The cost of COVID -19 tests in private labs may go down further innear future from the current level of Rs 850, Telangana Health

Minister Etela Rajender said on Friday. According to a press release, theminister stated this while addressing a panel discussion organised byTRSMA (Telangana Recognised School ManagementAssociation) as part of the ongoing three-day hybridexhibition PHIC (Preventive Healthcare andInfection Control Expo)-2020 here. "We neverwanted to permit private labs to test COVID asthey charge exorbitantly, but, because ofvarious reasons, we were compelled to permitthem.The prices were beyond the reach ofmany common people.

COVID TEST RATES IN PVT LABSMAY COME DOWN: TS MINISTER

WHO ADVISES AGAINST REMDESIVIRFOR ALL HOSPITALISED COVID-HIT

Bhutan today denied reports that China has constructed a village morethan 2 kilometres inside Bhutanese territory near the contested Doklam

plateau, despite clear satellite imagery and detailed map locations to thecontrary. Maps bearing the official seal of the Bhutangovernment, accessed by NDTV, also indicate that thisnew Chinese settlement lies well within Bhutan'spresent claim lines. Major General Vetsop Namgyel,Bhutan's Ambassador to India, said, "There is noChinese village inside Bhutan." On whether Bhutanand China had reached any understanding onrealigning the border in the contested area, theAmbassador said he "does not comment onborder matters."

Interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi arrivedin Goa on Friday afternoon, after doctors advised her to move out of Delhi

for some time owing to her chest infection to avoid severe pollution in thenational capital, according to party sources. After theirarrival at the Dabolim International Airport, SoniaGandhi and her son left for a south Goa resort,where she is expected to stay for a few days. SoniaGandhi is on medication after her discharge fromthe Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi on August 2,and her doctors are concerned about her consistentchest infection. The Air Quality Index in Delhi araround 10 am on Friday was 305, which is in'severe' category.

Gilead’s remdesivir is not recommended for patients hospitalised withCovid, regardless of how ill they are, as there is no evidence the

drug improves survival or reduces the need for ventilation, a WorldHealth Organization panel said on Friday. “The ... panel found a lack ofevidence that remdesivir improved outcomes that matter to patientssuch as reduced mortality, need formechanical ventilation, time to clinicalimprovement, and others,” the guidelinesaid. The advice is another setback forthe drug, which grabbed worldwideattention as a potentially effectivetreatment for Covid in the summer afterearly trials showed some promise.

BHUTAN DENIES CHINESE INCURSION.‘BLATANT UNTRUTH,’ SAY OBSERVERS

TO AVOID DELHI POLLUTION, SONIAARRIVES IN GOA WITH SON RAHUL

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TheAdministrator’sDilemma

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Retail inflation upmarginally for ruralworkers

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I-T raids on cattle feed producerlead to Rs 121 cr in black moneyPNS n NEW DELHI

The Income-Tax departmenthas seized gold and diamondjewellery worth Rs 52 lakhafter it raided multiple loca-tions of a "leading" UttarPradesh-based cattle feed pro-ducer of north India, theCBDT said on Friday.

It said the search and surveyoperation was launched onNovember 18 and 16 locationsin Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Noida,Delhi and Ludhiana were cov-ered and the total unaccount-ed income of the group is esti-mated at Rs 121 crore.

“Till now gold and dia-mond jewellery to the tune ofRs 52 lakh has been seized. Thesources of acquisition of theremaining jewellery are beingverified."

"The source of total cashfound amounting to Rs 1.30crore is being further verified,"the CBDT, the administrative

authority for the tax depart-ment, said in a statement.

It added that seven lockershave been found, which are yetto be operated.

"The main allegationsagainst the group are that it hastaken accommodation entries(hawala) of more than Rs 100crore in the form of non-gen-uine unsecured loans fromcertain Delhi-based shell ordummy companies, unusual-ly high sundry creditors, sup-pression of net profit and alsothat a related group chit fund

company had received unse-cured loans of several crorefrom unknown sources."

"During the searches, it hasbeen established that the shellcompanies from which loanshad been taken exist only onpaper and have no real busi-ness and creditworthiness," itsaid.

The CBDT said the directorsof these shell companies aredummy, non-filers and indi-viduals of no means.

"One of the directors ofthese companies has beenfound to be a taxi driver, hav-ing 11 bank accounts, showinghuge routing of funds," it said.

"Therefore, it has beenestablished that the accommo-dation entries of more than Rs121 crore in the form of unse-cured loans from these shellcompanies are bogus and actu-ally represent the unaccount-ed income of the group," theCBDT said.

Majority of child marriages in AP among OBCsSNV SUDHIRn VIJAYAWADA

A study has found that themajority of child marriages inAndhra Pradesh take placeamong Other BackwardClasses (OBCs), followed byScheduled Castes (SCSs),Other Castes (OCs) alsoknown as Forward Castes andScheduled Tribes (STs).

Andhra Pradesh is amongthe 12 states in India that havea higher prevalence of childmarriage than the nationalaverage. As many as three dis-tricts from the state also find aplace in top 100 districts in the

country having high prevalenceof child marriages.

As per a report prepared byan international research pro-

ject ‘Young Lives India’ in col-laboration with the NationalCommission for Protection ofChild Rights (NCPCR),

Andhra Pradesh also figures inthe list of 20 states in whichmore than 70 percent of childmarriages took place in rural

areas. The NCPCR and Young

Lives team analysed the data ofNational Family Health Survey(NFHS)– 4 (2015-16) related toprevalence of child marriageand teenage pregnancyamongst girls in the age group15-19 years and 20-24 years inIndia.

According to the Prohibitionof Child Marriage Act 2006,any girl married below sheattains 18 years of age and anyboy married before he is 21years old is considered a “childmarriage”, which is a cognizableoffence.

Tungabhadra Pushkaralu commencesPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy on Friday inauguratedthe Tungabhadra Pushkaralu atSankal Bagh Ghat in Kurnooland performed special pujaand rituals in traditional attireat the designated muhurat toherald the 12-year event.

The Chief Minister offeredflowers, silk robes and Haratito Tungabhadra river wearinga turban. He also performedpujas, yagnam and took part inother traditional rituals.

The Tungabhadra pushkar-alu will take place for 12 daysstarting Friday and culminateon December 1. The StateGovernment has arranged 23pushkar ghats in Kurnool,Kodumur, Emmiganur,Nandikotkur and Mantralayammandals.

Apart from special teamswith nodal officers, 23 in-

charges have also beenassigned, one for each ghat tomonitor the situation. Allarrangements have been madewith special care to ensure thecomplete safety of pilgrims.

Later, the Chief Ministermet the relatives of AbdulSalam, the auto-rickshaw dri-ver who committed suicidewith his entire family, at APSPGuest House and assured jus-

tice and extended all supportto the bereaved family.

Ministers BugganaRajendranath Reddy,Vellampalli Srinivas,Gummanoor Jayaram,Kurnool district Collector GVeerapandian, SP Fakirappa,MLAs Hafeez Khan, KatasaniRambhupal Reddy, Sudhakarand Toguru Arthur took partin the event.

Jagan picks physio for Tirupati LSSNV SUDHIRn VIJAYAWADA

In a surprise development,YSRCP chief YS JaganmohanReddy has offered a MLC seatto Balli Kalyan Chakravarthyson of late Balli Durga Prasadinstead of the ticket to contestthe Tirupati Lok Sabha by-poll.

It’s more or less a certaintythat Jagan may pick his person-al physiotherapist Dr MaddilaGurumurthy as the TirupatiLok Sabha candidate from theYSRCP. Tirupati Lok Sabhaseat fell vacant due to thedemise of Balli Durga Prasaddue to Covid-related complica-tions.

Durga Prasad, 64, a lawyerby profession, had representedthe Gudur Assembly con-stituency four times.

“None of the family mem-bers of Durga Prasad hadexpressed interest to contestfrom the vacant seat. DrGurumurthy had gained con-fidence and trust of our partysupremo YS JaganmohanReddy during his padayatra,” asenior YSRCP functionary toldThe Pioneer.

“He served Jagan tirelesslyduring the walkathon and hadbeen always with our leader allthrough his padayatra.Gurumurthy is also a youngprofessional and deserves the

seat. However, we are not sureif the party ticket goes to DrGurumurthy or not. We arealso waiting for an officialannouncement from our partysupremo,” he said.

Jagan on Thursday held ameeting with all the available

Cabinet ministers and seniorleaders of the party to discussthe Tirupati Lok Sabha by-poll.All those who participated inThursday’s meeting left thedecision of selecting the candi-date to YSRCP chief.

While TDP had already

announced its candidate, nowall eyes are on Jagan’s choice ofcandidate. While the ElectionCommission is yet to take aview on conducting the by-pollfor Tirupati Lok Sabha seat,TDP chief N ChandrababuNaidu had already announcedthe candidature of formerUnion minister PanabakaLakshmi a week ago.

Panabaka unsuccessfullycontested on the TDP ticket forthe same seat in 2019 polls andlost to Durga Prasad by a mar-gin of over two lakh votes.

Tirupati Lok Sabha is areserved constituency.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao onFriday urged Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to provideequal and fair opportunity tostudents from all States ofIndia, by permitting them towrite competitive exams in theregional language of theirchoice, in addition to Englishand Hindi.

In a letter to Modi, KCRstated that all the competitiveexams for recruitment to postsin the Central government,Public Sector Undertakings,Railways, Defence services,nationalised banks etc, are

held in only two languages —Hindi and English.

“Students who do not studyin English medium or thosewho are not from Hindi-speaking States face severedisadvantage in these compet-itive examinations,” he said.

{

Like Trump,Jagan violatingthe law: YanamalaPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Accusing the ruling party oftrying to undermine theConstitution of India by chal-lenging the autonomy of theState Election Commissioner,TDP MLC YanamalaRamakrishnudu on Fridaysaid that the YSRCPGovernment was in violationof election-related laws.

“The State ElectionCommission is an indepen-dent Constitutional institu-tion whose authority and deci-sion-making cannot be ques-tioned by anybody else,”Yanamala said and added thatthe YSRCP regime's non-cooperation with the pollpanel was nothing less thanviolation of the Constitutionitself.

Stating that nepotism andfavouritism were ruling theroost in AP, the veteran leadersaid that Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy's rule waslike that of the defeated DonalTrump in the US. “WhileTrump violated Americanlaws, Jagan has underminedthe laws enshrined in India’sConstitution,” Yanamala said.

The senior TDP leaderdemanded that the results ofthe “forced’ unanimous elec-tions of the past be scrappedand fresh elections be held toensure a vibrant democracy.

Yanamala said that theGovernment's non-coopera-tion was in the nature of vio-lating the Article 243 K and243 Z (A) and the strangearguments of the YSRC rulewere indeed unfortunate andunacceptable.

He clarified that the SECwas required to consult theState Government but thatdoes not mean he should takeconsent before holding thepolls.

Yanamala claimed that theState’s Chief Secretary lackedthe authority to tell the SECwhether elections can be heldor not.

Yanamala asserted that theChief Minister and the ChiefSecretary had no moral rightto interfere with the decisionsof the Election Commission.

“Undermining theConstitution and misuse ofpowers amounted to murderof democracy.

CM meets relativesof Abdul Salam,assures all supportKurnool: Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy on Fridaymet Mubunnisa, and assuredher that the government willtake strict action against thepeople responsible for thesuicide of her son-in-law AbdulSalam's family.He also assured that thegovernment will extend supportto her family.Jagan met her at the APSPbattalion guest house andpromised to offer anoutsourcing job toMubunnisa's daughter Shajida.Likewise, he instructed officialsto transfer her son-in-lawShamvali from Anantapur toNandyal.

Familial ties, pressure from elders major factor

As per another report “FacingConstraints and SeizingOpportunities: Child

Marriages in Andhra Pradesh”prepared by Hyderabad-basedCentre for Economic and SocialStudies (CESS), parents give toppriority to consanguineousmarriages where the age of thebride is no issue at all. This is linked to another factor –

protecting ancestral propertywhich is an age-old customarypractice in all communities inAndhra Pradesh. Pressure from grandparents isanother factor, which is linkedwith traditional patriarchalsupremacy and also a priority toconsanguineous marriages.

Allow regional languagesfor job exams: KCR to PM

PNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Friday held a reviewmeeting with the top securitybrass, including HomeMinister Amit Shah, as itemerged that Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists killed inan encounter on the outskirtsof Jammu, were planning a bigterror operation on theanniversary of the 26/11Mumbai attack.

Government sources saidNSA Ajit Doval, foreign sec-retary and top intelligenceofficials attended the meetingin which Modi took stock ofthe situation.

The terrorists were plan-ning "something big" on theanniversary of the 26/11Mumbai terror attack, thesources added.

Four suspected Jaish-e-

Mohammad terrorists werekilled and two policemeninjured in a gun battle inNagrota on Thursday after atruck carrying newly infiltrat-ed militants was intercepted,police had said.

Inspector General of Police(IGP), Jammu, MukeshSingh, had said after theencounter that the terroristshad come to execute a "bigplan" which has now beenfoiled.

CM to lay stonefor 4 fishingharbours, 25 aquahubsPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy will laythe foundation stone for fourfishing harbours and 25aquahubs on November 21,World Fisheries Day.

The Chief Minister willvirtually lay the foundationstone for fishing harbours inNellore, Guntur, Krishna andEast Godavari districts to beconstructed at a cost of Rs1,510 crore.

Jaish planned ‘somethingbig' on 26/11 anniversary

It’s more or less a certainty that Jagan may pickhis personal physiotherapist Dr MaddilaGurumurthy as the Tirupati Lok Sabha candidatefrom the YSRCP. Tirupati Lok Sabha seat fellvacant due to the demise of Balli Durga Prasaddue to Covid-related complications

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vijayawada 02VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 21, 2020

Recent concerns raised bythe political executiveabout the performance

of bureaucrats, shows theenduring disquiet about theirexpectation of performancefrom civil servants.

This is not new. The drive expected from

the bureaucracy comes outclearly in Jawaharlal Nehru’saddress to the Fourth AnnualGeneral Body Meeting of theInstitute of PublicAdministration: “In a periodof dynamic growth, however,we want as civil servants per-sons who are not ….. merelyhead clerks but people withminds, people with vision,people with a desire toachieve, who have some ini-tiative for doing a job andwho can think how to do it.But the person who is com-pletely neutral is a head clerkand no more …..Can a personbe neutral, I ask you, aboutbasic things which we standfor, our state stands for, ourPlan stands for …..”

Later, similar sentimentswere echoed by Indira

Gandhi in her address to theInstitute of Engineers - “unre-served faith in the programsthey administer ….. We mustall have a commitment to thedevelopment of the countryand a sense of personalinvolvement with the welfareof our people”.

What are the reasons forsuch uneasiness by the toppolitical executive?

As early as the 1950s, someof the basic reasons wereidentified by Paul Appleby, anacademic commissioned tostudy the Indian bureaucracy.He found that administratorspreferred “technique overpurpose”, looked for a “whol-ly scientific or technical andwholly right decision”, andconceived of programmeplanning to be a “mechanical,merely technical, unvarying”activity.

Later studies (e.g. Taub,

Potter) have shown thatadministrators have, by andlarge, continued to followthese methods of working.This in the face of accumulat-ing evidence that effectivedecision-making requiredpeoples’ participation, polit-ical engagement, programadvocacy and willingness toinnovate and adapt to localcontextual conditions.

If bureaucrats have to meetexpectations most of the time,

then they have to practicesmart politics, find “champi-ons for ideas”, focus on citizeninvolvement, and follow upon implementation.

Smart politics is to stepaway from the technicalrigour of rules and regulationsand come to terms with polit-ical governance - workingwith political leaders, com-bining sound administrativepractices and procedures withtheir development agendas,

and delivering on goals. Second, floating an idea is

not enough and administra-tors have to go out and findsupport for their ideasbecause “no idea is goodenough to succeed on thepower of the idea alone”.Ideas have to fit into ongoingdevelopment agendas, and

administrative responses haveto be based on an under-standing of what the politicalleaders and the citizens needand how to deliver on these.

During the process ofchampioning ideas, relation-ships matter, and relation-ships mean emotions. Andemotions are importantbecause they lead to accep-tance of new ideas by politi-cal stakeholders and citizens.

Third, effective citizen par-ticipation is required, espe-cially in this internet-era ofcitizen involvement. Thismeans respecting the deci-sions of the “publics” andlearning to use citizen engage-ment opportunities to achievegoals. The standard way ofcitizen participation involvesmaking people feel good byconsulting them and seem-ingly listening to their con-cerns, but not taking their

views seriously or giving themopportunities to act on theirown behalf.

However, real participa-tion involves, “people who areorganised and who becomeeffective in rendering theirenvironment relatively moremalleable will begin to per-ceive themselves differently, assubjects not objects, as peo-ple who develop a vision of abetter world and who can actcoherently to achieve it”.

Fourth, initiatives have tobe developed and pursuedbecause things don’t get doneon their own, and flexibilityin making choices duringimplementation leads to goal-achievement.

A crucial element is listen-ing and acknowledging oth-ers’ ideas. Often, that willmean that others will be givencredit for your work, but inthe end one has the satisfac-

tion of knowing that the workwas done well.

All in all, a talisman forconsistently effective perfor-mance is as follows: The start-ing point is to decide on acourse of action based on acareful analysis of alternativesand projections of probableimpacts. After this, step awayfrom technicalities and cometo terms with political gover-nance — working with polit-ical leaders, combining soundadministrative practices andprocedures with developmentagendas, introducing ideasat the right time and chasinggoals.

Of course governance sys-tems, values, and culture dovary in different states andwithin states, too. The goodnews is that it is possible toacquire these skills throughconstant practice.

(Author has a PhD fromthe USA and a DLitt fromKanchi University. The arti-cle is based on his researchand practice and views arepersonal)

DR. SAMEER SHARMA

Smart politics is to step away from thetechnical rigour of rules and regulationsand come to terms with politicalgovernance - working with politicalleaders, combining sound administrativepractices and procedures with theirdevelopment agendas, and delivering ongoals

The Administrator’s Dilemma

EGG

RATES

` 51,240 (10 gm)

` 1100

GOLD

` 66,500 (1kg)

` 2200

VIJAYAWADA 471

HYDERABAD 474

VISAKHAPATNAM 470

RREETTAAIILL PPRRIICCEE `̀44..7711

SILVER

VIJAYAWADA

BULLION RATES

`̀//110000

CHICKEN

RATES

Dressed/With Skin `148

Without Skin `168

Broiler at Farm `102

`̀//KKGG

(IN VIJAYAWADA)

Rs 616 crore subsidised loan toAP for micro-irrigation projects PNS n NEW DELHI

The Union AgricultureMinistry on Friday said it hasgiven nod for subsidised loansworth Rs 3,971.31 crore forimplementing micro-irriga-tion projects.

While Tamil Nadu has gotthe maximum loan of Rs1,357.93 crore, AndhraPradesh was allowed to borrowRs 616.13 crore.

The interest subvented loansare being offered under MicroIrrigation Fund (MIF) createdwith National Bank forAgriculture and RuralDevelopment (NABARD) forimplementing micro-irriga-tion projects.

This fund with a corpus ofRs 5,000 crore was opera-tionalised in the 2019-20 fiscal

with an objective to facilitatestates in availing subsidisedloans for expanding coverageof micro irrigation.

In a statement, the ministrysaid the steering committee ofMIF has approved projects forloan worth Rs 3,971.31 crore.

Out of this, maximum loanof Rs 1,357.93 crore has beenapproved for Tamil Nadu, fol-lowed by Rs 790.94 crore forHaryana, Rs 764.13 crore forGujarat, Rs 616.13 crore forAndhra Pradesh, Rs 276.55crore for West Bengal, Rs 150

crore for Punjab and Rs 15.63crore for Uttarakhand, it said.

NABARD has so far releaseda total loan amount of Rs1,754.60 crore to the states. Ofthis, about Rs 659.70 crore hasbeen released to Haryana,Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.

About Rs 616.13 crore loanhas been released to AndhraPradesh, Rs 937.47 crore toTamil Nadu, Rs 21.57 crore toHaryana and Rs 179.43 crore toGujarat so far, it added.

Under the MIF, subsidisedloans are provided for notonly taking up special andinnovative projects but also forincentivising micro irrigationbeyond the provisions availableunder Pradhan Mantri KrishiSinchai Yojana (Per Drop MoreCrop) to encourage farmers toinstall micro irrigation systems.

OB van worth Rs 1.2 crdonated to Tirumala shrine PNS n TIRUPATI

A vehicle with digital satellitenews gathering (DSNG) equip-ment was donated to shrine ofLord Venkateswara atTirumala, near here, on Friday.

It was donated by senior BJPleader and Karnataka SocialWelfare Minister B Sriramulu,an official at the temple said.

The van, also called outsidebroadcasting (OB) vehicle, isfitted with state-of-the-arttechnology worth Rs 1.2 crore,the official told PTI.

The equipment would beused for the Sri VenkateswaraBhakti TV channel that tele-casts rituals at the ancienttemple and the shrine ofGoddess Sree Padmavathi, hesaid.

The keys of the OB vehiclewere handed over by a repre-

sentative of the Minister to AVDharma Reddy, additionalexecutive officer of Tirumala

Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD)that governs the shrine, theofficial added.

Majority of child marriagesin AP among OBCs...Continued from Page 1

As per the report, whileIndia’s average of child mar-riages prevalence is 11.9 per-cent, Andhra Pradesh’s averagestands at 16.6 percent.

The child marriages preva-lence among OBC groups inthe state is 58 percent, 22 per-cent in SC groups, 13 percentamong OCs and 7 percent inSTs. Further analysis of NHFS-4 reveals as per India averagethe highest prevalence of childmarriage is reported amongstScheduled Tribe girls 15 per-cent followed by ScheduledCastes at 13 percent.

The report also revealed

that child marriage is a ruralphenomenon. As much as 77.6percent of the total child mar-riages that took place inAndhra Pradesh are in ruraltracts whereas in urban areas,it’s 22.4 percent.

There are certain statesincluding UTs which havelarge pockets of child marriagewithin urban areas. Some ofthese states are Haryana (41percent), Tamil Nadu (37 per-cent), Maharashtra (33 per-cent) and Manipur (32 per-cent).

Krishna, Prakasam andVizianagaram districts with20.3 percent, 19.8 percent and19.3 percent respectively figureamong India’s top 100 districtshaving high prevalence of childmarriages.

Consanguineous marriages,pressure from grandparentsare among the major factorsbehind child marriages in AP.

Jagan picks physiofor Tirupati LSContinued from Page 1

Kalyan Chakravarthy alongwith his other family membersmet Jagan on Friday andpledged his total support to theparty candidate.

Municipal AdministrationMinister Botsa Satyanarayana,who accompanied DurgaPrasad’s family to the ChiefMinister said that the wife andson of Durga Prasad said thatJagan extended his support to the

family and promised the MLCpost to Kalyan Chakravarthy.

Durga Prasad’s son said theChief Minister has stood by hisfamily ever since his fatherdied due to Covid-19. He saidthe Chief Minister haspromised MLC post for himand added his family would beforever grateful to Jagan.

He said that he would strivehard for the victory of YSRCPcandidate in the upcoming by-poll.

CM meetsrelatives ofAbdul Salam...Continued from Page 1

Following the ChiefMinister’s instructions,Anantapur DM&HO officeissued orders to transferShamvali to Nandyal healthdepartment.

It’s not clear if Jagan metMubunnisa before inaugurat-ing the TungabhadraPushkaralu or afterwards.

Circle inspectorSomasekhar Reddy and headconstable Gangadhar werearrested on charges of abet-ment to suicide of SheikAbdul Salam (45), his wifeNoorjahan (43), son DadaKhalandar (9) and daughterSalma (14) recently.

The four committed sui-cide by throwing themselvesunder a goods train due toalleged police harassment.

Familial ties, pressurefrom elders ...Continued from Page 1

Preference for ‘consan-guineous marriages’ is themajor factor, widely pointedout by 53 percent of the keyinformants interviewed by theCESS teams. During theFocused Group Discussions(FGDs), a majority of the par-ticipants raised this issue asone of the key driving factorsfor child marriages.

Nearly 60 percent of theFGDs have discussed thispractice. Consanguineousmarriages are customary prac-tice in many families inAndhra Pradesh. Traditionally,consanguineous marriage sys-tem is known for strengthen-ing kinship ties between fam-ilies, expanding social net-works, protecting ancestralproperty, and ensures politicalstrength.

Protecting ancestral proper-ties is one of the customarypractices among the rural aswell as urban communities,those who are practising con-sanguineous marriages. Nearly25 percent of key informantshave discussed this as one ofthe driving factors behindchild marriages.

While continuing this prac-

tice in general, parents do notgive much importance to theage of girl and perform mar-riage with a boy from firstcousin’s family. Few of the par-ents are of the opinion thatwhatever dowry they give totheir daughter should be with-in the control of their closekin.

Hence, they do not consid-er the age difference betweenbride and bridegroom whiledeciding to go ahead withmarriage. In some cases, theage of bride will be much lessthan 18 years.

“In FGDs, pressure fromgrandparents was much dis-cussed. About 45 percent ofthe FGDs highlighted this andduring the discussions, partic-ularly elderly members whoparticipated in the FGDsstressed that, in spite of devel-opments, grandparents arehold value in socialisation ofyoung and have supremacyover the family decisions,”said the report by CESS.

For this study CESS teamshad interviewed 175 keyinformants at various stages-district, mandal and villagelevel. Similarly, 20 FGDs wereconducted with selected stake-holders.

Allow regional languages for job exams...Continued from Page 1

“All the competitive exams forrecruitment in the Central gov-ernment, its departments and

undertakings through UnionPublic Service Commission(UPSC) and all other agencieslike Railway Recruitment Board,Public Sector Banks, Reserve

Bank of India, Staff SelectionCommission and others, shouldbe held in regional languages,”the Telangana Chief Ministersaid in his letter.

CM to lay stonefor 4 fishing...Continued from Page 1

In the first phase, tendershave been called for fourfishing harbours atJuvvaladinne, Nizampatnam,Machilipatnam and Uppadacosting around Rs 1,510crore, aiming to complete inthe next two years with worldclass infrastructure. The ten-ders will be finalised in thesecond week of December.

The aquahubs will be con-structed at a cost of Rs 225crore where quality marineproducts will be availableand they will be maintainedby aqua societies.

Through the new fishingharbours, it is expected thatan additional 2.37 lakh ton-nes of fish and prawn catchworth nearly Rs 500 crore willbe added as Gross Value Ad-dition to the State and 85,000direct and indirect employ-ment would be generated.

The government will bedeveloping these green ener-gy harbours with modernfacilities such as cold storageunits, fish processing units,chill centres, boat handling,and repair facilities. It isplanned to provide one or twocoastal cargo berths in the fish-ing harbours wherever feasibleto facilitate export operations.

Only 597 Covid-hit under ICU care in AP

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

With the Covid-19 infectioncount declining further, thehospital beds in AndhraPradesh, especially created forthe Covid treatment, are fallingvacant now.

The State’s Covid-19 tallytouched 8,59,932 as 1,221 freshcases were added in 24 hoursending 9 am on Friday. With1,829 more patients gettingcured, the total recoveries roseto 8,37,630, the latest bulletinsaid.

The number of active casesnow stood at 15,382. Ten freshfatalities pushed the toll up to6,920.

According to the real-timeCovid hospital bed details fur-nished by the AP government,only 597 people are going

under ICU care treatment.Moreover, of the 29,627 totalbeds, 3,580 are filled.

After 94.74 lakh sample

tests, the overall infection pos-itivity rate slid to 9.08 percentwhile the recovery rate furtherimproved to 97.41 percent.

Only East Godavari districtreported 202 fresh cases in thelast 24 hours while Krishna,Chittoor, West Godavari andGuntur added less than 200each.

Six districts reported lessthan 50 new cases each whiletwo others added less than 100cases each in the last 24 hours,the bulletin added.

Chittoor and Krishna dis-tricts also reported two moreCovid-19 deaths each while sixdistricts added one each totheir tally.

n About 90 percent of the beds specifically created for Covid care are now vacant across the State

20 participatoryFocus GroupDiscussionswere alsoconducted infive districts

Summer of 2021 will be‘almost normal’: Bill GatesPNS n NEW YORK

Microsoft co-founder BillGates believes that a "lot ofthings" will be back to "nor-mal" by the summer of 2021 ifCovid-19 vaccine approvalsdon't turn up any nasty sur-prises.

"Very likely by the summer,a lot of things will be back tonormal... If vaccine approvalscome along quickly," Gatessaid in a television interviewon Thursday night.

Two vaccines, one each fromPfizer and Moderna, havealready turned up more than90 per cent efficacy results andare moving fast towards apply-ing for emergency useapproval.

The first vaccinations aretipped to begin in the US late

December."We will be able to go back

to offices and open up thoserestaurants and bars and sayokay, we are in a completelydifferent stage than right now,"Gates said about his summerof 2021 vision.

He thinks a 2021 school yearthat is "completely normal" iswithin reach.

"We can get the whole coun-try, every city back in school.I think that's achievable and avery important goal to have inmind," Gates told CNN.

He spoke in some detailabout the "daunting" work ofdistributing the vaccines whichare round the corner.

"The urgency and the num-bers are pretty daunting. Youknow if you end up with alltoday's vaccines, we need over10 billion doses to get to a highpercentage of the world," Gatessaid.

Gates' remarks come at atime when the US is experienc-ing its worst coronavirus surgein months, with daily casessmashing records day afterday. The US has the world'shighest coronavirus caseloadand death toll.

vijayawada 03VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 21, 2020

CAPSULE

VIJAYAWADA : Floral bath withtonnes of varieties of flowers hasbeen performed to Goddess SriPadmavathi Devi on Friday as part ofannual Pushpayagam. The fete hasbecome the cynosure of all eyes,who witnessed live on SVBC. TheGoddess seated on a special plat-form was rendered abhishekam withnearly four tonnes of different typesof traditional, aromatic and ornam-ental flowers amidst chanting ofVedic hymns by priests.Earlier in themorning, Snapana Thiruman-janamwas held, followed by a pro-cessionof flowers from Vahana Mandapamto temple. JEO Basant Kumar, CVSOGopinath Jatti, CE Ramesh Reddy,GM Transport Sesha Reddy, Gardenwing chief Srinivasulu, and otherswere present.

Pushpayagamcynosure ofall eyes

67th All IndiaCooperativeWeek feteTirupati:The TTD organised the67th All India Cooperative Weekcelebrations and cooperativetraining programme at theSVETA Bhavan in Tirupati onThursday. TTD EO KS JawaharReddy said the weeklongCooperation Week wascelebrated as part of the birthanniversary of Prime MinisterPandit Jawahar Lal Nehru.Assuring that he wouldcontribute to the growth of TTDEmployees Cooperative Bank,the TTD EO said Maharashtraand Gujarat were on thefrontline of the cooperativesector. Earlier, the TTDEmployees Cooperative Bankpresident Munivenkat Reddyhighlighted the activities of theBank. Vice-President of theBank Shiv Kumar also spoke onthe significance of public,private and cooperative sectorsin development of the country.Cooperative Bank treasurerSrinivasa, Directors Venkatesh,Kiran and Hemalata, Gunasekarand other employees werepresent.

SEB to crack the whipagainst ganja smugglersPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The Special EnforcementBureau (SEB) in coordinationwith wings of police and otherdepartments are now chalkingout plans to prepare a list ofganja smugglers and suppliersso as to identify repeatedoffenders. The plan is also toidentify their properties andcreate a strategy to preventtheir illegal trade.

After the Covid-19 inducedlockdown was lifted, ganjasmuggling cases have spiked.The recent seizures of hugequantities of ganja from vari-ous parts of Visakhapatnamdistrict revealed a strong net-work with innovative methodsof smuggling.

Enforcement officials havealso found that some young-sters had taken to ganja tradefor easy money. While policeand excise officials had iden-tified a few repeat offendersand seized their assets a fewyears ago, the current drivecame af ter some delay.Earlier, assets of three smug-glers -- Pothuraju

Kumaraswamy, Udi Babji andGhising Prem Bahudhar--were seized by authoritiesunder section 68F(2) of theNDPS Act , PreventiveDetention (PD) Act.

A senior police officer saidthat despite not having anymajor source of income,some people in the Agencyareas had been making goodmoney, using high-end vehi-cles and leading luxuriouslives because of their involve-ment in the ganja trade.

"We are chalking out plansto prepare a list of repeatedganja smugglers, who havebeen caught more than threetimes, to keep a tab on theiractivities and prevent smug-gling. The government willgive some powers to the SEBto tackle ganja trade," saidSEB deputy commissioner TSrinivasa Rao.

A few years ago, enforce-ment officials had identifiedover 5,000 bank accounts ofyoungsters f rom

Visakhapatnam Agencyinvolved in ganja trade. Theyhad received money fromTamil Nadu, Odisha andother States for their involve-ment. Officials said thatbesides seizure and destruc-tion of ganja plantations,they were also chalking outplans to cut illegal sources ofrevenue for those involved inthe trade.

n After the Covid-19induced lockdownlifted, ganja smugglingcases have spiked

n A senior policeofficer said thatdespite not havingany major source ofincome, somepeople in the Agencyareas had beenmaking good money,using high-endvehicles and leadingluxurious livesbecause of theirinvolvement in theganja trade

SEC dancing to the tunesof Naidu: Vijayasai ReddyPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

State Election Commissioner(SEC) Nimmagadda Ramesh isdancing to the tunes of TDPchief N Chandrababu Naidu,hence, he is in a hurry to con-duct the local body electionsdespite the prevalence of Covidpandemic, alleged YSRCP MPV Vijayasai Reddy.

Speaking to media personshere on Friday, Vijayasai Reddycriticised the State ElectionCommissioner for not followingthe constitutional guidelinesand was having a private meet-ing with TDP leaders.

"While the State was receiv-ing less than 10 Covid cases aday, the SEC postponed the elec-tions without even discussingwith the State government, butwhen hundreds of cases arebeing registered and the fear ofa second wave is looming large,the SEC is trying to conductelections," he pointed out.

He said that NimmagaddaRamesh might join the TDPafter his retirement, as the TDPmembers are having a blindtrust in him and may soon evenusurp the TDP leadership.

Speaking in regard to thePolavaram project, he stated

that there was nothing wrong ininstalling the statue of Dr YSRajasekhara Reddy as thePolavaram project was initiatedby him.

While former Chief MinisterDr YS Rajasekhara Reddy hadlaid the foundation stone forPolavaram and completed amajority of work, Naidu hadtried to stop the land acquisition.

Naidu had provoked Odishaand Chhattisgarh States to stopthe construction of the projectand moved to the SupremeCourt. He stated that Naidu hasno commitment towardsPolavaram and thus failed tokeep his promise of completingthe project by 2018.

The Opposition TDP wasworking like an NRI party,

residing in another State, andpoliticising things here. He saidthat Naidu has no moral right tospeak on the developments inthe State, as he is the onlyleader in the country, whostopped the housing for thepoor.

Furthermore, Vijayasai Reddysaid that the law and order inVisakhapatnam is stable andthere is nothing to fear. Speakingon the Bhogapuram airport, hesaid that the current airport inVisakhapatnam belongs to theNavy and once the commercialoperations start in Bhogapuram,the civil aviation in theVisakhapatnam airport willmove to Bhogapuram.

Minister for AgricultureKurasala Kannababu said SECRamesh is biased towardsOpposition leaders and workingunder the direction of Naidu,siding with the TDP. The sameRamesh Kumar had postponedthe elections in March whenthere were hardly three cases ofCovid-19, but now trying to gofor polls when over 3,000 casesare showing up per day. Hedared the SEC to answer why hedidn't conduct any local bodypolls in the last five years, espe-cially during the TDP regime

ECoR adjudged as best zone PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The East Coast Railway baggedthe prestigious Govind BallabhPant Shield-2020 for the bestoverall performance amongstall zones over Indian Railways.East Coast Railway GeneralManager Vidya Bhushan com-plimented the team ECoR fortheir strong determination anddevotion to their duties with aprogressive attitude.

He said that the relentlessefforts of the railway men andtheir valuable contributioncould make it possible to getAccounts & FinanceManagement Shield, TrafficTransportation Shield andSales Management Shield.

These shields are the recog-nition of the dedication, hardwork, focus and achievementsof our officials, he added.Furthermore, Vidya Bhushan

mentioned that it is pertinentto recall that ECoR createdhistory by being the first zoneamongst the 17 railway zonesto load more than 200 MT(million tonnes) of freighttraffic and also achieved oper-ating ratio of 51.34.

He complimented themembers of Team ECoR,who worked with commit-ment through the Covid-19challenge that ensured con-tinuation of supply chain toall corners of the country.

He asked the railway men

to continue their efforts tokeep ECoR flag high, surpassthe targets and past perfor-mance and to reach theexpectations of people andthe Ministry of Railways.

East CoastRailway GeneralManager VidyaBhushancomplimentedthe team ECoRfor their strongdeterminationand devotion totheir duties witha progressiveattitude

Industry Restart prog tohelp closed units soon PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The government will soonstart 'Industries Restart' pro-gramme in a bid to enable thesmall and medium scale unitsthat were closed due to theCovid pandemic and are strug-gling to reopen them, saidKurasala Kannababu, Ministerfor Agriculture and in-chargeminister for Visakhapatnamdistrict.

"Most of the small scaleindustries were closed duringthe lockdown and they werenever reopened. Hence,financial aid would be givento these sick industries in therestart programme that wasbeing planned," saidKannababu, at a press confer-ence here on Friday.

The government wouldrun parallel the agricultureand industries, the two majorplatforms for large-scaleemployment in the State. Hesaid an important meeting

has been scheduled forSaturday in which enthusias-tic entrepreneurs, industrial-ists and representatives ofpublic sector undertakingswould participate.

The meeting would discussthe post lockdown scenarioof the industries, pollutionproblems in Visakhapatnamcity and comprehensivedevelopment of the region.The PSU role in providinghelping hand to the unem-ployed through CSR pro-

grammes would also be dis-cussed, the minister added.

Minister for Tourism andCulture Muttamsett iSrinivasa Rao said the cityhas enough basic infrastruc-ture facilities to develop as amajor industrial hub of theState. He said the govern-ment was committed toimproving the quality of lifeamong the underprivilegedclasses.

n Minister for Tourismand CultureMuttamsetti SrinivasaRao said the city hasenough basicinfrastructure facilitiesto develop as a majorindustrial hub of theState. He said thegovernment wascommitted toimproving the quality oflife among theunderprivileged classes

TDP national V-Ppasses awayPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Former TDP MLA and partynational vice-president DKSatya Prabha passed away dueto cardiac arrest at a privatehospital owned by her familyin Bengaluru on Thursday.Satya Prabha was infectedwith Coronavirus and wasundergoing treatment inBengaluru since a few days.Though she had recoveredfrom the lethal virus, later onsuffered other post Covidcomplications and hadbreathed her last on Thursdaynight.

Satyaprabha is wife of liquorbaron D K AdikeshavuluNaidu, who died a few yearsago. He was also an MP andtwice served as the TTD Boardchairman. Satyaprabha was70-year-old. She was a devo-tee of Puttaparthi Satya SaiBaba. It was Sai Baba, who gother married to AdikeshavuluNaidu, who was then an assis-

tant engineer in Chittoor'sSugar Factory.

After Adikeshavulu Naidu'ssudden demise in 2013, SatyaPrabha had entered politics. In2014, she contested for theChittoor Assembly seat andwon. In the 2019 elections,Satya Prabha had contestedfrom Rajampet but she lost.

Recently TDP chief NChandrababu Naidu hadnominated her as the partynational vice-president.Naidu, along with other partysenior leaders, condoled SatyaPrabha's demise and expressedhis deep sympathies to thebereaved family.

Naidu said that the depart-ed leader had rendered praise-worthy services to people inher capacity as the former leg-islator of Chittoor. She strivedhard to solve the drinkingwater problems and for thedevelopment of water tanks inthe area, he said.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Lorry Owners' Associationappealed to the government toput an end to collecting toll taxon two-lane roads in the State.He said that due to Corona thetransport sector was pushed intoa deep crisis and not to levy anyburden on the transport sector.

YV Eswar Rao, general sec-retary, AP Lorry OwnersAssociation, said that the gov-ernment was planning to comeup with a GO to collect toll taxfor two lane roads in the State.He said that they have been pay-ing taxes for four lane and sixlane roads across the State. Forthe last two years, the transportsector is in deep crisis and theCorona pandemic has shat-tered the crisis further. In thisbackdrop, collecting toll tax fortwo lane roads will be a heavyburden on the transport sector,he opined.

He said that at the time ofvehicle purchasing, they arepaying 28 per cent GST and 14

per cent road tax, they havebeen paying toll at the nation-al highways. But the govern-ment is planning to collect tolltax for two lane roads will be abig setback to the lorry ownersand the transport sector, theystrongly oppose the govern-ment's move, he said.

He further stated that in1997 toll notification was issuedand later from 2004 they havebeen paying toll tax at thenational highways for four laneand six lane roads. Every yearthe toll tariff has been changingdespite paying 22.25 per cent taxon diesel and Rs 4 additionaldevelopment charges, alongwith road cess of Rs 1.22, headded.

Toll tax proposal on two-lane roads

Reforms aimed at new edu policy: SanchaitaPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Exhibiting the strength ofsupport from principals ofthe education institutionsrun by MANSAS Trust,chairperson SanchaitaGajapathi Raju said thereforms being introduced areaimed at the new educationpolicy. She thwarted the alle-gations saying all are fakenews.

Sanchaita tweeted: " Iappreciate the initiativetaken by the Correspondent& a l l the Pr incipals ofMANSAS to set the recordstraight & counter FakeNews. Together, we will ful-fil the vision of my grandfa-ther Maharaja PVG Rajugaru, in line with the NewEducation Policy."

The principals echoed thatthe initiatives, they under-stand, are being misrepre-

sented and misunderstoodon account of certain infor-mation and material in cir-culation. The stir over theprivatisation kicked off whenthe correspondent ofMANSAS Educat ionalInst itut ions , KVLakshmipathi Raju, wrote tothe principal of the collegeon October 6 directing her todefer admissions.

The letters mention thatMANSAS has formally sub-mitted a proposal to "closeI n t e r m e d i a t eprogrammes/courses" and to"withdraw aid to MR (A)College", as a part of anexercise in "restructuring

and reorganising the acade-mic programmes effectivefrom 2020-21."A few daysearlier, on September 25, theRegional Joint Director ofCol legiate Educat ion(RJDCE) of Rajahmundrywas directed by the SpecialCommissioner of CollegiateEducation to examine therequest of MANSASChairperson Sanchaita toconvert MR College from anaided to unaided institution.

The MR Degree College,which has received financialaid from the governmentsince the 1960s, has nowsought to revoke its aided sta-tus from the 2020-21 acade-mic year. This has led tostrong opposition from stu-dent organisations and citi-zen groups in Vizianagaram,who called this a step towardscomplete privatisation of thecollege.

Sanchaitatweeted: “Iappreciate theinitiative takenby theCorrespondent &all the Principalsof MANSAS toset the recordstraight &counter fakenews”

Industries need to adoptright strategy: SBI MDPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Industries need to adopt theright strategy, governance andtechnology to mitigate the prob-lems of micro, small and medi-um enterprises, said CS Setty,Managing Director, SBI.

He appreciated the CII fororganising Integrate-2020through virtual conference-cum-exhibition and promotingthe industry in view of Covid-19 pandemic.

Referring to the current sce-nario, he suggested to the indus-try to use the funds in the rightdirection by having a properbusiness module. He mentionedthat SBI is working on setting upof an e-Commerce portal calledBharat Craft for the marketingof products manufactured by

micro, small and medium enter-prises (MSMEs) with the facil-ity of financing options to meetthe immediate business require-ments.

R Pavana Murthy, ITS, ChiefExecutive Officer, AndhraPradesh MSME DevelopmentCorporation, said that theMicro, Small and MediumEnterprises (MSME) sector hasemerged as a highly vibrant anddynamic sector of the Indian

economy and in recent years.The MSME sector has consis-tently registered a higher growthrate compared to the overallindustrial sector in the country.

MSMEs not only play a cru-cial role in providing largeemployment opportunities atcomparatively lower capital costalso help in industrialisation ofrural and backward areas, there-by, reducing regional imbal-ances, assuring more equitabledistribution of national incomeand wealth, said R PavanaMurthy.

He stated that theAtmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaanis being hailed as a major fiscalstimulus and relief package forMSMEs to assuage India's eco-nomic predicament amidst thepandemic.

AnkurarpanamperformedPNS n TIRUMALA

Ankurarpanam forPushpayagam was performedat Vasanta Mandapam inTirumala on Friday. As partof this ritual, SenapatiVishwaksenulavaru was takenon a procession to the man-dapam where the Ritwiksperformed Mritsangrahanamand Asthanam.

A f t e r w a r d s ,Ankurarpanam was carriedout as per Vaikhanasa Agamaby priests in Yagashala insidethe temple. The TTD hascancelled SahasraDeepalankara Seva in view ofthis ritual. Temple PeishkarJanganmohan Chary, priestsand others took part.

Govt responsible forPolavaram delay: TDPPNS n AMARAVATI

Senior Telugu Desam Party(TDP) leader Jyothula Nehrusaid here on Friday that theYSRCP government isresponsible for the inordi-nate delay of Polavaram pro-ject. He said the delay beingcaused by the governmenthas become a bane to all thefarmers in the State.

"The YSRCP regime madetall promises to the peoplebut it did not make anyefforts to fulfil the sameafter coming to power," healleged. According to theTDP leader, the ruling partydid not complete even oneper cent work on Polavaramin the past 18 months of its

regime. He said Jagan'sregime is literally destroyingthe future prospects of theyounger generation of theState by allegedly under-mining and damaging thePolavaram project. Nehrualso did not spare IrrigationMinister Anil Kumar Yadav,criticising him as someonelacking experience to exe-

cute the project properly."By shrinking the dam heightit was clear that the YSRCPhad surrendered to theCentral government andmerely dancing to its tunesfor sheer selfishness," heclaimed. He demanded theState government that theoriginal dam height as perthe first design should beretained.

Jagan's regime isliterally destroying thefuture prospects of theyounger generation ofthe State, allegedJyothula Nehru

Unique kneereplacementsurgery at BIRRDPNS n TIRUPATI

Unique knee replacementoperation, first of its kind,has been carried out inBIRRD ortho hospital, saidhonorar y Director DrM a d a n m o h a nReddy.Successfully carriedout on a 48-year-old patientSujata of Kurnool, who hadtwisted knees and wasunable to walk. Disclosing the operationdetails to the media at thehospital on Friday, alongwith his team comprising DrGirija, Dr Naveen and DrChaitanya, he said thewoman was suffering fromsevere knee pains from thelast three years.

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 21, 2020 nation 04

PNS n CHANDIGARH

The Punjab and Haryana HighCourt has said that marriagebetween first cousins is illegal.

The court said that marriagewhich petitioner man wants toperform with a girl, who is his firstcousin, was also per se illegal.

"...the submission in the pre-sent petition that as and whenshe (the girl) attains the age of 18years, they will perform marriageis also per se illegal," the judgesaid on Thursday while hearingthe petition.

The assertion came after a 21-year-old man moved the highcourt against state of Punjabseeking anticipatory bail in a caseregistered under Sections 363(kidnapping), 366A (procurationof minor girl) of the IPC at policestation Khanna City-2 inLudhiana district on August 18.

The state counsel, whileopposing the bail plea, content-ed that the girl was a minor and

her parents had lodged the FIRas she and the man were firstcousins and their fathers werebrothers.

The man's counsel told JusticeArvind Singh Sangwan that thepetitioner had also filed a crim-inal writ petition, along with thegirl, for protection of life and lib-erty.The court file of the crimi-nal writ petition was summonedduring the hearing and as per itsmemorandum of parties, the girlwas stated to be 17 years of age

and the petitioner man had filedthe petition with the submissionthat both of them were in a "live-in-relationship".

It was stated in the petitionthat date of birth of the girl wasAugust 2003 and on the date offiling the petition on September3, 2020, she was of the age of 17years and 14 days.

Along with petition, a repre-sentation was also annexed, inwhich the girl had stated that herparents loved their sons but

ignored her, therefore, she decid-ed to live with her friend (peti-tioner) and on that account, shewas apprehending that her par-ents can harass them and disturbthe peace of their mind.

The court disposed of thispetition on September 7. Thestate was directed to grant themprotection if any threat was per-ceived to the man and the girl.However, the judge made itclear "that this order shall not betaken to protect the petitioners(man and the girl) from legalaction for violation of law, if any,committed by them".

The judge, after hearing coun-sel for the parties in the presentpetition, said, "I find that in thepresent petition also, the petition-er has not disclosed about the factthat he is first cousin of the girland, therefore, the submission inthe present petition that as andwhen she attains the age of 18years, they will perform marriageis also per se illegal."

Marriage between firstcousins illegal, rules HC PNS n LUCKNOW/PRATAPGARH

Fourteen people, includingseven children, died whentheir car collided with astationary truck on theLucknow-Allahabad high-way, around 70 km fromPratapgarh district head-quarters, an official said onFriday.

The road accident tookplace late Thursday nightwhen the vic t ims werereturning from a weddingfunction in the Nawabganjarea of Pratapgarh,Additional Chief Secretary,Home, Awanish Awasthisaid.

Pratapgarh Superintendentof Police (SP) Anurag Aryasaid the speeding SUVdashed into the truck parkedby the road in the Manikpurpolice station area after oneof its rear tyres got puncturednear Deshraj Inara.

While five bodies could betaken out initially, a JCBmachine had to be used topull out the SUV from underthe truck to retrieve theremaining bodies, he said,adding the bodies have beenshifted to CHC Kunda andwill be sent for autopsy laterin the day.

It took almost two hours topull the car out from underthe truck, the SP said.

Arya, who visited the spot,said the police have spokento the family members of thevictims and assured all pos-sible help.

Awasthi said ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanathdirected senior officials toreach the spot and extend allpossible help. The CM hasextended ex gratia of Rs twolakhs to each of those killedin the crash, he added.

Congress leader PriyankaGandhi Vadra expresseddeep anguish over the loss oflives in the accident. "I amsaddened thinking about theplight of the families of thedeceased. I pray for all ofthem. May God give themthe strength to bear the loss,"she said in a Facebook post

in Hindi. A report from thedistrict police identified thedeceased as Bablu (22), NaanBhaiya (45), Dinesh Yadav(40) and his sons Pawan (10)and Aman (7), Ram Samujh(40) , Daya R am (40) ,Abhimanyu (28), Mithilesh(17), Gaurav (10), Ansh (9),Sachin and Himanshu (bothaged 12), and driver ParasNath Yadav (40).

All of them were residentsof Jirgapur village in theKunda police station limitsand had gone to Shekhapurvillage to attend a wedding,the police said.

14 people, including 7 kids,die as car collides with truck

Pratapgarh Superintendent of Police (SP)Anurag Arya said the speeding SUVdashed into the truck parked by the road inthe Manikpur police station area after oneof its rear tyres got punctured near Deshraj Inara

PNS n DUMKA

Jharkhand police chief MVRao said that a list of dread-ed criminals in the state isbeing prepared and if theyresist arrest with arms, theywill be killed.

Speaking to reporters afterholding a crime review meet-ing here on Thursday, Raosaid that a lot of police per-sonnel hesitate to shoot, fear-ing litigations, but he has

told the force not to worryabout using weapons whenneeded. "For the protectionof civilians, if the police shoot

an armed criminal, inwhich the criminal is injuredor he dies, then it is absolute-ly a lawful action. There is noneed to panic. Do not backdown from this," he told thestate's police personnel.

"If someone is walkingaround with an illegalweapon, he is not roamingaround to play or worship it,but to take someone's life. Insuch a situation, if he is seenshooting, we have given clearinstructions that the policeshould not hesitate in killinghim. The law also allowsthis," Rao, the director-gen-eral of police, said.

All criminals, who havebeen to jail for crimes involv-ing illegal firearms, will beinvestigated, the officer said.

"If he is in jail then it's fine.If he has got out of jail, thenwhere is he, what is he doing,is he still committing a crime,etc, will be probed.

Don't hesitate to shoot armedcriminals :DGP

Devotees gather to take a holy dip in the River Ganga on the occasion of Chhath Puja in Patna on Friday

HOLY DDIP

PNS n BENGALURU

Air Chief Marshal RKSBhadauria on Friday undertookhis maiden flight in theHindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL) designed and devel-oped Light Combat Helicopter(LCH) here.

The aircraft took to the skiesat 11.45 hours and remainedairborne for an hour, HALsaid in a release.

The Chief of Air Staff wasaccompanied by HALs DeputyChief Test Pilot, Wg Cdr (Retd)S P John.

"It was a very good sortie.Iwas able to look at the impor-tant flying characteristics and

status of sensors alreadyinstalled.

The LCH is a potent plat-form due to excellent D&D

efforts and well supportedflight test team," the Air Chiefsaid while thanking all stake-holders of the LCH project.

The IAF was keenly lookingforward to the induction of theaircraft, he said.

"I am sure HAL will giverequired focus on production-isation at a fast pace," he added.

R Madhavan, CMD, HAL,thanked the Air Chief andsaid HAL was geared up forLCH productionisation to meetall the requirements of the AirForce, the release said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

France has expressed desire toexplore opportunities of collabo-ration in tourism and otherpotential sectors in the northeast-ern region and Jammu andKashmir.

This was conveyed by FrenchAmbassador to India EmmanuelLenain when he called on UnionMinister for Development ofNorth Eastern Region (DoNER)Jitendra Singh here on Friday, anofficial statement said. Singh alsodiscussed with him various poten-tial projects in the northeasternstates.

The ambassador conveyed tothe Union Minister the desire ofthe government of France toexplore the avenues and oppor-tunities of collaboration in differ-ent sectors in the northeasternstates as well as tourism and otherpotentials in Jammu and Kashmir,the statement said. Lenain recalledthe fond memories of his visit to

Kashmir Valley early this year aspart of a group of ambassadors.

The minister spelt out differentsectors in which, under the lead-ership of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, collaborativeinitiatives had been undertaken inthe Northeast.

In this regard, he referred to theCentre of Excellence Citrus FruitPark set up in Mizoram withIsraeli collaboration and the col-

laboration of Japan in some of theinfrastructure projects.

As for the Northeast, Singh said,there were vast areas of unexploredpotential which were waiting to beexplored. These, he said, includetourism, handicraft, handloom aswell as food and fruit sectors. Theminister said that the PrimeMinister has not only given spe-cial emphasis to the develop-ment of the northeastern region

but also reoriented "Look EastPolicy" into “Act-East” policy andtaken a number of steps to increaseengagement with the countriesacross the eastern borders.

In this regard, he also men-tioned the Indo-Bangladesh agree-ment on the exchange of enclaves,which was finalised with the per-sonal intervention of the primeminister and also his initiative toamend 100-year-old Indian ForestAct to promote bamboo productsand their trade, the statement said.

France keen to explore ties in tourism

Air Chief takes sortie in indigenous LCH

PNS n NEW DELHI

The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) on Friday car-ried out searches in five placesin Kerala in connection withthe gold smuggling case, itsspokesperson said here.

The searches were conduct-ed at the residences of fiveaccused -- Mohamed Aslam,Abdul Latheef, NazarudheenSha, Ramzan P andMuhammed Mansoor.

These accused conspiredwith the already arrestedaccused and facilitated smug-gling of gold through importcargo addressed to the UAEConsulate General, and its dis-posal, the agency aid.

During searches, severalelectronic items and docu-ments have been seized, thespokesperson said. The NIAhas so far arrested 21 people inthe case so far.

The NIA registered a case toprobe the international ramifi-cation of the gold smugglingcase pertaining to the seizure of30 kg gold worth Rs 14.82 croreon July 5 this year atTrivandrum InternationalAirport from the baggageaddressed to the UAEConsulate in the Kerala capital.

NIA conductssearches inKerala in goldsmuggling case

PNS nMUMBAI

Star India, the official broadcast-ers of Indian Premier League,claimed that there has been a 23%rise in TV viewership with a stag-gering 31.57 million averageimpressions during the mar-quee T20 event. The data hasbeen sourced from BroadcastAudience Research Council

(BARC) India and the coveragein five regional languages --Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil andKannada has only helped the risein viewership. According to thechannel, the recently-concludededition saw an impressive view-ership growth of 24% amongwomen and 20% among childrenrespectively. "Season 13 wit-nessed innovative programming,

world-class production - bothremote and on-ground," saidSanjog Gupta, Head - Sports, StarIndia. "This wouldn't have beenpossible without the fantasticwork done by the team at BCCIin staging the tournament underextenuating circumstances andseamless functioning from ourteams inside the bio-secure bub-bles in India and UAE."

IPL TV viewership reached31.57 million average: Star India

PNS n NEW DELHI

The national telemedicine ini-tiative eSanjeevani has com-pleted eight lakh consulta-tions, the Union Health min-istry said on Friday.

The top ten states whichhave registered the highestconsultations througheSanjeevani and eSanjeevaniOPD platforms are TamilNadu (2,59,904), UttarPradesh (2,19,715), Kerala(58,000), Himachal Pradesh(46,647), Madhya Pradesh(43,045), Gujarat (41,765),Andhra Pradesh (35,217),Uttarakhand (26,819),Karnataka (23,008) andMaharashtra (9,741), the min-istry said in a statement.

It said eSanjeevani's bothvariants of telemedicine --doctor to doctor (eSanjeevaniAB-HWC) and patient to doc-tor (eSanjeevani OPD) -- are

consistently growing in termsof users on both sides --patients or health workers onthe one end and doctors onthe other.

The Union Health Ministrylaunched the eSanjeevani AB-HWC in November 2019 andit is to be implemented at1,55,000 Health and WellnessCentres under AyushmanBharat Scheme in 'Hub andSpoke' model by December2022.

"eSanjeevani AB-HWC isfunctional at over 4,700Health and Wellness Centresand over 17,000 doctors andhealth workers have beentrained on its use. eSanjeevaniOPD, the second variant ofthis ambitious initiative, wasrolled out on April 13, 2020during the first lockdownwhen OPDs across the coun-try were closed to preventCOVID-19 infections," it said.

The Union Health min-istry said eSanjeevani is hav-ing a significant impactamong the section of populacewhere the travel distance,time and cost have been bar-riers in seeking outpatientservices. "It has served as aviable and preferred option forconsulting a doctor. So far 16districts have registered morethan 10,000 consultations andover 100 districts have regis-tered more than 1,000 consul-tations," it said.

Over 7,500 doctors havebeen trained and on boardedto provide telemedicine ser-vices on over 220 onlineOPDs on eSanjeevani OPD, itadded.

Over 100 telemedicinepractitioners have completedmore than 1,000 teleconsulta-tions and a few of them havelogged over 10,000 consulta-tions, it said.

Telemedicine e-Sanjeevanicompletes 8 lakh consultations PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi High Court Fridaysought the CBI response onBJP MP Maneka Gandhi's pleachallenging a trial court orderrejecting its closure report ina graft case against her and twoothers and directing furtherinvestigation in the matter.

Justice Yogesh Khanna,while issuing notice to the CBIand seeking its stand onGandhi's plea, also put onhold the special court's

February 4 order to the extentit directs the agency to placethe material it has before thesanctioning authority for herprosecution.

According to the graft caselodged against the BJP leaderand two others in 2006, theyhad allegedly sanctioned Rs 50lakh as a grant to a trust in afraudulent manner.

The special CBI court hadsaid it was of the prima facieopinion that there was crimi-nal conspiracy and criminalmisconduct by a public servantand had directed the probeagency to investigate the casefurther.

CBI had filed a closurereport in the case in 2008 aswell and the special court hadalso rejected it then andordered further investigation.

Thereafter, it again filed aclosure report which wasrejected by the special court inFebruary this year, the highcourt was informed.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Congress president SoniaGandhi has set up three sepa-rate committees for discussingpolicy issues related to eco-nomic affairs, foreign affairsand national security, withformer prime ministerManmohan Singh part of allthe three panels.

While former finance min-ister P Chidambaram, andparty leaders MallikarjunKharge and Digvijaya Singhwill be part of the economicaffairs committee, JairamRamesh will be its convener.

The committee on foreignaffairs will have AnandSharma, Shashi Tharoor,Salman Khurshid and SaptagiriUlaka. Khurshid will be theconvener of the panel.

The committee on nation-al security will have leader ofopposition in Rajya SabhaGhulam Nabi Azad, partyleaders Veerappa Moily,Vincent H Pala and VVaithilingam, with Pala as itsconvener.

"The Congress president hasconstituted three committeesto consider and discuss issues

and policies related to thesubjects of economic affairs,foreign affairs and nationalsecurity," an official statementfrom AICC general secretaryKC Venugopal said.Incidentally, among thosenominated in the committeesinclude senior party leadersGhulam Nabi Azad, AnandSharma, Veerappa Moily andShashi Tharoor, who were partof the 23 letter-writers seekingan organisational overhaul ofthe Congress.

While Sharma is the chair-man of the AICC foreignaffairs department, ShashiTharoor heads the party'sProfessional Congress.

PNS n JAIPUR

A Jaipur resident has accusedhis business partner of stran-gulating his wife to death afterraping her at his home in KhoNagorian area in his absence,police said on Friday.

On the man's complaint,the police have lodged an FIRagainst accused MahaveerSingh Gurjar, said KhoNagorian police station's SHOBhawani Singh.

The man told police in hiscomplaint that on Wednesdaywhen he was not in the city,his business partnerMahaveer Singh Gurjar visit-ed his home and forcibly senthis son and daughter fortuition.

After sending children outof the house, Gurjar raped hiswife and then strangulatedher, the SHO quoted the vic-tim's husband as saying in thecomplaint.

HC seeks CBI stand on Maneka's plea challenging trial court order

Jaipur residentaccuses biz partnerof killing his wife

‘Provisions in statute to takecare of violence in Bengal’

Sonia sets up panel on eco, foreign affairs

Former financeministerChidambaram andparty leadersMallikarjun Khargeand Digvijaya Singhwill be part of theeconomic affairscommittee

PNS n KOLKATA

Union Minister Babul Supriyosaid on Friday that theTrinamool Congress shouldmend its ways and desist from"intimidating voters", other-wise there are provisions in theConstitution to take care ofsuchthings.

Supriyo alleged that morethan 130 BJP workers have-been killed in West Bengal."The TMC should mend itsways. Only a few monthsareleft for the elections. If the

TMC members think theycan intimidate voters andengage in political violence,then there are provisions in theConstitution to take care ofsuch things," he told a localnews channel.

Supriyo claimed that thepeople of the state have made

up their mind to vote for theBJP in the assembly elections,

which are likely to be heldin April-May next year.

"We want the people whovoted TMC to power to top-ple.

The ambassadorconveyed to theUnion Minister thedesire of France toexplore the avenuesand opportunities ofcollaboration indifferent sectors

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 21, 2020 nation 05

Devotees undergo thermal screening as they enter the banks of Upper Lake on the occasion of Chhath Puja in Bhopal onFriday

FESTIVE FFERVOUR

INDIA CORNER

External Affairs Minister SJaishankar on Friday hosted alunch to bid farewell to the

High Commissioners andAmbassadors of the DominicanRepublic, Fiji and Angola, andthanked them for their contributionto the bilateral ties. Jaishankar alsowelcomed the recently arrivedenvoys from Bangladesh, Trinidadand Tobago, the Maldives, Senegal,North Korea, Hungary, Chad and Tajikistan. Hosted a lunch to bidfarewell to the High Commissioners/Ambassadors of DominicanRepublic, Fiji and Angola. Thank them for their contribution to ourbilateral relations," Jaishankar tweeted. And welcomed the recentlyarrived ones from Bangladesh, Trinidad & Tobago, Maldives, Senegal,DPRK, Hungary, Chad & Tajikistan. Confident they will have anenjoyable stay," he said in another tweet.

The Supreme Court Fridaysaid it would hear onNovember 23 the plea filed

by Rajya Sabha MP BinoyViswam seeking direction to theRBI for framing regulation toensure that data collected onUPI platforms is not “exploited”or used in any manner other

than for processing payments. The matter came up for hearingbefore a bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A SBopanna and V Ramasubramanian which listed it for hearing nextweek. On October 15, the apex court had sought responses from theCentre, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), NPCI and others includingGoogle Inc, Facebook Inc, WhatsApp and Amazon Inc on the plea.

The Kerala High Court onFriday rejected pleas filedby the actress who was

allegedly sexually assaultedhere in 2017 and the stategovernment seeking to transfertrial in the case, in whichpopular Malayalam actor Dileepis among the accused, from thecurrent court. Dismissing the pleas, the court said unless the courtand the prosecutor work in sync it results in the guilty escaping theclutches of law and innocent being punished. Justice V G Arun saidhe was confident that in the endeavour to seek truth and renderjustice, the special prosecutor and defence lawyer shall work intandem. The high court, which had deferred the trial in the case whenthe pleas came up early this month, directed the trial court to resumethe in-camera trial on Monday. The judge also rejected the prayersought by the state and counsel for the actress for a stay of thejudgment for a period of one week to file an appeal before theSupreme Court, observing that he has become 'functus officio' afterthe pronouncement of the judgment.

SC to hear plea for regulation toensure UPI platform data not exploited

Actress sexual assault case: HCjunks plea for change of court

Despite government warning, pro-Kannada organisations on Fridaydecided to go ahead with the

Karnataka Bandh on December 5 inprotest against the formation of theMaratha Development Authority(MDA). Chief Minister B SYediyurappa had on November 13announced setting up the MDA,earmarking Rs 50 crore for the overalldevelopment of the Marathapopulation in the state. The move was seen in some quarters as anattempt to woo the sizeable community members in BasavakalyanAssembly segment in Bidar district in north Karnataka and BelagaviLok Sabha constituency bordering Maharashtra where by-electionsare due. The decision has not gone down well with several pro-Kannada organisations. The consortium of the pro-Kannadaorganisations such as KCVP and Karnataka Rakshana Vedike(Shivarame Gowda faction) passed a resolution opposing thegovernment move and deciding to stage the bandh.

Kannada outfits to stage bandhopposing Maratha board move

Jaishankar hosts farewell lunch forenvoys of Dominican Republic, Fiji

Centre may send teams to States,UTs reporting rise in Covid casesPNS n NEW DELHI

The Centre is contemplatinsending high-level multidis-ciplinary teams to states andunion territories that arereporting a rise in COVID-19 cases, the Health Ministrysaid on Friday.

The Centre had onThursday rushed high-levelteams to districts of Haryana,Rajasthan, Gujarat andManipur to support thesestates' efforts towards strength-ening containment, surveil-lance, testing and efficient clin-ical management of coron-avirus positive cases.

In a statement issued onFriday, the Health Ministrysaid the Centre is also con-templating sending suchteams to other states and UTsthat are witnessing a surge inCOVID-19 positive cases.

"The Union governmenthas advised the State/UT gov-ernments to adopt aggressiveand widespread testing toensure that the missed out

and undetected positiveCOVID-19 cases are prompt-ly identified for timely andeffective tracing, containmentand subsequent treatment," itsaid.

The ministry on Thursdayhad said with the spike indaily new COVID-19 casesand fatalities in Delhi, thespillover effect is beingobserved in the NCR regions

and within Haryana andRajasthan where the numberof coronavirus posit ivepatients is on the rise.

On Friday, the total num-ber of coronavirus cases inIndia mounted to 90,04,365and the death toll to 1,32,162,with the infection claiming584 lives in a span of 24hours, as per the health min-istry data updated at 8 am.

Door-to-door survey in Delhicontainment zones amid Covid spikeNew Delhi: Amid a surge incoronavirus cases in the nationalcapital, a door-to-door survey foridentifying and testing peoplesymptomatic for COVID-19 incontainment and densely packedareas of the city commenced onFriday.

The survey will be completedwithin five days and will coverover 57 lakh people in contain-ment zones, dense areas andidentified clusters of virustransmission, officials said.Delhi Health minister SatyendarJain told reporters that thesurvey is aimed at identifyingand testing symptomatic peopleliving in containment zones anddensely packed areas.

District officials said all thecontainment zones and superspreader areas are beingcovered through teamsincluding teachers, municipalcorporation staff, Asha workers

and civil defence volunteers. "All protocols will be followed

to test all symptomatic persons.The survey will be completedwithin 5 days," said a districtmagistrate.There are currentlyover 4500 containment zones inDelhi.

Following a meeting betweenUnion Home Minister AmitShah and Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal, it was decided that thesurvey in the city will beconducted by teams of AIIMS,Delhi government andmunicipal corporations, and allthe symptomatic people foundin the survey would be testedand provided necessarytreatment. Around 9500surveillance teams have beenconstituted and deployed forconducting a door-to-doorsurvey. Each team has a targetto survey 50 households everyday, officials added.

PNS n MUMBAI

The Brihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) on Fridayannounced that schools in thecity will remain closed tillDecember 31, a change fromthe earlier decision to reopenthem from November 23, asthe metropolis witnesses anupward trend in COVID-19cases.

However, schools in othercities of Maharashtra canreopen as per schedule takinginto account local conditionsand the prevailing pandemicsituation, an official said.

Schools in Maharashtra,which are shut since March dueto the coronavirus outbreak,were set to reopen for Classes9 to 12 from November 23,post Diwali-holidays.

"COVID-19 cases are onthe rise in the city. Some

schools were used as testingand quarantine facilities amidthe pandemic.

"To prevent further spread ofthe infection, we have decidedto keep schools closed tillDecember 31," Mumbai mayorKishori Pednekar said.

After recording 409 newcoronavirus cases onNovember 16, the lowest dailycount since April, the city reg-istered 541, 871 and 924 freshinfections on November 17, 18and 19, respectively.

Meanwhile, schools in othercities of the state can reopen asper schedule, the official said.

"Schools in other parts of thestate can be reopened fromNovember 23 if local condi-tions are favourable," said thesenior official from the schooleducation department.

If there are no cases orvery few infections, then localauthorities such as municipalcommissioners or district col-lectors are empowered toreopen schools, he added.

Schools in Mumbai to remainclosed till Dec 31, says BMC

PNS n NAGPUR

Senior BJP leader DevendraFadnavis on Friday attackedthe Uddhav Thackeray-ledMaha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)government, saying it has nowrealised that it cannot fulfil thepromise of waiving powerbills.

His statement comes daysafter state Energy MinisterNitin Raut said that the gov-ernment will not be able toprovide any relaxation in theinflated electricity bills thatconsumers received and thatthey will have to make fullpayment of the bills.

Earlier this month, Rauthad hinted at a major relief tothe consumers facing the issueof inflated power bills, sayingthat a Diwali gift was in theoffing.

Talking to reporters inNagpur, Fadnavis said,"Earlier,they said that power bills willbe waived.

But nowthey realised thatitis not possible."

The former Maharashtrachief minister asserted thatallthe three state-run powercompanies performed in anex-cellent manner during theprevious BJP government ledby him, whenChandrashekhar Bawankulewas the energy minister.

"We purchased power at a

very cheap rate...We gavecon-cession to the poor and farm-ers during our rule.

If you(the government)have the courage, you also doit," the Leaderof Opposition inthe state Legislative Assemblysaid.

Minister Raut had onThursday said that thestatepower firms were makinghuge losses, and it was a"mess"created by the previousBJP regime

MVA realised it can't waivepower bills, says Fadnavis

‘Intl community will emerge stronger’PNS n NEW DELHI

President Ram Nath Kovind onFriday expressed optimismthat the international com-munity was very close to find-ing a solution to the coron-avirus pandemic and willemerge stronger and moreresilient from the crisis.

According to an officialstatement, President Kovind,while addressing an event,remarked that the COVID-19pandemic necessitatesenhanced global cooperationto ensure collective health andeconomic well-being ofhumankind.

He further expressed hisoptimism that the internation-al community was very close tofinding a solution to the pan-demic and will emerge strongerand more resilient from the cri-sis," the statement issued by theRashtrapati Bhavan said.

In a virtual ceremony,Kovind accepted credentialsfrom the Hungarian envoyAndras Laszlo Kiraly, HighCommissioner of the MaldivesHussain Niyaaz, Ambassadorof Chad Soungui Ahmed andAmbassador of TajikistanLukmon.

On the occasion, thePresident conveyed his goodwishes to the envoys on theirappointment, the statementsaid. He noted that India enjoyswarm and friendly relationswith all the four countries andthat the ties were deeply root-ed in a common vision of

peace and prosperity, it said. Kovind also thanked their

governments for supportingIndia's candidature for thenon-permanent seat of UNSecurity Council for the term2021-22, the statement said.

President RamNath Kovindexpressed hisoptimism thatthe internationalcommunity wasvery close tofinding asolution to thepandemic andwill emergestronger

Minimumtemperaturesdip acrossRajasthanPNS n JAIPUR

Night temperatures havedipped in several areas ofRajasthan with Mount Abu,the only hill station in thestate, recording a low of 2degrees Celsius, the meteoro-logical department said hereon Friday.

Churu recorded a mini-mum temperature of 5.7degrees Celsius, Sikar 6degrees Celsius, Pilani 7.1degrees Celsius,Sriganganagar 9.8 degreesCelsius and Bikaner record-ed a low of 10 degreesCelsius, it added.

The maximum tempera-tures recorded in most of thecities were 30 degrees Celsiusor lower, a weather depart-ment official said.

The department's forecastsaid night temperatures werelikely to fall further in thenext 24 hours.

Earlier this month,Raut had hinted at amajor relief to theconsumers facing theissue of inflated powerbills, saying that aDiwali gift was in theoffing

Wait continues for cabinetexercise in KarnatakaPNS n BENGALURU

As the wait continues forexpansion or reshuffle of cab-inet in Karnataka, DeputyChief Minister Laxman Savadisaid on Friday the high com-mand is likely to communicatetheir decision in about a week'stime. "CM (B S Yediyurappa)has made national president JP Nadda aware about all relat-ed matters here.

Nadda ji has informed theCM he will discuss with thePrime Minister and Amit Shah(Union Home minister) andwill convey the decision..Itwill come in four to six days,"Laxman Savadi told reportersat Kalaburagi. Responding toa question on some minister-ial aspirants meeting BJP statepresident Nalin Kumar Kateel,he said, "they (MLAs) havefreedom to express their feel-ings with the president and theChief Minister.

They have expressed their

opinion and the CM and thepresident will look into it."Yediyurappa after his meetingwith Nadda in Delhi yesterdayon the cabinet exercise, hadsaid the party national presi-dent has sought a couple ofdays time to consult otherleaders on the matter.

Developments in Delhi onWednesday was a repetition ofsorts for Yediyurappa, as hewas sent back with a similarreply by Nadda, when theChief Minister had gone witha proposal to take up cabinetexpansion exercise inSeptember, ahead of the mon-soon session of the state legis-lature. Political activitieshave intensified within theruling BJP camp in the stateafter Yediyurappa onNovember 10 indicated thatcabinet reshuffle was on thecards after the party's victoryin the bypolls to two assemblyconstituencies.

The Chief Minister had then

hinted about reshuffleby drop-ping or inducting someMinisters. The cabinet expan-sion or reshuffle is expected tobea tightrope walk forYediyurappa, considering thatthere are too many aspirants.

Several legislators haveopenly declared their aspira-tions and political hobnobbingis also taking place within theBJP circles.

A few aspirants had metBJP state president Kateel onThursday, apparently aimed atsecuring their place duringthe cabinet exercise this time.On the other hand, 8-timeMLA Umesh Katti, who hasbeen sulking on being denieda chance earlier, metYediyurappa on Friday.

Meanwhile in what is beingdubbed as related develop-ment, Water ResourcesMinister Ramesh Jarkiholi hasmet BJP national general sec-retary B L Santosh in NewDelhi.

BJP disturbingcommunalharmony, saysGehlotPNS n JAIPUR

Rajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot on Friday said"love jihad'' is a term manufac-tured by the BJP to divide thenation and disturb its commu-nal harmony. He said the mar-riage is a matter of personal lib-erty and bringing a law to curbit is completely unconstitu-tional, he said.

It will not stand the scrutinyby any court of law, he added."Jihad has no place in love. Theyare creating an environment inthe nation where consentingadults would be at the mercy ofstate power. Marriage is a per-sonal decision and they areputting curbs on it which is likesnatching away the personal lib-erty," Gehlot tweeted.

Chouhan equates Gupkaralliance with ‘intelligence’ outfitPNS n BHOPAL

Madhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Shivraj SinghChouhan on Friday likenedthe Gupkar alliance in Jammuand Kashmir to an "intelli-gence organisation" whosemembers he said were "spying"for China and Pakistan.

The People's Alliance forGupkar Declaration (PAGD)is a conglomerate of politicalparties in Jammu andKashmir. The amalgam,which has political partieslike the NC and the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP), wasformed to seek restoration ofArticle 370 in J&K, scrappedby the Centre last year. "Whatshould I call it...? Gupkarsangathan or guptachar (spy)sangathan. These are people

spying for China andPakistan, Chouhan toldreporters here. This is not analliance....these leaders ofGupkar sangathan havegrabbed land worth morethan Rs 25,000 crore inJammu and Kashmir, healleged.

"Be it the NationalConference or the PDP, chil-dren of their leaders havestudied abroad. They gavestones to the children ofKashmir. "They lived a luxu-rious life and had freedom toloot Kashmir, the BJP chiefminister alleged. Asked aboutthe BJP's alliance with thePDP in the past, Chouhansaid his party cant stay withpeople having an "anti-nation-al" outlook and that is why itwalked out of the coalition.

‘Maintain vigil indts bordering Delhi’PNS n LUCKNOW

Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath on Fridaydirected senior officials tomaintain special vigil in dis-tricts adjoining Delhi in viewof the spike in COVID-19cases there.

The chief minister has askedsenior officials to maintainvigil in Meerut, GautamBuddh Nagar and Ghaziabadbesides Lucknow, KanpurNagar, Prayagraj andGorakhpur, an officialspokesperson said.

The chief minister alsodirected officials to take spe-cial caution in these districtsin view of the rising COVID-19 cases in Delhi.

The chief minister has askedthe medical education minis-ter and health minister to

review the health services inGhaziabad and GautamBuddh Nagar, the spokesper-son said.

Asking the IntegratedCommand and ControlCentre to remain alert, thechief minister said surveil-lance and contact tracingshould also remain effective.The chief minister said coro-navirus positive patients whoare in the high risk groupshould not be allowed homequarantine and should beadmitted to COVID hospitals.

The Indian seed industry hasmade rapid progress overthe past 50 years, maturing

because of the ceaseless efforts ofthousands of men and women,who have created a strong R&Dbase and given us a competitiveadvantage in ensuring quality.India is endowed with diverseagro-climatic conditions, highlevel of technology expertise,trained and skilled manpower,suitable land and abundant sun-shine for agriculture. The country,therefore, has immense potentialto emerge as the leading providerof seeds to the world. We canexport varietals for all kinds offield crops, vegetables, foragecrops and flowers.

However, considering thedevelopments in terms of the newand emerging disruptive businessoperating models and processesaligned with innovative technolo-gy interventions, there is a need toinvest in concrete initiatives forfurther strengthening the Indianseed industry as part of“Atmanirbar Krishi.”

The Indian seed industry, as asub-sector of the agri-inputsindustry, has been the most vibrantin terms of innovation and growthover the past four decades, con-tributing to a significant increasein productivity and profitability offarmers in India. The well-bal-anced seed quality legislativeframework, set up by the Seed Act,the New Seed policy, 1988 andNational Seed Policy in 2002,boosted private sector participa-tion in a sector that had its foun-dations laid by public sector seedsystems. However, much needs tobe done in terms of furtherreforms and policy interventions.

The role of new technologies,like molecular-marker based selec-tion approaches to fast-trackbreeding programmes for develop-ment of new/superior plant vari-eties, needs to be further strength-ened as an integral part of the seedindustry. Also biotechnologicaland molecular approaches canimprove the quality assurancesystems. An emerging area, whichutilises biotechnology and nano-technologies and can contributesignificantly to productivity andprofitability of farmers, is seedtreatment with biological inocu-lants. This can also be promotedon a large scale as part of seed-applied technologies.

The Indian seed industry can

become a globally competi-tive, export-oriented and self-reliant industry, especially forseveral Asian, African, EastEuropean and South Americancountries, which share similaragro-climatic conditions likeIndia as, with respect to inter-national trade, most countriesallow seed imports subject tothe following: (a) Import per-mit based on sanitary and phy-tosanitary certificates and (b)Variety evaluation in theimporting country to ascertainits suitability to the agro climat-ic conditions.

Currently, there are no sig-nificant export incentives avail-able to the seed sector thoughthe export potential is esti-mated at more than $ 5 billionper year based on variousindustry estimates. India canoffer seeds for export to manycountries with suitable sub-tropical and tropical agro-cli-matic regions in Asia, Africa,Eastern Europe and so on ataffordable prices similar to ourpharma and agro-chemical sectors. The following incen-tives can help.

Incentive to the extent of 20per cent of the seed value thatis exported must be consideredbecause in sectors like pharmaand garments, similar incen-tives have been available for along time to encourage exportsin the initial stages. Theseincentives can be graduallybrought down to 10 per centafter five years. A provision of`100 crore may be adequate forthe next five years and `100crore for the next six to 10 years.

Reimbursement of the costof variety evaluation in any for-

eign country is a progressivepolicy. It may be consideredhere, too, as the seed companieshave to incur heavy expensesfor variety evaluation, which isa pre-condition for obtainingexport orders. This expenseneeds to be reimbursed at leastto the extent of 75 per cent bythe Government. A provision ofabout `100 crore may be ade-quate for the next 10 years formeeting plant variety evalua-tion expenses for export pur-poses. Seed manufacturers addto economies of the importingcountries and help get more for-eign reserves into the country.Hence they should be reward-ed with up to 30 per cent sub-sidy.

India has lacked a seedexport promotion council for along time. The Government,under the trade and export pro-motion council, should instituteone with industry representa-tives and ensure that seedexports amount to 10 per centof total agriculture exports.

India has three major seedhubs in the country. But givenour vast agro-climate, we cancater to demands from Africato ASEAN countries. TheGovernment needs to allowIndian and foreign seed com-panies to breed seeds for exportpurposes in special agro-zones.These zones may function likeSEZs. They need to be equippedwith dry docks, good trans-portation, seed testing facilitiesand so on to facilitate swiftexports. A single window clear-ance counter can be estab-lished for fast tracking permis-sions.

An “Atmanirbhar Krishi” or

self-reliant seed sector needs theSAARC markets and good eco-nomic relations betweenSAARC countries. TheGovernment and industry needto step forward and create aSAARC seed forum, which willhelp ease-of-doing-business inthe sub-continent and also pro-vide avenues for internationaltrading without restrictions.This body should strictly be aneconomic one for policy andregulatory advocacy among theSAARC countries. The Indianseed sector will grow immense-ly if we can spearhead this drive.

Finally, climate change iscausing a rapid shift in thedemands of seeds globally. Verysoon, many nations won’t havethe financial resources to evadethis crisis. But we can be a hubfor seed research for the world.Our versatile climate allows usto research and co-evolve newvarieties that may be suited formany countries. For even oneor two varieties at the right timecan change the fate of thenation and bring millions ofdollars into India. Hence theGovernment needs to providedevelopment grants to IndianR&D companies so that theycan track future challenges,assess demand and create a seedbank for Africa, Latin Americaand ASEAN countries. TheGovernment may also partnerwith African nations to out-source their seed R&D to us.This would boost innovationhere while providing lesserdeveloped nations an access tocheaper research and seeds.

(The author is Director,Policy and Outreach, NationalSeed Association of India)

Areport by the global forecasting firm, OxfordEconomics, predicting that India will be one of theworst-hit economies even after the worst impact of

the pandemic is beyond us, has given Government baitersa new stick to beat it with. However, one must rememberthat several previous predictions of doom and gloom forIndia, either in terms of its caseload and number of deaths,have been proven to be premature fear-mongering. Whilethe economic relief packages have been admittedly com-ing slow and staggered, one must not forget that several

prominent economists have argued that India has not rushed into any action and is wait-ing out to see what long-term impacts the Coronavirus will have before taking major actionon reviving aspects of the economy. Currently, some structural reforms have been madeto spur development. So one should treat all reports of what will happen four years in thefuture with a major pinch of salt.

It is true that manufacturing and services have been hard hit by the pandemic andwhile ratings agencies and the Government might quibble about the exact figures, India’seconomy will contract by around a tenth this year. Many sectors, such as aviation, trav-el and tourism, will take a good five-six years to return to prosperity that they had knownand we are yet to see the worst of the jobs impact on the economy as various moratori-ums come to an end. There are slight glimmers of hope though, including increased carand two-wheeler sales over the past few months. But there is also no doubt that a newtsunami of cases is upon us, whether we recognise it in the data or not, particularly inDelhi where public carelessness might have a fatal impact with specialised hospital bedsbeginning to run short. This has led to much speculation that Government authorities inIndia, like their counterparts across Europe, might need to declare a second shutdown. Itwould be prudent for forecasting firms, none of which saw the pandemic coming, to waitand watch as well and at least wait until the worst of the Coronavirus is past us beforesounding the Doomsday alarms.

China isn’t expected to concede any territorial advan-tage it has along its shared border with India andits continued depredations only prove the pre-

dictability of its acquisitive strategies and the futility ofexpecting talks to tame its expansionist ambition. That’swhy the report that it had infringed on Bhutan’s sover-eignty and set up a permanent settlement 2 km withinits border, close to Doklam, didn’t quite come as a sur-prise though subsequently this was denied by Bhutan’sambassador. Beijing has anyway mastered the art ofsmart tradeoffs with our allies. But satellite images haveconfirmed the report. The news of the Chinese settle-

ment very close to Doklam was first shared by CGTN news producer Shen Shiwei, a mediaorganisation considered to be the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) stooge, but waslater deleted. He had posted pictures of a neat residential settlement complete with ameni-ties. Perhaps this was part of China’s information propaganda war, creating a perceptionof and the desire for the goodness of the Chinese way of life and intimidating borderingnations to subscribe to territorial and economic transactions loaded in its favour. But thatdoesn’t mean that it has lost sight of either Bhutan, where it has already ingressed into awildlife sanctuary, or Doklam in particular. And given reports of the Chinese takeover ofNepal’s bordering villages, the wolf warrior tactic is playing out both in the strategic andinformation domain. China will never give up Doklam though it simmered down tensionwith India after the standoff in 2017. That’s because this patch of land is crucial for ensur-ing its unhindered road connectivity from Chumbi Valley to bordering areas of India andBhutan. Without this cushion, it would be constricted by both India and Bhutan on eitherside and wouldn’t like their hawk eyes on it. Similarly, the Chinese consolidation aroundDoklam threatens India’s chicken neck access to the Northeast, particularly ArunachalPradesh that China insists is “south Tibet.” Beijing’s desperation is evident from the factthat in 1996, it “offered” to “give up” its claims to the 495 sq km of land in the Pasamlungand Jakarlung valleys of Bhutan in return for 269 sq km in Doklam. And despite a breatherto India, hoping to continue a frenemy relationship with Narendra Modi than any other Indianleader and, therefore, cooling down till the latter’s re-election, it fortified its positions closeto the site within a year. Its over-adventurism at Galwan eroded that understanding betweenthe two leaders and its continued intransigence has only worsened equations. In fact, thisis a pincer attack of sorts, drawing us to the eastern front and compounding pressure onus to vacate the Chushul heights in Ladakh, a strategic perch that allows us a privilegedview of the Chinese road to Aksai Chin. China is revving up defence infrastructure alongthe Line of Actual Control (LAC). Post-Galwan, it has firmed up positions along the cen-tral, Sikkim and eastern sectors. It has been ramping up surface-to-air missile sites, increasedthe number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and expanded air bases in Tibet.

Bhutan is most certain to emerge as the next flashpoint as China has never forgottenhow the former chose to get close to India during the Tibetan annexation. China furtherrefused to recognise the traditional watershed principle that had decided the boundariesbetween Bhutan and Tibet. And claimed there were perceptional differences over territo-ry in much the same manner of its argument with India. Since 1981, we have had count-less rounds of talks with China at different levels and 22 between Special Representativesalone since 2003. Still we have not resolved our territorial dispute, China now seekinglegitimacy for its 1959 claim line. Already, it has browbeaten India at the talks table onLadakh by calling for a buffer zone, which means our forces cannot patrol up to the pointsthey used to because of the Chinese insistence on a no man’s land. This would allow itto build resources on its side unmonitored and reverse any disengagement move at a shortnotice. This clause also makes Indian vigilance difficult besides stretching our alertnessat all times. And now by pushing us off Chushul in exchange for withdrawing from someareas it has claimed, it is forcing us into a deal. India should not agree to any position thatdoesn’t guarantee status quo ante across all sectors of the LAC. Both sides have consid-erable reasons to de-escalate. India, which is dealing with the pandemic spiral and rebuild-ing a battered economy, can’t afford to devote significant resources to the military at thisparticular juncture. On the other hand, the Chinese Government wants to focus on its grow-ing GDP, the only major economy to register a growth in a pandemic-hit year. However,earlier in September, after the meeting of the foreign ministers of the two countries, theChinese Communist Party mouthpiece, Global Times, noted that the implementation ofthe agreement depended on whether India is able to keep up its end of the bargain. It said:“Unless India followed through, this would be little more than what he called paper talk.”And on November 12, it claimed that reports of India and China having finalised a detaileddisengagement were “inaccurate” at this stage. Till there is no signed agreement betweenthe two sides on the logistics of the retreat, not much can be said. For now, India is beingrightfully cautious. China has stepped up aggression in Hong Kong, virtually quieteningthe pro-democracy activists, is heaving down on Taiwan and is threatening Australia withbrutal economic decisions for refusing entry of Huawei in 5G operations and investments.Beijing has never believed in “good faith” diplomacy. It will step up its multi-pronged offen-sive against us and choke our allies, too. It has already got to Bhutan.

China’s new game

Irresponsible mediaSir — It should ease our mindsthat the Supreme Court is seizedof the blatant misuse of mediafreedom by some TV news chan-nels and is keen on nudging theGovernment to take steps to rec-tify the situation. Indeed, itrequires urgent attention sincedrawing a false equivalencebetween “free speech” and “hatespeech” and between “virulentnationalism” and “civic national-ism,” certain channels continue topeddle rabidly communal stuff.This is devoured with relish bymany viewers. But then, massviewership or popular consump-tion is not a good enough reasonto allow them to present news sto-ries in adversarial terms andspread the poison of religioushatred. There is a fine line betweeninforming the public and polar-ising society. One of the media’sroles is to edify and unite peopleand not to divide them or cater totheir baser instincts.

On-air bigotry is just as bad.Loosely describing participants inthe Tablighi Jamaat conference as“intentional superspreaders”, theinduction of Muslim youth intocivil services as “UPSC jihad” and

inter-faith marriages as “love jihad”brings the media into disrepute.Masquerading of vicious hate-mongers as TV anchors is a curseon Indian journalism.Dissemination of falsehoods andpost-truths cannot go on withoutdebilitating the country and wreck-ing its foundational values. It is inthis context that “regulation”assumes relevance and becomes

an urgent need. Ideally, a democ-racy should do with the voluntaryregulation of the Press. But theway some channels go aboutplaying their roles justifies theneed for some sort of regulatoryoversight by, say, a judicial bodyor a parliamentary panel. The rul-ing party’s double standard man-ifests itself in describing journal-ists who act as their mouthpiece

as “nationalists” and independentjournalists as “anti-nationals.”The country now needs more ofgood and ethical journalism forus to be a vibrant democracy.

David Milton Maruthancode

Cong must wake up Sir — Three months ago, theCongress “letter writers” shocked

the nation by asking party chiefSonia Gandhi to revitalise theparty and restore its organisation-al democracy, indecisive leader-ship being their top concern.Sonia Gandhi did a cosmeticrejig of the party, leaving nodoubt who was the boss. Now,Kapil Sibal has fired a fresh salvo.In a newspaper interview, he hasquestioned the “nomination cul-ture” of the party. The CongressWorking Committee (CWC) ispacked with Gandhi loyalists.Independent-minded leaders haveno place in it. So an election to theCWC looks far-fetched. Till menand women with their own mindfind a place in the highest deci-sion-making body, the party willcontinue to find itself in a hole.

Sibal wants more “dialogue”within the party, a tough ask. InCongress, there are no discus-sions, only orders. How can anational party hope to capturepower at the Centre withoutsome of the States in its kitty? Thisis something the Congress needsto think about.

Ganapathi BhatAkola

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

www.dailypioneer.comfacebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

op nionHYDERABAD | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 21, 2020

06

Seeding a new marketThe Indian seed industry, as a sub-sector of the agri-inputs industry, has been the

most vibrant in terms of innovation and growth over the past four decades

The Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19vaccine should be available forhealthcare workers and elderlypeople by February 2021 and byApril for the general public. It willbe 2024 for everybody.

Serum Institute of India, CEO —Adar Poonawalla

Govt must provide free vaccine

It's good news that the world isclose to a vaccine for the COVID-19 pandemic. Pfizer and

Moderna have achieved a highdegree of efficacy at over 90 percent, using radical technologieswhich have the potential to tackleother critical diseases. Union HealthMinister Harsha Vardhan recentlysaid that the vaccine will be available in three to fourmonths and that India has made arrangements to vac-cinate 250-300 million people in the first phase.

However, the politics of the vaccine — especial-ly as major powers seek to derive geopolitical advan-tage from it — will matter. The procurement of vac-cines, especially for India, will hinge on agreementsit is able to strike both bilaterally and multilaterally, whileleveraging its own domestic production capacity.

The proper storage and distribution of the

Coronavirus vaccines will hinge onembarking on a comprehensivepartnership using public infrastruc-ture and collaborating with privatesector players. The Health Ministerhas rightly stated that frontlineworkers and the elderly will be pri-oritised in administering the vaccine.

However, most critically, theaffordability of the vaccines will matter the most. Itwould be wisest for the Government to pay up and pro-vide either discounted or free shots for the people, giventhat this will not just save lives but act as the single-most important stimulus to bring the economy backon track. Tracking and building each element of thevaccine architecture should be the single-most impor-tant governance priority over the next year.

N Sadhasiva Reddy, Bengaluru

No instant shot

Bhutan is most certain to emerge as the next flashpoint asBeijing makes territorial ingress near Doklam

Our pandemic-hit economy will continue to misfire forsome time but that doesn't mean analysts can write us off

INDRA SHEKHAR SINGH

The people of Pakistanand the Governmenthave only one concernand that is what you arefeeling in Afghanistan,that we want peace.

Pakistan PM —Imran Khan

I was planning on taking to theroad and telling stories in anhour of stand-up. Stand-upcomics, they are the best truthtellers we have. If I can get awaywith this, then I'd love to.

Hollywood actor—Matthew McConaughey

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 EI have always been very connected with the ISL. I have enjoyed it because born in Calcutta and from a very young age, I have seen football only.

Former cricketer —Sourav Ganguly

CURRENTLY, THERE ARE NO

SIGNIFICANT EXPORTINCENTIVES

AVAILABLE TO THESEED SECTOR

THOUGH THE EXPORTPOTENTIAL IS

ESTIMATED AT MORETHAN $ 5 BILLION

PER YEAR BASED ONVARIOUS INDUSTRY

ESTIMATES. INDIACAN OFFER SEEDS

FOR EXPORT TOMANY COUNTRIES

WITH SUITABLE SUB-TROPICAL AND

TROPICAL AGRO-CLIMATIC

REGIONS IN ASIA,AFRICA, EASTERN

EUROPE AND SO ON

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Manage terror better

MARRIAGE IS A PERSONAL DECISION AND THEY ARE

PUTTING CURBS ON IT, WHICH IS LIKE SNATCHING

AWAY PERSONAL LIBERTY.

—RAJASTHAN CHIEF MINISTER

ASHOK GEHLOT

THE CM HOLDS THE HOME DEPARTMENT AND THE

MATTER IS OF SERIOUS CONCERN. A STRONG LAW

SHOULD BE MADE AGAINST LOVE JIHAD.

—BJP MLA

VASUDEV DEVNANI

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

The multiple gun attacks in Vienna are the nefar-ious outcome of a deliberate misinterpretationof religious identity. This kind of narrative has

led to the beheading of a history teacher in Franceand stabbing of three innocents in Nice and so on.All these incidents are clear indicators that post-mod-ern terrorism is likely to haunt the world in gener-al and Europe in particular. These attacks are also areminder of an array of socio-political and globalissues which Europe has to come to terms with.Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has already hint-ed towards Huntington’s Clashes of Civilisations the-ory coming true. He called the recent gun attack byan Islamist terrorist “an attack of terror driven byhatred of our way of life, our democracy.” Thisupsurge in religiously-motivated hitback attacks hasmarked the beginning of the pernicious era of ter-rorism. The rising tide of immigration and humansmuggling across the borders in Europe has posedserious logistical and security challenges to France,Germany and Britain. Undoubtedly these are defin-ing moments for the leaders of Europe. It is high timecountries developed sophisticated mechanisms tohandle the problem head on as it has already causedsevere tension between various nations and com-pounded the problem of human trafficking andrefugees across the globe. In certain pockets, the prob-lems of migration and refugees have resulted in aquagmire. The influx of refugees, who have fled dueto disturbances in Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, hasadded a new dimension to the existing problem ofviolence and crime in Central Asian Republics. Inan era of globalisation, the world is becoming smalland integrated but due to its inner paradoxes, it isgetting fragmented and turning out to be a highlysectarian place.

The recent incidents cannot be viewed in iso-lation. History bears testimony to various such trag-ic events. A few years ago, the bombing of civiliansin Oklahoma City (which left more than 200 peo-ple dead) sent shockwaves around the world. A mys-terious gas attack at the main train station in a Tokyosubway, that killed 12 people and left nearly 5,000hospitalised, also sent dangerous signals. All such actswere a violent culmination of plans that were care-fully executed by terrorists. Similarly, most countriesof the world, including India, Russia , Spain, the UK,US, Italy, Israel, and China, are suffering due to ter-rorist activities in one way or another. Although vio-lence in itself is condemnable, very rarely is a ter-rorist attack a nihilistic act bereft of any deeper under-currents. And the structure of violence is more oftenthan not located in society and social conditions,which not only create them but also nourish and rein-force them. Recurrence of violence is symptomaticof a society’s body politic, torn asunder by variedthreats and tensions.

Very often, the social conditions that generateconflict and violence have external coordinates. Tomany experts dealing with the terror driven by reli-giously-motivated thinking, it is on account of newchallenges the post-modern world is experiencingbecause of the past mistakes of not calling a spadea spade till the spectre started creating havoc in theirown backyard. To many social scientists dealing withterrorism in a globalised world, the matrix of powerrests on the highly-visible, unequal structure of theinternational economy. Such inter-relations betweensocio-economic conditions in different parts of theworld are becoming more and more obvious daily.At another level, the post-Cold War internationalpolitical-economic order is still a victim of the power

game that was thrust on the world by thethen “Big Powers.” The power networkwoven by the US and its allies in the entireWest Asian region has provoked the ire ofthe opposition forces in almost every Statewhere the US has had an interest-basedrelationship. Thus, as societies globaliseand the curtains of opacity are raisedthrough increased inter-societal interac-tion at the international level, people in theunderdeveloped countries are holdingthe “Big Powers” responsible for their infe-rior socio-economic positions. There hasalways been a smooth international net-work of collaboration among the variousterrorist groups supported by a few coun-tries throughout the world. For example,take Pakistan’s involvement in orchestrat-ing terrorism in Kashmir and the JapaneseRed Army’s collaboration with Italy’s RedBrigade. It is sometimes the wide cover-age by the media which provides the ratio-nale for terrorism and increases the prob-lem by stimulating it. This is a classic exam-ple of how astute media management canreduce the level of moral opposition tocounter-terrorism. The latest has been theobnoxious nexus between the Al Qaeda,the ISIS and LeT. Their deadly combina-tion has laid siege to peace and security.

European nations alone have wit-nessed more than 8,500 terrorist incidentssince 1990, representing about 29 per centof the total global incidents. The situationhas become vulnerable since 2016 and withthe increasing rise in the cases of illegalmigration across the European coun-tries. The rise of modern terrorism withfrightening ramifications has resulted ina demand for strengthening the nationallaw and order machinery. Of late, the pres-sure on the police and security agencies hasbeen mounting. But the existing laws stillpose many problems. The use of police andparamilitary forces for combating terror-ism has created an apprehension that it

might lead to the oppression of the gen-eral populace. Surprisingly, a proper legaldefinition of terrorism is yet to be found.The widening gap between the variousgovernments regarding evolving a com-mon strategy for suppression of terrorismneeds to be viewed in the context of thepotential for threat that it holds. Even theEuropean convention on suppression ofterrorism is restricted by Article 5 andArticle 13, which refuse the extradition ofa terrorist on many grounds. In an envi-ronment where terrorist violence is endem-ic and the world stands hopelessly divid-ed on various laws, all countries shouldshun their national prerogatives for deal-ing with terrorism.

Many efforts have been made by anumber of nations to control State-spon-sored terrorism, such as through econom-ic sanctions, but so far they have notreached a consensus either at the nation-al or global level. During the last twodecades, increasing drug smuggling andthe unholy nexus between drug smugglersand terrorists have posed a serious prob-lem to the internal State-security networksand compelled various nations to organ-ise themselves and wage a relentless waragainst such a nexus. But mere implemen-tation of vigorous drug laws cannotbecome effective unless the judicial pro-cedure is modified for ensuring speedy tri-als. The continuing uncertainties withregard to terrorism have encouraged var-ious countries to launch psychological war-fare against terrorism.

The London Economic SummitConference, organised by NATO Statesand Japan a few years ago, proved to beanother landmark for the eradication ofterrorism, which decided that unless weattack the roots of terrorism, only super-ficial relief could be seen but violencewould increase in the total quantum of itsimpact. Creation of general awareness and

organisation of public support against ter-rorist acts could be of immense use.

While it is desirable to allow police andthe armed forces to employ betterinformed judgment about local problems,there is, of course, a danger that thisattempt of the Government could dilutethe benefits to those deemed deservingand, thus, any possibility of peace andnegotiation. Rapid international trans-portation and use of sophisticated weaponshave helped the expansion of terrorist net-works globally. Besides, the new suicidesquads have left the entire security appa-ratus shocked.

As religiously-motivated attacksincrease globally, the concept that oneman’s terrorist can be another man’s free-dom fighter must be done away with. Thelocal populace should cooperate with thelaw enforcement machinery even at thecost of personal misery while prompt andstrict decisions should be undertaken byvarious nations for controlling terroristspsychologically. In a changing environ-ment, the security apparatus and policeneed to diversify activities by bringingtogether technical and professional exper-tise based on many decades of experiencein maintaining internal security. In thisregard, the most crucial aspect is to devel-op the capability to anticipate securityneeds.

This is possible by conducting spe-cialised courses for monitoring security sit-uations.Unless we attack the roots of ter-rorism, we would have only superficialrelief and terrorism would magnify in thetotal quantum of its impact. The need ofthe hour is international cooperation totackle the menace and forming an integrat-ed team after minutely comprehending theinner dynamics of the problem.

(The writer is a professor of political sci-ence, Visiting Professor, University ofLeuven, Belgium)

As religiously-motivated attacks increase globally, the concept that one man’sterrorist can be another man’s freedom fighter must be done away with

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

Curb antibioticpollution, now

KOTA SRIRAJ

Left unchecked, drug-resistant bacteria due toantibiotic pollution have the potential to unleash a

much larger and deadlier pandemic

SUDHIR HINDWAN

THE LOCALPOPULACE

SHOULDCOOPERATE WITH

THE LAWENFORCEMENT

MACHINERY EVENAT THE COST OF

PERSONAL MISERYWHILE PROMPT

AND STRICTDECISIONS

SHOULD BEUNDERTAKEN BY

VARIOUS NATIONSFOR CONTROLLING

TERRORISTSPSYCHOLOGICALLY.

IN A CHANGINGENVIRONMENT, THE

SECURITYAPPARATUS ANDPOLICE NEED TO

DIVERSIFYACTIVITIES BY

BRINGINGTOGETHER

TECHNICAL ANDPROFESSIONAL

EXPERTISE BASEDON MANY DECADES

OF EXPERIENCE INMAINTAINING

INTERNALSECURITY

There was a time when antibiotic resistance in human beingsand animal pathogens was not common. But today, multi-drug resistant bacteria have become fairly commonplace,

posing a major challenge to our healthcare providers and increas-ing human fatality rates. Scientific evidence is suggestive of thefact that antibiotic resistance genes and antibiotics in the envi-ronment are playing a major role in perpetuating a new healthcrisis. Some of the major sources are waste from large-scaleanimal farms, waste water from antibiotic manufacturing firmsand refuse from hospitals. Manure, or compost especially, is aworrying source of this antibiotic contamination. With no stan-dardisation or mandatory testing of the end product, the largelylocally-produced manure and compost products that are usedon a large-scale are replete with antibiotic residues and resis-tant bacteria.

As COVID-19 rages on, the probability of large-scale drugresistant infections suddenly seems very possible. According tothe publication, Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, 7,00,000people die each year globally due to resistant infections and thisfigure is only set to grow in the coming days. It further estimatesthat by 2050, a whopping 10 million lives would be at risk glob-ally due to resistant strains of infections that would progressive-ly weaken the immune system to such a level that the humanbody would find it difficult to defend itself against even small dis-eases such as urinary tract infections. This is because humanbodies will become colonised by these harmful bacteria. Antibioticsalso provide a selection pressure for environmental bacteria tomaintain antibiotic resistance mechanisms.

Thankfully, there is an increasing awareness the world overconcerning the spike in the presence of antibiotic-resistant bac-teria in the environment. In the US, urban river bodies and riverbed sediments in cities like Baltimore are already showing height-ened levels of antibiotics. Following this, the city municipal coun-cils, in association with the environment authorities in the US,are taking extraordinary measures to contain the pollution in localwater bodies. India must look at the global developments andimmediately undertake initiatives to understand the depth of antibi-otic pollution in its own environment. This is critical because antibi-otic pollution-triggered superbug infections are already wreck-ing havoc, with nearly 60,000 newborns dying each year in thecountry due to them.

To stem the proliferation of antibiotic pollution, India will needto list all the potential contamination and breeding hotspots.According to studies, antibiotic pollution is the highest in waste-water treatment plants, as this is the place where bacteria fromthe environment meets with human pathogenic ones, leading tothe genesis of new and virulent strains. Apart from this, India,apart from China, happens to be the world’s largest manufac-turer of antibiotics and is known to discharge high levels of thesewaste effluents into the air and the water. This contamination hasbeen happening for decades in the country and is understoodto be the epicentre of the birth of superbug infections that areresistant to all known medication.

Albeit a little too late, the authorities in the country have wokenup to the threat posed by this, especially through river bodies.A draft Bill issued in January seeks to limit the concentration lev-els of antibiotic waste released by manufacturing units into theenvironment in order to ensure that the risk to human health isminimised. Though it is late in coming, this development has imme-diately caught the attention of the international research commu-nity specialising in antibiotic pollution of the environment. TheDepartment of Antibiotic Resistance Research at the GothenburgUniversity called the Indian Government’s draft Bill a “great leapforward” to contain the problem.

Though a welcome step in the right direction, the draft Billstill has a long way to go. The Government must initiate strin-gent crackdown on pharma units engaged in manufacturing antibi-otics to regularly reveal the scale, quality and limit of their efflu-ent discharge into the surrounding environment such as waterbodies. Additionally, the information must also reflect on the offi-cial web portals of the said companies so that international andnational clients are aware of the environmental accountability ofthe firm and transparency of data. Measures such as these willcoerce these companies into following environmental and humanhealth norms or be labelled as polluters and pay heavy fines.

Left unchecked, drug-resistant bacteria due to antibiotic pol-lution have the potential to unleash a much larger and deadlierpandemic. The consequences need to be understood and countermeasures taken rapidly to avoid this eventuality.

(The writer is an environmental journalist)

Keeping China out is the newtrade policy of India. Its prima-ry approach is that anything

that opens the door to Chinese prod-ucts is a “strict no-no.” So it’s no sur-prise that India is keeping out of theRegional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) free trade agree-ment (FTA), an initiative New Delhiwas engaged in since its inception.Theoretically, it comes at a minimumcost as India already has FTAs withall but three RCEP members.

Home Minister Amit Shah hadlast month told RCEP member coun-tries that they would have to comearound to accepting New Delhi’sterms. “Considering India’s growingstature, RCEP members can’t affordto ignore it for long and will comearound to agreeing to the

Government of India’s terms.Meanwhile, the country has main-tained successful economic relationswith ASEAN by the means of FTAs,”he said. The RCEP, too, has kept thedoors open for India officially, if at allit wants to join the grouping withouthaving to wait for 18 months, as stip-ulated for new members. As per theRCEP’s decision, India can still par-ticipate as an observer.

India had taken the decision inNovember 2019 to keep out of theRCEP, with the partnership being seenas China-centric and due to the per-ception that it would boost sales ofcheap Chinese products and harm thecountry’s industries.

India’s approach on the deal is theresult of unfavourable trade balancesthat it has with several RCEP mem-bers, with some of which it already hasFTAs. The Commerce Ministry saysthat the Compound Annual GrowthRate (CAGR) in trade with such coun-tries was a mere 7.1 per cent. India hastrade deficits with 11 of the 15 RCEPnations. This means that while thepartners have access to our market,India has not penetrated theirs.Hence, it cannot further open up its

market for the advantage of others.Still India has agreements with theASEAN, South Korea and Japan. It isnegotiating deals with Australia, NewZealand and Singapore and there aretreaties with Nepal and Bhutan.However, there are apprehensions thatRCEP could impact the Australia-India-Japan network in the Indo-Pacific region. India and like-mind-ed nations, particularly the Quadcountries — Australia, the US andJapan — are keen to have resilientsupply chains. Along with NewZealand, South Korea and Vietnam,they are negotiating with each other.

External Affairs Minister SJaishankar, while delivering theRamnath Goenka Lecture in 2019,had said that India’s stance was a“clear-eyed calculation” of the gainsand costs of entering a new arrange-ment. He also said that India wouldcontinue with its “act East” policy. Itshould also be remembered that theRCEP decision is linked to China’saggressive postures in the SouthChina Sea and on the Line of ActualControl, including the June 15 Galwanincident in which 20 Indian and manyChinese soldiers lost their lives. It may

be recalled that Jaishankar even inJanuary had said that New Delhi’sdoors to RCEP were not closed. Butin September, he said, “You cannot bea rising power without being a risingeconomy, and to do that you have tobuild your domestic capacities.” Hisviews are not very different from thatof the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch,which had been opposing most FTAsand stressing on improving thedomestic economy.

It certainly has not been an easydecision. India would have to weighthe gains of a bulk agreement andindividual treaties. A similar concernwas expressed when New Delhi choseto opt out of the Belt and RoadInitiative (BRI) in 2017. It was saidthat India might be isolating itself.Now after three years, like-mindeddemocracies appreciate New Delhi forits prudent decision, which many nowsee as an exploitative Chinese diplo-macy. Significantly, many membersare not enjoying their stay in the BRI.There is the contrary view as well. Itsays that India’s economic declineoccurred even as China’s economical-ly and strategically important BRIwent on to cover two-thirds of the

world’s population. Beijing dominates the psyche of

policymakers. India is highly depen-dent on China for imports of lithiumion batteries, antibiotics, personalcomputers, colour TVs, solar cells,toys and so on. Despite the recent ini-tiatives by the Centre to improvedomestic production in many ofthese goods, concerns remain. WhatChina has done is to consolidate itseconomy since 1979. Thus, produc-tion cost is minimum and it has a pric-ing mechanism that happens to be thelowest in any country in the local cur-rency.

India has to learn the techniqueof creating a vibrant domestic systemwith a market across the world.Chinese merchandise today decidesinternational prices. While India suc-cessfully blocked imports of idols ofGanesh, Lakshmi and other deities, itcould not succeed in lowering theprices of “Made in India” products.This cannot be considered goodeconomy. Possibly for this reason,China looms large in reports submit-ted by eight Groups of Ministers(GoMs) formed during the ongoingpandemic. These GoMs have called

for a balance between supporting eco-nomic performance and geopoliticsand most have focussed on ways tocounter China. They call for contex-tualising issues like Chinese aggres-sion on communication tools, needfor specialised spokespersons onissues like China and the environmentand many other dependencies onBeijing.

The obsession with China is tooapparent. Of late, despite all efforts,New Delhi’s policy approaches areChina-centric. India may have torevive the planning process it gave upin 2014 as the NITI Aayog has notbeen a proper replacement. Thecountry needs to evolve a long-termpolicy prescription. India has to con-sider moving out of the growth-cen-tric approach and replace it withprogress. So RCEP or not, India hasto have a holistic approach towardsthe economy. It needs a wider visionand approach for progress and has toimbibe policies that could give it anedge. India needs to reorient policiesfor a long-term approach withoutignoring short-term needs.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

RCEP or not, India has to revive Plan processThe country needs to reorient policies for a long-term approach without ignoring short-term needs

SHIVAJI SARKAR

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 21, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

F O R E I G N E Y E

The Nepali bureaucracy issaid to be based onnepotism and cronyism. Thecivil bureaucracy consumesa large portion of nationalrevenue but has failed toperform as expected. Itoften seems that babuspoint to partisan politics inviolation of neutrality.Unless the bureaucracy ismade result-oriented, thestructural and executivearrangements at the Stateand local levels make nosense to the general public.

(TKP editorial)

WHY ARE BABUSSO INEPT?

analysis

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 21, 2020 money 08

MONEY MATTERS

SunSource Energy on Friday said thatit has won an order to develop a 4

MW floating solar project and a 2 MWbattery storage system in Andaman andNicobar. SunSource Energy, a leadingdistributed solar energy company, willdevelop a 4 MWac grid connectedfloating solar PV power project, along

with 2 MW/1 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), acompany statement said. Once commissioned, it will be one of theIndia's largest floating + storage project in Andaman which will in turnreduce the existing reliance on diesel, the company claimed. It will besituated at the Reservoir of Kalpong river, Kalpong HydroelectricProject (KHEP) Dam, Diglipur, North Andaman, a District of Andamanand Nicobar Islands which will power the island that will significantlypower the entire region, thus increasing power reliability.

To address informationasymmetry amongst

shareholders, a Sebi panel hasrecommended that listedcompanies should make availableaudio and video recordings of post-earning conference calls on theirwebsites as well as stockexchanges within 24 hours or

before the next trading day. The recommendations have been made ina report on disclosures pertaining to analyst meets, investor meetsand conference calls, prepared by a sub-group headed by HDFC ViceChairman and CEO Keki Mistry. The sub-group was formed by thePrimary Markets Advisory Committee (PMAC), which also discussedthe report this month. The panel has also suggested that writtentranscripts of post-earning conference calls should be made availableon websites of listed companies and respective stock exchangeswithin five working days after such calls. Further, listed companiesshould make available audio/ video recordings and the writtentranscripts on their websites for at least eight years in addition to thedetails disseminated on respective stock exchanges.

The Zee Group has exited itsfledgeling cruise business and

sold the cruise line brand JaleshCruises to Waterways Leisure for anundisclosed sum. Zee was runningthe business under Zen Cruises,which in fact was the India's generalsales agent for Jalesh Cruises of

Mauritius, according to a statement. Like hotels, airlines and cinemas,cruise shipping has also been shut since the coronavirus pandemic hitthe world early February. On top of that, the Zee group has been facingliquidity problems at some of the group entities. Waterways Leisure ispart of the US-based NRI Sant Chatwal-promoted Dreams Hotel Group.The deal also includes the sale of Jalesh's entire digital interface andtechnology backend, the software developed for customer acquisition,and the database of customers, travel agents and partner network.Waterways has also hired existing executives and employees of Zenand Jurgen Bailom will continue as the president & chief executive.

Essel Group sells cruise biz to Sant Chatwal

Pesticides Manufacturers andFormulators Association of India

(PMFAI) on Friday urged the governmentto increase the import duty on technicaland finished pesticides to 20-30 per centto protect the domestic agro-chemicals

industry. Currently, 10 per cent customs duty is levied on import oftechnical grade and finished pesticide formulations. Before 1991, acustoms duty of 40 per cent was levied on intermediates and rawmaterial and technical grade pesticides used for manufacturing offormulations. However, in 2007, import duties on technical gradepesticide and finished formulation were brought at par. "There are alot of anomalies in the current customs duty regime that favoursthe imports of pesticides rather than manufacturing in India. Thisgives an unfair advantage to MNCs and importers and defeats thevision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'," PMFAI President Pradip Dave saidin a statement. The government must amend the current structureof customs duty and increase them to 30 per cent and 20 per centfor imports of finished pesticide formulations and technical gradeproducts, respectively, he said.

SunSource Energy bags projects in Andaman & Nicobar

PMFAI pitches for hike in importduty on pesticides to 20-30 pc

Sebi panel proposes measures toaddress information asymmetry

PNS n NEW DELHI

Social media giant Facebookhas for the first time disclosedprevalence of hate speech onits platform, saying that out ofevery 10,000 content views inthe third quarter, 10-11 werehate speech.

Facebook, which has 1.82billion daily users globally, hasdrawn flak in the past for itshandling of hate speech on theplatform inIndia, whichis among itsbiggest mar-kets.

In itsCommunityS t a n d a r d sEnforcementReport forSeptember 2020 quarter,Facebook said it is includingthe prevalence of hate speechon its platform globally "forthe first time".

"In Q3 2020, hate speechprevalence was 0.10 per cent– 0.11 per cent or 10 to 11views of hate speech for every10,000 views of content," itadded.

Facebook said due to itsinvestments in artificial intel-ligence, the company has been

able to remove more hatespeech and find more of itproactively before users reportit.

"Our enforcement metricsthis quarter, including howmuch hate speech content wefound proactively and howmuch content we took actionon, indicate that we're makingprogress in catching harmfulcontent," it added.

Prevalence, on the otherhand, estimatesthe percentageof times peoplesee violatingcontent on itsp l a t f o r m ,F a c e b o o kexplained.

During thethird quarter,

Facebook took action on 22.1million pieces of hate speechcontent, about 95 per cent ofwhich was proactively identi-fied.

On Instagram, the compa-ny took action on 6.5 millionpieces of hate speech content(up from 3.2 million in Junequarter), about 95 per cent ofwhich was proactively identi-fied (up from about 85 percent in the previous quarter),it added.

FACEBOOK-METRICS INDICATE

Hate speech accounts for 10-11of every 10,000 content views

PNS n NEW DELHI

Government requests forFacebook user data increased 23per cent globally in January-June 2020 with India occupyingthe second spot after the US interms of such requests beingmade. According to Facebook'slatest transparency report, total35,560 requests were made byIndia in the period for 57,294users/accounts. Some data wasproduced in 50 per cent cases, itadded. In the first six months of2020, government requests foruser data increased by 23 percent to 1,73,592 globally from1,40,875 in the second half of2019. The highest number ofrequests in January-June 2020came from the US with 61,528requests for 106,114users/accounts, and some datawas produced in 88 per cent ofthe cases, the report said.Germany, France and the UKfollowed the US and India in thetally. Facebook said it responds

to government requests for datain accordance with applicablelaw and its terms of service.Each and every request itreceives is carefully reviewed forlegal sufficiency and it mayreject or require greaterspecificity on requests thatappear overly broad or vague."We do not providegovernments with direct accessor “back doors” to people'sinformation. We believe thatintentionally weakening ourservices in this way wouldundermine the securitynecessary to protect our users,"Facebook VP and DeputyGeneral Counsel Chris Sonderbysaid. During the period underreview, the volume of contentrestrictions based on local lawincreased 40 per cent from15,826 to 22,120 globally. Theincrease was in part related toCOVID-19- related restrictions,Facebook said. India saw 824pieces of content beingrestricted in the same period.

Govt requests for user dataup 23% globally in H1 2020

PNS n NEW DELHI

India is losing over USD 10.3billion (about Rs 75,000 crore)in taxes every year owing toglobal tax abuse by MNCs andevasion by private individuals,a report said on Friday.

The State of Tax Justicereport said globally coun-tries are losing a total of overUSD 427 billion in taxes eachyear to international corpo-rate tax abuse and private taxevasion. This is costing coun-tries altogether the equivalentof nearly 34 million nurses'annual salaries every year —or one nurse's annual salaryevery second.

With regard to India, thereport said USD 10.3 billion,or 0.41 per cent of the USD 3trillion GDP, is lost in taxesevery year to global tax abuse.

Of this, over USD 10 billionis lost to tax abuse by multi-national corporations(MNCs) and USD 200 millionto tax evasion committed byprivate individuals.

The social impact of thelost tax is equivalent to 44.70per cent of the health budgetand 10.68 per cent of educa-tion spending. It also equalspaying yearly salaries of over42.30 lakh nurses.

It further said India is mostvulnerable to illicit financialflows in the form of outwardFDI and listed Mauritius,Singapore and theNetherlands as the tradingpartners which are mostresponsible for this vulnera-bility.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Retail inflation for farm work-ers and rural labourers rosemarginally to 6.59 per cent and6.45 per cent, respectively, inOctober due to higher pricesof certain food items, markingthe first increase in the ratesprice rise in 2020.

Retail inflation for farmworkers based on theConsumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL) was 6.25 per cent whileinflation based on ConsumerPrice Index-Rural Labourers(CPI-RL) was 6.10 per cent inSeptember 2020, a LabourMinistry statement said.

Inflation based on foodindices of CPI-AL and CPI-RL

stood at 7.96 per cent and 7.92per cent, respectively, inOctober, a tad higher than 7.65

per cent and 7.61 per cent,respectively, in September thisyear.

The rise in CPI-AL variedfrom state to state. In case ofagricultural labourers, itrecorded an increase of 1 to 24points in 20 states.

Tamil Nadu with 1,242points topped the index tablewhereas Himachal Pradeshwith 830 points stood at thebottom.

In case of rural labourers,the CPI-RL recorded anincrease of 1 to 24 points in 20states. Tamil Nadu with 1,226points topped the index tablewhereas Himachal Pradeshwith 877 points stood at thebottom.

Amongst states, the maxi-mum increase in theConsumer Price IndexNumbers for Agricultural

Labourers and RuralLabourers was seen in WestBengal (+24 points) mainlydue to rise in the prices of rice,pulses, mustard-oil, milk,onion, chillies-green, bus fare,vegetables and fruits etc.

"The increase in CPI-ALand CPI-RL will have a posi-tive impact on the wages of theworkers in rural sector,"Labour Minister SantoshGangwar said.

Director General LabourBureau D S Negi said, "Theinflation based on CPI-ALand RL has increased margin-ally for the first time in 2020.This is mainly on account ofincrease in the prices of arhardal, mustard oil, onion andvegetables etc."

INFLATION-RETAIL-RURAL

Retail inflation up marginally for rural workers

PNS n NEW DELHI

P e t r o lprice onFriday washiked by17 paiseper litreand diesel

by 22 paise, as firming inter-national oil prices broke anearly two-month-long hia-tus in price revision.

Petrol price in Delhi washiked to Rs 81.23 per litrefrom Rs 81.06, according toa price notification from oilmarketing companies.

Diesel rates went up fromRs 70.46 to Rs 70.68 perlitre.

This is the first revision inpetrol prices since September22. Diesel rates hadn'tchanged since October 2.

Public sector oil marketingcompanies - Indian OilCorporation, BharatPetroleum Corporation Ltdand Hindustan PetroleumCorporation Ltd - revise ratesof petrol and diesel dailybased on benchmark interna-tional oil price and foreignexchange rate.

They have, however,restored to calibrating therates since the pandemicbroke out with a view toavoiding volatility in retailprices.

The 58-day hiatus in petrolprice revision and 48-daystatus quo on diesel rates waspreceded by no change inrates between June 30 andAugust 15 and a 52-day sta-tus quo between March 17and June 6.

In Mumbai, the petrolprice on Friday was raised toRs 87.92 per litre from Rs87.74, while diesel rates wentup from Rs 76.86 to Rs 77.11.

Petrol now costs Rs 84.31in Chennai and Rs 82.79 inKolkata. Diesel costs Rs 76.17per litre in Chennai and Rs74.24 in Kolkata.

PETROL-PRICE

Petrol price up17 paise, diesel22 paise after2-month hiatus

PNS n MUMBAI

Equity benchmark Sensexsurged 282 points on Friday,tracking gains in HDFCBank, Kotak Bank and BajajFinance amid positive cuesfrom global markets and sus-tained foreign fund inflows.

After a highly volatile ses-sion, the 30-share BSE indexended 282.29 points or 0.65per cent higher at 43,882.25.

Similarly, the broader NSENifty rose 87.35 points or0.68 per cent to 12,859.05.

Bajaj Finserv was the topgainer in the Sensex pack, ral-lying over 9 per cent, followedby Titan, Bajaj Finance, KotakBank, Bharti Airtel, NestleIndia and NTPC.

On the other hand,Reliance Industries, IndusIndBank, Sun Pharma, AxisBank, ONGC and HUL wereamong the laggards.

"The BSE Sensex is closinghigher by about 1 per cent inthis Diwali week," saidSanjeev Zarbade, VP PCGResearch, Kotak Securities.

"With the end of the earn-ings season, focus will shiftback to economic recoveryand market valuations," hesaid, adding that risk to themarkets is from a resurgenceof COVID-19 infections inIndia.

Sensex jumps282 pts, Niftyup 87 points

PNS n NEW DELHI

L&T Finance Ltd has invokedshares of three Essel Groupcompanies -- Zee MediaCorporation, Zee Learn andSiti Network Ltd -- and appro-priated them against loan out-standing amount.

As per regulatory filings,L&T Finance invoked andappropriated against loan out-standing amount 1.24 croreshares constituting 2.65 percent stake of Zee MediaCorporation on November 18.

L&T Finance also invokedand appropriated against loanoutstanding amount 96.02 lakhshares constituting 2.94 percent stake of Zee Learn onNovember 18.

In a separate filing, L&TFinance said it has invoked andappropriated against loan out-standing amount 5.73 crore

shares constituting 6.58 percent stake of Siti Networks onNovember 18.

Another Larsen and Toubro(L&T) group firm L&TInfrastructures FinanceCompany said it has acquiredthrough off market transferfrom security trustee andappropriated against loan out-standing amount 1.29 croreshares constituting 2.74 percent stake of Zee MediaCorporation on November 18.

Zee Media Corporation (for-merly Zee News Ltd) is a newsnetwork with 10 news channelsin six different languages.

As per BSE data, on quarterended September 30, 2020,shareholding of promoter andpromoter group firm in ZeeMedia Corporation stood at25.85 per cent, out of which99.65 per cent stake is pledgedor encumbered.

PNS n MUMBAI

The rupee appreciated by 11paise to settle at 74.16 (provi-sional) against the US dollar onFriday, supported by positivedomestic equities and sus-tained foreign fund inflows.

At the interbank forex mar-ket, the domestic unit openedat 74.15 against the US dollarand touched an intra-day highof 74.09 and a low of 74.21. Itfinally settled at 74.16 againstthe greenback, registering anincrease of 11 paise over itsprevious close.

On Thursday, the rupee hadsettled at 74.27 against USdollar.

"The rupee is currentlydrawing a lot of support fromequity inflows and the fact that

the dollarglobally ison thebackfoot,"s a i dSugandhaSachdevaV P -M e t a l s ,Energy &Currency

Research, Religare Broking.Sachdeva further said that

"going forward, we think thatthe rupee has scope to furtherappreciate till 73.80. However,beyond that, the RBI wouldstep in to curtail its move,while dollar index may alsorebound given the uncertaingrowth outlook in the US.That should put some down-ward pressure on the rupee".

The domestic unit is expect-ed to trade in the 73.80 to 75band till the end of this month,Sachdeva noted.

Meanwhile, the dollar index,which gauges the greenback'sstrength against a basket of sixcurrencies, was trading 0.08per cent higher at 92.36.

On the domestic equitymarket front, the 30-share BSEbenchmark Sensex closed282.29 points higher at43,882.25, while the broaderNSE Nifty rose 87.35 points tosettle at 12,859.05.

Foreign institutionalinvestors were net buyers in thecapital market as they pur-chased shares worth Rs1,180.61 crore on a net basis onThursday, according to provi-sional exchange data.

SAJJAD HUSSAIN

Global technology companieshave told the Pakistan govern-ment that its "draconian" dataregulations would make itextremely difficult for them tocontinue their operations, twodays after the IT ministry noti-fied rules to define how socialmedia will be governed in thecountry, according to a mediareport on Friday.

Under the new rulesannounced by the Ministry ofInformation and Technology onWednesday, social media com-panies and internet serviceproviders shall provide the des-ignated investigation agency withany information or data indecrypted, readable and compre-hensible format, the Dawn news-paper reported.

Subject to justifiable technicallimitations, the information to beprovided may include subscriber

information, traffic data, contentdata and any other informationor data.

In a statement, the AsiaInternet Coalition (AIC), whichexclusively represents leadingglobal internet companies onmatters of public policy,expressed its alarm over thescope of new law targeting inter-net companies, as well as the gov-ernment's “opaque process” bywhich their rules were developed.

Earlier this year, PrimeMinister Imran Khan promisedto initiate a “broad-based” con-sultation on content regulationafter a strong backlash fromstakeholders over the release offormally known as the CitizenProtection (Against OnlineHarm) Rules 2020. “The consul-tation that was announced inFebruary never occurred,” AICmanaging director Jeff Paineregretted in the statement.

The tech companies warned

that the rules would make itextremely difficult for the AICmembers to make their servicesavailable to Pakistani users andbusinesses. “The draconian datalocalisation requirements willdamage the ability of people toaccess a free and open internetand shut Pakistan's digital econ-omy off from the rest of theworld,” the AIC said.

Since February when the rules

were first released, the AIC hasrepeatedly urged the governmentto adopt a comprehensive con-sultation strategy.

Earlier in October, the AIChad expressed its reservationsover the consultation process ina letter addressed to PrimeMinister Khan.

“The lack of transparency onthe consultation, an abbreviatedconsultation process, and strictlocal office requirements foronline platforms are very con-cerning,” Paine had stated.

“The consultation processtherefore appears to have lostcredibility,” it said.

AIC has said if Pakistan want-ed to be an attractive destinationfor technology investment andrealise its goal of digital transfor-mation, then it should workwith industry on practical, clearrules that protect the benefits ofthe internet and keep people safefrom harm.

ATP, Infosysrenew digitalpartnership forfurther 3 years

RUPEE-CLOSE

Rupee settles 11 paise higherat 74.16 against US dollar

L&T FINANCE-ESSEL

L&T Finance invokes shares ofthree Essel Group companies

‘Draconian' data regulations will makeoperations difficult in Pak: Tech firms

India losing $10.3bn in taxes per year

In a statement, the Asia Internet Coalitionexpressed its alarmover the scope of newlaw targeting internetcompanies, as well asthe government's“opaque process” bywhich their rules weredeveloped.

PNS n BENGALURU

Amazon's global Senior VicePresident and India countryhead Amit Agarwal on Fridaysaid the company employsalmost 1,00,000 workers inthe country directly, includ-ing tens of thousands ofemployees in the many glob-al technology teams basedout Bengaluru. He said,Indian talent today touchesalmost every part ofAmazon's global offerings.

"Bengaluru is at the heartof technology and innova-tion, and we, at Amazon,have certainly been privi-leged to work with some ofthe brightest and most talent-ed IT professionals and expe-rience the unique dynamism,resourcefulness, and inven-tiveness that continues topropel India," Agarwal wasquoted as saying at BengaluruTech Summit, 2020(BTS2020) in a release.

He said the industry-friendly IT policies of succes-sive state governments, therich talent pool of highlyskilled professionals, high-quality institutes of higherlearning, the resilience, tenac-ity and innovation of compa-nies and start-ups have allmade Bengaluru what it istoday. Agarwal said technology and mobile inter-net have transformed dailylives globally, and India is nodifferent, but these are likelyto have an even more pro-found impact on India, as ascalable lever to drive inclu-sion and equity for society.Urban centres will no longerclaim preferential access toproducts, education, health-care, or entertainment.

‘Indian talenttoday touchesalmost every partof Amazon'sglobal offerings’

PNS n BENGALURU

Infosysand the ATP onFriday announced the renew-al of their partnership for afurther three years.

The agreement will seeInfosys continue as globaltechnology services partnerand digital innovation part-ner of the ATP, through2023, the Bengaluru-head-quartered IT major said in astatement.

As the technology partnerof the ATP since 2015,Infosys said it has beeninstrumental in supportingATPs development of keydigital assets and infrastruc-ture, including ATPPlayerZone, ATP StatsLeaderboards, ATP SecondScreen, and the ATP app.

"Through the extendedpartnership, Infosys willcontinue to develop andaccelerate innovations inadvanced technologies suchas Artificial Intelligence,Data Analytics, and Cloud,leveraging its dedicated ten-nis platform to deliverdiverse experiences for play-ers, media, and fans acrossthe world", the statementsaid.

TAX ABUSE BY MNCs

With regard toIndia, the reportsaid USD 10.3billion, or 0.41per cent of theUSD 3 trillionGDP, is lost intaxes every yearto global taxabuse

SaturdayNovember 21, 2020

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idya Malvade will be nextseen in the Netflix originalMismatched, which showsthe world through the eyesof a woman who is trying todo something newly discov-

ered. Vidya garnered the praises of crit-ics and the audience alike for hershows like Kaali 2 and Flesh, whichwere released during the lockdown.Now, she is exploring and makingsome brave choices! She will be essay-ing the character of a woman whowants to traverse and learn more.Vidya, who identifies with the charac-ter of Zeenat, says, “There’s somethingfor everyone in this series. Zeenat’scharacter is very close to me in my reallife as well. Her journey in the show isabout finding herself whilst trying tofit in with the millennial teens in thecollege which builds for many laughsand funny moments. Her hunger tolearn and explore uncharted territoriesto follow a long-lost dream regardlessof age, economic standing, or maritalstatus all for creating a new life inde-pendently which is so different fromthe one she has left behind. Isn’t itinspiring? I do hope her journey willinspire a few women to go back to college and fulfill their long lostdreams too.”

Everyone's excited to see the ChakDe girl in the upcoming web show andit sounds very interesting with the castand plot. The web show will also starYouTube sensation Prajakta Koli andRohit Saraf. Based on the novel WhenDimple Met Rishi penned by authorSandhya Menon, Vidya will be castopposite Rannvijay Singha. Fans can'twait to watch this exciting pair set thescreen on fire!

‘Hope my rolein Mismatched

will inspirewomen to goback to college'

V

Ishtiyak Khan,who earned hismuch deservedfame with thefilm Ludo that'sthe talk of thetown, in anexclusive chatwith The

Pioneer'sSHIKHA

DUGGAL, talksabout workingwith A-listers likeAbhishekBachchan, beingdirected byAnurag Basu, thegovernment’sintent to regulateOTT and more.

Ishtiyak aiming for the moon after Ludoike how in a boardgame four playersrace their four tokensfrom start to finishaccording to the rollof a dice, Anurag

Basu too has brought this classicgame to life with actor Ishtiyakin the top trending movies ofNetflix right now — Ludo. Sincethe time Ishtiyak Khan joinedthe movie industry, the world ofstaging has only helped himaccomplish many of his goals.His slightly short stature incomparison with the hulks ofthe industry never hindered hispersonality from shiningthrough.

The film, which is garneringso much value, an Anurag Basuproduction, always shoots formultiple principal charactersthan giving precedence to a soleprotagonist and featuring fourdifferent parallel plots. Ishtiyakbelieves it shows his collectivismtowards the community of film-making. “The unification of dif-ferent plot lines and characterarcs is the key characteristic ofAnurag Da’s films, whether it’s alocation, an event, a theme thatties the film or characters com-ing together. I find his unre-hearsed process extremely noveland refreshing as he’s someonewho gives a lot of freedom to usin exploring,” adds Ishtiyak.

Like how splitting a roomwith your sibling can be one ofthe most testing experiencesever but also one of the mostrewarding one, in the very sameway to be a part of an ensemblecast having A-listers in it, the44-year old actor tells us howthere is constant self-doubt sur-rounding you whether your roleis gashed to give prominence to

an actor like a star like AbhishekBachchan, but those fears camewere allayed when he went sho-oting. He further says, “AnuragDa could easily weave the plot-lines in such a manner that hecould have given distinction tothe scenes acted out by the act-ors who are on top of their gameright now, however, he refrainedfrom doing that. He emphasisedthe interconnectivity of all thecharacters equally from the big-ger celebs to the supporting cast,even when the characters arestrangers to one another in thefilm. Every character has astrong underlying theme inter-woven between the plots thatare unifying each of them.”

Ishtiyak is acing his role wear-ing the khaki and looking dap-per as ever. Notable personalitiesfrom all nooks and corner havealready been raving about hisrole in Ludo anticipating what ishe up to next, he’s been gettingnumerous appreciation phonecalls and text messages about his

honesty being reflected in hisperformance and that’s makinghim stand out despite having aminimal role in the movieincluding so many talents.“When we set out to create abig-budget film, we rarely do soin a vacuum. So we were work-ing with all sorts of talent andcrew, all for bringing one partic-ular vision to life. Anurag Da issuch a jovial man that hebelieves in spreading as much asglee he can by making it a care-free environment. There’s asmall child hidden in a 46-year-old man who wants his crewand cast to be jolly all the timeand mind you without any supe-riority complex. Our workingtogether was the deciding factorbetween success and failurehence by navigating the murkywaters into a creative environ-ment while keeping all of usorganised and happy, Ludo is asuccess on OTT today,” the actorreveals.

Crediting to the factor that

how first hand, the sort of famethat is accrued to an actor show-ing up on an OTT platform issomething else, he feels that ear-lier A-listed directors weren’ttaking web seriously but owingto the hardening situations ofthe pandemic now, OTT is non-perishable, there is no addedburden of appointment viewingand a web platform like Netflixwho is having a deep pocketbrings the audience closer tocinema dynamics. “FromYouTubers to mass entertainers,everybody can showcase theirflair, basically all of us get tomake the same leap which is aninteresting potent here. It’s a fairarray! No star is a different com-modity here, everyone is giventheir justified screen timing. Idon’t know till when will theOTT era last, nonetheless withthe web, we got a sense thatthere is certain elbow room forexperimentation,” he adds.Giving a peek into the move toregulate OTT platforms, hevoices, “I am of the opinion thatto some extent it’s advisable forthe I&B ministry to play moralpolice for OTT as there is nolimit to what digital platformsare streaming in terms of boldcontent. The regulatoryapproach of OTT streamingmedia shouldn’t be any distinc-tive from offline broadcastingmedia. The government’s intentto regulate OTT should not beconfused with a restriction onnudity, language or violence buton content that counters its ide-ology, policy or killing anyopposing narrative,” he con-cludes.

Ludo is good old-fashioned,light-hearted fun and should beon your must watch list!

L

YASMIN KARACHIWALAshares pre-and post-workout diet tips

Fitness and food have a veryspecial relationship. Food serves as fuel for yourbody and has a direct impacton how your body performs.

Keeping this in mind,supplementing it with ahealthy and nutritious

diet is the key, says well-known fitness and celebrityMaster Instructor YasminKarachiwala.

When it comes to working out, your diet willalways play a crucial part.So, just like how it is

important to stretch whilst you're working out to avoid injuries, what you eat before or afteryour workout alsodetermines how effectiveyour routine will be, sheadds.

asmin says: “If you thought that eating beforeand after working out was all aboutgulping down a protein shake, youmight want to give that a secondthought.” She shares some recom-

mendations of what you should includein your meal plan prior to and postyour workout.

Pre-workout

For your body to perform well,you've got to fuel up-and that meanseating the right foods before your work-out. Not eating before a workout canresult in low blood sugar, which leads totiredness and fatigue. Ideally, youshould fuel your body about 1 to 4hours pre-workout, depending on howyour body reacts and whatever worksbest for you.

Making small yet impactful changesto your diet can go a long way in build-ing overall health and add value to yourworkout routine. Some food items that Iwould like to recommend are:

Almonds:

Adding a handful of almonds to thediet is a good way to start, as they makefor a nutritious snacking option, andeating them prior to your workout willenergize you. Due to their nutrientcomposition, almonds are known tohelp with boosting energy. Moreover,almonds are rich in several nutrientssuch as Vitamin B2, magnesium, phos-phorous etc. providing your body withthe much-needed nutrition.

Top up a slice of wholegrain breadwith some freshly cut avocadoes - this isa great source of carbohydrates and pro-vides you with valuable healthy fat that

gives you an energetic boost when car-bohydrate depletion occurs.

Post-workout

After a workout, your body is deplet-ed of all the good fuel that has beenconsumed and it’s important to replen-ish your energy after working out.Consuming the right amount of carbo-hydrates and protein is especiallyimportant after a workout. By consum-ing particular nutrients after your work-outs, you improve your body composi-tion, performance, and overall recovery.Try incorporating the following fooditems to your post-workout regimen:

Oats topped with almonds:

Oats are packed with fiber and pro-vide you with sustained energy. They’reperfect post a morning workout, cookedin water or skim milk, add a touch ofhoney for sweetness and top it up withsome almonds. Almonds are a richsource of vitamin B2, a vitamin knownfor its role in energy production andreducing tiredness and fatigue, makingthem a tasty and healthy topping.

Quinoa:

Protein post a workout is essential forgood payoff, for your hard work. Thecarbohydrates in the quinoa will helprestore glycogen levels and it's alsoloaded with protein. Mix it up with someveggies or grilled chicken to add to it.

So, for those who are heading back tothe gym after almost seven months ofthem being shut or for those who havebeen working out at home, these diettips will add onto your fitness journeyto make you stronger, leaner, fitter, andhealthier.

Y

10

Vijayawada Saturday November 21 2020 what’s brewing?

enee Sen, daugh-ter of actressSushmita Sen,will make herdebut as anactress with the

short film, Suttabaazi.Directed by Kabeer

Khurana, the film tells thestory of a 19-year-old namedDiya, played by Renee, whois a clandestine smoker andis stuck with her naggingparents during lockdown.The trailer of the film waslaunched on Thursday,which hap-pened to beSushmita’sbirthday.

“My motherhas alwaystaught me theimportance ofmerit, hardwork and joyof doing thingsyour way. Yes,Suttabaazimight not be aconventionalchoice but Ialways dreamtof starting outon my ownwith some-

thing different,” Renee said.“It’s such a fun and relat-

able film, and moreover abeautiful story. I am reallyexcited to launch it on mymother's birthday whichmakes it all the more spe-cial,” she added. Talkingabout the film, Kabeer said,“This project belongs to thecast and crew behind thisfilm, who have workedrelentlessly over the pastmonth to put it together.”The film will release inDecember.

R

ctor PriyankaChopra Jonassays she had agreat timeworking onupcoming

Netflix feature We CanBe Heroes and is lookingforward to audiencesreaction to the film.

Billed as an action-adventure, We Can Be Heroes featuresChopra as nemisis to agroup of children whoteam up to save the plan-et and their superheroparents who are kid-napped by the aliens.

The film is written,directed and producedby Robert Rodriguez,who helmed the block-buster hit Alita: BattleAngel.

Chopra on Thursdayshared the teaser of themovie on Twitter andreminisced her time onthe sets.

“I had the best timeshooting this movie,especially with RobertRodriguez and theseamazing super kids!!Loved playing theirnemesis.... Who do youthink is going to win,them or me?!Streaming on NetflixNew Years Day,” shetweeted.

Apart from Chopra,the film features actorsPedro Pascal, ChristianSlater, Boyd Holbrook,Sung Kang and veteranactor ChristopherMcDonald.

Child stars AkiraAkbar, Nathan Blair,Andrew Diaz, AndyWalken and Hala Finleyare also part of the cast.

We Can be Heroes isset to premiere onNetflix on January 1,2021.

Chopra has previouslyplayed antagonist in herHollywood debut movieBaywatch (2017) andHindi film Aitraaz(2004).

A

Sushmita Sen's daughter Reneeset for debut in short film

Matthew McConaugheyplans to start career instand-up comedy

ce Bengali film-makerBuddhadebDasgupta helmsthe Hindi filmAnwar Ka Ajab

Kissa, and NawazuddinSiddiqui and PankajTripathi, who feature in thefilm, have opened up abouttheir experience of workingin the project.

Opening up about hischaracter in the dark come-dy, Siddiqui said, “He is adetective who thinks in acompletely different way —one that cannot be compre-hended by the commonman. He lives in a world ofhis own creation and followshis heart. It was a memo-rable experience to enactsuch an interesting charac-ter, and I am sure that hewill find a distinct place ineveryone’s hearts.”

The film narrates thestory of a person who seemsto be in search of an invisi-ble elixir that will bringpeace to his soul.

Pankaj Tripathi, who playsa pivotal role, said, “It is afilm that explores the beautyof the human mind and itsintricate nature. I am happyto have been a part of thismovie — one that touches

your heart and leaves a smileon your face as you see itrevealing different aspects.”

The film also featuresNikharika Singh, and isscheduled to drop on ErosNow on November 20.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui-Pankaj Tripathi starrerAnwar Ka Ajab Kissa set for OTT release

A

Had the best time shootingfor ‘We Can Be Heroes':Priyanka Chopra Jonas

ollywood star MatthewMcConaughey wantsto start his career instand-up comedy.

According to him,he was plan-

ning acomedy

tour

before the pandemic.He wanted to try his career as

a comic because he loves the“no-filter communication” pro-vided by humour.

“I haven’t shared this withmany people but stand up is ano-filter communication. What Ido as an actor, which is why I’minterested in doing stand up, ismy raw expression goes throughfour filters before it gets to thescreen,” McConaughey said onThe Russell Howard Hour,reports femalefirst.co.uk.

“I’m doing someone else’sscript, I’m being directed bysomeone else, I’m being filmedby someone else, I’m being edit-

ed by someone else before it’sput in a capsule and put in frontof you on screen. That’s four fil-ters from my original expres-sion. So that’s the goal. Wheredo you go where there is no fil-ter? That’s stand-up. So the planbefore Covid was, I was plan-ning on taking to the road andtelling stories in an hour ofstand-up,” he added.

McConaughey says he cannotwait to get started, “It soundslike a great thing to be addictedto, the ultimate buzz. You looktoday at stand-up comics, theyare the best truth tellers we have.If I can get away with this, thenI’d love to.”

H

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

sport 11VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 21, 2020

PTI nMUMBAI

Former left-arm pacer ZaheerKhan believes bowlers will

decide the fate of this summer’sIndia-Australia contest as boththe teams boast of some of theworld’s finest bowlers in theirsquads.

With the likes of JaspritBumrah, Mohammad Shami,Mitchell Starc and PatCummins, to name a few, uptheir ranks, both India andAustralia have formidable bowl-ing attacks.

“The Australian pitcheshave always had good bounceand pace, so I think the areawhich will decide the ODIs,T20Is and Tests will be thebowlers and how well theteam bowls as a unit torestrict the opponent to alower total on the score-board,” said Zaheer,who was part ofthe 2011 WorldCup winningIndian team.

“ W h e nsomeone talksabout the topline bowlers inthe world rightnow, the names ofthe players that cometo our mind will all beon the pitch in thisseries,” he added.

Zaheer also saidthat India are set toface a stern test inAustralia this summerdue to the presence ofSteve Smith and DavidWarner.

India had defeatedAustralia 2-1 in their lastTest series Down Under in2018-19 in the absence ofWarner and Smith, as boththe players were serving anyear-long ban.

“Now with the return ofSteve Smith and David Warner

to the Australian side, the Indianteam is definitely going to facea stiffer competition than theirprevious tour Down Under,”the former India fast bowler said.

“There are no favouritesgoing into the series as both thesides have quality batting andbowling line-up in their squadand that is what will make theupcoming tour interesting andexciting to watch.”

Zaheer’s thoughts wereechoed by Australian pace leg-end Glenn McGrath, who alsofeels that the Virat Kohli-led sidewill face a tough competitionthis time around.

“The Indian cricket teamwill face a much tougher

Australian team now thatSmith and Warner are backbut the Indian team isequally strong and have anaggressive mentality and

determination to winthe series,” saidMcGrath, who hasstaggering 563Test wickets.

“The cur-rent Indian teamhas got the con-fidence of play-

ing in Australianconditions now andthey know how to doit as they’ve been suc-cessful here in the lasttour.”

Former India bats-man Sanjay Manjrekartoo feels the same.

“Australia’s Testteam will be stronger

than it was on India’s pre-vious tour. The experi-ence of Smith andWarner will add muscle

to the Aussie side but Ibelieve India’s bowling

attack is ready to have theirnames carved in the histo-ry of Indian cricket by win-ning a consecutive seriesDown Under,” he said.

PTI n MUMBAI

Rohit Sharma’s absence from theupcoming white ball series is a big

“positive” for Australia but KL Rahulis as good a player to fill in the void,feels dashing batsman Glenn Maxwell.

Rahul will be Virat Kohli’s deputyin the white-ball leg since regular vice-captain Rohit is recuperating from ahamstring injury sustained duringIPL.

“He (Rohit) is a class performer,so consistent as an opening batsmanwith a couple of (three) double hun-dreds. So anytime he is not in the line-up against you, it is a positive,”Maxwell said.

The three-match ODI seriesbegins on November 27 followed bya T20I series.

For Maxwell, KL Rahul is asgood a back-up as any team can wishfor.

“But in saying that, India have stillgot back-ups, more than capable ofplaying that role. We saw KL Rahul,the performance that he put on dur-ing the last IPL was extraordinary.Whether he opens the batting or not,I am sure he will be just as good a play-er,” Maxwell added.

In Rohit’s absence, it is expectedthat Mayank Agarwal will open theinnings along with Shikhar Dhawanas Rahul, who will keep wickets isexpected to bat middle-order.

However Maxwell is a big fan ofAgarwal-Rahul opening pair that didreally well during the first phase ofIPL.

“Well, I would say they (Mayank-Rahul) are the two lovely guys, I have

ever met. It was a pleasure to spendthe change room (with them), twovery good players, they score all-roundthe wicket and have got very limitedweaknesses,” Maxwell was all praise

for them.But Maxwell sounded out a warn-

ing for his IPL teammates thatAustralia’s bowing attack will certain-ly put them under pressure.

“I suppose ODI cricket might bea bit different (compared T20).Hopefully, with our bowling attack, wecan put some pressure on them andwith bounce in the pitches and bigger

grounds as well, they play into ourhands. They are good performers, andgood players,” a confident Maxwellasserted.

For India, key in the upcomingseries will be Mohammed Shami’sskills as both a “new ball and old ball”bowler.

“A guy like Mohammed Shami,whom I have played with in the recentIPL and played with him in Delhi, aswell. (I) saw the skill that he has.

“He has got good skills at the end(death overs) as well as with the newball. His ability to get moving on pitch-es will be key to them,” said Maxwell.

According to Maxwell, he alongwith another in-form player MarcusStoinis, would be the two all-roundersas well as designated finishers in thebatting line-up.

“...The way we are probably goingto set our team up is myself and MarcusStoinis or potentially another all-rounder making up for the other 10overs (for fifth bowler), the one with-out our four front-line bowlers.

“I suppose I can contribute wher-ever I can with the ball. With the bat,as it was against England, I will be try-ing to finish off games and do as wellas I can down the order,” he said.

Steve Smith didn’t play the awayODI series against England due to con-cussion suffered during a net sessionand his presence is sure to increaseIndian team’s headache, said theVictorian all-rounder.

“To have someone like Steve Smithcoming back to our side, it is going tobe a big plus for us, a big headache forIndia. Smith has always scored runsagainst them,” he said.

PTI n SYDNEY

Australia speedster PatCummins expectedly con-

siders Virat Kohli the “big”wicket he would target in theupcoming series against Indiaand said that keeping the visit-ing captain quiet would be cru-cial to the home team’s chances.

“I think every side has thatone or two batters and they arethe big wickets. Most teamshave their captain — Joe Rootfor England, Kane Williamsonfor New Zealand. You feel likeif you get their wickets that goesa long way in winning thegame,” Cummins told FoxCricket.

“He (Kohli) is always a bigone. You commentators talkabout him non-stop, so hope-fully, we can keep himquiet,” he added.

Cummins,who has beennamed inboth thew h i t eand red-b a l lsquads asvice-captain, is oneof the 11Australian playerscurrently quaran-tining in Sydneyafter returningfrom the UAEwhere he playedfor KolkataKnight Riders inthe IPL.

Their quarantine periodwill end on the eve of theopening ODI against India atthe Sydney Cricket Ground.

Cummins said Australia iswell prepared to give India atough fight in the series.

“It’s going to be huge.Obviously, we’re back here onhome soil. Other than spendinga lot of times in hotels and bub-bles I feel like our preparationhas actually been really good.

“We went over to the UKand had a good tour there. Mostof the boys here have been play-ing 14 T20 matches in the lastfew weeks and the other guyscoming in will be playingshrewd cricket. So, it feels likewe are all firing up and got a lotof stuff behind us,” he said.

The imposing pacer saidthat over the last couple of years,

he has developed as abowler.

“I was probably a bitquicker a few years agobut I feel like in the lastcouple of years I got bet-

ter, learning differ-ent tempos withinthe game and alsowhen I am bowl-ing. I feel I got a bitmore control on

swing and seam,”Cummins said.

“Whateverconditions wecome up with, Ihave got a cou-ple of tools Ican go to.”

Melbourne: Tickets for five ofthe upcoming six limited-overs f ixtures betweenAustralia and India begin-ning next week, have beensold out in less than a day afterbeing released, CricketAustralia informed on Friday.

The limited-overs serieswill begin with the three ODIsfrom November 27. Limitedtickets to the first ODI at theSCG, however, remain withapproximately 1,900 publicseats left.

Tickets for the fourmatches at the Sydney Cricketand two at Canberra’s ManukaOval went on sale to the gen-eral public on Friday morningand by midday the only seatsup for grabs were for the firstODI at the SCG.

It should be noted thatboth SCG and Manuka Ovalwill be at 50 per cent capaci-ty for the series due to restric-tions put in place amid Covid-19 pandemic. IANS

NEW DELHI: India on Thursdayslipped to the second positionin the standings of the ongo-ing World Test Championship(WTC) after the ICC decidedto rank teams “in order of per-centage of points earned”from the contested matches.

Australia (296 points from3 series) toppled India (360from 4 series) in the standingafter the revision with a per-centage of 82.22 compared tothe latter’s 75 per cent.

With the global Covid-19pandemic disrupting cricket,“just under half of the WTC

matches have been played,with that estimated to rise tomore than 85% by the end ofthe competition window.”

According to current reg-ulations, incomplete matchesare treated as draw but afterdue deliberation, the ICCCricket Committee, headed byAnil Kumble, recommendedthat the final WTC standingsshould be determined on thebasis of matches played, whichwas approved by the Board.

“Both the CricketCommittee and ChiefExecutives Committee sup-

ported the approach of rank-ing teams based on complet-ed matches and points earnedas this reflects their perfor-mance and doesn’t disadvan-tage teams that have beenunable to compete all of theirmatches through no fault oftheir own,” ICC ChiefExecutive said.

“We explored a wholerange of options, but ourMembers felt strongly that weshould proceed as plannedwith the first ever World TestChampionship Final in Junenext year.” PNS

Adelaide: The six-day lockdown inSouth Australia to contain Covid-19 cases has improved Adelaide’schances of remaining the venue ofthe first Day/Night Test betweenIndia and Australia from December17 even though the situationremains fluid, the state’s top med-ical officer has said.

South Australia has closed itsborders after a sudden surge inCovid-19 positive cases, whichstand at an overall 551 right now.

South Australia’s chief publichealth officer Nicola Spurrier, dur-ing a press conference, admittedthat there are no guarantees.

“I can’t tell you exactly...I don’thave a crystal ball,” Spurrier toldreporters.

“But what we are doing now isputting us in the best position pos-sible to be able to have that crick-et match,” she said with a note ofpositivity.

A lockdown will help get backto normal life including having acricket match of great significance.

“The reason we are doing whatwe are doing, which is pretty dras-tic...Is because we want to get backto the state of having just a fewrestrictions and to be able to dothings like have the cricket.” PTI

PTI n NEW DELHI

“An MNC cannot have two CEOs”,said former India skipper Kapil Dev

on Friday, making his stance clear on theraging debate over whether the nation-al cricket team should go for split cap-taincy.

Ever since Rohit Sharma guidedMumbai Indians to a fifth IPL title, adebate on split captaincy has gatheredmomentum with several former playerssuggesting that the opener be handed theleadership of at least the T20 side.

“In our culture it is not going to hap-pen that way. In one company you maketwo CEOs? No. If Kohli is going to playT20s and he is good enough. Let him bethere. Even though I would like to seeother people coming out. But it’s difficult,”said Kapil.

“Our 80 per cent, 70 per cent of theteam across formats is same team. Theydon’t like captains having different the-ory. It may bring more differencesbetween the players who look up to thecaptain.

“If you have two captains, playersmight think he is going to be my captainin Tests. I will not annoy him.”

Talking about the art of fast bowling,the 1983 World Cup-winning formerskipper said fast bowlers opting for toomany variations saddens him.

AP n BARCELONA

Forced to handle yet anotherdifficult situation regarding

Lionel Messi, Barcelona coachRonald Koeman demandedmore “respect” for his disgrun-tled star.

Koeman said he under-stood why Messi was visiblyangry when journalists askedhim about the criticism direct-ed at him by a former agent ofteammate Antoine Griezmannwhen Messi arrived in Spain onWednesday after a long flight.

“I need to defend Leobecause if something happenedto me after a trip of 15 hours ina plane back to Barcelona — yougo outside and there is a lot ofpress asking that type of ques-tion — I would be dangerousand hate them as well,” Koemansaid on Friday.

“We have to respect peoplelike Messi more. And fromwhat I have seen on the field andin training, there is no problembetween (Messi and

Griezmann).”Eric Olhats, Griezmann’s

agent until 2016, told FranceFootball magazine last weekthat Messi has marginalizedGriezmann in his “regime of ter-ror” at the club where theArgentine supposedly “controlseverything.”

When journalists askedMessi for his response, hewearily answered: “To behonest, I’m a bit tired ofalways being the problem foreverything in this club.”

That set off anotherround of alarm bells atthe Camp Nouabout Messi’sfuture.

Many areconcerned thatthe latestunpleasantepisode isyet anotherreason forMessi to gothrough withhis plan to leave the

club. With his contract expiringat the end of this season, Messiwill be free to negotiate withother clubs in January.

There is widespread specu-lation he could be tempted toreunite with former coach PepGuardiola at Manchester City.

Koeman said that while hedoes not feel it is his job to

convince Messi to stay, heis confident the 33-year-old forward will prolonghis 20-year stint atBarcelona.

“I hope he will stay inBarcelona,” Koeman

said. “I think it isunbelievable whathe has done forthis club, but he isthe main personto make a deci-sion about hisfuture.”

B arce lonawill visit Atlético

Madrid, the league’sonly unbeaten team,on Saturday.

AFP n LONDON

Novak Djokovic out-bat-tled Alexander Zverev to

qualify for the last four at theATP Finals on Friday, stayingon track to match RogerFederer’s record of six titles atthe end-of-season event.

The Serbian top seed,who was beaten comprehen-sively by Daniil Medvedev inhis second round-robinmatch, was again below hisbest at London’s O2 Arena butdid enough to win 6-3, 7-6(7/4).

The five-time winner fin-ishes second in Group Tokyo2020 behind Medvedev andwill play third-seed DominicThiem in the semi-finals onSaturday.

Second-seed RafaelNadal, seeking his first win atthe elite eight-man event, willface Medvedev in the othersemi-final after finishing sec-ond in Group London 2020.

Djokovic brokeGermany’s Zverev at the firsttime of asking in the emptystadium and raced into a 3-0lead, threatening to run awaywith the match — arepeat of the 2018 final,which Zverev won instraight sets.

The 33-year-oldlooked focused after hisuncharacteristic maul-ing by Medvedev, serv-ing himself out of troublewhen he found himself trail-

ing 15-40 in the seventh game.That proved to be the

last chance for Zverev in theset and 17-time Grand Slamwinner Djokovic hammered abackhand winner down theline to take it 6-3.

Djokovic handed Zverev abreak point in the fourthgame of the second set afterdouble-faulting but theGerman could not capitalise.

The 23-year-old fifth seedsaved two break points on hisserve in the following game,letting out a roar as he kept hisnose in front.

The set went to a tie-break. Zverev earned an early

mini-break but Djokoviclevelled and the pressurewas back on the German,who faltered to hand theSerbian victory.

The O2 Arena ishosting the event for the12th and final season

before the championshipsmove to Turin.

PTI n DUBAI

The South African editionof the Women’s T20 World

Cup was on Thursday post-poned by three months toFebruary 2023 to avoid a clus-ter a big-ticket events in 2022and manage players’ work-load, ICC announced onThursday.

The tournament wasscheduled in November 2022but will now be held inFebruary 2023.

In August this year, theICC had postponed the 50over Women’s World Cup slat-ed in New Zealand from 2021to 2022 due to the Covid-19pandemic and women’s T20cricket is also set to make itsdebut in the 2022Birmingham CommonwealthGames..

“The Board confirmedthat the ICC Women’s T20World Cup will move from itscurrent slot at the end of2022 to 9-26 February 2023,”ICC said in a statement.

If not postponed, the yearwould have “three majorevents in 2022 with theCommonwealth Games inJuly 2022 and the ICCWomen’s T20 World Cup dueto be held in November 2022.”

“As there are currently nomajor women’s events sched-uled to take place in 2023 theBoard confirmed the switchfor the T20 World Cup to bet-ter support player preparationand to continue to build themomentum around thewomen’s game beyond 2022,”the apex body said.

The ICC said the decisionwas taken keeping in mind theworkload of the players andalso considering long terminterest of women’s cricket.

Aussie all-rounder feels Hitman’s absence will help hosts but backs his IPL teammate to perform well

KL good enough to fill Rohit’s void: Maxi

Indian limited overs Vice-captain Rohit Sharma chats with KL Rahul during India’s match against Windies in 2019 BCCI/Twitter

Keeping Kohli quiet keyto success: Cummins

Bowlers will decide fate

of Ind-Oz series: Zaheer2 ODIs & 3 T20Issold out in one-day

Ticket frenzy

for Aus-Ind tiesSplit captaincy cannot work in our culture: Kapil

Ravi Shastri chats with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli PTI

ICC postpone

women’s T20 WC

from 2022 to 23“Bowlers have to understand it’s not

the pace, it’s the swing. They should learnbut are running away from art. TNatarajan was my hero of IPL. Young boywas fearless and bowling so many york-ers,” the legendary all-rounder said refer-ring to the two Sunrisers Hyderabad pac-ers.

Kapil feels variations are a waste if onedoesn’t know how to swing the ball.

“Keep your wrist straight, hold the ballseam-up. Whenever the ball moves Testsmatches become important. Wasim,Botham, Willis, Hadlee. McGrath, lookhow good he was.

“The art of swing bowling shouldcome back. Learning the knuckle ball andall is fine. If you don’t know how to swingthe ball, everything is waste,” said the greatall-rounder.

However, the battery of pacers thatIndia possesses now pleases Kapilimmensely.

“I read somewhere that Lara said he(would) rather prefer face Kapil Dev butnot Lara. Our fast bowlers are brilliant.

“Look at Shami, Bumrah. As a crick-eter, it gives me a lot of happiness to saythat today we depend on our fast bowlers.Our bowlers are capable of taking 20 wick-ets in a match. We’ve had spinners —Kumble, Harbhajan, but today no coun-try would like to say ‘give them bouncywickets’.”

“I am not happy with fast bowlers (thesedays). The first ball cannot be cross seam. Playersin IPL realised that swing is more important thanpace. Sandeep (Sharma), who bowled 120 kph,was tougher because he was moving the ball,” heexplained.

Percentage of points todecide final WTC standings

Lockdown in S Aus provides

best chance to host 1st Test

Koeman defends Messi’s angry outburst Djoker downs Zverev, sets up Thiem semis

PTI n BAMBOLIM

In their new avatar, ATKMohun Bagan kicked off the

seventh season of the IndianSuper League on a high, defeat-ing Kerala Blasters by a solitarygoal here on Friday.

Fijian hitman Roy Krishna,who was ATK’s top goal scor-er with 15 goals last season,struck the all important goalafter a 67 minute deadlock togive the all important threepoints for the green-and-maroon brigade.

The Yellow Brigade playingwith a heavy defensive lineupof 4-2-3-1 managed to thwartATKMB throughout the firsthalf but after the hour markthey left a loose ball as theFijian International pouncedon it with a calm and com-posed finish.

All eyes were on the 131-year-old legacy club Mohun

Bagan as they were makingtheir ISL debut following their‘marriage’ with three-timedefending champions ATK.

The match had an interest-ing sub-plot as Kibu Vicuna,who had guided Mohun Baganto their fifth I-League title lastseason, sat in the oppositedugout in KBFC jersey, whilethe most successful ISL coachAntonio Lopez Habas was atthe helm of ATKMB.

KBFC, who were the des-ignated home team, lookedmore threatening and came outwith an attacking intent in thesecond-half.

But KBFC were made topay for it as Roy Krishna madeamends for his three misses inthe first half with his poachergoal to become the differencebetween the two sides.

That goal was enough forATKMB to sink Kerala Blasters’hearts.

ATK Mohun Bagan start offwith ISL campaign 1-0 win

or his hot-headedrole of Kondal Rao,a father who isunhappy with hisson’s (played byAnand

Deverakonda) choice ofmoving away from their vil-lage Kolakaluru to establishhis hotel in Guntur, inMiddle Class Melodies,Goparaju Ramana hasbeen winning a ton ofaccolades. The filmdropped on AmazonPrime Video on Thursdaynight and it took hardlylittle time for social mediato hail him as a new dis-covery. Admittedly, he

has been flooded withphone calls. “As I

come from a the-atre background,

connoisseurs oftheatre, cinemaand peoplewho are yourown areringing meand congrat-ulating,” hetells us in aconversa-tion.

Goparajuhas been an

acclaimed the-atre artiste for

the past 50 years,while it’s been 25

years since he start-ed dabbling both on

the small and big

screens. He played one of theleads in Grahanam and hisassociation with IndragantiMohana Krishna continued infilms like Mayabazaar,Golconda High School and AshtaChemma, where he played smallroles. He even played a minis-cule part of NandamuriBalakrishna’s guru in his 100thfilm Gautamiputra Satakarni.But it wasn’t until yesterday thatthe Telugu film industry tooknotice of his potential.“Director Vinod Anantojuthought I’d exceed as KondalRao and offered it to me. Onsets he encouraged me to get itright. In fact, from all of hisactors, he never missed a singleemotion and that showed hiscommand on the characters.When we missed our way, hewould direct us to the rightpath,” the actor recalls.

He continues, “Vinod has abright future ahead and BhavyaCreations should be lauded tohave introduced him. If moreyoungsters come, they will atleast introduce two new actorsin their films.”

Despite his experience in the-atre, for him acting is always atest. He equates performing fora scene to that of nervouslyattending an exam — even afteryou gave 50 tests previously. “Asan actor your job is to do whatthe director expects of you. Ibelieve we are students for life.Even if my son Vijay Goparajudirects a play (in fact Vijaydirects most of his dad’s plays),

I have to heed him. If we meethis vision of the role, webecome successful artistes,” hepoints out, adding that he neverfelt that Kondal Rao would landhim in such appreciation.“Producer Ananda Prasad,executive producer Anne Raviand the director kept tellingthat I would earn a good namefrom the project. The tremen-dous response from the audi-ence, however, was something Ididn’t anticipate.”

He is hopeful that the filmwill give him a new lease of lifein Telugu cinema. “The theatreartistes' number has dwindledsignificantly over years. If mystint in the film continues toreceive more attention, it willencourage 10 writers andartistes to survive on theatre.That’s my only wish,” he con-cludes. — NG

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Vijayawada Saturday November 21 2020tollywood

harwanand, who earlier thisyear said that he will be fol-lowing the Akshay Kumartemplate of allotting 50days and doing multi-ple films in a year,

will be continuing the samenext year as well. With pro-jects like Sreekaram andShree Karthik’s Telugu-Tamil bilingual just daysaway from a wrap up,the actor will dive intothe filming of AjayBhupathi’sMahasamudram next.He will follow it upwith KishoreTirumala’s AadaallooMeeku Johaarlu, whichrolls in January. Now,we hear that he hastaken up debutantSriram Reddy’s project aswell, with his favourite ban-ner UV Creations set to pro-duce. Reddy has earlier assist-ed Sriram Adittya for BhaleManchi Roju.

A source close to the developmenttells us, “The film is a cop story with adifference. UV agreed to produce itthree years ago itself. Initially, theyapproached Gopichand to spearheadbut it didn’t work out. Sharwa was latergiven the narration and he liked it. Hegave his verbal nod but didn't immedi-ately allot dates as he was already occu-pied with a slew of commitments. Withthe project staring at a delay, Reddyrecently had a word with UV to know ifhe has to wait further. When producersVamsi and Pramod reached out toSharwa, he had told them they canbegin the principal photography insummer next year.”

The source adds, “It’s his characteri-

sationand the overall story thatappealed to Sharwa themost. While he alreadyplayed a cop in Radhawithout much luck,Reddy though hasensured the story ticksall the boxes.The pre-pro-duction willbegin short-ly.”

Keento have at least

three releases a year,Sharwanand has given his

consent to headline first-time director SriramReddy's cop drama.

UV Creations willproduce it, finds

NAGARAJ

GOUD

Sharwa to donkhaki agains

Acting is always a test:Goparaju Ramana

ustakamloKonni PageeluMissing direc-tor and pro-ducer SajidQureshi is

introducing his daugh-ter Amrin Qureshiunder his InboxPictures as a leadinglady in Bad Boys, whichis the official remake of

Telugu hit CinemaChoopista Maava. She is

cast opposite MithunChakraborty’s son NamashiChakraborty in the film,to be directed byacclaimed directorRajkumar Santoshi.It is already on

sets, with themakers tar-

geting asum-

mer release.That’s not all. Qureshi is

also remaking Telugu super hitJulayi in Hindi with both hisdaughter and Namashi in thelead roles. Tony D’Souza, whodirected Blue and Boss, will helmit. It will roll in January.According to a release, Amrin’sgoal is to prove herself in Hindi and later become a successful heroine in all the southlanguages.

f

RajkumarSantoshilaunching Hydgirl Amrin in Hindi

Rana launches title poster of AnasuyaBharadwaj, Ashwin Viraj’s Thank You Brother

he coronaviruspandemic is adevastatingblow for theworld economyand entertain-

ment industry is no excep-tion. Ramesh Raparthi iscoming up with a filmtitled Thank You Brotherbased on fictional events incorona times, as the titleposter suggests.

The film stars AnasuyaBhardwaj and AshwinViraj in the lead roles.

Actor Rana Daggubatiunveiled the title poster andextended luck to the direc-tor and his friend Rameshfor the film.

The poster shows a masklying on the ground outsidea lift. Surprisingly, the titleof the film also shows theimage of a pregnant ladythat

may be hinting about thestoryline which might bebased on pregnancy.

Magunta Sarath ChandraReddy and TharaknathBommireddy arebankrolling the projectwhile GunaBalasubramanian is themusic director.

Thank You Brother is adrama film laced with

thrilling moments.According to reports

the film is done withits shooting and cur-

rently post-productionworks are in progress.

t

Komalee Prasadlands a role in HIT 2

efore he remakes HITin Hindi withRajkummar Rao,filmmaker SaileshKolanu needs to firstcomplete HIT 2 in

Telugu. Known to work at a fastclip, he has already startedassembling his team for the pro-ject, a joint production venturebetween Nani and PrashantiTipirneni. To this end, the latestwe hear is that he has signed onKomalee Prasad to play a keyrole. While some charactersfrom the first part will berepeated in the sequel,Komalee’s is a new addition.The actress has been a part ofprojects like Anukunnadi OkatiAyinadi Okati and Loser earlier.She is shooting for Hushaarudirector Sree Harsha’s RowdyBoys right now.

A source says, “Sailesh waskeen on a Telugu girl for thesequel and he was pleased when

Komalee aced the audition. Shewill be seen as a cop in thethriller. The shoot will kick offafter Vishwak Sen wraps upPaagal.”

HIT told the story of a copVikram Rudraraju (Vishwak)who is investigating a couple ofmissing cases. Speaking to ussometime back, Saileshinformed that he doesn’t see apoint of increasing the canvasfor the sequel just because thefirst one minted money. “I’veestablished the world ofHomicide Intervention Team(HIT) already, so I don’t see apoint in making the canvas big-ger for the second part. I believemany franchises have failedbecause they tried to increasethe canvas for no reason. I don'twant to make the same mistakeagain. It will be same world butthe conflicts will be strongerand the problems bigger,” he hadtold us. — NG

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