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The Pioneer...2020/12/20  · Jharkhand Sports Policy 2020 and Jharkhand State Tourism Policy 2020...

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T he BJP on Saturday netted its biggest ever catch in Bengal grabbing a large swarm of Opposition leaders led by powerful TMC satrap Suvendu Adhikari — a Mamata Banerjee man Friday and her sharpest spearhead in Nandigram movement that catapulted her to power in 2011. A massive saffron rally at the historical town of Midnapore presided over by Union Home Minister Amit Shah witnessed 10 MLAs — 7 of the ruling outfit — a sitting party MP, two ex-Ministers, a former parliamentarian, 45 municipal chairmen and coun- cillors, and two district board chairpersons switching sides prompting Shah to predict a “landslide victory” for the saf- fron party in 2021 Assembly elections in Bengal. The only rebel face who apparently could not make it to the BJP on Saturday was former Asansol Mayor and MLA Jitendra Tiwari who backed off hours before switching sides reportedly after Union Minister and Asansol BJP MP Babul Supriyo and some other saffron leaders objected to his joining the outfit. Tiwari then offered his apology to the Chief Minister saying he would work for her. Cut to Midnapore: Seeking five years’ time for his party to smarten up Bengal, Home Minister Shah said, “You gave 27 years to the Congress, three decades to the Left and 10 years to Mamata Banerjee but noth- ing happened… now afford us five years and see how we con- vert your State into Sonar Bangla (golden Bengal). Launching a scathing attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, he said “The desertion will continue in the TMC till she is left with none before the elections.” Advising her retrospection he said, “The people are quitting the TMC in large numbers because of the misrule, corruption, (tolabaji) extortionist culture, nepotism with the singular aim of mak- ing the nephew (read Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee) the next Chief Minister.” The long queue of defec- tors suggested that the BJP was going to come to power with 200-plus legislators, Shah said buttressing party vice president Mukul Roy’s argument that the ruling outfit would not cross three figure in the elec- tions. Apart from the TMC leaders two Left MLAs and a Congress legislator too joined the BJP. Attacking the State Government, he said, “Mamata Didi should feel ashamed of the rampant corruption… so much so that they would not even spare the poor men’s relief materials for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sent Central funds… they even gobbled down the relief mate- rials sent during the pandem- ic times…” The Home Minister, who along with Bengal BJP presi- dent Dilip Ghosh and senior leader Kailash Vijayvargiya, had lunch at a farmer’s house, complained how “the State Government is blocking the Central schemes like Ayushman Bharat and Kisan Samman Nidhi” aggravating the crisis in a job-starved State. Adhikari too referred to the growing discontent in the party and among the people saying the TMC was formed with an ideal but all that had been sacrificed at the altars of corruption and nepotism. “The only goal seems to be to make Bhaipo (nephew Abhishek Banerjee) the Chief Minister,” Adhikari seldom known for mounting personal attacks thundered raising the slogan, “Bhaipo Hatao Bangla Bachao” (Remove the nephew and save Bengal). Hitting out at the Chief Minister for frequently raising the “outsider theory” while speaking about leaders like Shah, Vijayvargiya, JP Nadda, etc, Adhikari reminded how Bengal had always represented a pluralist culture and that “one should always remind that “India comes first and Bengal comes after that.” Attacking his erstwhile party colleagues about calling him a “traitor” Adhikari said, “The people who call me a trai- tor should keep in mind that the TMC had been a part of the NDA and an ally of the BJP jointly fighting elections since 1998 when we together won 11 seats … those who call me trai- tor should remember the TMC’s chemistry with the party that was once led by Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee …” Saying that the party and the colleagues for whom he had given the prime time of his life and “did not even care to call me up when I was down with corona … but it was Amit Shah ji who rang me up like an elder brother and wished me well,” Adhikari said “the storm that was coming in Bengal would sweep across Bengal from Digha to Darjeeling” and along with it blow away the TMC. Earlier he wrote a letter to the TMC leadership in which he objected to the decision of invoking poll strategist Prashant Kishor for winning elections. New Delhi: Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi conducted a meeting of senior party lead- ers, including dissenters, on Saturday to apparently facilitate her son Rahul Gandhi’s re- anoinment as the party presi- dent. Rahul relinquished the post after the dismal perfor- mance of the Congress in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Speaking to the media after the meeting, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan stated that 30 leaders had deliberated on the path ahead for the party in a “constructive” atmosphere. Flanked by former Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat and Congress treasurer Pawan Bansal, Chavan added that more such meetings will be held to strengthen the party. He also said that a Chintan Shivir shall take place in Pachmarhi or Shimla. Clear indications regarding Rahul’s comeback in a month’s time emerged after party lead- ers shared to media that the Gandhi scion conveyed in the meeting that he is “ready to work for the party as all desire”. PNS A sserting that investors’ mindset has changed from “Why India?” to “Why not India?, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his Government’s reforms had changed the world per- ception and the farm reforms brought by his Government six-month ago have begun to deliver benefits to the farmers. Speaking at industry asso- ciation Assocham’s Foundation Week event here, Modi said, “From a non-existent culture for innovation to a new ecosys- tem promoting and nurturing startups has given the world confidence to say ‘why not India’.” The Prime Minister also presented the “Assocham Enterprise of the Century Award” to Ratan Tata, who received the award on behalf of the Tata Group. He said that the Tata Group had contributed to the development of the coun- try under the able leadership of Ratan Tata. Ratan Tata thanked the Prime Minister for the award and appreciated his strong leadership during the coron- avirus pandemic. “There was a situation in the past when investors would question ‘why India’ (for invest- ing in the country). With reforms (of past six years) and their effects, its proposition has changed to ‘why not India’,” Modi said. He cited scrapping of 1,500 old and obsolete laws and farming new ones that in tune with the changing investment order as an example of his Government’s outlook. “Red tape previously made investors say ‘why India’ but a red carpet is now making them say ‘why not India’,” he said. In the backdrop of farmers’ protests on the outskirts of Delhi, the PM said agriculture reforms brought by his Government six months back have started benefiting farmers. T he State Government is set to launch over 20 schemes, including a ‘universal pension scheme’ and a couple of employ- ment generation programmes, on the first anniversary of the ruling government at a grand event in Ranchi’s Morhabadi Ground on December 29, high- ly placed sources in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said on Saturday. As per a document shared by an official from the CMO, Chief Minister Hemant Soren will launch Mukya Mantri Pasudhan Yojana aimed at increasing the income of farm- ers on December 29. Besides, the government will launch Jharkhand Sports Policy 2020 and Jharkhand State Tourism Policy 2020 on its first anniver- sary. At least two of the initiatives announced by the government on December 29 will aim at pro- viding employment. In a bid to support sportspersons finan- cially and encourage youths to take up sports, the JMM-led government plans to provide direct employment to eligible sportspersons, the document from CMO highlighted. Under the Home Department, the gov- ernment also aims to provide direct employment to the dece- dents of the martyrs of Jharkhand Movement in the state, the document further stat- ed. Under the welfare depart- ment, Soren will launch Shri Jaipal Singh Munda Overseas Scholarship Scheme aimed at facilitating foreign education for underprivileged students. Besides, the Chief Minister Employment Generation Programme (CMEGP), the State will start special loan disburse- ment for youths in Jharkhand, the CMO official said. The Jharkhand Universal Pension Scheme, as the govern- ment calls it, will entitle benefi- ciaries for pension even if they are not below the poverty line or from the SC or ST community. A special programme to transform the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the State will be launched on the day. Besides, a ‘High Power’ committee will be constituted to revise reservation formula for the members of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Caste com- munities. A committee will also be constituted to monitor the local’s policy of the govern- ment. The government has set a cap of 4000 on the number of guests who would be attending the first anniversary ceremony of the Hemant Soren-led gov- ernment at Ranchi’s Morhabadi Ground on December 29, a highly placed official in Ranchi district administration said on Saturday, adding that the cere- mony on December 29 will also be the first government event with public participation since Covid-19-induced restrictions were imposed across the coun- try. “All social distancing pro- tocols will be followed. Even though guests, beneficiaries and commoners will be attend- ing the ceremony, we will ensure that social distancing is followed in the seating arrange- ment,” said Ranchi Deputy Development Commissioner, Ananya Mittal. M ore than 200 fresh cases of Covid-19 infection sur- faced in the State for the sec- ond consecutive day on Saturday, taking the number of active cases above 1700 after a significant drop reported in the figure since the beginning of December, data compiled by the state health department revealed. As many as 247 people were found infected across the state in the past 24 hours, while 234 patients recovered during the same period. On Friday too the fresh cases of Covid-19 infection outnum- bered the recoveries as 274 people were found infected and only 195 patients recov- ered, government figures high- lighted. On Saturday, Ranchi reported 128 cases against 110 recoveries, while East Singhbhum reported 35 cases against 29 recoveries. The number of active cases in Ranchi drew close to 800 on the day, while that in East Singhbhum reached 226, the NHM bulletin highlighted. Among other districts, Bokaro reported 12 cases against 15 recoveries, while Hazaribag reported 14 cases against three recoveries. As per government data, at least six districts did not report even a single fresh case of Covid-19 infection on the day. Meanwhile, two more Covid patients, one each from Dhanbad and Gumla, died during treatment on the day, taking the Covid toll in the state up at 1010, a bulletin released by the National Health Mission (NHM) stated. As per the bulletin, Saturday's fresh death took the toll in Dhanbad to 100. Until Saturday, only Ranchi and East Singhbhum had reported more than 100 Covid fatalities among the 24 districts. As many as 355 Covid patients have died in East Singhbhum so far, while 209 have died in Ranchi. The government on Saturday collected swab sam- ples of 16,516 people and around 1.5 per cent of them were found infected. So far, health workers in Jharkhand have collected swab samples of 46.23 lakh people and tested around 46.09 lakh of them. Around 14,000 swab samples were still pending for tests. At least 110125 of the 112835 people infected by the virus have recovered in Jharkhand so far, taking the Covid recovery rate in the state to 97.58 per cent. The national Covid recovery rate is 95.50 per cent. As per government data, the growth rate of the virus in Jharkhand was 0.17 per cent against the national average of 0.21 per cent. The doubling rate of the infection in the state was 405.28 days against the nation- al average of 326.80 days.
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  • � What is your role in Zee TV’sHamariwali Good News?

    I play Mukund Tiwari, whois based out of Agra and is ashopkeeper. He has lost the X-factor in life because of beingextremely busy in fulfilling hisfamily’s desires and earningmoney. This responsibility hasput everything else in his life onthe backseat. Hence, he hasbecome stern towardseverything. He has lost hismission in life. He is rudetowards everyone and doesn’tgets along well with his wifeor children, but his sisterwhom he has given the statusof nothing less than a God.The story talks about how thetransformation happens in hislife. � What attracted you towardsthis role?

    The storyline of course.Whenever an actor is narratedabout a show, the storylinecatches his attention at first.Then comes the character. � From X-Zone Saheli to nowHamariwali Good News, howhas the journey been?

    It has been good. I have gotto play a lot of different roles andgot a chance to work withdifferent production houses.Whenever you see a photocelebrating an anniversary ofyour show, it feels good thatpeople still remember you andappreciate your work that youhave done 20 years back. It hasbeen an amazing journey. Eventoday, people watch my showswith a lot of expectations. This isa big achievement for an actor. �What has been your takeawayfrom the industry?

    This industry is volatile. Ibelong to a non-f i lmybackground and when I came tothe industry everyone told methat things are very dicy here.Sometimes it happens, sometimesnot. But when you get into theindustry, you think that youcan make it there. Then,

    when you start comparingyourself with people who startedwith you, you realise that theindustry is volatile. You are asgood as your last show, shoot oraward. This has been a biglearning that you have to be onyour toes and try out differentcharacters.� You have been a part of theindustry for about 20 yearsnow. Do you think you havegot your due?

    Yes of course. I don’t haveany regrets. I never see whatI wanted, instead I look atwhat I have got. To dream issomething that will neverend. but as an actor you havetoo see whether you havebeen able to make a place for

    yourself or not. Even today, Iam giving interviews to thepress, this means that peoplewant to know about my life andjourney. Ever yone doesn’tbecome ShahRukh Khan orHrithik Roshan. One in a millionpeople shine in this field. I amhappy and positive aboutwhatever I have achieved andwhereever I am. In the last eightmonths, life too has taught us tobe content with whatever youhave. �A role that comes close to you?

    Saara Aakash is a show thatcomes close to my heart. That wasmy first show as a lead. Back then,I was a bit flamboyant and risk-taking, so I enjoyed being a partof it.� How easy or difficult is it toshoot during Corona?

    It is quite a task. Right now Iam shooting for a daily soap in aconfined space so it is fine, but formy other action-based showsthat I am shooting for OTTplatforms is tough.

    Earlier, we used to rehearsefor the action sequences, butnow to rehearse with a mask onbecomes tedious. We have a crewof 110 people, who are juniorsforget about other people. It isscary.

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    We all know how funnystand-up comedy is.We also know thatVir Das has perfected thiscraft. The latest 50-odd minutevirtual session on Netflix onhow he entertained people inorder to raise money for charityis everything that he is knownfor— being funny and ensuringthat his audience got plenty oflaughs.

    What is brilliant aboutthis show that Das conductedover Zoom is it managed to

    raise over �35 lakh for 17different charities— acommendable feat — and thatover a period of three monthsvia his virtual stand-up.

    We get to see a verydifferent side to him as well ashe lans his camera to show theaudience his personal space —something that his fans wouldlove to get a sneak peek intoincluding his collection of caps.Then there is the wholeheadband that he supportswhich he carries off with elan.One also gets to see how thelockdown affected thiscomedian — making this showa bit melancholy as well.

    Of course there is bound tobe plenty of laughs as he goes

    about asking people a simplequestion— what is the firstthing you would do oncelockdown opens? The answers,someone wanting to eat icecream to another wanting toride his bike to yet anotherwanting to eat Asian foodfrom her favourite restaurant,besides bringing a smile areextremely real and relatable.

    He is engaging, making hisaudience laugh at their ownexpense.

    He is also sans the stageand tells you that he longer hasthe advantage of beingshrouded in the shadows andthat it is nice to see inside hisaudiences’ home.

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    It is a no-brainer that documentaries areinteresting to watch provided they aretold in an engaging manner. What can bemore engaging than fol lowing aninvestigation by the West YorkshireMetropolitan Police in what is considered tobe one of the biggest man hunt for a serialkiller that terrorised the women of NorthEngland for more than five years and killed13 women and attacked seven others wholived to tell the tale.

    What makes this documentar yinteresting, absolutely fascinating andriveting is the way it has been told throughvarious people who were part of theinvestigation and some of the women whowere willing to talk about their bear brushwith death. Then there are accounts ofreporters who give you an inside of what washappening in the society at that time andhow the once thriving area of this part ofEngland due to Industrial Revolution fell onbad times and people lost their jobs andwomen stepped out to roam on the streetsat night to make money to support theirfamily. It also tells you how a patriarchal

    mindset of the police showed these womenas loose, how the police’s warning to womento stay indoors after dark was met withresistance because they were not able to catcha killer. It was also the time when Englandsaw its first woman Prime Minister inMargret Thatcher and the changing polity ofEngland.

    But perhaps the most fascinating thingabout this four-part mini series is how thekiller was always a few steps ahead of thepolice and managed to evade them eventhough no stone remained unturned andmillions of pounds were spent to catch him.What is even more bizarre is that it was a bitof luck that landed him in police net — ina totally unrelated offence — a wrongnumber plate; the car didn’t match thenumber plate it supported. Finally, the manwho had terrorised the women was caught— his name Peter Sutcliffe, a lorry driver.

    His neighbours were shocked that he wasthe Yorkshire Ripper — a name given to himby the Press due to the fact that most of hisvictims were prostitutes — and killingssimilar to Jack The Ripper.

    So why this documentary now when thekillings took place almost 46 years back?Sutcliffe finally died in prison at age 74 onNovember 13, 2020.

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    The dynamics of the Indianpolitics has taken Asia andthe whole world by surprise. Itwas unthinkable a few yearsago that India would stand upto China the way it has done inthe past few months.

    The coming few monthswould decide our future for thewhole of this century. India wasnot given its due for a long timebecause it was more wedded toan ideology than to her inter-ests. It is now correcting thiscardinal folly and it has givenher more room for diplomaticmanuovering than before.

    It is heartening that it hastaken to ' Move First Policy '

    and capturedstrategic heightsbefore the Chinesecould do. Everynation foxes itsfriends and ene-mies alike to suitit's national inter-est.

    India is theonly nation whichtreads on largely astraight line andthat's why it hasbeen on the receiv-ing end. Treacheryis the hallmark ofdiplomacy. Thesooner we realise itthe better.

    COVID has changed thewhole world and it wouldnever be the same again. Thepre-COVID world order hasseriously been compromisedand a new world order isemerging wherein America isloosing its hegemony andChina is working hard to takethe top position.

    It is true that China wasalready knocking at the door,but it is equally true that Covidhas done to China what themaking of atom bomb haddone to America.

    China is upon the globalstage. And that explains theChinese belligerence and herabusive language against anynation that dares to challengeChinese action.

    China hit India below thebelt, when it was down withCOVID. It thought that Indiawould be on her knees andcompromise to the situation.The Chinese calculation wenthaywire when India stood upto China and handled the men-ace of COVID as nobody hadthought of.

    Our traditional medicalsystem, our inborn immunitydue to tropical climate and gov-ernment action saved the dayfor us. It went wrong for Chinawhich did not count us as animportant player in her game-plan of becoming a globalhegemon.

    History is full of exampleswhen one is challenged fromthe most unexpected quarters.India is a thorn in the paws ofthe wounded Chinese lion.China could not take advantageof the situation against Indiawhen the world was busy han-dling COVID.

    Now the world has cometo terms with it and anti-COVID vaccine is ready foruse. At this juncture, it is verydifficult for China to have itsway with India.

    The world is fast coming toterms with COVID and thepost-COVID world order is ina fluid state and this is the hightime when India has to find herplace under the sun. Everysixth person in the world is anIndian and so is the case with

    China. India is a huge market.Indians are known for theirbusiness and accounting acu-men.

    They are also known fortheir frugality and their hand-some income in foreign coun-tries leads to capital formationwhich is not possible in Indiawhere social ethos greatly ham-per capital formation. It is apowerhouse of technicallyskilled people and softwareengineers.

    The Indian diaspora dom-inates the technical and cor-porate sector of America andhas become part of Americanelite. It is in every part of theworld and is acknowledged asa peaceful, non- disturbingand contributing community tothe host country. This softpower can be utilised to heradvantage.

    All these factors have con-tributed to India's emergence asa key power. No world orderwould have a perfect balance ofpower without India beinggiven her rightful place. IfIndia does not get what itdeserves, it would be her ownfolly.

    Also, there would be glob-al efforts to deny India herrightful place which can beseen in the unwarrantedremark of a UN spokespersonabout the farmer's movementwhich is totally an internal mat-ter of India. But no nation's rise

    to power is unfettered and thisis part of the game.

    In such a backdrop, Indiahas to calibrate her relationwith America and the West.She has to keep the Russianconnection alive and boomingas she has proved to be a trust-ed ally over the years. Indiashould also try to negotiatepeace with China on her ownterms knowing fully well thatnations with common bound-aries can never befriends.

    This rule also applies toRussia and China. They can notbe friends logically and theywouldn't be. The Indo-Russianfriendship is the best guaran-tee of security against Chinaand her client state Pakistan. Atthe same time a formidablealliance should be made withAmerica and the West againstChina on the platform of com-mon interests.

    Russia would support suchan alliance as it is in her nation-al interest. She can do it byeither participating directly ormaintaining a studied neutral-ity. Silence and inaction is akind of support. India shouldbe ready for the role which isher destiny.

    The writer is Registrar,Vinoba Bhave University,Hazaribag and a passionatewriter. The views expressed inthe article are his own.

    � � /���)�

    Leader of Opposition inBihar Legislative AssemblyTejashwi Yadav today visitedRajendra Institute of MedicalScience (RIMS) in the StateCapital to meet his father andRashtriya Janata Dal presidentLalu Prasad Yadav. FormerBihar Chief Minister LaluPrasad, convicted in the fodderscam cases, is admitted to thepaying ward of RIMS for treat-ment.

    Talking to media personsafter meeting his father,Tejashwi Yadav said, “Lalu ji'skidney is working at 25 percent. I have not met him for thelast 4-5 months. After the

    Bihar election, we have come tomeet him this time today.”

    Tejashwi Yadav was accom-panied by Congress leader andJharkhand AgricultureMinister Badal.

    Lalu Prasad Yadav hasrecently come to the payingward of RIMS. He was shiftedfrom here to RIMS Director’sBungalow during the Coronaperiod. He was quickly shiftedto RIMS 'paying ward after thealleged jail manual violationcase surfaced. A hearing isgoing on in the High Court ofRanchi regarding this matter.

    On Friday, theGovernment could not give fulldetails of the informationsought by the High Court in

    the case of jail manual viola-tions. After this, time wasdemanded from theGovernment to give informa-

    tion on all the points. On this,the court of Justice ApareshKumar Singh adjourned thehearing on January 8 next year,

    setting the date of hearing anddirecting for a detailed reply.

    Recently, about the healthof Lalu, his doctor UmeshPrasad had said that only 25percent of his kidney is work-ing and at any time, his healthmay deteriorate. However, thedirector of RIMS has rejectedhis claim and said that Lalu'shealth is fine.

    Tejashwi Yadav, after get-ting down from his car, wentstraight to the Paying Wardwhere he kept talking for hourswith his father Lalu PrasadYadav. A large number of RJDsupporters had also reachedRIMS on Tejashwi's arrival.Tight security arrangementswere made by the police.

    Badal was stopped outsidethe paying ward by jail author-ities.

    Talking to the media per-sons on the occasion, theAgriculture Minister attackedChief Minister of Bihar, NitishKumar and the BJP. He saidthat there was talk of moredefeat than victory in BiharAssembly elections. He alsosaid that there was a massiverigging in the Bihar elections.He also accused the Bihar gov-ernment of Hitlershahi.

    Taking a dig at PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, hesaid that his plans do not hit theground. During his reign, thepace of corruption, inflation istouching the sky, he added.

    � � /���)�

    Abook on ‘Religion,Conversion and Identity: ASociological Study of the Uraoñsof Chotanagpur’, authored byDr. Joseph Marianus Kujur,Director, Xavier Institute ofSocial Service (XISS) Ranchiwas unveiled here on Saturday.“This book will be greatly use-ful to a broad spectrum of peo-ple including technicians,researchers and political sci-ences. It is how identity is notstatic and ever evolving”, said Dr.Ramesh Kumar Pandey, Vice-Chancellor of Ranchi Universityduring the launch of the book.

    The book launch saw anattendance of local littérateursand learned people, who dis-cussed the situation of theUraoñs of Chotanagpur indetail. Fr. Xavier Soreng,Superior XISS gave the welcomenote while Fr. Pradeep Kerketta,Assistant Director, XISS gave theintroduction of the speakers.

    Talking about the studydone on the Uraoñs and citingexamples from the history, dur-ing the book release function,Dr. Kujur said, “In the denial oftribal identity to UraoñsChristians, there are negationsof rational choice of the subject.”He also said, “The main concern

    of book is ‘identity’ and Religionwhich is the single most pow-erful force of human history.” Hetraced back to the legislative his-tory pertaining to conversionlaws during the colonial times.He also mentioned that at pre-sent conversion related study inIndia seems to have resurfacedin polemic literature as much asin the scholarly discourses.”

    The 327 page book, com-prising eight chapters has beenpublished byPrimus Books,Delhi, priced at Rs. 1295, focus-es on different aspects ofcom-plexities of the triangular rela-tionship among tribalChristians, tribal Sarnas, andothers. The book is available fora buy at Amazon as well.

    During the launch,Ranendra Kumar, IAS, Director,Dr. Ramdayal Munda TribalWelfare Research Institute, Govtof Jharkhand too shared hisviews on the book and stat-ed,”Whenever a problem hap-pens, all tribals, irrespective ofreligion, get together, they donot care who is sarna and whois missionary” he also said, “

    hierarchy of hindus is quite dif-ferent to that of Uraoñs.”, and“even if an Uraoñ worshipsShiva or hanuman, that does notmean he is Hindu; this thoughtneeds to be inherited by us”

    Moving further, Dr. JosephBara, Professor Emeritus,Department of HistoricalResearch, JNU delved furtherinto the scenario of fragment-ed relationship betweenChristians and Sarna whereeven after conversion they are aScheduled tribe by virtue ofbeing ‘Uraoñs’, and that callingthe UraoñSarnas ‘Hindu’ is self-contradictory. He also high-lighted the topic furthermorewith, “People provide a verytelescopic review, from a dis-tance, but understanding thepeople you are studying is a verymeticulous task which is donein this book.”

    Dr. KK Bhagat, FacultyXISS also shared his views onthe book followed by JasbirSingh Khurana, Vice-Chairmanof Alumni Association of XISS.Aayurshi Sahay, Staff XISS pro-posed the Vote of Thanks.

    � � /���)�

    Apex traders’ and industri-alists’ body of the State,Federation of JharkhandChamber of Commerce andIndustries (FJCCI) on Saturdayannounced its new executivecommittee during its 56thAnnual General Meeting(AGM).

    Considering COVID 19situation in this year, the elec-tion officials appointed byFJCCI to supervise the execu-tive committee poll, VishnuBudhia and Pawan Sharmajointly announced theExecutive Committee consti-tuted for the session 2020-21 ofthe Chamber and the winningcandidates for the post ofRegional Vice President of thefive divisions.

    Both the officialsannounced unanimouslyselected executive members asPraveen Kumar Jain, DheerajTaneja, Aditya Malhotra, AmitSharma, Deendayal Barnwal,Kishore Mantri, Paresh Gattani,RD Singh, Rahul Maru, RamBangad, Shailesh Agrawal,Sanjay Akhauri, Soni Mehta,Varun Jalan, Amit Kishore,Manish Kumar Saraf, MukeshAgrawal, Navjot Alang, RahulSabu, Rohit Aggarwal, VikasVijayvargiya.

    Apart from this they alsoannounced unanimously elect-ed regional vice-presidents asAakarsha Anand from PalamuCircle, Alok Mallik fromSanthal Pargana Circle, AmitMaheshwari from SouthChotanagpur Circle, NirmalJhunjhunwala from KolanchalCircle and Vaibhav Jain fromNorth Chotanagpur Circle.From Kolhan Circle it has notreceived any nominations.

    The annual general meet-ing was held in the presence ofmore than 100 members andmore than 450 businessmen-entrepreneurs and profession-als from virtually all the dis-tricts of the state in theChamber building. On thisoccasion, General SecretaryDheeraj Taneja presented theannual activities of this sessionof the Chamber to the House

    which wasapproved by them e m b e r s .T r e a s u r e rManish Sarafpresented thebalance sheet andincome-expendi-ture report of theChamber's ses-sion 2019-20which waspassed by themembers present

    in the assembly. The Auditor of the

    Chamber was appointed bythe General Assembly. Duringthis time, Messrs JN Aggarwal& Company was againappointed as Auditor of theChamber for one year.

    Speaking on the occasionFJCCI president, Kunal Ajmanisaid that the whole year wasaffected by COVID 19, due towhich the work of policy mak-ing could not take place. Dueto the solidarity of the mem-bers is that during the pan-demic, the Chamber has coor-dinated with the Governmentand District Administrationto ensure the supply of essen-tial commodities in every dis-trict of the State so that quali-ty goods are available at a rea-sonable price uninterrupted, headded.

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    Jamshedpur: Panic grippeddensely-populated DimnaBustee after three youths weregrievously injured in an explo-sion. The blast took place at ahouse at Dimna Bustee underUlidih police station area inMango on Saturday morning.Soon after the mishap thepolice was forced to focus onwhether the explosion wastriggered due to manufacturingof country-made bombs ordue to an LPG cylinderblast.The three injured wereidentified as Nakul Patel,Bhubaneswar Kumar andVishwanath Prasad wererushed to Tata Main Hospital,where they have been admittedfor treatment.

    According to information,the right hand of Bhubaneswarwas severed due to the explo-sion, Vishwanath and Nakulhave sustained grievous injuriesin the face and in their eyes.

    Significantly, while thepolice are yet to determinewhether the explosion wascaused either during manufac-turing of country-made bombsor gas cylinder, the familymembers of BhubaneswarKumar claimed that the explo-sion took place while the triowere carrying out repair of anelectronic gadget by solderingit.

    “It is too early to commentwhat led to the blast. We sus-pect that the injured were

    involved in manufacturing ofsome explosive. However, athorough investigation is so,”said a police official.

    The incident took place atthe residence-cum-shop ofBhubaneswar Kumar at UpparTola in Dimna Bustee at about11.30 am. The official went onto inform that the explosiontook place inside the closedshop, causing the locality torock. The sound was so hugethat the residents were grippedwith fear. Soon the neighbourswho were apprehensive ofunknown danger gathered out-side the house of BhubaneswarKumar as the shutter of theshop at the front side of thehouse was closed. PNS

    DALTONGANJ: It was an arsonnight at Tetariyakhar colliery inLatehar district where naxalsand criminals burnt down fourtrucks and bike injuring four subdrivers of the trucks out fortransporting coal from here tooutside, said SP Latehar PrashantAnand.

    Anand said extremistPradip Ganjhu has left behind ahandwritten note where oneSujit Boss is mentioned. Ganjhuis a JJMP cum TSPC extremistwho works for gangster SujitSinha.

    Saturday saw two encoun-ters, one at Salaiya with JJMPwhere there is no loss of life andrecovery as well. This encounterwas fought by the JJ and district

    police, Anand said.Another encounter took

    place at Latdaag under Chandwapolice station between the con-tingent of the 133 battalion of theCRPF and district police Lateharwith TSPC where the com-bined security forces recoveredone AK 56, one SLR and lots ofcartridges around 125 and otherthings of the TSPC said Anand.

    The colliery incident is justa terror attack by the nexus ofthe extremists and the criminalsonly to subjugate colliery man-agement to the demands of thenaxals and the criminals. TheSalaiya and Latdaag incidents arestraight encounters in daylightwhere the naxals must be rue-ing their luck, said Anand. PNS

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    Now, homeless and poor people will geta ‘Pucca House’ at Rs 3.11 lakh inBokaro. Chas Municipal Corporation(CMC) is mulling to provide houses topeople of economically weaker sectionsof society at Rs 3.11 lakhs; meanwhile theactual cost of the house is 5.61 lakhs,informed an official.

    Economically weaker homeless peo-ple, whose annual income should notexceed more than 3 lakhs rupees and thebeneficiary residing in the urban area(slum) are eligible for this scheme, saidthe official.

    The registration process for bookingis ‘on’ by paying Rs 5000 each house. Thebeneficiaries will have to pay Rs 3.11 lakhsthrough easy installments, the rest Rs 2.50lakhs would be adjusted from the gov-ernment subsidy, informed Anil KumarMishra Nodal Officer of Housing Plan.

    We are on move to arrange a loan(home) for the desired beneficiaries, theloan amount can be repaid also in easyinstallments. The beneficiaries will gettheir homes within 18 months after theirregistration, he said.

    CMC is also conducting a ‘home fair’for booking of the houses in differentareas and municipal zones.

    Municipal Corporation aims to set-tle down around 760 urban homelesspeople under Prime Minister AawasYojna (Urban). With an investment of Rs56 crore apartments would be con-structed at Kalapathar and Kamaldih.

    “Layout of apartments has beenready; houses would come-up on 4 acresof land at Kalapathar and one acre of landat Kamaldih where 540 and 220 homelesswould be settled.”

    Each house (320 sq ft) will have a bed-room, dining room, kitchen and bath-room. Equipped with water and electric-ity supply the housing colonies will haveamusement parks, roads, playgroundsalong with boundary walls, informed anofficial.

    Ranchi: The Foundationday of IndianConfederation of Labour,which was formed in1982at Kolkata was celebratedhere on December 18. Inthe 12th General Congress of ICL the members officiallystarted the program here at Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha byremembering their beloved mentor Ashok Bhattacharjee,who was the Founder of ICL. In continuation to the CWCmeeting at Hot lips Auditorium at Kanke Road Ranchi,the newly elected National President Ajay Kumar Royhoisted the official flag. National anthem was sung andICL slogans were also raised.

    A gathering of more than 200 people along with lead-ers from different states from India (Jharkhand, Odisha,Delhi, Maharastra , Tamilnadu) and some of the emi-nent leaders from Rajastan and other international loca-tions joined this grand meeting from international loca-tions by video conferencing system. Ranchi MLA andformer Minister C P Singh was the Chief Guest on theoccasion.

    Ajay kumar Roy in his speech conveyed his message,“In the honour of our beloved late Ashok Bhatacharjee,I on behalf of organization convey my message that thescheduled destination (Jharkhand Assembly ClubAuditorium) for this open session on 18th December2020 has been named as Ashok Bhattacharjee MemorialHall.”

    He profoundly declared, “When we come to this fed-eration and Trade union activity then we are always verymuch grateful to WOW- Asia and eminent person none-other than Sister Necie M. Lucero ( President, WOW-Asia). We all must unanimously say that because ofWOW-Asia and Sister Necei , we raised this meeting toa successful note. Sister Necei had given her consent tobe the part of this meeting through VC, but due to someurgent work she didn’t turn up. However, she has felt hergratitude and given us best wishes.”

    Late Ashok Bhattacharjee was the Founder of thisfederation. Profound knowledge in all India trade unionconcept, vast experience and pleasing personalityenabled him to attract top class leaders across Indianstates. Irrespective of genders, caste and creed , he alwaysgave his opinion that a leader must be a qualitativeresource who can independently attach themselves withcommon people and for a larger interest must think aboutthe country first, then the organization and lastly abouttheir personal life. Vision, mission and goal of one trueleader should be based on the common people's objec-tives and aspirations.

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    The Centre on Saturdayeased the standard operat-ing procedures (SOPs) for vis-itors at the national monu-ments protected by theArchaeological Survey of India(ASI) by removing the cap onnumber of visitors at the siteswhile giving powers to con-cerned superintending archae-ologists to decide the per dayfootfall in concurrence withrespective district magistrate.

    The new SOPs mentionedthat the sale of physical ticketsto these centrally protectedmonuments and sites may beresumed where there is prob-lem in QR code and network.

    As many as 3,691 central-

    ly-protected monuments andarchaeological sites maintainedby the ASI were shut fromMarch 17 in view of the coro-navirus crisis. There were re-opened on July 6.

    The order also gaveapproval to the sound andlight programmes that hasbeen banned since March 17this year—days before PrimeMinister Narendra Modiannounced countrywide lock-down from March 24 to avoidthe spread of Covid-19 that hasso far infected over 1 crorepeople in the country.

    All ASI protected monu-ments across the countryreopened for the public fromJuly 6 with full security andprecaution. The rules of the

    states and the districts, inwhich the monuments arelocated, are being followedsince they opened, said a seniorofficial from the ASI.

    The entry since the open-ing was allowed only throughe-tickets. Even the mode ofpayment in the parking lots,cafeterias were accepted onlydigitally. A cap on the numberof visitors and mandatorywearing of masks was alsoapplied as per Covid guide-lines.

    According to the SOPissued by the Centre, onlythose monuments and muse-ums which are in the non-con-tainment zone have beenallowed to open up, the officialadded.

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    Ahead of Assembly polls infive States —West Bengal,Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assamand Puducherry due next year,the Election Commission (EC)has issued an advisory sayingthat no officer connecteddirectly with election dutiesshould be allowed to continuein the respective district ifhe/she is posted in her/hishome district.

    The Commission wrote tothe chief secretaries and chiefelectoral officers of these fivestates regarding the transfer andposting officers associated withconducting the elections.

    According to the EC, thedecision follows the consistentpolicy of the Commission thatofficers directly connected withconduct of elections in poll-bound State/Union Territoryare not posted in their homedistricts or places where theyhave served for considerablylong periods.

    The terms of theAssemblies in Tamil Nadu,Kerala, West Bengal,Puducherry and Assam will endon May 24, 2021, June 1, 2021,May 30, 2021, June 8, 2021 andMay 31, 2021 respectively.

    Meanwhile the EC hasbegun poll preparation forAssembly elections in April-May next year. While senior

    officials of the poll body arealready in West Bengal, a teamwould visit Tamil Nadu nextweek.

    Deputy election commis-sioner Sudip Jain is already inKolkata and EC secretary gen-eral Umesh Sinha and deputyelection commissioner AshishKundra will leave for Chennainext week.

    The poll-bound States arelikely to see a heated battle, withBJP campaigning in full swingin Bengal. In Tamil Nadu, thelatest entrant into the politicalfray is actor Rajinikanth andKamal Hasan for the upcomingpolls.

    “Officials who completedthree years in the respective dis-trict during the last four yearsor would be completing threeyears on or before May 31, 2021would also be not allowed tocontinue in the same district,”the EC said in its advisory.

    The Commission madeclear that officers/officialsagainst whom it had recom-mended disciplinary action inthe past, especially those whohad been charged for any lapsein any election or election relat-

    ed work should not be assignedany election related duty.Similarly, no officer/officialagainst whom criminal case waspending in any court of lawshould be associated with ordeployed on election relatedduty.

    Further, any officer, who isdue to retire within the comingsix months, should not be asso-ciated with any election relatedduty. The officers posted on rec-ommendation of theCommission during the LokSabha elections 2019 may beexempted from this transferpolicy.

    In case of any need for anytransfer of any official due toextra ordinary reasons, priorapproval of the commissionwas mandatory, the EC ordersaid.

    The instructions wouldalso be applicable to police offi-cers in different ranks whowould be responsible for secu-rity arrangements or deploy-ment of police forces in the dis-tricts at election time. Policeofficials posted in functionaldepartments like computerisa-tion, special branch, trainingand related wings would not becovered under the instructionsbut steps should be taken toensure that officers in the rankof police sub-inspectors andabove were not posted in theirhome district.

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    The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) has filedchargesheet against sevenaccused, including six Pakistaninationals, in the case of seizureof 237 kg of narcotics in Gujarat.

    On December 18, the NIAchargesheeted the six Pakistanisand one Indian arrested in thecase before NIA Special Court,Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

    The NIA case bearing num-ber RC-24/2020/NIA/DLI(seizure of 237 kg narcoticsdrugs) registered under IndianPenal Code Sections relating tocriminal conspiracy and disap-pearance of evidence besidesprovisions of UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Act asalso certain Sections of NarcoticDrugs and PsychotropicSubstances Act.

    Those charged in the caseinclude Safdar Ali, Alahi DaadAngiyara, Azim Khan alias

    Azeem Khan,Abdul Aziz, AbdulGafur, Sakidad Angariya andMohamad Malah, all residentsof Karachi, Pakistan andRamjhan, a resident of Beyt-Dwarka, Gujarat.

    The case relates to seizure of237 kg of narcotics fromPakistani vessel Al-Madina,near Jakhau Port, Kutch,Gujarat.

    “Investigation in the casehas revealed that the arrestedaccused persons had conspiredand attempted to bring a totalof 330 kg of narcotics drugs intoGujarat, who were eventuallyintercepted by Indian CoastGuards on May 21, 2019 andresulted in the recovery of near-ly 237 kg of narcotics, severalincriminating articles andPakistani currency notes,” theNIA said in a statement.

    Further investigationagainst nine abscondingPakistani accused persons iscontinuing, it added.

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    Congress president SoniaGandhi on Saturdayappointed three All IndiaCongress Committee (AICC)secretaries each for Assamand Kerala where Assemblypolls are slated for early nextyear.

    The newly appointed sec-retaries will assist the generalsecretaries in-charge of thetwo States — Jitendra Singh forAssam and Tariq Anwar forKerala.

    Assembly polls in the twoStates, where the Congress isthe main opposition party,are slated for April-May.

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    Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattarcalled on Union AgricultureMinister Narendra SinghTomar on Saturday and dis-cussed about the farmers’protest against new farm lawsthat entered the 24th day. Afterthe meeting, Khattar said thattalks between farmers and theGovernment could be held inthe next 2-3 days.

    “I believe that the talkcould be held in the next 2-3days. A solution to this issue(farmers’ protest) should befound through discussion. Ihave said that this issue shouldbe resolved soon,” Khattar hesaid.

    The meeting comes a dayafter BJP leader and formerUnion minister ChaudharyBirender Singh joined aprotest in support of the farm-ers at Haryana’s Rohtak.

    The dharna was organisedby the members of the SirChhotu Ram Manch. Singh isthe grandson of Sir ChhotuRam, a prominent Jat leader of

    the pre-independence era whochampioned the interests offarmers.

    This is the second timethe Haryana Chief Ministermet Tomar at his residencesince the protests broke out.

    Khattar had earlier met

    the Union Minister earlier onDecember 8.

    The two leaders arebelieved to have discussedabout the ongoing protest atDelhi’s borders and the way forward to resolve the issue atthe earliest, sources said.

    Farmers from different parts of the country,including Har yana andPunjab, have been camping atvarious border points of Delhifor three weeks to demand arepeal of three recent farmlaws.

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    Researchers have said thatCovid-19 causes muchmore severe disease than sea-sonal influenza, a conclusionthey reached after comparingdata from over 130,000 hos-pitalised patients.

    The study was based onFrench national data from89,530 patients hospitalisedwith Covid-19 between 1March and 30 April 2020 , and45,819 patients hospitalisedwith seasonal inf luenzabetween 1 December 2018 - 28February 2019.

    Published in The LancetRespiratory Medicine, thestudy also found that deathrate among hospitalisedCovid-19 patients was notonly three times higher thanseasonal influenza, moreCovid-19 infected patientsrequired intensive care. Also,the average stay in ICU withCovid-19 was nearly twice aslong.

    The researchers analysedthat fewer children aged under18 years were hospitalisedwith Covid-19 compared withseasonal influenza, but a larg-er proportion of those agedunder 5 years required inten-sive care for Covid-19 vsinfluenza.

    Also, nearly twice as manypeople were admitted to hos-pital for Covid-19 at the heightof the pandemic than were forinfluenza at the peak of the2018/2019 flu season, thestudy found.

    The authors noted thatthe difference in hospitalisa-tion rate may be partly due toexisting immunity to influen-za in the population, either asa result of previous infectionor vaccination. In contrast,Covid-19 is a new virus wherevery few people would beexpected to have any previousimmunity.

    Nevertheless, they saidtheir findings reinforce theimportance of measures toprevent the spread of both dis-eases and are particularly rel-evant as several countries pre-pare for the Covid-19 pan-demic to overlap with out-breaks of seasonal influenza.

    Professor CatherineQuantin, from the Universityhospital of Dijon and fromL’Institut National de la Santéet de la Recherche Médicale(Inserm), France, who jointly

    led the study, said: “Our studyis the largest to date to com-pare the two diseases andconfirms that COVID-19 is farmore serious than the flu.The finding that the COVID-19 death rate was three timeshigher than for seasonalinfluenza is particularly strik-ing when reminded that the2018/2019 flu season had beenthe worst in the past five yearsin France in terms of numberof deaths.”

    Overall, disease was moresevere for patients with Covid-19 compared with seasonal

    influenza. More than one infour patients with Covid-19experienced acute respiratoryfailure, where the lungs areunable to get oxygen into thebody, compared with less thanone in five patients withinfluenza.

    In line with previousreports, the most commonunderlying medical conditionsamong patients admitted withCOVID-19 were high bloodpressure, being overweight orobese and diabetes.

    Dr Pascale Tubert-Bitter,research director at L’Institut

    National de la Santé et de laRecherche Médicale (Inserm)and from the University Paris-Saclay, France, who jointlyled the study, said: “Takentogether, our findings clearlyindicate that Covid-19 is muchmore serious than seasonalinfluenza. At a time when notreatment has been shown tobe effective at preventingsevere disease in Covid-19patients, this study highlightsthe importance of all measuresof physical prevention andunderlines the importance ofeffective vaccines.”

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    COVAX, the global vaccinepartnership, has lined upalmost two billion doses ofexisting and candidate Covid-19 vaccines for use world-wide, including 200 milliondoses of theAstraZeneca/Oxford vaccinethrough a pact between theVaccine Alliance Gavi, theSerum Institute of India (SII)and the Bill and Melinda GatesFoundation.

    COVAX is the global ini-tiative to ensure rapid andequitable access to Covid-19vaccines for all countries.

    It announced that it hadarrangements in place to accessnearly two billion doses ofCovid-19 vaccine candidateson behalf of 190 participatingeconomies.

    This includes deliveringat least 1.3 billion donor-fund-ed doses of approved vaccinesin 2021 to the 92 low-and mid-dle-income economies.

    “This is fantastic news anda milestone in global health,”World Health Organisation(WHO) Director-GeneralTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesustold reporters at WHOHeadquarters.

    “This is a time for takingcomfort that the end of thepandemic is in sight, but tak-ing care that we do not letdown our guard. We are allresponsible for taking the mea-sures to keep ourselves andeach other safe, including dur-ing this holiday season.

    “With today’s news the

    light at the end of the tunnelhas grown a little bit brighter,but we are not there yet. Andwe will only get there togeth-er,” he said.

    The goal of COVAX is todeliver two billion doses of safe,effective vaccines that havepassed regulatory approvaland/or WHO prequalificationby the end of 2021. These vac-cines will be offered equally toall participating countries, pro-portional to their populations,initially prioritising healthcareworkers and then expanding tocover vulnerable groups, suchas the elderly and those withpre-existing conditions.

    Further doses will then bemade available based on coun-try need, vulnerability andCovid-19 threat. The COVAXFacility will also maintain abuffer of doses for emergencyand humanitarian use, theWHO said in a statement.

    Adar Poonawalla, CEOof the Serum Institute of India(SII), said in the statementthat his company has signedfor a 100 million doses ofNovavax and another 100million doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines with

    COVAX, with an option ofextending it by 900 milliondoses.

    “The advance purchasecommitments under COVAXinitiative is encouraging as itwill further bolster our fightand ensure equitable access atthe most affordable price fromSerum Institute of India,” hesaid.

    For the vast majority ofthese deals, COVAX has guar-anteed access to a portion ofthe first wave of production,followed by volume scales asfurther supply becomes avail-able. The deals will enable allparticipating economies tohave access to doses in thefirst half of 2021, with firstdeliveries anticipated to beginin the first quarter of 2021.

    Before Friday’s announce-ment, COVAX had alreadylined up more than 1 billiondoses of vaccines under devel-opment for 2021.

    Of the 92 economies eli-gible to be supported by theCOVAX AMC, 86 have nowsubmitted detailed vaccinerequests, offering the clearestpicture yet on actual globaldemand for ovid-19 vaccines.

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    According to the IndiaM e t e o r o l o g i c a lDepartment (IMD), severe coldwave conditions are likely topersist at various places overPunjab, Haryana, Chandigarhand Delhi.

    IMD said that Kashmirwill get the next spell of snowwith the onset of Chillai Kalan.Kashmir’s winter pans out inthree stages, starting with the40-day intense period fromDecember 21(Chillai Kalan)followed by 20 days of Chillaikhurd, which translates tosmall cold and 10 days ofChille bache (literally, babycold). Chillai-Kalan is the 40-day period of harsh winter. Thewinter solstice happens onMonday, December 21, 2020,first day of “Chillai Kalan”.This is the astronomical firstday of winter in the NorthernHemisphere and the shortestday of the year.

    v On this day, the sunreaches its highest or lowestpoint in the sky at midday,marked by the longest andshortest days. Chillai Kalanknown as Chilla’ in Delhi,‘Chilla Jada’ in Madhya Pradeshand Uttar Pradesh.

    Interestingly according toPersian tradition, night of 21stDecember is celebrated asShab-e Yalda-”Night of Birth”,or Shab-e Chelleh. – “Night ofForty”. Iranian Azerbaijaniscall it Chilla Gejasi, whichmarks the beginning of the first40 days of winter. The Iranian

    concept also survives inKashmir, where Chillai Kalandesignates the 40-day harshestwinter period.

    The bone-chilling coldconditions continue in theKashmir valley where nighttemperatures are continuouslydipping. Srinagar city wit-nessed the coldest night of theseason with a freezing nighttemperature of minus 7 degreeCelsius while mercury at worldfamous Dal Lake plummeted tominus 6 degree Celsius onSaturday. According to theIndia MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD), Ladakhrecorded a worse fall in tem-perature, where Drass record-ed the coldest night in thecountry at minus 29 degreesCelsius. Similarly, other parts ofLeh recorded minus 18.3degrees Celsius. The tempera-ture in Kargil was minus 21.1degrees Celsius.

    The IMD update said thatongoing cold to very cold spellover North-West and Central

    India is now fraught with anassociated risk of ground frostover Jammu & Kashmir,Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh,Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana,Chandigarh, Delhi, West UttarPradesh, Rajasthan andMadhya Pradesh during thenext two days.

    “The cold spell will also beaccompanied by strong surfacewinds speed reaching 10-20km/hr adding to the frigidconditions. The wind chill fac-tor would, in turn, lead tosevere cold wave conditionsduring this period, said IMD.

    Keylong, Kalpa, Manali,Solan, Chamba and Mandi inHimachal Pradesh shivered atsub-zero temperatures in thelast 24 hours in HimachalPradesh. The tribal districtLahaul-Spiti’s administrativecentre Keylong continued to bethe coldest place in the state atminus 12.1 degrees Celsius.Kalpa in Kinnaur districtrecorded a low of minus 3degrees Celsius.

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    The National GreenTribunal has extended thetime limit for the constitutionof biodiversity managementcommittees (BMCs) andpreparation of people’s biodi-versity registers (PBRs) onaccount of the COVID-19 pan-demic.

    A bench headed by NGTChairperson Justice AdarshKumar Goel was assured by themember secretary of theNational BiodiversityAuthority that monitoring willbe faithfully conducted with allthe state biodiversity boardsconcerned and necessary stepsfor compliance of law will betaken.

    “We also find that in viewof COVID situation, it will benecessary to take a liberal viewabout the delay caused.Accordingly, the time forremaining compliances isextended up to June 30, 2021,and compensation amountswill stand waived if compli-ances are ensured by that date,”the bench said.

    The green panel noted thatit has already monitored thematter for the last more thanfour years and there is sub-stantial progress in compliancewith the requirements of set-ting up BMCs and maintainingPBRs.

    The order was passed aftersome states sought extension oftime on account of the pan-demic and also waiver of therequirement to pay compen-sation for the delay.

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    As India’s COVID-19 case-load surpassed the onecrore-mark, Congress leaderRahul Gandhi on Saturdayalleged that the unplannedlockdown did not manage to“win the battle in 21 days as thePM claimed”, but it “destroyed”millions of lives in the country.

    India’s COVID-19 case-

    load surpassed the somberone-crore mark on Saturday,adding 10 lakh cases in nearlya month, while the total num-ber of recoveries surged to95.50 lakh, according to theUnion Health Ministry’s data.

    Taking a dig at the primeminister’s remarks in Marchthat the Mahabharata war waswon in 18 days and the waragainst coronavirus will take 21

    days, Gandhi tweeted, “1 croreCovid infections with almost1.5 lakh deaths! The unplannedlockdown did not manage to‘win the battle in 21 days’ as thePM claimed, but it surelydestroyed millions of lives inthe country.”

    The country’s COVID-19case tally had surpassed the 20lakh-mark on August 7, 30 lakhon August 23 and 40 lakh on

    September 5.It went past 50 lakh on

    September 16, 60 lakh onSeptember 28, 70 lakh onOctober 11, 80 lakh on October29, and surpassed 90 lakh onNovember 20.

    The health ministry’s dataupdated at 8 am on Saturdayshowed that the total numberof cases mounted to1,00,04,599.

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    Goa Power & RenewableEnergy Minister NileshCabral on Saturday inaugurat-ed the first convergence project.

    This project will integratedecentralised renewable ener-gy with efficient (water) pumpsand LED lamps for ruralhomes.

    “Nilesh Cabral, Ministerfor Power and New &Renewable Energy,Government of Goa, inaugu-rated the first ‘convergenceproject’, which integrates thedelivery of clean renewabledecentralised energy with ener-gy efficient pump sets andLED lamps for rural homes,” astatement by ConvergenceEnergy Services Ltd (CESL)said.

    The 100MW project willbe implemented by the CESL,a wholly owned subsidiary ofEnergy Efficiency ServicesLimited (EESL).

    The project will be imple-

    mented on unused or degrad-ed land across Goa, locatedclose to sub-stations and thepoint of use.

    The CESL will also deliv-er the pumps and lights as partof the power purchase agree-ment.

    The total investment of Rs450 crores will be borne by theCESL and will result in a sav-ings of Rs 2,500 crores for thestate of Goa over the life of theproject.

    Approximately 400,000households will benefit fromthis project, and 140,000 tonsof greenhouse gas emissions(GHG) will be avoided. Savingsto the distribution companywill be significant from thesolarisation of these feeders.

    The CESL is a new ener-gy company focused on deliv-ering clean, affordable and reli-able energy. Convergencefocuses on energy solutionsthat lie at the confluence ofrenewable energy, electricmobility and climate change.

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    Vaccine manufacturers needto have protection againstall lawsuits for their vaccinesespecially during a pandemic,Serum Institute of India (SII)Chief Executive Officer AdarPoonawalla has said.

    He also said that the vac-cine makers are going to pro-pose this to the government,while speaking at a virtualpanel on the challenges ofdeveloping a COVID-19 vac-cine at the Carnegie India’sGlobal Technology Summiton Friday.

    “We need to have thegovernment indemnify manu-facturers, especially vaccinemanufacturers, against all law-suits. In fact, COVAX andother countries have alreadystarted talking about that,”Poonawalla said.

    It is because when frivo-lous claims come up, and

    something is blown out of pro-portion in the media, skepti-cism sets in that definitelysomething can happen due tothe vaccine and to dispel that,the government needs to stepin to spread the right informa-tion, he added.

    “..The government canact, the US, for example, has infact invoked a law, to say thatduring a pandemic, and this isespecially important only dur-ing a pandemic, to indemnifyvaccine manufacturers againstlawsuits for severe adverseeffects or any other frivolousclaims which may come about,because that adds to the fearand also will bankrupt vaccinemanufacturers or distract themif they have to just all day fightlawsuits and explain to themedia what is happening,”Poonawalla said.

    These are a few things thatthe government can do andthat is what the vaccine man-

    ufacturers are going to propose, he added.

    Last month, Serum hadrejected charges that a 40-year-old man who took part inthe ‘Covishield’ vaccine trial inChennai had levelled againstthe company, alleging seriousside effects, including a virtu-al neurological breakdown andimpairment of cognitive func-tions.

    He had also sought Rs 5crore compensation in a legalnotice to Serum and others,besides seeking a halt on thetrial.Refuting the charges,Serum had said, “It is evidentthat the intention behindspreading of such maliciousinformation is an oblique pecu-niary motive.

    The Serum Institute ofIndia, will seek damages inexcess of Rs 100 crore for thesame and will defend suchmalicious claims”.

    ����� �0���01)�

    The Government has pro-posed to free both powerproducers and consumers fromcontinuing with contractedobligation once the tenure of apower purchase agreementexpires.

    The move is expected toprovide flexibility to both pro-curers (mainly Discoms) andgenerators (power projects) tolook for meaning contractspost expiry of a PPA, onewhere discoms can get theoption to buy cheaper poweravailable in the market whilegenerators could look at newconsumers either under longterm contract or through pricediscovery on exchanges.

    The changes have beenbrought out by the power min-istry through draft proposalson which is it seeking stake-holders comments before reg-ulations could be finalised.The stakeholders have beenasked to submit their com-

    ments suggestions byDecember 24, 2020.

    In its proposal, the min-istry has said that states withlong-term PPAs with the inter-state central generating sta-tions, whose tariff is deter-mined by the Commission,and which are due to expire inthe future, can choose to giveup the contracted power afterthe completion of the PPAtenure of 25 years.

    Such a mechanism couldbe availed by the states procur-ing relatively costlier power

    from the central generatingstations. Also, states looking toconvert their long term PPAinto shorter term agreementsor look to buy power fromexchanges to meet exigenciescould also relinquish PPA afterexpiry of its tenure.

    Power ministry officialssaid that the proposed guide-lines would also help in mak-ing power generation moreefficient as generators knowingthat their contracts could berescinded would strive to maketheir projects more competi-tive. Also, with PPAs beingfreed up, such surplus powerwould be available for deficitstates at competitive price.

    Under the proposed regu-lations, the first right of refusalwould test with discoms mean-ing contracted power will befreed only with the consent ofdiscoms. Also, discoms lookingto end PPAs would serve atleast three month notice to gen-erators to help them prepare forthe situation.

    ����� �0���01)�

    Despite subdued improve-ment in operations, Indianaviation stocks have risen by34-107 per cent in the last threemonths, Motilal OswalFinancial Services said in areport.

    Accordingly, it pointed outthat on a YoY basis, IndiGo isup by 29 per cent (outper-forming Nifty by 16 per cent),while SpiceJet is up mere by 2per cent YoY.

    “IndiGo stock has risen onthe back of Covid-19 vaccineoptimism and gains in marketshare; SpiceJet was further sup-ported by the re-licensing of theBoeing 737 MAX,” the reportsaid.

    “The outlook for the sectorremains ‘Neutral’.”

    According to the report,optimism over the vaccinecould certainly result inincreased flying confidence,leading to the quicker normal-isation of operations versusearlier estimates.

    “However, the same reasonhas also led to a spike in crudeoil prices, which were previ-ously subdued, somewhat eas-ing the pain of airline compa-nies in the currents unprece-dented time


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