guidelines forcurbing the spread of Covid-19 during Diwali, urging cit-izens to avoid bursting crack-ers.

La Nina effect : Winter gets chillier in StatePNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

According to the IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD), a colder-than-usualwinter prevails this year due toLa Nina conditions. Hence,there is an early onset of win-ter in the State with someplaces recording below normaltemperatures.

On Sunday, the lowest min-imum temperature recordedwas 18.6 degree Celsius atKalingapatnam. This is a depar-ture of -3.3 degree Celsius.

Rayalaseema is in the grip of acold wave. And, the night tem-perature is very likely to dropfurther.

From October to Februaryare the winter months inAndhra Pradesh. Since the Statehas quite a long coastline, the

winters are comparatively mild.During winter the average tem-perature in the State is around20°C and it ranges between a

very pleasant 16 and 25°C. Thelower temperatures are seenduring the night and earlymornings. The IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD) predicted last month thatwinter this year will likely becolder due to La Nina condi-tions. "As weak La Nina condi-tions are prevailing, winter isexpected to be colder this year.The El Nino and La Nina con-ditions play a dominant role ifyou consider the large scale fac-tor for the occurrence of coldwave conditions,” said the IMD.

La Nina conditions arefavourable for cold wave condi-tions, while El Nino condi-tions are unfavourable for it.The increase in the La Ninaimpact during November andDecember will likely bringdown the night temperature.

La Nina is a climate patternthat describes the cooling of thePacific waters, while El Nino ischaracterised by unusuallywarm ocean temperatures. Bothfactors are also believed to havean impact on the Indian mon-soon.

Outrage as four of family die in suicide pact PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Police atrocities continue tosend shivers down the spine ofAndhra people. The recentsuicide pact by four membersof a Muslim family in Nandyal,all of whom jumped in front ofa running train on Wednesdayafter detailing police atrocitieson them in a viral video, hassparked outrage across thestate. The clip, shared beforethe family took the extremestep, shakes the conscience ofall viewers.

Abdul Salam, 45, ofRojakunta in Nandyal, alongwith his wife Noorjahan, 38,daughter Salma, 14, and sonDada Khalandhar, 10, diedafter they jumped in front ofgoods train. Parts of their dis-membered bodies were foundscattered on the Kaulir railwaytracks near the Panyam RailwayStation on November 3.

Many such previous inci-

dents of police harassment,especially against Dalits, haveenraged people

Abdul Salam, accused of theft,had lost work in a gold shopwhere he was working. He pur-chased an auto to fend for his

family. His wife was working asa teacher in a school.

He was upset that, after work-ing in the gold shop for morethan 20 years, a theft case wasfiled against him “No one iscoming forward to help me and

my family. We have no otheroption left, but to end our lives,”cried Abdul in the selfie videopurportedly taken before the

family took the extreme step. Asobbing Abdul, along with hisfamily members, accused thepolice of framing him in the case.

Abdul Salam was summonedto the police station for question-ing in the case last Monday. Hewas reportedly harassed by the

cops there. Distressed by thetreatment of the police, he decid-ed to die along with his wife andtwo children.

HEIGHT OT POLICE ATROCITY

Two policemen arrested in Abdul Salam suicide case

Two cops were arrestedon Sunday in connec-tion with the Abdul

Salam and family suicidecase. The action against thecops comes following theintervention of AndhraPradesh Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy.

The Andhra Pradesh policearrested CI SomasekharReddy and head constableGangadhar under

different sections of theIndian Penal Code.

The Chief Minister wasreportedly deeply hurt by theincident. He criticized the

police for their high-handed-ness. The Chief Minister

asked the department todeploy top officers and ensurespeedy justice. The ChiefMinister is personally moni-toring the progress of theprobe and has assured out-raged sections that "justicewill be delivered at any cost".

As per the directions of theCM, the DGP appointed aSpecial Officer GP SankhaBrata Bagchi and senior IPSofficer Arif Hafeez to inves-tigate the matter.

Within hours of the CM'sintervention, the CI ofNandyal was suspendedpending investigation. Within

24 hours of the same, basedon the preliminary investiga-tion by top cops, the arrestshave been executed. Both thecops were booked under sec-tions 323,324 & 306 sections34 of the Indian Penal Codefor voluntarily causing hurt,causing hurt by dangerousweapons or means and abet-ment of suicide.

Speaking about the same,DGP Gautam Sawang IPSsaid, “If one is found to beguilty of any offence, be itanybody, he or she will beacted against, irrespective ofwho the person is".

Abdul Salam, 45, of Rojakunta in Nandyalalong with his wife Noorjahan, 38, daughterSalma, 14, and son Dada Khalandhar, 10, diedby suicide by jumping under a goods train

When Biden spoke of distantrelatives living in Mumbai PNS n MUMBAI

When US President-elect JoeBiden was in India's financialcapital in 2013, he had toldan audience that his distantrelatives live in Mumbai.

Biden reiterated his claimtwo years later at an event inWashington, saying there

are five Bidens living inMumbai.

With the 77-year-oldDemocrat set to take oath asthe 46th US President in justover two months, nobody inMumbai has so far turned upto claim that he is Biden'srelative.

NGT verdict on bursting of firecrackers today

BJP State general secretary S Vishnu Vardhan Reddy addressing the media inNellore on Sunday

La Nina is a climatepattern thatdescribes the coolingof the Pacific waters,while El Nino ischaracterised byunusually warmocean temperatures

Arnab shiftedto Taloja jailfor ‘phone usein custody’ PNS n MUMBAI

Republic TV Editor-in-ChiefArnab Goswami, arrested inconnection with the allegedsuicide of an interior design-er, was on Sunday shiftedfrom Alibaug to Taloja jail inMaharashtra's Raigad dis-trict, police said.

Goswami was moved toTaloja jail after allegedlybeing found using a mobilephone while in judicial cus-tody at a school designatedas COVID-19 centre forAlibaug prison, a policeofficial said.

The Raigad crime branchfound Goswami was activeon social media using some-body's mobile phone,despite his personal mobilephone having been seizedby police when he was takeninto custody on November4, the official said.

The Union Ministryof Power hassanctioned fundsand the industriesdepartment willtake up the projectin five MSME unitsin each district

CI Somasekhar Reddy

As BJP patriarch LK Advani turned 93 on Sunday, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi called him a "living inspiration" for crores of BJP

workers and countrymen and wished him a longand healthy life. The Prime Minister went toAdvani's residence here to extend his greetingsand was seen helping Advani cut the birthdaycake. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJPPresident JP Nadda also went to Advani'sresidence to wish him on the occasion. Modi saidthe BJP veteran had helped the party reach themasses in the country and played a key role in thenation's development. "Went to Advani ji'sresidence to wish him on his birthday.

ADVANI TURNS 93, MODI CALLSHIM A ‘LIVING INSPIRATION'

ARMY OFFICER, 3 SOLDIERS KILLEDIN ACTION; 3 TERRORISTS SHOT DEAD

Chanting "This isn't over!" and "Stop the steal”, supporters of PresidentDonald Trump protested at state capitols across the country Saturday,

refusing to accept defeat and echoing Trump's unsubstantiated allegationsthat the Democrats won the election by fraud. From Atlanta and Tallahasseeto Bismarck, Boise and Phoenix, crowds ranging in size from a few dozen toa few thousand — some of them openly carrying guns — decried the newsof Joe Biden's victory after more than threesuspense-filled days of vote-counting put theDemocrat over the top. Skirmishes broke out insome cities. In Atlanta, outside the state Capitol inthe longtime Republican stronghold of Georgia,chants of “Lock him up!” rang out among anestimated 1,000 Trump supporters.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Sunday arrested Bollywoodproducer Firoz Nadiadwala's wife after ganja was found at their residence

in suburban Juhu, officials said. NCB Mumbai zonal director SameerWankhede told PTI that Firoz Nadiadwala was summoned by the anti-drugsagency earlier in the day, but he failed to appear. "We have arrested FirozNadiadwala's wife under the Narcotic Drugs andPsychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Furtherinvestigation is on," he said. Earlier in the day, a teamof NCB sleuths searched the residence of theNadiadwalas and seized 10 grams of ganja, officialssaid, adding that the contraband was prima facieprocured from one Wahid Abdul Kadir Sheikh aliasSultan who was arrested earlier.

An officer of the Indian Army and three security personnel, includinga onstable of the Border Security Force or BSF, were killed in the

line of duty during a major anti-terror operation along the Line ofControl or LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwaradistrict, officials said. Three terrorists were alsogunned down in the anti-terror operation, whichtook place in north Kashmir's Machil sector, theysaid. This is one of the biggest encounters in theUnion Territory since April. Around 1 am, a patrolparty of the Border Security Force noticedsuspicious movements near the Line of Control andchallenged the intruders, leading to a three-hourgun-battle in which a terrorist was eliminated.

‘THIS ISN'T OVER!': TRUMP SUPPORTERSREFUSE TO ACCEPT DEFEAT

NCB ARRESTS FILM PRODUCER FIROZNADIADWALA'S WIFE,SEIZES GANJA

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vijayawada 02VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | NOVEMBER 9, 2020

Monday Mirchi Loyalty or adventurism

The perceived adventurism ofHyderabad City Police boss AnjaniKumar in recent days has become a

subject of intense discussions in IPS and IAScircles. Recently he thought it fit to conduct apress conference in the city to display the sumof Rs 1 crore in cash that was seized by policea day prior to polling for the Dubbak Assemblybypoll. The CP abbreviated the legal process andwent on record that the cash was seized fromthe BJP candidate M Raghunandan Rao'sbrother-in-law and that it was meant for dis-tribution to voters in the constituency prior topolling. He did not stop at that. He pointed outthat the cash was arranged by Visaka Industries,owned by former Lok Sabha member and BJPleader G Vivek, who quit TRS prior to the 2019Lok Sabha polls and joined BJP.

In both IAS and IPS circles, there is nowwell-reasoned talk that Anjani Kumar vault-ed beyond his call of duty in the entire episodeto be in the good books of powers that be. So,it was duty demonstrated for effect and for therecord. It was 'over-enthusiasm' on the part ofAnjani Kumar who wants to get closer to gov-ernment heads with his acts, they maintain.For, under normal circumstances, wheneversuch cash seizures happen at the hustings, thepolice simply hand over the amount, regard-less of its size, to the Income Tax Department.The matter ends there. It is for the I-TDepartment to establish whether it's account-ed or unaccounted money. In any case, it isnever paraded as a trophy; and that too, at apress meet. Questions are also being raisedover why Anjani Kumar raided properties ofprivate individuals and organisations inHyderabad, where the Model Code of Conductwas not in force. Why did he parade beforemedia persons Raghunandan's brother-in-lawas if he had been convicted in the case? Thegyan that grapevine yielded is that Anjani isangling for DGP post. So, he is trying to pleasethose who can override the seniority of sev-eral IPS officers, when the incumbent DGPMahender Reddy retires. In the context, theycite how Somesh Kumar became the ChiefSecretary with the powers that be overridingthe seniority of nearly a dozen IAS officers.

What stopped AnanthRamu’s return to TS

Who stopped senior IAS officer AnanthRamu returning to Telangana state cadre isnow matter of keen interest in IAS circles inAndhra Pradesh. After getting clearance fromCAT and court Ananth Ramu tried to join inTelangana cadre in vain. His repeated effortsto get into Telangana cadre were halted by asenior officer who is now retired. The officerknown to be ‘Atma’ of chief minister KChandrasekhar Rao has ensured that AnanthRamu did not get the posting in Telangana.After waiting for almost a month, Ramu hasreturned to Andhra Pradesh and reported atGeneral Administration Department. Heexplained his ‘horrific’ experience to then chiefsecretary and somehow got back into the ser-

vice. But those who wants to change their cadrein the name of spouse posting or some otherreason are asked to go and meet this KCR’s‘Atma’ to ensure no hurdles in getting intoTelangana cadre.

The most powerful trio

Of late the Andhra Pradesh administrationhas been in the news for strange reasons. Whenadvice from seasoned bureaucrats goes for atoss, one can imagine the consequences.Recent tussle with the courts, excesses of policepersonnel, sudden shifting of senior officersare some of the issues that have createdunseemly controversies. AP-watchers in NewDelhi are keen to know who are the 'main'advisors to Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy as that would indicate who calls theshots in the administration. Officially speak-ing, everybody knows that Praveen Prakash,being the head of Chief Minister’s Office, ispresumably the main advisor to the ChiefMinister. But a little bird told us that seniorofficers like Satish Chandra from the EducationDepartment and Anil Singhal, who wasrecently shifted from Tirumala TirupatiDevastanams (TTD) to the HealthDepartment, are also privy to importantdecisions since they draw on their vast expe-rience to guide the government in the rightdirection. In any case, the trio discuss allimportant issues and take a concrete decisionbefore placing it before the Chief Minister.Even the seasoned advise of these officers isnot yielding the desired results due to improp-er implementation by subordinate babus.This is tarnishing the government's otherwisegood image. Grapevine has it that it is time toset right things in the departments to ensure100 per cent results.

Riveted to post

The Singareni Collieries Company Limited,a state-owned coal mining and power produc-tion company, is all set to create a record withits chairman and managing director N Sridharcompleting six years of term. No other CMDhas served the company as CMD so long. Hewas appointed in 2015 immediately after theTRS government came to power. Since thenSridhar has been working and creating newrecords every year in production and profitsof the company. Under his leadership Singarenialso launched power production in a big wayand expanded its power production capacity.Naturally Sridhar enjoys full confidence ofChief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. He istoo good to be disturbed. The Chief Ministeris not thinking of any change for now, thoughSridhar himself wants to move out of the cor-poration, after having served for the longesttime. His repeated appeals to the ChiefMinister to give him another assignment havenot been entertained. Even during crisis sit-uations, Sridhar proved to be an efficientadministrator. He ensured that there are noproblems from the largest corporation in thestate and thereby seems to have riveted him-self to his postion. —Yours truly

HC UPADHYAY nHYDERABAD

May be it is sheer coinci-dence that at a time when theUnion Home Ministry is busyfinding a way out from theinconsistencies, vagueness andprocedural tangle in criminallaws, prompting it to constitutea committee to undertake thisimportant exercise, the latestcase of Arnab Goswami, an acetelevision journalist, acts asan eye-opener to all stake-holders.

Without going into thetruthfulness or otherwise ofallegations in Arnab's case,one thing is certain that notonly the criminal laws but alsocivil and other laws need to berevamped thoroughly. Thearchaic laws do more harmthan good to society. Thoughit will be altruistic to presumethat old and irrelevant lawsalone are responsible for thecurrent sorry state of affairs ofthe justice delivery system; yet,it is equally true that other fac-

tors including red-tapism,corruption and lack ofintegrity among thejudicial and non-judi-cial personnel as wellas the legal fraternitytoo are no lessresponsible.

Now that a high-profile caseof ArnabG o s w a m ihas come tothe fore, them a t t e rdeserves to be pon-dered with dueseriousness andconcern for thecommon man.

It is unfortunate that thelaw as it is today does notspecify any time limit, leavealone any scientific method-

ology for conducting andconcluding the investi-gation of a case. Despiteseveral judicial diktats,

the police, by and large,perhaps due to igno-

rance, polit icalinfluence or

mone-t a r y

motive, refuse toregister the First

Information Report(FIR), after receiv-

ing a complaint. Further,it is common to find thatpolice and other agenciesentrusted with the main-

tenance of law and order insociety become just 'Yesmen'for the parties in power. Onthe other hand, mighty andpowerful persons easily get

away with 'clean chits' fromthe police.

Certainly this is not inconsonance with the spirit ofthe Constitution, which guar-antees Just ice, Liberty,Equality and Fraternity to allthe citizens of the country.

Indeed, revisiting the exist-ing laws, particularly the

criminal laws, is a Catch-22situation. This is easier saidthan done. It is like a tight-rope walk, because a fine bal-ance has to be maintained toavoid any catastrophe. Today,because a pro-ruling partyjournalist has been targetedby the Opposition-ruled stategovernment using arm-twist-

ing tactics through police, alot of hue and cry has beenraised by different lobbiesrepresenting different shadesof political ideologies. But, itis unfortunate that day inand out several hundreds ofinnocent people, without anygodfathers or money power,have been harassed by men inkhaki throughout the countryand their voices go unheard.No Public Interest Litigations(PIL) pleas are filed, mediaconferences organized, social,digital platforms are used orshouting from the roof top isdone for these voiceless,harassed and persecuted peo-ple. No doubt, the Arnab'sepisode would be discussed inthe classrooms, BarAssociations' seminars andconferences and in all other

legal circles for years to come.Still who will bell the catremains to be seen.SC: Mere insult not anoffence under SC, ST Act

In an order of far-reachingconsequences, the SupremeCourt has observed that theoffence under The ScheduleCastes And The ScheduleTribes (Prevention ofAtrocities) Act, is not estab-lished merely on the fact thatthe informant is a member ofSC/ST unless it is proved thatthere was an intention tohumiliate that person for thereason that he/she belongs tosuch a caste.

Dealing with Sec. 3(1)(x)and 3(1)(e) of the SC/STAct, the bench, comprisingJustice L.Nageshwar Rao,Justice Hemant Gupta andJust ice Ajay R astog i ,obser ved that the basicingredients of the offence u/s3(1) are: intentionally insult-ing or intimidating with anintent to humiliate a memberof SC/ST caste and such

insult or intimidation shouldbe in any place within pub-lic view.

These observations of theCourt were made in HiteshVerma v. State of Uttarakhand(Crl. Appeal No. 707/2020).SC on residential rights of anestranged wife

In a significant verdict, aSupreme Court Bench, com-prising Justice AshokBhushan, Justice R.SubhashReddy and Justice M.R.Shah,held that the right to resi-dence available to a marriedwoman under the DomesticViolence Act, 2005 (DVA) isrelevant and can be consid-ered in civil as well as crimi-nal proceedings.

This verdict was deliveredon an appeal by Sat ishChander Ahuja against ajudgment of the Delhi HighCourt. The apex court's ver-dict will go a long way to helpthousands of hapless womenwho are often necked out bytheir merciless and greedyspouses and in-laws.

LEGAL

Without going into the truthfulness orotherwise of allegations in Arnab'scase, one thing is certain that notonly the criminal laws but also civiland other laws need to be revampedthoroughly. The archaic laws do moreharm than good to society

Many facets of Arnab's arrest

Two major developmentsin the global theatredictated the mood of

markets last week. First, wide-spread resentment culminat-ing into communal violenceagainst Jihadi terror in Franceand elsewhere in Europe andsecond the prolonged uncer-tainty over the outcome of therecently concluded USPresidential election (the resultsof which were out on Saturday,with Joe Bidden becomingPresident-elect). Consequently,New York gold appreciatedand closed at US $ 1,949.80 (perounce), while silver closed at $25.56 (per ounce). Platinumand palladium too appreciatedand closed at $ 887 (per ounce)and $ 2,364 (per ounce) respec-tively.

Other economic parameterstoo moved upwards. Brentclosed at US $ 39.45 (per bar-

rel), while Crude MCX oil wasquoted at Rs.2,765 (per bar-rel). While Gold MCX stoodat Rs.52,168 (per 10 gms),MCX Silver appreciated andclosed at Rs.65,355 (perkg), Copper MCX closedat Rs.533.85 (per kg).Sensex and Nifty 50closed at 41,893.06a n d12,263.55points.

Leading foreign currencies'exchange rates were, US $:Rs.73.98, British Pound:Rs.97.34, Euro: Rs.87.85,Singapore $: Rs.54.86, SwissFranc: Rs.82.18, Australian $:Rs.53.69, Saudi Riyal:Rs.19.73, New Zealand Dollar:Rs.50.11, Kuwaiti Dinar:Rs.242.21, Omani Rial:Rs.192.17 and UAE Dirham:Rs.20.14, Japanese Yen: Rs.0.72

and Hong Kong Dollar :Rs.9.54.

In local markets, standardgold (24 carats) appreciated byRs.470 and closed at Rs.52,370(per 10 gms). Ornamentalgold too followed suit and was

quoted in the range ofRs.47,910 - 47,010 onthe closing day. Silver

(0.999) appre-ciated byRs.100 and

closed at Rs.65,400 (per kg).As expected, due to the festi-val season the glitter hasreturned in the market,though it is nowhere near theprevious normal years.

COMMODITIESThe sentiment in principal

wholesale commodity marketsin the twin cities remainedmoderate. However, in view ofthe festival, Rythu Bazaars

and the various commoditymarkets located in BegumBazaar, Kishangunj,Mukthyargunj, RisalaAbdullah, Mir AlamMandi,Dilsukhnagar, Kukatpally,Bowenpally and GeneralBazaar were abuzz with brisktrading activities. During theweek, common pulses such astuar dal, masoor dal, moongdal and urad dal and com-modities like chilies and gar-lic remained unchanged attheir respective last week'sclosing levels, while staplefood-grains and common edi-ble items recorded a negligi-ble decline. Following goodsugar production in the cur-rent year, the government hasdecided to stop export subsidyfor the sugar year October,2020-September 2021.

Apart from the carry for-

ward stock of about 115 lakhtons of sugar, the sugar pro-duction in the current sugaryear is expected to be around310 lakh tons as against theindigenous demand of 260lakh tons. The export is target-ed at 50 lakh tons. Therefore,the price spiral is likely to beeven during the current year.

Common vegetables suchas cabbage, cauliflower, ribbedgourd, snake gourd, lady'sfinger, cucumber, potatoes,onions, tomatoes and Frenchbeans and other leafy vegeta-bles flared up still further inthe range of 12% to 30%.

The NECC wholesale eggprice in Hyderabad declinedby Rs.50 and closed at Rs.430(per 100). The highest price ofRs.550. was recorded atLucknow, while Hospetrecorded the lowest of Rs. 415.

WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW

Jihadi terror in France, US election dictate global market mood

TDP chief holds YSRCP govtresponsible for family suicidePNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP chief N ChandrababuNaidu on Sunday held theYSRCP government responsi-ble for the mindless harass-ment that eventually led to thesuicide of Abdul Salam and hisfamily in Nandyal.

Naidu demanded that thegovernment take moralresponsibility for the death ofSalam, his wife Noorzahanand their children, who endedtheir lives by coming under amoving train. He commentedthat this incident was enoughto say how the ruling YSRCPwas persecuting minoritieswith illegal cases.

Naidu termed it as unfortu-nate that an innocent familyfallen victim just because theerring authorities forced themto admit to a crime they hadnot committed. He demanded

that the government, whichwas boasting of having totalcontrol over law and order,should give explanation topeople on the Nandyal Muslimfamily suicide.

Naidu recalled that theYSRCP members humiliatedand insulted AP CouncilChairman MA Sharif on the

Floor of the House as he wasnot allowed to conduct the pro-ceedings of the House in a dig-nified manner.

He recalled that a 10-year-old Muslim girl became thevictim of molestation attemptin Rajahmundry. He statedthat when a case was filed, thelocal YSRCP leaders started

exerting pressure on her fatherShaik Sattar to withdraw thecase and no preventive actionwas taken in this case, whicheventually led to the suicideattempt by Sattar.

Naidu strongly condemnedthe Abdul Salam family tragedyand demanded deterrent andexemplary action against thepersons and officials responsi-ble for this. The governmentshould shed its negligent andindifferent attitude towardsminorities.

Meanwhile, TDP leader MdNazeer demanded registeringcriminal cases against YSRCPleaders, who harassed theSalam family and CISomasekhar Reddy. He warnedof taking out a ‘Chalo Nandyal’rally with minority organisa-tions in the State if the YSRCPgovernment fails to take mea-sures against the guilty.

Govt to launch IOT pilot ...Continued from Page 1

Energy Secretary SrikantNagulapalli said that as theState government considers24x7 cost effective power askey instrument for industrialdevelopment and wants toimprove energy efficiency inthe MSME sector throughaccelerating adoption of inno-vative energy efficient tech-nologies, such as IoT enabled

power monitoring systems.Special Chief Secretary for

Industries Department KarikalValaven and DirectorIndustries JVN Subramanyamwelcomed the initiative of BEEand State Energy Departmentand said that the IndustryDepartment would extend fullsupport to the project, whichwould help the MSME sectorin the State. He further statedthat Chief Minister YS

Jaganmohan Reddy andMinister for Industries MGowtham Reddy are extendingsupport for industrial develop-ment and the governmentsanctioned Rs 1,100 crore tooffer financial support to theMSME sector, which wasaffected due to the Covid-19crisis. This would benefit morethan 90,000 MSME units,which were providing employ-ment to around 10 lakh.

BJP seeksgovt ...Continued from Page 1

Has the present govern-ment brought in any oneproject in the last 17 months?The income of the YSRCPpublic representatives havegone up in the last fewmonths but not the State’sincome. The government hadbacktracked on the decisionto get loans through theassets of TTD after the issuewas raised by the BJP. Now,the government hadunleashed a new innovativeplan. Jaganmohan Reddyhad pushed the State intodarkness,” he alleged.

He demanded that the gov-ernment release a white paperon the funds released by theCentre. The Pioneer’s storyexplained and highlightedthe attempts by the Stategovernment to assign theState revenues to an escrowaccount of the proposedAPSDC, which legitimatelygo to a consolidated fund,which has protection fromthe Constitution.

When Biden spoke of distantrelatives living in Mumbai Continued from Page 1

Decades after he received aletter from someone by the lastname of Biden from Mumbai,soon after becoming a senator,Biden learned that his "great,great, great, great, great grand-father" had worked in theEast India Company.

"There are five Bidens inMumbai, India," Biden, thenVice President, told aWashington audience in 2015at an event organised by theConfederation of IndianIndustry and CarnegieEndowment for InternationalPeace on the occasion of the10th anniversary of India-UScivil nuclear deal.

In 2013, when Biden trav-elled to Mumbai on his maid-en vice presidential trip toIndia, he spoke about this let-ter he received when hebecame the senator for the firsttime several decades ago.

In his address to theBombay Stock Exchange onJuly 24, 2013, Biden narratedhis story of the 'Biden fromMumbai'.

"It's an honour to be back in

India and to be here inMumbai.

Off script for a second here,I was reminded I was electedto the United States Senatewhen I was a 29-year-old kidback in 1972, and one of thefirst letters I received and Iregret I never followed up onit.

"Maybe, some genealogist inaudience can follow up for me,but I received a letter from agentleman named Biden -Biden, my name - fromMumbai, asserting that wewere related," Biden had toldthe Mumbai audience sevenyears ago.

In his 2015 speech inWashington, Biden hadclaimed that his "great, great,great, great, great grandfa-ther" George Biden was aCaptain in the East IndiaTrading company and afterretirement, decided to settle inIndia and married an Indianwoman.

Biden had also said some-one provided him with thedetails including the phonenumbers of the Bidens inMumbai.

Arnab shifted to Taloja jail for ‘phone...Continued from Page 1

While being escorted toTaloja jail, Goswami shoutedfrom the police van, allegingthat he was assaulted byAlibaug jailer on Saturdayevening, his life was in dangerand he was not allowed tospeak to his lawyer.

Meanwhile, in a statement,Samyabrata Ray Goswami, asenior executive editor ofRepublic TV and ArnabGoswamis wife, said he hasbeen framed on fake charges.

"This morning, my hus-band, who has spent fournights in judicial custody, wasbeing dragged and lugged bythe Maharashtra Police in ablacked-out police van toTaloja Jail.

He was repeatedly saying mylife is under threat but to noavail.

"He repeatedly said that thejailer assaulted him after he

asked for access to his lawyers,which was shockingly denied.He detailed the assault beinginflicted on him during thiscustody and pleaded, handsfolded, to the Supreme Courtfor intervention and bail," shesaid in the statement.

"An innocent man and jour-nalist of decades of repute, whois doing his duty for the nation,has been assaulted, harassedand framed on fake charges.He has been thrown into jailwith no reprieve, she said.

Former BJP MP KiritSomaiya said he met Talojaprison jailer, who assuredhim that Goswami will not beharassed and also be provid-ed required medical treat-ment. Goswami and two oth-ers - Feroze Shaikh andNitish Sarda - were arrestedby Alibaug police onNovember 4 in connectionwith the suicide of architect-interior designer Anvay Naik

and his mother in 2018 overalleged non-payment of duesby companies of the accused.

After his arrest from hisLower Parel residence inMumbai, Goswami was takento Alibaug, where the ChiefJudicial Magistrate remand-ed him and the two others injudicial custody t i l lNovember 18. Goswami wasthen kept at a local schoolwhich has been designated asa COVID-19 centre for theAlibaug prison.

The Bombay High Courtwill on Monday pronounceits order on the interim bailapplication filed by Goswamiand the two others in connec-tion with the abetment of sui-cide case.

A notice issued lateSaturday night on the highcourt's website said the benchwould assemble at 3 pm onNovember 9 for pronounce-ment of the order.

Hyd Metro is doing betterthan other metros: OfficialsPNS n HYDERABAD

The Hyderabad Metro hasbecome the lifeline of the city'scommuters. Interestingly, injust three year since its incep-tion the Hyderabad Metro isoutperforming all the otherMetros in the country, exceptthe Delhi Metro which is about18 years old.

As per the details shared bythe Managing Director ofHyderabad Metro Rail, NVSReddy, Hyderabad Metro served1,33,974 passengers on SaturdayNovember 7, across the 57 Metrostations in the city. While on thesame day, 68,716 passengerstravelled in Bangalore Metro andMumbai Metro served 32,322passengers. The Delhi Metro

being the biggest metro in thecountry served about 14,79,300passengers on Saturday.Number of passengers servedby other metros on Saturdaywas also made available by theofficials. While Chennai Metroserved 29,141passengers, JaipurMetro ferried 20,160, KochiMetro 11,106 and LucknowMetro 2,020 passengers.

vijayawada 03VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | NOVEMBER 9, 2020

CAPSULE

VIJAYAWADA:Krishna DistrictCollector A MD Imtiaz flaggedoff 5 k Run, 10 k run and 21k run at the camp officeorganised by VijayawadaRunners that evoked goodresponse from the youth andchildren here on Sunday.Speaking on the occasion, theCollector said marathon run isvery good for health andpointed out that physicalexercise and running helppeople stay fit and active.He said the parents have toinculcate the habit of runningand jogging early morning totheir children to make themconfident and healthy.Vijayawada runners founderMani Deepak said theorganisation has beenconducting running events inthe city for the past four days.He said the running helpsreduce the blood pressurelevels and will increase theimmunity in the body. SriramCity members and VijayawadaRunners Club membersparticipated in the inauguralevent.

COLLECTOR

FLAGS OFF

VIJAYAWADA RUN

VIJAYAWADA: Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddycongratulated Kamala Harrisfor winning the US electionsto become the first womanVice-President in the historyof the United States. Taking toTwitter he said, ''Democrats orRepublicans, politics apart, weare happy and proud to haveKamala Harris, someone ofIndian origin as the Vice-President of America.Congratulations and bestwishes. May God bless youand guide you,'' he tweeted.Leader of the Opposition NChandrababu Naidu hailed theelection of Kamala Harris, whobelongs to Indian ancestryand whose triumph has donethe people of both India andAmerica proud. Greetingspoured in from all over asKamala Harris was becomingthe first woman to adorn thepost of American Vice-President. It may be recalledthat after three days ofuncertainty, the Democraticnominees have emerged asthe apparent winners in theclosely contested US election.

JAGAN, NAIDU

GREET

KAMALA HARRIS

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The Regional Vigilance Squadof the Mines and GeologyDepartment has spotted illegalmining activities in over 20quarries in and aroundAnakapalle of Vizag district.The inspection by a team ledby assistant director R PratapReddy and his team continuesin the region.

The Vigilance squad hasobserved that the mining firmsin the Anakapalle region havebeen violating the norms andindulging in the excavation ofexcess quantity and transporta-tion (in excesses of approvedquantities) and misuse of per-mits.

Pratap Reddy said that theycarried out raids on somequarries and conducted thecomprehensive survey by usingthe Electronic Total Station

(ETS). "We observed that somemining firms have been evad-ing seigniorage and misuse ofmine permits also.

We will impose huge penal-ties for the various violationson the mining firms," headded.

Though the mining firmshave been alleging thatRegional Vigilance Squad car-

ried out raids on the section ofquarries only, officials ruled outthe allegations and said thattheir job is to identify theirregularities in the quarries tosave the revenue of the govern-ment. The Regional VigilanceSquad has imposed over Rs185 crore in terms of penaltyand fines on the mining firmsin north Andhra Pradesh com-

prising Visakhapatnam,Vizianagaram and Srikakulamdistricts for various violationssince May 2020.

A few days ago, the teamraided a layout located inbetween Nagarapalem andRajapulova areas underBhogapuram mandal inVizianagaram district andimposed a penalty of Rs1.6crore on the management ofthe layout on the charges ofillegal excavation and lying ofgravel and ordinary soil in thelayout illegally.

African woman cop thanks DGPPNS n AMARAVATI

Doreen Mazuba Malambo, awoman police officer fromZambia, who has beendeclared United NationsWoman Police Officer of theYear for 2020, has thankedDirector General of PoliceGautam Sawang for nurturingher professionally.

The AssistantSuperintendent of Police hadworked under Sawang whenthe latter was PoliceCommissioner in the UnitedNations Mission in Liberia(UNMIL) from 2009 to 2012.Malambo is currently servingas the Gender Advisor to thePolice Commissioner in theUnited Nations Mission inSouth Sudan (UNMISS).

After receiving the covetedaward, Malambo recalled theguidance she received from thesenior Indian Police Service(IPS) officer during her firststint in UN police service.She said that she is happy to beselected as the woman police

officer of the year by the UN.She thanked the UN forbestowing this honour.

"If I have this prestigioushonour, this is because of theinspiration and all supportand encouragement I got fromthe Indian police officerGautam Sawang," she said.

"I began my journey in theUN police service in 2008. Ireceived all guidance, encour-agement and support fromGautam Sawang. I thank himfor always encouraging me todo well," she said. The AndhraPradesh police also greetedMalambo on her achievement.

"So proud to see Asst.

Superintendent @Malam-boDoreen win the @UNPOLWoman Police Officer of theyear 2020. Hearty congratula-tions & all the best for your fut-ure endeavours," the AndhraPradesh Police tweeted.

Mining dept carried outraids on some quarriesand conducted thecomprehensive surveyby using the ElectronicTotal Station

n Doreen MazubaMalambo, theAssistantSuperintendent ofPolice, had workedunder Gautam Sawangwhen the latter wasPolice Commissioner inthe United NationsMission in Liberia(UNMIL) from 2009 to2012

n Malambo iscurrently serving asthe Gender Advisorto the PoliceCommissioner in theUnited NationsMission in SouthSudan (UNMISS)

Virtual registration for Sabarimala darshanPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Devotees, who visit temples tofulfi their vows, have stoppedgoing on pilgrimage due to theCovid-19 pandemic. But someof them started visiting templesafter lockdown.

In this backdrop, Secretary ofEndowments M Girija Shankarand Endowments Commissi-oner P Arjun Rao informedthat the government was takingmeasures for the safety of pil-grims, who are planning to visitSabarimala for the darshan ofLord Ayyappa, in the wake ofprevailing Corona pandemicacross the country.

They attended a virtual con-ference chaired by the ChiefSecretary of the Kerala govern-ment, later they informed thatpilgrims, who wish to visitSabarimala, will have to regis-ter through a virtual queue por-tal http://sabarimaonline.org.

Only 1,000 pilgrims per dayon week days and 2,000 onweek-ends will be allowed toregister on this portal on a first-come-first-serve basis, they

said adding that pilgrims willget the clearance for the visit tothe temple town only if theyupload Covid negative certifi-cate obtained 48 hours beforeregistration.

Girija Shankar and ArjunRao said that all the pilgrimswill have to undergo an antigentest at the entry points of the

pilgrim town and the cost of thetest is to be borne by pilgrims.Children below the age groupof 10, senior citizens above 60years and those with co-mor-bidities are strictly not allowedfor the darshan, they added.

Pilgrims should carry theBPL and the Ayushman Bharatcard with them, Girija Shankar

and Arjun Rao said thatbathing at the Pampa river isstrictly prohibited. Besides,night halt at the Pampa river,Sannidhanam and GanapathiKovil are also not allowed.

The assistant commissionersof Endowments are asked toerect boards displaying allthese norms at all the railway

stations under their purview tocreate awareness among pil-grims.

The Transport Commiss-ioner of Andhra Pradesh hasbeen asked to issue necessaryinstructions to the travel agen-cies in the State not to allowpilgrims below the age of 10and above 60 years and insiston Covid negative and regis-tration certificates before theyboard the vehicles, the seniorofficers said.

n Only 1,000 pilgrims perday on week days and2,000 on week-endswill be allowed toregister on this portalon first-come-first-servebasis

n Pilgrims will get theclearance for the visitto the temple townonly if they uploadCovid negativecertificate obtained48 hours beforeregistration

Man strangulates wife to death

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The death of woman constable,Ch Durga Bhavani, working atNakkapalle police station hastaken a new twist. Earlier, theincident was reported as asuicide, but the truth comesout after the husband surren-dered before police on Sunday.

Simhadri, husband of DurgaBhavani, strangulated her todeath in front of their two chil-dren two days ago. Simhadrisurrendered to the village rev-enue officer on Sunday andwas later brought to the policestation for questioning. Circleinspector K Vijay Kumar saidSimhadri confessed to hiscrime stating that he suspect-ed her fidelity.

Durga Bhavani, working asa receptionist at the police sta-

tion, came home at about 9pm. Simhadri entered into aheated argument and wantedto check her mobile phone forsocial media and call logs.When she refused to give hermobile phone, Simahdribecame furious and strangledher with a nylon rope, whichhe had already hidden in hispocket.

Later, he tied the nylon ropeto the ceiling fan to create asuicide scene.

He warned his 12-year-olddaughter and eight-year-oldson, who was witness to theincident, not to disclose iteither to police or family mem-bers. Around 1.30 am, he wentto ASI Santosh Kumar, hisimmediate neighbour in thepolice quarters and informedhim that his wife hanged her-self.

Meanwhile, the childreninformed their grandmother,who came rushing to thehouse, along with other fami-ly members. They narrated theentire incident to her, whocalled up the police, andlodged a formal complaint.Later, police also took thestatement of the two children.

The truth comes out after man surrenders before police

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

In a tragic incident, Dr NandaKumar (28), a paediatrician,died in a private hospital inChennai while undergoingtreatment for the deadly Covidvirus. The government doctorfrom Badvel in Kadapa districtwas infected from theCoronavirus for the secondtime and breathed his lastwhile undergoing treatment.

The young pediatricianworking at Badvel govern-ment hospital was infectedfrom the virus three monthsago and underwent treatmentat NRI hospital in Guntur. Herecovered from the virus andreturned home and was backto work. Fifteen days ago, Dr

Nanda Kumar underwentCorona diagnostic tests as hedeveloped symptoms of feverand the test report turned outto be positive for the secondtime. Initially he was treated athome (home isolation).However, as the days went by,the symptoms aggravated andhe was admitted to SVIMS inTirupati as per the doctor'sinstructions.

His health further deterio-rated while undergoing treat-ment at SVIMS and wasrushed to Apollo Hospital inChennai two days ago. He diedon Sunday afternoon whileundergoing treatment. Hisfamily members were incon-solable over the death of DrNanda Kumar.

Paediatrician fromKadapa dies of Covid

IMCT team to visitState from todayPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Inter-Ministerial CentralTeam (IMCT) team led bySaurav Ray, Joint Secretary,Ministry of Home Affairs,would visit the flood-hitplaces across the State.During the two days visit tothe State, the team would visitGuntur, Krishna andAnantapur districts onNovember 9 and the teamwould visit East and WestGodavari districts onNovember 10.

The team comprises AyushPunia, AssistantCommissioner, Ministry ofRural Development, OPSuman, Deputy Director,Ministry of Power, RB Kaul,Consultant, Ministry ofFinance, Department ofExpenditure, and otherdepartment officials will par-ticipate in the photo exhibi-tion during their visit to theState.

One Navy man drowned,another missing at beachPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The Sunday leisure time atYarada beach for some Navypersonnel turned tragic as oneof them died and another ismissing after getting caught ina strong rip current. Yaradabeach is very close to theEastern Naval Commandheadquarters. The searchoperation for the missing isunderway.

According to the New PortPolice Station, the personnelwere identified as WhengbamJagajit Singh, a Petty Officer.The search operation for miss-ing man Subham is underway.As it was Sunday, a companyof INS Sumitra of Indian Navycomprising 54 persons came toYarada beach around 7.30 amand played games till 9 am.

The incident occurredaround 9.15 am and wasreported to police around 3 pmafter the rescue operation.Before proceeding to breakfast,

Jagajit Singh, Shubham (Com-II), Sunil ( Petty officer) andVinit Kumar (EEMR-I) ven-tured into the sea waters.However, they got caught in astrong current and draggedinto the sea. Two of them man-aged to survive the tide andalso brought Jagajit to theshore. He was unconscious.

The team rushed Jagajit toINHS Kalyani. However, he

died at the hospital around 11am while undergoing treat-ment.

The incident occurredaround 9.15 am andwas reported to policearound 3 pm

YSRCP blames Naidu forusing BCs as ‘vote bank’PNS n VIJAYAWADA

All the eligible in the State wereavailing of welfare schemes,which are being implementedby the government, though itis facing a financial crunch, saidYSRCP MLC Janga KrishnaMurthy. Speaking to the mediahere on Sunday, he slammedTDP chief N ChandrababuNaidu for neglecting BCs dur-ing the TDP regime and show-ing concern while in opposi-tion. BCs would never trusthim even if he suddenly start-ed giving prominent roles tothe BC leaders in his party.

Naidu uses BCs only forelections and after coming topower, he abandons them andstatesd that BCs are neithergoing to believe Naidu nor for-get his atrocious rule.

Janga Krishna Murthy saidthat Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy has beenworking for the uplift of back-ward sections, ensuring that

every eligible person is receiv-ing the welfare benefits. Like noother State in the country, theChief Minister established 56BC Corporations and appoint-ed over 600 Directors empow-ering BCs.

Krishna Murthy said that theChief Minister gave one monthtime to those who didn't applyfor the welfare schemes likeKapu Nestam, Cheyutha,Vahana Mitra and providedassistance to all the eligible. As

many as 4.39 lakh fresh bene-ficiaries are being providedwith financial assistance byspending Rs 737 crore throughthe welfare schemes. He saidthat the government is workingwith a calendar clearly mark-ing the implementation ofevery welfare activity.

MLC Janga Krishnamurthychallenged the Oppositionleader to tell what he had donefor the BCs during the TDPregime. He criticised Naidu forbetraying BCs and said thatformer Chief Minister YSRajasekhara Reddy had givenfour per cent reservation toMuslims.

YSRCP MLCchallenged theOpposition leader totell what he had donefor the BCs during theTDP regime

ECLGS scheme forstressed sectorsPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Confederation of IndianIndustry (CII) has written tothe Finance Ministry urgingthe government to explore anEmergency Loan CreditGuarantee Scheme (ECLGS)to support the resourcestarved stressed sectors. TheCII has recommended thisintervention to assist thestressed segments, primarilyin the service sectors likehospitality, tourism, aviationand retail, as this would nothave any impact on the fiscaldeficit this year but will pro-vide the much needed liquid-ity to these sectors, whichemploy a large number ofpeople.

“The CII appreciates therevenue constraints faced bythe government and its impacton the widening fiscal deficit.This intervention, similar towhat has been done for theMSMEs will be a win-win for

all,” Chandrajit Banerjee,Director General, CII said.

The ECLGS wasannounced in May by theFinance Minister, as part ofthe Atmanirbhar Bharat pack-age, with Rs 3 lakh crore col-lateral free automatic loans forbusinesses, including MSMEs.The scheme has made disbur-sals of Rs 1.48 lakh croresagainst sanctions of Rs 2.03lakh crore. The scheme, whichwas to end on October 31, hasnow been extended toNovember 30.

It is likely that the schemewill utilise around Rs 2 lakhcrore. The unutilised amountof around Rs 1 lakh crore andan additional Rs 50,000 crore,if need be, could be used toextend support to corporatesin the stressed sectors, whichwere earlier not eligible for thecurrent ECLGS scheme. Thiswill help the sectors tide overthe cash crunch and workingcapital issues.

Next-generationcredit cards from SBIPNS n VIJAYAWADA

SBI Card, country’s largestpure-play credit card issuerand Paytm, which is India’sleading digital financial ser-vices platform, joined handsto launch the country's next-generation credit cards.

Speaking on the occasionabout the association withPaytm, Ashwini KumarTewari, MD & CEO, SBICard, said, “The credit cardindustry in India remainslargely underpenetrated. Also,given the current scenariowhere social distancing is a

way of life and cashless pay-ments are a safer alternative,there has been a renewedimpetus to digital paymentsfrom all corners. Our strate-gic partnership with Paytm isintended towards makingcredit cards more accessible toall. Through this partner-ship, we will also be able toleverage Paytm’s extensivereach to bring new-age, dig-itally evolved consumersacross India, a safe, conve-nient, and rewarding pay-ment solution, and combinedwith the benefits of a creditcard.”

Burglars decamp with cash, gold inChandrayangutta

PNS n HYDERABAD

Unidentified persons brokeinto a house at Jahangirabadunder Chandrayanguttapolice station limits andmade away with gold orna-ments and cash on Sunday.

The burglars gained entryinto the house of Syed HassanFeroz, 25, by breaking theasbestos roof. After damagingthe lock of the cupboard, theoffenders took away gold,silver ornaments and cash,the Chandrayangutta policesaid.The burglary took placewhen Feroz when to Latur inMaharashtra to attend a func-tion last month end. Hereturned to the city onSaturday and found the houseransacked and property miss-ing.

Man held formisbehaving with womanPNS n HYDERABAD

The Panjagutta police arresteda 28-year-old techie for misbe-having with a woman andassaulting a constable when hetried to intervene on Saturdaynight. The video of the incidenthas been circulating in socialmedia. The accused identifiedas K Mahesh, a 28-year-old soft-ware engineer, resident ofKummari Basthi, was under theinfluence of alcohol during theincident. It can be seen from thevideo that the accused washolding the collar of a consta-ble and arguing with him.

Illegal mining rampant in 20 quarries in Vizag

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | NOVEMBER 9, 2020 telangana 04

Bus bay at Narsapur chowrasta, Balanagar wears all new look. The GHMC officials have taken up works for the convenienceof bus passengers

MAKEOVER

PNS n HYDERABAD

The cargo division ofHyderabad international air-port has entered into an agree-ment with the Telangana StateRoad Transport Corporation(TSRTC) to launch first-milepick-up and last-mile deliverycargo bus feeder service.

"Today's beginning is a step-ping stone for both the organ-isations to grow and prosper.This partnership will providea seamless connectivity inlogistic services at economicalrates in Telangana state andother neighbouring states aswell," said TelanganaTransport Minister PuvvadaAjay Kumar.

As per the deal, TSRTCbuses will connect GMRHyderabad Cargo Terminalto other parts of the state aswell as neighbouring states.

GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo

(GHAC) is a division of GMRAir Cargo and AerospaceEngineering Limited(GACAEL).

GHAC provides a range ofcargo facilities and handlessensitive goods such as phar-ma, vaccines, perishables,

aerospace, engineering andelectronic goods among oth-ers.

It is equipped with coldrooms and processing facilitiesto handle temperature con-trolled shipments up to minus20 degrees Celsius, and locat-

ed strategically, offering vastinternational cargo connectiv-ity through dedicatedfreighters, charters and pas-senger airlines up to 200 glob-al destinations.

TSRTC buses will offer first-mile pick-up and delivery ser-vice to GHAC, including last-mile connectivity for interna-tional import shipments land-

ing at the airport to the hinter-land in Telangana, AndhraPradesh, Maharashtra,Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The partnership envisages tostart reefer cargo bus servicewhich will offer reliable con-nectivity for exports of phar-maceutical and perishableproducts through Hyderabadairport.

"This MoU between GMRCargo and TSRTC is a strate-gic milestone towards develop-ing a multi-modal air cargocorridor. Capitalising on thestrong road connectivity inTelangana, excellent network ofTSRTC along with the world-class facilities and global con-nectivity offered by GHAC,"said SGK. Kishore, ED - Southand CIO, GMR Airports.

He said the partnership willimmensely improve value real-isation and bolster importsand exports from Hyderabad.

TSRTC rides high on parcel, cargo services

PNS n HYDERABAD

Popular Telugu film actorRam Charan on Sunday par-ticipated in Green India chal-lenge by planted saplings at hisresidence here.

He was accompanied byRajya Sabha member ofTelangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS), Joginapally SantoshKumar. Charan nominatedactress Alia Bhatt, directorRajamouli and 'RRR' teamand requested them to contin-ue the chain.

Ram Charan thanked actorPrabhas for nominating him inGreen India challenge andexpressed regret that he waslittle late in accepting thechallenge and plantingsaplings. He thanked Santoshfor initiating this beautifulconcept of Green India chal-lenge and motivating a lot ofpeople across society to takethis novel initiative forward.He was amazed to note that

the MP not only plantedsaplings but also adopted a for-est.

The actor congratulatedGreen India Challenge organ-isers for their efforts in takingthe campaign forward. Hestate that it's the need of hourto save earth and it's the dutyof every individual to plantsaplings.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Condemning the remarks ofTRS working president andMunicipal AdministrationMinister KT Rama Rao thatPrime Minister Narendra Modiis showing partiality towardsTelangana, Union Minister ofthe State for Home Affairs GKishan Reddy alleged that thestate government has not yetsent comprehensive report onthe flood damage though theCentre addressed letters to thestate. He also alleged that thecredit of bringing ‘sea’ toHyderabad city goes to ChiefMinister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

Kishan Reddy participatedin the public meet held atThadbund Sikh Village HockeyGrounds on Sunday in whichTRS leaders—Ramakrishna,Banuka Mallikarjun and othersjoined BJP. While addressingthe gathering, Kishan Reddy

questioned KCR to reveal as tohow many double bed roomhouses were given to the peo-ple. He alleged that the KTRfollowers are looting the Rs10,000 financial aid meant forthe flood-hit victims.

He said that TRS has noright to ask votes in GHMCelections and alleged that hun-dreds of colonies in Hyderabaddrowned in the water due tonegligent attitude of the ChiefMinister. He said that the gov-

ernment has utterly failed tocontrol the floods. The Centrereleased Rs 224 crore, howev-er, the state government isleast bothered about the peo-ple. The state government hasno responsibility to send

reports to the Centre. Healleged that the Telangana gov-ernment didn’t send a reportonly to blame the Centre. Hesaid that the Centre gave Rs202 crore for roads works. Hewarned that the BJP will chaseaway the father-son duo in thecoming days.

Kishan blasts govt over flood relief

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumaron Sunday alleged that IT Minister KTRama Rao and Rajya Sabha MP SantoshKumar are fighting for the Chief Ministerpost. While participating in a publicmeeting, in which former CantonmentBoard vice-president Ramakrishna andothers joined BJP, held at Secunderabad

Cantonment on Sunday, Bandi Sanjay saidthat there are drunkards and thugs in theChief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao'sCabinet. He made it clear that the BJP willstorm to power in 2023 Assemblyelections. Bandi Sanjay alleged that thestate government is diverting theCantonment funds and said that the fundscoming to the Cantonment belong to theCentre. He said that he is ready for a

discussion with Chief Minster on theCentral funds given to the state. He allegedthat KCR is in alliance with AIMIM, whichinsulted Hindu gods. He said that the ChiefMinister deceived Muslims and the tribalby assuring that he will give 12 per centreservation to them. He stressed the needto wage a fight against KCR. Senior leaderMothkupally Narsimhulu exudedconfidence that the BJP will win Dubbak

election. BJP will come to power in 2023elections, he stated alleging that the CM isnot in a position to see the problems of thepeople. He alleged that KCR's Camp Officeis not a 'Pragathi Bhavan' but it is thebirthplace of sins. He said that thegovernment is only distributing Rs 5,000each to the flood victims instead of Rs10,000 because the remaining Rs 5,000are being looted by the TRS activists.

BJP will storm to power in 2023, says Bandi Sanjay

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana's Coronavirus casestally surpassed the 2.50-lakhmark on Sunday as it report-ed 1,440 new infections dur-ing the last 24 hours. In thelast 24 hours ending 8 pm onSaturday, more recoverieswere recorded than new cases:1,481 more recoveries tookthe total such cases to2,29,064.

The new cases pushed thestate's tally to 2,50,331 inaround eight months since thefirst case was reported in thefirst week of March. The statenow has 19,890 active cases, ofwhich 17,135 are in home orinstitutional isolation. Fivemore patients succumbed tothe virus during the last 24

hours, taking the state's deathtoll to 1,377.

According to Public Healthand Family Welfare Director,44.96 per cent of these deathswere due to Covid-19 and55.04 per cent due to comor-

bidities. The state's fatality ratestands at 0.55 per cent asagainst the national average of1.5 per cent. The recovery ratestands at 91.50 per cent asagainst the national average of92.4 per cent.

Ram Charan acceptsGreen Challenge

With 1,440 new cases, State'sCorona tally over 2.50 lakh As per the deal,

TSRTC buseswill connectGMR HyderabadCargo Terminalto other parts ofthe state as wellas neighbouringstates

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana High Courthas decided to extend thephysical hearing of the mattersin all the courts in the state,except some courts inHyderabad Judicial District, byfollowing the SOP dated June8, 2020 Phase - II instructionsupto November 30 and there-after, phase - III instructionsupto December 31, in consul-tation with the respectiveadministrative judges.

The unit heads of the CityCivil Courts Unit atHyderabad and City SmallCauses Courts Unit atHyderabad have been directedto reopen all the Courts intheir Unit, by following theSOP dated June 08 Phase - Iinstructions.

The Presiding Officers of thecourts like MetropolitanSessions Judge at Hyderabad,

Special Judge for trial of casesagainst MPs/MLAs atHyderabad (1 and 2 part ofMSJ Unit, Hyderabad), princi-pal. CBI Judge at Hyderabad,principal ACS Judge atHyderabad, Additional ACBJudge at Hyderabad, and Courtof the Special Judge Under the

Prevention of Corruption Actfor Speedy Trial of Cases ofEmbezzlement of

Scholarship Amounts inSocial Welfare Departmentetc., at Hyderabad (3 to 6 partof CBI Unit, Hyderabad) havebeen directed to continue thepresent practice of hearingand conducting of trial inrespect of pending cases relat-ing to MPs and MLAs.

It said that The PresidingOfficers of the above courts wouldtake up the hearing trial of thecases pending against MPs/MLAsbefore their courts, as expeditious-ly as possible, but adhering in let-ter and spirit to the timelinefixed by the High Court. The UnitHeads of the MetropolitanSessions Judge Courts and CBICourts at Hyderabad have Beendirected to reopen all other courtsin their unit, except the courts thatare mentioned in paragraph-3, byfollowing SOP.

High Court issues orders forreopening of civil courts

The unit headsof the City CivilCourts Unit atHyd and CitySmall CausesCourts Unithave beendirected toreopen all theCourts in theirunit

Ram Charanthanked actorPrabhas fornominating himin Green Indiachallenge andexpressedregret that hewas little late inaccepting thechallenge

Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay inducts TRS leaders into party fold in Hyderabad on Sunday

PNS n HYDERABAD

Excise Minister V SrinivasGoud on Sunday asked offi-cials to take stern actionagainst the sellers of narcoticdrugs on the line of Gudumba.The Minister held a reviewmeeting with the officials onthe rehabilitation programmebeing implemented to theGundumba victims in the cityby the government.

Speaking on the occasion,Sriniavas Goud said as part ofprohibiting Gudumba in thecity, the state government hadimplemented rehabilitationprogrammes for the Gudumbavictims. As part of it, the gov-ernment had extended finan-cial assistance of Rs 16 crore to795 people (Rs 2 lakh each) sofar.

Stating that the state govern-ment acted strictly against theGudumba and continue it infuture too, the Minister askedthe officials to take stern actionagainst Ganja peddlers. "Ifnecessary to invoke PreventiveDetection (PD) Act against

Ganja sellers," the Ministeradded.

Speaking on the occasion,BJP MLA from Goshamahal

Raja Singh said that not onlyDhoolpet, but the entire statehas become free of countrymade liquor (Gudumba),thanks to the stringent actionsinitiated by Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao. RajaSingh informed ExciseMinister that gudumbaclaimed lives of many inno-cents. However, there are nosuch scenes now as the govern-ment took stringent actions, hefurther added. TSBCL OSDSanthosh Reddy, HyderabadES Seelam Srinivas Rao, AESNaveen Kumar and othersparticipated in the reviewmeeting.

Srinivas Goud talks toughon illicit liquor menace

Excise MinisterSrinivas Goudasked theofficialsconcerned totake sternaction againstdrug peddlers

Four-year-oldgirl reunited with parents

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

There is no change on the deci-sion of introducing sevas, orproviding darshan to seniorcitizens as the Unlock 6.0guidelines are being awaitedfrom the Central government,disclosed TTD ExecutiveOfficer KS Jawahar Reddy. Heanswered the queries of pil-grim callers during his maid-en ‘Dial your EO’ programmeat Annamaiah Bhavan inTirumala on Sunday.

Many of the queries wererelated to the reintroduction ofarjitha sevas, which were can-celled during the lockdownperiod, darshan to senior cit-izens, physically challengedand children. Some callerslauded TTD and SVBC fortelecasting Sundarakanda, theBhagavad Gita and VirataparvaParayanams during the pan-demic.

While a few callers broughtto the notice of EO on theissues related to TTD KalyanaMandapams located at their

respective areas, which need-ed attention for proper main-tenance, to which the EOimmediately instructed theofficials concerned to sort outthe issues.

A caller from Hyderabadsuggested to the EO to go forthe Dubai Airport Model sys-tem for providing darshan tosenior citizens without makingthem wait for hours to get dar-shan. Another caller fromNellore informed the EO thatTTD should continue theCovid guidelines strictly bysanitising the temple andaccommodation areas as thepilgrim strength to Tirumala is

considerably increasing.A caller from Guntur while

complimenting all theparayanams, sought to intro-duce Garuda PuranaParayanam. Another calledfrom Vedurukuppam request-ed the EO to reopen theShravanam School run byTTD, which is meant for Deafand Dumb children, whichwas closed from the past fivemonths.

The EO patiently respond-ed to all the callers and took anote of their suggestions.Earlier, attending pilgrimcallers, the EO briefed onsome important religious fes-tivals lined up in the month,including Deepavali Asthanamon November 14, NagulaChaviti on November 18,Pushpayagam on November21. Additional EO AV DharmaReddy, JEOs P Basant Kumar,Sada Bhargavi, CEO SureshKumar, CE Ramesh Reddy,Additional CVSO Siva KumarReddy and other senior officerswere also present.

Arrangements in placefor by-poll counting

PNS n WARANGAL

A four-year-old girl, who leftthe home in the afternoonand lost her way in the cityhere, was identified andhanded over to the parents bythe police on Sunday.

According to the policesources, the girl, who wasidentified as Nikitha, daugh-ter of Veeru and Sunitha ofIndira Nagar colony inGundla Singaram locality,was found wandering nearDallbala centre nearKakatiya University campusby the locals. Subsequently,the locals informed thepolice.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Returning Officer for Dubbakby-poll B Chenniah on Sundaysaid all arrangements were inplace for the counting ofDubbak by-election votes. Thereturning officer, who visitedIndur Engineering College, thevenue, to check the arrange-ments, said the entire countingprocess will be videographed toensure transparency.

Saying that Internet facilityhad been provided at thecounting centre, he said theresults will be uploaded onECI (Election Commission of

India) website strictly adher-ing to its guidelines.

Stating that the countingprocess will commence at 8amon November 10, Chenniahsaid ballot votes will be count-ed first. He said that the count-ing staff have undergonemandatory training. OnSaturday, Collector and DistrictElection Officer BharathiHollikeri and Commissioner ofPolice D Joel Davis inspectedthe Indur College, where theEVMs were stored in a strongroom, and made several sug-gestions regarding arrange-ments for counting.

The governmenthas not yet sentcomprehensivereport on theflood damagethough theCentreaddressedletters to thestate, saidKishan Reddy

Actor Ram Charan takes a selfie with Rajya Sabha member SantoshKumar after planting a sapling as part of Green India Challenge No change in Tirumala

Darshan timings, says TTD EO

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | NOVEMBER 9, 2020 nation 05

Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik creates a sculpture of US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harrisafter they won the elections, at Puri beach of Odisha, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020. (PTI Photo)

SAND AART

INDIA CORNER

Chanting "This isn't over!" and "Stopthe steal , supporters of PresidentDonald Trump protested at state

capitols across the country Saturday,refusing to accept defeat and echoingTrump's unsubstantiated allegationsthat the Democrats won the election byfraud. From Atlanta and Tallahassee toBismarck, Boise and Phoenix, crowds ranging in size from a fewdozen to a few thousand some of them openly carrying guns decriedthe news of Joe Biden's victory after more than three suspense-filleddays of vote-counting put the Democrat over the top. Skirmishesbroke out in some cities. In Atlanta, outside the state Capitol in thelongtime Republican stronghold of Georgia, chants of Lock him up!rang out among an estimated 1,000 Trump supporters. Otherschanted, This isn't over! This isn't over! and Fake news! .

‘This isn't over!': Trump supportersrefuse to accept defeat

US President-elect Joe Biden willwork towards providing aroadmap to American citizenship

for nearly 11 million undocumentedimmigrants, including over 500,000from India, and will also establish aminimum admission number of 95,000refugees annually. As a largelyimmigrant community, but in somecases with American roots reaching back generations, Indian-Americans know firsthand the strength and resilience that immigrantsbring to the United States of America, according to a policy documentissued by the Biden campaign. "He (Biden) will immediately beginworking with Congress to pass legislative immigration reform thatmodernises our system, with a priority on keeping families togetherby providing a roadmap to citizenship for nearly 11 millionundocumented immigrants -- including more than 500,000 fromIndia," it said.

Joe Biden is somewhat removedfrom the Irish town his great-great-great-grandfather left almost 200

years ago, but that is not stoppingBallina from celebrating his USpresidential victory. The town inCounty Mayo, about 145 miles (235kilometres) northwest of Dublin, hasfor days been draped in the Stars andStripes and Biden/Harris banners inanticipation, even though many businesses have had to close due tolockdown restrictions. Joe Blewitt, a heating and plumbing engineerand a cousin of Biden's, said the town of about 10,000 is ecstatic atthe prospect of a President Joe Biden. “Now he'll be the President ofthe United States, they're delighted, they're absolutely delighted,”Blewitt said. “To think one of their own is one of the most powerfulmen in the world.”

Underlining the "shared" values and priorities -- from climatechange to trade and security -- leaders across the globe cheeredthe victory of US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-

elect Kamala Harris as they look forward to work together withAmerica to combat the world's greatest challenges. In hiscongratulatory message, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeauunderlined his country's close ties with the US. "Canada and theUnited States enjoy an extraordinary relationship – one that is uniqueon the world stage. Our shared geography, common interests, deeppersonal connections, and strong economic ties make us closefriends, partners, and allies," he said in a statement. "We will furtherbuild on this foundation as we continue to keep our people safe andhealthy from the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and workto advance peace and inclusion, economic prosperity, and climateaction around the world," Trudeau said, adding that he look forward towork Biden-Harris administration as the two neighbours "tackle theworld's greatest challenges together.” UK PM Boris Johnsoncongratulated Biden and wished Harris on her "historic achievement"as he emphasised on the US being the most important ally of the UK.

World leaders underline ‘shared' priorities and values

Joe Biden pledges to unite American WASHINGTON

Pledging to be the president ofall Americans, Joe Biden hassought an immediate end to the"grim era of demonisation" inthe deeply-polarised nation,as he and Vice President-electKamala Harris celebrated theirhistoric triumph over DonaldTrump in a bitter and closely-fought presidential election.

"I pledge to be a presidentwho seeks not to divide, but tounify; who doesn't see redstates and blue states, onlysees the United States," Biden,77, said in his victory speechbefore a drive-in audience inhis hometown, Wilmington,Delaware on Saturday night,nearly ending the uncertaintyover the outcome of Tuesday'selection.

Biden, who has succeeded inhis third bid to the WhiteHouse, thanked his supporters,saying he had earned votesfrom the "broadest and mostdiverse coalition in Americanhistory." "I am humbled by thetrust and confidence you'veplaced in me," who will be theoldest US president when hewould be sworn-in on January

20, 2021, said amid applauseand cheers from the audience.

"The people of this nationhave spoken, they've deliveredus a clear victory, a convincingvictory, a victory for ‘We thePeople'," he said, referring tomore than 74 million voters

who backed him. Biden rantwice unsuccessfully for pres-ident - in 1988 and 2008.

Noting that he ran as aproud Democrat, Biden saidthat he will now be anAmerican president. “I willwork as hard for those who

didn't vote for me - as thosewho did. "Let this grim era ofdemonisation in Americabegin to end - here and now.The refusal of Democrats andRepublicans to cooperate withone another is not due to somemysterious force beyond our

control,” he said.Trump has so far refused to

concede the election thatattracted a record number ofAmericans to cast their votesamidst the COVID-19 pan-demic. He has announced fil-ing multiple lawsuits againstthe election results in key bat-tleground states likePennsylvania, where Biden wasborn and that gave him thecrucial 20 electoral votes tocross the magic figure of 270 heneeded to win.

The Democratic Party leaderalso reached out to disappoint-ed Trump voters, saying hewould act as their president asmuch as he would for thosewho voted for him. "I under-stand your disappointmenttonight. I've lost a couple timesmyself. But now, let's give each

other a chance," Biden said,adding that, "This is the time toheal in America."

"I sought this office to restorethe soul of America, to rebuildthe backbone of this nation, themiddle class and to makeAmerica respected around theworld again, and to unite ushere at home," the President-elect said. In her address,Harris, who scripted history asshe broke the glass ceiling inthe world's oldest democracy tobe elected America's first Blackand Indian-orign woman VicePresident, said, "You chosehope, and unity, decency, sci-ence and yes truth."

"You chose Joe Biden as thenext president of the UnitedStates," said the Vice President-elect, drawing applause andhonks from the supporters.

n Says, I pledge to be a President who seeks not to divide, but to unify; who doesn't see red states and blue states, only sees the US

n WASHINGTON

Known as the "female Obama",first time Senator Kamala DeviHarris has scripted history bybecoming first woman, Blackand Indian-American vicepresident of the United States.

Harris was picked byDemocratic presidential candi-date Joe Biden as his runningmate in August, months aftershe suspended her own presi-dential dreams, saying shelacked the financial resourcesto continue her campaign.

A fierce critic-turned ally ofher former rival Biden, the 56-year-old California Senator isone of only three AsianAmericans in the Senate andshe's the first Indian-American

ever to serve in the chamber.Harris is known for many

firsts. She has been a countydistrict attorney; the districtattorney for San Francisco - thefirst woman and first African-American and Indian-origin tobe elected to the position.

She now has several firsts inher role as vice president also:the first woman, the first

African-American woman, thefirst Indian-American and thefirst Asian-American.

When Biden picked her ashis running mate recognisingthe crucial role Black voterscould play in his determinedbid to defeat Donald Trump,she was the just the thirdwoman to be selected as thevice president on a major party

ticket. Then-Alaska GovernorSarah Palin in 2008 and NewYork Representative GeraldineFerraro in 1984 were the othertwo. During the Obama era,she was popularly called the"female Obama". A decadeago, journalist Gwen Ifill calledHarris "the female BarackObama" on the "Late ShowWith David Letterman". Later,a small businessman fromWilloughby Tony Pinto calledher "a young, female version ofthe president".

She is considered to be closeto Barack Obama, the firstblack American President, whoendorsed her in her variouselections including that of theUS Senate in 2016.

Harris was born to two

immigrant parents: a Blackfather and an Indian mother.Her father, Donald Harris, wasfrom Jamaica, and her mother,Shyamala Gopalan, a cancerresearcher and civil rightsactivist from Chennai. She,however, defines herself simplyas ‘American'. After her parentsdivorced, Harris was raisedprimarily by her Hindu singlemother. She says that hermother adopted black cultureand immersed her two daugh-ters - Kamala and her youngersister Maya - in it. Harris grewup embracing her Indian cul-ture, but living a proudlyAfrican American life. Sheoften joined her mother on vis-its to India. "My mother under-stood very well that she was

raising two black daughters,"she wrote in her autobiographyThe Truths We Hold. "Sheknew that her adopted home-land would see Maya and meas black girls and she wasdetermined to make sure wewould grow into confident,proud black women." Harriswas born in Oakland and grewup in Berkeley. She spent herhigh school years living inFrench-speaking Canada - hermother was teaching at McGillUniversity in Montreal.

Her mother told her grow-ing up, "Don't sit around andcomplain about things, dosomething," which is what dri-ves Kamala every single day,according to the Biden-Harrisjoint campaign website.

Kamala Harris: The inspiring story of many firsts

Transition challenges await Biden

PNS n NEW DELHI

The broad contours ofupward trajectory in tiesbetween India and the USunder Joe Biden's presidencywill not see any change giventhe increasing bilateral strate-gic convergence of interestsincluding in the Indo-Pacificregion in view of the chal-lenge posed by China, foreignpolicy experts said.

Though the ties betweenthe two democracies willcontinue to grow, there is adefinite possibility of a

change in nuance in handlingkey issues by Biden as he isexpected to be less unilater-alist on trade and more mod-erate on immigration andvisas, they said.

Former Indian

Ambassador to the US MeeraShankar said the handling ofChina and sustaining a bal-ance in Asia will be, perhaps,the most important interna-tional challenge for Biden,and countries like India willplay an important role inthis. "I think the upward tra-jectory of our strategic rela-tions will continue. There isa bipartisan consensus in theUS to have a strong relation-ship with India, whether it isa Republican or a Democraticadministration," Shankarsaid.

Upward trajectory in India's tieswith US to continue : Experts

n WASHINGTON

Joe Biden just won the presi-dency. That may turn out to bethe easy part.

The president-elect alreadywas braced to deal with theworst health crisis the nationhas seen in more than a cen-tury and the economic havocit has wreaked.

Now, he has to build a gov-ernment while contendingwith a Senate that could stay inGOP hands, a House sure tofeature fewer Democratic alliesand a public that includes

more than 70 million peoplewho would prefer thatPresident Donald Trump keepthe job.

There also is the loomingquestion of whether Trump,who has claimed the electionwas being stolen from him,will cooperate. Traditionally,the transition process relies onthe outgoing administrationworking closely with theincoming one, even if they arefrom different parties.

A senator for decades andvice president for eight years,Biden has a deep personal

understanding of the workingsof government, and he's sur-rounded by a small group oftop advisers with equally vastinstitutional knowledge.

“The Biden team is the

most experienced, most pre-pared, most focused transitionteam ever, commensurate withthe challenges that Biden willface” Jan. 20, said DavidMarchick, director of theCenter for PresidentialTransition at the nonpartisanPartnership for Public Service.The center advises presiden-tial candidates on the transi-tion. Their top priority in the10 weeks before InaugurationDay on Jan. 20 will be build-ing a staff and assembling thepieces needed to tackle thecoronavirus pandemic.

I think the upwardtrajectory of ourstrategic relationswill continue, saidEx Indian Envoy to the US MeeraShankar said

There also is thelooming questionof whether Trump,who has claimedthe election wasbeing stolen fromhim, will cooperate

Kamal’s election a proud moment: Indian Americansn WASHINGTON

Indian-American lawmakershave hailed the election ofKamala Harris as the firstwoman vice president ofcolour, describing it as a proudand transformative momentfor the community.

Biden, 77, and Harris, 56,would be sworn in as the pres-ident and vice president of theUnited States on January 20,2021.

She will also be the first-everIndian-origin, first-ever Blackand first-ever African-

American vice president ofthe US. “I am deeply proudand excited to call KamalaHarris our next VicePresident— the first woman,first South Asian Americanand first Black woman to everbe elected to the position,”I n d i a n - A m e r i c a nCongresswoman PramilaJayapal said. Jayapal, who alsotraces her root to Chennailike Harris whose mothermigrated to the US, was thefirst Indian-American womento be elected to the House ofRepresentatives in 2016.

The same election, Harrisbecame the first Indian-originelected to US Senator. In theCongress, Jayapal andHarris have workedtogether on severalkey issues of immi-gration reform,women rights andcriminal justice sys-tem.

“This is atruly meaningfulmoment in historyfor our country,including for somany women

and people of colour. We havenot only shattered ceilings,

but we have constructed adifferent path for

so many mil-lions of peo-

ple acrossthe countryas theyi m a g i n etheir ownfutures,”Jayapa lsaid.

Harris was picked by Democraticpresidential candidate Joe Biden as hisrunning mate in August, months aftershe suspended her own presidentialdreams, saying she lacked the financialresources to continue her campaign

Biden, who has succeeded in his thirdbid to the White House, thanked hissupporters, saying he had earnedvotes from the "broadest and most diverse coalition in Americanhistory”

n WASHINGTON

Donald Trump, who defiedpolitical gravity with his extra-ordinary rise from reality starand businessman to the presi-dency, has fallen back to earth.

In the end, his flurry of rau-cous rallies, an unprecedentedturnout operation and sheerforce of will could not over-come the reality of his endur-ing unpopularity and a ragingpandemic that has killed morethan 236,000 people in the U.S.and thrown millions out ofwork.

Yet Trump's acerbic brand ofpolitics — his Twitter taunts,his vindictive drive to punishenemies, his go-it-aloneapproach to the world — madeits mark across the far reachesof the government and beyond.And his better-than-expectedelection performance againstDemocrat Joe Biden suggestshis impact is likely to resonatefor generations in politics, gov-erning and policy, even indefeat.

It remains to be seen whatTrump intends to do after histerm ends on January 20.

Retreat to the golf course?Launch his own television net-work? Lay the groundwork torun again? And how fiercelywill he try to contest his fate?“I would absolutely expect thepresident to stay involved inpolitics. I would absolutely puthim on the short list of peoplewho are likely to run in 2024,”Trump's former chief of staff,Mick Mulvaney, said in anonline interview with theInstitute of International &European Affairs.

“He doesn't like losing.”Trump retains the mega-

phone of h i s Twit teraccount, a far-reaching FoxNews plat form and theunflinching backing of hisloyal base of supporters,who may never accept hisdefeat after he spent monthsinsisting there was no wayhe could legitimately loseand even falsely claimedpremature victory.

On Saturday, Trumpdecl ined to concede toPresident-elect Biden, insteadpromising unspecified legalchallenges to try to overturnthe outcome of the race.

Until a successor emergesto lead Republicans — likelynot until the resolution of the2024 Republican primary —Trump remains the de factohead of a party that he hasreshaped in his image.

“Even in defeat, DonaldTrump has exceeded expec-tations and helped otherRepublicans do the same,”said GOP consultantMichael Steel, who hasworked on Capitol Hilland for campaigns. “Hewill remain a powerfulforce within the party."

Trump defied gravity; now falls back to earth

Biden admin may provide UScitizenship to over 5L Indians

Biden's ancestral home inIreland celebrates his victory

The US elections havethrown up many exam-ples of “Trumpery,” aplastic cult concoctionthat has torn down every

convention in its sweep and will lastsimply because of its pop-upencroachment of established space,demanding legitimacy through ashredded system, right or wrong. Soas Donald Trump cried theDemocrats had “stolen” the electionfrom him and both his supportersand critics took to the streets and thewaterfront to be heard, one wanti-ng the counting to stop and the otherupholding the validity of the last votepolled, the free world’s integrity, rest-ing on institutional and systemicpride and justness, seemed to be itsgreatest casualty. But probably thislow was necessary for the fourth pil-lar of democracy to rescue it in thenick of time. The media, whichTrump had made his sworn enemyand a scapegoat for his follies,became his real contestant, standingup to him measure for measure.

In an unprecedented move, majorUS TV networks chose to cut awayfrom a live speech made by Trumpfrom the White House as he repeat-ed his allegations that an electoralfraud had been committed on thenation because his margins withBiden were dwindling. Mind youthis was Trump addressing thenation as President from the hal-lowed portals of his office and notfrom the Republican Party head-quarters. Still, the CBS, MSNBC,ABC and NBC stopped airing thefootage, clarifying that his statementswere baseless. They didn’t want tofuel his propaganda though theyadmitted that he could still be thePresident if he was proven right bylaw. Not only that, they immediate-ly commissioned on-ground reportsto verify voting fraud allegations andafter a granular fact-check, insistedthat the counting officials were notonly following the rulebook but weredouble-checking and meticulouslyseparating the votes in the event ofa recount. And lest the anchors beaccused of being partisan, all of themunanimously upheld Trump’s rightas a candidate to demand a recountor seek legal recourse but insistedthat a process could not be hijackedmidway without evidence to disen-franchise the voter. As channelsfanned out correspondents on theground to verify each of Trump’splaints, they equally approachedRepublican spokespersons, some ofwhom were quite embarrassed byTrump’s adventurism. In short, theUS media, defying all the co-optionand intimidation tactics that it hadbeen subjected to in an authoritar-ian era, stood up for itself. And firm.It upheld the nation’s foundational

principles than subject them tonihilistic degradation. It did itsjob and unitedly defended itsinstitutional responsibility.

MSNBC’s anchor BrianWilliams said, “Here we areagain in the unusual position ofnot only interrupting thePresident of the United States butcorrecting the President of theUnited States.” USA Today inter-rupted its live video feed as its edi-tor-in-chief Nicole Carroll said,“Our job is to spread truth — notunfounded conspiracies.” Ofcourse, the quote that becameviral was that of CNN presenterAnderson Cooper, whodescribed Trump “like an obeseturtle on his back, flailing in thehot sun realising his time wasover.” The usually pro-Trump FoxNews did not do his bidding withits correspondent saying, “Whatwe saw tonight is a President whobelieves that at the end of the day,when all the votes are counted,the election is not going to go hisway, so he’s trying to plan an alter-nate route to retain the WhiteHouse.” Print media has alreadybeen reasoned but Americanlive TV, that has depended onTrump’s outrageousness for com-mercial ratings, showed a raremoral fibre called character.

In fact, more than Trump vsBiden, this election will beremembered for the real contestbetween Trump and the media.Yet, it was not always this way.Looking back, Trump at onepoint was feted by the media andas a reality star created by net-works, was celebrated for hiseccentric excesses and rude dra-matics. Where prejudice, and notpatience, was a virtue. To theextent that Trump as Presidentcould not separate the gravitas ofoffice from the metrics of popu-lar consumption. A reality TVstar is acceptable, a reality TVPresident is not. But Trumpassumed that the media would betaken in by his rambunctiousnessand see it as an example of hisboldness as a leader of people,who pressed all the populist but-tons — “America First,” “MakeAmerica Great Again”, “Chinavirus.” And given the mandate in2016, he had made himself

believe that he did not need toadmit a mistake but sweep itunder the aura of his onscreenpersonality. That’s when themedia, which criticised his poli-cies when it needed to, becamehis enemy. That’s when Trumpdismissed the media as a purvey-or of “fake news” and sanctifiedhis own claims as facts. In theend, he transplanted his opinionsand worldview as the only truthand the rest as lies. And in theways of all autocrats and dema-gogues, he even colonised themedia, disorienting it from stand-ing by the truth without fear andfavour and colonising it on histerms. The rebels he dismissed asAmerica’s “opposition party” thatwould not see anything good inall that he did. This blanket oth-erisation also helped him shieldhimself from issues that cameunder the scanner, some ofwhich could have embarrassedhim no end. He simply got awayby playing victim, saying themedia hated him since he repre-sented a heartland America thathe pandered to. He even humil-iated journalists, attacking themindividually by naming andshaming them, threatening libelor even hurting their businessinterests. Matters came to a headwhen he blamed the media forblowing up the Coronavirus cri-sis from what it was, “just a flu”,although the US has lost a quar-ter million of its own to the pan-demic. The normally permissivesocial media giant Twitter had toban his one-time aide SteveBannon for asking Trump tobehead infectious disease special-ist Dr Anthony Fauci and FBIdirector Christopher Wray. Theproblem with Trump’s “otherisa-tion” policy was that he not onlyconfined it to the media and theliberals, he extended it to any-body and everybody with cred-ible standing and proven worth,who were apolitical. This explainswhy the media coalesced the wayit did this time, articulating as itdid a popular disgust. Besides,Trump mistook the fact that themedia wanted to be “king” in hispalace when it simply wanted toretain its place in civil society.

In the US, the media has

never been bigger than itsPresident, each of whom has usedit to disseminate his policies andeven attempted to coerce it. Yetthere was a Bob Woodward andCarl Bernstein in between, whoseold school legwork resulted inWatergate and ultimately forcedRichard Nixon to resign. It isheartening to note that decadesand years later, at least the discus-sion on facts, corroboration andevidence are back on the tableagain. And that’s good for old-school journalism.

Question is will the Indianmedia be equally cohesive as itstands deeply polarised and hor-ribly compromised. Will net-works dare to cut away frombiased coverage, beholden asthey are to their political mastersand corporate donors? Will weignore individual bottom lines ata critical juncture and take a unit-ed stand as an industry thatwould be taken more seriouslyfor a job well done rather thanundone? Will we be able to cre-ate a competitive market of freeideas or continue to rely ondoles of those we please? Not thatthere isn’t hope, considering thelocal Press and cable networks dotake on the establishment fear-lessly, most big scams havingbeen reported first by local cor-respondents. But then that’sbecause the local Press isn’t in thehigh stakes game yet and is stillseen as a social enterprise for thegreater good. But at the top, bothbroadcast and print media areunder pressure and indeedrewarded for favourable coverageof the powers that be. And thisis sadly responsible for the ero-sion of democracy itself, not justhere but elsewhere in the world.

According to FreedomHouse’s Freedom in the Worlddata, the Press is equally underattack in free States, where it isbeing gradually appropriated asa tool of governance than beingits watchdog. While it is easierto detect authoritarian crack-downs, what is more insidious,it says, are “more nuanced effortsto throttle their independence.Common methods includeGovernment-backed ownershipchanges, regulatory and finan-

cial pressure and public denun-ciations of honest journalists.Governments have also offeredproactive support to friendlyoutlets through measures suchas lucrative State contracts,favourable regulatory decisions,and preferential access to Stateinformation. The goal is tomake the Press serve those inpower rather than the public.”

Among free countries, thereport says, about 19 per cent or16 countries are struggling withPress freedom over the past fiveyears. In other words, it is asmuch a victim as civil libertywith populist leaders extendingthe arc of their political powerwhile keeping to the motions ofdemocracy. Undoubtedly, itmentions the US, China andIsrael but lists India too, especial-ly in restricting broadcast mediaby selective allocation of licencesand airwaves to the detriment oforganisations “unfriendly” tothe ruling regime.

Can the media rebound is thebig question? At this point, itmay look unlikely but tem-plates exist to prove that ultimaterepression is needed to feel theneed for and value an indepen-dent Press. The media sector ispicking up in Ethiopia andGambia, where it was once per-secuted, with more locals keento take up the profession.Germany has evolved a publictelevision system funded by tax-payers and overseen by indepen-dent boards. So it acts as a per-fect check and balance for theGovernment of the day. It hasestablished its credibility forimpartial news and analysis,something that people keep inmind while casting their ballot.But these are just templates andeach democracy-loving nationneeds to do its bit to ensure Pressfreedom if it wants to be fair toitself. Just remember GeorgeOrwell: “Unpopular ideas canbe silenced, and inconvenientfacts kept dark, without theneed for any official ban.Anyone who has lived long in aforeign country will know ofinstances of sensational items ofnews — things which on theirown merits would get the bigheadlines — being kept right outof the British press, not becausethe Government intervened butbecause of a general tacit agree-ment that ‘it wouldn’t do’ tomention that particular fact.The British Press is extremelycentralised, and most of it isowned by wealthy men whohave every motive to be dishon-est on certain important topics.But the same kind of veiled cen-sorship also operates in booksand periodicals, as well as inplays, films and radio….Anyonewho challenges the prevailingorthodoxy finds himself silencedwith surprising effectiveness. Agenuinely unfashionable opinionis almost never given a fair hear-ing.” It’s time to be unfashion-able.

(The writer is Associate Editor,The Pioneer)J

ust as was being feared by healthcare experts andthose who have been following the trajectory of thepandemic globally, Delhi is seeing a massive surge

in Coronavirus infection after a brief lull. Worryingly, Delhirecorded over 7,000 COVID-19 cases for the first timewith a 12 per cent positivity. The only silver lining is thatthe recovery rate was over 89 per cent and that 57 percent of the 15,789 dedicated COVID beds are vacant inthe city, making it easier for people with severe symp-toms to get admitted. But not for long. Of course, thetriggers are many, namely the festive rush, the pandem-ic fatigue that has made people drop guard and the early

onset of winter and pollution that anyway aggravate lung diseases. In part, the recent spike in infections can also be attributed to the fact that the Delhi

Government in coordination with the Centre had opted for aggressive contact tracing andmonitoring of quarantined patients to suppress and break the chain of transmission. Thefocus is on critical zones, restaurants, marketplaces, barber shops and salons becauserandom testing hadn’t recorded as many cases. This is part of a strategy to contain thespread of COVID-19 in Delhi with the Health Ministry and experts recommending target-ted RT-PCR testing in sensitive and critical zones. Hence, with more testing and contacttracing, the numbers were bound to go up. But it seems that the trusted RT-PCR or swabtesting, which is currently around 23 per cent, needs to be extended as much as possi-ble because over-reliance on antigen tests is blocking disease-mapping. A large numberof positive cases would have slipped through the cracks because about half of the anti-gen tests register false negatives, which means that the current figures could double if allthose tested by the antigen method were subjected to RT-PCR reviews. Perhaps that’sthe reason why the authorities are now recommending that a suspect with persistent symp-toms take the golden test even if s/he has cleared the antigen one. The danger of antigentests is that an asymptomatic carrier of the infection, if found negative, will get a falsesense of security and can turn super-spreader. Besides, somewhere the operational pre-paredness of the summer peak has led to a sense of complacency. Back then, the tieredapproach of ramping up infrastructure, testing and operationalising a home care systemwith oximeters to COVID-affected families was synchronised to contain the spiral. The fallin figures in between has clearly led to laxity in maintaining a coordinated response sys-tem. The Delhi Government is probably considering moving the Supreme Court to vacatethe High Court’s stay on reserving 80 per cent COVID ICU beds for people of Delhi. Butwould that stem the tide as families are split across NCR and not seem exclusivist? Testingthe right way is the only way out. At the same time, Delhiites need to ride out the winterindoors if they don’t want another insurmountable crisis on their hands.

Regardless of the legal wrangles and the persis-tence of Donald Trump to prove that the verdictis still his for the taking, Democrat candidate Joe

Biden has won the presidency. But what does a possi-ble regime change mean for India? And this is where itbecomes necessary to understand the bipartisannature of US foreign policy. Whoever be the President,s/he is guided by the nation’s interest and strategic con-cerns regardless of what each has professed before.And while a Democratic regime would be under pres-sure to make sweeping changes in domestic policies,there is continuity in larger geo-political issues. To that

extent, the Biden-Harris team is as wary of China and committed to supporting India asa bulwark State. One just has to go back to the Indo-US civil nuclear deal that was pushedby the George Bush administration. In 2009, when Democrat President and Trump’s pre-decessor Barack Obama took over, there were worries about operationalising it. However,Obama vowed to uphold it, even calling it historic. Besides, let us not forget that PrimeMinister Narendra Modi had a fruitful relationship with Obama. And he did work up an equa-tion with Trump as well. Besides, Biden, while serving as Obama’s Vice-President, hasheaded foreign policy committees in the Senate and is considered an expert in that field.So if anybody understands India’s worth in the current US schematics, it would be him.Sensing the change in tide, the Indian Ambassador in the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, hasalready started holding meetings with Democrat Congressmen. Biden is likely to bring inIndian American Vivek Murthy to head the COVID-19 management programme. In the shortterm, Biden’s seriousness about the pandemic and his willingness to put his plan into actionfrom his first day as a President could be beneficial for India too. It could translate into ashared perspective on the approach and an enhanced India-US partnership in health, sci-ences and supply chains. In terms of policy, there are some major differences betweenthe two candidates. Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran had limited India’sinvestment and oil imports. With Biden promising to revive the Iran nuclear deal, a high-light of the Obama administration, New Delhi can continue with the development of thestrategic Chabahar port, a venture crucial to keep both China and Pakistan in check. Also,unlike Trump, Biden could be generous to allies and since Trump’s economic nationalismcaused billions of dollars of export losses to India and even denied it the Generalised Systemof Preferences (GSP) privileges, we could expect some easing there.

In terms of countering China, Trump has definitely been an asset and his role in strength-ening the Quad cannot be questioned following the former’s misadventure in Ladakh. ButBiden has been far more critical of China’s policies in Xinjiang province and the atrocitiesagainst the Uyghurs, its treatment of Hong Kong protests and Taiwan, which could proveto be more decisive. He had said that the strengthening of ties between the two democ-racies would be a matter of “high priority” for his administration, as the two countries were“natural partners.” And a document released by his campaign also claimed that he wouldbe working with India in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure no country, including China, “isable to threaten its neighbours with impunity.” Biden has appeared more sensitive in deal-ing with his allies. So, when Trump at the last presidential debate called India’s air filthy,Biden had responded by saying that: “You don’t speak about friends like that.” The cher-ry on the cake is the Democrat leader’s commitment to the Paris Agreement on climatechange as India was hoping for investment from the Green Climate Fund in its renewableenergy initiatives. Biden’s support, first for reforming the temporary visa system for high-skill, speciality jobs and then expanding the number of visas offered, which had kept somany Indians in queue, will be beneficial even though it will be equally favourable for ourother neighbours, including China. India could benefit with Biden planning to resume US’sposition at most global alliances and UN bodies that Trump had walked out of while pur-suing his brand of protectionism and nationalism. That would help get India more endorse-ment when it matters. Of course, many here are fearing that Biden’s global push for moredemocracy and human rights may draw attention to Kashmir but he has the expertise andgravitas to follow a more nuanced approach. And with New Delhi planning local body elec-tions and willing to increase political engagement, it should not be a hurdle as such. Ofcourse, there’s Russia, on which Biden might take a hard line. But then, India managedto get its arms deals through with Russia in the Trump years despite apprehension. Besides,Russia, though indebted to China for infrastructure deals, has common cause with Indiaagainst China’s giganticism and still respects the historicity of ties. So Indo-US relationsare expected to be on an even keel.

All good for India

Reservation for localsSir — The Haryana Governmenthas passed a Bill providing 75per cent reservation to local can-didates applying for private sec-tor jobs in the State that pay lessthan `50,000 per month. It willbe the second State to mandatesuch reservation after AndhraPradesh, which had passed asimilar Bill last July. It is crucialto remember that Gurugramand Faridabad are the industri-al hubs of Haryana and needqualified and skilled labourers.About 70 to 80 per cent of theodd 25,000 industries in the Stateare concentrated in these twocities. There are 250 Fortune 500companies in Gurugram apartfrom the nearly 300 automobilecompanies that generate 70 to 80per cent of the total State rev-enue.

The State Government’s pro-posal is politically motivated.Imposing domicile, territorialand numerical conditions andthen expecting corporates totrain under-qualified, unskilled

candidates is an unrealistic pro-jection. The proposed legislationmay score high on optics andintention but the message isambiguous for both the prospec-tive employers and employees.

Yash Pal RalhanJalandhar

Conflict continuesSir — India has summoned theCharge d’Affaires (CDA) of thePakistan High Commission tolodge a strong protest overIslamabad’s “unilateral” decisionto transfer the management of

the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwarafrom a Sikh body to a separatetrust. Pakistan has exposed thereality of its leadership’s tallclaims of preserving and protect-ing the rights and welfare of thereligious minority.

Amid heightened tension

between the two countries, afterIndia scrapped Jammu andKashmir’s special status onAugust 5, 2019, and bifurcated itinto two Union Territories, thisis yet another attempt by ourneighbour to provoke us and ini-tiate a fresh proxy war.

Bhagwan ThadaniMumbai

A dark Diwali Sir — As India continues to bat-tle the Coronavirus pandemicand high levels of air pollution,many States have decided to banfirecrackers this Diwali. However,the step was taken too late andnow the families that areemployed by the firecrackerindustry are left in a lurch.Products have already beenshipped but now with the banbeing implemented, they wouldnot receive payments.

Jubel D’CruzMumbai

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

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op nionVIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | NOVEMBER 9, 2020

06

Free Press momentWith major US networks uniting to counter Trump’s claims of electoral

fraud, is there hope for old school journalism?

Bengal has to choose betweendynastic politics and development.Give one (opportunity) to us(BJP). We promise to build‘Shonar Bangla' (golden Bengal) in five years.

Union Home Minister —Amit Shah

A viable solution for stubble burning

Every winter, the burning of crop residue in Punjab,Haryana and Uttar Pradesh aggravates the pollu-tion load in the Capital. On an average, 23 million

tonnes of rice straw are burnt in north India by farm-ers to make way for wheat production. It is due to thesmall gap between the rice harvesting and wheat sow-ing period that forces the farmers to quickly burn andremove the paddy stubble. This results in a large amountof pollutants like CO2, CO, NOx, SOx, PM10 and PM2.5being released into the air. According to the study bythe University of Chicago through its Air Quality LifeIndex, which took the 2018 pollution levels as the base,the average Delhiite is losing 9.4 years of life.

Farmers resort to burning stubble as manualremoval is not cost-effective. Hence, the bio decom-poser, developed by scientists at the Indian AgriculturalResearch Institute, Pusa, is a viable solution. It can turncrop residue into manure in 15 to 20 days and, there-fore, can prevent stubble burning. Even Delhi Chief

Minister Arvind Kejriwal has called it a cost-effectivesolution. The happy seeder, which is given to farmersto cut the stubble and sow wheat seeds simultaneous-ly at a subsidised rate by the State Government, costsaround `3000 per acre. Hence, the Pusa bio-decom-poser looks like the most promising alternative.

Ganapathi BhatAkola

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Delhi spiral

As Obama’s V-P, Biden headed foreign policy committees in theSenate and is well aware of India’s strategic value

Till we increase the share of swab testing in mapping the

pandemic, we won’t get a grip on the city’s caseload or address it

RINKU GHOSH

The US is using its domestic laws, includinganti-terrorism and anti-corruption laws, toextend its hegemony andinfluence over the world.

Lebanese Foreign Minister—Gebran Bassil

Batting at number four can varya lot and becomes surfacedependent. A few shots fromJason (Holder) helped. The all-rounder role in the team has been well held by him.

Cricketer—Kane Williamson

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

S O U N D B I T EWe have firmly stated toChina that disengagementwill happen at all frictionpoints and not at the selected locations as theywant. Our stand is clear.

MEA Joint Secy (East Asia)—Naveen Srivastava

Clash of objectives

I CAN SENSE MASSIVE PUBLIC ANGER AGAINST THE

MAMATA BANERJEE GOVERNMENT AND THE DEATH

KNELL OF HER REGIME HAS BEEN SOUNDED.

—UNION HOME MINISTER

AMIT SHAH

THE HOME MINISTER IS BEHAVING LIKE A BJP

ACTIVIST. SHAH AND BJP SHOULD STOP

DAYDREAMING ABOUT COMING TO POWER IN BENGAL.

—TMC MP

SOUGATO ROY

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

The passage of the Farmers’ (Empowermentand Protection) Agreement on PriceAssurance and Farm Services (Special

Provisions and Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2020 bythe Punjab Assembly served a body blow to theCentral Government’s three farm Acts that werepassed in September. The Centre’s Farmers’Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion andFacilitation) Act allows growers to sell their pro-duce outside the markets notified under the StateAgricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC)Act. It attempts to develop “one nation, one mar-ket” besides bringing in a framework for both, theagriculturalists and the buyers, for contract farm-ing across States and imposing stock limits on farmcommodities only in extreme situations in retailprices. Let us look at how private procurement andState purchase may co-exist in Punjab and theimplications if other States pass similar Ordinances.

To understand these Ordinances, we need tograsp the basic purpose of public procurement offoodgrain. The Central Government, through theFood Corporation of India (FCI) and other Stateagencies, procures foodgrain and other essentialcommodities from domestic producers at theMinimum Support Price (MSP). The objective isto provide price support to farmers, distribute sub-sidised foodgrain to the poor through theTargetted Public Distribution System (TPDS) andmaintain buffer stocks to ensure price stability andfood security. The Government’s procurement sys-tem also encourages farmers to increase produc-tion due to assured prices. The foodgrain procuredthrough this system gets distributed through fairprice shops across the country.

Although there are deficiencies and leakagesin the PDS, it served as a basic support of nutri-tion to around 50 per cent rural and 30 per centurban households in 2011-12, according to the lat-est National Sample Survey data. Moreover, thedependence on PDS rose considerably between2004-05 and 2011-12 in both rural and urbanIndia. Under the TPDS, people Below the PovertyLine (BPL) are provided foodgrain at a highly sub-sidised rate under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana(AAY). In fact, the PDS system provided great suc-cour to the needy during the COVID-19 pandem-ic-induced lockdown.

In this sense, the State procurement and PDSsystem serve the purpose of doing public good. Asfarmers get better prices and poor consumers getfood at lower prices, it serves the dual social objec-tive of food security and a hunger-free nation. Thelatter benefits one and all, as a country that risksrunning out of food stock may face civil unrest thatemanates out of the desperation of the poor. Incontrast, private procurement is part of a systemthat enables farmers to produce goods which areboth excludable and rivals. Food stocks procuredthrough private procurement serve consumers whocan afford market prices and exclude others. Theyare produced in a limited amount, hence rivals inconsumption. These two systems have two differ-ent objectives and serve different purposes but bothare equally important. The new Ordinancespassed in the Punjab Assembly pits two systemsagainst each other.

The Ordinance disallows sale/purchase ofwheat/paddy unless the price paid is equal to orgreater than the MSP. This appears to be serving

the social welfare objective of publicgoods production. However, it is moreapparent than real. This is primarilybecause the procurement criteria ofGovernment and private agents are verydifferent as they serve two differentobjectives.

The criteria set by the Governmentare designed to exclude as few as possi-ble. The grains are screened based on themoisture content, proportion of organ-ic and inorganic foreign materials andtest weight at a very basic level. The food-grains that pass these criteria are accept-ed. However, all accepted foodgrains areoffered the same price, the MSP.

On the other hand, private procure-ment is more fine-graded and priced dif-ferently. Hence a product, which margin-ally passes the Government’s procure-ment system, may fetch a lower price inthe private one or be excluded from aprice equivalent or higher than theMSP due to the grading system beingapplied. While the Government’s crite-ria of procurement may be standardisedacross India, private gradation is adjust-ed according to several factors, such asthe cost of extraction of the end sub-stance, the milling properties and theimpact on the end product for the con-sumer. Hence, a penal clause by thePunjab Government’s Ordinance ofimprisonment of no less than three yearsand a fine to the private procurementagent or company could be construed asbeing unjust.

Fine grading of agricultural produceis very essential from the viewpoint ofmanufacture of different food products.Due to the diversification of the con-sumers’ food palate, the focus is not only

the cost but also the quality of the pro-duce. This has led to greater attention byprivate procurement agents on factorslike varieties, the agro-climatic zones andseasonal variations of the commoditiesduring procurement. This has meant afiner grading mechanism as well to getboth quality and cost optimisation. Forexample, in the case of wheat, a criticalfactor of concern is the density of thegrain. The denser the grain, the morenutrients it contains and hence more willbe the extraction during the millingprocess on a per weight basis. Animportant quality factor is the glutencontent, a protein that impacts the bak-ing properties of the flour and is used todetermine the type of products that canbe made. Hence, organisations createspecifications in the procurement ofcommodities dependent upon the con-sumer segments and their needs.

The emergence of food retail hasintensified the choices for the con-sumer. More choice and consumerawareness have resulted in shorter prod-uct life cycles, increased innovationand competition and demand for newerofferings. The repeal of the APMC Actby several States, creation of FarmerProducer Organisations (FPOs) andincreased participation by the foodretail and processing sector have led tothe shortening of agricultural valuechains. Procurement determines theprofitability as it controls 60 to 75 percent of the total costs in the system. Thus,procurement of raw agricultural com-modities has become a strategic functionfrom a back-office role.

It is imperative to understand thatprivate agents would price their procure-

ment of commodities based on theprofitability and price behaviour of endconsumers. It, therefore, bears out thatthey would pay less for a quality wherean additional cost would need to beincurred for processing the grain to bringit in line with the consumer’s demand.This reduced price may result in the pro-curement price becoming lower than theGovernment’s prescribed MSP.

Thus, while the private sectorfavours market orientation of procure-ment of commodities, the public sectorsupports inclusivity for farmers in meet-ing their livelihood needs. The twoobjectives clash with each other. If cor-porates are punished for procuring at aprice lower than the MSP, then theywould also apply pressure tactics to gosoft on implementation or again changethe law, which may, in turn, affect theobjective of public goods provision.This would lead to instability in thewhole institutional set-up of the agri-business.

In the Punjab Assembly Ordinance,the farmers are given the discretion toapproach the civil court or other reme-dies under existing laws, but all theseinvolve long and expensive litigation andcannot be taken up by individual farm-ers. This coupling of both the public andprivate sector objectives through the con-duit of one overarching Ordinance willlikely be against the interest of farmers,private procurement agents and con-sumers of both foodgrain and alliedproducts.

(De is Associate Professor andVishwanath is Assistant Professor, Instituteof Rural Management, Anand. Viewsexpressed here are personal)

While the private sector favours market orientation for procurement of commodities, thepublic sector supports inclusivity for farmers in meeting their livelihood needs

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

Towards morerobust healthcare

VINAYSHIL GAUTAM

The curriculum of medical education seems tofocus essentially on the institution of hospitals.

The results are there for all to see

INDRANILDE

SRIDHARVISHWANATH

IN THE PUNJABASSEMBLY

ORDINANCE, THEFARMERS ARE

GIVEN THEDISCRETION TOAPPROACH THE

CIVIL COURT OROTHER REMEDIESUNDER EXISTING

LAWS, BUT ALLTHESE INVOLVE

LONG ANDEXPENSIVE

LITIGATION ANDCANNOT BE

TAKEN UP BYINDIVIDUAL

FARMERS. THISCOUPLING OF

BOTH THE PUBLICAND PRIVATE

SECTOROBJECTIVES

THROUGH THECONDUIT OF ONE

OVERARCHINGORDINANCE WILL

LIKELY BEAGAINST THEINTEREST OF

FARMERS,PRIVATE

PROCUREMENTAGENTS AND

CONSUMERS OFBOTH FOODGRAIN

AND ALLIEDPRODUCTS

The public healthcare system in India is one of those top-ics on which most people have an opinion. It is oftenexpressed with much energy and claimed insight. There

are some favourite viewpoints. Almost all of them talk of pri-mary, secondary and tertiary healthcare. Usually, a discourseon these aspects is accompanied by half a tear on the state ofaffairs in the country. The truth is that notwithstanding the enthu-siasm for allopathic healthcare, this country’s primary health-care system is nourished and sustained by Indian systems ofmedicine. They are easily available, the diagnosis is simple andin a large number of cases the results are satisfactory. Traditionalmedicine systems do not burden the common man with end-less medical tests like allopathy does, which in turn are oftenaccompanied by protestations about the possible unreliabilityof the results. This is not only because of the nature of the testsbut also due to the flaws in the process of testing. Often, thesearch for reliability means repeat tests. Interestingly, the pathol-ogy labs, as a source of livelihood, have very rarely been sub-jected to an analysis which tries to understand their exponen-tial growth. Cartels are reported to be rampant in B and C-classcities, not to overlook the groupings in the smaller geographi-cal units of megacities. It is one of those strange situations whena lot of people know what’s going on and yet nobody wants totalk about it. When talking itself is taboo, one can well imag-ine the plight of a possible investigation of a serious order.

Strangely enough, an engineer in the process of becom-ing one has to undergo certain orientations in social sciencesor cognate areas. By and large, the curriculum of medical edu-cation seems to have its focus essentially on the institution ofhospitals. The results are there for all to see.

The COVID era has lent these traits a grotesque veneer. Byand large these days, hospitals tend to avoid giving a dischargecertificate which would say whether the patient has been cured(or not) of COVID. Senior doctors take shelter behind the IndianCouncil of Medical Research’s guidelines. Perhaps some of thisis unavoidable, yet there are cognate issues which await clar-ity. National protocols need to prevail but when will there begreater specificity?

The merits of this can be debated. Some will claim that itis inherent in a situation like the ongoing pandemic, where solittle is known about the virus. One of the media write-ups talkedof seven types of mild-COVID. Notwithstanding this categori-sation, apparently there is very little to distinguish the treatmentof one Coronavirus from the other. Paracetamol et al is admin-istered in each case and here enters the fanciful word-of-the-year: “Immunity.” The last 11 months have seen this word rid-ing the crest as never before in human history. The Indian health-care systems, which subscribe to “the-way-of-life being the routeto health and happiness” doctrine, seem to be having the lastlaugh.

Right from amla to apricot, everything has become apanacea and the source of immunity and health that people swearby. It doesn’t seem to bother many that apricot itself is a sea-sonal fruit and cannot be the route to universal and sound health.

The second and the third waves of COVID have become awidespread topic of discussion in most drawing rooms acrossthe country. As winter approaches and cases spike, much ofEurope is undergoing or threatening to undergo another spellof lockdown. Interestingly enough, few authentic figures are avail-able of what percentage of the spike is a result of relapsed casesin patients, who were discharged from hospital even though theyhad met the existing protocol of release. The ambiguity of thesituation may be partly inherent but it still does not explain whythe issues of treatment of different categories of COVID patientsare not being pushed to their logical conclusion.

Is it not prudent to keep the patient under the care of thesame set-up for a longer period of time before s/he is allowedto travel and there is reasonable guarantee that the person willnot be a candidate for a repeat infection? It is obvious that itis difficult to give firm answers to these tricky questions. However,it is pathetic that the broad contours of the situation are not beingsufficiently discussed. There is a need to recognise this aspectand take it on board for a deeper analysis and remedy.

Clearly, the powers that be, the medical fraternity and civilsociety, must come to grips with the situation. These are, indeed,not the only imponderable issues needing far-more concertedattention. But they are important nonetheless.

(The writer is a well-known management consultant ofinternational repute)

In 2007, the Musharraf dictator-ship found itself in the dol-drums. Suddenly, it was up

against a charged protest movement,an economy that had begun to fal-ter and the return of two politicalleaders from exile, Nawaz Sharif andBenazir Bhutto. Both had been keptout from the political systemdesigned by Musharraf during histenure as President. He was alsounable to smother private TV newschannels that, ironically, had mush-roomed during his Government. By2007, almost all of them had becomechattering vessels for Oppositionleaders and narratives.

This was something new inPakistan. The State-owned PTVwas not the only TV channel any-more. The content of the new chan-

nels could not be convenientlymoulded and shaped according to asitting regime’s needs and interests.Therefore, it won’t be an overstate-ment to claim that the channels con-tributed in expediting Musharraf ’sdownfall and ultimate ouster.

All this was being closelywatched by a startled “establish-ment.” After Musharraf ’s departure,the establishment eventually beganto harness this phenomenon bygradually arm-twisting and reining-in numerous channels, first to helpit create brand Imran — especiallyamong an urban generation of youthwho had come of age during theMusharraf era — and then todemonise anyone or anything thatstood in the way of turning thisbrand into a ruling possibility.

But this was in the near future.Because during the period theMusharraf regime was badly waver-ing, all it could think of or do (toretain the attention of Musharraf ’saforementioned urban constituency)was to pull in certain characters fromwhat is often referred to as the “con-spiratorial lunatic fringe”, andforcibly create some space for themon TV channels.

With Musharraf ’s Ministers

badly faltering in convincinglyaddressing the rapidly proliferatingnarrative against the regime, thescript provided to the conspiracytheorists was simple: Explain themovement against Musharraf as anevil scheme hatched by the enemiesof the country and their Pakistaniagents.

These colourful and articulatetheorists drew their material fromvarious popular conspiracy gurussuch as the Turkish Harun Yahyaand the American Alex Jones. Thiswas then fused with sensational nar-ratives from popular conspiratorialcultural products that included fab-ricated texts such as The Protocols ofthe Elders of Zion and low-budgetstraight-to-YouTube “documen-taries” such as Loose Change. Thesewere then peddled with a healthydose of cherry-picked sections fromAllama Iqbal and tales of ancientMuslim warriors drawn from liter-ature, that was more historical fic-tion than fact. Did all this attract theattention of the urban youth? It did.Unable to grasp the complexities ofthe ways in which political turbu-lence emerges and evolves, they wereprovided ready-made answersthrough which they could under-

stand the commotion in an entire-ly angled manner.

According to the British acade-mic and author Jovan Byford, in his2011 book Conspiracy Theories: ACritical Introduction, “Conspiracytheories seduce not so much throughthe power of argument, but throughthe intensity of the passions that theystir. Underpinning conspiracy the-ories are stories about good and evil.This gives conspiracy theories astrong emotional dimension.” Sothose who put the conspiracy theo-rists to work on TV amid the turmoilduring the Musharraf regime, knewexactly the kind of emotions theywere looking to stir (against theOpposition).

But did it help stall or evadeMusharraf ’s fall? No. His constituen-cy was limited and largely apolitical.This too was noted. Therefore, from2011 onwards, the establishmentbegan to aid Imran Khan to adoptMusharraf ’s constituency, expand itand then rapidly politicise it. Nineyears later, Khan was able to form aminority Government, largely pop-ular among the urban bourgeoisie.Even though the conspiracy theo-rists, who had appeared during thetail-end of the Musharraf regime,

were eventually discredited andtheir tirades debunked by a host ofhistorians, an idea that they hadintroduced during their figurative 15minutes of fame, stuck.

This idea was simple: If one con-tinues to lie about something withconviction from a mainstream plat-form, that lie, especially when car-ried and proliferated by social mediasites, often begins to be taken as a“fact” by large groups of people. Thepurpose of these so-called “facts” isnot to enlighten people but to sus-tain an audience in times of crisisand make sure it doesn’t drift awayinto the Opposition’s camp. If itneeds to be lied to, then so be it.

But the untruth requires to betold in such a manner that it worksto emotionally and psychologicallyreinforce narratives that have begunto erode in the minds of the target-ted audience.

Because once this audience isemotionally invested in the lie, it isalso likely to treat anything debunk-ing it as a grand conspiracy.

During times of crises for aregime, daily micro-battles can befought through this approach.However, as we saw during the lastyear of the Musharraf regime, and as

we are now seeing in Modi’s Indiaand Trump’s America, the risingintensity of this approach may as wellbe signalling that the war engulfingthe daily micro-battles is being lost.And in Imran Khan’s Pakistan, too,the intensity of this approach hasrisen amid the rising tide ofOpposition against the Governmentand its backers.

In a feature on the February1990 elections in Nicaragua, whichan Opposition alliance won bydefeating the ruling Sandinista Partythat had come to power in 1979through a revolution, Time magazinequoted a man who had supportedthe Sandinista but voted for theOpposition.

He told the magazine that amajority of Nicaraguans had votedfor the Opposition “with their stom-achs that had become empty.” TheSandinista had painted theOpposition as being anti-poor andmade emotional appeals to the elec-torate to not allow a rollback of therevolution. But these slogans had nomeaning to those fearing starvationand joblessness.

As the Opposition’s manoeuvresand narrative in Pakistan gainmomentum and currency in a sce-

nario riddled with rampant inflation,political repression and utter govern-mental incompetence, the conspir-acy cards are out again. But this timethey are not being played by thosebrought in from the “lunatic fringe.”

However, the content andmodus operandi are the same. Weare now seeing Ministers adoptingthis role. A recent example is themanner in which the InformationMinister Shibli Faraz explained theOpposition alliance, the PDM, as“the third piece of the axis of evil.”The other two pieces being India andIsrael.

This may sound entirely ridicu-lous to most because it smacks oftypical conspiratorial claptrap. ButFaraz is talking to a constituency thathad actually bought the curiousUtopian fusion of a theocratic fan-tasy and modern developmentaleconomics sold with great passion bybrand Imran and his makers.

However, to an empty stomachit is nothing but hogwash and thattoo, coming from an incompetentregime which has been reduced tonow defending its “selection,” know-ing well that the claim of it beingelected has been shot to pieces.

(Courtesy: Dawn)

The last refuge of failing regimesAs the Opposition’s narrative gains momentum amid political repression and utter governmental incompetence, the conspiracy cards are out again

NADEEM PARACHA

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | NOVEMBER 9, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | NOVEMBER 9, 2020 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

Mid-sized motorcyclemaker Royal Enfieldplans to launch at least

28 new models in the nextseven years, with one new biketo be introduced every quarteras it seeks to streng-then itsposition both in domestic andinternational markets, according to a top company official.Thecompany is also planning to set up an assembly unit in Thailand inthe next 6-12 months followed by Brazil in the near future."We havenow got a product plan for the next five to seven years. We arelooking at launching a new model almost every quarter and I amnot even talking variants and colour options kind of stuff...28models at least that's the bare minimum," Royal Enfield CEO VinodK Dasari told PTI.He further said,"All these (new models) will play inthe mid segment -- 250cc to 750 cc. That's our focus area...and wewill continue to strengthen it by bringing in evocative, accessible,and truly global line of products." Dasari did not comment on theinvestments on these new products saying the company'sinvestments "will be in several hundred crores on new products,new technologies like electric vehicles, digital solutions and so on".

Realty firm Godrej Properties'net debt rose 56 per centduring the July-September

period to Rs 2,733 crore fromthe previous quarter and is likelyto rise further as the companycontinues to invest in acquiringnew projects. Net debt/equityratio stood at 0.57 per cent whilethe average borrowing cost 7.55per cent. According to a transcript of a conference call withanalysts, Godrej Properties Executive Chairman Pirojsha Godrejindicated that debt numbers could rise further. "I think we expectnet debt to go to about 1:1, and that's the level that we shouldexpect it to see over the next few quarters," he said. Godrej said thecompany's operating cash flow will improve in the second half ofthe 2020-21 fiscal year. "Our expectation is that Q3 itself will seemuch better operating cash flow generation than in the first half,and that will continue. But clearly, the BD (business development)investments will also continue, so, I think we do expect to see netdebt continue to go up, as has always been the intention with theseinvestments," he said.

State-owned ONGC hasinvited bids fromglobal oil and gas

companies for undertakingwork to boost productionfrom its ageing fields as itlooks to reverse decliningoutput.The 15-yearProduction EnhancementContract (PEC) will requirefirms to commit toinvesting in capital andoperating expenditure to increase production, higher than theexisting baseline output, according to the tender document. A tariffwill be paid in USD per barrel of oil and USD per million Britishthermal units for gas for any incremental hydrocarbon producedand saved over the baseline. ONGC on October 27, issued theexpression of interest (EoI) notice offering 15-year PECs to outsidecontractors for an unidentified number of "mature" fields.Thecompany made no mention of oil or gas field names in the EoInotice, but sources said the fields are largely in Assam and Gujarat,the country's oldest producing basins.

Tata Motors aims tohave the widestportfolio of sports

utility vehicles (SUVs) inthe domestic market, amove aimed at helping thecompany muster greatermarket share in thepassenger vehicle segment,according to a top companyofficial. The auto major, which currently sells models like Nexonand Harrier in the SUV segment, is also looking to overhaul itsentire sales, aftersales and service verticals to enhance the overallbuying experience for customers. "The move to shift to SUVs isvery clear. There is a shift happening towards the SUV segment notonly in India but globally also. In 2015 the share of SUVs in thedomestic market used to be only 15 per cent but this year it isaround 30 per cent," Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Business UnitPresident Shailesh Chandra said.

Tata Motors aims to have widestportfolio of SUV in domestic market

PNS n NEW DELHI

Nasscom on Sunday welcomedJoe Biden's win in the USPresidential election, and saidthe Indian IT industry looksforward to working with thenew administration in pivotingtechnology, skills and digitaltransformation for the US.

The US is the biggest mar-ket for the Indian IT sector,accounting for a lion's share ofthe industry's revenue.

"NASSCOM congratulatesUS #PresidentElect @JoeBidenon his win. We look forward toworking with him and hisadministration in pivotingtechnology, skills and digitaltransformation for the UnitedStates," it said in a tweet.

Nasscom has projected arevenue growth of 7.7 per centat USD 191 billion for the ITsector in the ongoing fiscal.The industry has added a net2 lakh jobs, taking the overallworkforce to 4.36 million.

Indian IT players will keepa close watch on Biden'sapproach and policies relatedto H-1B work visas that areused by a large number ofIndian technology profession-als.

In June, during the COVID-19 pandemic, US PresidentDonald Trump banned theentry into the US of workers in

several key non-immigrantvisa categories, including H-1B,until the end of the year, argu-ing that they eat into Americanjobs.

Those affected include thefamily members of the H-1B,L-1, and certain categories of J1visas.

Later, the Trump Administration announced certain exemp-tions in H-1B and L-1 travelbans for those continuingemployment with the sameemployer, a move that couldhelp Indian IT professionalsand those working in thehealthcare sector.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows UScompanies to employ foreignworkers in speciality occupa-tions that require theoretical or

technical expertise. Companiesdepend on it to hire tens ofthousands of employees eachyear from countries like Indiaand China.

In a statement, Nasscomsaid its member companieshave an important history inthe US.

"... they work with overthree-quarters of the Fortune500 companies in the US, pro-viding them vital technologyservices and helping theminnovate, compete, and grow,"it said.

The industry body alsonoted that India-US bilateraltrade increased by over 400 percent since 2005, with the totalincrease in value from USD 37billion in 2005, to USD 149 bil-lion in 2019, and that technol-

ogy sectors of both countrieshave played a critical role indriving this.

"The Indian technologyindustry makes critical contri-butions to the US economy andworkforce, including localinvestments and job-creation,workforce development andupskilling their US employees,CSR and community services,"Nasscom said.

Nasscom said a key chal-lenge that the sector faces is thelack of required Science,Technology, Engineering andMathematics (STEM) talentin the US clearly highlighted bythe high degree of overallunemployment on one hand,and more than half a millionjob vacancies in computeroccupation on the other.

"Nasscom looks forward toworking together with the newUS Administration, to findsolutions to the STEM skillsgap, and enable America to be

more competitive, to grow andcreate more jobs," it added.

Tech Mahindra ManagingDirector and CEO C PGurnani tweeted "Democracywins" and extended wishes toBiden and Harris on their win.

"Congratulations @JoeBiden@KamalaHarris from thelargest democracy to theworld's oldest democracy...Wishing a term of prosperityand peace for not just Americabut the world," he said.

A Democrat, 77-year-oldBiden became the oldest manever to be elected to the WhiteHouse. He will be the 46thpresident of the United States.

Along with Biden, KamalaHarris, 56, would be sworn inas the vice president of theUnited States on January 20,2021. She will also be the first-ever Indian-origin, first-everBlack and first-ever African-American vice president ofthe US.

Indian IT industry looks forwardto working with new US admin

The industry body also noted that India-US bilateral trade increased by over 400per cent since 2005, with the totalincrease in value from USD 37 billion in2005, to USD 149 billion in 2019, and thattechnology sectors of both countries haveplayed a a critical role in driving this

PNS n NEW DELHI

Domestic equity market move-ment in the coming week willlargely depend on how partic-ipants react to Bihar electionoutcome, macroeconomic datarelease and global politicaldevelopments, analysts said.

Counting of votes for thethree-phase Bihar assemblypolls, which ended onSaturday, will be held onNovember 10.

"Exit polls indicate the pos-sibility of hung assembly inBihar. This is bit sentimentalnegative for the markets," saidHemang Jani, Head – EquityStrategist, Motilal OswalFinancial Services Ltd.

In the US, Democrat JoeBiden has defeated incum-bent President Donald Trumpin the bitterly-fought presiden-tial election.

Most market participantsare hoping the Biden regimewould spell good news forIndian companies, especiallyIT, and domestic financial

markets.Coming back to domestic

factors, investors will also focuson industrial production andinflation data, scheduled to beannounced on Thursday.

On quarterly earnings front,Hindalco Industries,Hindustan Copper, IDFC,Mahindra & Mahindra andNMDC will announce theirresults this week.

Others like AurobindoPharma, Eicher Motors,Grasim, Gail, IGL and ONGCwill also announce their

results. Last week, the BSEbenchmark Sensex had soared2,278.99 points or 5.75 percent.

Besides, market will alsofollow the COVID-19 casestrend in the country andworldwide. "Major events forthis week include India's IIPand CPI. Beside this, investorswill keep a close eye on corpo-rate earnings and coronavirussituation in developed coun-tries," Sumeet Bagadia,Executive Director, ChoiceBroking said.

Election results, macro datato drive market sentiment

PNS n NEW DELHI

With economic activity grad-ually improving post lock-down, PNB Housing Finance isclosely monitoring the inven-tory levels of builders and ask-ing them to start selling asdemand for home loans isnearly getting back to normal,its MD and CEO HardayalPrasad said.

"Economic activity is still ata low ebb, but it has startedpicking up. The economicactivity in certain areas is obvi-ously returning back to pre-Covid days, I would say. Whenwe talk to the builders and oursales team and people who areon the ground, who go and talkto the consumers and prospec-tive borrowers, there are greenshoots that we are seeing every-where," Prasad told PTI in aninterview.

"The kind of enquiries thatwe used to get at one point oftime, we are already almost at

about 80-85 per cent of the pre-Covid level," he added.

Besides, many builders arecoming up with attractiveoffers like free parking, otherincentives and even zero stampduty in some states.

"These are pretty good offers,there are pretty good buys thatare taking place, the numbersare going up. The projectsthose are 70-75 per cent com-

plete, these are the ones that areactually selling from theshelves. There is large invento-ry also in the country, soeverybody is trying to sellwherever (feasible).

"We have corporate finance,we have construction finance.We are asking all builders tobring in the inventory andstart selling it so that our loansalso can get repaid," Prasad

said.PNB Housing Finance is

closely monitoring inventorylevels of builders, Prasad said,adding that people are nowwilling to buy projects that arealmost 70 per cent complete.

"So the ability of the buildersto finish the project on time isnow becoming a very big fac-tor," he added.

However, new projects orthose where less than 70 percent work is completed are notgarnering the interest of buy-ers.

On loan demand, Prasadsaid, "If you look at the pre-

Covid numbers, I think wewould have reached there byOctober itself, in fact we mightbreach the pre-Covid num-bers."

"Month-on-month, fromJune onwards till October,every month PNB Housing isseeing 10-20 per cent increasein log-ins or home loan appli-cations, sanctions as well as dis-bursements," he added.

In the last quarter endedSeptember 2020, the number oflog-ins for the companyimproved to 17,063 from just5,071 in the preceding quarterended June 2020.

Closely monitoring inventory: PNB HousingThese are pretty good offers, there arepretty good buys that are takingplace, the numbers are going up. Theprojects those are 70-75 per centcomplete, these are the ones that areactually selling from the shelves.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB)has sought a capital supportof about Rs 1,000 crore fromthe government in order tocreate buffer for any exi-gency, a top official of thebank said.

The state-owned lender,which has posted profit forthe last three consecutivequarters, expects to continuethe trend in the remainingpart of the current fiscal yearwith increased focus onrecovery and business pickup.

For September quarter, thebank posted a profit of Rs 148crore as compared to a netloss of Rs 2,254 crore in thesame period a year ago. Netprofit in the quarter grew 22.3per cent from Rs 121 crore inApril-June.

"We expect the trend tocontinue and book profitquarter after quarter aided byprospects of better recovery.There will be no question ofgoing back," IOB ManagingDirector P P Sengupta toldPTI. Asked about capitalneeds, he said, we want ourprofit to strengthen our cap-ital.

IOB seeks Rs 1,000 crcapital supportfrom govt

PNS n NEW DELHI

Energy company Shell India isplanning to engage with 25-30start-ups every year from 2022onwards through its E4Programme to help them scaletheir business, according to asenior company official.

Shell, under its flagship E4Programme, incubates andsupports start-ups via variousmodules of linking talent, tech-nology, capital and know-howto accelerate India's transitionto a sustainable energy future.

The company in the lastthree years has been able to

engage with 30 start-ups andsupported them with invest-ments and mentoring at Shellcampus located in India.

"We have 30 start-ups nowthat have come through the E4program and we're in theprocess of adding 10 to 12more that'll start the program

in January. We're planning onramping the program to 25 to30 annually.

"So, the first couple of yearshave been a slow ramp to getthere and now we're at that runrate where we expect 25 to 30annually," Shell E4Programme, general manager,James Unterreiner told PTI.

Shell directly provides USD20,000 to each of the start-upsselected under the programand facilitates additional fund-ing through partners besidestraining the start-ups to fine-tune their solution to makethem commercially viable.

Shell E4 plans to engagewith 25-30 Indian start-ups

PNS n NEW DELHI

Regulator IRDAI has comeout with draft regulationsfor determination of compen-sation to shareholders onmerger of companies, underwhich payment will be basedon the residual value of assets.

"...compensation to theshareholders whose rightsagainst the acquiring insurerhas been reduced...shall bepaid based on the residualvalue of the assets," said thedraft on which the IRDAI hasinvited comments from thestakeholders by Nov 20.

The residual value will beequal to the value of assets ofthe acquired insurer as on theday immediately before theappointed day, less the totalamount of liabilities.

IRDAI issuesdraft oncompensatingshareholder

PNS n NEW DELHI

State-run steel maker RINL isplanning to start commercialproduction of forged wheelsat its Rae Bareli unit in UttarPradesh by December-end,the company's chairman P KRath has said. RINL has setup a plant in Rae Bareli at acost of around Rs 1,680 crorewith a production capacity ofone lakh pieces of forgedwheels per annum.

"We are looking to beginthe commercial productionby the end of next month. Itcan be early also as we arewaiting for foreign experts,expected to arrive this monthto conduct certain trialsrequired before commission-ing the plant," Rath said.

RINL to begincommercialproduction offorged wheels

PNS n NEW DELHI

Pharma major Cipla is lookingat sustaining growth throughthe pandemic and has decid-ed certain priorities for thecoming quarters, includingdigital adoption and prof-itable growth, according to thelatest investor presentation ofthe company.

The drug firm has ear-marked digital adoption andresilient operations as first ofthe key priorities for the com-ing quarters to achieve sus-tained growth, it added.

The company is adoptingdigital transformation forpatient and channel connect toexpand access and leveragedemand patterns, and is alsoproactively de-risking thebusiness by diversifyingsources for critical active phar-maceutical ingredients (APIs),

intermediates and key startingmaterials (KSMs), and main-taining adequate inventorylevels, Cipla said.

The second priority for thecoming quarters is on drivingprofitable growth. For this, thecompany is aiming at drivingmarket-beating growth andscaling in India across itsthree businesses, the presenta-tion said.

In South Africa, the compa-ny plans to continue marketout-performance in the privatemarket and over-the-counter(OTC) portfolio with newlaunch momentum.

PNS n NEW DELHI

India Inc on Sunday hailed thevictory of Joe Biden in the USPresidential election saying a"democratic process votedfor a change" while hop-ing for enhanced tiesand cooperationbetween India and theUnited States.

C o n g r a t u l a t i n gPresident-Elect Biden and VicePresident-Elect KamalaHarris, CII Director GeneralChandrajit Banerjee said, "CIIlooks forward to once againcollaborating with PresidentBiden and his incomingAdministration."

Prior to the economic dis-ruption caused by COVID-19,bilateral trade in goods andservices in 2019, reached a

peak of nearly USD 150 billionand CII hopes this will contin-ue to rise in the years tocome, he added.

"We can aim higher to ourshared goal of USD 500 bil-

lion through a new eraof revitalised econom-ic cooperation, whichwould be comprehen-

sive, complementaryand collaborative,"

Banerjee said. The key sectorsto watch for enhanced busi-ness cooperation will be ener-gy and the green economy,defence and manufacturing,especially providing a boost tosmall business cooperation, aswell as pharmaceuticals andhealthcare - all driven by Indiaand the US' new age business-es and disruptive innovationand technologies, he added.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Digital networks integratorSterlite Technologies Ltd (STL)expects to receive all statuto-ry approvals for its plannedacquisition of Italy-basedOptotec by December-January,STL Group CEO AnandAgarwal said.

The company recentlyannounced that it will acquireOptotec, an optical intercon-nect products company, at anenterprise value of 29 millioneuros (over Rs 250 crore).

Of this, about 60-70 percent (up to Rs 150-175 crore)would be funded by way of for-

eign currency debt instru-ments, and rest via internalaccruals, Agarwal told PTI.

"About 30-40 per cent wouldbe internal accruals and bal-ance would be debt....Sincewe have a lot of revenue as wellas cash flow happening with-in Europe, we will be takingdebt under the European enti-ty," he said.

This could be in the form of3-5 year term instruments, hesaid. Agarwal further said thathe expects all approvals tocome through by December-January. The deal involvesacquisition of 100 per cent ofOptotec's shareholding on

closing. Optotec provides arange of optical interconnectproducts for telecommunica-tion, FTTH and cloud net-works in Europe.

Optotec has a portfoliothat would compliment STL's'Opticonn' offering of opticalfibre and cables for an integrat-ed products portfolio, the com-pany had earlier said.

Announcing the deal onNovember 2, STL had said thatOptotec comes with a stronglegacy in optical interconnectportfolio and shares long-standing relationships withmarquee European telecomoperators.

Expect all approvals for Optotecbuyout by Dec-Jan: STL Group

India Inc looks toIndo-US ties

RE to bring new bike every quarter,at least 28 models in next 7 years

Godrej Properties net debt up 56 pcin Sept quarter to Rs 2,733 crore

ONGC puts mature oil, gas fields on block

Cipla to sustain growththrough Coronavirus

aking music hasnever been anarduous task forRaveena. She wasborn in Belgiumand then moved

to Mumbai as a teenager.Since the age of six, Raveenahas worked with vocal coach-es like Suchita Parte and KimChandler in Indian classicaland Western contemporaryto discover the full breadth ofher vocal range. This effortculminated in the launch ofher first commercial musicalbum From Deep Within atthe age of 12. She has alsoreleased two albums, six sin-gles, and 15 music videos pri-marily in the R&B soul genreas well as music incorporat-ing Hindi and Urdu dialectsFrom Deep Within which wasaired on leading internationalmusic channels such as Vh1,

SS Music and Zee Trendz. I Want You is an energetic

pop masterpiece and with itsinfectious beats, melodiousvocals and groovy rap byAsad Shabbir, it is sure tomesmerise the listener andforce them to dance whilewatching this aesthetically-pleasing music video. Themusic video showcases theeffort the guy is taking towoo his girl after a small fall-out in the relationship and it’sa definite pick for any happyoccasion.

“I hope that this songaccurately encapsulates theamazing energy of friendshipand a musical connectionthat Asad, Rishabh, and Ishare. We envisioned thissong as the backgroundmusic to our fun memoriesand adventures that we haveshared on sets. It’s an

extremely enjoyable song thatopens up a free, energeticspace for people to be them-selves. I think this song willbe well received for its richmusicality as well as the visu-als on the music video. It isan entertaining watch, andI’m sure the lyrics will beeasy to resonate with,”Raveena tells us.

This track is surely goingto be piquing audience’sinterest, wowing fans with itsupbeat music and one can seeboth the artists gearing up togive a scintillating dance per-formance, at the same timemaking listeners dance inunison with the beats of thesong, providing a surreal anddeep-layered experience of it.Various social media plat-forms are abuzz with updatesabout the song, its release,and groovy beats and relat-

able lyrics. “The music iscoupled with equally mystify-ing visuals that make thesong a must on your playlist.This song is a perfect blendof music, storytelling andeye-catchy visuals,” adds

Rishabh Kant who lent hisbrilliant voice for the track.Prime yourself up as soon asyou can, because I Want Youis available on all the main-stream one-stop listeningapps!

RAVEENA HOPES THAT I WANT YOU ACCURATELYENCAPSULATES THE AMAZING ENERGY OF FRIENDSHIPAND A MUSICAL CONNECTION THAT ASAD, RISHABH, ANDSHE SHARE. THEY ENVISIONED THIS SONG AS THEBACKGROUND MUSIC TO THEIR FUN MEMORIES ANDADVENTURES THAT THEY HAD SHARED ON SETS. SHEBELIEVES IT WILL AN ENTERTAINING WATCH!

NEW CRACKING MELODYYOU CAN GROOVE TO

Good songs always have the innate capacity todraw boredom out of you and make you sway to

its beats. Beethoven himself once said, ‘Musiccan change the world', and so emerging singer

Raveena Mehta's latest buzzing song I Want You with Rishabh Kant is here to

elaborate the power of music to a limitless end,writes The Pioneer’s SHIKHA DUGGAL, as

they talk to her about their music, and more

M

Exquisite perfumes for the discerningBringing the artistry of sophisticated perfumery with handpicked fragrances and laying focus on theart of perfumery, Scentido Niche Perfumery has opened its third Indian store in Hyderabad. Thefinest collection of perfumes from around the world is a haven that will truly capture one’s senses,writes The Pioneer’s K RAMYA SREE.

rom fruity florals toearthy musks,Scentido has a pickfor everyone andhosts some of therarest fragrances

from across the globe. A per-fume aficionado, ShishirMehta’s vast personal collectionof rare and exclusive scents ledhim to share his passion withthe world and thus, Scentidowas born. The perfumery isknown for curating and bring-ing the most exclusive andniche perfumes to the countrywith prices starting from as lowas Rs. 7,000 and going up to Rs.2 lakh and more.

What made the brand chooseHyderabad as a market?Surabhi, marketing manager ofScentido, tells us, “Hyderabadnow is an extremely maturemarket. The city has experi-enced luxury with brands fromacross the globe and is nowlooking for something ahead ofluxury. We felt the need for an

experiential boutique here.”Nestled in the heart of

Banjara Hills, the brand offersan olfactory escape to a placeof exploration — where your

senses are taken over by theevocative forces of the nichescents presented here.Reminiscent of the Art Decopersona yet Modern in

approach, the boutique décoroffers the perfect setting to cre-ate a luxurious retail environ-ment exclusively for niche fra-grances.

What makes them standapart, is their experiential bou-tique and the signature brandthat is not available anywhereelse in the country. Its unique,signature brands include ROJAParfums, Clive Christian, FlorisLondon and Ormonde Jaynefrom the UK; Berdoues andJovoy Paris from France, D.S &Durga from New York, and TheSpirit of Dubai from UAE.

The attention the brand haspaid towards the minute detailsin terms of design also setsthem apart. Sharing his excite-

ment on opening the first bou-tique in Hyderabad, theFounder and CEO Shishir says,“Scentido is a result of the pas-sion that we would like to sharewith fragrance lovers in India.This is for those who enjoy ataste of the finer things in life.We are proud to house some ofthe rarest fragrances andextend them to the discerningconsumers in Hyderabad toexplore the sensorial journeywith niche fragrances from allover the world. Over the past 3years, we have grown our port-folio to over 30 exclusivebrands and we will continue tointroduce newer niche brandsfor the consumer to exploreand love.”

F

A Jump Into Teenseenage yearsare undoubted-ly the most for-mative years ina person’s life.They are fun

but they also bring abouta lot of changes and it isthese changes and theirsubsequent impact onteenagers that I will talkabout.

During teenage, a childdevelops mentally, biolog-ically, physically, and emo-tionally. Teenage is alsoimportant as they coincidewith an educationalthreshold. Tenth andtwelfth academic resultsare crucial in setting up afoundation for a personpursuing academic-orient-ed goals.

Teens also develop on aphenomenal scale astheir personali-ties, beliefs,and interestsstart consoli-dating anddissolvinginto what wecall personali-ty. The underly-ing foundationand brickwork of charac-ter and personality are laiddown in teenage years,therefore, it is necessary tonot just understand thembut also reciprocate theiractions in a manner thatmakes them feel comfort-able.

Teenagers are not men-tally as developed as theiremotional part of thebrain and the decision-making centers are stilldeveloping. Due to whichteenagers are not onlyimpulsive but also profi-cient at throwing tempertantrums. Moreover,teenagers crave moreattention, independence,and freedom in this agegroup not only becausethey change biologicallybut also due to the appar-ent disconnect betweenparents and their childrennowadays. The apparentdisconnect between par-ents and their children isdue to the incompatibilityof the experiencesbetween parents and theirchildren. As parents grewup in a far different envi-ronment than what theirchildren are facing, there

is an inevitable clash inhow both of them per-ceive life. As such, there isno way to draw a parallelbetween the experiencesof a child and his/her par-ent, however, there are stillways to strengthen thisconnection

The relationshipbetween parents and theiroffspring is of paramountimportant as it is a foun-dation on which a child’sidea of 'self ' relies. Themost easy and effectiveway to establish rapport isto have frequent commu-nication where there is nopower dynamic involved.Listen on a neutral stance,without any hostility towhat they have done.Also, try recounting someof your personal experi-

ences and how youlearned from them.

This could be afar more effec-tive catalyst inre-strengthen-ing a relation-ship. Moreover,

it is also neces-sary for the parents

to know the moderntrend in order to deal withtheir children effectively.Well-informed parentscan quickly adapt to theneeds of their child.

The main purpose ofmy undertaking is to see abrighter future for everyteenager. I want to conveythe message of how cru-cial it is for teenagers to beresilient through thesemodern times of hyper-competitiveness for Ibelieve that teenagerscarry the legacy of theirancestors into the comingfuture and it is imperativefor them to treasure them-selves first.

In conclusion, a teenagemind is an endlesslabyrinth of confusion andinstability; therefore par-ents play a pivotal role inits upbringing andgrowth. With this, I hopeI have shed some light onhow the teenage mindswork and to what extentparents have a role in it.

The author, DivyaKavadiya, s/o AnilKavadiya (CA , ICWA andCS), is a 12th standard stu-dent of The Doon School,Dehradun.

T

MondayNovember 9, 2020

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10

Vijayawada Monday November 9 2020 what’s brewing?

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

hen it comes tounwinding, noth-ing works forSharon Stone as agood bath, yogaand her colouring

books.The 62-year-old

Hollywood starbelieves self-care isimportant. Talkingabout looking aftermental health amid thepandemic, Stone said,“The most importantthing we can do is stayin touch with others.Zoom calls are a realgodsend but anotherimportant thing weneed to do is self-care.”

“Go and take ashower or have a reallygood bath. Why notpull up a yoga mat?How about painting,drawing or colouringin? I have a bunch ofcolouring books on atable with some bigjars of pens and pen-cils. I sit and do thoseall the time. I do themwith my kids or with afriend and I find it tobe a really nice way tocentre myself whilewe’re talking. It’s verycalming,” she added,according to a reportin femalefirst.co.uk.

Stone feels it is

important to look aftermental health amidthe global virus crisis.

“It’s extraordinarilyimportant that we alllook after our mentalhealth, especially nowwith this pandemic.This time has beenvery difficult foreveryone because peo-ple are losing every-thing that they identi-fy themselves with.When people losetheir sense of self, theylose their sense ofsteadiness and thatbecomes a dangerousthing,” she said in arecent interview.

Sharon Stone's unwindtherapy: Good bath,yoga, colouring books

W

ctor Abhishek Bachchansays he boarded theupcoming film Ludoknowing nothing abouthis character or a properscript brief only because

he was drawn to the quirky, inno-cent world of director Anurag Basu.

The dark anthology combinescrime with comedy and continuesBasu’s fascination for chroniclingcharming, eccentric musicals after2012’s Barfi! and Jagga Jasoos (2017).

In an interview with PTI,Bachchan said Basu’s filmmaking ofmarrying profound messaging withsimplicity is his strength.

“There’s a quirky outlook to lifewhich comes out in his films. He

says something profound simply andinnocently, through a particularlycoloured lens. It’s a pleasant experi-ence.”

“Anurag doesn’t make you realisethe severity of what he has said toyou, because he says it by putting asmile on your face. Which is the bestand most efficient way to make apoint,” the 44-year-old actor said.

In Ludo, scheduled to be releasedon Netflix on November 12,Bachchan plays Bittu, a goon whoselife turns over a new leaf after hemeets a six-year-old girl, Mini(Verma).

The Manmarziyaan actor said hewas only given a “brief” basic plotline narration by Basu, “that too

much later”, and didn’t know any-thing about the character before theshoot.

“I just showed up. I didn’t evenknow the character is a father. It wasonly during the time I would go tohis office for fittings, he’d tell me bitsand pieces about the story. But I amaccustomed to working like that, soit wasn’t scary for me.

“It isn’t the first time I’ve workedlike this. When I started my career,most of the work used to happenlike this. I was comfortable doingthat and in fact, I enjoy it when I cancompletely lean on my director andfollow their instinct,” Bachchan, whocompleted 20 years in the Hindi filmindustry in June, said.

A

Anurag Basu says profound thingsby putting smile on your face:Abhishek Bachchan on Ludo

I want to be spiritual,unadulterated

maal Mallik, whodescribes himselfas a clean, spiri-tual musician,says he does notrespond well

when people try to cornerhim or try to come betweenhim and his passion formusic.

That’s the emotion thesinger-composer picked tochannel in his debut popsong Tu Mera Nahi, a heartbreak number he hascomposed and sung, on thelyrics by Rashmi Virag.

Tu Mera Nahi comes froma place of longing. It’s alsoan emotion that I relate to asI’ve been through this sever-al times, with several people— whether a friend or arelationship. Many peoplewalked away from my lifesaying Tu Mera Nahi to mebecause I wouldn’t socialise,go out, never had ‘Oh theweekend is here’ kind of life,” Amaal said.

He added, “Some peopledidn’t understand the factthat I need a lot of space,and don’t respond wellwhen people attack and tryto corner me. I’m like athree-year-old with amachine gun in thosemoments (laughs). But I’m aclean spiritual musician andthat’s all I want to be,unadulterated. My inner cir-cle of friends don’t get mymadness and dedication tomy craft, and sadly I can’tkeep it together when any-body comes between meand my music, or me andmy simplicity. So that’ssomething I’m working on,and via this song I wantpeople to learn the simplerule of letting it go, eventhough it’s hard.”

The young music directorfeels one should just quit arelationship if it doesn'tmake one healthy, mentallystronger, more fearless, bringa smile on the face.

A

KL Rahul 670 runs

Jasprit Bumrah 27 wickets

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | NOVEMBER 9, 2020

11

MOTION PICTURE

DUGOUTObviously, the wicket (Sharjah)is a bit different to Indianwickets. They are slow and lowbut I don't think it shouldmatter much. You just have towatch the ball and hit the ball

As I always say there is HardikPandya and then there is thesmarter Pandya (Krunal). For usthe relationship that we have offthe field, transcends onto thecricket field

We were looking to win thematch and didn't think aboutany other scenario, which teamto play in the final etc. Hopefullywe will play well against them(Supernovas) in the final

Every game you play, youwant to win. With the start wegot, we were looking at least160 but we knew that the ballwas turning and our spinnerswill come into play

TODAY

Live from 7:30pmSTAR SSPORTS 11

VVSS

AFP n PARIS

Angel Di Maria scored twice asParis Saint-Germain made short

work of Rennes despite a raft ofabsences in a 3-0 win on Saturday thatenables the champions to hold ontotheir lead at the top of Ligue 1.

Di Maria struck in each half, withMoise Kean scoring the other, tomove PSG up to 24 points, fiveahead of second-placed Lille who lost2-3 against Brest on Sunday.

Rennes stay third on 18 points —but can be overtaken by Nice shouldthey beat Monaco on Sunday — whileMontpellier are a further point backin sixth after their 2-0 win atBordeaux.

PSG’s win was their eighth in arow in the French top flight and cameas under-fire coach Thomas Tuchelbattles with an injury crisis that hasleft him without the likes of Neymar,Kylian Mbappe and Marco Verratti.

Striker Mauro Icardi was also out,Marquinhos was moved back into thedefence following injury to centre-back Presnel Kimpembe, while PabloSarabia failed to overcome a musclestrain.

“I’m very happy, very proud. Itwas difficult to work at a starting XI,”said Tuchel.

“We showed great mentality, col-lective effort and solidarity. It’s a real-ly good win.”

AFP n RAWALPINDI

Pakistan proved too strongfor a sloppy Zimbabwe as

they won the second T20International by eight wicketson Sunday, taking an unassail-

able 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Riding on half centuriesfrom skipper Babar Azam (51)and 20-year-old Haider Ali (66not out), Pakistan made shortwork of a modest 135-run target,achieving victory with 29 balls tospare.

Zimbabwe, who were sent into bat, never recovered fromearly strikes by paceman HarisRauf (3/31) and spinner UsmanQadir (3/23) as they wererestricted to 134/7 in 20 overs.

Haider, playing only histhird international match,cracked three sixes and sixboundaries in a 43-ball knockand was declared player of thematch.

Azam, ranked second in theworld T20 batting rankings,

smashed eight fours and a six offjust 28 balls, the fastest of his 16T20I fifties.

Haider and Azam added100 for the second wicket, tak-ing away the game fromZimbabwe despite losing open-er Fakhar Zaman for just five inthe third over.

Zimbabwe fast bowlerBlessing Muzarabani took twowickets for 33 runs, includingAzam.

The last match of the seriesis scheduled for Tuesday, also inRawalpindi.

AFP n DORTMUND

Robert Lewandowski scored his11th goal in just his sixth

Bundesliga game this season as BayernMunich went top of the table onSaturday with a 3-2 win at BorussiaDortmund.

“In the end, we deserved the winand such victories are doubly impor-tant for us,” said midfielder LeonGoretzka as Bayern saw off their rivals.

After Marco Reus had putDortmund ahead, David Alaba blast-ed home a free-kick to make it 1-1 athalf-time behind closed doors at SignalIduna Park.

Lewandowski gave Bayern thelead with a superb header early in thesecond half before Leroy Sane grabbedthe visitors’ third.

Erling Braut Haaland gaveDortmund hope with a late goal, butwas left to regret earlier misses.

“I have to score more goals, if wedon’t put our chances away at this level,then we won’t win,” said Haaland, whoconverted one of four shots on goal.

“They are the best team in theworld and we have to work harder totake the next step to be as good asthem”.

The 32-year-old Lewandowski

could have finished with a hat-trickagainst his former club after also hav-ing two goals disallowed by the VAR.

The win leaves Bayern two pointsclear of second-placed RB Leipzigwith Dortmund third, three pointsbehind Munich.

KIMMICH IINJURYHowever the away win come at a

cost, as Bayern midfielder JoshuaKimmich had to be helped off in cleardistress with a first-half knee injury.

As reported by DAZN on Sunday,Kimmich could face up to threemonths out. Kicker report that the 25-year-old has torn his meniscus in hisknee and will require surgery, whichwould see him sidelined for aroundthree months.

AFP nWEST BROMWICH

Harry Kane fired Tottenham tothe top of the Premier League

as the striker’s late goal sealed a 1-0 win against struggling WestBromwich Albion on Sunday.

Jose Mourinho’s side knockedSouthampton out of first placethanks to Kane’s dramatic interven-tion at the Hawthorns.

His 150th Premier League goalwas perfectly timed after Tottenhamhad laboured to break down stub-born Albion.

Having scored his 200thTottenham goal in all competitionsagainst Ludogorets on Thursday,Kane now has 13 goals this season.

Tottenham are one point clearat the top, but they would bepassed later on Sunday by Leicesterif they beat Wolves, or Liverpool ifthey win at Manchester City.

Mourinho started with Kane,Gareth Bale and Son Heung-min inhis front three for the first time, andwhile the latter two were quiet, Kanewas on hand to clinch Tottenham’sthird successive league victory.

Tottenham are now unbeatenin their last seven league games butwere below their best for longperiods against a West Brom teamstill without a league win this term.

Mourinho has had a recenthabit of making social media poststhat take a swipe at his players whenthey under-perform, so it wouldhave been no surprise if theTottenham boss was thinking ofanother acerbic message until Kane

came to the rescue.Instead, Mourinho leapt

to his feet on the touchline tocelebrate a win that empha-sised Tottenham’s determinedattitude.

West Brom had suffered a pre-match blow when BranislavIvanovic and Matheus Pereira wereruled out after both tested positivefor the coronavirus.

NEW BBOYS SSHINEFrank Lampard believes

Chelsea are beginning tobear the fruits from asummer of heavyinvestment in thetransfer marketafter a 4-1 winover SheffieldUnited.

Despite a£220 milliontransfer splurge,the Blues didnot hit theground run-ning as theywon just two oftheir opening sixleague games ofthe season.

However,

they have now won four in arow in all competitions withthree of the new signings, BenChilwell, Thiago Silva andTimo Werner on the score-sheet on Saturday, while anoth-

er Hakim Ziyech won man-of-the-match for two assists.

“The players we brought in, webrought in to improve,” saidLampard, who guided Chelsea tofourth in his first season incharge.

“People expect it to come onday one. It’s not like that, it’s a work

in progress. You saw a lot ofit today, there are greatsigns but we have to keepgoing.”

Sheffield Unitedremain rooted to the footof the table without a winthis season and just likein defeat at Liverpooltwo weeks ago, theyfailed to build on a

dream start from DavidMcGoldrick’s opener.

That was the first goalMendy had conceded in the

Premier League and endedChelsea’s run of five straightclean sheets as Lampard hasfocused on ending the dreadful

defensive record that blighted hisfirst season in charge.

Tammy Abraham had initiallybeen one of the casualties of thebacking Lampard was given in thetransfer market, but has won hisplace in the side in recent weekswith Werner moving out to the left.

The England internationalturned home Mateo Kovacic’s cut-back for his fourth goal of the sea-son to restore parity on 23 minutesand Chelsea never looked back.

Werner smashed against thecrossbar after Aaron Ramsdalecould only parry a dangerousZiyech free-kick.

However, Chris Wilder’s mendid not learn their lesson as fromanother Ziyech set-piece, Chilwellbundled the ball in off his hip.

Ramsdale turned anotherChilwell effort behind before half-time, but it seemed only a matter oftime until Chelsea killed the gameoff as they dominated the second-half. The hosts had to wait until 13minutes from time for the thirdwith Ziyech’s wicked free-kick deliv-ery again creating havoc.

This time the Moroccan pickedout Silva to flick home his firstChelsea goal.

Werner was then put throughon goal from Ziyech’s defence-splitting pass, but the German hitthe woodwork for the second timewhen his lob over Ramsdale cameback off the post. Moments later,Werner was not to be denied aneighth goal when he hammered theball past Ramsdale.

AFP n ROME

Felipe Caicedo again rescuedLazio, scoring deep into injury

time to cancel out CristianoRonaldo’s early goal for Juventus ina 1-1 draw on Sunday.

Ronaldo had opened after quar-ter of an hour in Rome but second-half substitute Caicedo once againproved decisive firing in the equalis-er five minutes into injury time.

The 32-year-old Caicedo hadrescued his side in a 1-1 ChampionsLeague draw at Zenit SaintPetersburg during the week and alsoan injury time 4-3 winner againstTorino last weekend.

Juventus missed the chance tomove second behind Serie A lead-ers AC Milan, with the championsthree points behind their northernrivals who host Hellas Verona lateron Sunday.

Simone Inzaghi’s Lazio, current-ly embroiled in coronavirus chaos,are ninth, five points off the lead-

ers.Lazio lined out without

top striker Ciro Immobile,midfielder Lucas Leiva andgoalkeeper ThomasStrakosha, who remain incoronavirus isolation.

Lazio midfielder Luis Alberto

returned after recoveringfrom coronavirus with thehosts also boosted withdefender Stefan Radu backafter a month out injury.

Leonardo Bonucci, mak-ing his 400th start for

Juventus, proved decisive early

blocking Vedat Muriqi.But it was again Ronaldo who

proved decisive finishing off a JuanCuadrado cross after the Colombianshook off defenders Luis Albertoand Mohamed Fares.

Ronaldo, 35, scored his sixthgoal in four league games.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic sent aheader wide for the hosts withJoaquin Correa also testingWojciech Szczesny.

Ronaldo had two chances for asecond in the first half, rattling thepost, with Pepe Reina tipping a free-kick over the bar.

But with Juventus looking incontrol, Ronaldo went off with 15minutes to go after taking a knockto his ankle.

And Caicedo, who had comeoff the bench nine minutes after thebreak, once again had the finalword.

The Ecudorian picked up aCorrea cross, swivelling to fire in theequaliser to hand Juventus theirfourth stalemate in seven leaguegames.

PTI n SHARJAH

The momentum is with defending cham-pions Supernovas as they eye a third

straight Women’s T20 Challenge title, witha determined Trailblazers standing intheir way in the final here on Monday.

In the winners-take-all T20 final, theHarmanpreet Kaur-led side will havemomentum behind them, having beatenSmriti Mandhana and company in the lastround-robin game on Saturday.

Supernovas, champions in 2018 and2019, just about managed to ward off theirrivals in a last-over thriller.

The two-run victory enabled theSupernovas to enter the final, while knock-ing the Mithali-Raj led Velocity out of thecompetition.

For the defending champions, openerChamari Atapattu (111 runs) has been inbrilliant form. The Sri Lankan veteran isthe top scorer for Supernovas this season.Skipper Harmanpreet, who had scored twohalf-centuries including in the final lastyear, has been dismissed for 31 in both thematches and the big-hitting Indian T20captain will look to get back to herdestructive best in the final.

They will be up against Trailblazers,who started their campaign on a sensation-al note. Their bowlers, led by England’sSophie Ecclestone and veteran JhulanGoswami, bundled out the Velocity for apaltry 47. However, they were unable todish out a similar display on Saturday.

Skipper Mandhana, who has scored 39runs in two games, has had an under-whelming tournament and will be keen oncoming good with the bat.

The spinners are expected to play ahuge role and both sides boast of qualitytweakers.

While Trailblazers have the world No1 T20 bowler in left armspinner Ecclestone andRajeshwari Gayakwad,Supernovas are armedwith the services ofIndia’s star leg-spinnerPoonam Yadav andRadha Yadav,who will also bebrimming withc o n f i d e n c eafter bowling astel lar lastover onSaturday tohelp her sidereach the sum-mit clash.

In the paced e p a r t m e n t ,Trailblazers havethe experiencedJhulan Goswami,who has the abilityto turn the match onits head. For the theSupernovas, SouthAfrican AyabongaKhaka and WestIndies’ ShakeraSelman have donewell.

Having alreadyplayed in two finals,Supernovas know howto soak up the pressurewhich could be the bigdifference between thetwo sides.

PTI n ABU DHABI

Delhi Capitals havestormed into thefinal of the Indian

Premier League (IPL)2020 defeating the spirit-ed Sunrisers Hyderabad(SRH) by 17 runs. TheShreyas Iyer-led side bat-ted well courtesy superbknocks from ShikharDhawan, Marcus Stoinisand Shimron Hetmyer.The bowlers then justabout did the job defyinga certain genius in KaneWilliamson to set thefinals’ date with MumbaiIndians (MI) onNovember 10.

In-form ShikharDhawan smashed 78 off49 balls to lead DelhiCapitals to a challenging189 for three againstSunrisers Hyderabad in

the second Qualifier ofthe Indian PremierLeague here on Sunday.

It turned out to be agood decision to bat firstas Dhawan and MarcusStoinis (38) got the teamoff to a flying start withtheir 86-run stand.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer(21) could not do muchbut Shimron Hetmyer,who was brought in forSunday’s match, chippedin with an unbeaten 42-run knock.

Dhawan, in his well-paced innings, hit sixfours and two sixes. Headded 52 runs for thethird wicket withHetmyer before beingdismissed by seamerSandeep Sharma (1/30).

SRH’s sloppy fieldingalso helped DelhiCapitals as they dropped

Stoinis early in theinnings and gave them afew free runs. SRH alsodropped Dhawantowards the end, thoughit did not cost themmuch.

Yet again,Afghanistan spinnerRashid Khan (4-0-26-1)was the most effectivebowler though TNatarajan bowled well inslog overs.

Stoinis was asked toopen the innings by theDelhi Capitals. Afterbeing dropped by JasonHolder off Sandeep atshort mid-on, theAustralian punished theSRH bowlers with a flur-ry of boundaries.

Stoinis, on three atthat time, was nicely setup by Sandeep but theopportunity was not

DC top SRH, qualify for 1st IPL final DC, batting first against SRH, posted 189/3. SRH ended with 172/8

ABU DHABI: Senior wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha’s sagaof picking up injuries continuedas he has been diagnosed with ahamstring tear which is sure toraise questions about his availabil-ity for the upcoming tour ofAustralia.

It will now depend on whatcall BCCI mandarins take consid-ering that physio Nitin Patel’smedical reports have of late comeunder scanner due to divergentviews of the IPL franchises.

Saha had stretched his groinwhile batting against DelhiCapitals in the second leg of theIPL but then played againstMumbai Indians in the 14th andfinal round game where he musthave picked up a tear whilefighting the earlier niggle.

“Wriddhiman Saha has ahamstring tear,” SRH skipperDavid Warner confirmed thenature of injury during the tossbefore Sunday’s Qualifier 2against Delhi Capitals.

However, the degree of thetear is still not clear.

It is understood that if Sahahas a grade 1 tear, which normal-ly takes four weeks of rest andrehabilitation, then he would beboarding the flight to Australiawith the first Test starting onDecember 17.

In case, he has a grade 2 tear,he will not be boarding the flightto Australia as he would need twomonths minimum to recover.

However, with two wicket-

keepers already in the squad(Rishabh Pant and SanjuSamson), India may not seek foranother stumper.

In order to shore up their bat-ting, India prefer Pant in overseasconditions and Saha in homeconditions where a better keep-er becomes necessity.

During MSK Prasad’s tenureas the chief selector, Andhra ladKona Bharat was considered as athird red-ball option behind Pantand Saha. PTI

Saha has hamstring tear, confirms Warner; all eyes on BCCI

taken.It was Holder, who

was then taken to task byStoinis, who creamed off18 runs from the WestIndian's over with threefours and a six.

Sandeep was initiallyimpeccable with his length

balls but drifted after-wards and was punishedby Dhawan.

In-came spinnerShabaz Nadeem to bowlthe last Powerplay overand ended up leaking 14runs as DC reached 65 forno loss.

Pak clinch T20 series Better late than neverLast-gasp Caicedograbs point for Lazioagainst Juventus

Supernovas targethat-trick of titles

150 up for KaneEnglish captain achieves another Premier League

milestone in Tottenham 1-0 away win against WBA

Robert on target againas Bayern see offDortmund to go top

Lewa can’t stop scoringAngel stars inParisians win

Delhi Capitals Shikhar Dhawan chats with Sunrisers’ Rashid Khan during DC innings IPLT20

Faheem Ashraf celebrates after wicket AP

Suryakumar Yadav bats during nets session @mipaltan

Mumbai Indians players’ Rohit Sharma, Aditya Tare and DhawalKulkarni pose for photo with their daughter’s @mipaltan

12

Vijayawada Monday November 9 2020tollywood

COMMIT MENTALWILL BE MY BIGBREAK: UDBHAV

From beingbeing a YouTube

star withChicago

Subbarao toawaiting his bigbreak, UdbhavRaghunandan

has come a longway. Somwhere

betweenidolising Mega

Star Chiranjeevias a kid, to

working for shortfilms, the elated

actor's dreamsaw the light of

day withCommit Mental.

He talks toNAGRAJ

GOUD aboutthe film, his

journey thus far,and more.

ince child-hood UdbhavRaghunandanof popularYouTubechannel fame

Chicago Subbaraodreamt of seeing him-self as an actor on thebig screen. He grew upwatching megastarChiranjeevi’s films andidolising him. “I usedto imitate him in frontof our mirror at home.But at the same time Iwas afraid of lettingout my acting aspira-tions to anyone, fear-ing they would makefun of it. Storytellingtoo was my passion,which is why I ven-tured into direction,”he tells The Pioneer.

After his tryst withshort films duringengineering inHyderabad, Udbhavleft for the U.S to pur-sue masters in electri-cal engineering. Hewas expecting a rosycollege life but it was-n’t, prompting him tothink of narrating thetravails of Telugu stu-dents there. “Due tothe demanding course,I couldn’t shoot. Afterthe masters, I landed awell-paying job; I pur-chased a car and lifewas going good. Butsix months into thejob, I was not feelingsatisfied. There was asense of lacuna as Iwas not workingtowards my passion.One fine day, teamIndia was playing theT20 world cup and asmuch as my gangwanted to root for thecountry, we couldn’t,because the live feedwas not available inthe U.S. We had to getinto some website butit would keep onbuffering. I shot avideo inspired by it. Itwent viral and later myfriends advised me towork on the otherideas I had crackedduring my masters,” herecalls.

He later startedmaking 30-sec videosand memes whichwere uploaded onFacebook, to greatreception. “With thehelp of a team offriends, we managedto build our brandChicago Subbarao.Soon after, I made aforay into YouTube bypromotingPellichoopulu film. Itwas a hit. I always hada special interesttowards the issues sur-rounding a roommate,especially a psychoticone. I felt he carriedwith him some funand drama. Back thenI watched a lot ofRamuism episodes. Idecided to write astory about what if aguy like RGV is yourroommate? The video

garnered a lot of atten-tion. RGV garu evenposted, saying that itwas a hilarious take onhim and his style,” henotes.

Nevertheless,Udbhav always saw hisstint with YouTube asa path to his ultimategoal-Telugu cinema.He just didn’t want toconfine himself to act-ing but wanted to startwith it, as “whowouldn’t want to be inthe limelight?”Besides, it would offerhim first-hand experi-ence of catching actionon sets and during thepost-production aswell. He quit his job inDecember 2018 andheaded back to Indialast year. “I’ve landed afeature but as it wasabout to roll, I wasremoved. I was toldthat I don’t have amarket. It was a devas-tating experience. Iencountered a similarexperience with aseries,” he sighs.

He was one of thesix guys who audi-tioned for the lead rolein TVF's PermanentRoommates Teluguremake, CommitMental, before baggingthe role. The original,which is India’s firstweb series, revolvesaround a young couplewho after being in along distance relation-ship for three yearsface the prospect ofmarriage. He wasexcited and at thesame time was in twominds “becauseSumeet Vyas did a fab-ulous job in the origi-nal and the compar-isons were natural.”

“I was afraid butquickly decided to givethe role my own take. Iwas a great fan of theoriginal. Back then Ifelt it would’ve beennice if such a serieswas made in Telugu.In fact, I wrote some-thing on the samelines to be filmedacross the U.S. I trav-elled with SwapnaDutt over it but it did-n’t work out,” heexplains.

Everything was setfor Commit Mental togo in front of the cam-eras in March withhim and PunarnaviBhoopalam as theleads but the pandem-ic played spoilsport.He states, “It was adark phase of my life.At that time, my dailyroutine includedwatching somethingon my laptop and latertaking a walk on myterrace. I was goinginto a kind ofdepressed state andwanted to desperatelybreak that routine. Idecided to go back tothe U.S to stay with my sister and unwind

for a bit. PavanSadineni came onboard as the showrun-ner in June but still itwasn’t going on floorsas there was a surge inCOVID-19 positivecases in Hyderabad.So, I left for the U.S inJuly. I got a call amonth later, informingthat shooting wasabout to begin. I cameback, quarantinedmyself and the wholeunit got tested beforewe began shooting.Initially, KowshikBeemidi was supposedto direct but due to hishealth reasons, he hadto quit the project.Pavan took over thedirection reins andtook the project to thenext level with his pro-ficiency.”

He adds as an after-thought, "I believe theproject will be my bigbreak. Everyone want-ed it to transpire whenit was stopped inMarch but I was pray-ing more because thestakes were bigger forme. So when it finallywent to floors, I wasrelieved.”

Shedding light abouthis part Phanindra, heinforms that it’s not arun-of-the-mill role.“He is weird, annoysyou but you can’t deci-pher whether to lovehim or loathe him. Atthe same time, it’s anentertaining role. Hedoesn’t judge people,treats everyone asequals and is honest.As his partner Anudoesn’t have a mother,he feels like compen-sating for it,” he shares,adding that while theshow’s soul will be thesame as that of theoriginal, they didmake some changes.“We explored the long-distance relationshipangle of the coupleunlike that of the orig-inal. Wherever therewas scope, Pavan andwriters ensured thatthe supporting roleshave been tweaked tosuit out nativity.”

He admits it was alearning experience tohave been directed byPavan.”I had a separatesync with him as wedidn’t need to discussmuch about how I goabout my role. Hewould catch my timingif I gave him some-thing new and let mego with the flow. Also,if I committed a smallerror, he would actand show. If he neededa long pause from me,he would give queues.I'm sure that all theseinputs will tell on theperformance tomor-row. As someone whois fond of filmmaking,I found his spontaneityand the way he adapted interesting,”he concludes.

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Manjula to dole outtips on weight loss

fter launchingher YouTubechannel backin June, pro-ducer-actorManjula

Ghattamaneni is nowlaunching a new serieson weight loss on thesame channel. With obe-sity and overweightissues becoming com-mon in recent times,Manjula has decided toaddress the problems ina healthy and organicway.

In the series, she willbe sharing her personaljourney of weight lossand her tips and findingsto shed excess weight.Manjula, who believes ina permanent and healthyweight loss that bringshigh energy levels, good

health, and joy, is alsocoming up with her ownline of organic products,which promote weightloss and healthy living.Her range of productsincludes A2 cow ghee,cold-pressed oils androse water etc.

When asked about theinspiration behindlaunching these prod-ucts, she said, “One thingI learned in my weightloss journey is we arewhat we eat. But manytimes, I find it hard tosource healthy organicfood. So, I do not wantothers to go throughwhat I went through. Iwant to make it easy foreveryone to consumehealthy food. And so, Iam launching my ownbrand of food products.”

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t has been a cus-tom for superstarMahesh Babu toslip into a holidayevery three orfour months with

his family but due to thepandemic, he and thefamily have been coopedat their home inHyderabad for the pasteight months. The lastholiday he took was tothe US back in Januaryafter completing the pro-motions of SarileruNeekevvaru.

On Sunday though, theactor and his family wereclicked by the paparazziat Shamshabad airport asthey were leavingHyderabad for a holiday.While the holiday desti-nation is unknown, theactor took to Instagram

and uploaded a selfiewith his son Gauthamand daughter Sithara. Inthe image, the three ofthem can be seen wear-ing masks while posingfor the camera at the air-port. “Getting ourselvesused to the new normal!!All equipped for a safeflight. Life’s back ontrack! Jet set go.TravelDuringCovid#MaskOn (sic),” Mahesh cap-tioned it.

Mahesh will beginshooting for his next,Sarkaru Vaari Paata(SVP), from January nextyear. He, along with fami-ly, will head for the US inthe last week of Decemberand will ring in the NewYear there. He will jointhe sets of the film in thefirst week of January.

Pragya replaces Prayaga?t looks like Malayalamactress Prayaga RoseMartin’s journey inTelugu cinema has beenbrief. According to thebuzz, Boyapati Sreenu,

who has roped her in for his nextwith Nandamuri Balakrishna was-n’t particularly happy with thepairing after he shot some portionswith them together, leaving him

with no option but to politely lookfor some other options! The buzzstates that the director has alreadyspoken to Kanche girl PragyaJaiswal as the replacement and sheis expected to join the sets today inHyderabad.

In the action-entertainer with anunderlying social message, Balayyawill be seen in dual roles- of whichone role is that of an aghora.

Expectations are high on this unti-tled film as it marks the reteamingup of the actor and Boyapati aftersuccessful ventures like Simha andLegend in the past. Produced by MRavinder Reddy, the film hasmusic by Thaman. The film, co-starring Poorna, has resumedrecently after the shoot was sus-pended in March due to the pan-demic.

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MAHESH goeson a holiday

Chitra Shukla pairs upwith Ashish Gandhi

hitra Shukla, whowas seen in filmslike RangulaRatnam, Silly Fellowsand Maa Abbaiamong others, has

signed a new film oppositeAshish Gandhi, who is knownfor his turn in Natakam. Tomark the directorial debut ofRajkumar Bobby, the untitledfilm is an investigative thriller.Edida Bobby and RajeshBobburi are jointly producingit under their respective ban-ners Bobby Edida Creative

Works and EvergreenEntertainments.

Producers said the film willkeep the audience at the edge-of-their-seats for all its runningtime with suspense and twists.“To be shot across Kakinada,Rajahmundry, Nidadavolu,Rampachodavaram and Gudiseamong other places, it will rollfrom the first week ofDecember,” they added.

Peddapalli Rohit is on boardto render tunes, whileHarikrishna will crank thecamera.

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